By Raja Petra Kamarudin

The Federal Constitution merely states that the Agong shall appoint the Prime Minister from amongst a Member of the House who, in Tuanku’s opinion, commands the confidence of the majority of the Members of the House. It says nothing about the Prime Minister having to be the President of Umno or the Chairman of Barisan Nasional.

Moreover, Mr. Najib brings to the job much political baggage. In particular there is the case involving an adviser to Mr. Najib of a Mongolian woman who was shot and blown up with specialized C4 plastic explosives in Malaysia in 2006. The adviser, the woman’s former lover, was cleared of ordering her death in a protracted court case that drew harsh public criticism and left vital questions unanswered. Two members of an elite police bodyguard unit assigned to Mr. Najib, who were asked by the adviser to “do something” about the woman because she was blackmailing him, have to answer murder charges. The adviser said he had contacted the two policemen through Mr. Najib’s aide-de-camp, and one of them, a chief inspector, testified that the aide-de-camp had instructed him to help the adviser.

Before the adviser was charged, Mr. Najib sent a text message to a lawyer representing his adviser saying that the adviser “will have to face a tentative charge but all is not lost,” according to a transcript of their exchanges. One of the country’s most popular bloggers and online journalist-editors, Raja Petra Kamarudin, faces sedition and libel charges after allegedly implicating Mr. Najib and his wife in the killing. Although Mr. Najib has denied ever knowing the victim, taking the unusual step of swearing his innocence in a mosque, he has been unable to stem an avalanche of gossip, speculation and serious analysis, much of it circulated on the Internet.

Mr. Najib also has long been embroiled in allegations of corruption in the purchase of big-ticket weapon systems during his two lengthy terms as defense minister (1990-95, 1999-2008; he retained the defense portfolio after becoming deputy prime minister in 2003), when he drove an aggressive military modernization program. According to Foreign Policy in Focus, a Washington-based think tank, foreign arms manufacturers use well-connected Malaysians as lobbyists, paying them commissions of 10% to 20% to win contracts. Malaysia’s political opposition says much of the money goes to people closely associated with UMNO, including Mr. Najib’s contacts, though the police and anticorruption authorities have not investigated particular cases to the satisfaction of complainants.

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Written by John Berthelsen

“They say Malaysia is different from Mongolia and said they know people in police so can easy put me to jail. If in Malaysia law goes like that I can’t complain. But true is I did nothing to him. I’m just normal girl trying to meet my lover who lied to me and promised many things but now wants to put me in jail or kill.” -Altantuya Shaariibuu

On October 18, 2006, a pretty young Mongolian translator named Altantuya Shaariibuu was brutally murdered at the age of 28. Her mutilated body was found in a jungle clearing near the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Sha Alam. Her reputation has been brutalized as well. The pictures printed here may give some of her back to the world.

After her remains were found about a month after the murder, Altantuya’s accused killers, Abdul Razak Baginda, her former lover and the head of a politically well-connected think tank, and two bodyguards for Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, were arrested almost immediately in a blaze of newspaper headlines that all but convicted them.

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Nota Pembukaan Ucapan Membahaskan Rancangan Ransangan Ekonomi Kedua Oleh YB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Tuan Yang Di Pertua,

Saya ingin memulakan ucapan saya dengan menegaskan bahawa saya dan rakan-rakan bersedia melakukan apa sahaja demi untuk membela rakyat. Kami menyokong sebarang inisiatif untuk membantu rakyat. Ada di antara kami telah masuk penjara, dipukul dan disembur dengan gas pemedih mata demi memperjuangkan nasib rakyat.

Elok kita buat perbandingan dengan apa yang dibentangkan oleh Menteri Kewangan semalam dengan apa yang berlaku di Amerika Syarikat. Kerana apa yang dilakukan tidak lain dari mengikut apa yang dilakukan oleh Presiden Obama. Obama mengambil pendekatan Keynesian, maka Menteri Kewangan juga mengambil pendekatan Keynesian.

Ramai yang terpukau dengan begitu besarnya pakej ransangan Obama, berjumlah USD 787 billion (RM 2.91 trillion). Tetapi Paul Krugman, pemenang Hadian Nobel ekonomi, dan ahli ekonomi Keynesian paling terkenal dewasa ini, mengatakan ia mulai “falling behind the curve.” Masalah dan krisis yang berlaku, jauh lebih besar dari pakej ransangan.

Jelas sekali pakar ekonomi ini sedar persoalannya bukan sekadar jumlah dana yang besar dan kemudiannya digembar gemburkan oleh media. Persoalan sebenar yang harus diberi perhatian ialah ketelusan dan pertanggungjawaban institusi serta memecahkan tembok psikologi rakyat terbanyak, peniaga juga pelabur agar yakin dengan pengurusan ekonomi negara. Ini ditegaskan oleh pemenang Hadiah Nobel terkemuka Amartya Sen yang mengutip pandangan Arthur Cecil Pigou, ” One of the problems…arising from financial mismanagement and other transgressions, has become many times magnified by a psychological collapse.”

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Prominent scholars and experts are urging President Obama to adopt strong policies backing democracy in the Middle East.

More than 140 people signed an open letter to the president. Its message will be the topic of a news conference Tuesday at the National Press Club in Washington.

“We urge you to elevate democratic reform and respect for human rights as key considerations in your engagement with both Arab regimes and Arab publics,” the letter said.

“We are writing this letter to raise our profound belief that supporting democrats and democracy in the Middle East is not only in the region’s interests, but in the United States’ as well.”

The signees hail from the United States and across the globe. They include college professors, members and heads of think tanks, and activists.

Among them are Egyptian democracy activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim; former deputy prime minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim; Johns Hopkins University professor Francis Fukuyama; Robert Kagan of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Rabbi Michael Lerner of the Network of Spiritual Progressives; Morton Halperin, former director of policy planning staff at the U.S. State Department; and Jennifer Windsor, executive director of Freedom House.

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From today’s Wall Street Journal Asia

The man slated to take over Malaysia’s government later this month hasn’t said much about his economic philosophy. But with the announcement of a 60 bilion Ringgit ($16 billion) stimulus package yesterday, one thing is clear: Najib Razak is no free-market reformer.

Mr. Najib, who is currently deputy prime minister, called yesterday’s package “unprecedented in the nation’s history.” For an expenditure of roughly 9% of 2008′s GDP over two years, that’s no exaggeration. Malaysia will raise debt to fund this largesse. The fiscal deficit is now projected to reach a whopping 7.6% of GDP, up from 4.8%.

Malaysia is following in the fiscal footsteps of the U.S., Australia and Japan, but that doesn’t make it smart. The “stimulus” from all this spending will likely be limited. Most of the money will be spent on loan guarantees, infrastructure and public-sector expansion, rather than on tax cuts that could stimulate productive growth. State-owned investment company Khazanah, for instance, will be handed 10 billion ringgit. Pet projects such as “green investments” and the state-run auto maker will also see cash handouts. The government itself will hire 63,000 workers.

This is effectively a restatement of Malaysia’s old, government-knows-best policies. It’s the opposite of what Malaysia really needs, which is to ditch this thinking and shift to a business climate that encourages private investment and entrepreneurship. The government predicts GDP could shrink 1% this year.

Yesterday’s fiscal expansion is also a political risk for Mr. Najib and his ruling coalition. Malaysian voters, fed up with the government’s racial politics and lackluster economic growth, handed opposition parties roughly one-third of the national parliament last year and victories in two subsequent parliamentary by-elections. If Mr. Najib’s package doesn’t work, the voters may protest again at the polls.