Malaysiakini

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s speech to overseas Malaysians at a get-together in London last night was interrupted by repeated chants of “Bersih! Bersih!” from the floor.

The chanting started when Najib took to the stage, and it continued when he began his speech.

According to a footage uploaded on Internet, after some 25 seconds into his speech, Najib was clearly annoyed by the chanting; he raised his right hand and told the protesters to stop it.

“Can you please stop it? Can you stop it, please?” he said, to some inaudible reply from the floor.

“I know, I know, but can you stop it? You can meet with me later, okay? Please, can you stop it?” Najib tried to defuse the anger.

“I want to vote…Why you don’t allow me to vote…,” a participant shouted as the chanting continued.

“No, no, no, okay… alright, alright, you… no, no, you wait for me,” Najib responded.

“You have to respect… (inaudible),” the man replied.

Fortunately the chanting died down soon after that and Najib was able to continue his speech.

The event dubbed ‘An Evening with the Prime Minister’ was organised by the Malaysian High Commission at the prestigious 02 Arena in the UK capital, which can accommodate about 2,000 people.

According to Malaysia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Zakaria Sulong, the event was to enable Malaysians in London to interact in an informal manner with the prime minister.

The O2 Arena is well-known for the staging of pop concerts and prestigious events.

The building which features most uniquely on the European city’s skyline is one among the many venues chosen for the 2012 London Olympics. It was also on the itinerary for the late pop legend Michael Jackson’s final tour which never happened.

The PM’s gathering raises the question whether the lavish event was funded by public funds.

Malaysiakini
By Mariam Mokhtar

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak sealed his own fate, 11 years ago at a meeting to discuss the Scorpene submarine purchase. The date was July 14, 2001.

As any history student will tell you, the storming of the Bastille in Paris, on the morning of July 14, 1789, signalled the beginning of the French revolution. Every year, the French celebrate their National or Bastille Day, on July 14.

From now on, Malaysians may also attach some significance to July 14. It might not be the start of a Malaysian revolution, but it was on July 14, 2001, that Najib held a meeting with DCNI, the subsidiary of the French shipmaker DCN.

Najib, who was the defence minister at the time, had allegedly demanded that the French pay US$1 billion (RM3 billion) to the Malaysian company Perimekar, as a condition for meeting him.

These details were divulged by the French investigators for Suaram, and form only the tip of the iceberg. Their list of witnesses includes Najib, Abdul Razak Baginda and the current Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi. All are required to testify in Paris.

It has not been a good week for the PM. The government’s response to the Bersih sit-down protest has attracted international condemnation. In the week which coincided with World Press Freedom Day, his policemen have been accused of brutality and his administration has been villified for media censorship.

Independent foreign observers have criticised Najib for mishandling the peaceful protest, and denying the rakyat their fundamental right to freedom of assembly.

Two newspapers face legal action; the New Straits Times, by an Australian senator, Nicholas Xenophon, because the paper libeled him, and Utusan Malaysia, which ran a front-page story that the Opposition politician Azmin Ali was involved in a tryst.

Diminishing support

With the French court case looming, corruption scandals rocking his cabinet and further delays to GE13, Najib fears that support for him and his party will diminish further.

Is it any wonder that a few days ago, Najib tried to distract us, by claiming that Bersih’s sit-down protest was a plot to topple his government?

Najib’s opposition to Bersih 3.0 is a clear indication that Umno knows that it cannot win a clean election. He knows he cannot allow a free and fair election.

That explains the concerted effort by Umno and the Election Commission (EC) to cheat. In desperation, Najib has accused Bersih 3.0 of wanting to turn Dataran Merdeka into Tahrir Square.

In a press conference last week, Suaram confirmed that the French judicial probe had evolved from a “civil complaint” into a “criminal investigation.”

The French lawyer acting for Suaram, Joseph Breham said: “Investigations so far have provided sufficient evidence to point our finger at Malaysian officials in this (court) hearing.”

Suaram secretariat member and lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri said, “….The parties involved in the scandal would soon be charged in the French criminal court. It’s going to be bigger than it already is now”.

Suaram secretary-general Cynthia Gabriel (left) called the Scorpene scandal, “the Great Malaysian Robbery” with several companies, including the pilgrimage fund (Lembaga Tabung Haji) and the military servicemen’s pension fund (Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera) being used to obscure the money trail.

Gabriel said, “The Malaysian and French people have clearly been misled, cheated and robbed of their monies through blatant corruption and mismanagement of funds in the name of national safety and security.”

The former finance director of DCN, Gerarde Philippe Maneyas, alleged that Malaysian officials in the deal had been bribed.

With the introduction of new laws in France and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Convention in 2002, bribes made to foreign officials are considered a criminal offence. Previously, these bribes were tax-deductible.

As a result of these laws and the OECD, all documentation relating to arms deals would replace reference to the payment of “commissions” with “payment to service providers”.

Terasasi surfaces

The French inquiry also revealed the presence of a previously unknown company, Terasasi, which is owned by the PM’s former aide, Abdul Razak Baginda.

Baginda (left) also owned Perimekar, and both these companies received several million euros in commissions and kickbacks. Baginda’s wife and father are also linked to Perimekar and Terasasi.

Interestingly, French investigators found an invoice from Terasasi to a French company, Thint Asia International, dated Aug 28, 2004 for 359,450 euros (RM1.43 million) with a handwritten note saying: “Razak wants it in a hurry.” Needless to say, the race is on to discover which “Razak” this refers to.

Despite the rapid pace of development by the French investigators, members of Najib’s cabinet have remained eerily silent.

One thing is clear. Najib cannot be non-committal in future press conferences and abruptly terminate them when any reference is made to Scorpene. He cannot use that old trick of saying he will go the mosque and swear on the Quran. He cannot avoid the French subpoena without risking an international arrest warrant.

Despite the internal power struggles in the upper echelons of Umno, none of those who wish to be PM has appeared to lodge the first knife in his back. Perhaps, they all realise that despite Najib’s unpopularity, they have to band together to save their skin.

Najib faces a dilemma. He needs the support of Umno members so he can remain as PM, because it is said that a head of state enjoys immunity while he is in office. Once he stands down, he becomes another ordinary person and will be prosecuted, for any crimes committed.

Najib probably rues the day he entertained the French on July 14, 2001. Even Swiss bank accounts and exile to a “friendly” country are no guarantees of freedom.

From Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
By Vikram Nehru

There has been growing speculation that the thirteenth Malaysian general elections will be held in June this year. But massive demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur on April 28 organized by Bersih (a civil society coalition for clean and fair elections) that ended in tear gas and pitched street battles, may have thrown a spanner in the government’s plans. The inevitable finger pointing between Bersih and the police that followed (some 380 people were arrested, significantly less than a similar rally last year) masks the more important point that there is popular belief that the election system is rigged in favor of the ruling Barisan Nasional.

The Election Commission has been at pains to announce that it has implemented many of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms, which conducted a genuine and nationwide consultative process. One recommendation being implemented is the use of indelible ink to prevent voter fraud, a recommendation put forward by Bersih itself. The Election Commission also scrutinized the electoral rolls and found few irregularities, but so deep is the distrust in the country that this result appears to have carried little credibility. The accuracy of the electoral poll in Malaysia is indeed a critical matter that must be beyond reproach. There are several swing states where small margins can change the national result significantly.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Najib has embarked on a charm offensive. He fulfilled an earlier promise by repealing the Internal Security Act, which allowed for preventive detention without trial. The government also passed a law that allows students to join political parties (although political events on campuses are still banned).

These actions no doubt will positively impact the prime minister’s popularity, which was already high following a populist budget and a recent report complimenting the government on the implementation of its economic reform package. But while the prime minister enjoys very favorable ratings in the polls, his party, Barisan Nasional, does not. This has given the opposition parties some hope, although they have yet to coalesce and offer a clear alternative. The scenes over the weekend of street protests and tear gas, together with allegations of police brutality, will likely help the opposition and hurt the government. This could further narrow the difference between the incumbent Barisan Nasional and the main opposition coalition.

All the tea leaves suggest a close race, perhaps closer than the one in 2008 when the opposition took five of thirteen state legislatures and over a third of the seats in parliament, denying the Barisan Nasional a two-thirds majority.

Malaysia Chronicle

The United Nations in Malaysia would like to refer to the article published in The Star newspaper on May 7, 2012 titled “Police: Tear gas used at rally safe, UN-approved’.

We very much regret that the UN in Malaysia was not consulted before the publication of this article as it contains serious inaccuracies. The UN has consistently condemned the excessive use of force, including through the use of tear gas.

Please also note that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council have on various occasions publicly expressed concerns about reliable reports indicating that civilians who died from tear gas suffered complications from gas inhalation, and that security forces have been firing metal tear gas canisters from grenade launchers into crowds.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression after his mission to the Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in December 2011 noted that “while the use of tear gas to disperse a crowd may be legitimate under certain circumstances, tear gas canisters should never be fired directly at demonstrators.”

Moreover, unlike what is alleged in the article, the UN does not set international standards on different kinds of irritants, nor has the UN approved ‘CS Gas’ as a ‘riot control’ agent.

Journalists AND public officials should be professional

As far as the use of force is concerned, the relevant UN instrument is the Basic Principles on the use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, which was adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in 1990, not the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) of 1993. I provide its general provisions below:

1. Governments and law enforcement agencies shall adopt and implement rules and regulations on the use of force and firearms against persons by law enforcement officials. In developing such rules and regulations, Governments and law enforcement agencies shall keep the ethical issues associated with the use of force and firearms constantly under review.

2. Governments and law enforcement agencies should develop a range of means as broad as possible and equip law enforcement officials with various types of weapons and ammunition that would allow for a differentiated use of force and firearms. These should include the development of non-lethal incapacitating weapons for use in appropriate situations, with a view to increasingly restraining the application of means capable of causing death or injury to persons. For the same purpose, it should also be possible for law enforcement officials to be equipped with self-defensive equipment such as shields, helmets, bullet-proof vests and bullet-proof means of transportation, in order to decrease the need to use weapons of any kind.

3. The development and deployment of non-lethal incapacitating weapons should be carefully evaluated in order to minimize the risk of endangering uninvolved persons, and the use of such weapons should be carefully controlled.

4. Law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms. They may use force and firearms only if other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result.

5. Whenever the lawful use of force and firearms is unavoidable, law enforcement officials shall:

( a ) Exercise restraint in such use and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence and the legitimate objective to be achieved;

( b ) Minimize damage and injury, and respect and preserve human life;

( c ) Ensure that assistance and medical aid are rendered to any injured or affected persons at the earliest possible moment;

( d ) Ensure that relatives or close friends of the injured or affected person are notified at the earliest possible moment.

6. Where injury or death is caused by the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials, they shall report the incident promptly to their superiors, in accordance with principle 22.

7. Governments shall ensure that arbitrary or abusive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials is punished as a criminal offence under their law.

8. Exceptional circumstances such as internal political instability or any other public emergency may not be invoked to justify any departure from these basic principles.

We at the United Nations appeal to all journalists to correctly and accurately research and report all matters and procedures related to the UN. We believe that such professionalism should also extend to all public officials.

Dr Lin Mui Kiang is the United Nations Coordination Specialist, Malaysia

Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Without Borders condemns the use of violence against journalists during a major civil society demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on 28 April, and the censorship of foreign TV coverage of the protest. The organization is also concerned about the scant coverage that the protest received in Malaysia’s mainstream print media such as Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times and The Star.

Called Bersih 3.0 because it was the third of its kind organized by the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih) in protest against the lack of government transparency about the next parliamentary elections, the demonstration was attended by a Reporters Without Borders representative, who witnessed the media freedom violations.

The Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) said coverage of the protest highlighted the print media’s lack of independence. Their inadequate and inaccurate reporting contrasts with Malaysia’s rise in international media freedom rankings and the promise of more media freedom in recent amendments to the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA).

The media’s attitude is all the more disturbing in the run-up to such important elections, as it shows the degree to which they are still susceptible to pressure from the government and the political parties that own them.

Protest organizers and observers

The CIJ is one of the civil society organizations in the Bersih coalition, which also includes the Malaysia Youth and Students Democratic Movement and the Bar Council. The venue for its third demonstration was to have been Independence Square (Dataran Merdeka) in the centre of Kuala Lumpur. Smaller demonstrations were organized in other cities.

Bersih’s leaders had wanted to stage a sit-in (Duduk Bantah) in Independence Square from 2 to 4 p.m. but, two days before the protest, the Kuala Lumpur city authorities obtained a court order banning them from the square. On the eve of the protest, the police took up position on the main streets leading to the square, and barbed wire and plastic street barriers were used block access. Wearing the yellow Bersih T-shirt was not, however, banned this time.

On the day, a large crowd assembled at a nearby location and set off towards the square at 1:40 pm, led by Bersih members, journalists and Bar Council observers. Clashes broke out as they neared the square. When some of the demonstrators pushed past the barricades, the riot police on the other side used their water cannon, hosing them with a mixture of water and chemical irritants of the kind used in tear gas.

Violence and arrests

Police violence, attacks on demonstrators and arrests ensued. The Bar Council’s observers described the attitude of the police as “punitive.” In a statement the next day condemning the police violence as unjustified, Bar Council vice-president Christopher Leong pointed out that the interior minister had said before the demonstration that it did not pose a security threat.

As regards violence against the media, the Bar Council statement said: “The reported attacks by the police on members of the media, both local and international, and the confiscation and/or destruction of their photographs and video recordings, speaks to police action in covering up or preventing a full and accurate record of the Bersih 3.0 rally and the responses of the police.”

Al Jazeera reporter Harry Fawcett was forced to cover the protest using his iPad’s Skype app after the police damaged his crew’s camera. Describing the scenes of violence, he reported that the police “kicked, slapped and punched” demonstrators.

The Reporters Without Borders correspondent suffered no physical attack herself, but she was prevented from accessing an elevated position from which she could have taken photos of the crowd. Bar Council members, on the other hand, reported several cases of violence, including the clubbing of a lawyer inside a police truck after his arrest. A girl received several blows to the head before being rescued by a Bar Council member.

According to the CIJ, one journalist was badly hurt, sustaining a broken rib and possible internal injuries.

Merdeka Review reporter Chen Shaua Fui told Reporters Without Borders told Reporters Without Borders she was attacked by police when she tried to take photos of two demonstrators being beaten by police officers.

“Two men in yellow T-shirts were dining in a small restaurant on Jalan tun Perak Street,” she said. “It was 7 p.m. and most of the demonstrators had already dispersed. I was on the other side of the street when I saw two policemen go up to them and begin hitting them. I pulled out my camera but I was told not to use it. When I said I was a journalist, the policemen threatened me. I entered a nearby alley and saw a similar scene. I was already holding my camera and began taking photos.

“Four policemen approached me. One insulted me. Two others tried to grab my phone and camera from me. A fourth pulled violently at my backpack. They all insulted me although, in the confusion, I don’t remember what they said. I shouted several times that I was a journalist. In response, they snatched my press ID and threw it to the ground. I asked them several times if I was arrested but they did not reply to this. I think they just wanted to teach me a lesson. I finally succeeded in getting away and had the courage to pick up my press ID. I don’t think I will file a complaint. That serves no purpose here.”

Medical personnel reported that a total of 417 arrests were made and 117 people were taken to hospital.

Scant coverage, disinformation

On the whole, the violence was widely covered and commented in the alternative media and blogs even if they did not report all of the incidents.

But the CIJ reported in apress release on 26 April that coverage of protests in the print media had fallen dramatically compared with a similar period last year. Coverage of demonstrations was meagre in the leading Malaysian newspapers, and virtually non-existent in the newspapers that support the ruling coalition.

According to the CIJ release, there has been a 60 per cent fall in coverage by The Star and the Sun, and a 97 per cent fall in coverage by Utusan Malaysia and the New Straits Times. Such coverage as there was in these two newspapers was overwhelmingly negative, the release added.

Anticipating scant coverage by the main newspapers, the Bar Council mobilized around 80 lawyers and law students to monitor the demonstration. Many of these observers reported witnessing violence, including the use of tear-gas grenades and water cannon against demonstrators who had not provoked the police.

The lack of media coverage was compounded by government disinformation and attempts to minimize the size of the protest. It is not unusual for organizers and authorities to give different turnout figures but in this case only deliberate disinformation can explain the difference. On the one hand, the organizers estimated that 250,000 people took part and the CIJ estimated 100,000. On the other, the police put the turnout at 30,000 while a government press office went to so far as to claim that only 4,000 people participated.

BBC censored

The Sarawak Report, a news website run by investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown, reported that Astro Malaysia, a satellite TV service owned MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems, censored the BBC World News’ coverage of the demonstration, eliminating more than 30 seconds of footage showing police water cannon hosing protesters and participants criticizing the government and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

According to the Sarawak Report, the BBC is investigating Astro’s alleged censorship of its broadcast. Astro received the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia prize in 2009 for its contribution to pay TV in the region. The Sarawak Report said Al Jazeera’s coverage may also have been the victim of similar censorship.

The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition wants to prolong its decades-old control of the government in the general elections that must be held by April 2013. Prime Minister Najib’s party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the coalition’s dominant member, is meanwhile due to hold its annual national congress in July.

Headed by former Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan, Bersih is not a political coalition. It is a campaign for electoral reform that is supported by civil society organizations and opposition parties. The authorities banned it on the eve of its first big demonstration in 2011 and its current status is unclear.

The Philippine Star

By Jarius Bondoc

So debilitating and deadly, dengue is one of the most researched tropical diseases. The Aedes Aegypti mosquito spreads it wide in the northern half of South America, the central belt of Africa, and all of Asia. Resultant high fever and lost blood platelets downed 87,409 Filipinos in 2010 and 63,741 in 2011, with corresponding 586 and 373 fatalities. Four in five patients were aged 1 to 20 years, of both genders, rich and poor.

Having identified most of patients as of school age, state officials combat the menace right in schoolhouses. The Department of Health encourages the installation of chemical-laced window and door screens. Effective for five years, the nets kill the insects and keep them out of classrooms. For good measure, the science and education departments are distributing 81,000 O/L (ovicidal/larvicidal) kits. Costing only P15 apiece, the kit is actually a small black piece of wood treated with a type of pepper and dipped in water in a black tumbler. Black is said to attract egg-laying mosquitos. The simple weapons probably accounted for the significant 27-percent drop in dengue cases from 2010 to 2011.

Only the female dengue-carrying mosquito bites, usually from dawn to mid-morning and mid-afternoon to dusk. Dengue fever has four strains, sero-1 to -4, with 2 and 3 the most prevalent during the rainy season, most conducive for the Aedes Aegypti to multiply. Zamboanga City, however, is registering of late an alarming rise in sero-4 cases. Health assistant secretary for epidemiology Eric Tayag worries that even past victims could get infected because yet un-immune to the rare strain. Researchers are verifying, meanwhile, if the Aedes Aegypti, that lays eggs in clean stagnant water, has adapted to filthy clogged canals. Citing studies at the U.P.-Los Baños, an entomologist group is warning that the night-biting Aedes Albopictus female mosquito too has become a dengue spreader. Whether Aegypti or Albopictus, the female lives about two weeks, and lays hundreds of eggs. Unchecked, that one blood-sucking dengue (and malaria) spreader multiplies exponentially to millions in a year.

Not taking any chances, local officials are trying out other dengue preventions. Some provincial governors and city mayors are trying out a larvicide invented in Texas, the US state with highest dengue incidence, and now mass-produced in Malaysia and the Philippines. Called mousticide to distinguish it from other mosquito larvae killers, it is safe if ingested by larvae eating insects and animals (dragonflies, fish, bats) and humans. The chemical is soaked in palay husk (ipa) that floats on water and kills only mosquito wrigglers at the surface of stagnant ponds or rainwater in roof gutters and flowerpots. A team from U.P.-Manila has conducted studies on lethal efficacy, and Malaysian philanthropist-prince Tunku Naquiyuddin reportedly is arriving in Manila to help finance the anti-dengue drive.

The war against dengue is all-out, health and science bureaucrats declared in late 2010. Another season of rains is coming up, along with the usual dengue epidemic. Whether or not equipped with larvicides in nets, tumblers and ipa, barangay leaders must mobilize their constituents for the war. Residents need to check their dwellings and workplaces to drain dark or bright, big or small spots where water accumulates: fridge pans, old tires, storm drains, garden fonts, indoor vases, everywhere.
* * *
For a while there, things were turning rosy for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. His approval ratings have risen to 69 percent, he learned to deliver coherent political messages, and his 55-year reigning UMNO party was consolidating behind him. He seemed ready to call for overdue national elections, by June perhaps.

But the past has a way of creeping up to politicians and ruining their day. In Najib’s case, it is not only the UMNO’s repressiveness that became hot topic anew, after police tear-gassed a students’ assembly last week. The murder too of a Mongolian socialite in Kuala Lumpur in 2006, linked to then-defense minister Najib’s purchase of two French submarines in 2002, has resurfaced in the news.

The controlled mainstream press has strived to ignore the events. But Malaysians are gobbling up what’s happening from small opposition organs and global Internet news. The French government, which began investigating the defense contracting giant DCNS in 2009, has provided 153 documents to Kuala Lumpur human rights group Suaram. From the papers, it appeared that not only Najib’s close aide and security adviser Abdul Razak Baginda was involved in a $40-million kickback from the $1-billion submarine deal. Boss Najib must have been too, given his signed instructions to the French supplier.

The damning page showed that Najib, as defense chief, demanded payment “for the stay in France” of Perimekar Ltd, Baginda’s wholly owned front company. The instructions were seen to mean Najib wanted kickbacks for Perimekar’s negotiating the submarine supply in behalf of his defense ministry.

After the contract was inked in 2002 Najib, Baginda and Mongolia-born interpreter Altantuya Shaaribuqin toured France in a sports car. In 2006 Altantuya reportedly demanded her share of the released kickback, and picketed Baginda’s house when the latter’s jealous wife forbade payment. Two Najib bodyguards, lent to Baginda, abducted the pregnant woman and burnt her in the forest with military explosives. Confessing to the crime, they were convicted in 2009. Baguinda escaped punishment and migrated to England; Najib by then had become PM.

The revived controversy, coupled with calls for civil liberties and workers benefits, are seen to boost opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s bid for parliament victory.
* * *
I confess. Exposés: Investigative Reporting for Clean Government almost was titled The Futility of Exposés. The compilation of my selected Gotcha columns on the biggest scams in recent years is available at National Bookstore and Powerbooks.

M.J. Akbar
Chief Editor India Today
 

Anyone can get angry. But to rise in anger, it helps to be young. The young constitute the heart of any uprising for two good reasons. They have not yet had time to compromise. Their mobility is still unhampered by the usual constraints, otherwise known as the litany of social security that keeps us locked into the conventional, of job, family, property. The second reason is more interesting. The most important stimulant in the complex mix that instigates a mass movement is hope, not anger. Hope is the positive face of anger.

The first two decades of the 21st century will be remembered as the season of volcanic rage across those parts of the world subdued into stagnation in the name of isms [faith, economic philosophy, patriotism] that were often nothing more than pathetic alibis for authoritarian exploitation by local elites. There is a frisson in the air that is reminiscent of the first half of the 20th century, when there was turbulence against colonial power. This time the post-colonial world is challenging those who have usurped authority and denied their people the essence of ferment: freedom. Freedom is not merely independence from foreign rule. It is, equally, freedom from local dictatorship.

Anger, by its nature, is a spur to violence. Remarkably, today’s young, from Africa to Asia, have understood what Gandhi foresaw more than a century ago, when the thought was too novel to be considered credible: that non-violence is far more dangerous to the establishment than violence. Violence is a tantrum, a surge of passion that serves little except an individual appetite during its momentary flare, and denies a lot beyond. Violence is counter-productive. It frightens the bystander and inhibits the breadth of popular embrace. Violence feeds the trap set by government, which seeks to survive discontent by turning the victim into the culprit.

Non-violence challenges a government, but not the state, which is why institutions committed to the state like a national army, are loath to confront it. Gandhi was a steely visionary: he tested the power of non-violence not against a national army but against colonial military officers and bureaucrats who treated Indians as inferior at best, and contemptible at worst. History is witness not only to the superior idea, but also to the astonishing fact that once the terms of change were negotiated between Indians and the British, they became friends. Non-violence heals the wounds of conquest and repression, even as it dismantles an empire.

On Saturday 28 April, spring came to Malaysia, as the young emerged from once-static corners of Kuala Lumpur to take the road ahead. Seasons do not change abruptly. Often, they stutter; sometimes, they deceive. Just as there can be a false dawn, there can be a false spring. But there does come a day when fresh grass pushes up from hidden roots, and when all nature, including human nature, can no longer be imprisoned by soulless rationalisation. A spring can even take its cultivators by surprise.

Anwar Ibrahim’s long winter has included many years lost in the solitary confinement of jail, a campaign of mass-media promoted slander that defies the minimal standards of ethics, and the terrifying exile of seeming hopelessness. As a young Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, he was once the nominated heir of the patriarch, Mahathir. He was punished for breaking rank in the cause of his conscience. Conscience is generally dismissed as naiveté, or even arrogance that disrupts the collective effort of governance. Anwar Ibrahim, and his extraordinary, courageous wife Azzizah, paid a terrifying price for dissidence. The extended power of the state tested them with a fire that would have incinerated those of less commitment. If they had any hope, it was faith in the people, and in the promise of unabridged democracy.

It is exhilarating to see fear evaporate; one minute, it is a hovering fog, and an hour later it has dissipated into receding memory. It was a privilege to witness a seminal moment of change, and to do so alongside a principal author of this metamorphosis. It is easy to theorise that change can be postponed but not prevented, but it requires deep levels of conviction to believe this. As, from morning, the citizen began to congregate; as growing groups gathered the momentum of solidarity; as ethnic differences which had been the reference module of the old politics began to visibly melt; as the space on either side filled from street to roof with Malay Muslims, Chinese Christians, Indian Hindus and Muslims, cheering, urging us on; and even when a ham-handed government tried to incite disarray through teargas and swooping helicopters, you knew that this was a day on which another chapter of history had commenced. The young knew that salvation lay in non-violence. They controlled their anger.

And Anwar Ibrahim became Anwar, no mere leader up above but a brother in the emerging joint family of a democratic Malaysia.

Malaysiakini

By Kua Kia Soong

Having had the privilege of looking at some of the Paris Papers on the Scorpene submarine scandal recently, it behoves me to give anxious landlubbers a ‘hitchhiker’s guide’ to this convoluted mesh of payments that have gone on to grease this most expensive (more than RM7 billion) arms purchase in Malaysia’s history.

Since Suaram lodged its complaint with the French courts for a judicial review of the Scorpene contract in November 2009, the French prosecutors have certainly been busy with their investigations.

They have interviewed officials in the French state-owned defence company, DCN, and related companies such as Thales as well as officials in the French Defence Ministry.

They have looked into bank vaults and scrutinised contracts, memoranda of understanding, memoranda of intent, invoices, bank accounts of various people including Abdul Razak Baginda (left in photo), the former close confidant of Prime Minister Najib Razak at the centre of the controversy.

There are also some rather telling internal confidential reports of DCN and the French Defence Ministry.

So far, the Malaysian Defence Ministry has told Parliament that:

• The cost of two Scorpene submarines together with logistic support and training was close to 1 billion euros (RM4 billion).

• Payment to Perimekar, an obscure company owned by Razak Baginda, for “coordination services” was 114 million euros (RM450 million).

Malaysian taxpayers will still need to pay even more for maintenance services, support and test equipment, missiles and torpedoes, infrastructure for the submarine base, training of crew, etc. The total bill for these two submarines will be in excess of RM7 billion.

But are these two the only transactions in a sordid affair that has claimed the life of a fair Mongolian lass named Altantuya Shaariibuu?

Perimeker’s price ‘inflated’

Negotiations on the submarine contract started in 1999. At the time, French defence giant DCN had this view of Perimekar:

“The amount to be paid to Perimekar is overvalued. It is not worth it… They are never more than a travel agency… The price is inflated and their support function is very vague… Yes, that company created unfounded wealth for its shareholders.”

But this system was created by the Malaysian government so DCN had no choice.

Before 2002, when new laws in France and the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Convention came into force to make bribing of foreign officials a crime, money used to bribe foreign officials was even tax deductible. Such is the nature of arms deals all over the world.

DCN former finance director Gerarde Philippe Maneyas had made a claim for 32 million euros (RM127 million) allegedly used to bribe Malaysian officials for purchase of the Scorpenes.

The budget minister had questioned such a large bribe although he did eventually authorise the tax break.

With the new French law and OECD Convention against corruption in place after 2002, the French arms merchants had to find a way to pay commissions to their foreign clients. The method used was to create ‘service providers’ that could “increase invoices” to take the place of ‘commissions’.

Thus, when DCN terminated its contracts, Thales took over as a private company, not involving the state. Thales International was appointed to coordinate the political connections.

A commercial engineering contract was then signed between DCN and Thales, referred to as “C5″.

It covered 30 million euros (RM120 million) in commercial costs abroad. The companies used in the Malaysian case were Gifen in Malta, Eurolux in Luxemburg and Technomar in Belgium. The travel expenses of Razak Baginda and Altantuya were covered by these.

Another “consulting agreement” was signed in 2000 between Thint Asia and Terasasi for 2.5 million euros (RM10 million).

What role did Terasasi play?

The commissions and dividends for the Scorpene deal were funneled through two companies, Terasasi and Perimekar, both owned by Abdul Razak Baginda. His wife, Mazlinda is a director in Perimekar, while his father is a director in Terasasi.

Malaysians have heard about Perimekar and its “coordinating service” in the submarines deal. But so far there has been no mention of Terasasi.

Could the defence minister please tell the Malaysian public and Parliament the exact role of Terasasi in this Scorpene deal?

From the Paris Papers, we know that at least 32 million euros (RM127 million) were paid by Thales International (Thint) Asia to Terasasi.

There is an invoice by Terasasi dated Oct 1, 2000 for 100,000 euros (RM400,000). There is also an invoice from Terasasi to Thint Asia, dated Aug 28, 2004 for 359,450 euros (RM1.43 million) with a handwritten note saying: “Razak wants it in a hurry.”

A confidential report in the Paris Papers notes:

“It appears that the management of Thint Asia is aware that the amount paid to Terasasi ultimately benefited Najib or his adviser, Baginda.”

Thus, as Suaram’s French lawyer Joseph Breham (far right in photo) has put it:

“Investigations so far have provided sufficient evidence to point our finger at Malaysian officials in this (court) hearing.”

Malaysiakini

The Election Commission had allegedly told an international mission that the Parliament had rejected the proposal to introduce postal voting for Sabah and Sarawak voters working in peninsular Malaysia.

However, the report by parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform released last month revealed that it was the EC that gave the thumbs down.

According to the 12-page interim report from the seven-member international fact-finding group on Malaysia’s electoral system, the negative response came from EC deputy chief Wan Ahmad Wan Omar (left).

The report states that the group has found out that these people working in the peninsula face difficulties in returning home to vote, recommending that legislation be introduced for them to be absentee voters.

However ,Wan Ahmad told the group: “That’s the reality in Malaysia. They should change their registration (addresses). We proposed that Parliament legislate to introduce postal voting for the people in Sabah and Sarawak. Our proposal was not accepted”.

In fact, the PSC report had stated clearly that one of electoral reforms proposal is to allow outstation voters to cast their ballots without having to return to their constituencies.

Evidence of EC digging in

The report added that the EC refused to implement it in the next general election, only agreeing to study the proposal futher in relation to Article 119 of the Federal Constitution, which stipulates that an eligible voter must be a resident in his or her voting constituency.

It is among the six preliminary proposals rejected by the EC.

The international group also noted that the Federal Constitution empowers the EC to compel state-owned media to give parity of coverage for political parties during the election campaign period, but the EC chose to adopt a narrower interpretation of the clause.

The group pointed out that Article 115(2) of the Constitution which states that “All public authorities shall on the request of the (Election) Commission give the Commission such assistance in the discharge of its duties as may be practicable” can be used by the electoral body to ensure fair reporting.

But the group’s interim report records Wan Ahmad as replying that the Article empowers the EC to obtain “logistical assistance only”.

To clear doubts on this matter, the group recommended clear legislation to compel state-owned media to provide fair coverage.

In the absence of a legal provision, the group proposed that the EC exercise its moral and persuasive authority by releasing a report each day of the campaign on its views whether public and private ational TV stations have provided balanced coverage over that 24- hour period.

It reiterated that the Constitution provides the EC with wide latitude in the conduct of the electoral process.

The group comprises Australian senator Nicholas Xenophon, Pakistani senator Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Filipino University of East College of Law dean Amado Valdez, Germany’s Freidrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom coordinator Juliane Schmucker, University of New South Wales associate professor of politics Clinton Fernandes, Indian journalist Mobashar Jawed Akhbar and the Indonesian International Scholars Association chairperson Mohamad Nasir Tamara Tamimi.

They visited Malaysia from Apr 25 to 29 at the invitation of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s office to assess the Malaysian electoral system.

During a press conference to release the findings last Sunday, Bizenjo described the EC as “backward”, a cause for the country’s weak democracy.

Besides Wan Ahmad, they had met with Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz, Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah, Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim and Anwar.

The group had also heard disturbing testimony from a former senior military officer, who requested anonymity, on the pervasive fear among military personnel regarding the secrecy of their votes during the 2008 election.

The report quoted the ex-officer as saying: “There was a definite fear factor among the soldiers that if they did not vote for the government they could be victimised because they knew that their vote could be traced”.

“Troops would discuss this in front of me. I and other officers would say ‘You can vote any way you want’. Troops would laugh and say ‘Who will give us protection if we’re traced?

“It was common and widespread knowledge among military personnel that they knew they could face retribution if they voted the wrong way.”

Hence the group recommended that the postal vote system for military personnel be reformed and protocols changed to ensure fair practice.

Harakah

Tinjauan Asia Sentinel terhadap syarikat bernama Terasasi di Hong Kong, yang pengarahnya ialah Abdul Razak Baginda dan ayahnya Abdul Mulim Baginda telah mendapati bahawa syarikat itu adalah syarikat misteri yang tidak diketahui punca perniagaannya.

Terasasi, yang disenaraikan antara 142 syarikat di satu bangunan pada 3 Lockhart Road di Wan Chai Hong Kong cuma disenaraikan sebagai sebuah syarikat tempatan.

Terdahulu Asia Sentinel mendedahkan bahawa syarikat kontroversi tersebut telah digunakan untuk menerima duit komisyen sebanyak Euro 36 juta (RM144 juta) daripada pembelian kapal selam Scorpene daripada sebuah syarikat pertahanan Thales International yang berpusat di Perancis, yang lebih dikenali sebagai Thint Asia.

Wang tersebut, dakwa Asia Sentinel telah disalurkan ke akaun milik perdana menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Laman web tersebut berkata penyaluran dan pengendalian wang haram di Hong Kong adalah satu jenayah serius, dan mempercayai bahawa pihak berkuasa di Hong Kong sedang menyiasat dakwaan yang ditimbulkan terhadap Terasasi.

Laporan yang ditulis oleh John Berthelsen, Editor Eksekutif akhbar The Standard di Hong Kong turut mendapat perhatian media Hong Kong, Ming Pao.

Menurut Merdeka Review, Ming Pao telah melaporkan pada 7 April 2012, bahawa sebuah syarikat Hong Kong diheret dalam kes ini, di mana sebuah syarikat Perancis disyaki menyogok Najib Razak, Perdana Menteri Malaysia sekarang, yang menyandang jawatan Menteri Pertahanan ketika kes ini berlaku.

Hasil daripada usaha Suaram, skandal kes pembelian kapal selam Scorpene kini sedang didengar di mahkamah Perancis.

Temuramah Najib

Majistret Perancis Roger Le Loire dan Serge Tournaire yang dilantik ke Tribunal Paris Grande de Instance telah memberitahu hasrat mereka untuk menemuramah Najib dan orang kanannya satu ketika dulu Razak Baginda.

“Bagaimanapun peluang untuk pihak berkuasa Perancis untuk menerumah perdana menteri daripada sebuah negara berdaulat atas kes rasuah adalah sangat tipis, walaupun persoalan ini akan merumitkan pelan Najib untuk melawat Eropah pada masa depan,” tulis John, sambil menambah beliau tidak pasti samada pihak berkuasa Perancis sudah meminta bantuan daripada Hong Kong untuk membantu siasatan mereka.

Selain orang kanan Najib, Razak Baginda juga dinamakan sebagai kekasih kepada Altantuya Shariibu yang dibunuh kejam di Shah Alam pada 2006 setelah dikatakan datang menuntut komisyen daripada penjualan kapal selam yang dijanjikan kepadanya.

Di satu sidang Dewan Rakyat, telah didedahkan bahawa syarikat Perimekar Sdn Bhd telah menerima sebanyak Euro 114 juta (RM457 juta) sebagai komisyen pembelian kapal selam daripada satu anak syarikat Thales dan DCN, Armaris.

Perimeker pada masa itu adalah satu syarikat yang dimiliki KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd yang dimiliki oleh Razak Baginda dan isterinya Mazalinda.
Perimekar kini dimiliki 20 peratus setiap satu oleh LTAT and Boustead Holdings.

Menurut laporan Agence France Press (AFP), siasatan akan menjurus kepada tiga kontrak untuk kapal selam bernilai € 1.2 bilion, yang telah ditandatangani pada 5 Jun, 2002.

Berdasarkan dokumen, kontrak tersebut mempunyai dua bahagian. Menurut dokumen yang dikaji, kontrak yang dimeterai mempunyai dua komponen:

Pertama ialah penjualan dua kapal selam yang dibina oleh DCNS pembinaan kapal tentera laut Perancis dan Izar firma pembinaan kapal Sepanyol, € 920 juta;

Dan kedua ialah mengenai penghantaran “sokongan logistik” dari sebuah syarikat Malaysia, Perimekar Bhd , bernilai € 114 juta, untuk melatih kumpulan pertama anggota TLDM seramai 200 orang.

Menurut AFP, perjanjian tersebut melibatkan komisyen RM457 juta yang dibayar ke Perimekar, kontrak C5 untuk bisnes kejuruteraan yang dimeterai pada Ogos 2000 antara DCNI, sebuah anak syarikat DCN dan Thales International Asia bernilai Euro 30 juta (RM132 juta).

Yang ketiga, ialah penjanjian rundingan yang ditandatangani pada Oktober 2000 antara Thint Asia dan Terasasi.

Menurut John, penyiasat Perancis sedang juga menyiasat satu invois yang dikeluarkan oleh Terasasi pada Ogos 2004 bernilai Euro 359,450 (RM1.44 juta) yang dihantar ke Thint Asia.

“Bagi penyiasat, perkara ini seolah-olah… menunjukkan bayaran yang dibuat ke Terasasi pada akhirnya tiba di tangan Najib, menteri pertahanan ketika itu atau Razak Baginda,” tambahnya.

Para penyiasat Perancis turut berkata Terasasi menerima bayaran daripada Thint Asia, termasuk satu bayaran berjumlah Euro 360000 (RM1.44 juta) yang disertakan dengan nota, “Razak hendakkan bayaran ini dibuat segera.”

“Tiada indikasi Razak mana yang dirujuk, Najib Razak atau Razak Baginda,” tulis beliau.

Dokumen di mahkahmah Perancis telah mendedahkan bahawa jumlah wang yang disalurkan daripada Thint Asia ke Terasasi ialah sebanyak Euro 3 juta (RM12 juta) ketika Terasasi masih di Malaysia dan Euro 33 juta (RM132 juta) tatkala ia menjadi syarikat di Hong Kong.

Malaysia Chronicle

Local human rights movement Suara Rakyat Malaysia, which successfully initiated a French investigation into alleged kickbacks linked to Malaysia’s purchase of the Scorpene submarines and the brutal murder of Mongolian citizen Altantuya Shaariibuu, has urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to launch a probe following an explosive revelation involving the prime minister.

Earlier, Suaram revealed that French public prosecutors had evidence in the form of a fax page dated June 1, 2001, in which Najib Razak, the then Defence minister, sought a payment of US$1 billion for Perimekar, a company owned by Abdul Razak Baginda.

Razak had been acquitted of a charge of murdering Altantuya, with whom he said he had an affair.

It was claimed that Altantuya’s murder had to do with unpaid kickbacks owed to her from the Scorpene deal. This, according to a private detective hired by Razak, was said to be the reason why Altantuya had been hounding Razak at his office in the days leading to her brutal murder, before she was bungled up into a car by policemen closely linked to the prime minister’s security apparatus.

In the fax, sent from Francois Dupont, the Malaysian representative for French-based security provider Thales Asia International, to D Arnaud, Najib was mentioned as requesting the money as a condition for a meeting in July 2001.

The document is one of 153 documents seized in May 2010 by French police from the office of Henri Gide, an officer for Thales.

The document is said to contain a chronology of visits and action items for Dupont during his visit to Malaysia, which included “meetings with the Ministry of Defence and the management members of Perimekar”.

Suaram said the MACC must launch an immediate investigation into the French prosecutors’ revelation and urged the government to cooperate with the French inquiry.

Suaram also called on the Defence ministry to come clean in Parliament on the alleged commissions paid as well as companies involved in the submarine purchase scandal.