Malaysiakini

Pengarah strategi PKR Rafizi Ramli berkata, kali pertama beliau mendengar mengenai National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) bukanlah melalui laporan Ketua Audit Negara tetapi melalui majalah gaya hidup masyarakat kelas tinggi – Malaysia Tatler.

“Sangat glamour,” fikirnya apabila melihat anggota keluarga
Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil ditampilkan dalam majalah berkenaan sekitar empat atau lima tahun lalu.

Keluarga menteri itu nampaknya seronok dengan perhatian seperti itu, kata Rafizi lagi dalam wawancara dengan Malaysiakini minggu lalu.

Beliau berkata demikian apabila ditanya sekiranya projek National Feedlot Centre yang diusahakan syarikat berkenaan merupakan satu projek ‘gajah putih.’

Rafizi ditanya demikian susulan dakwaannya bahawa projek itu ditakdirkan untuk gagal sejak awal lagi.

“Jika ia merupakan satu projek gajah putih, yang mereka tahu sebagai satu sabotaj kepada mereka, saya tidak fikir mereka akan berseronok dengan glamour…,” katanya lagi.

Beliau juga mendakwa, keluarga menteri itu sejak awal lagi mengetahui bahawa projek ternakan lembu itu tidak akan berjaya.

“Tapi saya fikir mereka tahu sejak awal lagi bahawa untuk mencapai sasaran 276,000 ekor lembu setahun adalah mustahil dan sebab itulah saya fikir mereka menghabiskan banyak masa membuat perkara lain,” katanya.

Rafizi mendakwa projek NFC itu hanyalah satu “samaran”, sedangkan suami dan anak-anak menteri berkenaan menggunakan pinjaman RM250 juta itu sebagai modal untuk perniagaan yang lebih “glamour” seperti pelaburan hartanah dan juga kedai makan kelas tinggi.

“Jadi apabila anda dapat orang yang mendapatkan kontrak dan pembiayaan bukan untuk tujuan sebenar dasar tersebut, tentulah ia ditakdirkan gagal sejak awal lagi,” katanya.

Beliau juga mendakwa, keluarga menteri itu telah menggunakan kawalan mereka ke atas pinjaman mudah RM250 juta yang diberikan kerajaan itu untuk perniagaan lain.

Akauntan berkanun itu memberi alasan mudah – walaupun
seseorang itu tidak dilantik sebagai pemegang saham dalam sesuatu syarikat, individu berkenaan boleh membuktikan bahawa mereka mempunyai kawalan ke atas dana yang besar seperti pinjaman RM250 juta dari kerajaan.

“…Itu saja sudah cukup sebagai jaminan kepada bank untuk memberikan anda pinjaman untuk membeli begitu banyak hartanah,” dakwanya.

Rafizi juga sangsi dengan kenyataan yang diberikan oleh salah seorang anak Shahrizat – Wan Shahinur Izmir Salleh – ketika menafikan dakwaan bahawa beliau serta anggota keluarganya rakus membelanjakan pinjaman wang tersebut.

Wan Shahinur antara lainnya berkata dakwaan itu tidak
munasabah kerana keluarganya masih perlu membayar pinjaman tersebut.

Rafizi yang melihat isu tersebut dari sudut akauntabiliti berkata, penjelasan itu tidak sah di sisi undang-undang.

“Saya setuju jika setiap orang (pemilik National Feedlot Corporation) meletakkan jaminan peribadi ke atas pinjaman RM250 juta, letakkan semua aset atas nama mereka sebagai cagaran kepada RM250 juta itu, barulah kita bercakap dengan masuk akal sedikit,” katanya.

Tanpa akauntabiliti seperti itu, kata Rafizi, tindakan yang dapat dijalankan hanyalah dengan menutup syarikat induk yang mengawal NFC – Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd yang juga dimiliki keluarga menteri berkenaan.

Wan Shahinur juga sebelum ini telah mengemukakan hujah bahawa langkah menubuhkan syarikat pengedar untuk daging dan juga rangkaian restoran mewah Meatworks dibuat untuk menyokong pusat ternakan fidlot itu.

Penjelasan itu dicabar oleh Rafizi yang berkata, kerajaan dan
syarikat NFC sendiri tidak mempunyai hak ke atas dua anak syarikat tersebut – National Livestock dan Meat Corporation dan Real Food Company – yang telah menerima pemindahan wang daripada syarikat NFC.

National Livestock and Meat Corporation bertanggungjawab mengeluarkan produk lembu daripada daging tersebut dan Real Food Company pula mengedarkan produk berkenaan, selain menguruskan rangkaian restoran mewah Meatworks.

“Anda tanya sesiapa saja dalam syarikat runcitan, bukan saja dalam (industri) daging. Mereka tidak tubuhkan begitu banyak operasi (tapi) mungkin hanya satu bahagian atau seksyen pemasaran di dalam syarikat itu.

“Tapi yang paling penting, anda tidak boleh bercakap mengenai membina rangkaian pengedaran produk lembu seperti didakwa, apabila mereka tiada lembu.

“Anda perlu ada jumlah lembu yang perlu sebelum anda boleh mula buat (perkara ini),” katanya.

From nationmultimedia.com

By Imtiyaz Yusuf

Non-separation between religion and politics in Islam is best understood within the frame of religious unity but political diversity in the Muslim world.

The Koran, while offering religious, socio-economic and political principles, does not provide a single model for it. Colonial rulers tried to implement separation between religion and politics in the colonised Muslim world by placing religion under the jurisdiction of the rajas, kings and sultans, or by establishing ministries of religious affairs and the office of the mufti – an official interpreter of Islamic religious law. But they did not succeed in separating religion and politics in Muslim societies. Hence, today we see the diverse roles Islam plays in the politics of different Muslim countries.

The post-colonial era also saw attempts by different Muslim political leaders and parties to democratise political practice during different authoritarian regimes. The political roles and sacrifices made by Nurcholish Madjid and Gus Dur (Indonesia), Anwar Ibrahim (Malaysia) and Rachid Ghannouchi (Tunisia) in this endeavour are significant examples.

Nurcholish Madjid (d. 2005) was an Indonesian Muslim modernist whose career as a scholar and activist started with his role in HMI – the Islamic Association of University Students in Indonesia. As a young Muslim activist during the authoritarian rules of Sukarno and Suharto, he realised that not much could be gained through Islamising the political system; rather, it would prove to be an obstacle. Hence, he proposed an “Islam yes, Islamic party no” strategy. For Madjid, Islam was not merely a political campaign but also a civilisational mission that is educational and cultural, embodying religious pluralism and democracy. As a leader of the reformasi movement in 1998, Madjid personally asked Suharto to step down, thus ending his 27 years of dictatorship.

Gus Dur or Abdurrahman Wahid (d. 2009) was a democrat and pluralist who offered an alternative model of Islamist political activity. He modernised the traditional Indonesian Muslim organisation, the Nahdatul Ulama (NU), in the areas of education and political theology. He contributed towards the formation of “Civil Islam” in Indonesia. Wahid was elected as the first president of post-Suharto Indonesia. The most important legacy of Gus Dur today is his commitment to reform, modernisation and democracy.

Wahid held the conviction that Indonesia’s stability should be rooted in the principle of unity in diversity and open politics, leading to the success of democracy in a Muslim majority country. He once remarked, “I am for an Indonesian society, not just an Islamic one.” He believed that what mattered was not the question of whether there is scriptural compatibility between Islam and democracy, but whether Muslims have a political intent, ambition and capacity for democracy. He partnered Nurcholish Madjid in opposing the autocratic regime of Suharto. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called Wahid a “father of multiculturalism and pluralism”.

As president, Gus Dur lifted the ban on the public use of the Chinese language, the practice of Chinese cultural tradition, and made the celebration of the Chinese New Year a national holiday, all of which were barred by Suharto. Wahid guaranteed full citizenship to ethnic Chinese in Indonesia. He also defended the religious freedom of Indonesian Christians. As president of Indonesia, Gus Dur received the Ahmaddiyah leader Mirza Tahir Ahmad, as his guest. Wahid defended the rights of the Ahmaddiyah to exist in Indonesia on the constitutional principle of freedom of religion. For Wahid, pluralism is not only an intellectual concept but a matter of practice. Wahid held that the koranic message of insaniyah – humanity – represents Islam’s universalism and respect for human rights and equality.

Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia, twice acquitted on sodomy charges, is another steadfast Muslim democrat. He has been imprisoned several times for upholding justice and equality. As an ardent democrat, he calls for religious and ethnic pluralism in Malaysia. He is a naturally evolved Muslim pluralist inspired by Islamic teaching and its humane values.

As a student leader, Anwar founded the Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) – the Muslim Youth Movement – in 1971. As deputy prime minister, he proposed the philosophy of “Asian Renaissance” in 1996 as a means for the “development and flowering of Asian societies based on a certain vision of perfection; societies imbued with truth and the love of learning, justice and compassion; mutual respect and forbearance; and freedom with responsibility. Faith and religious practice is not confined to the individual; it permeates the life of the community.” Based on the teachings of Islam, Confucianism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity, the Asian Renaissance holds that an Asian is essentially a persona religiosus.

Anwar is well read and an eloquent orator, with a creative mind. He is sincere to his faith and loyal to his country. He stands up for human rights and dignity, gender equality, democracy, good governance, acceptance of cultural diversity and sharing of common values. He is a citizen of the world.

Today, Anwar heads the multi-party opposition in Malaysia and calls for the equality of all Malaysians. In the last election, he upset the ruling UMNO’s dominance in the Malaysian parliament, and continues to pose a formidable challenge to it.

Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of the Ennahdah Party in Tunisia, is a democrat within Islamism. Imprisoned twice for calling for political pluralism and economic justice during Ben Ali’s authoritarian Tunisia, he lived in exile for 22 years. As a major party in Tunisia today, Ennahdah has formed a national unity government instead of one dominated by itself. The aim is to move Tunisia towards democracy and development.

As an original Muslim thinker, Ghannouchi stands for the guarantee of personal freedoms and holds that gender equality, democracy and pluralism are compatible with Islam. He opposes religious extremism. He once remarked, “Freedom comes before Islam and is the step leading to Islam.” As a rationalist philosopher, Ghannouchi represent the aqalana – rationalist tradition – in Islamic thought, which upholds harmony between human reason and revelation.

Ghannouchi believes that Tunisia should be a religiously tolerant and pluralist society with gender equality. He is banned from entering Saudi Arabia and Iran because of his moderate views.

Contemporary Muslim democrats have lived under repressive regimes and have been imprisoned, but they remained undaunted by opposition to their convictions. The “Arab Spring” and other such events in the Muslim world are broad democratic and non-violent alliances made up of democrats, workers, youth, women and the subaltern who challenge authoritarian regimes. They seek good governance and not the establishment of theocratic governments.

Dr Imtiyaz Yusuf is professor of Islamics and religion at the Graduate School of Philosophy and Religion, Assumption University, Bangkok.

Malaysia Chronicle

The next General Election, the 13th, is widely expected to be called on paper between May this year and April/May next year when the five-year term of the present Parliament ends. The five-year term of Parliament is calculated from the first day of the first sitting of the first Parliament for the term/tenure.

Once Parliament is dissolved, elections would have to be held within two months.

However, if Parliament is not dissolved within its five-year term, it stands automatically dissolved at the end of that term. In that case, elections would have to be called within six months. This factor might be playing on Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak’s mind, desperate as he is to stretch out his term in office.

GE-13 can even be in second-half of 2013!

Najib seems to have come to the conclusion, albeit grudgingly, that there are no guarantees that he will be Prime Minister after GE 13. That may be the sole reason why his wife, Rosmah Majid, is forever off somewhere on shopping sprees if not hunting for a spot in exile at the expense of the people.

Whether Najib will be Opposition Leader and/or allowed to do so by his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin – rooting for a Mahathir dynasty — and Mahathir Mohamad himself is a RM 1.5 billion question.

Najib does not have a mandate of his own.

He continues to shamelessly ride on that obtained by his sacked predecessor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in 2008. Mahathir was able to get rid of Badawi because the Umno Supreme Council members, corrupt beyond redemption, are in his pocket.

Najib should have obtained his own mandate by now but he fears, as he has never feared before in his cushy life so far, the prospect of testing the electoral waters on his own.

No Prime Minister has been that fearful in the history of the country. Najib just doesn’t have the guts to ignore Mahathir and his (Mahathir’s) Umno Supreme Council and call for the 13th GE and accept like a man whatever is in store for him. Neither has he the foresight to make a deal with the opposition alliance to accept his faction at least into their government-in-the-making and save the political dynasty built by his late father.

Too risky for BN to call GE-13 now

There are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies in politics, only permanent interests. That doesn’t mean the opposition alliance will accept Mahathir as well unless he agrees to flee the country for good and leave his ill-gotten gains behind.

There’s too much at stake to go for the GE 13 now and even go for it at all, not just for Najib who is not that big a factor, but Umno, the establishment and the entire system which stands at risks of being dismantled and many of its members incarcerated for very long stretches, if not for good.

This is one reason why the Prime Minister declared not so long ago that he can always do what his father, 2nd Prime Minister Abdul Razak, did in the wake of the searing race riots between the non-Malay communities and the Malay-speaking communities in Peninsular Malaysia in 1969. However, Najib was quick to add that he “would not do so”. But why mention it if he has no plans to do so? Was that a veiled threat to vote him back into power or else?

Najib was referring to the declaration of a state of emergency, the shutting down of Parliament, suspension of democracy, the shutting out of the political parties, and the setting up of the National Operations Council under Abdul Razak as Direction of Operations.

Abdul Razak also set up the National Consultative Council, with its members drawn from various walks of life but not the political parties, in lieu of the disbanded Parliament. He chaired the NCC.

Abdul Razak went on to form the Barisan Nasional, a concept which circumscribed the democratic process and denied the majority meaningful participation by endorsing elite power-sharing. The BN which was formed included the opposition parties which had made spectacular gains during the 1969 polls.

Emergency rule and forcing DAP to join BN

It will be a sheer miracle if Najib does not do what his father did in 1969/1970 considering his sudden morbid fear of going to the polls and especially with Mahathir breathing down his neck to achieve the impossible: get back the ruling Barisan Nasional’s (BN) coveted two-thirds majority in Parliament.

There are attempts being made to force the Dap to join the BN.

At the same time, Umno does not seem to reckon with the fact that its legislators will abandon Mahathir for good – notwithstanding his Big Black Book of Everyone’s Sins — and flee in droves to the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) after the 13th GE “in order to buy political protection and avoid a stint behind bars, if not bankruptcy and/or the prospect of being reduced suddenly to abject poverty”. Continue reading ‘Inevitable Defeat The Reason Why Najib Fears GE-13 And Keeps Delaying it’

Malaysiakini
By Terence Netto

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Anwar Ibrahim are ideological allies who try to get together as often as they can.

In the last four weeks, both have sought each other’s company twice, the first when Anwar flew to Istanbul via Bombay after his acquittal on a charge of sodomy on Jan 9.

On Friday, the two leaders got together again in Istanbul, at the Dolmabache Palace which lies on the European coastline of the Bosphorus, the sea that separates Europe and Asia.

The Malaysian opposition leader and his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the president of PKR, had a private chat with Erdogan during which Anwar urged the Turkish leader to continue supporting the Arab Spring, and push for sanctions against Syria while keeping the rights of the Palestinians on the front burner.

In centuries past, Istanbul was on the fault line between contending cultures and civilisations, notably Christian and Islamic ones.

Through Anwar and Erdogan’s collaboration, the search for consonances between hitherto contending cultures and civilisations would be emphasised.

Yesterday, Anwar held forth on the theme to an audience of Turkish civil servants and politicians from Erdogan’s party at Dolmabache Palace.

His aim was to fortify them in the belief that Islam is compatible with what the thinker Francis Fukuyama had predicted after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 as the spirit of the times: liberal democracy.

It’s a tough act to bring off, there having been no resilient democratic governance in the Muslim world until the Turks put Erdogan and his Justice and Welfare Party in power and Suharto’s overthrow brought the democracy-favouring Abdulrahman Wahid and Bambang Yudhoyono to power in Indonesia.

Under Erdogan’s premiership, constitutional reforms in Turkey to expand the rights of women and the minorities, and the continuance of democratic reform in Indonesia have strengthened the hope that Muslim-dominant polities need not wind up being despotic and corrupt.

Transition to democracy irreversible

In his speech at Dolmabache Palace on the theme of ‘Democracy and Islam’, Anwar praised Erdogan’s leadership which he claimed advanced the cause of constitutional democracy in the Muslim world.

“Justice is highly valued in Islam and any Muslim-majority state that adheres to the rule of law cannot but incorporate this value in its governance,” said Anwar.

“If the legitimacy of a ruler is derived from the people, then the justness of that rule is of paramount importance,” he claimed.

Anwar said the era of one-man and one-party rule is irrevocably over in the Muslim world.

“The transition to constitutional democracy is irreversible. The countries in the Islamic crescent from the Mediterranean to the Bosphorus must embrace this transition or be swept aside by this great awakening,” he claimed.

He predicted that Southeast Asia, where he said there were still holdouts against the currents sweeping the Arab world, would soon join the deluge.

“It’s just a matter of time before the torrents of the Arab Spring would be loosed on Southeast Asia. More dynasties and autocracies of old will be swept away and in their place new found freedoms and democracies will spring forth,” said Anwar.

Also present in the PKR delegation, which called on the Turkish foreign and finance ministers for briefings, were deputy president Azmin Ali and secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution.

Malaysiakini

PKR hari ini menyelar tindakan kerajaan untuk menggunakan RM1.5 bilion daripada dana Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP) bagi membantu mereka yang gagal mendapatkan pinjaman bank bagi membiayai pembelian rumah awam kos rendah.

“Malah bank-bank juga tidak bersedia memberi pinjaman. Apakah yang dilakukan oleh panel pelaburan KWSP?

“Mengapa wang KWSP yang digunakan sebagai wang saku BN?” soal naib presiden PKR Nurul Izzah Anwar (kanan) pada sidang media hari ini.

Sekurang-kurangnya empat bank telah diminta membantu menggubal draf perjanjian pembiayaan, kata Nurul Izzah sambil menyoal mengapa dana KWSP digunakan jika bank komersial sendiri tidak menganggap skim itu sebagai berdaya maju.

“Kita tidak mahu situasi seperti krisis pajak gadai subprima di Amerika Syarikat, di mana peminjam tidak dapat membayar ansuran mereka, jadi KWSP bukan bank (dalam kesusahan),” katanya, sambil mengingatkan bahawa dana KWSP juga telah digunakan untuk membiayai projek transit aliran ringan (LRT). Continue reading ‘Dana KWSP Diguna Ibarat Wang Saku BN’

From Malaysia Chronicle

In the last few weeks, I have openly condemned the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency’s (MACC) inaction over the NFC Scandal and the blazen shameless admission of acceptance of gratification by Awang Adek. Since then, Malaysians have witnessed another “rejected” Minister, Azalina Othman Said, making a similar admission.

It seems that instead of being embarrassed, apologetic and standing down from public office, these shameless BN ministers are being emboldened to use the propaganda tools of their party and the mainstream media to make their misconducts look innocent. Like most Malaysians, I am appalled and find this most repulsive.

An echo in the PM’s Department

My call for Shahrizat Jalil and Awang Adek to resign from all posts in the party and the government is exactly to prevent what is happening now. I knew they would use all their resources to spin fabulous stories of how they have been victimized and how the whole fiasco is a misunderstanding.

You can clearly see that happening when Perkasa’s Ibrahim Ali comes to Shahrizat’s defence and tries to make the Auditor-General a political scapegoat. You then see the jantan or macho minister in the PM’s office, Nazri Aziz, explaining why there cannot be a public declaration of assets by those holding high public office.

To make it appear that the Chinese community also share this “aspiration” for secrecy, Nazri’s deputy, VK Liew, echoes his boss’s sentiments by saying that that it is inappropriate for the MACC to keep records of properties of ministers and deputy ministers.

That to me amounts to abusing the 1Malysia concept to cover up for wrong doings by government leaders. That is against the Islamic principles of “Amr Ma’aruf Nahy Mungkar” i.e. encourage righteousness and discourage evil. That it is done by the highest echelons of our government leaders is public display of arrogance of the highest order.

VK Liew, please break wind in your own home!

Let us remind ourselves that Teoh Beng Hock died over allegations of a mere RM 2,400-00. Ahmad Sarbaini died because of similar minor allegations which until today have just gone silent. Yet, when the riches of the powerful are involved, the MACC either drag its feet or behave like eunuchs emasculated of all their powers. I ask the MACC – why the discrimination?

But I cannot stomach it if so called Chinese leaders like VK Liew speaks with a forked tongue just to please his political masters. Let me say this to VK Liew – “IF YOU HAVE TO FART, PLEASE DO IT IN THE COMFORT AND PRIVACY OF YOUR HOME. IF YOU HAVE MUCH TO HIDE, THEN QUIT”

It is on record and for reasons best known to MACC, they had acted in a very high handed manner against Lawyer Rosli Dahlan in asking him to declare his assets whereas he had never even served in any public office. He had been a private practitioner all along and despite his innocence, he was humiliated, abused and charged just because he acted professionally to defend his client. Yet, we now have a senior UMNO Minister and his Chinese deputy saying that MACC cannot be entitled to keep records of Ministers’ wealth. What is it that these UMNO and BN Chinese leaders so afraid of in making and open declaration of their wealth if all their accumulated wealth are legitimate?

I wish to remind VK Liew that he is elected by the people to serve in public office and his salary comes from law-abiding taxpayers.The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president is therefore accountable to the people at all times and can be made answerable the MACC when needed. If you have nothing to hide or what the Chinese would say, “Something that cannot see the daylight”, then what is there to fear?

If there’s nothing to hide, they should not be scared

As a former MACC advisory panel member, I fully support MACC Advisory Panel Chairman, Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh, over the commission’s proposal to the government as follows:

a) to obtain a copy of the declaration of assets of Cabinet members and their spouses and other family members;

b) that a copy of the declaration of assets of all members of the federal administration be given to the commission;

c) that their spouses and other family members be required to disclose their assets through a statutory declaration and a record of it be kept by the MACC.

No better person to know the assets of Ministers than the MACC

It is most appropriate for MACC to know the assets of all who hold high public office. That is what accountability and transparency is about in the public sector. Liew is, therefore, seriously flawed in his argument that MACC’s main role is only to receive and investigate complaints on corruption in the country.

To be an effective enforcement agency, the MACC must have reliable records to enable it to gather reliable and solid evidence for a successful prosecution. If Liew, cannot understand such basic logic in the fight against corruption, it is time for him to step down or for the people to elect another more intelligent leader.

“HUMBLENESS IS GOOD VIRTUE, ARROGANCE SHALL FALL,

THE MEEK WILL RULE THE WORLD”.

Tan Sri Datuk Robert Phang is a prominent citizen, an ex-member of the MACC advisory panel.