Royal commission motion dismissed

The Star (8/7/08): The Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday dismissed an emergency motion filed to request for a royal commission to be set up to probe allegations made against politicians, the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General.

The emergency motion filed by Salahuddin Ayub (PAS - Kubang Kerian) was dismissed in chambers but Salahuddin raised it in the Dewan Rakyat.

In the motion, Salahuddin asked for a Royal Commission to be set up to investigate allegations made against Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Tan Sri Musa Hassan and Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail.

Deputy Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, who was presiding then, said the motion was rejected in chambers as the case of Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin filing his statutory declaration (which implicates Rosmah in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case) was being investigated by the police at the moment.

Dr Wan Junaidi added that the police were also investigating the report lodged by Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan who alleged he was sodomised by PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

On the third case, Dr Wan Junaidi said the Anti-Corruption Agency is investigating the report lodged by Anwar against the IGP and Abdul Gani.

"We do not want to turn this into a media trial," said Dr Wan Junaidi.

Parliament: Witness protection Bill almost ready

The Star (2/7/08): The Government has completed the first draft of the Witness Protection Bill, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said.

He added the Bill was supposed to be tabled during this Parliament session.

"However, there are many issues that needed to be settled first before the Bill is presented to the Cabinet for official approval and sent to the House.

"The Government stands by its commitment to ensure that this Bill will be tabled during this session," he told Mohd Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak).

Nazri said the Prime Minister had announced recently four measures to deter corruption and instil the people's confidence in the country's institutions and anti-corruption efforts.

"The third measure is that the Bill, which is being drafted now, will include comprehensive laws which will provide protection to both whistle-blowers and witnesses," he added.

Nazri told Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (BN-Batu Pahat) that the Anti-Corruption Act could use the contents of poison-pen letters as a basis for investigations on wrong-doings.

"But the letters cannot be used in the courts as evidence," he added.

Youth associations must be re-registered

Youth associations already registered under the Societies Act 1966 must be re-registered under the newly-gazetted Youth Associations and Youth Development Act 2007.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob said all youth associations, whether they were already established or newly-formed, have until December to register.

He also said the most significant requirement stated in the new Act was that the age of leaders of youth organisations should not exceed 40 years.

"As of July this year, the ministry had received 417 applications, of which 212 were approved while 29 were rejected because they were based in Sabah and Sarawak, which don't come under the purview of the Act.

"The Ministry expects to receive 1,500 applications by the end of the year," he told Datuk Ismail Muttalib (BN-Maran).

Ismail said the number of racial-based umbrella youth associations comprised six Malay associations followed by Chinese and Indian associations with four each.

Asked why there were quite a number of associations which had not registered themselves with the ministry, Ismail said many of the main stakeholders of the associations had yet to register because they were above 40 years old.

Ismail Sabri said a 12-month window has been given to the youth associations (from the date the new Act came into force in December last year) to register to give the older leaders time to hand over the leadership to younger ones during their annual general meetings.

Nga chided for asking too many questions

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia chided Nga Kor Ming (DAP-Taiping) for asking too many supplementary questions during Question Time.

In his original question, Nga had asked Deputy Education Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong whether there were 131 Chinese schools which were classified as unsafe.

Dr Wee gave a comprehensive reply on the ministry's efforts to rehabilitate Chinese and other national-type schools, while also denying the allegation that there were 131 Chinese schools classified as unsafe.

However, in his supplementary question, Nga took a few minutes to ask Dr Wee four questions, which raised the ire of backbenchers and brought the attention of Pandikar Amin.

"I've told all of you (MPs) many times not to make speeches and have debates during Question Time, and it's clear you are not listening to my advice," he added.

Pandikar Amin told Dr Wee to limit his reply to Nga's query on whether the widow of a teacher Chan Boon Heng, who fell to his death when the floor of a school in Kedah collapsed in 2005, had received compensation.

To this, Dr Wee said he would have to check the matter and submit a written reply to Nga to avoid any misunderstanding.

Earlier, Dr Wee said national-type schools which needed repairs must be confirmed first through an inspection process conducted by the Public Works Department before funds are allocated to carry out the repair works.

"We have checked the ministry's records and we found that there aren’t 131 Chinese schools that had been classified as dangerous.

"However, ministry officials will visit schools which need repairs to ensure that money is channelled to finance repair and rehabilitation work," he said.

Dr Wee also told Mohd Nor Othman (BN-Hulu Terengganu) that students of Chinese and Tamil schools which had low enrolment would be transferred to bigger schools.

Review salaries of Prison Dept officers

The Prisons Department has asked the Government to review the salaries and emoluments paid to department officers, Deputy Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said.

He added that civil servants had been given a pay rise on July 1 last year, in which Prison Department officers received an average raise between RM274.49 and RM829.73 each.

Chor said there is a slight difference between the pay scale of Prisons Department and police officers.

For example, the new basic pay scale of a prisons officer in the KX17 grade is RM827.94 compared to a police officer who receives RM1,100.

"The Ministry has asked the Public Service Department to make a review of the prisons officers salary and introduce incentives and allowances such as RM200 for control and prevention unit officers because their duties involved higher risks," he told Nasharuddin Mat Isa (PAS-Bachok).

Chor added the ministry was seeking increased incentive allowances for officers taking care of prisoners with serious diseases and new housing for at least 80% of all officers.

He told Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau) that there are now 37,446 prisoners in the country's prisons, which is 28% more than capacity.

Chor said the parole system, which was introduced recently, would help to settle the problem of overcrowding in the prisons.

Bank Islam, BSN given RM50m allocation for housing loans

Bank Islam Malaysia and Bank Simpanan Nasional have been given an allocation of RM50mil to provide loans to house buyers from the low-income group to buy low-cost houses, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Ong Ka Chuan said.

He added these buyers, who didn't have adequate qualifications to ask for ordinary housing loans, could submit their applications to the two banks to buy their houses.

Ong told Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS-Kota Raja) the Government was aware of the difficulties faced by the lower income group in buying low-cost houses.

Their problems could be solved by applying for the RM50mil loan facilities offered by the two banks, he added.

Ong also said that as of March 31, a total of 30,072 squatters have been moved to people's housing projects (projek perumahan rakyat) implemented by the ministry.

"The squatters are required to pay only RM124 in monthly rental.

"There is no risk of their houses being seized or auctioned due to non-payment of rental because they are only renting from the Government," he added.

Ong told Datuk Halimah Mohd Sadique (BN-Tenggara) that among the problems faced by the ministry in helping to overcome the squatter problem was the lack of census data on the number of squatters.

"We also need to study the right locations to build low-cost housing for them.

"Many of the squatters also want to stay near their workplaces," he added.

Some 'isms' to brighten up the day

Malay Mail (25/6/08): Proceedings in the House yesterday were mostly overshadowed by what was happening outside at the lobby or, rather, what was not happening (see accompanying analysis), but Members were unfazed at Question Time since the cameras were rolling anyway.

Khairy Jamaluddin (BNRembau), fresh from his scrape the day before, rose on a question of corruption to rail against the Selangor government.

“Lord Acton said power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” he began. “My question is: What is the result of the Anti-Corruption Agency’s (ACA) investigation into the corruption scandal involving the Selangor Menteri Besar? “Is this good governance? And what makes matters worse is the fact that the officer being investigated was suspended for two months yesterday, and has since resigned because he has no faith in the Menteri Besar.” Amidst thumping on the government benches, the words “ECM Libra” and “Avenue Capital ” issued from somewhere in the vicinity of Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Ind-Pasir Mas) and rang throughout the House.

(In 2005, Khairy was involved in a controversial merger of financial houses ECM Libra Capital Bhd and Avenue Capital Resources Bhd a government- linked company - but was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Public Accounts Committee on Aug 10 last year. On Aug 12, Khairy disposed of his interest in ECM Libra, but his name is still frequently mentioned in connection with that issue.) Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (PKR-Bandar Tun Razak) was present in the House yesterday but responded to Khairy’s attack with a shrug, probably for the better since he has proven himself barely capable of stuttering his speeches in the House.

Khairy then had to give way to Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz (BN-Padang Rengas) who provided a perfunctory answer on behalf of the Prime Minister that proved to be of no account.

Things livened up considerably, however, when Khalid Abd Samad (Pas-Shah Alam) rose on a point of order after Question Time ended.

Referring to his speech the previous day, in which Khalid said Petronas was being subsidised by the people, the first term parliamentarian reported that he had since been censured by Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek (BNKemaman).

“The minister says that I made a traitorous statement.

In my speech yesterday (debating his brother’s motion on the price increases) it appears that my proposals were interpreted as an attempt to betray our national interests and to hand over our natural resources to foreign oil companies.

“This is a ‘tipuisme’ and ‘keliruisme’ (‘cheatism’ and ‘confusionism’).

‘Isms’ championed by the Barisan Nasional,” he declared, ridiculing the pseudo-intellectual habit of adding “isms” to every other word.

Barisan members, to their credit, began shouting wildly and matters went swiftly out of control despite Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Ja’afar’s impassioned speech, just moments before, for better Parliamentary standards.

Once order resumed, the House settled to debate various sleep-inducing Bills (the most interesting one, dealing with revisions to judicial pensions, was postponed).

At lunch, however, MPs became disconcerted by the lack of media attention given to them outside the chamber. A delegation of Kuala Lumpur MPs trotted up to the Media Centre, only to discover that the Press boycott included them as well.

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen (BN-Raub) also sent her staff to the Press room to determine why no one was interested in her, and the Information Ministry was forced to postpone the launch of its website “to a date yet to be determined”. (U En-Ng )

ACA quizzes Kota Belud MP

The Sun (22/5/08): The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) has started an investigation into a disclosure in Parliament by Kota Belud MP Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan that he was offered enough money to last "two or three future generations" to defect to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

Its Director of Investigation Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdul told theSun when contacted today that an ACA officer had lodged a report on the disclosure which was reported in the newspaper, adding that Abdul Rahman is also being investigated on why he failed to report the bribery attempt.

Shukri agreed with a statement by Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) president Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam that it was an offence not to report bribery attempts and that Abdul Rahman had also a moral responsibility to do so, as a people's elected representative.

Shukri said once the investigation is completed, the ACA will submit investigation papers to the Attorney-General (A-G) and it is up to the A-G to make decision on whether there was a case for prosecution.

theSun had reported today that Abdul Rahman had yet to lodge a report with the ACA. He told the newspaper he would do so when PKR names 30 MPs it claims are jumping ship so that the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) can form the next government.

The MP had said in Parliament last week that he was promised a cabinet post as well as money to cross over to PKR, describing the sum as sufficient to "last two or three future generations".

The issue created waves in Parliament today, when Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang accused Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs of not being committed to fighting corruption, citing Abdul Rahman's case.

In reply, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Nazri Abdul Aziz refuted theSun report, saying the ACA has contacted Abdul Rahman on the matter.

“I was contacted by the ACA to ask what kind of action to be taken. I told him to see Kota Belud to get his information,” he told Lim.

Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) then interjected, asking why the ACA was contacting him first and ask for his instruction before taking action, saying it was as if the agency does not know its own jurisdiction.

Nazri then clarified that the ACA did not seek his permission but was only informing him about the case as he is the minister in charge of Parliament.

Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit Gelugor) then asked whether Abdul Rahman could confirm in Parliament that he made such statement (that he was offered the money), and if it was true, he could be arrested immediately under citizen's arrest.

Abdul Rahman was seen standing for some time, waiting for deputy speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi’s nod for him to speak and for Nazri to give way.

However, Nazri ignored Abdul Rahman, saying it was true that Abdul Rahman made that statement in the Dewan.

"Let me give the answer. No need (for Abdul Rahman to speak). He can only stand to seek explanation from me. I am still the Minister in the PM’s Department. If you (Karpal) Singh want to ask him, do it outside. He (Abdul Rahman) cannot stand up. He’s a new MP. He does not know. It’s okay. He cannot stand up," he said repeatedly to shouts by Karpal Singh asking him to give way to Abdul Rahman to explain himself.

Minister says he does not order ACA to investigate

Bernama (22/5/08): Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz said he had not been ordering the Anti-Corruption (ACA) Agency to investigate any case or to take statements.

He said the ACA, however, did contact him regarding a statement made by a Barisan Nasional Member of Parliament that he was offered money by the opposition to cross over.

"Since the ACA had contacted me, I asked them to get in touch with the Kota Belud MP and make a report.

They did not ask for permission (to investigate). They just informed (about the MP's statement) to facilitate their work," he said in the Dewan Rakyat today when winding up the debate on the King's address.

"If I was not informed about it, how would I be able to reply to Lim Kit Siang's (DAP-Ipoh Timur) questions on the issue," he said in reply to Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) who had asked whether the ACA had to seek permission each time it wanted to act.

On May 15, Kota Belud MP Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahalan revealed that he was offered a large sum of money "that could last for three generations" if he defected to the opposition.

Nazri was also bombarded with questions, especially from opposition lawmakers, as to why the use of delible ink for voters was cancelled only three days before the March 8 general election, why there were conflicting statements between the prime minister and the Election Commission (EC) chairman on the matter, from where the ink was bought and what happened to it now.

He explained that the cancellation was because of the legal implications if some voters refused to be tainted with the ink (on their finger) while they had the right to vote under the Federal Constitution.

He said the use of indelible ink was to prevent multiple voting by any voter but if some voters refused the ink use, then it would defeat its purpose.

Opposition leader Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR-Permatang Pauh), Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah), Khalid Samad (PAS-Shah Alam), Dr Zulkifli Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Selangor) and Mahfuz all stood up to ask who had lied and who was responsible in the matter.

Nazri said when the Attorney-General informed the cabinet that the use of the indelible ink would have legal implications, it rejected the use and informed the EC about it.

"The cabinet had conveyed its rejection but it did not mean that it ordered the EC not to use the ink. Rejection and ordering are two different things," he added.

Syed Hamid: No evidence to link Sabah CM to criminal misconduct

Bernama (14/5/08): Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said Wednesday there is no evidence to link Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman to four allegations of criminal misconduct.

The investigation papers on the matter had been submitted to the Sabah deputy public prosecutor who decided that there was no evidence to link Musa to the allegations, he said when winding up debate for his ministry on the motion of thanks for the royal address in the Dewan Rakyat.

Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian) had asked for the status of the investigation into 80 cases of police reports on the misconduct of the Sabah chief minister.

Syed Hamid said the remaining 76 cases, relating to corruption, had been handed over to the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) for investigation. He did not elaborate.

On July 2 last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had said in a written reply to Salahuddin that the investigation on the allegation of corruption against Musa was going on.

The prime minister referred to Section 21(4) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1997 to state that any complaint could not be made public until the person accused was brought to court.

Time running out for Abdullah

Aliran (13/5/08): Abdullah Badawi has declared his determination to ensure efficiency, commitment, service to the people and an end to corruption and to pay special attention to the people’s problems. But does he have enough people in Umno to help him? Can he push through meaningful reforms before he is shown the door, wonders K George.

We have already gone through several analyses and comments. I too wish to add to them.

Bersih consisting of DAP, Pas, PKR, PSM and several NGOs called upon the Election Commission (EC) to ensure that the 12th general election would be free and fair, emphasising that some of the past elections (even including by-elections) were neither fair nor free. The Commission responded with certain assurances, one of which was the use of indelible ink.

The Aliran Monthly election issue published a few days after Nomination Day carried a cover story that strongly urged the people to vote for a change. Its editor, P Ramakrishnan, did not mince his words in emphasising the importance of drastically reducing the Barisan Nasional’s long-standing two-thirds majority.

For my part, when Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi started setting up corridors in every nook and cranny of Malaysia, I wrote a couple of articles highlighting his grandiose promises to the people, his shortcomings as Prime Minister, and the drastic increase in corruption and crime in the country.

Ethnic harmony

I am sure that most of the people in Malaysia are happy with the way they voted. The Barisan Nasional has been finally denied the two-thirds parliamentary majority. Besides that, there are now unbelievably five states under the control of the opposition. In spite of the changed political scenario, by and large there is a feeling of unity and harmony among Malaysians. The strident voices of the few fanatics failed to unsettle the peace and harmony of the nation.

Coming back to the election result, I believe there will be harmony amongst the ethnic groups, less competition, improvement in democracy and human rights and very clear setbacks for cronyism and nepotism.

What about open tender? Mahathir and Abdullah both promised open tender but hardly practised it. I hope and pray that the government henceforth will practise social justice, which will remove marginalisation and ensure eradication of poverty.

Parliamentary democracy

Malaysia has chosen parliamentary democracy for its system of governance - but are we really practising it? The system has three separate entities – the Executive, the Legislature (Parliament) and the Judiciary.

In 1988, the then Lord President Tun Salleh Abas and two other senior judges were dismissed by a kangaroo tribunal, manipulated by the Executive. Later, Lim Guan Eng, the present new chief minister of Penang , was imprisoned for 18 months, having been found guilty under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) and the Sedition Act. What was his crime?

As a Member of Parliament, he was approached by a Malay grandmother for help. She claimed that her 15-year-old granddaughter was raped by a Chief Minister, who was not even questioned by the authorities. When I came to know that the girl had given birth to a child, I suggested in one of my articles that a DNA profile be performed to determine paternity. But who cares!

How many of you are aware that more than 950 journalists had appealed to Dr. Mahathir to repeal the PPPA but in vain. The PPPA empowers the Minister concerned to cancel, withdraw or suspend the licence permit at any time at his sole discretion. His decision cannot be challenged in a court of law. If you go through our statutes, quite a number of the laws have such ouster provisions.

Please bear in mind that we the people elect our representatives to Parliament and the respective State Assemblies to run the country/state. This is basically what democracy is all about. Instead, our elected representatives are controlled by their respective party ‘whips’. Yes, the whip can make you vote against your conscience. Our first PM, Tunku Abdul Rahman, enacted the Internal Security Act (ISA), an atrocious piece of legislation, in 1960. The ISA allows the police to enter a person’s house even at an unearthly hour to arrest him, take him away and lock him up.

Our new Chief Minister of Penang was a victim of the ISA in 1987. His father, not knowing where in heavens his son had been taken to, went to the police station in Kuala Lumpur. A smiling police officer arrested the father and imprisoned him. The officer thanked the father for voluntarily surrendering!

Talking about the most undemocratic and cruel ISA, five Hindraf leaders have been detained under this notorious ISA. One of them, lawyer, S A Manoharan, stood for election and won without personally campaigning. He is now an Assembly member, which means the people’s representative. This was a clear rebuff to Abdullah and a total rejection of Abdullah’s reason for undemocratically detaining the five Hindraf leaders.

Peaceful demonstration is everyone’s right. But for organising a very successful mammoth demonstration these five leaders have been put under ISA on unproven charges. Please, Mr. PM, start your second term of premiership by releasing them, and redeeming your tarnished reputation.

Malaysia's new Cabinet

The new cabinet consists of 32 ministers including the Prime Minister and his deputy. Malaysia’s progress, prosperity, reputation and ethnic harmony all depend upon the Cabinet’s ability, commitment and honesty.

The name of a well-known woman is missing from the list of cabinet ministers. She was investigated by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), which concluded that there was a prima facie case against her for illegally giving out 28.7 million shares to five persons who are closely connected to well-known politicians. For reasons unknown to me, she was also under investigation for giving away thousands of Approved Permits (AP). The value of just one AP is anywhere between RM15, 000 and RM30, 000. There was a government announcement before the elections that anyone under ACA investigation would not be allowed to contest in the elections. Would she have come under that category, I wonder? Anyway, she appears to be upset.

Corruption and crime

In 2004, a few months after Abdullah became the PM, I mentioned in an article that our fourth premier, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was seen as the God-sent saviour of Malaysia. But now he is no more ssen in that light! Corruption and crime seem to be the order of the day. The PM himself mentioned over a year ago that increasing corruption is hurting our economy.

It is our duty to fight against the serious menace of corruption and crime.

The scourge of money politics

During elections in Malaysia, money politics spreads its ugly wings – though hard evidence is hard to come by. Nonetheless, there were a few instances of candidates mysteriously withdrawing from contests, leaving his only opponent to claim victory uncontested.

During the recent elections, a PKR candidate did not turn up to file his nomination papers. He just disappeared; his house was locked; his family was not to be seen anywhere. Days later he was discovered holidaying in Port Dickson. It must have been a well-earned holiday! Is this not another form of money politics? If so, it must eradicated so that our election can be free and fair.

After the election, when I tried to find out whether my PKR friends who had contested the election had won, I was informed that they were all locked up in hotels purportedly for brainstorming and that they could not be reached. I was not only shocked but became worried. It was only later that I came to know that there were attempts to buy some of them.

The Suara Keadilan of the PKR published after the election carried a story on page 6 alleging that Khairy Jamaluddin had lost the election by 83 votes on the first count but the result was reversed with a bundle of postal votes on the second count. Khairy won by 5,746! I was told that the result would be challenged in the court but this is left to be seen.

Many believe, rightly or wrongly, that the BN resorts to such illegal and shameful practices through the postal ballots to tilt the balance in favour of the BN.

U-turn on indelible ink

A few months ago, the Election Commission chairman gave us something to cheer about by announcing the use of indelible ink to stop phantom voting. A few weeks before the 8 March election, it was reported that the EC had ordered nearly 50,000 bottles of the indelible ink costing about RM2.4 million from Mysore, India. But days before the election, the Chairman rudely shocked the nation by stating that the Commission overlooked the enactment of the necessary legislation to permit the use of the indelible ink! But the BN remembered to amend the Constitution to extend the Chairman’s term of tenure to ensure that he was around for the election.

I doubt anybody believed him. The talk is that the election analysts of the Barisan Nasional would have come to the conclusion that the BN was going to face an unimaginable electoral setback. Was this the reason why the BN government extended the service of the Chairman for another year? The net result was that many believe that bus-loads of phantom voters were transported to voting centres.

Abdullah's change of style

The 12th general election had opened the eyes of the people. They now know they have the power not only to change state governments but to teach the arrogant BN a lesson that will not be easily forgotten. They will no longer be pushed around and taken note of democratic countries where ordinary people have brought about effective changes through the ballot box.

Abdullah must have taken note of the peoples mood. On 19 March, a day before Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, Abdullah declared his determination to ensure efficiency, commitment, service to the people and an end to corruption and to pay special attention to the people’s problems. But does he have enough people in UMNO to help him?

There are many Malays who are educated, intelligent, honest, humble, capable and incorruptible. But hardly any of them get elected to the Umno leadership because of rampant money politics. Good people without money and connection cannot get into leadership position in UMNO. That is why UMNO is in such a bad shape. Eventually money politics will destroy UMNO. This is also Dr Mahathir’s prediction. Just imagine, Mahathir himself was not able to get elected as a delegate (a simple post) for the Kubang Pasu division to enable him to participate in the Umno general assembly last year. He and others say money politics was the reason why he did not win enough votes to be elected. Even an ex-PM who had ruled the country with absolute authority for 22 years can be a victim of money politics.

Now that the elections are over, Abdullah should concentrate his energy in running the country effectively.

Here are a few pressing issues that need the urgent attention of the BN:

* IPCMC - The PM was largely responsible for the establishment of the Royal Commission on Police. He promised to implement the Commission’s recommendations, one of which was to establish an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC). It is going to be three years or so but there is no sign of IPCMC. Please implement without any further delay.
* Attorney General - The A-G must be answerable to Parliament. Let us not have another Mokhtar Abdullah.
* Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) - The ACA must be independent and their investigation report of crimes must be made public.
* Local Council elections - Please re-introduce elections for Local Councils as recommended by the Athi Nagappan committee years ago. Councillors must be accountable to the people.
* Freedom of Information - It is time Malaysia enacted a Freedom of Information Act instead of hiding their misdeeds under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

I hope and pray that PM Abdullah will fulfil all the promises he made way back in 2004.

Give prosecution powers to MCAC, says Khairy

The Edge Daily (13/5/08): Khairy Jamaluddin (Rembau-BN) has called for the Malaysian Commission for Anti-Corruption (MCAC) to be given prosecution powers as part of the country’s efforts to combat corruption.

“The implementation of the suggestion will allow the commission to focus on the prosecution of corruption cases and lift the burden off the Attorney-General’s Chambers, which is facing a backlog of cases,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

Debating the motion of thanks on the royal address, Khairy praised the government’s effort to fight corruption by restructuring the Anti-Corruption Agency into an independent MCAC and to provide protection to whistleblowers.

“I also hope the government will continue its effort to combat corruption through the use of modern technology,” he said, adding that this would allow for money spent on anti-corruption efforts to bring the best value.

He said the government could use information technology to lower the cost of procurement and channel the savings to development projects.

Citing the example of electronic procurement, Khairy said it could ensure that goods would be sold to the government at reasonable prices, adding that this system had lowered the costs to giant corporations by up to 25%.

In his speech, Khairy also welcomed Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar’s proposal to review the annual licensing requirement for the print media, which would eliminate the bureaucratic restriction on print media’s freedom.

According to him, an open, responsible and credible mass media was a pillar of democratic system and there should be an integrated effort to increase the credibility of all forms of mass media.

He said new journalists, including journalists for weblogs and Internet news portals, should also enhance their skills by undergoing professional training like new journalists in the mainstream media. “This will expose them to the basics of journalism such as ethical journalism and laws regarding sedition and false news, to produce responsible journalists.”

Once the media industry could demonstrate a high degree of professionalism, including a greater sense of responsibility, the government could transfer its role of regulating the media to an independent body, Khairy said.

Khairy also highlighted that there were models for a commission of complaints on the media in several countries to prevent seditious news reports which could incite public anger.

“If this mechanism can be established and the regulation of the media can be done independently without affecting public peace and security, and if the industry is serious about building up their capability and skill for ethical, fair and responsible journalism, then the Printing Presses and Publications Act can be abolished,” he said.

Khairy also criticised the opposition for promising to lower oil prices by tapping Petronas’ coffers to win support during the general election.

He said the government received RM48.3 billion, representing 66.2% of Petronas’ gross profit, which went straight into the government’s budget for development purposes in 2007.

“Among others, the balance of the profit is used for exploration and production activities in foreign countries. Is it wrong for Petronas to look after our future to ensure we can at least share these foreign oil reserves when our reserves dry up?”

Khairy also called for Petronas to hold a special briefing and table its complete financial report in parliament to prove that the government and the national oil company had nothing to hide.

There was a commotion when he touched on the issue of food crisis and accused the Selangor state government of giving top priority to “Projek Khinzir Raksasa” (mammoth pig project) or PKR, which is also the acronym of the largest opposition party.

He was referring to the decision of the PKR-led Selangor state government to proceed with the centralised pig farming project in Kuala Langat.

Khairy also claimed that PAS had lost its “teeth” as it failed to take DAP to task on issues such as the social contract and the Malay monarchy.

Dismissing Pakatan Rakyat as just a public relations ploy among those with different ideologies, he said PAS did not even bring up the Islamic state once it became a “junior partner” in Pakatan Rakyat.

A shouting match with name-calling ensued as Khairy refused to ,allow other members of parliament to interject his allegations and questions posed to the opposition.

At one point, Mahfuz Omar (Pokok Sena-PAS) responded by saying that the pig farming project in Selangor was actually approved by the previous state government led by Umno.

Retaliating to Khairy’s twist on PKR’s acronym, he said it was “Projek Babi Negara” (national pig project), which is a play on Barisan Nasional’s (BN) acronym.

544 civil servants prosecuted for corruption from 2003-2007

Bernama (8/5/08): The Anti-Corruption Agency prosecuted 544 government officers and staff for various corruption offences from 2003 to 2007, the Dewan Rakyat was told Thursday.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said 217 of these officers and staff were from the Royal Malaysia Police, 59 from the Education Department, 28 from the local authorities, 19 from the Welfare Department, 14 from the Islamic Affairs departments and councils and 12 from the Public Works Department.

Also prosecuted were 13 staff from the Road Transport Department, 12 from Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces, 11 from the district land offices, 11 from the Royal Customs Department and 148 from other departments.

The corruption offences they committed included 329 cases of accepting bribes, four cases of giving and offering bribes, 103 cases of submitting documents containing false information and 40 cases of abuse of position.

One case was prosecuted under the Anti-Money Laundering Act and 67 cases under the Penal Code and other laws.

Mohamed Nazri was replying to Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS-Kota Raja) during question time on the number of civil servants charged with corruption from 2003 to 2007 and the government's strategy on handling corruption.

On efforts to enhance steps to fight corruption in the public sector, Mohamed Nazri said the ACA would change its method of enforcement and punitive action to encouraging government departments and agencies to cooperate with the ACA on various aspects of implementing programmes for prevention of corruption as well as prevention of misuse and abuse of power by stressing on internal surveillance.

"This will be done by setting up the Joint Committee on Prevention of Corruption that will involve direct communication with agencies that were considered critical and high-risk.

"By focusing on these agencies, we are confident there will be a big impact on the effectiveness of prevention of corruption in the country," he said.

The ACA, he said, would step up cooperation with the National Audit Department by taking early action on imbalances in government departments where elements of corruption as well as misuse and abuse of power could occur.