These Gestapo Tactics By The New UMNO Triumvirate Only Spell Guilt

New Troika plus the unofficial boss (in green)

Sarawak Report | 2 August 2015

If the new UMNO leadership had nothing to hide would they be lashing out in the Gestapo fashion, witnessed by astonished Malaysians over the past few days?

And if the documents published by Sarawak Report were false or ‘doctored’, why have these desperadoes been ordering the ransacking of public offices and the arrest and interrogation of all the public investigators who have been looking into 1MDB on the grounds of “criminal leakages”?

How the headlines look these days in Malaysia

To the contrary, were Najib secure in the knowledge of his own innocence he and his remaining henchmen would be relaxed and aloof.

They would take a superior position, while of course issuing a vicious libel action through their lawyers to destroy and ruin the writer of Sarawak Report.

They have not.

Far from it, they are instead acting like desperate men determined to hide, bully and crush the truth by instilling fear of aggressive action against anyone who so much as mentions the issue that is exposing them so dangerously.

Don’t mention 1MDB!

Look how the Triumvirate have come out gnashing their teeth and brandishing their fists over the past few hours.

Familiar salute? Zahid boasts he is a "Muslim fundamentalist'

Zahid Hamidi, the new key linchpin in the Najib regime, as Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister rolled into one, has plunged into the role of bully boy and human rights abuser like a mad barking dog, ordering arrests and destroying in an instant the expensively crafted PR image of Najib in the West.

Calling himself an “Islamic fundamentalist” Zahid yesterday threatened the media that they should “expect no warning” of him “taking action” if he found them “spinning”.

By this Malaysia was left in no doubt that he was warning the press to halt any mention of the scandal surrounding 1MDB, which has embroiled his boss.

The world now realises that there is no real freedom of the press in Malaysia or genuine rule of law.

And while the world is looking on (slack jawed) perhaps we should recall some other recent revealing remarks by this bunch?

For example when Najib Razak rallied his party faithful earlier this year by telling them they should “act more like ISIL fighters” and be solidly obedient to him.

Yesterday Najib repeated that sentiment, whilst also condemning what he called interference by “white foreigners” (meaning journalists). Najib proceeded to then openly announce to his fellow Malaysians that he values loyalty to him over ability in those he appoints to government office.

Najib’s problem is exposure

All this is as revealing as it is brutal and vile.

Why has the man who has so long attempted to act the suave modern reformer suddenly started lashing out like a thug?

Yesterday, amidst all his tub thumping and foreigner bashing he told us in his own words exactly why. According to reports on one of his stirring speeches he complained:

“During Mahathir’s 22 years there were problems too but not like now. Everything is being exposed in the Sarawak Report as if foreigners are deciding how we should run the country.”

“What’s their right? Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot allow this to continue. I cannot allow the white people to determine our future.”[Free Malaysia Today]

Mr Najib Razak, it is our human right to report and you have just publicly acknowledged that you have been “exposed.” By those “problems” you mean plainly mean corruption.

The only way is down?

So what is the rest of the world to think and what are Malaysians to do with such an embarrassment for a leader?

Of course, the third member of the new ruling Triumvirate (the rest of the cabinet have been deafeningly silent the past few days) is the army minister, Najib’s cousin Hishamuddin Hussein.

Hate against the West the way forward for Malaysia?

This puts every lever of raw power in the hands of Najib, his deputy and his own cousin (overlooked by the unofficial “Big Boss”, Rosmah Mansor) for as long as he retains his UMNO party base.

UMNO has long adopted the same strategies as the old Soviet communist party and similar dictatorships, by assuming almost totalitarian control of Malaysia and its civil institutions – as everyone well knows.

But, is this latest brutal clamp down on all critics of the country’s now crippling corruption issues what UMNO and Malaysia really want?

With an already plummeting economy, not least because the cracks and BN’s false figures are now becoming ever more apparent to outsiders, Malaysia faces a very grim prospect if this Najib coup d’etat succeeds in bringing the country under his total, foreigner-hating dictatorship.

Malaysia, which was until so recently regarded as a possible ‘Asian Tiger’, rising into the category of leading, modern open economies like South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore, will surely descend into the category of an ‘Asian basket-case’ – along with Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia.

It is those former South East Asian dictatorships, which have subsequently found their liberty, that are now being talked up by the world economists, including Indonesia and the Philippines, who were once thought of as servants by Malaysians.

Down but still not out (Malaysiakini)

If the Rosmah/Najib dictatorship slips now into full throttle – a corrupted establishment with a muzzled media and obedient civil service and judiciary – might Malaysians become the ones forced to send their daughters to earn money in better off countries, while the rest of the world ceases business with such a set up?

What a shame for Malaysia if such were to come to pass, but it appears to be the price that Najib is willing to exact, so that he can continue in power and remain protected from the consequences of his actions at 1MDB.

It is not at all in the capacity of Sarawak Report, a mere blog, to determine such events, as Najib is ridiculously attempting to bluff his audiences.

But, it is certainly our right and capacity to report on them.

[Reproduced from Sarawak Report as a public service to Malaysians unable to access the site, which has been "blocked."] 

Clare Rewcastle Brown: "Pissed off rich Malaysian politicians are ruthless"

Clare Rewcastle-Brown. This name ranks high on the Najib administration's list of most despised individuals, given the slew of damaging articles on 1MDB in her website Sarawak Report.

In an interview with Esquire magazine published yesterday, the sister-in-law of former British prime minister Gordon Brown shares what she has learned about Malaysian politicians.

"If you piss off rich Malaysians in positions of political power, they are ruthless and unscrupulous in what they are prepared to do to get their own back.

"I've had PR outfits, lawyers, computer hackers and radio-jamming professionals thrown at me, but they've shot themselves in the foot.

"They've made me into a character I wouldn't have been if they hadn't reacted so angrily and expensively. They created my Wikipedia site, for god's sake," she said.

The 56-year-old mother of two, who was born in Sarawak and spent her early childhood there, denies she is driven by a nefarious agenda, though her detractors appear to be hell-bent on creating such an impression.

"They're always trying to make one out about me, but actually, I'm just a dreadful old do-gooder who's got a bit between my teeth," added the London-based journalist.

Blatant corruption in Malaysia

Quizzed on the issue of corruption, Rewcastle-Brown said the practice is "blatant" in Malaysia.

"You don't have to do that much research to see it. They got lazy and weren't bothering to cover it up.

"They're trying harder now, but you know, there was 30 years of fairly blatant corruption that I just started covering, and I guess nobody else was," she added.

Touching on 1MDB and Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Rewcastle-Brown said the former prime minister is genuinely furious over what has happened.

"The 1MDB debacle is not only a fairly blatant heist on public funds, but also not very well done - and, you know, I think Mahathir is probably annoyed on both fronts," she added with laughter.

She also conceded that investigative journalists live in dread of committing errors with regard to their articles.

"You try to get it right on the big things, but you can often get it wrong on the little things. It's also easier to make mistakes in an environment like Malaysia, where there's so little transparency.

"You're often dealing with little bits of information that you're trying to piece together because you're not getting the information you should. But touch wood, I don't think I've made any clangers so far on the 1MDB story," she said.

No clangers on 1MDB

The key thing, she stressed, is to be honest and not publish something without evidence.

"I think if you've seen something that's a crime, you shouldn't just report it as if you have no opinion of it.

"Also, as an investigative journalist, you don't publish something unless you've caught somebody out doing something naughty; and once you do, you've got a certain amount of licence to give him a hard time.

"That's the job. I'm not trying to be objective, but I'm honest about what I say, and I'm critical where I think it's deserved," she said.

Rewcastle-Brown also spoke about her brother-in-law (right), saying he was one of the reasons she had kept her identity under wraps for a certain period.

"One of the reasons I kept my identity secret for as long as I could was because I didn't want to get him involved, particularly when he was still in office.

"But when he stepped down (as prime minister), I was bolder, and actually, he was really encouraging.

"When I started getting death threats, he said, 'Look, you should just say who you are and what you're doing because that's the best way to deal with them'," she added.

[Cloned from Malaysiakini as a public service.]

The 3rd World War is being fought in cyberspace!

As the fallout from the Independent’s sting on Bell Pottinger rumbles on, it has now emerged that they have used so-called “sockpuppet accounts” to spin Wikipedia pages for their clients — including smearing Gordon Brown’s sister-in-law by adding material accusing her of “inciting racial hatred”.

Clare Rewcastle Brown is a Malaysian-born British investigative journalist who has made a career out of campaigning against corruption and environmental violations. She founded a blog and radio station against deforestation in the state of Sawark.

Building on work from blogger Tim Ireland, Wikipedia have identified a list of accounts operated by Bell Pottinger, along with a collection of pages which they have edited.  The account Biggleswiki  - which Bell Pottinger have confirmed was operated by them - has created and populated a section for “criticisms” of the journalist.


Before it was removed in the cull of Bell Pottinger material, material was added which was sourced to a newspaper owned by a governing political party in Malaysia:

“On 25 February 2011, the Malaysian Deputy Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Joseph Salang announced that Radio Free Sarawak [founded by Rewcastle Brown] was not licensed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, and was therefore operating illegally. At the same time, RFS was accused of inciting racial hatred in Sarawak through its daily broadcasts.”

To further impugn her reputation, edits to the page to cast aspersions on her being born in Malaysia. Bell Pottinger have also been linked to other Wikipedia content supportive of vested interests in Malaysia, including creating the page for the Earth Awards, established by the Malaysian government, upon whom they heap praise.

[Source: The Political Scrapbook]

Once again Taib’s dirty tricks against Sarawak Report and Radio Free Sarawak have spectacularly backfired!

In the past few hours it has emerged that the Chief Minister, along with his son-in-law, Sean Murray, was one of the clients who hired Bell Pottinger to alter Wikipedia entries about themselves, their companies, Sarawak… and, of course, Sarawak Report/Radio Free Sarawak!

Harry Potter generation: cross-section of Bell Pottinger's
"public affairs consultants" (from their website)

Bell Pottinger is the PR giant that has been at the centre of a scandal that has been gripping the UK since Tuesday. The company, which first achieved fame as Margaret Thatcher’s favourite agency, has developed a reputation for professional ruthlessness and a willingness to do business with unpleasant clients.

Video sting

They demonstrated these questionable ethics when they were exposed earlier this week in a sting by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, posing as representatives of Uzbekistan, which has been condemned for promoting the slave labour of children in the cotton industry.

Bell Pottinger staff were caught on camera saying they would be willing to work on improving the country’s image, even though reform might be minimal. They would charge a million pounds a year (RM5 million) or a hundred thousand a month.

At the same time the company was exposed for bragging that it had special access to UK Prime Minister David Cameron for clients wishing to lobby the British Government, which has been hugely embarrassing for the Conservative Party.

Taib was a client!

Now the scandal has rolled into its 3rd day with further exposes about Bell Pottinger’s willingness to engage in ‘Dark Arts,’ such as the secretive alteration of people’s Wikipedia entries. The story is splashing around UK newspapers, but is being led by The Independent and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

After the details of ten pseudonyms used by Bell Pottinger to alter information about their clients were released by Wikipedia a few hours ago, it emerged that one of the key users of this service was none other than Taib Mahmud and his son-in-law Sean Murray!

List of Wikipedia entries altered by Bell Pottinger using the pseudonym 'Biggleswiki'

[Source: Sarawak Report]

Vampire Slayers attempt to stop the Rape of Sarawak

Old school robber barons Najib Razak & Taib Mahmud

My heartfelt gratitude and utmost admiration goes to Clare Rewcastle Brown (Sarawak Report), Peter John Jaban (Radio Free Sarawak), Lukas Straumann and the Bruno Manser Fonds for their unrelenting efforts towards tracking down Taib Mahmud's vampiric financial empire spread across many continents.

Head of a Vampire Dynasty

As chief minister of Sarawak since 1981, Taib Mahmud has had ample time to rape, pillage and plunder the 130 million year old Borneo rainforest - and, in the process, threaten with extinction the last remaining indigenous nomadic tribe of Sarawak, the Penan.

The politics of corruption in Malaysia as practised by Barisan Nasional makes Taib Mahmud immune to all allegations against him and his family mafia, no matter how strong the evidence. Environmental and human rights activists attempting to stop the carnage are quickly targeted by Taib's secret police - and invariably turned back on arrival at the airport - or (if they are Sarawakians) forced into exile to avoid imprisonment, and perhaps even untimely death.

Bruno Manser, 11 years after his
disappearance in Sarawak, remains
a thorn in Taib Mahmud's side

The Bruno Manser Fonds was named in honor of a courageous Swiss artist who spent many years living with the Penan and became an honorary member of the tribe. He was a huge thorn in the side of Taib Mahmud's avaricious schemes, and when he abruptly disappeared sometime in May 2000, the rumor mill was rife with reports that a lucrative bounty had been put on his head by logging companies backed by the chief minister.

Bruno Manser: Tribute to an Ecowarrior
Update on the Penan blockade in Ulu Baram
EU delegation visits Penan blockade area without meeting the Penan

ABC News ~ THE FIGHT FOR SARAWAK

People of Sarawak, Free Yourself from the Clutches of The Beast!

Last days of the vampire kings on earth

The Times on the "Rape of Borneo"

The negative karma of ill-gotten gains

BRUNO MANSER: Tribute to an Ecowarrior