When The Shit Hits The Fan... (repost)

THE SHIT HAS HIT THE FAN!

Letter reveals top MACC man, politician collusion

K Kabilan
Aug 20, 09
1:49pm 

The mystery letter which emerged at the Teoh Beng Hock inquest yesterday is believed to contain claims connecting a top ranking MACC officer to the interrogation of the political aide, which could have led to his death. Believed to be written by a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission insider, the letter alleged how the top officer and an influential politician (pictured left) had worked together to start investigations into alleged corrupt practises by Selangor's Pakatan Rakyat leaders. And it was on this understanding that Teoh was called up for questioning.

The unsigned letter, which carried the MACC official letterhead and written in Bahasa Malaysia, also stated the top officer's modus of interrogation - which involves pulling the suspects by the belt.

It further alleged that the top official was questioning Teoh on the day the DAP man was found dead. However the letter did not state on how Teoh died or if the officer was directly involved in his death.

Further claims made in the letter include:

• The officer did not punch out from work when he left Plaza Masalam where the Selangor MACC is located on that day. However, the letter stated the time of him leaving the office. This is important as it could show that this officer was the last person to have seen Teoh on that day, alleged the letter.

• The officer did not provide his DNA samples along with his other colleagues. He only gave a sample privately at a later day.

• That he ordered his officers to wipe clean the window from where Teoh had apparently fallen from.

• His alleged corrupt practices while investigating previous cases and that he is generally corrupt.

• He had helped close an investigation on the politician.

The letter also stated that the top officer had been serving in the state for a long time, well beyond the usual five-year term for high ranking officials.

The letter also claimed that he was living beyond his means by having several houses, a petrol station in Shah Alam and several plots of land, courtesy of the politician's goodwill.

 
He was also allegedly caught for khalwat with his junior officer at the Shah Alam lake early this year.
When contacted, the politician denied all the claims made in the letter and said he will be lodging a police report as soon as he is back from his overseas trip. The MACC officer could not be contacted.

Lawyers remain tight-lipped


Yesterday, lawyer Gobind Singh Deo submitted the letter to coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas, asking him to adjourn the inquest pending an investigation into the contents of the letter.

Gobind said that he was handed the letter by an individual on Tuesday evening.

Azmil, who agreed to instruct the police to probe the letter, had then urged all lawyers involved in the case not to reveal the details of the letter to anyone. However he had not ordered a gag order on the matter.

Lawyers involved in the matter when contacted by Malaysiakini today remained tight-lipped on the content of the letter.

However, it is learnt that the letter was also sent out to several other people since last week, including some members of parliament.

One MP who spoke to Malaysiakini said that he received the letter last week and confirmed the contents of the letter.

"Some big names were mentioned in the letter and the claims are massive. If they are true, some very big people from Selangor MACC and the political circle will have to pay the price," he said, requesting anonymity.

The MP also said that the letter appeared to be "an inside job from MACC".

He added that the letterhead used was from the MACC's headquarters in Putrajaya.

Teoh (left) was found dead, with his belt snapped, at the fifth floor landing of Plaza Masalam on July 16, a day after he was summoned by the MACC for questioning in regards to their probe into an alleged misappropriation of state allocation funds. He was questioned at the 14^th floor.

The inquest is being held to determine how he died. It will continue on Monday pending the investigation into the letter.

The letter has also been posted in the Internet at various sites, including in Malaysia Today.


Last man to see Teoh left building at 6.10am, court told

APPENDIX A

This intriguing comment was found in Dr Rafick's blogpost:

Inside sources. Hishamuddin and Khir Toyo were school mates, Khir being a year or two [older]. Of course Khir approved Hisham’s application for a plot of land in Shah Alam.

Hisham has [a] strong cable with Macc Hq notably with Ahmad Said, the Macc Chief and Ahmad Said in turn is a running boy of Nazri Aziz. For the first time in the history of the ACA/MACC, a Minister seems to be talking on behalf of MACC. It never happens bf as the ACA/MACC is supposed to be independent.

Khir with the help of Hisham and the blessing of the top leadership wanted to topple S’gor PR gov’t. Hisham can’t do it without the approval of the Selangor MACC Head. So Hisham instigated his Boss removal and Ahmad Said sent a weak officer, Jaafar Mahat to head the MACC.

Soon after, the blitz on the PR gov’t by Selangor MACC begins. Hisham was in full control with the approval of Ahmad Said, another corrupt ACA/MACC officer.

[First posted 20 August 2009, reposted 20 January 2020] 

I'M READY TO WHACK SOMEBODY (updated)

It's only been hours since three Malaysian Appeals Court judges - Balia Yusof Wahi, Aziah Ali and Mohd Zawawi Mohd Salleh - overturned Anwar Ibrahim's 9 January 2012 acquittal and sentenced the Opposition Leader to five years' imprisonment on a 2008 charge of sodomy.

Everybody who's been observing the political soap opera unfold knows Anwar Ibrahim is our best hope for non-violent regime change. That's why he has been singled out for the dubious honor of being the only public figure ever to have been publicly accused of sodomy - not once, but twice since his unceremonious sacking in September 1998.

As finance minister and deputy prime minister under Mahathir Mohamad, Anwar came within an inch of succeeding the long-reigning despot as Umno president (and therefore the fifth prime minister). But in the end he was forced to openly rebel with his battle cry of "Reformasi!" which brought out close to 80,000 street protesters demanding Dr M's resignation, in the turbulent days before Anwar was arrested in his own house on the evening of 20 September 1998 by a balaclava-clad police commando team.

Beaten black-and-blue in police custody by none other than the then Inspector-General of Police, Rahim Noor, Anwar was paraded before a kangaroo court presided over by the late unlamented Augustine Paul, before being sentenced to 15 years in jail on trumped-up charges of sodomy (and abuse of power, just to add salt to gross injury).

Upon his April 2004 release after 6 years languishing in Sungai Buloh prison (and nearly succumbing to arsenic poisoning), Anwar swiftly resurrected his political career by weaving together a formidable opposition coalition comprising his own Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Party Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), and the Democratic Action Party (DAP) which rode a political tsunami of discontent on 8 March 2008 to deprive the (mis)ruling coalition Barisan Nasional of its uninterrupted two-thirds parliamentary majority. Anwar then crowned that achievement by declaring that the newly resurgent opposition coalition (now known as Pakatan Rakyat or the People's Alliance) would dismantle Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) and replace it with Ketuanan Rakyat (Supremacy of the People) if voted into power.

For the vast majority of decent, law-abiding Malaysians, Anwar Ibrahim's idealistic vision of Ketuanan Rakyat was the promise of a political golden age. But for those who had, during Dr M's overlong tenure, fattened themselves off the riches of the land (at the expense of the uninformed masses), the notion of social equality, justice and greater participatory democracy sounded like their own death knell.

Get Anwar, Part Two

Behind the scenes a pernicious plot had been hastily hatched. Even before the fateful election of 8 March 2008, a secret weapon had been planted within Anwar's inner circle in the person of a winsome young man named Saiful Bukhari Azlan who volunteered his help at PKR headquarters in the hectic period leading up to the election. Saiful insinuated his way into Anwar's confidence by serving as his "coffee boy" and personal aide.

It was later revealed (by Malaysia Today) that Saiful Bukhari Azlan was, in fact, godson to Mumtaz Jaafar - former Malaysian athlete and a close associate of Rosmah Mansor. Saiful's estranged father, Azlan Mohd Lazim (Malaysia Today reported) was a long-time Umno go-between with a wide network of political connections. Indeed, Azlan Mohd Lazim was allegedly part of a high-powered Umno mission dispatched immediately after the March 2008 election to woo ambitious members of PAS into teaming up with Umno against PKR and DAP. This devious scheme had the financial backing of the Umnoputra elite - Malay entrepreneurs who had made billions with a little bit of help from Dr M and his finance minister Daim Zainuddin.

Even more shocking, the controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin asserted (again in Malaysia Today, in an article titled "The Real Dalang Behind The Anwar Sodomy Allegation") that it was Shafee Abdullah who masterminded the slimy and sordid 2008 sequel to Anwar's 1999 sodomy trial. 

If that turns out to be true, then Shafee Abdullah gets the award for Greatest Slimeball Of All Time. Imagine the ruthless cunning it takes to set up Anwar even before the March 2008 election - and then six years down the line to get himself appointed freelance prosecutor by nefarious arrangement with another contender for the same award, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail - the chief prosecutor who sent Anwar to jail in 1999.

With all the dramatic shifts happening around the world since 2008 when Pluto entered Capricorn - financial meltdowns and devastating hurricanes and regime change occurring wherever you look - the indefatigably evil Attorney-General Gani Patail persists in pursuing the non-issue of whether Saiful Bukhari Azlan had his anus enlarged by Malaysia's popular PM elect. If only he had shown the same zeal in bringing to justice the cold-blooded killers of "that Mongolian woman" Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Well, I'm telling you, Mr Pink Lips: it's no use keeping up pretenses. You just don't cut it - not even as a crime minister - you are totally uninspiring and are saddled with way too much karmic baggage (especially in the grotesque shape of your obnoxious, witchy wife). And as for Dr Mahathir's Umno Baru... it has already transformed itself into Umno Basi (stale) and/or Umno Busuk (stinky).

Meanwhile, vile and pernicious maneuvers by ultrarightwing Umno-sponsored NGOs and religious goon squads like Jakim have issued oppressive decrees in the name of Allah, about the name of Allah.

Ultra-jingoist Utusan Malaysia goes unchecked, unreprimanded, and unpunished when it willfully goes on an orchestrated rampage in an attempt to reactivate dormant racial and religious tensions.

And provincial Umno loudmouths like Nazri Aziz, Abdul Rahman Dahlan, and Khairy Jamaluddin continue to swagger around in their own swiftly evaporating mudholes, making laughing-stocks of themselves and accelerating the inevitable extinction of race-based political parties.

Add to the mix the ritual slaughter of chickens in public places, the smearing of sacrificial blood on a poster of Chinese opposition leaders; the hurling of pork into mosque compounds; threatening critics with tiresome displays of wagging buttocks. Outsourcing the dirty work to rabid abnomalies like Ibrahim Ali and Ridhuan Tee, Umno regresses into the abysmal depths of depravity, falling back on feudal arrogance, anachronistic tyranny, and violent territoriality. .

More than five years ago Anwar handed the Anti-Corruption Commission documentary evidence that former IGP Musa Hassan and AG Gani Patail were involved in falsifying evidence to convict him of sodomy in 1998. So what has become of the investigation? We don't hear a thing. Nobody has been sacked and both have disappeared into their wormholes.

How about private investigator Balasubramaniam Perumal and his family? How convenient that Bala died of a heart attack just as he was ready to embark on a road show to tell his version of the macabre Altantuya saga. Are Bala's widow and their children still living in constant fear of secret police harassment? Who paid for their upkeep in Chennai? - and what did it take to silence Deepak Jaikishan, Rosmah's erstwhile "fixer"? Anyone remember Lingamgate? I certainly do... but I don't see anything being done about the terrible shape the judiciary is in, after Mahathir turned it into a weapon against his political opponents.


I'm not the only one who would love to throw a whole bunch of banana peels in front of Zahid Hamidi, archnemesis of Ultraman. And I'm sure I could raise a posse to capture Taib Mahmud and tar and feather him. I'd like to see Najib Razak led away in handcuffs for being such a terrible liar and hypocrite.

As for all those Status Quoists who still insist Umno/BN was "given a mandate" to rule for another four years - and who think Anwar should concentrate on strengthening the Opposition Coalition from behind bars - nothing short of the Japanese bamboo torture will suffice.

[First posted 29 September 2008; updated 8 March 2014]

Teoh Beng Hock ~ five years down the line, still no closure!

Teoh Beng Hock (1979-2009)

Beng Hock, a former journalist with the Chinese press, became political aide 
to Selangor exco member Ean Yong Hian Wah (DAP) after 8 March 2008. 
Teoh wanted to make Malaysia a healthier, happier place for everybody.

A dedicated worker who enjoyed a good laugh, Beng Hock was well loved 
by friends and colleagues.

Beng Hock was engaged to 28-year-old Soh Cher Wei, a schoolteacher,
and they had planned their wedding for 17 July 2009.

Teoh Beng Hock was found dead at Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam, 

around noon on 16 July 2009, after being brutally "questioned" for 9 hours 

by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over 

a RM2,400 discrepancy in the office accounts.

Malaysians were outraged. We knew why Teoh Beng Hock was dead.  

Shortly after his appointment as crime minister, Najib Razak boasted 

he would wrest Selangor back from Pakatan Rakyat - 

just as he stole Perak back through means entirely foul.

Former Selangor chief minister Khir Toyo has close friends in the MACC more than willing to help their UMNO buddy frame a few Pakatan Rakyat state exco members.

Teoh Beng Hock's unforeseen death forced UMNO to abort 
its dastardly plot to topple the Pakatan Rakyat state government. 
In a way, Beng Hock died to save Selangor from falling back 
into the clutches of a grimy, slimy bunch of hardened criminals.

The Teoh family, unhappy with the clumsy cover-up by MACC as well as PDRM, 

demanded a second autopsy, this time observed by renowned 

Thai forensic pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand who stated, 

after viewing photos from the first post-mortem, 

that she was 80% positive that Teoh had been murdered.

The whole nation was angered and saddened by Teoh's unnecesssary death. Few have faith in the MACC's political neutrality - indeed, most view the corrupt law enforcement agencies as UMNO's gestapo. Anger at Beng Hock's cruel mistreatment cut across the social spectrum. In an attempt to placate the public, Najib ordered a coroner's inquest which dragged on for 18 months and ground to a grating inconclusion: Teoh Beng Hock's death was neither homicide nor suicide, the coroner announced. The loud public outcry finally forced Najib to accede to a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the case. During the RCI, almost all the MACC officers revealed themselves to be totally incompetent and unprofessional - in fact, they came across as no better than salaried thugs, compulsive liars, and sadistic psychopaths. When the Royal Commsssion's findings were finally made public on 22 July 2011, the public was outraged by the RCI's politically expedient conclusion that "Teoh Beng Hock was driven to suicide due to the aggressive interrogation methods used by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers." Despite the fact that three MACC officers (Selangor deputy director Hishamuddin Hashim, Mohd Anuar Ismail, and Mohd Adhraf Yunus) were held responsible for their tyrannical and unnecessarily malicious interrogation methods, not one has been prosecuted or even fired. Meanwhile, on 6 April 2011, another mysterious death occurred at the hands of MACC - that of customs officer Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed.

On 22 February 2010, the son of Teoh Beng Hock 

was born at Pantai Hospital, Batu Pahat.

Watch this fantastic video produced in honor of 
Teoh Beng Hock!

[First posted 15 July 2013]

English translation of Mystery Letter from MACC Officers (repost)

Plaza Masalam, headquarters of MACC Selangor

With thanks to Airkosong.com and Malaysia Today
CORRUPT PRACTICES, MISCONDUCT AND ABUSE OF POWER BY SENIOR OFFICER OF MACC SELANGOR

Respectfully, we would like to refer to the matter above.

We, officers in MACC, feel duty-bound to expose the wrongdoing and corrupt practices by a senior officer of MACC – Deputy Director (DD) of MACC Selangor, PKPj I Hishamuddin Bin Hashim. He is involved with the case of Teoh Beng Hock and a bungalow house at Section 17, Shah Alam, owned by Dato’ Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Bin Toyo.

2. For the information of YBhg Tan Sri/Dato/Tuan/Puan, DD is indeed involved directly with the investigation of misappropriation cases involving Selangor exco YB Ean (Adun Seri Kembangan). DD’s involvement is not only at the level of official instruction, but he actually instructed specifically MACC officers to try to uncover any possible wrongdoings by the current Selangor state government. He acted so because of his collaboration with Khir Toyo to bring down the Selangor state government. His overzealous approach resulted in the death of Teoh Beng Hock. There are a few questions arising from the circumstances of Teoh Beng Hock’s death that concern us MACC officers. We all suspect DD to be responsible for the death of Teoh Beng Hock based on the following facts:


i) DD has instructed all MACC officers involved in the operation not to implicate his direct involvement in the case. In fact, he is the one giving direct orders in the operation and other operations in MACC Selangor. Actually he fears his involvement will compromise his conspiracy with Khir Toyo.

ii) The chemistry department has detected finger prints and DNA traces of a mysterious male at the two frontal sides of Teoh Beng Hock’s waist belt. According to our knowledge, DD has his own unique interrogation technique, i.e., he would hold the belt of the person under interrogation, lift him/her a few times and shake him/her.

iii) The process to extract DNA samples from MACC Selangor officers was conducted in two sessions. In the first session, DD ran away to avoid having his sample taken. However, DD was said to have given his DNA sample in the second session under dubious circumstances, i.e., he gave his sample in his room while all other MACC officers, including the MACC Director, gave their samples in the meeting room together openly. Why did DD give his DNA sample behind closed doors? Does the sample given by him belong to him? We the MACC officers are curious because none of the DNA samples collected matches that of the mysterious male. We suggest that DNA sample of DD be taken again under the watchful eyes of trustworthy people.

iv) We have received information that DD has instructed his subordinates to erase fingerprints found at the window where Teoh fell to his death. This is proven as the police have failed to find any traces of fingerprints, new or old, at that window. The question is, why did DD give that instruction?

v) Based on the information we obtained, we suspect DD did not punch out when he left office on 16 July 2009 at 6.10am. This is crucial because it would be evidence that DD was the last person to have seen Teoh. The question is, why did he not punch out when he usually does so? For the record, he is a person who pays attention to his punch card.


3. For the information of YBhg Tan Sri/Dato/Tuan/Puan, DD is very influential in the investigation operations in Selangor, or even the whole Malaysia. In MACC Selangor alone, he is the most important person to decide whether or not a case is to be prosecuted, even though such power is supposed to be in the hand of the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP). Decisions made by him favour his own interests or his cronies’. It is no surprise that he has been helming the investigation unit of ACA/MACC Selangor for more than ten years, i.e., since the Selangor state government under Barisan Nasional (Khir Toyo) and until the current Selangor state government. He has been promoted in quick succession from Grade 41 to Grade 54 within 16 years without reassignment and remained in MACC Selangor until now. According to ACA/MACC department policy, an officer who has been promoted or served for more than 5 years in a state will be reassigned to another location to prevent him from being involved in local corruption issues. One of the reasons that he has not been reassigned elsewhere is that he has been tasked to “take care” of interests of Dato’s Seri Khir Toyo in Selangor. Because of this, to reciprocate, Khir Toyo has to “take care” of DD’s interests in Selangor.

4. Due to his comfortable position in ACA/MACC Selangor from then till now, he has been involved with various corrupt acts and abuse of power. Among the corrupt acts and abuse of power by DD that we have detected/investigated are as follows:

i) Closing the case of Khir Toyo involving approval of a road construction project, which is the most expensive boundary spanning link at Sekinchan, for a distance of 20.5km, at a price of RM92.5 million to the contractor who was almost blacklisted – Meram Holdings. According to JKR assessment, the cost of the road should not exceed RM50 million. The subcontractor running the project is Cabaran Wangsa, owned by Pua Kim An, who was once the landlord of Khir, while the other director of the company, Ahmad Tarmizi Tajjeury, is Khir’s crony, and he received 100 acres of land giving him a profit of RM20 million.

ii) In possession of assets beyond his means, including:

a. Owns a few houses for rental, including one two-storey luxurious terrace house which was purchased at a very attractive price from Pemaju Kumpulan Lebar Daun Development Sdn Bhd, as a result of closing the case of investigation against Group Executive Chairman, Dato' Noor Azman @ Noor Hizam bin Mohd Nurdin. This case was investigated by ACA Selangor a few years ago along with a few other houses he owned. As a smokescreen to the public and his subordinates, he moved to the government quarters at Kg. Atap, Kuala Lumpur.


b. Owns a Petronas petrol station located at the left side of Federal Highway at Km 8.6 – Km 8.7, Section 1, Federal Highway, Shah Alam 40000 Selangor (near the Melati roundabout, in the direction of Klang from Shah Alam), registered under the name of his elder brother. The petrol station has just started operation this year (2009), and it is built on part of the land of a Chinese cemetery. He managed to obtain the land to build the petrol station as a result of his power as well as due to the Khir Toyo administration in Selangor.

c. Owns a few plots of land around Shah Alam, where one of them is believed to be beside the new SACC Mall, registered under the name of the wife of a driver in MACC Selangor, Abdullah b Azim, she being a full-time housewife in her late 30s.

iii) Caught in adultery with a junior officer of the rank of Investigator called Nor Azlina bt Mustafa beside Shah Alam Lake in early 2009 by two police officers. He in turn showed his authority card and informed the police officers that he and the Investigator were in an operation and hence let off by the police. After a few intimate incidents with the Investigator, the affair is known by many, including his wife. The action taken by the department is to reassign the Investigator to MACC HQ at Putrajaya. This action is not effective as Azlina is still seen with DD at the Selangor office.

5. This letter was writen to uphold integrity and challenge injustice, in the MACC specifically and Malaysia as a whole. We at the MACC can no longer stand to observe this behaviour which is approved by higher-ups. We at the MACC have exhausted our options in looking for a department/institution/NGO which can bring forward this issue so that appropriate action can be taken.

6. We the officers in MACC are greatly appreciative and thankful to you all for bringing up this matter to the people and the relevant authorities so that there will be an organisation/NGO that can take the appropriate action or independent investigation until the matter can be brought to the cabinet. The matter is very important because it involves the integrity of an officer serving in a department charged with enforcing law on crimes related to human integrity. DD is now working very hard by instructing his subordinates to do a witch-hunt on PKR which governs Selangor state now, with the hope that PKR will fall in Selangor and his secrets will be safe. For your information, DD is fearful whenever news of Dato’ Seri Khir Toyo appears in the media and he is fearful that Khir’s problems will expose his own.


7. Our hope is, there will be a party courageous enough to give voice to our information herein, and that our action attracts the attention of the highest authority so that just action can be taken against him. We ourselves do not have the power of taking action against him because he has “cable” (connections) to the top.

8. The cooperation of YBhg Tan Sri/Dato/Tuan/Puan is very much appreciated and hopefully your action will bring out more information exposing people without integrity so that MACC and its officers can be cleared of corruption.

Thank you very much.

“IN SERVICE OF MACC/OUR BELOVED COUNTRY”

We who are obedient servants,
MACC Officers

[First posted 22 August 2009]

Dean Johns on Khir Toyo & the Tooth Fairy

Reproduced as a community service from Malaysiakini for non-subscribers...
By Dean Johns
Malaysiakini | Dec 15, 2010 | 12:04pm

I wonder how many Malaysians are still gullible enough to fall for BN's latest fairy tale, that the prosecution of erstwhile dentist and former Selangor Menteri Besar, Mohd Khir Toyo (left), is a sign that the BN regime is serious about combating high-level corruption in its ranks.

Especially in light of the fact that the authorities have shown themselves so utterly toothless in countless former and current cases ranging from Mahathir Mohamad's bailout of his son Mirzan's failed shipping line, through the misallocation of approval permits (APs) by Rafidah Aziz, the Maika Holdings and Telekom shares affairs involving Samy Vellu, and current suspicions surrounding the obscene affluence of Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

And that's just a very small sample of the blatant selectivity of the BN government's crime- and grime-fighting activities.

In fact the nation's chief law-enforcer himself, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, actually personifies this grossly iniquitous situation, having been promoted to his current position in reward for services rendered in the prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim on his first trumped-up sodomy charge.

Abdul Gani (left) and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein are both apparently content to preside over a system of 'justice' that condones execution-style shootings of unarmed and even underage 'suspects', the faking of 'accidents' or 'suicides' by unfortunates in police and MACC custody, and the fabrication of 'evidence' against critics and opponents of the BN gang.

But when it comes to the investigation and prosecution of rich or politically-connected criminals, or investigating murder suspects among themselves and their supporters, they're quite astonishingly incompetent.

So it's no wonder that Khir appeared so relaxed and all toothy smiles when he was arrested and charged, and that Gani Petail came across as so utterly unconvincing when discussing the matter with the media.

For example, while it emerged that Khir is simply accused of buying two plots of land for his mansion at a suspiciously steep discount, not for the massive corruption that must have enabled him to afford the land in the first place and the magnificent mansion he subsequently built on it, Gani Petail claimed that the investigation had been so slow because of its complexity.

And then he appeared to be confused, or else deliberately confusing, about whether the case was being conducted under the criminal code or the MACC Act, thus calling into question what the possible penalty could involve state seizure of the property in the unlikely event that Toyo is found guilty.

"You have to go back to the basis of it, how the matter was transacted, (getting) witnesses, recording of witness statements, getting everything clear...especially since this happened some time ago...we cannot have a flimsy investigation," he was quoted as explaining.

Perhaps recalling the disgraceful parade of suborned and perjured witnesses back in the days of his involvement in the notorious trials of Anwar Ibrahim ten years ago, he also stressed that the prosecution would apply "the full force of the law" to prevent tampering with witnesses in the Khir (left) case.

Despite such sanctimonious assurances, many Malaysians saw this case as the wayang kulit performance or sandiwara that it so evidently is, staged specifically to restore some of BN's tattered credibility in advance of a forthcoming general election.

Fable and fiction

Prime Minister Najib Razak (right) responded to these allegations with his customary far-fetched fictions, like the old fable that "the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)...is an independent body."

He then went on to claim that the issue of corruption had long been politicised by the opposition, adding that "they want to imply that we're not serious, or that we want to cover up, or that we practise selective prosecution and so on."

As Joe Fernandez recently wrote in Malaysiakini about such lack of seriousness, determination to cover up, and practise of selective prosecution, BN's "time-honoured tradition" in these regards "can be seen from the fact that the number of MACC files opened this year alone, an incredible 700-odd, involves only some RM6 million in bribes."

This is an absolute disgrace to any organisation claiming to be anti-corruption in a country where billions are routinely looted every year by its misleaders and their cronies. And a massive rebuke to any prime minister who has the presumption to claim that the corruption over which he presides is "politicised" by critics of his misgovernment.

Recently he went even further than "politicised," demonising those alleging that Felda is bankrupt as "traitors to the nation."

"Who says Felda is bankrupt? There's no such thing," he fulminated, before going on to lamely claim that "the management said not to mention it (the amount), but Felda has a lot of money in its savings...(and) it's safe."

How long, I wonder, does Najib fancy he can fool the Malaysian people with the fairytales his spin-doctors dream-up to try and forestall his Humpty-Dumpty-style fall? How long can he strut around in his emperor's new clothes before the overwhelming majority of Malaysians see him for once and for all as naked Razak?

How much longer can he get away with playing Ali Baba to the 40,000 or 400,000 or however many thieves of BN?

How much longer can he persevere with his ploy of presenting himself as the hero of "1Malaysia" while simultaneously sponsoring Perkasa as the Big Bad Wolf huffing and puffing and threatening to blow the piggies' houses down?

The recent proposal by Perkasa's president, the odious, toadious Ibrahim Ali (right), to set up a museum commemorating the riots of May 1969 would be enough to get any opposition figure arrested and jailed under the ISA.

But this racist ratbag is apparently BN's special, untouchable Ugly Duckling, and thus free to swan around in parliament and in public stirring-up as much strife as he likes on the government's behalf.

Just as Khir Toyo's surprising wealth will be found to have reached him legitimately via some magical agency like the Tooth Fairy, or if you prefer the Fairy Gigi, and thus the giggle will once again be on the BN-plagued Malaysian people.


DEAN JOHNS, after many years in Asia, currently lives with his Malaysian-born wife and daughter in Sydney, where he mentors creative writing groups. Already published in Kuala Lumpur is a third book of his columns for Malaysiakini, following earlier collections Mad about Malaysia and Even Madder about Malaysia.

A BIG LOAD OF BULL (REVISITED)

This was originally posted 24 January 2009. In view of what happened in Shah Alam yesterday reposting is fully warranted!
Umno's Bad Loser Club celebrates the Year of the Ox by dumping a load of bull on Khalid Ibrahim.

MOHD KHIR: I HAVE EVIDENCE AGAINST SELANGOR MB
Jimadie Shah Othman and Rahmah Ghazali | Jan 22, 09 6:53pm

Selangor Opposition Leader [and president of Umno's Bad Loser Club] Dr Mohd Khir Toyo today claimed that he had in his possession a copy of a letter from Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s office ‘instructing’ the purchase of 46 cattle to be distributed in Bandar Tun Razak last December during Hari Raya Korban.

Revealing this at a press conference in Shah Alam, the former menteri besar also said he was "disappointed with Khalid for having no knowledge of the cattle distribution to the constituency and denying giving out instructions" to pay for the cattle worth RM110,400.



WHAT MALAYSIAKINI READERS SAY ABOUT KHIR TOYOL'S ACCUSATION...

On Mohd Khir: I have evidence against S'gor MB

Ravi Panicker: Well done, Mohd Khir Toyo! You have found evidence that the Selangor MB used state funds for purchase of cattle for Hari Raya Korban for the common rakyat. Where does it itch for you? After all, he has the authority to do welfare services as he deems fit.

How many times in 50 years did your BN government do the same thing.

Khalid did not swallow the entire money. He used it for a just cause in the spirit of Hari Raya Korban. That is part of his duty.

Are you angry that the 20% commission for the purchase of the cows did not come to you?

And pray tell, where did the money you BN people dished out for the Kuala Terengannu by- election come from?

People in glass houses should not throw stones. The whole federal government is corrupt. As the rakyat, we have no objection to what Khalid has done. He did not use the money for himself.

Mohd Khir Toyo, try your luck at the next GE. Believe me, you will fail again. Let Pakatan run their five states without your vested interventions.

CH Siew: First someone accuses our Selangor MB of corruption because he bought some cattle for the people. Now Khir Toyo claims that he has evidence of the purchase. The question is: where is the corruption?

Did the MB ask all those who benefitted from the meat for anything in return? Did he ask them for favours?

Did he pocket any some amount of the money used for the purchase? Is there even proof that an exchange amounting to corruption had taken place?

Already, the reputation of Khir Toyo is beyond redemption. The saga on MP Teresa Kok already shows how much integrity Mohd Khir has.

To think that anything out from his mouth is worth listening to is like believing that BN is not corrupted.

When Mohd Khir come into the picture, it was very clear to the rakyat how incredible this accusation is.

These kind of people are doing more harm than good for Malaysia and I feel very sad that the progress of Malaysia continues to be hindered by people like Mohd Khir Toyo.

Wu: A new low for Umno and Mohd Khir Toyo?

Imagine manipulating an issue of donations for religious event for one’s own political agenda! How low can they stoop? Any wonder why they are losing elections?

Whether or not Khalid used state funds and whether it is right if he did, is another issue for another time.

Hey, Botox face! Time to moooooove on!

Will Umno's Bad Loser Club be wallowing in more hogwash at the start of the Pig Year? Or will they be reduced to a pile of stale dogshit by then?

WISHING UMNO'S BAD LOSER CLUB A THOROUGHLY SHITTY LUNAR YEAR OF THE BULL... AND ALL DECENT FOLKS A FERTILE, PRODUCTIVE & MOO-MENTOUS REGIME CHANGE!

Come on, Eli, stick to your guns!

Dearest Eli,

I recall with pleasure bumping into you at the old Actors Studio Theatre at Dataran Merdeka in 1998 when you were stage managing Huzir Sulaiman's explosive satire, Atomic Jaya. You told me you had gone to the same church in Jalan Imbi as my daughters and I thought it ironic that only moments earlier I had thought you were eminently dateable!

When we next met it was at the Suaram office where the battle to halt the Selangor Dam project had its headquarters. I was impressed with the missionary fervor with which you set about coordinating our efforts to preserve the magnificent Selangor River valley and save it from being inundated by the money-grubbing marauders from Gamuda.

Over the years, I harbored the hope of someday seeing you take a more prominent role in politics. You have all the necessary attributes of a brilliant legislator - street savvy coupled with an inquisitive mind, quick-witted, sharp-tongued and unstoppable in your zeal. Most importantly, you espoused all the right causes: conserving the natural environment, protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, and making a stand for accountable government.


Imagine my joy when I learnt you had joined PKR and were standing for elections in GE12. Your victory at the polls came as no surprise and was celebrated by all your friends and admirers. I couldn't believe how fortunate those of us living in Selangor were, to have Elizabeth Wong as ADUN. I was particularly tickled by the prospect of being able to SMS my ADUN and send her an occasional email. Eli, you were the harbinger of a new dawn in Malaysian politics. For the first time in history, we would be dealing with good people like you, Sivarasa Rasiah and Tian Chua (whom I regard as valued friends) and many others I have yet to meet but for whom I already have high regard because they come across as sincere, dedicated, approachable representatives of the people who, although new in politics, bring with them a refreshing idealism and genuine belief in democratic principles.

What a dramatic change from the cynical, corrupt and jaded BN politicians we have come to know and loathe - those arrogant, self-important hypocrites and liars like Khir Toyo, Muhammad Muhammad Taib, Tengku Adnan Mansor, Hishamuddin Hussein, Syed Hamid Albar and Najib Razak.

Elizabeth Wong in action as Selangor executive councillor: totally impressive!

Anyway, it seems to me totally absurd and outrageous that you should quit just because you had the misfortune to date the wrong guy. I don't know who the creep is, Eli, but what he did was the absolute pits. I just received an SMS saying he was a Malay guy and that he's now hiding in Indonesia, after receiving an undisclosed amount for handing the photos he took over to a party best left unnamed - but most of us have a pretty good idea who in Selangor desperately wants to see you out of the exco.

In any case, it's high time we stopped being such disgusting hypocrites. Are there parents out there with unmarried daughters in their late 20s or 30s who seriously object to their having boyfriends or going on casual dates? Good heavens, arranged marriages went out with the telex machine (though I know quite a few couples who got hitched by special arrangement, and I personally think there's nothing wrong with sticking to age-old tradition, so long as you don't attempt to impose your conservatism on others).

Being a parliamentarian is not akin to taking an oath of celibacy!

If you happened to be an ordained nun and were caught sneaking a man into your bedroom, I'd have a real good giggle, that's about it. Even so, I'd hardly be bothered about your private affairs - apart from a moment's regret that you seem totally immune to my charms. Let's be honest, I can't think of any red-blooded male who wouldn't relish the thought of accepting an invitation to coffee in your apartment! And that's precisely why you were targeted by the anti-Pakatan faction.

These despicable lowlifers simply can't tolerate seeing a brainy, beautiful - and sexy - Chinese woman doing so well in politics. Because they have so little self-control - and because many of them are descended from brigands - they probably would love to abduct and gangbang you. And if they can't do that, they'll destroy your political career. I'm sure Teresa Kok knows exactly how yucky it feels to be their target. Like Teresa, you have very rapidly shown yourself to be exactly the kind of exco the people have been waiting for since Merdeka. Somebody who's quick on the uptake, committed to serving the people who voted you in, endowed with enough intelligence, integrity and stamina to undertake the Herculean task of cleaning up the nightmarish mess Khir Toyo and his precedessors left behind in Selangor.

Well, I'm glad the PKR top brass has been so supportive and sympathetic. I'm not sure why Khalid Ibrahim thinks it's necessary to consult the Sultan of Selangor about your case. Why put the poor guy in a tight spot? He's still unmarried but I'm willing to bet he lost his virginity ages ago! Let's not become a nation of pretend prudes and hypocrites. Being asexual in no way makes anyone morally superior to those with an active sex life. True, as a public figure in a country rife with sexual hypocrisy and medieval mores, one has to be a great deal more circumspect about one's private life (another reason why I'm reluctant to ever get into full-time politics!).

Photo from Malaysiakini

I would hate to see such a brilliant and promising career as yours derailed by gutter politics. Please, please don't allow yourself to be traumatized by this unfortunate episode, Eli. It would please me greatly to hear that Anwar and the PKR leadership have rejected your resignation. Now more than ever, we need good people in the Pakatan Rakyat government. I know things look rather grim at the moment. It's just Najib's way of exposing his weaknesses as a potential leader - only totally degenerate Scumno types would applaud Najib's brand of sleazy backroom wheeling and dealing. It might take a miracle or two - but I know in my bones Umno will soon be extinct.

So stay vibrant and dedicated and diligent and fun-loving and sexy the way we all love you.

Here's something by Farish Noor I'll append to this post. Farish voices how a great many of us feel, but I don't agree with his referring to you as a "former ADUN." Elizabeth Wong, you're too good an ADUN to lose at this early stage of the game. I've received a lot of SMSes from friends who want me to tell you: DON'T QUIT!

Elizabeth Wong and Our Hope for a New Politics in Malaysia

By Farish A. Noor ~ February 17th, 2009

As someone who has known Ms Elizabeth Wong, former ADUN and Exco member of the Selangor state government, for almost ten years, I am profoundly distressed by the treatment that has been meted out to her by the mainstream and tabloid press over the revelation of photos that have compromised her. There are no words adequate enough to describe my feelings of disgust and anger over how this capable and committed activist-politician has been slandered and abused recently.

The facts surrounding the case are well known by now and one need not dwell upon them here. Suffice to say that one of the brightest, most capable and efficient politicians of our land has been discredited via a malicious campaign to tarnish her reputation, that reeks of hypocrisy and conspiracy of the highest order.

What needs to be emphasised in the midst of this media hullabaloo is this: That the private lives of politicians are as sacrosanct as the right of any other citizen, and that politicians deserve the same degree of respect as anyone else. This is what we are fighting for; and this is what the elections of March 2008 were all about: Our earnest wish to see a new kind of politics in Malaysia, a new politics that would reflect and mirror the new Malaysian society that we live in today.

The ascendancy of Ms Wong and a host of other younger politicians who were elected to office last March signalled – in the clearest terms – the desire for change and reform. Malaysians of all creeds, races and gender have demonstrated that we are sick and tired of the old mode of neo-feudal communitarian politics which has hitherto been propped up by nothing more than an assembly of tired and outdated clichés. We yearn for a new Malaysia that is colour-blind, anti-racist, anti-sexist, democratic, tolerant and plural. We yearn for a new generation of professional politicians who can do their job well in the spirit of accountability and transparency. We yearn, in short, for a new political culture altogether.

Ms. Wong’s election to office demonstrated that a significant section of her constituents had faith in her abilities to translate those ideals into reality and political praxis. They voted her into power because they believed that this was a woman who would stand by the rights of all her constituents; who would further a politics of inclusivity and non-communitarianism, and that she would also foreground the needs and concerns of women as well. The proof of this is evident to all who have followed her career that has now been tragically cut short: as an advocate for gender equality, her presence in the state assembly of Selangor has ensured that the sexist culture that was so prevalent in the past ceased to continue. During the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide tragedy she was one of the few politicians who was seen present at the ground-level doing relief work while some other politicians merely procrastinated and pontificated while doing nothing.

The unfortunate turn of events that has led to her resignation has therefore robbed us – the Malaysian public – of one of the few capable elected representatives that we could count on; and the loss is that of the Malaysian public’s as much as it is hers.

Today as Malaysia heads into a recession under the febrile leadership of old politicians who remain in a state of denial, we are in need of a younger generation of elected representatives whose political orientation and political culture are different: Elizabeth did not lead, she represented. And she gave a voice to the voiceless who clamoured for attention on her behalf. Her passing out of political life – which I personally hope will be temporary – has been a blow to our common struggle for a better, newer Malaysia. It is my earnest wish that despite the setbacks she has suffered, Elizabeth Wong will continue in the struggle for a better and newer Malaysia in whatever capacity that she can.

Pic courtesy of Knights Templar

This struggle for a new Malaysia and a new Malaysian politics is our common struggle, the struggle of the new generation of Malaysians today. One of us among our ranks has been attacked and fallen. We owe it to her as a friend and comrade to support her now, and to remain focused on the pressing need to reform the old order of our authoritarian, racist, communitarian past and its attendant institutions.

[The Malay Mail, to its credit, did post a clear-thinking editorial condemning the sort of sleazy politics this country has descended to as we navigate the treacherous waters between the old and new political paradigms.]