RPK'S CATASTROPHIC REVELATIONS

Sub judice my foot! Before the Mongolian murder trial even began, the Attorney-General himself had publicly declared that there were only three people involved in the murder - Abdul Razak Baginda and two members of the Unit Tindakan Khas (Special Action Squad) assigned to Najib Razak as bodyguards. Isn't that "sub judice" to the max? The BN seems to have adopted former PM Mahathir's infamous modus operandi of accusing everybody else of being a liar and opportunist except himself.

The Altantuya murder trial, even more so than the grotesque Anwar Trial nine years ago, has worn out the public's patience with the rusty grind of ill-fitting wheels that passes for Malaysian justice. Not a single person I know has the slightest confidence in the impartiality of Attorney-General Gani Abdul Patail - or the presiding judge hand-picked to play his part in the charade. Nor does anyone (apart from, of course, his political masters in Umno) believe for a moment that Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan is worth a single cent of his salary. Indeed, the general perception is that both the A-G and the IGP work exclusively for Barisan Nasional and not on behalf of the Malaysian public. As such, we find ourselves in a total quandary where there is no longer any authority figure or public institution that can be relied upon to do its work independently and effectively.

Imagine a situation where a young woman has been abducted and gang-banged. Finally, she manages to free herself and escape. Her friends take her to the nearest police station to lodge a report - and there, to her utmost horror, she finds the same gang that just raped her standing behind the counter, smiling smugly in their uniforms and eager to take her report. Well, that's more or less the nightmarish predicament Malaysia is in right now.

The devastating information presented in Raja Petra Kamarudin's June 18th statutory declaration at the Kuala Lumpur High Court reveals that there was indeed a military intelligence report delivered to the Prime Minister of Malaysia who, at the time, also served as Home Minister. RPK does not indicate when this military intelligence report might have been submitted to the PM - but he states unequivocally that the report was subsequently handed over to the PM's son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, "for safekeeping."

What does all this imply? What are the broad ramifications of this truly mind-boggling development?

Let's connect a few dots so we can step back and look at the ugly picture that emerges. The background to Altantuya Shaariibuu's gruesome abduction and murder can be traced to the Defence Ministry's shopping spree over the last few years that resulted in the acquisition of Scorpene (2) and Agosta (1) submarines and 18 Sukhoi SU30MKM jetfighters. Abdul Razak Baginda, the main accused in the ongoing Altantuya murder trial, is a close friend of DPM and defence minister Najib Razak. Razak Baginda is - or was - a consultant to the Defence Ministry and also doubled as a purchasing agent and high-level negotiator via his private limited company, Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd, whose subsidiary, Perimekar Sdn Bhd received a record-breaking RM534.8 million commission on just the submarine deal alone. (Perimekar Sdn Bhd is jointly owned by Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera, Boustead Holdings Bhd, and KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd.)

Abdul Razak Baginda's sworn affidavit, filed on January 5th, 2007, named Altantuya Shaariibuu (alias Aminah) as Razak Baginda's mistress. As she was reportedly conversant in several languages, including French and Russian, it can be surmised that she might have come in handy as a paid interpreter at negotiations between the Malaysian Defence Ministry, Perimekar, and the French and Russian manufacturers. She accompanied Razak Baginda during his stay in France to conduct the negotiations - and it has been established that Defence Minister Najib Razak was also in France at the time (June 2005) and handed out jackets sponsored by Perimekar Sdn Bhd to Malaysian submariners undergoing training at the Brest naval yard. On June 11th, 2005, Najib Razak gave a press conference after visiting the site where the Scorpene submarines were being built. This indicates that the Defence Minister took a personal interest in the French submarine deal and it's unimaginable that he would not have been in contact with his purchasing agent, advisor and negotiator, Abdul Razak Baginda (who would have had Altantuya in tow). In effect, Najib's vehement insistence that he never met "the Mongolian woman" rings particularly hollow - and even more so when Altantuya's friend, Burmaa Oyunchimeg mentioned during the trial that she had seen a photograph of Altantuya dining with "the two Razaks." In short, we detect an extremely high possibility of untruthfulness in the Defence Minister's public denial of any personal acquaintance with the murdered Mongolian.

Malaysia's first Scorpene sub, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, launched 23 October 2007 by Rosmah Mansor at the DCNS dockyard in Cherbourg, Normandy, France.

We are also inevitably drawn to the conclusion that astronomical amounts of kickback payments were involved and that "the Mongolian woman" may have been privy to the financial arrangements behind the Defence Ministry's shopping spree in Europe - at least circa June 2005. Could there have been the added bonus and titillation of some fun and games when negotiations were transferred from boardroom to bedroom? Dare we say it... a ménage à trois? If that was indeed what happened in France in June 2005, it would explain the subsequent wrath of Rosmah Mansor, official wife of the Defence Minister and DPM.

Jealous rage and power are a lethal combination - as we have already witnessed in another high-profile murder case, unsolved since 2002, involving Siti Hasleza Ishak, second wife of a member of the Perak royalty. There are many more unsolved murders involving pretty women: take the 2003 case of Noritta Samsudin (left) whose cellphone records were conveniently erased although rumors persist that she had called some extremely powerful politician on the night she was murdered.

So what we have before us is a deadly and scandalous combination: corruption of the first magnitude, sexual peccadilloes, betrayal, blackmail, harassment, intimidation - and finally abduction, possible torture, and cold-blooded murder ending with the body getting blown to a million bits with military-grade explosives. RPK's statutory declaration names three others present at the crime scene: Rosmah Mansor, Lt. Col Aziz Buyong (an explosives expert with the Defence Ministry's engineering corps), and his wife Norhayati Hasan (a Defence Ministry employee who also happens to be Rosmah's aide-de-camp). In every instance, the Defence Ministry is implicated, as well as police personnel assigned as bodyguards to Najib and Rosmah - and everybody knows who the Top Dog is at the Defence Ministry.

Some folks play high stakes poker, willing to risk everything to get where they want to go - in this case, the very highest rung of power in the country.

There is absolutely no way that Abdul Razak Baginda and the two accused UTK cops (Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar) could have accomplished the crime and the subsequent (albeit clumsy) cover-up without help from the highest echelons of power. Not even DSP Musa Safri (Najib's ADC) would have the necessary clout to order immigration records deleted so that there would be no traces of Altantuya and her cousin's arrival in Malaysia.

Then we have the blatant interference of the Attorney-General who replaced the trial judge and prosecution team under outrageously suspicious circumstances - and the dramatic resignation of Azilah's lawyer, Zulkifli Nordin, who publicly stated: "There were serious attempts by third parties to interfere with the defence that I proposed."

RPK alleges that the PM and his son-in-law have read the military intelligence report and are therefore accessories after the crime in that they have all this while been withholding crucial evidence for their own political advantage.

No wonder the BN-owned media have been absolutely mute over RPK's bombshell declaration!

In other words, if RPK is as "reliably informed" as he claims to be, he has just indicted the entire Malaysian government for various jailable offences - and under ideal circumstances we ought to be seeing on TV the arrest of everybody from the PM and his son-in-law, defence minister and DPM Najib and his wife Rosmah, the Attorney-General and the Inspector-General of Police (for aiding and abetting a variety of serious crimes). Even without the anticipated crossovers, BN is dead meat. In any case, nobody in their right mind will accept Najib Razak as Malaysia's next prime minister. The only way he could rule the country would be by martial law - and that would spell ABSOLUTE AND IRREVOCABLE DISASTER for our beloved nation.

But will BN leave the stage without fussing and fighting and resorting to the ISA? RPK took pains to add in his declaration that a ruler had been briefed on the sordid details of the Altantuya murder and was fully in the know. We can only surmise that he was referring to his cousin, Sultan Sharafuddin of Selangor, who was subjected to an abusive phonecall about a month ago - according to an RPK blogpost on Malaysia Today - from none other than Rosmah Mansor! Now that was a really smart move, RPK. Because, when push comes to shove, we may have to call upon Royal Intervention to protect the nation from the vicious Crime Syndicate that has taken over the reins of government.

It's High Noon at the Not-So-OK Corral that Malaysia has become. We watch with bated breath as the showdown begins between those of us who love the country - and those who love only their own power and privilege, which they have abused for far too many decades.

SHAARIIBUU SETEV DESCRIBES RPK AS AN EXTRAORDINARILY BRAVE MAN

      Courtesy of Malaysiakini.TV (added 24 June 2008)

Veteran DAP politician and lawyer Karpal Singh wants Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail to immediately initiate an investigation into the fresh explosive allegations over the Altantuya Shaaribuu murder.

Speaking at a press conference held at his office in Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur today, Karpal said that he will try and arrange a meeting with Gani at his office in Putrajaya tomorrow morning to push for a probe.

Full story in Malaysiakini.com

Camera: Mohd Kamal Ishak
Editing: Indrani Kopal

Did I read this in The Star or NST? NOPE!

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor at a press conference (photo from NST)

An influential Malaysian blogger alleges that Najib’s wife was present when the Mongolian translator was murdered in 2006

Asia Sentinel

One of Malaysia’s most prominent bloggers, in an explosive statutory declaration to a Malaysia court, has alleged that the wife of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as well as a Malaysian Army officer and the officer’s wife were directly involved in the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu on October 19, 2006, and that people at the very top of the Malaysian government are aware of the fact.

The declaration, by Raja Petra Kamarudin, who edits the web publication Malaysia Today, has been ignored by Malaysia’s government-linked mainstream media. However, it threatens to finally break open the case. Even if it doesn’t, it adds considerable chaos to the country’s political mix. The Barisan Nasional, the national ruling coalition, is reeling from the loss of its two-thirds majority in March elections.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, taking the brunt of criticism over the loss, has already promised to step down at some future date to cede the premiership to Najib. District elections are due in July in the United Malays National Organisation and there are suspicions that the verdict in the Altantuya murder trial is being delayed until the elections are completed.

Raja Petra wrote that Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor, and Acting Colonel Aziz Buyong and his wife, Norhayati, Rosmah’s aide-de-camp, were present at the scene of the murder and that Aziz Buyong was the individual who placed C4 plastic explosive on Altantuya’s body and blew it up. Both Najib and his wife have repeatedly denied any involvement in the case although top society in Kuala Lumpur has been buzzing for months with rumors of their complicity.

Shaariibuu was executed by two shots to the head and her body was blown up with military explosives in a patch of jungle near the suburban city of Shah Alam. One of Najib’s closest friends, Abdul Razak Baginda, once the influential head of a political think-tank, and two of Najib’s bodyguards, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar of the elite Unit Tindak Khas or Special Police Action Unit, have been the subject of a marathon murder trial that got underway more than a year ago.

Neither Najib nor his chief of staff, Musa Safri, has been questioned nor summoned as a witness despite the fact that Baginda in a sworn statement in November 2006 said he had contacted Musa for help in dealing with Altantuya, his jilted lover. That has raised widespread suspicions that the court – prosecution, defense and judiciary – have all been struggling to keep the case under wraps. It has been subject to numerous delays for reasons that are unclear.

Raja Petra himself is due to go on trial in October on sedition charges that were filed against him for writing an article titled “Let’s Send The Altantuya’s Murderers to Hell” and accusing Najib, his wife and others of complicity in the murder. He amplified the statement considerably in his statutory declaration, made last Wednesday, in which he also said that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had been a full report by military intelligence on the involvement of his deputy premier’s family. Badawi gave the intelligence report to his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, for safekeeping, according to Raja Petra’s statement.

Raja Petra, a member of the Selangor royal family, also wrote that one of the country’s sultans had been given a full report on the matter. He didn’t identify the sultan, but that raises additional implications, presumably that there is at least one member of royalty who can back up his declaration, which was made under oath, if he is subjected to additional charges over the matter.

From the time Altantuya’s body was discovered, there has been widespread suspicion that not only figures at the top of the government were involved but that the 28-year-old translator and mother of two may have been involved in a much bigger controversy than a jilted relationship. She made several trips to Kuala Lumpur to attempt to confront Baginda, at one point standing in front of his house and screaming “Razak, bastard, come out.” The last time she was seen alive was again in front of his house, when she was bundled into a car and taken away.

She accompanied Baginda to France when he was involved in negotiating the purchase of two Scorpene submarines and a used Agosta submarine produced by the French government through a French-Spanish joint venture, Armaris, for the Malaysian defense ministry, which was headed by . The submarines were bought through a Kuala Lumpur-based company, Perimekar Sdn Bhd, which at the time was owned by yet another company called Ombak Laut, which was wholly owned by Abdul Razak Baginda.

The €1 billion (RM4.5 billion) contract to buy the submarines was non-competitive and netted Perimekar €114 million. Although Najib has sworn an oath to Allah that he had never met the woman, he was in France at the same time one of his best friends was there, dealing with matters over the submarine. A cousin of Altantuya's testified at the trial that she had seen a picture of Najib together with the dead woman, but she was quickly hushed up by both defense and prosecution lawyers about the matter.

Altantuya, by her own admission in a letter discovered after her death, wrote that she had been blackmailing Abdul Razak, presumably to keep his family from finding out about their relationship. But in his cautioned statement to the police, Baginda said he had already informed his family of the relationship and said she was pressuring him for US$500,000. Her father, Setev Shaariibuu, a psychology professor in Ulan Bataar, has said she was killed because she "knew too much," although he has never elaborated on that statement.

Given the close relationship between the two men, and that Najib was reported as presenting jackets made available by Perimekar to the submarine crews training in France, and that Altantuya was along with Baginda, it is difficult to believe they had not met.

It is also difficult to believe, given the wealth of published reports, plus the fact that Azilah Hadri, and Sirul Azhar Umar, were members of Najib's own bodyguard unit, that neither has been questioned about how the bodyguards came to be involved in allegations of Altantuya's murder.

READ THE REST HERE.

NEWSFLASH! THIS APPEARED IN THE STAR TODAY...

KUALA LUMPUR: Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) has submitted a notice calling for an emergency motion to discuss allegations by online news portal Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin over the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case.

In his notice, Lim said the credibility and legitimacy of the Government would suffer a mortal blow if the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and those named in the allegations remained silent on the matter.

Copies of the notice were distributed to reporters in the Parliament Lobby.

Lim repeated the statutory declaration by Raja Petra who claimed that he was reliably informed that three people were present at the scene when Altantuya's body was blown up.

"He (Raja Petra) said these three people have thus far not been implicated in the murder nor called as witnesses by the prosecution in the ongoing trial at the Shah Alam High Court.

"He was aware that it is a crime not to reveal evidence that may help the police in its investigation of the crime,” Lim said.

- The Star

RPK FOR IGP! The Stonewall Begins To Crumble!

(Photo courtesy of TV Smith)

Breaking news on Malaysiakini, 20 June 2008.

RPK's explosive Statutory Declaration at the KL High Court dated 18 June 2008. Click to enlarge!

On behalf of all truth-loving Malaysians, I salute your courage, RPK! Thanks for blowing BN's cover. Once again, I nominate Raja Petra Kamarudin for the post of honorary Inspector-General of Police. After you've helped sort out the Force, you're free to go back to blogging full time :-)

Najib, are you mulling over the best place to run to? I hear the Mongolian desert is beautiful beyond words - lots of female camels that don't mind being humped!

IMPEACH BUSH & CHENEY: Alex Jones Interviews Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Alex Jones interviews Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich (Dem, Ohio) on Friday, June 13, 2008 about his ongoing effort to impeach President George W. Bush and Vice-President Richard B. Cheney for war crimes (among other criminal offences).

Britain's Got Talent: Kate Nicholas & Gin the Performing Canine

16-year-old college student from Cheshire, Kate Nicholas wows Britain's Got Talent panelists Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan with her sensational animal act starring her 6-year-old Border Collie, Gin.

[Recommended by Hari Ho]

THE GREAT OIL SWINDLE ~ by Mike Whitney

“Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes its laws” - Mayer Rothschild

HOW MUCH DID THE FED REALLY KNOW?
By Mike Whitney

30/05/08 "ICH" -- The Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) is investigating trading in oil futures to determine whether the surge in prices to record levels is the result of manipulation or fraud. They might want to take a look at wheat, rice and corn futures while they're at it. The whole thing is a hoax cooked up by the investment banks and hedge funds who are trying to dig their way out of the trillion dollar mortgage-backed securities (MBS) mess that they created by turning garbage loans into securities.

That scam blew up in their face last August and left them scrounging for handouts from the Federal Reserve. Now the billions of dollars they're getting from the Fed is being diverted into commodities which is destabilizing the world economy; driving gas prices to the moon and triggering food riots across the planet.

For months we've been told that the soaring price of oil has been the result of Peak Oil, fighting in Iraq, attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria, labor problems in Norway, and (the all-time favorite)growth in China. It's all baloney. Just like Goldman Sachs prediction of $200 per barrel oil is baloney. If oil is about to skyrocket then why has G-Sax kept a neutral rating on some of its oil holdings like Exxon Mobile? Could it be that they know that oil is just another mega-inflated equity bubble - like housing, corporate bonds and dot.com stocks—that is about to crash to earth as soon as the big players grab a parachute?

There are three things that are driving up the price of oil: the falling dollar, speculation and buying on margin.

The dollar is tanking because of the Federal Reserve's low interest monetary policies have kept interest rates below the rate of inflation for most of the last decade. Add that to the $700 billion current account deficit and a National Debt that has increased from $5.8 trillion when Bush first took office to over $9 trillion today and it's a wonder the dollar hasn't gone “Poof” already.

According to a January 4 editorial in the Wall Street Journal: “If the dollar had remained 'as good as gold' since 2001, oil today would be selling at about $30 per barrel, not $99 (today $126 per barrel). The decline of the dollar against gold and oil suggests a US monetary policy that is supplying too many dollars.”

The price of oil has more than quadrupled since 2001, from roughly $30 per barrel to $126, WITHOUT ANY DISRUPTIONS TO SUPPLY. There's no shortage; it's just gibberish.


As far as “buying on margin” consider this summary from author William Engdahl:

“A conservative calculation is that at least 60% of today’s $128 per barrel price of crude oil comes from unregulated futures speculation by hedge funds, banks and financial groups using the London ICE Futures and New York NYMEX futures exchanges and uncontrolled inter-bank or Over-The-Counter trading to avoid scrutiny. US margin rules of the government’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission allow speculators to buy a crude oil futures contract on the Nymex, by having to pay only 6% of the value of the contract. At today's price of $128 per barrel, that means a futures trader only has to put up about $8 for every barrel. He borrows the other $120. This extreme “leverage” of 16 to 1 helps drive prices to wildly unrealistic levels and offset bank losses in sub-prime and other disasters at the expense of the overall population.”

So the investment banks and their trading partners at the hedge funds can game the system for a mere 8 bucks per barrel or 16 to 1 leverage. Not bad, eh?


Is it possible that gambling on oil futures might be a temptation for banks that are already underwater from a trillion dollars worth of mortgage-related deals that have “gone south” leaving the banking system essentially bankrupt?

And if the banks and hedgies are not playing this game, then where is the money coming from? I have compiled charts and graphs that show that nearly two-thirds of the big investment banks' revenue came from the securitization of commercial and residential real estate loans. That market is frozen. Besides, this is not just a matter of “loan delinquencies” or MBS that have to be written off. The banks are "revenue starved". How are they filling the coffers? They're either neck-deep in interest rate swaps, derivatives trading, or gaming the futures market. Which is it?

Of course, there is one other possibility, but if that possibility turned out to be right than it would cast doubt on the legitimacy of the entire financial system. In fact, it would prove that the system is being rigged from the top-down by our friends at the Banking Politburo, the Federal Reserve. Here goes:

What if the investment banks are trading their worthless MBS and CDOs at the Fed's auction facilities and using the money ($400 billion) to drive up the price of raw materials like rice, corn, wheat, and oil?

Could it be? Could the Fed really be looking the other way so it can bail out its banking buddies while they drive prices skyward?


If it is true; (and I suspect it is) it hasn't done much good. As the Associated Press reported yesterday:

“The Federal Reserve announced Thursday that it will make a fresh batch of short-term cash loans available to squeezed banks as part of an ongoing effort to ease stressed credit markets. The Fed said it will conduct three auctions in June, with each one making $75 billion available in short-term cash loans. Banks can bid for a slice of the available funds. It would mark the latest round in a program that the Fed launched in December to help banks overcome credit problems so they will keep lending to customers.”

Another $225 billion for the bankers and not a dime for the struggling homeowner! The Fed is bankrupting the country with their permanent rotating loans to keep reckless speculators from going under. So much for moral hazard. As far as speculation, there is ample evidence that the system is being manipulated. According to MarketWatch:

“Speculative activity in commodity markets has grown "enormously" over the past several years, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said in a news release. It pointed out that in five years, from 2003 to 2008, investment in the index funds tied to commodities has grown by 20-fold -- to $260 billion from $13 billion.”

And here's a revealing clip from the testimony of Michael W. Masters of Masters Capital Management, LLC, who addressed the issue of “Commodities Speculation” before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs this week: “Today, Index Speculators are pouring billions of dollars into the commodities futures markets, speculating that commodity prices will increase..."


In the popular press the explanation given most often for rising oil prices is the increased demand for oil from China. According to the DOE, annual Chinese demand for petroleum has increased over the last five years from 1.88 billion barrels to 2.8 billion barrels, an increase of 920 million barrels.8 Over the same five-year period, Index Speculatorsʼ demand for petroleum futures has increased by 848 million barrels. THE INCREASE IN DEMAND FROM INDEX SPECULATORS IS ALMOST EQUAL TO THE INCREASE IN DEMAND FROM CHINA.

Index Speculators have now stockpiled, via the futures market, the equivalent of 1.1 billion barrels of petroleum, effectively adding eight times as much oil to their own stockpile as the United States has added to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the last five years.

Today, in many commodities futures markets, they are the single largest force. The huge growth in their demand has gone virtually undetected by classically-trained economists who almost never analyze demand in futures markets.

As money pours into the markets, two things happen concurrently: the markets expand and prices rise. One particularly troubling aspect of Index Speculator demand is that it actually increases the more prices increase. This explains the accelerating rate at which commodity futures prices (and actual commodity prices) are increasing. The CFTC has taken deliberate steps to allow CERTAIN SPECULATORS VIRTUALLY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE COMMODITIES FUTURES MARKETS. The CFTC has granted Wall Street banks an exemption from speculative position limits when these banks hedge over-the-counter swaps transactions. This has effectively opened a loophole for unlimited speculation. When Index Speculators enter into commodity index swaps, which 85-90% of them do, they face no speculative position limits.... The result is a gross distortion in data that effectively hides the full impact of Index Speculation.” (Thanks to Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis; the one “indispensable” financial blog on the Internet)

Masters adds that the CFTC is pressing to make “Index Speculators exempt from all position limits” so they can make “unlimited” bets on the futures which are wreaking havoc on the global economy and pushing millions towards starvation. Of course, these things pale in comparison to the higher priority of fatting the bottom line of the parasitic investor class.

Brimming oil tankers are presently sitting off the coasts of Iran and Louisiana. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been filled. Demand is flat. The world's biggest consumer of energy (guess who?) is cutting back. As CNN reports:

“At a time when gas prices are at an all-time high, Americans have curtailed their driving at a historic rate. The Department of Transportation said figures from March show the steepest decrease in driving ever recorded. Compared with March a year earlier, Americans drove an estimated 4.3 percent less - that's 11 billion fewer miles, the DOT's Federal Highway Administration said Monday, calling it "the sharpest yearly drop for any month in FHWA history."

The great oil crunch is another fabricated crisis; another "smoke and mirrors" fiasco; another Enron-type shell-game engineered by banksters and hedge fund managers. Once again, the bloody footprints can be traced right back to the front door of the Federal Reserve. Don't expect help from the regulators either; they've all been replaced with business reps like Harvey Pitt or Hank Paulson. The only time anyone in the Bush administration finds their conscience is when they're offered a multi-million dollar “tell all” book deal.

Can you hear me, Scotty?

Something to take your mind off the price of oil...

I SALUTE THE ANTI-ISA MARCHERS

How heartened and happy I am to read of the unwavering resolve and shining courage of all those who gathered outside Kamunting to bring an end to the evil ISA. Malaysiakini reported at least 1,000 braved the police cordons and the FRU to light their symbolic candles at the vigil. When people are fearless and united in a noble cause, no armed force in the universe can deter them from expressing their burning desire for freedom from oppression and tyranny.

I am also extremely relieved and reassured to note that there are a few level-headed police officers who, when ordered to perform an unpleasant and unjust task, are able and willing to walk the line between obeying orders and further antagonizing the public.

Kudos to the Pakatan Rakyat state governments who openly lent their support to the June 7 anti-ISA rally at Kamunting. All of us who voted them into power are fully confident that as soon as they take over the federal government, abolishing archaic tyrannical laws will have top priority on their political agenda.

This triumph for human dignity and justice is yet another moral defeat for the no longer relevant and irredeemably rotten BN whose every action and reaction since March 8, 2008 has only estranged them further from the Malaysian voter.

Each day the ISA detainees remain behind bars is one more reason to abolish such evil and unnecessary laws - and the Barisan Nasional along with them. These oppressive laws serve only one purpose: to prop up a corrupt, benighted, piratic and parasitic political party that has mismanaged the land for 50 years.

[Photos courtesy of Malaysiakini]

Petronas Must Reveal Its Secrets

I was on Malaysiakini a few minutes ago, reading a story headlined "Sabah politicians warn PM over fuel hike." Clearly, the BN government's preposterous increase in the price of fuel has stirred up a hornet's nest of anger, incredulity and resentment. This paragraph, in particular, struck me as extremely significant:

In a statement issued in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, [the DAP MP for Kota Kinabalu Dr Hiew King Cheu] described the latest fuel price increase of 40 percent for petrol and 60 percent for diesel as unreasonable and unacceptable, citing the fact that Malaysia is an oil-producing and exporting country.

He also questioned if there was something that the government was not telling the people concerning the nation's crude oil sale.

"Is it true that our crude oil is being sold at a 'fixed price' without any fluctuation allowed in the selling price for a set number of years?" he questioned.

Around the time when the last fuel price hike was inflicted on the public, a well-connected friend whispered in my ear something that I have to date been unable to ascertain - simply because Petronas is accountable to only the reigning Prime Minister. This means very few are privy to its international dealings, which makes any leaked information virtually impossible to verify - except by court order or royal command.

Anyway, at the risk of being labeled a spreader of unfounded rumor, I feel duty-bound as a Malaysian to reveal what I was told by my informant, who shall remain nameless (mainly because I have actually forgotten who it was!)


What I heard was that Dr Mahathir, in his infinite wisdom, had signed a secret pact with the Japanese to supply Malaysian crude oil at the fixed rate of USD30 a barrel - until the year 2012! Apparently, this occurred sometime in 2002 when the price of oil was around USD20 a barrel.

If there is any truth is this - and the DAP MP for Kota Kinabalu seems to have heard a similar rumor - then Dr M's business acumen certainly has to be reassessed. Personally I have never been greatly impressed by the man's much-vaunted intelligence (in my opinion it's more accurately described as "rat cunning"). Indeed, I can recall many instances when Dr M's dubious navigational skills caused the nation to lose billions as a result of bad gambles. Take the BMF scandal, for instance, which cost us RM2.5 billion in 1984 (today that amount would be easily worth RM11 billion). And then there was the hastily covered-up currency trading disaster, and an even bigger financial calamity involving an attempt to monopolize the tin market.

I do hope there are a few former Petronas executives who might be in the know about this alleged act of monolithic stupidity on Mahathir's part - and that they will be granted immunity from prosecution under the OSA should they decide to blow the whistle on this story. Think about it: if Petronas is bound by contract to keep selling Japan our crude oil at pre-Iraq invasion prices, Malaysians have been subsidizing the Japanese since Abdullah Badawi took over from Mahathir! Is that why the Japanese are so happy to finance Malaysian dams like the monstrosity proposed for Kelau, in Pahang?

Mahathir: 22 fiascos in 22 years of power

Photo by Waziri

This hard-hitting piece by "Batman" was first published in Malaysia Today on 13 April 2008. In view of Mahathir's recent maneuvers to topple Abdullah Badawi and regain control of the country by proxy, I'm prompted to republish it.*

Many of those who worship Tun Dr Mahathir cannot understand why Malaysians blame TDM for the woes of the country. I have compiled excerpts of articles published in the media in past years to refresh the memories of Malaysians, as to why many Malaysians feel TDM did more bad than good for the country in his 22 years.

These 22 fiascos are presented in the form of questions directed to TDM:

1) On clean government
You came to power in 1981 and introduced the slogan Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah (Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy). What did you do to further that? Did you make the Anti-Corruption Agency more independent and effective? Did you ensure that the police and judiciary did their jobs properly and reduce corruption in their ranks? Did you censure ministers and chief ministers who received incomes beyond legal means? How many big guns were prosecuted for corruption during your tenure? What happened to Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah?

2) Press freedom
Your criticism of the government got plenty of coverage in the local media whereas, during your time, criticisms against you by two former prime ministers were muted in the mainstream newspapers. Editors in Umno-linked newspapers too were removed for not toeing the line. What did you do to advance the cause of responsible press freedom?

3) Proton
You went ahead with the national car project in 1983 despite a number of experts disagreeing with you, especially with respect to the lack of economies of scale. Isn’t it true that Proton’s profits over the past 20 years came from the vastly higher prices that the Malaysian public have had to pay to subsidize Proton, resulting in considerable hardship for Malaysians who need cars because of the poor public transport system? Why was it necessary for Proton to buy a stake in a failed Italian motorcycle manufacturer when it could not even produce cars competitively?

4) Heavy industries
Why did you push into heavy industries such as steel and cement in the 1980s, ignoring studies which suggested developing natural resource-based industries instead? They caused major problems and billions of ringgit in losses.

5) Immigration
Why did you allow hordes of people to immigrate, mainly from Indonesia, in such an unregulated way that there are as many or more illegal immigrants than legal ones now, accounting for some two million or more people? Did you not realize that this would cause serious social problems?

6) Operasi Lalang
Why did you have to resort to this move in October 1987, when you used the Internal Security Act to detain over 100 people, close down four newspapers and cause a wave of fear throughout the country? Was it to consolidate your tenuous hold on power then by using an oppressive law?

7) Judiciary
What motivated you to take action in 1988 to remove the then Lord President and several Supreme Court judges from their positions under allegations of judicial misconduct, a move which was heavily criticized by the Bar Council and other bodies? Was it because you needed more compliant judges whose rulings would not threaten your position of power in a number of cases in court? Was this the first step in dismantling the judiciary’s role as a system of checks and balances against the legislature and the executive? What have you to say to repeated assertions by many, including prominent ex-chief justices, who maintain that this led to the erosion of judicial independence?

8) Education
Why did you allow our national school system, which is the ideal place to develop ties among young Malaysians, to become so divisive? Why is it that our local Universities, once the preferred choice of tertiary education, have deteriorated to a level that even students who have gained admission prefer to enroll in local private colleges and universities?

9) Malaysia Airlines System
Why did your government sell MAS (privately) to Tajuddin Ramli who had no knowledge whatsoever about running an airline? Why did your government then later bail out Tajuddin by paying RM8 per share when the shares were trading at only RM3.60 in the open market, costing close to RM 1 billion of the rakyat’s money.

10) Privatization
Why did you allow privatization to take place in such a manner that the most profitable government operations were sold away like Telekom Malaysia, Pos Malaysia and Tenaga Nasional? Toll concessionaires were guaranteed toll increases and compensations in the event traffic projections were not met. Independent power producers had contracts that guaranteed profits at the expense of Tenaga Nasional. What was the justification of privatizing the government medical stores to Southern Task Sdn Bhd, and the resulting increase of prices of medicines?

11) Putrajaya
What is the justification for spending RM20 billion on a grandiose government city at a time when there was a glut of office space in Kuala Lumpur? Could the money not have been put to better use, such as improving educational resources?

12) Indah Water Konsortium
What was the basis of granting Indah Water Konsortium a concession to manage the national sewerage system? Can you explain the RM1.4 billion soft loan to IWK which has suffered irrecoverable losses?

13) Konsortium Perkapalan Berhad
Why did you rescue Konsortium Perkapalan Berhad (then owned by Mirzan Mahathir) and which had debts of RM1.7 billion using funds from Petronas? Was it not your administration which forced Malaysian International Shipping Company (MISC) to acquire the assets of Konsortium Perkapalan Nasional?

14) Time Dotcom Bhd
Why did your administration bail out Time Dotcom Bhd which was saddled with a RM5 billion debt? Why did your government use RM904 million from Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen to buy up 273.9 million of unwanted Time Dotcom shares incurring an instant loss of RM280 million?

Did you not force the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to buy 81.6 million unsubscribed public portion of the initial public offering (IPO) of Time Dotcom Bhd at RM3.30 per share when the shares were trading at only between RM1.95 and RM2.10 and in the process incurring an instant loss of RM100 million?

15) LRT
Why did you bail out the light rail transit operators Projek Usahasama Transit Ringan Automatik Sdn Bhd (PUTRA), which belonged to Renong; and Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan Sdn Bhd (STAR) using almost RM600 million from EPF, which still resulted in EPF having to write off RM135 million with a share loss of RM96 million?

16) North-South Expressway
Why did your administration award the North-South Expressway concession to UEM (who then formed Plus) and then provide them with a loan of RM1.6 billion which was half of the tender price of RM3.2 billion. What was the justification for your administration to grant Plus such overgenerous terms, which included annual increment of toll rates and guaranteed traffic volumes?

17) PSC Industries Berhad
Why did your administration in 1998 award a RM24.3 billion contract to PSC Industries Berhad, together with an advance of more than RM2.5 billion to build naval patrol boats? Why were they also given exclusive rights to service the Malaysian navy’s entire fleet? Could you confirm that the first two ships built by PSCI could not even pass pre-delivery trials? How would you answer to the Public Accounts Committee’s revelation that it will cost the government another RM120 million just to salvage the first two vessels nearing completion after seven years?

18) Bakun Dam
Why did you award Ekran Bhd the contract to build the Bakun Hydroelectric Dam in Sarawak? Why did your administration take over the construction of the dam by bailing out Ekran by almost RM200 million for ‘work done’?

19) InventQjaya
What was the basis of inviting Libyan-American Sadeq Mustaffa to Malaysia to set up InventQjaya Sdn Bhd and to also give him a grant of RM440 million? What was the benefit for Malaysia and how has Malaysia benefited? What has happened to InventQjaya now?

20) Forex Losses
Why did your administration dabble in the money market which ultimately cost Bank Negara almost RM9.3 billion in losses?

21) Bank Bumiputra
Why did you allow the mismanagement of Bank Bumiputra, to the extent that it had to be bailed out 3 times, costing the country a total of RM 3 billion? Again, dipping into Petronas’s funds?

22) Perwaja Steel
Why did your administration allow Perwaja Steel to be mismanaged resulting in RM 2.9 billion of the rakyat’s money being squandered?

There you are, 22 fiascos in 22 years. The bad news is that there are actually more than 22! Remember the APs, Maminco, Renong and many more. Those who remember, please add on to this list.

Batman

Flag-waving Mahathir in 1999 (courtesy of John Wishii)

Original cartoons by Antares © 1984

P.S. For me Mahathir's greatest crime was that his megalomanic ambition totally obscured the Horizon of Decency. A lot of young Malaysians growing up during the Mahathir years seem completely clueless about ethics. This is particularly true of a large segment of Melayu Baru (members of Mahathir's Umno Baru, no doubt) - who got disconnected from their original graciousness, patience, and openness of heart - and became arrogant, jingoistic, ruthless and rapacious big-time wannabes. Indeed, Mahathir's influence was so all-pervasive, even minibus conductors and office clerks turned into Little Napoleons during those dark days under the Incurable Dr M!

*I have just been informed that "Batman" may have rehashed his article from an original feature - Question Time: 22 Questions for Mahathir - by P. Gunasegaran, published in The Edge.

Hillary the Dream-Slayer ~ by Steve Bhaerman

HILLARY THE DREAM-SLAYER TELLS US: "NO, WE CAN'T!"

by Steve Bhaerman

It's a Rush Limbaugh dream come true. The two Democratic Party candidates engaged in a deadly gunfight that will leave whichever one is left standing mortally wounded come November. While it would be unfortunate indeed for the Republicans to once again be rewarded with the presidency after maxing out their discredit cards over the past eight years, the shoot out at the I'm Okay / You're Not Okay Corral is likely to have even more tragic consequences - the stillborn death of the dream that things can be different in America.

The Democrats losing one more election is no big deal. That's business as usual for the gutless enablers of empire at the DLC (Democratic Losership Council). Like Lucy pulling away the football at the last minute sending good ol' Charlie Brown on his ass, we've come to expect the Democratic misleadership to disappoint and betray the faithful. But this year, something was different. Instead of the usual Democratic Party platform of "Vote for us, we're not as bad as the Republicans," Barack Obama has offered a proactive, positive message that inspires a new possibility - that working together, we can transcend safe and habitual political positions and find breakthrough solutions to the very real problems we face.


Think back just a few months ago, before Limbaugh got into the act. Republican voters were crossing over to vote for Obama in the primaries because they saw a glimmer of functionality, because they recognized true leadership, and because they were inspired by someone willing to speak truth and optimism at the same time. This, of course, was unacceptable to the powers in power, who require the red/blue divide to make sure the American people don't stand united around the basic moral values 90% of us share in common.

So, empire brought out Goliath to slap down this uppity David and bring the body politic back to "reality." Rush Limbaugh's call for Republicans to cross over and vote for Hillary was an important move to re-hypnotize the Republican faithful. Then came Hillary's charge of "lack of experience," and the mainstream media brainwashing machine went into spin cycle to amplify the charge. Just as Obama was hitting his stride in creating national rapport around the possibility of politics as unusual, the usual suspects did all they could to break the rapport.

Once we understand the real meaning of "lack of experience," we can fully grasp the tragedy of "yes we can" dissolving into "no we can't." This experience Hillary talks about has nothing to do with political foresight or wisdom. This is the Hillary who, after all, voted for the war in Iraq at a time when millions and millions of Americans - including Obama - saw through the ruse. The "experience" Hillary talks about is her own, both literal and metaphorical. It means being in bed with politics at its worst.


While Bill Clinton was one of the most charismatic politicians of our time, we can see in retrospect how his potential was compromised by narcissism and personal ambition. But his negative legacy is even worse than that. Instead of holding to the Democrats' traditional role of mitigating the excesses of empire, Clinton gave globalization (in essence, "gobble-ization") the official seal of approval. He sold NAFTA as a boon to the American people, and was as deeply embedded with Enron as George Bush was. In the guise of being a centrist, he made the final payment in selling out the Democratic Party to empire, putting in place the neoliberal support for the neoconservative agenda. Think of it this way: The Iraq war would have been impossible without the "blessing" of the Democratic Party leadership.

Water Bearer or Water-Boarder?

When Hillary invokes "lack of experience" what she is really saying is that politics cannot work without treachery, deceit, manipulation and back room deals, and that Obama is naive to think otherwise. As if to prove it, she has based her campaign on undercutting his positive message and invoking the shadow of fear. The fact that her campaign seems to be working reinforces that contention that in order to be "safe" we must have someone machiavellian in charge. Hillary, the mainstream media machine, and the Republican power structure seem to have the upper hand right now in beating the American public into submission, and deconstructing the most constructive political dream of our lifetime.

Those who insist that "either Democratic candidate would be a good choice" are as sadly brainwashed as the ditto-heads who abandoned their good sense to follow Rush Limbaugh's dysfunctional dictates. Obama represents the possibility of breakthrough. Hillary represents the political approach of Karl Rove, if not his actual agenda. In other words, it's dream vs. nightmare.

There are those who would ask, what about the other dream? What about the dream many women have about finally having a woman President? My answer would be another question: Which woman? How about Condoleezza? Do we want another Margaret Thatcher? The basic problem with this particular woman President is that she's way too focused on proving she is man enough for the job. Hillary seems to have some Democrats convinced of this, but will never convince a critical mass of Republicans or even Independents.

The real question for forward-thinking voters is not whether we need the feel-good symbol of a woman President, but whether we are ready to empower genuine feminine wisdom. For those sixties' relics who wonder whatever became of the Age of Aquarius, I would suggest we must collectively meet one profound challenge before we walk through that door. We must confront the current Age of Nefarious, where the powers that have outlived their uselessness have entrenched and seek to stay in power through the power of fear.

Interestingly, the symbol for Aquarius is the "water bearer," a male figure bearing feminine wisdom. That feminine wisdom represents the power of love, life and possibility. The male figure represents strength and protection in the service of life. Unfortunately, politics as usual represents the protection of the empire - in other words, the predator. This "realpolitik" approach, made real only because we agree to it, tells us we must put aside our moral values in order to protect ourselves. Lying, assassinations and torture? All necessary evils.

Our choice between the politics of Hillary and the politics of Obama is clear: Water-bearer or water-boarder. Would Hillary resort to such nefarious means? Only if she had to. Just like George Bush and Dick Cheney. A vote for Hillary at this juncture is a reaffirmation of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that has brought us to the brink of man-made hell: We the people promise not to ask our government what they are doing "on our behalf," and they promise not to tell us.

(Rhino McCain by Jared C. Wilson)

Yes, protection is needed from very real dangers in the world. However, like the healthy immune system, the body politic must learn to distinguish between real dangers and false alarms. It is telling indeed that the front lines of our defense, the American military enlisted people, have donated the most money to candidates Ron Paul and Barack Obama, in that order - not warmongers McCain and Hillary. They sadly recognize the difference between their ideal role of protecting the nurturers, and their real deal role protecting the predators.

And the thing that provides most protection for the predators? It's the fear-based belief that when push comes to shove, pushing and shoving is more powerful than love. Of course, this goes contrary to everything spiritual teachers have been saying for millennia. We now must choose, individually and collectively, which master we serve: the Golden Rule, or the rule of gold. Do we have enough faith in our faith to empower love, or do we give in to the lowest common dominator and fall prey to fear? We must recognize that war - and for that matter, empire - is no longer a political choice, but a moral one.

The political fate of America will not be solved by the super delegates, but by the silent sleeping superpower that is potentially more powerful than all the armies in the world: The moral authority that stands firm for war as a last resort instead of a first one, and stands for the real pro-life agenda of protecting life and planet - not protecting those who would exploit those for their own gain.

So ... once again, Obama is hardly the perfect candidate. However, he does represent the highest impulse of functionality America can currently muster. His is a voice that calls for, above all, faith in ourselves. Those who have resigned themselves to Hillary as more "realistic" are casting their vote for the current reality. As Dr. Phil might say, "How is that working for us?"

This is not a call to get behind Obama, but rather a call to get in front of him. Ultimately, it is we the people who set the moral standard for our behavior as a country and a world, not our leaders. Whether we call ourselves religious, spiritual but not religious, secular humanists or ethical atheists, we are at the cusp of the evolutionary choice we must make as a species. Are we adult enough to collectively use our collective intelligence together? Or do we childishly abdicate our responsibility and empower the dominator mentality that has served us so poorly?

What occurs over the next 60 days will be more important to the future of America and the world than what happens in November. Now is the moment we face a clear moral choice: Do we empower the water-bearer or the water-boarder?

Hillary and her gleeful Republican henchfolk are telling us "No, we can't. We can't have government of, by and for the people where the government does our bidding, not the bidding of the highest bidder. No, we can't have a successful regime without machiavellian manipulation. No, we can't be safe in the world unless we dominate."

They've almost convinced us. They've almost manipulated America into falling for the predictable nightmare instead of rising for the possible dream.

Now it's our turn to say, "Yes, we can" and as a wise and united people create the platform of truth and functionality that Obama - or any other candidate willing to speak the truth - can stand on. If we can throw our weight behind sanity and health now, we can indeed live into the reality of our dreams.


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As They Play The Final Curtain

“If Najib wants to take over he must do it before the end of May,” said one Umno veteran who would rather remain anonymous. “Najib must make his move on Pak Lah by next week. If Najib waits and does not do it next week he might as well just forget it because most likely by June Umno will be out of power anyway.”

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

In 1988, Umno was split into two. From the ashes of the old Umno, a party created on 11 May 1946, emerged two new parties, Umno (Baru) and Semangat 46. A few days ago, on 11 May 2008, Umno celebrated its 20th Anniversary. The backdrop in the main hall of the PWTC, however, said that Umno was celebrating its 62nd Anniversary. That is the trouble when you switch to teaching Maths in Bahasa Malaysia. The Umno people no longer know how to count properly.

We can forgive them if they missed the date by one or two years. But 20 and 62 is a very wide miss indeed. Let me repeat that. On 11 May 2008, Umno celebrated its 20th Anniversary, not its 62nd Anniversary, never mind what the backdrop said. Let us not get confused between the figure 20 and the figure 62. Rahim Thamby Chik can be forgiven for thinking that an underage girl is actually 18 judging by the size of her boobs, as what he claimed. After all, 18 and 15 is not much difference when using boob sizes as the yardstick. But to mistake an underage girl for a woman of 62 would not be accepted as a valid excuse, whatever the size of her boobs may be. 62 would certainly be too far off the mark and Umno too can’t be forgiven for celebrating its 62nd Anniversary when the party is only 20 years old.

The Umno Secretary-General is the main man behind Umno’s ’62nd’ Anniversary celebration. And the whole thing was staged to take everyone’s mind off the third Umno split looming over the horizon. 1988 was the first major catastrophe when the old Umno closed down and in its place emerged two new parties. 1998 saw yet another spilt when Anwar Ibrahim was kicked out and sent to jail and the birth of Parti Keadilan Nasional managed to finally unite the opposition into a coalition called Barisan Alternatif. Is it any coincidence that after the 1988 and 1998 splits we are going to see the third split in 2008?

Yes, Umno seems to suffer splits every ten years. And there is no reason to believe that after the 1988 and 1998 splits we shall not see another one this year, 2008. And the Umno Secretary-General’s wayang of organizing a 20th Anniversary celebration disguised as a 62nd Anniversary celebration is not going to prevent the coming split that will happen any time now.

They say a drowning man goes down three times before he goes down for good. If you want to save a drowning man you have to save him when he surfaces the first or second time. If you allow him to go down the third he will never surface for the fourth time. The Chinese say that four means die and after the third time consider him dead. And will the same apply to Umno? Umno is going to go down for the third time this year. Will it be able to resurface and re-emerge for the fourth time? I doubt it. I think when Umno goes down the third time it will be for the final time.

“If Najib wants to take over he must do it before the end of May,” said one Umno veteran who would rather remain anonymous. “Najib must make his move on Pak Lah by next week. If Najib waits and does not do it next week he might as well just forget it because most likely by June Umno will be out of power anyway.”

Read the rest here.

CROSSOVERS AND BN'S BAG OF DIRTY TRICKS

Sarawak has been part of Malaysia since 1963. Yet each time I visit it feels like a very different world than Peninsular Malaysia. For one thing, the girls of Sarawak are not only delightfully friendly, they're also impossible to resist. The tribes have mingled genes over the centuries - not only amongst themselves, but also with a wide spectrum of European adventurers. And Chinese genes are evident almost everywhere one goes - testimony to the far-reaching influence of the Ming Emperor in the 15th century when master navigators like Admiral Zheng He commanded enormous fleets that sailed more than halfway around the world, establishing diplomatic, economic, and genetic links wherever they dropped anchor.

However, until the political paradigm shift of March 8th, 2008, I noticed that few Sarawakians were inclined to openly discuss politics. The impression I got was that their long-reigning Chief Minister, Taib Mahmud, had inherited the mantle of quasi-divine power established in 1841 by James Brooke (right), the young English sea captain who planted the Union Jack in Borneo and crowned himself King. In effect, political power has been jealously guarded by the Chief Minister, his family, and his close business associates for decades. Anybody who wasn't happy with the situation had only three options: keep their mouth shut, go to jail, or leave the island.

Since GE12, however, things have changed dramatically. I noticed that almost everybody I bumped into in Sarawak was subscribed to Malaysiakini - or else was an avid reader of political blogs like Malaysia Today. Although no one expressed any rebellious views, they all seemed a great deal more relaxed and ready to embrace inevitable change. The general feeling was that Taib Mahmud's time was almost up - and that what Sarawak needed wasn't more of the same old feudal patriarchy and its politics of patronage but a quantum jump into participatory democracy.

There's been a great deal more political gossip after the March elections than ever before and one juicy morsel I picked up during my recent stay struck me as something I ought to blog about. I can't disclose my source, but I have no doubt that the information is reliable. Apparently, a great majority of Sarawak politicos are keen to realign themselves with the Pakatan Rakyat - and the Barisan Nasional is acutely worried about this. To deter Sarawak MPs from crossing over, BN has resorted to blackmail.

Recently, the Attorney-General (left) was despatched on a secret mission to dissuade potential party-hopping frogs from taking the leap. He was armed with incriminating evidence culled from years of Special Branch dossiers on a few prominent Sarawak politicos. They were told: "Hop and you will land yourself in hot water!"

Now this is bad news for everybody, no matter how you look at it. First, it only reinforces the popular perception of politics as a truly dirty business; and reveals the SB and the AG as totally partisan tools of the BN (which is evident anyhow to any impartial observer). Secondly, it indicates that BN will use any and every means at its disposal to cling on to power indefinitely. No trick is too foul, no crime too dastardly, and no option too outrageous - BN simply will not accept defeat!

So the only recourse left is to declare a blanket amnesty on the political past of any BN leader who crosses over to Pakatan Rakyat. No matter what accusations of corruption or scandal the BN throws at them, the Rakyat will offer them the Chua Soi Lek option - that is, admit your past misdeeds, apologize for them, and declare your willingness to start on a totally clean slate. Nobody I know thinks ill of Chua Soi Lek (pictured right) because he handled his sex scandal with aplomb and dignity. He acknowledged that the guy in the video was indeed him, apologized, and resigned. By so doing, Soi Lek successfully maintained his integrity and established himself as one of the all-too-few honest BN leaders. If Chua Soi Lek chooses to revive his career in politics, he would do well to quit the moribund and meaningless MCA and join either DAP or PKR. Everybody I've spoken with has only positive things to say about his track record as Health Minister.

Speaking of Soi Lek, I picked up an interesting tidbit about the people behind the sex video sting. Apparently, they had links to pharmaceutical and medical suppliers who used to enjoy lucrative wheelings and dealings with Soi Lek's predecessors. However, Soi Lek took over the Health Ministry and decided to put a stop to the hanky-panky. Obviously, there are lots of sore losers around whose knee-jerk reaction is to resort to dirty tricks.

Folks, we really are left with no option but to dedicate our efforts to accelerating BN's demise as a political force. To allow such unevolved and unenlightened entities to continue to misrule Malaysia for even another six months would be entirely ruinous to our national destiny.

WHEW! WHAT A WEEK!

Aya Honda (Oma Sound's manager), Isao Suzuki (bass-player extraordinaire), and Antares at the Miri International Jazz Festival, 9-10 May 2008 (photo by Yong Pik Sieng)

Just got back from Miri, Sarawak, after a full-on few days at the Miri International Jazz Festival as its new Artistic Director. This being my very first time getting involved with organizing a major music festival, I had to learn the ropes pretty damn quick. As the bands began arriving, followed by media guests, preparations went into full swing and the excitement began to build up. It was during the first sound check that the magic began. Watching 75-year-old Isao Suzuki coax the most passionate melodies from his cello bass, accompanied by some of the youngest jazz virtuosos I've ever seen, I knew this was going to be a memorable event. And, for sure, it was!

Closing the first night's program was Oma Sound, led by the immortal god of music, Isao Suzuki who is a true wizard on his instrument. Isao told me he was in New York in the early 1970s and performed with Sun Ra (left) who really liked his approach to bass-playing. The admiration was mutual and Sun Ra became a major influence on Isao Suzuki. Although a few in the audience seemed initially bemused by Oma Sound's "free jazz" they were soon spellbound by the pure musicianship, especially the expressionist piano stylings and sublime bass solos. During the encore Oma Sound transported the hushed crowd to a entirely different dimension - it was a truly a sublime and transcendental experience!