Khairy vs Zahid - Who's Spinning?

Khairy Jamaluddin says Zahid Hamidi’s “leave Malaysia” statement is the latter’s own opinion while Zahid defends his statement – so who’s spinning?

Newly appointed Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Zahid Hamidi told Malaysians in Utusan Malaysia to leave the country if they are not happy with the outcome of the 13th General Election.  He gave the excuse that Malaysia has inherited the first-past-the-post system from the United Kingdom, which is also utilised in many Commonwealth states.  Therefore he argued that despite Pakatan Rakyat achieving 51.78% of the popular vote, our adopted system allows for a party or coalition with lower popular vote to win 60% of the seats in Parliament.

Datuk Zahid Hamidi is in effect demonstrating his utter contempt and arrogance by telling Malaysians who wants to improve our electoral system and prevent blatant abuses via gerrymandering to leave the country.

In the ensuing uproar, first-term and newly appointed Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin tried to diffuse the controversy by telling reporters that the “leave Malaysia” comment was the UMNO Vice-President and Home Minister’s personal view.  He claimed that it is not the view of Najib’s administration.

However, at the same time, Datuk Zahid Hamidi came out to defend his article claiming there is nothing wrong with his comments because he wasn’t racist.

The statements by these two Ministers makes a complete mockery of Najib’s “new” administration, and leaves Malaysians completely stunned dumbfounded.

First of all, who is Khairy to claim that the “leave Malaysia” comment is Zahid’s personal comment and not that of the Najib administration?  Did Najib appoint Khairy has his official spokesperson to the extent that Khairy can dismiss outright the comments made by the UMNO vice-president?  Or was it instead, only Khairy’s “personal view” that Zahid’s comments was the latter’s personal view?

It appears that Khairy has been completely discredited because the Prime Minister has himself remained completely silent over the issue. Zahid has on the other hand come out with all guns blazing defending his “leave Malaysia” statement, while ignoring the “personal view” issued by Khairy.

Unfortunately Zahid’s only defence for his statement was that he wasn’t making a racist statement. Zahid obviously doesn’t take the criticisms by Malaysians seriously as we never accused him of making a racist statement here.  We are accusing him of being arrogant and contemptous of the rights of Malaysians to a freer and fairer electoral system.

Malaysians are fully aware that the first-past-the-post system does indeed grant disproportionate allocations of seats relative to the percentage popular vote.  However, the system in Malaysia has been abused by BN to the extent where the gap between the constituencies with the least number of voters such as Putrajaya (15,791) and Padang Rengas (28,518) won by BN, compared to those with the biggest population such as Kapar (144,159) and Serdang (133,139) won by Pakatan Rakyat far exceeds acceptable reason.  One will not find such ridiculous discrepancies between constituencies in other advanced first-past-the-post democracies such as United Kingdom or Australia.

This is the reason why hundreds of thousands of Malaysians have gathered in various cities over the past week to demand a better electoral system, be it a fairer distribution of voters in all constituencies or a thoroughly revamped proportional representation system, or a mixture of both as practiced in certain other advanced democracies.  It is the right of ordinary Malaysians to demand free and fair elections.

Datuk Zahid Hamidi’s continued defense of his comments proves that BN does not believe in free and fair elections and will once again use all necessary means to manipulate constituencies in the next general election.

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Zahid Must Stop The Desperate Lies

Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi must stop the scurrilous allegations that I am a “tool” for a foreign country in repeated attempts to deflect his Ministry’s lack of transparency and accountability

Chinese newspapers carried the story that Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi has accused me of being a “tool to a former professor who has become a professor in a foreign country” on 2nd January 2012. He has added that “the foreign country is the puppet-master of a particular party in Malaysia”. He has even claimed that he has documentary proof to validate what he has said.

I have obtained the full transcript of the comments made by the Defence Minister on 1st January, and the relevant accusation is as follows:

“Saya fikir Tony Pua ni adalah seorang yang menjadi alat saja seorang bekas professor yang telah menjadi professor di university di luar negara, dan negara itu memang menjadi dalang kepada sebuah parti di negara ini. Saya fikir asal politik di Malaysia biar dibentuk oleh ahli-ahli politik Malaysia. Jangan pernah menjadi dalang daripada mana-mana negara . Saya tidak menuduh tapi saya ada dokumen-dokumen dan bukti-bukti untuk mengesahkan apa yang saya katakana ini.”

The is the second time the Defence Minister had implied that I am a foreign agent. In March 2011, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi was reported in Utusan Malaysia to have said:

“Dia [Tony Pua] dulu ditangkap di Singapura, dibawa ke mahkamah, tetapi sebab hubungan dia mungkin baik dengan pejabat tertentu di sana, beliau dilepaskan (dan) tidak dapat jadi ahli Parlimen (di sana)”

As I’ve responded last year, I’ve never even been fined for jay-walking in Singapore, what more being arrested and charged in the court of law in the island city.

All these scurrilous accusations arose as a result of the continued pressure placed on the Defence Ministry to be transparent with its military equipment purchases, especially in the light of a poor assessment by Transparency International (TI). The TI scored Malaysia at only 4.5 points out of a maximum of 12, or only 37.5%, well below the failure mark. This was the score given in the inaugural “Transparency of Defence Budgets Report” launched on 19 November 2011.

Director of the International Defence and Security Program for TI in United Kingdom, Mark Pyman, who launched the report in Subang Jaya said “Malaysia ranked far below other countries (for this), where the budget lacked details and no audits were undertaken of the secret programmes.”

Malaysia is ranked alongside Afghanistan, Rwanda, Georgia and Azerbaijan in the report, well below other countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The results of the research indicate that approximately 14 per cent of the countries under review in this study scored high and these are primarily developed countries with strong democratic systems in place.

Treason as accused by the Defence Minister is a crime of the highest order in Malaysia and is punishable by death. The accusation by Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi is as serious as it is outrageous, and such contemptuous behaviour is completely unbecoming of a Minister.

Given the severity of the allegations that I am compromising the nation’s security, I challenge Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi to come up with the so-called “documentary proof” that I am a “tool” of a professor in a foreign university and charge me accordingly. However, if the Minister fails to furnish the proof, then he should immediately withdraw the remarks and make a public apology for making such unfounded statements.

It appears that Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi does not realise that he is being fed with fictitious stories from his chief intelligence officer, Papagomo – who had recently enjoyed the unrivalled privilege of sailing in the country’s first submarine. Papagomo is also the source of the scurrilous allegations against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s son recently who was wrong victimised as having sexually assaulted a female student in his school.

It is extremely worrying that the country’s Defence Minister is relying the country’s intelligence from a blogger who is an obsessive liar without any morals and ethics. In fact all Malaysians should be terribly concerned that our Defence Minister who wields great powers, can be so gullibly compromised by a writer of unbelievable and outlandish fiction.

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Zahid Unfit To Be Minister

Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi’s malicious lies and his refusal to apologise for spreading falsehood about me makes him unfit to be a Minister and proves UMNO’s rotten at its core

Last Friday, Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi accused me of having been previously arrested and charged in Singapore, and as a result was unable to become a Member of Parliament there. He further alleged that due to my good relations with certain authorities in Singapore, I was released and insinuated that the deal was for me to become a Singapore “agent” and infiltrate Malaysia.

I had immediately called for a retraction of the above baseless and malicious allegations, as well as a public apology within 24 hours. However, over the past 72 hours, I’ve heard only a pin-drop silence from the Minister, which not only makes him unfit to be a Minister but also proves that UMNO’s leadership is rotten at its very core.

Zahid Hamidi is unfit to be a Minister not only because of the complete lack of honesty and integrity, but also because it shows the failure of his Ministry’s military intelligence to be able to filter fact from fiction, hence raising concerns as to whether he will be able to fully protect our country from external threats.

Instead of answering to the rakyat on questions posed to him, the most senior ranking UMNO vice-president attempted to tarnish my reputation and insinuated repeatedly that I’m not loyal to this country and that I’m acting in the interest of another country. He even argued that if I should join the Territorial Reserve Army (Tentera Wataniah).

Let me just say that Zahid Hamidi has no right and is in no place to question my loyalty to Malaysia. If it were at all true that I had joined politics in Malaysia for personal interest or the interest of a foreign country, then surely it would have been easier for me to join a BN party like the MCA, which has a track record of producing top leaders charged for corruption and abuse of power. Instead, by joining an opposition party like the DAP, I’m only subjected to persistent threats and abuse, like the leaders before me who have been subjected to authoritarian punishments like the ISA.

Every person in this country demonstrates his or her loyalty differently, and not only through the Army. I’ve chosen this path to fight for the rights of the oppressed and the impoverished.

Is Zahid implying that all the BN Members of Parliament, nearly all of whom had not joined the Army less loyal to the country as well? That appears to be his thinking because he has said as much that the non-Malays of this country are less patriotic because they have not joined the Army. Despite the controversy over his slight on the minorities, he has refused to apologise.

As a result of the Minister’s refusal to apologise, I have instructed my lawyers today to proceed immediately to file a suit against Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for defamation and spreading malicious falsehood.

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Home Minister's Tall Tale Justification to Revive Emergency Ordinance (EO)

On July 11th, the Home Minister Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi claimed he will present statistics from a recent study on crime in full at the next Parliament session to justify the need to revive the Emergency Ordinance (EO), to allow the Police to place suspects under detention without trial for 2 years.

He said “I obtained the statistics, which were derived empirically, that in Selangor, 90% of organised crimes were carried out by ex-detainees who were released from Simpang Renggam where they were held under the EO. I will present the statistics and the study in the Dewan Rakyat in the coming session, the September session, to prove the need for the EO.”

When pressed again for statistics and evidence last week of his allegations on the August 17th, Dato’ Zahid Hamidi continued to insist that he had the figures in hand but urged for continued patience before making them public.

He provided the excuse that media captains need to be properly “briefed” by the home ministry and police before the government can allow any disclosure of classified crime data involving former Emergency Ordinance (EO) detainees.

Instead, it is now the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Patail himself who has provided the concrete evidence that the Minister was giving cock and bull stories to justify the reinstatement of EO-like laws.

Ghani informed a forum by the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation yesterday that “even after the repeal of the EO in 2011, there was no evidence from the 1,567 investigation papers submitted that violent crimes were committed by former detainees”.

The Attorney-General didn’t even tried to mince his words to say that there was “only some” or “very little” evidence of former detainees committing these crimes. He said “there was no evidence”.

Tan Sri Abdul Ghani was unapologetic in saying that the police had relied on the Emergency Ordinance (EO) to lock up suspected hardcore criminals, as they were simply "addicted to it".

Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi must now own up to making up ficticious claims about how 90% of organised crimes today are being carried out by ex-EO detainees. These claims never held water in the first place because if the study is already concluded, and he already have in his possession the study, why does he need to wait 2 months before the report is presented to the Parliament?

However, if you read into Dato’ Seri Zahid’s statement, one can only deduce that it is completely oxymoronic. If the “study” even exists, then surely for a shocking 90% of the crimes to be identified as being carried out by ex-detainees who were released from Simpang Renggam, these “criminals” would have been identified, arrested, investigated and possibly even charged already. But if they have been arrested and investigated – and there have been very few reports of such, then how come crime is still rampant and the Police still needs the EO?
In fact if Dato’ Seri Zahid’s allegation that 90% of these crimes were committed by former EO detainees were true, it actually doesn’t “prove the need for the EO”. On the contrary, it only proved that the police force to be totally incompetent.

Unlike Dato’ Seri Zahid who seems to have trouble coming up with concrete statistics, we have shown using past published police statistics have shown that the EO was completely ineffective in fighting rising crime. For example, the Malaysian crime index was rising rapidly from 2003 to 2008. At the peak, with the crime rate rose by 34.0% from 2004 to 2007. During this period, the EO was readily available at the Police’s disposal and yet, crime was seemingly unstoppable.

However, despite the EO repeal at the end of 2011, the Police and the Home Ministry were claiming victory in the fight against crime, with the crime index declining by 7.6% in 2012. Hence, based on the above official crime statistics presented by the Police themselves, how can the Home Minister, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi, now claim that the cause of rising crime is almost entirely due to the repeal of the Emergency Ordinance?

With the damning evidence by the AG, we call upon the Home Minister to heed Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s advice when he announced the repeal of the EO, that “now police must train themselves how to look for evidence.” Instead of just catching suspects and chucking them into EO detention, Dato’ Seri Najib asked the police to now “provide evidence to charge them in court”.

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If BN wants to win back Malaysian votes, they should look at their own policies and statements, instead of blaming journalists

The Malay Mail Online reported yesterday that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi urged journalists from non-mainstream media to help paint Barisan Nasional (BN) in a good light, in the ruling coalition’s bid to reclaim the support of Chinese and Indian voters.

The Deputy Prime Minister got his priority completely wrong.  It is not the role of journalists to “help paint” BN in a good light.  It is the role of the journalists to report the facts and the truths of events and activities.  If the truth paints anyone in the bad light, regardless of whether it is the ruling party or the opposition, the fault lays with the relevant parties themselves, and not the journalists.

If the Deputy Prime Minister is really sincere about winning back the votes from the rakyat, particularly from the non-Malay community, then the first step must start from himself and UMNO.

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Zahid Unfit To Be Minister (II)

Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi displays the worst traits of a minister who is arrogant, ignorant and shockingly forgetful.

I read with great surprise that Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi has once again reiterated his “invite” to me to meet him with regards to the cost increase over the acquisition of 6 naval patrol vessels from RM6 billion to RM9 billion. I feel extremely honoured because this is the third invite in 4 days!

His first invite made via the press was on 29th December, followed by another on 31st, and another yesterday, on the 1st January of the new year – all of which were published in Bernama. He need not have made so many invites, he had me at “hello”. I had immediately after reading his first invite, publicly responded that Pakatan Rakyat MPs, Nurul Izzah Anwar, Dr Dzulkefli Ahmad and myself are more than happy to take up his offer of clarifications on 30th December.

Unfortunately, despite his eagerness to meet me, our Defence Minister appears to be very poorly informed and does not read the news. So, I repeat again here, that we accept the invite from the Minister to offer clarifications and look forward to his honourable office to make the necessary arrangements for our visit.

What was however more shocking was his claim that I’ve never dared to face him over the controversial acquisitions even in parliament, and insinuated that I was a coward for raising the issue only during political ceramahs.

He said “when I answered his question in Parliament, [Tony Pua] was not present to hear my reply, but continued to harp on the matter in political ceramah. He is brave only before the opposition crowd but chicken out when asked for a face-to-face meeting.”

The above is utter and complete nonsense as I was present in Parliament and even debated heatedly and extensively with him when he was replying in Parliament on these issues twice in March 2011!

When he was responding to the question from Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng on the 8th March 2011, I was there and chastised the Minister for un-ministerial behaviour for asking my colleague to “go back to kindergarten”. (Hansard pg 5 – 9 http://www.parlimen.gov.my/files/hindex/pdf/DR-08032011.pdf)

In a more extensive subsequent debate on 21 March, when the Minister was directly reply to my questions raised in parliament, he had even threatened to sue me for defamation. I had stood my ground and debated extensively with the Minister over the procurement of 6 naval patrol vessels and 257 armoured personnel vehicles. (Hansard pg 34 - 54 http://www.parlimen.gov.my/
files/hindex/pdf/DR-21032011.pdf)

Hence Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi’s allegations that I was not present in Parliament exposed just how forgetful and absent-minded he is. Even worse, it shows that our Defence Minister does not check his facts before making statements.

Given his absent-mindedness, I would further like to remind the Minister that he had twice in Parliament in March last year confirmed that the price for the 6 patrol vessels have not been finalised and a budget ceiling of RM6 billion has been set.

On 8th March 2011 in Parliament, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi had said “pada masa ini pihak kerajaan masih belum memuktamadkan harga. Sejumlah RM6 bilion telah diperuntukkan sebagai siling dalam
Rancangan Malaysia Kesepuluh dan sebahagian akan melimpah ke Rancangan Malaysia Kesebelas dan mungkin hingga ke Rancangan Malaysia Kedua Belas.” (pg 6). He repeated the same on 21 March 2011 in Parliament (pg 52).

However, the Defence Minister now has the cheek to say in his latest statement to Bernama that “the cost of procuring assets for the national defence inventory will not exceed the ceiling set by the government”, when it has increased by 50% from RM6 billion to RM9 billion in less than a year!

All of the above points to the fact that we have a clueless defence minister who is arrogant, forgetful, ill-informed and ignorant. The manner in which budgets are so easily exceeded will only increasing the likelihood of realising Dato Idris Jala’s greatest fear, that Malaysia may be bankrupt by 2019.

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Zahid Must Apologise

I read with shock and horror the report in Utusan Malaysia today, quoting the Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who said:

“Dia [Tony Pua] dulu ditangkap di Singapura, dibawa ke mahkamah, tetapi sebab hubungan dia mungkin baik dengan pejabat tertentu di sana, beliau dilepaskan (dan) tidak dapat jadi ahli Parlimen (di sana)”

I cannot believe that a senior ranking Minister and the highest ranking vice-president of Umno would stoop so low as to spin venomous lies beyond imagination against me and my character.

The above falsehoods is clearly an attempt to divert the public and the media’s attention away from the mega-procurement deals which the Defence Minister signed last month, amounting to RM13.55 billion.

Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has to date failed to provide clear and detailed explanation for the RM6 billion purchase of 6 offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) from Boustead Holdings Bhd as well as the RM7.55 billion purchase of 257 8x8 armoured wheeled-vehicles (AWVs) from DRB Hicom Bhd, whether to the media or in Parliament.

I had at various times called the Minister to explain in detail what exactly are we purchasing, at prices seemingly much higher than other countries. What’s more, both of these contracts were awarded without any competitive tenders.

However, instead of being accountable to the rakyat, the Minister has chosen to spread malicious lies to tarnish my character and reputation as a diversionary tactic. In fact, his attempt to deflect the call for answers on the above military transactions with frivolous personal accusations leads me to believe that the Minister has something to hide from the people.

Let me make it clear in no uncertain terms that:

1. I’ve never ever been arrested in Singapore, not even for jay-walking.
2. I’ve never ever been charged in Singapore, for civil or criminal cases.
3. I have no relationship whatsoever with the Government of Singapore
4. I’ve never been interested in taking part in politics in Singapore, what’s more as a Member of Parliament in that country.

Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also claimed that I studied in Singapore from primary to tertiary level, which is factually wrong for I completed my primary school in SRK Montfort, Batu Pahat and for my Bachelor’s degree at Oxford University. I was only in Singapore for my secondary education at Raffles Institution as a recipient of the ASEAN scholarship.

What’s more I’ve never even taken up permanent residency in Singapore or any other country, unlike certain Barisan Nasional Ministers.

The insinuation by the Minister that I am now a “Singapore agent” due to a deal with Singapore authorities is downright evil. The story painted by the Defence Minister is so outrageous and incredible that perhaps he will make a better spy fiction writer like John Le Carre, than he is as the country’s defence minister.

I call on Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to retract his statement and make an unreserved public apology within 24 hours or I will instruct my lawyers to file a defamation suit against him next week.

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Defence Ministry Yet to Resolve Last Year's Scandals

Site visit with Johor Bahru DAP Members to
Skudai 7th Brigade Army Camp

The Minister of Defence should not be mischievous in asking the Federal Opposition to stop objecting to defence procurement but instead answer for the complete lack of action against irregularities raised by the Auditor-General in its annual reports

Bernama has reported that the Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi has stated that the Royal Malaysian Air Force will buy new aviation ground support vehicles (AGSV) next year as the existing fleet was becoming too costly to maintain. He said that “The majority of AGSV are old and need to be replaced. The Auditor-General’s Report clearly shows the critical need for the new assets.”

He urged further for the federal opposition not to question his ministry’s need to spend on new assets during times of peace, saying the Auditor-General’s report should “open their eyes” to reality.

Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi should not be so mischievous as to blame the federal opposition for objecting to defence procurement such as to purchase new equipment to replace items which are no longer usable or safe to use.

We have never protested against the Ministry of Defence from purchasing new equipment or vehicles. What we have protested strongly is the complete lack of transparency in the manner where these items are purchased, which appear to cost substantially higher that the necessary spend.

Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi for example, in his reply to my question in parliament, has refused to clarify what makes the difference between the RM7.55 billion procurement of 257 armoured personnel carriers from Deftech Sdn Bhd and the price which the latter paid to acquire these vehicles from FNSS Defence Systems, a Turkish defense manufacturer for RM1.7 billion. The Minister had claimed ignorance over the RM5.9 billion difference, despite the fact that he witness the signing of the agreement between the 2 companies in Turkey earlier this year.

What is more important is the fact that while Datuk Seri Zahid was quick to state his intent to acquire new AGSVs, he has failed to explain or take action against all various discrepancies and potential abuse cited in the Auditor-General’s report. In the report for 2010 for example, the Auditor-General found that the maintenance contracts for the aged AGSVs did not have the necessary expertise to repair the vehicles and late penalties were not meted out to these contractors when they failed to repair the vehicles within the necessary time frame.

The Auditor-General had also criticised the “improper payments” of allowance to the Territorial Reserve Army personnel who according to the records, did not attend the relevant training. He had even recommended that the relevant officers be punished via “surcharge” as permitted under Section 18(b) of the Akta Tatacara Kewangan 1957.

While the Ministry of Defence may need time to “sort out” the problems highlighted by the Auditor-General in the current report, the Minister has no such excuse for not having dealt with the problems raised in the 2009 report. One of the scandals arising from the previous year’s report is the construction of a new RM256 million Skudai 7th Brigade Army Camp which was awarded in 1997 but has only achieved 18.3% completion.

I’ve personally visited the site (see photos) yesterday and found the construction site to be still in deplorable conditions, with massive soil erosion causing major mud floods in neighbouring residential areas and abandoned “ruins and relics” peppering the site. And yet, despite the massive delay, and recommendations by the Auditor-General to do so, the contract with the developer Kausar Corporation Sdn Bhd has yet to be terminated.

The Grand Canyon of Malaysia (1)

The Grand Canyon of Malaysia (2)

The Ancient Ruins of Skudai (1)

The Ancient Ruins of Skudai (2)

The Ancient Ruins of Skudai (3)

What is worse is the fact that Kausar Corporation has collected their construction fees in full via a land swap deal where the company was already given the ownership of a 153 hectares piece of land. Kausar was able to pledge this piece of land to a bank for the amount of RM465 million showing that the land which could be worth as much as RM800 million is well above the cost of construction of the camp.

It is the Army and the tax payers who have to suffer as the Ministry of Defence has already (over)paid for the construction works in full, and yet after more than 15 years, the Army is still awaiting its “new” camp to be completed. Despite the above, no action to date has been taken against the developer, including terminating the contract, charging late penalties or reclaiming the land which has been awarded to them.

The Minister of Defence, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi must answer for all of these major scandals instead of just putting his priority gleefully to procure new vehicles, and blaming the federal opposition for taking him to task.

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Show Us Crime Stats Now, Why Wait Till September?

If Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi has proof that former Emergency Ordinance detainess account for 90% of the rise in crime, show Malaysians now.  Why wait until September?

Yesterday, Home Minister Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi claimed he will present statistics from a recent study on crime in full at the next Parliament session to justify the need to revive the Emergency Ordinance (EO), to allow the Police to place suspects under detention without trial for 2 years.

He said “I obtained the statistics, which were derived empirically, that in Selangor, 90% of organised crimes were carried out by ex-detainees who were released from Simpang Renggam where they were held under the EO. I will present the statistics and the study in the Dewan Rakyat in the coming session, the September session, to prove the need for the EO.”

The perplexing question for us to ask the Home Minister is, if the study is already concluded, and he already have in his possession the study, why does he need to wait 2 months before the report is presented to the Parliament?  Why not present it next week while the Parliament is still in session?  In fact, even if the report isn’t yet presentable next week, he could always call for a press conference and release the results of the study.  There is absolutely no necessity to wait a whole 2 months “to prove the need for the EO”.

However, if you read into Dato’ Seri Zahid’s statement, one can only deduce that it is completely oxymoronic.  If the “study” even exists, then surely for a shocking 90% of the crimes to be identified as being carried out by ex-detainees who were released from Simpang Renggam, these “criminals” would have been identified, arrested, investigated and possibly even charged already.  But if they have been arrested and investigated – and there have been very few reports of such, then how come crime is still rampant and the Police still needs the EO?

Is the Minister trying to tell us that they have identified all the suspects of all the crime incidences over the past year but are unable to arrest and charge them?

In fact if Dato’ Seri Zahid’s allegation that 90% of these crimes were committed by former EO detainees were true, it actually doesn’t “prove the need for the EO”.  On the contrary, it only proved that the police force to be totally incompetent!  The question needs to be asked, that if the Police is indeed so certain of who committed 90% of these crimes, then why can’t they be charged in court and put in jail?  If the Police is unable to charge all of them, surely the Police is able to garner evidence and charge half or even a quarter of them?

However, based on the Home Minister’s argument, the Police are absolutely helpless without the EO to put these “criminals” to jail via our criminal justice system.  Hence the need for the Police to take the easy way out, by becoming the witness, prosecutor and judge to place these “criminals” under detention without trial.

Unlike Dato’ Seri Zahid who seems to have trouble coming up with concrete statistics, we have shown using past published police statistics have shown that the EO was completely ineffective in fighting rising crime. For example, the Malaysian crime index was rising rapidly from 2003 to 2008. At the peak, with the crime rate rose by 34.0% from 2004 to 2007.  During this period, the EO was readily available at the Police’s disposal and yet, crime was seemingly unstoppable.

However, despite the EO repeal at the end of 2011, the Police and the Home Ministry were claiming victory in the fight against crime, with the crime index declining by 7.6% in 2012.  Hence, based on the above official crime statistics presented by the Police themselves, how can the Home Minister, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi, now claim that the cause of rising crime is almost entirely due to the repeal of the Emergency Ordinance?

Therefore, just like Dato’ Seri Zahid’s utter nonsense over the “Red Bean Army” allegedly funded with hundreds of millions of ringgit by the DAP, this so-called study which shows 90% of organised crimes being committed by ex-EO detainees is a complete figment of Zahid’s imagination.  This study does not exist.

We are seriously concerned that the Home Minister is taking advantage of the public fear of rising crime to bring back draconian laws for sinister purposes in Malaysia, instead of focusing on how to improve the professionalism, efficiency and effectiveness of the Police in fighting crime.

We call upon both the IGP and the Home Minister to heed Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s advice when he announced the repeal of the EO, that “now police must train themselves how to look for evidence.”  Instead of just catching suspects and chucking them into EO detention, Dato’ Seri Najib asked the police to now “provide evidence to charge them in court”.

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Dato' Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi Should Stop Criticising Critics Of 1MDB

Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi epitomises UMNO’s penchance for shooting the messenger, in this case those who exposed the wrongdoings of 1Malaysia Development Bhd

Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi claimed today the barrage of criticisms against 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is part of a systematic effort by groups out to destroy the nation’s image.

According to The Star Online, the home minister told reporters in Kota Baru that he has reasons to believe as such, following 1MDB and accounting firm Deloitte’s briefing yesterday to the federal Cabinet.

“All the attacks, speculations and unsubstantiated claims launched by certain quarters had far-reaching consequences on the country’s image in the eyes of foreign investors. Any attacks against 1MDB will indirectly affect the country and it is deemed to be a concerted attack on Malaysia. Those behind it must take responsibility for any false accusations,” he was quoted as saying in the English daily’s online report.

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How is the Edge Expected to Defend Itself from Baseless, Vague Accusations?

Why do we have a Home Minister who doesn’t at all understand the rule of law and behave like a tin-pot dictator of a banana republic?

The Home Ministry has issued The Edge Publications a show cause letter accusing them of “publishing articles on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) that have created confusion and doubts about the government and our financial institutions.” The Edge was also are also accused of relying on an Internet portal for our articles.

However, the degree of intimidation is so brazen and crass that the show cause letter did not even specify the allegedly offending articles.

It was only fair that if The Edge was to be given a fair opportunity to respond to the letter, it must know what offence it has allegedly committed in the first place. Hence, The Edge rightfully requested for information on the offensive articles the paper has published more than 300 articles on 1MDB alone, Bernama, Bloomberg, Reuters, Business Times, Euromoney – alongside their own reporting from the media channels in The Edge Media Group.

However, the Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi dismissed the request for information outright in the most arrogant and unbecoming fashion.

"Whoever eats chillies will feel the heat, there is no need for them to ask us which articles involved matters which are not true… They should know." he reportedly told The Star.

The reply only proves that our Home Minister has zero sense of natural justice and tramples on the rule of law.

You cannot charge an accused of committing an alleged crime without informing the accused of the specific crime he has allegedly committed. This is among the first principles of natural justice of the English law, the European Convention of Human Rights and the United Nations.

How is The Edge expected to defend itself when it doesn’t even know what wrongdoing the Home Minister is accusing them of?

Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi should stop behaving like a tin-pot dictator of a banana republic. The Minister is making Malaysia the laughing stock of the world and destroying the country’s reputation in the process.

Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi must withdraw the show cause letter to The Edge if he can’t even specify which article did The Edge publish which was based on allegedly false information. His attention will be better appreciated to ensure that our enforcement agencies like the police are up to speed when dealing with the real crimes against the Government like the Mara property kickback scandal and the embezzlement of funds from 1MDB.


Tony Pua

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Zahid Hamidi and Papagomo: What's the Link?

The presence of blogger Papagomo on board KD Tun Razak Scorpene submarine proved that Defence Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi is an incorrigible liar, for he had promised Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng that Papagomo will not be on board the submarine.

Zahid had even told reporters that no bloggers were on board claiming that "If we allowed any blogger to go, others would ask, too".

However Papagomo's blogpost with pictures has proven beyond doubt that Zahid is not only untrustworthy, Papagomo is the numero uno Umno blogger, hatchetman and special advisor to the Defence Minister, or the latter would not have been allowed on board the high security submarine.

The Defence Minister hasn't only lied to Lim Guan Eng about Papagomo's presence, he had earlier promise the Penang Chief Minister that he would accompany the latter for the ride, but reneged on the promise last minute.

Zahid had also earlier this year made unbelievable and scurrilous allegations againts me when he alleged that I was previously arrested and charged in Singapore which disqualified me from becoming a Member of Parliament in the city state. He had further claimed that it was due to my connections with the Singapore authorities that I was released and returned to Malaysia to become an elected representative here.

Such fantastic stories can only originate from an Umno blogger extraordinaire, who had also started the despicable and fictitious allegations that Lim Guan Eng's son was forced to transfer school due to sexual assault and Lim Guan Eng had paid money to cover up the case. It was later proven beyond doubt that Papagomo and his cohorts had made up the allegations when the alleged victim was a foreigner never to have stepped onto the shores of Penang.

The fact that Papagomo possesses such exclusive privilege with the Defence Minister who is also the most senior Umno Vice-President confirms his position as the latter's inner-circle confidante.

Papagomo 's privilege is a clear cut case of abuse of power and the Defence Minister must answer to all Malaysians for his lies and his intimate association with one of the most despicable of Umno bloggers.

Zahid has singled me out for criticism for not having gone on the submarine sojourn. I was overseas for the past week and was unable to make the trip to Langkawi. However, as pointed out by Lim Guan Eng, going on the dive will only prove the dedication and professionalism of the Malaysian Navy, which was never in doubt. It will give people like Papagomo the bragging rights but does not at all answer our questions over the seemingly exhorbitant billions of ringgit paid, as well as the hundreds of millions of "commissions" made to interested parties.

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We Will Meet Zahid

The Defence Minister, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi has said yesterday that he was willing to meet up with me to explain and clarify the purchase of the six second generation patrol vessels or “littoral combatant ships (frigate class)” (LCS). The issue surfaced again since the price tag for the war ships has increased from RM6 billion announced on 5 February this year, but has since increased 50% to RM9 billion this month.

Boustead Holdings Bhd has announced on Bursa Malaysia that its subsidiary Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd has received the “letter of award to undertake the construction of the ships” from Ministry of Defence Malaysia “to design, construct, equip, install, commission, integrate, test and trials, and deliver six LCS” for the new ceiling price of RM 9.0 billion

We have asked for the Defence Minister to explain the drastic increase, especially since even the initial RM6 billion price tag had already attracted controversy and required Dato’ Seri Zahid to provide an explanation in parliament.

In defending the RM6 billion deal in parliament, the Minister had claimed that these patrol vessels were no ordinary ships but were advanced warships known as "littoral combatant ships" (LCS).

Datuk Seri Zahid had in March claimed that the LCS is "bigger and faster" and "it is also equipped with three-dimensional warfare equipment like cannons, missiles and torpedoes” which are able to take on jets, ships and submarines respectively.

He argued that "with the rapid development of technology, the RMN would need an LCS with state-of-the-art equipment like the sonar system for submarine detection and anti-submarine torpedoes, which would help in the operation of the two RMN submarines to safeguard the sovereignty of national maritime areas."

Since the RM6 billion price tag has already come with all the above “advanced” technologies to fight jets, ships and submarines, what else has the Ministry of Defence ordered to justify the additional allocation of RM3 billion? The price-tag of RM1.5 billion will certainly make our patrol vessels among the most expensive in the world.

Instead of providing in open explanation, Dato’ Seri Zahid had mocked me yesterday asking “Where does he get his figures? From Kua Kia Soong, the former DAP MP?” If he has bothered reading my statements, I’ve stated clearly that the figures came from the announcements made by Boustead as well as “authoritative” answers made by himself in the Parliament. The Minister will perhaps do well to stop relying on Papagomo as his chief intelligence advisor, who has to date provided the former with only half-truths and fictitious data.

Pakatan Rakyat MPs, including Nurul Izzah Anwar and Dr Dzulkefli Ahmad are more than willing to take up the offer from the Minister to seek his clarification. However, he should not only provide clarifications for the above purchase involving RM9 billion but also the other mega-acquisition of 257 armoured personnel vehicles (APVs) costing RM7.55 billion this year. In his parliamentary reply to me on the APVs, he had claimed “no knowledge” over the details of the cost.

The Minister must also answer, given his assurance that his Ministry is “open to transparency”, why the Government is unwilling to set up a Parliament Oversight Committee to review and monitor defence expenditure. If the Ministry is not even willing to subject himself to oversight by the Parliament, the country’s highest legislative body, then Dato Seri Zahid Hamidi has no right to talk about “transparency”.

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Zahid Hamidi's Contempt of Malaysian Voters

Newly appointed Home Minister and UMNO Vice-President is doing his very best to block and jeopardise any possibility of Najib’s so-called “national reconciliation”

In a shocking article published in Utusan Malaysia, completely unbecoming of a Home Affairs Minister, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi tells Malaysians who are not happy with the outcome of the 13th General Election to migrate somewhere else with an electoral system which suits their fancies.

In the article, he said that

Jika golongan ini mahu menerima pakai list system atau single transferable vote seperti mana yang digunakan oleh negara-negara republik, sepatutnya mereka berhijrah ke negara-negara berkenaan untuk mempraktikkan kepercayaan politik mereka.

Dato’ Seri Zahid gave the excuse that Malaysia has inherited the first-past-the-post system from the United Kingdom, which is also utilised in many Commonwealth states.

Malaysia mewarisi sistem politik daripada United Kingdom dan kebanyakan negara Komanwel juga menggunakan sistem first past the post yang mana parti-parti politik yang bertanding di kawasan pilihan raya memilih hanya seorang wakil bagi setiap kawasan pengundian yang mengambil kira prinsip undi majoriti mudah.

Therefore he argued that despite Pakatan Rakyat achieving 51.78% of the popular vote, our adopted system allows for a party or coalition with lower popular vote to win the elections.

Dato’ Seri Zahid fails in his argument on 2 separate counts.  Firstly, while the first-past-the-post system does indeed grant disproportionate allocations of seats relative to the percentage popular vote, our electoral boundaries have been excessively corrupted over the past decades.  The gap between the constituencies with the least number of voters such as Putrajaya (15,791) and Padang Rengas (28,518) and those with the biggest population such as Kapar (144,159) and Serdang (133,139) goes to prove that our electoral system is manipulated to give the ruling Barisan Nasional an unfair advantage.  One will not find such ridiculous discrepancies between constituencies in other advanced first-past-the-post democracies such as United Kingdom or Australia.

The evidence is also clear in the fact that the average size of a constituency which Pakatan Rakyat candidates won had 77,655 voters compared to only 46,510 voters for a typical BN constituency.

Secondly, the fact that we have an imperfect electoral system in place is exactly the reason why the people are speaking up and expressing their disappointment and anger at the system.  It is the reason why hundreds of thousands of Malaysians have gathered in various cities over the past week to demand a better electoral system, be it a fairer distribution of voters in all constituencies or a thoroughly revamped proportional representation system, or a mixture of both as practiced in certain other advanced democracies.  It is the right of ordinary Malaysians to demand free and fair elections.

Dato’ Seri Zahid in his article is in effect denying these Malaysians their rights for a system which will better able to reflect the wishes of the citizens of the country.  Such arrogance and contempt by the newly appointed Home Minister and the current UMNO vice-president points to the fact that UMNO-BN has no desire at all to seek “national reconciliation” post the 13th General Election.

His comments also points to the hypocrisy of the new UMNO-BN government which the Prime Minister has promised to be inclusive and “transformative”.  It is the same arrogance and hypocrisy which has caused BN to lose its 2/3 majority in 2008 and the popular vote in 2013.  Such arrogance and hypocrisy will only lead to one inevitable result in the next general election, that is the rakyat will vote overwhelmingly for Pakatan Rakyat to ensure that no amount of cheating and gerrymandering will stop the tidal wave from sinking the BN party.

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If ‘not a single sen’ of KWAP funds went into Najib’s account, why is the MACC investigating SRC International?

The new Deputy Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi, claimed that not a single sen of the US$700 million transferred to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's accounts came from government pension fund, Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP).

He said the money came from just one Middle Eastern donor, and that they were channelled‎ through multiple companies to avoid detection. "No KWAP money was used by Umno or deposited into Najib's accounts. I saw the documents," ‎said Zahid when officiating the Sri Gading Umno division meeting yesterday.

If Dato’ Seri Zahid is so certain that none of the monies deposited into the Prime Minsiter’s account came from SRC International, which took a RM4 billion loan from KWAP, why didn’t Dato’ Seri Najib Razak sue both The Wall Street Journal and Sarawak Report for defamation?

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Let's Meet in Court!

Zahid and Pua cross swords again over defence deals
Reports by MARTIN CARVALHO, YUEN MEIKENG and RAHIMY RAHIM

DEFENCE Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Tony Pua (DAP– PJ Utara) have crossed swords again over the procurement of vessels and armoured personnel carriers (APC) for the armed forces.

Both men said they would not hesitate to haul the other side to court over defamatory statements made over the procurement of the military hardware.

“If you want to bring me to court, I am willing to meet you there but I, too, am ready to take you to court over your wild allegations,” Zahid said when asked by Pua about the purchase of six patrol vessels valued at RM6bil.

He said Pua should not have made unsubstantiated claims on his blog or through media statements.

Earlier, their argument started when Zahid said he would not compromise on the country’s security by divulging details of the procurement.

On his part, Pua stressed that he was not touching on military secrets but was instead seeking details about the deal following an increase in the purchase amount by 26% from RM5.35bil to RM6.75bil.

“We want to ensure that this does not happen again,” Pua said, adding that he would not hesitate to take legal action against Zahid over any “wild allegations”.

Zahid said the higher purchase price was due to the cost of fitting the vessels with the appropriate systems, and not due to certain parties “pocketing sales commission” as alleged.

He said Pua had failed to present evidence of wrongdoings despite being requested to by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

Both sides traded words again over a deal between DRB-Hicom Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd and FNSS Turkey over the purchase of APC that cost RM5.8bil.

Zahid said the deal was for the purchase of “baseline” APC which did not include the cost for the necessary weapons and communications sub-systems depending on their combat roles.

To a question by Salahuddin Ayub ((PAS–Kubang Kerian) on the difference between the defence budget of Malaysia and Singapore and neighbouring countries, Zahid said that it would correlate with the gross domestic product and defence needs of each country.

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Who to Trust: The Home Minister or the IGP?

Why are there conflicting status reports on the investigation of 1Malaysia Development Bhd by the Home Minister and the Inspector-General of Police?

I had asked the Home Minister, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi for my parliamentary question on the 10 June 2015 to state

"…kedudukan siasatan pihak Polis ke atas penyelewengan dalam urusniaga 1MDB yang telah menyebabkan kerugian berbilion-bilion ringgit."

"Adakah Low Taek Jho telah disoalsiasat sebab dokumen-dokumen yang terbongkar menunjukkan bahawa wang 1MDB telah disalurkan ke dalam akaun beliau?"

The Home Minister completely avoided responding to whether Low Taek Jho has been investigated. However, he surprised everyone by claiming that the Police have completed their probe into debt-laden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and is now waiting for further instructions from Attorney-General (A-G).

In referring to a police report lodged by former Batu Kawan Umno division vice-chairman Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan, Zahid said the case was classified under Section 409 of the Penal Code for criminal breach of trust by public servant or agent.

"The investigative papers have been referred to the A-G on March 9 this year for further action," he said.

Firstly, I’m disappointed that there was no reference made to the police report which I had made personally on the 4 March 2015 against the various parties relating to 1MDB, including Low Taek Jho.

However, I’m even more surprised that the investigation over 1MDB has been completed and submitted to the attorney general more than 3 months ago on 9 March.

This is because on 9 March itself, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar had confirmed that police are investigating the debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), with a new task force formed to probe the strategic investment company. He said the task force set up several days ago by the Attorney General (A-G), which included the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the A-G Chambers and the police.

"We are part of the task force set up by the A-G. We are investigating those reports lodged," he said on that day.

Since then Bernama reported on 22 March 2015 that the IGP reiterated, “as the police have received information and reports on the case, the special squad [to investigate 1MDB] felt that we should undertake an investigation without having to wait for the report of the National Audit Department.”

Even as late as a week ago on 4 June 2015, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) was still pleading for time and patience from the Malaysian public for the investigations to be completed.

"I don't want to speak on behalf of the task force. I am not their spokesperson but I just want to confirm that the investigation is being carried out. So I don't want to give out any details of the investigation. This is because if I divulge details of the investigation, it will disrupt the task force's probe," he said

In fact, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar even alluded to the fact that none of the key protaganists like Low Taek Jho or the top management of the 1MDB scandal have been called for questioning when he asserted, “…in commercial cases such as this, we do not arrest first and then investigate. We have to investigate it first and then only make the arrest if needed”.

However, if the Home Minister is telling the truth, then we have to ask what is the A-G doing sitting on the investigation papers for the past 3 months?

The glaring question therefore is, how is it that Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi could inform the Parliament that the Police have completed their probe into 1MDB and the investigation papers have been sent to the A-G on March 9 this year when everything the IGP has publicly announced points to the complete? Or is this another example of the Home Ministry’s left hand being totally clueless about what the right hand is doing, a state of affair which is becoming the norm rather than the exception in the Najib administration?

Tony Pua

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6 Second Generation Patrol Vessels: RM6 billion or RM9 billion?

The Pakatan Rakyat Member of Parliaments – Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Saifuddin Nasution and myself would like to thank the Ministry of Defence for making arrangements to provide clarifications to us over the recent procurement controversies yesterday.

One of the key issues which required urgent clarification was the disparity between the originally stated RM6 billion to acquire 6 SGPVs, first highlighted in February 2011 which was subsequently increased to RM9 billion in December 2011.

Below is a chronology of events and statements made:

• On February 5th 2011, Bernama reported that “the government has agreed to allocate RM6 bil to build six second generation patrol vessels for the Royal Malaysian Navy, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Saturday” in an article entitled “RM6 bil approved for 6 patrol vessels”. It was mentioned that Boustead Naval Shipyard will be awarded the contract to build the ships.
  
• On 12 February 2011, the New Straits Times also reported that the Royal Malaysian Navy Chief, Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar said that “the RM6 billion package deal for six second-generation offshore patrol vessels is considered reasonable… the cost included weapon-system installation, radar technology and other sophisticated equipment to enhance the armed forces' firepower.”
  
• On 8th March 2011 in Parliament, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi had further clarified that “pada masa ini pihak kerajaan masih belum memuktamadkan harga. Sejumlah RM6 bilion telah diperuntukkan sebagai siling dalam Rancangan Malaysia Kesepuluh dan sebahagian akan melimpah ke Rancangan Malaysia Kesebelas dan mungkin hingga ke Rancangan Malaysia Kedua Belas.” (pg 6). He repeated the same on 21 March 2011 in Parliament (pg 52).
  
• On 16th December 2011, Boustead Holdings Bhd has announced on Bursa Malaysia that its subsidiary Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd has received the “letter of award to undertake the construction of the ships” from Ministry of Defence Malaysia “to design, construct, equip, install, commission, integrate, test and trials, and deliver six LCS” for the new ceiling price of RM 9.0 billion.

At the meeting yesterday, the Secretary-General of Defence Ministry, Dato’ Seri Ismail Ahmad “clarified” the apparent increase in the cost:

• Firstly, Dato’ Seri Ismail claimed that the announcement made by Boustead Holdings Bhd refers to a “letter of intent” and the agreement has not been finalised. However this contradicts the statement made by Boustead to the stock exchange which clearly stated that it is a “letter of award”.
  
• Secondly, Dato’ Seri Ismail claimed that the Defence Minister’s reply in parliament was perhaps wrongly interpreted. What the Minister apparently meant was that RM6 billion was just for the 10th Malaysia plan and did not include the RM3 billion budgeted in the 11th Malaysia Plan. Therefore the price was RM9 billion for the 6 ships all along, and never RM6 billion.

Malaysians can now make their own judgement as to whether the explanation given by the Defence Ministry is acceptable or even credible.

I had asked during the meeting that if the actual purchase price or original budget was to be RM9 billion, then why did the Defence Minister announce on 5th February 2011 that it was RM6 billion to acquire 6 ships?

I further added, if it was indeed RM9 billion and not RM6 billion all this while, why was it that it took more than 9 months for the “correct” RM9 billion figure to be exposed via the Boustead announcement?

No further clarification was given by the Defence Ministry or the Minister besides insisting that it was all along a RM9 billion acquisition.

The above controversy provides one of the clearest instances why it is imperative for the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Defence Expenditure, modelled after the United States House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations which looks after defence policies as well as the US Defense Budget Appropriation Committees which review and approve detailed defence expenditure.

The setting up of such a committee with access to all the necessary and relevant documents will ensure that no one will be left with any doubt over whether it was RM9 billion all along or whether there was a massive increase in price from RM6 billion.

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1MDB's Innocence Can be Resolved Through the Simplest of Measures

The way to prove “tampered data” is not to allege “tampered data” based on a wishy-washy statement but by making the untampered versions public.

The Barisan Nasional Government machinery is working overtime to intimidate and suppress public information, discourse and criticism over 1Malaysia Development Bhd monster scandal which is threatening to unhinge the Najib administration.

The Home Minister, Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is now threatening news organisations which publish stories based on information exposed by The Sarawak Report. In particular, leaked email conversations between the various protagonists in 1MDB, Jho Low and his associates as well as PetroSaudi as well as documents such as the 1MDB Petrosaudi joint venture agreement has shaken the Najib reign to the very core.

However, the Home Minister based his claim entirely on a statement from an anonymous source from UK-based cyber security firm Protection Group International (PGI), which was hired by PSI to investigate the leaks. The source said “Simply put, it is incomplete data, creatively selected and edited to fit a desired narrative.”

Even if, and that’s a big “if”, the above allegation is technically true – nothing in it actually debunks the information exposed by The Sarawak Report, provided by the whistleblower as untrue!

It may indeed be “incomplete data” because some key transaction documents were not available in these leaked emails. To Petrosaudi and 1MDB, the emails may be “creatively selected”, but to the Malaysian taxpayers, they may be intelligently filtered. PGI alleged that the information was “edited to fit a desired narrative” – to which I would say, of course they were!

I would even say that the very allegation by the unnamed source from PGI is guilty of all of the above. The allegations provides “incomplete data”, is “creatively selected and edited to fit [1MDB’s] desired narrative”!

There was not even any mention, whether by Petrosaudi, 1MDB or PGI on what exactly has been edited, or worse, tampered by any party. Was the joint venture agreements wickedly doctored? Were key words in the emails replaced other malicious words? Or where all of the above complete works of fiction?

Therefore Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi has no right to abuse his powers to threaten any media agency in Malaysia to stop the criticism of 1MDB, especially in the light of all the subsequent corroborating evidence which has been discovered – such as the fact that there was no “cash” in the BSI Bank of Singapore, the fact that 1MDB was unable to repay even a RM2 billion loan which was due in November 2014, or the fact that 1MDB overpaid for its energy assets.

Instead, the best way for Petrosaudi or 1MDB to debunk, once and for all, all the various allegations published and exposed by The Sarawak Report or any other media organisations, is to provide the proof to the contrary.

1MDB unfortunately, has made absolutely no attempt to do so. Since January 2015 when the first incriminating documents first surfaced on The Sarawak Report, 1MDB has made no attempt to produce evidence and documents to prove the allegations in The Sarawak Report as false.

They have not even verbally denied the specifics of the exposes like the fact that 1MDB top management signed a US$1 billion investment in the 1MDB Petrosaudi joint venture within 5 days of meeting Petrosaudi. There was no denial that US$700 million and subsequently another US$550 million was transferred to Good Star Limited, a company controlled by Jho Low. 1MDB to date, has been unable to provide anyone with information on what exactly did they invest US$2.318 billion in the Cayman Islands, since redeemed and substantially spent, with the balance kept as mysterious “units” in BSI Bank Singapore.

In fact, the publisher of The Sarawak Report, Clare Rewcastle, even taunted all the relevant parties to sue her in the Court of Law if she has misrepresented any emails or documents in her website. There was no attempt by Petrosaudi, 1MDB or Jho Low to do so. All we get is meek and general denials, merely brushing aside the very serious allegations as “tampered information”.

Come on, 1MDB. Man up, or own up. Stop hiding underneath the Government skirt pleading secrecy while threatening to abuse its powers.


Tony Pua

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OPVs, LCS and What Have You

First of all, I’d like to express my thanks to Navy Chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar for taking the effort to make clarifications to my queries raised in my earlier press statement which were directed to the Minister of Defence.

1. Points of fact – OPV or LCS?

a. My statement on 7 Feb 2011 on this issue was responding to the statement made by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on the government agreeing to allocate RM6 billion to build 6 “patrol vessels” as reported by Bernama on 5 Feb 2011.

It was only in yesterday’s press conference that Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar or the Navy or Ministry of Defence for that matter, made reference to the specific term “Littoral Combat Ships” or LCS.

I have been accused in the Internet, on blogs and twitter that I can’t tell the difference between a “sampan” from a “speedboat”. Perhaps these criticisms, if valid, should be directed at the Minister of Defence himself, unless of course, Bernama misquoted the Minister.

b. However, more amusingly perhaps, Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) are a broad class of ships above 700 to approximately 2000 tons used for mixed purposes such as fishery protection, pollution control, fire-fighting, search and rescue, humanitarian operations, EEZ patrol and wartime deployment. Such ships built to wartime requirements are sometimes referred to as “corvettes”.

LCS on the other hand specialised variant of combat ship designed in the United States, which is arguably the “high-end” model of OPVs. The USS Independence, which is 1 of the 2 LCS in the US is 127m long, weighs 2,176 tons and has a speed of 44 knots. Our current Kedah-class OPV for example, is 91m long, weighs 1,650 tons and has a speed of 22 knots. “Littoral”, in layman’s term means “close to shore”.

Hence the question isn’t “OPV or LCS?” – but “what type of OPV is the navy buying?”.

2. Point of fact – The Price of Ships

a. Questions were raised as to the accuracy and relevance of the prices of OPVs which I had quoted in my earlier statement. For example, again according to Bernama, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar claimed that my figure of NZ$90 million (RM210m) for each of New Zealand’s recent purchase 2 OPVs was incorrect as the New Zealand’s Ministry of Defence website claimed the cost isn’t finalised.

Attempting to split hairs over the NZ$90 million figure is however a pointless exercise. The figure is an estimate as at December 2010 for ships which have already been delivered and commissioned in the middle of 2010. Hence even if one were to allow for a generous 10% variance, it’ll still be priced only at RM231m, and a far cry from the Royal Malaysian Navy’s RM1 billion per ship.

My point isn’t whether New Zealand bought its ships for NZ$90m or NZ$99m. My point was that the price range for different types of OPVs is huge, from US$34m (RM103m) to US$300m (RM913m) or more. Hence the question I asked per my earlier statement:

“The obvious question then, is whether the Government is procuring the construction of OPVs nearer the Irish Roisin class or closer to the US LCS? And if we are indeed making an order for the best-in-class LCS type ships capable of fighting a full scale surface and submarine warfare, does Boustead even have the skills and technology to make these ships?”

3. The Point

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a military man nor am I as knowledgeable as many of the military analysts and self-confessed military enthusiasts out there. I’ll also raise my hands to say that I’ll have tonnes to learn from our Chief Admiral in terms of military expertise. At the same time, I’m also not questioning the Navy’s need for additional ships.

But the indisputable fact of the matter is the price gap between the lower-end OPVs and the top-of-its-class models is huge. Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi’s statement of a RM6 billion purchase of 6 patrol vessels was vague and required detailed clarification. And it is our duty as parliamentarians to ensure that the tax-payers’ receive the value for their buck.

From the reports on the Chief Admiral’s press conference yesterday, I’ve to hear the additional specifications which make our ships being priced substantially higher than that paid for by New Zealand. For example, will our “LCS” be in the similar class as the American “LCS” in terms of armament for surface to air, surface to surface and anti-submarine warfare? The features of these ships such as the types and quantities of guns, electronic warfare and decoys, speed, sensors and processing systems are no secrets and are widely published in various defence magazines.

Hence, we MPs from Pakatan Rakyat are more than happy to accept the gracious offer by the Chief Admiral to meet him in person and be “educated” on the RM6 billion transaction.

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