The heat is getting to be too intense for Najib

QUICK TAKE: Dr Mahathir Mohamad seems to be on an unrelenting assault against Najib Razak, or rather, his silence on things that matter.

In his latest blog posting against Najib, and the third such post in the last two weeks, Mahathir has lambasted people who are jumping in to pledge support for the former, instead of asking him to provide answers to the questions asked.

Following the nonagenarian's first blog posting last week, the Umno camp, as well as BN component party leaders, had almost unanimously supported Najib's leadership, saying there was no need for the premier to answer his predecessor's rantings.

However, only a handful of Umno men, including Khairy Jamaluddin, Daim Zainuddin and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, had echoed Mahathir's sentiments and issued statements that seem to imply that Najib indeed has to answer the questions posed.

Even Kinabatangan MP Bung Mokhtar Radin, who is notorious for his ridiculous remarks in the august House, as well as in the social media, was today quoted as saying that as a Malaysian citizen, Mahathir had the right to pose the questions.

In his blog posting today, Mahathir said "as a result of the exposure regarding the Altantuya case and 1MDB, Najib is now getting pledges of support from Umno division heads, BN, MIC, senators and all kinds of groups. This is what the mainstream press reports.

"I am not asking anybody to support me. But I am going to ask all those who support Najib to declare they all support his 1MDB, its RM42 billion borrowing and his inability to answer where the money is when asked," he posted.

He then questioned the rationale of keeping billions of ringgit in the Cayman Islands, and also to keep it in a Swiss Bank in Singapore after being brought back from there.

"Do you also support the explanation that the money cannot be brought back to Malaysia by the prime minister and minister of finance (also Najib), because Bank Negara will ask too many questions?

"Do you support purchase of government land in KL at far below market price, revaluing it to make it your asset while buying power plants from the private sector at well above market price?" he asked.
The former premier then touched on the suggestion that the land be sold to government companies at inflated prices, in order to pay billions borrowed by 1MDB.

He then reiterated his question on the whereabouts of the RM42 billion borrowed by 1MDB.

"Why must 1MDB borrow RM2 billion to pay the interest? Why must the government make available almost RM1 billion to pay 1MDB's debts?"

"This means 1MDB now has a debt of RM45 billion (42 bil 3 bil)," he stated, adding that Najib's supporters must also support Jho Low who managed 1MDB money, and be his friends, for having so much faith in him.

Mahathir also took a swipe at Najib's unwillingness to take his questions head on.

"I asked Najib simple questions but instead of answering, he asked people to support him. I would also like to ask the supporters whether their support means the disappearance of RM42 billion is okay.

"If you do, go tell Daim, Razeleigh, Shahrir Samad (who reportedly said Najib will answer Mahathir's questions), and Khairy to shut up," he concluded.

Phew, so much "heat". It is not shocking that Najib, who is well known for his silence on matters that need immediate address, is reluctant to engage with firebrand Mahathir.

Perhaps Najib knows that once he slugs it out with Mahathir, there is no turning back. His so-called answers would probably be turned into bigger questions by Mahathir, who is well known for eloquence and no-nonsense attitude.

I don't know about you, but I'm definitely grabbing a pack of popcorn to watch this drama unfold into something bigger. I believe we can all readily agree that the Mahathir-Najib bout has just entered Round Two – and with more rounds expected to come.

[Source: TheAntDaily]

The failings of our Pakatan MPs ....

Mahfuz (PAS) and Johari Abdul (PKR) need apologize not try to justify absence during voting on POTA?

Members of Parliament must attend each and every Parliamentary session without fail - note the dates of Parliamentary sessions are all informed earlier, and so is the agenda.
Save for falling sick, or the sudden passing away of a family member, I see no other legitimate reason for absentism. What about arrest and detention by the police? Well, the police should really avoid doing anything that prevents an MP from attending and participating in a Parliamentary session.
So we must Mahfuz Omar of PAS - what are these legitimate reasons that he is talking about? - noting that he too was absent!

We must ask Johari Abdul of PKR, what are the 'concrete' reasons for absence from Parliament. Noting that he too was absent! What was his concrete reasons for absence?
Mahfuz Omar of PAS says that he had 'a planned engagement in Kedah' - this is certainly not an acceptable or legitimate or concrete reason to justify his absence. An MP knows when Parliamentary sessions would be, and he should avoid agreeing to any 'a planned engagement in Kedah'.And all MPs know that Parliamentary sessions can also proceed until midnight or even wee hours of the following morning - especially when it comes to passing of Government Bills, more so controversial Bills like POTA.

no prior instruction for all opposition lawmakers to be present - what nonsense is Mahfuz talking about. You came to the people and asked them to chose you as their Member of Parliament, now the key word is 'Parliament' - and hence, your duty is be in Parliament whenever it is sitting. Your duty as MP is read all the Bills, or Usul(Resolutions) - do your research, get public/constituent feedback and participate fully in the proceedings of Parliament. That is the instruction of your constituents - what do you want? Continuous instructions for every parliamentary session by your constituents, the people, for you to attend - if not, you will be absent?

Mahfuz, whose instructions are you waiting for? Your party's instructions? The Opposition leader's instructions? The Speaker's instructions? The Prime Minister's instructions? Pakatan Rakyat's leadership instructions? All opposition lawmakers...and government lawmakers must attend every Parliamentary session...that is the people's instructions and what is required by each and every peoples' representative - Members of PARLIAMENT.

To top it all, Mahfuz is allegedly PAS's chief WHIP, and Johari Abdul is PKR's chief WHIP, and it their duty to ensure that all their party MPs are present in Parliament.
What is a WHIP? Wikipedia says as follows

A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers," who typically offer inducements and threaten party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy. A whip's role is also to ensure that the elected representatives of their party are in attendance when important votes are taken. - Wikipedia

Certainly, POTA was an important piece of legislation, and when this important vote was taken, 26 Opposition MPs were absent - and worse still the chief WHIPs of both PAS and PKR were absent.
How can Mahfuz Omar of PAS or Johari Abdul of PKR, the alleged chief WHIPs of their respective political party be 'ensuring party discipline in Parliament' when they themselves are not only absent when POTA was voted on - but who failed to admit their own failings and chose to advance reasons to justify their absence. Really, if there is a GOOD - a VERY GOOD REASON, tell us please...

MPs should be making choices based on their conscience and values after considering all arguments. A 'Whip System', can some times turn MPs into ignorant disinterested persons - not bothered about decision making - but only ready to vote as instructed. I certainly do not want such a person to be my MP...Let's hope that our 'whips' in Malaysia are not offering 'inducements' or threatening our peoples' reps to vote as directed...without thinking.

Reveal now who were these absent MPs - we may want to consider this come next elections if they are again forwarded as candidates from the political parties. We want to know why they were absent? We want to know how many times they were absent? We want to know whether they have been good Parliamentarians or not... Remember, politicians can always do their work as politicians without being MPs, ADUNs or Senators - so step aside and let those with the required capacity, skills and inclination to be MPs, ADUNs and Senators.

[CHARLES HECTOR]

The Passing Of A Statesman

Ever since the passing away of  Lee Kuan Yew on March 23 2015 till his funeral on March 29 2015, many friends of mine have asked me why I have not written anything about the former prime minster of Singapore.  I just told them, I simply do not know him well enough to write anything on him except that he was a determined person to bring Singapore to what it is today.  That we must admit, was a great success and therefore attributable to this great man.

Other than this, I only met him once, in 1962, when I was only 14, and it was at the old Sungai Besi Airport where I was there to see a relative flying off to London to further his studies.  While waiting for the embarkation call, I suddenly felt the need to pee and went to the toilet.  As I was doing my thing, in came, a tall Chinese gentleman and immediately I recognised him as Lee Kuan Yew because of his broad forehead.  We stood side by side at the unrinals and he even gave me a quick smile.  When I returned to my parents in the lounge, I just had to tell them I saw Lee Kuan Yew.

The next day, I read in the Straits Times that he was in town with his cabinet colleagues for a series of meetings with the Tunku with regard to the impending merger.

As a mark of respect, I have posted two videos here, one is the announcement of his death and the other, an eulogy by Lee Hsien Loong of his father at the funeral.





Here below, are some of the books written by Lee Kuan Yew in my collections.  'The Battle For Merger' was a book I bought in 1962 and have kept it until today. 'Ousted', authored by Patrick Keith, was the struggle by Lee Kuan Yew in the post-Malaysia days and the events that led to Singapore being ousted from the federation.

To all my Christian friends, here's wishing you a Holy and Blessed Easter.

Alleluia, Alleluia ... the Christ is risen.