Sunday, May 31, 2009

PENANTI BY-ELECTIONS – WIN FOR PR

It is a 5 win for Pakatan Rakyat (PR), 1 win for Barisan National (BN), and another by-election at Manek Urai, Kelantan scheduled this July 14th 2009; an astonishing 7 by-elections since the March 8, 2008 General Elections.

Despite the low voters turnout of only 46% at the Penanti by-election, PR candidate Dr. Mansor Othman garnered 6,052 votes, securing a majority of 5,558, against his nearest rival Independent Nai Khan who secured 494 votes. All three Independent cadidates lost their deposits. The majority votes garnered by Dr. Mansor, though less compared to the 2008 elections, reflects the unflinching support for the PR in Penanti.

I reckoned that even if the BN had fielded a candidate, there was every possibility of the candidate losing the by-election. This should be a worring trend for the BN, and coupled with the losing streak in all previously held by-elections, only a miracle could overturn the results in favour of the BN in the next General Elections. The BN, after their poor outing in the 2008 General Elections had vowed for drastic changes within the party, but the results of the Penanti by-elections (although BN did not field a candidate) does not seemed to have changed the voters perception towards PR.

In the 2008 General Elections, the Penanti PR candidate Muhamed Fairus Khairuddin secured 7,346 votes, against his BN rival Datuk Abd. Jalil Majid who secured 5,127 votes. The voter turnout was 82% of a total voters population of 17,000 voters.

With the up-coming Manek Urai by-elections in July, the BN will have another opportunity at proving that their popularity and influence has not waned in Kelantan. My bet is that PR, through its PAS candidate will have a 60-40 chance of winning the by-elections. What then would be your bet?


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

PENANTI BY-ELECTIONS – WIN FOR PR

It is a 5 win for Pakatan Rakyat (PR), 1 win for Barisan National (BN), and another by-election at Manek Urai, Kelantan scheduled this July 14th 2009; an astonishing 7 by-elections since the March 8, 2008 General Elections.

Despite the low voters turnout of only 46% at the Penanti by-election, PR candidate Dr. Mansor Othman garnered 6,052 votes, securing a majority of 5,558, against his nearest rival Independent Nai Khan who secured 494 votes. All three Independent cadidates lost their deposits. The majority votes garnered by Dr. Mansor, though less compared to the 2008 elections, reflects the unflinching support for the PR in Penanti.

I reckoned that even if the BN had fielded a candidate, there was every possibility of the candidate losing the by-election. This should be a worring trend for the BN, and coupled with the losing streak in all previously held by-elections, only a miracle could overturn the results in favour of the BN in the next General Elections. The BN, after their poor outing in the 2008 General Elections had vowed for drastic changes within the party, but the results of the Penanti by-elections (although BN did not field a candidate) does not seemed to have changed the voters perception towards PR.

In the 2008 General Elections, the Penanti PR candidate Muhamed Fairus Khairuddin secured 7,346 votes, against his BN rival Datuk Abd. Jalil Majid who secured 5,127 votes. The voter turnout was 82% of a total voters population of 17,000 voters.

With the up-coming Manek Urai by-elections in July, the BN will have another opportunity at proving that their popularity and influence has not waned in Kelantan. My bet is that PR, through its PAS candidate will have a 60-40 chance of winning the by-elections. What then would be your bet?


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Saturday, May 30, 2009

THE BIGGEST SCANDAL EVER - PKFZ

The 405 hectare Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) transshipment hub that has been plague with financial scandals and poor management practices, is now the center of a heated debate as to how the scandal has been allowed to balloon to such unthinkable proportion. The initial financial outlay of RM 1.9 billion to develop PKFZ, can now grow to almost 12 billion (loan interest included).

With the release of the Price Waterhouse auditing report which shows damning mismanagement and massive financial irregularities, the game of denial can now be heard from those who are either directly or indirectly connected to the scandal.

The first to disclaim any role in the scandal is former Port Klang Authority Chairman and Deputy Finance Minister Chor Chee Heung, who said that all decisions regarding the acquisition of land and subsequent massive development of the PKFZ was decided before he was elected Non-Executive Chairman.

Even former MB Selangor Khir Toyo (he must have felt a sense of guilt) has declared that the BN state government then was not involved in the sale of the PKFZ land. If indeed, Khir Toyo and his former government was not involved, he need not come out to justify his innocence. Silence would have been better for him, at a time when so much of his wrong doings are slowly being exposed by the present Selangor state government.

On second thought, it is interesting to know whether Khir Toyo, at the time when he was the Selangor MB had known some of the problems faced by PKFZ, or was he completely in the dark over the problems. I would have thought that as the MB, he would have liked to be briefed constantly about this major development in the state, rather than not knowing at all.

The MACC is also being blamed for the scandal, for failing to act on 4 reports lodged by the opposition, according to DAP Assemblyman Ronnie Liu. He believe that the problem could have been arrested, if MACC had accentuated on the reports.

With the audit report out, and should MACC finds that there are evidences to prosecute the offenders, it will be interesting to see how the government will react when the offenders are politicians in their midst. This case will certainly be a test of the government's will of “not to leave any stones unturned'


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

MOHD ZAIN HAMZAH – HIS CRUSADE FOR JUSTICE

I had in October 11, 2008 posted an article titled, “MOHD ZAIN HAMZAH – A NAME TO REMEMBER”, depicting him as a retired senior police officer with the courage to speak out, for what he believe is the trampling of evidence and a miscarriage of justice by his superiors, against the sacked Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the 'Black Eye' incident in 1998. Mohd Zain's superiors that I am referring to are the present Attorney General Gani Patail and IGP Musa Hassan.

If one may recall, Mohd Zain was then the KL CID Chief assigned with the responsibility to fully investigate the 'Black Eye' incident that happened while Anwar Ibrahim was in the care of the police, and Gani Patail and Musa Hassan were members of the prosecuting team in the infamous Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy case that had found him guilty as charged, and a 6 years jail term that followed.

Around July last year, Anwar Ibrahim lodged a police report alleging Gani Patail, Musa Hassan, Mohd Zain and Dr. Abd Rahman Yusof for fabricating several medical reports in the 'Black Eye' incident. The government had directed that the report be investigated by then ACA, and in March this year, the MACC Commissioner Ahmad Said cleared Gani Patail and Musa Hassan of any criminal wrong doing, but had left out Mohd Zain and Dr. Abd Rahman Yusof in a quandary. Parliamentarian Nazri Aziz echoed the same in parliament when asked about the report lodged by Anwar Ibrahim.

Mohd Zain who is convinced that both Gani Patail and Musa Hassan are involved in the fabrication of the medical evidence against Anwar Ibrahim, had in April and May this year submitted two separate appeals to MACC to review the case and the findings i.e. renouncing any criminal wrong doing on the part of Gani Patail and Musa Hassan.

It was about the same period in April this year, at a time when Mohd Zain submitted his first appeal to MACC, that a bankruptcy notice was served to him by the court. He strongly believe that the bankruptcy notice was timed to discredit him, as he stands to be an important witness (should he be summoned) in the up-coming Anwar Ibrahim's trial for his 'second sodomy' scheduled in July this year, where Anwar Ibrahim is expected to raise the 'Black Eye' incident again.

I have known Mohd Zain back in the early 80's while he was serving in Kangar, Perlis; and with me in Alor Setar, Kedah. We met on several occasion after both of us have retired, and I was honoured to have been invited to attend a wedding at his home in Ulu Langat several years ago.

I am not here to judge whether Mohd Zain is also a party to the wrong doings of his former superiors or otherwise, but I stand resolutely by him solely for his courage to speak out against the blatant abuse of power by those who claim to be the guardians of law and justice. So much of negativities has been said about the judiciary and the police force, and this case will be a serious test and judge to what is perceived by many, and in particular by Mohd Zain, as the wrong doings of Gani Patail and Musa Hassan


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Friday, May 29, 2009

THANK YOU

On 25 March 2009, I had posted an article concerning the poor state of maintenance of Sg. Udang Camp, Melaka; a camp that is the home of our Malaysian Special Forces Training Center.

Two days ago, I received an sms from someone informing that action has now been taken to begin the maintenance work on some of the dilapidated buildings that I had mentioned in my article, especially the married quarters and the messes.

Should this information is true, and if it was my article that had moved Army to act speedily, then I wish to thank them for having heeded to the needs of the officers and soldiers that had endured living under dilapidated conditions.

Army should now shift their attention to Taiping, and to witness for themselves the poor state of the old other rank married quarters besides the road leading towards the newly constructed Malaysian Services Corps Officers Mess and guest house. I was there, and I think the soldiers deserve better houses than the ones they are provided now.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

AMINAH THE INDEPENDENT CRUSADER

Former PKR Wanita Chief Aminah Abdullah who is also the Independent candidate for the Penanti by-election, is more of an actor, rather than someone who is serious about wanting to be an elected representative of a state assembly, and a law maker. I view her antics as nothing more than cheap publicity, that has been exploited by the mainstream media to embolden her popularity. Her pictures that has been spread over the print and electronic media shows of a person that is better as a wife, and a mother dedicated to the chores of her household; then an aspiring politician.

I am now inclined to believe that the taping incident was a deliberate act on the part of Aminah, with malicious intent to discredit both Cheah Kah Peng and Lim Eng Nan. Aminah must have lured both Cheah and Lim to her house on a pretext of a social invitation, but in reality, it was a trap. Who would believe that is was not a trap, when the taping made deliberately, without the prior knowledge of her two house guests. If it was a honest invitation, no sensible and good natured hosts would want to tape the conversations of their guests, other than for some self serving interests.

For what Aminah has done, she certainly does not deserve to be elected to the state assembly, and neither could she stand tall for her honestly and integrity. She will now have to bear being labeled by all sorts of names from those who are angered by her act. I am certainly one of those who does not think much of her act, because it only reflects poorly of her image as a thrust worthy person. If she can do to discredit her own former party associates, what is there to stop her from doing the same to others later.

Not enough with having the tape, she now says that she will reveal an undisclosed incidents that happened in a hotel in Nibong Tebal, Jawi in 2007, implicating the Penang PKR Chairman Datuk Zaharin Mohd Hashim, and I suppose with many more exposures.

I just wonder, as the by-election draws near, what will Aminah’s election campaigning be like to lure the electorates. I hope she does not end up selling tapes.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Thursday, May 28, 2009

DELAYS IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS FOR ARMED FORCES

I had been observing since my days in the military that any construction projects undertaken for the Armed Forces will take an exceptionally long period to complete. But if one were to observe a project undertaken for the private sector, it would normally be completed on schedule. Having no knowledge about the construction industry, I begin to seek answers for these unusual delays.

I would have thought that from the point of view of the developer, the sooner he completes his job, the better it is for him. And the longer he delays the completion, the costlier it will be for him. This would normally be the understanding of the construction industry from the ordinary person’s view. But strangely enough, construction projects for the Armed Forces seems to be that the longer the delay, the better it is, and there must be some mysterious reason for this.

Let’s take the construction of the Mindef Transit Camp, which I was told, was awarded on the basis of a land swap i.e. the developer will have to complete the project first, before they can have possession of an agreed piece of land that belongs to the Armed Forces. In the case of the Mindef Transit Camp, the return offer was some parcel of Armed Forces land along Jalan Ampang. The Mindef Transit Camp is now completed, but it took the developer more than 12 years. Even the development of Putrajaya did not take that long. Amazing, isn’t it?

Next is the officers married quarters and the other ranks married quarters at Mindef complex, and at Sg. Besi Army Camp respectively. These two projects are nearing a decade, and I wonder if both the projects are completed.

And at one time before, we had a project at Muara Tuang, Sarawak that was supposed to be the new location for the Divisional HQ. In my last position as the Chief of Staff (Operations) at Army Field Command, it used to be a joke every time the Field Commander makes a visit to Muara Tuang. The joke among us officers was, “melawat Muara Tuang….nak tuang lah tu!” I am told that the project at Muara Tuang has started, after a long delay.

Now back to the Mindef Transit Camp. Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to take a look at the new complex which they say is likened to a 3 star hotel for the soldiers and their families that are on transit to East Malaysia. From the outside, the building looks grand and exciting. But if one were to take a serious look at the construction, the building is shoddy and lacks finesse in its final touches. There has already been leakages in some parts of the building, and it will not be long before pieces of the ceiling will break apart. I am certainly not an engineer, but I can claim to be good at observing things that are not right.

The question that I need to ask is, “what are the causes of the long delays to complete construction projects for the Armed Forces, and why has it been allowed to be delayed?” The answer I got from a friend was, “it must be the work of cronies, and only cronies now a days can get away with murder”. That answer was not pleasing to my ear, but I suppose it has some truth.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

THE ‘BOYS WING’ OF THE ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE A TARGET FOR OBLITERATION

It has been rumoured that the Boys Wing of the Royal Military College will be relocated to accommodate the expansion programme of the National Defence University (NDU).

The establishment of the NDU had earlier necessitated the relocation of the Cadet Wing, which is the training center for army officer cadets, to Ulu Tiram, Johore. The move of the Cadet Wing to Ulu Tiram was seen by many as to be lowering the status of the Army Officers Cadet Training Center, to one that befits that of a recruit training center of yesteryears. Even the present recruit training center at Port Dickson is more presentable.

The reason I say this is because the once prestigious Cadet Wing of the Royal Military College was a shinning symbol of awe and grandeur, matching that of other Officer Cadet Training Centers of other countries. Some even dubbed the Cadet Wing as “Little Sandhurst’; the British Army Cadet Training Institution in the UK. The Cadet Wing at Ulu Tiram that had now been designated the Officers Cadet School, is presently housed in semi permanent barracks that resembles buildings meant for operational camps. It is no longer the ‘Little Sandhurst’ that the older generation of officers would want to be associated with.

With the Cadet Wing gone, the authorities are now vying on the Boys Wing that is situated on a hillock with a panoramic view of almost the entire Sg. Besi garrison. The Boys Wing has produced a number of luminaries that are big names in government, as well as in the private sector. I do not want to name them here, because the list is endless.

The question that many had asked is, “why the Boys Wing, and removing it, will also obliterate the history of the institution”? And I am quite sure there will be protestations from the Old Putra Association (OPA) members whose loyalty to their Alma Mate is ‘thick’.

Should the rumours be true, and with the Boys Wing gone, the once renowned Royal Military College will therefore cease to exist.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

CAN CHIN PENG BE ALLOWED TO RETURN?

There is now a raging controversy with regards to a question of whether the former CPM leader Chin Peng ( Ong Boon Hua) be allowed to return to Malaysia or not. This controversy was the result of a statement made by Penang Gerakan Chairman Datuk Dr. Teng Hock Nan who had suggested that Chin Peng be allowed to return to his country of birth, supposedly because of failing age, and that he no longer posed a threat to the country. But one thing is certain, that Chin Peng like any other communist, will never renounce his communist ideology, and that’s the issue that all Malaysians must be concern about.

The government is firm in its decision not to allow Chin Peng to return, but there are now voices to the contrary; the reason being that Chin Peng they claim was a patriot; a nationalist of sorts, who fought an arm insurrection to dispose off the British colonialist. But wasn’t Chin Peng and his marauding band of bandits offered an amnesty in 1955; denounce their CPM status and to participate in a legally constituted political party? The amnesty was rejected by Chin Peng and his followers, who wanted to retain their CPM status, and be given the freedom to propagate the communist ideology. This was flatly denied by the Malayan government then under the leadership of Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Speaking for those who had sacrificed their lives fighting against the communist terrorist from 1948 till 1960, and again from 1969 till 1990, I will not give a second thought to the idea of allowing Chin Peng to return to this country.

The security forces had fought the communist threat for a total of 33 years; hundreds have died in the process, and many more maimed for life, and for the families that have seen the loved ones die, it would not be that easy to forget and to forgive.

I could still remember during the period of the First Malayan Emergency (1948-1960), I had friends in my village of Ulu Langat, Selangor, having lost their parents through kidnapping by the communist terrorist, and their bodies were never recovered. Till today, my friends who are of my age, still talks about their lost parents. And do you think they will ever forgive Chin Peng for this?

And similarly, during the ‘Second Malaysian Emergency (1969-1990)’, I lost a lot of friends (soldiers and officers alike) fighting the communist terrorist. Any sane person having seen a comrade die, will never forget nor forgive those who have killed them.

Datuk Dr. Teng Hock Nan may not have experienced the long and torturous period that the security forces have to endure seeking and fighting the communist throughout the 33 years in the jungles. Neither have he seen friends die fighting the communist, and for that reason, I can forgive him for his ignorance.

But for us who have toiled in the jungles for months on end to ensure the peace that prevails in the country today, will find it hard to accept even the mere the sight of Chin Peng back in Setiawan, Perak.

CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Monday, May 25, 2009

CHANGE OF HEADER IMAGE

To all my viewers, I have change my header image to a photograph taken in 1966 of a group of 6th Battalion Royal Malay Regiment officers base in Sembawang Camp, Singapore.

For those in the army, they would be able to recognized some of the officers in the photograph, and one of them was Lt Ismail Hassan (standing fifth from right) did make it to Chief of Army. The Commanding Officer was Lt Col Mokhti Jabar (standing left of picture), and the gentleman in dark glasses was H.E Jamal Abd. Latiff, Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore.

The officer seated on a stool (extreme right) was the battalion’s Second-in-Command, Maj Syed Hamzah who retired as a Brigadier General.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Sunday, May 24, 2009

THE THIRD LINK – FROM A DEFENCE VIEW POINT

During the visit of our PM to Singapore recently, Najib had announced that he was considering the construction of a third link to the island of Singapore, which will originate from the eastern side of Johore. He reasoned out that this new link was to “facilitate movement of people and goods, and help develop eastern Malaysia”. If this was the only reason to justify the construction of the third link, then I would say that the reasons given may not justify strategic and defence expedience. I may be wrong in my statement, but our leaders in the past appears not to take security and defence considerations when charting out the infrastructure development of this country.

A nation that is serious with security and defence, would of necessity be working closely with the defence planners. Our leaders ought to be aware that any major piece of infrastructure development that the government undertakes, has security and defence implications. The construction of highways, dams, townships, power stations, bridges, airports, seaports, drainage and irrigation systems and even golf courses are factors for consideration in defence planning. I am not aware whether the Armed Forces is being incorporated in any discussions with the government over the country's development plans. I just wonder whether security and defence considerations have been given thought in the development of the various 'economic development corridors'. I believe the answer is an obvious NO.

Our political leaders must be made to understand that in planning the defence of the country, the aspect of terrain and the country's physical landscape (both natural and man made) are given the highest priority. Deployment of the Armed Forces assets are being dictated by these considerations, and the more developed the country becomes, the more complicated and difficult it is for the defence planners. And in view of this, would it not be appropriate for the defence planners to be included in all discussions that is related to the country's development? Or is the government confident that the assets of the Armed Forces is sufficient to deal with any impending threats, regardless of the development of the country?

Let me give a simple illustration of what I mean by the above statement. Now, let us take the hundreds of golf courses that had mushroomed throughout the country over the last decade. From the military stand point, these beautiful golf courses are an excellent drop zones and landing areas for an invading airborne and air landed forces. Likewise, the bridges and highways if secured early (which they will) by an invading force, provides them an easy route to their target areas. The dams, power stations, airports and seaports are critical objectives that has to be defended against an invading force. Having said all this, I would then ask, “is our Armed Forces serious and ready to defend this country”? I am not competent to answer, and I will have to leave this question to be answered by the leaders of our Armed Forces today.

I wish not to probe deeper into the developmental aspects of our country's Armed Forces, but I would tend to believe that its development is not in congruent with multi-faceted infrastructural development of this country. If my aforesaid statement stands to be true, then I think the proposed construction of the third link will need to be given serious thought.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Saturday, May 23, 2009

RINAI - THE BEKALALAN BEAUTY

This is a story of my days as a Platoon Commander operating in one of the remotest area of Sarawak; a place called Bekalanan, perched high up in the pristine mountainous region of the land of the Muruds and Kelabits.

I was then the 8 Platoon Commander of Bravo Company, 6th Royal Malay Regiment, and my Officer Commanding was Major Dahalan Sulaiman. We were then based in Kluang, Johore and had received orders from the Intelligence Officer, Lt Hussein Suffian that the Battalion was to be deployed to Labuan for a scheduled tour of about a year. This was around 1967.

At the briefing, I was told that my platoon was to be deployed to Bekalalan, with the Company HQ based at Long Semado, and the Battalion HQ at Labuan. Having listened to a short briefing by the unit's Intelligence Officer, I looked at the map and noticed that Bekalalan was right up close to the Indonesian border. I could not imagine what I was heading for, because this was my first overseas deployment in Sarawak, and to be on an independent mission fronting the Indonesian troops across the border. I suppose, this was to be my test as a platoon commander, at a time when the country had just ended the period of 'Konfrontasi' with the Indonesians, but the feelings of suspicion among our two armed forces was still lingering in the air.

The battalion flew off from Changi Air Base to Labuan around mid 1967 on an Australian Air Force C 130 aircraft. This was to be my first flight on a C 130 military aircraft, and to be strapped in a 'para jump seat' for the next 3 hour fight to Labuan, proved taxing on the body.

Upon our arrival at Labuan, we were greeted by our advance party officers, and the resident battalion officers from 4th Battalion Royal Malay Regiment. I knew that I had 3 officers from my intake who were posted to 4th Battalion Royal Malay Regiment, i.e. Mazlan Baharuddin, Azuddin Ahmad and Aziz, but somehow, I did not get to meet them at Labuan.

After having rested a day at Labuan, my platoon was set to be deployed to Bekalalan. We were first to be flown on board a RMAF Caribou transport aircraft to Long Semado, and thereafter by the Allouette helicopter to Bekalalan in several sorties.I remembered that the pilot of the Caribou aircraft was one Flight Lieutenant Yunus Tasi, who later rose to become the Air Force chief.

It was rather a cloudy morning when we took off from Long Semado to Bekalalan, with only 5 of us in the Allouette, in the first sortie. It was rather a short flight, but having to view the area from the air, makes me wonder how would one feel having to walk the area on foot. We saw how mountainous the area was, but for the Muruds that lived in the area, walking was the only means of getting from place to place..

After a brief flight, we landed at Bekalalan, and to my surprise it was Mazlan, my course mate who was the platoon commander that had to be relieved. I sensed that he was not too eager to leave just yet, and I wondered. After a quick handing over briefing, Mazlan was set to fly off in one of the later sorties. I remembered Mazlan telling me all that was good in Bekalalan, and even a hint at the presence of a Murud beauty named Rinai living at Long Rusu; a 45 minutes walk from our base. I did not know what beauty was like to the young ladies living in the interior of Sarawak. Was it different from the ones we regularly meet in town? Or was Mazlan saying it in jest, to keep my spirits up, for the isolation that my platoon was to face in the months to come?

The first thing that I did upon my platoon having all landed in Bekalalan was to send out small security patrols around the base which was located on a hillock, that overlooked a stretch of opened area that was later to be a landing strip for small fixed wing aircraft. I wanted my patrols to be familiar with the surrounding area, and to note the long houses that are in proximity to the base. Certainly, Long Rusu and Rinai wasn't in my mind as yet.

A few days later, we received our first resupply that were airdropped from a Caribou aircraft. Somehow, the surrounding villagers would know our resupply schedule, and they would loiter around our base to watch the airdrop. It was at this moment that I noticed a young beautiful Murud lady among the villagers. I wasn't sure whether this lady was the Rinai that Mazlan had spoken about, and I took no serious notice of her.

A few weeks later, I decided to lead a patrol to familiarised myself with the area, at the same time to acquaint ourself with the people living in the long houses. Long Rusu was my intended location, and I plotted the route to the long house. It wasn't difficult getting to Long Rusu because there was already an existing jungle route, frequented by the villagers.

After a 45 minutes walk, we arrived at Long Rusu, which had a large playing field close to the long house. I enquired from a villager to meet the Tuai Rumah (head of the house) first, because that was the normal courtesy before a visitor was granted permission to enter the long house.

I was introduced to the Tuai Rumah, and he welcomed us all into the long house. I introduced myself and said that we are the new troops that had replaced Mazlan's platoon, and hope that he was not offended by our presence. It wasn't too difficult talking to the Tuai Rumah because he understood a bit of the Malay language. While we were talking to the Tuai Rumah, his wife appeared to serve us tea, and besides her was the same young lady that I saw during the airdrop. This I thought was Rinai, the Bekalan beauty, and sure enough it was Rinai.

On our return back to base, Rinai was the talk among the soldiers that accompanied me on patrol, and the talk soon spread throughout the base, and it never ceased even after we left Bekalalan and return home to Kluang, Johore, a year later. Rinai was truly a beauty, that had captured the hearts of troops of No. 8 Platoon, B Company.

Now, 42 long years had past since I left Bekalalan, and it was Mazlan who rang me up a few days ago, to remind me of Rinai, the Bekalalan beauty.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

DATUK MIRZA MOHAMMED TAIYAB – WAS HE REALLY GUILTY OF A WRONG DOING?

I had in August last year, and again in March this year, posted an article regarding the alledged corruption charge against former Director General Tourism Ministry, Datuk Mirza Mohammed Taiyab, that is presently on trial. I wrote the articles because I was convinced that Datuk Mirza was innocent of the charge, and a victim of some unscrupulous person(s), high up in the Tourism Ministry. I am not surprised that a politician may be involved as well.

I was elated, when I read a report in the online NST, that a witness in the trial, Zulhisyam Ayob had declared that Datuk Mirza was not aware of the payment made for the latter's dental treatment amounting RM13,000. Zulhisyam Ayob was the ex-husband of the owner of the dental clinic, Dr. Khamsiah Ghulam Haider, and she too declared that her ex-husband did told her not to reveal to Datuk Mirza of the payment. This only confirms Datuk Mirza's passionate declaration to me that he had no knowledge of who actually paid for his dental bills, during a lunch meeting with him in March this year.

I do not know Datuk Mirza before our lunch meeting, but I have heard from friends in the tourism industry that Datuk Mirza is a trustworthy person of high dignity, and does not succumb easily to corrupt practices. He is god fearing, they say, and is well regarded by those who had served him in the ministry.

The only thing that I could say now is that the report of the alledged corruption by Datuk Mirza was the work of someone with an evil mind who was not pleased with him, and is out to frame him. It could well be the work of someone from within the ministry itself, and it cannot be by someone in the lower ranks of the ministry. It has to be someone prominent, and I wonder who could this person be?

I wish Datuk Mirza succeeds in clearing the air over his alledged corruption case, and if he is succeeds in his trial, god willing, it is only proper that he be redeemed to his former position as the Director General, and be paid back for all that he had lost in terms of his deprived remuneration.

But this case must not just end upon Datuk Mirza having succeeded in winning his case. A fresh battle must be launched in the courts i.e. to get the truth out of the person(s) who had framed Datuk Mirza, and justice will be done only when the truth is out. And from this case, I have been taught one thing; that it painful to be honest and a trustworthy public servant. On the contrary, it pays well to be unscrupulous.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

HQ 6th MALAYSIAN INFANTRY BRIGADE

In my last article, there was a mention made of Brig Gen Yusof Abu Bakar, who was popularly known as Jimmy Yusof, the first HQ 6th Brigade Commander. It was quite normal then, that officers who were trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, United Kingdom would return home with an English name. Hence, we had names like ‘Freddy Hashim’, ‘David Daud’, ‘Jack Yacob’, Jo Ghazali who all rose to become Generals of the Army. However, for those officers who were trained locally at the Federation Military College (subsequently renamed Royal Military College), somehow does not have English names.

Prior to his promotion as a Brigade Commander in 1969, Brig Gen Jimmy Yusof was the Director of Territorial Army, and was succeeded by the late Col Mokthi Jabar, whom I served, when he was the Commanding Officer 6th Royal Malay Regiment based in Kluang, Johore. Col Mokhti Jabar also had an English name and was fondly called ‘John Mokhti’.

Upon receiving my posting orders to HQ 6th Brigade sometimes towards the end of 1969, I was instructed to report to Mindef, to be interviewed by the newly appointed Commander. It was there, that I was told to move to Sg. Petani to take over the Gurkha Boy’s Brigade HQ, that was to be the HQ of the newly raised 6th Brigade.

I received further instructions from Major Zarazilah Ali who was the newly appointed DAA & QMG of the Brigade, (presently referred to as Staff Officer Grade 2 Administration and Logistics) who had a temporary office at Mindef. He told me that I was the Staff Captain ‘Q’ (presently Staff Officer Grade 3 Logistics), and that I was to lead the advance party to Sg. Petani, with four vehicles loaded with stores and equipments. I had never been to Sg. Petani before, and neither would I dare show my ignorance by telling Major Zarazilah that I do not know where Sg. Petani was. As junior officers, we were told never to say I don’t know, but to show a face of confidence all the time.

The following day, after having collected the stores at Batu Cantonment, and having loaded them onto our vehicles under the charge of WO 2 Subari, we proceed to Sg. Petani. We arrived Sg. Petani in the evening after a torturous 10 hour drive. Please note that the North–South highway was non existence then. Non of us knew where the HQ was located; hence we had to ask a local who guided us to the abandoned Gurkha Boy’s Brigade HQ along at Jalan Sg. Layar.

It was getting dark when we arrived, and the electricity to all the buildings had been disconnected. We checked into some of the buildings which were not locked, but because it was dark, we all decided to sleep in the garage next to the main entrance to the HQ, where the street lights had brightened up the surrounding area.

The next few weeks, officers that had received their new posting orders began reporting to the HQ for duty. It would take a few more weeks, before more stores would arrived at Sg. Petani, both by train and vehicles from Kuala Lumpur, to equip the offices, and the other rank’s accommodation. Since there was no proper Officers Mess, the officers that had arrived unaccompanied, were accommodated at the Sg. Petani Rest House, until such time that the Officers Mess was fully renovated, and this took several months.

Here, I wish to recall from memory, the first batch of officers to be posted to HQ 6th Brigade, as under:

1. Brig Gen Yussof Abu Bakar - Commander
2. Maj Malcom Campbell - Brigade Major
3. Maj Zarazilah Ali - DAA & QMG
4. Maj Kam Yoon Sang - OC Signal Squadron
5. Maj Omar Ibrahim - Camp Commandant
6. Capt Ghazali Ibrahim - G 3 Ops
7. Capt Aziddin Othman - G 3 Int
8. Capt Lian Yoon Meng - SC ‘A’
9. Capt Mohd Arshad Raji - SC ‘Q’
10. Capt Taib Mohamed - BOO
11. Capt Gerry Albuquque - BSTO
12. Capt Darus - Bde Paymaster
13. Capt Dalbir Singh - SO 3 TA
14. Capt Raja Harun Raja Ismail - Brigade Education Officer
15. Capt Teoh - Second-in-Command, 6 Brigade Signal Squadron
16. Capt Abd Rahman Khir - Signal Squadron, Troop Commander

The Commander had arrived at the HQ unaccompanied, and since there was no available military quarters for him, he had to be accommodated in a rented house at Harvard Estate, that had a 9 hole golf course. It was a reasonably large brick house built for the Estate Manager, that had 3 large bedrooms. During the night, the house being isolated, can be very lonely and scary too. And knowing that the Commander was not a person who likes to live in the house alone, officers were ordered to accompany the Commander for the night on a rotational basis. I had on several occasions been tasked to accompany the Commander, and had to sleep in the same bedroom, on a bed close to him. This was where the Commander would tell me lots of bedtime stories of himself and his family, and it was only then that I knew how close my Commander was to his wife, and his 5 children, who were all girls.

It took the Brigade almost a year to be fully operational, and the Brigade was designated the Border Brigade that was responsible for all military operations astride the Thai-Malaysia border, stretching from Perlis in the West, to Kelantan in the East. It was the beginning of the ‘Second Emergency’, and the Brigade had troops deployed all along the border areas. Military operations then was rather intense and troops coming in contact with the communist terrorist was quite a regular feature. Manning the Operations Room during period of intense operations can be worrisome for those officers assigned as Duty Officers. And if a contact with the communist terrorist is established by troops, a Duty Officer for that day was sure not to have sleep for the night. This was because, the officer on duty would have to be alert to calls that comes in at odd hours, and the regular reports that he had to make to the Commander, and to the higher headquarters.

The Commander being responsible for military operations throughout the border areas, will have an exhaustive time travelling on a helicopter to visit troops. And each time the Commander makes his visit, an officer will be assigned to accompany the Commander. I am one of those who hates travelling in a helicopter, and the Commander happens to know this. During one of the Commander’s visit to Kelantan, and on our return to Sg. Petani, the Commander who must have observed that I was restless in the air, had ordered me to disembark from the helicopter at Alor Star airport, and told me to return by road in his staff car, back to Sg. Petani. How glad I was upon being ordered to return by road, as this saves me the agony of having to continue to visit several more places in Kedah, by helicopter.

Ten years on i.e. in 1980, I was once again posted to 6th Brigade to assume the appointment of Brigade Major, and with Brig Gen Jack Yacob as its Commander. My second posting to 6th Brigade was not as exciting as the first, although I now held a more senior appointment. Military operations was not as intense, and the HQ was now involved in military exercises, something that I had no particular interest. I would prefer to work all night on actual operations, rather than on exercises.

It was only a year ago that I travelled to Sg. Petani, and stopped in front of HQ 6th Brigade. The landscape had not change much, and the HQ itself is still the same old solid grey building. But what had changed was the garage where I slept during my first day at the HQ in 1969, that is now Guard Room.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

DEMON IN OUR MIDST

In my last article titled 'Is there an abuse of power in the award of contract', I did not expect to receive so much of comments from my readers. I note too that the article had generated so much of interest that some of my readers were refuting each others comments. I certainly learnt a lot from this, and where examples or references were made, I know exactly to whom they were referring to.

I am pleased that Maurice, who happens to be a dedicated reader of my blog, had mentioned the late Brig Gen Jimmy Yussof. He was the first 6 Brigade Commander based in Sg. Petani, Kedah, and I had fond memories of him; having to serve him as his first Staff Captain 'Q', or presently designated as Staff Officer Grade 3 (Logistics).

Maurice is absolutely right in saying that Brig Gen Jimmy Yussof was the only senior officer to have made it good as a businessman. No other generals have achieved such fame in business as Brig Gen Jimmy Yussof. For those officer that had served him, would say that he is a lovable General, who treats all his officers as friends. What had made Brig Gen Jimmy Yussof so successful in business, I suppose is his approach and dealings with people. Generosity is another trait that is inherent in the General.

Having read all the comments over my latest article, I now believe that there is a serious awareness among those outside the military service of the 'sad happenings' in the armed forces. It was only a few hours ago that I received a call from an ex-serviceman, who openly claimed that he is ashamed at what he hears happening to some senior army officers today............corrupt to the core.

I do believe that there are subordinate officers who are well aware of the extend of corruption in the armed forces, and the persons involved, but are too afraid to come forward. To them, I would like to say this..............if you honestly claim to love dearly your military uniform, you ought not to remain silent and a coward. Expose the 'demons' in your midst; otherwise I will say that you are in connivance with the 'demon' yourself, and you don't deserve to wear the uniform.

Let us hope that the 'demon' will finally be arrested by the law, and god willing, that day will be coming soon.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

IS THERE AN ABUSE OF POWER IN THE AWARD OF CONTRACT?

Has anyone heard that there is an ongoing tussle between two companies that has been short listed for the supply of a War Game Training Simulator for the Army? The news that is around the 'market', is that a senior army officer who apparently has a say at decision making, is adamant that the company where a member of his family has interest, be awarded the contract.

This news apparently, is known to a number of officers within the army, but I suppose, there is a fear among these officers of a serious consequences, should the news be leaked out.

I am thoroughly confused that such blatant abuse of power by senior army officers be allowed to go on shamelessly. I dare the senior army officer concern (should he finds this article) to resign his commission now, or face the wrath of his officers, and be a subject of ridiculed by his men.

I did mention in some of my early writings, that being an officer of the armed forces demands full commitment to the solemn pledge that one makes upon joining the armed forces i.e. to defend the nation in times of war, and to remain loyal to the king. To indulge in businesses of any kind, or to abuse the powers than one has for pecuniary intent, must be avoided at all costs.

Now, will the MACC find it necessary to launch an investigation into the above matter? If they do, just start the investigation from the top, and then proceed to look at the findings of the evaluation report on the War Game Training Simulator. MACC may also wish to investigate the two companies that was short listed, to understand the personalities involved in the bidding for the contract.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Monday, May 18, 2009

CHUA'S APPOINTMENT AS BN'S COORDINATOR IN THE FOUR OPPOSITION CONTROLLED STATES

MCA Deputy President and former Health Minister Chua Soi Lek has been appointed the BN coordinator in the four (or is it five) opposition controlled states. This was announced by PM Najib at the BN Supreme Council meeting held today.

With the appointment, Chua Soi Lek is suppose to coordinate all BN activities in Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Selangor and Kelantan supposedly, with the view to strengthening the coalition's effort at gainning back popular support for the BN. The question asked is why Chua Soi Lek? Why not another person? Or is this a way of making Chua Soi Lek look important, after having been sidelined for a Senatorship, despite being MCA's Deputy President?

I just do not know how the BN party members will react in the four opposition controlled states. But one thing is clear to me i.e. Chua's 'smeared past' can be exploited by the opposition, who would claim that the BN is already 'scrapping the bottom', and can no longer find a 'cleaner person' to lead the charge in the four opposition controlled states. And I am quite certain, the opposition will be mocking Chua during his rounds in the states.

Personally, I think the appointment of Chua as BN's coordinator is inappropriate and untimely. Will the BN give a thought to my comments, or is the BN fully confident of Chua's ability to perform in his new found appointment?

I was told that Chua left the meeting without saying a word.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

NEWLY BRANDED FOREIGN MINISTER – MAKING A MESS OF HIMSELF

It is utter disgusting and a disgrace to Malaysia for having a Foreign Minister who goes on a smear campaign, and of all places, during a press conference in the US in the presence of the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.

Mr. Anifah Aman, Hillary Clinton is not someone of your match and standing, and because of this you ought to be extremely careful of what you say. If what comes out of your mouth stinks, the whole nation stinks as well. So please say things that are sensible, and do not make a mockery of yourself. Those that attended the US press conference are distinguished and renowned reporters; not the kind that you face regularly in Sabah.

My gut feeling tells me that this Foreign Minister of ours do not understand what a press conference is all about. Have he not been taught what to say, and what not to say in a press conference? Does he not know that whatever he says, is being flashed throughout the world in a matter of seconds? I believe this Foreign Minister Anifah Aman of ours only understand ‘kampong politics’, and if he had said the same thing in Sabah, he can be forgiven; but not in the USA. He certainly has made himself look like a fool in front of all those at the press conference.

Even if he has a grudge against Anwar Ibrahim, or for that matter, anybody else, saying something that is unpleasant to a person’s character is most ungentlemanly and improper. And even if he is being questioned by a reporter, certainly he must be smart and knowledgeable enough to be evasive, by not giving a direct answer. I think Anifah Aman must quickly learn some tricks and wits at articulating questions from reporters, and certainly Tun Mahathir can be his good teacher. Or may be INTAN can teach him something about diplomacy.

I now can expect the worse from our newly branded Foreign Minister. Just wait when he attends more foreign conferences, and to listen to what he will say at the press conferences. And I would like to also listen to him deliver speeches at international conferences, to learn more of our foreign policy. I hope he knows what to say.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Sunday, May 17, 2009

SELANGOR STATE GOVERNMENT REVEALED LAND MASSIVE SCAM

BUKIT BOTAK in Selangor is now under probe by the state government for alleged irregularities in the allocation of lots to non eligible land owners. This land scam can be traced back 20 years, stretching throughout the period of the BN government. This recent finding may be the 'tip of the iceberg' in matters affecting the allocation and distribution of land titles, by the previous state government.

This land scam is obviously the work of government officials (probably from the district land office) in cohort with self serving, greedy, corrupt and dishonest politicians. Having to back track 20 years, would mean that all the Menteri Besar's during that period can be assumed to be a party to the scam, and claiming ignorance now is unacceptable. Indeed, the people of Selangor are well informed of the high handedness of officers working in the various district land offices, and this land scam only confirms the long standing notion that politicians, and government officers working in land offices throughout the state are unscrupulously corrupt.

MACC is also believed to have began the probe, and to investigate a case that dates back 20 years, will be a difficult task. Denials upon denials by former government officers and politicians will now be heard, and I suppose some of those purportedly involved may have retired, or some even dead. I have little confidence that MACC can unravelled the whole truth to this episode, and to bring speedy justice to those involved.

The thing that the present state government can do now is to sieve through every single application, and to discard those that was believed to have acquired the land title through dubious means. Certainly, politicians, non residents of that area and those who were children then, can be omitted easily, leaving only those who were the original land owners of the land.

It will be a difficult task though, but if the state government is truly committed to the ideals of justice and fairness towards its people, and the will to eradicate corruption, what is deemed impossible can be made easy.

Being a thoroughbred Selangorian, I salute the present state government for bringing to light, this massive land scam at Bukit Botak, by past government officers and politicians.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Saturday, May 16, 2009

THURSDAY, MAY 21th – A DAY OF RECKONING FOR BOTH NIZAR AND ZAMBRY

UMNO Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin is back in the news. This time echoing what PM Najib has to say about the Perak fiasco, blaming it all on the opposition, and saying that the BN does not fear of a fresh elections in the state. Khairy had also called Anwar Ibrahim a hypocrite; supposedly being the 'villain' that had started the ruse of a massive crossover of BN parliamentarians to the opposition, hoping for a change of government from BN to PR. This, to the delight of the BN government, did not materialised.

Khairy has been in limbo since Najib had not listed him for any ministrial appointment, but had assigned him to concentrate his efforts at strengthening the UMNO youth wing. How far has he succeeded in his newly assigned role is yet to be known. And from what I gather from UMNO insiders, Khairy is now operating like a lame duck, since having lost the usual pair of 'clutches' from his father-in-law.

With regards to the opposition's call for a fresh elections in Perak, as the only way out of the political impasse in the state, leaders of the BN component parties have been divided over this call. They seemed not to be able to reached a consensus, but rather voicing a differing in opinion, thus reflecting a division within the BN. Consensus, that has been the hallmark of the BN success, seemed to be thinning out, and this is not a good indication.

While most UMNO leaders seemed to agree that the party is not afraid of a fresh elections, they however have placed a caveat i.e. that a fresh elections will be costly for the government. I just wonder if the by-elections in Permatang Pauh, Kuala Trengganu, Batang Air, Bukit Selembau and Bukit Gantang were not costly. One knows that the amount of promises made, and the instant financial handouts during these by-elections must have costs more than the actual costs of running the elections. Now, who should be blamed for this unnecessary outlandish spendings? The BN or PR?

Even Tun Mahathir had said that the BN winning the fresh elections in Perak is a foregone conclusion. Is it because of this that the BN leaders are divided, or have they reached a consensus that a fresh elections is out of the question? Tun Mahathir's direct statement must have embarrassed BN leaders, and had placed them in a quandary.

In the case of the PR, the party has been consistent in wanting a fresh elections. I suppose, winning or losing does not really matter for them any more. And even if they lose, it will only be a measure of the the party's popularity by the people, which calls for renewed strategy in the future. And if they win, sustaining their popularity will not be that easy, as the myriad of demands of the people keeps ballooning.

Now, Thursday, May 21th 2009 will be a day for reckoning for Nizar, and the nation awaits the outcome to be announced by the Court of Appeal. Earlier, the date was set for Monday, May 18th 2009, and with this change of date, both Nizar and Zambry's hearing will be conducted on the same day.

I do not wish to place my bet on any one of them, but my only hope is that the court's decision will be one that will best serve the people of Perak; not that of Nizar or Zambry.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

LAWYERS AT ARMS WITH THE AUTHORITIES

I watched the video on the arrest of a small number of protestors outside Brickfields Police Station on May 7th , for holding a candle light vigil over the detention of Bersih activist Wong Chin Huat recently. Wong Chin Huat was detained by the police for urging the public to wear black as a sign of protest for the political fiasco prevailing in the state of Perak today.

I did not realised before this, that urging people to wear black is a civil offence that is subject to police arrest. This can be frightening, because I have in my closet a number of black T shirts, and so does my grandson. And what do I do now with these T shirts?

Following the arrest of the protestors, a group of lawyers from the Legal Aid Center that had come to provide legal aid to the detained protestors were denied access, and were subsequently arrested. How easy it is to arrest a group of people, even if they had come to provide genuine assistance. It would have been different if they had come with weapons and hailed scorn and profanities at the police. And of all things, the Legal Aid Center lawyers were all ladies.

Having seen the video, I could only say that the police could have acted in a more consolatory manner towards the protestors, rather than acting the way they did. Certainly, the action of the OCPD with his loud hailer to warn and to affect the arrest of the protestors and the Legal Aid Center lawyers, was bad police publicity. Rather than use the loud hailer, why had he not approach the protestors in a non confrontational manner, and to apply a bit of his skills at persuasion. Hasn't the OCPD been taught the art of persuasion at Police College? What the OCPD did was outright arrogance i.e. speaking behind the protection of the police gate, and speaking through a load hailer that was of no necessity, to a group of mild and non aggressive protestors. Even if the OCPD had ignored the protestors, they would have gradually left the area on their on accord. They would not have remained outside the police station the whole night long.

During my younger days in the Army, I was taught and trained in public order duties. We had a training manual that was commonly referred to as POMAN (Public Order Manual), that was a British publication.Besides training for jungle warfare which was important to us then, we also had to undergo public order duties training. And this two training programmes were at opposite ends. The reason being that while jungle warfare training teaches us to be aggressive and to kill the enemy; public order duties teaches us to act the contrary.............use restraint, persuasion and to apply minimum force when confronting the public. Unfortunately, I was never involved in public order duties.

Now the Bar Council has decided to file a civil suit against the government, the IGP and the Brickfield OCPD for the unlawful arrest of the Legal Aid Center lawyers. They had also demanded that the Home Affairs Minister Hishamuddin Hussein and the IGP to resigns from their post.

The action by the Bar Council is unprecedented, and it will be interesting to see how far can their actions proceed. Or will it just be a 'mild threat' of words, rather than action that will buckled the authorities? And are Malaysians about to witness a similar event that occurred in Pakistan recently, where lawyers took to the streets that eventually caused the downfall of the Musharaff government? My only hope is that, we do not need to see a public order situation arise out of this issue.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Thursday, May 14, 2009

HISHAMMUDIN HUSSEIN - THE ARBITRATOR

While the nation is kept engross over the political impasse between BN and PR in the Perak, little attention is given to the impasse between Trengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Said and former Trengganu Menteri Besar Idris Jusoh. The two apparently were at odds following the March 8, 2008 General Elections, which saw Ahmad Said being more acceptable to the Trengganu palace; hence his appointment as the Menteri Besar, while Idris Jusoh, despite being the party’s nominee was rejected by the palace.

Numerous speculations were abound as to why Idris Jusoh was rejected by the Trengganu palace. But one thing is for certain, that there has to be something serious enough that had caused the palace not to favour Idris Jusoh.

The subsequent protest aimed at the palace by supporters of Idris Jusoh, which is a rare occurrence in this strictly conservative state, further aggravated the situation. Even the former PM Tun Abdullah’s intervention to have Idris Jusoh back as Menteri Besar failed. What the palace did was only to exercise the right to appoint a Menteri Besar, that to the best knowledge of the palace, has the confidence of the state assembly. Idris Jusoh was apparently seen not to have the confidence of the state assembly any longer.

Some say that Idris Jusoh was a loyalist of Tun Abdullah, and the development that was carried out during his tenure as the Menteri Besar was merely to please Tun Abdullah, rather than the people. I could still remember an occasion when Tun Abdullah who made an official visit to Trengganu early in is premiership, was greeted with ‘Hidup Pak Lah’ several times by non other than Idris Jusoh, immediately after Tun Abdullah had concluded his speech. I think Idris Jusoh acted more like an ‘apple polisher’ in this scene.

Millions was spend on projects that had no direct benefit to the people. The crystal mosque that was to symbolized Islam for the state, and to be frequented by Muslims for regular prayers, ended up being merely a show piece for tourist.

The monsoon cup, an event exclusively for the rich, also did not benefit the people. In the first place, who was the wise guy that actually proposed this international sailing event to be brought to Trengganu? This event is totally an alien event to Malaysians, and I do not know of any Malaysians that had participated in such an event internationally, and won any prizes. Yes, there are many sailors in Malaysia, but they don’t sail for sports. Dato Azhar Mansor is an accomplished sailor who had traversed the globe alone, but he does not compete in any sport sailing. And remember Panglima Hitam; he sailed the globe with Christoper Columbus.

Yes, the state of UMNO affairs in Trengganu is not that ‘palatable’. And it must be for this reason that neither Ahmad Said or Idris Jusoh is made the party’s State Liaison Officer (Pegawai Perhubungan Negeri). UMNO had to appointed Vice President Hishammudin Hussein instead.

Will Hishammudin be able to placate the two ‘warring factions’, and to bring both back to terms? This, we will have to see in the next few days when Hishammudin gets down to Trengganu, and to play arbitrator.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

WHAT NEXT FOR ZAMBRY AND NIZAR?

Wow......Zambry is reinstate the Menteri Besar of Perak in double quick time. The Court of Appeal judge must have worked feverishly to grant a stay of the High Court judge declaration on Monday 11, that Nizar is the lawful Menteri Besar of Perak.

I am no lawyer to comment on the intracacies involved in Zambry's application to the Court of Appeal, that had granted him back the Menteri Besar post, but speaking as a layman, this case is what one would term as 'a comedy of error'.

I was informed about this new turn of event by one of my blog viewer via the sms. I initially thought that he was joking, and my reply to him was that, “I am fortunate not to be from Perak”. When I got to the office, I noticed one of the staff, a thoroughbred Perakian, looking remoseful. I asked him what is wrong? He replied, “What is the palace doing? Are they not concern with what is happening in Perak? Why have they not arbitrate the political crisis looming in Perak today, that is not benefitting the people of Perak?”. I did not answer him, but quietly walked away, fearing that he will shower me with more questions.

Obviously, the Zambry vs Nizar case will not be ending soon, since the matter is now in the hands of the court. I do not wish to preempt what would be the judgment on Nizar's appeal application to the Court of Appeal that will be decided on Tuesday 18th, 2009. But judging by the manner at which the Court of Appeal had decided on Zambry's application in double quick time, my honest guess is that Nizar has little chance of winning. I wish this is not true, because I believe, like many else do, that the only sensible and honourable solution to the Perak political impasse, would be to allow the people to decide through the ballot box. By this way, democracy is restored, to the satisfaction of not only Perakians, but to all Malaysians. Isn't this too much to ask?

It is quite apparent that the treatment accorded by the police to Zambry is quite different to that of Nizar. Just look at the picture of the smiling Zambry being escorted by a policemen to his office, as shown in the New Straits Time today. Compare this with the picture of Nizar at the gate of the State Secretariat building, and being disallowed into his office on Tuesday morning. Isn't this a shame, and I dread the day when the opposition wins back the control of the state.

Much has been said about the conduct of civil servants towards Nizar, that clearly favoured Zambry. As civil servants, they have to remain apolitical, and this clearly was not observed. Just look again at the manner in which the Speaker in his honourable robe, was dragged out of the State Assembly. Can any right thinking person say to me that the act was justified. I say it was certainly not justified, and only persons with an insane mind would do that.

My honest appeal to all assemblymen in Perak is to use more of their brains, and less of their brawns. Elected assemblymen are referred to as the Yang Berhormat, and let not their personal act shows otherwise.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

MAY 13TH 1969 – A RECOLLECTION

The May 13, 1969 racial riots has been recorded as a dark spot in the annuls of our nation’s history. It was an event that had brought unreasonable hardship and misery to many, and caused fear that still lingers in the minds of those who were directly affected by the riots.

It was politics and politicians that had caused the racial riots, and it will be politics and politicians that will be the instigators to any future ‘disaster’ in this country.

When the racial riots occurred in Kuala Lumpur 40 years ago, I was then serving in Tawau, Sabah. We had no excess to TV, and the radio broadcast was vague and intermittent. Newspapers come in rather late, and from reports received through our own military radio network, we knew that something horrendous was brewing in Kuala Lumpur. And when they say that is was a fight between the Malays and Chinese, I thought it was merely a street fight, kind of a thing. But when images of troops being deployed, and the burning of shop houses appeared in the local daily, I realized that this is no ordinary street fighting.

I was deeply concern for the safety of my parents who were residing at Kg. Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur. I tried calling them through the telephone several times, but the line does not seemed to connect. When I finally reached them, I was so pleased to hear the voice of my mother who sounded calm and settled. I enquired about my father who though retired, was asked to continue working on a contractual basis. He worked at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, and the riots gave him no respite, but had forced him to remain on standby at the hospital, to attend to the casualties that flowed in.

There was nothing I could do to assist my parents, and to be granted leave was out of the question. In fact, no one was allowed to take leave, until we all finally returned to our home base in Kluang, Johor around November 1969.

I took whatever days I had for disembarkation leave, to return to my parents. I was glad that they were all well. They recounted how difficult it was for them during the curfew period, and they had to store up sufficient food for the days ahead. My mother also recounted that there were soldiers patrolling the roads around the house, and some were kind enough to extend food to the house. From the description that my mother gave, the soldiers were either from the Ranger Battalion or the Recce Squadron. My mother would have easily recognized a soldier from the Royal Malay Regiment if she sees one, because she also had a son from the same regiment……...and that was me.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

1 MALAYSIA CONCEPT – A REALITY OR RHETORIC!

The 1 Malaysia that PM Najib is propagating to Malaysians is not an alien concept, but one that was a ‘common life style’ among our multiracial society in the years prior to independence, and up to the period of the 60’s.

I believe, what had segregated our society into racially based entities, was the creation of national schools with Bahasa Malaysia being the medium of instruction, rather than maintaining a education system and schooling environment that encourages integration of the three main races i.e. Malays, Chinese and Indians. By having national schools, this had somewhat discouraged parochial Chinese and Indian parents from sending their children to such schools, resulting in national schools being patronized mainly by Malay students. This has been the state of affairs up till the present day.

Having said the above, I am not advocating that Bahasa Malaysia should not be the medium of instruction, but rather a strong retention of the English language in schools.

I would like to highlight my schooling experience, and how the 1 Malaysia concept can be evolved and inculcated among the present day multiracial Malaysian society.

I started schooling in 1949 at the age of six, where the medium of instruction then was English. The school I attended was known merely as a government school. I knew not a word of English upon entering school, but since everyone in school spoke the language, I had to strive hard to learn the language quickly; otherwise I will be asked to stand on the chair, or to be beaten on the palm of my hand with a ruler by the English teacher for being poor in the language. This early punishment had instilled fear in me, and I dread at having to fail my English test.

I remembered the classes that I attended in primary school were dominated by Chinese students, with very few Indian and Malay students. The reason for this was simply because the school was in urban Kuala Lumpur, where the population were predominantly Chinese.

During my formative age, I never thought myself as being from a different race, and neither was I made to think, or discuss my racial background with my classmates. We ate and played together, and I remembered having to go to some of the homes of my Chinese friends after school, and being welcomed by their parents. They live in large bungalow homes around present day Jalan Bukit Bintang. Of course, these homes no longer exist.

Likewise, I had several Indian friends who were my neighbours, and until today, we keep in close touch with one another, despite our ages, and despite having become distinguished grandfathers and grandmothers.

The same environment prevailed when I attended secondary school. The majority of students were still Chinese, and by this time both our spoken and written English had improved. There has never been an occasion where we quarreled over the issue of race, and if there was a fight among students, it was for some other reason. I too almost got involved in a fight with a Indian boy, because he was a bully. He was much larger than me, but having stood my ground, he ceded without needing to throw a punch at me.

When I joined the cadet wing of the Federation Military College in 1965, out of an intake of 78 (excluding Singapore cadets), 31 were non Malays. This was a substantial number of non Malays joining the Armed Forces, as compared to the present. I believe, the reluctance of the non Malays to join the Armed Forces today is because of their lack of social integration with the Malays during their formative age, and it has nothing to do with them being disloyal to their country of birth, as some would have perceived. I know for sure that the non Malays that had joined the Armed Forces with me, had gone through a similar schooling environment. And throughout our training, there was no inhibitions and the sense of being different, just because of the differences in our racial and religious background.

When we were commissioned as military officers, we maintained our togetherness, having to live, eat, work and play together. It is because of this close association, that military officers of my generation, and the generation before me are well bounded in lasting friendship, regardless of our religious belief and race.

Having being schooled in a multi-racial environment since I started schooling, I am today still very much a Malay and a Muslim. I have not lost the culture and traditions that is associated with my race, and the same goes for my Chinese and Indian friends. But what is common among us is the lasting friendship that we hold dear, that had been nurtured throughout our formative and adult life.

I have no qualms regarding the 1 Malaysia concept that Najib has propagated, because I believe it is a good concept that is aimed at uniting Malaysians of all races. But to evolve a truly 1 Malaysian society, it has to begin with our children and grandchildren at their formative age; but not when they are already in their adult life. Relationships has to be nurtured, and this takes time to blossomed.

I personally think that the Progam Latihan Khidmat Negara (PLKN) introduced by the government for SPM leavers, can be a programme to nurture the spirit of the 1 Malaysia, but it only has a short term impact. I do not think the participants can develop a long term relationship by just being together for 3 months. And after all these years, and with the millions spend, I have yet to read any official reports detailing the extend the PLKN programme had achieved. Or are the reports merely for the eyes of a limited few only?

Since the 1 Malaysia idea was mooted, I have only heard leaders voicing their support for the idea, but not how the idea is to be implemented, strategies, priorities and plans for implementation, the participants and target groups, and the time line by which one can monitor and gauge the extend of achievement. As of now, I can only say that the 1 Malaysia is merely a political rhetoric.

And if the government thinks that the 1 Malaysia idea can be achieved within a year or two, I would dare say that they are absolutely wrong in the very first instant. And even if the government does have a well defined strategy for implementation, I would say too that it will take no less than two decades to fully realized the concept.

An idea of the 1 Malaysia has been mooted out, and it is now left for the government to see its full implementation. However, are our politicians that had all along been propagating and harping on racially bias policies that seemingly suits their personal political interest, willing to discard such interest, and to work towards the successful implementation of the 1 Malaysia concept?

And certainly no more ‘kris wielding’ and ‘ketuanan melayu’ rhetoric from now on please, but rather a language and action that pacifies all races.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Monday, May 11, 2009

NIZAR 'CROWNED' THE LEGITIMATE MENTERI BESAR BY THE HIGH COURT

I was in town at around 4 pm today, and received a call from a friend from Sabah. Before I could say hello to him, he said, “we have won”. I at once knew that he was referring to the judgment by the High Court that Nizar had won his case, and is legally the Menteri Besar of Perak. This Sabahan friend of mine, though being an UMNO member, wasn't inspired by the nature of the BN's takeover of the Perak state government, which he said was likened to a thief that had broken through the rear door of a house, and claimed that all that is in the house belongs to the thief. And I believe, many in UMNO today felt the same.

Personally, the High Court's decision that favoured Dato Nizar came as a surprise to me, and I suppose to many others. Reading and listening to the mainstream media's comments concerning the case, gave little hope for Nizar, and even Zambry's comments on the May 7th fracas in the Perak State Assembly had made the opposition look like the villain to the entire ugly episode. But if one were to view the comments in the blogweb, a majority had been rather adverse towards Zambry, and one is not surprised that Zambry has been referred to by many unsavoury names by the bloggers.

With the decision of the High Court today, Zamby's administration will be remembered as being the shortest to have administered a state government i.e. 3 months. What is more hurting for Zambry, is that he and his 6 exco members had been ordered by the court to vacate their offices; a scene reminiscence of what exactly happened in February this year, when Nizar and his exco members were told to vacate their offices. It's tit-for-tat I suppose. This High Court decision too will impact upon the decision made by the palace, that had favoured Zambry's appointment.

Now, what about the official residence of the Menteri Besar and his official car? Will Zambry decide to vacate the official residence, and surrender his official car voluntarily, or will he be told by the State Secretary to do so? Now, what if the State Secretary refuses to take the instructions from Nizar? Will this tantamount to disobedience, and to face a possible sacking by Nizar? And what about the police and the local council authorities that had not been too kind to Nizar, when he was ousted as the Menteri Besar. Will Nizar be mean enough to retaliate against them? My only hope is for Nizar to be sensible enough not to overact, or to bear any malice towards Zamby.

The next few days will again see a flurry of activities in Perak, especially with regards to how Nizar would take Perak out of this political uncertainty. It is unlikely that Zambry will allow Nizar an easy time at governing the state; although Nizar is officially the head of government, but without even a simple majority in the state assembly.

I think, the only choice left for Nizar is to seek a dissolution of the state assembly from the palace, and to call for a fresh state election. Will this be Nizar's last course of action, and will the palace gives in to Nizar's request this time? Or will Zambry tries to call for a vote of no-confidence on Nizar, as a means of legitimising his appointment as the Menteri Besar again?

I personally see that there is no other option, except to allow the people of Perak their rights to elect a legitimate government of their choice, and at whatever the expense.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Sunday, May 10, 2009

WILL THE HIGH COURT DECISION BE HONOURED?

In the next few hours, i.e. Monday 11 at 2.30 pm, High Court Judge Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim will deliver his decision as to who is the rightful Menteri Besar of Perak. Will it be Zambry or Nizar? And will the decision be accepted by all and sundry, or will there be further appeals?

Most have expected that the sitting of the Perak State Assembly should have been deferred to a date after the decision by the High Court; thus avoiding the pandemonium that had marred the Perak State Assembly a few days ago. Why had Zambry been so insistent in calling for a sitting of the State Assembly, knowing fully well that his position as the Menteri Besar is still a subject of a court's decision, is indeed mind boggling. What if the court rules that Zambry appointment as the Menteri Besar is null and void? Will the palace accepts this decision, and since Nazir does not have the majority, will the palace cede to Nizar's request to dissolve the State Assembly? What ever be the decision of the High Court this Monday, Malaysians, I believe do not expect to see a repeat of what happened to the Perak State Assembly on Thursday last.

In an unprecedented move, PM Najib is reported to have offered to co-operate with the opposition, to seek an amicable solution to the political stalemate in Perak. I wonder if the opposition would accept the offer, at a time when both parties seems beyond reproach and amendable. If indeed, PM Najib is sincere in his offer, the opposition should be wise enough to take this opportunity, in order to cast off itself as being the sole cause of the May 7, fracas. This was certainly the views of all main stream media.

Certainly, it will be a most difficult decision for the opposition to make, since they had all along believed that they were illegally robbed off their 'rightful ownership' of the state government.

Let us hope that the decision by the High Court tomorrow is one that will pacify all contending parties. What is more important now is bring back the sanctity of the august Perak State Assembly, and for elected representatives of both the political divide, to honour and to perform their sworn duties to their electorates. Continued factional political infighting will certainly not do any good for the state.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Friday, May 8, 2009

THE PERAK STATE ASSEMBLY FIASCO

I just cannot believe that even the wearing of a black shirt and black trousers can subject a person to arrest in the state of Perak. What if an Arab lady dressed in a black purdah happens to be in Ipoh yesterday? Will she be subjected to arrest too?

This is absolute nonsense, and never have I heard that even the wearing of a specified coloured dress is an offence. Where are we heading, and what kind of regime do we have in this country today? Even the dreaded gestapo during the time of Hitler Germany does not have such a ruling.

I would like to make a personal appeal to the authorities in the state of Perak to use a bit of their common sense. We are in the 20th centuary, and the state is suppose to practise democracy. If this is the sort of ruling that we have, and with a police force that is not able to rationalised what is right, and what is wrong, then we might as well disband the police force, and employ some policemen from Zimbabwe. I think they can think better, and do a better policing job. Whatever reasons that the police gave for their actions, their reasons are certainly not good enough.

I saw pictures of how the policemen dressed in civilian clothing dragged out the Speaker from the State Assembly. Disgusting, I would say. In the first instant, we all know that no policemen is allowed in the assembly. Do we not remember what the former Home Affairs Minister Syed Hamid said of the police, when DAP Parliamentarian Karpal Singh was rough out in parliament a few months back? Did the former Home Minister not say that the police has no right to be in parliament, to affect an arrest on any parliamentarian?

Now, who was the culprit that had called in the police to evict the Speaker? Should he not be arrested for ordering something deemed illegal. Surely Zambry saw what had happened to the Speaker, and he cannot therefore say that he does not know anything. This incident is no laughing matter, and the whole world watched in horror and disgust; the demise of democracy in the state of Perak. And for doing this, Zambry's name will be long remembered in the annuls of Perak, as being the Menteri Besar that had brought utter disgrace to the state assembly. Some have even claimed that this incident had brought the BN closer to its grave.

Let the recent Perak State Assembly fiasco be a lesson to all Menteri Besar, and never again to witness a repeat of a similar incident in the future.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

NEWS AND MORE NEWS

I have not been writing in the blog for almost 7 days now, and someone concerned called to find out whether I still exist or otherwise. These are friends of mine who have been my useful source of information, and who are also great rumour mongers. And they too were the ones that had motivated me to go blogging. They fear that I have been kidnapped, or hospitalized for some reason or other. Their concern is quite valid since a lot of strange happenings are known to occur in this country the last few weeks. Well, to all my dear friends, I am back and have been kept alive, particularly by the most recent events in the silver state (Perak).

Stories are abound in the main stream media and the blogs over the chaos and confusion in the Perak State Assembly, a few hours ago. Both the BN and PR have their reasons for creating a mess of the State Assembly; but one thing is for certain i.e. this mess could have been avoided if all parties, and including that of the palace, had seriously considered the state and the people’s interest first, before self and party interest. Was this too much to asked? What had happened to the august State Assembly will be an incident that will be long remembered, and including its ‘actors’ that had made the august assembly, seems no better than a market place. Just imagine, Yang Berhormat’s heckling and scuffling at one another, and one being forcibly dragged out while still in his dignified uniform. What can you make out of these Yang Berhormat?

Former PM Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has now been appointed the Corridor Advisor, as well as the MAS Advisor. My only hope is that Tun Abdullah does not require advisors to advise him on his two appointments. I see no reason why Tun Abdullah cannot perform, particularly that of the Corridor Advisor, since that was his legacy. This will give him the opportunity to help see the completion of what he had conceived. However, Tun Mahathir has been reported to be rather cynical about Tun Abdullah’s appointment. And when can these two Tun’s bury the hatched, and be amicable to each other again?

Now the police have decided to go on a war path against the Mat Rempits, that have now grown more menacing, including ramming into police patrol cars and acting like gangsters. The question that I would like to ask is why has the authorities taken too long to act. If the punishment meted to them isn’t punitive enough to deter them from repeating their offences, what is inhibiting the authorities from changing the laws to ensure that the Mat Rempits deserves a more severe punishment? Are we to wait for more death to occur before we decide to change the laws?

Having viewed the last article posted on 1st May 2009, titled ‘The Malaysian Defence Industry’, I am extremely delighted to read the many positive comments made by my readers. I am more informed now of the state of the nation’s defence industry than ever before, and my only hope is that those that are still serving officers of the Armed Forces reads these comments. Some of the comments may be hurtful to some, but it will be better if it hurts us now, than to suffer the consequences of our ignorance and failures later. I now leave it to the defence planners to place their thinking caps, and to seriously think where have we gone wrong in planning the growth of our defence industry, and to decide what need to be done, or are we satisfied and happy for the industry to remain status quo?


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION

Friday, May 1, 2009

THE MALAYSIAN DEFENCE INDUSTRY

The Malaysian Defence Industry is still in its infancy to say the least, and that is after 50 years of the country’s independence. Not even a single piece for indigenously designed weapon has been developed and manufactured, and isn’t this a shame? And for how long more will the country remain a nett importer of weapons and essential equipments for its defence forces, that had costs the country billions in public spending.

Even right now, the Armed Forces defence procurement plan relies heavily on foreign purchases. And I know for one that even basic training simulators need to be purchased from overseas, whereas there are already some local companies that have the capacity to developed training simulators, and some have exported their products overseas.

Why have we not given such companies the opportunity to develop training simulators for our Armed Forces? After all, simulator technology is no longer the domain of the developed nations, but such technologies are now available among Malaysians. One will be surprised to know that some of the Malaysians that I have met, have been deeply involved in the development of high end defence simulators overseas. But yet upon their return home, the country finds no meaningful purposes for their acquired skills, knowledge and experience.

And in the purchase of weaponry and essential equipments, we often end up in a one-off purchase, and worse still, without an arrangement with the manufacturer for a transfer of technology. We seemed to be happy to discard the weapons and equipments when there is no longer a consistent supply of spare parts from the original equipment manufacturers, and we are even more happier to quickly plan for the procurement of new weapons and equipments. This has been the trend for the last 50 years, and it is the weapon and equipment traders and agents that becomes rich…………and for some, super rich in double quick time, and all at public expense.

We have seen how some nations of the world have come out from being nett weapon importers to weapon manufactures. Some examples to quote are the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of South Africa, and closer to home, the Republic of Singapore.

It is pointless for me to explain how these countries have today reached such a high level of technical expertise in weapon development, because the facts and information are readily available from the internet. But what had moved these three countries to achieve such high level status in weapon development, is the will of their governments, its armed forces and the people to see that their countries achieve self reliance in defence manufacturing. I cannot say the same for our government, its armed forces and the people.

I am not privy to the amount of funds that the government has allocated for defence research and development, but I do believe, it is just a fraction of what the Singapore government allocates to its defence research organizations. And if we continue to ignore and place little importance to defence research and development programmes and spendings, I see little hope in the country ever achieving its self reliance in the development and manufacture of its defence needs.


CRUSADE AGAINST CORRUPTION