Singapore daily urges Najib to call polls soon

August 27, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — Malaysia’s economy may be bucking the world trend with its 5.4 per cent growth in the second quarter of the year but it is being propped up by domestic spending, Singapore’s Business Times (BT) said today, suggesting that the growth may not hold out for long without elections being called sooner rather than later.

Rating agencies were ‘breathing down Najib’s neck’, according to Singapore’s Business Times. — File pic

The business paper noted that Southeast Asia’s third biggest economy had had outstripped its neighbours in the second quarter, but that the growth was due to domestic demand, which rose by a whopping 13.8 per cent compared to 9.7 per cent in the first three months of this year.

It noted that while investment spending ballooned to 26.1 per cent from 16.1 per cent in the first quarter and that government spending was up 9.4 per cent against 7.3 per cent previously, export growth was slowing down, from three per cent in the previous quarter, it was now recording only 2.1 per cent.

“The generous government handouts and stronger investment spending under the ETP has clearly helped to boost growth,” the paper said today in its Malaysia Insight column, referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s various cash handouts and policy reforms under the Economic Transformation Programme.

All sectors had benefited from Najib’s “giveaway” programme, the paper said, as the citizens were spending.

But the paper warned that Najib was taking a “risky bet as the rating agencies have been breathing down his neck”.

It noted that Bank Negara continues to expect the strong domestic demand to drive the country’s economic growth even as it noted “downside risks emanating from external developments remain”.

The Singapore business paper said that it would be better for Najib to call for elections sooner rather than wait for his BN government’s mandate to expire next April. 

“But most people are tired of the incessant politicking. 

“Perhaps the premier should wait no longer and call the general election sooner rather than later,” it said, suggesting that Malaysia’s growth may not hold out until next year.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/singapore-daily-urges-najib-to-call-polls-soon/

Rafizi prosecution wrong move, Singapore daily suggests

August 06, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 — Putrajaya’s move to charge Rafizi Ramli has only served to raise the PKR strategy chief’s public stature in the run-up to key national polls as it appears to run counter to the federal government’s pledge to combat corruption, a Singapore paper suggested today.

Rafizi was charged on August 1 with violating the Banking and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA) in exposing confidential banking details related to National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp), in a case that has put whistleblower protection laws under greater scrutiny.

“Transparency International Malaysia has urged for whistleblowers to be protected as they ‘put themselves at great risk to their livelihood and career and also to their work, family and community relationships’,” Singapore’s Business Times reported today.

File photo of Rafizi (right) being led in handcuffs when he was charged with violating the Banking and Financial Institutions Act on August 1, 2012.

The anti-graft watchdog has stressed that public perception of selective prosecution would prove damaging to Malaysia’s enforcement agencies in the fight against corruption, as well as being inconsistent with the purpose of the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 despite Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s denial of double standards, the paper reported.

The paper highlighted the different treatment the authorities accorded Rafizi when they handcuffed him during a pre-dawn arrest at his home before taking him to court and the man whose company he had exposed for alleged corruption in a RM250 million cattle farming scandal, NFCorp chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Salleh Ismail, who was left uncuffed to walk into court.

“Already, the prosecution of Mr Rafizi has only served to raise his stature in the eyes of the public,” the paper said in its article titled “Govt may be making the wrong move in charging Rafizi” published today.

Apart from his NFCorp expose, Rafizi has gained additional prominence after he went public with confidential Treasury documents showing an allegedly less-qualified consortium led by engineering firm George Kent, which he has linked to Najib, weeks before the government announced it as the winning bid for a lucrative RM1 billion rail expansion project in the Klang Valley. 

Rafizi has also accused Najib of interfering in the bidding process by awarding the contract to a close associate who owns George Kent.

The paper noted that Rafizi’s role in exposing financial mismanagement in companies linked to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government has raised his profile as among the young up-and-coming politicians in the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact that could see a regime change in Malaysia for the first time since the nation gained independence 55 years ago.

“Should the 35-year-old accountant be fielded in the coming general election, he is expected to be a formidable opponent,” the paper said.

Rafizi has told The Malaysian Insider that despite the legal hurdles he will continue his revelations on alleged corruption in the government.

He faces two court charges for his exposes that could land him in jail and set him back millions of ringgit and a shot at a Parliament seat.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/rafizi-prosecution-wrong-move-singapore-daily-suggests/