11 June, 2013
Every year on the first Sunday in June, the twelfth graders in Israel sit their final exam in Bible - Tanach. One of the passages that they have to face in their exam is unseen. This year they had to read 1 Samuel 30 and answer questions about the text.
We recently had elections in Israel and after every election there are always accusations about people who paid for votes. In the Hebrew language there's a word for it – bribe - which, according to the Hebrew Bible, blinds the eyes of the wise.
In the aforementioned chapter there's a crisis after some of the people of Tsiklag–צִקְלַג - were captured by the Amalekites, a people who were supposed to have been destroyed by the hands of Saul according to 1 Samuel 15. These were the days prior to the tragic death of Saul in his battle with the Philistines, the days when David was still planning how to become the leader once Saul was out of the picture.
There are three major moves that David undertook in order to establish himself as the next leader of the Israelites. Firstly, when he heard what happened to Tsiklag, he came to the city and, along with his men, cried with the city's people, as written:
It's really important to emphasize that David had his reasons to cry, since his two wives were captured as well. However, when we read this passage through a modern-day lens, our minds might drift to President Obama or other leaders that have gone to visit the people of a city when a disaster happens. Though the reaction of the people was violent - many wanted to stone him - I'm sure that some of them saw him as a true leader who had empathy for them.
In the next passage, we can see David as a religious leader, who asked God, with the help of the "ephod", what to do-
David was able to rescue the people who were captured because he was wise enough to know that God would help him defeat the Amalekites. He had only 600 soldiers, and in the end, 200 of them didn't fight when they were left behind. However, David had the hand of God on his side and God’s approval, thus the Amalekites were defeated and only 400 of them escaped.
The question after the war was about the spoils - who would get them? The 400 warriors wanted the spoils for themselves, but the future King had different plans, as written:
David gave the spoils not just to the 200 warriors who were left behind, but also to the elders of Israel in every place that he roamed when he had to flee from King Saul. Whether this was a bribe or not, we can't say for sure since Biblical commentators were relatively quiet on this subject. Our study today has been an examination of some of David's actions before the people chose him to be king. As I've said before - to me David was a brilliant leader, a savvy politician who simply knew exactly what to say and do in order to get elected.
Source: https://bay165.mail.live.com/default.aspx?id=64855#n=1352414934&fid=1&mid=e57d83ff-d2a7-11e2-acb3-00215ad7db9c&fv=1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
King David as a leader in Tsiklag
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Unhappy BN MPs meet over spoils of GE13 victory
File photo of BN flags put up during the recent general election. Several BN MPs are unhappy that they have not been rewarded for their victory in the polls.KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 — Several disgruntled Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs from east Malaysia met veteran lawmaker Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah last night to discuss their positions after not getting anything for their wins in the closely-fought Election 2013.
The Malaysian Insider understands that about the dozen or so MPs from Sabah and Sarawak are not keen to cross the aisle to join Pakatan Rakyat (PR) but are also not happy with Putrajaya over the spoils of victory.
“The east Malaysian MPs met Ku Li in his house to discuss their next moves as they are not happy with Putrajaya,” a source told The Malaysian Insider, referring to the politician prince by his moniker.
The MPs, who were elected in the May 5 general election, are here for two days of familiarisation with ethics and parliamentary procedures.
BN took 47 of the 56 federal seats in Sabah and Sarawak, contributing one-third of the 133 federal seats it won in the elections despite both states only having a quarter of the 222 seats in Parliament.
However, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak only doled out 20 ministerial and deputy ministerial posts to east Malaysian MPs, leaving parties like Sarawak’s SPDP without any representatives despite winning four federal seats.
In contrast, the MIC in the Malay peninsula saw all four MPs getting ministerial and deputy ministerial posts in the Najib administration — which has 32 full ministers including eight in the Prime Minister’s Department.
“The east Malaysians don’t want to leave BN but they also want something back for their wins.
“They are seeing Ku Li to see what they can do to express their disappointment,” the source added.
The Kelantan prince had wanted to challenge Najib for the Umno presidency in the last party polls but did not pick up enough nominations to qualify for the contest, whose eventual winner usually becomes the prime minister in a BN government.
He has represented Gua Musang since 1974 and has had his sights on the prime minister’s job several times but has had no success.
Another source said the east Malaysian MPs are the latest to rattle Najib after he won his first personal mandate with fewer seats than his predecessor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
“Najib is already under pressure from within Umno and now this, just after a poor result in the polls,” he added.
Umno won 88 federal seats in Election 2013, up nine from 2008 but several party veterans have blamed the party and BN’s lacklustre performance on Najib’s “war room” strategists, and hinting that the prime minister might be shown the door if he doesn’t remove his strategists for their bad advice.
“The MPs can’t do much except call for a motion of no-confidence. Getting it on the agenda is already a success to express their disappointment.
“Or they can leave it to Umno members at the year-end party polls to show PM how they feel,” the source added.
The source also said the BN MPs who met Tengku Razaleigh are not expected to reveal their intentions until Parliament starts on June 24.
“Either way, this is just more pressure on Najib to appease all sides in BN,” he added.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Government coercing voters to back BN with selective aid, says Pakatan
Khalid said BN is victimising the voters by withholding aid.KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition is coercing voters to support the government by punishing opposition backers through selective aid, Pakatan Rakyat leaders have said.
The federal opposition blasted Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for his promise to provide greater assistance only to those who backed BN in Election 2013, saying the move was aimed at “victimising” voters in a bid to sustain its political dominance.
“It is not surprising as this has always been the way of BN which is to victimise those who vote against them and help those who back them,” PAS central working committee member Khalid Samad told The Malaysian Insider.
“That is how they ensure they stay in power. By victimising the voters. They will maintain an economic condition so that the Malays will continue to back them,” the Shah Alam MP added.
On Saturday, Muhyiddin was quoted as saying that the BN administration will direct “greater assistance” towards the communities that backed it during the general election in a move that gave out mixed signals over the Najib administration’s seriousness in pushing for national reconciliation.
The clear message is that the majority of the Malays, Indians, Bumiputeras, Orang Asli, Siamese community as well as those in Sabah and Sarawak still support the BN.
“We will continue to give them greater assistance; that is what we will do,” the deputy prime minister was quoted as saying by state news agency Bernama at a BN thanksgiving function in Kundang Ulu, Johor, in an apparent continuation of the vilification of Chinese voters following the general election.
The DAP’s Rasah lawmaker Anthony Loke said it was obvious that Muhyiddin’s statement was aimed towards the Chinese community of which majority of them had voted for the opposition in the last national polls.
“This shows that he wants to penalise the Chinese community.
Loke said Muhyiddin’s statement shows that he wants to penalise the Chinese community.“What he said goes to show that he is not a deputy prime minister for all Malaysians but only for BN. After all, he is famous for making that statement that he is ‘Malay first, Malaysian second’,” Loke told The Malaysian Insider.
The DAP central executive committee member cited analysis that pointed to an increased shift in Malay support towards the opposition and demanded to know why was the government only punishing the Chinese.
“It’s a very stupid statement and very irresponsible. He is saying something completely different from Najib who is pushing for reconciliation and so on and yet he is making all these divisive statements,” he said.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had spoken of a need to reconcile the country immediately after the polls outcome was announced, but it was not a theme that was universally accepted in the BN coalition.
Right-wing elements in Umno along with party mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia have sought to frame the May 5 polls as a Chinese-versus-Malay vote, after Najib’s reference to a so-called “Chinese tsunami” following the election.
Utusan Malaysia had front-paged an incendiary headline titled “Apa lagi Cina mahu?” (What more do the Chinese want?) while tabloid Kosmo! took the blame game further with an even more overt title, “Pengundi Cina bersikap talam dua muka (Chinese voters are two-faced)”, a day after polling.
However, analysts instead pointed to a growing urban-rural divide as well as the ascendancy of a “Bangsa Malaysia” who did not vote along racial lines, as the main factors for the outcome.
Khalid said Muhyiddin’s statement reveals BN’s true nature and said that until this government is voted out, discrimination against anyone who opposes it will continue.
“That is why we are here. To oppose them. After so long in power they still do not understand that the money belongs to the rakyat. Of course not everyone will vote for them but when they are elected into power, they must serve everyone,” he said.
Despite the burgeoning of right wing elements within BN, several leaders have rejected the attempt to pin the blame for the ruling coalition’s worst-ever electoral showing solely on the Chinese community.
BN won 133 seats in the 222-seat federal Parliament, seven fewer than in the 2008 polls.
An apparent crackdown against opposition politicians and activists for sedition, however, has cast doubt over the government’s commitment to reconciliation.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
获 220 万票赢得 112 选区，国阵靠20%选民执政
2013-06-08 17:31
律师公会宪法委员会和人权委员会联办的主题为“选区划分―知道在哪里划线”的选举后系列讲座会，吸引许多公眾出席。（图：星洲日报）
（吉隆坡8日讯）律师公会人权委员会主任邱进福指出，在全国130个选民人数最少或最小的选区，国阵贏得112个，从而以简单多数议席执政。
他说，惟在国阵贏得的这112个选区，投选国阵的选民有220万8千516人，只佔全国合格选票总数约19.97%。
“20%合格选民就能够投选出执政的政府。”
他在律师公会主办的主题为“选区划分―知道在哪里划线”的选举后系列讲座会上说：“有鉴於此，划分选区的方式导致选区的大小出现巨大差距，引发了代表性的问题，目前，执政的政府是由20%合格选民投选出。”
加埔应划分多8个选区
他指出，全国有222个国席，最小是布城，只有1万5千791名选民，最大的是加埔，选民高达14万4千159人，两个议席的差距高达9倍或912.92%，换言之，布城的一票等於加埔的9票。
“若要公平，应该在加埔划分多8个选区；其实，全国皆出现选区人数差距巨大的问题。”
他说，国阵横扫30个选民人民少於3万人的选区，而在59个选民人数介於3万至5万的议席，国阵贏得55个，在58个选民人数介於5万至7万人的议席，国阵也贏得33个。
他说，国阵贏得的31个议席，多数票少於3千张，31个议席的多数票总数是4万3千零79张，但单单郭素沁在士布爹国席贏得的多数票就达5万1千552张，而潘俭伟在八打灵北区国席的多数票也有4万4千672张。
他指出，在全国20个多数票最高的选区，国阵主席拿督斯里纳吉是唯一的国阵候选人。
他说，选区之间的选民人数差距可以追溯到1973年，当时进行了有条件的修订。
他说，1973年之前，宪法规定选区內选民人数差距的上限为33%，而独立初期的差距不得超过15%，但1969年，33%的限制並没有被遵守，柔佛的蓬沙（Bungsar）国席比东南镇大6倍。
“我们从33%的差距限制到15%，再回到33%，到最后撤销限制，我们是否因这种变化而有更好的代表性和更民主？2013年，在如此大的差距下，我们如何能对选举成绩心服口服？”
行动大马：东马可扩大至15%
“重划选区人数差距最多10%”
“重划选区人数差距最多10%”
长期观察大马选举制度的非政府组织行动大马（TindakMalaysia）建议，选举委员会未来在重新划分选区时，西马选区的选民人数差距，应为正负10%之间，而东马两州应地理位置关係，选民人数差距则可扩大至正负15%。
换言之，一个西马国会选区的平均选民人数若为10万人，则最大选区的选民人数差距不应超过1万1千人，而最少的选区，选民人数也不应少过9万人。
不过，由於政府在1973年修宪刪除选区选民人数差距限制后，一般预料选委会不会採纳类似建议。
重划选区呈选委会参考
该组织创办人黄炳耀今日在“选区划分――知道在哪里划线”选后系列讲座会上表示，该组织正在进行一项为期6个月的BERES计划，准备援引上述概念，重新划分全国222个国会及576个州选区，然后提呈给选委会参考。
“公平的选区划分最重要就是落实一人一票的精神，不过我们也承认沙巴及砂州是特殊的，东马两州佔25%席位可继续保留，各选区之间的选民差距可比西马高。”
目前全国222个国席中，其中166席来自西马、沙巴25席及砂州31席。全国人口最密集的雪州，有22个国会，平均每个国会选区人数都超过9万人。
黄炳耀认为，即使有选民认为本身不要太涉入政治，也不应採取袖手旁观的態度，不过他对本届大选许多民眾积极投入，包括自愿成为监票员感到欣慰。
他也说，虽然宪法规定选委会划分选区后，3造包括州政府、地方政府及同一选区內至少100名民眾可联名，在一个月的期限內提出反对。
不过，他认为30天的期限太短，而在最多2次的公眾听证会后，选委会仍可以將已划分的选区结构图提呈给首相。
跨党特委会监管选委会
律师公会质疑符宪法
律师公会质疑符宪法
律师公会主席梁肇富指出，根据联邦宪法，选举委员会是一个独立的机构，它不需要向任何人匯报或归任何机构管辖，因此，把选委会交给一个跨党派的国会特別委员会监管，將令人质疑这做法是否符合宪法。
他说，选委会的权力直接来自联邦宪法，因此，成立有关特委会引发的问题，还包括它应该以甚么样的形式存在。
他今日在律师公会主办的主题为“选区划分―知道在哪里划线”的选举后系列讲座会上说：“有关特委会的结构应该如何？委员只是国会议员吗？委员应该以国阵或民联议员为多数？或朝野议员各一半？非国会议员是否能成为委员？如果不能，非国会议员如何能扮演角色？”
有关讲座是由律师公会宪法委员会和人权委员会联合主办。
办讲座激发对选举討论
梁肇富说，律师公会举办选后系列讲座，目的是激发公眾对一些选举问题的討论，希望藉此开启改革选举程序、选民册和相关机构的可能性。
“有关问题包括是否有必要改革选委会？
选委会是否保持独立？选委会是否有充份履行其职责？是否有必要重组选委会？”
他指出，联邦宪法第113和114条文阐明，选委会的职责是举办国会和州议会选举、为每一届全国大选准备和检討选民册；若有必要，选委会应提出相关建议。
首相拿督斯里纳吉之前宣佈把原本隶属首相署管辖的选举委员会，交给一个由朝野各党国会议员组成的特別委员会监管，以提高选委会的威信和公信力。
他希望通过这项举措，选委会的独立性不再受到质疑，而且也能加强人民对选委会的信心。
Sunday, June 2, 2013
林吉祥：“設特委會是新發展”，建議選委會首先需更換領導層
2013-06-01 16:52
（雪蘭莪‧八打靈再也1日訊）行動黨資深領袖林吉祥指出，首相署將選委會交由朝野各黨國會議員組成的特別委員會監管是一個發展，但是否能作為競選制度不公及不民主情況的對台方法，仍胥視整體方向及有關詳情。
“這是一個發展，但整個詳情還需再探討，才能瞭解整個操作方式。”
他對星洲日報說，首相拿督斯里納吉做出這項宣佈，是否能解除廣泛人民的不滿及選舉舞弊等問題，都必須確保他能做出正確的改變。
“我們最主要是希望整個競選制度能夠透明化和乾淨、沒有發生選舉舞弊問題，及選區劃分必須在一個民主的制度下進行。”
詢及在成立特別委員會後，是否首先進行上述工作（選區劃分等），他表示，由於這只是首相初步的宣佈，還沒有更進一步詳情，因此他認為現在說這些稍嫌太早。
他補充，相信首相會在國會召開後提呈這項建議，屆時再探討有關建議。
國會24日召開為期16天
第13屆全國大選後的首季國會下議院首次會議，將在本月24日召開，為期16天。
另外，林吉祥較後在其部落格建議，首相在宣佈這項決定前，理應先全面諮詢民聯國會議員的意見及提供相關詳情，才能成為一項朝野政黨雙方皆參與討論及贊同的改革。
他也說，在獲得相關詳情前，他更建議，選委會首先需更換領導層，即該會主席丹斯里阿都阿茲及副主席拿督旺阿末，這樣才能爭取人民的信心。
“因為現任正副主席應對民聯領袖的方式，宛如他們是國陣的代表。”
林祥才：可平息國人指責
另一方面，馬華副總會長拿督林祥才受詢時表示，他贊同首相的這項宣佈，因為這樣可以平息國人對選委會的指責，尤其現在在野黨將所有矛頭都指向選委會。
“選委會須再加強是肯定的，但民聯在一些課題上製造假象是他們的策略，這對選委會不公平。”
他說，在促進我國成為先進國的時刻，這項決定或可平息大家的不滿並能達成共識。
他強調，獲委進入該特別委員會的成員，必須是可以溝通及思想開明的國會議員，因為這樣才能促使所有討論能順利進行。
凱里：符政治轉型議程
青年及體育部長凱里在個人推特上宣佈，內閣全力支持首相拿督斯里納吉今日提出成立朝野政黨組成的國會委員會掌管選舉委員會的建議。
“通過國會監管選舉委員會也是去年選舉改革國會委員會所提出的其中一項建議，同時也符合首相的政治轉型議程。”
廖中萊：可提昇選委會
馬華署理總會長拿督斯里廖中萊指出，馬華歡迎首相拿督斯里納吉宣佈的這項決定，因為這樣能在朝野政黨達成共識的情況下，進一步提昇及加強選舉委員會。
他認為，在集合了各方國會議員的建議和看法後，進而提昇選委會是一個很好的方法。
“特別是反對黨時常會做出沒有實據的指責，我相信通過特別委員會，他們在能夠正式及透明化地參與討論和改革後，就不會再做出類似指責。”
此外，他舉例，國會早前成立遴選委員會，並採納淨選盟2.0所提出的8大選舉改革訴求，作為檢討和改革選舉制度的架構。
安美嘉：反對特委會監管
淨選盟聯合主席拿督安美嘉認為，選舉委員會是一個獨立組織，不應由任何政黨或單位來監管，為此她反對首相的宣佈。
目前人在中國的她指出，選委會應該保持其獨立性，而由朝野政黨組成的特別委員會監管選委會並不涵蓋在我國的憲法中。
“選委會是應在沒有任何政黨或單位監控的情況下，保持獨立。”
此外，她也再次促請選委會總辭，因為民眾在本屆大選後已對其完全失去信心。
鄭可揚支持設特委會
民政黨代主席拿督鄭可揚支持首相拿督斯里納吉倡議，即把選舉委員會交給一個朝野各政黨國會議員組成的特別委員會監管。
他相信，這將使到選委會在未來幾年裡，解決反對黨所提出的各項課題，並讓反對黨瞭解選委會的操作，避免產生不必要的懷疑，並恢復選委會的形象。
他說，選委會的領導層是獨立的，該委員會的成員也沒有政治背景，但在過去幾年來，選委會的聲望受到反對黨破壞，而致形象大受打擊。
鄭可揚認為，朝野各政黨都應該在選舉中，派遣年輕人擔任觀察員和監票員，讓年輕人瞭解投票秩序。
A constitutional blunder by Najib
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by Tommy Thomas
Jun 1, 2013
Jun 1, 2013
COMMENT The first task that Najib Abdul Razak faced upon being sworn in as prime minister on May 6, 2013 after leading the BN to victory in the 13th general election, was to form the cabinet.
Constitutionally, the prime minister does not have a free hand in his choice of cabinet ministers. Article 43(2)(b) of the federal constitution provides that cabinet members shall be “members of either House of Parliament”.
Traditionally, the cabinet is dominated by members elected by the people to serve in the Dewan Rakyat. However, prime ministers often do appoint a few cabinet members from the Senate (Dewan Negara).
It is important to keep in mind that unless a person is a member of either House of Parliament, he cannot be a cabinet member. This is consistent with the position in other parliamentary democracies.
Further, our deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries also have to be parliamentarians, as per Articles 43A(1) and 43B(1) of our federal constitution. Only political secretaries are exempt from this strict requirement.
It was therefore shocking to note the statement made by Paul Low on May 24 that he has not yet been sworn in as a senator. Yet he “purportedly” took the oath of office as a cabinet minister before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on May 16.
Article 43(6) of the constitution reads: “Before a Minister exercises the functions of his office, he shall take and subscribe in the presence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong the oath of the office and allegiance and the oath of secrecy set out in the Sixth Schedule.”
The oath of office and allegiance that Low had to take under the Sixth Schedule of the constitution reads: “I, ……., having been appointed as a member of the Senate, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully discharge my duties as such to the best of my ability, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Malaysia, and will preserve, protect and defend its constitution.”
One other cabinet minister (Abdul Wahid Omar) and three deputy ministers who have not been appointed senators also took their oath of office before His Majesty on May 16.
All these appointments are plainly and clearly unconstitutional.
If they uttered the words stated above in taking their oath of office before the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, they told an untruth because none of these five men had been appointed as a senator prior to becoming a minister or deputy minister.
Appointments cannot be backdated
Under the federal constitution, the sequence is plain and clear: one must first be elected by the people or be appointed to the Senate before one can become a minister; and not the other way.
If these ministers and deputy ministers have been discharging the functions of their office since May 16, they have been acting unconstitutionally.
Their appointments cannot be backdated. Neither can their actions be ratified in future. Rather, they have to be appointed to the Senate first, and thereafter required to take their oath of office again before His Majesty.
The lip-service the government and its officers paid to the federal constitution, which is the supreme law of the land and which overrides all other laws that are inconsistent with it, is again demonstrated by this blatant disregard of something so elementary and so well-established.
Since Merdeka, hundreds of ministers and deputy ministers have been appointed. One would have thought, therefore, that the relevant authorities would have a detailed checklist on the steps that have to be taken for such appointments to be made lawfully and properly.
Senior career officers in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Cabinet Secretariat and the Senate should have given proper advice to PM Najib, so that this debacle could have been avoided.
Much shame has been brought to our system of government by this monumental blunder. Immediate corrective steps must be taken to regularise the position, and an apology made to Malaysians.
Would anybody step up to accept individual or collective responsibility?Source:
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TOMMY THOMAS is a lawyer specialising in constitutional law.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Stop being a ‘BN apologist’, Paul Low told
Low continues to draw flak for his defence of the BN government. — File picKUALA LUMPUR, May 31 — Minister Datuk Paul Low was today ticked off for being an “apologist” for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and told to provide solutions that ensure greater government transparency for the country’s future.
Days after being named to the Cabinet, the new minister in charge of integrity and corruption continues to draw flak for his defence of the BN government, the latest over the country’s poor scores and low ranking in the 2013 Revenue Governance Index (RGI) published earlier this month by the New York-based Revenue Watch Institute (RWI), a non-profit organisation which monitors policies in resource-rich countries in addressing poverty, corruption and violent conflict.
“We call upon Datuk Paul Low not to become an apologist for the BN administration.
“He should study the RGI report in detail, review all criticisms and propose all necessary transparency reforms needed for the Petronas Development Act to make Malaysia a shining example of good governance in the world,” said the DAP’s Damansara Utama assemblyman Yeo Bee Yin, in a statement.
Low had reportedly said that Malaysia’s weak result was because the disclosures of overseas agreements makes up a “big item” in the index, pointing out state oil firm Petronas must respect the host government’s requests for non-disclosure while carrying out its operation abroad.
Yeo, the DAP’s social media strategist, lashed out at Low, noting the latter’s excuse was contrary to the RGI report that evaluates a country’s quality of governance in resources based on four areas and that Malaysia had scored zero in several checklists, highlighting that most were related to the disclosure of operations and business activities within Malaysia.
Yeo reminded the minister that Petronas was not the only state oil company with operations overseas, listing as an example Brazil’s Petrobras which, she said, has operations in 24 countries, nearly similar to Petronas’ operations in 22 nations.
She pointed too that Brazil was like Malaysia, an emerging market in the world economy but the Latin American country had managed to rank 5th globally.
“We do not expect Datuk Paul Low to be responsible for the past mistakes done by the BN government.
“We do expect him to give solutions for greater transparency for the future,” the Selangor state lawmaker said.
Among Southeast Asia’s main oil and gas producers, Malaysia was ranked 34th in the latest global index that measures the quality of governance in oil, gas and mining sectors of 58 countries, tailing neighbours Indonesia, the Philippines and even poverty-plagued Timor-Leste.
The index grades each country on four areas: institutional and legal setting; reporting practices; safeguards and quality controls; and enabling environment with the latter looking at how the government manages income from the country’s natural resources based on state-owned companies, natural resource funds and subnational revenue transfers.
The RGI then splits the ranking into one of four bands — satisfactory, partial, weak or failing.
Malaysia scored 46 composite points out of 100, on par with west African countries such as Gabon, Guinea and Sierra Leone and just ahead of China, which scored 43 points and ranked 36th out of the 58 countries.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
WE BEAT CHINA: Malaysia WORLD CHAMPION in illicit outflows, corruption, money-laundering
Thursday, 30 May 2013 14:44
Written by Lim Guan Eng
Written by Lim Guan Eng
Malaysia’s ill-earned reputation as the world champion of illicit fund outflow per capita testifies to BN’s and Bank Negara’s failure to wipe out corruption and prevent money laundering in Malaysia. When I was in London, I was sad to read in the New York Times that unlicensed money remitting services in Malaysia are alleged to have been a part of a US$6 billion (RM18.3 billion) online money laundering operation in US.
The New York Times said the money laundering scheme operating under Liberty Reserve had millions of customers worldwide, which were “overwhelmingly criminal in nature”, conducted 55 million transactions over the past seven years. In the largest online money-laundering case in history, Liberty Reserve relied solely on “third-party exchangers” to accept or make payments for them, which are usually “unlicensed money-transmitting businesses without significant government oversight or regulation, concentrated in Malaysia, Russia, Nigeria and Vietnam”.
World champion, bookies-culture
Washington-based Global Financial Integrity Report had listed China as the leader in illicit funds outflow, mainly corruption in nature, with USD 2.8 trillion, with Malaysia at No. 5 in the world at USD 291 billion. However in per capita basis China lost out to world champion Malaysia at RM 6,400 per person per year as compared to RM32,000 for Malaysia.
In England, Malaysians have an unfortunate infamous past for being bookies in setting up Premier League football games. Such negative feedback have been slightly reversed following the favourable impact of positive involvement by Malaysians in owning Premiership clubs like newly-relegated Queen Park Rangers and newly-promoted Cardiff City.
Unfortunately, the Malaysian government’s culture of corruption and lack of financial transparency and accountability has now resulted in Malaysia to be part of being a focus of world-wide money-laundering operation. On money-laundering, Malaysia’s international reputation is now worse than Thailand or Indonesia and on par with countries like Nigeria and Russia.
Stop denial mode
The time has come for the BN Federal government to stop being in denial by adopting genuine financial reform to clean up and stop such criminal activities of illicit outflow of “black money”and money-laundering. Otherwise, there is no point in winning accolades for Bank Negara or for our purported good running of the economy when the real issues of transparency and accountability are not addressed.
Or are we to continue to depend on foreign countries in Hong Kong to do our work for us by investigating and detaining those involved in trying to smuggle in tens of million of ringgit?
LIM GUAN ENG IS DAP SEC-GEN & PENANG CHIEF MINISTER
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Ex-minister says disgusted by ‘I love PM’ campaign
An attendee brandishes a sign saying “I love PM” as Najib speaks on stage in Alor Setar, April 20, 2013. — File picKUALA LUMPUR, May 29 ― Those responsible for Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s “I Love PM” campaign should be sacked, former minister Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin has said as he expressed disdain for the attempt to endear the prime minister to Malaysians.
Zainuddin, or “Zam” as he is popularly known as, said the campaign that depicted Najib eating in stalls and mamak coffee shops with voters during the just-concluded polls, only showed hypocrisy as the prime minister was understandably still flanked by his personal assistants and bodyguards.
“His advisors thought that these pictures would show the elitist Najib and his aristocratic family living like regular citizens... but to the people, this is ‘extraordinary’ because they never bump into Najib in places like these.
“Former finance minister Daim Zainuddin called (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim a clown (King of Comedians would be more appropriate). To me, I call Najib an imitator,” Zam wrote in his blog Zamkata yesterday in a posting titled, “I love PM. It is disgusting”.
“His advisors have their heads in the clouds without their feet touching ground. These are the advisor who should be sacked,” he added.
Adding that he had long hid this disdain, Zam quoted from a text message that he received recently from a friend of his from the corporate world, and said it reflected his exact sentiment.
“He said, ‘On Daim’s remark, I agree fully. Najib doesn’t need to compete with Anwar and try to imitate his style. It looks awful. Please tell them to stop showing the banner ‘I Love PM’. It is disgusting. Najib Should present himself as a serious statesman not as a student leader style’,” Zam wrote, quoting from the SMS.
Continuing his critique, the former minister also appeared to question the sudden talk among Barisan Nasional’s (BN) top party leaders on the possibility of morphing into a single, multiracial party.
He noted that the country was being wracked by the opposition-led post-polls upheaval but said this did not mean that the Umno leadership should be seen in a state of panic by entertaining such suggestions at a time of turmoil.
“A serious proposal should be made when things are calm,” he said. “If you want to test ground, now is not the time.”
He also pointed to the sudden clampdown on opposition party organs, calling the move both hilarious and odd as it had only come after the reins of the Home Ministry was passed on from Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“Are they only illegal because the ministry is now under Zahid Hamidi, and was legal because it was under Hishammuddin previously... or were there ministry officials who were pro-opposition who kept an eye closed before, or was it difficult to control?” he asked.
Zam said an explanation should be given to the people so that they would not be shocked in the future if these party organs again hit the market later.
“It looks as if there are laws that can make things legal in one moment and illegal the next,” he said.
The ministry had last week carted off over thousands of copies of PAS-owned Malay newspaper Harakah as well as DAP-owned The Rocket and PKR’s Suara Keadilan from shops and several distribution centres in was seen as a crackdown on the opposition.
The nationwide raid had come following the string of arrests and court charges slapped on opposition politicians and activists who were involved in the series of post-polls events organised by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to rally support in its protest against BN’s polls victory.
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