Allah, please give Sahak strength….

This was an absolute tragedy that a man lived through to witness, with his own eyes. He saw the car ferrying his wife and young children met with an accident and burst into flames.

This story is featured this morning by Utusan Malaysia, www.utusan.com.my :

Kanak-kanak rentung dalam nahas di Labu

SEREMBAN 21 Mei – Seorang kanak-kanak rentung manakala ibu dan adik bongsunya melecur hampir seluruh badan setelah kereta yang dinaiki terbakar dirempuh sebuah bas ekspres sebelum dilanggar dengan kereta lain di Kilometer 16, Jalan Labu-Seremban di sini tengah hari ini.

Mangsa, Nor Azian Ishak, 9, pelajar tahun tiga Sekolah Kebangsaan Batu 10 Labu di sini yang hangus seluruh badan, mati di tempat kejadian.

Dalam kejadian pukul 1 tengah hari itu, kesan rempuhan kuat bas tersebut, kereta Perodua Kancil dipandu ibu mangsa, Nor Aishah Rashid, 40, berpusing dan memasuki laluan bertentangan menghala Labu menyebabkan mangsa terpelanting keluar.

Malangnya, kereta Kancil itu dirempuh pula sebuah kereta jenis Ford yang gagal mengelak menyebabkan mangsa terperangkap di tengah-tengah dua kenderaan yang marak terbakar itu.

Ketika kejadian, ibu mangsa sempat keluar menyelamatkan diri sambil membawa anak bongsunya, Muhd. Iffad berusia enam bulan. Kedua-dua anak beranak itu turut melecur hampir 70 peratus di badan.

Selepas menyelamatkan Muhd. Iffad, Nur Aishah berpatah balik ke keretanya untuk menyelamatkan Nor Azian tetapi api terlalu marak sehingga membakar rentung anak keempatnya itu.

Siasatan

Pemangku Ketua Polis Daerah Seremban, Supritendan Ahmad Mahmud berkata, siasatan awal mendapati kereta yang dipandu Nur Azian itu sedang berhenti untuk membelok ke kediaman mereka di kawasan Ladang Labu di sini.

Katanya, secara tiba-tiba, sebuah bas ekspres yang tiada penumpang menuju ke Seremban dan dipercayai dipandu laju merempuh bahagian kenderaan tersebut.

“Rempuhan menyebabkan ia berpusing dan memasuki laluan bertentangan dan dilanggar pula sebuah kereta Ford menyebabkan kedua-dua kereta itu terbakar.

“Pemandu kereta Ford yang sempat menyelamatkan diri hanya mengalami cedera ringan,” katanya di sini hari ini.

Sementara itu, bapa mangsa, Ishak Sejet, 40, seorang pengurus Kilang Kelapa Sawit Labu yang ditemui di Hospital Tuanku Ja’afar (HTJ) di sini berkata, semasa kejadian beliau bersama beberapa rakan dalam perjalanan keluar daripada ladang itu untuk makan tengah hari.

“Secara kebetulan saya melihat kemalangan yang berlaku itu dan mencuba sedaya upaya menyelamatkan keluarga tetapi sayangnya api terlalu marak, ia berlaku begitu pantas,” katanya.

Tambah beliau, isteri dan anak bongsunya kini berada dalam keadaan kritikal kerana badan kedua-dua mereka melecur teruk.

“Isteri saya kini dirawat di wad kecemasan HTJ manakala bayi kami dihantar ke Hospital Kuala Lumpur untuk rawatan lanjut sementara arwah Nor Azian mungkin dikebumikan di kampung ibunya di Tanjung Keling, Melaka,” katanya

The man is my friend. Ishak Sejet. I knew him too well, those days. We were dorm mates. We were classmates. We were in the scouts together. He was the kind of friend everyone who love to have.

Sahak is a Parit Bunga bloke, who went to do engineering at Brighton after sixth form. I have not seen or spoke to him for a long time. I have his number now but since yesterday, he had buried two of his off springs and his wife is critically fighting for her life in Seremban Hospital ICU for 80% burns. Should I call him, I would not know what to say.

My prayers are with him and his family. I am too distraught to even call up my closest friend in the Alumni to tell him this horrifying story.

This story was uploaded from NST, www.nst.com.my :

Man saves wife, son but loses daughter

SEREMBAN: When Ishak Sejet saw a car on fire after an accident, he rushed to help the trapped victims.

He was shocked to find his wife and two children in it screaming for help.With the help of passers-by, he managed to drag his wife and son out of the vehicle, but was unable to rescue his 9-year-old daughter who died in the flames.Ishak, a manager with MPOB Experimental Palm Oil Mill, had left his office with a friend and was on his way to lunch when he came across the burning car after it was involved in an accident at the entrance of the palm oil mill.”I was shocked when I realised my family was inside.

“After getting my wife and son out, the heat became intense and I couldn’t save my daughter,” said Ishak at the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital yesterday.His wife, Noraishah Rashid, 40, and son, Mohd Iffat, 6 months, sustained 80 per cent burns and were later transferred to a hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Nur Azian, the couple’s fourth of six children, was buried at Noraishah’s hometown of Tanjung Keling, Malacca.Seremban acting police chief Superintendent Ahmad Mahmud said Nuraishah was waiting at the junction to turn into the mill at 12.45pm when an express bus rammed into her car.He said the Perodua Kancil was pushed to the opposite lane where another vehicle driven by a 44 year-old man slammed into it causing both vehicles to burst into flames.The driver of the other car escaped unhurt.Police have detained the driver of the express bus

* An update. I and few buddies drove down to Seremban in the afternoon to meet Sahak. We learnt he buried his nine year old daughter yesterday evening (she died instantly the accident) and this morning, he buried his six month old baby, who eventually passed away at Paediatrics Institute, Kuala Lumpur Hospital very early this morning.

When we saw him, we were simply unable to utter anything. He just cried when he saw our faces and a hug is all we could offer. After the crescendo of emotions simmered, Sahak explained the surgeons are trying their best to stabilise his wife and maintain enough survivality so that she could be transported either to HUKM or Kuala Lumpur Hospital as the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital in Seremban did not have the facility to treat major burns cases. At the moment, she is struggling for her life.

Later some other ladies from our batch showed up to give Sahak the moral support. One of them is a GP herself, drove all the way from Bukit Beruntung in her MPV.

Our parting words for Sahak were to ask him to be strong and take it easy (have some rest), for his other four kids’ sake (aged 14 to seven) who were not involved in the tragic and dreadful accident.

** An update as of evening, Thursday 24 May 2007. Noraishah or Sahak’s wife, who suffered 80% burns from Monday’s accident, has been transferred to burns unit at 2^nd Floor, Kuala Lumpur Hospital this afternoon. Hopefully, they would have better equipment and expertise to deal with cases like this.

*** An update as of noon, Monday 28 May, 2007. Noraishah Rashid, 40, Ishak’s Sejet wife and mother to four of their surviving children never recovered from her burns. She died this today at noon, at Kuala Lumpur Hospital. May Allah s.w.t. bless her soul and give Sahak the strength to carry on, for the other children.

The remains of Noraishah Rashid was bathed, wrapped in burial shroud (kapan) and prayers offered before released by Seremban Police at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital mortuary, 3.30 pm and brought back to her kampung in Tanjong Keling, Melaka. She was laid to rest at Maghrib. 

A CRITICAL RE-EVALUATION OF THE JEBAT REBELLION

A CRITICAL RE-EVALUATION OF THE JEBAT REBELLION: UNDERSTANDING THE CONUNDRUM OF A MALAY MINDSET

by AH Zainal

 

Revisionism in History has become quite fashionable in recent times. Perhaps this phenomenon is to be expected in the Information Age; more so with the prevalence of sophisticated electronic telecommunications that convey ideas and opinions across the planet at the speed of light. As events that shape history are constantly reassessed according to the prevailing contemporary viewpoints that shift with the sands of time, perhaps it is opportune that we re-visit a chapter in the annals of Malay history and re-examine that same chapter with the intention of trying to gain a better understanding of the Malay mindset both of the past and of the present.

The chapter worthy of this re-examination exercise is the tragedy of the Jebat Rebellion. This story is perhaps the most famous in the annals of Malay history; it has been written about, debated, discussed and argued endlessly without reaching any definitive conclusions. The source of this angst is the paradox of a victim of injustice undoing justice itself. This victim is none other than the most illustrious warrior-admiral, Hang Tuah. What makes this story exceptionally memorable is that twist of irony too delicious to be fictitious. Tuah, victim of a palatial conspiracy, redeemed himself to his sovereign lord by killing his ex-lieutenant Hang Jebat, whom, sought justice for Tuah by way of a one-man insurrection.

Previous evaluations of this story generally focus on the two principal characters: the protagonist and the antagonist. The question of whom is who shifts with each swing of the revisionist’s pendulum. Is Tuah, despite his warrior cunning, incapable of common sense thereby reducing himself to an automaton, and Tuah, the manifestation of loyalty, that definitive trait of the Malays, ultimately rewarded by fate? Or is Jebat, despite his prowess, second only to Tuah, the naive victim of a complicated skullduggery; the implication here is that the pursuit of justice itself in an act of naiveté, an exercise in futility within the framework of Malay society then?

To address these questions is an exercise in futility also. In this essay, Tuah is neither the protagonist nor the antagonist. His role is minor, like that of an extra in a movie set if you will, because his actions did not affect the storyline save for one event: he killed Jebat. That was possible only with the magical Kris Taming Sari, so it can be argued that the real killer of Jebat is the Taming Sari and not Tuah whom, by his own admission, cannot kill Jebat without it.

The importance of Tuah here is that he understood his role in the Malaccan Sultanate. True, he was the Admiral, but he was fundamentally a soldier in the service of his sovereign. Soldiers must be prepared to die in the line of duty; they act on the orders of the commander-in-chief or more accurately, at the behest of the sovereign lord. If your lord requires your death, then as a soldier, you are expected to lay down your life dutifully and without question. Tuah cannot be faulted for being a soldier. In the feudal society of Malacca, the right to rule includes the power over life and death, and this right is divinely exclusive to the Sultan. Soldiers obey orders; they are not supposed to think. People who obey cannot be considered as primary figures in any society; they are, in fact, extensions of the State.

Jebat, on the other hand, cannot be hailed as a hero either because he did the exact same thing as the gullible Sultan: he acted without consideration to the consequences of his actions. In other words, he reacted. Or over-reacted, if you like.

Jebat saw the Sultan as a man, not as an office. He failed to realize that once he had usurped and replaced the Sultan, he had to assume the role and perform the duties incumbent upon a Sultan. He did not rule, govern, administer, or even pay attention to the affairs of the state. What did Hang Jebat do once he removed the Sultan from the palace? First, he went on a senseless rampage and murdered everyone he thought to be accomplices in the plot to kill Tuah. This he easily achieved through his awesome fighting skills and the invincibility granted by the Taming Sari. Then, he delighted in princely pleasures, frolicking with the concubines and enjoyed himself thoroughly (and the concubines too, no doubt). He indulged in the benefits of power but ignored the responsibilities that come with it.

But after all that, did he set up a legal system that will prevent a repeat of injustice by mere slander? Did he attempt to re-establish order in society, form a new ruling council of chieftains (Bendahara, Temenggong, Laksamana, Shahbandar et al), formalize a system of public education, incorporate Islamic Jurisprudence in law even, in order to demonstrate that he will make a better ruler than his predecessor? Why not pardon Tuah posthumously and give absolution to the ‘late’ warrior-admiral as the new Sultan? At the very least, couldn’t he have sought Tuah’s grave to pay his last respects, before or after his rebellion? Sadly, the answers to the questions posed are no-s. This guy did not even bother to check, he simply took the word that Tuah was dead! Suffice to say that he was as gullible as the Sultan. If they each had a billion ringgit, they’d both be poor men!

Jebat did nothing to prove his worth; his sole concern was to remove the despotic Sultan who ordered his friend’s death. This Jebat fellow was not entirely brainless, but clearly he could not think very far. Can you fault him, though? After all, he was a soldier and soldiers were not trained to think; they were trained to follow orders. A major problem with this approach is that it becomes a blame game: Whom do you blame, Tuah or Jebat? Well, the answer depends on the angle you choose to look from.

If there is a villain in this story, try considering the Bendahara (Prime Minister) Tun Perak instead. The sagacious Bendahara knew instantly that the accusations leveled against Tuah were a complete falsehood, yet in his capacity as the Prime Minister, he acceded to the Sultan’s order and had Tuah ‘executed’ thus setting in motion the chain of events that make up this tragic story.

If justice were the crux of this story, then the Bendahara would have been the real bad guy. In spite of his wisdom, influence and position, Bendahara Tun Perak, statesman extraordinaire, arguably the person truly responsible for the rise of Malacca as a regional superpower (in those days), couldn’t he have advised the Sultan to think first before acting foolishly? Couldn’t he, in the least, reminded the Sultan of Tuah’s services as a mitigating factor and persuade the Sultan to allow Tuah to stand in his own defense?

Instead Tun Perak chose to acquiesce, preferring to save the Sultan’s face in the mistaken belief that the Sultan having to rescind an order would be even more detrimental than acting rightly like any good ruler should. Even so, what if Tun Perak, for argument’s sake, is indeed the real bad guy in this story? What would this line of thinking achieve? Nothing, save for we have another villain to finger. However, the objective of this essay is not to lay blame, but to understand the Malay psyche and social milieu that existed in those times, which ultimately led to the demise of the Malaccan Sultanate. For this, we need to look at the aftermath of this story.

And the aftermath of this story is simply this: No one learned anything from it. Not the Sultan, not Tun Perak, not even Tuah or Jebat. No mention of any changes or improvements to the governance of the sultanate took place after the end of this story. There was no new system of jurisprudence implemented to prevent a recurrence of this tragedy. Islam, despite being the dominant religion, played no role in the state; it was still limited to rituals and prayers. After the Sultan was reinstalled, it was business as usual for everyone. Which is the most damning indictment that can be delivered to this story: that there is absence of critical thinking and self-examination in the Malay mindset during those times.

This story has become legend; it confirmed the Malay mindset in validating the right to rule together with all its attendant responsibilities to be manifest in the personage of the Sultan. The right to rule stems from the mystical concept of the ‘Daulat’ that can be translated as the divine right of kings. The Malay word ‘Daulat’ is all encompassing; it contains the qualities necessary to make a good ruler, i.e. wisdom, vision, compassion, kindness etcetera but most important of all, the ‘Daulat’ has one unique aspect built into it and that is if the ‘Daulat’ is placed in the correct person, then the land of Malacca and all its citizens will flourish and prosper. Therefore in order to preserve the prosperity of Malacca, the concept of the ‘Daulat’ cannot be tinkered with.

This leads to an inevitable conclusion: the preference of Malay society of that time is to maintain the status quo, even though it has been proven to be defective. The system can somehow correct itself, thus proving its own righteousness. This resilience to change is endemic of all Asian cultures, not just the Malays. Asians, including Malays, are inwardly focused, and this attitude inhibits the birth of new frontiers of knowledge namely science, mathematics, law, and especially literacy (lest we forget, Malay tradition is oral, not written). There was no need to improve society, and by association, no need to improve oneself as individuals, because the belief in the ‘Daulat’ of the Rulers and the ‘Bumi Keramat’(Blessed Earth) of Malacca work together hand-in-glove making good living for all under the sun is so ingrained in the mindset of the Malays then.

And when confronted with the might of European expeditionary forces bent on conquest, the Malays of Malacca were easily swept aside, straight into the dustbin of history. The glory of Malacca was built on a social contract between the rulers and their subjects had a limited life span due to its own inherent weaknesses. Empires rise and fall, and Malacca was no exception. The survivability of any nation rests in its ability to adapt to changes, and the Malays must change if they have to survive the challenges that lie in store for them. Critical thinking, self-examination and accountability are qualities that are requisites in the wake of an ever-changing world. To survive, even flourish, we must recognize that learning from mistakes take high priority over laying blame to where it should.

Are any of the arguments put forth in this essay relevant today? Well, if we look at ourselves, or more importantly, if we listen to what we say, we might realize that fundamentally we haven’t changed at all since that Annus Horriblis of 1511. Phrases like “ Saya serahkan perkara ini kepada kebijaksanaan YAB Presiden” or “Terpulanglah kepada YAB Perdana Menteri untuk memutuskannya” and “ Ini tertakluk kepada Ketua, biarlah dia tetapkan perkara ini” echo loud and clear from the hallowed halls of Parliament to the meeting halls of Division & Branch meetings. Why, even in government departments we hear the same thing: “Ini bukan atas kuasa saya, ini bergantung kepada Tuan Pengarah” or “Sila rujuk perkara ini ke Jabatan lain, ianya bukan kerja Jabatan ini”. The practice of passing the buck goes back hundreds of years in Malay society.

It is not the intention of this essay to incite a rebellion, but rather to persuade a revolution in thinking. After all, even the best amongst us are human, complete with weaknesses and prone to err. The Sultans of Malacca were human too, and in the case of Sultan Mansur Shah, he proved to be more human than most. Crucial to our survivability is first, the willingness to admit mistakes and failures, second: to understand their causes, and third: to have to the courage to rectify them.

Janus, the Roman deity, is a unique figure in Pre-Christian Roman mythology. He has two faces: one can look to the past and the other can look to the future, but his body is eternally locked in the present. While being two-faced is characteristic of most politicians, not just Malay politicians, in looking to the past, we should understand the present since the present is the result of what had happened in the past. Unlike Janus, we do not have the ability to see the future, but we can learn from the past and measure them against the values of the present to guide us when we have to make the choices that determine our future. This is the key to our survival since we have nowhere else to go but to go forward.

AH Zainal - Kuala Lumpur, June 24, 2005.

 

The opinions expressed in this essay are those of the author and the author’s alone. The author maintains all intellectual and proprietary rights to his work. This essay may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the author’s written expressed consent.

Business from blogging

This is an enterprising feat. This blogger earned money from his blog. Now, good money. Taken from NST online, www.nst.com.my, today:

From hobby to a steady five-figure income

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SAMSUL Zamzuri Abu Bakar, 32, gets puzzled looks whenever he tells people about his profession.

He blogs, but for most people, blogging is a hobby, not a job. The economics graduate also does marketing but his neighbours don’t see him leaving home smartly dressed to meet clients with briefcase in hand, like most marketers.

In fact, Samsul Zamzuri is often at his home in Sungai Buloh. He is one of a small but rising number of Malaysians who earns an income solely through the Internet.

It started off in 2003 as a hobby for the technology enthusiast, then working as an internal auditor. His first website offered free downloands of software allowing Windows-run computers to have a Apple Macintosh interface. Both are rival operating systems.

“After a while, my friend suggested I put up advertisements there. I signed up with Google Adsense and my first US$100 (RM350) cheque came six months later,” said Samsul Zamzuri.
As he devoted more time online, traffic to his website soared — and so did his income.

By 2005, while earning about RM2,000 from his day job, Samsul Zamzuri was already chalking up between RM7,000 and RM8,000 in advertising fees from his stable of websites and blogs.

In August that year, he took the drastic decision of quitting his job to focus on his online ventures.

Now, he owns more than 15 websites and earns a five-figure salary. Some of the websites are on gadgets like handphones and digital cameras. He hires bloggers from countries like the United States, New Zealand and Ecuador.

Samsul Zamzuri bears the costs of running the websites and shares the profits with his partners. All his marketing (to get companies to advertise) is done online.

His top revenue earners are directory websites where companies pay to get listed, and are then ranked higher in search engine results.

His number two money-earner is his first website (www.osx-e.com), the one which got him hooked into online forays in the first place. Samsul Zamzuri claimed he had been offered up to US$20,000 for the website, but declined the bid for sentimental reasons.

His advice for those who want to follow in his footsteps?

“When you start, don’t think of making money first. Treat it like a hobby. Be patient and hard working. The rewards are sweet.”

More and more tools are being developed and induced into the bloggosphere, which are commercial in nature. It is not far away that businesses finds its more cheaper to advertise in blogs compared to known and highly acclaimed websites.

This is indeed a healthy development, which will encourage more technies to develop the blogging culture in Malaysia into something really big and common.

Shar101’s scoop on TRC

Well, it seemed Shar 101 has a scoop . Not bad for a newbie. Titled “KING IN WAITING?” (in bold capital letters), this is a story about a Pak Lah crony construction company, been enjoying all these wonderful direct negotiation projects and failed to do a good job (in the case of the runway lights failure at the Kuala Terengganu airport extension project).

Even the DYMM SPB YDP Agong and his majesty’s entourage were affected by this below par work at the Sultan Mahmud Airport in Kuala Terengganu (Bernama report):

Airport lights still out, King’s flight postponed

KUALA TERENGGANU: A special flight scheduled to take Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin back to Kuala Lumpur had to be cancelled last night as the runway lights were still not operating due to damaged power cables.

A palace spokesman said Tuanku Mizan was to return to the federal capital aboard a special aircraft at 10.45pm after gracing the prize-giving ceremony of the YDSMPENN Endurance Challenge 2007 at the Kelab Teluk Warisan in Pulau Duyong, near here.

“His Majesty’s special flight has been postponed to 8am tomorrow (today),” he said when contacted.

Tuanku Mizan had been in Terengganu since Tuesday to participate in the two-day championship which ended at Lembah Bidong, Setiu, yesterday.

On Saturday night, about 300 passengers were stranded at the airport after the runway lights failed to function, forcing all three night flights to be cancelled.

Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said in a statement last night that repair works on the cables were to have been completed yesterday morning.

It was learnt that the contractor engaged had carried out tests on the runway lights at 7.30pm but the lights did not function.

MAS, AirAsia and Firefly flights out of the airport last night were also affected. – Bernama

So Shahrir Samad, Khalid Nordin and what looks like Norza Zakaria, were in collaboration in this company? What are you going to say now, Shahrir (www.shahrirsamad.blogspot.com)?

For the record, Australian trained chartered accountant Dato’ Mohd Norza Zakaria was an aspiring UMNO Youth Exco who wanted to go for the Deputy Head post in the Aug 2004 party elections. He bowed out in favour of Khairy Jamaluddin, who eventually won the seat uncontested. He was then rewarded the powerful Political Secretary to the Minister Finance II seat (because PM Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi already appointed Dato’ Reezal Merican as the more powerful Political Secretary to the Minister of Finance post, Norza had to settle for this job). The UMNO Wilayah Persekutuan Youth Head later was appointed as an UMNO Supreme Council member by the UMNO President.

So it seems TRC’s linkage is complete. This fashion of dishing out contracts listed under RMK 9 amongst selected same companies through direct negotiations is exactly what former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was questioning when he commented on Dato’ Annuar Musa’s announcement that an extra RM three billion more is sought for Kelantan, yesterday, at the Majlis Tindakan Rakyat Kelantan’s Annual Lecture series in Kota Bahru.

 

The serial plagiarist

 

Ahirudin ”Rocky” Attan, through his lawyer Edmund Bon filed their defence in the case New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd and four others Vs Ahirudin bin Attan, at the brand new Palace of Justice, earlier this afternoon.

In this defence, it is argued that plantiff No. 5, Brenden John A/L John Pereira plagiarised Mitch Albom’s “Remembering the day before the day”, published by Detroit Free Press (www.pressp.com), 10 September 2007 to his own in The News Straits Times titled “How dearly we missed June 6”.

New evidence has been presented in Rocky’s defence, on top of the infamous Brenden Pereira’s “Albomation” episode, which drew so much attention to Rocky’s Bru (www.rockybru.blogspot.com).

In Pereira’s writings in The News Straits Times, 3 July 2006 titled “Life played out on a football pitch” against the original work of “Whatever it takes: In pursuit of the Perfect 10” published by CNN (www.cnn.com ) on 10 April 2006.

CNN.com	Brenden Pereira
“Sports remain a great metaphor for life’s most difficult lessons. It was through athletics that many of us came to understand that fear can be tamed.; that on a team the whole is more than the sum of its parts; and that the ability to be heroic lies within. - Susan Casey, former managing editor of Sports Illustrated Women.”	“SPORT remains a great metaphor for life’s most difficult lessons. It is through football that many of us came to understand that fear can be tamed; that for a team the whole is more than the sum of its parts; and that the ability to be heroic lies within.”

“ANGOLA - Greater Goal: Healing a War-Torn Land” written by Henning Mankell and published by National Geographic (www.nationalgeographic.com) June 2006.

Nationalgeographic.com	Brenden Pereira
“But it is in the very nature of soccer to be unpredictable. If it were not the case that underdogs can sometimes defeat the predicted winners, soccer would be uninteresting.”	“It is in the very nature of soccer to be unpredictable. If it were not the case that underdogs can sometimes defeat the predicted winners, soccer would be uninteresting. The same goes for life.”

In the defence, Rocky has listed the characteristic of the plagiarism:

1. Copying or paraphrasing other people’s work and/or original ideas as own’s, without proper acknowledgments

2. Verbatim: Literal usage of words from other people’s works and/or original ideas as own’s without proper acknowledgments

3. Paraphrasing other people’s works and/or original ideas with a little amendments or re-copy the structure of the train of thoughts as own’s without proper acknowledgments

With this, it is exposed what sort of journalist has Brenden Pereira been appointed to a top NST position before he left last December. It is safe to say he is a “serial plagiarist”.

This story about what Pereira did would put to shame the other ethical journalists on the World Press Day, celebrated today, in commemoration Freedom of Press.

Khalid forgotten how much he bought Guthrie?

Here is more on the Ijok ADUN wannabe.

Something is amiss here. It seems Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, former Generalissimo Guthrie claimed that he bought Guthrie’s shares from PNB back in 1994 at market prices. This was reported by The Star (www.thestar.com.my ) :

 

Nation

Friday April 27, 2007

I bought shares at market price, says Khalid

PETALING JAYA: Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said his acquisition of shares in Guthrie Bhd was a commercial transaction.

“The idea of obtaining the share options was first suggested to me by the late Tun Ismail Ali in 1994 and it was agreed by the chairman of Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputra (the holding company of PNB), then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“I acquired them at market price and it was a commercial transaction, not free or discounted shares. This matter remains in court and any further discussion should happen during the court proceedings,” he said in a press statement yesterday.

Khalid, also a former Permodalan Nasional Bhd chief executive officer, was commenting on Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s claim on Wednesday that Khalid’s animosity for Barisan Nasional was because he had failed to acquire a 20% stake in Guthrie.

Khalid said he planned to sue Najib and those who had made false and unfounded statements about him.

“I have instructed my lawyers to prepare a lawsuit against Najib and all others who have been making false and unfounded statements. It is my intention to be transparent and straightforward in all my dealings.”

In a separate statement, Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he was instructed by Dr Mahathir in 1994 to write a letter to allow Khalid to purchase Guthrie shares at market price.

“I have known Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim for many years. During my time as Finance Minister, he approached me on many occasions for many issues, but never once had he ever asked for shares or allocation for his own benefit.

“I was and still am very impressed by Khalid’s honesty, integrity and his concern for the common people by introducing the Amanah Saham Nasional and Amanah Saham Bumiputra schemes in the country,” Anwar said.

However, this what something dug from The Asian Wall Street Journal report, on the same issue, dated 17 June 1994:

PNB Chief Moves to Guthrie With Lucrative Share Deal

By Raphael Pura

Staff Reporter

775 words

17 June 1994

The Asian Wall Street Journal

PAGE 1

English

(Copyright (c) 1994, Dow Jones & Co., Inc.)

KUALA LUMPUR — The chief executive of Malaysia’s huge national investment corporation will leave his post with a hefty golden handshake and the promise of more gains to come.

Permodalan Nasional Bhd. said Thursday that Abdul Khalid Ibrahim will acquire up to 20% of its publicly listed subsidiary, Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd., when he leaves his post as PNB chief executive on July 1 to become Guthrie’s deputy chairman and chief executive officer. Datuk Khalid will initially buy a 5% stake in Guthrie, or 50 million shares, for 125 million ringgit ($48.1 million), or 2.50 ringgit a share. He will also have a three-year option to buy an additional 15% of Guthrie at a price to be determined.

Guthrie stock closed Thursday at 3.96 ringgit per share, up 24 sen. That means Datuk Khalid will enjoy an immediate windfall, on paper, of about 73 million ringgit. But Datuk Khalid said at a press conference that he intends to hold his Guthrie stake as a long-term investment, and plans to expand the company. “PNB wants Guthrie to be a corporation that could challenge . . . other multinationals in Malaysia and elsewhere,” he said.

Guthrie, one of Malaysia’s biggest plantation concerns, last year made a pretax profit of 101.4 million ringgit on revenue of 1.05 billion ringgit. The company currently is 90% owned by PNB, a government-created investment holding company that manages a portfolio valued at about 20 billion ringgit, the bulk of it in the form of unit trusts owned by more than three million Malaysians.

Datuk Khalid will be replaced at PNB by Mohamed Hilmey Mohamed Taib, a 41-year-old former banker and accountant who is currently PNB’s deputy chief executive.

Datuk Khalid, a 47-year-old former university lecturer and merchant banker, joined PNB in 1978 and helped direct the then-fledgling investment company’s growth into a mammoth stock-holding concern for Malaysia’s “bumiputra,” or indigenous, citizens. He also helped create a unittrust scheme whereby bumiputras, mainly ethnic Malays, can purchase shares in PNB’s underlying stock portfolio and reap hefty dividends. PNB’s after-tax profit rose 17.5% in 1993 to 736.9 million ringgit.

PNB made an international splash in 1981, when it wrested control of Guthrie from the company’s British shareholders through a one-billion-ringgit “dawn raid” on the London Stock Exchange. PNB’s other long-term investments include stakes in Malaysian Mining Corp. Bhd. and UMW Holdings Bhd.

Although Datuk Khalid’s shift to Guthrie was expected, some Malaysian securities analysts were surprised at the heavily discounted 2.50 ringgit price for Guthrie shares that PNB offered its departing chief. When PNB floated 10% of Guthrie on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in 1989, the company pledged to offer an additional 20% of Guthrie’s equity to the public. The prospective sale to Datuk Khalid fulfills that promise, but it means PNB is passing up the chance to seek a higher price for Guthrie stock from other bidders or the public.

“It really looks like PNB is paying (Datuk Khalid) off,” says one securities research manager, who believes Guthrie stock would sell readily. “They’re forgoing a higher price on the market by offering such a discount.”

Datuk Khalid says he regards the arrangement “not as a monetary reward, but as an opportunity because the risk is being taken by me.” He adds that he is financing the acquisition largely through bank borrowings secured by the Guthrie shares. “I’ve not taken this much liability in my career,” he says. “None of my family assets could cover this liability.”

The PNB chief adds that the arrangement has the support of PNB chairman Ismail Mohamed Ali, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Dr. Mahathir and Datuk Anwar head Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputra, a government-backed foundation that is PNB’s ultimate holding company.

Datuk Khalid says he decided to leave his PNB post for the challenge of owning and running a large company. “A portfolio manager is very different from an operational manager,” he says, though he declines to outline his plans for Guthrie. The company’s earnings have grown only slowly in recent years and Guthrie has begun seeking ways to expand into fields such as property development.

Mr. Hilmey, who replaces Datuk Khalid at PNB, has spent 13 years with the investment company, serving as assistant general manager of one of PNB’s unit trusts and general manager for finance before becoming deputy chief executive in 1990.

There are clear contradictions on the story, although it is about the same subject. Maybe Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim “forgotten” what actually happened. He should be reminded what was said and transpired then, before wanting to sue the Deputy Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak for telling the story, as how it happened. Of course, people do their research well, in these sort of campaigns.

Khalid already did a blunder on Wednesday night campaigning in Ladang Tuan Me when he coyly asked the audience to vote for the BN candidate and waved as the crowd cheered. Now this? The inconsistency. Maybe if Khalid keeps getting his facts wrong (even that concerns himself), then most probably he is not right man for Ijok. Or what is it again? BN candidate?

Bloggers bertemu Parthiban

Kami beberapa orang Bloggers hari ini bertemu wakil Barisan Nasional (BN) untuk Pilihanraya Kecil DUN N 11 Ijok, 28 April 2007 ini. En. K. R. Parthiban kelihatan ceria dan girang, walaupun jelas menampakan beliau letih dalam jadual berkempen terlalu ketat yang masuk hari kelima dan cuaca yang tidak begitu memaafkan itu.

Pertemuan ini berlaku pada pukul 430 petang, Selasa 24 April 2007 disebuah Kedai Kopitiam di Batang Berjuntai dan diaturkan oleh Pegawai Khas diPejabat Menteri Besar Selangor. Parthiban baru sahaja bertemu dengan beberapa wartawan media berbahasa Cina dan beliau ‘dicuri’ seketika, sebelum perlu berada dijalanan bertemu pengundi Ijok lagi.

Anak tempatan ini begitu yakin dalam temuramah ini. Perbualan membuka kata sempat kami memahami bahawa anak yatim piatu ini berkorban menentukan adik adiknya mendapat peluang ke menara gading dan banyak membelakangkan kepentingan peribadi, termasuk mencari pasangan hidup.

Beliau kini begitu fokus kepada isu isu penduduk dan pengundi Ijok dan tidak termakan langsung kedalam kancah taktik Parti Keadilan Rakyat memainkan isu isu tidak relevan dan rhetorik dalam Pilihanraya Kecil ini. Semasa temuramah ini, beliau menerima panggilan telefon mengenai ada orang meminta bantuan dalam tugas seharian beliau dalam Pejabat Pelajaran Kuala Selangor. Dalam kesibukan berkempen, Parthiban masih lagi meluangkan masa untuk melayan permintaan orang ramai, seperti mana sebelum kempen bermula.

Walaupun Parthiban bukan tokoh korporat terkenal seperti lawanya, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, mantan guru ini disenangi dan kenali penduduk tempatan. Ini kerana beliau pernah berkhidmat dalam kawasan Ijok sebagai guru. Beliau juga sekarang menjawat Pegawai Pelajaran Daerah Kuala Selangor dan Naib Presiden Majlis Belia Malaysia Kuala Selangor.

Parthiban memang mampu menyesuaikan diri dalam masyarakat setempat Ijok. Beliau boleh sikit sikit mengunakan loghat Jawa, kumpulan sub-etnik penduduk majoriti kawasan ini. Walaupun kami setika sahaja bersama bakal Y.B. di kedai kopitiam tersebut, jelas terpampang penduduk tempatan berbilang keturunan etnik mengenali beliau dan selesa dengan mesra bertegur sapa secara bersahaja. Beliau juga tidak canggung apabila berbual dengan pemerhati politik dari Kedutaan Amerika Syarikat, Kuala Lumpur.

Tidak syak lagi Parthiban merupakan calon yang sesuai mewakili BN dan seterusnya menentukan pembangunan dan keselesaan penduduk di N 11 Ijok diperjuangkan, sebagai seorang Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri. Berkhidmat kepada penduduk Ijok adalah sebati dalam jiwanya. Di akhir temuramah ini, kami Bloggers mengucapkan agar beliau berjaya Sabtu ini.

P/S: Temuramah dengan Cikgu K Parthiban ini dibawa dalam blog Rocky’s Bru, www.rockybru.blogspot.com, Zorro Unmasked, www.zorro-zorro-unmasked.blogspot.com dan Another Brick In the Wall, www.anotherbrickinwall.blogspot.com

Khalid kuda tunggangan Anwar, wakili Ijok?

Tan Sri Dato’ Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, 61, mantan Pengerusi Eksekutif Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd. dan CEO PNB kini diperkudakan Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) sebagai calon dalam Pilihanraya Kecil Ijok 28 April ini, sempena kematian ADUNnya, YB Dato’ K. Sivalingam. Beliau akan menentang K. Parthiban, 38, calon BN - MIC Sabtu ini.

Khalid, merupakan Pengerusi PKR Selangor bukanlah seorang yang baru dalam arena politik. Beliau pernah bertanding dalam UMNO Bahagian Kuala Selangor pertengahan 90an dahulu untuk merebut Ketua Bahagian tetapi gagal. Beliau kini sinonim dengan golongan kecewa dalam politik, mencari sekutu bersama Anwar Ibrahim dan mereka yang senasib seperti Dato’ Kamarul Bahrin dan Dato’ Nalla Karupan.

Jasa sudah dikenang
Khalid satu masa dulu pernah berjasa kepada PNB kerana dengan jayanya mengurus pembangunan dan penerbitan skim ASN dan kemudian ASB. Jasa jasa itu amat dihargai Kerajaan dan Perdana Menteri Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad apabila beliau diberi peluang untuk menjadi Pengerusi Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd. dan pembelian-oleh-pengurusan (MBO 5% saham Guthrie pada nilai asas (par). Ini bermakna, Khalid dibenarnya mengambil alih saham Guthrie bernilai pasaran RM 50 juta tanpa membayarnya (dibiayai penuh pihak ketiga) dan diberikan moratorium untuk opsyen lain.

Apa yang dinikmati oleh Khalid kerana jasanya itu lebih banyak dari personaliti personaliti lain yang menjadi tunggak perintis PNB seperti Tan Sri Mohd. Desa Pachi dan Allahyarham Tun Ismail Mohd. Ali.

Peluang mendapat kekayaan ini tidak termasuk saham saham terbitan syarikat syarikat yang ingin disenaraikan diBursa Malaysia (masa itu KLSE). yang diperuntukan sebagai penglibatan pelabur / pemegang saham Bumiputra. Khalid dikatakan menguruskan agar sebahagian dari saham yang diperuntukan untuk Bumiputra (selebih dari yang mana diambil (subscribe) PNB) di’faraid’kan (private placement) kepada dirinya (melalui wakil wakil tertentu), termasuk menguruskan pembiayaanya sekali.

Ini memberikan Khalid peluang menjadi jutawan kaya dari seorang pengurus professional yang hanya makan gaji dengan sebuah agensi Kerajaan. Kekayaan ini menyebabkan Khalid mampu menyediakan rumah umpama istana tiga tingkat diJalan Setia Bistari 5, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur ini. Rumah yang berharga berjuta Ringgit ini, sebahagian besarnya dibuat dengan kayu cengal, merbau dan keras yang lain, yang diukir secara teliti dengan tangan oleh tukang tukang mahir yang didatangkan khas dari Terengganu.

Pengalaman Guthrie
Walaupun Khalid menguasai Guthrie sebagai pemegang saham minoriti, (ketika itu nilai pasaran saham terbitan dan berbayar berjumlah melebihi RM 1 billion), tetapi kerana kesefahaman PNB membelakangi beliau sebagai Pengerusi Eksekutif, Khalid berlagak umpama ‘tuan punya’ Kumpulan Guthrie dan seolah olah berkuasa mutlak.

Semasa dalam Guthrie, beliau dikatakan menjadi seorang pemimpin yang “bongkak dan angkuh”, walaupun personalitinya lembut dan beliau mudah tersenyum dan menyapa orang. Beliau pernah dikatakan mengelarkan diri sendiri sebagai “Penyelamat Bangsa Melayu” (Saviour of the Malay race).

Keangkuhan pengurusan beliau terserlah apabila beliau membuat banyak keputusan sendiri, tanpa mendapat persetujuan Lembaga Pengarah Kumpulan Guthrie, termasuk untuk keputusan keputusan strategik. Ini menimbulkan kemarahan dan perasaan tidak senang pengurusan tertinggi diperingkat PNB. Namun begitu, tiada tindakan diambil kerana Khalid dilihat sebagai ‘orang Anwar Ibrahim’ (masa itu, Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan).

Guthrie banyak membuat pinjaman dan hutang baru dalam zaman pengurusan Khalid. Projek projek yang dikira sebagai pet project Khalid seperti Bukit Jelutong, Guthrie Corridor dan pembukaan ladang kelapa sawit di Indonesia banyak mendedahkan Guthrie kepada hutang, sehingga melebihi RM 1 billion dan hampir menyamai modal berbayar syarikat. Antaranya, ialah penerbitan kertas kommersial kompliant syariah yang dinamakan ‘Sukuk’, ditaja-urus oleh HSBC Amanah merupakan satu sejarah dalam kewangan Islam diperingkat antarabangsa. Khalid amat berbangga dengan ini dan kerap menengahkan kejayaan ini.

Dipercayai ini dilakukan Khalid dengan sengaja agar harga saham Guthrie boleh ditingkatkan dan EPS meningkat. Perancangan Khalid adalah agar beliau boleh mengambil 10% opsyen saham Kumpulan Guthrie dengan nilai par dan kerana saham ini akan di’lonjak’ ketahap harga tinggi, maka beliau boleh mendapat pembiayaan untuk skima yang berkepentingan peribadi ini. Malangnya, perancangan ini gagal direalisasikan dan moratorium yang PNB berikan kepada beliau menjadi matang.

Oleh demikian, selepas Anwar tidak lagi berkuasa, ‘perlindungan’ keatas Khalid lenyap. Oleh kerana pengurusan Khalid diGuthrie makin meruncing dan membebankan syarikat dan banyak keputusan unilateral yang dibuat Khalid makin disedari, makan pada tahun 2003, PNB menetapkan Khalid membayar penuh opsyen selebih 5% saham Guthrie yang beliau pada asalnya ingin miliki. Kegagalan ini juga memberikan peluang agar Lembaga Pengarah Guthrie mengundi beliau di’turun’kan dari kedudukan Pengerusi Eksekutif yang sangat berkuasa itu.

Kuda tunggangan Anwar
Kini Anwar mengunakan Khalid sebagai kuda tungganganya dalam Pilihanraya Kecil Ijok. Anwar Ibrahim perlu menunjukan bahawa PKR boleh menang kali ini, setelah pakatan Pembangkang kecundang diBatu Talam dan Machap. Ijok juga penting untuk menentukan bahawa beliau diterima sebagai perancang utama dan ‘Pemimpin Agung Pembangkang’.

Survival PKR juga bergantung kepada kemampuan Anwar membuktikan dirinya sebagai pemimpin politik yang masih ‘laku’ dan diterima rakyat. Ini kerana begitu ramai pemimpin PKR telah meninggalkan perjuangan PKR yang mereka anggap sia sia dan tiada visi itu. Ini termasuk Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, Marina Yusuf, Ruslan Kassim, Lukman Noor Adam dan Zainur Zakaria. Kini Dr. Syed Hussein Ali sudah berundur dan orang kanan Anwar sendiri iaitu Ezam Md. Nor juga sudah menunjukan bibit untuk meninggalkan PKR.

Pergolakan dalaman PKR makin terserlah. Dalam isu pemilihan calon mewakili PKR ini juga timbul pergolakan kecil antara pihak pihak dalam PKR. Isu perkauman sebenar ujud dalam PKR yang sedang mendemonstrasi sebagai sebuah parti politik pelbagai kaum yang paling berjaya.

Anwar perlu menang kali ini, terutama Kongress Tahunan PKR akan diadakan Mei ini. Sekiranya PKR gagal di Ijok ini, makin banyak persoalan tentang hala tuju dan justifikasi kewujudan PKR, dikalangan ahli ahli sendiri akan timbul. Ini jelas apabila pendebatan sengit antara Ezam dan 50 orang ahli PKR dirumah beliau di Seksyen 7, Shah Alam, dua bulan lepas. Anwar sendiri perlu menunjukan beliau bersungguh sungguh dengan PKR agar menghilang syak wasangka termasuk dikalangan ahli ahli PKR sendiri bahawa beliau tidak akan kembali kepada UMNO.

Khalid mahu berkhidmat?
Betulkah Khalid betul betul mahu berkhidmat kepada penduduk Ijok? Sungguh sungguhkah Khalid mahu ‘turun padang’, menyinsing lengan, mendengar rintihan dan aduan rakyat yang remeh temeh dan berusaha untuk menyelesaikanya, sebagai wakil rakyat? Adakah Khalid akan membawa pembangunan ke Ijok selepas menjadi wakil rakyat? Apa perancangan Khalid untuk membawa pembangunan dan meningkat keselesaan penduduk Ijok, terutama sebagai wakil rakyat Pembangkang? Mungkinkah Khalid mengeluarkan duit sendiri untuk menentukan keselesaan rakyat di Ijok meningkat?

Terlalu banyak persoalan.

Mungkin Abdul Khalid Ibrahim bukanlah calon yang terbaik untuk membela nasib dan menentukan pembangunan, langsung meningkat keselesaan penduduk terus dibawa kekawasan perladangan Ijok ini. Pilihan lain menunjukan keputusan yang lebih baik.

Mukhriz Mahathir, the Peace Malaysia guy

 

 

Earlier this afternoon, I went to Ijok. In heat of the Sunday afternoon sun, Peace Malaysia started its mobile clinic for the people of Ijok during these by election days. This is an NGO that provided medical profession practitioners opportunity to serve the less fortunate public or disaster area, on voluntarily basis.

The Peace Malaysia mobile clinic was opened at the Bukit Badung JKKK Office and officiated by Dato’ Mukhriz Mahathir, UMNO Youth Exco in charge of International Affairs and NGO. Mukhriz is also the Peace Malaysia Co-Ordinator.

 

 

There were a few doctors who were at the clinic, providing free medical service and medicine, for the people in the area. The more serious cases were referred to the nearest hospitals. A lot of medicines were raised for this project. It also included formula milk for infants. When there were no patients in the clinic, some of these volunteer doctors made house to house call, especially amongst the older folks.

This is not the first such venture for Peace Malaysia. Also not for Mukhriz. Peace Malaysia has been setting up mobile clinic and field hospitals in some of the worse disaster areas, the past three-four years.

They operated one clinic in Acheh after the Boxing Day tsunami that hit the region and left more than a quarter of million people dead in the Northern Sumatra region. After that the were in Balakot, Pakistan during the Ramadhan of 2005, when the province was hit with a terrible earth quake. Then they were also in Jog Jakarta, also operating the same facility after its earthquake. Last August, Peace Malaysia mobile clinic team went to Syria and Lebanon, to provide emergency and post trauma medical care for the devastated area being attacked by the ruthless Zionist Israeli forces.

The Peace Malaysia clinic during the almost month long Johor floods is one of the longest mission they ever carried out. They cared for various relief centres around the vicinity of Parit Sulong.

Mukhriz personally is not new to this. His first humanitarian mission was in Ambon, few days before Eid-ul-Fitri in 2000. He was in all of these places Peace Malaysia clinic operated, including Syria and Lebanon. When he was there with the first Peace Malaysia medical team, he was actually exposed to the risk of hostile fire from Israeli fighter bombers.

Mukhriz also is involved with the peace process in the warring South Thailand Muslim majority provinces, under the Perdana Global Peace Organisation. As the Executive Director, one of his pet project is building a half million Ringgit mosque in Pasir Jawa, Saiburi District, Pattani Province. He chaired several session in the landmark Perdana Global Forum III 5-7 February 2007 at the Putra Word Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, which theme was “Criminalize War”.

As the Co-ordinator of Peace Malaysia and UMNO Youth Exco in charge for International Affairs, Mukhriz has a different approach in engaging sensitive and prickly issues, especially pertaining another nation. He does not buy into the idea of rowdy demonstrations in front of the Embassy or crashing through Police barricade at international conferences. However, his methods are more constructive engagements sort. Example, in the issue of Israeli unlawful blatant attack and incursion into Lebanon last July, Mukhriz representing Peace Malaysia invited the US Ambassador and British High Commissioner for an open debate on the subject matter. The US Ambassador declined but the British High Commissioner was game for it. HE Mr. Boyd McCleary and his First Secretary were engaged in an open debate with Mukhriz and Dr. Chandra Muzaffar at the Securities Commission auditorium last September.

The aspiring future leader in UMNO is set to do more, if he is given the opportunity to continue his good work.

 

Anwar - Gore: Dances with the wolves

This is adapted from Gore’s Racist Assault Against Malaysia

by Michael Billington April 13, 2007

It is no surprise to find Al Gore campaigning today against the phony “threat” of global warming allegedly posed by industrialization in both the “developed” and underdeveloped worlds, to anyone familiar with the history of his racist, anti-development, imperialist relations with Malaysia.

Here is a brief overview:

In November 1998, President Clinton had to skip an important meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) in Kuala Lumpur, due to a military crisis in the Balkans (which had been instigated by Al Gore and his pal Richard Holbrooke). Clinton sent Vice President Al Gore in his place to represent the United States. Only two months earlier, Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad had implemented currency controls and fixed currency rates to counter the attack on the Asian currencies by George Soros and his fellow hedge fund speculators.

Clinton had been considering a new international financial architecture, which would have seen the Malaysian move towards currency controls as a possible model for developing nations to protect themselves within a new monetary framework.

However, rather than building the needed relationship between the United States and Malaysia, Gore launched a public assault on Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir, and in defense of the deposed former Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who had defended the IMF’s conditionalities and rejected Dr. Mahathir’s controls. As Finance Minister (and Deputy Prime Minister), Anwar had implemented an “IMF austerity policy without the IMF”, before Dr. Mahathir dumped him.

‘We Should Fry Him’

Gore was the featured speaker at the APEC forum on Nov. 16 1998, sharing the podium with Dr. Mahathir. Outside the conference center, anarchists supporting deposed Anwar were rioting in the streets, making calls to bring down the government. Claiming that Malaysia could not protect his security, Gore demanded that the hotel management shut down the air conditioning, to prevent terrorists from putting poison in the ventilation system.

Then, before a sweaty audience, Gore incited the anarchists, “Democracy can give the stamp of legitimacy that reforms must have in order to be effective, and so, among nations who suffer economic crises, we continue to hear calls for democracy, calls for reform, in many languages. People power. (Reformasi). We hear them today, right here, right now, among the brave people of Malaysia.”

International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz called it “the most disgusting speech I’ve heard in my life,” while Foreign Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (now the Prime Minister) said “Malaysia finds the incitement by the U.S. government to lawlessness by certain elements within the country, to use undemocratic means in order to overthrow a constitutionally elected government, most abhorrent.

Malaysians do not take kindly to sanctimonious sermonizing from any foreign quarter, especially the United States, a country which is known to have committed gross violations of human rights”.

Dr. Mahathir was more direct “We should fry him. Al Gore does not love Malaysia nor its people. Al Gore and his government only wants to manipulate and control our country”.

Gore did not apologize, but told Russian Prime Minister Yevgeni Primakov (another target for Gore’s intended “regime change”), “That is the American message and I am proud to deliver it here and anywhere go. Moving into the 21st century with a strong economy really requires democracy and self-government”.

Anwar’s Friends to the Rescue

When Anwar Ibrahim was convicted of corruption and sodomy (a crime in Malaysia) after a 14-month trial, in August 2000, his pal Al Gore, then in the heat of the Presidential campaign against George W. Bush, took time out of his campaign to speak out against the rule of law, “I am deeply disturbed by the verdicts handed down in Malaysia in the case of Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim…. The show trial [he was] forced to endure mocked the international standards of justice.”

Two days after the 1998 Gore tirade in Kuala Lumpur,the (Asian Wall Street Journal) offered the jailed Anwar Ibrahim their editorial page. Anwar showed his allegiance to the international financial institutions and to colonial policy, “Instead of pointing the finger at speculators and blaming ‘unrealistic demands’ set by international agencies acting as lenders of last resort, Asian nations would do well to put their houses in order first”, he wrote.

Asian nations must end “ambitious plans for outlandish projects” commit themselves “to wiping out corruption and nepotism”, remove tariff barriers and eradicate “subsidies, monopolies and favoritism. So many vested interests are at stake.

Unless the gale of creative destruction is unleashed on these rent-seeking and parasitic corporate activities [i.e., national industries], the Asian economy will never regain its past vigor.”

A few weeks later, speculator George Soros returned the favor in a speech at Johns Hopkins, calling for Anwar to be released, while accusing Dr. Mahathir of supporting his “cronies” at the expense of the economy, concluding “So I think what needs to happen is, he needs to be removed from power”.

When Anwar was released from prison in 2004, he was greeted by his two closest allies in the West, Al Gore and Paul Wolfowitz, who was then at the center of running a military version of “regime change” in Iraq. It was probably Wolfowitz who arranged for Anwar to get a position at the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, where Wolfowitz had previously been the dean. Anwar also got a position at St. Anthony’s College in Oxford, England, where he met with Gore, who was by this time running his hedge fund in London, the Generation Investment Management. Anwar also spent time with his old friends from the British oligarchy, Chris Patten and Gordon Brown.

Returning to Washington, Anwar found another lucrative position working for Wolfowitz at the World Bank, imposing conditions on developing nations that reject his warped form of “democracy.” He also took on the leadership of a project sponsored by Dick Cheney and Cheney’s daughter Liz, promoting “regime change” through subversion in the Arab world, called “Foundation for the Future.”

When Paul Wolfowitz had to find a place to send his girlfriend because of a potential conflict of interest at the World Bank, Anwar took her in with open arms, turning his “anti-corruption” head the other way when Wolfowitz corruptly arranged to pay her a bloated tax-free salary on the World Bank tab. Wolfowitz may be out of a job as a result (see “Is Wolfowitz Dead Meat?”).

In February 2006, Gore shared the stage with Anwar at the Jeddah Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia. This year, Gore is sharing another position with a different Malaysian, which he might find less satisfying - both he and Dr. Mahathir have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In Gore’s case, he is clearly campaigning for the “Peace of the Grave” for millions of the world’s poor.

*photos courtesy of Malaysia Today