Government should continue to support Proton

In an expected turn of event after a year of continuous failure of stunts to oust Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad resigns as Chairman of BoD Proton.

March 31, 2016 • MEDIA RELEASE

NOTE TO EDITOR

Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad has resigned as Chairman of Proton Holdings, effective March 30, 2016.

 

A letter of resignation has been sent to Group Managing Director of DRB-HICOM Berhad, Dato Seri Syed Faisal Albar yesterday.

Dr Mahathir has also relinquished his post as the Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Petronas, also effective Mar 30, 2016. His decision has been communicated to UTP Rector Datuk Abdul Rahim Hashim.

Apart from that, Dr Mahathir has also resigned as the advisors to the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) and the Tioman Island Development Authority (TIDA). The Chief Secretary to the Government has been informed of these resignations.

Office of Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad
Putrajaya
31st March 2016

http://chedet.cc/?p=2027

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Tun Dr. Mahathir was appointed Advisor of Proton when DRB-Hicom took over in 2012. From May 2014, he took over the Chairmanship of the Proton BoD from then Group Managing Director of DRB-Hicom Bhd. Tan Sri Mohamed Khamil Jamil, who remained as a BoD member.

The Star story:

Wednesday, 21 May 2014 | MYT 5:58 AM

Dr M confirms appointment as Proton chairman

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has confirmed that he will be appointed Chairman of Proton Holdings Bhd.

The official announcement is expected to be made on Wednesday.

“My plan is to work with Proton, and make it (Proton) a success,” he told reporters before the Asian Banker Annual Leadership Achievement Awards Dinner 2014 here on Tuesday night.

A news report on Tuesday said that Dr Mahathir will be appointed Proton Chairman, which was seen as DRB-Hicom Bhd’s boldest move in its effort to transform Proton’s sliding fortunes since it took the company private in 2012.

Since going private, DRB-Hicom has been trying to address its slide by focusing on radical transformation measures for Proton’s management.

The appointment of Dr Mahathir is due to his deep knowledge and influence in the industry and government.

Dr Mahathir, who is also the current advisor to the country’s pioneer carmaker since retiring as Prime Minister in 2003, however, did not comment on whether the current executive Chairman Tan Sri Mohd Khamil Jamil would withdraw from his post.

The news report also said that Dr Mahathir will also be appointed as Chairman of Proton’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Lotus Plc, and was understood to have accepted both appointments.

At its peak, Proton, which had produced more than 3.5 million vehicles from its plants in Shah Alam, Selangor, and Tanjung Malim, Perak, held up to 85 per cent of the domestic car market.

However, a combination of factors including liberalisation of the domestic market with the influx of cheap foreign imports, competition from Perodua and the revised National Automotive Policy, among others, contributed towards Proton’s slide.

Currently, Proton’s domestic market share stands at about 22 per cent. – Bernama

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Since the DRB-Hicom takeover from Khazanah, Proton already saw four different Chief Executives, namely Dato’ Lokman Ibrahim, Tan Sri Khamil, Dato’ Abdul Harith Abdullah and very recently, Dato’ Mohamed Fuaad Kenali.

In the same period, Proton saw the launch three of its brand new and indigenous products, Preve’, Supirma and Iriz, did not take of well and cornered the market as what was expected despite the product performance and goodies offered.

It is believed that since DRB-Hicom, the corporation which started as a national car project 33 years ago aggregated RM2.5billion in losses. Naturally, the shareholders are very edgy with Proton, which is pulling down their net earnings YE2013-2015.

As a Chairman of BoD Proton which is part of the DRB-Hicom Group, Tun Dr. Mahathir should be working for ways to entice more assistance from Prime Minister Najib instead of attacking him, even it is matters not related to the company.

DRB-Hicom as a Group benefited a lot from the continuous business and support of the Federal Government. An example is Deftech. Many of DRB-Hicom automotive plants are located in Pekan, the constituency of Prime Minister Najib.

It is the right thing to do for the Fourth Prime Minister because as the Chairman of the BoD for a company which benefitted to an aggregated sales of RM1 billion over three years, he shouldn’t be over-zealous about ousting Prime Minister Najib.

Last October, Tun Dr. Mahathir even pronounced that RM would overnight be better if Prime Minister Najib summarily steps down. Today, after gradual improvement RM was at 3.89 against the Greenback, despite the is no signal of PM Najib even thinking of resigning.

The Statesman tried various stunts through different channels to get PM Najib, but nothing is even gaining traction. In his sordid desperation, he even took PM Najib to court.

The Federal and State Governments and GLCs should continue to support Proton in as a preferred vendor, now that the BoD member who has been rabidly instigating the rakyat to topple the Prime Minister is gone.

It’s time to move on. So much time, energy and resources wasted already.

*Updated midnight

Seditiously instigating

Statesman and Fourth Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad probably committed sedition by instigating the rakyat to rise and demand that HRH Rulers force the resignation of Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak.

He admitted that His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang DiPertuan Agong had constitutional powers to appoint a Prime Minister but not to dismiss one.

The Fifth UMNO President used the excuse of the UMNO experience in May 1946 where the masses, demanded HRH Malay Rulers to reject the Malayan Union even after they have inked the creation of the crown colony.

Since Kemerdekaan, Federation of Malaya (Malaysia after 16 September 1963) has been governed based on the Federal Constitution where the Westminster-syled constitutional monarchy system adopted is carefully provided and mentioned. This include the formation of the Federal Government and appointment of a Prime Minister.

It must be seditious for him to go around instigating the rakyat to demand His Majesty SPB YDP Agong and HRH Rulers to defy the Federal Constitution, just to satisfy to meet his political desire for Prime Minister Najib be ousted.

It is two more full years before Prime Minister Najib has to present to His Majesty SPB YDP Agong for the consent to dissolve the current 13th Parliament. Till then, Prime Minister Najib has the constitutional right to remain as the Malaysian Prime Minister.

It is also very irresponsible for Tun Dr. Mahathir to work towards the oust of Prime Minister Najib without having a consequential successor suggested as a successor.

Tun Dr. Mahathir to attempt to rile the rakyat up against Prime Minister Najib without thinking he consequence is no different to the ouster of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Arab Spring against Libyan leader Col. Mummer Gaddafi.

Both nations never recovered from the ugly consequence of the ouster of the said leaders.

In the global challenges of volatile economy, organised terrorism, geo-political conflict and humanity issues, Tun Dr. Mahathir placed his own political agenda and interpretation of disqualification of the Prime Minister without providing proofs ahead of the nation’s interest.

His latest manoeuvres proven that he is not shy even committing crime of sedition, to serve his goal.

The Premonition of the Two Pees

Revenge is best served cold. Government announced that Petronas Adviser position would be filled by Fifth Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on 1 April 2016, upon the unanimous Cabinet decision of the sacking of Fourth Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad from continuing as the Adviser of the national oil corporation.

The Star story:

Friday, 25 March 2016 | MYT 5:18 PM

Pak Lah appointed Petronas adviser

KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has endorsed the appointment of former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as adviser of Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), effective April 1.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Abdullah was to succeed Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose service as Petronas adviser was terminated by the Cabinet on March 11.

“The decision to terminate the appointment of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was made by the Cabinet since he was no longer supporting the present government, especially with the launch of ‘Deklarasi Rakyat’ (people’s declaration) together with opposition leaders,” he said in a statement here, Friday.

On March 11 the Cabinet unanimously removed Mahathir as Petronas adviser as it believed the former prime minister was no longer supporting the present government, hence he should no longer be holding any position related to the government. – Bernama

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There is also key changes in Proton too. Dato’ Harith Abdullah, who was appointed to the current post one month short of two years, would go back to DRB-Hicom and managing the distribution of the Group’s automotive and defence.

Ahmad Fuaad To Take The Helm Of Proton From April 1

PETALING JAYA: Proton Holdings Bhd will have a new CEO as of April 1, following an internal organisation by its parent firm, DRB-Hicom Bhd.

In a statement yesterday, DRB-Hicom said Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Mohd Kenali, currently DRB-Hicom COO for finance and corporate affairs, will become the next CEO of the national car maker.

Ahmad Fuaad, who has been a non-executive director at Proton since 2013, will be redesignated as executive director.

He will replace incumbent Datuk Abdul Harith Abdullah who will be going back to his previous role as DRB-Hicom’s COO of automotive distribution and defence.

Datuk Md Radzaif Mohamed, who was COO of the automotive distribution and defence in Abdul Harith’s absence, will take on the role of deputy CEO at Proton.

DRB-Hicom group managing director Datuk Seri Syed Faisal Albar said the movement of internal talent is consistent with the group’s policy to constantly develop capabilities to allow DRB-HICOM Group companies to always maintain fresh perspective to steer the group in the current challenging and competitive business environment.

– The Sun Daily

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Harith, isn’t he first executive who is a collateral in the tussle of policy and eventually strategic management of Proton. First it was Dato’ Lokman Ibrahim. Then Tan Sri Khamil who had given up the Chairmanship of the BoD of Proton in favour of Tun Dr. Mahathir.

Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak initially was bullish about his mentor’s ascension to the Chairmanship of the Board of Director (BoD) of Proton.

The corporation which evolved from the national car project started in 1983 has been plagued by legacy issues continue even after it was taken over by DRB-Hicom in 2012. The stigma of troublesome products with poor or below average components, continuously looms the corporation which started from the national car project.

Despite launching three new models which themselves are competitive in bundled package offered, Preve’, Surpima and Iris, did not manage to corner its intended captive market.

Tun Dr. Mahathir, who started as the adviser after the DRB-Hicom take over and eventually came in as the Chairman of the Board of Directors (BoD) in May 2014, had partly blame the media for Proton’s poor reception by the market.

The Malay Mail Online:

Dr M accuses media of rounding on Proton unfairly

Wednesday March 19, 2014
11:37 AM GMT+8
KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — National carmaker Proton has been at the receiving end of unfair criticism from the media, according to former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Writing in his blog, Dr Mahathir said Proton gets very little protection from the government and is not the reason for the high taxes on cars.

Proton came to life during his leadership and has been losing market to Malaysia’s other car maker, Perodua.

“The raw hatred for Proton by some members of the media is quite unprecedented,” Dr Mahathir wrote.

“The protection for Proton is minimal. Most of the exemption from tax that Proton gets can also be obtained by foreign cars if they are prepared to have 90 per cent local contents ,” he added.

Local content is key because it has created nearly 250,000 high income jobs . Proton creates the type of jobs that can propel Malaysia towards developed nation status, he argued.

He said the government has only ever paid RM400 million to set up Proton while the carmaker borrowed RM800 million, which it has since repaid.

“Compare this with what a Japanese company and the GM in the US spent recently merely to develop and produce electric and hybrid cars – 5 billion US dollars each,” Dr Mahathir said.

While the government promised Proton RM200 million a year for research, little of this money has been tapped, he said.

Closing down Proton will lead to an outflow of RM20 billion or more, he added.

The outflow of Malaysian money due to import of cars every year is more than RM20 billion while exports of automotive components and cars earn the country RM4 billion, resulting in a net outflow of RM16 billion.

“Close down Proton and the outflow would be RM20 billion or more,” Mahathir said.

Earlier this month on March 5, The Star daily reported that Proton is trying to source as much as RM3 billion from Putrajaya and other sources in order for it to develop new models for the market.

According to the report, Proton had approached the government last year to help fund its model development but came away empty handed after failing to convince its officials. It then turned to national oil firm Petronas but was similarly unsuccessful.

In the report, the firm is said to require some RM3.8 billion in investments by 2017 and at least RM1.8 billion by next year.

The same day, Datuk Seri Mustapha Mohamed confirmed that Proton approached Putrajaya for funds but said the practice was not unusual among local firms.

The minister of international trade and industry declined, however, to divulge the purpose of the funds being sought by the struggling automaker, other than to say Putrajaya provides various forms of allocations to help local companies grow, including tax breaks, research and development grants, and training incentives.

Proton later denied the report, saying instead that it had previously applied for a research and development (R&D) grant from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), before the company was taken over by DRB-Hicom.

“Proton wishes to state that an article in one of the local English newspapers on Proton seeking development funds of RM3 billion from the ministry and Petronas is not true.

“The statement that Proton has committed RM3.8 billion until 2017 is also not true,” Proton’s corporate communications chief Nur Balkish Hood was quoted as saying in a statement by Business Times.

During its heydays in the 1990s, Proton accounted for nearly four of every five new vehicles sold, but has since witnessed its fortunes dwindle before being overtaken by second national carmaker Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) as the best-selling brand in Malaysia.

Proton was established in 1983 by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his bid to jumpstart Malaysia’s shift towards manufacturing.

In 2012, it was sold to Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary’s DRB-Hicom.

– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/dr-m-accuses-media-of-rounding-on-proton-unfairly#sthash.LRGpxFkC.dpuf

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In reality, Proton sales dwindled even after the DRB-Hicom take over and introduction of three new models. This is not withstanding of the new Perdana, which is a rebadge of the previous Honda Accord model.

Proton attempted with lots of strategic moves like the recently announcement of a new engine developed by Ricardo of United Kingdom. This is not withstanding the fact that right after DRB-Hicom took over Proton, they acquired the Petronas-Sauber developed NE01 engine.

The dwindling brand through the years

The sales from the Federal Government, State Governments and GLCs have helped Proton in the past three years. Between 2012-2015, Proton managed to see 10,500 cars of various models (mainly Preve and Saga) which include 3,000 Perdanas.

That is approximately RM800million of outright sales by Government and GLCs. The after sales aggregated bills in the past three years, would probably tipped the turnover for the Proton Group  in the neighbour of RM1 billion ever since DRB-Hicom took over.

Now that Tun Dr. Mahathir has taken Prime Minister and UMNO President Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak to court even for personal reasons, it is impossible to decouple the man as a member who recently resigned from UMNO and Chairman of Proton BoD.

It cannot otherwise be distinguished as Tun Dr. Mahathir would have to declare in court that he is the Chairman of the BoD of one of companies under the DRB-Hicom Group as his vacation.

It has also been argued that how could a corporation which the Chairman of the BoD is committed to toppling of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, continue to be a major automobile fleet vendor of further contracts from the Federal and State Governments and GLCs.

Probably Government should ponder seriously into other models such as Toyota Altis, Toyota Camry, BMW 520i and the brand new BMW 730iL with the efficient 260hp 2 litre engine as options to eventually replace the current fleet of Proton Saga, Preve and Perdana.

After all, Toyota is under UMW  and BMW is under Auto Bavaria, which is part of the Sime Darby conglomerate. Both of these Malaysian MNCs are under the PNB Group.

Any profits derived from Government and GLC sales could eventually be channeled through the various existing PNB unit trust schemes, especially ASB. 10.8 million Bumiputera investors and depositors are the end receiver of this.

Another interesting point to consider is that Toyota and BMW already introduced their array of hybrid cars in Malaysia compared to Proton. It would be very inspiring if all the senior Government officers and GLC management use hybrid cars.

Objectively, Tun Dr. Mahathir did not bring about positive result in his involvement with the national car project corporation, now under DRB-Hicom in the past three years. Realistically, three initially much-hoped top management executives left, within a very short span of slightly over three years.

Now that he has done obsessively too much to demonise and topple the leadership 0f Prime Minister Najib just within a very short span of a year, he is getting back  the brunt of what he threw back into his face without even causing  a dent. Inadvertently, the Fifth UMNO President made himself a persona non grata.

He should seriously consider sparing Proton, for the sake of the Group, its brand, loyalty, dedication and livelihood of the people within the Group.

 

A living monster incarcerated

Justice after thirty years. The learned Bosnian Serbian leader Radovan Karadzic who invented the term ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ for the cold blooded massacre of 8,000 men and boys in and around Srebrenica in the summer of 1995, has been found “Criminally responsible” and guilty by International Court of Justice and sentenced to 40 years jail.

BBC.com story:

Radovan Karadzic jailed for Bosnia war Srebrenica genocide

11 minutes ago

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic has been convicted of genocide and war crimes in the 1992-95 Bosnian war, and sentenced to 40 years in jail.
UN judges in The Hague found him guilty of 10 of 11 charges, including genocide over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
Karadzic, 70, is the most senior political figure to face judgement over the violent collapse of Yugoslavia.
His case is being seen as one of the most important war crimes trials since World War Two.
He had denied the charges, saying that any atrocities committed were the actions of rogue individuals, not the forces under his command.
The trial, in which he represented himself, lasted eight years.
The current president of the Bosnian Serb Republic, Milorad Dodik, condemned the verdict.
“The West has apportioned blame to the Serbian people and that guilty cliche was imposed on all the decision-makers, including in this case today… Karadzic,” he said at a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the start of Nato air strikes against Yugoslavia in 1999.
“It really hurts that somebody has decided to deliver this verdict in The Hague exactly today, on the day when Nato decided to bomb Serbia… to cause so much catastrophic damage and so many casualties,” Mr Dodik added.
Karadzic verdict vital to Bosnia’s future
Balkans war: a brief guide
Profile: Radovan Karadzic
Exploring the corridors of the Hague tribunal

Many Bosnians have been following the trial closely
Meanwhile, some relatives of victims expressed disappointment at the outcome.
“This came too late,” said Bida Smajlovic, whose husband was killed at Srebrenica.
“We were handed down a verdict in 1995. There is no sentence that could compensate for the horrors we went through or for the tears of only one mother, let alone thousands,” she was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
Karadzic’s lawyer said he would appeal, a process that could take several more years.
“Dr Karadzic is disappointed and astonished. He feels that he was convicted on inference instead of evidence and will appeal [against] the judgement,” Peter Robinson told journalists.
Karadzic faced two counts of genocide.
He was found not guilty of the first, relating to killing in several Bosnian municipalities.
But he was found guilty of the second count relating to Srebrenica, where Bosnian Serb forces massacred more than 7,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys.
“Karadzic was in agreement with the plan of the killings,” Judge O-Gon Kwon said.
Jump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.
Media captionWhat happened at Srebrenica? Explained in under two minutes
The massacre happened in July 1995 when Srebrenica, an enclave besieged by Bosnian Serb forces for three years, was overrun. The bodies of the victims were dumped in mass graves.
Karadzic was also found guilty of crimes against humanity relating to the siege and shelling of the city of Sarajevo over several years which left nearly 12,000 people dead.
The judge said he had significantly contributed to a plan which emanated from the leadership and whose primary purpose was to spread terror in the city.
Charges
Genocide
Count 1 – genocide (in municipalities of Bratunac, Foca, Klyuc, Prijedor, Sanski Most, Vlasenica and Zvornik) – not guilty
Count 2 – genocide (in Srebrenica) – guilty
Crimes against humanity
Count 3 – persecutions – guilty
Count 4 – extermination – guilty
Count 5 – murder – guilty
Count 7 – deportation – guilty
Count 8 – inhumane acts (forcible transfer) – guilty
Violations of the laws or customs of war
Count 6 – murder – guilty
Count 9 – terror (in Sarajevo) – guilty
Count 10 – unlawful attacks on civilians (in Sarajevo) – guilty
Count 11 – taking hostage of UN observers and peacekeepers – guilty
The full indictment
Mr Karadzic was also found guilty of orchestrating a campaign known as “ethnic cleansing” of non-Serbs from the territory of the breakaway Bosnian Serb republic, in which hundreds and thousands were driven from their homes.
He would only be expected to serve two-thirds of his sentence. His time spent in detention – slightly more than seven years – will count towards the total.
Top UN human rights official Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein welcomed the verdict as “hugely significant”.
He said the trial “should give pause to leaders across Europe and elsewhere who seek to exploit nationalist sentiments and scapegoat minorities for broader social ills”.
At least 100,000 people in total died during fighting in the the Bosnian war. The conflict lasted nearly four years before a US-brokered peace deal brought it to an end in 1995.
Gen Ratko Mladic, who commanded Bosnian Serb forces, is also awaiting his verdict at The Hague.
Karadzic Timeline
1945: Born in Montenegro
1960: Moves to Sarajevo
1968: Publishes collection of poetry
1971: Graduates in medicine
1983: Becomes team psychologist for Red Star Belgrade football club
1990: Becomes president of Serbian Democratic Party
1990s Political leader of Bosnian Serbs
2008: Arrested in Serbia
2009: Trial begins at The Hague
2016: Guilty verdict, sentenced to 40 years

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Profile of Karadzic:

Radovan Karadzic: Former Bosnian Serb leader

3 hours ago

Radovan Karadzic was handed over to the UN tribunal after 13 years on the run.

Radovan Karadzic, the former Bosnian Serb leader, was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

The atrocities during the war have been described as the worst crimes committed in Europe since World War Two.

At a UN tribunal in The Hague, judges found him guilty of 10 out of 11 counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities in the Bosnian war of the 1990s, including leading the slaughter of thousands of Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) and Croats.

One count of genocide related to the massacre of more than 7,500 Muslim men and boys in the Srebrenica enclave in July 1995, which the UN said was part of a campaign to “terrorise and demoralise the Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat population”.

He was found not guilty in one count of genocide, relating to the forcible expulsion of hundreds of thousands of non-Serbs from seven towns and villages in Bosnia.

The trial was a weighty affair – lasting five years, followed by an additional 18-month deliberation by the bench. Over 497 days, Mr Karadzic conducted his own defence, referring to some three million pages of evidence against him.

He was sentenced to 40 years in prison – though his lawyer has indicated he will appeal.
Balkans war: a brief guide
Serbia timeline
How do you define genocide?

Radovan Karadzic (L) reviews the Serbian Volunteers Guard in Bijeljina (Oct. 23, 1995)

Mr Karadzic’s political party organised Serbs to fight against Bosniaks and Croats in Bosnia
The former Bosnian Serb leader was also found guilty of orchestrating the shelling of Sarajevo, and the use of 284 UN peacekeepers as human shields in May and June 1995.

As he closed his case, he told the tribunal there was not a shred of evidence against him, although in a written statement he accepted that in his role as political leader of the Bosnian Serbs he bore “moral responsibility” for crimes they had carried out.

Radovan Karadzic spent 13 years on the run before being handed over to the tribunal.

He had been found living in disguise in Belgrade, under a false name and working as a New Age healer. He had even become well-known on the alternative health circuit, reportedly publishing a column in Healthy Living magazine.

A bushy grey beard and thick glasses had transformed his appearance.

Since the court adjourned to deliberate, Serbian prosecutors have arrested and charged eight people with playing direct roles in the Srebrenica massacre.

Poet and psychiatrist

Mr Karadzic was born in 1945 in a stable in Savnik, Montenegro.
His father, Vuk, had been a member of the Chetniks – Serb nationalist guerrillas who fought against both Nazi occupiers and Tito’s communist partisans in World War II – and was in jail for much of his son’s childhood.

Karadzic Timeline
1945: Born in Montenegro
1960: Moves to Sarajevo
1968: Publishes collection of poetry
1971: Graduates in medicine
1983: Becomes team psychologist for Red Star Belgrade football club
1990: Becomes president of Serbian Democratic Party
1990s Political leader of Bosnian Serbs
2008: Arrested in Serbia
2009: Trial begins at The Hague
2014: Judges begin 18-month deliberation
March 2016: Found guilty of 10 out of 11 counts

His mother, Jovanka Karadzic, described her son as loyal, and a hard worker who used to help her in the home and in the fields. She said he was a serious boy who was respectful towards the elderly and helped his school friends with their homework.

In 1960 Mr Karadzic moved to Sarajevo, where he later met his wife, Ljiljana, graduated as a doctor, and became a psychiatrist in a city hospital.

He also became a poet and fell under the influence of Serb nationalist writer Dobrica Cosic, who encouraged him to go into politics.

After working briefly for the Green Party, he helped set up the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) – formed in 1990 in response to the rise of nationalist and Croat parties in Bosnia, and dedicated to the goal of a Greater Serbia.

Less than two years later, as Bosnia-Hercegovina gained recognition as an independent state, he declared the creation of the independent Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina (renamed Republika Srpska) with its capital in Pale, a suburb of Sarajevo, and himself as head of state.

Mr Karadzic’s party, supported by Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, organised Serbs to fight against the Bosniaks and Croats in Bosnia.

‘Ethnic cleansing’

A vicious war ensued, in which Serbs besieged Sarajevo for 44 months, shelling Bosniak forces but also terrorising the civilian population with a relentless bombardment and sniper fire. Thousands of civilians died, many of them deliberately targeted.

Mladic and Karadzic 5 August 1993,AFPImage copyrightAFP

Ratko Mladic was Radovan Karadzic’s military chief during the war

Bosnian Serb forces – assisted by paramilitaries from Serbia proper – also expelled hundreds of thousands of Bosniaks and Croats from their homes in a brutal campaign of “ethnic cleansing”. Numerous atrocities were documented, including the widespread rape of Bosniak women and girls.

Reporters also discovered Bosnian Serb punishment camps, where prisoners-of-war were starved and tortured.
War crimes were also committed against Serb civilians by the Bosnian Serbs’ foes in the bitter inter-ethnic war.
Mr Karadzic was jointly indicted in 1995 along with the Bosnian Serb military leader, Ratko Mladic, for war crimes they had allegedly committed during the 1992-95 war.

He was obliged to step down as president of the SDS in 1996 as the West threatened sanctions against Republika Srpska.

‘Immunity promise’

After the Dayton accord that ended the Bosnian war, he eventually went into hiding – possibly in the mountainous south-eastern area of the Serb-controlled part of Bosnia, protected by paramilitaries.

Mr Karadzic says Dayton’s chief architect, US diplomat Richard Holbrooke, promised him immunity from prosecution in exchange for quitting the political scene. Mr Holbrooke denies any such deal was struck.

Radovan Karadzic was working as a New Age healer when he was arrested in Belgrade

When he finally appeared before the UN’s International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in August 2008, he failed to respond to the charges against him and the court entered pleas of “not guilty” on his behalf.

Prosecutors accused him of using delaying tactics as he boycotted the initial hearings and insisted on representing himself.

Launching his own defence in 2012, he sought to cast himself as a “mild man” who should be “rewarded” for having tried to avoid war.

His performance was described by one publication as “by turns eloquent, historically provocative, and self-aggrandising”.

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The “Ethnic cleansing” tragedy of fellow Yugoslavian against Muslim men, women and children amongst their own community when the former red Republic of Yugoslavia collapse after the fall of Soviet Union, is the worst genocide and crimes against in Europe since World War II.

Balkans war: a brief guide

18 March 2016
From the section Europe
War in Yugoslavia

The former Yugoslavia was a Socialist state created after German occupation in World War II and a bitter civil war. A federation of six republics, it brought together Serbs, Croats, Bosnian Muslims, Albanians, Slovenes and others under a comparatively relaxed communist regime. Tensions between these groups were successfully suppressed under the leadership of President Tito.
War breaks out
After Tito’s death in 1980, tensions re-emerged. Calls for more autonomy within Yugoslavia by nationalist groups led in 1991 to declarations of independence in Croatia and Slovenia. The Serb-dominated Yugoslav army lashed out, first in Slovenia and then in Croatia. Thousands were killed in the latter conflict which was paused in 1992 under a UN-monitored ceasefire.
The conflict spreads
Bosnia, with a complex mix of Serbs, Muslims and Croats, was next to try for independence. Bosnia’s Serbs, backed by Serbs elsewhere in Yugoslavia, resisted. Under leader Radovan Karadzic, they threatened bloodshed if Bosnia’s Muslims and Croats – who outnumbered Serbs – broke away. Despite European blessing for the move in a 1992 referendum, war came fast.
Ethnic cleansing
Yugoslav army units, withdrawn from Croatia and renamed the Bosnian Serb Army, carved out a huge swathe of Serb-dominated territory. Over a million Bosnian Muslims and Croats were driven from their homes in ethnic cleansing. Serbs suffered too. The capital Sarajevo was besieged and shelled. UN peacekeepers, brought in to quell the fighting, were seen as ineffective.
An imperfect peace
International peace efforts to stop the war failed, the UN was humiliated and over 100,000 died. The war ended in 1995 after Nato bombed the Bosnian Serbs and Muslim and Croat armies made gains on the ground. A US-brokered peace divided Bosnia into two self-governing entities, a Bosnian Serb republic and a Muslim-Croat federation lightly bound by a central government.
The cost of war
In August 1995, the Croatian army stormed areas in Croatia under Serb control prompting thousands to flee. Soon Croatia and Bosnia were fully independent. Slovenia and Macedonia had already gone. Montenegro left later. In 1999, Kosovo’s ethnic Albanians fought Serbs in another brutal war to gain independence. Serbia ended the conflict beaten, battered and alone.

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Karadzic’s general, Gen .Ratko “Butcher of Bosnia” Mladic who commanded Bosnian Serb Forces, is also awaiting his verdict at The Hague. It is expected that he would face his fate next year.

Another game is afoot

The hunt on Penang Chief Minister and Chinese Chauvinist DAP Mini Emperorissimo Lim Guan Eng is drawing in the target closer into the crossed hair-line, for the killing shot be made as the one time political predator has been making mistakes.

The Star story:

Wednesday, 23 March 2016 | MYT 11:43 PM

Rahman Dahlan makes fresh allegations against Guan Eng

More in News
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan (pic) has produced what he claims is fresh evidence of corruption against Lim Guan Eng (DAP-Bagan).

The Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government Minister said he would submit the documents to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to aid investigations against Lim, the Penang Chief Minister, over controversial land and property deals.

Abdul Rahman, who was wrapping up his ministry’s reply in the Dewan Rakyat, said he received documents showing the company had bought a plot of land meant for affordable housing, but was later converted into a hospital and hotel project.

“I will submit the documents to the MACC to facilitate their investigations. I am sure those named will be called for their statements to be recorded,” he said.

According to him, the documents revealed that the company did not intend to develop the land but instead planned to dispose it to a third party.

Rahman said the land at Taman Manggis had initially been gazetted by the state government to build affordable houses in the state, which Lim claimed he knew nothing about.

“He has disappointed the people of Penang, as the land was meant for the lower-income group, but was instead sold to a company for a private project,” he said.

Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (DAP-Beruas) challenged Rahman to repeat his allegations outside the Dewan.

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Lim in his sordid attempt to manipulate the sentiment of MPs in augur house through challenging the Deputy Speaker on being called as a ‘Liar’ for allegations that Federal Government through the Ministry of Urban Wellness, Housing and Local Authorities (KPKT) determines of the price of affordable homes including in Penang, failed.

His protests and recalcitrant above being conduct unbecoming a member of Dewan Rakyat got him and fellow Opposition MP Anthony Loke (DAP Rasah) got ejected by the Deputy Speaker.

The Star story:

NationHome > News > Nation
Thursday, 24 March 2016 | MYT 12:01 AM

Guan Eng: I was ejected from Parliament for defending Standing Orders

 

BY D. KANYAKUMARI

KUALA LUMPUR: Lim Guan Eng is claiming that his ejection from Parliament Wednesday shows that debates in the Dewan Rakyat are not conducted in accordance with Standing Orders.

Lim, who is Bagan MP, said it was disappointing that Deputy Speaker Datuk Ismail Mohamad Said could deem the use of the word “bohong (lies)” as parliamentary.

“It was decided in 1986 that it was unparliamentary for anyone to use it.

“Anyone who used this and did not retract it gets kicked out, but this time the person trying to defend the Standing Order was the one ejected,” he said.

Ismail had ruled that Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan Abdul (BN-Kota Belud), when using the word “bohong”, was referring to what Lim said, and not directed at him personally.

Lim, speaking to reporters at Parliament lobby, claimed this was the first time an MP was ejected for defending house rules.

“He (Abdul Rahman) wasn’t talking about facts. All he said was ‘the one who is lying is Bagan’.

“The fact that it was me who was ejected is an indication that the whole debate was not conducted according to Standing Orders,” said Lim.

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Rahman’s allegations, which he said would be passed to MACC for investigations and all the details about the controversial purchase of his rented detached house  of seven years at 25 Jalan Pinhorn at RM2.8million last October, would land Lim in a boiling caldron.

In a note by the Penang Land Authority, the property was value at RM4.8 million, to determine the RM122,000 per annum quit rent.

Blogger Lim Lian See has the complete analysis of the said property deals.

The property deal Rahman was mentioning is his speech to rebut his Ministry’s debate time in Dewan Rakyat, was the land meant for housing for the poor (PPRT) was hived off the a private developer with the initial story of building a private hospital.

It is believed that they are some linkage between the personalities in acquisition of the Kg. Manggis land by KL International Dental Centre and the sale of the no 25 Jalan Pinhorn bungalow which was sold at RM2.8million, where as that they are believers that the property is worth RM6 million.

The Mini Emperorissimo Lim finally got comfortable and wanted to make Georgetown his based and the moment he if off guarded, that is when he has become the predator instead of the victim. And the younger Lim knows, its a difficult hunt to get out of from.

The Game of Thrones

In his apparent obsession and desperation to topple and bring down Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak, Fourth Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad is taking one time choice successor to Pak Lah to court.

The media statement was issued by solicitor Haniff Khatri, who was also acting for Tun Dr. Mahathir’s former Political Secretary Matthias Chang for being charged for sabotaging the national economy.

The plaintiffs, Tun Dr. Mahathir, Khairuddin Abu Hassan and Ainina Saaduddin were former UMNO members. Tun Dr. Mahathir resigned from the party weeks ago where else the two were sacked by the party.

They are seeking a court order declaring that Prime Minister Najib has committed the tort of misfeasance in public office and had breached fiduciary duties by using his post as the Prime Minister, Chairman of Barisan Nasional and President of UMNO, to act in bad faith, to obstruct, intercede, impede and derail investigations and enquiries pertaining to 1MDB.

After a solid year of open attacks on Prime Minister Najib for many issues, Tun Dr. Mahathir’s allegations kept on changing from time to time and admitted he don’t actually have evidence to substantiate them, mostly failed miserably.

He started with making speeches in the open. It attracted attention and he utilised the media, especially social media platforms and foreign media to expand and escalate his demand against Prime Minister Najib.

He worked closely with Opposition leaders, pro-Opposition and foreign media.

He was trying to rile up the rakyat to a point of critical mass. At the same time, he used sentiments on UMNO platform to gain traction and support, primarily after Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd. Yassin and Rural and Entrepreneur Development Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Shafiee Apdal were sacked last July.

However, it didn’t fly.

His minions also leaked part of the information pertaining to internal Tabung Haji (TH) discussions on the process and decision to acquire the 69,754 sq. ft. parcel earmarked for luxury residential within the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) development.

It was hyped and cited in such away that the Anti-Najib operatives intended to create the panic run against TH, as part of the demonstration of the Malays rejecting Prime Minister Najib’s leadership.

However, despite the lousy PR to explain the issue and debunk all the lies and negative perception against the strategic intent and benefits of the acquisition, the Anti-Najib move using TH failed miserably.

By August, his ceramahs were intensified. He went to Johor, to try and inflame the anti-Najib sentiments. There were curious audience but no real numbers, to make thing matters. At least not through the party.

Zaid Ibrahim collected Tun Dr, Mahathir at Pasar Seni LRT station on 30 August 2015, as the latter attended the second in a row appearance at BERSIH 4.0

Then on 29 and 30 August, the man who once dejected public demonstration crossed the very line he drew. He attended the illegal BERSIH 4.0, two days in a row.

Then it was said that his minions went all over the world making reports on and against 1MDB scandals and this point was hyped, to create the demonic perception against Prime Minister Najib.

In the attempt to diminish public confidence in the strategy to demonise Prime Minister Najib, in October the Statesman even uttered “He (Prime Minister Najib) might be arrested if he travels abroad and tried under ICJ”.

It is simply a stupid lie because Prime Minister Najib did travel to the United States and United Kingdom twice from then till now and other European states which include Turkey.

The Anti-Najib operatives tried to work through party during the AGMs at Division level in October-November, but non avail. UMNO General Assembly came in early December and the Fifth UMNO President could not effectively get the delegates to rise and topple Prime Minister Najib before and during the GA.

Almost immediately, they tried to get ‘No Confidence Vote’ against Prime Minister Najib through Dewan Rakyat. That failed too.

When MACC submitted the incomplete investigation paper (IP) to Attorney General on 31 December 2015, they issued a media statement knowingly that AG Tan Sri Apandi Ali would reject the IP on the ‘RM2.6billion donation’ and ‘SRC International’.

Tun Dr. Mahathir pre-empted that AG would throw the case away. It is the proof that senior MACC officers had conspired with the former Prime Minister, to topple Prime Minister Najib.

When his son Dato’ Seri Mukhriz Mahathir eventually resigned after two weeks of political stand off drama, due to lack of confidence and support amongst Kedah UMNO Division leaders and ADUNs, the situation worsened for the longest serving prime minister.

He tried to ride on the suspension of Tan Sri Muhyiddin as UMNO Deputy President. But not many people, especially within UMNO is bothered.

So as an obsessed and possessed man who demonstrate much lesser rational, Tun Dr. Mahathir managed to get very strange bedfellows like DAP Supremo Lim Kit Siang, PKR President Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PKR deputy President Azmin Mohmaed Ali, PAN President Mohammad Sabu, former bar Council President Ambiga, BERSIH Chairman Maria Chin and anarchist Ishamuddin Rais to share the same platform and ink the ‘Citizens’ Declaration’.

Tun Dr. Mahathir at arms with the Opposition, particularly his nemesis for 49 years Lim Kit Siang and DAP

That was the breaking point of many Tun Dr. Mahathir’s own hardliners, loyal supporters and sympathisers.

This marriage-of-(in)convenience-between-backstabbing-strange-bedfellows, opens a new horizon on what Tun Dr. Mahathir willing to do to topple Prime Minister Najib. This include what deal he did with his arch enemy for the past 49 years.

It is naive to exclude that DAP leaders would not not expect anything from the UMNO President and Ultra Malay leader for 22 years, for getting them to come onboard of his personal obsession.

It was said that within the DAP, there were many skeptics of this new relationship with their sworn enemies and they are actually out of reason to rationalise when their hardliners and staunch supporters of many years.

None of them actually fly off to threaten Prime Minister Najib.

His frustration made him man-possessed, till the point that he decided to take on Prime Minister Najib on all his allegations of 1MDB which include the ‘USD620million donation by a Saudi Royal Family”, was linked to the strategic investment corporation of the Malaysian Government.

This desperation is reflective in some of the staunchest supporters of Tun Dr. Mahathir in the Anti-Najib Campaign, who one time was a much respected GEIC of a very important media group to resort to posting of fake Time magazine cover on his social media account.

This is politics never seen in modern Malaysian history, especially by a party which will be celebrating its 70th anniversary in less than seven weeks and had been in power continuously for over 61 years.

Pawang Matawang

Against the hope of detractors and dissenters against Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak, Ringgit Malaysia has been strengthening against the Greenbacks.

The Malay Mail Online:

Ringgit opens higher against US Dollar

BY BERNAMA – 23 MARCH 2016 @ 9:41 AM

KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit strengthened to open higher against the US dollar today on renewed interest in the local currency, dealers said.

At 9.01 am, the ringgit was quoted at 3.9850/9910 versus the US dollar from 4.0050/0100 on Tuesday. A dealer said the ringgit saw fresh demand following the inflow of foreign funds into the local bourse.

Meanwhile,the greenback also edged down in reaction to Brussel’s airport bombing, he said. The local currency was also traded higher against other major currencies.

It appreciated against the Singapore dollar to 2.9308/9356 from Tuesday’s 2.9388/9444 and strengthened against the yen to 3.5501/5564 from 3.5865/5922 yesterday.

The local unit gained against the British pound to 5.6679/6780 from 5.7091/7171 and advanced against the euro to 4.4680/4763 from 4.4852/4916 on Tuesday. –BERNAMA

Read More : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/03/134495/ringgit-opens-higher-against-us-dollar

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Prime Minister Najib did explain several times that the RM against USD is a phenomena not based on economic  fundamentals but most likely is caused by perception and sentiments, coupled with aggressive attacks against the Malaysian currency.

A brief recap on the sliding of the RM against USD.

International Banker article:

Accounting for the Malaysian Ringgit’s Slump in 2015

By John Manning – john.manning@internationalbanker.com

In August, the Malaysian ringgit dropped to an all-time low against the dollar of neighbouring Singapore, while a further slide in subsequent weeks led to the currency in late September hitting an 18-year low against the US dollar.
US Dollar / Malaysian Ringgit (Source: OTC Interbank | Trading Economics)
The ringgit has been among the world’s weakest performers over the last 12 months or so, having consistently shed its value since September 2014. In the first nine months of 2015 alone, the ringgit dropped by 28 percent against the US dollar, and when it closed at 4.47 on September 29, it marked its weakest performance against the greenback since Asia’s economic crisis of 1997, when at one point the dollar fetched RM4.88.

As a heavy exporter of oil, the ringgit has been damaged by the collapse in the global price of the commodity. Oil’s slide has put a heavy degree of pressure on the finances of the Malaysian government, which normally earns around 22 percent of its total revenue from oil-related activities. While the price of oil has not dropped as dramatically is it did during the second half of 2014, a steady decline has still occurred throughout this year; indeed, by early September, Brent crude had halved in price over the course of the previous 12 months.

Another pivotal issue that has sent the ringgit crashing has been the release of data showing that Malaysia’s reserves of forex had fallen substantially during the year. Forex reserves had plunged by 28.3 percent during the 12 months to the end of August 2015—the biggest yearly drop since 2009, and with total reserves also dipping below $100 billion, the total remaining amount was the lowest since 2010. Such significant falls all but confirm that Malaysia’s central bank has been intervening in the forex markets in order to stop the ringgit’s slide, but evidently to no avail. The mere fact that Malaysia now has lower reserves suggests that its ability to shore up the currency, should it continue to fall to critical levels, continues to diminish.

While such economic factors have played a massive role in causing the ringgit to plummet, especially earlier in the year, analysts have also attributed its weakness to political factors, especially from the third quarter onwards, with many labelling Malaysia’s ongoing government scandal as the worst in the country’s political history. For several months now the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fund has been facing the scrutiny of official investigations conducted by no less than six countries. The wholly government-owned organisation was established in 2008 to promote development in Malaysia, with the ultimate aim of transforming the country into an economic and commercial powerhouse in the region. In recent years, however, the fund has come under intense pressure, initially because it missed an important $11-billion payment to its creditors, and then after further investigations found that hundreds of millions of dollars had been siphoned off from the fund under conspicuous circumstances.

Most significantly of all, however, was the uncovering of a paper trail in July that revealed that $700 million allegedly flowed from the fund straight into the account of Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak, who in 2009 had made himself chairman of 1MDB’s advisory board. The ensuing weeks saw a number of political moves within Malaysia’s government, with a wholesale cabinet reshuffle being chief among them, as Najib removed several ministers who had been critical about his role at 1MDB. On August 17, the ringgit plunged to a 17-year low against the US dollar, as investors showed heightened concern over the turmoil surrounding Najib, which was also exacerbated by subdued crude prices during the period.

Switzerland has opened its own criminal investigation related to 1MDB on the basis of suspicion of corruption among public officials. After the US Federal Bureau of Investigation began a probe in the final week of September into possible money laundering, and fresh allegations over irregularities in real estate deals involving Najib’s stepson surfaced, the ringgit posted its heaviest weekly loss since 1998, when Asia’s financial crisis prompted the Malaysian central bank to impose capital controls on the currency.

The scandal itself has dragged the ringgit down heavily, while also triggering a wave of political unrest in Malaysia along socio-economic and ethnic lines, given that the government has received widespread support from Ethnic Malays, while ethnic-Chinese communities have largely called for Najib’s resignation. Such political tensions will play their parts in keeping potential investment away from the country while the 1MDB investigations remain ongoing; both Singapore and Switzerland, for example, have suspended bank accounts tied to 1MDB. While the extent of the scandal’s effect on the ringgit is difficult to exactly quantify at present, the likelihood of credit-rating downgrades from Fitch, Moody’s, et al., is increasing every day, and if administered will in turn provide some clarity as to how much lower the ringgit can be expected to go.

October thus far has seen a small reversal of the ringgit’s slide, with the currency having recovered by 7 percent, mainly on the back of a surge in crude prices. In terms of the long-term outlook for the battered currency, however, the prospect of an increase in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve in the near future is keeping many emerging markets—including Malaysia’s—on their toes, as further capital is expected to flow out of such economies and back into the US. The expected rate hike, coupled with China’s ongoing economic slowdown, means that the overall demand for ringgits in the coming months is not expected to recover significantly, while the moderately unstable political situation is also likely to keep investors at bay for some time, and low oil prices continue to constrain government revenue. Ultimately, any meaningful recovery in the ringgit does not appear to be on the horizon any time soon.

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Last year as the rate of exchange of the RM was escalating fast against the Greenback, Fourth Prime Minister was quick to quirk that the moment Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak leaves office (either summarily resign, being forced out or toppled), ‘The Ringgit Malaysia would strengthen”.

The Malay Mail Online story:

Want the ringgit to recover? Get rid of Najib, Dr M tells Malaysians

BY JOSEPH SIPALAN
Saturday October 3, 2015
07:23 PM GMT+8

UPDATED:
October 03, 2015
08:11 PM GMT+8

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad delivers his speech at Pusat Bandar Taman Cempaka during high tea with Umno members in Ampang, October 3, 2015. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad asserted today that the Malaysian ringgit will become stronger the moment Datuk Seri Najib Razak steps down as prime minister.

The guest-of-honour at a high-tea talk organised by the Ampang Umno division, the retired prime minister of 22 years said the country and economy have already suffered the ill effects of the various scandals allegedly linked to the prime minister, and can only benefit from removing the source of the problems.

“I am fully confident that if you remove Najib as prime minister, the value of the ringgit will increase,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said the economy has become progressively worse with the ringgit currently at 4.41 to the US dollar and has been persistently sluggish in the local stock exchange.

He stressed that the government in the past would have been worried by even a slight dip in the value of the ringgit, in stark contrast to Putrajaya’s current preference for allegedly sugar-coating the situation.

“In the past we’d go bald if the value fell. Now they say ‘it’s okay, our economy is okay’,” said the 90-year-old who had also held the Finance Ministry portfolio.

“People will think stocks will fall if the value of the ringgit falls, so they will quickly sell. But don’t worry, our economy is very good. Just ask Najib, he’s a specialist in economy. I’m just a medical doctor, I’m no expert in economy,” he added.

Dr Mahathir later said at a news conference that he was not alone in his assessment, claiming that even Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz has said that the ongoing controversy over 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and several others are weighing down the ringgit and economy.

Najib was implicated in corruption investigations into 1MDB after US-based Wall Street Journal reported in July that some US$700 million was funnelled through several government entities into the prime minister’s personal bank accounts two months before the tumultuous May 5, 2013 general elections.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has since announced that the money deposited into Najib’s accounts was a donation from a Middle Eastern source.

The prime minister has also denied using any public money, including from 1MDB for personal benefit, though questions have mounted over the source and purpose of the funds.

Dr Mahathir has been among the most vocal critics against 1MBD in the BN and have demanded Najib take responsibility for his brainchild, which is under corruption investigation by government agencies in several countries, including Hong Kong, Switzerland and the UK.

The Kedah-born had also joined in the two-day Bersih 4 rally in Kuala Lumpur, and urged Malaysians to use their “people power” to push for Najib’s removal through a no-confidence vote in Parliament.

– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/want-the-ringgit-to-recover-get-rid-of-najib-dr-m-tells-malaysian#sthash.dgOW9sUZ.dpuf

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That sort of statement is usually made by up-manship banters amongst warring kopi loafers. But not a former Prime Minister and Finance Minister with a illustrious career.

Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was simply sowing the seeds of hatred against Prime Minister Najib in the strategy to demonise him and would hope warung topi talks like this would catch on and escalated from mouth to mouth to get more people loathe the Prime Minister.

In the mind of many, the mechanics of economics are so foreign to them. The low and simplistic understanding on how their lifestyle change as cost of living gone up against the majority of Malays still on fixed income, is a convenient blame against the Government.

Legisperitis cum non malitia

The rogue lawyers within Bar Council who tried to run Attorney General Tan Sri Apandi Ali down at their AGM on Saturday, in their effort to realise the Oppositions’ strategy to topple Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak’s leadership, failed when it is interpreted that decision on criminal cases made by the Public Prosecutor is not opened for Judicial Review.

The Star story:

Monday, 21 March 2016 | MYT 9:51 PM

A-G’s decision to prosecute not subject to judicial review, says former top judge

KUALA LUMPUR: Case law states that the power of the Attorney-General over criminal matters and his decision whether or not to prosecute is not open to judicial review, says former Chief Justice Tun Zaki Tun Azmi (pic).

He cited two cases where two former Lord Presidents – Tun Mohamed Suffian Hashim and Tun Mohamad Salleh Abbas – affirmed that the Federal Constitution is clear about the A-G’s powers.

“Tun Suffian’s learned decision in Long Samat v Public Prosecutor in 1974 provides a nice backdrop to the controversy raging today about the nature of the Attorney-General’s prosecutorial powers.

“Courts cannot compel (the A-G) to institute any criminal proceedings which he does not wish to institute or to go on with any criminal proceedings which he has decided to discontinue,” he said.

In a similar vein, Zaki said Tun Salleh Abas in PP v Zainuddin in 1986 stated that the Constitution gave the A-G “an exclusive power respecting direction and control over criminal matters” and “his decision is not open to any judicial review”.

Zaki also said that any resolution by an NGO to call for the A-G’s forced resignation had no effect whatsoever in law because he was appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister under Article 145(1) of the Constitution and he holds office at the pleasure of the King.

The A-G’s powers over prosecution, he said, were prescribed by Section 376 of the Criminal Procedure Code and under Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution.

“Under Article 145(3), the Attorney-General shall have power exercisable at his discretion to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for an offence, other than proceedings before a Syariah Court, a native court or a court-martial,” Zaki said.

However, the former Chief Justice said, it was not within the A-G’s power to order investigative agencies to discontinue their investigations or close their files.

“They remain free under their parent law to do their work diligently and independently, to close or reopen their files and to submit and re-submit their findings to the AG for his prosecutorial decision,” he said.

Zaki, however, believed that in a Constitutional democracy, no power can be absolute or unfettered in the sense that its recipient was free to abuse his position, act mala fide (in bad faith) or with bias.

“Public office is a public trust. All public powers must be exercised in good faith, in a neutral, detached manner, in accordance with the existing law and with the public interest in mind.

“Words such as ‘absolute’ and ‘unfettered’ to describe the power of a constitutional agency are anachronistic and must be discouraged,” he said.

Zaki asserted that abuse of power is not condoned by the Constitution, but it must also be made known that not every issue of state is required automatically to end up in the lap of the judiciary.

Constitutional and administrative law has always recognised some clear limits on what is subject to judicial scrutiny, he said.

Zaki however stressed that although a decision was non-reviewable in a court it did not imply that the authority concerned was above the law and was free to act arbitrarily.

“It simply means that the decision is unsuitable for judicial scrutiny.

“Other, more adequate, alternative remedies may exist, for example a parliamentary inquest during question time, an electoral censure during elections or an enquiry by a Royal Commission,” he said.

Zaki said that in criminal cases, whether credible evidence exists or whether the evidence is adequate to mount a case and whether the evidence is rebuttable in reply are questions for the A-Gs discretion.

“He determines ‘all important questions of policy … and the attitude to be adopted by the prosecution towards material objections raised or demands made by the accused with respect to the evidence,” he said, alluding to the case of PP v Datuk Harun Idris in 1976.

Zaki said that in Malaysia courts could not order a prosecution on their own initiative or on a complaint from a citizen. – Bernama

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The Bar Council on Saturday won by a slim majority to call for AG Amanda’s resignation.

Channel News Asia story:

Malaysian lawyers call for Attorney-General’s resignation

Many lawyers believe there was a conflict of interest when Attorney-General Apandi Ali ordered the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to cease corruption investigations into Prime Minister Najib Razak.

By Sumisha Naidu, Malaysia Correspondent, Channel NewsAsia
Posted 19 Mar 2016 13:19 Updated 21 Mar 2016 17:44

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 700 Malaysian lawyers have debated and passed a motion calling for Attorney-General Apandi Ali to step down for closing corruption investigations into Prime Minister Najib Razak.

At the Malaysian Bar’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday (Mar 19), Mr Apandi, a former judge, was a hot topic.

Many lawyers believe there was a conflict of interest when Mr Apandi ordered the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to cease investigations into the close to US$700 million deposited into Mr Najib’s bank accounts in 2013 as well as SRC international, a former subsidiary of state investment firm 1MDB.

A copy of the resolution shows the Bar calling for his immediate resignation “for the good of Malaysia, to restore public confidence and perception of the rule of law, in particular the administration of criminal justice in Malaysia”.

The Bar wants the Solicitor General to assume the role and responsibilities of Public Prosecutor in the cases involving the Prime Minister, 1MDB, SRC international and the millions deposited in Mr Najib’s accounts “considering the disability of the Attorney General to continue to act as Public Prosecutor for these cases by reason of passed conduct and the existing competing and conflicting roles of the Attorney General”

Last week, the Malaysian Bar also filed an appeal for a judicial review of Mr Apandi’s decisions.

Said Steven Thiru, President of the Malaysian Bar: “It’s coming from the Malaysian Bar which is the sole body that represents the practicing lawyers in peninsular Malaysia, in west Malaysia, so certainly it would have a bearing.”

At the Malaysian Bar AGM, lawyers pushed through resolutions condemning the passage of the National Security Council Bill as well, fearing authorities could abuse the power it confers on them in areas declared by the council as “security zones”.

The Bar also approved a motion calling on the Malaysian government to stop Internet censorship and restore access the media sites that have been blocked recently including The Malaysian Insider.

The site was blocked in Malaysia in February after it published an article quoting a source who alleged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission had enough evidence to charge Mr Najib.

The site has since shut down operations, partly because of losses in advertising revenue as a result of the block.

– CNA/av

****************

Members of the Bar Council viewed the move to call for AG Apandi’s resignation should be as seditious.

The Bar Council was lambasted even by Opposition leaders for calls unbecoming of a legal fraternity, which is defying the Federal Constitution for demanding a Judicial Review on AG Amanda’s decision to not pursuit the incomplete IPs made by MACC against cases which related to Prime Minister Najib.

Pro-Opposition news portal Malaysiakini story:

Malaysian Bar ‘tainted’ by motion at AGM to remove AG

2664
Published 18 Mar 2016, 4:43 pm Updated 18 Mar 2016, 4:50 pm 37 comments

A Penang DAP backbencher said the Malaysian Bar has been “tainted” by its actions against attorney-general (AG) Mohamed Apandi Ali and his decision not to press charges against Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Seri Delima assemblyperson RSN Rayer is referring to the Bar’s plan to table a motion to seek Apandi’s removal at its AGM and the application for judicial review to challenge the AG’s decision not to prefer charges against Najib in relation to the RM2.6 billion donation.

Rayer, who is also a lawyer, said he personally felt the two issues have tainted the position of the Bar as a professional regulatory body for advocates and solicitors in Malaysia into a partisan organisation which is pro-opposition and anti-government.

“The Bar Council is urged to withdraw this action for a judicial review as it will not meet the legal pre-requisites as the Bar Council is not aggrieved by this decision of the attorney-general who decided not to prefer charges against the Prime Minister.

“It seems to me that this action of the (Malaysian) Bar Council has drawn wide criticism as being a busybody and further fuelled speculation that the Bar is now very pro-opposition and anti-government, although I personally do not subscribe to this misconception as I think the Bar still upholds law and justice in this country,” he said in a statement today.

The Malaysian Bar is holding its AGM in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.

Rayer said Apandi Ali is the Attorney General and Article 145 of the Federal Constitution gives him the power to decide on all matters related to prosecution.

He added that moving a motion to call for his resignation or removal at the Bar AGM may not be the legally correct thing to do.

“It is wrong for the Bar Council to propose and debate a motion calling for the removal of the newly appointed AG when it is legally and constitutionally clear that the appointment of the AG is the prerogative of the Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister.

“I urge the Bar Council to abort debating this motion because the Bar cannot be seen to be doing something for the sake of doing something, although it may not have any legal impact lest we want to be the laughing stock of the entire nation,” he added.

**************

It is not sure whether Bar Council members considered the fact that MACC admitted that they on 31 December 2015 submitted an ‘incomplete’ or more likely defective investigation papers on the so called RM2.6billion donation credited into Prime Minister Najib’s personal account and SRC International.

The confusion created by MACC on the drama on the submission of the defective IPs itself points towards the agency is making political leanings and the conspiracy theory.

AG Apandi has been very stern about carrying out his duties based on the information presented to him, free from any pressure or interference.

This is not the first time Bar Council is deemed political and acting as an extension of the Opposition, in the strategy to demonise the sitting Barisan Nasional Government.

A professional body using ‘intellectual discourse’ to demonize the Police Force

The Bar Council even tried to deny Sabahans’ and Sarawakians’ prerogative as enshrined under the Federal Constitution pertaining to immigration matters in both states.

The “Thirteen Million Plus Ringgit question” is would the Malaysian public be protected by the legal fraternity behaving as politicians and continuously play or allow itself to be an extension of digressing politics and confuse the general public?

The right to refuse entry and banish, based on provisions in the Immigration Act

The Opposition and Opposition friendly NGOs such as the Bar Council is making hue and cry on the Sabah State Government to impose their powers to ban persons ‘Deemed Criminals’ such as PKR Vice President Nurul Izzah Anwar from entering the state.

The Bar Council has been consistently abuse its position as the legal fraternity and make political statements via their interpretation of legal matters, which many times defy decisions made even at Apex Court level.

Chief Justice, Chief Judges and Federal Court Judges are those who went through rigorous selection process which the final assent is made by Council of Rulers and His Majesty Seri Paduka Baganda Yang DiPertuan Agong.

AG Apandi was a serving Federal Court Judge before appointed as Attorney General last July, which received the royal assent.

The statement made by former Chief Justice Tun Zaki Tun Azmi simply ricochet the egg pelted by Bar Council back to their own faces, for their malicious intent to play Oppositions’ politics and ridicule and confuse the Malaysian public.

The Master Machiavellian

Hooded wanker or hoodwinked?

Pro-Opposition groups are voicing their gross skepticism of Opposition leaders teaming up with Fourth Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to oust sitting Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Razak, in a baffling show of co-operation between strange bedfellows last week.

The Star story:

Sunday, 13 March 2016 | MYT 7:48 AM

Opposition-aligned groups slam Dr Mahathir’s ‘leadership’ over bid to oust Najib

 

BY DANIAL ALBAKRI

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KUALA LUMPUR: Several groups aligned to the Opposition have slammed the movement allegedly led by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to oust Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as Prime Minister.

Badrul Hisham Shahrin, popularly known as Chegubard, acted as spokesman of Saturday’s gathering here that brought together a number of speakers from various groups.

He said the groups called out for the rejection of Dr Mahathir as the movement’s leader, reminding participants of his alleged transgressions against the people and country during his tenure as prime minister.

“This is a dead end. This is just a clash between Mahathir and Najib.

“We have been fighting against both of them. Why is it that now we must choose between them?” said Badrul.

Dr Mahathir, together with a group of key political and civil society leaders, had initiated a citizens’ declaration demanding Najib’s removal as Prime Minister.

“Why does this initiative, this citizens’ declaration exists?

“It is because the people are scared. It is because the people did not rise up,” claimed political activist Haris Ibrahim.

According to Badrul, they believe that Dr Mahathir was only using the move for his own political agenda and not in the interests of Malaysians.

Many of the speakers at the event recalled the days when Dr Mahathir was prime minister and attribute what they described as the degradation of the country’s institutions to his time in power, especially in the 1998 reformasi (reformation) era.

“We cannot raise him up as a figure of change.

“If he fights, that’s all right. If we (the people) make use of him, that’s all right. But to prop him up as the leader and place him in the front, that is not right,” claimed Badrul.

Another concerned participant asked why was the declaration’s signatories did not consult the public, or at least their respective party members, before signing it.

“Why was there no consultation? Why was no feedback taken? Why so secretive?

“Bersih was about to have a roadshow. If they were going to organise a roadshow, why didn’t they use the roadshow to get feedback before signing the declaration?” asked Kohi Kogi, a member of Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit).

***************

Opposition are now shy to pronounced that their ‘relationship’ with Tun Dr. Mahathir is not carte blanche.

The Star story:

Sunday, 13 March 2016 | MYT 10:55 PM

Wan Azizah: PKR willing to work with Najib, with conditions

 

BY LO TERN CHERN

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BUKIT MERTAJAM: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) is willing to team up with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in order to “Save Malaysia”, says Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (pic).

The PKR president, however, said there would have to be set terms and conditions to for the co-operation to work and to bring progress to the country.

“We will not work together if doing so will bring losses to the country and the people,” she told reporters after attending a seminar on women empowerment here Sunday.

Wan Azizah, who is also Permatang Pauh MP, said veteran DAP leader Lim Kit Siang had also voiced the same intent in his blog.

She added that the move was in line with her husband, jailed PKR de factor leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s aspiration to save the country first by putting conflicts aside.

Lim, in a blog post earlier Sunday, had said that he was prepared to work with any Malaysian to Save Malaysia – not just Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin – but also Najib.

**************

This is what a DAP leader Charles Santiago’s thoughts of deep scepticism:

Tun Dr. Mahathir, from dictator to saviour?

 

House of Cards is a hugely popular American political drama that centres around a politician’s elaborate plan to make himself the President of the US after he gets passed over for appointment as secretary of state. Every episode is peppered with plots of manipulation and greed for power.

Kevin Spacey plays the ruthless politician who makes pacts with his nemesis and teams up with strange bedfellows to become the most powerful man on earth. The point here is that everyone who comes on board his bandwagon have a personal agenda, simmering vengeance, need for revenge: in short, an axe to grind.

On Friday, we saw a group of Opposition politicians, Bersih leaders and representatives from non-governmental organisations band together with former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to sign a Citizens Declaration to oust premier Najib Razak.

Dr Mahathir says the ‘Save Malaysia’ campaigners have come together as citizens to kick out the top guy in the country, who is single-handedly ruining Malaysia’s economy and tarnishing the image of the nation through autocratic means.

I agree that Najib must go for the better of the country and her people. But in this quest for justice one must not also forget that Dr Mahathir is the root cause of the rot that is affecting every Malaysian today.

One cannot deny that his 22 years in power was made possible by the use of draconian laws to jail dissidents and critics. Dr Mahathir introduced money politics in UMNO, robbed the judiciary of its independence, clamped down on street protests and kept a heavy lid on freedom of the media.

He also jailed his one-time prodigy and former deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who is still being persecuted under the guise of justice after a sham trial.

No matter what the controversy, Dr Mahathir found himself right smack in the middle of it when he held the top job in Malaysia.

Dismissing his autocratic ways does no justice to the scores of people and activists who were victims of his iron-fist rule.

We fast forward to Friday, and nothing has fundamentally changed, although it was a historic meeting of people who built their careers opposing each other. The Declaration is to remove Najib and not to get rid of UMNO. And it has no tangible mention of ways to find durable solutions for the people who are marginalised, discriminated and left to fend for themselves. It makes no reference to the aborigines or workers’ rights.

The Save Malaysia coalition has ironically only made a passing reference to reforming national institutions, which are crucial to ensure the next government would be accountable and transparent.

Not long ago close to half a million people took to the streets to demand for free and fair elections. Three Bersih rallies before that saw scores of protesters being tear gassed for demanding for an independent elections commission, independent judiciary and a free media.

These aspirations have not been clearly stipulated in the Declaration as the rallying cry of the people, except for a one-liner stating the obvious fact that the people are suffering.

Will ousting Najib while keeping UMNO and the institution intact really solve the rakyat’s increasing financial hardship and other pressing problems?

This Declaration, therefore, is a rushed document that did not think through these pertinent issues. But now that we have a peoples’ manifesto, how do we use it to engage and mobilise them to remove Najib?

As for Mahathir critics, the question would still remain if this is an act of revenge because Najib had flatly refused to continue Dr Mahathir’s policies, setting in motion the crumbling of his legacy.

The onus is now on civil society representatives and political parties to ensure Dr Mahathir does not hijack the movement.

Clearly the jury is still out…

Charles Santiago
MP FOR KLANG

************

It is obvious that this ‘Citizens’ Declaration’ is something not really well though through, concocted in rush after all the plans by Tun Dr. Mahathir in the attempt to oust Prime Minister Najib since a year ago failed.

He started with making speeches in the open. It attracted attention and he utilised the media, especially social media platforms and foreign media to expand and escalate his demand against Prime Minister Najib.

He worked closely with Opposition leaders, pro-Opposition and foreign media.

He was trying to rile up the rakyat to a point of critical mass. At the same time, he used sentiments on UMNO platform to gain traction and support, primarily after Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd. Yassin and Rural and Entrepreneur Development Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd. Shafiee Apdal were sacked last July.

However, it didn’t fly.

His minions also leaked part of the information pertaining to internal Tabung Haji (TH) discussions on the process and decision to acquire the 69,754 sq. ft. parcel earmarked for luxury residential within the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) development.

It was hyped and cited in such away that the Anti-Najib operatives intended to create the panic run against TH, as part of the demonstration of the Malays rejecting Prime Minister Najib’s leadership.

However, despite the lousy PR to explain the issue and debunk all the lies and negative perception against the strategic intent and benefits of the acquisition, the Anti-Najib move using TH failed miserably.

By August, his ceramahs were intensified. He went to Johor, to try and inflame the anti-Najib sentiments. There were curious audience but no real numbers, to make thing matters. At least not through the party.

Then on 29 and 30 August, the man who once dejected public demonstration crossed the very line he drew. He attended the illegal BERSIH 4.0, two days in a row.

Then it was said that his minions went all over the world making reports on and against 1MDB scandals and this point was hyped, to create the demonic perception against Prime Minister Najib.

In the attempt to diminish public confidence in the strategy to demonise Prime Minister Najib, in October the Statesman even uttered “He (Prime Minister Najib) might be arrested if he travels abroad and tried under ICJ”.

It is simply a stupid lie because Prime Minister Najib did travel to the United States and United Kingdom twice from then till now and other European states which include Turkey.

The Anti-Najib operatives tried to work through party during the AGMs at Division level in October-November, but non avail. UMNO General Assembly came in early December and the Fifth UMNO President could not effectively get the delegates to rise and topple Prime Minister Najib before and during the GA.

Almost immediately, they tried to get ‘No Confidence Vote’ against Prime Minister Najib through Dewan Rakyat. That failed too.

When MACC submitted the incomplete investigation paper (IP) to Attorney General on 31 December 2015, they issued a media statement knowingly that AG Tan Sri Apandi Ali would reject the IP on the ‘RM2.6billion donation’ and ‘SRC International’.

Tun Dr. Mahathir pre-empted that AG would throw the case away. It is the proof that senior MACC officers had conspired with the former Prime Minister, to topple Prime Minister Najib.

When his son Dato’ Seri Mukhriz Mahathir eventually resigned after two weeks of political stand off drama, due to lack of confidence and support amongst Kedah UMNO Division leaders and ADUNs, the situation worsened for the longest serving prime minister.

He tried to ride on the suspension of Tan Sri Muhyiddin as UMNO Deputy President. But not many people, especially within UMNO is bothered.

So as an obsessed and possessed man who demonstrate much lesser rational, Tun Dr. Mahathir managed to get very strange bedfellows like DAP Supremo Lim Kit Siang, PKR President Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PKR deputy President Azmin Mohmaed Ali, PAN President Mohammad Sabu, former bar Council President Ambiga, BERSIH Chairman Maria Chin and anarchist Ishamuddin Rais to share the same platform and ink the ‘Citizens’ Declaration’.

That was the breaking point of many Tun Dr. Mahathir’s own hardliners, loyal supporters and sympathisers.

This marriage-of-(in)convenience-between-backstabbing-strange-bedfellows, opens a new horizon on what Tun Dr. Mahathir willing to do to topple Prime Minister Najib. This include what deal he did with his arch enemy for the past 49 years.

It is naive to exclude that DAP leaders would not not expect anything from the UMNO President and Ultra Malay leader for 22 years, for getting them to come onboard of his personal obsession.

It was said that within the DAP, there were many skeptics of this new relationship with their sworn enemies and they are actually out of reason to rationalise when their hardliners and staunch supporters of many years.

The joint venture did not come easy by Opposition leaders themselves. PKR President Wan Azizah already made a strong statement that Tun Dr. Mahathir needed the Pakistan Harapan support, more than they need him.

Last May, in the attempt to dislodge the confusion of Tun Dr. Mahathir’s rabid attacks against Prime Minister Najib, it was said that “He (Dr. Mahathir) would not take up a war if he doesn’t think that he would win”.

Apparently, the one time regarded as Master Strategist failed at all the tactics to bring Prime Minister Najib down and the demonisation strategy would cost UMNO/BN in the next GE.

The “Thirteen Million Plus Ringgit” question is, whether Dr. Mahathir made a lousy calculation and projection this round or he was hoodwinked by some people very close to him, and used him to hoodwink the larger majority of Malaysians, to topple Prime Minister Najib

or

The past a year and half, he had been an obsessed, man-possessed?