BE VERY AFRAID, NAJIB & ROSMAH: ‘OLD MAN’ MAHATHIR’S APOLOGY SIGNALS THE FINAL BREAK WITH HIS UMNO PAST – ‘TAKE NO PRISONERS, GIVE NO QUARTER’

DR Mahathir Mohamad’s apology for his past misdeeds as prime minister can be a boon for Pakatan Harapan and settle a long-standing concern that has hobbled the coalition’s progress – his track record as an autocrat.

Independent analyst Tan Ah Chai said it allowed PH to sell its reform agenda without being burdened by Dr Mahathir’s legacy – which saw the country’s institutions being robbed of their independence.

PH activists meanwhile, took the apology in good faith despite the fact that Dr Mahathir has qualified it by saying it is Malay custom to apologise and not an admission of wrongdoing.

For them, apology or not, Dr Mahathir has proven his commitment to PH’s cause by forming an opposition political party and joining an alliance to defeat the ruling Barisan Nasional at the polls.

“The apology represents a break with his past in Umno and in BN without decreasing his stature as a person who knows how Umno works  and is, therefore, capable of ending Umno hegemony,” Tan told The Malaysian Insight.

“It also helps to soothe the feelings of the reformasi generation and Anwar Ibrahim’s hardcore supporters, who are still sore towards Dr Mahathir for putting Anwar in jail in 1998,” Tan said.

These include people such as Hulu Kelang assemblyman Saari Sungib and former Reformasi veteran Badaruddin Ismail.

Both say they have forgiven Dr Mahathir, whose administration detained dozens of activists in 1998 for taking part in reformasi protests to oppose the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim as deputy prime minister and his subsequent jailing for charges.

Saari said although Dr Mahathir had never apologised for his wrongdoing, he was serious in bringing down BN.

“He criticised (prime minister) Najib(Razak). He left Umno. He met Anwar Ibrahim and formed a new party. He did great damage to BN,” said Saari, now a Selangor Amanah leader.

Moving on  

In a rare event yesterday, Dr Mahathir, who has been called a dictator for his crackdowns on dissent as prime minister, apologised for the wrongs he committed in the past.

He said he had been involved in politics since 1945, and had made mistakes.

He said this in his capacity as the chairman of Bersatu, a party that is part of the opposition PH alliance.

His decision to join the opposition has been widely criticised as he now works with some of the people he once jailed as prime minister.

Observers have also criticised parties such as PKR, DAP and Amanah for working with the man whose policies defanged the country’s judiciary, media, and who stamped out free speech.

But hours after he issued the apology, Dr Mahathir qualified it by saying that it was a Malay custom and that whether he had done any wrong was a different matter.

ISA detainee Badaruddin, however, accepted Dr Mahathir’s apology.

“It is not a drama. He has apologised. What (current prime minister Najib Razak) did was way worse that what Dr Mahathir did during his time. Now people have to ration their food. They have to work for yesterday’s meal. People cannot afford to pay bills,” he said.

“After all, forgiving him will give you peace of mind. As a human being I forgive him for arresting me under ISA,” said Badaruddin.

Tan the analyst said the apology will help PH talk up Dr Mahathir’s contributions as a prime minister from 1981 to 2003 without feeling as if it is whitewashing Dr Mahathir’s past wrongs.

“Because Dr Mahathir has already apologised for those wrongs.”

The apology also strengthens the case for making Dr Mahathir a transitional prime minister, Tan added.

PH is currently considering the idea of making Dr Mahathir the interim prime minister if it takes over Putrajaya in GE14.

The idea however has not gone down well with PKR, who has set three conditions for Dr Mahathir to fulfil – that Anwar Ibrahim be installed as prime minister within a year if PH wins the election, that PKR get the bulk of federal seats in Peninsular Malaysia and that Dr Mahathir carry out institutional reforms.

– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com

GIVE ME A CHANCE BECAUSE ANTHONY LOKE HAS NOT BEEN DOING A GOOD JOB: ALREADY, MCA UPSTART CHONG SIN WOON MAKES HIS FIRST MISTAKE TRYING TARNISH DAP STRONGMAN IN SEREMBAN

SEREMBAN – MCA today announced its choice of MCA Youth chief Datuk Chong Sin Woon as the Barisan Nasional candidate for the Seremban parliamentary constituency in the 14th general election.

MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai made the announcement when speaking to reporters after a visit to the Seremban Central Market here. Also present was Negeri Sembilan MCA chairman Datuk Seri Dr King Lim Chin Fui.

Liow appealed to the people of Seremban to support the MCA, saying it was important to have Chinese representatives in the government to convey their views as well as to extend services to the community.

He said Chong, who is a senator and deputy education minister, was the right choice of candidate for Seremban because he had a high level of commitment in serving the people there besides being a dynamic, sociable and popular individual in the local community.

The MCA president said the party had sent its shortlisted candidates for the general election to Prime Minister and BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“I am convinced the Chinese community will support a government that can ensure stability and maintain the harmony, security and solidarity of a multi-racial population.”

He reminded the Chinese voters not to be fooled by the emotional poison often used by the political opposition to fish for votes.

Liow said MCA was thankful to the Negeri Sembilan government which had looked after the welfare of the Chinese community despite the absence of its representative in the state government leadership.

Chong said he was thankful to MCA for having chosen him to represent the party and BN in the Seremban parliamentary constituency.

“I will discharge my duties with a high level of commitment and provide excellent service.

“I ask the voters of Seremban to give me a chance to bring the voice of Seremban to parliament because up to now not many issues pertaining to Seremban have been raised in the august house,” he said.

In the 13th general election, in 2013, Anthony Loke Siew Fook of DAP won the Seremban seat after beating the late Datuk Dr Yeow Chai Thiam of MCA and three independent candidates.

— Bernama

New video of Singaporean IS militant killing man jolts republic

Screen grab showing Singaporean Megat Shahdan Abdul Samad in the latest IS executions video featuring executioners believed from Southeast Asian nations.

PETALING JAYA: A new propaganda video featuring a Singaporean Islamic State (IS) militant participating in the cold blooded killing of other men has sparked renewed concerns of the threat of religious extremism in the island republic.

The more than eight-minute long clip featuring Megat Shahdan Abdul Samad, 39, has been shared on social media and messaging groups, the Straits Times (ST) reported yesterday.

It shows a graphic scene of Shahdan and two men dressed in military fatigue executing three others by shooting them, together with footage of bombings and vehicle attacks.

Shahdan is seen at the end speaking in English, encouraging followers to strengthen themselves and “slay the enemies of Allah wherever you can find them”, before he shoots a kneeling man, the report said.

In September, Shahdan was seen in another clip calling himself “Abu ‘Uqayl from Singapore” and challenging Britain’s Prince Harry who had in June visited Singapore where he had broken fast with local Muslims as it was the month of Ramadhan.

“Prince Harry, you come to Singapore and tell sad stories to gain sympathy about London terror,” he had said.

“Why don’t you come here and fight us if you are man enough so that we can send you and your Apaches (helicopters) to hellfire?”

The ST report said Shahdan was a secret society member in Singapore with a string of drug and criminal convictions before he left to work in the Middle East in 2014 where he was believed to have been radicalised. He later made his way to Syria to join IS.

Shahdan had in the first video also called for people to join the IS in East Asia, or to fight with IS fighters in other regions like Libya, Yemen and western Africa.

According to Kumar Ramakrishna, head of policy studies and coordinator of the national security studies programme at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, the latest video drove home in a strong way the dangers of being indoctrinated with extremist ideology.

“Singaporeans may think we are educated, but even people in our particular day and age, given exposure to extremist ideology, can be influenced to such an extent… where they can so dehumanise other people not seen to be part of their circle that they can just murder them in cold blood,” he was quoted as saying by ST.

“It shows why extremist ideology is so dangerous and has to continue to be countered,” he added.

Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore said it was specifically timed to incite attacks at New Year celebrations.

“At a time when ISIS is shrinking in its battle space in Iraq and Syria, it is sending a message that it is still capable of mounting attacks and terrorising the public,” he was quoted as saying.

“With its core depleting and global expansion, ISIS will focus on propaganda in the coming months and years.” -FMT

Mahathir's non-apology is an insult to Malaysians

I refer to a recent statement issued by Bersatu chairperson Mahathir Mohamad, who apologised for all his faults during his 22 years in power as Malaysia’s prime minister.

However, typical of Mahathir, soon after apologising for his faults, he made another U-turn by saying that he did not necessarily mean that he was admitting to any wrongdoing.

Nevertheless, Nurul Izzah Anwar, the daughter of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahi, who was sacked by Mahathir, accepted his apology.

Mahathir's controversial sacking of Anwar in 1998 over corruption and sodomy charges remain a sour point among many of his supporters.

Looking at the chronology of events that happened yesterday, it is very obvious that Mahathir had apologised for all abuses of power that occurred during his time as prime minister.

Nobody will ever forget the Memali incident in 1985 where Ibrahim Libya and his followers were killed.

They were labelled as extremists who tried to spread deviationist teachings and disrupt public order. Is this true, or was Mahathir was covering up for his weaknesses?

In 1998, Anwar Ibrahim was sacked from his position. After his sacking, trumped up charges were made against Anwar and his associates, which humiliated and tarnished the image of Malaysia.

The ambitions of Anwar to be prime minister were destroyed by Mahathir, just because Anwar was at that point of time became too powerful. An innocent man was sent to prison.

Despite this, and the feeling that her family had been wronged and abused by Mahathir, Nurul Izzah accepted his apology.

Therefore it is mind boggling and exceptionally ridiculous that now Mahathir would retract his apology. Is this not an insult to all Malaysians, especially Anwar’s family?

I also call upon all the “moral guardians” of Pakatan Harapan, especially Lim Kit Siang, Guan Eng, Tony Pua and their ilk to come out and condemn Mahathir.

Why are these DAP leaders now keeping an elegant silence on this issue when they were the main ones using Mahathir as a punching bag to win votes in the two previous elections? So does this mean DAP leaders have now forgiven Mahathir for all his abuses of power during his tenure as prime minister?

Notwithstanding the above, the apology by Mahathir clearly demonstrated that he had made mistakes during his premiership and some of them were clearly against the law and criminal in nature.

Due to this, I also call upon the inspector-general of police and attorney-general to look into these two incidents – Memali and Anwar’s sacking – to see if any crimes were committed.

If Mahathir feels upset by my New Year Message to him, he is more than welcome to sue me.

I still think Mahathirism should not be allowed back into Malaysia’s society.

DAP leaders have been proven to be spineless and are now all beholden to the former prime minister as if their lives are depending on Mahathir and Bersatu winning the next election.- Mkini

Muftis kept mum on Memali fearing reprisal, Hadi tells Dr M

After former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad blamed muftis for failing to prevent the Memali incident, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said their silence was due to political interference that was rife during Mahathir’s rule.

Hadi said there was no separation of powers at the time, and there was political interference in administrative affairs.

“This resulted in judges being sacked, the inspector-general being unable to do the necessary, and even when the muftis want to speak they kept quiet instead.

“It was safer that way. That was the climate at the time,” he told a press conference in PAS’ headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

Hadi was responding to Mahathir’s closing speech at the Bersatu annual general meeting yesterday.

Mahathir said in his speech that muftis should have spoken up against Hadi’s infamous Amanat Hadi, a 1981 address which many claim is responsible for causing the Memali incident that left 18 people dead four years later.

“(Ibrahim Libya’s) followers killed four police officers because to them, the police were kafirs (infidels) working for a kafir government.

“This is the result of a fatwa (edict) issued by a politician that was not rebutted by muftis.

“I think the muftis should be responsible for what happened in Memali.

"It would not have happened if the muftis rebutted Amanat Hadi early on. Why didn’t they rebut Amanat Hadi?” Mahathir asked.

Amanat Hadi was delivered in Terengganu on April 7, when Hadi was the then Terengganu PAS chief and Marang assemblyperson. Mahathir took office as prime minister later that year.

In an excerpt from the address which was widely circulated at the time, Hadi claimed that PAS opposed BN and Umno because it perpetuates a “colonial constitution” and “infidel laws,” making opposing them a sacred eduty.

Meanwhile, Hadi said Mahathir should respond to his book that he wrote to explain his infamous address, since the latter often made reference to it.

“The speech should be seen in its totality. To take the speech excerpt without the explanation is wrong. This is just for political interests,” he said. - Mkini

Turun rally organisers claim sabotage, phones hacked

Organisers of the New Year's Eve protest "Turun Harga Minyak, Turun Najib" (Bring down fuel prices, bring down Najib) have cried sabotage after their mobile phone numbers were allegedly hacked by unknown parties.

Secretariat member Ahmad Syukri Che Ab Razab told Malaysiakini their numbers were used to send text messages containing "threats and profanities" to unknown numbers.

"Since yesterday afternoon, we were inundated with calls and messages from unknown numbers.

"When we asked them; they said they received a message from our numbers containing a threat and profanities. But we did not send the message," he said when contacted.

"For sure, this is a sabotage attempt and it is not the first time. Just for myself, this is the third time," claimed Syukri, who is also Pakatan Harapan Youth strategy director.

According to Syukri, the eight others are Harapan youth leaders Ashraff Mustaqim Badrul Munir, Wan Anwar Wan Ibrahim, Faris Abdullah and Salleh Mohd; student activists Luqmanul Hakim and Ashraff Nazrin; as well as youth activists Amir Abdul Hadi and Mad Shahtry.

All nine of them are expected to lodge a police report on the matter at the Dang Wangi district police station this evening.

The rally is organised by Pakatan Harapan Youth along with several youth NGOs, and is slated to begin at the Sogo shopping complex tonight, an hour before midnight.

Once gathered, participants are expected to proceed to Dataran Merdeka, which is located about a kilometre away, where they would also participate in the countdown towards the new year.- Mkini

Isa keeping silent on Felda land deal to avoid ‘creating conflict’

Former Felda chairperson Mohd Isa Abdul Samad today said that he had no plan to hold a press conference anytime soon to explain the issue involving the alleged dubious transfer of Felda land in Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur.

He said this was because he wanted to avoid any misunderstanding and wrong perceptions on the issue.

“Sure we can (hold a press conference), but we don’t want to create conflict,” he told reporters here today.

When asked about deputy inspector-general of police Noor Rashid Ibrahim’s remarks that the police would summon him next week to give his statement on the issue, Isa said he was unaware of the matter.

“I don’t know... I have not been summoned yet. If summoned, I’m ready to cooperate... and you (the media) will be the first to know,” he said while refusing to make any further comment.

Isa was met after presenting school bags and launching free haircut programme for pupils of Sekolah Kebangsaan Intan Perdana in Port Dickson under the "Back to School” programme co-organised by Mara Education Foundation and Telok Kemang Umno Youth.

Also present was Telok Kemang Umno Youth chief Mohd Najib Mohd Isa.

- Bernama

Najib says forex RCI was in response to Kit Siang's call

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today said the recent royal commission of inquiry into the foreign exchange losses suffered in the 1990s was in response to calls made by politicians, including DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang.

In his New Year's message, Najib said the RCI, which looked into Bank Negara's losses from forex market speculation during the tenure of then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was part of the government's stepped-up effort to ensure good governance.

"2017 also marked a different milestone, for it was a year in which we redoubled our efforts to ensure good governance in all sectors – which included not allowing past mistakes to remain unaddressed.

"Some politicians, such as Lim Kit Siang (photo), had long called for an RCI into the forex losses between 1992 and 1994. Last year we answered that call by forming an eminent panel to investigate.

"They concluded that Bank Negara incurred losses of RM31.5 billion during that time which, they said, had 'a significant negative impact on the economy of the country, whereby it deprived the country of development opportunities'," the prime minister stated.

The opposition had accused Najib of trying to distract from the 1MDB scandal with the forex RCI by shining a spotlight on Mahathir, who is now in the opposition.

However, Najib said Malaysians have a right to know what happened in the past.

Najib made no mention of 1MDB in his 36-paragraph message, in which he recapped the events in the country throughout the year.

He had previously denied wrongdoing or taking public funds for personal gain.

In 2017, Najib said a "newly reinvigorated" MACC had also shown that wrongdoers will be rooted out.

The prime minister also highlighted his announcement from July that stated the government was cracking down on the culture of crony capitalism created by a "former leader," in an apparent reference to Mahathir (photo).

"The Malaysian people have paid a heavy price so that a few of friends of this former leader could make enormous profits, no matter what the cost to the people.

"We made it clear that this has to end. Lapses of governance, in either the private or the public sector, cannot be tolerated. 

"They must be investigated and rectified – not just because this is necessary for Malaysia to continue on its path to high-income status, but because the people deserve nothing less," he said. -Mkini

cakap cakap...Mahathir.

I do not need for Tun to say sorry to me.

comments : 

Dephy Oon · Friends with Wong Piang Yow and 1 other

he’s really good. unbeatable. timing n all. and if there is one thing that malay brothers n sisters need.. its apology.

other races..?? i dunno, maybe not. they have elephant memory. And that goes to say that they’ll weigh the good vs the ‘wrongs’ and know the wrongs were nothing compared to the progress that Tun has given their next generations. And that makes it all fair game. Knowing some things had to get done so as to get something more, and errors in that direction, are forgivable, coz thats how life is. 

That’s life. we all make mistakes. But to the observer, their mistakes seem to be galactic magnitudes bigger... but that is only because they have strived bigger, dreamed bigger and made things happen bigger.

And for Tun, he once had a dream... that he could equalise wealth in the nation... but the one thing he’s had to learn the hard way is that wealth MUST be earned the hard way... that one must never institutionalise the act of taking from jack to give to tom so as to arrive at those goals of wealth equality. 

Because it breeds greedy bust-turds. The likes of who are now shoveling everyhing into their personal bank accounts at ever increasing pace, as if there is no tomorrw. These greedy bust-turds have always had it too easy... and all Tun did was pave the way for they and made it easier.

For that, there can be no apology that suffices. Only corrective action - and even to that enormity he has stepped up. 

Outstanding. His personality traits are comparable to no less than the likes of Washington, Mandela maybe Gandhi.

Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad

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Hussein Abdul Hamid Thanks for your comments... I don't agree with everything you say but you are entitled to have your say... Salute!

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Dephy Oon · Friends with Wong Piang Yow and 1 other

Hussein Abdul Hamid 

love that you are real about things. so here’s a challenge for you...

try being in singapore for a good part of life, simply becoz there were not enuf form 6’s and uni’s to accommodate (supposedly).

then try being a minority, the sort that is called “pendatang”.

with that, try being female, and realising that the 19th century so-called national culture is actually the perpetuation of bullying in various forms.

then try seeing that years and hundreds of thousands of personal taxes paid get squandered off to tom under so-called “policies”.

then try imagining being in China (with a big ‘C’) for several years, living and paying taxes as a local with a residence permit, and learning the ‘C’ ways (whatever you may deem ‘C’ to be)

one then learns that the “C”rimes of Tun are a mere drop in the bucket compared to the vision of forging an economically wealthy nation. he crawled up the wrong tree, favouring bullying as the MO rather than compassion as the driver of progress. the price of going up the wrong tree is extremely high.

but, the gentleman that he is has stepped up even to that. and his resilience continues to amaze me. 

in no way do i try to have you agree with me, merely providing a different view from the branches of another birch tree.

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Mohd Faizal Idris This is what we should..trying to understand each other because what we comprehend differs to what essence we are made of through education,culture,religion...

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