1. The Ghost of Scomi past coming to haunt Abdullah by A Voice
With this new development, there is no other choice for Abdullah but to resign or await Agong to constitutionally remove him immediately. He is a security threat to the nation.
2. A US Selective Persecution? by Pasquale
Is Kamaluddin Abdullah being spared?
update midnight: Read Scomi's press statement here, which claims, among other things, that the then US Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Mr. John Bolton, had effectively cleared Scomi of wrong-doing in Feb 2004, click here.Original article
Click on the image to read or go here for the on-line article by Leslie Lopez of Straits Times, Singapore.
Shah Hakim is the business partner of Kamaluddin Abdullah, the PM's son. He is also the son-in-law of Saleh Abas, the former Lord President. The sanction means Shah Hakim can no longer do business with the US. If Scomi wants to continue doing business with the US, one option is to distance itself from the sanciton.
My question is: Why now? [And - an afterthought - why not Kamaluddin?]
The nuclear centrifuge issue is not a new issue: the Abdullah Administration has detained BSA Tahir (another Kamaluddin's business partner) under the ISA and then released him in June last year. The US Government reportedly closed investigations into Scomi in 2004.
Friday, January 16, 2009
US Sanctions on Scomi's Boss
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
bro,
ReplyDeletehow do you take this? tit-for-a-tat for dr mahathir's call for a boycott of the US-Israel products?
i have strong believe that the israel embassy in singapore played a part in it. knowing how strong singapore-israel relations are, the republic leaders have been adament about the gaza holocaust.
we know very well enough that the US never called dr mahathir a 'friend' for his powerful critics over US foreign policy, with regard to their agression in iraq and afghanistan.
as dr mahathir is no longer in the cabinet, pak lah govt must be seen to take some blows there. scomi, in its capacity as one of malaysia's most creditable companies on the international arena - and at the same time is linked to the prime minister - is the best candidate to launch economic attacks on malaysia.
our calls for the set up of a special tribunal to put to trial any israeli leaders suspected of mass killings of the palestinians, was also another pain in the US-israeli butts.
singapore aside, the israel embassy in the republic is our nearest 'enemy' on record. their presence in singapore which is against the ZOPFAN spirit of Asean, didnt perturb us much but we should realise that each and every move we take is under their surveilance.
dr mahathir's calls for such boycotts would not hurt them much as there are too many US products on our market. however, the fact that we were among the first to boycott was beyond their comprehension as whatever malaysia do for the course of the palestinians, will lead to many other countries to follow suit.
Hei Rocky!
ReplyDeleteFinally the night of the long knives is here. Never underestimate of other people's power-connections with the US government.
Kamaluddin was spared because his father had sold his soul to the "devil". The Devil said "you will do anything we ask you to do, and all will be well and your son will not be sanction." For a start the devil said to Kamaluddin father, "you must accommodate Singapore on anything and everything" the rest is for you morons can start using your gray matter and try to figure out what I am truing to say.
Well, at least now scomi can lead the "no-buy-us-product" campaign.
ReplyDeleteSalles Abas' son in law eh? Get me thinking about the 4m that Salleh Abas got from Abdullah govt, but then i think these 2 sons wouldnt had the time to talk about that little payout huh? Dont you think?
Yes,start to boycott everything for petty matters and starts to see the impact one by one.Is all these really necessary at this time of global economic crisis?
ReplyDeleteRgds,
Citizen
kas,
ReplyDeletethe RM5 million is totally zaid's idea! only pak lah and nor mohd yakcop the mof II knew of the amount before it was made public by nazri in parliament.
we can come up with real wild ideas about the sanction. is the US retaliating against Malaysia for its stand on the Gaza siege. Does Washington want to put pressure on Pak Lah (Scomi is his son's comapany) to shut Mahathir up (just look at the old man's latest posting on how he would like for the Armed Forces -- who is Defence Minister, again? - to attack the US and Israel! Is Bush Administration trying to tie loose ends before Berak Ohbummer comes in?
The question remains: why not Kamaluddin, why Shah Hakim?
Why on the eve of Kuala Terengganu by-election? Who will this news of sacntions against Pak Lah's son's company benefit?
Dear Rocky,
ReplyDeleteI guess Kamaluddin was not named nor implicated as he does not hold any official position in Scomi, the US is acting based on what their law permits. Not assumptions, not hunches and definitely not half-truths or gossip
Steve
Nampaknya maruah agama, bangsa dan negara dijual Pak Lah kerana dia sentiasa berada dalam keadaan tergugat dan diugut oleh amerika.
ReplyDeleteSayang anak pukul2 kan
Sayang anak Pak lah jual2kan
Next they will open the case of Oil for Food Fraud.
ReplyDeleteFrom heritage foundation article:-
What is required is a Security Council-appointed investigation mandated by a U.N. resolution, with powers of criminal prosecution. In addition, the Bush Administration should launch its own investigation of the Oil-for-Food program and link it to a sustained U.S.-led campaign to reform the United Nations.
Specifically:
The Security Council should appoint an independent investigation into Oil-for-Food, completely separate from the U.N. bureaucracy and staffed by non-U.N. personnel. Kofi Annan's handpicked commission of inquiry, while led by distinguished figures, lacks real power and credibility. The U.N. Secretary General should not be in a position to select members of a commission investigating allegations against his own organization.
The United States and Great Britain should take the lead by putting forward a U.N. resolution calling for a Security Council-appointed investigation. France and Russia may initially try to block such a resolution, since French and Russian politicians and businessmen have been heavily implicated in the Oil-for-Food scandal. However, the U.S. is likely to gain majority support in the Security Council: France and Russia will find it politically difficult to exercise their veto power.
A leading international accounting firm with no previous ties to the U.N. should be hired to help conduct the investigation, alongside top criminal investigators. Investigators should be drawn from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Interpol, Scotland Yard, and other leading criminal investigative units.
If the Security Council investigation recommends that criminal charges be brought against U.N. employees, those identified should be suspended pending resolution of the charges and have their diplomatic immunity waived to permit trial. U.N. officials and individuals implicated with criminal activity in the Oil-for-Food fraud should then be extradited to face trial in Iraq. Since the Iraqi people were the victims of the Oil-for-Food scam, it is appropriate that the Iraqi legal system try to sentence those responsible. If convicted, their U.N. employment should be terminated.
The Bush Administration, backed by Congress, should launch its own separate investigation into the United Nations' handling of the Oil-for-Food program. The United States should call for fundamental reform of the U.N. system, an annual external audit of the world body, and a Security Council-imposed code of conduct for all U.N. employees. Long-term U.S. funding of the United Nations should be made dependent upon widespread and satisfactory reform within the U.N.
History of the Oil-for-Food Program
The Security Council established the Oil-for-Food program in 1995 "as a temporary measure to provide for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people" while economic sanctions remained in place.2 Of Iraq's population of 24 million, 60 percent were dependent on food shipments administered through Oil-for-Food.
Oil-for-Food was the United Nations' biggest program anywhere in the world. As Claudia Rosett pointed out in The Wall Street Journal, the U.N. oversaw "a flow of funds averaging at least $15 billion a year, more than five times the U.N.'s core annual budget."3 Oil-for-Food was administered by 10 U.N. agencies employing over 1,000 staff internationally and in New York, as well as 3,000 Iraqi nationals. The U.N. collected a 2.2 percent commission on every barrel of oil sold, generating more than $1 billion in revenue.
Until 2001, all Iraqi oil revenues were held in an escrow account run solely by Banque Nationale de Paris. The money was later kept by several unnamed international banks, all approved by Saddam's regime.
The program was shrouded in secrecy, with little transparency or public accountability. There was no system of external auditing or publishing of accounts. The identity of the banks holding the Iraqi funds was kept secret. Oil-for-Food became a cash cow for the U.N. and a lucrative source of contracts for Russian and French companies. The Times of London calculated that from 1996 to 2003, Russian companies received $7.3 billion of business through Oil-for-Food, and French firms earned $3.7 billion.4
Oil for Corruption
In the 12 months since the fall of the Iraqi dictatorship, a clear picture has emerged of how Saddam Hussein abused the United Nations' Oil-for-Food program. The Iraqi Governing Council has begun to release critical information detailing how, in the words of The New York Times, "Saddam Hussein's government systematically extracted billions of dollars in kickbacks from companies doing business with Iraq, funneling most of the illicit funds through a network of foreign bank accounts in violation of United Nations sanctions." In effect the program was little more than "an open bazaar of payoffs, favoritism and kickbacks."5
Between 1997 and 2002, the Oil-for-Food program generated over $67 billion in revenues for the Iraqi regime. With little U.N. oversight, the Iraqi dictatorship was able to circumvent and exploit the program. It is suspected of selling Iraqi oil at bargain basement prices that benefited numerous middlemen while overpaying for various imports, which rewarded suppliers. The Iraqis then demanded kickbacks from both groups. The program was officially ended in November 2003.
The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) estimates that the Saddam Hussein regime generated $10.1 billion in illegal revenues by exploiting the Oil-for-Food program, including $5.7 billion from oil smuggling and $4.4 billion in "illicit surcharges on oil sales and after-sales charges on suppliers."6 The scale of the fraud was far more extensive than the GAO had previously estimated.
According to the GAO, the oil was smuggled by pipeline into Syria, by ship through the Persian Gulf, and by truck across the borders of Turkey and Jordan. Oil purchasers were charged a surcharge of up to 50 cents per oil barrel, with an added commission of 5 percent to 10 percent of the commodity contract. A U.S. Department of Defense study cited by the GAO evaluated 759 contracts administered through the Oil-for-Food program and found that nearly half had been overpriced by an average of 21 percent.7
An International Network of Beneficiaries
Emerging from the evidence is a mosaic of international corruption involving a patchwork of politicians and businesses across the world that benefited from the Oil-for-Food program and helped to keep Hussein in power. The Iraqi Oil Ministry recently released a partial list of beneficiaries: 270 names of individuals, political entities, and companies from across the world who received oil vouchers from Saddam Hussein's regime, allegedly at below-market prices.8
The list includes former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, the "director of the Russian President's office," the Russian Communist Party, the Ukraine Communist Party, the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the son of Lebanese President Emile Lahud, the son of Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass, and George Galloway, a British Member of Parliament.
Ominously, the list also implicates U.N. Assistant Secretary General Benon V. Sevan, executive director of the Oil-for-Food program, who has stringently denied any wrongdoing. Sevan, a longtime U.N. bureaucrat with close ties to Kofi Annan, has taken an extended vacation, pending retirement later this month.
Kofi Annan's son Kojo may also be implicated in the mushrooming scandal. Kojo Annan had ties to Cotecna Inspection SA, a Swiss-based company that received a contract for inspecting goods shipped to Iraq under the Oil-for-Food program. The younger Annan worked for Cotecna in the mid-1990s and became a consultant to the company until shortly before it won the Oil-for-Food contract.9 Cotecna, reportedly implicated in earlier bribery scandals, did not disclose this potential conflict of interest, and neither did the United Nations.
Adakah Sanction terhadap Scomi Boss merupakan satu langkah pertama, tindakan untuk mengugut Malaysia.
Rocky,
ReplyDeleteIs it US smell something fishy about Scomi CEO @ Shah Hakim or
Kamaludin smell something fishy about Shah Hakim since Pak Lah is going down in Mac 09.
They were best friend since MCKK time lol..
Then, let Kamaluddin do all the job in US which all the while Shah Hakim has been doing.
Can't be a sleeping partner forever, Kamal. After all your father is no more a PM come Mac.
Bro,
ReplyDeleteHow come NSTP sanction this important news which is related to Pak Lah's family.
Normally even when KJ get a new baby or buy an i-phone also the whole Malaya will get to know.
malaysia : "BOIKOT usa, ok !?"
ReplyDeleteUSA : " ok lah ! BOYCOTT malaysia !"
who will cry now !? (fury9)
/// bujai said...
ReplyDeletesingapore aside, the israel embassy in the republic is our nearest 'enemy' on record. their presence in singapore which is against the ZOPFAN spirit of Asean, didnt perturb us much but we should realise that each and every move we take is under their surveilance. ///
bujai, in this Internet age, you are still harbouring those romantic notions of cloak and dagger and conspiracy theories???
"each and every move Malaysia take" is recorded on the Internet for the whole wide world to see. You don't need the Israeli embassy in Singapore to spill the bean. Your ex-dictator a.k.a TDM already broadcast to the whole world that he is asking for a boycott of US goods and services on his che det blog. Anyone with access to the Internet will know what is happening in Bolehland.
So, are the Israelis also involved in C4-ing Altantuya? Not easy to get hold of C4 you know. Must be the damned Israelis at it again.
Sometimes business is a very strange creature, especially when it is done with political patronage. I have suspected that this Scomi Engineering special contract with BSA Tahir connection will never ever be a closed case ... Wali Kota
ReplyDeleteMr Rocky's
ReplyDeleteI believed from the revelation, we Malays are taken for a ride by this sly Pak Lah and his cronies. Towards the ending of his tenure of service , it seems that many disturbing issues had been highlighted one after another particularly on the involvement of his family members that is detrimental to the economy and the security of our country. Shockingly to know that SCOMI is indirectly or directly involved with activities
of security significant . Who to stop scomi's clandestine connection with the Israeli through Singapore. Surprisingly that the CEO of SCOMI is the Son or Son in law of Salleh Abas. What sort of Judicial crisis, the Bar council is talking or as claimed by Zaid Ibrahim when it is very clear that it is more politically motivated and vindictive in nature, on TUN Dr. Mahathir. Are all Malaysians particularly the Malays very stupid as they could not think rationally them self.
I believe the Police knows best what sort of material they are looking for in respect of 'SCOMI's activities of security interest and their involvement with the Israelis.
Salleh Abas please bear in mind that the RM 5M taken by you are 'haram' and we rakyat won't halalkan apa yang you dah makan semacam makan babi. Justice would prevail didunia ini atau pun diakhirat nanti and you will be doomed then. Kamu lah Hakim yang tak guna, penipu atas kepentingan peribadi. Terang-terang anak menantu you bersekonkol dengan anak menantu Pak Lah. Apa ini.
'Justice' as you and Zaid claimed . Allah akan melaknat kemau semua.
haronjanor.
Ha ha Ha, wow! I am convinced now. you have really stupid malaysians commentators here. mamak has achieved what was one of his lifelong wishes after being humiliared by a mere singapore chinese taxi driver in his student days - get every malaysian to hate singapore. Out of nowhere, just because this news report appeared in the strait times, idiots in malaysia found something to link singapore to the israel - gaza problem. Congratulations!!
ReplyDeleteOr should I congratulate singapore, because with malaysia having so many idiots, you probably cannot catch with singapore forever despite this being one of mamak's wishes
woke up
so hebat one ah malaysian?
ReplyDeletethis is the only time i support dollah badawi's family biz venture.
ReplyDeleteif scomi can manufacture those centrifuges i only wish they would still produce more and supply them to al-qaeda. i dearly wish al-qaeda and iran can build nuclear bombs one day (sooner than later i hope).
israel and usa will only treat others on equal term when they see that their lives will be equally vulnerable. until then, we have to endure the insults and atrocities like they are what they are perpetrating on the poor palestinians now in case of israel and to afghanistan and iraq in case of usa.
You have so much knowledge and information..relating to politics.
ReplyDeleteYou should join keDAILan.
One RPK is enough.
Go..serve the country...like Jeff Ooi.
Serve Malaysians with your life.
That's a real good and useful life!!
It is ultra difficult to retaliate against bullies when the playing field is uneven.
ReplyDeleteIt is time to be independent.
The moment we depend on someone, we become their slaves for life unless the debt is paid.
Malaysia should work on the quiet to be self sufficient and less dependent upon others unless absolutely necessary.
But that vision is far from reality because this nation is being further divided bt the day.
And the big bully is not helping one bit. In fact, the US wishes to see Malaysia in distress and will do all they could to destabilise this country.
Time for the nation to wake up.
A GOOD MAN DOES NOTHING.
2 interesting articles I have come across.
ReplyDeleteArticle 1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/10/AR2009011002236_2.html
The article above (last paragraph on the 2nd has more details), indicates there is a network of companies in Malaysia aiding Iran to get banned US technology.
Article 2
In a rather longish article in the New York Times, I came across a reference to a Malaysia company, the Malaysian Smelting Co. this is a company listed on the KLSE but it looks like the majority shareholders are Singaporeans.
The relevant page is below.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/world/africa/16congo.html?pagewanted=4
on the 2nd last paragraph on this page, it implies that Malaysian Smelting Company is buying Tin from international brokers who source from the conflict zone in Congo.
the exact extract is :-
The flights land in Goma, the provincial capital, where other middlemen buy and process the ore for export. Alexis Makabuza’s Global Mining Company is one of these buyers. Amid the sorting and cleaning equipment of his rudimentary processing plant sit dozens of barrels of tin ore. On each is stenciled the address of Malaysian Smelting Company Berhad, a major tin smelter. Mr. Makabuza said he sold to the company via a minerals broker.
Further reference to Malaysian companies buying tin from warlords in the Congo is here from the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7723988.stm
The extract from the BBC article is below :-
Located predominantly in India, China, Malaysia and Thailand, these smelters sell tin to component manufacturers.
So while Malaysian Smelting Co buys from an international broker, it can request that they not source from Congo. If you read the entire article you will realise that buying these ore’s are only lining the pockets of these warlords and destabilising the country.
I e-mailed the company but they have not replied. I would have not replied too in similar circumstances.
Shah Hakim known as unethical businessman smooth and charming
ReplyDeleteThis time he got it all interconnected Salleh Abbas , Kamaluddin and PakLah....what it that means? they are the biggest supplier of busses ( unworthy condition,referred to chedet blog) to prasarana /rapid , Monorail ,etc
Rakyat may suffer if the US santion go deeper to the country.
Najib must start the full investigation to protect Malaysia interest .
Aha, from Score Me to Scold Me. That's a natural thing that can happen when things are swept under the carpet, hoping they will be forgotten. But due to prior unsatisfactory closure, the inconvenient truth will resurface, sooner or later, as in the cases of sacking of top judges, altantuya, vote buying, etc etc.
ReplyDeleteRocky,
ReplyDeleteI wonder if everyone has seen the actual US State Dept release?
View it here: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/01/113774.htm
Looks to me like a pr exercise. The statement itself says Mr Khan's network is no longer operational and key suspects already detained. The sanctions intention is to serve as an example for others.
How much can the US achieve by banning individuals (not companies mind you) from getting US contracts and financial aid? Not much I guess.
But the damage is done when the media sensationalises the issue, and then the public start to add colour to it as they do in your blog.
Watchman
which ghost will come back to haunt mahatir?
ReplyDeletepaying us$1.0 million to a jewish middleman to arrange meeting with Bush?
fabricate charges the honourable judges?
fabricate evidence against Anwar?
sold our future to enrich his cronies via never ending tolls and IPPs?
rocky, what say you?
Bangsa Malaysia
Wow... dah dapat label terrorist!
ReplyDeletePak Lah nak buat BODO aje!
To all PKRians,
ReplyDeleteYou are collectively responsible for the traumatic suffering of the GAZA's Palestinians, for its your leader is one of the many that penned the signature that endorsed the sidelining of HAMAS in the Annapolis Accord.
Y.B Hisham Gemuk
Dear Rocky,
ReplyDeleteIhope no malaysians be it governing politicians, opposition politicians, senior government officials, diplomats, corporate leaders will attend the Barrack Obama's Inaugration Function this 20th January 2009. It will be a heart wrenching and moment of sorrow to see Gaza's Palestenians Bleeeding to death while people are partying around. Anwar Ibrahim please do not attend the function, unless you have sold your soul to the develish MOSSAD.
Y.B Hisham Gemuk