Now, who will Ambiga throw under the bus?

Updates
Bersih distances itself from former chairman - The Mole
Ambiga keeps mum - The Malaysian Insight



Original piece

“Ambiga had told the defendant that her sources, whom she said were reliable, had estimated the amount that had been paid was around RM90 million," said Rewcastle-Brown in her court filing dated 11 Oct  - Sarawak Report editor names Ambiga as source: Report

Desperate, Clare throws Ambiga under the bus

Puchong, 31 Oct: Clare Rewcastle-Brown's confession, in a British court, that Ambiga Sreenevasan was the source of her so-called news report on PAS leaders accepting bribes from PM Najib Razak must have made so many Malaysians' day. 

Seasoned journalist Nuraina Samad's Muahahahaaaaaaa ... response to the confession is one fine example.

Malaysians have known all along that Sarawak Report was pure online BS. We just could not prove or did not know how to prove the BS.

Now, Clare's confession is the only proof we'll ever need!

And what poetic justice!  The confession was made - had to be made - in a British court. So much to thank Tuan Guru al-Hadi for having the gumption to take Clare to the court - in her own backyard - to clear his name and expose Sarawak Report as nothing but a fraud.

What shocked me, as a journalist, was the fact that Clare had actually pointed the finger at Ambiga, her Deep Throat. I have always thought that these western journalists would protect their source at all cost.  Maybe Clare is a new breed of western journalists! Or she was extremely desperate. 

As one commenter in Nuraina Samad's posting so aptly puts it, "... they are throwing each other under the bus". 

We now wait for Ambiga to throw her "reliable sources" under the bus.

Muahahahaaaaa!

p.s On a more serious note, Clare's admission brings to mind the police reports recently lodged by our Attorney-General against blogger RPK for his postings in Malaysia Today. Like Clare, RPK is also biased in the UK but the two are NOT on the same side where Malaysian politics is concerned. You can read about AG vs RPK it in my previous post h e r e. Things seem to have quietened down a bit, though, after RPK's climbdown in Part 3 of his Strong Rumours Surrounding the AG series but the police have started their investigation. 

It's official: Malaysia's Attorney-General lodges police report(s) against RPK

Puchong, 26 Oct: So, Apandi Ali did not listen to my advice. I wrote h e r e the AG would be wasting his time if he goes after RPK, "whose views these days are said to represent the views of some people close to Prime Minister Najib Razak". Well, to each his own!

I can't blame Apandi Ali for going to the police. He has got the integrity of the Attorney-General's Chamber to defend. And his own good name to protect. By going after RPK, Apandi is saying that he does not believe that RPK is on Najib Razak's side. If RPK is, he should not be attacking the country's Attorney-General, he should be attacking Najib's enemies, instead.

An old journalist friend called me to find out "what the hell is the problem". And like how old journalists are, he did not wait for my reply. He gave me his 2 sens' worth instead: 

"Here's Najib Razak trying to make things work, overcoming obstacles after obstacles as the BN nears the most crucial general election this century, preparing to table probably the most important Budget of all time ... and all these jokers who call themselves his spin doctors are interested in is flex their muscles to prove who's bigger and stronger by bullying and attacking everyone, including the AG, in the name of defending the PM?

Well, what can I say? Najib's enemies are licking their lips and rubbing their hands, with glee. 

And because of all this, Khairuddin has officially become Khairuddin "Bangang" Hassan in my book.  I was quite fond of him but this Khairuddin has the habit of calling everyone who disagrees with him "bangang" so he might as well have it his middle name lah!

Someone asked me if it was true that the AG had no authority to set up the taskforce. 

Me: "Am sure the AG knows the law better than RPK [and Khairuddin B  Hassan]."

Apandi Ali vs RPK and Khairuddin (there's Azeeez in there somewhere, too!)

No need to sue RPK lah, AG

Bangsar, 24 Oct: Re AG Apandi Ali's task force (Who, or what, does Apandi's task force serve?), I expected one side of the political divide to express reservations. Because that's how things usually work in this country. I did not expect BOTH sides to violently protest the move. 

I certainly did not expect Malaysia Today's RPK, whose views these days are said to represent the views of some people close to Prime Minister Najib Razak, to launch such a vicious attack on Apandi. (Read Strong rumours surrounding the AG Part 1 and Strong rumours surrounding the AG Part 2). So offensive were RPK's attacks that Apandi truly offended. The AG reportedly lost his trademark composure and has threatened to sue the Malaysian blogger in England (Apandi threatens to sue Raja Petra "till kingdom comes").

Khairuddin: AG ignorant of
 process of law

Former Umno man Khairuddin Hassan's opposition towards the task force is more palatable even if his reasoning is rather odd. The Mahathir Mohamad loyalist is suspicious of Apandi's motive and speaks of a conflict of interest and suspects that what will happen is that Apandi will declare that the task force, after investigating the claims against the MACC boss, finds that there is no case ...

"Apa motif Apandi Ali?! Dia nak kata 'tiada kes' setelah menyiasat sepertimana kelazimannya!!" - Khairuddin Hassan: Kenapa Peguam Negara pula kalut tubuh panel has siasat Ketua Pesuruhjaya Suruhanjaya SPRM?! Ianya ada unsur "Conflict of interest!!"

If you ask me, I'd say surely Apandli Ali is doing something right for operatives on both sides to be against him on this issue!

Now, I am against the AG resorting to legal action to silence RPK because RPK will not be silenced. Lodging a police report to intimidate RPK will also be useless because RPK will not be intimidated. Trust me, Also, the AG has other more pressing things to worry about. If it's any consolation, look at it this way: if RPK does represent the PM or the PMO in some way, then surely most people can see that this means that the AG is only acting in the interest of justice!

The AG should not be losing sleep over Khairuddin, either. He should not feel hurt or insulted if Din calls him bangang because Din calls everybody who could become his political foe bangang, anyway.

What Apandi should do is to go ahead and get his task force going. The integrity of the MACC is at stake, which cannot be defended by RPK or Khairuddin but by proper investigation. And if the task force finds there to be no case against the MACC boss after it has conducted its investigation thorougly, so be it. And the sooner the AG makes that happen, the better for everyone. 

The worst thing that the AG can do, of course, is to make a U-turn. We have enough of that to last us a lifetime already ...

p.s  The Malaysian Insight sees things differently, in The Battle Within Camp Najib.

"Expect the battle to get nastier unless Najib steps in."

Oh-Oh...

Who, or what, does Apandi's task force serve?

Apandi

"In view of the seriousness of the allegation that can affect the integrity of the chief commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the Attorney-General Chamber has formed a task force ... to closely monitor the investigations of the alleged offences under section 498 of the Penal Code and other related offences."

Section 498 refers to "enticing or taking away or detaining with a criminal intent a married woman". - Task force set up to monitor probe against MACC chief, The Star 19/10/2017

Jalan Tun Razak, 20 Oct: AG Mohamed Apandi Ali's move to establish this task force came as a surprise, at least to me, but I applaud it all the same. 

This is not the first time someone has tried to scandalise the MACC. In 2011, blogger Din Merican accused the anti-graft chief then of having a good time at a massage parlour using taxpayers' money! No task force was set up and the accusation, as it turned out, was complete bollocks! (Read Why does Din Merican hate Abu Kassim so much?) Looking back, perhaps a task force should have been set up back then. It would have officially cleared the Abu Kassim of the allegation and punish the accuser accordingly for trying to bring shame and disrepute to the MACC. Such would have served a deterrent to anyone out to slander those who head important public institution like the MACC, the police, the AGC, the judiciary, etc. It would've also served as a reminder to those who head these institutions that they are subject to scrutiny just like everyone else.

Apandi's task force is proof that this Government takes the integrity of its institutions very seriously.

To me, it will give MACC chief Dzulkifli Ahmad the opportunity to defend his good name. And it means he does not have to do it all by himself. And if his accusers cannot prove beyond doubt their accusations against him, the full weight of the law must bear upon them.

Most importantly, the task force ensures that the integrity of the MACC - the institution's credibility, the nation's fight against graft and corruption, and our faith in the people who lead that fight - is not tarnished by the allegations. 

Jamming for Jim

Jim Madasamy, 67, founding member of Blues Gang, is suffering from primary progressive aphasia, a type of neurological syndrome in which language capabilities progressively become impaired. There is no cure and there is no medication to treat it. What Jim needs is therapy, which might help him improve his ability to communicate and manage his condition. 

Ganesh, an old buddy from the good old National Press Club days, where Jim used to play once or twice with band members of Blues Gang and also Purple Haze, told me Jim's friends are coming together to raise funds for Jim with their music. 

They will be jamming 

on Sunday 19th Nov

at Timbre KL

6pm to 11 

They will need an audience.  

Get well soon, Jim.  See you this that Sunday.

Pls contact Zizi 0123285543 for more details

One hell of a Nobody vs drama queens of Malaysian politics

“For years you (Eric See-to) hid behind a pseudonym, ‘Lim Sian See’ to take potshots at (us) Pakatan leaders ..." -  YB Tony Pua in trying to justify why he had called his RM100,000 benefactor a "nobody"  (Stop trying to fool the people with debates, Pua tells BN man)

Bandar Kinrara, 9 Oct: If Eric See-to, the BN Strategic Communications deputy director, is, indeed, the anonymous Lim Sian See, as DAP's Pua claims,  I would like to congratulate See-to, thank him, even, and tell him to keep up the good work! You see, most of the times, Anons in cyberspace are a waste of time. LSS is an exception. Whether you agree with him or not, he does not fabricate, he presents facts and sticks to truths, and he argues well against his opponents. 

And he exposes them for what they really are. 

Like he's just exposed Pua's boss Lim Kit Siang over the weekend for his melodramatic Plans afoot to arrest, parade me in lock-up attire. 

Kit Siang Competing With Sad-Dick For Drama Queen Title

 

(LSS) – Uncle Lim Kit Siang trying to play the victim again saying he will soon be arrested by MACC for corruption over an alleged RM1 billion bribe. 

MACC has no jurisdiction over political donations, says Azam Baki https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/288464/macc-has-no-jurisdiction-over-political-donations-says-azam-baki 

Unfortunately, Kit Siang does not seem to understand the law. If there is indeed money from Mahathir then there is no corruption and can only be classified as a political donation from Mahathir to Kit Siang. 

And since Pakatan does not want a law on political donations, there are no laws broken.

Mahathir and his family are rich and can easily afford the RM1 billion. 

It is only corruption if the money was found to be from public coffers or from public listed companies. 

MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Azam Baki said this in response to a statement by DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang asking the agency to investigate claims over the RM 1 billion bribe he allegedly received from Tun Mahathir Mohamad. 

“Parliament has not passed any legislation that provides a guideline for political parties or politicians on political funding. 

“The MACC Act 2009 does not cover offences related to money politics. 

Therefore, Kit Siang should save his drama. Why do you need to compete with Syed Saddiq to be who is the bigger drama queen?

And this was right after See-to had told the world about his RM100,000 loan to Pua, to shame the DAP man for calling him "a nobody". Pua's response to the RM100k disclosure was just a little less dramatic than Kit Siang's but it did not win him the sympathy he was probably hoping for. On the contrary, one DAP sympathiser describes Pua's response "disgusting, disrespectful, disappointing" (Read un-Chinese Tony Pua by KTemoc Konsiders).

LSS didn't stop there. In the last 24 hours or so, he took a dig at Kit Siang and Pua's DAP with 3 other  postings (and could be working on a few more as you read this):

So if the anonymous LSS and See-to are the same person, I'm not surprised then why Tony Pua is so reluctant to engage him in a debate. Relentless and systematic, this LSS chap is probably the most dangerous social media writer out there today for the DAP.  And that would make See-to one hell of a nobody!

Malaysiakini picture that paints a thousand words

6/10/2017

Ooops! The "Dr M collapses ..." piece was wrongly attributed to Malaysiakini in my original posting below. The Opposition-friendly news portal had merely processed the story and attributed it to the author of the piece, Umno Online. The headline was also Umno Online's. My apologies to both Malaysiakini and Umno Online.

Nonetheless, there's no mistaking the body language in the Malaysiakini photograph ...

Original article:

What does the body language tell you?

Dr Mahathir collapses at DAP's feet ...

Bangsar, 5 Oct: Both the article and the picture (above) are by Malaysiakini so this is  clearly not a piece by Umno or pro-Umno or Najib Razak's cyberwarriors out to demonize the Mahathir Mohamad. This is how the influential Opposition-friendly news portal sees it. In Malay, the headline cries Tersungkurnya Dr Mahathir di kaki DAP.

You don't even have to read the article; the headline says it all. For me, the photograph did it. There is a twinkle in Lim Kit Siang's eyes that I was not aware of before (and I'm sure it has nothing to do with the RM1 billion dedak he was supposed to have received from the Old Man, an RPK accusation which, personally, I find too fantastic and I'm not saying it because Kit Siang just had to respond to ex-DAP Tunku Aziz's taunt by threatening to sue his accusers when a simple denial would do just as well!).   

The settee looks too big for the good doctor. It could be the angle of the pic. Or maybe he has shrunk ...

Were you looking for the word "moron", Kak Midah?

As long as this question is not answered, Syed Saddiq's statement is an oxymoron ...  - Hamidah Osman, former vice president of Mahathir's Pribumi party, in response to Syed Saddiq's claim he was offered/blackmailed RM5 million to leave Pribumi.

Puchong, 4 Oct: Hamidah is right on at least thing about Syed Saddiq, the 25 year old youth leader of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. If this Habibur Rahman allegedly representing PM Najib Razak was "blackmailing" him and his family since December last year and at the same time offering him RM5 milliom to leave Mahathir Mohamad's party (not inclusive of an undisclosed sum of funds to set up a foundation for great debaters like him), why didn't Saddiq go to the police and MACC earlier?

And why hasn't he done it already? 

Why wait if the safety of your family was really being threatened, as he claimed?

Isn't that moronic?

Anyway, it's good that Hamidah has lodged a report with MACC over Saddiq's allegation h e r e. 

Her full statement in response to Saddiq:

KENYATAAN DATO HAMIDAH OSMAN:

MENYEMBUNYI PENIPUAN DISEBALIK PROSEDUR

Saya merujuk kepada sidang akhbar Ketua Armada Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman pada hari Isnin 2  2hb Oktober 2017.

1.  Kenyataan beliau yang  asal nya dijangka untuk mengumumkan beliau  akan menerima tawaran belajar dan biasiswa dari Oxford University, UK akhirnya menjadi medan untuk beliau membuat serangan serangan dan tuduhan liar .

ada yg mempertikai kan surat tawaran dari Oxford yang Syed Saddiq siarkan di Facebook peribadinya  menunjukkan tarikh-tarikh yang mempunyai kronoloji yang agak anih dan pelik susunannya.

2.  Saya difahamkan daripada laporan akhbar The Star bahawa Syed Saddiq akan membuat laporan kepada SPRM jika perlu berhubung dakwaan dia telah disogok RM5 juta untuk menyambung pelajaran di luar negara . Selepas kenyataan akhbar tersebut sebenar nya pelbagai pihak telah menggesa Syed Saddiq untuk membuat laporan berhubungan sogokan tersebut kepada SPRM dan saya amat mengalu-alukan beliau membuat laporan.

Malah saya sendiri telah membuat laporan kepada pihak SPRM Cawangan Ipoh berkenaan majlis sidang akhbar nya. Jika beliau tidak melakukan laporan tersebut, maka Syed Saddiq dianggap telah melanggar undang2 SPRM dan hukumannya adalah agak berat.

Dalam kenyataan kepada akhbar The Star, Syed Saddiq berkata dia dan ahli keluarganya telah diperas ugut (dalam bahasa Inggeris, backmail), maka dengan itu, beliau akan membuat laporan polis berhubung hal ini terlebih dahulu sebelum membuat laporan SPRM.

3.  Sebaik laporan-laporan ini dibuat nanti, mengikut amalan biasa undang2 , beliau tidak akan dibenarkan untuk membuat kenyataan dan menjelaskan apa apa kenyataan berkenaan sidang akhbar yg telah dibuat nya. Pihak peguam yang menasihati kami berkata ia tidak sub-judice untuk memberi penjelasan. Namun begitu, Syed Saddiq dijangka bakal menggunakan  alasan itu untuk tidak menjawab dan menjelaskan kenyataan akhbar nya sebelum ini. .  Sebagai pejuabg ..dia perlu bertanggungjawab dengan tindak tanduknya dan usah bersembunyi disebalik prosedur untuk melontar tuduhan dan andaian yang boleh dianggap fitnah sebelum membuat laporan kepada pihak berkuasa.

Oleh itu.. Sebelum dia membuat laporan, dia perlu memberi penjelasan kepada semua pihak, termasuk orang ramai, terutamanya pihak-pihak yang nama mereka disebut.

4.  Syed Saddiq berkata dia sudah mula berunding dengan pihak-pihak tertentu yang konon nya mewakili UMNO semenjak bulan Disember dahulu lagi. Beliau memaklum kan ada ditawarkan pelbagai tawaran termasuk biasiswa dan lain-lain.

5.   Syed Saddiq turut berkata dia telah diperas ugut (blackmail), tetapi mengapa setelah begitu lama semenjak bulan Disember lepas, baru skrg dia mahu membuat laporan polis? Bukankah dia telah mendedahkan dirinya dan ahli keluarganya kepada risiko keselamatan yang terlalu lama?  Mengapa beliau sangat takut untuk membuat laporan polis tetapi sangat berani membuat sidang akhbar secara langsung di FB nya?

6.  Jika benar dakwaan Syed Saddiq berkenaan tempat sidang akhbar diadakan  dibiayai oleh pihak yang mahu dia membuat serangan tersebut dan menawarkan biasiswa untuk belajar ke Oxford University, mengapa beliau tidak mendedahkan  bil bayaran dan nama pembayar untuk diketahui orang ramai? Adakah dia sendiri mahu menyembunyikan identiti pihak tersebut dari diketahui oleh orang ramai? 

8.  Syed Saddiq ada menyebut nama seorang bernama Habibur Rahman yang dikatakan adalah Penasihat Perdana Menteri  dari Pejabat Perdana Menteri sebagai dalang. Sepanjang masa saya berada dalam UMNO, saya tidak pernah dengar dan jauh sekali berurusan dengan seorang bernama demikian. Saya hairan bagaimana Syed Saddiq boleh menyebut nama tersebut sedangkan dia sendiri nyatakan dia tidak pernah bertemu.

9.  Syed Saddiq turut mendedahkan ada penulis skrip yang menentukan apa yang perlu dikata untuk sidang akhbar. Skrip tersebut tidak dibawa ketika sidang akhbar untuk dijadikan bukti dan mengapa tidak dedahkan nama orangnya sekali . Selagi persoalan ini tidak dijawab, kenyataan Syed Saddiq boleh dianggap sebagai "oxymoron" atau bercanggah antara satu sama lain.

10. Akhir sekali, saya ingin bertanya Syed Saddiq adakah dia sangat bernilai hingga mahu disogok  sebanyak RM5 juta .

Sekian.

Dato Hamidah Osman

Mantan Naib Presiden PPBM

Chauvinist party: Who's naive and stupid now?

KL, Oct 3: I read of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's confession, h e r e, with no surprise at all, having witnessed the bagful of U-turns he's been making since setting up Pribumi to challenge Umno and take down PM Najib Razak. I couldn't help feeling a tinge of regret, though. For in a posting last December, Google reminded me, I wrote so cocksurely that ...

... I don't think even Mahathir, despite his many amazing U-turns of late, would dare to turn around and tell the Malays that it's ok for the DAP to rule them. The Old Man may be desperate but he's not naive and certainly not stupid. -Does Mahathir really want a DAP-led government?

Damn! We were so naive and stupid.

Read also

DAP not Chauvinist: Dr Mahathir's view raises many questions

see also the video clip: