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Southeast Asia
In shakeup, virulently anti-Semitic Malaysian PM submits resignation
2020-02-25
Good riddance. May his successor be better.
[IsraelTimes] Mahathir Mohamad, who has defended calling Jews ’hook-nosed’ and said they ’rule the world by proxy,’ steps down amid political turmoil in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, at 94 the world’s oldest leader, submitted his resignation to the king Monday after a bid by his allies to bring down the government and block the succession of leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim.

Mahathir’s shock resignation followed 24 hours of political drama which saw an attempt by Anwar’s rivals within his own "Pact of Hope" coalition, which stormed to a historic election victory in 2018, and opposition politicians to form a new government.

The coalition would reportedly have excluded Anwar, Mahathir’s presumptive successor, and most of the politicians from his party, which would have stopped him becoming premier any time soon.

Anwar and Mahathir have a notoriously stormy relationship but they reconciled ahead of the 2018 polls, and Mahathir has repeatedly promised to hand over power to his former foe.

The bid appeared to have fizzled out by early Monday, however ‐ before Mahathir’s office announced he had "sent a resignation letter as prime minister of Malaysia" to the king at 1:00 p.m.

What would happen next was far from clear, however.

Anwar was due to meet the king Monday afternoon. While the monarch’s role is largely ceremonial, he confirms the appointment of the country’s prime minister and Anwar could be hoping to persuade him that he has enough support from MPs to form a government, observers said.

However,
it's easy to be generous with someone else's money...
 Mahathir’s party Bersatu also announced it was leaving the "Pact of Hope" coalition ‐ suggesting they could be making their own attempt to form a government.

Earlier, two of Anwar’s rivals from his People’s Justice Party, Mohammed Azmin Ali and Zuraida Kamaruddin ‐ seen as key figures in leading the bid to form a new government and block his ascent ‐ were sacked, the party announced.

ETHNIC TENSIONS
Anwar had teamed up with former nemesis Mahathir ahead of the 2018 elections to oust the government of Najib Razak, who had become embroiled in the massive 1MDB graft scandal.

They led an alliance to an unexpected victory against a coalition that had ruled Malaysia uninterrupted for over six decades, and Mahathir agreed to eventually hand power to Anwar.

But Mahathir, in his second stint as premier after first holding the role from 1981 to 2003, has repeatedly refused to say when he will transfer power, stoking tensions within the four-party coalition.

The alliance’s popularity had plummeted as it was accused of failing to raise living standards and protect the rights of the ethnic Malay Muslim majority, and it lost a string of local polls.

According to reports, the proposed new government aimed at blocking Anwar would have included Mahathir’s party, the United Malays National Organisation — the party of scandal-tainted ex-leader Najib — and a hardline Islamist group.

Many were angry, however, that the democratically elected government, which came to power partly on a pledge to push through much-needed reforms, could be replaced without an election.
Related:
Mahathir Mohamad: 2019-10-25 India accuses Pakistan of setting up ‘Kashmir cells’ in missions around the world
Mahathir Mohamad: 2019-08-21 Zakir Naik apologises to Malaysians for racial remarks
Mahathir Mohamad: 2019-08-17 Malaysia to question Naik over ‘sensitive remarks’
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Southeast Asia
Malaysia freezes 408 bank accounts as part of state fund probe
2018-07-03
[Al Jazeera] Malaysia has frozen hundreds of bank accounts believed to be linked to sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, said officials.

The announcement on Monday came as the government stepped up an anti-graft probe that could engulf former Prime Minister Najib Razak.

A special government task force investigating a corruption scandal involving 1MDB said it froze 408 bank accounts containing a total of 1.1bn ringgit ($272m) last week.

"The accounts are believed to be connected with the misappropriation and misuse of 1MDB funds," the task force said in a statement.

"They involved nearly 900 transactions made between March 2011 and September 2015."

The funds in the frozen accounts came from individuals, political parties and non-government organisations, it said without mentioning names.

However, the task force's statement followed local media reports last week that accounts belonging to Najib's political party, the once-powerful United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), had been frozen.

Najib resigned as the party's leader days after his UMNO-dominated Barisan Nasional coalition - which ruled Malaysia for more than 60 years - was roundly defeated in the May 9 elections.

Najib is being investigated over allegations that billions of dollars were looted from 1MDB, a state fund he founded.

Both Najib and the fund deny any wrongdoing.

Premises linked to the former prime minister and his family were raided recently by the police, who uncovered a treasure trove of cash and valuables said to be worth up to 1.1bn ringgit.

The items included luxury handbags believed accumulated by his wife Rosmah, who has been widely criticised for her extravagant shopping sprees.

However, no charges have been filed against them so far.

Najib has said most of the items seized were gifts from friends and foreign dignitaries, including royalty, during special occasions such as official visits and birthdays.
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Southeast Asia
Will Islamists gain in Indonesian, Malaysian elections?
2018-03-14
[CNBC] Malaysia and Indonesia both have upcoming elections, and Islamic parties could play a central role in both.

The two countries boast significant Muslim populations — Indonesia has the world's largest — and they have histories of pluralism and tolerance. But some political candidates are catering to Islamists in order to win over conservative voters, a move that could grant hard-liners greater influence in the future. If extremists are emboldened politically, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur risk endangering democratic norms as well as their strategic ties with the United States.

A growing belief that Muslims are "victims of economic and political injustice" has empowered Islamist entities lately, risk consultancy Eurasia Group said in a brief. Represented by names such as Indonesia's Islamic Defenders Front (FDI) and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), those factions advocate Sharia law, and seek to roll back protections for minorities.

Indonesia's vote — scheduled for 2019 — will likely see incumbent President Joko Widodo , or Jokowi, face off against former Lieutenant General Prabowo Subianto for the second consecutive time. Anthony Nelson, director at consultancy Albright Stonebridge Group's East Asia and Pacific practice, explained, "Prabowo was defeated by Jokowi in 2014, so he has begun to lay the groundwork for expanding his coalition by reaching out to Islamist groups."

Subianto has not yet declared his candidacy, but has reportedly allied with the FDI. The group led 2016 Jakarta protests against Christian politician Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. Subianto, who fronts the Gerindra party, is trying to portray himself as more receptive to poorer Muslims and take advantage of Jokowi's perceived lack of religious credentials, said Vedi Hadiz, professor of Asian Studies at the University of Melbourne.

It's a similiar story in Malaysia, where an election must be called by August 2018. Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition — the United Malays National Organisation or UMNO — has been warming to PAS, a group that aims to increase the power of Sharia courts and impose Sharia-based punishments for some criminal offenses. The alliance claims to represent Malay Muslims and depict detractors as "anti-Malay, anti-Muslim or foreign puppets," according to Hadiz.
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Southeast Asia
Islamic opposition concedes Malaysia by-election
2011-01-31
[Straits Times] A SENIOR Malaysian opposition politician conceded on Sunday the country's ruling coalition had won a 'comfortable victory' in a by-election, amid speculation of snap polls this year.

The vote was called in the semi-rural Tenang constituency in southern Johor state after the death of a state assemblyman from the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), the dominant party in the Barisan Nasional coalition.

'The initial results showed that the ruling coalition has secured a comfortable victory,' Mahfuz Omar, vice-president of the conservative Islamic Party (PAS), part of the opposition alliance, told AFP.

'We lost because Johor state and Tenang constituency are Barisan's stronghold. We were not able to win over the Malay and Chinese voters,' he said.

Analysts have said that a convincing victory would indicate support for Prime Minister Najib Razak remains intact in Umno's heartland, potentially spurring the ruling coalition to call national polls this year after the opposition made unprecedented gains in elections in 2008.

The Election Commission said turnout among the 14,753 voters at the byelection was 71.8 per cent.
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Southeast Asia
Bid to win over minorities
2010-11-21
[Straits Times] MALAYSIA'S ruling coalition on Saturday launched a bid to win back the support of ethnic minorities, hoping to avoid a repeat of the electoral drubbing they suffered two years ago.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition said it would change its membership rules to allow voters to join the grouping directly, instead of having to choose a particular party, ahead of national polls expected for next year.

'We desire to see the BN as an inclusive party which has an open-door policy,' Prime Minister Najib Razak was quoted as saying by state media.

The BN coalition, which consists of the ruling ethnic Malay United Malays National Organisation (Umno) and 12 other race-based parties, has ruled Malaysia since independence.

However,
The infamous However...
 the coalition received a thrashing in 2008 polls after swathes of non-Malay voters swung to the opposition due to unhappiness with the grouping's ethnic Chinese and Indian members, who lost more than half their seats.

There has been mounting expectation that polls, which must be held by 2013, will be called next year since the opposition has been plagued by infighting and after the government won three of four by-elections this year.
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Southeast Asia
Mahathir in hospital for chest infection
2010-10-03
Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad was admitted to hospital for chest infection Saturday during a trip to Australia, where he was scheduled to address a seminar, according to an aide.

The 85-year-old was admitted to the general ward in a Melbourne hospital for antibiotics treatment and physiotheraphy, his aide Sufi Yusof said in a statement.

"Dr Mahathir's condition is stable and he has been advised to rest," said the aide, adding that the former Malaysian leader is expected to remain in hospital for a few days for observation.

Mahathir arrived in Melbourne Thursday and was slated to address a seminar on human development organised by a club linked to Malaysia's ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation.
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Southeast Asia
Malaysia looks to ancient alternative currency - gold
2010-08-18
Paper money is so old hat. While De La Rue - which makes banknotes for 150 currencies - struggles with production problems and management turmoil, in one part of Malaysia, they are looking at an ancient alternative - gold.

In a move applauded by some local Muslims, the state government of Kelantan said it was introducing a new monetary system featuring standardised gold and silver coins based on the traditional dinar and dirham coins once used by the Ottoman Empire.

Nik Abdul Aziz, the state’s chief minister, spoke in visionary terms of an economy in which state civil servants would be paid in the new sharia currency, and the poor would be protected against inflation by the intrinsic value of the precious metals used to produce it.

About 1,000 shops and restaurants in the state have said they will accept the new currency, which follows an earlier issue of gold dinars in 2006. The coins comply with traditional Islamic teaching on the use of coins with intrinsic value as a medium of exchange, rather than paper money.

The coins, minted to a specified weight and purity, are available in a range of denominations from half a dinar to eight dinars, and from one dirham to 20. At the current price of gold, one dinar is worth M$581($183) and one dirham is valued at M$13 ($5).

The launch was lauded by the Muamalah Council, a campaigning organisation that seeks the peaceful introduction of an Islamist social and economic system. The council said it was “the main Islamic event of the last 100 years”.

The details of the scheme suggest, however, that the people of Kelantan are unlikely to abandon the ringgit, the national currency, in a hurry. The state government said the value of the new coins was M$2m at the current price of gold. It is not known how many of each denomination have been minted, but if they were all worth one dinar there would be just under 3,500. That works out at about one coin for each 400 people in the state.

The chief minister also admitted that there were “many technicalities” to be overcome before the scheme could be significantly extended. He did not explain why a switch to gold and silver coins would protect against fluctuations in the value of money, given that the US dollar price of gold has risen more than five fold in a decade.

In spite of its small scale, the scheme may pay political dividends for the state government, which is run by PAS, an Islamist party that is in opposition in the national parliament. PAS is locked in a ceaseless struggle for control of Kelantan with the United Malays National Organisation, the main party in the federal government coalition, which also claims to represent Malay Muslims, the largest population group in Malaysia.

Burnishing its Islamic credentials is unlikely to do PAS any harm. The only certain winner, though, is the gold market. Although small, the scheme will help to increase demand, pushing up prices even further.
Link


Southeast Asia
Malaysian Submarine Scandal Surfaces In France
2010-04-17
A potentially explosive scandal in Malaysia over the billion-dollar purchase of French submarines, a deal engineered by then-Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak, has broken out of the domestic arena with the filing of a request to investigate bribery and kickbacks from the deal in a Paris court.

Although the case has been contained for eight years in the cozy confines of Malaysia's courts and parliament, which are dominated by the ruling National Coalition, French lawyers William Bourdon, Renaud Semerdjian and Joseph Breham put an end to that when they filed it with Parisian prosecutors on behalf of the Malaysian human rights organization Suaram, which supports good-government causes. For two years, Parisian prosecutors have been gingerly investigating allegations involving senior French political figures and the sales of submarines and other weaponry to governments all over the world. French news reports have said the prosecutors have backed away from some of the most serious charges out of concern for the political fallout.

The allegations relate to one of France's biggest defense conglomerates, the state-owned shipbuilder DCN, which merged with the French electronics company Thales in 2005 to become a dominant force in the European defense industry. DCN's subsidiary Armaris is the manufacturer of Scorpene-class diesel submarines sold to India, Pakistan and Malaysia among other countries. All of the contracts, according to the lawyers acting for Suaram, a Malaysian human rights NGO, are said to be suspect.

With Najib having moved on from the defense portfolio he held when the deal was put together in 2002 to become prime minister and head of the country's largest political party, the mess has the potential to become a major liability for the government and the United Malays National Organisation. Given the power of UMNO, it is unlikely the scandal would ever get any airing in a Malaysian court, which is presumably why Suaram reached out to French prosecutors.

A source said police have confined their inquiry to bribery allegations so far and have not looked into the 2006 murder of a Mongolian woman in Malaysia who was a translator on the deal for Najib and his friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, during a visit to Paris. There have [also] been numerous deaths involving DCN defense sales in Taiwan and Pakistan. Prosecutors are suspicious that 11 French submarine engineers who were murdered in a 2002 bomb blast in Karachi – first thought to have been the work of Al Qaeda – were actually killed in retaliation for the fact that the French had reneged on millions of dollars in kickbacks to Pakistani military officers.

As defense minister from 2000 to 2008, Najib commissioned a huge military buildup to upgrade Malaysia's armed forces, including two submarines from Armaris and the lease of a third, a retired French Navy Agosta-class boat. There were also Sukhoi supersonic fighter jets from Russia and millions of dollars spent on coastal patrol boats. All have come under suspicion by opposition leaders in Malaysia's parliament but UMNO has stifled any investigation. Asked personally about the cases, Najib has responded angrily and refused to reply.
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Southeast Asia
Malaysia bans newspapers, raising fears of clampdown
2009-03-24
Malaysia's government has banned two opposition newspapers as incoming premier Najib Razak gets ready to take power, raising opposition fears of a looming clampdown.

The party papers of the People's Justice Party (PKR) and the Malaysian Pan-Islamic Party (PAS), two of the three parties in the opposition coalition, said they received letters on Monday from the Home Ministry informing them of a three-month ban.

No reasons were specified for the ban issued by the ministry's Quranic Texts and Publications Division in a letter faxed to the editors of PAS' Harakah and PKR's Suara Keadilan newspapers.

The ban came just a day before the start of party elections in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the main party in the coalition that has ruled Malaysia for 51 years.

Those elections will see Najib, who says he wants to open up the economy to more foreign investment, confirmed as party president ahead of his transition to the post of premier, currently held by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, early next month.

"This is clearly a clampdown on press freedom, especially since we have been one of the most critical publications at a time when both the UMNO assembly and by-elections are approaching," said Tian Chua, a PKR official.
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Southeast Asia
Malaysia ruling party in disarray
2009-03-19
MALAYSIA'S ruling party was in disarray on Wednesday after an internal probe found a top leader and 10 officials guilty of vote-buying ahead of elections for office bearers.
The revelations Tuesday exposed the depth of corruption and venality in the United Malays National Organisation party, which have long been whispered but rarely admitted or confronted openly.

'This will send a shock wave through Umno,' said Mohamad Mustafa Ishak, a political analyst at North Malaysia University.

'They just cannot simply ignore (problems in the party) by not taking any action at all.' The trigger for the self-examination was the drubbing the party received in last year's general elections at the hands of a disgruntled public, which made leaders realise their position was no longer secure after 51 years of uninterrupted power.

'The public perception is that Umno is arrogant and has unhealthy practices. We have to clean up Umno,' Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said. 'We have to change or be changed.'

The Umno disciplinary committee, which investigated 29 politicians, found a prominent politician, Mohamad Ali Rustam, guilty of violating party ethics and barred him from contesting the deputy president post.

Mohamad Ali said on Wednesday he will appeal the ruling and urged his backers to remain calm. He has strong grass roots support, and his followers are not likely to accept his ouster quietly, deepening party divisions.

The party will hold a vote March 24-28 to elect top office bearers to occupy senior government positions. The party's deputy president usually becomes the deputy prime minister.
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Southeast Asia
Huge support for Anwar's poll bid
2008-08-17
Up to 30,000 people gathered to support Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia's de facto opposition leader, as he launched his bid to return to parliament, in defiance of sodomy allegations made against him by a young male aide. "I am touched by the support. This is an overwhelming support," Anwar said as he arrived at the nomination centre in the Permatang Pauh constituency on Saturday.

Supporters shouted Anwar's battle cry of "Reformasi" or "Reform", and waved party flags, facing off against 5,000 government supporters, trading taunts and insults.

Anwar said at a rally on Friday night that the sodomy allegations were part of a government conspiracy to prevent him from ousting the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, after March elections handed the opposition alliance a third of parliamentary seats. "They are afraid of me being an MP and going on to become the opposition leader in parliament," he said.

He was formally charged earlier this month, just after his wife vacated the Permatang Pauh constituency - which she has held since he went to jail - to allow him to return to parliament after a decade-long absence.

Anwar accuser
However, Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, Anwar's accuser who is a 23-year-old former volunteer in the opposition leader's office, visited a mosque on Friday to swear he was telling the truth and challenged Anwar to do the same. He also said that he was sodomised against his will, although when Anwar was formally accused in court the charge indicated the alleged sex act was consensual.

Anwar was deputy premier until he was sacked in 1998 and convicted on sodomy and corruption counts. The sodomy conviction was later overturned. Sodomy is a serious offence in Malaysia, a conservative and predominantly Muslim nation, and carries a penalty of 20 years imprisonment.

Anwar, representing his Keadilan party, is running against Arif Shah Omar Shah, a veteran member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which leads the the ruling National Front coalition, in the August 26 poll. "I have known the people here and they know what to expect from me if I am elected. I am after all a two-term assemblyman and I have been doing my work since way back," Arif said. "I know Anwar well. We have been friends and I look forward to taking him on."

In a racial breakdown that broadly mirrors the national population, more than two-thirds of voters in Permatang Pauh are Muslim Malays, alongside Chinese who make up 26 per cent and Indians at six per cent.
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Southeast Asia
Malaysia: Islamic party fields non-Muslim candidate
2008-02-24
(AKI) – Malaysia’s conservative Islamic party, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), has broken a 61 year old taboo and fielded a non-Muslim as one of its candidates.

Kumutha Raman, a 29-year old law graduate, was presented to local media on Thursday. She will contest the Tiram state seat under the banner of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat, a coalition between PAS and the People's Justice Party (PKR), formed to challenge the ruling Barisan Nasional.

Barisan Nasional is the government coalition controlled by prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

PAS’s election choice is the latest in a series of overtures aimed at attracting non-Muslim votes at the election scheduled for 8 March.

Known for its strict Islamic policies, PAS has recently dropped its call to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state and is instead campaigning for better quality of life and racial equality. Its manifesto calls for the national oil and gas company Petronas to be placed under parliamentary control, lower prices of fuel and food, and free education up to university level and free healthcare.
Taqiyya.
The election comes at a low point in Malaysia’s inter-racial relations with Indian and Chinese minorities increasingly showing signs of displeasure with the country’s pro-Malay laws.

At the previous election, held in 2004, the hard-line PAS called for the creation of an Islamic state and proposed harsh laws such as amputating the limbs of thieves and stoning adulterers to death. Its radical Islamic stance scared some members of the Muslim community and the party suffered badly, losing control of Terengganu state and only retaining control of Kelantan with a very slim majority.

At a national level, PAS won only seven parliamentary seats, which represented a significant decrease from the 27 parliamentary seats it had won in the 1999 general election. It plans to contest 65 of the 222 seats in the forthcoming ballot.

Almost 11 million of Malaysia’s 27 million people are eligible to vote. Voting is not mandatory, and recent voter turnouts have typically ranged between 70 and 75 percent.
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