Register and vote or don’t complain, says MCCBCHST

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 — If you do not register and vote in the election, you have “no right” to complain about unfavourable government decisions, the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) said today.

The non-Muslim inter-faith body added a person’s failure to participate in the election was tantamount to saying he or she does not care about how the country is run.

“If you don’t care, what gives you the right to complain when something happens that you don’t like?” MCCBCHST president Daozhang Tan Hoe Chieow said today in a press conference.

He said in Election 2008, of the 15 million eligible voters in Malaysia, only eight million turned up to cast their voters. A total of 11 million were registered voters.
“Seven million (voters) were missing in action,” he said.

Tan said the council plans to embark on a nationwide voter registration drive on Sunday, December 11, at places of worship in 11 states and one Federal Territory.

“Just from the statistics, we know there are 4.384 million eligible voters who are not registered.
“We hope we can choose a government that is clean and transparent and people-centric, a government that can continue this prosperity, stability and harmony,” he said.

Tan denied the council’s registration drive was politically-driven, saying that as a non-governmental organisation it was duty-bound to ensure voters are registered.
“This is non-political. It is more about awareness,” he said.

MCCBCHST Rev Dr Thomas Phillip agreed, saying religious leaders had a duty to help raise awareness on the importance of ensuring the country is led the right way.

“Our involvement is as religious leaders. It is our civil duty and responsibility to help people to be aware,” he said.

“To add, I think all religions teach us two things — duty and responsibility. And this is what we want to encourage,” said MCCBCHST secretary-general Prematilaka KD. Serisena.

The council, a signatory to Bersih 2.0, the election watchdog that staged the July 9 march for free and fair elections, also urged the government to implement the first round of recommendations made by the parliamentary select committee (PSC) for electoral reforms before the coming 13th general election.

The council’s nationwide drive will be held from 9am to 2pm at Pertubuhan Buddhist Perlis, Perlis; Malaysia Hindu Sangam, Sungai Petani, Kedah; Malaysia Buddhist Association, Ipoh, Tokong Hock Soon Keong, Teluk Intan, and SMK Perempuan Perak, in Perak; Kelantan Buddhist Association, Kelantan; Punjabi Language Centre, Seremban, Negri Sembilan; St Peter Church, Malacca; Sacred Heart Church, Taman Sri Tebrau and Sri Mariammaman Temple, Batu Pahat in Johor; Malaysia Hindu Sangam, Jalan Beringin, off Jalan Temerloh, Pahang; and Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya.

Umno leader linked to Alstom bribery scandal, says Singapore daily

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 — Already on the backfoot over a national cattle farming scandal, Umno is now rocked by allegations that a former leader took kickbacks from French engineering giant Alstom for a power plant project in Perlis.

Singapore’s Straits Times (ST) reported today that Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officials raided last week the offices of Teknologi Tenaga Perlis Consortium (TTPC), which is partly controlled by former Dewan Negara president and ex-Perlis Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Pawanteh (picture).

The newspaper said the Umno veteran was directly implicated in Alstom’s indictment for bribery in securing foreign contracts.

Abdul Hamid is said to have been paid 7.5 million Swiss francs (RM25.5 million) to help Alstom secure a contract to build a power plant in Perlis in the late 1990s. He was the state’s mentri besar from 1986 to 1995.

The Singapore daily said both Abdul Hamid and his former business partner, Ti Chee Liang, were singled out in the criminal summons against Alstom.

According to ST, Alstom was fined €31 million (RM130 million) by the Swiss Attorney-General two weeks ago for failing to implement proper controls to prevent bribery by company executives in Malaysia, Latvia and Tunisia, an offence under Swiss law.

Alstom is a major player in Malaysia in the power business, and is credited with supplying key equipment for nearly 7.5 gigawatts of the country’s installed power generation capacity, the paper added.

Citing government sources familiar with the investigations, ST reported that the MACC will be questioning local Alstom executives in the days ahead.

Last month, Alstom’s Malaysian office denied it was aware of local investigation regarding the RM133 million fine by Swiss authorities involving contracts awarded to the company here.

“There is no probe ongoing in Malaysia that we are aware of and Alstom have co-operated fully in Switzerland. The fine is for corporate negligence in the past and not for bribery,” Alstom Malaysia president, Saji Raghavan, said in a statement.

“In fact, investigation confirms there is no systematic bribery and sufficient controls are in place,” he pointed out.

The company had described itself as a “subcontractor of a consortium” and a “victim of the actions of some of its employees, who would have benefited from kickbacks”, according to a previous Reuters report.

Alstom is the second French company in as many years to be fined for bribing government officials in Malaysia, after telecommunications firm Alcatel-Lucent paid RM435 million to resolve US criminal and civil probes in December 2010.

The four-year probe centred on payments made by Alstom Network Schweiz AG to middlemen — termed “commercial agents” by the company — in return for securing government contracts to build power stations in 15 countries since the 1990s.

Alstom was awarded a RM2.8 billion contract by Tenaga Nasional earlier this year to provide key power generation equipment to Southeast Asia’s first 1,000-megawatt (MW) supercritical coal-fired power plant Manjung, Malaysia.

It also won turnkey contracts in 1994 and 2000 to build four power plants including the 1,300MW Lumut and the 670MW Kuala Langat plants and deals in 2003 and 2004 to install environmental control systems for the Tanjung Bin and Jimah coal-fired power plants.

Alstom was also appointed by Tenaga to supply two 125MW hydro power turbines, a generator and ancillaries for the 250MW Hulu Terengganu hydro power plant in 2010.
Alstom says
it is “the largest original equipment manufacturer in Malaysia” having supplied key equipment for nearly 7.5 gigawatt (GW) of the country’s installed power generation capacity.

Slow work on new Chinese schools

Dong Jiao Zong (DJZ), the umbrella body for the management of Chinese schools, has demanded that the government delivers on the promised construction of 91 new and relocated Chinese schools.

“From 1999 to 2008, the government approved the construction of 16 SJKCs (national-type Chinese schools) and the relocation of 75 SJKCs,” DJZ said in a statement.

“Up to July 15, 2011, only eight new schools have been completed, while 54 of the relocated schools have been completed.

“Three SJKCs are under construction but work has yet to start on five more, while 21 SJKCs are being built for schools that are to be relocated.”

This was conveyed today in a 37-page memorandum to Prime Minister Najib Abduk Razak, covering 15 issues and listing 43 demands.
  
“(DJZ has submitted) his memo in the hope that the government will give due consideration to resolving such problems with the education system,” the memorandum states.

The group claimed that construction of SJKCs and relocation of schools is fraught with difficulties and hurdles, such as the long waiting period for approval, shortage of land and lack of funding.
It also blamed the Education Ministry for setting unreasonable conditions. Among these are that:

- The school has to absorb the cost of construction.
- 80 percent of the total cost must be available, prior to approval.
- School reserve land owned by government cannot be used.

‘Put things right’

DJZ contended that the education system is intended to be based on multi-culturalism and multi-lateralism.

It backed this by quoting the Education Ordinance 1957: ‘The educational policy of the federation is to establish a national system of education acceptable to the people as a whole which will satisfy their needs and promote their cultural, social, economic and political development as a nation, with the intention of making the Malay language the national language of the country whilst preserving and sustaining the growth of the language and culture of people other than Malays living in the country.’

DJZ said the Rahman Talib Report 1960 and Education Act 1961 have ‘twisted and changed the multi-cultural and multi-lateral education system into a unilateral one’ that is now in practice under the Education Act 1996.

It added that Najib should right a serious wrong and solve the woes of the Chinese schools if he is truly a PM for all Malaysians.

200 brave water sprinklers to protest Assembly Bill

Despite what appeared to be attempts by the KLCC management to cause inconveniences, some 200 people converged at its park off Jalan Ampang in a carnival-like gathering to oppose the Peaceful Assembly Bill.

Instead of being met by police batons and water cannons on its second Saturday afternoon protest, the group of about 200, clad in yellow, were met with water sprinklers.

The group moved close to some trees in the park after the KLCC management, again, cordoned off its compound for a cleaning operation, including the area the protesters used last week.

There, they stood around national laureate A Samad Said, who is popularly known as Pak Samad, as he recited his poems. Then, the complex management turned on water sprinklers on the ground where they stood.

Undaunted, those who were caught in the sprays shielded themselves with umbrellas and continued to listen to Pak Samad, who recited his latest poem in tribute to the occupy movement, Merindu Ruang (Missing Space) after reciting his Bersih poem, 'Unggun Bersih'.

"Let us fight violence with the beauty of literature," declared one of its organisers, Wong Chin Huat, who is also a steering committee member of Bersih.

Top leaders from DAP also threw their weight behind today's rally, with the presence of DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang and several MPs and state assemblypersons from the party, including Teo Nie Ching, Charles Santiago, Tony Pua, Teresa Kok, Ean Yong Hian Wah and Ronnie Liu.

"We must have a parliamentary select committee before the Peaceful Assembly Bill becomes law, we want public consultation. All of us want to give our views in a real democracy," said Lim.
The bill, which was passed by Parliament despite stringent opposition, is seen to be far more draconian than section 27 of the Police Act.
It bans all street protests, imposes far stricter requirements on rally organisers as well as higher fines for more offences and gives blanket powers to the police.

'PM's game changer not enough'

Samad later concluded his poem with the words:

Ada sang perubah permainan
kami perubah kekuasaan
Inilah tekad generasi baru
akarnya keadilan syahdu

(There is a game changer
But we are changers of the powers
This is the young generation's determination
its root is noble justice)

Asked what he meant by "game changer", Samad said he was referring to the prime minister's speech at the Umno general assembly earlier this week.

"The prime minister' speech said he needs a game changer, but what we need is regime change," he said.

The celebrated poet added that he was there to lend a hand in opposing the Peaceful Assembly Bill.

"We saw just now, even when we wanted to recite poem, that we need a letter of permission. That is not democracy. I'm doing this to help create a freer atmosphere."

Protest disrupted by KLCC security

Earlier, when the protesters were taking turns to recite poems at the gathering, a KLCC security officer intervened and said that they needed permission from the management, despite the place being a public park.

When the crowd began to boo, Wong stepped in and queried if the crowd would require permission if they gathered inside KLCC to look at its Christmas decorations, to which the security officer replied: "No".

"Then next week, we will gather inside KLCC to appreciate the beauty of Christmas trees," declared Wong, cheekily.

The crowd later adhered to the demands of the security officer and dispersed in an orderly fashion.

Speaking to reporters later, Wong said the crowd was smaller than last week because the KLCC management had cordoned off their intended location.

However, he brushed aside any intention of ill-will over the move and the fact that water sprinklers were turned on where the protesters had gathered.

"KLCC is secretly supporting Bersih, we are heartened that it has supported our action in the last two weeks," he quipped.

Wong vowed that the protests to oppose the Peaceful Assembly Bill would continue, even after it becomes law.

"Don't expect us to back down. We are waiting to be arrested and put behind bars, and I'm sure enough people are willing to take a stand to defend our freedom to assemble."

All in the family: How Taib controls Cahya Mata

A probe into publicly available company and stock exchange records on Sarawak’s largest public company Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMS) would be enough to prove that it is under Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s control, said whistleblower website Sarawak Report.

“Our most recent revelations are based on the publicly recorded movement of shares within CMS.

“These show how huge chunks of the company have been passed round Taib's close family members, providing only one feasible explanation, which is that it is Taib himself who is controlling their ownership.

“To all intents and purposes, therefore, he created the company
and he is the owner,” reported the website on Thursday.

Sarawak Report alleged that Taib (right) had created CMS “by privatising key assets that used to belong to the state of Sarawak.”

“As finance minister and chief minister he caused valuable state interests like PPES, Steel Industries Sarawak and PCMS to be sold for knock-down prices to CMS and then engineered extraordinary 'share swaps' with cheap companies belonging to his own family members.

“This enabled the Taibs to take control of the majority of CMS shares by 1996,” it said.

The company, it said, has in turn gain access to the massive wealth of the state through monopoly of massive state and public contracts.

All in the family

The website traced the historical share movements and management of the company to show how Taib was implicated.

It said in the initial years, Taib’s brother Onn Mahmud - the largest shareholder and main director of CMS at the time - was the CM’s business proxy “in Sarawak and abroad, until the
brothers fell out in 2003".

Citing research available at the London School of Economics, Sarawak Report said Onn in 1989 acquired the family's first 27 percent stake in the publicly-owned CMS in 1989.

By 2002, Onn had 30 percent interest while Taib’s two young sons each owned 12 percent, making the Taib family a majority shareholder in CMS.

It notes how in 2003 Onn’s shareholdings were reduced to a minority while Taib’s sons gained 44,925,102 shares through Majaharta, a company originally owned by Onn, while the remainder of the latter’s shares went to Taib’s late wife, Leila.

“The question therefore is why should Onn transfer such a valuable company as Majaharta, with so many CMS shares, to his nephews, rather than say to his own children or indeed selling the shares for a big profit?

“The answer, clearly, is that he only held those shares by proxy,” said the website.

By 2007, it said, Taib’s two daughters Hannifah Taib and Jamilah Taib had acquired joint ownership of Majaharta giving the four siblings roughly equal share in CMS with Leila owning a significant portion herself.

Meanwhile, other relatives such as Taib’s son-in-law Syed Ahmad Alwee Alsree and brother-in-law Robert Geneid were also given key positions in the company.

Lion's share of contracts

Sarawak Report also traced how the family-controlled CMS had long-term access to lucrative state contracts that it handed to other Taib family-owned companies.

“(From annual reports data) we can see that over the previous year alone RM35 million worth of business went through some 20 companies belonging to Taib family members.”

It said a shareholders’ attempt at an extraordinary meeting in 2002 to confront the issue of ‘recurrent related party transactions’ forbidden under Stock Exchange regulations, failed to resolve the matter.

“Unsurprisingly, the extraordinary meeting, called under Stock Exchange rules to review this outrageous situation, voted in favour of keeping these recurring arrangements with related companies.

“After all, the Taibs controlled the majority of shares! To this day, despite recent attempts to cover up this in-trading, it can be seen from the Annual Report that the corrupt practice continues,” said Sarawak Report.

Amongst these contracts, it said, was property rental paid to Satria Realty Sdn Bhd - it said Taib himself owned 55 percent share until 1999.

Such revelations, said the website, proved that Taib’s claim that he was not involved in business within Sarawak was false.

“The above information, which is publicly available in company and stock exchange records, is quite enough for the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) to issue a warrant for the arrest of Taib Mahmud.

“He and his family have not only done business in Sarawak, they have run Sarawak as a business along the lines of a family mafia, using his political power to extract virtually all the country's wealth.”

Praying for Christian radio and TV channels in Malaysia

The time has come for Malaysia to have some Christians radio and TV channels. These channels should not only play gospel music, it also provide bible studies, daily devotions, prayers, praise and worship, sermons and Christian news both local and international.

It should also be in multilingual and even in multi-dialect if possible. We all know this is not easy to achieve especially in a country like Malaysia but have we tried? We hope elected Christian legislators would do their part to raise the issue in parliament and their respective state assemblies
to fight for the rights of Christians.

Continue to pray that this will be a reality in the near future.

Chris Jong
1Christians Malaysia

M'sia slides further down TI's corruption index

The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranking for Malaysia has dipped from 56th place last year to 60th this year, according to Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M).

Speaking at the launch of the results in Subang Jaya this morning, TI-M deputy president Mohamad Ali Hasan said that Malaysia's score of 4.3 has also suffered its third consecutive fall since 2009.

Mohamad Ali said that while the dip in score has been marginal at 0.1 points each year, this was still a cause for concern because the government has embark on several anti-corruption efforts.

"Why should it drop? The government has held several (anti-corruption) programmes. The perception is that these actions are not effective," he said.

 

In 2003, Malaysia was ranked 37 in the survey involving 146 countries. For 2010, the survey involved 178 countries.