Our enemies within

Defending the Lion City
by Terence Fernandez
theSun's investigative deputy editor

Read Terence Fernandez's Down2Earth column today on our nation's security (no links yet). He is convinced that Singapore is not the enemy, never was, and never will be. Our enemies walk among us, he insists. Musuh dalam selimut.

It's a good piece and it's an opinion that is hard to disagree with. But as one of the few Malaysian journalists who have covered a war from the war-front (Baghdad 2003), Terence has seen and felt war.
Just because it hasn't happened does not mean it's not ever going to happen.

But that's not the point of this posting. I read Terence's reference to the (old) Malay Mail and I would like to respond.

He writes:

"And so there came a period during the 1990s and in the early days of the millennium when many of us were suspicious of (Singapore) - although many of us have relatives and friends staying on the island ...
The (old) Malay Mail even when to town with a front page fictional piece on how the republic would marshal an attack against us and take over Johor in under a day.
But now it appears that it is the same prophets of chaos and commotion who are now guilty of selling out our security which they have so vocally been campaigning to protect, by giving away the last bastion of our southern defence -Majidee Camp for profit."

I was the Editor of the (old) Malay Mail when that "war" article made the Page One. The article was based on Tim Huxley's book Defending the Lion City. The scene of the attack on Malaysia was not fiction, it was a "most likely scenario" as depicted by the so-called military expert, Huxley.
It was controversial, it was unimaginable, and it made a good front page read. As a Malaysian, I had to admit it made me a little mad, too

That story sparked quite a bit of debate, (read here). Huxley wrote to us but I can't remember what exactly. And, contrary to Terence's theory, the "war-mongers" in the Malaysian Government were not at all happy with the Malay Mail's story. The NST group editor and I were called in to explain (Terence is also quite experienced now in this department).

And as I told the very, very senior government official, The Malay Mail published the story because it was of interest to Malaysians.

After Terence's scoop (with Nadeswaran) last Friday on "Majidee Camp gone!", I have begun to wonder if the decision to move the "last bastion of nation's southern defence" (theSun's words, not mine) to Kluang was not influenced byHuxley's book.

Defending the Lion city
Tabloid Malay Mail report on Tim Huxley's book following Malaysian ministers' rejection of author's tipping easy victory for Singapore in a war.
Jan 14, 2003
click here to read.

Read Syed Hamid's Loose talk about war.
A related recent posting:-
How effective is our intelligence agencies today?

Tun Salleh dares Matthias to call for Inquiry into his dismissal

updates, 130PM/26-5-08: I've amended the heading for accuracy (original headline was Tun Salleh calls for Inquiry into his dismissal). Also, see Matthias Chang's response below the original posting.

Former Lord President speaks out. After nearly 20 years, former Lord President Tun Salleh Abas breaks his silence and challenged an aide to Dr Mahathir to call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate a 1988 Tribunal that dismissed him in absentia for alleged misconduct.

Salleh, who hardly talks about his dismissal these days, is reacting to an article by lawyer Matthias Chang, who served as political secretary to Dr Mahathir towards the end of his tenure as PM. The article "Tun Salleh: Guilty or not guilty for Judicial Misconduct?" was posted on the blog (but not in Dr M's blog) and by Malaysia Today.

The following is his Salleh's statement which he issued to Rocky's Bru:

"Since (Matthias Chang) doubts my innocence, (he) should devote his activities towards getting a government agreement to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate into the circumstances of my dismissal and the suspension of 5 other Judges that led to the eventual sacking of 2 of these Judges.

"The Royal Commission of Inquiry should call as witnesses, among others, the following main players in the 1988 event:

"1. Dr Mahathir Mohamad
2. The former Chief Secretary to the Government
3. The former Attorney-General Abu Talib Othman
4. Hamid Omar, who chaired the Tribunal and who succeed Salleh after his sacking
5. Other members of the two Tribunals
6. Tan Sri Haidar (chairman of the 2007 RCI into VK Lingam's tape, who testified at the 1988 Tribunal)
7. The surviving Judges who were suspended/sacked by the Tribunals."

What did Matthias Chang say that riled Salleh Abas? Read here.
As Matthias says, "You be the judge".

Matthias Responds to Tun Salleh's Challenge
[Matthias e-mailed this to me around 7.30pm last night. It first appeared as a comment in the comment box].

"I was just informed by Rocky that Tun Salleh has issued a challenge to me in response to my article which was published in MALAYSIA TODAY and Bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com

I immediately visited Rocky’s blog to read the challenge and to say that I was most disappointed in Tun Salleh’s challenge, is an understatement.

Why?

He asked me to demand from the government to establish a Royal Commission to investigate into his dismissal. Why should I? I hold the view that the Tribunal had every reason to hold that Tun Salleh had misconducted himself as per the charges.

Is it my responsibility to call for a Royal Commission when a Tribunal convened by King himself found him guilty of all the charges that was proffered against him? He should be the one who should “lobby” the government if he feels strongly that he has been unjustly victimised!

In anticipation of Tun Salleh’s reply that he did not demand a Royal Commission during Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s tenure as Prime Minister because it would not receive a favourable response, my query to Tun Salleh is:

Why have you not demanded a Royal Commission after Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad retired in October 2003, and thereafter in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and only now in 2008?

You are legally trained and held the highest judicial office. So, if anyone knows about rights and legal remedies, it must be you. All these years why have you not commenced any legal proceedings to establish, as you have alleged, that you have been wrongfully dismissed? You had a team of senior lawyers advising you. What was their legal advice?

It is a pity that Tun Salleh does not realize that the powers that be have used his dismissal to prop-up the Badawi regime after the 12th General Elections fiasco. Tun Salleh is a mere pawn in this political wayang kulit orchestrated by the spin doctors of the Badawi regime.

In my article, I posed certain questions to Tun Salleh and demanded to know his answers.

Why is Tun Salleh avoiding the issues posed by my questions and diverting the issues by asking me to “lobby” for a Royal Commission?

Tun Salleh should be transparent first and answer my questions.

1) Did Tun write two letters to the Agong? What was the content of the first letter?

2) Did Tun advise his fellow judges, especially the five judges who supported him, the contents of the first letter?

3) If Tun did, what was their response?

4) If Tun did not advise the judges, what were Tun’s reasons for the cover-up?

ROCKY, I am truly disappointed in you. You have read my article and having done so, have you posed the questions to Tun Salleh?

After all, you are assisting in Tun Salleh’s memoirs. Surely, you should be equally interested in the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Please pose this response in your Blog.

Thank you.

Matthias Chang
25th May 2008 7.25pm
Kuala Lumpur

Bru on TV One

This week's "Blog" program on TV1 features yours truly, Rocky's Bru.

I shall be the sixth blogger to appear, after A. Kadir Jasin, Raja Petra Kamarudin, Zahrin Yasin, Nuraina A. Samad and Ruhanie Ahmad.

The program starts at 830 PM.

Petrol prices stay, says Shahrir

We are grateful, really. In Indonesia, pump prices have gone up by 30 per cent, sparking unrest. Here, Minister Shahrir Samad says the Government won't increase prices.

I am grateful but I am curious as to how much more our Government earns now that oil prices have reached US$135 a barrel.
Because between March 2004 and March 2007, when oil prices were well below today's, Petronas raked in nearly RM250 BILLION! Not exactly a quarter of a TRILLION RINGGIT yet, but close.

So Shahrir is correct, and the Government is correct, too, on this one. And we are grateful, really.

General

May 24, 2008 21:30 PM

Govt Has No Plans To Increase Fuel Price - Shahrir

MELAKA, May 24 (Bernama) -- The government has no plans to increase fuel price despite the price hike of petrol by 30 per cent in Indonesia beginning Saturday, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said. On the contrary, he said the government was now focusing on managing the subsidy system to prevent leakage and smuggling. "For the time being, we are not considering increasing the price of petrol and diesel although we are aware of the impact of the crude oil price hike in the world market.

For the rest of the Bernama story, go here.

Ah, P. Ramlee!

Umno equals Sarkis (circus)? Like you (most probably), I am a big fan of P. Ramlee, both his movies and his songs. But there was this scene from the movie Bujkang Lapuk, in which P. Ramlee and S. Shamsuddin are making fun of Umno, which had escaped me until I watch it on You Tube just now.

To watch the scene, just go h e r e.
For context, you have to read the posting by OpEd, P. Ramlee - Umno = Circus!

How did P. Ramlee and S. Shamsuddin get away with it? Can you imagine what will happen to anyone who tries this kind of joke in a movie these days?

p/s I found the clip after discovering OpEd, a blog by a journo. Great stuff. And good to know more and more journalists are blogging these days.

Umno blogger gets a million

Every dog will have its day. Blogger Bigdogdotcom has hit the million-hits mark. He is a rabid pro-Umno guy but is one of the biggest (literally) critics of Prime Minister Badawi.
Picture shows Big Dog (extreme right).

Anons!

Please don't forget your nickname if you use ANONYMOUS to leave comments. I've had to delete scores. Don't waste those words.

Goodbye Pulau Batu Putih ...

We lost.
Pulau Batu Putih is now officially Pedra Branca even though both names mean White Rock. That's how the ICJ in the Hague ruled.
Sorry Malaysia, and hard luck to the team led by the Attorney-General.

Will we lose more than this rock outcrop?
I hope we'll do all that we should to ensure that we don't ever lose sovereignty over the Iskandar Development Region.

p/s We didn't lose all though. See pictures of the pebbles we've won h e r e.

Should the Agong intervene?

Aziz Tapa, the Umno veteran, has suggested that the Yang diPertuan Agong intervenes to resolve a prolonged spat between PM Badawi and Dr M. "Call for Agong to intervene in Mahathir-Abdullah spat", Bernama, 22/5
Aziz is not the first to invoke the Agong's name since Dr M announced quitting Umno last Sunday. The pro-Umno blogger, A Voice, has already put up a posting on "Agong's Constitutional Power to Remove the PM" as early as Tuesday.

Should the Agong intervene? Dr M, asked in Tokyo about Aziz's suggestion, says "Don't involve the King", Bernama 22/5. But I have a feeling this is not for Dr M to decide ....

Demo against DBKL

People vs Datuk Bandar
Friday, 23 May 2008
11am
at Dewan Bandaraya KualaLumpur, Jalan Raja Laut, KL

Even if you don't have an issue with DBKL, you may join residents of Kuala Lumpur at the DBKL tomorrow in a demonstration that aims to tell the Datuk Bandar to have a heart (or resign).
YB Wee Choo Keong, together with several other MPs, will submit a memo to the Datuk Bandar to protest what he described as "high-handed" and "indiscriminate" demolition of stalls in Taman Desa Setapak.
Some 130 stalls were flattened by City Hall workers despite a "deal" between Wee and DBKL for a two-week grace period to try and resolve matters.

Two police reports were lodged against City Hall demolition army yesterday. Stories and pictures h e r e.

Najib: I'll see Dr M

Torn in a flash! Musa Hitam must be cursing Mahathir. Because it looks like the Umno leaders who had an emergency Supreme Council meeting last night actually wanted back the "thorn in the flesh".
For the record, Pak Lah chaired the meeting. The Second-in-Command must be more eloquent and awake at such an hour, which is probably why he was the one speaking to the Press.
And Najib is saying exactly what he said the other day - that he's prepared to meet Dr M on the quit decision. What it means is that the Supreme Council has agreed for Najib to meet the Old Man. The meeting is to try persuade the Thorn to come back to the Flesh..
Dr M is in Tokyo to attend an international conference. Pak Lah is scheduled to be there as well. Yes, it's the same conference in which the two met but we were not sure for a long time who actually wanted the meeting and who went to whose room for the meeting.
At the airport yesterday, some Umno big wigs were there to send off the Thorn.

General

May 22, 2008 01:29 AM

Umno Supreme Council Hopes Dr M Will Return To Party One Day

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22 (Bernama) -- A special meeting of Umno's Supreme Council (MT) held here Wednesday night expressed the hope that former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir would return to the party one day. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak said the meeting took note that Dr Mahathir, who was also the party's former president, had written an official letter to leave the party. "I am prepared to meet Tun (Dr Mahathir) anytime but we know his stand and his position. So we leave it at that for the time being," he told reporters after the three-hour meeting that was chaired by Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

Two-year-old Bru, and goodbye Anon

This blog turns TWO today. It's bruised and battered, just as the blogger is. But here's hoping for another two good years of blogging.
After this posting, I plan to disallow comments by ANONYMOUS. For one very simple reason: there are way too many Anons. It's gotten really weird to refer to Anon 10:55, for example. Worse still when Anon 10:55 refers to Anon 8:20 for disagreeing with Anon 20:31 for running down Anon 17:55. You see?

To those of us who still prefer anonymity, simply choose a nickname and stick to it, at least throughout the same thread.

Better still, register that nickname as a Blogger. No Fear, right? After all, we've got ourselves a more blogger-friendly government now.

Here's to my Anons. Thank you for the support and guidance.

Mukhriz quits Umno?

Dato' Mukhriz Mahathir will hold a Press Conference at 5.30pm today at Bilik Meranti, Pan Pac, Kuala Lumpur.