Sacking Muhyiddin as DPM - It's According to the Script

For many people, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's removal as DPM was not a surprise.

He had it coming, some party loyalists remarked.

Did he really?

Others, on the other side of the fence,  felt that Muhyiddin was just saying it as it is.

And  there were others who thought it was just a show because, for heaven's sake, Muhyiddin would never do Najib in.

Muhyiddin's remarks when officiating the Cheras Umno division meeting Sunday night had been met with shock, ire, despair, relief, excitement, encouragement from people - depending on where you stand in all this 1MDB- PM saga.

It created a raging buzz in and out of social media and cyberspace.
If you had been following all this -- and if you didn't, two things; either you are just so fed up or you are living in a cave - you'd know that it gets more murky and baffling and how much more,  remains to be seen

After Muhyiddin's remarks were made so public, people were all speculating that  he'd be sacked.

Because 1) it showed that he is not with the PM on all this and was only making things worse for the PM and 2) man, has he got balls to say all those things.

Of course, going by convention, decency and all that - Muhyiddin should not have said all that - according to some party loyalists.

They say that Muhydidin, of all people,  the number 2, should not feign ignorance, a confused mind, lack of understanding. It was bad enough that former PM and party president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad led the chorus of fierce attacks against Najib and now his own deputy.
That is the job of the opposition.

Read Dr MiM's HERE

But really,  if you followed what he said, he did not say anything damning. If he was not able to to understand the 1MDB controversy, well, that is really his problem.

He mentioned Deputy Finance Minister 2 Datuk Husni Hanadzlah and Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan having explained the issue to their colleagues but had still left him in the dark. Which is odd because Rahman, it seems, did a good job of explaining it.

Meanwhile, Tan Sri Gani Patail has had his services terminated on health grounds effective yesterday. He is replaced by federal court judge Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali.

Asked to confirm this, Gani said he did not resign but "they terminated" his services.
Gani is leading the task force investigating allegations against 1MDB. It looks like he no longer is.

Others in the team are Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Aziz, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed.

Now, this is all going to be an explosive subject for speculation.

Gani has about 2 months more before retirement, I believe. So the questions people are asking -- why -- does Gani know something and about to do something? Is he really not well? And, of course, the task force is now under scrutiny.

Gani, it seems, needs dialysis treatment but is not a diabetic.

Meanwhile PM Najib explains the reason for dropping Muhyiddin which he said was a tough decision for him but he needed the Cabinet to be united.

I can accept difference of opinion but as a cabinet member one cannot do it in a public forum as it can create public misconception. This also affect the concept of collective responsibility,” he said when announcing the new Cabinet line-up here on Tuesday. 

Najib added that the reshuffle was also to strengthen the lineup before the 14th general election.

He said the decision to go ahead with the reshuffle took into account the political scenario and was in the best interest of the administration.

“This ensures that my administration remains committed and focused on development as promised by the Barisan Nasional government in the last general election,” he said in his speech.

He added that the Cabinet should act as a team under all circumstances. - The Star

Umno vice-president and Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi replaces Muhyiddin as DPM. Muhyiddin who also lost his Education portfolio is replaced by Datuk Seri Mahadhir Khalid.

Muhyiddin, in an immediate response to his sacking, said he accepted the PM's decision to drop him from the Cabinet and thanked him for the opportunity to serve the government. He also said he will remain loyal to Umno.

"Kecuali dalam isu 1MDB, saya mempunyai prinsip dan pendirian saya sendiri dalam mempertahankan hak rakyat, namai baik parti dan kepentingan negara. Jika kerana pendirian saya dalam isu ini menyebabkan saya digugurkan daripada kabinet maka saya redha.

Saya akan sentiasa setia kepada perjuangan UMNO. Sebagai Timbalan Presiden UMNO, saya akan terus melaksanakan amanah yang telah dipertanggungjawabkan kepada saya dan mencurahkan khidmat bakti saya demi memperkukuhkan parti serta mengembalikan keyakinan orang Melayu dan rakyat kepada UMNO.
Kepada Allah saya berserah."

From now, my friends, it's Que Sera Sera. 

Salam Aidilfitri

Let me wish everyone a blessed Hari Raya. Hope for a lot of positivity this Aidilfitri. A silver lining, perhaps.

For those heading back to kampung, have a safe journey. Berjaga-jaga di jalan raya. Malang tak berbau, you know.

And those here in the Klang Valley -- stay safe.

Above all -- have a glorious celebration.

The significant of Eid

A Confession - Lester Melanyi's

Here's the first part of the video of Lester Melanyi - former editor of Sarawak Report - confessing to the bad things SR had been doing.

This has got to do with forged documents about 1MDB and PM Najib Razak.

Check it HERE at Rockys Bru.

I don't want to go into details except that I find SR rather jahat. When your objective is to bring down a government by spreading a lot of lies, you mut be ..well ..what can I say without being rude.

YOU don't have to believe him, that 's your right.

I would keep an open mind.

1MDB Money In Najib's Bank Account - True? Not True?

And that is the question I can safely say everyone wants to know. At least that is a lot fairer than already condemning the Prime Minister of stealing money and dumping it into his personal account.

It is a also a question former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who had already admitted to being the man behind the crisis (in response to Datuk Seri Najib Razak's finger-pointing him) wants the prime minister to just say it.

Tun told the BBC in an interview published on its website that Najib should just reveal his bank accounts to disprove the allegations.

Yes. As easy as that. Show us all your accounts, Mr prime minister.

But you and I know that Najib is not about to do that. But does his reluctance mean that he's got something to hide. Or that he has this "why should I?" feeling because his bank accounts are after all, confidential.

Do the current circumstances change that?

I have no idea.

Should he reveal his bank accounts just because people want to know because The Wall Street Journal has published some flow chart of  funds going into the bank account of one Mohd Najib Adb Razak?

There is a lot of debate going on about this. But for sure, in the court of public opinion, the prime minister is already guilty.

This is the first time in the history of our country that a prime minister has been accused by a newspaper to have .. well to put it plainly -- stolen public funds.

The prime minister is facing the worst time of his premiership. The party he leads is surely divided.
When Umno is troubled, it has a splinter effect on everything else.

Whatever the outcome of this,  it cannot be good. It already is so ugly and to can only get uglier and more unpleasant.

The task force investigating this comprise Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Aziz, Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail, IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Tan Sr Abu Kassim Mohamed have already closed 6 accounts of banks linked to the case.

There are just so many speculations about the 1MDB funds allegedly deposited into Najib's personal bank account. And nothing is clear. So nebulous. Yet, the deeper we go into it, the more frightening the picture gets.

How this is going to be played out remains to be seen. But one thing for sure, it will not have happy ending. Because it has come to this.

 Do read  Rocky's Bru HERE on the veracity of The Wall Street Journal's documented evidence.

And JebatMustDie who thinks Najib's lawyers sent a pathetic letter to WSJ HERE

So whether there exists that personal bank account with that amount of money or not -- that is not the question. Because whether there is or not, the implications are severe and serious.

Mara Controversial Melbourne Property Deal : 2 senior Mara Inc officials Suspended

In the wake of investigations into the controversial property deal by the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) in Melbourne, Australia,  the Mara council suspended two Mara Inc Sdn Bhd senior officials from duty with immediate effect.

They are its chairman Datuk Mohammad Lan Allani, 59 and its CEO Datuk Abdul Halim Rahim, 54.
Announcing this yesterday, Mara chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa said this was to facilitate investigations and for it to be done in a transparent manner.

He pointed out that this did not mean that Mara had found wrongdoings by the two.

Mara has appointed audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct a thorough audit.

Wouldn't you think that this is the right move and a good one?

Apparently not,  according to some people. Why only them? Why not the entire board? After all, didn't the purchase of the Melbourne property go through the necessary procedure and process?

I suppose there is no pleasing everyone.

This is a serious matter and may open up a very old can of worms. Maybe not.

So, let the investigations carry on because we all want to know the truth. Mara, for many Malays and bumiputera is an institution close to their hearts because it has helped legions of young Malays and bumiputera in academic, vocational and skilled education and others in the community opportunities in businesses. Through Mara's help, thousands have come a long way - many from rural and remote areas.

Keeping Cool on Hot Ramadan Days

Fifteen days now. And it has been a real hot and dry Ramadan. So hot that people needed to have their cooling machines on all day and night,  overloading power supply in my neighbourhood, causing power failure in some homes earlier this week.

Lucky those who can remain in cool indoors.

I drive past the MRT construction site almost everyday and watch the workers toiling under the scorching sun and wish that I can magically turn the hot day into a lovely fall afternoon.

It's been so hot and probably on quite the plus side that I don't need to turn my water heater on because the water is warmed but the heat of the day.

Mornings are so hot that we make sure we hang out our laundry to dry and before noon, we can be sure it's all done.

I am sure there are so many like me who love this month of the year. I know we are supposed to do good but we are after all mere mortals and are always bound to get careless. But during Ramadan, we consciously try to not curse, swear, lie, gossip and all those things humans indulge in in their everyday life.

Which actually is not hard to do because we are just too tired to be talking or get distracted.

This listlessness is also good for feuding politicians and to an extent their supporters although you do get to read the subtle "attacks" in the form of quotes of some historical or iconic personalities.

Sometimes, resistance ain't that easy.

Still, you can say it that on the feud of local politics, the temperature has been turned down. So much so that the quirks and madness of one Azwan Ali and a local steak restauranteur make for interesting cyberspace read. 

That's for another entry.

So, on such hot Ramadan days, not a bad go at keeping cool.

Salam Ramadan, everyone.

Cuba Wins WHO certification for success in elimination mother-to-child HIV & Syphilis Transmission

Read this in the NYT. We used to hear a lot of terrible things about Cuba, courtesy of the evil US, of course. And then the internet came and we get to see and hear the other Cuba. And then Cuba opened its doors to the citizens of the world and other governments. 

A Malaysian team of medical researchers were there a few years ago and spoke of how well it provided health care for Cubans and how advanced its research in tropical diseases was. 

So, yeah. Go, Cuba!

Here's the NYT article.

Cuba became the world’s first country on Tuesday to win World Health Organization certification that it had eliminated mother-to-child transmission of both H.I.V. and syphilis. Despite its poverty, Cuba provides basic health care to all citizens. Since the 1980s it has successfully suppressed its H.I.V. epidemic, initially through forced quarantine and, since 1993, by widespread testing and treatment.

It was congratulated on Tuesday by the heads of the W.H.O. and Unaids, the United Nations AIDS-fighting agency.

However, the W.H.O. allows countries that achieve only 95 percent of elimination targets to be certified; in 2013, five Cuban babies were born with H.I.V. or syphilis. Cuba was the first country to request the certification, according to a spokeswoman for the Pan American Health Organization, the W.H.O.’s Western Hemisphere branch.

More than 20 others have since asked, she added, and those next in line are Bulgaria, Moldova, Turkmenistan and Thailand.