Can Anwar beat Najib, Zahid, Azmin and TSMY?

Still far far better than the whole bunch in PN .

When people used to ask me when Mahathir Mohamad would hand over power, when he would leave the Prime Minister’s office, I would say that the only way he would ever leave office would be in a coffin. Obviously, I was wrong on the specifics, but the fact remains that no one in Malaysian politics had the power to remove Mahathir but himself. And perhaps it’s more fitting of the man, that instead of being taken out by one of his enemies, he was taken out by himself. Blinded by hubris and ego, unable to even contemplate the idea of letting go of power, he took himself out of the doors of the office thinking the very institution itself couldn’t survive without him. Thinking that the politicians of all stripes would come begging to him to continue serving and that he would be back in the prime minister’s chair in a matter of hours. After dominating the country for so many decades he thought the country couldn’t live without him. But time moves forward, and slowly Malaysia will too.

Brutal Game

I first interviewed Mahathir for SBS World News in April 2017. My first impression of him was his wit and the speed at which he answered questions despite his old age. He was charming and had a way of drawing you in with his way of speaking and communicating. At the time he was playing the reluctant leader, the statesman who didn’t want to be prime minister but was drawn into battle to ‘save’ the country. It was easy to get caught up in the moment with him and his narratives, but in retrospect that reluctance was nothing more than a political strategy. The final question I asked was whether or not he, the man who had brought down every single one of his political rivals throughout his many decades in politics, had made a miscalculation, whether Najib would finally be the one politician who had got the better of him. He laughed at the question, but replied firmly: ‘No, Najib will not get the better of me.’

At the age of 92, the wry old man was able to keep his promise and get the better of Najib at the elections. But now he was 94 – perhaps he was fading, perhaps he had finally made a mistake by stepping down as Prime Minister instead of using the power of his office to control the situation. In the backroom shadows of the Sheraton Hotel, Muhyiddin had finally gotten the better of him.

Politics is a brutal game, and in Malaysia, where political leaders regularly find themselves in prison once they lose power, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Mahathir is vowing to fight on, vowing to bring a motion of no confidence against Muhyiddin in the parliament and oust him. But it looks like Muhyiddin has the numbers to hold on until the next election in 2023. By then, who knows if Mahathir will even be around to make another political comeback. He has said he still isn’t ready to retire, but there is a sense that the old man’s time has come and gone, that he had his comeback and he blew it. He had it all – the highest office in the land – but still he wanted more. He was unwilling or unable to set a date to stand down, he was unwilling or unable to let go his grip on power that he held like a sword for decades and that he came back from retirement to seize again.

In the days following the Sheraton Move in late February 2020, Malaysian politics exploded. Far too many things happened to accurately summarise them all: the plotters moved to form a new government, but Mahathir refused to play ball with UMNO in particular, seeing as the party included Najib, who was now facing corruption charges in court. So, he quit as Prime Minister, hoping to be reappointed the next day as head of a new national unity government of all political parties not facing charges. But all the parties rebuffed Mahathir’s call for a national unity government, seeing it as a way for Mahathir to simply further entrench his own power and have each minister only beholden to him. In the end, Malaysia’s king appointed Muhyiddin Yassin as the country’s next Prime Minister, with his allies Azmin, UMNO and PAS in tow. UMNO, which had ruled the country for more than six decades was now the largest coalition partner in government again. Sure, Muhyiddin was leading the ship, but with a small number of MPs in the government from his party, he would be beholden to the old guard. The opposition’s control was a blip on the radar, a very brief 20 months, an aberration on the political landscape.

The plotters inside Mahathir’s government saw Pakatan’s close embrace of DAP as the reason for the by-election defeats and began hatching a plan to kick the party out of the governing coalition. There were two main figures leading the plot, one being Muhyiddin Yassin, Mahathir’s second in charge, the other being Azmin Ali, an ambitious politician from Anwar’s PKR party who had his own eyes on the top job and wasn’t afraid to undermine Anwar to get it. For months tensions between Azmin and Anwar has simmered just below boiling point and rumours of a party split had been flying. It all came to a head in February 2020 at the luxurious Sheraton Hotel.

Sheraton Move

For some reason, Malaysian politicians love to make their moves at 5-star hotels. In a series of events the Malaysian media has dubbed Langkah Sheraton, or the ‘Sheraton Move’, Azmin and Muhyiddin met with key leaders from UMNO and PAS at the Sheraton and hatched a plan to form a ‘backdoor government’. UMNO and PAS would join with Muhyiddin’s party along with a faction of Azmin’s supporters from PKR and together they would form a new Malay focused government, kicking out the Chinese dominated DAP and removing Anwar from his anointed post of Prime Minister in waiting. The initial plan was for Mahathir to remain leader of the government, but just switching the component parties which made up his administration.

Mahathir would later claim that he had no idea what his lieutenants were up to; that they had gone rogue. But by now Mahathir was 94, and allies of Anwar had begun pressuring for an exact handover date for when he would give power to Anwar. Mahathir was hesitant and repeatedly said he needed more time to get the country’s still recovering economy back on track. Perhaps Mahathir thought that the threat of a backdoor government and the threat of Anwar being side-lined would be powerful enough to keep Anwar and his allies off his back and give him space to breathe. Perhaps he thought Azmin and Muhyiddin were all hot air, and their plans would never materialise anyway? If so, it was a rare miscalculation for a man that made few political mistakes.

Blow After Blow

Mahathir’s first 20 months in power was marked by disappointment, U-turns and backflips. A website called Harapan Tracker kept count of the government’s performance in following through on the promises laid out in their manifesto. After 685 days in office, of the 556 promises Pakatan had made to the country before the election, only 26 had been achieved. 122 were in progress and almost 400 hadn’t even been started on yet. For everyday Malaysians this marked a series of frustrations; they had voted for change, but still the cost of living continued to rise and wages stagnated. Much needed foreign investors, whom Mahathir had promised would come roaring back into the economy after the election, instead stood idle on the side lines watching to see whether economic reforms would really be carried out. In a series of closely watched by-elections, voters made their feelings heard, delivering Pakatan blow after blow and handing prized seats back to the regrouping UMNO under the leadership of Najib’s former deputy, Zahid Hamidi. A series of by-election defeats in late 2019 created a sense of despair among some in Mahathir’s government, who began ways to change the course of the administration.

Chinese Malaysians have long been the bogeyman of Malaysian politics – anxiety over Beijing’s influence often a cover for good old-fashioned racist dog-whistling. But Mahathir had ignored that and drawn in many members of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) into his cabinet, even appointing Lim Guan Eng, a top DAP politician to the powerful post of Minister of Finance. The predominantly Chinese political party (at times nicknamed the Developers Action Party for their pro-business policies) was an easy target for the now UMNO opposition who had teamed up with the conservative Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), to form a united front of Malay-Muslim parties trying to bring down Mahathir’s government.

Leading Pakatan was the very man they had originally set about to defeat, Mahathir Mohamad. At 92 years old, Mahathir had come out of retirement to bring down his own successor, Najib Abdul Razak. Najib was mired in one of the biggest political corruption scandals the world had ever seen, with billions in state government funds missing and billions also ending up in his private bank accounts. Mahathir was back, he said, to ‘save Malaysia’ – back to right past wrongs and restore the country’s glory from before the corruption scandal had turned it into a global embarrassment.

Statesman Turned Populist Hero

Despite his past as an iron-fisted dictator, his prior willingness to sack judges he didn’t like, censor and control the press and order police to fire tear gas on and arrest protesters, this time Mahathir promised to be a democratic and conciliatory leader, bringing old enemies into his new coalition with the common cause of ousting UMNO and Najib. Some of them, like PKR Vice-President Tian Chua, were my dad’s old university friends who had spent time in prison simply for politically opposing Mahathir. Even Anwar, whose political feud with Mahathir had dominated Malaysian politics for almost two decades, met and shook hands with Mahathir in a Kuala Lumpur courtroom in September 2016. After the election, Anwar would quickly be granted a royal pardon and released from prison; as part of their coalition agreement the 92-year-old Mahathir would eventually hand over power to Anwar, who was given the title of ‘Prime Minister in waiting’.

Pakatan is way ahead now. Each time another seat falls the crowd erupts in spontaneous applause. In the crowds the old chants break out, the chants of the late 1990s and the movement for reform, Reformasi, that started with then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad sacking his Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim after Anwar challenged his authority and his handling of the Asian Financial Crisis. The Reformasi movement, which started with such hope and promise, ended in tear gas canisters fired on crowds and long jail sentences for Anwar and others involved in organising the protests.

‘Reformasi, Reformasi, Reformasi!’

Malaysia is a complex multiracial and multi-religious country. The Malays, who are constitutionally bound to be Muslim, make up just over half of the country’s population. Malaysians of Chinese origin make up over 20 percent of the population, with Indian Malaysians like Sham and her family and indigenous groups making up around 10 percent each. Along with neighbour Singapore, Malaysia’s large multiracial population sits in stark contrast to the more ethnically homogenous Thailand to the north, and the more religiously homogenous Indonesia to the south and west; politics, often divided along racial and religious lines, is thus particularly complicated. The constitution, written up by the British, dictates that the Prime Minister must be a Malay, and since independence in 1957 the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) had ruled as the dominant partner in coalition with smaller Chinese and Indian ethnically based parties.

Nobody seriously expected the populist wave sweeping authoritarians to power across the region, from Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines to Narendra Modi in India, to hit Malaysia.

But against the backdrop of the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games, Anwar Ibrahim tried to turn the country’s racially divided politics on its head. After being sacked as Deputy Prime Minister, he formed the People’s Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Rakyat or PKR) and invited activists and members of all races to join. When Anwar was sentenced to long prison terms for corruption and sodomy (charges he has always denied and maintained were politically motivated), PKR joined with other parties to form an opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (Peoples Coalition), which made significant electoral gains in the 2008 and 2013 general elections, sending shockwaves through the mighty UMNO party apparatus. Despite also making gains at previous polls, on that night in May 2018 almost no one expected this coalition, now reorganised as Pakatan Harapan, to win, to take the capital and seize power at the election.

IS ANWAR ANYWHERE AS DISHONEST AS POLITICAL GANGSTER MAHATHIR? IS HE WORSE THAN NAJIB, MUHYIDDIN, ZAHID OR BADAWI? WHY SHOULD MALAYSIANS NOT WANT HIM TO BE PM9 – DID HE NOT BUILD UP PAKATAN & WIN MORE VOTES THAN UMNO-BN IN GE13 DESPITE REFUSING TO BACKTRACK OR UNDERMINE REFORMS?

Good one henry888, and good morning guys!

Well presented valuable inputs that were not even looked into or considered by the government planners.
PN needs to get inputs as mention from multiple sources to ensure no one is left out.
Good inputs guys. Well done.

Need to send these people back to school. The 1st quarter includes January & Feb when the outbreak was still under control and not exploded yet, we were still seeing positive growth these 2 months. Hence the 0.7 has included the carryover from both months. Then some goons started to play from the backyard and this is when things went out of hand. If the outbreak has started to lose control earlier we will not see positive GDP! Got it??

Go embraced and kissed the racist party proclaiming for malay unity, the Bersatu. Unashamedly married to the racist, malay ultra mamak that ultimately demolished harapan. Santiago didn't resign. And even as we speak, he is still a silent partner working with bersatu that has broken up into berdua, trying to be bersatu.

Malaysia’s identity politics has triggered a competition among political parties, non-government organisations, and political elites to be the biggest champion of Malay rights and special privileges, which are enshrined in the constitution and accepted and respected by all Malaysians.

It has triggered a race to be a defender of Islam, which is also enshrined in the constitution “as the religion of the Federation”, but other religions are allowed to be practiced in “peace and harmony”.

Malaysians of all races have long respected and accepted the sanctity of Islam, but the rising surge of identity politics has seen the opposition and opposition-linked NGOs accuse the Pakatan Harapan coalition of being anti-Islam in a bid to discredit the government. In government-owned mosques in several states, pro-opposition preachers have been telling their congregation that the government discriminates against Islam, wants to eliminate Islam, and is “liberal,” which is an anathema to conservative Muslims.

Politicians from the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP), a member of the ruling coalition, have been a particular target of such attacks, where the party is constantly accused of being anti-Islam and seeking to take over the country.

Hence controversial Indian Muslim preacher Zakir Naik, wanted in India on money-laundering charges, has become a cause célèbre for political elites, never mind the fact that he accused the country’s Hindus of being more loyal to India’s Narendra Modi than Malaysia’s Mahathir.

Naik also called Malaysian’s ethnic Chinese “old guests” who should leave the country before he does. Naik was granted permanent residency in Malaysia by the previous government.

In an illustration of the febrile political climate, Malaysia’s youngest minister, Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, who initially backed calls for the preacher to be deported, said “an attack against our Chinese and Indian brothers and sisters is an attack against all Malaysians,” but later changed his tune after suffering a huge backlash from Malay-Muslims. Days after his remarks, Syed Saddiq called on Malaysians to forgive Naik and to “move on".

This focus on identity politics steals attention from where it should really be directed. It is crucial for the Pakatan Harapan government to fix the economy, a mammoth task given the huge debts it inherited, but it is possible if all members of the coalition parties sit down and work together with discipline and focus.

If the economy blooms, hatred and suspicion will dissipate.

Yet given the state of provocation, the disregard of political elites for the potential of racial riots, with some expressing “it will never happen” or others simply shrugging their shoulders, as if to say “who cares”, is mind-boggling.

In the event of the worst, everyone will suffer, as fire does not distinguish race or religion. There will be no winners, only the ashes of the power-hungry.

Another incendiary hoax that circulated recently was a picture of a Chinese-looking man burning the Malaysian flag, angering many Malays who called Malaysian-Chinese people unpatriotic, with some netizens demanding that “Chinese pigs” should leave the country.

A reverse image search revealed the photo was actually from a 2013 incident in Manila where a former Filipino police officer burned the Malaysian flag to protest against the then–Philippines President Benigno Aquino’s handling of the Sabah issue.

The veracity of the photo and its inflammatory implications were largely ignored even by the country’s political elite, with Umno’s secretary-general Annuar Musa tweeting out the photo from his official Twitter handle.

To further burnish its ethno-Malay credentials, Umno has teamed up with its one-time arch enemy, the Islamist Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), to contest elections under the banner of Malay rights and Islam.

This month, thousands thronged Umno’s headquarters at the Putra World Trade Center in one of the largest crowds seen in recent years, to witness the signing of a charter to seal the Umno-PAS collaboration.

The change in the characteristic of Malaysia’s opposition from a plural platform to an ethno-religious one has transformed the country’s political landscape. Identity politics has become pronounced and inflammatory.

It has manifested itself in the calls for the boycott of non-Malay products, even halal products produced by non-Malays. It has also seen the proliferation of fake news involving race that has stirred anger and anxiety among segments of the Malay community suffering economic hardship.

Among this is false claims of mainland Chinese being indiscriminately granted citizenship in Malay-majority Malaysia, a story which went viral, causing Malays to feel they are losing out and that the country is about to be taken over by the Chinese.

Malaysia’s dangerous racial and religious trajectory

Identity politics has turned inflammatory as Malaysia’s
former ruling party tries to claw back support.

When Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition ruled the country, it faced an opposition that campaigned on a platform of anti-corruption, free and fair elections, and greater democracy.

BN, led by the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), the largest and most dominant party, ruled the country for 61 years until its shock defeat last year by the Pakatan Harapan coalition, with Mahathir Mohamad at the helm.

Now, for the first time in its history, Umno finds itself out of power and playing the role of the opposition. And in this “new Malaysia”, where once the opposition campaigned for reforms and clean governance on a pluralist platform, it has now been replaced by a previously moderate Umno turned ultra-Malay to court the Malay majority.

hehe

Yeah, if not for wuhan virus, i think many share price will not come down easily!

Precautionary measures have to be put in place to avert a new wave of Covid-19 infections, more so now when many nations are permitting gatherings in public places.

GLOBAL STATISTICS

According to CoronaTracker (which cites figures from various agencies including WHO), total Covid-19 cases worldwide stood at 7,596,987 and deaths 423,844 as at the time of writing this article. The number of people who have recovered stood at 3,841,493.

The United States heads the list of nations with the highest number of Covid-19 infections with 2,089,701 cases and 116,034 deaths.

At number two is Brazil with 805,649 cases and 41,058 fatalities, followed by Russia with 502,436 cases and 6,358 deaths and India with 298,283 cases and 8,501 deaths.

Other nations that have recorded more than 100,000 cases are the United Kingdom with 291,409 (41,279 deaths), Spain 289,360 (27,136), Italy 236,142 (34,167), Peru 214,788 (6,109), Germany 186,795 (8,851), Iran 180,156 (8,584), Turkey 174,023 (4,763), France 155,561 (29,346), Chile 154,092 (2,648), Mexico 133,974 (15,944), Pakistan 125,933 (2,463) and Saudi Arabia 116,021 (857).

Meanwhile, China, where the Covid-19 outbreak was first reported at end-December 2019, is now on the 18th spot with 83,064 cases and 4,634 fatalities.

Other countries with substantial cases include: Canada 97,530 cases (7,994 deaths), Bangladesh 78,502 (1,049), Qatar 75,071 (69), Belgium 59,711 (9,636) and South Africa 58,568 (1,284).

In Southeast Asia, Singapore has the highest number with 39,387 cases and 25 fatalities, followed by Indonesia 34,316 (1,959), Philippines 24,175 (1,036), Thailand 3,125 (58), Vietnam 332 cases (0), Myanmar 260 (six), Brunei 141 (two), Cambodia 126 (0) and Laos 19 (0).

COVID-19 BACKGROUND

According to the WHO website, its China country office was informed of cases of pneumonia that were detected in Wuhan on Dec 31, 2019. On Jan 7, the Chinese authorities confirmed that the novel coronavirus can be transmitted from human to human.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-COV).

A study of the virus’ genetic sequence suggested similarities to that seen in snakes and bats. China health officials identified the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan as the source of the transmission of the coronavirus.

On Feb 11, WHO announced the official name of the virus, Covid-19, which is an acronym for coronavirus 2019 — CO stands for corona, VI for virus and D for disease.

On Jan 30, WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak as a global emergency. By then, it had spread to 18 countries and caused 170 deaths. On March 11, Covid-19 was declared a pandemic by WHO.

WHO has described the Covid-19 outbreak as 10 times more dangerous than the A H1N1 Influenza, also known as Swine Flu.

Swine Flu, which occurred between January 2009 and August 2010, infected more than 1.6 million people and caused 18,449 fatalities.

The International Monetary Fund has warned that the global economic recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic will be worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Covid-19 weekly round-up: Recovery rate exceeds 80%

This is a round-up of Covid-19 related matters in Malaysia and globally from June 6 up to 12.30pm today. In Malaysia, case numbers have exceeded 8,000 and globally, the virus has infected more than seven million people and caused over 400,000 deaths. More than 200 countries and territories are affected by the pandemic.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 12): New confirmed Covid-19 cases hovered around single and double digits from Saturday (June 6) till yesterday, with the lowest number since the enforcement of the Movement Control Order in March being two on Wednesday.

The daily new infections reported this week mainly involved non-Malaysians and imported cases.

Out of the 31 new cases reported over the 24-hour period up to noon yesterday, 11 were imported involving Malaysian students returning from Egypt while the remaining 20 were local transmissions comprising 19 non-citizens and a Malaysian.

Out of the 31 new cases reported over the 24-period up to noon yesterday, 11 were imported cases involving Malaysian students returning from Egypt and the remaining 20 were local transmissions comprising 19 non-citizens and a Malaysian.

At his daily press conference yesterday, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the 11 students were tested positive for Covid-19 after a second sample was taken from them.

He said between April 3 and June 11, a total of 566 Malaysian returnees from abroad were confirmed Covid-19 positive.

He also said that Malaysia will only declare itself Covid-19 free after recording zero infection for 28 days straight.

As of noon yesterday, the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia stood at 8,369. Fifty-one patients were discharged, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 7,065 or 84.4% of total cases. On Tuesday, 281 patients were discharged — the highest number of recoveries recorded in a single day.

The number of Covid-19 active cases now stood at 1,186. Only five patients are in intensive care units with none requiring ventilators. The death toll remained at 118 as no fatality was reported yesterday.

For the record, the nation recorded single-digit new cases over three days this week — seven on Monday, seven on Tuesday and two on Wednesday.

RECOVERY MOVEMENT CONTROL ORDER

In a special live televised address on June 7, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), which will replace the Conditional MCO (May 4-June 9).

Dr Noor Hisham has said that Malaysia has now entered the recovery phase and RMCO will allow the nation to prepare itself for the Covid-19 exit strategy.

Pointing out that the RMCO period will be a true test of the level of social responsibility and self-discipline among the people, he hoped it would succeed in breaking the chain of infection.

Most activities in the economic, social, education and religious sectors have been given the green light to resume fully under RMCO, subject to compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the government.

Reiterating that the public should abide by the conditions set under RMCO, Dr Noor Hisham said people in high-risk categories such as babies, children, senior citizens and people with disabilities must be protected, and social distancing must be observed.

He said the RMCO will only be a success if all parties comply with the SOPs and if there is community involvement in observing the new normal as a way of life.

“We have to protect our own selves, our families, our community and our nation. If we don’t, who will,” he said.

Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, meanwhile, told a press conference on Wednesday that the army will continue to help the police to conduct operations to monitor SOP-compliance.

Also involved in the operations are RELA members, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and local authorities.

As interstate travel is allowed under RMCO, their operations will shift from highway checks to monitoring business premises such as wet markets and night markets.

GLOBAL SCENARIO

World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a media briefing on June 8, said although Covid-19 transmissions are on a downward trend in Europe, he was worried about the situation in other parts of the world.

He said on June 7 alone, 136,000 new cases were reported worldwide with nearly 75% of them concentrated in 10 countries in the North American and South American continents.

Several countries in Africa are still experiencing a hike in Covid-19 cases and some have reported outbreaks in new geographical areas. A rise in cases has also been reported in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

As for nations that have recorded declining infection rates and are on the verge of recovery, Dr Tedros said they should not take things easy as their populations can still be infected by the coronavirus.

Dato Seri jangan marah la, LOVE PEACE JOY MA

Those TA heroes is just same like us kaki goreng

TA?

Aiya TalkNumberOne , everyone come here to earn money only la, but to those 3 biji.....haha

haha

This racket of smuggling migrants had been going on for umpteen years. The enforcement personnel esp from the Immigration and police are the backbones of the syndicates. And within the immi personnel itself they have their own syndicates and with their nests of linchpins they work hand in gloves committing multiple malfeasance. Things which cannot be done over the counter can be done under the table. Of grave concern is the SMO ( system maid online). SMO is the brainchild of Zahid and this system is encouraging migrants smuggling and rife corruptions.
Any good Govt must be determined to eliminate the hordes of malfeasance emanating from the immigration and police insofar migrants are concerned. The implications to the country are far and wide.
We must all realize that Corruption is heinous crime without conscience. It is the enemy of development and good governance. It must be eliminated. Both the government and the people at large must come together to achieve this national objective.

Cops detain 371 involved in human trafficking syndicates

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 371 suspected members of several human trafficking syndicates were arrested by police in an operation from June 4 to June 7, according to Bukit Aman.

Criminal Investigations Department (CID) director Huzir Mohamed today said police would take tougher measures against them as some of the suspects had previously been involved in human trafficking and had not learned their lesson.

“We find that the law that was used was not effective enough. This is a lucrative business where they tend to get involved again, despite being punished,” he said at a press conference here.

The suspects are being detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma), which does not allow bail, and will be probed under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code for being members of organised crime groups.

Huzir said the suspects comprised Malaysians, Indonesians, Filipinos, Bangladeshis and Myanmars, who were involved in syndicates in Penang, Perak, Selangor and Johor.

The individuals detained comprised those involved in the syndicate’s smuggling network, including boat skippers, transporters, smuggling agents and those in charge of preparing temporary housing for smuggled migrants.

Four investigation papers (IPs), involving 138 suspects, have been opened under “organised crime”, while five other IPs have been opened for “smuggling of migrants” (SOM), involving 285 syndicate members.

Bukit Aman is also considering probing the syndicates under the Anti-Money Laundering Act in order to identify the properties and earnings of the members of the group.

Huzir said this was the third phase in the police’s ongoing plan to eradicate human trafficking in Malaysia, with the first stage conducted before the movement control order (MCO) and the second from March 18 to June 3.

The first phase saw 52 suspects detained and the second phase, taking place during the MCO and conditional MCO, saw 124 suspects detained.

He said police were now moving into the fourth phase of the operation —identifying enforcement officers who were part of the human trafficking syndicates.

He said efforts under the third phase were strengthened over worries that some migrant workers who had left the country when the MCO first came into effect would be looking to come back in after Aidilfitri.

“This operation is in line with the directive given by the prime minister, who has instructed police and other enforcement agencies to tighten the country’s border controls to prevent the smuggling of migrants who might bring in the Covid-19 virus.

”We also note the health director-general’s statements that one of the criteria for the MCO to end is for our borders to be tightened to prevent any more imported cases,” he said.

Police to start using preventive detention powers against people smugglers

KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 — Bukit Aman Criminal Investigations Department director Datuk Huzir Mohamed said today that the police will begin invoking the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 or Sosma against people-smuggling syndicates.


Huzir said this decision to use the law allowing detentions without trial was because previous offenders were found to have resumed their smuggling activities after they served their sentences.

“Looking at how previous punishments were not able to stop these syndicate members from resuming smuggling activities, we have decided to take sterner action by investigating the offenders under Sosma,” said Huzir during a press conference.

He was referring to previous offenders who were charged under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007 (Atipsom) and Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (Poca), served their sentences and resumed smuggling activities under a different syndicate name.


“The sentencing in three cases in Perak, Johor and Kedah previously did not seem effective, which saw the syndicate members continue to break the law.

“So now we have decided to enforce laws under Sosma and will investigate these syndicate members under organised crime laws,” he added.

Huzir cited a smuggling incident in Hutan Melintang, Perak in 2015 which took the lives of 60 Indonesians when a boat they were on sank.

The Indonesians were on their way back to their home country, he added.

He said the syndicate members were then part of the “Pak Yus” ring, which saw 17 arrested, two investigated under Section 26a of the Atipsom and nine more under Poca.

“But when they had served their sentences, police intelligence found that the syndicate members were still in operation and continued smuggling activities under a different syndicate name — ‘syndicate Halim’, where we recently managed to arrest 18 of their members and are tracing three more,” said Huzir.

He cited two more smuggling cases: one in Johor in 2016 and more recently on June 9 in Kedah. Both involved syndicates attempting to smuggle out migrants to their home country through boats via non-permitted channels.

“During the recent Covid-19 operations, the police arrested 40 syndicate members in Johor who were still conducting the smuggling activities,” he said.

He added that there were 65 people involved who will all be charged under Sosma for organised crimes. The particular legal section bars bail pending trial.

He said based on these cases, the police are of the opinion that past sentences are not effective deterrents in human smuggling, noting that it is a “very lucrative” trade.

According to Huzir, each of the migrant being smuggled are required to pay between RM1,200 and RM1,400, depending on the pick-up and drop-off points.

Referring to the June 9 landing in Langkawi, Kedah involving over 260 Rohingya, Huzir said police believe their boat to have been deliberately damaged when the smuggling syndicate lost contact with their ground contacts in Malaysia numbering 70.

“We believe they lost contact with 70 of the Rohingya in the country who act as agents were arrested during our recent operations,” he said, adding that 21 will be charged.

Huzir said police have launched three operations since January 1 in a bid to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country, adding that some of them could even be harbouring the dreaded Covid-19 virus.

He said police stepped up their operations during the Hari Raya period, finding that illegal entry of migrant workers were usually heightened this time.

“Usually during Hari Raya, the migrant workers will return to their home country to celebrate Hari Raya.

“Based on information received, the migrants will return after Hari Raya to work in their respective sector previously,” he explained.

He said police acted quickly between June 4 and 7 to arrest the smuggling ring members, their captains and agents who are the ones to receive the illegal immigrants.

He also revealed that from three phases of operations, 135 cases are being investigated under the smuggling of migrant law and four cases under Sosma.

Syndicate members being investigated include Malaysians, Indonesians, Filipinos, Bangladeshis and Myanmar nationals.

“The police will also look into the possibilities in investigating the syndicates under the AMLA (Anti-Money Laundering Act 2001) to identify illegal possession of the syndicates.

“Under Section 4 of the Act, the police will confiscate properties owned by the syndicate members,” said Huzir.

I say do not let them entry at the first place, period!

kick them out to where????

The removal of Hong Kong as a buffer between China and the West has put two “conflicting regimes” on a collision course......

So it is alright to steal??lol

However, he cautioned that it was not time to let our guard down and urged Malaysians to continue to abide by the standard operation procedures (SOPs) to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

He again reiterated for Malaysians to avoid crowded places, confined spaces and close conversations which he referred to as the "3Cs".

He also reminded Malaysians to wash their hands with soap, wear a face mask in public and heed warnings from the Health Ministry, referred to as the "3Ws".

The Health DG also announced that there were no new deaths and said that the country’s death toll stands at 117.

The single local transmission involved a foreigner, marking a milestone for the Health Ministry as for the first time, no Malaysian was infected locally since the start of the movement control order (MCO) on March 18.

The sole local transmission was discovered through the screening process imposed by the government before foreign employees can return to work.

Government and private labs combined have the capacity to conduct 34,951 swab tests a day.

Speaking at the Health Ministry's daily briefing in Putrajaya today, Noor Hisham said 1,244 people are still under treatment, of which six are in the intensive care unit (ICU).

From the Covid-19 patients in ICU, one needs the help of a ventilator to breathe.

Noor Hisham attributed the absence of reported local transmission among Malaysians in the last 24 hours to the whole government and society approach.

He said the trend of new cases in recent days is consistent with the projection model by the National Health Institute.

"The Health Ministry would like to congratulate Malaysians on their cooperation with the government for this achievement," he said.

This brings the total recoveries to 6,975 people or 83.7 percent of all cases.

No new fatalities were reported today, maintaining the death toll at 117.

The updates are for the last 24 hours up to noon today.

A total of 10,216 Covid-19 swab tests were conducted by government labs yesterday.

However, private labs have yet to provide the numbers of tests they conducted for yesterday.

Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said this brings the total cases to date to 8,336.

He also reported the highest number of Covid-19 recovery in a single day on record, with 281 patients discharged.

Covid-19: Malaysia records seven new cases, lowest in three months

The number of Covid-19 infections has fallen to a single digit for the first time, with seven cases reported on Monday (June 8), bringing the country’s total infections to 8,329.

Out of the seven new cases, two were imported cases while the others were local transmissions involving Malaysians, said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah at the Health Ministry’s daily Covid-19 media briefing on Monday.

THEREALDEAL , near klang right?

You have a vivid imagination. The USA is already kicking China with the economic trade war, and Hong Kong rioters go call USA for help....wise.

lol

Crucially, uncertainty regarding the city’s future as a global financial centre could “potentially jeopardise the ability of Chinese firms to access financing and purchase overseas deals” out of Hong Kong, said Carlos Casanova, Asia-Pacific analyst at insurance firm Coface.
About half of China’s total outbound investment flows through Hong Kong, with some of the world’s biggest deals over the past decade financed via the city, which also acts as the largest source of inbound investment to China.
Markets took Trump’s pronouncement in their stride. The Hong Kong dollar strengthened after the announcements, while the Hang Sang futures index was up 0.6 per cent on Saturday morning. Meanwhile, Chinese stocks listed in New York, including Alibaba (which owns the South China Morning Post), Baidu, and JD, all rose in Friday trading.
Tara Joseph, president of the American Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong, said that Trump’s announcement “did not mean US companies will be flipping a switch in Hong Kong and running for the exits”.
“There are many unanswered questions about how the US-Hong Kong special status could be unwound. The more clarity business receives, the more helpful it will be at this challenging juncture,” she said.

Earlier in the week, sources close to the White House said that revoking Hong Kong’s status was the “nuclear option”, which was on the table but likely to be kept in reserve.
Taken to its full potential, Hong Kong will lose its special customs status, but remain a free port and World Trade Organisation member, meaning it will continue to trade on most-favoured-nation terms with the United States.
“The US’ move to discontinue the separate trade status is more significant in the context of US export controls than it is with broader trade in goods,” said William Marshall, an export controls specialist at law firm Tiang & Partners. “Hong Kong will be subject to those controls applicable to China, which would certainly negatively impact China's vision for Hong Kong as an R&D hub under the Greater Bay Area plan.”
The peg of Hong Kong’s currency with the US dollar, in place since 1983, is unlikely to be affected, as
the local government is sufficiently well armed with US dollars to support it.
“The peg is very unlikely to be in danger. In the short-term, we could see increased volatility in capital flows and the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate against the US dollar, especially if the US government were to take bolder action on Hong Kong’s special status,” said Louis Kuijs, Asia economist at Oxford Economics.
“It is possible to see the HK dollar-US dollar exchange rate to hit the weak side of the trading band as a consequence. However, we think that the peg with the US dollar is unlikely to succumb, given the sheer size of foreign exchange reserves, at US$441 billion in April, is twice the size of the monetary base,” he said.

Questions also remain as to whether the US can avoid sanctions on the financial sector because of the negative impact it would have on American firms.
Nonetheless, the move will sharpen pre-existing anxieties about Hong Kong’s long-term viability as Asia’s premier business hub.
Potential controls on access to American tech goods may also damage China’s plan to use Hong Kong as an R&D and financial spoke of its Greater Bay Area blueprint for South China.
“The biggest consequence is that the US decision is accelerating both the demise of Hong Kong’s importance to China and the world, as well as the decline of China’s economy,” said Chen Zhiwu, director of the Asia Global Institute at Hong Kong University.
The removal of Hong Kong as a buffer between China and the West had put two “conflicting regimes” on a collision course, he said. “When this mitigating role is gone as Hong Kong becomes just another city of China, the clash will be 100 per cent direct and literally face-to-face, which is detrimental to China’s development and undermines its ability to rise, peacefully or otherwise.”

With Hong Kong mainly serving as an entrepôt for the mainland Chinese market, direct trade in goods forms only a minor part of the economy. Its own manufactured goods could be subjected to US trade war tariffs, but the effect would be minimal.
Hong Kong’s government had anticipated “all the different scenarios” of Trump’s announcement, said Hong Kong Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, adding that revoking the city’s special treatment status would have little impact as the local economy was dominated by the services sector.

Hong Kong officials played down the impact of Trump’s vow “to revoke Hong Kong’s preferential treatment as a separate customs and travel territory from the rest of China”, noting the city’s direct trade with the US is only a very small part of its economy.

Trump did not set a timeline in his announcement , nor did he provide specific details as to which economic privileges would be removed, leaving uncertainty over what the US would actually do.
“This is definitely not positive, but we do not have the full details yet,” said John Marrett, a senior analyst covering Hong Kong at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “There were more details on other aspects such as visas and immigration. We will have to wait and see if his bark is worse than his bite.”

Donald Trump’s plan to strip Hong Kong of its special status is light on detail, but economists still fear for city’s future
City’s trade with US is small, but some warn White House moves could reduce its importance as a financial centre
Markets shrug off White House address, but questions about export controls, trade tariffs and enhanced financial oversight loom large

United States President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he plans to begin stripping Hong Kong of its special trading status, but left many important questions about the city’s future as a financial and commercial hub unanswered.
The move will affect “the full range of agreements” the US has with Hong Kong “with few exceptions”, including its extradition treaty with the city and economic privileges enshrined in US law that differentiate it from mainland China, Trump said in the Rose Garden at the White House.
“We will take action to revoke Hong Kong’s preferential treatment as a separate customs and travel territory from the rest of China,” said Trump, indicating that the State Department’s travel advisory for the city would be updated “to reflect the increased danger of surveillance and punishment by the Chinese state security apparatus”.
The US would also take steps to sanction Chinese and Hong Kong officials “directly or indirectly involved in eroding Hong Kong’s autonomy”, he said, echoing the language of legislation enacted in November that requires a punitive response from the executive branch in such circumstances.

An interesting and positive development. Malaysia boleh!

The Covid death rates must be hugely puzzling to many. Nobody I've spoken to has given me a convincing reason why the UK (pop 65M) has 50K+ dead while Malaysia (pop 32M) has just 115.

And US dollar is collapsing again and sits at 6-month, 1-year and multiyear lows against many other currencies.
Gold is the only real currency. China in fact has more than 100X more real physical gold than the US and UK which sold it all. although the US has a little now having looted all the gold from Iraq after the evil US thugs invaded that country under false pretenses of WMD's, killed its women and children and stole that nation''s gold. US and its fat people must held to account by the rest of the world. For this and so many other crimes against humanity on the part of the evil, lying, rogue, hypocritical US terror regime.