(The Star) – Chinese ambassador to Malaysia Dr Huang Huikang is expected to be summoned by Wisma Putra following his statements that are seen as interfering in Malaysia’s domestic affairs.

It is understood the summon, set on Monday, will seek explanation from Dr Huang on his statement made during his visit on Friday, Wisma Putra officials said Saturday.

It is understood the Prime Minister’s Office has been informed of the summon.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is currently on a working trip to New York.

Dr Huang has been quoted as saying that China was against those who resort to violence to disrupt public order, an obvious reference to the threat by a group to hold demonstration in Petaling Street.

“The Chinese government opposes terrorism and any form of discrimination against races and any form of extremism," he told reporters during a visit to Petaling Street on Friday.

Dr Huang also warned that Beijing would not fear voicing out against incidents, which threaten the interests of the country, infringe upon the rights of its citizens in doing business, or disrupt the relationship between Malaysia and China.

Officials when contacted are questioning the ambassador’s remarks when he spoke about terrorism and infringement of China’s national interest at Petaling Street.

“Malaysia views his remarks seriously. It tantamount to interfering in Malaysia’s domestic affairs,” said an official.

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DAP leader says PM has ‘locked up’ BN support, but a popular vote will go against him

(Free Malaysia Today) – The DAP's Lim Kit Siang appears to have conceded, after months of opposition campaigning, that there is now "no chance of success" for forcing prime minister Najib Razak out of office through a confidence motion in Parliament.

In a statement here today, Lim said Najib seemed to have "locked up" the support of Umno warlords, and therefore the majority of Umno-Barisan Nasional members of Parliament

As a result, a vote of no confidence against the prime minister "seems to hold no chance of success", he said.

Lim contended, however, that any national referendum would show "more than 75 percent" against Najib, relying on the 52 percent of the total votes against the Barisan Nasional in the 2013 general election, plus more than half of those who voted for Umno-BN.

He believed that if Umno's 3.5 million members were allowed to have their say, "I am sure the majority will reflect the wishes of the majority of Malaysians in wanting to have a new Prime Minister". However, Umno members could not have their say as party elections have been postponed until after the next general election, which must be held by mid-2018.

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But there is a limit to tolerance. One day you will exceed this limit and can no longer tolerate. And that is when you explode. So this is the problem in Malaysia. We have lived for so many decades with the spirit of tolerance. And we are proud of this tolerance. But we do not realise that tolerance is a negative and not positive thing.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Scream racism and the employer will back off and not sack you for underperforming. Scream racism and the local council will back off and not reject your application to set up a place of worship or 'cultural centre' in a residential neighbourhood. Scream racism and the government will back off and increase the quota for economic 'refugees'.

It works every time. An allegation of racism is a powerful weapon to attack those who disagree with you. It puts those you attack on the defensive. No one likes to be called a racist. So they give way just to avoid being called a racist.

Chinese who propagate mother-tongue education and the setting up of Chinese schools resent being called racists. They will argue they are just defending Chinese rights and mother-tongue education and Chinese schools come under rights and not racism.

Those who oppose mother-tongue education and Chinese schools will be accused of being a racist and of denying Chinese their rights. So they will back off and not oppose mother-tongue education and Chinese schools because they do not like being called a racist.

Malays who propagate the upholding of Article 153 in the Constitution plus the retention of Malay privileges will be called racists. So many Malays want Article 153 in the Constitution to be repealed and Malay privileges removed not because they agree with this but to avoid being called a racist.

Those who oppose Article 153 in the Constitution plus the retention of Malay privileges will be called racists and they hate being called racists. So they will argue that repealing Article 153 in the Constitution plus abolishing Malay privileges is for the good of the Malays because this 'crutch and rent-seeking' policy makes the Malays weak, lazy and unable to compete.

The Malays are failures and they would become more successful if they learned how to compete rather than be 'spoilt' by the government with handouts and quotas that allow them a handicap and unfair advantage. The racist New Economic Policy is what makes Malays failures, so the argument goes, and anyone who supports the NEP is a racist.

The Deputy Prime Minister has been forced to come out with a statement denying that he is a racist. He is accused of being a racist because he is proud of his Indonesian heritage. So that makes him a racist.

If a Chinese were to say that he or she is proud of the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation would you call that Chinese a racist? Probably not, because the Chinese are the minority in Malaysia and you are not allowed to criticise minorities or else you would be called a racist. Only the majority group can be criticised.

Of late the word 'racism' has become the most used word in Malaysia. You attack anyone and anything you do not like with allegations of racism. And it works because people are scared of being called a racist. It is worse than being called a crook, gay, sex pervert or whatever. Racist is the next worse label to paedophile.

If you call someone a crook, gay, sex-pervert, paedophile, etc., you need grounds to do that and will need to prove it. But calling someone a racist needs no proof. Just because you may disagree with someone or something is enough to label you a racist.

I said something in the past, more than once, in fact, and I was called a racist. I said that race-relations in Malaysia is very bad. In fact, it has been bad for a long time now since back in the 1960s and 1970s. Only that people do not want to openly discuss this or say so because it is a 'sensitive' issue.

I even said that Malaysia is a time bomb waiting to explode. Malays, Chinese, Indians, etc., do not really get along with one another. They tolerate one another. And they tolerate one another just to keep the peace and not allow any racial problems to surface.

The word 'tolerate' is the second-most used word after 'racism'. And I explained that this is bad. If the Malays, Chinese, Indians, and so on, need to tolerate one another then this is not good. It is a very bad sign.

You tolerate the dog shit on your lawn that your neighbour's dog deposits every day. You tolerate your noisy neighbour who plays his stereo loudly till way past midnight. You tolerate your neighbour parking his car in front of your house thus blocking your driveway.

You neighbour is very selfish and inconsiderate and you actually hate his behaviour. But you tolerate his bad behaviour anyway just to keep the peace and not fight with him. So tolerate is actually a negative and not positive word.

And this is what the Malays, Chinese, Indians, etc., do in Malaysia. They tolerate one another. But each considers the other as a racist. But they tolerate this racism because they want to avoid conflict. That does not mean, however, that there is love between the different races.

But there is a limit to tolerance. One day you will exceed this limit and can no longer tolerate. And that is when you explode. So this is the problem in Malaysia. We have lived for so many decades with the spirit of tolerance. And we are proud of this tolerance. But we do not realise that tolerance is a negative and not positive thing.

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(The Star) – 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) have expressed regret that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad easily forgets and continues to recycle unproven allegations in attacks against them.

The state investment fund however said they would continue responding to the former prime minister of 22-years so that he would remember their "fact-based answers."

“He continues to use stale and unproven allegations which have been repeatedly proven wrong,” said IMDB in a statement on Saturday in reference to a blog posting by Dr Mahathir on Friday.

It pointed out Dr Mahathir’s claims of RM42bil missing from 1MDB or RM20bil that was unable to be traced.

“For Dr Mahathir’s benefit, a comprehensive breakdown of how 1MDB utilised its RM42bil debt based on the company’s financial statement can be found here,” said 1MDB who attached a link to a previous press release on the issue.

On land owned by 1MDB, they said Dr Mahathir had forgotten that 1MDB is 100% owned by the Malaysian government.

“Therefore any land value increase solely benefits the government.

“Apart from now quoting a much lower land value of RM3000 per square feet as compared to RM7000 per square feet in a previous allegation by him,” said 1MDB.

It added that Dr Mahathir failed to acknowledge the RM3bil commitment by 1MDB on infrastructure development in the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX)

“This equates to approximately RM1500 of infrastructure expenditure per square foot, paid for by 1MDB, and subsequently recovered through land sales,” it said.

1MDB also said that Dr Mahathir kept on repeating his claims about funds transferred to the Prime Minister’s account by 1MDB.

“This is despite confirmations by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) on Aug 3 that the funds were from a private donor and not 1MDB.

“We regret that Tun Mahathir keeps forgetting facts, not just from 1MDB but from independent and respected agencies such as the MACC. Nevertheless, 1MDB is committed to continue providing responses in order to help him remember our fact-based answers,” said 1MDB.

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(Malay Mail Online) – Disagreeing with Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak's claim that its political documentary on Malaysia had been "one-sided", Singapore-based Channel News Asia (CNA) said it would be happy to interview the senior Umno minister on his country's affairs.

In a statement posted on its website yesterday, executive producer of CNA's Insight, Zainudin Afandi pointed out to the minister that its documentary titled A Fractured Nation had not featured any interview with members of the opposition.

"Channel NewsAsia interviewed the organiser of Bersih 4.0, Maria Chin Abdullah, who is not a member of the opposition. We believe that her views provided Insight and balance to the story.

"The programme also interviewed the organiser of the Red Shirt rally, Umno Divisional Chief Mr Jamal Yunos. We also aired the views of the former Melaka Chief Minister and Umno Supreme Council member Ali Rustam," Zainudin said.

The three political analysts interviewed for the half-hour programme aired Thursday night had spoken from an "objective and unbiased" standpoint, he added.

In the documentary, the three observers — Dr Maszlee Malik, assistant professor at the International Islamic University of Malaysia, Dr Ooi Kee Beng, deputy director of the Singapore-based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) Yusof Ishak Institute and Ibrahim Suffian from local independent pollster Merdeka Center — had said that playing up racial sentiments for political support will not work in a languishing economy, after the pro-government #Merah169 demonstration in Malaysia last week saw racist insults hurled at the Chinese.

Zainudin also pointed out that Insight is a long-running and award-winning current affairs programme on CNA.

He said the channel prides itself on featuring objective insights, borne both from being in the region and being invested in the region.

"Nevertheless, Channel News Asia would welcome the opportunity to interview Dr Salleh Said Keruak on the situation in Malaysia, which has generated interest internationally."

Yesterday, Salleh, who is Communications and Multimedia minister, accused CNA of airing what he described as a one-sided documentary on Malaysia that featured only members of the opposition and their supporters.

He claimed the channel only taken tips from opposition sources, which he said led to a negative portrayal of Malaysia's image.

"Channel News Asia's report on Malaysia Day is unfair, biased and regrettable, and should be rectified," he said in a press statement.

The federal minister told CNA that it should have taken into account the views of all parties before putting out the documentary.

He also insisted that the programme's apparent portrayal of Malaysia as a country burdened by problems was "not all true".

– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/accused-of-being-biased-cna-welcomes-opportunity-to-interview-umno-minister#sthash.LUx7Vy2q.dpuf

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The Chinese community must practice what it preaches if it wants to end racism.

Scott Ng, Free Malaysia Today

If you're a follower of TV serials, you know the feeling of watching from a bird's eye view as people in the show come into conflict over what is obviously a misunderstanding. It's frustrating, and you wish you could reach out to the characters on the screen to shake them and tell them that what's happening is wrong, that their allies are not their enemies and they should change the way they are behaving.

I feel like that sometimes as I watch the conflict between the Malays and the Chinese escalate to histrionic and ridiculous levels. It seems like a series of misunderstandings have built up into tiny cuts, and we just keep picking on each other's scabrous wounds as if we're addicted to pain and frustration. It becomes even worse when we try to one-up each other, as if this is some sort of game or contest.

As a member of the Malaysian Chinese community, I feel like we need to be honest with ourselves. Sure, much of the rhetoric coming from some Malays has been blatantly anti-Chinese, but we too have been guilty of arrogant racism.

Let's take Zahid Hamidi's recent trip to Indonesia. Yes, there are legitimate concerns on the use of public resources, since the DPM's son just happened to have his wedding in Jakarta during his visit – a visit, mind you, to study the haze situation, and we've been studying that for a long time.

However, it is not acceptable for Namewee to tell Zahid to "balik Indonesia" and then curse him with one of the vilest insults a Malaysian can level at another. Did he have a point? Perhaps he did, given the "balik China" insult that's been repeated many times for years, but Namewee must realise that the Chinese community does not gain anything when a member of our community makes a statement as inflammatory and, I dare say, as racist as the one he aimed at Zahid.

And Namewee is not alone. Some days, I dread wading into the comments sections of news sites because I know in my heart that the first blatantly racist comment will likely come from a Chinese commenter in response to either a cybertrooper or a moderate Malay who sees the Opposition as not quite worthy of trust.

What we don't realise is that we too are creating tiny cuts in the Malay psyche, and the insults build up as scar tissue that cannot be ignored. Often enough, it is insinuated that the Malay commenter does not know what he is talking about because he comes from a kampung. It's the same kind of racism directed at the Indian community when the first question you ask an Indian man is, "You drunk, is it?" and the same kind that a black man in America suffers when he is searched for drugs or guns.

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Umno man reminds former premier that Bapa Merdeka accused him of fraud in 1987 party elections

(Free Malaysia Today) – Dr Mahathir Mohamad was described today as being delusional in believing that he could decide on who should lead the country, and was reminded that his own premiership was described as being based on fraud.

Communications and Multimedia minister Salleh Said Keruak, writing in his personal blog, accused Dr Mahathir of stating a lie and a fallacy in believing that he had a right to remove Najib Razak as prime minister, after having put Najib in office.

"This sounds like what they say in the US: if I can hire him, then I can fire him," Salleh said, adding that it was untrue. Dr Mahathir was not Najib's boss or employer who could just sack him as he pleases.

Salleh's comment came in response to Mahathir's remarks in his own blog yesterday in which Mahathir had reminded his critics that he fought hard to have Najib appointed as Prime Minister. "But now I want him removed. It's nothing personal," Dr Mahathir said.

However Salleh pointed out that it was Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who had appointed Najib as his deputy and if anyone could claim to have made Najib the prime minister it was probably Abdullah.

He said Dr Mahathir could probably only claim to have made Abdullah the premier, having appointed Abdullah as his deputy before eventually resigning and handing over power to Abdullah.

Salleh said that Dr Mahathir's line of thinking might even be described as "delusional" by some, that "one man can think he decides who should or should not lead the country, as if the democratic system in how we choose leaders and governments no longer exists".

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Salleh Said Keruak

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he had worked hard to make Najib Tun Razak the Prime Minister of Malaysia. So, since he made Najib the Prime Minister, then he has a right to remove him. This sounds like what they say in the US: if I can hire then I can fire.

Actually this is not true and is a fallacy. Dr Mahathir is not Najib's boss or employer who can just sack him as he pleases. Some may even call it delusional that one man can think he decides who should or should not lead the country, as if the democratic system in how we choose leaders and governments no longer exists.

Dr Mahathir can probably make that claim when it comes to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. After all, he did appoint Abdullah as his deputy and eventually resigned and handed the country to Abdullah.

But it was Abdullah who appointed Najib as his deputy. So, if anyone can claim that he made Najib the Prime Minister, then probably Abdullah is the one who can make that claim.

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Salleh Said Keruak

"If the currency and the economy is to recover, Najib must cease to be Prime Minister of Malaysia. Malaysians must demand for Najib's removal. It is totally democratic to demand for his removal," said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today.

"Only his ceasing to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia will the economy recover, the Ringgit revalued up, and cost of living go down. Only after his removal can Malaysians stand tall again," added Dr Mahathir.

This is exactly what the opposition used to say about Dr Mahathir. In fact, Anwar Ibrahim blamed all the country's social, political and financial problems on Dr Mahathir and even accused Dr Mahathir for the lack of democracy and civil liberties. Some even say that all the problems the country is currently facing are Dr Mahathir's legacy.

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(The Star) – Police arrested red shirt rally organiser Datuk Jamal Yunos on Friday night.

Kuala Lumpur CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Zainuddin Ahmad confirmed the arrest.

“We arrested him under Section 105 of the Criminal Procedure Code to prevent a crime from occurring over his alleged statements that riots would occur in Petaling Street,” he told The Star Online.

It is learnt that Jamal, the Sungei Besar Umno division chief, was detained at 9pm Friday and is being held at the Dang Wangi police station.

Earlier in the day, Deputy IGP Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said police would summoned Jamal to Dang Wangi to record a statement over the rally at Petaling Street on Saturday.

Noor Rashid reportedly said police would not compromise with anybody trying to organise the rally and would take a firm action.

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