(Malay Mail Online) – PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli cautioned the public today against getting their hopes up about ousting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak through a no-confidence vote.

Rafizi also admitted that it is not an easy task as the Dewan Rakyat is "controlled" by Najib and Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, and urged the public to "recalibrate their expectations".

"My fear is… I think we have to recalibrate the expectations of the people because I don't think the public understand the Standing Orders," Rafizi told reporters.

The Pandan MP said any motion to be tabled in Parliament has to be submitted to the Speaker, who would then refer the matter to the prime minister.

"Therefore, a vote of no confidence, or a motion to table a vote of no confidence the way the public is accustomed to it in other countries, is nearly impossible here," he added.

Rafizi said Najib would also be beefing up his defence by making sure all Barisan Nasional MPs be present in Parliament to back him up.

"We will definitely try to put in the motion trying to defeat him and so on… but whether or not that will happen, we have to be realistic about it," said Rafizi.

"I am worried that if the people do not understand Parliament's procedures, then they will say this is deceit by the Opposition."

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(The Star) – A civil claim filed by National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp) executive chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail against PKR vice president Mohd Rafizi Ramli and a news portal’s owner is set to go to trial.

Judicial Commissioner Azizul Azmi Adnan will hear the defamation suit for four days from Dec 8 to Dec 12, and then on Dec 16.

Speaking to reporters here, Mohd Rafizi’s lead counsel Razlan Hadri said the hearing dates were rescheduled because Dr Mohamad Salleh’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has to attend various Asean meetings in November.

Razlan said that the trial was originally scheduled for five days of hearings from Oct 26, adding that Shafee has to attend the meetings in his capacity as a representative of the government.

The hearings follow a mediation process which failed to settle the suit as there were certain terms and conditions that could not be agreed upon by the parties.

NFCorp and Dr Mohamad Salleh had filed the defamation suit on June 3, 2013 over a statement in relation to a loan to buy KL Eco City properties.

The plaintiffs named Pandan MP Mohd Rafizi and Malaysiakini news portal owner Mkini Dotcom Sdn Bhd as defendants.

Dr Mohamad Salleh had said in his statement of claim that Mohd Rafizi gave a defamatory statement at a press conference held at the PKR headquarters over the purchase of KL Eco City properties on March 7, 2012 which was published in Malaysiakini on the same day.

He said that he had suffered losses as a result of the lies, misleading information, exposure of confidential banking information and slander by the defendants.

He is seeking for an injunction to restrain the defendants from further misleading and deceiving the public over the loan issue as well as damages.

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DAP's agenda was designed to frustrate and impede the implementation of the 1MDB rationalisation plan.

(Free Malaysia Today) – The investigations by the lawful authorities are the appropriate forum for the facts and truth to be established on 1MDB, said the company in a statement. "We are therefore surprised that the DAP seems intent on continuing to make a public spectacle of this, driven by what we can only assume are political point scoring considerations."

It is clear that the DAP's agenda was driven only by politics and was designed to frustrate and impede the implementation of the 1MDB rationalization plan, towards which the company continues to make good progress, said the statement. "1MDB has pledged and continues to provide full cooperation to all lawful authorities investigating the company."

"We have consistently maintained that if any wrongdoing is found, then action must be taken under the law."

The company was commenting on statements issued on Friday by DAP. "As the DAP knows well, 1MDB was currently under investigation by the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) and the Auditor-General," said the 1MDB statement.

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Umno veteran Rais Yatim says it is not right that the Sosma Act is open to attack by all and sundry.

(Free Malaysia Today) – Veteran political leaders of the country have a right to voice their opinions since Malaysia is a democratic country but should refrain from attacking the laws that govern the land, former cabinet minister Rais Yatim said today.

"They have the right to voice up (their opinions) for the wellbeing of the country as well as for the integrity of the political system," he told reporters in reference to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed's comments on the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) being used on the prime minister's critics.

However, Rais said the Act should not be open to attack by any individual as it was the Attorney-General's right to invoke that provision as a preventative measure if the need arose.

"Sosma must not be disputed. Under the law, the authorities have the right to investigate any suspected individual as a preventative measure.

"The AG can choose to use investigation findings or the Penal Code. This is his absolute right," Rais said.

Last month, former Umno Batu Kawan divisional vice-chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan and his lawyer Matthias Chang were arrested to facilitate investigations against them under Sosma, a move that received harsh criticism from many quarters, including Opposition politicians and former Barisan Nasional veteran leaders.

Earlier this week, both were charged with attempting to sabotage the country's banking and financial system on account of lodging numerous reports on alleged financial wrongdoing at 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Rais also acknowledged that the government was obligated to answer all accusations of abuse of power and corruption levelled against it in the past few months, but stressed that investigations must be wrapped-up first before that could happen.

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John Teo, NST

All politics may be local and while Malaysians are consumed by heady political goings-on within, it took a more detached foreigner to make a deeper sense of contemporary Malaysian affairs and give them the larger, geopolitical context.

Bilahari Kausikan is no ordinary foreign commentator of Malaysian affairs. He was the top civil servant in Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and remains "ambassador-at-large". Although he has never served in Malaysia, many of his most senior colleagues cut their teeth serving stints (often multiple stints) in Kuala Lumpur.

Bar Washington and Beijing, no other diplomatic post matters more to Singapore, such is the direct impact — for good or ill — Malaysia bears down on our southern neighbour. Kausikan's views are thus superbly informed and Singapore being what it is, they will sink in, in capitals beyond.

For longer than anyone cares to recall, Malaysian officials treat Singapore with an odd mixture of brotherly condescension and disguised admiration. This was not helped by the widely held belief that the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) of Singapore retained political influence across the border through its successor DAP in Malaysia, somewhat reinforced by the fact that a sitting MCA president was once arrested while at the other side of the Causeway.

Kausikan's recent piece on Malaysian developments in The Straits Times disabused us of such notions. Reactions here to what he wrote — not least from DAP — ranged from injured lament that Singapore cared little about the popular clamour for good governance in Malaysia to contrived horror over any attempt by the island republic to insinuate itself into our political discourse.

It goes without saying that Singapore cared first and foremost for its own interest but as the title of Kausikan's piece had suggested, where domestic developments in the region and particularly in Malaysia are concerned, Singapore is not an island insulated from potentially adverse implications.

Where Kausikan's thinking can usefully add to that of Malaysians is through its clear if somewhat surprising distillation of what has changed in Malaysia and, more importantly, what has not changed. What is striking is how Singapore's thinking towards Malaysia has evolved to now accept that matters to do with race are a necessary, unavoidable and possibly immutable factor in the overall understanding of what makes Malaysia tick.

That is the unchangeable reality about Malaysia. That Singapore has belatedly recognised this as providing the bedrock of political stability in Malaysia is welcome but had it dawned immediately after Malaysia Day in 1963, the tragedy of Separation would have been avoided. Kausikan is, in effect, calling upon the Chinese community in Malaysia to avoid a repeat of the conditions which rapidly led to Separation.

It is not difficult to imagine that proceeding anew on such a path will lead to something far worse than the relatively gentlemanly Separation. He thus provides Malaysians a sobering cautionary note and reality check.

On the other hand, there are those Malaysians who are disappointed that the global beacon of clean and efficient governance that is Singapore would seem to care little for Malaysians fighting for the same in their own country. Singapore, of course, never had pretensions to be a moralising crusader such as the United States. But perhaps Malaysians should accept as Singaporeans apparently do that on matters of political governance, theirs is a global exception and therefore truly sui generis.

An official like Kausikan illustriously serving a lifetime under PAP-ruled Singapore is perhaps also better positioned than most to see through the current public clamour in Malaysia for clean governance for what it really is: a cleverly orchestrated play for national political power by DAP which, if successful, will upend the political order in Malaysia as we know it.

DAP supporters and sympathisers naturally are sanguine about any such eventuality but Malaysians should have cause to wonder if the eventual promised land might not turn out more like Fiji, if not Iraq or Syria.

Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger in March paid personal homage in Singapore to his departed contemporary and intellectual soulmate, both of whom — if not for accidents of birth — might have gone on to become philosopher-kings on much larger stages: Lee Kuan Yew.

A new Kissinger biography by Niall Ferguson posited that the legendary political realist is in fact an idealist. Ferguson argued that Kissinger believed an insistence on "pure morality" is itself "the most immoral of postures" because "it often led to inaction" on the policy front. And action always required picking a lesser evil. Something global statesmen readily recognise and perhaps mere mortals should as well.

The writer is a Kuching-based journalist

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He has not only survived, but has thwarted, Mahathir’s best machinations.

Scott Ng, Free Malaysia Today

Embattled. Under siege. Facing his greatest test. These words have been been used over and over again to describe Prime Minister Najib Razak's situation. They carry the connotation that the Prime Minister is weak enough to depose. Perhaps it's time his detractors admit that they are indulging in wishful thinking.

The truth is that, despite the challenges he faces, Najib still sits as our Prime Minister. It's time to acknowledge his strength and tenacity, even as certain segments of the public deride him as a coward. This is not to say that the insult is entirely without basis. Najib's "one step forward and two steps backward" approach to suing the Wall Street Journal has lent strength to this perception. But when it comes to matters domestic, the PM has shown a mastery of political intrigue that does not seem to fit with his cherubic appearance. He has not only survived, but has thwarted, the best machinations engineered by Mahathir Mohamad, a savvy political operator himself.

Despite the glimmer of hope Najib's detractors see in Mahathir's press conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation, the truth is that even Mahathir himself had to recognise the PM's strength. His press conference tells us that only the old guard are willing to stand behind him, bar Muhyiddin Yassin and Shafie Apdal, though "old guard" could perhaps be used to describe them as well.

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(Bernama) – The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will investigate the spread of a false statement by Attorney-General Apandi Ali against Bank Negara Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz which was said to have been uploaded in a local news portal.

Head of the MCMC Network Security, Enforcement and Advocacy Sector Zulkarnain Mohd Yasin stressed that the party responsible for spreading the false news would be prosecuted.

He said those committing the offence could be punished under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.

"Do not ever spread any news whose validity has yet to be ascertained. This is because such an act can lead to undesired developments.

"The MCMC wishes to advise the people against being influenced by the contents carried by the social media," he said in his MCMC Facebook website.

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(Bloomberg) – A rebound in Malaysia's ringgit will prove short-lived as the factors that made it Asia's worst performer this year show few signs of going away, according to an investment arm of France's largest bank.

"We're in a situation where nothing's changed, so therefore the only conclusion we have is that Malaysia remains a market to be short," said Mark Capstick, a London-based fund manager at BNP Paribas Investment Partners, which oversees €532 billion (RM2.5 triillion). 

"We're short right across the board," he said, adding that assets being bet against include the ringgit as well as the nation's local-currency and global bonds.

While the ringgit has appreciated more than 6 per cent in October to rank among the top five in emerging markets, it's been dogged by a persistent drop in oil prices, slowing Chinese growth and a probe of fund transfers into Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's bank accounts.

Malaysia's currency is rebounding from a 17-year low reached in September as the receding prospect of a U.S. interest-rate increase in 2015 revives demand for higher- yielding assets worldwide.

Like BNP Paribas, Pacific Investment Management Co is also sticking to its guns and maintaining bets that the ringgit's slide will resume. Pimco, which oversees US$1.52 trillion (RM6.296 trillion), reported Oct. 1 it had short positions on emerging-market currencies including the ringgit, Thai baht and South Korea's won.

Global funds have pulled RM41.5 billion from Malaysian debt and equities this year amid a 15 per cent slide in the ringgit.

The halving in Brent crude prices from a 2014 peak is crimping government revenue for Asia's only major oil exporter, just as growth slows in China, Malaysia's second- biggest export market.

Najib removal

Investor confidence has also soured because of rising debt at state investment company 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), whose advisory board the prime minister chairs.

Najib has drawn flack over 1MDB from lawmakers, including a call from former leader Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for him to step down. The company is in the course of selling assets to appease the criticism.

"My gut feeling is that people would like him to be removed but the chances of that happening are particularly slight," said BNP's Capstick.

"The political problems will just be a constant."

There are a couple of "bright lights," said Capstick, citing the winding down of 1MDB, the currency-swap lines Malaysia has with China and the "sizable" pension funds that the nation could fall back on.

The Employees Provident Fund had RM667 billion of assets as of June 2015, according to the state-controlled entity's website.

The drop in Malaysia's foreign-exchange reserves completes the "whole risk," Capstick said, noting that the central bank will be looking to accumulate dollars during periods of ringgit gains, said Capstick.

The stockpile fell 20 per cent this year to US$93.3 billion in September, central bank data show.

"Malaysia remains a market to be short, although we have to accept that at times when the market takes a breather, you're going to get these slight reversals," he said.

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(The Star) – The Selangor government, through Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor), has met the Oct 15 deadline to take over the state's entire water industry. On Thursday it paid off the outstanding purchase price of RM1.554bil for Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas).

Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd (PNHB) told Bursa Malaysia that the company had on Thursday received the balance and hence the proposed disposals of its two subsidiaries had been completed.

"Accordingly, Puncak Niaga and Syabas shall cease to be a subsidiary and joint-venture company of PNHB group respectively with effect from Oct 15, 2015." it said.

PNHB owns 100% equity interest in Puncak Niaga and 70% in Syabas.

On Sept 14, PNHB had agreed to the eighth and final extension of the stop date (to Oct 15) for the completion of the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Air Selangor.

The conclusion to the water deal, which marks the consolidation of the Selangor water industry, has been a long time coming. PNHB signed a conditional SPA to sell the company's water assets in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya to Air Selangor for RM1.55bil in November last year, but the state's water restructuring had hit a snag since 2008 due to various disagreements between the state and federal governments.

PNHB shares closed unchanged on Thursday at RM2.87, with 1.397 million shares changing hands.

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Why did Muhyiddin disappear and has now reappeared? It was definitely not media blackout because he was missing even from pro-Opposition media portals.

Rasyhid Hamzan

‘Now you see him, now you don’t’, the famous phrase used in the Chipsmore biscuit advert perfectly describes ex-DPM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. He gets sacked from the ministry and cabinet, opens his mouth for a while, then went under the radar but is now back with mentor Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad calling for Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s resignation.

Why did Muhyiddin disappear and has now reappeared? It was definitely not media blackout because he was missing even from pro-Opposition media portals.

After all this is the Mahathir way of doing things – to blackmail the leader for approval of favourable projects.

6P Amnesty Programme

Illegal foreign workers is a never-ending problem in Malaysia. It was once speculated that there are more than two million non-citizens in Malaysia, nearly one-third of them illegal. The sprouting of illegal immigrants is believed to be responsible for the increasing crime rates in the country. To address this issue, the government started the 6P Amnesty Programme several years ago to register the illegal ones in order to monitor their activities better.

The government appointed Nexbis Sdn. Bhd as the sole company to carry out this programme. A biometric system was installed in every entry point into the country that was used to register these immigrants. Nexbis was the sole supplier of this device to the Home Ministry and Immigration Department. It was alleged that a Dato who is Muhyiddin's Son in-law was the main person behind Nexbis being awarded the contract.

Nexbis subsequently subcontracted many smaller companies to carry out the operations. However, there was no check and balancing of those companies that a lot of frauds and misappropriations transpired. Foreign worker non-governmental organisations such Tenaganita claims that poor implementation, lack of transparency and fraudulent agents severely hampered success of the 6P Programme. More than a billion tax-payers money again went to the drain.

School Laboratory Project

Not long ago while Muhyiddin was the Education Minister, a budget of about RM 1.5 billion was approved by the Ministry of Education (MOE) for a nationwide repair and improvement of school scientific labs.

The entire project was solely handed to a company through direct negotiations. It is alleged that the brainchild behind this project is none other than Muhyiddin’s son-in-law. Following this for the subsequent umpteen years all lab maintenance and procurement will be done only by this company. When Muhyiddin got sacked, he initially went on attack mode against Najib to send a strong message not to disturb the project which is in its final stages of planning in MOE. Things moved on and Muhyiddin kept mum. However since the induction of a new Education Minister, the project has been allegedly put to hold due to irregularities in awarding the project to a single company and proposed monopoly for years to come. This has hurt Muhyiddin hence the latter has once again come out speaking against Najib.

Just as Mahathir empowered his family financially, so did his protégé Muhyiddin. We only explored some of the alleged wrong-doings and Muhyiddin’s abuse of power by directly offering contracts and projects to his son-in-law. His son Fakhri Yassin allegedly got a fair bite of the cherry too. Muhyiddin being dropped from cabinet has directly affected the cash flow quadrant of his family.

It will be interesting to see if Najib succumbs to the pressure and instructs to unfreeze frozen mega projects. Pro-Opposition supporters are definitely mounting more pressure on Najib to fulfill Muhyiddin’s internal demands. Once again a Mahathir ally is fooling the public to enrich himself and ironically ‘intelligent’ Malaysians are giving a helping hand again.

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(Bloomberg/MMO) – Meet Malaysia, the new Brazil.

Nearly felled by the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, the Southeast Asian nation recovered to become a global commodities juggernaut, known for its stable government and investor-friendly policies. Now, with its premier enveloped by a multi million dollar funding scandal, Malaysia risks being infected with the kind of economic malaise that has struck its emerging market counterpart in South America.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, 62, has denied any wrongdoing. But as investigations continue and opponents like previous premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad call for his resignation, the danger is the leadership stays in fire-fighting mode. The economy is already hit by a slowdown in prices for oil and natural gas, and Najib is expected to make bigger handouts to the poor in the budget on October 23. Could Malaysia slide into a "lost decade"?

"Malaysia risks not just being left behind, but falling off the radar all together, especially with foreign investors," said Jim Walker, managing director at Hong Kong-based Asianomics Ltd and former chief economist at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. "People are definitely shying away from Malaysia," he said, and the politics of Malaysia is "by far the biggest threat".

Foreign investors are noticing. They pulled US$4.6 billion (RM18.9 billion) from stocks and bonds last quarter and sent the currency to a 17-year low. While the ringgit has since recovered alongside emerging market currencies it's still down about 15 per cent this year, the worst performer in the Asia Pacific region. Approved foreign direct investment fell about 42 per cent in the first half of 2015 to RM21.3 billion.

"The reforms are not taking place because Najib is preoccupied," said Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, a former deputy minister in Najib's government and ex-member of his United Malays National Organisation (Umno) supreme council, who has now joined an opposition party. "It's maintenance mode" for companies as they wait for an end to political uncertainty, he said.

Read more here

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(The Rakyat Post) – After weeks of speculation, former Deputy Higher Education Minister and former Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah finally joined Parti Keadilan Rakyat today.

Although it was smiles at the PKR headquarters as he was welcomed with open arms, whispers amid smirks are going around among some party members.

While some hail it as a coup for the PKR, others are saying it was a colossal mistake for Saifuddin to join the party.

A senior party member said while it was good that Saifuddin had joined them, he warned that the former deputy minister should tread very carefully in the party.

"While the ideals of the party are good and it syncs well with him, he must remember never to cross swords with certain people in the party.

"For he will be doomed and end up being disenchanted. Just ask former PKR leaders Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim. They will be able to tell him more."

Zaid resigned after complaining of electoral irregularities in the party polls while Khalid was sacked from the party after refusing to vacate his Selangor Menteri Besar position.

A former PKR member said Saifuddin may soon realise that at times things may not be very different between Umno and PKR.

"I left the party as it was becoming very hegemonic and members are slapped with disciplinary action, whenever they are critical of the leadership. We are not allowed to speak out against certain people.

"If Saifuddin thinks he has managed to get past political manoeuvring days in Umno, he is in for surprise.

"But anyway let's give him time and see how things go."

He said it would have been best if Saifuddin had joined Parti Amanah Negara instead as it was a new party and needed more leaders.

"He would have slotted in well there and would be able to make a difference there."

Another party member, who also wanted to be anonymous, said Saifuddin would not be making much difference to the party.

"What can he do? Not that he has strong grassroots support to bring over.

"He has basically joined PKR before risking being booted out of Umno."

Saifuddin had already been issued a show cause letter for attending the round table discussions preceding the formation of Pakatan Harapan last month.

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(The Rakyat Post) – PKR is seen as still hoping for Pas to join the newly formed coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) despite the Islamist party's refusal to work alongside its breakaway, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) and DAP.

PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, however, said that its party has yet to receive a "final word" from Pas on their refusal to join the newly formed pact, PH.

"We have yet to be informed officially and so far, discussions are still underway.

"We are open to cooperation with all political parties as well as individuals who intend to fight for a change," he told reporters at the PKR headquarters here today.

It was previously reported that Pas deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the Islamist party was "fed up" with DAP's political game and reiterated that Pas would not work with PH.

He said that Pas did not have the time to entertain DAP which constantly picked on their party.

Meanwhile, on former deputy higher education minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah's decision to join PKR and work alongside the members, Mohamed Azmin described it as a "historical moment".

"It would help to strengthen our efforts to cooperate and work harmoniously with other political parties," he said.

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