Razak Baginda’s former private investigator, P Balasubramaniam, has made a statutory declaration on July 1 regarding Altantuya’s murder case.
The details of the SD is available on Nat’s blog. To cut it short…
a. Balasubramaniam was hired by Abdul Razak Baginda (ARB) in October 2006 to deal with a threat calling him to pay his debts. He later identified that person as Ang (or ASP Tan), a private investigator employed by Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaaribuu.
b. Altantuya, identified herself as Aminah, claimed that she was there to see her boyfriend Abdul Razak Baginda. She (or Mr Ang) was demanding USD$500,000 commission owed to Aminah from a (submarine) deal in Paris.
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Raja Petra Kamarudin has made a statutory declaration on June 18 alleging that Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Deputy Prime Minister Najib’s wife, was at the murder scene of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu. [Malaysiakini]
The news is not picked up by the main media yet, but the blogosphere has been heated up with all sorts of discussions.
Whether the allegation is truth or not, I don’t know… in fact only very few people would know at the moment. RPK has shown his courage over the years, but frankly, sometimes he is abusing his influence to bully the politicians.
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Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak have reached an agreement on the right time for a leadership change, the prime minister said Friday. [Bernama]
That is, if both Pak Lah and Najib are unchallenged in the next Umno election… or that they managed to fence off their challengers somehow.
Regardless, I don’t like the idea of unchallenged leadership transition at all… it violates the spirit of democracy and also encourages political corruption.
What Pak Lah has promised for the Sabahans on May 31… [Details]
1. Federal Development Department scrapped and replaced by Sabah State Development Office, with its operations placed directly under the state government’s supervision.
2. Formation of a cabinet committee on illegal immigrants to be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to discuss and solve the perennial illegal immigrants’ problem in the state.
3. RM1 billion allocation from the prime minister’s special allocation to be distributed according to development requirements in Sabah.
The media is reporting that Sabahans are getting lots of benefits, but it’s not really the case. Set aside the extra RM1bil allocation, the first two actions are not something of a bonus, it’s something that should be done years ago.
If the BN government didn’t lose their 2/3 majority in March, these issues might be overlooked once again after the election. Still, it’s better late than never.
However, don’t take their promise for granted yet. One of the biggest issues with our BN government is on implementations… they do come out with decent ideas and policies occasionally, but often failed to meet the objectives due to poor executions.
Promising is one thing… delivering the promises is another story.
With the price of crude oil rising above 100 dollars a barrel, it’s inevitable that our petrol price is going up pretty soon.
Malaysia is not facing bankruptcy danger even if we keep the price level… what Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak claimed prior to the New Year Day was obviously to demean the opposition parties instead of solid economic facts. Najib said that the opposition’s promises to reduce oil prices if it were to form a government will only bankrupt the country, because it’s not possible…
It doesn’t take a genius to realise that the government controlled Petronas would be making extra money following the rising oil price as well… the government is probably not losing too much with the subsidies compared to a few years ago (if there is any loses at all).
Khairy Jamaluddin was right though when he said on Umno’s General Assembly in Nov 2007 that the petrol subsidy could be better spent on other developments. My point of view is still the same… that it would be a wise move to cut the petrol subsidy ONLY IF the money are spent at the right place (education, health care etc.) and not going to dubious projects like Angkasawan or buying a new submarine… or perhaps the worst - to waste and corruption.
Considering that Malaysia won’t be having much petroleum resources left (probably finished in a decade or two without new findings)… our government need to be proactive in finding new energy resources (bio-diesel, solar power etc.) and reducing petroleum consumption. We need a better public transport system to start with; it’s a pain to travel in Malaysia without a car.
At the meantime, we the common citizens just have to be prepared for the next price hike.
MIC parliamentarian K. Devamany is in trouble for ‘breaking the rank’ after saying that “the government was not doing enough for the (Indian) community” in response to the recent Hindraf rally.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz was fast to ask Devamany to resign from MIC if he had disputed his own party… and Devamany is scheduled to explain to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak about his words.
I couldn’t bother much about BN’s rank or whatever policy. I am just wondering how people like you and me could get our voices to be heard by our government…
The UMNO led government has responded to the recent demonstrations saying that street rallies are unnecessary, and that they are willing to listen from the people through proper channels.
Thing is… if opposition leaders raised their concerns, they will be raped with all the insults possible. If a BN representative raised his opinions, like Devamany did… well, he is accused of breaking the ranks.
In the end… no one can say anything that the UMNO leaders do not want to listen. Badawi doesn’t care… and he has the most ferocious guarding dog at his Prime Minister Department that will bite on EVERYONE who voiced their dissatisfaction at the current government.
Government ready to listen to the citizens? Forget about it… that’s bullsh!t.
Keris can’t kill; a person with the keris can.
I accept that keris is a cultural symbol for Malays, for Malaysia in fact. Some people might not be aware, but we are seeing the keris almost everyday everywhere… with our Yang di-Pertuan Agong carrying it in his photo. There is nothing wrong with keris.
The issue lies in the person who carries the keris, and the agenda behind it.
UMNO youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein has made a decent statement at the 2007 general assembly that the kissing and hoisting of the keris symbolises the protection given to not only the Malays but also to other races in the country. [Bernama]
It could be a genuine statement, or probably just a PR stunt… but it doesn’t erase the fact that the ‘keris protect all Malaysians” ideology was not what he managed to portray when he played with his keris for the past couple of years.
I can’t blame too much on Hishammuddin though; it was a trend for UMNO youth to raise racial sentiment. Mahathir, Najib, Anwar etc. had all been criticized for their radical gimmick when they were in their early political days.
All these people need to build their network and support to move up the political rank… Hishammuddin won’t be the last person to play with sensitive issues in UMNO assembly.
Some Malaysians might not be happy about what Hishammuddin did, but there is nothing much to do against it besides ranting online or in coffee shops. Hishammuddin will march forward in his political career regardless of how we feel… we have to move on as well regardless of how he feels.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is in France to witness the launch of Malaysia’s first submarine.
I don’t have the exact figure how much it cost for the sub… if I remember correctly it’s around a billion Euros for 2 Scorpene-class submarines. I am not sure if we do need submarines in our defense, but I am not against government’s decision to upgrade and improve our weapons and defense system.
What I don’t wish to see though, is government leaders using this occasion to brag about how technological advance we are. Owning a sub doesn’t mean that we are technological capable of building one… it just proves that we have the money to buy one.