Inter-Research And Studies (IRAS)

In times of crisis, like today’s coronavirus widespread in our nation, the parliament as the highest institution in this country must ensure our people and the nation’s well-being are being prioritised by the government of the day. In this case, even if the coronavirus is yet to be under control and the movement control order (MCO) is being implemented, the period and time of the parliamentary sittings should not be reduced no matter what it takes in order to ensure the sitting government is properly checked and scrutinised in whatever it undertakes to ensure public interests are maintained, corruption, power abuse and mismanagement of funds can be prevented. It is the utmost responsibilities of the sitting government to ensure the smooth proceedings of the parliament by ensuring all member of parliament of their safety and security while the proceedings are ongoing while the crisis is being tackled. Today, based on our observation on the rebel government, they are obviously disappo...

About four days after the so-called Perikatan Nasional took helm of the government seat in Putrajaya, they are beginning to unleash their manifestos one by one, some picking up the pieces from the past. The first was a former defence minister who is now taking up the foreign affairs portfolio in the Perikatan government pledged the six new army helicopters that he ordered many years back will be delivered by the supplier at the end of this year. Then, the PPSMI and the free breakfast in school scheme will be reviewed by the newly appointed education minister. Ties with Saudi Arabia will also be mend after the relationship between the two countries soured in the “Mahathir” previous government, follow by an attempt to resolve the palm oil spat with India and the Perikatan cabinet ministers are readying themselves to have their salaries reduced following the current economic uncertainties. Furthermore, the Perikatan prime minister had also pledged to re-introduce the GST after the begi...

In a region stricken by violent conflicts and dictatorships, corruption remains endemic in the Arab states while assaults on freedom of expression, press freedoms and civil society continue to escalate. In this environment, it is no surprise that 19 of 21 Arab states score below 50 in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2017 , which captures levels of corruption in the public sector. SMALL STRIDES, BUT OVERALL STAGNATION While the majority of Arab countries show no significant change in this year’s index, on the ground, a number of countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia are taking small yet positive steps towards fighting corruption and increasing transparency and integrity. While not reflected in its CPI score, Lebanon, for example made small strides in 2017 with the passage of the Access to Information Law. The country also joined the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI ), the global standard for the good governance of oil, gas and mineral resources. In addit...

Last week, there has been a big publicity on the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda)’s success in "regaining the land" in Jalan Semarak which has been suspiciously transferred to a company in a 2015 deal. We would like to seek a clearer clarification from the Felda chairman Shahrir Abdul Samad, is the land in Jalan Semarak really back in Felda’s hand? What is the evidence of transactions which will prove that Felda has indeed regained the ownership of the land? Can he show the public that the developer/owner of the land Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd (SPSB) had transacted all the transfer proceedings back to Felda with the various paperwork done? The announcement made by Felda recently that they had regained the land is indeed a surprise, as such transaction speed has never happened before in history. What has Felda got to offer in order to regain the land from SPSB? SPSB could not have just return the land to Felda empty handed since the developer has already star...

This article has earlier appeared in the Beritadaily.com on 27/1/2017 The scandal surrounding the state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and the case of a RM2.6 billion deposit found in the personal account of Prime Minister Najib Razak have not only become local headlines but have also gained international attention. This is because this nation has become Umno’s Malaysia where everyone must say yes and bow respectfully to the Umno president. Our nation’s three major organs – the executives, parliament and the judiciary system – are all right under his thumb. This is why he managed to bulldoze through many oppressive laws for use against his critics and opponents in order to stay in power. In Malaysia, the position of the prime minister has become too powerful. Checks and balances on him are currently non-existent because the institutions themselves have made him so. As for our parliamentary system, no doubt there are some checks and balances on matters pertaining to govern...

This article has earlier appeared in Beritadaily.com on 22/09/2016 Recently, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), under the leadership of the newly appointed chief commissioner Dzulkifli Ahmad, has made a string of arrests of high-ranking civil servants ranging from Datuks to Datuks Seri and Tan Sris. Well, whenever MACC is helmed by a new chief, such enthusiasm seems to be bubbling. It begs the question of whether the new broom can sweep as well till the end. Yes, Dzulkifli has adopted the right approach, according to many. But so did all the previous MACC chiefs, who had started well with a spate of arrests and prosecutions of corrupt public figures. But they ended up being frowned upon by many powerful politicians and leaders because MACC was trying its best to go deeper into these corrupt elements, their source and associates. And let us not forget what had happened to MACC last year when it was subjected to actions that demoralised its staff and made a mockery of it...

This article has earlier appeared in Beritadaily.com on 14/5/2016 The multi-billion ringgit scandal of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) is far from over. The prime minister was hoping that the people would slowly forget about the whole episode and “move forward”. Just what kind of “move forward” is he expecting from us? The 1MDB report released by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) consists of many kinds of twists and turns which have left many readers and observers gravely confused and wondering if the sole purpose of this report was to absolve the prime minister of any blame or wrongdoings in the scandal. Well, from the eyes of a lay person, it is clear the report is implying that Prime Minister Najib Razak was in no way responsible for the scandal, even if he had signed many of those documents, blindly or whatsoever. The prime minister has nothing to do with decision-making in 1MDB. The prime minister is merely the chairman of the advisory board and he has no direct discretion ...

This article has earlier appeared in Beritadaily.com on 14/3/2016 The government has decided that the outcome of the 1MDB probe will be kept under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) to prevent leakages, at least until it is tabled in parliament. So, why is the government hiding 1MDB under the OSA? In the course of the investigation, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) had promised a thorough probe into every single detail in the 1MDB controversy to determine what went wrong in its asset acquisition activities which had resulted in debts of RM42 billion. When 1MDB’s RM42 billion scandal was first exposed, there were lots of speculations and guessing game as the government refused to reveal what had actually gone wrong in these deals. The government also took months to initiate its internal investigation, and the PAC’s probe too was abruptly put to a standstill on various occasions. In between, we saw the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) being raided, followed by the detention of...

This article has earlier appeared in Beritadaily.com on 3/3/2016 Since 2008 when the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition first lost its two-thirds majority in the general election and again failed to regain the much needed numbers in the 2013 polls, BN leaders, particularly from its dominant party Umno, have frequently resorted to divide and rule tactics in an attempt to regain lost ground. These leaders would stir up racial and religious problems and put the blame on various opposition parties and their leaders, leading civil society and human rights groups claiming that these people are threatening the special rights of the Malays and insulting Islam. The intention of these leaders is crystal clear, to divert the people’s attention from the ugly scenes in the corridors of power: corruption, power abuse and mismanagement which have cost the nation billions of ringgit every year. Umno leaders have somehow realised that the people are now watching their every move and they have to c...

This article has earlier appeared in Beritadaily.com on 26/2/2016 Barisan Nasional leaders, particularly those from Umno, should wake up and accept the fact that arresting and imprisoning people will not stop criticisms from being levelled against the ruling party and the government. Instead, it will certainly increase public suspicion over what these government leaders are actually up to. Apart from that, such actions will also give the impression that the BN government is trying to cover up weaknesses in its administration. In politics, public perception, whether negative or positive, exists in every form, be it criticism, commentaries, discussions, condemnations, debates, exchange of ideas or just simply a chat in a coffee shop. Whatever the BN government is doing or if any of its top leaders is linked to controversies or scandals, it will inevitably attract public attention and generate public perceptions based on the information obtained. Perception is prevalent and unless th...

This article has earlier appeared in Beritadaily.com on 19/2/2016 If a leading politician or senior official from the Barisan Nasional (BN) government was caught or exposed for his corrupt practices, the people would make hell of a noise demanding that the person resign, be probed and charged for the crimes committed. However, today, the leading BN politician or senior official will fire back by claiming that those calling for action to be taken against him are threatening the existence of the Malay race in this nation. He will add that without Umno, there will be no more Malays in this land. Again, when people saw a leading figure from the BN government abusing his powers to award government contracts to members of his family, close relatives or cronies, calls for the person to be probed and demanding his resignation will be met with his response that it is un-Islamic to do so or it is not the way of Islam to call for action to be taken against the leader or official. In shor...

Public & Press Statement Recently, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has decided to block two influential websites which has been critical to the BN government. The blockade took place after these two websites published a kind of “warning” letter from the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to Tabung Haji over some kind of “fund mismanagement” in the said organization. The MCMC reasoned that the blockade to these two websites were because of the words and statements published are against the law and order. We would like to ask the BN government, is reporting or exposing a crime against the law? Why are the authorities apprehending the person who reported or exposed criminal elements within an organization or the government and not going after the culprits who abused their powers and took the public funds for their personal interests? Is the BN government giving an impression to the public that any persons reporting a misdeed, corruption or any criminal element w...

This article has earlier appeared in the Beritadaily.com on 21/1/2016 First of all, why must members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) be gagged and not allowed to issue any statements pertaining to the committee's ongoing investigations or hearings on the government’s financial irregularities? Is PAC functioning in secrecy or is it some sort of a secret society? Why all inquiries carried out by the PAC should not be made public and the people are being prevented from knowing its proceedings? If the leaders of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition keep on insisting that PAC’s probes into the financial irregularities in the public service as well as government-linked-companies (GLCs) should not be disclosed to the people, then can only assume that they want to cover-up the misdeeds and wrongdoings within the government. No wonder the BN government’s budget deficit is increasing every year and they keep on losing billions of ringgit of public funds to power abuse, mismanag...

This article has earlier appeared in the Beritadaily.com on 13/1/2016 Loyalty to the nation means persons or citizens who demonstrate their loyalty first and utmost to the nation, its foundation and the Federal Constitution. The nation means everything to the person or citizen as his or her place of birth, where growth and development of oneself has taken place, where one has been residing and working, as well as the place where one is depending on in every aspect. To demonstrate one’s loyalty to the nation means to ensure its foundation and Federal Constitution is preserved, and preventing the nation from destruction. Loyalty to the leaders refers to one’s loyalty towards a person with a leadership position or someone who possesses power or rule over the nation. In many circumstances, the leader or the person who is in power can be good and bad, can be caring to the people and the leader can also be selfish and self-interested without any regard for the people and the entire nation. ...

This article has earlier appeared in Beritadaily.com on 4/12/2015 WH Cheng When the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was in the midst of investigating the controversial and debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), its efforts and hard work were suddenly halted when the then committee chairman Nur Jazlan Mohamed and some other members who are mostly BN parliamentarians were abruptly removed and 'promoted' to positions in the government administration in a reshuffle by the prime minister. During the transition, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia had also disallowed PAC deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw from taking over the inquiry and had the entire committee suspended indefinitely. The suspension of PAC by the Speaker was justified by the explanation that the committee has been rendered ineffective following the departure of Nur Jazlan as chair and almost half of its membership. The truth is, the move by the BN government has made the PAC a lame duck, thus delay...

This article has earlier appeared in Beritadaily.com on 9/11/2015 WH Cheng We all have seen and heard of the Budget 2016 tabled by Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Razak recently. On the surface, it looks so attractive that some people may get overly excited until they look deeper into the content. Our major concern here is, does this budget really serve its purpose? Our nation’s economy has been battered by the continuous depreciation of the ringgit. Inflation has been rising right to the top, and our people could no longer bear the rising cost of living these days. Economically, most of us are in quite a defensive mode because we need to fight for our survival, work even harder to earn more money just so we could put some food on the table for our family. Is this what the BN government has planned all this while? Making sure we are all tied up, frustrated and feeling helpless, so we have no more time to look at the way BN runs this nation of ours to ruins? Let u...

By WH Cheng When we starting asking, is it worth supporting the Palestinian course, we are very certain that most of you would be dumb for a moment and later on began asking on the motive of this question. Some of you would definitely retaliate by saying that such initiatives are humanitarian and no one should question nor against it. Some of you might also publicly condemn those who oppose or question the support for Palestine. And even the majority of our Bumiputra youths today are obsessed with the Palestinian course which can be traced back during the era of former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who believes Malaysia should express its views on the plight of the Palestinians “without fear or favour”. In fact, our government was very supportive of former Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) chairman Yasser Arafat and his vision for a Palestinian state. Little known to many of us, despite decades of financial support and other monetary allocations to the Palestinian humanit...

By Patrick Winn All Muslims know pork, booze and premarital canoodling violates Islamic teachings. But in Malaysia, home to a rising tide of fundamentalist Islam, senior clerics are warning against more insidious dangers to the faith. Such as death metal. And puppies. And Valentine’s Day. Malaysia is a bastion of Islam in tropical Southeast Asia. It’s also a nation of mall-goers and Instagram addicts. Many in Malaysia see themselves as both devout and cosmopolitan. Their ethos extols mosques and skyscrapers alike. But as Malaysia modernizes, its state-backed religious authorities are embarking on a spree of fatwas. Each is a decree based on interpretations of the Quran. The fatwas are typically seen as guidelines but police can potentially enforce them under Malaysia’s Sharia laws. These days, the fatwas keep piling up. Malaysia’s conservative Muslims appear panicked by the corrosive influence of Western modernity. There’s even an “e-fatwa” site to help the nation keep track of the ...

By Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid The grim reality of elusive unity, plagued by ethnocentric and ethno-religious divisions, is underlined by the continual existence of fault lines that anthropologist Shamsul A. B. calls ‘axes of contradictions’ . The stubborn presence of such social cleavages, after half a century of nationhood, raises the issue of the efficacy of integrative policies pursued by successive Barisan Nasional (BN: National Front) governments. Momentarily eclipsed by the modernisation ethos of Mahathir’s Vision 2020 and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s Islam Hadhari (civilisational Islam), the ‘national unity’ agenda has made a comeback during Najib Razak’s era since 2009 in the form of his ‘One Malaysia’ (1Malaysia) scheme. It has not been smooth sailing for Najib. It is understandably difficult for him to admit that the multiple polarisation of Malaysian society was effected at the hands of none other than his colleagues and former bosses in the ruling United Malays National Organisati...