New: Blackstone belongs to Saudi Arabia. That is what Najib Believed

In the High Court today, it was revealed that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak believed that the investment company Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners Ltd was owned or controlled by the late Saudi Arabian King, King Abdullah Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, and the Saudi Arabian government. Did Najib do any due diligence to check if that was true? Social Media Links Follow us…

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Exclusive: Rick Haythornthwaite was paid £200,000 a year by Saudi company, PetroSaudi, involved in 1MDB scandalRead more: The NatWest boss, the missing Malaysian millions and the damning emailThe new chairman of NatWest is facing scrutiny over his former role...

Top 10 Most Corrupt Corrupt RULERS in the World

Top 10 Most Corrupt Corrupt RULERS in the World

Honestly, it takes nothing but persuasive talent, verbal ambition, valuable connections in the right places at the right time, and a ton of money to squander in order to master the art of bribing someone of high rank and putting it on. A situation where something dear to them is threatened if they don’t comply with any suggestion that you are brave enough to bring them to their tables on a short, random and unexpected notice.

The corrupt politicians enjoy various privileges and dodge authorized bodies and break the trust of their people.

Here is a list of the top 10 most corrupt politicians of the world as of 2018, who have ruled their countries by unfair means and for their own personal gains.

Here is the list of the Top 10 most corrupt politicians in the World:

10. Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson (Prime Minister of Iceland)

9. Petro Poroshenko ( President of Ukraine)

8. Kim Jong-UN (President of North Korea)

7. David Cameron ( Former Prime Minister of UK)

6. Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (King of U.A.E)

5. Narendra Modi (Prime Minister of India)

4. Asif Ali Zardari (Former President of Pakistan)

3. Salman bin Abdulaziz (King of Saudi Arabia)

2. Vladimir Putin (President of Russia)

1. Nawaz Sharif (Ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan)

1.Siemens: corruption made in Germany

2. Draining Nigeria of its assets

3. Fujimori’s Peru: death squads, embezzlement and good public relations

4. Kadyrov’s Chechnya: bikers, boxers, bribes

5. Shutting down competition in Tunisia

6. Ukraine’s missing millions

7. Ricardo Martinelli’s spy-game in Panama

8. The 1MDB fund: from Malaysia to Hollywood

9. The Russian Laundromat (with a little help from Moldova)

10. Spain’s largest corruption scandal: Gürtel

11. Venezuela’s currencies of corruption

12. The Panama Papers

13. Maldives: a paradise lost

14. Teodorín Obiang’s #LuxuryLiving in Equatorial Guinea

15. How the Gupta family captured South Africa through bribery

16. Lebanon’s garbage: the stench of corruption

17. FIFA’s football parallel universe

18. Myanmar’s dirty jade business

19. Fighting impunity in Guatemala

20. Turkey’s “gas for gold” scheme

21. The Azerbaijani Laundromat

22. Paradise Papers: where the rich & powerful hide their money

23. Operation Lava Jato: clean cars, dirty money

24. The Troika Laundromat

25. Andrej Babiš’s conflict of interest in Czechia

______________________

Top 10 most corrupt politicians in the World:

10. Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson 

9. Petro Poroshenko 

8. Kim Jong-UN 7. David Cameron 

6. Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan 

5. Narendra Modi 

4. Asif Ali Zardari 

3. Salman bin Abdulaziz 

2. Vladimir Putin 

1. Nawaz Sharif 

How petrosaudi executives plotted what to tell najib

Kuala lumpur: 1malaysia development bhd (1mdb) investment decisions in joint-venture companies involving petrosaudi were made within eight days, without a detailed assessment process and before the issues or conditions raised by the 1mdb board are resolved, the declassified auditor-general's report on 1mdb released on tuesday stated. The legal action by the swiss relating to petrosaudi's role in the 1mdb mega-thefts and the part played by company executives in the subsequent campaign of villification and imprisonment in thailand of the swiss whistleblower xavier justo, has unfortunately started to noticeably lag after original charges were filed, with very little progress apparently being made over the past two years.

In response to a question from a ghana mp enquiring about whether to is functioning at its full capacity, mr. Jinapor replied that company is not currently at maximum capacity because of operational imperfections and its current inability to secure funds to purchase sufficient crude oil. When contacted and asked whether the box contained files related petrosaudi international and its co-owner tarek obaid and director patrick mahony, he simply said he is not saying no.

In 2017, tarek obaid paid another 50,000 francs to rené brülhart's private company, rnb. The ghanaian government is studying the possibility of entering a joint venture project with petrosaudi, a saudi arabian company active in the oil and gas industry. petrosaudi petrosaudi international executive xavier justo has broken his silence and accused his former employer of manipulating the media to tarnish his reputation, the swiss daily le temps reports.

Based in london, riyadh and, at the time of the facts, geneva, petrosaudi is believed to have played a central role in the s$1.8 billion hijacking of the malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1mdb between 2009 and 2012. Former prime minister datuk seri najib razak was the chairman of 1mdb's advisory board when barisan nasional (bn) was in power. Swiss prosecutors are also reviewing a criminal complaint filed against two former colleagues and an alleged accomplice by xavier justo, a former director of petrosaudi international ltd and a key figure in the 1mdb affair.

The doj, which has pursued a number of 1mdb-linked corruption cases in the u.S. Courts, says the fraudulent diversion of funds from 1mdb began in 2009, soon after 1mdb's creation, and involved a number of gulf companies and individuals. Pdvsa obtained an injunction from the commercial court preventing the bank from paying out, saying that the certificate presented by petrosaudi to the bank was untrue, as pdvsa was not at present obligated to pay any sum under the drilling contract, and the arbitrators had so held.

'Gani Patail dipecat ketika sediakan kertas pertuduhan terhadap Najib' - PM

Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir mendedahkan, bekas Peguam Negara Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail dipecat pada waktu pagi ketika Abdul Gani sedang menyediakan kertas pertuduhan terhadap bekas Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak, lapor MalaysiaKini. 

Tun Dr Mahathir mendedahkan perkara itu kepada media hari ini selepas mengadakan pertemuan dengan Abdul Gani semalam. 

"Saya ingin tahu apa yang berlaku ketika dia (Gani) dipecat dan apakah hasil siasatannya. 

"Dia (Gani) dakwa beliau sedang menyediakan kertas pertuduhan terhadap Najib dan pada pagi itu dia dilucutkan jawatannya," katanya. 

Sebelum dipecat, Gani mengetuai pasukan khas yang menyiasat dana RM2.6 bilion yang dimasukkan dalam akaun bank Najib dan kes SRC International. 

Bagaimanapun, Abdul Gani kemudian 'diberhentikan' dengan alasan mengalami masalah kesihatan dan diganti oleh Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali. Selepas beberapa tempoh berkhidmat, Apandi menegaskan Najib tidak melakukan sebarang kesalahan dan menolak dakwaan itu sebagai palsu. 

Najib mendakwa wang RM2.6 bilion yang dimasukkan ke dalam akaun bank peribadinya itu adalah derma daripada keluar diraja Arab Saudi. Namun, siasatan antarabangsa mendapati bahawa wang itu mungkin berasal dari 1MDB. 

Najib menafikan dakwaan dirinya menyalahgunakan dana awam untuk keuntungan peribadi. 

from The Reporter https://ift.tt/2wHrmoh via IFTTT from Cerita Terkini Sensasi Dan Tepat https://ift.tt/2rMq5qj via IFTTT

New: No Documents Prove SAUDI KING Funded Najib's Accounts with RM2.6 Billion Now

MACC Senior Superintendent Nur Aida Arifin told the High Court that investigations into the RM2.6 billion deposited into Najib’s accounts for which Najib said it was from the Saudi King, lacked evidence from Saudi princes. The meeting in Riyadh yielded no supporting documents (or proofs or even receipts?), undermining the authenticity of the alleged donations. Social Media Links Follow us…

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Headlines

India’s BJP pulls out of ruling alliance in disputed Kashmir (Reuters) India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) quit the ruling coalition in Jammu and Kashmir state on Tuesday where militant violence has worsened in recent months, the party announced.

Trade war worries slam China and emerging markets (Reuters) Chinese stocks fell almost 4 percent and alarm bells rang across global markets on Tuesday, as the trade dispute between the United States and China escalated further.

Malaysia seeks to lay multiple charges against ex-premier Najib over 1MDB--Mahathir (Reuters) Embezzlement and bribery with government money are among the charges that Malaysia is looking to bring against former prime minister Najib Razak following a probe into funds allegedly looted from the state-run fund 1MDB, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday.

White House defends immigration policy as outrage grows over children (Reuters) The Trump administration defended its hardline immigration policy at the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday as furor grew over the separation of immigrant parents and children, including video of youngsters sitting in concrete-floored cages.

Turkish soldiers advancing on Iraq’s Qandil with ‘determined steps’: minister (Reuters) Turkish troops are advancing with “determined steps” towards the northern Iraqi region of Qandil where Kurdish PKK militants are based, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards: No plans to increase missile range (Reuters) Iran has no plans currently to extend the range of its missiles since their 2,000-km (1,240-mile) reach is enough to protect the country, the Revolutionary Guards commander said on Tuesday, amid mounting U.S. pressure over Tehran’s missile program.

Merkel Says Climate Change Is a Fact, Laments US Stance (AP) Angela Merkel says Germany remains fully committed to the Paris climate accord, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the agreement.

Saudi Entertainment Chief Sacked After Conservative Backlash (AP) Saudi King Salman has sacked the head of the country’s entertainment authority after religiously conservative citizens took to social media to denounce a Russian circus show that showed female performers in tightly-fitted attire.

Yemeni Officials Say Fighting Rages Around Hodeida Airport (AP) Yemeni military officials say fighting has escalated outside the airport of the vital Yemeni city of Hodeida, pitting thousands of pro-government fighters backed by a Saudi-led coalition against Shiite Houthi rebels.

Libyan Coast Guard Rescues 186 Migrants, Recovers 5 Bodies (AP) Libya’s coast guard says it has recovered the bodies of five migrants and rescued 186 others, including women and children, in separate operations in the Mediterranean Sea.

3 Men Die of 6 Wounded in Southern Sweden Drive-By Shooting (AP) Three of the six men who were injured in a drive-by shooting in the center of Sweden’s third-largest city, have died, Swedish authorities said Tuesday.

Philippine Supreme Court Upholds Expulsion of Chief Justice (AP) The Philippine Supreme Court upheld the expulsion of its chief justice, the authoritarian president’s highest-ranking critic, in a final ruling Tuesday that critics warned is unconstitutional and threatens judicial independence and the country’s fragile democracy.

UN Refugee Agency: Record 68.5 Million Displaced in 2017 (AP) The U.N. refugee agency reported Tuesday that nearly 69 million people who have fled war, violence and persecution were forcibly displaced last year, a record for the fifth straight year.

Kim Jong Un Visiting China, Expected to Discuss His Nukes (AP) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is making a two-day visit to Beijing starting Tuesday and is expected to discuss with Chinese leaders his next steps after his nuclear summit with President Donald Trump last week.

The diamond necklace was bought in 2013, just months after $680 million was transferred to the private bank account of Najib in Kuala Lumpur, the filings show. The Malaysian government says that money came from a member of the Saudi royal family. The necklace was purchased from New York jeweler Lorraine Schwartz, who has designed for Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Lopez and other stars of the entertainment world. “Need a 18 carrot (carat) pink heart diamond vivid or slightly short of vivid. On diamond necklace urgent,” Low said in a text message to Schwartz in June 2013, the filings said. A month later Schwartz showed the necklace in Monaco to a group of people, including Rosmah, onboard Topaz, one of the largest private yachts in the world. Low had chartered the 147-meter yacht for seven days in early July 2013, according to the filings.

Malaysia's first lady linked to $30 mln worth of jewelry bought with 1MDB funds

Top News of Aug 19 - In less than a minute, get the TOP UPDATES from around the world 🌐🌏🌎🌍🗺️☕☕📰📰 𝐒𝐖𝐈𝐏𝐄 👉 👉🏿👉🏾👉🏽 Follow @ovaltheglobal to get more updates from each and every continent! 🔸EU announced that it doesn't recognise the results of recently held Presidential Election in Belarus which gave a 6th term to President Alexander Lukashenko 🔸US President Donald Trump canceled trade talks negotiations with China; the phase one deal had come into effect in February 🔸On the UAE-Israel deal, Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Adel al-Jubeir said "peace must be achieved with the Palestinians" before any normalization of relations with Israel 🔸Goldman Sachs and Malaysia signed an agreement to finalise the US bank's US$3.9 billion settlement over the 1MDB scandal 🔸Malian soldiers who forced President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to resign, promised to organize new elections within a "reasonable" period Follow us for more updates #news #topnews #worldnews #worldnewstonight #newsoftheday #topfive #top5 #globalnews #instagramnews #instanews #coffeepeople #upsc #usnews #uschina #lukashenko #europenews #europeanunion #euronews #belarustravel #goldmansachs #goldman #mali #bamako #africanews #asia (at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEE1XIwJ1Q0/?igshid=vd5tio1kju8m

UMNO juga dikatakan terlibat, tapi LGE seorg yg didakwa...

UMNO juga dikatakan terlibat, tapi LGE seorg yg didakwa....

Pertuduhan yang dimaksudkan, untuk hiburan bersama. Duit pun tak bayaq lagi, untung celah bedah mana depa nak cari paper trail pun tak tau lah. This is gonna be quite amusing. LGE isnt that stupid to ask for bribe from an UMNO contractor. Zarul claimed Guan Eng asked for 10% kickback but not abt him receiving bribes. Zarul claimed he bribed so many other people -- his credibility might be shot if the rest deny. He also gave RM500k to Nazri Aziz, RM200k to Ismail Sabri, RM100k to Halimah Sadique, RM100k to Nur Jazlan, RM50k to Zahid Hamidi, RM50k to Zainal Abidin Rahim and RM500k to Rahman Dahlan. FMT said the said document below is real but leaked..

Najib's donor was supposedly the deceased King Abdulalh of Saudi. 

Lim Guan Eng's donor is confirmed to be King Hades of Hell.

Lim Guan Eng Charged Based On Hearsay – A Distraction To Satisfy Angry Pro-UMNO And Pro-PAS Supporters...

Get real. If backdoor Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin wanted to, he could save the pathetic life of Najib Razak, the former prime minister who was the same man who had sacked him in 2015. But why should he? Allowing the judge to “do his job” – delivering a guilty verdict – would mean Najib cannot participate in the next snap general election. Now, Najib is out of the race. With Najib out of the race, Muhyiddin has eliminated his biggest rival, at least until the crook could convince the Court of Appeal to reverse the High Court’s verdict. If Najib fails, he can go to the Federal Court, the highest court and the final appellate court in the country, to tell the judges about his sobbing story. It would take up to a year for the appeals, if Najib is lucky. But the idea of sending Najib to prison comes with a price. UMNO and PAS supporters were not very happy that the prime minister “did not rescue” their beloved Najib. To prove that he was neutral, Muhyiddin has to balance his act. And the only way to satisfy supporters of his “Malay-only” Perikatan Nasional government is to dramatically send a Chinese opposition leader to prison. Sending Lim Guan Eng, secretary-general of DAP (Democratic Action Party – the biggest party with 42 MPs), to prison will boost Muhyiddin’s popularity among the UMNO-Malay and PAS-Muslim voters. They would feel happy and satisfy with the perception that the chief of Chinese-DAP party who played a role in defeating UMNO in the 2018 General Election is going to jail. If Najib Razak is to go to prison, Lim Guan Eng must also go to jail. Only then it would be fair and the DAP haters can accept Muhyiddin as their leader. As expected, when Mr. Lim was finally charged today (August 7) for corruption in connection with the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel project, pro-UMNO and pro-PAS supporters celebrate as if the country had won the FIFA World Cup. There were two scandals that DAP haters have always linked to Lim Guan Eng – the so-called bungalow scandal and the Penang tunnel scandal. When the former Penang Chief Minister was arrested in June 2016 over the bungalow scandal, the previous Najib regime had tried very hard to frame the popular DAP leader, but to no avail.

For 2 years until the May 2018 General Election, the corrupt regime of Barisan Nasional failed to prove anything against Lim. Eventually, after the regime’s defeat, the corruption case against Lim Guan Eng was dropped on Sept 8, 2018 after the Penang High Court acquitted Mr. Lim. Businesswoman Phang Li Koon, who sold the bungalow to Mr Lim, was also acquitted. Of course, who can forget when the anti-graft agency MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) said it was shocked by the decision of the Attorney-General’s Chambers to withdraw the case, claiming that the decision was made by the Attorney General Tommy Thomas office and not the MACC. Then-PM Mahathir joined the bandwagon and mocked the MACC. Expressing his shock, probably made with tongue-in-cheek, Mahathir said – “They (MACC) have a right to be shocked. If they want to be shocked, they can be shocked. I am also shocked. If the court makes a decision which to me is wrong, I also never comment on it.” Amazingly, the MACC was not shocked at all when the infamous Cowgate scandal was dropped in the same manner in 2015. Why was MACC so upset that the prosecutor did not wish to pursue Lim’s bungalow case but was not upset at all that the prosecutor did not wish to pursue former UMNO Woman Chief Shahrizat’s corruption case, where Shahrizat Jalil and her family members had siphoned RM250 million of taxpayers money meant for National Feedlot Corporation (NFC)? If you wish to argue, we had already published an article 4 years ago about the difference between Khir Toyo and Lim Guan Eng’s bungalow scandal, which you can read it here. What is interesting is the RM6.3 billion Penang tunnel project being used by the Muhyiddin regime to charge the DAP leader. On the surface, the scandal appears to be as huge as Najib’s 1MDB scandal. But there seem to be too many loopholes and ambiguities with the MACC’s latest attempt to charge Lim. For a start, it doesn’t make sense that there is only “one charge” against Lim despite the value of the project (RM6.3 billion), when Najib was slapped with 7 charges on July 3, 2018, over allegations of plundering only RM42 million of SRC International money.

Today, Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court Judge Azura Alwi read out the charges – “That you, on March 2011, at a location near The Gardens Hotel, Syed Putra Circle, Mid Valley City, in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, during your tenure as chief minister of Penang, have solicited a bribe, namely a reward in the form of 10 percent of the profits that will be obtained later from Zarul Ahmad Bin Mohd Zulkifli, as a fee to help the company owned by Zarul Ahmad to be appointed to carry out construction of the main roads and tunnels in the Penang undersea tunnel project.” “Therefore you have committed an offence under Section 16 (a) (A) of the MACC Act 2009 which is punishable under Section 24 (1) of the same Act. Any person who commits an offence under Section 16 of the MACC Act 2009 may upon conviction be subject to – a) imprisonment for a term not exceeding 20 years and b) fined not less than five times the amount or value of the bribe which is the subject of the offence if the bribe can be assessed in the form of money or RM10,000 as the case may be.” – said the judge. Yes, Lim was charged for soliciting a bribe, whatever that means. Amusingly, no money has changed hands. As the judge mentioned, the bribe is to be obtained later from a company owned by Zarul Ahmad. So, it’s a “future tense” – not yet happen. This is perhaps the first corruption case in the country involving something that needs a “time travel machine” to prove. More amazingly, the bribe amount is 10% of the profits. But there was no mention of the amount of profits, not even a rough estimation. Why didn’t Lim make his life easier by asking for 10% of the Penang tunnel project (valued at RM6.3 billion) which will translate to RM630 million? Exactly how does the prosecutor plan to argue their case in the court without knowing the facts and figures? If the company makes a loss, the bribe amount is negative and theoretically, Lim has to pay Zarul instead. Lim must be the dumbest crook in the world for asking 10% of potential profits, instead of 10% of project value or just a fix amount of bribes, say RM100 million. Perhaps the 10% is to be based on the profits of toll collections after the Penang tunnel kicks into operation. However, a mega project like the 7.2-km Penang tunnel will take years to complete, and it could take many more years to turn profitable, if it ever happens. Lim Guan Eng may not be around to enjoy his reward. The corruption case is so ambiguous that it becomes comical. It would be more profitable and promising for Lim to solicit sexual favour instead.

Penang Undersea Tunnel Project 

The best part is the tunnel project, initiated 9 years ago in 2011, hasn’t started yet as the state government is still reviewing the feasibility study. Najib Razak, then prime minister, had even attended the project’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony back in April 2011. Therefore, the previous regime, with whom PM Muhyiddin is working now, was very well aware of the project from the beginning. Unlike Najib’s 1MDB corruption case, where his luxury apartments were raided by the police, leading to the confiscation of RM117 million cash and RM1 billion worth of 12,000 pieces of jewellery, an eye-popping 567 handbags consisted of luxury handbags from 37 different designers – including Chanel, Prada, Hermes and ultra-luxury Bijan, the authorities did not even bother to raid Lim’s residence. And unlike the MACC’s raid of UMNO Supreme Council member Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim’s house in 2018, leading to seizure of RM500,000 in Malaysian currency and another RM400,000 in other currencies as well as 20 watches and several pieces of jewellery, the MACC probably thought it was not worthwhile to raid Lim’s house as it would not yield any treasure. Rosmah Mansor 12000 Jewelleries VS Imelda Marcos 1220 Shoes So, the MACC basically has zero money trails, unlike Najib’s intricate web of financial fraud that crossed continents. More importantly, Lim did not receive a penny, let alone any sexual favour from company owner Zarul Ahmad. Besides, the project was conducted based on open tender, not by direct award as practised by previous Barisan Nasional government. Unless there’s an authenticated voice recording of Lim Guan Eng demanding for the bribe, the charge is purely based on hearsay, hence only “one charge”. It would be more productive for the MACC to investigate missing RM20 million originally allocated for “flying car” project. Obviously, PM Muhyiddin, under pressure to call for a snap election, is using the tunnel to divert attention. Muhyiddin is also under siege as his powerful ally – UMNO – was only interested to work with his PPBM (Bersatu) party until the 15th General Election, after which UMNO plans to ditch the prime minister and grabs all its traditional Malay-majority seats. Therefore, to entertain unhappy Malay voters, he needs a bogeyman – Lim Guan Eng – as his WMD (Weapon of Mass Distraction). The backdoor government wanted to cook up the Penang tunnel to make it looks like 1MDB scandal. Muhyiddin’s divide-and-rule strategy is to split the Chinese voters by creating a perception that Lim Guan Eng is a big corrupt crook like Najib Razak. But it could backfire and all the Chinese voters may rally behind DAP once again because the half-baked charge is simply too ridiculous. - FT

cheers.

Sumber asal: UMNO juga dikatakan terlibat, tapi LGE seorg yg didakwa... Baca selebihnya di UMNO juga dikatakan terlibat, tapi LGE seorg yg didakwa...

Ripples of 1MDB scandal likely to complicate Malaysian ties to key Gulf states

By James M. Dorsey

A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts, Tumblr, Podbean, Audecibel, Patreon and Castbox.

Disclosures of taped phone calls between embattled former prime minister Najib Razak and a person believed to be United Arab Emirate crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed go a long way to explain Malaysian efforts to counter UAE and Saudi influence in the Muslim world.

The disclosures are the latest incident in what have been complex, if not strained relations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia since prime minister Mahathir Mohamad returned to office 19 months ago on the back of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

The scandal involves the siphoning off of billions of dollars from the government investment fund for which Mr. Razak is standing trial.

Strains in relations between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the kingdom’s closest ally, were on display last month when Mr. Mahathir convened in cooperation with Turkey, Iran and Qatar – countries with which the two conservative Gulf states are at odds -- an Islamic summit that did not involve the Saudi-controlled, Riyadh-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The OIC groups 57 Muslim countries and is the usual convener of Islamic summits.

In line with the summit that called for Muslim nations to jointly confront problems Muslims face, Mr. Mahathir earlier this week, in contrast to the Gulf states, condemned the killing in Iraq of Iranian general Qassim Soleimani in a US drone strike as a violation of international law.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE called for restraint in the wake of the killing but few in the two states mourned the commander’s death.

Mr. Mahathir’s critical view of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, rooted partly in their alleged associations with the 1MDB scandal, was evident almost from the moment he assumed office.

Mr. Mahathir appointed as defense minister Mohamed Sabu, known for his critical views of Saudi Arabia.

Within a few months, Mr. Sabu closed the King Salman Centre for International Peace (KSCIP), a Saudi-funded anti-terrorism centre established together with the Malaysian defense ministry.

Similarly, Mr. Mahathir re-appointed Seri Mohd Shukri as head of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Mr. Shukri noted in one of his first statements that “we have had difficulties dealing with Arab countries (such as) Qatar, Saudi Arabia, (and the) UAE.”

Mr. Shukri initially resigned in 2016 as the government’s anti-corruption czar because he had been pressured by Mr. Razak to drop his plans to indict the then prime minister.

Excerpts of tapes played by the MACC at a news conference this week suggested that Mr. Razak asked a person believed to be Prince Mohammed to assist in unidentified ways to resolve the scandal and as a “personal favour” help his stepson, Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, evade charges of money laundering.

The voice of the person Mr. Razak was speaking to on the tapes did not identify himself but was addressed by the prime minister as “Your Highness.” The MACC believes on the basis of the context of the conversations that the voice is that of Prince Mohammed.

In the recordings, Mr. Razak advises the person that “it is important to resolve this impasse with respect to 1MDB… so that we put closure as soon as possible because it’s embarrassing to both countries, embarrassing Malaysia and embarrassing the UAE as well as personalities close to you.”

The person rejects a request by Mr. Razak to discuss the issue in person but delegates an associate to talk to the prime minister.

He “has the full authority from me and I really, genuinely, want to find a solution…. It’s in our both interests, Mr. Prime Minister, to solve it,” the person said.

It’s not clear from the tapes whether the UAE actually stepped in a bid to help Mr. Razak and his stepson out of their predicaments.

Approaching the UAE for help made sense for Mr. Razak not only because of the country’s alleged links to the scandal but also because it has established itself as a financial and/or physical safe haven for politicians, businessmen and others while in office or positions of influence as well as those who have fallen into disgrace like former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf and his former Thai colleagues Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra.

A Pakistani court last month sentenced Mr. Musharraf to death on charges of treason. Mr. Musharraf lives in Dubai where he is receiving medical treatment.

Mr. Shinawatra, who was toppled in a military coup in 2006, fled into exile in Dubai after escaping Thailand to evade serving a prison term for a conflict of interest conviction.

Ms. Shinawatra, Mr. Shinawatra’s sister, followed him in 2017 after being removed in 2014 by another military intervention and having been charged with negligence while serving as prime minister.

Political scientist Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, whose views are often seen as reflecting UAE government thinking, anticipating a possible change in relations, disparaged Mr. Mahathir and his election victory at the time.

Mr. Abdulla focussed on Mr. Mahathir’s age as well as the fact that he had forged an alliance with his former deputy prime minister and rival Anwar Ibrahim, an Islamist believed to be close to the Muslim Brotherhood, a bete noir of Prince Mohammed.

“Malaysia seems to lack wise men, leaders, statesmen and youth to elect a 92-year-old who suddenly turned against his own party and his own allies and made a suspicious deal with his own political opponent whom he previously imprisoned after fabricating the most heinous of charges against him. This is politics as a curse and democracy as wrath,” Mr. Abdulla said on Twitter, two days after the election.

Dr. James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, an adjunct senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute and co-director of the University of Wuerzburg’s Institute of Fan Culture

'Barang kemas dan barangan peribadi lain yang dirampas adalah hadiah daripada kawan-kawan' - Najib

Datuk Seri Najib Razak semalam membuat laporan polis kerana merasakan nyawa beliau dan keluarganya terancam, selain turut memohon diletakkan di bawah program perlindungan saksi berhubung siasatan skandal 1MDB. 

Najib membuat laporan polis di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) Sentul jam lima petang semalam mendakwa beliau yang memetik sumbernya berkata ancaman itu bukan sahaja datang dari dalam negeri, tetapi dari luar negara juga. 

Berdasarkan laporan dari Malay Mail, Najib menceritakan serbuan polis terhadapnya sejak 10 Mei, sehari selepas Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-14 (PRU14) di mana barangan milik beliau dan anak lelakinya yang tiada kena mengena dengan 1MDB dirampas. 

Dalam laporan polis itu juga, Najib mendakwa barang kemas dan barangan peribadi lain yang dirampas oleh polis di Pavillion Tower itu sebenarnya adalah hadiah daripada kawan-kawannya. Malah katanya, wang tunai yang dirampas itu sebenarnya digunakan untuk kempen PRU14 Barisan Nasional (BN). 

Najib turut menyatakan bahawa beliau hanya memainkan peranan sebagai penasihat dalam syarikat 1MDB dan tidak terlibat dalam proses membuat keputusan. Najib juga menegaskan bahawa RM2.6 bilion yang diterimanya itu adalah derma daripada keluarga diraja Arab Saudi. 

Peguamnya, Harpal Singh Grewal memaklumkan kepada media Najib tidak berpuas hati dan mengecam tindakan pihak polis yang didakwa makan makanan dan coklat dari peti sejuk ketika serbuan dilakukan ke rumah anak-anaknya. 

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Minggu lepas, SPRM mengeluarkan saman ke atas Institut Terjemahan dan Buku Malaysia Bhd (ITBM) untuk menuntut duit 1MDB yang mereka terima dari saya. Pada tahun 2011, ITBM telah menerima permintaan dari Pejabat Perdana Menteri untuk mendapatkan khidmat penerbitan dan jualan buku dengan jumlah RM365,000 dan RM610,000 . Buku yang diterbit ITBM dinamakan "Transformasi Politik: Mendaulatkan Hak Asasi Serta Demokrasi Pemerintahan Rakyat untuk Rakyat'. Tujuannya ialah untuk menjelaskan mengenai transformasi dalam sistem politik dan undang-undang yang dilakukan oleh kerajaan dalam usaha menyediakan Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara moden, demokratik, progresif dan mengamalkan nilai sejagat. Walaupun Pejabat Perdana Menteri yang membuat tempahan kepada ITBM, bayaran adalah dibuat melalui akaun bank saya pada tahun 2011. Perlu ingat juga bahawa pada bulan Ogos lalu, Penolong Kanan SPRM telah mengesahkan kepada Mahkamah tentang kemasukan dana berjumlah RM642 juta daripada Putera Faisal Turki dan Kementerian Kewangan Arab Saudi ke akaun saya masa itu. http://www.bhplus.com.my/berita/kes/2019/08/598722/najib-terima-rm642-juta-dari-arab-saudi Namun, inipun tidak menghalang SPRM untuk saman ITBM supaya ITBM bayar balik wang yang mereka terima dari saya sebagai bayaran. Kononnya ITBM terlibat dalam pengubahan wang haram. “Kalau (SPRM) nak duit balik, barang (buku yang dibeli) siapa nak pulangkan? Ini bukan isu pengubahan wang haram tetapi sebab kita menjual,” kata boss ITBM apabila ditanya tentang kes ini. "Siapa nak pulang duit buku Najib beli, tanya ITBM" https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/bahasa/s/188470 Paling lawak ialah ITBM ini adalah syarikat milik penuh Menteri Kewangan Diperbadankan (MKD) manakala pentadbirannya diselia oleh Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM). http://www.itbm.com.my/organisasi Oleh itu kerajaan PH sebenarnya sedang saman kerajaan PH supaya kerajaan PH akan memulangkan wang yang diterima sebagai bayaran untuk menerbitkan buku kepada kerajaan PH. https://www.instagram.com/p/B3ieP-YHeM-/?igshid=11x1lqd8wwiie

Worries About Malaysia’s ‘Arabisation’ Grow as Saudi Ties Strengthen

Reuters, Dec. 21, 2017

Kuala Lumpur (Reuters)--Malaysia’s growing ties to Saudi Arabia--and its puritan Salafi-Wahhabi Islamic doctrines--are coming under new scrutiny as concerns grow over an erosion of traditional religious practices and culture in the multi-ethnic nation.

A string of recent events has fueled the concern. Hostility toward atheists, non-believers and the gay community has risen. Two annual beer festivals were canceled after Islamic leaders objected. A hardline preacher, accused of spreading hatred in India, has received official patronage.

The government has backed a parliamentary bill that would allow harsh sharia punishments, such as amputations for theft and stoning for adultery. And after religious officials supported a Muslim-only laundromat, Malaysia’s mostly ceremonial royalty made a rare public intervention, calling for religious harmony.

Marina Mahathir, the daughter of Malaysia’s longest serving prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, publicly lashed out at the government for allowing the “Arabisation” of Malaysia.

Marina, who heads the civil rights group Sisters in Islam, told Reuters Saudi influence on Islam in Malaysia “has come at the expense of traditional Malay culture”. Her father, 93, now heads the opposition alliance.

Saudi Arabia’s fundamentalist Wahhabi beliefs have strongly influenced Malaysia--and neighboring Indonesia--for decades, but have strengthened considerably since Najib became prime minister in 2009 and began cozying up to the kingdom.

The relationship came under a harsh spotlight when nearly $700 million wound up in Najib’s bank account in 2013. Najib said it was a donation from the Saudi Royal family, rebutting allegations it was money siphoned from the 1MDB state investment fund he had founded and overseen. Malaysia’s attorney-general cleared him of any wrongdoing.

The trend toward a politicized brand of Islam in Malaysia, a middle-income emerging market, has alarmed Malaysia’s non-Muslims, including ethnic Chinese who comprise a quarter of the population and dominate private sector commerce. It is also a concern for foreign investors, who account for nearly half the local bond market and have invested $8.95 billion in project investments in the first nine months of this year.

Militancy has also been on the rise in Malaysia, which from 2013 to 2016 had arrested more than 250 people with alleged ties to Islamic State, many of whom were indoctrinated with hardline interpretations of Islam.

Saudi Arabia has long been funding mosques and schools in Malaysia, while providing scholarships for Malaysians to study in the kingdom. Many of them find employment in Malaysia’s multitude of Islamic agencies, said Farouk Musa, chairman and director of the moderate think-tank, Islamic Renaissance Front.

One of the most worrisome doctrines they preach in multi-cultural Malaysia is ‘al-w ala’ wa-al-bara’ or “allegiance and disavowal”, Farouk said. “This doctrine basically means do not befriend the non-believers (al-kuffar), even if they are among the closest relatives.

“We have never heard of Islamic scholars forbidding Muslims to wish Merry Christmas before, for example. Now, this is a common phenomenon,” he said.

Karima Bennoune, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for cultural rights, expressed concern in a report after her September visit to Malaysia about the deepening involvement of religious authorities in policy decisions. She said this was influenced by “a hegemonic version of Islam imported from the Arabian Peninsula” that was “at odds with local forms of practice.”

She also expressed concern about “the banning of books, including some about moderate and progressive Islam, in the country when the government extols these very concepts abroad”.