No one in the cabinet wants to be involved in this matter. The deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, left last night for a week's holiday in Perth. Two ministers I asked for a response asked me I wanted to kill them politically. Dato' Seri Jamaluddin is strangely silent. He is caught amidst his own political problem. An erstwhile ally of Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak, he has decided the grass is greener across the river bank, and midway to it - the Abdullah Badawi camp - the boat leaks badly, taking on more water than can be pumped out. The Najib camp ignore him and the Pak Lak camp keeps its distance. Few forget he was once close to that invisible ogre in Malaysian politics, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim. But JJ, as he prefers to be known, has only three major interests in life, a mutual friend told me somewhat cruelly, "JJ, Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis, and Dato' Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis". He is so focussed on his irrelevant self that he gets nowhere. A financial sleight of hand in Tenaga Nasional Berhad pleased Dr Mahathir no end that he rewarded him with the finance ministry. And he would probably pay the price for that.

To add to Dr Jamaluddin's discomfiture, PAS has plans to pit one of its heavyweight against him in Rompin in the coming general elections. If he is not careful, his political future could be as short as his predecessor, Dato' Mustapha Mohamed's. And he had had a charmed business and political career. An electrical engineer, he was an important contractor for the electrical utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, who became head of TNB, a classic case of poacher-turned-gamekeeper. He entered parliament and was also chairman of the BN backbencher's club. He endeared himself to the Prime Minister when he was caught red-handed with an envelope a Japanese trading house handed to him, which would have been disastrous if he had been a middling civil servant. Instead, he became second minister of finance. Recently, he seems to move away from Dato' Seri Najib's camp into Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi's.

Why is Dato' Jamaluddin specially favoured to leap into the cabinet from the backbenches? He is chairman of the electricity utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad. Therein lies a tale. When Dr Mahathir desperately wanted to have tea and scones with President Bush in the White House, the State Department was lukewarm. So private channcels were lobbied. Three Malaysians got into the act: the former cabinet minister, Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayob; the minister of justice, Dato' Seri Rais Yatim; The foreign minister, Dato' Seri Syed Hamid Albar, through Wisma Putra, th foreign ministry. Tan Sri Megat Junid pulled it off, with a budget of US$10 million, to which TNB contributed the most at the behest of its chairman. Many crony business men, like Tan Sri Francis Yeoh of the YTL Group, chipped in so that all could claim credit, and get contracts in the future. A Malaysian Malay woman married to a Jew and living in Washington lobbied and spread the lolly around. This use of money is not new. One key member of the Prime Minister's immediate staff charged a fee for meeting the Great Man, which the business men, especially Japanese and others, were only too happy to pay. Dato' Jamaluddin is rewarded with a cabinet post. Dr Mahathir wanted to reward Tan Sri Megat Junid with the IWK sewage privatisation, but the Cabinet baulked at it, and so he could not.

Several questions arise. How could a 27-year-old man, which Mr Ling Hee Liong was when he acquired his now-collapsed empire, get banks and financial institutions to lend money beyond his capacity to pay in ten life times? Unless they gave it with an eye to who his father was. His empire was highly geared. All it needed was a persistent bear market to make it collapse. But what happened was a massive crash triggered ironically by Dato' Soh's own exposure. Public Bank Berhad had lent hundreds of millions to Dato' Soh for his stock market forays.

The deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, says Kelantan, under a PAS administration, received RM1 billion in Federal funds, or a third of its allocation under the Eighth Malaysia Plan, or one-thirtieth the amount the crony-controlled Renong Berhad lost. He says this showed the State's population is not left out of the mainstream of development. It is proof, he infers, that even under a PAS-led government, the Federal government would not desert the people. In Trengganu, also PAS-run, it is another story: there the State Government is deliberately starved of funds it is entitled to, and what is rightfully its is spent by the federal government to ensure it is defeated in the next general election. But when the Malaysian deputy prime minister visits the Opposition-run states, he deals not with the state government but with UMNO officials an federal departments in the state. PAS does not deserve federal help but the people should not be penalised for exercising their democratic vote to elect a government of their choice.

The Malaysian Airport Holdings Berhad chairman, Tan Sri Basir Ismail, 'surprised' the Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Mahathir Mohamed, with a memento from the past: a 1959 Pontiac Catalina, the car he owned when in Kedah four decades ago -- and with the same number plate, K7600. The Prime Minister is pleased; he often is when he is fawned upon by cronies and acolytes and presented by them with baubles he likes. He is pleased as pink with the gift. He took his wife out for a spin, like in old times, and pronounced himself pleased. "I am happy, for sentimental reasons," he said. But nothing in Malaysia is as straightforward as it appears. A 6.3 litre, left hand drive 1959 Pontiac Catalina might cost $12,000 (not RM12,000 as the New Straits Times says - there was no ringgit then), but to buy it in 2002 from a specialist antique shop in the United States, and have it brought here by air, must cost at least 40 times that.

Sometimes they believe in their own hype. Not realising, as the Berjaya Group chairman, Tan Sri Vincent Tan would tell you of his gambling venture in Chinese, the killing of the magnitude Genting Berhad makes in its casinos in the Genting Highlands is a pipe dream; he must wish he did not venture into China. In all else, whether it is the Lion Group's venture into housing in China or Renong Berhad's venture into steel making in the Philippines, or the Berjaya Group's venture into timber in South America, or indeed, the YTL Group's ventures in Africa, they fail.

The original plan was for an EPF contributor to go to a Pos Malaysia Berhad outlet, make his selection through Oda Saja Sdn Bhd, a company formed for this purpose, and in due course the Post Office would deliver the computer to your door. If anything went wrong, neither was responsible, and he had to go to the authorised agent of the computer brand selected. He was limited to the brands and models on offer, for a fixed outrageously high price. That collapsed soon enough, as it must. How could the Post Office which cannot deliver letters on time deliver computers on time? Computer shops were then pressed in as agents. The BSN Bank was pressed into the scheme. Pos Malaysia and Oda Saja were let off the hook, but continued to collect the commission. The new scheme gave contributors an opportunity to get at their EPF contributions for their personal needs. Many needed a personal computer as one needs a hole in the head. Having one did not mean one became computer literate although the scheme was presented as if one would be. The scheme collapsed little by little, and is now put to rest.

Maika Holdings, a brainchild of Dato' Seri Samy Vellu, had Indians into debt to buy shares, several to be declared bankrupt, only to see their investment disappear to a fraction, and the ignominy of it then taken over by Dato' Seri Samy Vellu, now its largest and controlling shareholder. Recently, its chairman's Mercedes Benz had to be sold to pay staff salaries. It left in its wake debts, ruined careers and families -- a clear affirmation that it cannot, and do not know how to, harness the community’s wealth for the common good. When Maika Holdings was allotted 10 million shares in Telekoms Berhad, in its early days, before it was listed on the KLSE, Dato' Seri Samy Vellu insisted Maika Holdings could not afford it, and diverted all but one million shares to three two-dollar companies whose directors included his acolytes and sundry share holders like Chinese drivers. By the time the shares were sold, Maika Holdings would have had a paper profit of RM72 million if it had taken up its full allotment.

Malaysian police this week questioned an MCA presidential crony, Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping, what he knew of a letter he used to be appointed executive chairman of the listed gambling company, Magnum Corporation Berhad. Some on the company's board thought it forged and lodged police reports early this year. Tan Sri Tan was appointed five months ago. Who wrote the letter, and who forged it, is unmentioned, but if it could ensure a man's elavation to executive chairman, it could be by no more than a handful of men. Two, for all their power, would not dare; The one who would is a fighter who would rather bring his own organisation down than accept defeat. There is only one in the Chinese community who answers to that description. His name is Dato' Seri Ling Liong Sik. He could well have written that letter. Did he?

And in the Malaysia Borneo Building Society Berhad. A subsidiary of the Employees Provident Fund, it was to provide loans for housing. For years it had a stellar reputation, solid, reliable, dependable. Then it got into into the national penchant for acquiring debt as quickly as possible. It got into commercial and corporate lending, and got its chance to turn in huge losses. For the year ending Dec 31, 2001, it showed losses of RM491.9 million, and a cumulative losses of RM960 million since 1997. Most of this is for doubtful debts and lower value of buildings it underwrote. It is not mentioned that just two borrowers -- Tan Sri Vincent Tan of the Berjaya Group and Dato' Joseph Chong, the former BN MP -- owes it as much as its accumulated losses of the past four years.

Is there a witch-hunt against Tun Daim Zainuddin, the former finance minister and fixer-in-chief of Malaysia Inc.? Yes. What better proof than when the deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, denies it! The rumours came in fast and furious that he is the target when Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli is under so much official pressure. First the MAS police report against his handling of the company when he was in control; then the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange refused to list a batch of TRI shares, called TRI (OA), which he controlled, at a lower price than what a similar batch was traded. Most who hold this new shares are foreign institutional holders, and sold to repay RM1.9 billion in debt. TRI's plan to list the cellular phone operator, Celcom Malaysia Berhad, is now in doubt. It goes without saying that TRI is his listed vehicle.

There are a few other Malaysians on the list. On its website (www.islamicsupremecouncil.org), you would see numerous photographs of how he was feted during his regular visits to Malaysia, one of a dinner in the home of Toh Puan Suhaila, the widow of Tun Hussein. Amongst those present was Raja Elena, the sister of Raja Ashman Shah. Also present at this dinner is Mr Akhbar Khan, the crony of the former finance minister, Tun Daim Zainuddin, and whose niece is married to Tan Sri Halim Saad, the chairman of the bankrupt Renong Berhad.

The corporate and legislative culture is different in Malaysia and the United States. But they are linked by the same insatiable greed which caused the trouble. So Malaysian newspapers comment on the Enron affair with a belief it would not happen here, they are right: the government would not allow it to happen. If it did, its culpability would writ large. And the laws used to muzzle the whistleblowers and those who dare question. No, an Enron could not happen in Malaysia; it would be well covered up, and the government would ensure its debts are absorbed by the public purse, and it would given further opportunities to run into debt it cannot repay. If Mr Kenneth Lay had been Tan Sri Kamaruzamman Lay Abdullah of Enron Berhad, crony extraordinaire of the prime minister or Tun Daim, he would not be in the predicament he is in today.

Langkawi was to have had a casino. The Genting Berhad chairman, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, surveyed the area and would have built it but for PAS's unexpectedly good showing in the 1999 General Election. Is that now transferred to Tioman? For that there must be ease of reach. As it stands, only one man stands to benefit. And that does not guarantee success. One man is behind Pulau Langkawi. His name is Dato' Seri Mahathir Mohamed. And he could not make it prosper. How could Tan Sri Dato' Seri Vincent in Pulau Tioman?

The airport's argument is that these fellows are not doing enough to drum up business. They should have promotional offers to attract customers. The Malaysian Airport Berhad insists that although fewer passengers use KLIA, the MAB is a hive of activity and retailers have nothing to complain about. Times are difficult in Singapore, Hong Kong, Zurich, Heathrow, JFK, but not in Malaysia or KLIA, so why do these ungrateful retailers grumble about the rent? The MAB says they should make a profit, and they had better! But KLIA is more a feeder airport for Singapore than a regional transport hub. It is cheaper now to drive, even with the usurious tolls the bankrupt highway toll operators charge, to Singapore than take a plane there. With the economy in the doldrums everywhere in the region than in Bolehland, far few take the plane for the weekend in Kuala Lumpur from Changi. If they do, they do come to shop at the airport's stalls.

Malaysia's favourite cash cow, Petronas, wants no more than run into debt as quickly as possible. This government-owned oil company now undertakes projects that cannot pay its way: it builds Putra Jaya, sponsors F-1 drivers and cars and with teams in rally car championships and the World Motorcycle Grand Prix, pays teachers' salaries, underwrites the government's image building not to show how good we are but how wasteful we can be. So it is no surprise to learn that Petronas now wants to acquire the Sepang F-1 Circuit from the government-owned Malaysian Airports Berhad (MAHB). MAHB says why: It offers Petronas "strategic advantages and synergies" which with its oil revenues wastes it on motorsport, sponsors the Malaysian round of the F-1 championship and co-sponsors the Sauber F-1 team.

The BBC, for whom I then worked, carried the story in its main news broadcast 20 minutes later. That was how many Malaysians heard of the death of their head of state. It was hours later before it was formally announced. I was later told that the then deputy king was overseas, and he had to be contacted before the announcement could be made. But when that is made known with a blatant lie, rumours Berhad gets an importance it should not. So, would Dato' Rais Yatim say more than the fig leaf of information he has given about the Attorney-General. Not that I would expect him to, since he believes his presence in the government also requires him to fudge the truth, if not lie.

The Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamed, pronounced it a business deal when the MCA bought Nanyang Press Holdings Berhad. The MCA president, Dr Ling Liong Sik, rammed the deal through, counting on his executive powers and his majority in the party presidential council and the central executive committee. He ignored the rumblings within the Chinese community, which looked upon it as a deliberate attempt to stifle the community's voice.

The Country Heights Berhad, a listed company, owes the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) RM9 million in assessment arrears. As a housing developer, its managing director, Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, seems confused about the difference between quit rent and assessment. The deputy minister for local government and housing, Dato' M. Kayveas, when he berates the MPSJ when it moved to seal Country Heights premises for non-payment. It should have asked his ministry to sort it out, he thunders. Tan Sri Lee does not deny the claim, only that he had paid RM3.8 million. That may be, but his compay still owes RM9 million. That he overpaid RM3.6 million in quit rent for the properties is no concern of the MPSJ. Quit rent is collected for the state, assessment for the municipality.

Pak Lah (1364)   United States (636)   Straits Times (412)   Samy Vellu (224)   Putra Jaya (200)   Chief Justice (200)   Saddam Hussein (188)   Vincent Tan (164)   Civil Service (154)   Parti KeADILan (148)   Islamic State (118)   Johore Bahru (100)   Sungei Buloh (94)   Bukit Tinggi (88)   Abdul Razak (80)   Pengkalen Pasir (68)   Ting Pek (64)   Armed Forces (59)   Soviet Union (58)

Malay Dominance (58)   Yong Teck (56)   Hong Kong (56)   Human Rights (56)   Syed Hamid (54)   Puteri UMNO (52)   Islam Hadhari (52)   Royal Commission (51)   Hussein Onn (51)   Rafidah Aziz (48)   Indian Congress (48)   Open House (44)   Vision Schools (44)   Shah Alam (44)   Malay Unity (42)   Chua Jui (42)   Abdul Taib (42)   Ampang Jaya (36)   Ras Adiba (36)

Osama Bin Laden (36)   Nik Aziz Nik (20)   Ling Liong Sik (18)   Lee Kuan Yew (18)

High Court Judge (14)   Wan Azizah Wan (9)   Lim Kit Siang (9)   Megat Junid Megat (8)

Mahathir (2960)

Anwar (2399)