The Islamic religious department officials, who are civil servants, are a law into themselves. Jawi, as the IRD in the Federal Terrority is known, has said it would have the snoop squad to work only with Islamic couples in lovers' lanes. The Prime Minister is ignored. It has defied Malaysians to say the snoop squad will be formed. Two previous religious affairs department heads – Ustadz Dahalan in Selangor in 1969/70; Ustadz Ngah in Trengannu in 1979.80 – is known to Malays and Muslims, for they set up snoop squads, who later became licenced extortionists. They would take the jewellery or have sex with lthe women so that they are not reported. It is happening today in the University of Malaya campus. The guards find young undergraduates in lonely places, are told they would not be reported if the girl had sex with him. The University authorities take a harsh line on the students, because they students often do not support the National Front. No cabinet minister go to the university campus. When Pak Lah went there, the unversity authorities told the students they would be expelled if they went out of line when Pak Lah arrived.

A third issue has come up. In Kuala Lumpur, the Islamic Department has a vigilante squad of snoopers in lover's lanes. They do not have power of arrest, and need not have qualifications. Even the prime minister, Pak Lah, has said it is wrong. But it was the National Front government which allowed it. It should not, by its own statements, interfere in the administration of Islamic laws. It has barried the civil courts from Islamic decisions. The newspapers, as usual, has supported these moves, has not allowed any protests. In the Star yesterday, several ministers. Moslems, voiced their opposition. One even asked if the snoopers were qualified. It has become an issue of electoral significance that extraneous and diversive news items are brought in to blur the Islamic move would affect votes. But this issue slaked the Islamic men's prurient interest than to see if Islamic laws are obeyed.

It is to enable Mr Khairy, whose minor stake in ECM Libra was bought after he knew of the merger, gets his hands on the cash, and that has the deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak worried. Last night, he met with his advisers deep into the early hours of this morning. Now he knows for certain Pak Lah is against him. The Avenue Capital sale could not have taken place if Pak Lah had raised an objection. But in the complicted corporate moves, ECM Libra has its hands on the cash. And this cash is for Mr Khairy's use in becoming the next prime minister. He now has the money to fight his battle against Dato' Seri Najib. It is the practice of the UMNO group in power not to inform the peole what it does, unless it wants to, especially if what it had planned could go awry. Pak Lah thinks Mr Khairy and his friends can match the best in Malaysia, and has now given him the funds to go further. But Mr Khairy has come a cropper in the few political attempts to be top dog.

Pak Lah SAYS HE will decide if the Commission of Inquiry on the nude ear squat is made public. He should have decided that before he appointed it. The Commission of Inquiry was told, unbelievably, that the woman in question was not a Chinese national, as the mainstream newspapers had reported, but a Malay woman. In the meanwhile, the home minister, Dato' Azmi Khalid, had apologised to the Chinese government. He says he did not, but the Chinese papers, which carried a report of his press conference in Beijing, said he did. As usual, he has not explained to Malaysians why he did, but told the Malaysian press he did not apologise. No one believes him of course, but two editors from the China Press have been asked to resign for printing the news for which Dato' Azmi had apologised.

Pak Lah SAID HIS syle is different from Tun Mahathir's. There is no doubt about that. He said this in Bangkok, a statement meant for Malaysians. Tun Mahathir would have done that in office, but not before he had said it locally. Pak Lah is more interested, in his speeches and statements, in keeping the foreigner informed of his intentions, than Malaysians. Bernama, in carrying the report, gave it prominent on its web page, making it the top story of the day, in Malay and English. But the two men are as different as chalk and cheese. Tun Mahathir had asked to see Pak Lah, and as usual arrived early. But Pak Lah was still in his bed, though it was mid-morning. Tun Mahathir saw him two hours later. This would not have happened when he was prime minister. He was probably less than a week behind in his work. Normally he arrives in his office well before it is open, and catches up on his work while his staff has just left for the office. He attends to his work as prime minister, then stays behind cloistered with his work, takes it home what he cannot finish, which is often, and works at his papers or speeches late into the night. He gets up early, works again before he leaves for office. Compare that with Pak Lah, who is weeks behind his work normally.

If Malaysians want to enter politics, when in the National Front or the opposition, they must not depend on defamation laws to push them forward. But the opposition does not use it as the National Front politician does. Today, the National Front is in disarrary. The individual parties are, with the leading party, UMNO, more than the others. Those in UMNO go against Mr Khairy in this. They work on the principle that "my enemy's enemy is my friend". They do not agree with Mr Khairy moving ahead after he married the prime minister's daughter. He is a nobody in UMNO – he has a high post in UMNO Youth, which he got by getting his opponents to withdraw or promising them positions – but he is treated by all and sundry as if he is somebody. But if Mr Khairy goes ahead with his defamation suit, the biggest casualty would be his father-in-law, Pak Lah. The days are long gone when the president's word is sacrosanct, and his son-in-law is treated with respect because of who he is. He has in threatening defamation action, as an Indian saying goes, "given a stick to beat him with." He can escape this by a clear explanation of who he is, what his job is, and how he came to all this money. Or say it in court under oath.

HE IS THE SON-IN-LAW of the Prime Minister but he has brought UMNO, the leading party in the National Front, to its knees. He caused so much damage that it is probably too late for him to withdraw. His actions to show he is a rich man – by buying 3 per cent of ECM Libra for RM9.2 million, for example – has backfired on Pak Lah and UMNO. But Mr Khairy Jamaluddin thinks he can ride through, going after his critics with defamation suits, answering no questions, riding rough shod over UMNO members. Pak Lah cannot reshuffle his cabinet, as he should have by now, because Mr Khairy wants his men in it. The more power Mr Khairy has in Pak Lah's government, the more split UMNO will be. The National Front is no longer as the first prime minister, Tengku Abdul Rahman, had envisaged it: a meeting of equals, in which the Malaysian Chinese Association and Malaysian Indian Congress leaders in cabinet had as much say as he himself. He used to say that the item on hand was not discussed in the cabinet if either disagreed. It was brought later, after negotiations had removed the objection. That was then. Now, the non-UMNO leaders in the National Front want to be known as the first to support an UMNO proposal. After all, it was their vote that made Malaysia an Islamic nation in practice, or that women are made second-class citizens.

NO PUBLIC DEBATE EXISTS in Malaysia. The threat of defamation, usually by men and companies with much to keep hidden, is thrown with alacrity to establish their position. They are in a hurry for they will lose their influence when the prime minister retires. Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Berjaya Corporation were Mr Khairy and ECM Libra. He sued this writer for defamation ten years ago, but that is not over yet although he and his company does not influence Pak Lah now as he did Tun Mahathir Mohamed then. He tries to be close to Pak Lah, but can he succeed where there is ECM Libra around? These companies will not explain, and Malaysians will know them as superb companies, and mention only that it is successful because they are close to the prime minister. Even political parties and MPs are not allowed to ask questions. Malaysians should be kept ignorant while these companies stole a march over other companies which do not have such connections.

THE KHAIRY CHRONICLES, now in its 23rd part in Malaysia Today, has become uncomfortable to the young man. Who writes it is not known, Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin, editor and the driving force behind it, will not say. But it contains many bullets that UMNO enemies of Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, the son-in-law of the Prime Minister, use with damaging accuracy. Mr Khairy has come from nowhere, married Pak Lah's daughter, and runs the Malaysian government: Pak Lah depends on him, over tried and tested civil servants, who are forced to follow what Mr Khairy decides. As more damaging information comes to light, not only the Khairy Chronicles, they are picked up by his UMNO enemies, who distribute photostats of the original and Malay translation in their balliwicks. The Pengkalen Pasir byelection in Kelantan was not, in Mr Khairy's view, a byelection with PAS, although it was also that, but between his friends and enemies in UMNO. He is a young man in a hurry. He operates behind the scenes, puts his supporters in front. But he is now forced into the open. He does not like it.

Pak Lah, whom I first knew as a civil servant, was not expected then to be secretary-general of a ministry. He would have teh tariks in Bangsar even when he was foreign minister. But that does not mean he is a pushover. He was secretary of the National Operations Council when the country was under civilian, or rather UMNO, "martial" law. He was not known then for the attributes he is now said to have. But no one in political office can be other than super human, unless he is not from the National Front. A minister can go to Bejing and apologize for a Malay girl, so we are told, doing nude squats, but it is two reporters from the Chinese press who reported, like the others, that the girl was a Chinese national. The home minister, Dato' Azmi Khalid, is excused however although his actions allowed China to dictate terms to Malaysia. He has denied that in Malaysia, but he told the press there he did just that The Malaysian media ignores what the minister said or does outside the country on a contentious issue, and concentrates on statements in the country that make him look good.

THE FORMER PRIME MINISTER, Tun Mahathir Mohamed, 79, is rushed to the United States after doctors at the Institiut Jantung Negara (National Heart Institute) ruled out a bypass for the second time. He had a heart attack about Christmas and left, according to sources, "at the end of 2005 or early 2006". Given his age, and his inclement health, the doctors here ruled out a second bypass; he had his first done in 1988. This would effectively rule him out from active politics for at least three months. This would affect the fate of the prime minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, his son-in-law and the deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak. If he comes back, it is a bonus for Dato' Seri Najib; if he does not, for Pak Lah and his son-in-law, Mr Khairy Jamaluddin. Tun Mahathir coming into active politics in 2005 has forced Pak Lah to cancel his plans for a cabinet reshuffle; all Tun Mahathir's men still in Pak Lah's cabinet were going to be axed. But Tun Mahathir met these men for his own post-Cabinet meeting at the KLCC every Wednesday.

People Mr Khairy depended on has died or got into activities they should not. Tan Sri Noordin Sopiee who introduced Pak Lah's daughter, Nori, to Mr Khairy, and looked upon himself as a father figure to the young man, died of thyroid cancer last week. Making use of Putera UMNO has caused a setback after its president, Dato' Azeez Abdul Rahman, was caught in a vice raid at Holiday Villa. The deputy interior minister, Dato' Noh Omar, has said he was in Klang at that time, but no one believes him. It is he who told the Chinese tourists not to come to Malaysia if they are not prepared to obey the laws. But his minister is Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi, who is also father-in-law of Mr Khairy. Could he say anything else?

He has had setbacks recently. His associates and friends have died. The Ethos Consulting chief, Dr Liew Boon-Horng, who threatened to sue if his links with Mr Khairy is ever mentioned, but an old friend and possibly business partner, died in a freak accident last Friday when a two-tonne piece of concrete fell on his car. Tan Sri Noordin Sopee had introduced Pak Lah's daughter Nori to Mr Khairy when he was the boss of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, and the two were working for him but he died of thyroid cancer last week. He has threatened those who write critically of him with law suits, but continues giving interviews, and allows articles about him, in friendly newspapers. Pengakalen Pasir is said to be "Khairy;s Election". UMNO won that, but it disaffecting the local leaders, for one.

But first things first. ECM Libra is encouraged by Pak Lah's government and the Chinese running the firm knows that. Of the the three Malays on its board, two are close to Pak Lah – his son-in-law and the former group editor in chief of the New Straits Times, Dato' Khalimullah Hassan. It came into prominence after Pak Lah was sure of becoming prime minister. With so many impediments for non-Malays in this country, they take steps so that their firms can flourish. Otherwise it would be just a ho-hum firm. Look around you, and the firms that succeed are those with connections. The Malays on its board is well connected, the close they are to the centre of power, the better placed the firm is.

The National Front government saw this has a hot potato. More than one cabinet minister was roped in to quell the revolt, which got the women senators from government and the opposition PAS together. They drafted a letter to the Prime Minister, whose department had initiated the bill, requesting that it be withdrawn. It would not, if the political position of Dato' Seri Nazri Aziz is any guide. It would also restrict the government's hands in future. The non-Islamic parties in the National Front does not want to get involved, and will be thrown by the wayside in this. But the National Front has realised that it cannot have its way in parliament even if it controls most of the seats. It has dissensions within it - those who do not support the ruling group; those that support Tun Mahathir Mohamed, the former prime minister; those who support Tengku Razaleigh, the former finance minister; those that support Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister who is in the opposition. It has already seen Islam Hadhari, which is Pak Lah's version of Islam, to the sidelines when PAS is around. Now it is the women from the National Front who has caused Pak Lah to be careful of his legislative plans. He has ensured that the whip will allow the senate to pass the bill. But it would be like telling the Yang Di Pertuan Agung not to address a function he had agreed to. In this revolt by the National Front women senators, it loses whether it succeds in the senate passing the bill or not. The government would have to make its plans carefully and with consultation.

ASEAN IS A DEAD LETTER. What started as a bang in 1967 will go out in a whimper. It is now beholden to outsiders, especially the United States. The chairman of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur which just ended, Malaysian Prime Minister, has made sure of it. The United States papers have said the country need not worry because ASEAN's chairman is a 'friend'. Pak Lah gave interviews with the Wall Street Journal and other Western newspapers, but not to a local. He, like all Malaysian leaders, want to be loved by foreigners, especially from the West. Local journalists write about ASEAN only on public statements, and do not report beyond their brief. But this does not mean they do not have opinions or hear others talk about it. They do. Only they discuss it with the colleagues and does not write about it because they would annoy their editors and more important, the officials. Malaysian officials think therefore that the ASEAN Summit is a success while it is run down. ASEAN foreign mininsters met annually in the past, and the focus of reporting was on what they said, leaving their bosses, prime ministers and presidents enough manouverability to accept or reject what was agreed by the foreign ministers. But not now. The ASEAN Summit, which was orginally held when it had to, is now an annual affair. Next year's will be in the Philippines. But it is now an organisation its members do not control.

The present day UMNO, with its self-proclaimed peoples' roots, finds its policies affecting the people to its disadvantage. It is fearful that some of their intellectuals or leaders will desert it and join them. Tun Mahathir Mohamed is against the UMNO leadership. But he might now. He represents the old turks in UMNO. Pak Lah represents the young turks mainly because he relies on his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, and others in their 30s who had graduated from Oxford and Cambridge. Pak Lah is afraid that that opposed to his advisers might join the old turks, even those who were in England at the same time. The opposition in UMNO now have both leaders and a platform, and would get the support of the people if the young turks in Pak Lah's camp insist on browbeating those who disagree, rather than talk to them. What is happening now was spelt out in "The Animal Farm" nearly 60 years ago!

An organisation must reorient itself to make it relevant. The United Nations is dead, ever since the United States took it as an extension of its foreign policy when it liked, and attacked when it did not coincide. It is regarded around the world as an organisation of substance, but it has failed perhaps for 40 years. The Non-Aligned Nations, which Pak Lah is the current president, lost its importance once the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union ended. It should have revitalised itself into a third force, but it did not. It was once important. The prime movers of the body was President Gamel Abdel Nasser of Egypt, President Sukarno of Indonesia, President Tito of Yugoslavia in Djakarta in 1955. Hovering in the wings was Prime Minister Jawaharlal of India, Prime Minister Kwama Nkrumah of Ghana, Prime Minister Ahmed Ben Bella of Algeria, President Haib Bourghiba of Tunusia, and others. The deaths of the founders did not cease its relevance. But the leaders of non- alighnment when the Soviet Union cracked up did not reorient the Non- Alignment Movement, and it now is of no importance. And so it is with ASEAN.

The Malaysian prime minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, hosted this year's meeting, adding the ASEAN Summit chairmanship to that he already holds, of the Organisation of Islamic Conference and of the Non-Aligned Summit. He did not object when the ASEAN Summit decided that the fate of one Myanmarese woman was more than that of 4 million Malays. He hopes that the 4 million Malays will go away, because he does not think them important. But having said on taking office as Malaysian prime minister two years ago that they would not be, he had suddenly ignored them. But is not the Thai Malays any more different from Timor Leste? One was a Malay minority fighting with Buddlist Bangkok and the other a Roman Catholic minority fighting with Muslim Djakarta. But Timor Leste became independent by UN supervision, and Malaysia helped, while the Thai Malays are left to their own devises. They are now told that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whom the United States want to lead Myanmar, is more important than the Thai Malays. Pak Lah handed the Thai Malays over to the Islamic nations, and forgot about it. Recently, the head of PULO, now living in Europe, was persuaded to come to Malaysia for medical treatment, rather than in Europe, in May this year, and he was ordered out of the country last week in a stretcher, untreated. One in Malaysia, he was kept in a room with hardly any space to move about, and ignored. Meanwhile, Malaysia has sent back to Thailand Thai Malays who came to Malaysia. He was ignored by Malaysian officials.

WHEN DATO' SERI ABDULLAH Ahmad Badawi, or Pak Lah, was on his way to the airport on the morning of 6th December 2005, when the voters trooped in Penkalen Pasir in Kelantan to cast their votes, his aides told him that PAS would win that seat. But intelligence sources had decided the day before UMNO would get the seat by 130 votes. That prediction was like a chief minister of Sabah told he was returned in his constituency by nearly 10,000 votes - two days before the election. PAS, on the other hand, knew it had lost the seat if more than 80 per cent voted, with the UMNO majority rising as more than 80 per cent voted. As it is, 82 per cent did. An UMNO leader active in the campaigning sent out SMS congratulating his men for making the victory possible, adding that the 134 votes majority was coincidental to the 134 vote majority he had predicted! But as the votes were being counted, officials, not knowing the shenanigans taking place, thought that PAS had won by 70 votes. In the end, UMNO had won by a majority of 134 votes. There was a recount, of course, for the majority was two per cent of the votes cast. UMNO tried too hard, and the Election Commission worked harder for UMNO to win, that no one in UMNO or the Election Commission noticed that more votes were cast in the postal votes than allowed: 212 cast when only 195 votes were allowed. When this was pointed out to the head of the Election Commission, Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, he did not admit his mistake, but threatened he was ready for a bruising fight in Court!

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