But government policies are for foreigners to take over projects that used to be run by the government. To make that possible, the National Front government said it had no role in money making departments. Water, among others, were privatised. But the National Front saw it as a means of rewarding its members. All privatisation in Malaysia is run by the former civil servants, but with a salary more than what they took home when in the civil service. Today, it is ripe for a foreigner to step in, so that he could take the profits home. Statements from foreign governments and companies state this as fact. Our bottled water is, would soon be, owned by foreign companies, who would use Malays as local leaders. The National Front government has not made a policy statement about this. The Minister of Trade and Industry, Datin Seri Rafidah Aziz says one thing here, and the opposite overseas. But this is par for the course in the levels of leadership in the National Front.

Modern government, which keeps Parliament as one would a faithful dog, does what it likes, knowing full well that Parliament would come to its aid when it is necessary. It is so in Malaysia and Singapore, but also in Thailand, France, Italy and many other countries. The Western countries, notably the United States, encouraged this isolation of the elected from the electors, so that these governments would be at their beck and call. Today's governments in Third world countries are not independent, for it can rule as it likes but if that legislation falls foul of bilateral or multilateral treaties with other countries, it is to that extent void. It is made worse when all this behind-the-scenes negotiations are kept hidden from the people. The minister for international trade and industry, Datin Rafidah Aziz, does not tells Malaysians she signed with other countries.

PAK LAH SAYS PROTON needs a foreign partner after his government prevented one to join hands with the carmaker. The adviser to Proton, and the man who inisisted it be set up, Tun Mahathir Mohamed, was so angry when the foreign partner, Volkswagen, withdrew from the link-up that he returned the VW car that was given him. What is now known is that deals behind to ensure that an private parties benefit rather than the nation were hatched at that time, and Proton naturally was the loser. Volkswagen withdrew from the deal, but why it did so is not made public. The car company withdrew because a company just formed by that efficient but corrupt minister, Datin Rafidah Aziz's niece and nephew was given enough APs to allow Volkswagen to come into Malaysia without Proton. Since the AP is Pak Lah's son-in-law's cousin, Pak Lah cannot raise objections to the deal. Instead, he can only say inanities about Proton needing a foreign partner.

But is the Malaysian government's support for the Thai Malays to do with PAS's governance of Kelantan state? The National Front government also wants the National Front to rule Kelantan. Its policy in southern Thailand - the former foreign minister Tengku Ahmad Rithaudeen is a prince from the Pattani sultanate, and his sister is the King's mother - is dictated in recent years by its electoral effort to unseat PAS in Kelantan. Tun Mahathir Mohamed, the former Prime Minister, believed that the southern Thai Malays should be part of Malaysia, and he was single minded about it, but in secret. He was open to having his mind changed. It was he who passed on the Malaysian government's views on the Thai Malays to the Thai Prime Minister, Mr Thaksin Shinawatra. He also saw the King of Thailand. Although he believed southern Thai should be part of Malaysia, he was respected in Thailand. He stepped down in 2003 because he was forced to. He was too independent a man to be Prime Minister, in the US's eyes. His wife, with whom he discussed major matters of personal important, was surprised that he did. The event is noted by the minister for international trade and industry, Datin Seri Rafidah Aziz, crying on stage and rushed to his side. But she is his intractable enemy now.

But the issue is neutalised by the mainstream press. The AP scandal is one such. The Prime Minister, Dato' Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, should have sacked Datin Seri Rafidah Aziz, the minister of international trade and industry, from his cabinet the moment the AP scandal hit the street. He still has not, and the mainstream newspapers which once asked for her resignation is finding new reasons to praise her. The man-in-the-street is fed up and flexes his muscles. Whether he is Malay, Chinese or Indian does not matter. He seems the politician in power to be corrupt, the civil service to be corrupt, the government service to be corrupt. The laws are to shut him up. No wonder a columnist described this year's budget as benefitting the civil service. Most government rules in which the public approach it is so designed that the head of department is the ultimate authority, so you have to bribe the lower officials to push the file forward. A Malaysian doctor returned after he was offered citizenship after staying in Australia and given it by a junior official. He rejected it and returned to Malaysia. If citizenship could be given by a junior official, he decided, then the corruption is elsewhere, mostly which does not concern the people. In Malaysia, the minister decides it, and there is great opportunities for corruption.

PAK LAH HAS NOT RESHUFFLED his cabinet since he took office in 2003. He had said the cabinet ministers are appointed by the King and loss of positions, or rejection, by the party is irrelevant and is no cause to resign from his cabinet. He leaves it to the good sense of ministers to resign. He has extended this to deputy ministers, and applied this rules to parties other than UMNO in the National Front. It is a sign there is one rule for the rulers and one for the ruled. But there is another reason. His cabinet is composed of warlords, in UMNO or other members of the National Front. Two warlords have refused to resign. The UMNO wanita leader, Datin Seri Rafidah Aziz, has refused to resign after her role in issuing APs became a national scandal. Pak Lah dared not ask her to resign, for fear that Datin Seri Rafidah would point out the APs given to his relatives and supporters. She gave APs to Pak Lah's relatives and supporters to secure her position in the Pak Lah cabinet. Pak Lah had to shut up, and the cabinet had ordered her to answer the APs matter in parliament. Newspapers, which once were against her now eat out of her hand. If she were sacked, she could go into the opposition in UMNO against Pak Lah. This is the reason why he has not reshuffled his cabinet. The warlords may go into the opposition to him. Dato' Isa Samad, the federal territories minister, is a warlord from Negri Sembilan. He was ousted from Negri Sembilan at the behest of Pak Lah's son-in-law, and UMNO obliged. But it is not that easy. Now the UMNO Supreme Council, headed by Pak Lah, has confirmend it. Dato' Isa comes from Linggi, where Adat Temenggong rules. By removing Dato' Isa from the cabinet, Pak Lah will have removed the Adat Temenggong and that could be disasterous in the 2007 UMNO presidential elections. Pak Lah does not have any moral scruples in this matter, and that is why his opponents are in strong position in UMNO.

PARLIAMENT HAS BECOME A charade. The MPs from the ruling National Front are not given a free vote in the Rafidah Aziz affair. The two NF MPs who voted with the Opposition in referring Datin Seri Rafidah Aziz to the Committee of Privileges comes up for mention in newspaper reports and in Paliament as if they had done something terrible. It now seems the National Front never had any intention to put Rafidah Aziz through the hoop. She knows it, and almost every NF MP knows it. The result was predictable, although Parliament was allegedly given a free hand by the NF. The NF's majority in Parliament would see, as it turned out, that Datin Seri Rafidah would get into no trouble. And indeed she did not. She is in the New Straits Times today (6 October 2005) talking about her role in nation building, and that she viewed her international role more important than turning up in Parliament. Parliament is not important, she avers in the interview with New Straits Times. The leader of the Opposition, Mr Lim Kit Siang, is irrelevant, so his questions are less important than the Cabinet's. But in the Parliamentary system of government in force, it is more important than the cabinet. Tun Mahathir used to have cabinet meetings in Parliament. He at least paid lip service to the primacy of Parliament. The Natioanl Front does not. There is pressure on the National Front to penalise the two MPs who voted with the Opposition. And there is a collective sigh of relief that she is scot free. That was only possible by the massive majority the NF has in Parliament.

The minister of international trade and industry and UMNO women's wing president, Datin Serii Rafidah Aziz is the next cabinet minister proven corrupt. The mainstream newspapers and mainstream TV media have confirmed it. Which means it is true. There are other stories of cabinet ministers and others corrupt, but if the alternate media write about it, then the laws of defamation apply, and they are stopped in their tracks. One UMNO leader has said he would have sued a mainstream journalist, but would not since that fellow does not have money. In other words, money is used to bankrupt the fellow. If one the other hand, an alterate journalist seems to be winning or gets a fairer corum of jiudges, on appeal, then the case is delayed as long as possible. The cynicism extends to UMNO members who are used to defame opposition figures. They are dropped and they are not supported in court or are not helped with the amount ordered by the courts to be paid to the opposition figure. So, Datin Seri Rafidah Aziz, like the warlord before here in the cabinet, Tan Seri Isa Samad, is banned from UMNO for corruption but will not resign nor be sacked from the Pak Lah cabinet. The Prime Minister sacks from his cabinet only those who defy him personally: Tun Ghazali Shafie, Dato' Shahrir Samad and Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, all by the then Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamed.

But is there more? Could perchance that the first consortium had as merchant bank one in which the editor-in-chief and Pak Lah's son-in-law had significant stakes? Links with it would, if market talk is to be believed, would not hinder business men intent on connexions to further their business profile. Was not the son-in-law of the international trade and industry minister, Datin Paduka Rafidah Aziz involved with this group? Why did it fail? The wheels within wheels were greased with other than competence.

As it turns out, three Malaysian companies – Petronas, Jawala Corporation, Tradeyear – got oil-for-food vouchers. He must have sent out dozens of these recommendations. Why? Why should he be writing these letters of recommendations for these mostly fly-by-night companies which happened to be owned or controlled by UMNO leaders? If such recommendations had to be made, why did not the officials of the relevant ministries, or even the minister for international trade and industry, Datin Paduka Rafidah Aziz, give them? Why should it be the prime minister? In the way business is handled here, nothing is free. I know of many prominent business men of what it costs to shorten the odds in their work – let us face it, a prime ministerial recommendation is just that – and it does not come, even if the money does not reach the prime minister, without the suitable "greasing" of palms along the way. Pak Lah may be unaware of it, but that is how, as a rule, letters of recommendations are got.

So party affiliation should not be the reason for sacking or declaring a former UMNO member a traitor. Dato' Hishamuddin minced no words: "The youth will not allow any traitor be given a second chance to destroy the party from within." The wanita leader, Datin Paduka Rafidah Aziz insists "UMNO should not support or be involved with those proven to have destabilised the party" and cryptically insinuates: "It is known who I am referring to." The puteri's former leader, Datin Azalina Mohamed Said, adds: "The movement must reject traitors who left the party and were against the party. Dato' Hishamuddin again: "These people who have opposed UMNO, who have burnt the flag of UMNO, and who have staged processions to ridicule the leaders of UMNO should not dream of returning to UMNO, what more to be present among the leaders of UMNO." Let us accept this as the rallying call from UMNO at this general assembly. But it is not Dato' Seri Anwar only this treachery is aimed at: it is at all the others as well. Dato' Seri Anwar has never asked to return to UMNO.

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