14 Aug, 2008
The Permatang Pauh by-election is going to be very interesting not only because the outcome will have a bearing on the future of this country but also because the voters will be asked to choose between a ‘sodomite’ and the brother of two people who executed the biggest fraud in Malaysian history.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Malaysia Today
Datuk Ariff Shah Omar Shah, the ‘opposition’ Umno Seberang Jaya State Assemblyman, has been named as the Barisan Nasional candidate for the 26 August 2008 Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election.
There are two things one must note from this. First is that never before (or probably if they have some time in the past it would be very rare indeed) has Barisan Nasional fielded the same candidate in two seats. This is of course quite common for the opposition where one man or woman may be both Parliamentarian and State Assemblyman/woman. But not in the ruling coalition where they would have six or more choices for each seat that they do not need to field the same candidate in two seats.
This seems to point to only one thing: Barisan Nasional is not able to attract any candidate to contest against Anwar Ibrahim. That is why they need to field a candidate who is already a Wakil Rakyat to contest the Permatang Pauh Parliamentary seat. The problem they are facing is the possibility of internal sabotage. If they choose any other candidate, then they face the risk of internal sabotage, the result of internal squabbles and the fight over the Umno Permatang Pauh division leadership. Ariff Shah is the ‘least-hated’ of the five warlords of Umno Permatang Pauh so they hope that with him as the candidate this would reduce the possibility of internal sabotage.
The second point to note is that Ariff Shah is the brother of Tan Sri Amin Shah Omar Shah who is in now in self-imposed exile in the UK. He shuttles between London and Dubai but would never dare come close to Malaysia because there are criminal breaches of trust (CBT) allegations he may have to answer to.
In case you have forgotten, Amin Shah’s company, PSC Industries Berhad, was awarded more than RM24 billion in naval contracts around 1998 at the time Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was already the Defence Minister. The government paid him billions in upfront money but Amin Shah’s company never fulfilled its side of the bargain.
Billions of Ringgit of Malaysian taxpayers’ money went down the drain in the biggest fraud in Malaysian history. Amin Shah’s brother, Azlan Shah Omar Shah, was the Managing Director of the company. And now yet another brother, Ariff Shah, wishes to represent the voters of Permatang Pauh as its next Member of Parliament.
Amin Shah’s stake in PSCI reduced to 2.16%
The Star, 16 July 2005
PSC Industries Bhd (PSCI) executive chairman Tan Sri Amin Shah Omar Shah appears to be reducing his personal stake as well as his private investment vehicle Business Focus Sdn Bhd's interest in the ship-making company.
Based on filings to Bursa Malaysia, Amin Shah had, at the start of the month, disposed 25.6 million shares in PSCI held indirectly through Business Focus. This leaves him with a direct and indirect interest of 2.16% and 9.49% respectively in PSCI.
Meanwhile, the disposal has reduced Business Focus' direct shareholding in PSCI to 15.5 million shares or 8.91%. Observers feel that Amin Shah is behind PSCI's ailing financial performance and the company's inability to deliver on its patrol vessels contract given by the government.
Boustead wants Amin Shah, Ibrahim out of PSCI board
Business Times, 19 July 2005
BOUSTEAD Holdings Bhd has announced plans to remove Tan Sri Amin Shah Omar Shah and another director from the board of PSC Industries Bhd (PSCI) as shares of the shipbuilder raced yesterday to a near three-month high. Boustead, the single biggest shareholder of PSCI with 32.7 per cent, said it has served a special notice to the company to move resolutions at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting scheduled for August 18.
It wants to remove Amin Shah and Ibrahim Topaiwah and appoint Datuk Azzat Kamaludin and a retired admiral, Datuk Seri Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor, Boustead said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia Bhd. The Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG) said it welcomed Boustead's move to strengthen its control of PSCI. Stocks of PSCI rose yesterday to a near three-month high on news that the Government pledged to sort out reported problems with the company's multi-billion-ringgit project to build 27 vessels for the Royal Malaysian Navy. The share price gained 3 sen, or 2.5 per cent, to close at RM1.25 and the stock was the third most actively-traded counter on the market.
Last week, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Shahrir Samad said the Government should use any means possible to rescue the ailing dockyard and corporatise it. He also wanted the Government to investigate the possibility of criminal breach of trust among senior officials of the company, which could have taken operations to such depths of failure. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said over the weekend that the views of the PAC on the project must be given priority.
PSCI has since threatened to take legal action against Shahrir on his allegations. It said reports attributed to Shahrir on its subsidiary PSC Naval Dockyard Sdn Bhd were inaccurate and that the company viewed the allegations as highly damaging.
In a separate statement, PSCI said yesterday it planned to seek an appointment and brief the PAC on the project. In 1998, the company signed a RM24.3 billion contract to build heavily armed offshore patrol vessels over a period of 10 years. The first two were to have been delivered to the navy last year, but the handover of the boats was postponed after numerous technical problems. The MSWG's chief executive officer, Abdul Wahab Jaafar Sidek, said Boustead would be able to take the necessary actions to address the deteriorating financial position of PSCI, which made a net loss of RM425.7 million for its financial year ended December 31 2004.
MSWG had previously raised concerns about proper stewardship, integrity and accountability in PSCI. "It is now time for the shareholders of PSCI to act on these issues and for Boustead to take the lead in charting the future plans and directions of PSCI," Abdul Wahab told Business Times. On July 5, Boustead purchased another 14.11 per cent stake in PSCI from Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd, thus increasing its interest in PSCI to 32.72 per cent.
Amin Shah no longer PSCI chairman
The Edge, 26 January 2006
Tan Sri Amin Shah Omar Shah has ceased to be chairman and director of PSC Industries Bhd (PSCI) as of Jan 1, 2006, the company said. PSCI said on Jan 26 that Amin Shah’s position as director became vacant as he had been absent from more than 50% of the board of directors’ meetings during the financial year ended Dec 31, 2005.
“Accordingly, by virtue of Article 100 (c) of the Articles of Association of the Company, the office as director of Tan Sri Amin Shah Omar Shah has become vacant ipso facto as of Jan 1, 2006”, it said.
On July 18 last year, Boustead Holdings Bhd had served a notice on PSCI seeking an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to remove Amin Shah as executive chairman. However, the EGM turned into a non-event after PSCI announced resignations by key board members.
Managing director Azlan Shah Omar Shah and executive director Ibrahim Topaiwah resigned the day before the EGM was to be convened, while Amin Shah was moved to a new position as non-independent and non-executive chairman.
BN harbours hopes of turning 'kingmaker' voters away from Anwar
Athi Veerangan, TODAYonline, 14 August 2008
To say that the outcome of the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election on August 26 will have serious political repercussions is indeed an understatement. A win for opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim would not only be a major boost to him and opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat, but also confirm the people's desire for a change in the system.
However, an upset win for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition could quash Anwar's political ambitions and signal the demise of undercurrents across Malaysia demanding more liberal, democratic governance. The whole euphoria of the March 8 election would then collapse.
A senior lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Dr Sivamurugan Pandian, has acknowledged that the by-election in Penang state is crucial for BN, Pakatan and civil society movements in the country. He said Permatang Pauh voters have unwittingly assumed the role of "kingmakers". He added: "Permatang Pauh voters hold the decisive key on the future direction of the country."
Even Pakatan leaders have concurred that it would be a catastrophe for the opposition coalition if Anwar fails to win the by-election, declaring: "Anwar is our captain. If he falls, the Pakatan ship will sink."
Permatang Pauh has been an interesting seat since the 1969 general election because no victorious candidate has kept it safe for more than one term, except for Anwar and his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
In keeping with the political reality, BN is looking to slash the losing margin against Anwar, rather than hoping for an unlikely victory. The coalition has tacitly conceded that an Anwar victory is inevitable in his home ground, with a BN leader going as far as saying that Anwar "will win hands down".
This is the main reason behind the ruling party Umno's prolonged delay in identifying the right candidate - one with a charismatic and non-controversial personality to steal a chunk of Anwar's votes.
Currently, BN will consider it a psychological win if Anwar does not match the 13,398-vote margin secured by PKR president Wan Azizah over BN's Pirdaus Ismail in the March general election. BN component parties are banking on their members in the constituency to reduce Anwar's majority.
In Permatang Pauh, BN component parties have 24,642 members; out of this figure, Umno members number 19,000. If all of these people were to come out in full force and vote for BN, Malaysians are in for a shock result.
The unthinkable could happen. "Giant killing feats have happened before," warned senior lecturer Sivamurugan. Moreover, expect the turnout to be lower as the Election Commission has set polling on a working day. Many workers and out-of-towners may not be able to take time off to vote. This is likely to affect Anwar's winning majority. Given this, Anwar's camp has warned supporters not to take an easy victory for granted.
Anwar's strategists are yet unsure what impact the sodomy allegations against him — initiated by his "ex-coffee boy", Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan — have, especially among the Malays. Umno is expected to embark on a large-scale anti-Anwar crusade during the 10-day campaign period between nomination day on August 16 and polling day, while its BN partners carry out whisper campaigns to discredit Anwar and woo non-Muslim voters.
Pakatan is working tirelessly to convince constituents, especially the senior folks, that the sodomy allegations are part of an Umno conspiracy to demonise Anwar.
That was what TODAYonline reported today. The bottom line is, the government has fixed a working day as Polling Day in the hope that many voters would not be turning out to vote. Then they keep saying that Anwar is assured of a win and that there is no way Barisan Nasional can wrest that seat from the opposition. This, they hope, will make the opposition complacent, and probably arrogant as well, whereby Barisan Nasional will ‘steal’ the seat while the opposition ‘sleeps’ -- sort of like the race between the tortoise and the rabbit.
The fact that Barisan Nasional is fielding a Wakil Rakyat -- thereby giving the impression that they are short of candidates because no one dares face Anwar who is assured of a win -- only reinforces the theory that this move is meant to lull the opposition into complacency. The opposition had better not take things for granted the way the rabbit did in its race with the tortoise.
The Elections Commission (SPR) and the Attorney-General are exploring how they can disqualify Anwar from contesting. They would probably spring a surprise during the ‘period bantahan’ on Nomination Day on Saturday if they can find something wrong with Anwar’s nomination papers or there are certain ‘defects’ with his proposer, seconder, etc. -- such as they are un-discharged bankrupts, not registered voters of Permatang Pauh, and so on.
The disqualification route may not be viable unless Anwar does something really very silly such as misspell his name or enter the wrong IC number, etc. So they will have to bank on discrediting Anwar, 70% of the voters who are Malays. And that is why they mooted the sodomy allegation in the hope that this would turn the voters against Anwar. However, this plot, which was very badly executed, seems to have come apart as all and sundry are now very aware that the sodomy allegation has absolutely no substance.
First of all is the fact that the police report Saiful made says that the sodomy was without consent (tanpa relaan). Then they go and charge Anwar for consensual sodomy. Did Saiful, therefore, make a false police report? If he did not then why is the charge different from the police report? And if Saiful did make a false police report why has he not been charged when this is clearly a criminal act?
This is something the government can’t explain and the voters in Permatang Pauh are very aware of this fact. And, if they are not yet aware, rest assured the opposition will bring this to their attention in the ten days leading to Polling Day.
The sodomy route is a dead end. Barisan Nasional will not be able to exploit the issue to discredit Anwar. The opposition will, however, be able to discredit the Barisan Nasional candidate on grounds that two of his brothers plundered more than RM24 billion of the nation’s money and that one of the brothers is now an exile in a foreign land. This allegation of fraud comes from none other than the PAC Chairman, Shahrir Samad, himself. The government, and not the opposition, has accused them of fraud.
Yes, Permatang Pauh is going to be a very interesting by-election indeed. It is going to be very interesting not only because the outcome will have a bearing on the future of this country but also because the voters will be asked to choose between a ‘sodomite’ and the brother of two people who executed the biggest fraud in Malaysian history.
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