Monkeys still politicking around...

Monkeys still politicking around....

All eyes are on the Istana Seri Kinabalu Negeri Sabah where media personnel waiting at the entrance were told that all assemblymen will be called soon for an audience with the head of state, Tun Juhar Mahiruddin. “We will call them (the assemblymen) to state who they support as chief minister. This will be done soon,” said state communications secretary Datuk Abdul Rashid Mohd Tahir.

Sabah politics are again at an impasse after some Barisan Nasional (BN) elected reps decided to end their political cooperation with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS). Since then, BN and Sabah-based parties – Kesejahteraan Demokratik Masyarakat (KDM) and Warisan – have questioned the legitimacy of GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor as chief minister.

For now, GRS has 29 reps, which include 15 former Bersatu assemblymen. As things stand, the coalition appears to have the support of the five Sabah BN representatives who reportedly disagree with its chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, and Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) seven assemblymen.

This leaves BN with 13 while Warisan has 19 assemblymen and KDM, which is also against Hajiji, has three seats. Along with an independent, Bung’s faction has 36 seats. This number would be tied with GRS’, which sources told The Vibes would also have 36 seats comprising its 29 assemblymen, the five from Umno and lawmakers from smaller parties.

Sabah’s assembly has 79 seats, and the simple majority needed to form a government is 40. This makes PH’s seven lawmakers the possible kingmakers. – The Vibes

This is never ending. These monkeys are still swinging from tree to tree.What about the people of Sabah? What about the fate of the economy?

When things like this happen it means only one thing - some monkey did not get enough bananas. They are fighting over bananas. So they pull the plug, jump from here to there, bring down the govrnment etc etc. Just for a few bananas.

The chief minister also jumped from his party - surprisingly there was no breach of the anti-hopping law? How come?

So first the chief minister jumped. Now his so called friends are dumping him. As I said what about the people of Sabah? We really have to get rid of all these monkeys. - Syed Akbar Ali

Meanwhile, 5 Sabah Umno assemblypersons (above) dissenting the party’s decision to rescind support for Hajiji Noor have voiced their backing for the embattled chief minister. “We hereby announce our undivided support for Hajiji Noor as the legitimate chief minister under the constitution,” they said.

In a joint statement today, they said now is not the time for power grabs and instead should focus on elevating the people’s standard of living. “We are shocked by the actions of several parties, particularly the chairperson of the Sabah Umno liaison committee who is working to topple the legitimate government of Sabah.

“We strongly condemn this act,” they said.The statement was signed by Shahelmey Yahya (Tanjung Keramat), Jasnih Daya (Pantai Dalit), James Ratib (Sugut), Yusuf Yacob (Sindumin), and Mohd Arsad Bistari (Tempasuk).

Yesterday, Bung (above) announced that the party is withdrawing its support for Hajiji’s leadership and also questioned his legitimacy.Umno has 17 seats in the 70-member state assembly. While Bung acknowledged that five of them do not agree with his decision, he said the matter is a party decision and is final.

“The party’s decision is final and we will take any necessary action including disciplinary action against any Umno assemblyperson who doesn’t support the party decision,” he told reporters last night. Earlier today, Shahelmey had said that he is prepared to face “any consequence” for opposing the Sabah Umno decision. - mk

MACC arrest a slap on Tengku Zafrul’s

claims of propriety in RM600 bil aid saga...

On Thursday (Jan 5), newly-minted International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz told Astro Awani that there was no misappropriation involving the RM600 bil aid given out during the COVID-19 pandemic by the previous governments.

He knew best for he was the finance minister under the two previous prime ministers, namely Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. It was reported that the arrest was linked to MACC’s probe into the alleged misappropriation of COVID-19 stimulus packages worth RM92.5 bil.

This begs the question why did the former CIMB Group CEO-turned-politician jump the gun on this issue? Worse still, his claims of propriety in managing the massive aid funds given out during the pandemic was quickly torn to pieces with the MACC arrest. By openly denying any wrongdoings, isn’t Tengku Zafrul blurring the roles of defendant, prosecutor and judge? And the timing couldn’t have been worse.

To be fair, nobody has accused Tengku Zafrul of wrongdoings and neither is this publication. But as a politician, he should know that those who hold public office should not only be clean, but be seen to be so. His denial of wrongdoings involving a powerful ministry which he used to helm – even before official probe into the affair has completed – provides poor optics.

Rushing to clear the air

Rightfully, Tengku Zafrul – a novice politician who lost in the contest for the Kuala Selangor parliamentary seat during 15th General Election (GE15) – should have stayed above the fray and allowed the authorities to carry out their investigations fairly and professionally. He should know that any statements issued by a sitting minister can be construed as interference by way of asserting influence, even if it was unintentional.

There was no need to rush into “clearing the air” over the highly contentious controversy, especially if one is a subject of the probe by way of association. Doing so will only raise more eyebrows than it otherwise would have.

Rightfully, it’s the authorities like the MACC and the police – and subsequently the courts – who should decide whether there was any misappropriation of funds. Suspected rapists, robbers and murderers are not innocent just because they say so.

As it is, the authorities appear to have built up solid cases of impropriety. It was reported that investigation papers into at least five individuals have been opened. They are believed to have been involved in helping companies obtain projects worth between RM50 mil to RM500 mil through direct negotiations linked to the stimulus packages.

The Free Malaysia Today (FMT) news portal reported that several contractors who were also questioned admitted to agreeing to pay a commission of between 3%-5% to be deposited into the account of a political party, which was supposedly meant as political funding.

In any case, the allegations of misappropriations did not appear out of thin air. It was Tengku Zafrul’s current boss – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim – who publicly disclosed the misappropriation, soon after taking over as the country’s 10th Prime Minister.

“I know that based on information by officials, several serious breaches (allegedly) occurred … excessive (amounts of) procurement to manage projects,” Anwar was reported as saying.

In case Tengku Zafrul does not realise it yet, publicly contradicting his popular superior does not earn the MITI Minister brownie points with the public.

It is time Zafrul wise up and be more circumspect about public optics as a politician. Because if the results of GE15 is of any indication, voters today are definitely more discerning than they used to. – FocusMalaysia