ROYALS START TO FLEX THEIR MUSCLE

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Category: Malaysia In The News

Published: Monday, 04 August 2008 00:36

Posted by ST (SG)

ROYALS START TO FLEX THEIR MUSCLE

Published by STRAITS TIMES (SINGAPORE)

Monday, July 28, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — Malaysia’s deepening political crisis has tossed up an unexpected player — the country's usually passive royalty. Over the past year, Malaysia's royal households have started to flex their muscles and, in the process, scored rare successes in pushing their demands with the government on issues ranging from the appointment of judges to the selection of menteris besar after the country's general election in early March.

Now, analysts and constitutional lawyers believe that the country's nine Malay sultans, who make up the Conference of Rulers, could determine the outcome of Malaysia's deepening political crisis, which has stoked murmurings of a possible snap election and also the possibility that a state of emergency could be declared.

That is because the limited powers the country's Rulers enjoy under the Constitution will determine the cause of action Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government can take to hold on to power, lawyers and analysts say.

Consider the following:

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong must give his consent should the government decide to dissolve Parliament and hold fresh elections to stave off any attempt by the opposition to form the government.

Should Malaysia's political situation worsen to the point that the government decides to declare a state of emergency, the King must sign off on the plan.

Above all, the King is the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces. In a situation of a military takeover, he will become the most powerful person in Malaysia.

"For the first time since independence, the country's Malay Rulers are being pressed to exercise powers that they previously never had to," said Tommy Thomas, one of Malaysia's most senior constitutional lawyers.

All of this is because of Malaysia's unstable politics.

The outcome of the March general election has pushed the country into uncharted political terrain.

The ruling Barisan Nasional's loss of its two-thirds majority in Parliament and control of five state assemblies to an opposition alliance led by former Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has seen the Abdullah administration lurching from one political crisis to another.

Many political analysts say that the country's political log-jam is what is prompting the country's Malay Rulers to play a more forceful role in politics through their public pronouncements and actions.

Last week, the urbane Regent of Perak, Raja Nazrin Shah, told a gathering of public servants that the country's Malay Rulers were not symbolic monuments, and that their views should be taken seriously.

"Rulers have a wider responsibility to ensure that the spirit of the Constitution, the philosophy behind every law and the bigger interest of the country and its people are always understood and protected," Raja Nazrin told his audience. He added that when the advice given to Rulers contradicted the spirit of the Constitution, the chiefs of the royal households should not feel pressured to give their assent.

Many politicians and analysts say that comments by Raja Nazrin, who represents the largely new independent thinking among the Rulers, were clearly in reference to Malaysia's political despair, and they were intended to send a clear message that the Malay sultans were prepared to act independently in the event of a political face-off.

Malaysia's hereditary Rulers have long held a special role in Malaysian society.

They symbolise the special status of the country's Malay majority and are charged with protecting the Islamic faith and the community's customs.

Under the previous administration of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's hereditary Rulers played largely traditional roles and were treated as rubber stamps for administrative decisions.

The Rulers were also not popular because they were often portrayed by the Mahathir administration as an institution that was more interested in feathering its own nest than safeguarding the rights of the country's Malays.

But the image of the country's Malay Rulers has changed dramatically in recent years, largely because of the higher profile roles played by Raja Nazrin and Malaysia's current King, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin from Terengganu, who have spoken openly about governance and combating ills such as corruption and narrowing the country's growing racial divide.

Sultan Mizan, in particular, has not shied away from exercising his constitutional clout.

Shortly after the general election, the King refused to reappoint Datuk Seri Idris Jusuh, the Umno candidate favoured by the Abdullah administration, as Terengganu menteri besar.

The government was forced to appoint little-known Datuk Ahmad Said to avert a looming political crisis.

Sultan Mizan also led a campaign by his brother Rulers to help restore credibility in the country's judiciary when he steadfastly refused to accept the government's candidates for two top judicial positions.

In the end, the government was forced to agree to the candidates favoured by the Rulers.

"The King has shown independent thinking," said a senior Umno minister, who asked not to be named.

"Things can go either way, in favour of the government or the opposition." — Singapore ST

     

Malaysia to review guidelines for foreign investment

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Category: Malaysia In The News

Published: Monday, 04 August 2008 00:32

Posted by Business Times

Malaysia to review guidelines for foreign investment

By PAULINE NG, Business Times (Singapore)
IN KUALA LUMPUR

Aug 1, 2008

MALAYSIA'S foreign investment guidelines will be reviewed soon to make them more 'friendly', starting with a list of sectors deemed to be of 'national interest'.

Foreign corporate ownership has slumped from 62 per cent in the early 1970s to 30 per cent now - the target set under the New Economic Policy (NEP) to restructure ownership so that more of the country's wealth is owned by ethnic Malays.

But the time has come to reconsider whether more foreign corporate equity should be encouraged in light of intense regional competition for foreign direct investment (FDI), the co-chairman of business task force Pemudah said yesterday. 'We are approaching the guidelines in a holistic way,' said Yong Poh Kon.

Should foreign ownership be expanded, it would be based on an expanding cake, he explained. Specific equity targets would not be particularly important.

Pemudah will work on a 'negative list' that identifies national interest sectors, said Mr Yong, who is managing director of Royal Selangor Pewter. He declined to say which sectors may be on the negative list. Government officials said there would not be many, but they might include defence, telecommunications and banking.

An investment magnet for the greater part of the 1990s, Malaysia has since seen a significant reduction in FDI in recent years, as foreign investors focus on emerging economic powers China and India, as well as other regional markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore.

In Malaysia's case, the fight for FDI dollars is complicated by the affirmative action NEP implemented in 1972, which favours the majority Malays in public offerings, housing, government scholarships, procurement and employment.

The NEP set a target of 30 per cent for Malay corporate equity, but after more than three decades there are disputes over the actual level of ownership, with the government maintaining it is only 20-21 per cent and others saying the 30 per cent target has already been reached, or even exceeded.

The Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) is responsible for major FDI matters and formulates policy guidelines for all sectors to ensure the NEP objectives are met. In the past, some businessmen have said FIC's discretion to approve deals is too wide and its decisions too conservative and not pro-business.

Another area of contention in business circles is government procurement. Local and foreign firms want transparent procurement policies so there is less scope for interpretation. Clear guidelines would also let companies to better decide their chances in government tenders.

Pemudah co-chairman Mohd Sidek Hassan said government procurement and foreign labour are two 'higher-hanging fruits' the task force intends to tackle over the coming year.

Pemudah, set up by the government to facilitate business and help reduce red tape, is made up of public and private sector representatives. But the task force is not mandated to change government policies - only to provide feedback on policies that affect investment.

Mr Sidek earlier launched Pemudah's guidebook on registering freehold property in Malaysia. He said registration will now take only 41 days from the signing of a sale-and- purchase agreement, down from 144 days.
 

Sex, power and party politics

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Category: Malaysia In The News

Published: Monday, 04 August 2008 00:34

Posted by Financial Times

By Assif Shameen

Published in Financial Times (UK)
July 31, 2008

Anwar Ibrahim, the Malaysian opposition leader, said on Thursday he would run for a parliamentary seat, which his wife would vacate, even though he faced imminent arrest on charges of allegedly sodomising a former aide.

Mr Anwar told the Financial Times that he was gathering support for a "no confidence" motion to be filed in the next six weeks, which could oust the National Front government that has ruled the country since independence from Britain 50 years ago. He also dismissed suggestions the opposition coalition might be cracking.

Mr Anwar was barred from contesting general elections in March after being found guilty of alleged abuse of power relating to an earlier sodomy conviction, which was later overturned. However, the opposition's unprecedented success in that vote has left it fewer than 30 votes short of a parliamentary majority in the 222-seat legislature, and the restriction on his campaigning has expired.

Even if charged, Mr Anwar could still compete in a by-election and, if successful, fill the seat currently held by his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. Under these circumstances, he could be removed only if he were convicted and exhausted all appeals.

An official told Reuters on Thursday Mr Anwar faced formal charges "any time now". Under Malaysian law, sodomy is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Meanwhile, Mr Anwar told the FT that the latest allegations were "a political ploy".

"Instead of addressing pressing economic problems like soaring inflation, the government is trying to divert public attention with this filthy sodomy charade," he said. "Our ministers waste their time in political intrigue instead of trying to help make the country more competitive."

The authorities have hurried to wrap up their investigations after the leaking this week of a medical report by a doctor who had examined Mr Anwar's accuser after the alleged assault and found no signs of injury.

Local media have recently speculated that the three-party opposition Pakatan coalition informally led by Mr Anwar could be on the verge of breaking up, with the Islamist Pas group potentially joining Umno, the lead party in the National Front, after reports of previously undisclosed talks between the two parties.

"Pas leaders have assured me that they have no desire of leaving the Pakatan and joining Barisan [National Front] or merging with Umno," said Mr Anwar. "They have kept me informed of their meetings with Umno. What has happened in the past few weeks is that government- controlled media – through careful leaks, manipulation and distortion of statements – has created this fairy tale that Pas and Umno are about to merge or share power. Having lost the support of the people, Umno is now trying to divide our coalition.

"Let me tell you: Pas is not joining Umno," he said. "If Umno leaders believe they can rely on Pas or other members of Pakatan to save their sinking ship, they are dreaming."

Anwar Antes Up

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Category: Malaysia In The News

Published: Monday, 04 August 2008 00:09

Posted by Today's WSJ Asia

Anwar Antes Up

FROM TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA
August 1, 2008

Malaysia's high-stakes political standoff just had the ante upped. With the resignation of his wife from Parliament yesterday, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim declared he's running for office in the by-election to fill her seat. The question now is whether the government will allow him to do so.

The stakes are high for the ruling National Front. Mr. Anwar's three-party opposition coalition controls 82 of 222 parliamentary seats. If Mr. Anwar wins office -- which seems likely, given he's running for the seat he held for 17 years -- the opposition says 30 MPs would defect to their side, giving them a majority and likely felling the government. Mr. Anwar would be on his way to becoming Prime Minister.

One way to prevent this from happening would be if Mr. Anwar were convicted of a crime, thereby disqualifying him from office. Remember what happened in 1998, the last time Mr. Anwar was riding a wave of popular support across Malaysia's varied ethnic voting blocs. He was convicted of corruption and sodomy in 1999 and 2000, respectively; the sodomy conviction was overturned in 2004.

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar told a press conference yesterday that the police have wrapped up their investigation into a new sodomy allegation against Mr. Anwar. But like the 1998 case, the circumstances are questionable. Mr. Anwar's accuser, a 23-year-old aide, is under police protection and the police report he filed remains under wraps. A medical report by a doctor who examined the aide surfaced on Monday that purportedly found no evidence of sodomy.

That puts the spotlight on the Attorney General's office, which will decide whether to charge Mr. Anwar. The AG, Abdul Gani Patail, was a lower-level official in 1998, and Mr. Anwar recently filed a police complaint accusing him of fabricating evidence in that case. A spokesman for the Prime Minister's office says the Attorney General has been recused from the current case. He says, too, that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi won't be involved in the decision.

In an interview with the Associated Press yesterday, Mr. Abdullah suggested that Mr. Anwar had been engaged in other questionable practices. The Prime Minister told the AP that had heard "stories" of Mr. Anwar "tempting" MPs "with monetary offers to cross over to the opposition." "If it were true that money were being offered, to me it would be the worst form of corruption," he said.

So much for reforming Malaysia's democracy, or giving Mr. Anwar a fair chance at the political game.

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