Jasmine Loo: Prosecution's questionable key witness

Former 1MDB lawyer Jasmine Loo was first charged in absentia in December 2018 when she was accused of laundering US$5 million and US$999,975, being proceeds of unlawful activity received into the account of River Dee International SA (BVI) in Falcon Private Bank AG in Zurich, but to date the charges have yet to be pursued, giving rise to speculations about a possible deal with the authorities

KUALA LUMPUR — 1MDB former general counsel, Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, has yet to be charged for crimes committed under Section 179© of the Capital Markets and Services Act, giving rise to the speculation that she may have struck a deal with the prosecution to give evidence against former Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Jasmine Loo however reiterated today that she had not agreed to take the stand as a witness against Datuk Seri Najib Razak in exchange for ongoing criminal charges against her to be discontinued.

Loo, who is the 50th prosecution witness, said this under cross-examination in the High Court by Najib’s defence lawyer Tania Scivetti during Najib’s trial for misappropriation of RM2.27 billion in 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) funds.

Spirit of Rukun Negara and perceived polarisation

Reviving the spirit of Rukun Negara

Star Online, Monday, 29 Apr 2024

A SEJAHTERA Malaysia forum on social harmony and national unity is being held today in Kuala Lumpur and I have been asked to speak about “Understanding the Rukun Negara”.

Given the recent acrimony and lawlessness about the “socks issue”, I believe it is pertinent for all of us to remind ourselves of our Rukun Negara.

This blueprint for national unity was drafted in 1970 after the race riots on May 13, 1969.

"Rabble rouser" without a cause

Few days ago, UMNO President and Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said something that may have annoyed certain UMNO supporters. 

At a party Hari Raya event in Hulu Selangor near the upcoming Kuala Kubu Baru by-election to be held, Zahid said UMNO should accept the reality it is no more dominant and should learn to adapt. 

It is similar to the reality Malay right wing have difficulty accepting that the Malay's majority is not overwhelming at 58% of the population and in 6 states, Malays are either minority or marginal majority. 

With Malay politically segmented along different political ideologies, parties and special interest, the Malay narratives once championed by a dominant UMNO is not politically viable with the current demography.    

This relates to the attempt by UMNO Youth Chief, Dr Akmal Salleh to regain the rural Malay support lost to Perikatan using the recent KKMart boycott affair as his cause celebre and claimed it as his Islamic calling. 

It may seemed he personally benefitted politically with overwhelming praises from similar thinking Malays for voicing something they wanted to hear, but is it sustainable?

MATVCS made fraudulent claim

After three DAP wakil rakyat made statements in their respective houses, its obvious that the illegally put together specialist medical training program inititive by Ministry of Health, which ignored established procedures and law under the Medical Act and Malaysia Qualifying Agency Act to be run by a medical NGO of non-academic medical practitioners guised as a specialist association, is now a DAP agenda. 

DAP Agenda have a tendency to be anti-establishment in nature and serves the interest of a certain ethnic group or tendency to oppose well established norms and practises in place to the credit of a certain ethnic group.   

Adding to it, DAP portal Financial Twitter, which yesterday could go scot free for making 3R insults of the former Agong, the Sultan Pahang by Fahmi Fadzil's MCMC is today doing an onslaught of the Malaysian Medical Council, the legal guardian against academic fraud practising as medical experts. 

Perhaps because one member of MMC, namely nephrologist at Hospital Putrajaya whose undivided loyalty to the illegal Parallel Pathway program, could unethically blast her fellow council member publicly in which she is bound by law to secrecy and ethical practise to respect the collective agreement of the council. 

Usually wayward member of any such Board can be suspended and believe MMC should rightly do so. 

Today MATVS the NGO operating as a "haram" educational institution to train Medical Specialist equivalent to Masters degree made false claim. 

Update 1:00 PM 5/5/2024: Dear Dr Faridah Abdullah CC Putrajaya Police Officer

Indian to be kingmaker at KKB

KKB by-election will test the political mood

By JOCELINE TAN

ANALYSIS 

Star Online Saturday, 20 Apr 2024

The peaceful outpost of Kuala Kubu Baru is about to be stirred and shaken in a by-election that could reflect the swirling political sentiments in Selangor

THE late Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) assemblyman Lee Kee Hiong was not a standout figure in Selangor politics.

Some journalists who reported on her death from cancer had wondered what it was about her that resulted in so many DAP leaders weeping over her coffin and paying their respects at her wake.

Lee was an arch loyalist of Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang whom she got to know back in Melaka where she grew up. She began her political career managing the DAP headquarters in Petaling Jaya and became quite powerful in her own way because she had the ears of the DAP maestro.

When only a "Safe" Hari Raya wish could be expressed ....

The usual customary greeting for Hari Raya Aidil Fitri is the familiar "Selamat Hari Raya". For the festivity greeting, "Selamat" means happy as in Happy Hari Raya similar to Happy New Year or Happy Deepavali greetings.

"Selamat" also means secure or safe. The Ramadan celebration was, to put it mildly, not as its usual celebration with food prices and pasar Ramadan offerings prices skyrocketed. Operators of Bazaar Ramadan and Jln Tunku Abdul Rahman pasar malam felt the pinch. 

The rising food prices was a result of disrupted supply chain during the Covid and worsened by the Russia-Ukraine war in Europe. It has not gotten any better with the Gaza genocide followed by another supply chain disruption at the Red Sea. Now drought is adding to the problem or in the new term being used these days, climate change problem.  

Not whether consumer price rise, but how much?

Economists: Targeted fuel subsidies will impact consumers

By KEITH HIEW

ECONOMY

Star Online Thursday, 04 Apr 2024

PETALING JAYA: As Putrajaya pushes on with the implementation of the Central Database Hub (Padu), the immediate issue that jumps into the minds of Malaysians is another impending “unavoidable” – the targeted petrol subsidy initiative.

Or rather, it can be said that the public is concerned about the inevitable inflationary effects that will follow when the government reduces its petrol subsidies to a significant portion of the population.

Economists are unanimous that petrol subsidy rationalisation is almost certainly going to bring about a general increase in the prices of goods and services, and even the World Bank Group is estimating that a complete removal of fuel subsidies is likely to cause a 9% increase in consumer prices.

MOH, MOHE inadvertently admitted PP a scam and illegal

Push come to shove, the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) could not keep their silence and let the locals do their bidding. FMT here reported RCSEd President Rowan W Parks writing to the Minister of Health.  

RCSEd had to express their dismay to cover-up before their "Medical Scam" is blown wide open. Despite intense efforts by the colluding "Medical Scam syndicate" the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) was not falling to the snake oil charm of RCSEd to deceptively peddle their "illegal" FRCS International diploma.

The syndicate includes MATVCS, Malaysian College of Surgeons, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, Deans of Medical Faculties of several colluding Universities, IJN, former DG of MOH, current Deputy DG of MOH (who signed a gazettement which is an old trick and mistake), private practitioners, DAP politicians, and most recently Malaysia Medical Association.

Sadly, both the Minister of Health and Minister of Higher Education responded to the letter to oblige by stooping and kow-towing to RCSEd to announce swift amendment to the Medical Act as solution for the Parallel Pathway to get registrated as specialist. 

Inadvertently, the Ministers confirmed that PP was a scam and illegal from the onset. It needed an amendment to the law for a resolution to the impasse. MMC was never a stumbling block or Little Napolean. It was the law. 

Who directed Jamaluddin to the Ncell RM6.3 billion blunder?

Two persons alerted yours truly to Cilisos.my March 19th article, "Explainer: How Axiata lost RM6.3 billion in Nepal" and one is of the opinion MACC should check the broker and financial adviser of the deal. 

The loss is not the size of another BNM forex loss, but it is within the 1MDB or adjusted for inflation, the BMF scandal proportions. It will be a difficult and complex cross border investigation but MACC should pursue it. 

More so, the MP for Pasir Gudang, Hasan Karim raised it in Parliament. He maybe referring to the Cilisos's expose by chance or by design, but in the current fiscal predicament, every billion adds up. It should not be ignored after RM2 billion supposedly received as profit, and RM230 million from sales proceed deducted.  

Actually, the names have been talked about for quite sometime. 

Why didn't Daim's brother-in-law or elder brother to Mahathir 2.0's Economic Adviser, Dr Muhammad Abdul Khalid did something about it since his elder brother, Tan Sri Ghazali Abdul Khalid was Chairman of Axiata and Ncell?    

It raised the suspicion why no solution from that political regime and sale was only made in December 2023.