Screenshots

I have been busy campaigning in the Permatang Pauh by-election in the last four days, rain or shine.

I reckon you (forget Utusan Malaysia and all Umno-owned media) must have read online news about highlights of the Aug 16 nomination day, and the initial strategy employed by BN-Umno to win at all costs. But those were the superficial levels. You need to peel the onion further in order to gauge the imminent developments in Malaysian politics and future.

Has Umno changed much after GE2008 where 60% of Malaysian electorates in five states trounced and rejected the Umno brand of uber race dominance in this country? How could you possible reconcile Umno putting in a Mandarin-speaking candidate and yet oppose the proposal to allocate 10% of student enrolment to non-Bumiputra in UiTM? How could possibly reconcile this race-dominated policy when UiTM has been allocating 5% of student enrolment to foreigners? Are foreigners more important in birthright to education compared to tax-paying Malaysians?

That's one of the reasons why Umno under its present leadership must be eliminated and replaced with one that's more inclusive in forging national unity, never mind that Merdeka is entering its 51st edition in a fortnight's time.

'Shipyard and Pulau Jerejak sold'

On August 14, Screenshots talked about Najib's (and Abdullah's) choice on Arif Shah Omar Shah as the BN candidate for Permatang Pauh. The blog entry recapped the Najib-Defence Ministry's multi-million ringgit Naval Vessels debacle involving an unfulfilled contract given to another Omar Shah sibling, Amin Shah Omar Shah, who is now a bankrupt.

Yesterday, my party senior and Penang Chief Minister has another expose related to the company used to receive the botched Naval Vessels contract that Najib gave to Amin Shah in 2004. The expose relates to an amount of RM9 million in outstanding payment owed and payable to a Penang state agency as at May 2008. Interestingly, the transaction was committed during the time Koh Tsu Koon was the Chief Minister, and the outstanding debt is now borne by the present state government.

The story is all over the vernacular press and The Star today.

Flashback, on April 27, 1992, Penang Development Corporation (PDC) under the chairmanship of Koh Tsu Koon, sold its shares in a subsidiary, Penang Shipbuilding Corporation Sdn Bhd (PSC), to Business Focus Sdn Bhd (BFSB) for RM29 million. The transaction included the sale of land in Pulau Jerejak.

BSFB was then controlled by Amin Shah Omar Shah.

The company bought from the Penang state government under Tsu Koon was named PSC-Naval Dockyard, and made a subsidiary of Penang Shipbuilding & Construction Sdn Bhd.

Incidentally, documents showed that, instead of full payment being made to PDC over a normal period, BFSB was given an additional six years till May 31, 2008 to pay the full amount of RM29 million.

The records showed that BFSB had defaulted on the final RM9 million payment, which hitherto has still not been paid.

The nightmare to Penang tax payers is that BFSB has since been wound up. And rubbing salts unto wounds, BFSB is now being sold and the Pulau Jerejak land transferred to another company.

“The whole transaction reveals not only the losses to PDC of at least RM9 million but also irregularities, failure to follow basic financial and management procedures as well as lack of compliance with legal documentation to protect the interests of PDC,” Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said in a statement yesterday.

Guan Eng ask Dr Koh to explain why as PDC chairman, he gave “special favours” to Amin Shah's company that resulted in the RM9 million loss without being able to get the land back.

He said the failure of Dr Koh and the top management of PDC to follow-up and protect the interests of PDC was “most disturbing.”

Tsu Koon loves Umno

We don't know how Koh will skirt the issue with yet another bid-around-the-bush answers this time., but the last we checked when he was posturing for Arif Shah to beat Anwar Ibrahim in Permatang Pauh, he saud he had no problems with Umno.

Just yesterday, Koh rejected a call by Gerakan grassroots leaders to pull out from Barisan Nasional because Umno leaders are still adopting a political culture that garners support from only the Malay community even after the GE2008.

The voice to pull Gerakan out from BN was made by Perak Gerakan Wanita chief Tan Lian Hoe, who is also national Wanita chief. She said initial feedback from the delegates indicated that they were dissatisfied with Barisan leaders who used racial issues to garner support from members.

About 80% of the delegates expressed that view during the Perak delegates’ conference yesterday.