Showing posts with label Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan. Show all posts
DAP Insider
Despite Lim Guan Eng’s frequent denials that he was not involved in the award and the approvals of the KLIDC project, this document proves otherwise.


A 20th April 2012 memo sent by Dato Ng Wee Kok, a Special Assistant to Lim Guan Eng, sent using the letterhead of Chief Minister’s Office, shows that Lim Guan Eng had personally intervened to improve the plot density of the planned development of the Taman Manggis land for the benefit of KLIDC Sdn Bhd
This memo was addressed to the Penang State Secretary, Dato’ Seri Farizan Darus, and to then President of the Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang (MPPP) and now Mayor of the Penang Island City Counci, Datuk Patahiyah Ismail.
The memo states that personally written instructions (catatan) by Lim Guan Eng to the State Secretary and MPPP on a request letter from KLIDC was attached.
While I have not been able obtain the attached letter, my source have told me that it was specific instructions to increase the plot ratio of the approval from 1:55 to 1:7 – which gives building floor space approval equivalent to two additional plots of the Taman Manggis land.

Simple calculations using the increased plot ratio and a conservative commercial built-up price of RM300 to RM400 per square feet would show that this personal intervention by the CM would have increased the commercial value of KLIDC’s project by another RM30 million to RM40 million.
Recent signed and stamped sale documents by KLIDC exposed by Rahman Dahlan had shown the land and project is now worth RM70.6 million, a huge RM59 million windfall profit above the RM11.5 million paid to the state govt six years ago even though the land remains undeveloped.

We call on the investigating authorities to haul up the names in this leaked memo for immediate questioning to determine the truth about the memo and if the Chief Minister’s unusual personal intervention on a land matter and building approval may have unfairly benefited KLIDC and the value of their land.
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2 August 2015
Abdul Rahman Dahlan
Pengarah Komunikasi Strategik Barisan Nasional



PAC Members elevated to Cabinet: What about it?

1. The opposition has been crying foul over the decision by the Prime Minister to appoint 4 members of the Public Accounts Committee as minister and deputy minister in the recent cabinet reshuffle.

2. In the first place, let us be of absolute clarity that the four appointees were appointed not because they were members of PAC, but in their capacity as Members of Parliament.

3. At present circumstances, we may have to contend with a brief delay in getting the PAC investigation on 1MDB to be on the roll once again. How long then is the delay? The delay is estimated to be around 2 months because parliament will sit again for the 3rd seating in early October to decide the new chairman and replacement members of PAC.

4. There is also merit or justification in the delay as well. With new revelation of forged documents by Sarawak Report and confession of individuals of conspiracy theories, it will be wise for PAC to wait until the dust settles and clearer picture emerges. Otherwise, PAC might be making conclusion based on faulty assumptions.  

5. Will the recent four appointments derail or stop the investigation altogether? The answer is absolutely not. The government has no power to stop any investigation by parliament. Once it has started, it can only be stopped when the PAC has made a conclusion and presented the same to the members of Dewan Rakyat. PAC doesn't stop its function or investigation just because some of the MPs have ceased being members. Such, in brief, on how PAC operates.

6. And this leads me to say that I doubt PAC would be crippled just because 4 of its members have been promoted to the front bench. PAC has been around since independence and remains the beacon of parliamentary democracy. They will continue to be so as long as parliament is still functioning in our country.

7. The 4 MPs were chosen to fill a ministerial post and 3 deputy ministerial posts due to their abilities and position in their respective party. Let us examine those ability through microscopic lenses.

8. Take for instance, Datuk Madius Tangau who is the President of UPKO, and by convention the president of UPKO, should be in the cabinet. If the PM did not appoint him last week, he then would be sending a wrong signal to UPKO members. In essence it would be interpreted that the central leadership does not respect UPKO members’ choice. As Sabah BN Secretary, I am of the view that it is a wrong political move for PM to deny the president of an important component party in Sabah of a position in the cabinet.

9. This leads us to Datuk Reezal Merican who is known to be a prolific MP. I know Datuk Reezal for more than 10 years. He is knowledgeable with an astounding grasp over myriad of subjects. You can have an engaging intellectual conversation with him on any subject matter, and I promise, you will not be disappointed with the level of comprehension he has over the subject matter in hand.

10. You will find him at ease even when discussing matters like international economics, investment and finance, social, Middle Eastern history and Islamic jurisprudence. If you don't believe me, just place him a call and talk to him yourself. You can talk to him in English, Malay or Arabic. He speaks them fluently with an added literary finesse and eloquence.

11. His appointment as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs would give Malaysia an edge in international relation, especially in our relation with the Middle East where his command of Arabic language is a big plus.

12. And so far as Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin is concerned, it has been a long-held tradition of UMNO that the Puteri Chief will be at the front bench. All Datuk Seri Azalina Othman, Datuk Noraini Ahmad and Datuk Rosnah Rashid Shirlin were all part of the front bench when they helmed Puteri UMNO. Coupled with her strong background in law, it was almost given that Mas Ermieyati must be in the front bench.

13. But understandably the most criticised appointment was that of the PAC's ex-Chairman, Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohammed.

14. The stream of criticism and ridicule raised by the opposition on his appointment is swift and constant. After all, he was smacked right in the eye of the 1MDB storm and was expected to lead a rigorous investigation on 1MDB. Yet despite this protest, I strongly believe we must be fair to him.

15. I was appointed to the PAC together with Datuk Nur Jazlan in 2008. While I was lucky to be given the opportunity to serve the country as a cabinet minister in 2013, he was unfortunately not, and as a consequence thereof, a lot of his supporters and constituents find him "languishing" in his political career – especially when this is his 8th year serving as a PAC member.

16. Missing that 2013 cabinet formation was not the first time. Datuk Nur Jazlan actually, in total, has missed four opportunities to be appointed to the front bench throughout his career as an MP.

17. The first time was when the cabinet formation was announced shortly after GE11 in 2004. The second time was during the cabinet reshuffle by Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Feb 2009. The third time was  the cabinet formed immediately after GE13 in 2008. The fourth time was when Dato’ Sri Najib took over the premiership from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2009. The fifth  time was the cabinet formation after GE14 and the sixth time was when Dato’ Sri Najib made a slight cabinet reshuffle in 2014. The question that begs to be answered, is it fair to deny him the opportunity to advance his political career for the seventh time?

18. We may be foolish enough to say “yes” because we are more interested to see him serving our interest rather than his own. But for him, the answer is obviously quite the opposite. And we honestly can't blame him for thinking that way.

19. Datuk Nur Jazlan was born into a political family. His father was once a great leader of UMNO, the late Tan Sri Mohammad Rahmat who was a federal minister and the Secretary General of UMNO. Political blood runs deep in his veins. Thus, one would assume, given his family's illustrious career in politics, the continuation of the legacy of his father is important both to him, his family and his constituents.

20. But after all, to honestly sum it up, it is a dream of every MP to be able to serve his or her country. What better way to do that than becoming one of the cabinet members as ministers or deputy ministers.

21. I say let us allow Datuk Nur Jazlan to move up his career ladder with open heart and mind. He, his supporters and his constituents, after all, deserve it! If he missed the last cabinet reshuffle, the next available opportunity for him is after GE14 (2018). That is a long 3 years from now.

22. And let us not for a moment forget that PAC can be easily reconstituted. That is not a problem. It won't take long, at most 2 months since parliament will meet in October to decide on the new chairman and replacement members of PAC. I am sure the new chairman will pick up where Datuk Nur Jazlan has left off with ease. Above all, PAC should never be doubted as the kernel of truth in our parliament democracy.

-Ends-
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ALOR SETAR: Barisan Nasional spokesman Abdul Rahman Dahlan has accused the DAP of taking money from property companies.



Speaking at Kubang Pasu Umno’s delegates meeting, he challenged political parties to explain their sources of funds.

Abdul Rahman, who is federal housing minister, said he was aware of political contributions received by the DAP from certain housing companies.

He defended Umno against news reports about US$900 million being channelled into private banking accounts held in the name of Najib Razak, Umno president and prime minister.

He said political parties were not required by law to name their donors. “So why zero in on Umno,” he said. “If you want to expose the donors, ask everyone, ask DAP who gave them money,” he said, according to Bernama.

“We know that they (the opposition parties) have a lot of money because their election operations are far more sophisticated than Umno’s, believe me,” said Abdul Rahman, Bernama reported.

He said opposition parties should explain allegations that they had obtained political funding from western countries, including currency speculator George Soros and the National Endowment for Democracy.

Source: Free Malaysia Today
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OMG! OMG! OMG! 
It was the DAP and PKR that didn't want political funding transperancy!!!

31 July 2015
Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan
Director of Strategic Communication, Barisan Nasional



POLITICAL FUNDING: ADDRESSING A REALITY

First, let’s talk facts. Political donation is legal in Malaysia.

If you have special preference for a political party and believe in their struggle, you can help them achieve their goals by donating your money and/or assets. Truth be told, you can donate any amount you like: 10 ringgit, 1000 ringgit or even a million – or a billion ringgit for that matter – if you have that kind of amount to spare.

Looking back, I used to be a member of the MACC's Special Committee on Corruption for a span of 5 years (2008-2013). I know for a fact that those fine men and women of the MACC have been trying to get political parties to agree to a more transparent procedure when it comes to political donations.

MACC has said that they aspire to have all donations officially declared in the name of transparency and accountability. When the MACC came up with the notion of political funding reforms, the first head of a political party who supported the idea, would probably surprise you. It was none other than Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak, the UMNO President who publicly declared his support to the MACC's proposal and wanted it to be implemented and co-opted under the Government Transformation Program's initiative.

One of the first parties to object to the funding reform was DAP. The reason given by DAP was largely self-serving – and what a huge disappointment that had been. DAP's leaders said they feared that the reform would put DAP at a disadvantage.

On 1 December 2010, in a meeting with Transparency International – Malaysia (TI-M) with Pakatan Rakyat’s members of parliament, Tian Chua was reported in the minutes of the meeting to have said, “he feared that full disclosure would hurt their contributors and consequently the financing for the opposition, the fear is that the donors might be prosecuted by the winning coalition for supporting the losing coalition in any general election. This would result in a substantial decline of income source for the losing coalition”.

DAP’s Rasah MP Anthony Loke said essentially the same in a Bar Council Forum about political funding on 29 September 2011.

Going along the same argument, why couldn’t Pakatan Rakyat reveal since 2008 the donations they have received from businessmen and individuals in the two richest states they governed – Penang and Selangor – in Malaysia?

Clearly the fear of backlash as cited by Tian Chua and Anthony Loke was just a lame excuse and not done in the best interest of transparency.

Everyone knows that the opposition parties are quite savvy in raising funds for their operations. It is also an open secret that they receive political funding from interested businesses and individuals, not to mention from the traditional but effective fund-raising dinners held almost weekly (if not nightly). While no one will be surprised if the funding comes from domestic sources, many people have been speculating that opposition parties also receive funding from foreign sources, too. Some seem to be disguised as NGO funding for the advancement of democratic ideals. Or so it would seem.

Coming back to matters at hand and with that strong objection from DAP, the political funding reform initiative was effectively shelved – it became a non-starter. It never took off. It stalled. Until now many people couldn’t believe why DAP – a political party that prides itself as reformist party – didn't accede to the idea. It seems to many people political contribution for DAP is very crucial. Thus any disruption to the free flow of political funding would be disastrous to DAP's grand plan of Malaysian Malaysia. Otherwise, an unequivocal rejection by DAP of a sure slam-dunk reform initiative like this seemed very odd indeed.

No thanks to DAP, Malaysia has lost a great opportunity to address the growing concerns of secrecy regarding political funding in this country.

So, I find it rather perplexing that lately the likes of Tony Pua and Lim Kit Siang have been hypocrite enough in demanding Dato' Sri Najib to reveal the sources of political funding for UMNO, when they have maliciously rejected the political funding reform initiative in the first place.

I recall in minute detail a debate I had in parliament after the 12th general election. I asked DAP MPs how did DAP get so much money to build their new spanking multi million state headquarters in Penang within a mere 2 years of Lim Guan Eng becoming the Chief Minister. After alI, I said it took Gerakan a long 12 years to build its state headquarters which happens to be just an ordinary premise. And I reminded DAP not to forget its socialist roots, which includes loathing anything that smacks of grandeur. As if on cue, several DAP MPs rose to their feet and started hackling me in the middle of my speech. One of them, Ngeh Koo Ham, DAP’s MP for Bruas, shouted across the divide, that DAP had plenty of supporters who were willing to donate their money for DAP’s cause.

On another occasion, during the Permatang Pauh election in 2008 (when Anwar Ibrahim stood as parliamentary candidate), for the first time in the whole of my political career, BN was out-spent in terms of logistics and election machinery e.g. posters, banners and campaign activities. Every time we planted one BN flag, within 2 hours it would be drowned by hundreds of opposition flags. Whenever we put up sizeable banners, the opposition would outdo us with twice the magnitude within half a day.

It is clear that without huge political donation, there is no way for the opposition parties to run their massive election machinery.

Based on this ethos of political funding, UMNO too, is familiar to to such pursuit. It is my hope that Tun Dr Mahathir does remember his blog posting, which was published on 13 June 2008, where he admitted that he handed over RM1.4 billion – in cash and assets – to the then newly minted UMNO president, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2003.

That was the value of UMNO's cash and assets back then. Fast forward 12 years to the present day, taking into consideration inflation over the years and the greater challenges to fund UMNO and BN state liaison committees in states which they lost since 2008, I won't be surprised if UMNO leadership has to be more proactive to solicit more funding from its supporters and donors.

All said and done, there is now a louder demand to regulate political donations and the opposition especially DAP can't ignore it anymore. But until such monumental leap of faith becomes a reality within the opposition's coalition, one should never be deluded enough to hold the higher ground against another.
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Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan says news and information published by The Edge Media group cannot be trusted following the three-month suspension of two of its publications, beginning July 27.



“If The Edge can cheat a known sleek criminal like (Xavier Andre Justo), I won’t be surprised if they could cheat ordinary Malaysians just as well.

“At the moment, given what has been revealed so far, we cannot take what The Edge is saying at face value,” he wrote on his official Facebook page today.

The Kota Belud MP said that the a news organisation had played with the information that they obtained for ulterior intentions and political purposes.

“What an honourable news organisation should have done was to publish the stolen information and immediately declare how they got the information.

“Unfortunately The Edge did not do so. They misled Malaysians into thinking they obtained the information honourably from a reliable source.

“They milked the story for a few months for political purposes while hoping no one would know who Justo was,” he said.

His response came after The Edge Weekly and The Edge Financial Daily have been slapped with a three-month suspension by the Home Ministry, effective July 27.

According to an article published on The Edge Markets website this afternoon, if publications were not halted for three months, it may result in the withdrawal of their publishing permits.

In the letter from the ministry, it said that the two publications’ reporting of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) were “prejudicial or likely to be prejudicial to public order, security or likely to alarm public opinion or is likely to be prejudicial to public and national interest”.


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Kudos to Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, MP for Kota Belud, for standing up for Malaysia. More legislators must speak up to defend our country.

Here's a piece from Malaysiakini that documents the exchange in twitter.




Abdul Rahman Dahlan has rained Twitter-fire on the statement from The Edge publisher Ho Kay Tat regarding the financial daily’s articles on 1MDB.

Dismissing the claim that the reports were not politically motivated, he said: "The Edge said this was not political. Excuse me. I was not born yesterday. Don't patronise."

He argued that The Edge had no qualms "roping in the opposition to do their bidding" instead of remaining neutral.

The newly minted BN strategic communication director pointed out The Edge also admitted procuring stolen data from former PetroSaudi International executive Xavier Andre Justo.

"Finally, The Edge admitted they got stolen data from Justo! I wonder if the Thais didn't arrest Justo, would they admit it?" he tweeted.

In his statement, Ho said early this year, the publication was informed that "someone" was willing to share information that would shed light on 1MDB's joint-venture with PSI.

"We were not told who he was before we met him.

"This person, whom we shall not name, showed us thousands and thousands of emails and document attachments.

"We read scores of them and were convinced of their authenticity because of the sheer volume and the email trails. We subsequently had an IT forensic expert confirmed that there was no reason to worry that they were fakes,” he said.

Why IT experts called?

However, Abdul Rahman dismissed this explanation as well.

"The Edge said they used the stolen data from Justo because they were dead sure the data were not fake. How convenient!" he said.      

"If The Edge is sure the data were not tampered with why then experts said they were indeed. If The Edge unsure why use it?" he added.

Despite the 'confession', the urban well-being, housing and local government minister warned that "the issue is far from over".

"Questions that need to be asked: Did anyone pay for the stolen and tampered data?

"Did anyone complain about not getting paid or being paid late for the stolen data? Did anyone then ask someone to pressure the buyer to honour his commitment to pay?" he added.

Abdul Rahman also questioned who tempered with the data as acknowledged by the Thai authorities.

Justo, a Swiss national, is under the detention of Thai police for allegedly attempting to blackmail his former employer.

He is also said to have leaked the documents to several parties.

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“It takes a scum to know another scum.”

This was Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan’s reply to Lim Kit Siang’s labelling of a former editor as “scum of the earth”.



The Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister argued that it was probably this “perception” that led to Sarawak Report founder Clare Rewcastle-Brown to hire Lester Melanyi to demonise the Prime Minister.

In a Facebook post, the Sabahan lawmaker said the DAP supremo should not have vehemently disregarded Melanyi’s confession.

He also admitted that he did not know Melanyi enough to pass judgement, but perhaps the confession was a way for the former journalist to redeem himself after working with “scums”.

“While Clare Brown and Sarawak Report continued to be scums, Lester, as reported by the media, wanted to be out. He didn’t want to continue falsely ‘criminalising’ the Prime Minister.

“This ‘scum of the earth’ had apparently made peace with his God and decided to redeem himself,” Abdul Rahman wrote.

The Kota Belud lawmaker added it took “guts” for someone to make a video confession and implicate big names and Melanyi had the guts to do so.

“I am sure Lester knew very well that he would be subjected to intense public scrutiny and thorough police investigation by doing the video confession.

“He knew he risked defamation suits by those he named. Yet he did it anyway! Why? Could it (be) because Lester has more incriminating info in his possession that he has yet to reveal? We shall wait and see.”

Abdul Rahman said it was the courage demonstrated by Melanyi that led him to insist that a thorough investigation be done to verify Melanyi’s allegations.

He added that was why Lim should have instead welcomed the confession and also encourage investigations over being a “desperate conjurer”.

Conjurers, Abdul Rahaman said, were experts at misdirection, which was why in his haste to respond to the “explosive” video confession revelation, Lim tried hard to demonise Melanyi’s character.

‪Last week, Abdul Rahman, at a press conference, had called for police to investigate the allegations by Melanyi after seeing the video confession. ‬

‪In the video, Melanyi alleged that the documents by Sarawak Report on the 1MDB scandal that implicated Datuk Seri Najib Razak were forged by Rewcastle-Brown. ‬

‪Many, including Lim and Sarawak minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing, warned against trusting Melanyi’s allegations on grounds that he was not trustworthy. ‬

After Abdul Rahman dismissed the warnings, Lim had  two days ago said it showed that the minister had “no qualms parleying with the dregs of society” and “scums of the earth” to serve his own political interests.

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KENYATAAN MEDIA
UNTUK SIARAN SEGERA
JULAI 15, 2015

1. Telah dibawa kepada perhatian saya pagi ini, satu laporan polis yang telah dibuat oleh seorang pengadu di mana satu bukti baru telah dikemukakan tentang salah-laku pengendali laman web Sarawak Report: Claire Rewcastle Brown.

2. Laporan polis itu mendakwa Claire Brown telah melakukan pemalsuan fakta berkaitan isu 1MDB, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak, Datin Sri Rosmah Mansor, Reza Aziz, Petrosaudi dan isu-isu lain yang berkait-rapat dengan 1MDB.

3. Pengadu tersebut mendakwa beliau mempunyai bukti kukuh bahawa wujudnya niat jahat oleh pihak-pihak berkepentingan untuk melunaskan sebuah misi yang bergelar: “Mission to criminalize Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak dan 1MDB”.

4. Selain daripada itu, pengadu juga mendakwa bahawa niat jahat itu bertujuan untuk menjatuhkan nama baik dan maruah kerajaan dalam mentadbir-urus negara, di samping bertujuan untuk memesongkan rakyat supaya membenci kerajaan.

5. Pengadu juga mendakwa bahawa segala tindakan – termasuk pemalsuan fakta yang dilakukan oleh pihak-pihak berkepentingan tersebut – telah memberi tekanan kepada ekonomi negara.

6. Saya difahamkan bahawa bukti baru yang dikemukakan oleh pengadu kepada pihak polis – termasuk sebuah video pengakuan seorang individu yang terlibat secara langsung dalam perbuatan memalsukan fakta, penerbitan dan penyebaran fakta palsu – di laman web Sarawak Report.

7. Sehubungan dengan itu, saya menggesa supaya pihak Polis Diraja Malaysia dapat memberi perhatian khusus terhadap laporan polis yang dibuat oleh pagi tadi dan siasatan segera dilakukan tanpa lengah lagi.

8. Saya juga memohon pihak polis untuk segera menghubungi rakan sejawat mereka dalam Interpol, supaya individu-individu yang dinamakan dalam video pengakuan tersebut dapat disoal siasat oleh pihak Interpol dan polis United Kingdom. Ini penting agar bukti-bukti lain yang masih dalam tangan atau pegangan mereka tidak dimusnahkan atau dialihkan oleh pihak-pihak yang berkepentingan.

9. Saya telah dimaklumkan bahawa individu-individu warga British yang dinamakan dalam video pangakuan tersebut hanya akan memberi keterangan jika ada penyiasatan rasmi oleh pihak berkuasa di United Kingdom.

10. Menurut kandungan salinan laporan polis tersebut, video pengakuan yang dibuat oleh seorang individu turut mendedahkan beberapa nama pemimpin pembangkang yang didakwa bersengkokol dengan Clare Brown dan Sarawak Report. Pendedahan ini perlu disiasat rapi oleh Polis untuk mencari kebenaran dan keadilan kepada semua pihak yang terbabit dalam isu 1MDB.

11. Selain daripada video pengakuan tersebut, saya dimaklumkan bahawa pengadu juga telah menyerahkan kepada pihak polis, sesalinan email yang didakwa telah ditulis oleh Claire Brown. Antara isi kandungan email yang bertarikh 1 Mac 2015 tersebut, Claire Brown telah didakwa menulis:

“Thanks! Yes it was quite a job!…. sitting up night after night cleverly ‘forging’ all those documents!!!!!”

12. Pada masa ini, apa yang dimaksudkan oleh Claire Brown melalui email itu tidak dapat dipastikan. Tetapi oleh kerana sejak akhir-akhir ini ramai pihak yang ragu dengan Claire Brown dan laporan Sarawak Report memalsukan fakta, saya berharap pihak Interpol, polis United Kingdom serta Polis Diraja Malaysia dapat menyiasat apa yang dimaksudkan dalam email berkenaan.

13. Akhir sekali, saya berkeyakinan tinggi bahawa pihak Polis Diraja Malaysia akan menyiasat laporan polis ini dengan terperinci, profesional dan telus. Saya juga mempunyai tahap keyakinan yang sama bahawa pihak Interpol akan memberi kerjasama kepada Polis Diraja Malaysia untuk mengesahkan dan mencari kebenaran dalam isu pemalsuan fakta dalam Sarawak Report.



Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan
Pengarah Strategik Komunikasi Barisan Nasional
Putrajaya
Malaysia

-Tamat-
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