CORDOBA ALI | SEPTEMBER 23, 2015 9:30 AM ET:- This week, the world has heard a lot about aircraft.

There are spyplanes and war planes in Syria; and two leaders who are stepping off their presidential flights to face diverse destinies.

Yemen's president Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi returned to the southern city of Aden after six months in exile, exiting the plane amid Saudi Arabia's continued bombing of Houtis rebel strongholds in Sanaa.

Read the full story on The Week Wire

TWR | UPDATED SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 12:10 PM ET:- Singapore, the tiny Island republic and the richest state in the ASEAN, is beset by a phenomenon that is gripping the region: The rise of nationalistic drive.

Singaporeans have concerns over the cost of living, retirement plans and medical facilities for the lower income groups, but none of them has raised the ire of the people than the influx of foreign talent.

The opposition believes the influx of foreigners into Singapore is perceived as a means to bolster the talent pool, designed to deliberately keep the political equation in favor of the ruling PAP. 

This becomes more imperative as the popular vote of PAP has been dwindling due to the disenchantment of the locals. 

The present leadership vacuum in the PAP, which has yet to identify a suitable successor after PM Lee Hsien Loong's term in office, further exacerbates the problem.


There are fears within the ASEAN this phenomenon could dampen the entire community’s future, putting it at risk of falling apart on an issue that is rapidly gaining pace in Indonesia, Malaysia and even Laos or Myanmar.


The country has been voted the most liveable in Southeast Asia for the Singaporeans and its foreign contingencies, but locals are openly venting their grouses against foreign nationals, blaming the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) regime for the influx.


There are indications that a growing number of Singaporeans are joining the chorus against foreign workers, particularly from Bangladesh, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. The presence of foreigners buying homes in Singapore, and living in the country, is the new target by anti-foreigner campaigners.


But this is only the tip of the iceberg that is threatening to collide with the country’s otherwise peaceful civil society.


Will the PAP’s money, expertise and integrity be sufficient to usher a new era in Singapore, one where the locals can live in harmony with the foreign legions?

The rise of the “Ang Mo”


Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently remarked that Singapore can be an “outstanding” home for generations to come, if the country continues to work at addressing significant economic and social shifts.


One of these economic and social shift is the rise of the “Ang Mo”, which is a racial epithet describing Caucasians, who are considered to be at the root of employment loss by locals, and of driving Singapore’s housing index to astronomical levels.


The other aspect of the ‘foreign’ trouble for Singapore is the mass entry of Chinese citizens from Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China.


They too are contributing to the uneasiness felt by the locals, who have set their target on the PAP’s perceived inability to continue to offer secure, peaceful and rapid transportation as well as shopping experience for the locals.


It is common, nowadays, to meet locals who would criticise the flocking of foreign nationals in the country, many vowing to punish the PAP’s administration for what they call the loss of the country’s national identity and integrity.


However, the PAP is adamant that it has consensus from the public on its side, and the grouse are from a minority that can be dissipated by what the Prime Minister called ‘policy moves’.


Lee said citizens’ views have been given more weight in recent such policy moves, citing the boosting of social safety nets as one of the measures.


In a policy statement last year, Singapore‘s President Tony Tan Keng Yam said social safety nets would be strengthened, while the share of the fruits of progress and the nation’s success would be distributed more widely, especially with the lower-income and vulnerable groups.


But social groups are accusing the authorities of a pro-Chinese policy, in which majority Chinese Singaporeans are benefiting largely from such policies, while the minorities are made to pay the price of ‘meritocracy’.


These groups believe the PAP is bringing in more Chinese citizens and Westerners, who would be handed permanent resident permits, in order to consolidate the PAP’s political stronghold.


We can make sense of the local concerns, since the PR holders are eligible to Singapore nationality if they ‘register’ through the new process of getting the prized “Red” identity card.


Foreigners make up to 38% of Singapore’s workforce, while 43% of the foreign workforce consists of domestic or construction workers, but the low level foreign workers is not the real cause of the discontent against the PAP.


Singaporean observers admit that the PAP has a huge problem on its hands with the perception that it is allowing far too many foreigners to buy properties, and get high level jobs. This at a time when it is getting harder for locals to land middle-income jobs which is gradually going to “Ang Mohs”, PRC citizens and others.

PAP’s shrinking popularity

The PAP is scrambling to rectify a dangerous trend in the electoral process, one that has seen its share of popular support shrinking over the years, with a divided opposition force gaining ground in several areas.


The main grouses of the locals are the influx of the foreigners, from PRC, mainland India and the Philippines. They are the main cause of the overcrowded public transportation systems, the snapping of jobs at all levels, making it harder for locals to secure regular income – particularly among the minority Malay-Muslims and the Indians.


The country is also feeling he over-crowding in main public centers, entertainment outlets and shops making it harder for locals to feel they are Singaporeans in Singapore.


Singaporeans have concerns over the cost of living, retirement plans and medical facilities for the lower income groups, but none of them has raised the ire of the people than the influx of the foreign legions.


Show a foreigner doing something wrong, or not acceptable to the locals, and the country can see everyone up in arms against the foreign workers and expats. This then translates into anti-PAP campaigns, which gains traction, mostly among the lower income, the minorities and the young generations that are struggling to secure jobs.


The PAP, aware that the opposition is bound to make more grounds in the next general elections, will be forced to take drastic measures to maintain its dominance.


It may prioritise jobs for locals in a certain sectors, provide more educational and social support to increase the ‘merits’ of Singaporean workers to get jobs that are now being snatched by foreigners, but 
it cannot run away from the fact that playing on the international stage would need it to have even more foreign talents flocking in the country.


One solution would be in Singapore to seek talents within the ASEAN pool, instead of depending too heavily on Australia, China, and Europe.


To achieve this, it will have to boost its local human capital in the first place, but with the minorities in particular lagging behind in education and training as claimed by social groups the country is not going to solve the problems easily. This will play into the hands of the opposition.

PAP losing GRC’s
There are already indications that the opposition will gain more grounds in the next General Elections, scheduled for 2017, but which may be held as early as this year.

While the PAP is banking on the safety nets and the division among the opposition, Premier Lee would also campaign on the risks the country could run into with the opposition in power.


Zulfikar Shariff, a pro-Islam campaigner from Singapore now living in Australia said the PAP will be tempted to buy off the support of the electorate when the elections are near, with new policies to address ongoing dissatisfaction, but there is a lot of disquiet in the country and the opposition may win one or two Group Representation Constituency (GRC’s).


A GRC is a type of the electoral division or constituency in Singapore, where the Members of Parliament (MPs) are voted into Parliament as a group.


The opposition had so far failed to win any GRC’s in the past.


The opposition is composed of various parties, the strongest among them being the Workers Party (WP), but the Social Democratic Party (SDP) of Che Soon Juan is gaining sympathy, which may or may not translate into votes.


While the PAP remains certain of ruling Singapore for another 5 year term after the 2017 polls, there are signs that the party is cracking and may face turmoil once the veteran and legendary former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew expires.


The next smooth leadership transition within the PAP seems to be a major problem that the party will have to deal with.


The party’s leadership issues will dwarf the other realities, it is facing on the ground, including the grouse within the country’s minorities and a fringe of the Chinese voters. ■

THE WEEK REVIEW | UPDATED SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 07:30 PM ET:- Sitting in the blue uniform worn by prisoners in an office within the prison complex of Klong Prem in Bangkok, is Xavier Justo, the man who played an important role scandal that has since then rocked the Malaysian government.

In this interview with Le Temps (Letemps.ch), a Swiss-French daily, one important detail does not escape the attention of the readers, and it is the confusing 'sentiment' expressed by Justo over the information he supplied to Sarawak Report founder Clare Rewcastle Brown.

After saying he thought the reports published by Sarawak Report was probably 'altered', he continued saying he could not certify whether this was really the case.

Justo was jailed for 'blackmailing' PetroSaudi, and is probably aware that several other publications across the globe have the original copy of the data he stole from the former joint venture partner of 1MDB.

Rewcastle Brown, who is the niece of the former Prime Minister of England Gordon Brown, denied having anything to do with alterations or doctoring of the original documents stolen by Justo.

In a telephone conversation with Le Temps, Rewcastle Brown said as a journalist, "I would not do such a thing." 

She told Le Temps some important details of the difficulties she had to access the data's stored on the disk provided by Justo, seeking help from the British daily Sunday Times, where she was given all assistance to resolve the technical issues. Sunday Times kept a copy of the original files, and those are the files extracted from the original disk.

Based on Rewcastle Brown's statement, it could be possible that Justo is the one behind any doctoring of the documents and this would have been done with the intent to hurt PetroSaudi more.

Since his aim was to make quick bucks out of the disk, and his jail sentence is about the blackmailing of PetroSaudi, it is clear Justo still has something to hide.

Whether he doctored the documents before handing it over to Sarawak Report can easily be verified since Sunday Times has a copy - along with other publications as reported by Le Temps - of the original file.

A verification of the copies held by the various news organisations would clear suspicions that the Sarawak born Clare Rewcastle Brown had doctored the files before publishing them.

However, Brown insisted to Le Temps that Justo was only 'one of the sources' of the revelations that has caused so much destabilisation of the Najib Razak regime in Malaysia.

"There are many sources, and all of them concurs," said the UK based Sarawak Report director.

As a matter of fact, it is an article published in July by the Asian Wall Street Journal, which indicated that US$681 million was traced into Najib's own personal private banking account, that triggered the anger of many Malaysians and the allegations of corrupt practices against the government's chief.

WSJ, in its July report, said it was not sure the money found into Najib's account was from 1MDB but that investigations into wrong doings by the Malaysian sovereign fund had led to the uncovering of Najib's accounts with the unusually large sum of cash.

Since then, former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohammad has said he believe the money was from 1MDB, while the money trail from 1MDB and Najib's account - if any - still rests on blurred lines.

Najib has removed the Attorney General Gani Patial, deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yasin and several other top officials from office, and said the billions in Malaysian ringgit found in his account was a donation from a rich and generous Middle Eastern source.

On its part, PetroSaudi told Le Temps via email answers, there were no 'perversions' in its transaction with 1MDB.

"The details of the join-venture is public domain for a long time now and can be found in the financial audits of the 1MDB. The Malaysian firm invested US$1.8 billion in the joint-venture, and left with a profit of US$474 million," said PetroSaudi in a statement.

The company never replied to queries from various media outlets on whether it can prove the documents published by Sawarak Report were doctored.

It simply stated the records can be set straight from 1MDB's book-keeping.

The Malaysians are still waiting for the books of the battered company to be made public. 

As for Justo, the bad guy in the game according to Le Temps, he said he is consumed by shock and remorse. 

Shock because he expected a jail term of just over a year but was handed a 3 year jail sentence. 

Remorseful because he betrayed friends at PetroSaudi - which is hard to comprehend.

The question is how could he feel so confident, expecting a one year jail term for cooperating with the Bangkok police, while expressing remorse and the wish that he could ask his 'friends' from PetroSaudi forgive him?

Did he not expect the short jail term with the hope that he could enjoy the hefty 4 million Swiss Francs pay-off deal he was offerd by PetroSaudi to sever ties from the company?

His claims to Le Temps that he did not want to create trouble for Najib Razak, regretting the street protests, is also doubtful.

"It was a huge transaction. That is why I thought it was of interest to make them public," he said, adding that he saw nothing illegal in the transaction, otherwise he "would have withheld the information" had he seen anything dangerous in them.

According to several newspapers and news portals, which based their reports mostly on the data's stolen by Justo, a huge portion of the US$700 million is still unaccounted for.

They think it went into the accounts of a businessman close to the Najib family. 

The US$700 million these publications said, went into Jho Low's acount following a complex transaction that presided over the deal between PetroSaudi and 1MDB.

This has not been clarified, since then.

■
The Week Review Editors

AZ | UPDATED SEPTEMBER 4, 2015 07:30 PM ET:- An emerging geo-strategic conflict between China and Japan poses the biggest economic risk for Asean nations, prominent British diplomat Lord Paddy Ashdown believes.

Every year, US$5.3 trillion worth of goods, or around one-quarter of global merchandise export trade, passes through the South China Sea.

U.S.-led trade accounted for more than a quarter of this figure(US$1.2 trillion.)

The world’s second- and third-largest economies respectively, China and Japan, exported US$2.9 trillion (RM 11 trillion) worth of goods in 2013. much of which was shipped through the South China Sea.

Conflict between the China and Japan could bring to a standstill six of the world’s largest ports, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2015 report.

It could also stop flights from five of the world’s top 20 airports, which handle 8% of all passenger traffic and 46 % of all air freight.

The importance of the South China seas lies in its proximity to strategically important shipping lanes, and significant fishing grounds and oil deposits.

Ashdown believes building and maintaining good international relationships through regional treaties are more efficient compared to agreements through international institutions.

“That’s why the Kyoto Protocol and the World Trade Organisation works, because the government can agree on certain areas, although they don’t subscribe to each other's political systems,” Paddy said, speaking at the World Capital Markets Symposium in Kuala Lumpur today.

Disputes over maritime sovereignty and territory have compounded the deficit in multilateral governance in Asia. 

Lord Paddy Ashdown is one of Britain's most prominent dilomats ( Pix credit)

Asean member states need to recognize the limits of Westphalian preconceptions of maritime sovereignty, Ashdown said.

Strong nationalistic and traumatic historical antagonism are linked by critical maritime spaces that define the international trade and shipping routes.

Expanding existing trade and traditional security agreements – such as ASEAN-based dialogues and confidence and security building measures, have inherent limits in accommodating imperatives specific to each country and to the maritime context he said in this exclusive interview.

Mr. Ashdown said he was optimistic about China's role as a global power, considering its active multilateral actions under United Nations (UN).

“Not many are aware the Chinese government is involved actively in securing the Somalian maritime security zone and under the purview of UN, they provide about 3,700 personnel.” Ashdown said.

Mr.Ashdown was leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 until August 1999, and Chair of the Liberal Democrats' 2015 general election team.

Previously, ASEAN and China agreed upon multilateral risk-reduction in the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), but neither have adhered to its provisions.

The declaration to resolve territorial and jurisdictional disputes without resorting to the threat or use of force have never been implemented.

The resumption of negotiations between China and ASEAN after a decade-long hiatus holds promise for reinvigorating cooperative activities under the DOC. ■

JOSE UGAZ/TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL | UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2, 2015 07:30 PM ET:- 

"Who paid the money and why?" This was a question Jose Ugaz, the chair of international corruption watchdog Transparency International, asked when opening the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference in Putrajaya today. He was referring to allegations of US$700 million found in Malaysia PM Najib Razak's personal bank account, of course. Below is his full speech:

Let me first thank the IACC for bringing so many people together as part of our great global movement to tackle corruption.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for hosting the conference with the IACC.

And the Malaysian people for welcoming us to their beautiful country at these momentous time.

This week Malaysia celebrated Merdeka – its independence from colonial rule and freedom from oppression.

Independence and freedom. The building blocks of a fair and just society.

All countries face challenges, especially new countries, and I looked back at some of the statements from the founding father of the nation, (Tunku) Abdul Rahman, made at the time of independence in 1957.

There were two words that he used that stood out for me – honesty and integrity.

That is what brings us together in the fight against corruption. Honesty and integrity.

We have seen what this means to people all over the world in recent weeks.

In Brazil.

In Honduras.

In Guatemala.

In Iraq.

In Malaysia.

Hundreds of thousands of people are sending a message to the corrupt. Your days of impunity are numbered.

That is a reason why we are here. But we have a struggle in front of us.

In too many countries the basic rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association are being eroded or taken away. It is hard to fight corruption without those rights.

Most insidious of all is political corruption. The twisting and distorting of the law by governments plagued by cronyism and captured by special interests.

In Kuwait, our chapter was taken over by a government appointed board. In Tunisia, our activists were threatened with legal action for criticising laws that would set the corrupt free. In Russia, civil society organisations are being placed on a register of Foreign Agents – the first moves that could attempt to close down the work of anti-corruption fighters in that country.

Those with integrity removed.

Secret deals.

Cronies appointed.

Violations of human rights

This feeds what we call grand corruption because it creates a climate where corruption flourishes and impunity protects the powerful.

We are in a global world and illicit money can be moved in a single keystroke. The oligarches of corruption can also move freely without legal consequences, flaunting their five-star lifestyle, buying their properties in London, the south of France and Kenya.

That is what we mean by impunity.

Let me give you one example. The former president of Ukraine – Viktor Yanukovych. When he finally fled, the people of Ukraine discovered that their money had been spent on a mansion with a zoo and a full size Spanish galleon ship.

What was revealed was a chain of shell companies in Vienna, London and Liechtenstein that concealed the vast wealth he was stealing from the country. Ukraine’s chief prosecutor has said that there is evidence that at least US$350 million has been stolen…It could be much more.

He and too many corrupt politicians and business people use shell companies to conceal their money. That is why we will talk at length at this conference about the need for public registers of beneficial ownership.

It is collective action that can challenge impunity.

In France, after a campaign our chapter, 300 million Euros of assets stolen by the former President Obiang of Equatorial Guinea were frozen by the courts.

Now in Guatemala, after a mass campaign, the former vice-president is in jail awaiting trial accused of conspiracy and bribery and yesterday the immunity from prosecution of the president was removed and a judicial order was released so he cannot leave the country.

And in Brazil, where one million people took to the streets for the Petrobas scandal has seen five politicians arrested and criminal cases brought against 13 companies, including the head of the world’s largest construction company. And our movement is now working across seven South American countries to uncover how far the Petrobas scandal has spread, while politicians and heads of these companies have been arrested.

The web of corruption shows very clearly that this is not confined to developing countries. Many companies in Europe and the United States are being investigated for bribery.

Fighting against corruption takes courage.

We should pause at this moment and remember those who paid a terrible price for speaking out against corruption.

Danilo Lopez and Frederico Salazar, two courageous journalists were murdered in broad daylight in Guatemala. For more than a decade, Lopez had exposed corruption and the misuse of public funds by corrupt politicians. And a month and a half ago an anti-corruption activist was killed in Mexico.

This year, 24 journalists around the world who have exposed corruption and human rights abuses have been killed. 24.

In Azerbaijan, as we meet, investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova was sentenced yesterday to seven and half years for “economic crimes.” These are typical of the bogus charges brought by governments to shut down those who speak out against corruption.

Khadija exposed how the government awarded the rights to a lucrative gold field to the president’s family. In a statement she just said: “I might be in prison, but the work will continue.”

That is the work that everyone in this conference is dedicated to take forward.

Press freedom and freedom of expression are the pillars of democratic societies and journalists must be able to work without fear. We stand with them.

Our movement has shown that it can fight back.

In Cameroon, Paul Kingue was freed from prison after a sustained campaign by local and international groups.

His crime? Exposing a French-owned banana producer for tax fraud.

In Angola, the most serious charges against Rafael Marques de Morais were dropped after a sustained international campaign.

His crime? A book exposing corruption and torture in Angola. For that he could have faced nine years in prison. Just for writing a book.

There are many more activists around the world and many are here present in this conference. Let me pay tribute to you, for your courage, for your honesty, for your integrity.

Change can and does happen.

Why are we so passionate about the change we want to see?

We share many values. We want to see an end to poverty, we want all children to be able to go to school. We want people to have access to healthcare and live in decent homes.

That is why we are here and why we fight corruption.

Because the price of corruption is paid for by all of us but especially by the poorest in our countries.

The private jet that is paid for by the school that is not built. The luxury house that is paid for by those who cannot get the medicine they need. The yacht paid for by the homeless.

How do we change that? There is much we know, and much you will debate this week.

No one can be in Malaysia and not be aware of the corruption allegations of recent months and how damaging they are to the country. There is a corruption crisis here.

As a global anti-corruption movement it is our role to ask questions, to challenge those who abuse their power, to champion those who cannot speak and to engage with those who sincerely wish to change.

Let us recall those two words – honesty and integrity.

What does that mean for Malaysia? The government has taken measures and initiatives to tackle corruption. We will surely hear that from the minister.

We want to see more progress but that cannot happen while there are unanswered questions about the US$700 million that made its way into the prime minister’s personal bank account.

In recent weeks, we have seen the attorney-general who was critical of the government suddenly replaced, the 1MDB task force suspended, investigators at the anti-corruption commission arrested or transferred, and newspapers suspended for reporting on the matter.

These are not the actions of a government that is fighting corruption.

We may well hear promises of reform. That is not what is needed at this time. And promises alone will not restore confidence and trust.

There are two questions that need to be answered:

Who paid the money and why?

Where did it go?

One man could answer those questions.

If that does not happen then only a fully independent investigation, free from political interference, can uncover the truth.

Until that happens, no claim from the government on anti-corruption will be credible.

I stand here today with you and say this is what the people what from government – honesty and integrity.

Our movement does not stand alone. We have common cause with all who speak up against those that would seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the people.

We are global.

We have a powerful voice.

We are together against corruption.

This conference will last three days, but our work will continue each and every day both in Malaysia and throughout the world.

■
Transparency International

WIKINEWS | UPDATED AUGUST 31, 2015 07:07 AM ET:- Al-Jazeera journalists Canadian Mohamed Fahmy, Egyptian Baher Mohamed, and Australian Peter Greste were sentenced yesterday to three years in prison by judge Hassan Farid following a retrial of the 2013 case in Cairo. 

TWR | UPDATED AUGUST 31, 2015 12:07 AM ET:- Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service said last week Malaysia "needs" to be rated at a higher level, after local media questioned why the firm had maintained an outlook on Malaysia perceived as rosy, despite other prominent agencies indicating a more guarded view on the country's sovereign credit.

The movement of support for Muhyiddin Yassin, former deputy PM fired by PM Najib Razak a month ago, has gathered steam in some states, but it is not sufficient for the ruling party Umno to move against its embattled leader.

Word is out that Johor is still at boiling point over the firing of Muhyiddin, while the state Umno does not endorse the official version intended to clear Najib regarding the Middle Eastern donation of RM2.

6 billion, a huge sum of cash that went directly into the PM's account.

"The Umno leadership, at least those in the corridors of power, have thrown in the Middle Eastern donor explanation in a bid to atone the Malay-Muslims of the country.

 But it has not bitten, and now the power that be is struggling to establish the truth about the billions," Ali Amir, a political analyst said.

The Najib government has tried to enlist the Malay community behind it on the 1MDB issue, with the fact that the scandal ridden sovereign fund has spent its money building Mosques, which is considered a holy act for the Muslims.

The problem is, Johor, the birth state of Umno and a fixed deposit in the elections for the ruling Malay party, failed to give support on these issues.

The Johor Mentri Besar, Khalid Nordin, has not relented on his calls for the party to reject corrupt practices, adding pain to the miseries of the Najib regime.

The Johor Umno is rigged with trouble since the removal of Muhyiddin as deputy PM, said another observer to The Week Review.

“Khalid Nordin is spearheading a campaign to rid the Umno of its ills, and one of these is the allegation of corruption and the weakness of the political organisation,” said the observer.

In less than a week in July, the MB has urged party members to act in order to prevent issues affecting the party to fester any longer, showing an urgency in the need to redress the party’s image.

“The situation is dire, as it involves other powerful figures in the state,” said the observer.

Anti-Najib banners were unfurled in Johor in public places, including highways and bus stops.

Najib was given the cold shudder when he attended the Pasir Gudang Umno division’s annual general meeting .

Ahmad Maslan, the Umno information chief and Pontian MP who was shifted from the Ministry of Finance to a less prominent role as deputy Minister of international trade and industry, was booed at his constituency's meeting.

The list is unending, with powerful figures in Johor coming out to express their dissatisfaction over several issues.

The powerful Johor royal family have also made online posting viewed as veiled criticism of Najib and his wife, Rosmah.

Umno’s biggest voter bank is now not invulnerable from the opposition coalition’s push to take over the state.

In the 2008 elections, Barisan Nasional had won 50 seats, with the DAP gaining four seats and PAS winning two.

Back then, deposed DPM Anwar Ibrahim’s Party Keadilaan Rakyat did not have a chance against hardline BN supporters in Johor.

In 2013, Pakatan Rakyat registered major gains in Johor in the local assembly elections, winning 18 seats, spearheaded by PKR, still seen as a splinter Umno party by Johoreans.

 Umno won 32 of the 38 seats won by the ruling coalition.

That year, BN won 53.99% of votes in the state assembly election, and PR won up to 45% of the vote.

Barisan National won 21 Parliamentary seats — but the PR coalition won five, a feat it had never achieved before in the state.

As it is, Umno is bound to face stiffer challenges in the 2018 elections — with voters riled over allegations of a corruption cover-up amid blurred lines over RM2.

6 billion banked into Prime Minister Najib Razak’s account.

The funds, that were said to be traced by investigators prying into 1Malaysia Development Bhd, are to be a donation from the Middle East to the Umno party.

But even this statement is being contested by rebel former ministers.

With rising concerns on 1MDB and perceptions of inadequacy in Najib Razak’s explanations regarding the ‘donation’ from the Middle East, Umno now faces an internal rift it has never seen since Anwar Ibrahim was jailed in 1998.

Since 2008, Barisan National has lost its grip on two of Malaysia’s richest states, Penang and Selangor.

Johor will not be immune to national sentiment over debt-ridden 1MDB, the RM2.6 billion traced to the Prime Minister’s accounts, the arrest of Malaysian Anti Corruption Commision officials and their transfer to the PM’s office — as well as the Cabinet reshuffle.

All these are seen as attempts to cover up what the public has now perceived as gross wrong doings by the ruling coalition.

It is worth noting that the movement to clean Umno of its vagaries is not new.

Calls to remove Najib as Umno president have been led by former Malaysian stateman and political stalwart Tun Mahathir Mohamad, who was also the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Mahathir has garnered sufficient support within the Umno and outside the party sphere, for his allegations to be a concern for Najib.

Khalid Nordin views the problems facing Umno as cancerous — and has urged Umno leaders to admit the party is in bad shape.

The Johor MB is not alone and has the support of Muhyiddin Yassin, who has made known his intentions to cling to his post as deputy president of Umno despite attempts to oust him, sources who spoke to The Week Review said.

Yassin also seems to have the support of former Cabinet colleague Mohd Shafie Apdal, who was revoked from his Ministership in the recent Cabinet shake-up.

Like Yassin, Shafie is also an Umno Vice-President, hailing from East Malaysia.

Shafie Apdal has contested the fact that the RM2.6 billion was a donation — there has never been mention within Umno of such a donation from the Middle East, he claims.

Najib fired back by saying that the party should trust him with donations and the party’s expenses.

But for how long?

■
By The Week Editors