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Naughty Straits Times Singapore Trying To Put China-Malaysia At Loggerheads



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Jul 23 2018
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Straits Times news media, the mouthpiece of the Government of Singapore, has suddenly fallen in love with the Malaysian new government. Ever since the collapse of the old Najib regime, the Singapore media has shown unusual fetishes for Mahathir administration. The media has increasingly demonstrated that they are being fed insider information by intelligence agency.

 

From the exclusive interview inside Bangkok Remand Prison with Mr. Justo (2015) to the sacking of Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohamad Fuzi Harun (2018), Straits Times managed to raise eyebrows over some mind-boggling revelations. Of course, after Xavier Andre Justo dropped a bombshell – that the interview he gave to Straits Times 3 years ago was manipulated and scripted, all hell broke loose.

 

Did Straits Times Singapore play its part together with the “Hidden Hand” and spun and twisted Justo story to protect Najib Razak in the infamous 1MDB scandal? After all, it would be in the interest of Singapore to have a corrupt, lame and dumb Malaysian premier so that he could be controlled. The current cold Malaysia-Singapore relationship is the best proof Mahathir is bad news for Singapore.

Mahathir Mohamad Meets Xavier Andre Justo

Police Chief Fuzi, of course, is still alive and kicking, far from being fired. For reasons known only to Straits Times, they were not interested in the latest, more explosive, bombshell – Najib and his spy woman soliciting for support from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Ahh, that’s because ex-PM Najib Razak was PM Lee Hsien Loong’s durian partner and the U.S. is Singapore’s closest ally.

 

Apparently, what interested the Singapore media was the anti-corruption raids on two China state-owned entities handling billions of dollars in infrastructure projects in Malaysia. Five days ago (July 18), Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers seized documents linked to the Multi-Product Pipeline (MPP), Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP) and East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) projects.

 

About 50 MACC investigators were involved in the raids at 13 locations in the Klang Valley. Two weeks earlier on July 5, the Malaysian Finance Ministry suspended the services of Suria Synergy Energy Resources Sdn Bhd (SSER), which had been given the mandate to carry out the MPP and TSGP projects worth a combined total of RM9.4 billion. This followed after a raid on SSER office on June 11.

ECRL Project - PM Najib Razak, Wang Yong, and CCCC Chairman Liu Qitao

Awarded to China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPPB) on Nov 1, 2016, SSER was said to have already paid out RM8.3 billion, or 88% of the construction costs, even though only 13% of the projects had been completed. SSER was linked to fugitive Jho Low through Putrajaya Perdana Sdn Bhd. Indirectly, that chunk of RM8.3 billion was paid to Jho Low, the partner-in-crime of ex-PM Najib.

 

Meanwhile, the ECRL project, which links Port Klang to Pengkalan Kubor in Kelantan, was approved by the previous government in 2016 and awarded to China Communications Construction Company (CCCC). Costing RM55 billion at its initial first phase, as trumpeted by Najib, the final cost of the ECRL project is actually RM80.92 billion, as the new Finance Ministry found out eventually.

 

Therefore, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was just doing their jobs in its investigations – without any fear or favour – into alleged abuses in the award of contracts by the previous Najib regime. However, Straits Times somehow spins and twists the raids as if it was to give a bloody-nose to Beijing, as well as to embarrass Daim Zainuddin, the special envoy sent to China.

Daim Delivers A Letter From Mahathir To Chinese Premier Li Keqiang

The Singapore newspaper said Daim’s talks had been “thrown off the tracks” by the raids during a critical time when the special envoy is in Beijing to prepare for Mahathir’s official visit next month. Quoting diplomatic sources, Straits Times claimed that Mr. Daim was stumped when he was informed by his counterparts in China about the raids on the two Chinese companies.

 

Well, if China really feels offended, they would have voiced it out through their mouthpiece The Global Times – the same way they had lectured, warned and threatened 93-year-old PM Mahathir about the “consequences” of not keeping promises over HSR (high-speed rail) project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. But the mainland China cheerleader has kept quiet so far.

 

If Mahathir and Daim were afraid of rubbing President Xi Jinping the wrong way from the beginning, the ECRL project would not have had been suspended early of this month. Besides, foreign companies suspected of involving in hanky-panky business deals do not enjoy diplomatic immunity from being investigated.

Mahathir Met Chinese President Xi Jinping - 2013

For the Singapore media to argue that the raids by anti-corruption commission on China companies spell troubles for Malaysia is like saying the arrests of Mr. Yak Yew Chee and Ms Seah Mei Ying of BSI Bank Limited (BSI Bank) had exposed Jho Low hence jeopardising Singapore-Malaysia relationship because Mr. Low was Najib Razak’s architect of 1MDB “Ponzi Scheme“.

 

China’s silence on corruption involving Najib Razak-Jho Low in the ECRL project is no different from the Singapore’s silence on the stashing of money laundered by Najib-Low in the island. It would take the new government of Mahathir to appoint Singapore firm – Tan Rajah & Cheah – to recover billions of ringgit that the people finally realise how Singapore has kept the 1MDB scandal quiet.

 

The assets sought include at least S$240 million (US$176.4 million; £134 million; RM715 million), of which about S$120 million belong to Mr Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) and his immediate family. Yet, strangely, the government of Lee Hsien Loong still refuses to link his buddy ex-PM Najib Razak to the embarrassing theft of the century.

Najib Razak and Lee Hsien Loong - Sharing Durian

Singapore Lee Hsien Loong Visits Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad

So far, Singapore has fined eight banks, including Credit Suisse and United Overseas Bank (UOB), not to mention the closure of Falcon Private Bank Ltd and BSI Bank Limited (BSI Bank). It has also sent four people to jail over the scandal. Do you know that Singapore’s Temasek Holdings-owned DBS and Standard Chartered were also involved in the 1MDB scandal?

 

The naughty Straits Times Singapore wants the China-Malaysia relationship to deteriorate by adding fuel to the fire. That would weaken troublemaker Mahathir position as his popularity keeps hitting the roof. If Malaysia fails to impress China upon the needs to renegotiate a fair agreement on the ECRL project, Singapore could push for the HSR project to continue too.

 

Singapore hopes to use the powerful Xi Jinping to bully Mahathir Mohamad into submission because on its own, Lee Hsien Loong is too weak to confront the 93-year-old Malaysian leader. Straits Times also wants to deliver a message and to divert attention that Singapore is not alone in protecting Najib Razak. China also protects the world’s biggest crook.

Jho Low, Prince Turki, Najib Razak, Rosmah Mansor - Yacht

 

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