Najib Razak, the disgraced former Malaysian prime minister who has been sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM210 million after he was found guilty of all charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust (CBT), and money laundering in the 1MDB scandal, had infamously pledged to bathe the “Keris (Malay dagger)” with Chinese blood.
Likewise, his cousin, Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, was very fond of raising, kissing and parading his “Malay Keris” for years, aiming the weapon at the minorities, especially ethnic Chinese. Based on the cousin brothers’ hatred for Chinese, one would expect them to defend the country’s sovereignty when it is being threatened by foreign power, especially China.
Surprisingly, as China continues to harass Petronas (the national oil company), both so-called Malay champions from United Malays National Organization (UMNO) shamelessly and cowardly pretend nothing had happened. In fact, according to Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, Malaysian oil and gas vessels are being harassed on a “daily basis”.
The area of interest was the development of the Kasawari gas field in Malaysia’s block SK316, which was first discovered in 2011. The block, being developed by Petronas, is located 100 nautical miles (200 kilometres) from Bintulu, Sarawak. The Malaysian government had announced to the world about the exploration and development of Kasawari.
Yet, on the eve of June 1, before the construction work at Kasawari could begin, China has deliberately sent not one, not two, but sixteen Xi’an Y-20 and Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft into Malaysian air space near the East Malaysia state of Sarawak. Coincidentally, the next day (June 1), King Sultan Abdullah conveyed greetings to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) on its 63rd anniversary.
The timing of the intrusion was to send a message to Malaysia as well as its neighbours, or simply to humiliate an extremely weak RMAF. As expected, then-Senior Minister for Security cum Defence Minister “turtle egg” Ismail Sabri Yaakob chose to keep silent despite the national security threats. The RMAF only managed to scramble some obsolete BAE Hawk 208 fighter light combat / trainer jets.
Only after tremendous public pressure that then-Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said he would issue a note of diplomatic protest and ask China’s ambassador to explain the “breach of airspace and sovereignty”. He said – “Malaysia’s stand is clear – having friendly diplomatic relations with any countries does not mean that we will compromise on our national security.”
However, the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur played down the incident, saying the planes only conducted routine flight training and “strictly abided by” international law without violating airspace of other countries. Taking a page from the U.S. favourite playbook, it has even argued that Chinese military aircraft enjoyed the “freedom of over-flight in the airspace”.
Obviously, Beijing did not bother about Kuala Lumpur’s protest, which was nothing but a cheap drama from Hishammuddin. There has not been any news since Hishammuddin’s so-called diplomatic protest. The silence from the backdoor and illegitimate Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had convinced the Chinese government that there won’t be any meaningful retaliation.
Beijing knew very well that while Malaysian leaders like Najib and Hishammuddin appeared to be fiercely anti-Chinese, they were basically empty vessels – even cowards – who only dare to bully Malaysian minority ethnic Chinese. Facing a superpower like China, the UMNO leaders, with tail between legs, could only ask how high when the Chinese communist government tells them to jump.
Muhyiddin, despite his infamous “Malay first” chest-thumping rhetoric, is worse. He did not even pretend to be furious over the Chinese intrusion. Exactly what type of leader who kept quiet when a national oil company is being threatened? At least, President Rodrigo Duterte had threatened to send navy to defend the Philippines from the Chinese intrusion.
Hence, the harassment continues. On June 5, China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel 5403 was seen operating within 2 nautical miles of Sapura 2000, a pipelay barge owned and operated by Malaysia’s Sapura Energy. But about a month later (July 7), the CCG 5403 came within 1.2 nautical miles of Sapura 2000, which was doing installation work at the Kasawari gas field.
Research reports showed that Kasawari has over three trillion (3.2 trillion approximately) cubic feet of gas in reserves. Production, on the other hand, is projected to be between 500 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) and 750 mmcfd of gas. From the beginning, the purpose of flying 16 war planes into Sarawak was China’s message to contest the Malaysian oil and gas reserves.
And the China Coast Guard ships have harassed Malaysian energy exploration at least three times over the past 18 months. It seems Beijing would allow Kuala Lumpur do all the heavy lifting of exploring and drilling before sending its vessels to harass in attempts to claim ownership based on its “nine-dash” line. First discovered in 2011, Kasawari has been under development for several years.
Last July, the disgraced Hishammuddin lied through his teeth when he shamelessly claimed that in the have not dared breach the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) anymore. It was later exposed that Chinese coast guard vessels had met with or protest as Beting Patinggi Ali (Luconia Shoals) was consistently breached.
Worse, the National Audit Department unveiled a stunning report – Chinese ships had encroached into Malaysian waters 89 times between 2016 and 2019. Malaysia has so far lodged at least six diplomatic protests to China, but those protests have fallen on deaf ears. It’s not hard to understand why lame duck Hishammuddin had failed to protect the country’s sovereignty.
It was a show of not only weakness, but also cowardice and incompetence when the Malaysian foreign minister kowtowed to China in April this year, telling Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi – “You will always be my big brother“. Hishammuddin was the only moron in the world who publicly acknowledged China as “big brother” (大哥), effectively reducing Malaysia to the role of a puppet.
Thanks to Hishammuddin, on June 12, the CCG 5403 left Kasawari and was replaced by the larger CCG 5303, a 138-meter Zhaoduan-class cutter. Roughly 3 weeks later, the CCG 5303 came less than 400 yards from Sapura 3000, which joined the Sapura 2000 to install a drilling platform. And the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has not sent any ship since the departure of Bunga Mas Lima-class auxiliary ship in June.
Bunga Mas Lima was involved in “Operation Dawn 8 – Gulf of Aden in 2011”, where the Malaysian Navy commando PASKAL was tasked to rescue the hijacked ship MV Bunga Laurel. The country has another similar ship, a 133-meter KA Bunga Mas Enam. So, why hasn’t the navy sent a replacement ship to protect its national interest in the Kasawari gas field?
The cover-up of Malaysian incompetence was revealed much earlier. When Petronas contracted the drillship West Capella in mid-April to explore an area of overlapping Malaysian and Vietnamese maritime claims, China responded by dispatching the survey vessel Haiyang Dizhi 8 along with a flotilla of coast guard and paramilitary vessels.
Curiously, where the heck is the country’s crown jewel – the “unsinkable” Scorpene-class submarines, purchased by Najib Razak in 2002 when he was the defence minister for a whopping €1 billion (about RM4.78 billion)? Both subs – Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Abdul Razak – came with €114 million (RM500 million) in “commission” for crooked Najib Razak.
The Scorpene scandal also saw how a Mongolian translator – Altantuya Shaariibuu – was kidnapped before exterminated using military grade C4-explosive. According to France’s Libération documents, Altantuya was murdered on the orders of Abdul Razak Baginda, a close associate of Najib Razak, who was then Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence.
Yes, many have forgotten about the infamous Scorpene submarines, which attracted jokes not many years ago when they were reportedly unable to dive. Unless both subs had quietly ended up as scrap metals, the current Ismail Sabri government should explain why no efforts were made to deploy the France-made subs to warn and chase away the Chinese patrol ships.
After all, as early as 2004, Malaysia established the Teluk Sepanggar naval base in Sabah to house its two Scorpène-class submarines. Since 2010, both subs have been stationed there to protect national assets and territorial sovereignty. What’s the purpose of the subs if it cannot even flex its muscles in its own backyard – Sarawak – in a show of force?
Even if the Scorpenes still cannot dive or submerged, the sight of the subs emerged at the surface should, theoretically, send shivers down the spine of the Chinese patrol vessels. If it doesn’t, then something is very wrong with the Royal Malaysian Navy. With an allocation of RM15.86 billion for the Ministry of Defence in the Budget 2021, it’s both pathetic and humiliating that Petronas is being bullied – everyday.
And exactly where is Bintulu MP Tiong King Sing, who has been appointed Malaysia’s Special Envoy to China with ministerial rank. The extraordinary silence from other leaders of PAS Islamic Party and Malaysian United Indigenous Party (Bersatu) is equally amazing. Should not Najib and Hishammuddin threaten China with the Scorpenes, if not Keris?
Other Articles That May Interest You …
- 16 Chinese Military Aircrafts Intrusion – As China Asserts Its Nine-Dash Claim, Malaysia Is Left With Little Option To Retaliate
- Disgraced Hishammuddin Lied – Too Afraid To Defend Country’s Sovereignty Against China’s Intrusion
- Najib’s Worst Nightmare Has Begun – Killer Exposed The PM’s Executive Order To Kill Mongolian Beauty Altantuya
- Act Of Treason – Cousin Brothers Najib & Hishammuddin Deployed Military To “Yemeni Civil War” Without Approval
- Only 4 Fighter Jets Can Fly – A Result Of Incompetency & Corruption By These 4 UMNO Leaders
- Australia To Extradite Killer Sirul – Forget 1MDB, Najib & Rosmah Should Be Very Afraid Of Altantuya
- Malaysia Declares War On “Impenetrable” Israel … To Be Slaughtered Like A Pig?
- Bandar Malaysia Has Become “Bandar China” – The U.S. & Malays Conned By Najib
- Tribunal: No Basis To China’s South China Sea Claim, But Who Dares To Enforce It?
- Why China Can “Take” Any Island In South China Sea … And Get Away
- After 1 Murder, 2 Scorpenes & RM500 Million Commission; Najib To Buy 2 Mistrals For RM7 Billion?
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October 27th, 2021 by financetwitter
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