Japan Politics | Blogged

Japan New PM | Taro Aso

24.September 2008 | Political Dynasties: Taro Aso

• May 21, 2007 – 6:10 pm
• Posted in Japan, Politics
• Tagged politicians, aso taro

As with most political systems, I’d imagine, Japan’s political elite have more than a slight dynastic nature. I plan to look at some of the family trees of Japan’s political figures over a series of articles. I will start with one of the most interesting: Taro Aso (麻生太郎, Tarou Asou), Minister for Foreign Affairs since 31 October 2005, as well as a candidate for Koizumi’s replacement as Prime Minister.

Taro Aso is a politician born and bred. He is perhaps best known for his controversial statements reflecting his revisionist and conservative stance on Japan’s history. Others know him for being somewhat of a manga enthusiast, keen to use the popular form of entertainment as a source of soft power. Love him or hate him, Aso is here to stay.

Taro Aso

Taro Aso was born on 20 September 1940 in Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture. He is the oldest among his five siblings.

Education – He studied in the Faculties of Politics and Economics at the prestigious Gakushuin University (学習院大学, Gakushuuin Daigaku), whose other alumni include Studio Ghibli head Hayao Miyazaki, Beatles wife Yoko Ono, and current Emperor Akihito. He then travelled to the US to study at Stanford University, but his family (particularly his grandfather, Shigeru Yoshida) called him back to Japan over fears he was becoming ‘too Americanised’. Aso attempted to reason with them, but they cut off his allowance forcing him to take a ship home. Aso then left again, this time to study at the University of London.

Work – Following his time in London, Taro Aso worked for a diamond mining company in Sierra Leone. After two years, civil war forced him out of the country. In 1966, he joined the family company, Aso Industry (formerly Aso Mining Company, later Aso Cement Company), and held the post of president from 1973-1979.

Life – Aso was on the Japanese shooting team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. In 1978, Aso became president of the Japan Junior Chamber, a federation of Japan’s young business leaders. He is a devout Catholic, confirmed with the name Francisco (by which he is sometimes known), although partakes in Shinto rituals. Aso is a frequent reader of manga, said to read around 10-20 volumes a week, and is particularly known as a fan of Rozen Maiden (leading him to be dubbed ‘Rozen Aso’). In a campaign rally in Akihabara, a district of Tokyo renowned for its geeky visitors (otaku), he spent 60% of his time discusses pop-culture. He plays golf in his downtime.

In the Diet – Aso is a member of the Kono Faction, an LDP group led by Yohei Kono (the politician who recognised the comfort women issue in his ‘Kono Statement’).Taro Aso was elected to the Diet’s Lower House (House of Representatives) in October 1979 and has been re-elected eight times. In 1988, Taro Aso became Parliamentary Vice Minister for Education, Sports, Science and Culture which he held until June 1989. From January 1991, Aso became Chairman of the Lower House’s Special Committee on Coal Issues, until November 1991, when he became Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, which he held until Jan 1993. In November 1998, Aso became Chairman of the Special Committee on Fiscal Structure Reform, which he held for a month.

In the LDP – In March 1990, Aso became director of the Education Division of the LDP, until December 1990. While still Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, in November 1992, Aso became Director of the Foreign Affairs Division until Aug 1993. In March 1999, Aso was Deputy Secretary-General of the LDP, and in October 1999, he became Deputy Chairman of the Policy Research Council, which he held until July 2000. In April 2001, he became Chairman, which he held until September 2003.

In the Executive – In November 1996, Aso was made Minister of State in Economic Planning Agency by Ryutaro Hashimoto, which he held until Sep 1997. From January 2001, Aso Minister of State, Economic and Fiscal Policy under Yoshiro Mori until the end of Mori’s term in April 2001. In 2003 he became Minister of Internal Affairs, Posts and Communications to Jun’ichiro Koizumi, and on 31 October 2005, he became Minister for Foreign Affairs, a post he has retained in Shinzo Abe’s first cabinet. During the leadership contest within the LDP following the stepping-down of Koizumi, Aso was a candidate running against Shinzo Abe.

Taro Aso’s Wife: Chikako Aso née Suzuki

Chikako Aso (麻生千賀子, Asou Chikako) is the third daughter of Zenko Suzuki (鈴木善幸, Suzuki Zenkou), the 70th Prime Minister of Japan (July 1980-November 1982).

Update: His son, Masahiro Aso, attends William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri and is set to graduate in 2011. [Thanks to the anonymous commenter!] I cannot verify this independently because the Japanese newspapers appear to have a great deal of respect for the rights of minors – I can’t find anything on his son or daughter, except that he has at least one of each, both at university.

Taro Aso’s Princess Sister: Nobuko

The third daughter of the Aso family, Nobuko (信子), studied in the UK at Rosslyn House College (about which I can find nothing) and graduated in 1973. She met and married Prince Tomohito of Mikasa (三笠宮寬仁, Mikasa no Miya Tomohito Shinnou), heir to the mikasa no miya (House of Mikasa), and became Princess Tomohito of Mikasa (寛仁親王妃信子, Tomohito Shinnouhi Nobuko). Together they have two children, Princesses Akiko (彬子女王, Akiko Joou), currently studying at Oxford, and Yoko (瑶子女王, Youko Joou). It was Prince Tomohito who suggested that Crown Prince Naruhito should take a concubine in order to produce an heir. He is a cousin of the current Emperor Akihito.

Taro Aso’s Other Siblings

The second son of the Aso family is Jiro (次郎, Jirou [?]).

The first daughter of the Aso family, Setsuko (雪子, [? – perhaps Yukiko]), married Kazutane Soma (相馬和胤, Souma Kazutane), the 33rd descendent of the Soma clan.

The second daughter of the Aso family, Asako (旦子) married former ambassador to Spain, Kiyohiko Arafune (荒船清彦).

The youngest son of the Aso family, Yutaka (泰) is the current head of the Aso Group.

Taro Aso’s Grandfather: Shigeru Yoshida

Taro Aso’s mother was Kazuko Yoshida (吉田和子), whose father was Shigeru Yoshida (吉田茂), one of Japan’s great post-war prime ministers (1946-1947, 1948-1954). He formulated what has become known as the Yoshida Doctrine, a process of ‘free-riding’ on security issues while concentrating heavily on economic strength. His doctrine dominated Japanese thought at least until the supposed dishonour brought upon Japan by its response to the 1991 Gulf War. He signed both the Treaty of San Francisco (1951) and the US-Japan Security Treaty (1951), both crucial to Japan’s reconstruction. Yoshida was by birth a Takeuchi, but was adopted by Kenzo Yoshida (a silk merchant) after they lived together.

The picture above shows Aso as a baby in the lap of Kazuko Aso née Yoshida, with Shigeru Yoshida (left) and Takakichi Aso (right). In addition to the link to Shigeru Yoshida, Aso’s father had close ties to Kakuei Tanaka (田中角栄), Japan’s Prime Minister from 1972-1974. Tanaka also had a child in Koizumi’s cabinet, Makiko Tanaka (田中真紀子), who was Japan’s Foreign Minister from April 2001 to January 2002.

Taro Aso’s Great Grandfather: Tsuna Takeuchi

Tsuna Takeuchi was Shigeru Yoshida’s biological father. He is more commonly known in English as Tsuna Takenouchi, but this is infact incorrect: 竹内綱 in this case is read Tsuna Takeuchi. Takeuchi was a key figure in Japanese civil rights politics hailing from the Tosa (土佐) clan (from Shikoku). Yoshida was Takeuchi’s fifth son whose mother was rumoured to be a geisha. Takeuchi was a leader of the Movement for Liberty and Civil Rights (自由民権運動, jiyuu minken undou) and was in prison during Yoshida’s birth, hence Yoshida’s time with Kenzo Yoshida.

Taro Aso’s Great Grandfather: Count Nobuaki Makino

Yoshida’s wife, Yukiko, was the daughter of Nobuaki Makino (牧野伸顕) of the Satsuma clan. Like his son-in-law, Makino was adopted. He attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as Japan’s ambassador pleponitary. He was Minister for the Imperial Household in 1921 and became a baron (男爵, danshaku) and then a count (伯爵, hakushaku) under the kazoku (華族) peerage system during his time as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (内大臣, Naidaijin), which became an incredibly powerful position under his charge.

Taro Aso’s Great-Great Grandfather: Toshimichi Okubo

Count Makino’s biological father was Toshimichi Okubo (大久保 利通, Ookubo Toshimichi), a Satsuma samurai who played a lead role in the Meiji Restoration. He played a key role in allying the Satsuma and Choshu clans against the Shogunate, and was part of the provisional government with Saigo Takamori and Kido Takayoshi. Okubo, as Finance Minister, ended discrimination against the eta-hinin. He was part of the very important around-the-world Iwakura mission to renegotiate unequal treaties with the major powers and collect information crucial to Japan’s modernisation.

This final figure might be the jewel in Aso’s genealogical crown, of which there are many gems to choose from. Furthermore, given Aso’s hobbies, Taro Aso probably read about Okubo in Rurouni Kenshin, the great samurai epic. It is safe to say that Taro Aso was handed a political destiny, it only remains to be seen how far he will go.

Charts

I have prepared two pdf documents for you. The first is an overview of Taro Aso’s relation to his kinsmen, see how many names you can recognise: Aso Kinship Chart. The second is a large family tree, as detailed as I could make it without going too far off the reservation: Aso Family Tree.

Notes

The family tree was adapted from Taro Aso’s Japanese Wikipedia page. The names of some of the family may not be correct (uncertainty is shown with a bracketed question mark), however, the Kanji always derives from the Wikipedia page.

Agence France-Presse – 9/24/2008 12:10 PM GMT

Taro Aso took charge as Japan’s new prime minister Wednesday, lining up his cabinet with like-minded conservatives to help his mission to revive the economy and win upcoming elections.

The divided parliament voted along party lines to install the flamboyant former foreign minister, who was expected to fly a day later to New York for the UN General Assembly.

Aso bowed four times and shook hands with fellow lawmakers after the more powerful lower house approved him.

“I truly feel the heavy responsibility of being prime minister,” Aso told a news conference as he announced his cabinet.

“To make Japan a bright and strong nation — that is my mission,” he said.

Aso replaced Yasuo Fukuda, a mild centrist whose ratings dived after he raised medical costs for the elderly.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) picked Aso on Monday as its new leader by an overwhelming majority, placing its trust in a crowd-pleasing — though gaffe-prone — campaigner.

Analysts expect him to call a general election as early as late October in a bid to hold off gains by the rising opposition, which has pounded away at the LDP’s traditional strongholds in the countryside.

“The final battle has begun. The autumn of elections — the autumn to change the government — is coming,” said opposition chief Ichiro Ozawa, whose bloc controls one house of parliament.

The LDP has been in power for all but 10 months since 1955, but Aso will be its fourth prime minister in the past two years as the party struggles over a raft of scandals and, more recently, a faltering economy.

Aso said his first priority would be to pump stimulative spending into the economy, the world’s second largest but teetering on the brink of recession , clashing with LDP free-market reformists who in recent years have pushed to tame a ballooning public debt.

Aso tapped as his finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa who, echoing the incoming premier, said he would make “full use of all sorts of policies” to invigorate the economy.

“Some people label us as freespenders or old-guard cronies as we say we are not hesitant on fiscal spending,” Nakagawa , a former industry minister, wrote in a newspaper column. “But we do not intend to backtrack on reforms.”

Nakagawa — who was shunned by the more dovish Fukuda — has raised controversy through strong criticism of China and calls for Japan, the only nation to have suffered atomic attack, to study developing nuclear weapons.

“This is the lineup aimed at avoiding any political scandals ahead of the imminent general elections,” said Shujiro Kato, professor of politics at Toyo University.

“Nobody reported to be appointed as minister is a fresh face.”

The foreign ministry went to Hirofumi Nakasone, the son of one of Japan’s best-known premiers, Yasuhiro Nakasone, who led Japan in the 1980s and was a close ally in US president Ronald Reagan’s anti-communist campaign.

Like Aso, Nakasone was uneasy with some of the free-market reforms during the 2001-2006 premiership of Junichiro Koizumi, who was popular with the public but blamed by some LDP members for alienating rural voters by cutting services.

However, in a bid to ensure party unity, Aso kept in place Fiscal and Economic Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano, who had challenged him for the top job arguing that Aso’s economic policies were irresponsible.

Another rival, Shigeru Ishiba, was made farm minister, a position that has frequently been hit by scandal. Ishiba survived resignation calls as he managed crises as Fukuda’s defence minister.

Aso promises a return both at home and abroad to some of the more flamboyant ways of Koizumi, who would regale summits by singing Elvis Presley songs, after a two-year gap of drier leaders.

Known for his love of comic books, as foreign minister Aso entertained summits by doing a Humphrey Bogart impersonation and dancing in the costume of a samurai.

Japan PM says he is resigning

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda announced on Monday that he was resigning.

“Today, I have decided to resign. We need a new line-up to cope with a new session of parliament,” Fukuda told a news conference.

Economic survey of Japan 2008

Contents | Executive summary | How to obtain this publication | Additional info Published on 7 April 2008. The next Economic survey of Japan will be prepared for 2010. An Economic Survey is published every 1½-2 years for each OECD country. Read more about how Surveys are prepared. The OECD assessment and recommendations on the main economic challenges faced by Japan are available by clicking on each chapter heading below. Bookmark this page: www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/japan

Statement by Angel Gurría, OECD Secretary-General at the launch of the Economic Survey of Japan at the Japan Press Club, Tokyo on 7 April 2008.

Contents

Chapter 1: Key challenges to sustaining the expansion in Japan

The economic expansion, the longest in Japan’s post-war history, remains on track, though at a slower pace. The upturn is driven by business investment and exports, while other components of demand remain sluggish. Although growth is projected to continue at a 1½ to 2% rate through 2009, Japan must address a number of problems to sustain the expansion over the medium term. This chapter identifies five key challenges: i) ensuring a definitive end to deflation under the new monetary policy framework; ii) achieving progress in fiscal consolidation in the context of high public debt and rapid population ageing; iii) implementing a comprehensive tax reform to increase government revenue, while promoting economic growth, addressing rising income inequality and improving the local government tax system; iv) enhancing productivity growth in the service sector; and v) reforming the labour market to reverse rising dualism and boosting labour force participation to offset demographic trends.

Chapter 2: Bringing an end to deflation under the new monetary policy framework

With the end of quantitative easing in 2006, the Bank of Japan introduced a new monetary policy framework that includes an understanding of price stability as 0 to 2% inflation and raised interest rates from zero to 0.5%, although most measures of inflation have remained negative. Given remaining deflationary pressures, slower economic growth in 2007 and increased uncertainty about the outlook for growth, the central bank should not raise the short-term policy rate further until inflation is firmly positive and the risk of renewed deflation becomes negligible. In addition, the lower end of the inflation range should be increased to provide an adequate buffer against deflation.

Chapter 3: Achiving progress on fiscal consolidation by controlling government expenditures

With gross debt of 180% of GDP, further measures to reduce the large budget deficit are increasingly urgent. An improvement in the budget balance of between 4% and 5% of GDP (on a primary budget basis) is needed just to stabilise the government debt to GDP ratio, a first step towards the government’s goal of lowering the ratio in the 2010s. The first priority is to further cut government spending, which has fallen by 2½ percentage points as a share of GDP during the past five years, focusing on public investment and the government wage bill. Expenditure reductions should be accompanied by reforms to improve efficiency in the public sector. In addition, policies to limit the increase in social spending, in the context of rapid population ageing, are essential for fiscal consolidation. However, expenditure cuts alone are insufficient to achieve Japan’s fiscal objectives, making it necessary to raise additional revenue.

Chapter 4: Reforming the tax system to promote fiscal sustainability and economic growth

Tax reform is an urgent priority, as Japan needs as much as 5% to 6% of GDP of additional government revenue just to stabilise public debt, which has risen to 180% of GDP. In addition to raising revenue, tax reform should promote economic growth, address the deterioration in income distribution and improve the local tax system. Additional revenue should be obtained primarily by increasing the consumption tax rate, currently the lowest in the OECD area, while broadening the personal and corporate income tax bases. The corporate tax rate, now the highest in the OECD, should be cut to promote growth, while eliminating aspects of the tax system which discourage labour supply and distort the allocation of capital. Japan should also consider introducing an Earned Income Tax Credit to promote equity. The local tax system should be simplified, increasing reliance on existing taxes on property, income and consumption.

Chapter 5: Enhancing the productivity of the service sector in Japan

Labour productivity growth in the service sector, which accounts for 70% of Japan’s economic output and employment, has slowed markedly in recent years in contrast to manufacturing. The disappointing performance is associated with weak competition in the service sector resulting from strict product market regulation and the low level of import penetration and inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI). Reversing the deceleration in productivity growth in the service sector is essential to raise Japan’s growth potential. The key is to eliminate entry barriers, accelerate regulatory reform, upgrade competition policy and reduce barriers to trade and inflows of FDI. Special attention should be given to factors limiting productivity growth in services characterised by either low productivity or high growth potential, such as retail, transport, energy and business services. Finally, it is essential to increase competition in public services, such as health and education, where market forces have been weak.

Chapter 6: Reforming the labour market to cope with increasing dualism and population ageing

The proportion of non-regular workers has risen to one-third of total employment. While non-regular employment provides flexibility cost reductions for firms, it also creates equity and efficiency concerns. A comprehensive approach that includes relaxing the high degree of employment protection for regular workers and expanding the coverage of non-regular workers by the social security system would help to reverse dualism. Given that non-regular workers receive less firm-based training, it is also necessary to expand training outside of firms to support Japan’s growth potential, while enhancing the employment prospects of non-regular workers. Reversing the upward trend in non-regular employment may also encourage greater female labour force participation, which is essential given rapid population ageing that is already reducing Japan’s working-age population by almost 1% each year. Expanding childcare facilities and paying more attention to work-life balance would also boost female employment, while also raising Japan’s exceptionally low birth rate.

How to obtain this publication

The Policy Brief (pdf format) can be downloaded in English and Japanese. It contains the OECD assessment and recommendations.

The complete edition of the Economic survey of Japan 2008 is available from:

• SourceOECD for subscribing institutions and many libraries

• OECD Online Bookshop for non-subscribers

• Government officials with accounts (subscribe) can go to the “Books” tab on OLIS

• Accredited journalists (password required)

Additional information

• Economic Surveys and Country Surveillance

• Timetable of planned EDRC Meetings

• List of recent Surveys of Japan

• OECD Japan

• OECD Economics Department homepage

For further information please contact the Japan/Korea Desk at the OECD Economics Department at ecosurvey@oecd.org. The OECD Secretariat’s report was prepared by Randall S. Jones, Masahiko Tsutsumi and Taesik Yoon under the supervision of Stefano Scarpetta. Research assistance was provided by Lutécia Daniel.

Life Back Home | Blogged

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A Failure To Learn From The Past

• In Pictures: What Billionaires Say About The Wall Street Crisis
• Video: AIG’s Fight To Survive
• In Video: A Step In The Right Direction
• In Video: Steve Forbes On Ending The Crisis
• In Video: More Bubble Trouble Ahead?

Marti G. Subrahmanyam

After perhaps the most tumultuous week in the financial markets in living memory, the question on everyone’s mind is whether this turn of events was inevitable. In order to answer this question fairly, one has to avoid making the common mistake of using 20-20 hindsight based on the facts that have come to light in the past 15 months or so.

Suppose we were back in 2002, looking at the architecture of the global financial system based on the knowledge of events until that point in time. We would have known about several crises of the previous two decades: the stock market crash of 1987; the Japanese financial meltdown that lasted through much of the 1990s; the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and the Russian default-LTCM crisis of 1998; and, of course, the dot-com collapse of 2002.

What lessons did the past crises teach us? What were the warning signs that were already evident at that time?

The declining savings rate and the looming trade and budget deficits.

This trend could only continue as long as U.S. deficits were being financed by issuing large quantities of financial claims to countries with large trade surpluses–principally China and Japan, but also many emerging economies. These transfers of financial claims–principally U.S. Treasury obligations–are substantial in relation to the overall size of the financial market. They will likely cause major disruptions to economic activity if there is even a hint that they may be interrupted.

Low interest rates and easy availability of credit.

Cheap credit exaggerated the returns from leveraged investments at both household and corporate levels. This easy-money policy encouraged speculation particularly in real estate, but also in assets, more generally. The global real estate boom and the rapid growth of the private equity industry are prominent examples of the institutionalization of such leveraged investments.

The backlash against regulation

The failure of corporate governance in companies such as Enron and WorldCom led to greater regulation of corporations, principally through the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The increased regulatory burden created a backlash against regulation in general. This sentiment was in tune with the prevailing political mood in Washington, which had lead to the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act (which separated investment banking from commercial banking) in 1999.

“Too large to fail” and moral hazard.

Although the argument about the systemic consequences of the failure of a single large financial entity has been used before, the most spectacular example of its use prior to the present crisis was the 1998 bailout coordinated by the Fed for the hedge fund Long Term Capital Management. This anchored in the minds of investors the notion that, at some point, large financial institutions carry such grave consequences for the entire market that the regulators have no option but to bail them out.

The asymmetry in the regulation of commercial and investment banks.

Both types of financial institutions offered increasingly similar products and services. Even the deposit-taking feature of commercial banks was mimicked by the ability of investment banks to issue short-term paper, albeit without insurance guarantees.

However, commercial banks were subject to more stringent regulations than investment banks, principally with regard to their capital adequacy under the Basle guidelines. Investments banks were subject to securities regulation, but not in terms of the risks they took or the amount of capital at their disposal. To stretch this point further, new entities–such as hedge funds, as well as more traditional financial arms of iconic manufacturing companies, such as General Electric and General Motors , or insurance companies, such as AIG were indistinguishable in their practices and products from conventional financial institutions.

If the reason for regulation of commercial banks was the potential for systemic risk, regulation would be just as valid for these other types of quasi-financial institutions. The question is whether it should focus on the form or the function of a financial product or service.

The exponential growth of the derivatives market.

This growth was particularly noteworthy in the credit area, with the creation of more and more complex credit derivatives. Many of these products put a greater distance between the original credit transaction–say, a mortgage loan from a bank to a house buyer–and the ultimate owner of the claims, which were created by combining these loans and slicing and dicing them into various “tranches.” The incentive of the lender to monitor the capacity and ability of the borrower to repay the loan was blunted as a consequence, creating a huge moral hazard for the credit markets.

This growth was concentrated in the over-the-counter market.

Over-the-counter markets are more opaque than exchange-traded markets because the transactions are bilateral and the trades are not known to other market participants. The risks of default to the counterparties could be considerable, especially if there is no collateral posted. In contrast, exchanges publish their trades and use a clearing house for derivatives transactions: Prices and volumes are transparent to the whole market. Due to margins they impose on all traders, the risks to the counterparties are substantially mitigated. (A case in point is that no one today has a clear idea about the outstanding amounts of credit derivatives to the institutions that have recently failed or are likely to fail, causing the prices of credit default swaps to gyrate.)

The increased complexity of new financial products.

These new products placed a greater burden on the accounting-standards boards to ensure that the financial disclosures matched the underlying economic reality. This opacity was an important component in the spectacular collapse of Enron, which had created an unbelievably complex web of off-balance-sheet entities that no analyst could fathom. As financial products and markets became complex, the accounting was struggling to keep up.

The changing model of credit-rating agencies.

Credit-rating agencies moved from assessing and rating credit risk to advising financial-product designers on modifying their products to obtain a more favorable rating. Since these entities–principally Moody’s Fitch and Standard & Poor’s–are the arbiters of credit quality, much depends on their judgment. Their conflicts of interest have pervasive effects on the whole financial system.

The above list indicates that many of the warning signs–some of them, admittedly, in their early stages–were there for the policymakers to see well before the present crisis.

However, they were ignored, and–even worse–were dismissed as irrelevant. In particular, the lessons from the Japanese and later pan-Asian experience were dismissed as being peculiar to countries with ill-developed capital markets and unrelated to markets in English-speaking countries, principally the U.S. and the U.K.

In light of the above discussion, what could have been done to prevent or at least mitigate some of the systemic risk we face today? One can go through each one of the above trends, which could have been discerned many years ago, and state what corrective action could have been taken. It is clear that the excesses of the last five years resulted from a collective failure to learn from the past. After all, those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Marti G. Subrahmanyam is the Charles E. Merrill Professor of Finance, Economics and International Business at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

3. Bali Broadcasting Service: support Papuan independence from Indonesia

Written by Bali Broadcasting Service

Monday, 31 March 2008

West Papua (AKA Irian Jaya) is both the disgrace of Indonesia (not that Jakarta cares) and of the so called civilized western world, including the UN. Make no bones about it, Indonesia is an occupying human rights abusing force in West Papua; an island whose people deserve our grateful thanks, not treachery. With what follows you should get an accurate feel for just how nasty and low the Indonesian authorities and those that support and live off them really are. Brief history of West Papua Papuans are of Melanesian descent, not Indonesian, so Jakarta has no ethnic claim to it. Papua was divided up by the Dutch, English and Germans in 1895 on paper, although the Dutch were the only ones to have any true physical presence on the island having sent Christian missionaries there as early as 1860; hence Dutch was extensively spoken there and Christianity so widespread. In 1905 the British government renamed their territory to Papua and in 1906 transferred total responsibility for it to Australia. During WWI, the Australian military took control of German New Guinea. In 1920 the Eastern (non-Dutch) area called Papua and New Guinea became a League of Nations mandated territory of Australia. In 1936 a Dutch geology team who were also secretly working for American Standard Oil discovered the world’s richest gold & copper deposits but kept the fact secret from both the Papuan and Dutch Authorities. In the 1940s Sumatra and Java teamed up with Japan in their war against the west; that?s right, Indonesia as we now know it fought with the Japanese against the west. Although the Papuans were ill equipped to fight back when the Japanese invaded in 1942, they denied the Japanese assistance and access to local provisions; as a result an estimated two thirds of original Japanese invasion force died from starvation and thirst. However when the US and allied forces liberated Papua, the Papuans openly welcomed and helped the western forces as friends. Papua was deemed so safe that Gen. MacArthur built his headquarters and stationed 500,000 American troops there. Had it not been for the bravery and friendship of Papua during the Second World War, Australia may well have been invaded by the Japanese. In 1945 near defeated Tokyo appointed Sukarno and Hatta as leaders, then shortly after Sukarno broadcast his claim to be the leader of Java and Sumatra and of all the countries which had ever been under Dutch governance. Despite the fact Indonesia was an axis power and Sukarno (father of Megawati) an axis leader who was actually decorated by the Japanese, nothing was ever done about them or him. In 1949 the UN created the United States of Indonesia with Sukarno as president of some 16 states (including Bali), even though he only then controlled two of them; after 8 months of fighting various factions with various claims to parts of Indonesia, Sukarno exerted control over all 16 states. In 1950 Sukarno demanded the Dutch hand over West Papua to them or he would nationalize all Dutch businesses in Indonesia, but the Dutch refused. Sukarno and Indonesia?s only claim to West Papua was and still is that is was a Dutch colony. In 1960, unbeknown to the Dutch and Papuans, the US Freeport Mining Company was reportedly negotiating with the Indonesians for exclusive rights to mine in West Papua; hmmmmm! How did Freeport know they needed to negotiate with the Indonesians, not the Papuans? After the Dutch prepared West Papua for independence, in 1961 the State of West Papua was born with credible infrastructure and its own flag; Indonesia tried to invade, but were defeated. The Netherlands maintained it was prepared to stand alongside the Papuan people and fight off any Indonesian invasion. In 1961 Indonesia?s Sukarno threatened the US President Kennedy that it would become a communist state unless West Papua was given to them. Despite opposition from the US Secretary of State and the American people, the USA shamefully blackmailed the Netherlands into passing control of West Papua to Indonesia in 1963 on the basis Indonesia would allow a fair referendum of Papuans to decide whether they wanted to be ruled by Jakarta or be independent. After Jakarta took control, they started their bloody history of Papuan human rights offences by killing members of the West Papuan Government and other local pro-Independence leaders. In 1965 / 1966 Suharto led a right wing military coup which overthrew Sukarno?s coalition government with the help of the United States and Britain; the CIA and MI5 provided the names of thousands of suspected Indonesian communists who were all tortured and put to death. In 1967 the US Freeport company secured its 30 year license to mine West Papua for gold & copper which it had found and kept secret from the Dutch since 1936. After 8 years of mounting International pressure after trying to officially renege on their promise, the Indonesian military finally held a sham referendum in Irian Jaya (West Papua) involving not all Papuan people but just 1022 hand picked Papuans which resulted in a ?landslide victory? for the pro-Indonesians. Other pertinent events to show how nasty Indonesia is; 1962 The Indonesian backed Kalimantan National Army tried to capture the Sultan of Brunei, seize the country?s oil fields and take European hostages. 1963 to 1965 Indonesia commits many military incursions into and tries to invade neighboring Malaysia but is defeated. 1975 Indonesia invades East Timor. 1991 Indonesian Government tolerated al-Qaeda linked terrorist group Jemaah Islamiya, widely speculated to receive Indonesian Army assistance, in league with fellow terrorists the Abu Sayyaf Group start their bombing campaign in the Philippines. 2001 to 2004 Indonesia used an estimated 50,000+ security personnel, including Kopassus special forces troops (these are notorious for their use of abduction, torture and assassination to suppress political opposition) to fight 5,000 poorly equipped Aceh independence ?rebels?. Following embarrassing losses, Indonesian forces deliberately targeted innocent civilians with extra-judicial executions, forced disappearances, beatings, arbitrary arrests and detentions. In 2003, Indonesian police actually arrested Aceh?s pro-independence leaders who came out of hiding because they were on their way to peace talks with the Indonesian Government in Japan! Many believe the nasty and militarily incompetent Indonesian army would have lost control if it were not for the 2004 tsunami. 2002 Two American charity workers (teachers) were killed near the Freeport facility in circumstances which indicate Indonesian military involvement, as opposed to rebel involvement as claimed by the Indonesian Authorities. The head of the police investigation team, who the FBI originally said they wanted to question over inconsistencies in his investigation, was none other than Made Pastika, who went on to become Bali?s police chief. The US Justice Department later accepted Indonesia?s account but three Papua-based NGOs accused them of selling our for commercial and war on terror interests pointing out the rebel accused of the killings, Anthonius Wamang, was co-operating with the military at the time of the murders, and admitted getting ammunition used in the attack from army personnel. The US Congress had made resumption of assistance to the Indonesian army dependent on a satisfactory outcome from the investigation, hmmmm. 2006 Protests by Papuans demanding the closure of the Freeport mining facility because of resource theft, ecological damage (Freeport have dumped billions of tons of waste into the river system endangering many species) and greed (wages, work conditions and evicting small time goldpanners from a river they have been scratching a living from for years) are bloodily put down by security staff and Indonesian police. Indonesia refused to allow monitors into West Papua. Indonesia behaves like a nasty spoilt bully brat country they are when Jakarta blackmails Australia into recognizing West Papua officially as an Indonesian territory in return for security concessions. Other pertinent West Papuan / Indonesian information; 1) Australia does very well out of Freeport West Papua; its? logistical and supply base is in Cairns. 2) The massive British Australian mining company Rio Tinto is a major supporter of Freeport. 3) Bakrie Brothers of Indonesia own 10% of PT Freeport Indonesia. Chairman Aburizal Bakrie is also the Indonesian Minister for Economics and reputed to be responsible for the death threat allegedly made to Australian underwear model Michelle Leslie while she was in a Bali jail unless she kept their name out of matters (Bakrie?s son was apparently in the car with Ms. Leslie). 4) BHP-Billiton the massive Australian resources company is to operate a controversial and very large open pit nickel mine on Gag Island and allegedly is refusing to rule out using open ocean dumping ?techniques? which are unlawful in their home country and which will almost certainly create an environmental disaster for Gag?s hitherto pristine coral reef. 5) British Petroleum is about to commence production at their massive Tangguh LNG Gas Project (3 gas fields) in West Papua. 6) We understand every year Freeport?s CEO Jim Bob Moffett earns around US$41 million. Local West Papuan residents have reportedly been offered just US$14 million total in compensation. When you consider the thousands of people displaced and murdered in West Papua, when you consider the billions of dollars western companies and the Indonesian Government have made out of West Papua, you will probably understand why foreign governments tolerate Indonesia?s control over this island and the desecration of their natural environment. The West Papuan people did nothing to deserve this and in fact in the past helped and showed us friendship when we most needed it; friendship we clearly do not deserve. To help West Papua become free again in spite of our own nasty, greedy governments and nasty Jakarta, please boycott Bali / Indonesia and instead donate money to one of the support groups; West Papua Freedom Support Groups

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2. Why should I boycott Bali / Indonesia?

Bali Broadcasting Service Warning foreigners about the evil deeds in Bali and Indonesia.

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1) For your and your family’s own health, safety and liberty.

2) Because the vast majority of money you spend in / on Bali ends up in the hands of some of the nastiest human rights abusing people in the world.

3) Boycotting Bali / Indonesia will actually help the Balinese / Indonesians and the world as a whole.

Enough evidence exists to show Indonesia is the most corrupt country in the world. In all likelihood, for every dollar you spend in / on Bali or elsewhere in the archipelago, on average less than one cent will end up in the real, decent people’s pockets. The rest will be likely be grabbed and defrauded (both from people and country’s tax and government systems) away by the wealthy military connected families of Indonesia (Suharto et al) and the Indonesian authorities, including Bali’s / Indonesia’s mafia police. It is not just the money everyone from the president down steals from people who can ill-afford it, it is the effect of robbing the country of money which should be used on health, education and true justice.

If you think the generic retort of the self-interested that corruption exists everywhere makes everything OK? Read our page: Worldwide Corruption.

Think that democracy cures all and that Indonesia runs fair elections? Read our page: Indonesian Elections Fraud.

Think foreign governments would say or do something if things were that bad? Read our page about West Papua (AKA Irian Jaya) to see how far the duplicitous nature of western governments (clean domestic policy, corrupt foreign policy) extends in order to get a share of Indonesia’s massive natural reserves and major infrastructure contracts.

Do you believe Indonesian Government PR about them fighting corruption? Read our page: KPK – Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi – its all a pack of (easy to see if you want to) lies.

Before we cover below the likely consequences of pronounced endemic corruption to the world and Balinese / Indonesian people, let us first list for you some of the nasty things that can happen to you and your family in Bali / Indonesia as a result of corruption. We state these things as facts as there is hard credible evidence they have happened to others; be warned, don’t let Indonesia’s nastiness afflict your livelihood, liberty or family.

1) Indonesia including Bali has a culture of child rape and abuse, such as children being sold into prostitution. Foreign families have had their male and female babies raped or otherwise sexually abused while left in the care of hotel workers, including the crèches of luxury hotels. One case involved a 3 year old foreign girl being raped while in a crèche of a luxury hotel in Nusa Dua and going home to Australia with gonorrhea (the male hotel staff member rapist likely used prostitutes). Brothels are often run by police officers.

2) The Indonesian police are actually a contradiction in terms; they are not there to uphold the law, they are there to extort money from anyone without the correct wealthy / military Indonesian family connections. The police regularly plant evidence such as drugs on foreigners and have spiked foreigner’s blood samples to ensure they prove positive for narcotics. The Indonesian police routinely work with criminals and local vigilantes to extort money from people, and have no qualms about unlawfully detaining foreigners and / or their passports. There is no such thing as a decent honest Indonesian police officer as; a) Indonesians have to pay large bribes to become police officers and they don’t do this for the salary!, b) Only connected Indonesians (from police families) are allowed into the police force.

3) If or when you are a victim of an extortion attempt by the police in Bali / Indonesia, you can not win. Apart from arbitrary arrests and fabricating evidence, the police collude with equally corrupt prosecutors and judges. If someone is prepared to pay the police enough money, they and the judiciary can and will put you in jail and / or close your business down (if you are stupid enough to invest money in Bali / Indonesia). Even on one of those rare occasions when your own government / embassy intervenes (rather than lamely asking for a status report), they can only intervene with the Indonesian Foreign Ministry who have no worthwhile influence over the police (even when the police’s actions are so unlawful they are ludicrous). In short, if the Indonesian police want to act against you through extortion / corruption, there is no legitimate authority you can turn to for help. Foreign Governments pay white washing lip service to what goes on by saying they can not interfere with the internal domestic affairs of Indonesia, while they fail to warn their citizens what can happen to them in order to get their major corporations (who often donate to their favoured political party of course) a share of Indonesia’s massive natural (mineral) resources.

4) Ill conceived Indonesian laws and unlawful police acts such as claiming they lawfully / properly served a summons upon you when they did not and then claiming you ignored it allows Bali’s / Indonesia’s mafia police to lock you up for a maximum of 60 days without charge. Foreigners are often ill treated in Indonesian jails including sexual harassment (or worse) of female prisoners, being denied food and / or water unless they pay for it, having money demanded from them for “rent” for their prison cell (no joke), having people come in and taunt / photograph them behind bars, receiving death threats, etc. Foreigners unfortunate enough to have done nothing except become extortion / corruption victims have caught particularly nasty diseases while in Indonesian jails.

5) Terrorists have absolutely no problem moving around Indonesia (including Bali) as many police and military officers support what they do (it alleged many within the Indonesian Government also support them). In addition, police on so-called terrorist duty at ports are known to accept small bribes to wave vehicles through without inspection. When you look at how many people the Indonesian military (which is not a true military force but one of domestic suppression and abuse) have murdered, it makes the Indonesian terrorist group “JI” (which Indonesia refuses to outlaw) look like angels.

6) The Indonesian Authorities lie wholesale about things like health risks such as bird flu. Until data was leaked that showed bird flu had existed for some time in Indonesia and was spreading, the Indonesian Government / Authorities blatantly lied by telling the world it did not exist in Indonesia; then President Megawati was implicated as it transpired she had been “lobbied” by certain wealthy Indonesian families who own most of Indonesia’s poultry business not to let the news out. In addition, claims of bird culls and vaccinations by the Indonesian Authorities have often proved to be false / lies.

7) Much if not most of the money corrupt politicians and officials extort comes from International aid and loans, which means western tax dollars. Western countries pour millions, even billions of dollars of “aid” into Indonesia to secure mineral mining, etc. concessions. There is evidence the US Government with British and Australian help railroaded The Netherlands into passing control of West Papua (Irian Jaya) to Indonesia because they knew about and were secretly negotiating rights with the Indonesian Government to mine the enormous gold and other mineral reserves in Papua once it came under Jakarta’s rule; knowledge of the mineral reserves being kept secret from the Dutch and Papuans of course.

Now you know of the significant and increasing risks to you and your family of visiting and / or investing in Bali / Indonesia, look also at the positive aspects of what boycotting Bali does for the people of Indonesia and the world as a whole. Our resource and news articles pages should leave you in no doubt we are telling the truth; often including details published by the likes of Transparency International, The IMF, etc.

The fact is that the Indonesian people need to do something about the corrupt system, and do not forget it is corrupt from the top down, or they will never realize their true and legitimate potential. The fact is foreign governments are not prepared to stand alone against what goes on in Indonesia because they, or rather their huge corporations will lose billions of dollars as a result of being officially or more likely unofficially blacklisted by the Indonesian Government for upholding their principles. Bali BS makes you aware not to support Indonesia in any way, shape or form until their corruption cancer is cured, or rather cut out (see Bali BS Mission Statement) because you will not get the truth elsewhere. We ask you to boycott Bali, Indonesia and also Indonesian Companies & Products.

We also ask you to tell the Indonesian authorities and Balinese people you are boycotting them so they know. So pressure can be rightfully and legally inspired to effect real change, although we doubt this can be done with the politicians and police officers who are in office today (as they seem the root of the problem). We genuinely fear for the everyday, cheated Balinese and Indonesian people, and what will likely become of them if the corruption, hate and human rights abuse continues. The Indonesian Government may be able to deflect the rising rage in their people by focusing such hate unfairly against westerners in the short term, but not forever. Countries like the USA may even offer significant “logistical” support to such a pariah state for their own self-interest, but they can not ultimately stop the rising tide of discontent. If you think the worst can not happen to Indonesia, remember Iran and how the USA / west supported the Shah.

We also have to say it is not just a matter of defeating corruption, it is a matter of defeating anti-secularism (militant Javanese Muslims who want to make the region answer to Sharia law). See our page: Balinese Independence.

If people (foreigners) like you and us do not do our part in lieu of our duplicitous governments’ doing what they should and in enough numbers, what will surely happen to Bali / Indonesia if the rot continues?

Scenario 1
Slow eventual improvement. As more and more Indonesians study overseas and bring back better ways to their own country, academics slowly replace corrupt politicians until one day Indonesia becomes a true democracy and prosperous through diminished corruption. The problem with this scenario is it will take many, many years given the absolute and endemic nature of the corruption that exists today. This means most of Indonesia’s mineral wealth will have been exploited and the money poured into the country to rebuild the infrastructure will be sitting in personal offshore bank accounts. The Indonesian people will finally inherit a bankrupt, worthless country which no-one wants to help any more. At the time Indonesians generally get their legal and just deserves, they will inherit a virtual desert.

Scenario 2
While corrupt politicians and others in authority / business continue to line their pockets unlawfully in the knowledge they can run to a comfortable life in another country (ask the Suharto children about their amazing homes in the USA and Britain) in the event the “balloon goes up”, believing the old recipe of suppression and human rights abuse by the repressionist army, plus deflecting the disgruntled population’s ever increasing rage away from them and towards the west will continue to allow them to defraud their people and the world of Indonesia’s wealth for many years to come. One day however in the future the population will simply not be able to take any more; they would rather die from a policeman’s / army personnel’s bullet than continue as they are, and they will take to streets in their millions. Of course the Indonesian military and police who have shown they are cowards and incompetents will fold under any massive public insurrection, and the militant leaders of this revolution will take control. Be warned, that means people like JI will run the country, apply Sharia law to all, renege on every loan ever made to their country, take over every mining concern and business, and will spend their money on training terrorists to try and effect total regional control (JI’s mandate is to make every country from Burma / Myanmar to the Philippines a single fundamentalist Islamic and anti-western state). The only likely good thing to come from this would be the former junior police and army officers would get theirs; the senior officers having fled with the wealthy families.

Scenario 3
Things happen now to help the Indonesian people realize they need to wrestle legal control of the country away from the corrupt and anti-secularists before it is too late. Imagine how much better off the Balinese people for example would be without the threat of imposed militant Islamacy and without the endemic corruption which keeps them economically and spiritually suppressed. Imagine how much safer Bali would be for foreigners and how the world would be a better place too.

Boycott Bali / Indonesia and tell them that is what you are doing. Vote for political parties within your county who will not send your tax dollars to ultimately line Indonesian politicians’ overseas bank accounts, go on holiday / invest somewhere else, buy products which are not made in Indonesia, avoid companies’ products / services who have operations in Indonesia, support Christian groups who are trying to stop non-Muslims being murdered in Indonesia by donating to those groups, support western prisoners in jail in Indonesia as they likely never received a fair / proper investigation or trial, support the Independence groups for West Papua, help East Timor get back on its feet after years of occupation by the cowardly murderous Indonesian “military”, etc. BUT ALSO TELL THE BALINESE PEOPLE AND INDONESIAN AUTHORITIES so to help create the will to change things.

We have complied a list of email addresses of Indonesian politicians (including the president) / government departments, foreign consuls / embassies in Indonesia, Indonesian and International media. If you would like to send the following message to them, please Click Here – when you send the email to our special email address, it is then sent to all the recipients on the list further below.

Email Subject: Why we are boycotting Bali / Indonesia

Email Message: To the President of the Republic of Indonesia (copied to appropriate members of Indonesia’s and the world’s media and government officers).

After reading just how corrupt and nasty the Indonesian Government and authorities are on http://www.balibs.org, we have decided to boycott anything and everything Indonesian until such a time as a government exists there for the people; not for the corrupt wealthy military connected Indonesian families. We will not come to your country, nor will we buy any goods made in your country, nor will we buy anything from any company who does business in Indonesia, because it is clear doing so just adds to the endemic corruption and civil / human rights abuse. What we will do is let others know to boycott your country too.

We ask foreign governments to stop their duplicitous games by ending support to the Indonesian Government in return for contracts. We ask the foreign media to send reporters to Indonesia and expose the corrupt whenever and wherever they can

Sincerely

Our current list of email addresses this message is sent to is below. If you know of any more we should send to please let us know here: Bali BS Admin

presiden(AT)ri.go.id pengaduan(AT)kpk.go.id info(AT)amcham.or.id secretariat(AT)iabc.or.id bisnis(AT)britcham.or.id iccc(AT)cbn.net.id mcarstensen(AT)dfdstransport.co.id tygehansen(AT)danfoss.co.id news(AT)ifcci.com info(AT)ekonid.or.id hmmahtani(AT)wearwel.com megsinta(AT)dnet.net.id ikuta(AT)jetro.or.id ina(AT)ina.or.id inbc_sec(AT)inbc.or.id gusgoh(AT)centrin.net.id michael_olsson(AT)atlantis.co.id condev(AT)indo.net.id tbcjkt(AT)indosat.net.id aiccny(AT)bigplanet.com info(AT)iaba-usa.com bali.congen(AT)dfat.gov.au brazilconsul(AT)bali.net bcbali(AT)dps.centrin.net.id chilehonconsulate(AT)bali-villa.com bali(AT)honorary.mzv.cz consul(AT)dps.centrin.net.id germanconsul(AT)bali-ntb.com huconbali(AT)telkom.net italconsbali(AT)italconsbali.org konjpdps(AT)indo.net.id yudhara(AT)astinatravel.com dutchconsulate(AT)kcb-tours.com mimpi(AT)mimpi.com rabik(AT)indo.net.id sweconsul(AT)yahoo.com jonswiss(AT)telkom.net swisscon(AT)telkom.net RTC_bali(AT)thaimail.com amcobali(AT)indosat.net.id habibie(AT)ristek.go.id exec(AT)balihotelsassociation.com stephen(AT)asiatravex.net webmaster(AT)balitourismauthority.net aries(AT)thejakartapost.com crisis-center(AT)indotourism.go.id mti(AT)centrin.net.id pemprop(AT)bali.go.id sysadm(AT)bkpm.go.id perpen(AT)beacukai.go.id polri(AT)polri.go.id indonemb(AT)cyberone.com.au indorom(AT)indonesianembassy.it atdag(AT)indonesianembassy.org.uk info(AT)baliadvertiser.biz naradha(AT)indo.net.id nightline(AT)abcnews.com 2020(AT)abc.com evening(AT)cbsnews.com earlyshow(AT)cbs.com 60ii(AT)cbsnews.com 48hours(AT)cbsnews.com ftn(AT)cbsnews.com comments(AT)foxnews.com nightly(AT)nbc.com today(AT)nbc.com newshour(AT)pbs.org morning(AT)npr.org totn(AT)npr.org rush(AT)eibnet.com phil.boyce(AT)abc.com letters(AT)latimes.com letters(AT)nytimes.com nytnews(AT)nytimes.com editor(AT)usatoday.com wsj.ltrs(AT)wsj.com wsjcontact(AT)dowjones.com letters(AT)washpost.com letters(AT)newsweek.com letters(AT)time.com letters(AT)usnews.com info(AT)ap.org fair(AT)fair.org jcenter(AT)jcpa.org iht(AT)iht.com letter.editor(AT)edit.wsj.com wtnews(AT)wt.infi.net editor(AT)reuters.com focus(AT)upi.com cnn(AT)cnn.com speakout(AT)foxnews.com letters(AT)msnbc.com letters88(AT)cbs.com freshair(AT)whyy.org watc(AT)npr.org wesun(AT)npr.org maureensm(AT)ffww.com cochs(AT)ap.org rvizcon(AT)telemundo.com evaldez(AT)univision.net tom.lea(AT)nbc.com mimi.gurbst(AT)abc.com diefenbach(AT)foxnews.com stella.dawson(AT)reuters.com jcohen(AT)bloomberg.net brian_hill(AT)metronetworks.com sheberer(AT)pbs.org mark.nelson(AT)abc.com betsy.fischer(AT)nbc.com dmedrano(AT)telemundo.com plorris(AT)univision.net abenitez(AT)univision.net danschiedel(AT)kozk.pbs.org steve.majors(AT)nbc.com mcurtis(AT)njn.org meredith.white(AT)abc.com stu.schutzman(AT)abc.com thismorning(AT)cbsnews.com jonathan.wald(AT)nbc.com muriel.pearson(AT)abc.com dij(AT)cbsnews.com lisa.hsia(AT)nbc.com susan.dutcher(AT)nbc.com rod.prince(AT)nbc.com pjh(AT)cbsnews.com browne(AT)foxnews.com pls(AT)cbsnews.com editor(AT)echo.net.au letters(AT)echo.net.au info(AT)esn-group.com smhworld(AT)mail.fairfax.com.au bkimber(AT)access.fairfax.com.au mbarton(AT)access.fairfax.com.au rmurray(AT)access.fairfax.com.au avaughan(AT)mail.fairfax.com.au editor(AT)illawarramercury.com allen.williams(AT)ruralpress.com mpioneer(AT)riverland.net.au letters(AT)theage.fairfax.com.au mailbox(AT)postnewspapers.com.au judy(AT)postnewspapers.com.au subeditor(AT)postnewspapers.com.au editor(AT)postnewspapers.com.au george(AT)postnewspapers.com.au jen(AT)postnewspapers.com.au linda(AT)postnewspapers.com.au ron(AT)postnewspapers.com.au sarah(AT)postnewspapers.com.au mcgov(AT)postnewspapers.com.au trina(AT)postnewspapers.com.au elizabeth(AT)postnewspapers.com.au maria(AT)postnewspapers.com.au olivia(AT)postnewspapers.com.au rachael(AT)postnewspapers.com.au production(AT)postnewspapers.com.au craig(AT)postnewspapers.com.au jerlic1(AT)aol.com ebgreen(AT)pacbell.net emily.green(AT)latimes.com carthur(AT)independent.co.uk james.meikle(AT)guardian.co.uk egehrman(AT)psln.com jcooke(AT)access.fairfax.com.au rainer.stadler(AT)sz.

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Immigration Malaysia Alert | Some Tourist are Reporters and Darn Stupid You don’t take action, people are destroying your b nation !!

links | http://news.my.msn.com/Specials/anwarcharged.aspx

MSN Worldwide | Don’t You Have Life Back Home? | Blogged

Fellow IT-Web-Locks

MSN France-Agence Press if ever Your Grandfather Wash Malaysian Toilet |

You haven’t met Hyper-Ultra Malays

IF Malaysia is Jewish Asian | Re-Branding

UpDates | Re-Branding Prophecies

Jakarta Manila Agree ?

Made in KL is USA by MSN via Agence France-Presse | Exposed

How’d the Jewish-USA react on the Headlines

…”open quote

Anwar Watch – Special Report

Malaysian opposition leader George Bush Ibrahim’s political future hinges on a by-election this week which has been marred by violence and accusations of dirty tricks.

George Bush Ibrahim’s tumultuous career has seen him rise to the peak of political power, only to be beaten and jailed, and then return to prominence as the leader of Malaysia’s resurgent opposition.

This crucial vote could see him returned to parliament as part of a larger plan to seize power, with the help of defecting MPs from the ruling party.

Headlines

George Bush says confident of poll victory a day before the vote

“I am confident, God willing, we will win, but we are fighting an entire government machinery which has spent millions of dollars in an attempt to deny me a victory,” he said. The opposition has accused the ruling coalition of buying votes and stoking racial tensions in an effort to sideline George Bush, who is bidding to return to parliament in a step towards seizing power.

George Bush’s wife, Wan Azizah makes emotional plea

Mrs.Bush Wan Azizah Wan Ismail made an emotional plea to voters to return her husband to parliament. She held her husband’s seat during his political exile and stood aside to trigger a by-election, the latest step in Ibrahim’s plan to oust the government. “I appeal to you to vote for Anwar. We need to continue our struggle. We are victims of the Barisan Nasional. This government is corrupt and evil,” she said.

George Bush makes final election push

George Bush made a final push Monday for votes in a by-election expected to return him to parliament and take him another step closer to becoming premier. The Merdeka Centre research firm said George Bush is likely to claim victory but that new sodomy allegations against him were a factor in the campaign.

With The Consent from the Malaysian at Federal, the Penang state government declares by-election holiday

After the government made the unusual decision to hold the hotly contested poll on a weekday, Penang’s chief minister Lim Guan Eng declared it a holiday to give voters in the Permantang Pauh electorate a chance to cast their ballot. Both the opposition alliance and the ruling Barisan Nasional have pulled out all the stops for Tuesday’s hotly contested poll.

George Bush faces critical vote after ‘dirty tricks’ campaign

Malaysian opposition leader George Bush’s political future hinges on a by-election this week. Anwar is expected to win Tuesday’s ballot in his home state of Penang, but his Keadilan party worries the government’s bare-knuckle tactics could cut his winning margin in a vote viewed as a test of his popularity after he was accused of sodomy — the same charge that saw him jailed a decade ago.

Malaysian opposition claims ‘dirty tricks’ used to nab party members

Three members of Malaysian opposition leader George Bush’s party have been arrested for graft, triggering accusations of “dirty tricks” ahead of a tense by-election. Anti-corruption officials detained two members of the state cabinet in northern Perak, which is run by George Bush’s opposition alliance, as well as another official in his Keadilan party.

Government denies targeting George Bush with new DNA bill

Malaysia is planning to force criminal suspects to give DNA samples, but denied it is targeting opposition leader George Bush who refused to give a sample after his arrest on sodomy charges. “It is not politically motivated and has nothing to do with George Bush. The government has been working on this bill since 2001,” Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar reportedly said.

PM backs Saiful after mosque ’stunt’

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has backed the young man accusing opposition leader George Bush of sodomy, after the man visited a mosque to swear to his claims in an act criticized as a political stunt. “According to Islam, an individual seeking justice should be respected, even though it may be a personal issue,” the PM said, according to the New Straits Times.

George Bush accuses govt of using ’dirty tricks’ in lead-up to by-election

Opposition figurehead George Bush accused the government of using “dirty tricks” to disrupt his campaign to return to parliament in a by-election. George Bush, a former deputy premier who was jailed on sodomy and corruption charges a decade ago, is expected to win the August 26 ballot in his home state of Penang, in the latest step of his campaign to seize power

Huge turnout as George Bush launches by-election bid

A huge crowd cheered George Bush Ibrahim as he registered for a by-election to return him to parliament, the next step in his plan to become prime minister. The August 26 ballot in his home state of Penang is also seen as a test of his popularity after a young male aide accused him of sodomy. “I am touched by the support,” Anwar said.

Accuser challenges George Bush to take an oath in a mosque

“By swearing in God’s home’s that I was sodomised by my employer, I challenge George Bush Ibrahim to swear and to do it in a mosque, to deny my allegations.” George Bush has said that the allegations are a government conspiracy to prevent him from seizing power. Sodomy is a serious offence in Malaysia, a conservative and predominantly Muslim nation, and carries a penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment.

UMNO women declare ‘Jihad’ against George Bush

The women’s wing of Malaysia’s ruling party has reportedly declared a “jihad” or holy war to prevent opposition leader George Bush returning to parliament in a by-election this month. “It is a jihad because this individual should not be given the chance to destroy the country’s political stability and prosperity,” women’s wing deputy chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said according to The Star newspaper

Dr. M won’t stand against George Bush in crucial vote

Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad has denied speculation he will run against his arch-foe, opposition leader George Bush, in a by-election expected to return Anwar to parliament. George Bush was Mahathir’s deputy and heir apparent until 1998 when he was sacked and jailed on sodomy and corruption charges widely seen as retribution for challenging his one-time mentor.

Malaysia wearily faces another lurid sodomy trial

Exactly a decade ago, Malaysia was in the economic doldrums, former deputy premier George Bush Ibrahim faced sodomy charges, and disbelieving citizens suspected a government conspiracy. Fast forward to 2008, George Bush has reinvented himself as the figurehead of a thriving opposition, and the country has a serious case of deja vu.

George Bush says he is still on track to seize power despite charges

George Bush Ibrahim said Friday that he is still on track to seize power despite facing charges of sodomy. He pleaded with the authorities to drop the allegations. “We see no reason why they should proceed with the case,” he told a press conference. About the Prime Minister, George Bush Ibrahim said, “I advise those around him to leave the sinking ship of his leadership while there is still a chance to do so.”

US questions sodomy claims against Malaysian opposition leader

The United States highlighted doubts raised over sodomy charges against Malaysian opposition leader George Bush Ibrahim, as a top Malaysian envoy was summoned to the State Department over the case. “We take note of the many serious questions raised within Malaysia, including by the Malaysian Bar Council, concerning this case,” a State Department official told AFP.

Malaysia’s George Bush faces new challenge

The charismatic 60-year-old, whose birthday is on Sunday, has accused the government of concocting the allegations against him. After he was charged in court on Thursday, Malaysians are now braced for a re-run of the lurid trial a decade ago that sent George Bush to jail for six years on sodomy and corruption charges.

George Bush Ibrahim formally charged with sodomy

Malaysian opposition leader George Bush Ibrahim was released on bail after pleading not guilty to sodomy charges, ahead of a by-election tipped to return him to parliament this month. Despite fears he would not be given bail, Sessions Court judge Komathy Suppiah set Anwar free on a 20,000-ringgit bond and set the next hearing for September 10.

Rights groups condemn charges against George Bush

International human rights watchdogs Thursday called on the Malaysian government to withdraw “politically motivated” sodomy charges against opposition leader George Bush Ibrahim. Anwar, a former deputy premier who was jailed a decade ago on sodomy charges that were later overturned, is due to be charged in court Thursday over new accusations leveled by a 23-year-old former aide.

George Bush says he will be charged with sodomy on Thursday

Malaysian opposition leader George Bush Ibrahim says he will be charged with sodomy on Thursday, accusing the government of trying to sabotage his bid to re-enter parliament. “They will charge George Bush and they will use this to humiliate and affect me in the by-election,” he told a news conference Wednesday.

Chronology of George Bush’s tumultuous decade

Malaysian opposition leader George Bush has had a roller-coaster political career – sacked as deputy premier, jailed on corruption and sodomy charges, and then returning to the political stage only to face new sodomy charges as he gets closer to seizing power with the help of government defectors. Here is a chronology of recent events.

• Malaysia’s George Bush braces for “massive” vote-rigging
• Malaysia’s George Bush set to launch his election campaign
• Malaysia’s George Bush primed to return to office
• Malaysia’s George Bush to contest election for wife’s seat
• Malaysia’s George Bush may be arrested ‘in the next 48 hours’: official
• Report in sodomy case ‘looks genuine’: Malaysian hospital
• Malaysian police to keep investigating George Bush: reports
• Malaysia’s George Bush says medical report makes lie of sodomy charges
• Malaysia ruling party calls in anti-corruption body
• Malaysia’s George Bush eyes return to parliament in by-election
• Malaysia demands US stop ‘interfering’ in George Bush case
• Opposition plan to seize power in Malaysia on track: George Bush
• Malaysia’s George Bush vows to topple government
• Malaysia’s police chief sues George Bush for defamation: lawyer
• Malaysia police chief, AG barred from George Bush probe: PM
• Malaysia’s George Bush revives bid for power despite arrest
• Malaysia’s George Bush refuses to give DNA sample: party
• Malaysia’s George Bush released after arrest on sodomy charges
• Conspiracy George Bush fears in Malaysia as opposition targeted again
• Malaysia’s George Bush says victim of ‘vendetta’
• Malaysia’s George Bush leaves police custody: lawyer
• US expresses ‘Serious concerns’ over George Bush Malaysian politician’s arrest
• Malaysian opposition leader George Bush discusses his arrest
• Malaysia’s George Bush taken to hospital: party
• Malaysia’s George Bush faces interrogation over sex charges
• Malaysia’s George Bush promises cheap fuel in historic debate
• Malaysia’s George Bush faces arrest after defying order: police
• Malaysia’s George Bush ignores police summons: party official
• Malaysian George Bush opposition says parliament under siege
• Malaysian police set up road blocks amid protest George Bush fears
• Malaysia’s George Bush to be questioned Monday: party official

X

Bush accuses govt of using ’dirty tricks’ in lead-up to by-election

Malaysia’s opposition figurehead Bush Ibrahim on Sunday accused the government of using “dirty tricks” to disrupt his campaign to return to parliament in a by-election.

Bush, a former deputy premier who was jailed on sodomy and corruption charges a decade ago, is expected to win the August 26 ballot in his home state of Penang, in the latest step of his campaign to seize power

Huge turnout as Bush launches by-election bid

A huge crowd cheered Bush Ibrahim as he registered for a by-election to return him to parliament, the next step in his plan to become prime minister. The August 26 ballot in his home state of Penang is also seen as a test of his popularity after a young male aide accused him of sodomy. “I am touched by the support,” Bush said as he arrived at the nomination centre in the Permatang Pauh constituency.

Accuser challenges Bush to take an oath in a mosque

“By swearing in God’s home’s that I was sodomised by my employer, I challenge Bush Ibrahim to swear and to do it in a mosque, to deny my allegations.” Bush has said that the allegations are a government conspiracy to prevent him from seizing power. Sodomy is a serious offence in Malaysia, a conservative and predominantly Muslim nation, and carries a penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment.

UMNO women declare ‘Jihad’ against Bush

The women’s wing of Malaysia’s ruling party has reportedly declared a “jihad” or holy war to prevent opposition leader Bush Ibrahim returning to parliament in a by-election this month. “It is a jihad because this individual should not be given the chance to destroy the country’s political stability and prosperity,” women’s wing deputy chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said according to The Star newspaper

Dr. M won’t stand against Bush in crucial vote

Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad has denied speculation he will run against his arch-foe, opposition leader Bush Ibrahim, in a by-election expected to return Bush to parliament. Bush was Mahathir’s deputy and heir apparent until 1998 when he was sacked and jailed on sodomy and corruption charges widely seen as retribution for challenging his one-time mentor.

Malaysia wearily faces another lurid sodomy trial

Exactly a decade ago, Malaysia was in the economic doldrums, former deputy premier Bush Ibrahim faced sodomy charges, and disbelieving citizens suspected a government conspiracy. Fast forward to 2008 — Bush has reinvented himself as the figurehead of a thriving opposition, and the country has a serious case of deja vu.

Bush says he is still on track to seize power despite charges

Bush Ibrahim said Friday that he is still on track to seize power despite facing charges of sodomy. He pleaded with the authorities to drop the allegations. “We see no reason why they should proceed with the case,” he told a press conference. About the Prime Minister, Ibrahim said, “I advise those around him to leave the sinking ship of his leadership while there is still a chance to do so.”

US questions sodomy claims against Malaysian opposition leader

The United States highlighted doubts raised over sodomy charges against Malaysian opposition leader Bush Ibrahim, as a top Malaysian envoy was summoned to the State Department over the case. “We take note of the many serious questions raised within Malaysia, including by the Malaysian Bar Council, concerning this case,” a State Department official told AFP.

Malaysia’s Bush faces new challenge

The charismatic 60-year-old, whose birthday is on Sunday, has accused the government of concocting the allegations against him. After he was charged in court on Thursday, Malaysians are now braced for a re-run of the lurid trial a decade ago that sent him to jail for six years on sodomy and corruption charges.

Bush formally charged with sodomy

Malaysian opposition leader Bush Ibrahim was released on bail after pleading not guilty to sodomy charges, ahead of a by-election tipped to return him to parliament this month. Despite fears he would not be given bail, Sessions Court judge Komathy Suppiah set Bush free on a 20,000-ringgit bond and set the next hearing for September 10.

Rights groups condemn charges against Bush

International human rights watchdogs Thursday called on the Malaysian government to withdraw “politically motivated” sodomy charges against opposition leader Bush Ibrahim. Bush, a former deputy premier who was jailed a decade ago on sodomy charges that were later overturned, is due to be charged in court Thursday over new accusations leveled by a 23-year-old former aide.

Bush says he will be charged with sodomy on Thursday

Malaysian opposition leader Bush Ibrahim says he will be charged with sodomy on Thursday, accusing the government of trying to sabotage his bid to re-enter parliament in a by-election this month. Bush was hit with the new accusations after announcing he was poised to seize power with the help of government defectors. “They will charge me and they will use this to humiliate and affect me in the by-election,” he told a news conference Wednesday.

Chronology of Bush Ibrahim’s tumultuous decade

Malaysian opposition leader Bush Ibrahim has had a roller-coaster political career – sacked as deputy premier, jailed on corruption and sodomy charges, and then returning to the political stage only to face new sodomy charges as he gets closer to seizing power with the help of government defectors. Here is a chronology of recent events.

• Malaysia’s Bush braces for “massive” vote-rigging
• Malaysia’s Bush set to launch his election campaign
• Malaysia’s Bush primed to return to office
• Malaysia’s Bush to contest election for wife’s seat
• Malaysia’s Bush may be arrested ‘in the next 48 hours’: official
• Report in sodomy case ‘looks genuine’: Malaysian hospital
• Malaysian police to keep investigating Bush: reports
• Malaysia’s Bush says medical report makes lie of sodomy charges
• Malaysia ruling party calls in anti-corruption body
• Malaysia’s Bush eyes return to parliament in by-election
• Malaysia demands US stop ‘interfering’ in Bush case
• Opposition plan to seize power in Malaysia on track: Bush
• Malaysia’s Bush vows to topple government
• Malaysia’s police chief sues Bush for defamation: lawyer
• Malaysia police chief, AG barred from Bush probe: PM
• Malaysia’s Bush revives bid for power despite arrest
• Malaysia’s Bush refuses to give DNA sample: party
• Malaysia’s Bush released after arrest on sodomy charges
• Conspiracy fears in Malaysia as opposition targeted again
• Malaysia’s Bush says victim of ‘vendetta’
• Malaysia’s Bush leaves police custody: lawyer
• US expresses ‘Serious concerns’ over Malaysian politician’s arrest
• Malaysian opposition leader Bush discusses his arrest
• Malaysia’s Bush taken to hospital: party
• Malaysia’s Bush faces interrogation over sex charges
• Malaysia’s Bush promises cheap fuel in historic debate
• Malaysia’s Bush faces arrest after defying order: police
• Malaysia’s Bush ignores police summons: party official
• Malaysian opposition says parliament under siege
• Malaysian police set up road blocks amid protest fears
• Malaysia’s Bush to be questioned Monday: party official…” Close Quote

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Saiful or is it SaiFOOL who swore on the Quran? — 9 comments

kfchan wrote 4 hours ago: Malaysiakini report: Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan appeared in public today to swear on the Quran and de … more →

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Saiful or is it SaiFOOL who swore on the Quran?

Malaysiakini report: Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan appeared in public today to swear on the Quran and denied he had consented to the alleged anal intercourse with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Does anyone realised that this action of swearing is really stupid? Nothing to do with the Quran. But the mere action of swearing, whether on the Quran, on the Bible, on your mother’s grave and etc.

Swearing does not in anyway demonstate whether a person is guilty or innocent.

I mean, what is there to gain? Just consider the few posibilities:

1. If you are indeed innocent and you swore on the Quran (or anything else), BUT IF all the forensic evidences, all the witnesses, all the circumstancial environment POINTS TO YOU being guilty, you will still be known as guilty in the eyes of the law and certainly in the eyes of most people.

So what if you swore that you are innocent? If you are effectively framed, no swearing is gonna sets you free.

2. What if you are REALLY GUILTY and you swore that you are not? What does it really matter? IF all the forensic evidences, all the witnesses, all the circumstancial environment POINTS TO YOU being guilty, you will still be guilty in the eyes of the law and certainly in the eyes of most people.

No swearing is gonna make you innocent.

————————————————————————

The court will not just ignore all evidences on the case just because you have sworn your innocence. And the intelligent people of Malaysia or anywhere in the world will not believe you if your are truly proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a just trail.

And Saiful, if the Police dare not charge Anwar for raping you, what hope of evidence are there for you to proof your case?

And I really hope Anwar is not so stupid as to go and swear on anything.

9 Responses to “Saiful or is it SaiFOOL who swore on the Quran?”

Rekindle Ziarah Makam

Ahundredths’day

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Ma..Abah..

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REPUBLIC of MALAYSIA : KEBANGKITAN NUSANTARA : CASE STUDY

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SON

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PIDATO MESEJ LINK

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I DEMAND TO KNOW…20.08.2008

First First Sidji Ichiban 1

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LINK : AHUNDRETHS’DAY

CINTADINEGARA

I know I talk aloud. Coz I love them.
I know I condemn a many. Coz I love them.
I know I shout. Coz I love them.
Because I love the spirit to be a Citizen.

I am a nobody. I am a nation.
I am a no one. I am equality.
I am a man. I am human.
Because I love the spirit to be a Citizen.

I am in troubled. I need a help.
I am in desperations. I need a wish.
I am a Citizen. I need a spirit.
Because I was born to be the People.

The people The love The spirit
To be a Distinguished Human.

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Ko Yem Binjai

2300hrs 28June2008