Tunship proposed for Kit Siang

KUALA LUMPUR: Prominent social activist Tan Sri Robert Phang has proposed that the government bestow the title of Tun – the nation’s highest award – on former DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang for his 56 years of political service and having been the longest-serving parliamentarian without fear or favour.

Phang, who is chairman of the Social Care Foundation, said as the opposition leader until his retirement from politics over the weekend, Lim had been a pillar of the parliamentary democracy system practised in the country – a record that would highly unlikely to be equalled by other politicians.

“Malaysia practises a parliamentary system after Britain’s Westminster model with both Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament. In Britain, the leader of the opposition ranks very high in the order of protocol.

“My proposal is apolitical and purely based on according long-overdue recognition to a towering figure in our political history who has contributed immensely to making our democracy alive and kicking. And I sincerely believe, nothing short of a Tunship is fitting for Lim Kit Siang,” Phang told theSun.

Lim, he said, had been through five decades of thick and thin in the nation’s post-Independence political history, unflinching in his political struggle for a better and more inclusive Malaysia, even spending some years as an Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee.

And, contrary to what his critics had labelled him, Lim had shown to be a true and loyal Malaysian, and DAP’s record as the party that had, over the decades, been a very well-organised political entity that continuously managed to secure a commanding mandate at federal and state levels was due to the unwavering support for Lim’s stewardship.

He said although DAP is reputed to be Chinese-centric, it has a sizeable non-Chinese membership base as well as a multi-racial mix of elected representatives.

Phang echoed the sentiment expressed by Dewan Negara President Tan Sri Rais Yatim, who said yesterday that Lim deserved due recognition including an award befitting his service.

Source : https://ipaper.thesundaily.my/epaper/viewer.aspx?publication=The%20Sun%20Daily#page/2

AWARD LIM KIT SIANG A TUNSHIP, SAYS ROBERT PHANG

23rd March 2022.
PRESS STATEMENT BY:-
TAN SRI DATUK ROBERT PHANG MIOW SIN.
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.
CHAIRMAN – SOCIAL CARE FOUNDATION

 

AWARD LIM KIT SIANG A TUNSHIP, SAYS ROBERT PHANG

KUALA LUMPUR:  Prominent social activist Tan Sri Robert Phang has proposed to the government to bestow the title of Tun, the nation’s highest award, to former DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang for his 50 years of political service and as the longest-serving Parliamentarian without fear or favour.

Phang, who is chairman of the Social Care Foundation, said as the Opposition Leader until his retirement from politics over the weekend, Lim has been a pillar in the Parliamentary democracy system practised in the country, a record that would highly unlikely to be equalled by other politicians.

Malaysia practices a  Parliamentary system after Britain’s Westminster model with both the Upper and Lower Houses or Parliament. In Britain, the Leader of the Opposition ranks very high in the order of protocol.

My proposal is apolitical and purely based on according long-overdue recognition to a towering figure in our political history who has contributed immensely to making our democracy alive and kicking. And I sincerely believe, nothing short of a Tunship is fitting for Lim Kit Siang,” Phang said.

He said Lim had been through five decades of thick and thin in the nation’s post-Independence political history, unflinching in his political struggle for a better and more inclusive Malaysia, even spending some years as an Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee.

Contrary to what his critics had labelled Lim, he had shown to be a true and loyal Malaysian and DAP’s record as the party that had over the decades been a very well organized political entity that continuously managed a secure a commanding mandate both at the Federal and State levels was due to the unwavering support to Lim’s stewardship.  He said although the DAP is reputed to a predominantly Chinese-centric, it had a sizeable non-Chinese membership base as well as a multi-racial mix of elected representatives.

Phang echoed the sentiment expressed by Dewan Negara President Tan Sri Rais Yatim who said yesterday that Lim deserved due recognition including an award befitting his service.

God Bless, Sir.

Robert Phang & Family.

“HUMBLENESS IS A GOOD VIRTUE, ARROGANCE SHALL FALL AND THE MEEK WILL RULE THE WORLD”.

 

Tan Sri Datuk Robert Phang Miow Sin.
Justice of the Peace.        

 

Where are we at right now?

IT is saddening for me to note that our country over the past few years has regressed both domestically and on the international front.

Malaysia, which previously ranked ahead of most of our fellow ASEAN member nations in terms of economic progress and governance, has now fallen behind.

What is obvious and is practically felt by most Malaysians is the feeling that there have been too much politics and politicking since the 2018 general election.

There is no such thing as political peace that generally follows after the people have delivered their mandate in an election. Instead, the country and people are suffering from political fatigue. And they are fed up. And this is happening in a nation that once proudly boasted of political stability and was the envy of many.

Our international image has been badly battered by the 1MDB saga, that has been described by foreign media as the world’s biggest ever financial scandal. Just as we thought the 1MDB scandal was taking a respite, more explosive details of how Malaysia was milked off by tens of billions have been revealed in an ongoing trial in New York of a former Goldman Sachs banker.

Domestically, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri has announced that the government is allowing another one-off withdrawal of RM10,000 for Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors from April 20. This will be the third such withdrawal over two years since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, to tide over the financial woes of the B40 households who have been worst hit via job losses and unemployment.

Such frequent withdrawals mean millions of contributors are facing a bleak old age financial future, with the media reporting that some 50% of the total EPF contributors have less than RM10,000 balance as of now.

The previous two withdrawals by some 7.3 million, or half of the total contributors, have depleted EPF funds by a whopping RM101 billion.

With the latest withdrawals beginning next month, economists and the layman are deeply concerned about EPF’s ability to maintain a decent annual dividend rate moving forward.

It is of utmost importance now for politicians, especially those running the country, both at federal and state levels, to get their act together by putting aside their selfish interests to mitigate the damage they have done so far.

Since the 14th General Election (GE14) in 2018, self-created political instability has forced three states to hold snap elections, something that could have been avoided and saved taxpayers a few hundred million ringgit.

In the first three years after GE14, Malaysia has had four prime ministers, something no county can ever be proud of. And now Umno, the nation’s dominant party, basking in its landslide election wins in both Malacca and Johor, is upping the pressure for a snap GE15 as well.

This has been met with a resounding “No” from at least six state governments so far, whose leaders have said they will not dissolve the state legislative assemblies should GE15 be held this year instead of the scheduled one only a year from now. Bravo to them.

The rakyat has every right to demand for politicians who are bent on disrupting our once cherished political stability at their whims and fancies to do the most honourable thing – to step down gracefully before more damage is done.

In this regards, I urge Putrajaya to expedite without any further delay the presentation of the Anti-Hopping law during the current sitting of Parliament. I also urge our Members of Parliament as well senators to buck up and to live up to the people’s expectations. Many would agree that most of them are warming their seats at the taxpayers’ expense.

With Covid-19 still raging and our elected representatives both at federal and state levels still free to jump from Party A to Party B, we need a strong political will to fix all the wrongs that are undermining the country’s future.

At the outset, I asked where are we at right now? And the rakyat at large must be saying “Enough is enough”.

Source : https://www.thesundaily.my/opinion/where-are-we-at-right-now-HH8966801

DEAR YB TAN SRI MUHYIDDIN YASSIN

4^th March 2022.
 
PRESS STATEMENT BY:-
TAN SRI DATUK ROBERT PHANG MIOW SIN.
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.
CHAIRMAN – SOCIAL CARE FOUNDATION
 

                                      DEAR YB TAN SRI MUHYIDDIN YASSIN,

I read with interest and curiosity an article published by FMT that quoted “NAJIB RECEIVES HUGE CROWD BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT TO SEE A CRIMINAL”, which was stated by you.  I think with our fundamental budi bahasa upbringing this is not pleasant to say and extremely unnecessary.  Damage has already been done and created.

After all, Najib is still appealing against his sentencing and in this aspect, we have to respect thus refrain from belittling others – RESPECT BEGETS RESPECT.  This is the best philosophy of life, please practice this and let the court decide on Najib’s fate

Sir, for whatever reason, if and only if, Najib gets away and at all odds, until proven at the last resort, HE WILL REMAIN A FREEMAN. Even Najib has a slim, a very slim chance to get away and should not be therefore be deemed as a criminal.  Give it a thought, Tan Sri Muhyiddin.

Sir, you are a gentleman and a good Muslim.  Again I say, please refrain from repeating this issue – negativity in mannerism.

 

STAY HOME AND STAY SAFE.

 

“HUMBLENESS IS A GOOD VIRTUE, ARROGANCE SHALL FALL AND THE MEEK WILL RULE THE WORLD”.

 

Tan Sri Datuk Robert Phang Miow Sin.
Justice of the Peace.         

Soft stance not ideal to fight graft: Ex-MACC panel member

PETALING JAYA: The move by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to reduce charges or issue compound notices does not bode well for the fight against graft.

Former MACC advisory board panel member Tan Sri Robert Phang yesterday called for the full brunt of the law to be brought down on those caught for wrongdoing.

He said reducing the charges or issuing compounds will only encourage others to ignore the law.

“They know that if they are caught, they can plead with MACC to either compound them or have their charges reduced. How do you (expect) the public to place their trust in such an institution?”

Phang cited the example of former Sabah Water Department deputy director Teo Chee Keong, who was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal and had to pay an RM30 million compound.

Teo, 58, was facing 146 money laundering charges, involving land titles, cash and bank accounts, amounting to RM32.93 million.

Phang said that Teo only paid a compound of RM30 million.

“To top this off, when there is wrongdoing by a MACC officer, it is the commission that conducts the investigation.”

Phang questioned how there could be impartiality when MACC conducts its own investigations.

He said an independent body, and not MACC itself, is needed to investigate its officers involved in wrongdoings.

He cited MACC senior officer Shahrum Nizam Baharuddin, 41, who reportedly went on a RM2.71 million spending spree.

Shahrum was accused of misappropriating US$6.94 million seized by the commission at the MACC special action branch chief’s room.

Phang said Shahrum was charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which is punishable with a jail term of up to 20 years, whipping and a fine.

He said the prosecution offered an alternative charge under Section 403 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of not less than six months and not more than five years, with whipping and a fine.

He questioned how such actions were allowed.

“The issue of counterfeit money involving MACC officers has still not been properly explained, although only Shahrum had been charged and sentenced.

“How did the officer get hold of the counterfeit money? Who else was involved? Have those involved in printing the counterfeit money been arrested and charged?”

Phang said whether it is an old or new issue, MACC must provide an explanation to the public.

Source :https://ipaper.thesundaily.my/epaper/viewer.aspx?publication=The%20Sun%20Daily&date=03_03_2022#page/4