If Salleh Abas Is Shah Hakim's Father In Law, Is There A Story?

The "bigger than real life" pix found in Berita Harian, The News Straits Times and Utusan Malaysia

This is not an accusation on Tun Salleh!

The discussion by commentators in Rocky Bru's posting, Tun Salleh Abas' "Moral Victory" relating to the relationship between Tun Salleh Abas and Scomi's CEO, Dato (I presume) Shah Hakim Zain spark my interest.

Before any criticism is levied, lets be clear it is furthest from my thought to accuse Tun Salleh of colluding in corrupt meteoric rise of Scomi. I'd kill myself, if Tun Salleh was a willing accomplice in this political PR conspiracy to salvage Abdullah Badawi's plummeting premiership.

However, I can't resist to explore the story, especially when every other person is high on this new sensation of hope.

This is Abdullah speaking, folks!

He still has Kalimullah, Annuar Zaini and the Fourth Floor boys to do his so-called reform. Them and Abdullah's network of insidious organisations are still at work to keep him as UMNO President and PM, no matter what would eventually happen to UMNO.

The so-called Judicial reform could be a charade. Thus far, the media hype is hiding the root cause of the 1988 judiciary related constitutional crisis!

What Apology and Reform?

Frankly, there was nothing substantial about PM's olive branch to the judiciary.

Lim Kit Siang is screaming his dissappointment at the top of the shift button of his PC keyboard. There are many claiming the judges sold themselves cheap, especially it is revealed the sacked judges are already compensated. Some believed it is half measures and confusing precedence. Are we really to see greater independence of the judiciary and proper judicial appointment? Who appointed Zaki Tun Azmi? What is the Judicial Commission, if Abdullah has the final say?

Unless one is visually, sonically, and mentally impaired, dinner is to make Abdullah "float like butterfly" and on Dr Mahathir a "sting like a bee". It is giveaway sweets, tasty but no nutritional value. Dare him to make ACA independent. The ECM Libra report will be the first one in next morning.

Typical of kanak-kanak at 4th Floor, their usually open up a flank somewhere. This latest manouvre for a vendetta on an old score from a certain factions of the old Team B in UMNO has no relevence to the 30 something and lower voters.

For argument sake, lets assume their view as taken - Dr Mahathir actually lost, the true winner is Tengku Razaleigh, and the old UMNO and its Constitution should be revived. Now, why don't Abdullah remove the quota vote and vacate the Presidency for Tengku Razaleigh? Off course not! He'll be a hunted pigeon. Do your hunting quietly please, we do not wanna wake the Prime Minister in the midst of his Gorbachev dream.

(Picture and hyperlinked above obtained from Husin Lempoyang)

Root Cause

The mainstream and alternative media kept linking the judicial crisis with the 1988 illegal pronouncement of UMNO by Justice Harun Hasim. However, they totally missed the point raised by Tun Salleh in his interview with Sun in 2006 (I believe). Excerpt below:

Question: What was the catalyst of this judicial crisis?

Tun Salleh: I think it all started because of th two (Asian) Wall Street Journal reporters who made comments on certain things and their visa was withdrawn, or something like that. They took this to court. The late Harun Hashim, (who) was the judge at that time, made a very strong comment on the government on the withdrawal of the visa. From then (on), the government started to see that the judiciary was interfering with the executive.

The statement made by the former prime minister (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) against the judiciary all started from there. Some judges felt very unhappy about it. I don’t think I can go further than this because if I were to tell the story, it would take months and years to finish it. I even wrote a book on it, May Day for Justice.

From one reliable inside source, the interference goes way back before this Bethelsen case, even earlier than Ops Lalang in 1985. The much mentioned racially chrged exchanges betwen Dato Lim Kim Sai, Lim Kit Siang, Karpal and Dato Najib and the Pemuda UMNO (which Anwar was then Ketua Pemuda) was not even the cause.

It seems that in one judgement made, a judge awarded citizenship to some 50 foreigners. The lawyer, a bayi, was planning to get Malaysian citizenship for some 500 boat people through the courts. That is the exclusive power of the executive! His judgement, to quote Tun Salleh Abas's May Day for Justice Chapter 5, had nothing to with "procedure".

Ponder this. Who is to check the abusive of the judiciary? They cannt be maksum. George Seah admitted that the judiciary themselves should take the blame for the rot!

Shah Hakim Zain and Scomi

The revelation of Tun Salleh Abas as father in law to Scomi CEO's Shah Hakim Zain was first made on the blog Cuit Sikit!.

As a recap, Shah Hakam is a partner of Kamaluddin Abdullah in a holding company, Kaspadu that controls Scomi. Another partner and said to have provided the seed capital for Kaspadu was ISA detainee, BSA Tahir. He has under detention without trial throughout Abdullah's premiership for alleged export of nuclear centrifuge to Libya. (For more read here the New York Times report and Washington Post.) Thats one ISA detainee the Bar Council President left out from her speech.

In the official KLSE (now Bursa Malaysia) dated September 2003 (before Abdullah's appointment as Prime Minister), the share ownership in Kaspadu and indirectly Scomi is under BSA's wife, Nazimah Syed Majid. It has since been bought out.


The nuclear centrifuge contract was awarded to a Scomi subsidiary and the trio have been hacking for this contract for years. Why Shah Hakim and Kamaluddin are allowed free despite their alleged involvement? For Kamaluddin, blood is likely to be thicker than the law. But for Shah Hakim? Why is he staying on course no matter what?

This could expose a corpse rotting for years hidden in Abdullah's closet. It could unravel the compromise of the nation's sovereignty in his administration's economic, security and international relation policies.

Cronies Flowing Down The Sink Pipes?

Matthias Chang has another view to the judicial dinner. Read below:

April 19, 2008

PAK LAH’S CRONIES ARE BLEEDING MONEY
They are all stuck and not able to liquidate

I will let you on a secret.

Jet fuel price is skyrocketing!

But, what has this got to do with Pak Lah’s cronies?

Well, many of them have directly and indirectly latched on to the wings of AIR ASIA - the cheap-fare airlines that was the darling of the spin doctors and investors. Having the Minister of Transport (the previous two especially) as your sympathetic Godfather was a bonus. All “good things” don’t last forever.

And the good times are coming to an end. There won’t be any more champagne parties for Air Asia. Already, in the USA cheap-fare airlines are heading for the scrap heap. To cover up their financial stress, Air Asia is already levying surcharges on other items as a short term measure to maintain airfares at current levels. But, this wayang kulit has to end and price increases will be inevitable! There won’t be any more cheap flights. Expect to see requests for government bailouts.

When the financial tsunami finally hits Malaysia, companies that will be most vulnerable will be companies like Air Asia and those companies in the car business which are highly leveraged. Pak Lah’s cronies who are in the investment banking business up to their eyeballs will also suffer massive losses when their values hit south in the stock market.

Pak Lah’s cronies are all involved in these business and they ARE BLEEDING MONEY! And there is no blood transfusion available. The banks that were financing these businesses are stuck. If they provide more funds, it is throwing good money after bad. If they don’t provide additional liquidity to meet short falls and increasing costs, bankruptcy stares right into their faces!

If you have invested in these counters, get out when you can. But, if you have plenty of cash, you can buy exotic cars for dimes in the dollar. In so far as the shares of these companies, you can frame and hang them up as a reminder of your greed and stupidity.

Pak Lah’s cronies have been bleeding money and will be bleeding more money in the months ahead. Therein, lies the pain and agony because these cronies are in a dilemma.

It is only a matter of time before UMNO do Pak Lah in for screwing big time in the 12th General Elections. But the cronies are hoping and persuading Pak Lah to stay on so that their “investments” will not end up in smoke. But each time, UMNO members at Branch and Division levels calls for his retirement, they suffer a minor heart attack.

The billion question: “Do we liquidate and run with what we have in hand, or do we hold and wait for our fortune to turn for the better?”

Some have already liquidated and have made all the preparations for their get away – houses overseas, children studying abroad and minimum cash balances in local banks, with the bulk in foreign banks!

Oouch!!! Did I say foreign banks? Yep, and that is why they are also in a fix, what with these big global banks suffering massive losses and for all intent and purposes, insolvent. When these banks holding their ill-gotten gains fold up, I can assure you that they may very well jump from the 20th floor rather than face reality and shame. This is a given.

Don’t bother prosecuting them for corruption. It will be a waste of public funds. It is better that we watch them do their own thing.

These are desperation times and desperate people will do desperate things.

So when you read the news, please be careful, as there is more to it than meets the eye. I don’t mean just the main stream media but also some of the blogs as well. They are playing a subtle double game, part of Pak Lah’s web of deceit and deception.

In due time, I will expose them and named them specifically and lets see whether they dare sue me for defamation.

For now, I urge all of you to be vigilant.

And, vigilant we should.

In Sun Tzu's Art of War, one is to be wary of a cornered wounded tiger for it will do anything to survive. Dr Khir Toyo's urgent call to rid this tiger from going amuck and killing anything in its way is real. We thought he is a hunted pigeon?

Still, I am not accusing Tun Salleh of collusion with corruption and crime ...