EPISODE 5: The Raja Nong Chik Saga

ARCHIVES 2012

By MT Webmaster On Feb 9, 2012

With Shahrizat out of the way, Raja Nong Chik has a clear field to bring down Nurul Izzah. With Shahrizat still around, Nurul Izzah would be more secure (because even Umno people will support Nurul Izzah rather than Shahrizat). Hence, Shahrizat’s downfall does not augur well for Nurul Izzah. The Umno people will return to Umno if the choice is Nurul Izzah or Raja Nong Chik.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Today, let us talk about the Raja Nong Chik’s RM1.5 billion ‘EPF money for houses saga’ (or rather the ‘houses for votes saga’, if you prefer). And, yes, in this story we shall also touch on the RM250 million Shahrizat Jajil Cow Saga, or Cowgate, and how these two issues eventually merge with negative implications to YB Nurul Izzah Anwar’s political career.

Remember, last week, when Shahrizat came home from her Mekah trip and she said that there are hidden hands at work to bring her down (meaning, of course, within Umno)? Actually, that was what I wrote about earlier, which some of you probably missed. Now the lady herself is confirming it, a month after I said it.

The hidden hand she was referring to is Raja Nong Chik, the Federal Territory Minister. You can read more here in the article ‘Calling Muhyiddin’s bluff: Shahrizat vs Raja Nong Chik’ (http://wargamarhaen.blogspot.com/2012/01/calling-muhyiddins-bluff-shahrizat-vs.html).

How did the opposition come into possession of the evidence against Shahrizat? Everyone in Umno knows it was Raja Nong Chik who is the dalang (hidden hand). And he leaked the evidence to the opposition so that Shahrizat can be ousted from Lembah Pantai and then he would be able to contest that seat.

Actually, Raja Nong Chik wanted Lembah Pantai back in March 2008: which is why his people crossed over to campaign for Nurul Izzah when Shahrizat got that seat instead. Bangsar Bala (not PI Bala) can confirm this. He and I discussed the crossovers, of course, with some financial considerations. YB Ronnie Liu also knows about this because he too helped ‘accommodate’ some of them.

Anyway, this was what Malaysiakini reported yesterday in the interview they did with Rafizi Ramli called ‘Inside job? How PKR got information on NFC’:

This is the beauty of NFC. Perhaps never before did we realise the importance of whistleblowers. We started off not knowing anything, I have to admit that. We took the risk when we came forward to say we have evidence. Because if you want to have complete documents, I don’t think you will ever get everything.

But as you keep doing exposes, one after the other, there was no objection. In fact (NFC) admitted some of the things. I think that really confirmed that the cashbook that the whistleblower gave to us is genuine. After that, it was just a question of picking out big items. The ones we can corroborate, we’ll expose. If we don’t have second or third documentary evidence, then we can’t do anything about it.

Yes, someone dropped a piece of paper, which said a lot of things. For example, they bought houses there, they did this. But then again, a lot of (the information) when we did the follow-up… we were not confident.

Again, all these anonymous emails coming in. I was informed that NFC are doing lots of things behind the scenes to shuffle assets to cover their tracks. There could be transfer of assets, there could be corporate restructuring.

I think it’s luck more than anything. But I think this is what is most interesting about all this. Put aside the jokes about ‘lembu’ (cow) and so on. I think people come forward more readily, and offer information more readily. So far all the exposes that we have done prove the information is genuine, but (the whistleblowers) will remain anonymous.

There are certain things I cannot disclose here, and I know the police and MACC are investigating on all angles. And NFC are hell-bent to find out who are the whistleblowers because they don’t want any more exposes.

But the way the emails are written tells me it is neither the cartel (laughs) nor disgruntled employees. But I think it’s best I keep it to myself.

So there you have it. The main man behind the NFC expose himself admits that they were working on information leaked by anonymous whistleblowers or deep throats from inside. But what Rafizi does not know is that sometimes whistleblowers or deep throats have ‘handlers’. And I should know. I do this kind of thing for a living.

And the ‘handler’ here, of course, is Raja Nong Chik. And Shahrizat is pissed big time because she too knows it is Raja Nong Chik who supplied the knife to cut her throat.

However, winning the Lembah Pantai seat is not as simple as A-B-C. Raja Nong Chik can shove Shahrizat aside — which is easy since she is dirty — but how does he also shove Nurul Izzah Anwar aside, the current Member of Parliament for Lembah Pantai?

Lembah Pantai, which used to be called the Parliament seat of Bangsar, was once an opposition stronghold. To oust the opposition, Umno imported Malay voters into Bangsar. This diluted the large non-Malay voter population.

These Malays were then allowed to set up squatter houses on government land while the government ‘closed two eyes’. In other words, the government just looked the other way. In fact, they did more than just look the other way or close two eyes. Umno even gave financial support to help the squatters build their houses (exactly like what they did in Kampong Congo in Cheras).

However, as the Malays would say: senjata makan tuan (you get stabbed by your own weapon). This strategy would work as long as the Malays vote Umno and the non-Malays vote opposition. But when the Malays also vote opposition, like what happened in March 2008, then Umno would lose the seat, like it did in March 2008.

So, Raja Nong Chik had two tasks to perform. First was to bring down Shahrizat, and then to bring down Nurul Izzah. Bringing down Shahrizat is very easy. Just let the opposition do that. Just leak the Cowgate evidence to the opposition and let them do the job for you.

You can read more here in the article ‘Lembah Pantai: Raja Nong Chik lawan Nurul Izzah?’ (http://malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/special-reports/45145-lembah-pantai-raja-nong-chik-lawan-nurul-izzah).

Unwittingly, the opposition was assisting Raja Nong Chik with his plot. And, also unwittingly, the opposition has exposed Nurul Izzah to danger. (Now do you know why I am not so ‘hot’ about the Cowgate Saga?)

Raja Nong Chik has now moved into Phase 2 of his plan. As far as he is concerned, Phase 1 has succeeded. Shahrizat is history. And Phase 2 would be to get the Malays in Lembah Pantai to swing back to Umno.

What is it that the Malays in Lembah Pantai want? You can talk to the Malays in Lembah Pantai and nine out of ten would reply the same thing: financial support, mainly housing.

Raja Nong Chik then came out with a brilliant plan. Why not use EPF’s money for this? Build houses for the Malays and since the Malays do not have money to pay for these houses (and they do not qualify in getting loans from the bank) get EPF to pay instead?

Of course, Raja Nong Chik can’t announce that it is a housing scheme for Lembah Pantai Malays. He has to disguise what he is doing by announcing that it is an ‘overall’ plan. But with RM1.5 billion at his disposal, he can more than cover the needs of the Malays in Lembah Pantai.

Remember this, Raja Nong Chik is the Federal Territory Minister. So his focus is the Federal Territory Malays, not the poor Malays in Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, etc.

“It is hence extremely odd that the Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Nong Raja Zainal Abidin announced that the EPF would be extending RM1.5 billion in loans directly to those who failed to secure commercial loans to purchase their houses. The fact that the government could have easily circumvented the entire controversy… arouses suspicion that something is amiss,” Tony Pua and Nurul Izzah said on 6th February 2012.

It was revealed in Parliament recently that, over the last two years, Raja Nong Chik’s Ministry has given out almost RM5 million in grants. About RM1.5 million went to Putrajaya and only RM140,000 to Labuan. Where do you think the balance of the RM5 million went to? No prize for the right guess.

And the fact that Raja Nong Chik refused to tell Parliament where the balance of the RM5 million went to only strengthens the suspicion that he is using government money as his personal funds. And now he wants to do the same with RM1.5 billion of our EPF money.

Raja Nong Chik denies that he is using government money for his political shenanigans. Well, how does he explain the RM2,000 payment made to the National Union of Journalists using DBKL’s money (see below)? And is he not giving them financial support to ensure that the mainstream media continues to play up the Shahrizat Cowgate story so that it never becomes stale news?

Now can you see why the mainstream media is acting just like the alternative media by focusing on the Shahrizat Cowgate Saga? Normally, the mainstream media will downplay, not play up, scandals involving government ministers.

Ask the journalists from the mainstream media and they will tell you that they always receive instructions from ‘the top’ to embargo news regarding scandals involving government people. But in the Shahrizat issue, the reverse is happening. It is being given star billing.

One very crucial question to now ask is: and why the hurry? Why are they pushing this RM1.5 billion EPF money-for-housing plan superfast?

The answer is obvious. Umno suspects that the four Pakatan Rakyat states are going to dissolve their state assemblies in June this year. This means that Umno may also have to dissolve Parliament around that same time. So there is not much time left, only about four months or so to go.

It is rumoured that Umno wants to try to neutralise Anwar Ibrahim with a Sodomy 3 charge. Sigh…yes…yet another sodomy scandal is going to hit the front pages. And it is also rumoured that Sodomy 3 is going to hit Anwar in June, around the time of the coming election.

This means that Nurul Izzah must be defeated. If she wins the Lembah Pantai seat and Anwar is brought down, then Nurul Izzah may have to take the reins of the party leadership. That would be disastrous for Umno. So, not only must Anwar be brought down, Nurul Izzah will have to be brought down as well. And with both Anwar and Nurul Izzah out of the way, Umno can then very easily bring down the rest of Pakatan Rakyat.

Nevertheless, Nurul Izzah faces an uphill battle against Raja Nong Chik who is being financially backed by a very powerful Chinese towkay by the name of Lim Kang Hoo, a business partner of the Johor MB. But then that is another story for another time and a story that will make Shahrizat’s RM250 million Cowgate Scandal look like child’s play by comparison. As I always say: behind every Malay politician look for the Chinaman.

There is more to come so stay tuned as we reveal the untold stories di belakang tabir (behind the scenes).

Raja Nong Chik and Lim Kang Hoo (right): billions at stake

And Lim Kang Hoo with the Johor MB: again, billions at stake