I READ with interest recent reports that Australian Senator Nick Xenophon, who visited Malaysia recently, is known for his aggressive anti palm-oil campaign against Malaysia.

It is good that his background has been exposed as he has been throwing sand into the rice bowls of Malaysians. We certainly do not need such an outsider to come to Malaysia to lecture us on how we should govern the country, given his known economic sabotage of Malaysia.

In fact, I did some research and found that the so-called “International fact-finding mission” recently invited by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ahead of the general election is hardly independent. Five members of the mission are friends and allies of the opposition leader, and surely one can expect what they would say.

Although they insisted they were independent, one need only carry out an Internet search on their close links with Anwar.

Beside Xenophon, there was Dr Mohamed Nasir Tamara Tamimi, who has been a friend of Anwar for over two decades. He even set up the “Indonesian Committee for Solidarity with Anwar Ibrahim” back in 1998.

Then there is Amado Valdez, a top aide to former Philippine President Joseph Estrada, who Anwar once referred fondly to as “my great friend, my family friend.”

There is also Mobashar Jawed Akbar, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where Anwar sits on the international advisory board.

But perhaps the most partisan of all is Bangkok-based Juliane Schmucker. Ms. Schmucker works for the Friedrich Naumann Foundation – a German organisation that has been accused of providing political advice and carrying out workshops and training for PKR officials.

Incredibly, this “mission” has been portrayed to journalists as an impartial team free from political allegiance, but that is clearly not the case.

It’s incredible that none of the media has researched the background of these foreigners, while Bersih coordinator Datuk S. Ambiga has kept silent on the proposed monitors. I would have thought that she would be concerned about credibility.

In fact, I have always wondered why she never asked why Anwar is holding a non-elected post of Ketua Umum in PKR. He should be standing for elections.

DAP’s Lim Kit Siang is an adviser, another appointed post, and then there’s Nik Aziz Nik Mat of PAS, who is the spiritual adviser. All these top leaders are holding appointed posts for life!

But what’s new? Before Bersih, there was a group calling itself Malaysians For Free and Fair Elections (Mafrel) headed by Abdul Malek Hussin.

It acted and sounded like Bersih, pretending to be independent, but everyone knew Mafrel was linked to Anwar. Well, he’s now the parliamentary affairs chief coordinator in the Opposition Leader’s Office.

RETIRED DIPLOMAT,
Bangi, Selangor.

-The Star-