Ganesh Sahathevan

by Ganesh Sahathevan While many Muslims have stepped-up to condemn Islamic State's actions as "un-Islamic" few, if any, have denied the attraction of  what ISIS promises to all Muslims:Domination over all others,and a restoration of the so called "golden age" of Islam under an Islamic  Caliphate, like that of Andalus, or the Ottoman Empire.  The Grand Mufti of Australia Dr Mohamad Abu Ibrahim actually said so in a press statement that was meant to condemn ISIS :  Dr Ibrahim said people need to be reminded that the term "Islamic State" refers to an era when Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in peace and harmony."That is why that terminology 'Islamic State' is attractive to Muslims," he said. Waleed Aly on the other hand has done so at various point of time,often unintentionally but that tends to happen when one  is a spin doctor. His most recent revelation came in his call for peace , love and unity against ISIS/ISIL :  “I...

by Ganesh Sahathevan The Minaret College o f Springvale, Victoria in its fund raising efforts used a fatwa issued by  Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, to exhort Muslims to give to the college. http://replay.waybackmachine. org/20040831171906/http://www. minaret .vic.edu.au/news/ statement.htm The school was successfull in its fund raising and remains so.A recent graduate was Numan Haider who had this to say just before he attacked two police officers: On Haider's Facebook page , he had posted photographs of himself wearing military camouflage with an Islamic flag alongside abusive message towards ASIO and the AFP. "Lets not put the focus on other things. The main message I'm sending with these statuses and photos is to the dogs AFP and ASIO who are declaring war on Islam and Muslims,[sic]" Mr Haider posted on Facebook. The recent graduate of a Springvale Islamic  college  made other comments about Australian law enforcement agencies that...

by Ganesh Sahathevan It is important to recall that in the aftermath of London Tube bombings of July 2005, the Brits had in place a shoot first policy.That Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes was (it was later discovered) an innocent victim of that policy, the policy appears to have worked in preventing similar attacks. It is a policy that other governments would be well advised to follow. END  Police shot Brazilian eight times The man mistaken for a suicide bomber by police was shot eight times, an inquest into his death has heard. Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, was shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder, at Stockwell Tube station, south London, on Friday. Det Insp Elizabeth Baker revealed the details at a hearing in London. Security sources said Mr Menezes had an out-of-date visa, but his family denied this. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he believed he was legally in the UK. Mr Menezes' cousin, Alex Pereira, who is based in London, said the police would ...

by Ganesh Sahathevan Paris 13/11 and Mumbai 26/11 are  both examples of swarming except that in Paris suicide bombers were utilized to maximize civilian losses within a relatively short incident. It should also be noted that France h as a history of jihadi swarms  but yet  nothing it appears has been done to counter  the threat. The lesson of Paris is clear: a terrorist threat must be dealt with swiftly. The late B.Raman wrote extensively on Mumbai 26/11 and provided some suggestions as to how a similar incident could be avoided, based on his experience which included heading the R&AW's counter-terrorism section While each situation is unique, Australian authorities are well advised to take heed of what he proposes.As Lindt and the aftermath of the Cronulla riots proved, Australia's security and intelligence agencies are  incapable of dealing with a Paris or Mumbai style attack. This is not to say that Australia does not have the means to deal with the threa...

by Ganesh Sahathevan While Australian investigators  have  still not found  any evidence    of 1 MDB's Cayman "units",  re-reading statements from 1 MDB  and   Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah reveals a probable cover-up of the fact that some USD $ 2 .2 billion is gone,forever lost. The first statement which suggested something was amiss came from then 1 MDB CEO  Hazem Abd Rahman,who in announcing 1 MDB's financial results for the year ended 31 March 2014 said : Since the end of the financial year in March 2014, 1MDB has also redeemed a total of over RM4 billion from its investments in Segregated Portfolio Companies registered in the Cayman Islands, with the balance expected to be fully redeemed by November 2014. A dividend of RM435 million, from these investments, has also been received subsequent to the financial year end March 2014 and will be accounted for in the next financial year ending March 2015. Hazem's ...

by Ganesh Sahathevan Australian regulators have found no evidence that 1 MDB's US$ 2 billion " Cayman units" exist. Investigators at the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) ,which is in the process of liquidating the manager of the funds those  "units" are supposed to represent,   have only found amounts in the ten of millions under management, and nothing near the sum 1 MDB is supposed to have invested.  T hat the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) has obtained orders to liquidate Avestra, the company that is at least on paper the manager of 1 MDB's funds, has been previously reported on this blog. It has also been reported that an affidavit in support of ASIC's liquidation and other actions against Avestra had  been sighted and the  that Bridge Global Absolute Return Fund, the fund under which 1 MDB's US$ 2 billion is supposed to be held,  is not listed among funds under Avestra's management. ASI...

by Ganesh Sahathevan It was reported yesterday on this blog that the Minister for Immigration and Border Control, Peter Dutton, together with Serco who manage the Villawood Detention Centre and the Australian Border Force, had effectively handed control of Villawood detainee Sirul Azhar Umar to the Malaysian Government and its agents. In August this year I reported that one Jho Low, a Malaysian businessman implicated in the multi-billion dollar  1 MDB scandal may have been kept informed of this writer's investigation into the management of Sirul's matter (see story below). Given their bizarre actions, Dutton,Serco , Border Force and the Department of Immigration need to ask and must answer if their people have been undermined by Mr Low. Regardless of motivation, a breach of national security is evident and  those involved must suffer the consequences.  END Sirul Azhar Umar has become hot property: Evidence that Jho Low may have created the market by Ganesh Sahathevan Ev...

by Ganesh Sahathevan The Australian reported on 3 November  2015: A visit from a delegation of Mal­aysian political figures has prompted a security crackdown on one of the country’s most well-known detainees, Sirul Azhar Umar, amid fears the former bodyguard to Malaysia’s political elite was being pressured to return home to face the death penalty. The Australian understands the Australian Border Force, which is responsible for security inside detention centres, has ­determined that Umar is a high-risk detainee because of his ­involvement in what on some ­accounts is a murderous conspiracy among ­Malaysia’s top politicians and ­officials.   In March, a delegation comprising Umar’s mother, sister and at least one Malaysian opposition MP visited the former policeman inside Villawood detention centre.  The visit was approved by Serco, the contractors responsible for running Australia’s detention centres. The centre was at the time under the control of the Immigration Departm...

by Ganesh Sahathevan It has been previously reported on this blog that   Prime Minister and Minister For Finance Najib Razak denied in Parliament that  1 MDB owed the International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) US$ 481 million. Najib was quoted saying : “Notes in the 1MDB financial report ended March 31, 2014, clearly state that no such amount  was borne by 1MDB from IPIC,” said Najib, who is also the prime minister. IPIC on the other hand seem to have a very different view of things, and have said so in its Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2014, issued sometime in June this year: In 2014, the Group entered into an agreement relating to the Options Agreements where the Group assigned all of its rights under the Options Agreement to 1MDB and its subsidiaries for a fixed price. As of 31 December 2014, an amount of US $ 481,326 thousand was outstanding. As mentioned, the annual report was issued sometime in June.If at all the debt or any part of it ...