Sunday 2 December 2012

PRO-ISRAEL GROUPS ROOTING FOR THE OPPOSITION





By : MOLE.my

KUALA LUMPUR - Amid news on Malaysian NGOs receiving foreign funds, American blogger Nile Bowie wrote on the involvement of pro-Israeli organisations with Malaysia's opposition coalition.

In an in-depth report the Kuala Lumpur-based blogger wrote on how these foreign funds is a way for the infiltration of the American interests.

Bowie wrote : As the United States continues to militarily increase its presence in the Pacific region inline with its strategic policy shift to East Asia, Washington’s leaders would like to see compliant heads of state who will act to further American interests in the ASEAN region.

While allegations of corruption and economic mismanagement hinder the credibility of ruling Prime Minister Najib Razak, foreign organizations affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and funded by the United States government, have contributed support toward bolstering the influence and status of Malaysia’s opposition groups, in addition to the controversial Bersih coalition for electoral reform, led by Ambiga Sreenevasan.

He said, Ambiga did admit that two American organisations, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Open Society Institute (OSI), funded Bersih but for other projects and were unrelated to the July 9 march.

Hungarian-American philanthropist and financier George Soros founded the Open Society Institute in 1993, whose principle aim sought to “strengthen open society principles and practices against authoritarian regimes and the negative consequences of globalization,” with an emphasis on countries in transition from communism after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright chairs the National Democratic Institute, while its president Kenneth Wollack, served as the legislative director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who is widely considered to be Israel’s most prominent lobbyist organization, one that influences American legislation to exert aggressive Israeli policy and viewpoints.

"Although the organization boasts of “promoting democracy” and “fortifying civil society” around the world, history had proven that these tired euphemisms have been used in numerous countries to mask funding to various political forces opposed to their national governments and aligned with American interests."

"In addition to providing funding to the Bersih coalition through the National Democratic Institute, the National Endowment for Democracy’s Malaysian operation provides $100,000 (RM 317,260) for political news website Malaysiakini, considered to be the nation’s most pro-opposition news outlet."

"NED also provides $90,000 (RM 285,516) to SUARAM, an organization promoting human rights.

The most significant recipient of NED’s Malaysia programs is the International Republican Institute (IRI), who annually receives $802,122 (RM 2,544,670) and is tasked to “work with state leaders in Penang and Selangor to provide them with public opinion research, training and other resources to enable them to be more effective representatives of their constituents.”

Penang is held by the DAP, while Selangor is held by Parti Keadilan Rakyat, two of the three organisations in the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat, led by (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim. (The third component of Pakatan is PAS).

"It comes as little surprise that opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim talks boldly of a “Malaysian Spring,” as the same organizations bolstering the opposition in Kuala Lumpur have successfully fomented events that led to the series of uprisings across the Arab World in 2011."

Exerpt of an article published by the New York Times titled, "U.S. Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings," :

"...the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and grass-roots activists like Entsar Qadhi, a youth leader in Yemen, received training and financing from groups like the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House, a nonprofit human rights organization based in Washington. The Republican and Democratic institutes are loosely affiliated with the Republican and Democratic Parties.."

In the Malaysian context, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim maintains close ties with senior US officials and organizations such as the National Endowment for Democracy.

In July 2006, Ibrahim chaired the Washington-based Foundation for the Future, established and funded by the US Department of State at the behest of Elizabeth Cheney, the daughter of then-Vice President Dick Cheney, who was recently convicted in absentia for war crimes for his issuance of torture during the Iraq war by Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission, chaired by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed.

In 2007, (Anwar) Ibrahim was a panelist at the National Endowment for Democracy's "Democracy Award" event held in Washington. [24] These questionable affiliations raise strong concerns over the legitimacy of the candidate and the administration he would lead if winning the 13th General Election.

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