Bar Council (effectively) admonishing Agong for doing the right thing-An extension of the Australian Government's Anwar Ibrahim obsession?

by Ganesh Sahathevan

The photo below is from the Law Council Of Australia website. The photo goes with a story about LCA president Arthur Moses SC's speech in Kuala Lumpur , which the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia Andrew Goledzinowski described as "oustanding". Moses speech praised the Bar Council, its immediate past president George Varghese,and attacked Mahathir.

The photo from the LCA website of that event is interesting for absent from it are Varghese, his  Chris deputy and current president Abdul Ghafoor, or any other Bar Council officer.

Instead ,we have Christopher Leong, who was president in 2015,.While Leong obtained his LLB from Nottingham University he was a student at Monash University , from approximately 1981 to 1983,from where he obtained a BA.

Caption: Chris Leong, Past President, Bar Council of Malaysia, Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Richard Malanjum, Chief Justice of the Federal Court, Malaysia, Arthur Moses SC, President, Law Council of Australia, Elizabeth Espinosa, President, Law Society of New South Wales, Datuk Seri Panglima David Wong Dak Wah, Chief Judge of The High Court of Sabah and Sarawak, and Andrew Goledzinowski AM, Australian High Commissioner in Malaysia.

Given the above, the brave  statement by the Bar Council admonishing the Agong for doing the right thing in the current political impasse does look like yet another attempt by the Australian Government to ensure that Anwar Ibrahim becomes Prime Minister of Malaysia.

END 

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Bar Council disagrees with Agong gauging political allegiance of MPs, despite clear legal basis for Agong's actions

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Bar Council President Fareed Gafoor has been very busy this year.First this:

Andrew Goledzinowski

@AusHCMalaysia

As we approach the beginning of the new Legal Year in M’sia, I took the opportunity to catch up with

@malaysianbar

President Dato’ Abdul Fareed. • Cooperation on legal reform and professional issues has long been a strength of the

relationship.

6:46 PM · Jan 6, 2020 from Kuala Lumpur City, Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory·Twitter for iPhone

And now,  as reported by THE STAR, but note that the Agong is interviewing his MPs personally, not relying on Statutory Declarations.



Malaysian Bar: Parliament should decide who commands majority support

NATION


Tuesday, 25 Feb 20204:32 PM MYT








PETALING JAYA: Parliament should determine who commands the confidence of the majority and is to be appointed as Prime Minister, says the Malaysian Bar.

In echoing the advice of Attorney General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas who said that the way forward is to have this matter determined by the Dewan Rakyat when it reconvenes on March 10, the Malaysia Bar said a vote of confidence or otherwise could be taken and debated against the interim Prime Minister.


Bar president Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor cautioned against the reliance on Statutory Declarations (SDs) to determine the support of MPs, saying that the authenticity of such SDs can be disputed.

“Any attempt to form a new government through political horse-trading must be avoided especially if it negates the aspirations of the electorate, as this would lead to unnecessary controversy and raise questions of legitimacy.


“Political stability is essential in these challenging economic times and we call on all parties to behave in a calm and mature manner, having due regard to our Constitutional framework.

"The interest of the nation and its people should prevail over all other personal or partisan interests, ” he said in a statement on Tuesday (Feb 25).

On Monday (Feb 24), Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned as Prime Minister, with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong accepting his resignation.

However, the King has consented for Dr Mahathir to continue running the country as interim Prime Minister until a new premier has been appointed and a new Cabinet formed.

Dr Mahathir is the only one from the Pakatan Harapan administration who is left after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong cancelled the appointments of all Cabinet members.

Aside from ministers, the duties of other members, including the deputy prime minister, deputy ministers and political secretaries ceased, effective Feb 24.






SEE ALSO

Malaysia Boleh! Constitutional Implications of the Malaysian Tsunami

Bar Council disagrees with Agong gauging political allegiance of MPs, despite clear legal basis for Agong's actions

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Bar Council President Fareed Gafoor has been very busy this year.First this:

Andrew Goledzinowski

@AusHCMalaysia

As we approach the beginning of the new Legal Year in M’sia, I took the opportunity to catch up with

@malaysianbar

President Dato’ Abdul Fareed. • Cooperation on legal reform and professional issues has long been a strength of the

relationship.

6:46 PM · Jan 6, 2020 from Kuala Lumpur City, Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory·Twitter for iPhone

And now,  as reported by THE STAR, but note that the Agong is interviewing his MPs personally, not relying on Statutory Declarations.



Malaysian Bar: Parliament should decide who commands majority support

NATION


Tuesday, 25 Feb 20204:32 PM MYT








PETALING JAYA: Parliament should determine who commands the confidence of the majority and is to be appointed as Prime Minister, says the Malaysian Bar.

In echoing the advice of Attorney General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas who said that the way forward is to have this matter determined by the Dewan Rakyat when it reconvenes on March 10, the Malaysia Bar said a vote of confidence or otherwise could be taken and debated against the interim Prime Minister.


Bar president Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor cautioned against the reliance on Statutory Declarations (SDs) to determine the support of MPs, saying that the authenticity of such SDs can be disputed.

“Any attempt to form a new government through political horse-trading must be avoided especially if it negates the aspirations of the electorate, as this would lead to unnecessary controversy and raise questions of legitimacy.


“Political stability is essential in these challenging economic times and we call on all parties to behave in a calm and mature manner, having due regard to our Constitutional framework.

"The interest of the nation and its people should prevail over all other personal or partisan interests, ” he said in a statement on Tuesday (Feb 25).

On Monday (Feb 24), Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned as Prime Minister, with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong accepting his resignation.

However, the King has consented for Dr Mahathir to continue running the country as interim Prime Minister until a new premier has been appointed and a new Cabinet formed.

Dr Mahathir is the only one from the Pakatan Harapan administration who is left after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong cancelled the appointments of all Cabinet members.

Aside from ministers, the duties of other members, including the deputy prime minister, deputy ministers and political secretaries ceased, effective Feb 24.






SEE ALSO

Malaysia Boleh! Constitutional Implications of the Malaysian Tsunami

Zhu Minshen& iFlytek a case for Minister Tehan's "blunt instruments": TEQSA & its Chief Commissioner Nick Saunders failed to enforce disclosure rules against Zhu Minshen's Top Group: iFlytek collaboration, funding, HKEX capital raising must be disclosed,Minister Tehan needs to exercise "blunt instruments"

by Ganesh Sahathevan

As previously reported on this blog:

Zhu Minshen & Top Group's business partner iFlytek blacklisted by the US Gov for human rights violations

In November last year Minister for Education Dan Tehan issued guidelines to deal with the issue of foreign interference in local tertiary institutions.The guidelines included this requirement:
Universities have a Conflict of Interest (CoI) policy/disclosure of interests policies, which identifies foreign affiliations, relationships and financial commitments and sets staff responsibilities to their Australian university.

In issuing the Guidelines Tehan said that universities will be forced to take action over China ties.

The AFR  reported :

The education minister (Dan Tehan)  told universities he has ways of compelling them to take action on foreign interference, reinforcing comments he made earlier this week that he had "blunt instruments" to use if they didn't .
These include acting against a university through the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, which is the industry regulator, or writing new rules into individual 
contracts each university has with government for funding.

However, as has been reported, TEQSA has refused to regulate entities under its purview; instead it appears hopelessly conflicted (see story below).

END 

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

TEQSA's Nicholas Saunders granted Zhu Minshen's Top Group self accreditation rights despite Zhu granting academic credits for defying an AFP directive

by Ganesh Sahathevan





Professor Nick Saunders AO (Chief Commissioner)
Australia's education sector putting money ahead of standards :

The trend continues, aided and abetted by TEQSA

The following is an excerpt from Zhu Minshen's Top Education Group Ltd's ANNOUNCEMENT OF ANNUAL RESULTSFOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2018

Receive Self-Accreditation Authority 



The Company received a letter from TEQSA on 16 May 2018 in relation to its approval for partial self accreditation authority (‘‘SAA’’) in the broad field of education of Management and Commerce, as classified by the Australian Standard Classification of Education, which covers the Australian Qualification Framework from level 5 (diploma) to level 9 (master’s degree) Management and Commerce courses offered at TOP. By obtaining the SAA, TOP is able to determine by itself whether its Management and Commerce courses adequately comply with regulatory standards rather than applying through TEQSA. While maintaining high quality of the courses, the time required for course accreditation will hence be significantly reduced. Accordingly, the partial SAA status not only allows TOP to more efficiently respond to market demand in coursework, but also constitutes a necessary step towards eventually achieving university specialization status.


Following the approval of partial SAA status, TOP enjoys the SAA status with 11 other non-university higher education providers, and has become one of the three non-university higher education providers with the SAA status that offer Management and Commerce higher education courses, and is the only non-university for-profit higher education provider offering courses in Management and Commerce.


TEQSA, headed by its Chief Commissioner Nicholas Saunders granted SAA privileges  despite Zhu and Top's history of highly irregular assessment. As reported on this blog recently:



In his 2018 book "Silent Invasion" Professor Clive Hamilton reports that Top Education Group's Zhu Minshen organised students , including students from his Top Education Institute to protest against Tibetans at the 2008 rally , which counted towards the Top students’ assessment. Zhu’s Top Institution is “perhaps the only accredited degree program in Australia that counts agitating for a foreign power towards its qualifications.”END 


SEE ALSO

Nick Saunder's TEQSA has granted Minshen Zhu's Top Group permission to open a branch campus in Hobart, and increase Sydney student numbers despite sharp fall in market cap;TEQSA approval can aid Top's cashflow

Posted by Ganesh Sahathevan at 7:01 PM

ASIO chief Mike Burgess warning about spies & academia puts NSW LPAB, its Chairman Tom Bathurst & AG Speakman's Zhu Minshen & Top Group decision in further doubt: Community standards require Chairman ,senior officers of the NSW LPAB to provide explanation

by Ganesh Sahathevan


From Mike Burgess, Director General ASIO:

"We’ve seen visiting scientists and academics ingratiating themselves into university life with the aim of conducting clandestine intelligence collection. This strikes at the very heart of our notions of free and fair academic exchange.

“Espionage and foreign interference are affecting parts of the community that they did not touch during the cold war.

"And the intent is to engineer fundamental shifts in Australia’s position in the world, not just to collect intelligence or use us as a potential ‘back-door’ into our allies and partners,” he said.

These types of threats are well known even if not previously obvious in Australia.

Despite that fact the Chairman of the LPAB, the Chief Justice Of NSW Tom Bathurst ,and the Attorney General of NSW Mark Speakman ,who oversees the NSW LPAB granted and then renewed a "one and only" license to issue  LLBs to Zhu Minshen and his Top Education Group Ltd, despite the adverse publicity (see story below).

The Chief Justice and AG owe the public an explanation. 

END 

Did the Law Council Australia and the NSW LPAB ignore ASIO advice in granting Zhu Minshen the right to grant LLB degrees, and entree into Australia's legal system?

by Ganesh Sahathevan

From left to right :Prof Eugene Clark, Hon George Brandis, 

Dr Minshen Zhu.Politicians constantly change their position

on matters and their allegiances, so Brandis being critical

of Zhu while being happy to be photographed with him is not

inconsistent, for a politician. 

AAP reported in November 2019:

Retired ASIO chief Duncan Lewis has accused the Chinese government of using 'insidious' foreign interference operations to 'take over' Australia's political system.

Anyone in political office could be a target, the former spy chief told the political journal Quarterly Essay in an interview to be published next week.

Mr Lewis claimed Chinese authorities were trying to 'place themselves in a position of advantage' by in political, social, business and media circles, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Friday, citing the interview.

Despite that warning, the NSW LPAB renewed Zhu Minshen's  right to grant LLB degrees, and entree into Australia's legal system:

Zhu Minshen announces that NSW LPAB review "went smoothly": AG NSW Mark Speakman and officers unconcerned by Clive Hamilton's disclosures of threats, intimidation and defiance of AFP directives ,share price collapse

In fact, questions about Zhu Minshen were raised by the former Commonwealth Attorney General George Brandis as early as 2016:


Former AG George Brandis raised questions about Zhu Minshen and Top Education Group which remain unanswered, but Zhu and Top are today even more entrenched in the NSW and Australian legal system, thanks to the NSW LPAB and its chairman the CJ NSW, and the AG NSW


Despite all of the above, the Law Council Australia as well as NSW LPAB seem determined to continue supporting Zhu and Top Group:


Zhu Minshen's new Chinese website says the Law Council of Australia "officially approved" Top Education Instituter's application to issue law degrees

The NSW LPAB and Law Council Australia may  attempt  to deflect questions about all of the above by asserting that they are not required by law to seek the advice of ASIO when determining who may or many not grant law degrees in Australia. If they did, and even if the answer is legally correct, it would demonstrate poor judgment; entree into the legal system is always a matter of national security:

“....perhaps the only accredited degree program in Australia that counts agitating for a foreign power towards its qualifications": Why the Law Soc Australia & NSW LPAB's business with Zhu Minshen is a matter of national security

END 

World's sharpest, shrewdest oil, gas and coal traders, and Twiggy Forrest, counting on Australian governments to ban local production, enforce use of expensive & unreliable renewables, and force Australia to import, oil, gas and coal.

by Ganesh Sahathevan


Vitol, Glencore and Trafigura are among  the world's biggest privately owned oil, gas and coal trading companies. They have done with their own money what ExxonMobil, Shell ,Chevron and others have taken more than a century to accomplish, with money from stockmarket investors. These independents have grown very large and very influential in about half the time (and less).

About a decade ago ,when Australian governments decided that refining oil here was not good for the environment, the independents began buying up old refineries to turn into import terminals.

Geelong Refinery - Vitol

vitol.com

Trafigura bets $800m on Australia energy

Oil - Energy Products | Glencore Australia

glencore.com.au

Joining then is Australia's very own Twiggy Forrest ,in a JV with Japan's Marubeni (see story below).

These are billion dollar bets which are in some part financed by "shorting"ie shuttering or selling coal assets. Some have chosen to cap production ie conserve the resource for the future, while curtailing supply, which in turn drives up current prices.

They are also long term bets, so these players can wait for that day, in say 5-10 years, when Australia's energy needs will have to be met by largely imported oil, gas and coal due to government policies that will make local exploration and production a waste of time. The coming of that  is also likely to coincide with a growing reliance on renewables, regardless of efficiency and reliability. 

END

This was published 1 year ago

Forrest to build NSW's first LNG import terminal at Port Kembla

By Cole Latimer


June 4, 2018 — 10.30am



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Fortescue Metals chairman Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest’s Australian Industrial Energy will build a floating LNG import terminal in Port Kembla to bring more gas to NSW and Victoria as soon as 2020.


The regasification facility, which will cost between $200 million and $300 million to construct, will also be NSW’s first LNG import terminal.










The LNG import terminal will be the first in NSW.CREDIT:MICHELE MOSSOP




The Port Kembla terminal will import up to about 100 petajoules of LNG, which could meet about 75 per cent of NSW’s total gas demand.


AIE chief executive James Baulderstone said the import terminal would "solve the gas shortage in NSW", while NSW Minister for Trade and Industry Niall Blair called it a "game changer" for the state.




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“From 2020, AIE plans to ship up to 1.8 million tonnes of LNG into Port Kembla. That’s enough gas to supply around 85,000 average homes for an entire year," Mr Blair said.


“NSW currently relies on various interstate sources for 95 per cent of its gas needs, which can be less reliable and more expensive. This proposal has the potential to provide long-term security of gas supply at competitive prices.”


AIE is also targeting Victorian customers.


"One of the reasons we chose Port Kembla is because it's at the intersection of the Eastern Gas Pipeline, so we can get gas into Victoria," Mr Baulderstone told Fairfax Media.


"Victoria is a much bigger market so that is how we get more volume. We've signed some Victorian deals already."



The majority of the gas will be provided to large manufacturers and businesses.

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It comes after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission forecast a looming gas shortage on the east coast of up to 150 petajoules, and the government last year threatened gas companies with a mechanism that would slash exports unless they secured more domestic gas supply.


The new gas terminal is a lower-cost alternative to proposed interstate pipelines and a cross-country, $5 billion West to East gas pipeline, which could also alleviate a gas shortage.


The location of the new east coast gas terminal came down to a decision between two sites - Port Kembla or the Port of Newcastle. AIE chose Port Kembla as it is closer to large consumers of industrial gas as well as existing pipeline infrastructure.



The terminal will have storage tanks capable of holding around four petajoules of gas, equivalent to between 10 and 12 days of NSW’s total demand.


For the second stage of the development, AIE is investigating the construction of a new gas-fired power plant. It is understood this could include either expanding on existing small-scale power plants nearby to provide more energy to industrial users, or building a new 750-megawatt power plant.


Mr Baulderstone said it planned to develop this power generation between 2020 and 2022.


The facility will see LNG carriers visiting Port Kembla around every two to three weeks.
Who is AIE?



Australian Industrial Energy is led by the former Santos and Duet Group executive James Baulderstone, and Stuart Johnson, the head of Mr Forrest’s gas business, Squadron Energy. The consortium has the backing of Japanese firms Marubeni Corp and JERA, which is the world’s largest buyer of LNG.










Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest. CREDIT:BLOOMBERG




JERA will supply the gas while trading house Marubeni provides infrastructure financing.


"The $200 million price tag is relatively small capital to these investors," Mr Baulderstone said.


AIE has already signed 12 memorandums of understanding with industrial users for the supply of gas but declined to name these groups.



JERA’s fuel business development and gas and power development senior vice president, Gaku Takagi, said the facility would be able to bring cheaper LNG to NSW.


“We believe we can make a major contribution to NSW and east coast energy supply competition and security,” Mr Takagi said.


Mr Baulderstone said AIE would work as quickly as possible to get the facility off the ground as the rising price of gas stretches Australian businesses' operating costs as they seek new sources of gas supply.










The floating regasification terminal will be built in Port Kembla Harbour.




“In recent times, wholesale gas prices have doubled, and in many cases tripled, in NSW. In addition, many industrial companies are now unable to secure gas for any period longer than 12 months,” Mr Baulderstone said.



“AIE is well placed to deliver firm, long-term gas on highly competitive pricing and terms as a soon as 2020.”


The development is a boon for NSW, which has traditionally imported gas for industry and power generation from Queensland.


AIE is planning to lodge its development applications within the next few months.


The project is similar to AGL's $250 million floating LNG import terminal and jetty proposed for Crib Point, in Victoria, which is slated to begin construction next year.










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Covering energy and policy at Fairfax Media.

ANZ deploys "hurt blockers" : Wonder how well these work to remedy the damage, loss and hurt caused the Malaysian taxpayer by ANZ in the matter of 1MDB

by Ganesh Sahathevan


From AMBank and AMIslamic's  major shareholder and manager, ANZ Bank :

We need more #LoveSpeech

Almost 80% of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex & Queer (LGBTIQ+) Australians say they are at times the victim of hurtful language. In fact, in the last 12 months LGBTIQ+ people were still called seriously hurtful and homophobic words.

During the 2020 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival, ANZ is taking a stand against hurtful language and has launched #LoveSpeech – a national campaign to educate Australians on the impact that hurtful language has on the LGBTIQ+ community.

Spread #LoveSpeech.


Meanwhile

Deafening Silence Out Of Australia Over 1MDB's Connection To Top Bank ANZ