I am publishing here three items: Heavy reading but if you want to know about this you need to read them and work it out for yourself what is happening.
Appendix A
APCO press release on the opening of their new office in Kuala Lumpur
on August 10th 2009. Their first client is the Government of
Malaysia. Fees paid or due to to date approximately USD $22 Million (Twenty two
million)
Appendix B
An article by Jackson Diehl from the Washington Post on June 28th
2010 detailing Anwar’s transistion from pro-American democrat to
anti-Israeli zealot.
Appendix C
A letter dated 28th June 2010 written by the President and the Executive Vice President of B'nai B'rith which claims itself to be The International Global Voice of
the Jewish Community, to get Anwar declared an enemy of the Jewish State - and ask that the US officials suspend their ties with Anwar.
Let us be clear on one thing. The issue here is whether having APCO assist the Malaysian Government in strengthening the government’s
online and other strategic communication capabilities to speed the delivery of
accurate information to the media and public does compromises our national
security and sovereignity. Whether it does or does not will depend who APCO is.
You will have to do your own research and make that decision yourself. But I
can think for myself and this is what I think.
The Barisan Nasional Government lies, cheats and deceives it own people. So if APCO is part of this charade then APCO's credentials are suspect. And looking at what APCO has done in the past, they know that they are involved in speeding the delivery of these lies, untruths and deceits of the Barisan Nasional government to its own people. That does not say much for the integrity of APCO.
From the three articles/letter
published this is obvious:
Najib’s BN Government is paying
USD$22 Million (twenty two million American Dollars) equivalent to RM$71.67 million (seventy one point six seven million) to APCO for services rendered. Anyway you look at it - it is a hell of a lot of OUR money!
From the letter written by B’nai’ B’rith International they have asked that the US authorities suspend their ties with
Anwar – perceiving him to be an enemy of the Jewish state. You can make your own conclusion on this.
Appendix A
APCO WORLDWIDE OPENS IN MALAYSIA
FIRM TO ASSIST NEW MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT IN
STRENGTHENING COMMUNICATION
Hong
Kong (August 10, 2009) – APCO Worldwide, continuing to broaden its activities
in Asia, is opening a new office in Kuala Lumpur, Margery Kraus, president and
chief executive officer, announced today. Among the office’s first clients is
the Government of Malaysia under the government of Prime Minister Najib Razak.
“Malaysia
continues to demonstrate that it is a major player in Asia, one of the great manufacturing
nations for electronics and a sophisticated participant in global markets
across many sectors,” said Kraus. “APCO’s ability to leverage strategic
communication capabilities across borders mirrors the kind of leverage Malaysia
has achieved in its approach to business and trade, making this a natural
location for our expansion.”
One of
the first clients of APCO’s new office will be the Malaysian government, which
is retaining APCO to assist in evaluating its capabilities to communicate
through new media. APCO will also assist the Malaysian government’s new
leadership by sharing recent developments in strategic communication undertaken
by governments in Europe, North America and Africa. Separately, APCO will be
providing support in Washington, D.C., to Malaysia’s ambassador to the United
States.
“As
Malaysia moves forward, the government wants to ensure that it is able to
provide information to the public quickly and transparently, making use of all
relevant new technologies,” said Kraus. “Our team in Kuala Lumpur will include
seasoned professionals from many countries, including Malaysia, who are on the
cutting edge of new media. They will work to assist in strengthening the
government’s online and other strategic communication capabilities to speed the
delivery of accurate information to the media and public.”
Paul
Stadlen, previously based in APCO’s London office, will serve as managing
director of APCO in Malaysia. An award-winning specialist in media relations
and international reputation management, Stadlen’s clients include business
leaders at blue-chip multinationals from various sectors. Clients have also
included government leaders in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. A
former journalist, Stadlen previously worked for the BBC and has written for The
Times of London and Prospect magazine.
“This is
a time of opportunities for Malaysia,” said Stadlen. “APCO is delighted to
share media expertise and strategic communication services with the Malaysian
government and other clients in Malaysia. We are excited about Malaysia’s
future and our ability to participate in it.”
ABOUT
APCO WORLDWIDE
Founded
in 1984, APCO Worldwide is an award-winning, independently owned global
communication consultancy with offices in major cities throughout the Americas,
Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Headquartered in Washington, D.C.,
APCO clients include corporations and governments; industry associations and
nonprofit organizations; and seven of the top 10 companies on Fortune’s Global 500. APCO offers
services related to business and finance; media, public opinion and society;
and government and public policy. The firm is a majority women-owned business.
For more information, please visit www.apcoworldwide.com.
###
Contacts:
Elizabeth Wolf
+1.202.778.1470
ewolf@apcoworldwide.com
Appendix B
Monday, June 28, 2010
Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of
Malaysia's political opposition, has become known over the past decade as one
of the foremost advocates of liberal democracy in Muslim countries. His many
friends in Washington include prominent members of the neoconservative movement
-- such as Paul Wolfowitz, the former World Bank president and U.S. ambassador
to Indonesia -- as well as such Democratic grandees as Al Gore.
Lately, Anwar has been getting
attention for something else: strident rhetoric about Israel and alleged
"Zionist influence" in Malaysia. He recently joined a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur
where an Israeli flag was burned. He's made dark insinuations about the
"Jewish-controlled" Washington public relations firm Apco Worldwide,
which is working for Malaysia's quasi-authoritarian government.
Therein lies a story of the Obama
era -- about a beleaguered democrat fighting for political and personal
survival with little help from Washington; about the growing global climate of
hostility toward Israel; and about the increasing willingness of U.S. friends
in places such as Turkey and Malaysia to exploit it.
First, a little about Anwar: While
serving as deputy prime minister under Malaysian strongman Mahathir Mohamad in
the 1990s, he began pushing for reforms -- only to be arrested, tried and
imprisoned on trumped-up charges of homosexual sodomy. Freed after six years,
he built a multiethnic democratic opposition movement that shocked the ruling
party with its gains in recent elections. It now appears to have a chance at
winning the next parliamentary campaign, which would allow Malaysia to join
Indonesia and Turkey as full-fledged majority-Muslim democracies.
Not surprisingly, Anwar is being prosecuted again. Once again
the charge is consensual sodomy, which to Malaysia's discredit remains a crime
punishable by whipping and a prison sentence of up to 20 years. Anwar, who is
63 and married with children, denies the charge, and the evidence once again is
highly suspect. His 25-year-old accuser has confessed to meeting Prime Minister
Najib Razak and talking by phone with the national police chief in the days
before the alleged sexual encounter.
Nevertheless the trial is not going
well. If it ends in another conviction, Anwar's political career and his
opposition coalition could be destroyed, and his life could be at risk: His
health is not great. Yet the opposition leader is not getting the kind of
support from the United States as during his first prosecution, when then-Vice
President Gore spoke up for him. Obama said nothing in public about Anwar when
he granted Najib a prized bilateral meeting in Washington in April.
After a "senior officials
dialogue" between the two governments this month, the State Department
conceded that the ongoing trial again had not been raised, "because this
issue was recently discussed at length." When it comes to human rights,
the Obama administration apparently does not wish to be repetitive.
Anwar meanwhile found his own way to
fight back. Hammered for years by government propaganda describing him as an
Israeli agent and a Wolfowitz-loving American lackey, he tried to turn the
tables, alleging that Apco was manipulating the government to support Israeli
and U.S. interests. He also said that Israeli agents had infiltrated Malaysia's
security forces and were "directly involved in the running of the
government."
Najib describes Israel as
"world gangsters." But he quickly turned Anwar's words against him;
Apco has been peddling the anti-Israel statements around Washington.
Anwar is like Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he regards as a friend and fellow traveler. Both
know better than to indulge in such stuff. Both have recently begun to do it
anyway -- after a year in which the Obama administration has frequently
displayed irritation with Israel. "If you say we are growing impatient
with Israel, that is true," Anwar told me. "If you say I am not too
guarded or careful in what I say sometimes, that is also true."
Anwar, who was in Washington for a
couple of days last week, spent a lot of time offering explanations to old
friends, not to mention House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman and a Jewish leader or two. He
said he regretted using terms such as "Zionist aggression," which are
common coin for demagogues like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "Why do I need to use
it if it causes so much misunderstanding?" he said. "I need to be
more careful."
Many of the Malaysian's friends are
inclined to give him a break. "What Anwar did was wrong, but considering
that he's literally fighting for his life -- physically as well as politically
-- against a government that attacks him as being 'a puppet of the Jews,' one
should cut him some slack," Wolfowitz told me.
But
Anwar's story can also be read as a warning. His transition from pro-American
democrat to anti-Israeli zealot is sobering -- and it is on the verge of
becoming a trend
Appendix C
May 25, 2010
The Honorable John F. Kerry, Chairman
The
Honorable Richard G. Lugar, Ranking Member
Committee on Foreign Relations
United
States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Kerry and Senator Lugar:
On behalf of B’nai B’rith International’s more
than 200,000 members and supporters, we write to express our deep concern about
the flagrantly anti-Semitic pronouncements of Malaysia’s opposition leader,
Anwar Ibrahim.
Ibrahim, who spent several years living in
Washington, D.C. cultivating a pro-Western image, has nonetheless used his
position in the Malaysian parliament as a platform for spreading anti-Semitic
propaganda. His frequent criticisms of the government of Prime Minister Najib
Razak are infused with anti-Jewish and anti-Israel slanders, such as his April
30 assertion that Israeli spies are “directly involved in the running of the
government.” On another occasion he alleged the presence of “Israeli
intelligence personnel in the Police IT unit.”
Ibrahim also has said in parliament that the
“Jewish-controlled” public relations firm hired by the Prime Minister was
attempting to manipulate Malaysia to support U.S. policies. In the run-up to
Malaysia’s 2008 elections, he said in an interview with IslamOnline, “I have
evidence proving that the government is backing the Jewish lobby in the U.S.
and some parties inside Israel.”
In light of the role that Ibrahim has played
in the resurgence of anti-Semitic polemics in Malaysian politics, we ask that
U.S. officials suspend their ties with Anwar Ibrahim. A purveyor of anti-Jewish
hatred such as Ibrahim should not enjoy the measure of legitimacy that a
positive relationship with the United States would confer upon him.
Thank you for your attention and cooperation.
We look forward to remaining in communication with you about this matter in the
near future.
Respectfully,
Dennis W. Glick
|
Daniel S. Mariaschin
|
President
|
Executive Vice President
|
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