IT may be news to PAS – and they will hardly be able to believe it – but Saudi Arabia has been promoting international concerts, including even rave parties. Party-goers are even free to dance together.

Massive reforms are taking place in this once deeply conservative country but thanks to Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, rapid and radical plans are being pushed ahead, leaving even some clerics aghast.

MBS, as he is known, has allowed women to drive while improvements are taking place in areas like employment and freedom of movement.

What’s more, over the past few years, especially before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, international concerts had already taken place in Riyadh, with men and women allowed to dance together.

Big acts such as Justin Bieber, Pit Bull, Jason Derulo, A$AP Rocky, Black Eyed Peas and Salman Khan have all performed in this Arab nation. Rave parties featuring French DJ David Guetta have also taken place.

In fact, South Korea’s biggest K-pop group, BTS, also performed in Riyadh – and they got VVIP treatment.

Saudi Arabia officially announced in December 2021 that it plans “to offer up to 600% more concerts”.

Over in Malaysia though, we seem to be regressing. We have PAS Youth threatening to stage nationwide protests unless the Federal Government cancels all upcoming concerts featuring international artistes.

Its Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari claims the concerts will encourage “hedonism” – a PAS favourite term – and were not in line with the norms and values of Muslim life in Malaysia.

He said: “Our party will not hesitate to stir up resistance across the country if these are not cancelled.”

This is what happens when a little power gets into the head of PAS leaders. With just 18 parliamentary seats in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat, it has become part of the Federal Government, only because of how the country’s political scenario has unfolded.

PAS leader Datuk Idris Ahmad now holds the religious affairs minister post. He was given a royal rebuke recently by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, after warning Muslims against attending the Japanese cultural celebration Bon Odori.

The Islamist party, which has long run the Kelantan government, has closed cinemas, banned concerts, and imposed gender segregation including at supermarket check-outs. Unisex hair salons are a no-no, too.

Now that is has squirmed into the Federal Government, PAS seems to be trying to push its luck – and authority – on the rest of Malaysia.

The Islamist party, which always seems soft and even apologetic when it comes to real issues like corruption, is always loud when it comes to the subject of lifestyles.

It has conveniently forgotten that Malaysia is a multiethnic and multireligious country and that it has no right to impose its interpretation of religious values on others. After all, religious freedom is guaranteed in the Federal Constitution.

PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, who is also the special envoy to West Asia, should be explaining to his party members and supporters why huge changes are taking shape in Saudi Arabia.

He might want to start with the news – which will be heartbreaking for the PAS folk – that Saudi Arabia has even staged the MDLBeast Soundstorm festival, its version of Tomorrowland, a Belgian electronic dance festival.

In Riyadh, the party went on for four nights with non-stop entertainment, dancing and electronic tunes, with 500,000 people attending.

Perhaps, PAS needs to organise a lawatan sambil belajar (study tour) to Saudi Arabia soon to see all these purportedly hedonistic concerts, featuring foreign acts.

But then, PAS might be more interested in visiting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Budget, scheduled to be tabled on Oct 28, will now be held earlier.

It is now expected to be presented in the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 7 – three weeks earlier than scheduled.

The Cabinet, which met on Friday (Aug 26), was informed of the decision by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The decision is regarded as an indication that the general election will be held soon.

Barisan Nasional officials, in reacting to the news, said the Parliament could be dissolved after the Budget is tabled.

Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz will present the Budget when the Dewan meets again on Oct 3.

Following the Cabinet’s directive, the next step will be to inform Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun, who needs at least 28 days to inform the Members of Parliament of the new date.

The decision to hold an earlier Budget is being made ahead of the special Umno meeting on Saturday (Aug 27) where leaders are expected to push for a general election to be held soon.

The present Parliament term ends in July 2023.

Barisan leaders said Parliament could be dissolved after the Budget is tabled.

”Political developments are moving very fast as the GE tempo will now be accelerated,” said one Barisan leader.

Kajang Prison.

KAJANG Prison is located right in the middle of this town in Selangor, about 40km away from Kuala Lumpur.

No new visitors to Kajang, in the Hulu Langat district, would miss the imposing medium-security prison building.

It is now home to Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the first Malaysian prime minister to be jailed.

The former premier is one of more than 5,000 prisoners there as at July 2022.

Like all Malaysian prisons, this facility is overcrowded, but it is surprisingly clean and well-maintained.

Our senior prison wardens are even sent overseas to learn from others on how to manage these facilities.

I had the opportunity of visiting both the Kajang and Sungai Buloh prisons several times, where I was allowed access to most parts of these centres in the company of the wardens, to see for myself what the situation there is really like.

I was invited to give motivational talks to the inmates and on one occasion, was even asked to help an inmate facing natural life imprisonment to obtain a royal pardon.

He had served 28 years by then. He was a model prisoner who ran a church service at Kajang Prison.

For a start, it’s nothing like the prisons we see in American TV dramas.

There are no double-decker beds for our inmates. They sleep on the cement floor, on standard latex mattresses that are about 5cm thick.

Those in the good behaviour category are rewarded with a 10cm-thick mattress.

There are about four to six persons in a cell, with a shared open toilet covered by low partial walls with no door.

They have to shower in the cell, too.

Some of the cells have no shower and inmates will have to go to a shower area, known simply as “tempat mandi”.

At Kajang, inmates are served three meals a day, starting at 7am when breakfast is served. The inmates usually have a cup of tea or coffee and a piece of bread. Lunch is around noon and dinner at about 4pm, mainly consisting of rice and curry with chicken or fish.

Former prisoners describe it as “canteen food’’. They eat in the dining hall.

At 10pm, it’s lights out.

The prison is a hot place and it feels like an oven in there.

No fans are provided in the cells. Trees are also not planted in the prison complex as they are deemed unsuitable for security purposes.

Many male inmates strip down to their underwear in the cells. In some areas, though, industrial fans are installed to allow better ventilation to reduce the unbearable heat.

Well-behaved inmates, who wear blue attire, get some form of reward like a desk and possibly a fan.

It is unlikely that Najib will share a cell with five or eight other inmates at Kajang Prison.

While VIP prisoners are expected to be treated the same as others, the prisons would certainly want them to be safe.

Based on what former inmates, wardens and non-governmental organisation visitors say, these VIP prisoners – usually former politicians, lawyers, policemen or corporate figures – would likely be assigned their own cells.

Even Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, when he was incarcerated at Sungai Buloh Prison, had his own cell, which was located near the clinic wing.

Politician Lim Guan Eng and Hindraf activist P. Uthayakumar were also held in Kajang Prison.

In both the Kajang and Sungai Buloh prisons, drug addicts and traffickers make up the largest number of inmates, with many rehabilitation programmes drawn up for them.

Unlike in the movies, the average prisoner is usually well-behaved, and they conventionally stay away from trouble.

Sexual relationships in these facilities are regarded as a crime and certainly, any sexual act or even attempting it leads to only one thing – extra prison time.

Prisoners are addressed by their numbers, NOT names, and for newcomers with titles, this certainly needs some getting used to.

Welcome to Kajang Prison.

FOR God’s sake, please leave the Federal Court judges alone. The Bench should be left to discharge its duties professionally without any form of intimidation, pressure, or certainly, interference from anyone – especially the Executive.

Malaysians are not the only ones closely following developments at the apex court involving Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his final appeal in the RM42mil SRC International Sdn Bhd case.

(On July 28, 2020, the High Court convicted and sentenced Najib on seven charges involving criminal breach of trust (CBT), money laundering, and abuse of position, all involving SRC funds, totalling RM42mil. He was sentenced to 12 years in jail and a fine of RM210mil. The conviction and sentence were upheld by the Court of Appeal.)

The world is watching how we are handling this high-profile case as it involves a former prime minister, no less.

Surely, the five-member bench led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who is hearing the appeal, should not be subjected to any kind of threats.

That’s not how it works.

The independence of the judiciary should not be challenged nor compromised, and over the next few days, the nation will be witnessing a defining moment.

These top judges must be free to make their decisions without fear or favour. The separation of powers in our Federal Constitution is clearly stipulated. The doctrine under which these three branches of government – the Executive, Legislative and Judicial – are kept separate is to ensure there is a system of checks and balances.

This is to ensure the government remains accountable and fair, as well as to enable each branch to act as a check on the power of the other.

It is thus a mockery, if not ignorance, when politicians suggest or expect the prime minister to intervene in a court case because they feel one of their party members should not have to face the consequences of his actions.

Deliberate acts have been carried out, in different ways and on various platforms, to embarrass the Bench with vicious insinuations hurled at the Chief Justice (and even journalists) who have written about the issue.

To be more precise, threats have been made against the CJ. To put it bluntly, it is unprecedented and shocking – words which Malaysians have now grown familiar with, thanks to certain lawyers.

Right-thinking Malaysians, regardless of their political allegiance, must stand up to voice grave concerns at what is taking place now. Politicians come and go but the institution remains.

Malaysia has been able to remain a stable and progressive nation, as we celebrate our 65th birthday, because the rule of law and order has always been upheld.

There is an established legal system in this country with the Federal Constitution recognised as the highest law of the country.

Like it or not, it is the judges who have been appointed to dispense the law and to exercise its authority.

Those facing charges are given every opportunity to challenge the decisions of the courts.

In many countries, the accused who has been sentenced to jail at the lowest court, would have been jailed immediately while going through the stages of appeal.

But here, the appellants are given bail, as in most cases, as they seek the views of the Court of Appeal and finally, a review from the Federal Court.

Malaysians who do not understand the various points of appeal have also questioned, without basis, why Najib had been allowed to roam freely. That is simply because he had not exhausted his appeals.

But the buck stops at the Federal Court, the highest court in the land, today. Everything must come to an end. Whatever decision handed down by this apex court has to and must be respected, regardless of whether we like it or not.

The grounds of their decision will be properly put in a written judgment for all to read.

Malaysia is not a half-baked Third World nation, where politicians and their apparatchik decide on the verdicts of court decisions, let’s be clear.

Leave it to the judges, please.

UNTIL a few weeks ago, many politicians and journalists were certain that Parliament would be dissolved by October although the Prime Minister is still keeping them guessing.

To avoid being caught off guard, preparations by various political parties have started.

It is speculated that the Budget, fixed for Oct 28, would be brought forward to accommodate the dissolution of the Dewan Rakyat.

While Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz told the media that the tabling date of the Budget remains unchanged, the aspirant Barisan Nasional candidate has also been hitting the grounds.

He is almost always at the Kuala Selangor parliamentary constituency, where he is said to be contesting, when he is not carrying out official duties.

Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan has gone on his nationwide visits to ensure the machinery is put in place.

But last week, the Prime Minister’s Office told the media that Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob would be travelling to New York from Sept 22 to 25 to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

The decision caught several Cabinet members and officials off guard as the PM would surely not be taking five days off if he was preparing for the GE.

He has also invited several Members of Parliament to accompany him on the trip, an official said.

During a meet with editors last week, for the interview on his first year as PM, he indicated that he wasn’t ready for the GE, saying the littoral combat ship (LCS) issue had now emerged, saying “we don’t know how this issue will affect our chances”.

But in the same breath, he said “the global economic forecast for next year is not encouraging. If this is the situation, would it be a good time for the election to be held next year?’’

If the Budget is to be held earlier, say by the first week of October, it means the notice would have to be served to the Speaker to inform him of the change in plan.

Under the rules, a minimum 28-day notice would be needed and based on this assumption, the notice would need to be sent by Sept 1 or 2.

That means the Dewan Rakyat can be dissolved once the Budget is tabled by the first week, and to pave the way for GE15 to be held by November.

“The impact of the Budget, which will certainly be aimed at the electorate, would be lost if it is not followed immediately by the elections.

“The PM must strike it while it is hot because like it or not, it will be regarded as a preliminary BN manifesto. To put it simply, the message is vote us back and we will put this Budget into a reality,’’ said an analyst.

By December, the monsoon period which often brings floods to many areas of the East Coast would have started and it would not be the best time to hold a GE.

The next option is to dissolve Parliament after the Chinese New Year next year, which begins on Jan 22, 2023.

Christmas, in December this year, and CNY in January would allow the PM to provide better optics for his Keluarga Malaysia concept.

There has been criticism that, so far, the turnout for his various state celebrations involved mainly Malays.

The diversity and inclusivity elements are missing and surely, to make his Keluarga Malaysia idea more meaningful, these must be seen.

Last year, he was missing from the annual Christmas high tea organised by the Christian Federation of Malaysia as he had to rush to flood-hit states.

As with the previous practices, the annual Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations for Form 5 students is scheduled from the end of February to March 2023 and this means almost all schools, usually used as polling stations, would be held up for the exams.

Many schoolteachers are also roped in by the Election Commission to assist in the running of elections.

By March 22, the fasting month begins (and ends on April 21) and then Hari Raya begins, with a month of celebrations.

The window period available for the PM to call for the GE gets tighter as the clock ticks. The term of the present Federal Government ends on July 15, 2023.

One exasperated Barisan leader said ‘’if the PM is worried about LCS, he has a valid reason, but no one can be sure what other issues will crop up next if the dragging continues”.

The PM is certainly keeping his options close to his chest and politicians, who claimed they have been told of “possible months” heard directly from the PM, have ended up being wrong, so far.