Then and now: Mohammed Nazir (left) and Mohammed Farik.

KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesian terrorist Hambali can now speak in English and even taught himself Arabic following his arrest 18 years ago.

His lawyer, Jim Hodes, said Hambali was only allowed a strictly controlled call four times a year, each lasting 15 minutes.

”As his lawyer, I am not allowed to speak to him and can only access him by travelling to Guantanamo in a lengthy convoluted and heavily controlled manner,” said Hodes.

According to one news report, Hambali, 57, enjoys watching programmes like Planet Life and Blue Planet on DVD.

In 2010, mStar – The Star’s Bahasa Malaysia news portal – obtained a picture of Hambali from his brother, Kankan Abdul Qadir, who lives in Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia.

The picture was delivered to the family with the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It showed a frail-looking, bearded Hambali, reading a book.

Hambali’s wife, a Sabahan, Noralwizah Lee Abdullah @ Lee Yin Len, a Chinese convert, is believed to be staying at the village with the family.

She was arrested together with Hambali in the central city of Ayutthaya, Thailand, in 2003.

After her release from her two-year detention under the Internal Security Act, she stayed in Sabah’s east coast district of Beluran.

It was reported that her sister, Noral Fadilah @ Lee Ah Lin, was married to Abu Yusuf @ Dandang Surman, another terrorist.

Abu, who was born in West Java, Indonesia and reportedly a permanent resident in Malaysia, stayed for five months in Afghanistan, according to a 2003 report by the International Crisis Centre on Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

Noralwizah and Hambali met at the Luqmanul Hakiem school in Ulu Tiram, Johor, which was founded by two Indonesian JI members, Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakar Bashir.

Abdullah died in 1993 while Abu Bakar, 82, was released from Indonesian prison last January after his 15-year sentence was reduced for good behaviour.

Hambali’s 2010 picture was probably the last photograph seen by the world until his new picture was released by his lawyers recently.

Hambali’s lawyer, Jim Hodes

He was the second in a family of 13 children of a rice farmer in the village of Sukamanah, where he got involved in radical activity in his teenage years.

In fact, he travelled to Afghanistan in 1983 to fight the Soviet Union, where he received arms training. It has been reported that between 1987 and 1990, he had met the late Osama bin Laden.

There have also been reports that Hambali even made calls to Mohamed Jamal Khalifa, a brother-in-law of Osama’s. The two possibly met in Afghanistan during the war. Jamal, who was accused of funding terror plots, was killed in Madagascar in 2007.

”My client (Hambali) was detained in 2003. He was isolated and tortured by the US government for the next three years.

”He was then held in solitary confinement for the next 10 years. His living conditions now are better than when he was being tortured and held in solitary confinement,” Hodes said.

He has maintained that “I do not believe anyone in the US government truly believes that my client represents a threat to anyone, let alone anyone in the US” but Hambali’s jailers have reportedly maintained that “he did use the daily prayers and lecture he led to promote violent jihad among fellow detainees.”

”He also uses his language classes and status as a teacher to exert undue influence on others,” it was reported.

Hodes said he looked forward to having contact with Indonesian and Malaysian authorities to discuss this and other issues in the future.

Mohd Farik, 46, a Kajang-born engineer, is also a cousin of well-known Malaysian terrorist, Zulkifli Abdhir @ Marwan, who was killed by the Philippines army.

He was a leader of the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, which was linked to the JI and listed under FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists.

Johorean Mohd Nazir, 45, who has a degree in architecture, is described as a “high value detainee” and “lieutenant of Hambali”.

In an interview with the New Straits Times in 2016, his brother, Zahbah Lep, said Nazir started gravitating towards Islamic politics when he was 16 and had studied at the Politeknik Sultan Abdul Halim with Farik when he started joining JI and Tarekat groups.

”I was shocked when I was shown a photo of him clad in battle fatigues with Osama bin Laden in the desert.

”I just could not believe that he was capable of doing that,” Zahbah was quoted as saying in the news report about the picture shown to him by Special Branch officers.

It has been reported that he joined the Territorial Army to learn military skills before going to Afghanistan, where he also met Osama.

There has been admission by the US of arrested terrorists being tortured and the existence of covert, overseas CIA interrogation centres known as black sites (even in Morocco and Romania) where Hambali was said to have been questioned.

Time magazine claimed in 2003 that all three were also interrogated in the remote Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, a US military base.

Hambali is said to have been subjected to almost three years of isolation, interrogation and torture, according to a Reuters report in 2014.

More details of these methods of detention and interrogation can be obtained online in a 2014 report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Committee Study.

The many faces of Hambali: His latest look has even surprised local security officials.

KUALA LUMPUR: A long legal journey awaits accused Indonesian terrorist Hambali and his alleged two Malaysian partners Mohamed Farik Amin and Mohamed Nazir Lep. Although a hearing has finally begun, Hambali has already spent 18 years behind bars.

But even that has been bogged down by legal technicalities, with no fresh date fixed for a proper trial.

The three remain incarcerated in the US Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and are among the 39 detainees left of the original 780 detainees held in the high-security prison set up in 2002.

They are classified as “high value detainees” and of “high-risk threat to the United States and its allies.”

A hearing, conducted by the US military commission, began last August, but their case is now on hold.

The Guantanamo military commission, set up in 2001, is a military court of law traditionally used to try the law of war and other offences.

The three have been charged with conspiracy, murder, terrorism, destruction of property and attacking civilians.

With no date set for a trial, it looks like their next legal step remains uncertain.

Hambali, who is also known as Encep Nurjaman and Riduan Isamuddin, was a permanent resident in Malaysia.

He was the alleged key Al-Qaeda leader in South-East Asia, and the two Malaysians were personally recruited by him for a suicide attack in the US, which was later aborted.

The charges against the trio centre on two terrorist attacks in Indonesia, where US citizens were among the casualties.

But the charge implicates all of them in every significant terrorist activity up to and a year beyond his capture.

They are also linked to the deadly bombings in Bali nearly 20 years ago, which killed more than 200 people, and a bombing in Jakarta that left 12 dead and scores more injured.

They were arrested in Thailand in 2003 before being sent to Guantanamo Bay in 2006, where they have been since.

All three now look very different, as seen from the latest pictures obtained by their defence lawyers. Malaysian security officials have also privately expressed surprise at their appearance.

The Sunday Star spoke to Hambali’s lawyer, Jim Hodes, who said the court hearing was called “an arraignment where an individual is advised of their rights by a judge and formally charged with a criminal offence and his/her attorney would then declare the client’s intent to enter a plea or plead not guilty or reserve on a declaration for a variety of reasons.

”In August, it turned out that the government had hired translators who were either woefully inadequate or horribly conflicted and thus, our clients were never properly advised of the charges,” he said in an email interview.

He said a hearing was essentially just the beginning of the process of going to trial at some point in the future.

”The case has taken 18 years to get to this point because the US government is actively trying to keep hidden the fact that they tortured my client, in violation of both US and international law.

”The case is before a military court because a civilian federal court would never allow the things the government is trying to do,” he said.

Besides Hodes, two other lawyers, Christine Funk and Brian Bouffard, represented Mohd Farik @ Zubair Zaid and Mohd Nazir @ Lillie respectively.

Hodes said his client denied being involved in Al Qaeda.

The lawyers are provided by the government and recruited through the Military Commission Defence Organisation.

The three refused to enter a plea when they were arraigned on Aug 30-31, citing incompetence of the translators, which resulted in inaccurate translations.

Bouffard said Nazir could not reliably understand court proceedings in his native language, Bahasa Malaysia, and had to switch to Bahasa Indonesia, “a language he only somewhat understands” adding that Nazir was tortured in obtaining information.

TAMAN Sri Muda is just a barely 15 minutes drive away from Shah Alam, the capital of Selangor. It is a major township located in the Klang district where, by logic, immediate help should have been efficiently swift to rescue the stranded flood victims.

It is not an isolated rural enclave, where accessibility is difficult, but a modern suburb with easy access to three highways. There is even a KTM station located about 2km away from Taman Sri Muda.

So, the range of excuses that has cropped up is hard to accept. It is pathetic, really. Not just to the affected residents but the whole of Malaysia.

Cries of help were still ringing even 48 hours after the floods hit the area, with victims having to spend overnight on rooftops without water and food in the cold.

Some were trapped on the top floor of their submerged homes or in stranded cars, but it made no difference. They had the same predicament, too.

There were many cases of calls for help, especially from families with children and old folks, and in one case, purportedly, the person had died in the home. When the power of their mobile phones died out, they became more desperate and frightened.

So, we are now told that this was an unexpected flood, which had caught everyone by surprise. A month’s rain in one day, we heard.

But for the residents of Taman Sri Muda and surrounding areas, they have been complaining of floods for over 20 years.

The elected representatives have come and gone, but nothing has changed, despite their electoral promises. They certainly have the right to be furious at the authorities – whether federal or state.

When floods hit the place on Dec 25, 1995, the residents took to task the authorities over the lack of planning and failure to render efficient rescue services.

Mind you, it was then on a much smaller scale compared to the one on Sunday (Dec 19), which was exceptional.

Then, on Dec 14, 2021, Malaysia was hit again by Tropical Depression, with Pahang and Selangor being the hardest hit. The media reported that government officials described it as “once in 100 years”. Well, the same excuse has now been given again.

And of course, Taman Sri Muda wasn’t spared in those floods, where damage was reported in Shah Alam.

While the floods in Malaysia are due to its geographical location, with cyclical monsoons characterised by heavy and regular rainfall from October to March, inadequate drainage in many urban areas has worsened the effects of heavy rain.

There have been consistent reports of floods in Klang Valley for areas along the Klang River, Gombak River, Kerayong River, and of course, Damansara River in Shah Alam, where Taman TTDI Jaya Giant Hypermarket and Shah Alam Stadium are located.

On Sunday, all these areas were the worst hit, and it doesn’t take an expert to tell us, given the notorious history of flooding in these areas, that we should have been better prepared – even if it wasn’t as bad as this latest one. Were we even prepared in these areas?

According to the authorities, 60,000 personnel from the police, army and fire department were mobilised nationwide. But ask the ordinary rakyat, they probably think differently and public perception is everything, like it or not.

What was glaring has been the lack of coordination and readiness to respond to a big disaster. What would have happened if there was something more massive than last Sunday’s flood?

But let me salute our rescue operations personnel for doing the best, in whatever circumstances, for their work. After all, they merely take commands.

Flood occurrences have become more frequent in recent years in urban areas because of the loss of flood storage due to development extending into and taking over flood plains and drainage corridors.

Then, there are inadequate drainage systems, or failure of localised drainage improvement works extended insufficiently downstream, according to www.water.gov.my.

There is also constriction at bridges and culverts that are either undersized or partially blocked by debris build-up or other causes.

To be fair, since 1971, following the setting up of the Permanent Flood Control Commission, to take various steps for flood control and to reduce the occurrence, including even flood forecasting and warning, but all failed last Sunday and in previous years.

Our politicians’ visits to these disaster areas have been dismissed cynically by Malaysians, especially in Selangor, and some have not even been seen in their constituencies.

It was a point made by His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, in an interview with The Star recently – before Sunday’s floods – of some elected representatives in the state who only “talks a lot on social media and in Parliament but in reality, there is nothing done” and he was referring to flash floods which hit an area in Selangor a few months back.

Selangor’s biggest problem is the frequent water supply disruptions and constant floods. That’s bad.

Selangor is the most important state in the country, being the most industrialised, so it needs all the backing at all levels, including the Federal Government.

The rakyat is sick and tired of excessive politicking, finger-pointing, photo ops involving politicians, big ceremonies and finally, stop blaming God. It is neither God’s wrath for our purported sinful ways nor that Shah Alam has a brewery.

Please. It is no longer once in 100 years flooding anymore; it has become too frequent.

Businessman Tan Sri Vincent Tan (file pic) wants to push his ambition of making homes possible to the low-income group as the size of the B40 group has reportedly grown to become B50 now.

IT’S been 10 months since tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan announced his affordable home project for low-income Malaysians, notably the B40 (bottom 40% or poor) group.

“In just that short period, we now hear reports that it is now B50 because the middle class has slid down.

“M40 has reportedly deteriorated to now M30, according to some news reports because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It has become more urgent that the affordable home project for the lower income gets going soon,” the Berjaya Corp Bhd chairman said, over a vegetarian lunch interview.

The B40 are Malaysians who have a combined household income of less than RM5,000 per month.

Vincent, who heads the Better Malaysia Foundation (BMF), has launched a new social enterprise programme to assist the government in addressing home ownership aspirations.

He has done his homework, evaluated the costs and learned that loans are a major stumbling block for the B40.

Other related issues can only be ironed out by the government and banks.

Vincent is pushing the concept that BMF, in collaboration with Berjaya Land Bhd, has designed a 900-sq-ft five-bedroom, four-bathroom show apartment specifically for this initiative.

The Batu Pahat born self-made billionaire said he was “extremely disturbed and sad” that almost half of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members have less than RM10,000 in the accounts and that only 3% of these low-income Malaysians can afford to retire at 55-years-old and sustain it with their savings.

Vincent understood what it was like to be poor, as he had to forgo a tertiary education because his lorry driver father could not afford it.

There were eight siblings in the family, and eventually he found work as a bank clerk instead and then sold life insurance.

Both he and his businessman brother, Tan Sri Danny Tan, had to share a rented room when they first came to Kuala Lumpur to work.

Danny, who had only a kap cai motorcycle, even travelled to villages to sell encyclopaedias, before joining his elder brother to sell insurance.

Looking at the plight of the B40 now, Vincent said: “The pandemic has made it worse for many Malaysians. Many are still struggling as businesses have closed and wages slashed.”

The EPF has warned that this could have huge socio-economic implications following the Covid-19 pandemic and stressed the importance of adopting a holistic approach to address the issue.

EPF, in its latest findings, reported that most of its members in the low–and middle–income groups are likely to live in poverty in old age unless mitigation measures are taken.

The data showed a 60% decline in median savings among the 5.05 million EPF members in the low-income group (Bottom 40) from RM2,434 (RM10 per month for 20 years) to RM1,005 (RM4 per month for 20 years) post-pandemic.

Vincent said these developments had made it even more urgent that these households have a roof over their head and there was validity for his proposal.

The situation in Klang Valley and major cities are grim. For every 1,000 units launched in the Klang Valley, it is said that between 10,000 and 60,000 applicants apply to purchase them.

According to Khazanah Research Institute, current trends indicate that both the B40 and a segment of the M40 of income earners require some form of social housing or assistance in buying their first home.

Vincent said he hoped to meet the various stakeholders and key figures at the federal and state governments to explain to them the significance of the proposal.

The 69-year-old philanthropist understands fully that advocacy isn’t enough and as a businessman, who likes to pride himself for being practical and results-oriented, he wants to make the idea work.“I hope they (the politicians) will still open their doors for me because I don’t want them to get frightened by my persistence,” he laughed.

Vincent shared that his idea of a five bedroom, with four toilets, in a 900 sq feet flat had been mocked.

“Come to see the model flat at Berjaya Times Square. It can be done. Can you imagine a family of six? The father and mother take one room.

“If there are three girls and one boy, how do they share the remaining one room, as it is now with low-cost flats?

“Many live in the tiny hall and sometimes, brothers and sisters share rooms. It’s not conducive. Many low-income families may be poor but they are blessed with many children.”

Tan said he had also met two banks to work out a good housing loan proposal for the low-income home buyers.“I trust that the less privileged will be good at servicing their loans. Better than the rich,” he said, citing the experience of the Grameen Bank’s microcredit project in Bangladesh with a 90% recovery rate.

BMF identified that high land prices in urban areas is one of the key current issues.

It suggested that land be provided on lease by the government or be subsidised, with an assurance that the lowered cost be translated to the lower house prices for the B40.

It said the government can offer land at subsidised prices or leased for a 99-year period to property developers catering to the B40 sector.

Apartment sizes and selling prices should be controlled as per those in the affordable housing guidelines, it added.

“There is potential for the B40 home prices to be lowered when land cost is taken up by the government. Homes cost can be lowered from the original RM300,000 for a 900 sq ft unit in Kuala Lumpur and RM250,000 in Selangor when land cost is taken out of the equation via a 99-year government lease.

“This will allow for lower monthly mortgages, close to current rentals, thus improving the eligibility for the B40 to purchase.

To tackle the issue of the B40 group unable to apply for housing loans due to financial difficulties, the BMF has suggested innovative finance solutions.

It has put forward two key proposals for lenders to provide 100% financing for the 35 year or extended loans among family members and for the government to guarantee a portion of those loans.

“The affordable housing shortage for the B40 group must be addressed urgently. Those who are now able to rent their properties may not be able to keep up with their rental payments when they retire or are no longer gainfully employed for whatever reason,” Vincent said.

He said for the idea to come to fruition, several conditions have to be in place, including the government support to charge lower land premiums and nominal development charges for affordable housing projects. By doing so, the government will help to give affordable housing a shot in the arm.

Vincent urged the federal and state governments to sell development land at a low cost to developers to build affordable housing projects, especially in urban locations close to transport hubs.

BMF’s second proposal is for lenders to provide 100% financing to B40 house buyers.

The foundation’s research has shown that several banks are already offering 100% financing to house buyers with a minimum income of between RM2,000 and RM3,000 per month, including RHB Bank, Malayan Banking Bhd, CIMB Bank, OCBC Bank, MBSB, Bank Rakyat, AmBank and Affin Bank.

However, it states that 60% of loan applications by prospective buyers of affordable homes are rejected due to age or poor credit scores.

Vincent said rejecting a housing loan is akin to a life sentence for the B40 applicant, adding that many first-time house buyers are unable to come up with the down payment required for buying a house.

This will be resolved if lenders provide 100% financing, he pointed out.

He urged the government to implement strategic initiatives for banks and financial institutions to provide 100% financing to B40 house buyers with two-generation home loans of between 40- and 60-year duration so that loan repayments would be affordable and manageable.

He has even suggested that the government guarantee the home loans of B40 house buyers so they can be offered at a lower interest rate.

According to the BMF, banks and financial institutions must also play their part by providing loans with 100% financing to the B40 house buyers.

“We understand that the loan applications of 60% of buyers of affordable homes are rejected by banks and financial institutions due to age or poor credit scores.

“The key problem is the rejection of loans, which has also affected property developers who want to build affordable homes in allotted areas.

“So, even well-meaning developers have found this to be a major hurdle as they, too, need to pay the banks when construction begins for these affordable flats.”

But Vincent can’t pull this off unless the government extends support in terms of charging lower land premiums and nominal development fees for these housing projects.

The federal and state governments must also be willing to sell development land cheaply to developers to build affordable houses, especially in urban locations close to transportation hubs, which would translate to lower purchase prices for low-income house buyers.

The BMF believes that affordable housing can be realised with pricing going from RM120,000 to RM300,000 for an apartment in the Klang Valley, with sizes starting from 450 sq ft, 600 sq ft, 750 sq ft and up to 900 sq ft.

The foundation also conducted a survey on 1,700 employees of a private business organisation who fall within the income range of the B40 group,

The survey’s focus was on the amount B40 employees were paying for renting a room or a house.

From the survey, it was ascertained that the B40 employees were paying an average rental of RM900 per month for housing in the Klang Valley. That means the RM900 rental paid each month covers the monthly loan repayments of RM899 had the employees been able to obtain a 100% financed, 60-year loan of RM300,000.

“The key takeaway from this is that the monthly rentals can be “converted” into monthly loan repayments, so a B40 person can buy his own home. It is imperative that housing loans for the B40 group are 100% financed for a term of 40 to 60 years, so that monthly repayments are affordable, and the two-generation feature is adopted.”

Many wealthy Malaysian parents have begun buying homes for their children because they know it will be tough for them.

For those renting homes, it gets more difficult to secure bank loans when they grow older. It could get even worse when they can’t afford rent because they’ve retired.

But for the B40, they may end up homeless. And that could take us from enduring social and criminal problems, right through to navigating past a political storm.

“Investing in people, especially homes for the lower income, is a good thing. Malaysia can afford it if we review whether we need some of the mega-projects.”