Saudi Aramco takes on a USD 7 Billion Malaysian refinery complication en route its historic IPO?

by Ganesh Sahathevan

The Saudi Aramco IPO is said to be well and truly underway. Even if a prospectus has yet to be issued, underwriters are reported to have already committed to the deal.Reuters has reported:

Oil giant Saudi Aramco [IPO-ARMO.SE] has asked JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley to assist with its mammoth initial public share offer and could call on another bank with access to Chinese investors, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The U.S. banks have joined boutique investment bank Moelis & Co in winning coveted roles in what is expected to be the world’s biggest IPO, worth some $100 billion.

Given this advanced stage,it is hard to understand why Aramco has added this last minute complication:

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak announced on Monday (Feb 27) that Saudi Arabia’s state oil company will invest US$7 billion in an oil refinery to be set up by Malaysian oil company Petroliam Nasional (Petronas).Mr Najib said the decision was made before noon on Monday after discussions between top executives from Petronas and Saudi Aramco to build the plant, which is part of Malaysia’s US$27 billion Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project in Pengerang in the southern state of Johor. The agreement, which is scheduled to be signed on Tuesday afternoon, will make Aramco the single-largest investor in RAPID in Johor.

Refineries are notorious for their wafer thin margins but very large capital requirements. This deal will add to Aramco’s business risk, and given the size of the cash investment, financial risk. While some might think USD 7 billion a negligible sum compared to the USD 2 trillion market capitalization Aramco is expected to achieve, it should be remembered that the oil business is cyclical and adding to that risk is never a good idea.Aramco’s managers would understand all these factors only too well, so the rationale for this deal is a mystery. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Aramco was reported just two weeks ago to have abandoned this deal.

END

Reference

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Malaysia’s decade-old push for Mid-East 

investments stumbles

PUBLISHED

FEB 6, 2017, 5:00 AM SGT

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Saudi Aramco’s pullout from joint venture is latest crack in policy to draw Arab capital

Leslie Lopez Regional Correspondent In Kuala Lumpur

The decision by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) to pull out from a multibillion-dollar petrochemical project in Johor with state-owned Petronas has exposed cracks in Muslim Malaysia’s decade-old push to attract capital from the Middle East.

Early last week, Malaysia’s Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani confirmed international news reports that Saudi Aramco had decided to withdraw from the US$27 billion (S$38 billion) refinery and petrochemical joint-venture development in Pengerang, Johor.

Mr Johari gave no reasons for Saudi Aramco’s pullout, but he emphasised that it would not impact the project because Petronas has the financial muscle to proceed with the petrochemical venture.

There is little doubt among oil industry executives that the project, which is central to Malaysia’s plans to rival Singapore as a regional oil and gas processing hub, will go ahead as planned.

But Saudi Aramco’s surprise decision to axe its Malaysian plans has added to a growing list of troubles Malaysia is facing with investors from the Middle East, who are also facing financial problems because of the slump in oil prices.

In recent months, economic ties with Abu Dhabi, which has long ranked as the Arab world’s most aggressive investor in Malaysia, have hit the skids over a dispute stemming from the financial debacle at state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The dispute has gone into arbitration and, since then, Abu Dhabi’s state-owned entities have withdrawn their involvement from several planned real estate projects in Malaysia, such as the development of a financial hub in the Iskandar region in Johor and the 1MDB-led Tun Razak Exchange project in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company is demanding US$6.5 billion from the Malaysian state fund after it defaulted on a multibillion-dollar financial assistance arrangement.

Malaysia has long relied on foreign investment to drive its economy and the push to attract capital and tourists from the Middle East began under former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who succeeded Tun Mahathir Mohamad in late 2003.

At the time, the oil-rich Middle East countries were shunning the West following the Sept 11, 2001 attacks by militants on the United States and Malaysia emerged as a natural fit because of its Muslim credentials and stable politics.

More than a decade later, results from this push to attract Arab capital are mixed.

Malaysia’s banking sector has benefited from the presence of three Middle Eastern financial institutions that have set up base in the country.

The country is also a popular destination for Middle Eastern tourists, who take advantage of the weakening local currency and the relatively cheap shopping compared with Singapore.

But larger ventures have not worked out so well.

For example, the Malaysian government wanted Middle Eastern investors to take the lead in the development of the Iskandar region in Johor, particularly in Medini, a 930ha mixed-use development that would feature a financial district envisioned as a hub for global Islamic finance.

The project attracted big names such as Kuwait Finance House, Abu Dhabi’s state-owned Mubadala Development Group and Aldar Properties, another real estate developer in Abu Dhabi.

But Arab involvement in Medini quickly fizzled out after the 2008 global financial crisis and the investments were subsequently taken over by private Malaysian interests.

Other big-ticket Arab-led projects in Malaysia that have been quietly axed in recent years include plans by Abu Dhabi business groups to invest in a US$7 billion oil storage facility in Johor, and a US$4.2 billion aluminium smelter project in Sarawak.

Abu Dhabi investors have also pulled out from 1MDB’s multibillion-dollar Tun Razak Exchange real estate development on the fringes of Kuala Lumpur.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 06, 2017, with the headline ‘Malaysia’s decade-old push for Mid-East investments stumbles’. Print Edition | Subscribe

1MDB loss may be closer to USD 20 billion: Najib, Rosmah conducting 1MDB business with PetroSaudi may have included undisclosed off-balance sheet transactions

by Ganesh Sahathevan 


(Source:http://www.tradingeconomics.com/malaysia/net-errors-and-omissions-adjusted-bop-us-dollar-wb-data.html)

The value for Net errors and Omissions in the Balance Of Payments (BoP, current US$) in Malaysia  has fluctuated between $3,552,316,000 in 1993 and ($19,990,770,000) in 2010.
The “Errors and Omissions” figure is considered a proxy for “unofficial” or rather unaccountable flows of foreign exchange out of the country. 
2010 was of course the year when much of the 1MDB theft took place, and it does appear as if that massive unaccounted flow of US Dollars has shown up in the Balance of Payments.

As previously reported on this blog,Sarawak Report has obtained and published photos which show that PM  Najib and wife Rosmah may have conducted 1MDB business with PetroSaudi on their own, without 1MDB management, or board present. Given the extent of the sudden increase in leakages it is not improbable that the business conducted included off-balance sheet transactions executed in 1MDB’s name. 

The extent of 1MDB’s losses could well be in excess of the currently estimated USD 10 billion, and in fact closer to USD 20 billion.That the higher amount has not shown up in any of the investigations conducted so far is easy to explain.These are not in any way reflected in the books and known only to the chairman, PM Najib. Nevertheless,these would still be liabilities borne by  1MDB ,and by extension the Malaysian Government.

END 

Photos show Najib, Rosmah , conducted 1MDB business with PetroSaudi on their own, without 1MDB management, or board present

by Ganesh Sahathevan 

The photo above obtained by Sarawak Report shows PM Najib, wife Rosmah and Petrosaudi’s Prince Turki Abdullah and Tarek Obeid in discussion, on board a yacht somewhere off the coast of the south of France.

Clearly visible in the photo are three sets of documents,which appear to be some form of prospectus (using that term in its broadest sense). Interestingly, Rosmah Mansor has her own copy. Obviously, this was no friendly holiday chat over drinks while taking in the sea breeze; detailed business matters were being discussed.

In its own words, PetroSaudi’s business dealings in Malaysia have been with 1MDB,and hence it is hard to see that the above discussion did not concern 1MDB. 

The implications for Najib are obvious. To begin with the photo belies the(in any case idiotic) claim made by his  lawyer that his  “signature on 1MDB documents (is)a formality, doesn’t mean he decides or knows all.” Consequently this photo adds to the existing evidence that puts him at the very centre of the 1MDB theft. 

Then , the apparent involvement of Rosmah in 1MDB’s affairs does seem to confirm the allegations regarding  her, and her son Riza’s dealings in 1MDB’s cash assets.It is hard to see how Najib , or Rosmah can justify her being involved in discussions concerning 1MDB.

END 

Reference -Sarawak Report

“Innocent Owner” Riza Aziz 

Attended Yacht Meeting Before 

Good Star Heist – EXCLUSIVE

• 21 February 2017

 

• 16 comments

Last week in California the Prime Minister’s step-son, Riza Aziz, filed a notice to

 dismiss the US Department of Justice’s seizure of his properties on the grounds that

 he was the “innocent owner” and could not be held responsible for the fact the money was stolen from 1MDB.

Motion to dismiss by Riza’s lawyers

Those properties include a Beverly Hills mansion, the film production company Red Granite’s future earnings from Wolf of Wall Street, a London Belgravia town house and a New York penthouse.

What this defence contends is that Riza had simply no idea that the hundreds of millions that suddenly started coming his way was not stolen, but thought it was a gift. For this reason he reckons he should be allowed to hang on to all the items bought with Malaysia’s stolen development money (money which the Malaysian tax payer is now faced with paying back to the original lenders at high interest rates).

Yet Sarawak Report has established new evidence that Riza was in from the very start on the 1MDB heist, in that he was invited to attend the meeting where the first ‘joint venture’ was cooked up between Jho Low, the Prime Minister and company PetroSaudi on the super-yacht Tatoosh in August 2009.

A trip manifest reveals that the jaunt, which took place between 15-20th August, was organised by a “high-end boutique concierge company” named Baroque, of which Jho Low was a member. According to the note made by the representative for Baroque, Sahle Ghebreyesus, the trip was in fact commissioned by his client Jho Low (whom he describes on the manifest as “my guy”). In March the following year Tarek Obaid also joined Baroque, which is an agency designed to pamper the super-rich:

High-end boutique concierge company that organised the rental of Tatoosh

Photographs later obtained by Sarawak Report show the main players behind the theft of the first billion from 1MDB through the PetroSaudi ‘joint venture’, which was strategised during this super-yacht meeting.

However, we can now confirm that Riza Aziz also joined the party, along with Najib’s key financial cronies Bustari Yusof and Robin Tan.  Robin Tan is the son of Vincent Tan, long associated with BN political funding, and Bustari is the Sarawak PPB party treasurer cum billionaire, who was handed the ‘turnkey contract’ for the Pan Borneo Highway project and whose brother Fadillah has now been appointed Minister for Public Works.

This gives the Bustari brothers control over all the big contracts handed out by the Government, in Malaysia’s notoriously corrupted procurement process and Bustari has rarely strayed from Najib’s side in recent months.

‘My guy” Jho Low fixed the trip. “innocent owner” Riza Aziz was also on board

Did Riza have simply no idea what was going on as these guys did the business which was soon to send money streaming his way?

It was just a few short months later that he went on to launch his production company Red Granite Pictures at the most lavish launch party ever seen at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010.

And over the next two years Jho Low was at Riza’s side at every major film event involving Red Granite Pictures, including Wolf of Wall Street, which was funded by yet more money stolen from 1MDB, thanks to the later ‘Power Purchase Loan’ manoeuvres also organised by Jho Low.

According to the New York Times, Low was furthermore directly involved in the purchase of both of Riza’s US properties in Hollywood and New York. Did Riza simply fail to realise what was going on?

There can only be two conclusions. Either Riza is lying and he did know or Riza is a sad and stupid creature, who was merely used as a front and proxy by the players behind the scandal, which included his friend Jho Low and step-dad Najib.

He is therefore EITHER innocent OR the owner.  He cannot be the “innocent owner”!

left to right – Tarek Obaid, Prince Turki and Najib Razak – the three named Shareholders of the 1MDB PetroSaudi Joint Venture meeting a month before the deal on the yacht Tatoosh.

Sarawak Report requests that various journalists, authors and film

 makers, who seek to use this site as their resource for commercial 

projects such as books and documentaries give full credit to this blog, acknowledge copyright and do not seek to apply for awards, 

commissions etc without so doing.

Najib flew over Jerusalem, but Bibi Nethanyahu had to fly around Malaysia to get to Sydney

by Ganesh Sahathevan

It has been previously reported on this blog that Malaysia’s PM Najib probably sought special permission to fly over Jerusalem en-route Turkey .

The records below, derived from 9M-NAA’s squawk code ,shows that on at least three occasions 

in 2016, Najib and his 9M-NAA flew over Jerusalem enroute Malta,Germany and Turkey ,despite Malaysia not having diplomatic relations with Israel, and despite an avowed opposition to anything Jewish.

Najib could have easily flown over any part of the Middle East, but it seems that self preservation might have prevailed in these instances.

(local) Date

(local) Time

GMT

Callsign

Type

Serial

Location

Squawk

Altitude

2016-09-24	21:41:10.000	2016-09-24 19:50:12	NR1	A-319	9M-NAA	Valletta, MT	2021	37975
2016-09-24	19:27:52.000	2016-09-24 16:34:11	NR1	A-319	9M-NAA	Jerusalem, IL	515	38025

2016-05-13	17:26:16.266	2016-05-13 15:26:16	NR1	A-319	9M-NAA	EDDM-1, DE	—	—
2016-05-13	16:26:09.000	2016-05-13 13:26:09	NR1	A-319	9M-NAA	Jerusalem, IL	—	—

2016-04-14	20:13:49.684	2016-04-14 17:13:49	NR1	A-319	9M-NAA	Ankara, TR	—	—
2016-04-13	04:35:25.000	2016-04-13 01:35:25	NR1	A-319	9M-NAA	Jerusalem, IL	—	—

Results sorted on GMT 

This was obviously a very special arrangement , given that just two days ago, Israeli PM Benjamin Bibi Nethanyahu was forced to fly around Malaysia and Indonesia to get to Sydney,adding about 2 to 3hours to flight time.

As previously noted, Najib’s  9M-NAA is a military aircraft, so what special requests did Malaysia make of Israel to enable  use of airspace,and did the arrangements include Israel Air Force and Israel Defence Force air and ground cover?  And now that we know Malaysia would not extend the same courtesy to the Israeli PM, why was this special request even made?
END

9M-NAA spotted in Europe, Najib not on board. PM Najib’s 9M-NAA went on an extended European holiday after Christmas and New Year in Australia?

by Ganesh Sahathevan

PM Najib’s plane 9M-NAA, was last sighted in Perth ,Australia, just after the New Year.

Dec 26, 2016

Pamir Air (Malaysian Government) A319-115 (CJ) 9M-NAA ‘PIR1/NR1’ arrived ex: Gold Coast

Photo: Richard Siudak

copyright 2016

Pamir Air operated by Malaysian Government A319-115 (CJ) 9M-NAA c/n 2949 arrived 14.47hrs (as seen here above) ex: Coolangatta Airport (YBCG/OOL) Gold Coast, Queensland with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak on board as flight ‘PIR1/NR1’ & departed at 16.56hrs 03/01 returning to Kuala Lumpur Intl Airport (WMKK) Malaysia as same. Hexcode: 750156

It went missing after,but these records show that it was in Europe, on unofficial business , between 15  and 20 January 2017.

local) Date(local) TimeGMT    CallsignType           Serial     Location            SquawkAltitude

2017-01-20	17:29:38.429	2017-01-20 17:34:13	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Cluj, RO	6416	38975
2017-01-20	18:11:46.305	2017-01-20 17:26:12	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Wiener Neustadt, AT	6416	39000
2017-01-20	17:54:46.674	2017-01-20 17:02:11	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	V, A T	6416	—
2017-01-20	17:54:39.213	2017-01-20 16:59:03	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Radvanice, CZ	6416	38975
2017-01-20	17:41:04.515	2017-01-20 16:46:12	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Naklerov_E, CZ	6416	38975
2017-01-20	17:32:35.803	2017-01-20 16:38:11	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Zielona Gora, Poland	6416	38975
2017-01-20	17:27:08.618	2017-01-20 16:34:19	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Bratislava, SK	6416	38975
2017-01-20	17:27:15.317	2017-01-20 16:34:19	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	EDDC, DE	6416	39000
2017-01-20	16:20:49.792	2017-01-20 16:26:30	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Berlin, DE	6416	39000
2017-01-20	17:20:20.172	2017-01-20 16:26:16	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Copenhagen, D K	6416	—
2017-01-20	17:21:21.996	2017-01-20 16:26:14	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Naklerov, CZ	6416	39000
2017-01-20	17:13:33.816	2017-01-20 16:18:07	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	EHOW, NL	6416	38150
2017-01-20	14:40:23.280	2017-01-20 14:46:19	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	adsbhub.net	0000	39000
2017-01-20	15:40:53.	2017-01-20 14:46:13	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Vechta, DE	6416	—
2017-01-20	15:40:10.620	2017-01-20 14:46:13	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Hannover, DE	6416	6625
2017-01-20	15:38:39.386	2017-01-20 14:43:02	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	EDHN,DE	6416	1175
2017-01-20	15:40:10.647	2017-01-20 14:43:01	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	ETMN, DE	6416
2017-01-15	06:24:22.849	2017-01-15 07:19:06	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	EDOV, DE	3206	35800
2017-01-15	06:28:58.148	2017-01-15 05:31:01	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	EDHN,DE	3206
2017-01-15	06:24:28.611	2017-01-15 05:30:07	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	EHOW, NL	3206	21850
2017-01-15	06:23:01.451	2017-01-15 05:27:02	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	ETMN, DE	3206
2017-01-15	06:22:34.078	2017-01-15 05:26:06	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Vechta, DE	3206	22025
2017-01-15	06:19:36.963	2017-01-15 05:22:05	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Hannover, DE	3206	8050
2017-01-15	06:16:00.825	2017-01-15 05:19:01	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Poessneck, DE	3206	40000
2017-01-15	06:02:26.013	2017-01-15 05:06:06	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	EDDC, DE	3206	40025
2017-01-15	05:42:05.257	2017-01-15 04:54:04	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	V, AT	3206	40000
2017-01-15	05:38:24.704	2017-01-15 04:42:04	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Zielona Gora, Poland	3206	39975
2017-01-15	05:30:13.948	2017-01-15 04:35:02	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Radvanice, CZ	3206	39975
2017-01-15	05:11:54.778	2017-01-15 04:18:07	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Bratislava, SK	3206	40000
2017-01-15	04:04:58.077	2017-01-15 04:10:07	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	adsbhub.net	3206	9650
2017-01-15	03:00:07.040	2017-01-15 03:06:06	9MNAA	A-319	9M-NAA	Ankara, TR	3206	40000

1 MDB’s own statements show RM 12 billion cannot be accounted for, remains lost: Add this to the RM 2.6 Billion the USDOJ is trying to recover

by Ganesh Sahathevan

While much of the recent reporting on the 1MDB theft has been concerned with thevRM2.6 billion or thereabouts  that the US Department Of Justice has tracked down, some RM 12 Billion 

remains unaccounted for, going by 1MDB CEO Arul Kanda’s own numbers.

The diagram below was provided by 1MDB and its CEO Arul Kanda about two years ago as a way of explaining where RM 42 billion in borrowing went to . As readers can see, RM 6 billion is said to have been “spent” on “Inherited Debt” .However, when the energy assets were sold to CGN of China, CGN was reported to have agreed to assume all debt. Therefore, that RM 6 billion in “inherited debt” was not something that 1MDB’s borrowed funds were spent on.

https://www.imoney.my/articles/wp-content/uploads/1mdb-debt.png

Then we come the infamous units. While no one believes that they actually exist, recall that the original 1 MDB story about the funds employed to finance the investments in the “units” said nothing about a direct investment of borrowed funds.

Instead, the funds were said to have come from the profits of some convoluted deal, which  in any case have been shown to have not generated any cash.

END

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1MDB CEO: Here’s how we used RM42b…

Wednesday June 3, 2015
06:39 PM GMT+8

UPDATED:
June 03, 2015
09:19 PM GMT+8

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1MDB’s chief executive Arul Kanda Kandasamy provided a detailed breakdown of how the company’s funds were used. — Pic courtesy of 1MDBKUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — In a bid to silence all speculation over where and how 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) allegedly squandered nearly RM42 billion, the firm’s chief executive Arul Kanda Kandasamy provided today a detailed breakdown of what the money was used for.

In a brief statement accompanying a graphical presentation of the breakdown, Arul Kanda pointed out that every single ringgit in the RM41.8 billion it used has been accounted for.Breakdown of where the funds went. — 1MDB graphics

“In recent weeks, there has been much speculation about the use of RM42 billion of debt raised by 1MDB, and more specifically that RM27 billion of debt proceeds are alleged to be ‘lost’ or ‘missing’,” he said, referring to allegations raised previously by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“We provide a summary of what the RM42 billion debt has been used for, information that is fully disclosed in 1MDB’s audited and publicly available accounts from 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2014.

“We trust this clarification will help to clear any confusion on this matter,” Arul Kanda said.

1MDB, now under investigation for alleged impropriety, has been dogged by controversy over recent months.

Leading the attacks against the firm, a brainchild of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is Dr Mahathir who has repeatedly demanded answers on the whereabouts of the RM42 billion debt that 1MDB reportedly amassed in the years since its inception in 2009.

In a blog post on April 23, Dr Mahathir attempted to trace how 1MDB had spent its borrowings, listing down, among others, its power deals and land deals.

But in total, Dr Mahathir said 1MDB’s power plant projects and land investments only added up to some RM14.7 billion, which he said meant there was approximately RM27 billion left to 1MDB’s RM42 billion borrowing.

“Where is the rest of the money?” he asked.

1MDB is currently under investigation by the Auditor-General and Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.

Last week, at an anticipated Cabinet briefing on a proposal to restructure 1MDB, Second Finance Minister announced that the debt-laden firm will receive RM1 billion from Abu Dhabi’s Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) to repay a US$975 million loan maturing soon.

The minister said the payment secured from IPIC and its subsidiary, Aabar Investments, is part of the rationalisation plan to help the indebted firm meet its loan obligations and reduce its liabilities.

The US$975 million loan is due in August but a consortium of German lenders is reportedly seeking an early settlement due to a breach of covenant in the loan agreement by 1MDB..

1MDB was incorporated in 2009, after the prime minister announced the decision to turn the TIA state fund into a federal agency.

Since then, 1MDB has been dogged by negative publicity over its finances and debt, and most recently cash flow problems that saw it struggle to meet a RM2 billion loan payment.

Breakdown of where the funds went. — 1MDB graphics

Home grown jihadis in Florida have Qatar, Muslim Brotherhood antecedents going back to the 90s.-How Muslim schools are to be castles of jihad

by Ganesh Sahathevan 

A fattwa issued by Sheik Yusof Al-Qaradawi for the benefit of the Islamic Community School
Of Panama City, Florida.
Qaradawi remains spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.

http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20040831171906/http://www.minaret.vic.edu.au/news/statement.htm

END 

A chief justice who ignores the law, and the facts: On Thomas Bathurst CJ’s warning that he will uphold his law against xenophobia,popular sentiment and Donald Trump

by Ganesh Sahathevan

As reported by this morning:

Chief Justice attacks governments’ xenophobic populism

Judge swipes at governments’ xenophobic populism in controversial rebuke

“It should give us pause that one of the most serious threats to the rule of law in Australia was grounded in xenophobia,” Chief Justice Bathurst was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.

The SMH report on the same:

In an observation that appeared directed in part at recent changes to US immigration policy, Chief Justice Bathurst also noted an 1888 order by the NSW government to prevent Chinese immigrants disembarking from a ship in Sydney Harbour was “grounded in xenophobia” and was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court.The case demonstrated “the role of the judiciary and the profession in promoting equality, fairness and the rule of law, in spite of popular sentiment”, he said.

It is obvious that Bathurst has ignored both the facts and the law in the matter, a worrying sign in any judge, let alone a chief justice.

END

Reference

On Trump’s choice of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen-Criteria for selection clearly spelt out in Obama era legislation, but ignored by various experts “re-imagining” US law that binds Trump 

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Much is being said of  President Trump’s Executive Order  Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States or “Refugee/Muslim Ban” , but precious little about the legislation which empowers it.

Examples  of  “expert” commentary:
President Trump’s Muslim ban excludes countries linked to his sprawling business empire

How Many Terrorist Attacks in the U.S. Have Been Carried Out by Immigrants from the 7 Banned Muslim Countries?

Trump left countries with high terror risk off his banned list

What the Obama era legislation which binds Trump’s executive order actually says:

(12)Designation of high risk program countries

(A)In general

The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of State, shall evaluate program countries on an annual basis based on the criteria described in subparagraph (B) and shall identify any program country, the admission of nationals from which under the visa waiver program under this section, the Secretary determines presents a high risk to the national security of the United States.

(B)CriteriaIn evaluating program countries under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of State, shall consider the following criteria:

(i)

 The number of nationals of the country determined to be ineligible to travel to the United States under the program during the previous year.

(ii)

 The number of nationals of the country who were identified in United States Government databases related to the identities of known or suspected terrorists during the previous year.

(iii)

 The estimated number of nationals of the country who have traveled to Iraq or Syria at any time on or after March 1, 2011 to engage in terrorism.

(iv)

 The capacity of the country to combat passport fraud.

(v)

 The level of cooperation of the country with the counter-terrorism efforts of the United States.

(vi)

 The adequacy of the border and immigration control of the country.

(vii)

 Any other criteria the Secretary of Homeland Security determines to be appropriate.

(C)Suspension of designation

The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may suspend the designation of a program country based on a determination that the country presents a high risk to the national security of the United States under subparagraph (A) until such time as the Secretary determines that the country no longer presents such a risk.

In other words,an Executive Order aimed precisely at US visa waivers. The matter of jihadis from Saudi Arabia ,Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries are not dealt with in this executive order, but that does not mean it is not being dealt with at all.

Posters of this sort do nothing to tell us anything at all about the Executive Order.

END  

Posted 2 days ago by Ganesh Sahathevan

  

US travel ban: Why these seven countries?

Excerpt 

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that banned travel into the United States for citizens from these seven countries for 90 days: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The restrictions were part of wide ranging immigration controls that also suspended refugee arrivals. It appears that existing restrictions in place during the Obama administration informed Mr Trump’s list.

These countries were already named as “countries of concern” after a law passed by a Republican-led Congress in 2015 altered a visa admissions programme.

The Visa Waiver Program allows citizens from 38 countries to enter the US for 90 days without a visa. The UK, France and Germany are among those countries allowed in under the waiver programme. Visitors apply for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (Esta).

In December 2015 Congress passed a law – created by senators from both parties, and supported and signed by the White House – that removed waiver benefits for foreign nationals who had visited certain countries since March 2011. The countries were identified as having a terrorist organisation with a significant presence in the area, or the country was deemed a “safe haven” for terrorists.