Asm, A cause for concern.
--- Wira Putih <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > From: Wira Putih <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 22:08:20 -0700 (PDT) > Subject: [anak_KEDAH] Betuika Anwar ni kawan Baik > Wolfwittz dan Shaha Riza la ni kerja dgn dia..?? > > Lepas baca cerita kat bawah, pi tengok ni pulak > untuk kenai lebih dekat Foundation of the Future > yang diPengerusikan oleh Anwar. Rasanya Mahathir tak > dak kena mengena dengan website/blog ni. > > http://www.foundationforfuture.org/bios/board_of_directors.html > http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2007/apr/83050.htm > http://www.moonofalabama.org/2007/04/wolfowitz_cia_l.html > > ________________________________ > > Wolfowitz and Riza: How Sweet It Is! > var EmailArticleWindow; function > email_article_popup (pid) { var url = > "/blogs/email.mhtml?bid=3&pid=" + pid; if > ((EmailArticleWindow) & (EmailArticleWindow.closed > != true)) { > EmailArticleWindow.location.href = url; } else > { EmailArticleWindow = > window.open(url,'EmailArticleWindow','height=370,width=300'); > } > }http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?pid=192571 > http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20070504/cm_thenation/3192571 > > At the start of the scandal triggered by the > revelation that World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz > had helped arrange generous pay boosts for his > girlfriend Shaha Riza, Wolfowitz declared, "I made a > mistake, for which I am sorry." > Two and a half weeks later, Wolfowitz had > readjusted his rhetoric. "The ethics charges are > unwarranted" and "bogus," he said. > On Friday, the Bank's board of directors was > working to complete its report on the Wolfowitz > affair and pondering whether to reprimand or even > remove Wolfowitz. But regardless of the outcome of > the official deliberations--which have been affected > by behind the scenes maneuvering and the individual > agendas of member nations--the Wolfowitz and Riza > tale is one of Washington insiderism, a story in > which a powerful player was able to guarantee that > his companion would make hundreds of thousands of > dollars a year and be entitled to a lucrative > pension while working at a fledgling foundation with > a friend of his. This is not how most public > servants in Washington live. > After Wolfowitz, a former deputy defense secretary > who was a prime architect of the Iraq war, assumed > the Bank's presidency, he was faced with what he has > called "a potential conflict of interest." He would > be the boss (albeit not the direct boss) of his > girlfriend, who was a communications officer in the > Middle East section. He subsequently worked out a > deal under which Riza would remain a Bank employee > but be reassigned out of the Bank. What has caused > the fuss is that this arrangement included a 36 > percent pay hike--which raised her annual salary > from $132,660 to $180,000--and guaranteed yearly pay > increases of 8 percent. (She is now pulling in > $193,000 a year.) > Wolfowitz has justified the initial compensation > boost by arguing that when he arrived at the Bank > Riza was short-listed for a promotion to > communications adviser to the vice president of the > Middle East region. Such a promotion would entail a > jump in pay grade. The office of the vice president > of the region had placed Riza's name on a short list > of nine candidates, but, according to an official > familiar with the deliberations of the human > resources committee overseeing this job opening, > Riza's position on the short list was not initially > approved by the committee--a necessary step for her > to receive the job. That did not end the matter. "It > became clear the board was under strong pressure > from upstairs to keep her on the short list," this > official says. > Whether or not she made it to the final short > list--Bank officials have different > recollections--she was no shoe-in for the promotion. > Two years earlier, Jean-Louis Sarbib, then the vice > president for the Middle East region, had proposed > Riza for a similar position, and the human resources > board had rejected her. The board noted, according > to a report made available to The Nation, that > Sarbib should have sought other applicants for the > position, that Riza "needs to establish herself as a > communications professional," and that she should > not receive a "promotion through the backdoor." Riza > did not meet the minimum job qualifications: an > advanced degree in communications and 15 years of > experience. She was a gender specialist at the > Bank--a well-known Arab feminist-- who had done > communications work for only a few years. > In statements to the Bank's board, Wolfowitz has > pointed to Riza's candidacy for the communications > adviser post as a reason for awarding her a $47,340 > compensation increase. "This raise is about double > what you'd be allowed to get if you got that > promotion," the official familiar with these > deliberations said. "For Wolfowitz to use the > argument that she was short-listed goes against what > the committee said about her two years before. It > does not justify the salary increase." > The Riza deal included more than that first big pay > hike and annual increases. It also essentially > guaranteed Riza subsequent promotions to higher pay > grades. And the deal would provide her the yearly > pay increases for up to ten years, if Wolfowitz > remained at the Bank for a second term. By the end > of a second Wolfowitz term, Riza, were she to stay a > Bank employee, would make close to $400,000, > possibly more. > These pay increases would lead to an outsized > pension. According to a Bank source familiar with > the institution's pension rules and formulas, > pensions for Bank retirees are based on the average > salary of an employee's last three years at the > Bank. Under the Wolfowitz deal, Riza could expect an > annual pension of about $110,000, if she retired in > 2015 (assuming Wolfowitz served two terms). If > Wolfowitz had not awarded her that initial salary > hike of nearly $50,000 and she instead received > steady annual raises of 4 percent over this ten-year > period, her pension would be about $56,000. With the > Wolfowitz deal, Riza could look forward to a rather > comfortable pension. > And she could retire after working with a close > friend of her boyfriend. > In September 2005, the Riza deal was finalized, and > the World Bank and State Department agreed she would > be seconded to the department's Bureau of Near > Eastern Affairs. She was given the task of > developing a foundation that would focus on reform > in the Middle East and North Africa. It would > eventually be called the Foundation for the Future. > (At the time, Elizabeth Cheney, the daughter of the > vice president, was a principal deputy assistant > secretary in the bureau, coordinating Middle East > initiatives.) But there aparently was some question > about her status at the State Department. The next > month, J. Scott Carpenter, a deputy assistant > secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, > faxed a note to the World Bank saying that "we do > not view Ms. Riza as detailed or seconded to the > U.S. Government." He offered to "further refine this > arrangement." Documents released by the World Bank > do not indicate what subsequently transpired between > the State Department and the Bank > regarding Riza's employment status. > Over a year later, on October 1, 2006, Anwar > Ibrahim, chairman of the Foundation for the Future, > wrote Robin Cleveland, a senior Wolfowitz aide at > the Bank, and requested the transfer of Riza from > the State Department to the Foundation for the > Future. Two months later, after Cleveland instructed > the Bank's vice president of human resources to > approve the transfer, the Bank okayed the switch. > The Anwar letter and other Bank documents related > to this transfer did not mention that Anwar is a > longtime friend of Wolfowitz. One of Asia's most > prominent Muslim politicians, Anwar was a former > deputy prime minister of Malaysia. He and Wolfowitz > met and developed a friendship in the mid-1980s, > when Wolfowitz was U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, > according to Aasil Ahmad, an adviser to Anwar. In > 1998, after addressing a rally protesting the > government, Anwar was arrested and subsequently > jailed on corruption and sodomy charges. During his > years in jail, Wolfowitz was an outspoken champion > of Anwar. Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, Anwar, > while still imprisoned, wrote an essay condemning > the attacks and calling on the Muslim worked to > address "the suffering inflicted on the Muslim > masses in Iraq by its dictator." > When Anwar was released from prison in 2004, > Wolfowitz flew to Germany to meet him. The next > year, Anwar, a former finance minister for Malaysia, > endorsed Wolfowitz's appointment to the Bank, though > he noted that he didn't share Wolfowitz's view of > the Iraq war. ("The best the Americans can do is to > withdraw their forces from Iraq," Anwar said.) These > days, Anwar is back in Malaysia, advising the PKR > opposition party, which is led by his wife, and > preparing to run for president. > While helping to establish the Foundation for the > Future at the State Department, Riza had recruited > Anwar to serve as its initial adviser, according to > Ahmad. The two then went about selecting a board of > directors and drawing up the mandate for the group, > which calls on the foundation to "advance and > strengthen freedom and democratic trends and > practices" in Middle Eastern and North African > nations by supporting reform, media, human rights, > and women's groups in those countries. The > foundation, which is not a US government entity, has > received a $35 million funding commitment from the > United States and about $20 million in pledges from > other governments. The board includes prominent > citizens of Muslim nations. Former Supreme Court > Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is the only American on > the board. > The foundation has not gotten off to a big start. > It has yet to provide a single grant. Its first > president, Bakhtiar Amin, an Iraqi who served as a > minister in the first interim government set up > following the invasion of Iraq, left the post after > a short time in the job. "He was not up to the > task," says a source who has worked with the > foundation. No replacement has yet been selected. > The group also does not have a chief financial > officer or a chief operations officer at this time. > Last year, it decided to open its main Middle East > office in Beirut--right before the war in Lebanon. > It has no permanent office in Washington. Email > requests for information on its activities have gone > unanswered. Its website lists no phone number. But > Ahmad, the adviser to Anwar, says the foundation > will soon begin awarding grants, perhaps in the > beginning of June. Riza, he says, has continued to > handle the day-to-day operations of the foundation. > Riza, who is qualified for the job, has > not been talking to the media. > Bloggers have raised conspiratorial questions > about the foundation. (See here.) The available > evidence is that the outfit is legitimate, though it > has been beset with logistical problems. But until > it gets around to handing out grants, its work and > aims cannot be fully assessed. > In the Paul and Shaha saga, the work (or non-work) > of the Foundation for the Future is not the main > issue. Riza ended up there after a Wolfowitz friend > (Anwar) wrote the Bank and asked for Riza to be > detailed to the foundation--and a Wolfowitz crony > (Cleveland) said yes. Whether such actions violate > any Bank rules, this is incestuous. Consider the > overall scenario: thanks to her boyfriend, Shaha > Riza, after receiving a hefty pay raise, could serve > as an adviser to a barely-functioning foundation she > helped create, working with a friend of her romantic > partner, and pull in $200,000 to $400,000 annually > over the next ten years. And then she could retire > with a $110,000 per year pension. This is quite a > deal for the average foundation aide in Washington. > In all that, is there nothing wrong? (Wolfowitz > attorney Robert Bennett told Newsweek that it was > Riza who "worked up the numbers" and pressed > Wolfowitz to craft such generous terms.) > After first admitting he committed an error, > Wolfowitz now fiercely argues he is the victim of a > smear campaign waged by Bank employees who opposed > him from the get-go due to his role in the Iraq war. > His detractors at the Bank may be out to bring him > down as payback for Iraq and for his heavy-handed > management ways at the Bank. But Wolfowitz, who > entered the Bank a self-styled scourge of > corruption, has handed them potent ammunition. Every > recipient of World Bank money must now want deals > with terms so sweet. > With reporting from Stephanie Condon. > > > > --------------------------------- > You snooze, you lose. Get messages ASAP with > AutoCheck > in the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta. ____________________________________________________________________________________Give spam the boot. Take control with tough spam protection in the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/newmail_html.html ///// JIMedia: Memurnikan Tanggapan Umum Melalui Penyebaran Ilmu dan Maklumat ////////////////////////////////// Nota: Kandungan mel ini tidak menggambarkan pendirian rasmi Pertubuhan Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) melainkan yang dinyatakan sedemikian. Berminat menjadi ahli JIM? Sila isi borang keahlian "online" di: http://www.jim.org.my/, dari seksyen "BORANG Online". 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