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Posted: 02 Oct 2012 03:50 PM PDT

Erna Mahyuni, The Malaysian Insider

"All you East Malaysians need to do is vote out BN!" I hear that time and time again from various people in Peninsular Malaysia and it's getting frankly tiresome.

I apologise to Sarawakians in advance for having to explain things on your behalf, but I have lived in your state so am not totally clueless. Unlike the many who think that all that is needed is a Braveheart-like uprising where the united peoples of Sabah and Sarawak rise up against tyranny and all that jazz.

It's not that simple. And that's my biggest beef with opposition rhetoric. It oversimplifies things, forgetting context and ignoring the complexities of East Malaysia.

One challenge both Sabah and Sarawak have is geography. We're far removed from West Malaysia, quite literally, and in some ways it has worked out for the best but has also made integration tricky. There are far too many assumptions on each side about the other and "getting to know" each other requires a two- to three-hour flight.

Sarawak is a huge state and its terrain makes traversing it prohibitively expensive. The Penans and other interior-dwelling folk have it worse; they are forced to trek hours to the nearest transport stop to get to the nearest city. They do not have ready access to the things we city dwellers take for granted: piped water, electronic and physical media, hospitals and decent schools.

Even on the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah, there are schools that are little more than glorified shacks with crowded classrooms and malnourished children. Don't get me started on the West Malaysian teachers who refuse their postings to Sabah and Sarawak or clamour to be sent home as soon as possible.

Racial tolerance is more pronounced here. Yet, the reality is that despite the "peace" between the various races in East Malaysia, it isn't easy to get them on the same page politically.

Sabah, for instance, has various splinter parties that are also quite clearly delineated by race. SUPP is predominantly Chinese, PBS is mostly Sabah Bumiputera with a few Chinese people, the Muslim Bumiputeras once mostly congregated in USNO, but the BN-friendly now are in Umno.

It's not much different in Sarawak. The various communities may get along better but dig down and their politics is the same old selfish Malaysian politics. It's never about what's best for the state or the country; it's about what's best for their own communities. Let the Penans rot in the jungles so long as my community gets first pick of lucrative contracts.

That is the reality of the Malaysian mindset; the preoccupation with what's best for your own kind to the detriment of everyone else. Malaysians don't seem to believe in "win-win." It's "I take everything and everyone else can go die-lah." Which explains our love for monopolies.

PKR's already shot itself in the foot by refusing to co-operate with local parties in Sabah and Sarawak. How am I, as a native from Sabah, supposed to place trust in a party that made Azmin Ali Sabah PKR chief? How am I supposed to believe that Anwar Ibrahim and his cohort won't do the same thing and just hand out division chief titles to people from the peninsula as "rewards" to the faithful once the state is won?

What Pakatan Rakyat should be doing is forming alliances with local opposition parties. Instead, it intends to compete against them. Of course, BN will probably end up winning because of split votes.

Don't get me started on people harping on about how Sarawakians should all unite and toss its current chief minister out. Here's news for you: The reason he's still in power is because the people who have benefitted from his position like him where he is. Ponder that for a moment.

It took Bruno Manser to come in and unite the various Penan tribes. It will take more than a well-meaning Swiss to unite the various factions in the two states. Sadly the people trying to play catalyst are not altruistic crusaders but those with an eye on Putrajaya.

By the way, because I have to keep reminding you, Sabah did vote against BN. But BN "convinced" PBS MPs to jump ship in the biggest "frog" incident in Malaysian history. Back in the day, Anwar Ibrahim was proud to be seen as "delivering" the state back to BN.

It's not that simple; it was never that simple; it will never be that simple. So word of advice to Pakatan: When three words can sum up your campaign ("BN is bad!"), you need to do a lot better.

CAT got your tongue, Mansor?

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 03:34 PM PDT

The deputy chief minister (I) should clear the air if he thinks he has been framed over the 'cocky, arrogant, tokong' controversy.

Five months ago, PKR state chief and Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman let the "CAT" out of the bag but now denies ever having done so, that is, uttering the words "cocky, arrogant, tokong" (CAT) in reference to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Jeswan Kaur, FMT

No one should be ashamed to admit they are wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that they are wiser today than they were yesterday. – Alexander Pope

Mansor apparently made the "CAT" remark on Lim who is also DAP secretary-general during a private meeting between him and some PKR local members in May.

Details of the meeting were leaked and published in verbatim in a blog "Gelagat Anwar" in June.

But then Mansor is not the first to define Lim as "CAT"; similar remarks were in the past made by former PKR local leaders like independent MPs Zahrain Md Hashim of Bayan Baru and Tan Tee Beng of Nibong Tebal.

However, in Mansor's case, his on-off denial in having said those words to Lim has put the former in an uncomfortable position in the eyes of Penangites, particularly supporters of Pakatan Rakyat.

In what has become an embarrassing episode for Mansor, the "CAT" fiasco has, as feared by DAP national chairman Karpal Singh, been capitalised by ruling Barisan Nasional to gain political sympathy from the rakyat.

Hoping to halt further damage to the Pakatan image, Karpal wants Mansor to clear the air on the "cocky, arrogant, tokong" controversy.

Karpal believes Pakatan can resolve the issue amicably as it involves two individuals and is not between two parties.

The question here is, what is taking Pakatan so long to douse the "CAT" fire which is being kept alive by BN sycophants like Perkasa, which keeps raising doubts in the minds of the people on Pakatan's capability to manage the country should it secure victory in the coming 13th general election.

While Pakatan decides how best to end the "CAT" controversy, Umno crony – Media Prima-owned TV3 – decided to do the dirty work for the government when it aired on its 8pm Buletin Utama more than once the audio recording of the details of the meeting.

Berani buat berani tanggung

There is a Malay saying that goes "berani buat berani tanggung" (if you dare do it, then dare face the music) and now it is left to Mansor to do the decent thing – own up to the fact that he did call Lim a "CAT".

In any case, the rift between Lim and Mansor cannot be disguised.

Mansor should have known better than to make such remarks although uttered during a closed-door discussion involving Mansor and some PKR local members.

To laugh off the "CAT" issue that has been taken to "greater heights" by Pakatan's nemesis Umno is not going to help Mansor save both his face and his political career.

If the utterance "cocky, arrogance and tokong" were made to vilify Lim, then it is a lesson learned the painful way by Mansor.

Mansor is not the first politician in the country's history to have maligned his superior nor will he be the last to do so. There was Mukhriz Mahathir, now the International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister, and the son of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had openly called for then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down.

Then Umno Youth chief, Hishammuddin Hussein, refused to take any action against Mukhriz, dismissing the remark as a personal opinion.

Mahathir himself had chided his successor Abdullah for being "stupid" and in May 2008, the former announced he was qutting Umno as he had lost confidence in Abdullah's leadership and would rejoin the party only when Abdullah stepped down as prime minister and Umno president.

Such show of gutter politics has always been there and it is another matter that no one had the guts to confront Mahathir over such an act.

Where "CAT" goes, if indeed Lim is cocky and arrogant, then there is a place and time to raise the issue instead of indulging in petty gossip as Mansor has done, a move which has led many to question Mansor's capability as deputy chief minister.

To now chicken out of the "CAT" issue and dump blame on his detractors is not going to work wonders for Mansor. On the contrary, it is having the courage to say "yes, I did" that will save Mansor's day.

Rotten apples best discarded

Perhaps the "CAT" blunder is a blessing in disguise for it has given rise to the need to discard the rotten apples in Pakatan's fold.

It seems that Zahrain and Tan were not the only rotten apples in the DAP-controlled Penang; there are more with Mansor being one of them.

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 03:29 PM PDT

As an opposition candidate, defector Wilfred Bumburing will have the support of two former Tuaran MPs to woo voters making him a formidable candidate.

Joseph Bingkasan, FMT

KOTA KINABALU: If there was one thing that MP Wilfred Bumburing did for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition when he defected to the opposition in July, it was to force the disparate BN branch in Tuaran to unite.

With the opposition in the state, seen by the BN as their 'fixed deposit', gaining ground, the parliamentary constituency of Tuaran has always been shaky as could be seen by the surge in support for the opposition in the last election.

There has always been a fear within the ruling coalition that the defection of top Sabah BN leaders to the opposition would have a domino effect around the state.

The exit in quick succession from the BN by MPs from Tuaran (Bumburing) and Beaufort (Lajim Ukin) as well as a Senator (Maijol Mahap) and a host of senior political leaders once aligned to Sabah Umno has caused the once mighty coalition to pause.

In Tuaran, the initial shock and constant quarelling resulting from the departure of former Upko deputy president Bumburing who is also its BN chairman, seems to ended for the moment.

Bumburing had cited disillusionment with the BN's inability to resolve the longstanding question of how hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants had been registered as voters and were now determining the future of the state as among his reasons for leaving.

Several senior leaders of Upko joined him in forming a new party, Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS), to work with the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition in the coming election.

According to sources, Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim has given Bumburing an assurance that he would have a say on the candidates to contest in constituencies where the Kadazandusuns are the majority.

Bumburing, who won the Tuaran MP seat in the 2008 election, is expected to defend his seat against the potential BN candidate, his former colleague Wilfred Tangau, the Upko secretary general who made way for him in the 2008 election.

Tuaran comprises the state seats of Kiulu and Tamparuli now held by PBS and Sulaman by Umno.

'Formidable' Bumburing

Once considered a BN stronghold, it is now a toss up. Tangau won the seat in the 2004 election when he polled 17,722 votes against PKR's Ansari Abdullah who garnered 8,555 votes.

The BN saw its winning margin drop significantly in 2008 when Bumburing polled 17,645 votes to Ansari's 11,023 votes. Independent Ajin Hazin Gagah managed 879 votes.

READ MORE HERE

Polls in December?

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 03:27 PM PDT

This is because Najib's trump card is the budget goodies and if the polls are held this year, the voters will be tempted to vote for BN in order to obtain the goodies next year.

Selena Tay, FMT

Now that the Budget 2013 has already been tabled, political analysts are again speculating on the date of the 13th general election. Many are of the view that the polls will be held only after February.

But this columnist thinks it can still be held this year, the latest by Dec 15 (after the Umno general assembly which ends on Dec 1).

This is because Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's trump card is the budget goodies and if the polls are held this year, the voters will be tempted to vote for Barisan Nasional in order to obtain the goodies next year.

After the goodies are distributed, he will have no more weapon or trump card. Therefore to maximise the effect of the feel-good factor, he holds on to the goodies now to be used as a carrot.

According to the old folks of the Chinese community, perhaps the devil has gotten hold of the polls date and that is why it is difficult for everyone in BN to get it back.

So much for the devil and the date.

With regard to the budget presentation last week, what was uncalled for was Najib's attack on Pakatan Rakyat which lasted close to 20 minutes. That was really in bad taste and very unbecoming of someone who aspires to be a great statesman. And he has the gumption to talk about moderation!

Commenting on this, PAS Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad opined that "Najib must be having his mind preoccupied with Pakatan 24/7 and that must be the reason why he could not resist taking a swipe at Pakatan during the budget presentation".

Auditor-General's Report

However, what is also just as important as the budget is the Auditor-General's Report which, according to parliamentary procedure, should be tabled on the same day as the budget itself. Instead this vital report is late again as was last year.

The Pakatan MPs need to see the Auditor-General's Report so that they can evaluate the government's spending habits. If a certain ministry has overspent, then it is pointless to allocate another vast sum to this particular ministry again.

A point to note is that the incumbent BN federal government has been running a budget deficit since 1998 and is in the habit of requesting for a Supplementary Budget. This means that additional allocation is requested as the budget's allocation is insufficient to meet the demands of the ministries.

The whole thing shows that the government is not spending in a prudent manner.

Although it is good to dole out goodies to the rakyat, what the government is doing is akin to giving painkillers to the sick person and not curing the disease. In short, it is not solving the problem. It is only implementing a stop-gap measure to relieve the pain.

Back to the Auditor-General's Report. Without this report, Pakatan MPs will find it difficult to debate the budget in an effective manner because they are in the dark on whether the government has spent last year's allocation prudently and wisely as comparisons need to be made between the budget and the Audit-General's Report.

A good example is the National Feedlot Corporation project wherein RM250 million was allocated but the results were measly. This matter was revealed in the Audit-General's Report.

Of course, there are many other examples of procurements or purchases made at jacked-up prices and cost overruns in this and that.

Meanwhile, the national debt has increased to RM502 billion. Plus off-the-record contingent liabilities, the sum will definitely be much higher but with increased spending, the national debt percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could still be below 55%! A miracle indeed!

READ MORE HERE

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Rabu, 3 Oktober 2012

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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