Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Karpal urges Waytha to end fast
- Jui Meng’s deputy takes over Johor PKR
- GE13: Parliament dissolution likely only after mid-April
- GE13: Group claims Opposition trained to cause trouble
- Pakatan eyes 33 federal seats in 3 states for GE13
- Rafizi slammed for ‘false’ information
- ‘Pakatan not ready to form government’
- ‘Enough proof to reopen Altantuya case’
- Star readers all for booting out FAM’s Article 88
- "Watermelon" and "Sympathizer" Effect
| Karpal urges Waytha to end fast Posted: 29 Mar 2013 06:39 PM PDT
Karpal also urges the Pakatan Rakyat leadership, led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, to resume talks with the Hindraf leadership Athi Shankar, FMT DAP supremo Karpal Singh has urged Hindraf Makkal Sakti supremo P Waythamoorthy to end his hunger strike which will complete its 21 days on Sunday. Karpal said Waythamoothy should not put his life in danger that would jeopardise his and Hindraf's ethnic Indian cause. Karpal also called on the Pakatan Rakyat leadership, led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, to resume talks with the Hindraf leadership and find an amicable solution to end the Hindraf blueprint stalemate. "Waythamoorthy should not risk his life. He has made his point. "He should end his fast before it endangers his health," a visibly moved Karpal told a press conference in Air Itam here today. In the wake of Waythamoorthy's hunger strike that began on March 10, the Bukit Gelugor two-term parliamentarian called on all parties to look into the predicament of Indians in the country in the light of Hindraf's blueprint. Karpal noted that Hindraf had presented the blueprint, designed to find a permanent solution to marginalised ethnic Indian issues, to both the Barisan Nasional federal government and Pakatan. Hinting that gratitude must be shown, Karpal said that there was no doubt that Pakatan owed its victory in the 2008 general election to Hindraf's political activities. "I call upon in particular Pakatan leader Anwar to carefully consider the position and have a relook at the blueprint in a view to come into some consensus," said the DAP national chairman.
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| Jui Meng’s deputy takes over Johor PKR Posted: 29 Mar 2013 06:34 PM PDT
State PKR leaders have requested Ahmad Faidhi Saidi to become acting chairman because Chua may not return to work immediately after his two-week leave ends tomorrow. Leven Woon, FMT PKR deputy president Dr Ahmad Faidhi Saidi has been asked to assume the role of state PKR acting chairman after Chua Jui Meng's continuous absence from public. According to Johor PKR election director Steven Choong, the state leadership met on Thursday night in which division chiefs requested Ahmad Faidhi to fill the role of Chua until he returned to work. "Although Ahmad Faidhi was constitutionally the state acting chairman in Chua's absence, he was initially very reluctant to assume the post. "But many state party leaders felt that we need someone to lead the party machinery, especially when election is just around the corner. So we decided that Ahmad Faidhi will be the acting chairman," he told FMT when contacted today. Chua has been out of the public eye and PKR ceramahs since DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang was made the Pakatan Rakyat candidate in Gelang Patah, Johor, a seat which Chua was keen to contest. Choong said it was true that Chua appeared upset when he was informed about the decision by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim hours before the announcement was made on March 18. "During the meeting with state leaders when Anwar announced the decision, he was already unhappy. The state leaders then appealed to Anwar to resolve this as quickly as possible. "As far as I am aware, Chua is still in communication with several key leaders. Obviously he would lay down certain conditions for giving out the Gelang Patah seat," he said. Since then, Chua was reported to have gone on a two-week leave, while PKR mulls to offer him the Segamat parliamentary seat in exchange for Gelang Patah. FMT learnt that although Chua's leave is about to expire tomorrow, there are doubts that he will return to work immediately. Should his absence prolong, the state PKR would definitely suffer a setback by facing the fast-approaching general election without full force.
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| GE13: Parliament dissolution likely only after mid-April Posted: 29 Mar 2013 06:09 PM PDT
(The Star) - The dissolution of Parliament to pave the way for the general election looks likely to take place only after the second week of April as Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is scheduled to perform the umrah or minor haj next week. Sources said the Prime Minister is expected to depart for Saudi Arabia on April 3 after chairing the next Cabinet meeting and taking part in a cycling event in Putra-jaya. He is expected to return two days later. For Muslims, the umrah is sometimes performed to seek guidance before making major decisions and for Najib, it has been an annual ritual. Speculation has been growing that the Prime Minister, who would mark his fourth year in office next Wednesday, may stretch close to the full five-year term of the current Parliament, which expires on April 30, before calling for polls. "We are ready but Barisan component parties and machinery can always use any extra time available to ensure that we are as prepared as possible for the general election," said Barisan Nasional information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan. The Negri Sembilan state legislative assembly expired on Thurs-day and all but three states would follow if the Prime Minister decides to allow Parliament to run its full term. They are Penang whose term expires on May 2, as well as Kedah and Terengganu, with both expiring on May 6. Over the past few days, the Prime Minister has been chairing a series of meetings with Barisan component party leaders and the coalition's state leaders to finalise the candidate list. In addition to performing the umrah, it is understood that Najib could also make a quick trip to Brunei on April 24 to attend the Asean Summit. No Malaysian Prime Minister has ever given the meeting a miss, as Asean is the cornerstone of the country's foreign policy.
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| GE13: Group claims Opposition trained to cause trouble Posted: 29 Mar 2013 05:47 PM PDT
(The Star) - A Malay martial arts group has accused the Opposition of receiving foreign training and funding on how to disrupt the coming general election. The Pertubuhan Silat Seni Gayong Malaysia (PSSGM) said they had received information that the Opposition parties were planning to influence the rakyat into believing that the elections would not be handled fairly. "We found that foreign parties have trained the Opposition on how to provoke and stir up trouble during the elections. "We also heard that these groups had even issued a circular to its members, explaining how to provoke and influence people at gatherings into stirring up trouble," said PSSGM president Datuk Adiwijaya Abdullah yesterday. When asked how the association had found out about the matter, Adiwijaya said the information was given by its members from all over the country. He said PSSGM believed that some people might intentionally try to cause trouble and be arrested, so that they could claim that the Opposition was being treated unfairly during the elections. Adiwijaya urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to look into claims that the Opposition had received foreign funding for such acts. Police ready to act against groups planning to disrupt polls, says Hishammuddin Police are taking necessary to steps to carry out surveillance and take appropriate action against any group planning to disrupt the upcoming general election. To ensure that the process of a free and fair election is conducted smoothly, steps would be taken to enlist the help of Rela to act as the ears and eyes of the police said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein. He said discussions have already been held with the Inspector-General of Police and that he has also directed his state police chiefs to tackle immediately any possible groups planning to disrupt the elections. He said this when responding to reports that certain groups were distributing leaflets containing information on how to create trouble at polling stations in 10 parliamentary constituencies including Gombak, Lembah Pantai, Permatang Pauh, Setiawangsa, Wangsa Maju, Bagan Serai, Bukit Katil, Muar, Pandan dan Sabak Bernam. "Police are not just looking at the 10 constituencies named in the leaflets but the whole country," he said on Saturday, adding that people behind such acts were not confident of winning. On the security situation in Lahad Datu, he said the current mop up operations against Sulu gunmen at a few villages would not affect the election process in Sabah. "The security situation in Lahad Datu is improving and only a few affected kampungs are being mopped up for remnant gunmen,'' he said.
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| Pakatan eyes 33 federal seats in 3 states for GE13 Posted: 29 Mar 2013 05:34 PM PDT
Debra Chong, TMI Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has set its sights on scooping up 33 out of a total 83 federal seats in three states the opposition pact regards as crucial to taking Putrajaya in Election 2013, the DAP's Lim Kit Siang said today. Johor, Sarawak and Sabah are known to be Barisan Nasional (BN) "fixed deposit states" and are key to PR breaking down the ruling coalition's five-decade-long hold on federal power, said the veteran opposition lawmaker who has confirmed he will run for elections in the Gelang Patah MCA fortress. "The third objective of the Battle of Gelang Patah is to target to win 33 Parliamentary seats for Pakatan Rakyat in the three BN 'fixed-deposit states' of Johor, Sabah and Sarawak," the Johor-born MP said in a statement today, in explaining why he was leaving his Ipoh Timor seat in Perak. Lim (picture) said his personal battle for Gelang Patah was really a battle for Johor, to see if the southern state can become a "kingmaker" in the 13th general elections that would spark another political tsunami and trigger a "peaceful and democratic transfer of federal power from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat". The DAP parliamentary leader said PR needs to nab 125 seats out of 222 to put a "comfortable" 28-seat gap between it and BN in Parliament. He suggested that the Chinese-dominant opposition party could win 40 seats while its political partners, the urban PKR could take the lion's share of 45 seats and Islamist PAS sweep the remaining 40 seats. Lim said he is expecting to hit more than 50 per cent of PR's target of 19 parliamentary seats and 30 state seats in Johor but also made clear that he was not claiming PR could score a "bullseye". "The question is whether PR can win another 10 ― 12 parliamentary seats from Barisan Nasional's total of 140 seats won in 2008 from states other than the three 'fixed deposit states' of Johore, Sabah and Sarawak," he said. Ahead of Election 2013, both sides have talked up their chances of securing a win in the hotly anticipated general election, with PR sources saying that it is confident of gaining nearly 140 parliamentary seats. The Malaysian Insider had previously reported that surveys by BN showed that it could win up to 145 federal seats, above the 112 seats required for a simple majority but below 148 seats for a two-thirds majority. But independent surveys show that BN could scrape through with 117 seats to PR's 105. Election 2013 would see politicians fighting for 222 parliamentary seats and 505 state seats.
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| Rafizi slammed for ‘false’ information Posted: 29 Mar 2013 04:56 PM PDT
PKR insiders claim that party candidates for the GE are chosen not based on service rendered or popularity. B Nantha Kumar, FMT A PKR division chairman today took party strategy director Rafizi Ramli to task for saying that PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim was heading the party's candidate selection committee. The leader, who did not want to be named, said while it was commendable for Rafizi to defend the party's candidate selection, the latter's argument that Anwar was leading the committee was false. "Rafizi should be brought to the party disciplinary committee as he tried to manipulate facts. It is not Anwar who is heading the committee but Azmin Ali (PKR deputy president)," he told FMT. "It is also not true that the candidates list goes through a filter process. Anwar or Azmin select the candidates. Those they dislike are at the mercy of their 'veto' power," he added. The party insider claimed that Rafizi was not fit to answer issues pertaining to candidates selection because he was not a member of the party's political bureau. "Furthermore, Rafizi himself is Anwar's 'blue-eyed boy'. He is a parachute candidate for the Pandan parliamentary constituency… but he has lost touch with the Pandan PKR division ," he said. Earlier this week, Rafizi rejected allegations that party boss Anwar was making unilateral decisions in selecting PKR candidates for the general election. He claimed that the selection committee headed by Anwar and the decision of the committee was preceded by "consultations at every level" of the party. Meanwhile, anothr leader from Negri Sembilan challenged Rafizi to explain why Kamarul Baharin Abbas was selected to defend the Teluk Kemang parliamentary seat when he was defeated at the PKR divisional elections. At the party elections two year ago, Kamarul Baharin, who is a close ally of Anwar, lost the division chairman post to Port Dickson assemblyman M Ravi. "So by right, Ravi should be given the first priority to contest in Teluk Kemang. He is more visible in the constituency compared to Kamarul Baharin," said the source.
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| ‘Pakatan not ready to form government’ Posted: 29 Mar 2013 04:52 PM PDT
Dr Chandra Muzaffar feels Pakatan Rakyat needs to undergo a major change before it takes over the federal administration. Priscilla Prasena and Alyaa Azhar, FMT Pakatan Rakyat is not ready to form the next federal government and has to undergo a major transformation before it can take over Putrajaya. In an exclusive interview with FMT, political scientist Dr Chandra Muzaffar said while Pakatan spoke of change, it does not realise that it is the opposition pact that needs to change its style of politicking. On his reasons why Pakatan should not form the next federal government, he said: "PAS is a party that is linked largely with one part of society and it is only confined to Muslims." "It does not bring different religions together. PAS is very much preoccupied with its Muslim identity and in preserving it. PAS is very similar to the Muslim movement in Sudan where its major concerns are women issues and prohibiting mingling with other sexes. They strongly impose a particular interpretation of Islam on the nation," he said. Chandra said the party had attempted to woo various other ethnic groups to join PAS but this had failed to materialise. It won Kelantan in the past elections because of the majority Muslims in the state, he argued. DAP on the other hand, he said, does not champion Malay issues in fear of losing Chinese support. "DAP is suppose to be a multiethnic party, but in reality it is otherwise. It is alienated from the Malay majority. The party has no interest in the Malays and it is often voted out in constituencies with Malay majority," he added. He said the party had also put Indian interest in the backburner. "PKR meanwhile is unique. It was established in 1999, and its major concern in reality was to bring Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister who was charged with sexual misconduct and misuse of power out of the prison. "Once he completed his sentence, the party's objective was for people to vote him into power. Hence, the party revolves around one particular individual and has nothing much to offer to the people "His wife and daughter are the key people of the party and this clearly portrays that it is within a family circle who have their own agenda," he added. It must be noted that Chandra was one of the key figures involved in the formation of PKR in 1999 but left the party claiming that it did no serve the interest of the nation.
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| ‘Enough proof to reopen Altantuya case’ Posted: 29 Mar 2013 04:42 PM PDT
Recent revelations by businessman Deepak Jaikishan, lawyer Americk Singh Sidhu, and private investigator P Balasubramniam constitute as 'new evidence', says the Bar Council. Anisah Shukry, FMT The Malaysian Bar Council today established there was sufficient new evidence for the attorney-general to reopen investigations in the 2006 murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu. "The revelations by Deepak Jaikishan, the late P Balasubramaniam, and Americk Singh Sidhu raised sufficient concern to warrant further investigations by the authorities," Bar Council president Christopher Leong said in a statement today. "Such further investigations may or may not lead to anything new, but we would only know if additional investigations are in fact undertaken," he added. Leong was responding to the Attorney-General's Chambers statement on Wednesday that it would consider reopening investigations into Altantuya's gruesome murder only if there was new evidence. Attorney-General G Abdul Gani Patail said this after the Bar Council urged him to reopen the murder case following revelations from the late Balasubramaniam's lawyer, Americk, at the council's annual general meeting. Americk had claimed that senior lawyer Cecil Abraham was responsible for drafting the private investigator's second statutory declaration (SD) in 2008. The second SD had reversed all claims made in Balasubramaniam's first SD, which had implicated Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in Altantuya's murder. "Thus, the issue presently is not whether the AG has the discretion [to reopen investigations], but whether there is sufficient cause for him to do so," Leong said. Leong pointed out that businessman Deepak's reaffirmation to the media that Balasubramaniam's second SD was written to recant the first SD, as well as his role in the matter, was already considered as new evidence. Deepak had claimed late last year that Rosmah Mansor, the wife of the prime minister, had requested him to persuade Balasubramaniam to write the second SD. While Rosmah had not refuted Deepak's allegation, she wrote in her biography that she played no direct role in Altantuya's murder.
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| Star readers all for booting out FAM’s Article 88 Posted: 29 Mar 2013 01:15 PM PDT
On Wednesday, the FAM charged national coach Datuk K. Rajagopal(pic) under Article 88 which is aimed at preventing anyone, including coaches and players, from criticising the governing body. Readers of The Star Online have spoken and they say that the controversial Article 88 of FAM Statutes should be abolished. Results of the online poll conducted on the website showed that 91.74% or 3,677 readers said that the rule must go. Only 1.5% or 60 readers felt that the rule should be maintained, while 6.76% or 271 readers said it should be amended. Article 88 states – except for routine releases to the press by the President or the General Secretary, no official, coaches of FAM or referee or any Member or Associate Member, or player registered or employed with any Member or Associate Member, unless sanctioned by the Congress shall contribute any article on the management of affairs of FAM, vent grievances, supposed or real or right criticisms hostile to FAM (Member or Associate Member). On Wednesday, the FAM charged national coach Datuk K. Rajagopal under Article 88 which is aimed at preventing anyone, including coaches and players, from criticising the governing body. Rajagopal had bemoaned the lack of local strikers in the M-League but his statement was construed as criticism of the national league. He now faces the wrath of the FAM disciplinary committee. Eight people have so far fallen victim to the article over the last few years – B. Sathianathan (pic)(former national and Kelantan coach, twice), Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim (Johor FA president), Che Ku Marzuki (former T-Team coach), Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (Perlis FA president), Tan Sri Annuar Musa (FAM deputy president and Kelantan FA president), Abdul Rahman Ibrahim (PKNS coach), Wan Jamak Wan Hassan (former Kedah coach) and Reduan Abdullah (former Felda United coach). Readers in their comments on the poll, criticised Article 88, calling it a "backward" and "primitive" rule. "As football is a national affair, critics and opinions by officials should be in the media for public interest," said reader Mac, while Megat Ibrahim said all those who had been penalised under the ruling had done a lot for Malaysian football. Vincent-Johor argued that "not all bosses know best" while Tan called for "more credible and talented people to head the body". Another reader Syed, said FAM should be more open to criticism as it "helps to build character and innovate new ideas for a better future for Malaysian football." As of 6.30pm yesterday, more than 4,000 people had participated in the poll.
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| "Watermelon" and "Sympathizer" Effect Posted: 29 Mar 2013 12:10 PM PDT
In politics, you never appear weak if you are indeed weak Original text by Tay Tian Yan, Asst. Chief Editor, SinChew Daily Something to test your intelligence: Najib said that if Barisan National wins only by a narrow margin in the coming election he may lose his job. That being, his job as the Prime Minister. Do you believe him? Similarly, Lim Kit Siang said that Pakatan Rakyat will win in 7 states, 5 that they won in the past election, plus Perlis and Negeri Sembilan. Do you believe him? As for me, I remain reserved on these 2 statements. Uncle Lim's declaration on winning the 7 states may stem from his overconfidence, but it could as well be the tool used to boost confidence. In politics, you never appear weak if you are indeed weak; instead, you should boast to appear 'more beefed'. If you have only 3,000 troops, you should create an illusion to let others think that you have 30,000 under your command. Many voters suffer from the so-called 'watermelon effect'. When one watermelon is cut into two and are asked to pick only one, they tend to pick the halve that seems bigger. This reaction can be viewed as 'steering towards feeling safer'. This is especially apparent among non-die-hard voters and swing voters who have yet to make up their minds, they tend vote for the party that seems more likely to win, but not the ones deemed 'yang akan kalah'. If PR appears to be losing 'gas' even before the election starts, then surely they are doomed right from the beginning. It may be more tactically sound for PR to actually concentrate their resources on the states they currently control. They should put their star candidates and election resources to defend their strongholds instead of fighting the wars of unknown winning-chances. Penang and Kelantan are PR's strongholds. They need to put a steadfast defense in Selangor and Kedah, and they have to recapture Perak. PR may as well be already exhausted to achieve their goals in the above 5 states as they have used up considerable amount of resources and manpower there. They may expect certain rewards in Johor, Sabah, and Sarawak; but their hopes in Perlis and NS should remain doubtful. Should PR decide that they want to go all-out, there is a possibility that they leave their strongholds unguarded and the consequences may be harmful. As the party in power, BN, despite having the advantage, should remain low-profile. If they hit too hard they risk provoking antipathy among the voters (remember how the voters treated Abdulah Badawi 5 years ago?) Hence, if BN insists that they will win handsomely in the coming election, the swing voters may think of voting for PR to 'balance' the situation since BN is going to win anyway. This thought, at first sown in individual minds, may gradually grow to be a collective trend that leaves unforeseeable impacts. This is the reason Najib does not want to appear too aggressive. He has tied his personal political goals with the nation's economy and politics transformation in hope to convince the voters to let him stay for at least one more term to finish what he started. Furthermore, he has announced that, if he does not win marginally, he may lose his job. It seems to me he is trying to harness the 'sympathizers' votes. All in all, with his personal image and political achievement, Najib still has the chance to fight for more votes. And now may yet be his best time to further foster his relationship with the Rakyat.
郑丁贤‧西瓜和悲情效应 考一考大家的眼光： 纳吉说，如果国阵只是险胜，他可能会失去工作。所谓的工作，当然是首相的位子。 问题是，你相信吗？ 同样的，林吉祥说，民联可以赢得7个州政权；就是上届赢的5州，再加上玻璃市和森美兰。 你相信吗？ 这两者，我都保留。 林伯伯声称可以拿下7州，或许出自他过人的信心，然而，更可能只是一种信心喊话。 政治上，如果形势比人弱，千万不能漏馅，而必须把自己催谷得又肥又壮，兵马只有3千，也要制造假象，让人以为兵马3万。 多数选民有所谓的"西瓜效应＂，就是西瓜切开来，当然是挑大边的，那是寻求一种安全感。 特别是中间选民，以及游离选民，他们往往倾向于更有机会获胜的政党，而不是投给一个没有胜算的政党。 如果民联开战前，就已经泄气，那就没有甚么大戏可以唱了。 在实际策略上，或许民联领导人应该把资源集中在现有执政的州属，把最有胜算的候选人，以及竞选资源和机器，用在捍卫本身的大后方，而不是用于自己没有把握的战场。 民联的堡垒是槟城和吉兰丹；它要坚守的是雪兰莪和吉打，另外要收复的是霹雳。 要捍卫这5个州属，已经让它陷入苦战，资源和人力都不足。 至于玻璃市和森美兰，恐怕已经力有不逮；至于柔佛、沙巴和砂拉越，只能期望能有若干斩获，取得一些突破。 一旦民联走得太远，去得太尽，只怕大后方空洞化，反而出现危机。 至于国阵，作为执政党，它拥有较大的优势，反而要采取低姿态的策略。 太过强势的出击，会引起选民的反感，这是5年前许多大马选民留给阿都拉的一个注脚。 如果国阵强调它会大胜，那么，中间和游离选民会认为，既然国阵如此稳固，不如把票投给民联，制造平衡效果。 一旦这种个别想法累积成为集体心理，就会造成意想不到的冲击。 纳吉不敢表现太强势，他把自己的政治前途，和经济转型和政治转型挂勾，要说服选民给他至少多一个任期，让他完成工作。 而且，他声称如果战绩不佳，赢得不多，还会"工作不保＂。 这就有点悲情牌的味道了。 毕竟，阿吉哥凭个人形象和政绩，还可以争取选票，这是向人民博感情的时候。
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