Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
| BN bastion turned swing state? Posted: 24 Apr 2013 02:14 PM PDT
Sulu incursion, illegal immigrant issue offer a way in for opposition An estimated 800,000 of Sabah's 3.3 million people are illegal immigrants, mostly from the southern Philippines, including Sulu, escaping a civil war there in the 1970s. "The illegal immigrant issue is the single most important issue for many Kadazandusuns," said Mr Fred Marukau, a retired school headmaster in Tuarid Taud village near here. "So now we are listening more seriously to the opposition parties." Lester Kong, ST FOR years, people in this Borneo state lived in relative obscurity as the peninsula cornered all the headlines. Then came an armed Sulu incursion in late February and a tough military response that put Sabah front and centre in national politics for weeks. Now, the same Barisan Nasional government under whose watch the events unfolded is asking for another run in office, saying Sabah's safety is best assured by the governing coalition of Prime Minister Najib Razak. "One vote for BN means one vote for a strong guarantee of Sabah's sovereignty and security," Datuk Seri Najib told hundreds of Keningau residents in the heartland of the Kadazandusun community yesterday. And he repeated the message at each of his campaign stops in Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Penyu, and Bongawan before Keningau. To be sure, even as BN considers Sabah a fixed deposit state, the ground may be shifting. The Sulu incursion left two villages decimated and 10 Malaysian servicemen dead. For Sabahans, who have long complained about the influx of illegal immigrants and lax borders, it was their worst fears realised. "The illegal immigrant issue is the single most important issue for many Kadazandusuns," said Mr Fred Marukau, a retired school headmaster in Tuarid Taud village near here. "So now we are listening more seriously to the opposition parties." In 2008, when the BN suffered unprecedented losses in Peninsula Malaysia, it won resoundingly in Sabah, sweeping all but one parliamentary and one state seat. But with Sabah's recent troubles, the May 5 polls may see the BN's biggest challenge here yet. Adding to the unpredictability, there are just two straight fights this time for the state's 25 parliamentary and 60 state seats. With the BN and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat locked in a close fight in Peninsular Malaysia, what happens in Sabah could have a disproportionate effect on who wins Putrajaya. "It's up to us to be kingmakers in Sabah," said Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who leads the independent State Reform Party. On Feb 12, 200 Sulu gunmen landed on Sabah's eastern shore to press ancestral claims on parts of the state. The 10-week standoff, coming after revelations that the federal government had given identity cards to illegal immigrants in return for their votes, angered many Sabahans, long worried about crowding out by immigrants. An estimated 800,000 of Sabah's 3.3 million people are illegal immigrants, mostly from the southern Philippines, including Sulu, escaping a civil war there in the 1970s. Indigenous Sabahans say these illegal immigrants have taken their jobs and their land. For many, the incursion was the last straw. Now, Sabah's 984,034 voters are increasingly impatient. To Sabah opposition leaders, the choice is simple: continue to allow federal parties to dictate policies for the state of three million or install a Sabah-based party in the state and control their own destinies. The opposition's claims have gained traction with Kadazandusuns like Mr Hilbert Manan, 38. "Cash handouts are nothing when you hear of foreigners coming here and getting the same benefits," said the building contractor from Bulu Silou village near here. "We have waited years for our village road to be paved at least but still the government cannot do this," laments rubber tapper Jeffri Paulus, 35, from Senagang Lama village near here. Locals like Mr Hilbert also still hold dear promises made at the birth of Malaysia, inscribed on the Memorial Oath Stone that stands in front of a district office here. The covenant promises religious freedom, control over local lands, and state protection of local customs in return for loyalty to Malaysia when Sabah joined the federation in 1963. But today, Sabah gets just 5 per cent in royalties for oil from its shores. A recent controversy over whether Sabahans can use the word Allah in Malay-language bibles has also angered many. Since the Sulu incursion, the federal government has set up a new security zone bordering two-thirds of Sabah's eastern shoreline, stationing thousands more servicemen. This week, Sabah BN unveiled a manifesto that promised to resolve the illegal immigrant problem and native land issues, improve security along Sabah's northern and eastern coasts and reduce poverty from 8.1 per cent to 3 per cent in five years. Analysts say the economic promises could still hold power. "In the rural areas, politics of development, of basic needs is still very relevant," says Dr Jeniri Amir, a political analyst with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. |
| Youth’s pivotal role in ‘social media’ election Posted: 24 Apr 2013 01:54 PM PDT
But more than five million of the 13.3 million registered voters are under the age of 40 — up 31 percent from previous 2008 polls — and over two million are first-time voters. "Today, youngsters can find out everything through their handphones. The youth have opened their eyes (to see) that they can change Malaysia for the better," the political science student said. (AFP) - Bukhairy Sofian is fed up with a ban on political activity at Malaysian universities, which he calls an outdated shackle on a tech-savvy younger generation yearning to express itself. So the 23-year-old, who heads a student group advocating academic freedom, plans to support the upstart opposition in May 5 elections expected to be the country's closest yet. "Today, youngsters can find out everything through their handphones. The youth have opened their eyes (to see) that they can change Malaysia for the better," the political science student said. His vote is one small victory for the opposition in a battle to win over youths who are exposed as never before to alternative political views online and tipped as potential kingmakers in the election. Malaysian youths have a history of political apathy blamed on the country's relative prosperity, Asian respect for authority and the campus politics ban imposed in the 1970s to squelch radicalism. But more than five million of the 13.3 million registered voters are under the age of 40 — up 31 percent from previous 2008 polls — and over two million are first-time voters. "The Malay youth vote is critical," said Ibrahim Suffian, head of polling group Merdeka Centre, referring to the Muslim Malays who make up about 55 percent of multi-ethnic Malaysia's people. He said high youth turnout could "dilute" support for the Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition, which has ruled with a tight grip since independence in 1957 but faces a strong opposition vowing to end authoritarianism and graft. The Internet is the battleground in what premier Najib Tun Razak in February called Malaysia's "first social media election". Malaysian Facebook users have surged from 800,000 during the 2008 polls to 13 million, or nearly half the country's population of 28 million. They have among the world's most extensive "friend" networks and also are prolific Twitter users. "The Internet is playing a central role in spreading information and sparking debates," said Ooi Kee Beng of Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. "The young started thinking: This is our country. We can't just leave it to the old guard. Maybe we know better." Denied access to government-controlled traditional media, the three-party opposition learned long ago to get its message out online in a country where smartphones are essential accoutrements. Campaigning heavily on the Web, it seized a third of parliament in 2008, tripling its share in its best showing ever, with prominent bloggers winning seats. "We lost the social media war. We were almost not there (in 2008)," said deputy higher education minister Saifuddin Abdullah, a leading Barisan reform voice. Since then, the opposition has ramped up its online presence, catering to the growing Internet news media and recently launching live streaming of press briefings and political rallies and a smartphone app to track campaign events. It has also has reached out to youths who surveys show are increasingly upset with the quality and cost of education, and with job prospects. It pledges to liberalise campuses, forgive some student debt and implement free primary-to-university education. Scrambling to catch up, Najib, 59, who took office in 2009, is active on a Twitter account followed by more than a million users and has two Facebook pages and a blog. Najib lifted a decades-old ban on university students joining political parties last year, though political activity on campuses remains outlawed. He also is dangling student loan discounts and other youth handouts and has worked to project a young image, inviting fans to watch televised football matches together and appearing at recent pop concerts. Cybertroopers are work Meanwhile, legions of cybertroopers attack the opposition online. Khairy Jamaluddin, leader of Barisan's youth wing, said his organisation alone has 6,000 volunteers working to get the Barisan message out online. "We can do a political talk and speak to maybe 1,000 or 2,000 people, but we post it on Facebook and within an hour 20,000 people have seen it," Khairy said. Grainy videos and photos also have emerged online claiming to show Anwar Ibrahim and other opposition leaders in sex acts, which they have called fakes aimed at smearing them. Barisan officials deny involvement.
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