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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News


Terengganu hanging on tenterhooks

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 04:25 PM PDT

The first post-general election test of strength between Umno and PAS is set to take place in the Kuala Besut by-election.

In the recent general election, Umno made clean sweeps in Besut and Setiu, where the party's candidates won both parliamentary seats well as all the state seats in the two areas.

Joceline Tan, The Star

IT has been quite tough so far for Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said, having to hold on to the state with a two-seat majority.

But it got even tougher on Wednesday when he was informed that Kuala Besut assemblyman Dr A. Rahman Mokhtar had passed away.

The urgent message came through while Ahmad was in Kuala Lumpur, accompanying the Sultan of Terengganu, at the Conference of Rulers at Istana Negara.

Ahmad sought to be excused to attend the assemblyman's funeral in Kuala Besut.

Death is part and parcel of life but this may shake up the delicate balance of power in Terengganu.

Barisan Nasional's two-seat majority in the 32-seat state assembly is like hanging on to a rope from a tall building.

But, with Dr Rahman's passing, Ahmad must feel like he is now hanging on by a thin thread.

The media has been throbbing with speculation of a hung assembly in the making.

This has never happened before and all sorts of scenarios are being tossed about on what will happen if the by-election goes the way of PAS.

After all, Terengganu does have a reputation of being a swing state.

Fresh state elections is likely should that happen.

But as both sides know very well, Besut is an Umno stronghold.

In the recent general election, Umno made clean sweeps in Besut and Setiu, where the party's candidates won both parliamentary seats well as all the state seats in the two areas.

PAS made a clean sweep in Kuala Terengganu, winning the parliamentary and its four state seats.

The strongman in Besut is none other than Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, who is known as the technocrat-politician.

A lot rests on Idris to ensure that Kuala Besut stays with the Barisan and he should have the main say on the choice of candidate for the by-election.

The death of Dr Rahman, barely two months after the general election, was somewhat of a talking point in Umno circles.

Many are puzzled how Dr Rahman could have been let through to contest because he had undergone surgery for lung cancer two months before the polls.

They said the sad affair has made a mockery of the winnable candidate criteria.

"A winnable candidate must be able to go the distance and everyone could see he was not well.

"The operation affected his voice. It was very soft and sounded like a woman's voice," said a Besut Umno politician.

Rahman's illness was kept under wraps and he went on to win against PAS' Napisah Ismail with a credible majority of 2,434 votes and was reappointed to the state exco.

He suffered a relapse on the final day of the state legislative assembly meeting last week and did not recover.

There is also some sort of blame game going on.

Insiders said Idris, who is Besut Umno division chief had wanted to put a new man in Kuala Besut but the Mentri Besar, who had a big say, insisted on Dr Rahman.

"The next candidate must be someone from the area who understands the needs of the people and who is healthy.

"Idris is an anchor figure in Besut, it will largely be his campaign.

"The candidate needs his blessing and support," said Dr Azmi Omar who is from the Jerteh branch in Besut.

Some in Umno credit Idris for rolling back the PAS influence after he took over as Mentri Besar in 2004 because Besut was the epicentre of PAS activism in Terengganu in the 1980s and the 1990s.

At the height of the Amanat Haji Hadi controversy, during which Umno members were condemned as infidels, Besut was notorious for the practice of "two imams."

PAS members refused to be led by the government imam and insisted on praying behind an imam from their party, hence leading to a situation of two imams in one mosque.

PAS last won Kuala Besut in 1999, with its candidate Nik Zawawi Nik Salleh, who is now secretary of the party's Majlis Syura.

The subsequent years saw internal power struggles between rival ulama groups in Besut that diluted its influence.

The infighting was the reason why PAS had to settle for a woman candidate in last month's general election – she was seen as a neutral figure.

The by-election will also be a test for the new PAS chief of Besut, Ustaz Wan Azhar Wan Ahmad who is known for his fiery oratory and jet black beard.

PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali, who is from Terengganu, said the party has a good political machinery in Besut but admitted "it is not going to be easy".

But no one is taking anything for granted despite Besut being "Idris territory" and Kuala Besut being an Umno seat.

Besut is on the border of Kelantan and Umno can expect the Kelantan PAS arsenal to make its presence felt in the campaign.

Kuala Besut is 99% Malay and it will be a Malay fight between two traditional rivals who are often at each others' throats but who also embrace each other as brothers in Islam.

 

No inkling of truth in Ku Nan’s words

Posted: 27 Jun 2013 02:37 PM PDT

The latest revelations about the indelible ink used in GE13 show that both the Election Commission (EC) and Umno-Baru are prepared to deceive the public. When caught red-handed, they backtracked and told more lies. Their deceit ranged from blaming Allah, to placing the fault with the Opposition coalition.

Mariam Mokhtar, FMT

When Umno-Baru politicians, like Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor speak, you wonder why millions of Malaysians voted BN yet again. If you need enlightening, the answer is that at GE13 and in previous elections, BN cheated.

The fuss over the indelible ink is damning to BN. If the ink was indelible and lasted a week, the army would not have been able to vote many times. The police would not have been able to vote many times. The illegals and foreigners would not have been able to vote many times. The Umno-Baru runners would not have been able to vote many times.

Without the extra votes, Umno-Baru would have sunk quicker than a faulty submarine.

Umno-Baru and BN cannot depend on the Chinese votes – a community which is cowed into submission, by the spectre of May 13.

Umno-Baru cannot depend on the rural Malays either. During the Baling riots of 1974, rural Malays protested about rising prices, hunger and other social problems.

As Umno-Baru couldn't depend on the support of either the Malays or the Chinese, they needed to import a new breed of working class people from overseas, the legal and illegal immigrants, to vote for BN.

The latest revelations about the indelible ink used in GE13 show that both the Election Commission (EC) and Umno-Baru are prepared to deceive the public. When caught red-handed, they backtracked and told more lies. Their deceit ranged from blaming Allah, to placing the fault with the Opposition coalition.

If the EC has been swindled by the ink supplier, why won't they reveal the name of the company? Why are they keeping the test methods that were used to test the ink's suitability a secret?

Why has the cost of the ink risen drastically? Over three successive GEs, millions of ringgits of taxpayers' money have been squandered, on indelible ink. This is no coincidence. The debacle with the ink is a deliberate and coordinated ploy by the EC and Umno-Baru to manufacture a win for BN.

As usual, the leader of the BN government, Najib Tun Razak remains silent about the repeated waste of public resources. He cannot denounce the EC because he assumed power through electoral fraud.Najib has also kept quiet about the haze enveloping Malaysia. He has not said a word about the deaths in police custody, nor has he voiced an opinion about the child conversions.

God's will

The EC chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof feigned sadness that the indelible ink used in GE13 was easily washed off. He told the Malay daily Sinar Harian that the indelible ink had been tested prior to use.

He said, "If people ask me now, what is the saddest thing in my life, I would answer: 'Indelible ink'.

"On the much-awaited day, the power of Allah is greater when the ink could disappear after being washed several times. Where is the mistake?" (sic.)

Despite his sacrilegious comments, Abdul Aziz has not been investigated for sedition.

Utusan Malaysia's weekend newspaper quoted the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan saying that BN was 'fated' to win GE13, because God had willed it.

He said, "In short, fate and God's will determines everything."

Abdul Rahman is not a prophet and has no right to make divine prophecies. Despite his blasphemous remarks, Abdul Rahman has not been censured.

Senior Umno politicians are now back-pedalling and covering-up their lies over the ink fiasco. Days after GE-13, senators and ministers were already reneging on their promises.

One senator said that he would need five years to solve the stateless Indians issue. A minister said that car prices could only come down in five years time. Coincidentally, GE-14 is in five years time.

Tengku Adnan now says that Malaysia did not need to use indelible ink, because it is not a third world country. He said "…the opposition wanted it…"

He should have said that the rakyat wanted it!

Since when have Umno-Baru politicians acknowledged the needs and wants of the Opposition or rakyat? The rakyat wanted free and fair elections, but were repeatedly denied them.

Tengku Adnan then expressed concern for the rakyat. He said that the chemicals contained in the ink could be harmful to health.

Has he or his party showed any concern for the effects, on the rakyat, of the gold mining in Raub or in Sarawak? Does he care about the deleterious effects, of the Lynas rare earths plant, on citizens in the vicinity?

Why has he not punished the companies which have close links to his party and which are believed to have created the haze in Sumatra? The community in Pusing, near Ipoh are still suffering from the radiation poisoning caused by the Mitsibushi Asian Rare Earth (ARE) company. Communities are neglected, but Tengku Adnan has the audacity to say that "the government cares."

READ MORE HERE

 

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

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