Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
| Numbers game in Ku Li as PM plot Posted: 16 Jun 2013 07:00 PM PDT
In 2008, DAP and PAS committed their support for Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to be PM, only Anwar Ibrahim and some BN MPs stood in the way. Hawkeye, FMT Former Umno vice-president Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah did not initiate the discussions between him and several MPs from Sabah and Sarawak. In fact, according to "individuals privy to the proceedings", it was the MPs who mooted the meeting. They formed an informal delegation to seek advise from the veteran Umno leader. It was "just a chit-chat" veered towards the possibility of combining resources to impress upon other MPs that time is ripe for a leadership change. A breakaway from Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat styled politics was also seen as necessary to ensure the country regains its path as a progressive nation. The "individuals" said Tengku Razaleigh is seen as an eminent statesman regardless of what his critics may say about the 78-year old Kelantan Prince. It is therefore only natural for some politicians to seek his input on how the country's future is shaping up, especially those from Sabah and Sarawak who feel slighted that their states were overlooked in the federal cabinet line-up. The "individuals" who declined to be named due to the "sensitive" nature of the issue, confirmed that among the matters discussed was the filing of a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak when the 13th Parliament session begins its first sitting next week. This is where the numbers game come in. It is uncertain if Tengku Razaleigh can muster the magical number of 35 MPs from Barisan Nasional to join him. It is also uncertain if he is able to coax the 89 MPs from Pakatan Rakyat to agree to such a proposal. 'Drama' a warning? If Tengku Razaleigh has 124 MPs behind him then the motion could be filed, debated and put to vote in Parliament as it quantifies more than half of the House. There are 222 elected parliamentarians in Dewan Rakyat and BN under Najib have 133 MPs in the house. Some insiders opined that the whole 'drama' could just be a signal from some MPs for Najib to re-evaluate the current political scenario and to govern better. They said it "may not" represent a concerted effort to oust Najib. Among the issues raised is Najib's ability to lead. The many concessions given to the Chinese and their rounded rejection of BN in the recently concluded general election, corruption, raciasm as well as lagging development in Sabah and Sarawak has left observers mulling over his leadership ability now seen as "weak". Then there are also references to the young voters (aged 40 and below) who will soon become the bulk of the voters in the nation's electoral list before 2020. Tengku Razaleigh's aides meanwhile are pessimistic over any bid to move a no confidence motion against Najib. They believe most Umno MPs may not support the no-confidence proposal, as many did not want their party further weakened when it already has to deal with a frail BN. Neither, is there a clear signal from Pakatan on whether they will support it.
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| Posted: 16 Jun 2013 02:33 PM PDT
PKR must strive to consolidate its position and enlarge its membership base while it devises new plans on how to lead an assault on BN. Amir Ali, FMT One of the major tools used by Barisan Nasional in the recently concluded (or not) 13th general election was the government controlled media, so called the mainstream media (MSM) and it damaged Pakatan Rakyat's chances in remote areas. What the citizens in townships and cities across Malaysia have is the internet as the alternative to the MSM, but that too has showed its limits to a certain extent, since it cannot reach those who are not virtually connected. In the remote areas in Sabah, Sarawak and in the peninsular villages plus the areas where Pakatan is not allowed to campaign such as the Felda areas, the internet does not seem to be as popular as the local TV1, TV2 and TV3 plus the 4,5,6,7,8,9 and 14 which were also abused during the electoral period. Then we have the penetration powers of Utusan Malaysia, the Star and other MSM newspapers which were in full support of BN, demonising Pakatan in the process and not giving the opposition any chance to present its criticism of the government or its projects for a better society. All through 2012, the opposition had problems penetrating the villages in several states and it was an accepted fact among Pakatan elements that this would hurt their chances of gaining more seats in Parliament. PKR was even more aware of the problem, knowing that it could not depend entirely on PAS and DAP was in an even worse situation with regard to Malay majority areas in the villages. PAS, as it was proven during the 13th general election, was in competition with PKR and DAP in many seats and went to great lengths to ensure that some Pakatan candidates fail to get elected altogether. The hope among these PAS elements was that by doing so, they would kill PKR-DAP's chances of getting more seats while they would help their party get more seats at the federal level. With such an attitude, it is comprehensible that PKR elements on the ground in many areas felt difficult to penetrate some of the darkest and most pro-Umno territories. PKR and Pakatan had little problems in getting the support of the urban folks and that they will do even better in 2013, but the real problem was how to get the message to the hardcore, fixed deposits and diehard Umno elements. Some students, in their efforts to enlarge the scope of Pakatan' penetration, tried to enter the Felda and other kampung areas but were chased off by Umno reps. Their leaflets and Buku Jingga were seized. At times, the authorities were roped in to stop the students and activists from distributing opposition literature in the remote areas, at least as claimed by Pakatan.
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