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The consistency of change Posted: 11 Apr 2013 06:17 AM PDT Today, I oppose everything I propagated back in the 1990s. Today, I believe in sexual freedom and your right to a gay lifestyle. Today, I believe in your right to atheism and your right to turn your back on religion. Today, I no longer believe in many things I used to believe in even as recent as when I first stated Malaysia Today back in 2004. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin 'The consistency of change' is itself an oxymoron. It is like military intelligence. Since when is killing an intelligent thing? Or new politics! The 'struggle' between Cain and Abel was a political thing. Hence politics is so old how can there be such a thing as new politics when politics itself is about power that resulted in humankind's first act of murder? But that is what I want to call my piece today -- The consistency of change -- mainly because if you change then you would not be perceived as consistent. And that is what I want to talk about today, that I am consistent about change. And I want to talk about that issue because of the comments posted in Malaysia Today about how inconsistent I am for having changed since pre-2008. You may have known me only since 2007, as most of you would have. If you had known me in 1963 when I first entered MCKK you would have known a different Raja Petra Kamarudin. In 1963 I was reserved and aloof. I never spoke much and remained very silent. I never mixed and did not have any friends. I eventually left MCKK three years later because I was so lonely and unhappy and could not fit in to the all-Malay environment. I cried like a baby and begged my father to allow me to go home. I lived in a world of my own. I walked around with a radio in my hand and slept with my headphones long before such a thing became fashionable more than 20 years later. I surrounded myself with music from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. That was in 1963 and I was just 13 at that time. Then, three years later, I broke out of my shell and 'ran' with the bad boys of the Long Fu Tong of Petaling Street. I learned how to fight and carried a knife in my pocket. I even got arrested at 17 for my gang activities. I was never charged for any crime, though, but that woke me up. I realised I did not want to spend the rest of my life in jail. I then started dating and went steady with the girl who is now my wife, Marina. Nevertheless, Marina had to share me with my other love, my motorcycle. Marina did not like motorcycles but she knew she had to accept my motorcycle as part of her life if she wanted to be with me. And soon after that she climbed onto the back of my motorcycle and we became the terror of Kuala Lumpur. Then, in August 1971, my father died. I was just 20 going on 21 and the world that I had known shattered. Less than two years later Marina and I got married and soon after that we got our first child, a daughter. Within a short space of two years I saw the death of my father, got married, and got a child. And, yet again, my life changed. By then, of course, I had sold off the motorcycle that I loved so much and had 'settled down' to what I would consider a stable life. Soon after our daughter was born, we migrated to Kuala Terengganu and started a business. That was during the 1974 recession and life was very difficult then. Three years later, I made my first million and, yet again, my life changed. I now had only one interest in life, which can be summed up in three words -- money, money, money. I just wanted to make more millions, and I did, though not necessarily the moral or legal way. I discovered the world of corruption and how you can make plenty of money by bribing your way through life. But the euphoria of making money did not last. I suppose once you make it then it is not that enchanting any longer. I drank, I gambled, I partied -- and I made even more money by 'donating' large sums to Umno to win huge government contracts. At least five million flowed through my hands into Umno's coffers in exchange for RM120 million in contracts over 20 years -- which I already wrote about in my 20-series episode about my journey in life not being a straight line. Along the way I got infected with a serious case of conscience. That was in the days of Anwar Ibrahim and ABIM and the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979 -- which I have also written about in my 20-series episode. My drinking, gambling and partying ended abruptly. I studied the Qur'an, the entire collection of Hadith Sahih Al Bukhari and the whole series of Tafsiran Al Qur'an by Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah a.k.a. Hamka, who died in 1981 at age 73. In 1981 I did my first of ten trips to Mekah to do my Haj and became a Muslim fundamentalist in love with the Islamic Revolution. I wanted the same Islamic Revolution to happen in Malaysia and for Malaysia to be turned into the Islamic Republic of Malaysia. I wanted to see the end of Western-style democracy and the English Westminster system of Parliament and for the corrupt Monarchy to be abolished. That journey did not last as well. I soon gave up business because I could not be a successful businessman in Malaysia without also indulging in corruption. But I did not find solace in the aspirations of the Islamic Revolution either. I began to see the Revolution not as the saviour of the people but the enemy of free will. I began to hold to the ideals of free will and could no longer accept the doctrine of enforcement. Heaven and hell may exist. Maybe even God does exist. But you should have free will as to whether to accept the existence of God and, if you do, whether you wish to choose heaven or hell as your final resting place. Free will means free will and religion denies you this free will. In 1995, if you had asked me whether I believed in the Islamic State and the Islamic Sharia law of Hudud, I would have said yes. Those of you who have read what I wrote back then would know this, especially those DAP people who used to whack me in Sang Kancil back in the mid-1990s. Today, I oppose everything I propagated back in the 1990s. Today, I believe in sexual freedom and your right to a gay lifestyle. Today, I believe in your right to atheism and your right to turn your back on religion. Today, I no longer believe in many things I used to believe in even as recent as when I first stated Malaysia Today back in 2004. So, yes, the Raja Petra Kamarudin of today is different from the Raja Petra Kamarudin of 2004 or of 1994 or of 1984 or of 1974 or of 1964. And if you can't accept that then that is your problem, not mine. So stop posting comments in Malaysia Today about how I have changed. I have changed. So what? I change all the time. I have changed many times. Change is the only thing consistent about me. Change is called hijrah. In Islam, hijrah is the most important thing. Prophet Muhammad also did his hijrah. Hijrah is so important in Islam that the Islamic calendar is called the Hijrah calendar and starts from the date of the hijrah. And hijrah means change. You hijrah from one lifestyle to another and from one doctrine to another. And you hijrah with your conscience as your guide. And my conscience is clear. My conscience guides me as to what is right and what is wrong. And I know what is right and what is wrong. And just because you want to do the wrong thing because you think it is the right thing does not make you right and me wrong.

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Malaysia’s first buy-election (UPDATED with Chinese Translation) Posted: 10 Apr 2013 07:07 PM PDT And this was when the Pakatan Rakyat people said I was opposed to a change in government. I never said do not change the government, as what I was accused of saying. What I said was just changing the government would not see change unless we can accept the entire concept and full package of change. Changing the government without a revolutionary paradigm shift is merely old wine in a new bottle. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Free fishing nets for fishermen and annual good service incentive for taxi drivers are part of the Penang Pakatan manifesto. (Free Malaysia Today) - Pakatan Rakyat will give away two free fishing nets annually, one worth RM400 to RM500, to each onshore fisherman in Penang if it gains another mandate to rule the state. In a similar move, Pakatan is also throwing goodies to taxi drivers as well by giving them RM600 annually as a good service incentive. All these promises will feature in the state Pakatan manifesto scheduled to be launched at Hotel Vistana in Bayan Baru on April 15. Pakatan and PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to grace the event as the guest-of-honour. In announcing this today, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said between 5,000 and 6,000 fishermen and registered taxi drivers in the state would benefit from the programme. "These are 'peek' information on our manifesto," he told a press conference at Wisma DAP. Among Pakatan state leaders present were DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow and PKR vice-chairman Abdul Halim Hussain. All this while, Lim said successive state governments, including his Pakatan administration, have not carried out any welfare programmes to benefit these groups because those economic sectors were under the federal purview. He said Pakatan planned to give away the gifts because it did not want these groups to be marginalised and sidelined from state welfare benefits any longer. He believes Pakatan's gestures if implemented would be an incentive booster for both the fishery and tourism sectors. He clarified that taxi drivers would be all those who come under the universal understanding of taxis, which would include hired cars and airport limousines as well. If re-elected, he said, Pakatan would disburse the goodies correctly to only registered taxi drivers and active fishermen. Under Lim's administration, cash gifts were given out to senior citizens, single mothers, disabled persons and even for death. ************************************* It depends on how you want to look at it. Malaysia's 13th General Election is either the first Presidential Election between Najib Tun Razak and Anwar Ibrahim or it is the first buy-election where both sides are buying votes. In the past, the buying was very one-sided. It would normally be the government or Barisan Nasional buying the votes. Today, both sides are doing it. In that sense, Malaysia has finally achieved a two-party system. In fact, this is quite true -- that we are seeing the emergence of a two-party system. For the first time in history, Pakatan Rakyat has a real and genuine chance of forming the new federal government. This has never happened in the past. Today, even the top bosses in Barisan Nasional admit that there is a clear and present danger that the ruling party may actually lose power. The bad thing about this is that the top bosses in Pakatan Rakyat know this. In fact, even the taxi drivers and vegetable sellers in the market know this. And because of this Pakatan Rakyat and its supporters have turned arrogant and over-confident while those from Barisan Nasional have become very worried and extremely cautious. Arrogance and over-confidence is bad. It causes you to make mistakes. Very worried and extremely cautious is good. You never take things for granted. If I were asked how I would rate the chances, I would say that Pakatan Rakyat has a chance of winning 95-100 Parliament seats. It also has a chance of retaining Kelantan and Penang but with a slightly reduced majority in both federal and state seats. Barisan Nasional can win 80-82 Parliament seats in West Malaysia and 30-35 in East Malaysia. The 'non-aligned' parties from East Malaysia can sweep about 12-15 seats with about 10-12 going to DAP (from the current two). For all intents and purposes, we are going to see a hung-parliament of sorts with the 'third force', if I may be permitted to call it that, deciding who gets to form the federal government. Selangor, Perak, Sabah and Negeri Sembilan are, at this point of time, a 50:50 situation (as are the 13 Wilayah Persekutuan Parliament seats where it is 7:6 in Pakatan Rakyat's favour from currently 10:3). These four states can go either way and there are just too many 'internal factors' from both sides that will determine the outcome (selection of candidates being one main factor). And that is why I say Malaysia, at last, is seeing a two-party system emerging with the third force being the kingmaker. Is that good? Well, it depends on your Christmas wish. If you wish to see Barisan Nasional retain power with a two-thirds (or close to two-thirds) majority then it is not good. If you wish to see Pakatan Rakyat take over then it is also not good. But if you want to see a balance of power with no one political grouping having absolute power then it will definitely be good. If you can remember what I wrote soon after the 2008 General Election regarding a two-party system and a unity government (which the majority of you profusely opposed) then you can see that the last scenario would be very palatable to me. If you can remember why I mooted the idea of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) in 2010 and why we launched the 'Independent Candidates Initiative' (targeted at a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 30 candidates), and which also many of you profusely opposed, you will also see that the last scenario would be very palatable to me.    Unfortunately, the two-party system, the unity government, the Independent Candidates Initiative, etc., all did not go down well with the majority of you. In fact, the top leadership of Pakatan Rakyat made it very clear that they would not support all these ideas. To add insult to injury, they even said that Barisan Nasional was behind MCLM and that the objective was to trigger three-corner fights to help Barisan Nasional win the election. I could see that not many could accept new ideas when they feel that Barisan Nasional is finished and that Pakatan Rakyat is poised to take over. Why the need for new ideas when you have practically won the fight? Only if you do not win do you need new ideas on how to win. No doubt, everyone is talking about change. However, to most people, change merely means changing the government. I do not disagree with changing the government. Hell, even here in the UK I became a member of the opposition party and voted opposition so that we could see a change in government. But what I was trying to impress upon Malaysians was that change means more than just changing the government. Change needs to come in a bigger package than just changing the government. And this was when the Pakatan Rakyat people said I was opposed to a change in government. I never said do not change the government, as what I was accused of saying. What I said was just changing the government would not see change unless we can accept the entire concept and full package of change. Changing the government without a revolutionary paradigm shift is merely old wine in a new bottle. But that argument was lost on most people. Hence what I needed to do was to sit back and allow the 13th General Election to play itself out. One of the issues I raised that needed addressing to avoid three-corner fights, inter-party bickering, intra-party bickering, internal sabotage, and so on, was by deciding on the seat allocation and choice of candidates early and not at the eleventh hour. Today, we are seeing the logic in that appeal we made to Pakatan Rakyat and I really need say no more about the matter. If the 13th General Election is going to be decided by who can promise the voters more and better gifts and handouts, then we are still a long way away from change. The 'future' that we are talking about and fighting for is all about how much money we are going to receive. How long would that money last? Even if it is RM10,000 per voter or per Malaysian is that going to guarantee us a good future? I am 62. Most of you who are nearing that age will know that at that age we are concerned about our health. Can I be assured of a good healthcare system to look after me until I reach the age of 77 or 82 (if I get to live that long)? I am a grandfather of five grandchildren and maybe by the time I die I will have 10 or more grandchildren. Will my grandchildren receive the best education to help them survive in a borderless and globalised world? Malaysia is badly divided racially with a serious problem of religious intolerance. Is Malaysia's political culture conducive to improving this ethnic and religious divide or does it, in fact, make the problem worse? Malaysians live in gated communities with security guards patrolling the neighbourhood and iron bars on their doors and windows. They also face the risk of their handbags being snatched as they drive on the highways or walk on the streets. Are you happy with Malaysia's security situation? Malaysia's election fraud plus election violence is beginning to make the country look like one of the tin-pot regimes. How many of you are going to leave town or are going to lock yourselves in your homes on Polling Day on 5th May in case we see another 'May 13'? Those are the issues close to my heart alongside good governance, transparency, accountability, eradicating corruption and abuse of power, and so on. And RM10,000 to vote for any particular party is not going to see these issues resolved. And while we can certainly blame Barisan Nasional and Umno's 56 years rule for all these problems, Pakatan Rakyat needs to convince us that a change of government is definitely going to see these problems get resolved. Our worry should not be about winning the election. Our worry should be about what would we do if we do win the election. That is when the work really begins. To most of you, however, winning the election is not when the work begins but when the problems end. And that is what concerns me because once we make our bed we will have to lie in it. ******************************************* 大馬史上第一個'買賣選舉' 就此事上，民聯支持者說我反對換政府。這是絕對的誣賴，我從來沒說過我反對換政府，我說的是，只是換政府是做不到真正的改變的。如果我們只是換政府而不是做出革命性的典範轉移那這一切只是新瓶裝舊酒。 原文：Raja Petra Kamarudin 譯文：方宙 免費漁網與年度計程車司機良好服務獎勵是檳城民聯大選宣言内的項目 (Free Malaysia Today) – 民聯宣佈，如果他們保住檳州政權，他們將會每年發放兩個價值400-500馬幣的漁網給州内漁民和600馬幣服務獎勵給州内的計程車司機。 （下文省略） ************************************* 視乎你的個人詮釋，此次大選可以是納吉和安華的首相之爭，也可以是大馬史上第一個'買賣選舉'，因爲雙方都使盡全力來買票。 在過去，買票是政府/囯陣一方的作爲，但如今這已是雙方的。所以某個層面上，馬來西亞可以説是達成了兩綫制。 這是蠻正確的；我們現在看到的是兩黨制的崛起。現今，反對黨有史以來第一次真正地有出綫的機會。連囯陣上層的頭目們都承認他們面對的是很真實的危機，是有可能讓他們倒臺的危機。 不好的是，民聯的領導人也知道這一點（其實就連巴刹的賣菜阿姨們都知道），而這恰巧會讓民聯和他們的支持者變得目中無人和過於自信。相對的，囯陣就變得很擔憂而步步爲營。 目中無人和過於自信是不好的，因爲你會因此而犯錯。而擔憂而步步爲營是好的，因爲你不會指望不勞而獲。 如果你問我民聯的贏面，我會說他們有機會贏得95-100 個囯席。他們也會保住吉蘭丹和檳城，但總體的支持率會稍微下降。囯陣則會贏得80-82西馬囯席和30-35東馬囯席；東馬的12-15席會落入獨立黨派手裏，而剩下的10-12席則會由行動黨勝出（行動黨現在只贏得2席）。 若上述屬實，我們將會看到一個懸吊的國會，而那個'第三勢力'（請容許我這麽稱呼）將會決定哪個黨會成爲執政黨。 雪蘭莪，霹靂，沙巴和森美蘭現階段還是處於50-50的狀態（聯邦直轄區也將由以往的民聯10：3囯陣變成現在的民聯7：6囯陣）。其他的四個州屬都有可能落入任何一方，因爲雙方都有太多的内在因數左右這四個州屬的選票去向（候選人為其中一個因數）。 這就是爲什麽我講説馬來西亞終于迎來了兩綫制，而第三勢力終于擡頭成爲造王者。 這是好事壞事呢？ 這要看你到底要的是什麽。如果你要的是囯陣取囘2/3的多數權，或民聯入位得權，那對你來講不是件好事。但如果你要的是一個平衡的政治，沒有一方專權，那這絕對是件好事。 如果你還記得我在08年大選后寫的"兩綫制和聯合政府"的文章（你們很多人都吐嘈這個理念），那你應該知道后者才是我的杯中茶。 如果你還記得我在2010年提出的建立 'Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM，此譯馬來西亞國民自由運動) '和'獨立人選倡議' （提倡至少有10-30名獨立候選人上陣），那你也一定更清楚后者才是我的杯中茶。 很無奈的，兩綫制、聯合政府、 獨立人選倡議都不是你們要的東西。民聯還表明得很清楚他們絕對不會支持我的提議。他們甚至還往我的傷口上灑鹽，散播囯陣是 MCLM的幕後老闆，且MCLM嘗試在大選中提倡三角戰來使囯陣獲勝。 我看得出來，沒有很多人願意接受這個新的理念，尤其是儅他們認爲囯陣已'玩完'而民聯接手在即，那我又何必再提出一個新的理念呢？一個人只有在要失敗時才會提出新理念。 很多人是會談到改變，但他們眼中的改變只是改變政府，而這是我所不贊成的。雖然說在英國這邊我爲了要換政府而加入英國反對黨，但我真正要給馬來西亞人民的思想是改變不止是換政府這麽狹隘的，而是比換政府還要重大得多的。 就此事上，民聯支持者說我反對換政府。這是絕對的誣賴，我從來沒說過我反對換政府，我說的是，只是換政府是做不到真正的改變的。如果我們只是換政府而不是做出革命性的典范转移那這一切只是新瓶裝舊酒。 很不幸的，很多人都聼不明白我的論點。所以我現在只能靜觀這屆大選的結果。但我還是想強調，只有趁早圈定上陣區與候選人，（民聯）才可以避免三角戰、黨内紛爭、跨黨紛爭、自相扯後腿等問題。 我希望今天你們可以看到我對民聯的呼籲的邏輯，而我真的無需再重復了。 如果說第13屆大選的輸贏是看誰能夠答應給更多禮物與糖果的話，那我們離改變還有很長的一段路。我們所謂的'未來'是取決於我們會收到多少錢，但那筆錢會持續多久呢？請問在發放給每位選民1万塊錢后，我們的未來是否會更好呢？ 我今年62嵗，如果你和我差不多的話你會很關注你的健康問題。我現在是否有自信，儅我77或82嵗時（如果我有如此長命的話）我國將會擁有良好的醫療系統來照顧我呢？ 我現在是5個孫子的爺爺，而有可能我死的時候我會是10個孫子的爺爺。我關心的是，我的孫子孫女們會不會得到最好的教育以便能在現今這無國界的世界裏生存呢？ 大馬是個種族間隔很濶的國家，也是個宗教相容很差的國家。請問，大馬的政治文化將會改善這些情況還是會把它們弄得越來越糟呢？ 許多大馬人都住在有保衛亭保護的住宅區，他們都依靠警衛巡邏和都裝上鐵窗。無論他們是駕駛在高速公路上還是走在人行道上他們都面臨著被搶奪包包的危險。你是否對大馬治安感到滿意？ 馬來西亞的大選舞弊與選舉暴力使大馬逐漸邁向獨裁囯，你們當中有誰因害怕這個5月5號會成爲另一個'513事件'而決定離開居住地/鎖緊大門呢？ 還有很多其他課題，如管理，透明，貪污，濫權等，這些都不會因我們爲了那1万塊錢而投而就會解決的。 在我們責備囯陣在56年掌權期間令國家問題叢生時，民聯應該説服我們，令我們相信在換政府以後他們會根治這些問題。 我們的憂慮不是贏得大選，而是贏了大選以後我們應該怎樣做。贏了大選以後才是我們做功課的開端，但對你們很多人來説贏了大選不是開始工作的開端，而是問題的結束。 一旦我們安好床位以後，我們就得睡在那張床上，這就是最令我最爲擔心的。

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• Let us see the world through Rukunegara
• Soi Lek: Don’t ask me about MCA seats, all up to PM

Who 'owns' Wangsa Maju? Posted: 11 Apr 2013 01:21 PM PDT   (The Sun Daily) - MCA was in fact merely "returning" the seat to Umno. Political horse-trading on seats to contest has resulted in some dissatisfaction which now appears to threaten Barisan Nasional (BN) component cooperation, but MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek yesterday allayed such fears, citing his confidence that the BN spirit of consensus will prevail. One such seat of contention is Wangsa Maju, which was contested by MCA in 2008. In the face of speculation that BN will be represented by Umno this time around, the Wangsa Maju MCA division has said it will pull out of all campaigning efforts if its chief, Datuk Yew Teong Look, is not fielded. It has been speculated that Umno Wangsa Maju has been eyeing the seat since 2008, and plans to field its division chief Datuk Shafie Abdullah, the political secretary to prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, who is Umno president. Speaking to newsmen after chairing the MCA central committee meeting yesterday, Chua confirmed that the Kuantan parliamentary seat as well as the Tanah Rata (Pahang) and Kota Laksamana (Malacca) state seats will be "loaned" to Umno, Gerakan and PPP respectively. "We exchanged Tanah Rata for Ketari, and Sabah BN has also given us the Luyang state seat. "However, we are not giving up the Padang Serai and Tebrau parliamentary seats," said Chua, adding that no consensus has been reached on other hot seats traditionally held by MCA. They include Wangsa Maju, Pandan, Gelang Patah, Jelapang and Tronoh, which other component parties have voiced interest in contesting. Reiterating that MCA did not give up any seats without a fight and that "loaning" and seat swapping was done "in the spirit of the BN coalition", Chua said it was also based on the understanding there will definitely be more parliamentary and state seats drawn up in the delineation exercise after the general elections. "The seats that are loaned out by MCA will come back to us after the delineation," said Chua. BN secretary-general Datuk Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, however, denied that Umno was "taking away" the Wangsa Maju seat from MCA. Tengku Adnan, who is also Umno secretary-general, said MCA was in fact merely "returning" the seat to Umno. He claimed that in 2004, when he was Federal Territory state liaison chief, it was suggested that an Indian candidate from BN contest the newly-formed constituency of Wangsa Maju, on the grounds that there were over 100,000 Indian voters in Kuala Lumpur. "I suggested an Indian should be a candidate but I don't know what happened along the way, but the seat was given to MCA, on loan. "Now MCA is returning it to (Umno) because they are rational and understand the situation. "We (Umno) are not taking away any seats. BN has never done that because we discuss matters until we reach a consensus," said Tengku Adnan after officiating the 2013 KAR1SMA aid presentation programme in Putrajaya yesterday. Pressed further to confirm if Wangsa Maju will be contested by Umno, Tengku Adnan replied: "As of now, perhaps." Meanwhile, Chua declined to elaborate on the fate of incumbent Pandan MP Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, saying negotiations with Najib are still underway. The Chinese press had reported that Ong had received blessings from Najib to defend Pandan, which raised concerns among party leaders. He also confirmed he will not be contesting any seat to make way for fresh faces to represent the party. "I want to prove a point that I am fighting for a cause, that MCA is still relevant. So I will continue to lead the party without standing for elected public office," he added.

GE13: Analysts: Husam's chances of winning Putrajaya difficult Posted: 11 Apr 2013 01:19 PM PDT (fz.com) - In his bid for the Putrajaya parliamentary constituency, Datuk Husam Musa is expected to beat a path to only one destination – a journey into oblivion. Factors which might serve as stumbling blocks to the PAS vice-president are many. One of them is that he is an unknown contesting in a Barisan Nasional (BN) stronghold.   The other is the strong support from public servants for the legacy of the charismatic Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, the two-term incumbent who is close and popular among the constituents.   According to several political analysts, these factors are among several which will pose major obstacles for Husam to get the support of the 15,798 registered voters.   "Through Tengku Adnan, BN has an excellent service record in Putrajaya. What more, he also established the Putrajaya Umno division," Datuk Dr Junaidy Abu Bakar told Bernama here yesterday.   The Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris deputy vice-chancellor (student affairs) said public servants in Putrajaya and nationwide leaned towards the BN government which was responsible for the current healthy national economic environment.   "They definitely want (Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Najib Razak who has successfully transformed the government, to continue ruling, and by extension, the BN.   "Thus, PAS is confused and has calculated erroneously if it thinks Husam has a chance to win in the 13th general election.   "Or, maybe, PAS is not confused, after all. On the other hand, it could be gambling on Husam's political future as he is probably, unwelcome by other PAS leaders in Kelantan.   "And, the best way to marginalise him is by kicking him out of the state?" asked Junaidy. He noted that Husam was often mentioned as a potential replacement for Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, and this 'factor' was certainly not to the liking of his political rivals who might have similar aspirations. Read more at: http://fz.com/content/ge13-analysts-husams-chances-winning-putrajaya-difficult

Another sex scandal rocks PR Posted: 11 Apr 2013 01:15 PM PDT   (The Star) - Another sex scandal has rocked Pakatan Rakyat, this time involving a video implicating a high-ranking senior PAS leader. Political blog Kedahan69ers.com had first uploaded a four-second preview of the clip at about 8.30pm yesterday. It depicted a man resembling a PAS leader putting on his underpants while seated on the edge of a bed in what appeared to be a hotel room. The man was clad only in a white singlet. Later, another political blog Medan Info Kita uploaded a longer version of the video at 9.04pm. In addition to the previous footage, this 25-second teaser showed the man in bed with a woman in the same room and screenshots of the duo getting dressed separately. On this blog, it is stated that a source said the footage had been taken using a hidden camera placed directly across the bed in a hotel room. At about 11pm, the blog posted a few screengrabs from the video, some showing the man and the woman undressing, having sex and later getting dressed. Blogger PapaGomo also posted images taken from the video, which showed the woman clad in a white towel as well as the man dressed in a white singlet and loose white pants. Terengganu police have seized 16 VCDs allegedly depicting the sexual act of the man resembling the PAS politician. It is learnt the videos were distributed along with nude photos of the man in Jalan Sekolah and Taman Hidayah in Besut, Terengganu, at about 7.40am yesterday. Terengganu CID chief Asst Comm K. Manoharan said the VCDs and the photos were packed in envelopes. "Villagers who alerted the police claimed several unknown men distributed the items. Police personnel were dispatched to the scene and seized the items," he said yesterday. ACP Manoharan said no arrest had been made and called on witnesses to help with investigations.

MCA president to sit out May 5 election Posted: 11 Apr 2013 01:13 PM PDT   (Straits Times) - MALAYSIAN Chinese Association president Chua Soi Lek has announced he is not a candidate in this general election, the first time that a sitting MCA president has opted out from contesting national polls. "I will be leading the charge in the election campaign running up to the polls but will not be offering myself as a candidate," he said in a statement yesterday. This is part of a "renewal process" to groom new leaders, he said. The MCA is the second-largest party in Prime Minister Najib Razak's Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, after Umno. The decision to avoid the contest suggests pressure on Datuk Seri Chua from the opposition, which is gaining in the contest for the Chinese vote, as well as forces within his own coalition. It also comes among widespread speculation on who will stand and who will be dropped as Malaysia heads into its most keenly contested election in years. As PM Najib's BN fights to retain power, it would not want to field anyone not considered a "winnable candidate". Chinese support for the MCA has waned since 2008, and Dr Chua previously warned that the trend could lead to the community having no representation in a future BN government. The status and electability of Dr Chua, 66, has been a topic of speculation. In 2008, a secretly filmed video was leaked showing him having extramarital sex. He resigned from all ministerial and party posts, and did not contest the 2008 general election. He came back to helm the MCA in 2010, following a fierce internal power struggle after the party performed poorly in the 2008 elections. Dr Chua is now busy trying to quell dissent among MCA grassroots members over its diminished share of seats among BN component parties. At a press conference yesterday, he urged members to accept the "loan" of seats to allies, in the spirit of ensuring victory and harmony for the BN. Read more at: http://www.stasiareport.com/the-big-story/asia-report/malaysia-elections/news/story/mca-president-sit-out-may-5-election-2013041

Malaysians in Singapore scramble to make plans to vote Posted: 11 Apr 2013 01:11 PM PDT   (Straits Times) - MINUTES after Malaysia's election date was announced, Mr Lim Khoon Yang was at his computer feverishly searching for flights to Penang, his home state. The 30-year-old software developer, who has been working in Singapore for the past two years, has never voted before. Now, with the date of Malaysia's highly anticipated electoral contest finally revealed, he cannot wait to be home for the May 5 polls. "I'm so relieved, I've been waiting for far too long," he said. Wednesday's announcement galvanised some of the 400,000 Malaysians living in Singapore. While not all will be going home, especially those who failed to register in time, those who did register are scrambling to make travel plans. Postal voting was finally allowed for overseas Malaysians this year, but not for those living in Singapore, Brunei, southern Thailand and Kalimantan in Indonesia. Malaysians in these places must return to cast their vote. A check with four coach companies that operate buses from Singapore to Malaysia revealed that tickets for the weekend of May 5 are running out or fully sold for destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, Taiping, Ipoh and Penang. Tickets have also been selling fast for buses leaving on May 1 and the night of April 30. May 1 is Labour Day, a public holiday in both Singapore and Malaysia. Some customers do not care what time the bus leaves, so long as they get a ticket, said Mr Leong Ying Ken, a manager at Golden Coach Express. Five Stars Tours, which has 50 buses going to Malaysia every day, is considering doubling services to 100 a day for the May 5 weekend. Read more at: http://www.stasiareport.com/the-big-story/asia-report/malaysia-elections/news/story/malaysians-singapore-scramble-make-plans-vot

BN woos Indian votes but indifferent to Hindus Posted: 11 Apr 2013 01:08 PM PDT It is appalling that the higher-ups in the civil service are totally not bothered about Hindu sensitivities, observes P Ramakrishnan citing his experience with medication supplied at a general hospital. The Prime Minister and the Barisan Nasional have been very busy going after the Indian Malaysian votes. They seem to be addressing some issues to pacify the Indians in their attempt to win them. The Indian vote is very crucial to the BN and they are desperately trying to woo them. But it would appear that they are not bothered about the sensitivities of the Hindus. It is appalling that the higher ups in the civil service are totally not bothered about Hindu sensitivities. They are indifferent and insensitive to the Hindus. One good example is the medication that is provided by the General Hospital. Those suffering from IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) have been put on the medication 'Duspatalin'. I am one of those taking this medicine for a number of years. This particular medication was easily available for some years now. But when I went for my supply in February, I was given 'Mebetin' capsules and the packaging was different. When queried, the explanation was that it is the same medicine – only the packaging was different. On reaching home, my wife examined the box containing the medicine. Horror of horrors, she discovered printed on the box the wording "Bovine coated". Immediately, she alerted me and told me that as an Hindu I couldn't take it as there was a beef extract added to the medicine. We went back to the hospital, met up with the pharmacist and told him of my predicament. He understood my problem, went to the back of the store and came back with 80 tablets of Duspatalin. That was all they had, he told me. Another pharmacist, an Indian, came to see me and assured me that she would bring this to the notice of those above her. I was told that I would be contacted the following week. But there was no call so I went to see them. This time they told me that they were trying to source the Duspatalin and had not been successful. In the meantime I went to my private pharmacy to make enquiries. Fortunately they had this supply of Duspatalin. I went back to inform the hospital but I was told that they managed to source from the Bukit Mertajam hospital. When I went back for my supply of Duspatalin in March, I was happy that it was available. I remarked that all Hindus must be receiving this from now onwards. "No", he told me, "you are the only one in Penang receiving this." When I asked why, the reply was that I was the only one who complained! This is preposterous! Most patients simply consume the medicine given to them. They hardly read the write-up; there are others who can't read and therefore they are not aware that certain medicines are "bovine coated". Also, many don't understand what is "bovine". My wife is on Omeprazole for her gastritis. She has been on it for a number of years. In March when she went for her supply, she was given Omerprazole capsule, the packaging of which was different. She was assured that it was the same medicine. On reaching home, she discovered that this was also "Bovine coated". I had occasion to discuss this problem with a doctor when I went for my next consultation. I asked him why this was not raised with the higher-ups. His reply was that they had but the response from those above was, "They are a minority. If they don't want to take, they don't have to take." This kind of attitude is totally unacceptable. They are callous and indifferent and they don't deserve to be where they are. They are a disgrace to the human race! In the past, medicine used to be porcine coated. The Ministry of Health rightly stopped this in deference to the sensitivities of the Muslims. This is the correct thing to do. By the same token, the sensitivities of the Hindus should have been addressed as well and taken care of. But it was not and deliberately so. If the Prime Minister was not aware, no one can blame him or fault him. But now that it has been revealed what would be his reaction? Would he condemn those insensitive people who are not bothered? Would he direct the Ministry of Health to stop this indifferent attitude and put a stop to this atrocious behaviour? Will he address the sensitivities of the Hindus as astutely as he is wooing the Indian votes?

Tindak Malaysia challenges Tunku Aziz to respect & the EC to Enforce the Voter’s Right to ... Posted: 11 Apr 2013 12:57 PM PDT   It appears to be a concerted attack on Tindak Malaysia by a person who have not attended our polling agent training programmes. Yet he took it upon himself to condemn us. We are very sad and disappointed with Tunku Aziz's allegations. pywong, Tindak Malaysia  We refer to Tunku Aziz's accusations against Tindak Malaysia of plotting to cause chaos in: FMT of 10th Apr 2013 Bersih, Pakatan accused of using dirty tactics, New Straits Times of 11th Apr 2013 PKR, groups 'plotting to cause chaos', Prime time news on TV3 on 10th Apr 2013, TheStar dated 11th Apr 2013 (although our name was not mentioned), The Sin Chew Daily on 10th Apr 2013. WHO ARE WE? Tindak Malaysia is an electoral movement made up of Malaysian volunteers who care for and want to do our bit for the nation. We do it through voter education and polling agent training for the public.  Our strategy is To Educate, To Empower, To Mobilize and To Act. Our Goal is to Free and Fair Elections WHY US? We are puzzled why the Election Commission (EC) would make use of Tunku Aziz to do their dirty work of demonizing Tindak Malaysia for them? Are they afraid to face Tindak Malaysia? Since July 2012, after their one and only briefing for Tindak Malaysia at EC HQ in Putrajaya on the polling process and indelible ink, we have been trying to engage the EC in more dialogue to clarify and improve the polling procedures. We sent repeated emails to them seeking clarification. It was only when everything else failed that we had to resort to press releases and videos to reach out to the public to explain what are the problems with the current polling process. And they are serious problems. WATCH OUR VIDEOS You can study some of the problems at YouTube, myDurianTV (or bit.ly/myDurianTVinTM): EP03 Indelible Ink, EP04 Phantom Voters, EP05 Hidden Dot plus a few more coming up on Transparency in the voting process, Election Cost and Time available for a voter to vote). ROLE-PLAY DEMO ON 'AJARAN SESAT' We even invited the EC Chairman and Deputy Chairman to come for an 'Ajaran Sesat' Role-play Demo this Sat, 13th Apr 2013 from 2pm – 6pm at S20, Mosaic Community Studio at Bandar Utama Center Point, PJ to review and correct us on our training methods. We will present through role-play with the participation of the audience to identify which parts would constitute 'ajaran sesat'. And if they are too 'busy' to attend, to send their experts on law and polling processes instead. WHAT IS THE ISSUE? Finally, after all the sound and fury created by Tunku Aziz, if we are to clear through the smoke and obfuscations, what really is the issue? The EC is an election management body appointed by the Yang DiPertuan Agong on the basis of public confidence in them.  The issue "Is this election managed by the EC for": UMNO/BN, or The Rakyat? If an election is managed for the Rakyat, why is Randomizationan issue? WHAT IS RANDOMIZATION? Randomization is a process whereby ballot papers are issued to a voter from anywhere inside the ballot book so that no one can match the serial no. of the ballot paper with a voter, in order to protect the secrecy of his vote. During the public hearing by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reform (PSC) during Dec 2011 in Kota Kinabalu, the Deputy Chairman of the PSC enthusiastically supported Tindak Malaysia's proposal on randomization. Or least he appeared to be. He even went to the extent of suggesting that the EC clerk should tear the whole ballot book, place the ballot paper face down and allow a voter to choose any piece. Unfortunately, this was not included in the 22 recommendations in the final report of the PSC issued in Apr 2012. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Tindak Malaysia has trained thousands of Malaysians on voter education and polling agent training all over the country. Talking to the people, a constant theme kept recurring. Voters do not trust the EC and were worried that their votes were not secret.  ELECTION INCIDENCES This was reinforced when: · BN politicians go round threatening the people "We know how you vote!"  · EC Clerks record the voter reference no. on the ballot paper counterfoil even though it is an election offence since May 2006, · Presiding officers recite the serial no. of the ballot paper as a voter enters the polling station (Apr 2011, SK Tanjung, Batu Danau, Sarawak), again an election offence, WHY ARE EC OFFICIALS ABLE TO ACT WITH SUCH IMPUNITY? Because Section 6 of the Election Offences Act states: Offences against this Part 6. (4) A prosecution for an offence under this Part shall not be instituted without the sanction of the Public Prosecutor. Like Prime Minister Najib Razak declared in the Sibu By-election in May 2010 "You help me, I help you!" WE HAVE A CRISIS! Public Confidence in the EC is at a rock-bottom and Public Confidence of the EC members is a requirement specified Federal Constitution Article 114 (2). If they cannot command the confidence of the public, they should do the proper thing and step down. Instead they try every trick possible to frustrate the people's desire for Free and Fair Elections. And instead of facing the problems head-on, the UMNO/BN and the EC resort to propaganda warfare through the Mainstream Media to demonize their critics and then send in the Police to harass them. IS VOTER SECRECY PROTECTED BY LAW? Voter secrecy is protected under the following Election Acts or Regulations: · Election Act, Section 13 (2) states that the vote shall be secret. · Election Offences Act, Section 5 Maintenance of secrecy at elections. · Section 9 Undue influence · Conduct of Elections, Regulation 13 (3) requires a screen at the voting counter to maintain secrecy. · Regulation 19 (2) As each voter requests for a ballot paper….. This does not specify that the ballot paper has to be issued sequentially. There is no prohibition against a voter asking for a random paper. · Regulation 19 (5), (7) & ( all support the requirement to maintain secrecy of voting. So Tindak Malaysia challenge: Tunku Aziz to declare that he respects the Voter's Right to Secrecy At Elections & the EC to Enforce the Voter's Right to Secrecy At Elections! To the EC: Implement Randomization for this election to prove your sincerity. REPEAT INVITATION TO BOTH TUNKU AZIZ AND THE EC.  Come, if you dare, this Sat 13th Apr 2013, 2pm – 6pm at S20, Mosaic Community Studio, Bandar Utama Center Point to have a dialogue with us in presence of the public and the Press. Don't hide behind the Mainstream media and throw your wild accusations at Tindak Malaysia. By the way, Tunku, you really should do your homework. It is clear you have not attended any of Tindak Malaysia's PACABA Training. If you had and if you had asked about randomization, you would have known: In a meeting in October last year, Pakatan Rakyat and BERSIH 2.0 pleaded with us to stop the teaching of randomization. They explained that the Deputy EC Chairman in an election briefing in Johor Bahru claimed: "We have consulted with the Attorney General on the issue of randomization and the advice we got is that any voter who asks for randomization will be "invited" to leave the polling station without being given the ballot paper."  We were shocked that the EC would countenance such an act. Under Section 4(d) of the EOA, it is an election offence to prevent a legitimate voter from voting. The penalty is two years jail or up to five thousand ringgit fine or both.  Why would the EC would put their presiding officers at risk and resort to such a measure to prevent a voter from ensuring the secrecy of his vote? Is it to inflict fear in the voter? If a voter had his finger marked by Kerani Pengundian KP2 and then have his ballot paper refused by KP3 because he asked for randomization, and evicted, he would be in a very difficult situation. There could be chaos if the EC resorted to such underhand tactics to prevent randomization. To avoid the risk of the EC abusing their powers and prevent a voter from voting, Tindak Malaysia has since Oct 2012 stopped the teaching of randomization. When a participant queried us why we stopped teaching randomization, we explained that we had to avoid chaos in the polling station and the risk of a voter losing his vote. We told them "If you see randomization in the polling station, you will know that particular presiding officer is fair and respects your right to secrecy of voting. If you don't see randomization, you know that the EC is trying to cheat you. In that case, punish them by voting accordingly!" Regards, Py wong  Tindak Malaysia pywong@tindakmalaysia.com Forum www.tindakmalaysia.com Registration www.network.tindakmalaysia.com/ Personal - wong piang yow Tindak Malaysia - tindakmalaysia.com  Malaysia Electoral Reform Program - 1 Juta Rakyat Menyokong Reformasi Sistem Pilihan Raya FAQ - Tanya Tanya Tindak Malaysia - Ask Tindak Rat Race System - Malaysians4Change Malaysians4Change - piang yow wong http://bit.ly/myDurianTVinTM myDurianTV

Surgical Removal of UMNO from the Malaysian Body Politics Posted: 11 Apr 2013 12:51 PM PDT Fernz the Great  MAY 5 OPERATION ON FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER "MALAYSIA" 55 years ago the British colonial masters surgically embedded a slimy parasitic reptile species UMNO to colonise the Malayan body politic. Then 50 years ago Sabah and Sarawak were grafted to Malaya into a Frankenstein monster. This parasite fed on and grew fat inside all 3 countries and is called "Malaysia". The name "mala" in Latin means "bad" - and nothing has been good for the artificial country as it became infested with all sorts of parasites. "Malaysia" has become the anaemic "sick man" of South-east Asia, filled with mutated parasites called "BN politicians" that have so infested its body that it can longer longer function as a healthy body. On May 5 2013, a major surgical operation will be carried out by the people to extract the UMNO snake and purge its hanger-ons. Although it is expected that the damage can be reduced, the parasites may not be fully purged. It may be necessary to detach Sabah and Sarawak from Malaya to save the 2 countries.    Eel Removed From Man After Getting Stuck, Chewing Through Colon (GRAPHIC PHOTOS) Do not try this at home. Do not try this anywhere. Just do not try it. A man in China's southeastern Guangdong province admitted himself to a local hospital after he reportedly got a live eel stuck inside him. According to British tabloid The Sun, the man inserted the 20-inch-long Asian swamp eel into his anus after seeing it done in a porn movie, and he had to endure all-night surgery to have it extracted. According to a HuffPost translation of a blogger's post on Chinese message board forum Mop.com, the eel reportedly chewed through the man's colon, perforating his large intestine, and became stuck in his body cavity. A graphic X-ray image (seen below) shows how far inside the eel was when the man came in for treatment. Medical team members reportedly said the eel, which was "simply trying to find its way out," was alive when removed but died shortly thereafter. According to The Sun, the man is still recovering at the hospital and might face animal cruelty charges. The Asian swamp eel -- also known as the rice eel or rice paddy eel -- is a snake-shaped fish that is commonly sold live at food markets in East Asian countries. Although this type of eel is known as an invasive species in parts of the United States, this isn't the first time that it's made its way into (ahem) foreign habitats. In 2012, a New Zealand man had to have an eel removed from his posterior. In 2010, a Chinese man died after his friends allegedly inserted an eel into his rectum as a joke. WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES An X-ray image shows how far inside the man's body the eel was able to get. This photo, provided by Europics, shows the eel after it was removed from the man.

Malaysia's Rancid Election Posted: 11 Apr 2013 12:40 PM PDT   There are fears of violence, but observers think they're overblown - or hope they are John Bethelsen, Asia Sentinel  Malaysia's May 5 national elections are taking place against the backdrop of the most rancid ethnic and political atmosphere since 1969, when race riots shook the nation and led to the deaths of hundreds of ethnic Malays and Chinese. Campaigning, which technically is limited to the period after the election commission sets the date, has been going on for as much as two years as the ruling Barisan Nasional slugged it out with the Pakatan Rakyat. With 13 million voters registered, an estimated 25 percent of them are going to the polls for the first time, delivering what has been called a real wild card. While inflation, educational opportunity, corruption and crime are issues, they pale against the questions of power and race.  Two NGOs held a joint press conference Wednesday, asking the Australian and UK governments and the United Nations to put pressure on Malaysia to ensure that the elections will be fair and free. The government has refused to allow international observers and in February stopped Australian senator Nick Xenophon at the airport and expelled him when he tried to enter the country after producing an international fact-finding report that accused the election commission of gerrymandering districts in favor of the government.  The organizations are the international wings of Bersih, the election reform NGO, and Suaram, a human rights NGO. Supporters of the Barisan Nasional allege that the two organizations are closely aligned with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, which both organizations vehemently deny, saying they are independent organizations seeking to clean up politics. In the press conference, the two groups alleged that political violence, death threats and widespread electoral fraud are escalating, which is clearly true although seasoned political observers in Kuala Lumpur say things aren't as bad as the two say, and that in fact those committing the ugly acts are a small minority who do not appear likely to infect the larger society. "There's truth to many of the things they said at the press conference," said a longtime political observer. "But I think they are stretching it a little too much. At the end of it, Malaysians in general - across all religions and races - have shown they won't be baited by these guys. I am hoping that the vast majority will remain this way despite the provocations. Still, there is an imminent threat that things may turn bad." Still, that observer said he and others with the means intend to vote early and leave the country in case of violence, staying away until they see how things shape up. Read more here

Response to letter published in Malaysia Today Posted: 11 Apr 2013 12:01 PM PDT   I refer to the Letter to the Editor which appeared in Malaysia Today on 28 March 2013 with relation to the MRT. We would like to thank the writer for the feedback on the Klang Valley MRT Project. We however would like to respond to some of the points made by the writer and correct inaccurate assertions made. We are happy that the writer understands that the Klang Valley is in dire need of a good public transport system. Everyone recognises that a good public transport system is needed for Kuala Lumpur to continue to grow economically and at the same time, be one of the most liveable cities in the world. Without good urban rail with the MRT forming a major component of this network, the roads of Kuala Lumpur will be choked, bringing about dire consequences not only in terms of economic growth, but also to the quality of life of its denizens. The writer was however incorrect in saying that the MRT is being built a couple of feet away from these houses of Jalan Kasah in Medan Damansara. What is being built now is a retaining wall and NOT the MRT viaduct. With the retaining wall, a new slow lane for the Kuala Lumpur-bound side of the Sprint Highway can be created. This new lane will compensate for the fast lane of the highway which is being taken for the MRT viaduct. The MRT therefore will run in the middle of the Sprint Highway and not metres behind the houses along Jalan Kasah. The writer is also wrong in stating that the MRT alignment is 4m of Peninsula Residence at Jalan Semantan, and that Sinaran Apartments and the houses at Pinggir Zaaba are "similarly affected". Peninsular Residence is at least 6m from the MRT alignment while the others are even further away. While the Railways (Protection Zone) Regulations 1998 is meant to prohibit new buildings from being constructed less than 6m of a railway alignment, this 6m distance is generally followed when constructing new railways. This MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line is no exception. On the point about the law permitting tunnelling under private property, the current land laws do not precisely determine the depth of land ownership. As such, acquisition under public purpose will be needed for even for tunnelling, no different from acquisition of surface land to build a railway above ground. Otherwise, issues of trespass will arise. While permitting alienation of underground land, this right to exercise this rests solely with the owner. To avert acquisition of private property, Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd has taken the initiative to negotiate with the owners to obtain the right to go beneath their properties without the surface property being disturbed. One can appreciate the complexities of these negotiations. However, we are greatly encouraged as we have been successful in most cases. Thank you.   Best regards, MRT CORPORATION SDN BHD   AMIR MAHMOOD RAZAK Director

The consistency of change Posted: 11 Apr 2013 06:17 AM PDT Today, I oppose everything I propagated back in the 1990s. Today, I believe in sexual freedom and your right to a gay lifestyle. Today, I believe in your right to atheism and your right to turn your back on religion. Today, I no longer believe in many things I used to believe in even as recent as when I first stated Malaysia Today back in 2004. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin 'The consistency of change' is itself an oxymoron. It is like military intelligence. Since when is killing an intelligent thing? Or new politics! The 'struggle' between Cain and Abel was a political thing. Hence politics is so old how can there be such a thing as new politics when politics itself is about power that resulted in humankind's first act of murder? But that is what I want to call my piece today -- The consistency of change -- mainly because if you change then you would not be perceived as consistent. And that is what I want to talk about today, that I am consistent about change. And I want to talk about that issue because of the comments posted in Malaysia Today about how inconsistent I am for having changed since pre-2008. You may have known me only since 2007, as most of you would have. If you had known me in 1963 when I first entered MCKK you would have known a different Raja Petra Kamarudin. In 1963 I was reserved and aloof. I never spoke much and remained very silent. I never mixed and did not have any friends. I eventually left MCKK three years later because I was so lonely and unhappy and could not fit in to the all-Malay environment. I cried like a baby and begged my father to allow me to go home. I lived in a world of my own. I walked around with a radio in my hand and slept with my headphones long before such a thing became fashionable more than 20 years later. I surrounded myself with music from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. That was in 1963 and I was just 13 at that time. Then, three years later, I broke out of my shell and 'ran' with the bad boys of the Long Fu Tong of Petaling Street. I learned how to fight and carried a knife in my pocket. I even got arrested at 17 for my gang activities. I was never charged for any crime, though, but that woke me up. I realised I did not want to spend the rest of my life in jail. I then started dating and went steady with the girl who is now my wife, Marina. Nevertheless, Marina had to share me with my other love, my motorcycle. Marina did not like motorcycles but she knew she had to accept my motorcycle as part of her life if she wanted to be with me. And soon after that she climbed onto the back of my motorcycle and we became the terror of Kuala Lumpur. Then, in August 1971, my father died. I was just 20 going on 21 and the world that I had known shattered. Less than two years later Marina and I got married and soon after that we got our first child, a daughter. Within a short space of two years I saw the death of my father, got married, and got a child. And, yet again, my life changed. By then, of course, I had sold off the motorcycle that I loved so much and had 'settled down' to what I would consider a stable life. Soon after our daughter was born, we migrated to Kuala Terengganu and started a business. That was during the 1974 recession and life was very difficult then. Three years later, I made my first million and, yet again, my life changed. I now had only one interest in life, which can be summed up in three words -- money, money, money. I just wanted to make more millions, and I did, though not necessarily the moral or legal way. I discovered the world of corruption and how you can make plenty of money by bribing your way through life. But the euphoria of making money did not last. I suppose once you make it then it is not that enchanting any longer. I drank, I gambled, I partied -- and I made even more money by 'donating' large sums to Umno to win huge government contracts. At least five million flowed through my hands into Umno's coffers in exchange for RM120 million in contracts over 20 years -- which I already wrote about in my 20-series episode about my journey in life not being a straight line. Along the way I got infected with a serious case of conscience. That was in the days of Anwar Ibrahim and ABIM and the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979 -- which I have also written about in my 20-series episode. My drinking, gambling and partying ended abruptly. I studied the Qur'an, the entire collection of Hadith Sahih Al Bukhari and the whole series of Tafsiran Al Qur'an by Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah a.k.a. Hamka, who died in 1981 at age 73. In 1981 I did my first of ten trips to Mekah to do my Haj and became a Muslim fundamentalist in love with the Islamic Revolution. I wanted the same Islamic Revolution to happen in Malaysia and for Malaysia to be turned into the Islamic Republic of Malaysia. I wanted to see the end of Western-style democracy and the English Westminster system of Parliament and for the corrupt Monarchy to be abolished. That journey did not last as well. I soon gave up business because I could not be a successful businessman in Malaysia without also indulging in corruption. But I did not find solace in the aspirations of the Islamic Revolution either. I began to see the Revolution not as the saviour of the people but the enemy of free will. I began to hold to the ideals of free will and could no longer accept the doctrine of enforcement. Heaven and hell may exist. Maybe even God does exist. But you should have free will as to whether to accept the existence of God and, if you do, whether you wish to choose heaven or hell as your final resting place. Free will means free will and religion denies you this free will. In 1995, if you had asked me whether I believed in the Islamic State and the Islamic Sharia law of Hudud, I would have said yes. Those of you who have read what I wrote back then would know this, especially those DAP people who used to whack me in Sang Kancil back in the mid-1990s. Today, I oppose everything I propagated back in the 1990s. Today, I believe in sexual freedom and your right to a gay lifestyle. Today, I believe in your right to atheism and your right to turn your back on religion. Today, I no longer believe in many things I used to believe in even as recent as when I first stated Malaysia Today back in 2004. So, yes, the Raja Petra Kamarudin of today is different from the Raja Petra Kamarudin of 2004 or of 1994 or of 1984 or of 1974 or of 1964. And if you can't accept that then that is your problem, not mine. So stop posting comments in Malaysia Today about how I have changed. I have changed. So what? I change all the time. I have changed many times. Change is the only thing consistent about me. Change is called hijrah. In Islam, hijrah is the most important thing. Prophet Muhammad also did his hijrah. Hijrah is so important in Islam that the Islamic calendar is called the Hijrah calendar and starts from the date of the hijrah. And hijrah means change. You hijrah from one lifestyle to another and from one doctrine to another. And you hijrah with your conscience as your guide. And my conscience is clear. My conscience guides me as to what is right and what is wrong. And I know what is right and what is wrong. And just because you want to do the wrong thing because you think it is the right thing does not make you right and me wrong.

Umno files defamation suit against Tian Chua Posted: 10 Apr 2013 08:53 PM PDT (NST) - Umno has filed a defamation suit against Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Chua Tian Chang, better known as Tian Chua, over an article posted in KeadilanDaily.com relating to the Lahad Datu intrusion. The legal action filed through Messrs Hafarizam Wan & Aisha Mubarak last March 15 by Umno executive secretary Datuk Ab Rauf Yusoh also named KeadilanDaily.com editor Fazallah Pit and the writer of the article, Aisha Geoffrey, as defendants.   Counsel Nor Hazira Abu Haiyan, who represented Ab Rauf at the mention of the case today before Justice Rosilah Yop in chambers, said the court had fixed April 23 for Tian Chua, who is also Batu member of parliament, to file his defence and for case management.   In his statement of claim, the plaintiff alleged that Tian Chua had made disparaging statements against Umno during an interview by a portal journalist, which were posted through an article, 'Insiden tembakan di Lahad Datu konspirasi terancang Umno" (Shooting incident in Lahad Datu an Umno orchestrated conspiracy) on March 1.   Ab Rauf claimed that the PKR vice-president had damaged Umno's image as the intrusion in Lahad Datu involved the sovereignty of the country and was also a sensitive issue, with regard to the bloodshed and arbitrary claim on Sabah which rightly belonged to Malaysia.   According to the plaintiff, he sent a notice of claim dated March 4 to Tian Chua for the latter to issue a written public apology and to withdraw the defamatory statements but did not receive any response.

PSM: No three-cornered fights, please Posted: 10 Apr 2013 08:06 PM PDT PSM would be meeting PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim by this Sunday to settle the issue over the seats that it is contesting in Selangor.  K Pragalath, FMT Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) wants PKR to come to its senses and avoid any three-cornered fights. PSM maintains that if this happens, the only winner will be Barisan Nasional. The "troublesome" seats are Kota Damansara and Semenyih state seats in Selangor and Jelapang state seat and Sungai Siput parliamentary seat in Perak. Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to meet PSM on Sunday. The PKR list of candidates for Selangor will be announced on Sunday. Kota Damansara seat is held by PSM chairman Nasir Hashim. PSM secretary-general, S Arutchelvan, wants to contest in Semenyih. "We are supposed to meet Anwar by this Sunday to resolve this issue. We hope to come to some sort of compromise to avoid a three-cornered fight," said Arutchelvan. On Sunday night, Anwar would be announcing PKR's candidates list for Selangor in an event that would take place in Hulu Klang. The issue over the two seats was raised because PKR wants to field its candidates in both the seats. Last week, Arutchelvan confirmed that he would be contesting in Semenyih amidst attempts by a Serdang PKR leader Hamidi Hasan to go for the semi-urban seat located in Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency. Selangor PKR wants to field its own candidate in the two seats because PSM had contested under PKR's banner in the last election held in 2008. "In the last election, they [PSM] contested under PKR's ticket, and they used our banner. However, I don't have the authority to make the decision or announcement. "I will let Anwar make the announcement this Sunday," said Batu Caves state assemblyman Amirudin Shari of PKR at the party headquarters today. Arutchelvan also said that in the event a three-cornered battle is unavoidable, the two states seats and Sungai Siput parliamentary seat in Perak would fall to BN. "Why allow BN to take over the seat when PSM is Pakatan-friendly? Our common goal is to take over federal government," he said and confirmed that PSM would back Pakatan in all the state and parliamentary seats in the event of a three-cornered fight. Best candidate PSM is contesting a total of four seats in the GE13. Apart from the three, the party is also fielding its deputy chairman M Sarasvathy for the Jelapang state seat in Perak. During GE12 held in 2008, PSM won the Kota Damansara and Sungai Siput seat respectively. Arutchelvan also expressed confidence that Jelapang would remain in the hands of Pakatan even if there was a three-cornered fight involving DAP, MCA and PSM. READ MORE HERE

PKR: No rift with PSM Posted: 10 Apr 2013 07:59 PM PDT PKR leaders R Sivarasa and Saifuddin Nasution, however, imply that they are not agreeable to Parti Sosialis Malaysia using its own logo to contest in the general election.  G Vinod, FMT PKR today denied any rift with Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) in regard to which party would be contesting for the Kota Damansara state seat. However, the party implied that it was not comfortable with PSM contesting using its own logo. "We are offering the Kota Damansara state seat and the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat to PSM provided they contest under any of the Pakatan Rakyat party logos," said PKR supreme council member R Sivarasa at a press conference held at the party headquarters. Also present was PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution. Recently, it was reported that Selangor PKR chief Azmin Ali had given the green light to lawyer Razlan Jalaludin to start campaigning for the Kota Damansara state seat. The seat is currently held by PSM chairman Nasir Hashim. "We're friends fighting together against a common enemy. I don't know why PKR is fussy about us. "To say that PKR has an issue with our socialist ideology doesn't make any sense… we never had any problems for the past five years," Nasir was reported saying. Elaborating on the matter, Saifuddin said the Pakatan presidential council had already advised PSM to contest using any of the opposition pact's party logo via a letter some time ago. "But we didn't receive any response from them. Since they are not part of the Pakatan pact, we advised them to use our logo," he said. Overlapping demands On why PSM was not admitted into Pakatan despite the former's application several months back, Saifuddin said, "I cannot answer that now. The issue now is about the logo." READ MORE HERE

Malaysia’s first buy-election (UPDATED with Chinese Translation) Posted: 10 Apr 2013 07:07 PM PDT And this was when the Pakatan Rakyat people said I was opposed to a change in government. I never said do not change the government, as what I was accused of saying. What I said was just changing the government would not see change unless we can accept the entire concept and full package of change. Changing the government without a revolutionary paradigm shift is merely old wine in a new bottle. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Free fishing nets for fishermen and annual good service incentive for taxi drivers are part of the Penang Pakatan manifesto. (Free Malaysia Today) - Pakatan Rakyat will give away two free fishing nets annually, one worth RM400 to RM500, to each onshore fisherman in Penang if it gains another mandate to rule the state. In a similar move, Pakatan is also throwing goodies to taxi drivers as well by giving them RM600 annually as a good service incentive. All these promises will feature in the state Pakatan manifesto scheduled to be launched at Hotel Vistana in Bayan Baru on April 15. Pakatan and PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to grace the event as the guest-of-honour. In announcing this today, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said between 5,000 and 6,000 fishermen and registered taxi drivers in the state would benefit from the programme. "These are 'peek' information on our manifesto," he told a press conference at Wisma DAP. Among Pakatan state leaders present were DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow and PKR vice-chairman Abdul Halim Hussain. All this while, Lim said successive state governments, including his Pakatan administration, have not carried out any welfare programmes to benefit these groups because those economic sectors were under the federal purview. He said Pakatan planned to give away the gifts because it did not want these groups to be marginalised and sidelined from state welfare benefits any longer. He believes Pakatan's gestures if implemented would be an incentive booster for both the fishery and tourism sectors. He clarified that taxi drivers would be all those who come under the universal understanding of taxis, which would include hired cars and airport limousines as well. If re-elected, he said, Pakatan would disburse the goodies correctly to only registered taxi drivers and active fishermen. Under Lim's administration, cash gifts were given out to senior citizens, single mothers, disabled persons and even for death. ************************************* It depends on how you want to look at it. Malaysia's 13th General Election is either the first Presidential Election between Najib Tun Razak and Anwar Ibrahim or it is the first buy-election where both sides are buying votes. In the past, the buying was very one-sided. It would normally be the government or Barisan Nasional buying the votes. Today, both sides are doing it. In that sense, Malaysia has finally achieved a two-party system. In fact, this is quite true -- that we are seeing the emergence of a two-party system. For the first time in history, Pakatan Rakyat has a real and genuine chance of forming the new federal government. This has never happened in the past. Today, even the top bosses in Barisan Nasional admit that there is a clear and present danger that the ruling party may actually lose power. The bad thing about this is that the top bosses in Pakatan Rakyat know this. In fact, even the taxi drivers and vegetable sellers in the market know this. And because of this Pakatan Rakyat and its supporters have turned arrogant and over-confident while those from Barisan Nasional have become very worried and extremely cautious. Arrogance and over-confidence is bad. It causes you to make mistakes. Very worried and extremely cautious is good. You never take things for granted. If I were asked how I would rate the chances, I would say that Pakatan Rakyat has a chance of winning 95-100 Parliament seats. It also has a chance of retaining Kelantan and Penang but with a slightly reduced majority in both federal and state seats. Barisan Nasional can win 80-82 Parliament seats in West Malaysia and 30-35 in East Malaysia. The 'non-aligned' parties from East Malaysia can sweep about 12-15 seats with about 10-12 going to DAP (from the current two). For all intents and purposes, we are going to see a hung-parliament of sorts with the 'third force', if I may be permitted to call it that, deciding who gets to form the federal government. Selangor, Perak, Sabah and Negeri Sembilan are, at this point of time, a 50:50 situation (as are the 13 Wilayah Persekutuan Parliament seats where it is 7:6 in Pakatan Rakyat's favour from currently 10:3). These four states can go either way and there are just too many 'internal factors' from both sides that will determine the outcome (selection of candidates being one main factor). And that is why I say Malaysia, at last, is seeing a two-party system emerging with the third force being the kingmaker. Is that good? Well, it depends on your Christmas wish. If you wish to see Barisan Nasional retain power with a two-thirds (or close to two-thirds) majority then it is not good. If you wish to see Pakatan Rakyat take over then it is also not good. But if you want to see a balance of power with no one political grouping having absolute power then it will definitely be good. If you can remember what I wrote soon after the 2008 General Election regarding a two-party system and a unity government (which the majority of you profusely opposed) then you can see that the last scenario would be very palatable to me. If you can remember why I mooted the idea of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) in 2010 and why we launched the 'Independent Candidates Initiative' (targeted at a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 30 candidates), and which also many of you profusely opposed, you will also see that the last scenario would be very palatable to me.    Unfortunately, the two-party system, the unity government, the Independent Candidates Initiative, etc., all did not go down well with the majority of you. In fact, the top leadership of Pakatan Rakyat made it very clear that they would not support all these ideas. To add insult to injury, they even said that Barisan Nasional was behind MCLM and that the objective was to trigger three-corner fights to help Barisan Nasional win the election. I could see that not many could accept new ideas when they feel that Barisan Nasional is finished and that Pakatan Rakyat is poised to take over. Why the need for new ideas when you have practically won the fight? Only if you do not win do you need new ideas on how to win. No doubt, everyone is talking about change. However, to most people, change merely means changing the government. I do not disagree with changing the government. Hell, even here in the UK I became a member of the opposition party and voted opposition so that we could see a change in government. But what I was trying to impress upon Malaysians was that change means more than just changing the government. Change needs to come in a bigger package than just changing the government. And this was when the Pakatan Rakyat people said I was opposed to a change in government. I never said do not change the government, as what I was accused of saying. What I said was just changing the government would not see change unless we can accept the entire concept and full package of change. Changing the government without a revolutionary paradigm shift is merely old wine in a new bottle. But that argument was lost on most people. Hence what I needed to do was to sit back and allow the 13th General Election to play itself out. One of the issues I raised that needed addressing to avoid three-corner fights, inter-party bickering, intra-party bickering, internal sabotage, and so on, was by deciding on the seat allocation and choice of candidates early and not at the eleventh hour. Today, we are seeing the logic in that appeal we made to Pakatan Rakyat and I really need say no more about the matter. If the 13th General Election is going to be decided by who can promise the voters more and better gifts and handouts, then we are still a long way away from change. The 'future' that we are talking about and fighting for is all about how much money we are going to receive. How long would that money last? Even if it is RM10,000 per voter or per Malaysian is that going to guarantee us a good future? I am 62. Most of you who are nearing that age will know that at that age we are concerned about our health. Can I be assured of a good healthcare system to look after me until I reach the age of 77 or 82 (if I get to live that long)? I am a grandfather of five grandchildren and maybe by the time I die I will have 10 or more grandchildren. Will my grandchildren receive the best education to help them survive in a borderless and globalised world? Malaysia is badly divided racially with a serious problem of religious intolerance. Is Malaysia's political culture conducive to improving this ethnic and religious divide or does it, in fact, make the problem worse? Malaysians live in gated communities with security guards patrolling the neighbourhood and iron bars on their doors and windows. They also face the risk of their handbags being snatched as they drive on the highways or walk on the streets. Are you happy with Malaysia's security situation? Malaysia's election fraud plus election violence is beginning to make the country look like one of the tin-pot regimes. How many of you are going to leave town or are going to lock yourselves in your homes on Polling Day on 5th May in case we see another 'May 13'? Those are the issues close to my heart alongside good governance, transparency, accountability, eradicating corruption and abuse of power, and so on. And RM10,000 to vote for any particular party is not going to see these issues resolved. And while we can certainly blame Barisan Nasional and Umno's 56 years rule for all these problems, Pakatan Rakyat needs to convince us that a change of government is definitely going to see these problems get resolved. Our worry should not be about winning the election. Our worry should be about what would we do if we do win the election. That is when the work really begins. To most of you, however, winning the election is not when the work begins but when the problems end. And that is what concerns me because once we make our bed we will have to lie in it. ******************************************* 大馬史上第一個'買賣選舉' 就此事上，民聯支持者說我反對換政府。這是絕對的誣賴，我從來沒說過我反對換政府，我說的是，只是換政府是做不到真正的改變的。如果我們只是換政府而不是做出革命性的典範轉移那這一切只是新瓶裝舊酒。 原文：Raja Petra Kamarudin 譯文：方宙 免費漁網與年度計程車司機良好服務獎勵是檳城民聯大選宣言内的項目 (Free Malaysia Today) – 民聯宣佈，如果他們保住檳州政權，他們將會每年發放兩個價值400-500馬幣的漁網給州内漁民和600馬幣服務獎勵給州内的計程車司機。 （下文省略） ************************************* 視乎你的個人詮釋，此次大選可以是納吉和安華的首相之爭，也可以是大馬史上第一個'買賣選舉'，因爲雙方都使盡全力來買票。 在過去，買票是政府/囯陣一方的作爲，但如今這已是雙方的。所以某個層面上，馬來西亞可以説是達成了兩綫制。 這是蠻正確的；我們現在看到的是兩黨制的崛起。現今，反對黨有史以來第一次真正地有出綫的機會。連囯陣上層的頭目們都承認他們面對的是很真實的危機，是有可能讓他們倒臺的危機。 不好的是，民聯的領導人也知道這一點（其實就連巴刹的賣菜阿姨們都知道），而這恰巧會讓民聯和他們的支持者變得目中無人和過於自信。相對的，囯陣就變得很擔憂而步步爲營。 目中無人和過於自信是不好的，因爲你會因此而犯錯。而擔憂而步步爲營是好的，因爲你不會指望不勞而獲。 如果你問我民聯的贏面，我會說他們有機會贏得95-100 個囯席。他們也會保住吉蘭丹和檳城，但總體的支持率會稍微下降。囯陣則會贏得80-82西馬囯席和30-35東馬囯席；東馬的12-15席會落入獨立黨派手裏，而剩下的10-12席則會由行動黨勝出（行動黨現在只贏得2席）。 若上述屬實，我們將會看到一個懸吊的國會，而那個'第三勢力'（請容許我這麽稱呼）將會決定哪個黨會成爲執政黨。 雪蘭莪，霹靂，沙巴和森美蘭現階段還是處於50-50的狀態（聯邦直轄區也將由以往的民聯10：3囯陣變成現在的民聯7：6囯陣）。其他的四個州屬都有可能落入任何一方，因爲雙方都有太多的内在因數左右這四個州屬的選票去向（候選人為其中一個因數）。 這就是爲什麽我講説馬來西亞終于迎來了兩綫制，而第三勢力終于擡頭成爲造王者。 這是好事壞事呢？ 這要看你到底要的是什麽。如果你要的是囯陣取囘2/3的多數權，或民聯入位得權，那對你來講不是件好事。但如果你要的是一個平衡的政治，沒有一方專權，那這絕對是件好事。 如果你還記得我在08年大選后寫的"兩綫制和聯合政府"的文章（你們很多人都吐嘈這個理念），那你應該知道后者才是我的杯中茶。 如果你還記得我在2010年提出的建立 'Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM，此譯馬來西亞國民自由運動) '和'獨立人選倡議' （提倡至少有10-30名獨立候選人上陣），那你也一定更清楚后者才是我的杯中茶。 很無奈的，兩綫制、聯合政府、 獨立人選倡議都不是你們要的東西。民聯還表明得很清楚他們絕對不會支持我的提議。他們甚至還往我的傷口上灑鹽，散播囯陣是 MCLM的幕後老闆，且MCLM嘗試在大選中提倡三角戰來使囯陣獲勝。 我看得出來，沒有很多人願意接受這個新的理念，尤其是儅他們認爲囯陣已'玩完'而民聯接手在即，那我又何必再提出一個新的理念呢？一個人只有在要失敗時才會提出新理念。 很多人是會談到改變，但他們眼中的改變只是改變政府，而這是我所不贊成的。雖然說在英國這邊我爲了要換政府而加入英國反對黨，但我真正要給馬來西亞人民的思想是改變不止是換政府這麽狹隘的，而是比換政府還要重大得多的。 就此事上，民聯支持者說我反對換政府。這是絕對的誣賴，我從來沒說過我反對換政府，我說的是，只是換政府是做不到真正的改變的。如果我們只是換政府而不是做出革命性的典范转移那這一切只是新瓶裝舊酒。 很不幸的，很多人都聼不明白我的論點。所以我現在只能靜觀這屆大選的結果。但我還是想強調，只有趁早圈定上陣區與候選人，（民聯）才可以避免三角戰、黨内紛爭、跨黨紛爭、自相扯後腿等問題。 我希望今天你們可以看到我對民聯的呼籲的邏輯，而我真的無需再重復了。 如果說第13屆大選的輸贏是看誰能夠答應給更多禮物與糖果的話，那我們離改變還有很長的一段路。我們所謂的'未來'是取決於我們會收到多少錢，但那筆錢會持續多久呢？請問在發放給每位選民1万塊錢后，我們的未來是否會更好呢？ 我今年62嵗，如果你和我差不多的話你會很關注你的健康問題。我現在是否有自信，儅我77或82嵗時（如果我有如此長命的話）我國將會擁有良好的醫療系統來照顧我呢？ 我現在是5個孫子的爺爺，而有可能我死的時候我會是10個孫子的爺爺。我關心的是，我的孫子孫女們會不會得到最好的教育以便能在現今這無國界的世界裏生存呢？ 大馬是個種族間隔很濶的國家，也是個宗教相容很差的國家。請問，大馬的政治文化將會改善這些情況還是會把它們弄得越來越糟呢？ 許多大馬人都住在有保衛亭保護的住宅區，他們都依靠警衛巡邏和都裝上鐵窗。無論他們是駕駛在高速公路上還是走在人行道上他們都面臨著被搶奪包包的危險。你是否對大馬治安感到滿意？ 馬來西亞的大選舞弊與選舉暴力使大馬逐漸邁向獨裁囯，你們當中有誰因害怕這個5月5號會成爲另一個'513事件'而決定離開居住地/鎖緊大門呢？ 還有很多其他課題，如管理，透明，貪污，濫權等，這些都不會因我們爲了那1万塊錢而投而就會解決的。 在我們責備囯陣在56年掌權期間令國家問題叢生時，民聯應該説服我們，令我們相信在換政府以後他們會根治這些問題。 我們的憂慮不是贏得大選，而是贏了大選以後我們應該怎樣做。贏了大選以後才是我們做功課的開端，但對你們很多人來説贏了大選不是開始工作的開端，而是問題的結束。 一旦我們安好床位以後，我們就得睡在那張床上，這就是最令我最爲擔心的。

7 DAP leaders show support for BN Posted: 10 Apr 2013 05:16 PM PDT (Bernama) - Seven DAP senior branch leaders in the state have stated their support for Barisan Nasional (BN) after realising BN's Aku Janji provides more for the Indian community compared to the opposition's manifesto. Ladang Paroi DAP vice-chairman David Dass said the BN Aku Janji announced by charmain Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak last Saturday clearly showed BN's commitment in championing the welfare of Indians, compared to the opposition's unconvincing manifesto. "We saw the oppostion's manifesto during the 2008 general election in Selangor, but (after they failed to fulfill it) they said their manifesto wasn't a promise and this is different from the Aku Janji made by BN. "The Aku Janji is not like a manifesto, it's more of a personal promise and personal promises are better than a manifesto," he told reporters after delivering a ceramah at Ladang Rajent, Gemencheh, here last night. Joining him in stating their support were Desa Dahlia DAP chairman Richard Francis, Desa Dahlia DAP vice-chairman Jesu Dason, Desa Dahlia DAP secretary S. Karthiyaini, Ladang Rajent DAP secretary Chelvam Katham, Ladang Rajent DAP vice-chairman M. Subramaniam and Ladang Paroi DAP secretary K. Mahendran. Last Saturday, Najib announced the BN Aku Janji which will provide a RM500 million trust fund to increase the equity of Indians as well as set up a special unit to ensure the successful implementation of government policies to improve the lives of the Indian community. Dass, who still remains in the DAP, said he was confident that the Aku Janji would be another promise fulfilled. Meanwhile, Dass strongly criticised DAP's leadership especially party adviser Lim Kit Siang, secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and chairman Karpal Singh who he claimed were only concerned about some parties but denied the rights of members of the Indian community. He said this was proven by the selection of the DAP central executive committee (CEC) in Penang which raised the issue of democracy in the party over an alleged mistake in tallying of votes. "We urge the Registrar of Societies (ROS) to tell us the status of complaints on the matter and hope it will be done quickly," he said. Dass, who will announce his resignation from DAP soon, said more party members especially at the branch-level will join him as DAP was no longer a democratic party, but a rather dramatic one.

Wan Azizah hints Abdul Khalid may not be retained as Sgor MB Posted: 10 Apr 2013 05:04 PM PDT It was reported that Abdul Khalid might not be retained as MB against the backdrop of purported differences between him and PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali. (Bernama) - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has hinted that Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim may not retain his post as Selangor menteri besar if the opposition continues to rule the state following the May 5 general election. She said PKR had several potential candidates for the post other than Abdul Khalid.       "(It) doesn't matter who is going to be the MB in Selangor as long as the person has the right policies," she told a press conference at the PKR headquarters, here, today.     She was responding to queries on Abdul Khalid's future position since PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday announced that Abdul Khalid would only defend his Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary seat in the upcoming polls.   Asked on the potential candidates for the top post in the state, Wan Azizah said: "Those who are contesting Selangor state constituencies."   It was reported that Abdul Khalid might not be retained as MB against the backdrop of purported differences between him and PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali.

Badrul's candidacy stirs up hornet's nest within PR Posted: 10 Apr 2013 04:43 PM PDT (The Malay Mail) - PKR's announcement that Badrul Hisham Shahrin, otherwise known as Chegubard, would be contesting Sungai Acheh has stirred up a hornet's nest as PAS has also set its sights on it. The sudden announcement took some by surprise, as it was thought that the parties had agreed for the seat to be returned to PAS, adding an extra seat to the party's present five. State PAS commissioner Datuk Mohd Salleh Man sounded miffed over the phone after learning of PKR's decision at the eleventh hour. "We still want that seat. It is our seat. We will announce a candidate for that seat too. Wait for the announcement," he told The Malay Mail. Asked if PAS was giving up the Bayan Lepas state seat to PKR, Mohd Salleh slammed that speculation saying that they would also be contesting that seat. Chegubard said he was familiar with the area and that his father-in-law was the party division chief in 1999. "In fact, I was arrested by police here in 2002. By being in the supreme council, I also have been around the country," said the PKR supreme council member. When told the contention was that he was a parachute candidate, the former teacher said these issues could be easily sorted within the party leadership. "Of course, we do not discount the contribution by PAS because there are a lot of PAS supporters there. We look forward to PAS helping us secure this seat during the election." As for contesting in Penang after doing so twice in Negri Sembilan, he said his presence here would also help increase PKR membership and support among youths and the people. Sungai Acheh, which is a Malay-majority seat on the mainland, was originally a PAS seat until 2008, when it was given to PKR. However, Dr Azhar Ahmad lost by a mere 250 votes to BN's Mahmud Zakaria. Meanwhile, PKR sources said it was initially agreed that the seat would be returned to PAS but the agreement fell through after it realised that PAS did not have any representation on the island. "If we took the Bayan Lepas seat, PAS would not have any representation on the island. In any case, the Sungai Acheh seat is ours and Chegubard is a good candidate," the source said. They also said PKR was the "victim" within the Pakatan Rakyat coalition when it had to sacrifice a few seats, including the Gelang Patah parliament seat in Johor, which was given to DAP. "We can't afford to be pushed around like this. Hence, Mansor's announcement a day before PAS' line-up is a way to pre-emp the latter's announcement," they said.

Anwar needs to answer the entire Indian community Posted: 10 Apr 2013 04:27 PM PDT MEDIA STATEMENT By Saravanan (Overseas Hindraf Member) Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim was given the first chance by Hindraf Makkal Shakti to endorse their 5 years plan blue print. More than 18 meetings were held in between Pakatan Rakyat and Hindraf. Till today the silence of Pakatan doesn't make any sense about the blue print. DSAI need to answer Indian voters why he rejected or neglected the 6 points Hindraf blue print demans. Anwar shouldn't play coward game any longer by using Indian Pakatan leaders and cyber troopers to protect his position. There is a need for Anwar to come forward and say what makes the whole discussion halted and why he stopped the blue print endorsement personally. The scenario is going very ugly because DSAI continuously using journalist to attack a minority group which fighting for the downtrodden Indian's rights. Whereas Hindraf leaders are coming forward to answer all the necessary questions in the media. We Indians request DSAI to tear his cowardice mask and answer the whole blueprint scenario truth without any delay. By Playing politics many Indians will boycott Pakatan Rakyat in the coming up 13th General election. The loser of the game will be Pakatan. Indians been marginalized by UMNO for 56 years. If Pakatan is really into helping Indians they should safe their election situation from now. We Indians will not loose anything but Pakatan will loose Indian votes. Do not take Indians for a ride. DSAI please answer us, you been propagating that Malaysia is not practising human rights to foreign medias. Now the 6 points demands of Hindraf is purely human rights matter why are you shying away? You use to campaign anak melayu anak saya, anak Cina anak saya dan anak India anak saya. Where is the slogans of anak India anak kamu? If you think Indians are your children you will treat them equally but you are not eager to treat them in that manner. In Last general election you promised Kampong Buah Pala folks that as soon as Pakatan win Penang the land will protected. But you behaved other way around as soon as Pakatan took over Penang, you played big time politics with Buah Pala Indians. You didn't safe them till last but you just blamed Barisan Nasional. Pakatan statement was we are not in charge of Putra jaya hard to undo the previous agreement. Now we are asking you a question if you take over Putra jaya will you undo the agreement now ? For the sake of your Indian children. I personally challenge DSAI to abolish article 153 and other racist policies which been practised in Malaysia. Can you give equal rights to all Malaysian citizen besides 'mengankat martabat orang Melayu'? If any Malaysian or coalition read the 6 points demands of Hindraf carefully will understand that it is a Human rights demands. Any Government can endorse it under the provision of human rights. Instead of approving and being straight forward DSAI and Pakatan playing dirty game by flip flopping downtrodden Malaysian Indians life.   Stop making Indians as 3rd class citizen of Malaysia. My final request to DSAI stop using mandores and cyber troopers  to answer Hindraf´s questions. Please step forward boldly as a leader and explain us why you rejected the 6 point demands.

Mahathir back in the fray Posted: 10 Apr 2013 04:14 PM PDT Dr Mahathir, a one-time Third World champion, Islamic spokesman and fierce critic of the West, has put Prime Minister Najib Razak on notice that if he does badly in the election he will lose the prime ministership in an internal party coup, ruling party sources say. Lindsay Murdoch, The Sydney Morning Herald When Mahathir Mohamad stepped down after 22 years as Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister in 2003, he promised not to interfere in government affairs or politics. ''No, I have already made it very clear that when I leave I will leave completely,'' he said. But 10 years later, as Malaysia prepares for its most closely fought election - announced on Wednesday for May 5 - the abrasive and outspoken 86-year-old has been criss-crossing the country as if he was still in power, launching tirades at opposition contenders and meddling in the fractured coalition that has ruled since independence from Britain in 1957. Dr Mahathir, a one-time Third World champion, Islamic spokesman and fierce critic of the West, has put Prime Minister Najib Razak on notice that if he does badly in the election he will lose the prime ministership in an internal party coup, ruling party sources say. As Mr Najib has introduced reforms to contain a growing clamour for greater accountability and democracy, Dr Mahathir has been urging a return to his authoritarian-style rule under which security forces routinely locked up government critics. ''We have now abolished the ISA [Internal Security Act] on the grounds that it is not right to detain a person without trial … this is an injustice and violation of human rights,'' Dr Mahathir wrote in his blog, adding that the United States killed anyone it designated an enemy in its war against terrorism. ''I wonder what Malaysians who object to detention without trial think of execution without trial,'' he said. As Mr Najib attempted to calm voters in the key state of Sabah following an incursion by a group of armed Filipinos in February, Dr Mahathir flew in to declare that vast water villages where wooden houses are connected by rickety gangways are a dangerous anachronism that should be demolished. Referring to more than 800,000 Filipinos who live in the state, Dr Mahathir declared that ''non-citizens'' should be deported, accusing them of co-operating with terrorists and hiding weapons. There are few issues Dr Mahathir does not speak out on. ''Europeans do not want to admit that they are poor, that Humpty-Dumpty has fallen off the wall,'' he wrote in a blog last month. Charismatic opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is one of his favourite targets, warning voters his former deputy will organise street protests that will destabilise the country when he faces certain defeat at Malaysia's 13th election. ''This is the way of Anwar,'' Dr Mahathir said of the man who spent six years in jail on dubious charges after the two men had a spectacular falling out. ''If he cannot get what he wants, he will prevent others from getting it.'' Mr Anwar said in February he no longer responded to Dr Mahathir's vilification. ''It will be just fine when there is a chance to counter Mahathir's arguments in a free national media, because now it's all one-way,'' he said. During his time in power, Dr Mahathir took rigid control of the media, which still refuses to publish criticism of the ruling party. But as the internet has emerged as an important forum and government scandals previously not aired are being openly debated, Dr Mahathir is crying foul. He complained that hackers had tampered with his blog at least five times so that people could not access it. ''Effectively I was silenced,'' he said. Malaysia's 13 million voters face a stark choice at the election between the ruling party that has brought decades of strong economic growth or a new era of sweeping change under Mr Anwar's three-party alliance.

GE13: DAP's Dr Boo challenged to step down as state party chief after polls Posted: 10 Apr 2013 04:10 PM PDT (The Star) - Johor DAP vice-chairman Ong Kow Meng has challenged state party chairman Dr Boo Cheng Hau to step down after the 13th general election. He said he wanted Dr Boo to honour his announcement that he would step down, made at the the state party committee meeting held on Sunday, April 7, at the Gelang Patah service centre. Ong said Dr Boo was no longer suitable to lead the party in Johor due to his style of leadership. "Instead of uniting party's members, he has caused fractions in Johor DAP," he claimed in a press conference here Wednesday. Meanwhile, Dr Boo Cheng Hau, when met at a function in Johor Baru later, was evasive on the subject. "Ong claimed that I had said those words in a recent meeting, but did I?," he questioned. Dr Boo said that he would have to review the minutes of the meeting before making any statements pertaining the matter.

GE13: Boo sees red over Guan Eng’s meddling in candidates list Posted: 10 Apr 2013 04:05 PM PDT (The Star) - Johor DAP chairman Dr Boo Cheng Hau has blown his top over the alleged meddling of secretary-general Lim Guan Eng in the state's candidates list. In an e-mail to the party's top brass, with copies sent to central executive committee (CEC) members and elected representatives from the party, he blasted Guan Eng for turning a casual discussion at a coffee shop into an official party decision. Dr Boo, who resigned from the Johor DAP candidate selection committee on Sunday together with state deputy chairman Norman Fernandez and secretary Tan Chen Choon, was referring to the naming of state youth chief Tan Hong Pin as a candidate for the Mengkibol state seat. Former assemblyman Ng Lam Hua was reported to have been dropped to make way for Hong Pin, who was earlier said to be slated for the Pekan Nenas state seat. Dr Boo said there was a discussion on Hong Pin's candidature during supper, with beers, at a coffee shop on April 2. But there was no decision. "How could a casual discussion in a coffee shop with beers be taken as an official party decision? It is irresponsible of Guan Eng to convince (former DAP chairman) Dr Chen Man Hin and other selection committee members that I had agreed to the arrangement," he said. Dr Chen, in reply, suggested Guan Eng review the selection of candidates in Johor to find an amicable solution. "It is most regretful that there was no discussion when the DAP decides seats, differently from that recommended by the state selection committee," he said. Responding to the angry mail, national DAP chairman Karpal Singh said the selection of candidates lay solely with the party's top leadership. "The state committees will recommend their list to the four-man national selection committee. Most of the time it's okay except for here and there." "Then the four-man committee decides and it's final. That, they should know," added Karpal, who is in the committee with DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, Guan Eng and party deputy chairman Tan Kok Wai. Karpal took Fernandez to task for voicing his displeasure to the press over the purported surrender of the Segamat parliamentary seat to Johor PKR chief Datuk Chua Jui Meng. "This is wrong and (Norman) should not have done that. Someone must have the last say, and that is the party leaders," he said. Kok Wai, who is also the party's disciplinary committee chairman, said it was stated in the party constitution that the selection of candidates was the sole prerogative of the CEC. Meanwhile, state DAP vice-chairman Ong Kow Meng has asked Dr Boo to step down after the polls because he is no longer suitable to lead the party in Johor. "If he refuses to step down gracefully, I will make sure he will lose in the state party election in October," Ong said in Kulaijaya, Johor, yesterday.

Perbincangan sedang berlangsung untuk selesaikan tiga penjuru di Sg Acheh Posted: 10 Apr 2013 03:52 PM PDT Opalyn Mok, TMI Pemimpin tertinggi PKR dan PAS akan berbincang untuk menyelesaikan pertarungan tiga penjuru di kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Sungai Acheh berikutan pengumuman calon oleh kedua-dua parti sepanjang dua hari lalu. Timbalan Presiden PAS Mohamad Sabu yang lebih dikenali sebagai Mat Sabu berkata, isu ini akan diselesaikan sebelum hari penamaan calon pada 20 April. "Pemimpin kita akan berbincang dan menyelesaikan perkara ini nanti," katanya dalam sidang akhbar di ibupejabat DAP Pulau Pinang pagi ini. Malam tadi, Pesuruhjaya PAS Pulau Pinang Datuk Salleh Man mengumumkan parti Islam itu akan meletakkan ketua pemuda PAS negeri Yusni Mat Piah di kerusi itu. Sehari sebelum itu, pengerusi PKR Pulau Pinang Datuk Mansor Othman mengumumkan parti itu akan meletakkan penulis blog yang dikenali sebagai Chegubard atau Badrul Hisham Shahrin di Sungai Acheh. PAS dan PKR, kedua-duanya dalam gabungan Pakatan Rakyat (PR), telah berada dalam perbincangan mengenai kerusi ini kerana PAS mahu bertanding di kerusi tersebut. PAS secara tradisinya bertanding di DUN Sungai Acheh sebelum 2008 dan pada Pilihan Raya 2008, mereka meminjamkan kerusi tersebut kepada PKR. Dalam Pilihan Raya 2008, Datuk Mahmud Zakaria dari Barisan Nasional (BN) menang dengan majoriti kecil 250 undi. "Kami telah menyelesaikan lebih 100 kerusi dalam perbincangan untuk pilihan raya dan ini hanya satu kerusi, kita boleh selesaikan ini," kata Mat Sabu. Sebelum itu Setiausaha Agung DAP Lim Guan Eng juga mengatakan perbincangan akan berlaku diantara pemimpin tertinggi PKR dan PAS. "Adalah lebih baik kepimpinan tertinggi menyelesaikan ini," katanya. Pengerusi PR Pulau Pinang itu mengatakan perbincangan mengenai kerusi Sungai Acheh adalah diantara dua parti itu dan yang terbaik adalah dengan membiarkan mereka menyelesaikannya.

Polis beri amaran kepada individu mahupun NGO agar tidak melampaui undang-undang Posted: 10 Apr 2013 03:49 PM PDT (Bernama) - Polis memberi amaran kepada mana-mana individu, kumpulan, persatuan mahupun badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) agar tidak mengambil undang-undang di tangan sendiri ekoran dakwaan terdapat unsur-unsur menakut-nakutkan para pengundi semasa hari pengundian 5 Mei nanti. Penolong Ketua Urusetia Ketua Polis Negara (Perhubungan Awam) ACP Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf berkata tindakan golongan itu bukan sahaja boleh menjejaskan proses demokrasi malah turut menjadi kesalahan jenayah yang boleh didakwa mengikut peruntukan undang-undang sedia ada. "Polis menerima maklumat ada terdapat unsur-unsur ugutan yang bertujuan menakut-nakutkan pengundi untuk keluar mengundi, seperti mereka ini akan melakukan sekatan jalan raya, memeriksa kad pengenlan dan mengugut pengundi agar tidak keluar mengundi. "Polis memberi amaran, ia merupakan satu kesalahan jenayah kerana kuasa untuk memeriksa kad pengenalan mahupun sekatan jalan raya hanya boleh dilakukan polis dalam tempoh masa pilihan raya ini," katanya pada sidang media, di Ibu Pejabat Polis Bukit Aman, di sini, hari ini. Beliau berkata tindakan golongan yang cuba menimbulkan kekacauan semasa musim pilihan raya ini sentiasa dipantau polis dari masa ke masa bagi memastikan tiada yang bertindak melebihi undang-undang. Ramli berkata orang ramai yang mengetahui wujudnya aktiviti menakut-nakutkan pengundi di kawasan mereka perlu melaporkan kepada polis agar siasatan dapat dijalankan dan pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab tersebut dapat diberkas. "Kita (polis) tidak mahu pengundi terjejas dengan ancaman ini, jadi sekiranya mereka mengetahui ada pihak yang cuba melakukan ugutan, segera laporkan kepada polis," katanya. Dalam pada itu, beliau berkata kekuatan anggota polis setakat ini mencukupi bagi memastikan proses demokrasi di negara ini berjalan aman dari sebarang ancaman pihak tertentu. Sementara itu, beliau turut memberitahu sebanyak 333 aktiviti sempena pilihan raya umum ke-13 dijalankan semalam membabitkan 99 ceramah, 81 perhimpunan, 21 kempen, dan 132 lain-lain aktiviti. Beliau berkata polis turut menerima 69 laporan polis membabitkan beberapa kesalahan pilihan raya di seluruh negara semalam.

MCA: Fuss about Ghani shows DAP’s true colour Posted: 10 Apr 2013 03:38 PM PDT Gan Ping Sieu questions why DAP's cybertroopers have been attacking MCA over the reports that the Johor MB may contest in the Chinese-majority seat of Gelang Patah. Leven Woon, FMT MCA vice-president Gan Ping Sieu has questioned DAP's criticism against his party for allowing Umno's Abdul Ghani Othman to contest the Chinese-majority constituency of Gelang Patah in Johor. He said the criticisms came despite DAP's frequent claims of being non-racial. Conveying this at a forum on the 13th general election last night, Gan said MCA has come under attack from DAP's cybertroopers since news emerged that Ghani, the Johor menteri besar, might stand in the traditional MCA seat to square off with DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang. Gelang Patah comprises 52% Chinese voters, 34% Malay and 12% Indian. MCA's division chief there Jason Teoh was initially thought to be the BN candidate. "After the news come out that Ghani wants to contest, (DAP) keeps attacking us, saying that we can't even defend a Chinese seat. In other words, they don't want Ghani to contest a Chinese seat. "If MCA were to contest a Malay seat, then they will again accuse us of hiding behind Umno," he said, adding that DAP practiced "double standard" with regard to its non-racial approach. Gan said this in response to a question during the Q&A session in the forum themed "What Are The Key Issues That Determine The Outcome of 13th GE". He and Umno supreme council member Saifuddin Abdullah took on DAP political education director Liew Chin Tong and PAS central committee member Mujahid Yusof Rawa. Liew said one major determining factor of the election would be whether PAS' Malay supporters and DAP's Chinese supporters would embrace each other. "If that crossing happens, than it will be the end of BN," he said. "I think it may happen, because more and more Malays are accepting DAP and more and more non-Malays are accepting PAS. PAS will be fielding non-Malay candidates and DAP has announced some Malay candidates," he said Who copied who During the Q&A session, the political rivals also accused each other of plagiarising their respective election manifestos, with Mujahid saying the title of BN's manifesto "Menepati Janji Membawa Harapan" launched last Saturday was similar to Pakatan's "Pakatan Harapan Rakyat". "We came out with the Buku Jingga (Pakatan common policies framework) in 2009. So if someone releases their manifesto with similar contents later, I call them a copycat," he said. Liew said the spirit of the Pakatan manifesto is to combat corruption and use the money saved to finance a series of programmes, which target the lower-income group. READ MORE HERE

PAS tetap bertanding DUN Sg Acheh Posted: 10 Apr 2013 03:32 PM PDT Saya bawa balik mandat yang telah diputuskan oleh PAS Pusat selepas perbincangan antara tiga parti komponen Pakatan Rakyat, kata Salleh Man.  (Bernama) - PAS Pulau Pinang pelik dengan tindakan  Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) negeri yang bertindak mengumumkan calon PKR mewakili Pakatan Rakyat bagi kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Sungai Acheh, Nibong Tebal dekat sini, sedangkan mereka telah bersetuju PAS bertanding di kerusi tersebut. Pesuruhjaya PAS negeri Datuk Mohd Salleh Man berkata tindakan Pengerusi PKR negeri, Datuk Mansor Othman mengumumkan perkara itu dilihat seolah-olah membelakangi keputusan Pakatan di peringkat pusat yang diputuskan dua hari lepas. "Saya bawa balik mandat yang telah diputuskan oleh PAS Pusat selepas perbincangan antara tiga parti komponen Pakatan, iaitu kerusi Sungai Acheh adalah milik PAS. "Jadi keputusan PAS adalah muktamad bahawa kami akan bertanding di Sungai Acheh dan setakat ini tiada sebarang perbincangan dengan PKR negeri kerana keputusan telah dibuat (perbincangan peringkat pusat)," katanya kepada pemberita selepas majlis pengisytiharan nama-nama calon PAS Pulau Pinang di Pejabat PAS, Pongsu Seribu, di sini malam tadi. PAS meletakkan Ketua Dewan Pemuda PAS negeri Yusni Md Piah untuk bertanding di kerusi DUN Sungai Acheh yang sebelum ini diwakili calon PKR Azhar Ahamad yang kalah menentang calon Barisan Nasional Datuk Mahmud Zakaria pada pilihan raya umum ke-12. Mohd Salleh mengumumkan PAS akan bertanding di enam kerusi DUN dan dua kerusi Parlimen, dengan satu pertambahan kerusi DUN di Sungai Acheh pada pilihan raya umum ke-13 (PRU13). Pada Selasa, Mansor dalam kenyataan mengumumkan calon PKR Badrul Hisham Shaharin yang lebih dikenali sebagai Cikgu Bard akan bertanding di DUN itu pada PRU13. Sungai Acheh adalah satu daripada tiga kerusi DUN di bawah Parlimen Nibong Tebal yang dianggap sebagai kerusi tradisi PAS, namun beralih tangan kepada PKR dalam PRU 2008. Mohd Salleh berkata beliau juga hairan bagaimana Mansor boleh mengumumkan nama calon PKR bagi DUN berkenaan sedangkan Ketua Umum PKR Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hanya mengumumkan calon parti itu di peringkat Parlimen sahaja. Beliau turut bertegas hanya PAS yang akan bertanding di DUN Sungai Acheh dan berharap PKR dan DAP dapat memberi sokongan kepada calon PAS yang akan bertanding. Kepada soalan sama ada pertindihan kerusi yang timbul itu disebabkan kepincangan dalam kalangan Pakatan di Pulau Pinang, Mohd Salleh menafikannya dan menganggap itu perkara biasa dan bukan sesuatu yang mustahil. "Tidak jadi satu benda yang pelik dan mustahil (pertindihan kerusi). Kita tunggu pada hari penamaan calon, siapa yang sebenarnya menjadi calon di situ (DUN Sungai Acheh), tetapi yang penting PAS akan tetap bertanding di Sungai Acheh bagi pihak Pakatan," katanya.

Pakar Feng Shui ramal BN menang Posted: 10 Apr 2013 03:18 PM PDT Seorang pakar Feng Shui ramal Barisan Nasional akan rampas balik Selangor dan Kedah tetapi hadapi persaingan sengit di Negeri Sembilan dan Perlis.  (FMT) - Seorang pakar Feng Shui meramalkan Barisan Nasional (BN) akan memenangi pilihan raya umum ke-13 (PRU13) di  peringkat kerajaan pusat serta merampas semula Selangor dan Kedah. David Koh, 67, turut meramalkan BN akan meraih lebih banyak kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri di Pulau Pinang berbanding semasa  pilihan raya umum lepas. Bagaimanapun, BN dijangka menghadapi persaingan sengit di Negeri Sembilan dan Perlis, katanya ketika dihubungi Bernama. Sebelum ini, Koh pernah memberitahu Bernama TV beliau meramalkan pengundian PRU13 akan jatuh pada 5 Mei depan dan nyata tekaan  beliau tepat apabila Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof mengumumkan tarikh tersebut, semalam. Biarpun ramai beranggapan ramalannya hanya sekadar 'tembak angin' namun Koh berkata ramalan itu berasas kerana ia menggunakan  pengiraan Feng Shui dikenali sebagai 'Shi' yang membawa maksud perang. "Selepas pembubaran pada 3 April lepas, kita ada 60 hari untuk mengadakan pilihan raya, jadi menurut formula Shi, sepanjang tempoh  60 hari itu akan ada satu hari yang akan berperang dan hari tersebut jatuh pada 5 Mei," katanya. Koh berkata BN telah banyak membuat perubahan drastik dengan beberapa kejayaan yang dilakukan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib  Tun Razak dalam memenangi hati rakyat selepas negara mengalami tsunami politik pada 2008. "Selama lima tahun ini kita dapat lihat pelbagai transformasi telah dilakukan oleh Perdana Menteri. Meramalkan siapa yang menang atau  kalah pada pilihan raya kali ini juga memerlukan ramalan yang berasas. "Ia bukan bergantung kepada nasib tetapi berdasarkan usaha keras yang dilakukan oleh anggota politik itu sendiri untuk rakyat,"  katanya. Beliau berkata semua pihak perlu terima keputusan siapa menang atau kalah pada hari mengundi nanti dan percaya rakyat Malaysia kini  lebih matang dan bijak dalam membuat keputusan.

Plot to ‘finish off’ Anwar Posted: 10 Apr 2013 03:07 PM PDT Umno likely to pull out all the stops in the battle for Permatang Pauh, but observers say it will be difficult to dislodge the opposition leader Athi Shankar, FMT PERMATANG PAUH: Many local Umno chieftains believe that the forthcoming general election would be the best chance to unseat Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim in his home turf – Permatang Pauh. They claim that many constituents were unhappy with Anwar's performance as their representative and realised that the opposition leader was just a "ceramah" man, who preferred to be in Kuala Lumpur. They claimed that people had realised Anwar had used Permatang Pauh folk as mere pawns for his political chess game to be a national leader. "Anwar should have left Permatang Pauh to contest elsewhere. He should not again ask Permatang Pauh folk to sacrifice for him. Because of him, Permatang Pauh folk are suffering from lack of business and development," claimed Umno members. Whether their claims hold water or not, Umno's campaign against Anwar would be based on those lines. Umno chieftains claim that with the right candidate and strategies, BN would have the best opportunity to finally "kill off" Anwar's political career. They forecast that a defeat for Anwar would break up PKR and make the party redundant. PKR's demise, they said, would then tear apart Pakatan Rakyat, the three-party coalition which had been gearing up all its machinery to capture Putrajaya. Umno leaders are perhaps still living in dream world. Even after the 2008 electoral reverses, they still failed to learn and realise that the country's political landscape is so divided, polarised and hypercritical that any ruling coalition would always face formidable opposition. Stopping Pakatan's march to Putrajaya is one thing while ending Anwar's political career is a different ball game altogether. It would be easier to stop Pakatan, but beating Anwar in his home turf, where he started his political career with a victorious electoral debut in 1982, is a near impossible task. The Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency is on the world map today because of one man – its favourite son and opposition icon Anwar. Whether one likes him or not, he is the undisputed king of Permatang Pauh. He is always a newsmaker and a hot item for the media. The affection between Permatang Pauh folk and Anwar is said to be too strong. Even when he was in jail, Permatang Pauh folk remained loyal to his family, voting in Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in the 1999 and 2004 general elections. She also won in 2008 before resigning to pave the way for a by-election which Anwar won in style. "Umno would need a miracle to topple Anwar," said several constituents. As of June 2012, Permatang Pauh has 70,667 registered voters, a huge leap of 12,208 within four years from 58,459 voters in 2008. Malay voters make up about 70%, Chinese 25% while Indians only six percent. Permatang Pauh encompasses three state constituencies – Seberang Jaya, Permatang Pasir and Penanti. Seberang Jaya is the most urbanised of the three and is a cosmopolitan centre with industrial workers, professionals and businessmen making up the majority of its population. It has 29,397 voters with 1,200 postal votes. Permatang Pasir is the rural part of Permatang Pauh with predominantly a Malay-voting population and its main economic activity is rice cultivation with some rubber and palm oil plantations. The constituency has 22,733 voters. Semi-rural constituency Penanti emulates Permatang Pasir's agricultural activities mixed with some commercial activities. It has 18,537 registered voters. Sex videos an outdated strategy The incumbent assemblymen are Umno's Arif Shah Omar Shah of Seberang Jaya, PKR state chairman Mansor Othman of Penanti and PAS state commissioner Mohd Salleh Man of Permatang Pasir. Ironically Permatang Pauh is the only constituency in the country to have three representatives elected in by-elections post-March 2008. Anwar defeated Arif in a by-election in August, 2008 with a thumping majority of 15,671 votes. Mansor and Mohd Salleh won their seats in by-elections in 2009. The 13th general election would mark the first time Anwar would contest in a general election since 1995. Umno Permatang Pauh, which has about 17,000 members from 95 branches, has urged Najib Tun Razak to field strong candidates in all constituencies to give the party a winnable electoral jigsaw. Local leaders said that Umno's chances in Permatang Pauh would be given a tremendous boost if a strong personality challenged Anwar. Although the party has not finalised its candidates, former state PAS leader and corporate figure Mazlan Ismail has been tipped as the favourite to be given the task to unseat Anwar. READ MORE HERE

Will KL remain Pakatan’s stronghold? Posted: 10 Apr 2013 03:00 PM PDT After winning 10 out of 11 parliamentary seats in the 2008 general election, can Pakatan Rakyat manage to achieve the same feat this time around Alyaa Azhar, FMT In the 2008 general election, Pakatan Rakyat was invincible in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. The question both their supporters and BN are asking is, can they do it again? Back in the 2008 general election, Pakatan Rakyat almost had a clean sweep, winning 10 out of the 11 parliamentary seats in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. Of the 13 parliamentary seats in the Federal Territories, BN only managed to win Setiawangsa, Putrajaya, and Labuan. Parliamentary seats in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur won by Pakatan were Bandar Tun Razak, Batu, Bukit Bintang, Cheras, Kepong, Lembah Pantai, Segambut, Seputeh, Titiwangsa and Wangsa Maju. For the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary seat, incumbent Selangor Menteri Besar and PKR's Abdul Khalid Ibrahim defeated MCA's Tan Chai Ho with a 2,515 majority while PKR's Tian Chua defeated Gerakan's Lim Si Pin for the Batu parliamentary seat with a 9,455 majority. MCA's Lee Chong Meng was defeated by DAP's Fong Kui Lun with a 14,277 majority for the Bukit Bintang parliamentary seat and in Cheras, DAP's Tan Kok Wai beat MCA's Jeffrey Goh Sim Ik with a 28,300 majority. DAP's Dr Tan Seng Giaw defeated Gerakan's Lau Hoi Keong with a 23,848 majority for the Kepong parliamentary seat while the Lembah Pantai seat was wrested from Umno's Shahrizat Abdul Jalil with a 2,895 majority by PKR's Nurul Izzah Anwar. DAP's Lim Lip Eng defeated Gerakan's Ma Woei Chyi with a 7,732 majority for the Segambut parliamentary seat while DAP's Teresa Kok defeated MCA's Carol Chew with a whopping 36,492 majority. The lone Kuala Lumpur parliamentary seat won by BN was through Umno's Zulhasnan Rafique who defeated PKR's Ibrahim Yaakob with a 8,134 majority, however, for the Titiwangsa parliamentary seat, PAS' Dr Lo'lo' Mohd Ghazali managed to defeat Umno's Aziz Jamaluddin Mohd Tahir with a 1,972 majority. Wee Choo Keong who contested on a PKR ticket won Wangsa Maju with a slim majority of 150 votes, defeating MCA's Yew Teong Look. Wee became an independent in 2010. In Labuan, Umno's Yusof Mahal defeated independent Lau Seng Kiat with a 8,457 majority. For the Putrajaya parliamentary seat, Umno's Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor defeated PAS' Mohammad Nor Mohamad with a majority of 2,734 votes. Although the Pakatan coalition won 10 out of 11 of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur seats, BN is confident that other than defending the three seats won in 2008, they will manage to win more seats this coming election. These seats are, Lembah Pantai, Wangsa Maju, Bandar Tun Razak and Batu. For the Lembah Pantai constituency, many have complained that Nurul Izzah has not been on the ground much. Poised to wrest the seat from the incumbent MP would be Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being minister Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin. Raja Nong Chik has conveyed his intention to contest for the Lembah Pantai seat if he were to be selected by the BN as its representative. "I am confident of winning the seat based on my service record and relationships established over the past 25 years in the area, starting from my early days as an Umno Youth member," he said. As for the Wangsa Maju parliamentary seat, a three-cornered fight is expected to occur and although there has been talks that MCA is adamant with its choice of Yew Teong Look to contest, Umno's Shafei Abdullah, who is also the prime minister's political secretary, will most likely be fielded as the BN candidate. Deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin recently hinted that Shafei will be fielded in the coming election. "We want the rakyat to support whichever (BN) candidate. If Shafei becomes a candidate, okay. If any other candidate, that is also okay," said Muhyiddin. Shafei could find himself facing Dr Tan Kee Kwong, son of former Gerakan leader Dr Tan Chee Khoon, who is tipped to be PKR's choice. Incumbent independent MP Wee Choo Keong, on the other hand, is expected to defend his seat. For the Bandar Tun Razak seat, Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim will be fielded again. Insiders claim that Najib will be fielding one of his brothers for the seat. They said that it would be the brother with the least controversy. Suffice to say that it would not be CIMB head Nazir nor Nazim who was linked to the Altantuya case, so that leaves either Johari or Nizam to stand as a candidate for the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary seat. There are also talks that MCA's Kepong Task Force head Tan Kok Eng is likely to be fielded in Bandar Tun Razak. Kok Eng's father Tan Chai Ho held the Bandar Tun Razak seat for three consecutive terms before losing to Abdul Khalid Ibrahim. Muhyiddin has also voiced his optimism in the BN wresting back the Batu parliamentary seat, based on the positive feedback from voters in the area, which is currently held by PKR vice-president Tian Chua. He added that Batu residents have nothing to be proud of the incumbent MP who he said have made irresponsible and rude remarks about the national security force with regard to the Lahad Datu incursion. The odds are also against Tian Chua who some widely regard as an "absentee MP", because he is hardly seen on the ground. Recently, PAS vice-president Husam Musa has been confirmed to contest for the Putrajaya parliamentary seat and is expected to face incumbent MP and Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor. The former Salor assemblyman acknowledged that it would not be an easy task for him to take on Tengku Adnan, describing the latter as a great strategist. For the Titiwangsa seat, there is a 50% chance for both sides of the political divide, since the passing of Dr Lo'lo', a hard working MP who was much loved by her constituents, PAS has been struggling to maintain her legacy. READ MORE HERE

Why Rais Yatim shouldn’t drive the Information Department vans around the bend Posted: 10 Apr 2013 02:17 PM PDT   Dr Mustafa K Anuar, Honorary Secretary, Aliran   Aliran roundly condemns Information, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim's recent indefensible justification for the Barisan Nasional's blatant use of government machinery for its election campaigning in the run-up to the general election. What was done had nothing to do with the functions of the caretaker government. The three Information Department vans were there to assist the BN coalition to prepare for the opening of the BN's election command centre for the Batu parliamentary constituency on Sunday. Government machinery was definitely used for party purposes. It is crucial that all parties concerned must acknowledge and respect the demarcation line between party and government use to prevent abuse of power and to ensure a level playing field between the incumbent coalition and its contenders.   Surely, it doesn't take a legally trained person to realise that it is immoral for a caretaker government to take undue advantage of its incumbency in this callous manner.   The BN must emulate instead the fine and praiseworthy example shown by both the Selangor and Penang caretaker governments that recalled all official cars from their respective state executive councillors recently in keeping with ethical behaviour.   Similarly, it is politically indecent of the BN caretaker government to offer only a one-off 10-minute pre-recorded slot over Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) to the opposition coalition during the election campaign period. To ensure a level playing field, the opposition coalition deserves and must be given equal access to the broadcasting station, funded by taxpayers, who, in turn, deserve to know better the policies of the competing parties. It is therefore understandable that the Opposition coalition had no option but to reject the pathetic offer by the BN government, an action which Rais considered an attempt to 'mock' RTM. He fails to realise that without doubt he is mocking the democratic process.   To be sure, the caretaker government's misdemeanour in this matter is itself sufficient to mock the broadcasting station without the help of anyone outside the ruling coalition.

Indians suffered 56 years of internal colonisation! Posted: 10 Apr 2013 02:01 PM PDT It's the PR which needs Indian votes, not the BN.  Joe Fernandez The departure of the British administrators from Malaya in 1957, ostensibly giving independence to the country, meant nothing to the Indian Nation. Indians soon found that they had exchanged one colonial master for another, from the British to the Malay-speaking communities drawn from the Bugis, Javanese, Minang, Acehnese, Arab Muslims and Indian Muslims, among others. This was the Malay Nation, a people without territory in Singapore, Malaya, south Thailand, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and South Africa. From the scourge of external colonisation, Indians have been experiencing internal colonisation since 1957, a crime under international law. Incidentally, it was internal colonisation by Khartoum which eventually led to South Sudan breaking away from Sudan with the blessing of the UN Security Council. On that score alone, internal colonisation, Umno/BN is the sworn eternal and mortal enemies of the Indian Nation in Malaysia. It's neither possible to forgive nor forget what Umno/BN has done to the Indians. It's not possible for Indians to do business, purely on moral grounds, with this evil coalition which has squatted on Indians more than half a century.   Indians must seize the moral high ground and reject Umno/BN completely The last General Election, the 12th, was a watershed for Indians when the makkal sakthi – people power in Tamil – wave generated by Hindraf Makkal Sakthi unleashed a political tsunami and installed Opposition Governments, formed by the Pakatan Rakyat (PR), in five states in Malaya and handed it Kuala Lumpur. Alas, PR did little to roll back the policies institutionalized by 56 years of internal colonisation under Umno and its running dogs, the Barisan Nasional (BN). Neither is the Opposition making any attempts this time to woo the Indians despite 85 per cent of them voting against the BN in 2008. PR belabours under the delusion that Indians would automatically vote for them, having broken with BN the last time. This 13th GE, Indians are in a league all by themselves, having not even one ethnic-majority seat in any legislature, despite nearly a million of them on the electoral rolls. The community must seize the moral high ground and have nothing to do with the BN which, as the last GE proved, doesn't really need Indian votes to keep Putrajaya. Umno is more concerned about denying Indian votes to the Opposition and in return has offered the prospect of throwing some crumbs directly at the community instead of routing these through their political mandores in MIC and PPP. PR meanwhile has enthusiastically embraced the political mandore system being abandoned by Umno/BN. PKR, the glue that holds Dap and Pas together in PR, was formed by the losing side after the proverbial falling out of thieves in Umno. Its aim is to replace Umno in the Federal Government.   New faces can be given the benefit of the doubt Dap meanwhile has done a good job of wooing the urban and Chinese voters away from BN, on the verge of collapse on the eve of the GE. Umno can no longer afford to give BN the seats where the Malays form the single biggest community but still less than 50 per cent. PR is set to sweep these seats from BN and Umno thinks it will have a better chance than its lapdog to retain the Malay voters. Indians, having burnt their bridges with PR in the aftermath of 2008, have no reason to worry about the fate of the Opposition Alliance no matter what's in store for them. It's for the non-Indian urban and Chinese voters to save PR as their best vehicle to bring them to power in Putrajaya. Indians must walk a lonely path in politics, even one that involves a spell in the cold or wilderness. The community can give new faces, making their electoral debut in the 13th GE, the benefit of the doubt provided they endorse the Hindraf Blueprint. If both BN and PR candidates in a particular seat endorse the Blueprint, it's for the voters in that locality to decide among themselves which candidate appears more credible. On balance, it would be difficult for Indians to endorse BN new faces given the ugly history of the coalition. Alternatively, they can root for a 3rd candidate if there's one in the fray, provided the Blueprint is endorsed.   Not in Indian interest to see PR fail and crumble If Hindraf fields candidates, probably under one common symbol and flag, Indians should naturally vote for this NGO as it offers them the best hope for the future. Indians decide in 67 parliamentary seats, and the related state seats, in Malaya. It's likely that Hindraf, win or lose, will garner more Indian votes than BN and PR combined and especially from among the underclass. Hindraf and the new faces aside, Indians should vote against all incumbents. They can do this, not by abstaining or boycotting, but spoiling the ballots in protest against their marginalisation and disenfranchisement. Hopefully, there will be one million spoilt ballots to earn a place in world history and focus the attention of the international community and the UN on the plight of the Indian Nation in Malaysia. Abstaining has been mentioned as a weapon so that the winners will know why they won i.e. the Indians didn't vote against them. The losers will know why they lost i.e. the Indians didn't vote for them. If the last GE is any guide, the winners in this case would be the BN and PR the losers. It's the PR which needs Indian votes, not the BN. Does the Indian community really want to see PR losing all its states? That would only strengthen Umno/BN, the sworn enemies of the Indian Nation, and make it all the more difficult to remove this scourge which has been plaguing the nation the last half century and more.   Ketuanan Melayu the great barrier to Indian advancement Or should it take the position that the enemy (PR) of my enemy (Umno/BN) is my friend even if not so friendly. Is it really in the Indian interest to see the return of BN stronger than ever or would it be more strategic to keep giving PR the chances that it obviously doesn't deserve but only until the ruling coalition has been driven out from Putrajaya? The only reason that Umno/BN is being respectful towards the Indians is because of the presence of PR. If PR is no longer around, Umno/BN will ignore the Indians once more like before 2008. Some would say that there's method in madness if the Indians turn to the Opposition once again after having installed PR in Putrajaya. The odds are against the opposition peacefully assuming power in Malaysia as there are no free and fair elections in the country and it may be virtually impossible to overthrow BN through the ballot box. Indians can have no part in Government unless and until the Sapu Bersih deviations and distortions of Article 153 in the Federal Constitution and the NEP are ended; the issue of statelessness dealt with; anti non-Malay minorities administrative laws be scrapped; Islam kept in its proper perspective as per Article 3 of the Federal Constitution which doesn't mention any official religion; the intrusion of Syariah and the Syariah Courts into civil law ended; forced and bogus conversions to Islam be outlawed; the bogus conversion of non-Muslims to Islam upon marring Muslims be outlawed; and Muslims be allowed to leave Islam without the sanction of the Syariah Court. That's unlikely to happen as long as Umno continues its policy of ketuanan Melayu (Malay political domination and supremacy) -- a sick combination of Apartheid, Nazism, and Fascism, Communism, Political Islam and the caste system which allows no upward social mobility – driven by racism, prejudice and opportunism. Now is not the time to play the devil's advocate. Hindraf Makkal Sakthi must announce its unconditional support for PR come the 13th GE although it has vowed No Free Votes. It's more important for Indians at this stage to think about punishing, and even destroying Umno and BN, than to worry about what they can get out of a PR Government in Putrajaya.   Joe Fernandez is a graduate mature student of law and an educationist, among others, who loves to write especially Submissions for Clients wishing to Act in Person and tutor at local institutions. He feels compelled, as a semi-retired journalist, to put pen to paper -- or rather the fingers to the computer keyboard -- whenever something doesn't quite jell with his weltanschauung (worldview). He shuttles between points in the Golden Heart of Borneo formed by the Sabah west coast, Labuan, Brunei, northern Sarawak and the watershed region in Borneo where three nations meet. He's half-way through a semi-autobiographical travelogue, A World with a View.

Grudge Match Shapes up in Key Malaysia State Posted: 10 Apr 2013 01:56 PM PDT Chuin-Wei Yap, Wall Street Journal Heavy campaign-related spending by the ruling National Front coalition in the opposition stronghold state of Penang has put the incumbent Democratic Action Party on the defensive ahead of Malaysia's general and state elections on May 5. Penang is a key electoral battleground. The northwestern state is the third-largest contributor to the national gross domestic output after Selangor and Johor. More importantly, the unprecedented win by the opposition of Penang five years ago marked a watershed decline in the ruling coalition's fortunes there. Penang's 13 seats out of 222 total in the Parliament may not be hefty in numbers, but the opposition's five-year ascendancy has enabled it to showcase the state as an example of its policies in action to the national voter. The DAP, which mainly draws support from the ethnic Chinese minority, said it expects the National Front to wage a bitter campaign to regain control of the state. Penang has emerged a big draw for investors, with many from China and Singapore snapping up luxury properties and companies like U.S. electronics manufacturer Bose and chip-maker Intel Corp. INTC +2.34% pledging cash to build hi-tech factories. In recent months, the ruling coalition and its allies have financed a lavish round of goodies and giveaways in Penang. This has included a Lunar New Year concert by Korean "Gangnam Style" rapper Psy, organized by the Penang branch of the National Front. Opposition leaders say National Front allies are using their financial clout to invite Taiwanese and Hong Kong entertainers – playing to the state's plurality of Chinese, an ethnicity that accounts for a quarter of Malaysia's population – for a second concert in late April, though an official with the ruling coalition said the event hasn't been confirmed yet. The Malaysian Chinese Association, a member of the National Front, has also given out thousands of plush toys. Government-controlled newspapers have been printing the National Front's election manifesto, and opposition leaders say non-governmental organizations allied to the National Front are handing out donations in a bid to shore up support. Acknowledging that the DAP has been heavily outspent by the National Front on its home turf, DAP's assistant national publicity secretary Zairil Khir Johari said Tuesday his party is counting on social media to narrow its financial disadvantage and court a critical segment of active voters.  Read more at: http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2013/04/10/grudge-match-shapes-up-in-key-malaysia-state/

Let us see the world through Rukunegara Posted: 10 Apr 2013 01:54 PM PDT   Back to basics:  Let us see the world through Rukunegara   Rukunegara is not just something we say with our lips, but it must also be with our actions. This needs commitment. It is not enough that it is printed at the back of our schoolbooks, and murals, we must carve Rukunegara onto our hearts. We need to melt ourselves into what Rukunegara truly stands for; so it becomes us. We declare 'Belief in God'. How do we translate Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan into our daily relationships in a multicultural society? How do we respect each other's way of life albeit our diverse practices? We declare 'Loyalty to King and Country'. Do we know what Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara entails? Do we realize how this proclamation links us to our history and culture? Do we know our history and culture? Have we accepted them wholeheartedly? Have we embraced them? Do we respect them? How have we shown that? We declare 'Supremacy of Constitution'. What does it mean when we proclaim Keluhuran Perlembagaan? Does it not mean that we must always be guided by it? And respect it in totality? Does it not mean that we must take the Constitution as a whole? And not pick and choose clauses out of context to suit our arguments?   Read more at: http://letusaddvalue.blogspot.com/2013/04/have-meaningful-visakhi-friday-in-star.html

Soi Lek: Don’t ask me about MCA seats, all up to PM Posted: 10 Apr 2013 01:45 PM PDT   (The Malaysian Insider) - Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek berated the media today for constantly pushing him to answer questions on his or his MCA's contest in the polls, pointing out that the final decision lies solely in the hands of Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Met on the sidelines of the Barisan Nasional (BN) divisional meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) this afternoon, the MCA president refused to entertain the questions and turned around instead to question the motive behind them. "PM already told you people that there is no final decision. Why must we keep repeating the same thing again and again?" he said. "You all must understand. The PM already has the final say. No final decision (has been made). So you don't need to sibuk-sibuk (be busybodies), hoping that I say something different from the PM. "And then you can create another crisis - (that MCA has) differing views. What's the purpose? No purpose," Dr Chua added. Dr Chua (picture)was asked at first to reveal if he would be entering the coming polls contest and to state his chosen seat, to which he replied, "Don't talk about myself. Talk about BN first." Sources recently told The Malaysian Insider that the former minister had recently declined the offer to contest in Gelang Patah where Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is fielding DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, leaving BN to consider other choices for what is expected to be the hottest battle in Umno's home state of Johor. The Malaysian Insider also understands MCA is pushing for caretaker Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman to fight the DAP adviser but an unsettled Malay ground and pro-opposition Chinese voters could scuttle those plans. "Some in the BN war room thought it would be a titanic fight and that Dr Chua is strong enough to face Kit but the MCA president said no," a BN source told The Malaysian Insider, referring to the veteran opposition leader by his moniker Kit. "Now other choices are being considered as the final list must be ready by Tuesday," the source added. PR announced last month that Lim was to run in Gelang Patah, and spearhead the opposition pact's push to pick up more federal seats in Johor. Soi Lek was then dared by the DAP to face Lim but the MCA president declined the challenge last week. The MCA had earlier named local division leader Jason Teoh to run in the federal seat won by Johor Wanita MCA chief and deputy national vice-chairman Tan Ah Eng in Election 2008 when she retained the seat by defeating PKR's Zaliha Mustafa by 8,851 votes. Lim's political arch-foe Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad called the move from Ipoh TImor "ridiculous", calling BN members to bury the DAP adviser's political career and said the local Chinese would not give support. Lim then asked Dr Mahathir to run against him but was turned down. Since then, MCA-controlled newspaper The Star has been reporting that Ghani was popular with the electorate and would be ideal to face the veteran DAP leader. However, it is learnt that BN has not included the caretaker Johor mentri besar in its candidates list due to a pushback from the local Malay community upset with rising costs and being elbowed out of the fast-developing and pricy Iskandar Malaysia economic corridor. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/soi-lek-dont-ask-me-about-mca-seats-all-up-to-pm/

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