| Should Tun Dr Mahathir be put to death? Posted: 13 Apr 2013 10:48 PM PDT 
Now, let us assume that the person who asked this question happens to be a Christian. How would I answer the question without being accused of insulting Christianity? Considering that the Christians are as sensitive to perceived insults to their religion as Muslims are, we need to be very careful that I am not perceived as insulting Christianity. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin Someone posted a comment in Malaysia Today asking me my opinion on whether Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad should be put to death. The way this person asked me that question sounded like he or she agreed that Tun Dr Mahathir should be put to death and this person was just testing me and was trying to extricate a response from me. Now, first of all, which crime are you referring to? Did Tun Dr Mahathir murder someone? Which murder case was this? We need to first know the details of the crime. Or are you talking about the crime of treason, which carries a death penalty? Now, not all cases of treason carry the death penalty. There are many types of treasonous acts. Selling secrets to a foreign power. Spying for a foreign power. Sabotaging our security and national defence to weaken Malaysia so that a foreign power can invade Malaysia and occupy the country. We need specifics. We also need to know whether you are talking from a legal/law point of view or a moral/religious point of view. Which section of the law are you talking about and does that section of the law carry the death penalty? Then the issue of evidence comes into play. What is the evidence you are talking about that a crime has been committed under that section of the law that carries the death penalty? I fear that some people talk about the law but have very limited knowledge of the law. For example, they ask why the Malaysian government does not extradite me. They do not seem to know that the first issue to be considered in an extradition application is dual criminality. Do they even know what dual criminality means? Hence if there is no dual criminality then Malaysia cannot extradite me. Secondly, they need to convince the UK court that a crime has been committed (after first establishing dual criminality). And that would mean they need evidence to do this. To just tell the UK court that I have insulted Islam is not good enough because in the UK insulting Islam is not a crime. To the Malaysian government, my crime of insulting Islam is because I whacked the religious department for saying that non-Muslims are the enemy of Islam. The UK government will not only reject the argument that condemning the religious department for saying that non-Muslims are the enemy of Islam is a crime, they would probably give me the key to the city for opposing what the UK would regard as a hate crime. I may even be given 24-hour protection and be listed alongside Salman Rushdie as a protected species. So you see, before I can even comment as to whether Tun Dr Mahathir should be put to death, we need to go through the long and tedious process of the indictment, the trial, the appeals or counter appeals, the pardon, and only after the process has been completed and all avenues exhausted can the death sentence be carried out. And considering Tun Dr Mahathir's age, he would most likely leave this world long before you can complete the process. Hence the process and my comment would be purely academic. Now, let us assume that the person who asked this question happens to be a Christian. How would I answer the question without being accused of insulting Christianity? Considering that the Christians are as sensitive to perceived insults to their religion as Muslims are, we need to be very careful that I am not perceived as insulting Christianity. Christianity says 'thou shalt not kill'. Hence if I say that Tun Dr Mahathir should be put to death that would mean I am saying that Christianity is wrong. How would the Christians react to my statement that says 'thou shalt kill' Tun Dr Mahathir when Christianity says 'thou shalt not kill'? Can you see my dilemma I am facing here? As it is, people like Keith Pereira are already accusing me of being a Christian hater. Do I want to risk contradicting the Ten Commandments by suggesting that you kill Tun Dr Mahathir? Okay, you may say that the Bible says an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But the Bible also asks you to turn the other cheek. Hence which version of the Bible should I use? And if I were to say that I am confused because there appears to be contradicting versions of the Bible, again, the Christians would whack me and preach to me about the Old Testament and the New Testament, as if I am ignorant about the religion when in fact I probably know more about Christianity than Christians themselves. So you see, your question is a difficult question to reply to. Maybe if you can be more specific then I may be able to give you a reply to that question. Until then I await your more detailed response so that I can offer you the reply that you seek. Meanwhile, take care and don't worry too much about putting people to death. Eventually we are all going to die anyway. It is only matter of when. And there is always a chance that you may die before Tun Dr Mahathir does. After all, 10,000 Malaysians die every year due to traffic and other accidents so you never know when your time is up. |
| PSM asked to run under Pakatan ticket Posted: 13 Apr 2013 09:39 PM PDT 
Pauline Wong and Tan Yi Liang, The Sun Daily Parti Sosialis Malaysia's (PSM) candidates who want mutual cooperation with Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in the 13th general election (GE13) may run in seats also sought by PR parties - provided they agree to contest under the symbol of the relevant PR party. PKR supreme council member R. Sivarasa explained that the PR coalition is not rejecting PSM's request to contest in those seats. "We are offering the seats to their candidates but on condition that they contest under a PR ticket," he said at a press conference today. Also present was PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution. "We hope they compromise accordingly as we are thinking of winnability," he added. He was responding to questions on reported seat tussles between PSM and PKR in Kota Damansara (which PSM won in the March 2008 GE) and Semenyih (which PSM lost). In the 2008 election, PSM had not had its registration as political party approved by the Home Ministry and therefore contested on the PKR ticket. The registration was given in June 2008. The PKR leaders yesterday were however mum on whether PSM will be accepted as a component of the PR coalition, saying the presidential council has yet to make a decision. Meanwhile, at a separate press conference, PSM secretary-general S. Arutchelvan said PSM feels its candidates are the most credible for their respective constituencies. "We are not parachute candidates as we have done work in these areas. We will support Pakatan Rakyat in all seats they are fighting for, except for the ones we are contesting," he said. He stressed that PSM had strict conditions as to who the party could field as an election candidate, as only those who have worked for the party for five years in a constituency can stand as a candidate. PSM is fielding four candidates – Dr. Michael Jeyakumar for the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat, PSM deputy chairman M. Sarasvathy for the Jelapang state seat, Arutchelvan for the Semenyih state seat, and PSM president Dr. Mohd Nasir Hashim for the Kota Damansara state seat. On potential three-corner fights, Arutchelvan said PSM has proposed that a non-governmental organisation committee decides who should run for the seat. "There must be a process when parties cannot agree who should run for a seat," he said. He stressed PSM will not sabotage efforts by PR in its bid to seize Putrajaya. Asked about the Selangor PKR's intention to field its candidates in Kota Damansara and Semenyih, Arutchelvan pointed out that Mohd Nasir was the incumbent in Kota Damansara having won during the 2008 general elections. He said PSM was confident of winning as it had been working hard on the ground in its other campaign areas, Semenyih, Sungai Siput and Jelapang. "In Sungai Siput, Dr. Michael Jeyakumar has been actively resolving local issues such as flooding and land disputes and in Jelapang, Sarasvathy has been resolving land disputes, such as the one in Kampung Jelapang Tambahan," he added. Meanwhile, Saifuddin said seat allocations in PR have to follow two 'rules'. A seat sought by the incumbent party cannot be contested by another party. And if the seat was lost marginally in the previous election, priority is given to the party which lost to re-contest there. On the tussle for the Sungai Aceh state seat in Penang, which has seen announcements by PAS and PKR for their own candidates there, he said the coalition's leaders will need to resolve the issue based on these rules. |
| Politicians make strange bedfellows Posted: 13 Apr 2013 07:45 PM PDT 
Some view Mustafa Ali as a threat to Pakatan Rakyat solidarity. They view him as an Umno mole who may sway many in PAS to agree that their party go to bed with Umno in the event that Umno or Barisan Nasional does not win enough seats and DAP ends up getting the most number of seats compared to PAS and PKR. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Whoever thought that my party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LibDem) of the UK, would go to bed with the Conservative Party after saying that in the event of a hung parliament they would go to bed with the Labour Party. "Why the 'U-turn'?" as what Malaysia Today readers are fond of saying. This is not about doing a U-turn. After all, politics is all about U-turns. Even the most famous Prime Minister in UK history and the most famous Prime Minister in Malaysian history (meaning the Tunku) changed parties. This is about political expediency and who can offer a better deal. What LibDem wanted was reforms, the same thing that Malaysians have been clamouring for since 1998 but did not almost see until ten years later in 2008. However, while Labour offered only electoral reforms, Conservative offered a bigger and more complete package, political reforms -- part of that package being, of course, electoral reforms. This is not about what LibDem wants for itself or about what is good for LibDem. This is about what is good for the people and the country. And political reforms are by far better than electoral reforms. Of course, whether they can deliver these reforms or whether they will keep to their promise is another thing altogether. Time will tell. But we must at least start off by promising first. If you won't even promise that, then for sure you will never deliver it. Malaysian politics is no different. Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat are both coalitions, just like the Conservative-LibDem coalition in the UK -- and many other coalitions all over the world that will not be able to form the government on their own unless they enter into a coalition because no one party won enough seats to form the government. So Malaysians had better get used to this new political culture. All over the world very few political parties can win enough seats to form a government on its own. Governments need to be formed via coalitions. And coalition partners are political parties, most times parties that are at odds with one another. And coalition partners can and do change from one election to another. In 1957, Umno could have never gained Independence or Merdeka for Malaya on its own. So it was forced (by the British) to go into a coalition with MCA and MIC, which they called the Alliance Party. Just 12 years down the road and the Alliance Party (or coalition) could no longer sustain itself. So they needed to form yet another coalition called Barisan Nasional and the opposition parties were invited to join this new ruling coalition. DAP was the only party that did not join Barisan Nasional. Umno says DAP refused to join while DAP says it was not invited. I suppose this debate would go on forever -- just like the debate about whether Singapore was kicked out of Malaysia or Singapore left Malaysia. Nevertheless, PAS stayed in the Barisan Nasional coalition for just three years. In 1997, PAS left Barisan Nasional to join DAP in the opposition ranks. But not everyone was happy for PAS to leave Barisan Nasional. Once such person was (or is) Mustafa Ali who was a Deputy Minister (and for less than one year on top of that). But Mustafa Ali and the rest of the 'Umno-friendly' PAS leaders had no choice. They were members/leaders of the party and the Cabinet post 'belonged' to the party. Hence if PAS left Barisan Nasional then they too had to leave, like it or not. There are still leaders in PAS who have no objections to a 'unity government' with Umno or Barisan Nasional in the event that Umno or Barisan Nasional does not win enough seats to form the federal government or state governments. If you can remember, soon after the 2008 General Election, I wrote about the secret negotiations going on between some leaders in PAS and some leaders in Umno to form unity governments in Perak and Selangor -- two states that fell to the opposition Pakatan Rakyat. At first, and as usual, they denied this and called me a liar. Later, it was revealed that the secret negotiations did, in fact, take place. However, not all the PAS leaders were excited about going to bed with Umno. Only a few of the 'Umno-friendly' PAS leaders wanted it to happen. Those such as Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who has never forgotten and forgiven Umno's 'betrayal' of 1977, would not go to bed with Umno ever again even if their political life depended on it. Hence, without a clear consensus, the secret negotiations failed. And later some of the PAS leaders came out to confess that the secret negotiations did take place. They also confirmed that one of the carrots that Umno dangled in front of them was that PAS would become the Menteris Besar of both Perak and Selangor. And hence, also, Raja Petra Kamarudin did not lie after all, as they had originally alleged. And the man who would become the Menteri Besar of Selangor would be Hasan Ali, one of those who together with Nasharudin Mat Isa were involved in the secret negotiations -- and who have both since left PAS (or got kicked out) and are now 'independent cum Umno-friendly' ex-PAS leaders. In fact, as far back as 1999, Hasan Ali already indicated that he wanted to become the Menteri Besar of Selangor and this was the reason why he and Azmin Ali could not see eye-to-eye -- because Azmin too wanted to become the Menteri Besar of Selangor. (Now you know why Khalid Ibrahim got the job instead -- to keep both these sons of Ali from tearing into each other). You will have noticed that many of those PAS leaders involved in the unity government secret negotiations have since drifted away from PAS. But there is one man still in PAS and who is considered very influential and who could play an important role in bringing PAS and Umno together in the event Umno or Barisan Nasional does not win enough seats to form the government on 5th May 2013. And this man is Mustafa Ali. And Mustafa Ali does not want to state in very clear terms that in the event Pakatan Rakyat gets to form the federal government then Anwar Ibrahim is without a doubt going to be the Prime Minister. Some view Mustafa Ali as a threat to Pakatan Rakyat solidarity. They view him as an Umno mole who may sway many in PAS to agree that their party go to bed with Umno in the event that Umno or Barisan Nasional does not win enough seats and DAP ends up getting the most number of seats compared to PAS and PKR. You must remember, most of the top PAS leaders are ulama' (religious scholars). Mustafa Ali is not and that is why they call him Cikgu Pah and not Ustaz Pah. Mustafa Ali is more a Malay nationalist than an Islamist. Hence Mustafa Ali would have no problems if PAS went to bed with Umno, a Malay nationalist party. So who killed off Mustafa Ali (and I can only assume that with the latest Mustafa Ali sex video going viral on the internet we can consider him dead)? Is it Umno? Why would Umno want to kill the best friend they have in PAS? Or are the people behind the video those who view Mustafa Ali as a threat to Pakatan Rakyat as well as a threat to Anwar Ibrahim's ambition to become Prime Minister? Honestly I do not know. But if I had to hazard a guess I would guess that Umno would be the last one who would want to see Mustafa Ali killed off. I have always said, in politics you need to keep your friends close and your enemies even closer. And has this not been proven so many times? |
| Sabah PAS announces names of 11 candidates Posted: 13 Apr 2013 06:15 PM PDT 
(Bernama) -- PAS appears to be reluctant to wait for the Pakatan alliance led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to announce the opposition's line up for Sabah in the 13th general election (GE13). The party announced today that it would be contesting two parliamentary and nine state seats. PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said the party's state deputy commissioner Hamzah Abdullah and Kalabakan PAS Youth chief Usman Madeaming would stand in the Batu Sapi and Kalabakan parliamentary constituencies respectively. He disclosed this after a closed door meeting with the party's potential candidates for Sabah at its liaison office here. In the last election, PAS did not field any parliamentary candidate and only two state candidates, in Sukau and Merotai, where it was defeated. Abdul Hadi said line up for state seats comprised seven men, Awang Laiman Ikin@ Abang (Tempasuk), Hamid Ismail (Tanjung Aru), Ahdah Sulaiman (Sukau), Kasman Karate (Kunak), Hasai Tudai (Bugaya), Ahmad Dullah (Merotai), Daud Jalaluddin (Sebatik) and two women, Dausieh Queck (Pitas) and Fatmawati Mohd Yusuf (Tanjung Batu). Anwar in a press conference in Kota Kinabalu yesterday had said the opposition line up would be decided by the Pakatan Rakyat state leadership. The state Pakatan Rakyat comprises PKR, DAP, PAS and two non-governmental organisations, Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS) led by Datuk Wilfred Bumburing and Pakatan Perubahan Sabah (PPS) led by Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin. Meanwhile, Lajim in a press conference here today, said PPS would be given at least four parliamentary seats and 14 state seats. "Our candidates will be contesting on the PKR ticket. However, two of them, in Bugaya and Sukau, will use the PAS symbol," he said, hinting that he might be standing in the Beaufort parliamentary and Klias state constituencies. Lajim said Anwar would reveal Pakatan's full line up for Sabah at the latest by Tuesday. |
| PKR shocked, PAS unveils Sarawak candidates Posted: 13 Apr 2013 06:08 PM PDT 
(The Kuala Lumpur Post) - PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang today named the party's candidates in seven constituencies in Sarawak, but three of the constituencies are also being claimed by Pakatan Rakyat partners DAP and PKR. The names of the candidates are Abang Ahmad Kerdee Abang Masagus, a lawyer (for Kota Samarahan); Robby @ Muhamad Zaid Tandang, PAS Youth leader (Sibuti); Mohamad Jolhi, a homeopathy practitioner and PAS director of election, Sarawak (Batang Sadong); Ajji Ajiji, a businessman (Igan); Ambrose Labang Jamba, editor of Buletin Kenyalang (Julau); Jurina Mut, businesswoman (Tanjung Manis); and Nani Sahari, a businesswoman (Mukah). Meanwhile, PKR also claimed Julau and Kota Samarahan, while DAP has named Hai Merawin @ Bonaventure for Mukah. Hadi said that the list of the candidates has been finalised and had been agreed to by DAP and PKR. The decision was made in the past few days. Hadi said that the decision of the party to contest in Julau was to show that the party did not find its candidates in Muslim constituencies, but also in non-Muslim constituencies. Julau has about 90 percent Iban voters, the majority of whom are Christians. "We want to show that we have Iban and non-Muslims as our candidates," he said. PKR 'shocked' But PAS' decision to contest in Kota Samarahan and Julau is set to clash with PKR Sarawak which has firmly established its roots in the two constituencies. Last month, over 3,000 people in Kota Samarahan attended a PKR ceramah where party de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim spoke at length. When informed of the PAS decision, PKR chairperson Baru Bian expressed shock and said that he has not been informed of the decision. "I will find out from Kuala Lumpur, and I am shocked that I have not been informed of the decision," he said. He said he had directed Andy Wong, PKR's potential candidate for Julau to be on standby, pointing out that he might have to contest as an independent. In Sibu, Wong Ho Leng, Sarawak DAP chairperson refused to comment on the decision of PAS to contest in Mukah. He had earlier named Hai Merawin to be DAP's candidate there. PKR and DAP still negotiating Pakatan Rakyat has not finalised a number of Sarawak seats such as Mas Gading, Mambong, Sri Aman, Miri, and Stampin as both PKR and DAP want to stake their claim. So far PKR has announced the names of its candidates for 11 seats that it will contest, and they are Baru Bian (Limbang), Roland Engan (Baram), Joshua Jabeng (Selangau), Thomas Laja (Kanowit), Abun Sui Anyit (Hulu Rajang), Ali Biju (Saratok), Cecilia Siti Una (Betong), Nicholas Bawin (Lubok Antu), Zulrusdi Hol (Santubong), Ahmad Nazib Johari (Petra Jaya) and Abang Zulkifli Abang Engkeh (Batang Lupar). Meanwhile DAP has announced Bob Baru (Lawas), John Anthony Brian (Bintulu), Lim Sui Kien (Miri), Oscar Ling (Sibu), Hai Merawin (Mukah), Ramli Malaka (Kapit) and Alice Lau (Lanang), Edward Luak (Serian), and Andrew Wong (Sarikei). DAP has yet to announce the candidates for Stampin and Bandar Kuching, but Sarawak DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen and Julian Tan are expected to contest the respective seats. As for the overlapping claims in Mas Gading, Mambong and Sri Aman, Anwar Ibrahim during his recent visit to Kuching that it is expected to be resolved very soon. |
| Hadi Awang insists man in sex video is not Mustafa Ali Posted: 13 Apr 2013 06:04 PM PDT 
(Bernama) - PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang insisted that Mustafa Ali was not involved in the sex video recording spread in the internet. He said he did not believe the PAS secretary-general was capable of doing the video act because for the past few years, Mustafa Ali performed his prayers while sitting down. "Those who made the recording were not aware that for the past few years Mustafa Ali performed his prayers while sitting on a chair because his knees were aching…even going down the stairs was painful (for him)…go an find someone strong and not like what was shown in the recording," he said. He disclosed this to reporters when asked to comment on the sex video issue concerning a man who is said to look like the PAS secretary-general, here today. Meanwhile, reporters who attended the coverage on the announcement of PAS candidates for the 13th general election (GE13) were required to register their presence and had to undergo another check before being allowed to enter the PAS office in Kota Samarahan. |
| Dr M: Chinese votes in BN’s bag as long as business chances exist Posted: 13 Apr 2013 05:13 PM PDT 
"The NEP has in fact, benefitted the Chinese more than the Malays," he added, referring to the controversial national affirmative action policy introduced in 1971 by second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, that aimed to close the economic gap between the Malays who were largely small-time farmers and Chinese who were into businesses. Debra Chong, TMI Economic stability and chances for business growth are valued by Chinese Malaysians and they will support the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) at the polls so long these are not at risk, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said in an interview published today. Ahead of the 13th general elections, surveys and analyses by pundits have flagged the Chinese — who make up about 30 per cent of multiracial Malaysia's 13.3 million electorate — as pro-oposition supporters, contrary to the former prime minister's view. "I think the Chinese would still value their opportunities in business. If you take an environment where they can succeed in business, they would be supportive of BN, which they did even when the BN introduced the New Economic Policy," Dr Mahathir was quoted saying in the New Sunday Times. "The NEP has in fact, benefitted the Chinese more than the Malays," he added, referring to the controversial national affirmative action policy introduced in 1971 by second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, that aimed to close the economic gap between the Malays who were largely small-time farmers and Chinese who were into businesses. Officially, NEP was ended in 1990 but its fundamental idea remains in effect through other governmental policies. Critics have argued that the NEP has only helped the few with close ties to the ruling elite. Dr Mahathir also acknowledged that without the NEP, Southeast Asia's third-largest economy would likely develop at a much faster rate than at present due to the dynamism of the Chinese community. "(But) it would be an unhealthy growth," he said. He pointed that the lopsided distribution of wealth between the races would be sharpened if the government had not taken action, and that the social imbalance would stir unrest. "The Chinese would be rich and the Malays would be poor. And that would lead to instability," he said. The 87-year-old who ran Malaysia for 22 years until his resignation from office in October 2003 said he still believed his socio-economic policies have been "fair". "I keep on telling people that in this country no one should feel extremely happy because if they feel happy, if one race feels happy, it means you are doing the wrong thing. You are helping that race too much. "The thing is you have to deny everyone something that they think they are entitled to. So they will all be unhappy, which means we are treating everyone equally," he said. The former Umno president who is now Perkasa advisor defended his patronage of the right-wing Malay organisation whom many Chinese appear to view dimly as being racist. "We cannot reject them as being non-Umno. We have to work with them. Otherwise, Umno will be a tiny organisation quite unable to get either Chinese or Malay support," he said. He added that he was unsure what role the group will play after May 5, but insisted that Perkasa backed not just Umno, the Malay component in the 13-party BN coalition but the other racial components as well. Dr Mahathir has been engaging in a tit-for-tat verbal battle against his political foe in the DAP, Lim Kit Siang since the opposition leader announced he was gunning for Gelang Patah, a Chinese-majority federal seat in Umno's JOhor home turf. Lim, who has repeatedly sparred with Dr Mahathir in Parliament, has also been backing the Umno veteran's ex-deputy, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, with whom he is now politically-friendly to be Malaysia's next leader. In his interview today, Dr Mahathir described his former right-hand man as a very smart man, very charismatic, and with the ability to get along with many people of diverse backgrounds. "He is a fantastic man, a fantastic man!" he said, but the compliment was backhanded. "In a way, he is a chameleon. His colours turn to suit the environment he is in." READ MORE HERE |
| GE13: DAP and PKR yet to settle seat distribution in Johor Posted: 13 Apr 2013 04:29 PM PDT 
(The Star) - JOHOR BARU: The battle for seats between state DAP and PKR seems to be still firing on with both sides keeping mum on their list of confirmed candidates for GE13. "The seats will be announced when it is announced," said DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang during a press conference at the Gelang Patah DAP headquarters on Sunday. When asked if the delay reflected disagreement on seat allocations with PKR, Lim stuck with the same reply. "Just give us some privacy. "It will be announced when it is announced," he said. On Saturday, PAS introduced their full list of state candidates and confirmed that the party would be contesting for 30 out of 50 state seats and eight out of the 26 parliamentary seats. |
| Jelapang state seat to witness three-corner fight Posted: 13 Apr 2013 04:11 PM PDT 
(NST) - SUNGAI SIPUT: The Jelapang state seat is expected to witness a three cornered fight as the PSM may be forced to field its candidate in the DAP-stronghold seat in the upcoming general election. Former Sg Siput MP Dr D. Jeyakumar said as at now the DAP has failed to respond to PSM proposal for the issue to be solved by an independent committee consisting members of several NGOs. "We have sent a letter explaining our proposal to the DAP two weeks ago. As at now, we have not received any response from the DAP leadership," he told reporters at his service centre here today. Dr Jeyakumar said the DAP has also refused to meet the PSM to discuss the matter with the former insisted that there is nothing to discuss. He added PSM will use the party's logo for its candidates in the 13th general election.
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| Opposition still bickering over seats in many places Posted: 13 Apr 2013 04:04 PM PDT 
NO AGREEMENT: It shows they are not capable of running the country, says UUM don (NST) - EVEN as it draws near to nomination day, the loose opposition coalition comprising PKR, DAP and Pas still cannot resolve the seat allocation issue and this may force them to contest against each other. Universiti Utara Malaysia political analyst Prof Datuk Dr Mustafa Ishak opines that this reflects badly on Pakatan Rakyat as it was considered "old hand" when it comes to elections. "They claim they can govern the nation. How can they do that if they cannot even resolve the most basic thing in a general election?" he said. Barisan Nasional, on the other hand, has achieved a consensus in terms of the allocation of seats despite having 13 component parties. "This is the real problem Pakatan is facing -- the possibility of three-cornered or multi-cornered fights among them underscores that there is no better formula than the one practised by BN." He added that BN leaders did not squabble openly and the swapping of seats among them was for strategic purposes, so only one component party could represent BN in a particular seat. "But in the case of Pakatan, every single party wants to gain maximum benefit and the maximum number of seats to determine who can lead the coalition post-general election," Mustafa explained. Since the opposition did not have a clear agreement or arrangement on who should lead the coalition, Mustafa said this had prompted it to make a decision based on the number of seats each party was contesting. "If PKR wins more seats, it will head the coalition. "If DAP wins more, it will call the shots. Same goes to Pas," he added. Pakatan is embroiled in seat allocation disputes in several states. In Perlis, animosity is brewing between PKR and DAP over the Indera Kayangan state seat, where both have refused to budge on who should be contesting. In Penang, the opposition is facing a similar problem with the Sungai Aceh state seat where PKR and Pas had both announced their respective candidates. Meanwhile in Johor, the squabbling on seat allocation is still not over, with both PKR and DAP adamant on contesting the Johor Jaya state seat. DAP had gone ahead and announced its candidate and this had angered many state PKR leaders also vying for the seat. Apart from Johor Jaya, two other state seats -- Pengkalan Rinting and Tangkak -- are also being eyed by both parties. There is also a tussle for seats in Sarawak with DAP staking a claim to predominantly Dayak areas -- Mambong and Sri Aman -- which PKR had also expressed its intention to contest. Problems may also arise between PKR and DAP as the latter also wants to contest in Mas Gading, Bintulu and Kapit. To complicate matters, Pas has also joined in the fray by naming candidates to contest in Kota Samarahan and Julau. DAP has also reportedly refused to budge in the Chinese-majority seats of Stampin and Miri. Trouble is also brewing over seat allocation involving opposition-friendly Parti Sosialis Malaysia, which is adamant in contesting under its own banner this time around in seats that PKR had claimed. (PSM could not contest using its own logo in previous elections as the party was not registered then.) In a statement, its secretary-general S. Arutchelvan said PKR could not claim rights to the Semenyih and Kota Damansara state seats, and Sungai Siput parliamentary seat as no PKR members had ever stood there in previous elections. |
| BN sure of bagging 15 extra seats as opposition squabbles Posted: 13 Apr 2013 03:58 PM PDT (ST) - Malaysia's ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) is confident of reaping a bonus of 15 federal seats due to infighting in the opposition camp, bringing the total it can win from 160 to 175 seats, according to coalition information chief Ahmad Maslan. Mr Ahmad claimed party intelligence indicated multi-cornered fights in the 15 parliamentary constituencies where opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat (PR) component parties have ostensibly failed to resolve the deadlocks in its seat allocation talks, the Malaysian Insider reported. "Our latest intel is indicating that we could add 11 more seats where Pakatan have failed to resolve the negotiations so there is a huge possibility that we would have multi-cornered fights there. "On the same note, we can also win four more in Sabah and Sarawak," he told a press conference at Umno's headquarters here on Saturday. Mr Ahmad had previously said BN was confident of restoring its parliamentary supermajority by winning 160 seats. The coalition won 140 of the 222 federal seats it contested in 2008. It needed just eight more to take two-thirds control of the House. He said BN was confident of recapturing 5 seats each from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), which together won 51 seats, while it expects to retake 10 of the 31 seats PKR won in Election 2008. "The 140 seats we won were during the 'political tsunami'. As I said before, the tsunami has ended. It was stopped by Najib's many initiatives like BR1M, PR1M, KR1M and many more," he said, referring to the programmes benefiting the lower income group initiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who chairs the BN. In the last election 2008, which was dubbed Malaysia's "political tsunami", saw BN lose its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority and cede four more states - Perak, Penang, Kedah and Selangor - to the loose opposition pact of PKR, PAS and the DAP that later formed Pakatan Rakyat (PR). PAS had also retained Kelantan. Earlier this week, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he expects BN to score a bigger parliamentary majority in Election 2013 than in 2008 with the "possibility" of the ruling coalition regaining a supermajority. He also said in an interview with Malay-language broadsheet Utusan Malaysia published on Saturday that BN had a 50-50 chance of retaking Kelantan and Penang, and slightly higher chances at 55-45 in winning back Kedah and Selangor in the 13th general election. Mr Ahmad's statement comes as PR component parties are struggling to settle differences on seat-sharing for the May 5 election. In one instance of this, the Insider report said, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was forced to cancel the announcement of PKR's candidates list for Sabah, a state key to PR's push for federal power. |
| PPP eyes 4 state and 2 parliament seats Posted: 13 Apr 2013 03:51 PM PDT 
Among the names mentioned as a potential PPP candidate is PPP vice chief Maglin Dennis D'Cruz, presently a senator and a deputy minister in Najib's last cabinet. Humayun Kabir, FMT The People's Progressive Party (PPP) is likely to contest in two parliamentary and four state seats that were lost by Barisan Nasional component parties in the 2008 political tsunami. According to a BN source, the party has earmarked the four state seats of Pasir Bedamar in Perak, Manek Urai (Kelantan), Kota Laksamana (Malacca) and Kota Alam Shah (Selangor), and also the Federal Territory parliamentary seat of Batu. PPP is also said to be eyeing either the parliamentary seats of Kepong or Kapar, or another parliamentary seat in Perak. The source said PPP was awaiting Barisan Nasional chairman Najib Tun Razak's approval before making any official move. "They have said that Najib will tell them some time this week. They are confident of doing well in these seats," said the source. In 2008, Gerakan failed to unseat DAP's Dr Tan Seng Giaw in Keong while MIC's Kapar seat was lost to PKR S Manikavasagam. PPP meanwhile lost both the Taiping parliamentary seat and the Pasir Bedamar state seat that it had contested in 2008. Last year PPP president M Kayveas told FMT that the party wanted to contest in BN areas that were lost to the opposition in the last general election. While the party had claimed that it had been assured of two parliamentary seats and two state seats, it had however proposed to Najib for the additional two state seats. READ MORE HERE |
| Jeffrey’s party calls BN’s Tataba Wave a sham Posted: 13 Apr 2013 03:45 PM PDT 
Gelombang Tataba - launched by BN's Kadsazandusun parties - has not empowered the natives in Sabah but only put Umno leaders like Mahathir and Ibrahim above the law. Luke Rintod, FMT KOTA KINABALU: Opposition State Reform Party (STAR) has accused Sabah Barisan Nasional coalition parties PBS, UPKO and PBRS of colluding with Umno and harming Sabahans' rights. The native parties' unity drive which it is promoting as the "Tataba Wave" is merely rallying support for embattled Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) and helping Umno's "ketuanan Melayu" or Malay supremacy in Sabah, a top leader said yesterday. STAR Sabah deputy chairman, Daniel John Jambun, said Sabahans realise that the "Gelombang Tataba" was nothing but an idea hatched by Umno to empower Dr Mahathir Mohamad to help perpetuate "ketuanan Melayu dan Umno" idea to lord it over Sabahans. The outspoken party leader who along with its chairman Jeffrey Kitingan is campaigning on a platform of autonomy for Sabah, said the trio of BN parties representing Sabah native interests had launched a programme that was simply an extension of BN's Blue Wave or "Gelombang Biru". Two opposition leaders from the Kadazandusun community have already used the Tataba Wave as an excuse for joining the BN. The Tataba Wave was started by the leaders of the three Kadsazandusun parties last month to galvanise waning support for the Umno-led BN government in Sabah and the country. "By empowering Umno and BN, the non-Muslims would continue to be suppressed as the Tataba Wave would only embolden (former prime minister) Mahathir (Mohamad) and Ibrahim Ali of Perkasa," Jambun said. "By calling the Kadazandusuns to support BN and Umno, the leaders of PBS, UPKO and PBRS are empowering Ibrahim to repeat his call for the burning of our Bible or Alkitab," he said in a statement. Jambun who is also president of UK-based Borneo's Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo) said Ibrahim should be charged for treason, and Mahathir too for the IC Project. "But look, PBS, UPKO and PBRS are calling the people to support Mahathir and Ibrahim instead. "Obviously the Gelombang Tataba has not empowered the natives in Sabah but has only put Umno leaders like Mahathir and Ibrahim above the law. Sabahans must see this ploy, hatched by Umno but carried by the three parties to hoodwink the people," he alleged. READ MORE HERE |
| Hindraf to Anwar: Call off your mandores Posted: 13 Apr 2013 03:38 PM PDT 
The organisation wants the PKR leader to stop his party leaders with their cheap attacks on Hindraf and Waythamoorthy. Athi Shankar, FMT Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim should act like a gentleman if he was serious and sincere on working with Hindraf Makkal Sakti and endorse its blueprint, said the movement's Kedah chapter coordinator P Muniandy. Pakatan has contacted Hindraf recently to recommence talks on the movement five-year blueprint meant to uplift the marginalised Indian community. Muniandy said Anwar must choose between wanting to work with Hindraf for betterment of ethnic Indians under a win-win coalition pact or engage in cheap tactic by deploying mandores to criticise the human rights movement. He said Hindraf's talks with Barisan Nasional national chairman Najib Tun Razak for his endorsement on the blueprint had nothing to do with Anwar or his mandores. He said Hindraf was not interested in Pakatan – BN political feud because it was not helping the marginalised Indian cause anyway. He said Hindraf's focus was to uplift the marginalised segment of working class Indians, who have been isolated and sidelined from mainstream development for over 200 years. He said Hindraf never stopped talking with Pakatan and already had 21 meetings with the coalition. "Only mandores are making noises as though they know everything. "Have you seen any Pakatan top leaders making any statement against Hindraf? "These mandores should stop from going berserk to condemn Hindraf. "Anwar should gentlemanly stop them," he told FMT here today, when commenting on cyber attacks by PKR's S Jayathas. Jayathas, who was formerly a paid staff in P Uthayakumar's Human Rights Party (HRP) office, has claimed Hindraf supremo P Waythamoorthy had struck a deal with Umno. Labelling Waythamoorthy as a "traitor", Jayathas claimed the Hindraf supremo had hid the movement's registration from public knowledge. Jayathas pleasing political master
Muniandy said Jayathas' remarks showed that he wanted to please his political master to grab a seat to contest in the forthcoming general election. He recalled that Jayathas was a political hopeful who hopped from PKR to Hindraf then to HRP and now back to PKR within five years. "Jayathas should shut his mouth up since he had left Hindraf to pursue his selfish interests," said Muniandy. READ MORE HERE |
| DAP tells PAS to back off in Merotai Posted: 13 Apr 2013 03:35 PM PDT 
Merotai is considered a 'hot seat' as both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat component parties are eyeing the seat. Azman Habu, FMT TAWAU: The squabbles for seats in Pakatan Rakyat, the national opposition coalition, is now threatening to turn cannibalistic in Sabah with DAP warily eyeing PAS intentions in the east coast of the state. With little to gain and everything to lose, the Pakatan parties are facing off over who gets to place their candidate in the Muslim majority Merotai constituency land held by the BN's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). PAS hit a 'sour' note when its president Abdul Hadi Awang included the constituency in its corner while Sabah DAP claims the seat is still under negotiations between the coalition partners. Hadi announced at a function held at PAS Kalabakan office at Taman Semarak that the Islamic party would put up contestants in two parliamentary seats and nine state seats in Sabah. The parliamentary seats are Batu Sapi and Kalabakan, while the state seats are Pitas, Tempasuk, Tanjung Aru, Sukau, Kunak, Bugaya, Tanjung Batu, Sebatik and Merotai. Merotai is considered a 'hot seat' as both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat component parties are eyeing the seat considered a toss-up with the voters divided and moods likely to swing at the
11th hour. Sabah DAP chairman Jimmy Wong, who was present when the PAS candidates were announced, said he was caught by surprise that Merotai was mentioned. "The seat negotiations among Pakatan Rakyat has yet to be finalised and the Merotai state seat has already been conceded to DAP if LDP is defending the seat on behalf of BN," he said. READ MORE HERE |
| Unfair media access: PR should boycott polls Posted: 13 Apr 2013 03:28 PM PDT Pakatan Rakyat has an important case to make to Malaysia and the world by standing firm and refusing to go to the elections without equal media access. Although the media in Malaysia does not primarily decide the outcome of elections, its role in influencing the decision-making process of the electorate is crucial and needs to take place on a level playing field. Lim Teck Ghee, FMT Even before the dust has set on the fixing of the polling date, the Barisan Nasional had already begun the hijacking of the elections. With the apparent connivance of the Election Commission (EC) – the pit bull ensuring BN's electoral victory for the past 12 general elections – they have imposed a 10-minute slot for Pakatan Rakyat parties to explain their polls manifesto over the official media. According to Rais Yatim, the Information, Communications and Culture caretaker minister, the short time offered to Pakatan will be more than enough to showcase their pledges. Although an attempt has been made by the EC at damage control over the government's ludicrous but at the same time deadly serious intent – it has explained that the opposition had misunderstood the offer which was intended to be serial and not one-time – the objective of the government is clear. This is to use its monopoly of the official (and much of the unofficial print) media to ensure a BN election victory by seeing to it that the public – especially rural and Malay voters – will hear only the good side and promises of the BN and to downplay, ignore or demonize the Pakatan side. Quite rightly, the Pakatan has snubbed the offer in response, calling it a "joke" and a mockery of press freedom. In fact, media manipulation has been one of the cornerstones of the BN's remarkable record of cheating and trickery in the elections over the past 50 years. So it is not surprising that the BN and its partner in electoral crime, the EC, will want the racket to continue. And it will continue until the strongest possible stand is made against it. Although the media in Malaysia does not primarily decide the outcome of elections, its role in influencing the decision-making process of the electorate is crucial and needs to take place on a level playing field. Free and fair access to media should be what our electorate deserves, not media coverage which is saturated by BN propaganda and political advertisement overkill. What is puzzling for now is the timidity of the opposition response. Although leaders from the opposition pact have maintained that they want equal media access in the mainstream media and television stations controlled by the government (RTM)) or by companies that are closely linked to the BN (the New Straits Times, The Star, Utusan Malaysia, etc), they appear to have forgotten or decided not to draw a line in the sand on this No.1 game changer. Surely the opposition must be aware that any decision to limit them to anything less than equal time over official media for the elections will make a mockery of the democratic process. Boycott the elections
Not only that, this blocking of media access will also hurt – if not – kill the Pakatan's chances of winning power in Putrajaya. Although Pakatan parties have rightly rejected the offer, they need to go further and to insist on equal time as a precondition for participation in the elections or else they will boycott it. Such a stand is not as extreme as it may appear. READ MORE HERE |
| Use of Sosma an Overreaction to a Non Situation Posted: 13 Apr 2013 03:17 PM PDT 
The irony of this situation by the police comes when it warns individuals and non governmental bodies to not overstep the law but the police itself are overstepping the toes of Malaysians by indirectly accusing Malaysians of having intentions to disrupt the peace of this country. KPRU (Kajian Politik Untuk Perubahan) Think tank Political Studies for Change (KPRU) welcomes the assurance given by the police that Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) will not be abused during the the run up to the 13th General Election. The assurance is a proactive measure to quell any distrust by the public towards the police on the possibility of SOSMA being arbitrarily used. However, as well as providing assurance that SOSMA will not be abused, the police is highly recommended to take immediate and appropriate actions against perpetrators of political violence seen during and post election season. This comes considering that SOSMA is intended to be used against matters that are a threat to parliamentary democracy. Considering that the definition to what constitutes to threat against parliamentary democracy is neither clear nor succinct, it opens the possibility of abuse. Malaysians are reminded of the arrests made in relation to the Lahad Datu intrusion which individuals were arrested under SOSMA for suspicions of having connections with the intrusion. What assurance does the police have for Malaysians and the opposition or its supporters will not be arrested under SOSMA on grounds of "suspicions for being a threat to parliamentary democracy" during this GE13? A fair and just police is a police that protects the public at all cost. However, that role of the police in Malaysia is a perverted role. Instead of protecting the public, the police have issued a threat to all Malaysians that they will use the newly minted and widely controversial law of Sosma on Malaysians during the 13th General Election (GE 13) "to ensure the general election is not affected by incidents or security threats and be accused of being terrorist"? The irony of this situation by the police comes when it warns individuals and non governmental bodies to not overstep the law but the police itself are overstepping the toes of Malaysians by indirectly accusing Malaysians of having intentions to disrupt the peace of this country. The recent selective screening of the controversial movie Tanda Putera also raises the question on its weightage as influence during the GE13. Malaysians familiar with the tragedy of 13th May are also familiar of the conspiracies surrounding the cause of the tragedy. How will the police ensure that the selective screening of Tanda Putera will not fall into one of the conspiracy theories behind any unwarranted incidents during and post GE13? There is a problem with wearing the badge with too much pride when the police asserts that SOSMA will not be abused during GE 13 when past records indicate the police have no experience or the know how to handle situations when faced with large crowds. On the other hand, the problem with threatening to enforce SOSMA during GE13 is that it gives a considerable amount of power and justification for the police to exercise their brute enforcement on Malaysians if, to say things went awry. Read more at: http://kpru2010.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/use-of-sosma-an-overreaction-to-a-non-situation/ |
| On GE13 Posted: 13 Apr 2013 03:00 PM PDT  Most of BN's electoral promises can be found in their previous manifestoes for general elections since at least the 1980s. The BN solution to all of our problems is as follows: firstly, deny that there is a problem and crisis of confidence as to where we are heading as a nation; secondly, simply spend money that is not there to buy the peoples' support and loyalty; and thirdly, maintain the status quo under an elaborate charade of reform. Gerard Lourdesamy The 13th general election is upon us in three weeks time. The 5th of May 2013 like the 31st of August 1957 is a defining moment in our nation's history. After 56 years of near total domination of our political life first by the Alliance and then the Barisan Nasional (BN), the people of this great land have a historic opportunity to vote for change rather than piece-meal transformation and guarded reforms. The nation's institutions and economy are in tatters. The Constitutional checks and balances guaranteed and envisioned by our founding fathers lie in ruin thanks to innumerable amendments to our charter of liberty and freedom, by successive BN governments. These amendments were calculated to entrench power in the hands of an all-powerful and yet unaccountable Executive with a subservient and unrepresentative police force and state security apparatus to instil fear and carry out retribution against persons or organisations perceived to be a threat to the vested interests of the ruling elite. In the process the regulatory role of Parliament was relegated to a rubber stamp; the rulers rendered powerless; the courts were emasculated and the media subjugated and controlled to the point of insignificance. Credible journalism in this country predicated on fairness, impartiality and integrity is long dead. Against this backdrop of institutional decline, we have seen our economy get less and less competitive amidst an environment of over-regulation and ineffective enforcement, endemic corruption, inefficiency and weaknesses; leakages arising from a lack of transparency and accountability; and a bloated civil service that is incapable of improving itself thanks to inbred inertia, the absence of integrity and the inability to remain impartial and impervious to political pressure and influence. Corruption is accepted as a reality and a guarantee of upward social mobility and entry to elite circles resplendent with an extravagant and impressive lifestyle that is the envy of many ordinary Malaysians. Rather than tackle fundamental and institutional problems with our economy largely caused by the distortion of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and its successor policies; the lack of innovation and research; a moribund and unproductive workforce which lacks proper tertiary education and skills training; and the inability to compete with the emerging economies, that has caused us to be left behind in terms of direct foreign investment and is leading us into stagnation and a middle income wage trap despite the overly optimistic target of fully developed status by 2020, the BN has chosen to tinker with economic planning and policy simply to protect the interests of various competing groups within UMNO who have simply high-jacked the Malay agenda in order to enrich themselves, their families and cronies. Very often the fear of being unable to achieve the questionable equity targets set by the NEP and the perception that economic power is still in the hands of the Chinese and foreigners, is used as an excuse to perpetuate a culture of mediocrity and malaise but with incessant demands for closed or negotiated tenders for mega projects valued at billons of ringgit at the expense of transparency and ability to perform and deliver. Mismanagement and wastage is swept under the carpet while corruption and abuse of power often goes unreported and unpunished. It is this culture of patronage and political largesse that has caused us to lose tens of billions of ringgits in failed economic ventures and other projects including speculative trading in currency and commodities, that has not benefitted the people by any measure. Successive bail-outs of well connected personalities and cheap credit and loans to companies that are abject failures have not helped empower the Malays either economically or socially. The beneficiaries are simply extensions of the ruling elite in UMNO or the BN through ubiquitous front companies both on and off shore. The ordinary Malays and Bumiputera in the kampongs, fishing villages and rural areas have not benefitted from these so-called attempts to create a Malay super-rich entrepreneurial class with the ability to compete nationally and globally who would invariable help the poorer Malays and Bumiputera with business and employment opportunities. While eradication of poverty is much touted by the BN, we still have a very long way to go thanks to the increasing income disparity between and within various ethnic groups in the country where a disproportionate number of Malays and East Malaysian natives followed by Indians and some Chinese live on meagre incomes and appalling living conditions. Access to minimum standards of housing, proper sanitation and basic utilities is still lacking in many parts of the country and is shockingly bad in Sabah and Sarawak where the incidence of poverty is at its highest despite these two states being rich in natural resources like oil, gas and timber. Our education system is in disarray where most of our local graduates thanks to an over regulated and controlled education system that discourages critical and analytical thinking, compounded by the total absence of academic freedom and integrity among a great many of our professors and lecturers who are appointed not on merit, ability, experience or academic excellence but rather on political affiliation, sympathy and unquestioning loyalty to the ruling party that is often confused with the government, are unable to perform and compete in the private sector and have to be assumed into the civil service to reduce unemployment and avoid a political backlash, where they invariably perform below par and cause innumerable problems within the service. The poor command of the English language and the declining standards of learning in that language thanks to misguided nationalistic education policies in the 70s and 80s have caused our students and graduates to compare poorly to their counterparts even from non-traditional English speaking countries like Indonesia and Thailand. These poor language skills are evident when communication with foreigners and foreign governments is impeded because of a lack of knowledge and confidence to speak, write and use good and proper English. Our diplomatic service is a clear example where apart from its unrepresentative character, our diplomats seem to keep to themselves and do the country a great disservice by failing to interact with their host governments, business community, think tanks and media to promote our national interests simply because they are not confident to speak in English or any other foreign language. Instead their role is limited to hosting receptions and celebrations for visiting dignitaries and their spouses and on national festive occasions. Healthcare and health related services have become mired in a lack of qualified specialists in government hospitals, poor facilities, lack of beds, rising costs of care and medicines and the limited access to such facilities in rural areas. Instead of attempting to provide free universal healthcare or at least a system that will protect the lower income group from high medical costs while providing them with adequate access, the BN is more interested in privatisation and other absurd policies aimed at rationalisation but at the same time benefitting cronies of the government. As a country rich in natural resources and talent despite the increasing brain-drain thanks to the BN's deadwood policies since the 1970s, most Malaysians are still told to wait for an economic, social and political transformation that will propel us to greater heights and eventually developed country status in 2020, provided the BN remains in power, since it seems that only the BN has the monopoly over development, the ability to deliver on promises and guarantee peace, security and stability. But this message of the BN that resonates throughout its unimpressive manifesto for the 13th general election is nothing new or transformative. It is nothing but a continuation of the slew of promises and handouts promised in the last four successive budgets under Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and also in the 10th Malaysia Plan approved by Parliament. In fact most of BN's electoral promises can be found in their previous manifestoes for general elections since at least the 1980s. The BN solution to all of our problems is as follows: firstly, deny that there is a problem and crisis of confidence as to where we are heading as a nation; secondly, simply spend money that is not there to buy the peoples' support and loyalty; and thirdly, maintain the status quo under an elaborate charade of reform or transformation with a glitzy media campaign and creating numerous government linked bodies, agencies and companies to perpetuate the myth of change and reform. While no one can begrudge Prime Minister Najib Razak's efforts to tinker at a micro level with our fundamental economic, social and political demands and problems, he regrettably has failed to deliver on anything of substance at a macro level simply because he is beholden to vested interests and he is afraid of confronting the old guard in UMNO headed by the despotic former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Mahathir has proven time and again to be a master politician and tactician, far better than even Najib Razak or Anwar Ibrahim put together. He appeals to the base instincts of the Malays who fear a loss of political power if UMNO/BN loses the elections; the heightened demands of the Chinese and Indian minorities; and the overdependence on the natives of Sabah and Sarawak who are neither Malay nor Muslim. Mahathir's only concern at present is his legacy and his multi-billion dollar worth children who undoubtedly benefitted from his 22 years in office. The nation comes a poor second and the people probably third in his scheme of things. He wants to perpetuate the myth of UMNO as the only saviour and defender of the Malays while pretending to fight for the Malay economic cause. The reality is of course different. His duplicity is clear for all to see. While he berates the Chinese and Indians, he has and continues to favour his cronies from these communities. He plays the race and religion card like a puppet master with Malay nationalist NGOs like Perkasa and others backing him unreservedly and doing his bidding which directly and indirectly benefits UMNO and the BN to the detriment of race relations and Najib's attempts to be more inclusive and embrace all ethnic groups under his 1 Malaysia campaign. And yet others like the Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin are happy to undermine the Prime Minister at every turn with the blessing of Mahathir to perpetuate the narrow nationalistic, communalistic and at times racist ideology of Malay supremacy and dominance which has succeeded in alienating the non-Malays and also the East Malaysian natives to a large degree. UMNO is incapable of reform as long as Mahathir and the old guard continue to pursue their own agenda within the party. UMNO's domineering nature has weakened the BN and while the BN may have cohesion and discipline, the coalition members lack the freedom to disagree with and digress from the UMNO led agenda for nation building. Under the disguise of consensus and consociationalism, the BN component parties have become servile to UMNO even to the point of sacrificing the interests of the ethnic groups they represent in order to simply preserve their status, standing and benefits from being in government with UMNO. There is at present a wide disconnect between the people and their leaders. BN has and will continue to practice a top down type of limited democracy where the people are the servants of their political masters and are expected to remain always loyal and grateful to the ruling elite for their leadership and benevolence. In fact the BN in the last three decades has established itself in the model of a neo-fascist regime where the cult of leaders is actively encouraged in a climate of fear and oppression with a subservient media whose only role is to perpetuate a culture of undying loyalty and gratitude to the ruling party. The excesses and extravagance of the ruling elite has no limits. And this extends to their children and cronies as well. Despite claiming to be an Islamic country, UMNO pays scant regard to the key tenets of Islam which is moderation, piety, justice and fairness to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Corruption and abuses of power are justified in the national interest and even religious scholars are roped in justify policies of the government that are not beneficial to the people as a whole and probably offensive to core Islamic values. While I do not wish to trumpet the promises made by the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in their manifesto which like the BN is populist and short of facts, figures and reality, it at least offers a genuine promise of change and reform. While the PR may not be perfect and at times appears disunited and disjointed, which may be due to its component parties' unique and competing ideologies and diverse interests, coupled with lack of experience in governance until 2008, they are at least making an attempt to restore sanity and normalcy to our national way of life by advocating greater democracy and freedom, respect for the rule of law and human rights, eliminating corruption, abuses, wastage and leakages in our economy and most importantly restoring social justice by way of a needs based approached as opposed to a race based one, which has failed the BN since the inception of the NEP. While PR has to put up with constant criticism and bad press; divisions and infighting; listless leadership at times; and even poor handling of national issues amidst competing demands from ethic groups and core constituents, it has succeeded in creating a greater awareness among the people of our rights in a seemingly democratic society and our quest for economic and social justice, fairness and equitable treatment. People have become more responsive to national issues and have started to question, criticise and condemn. While at times there is a great deal of untruths and slander being bandied about by both sides of the political divide, people are less concerned about the sexual proclivities of our leaders but more about the direction and future of our country. Not all in Malaysia is bad just as not all in Malaysia is good. The voters have to be discerning and wise in making their choice. The results must be respected by both sides provided the elections themselves are free and fair by minimum international standards. While we cannot depend entirely on so-called independent institutions like the Election Commission (EC), the police and the media to guarantee a free and fair poll, we must ourselves keep watch and guard over the electoral process to ensure that it is free from abuse and corruption. The voters must come out in high numbers and give a decisive victory to whichever coalition they feel is the right choice to govern and lead this country into our future. The time has come to move away from old and decaying things and move towards something new, full of promise and dynamism that is guaranteed to provide us with an exciting and challenging five years ahead. |
| April 13, 2013: Our 40th wedding anniversary in Liverpool (VIDEO INSIDE) Posted: 13 Apr 2013 02:59 PM PDT |
| Lu Kacau Gua, Gua Kacau Lu – Hindraf under Star symbol and flag in Malaya! Posted: 13 Apr 2013 02:47 PM PDT  
Joe Fernandez It's confirmed! Hindraf Makkal Sakthi will be fielding candidates in Malaya under the Borneo-based State Reform Party's (Star) symbol and flag in the forthcoming 13th General Election on May 5. Star is a national party. Star chairman Jeffrey Kitingan, in a text message a little while ago said: "Let Hindraf be a big surprise." Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy in a text message confirmed: "We are still finalizing the list." Star Secretary Guandee Kohoi confirmed in a text message: "We agreed to it. Letter of authorization to use symbol with me. We only need full name as per IC." This is the culmination of a process which began quite some time ago to get the ten percent who are Christians in Malaysia on board with Hindraf as 3rd Force allies. At present, the Christians in Malaya don't have any political vehicle. Star has answered that need. There are many Sabahans and Sarawakians in Malaya.
Hindraf Star alliance in Malaya mooted quite some time ago
When Waytha was still in involuntary political asylum in London, I casually suggested to him and Jeffrey that Hindraf field candidates under the Star symbol and flag in Malaya to help forge 3rd Force unity in Parliament. That was well before Waytha re-filed the Hindraf class action suit in London in early July last year. Incidentally, I am not a member of Hindraf or Star. Neither am I a self-appointed Advisor to anyone. I am more for embedded reporting, albeit with a difference. It's not about scooping anyone. There's a difference between merely following the news and watching history on the one hand and giving a Hearing to All. First, a little more digression. The fact that the Registrar of Societies (ROS) approved Hindraf last month after earlier lifting the ban on the unregistered organisation is beside the point. The ROS himself said that Hindraf could apply for registration after the ban was ended. Hindraf still remains an NGO. It's not a political party. Obviously, the Barisan Nasional (BN) hopes that Hindraf would be a BN-friendly NGO. Hence, no doubt the approval. However, Hindraf's support for anyone would not be free. The registration of Hindraf was filed at the same time as the appeal for the ban on it to be lifted. Nothing was done discreetly, according to a text message a while ago from Waytha. Supporters of former Legal Advisor and co-Founder P. Uthayakumar in PKR – the man himself is not involved -- were also at the same time trying to hijack ownership of the NGO. Away from that little digression, I felt that no useful purpose would be served by Waytha continuing to stay in London once the suit had been re-filed. No mystery in Waythamoorthy's return to Malaysia He was worried that his return would be seen as a sellout to the BN, the same worry plaguing Royal Fugitive Blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin who had met up with Waytha to exchange notes. The latter had put me in Skype contact with Petra. Initially, Waytha did not know what to say about the Star proposal. I suggested subsequently that he head a Star chapter in Malaya, an idea which came from Jeffrey. Waytha appeared to agree somewhat and I even mentioned this in a story on his return from political exile. No one followed up the story as the media on both sides of the political divide, especially the Opposition, is anti-3rd Force. Waytha himself, before the Star idea came up, toyed with the idea of standing on a Dap ticket, or even a Pas ticket. He was also for meeting Nurul Izzah and her mother Wan Azizah in Singapore to discuss patching up between Hindraf and PKR. However, doing business with PKR was difficult since relations between Anwar and Hindraf were strained to the breaking point after the former tried to discredit the NGO as a racist organisation and kept claiming that it had nothing to do with the makkal sakthi – people power in Tamil -- wave which unleashed the political tsunami of Sat 8 Mar, 2008. Anwar had shamelessly jumped on the Hindraf bandwagon but now he was like the lembu punya susu, sapi dapat nama. The people did not vote for PR in 2008. They voted against BN. Waytha decided to return via Singapore without his Malaysian passport. He had a UN Travel Document issued to him, as a political exile, by the British Government. He could travel to any country in the world except Malaysia and should he infringe the condition, his political asylum status would be immediately revoked. People of Borneo should get a proper hearing in Parliament The Malaysian High Commission in Singapore quickly re-issued a Malaysian passport to Waytha as otherwise he would have to be deported, as is the norm in Government agreements with carrier airlines, and this would have been politically and diplomatically embarrassing to both Singapore and Malaysia especially if Waytha refused to leave the city state and made repeated attempts to enter his country. The British Government and the UN would then enter the picture. Waytha's idea was to cross over from Singapore to Johore on foot. He was prepared to be arrested and charged with terrorism, sedition and treason as the Government had earlier indicated. Jeffrey was initially hesitant about Hindraf fielding candidates under the Star symbol and flag in Malaya. He feared that Star crossing the South China Sea to Malaya may perhaps contradict his own battle cry that Malayan parties should keep out of Borneo. Hence, we have Agenda Borneo v Agenda parti parti Malaya in Borneo, a Star version of a one-to-one fight in Sabah. (Kepayan Star Chief Phillip Among, a young Turk, is the Architect of the Agenda Borneo v Agenda parti parti Malaya in Borneo theme. He sold me the idea one day over tea at McDonald's in Kota Kinabalu. I wrote about it, to gather public feedback, even before Jeffrey entered the picture and quickly endorsed it. Star is a young Turk party.) I pointed out to Jeffrey that under the 1963 Malaysia Agreement, and related constitutional documents on Malaysia, Malaya was supposed to have one seat less two-thirds in the Malaysian Parliament at the very maximum. Given the present 222 seats in Parliament, that means no more than 147 seats. Malaya has 165 seats in Parliament. This is a theft of 18 seats which should be with Borneo, a heinous crime against the people, the result of the Registrar of Societies, the Election Commission and the Attorney General looking the other way to diminish the voice of the people in Parliament. By the same token, there's no reason why Borneo cannot have the same one seat less two-thirds in the Malaysian Parliament at the very maximum. In order to achieve this, a Borneo-based national party or coalition would have to field candidates under its symbol and flag in Malaya. It's not tit-for-tat! It should not be tit for tat! Nur Misuari can't help Anwar against Star/Usno in Sabah east coast It's not possible for Borneo to achieve the same maximum in Parliament given its paltry 57 seats including Labuan. Even if Malaya had not stolen the 18 seats, Borneo would have only 75 seats in Parliament, far short of the 147 seats. Jeffrey was finally sold on the idea of Hindraf using the Star symbol and flag in Malaya. Also, the mood in his party was, Lu Kacau Gua, Gua Kacau Lu – a variation of Caretaker Unelected Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's infamous Lu Tolong Gua, Gua Tolong Lu declaration in Sibu during a parliamentary by-election -- given the stubborn refusal of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to make way for local parties in Sabah. Anwar is being politically suicidal in Sabah. Although he may not have been a party to placing illegal immigrants on the electoral rolls, he certainly knew about it, did nothing to stop the treasonous activities, and now wants to benefit from it, as he did when he headed Sabah Umno. He wants to ensure that Muslim, whether local or illegal, political domination of Sabah continues so that he can "inherit" the system in tact through cross-overs en bloc. This is why he's having problems with his own Sabah PKR leaders who are up in arms against his nefarious plans in their country. Anwar is pledged towards continued disunity among the Orang Asal, including the Muslim, in Sabah and Sarawak. If possible, he wants to see the political destruction of the mainly Christian Orang Asal in Sabah and Sarawak in pursuit of ketuanan Melayu (Malay political domination and supremacy). His attempts to get Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari to throw a spanner in the Star-United Sabah National Organisation (Usno) alliance has not worked. Usno, now protem after deregistration, was founded by legendary Suluk Chief Mustapha Harun, a previous Governor and then Chief Minister of Sabah. Nur Misuari pledged he could do more than what Anwar wants according to Sabah PKR sources now with Star, and either known or unknown to him (Anwar), was behind the Lahad Datu intrusion. His latest ploy has been to try and wreck the possibility of a truce between Star and Sapp. Anwar should make way for the sake of greater Opposition Unity If Hindraf and Star maintain their position that the former fields candidates under the latter's symbol and flag in Malaya, it will be a whole new ball game. Some will say that it will be BN that would benefit. The jury is still out on the issue. We need to watch where Hindraf will be fielding candidates and then work out the possible trends that could emerge. It will be prudent if both BN and PR can give way to Star/Hindraf in Malaya instead of continuing to promote their political mandores. Both should accept the proposed Ministry of Orang Asal and Minority Affairs (Moama) if the Hindraf Blueprint proper sticks in their throats. The Ministry can implement the Hindraf Blueprint. Ideally, Indians should put off the inevitable destruction of Umno/BN, and help maintain the status quo in Malaya for now except for removing MIC from the scene and making place for Hindraf/Star. Indians have more than an axe to grind with Umno/BN for the 56 years of internal colonisation they suffered under the ruling coalition's bangsa, agama, negara (race, religion, country) policy of ketuanan Melayu (Malay political dominance and supremacy), a sick combination of Apartheid, Nazism, Fascism, and Communism, Political Islam, terrorism, militancy, "ethnic cleansing", and the caste system to prevent upward social mobility among the 45 per cent non-Malay minorities. It would not be in the interest of Indians to see the destruction of PR. The PR is needed to destroy Umno/BN, if not now, later. In any case, the writing is on the wall for Umno/BN after 56 years. Its days are numbered. BN, outside Umno, is likely to be history this time in Malaya. If there's going to greater opposition unity, come the 13th GE, Anwar has to step aside and let Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh, Lim Guan Eng, Chua Jui Meng, Hadi Awang, Nik Aziz and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah have a greater say. Anwar has become a divisive figure, partly the result of Azmin Ali & Co, on both sides of the South China Sea. He cannot continue to take Azmin's side against his own wife, the party president, and his daughter Nurul Izzah. It's the party president who should run the party, not the de facto whatever by using the fig leaf of being the Opposition Leader in Parliament. Agenda Borneo v Agenda Malaya on the backburner in Sarawak If the Opposition in Malaya and Sabah fails to measure up to public expectations, come the 13th GE, blame it on Anwar for not being able to rise to the occasion. His political impotence would be complete. In Sarawak, the people have put the Agenda Borneo v Agenda Malaya on the backburner for the moment, given the destruction of local political parties by the Taib regime. They are banking on PR to help bring about a change of government in their country. However, PR component parties in Sarawak would have to incorporate locally and be autonomous and independent of Malaya, or they risk Jeffery entering the picture again in that nation to haunt them all over again. 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. He also tutors 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) or to give a Hearing to All. 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. |
| Low IQ & Conservative Beliefs Linked to Prejudice Posted: 13 Apr 2013 02:37 PM PDT 
Livescience There's no gentle way to put it: People who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb, according to a new study that is bound to stir public controversy. The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults. These findings point to a vicious cycle, according to lead researcher Gordon Hodson, a psychologist at Brock University in Ontario. Low-intelligence adults tend to gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, the study found. Those ideologies, in turn, stress hierarchy and resistance to change, attitudes that can contribute to prejudice, Hodson wrote in an email to LiveScience. "Prejudice is extremely complex and multifaceted, making it critical that any factors contributing to bias are uncovered and understood," he said. Controversy ahead The findings combine three hot-button topics. "They've pulled off the trifecta of controversial topics," said Brian Nosek, a social and cognitive psychologist at the University of Virginia who was not involved in the study. "When one selects intelligence, political ideology and racism and looks at any of the relationships between those three variables, it's bound to upset somebody." Polling data and social and political science research do show that prejudice is more common in those who hold right-wing ideals that those of other political persuasions, Nosek told LiveScience. [7 Thoughts That Are Bad For You] "The unique contribution here is trying to make some progress on the most challenging aspect of this," Nosek said, referring to the new study. "It's not that a relationship like that exists, but why it exists." Brains and bias Earlier studies have found links between low levels of education and higher levels of prejudice, Hodson said, so studying intelligence seemed a logical next step. The researchers turned to two studies of citizens in the United Kingdom, one that has followed babies since their births in March 1958, and another that did the same for babies born in April 1970. The children in the studies had their intelligence assessed at age 10 or 11; as adults ages 30 or 33, their levels of social conservatismand racism were measured. [Life's Extremes: Democrat vs. Republican] In the first study, verbal and nonverbal intelligence was measured using tests that asked people to find similarities and differences between words, shapes and symbols. The second study measured cognitive abilities in four ways, including number recall, shape-drawing tasks, defining words and identifying patterns and similarities among words. Average IQ is set at 100. Social conservatives were defined as people who agreed with a laundry list of statements such as "Family life suffers if mum is working full-time," and "Schools should teach children to obey authority." Attitudes toward other races were captured by measuring agreement with statements such as "I wouldn't mind working with people from other races." (These questions measured overt prejudiced attitudes, but most people, no matter how egalitarian, do hold unconscious racial biases; Hodson's work can't speak to this "underground" racism.) As suspected, low intelligence in childhood corresponded with racism in adulthood. But the factor that explained the relationship between these two variables was political: When researchers included social conservatism in the analysis, those ideologies accounted for much of the link between brains and bias. People with lower cognitive abilities also had less contact with people of other races. "This finding is consistent with recent research demonstrating that intergroup contact is mentally challenging and cognitively draining, and consistent with findings that contact reduces prejudice," said Hodson, who along with his colleagues published these results online Jan. 5 in the journal Psychological Science. Read more at: http://www.livescience.com/18132-intelligence-social-conservatism-racism.html |
| The EC Must Address These Doubts Posted: 13 Apr 2013 02:34 PM PDT 
Another curious decision made by the EC is that the indelible ink would be applied on each voter before they cast their vote. Tindak Malaysia has tried this out in a practice run and found that it's a bad idea because it could result in the ballot paper getting smudged, which could lead to the vote being considered spoilt. Kee Thuan Chye While announcing the date for the 13th general election, the Election Commission (EC) also said that it would make the event "the best" ever held. In pledging this, its chairman, Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, reiterated what he had said on Feb 5. But somehow the pledge rings hollow. Many Malaysians have lost too much confidence in the EC to believe that it will be, in Abdul Aziz's words, "transparent" and that it "will not help any party to win". Its actions and pronouncements have too often indicated the contrary. Besides that, NGOs that have engaged with the EC know how frustrating the experience can be. The latter is notorious for not replying to pressing questions concerning the electoral process or improper conduct at elections. Its dismissal of Bersih's demands for electoral reform compelled the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections to take its cause to the streets in July 2011. The EC is also noted for its apparently cavalier attitude towards calls for cleaning the electoral roll. Instead of getting down to the task of doing it, it has been giving excuses – even though a Merdeka Centre survey in April 2012 revealed that 92% of Malaysians in Peninsular Malaysia want the roll cleaned. The biggest joke, made in April 2012, was Abdul Aziz's declaration that the Malaysian electoral roll was "the cleanest in the world". He said there were only 42,000 dubious voters out of the 12.6 million registered, which works out to a mere 0.3%. But political scientist Ong Kian Ming had a radically different figure to present. Ong said an analysis conducted under one of his projects showed that the number of dubious voters was 3.3 million. Apart from dubious voters, missing names and other anomalies have reportedly been found in the constituencies of Klang MP Charles Santiago and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, both from Pakatan Rakyat. But when they both requested the EC to look into the matter, it did not respond accordingly. Both were forced to go to the High Court. However, Section 9A of the Elections Act denies the courts jurisdiction in regard to the electoral roll, so their cases were thrown out. More distressing for Izzah is the sudden spike in the number of postal voters there. By the end of 2011, it had gone up by an unusual 1,400% from 2008. And since postal votes are known to favour the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, their increased presence could be a bane to the PKR vice-president. As for the total number of voters in Lembah Pantai, there has been, according to Izzah, a phenomenal increase of 15,000. While some are newly registered voters, many more appear to have been transferred there, for reasons known only to the EC. With the general election coming up on May 5, what happens now to the discrepancies in the electoral roll? Do Malaysians go to the polls with doubt in their minds about whether the process might be compromised and phantom voting might influence the outcome unfairly? |
| Why is Malaysiakini three-cornering PSM? Posted: 12 Apr 2013 10:11 PM PDT 
S Arutchelvan I refer to the article 'Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) may force three-cornered fights with PKR' yesterday and take offence to the title by Malaysiakini which I find to be unfair, biased and manipulative. I do understand that some PKR leaders are shareholders of Malaysiakini but that should not be used to belittle other parties. Let me put the below record straight and let the people decide who is three-cornering who or is it that Malaysiakini is trying to three-corner PSM to create a biased opinion poll.
Semenyih seat - there is no member of PKR who has ever stood in this seat. In 2004, PAS stood in the seat and in 2008, I as the secretary-general of PSM stood in the seat borrowing the PKR logo as the PSM party was not registered yet. How then can this seat, which was never contested by any member of PKR, has suddenly become a PKR seat and PSM is accused of three-cornering the seat? I did not ever become a PKR member.
Why was the Semenyih seat given to PSM to stand in 2008? The answer is that PSM did exchange this seat to the Bukit Lanjan seat where PSM stood in 2004. Now you will understand how the Bukit Lanjan seat became a PKR seat and not a DAP seat.
Kota Damansara seat - this seat has never been contested by a PKR member. In 2004, the seat was contested by PAS and in 2008, PSM's chairperson Dr Nasir Hashim contested in the seat. Dr Nasir exchanged the Subang Parliament seat he stood in 2004 for the Kota Damansara state seat.
Now, how can the Kota Damansara state seat which was never contested by any member of PKR before become a PKR seat and how come now PSM is accused of three-cornering the seat?
Sungai Siput seat - Dr D Jeyakumar, a PSM central committee member, stood in this seat in the 1999, 2004 and 2008 election borrowing DAP and PKR logo. No member of PKR has ever stood in this seat. How come this seat suddenly become a PKR seat and we are accused of three-cornering the seat?
Jelapang seat - the Jelapang seat is perhaps the only seat where there is a real dispute. This is a new seat. In 2004, there was a three-cornered fight between BN, DAP and PKR. In 2008, there was a three-cornered fight between BN, DAP and PSM which DAP won.
In this election the PSM candidate is claiming that the seat should be given to PSM since the DAP member jumped ship to BN, while DAP claims that they won the seat and they deserve to stand again. PSM has requested for third party NGOs and activist to help resolve this dispute and PSM will adhere to the suggestion by this neutral group on who should stand in Jelapang.
PSM has also stated that PSM is only standing in the same seat like last election, only that the party is registered now. Even at the eleventh hour, PSM is still seeking to ensure that there is a straight fight with BN. It is ridiculous for Malaysiakini to state that PSM will three-corner PKR when PKR members have never stood in any of these three seats.
While PSM believes that the big picture is to defeat BN and we all have a big task towards this, yet this does not give any immunity to any party to bully and manipulate the situation. S ARUTCHELVAN is PSM secretary-general. |
| Position paper 1: On car prices (UPDATED with Chinese Translation) Posted: 12 Apr 2013 09:32 PM PDT
The local councils should operate free shuttles from your homes to the train and bus stations, as well as within the city -- where you can get from one place to another free by just jumping onto the shuttle. And there should be only five-minute intervals between shuttles at peak time and ten or 15 minutes off-peak. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin On the one hand, while I agree that car prices in Malaysia are ridiculously expensive, on the other hand I do not agree that cars should be cheap in Malaysia. I know this sounds contradictory so allow me to explain what I mean. In the UK, I can buy a brand new BMW that will cost roughly ONE year of my gross salary -- assuming I am earning £22,000-24,000 a year, say, as a chef in a restaurant. In Malaysia, doing that same job, the same BMW would cost me about twelve years of my salary. That means in, Malaysia, it costs 12 times what it costs in the UK. So I do not convert the Pound to the Ringgit and worry about the actual cost of the car in Ringgit. I compare my earning capacity to the number of years it would cost to own that car based on that earning level. Cars should cost about one to two years of your earning capacity and houses about ten years. That would mean you have quality of life. Now, while cars should be affordable to own, they should be heavily taxed when you drive them. Currently, they are heavily taxed even if you don't use them and they sit idle in your garage or driveway. Hence we should implement congestion zones where you pay heavily to drive in these congestion zones but not when you drive on the highways and country roads. And you also pay heavy parking fees when you park in the cities and towns. Hence, also, cars would be cheap to own but expensive to operate. And the more you drive and park, the more you pay. So it is better you 'abandon' your car and use public transport to get where you want to get to. The local councils should operate free shuttles from your homes to the train and bus stations, as well as within the city -- where you can get from one place to another free by just jumping onto the shuttle. And there should be only five-minute intervals between shuttles at peak time and ten or 15 minutes off-peak. We must also be very careful about reducing car prices overnight. If you have just spent RM120,000 to buy a new car, you would not want that same car being sold for RM80,000 the following year. That means your RM120,000 car would suddenly become RM50,000 in value. You would expect your (second-hand) car value to be at least RM80,000 but how can it be RM80,000 when you can now buy a brand new one for that same price? Pakatan Rakyat has made promises about reducing car prices without looking at the implications of that move. Firstly, many Malaysians would see their asset value depreciating drastically. Secondly, we will see many more cars on the road. What we want to see is lesser cars on the road, not more cars. The traffic jams and pollution in Malaysia is so bad that we should discourage rather than encourage Malaysians to drive. Of course, for all this to happen, we need a more efficient public transport system. And herein lies the problem -- Malaysia's public transport system sucks. And am I glad I will not be in the government that needs to worry about all this. Anyway, the local councils and town planners need to look into this. And this is why we need local council elections. Then we can kick out those councillors who are not doing their job. Currently, local council positions are used as a reward for loyal party supporters. And herein lies the other problem -- our local councils suck. **************************************** 立場表明文（一）：論車价
地方政府（即市政府）應該提供免費的公交，讓你免費地往來你的住家和公交站。而儅你要到市内的任何一個地方時，你也應該可以乘搭免費的公交到達目的地。再者，繁忙時段的公交等候時間最長應該只是5分鐘，非繁忙時段則10-15分鐘。
原文：Raja Petra Kamarudin
譯文：方宙
一方面我認同馬來西亞車价貴的離譜，但另一方面我不贊同大馬應該把車价降低。
我知道這聼起來很矛盾，所以請讓我進一步解釋。
假設我在英國是一名廚師，那一輛剷新寳馬的價格大約是我一年的薪水，即22千-24千英鎊。
但在馬來西亞，如果我做的是同樣的職業，我則需要用我12年的薪水來購買同一輛寳馬。換句話說，大馬的寳馬比英國的貴了12倍。
在這邊我講的並不是那輛寳馬真正的馬幣價格，我對比是在這兩個不同的國家裏我應該用多少年的年薪來購買同一輛車。
一般上，想要擁有好的生活質量，你的車子應該是你年薪的1-2倍，你的房子則應該是大約10倍。
現在，雖然說車子應該是負擔得起的，但在你駕駛時你應該被抽重稅。但是在馬來西亞即時你只是買了車子而沒有經常駕駛，你還是被抽了重稅。
我們應該規劃出該付費的繁忙地段；而儅你駕在高速公路或鄉間馬路時你則不必付費。同樣的，如果你在市内泊車時你也應該付較貴的泊車費。
所以說，買車應該是便宜的，但用車則應該是昂貴的。儅你駕得更多時你也要付得更多，所以你自然而然地就會'放棄'你的車子而應用公交系統。
地方政府（即市政府）應該提供免費的公交，讓你免費地往來你的住家和公交站。而儅你要到市内的任何一個地方時，你也應該可以乘搭免費的公交到達目的地。再者，繁忙時段的公交等候時間最長應該只是5分鐘，非繁忙時段則10-15分鐘。
儅我們談及降低車价時我們得格外小心。如果你剛花12万購買一輛新車的話，你不會想看到同一輛車在明年就以8万售出；那將會代表你那12万的車明年只值5万。你當初預算在1年后你那12万的車會值8万，但現在新車都已經是8万了，你的（二手）車賣8万還會有人買嗎？
民聯當初作出承諾時根本就沒想清楚後果。其一，很多人將會看到他們的資產一夜間貶值。其二，我們會看到很多車子在馬路上奔跑。我們真正需要的是較少的車子而不是更多的車子。馬來西亞的塞車與污染程度已經很糟糕了，我們不應該再鼓勵人們駕車。
當然，我們必須首先擁有一個有效的公交系統。而這正是問題的癥結----我國的公交系統真他媽的沒用。
而我真的很慶幸我沒有為政府工作，因爲我不必爲上述的事情操心。
無論如何，地方政府與城市策劃應該認真地看待這個問題。這就是爲什麽我們要舉行地方選舉的原因：我們可以把沒做工的的市議員們踢出局。如今，市政侷的崗位只是執政黨用來安頓他們自己黨員的而已。
而這正是問題的另一個癥結----我們的地方政府/市政府真他媽的窩囊。 |
| Rift in Hindraf widens Posted: 12 Apr 2013 08:25 PM PDT 
A faction in Hindraf calls co-founder Waythamoorthy a "traitor" for concealing the fact that he had registered the organisation two days prior to his hunger strike Priscilla Prasena, FMT Calling Hindraf co-founder P Waythamoorthy a traitor, a faction of the group today claimed that he had concealed the fact that he had registered Hindraf as an organisation a month ago. "This registration of an organisation called Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia (Hindraf) was approved on March 8. This was two days before Waythamoorthy began his hunger strike. "During the hunger strike he attacked the Opposition for the benefit of Barisan Nasional," said S Jayathas, the former Hindraf leader and information chief. "The authorities were adamant in not allowing us to register Hindraf as an organization for so long…but now since he is attacking the opposition, he is given the registration approval." Speaking at a press conference, Jayathas, who is now with PKR, said the approval to grant Hindraf an organisation status, would have to come from the higher ups, like the Home Ministry. "Waythamoorthy's meeting with the Prime Minister (Najib Tun Razak) just two weeks after the hunger strike proves that he is working with the Barisan Nasional," he added. He said grassroot leaders want Waythamoorthy and his Hindraf faction to explain why they had concealed the registration of Hindraf. Uthayakumar surprisingly silent Jayathas said Waythamoorthy should be working towards Hindraf's goals instead of creating confusion in the minds of Indian voters. Jayathas said Indians have been deprived of their rights for far too long and they are not going to change their minds just because the government accepts Hindraf's blueprint on the eve of elections. READ MORE HERE |
| Weekend jottings Posted: 12 Apr 2013 06:44 PM PDT
Yes, on stage, in front of a crowd of tens of thousands, I warned Umno to not try anything. I also told the non-Malays to stay home in case race riots do happen. I told the non-Malays that the Malays from the opposition would handle Umno. And I warned Umno that there are more Malays in the opposition than in Umno. I cautioned Umno that the Malays in the opposition are fighters and unless Umno is prepared to see blood on the streets then don't even try to start anything. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Actually, today I am not really in much of a mood to write because of the various 'good tidings' I am enjoying. First of all, my essay has been returned with an 'excellent' comment and my Oxford tutor informed me he will be recommending me for full credits. For someone who refused to study beyond college because I believed in the doctrine that studying causes permanent brain damage, I am, of course, elated that I have passed with full credits three courses over two years. I suppose this is all about self-esteem and personal satisfaction. I have proven to myself that I did not go to university back in 1970 not because I am stupid but because I thought I do not need a university degree to get through life. Anyway, forgive me for bragging. This is just like a new grandfather boring everyone in the pub with photographs of his newly born grandchild. Only to the grandfather does the baby look cute. The other pub goers would rather ogle the barmaid's boobs and butt. The second good tiding is that my wife, Marina, and I will be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary tomorrow, 14th April 2013. I mean 40 years of marriage is longer than many of you reading this have been alive. And even after 40 years Marina still has to push me off and ask me to take a shower to cool down, if you know what I mean. We were hoping to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary together with the grand opening of our kopitiam, Gossip on Broadway. Unfortunately that is no longer possible and we may instead have to open after the 13th General Election of 5th May 2013 -- yet another good tiding. The place, an old 1800s building, needed more extensive renovations than we originally thought (some parts of the building had rotted away and was threatening to collapse). Hence the two months delay. And my budget has inflated from RM250,000 to RM600,000…sigh…not so good tiding. Anyway, we are ready to roll and by the first to second week of May 2013 we should be open for business. I hope to also apply for a live music licence so that those of you who want to jam on Saturday night can do so. Once the licence is approved I may have to spend a bit more money on a keyboard. I already have the electronic drum set and it works just great. While on the subject of music, I also managed to get two tickets to The Rolling Stones concert in Hyde Park on 13th July 2013. And that is my fourth good tiding. The tickets for the first concert on 7th July 2013 were sold out within mere minutes so they decided to hold a second concert on 13th July for those who were not able to get tickets to the first concert. The tickets were on sale from 9.00am on 12th April and I managed to get my tickets after waiting 20 minutes for the website to be 'free'. That shows how many people wanted tickets. The website was so jammed that we were put on hold. The tickets, which cost 100-300 quid, are now selling for as high as 12,000 quid on the black market. Crazy! Then, on 18th July 2013, I will be going to the Santana concert in Manchester -- my fifth good tiding. That, as far as I am concerned, is the ultimate in concerts so you can understand why I am so elated. Well, there you have it -- five good tidings in a row. So what more can a person want? So you can understand why going back to Malaysia is not at the top of my priority list. There is just so much going on here that I do not see myself returning to Malaysia any time soon. Anyway, just to change the subject, one reader posted a comment today lamenting that we are quite unfair in whacking all Chinese for the racist comments of a mere handful of people. I agree, maybe less than 100 of our 700,000 or so readers post racist comments so not all Chinese should be painted with the same brush. But maybe you can read the statement below by pastor Martin Niemöller. 
You see, when Malays make racist statements, other Malays whack them. I am sure you have read what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday regarding what would happen (meaning race riots) if Pakatan Rakyat takes over Johor. And I am sure you also read PAS leader Datuk Mahfuz Omar's response to that here: http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/newscommentaries/55878-pas-will-shield-all-from-race-clash-veep-vows Those of you who have been following my columns/articles since back in the Reformasi days can remember when in 1999 I said that PAS gives the non-Malays a guarantee that in the event of a May 13 Version 2 happening the Malays are going to come out in full force to defend the non-Malays (I quoted Dr Hatta Ramli). Those of you who attended the 2008 election rallies and ceramahs would also remember me openly and publicly giving a warning to Umno to not threaten the non-Malays and that in the event of a May 13 Version 2 happening it is no longer going to be Malays killing Chinese but Malays killing Malays. Yes, on stage, in front of a crowd of tens of thousands, I warned Umno to not try anything. I also told the non-Malays to stay home in case race riots do happen. I told the non-Malays that the Malays from the opposition would handle Umno. And I warned Umno that there are more Malays in the opposition than in Umno. I cautioned Umno that the Malays in the opposition are fighters and unless Umno is prepared to see blood on the streets then don't even try to start anything. So you see, when Malays threaten the non-Malays, the Malays -- such as I and those in PAS -- come forward and openly declare our non-racist stand. We openly declare that we shall protect the non-Malays. But when the non-Malays make racist statements, the other non-Malays either keep very silent and not whack their fellow Chinese and Indians or they add more fuel to the fire. So, yes, maybe just a handful of Chinese and Indians make racist statements and it is not fair to whack all non-Malays for what just a handful of people do. But silence is consent. Even if you do not add fuel to the fire by joining the anti-Malay (or anti-Islam) chorus, even if you just keep quiet, that is still bad, as pastor Martin Niemöller demonstrated. Islam teaches Muslims amar makruf, nahi munkar. This means do good and oppose bad. Hence 'doing good' is just not good enough. You must also oppose bad. And when someone does or says something bad, even if they are people of your same race and religion, you must do something about it. Saying that I did not say it but someone else said it -- but you keep silent while they say it -- is not good enough. By keeping quiet that means you agree with what was said. And that is why when a handful of non-Malays say and do something racist, I whack all the non-Malays. And I will continue whacking all the non-Malays until they come out to condemn the acts of their fellow non-Malays. If I can stand up on stage in front of tens of thousands to warn Umno not to threaten the non-Malays and warn Umno that we Malays will come out to face them in defense of the non-Malays, the least you non-Malays can do is to condemn your fellow racists. |
| Wrangle over who goes where Posted: 12 Apr 2013 03:54 PM PDT 
WITH the April 20 nomination day just days away, political coalitions in the country are still scrambling to finalise their candidate list, despite both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) previously boasting that they are all ready for the 13th general election (GE). BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak has, from the dissolution of Parliament on April 3, warned that eager contenders who fail to be picked as candidates are only allowed to sulk for 24 hours, after which he expects them to kiss, make up, and go all out to campaign for BN. Najib also said all should keep in mind that the ultimate purpose of an election is to form a formidable government, and not an avenue to fulfil personal objectives. With such "advice" dished out openly, one can only imagine the kind of heavy lobbying that must be going on among local BN warlords hoping to secure a candidacy. This is happening not only in Umno, the party with the lion's share of seats, but in MIC as well. Its president Datuk Seri G Palanivel is said to have booted out another MIC leader, Datuk S K Devamany, from the parliamentary seat of Cameron Highlands so that he is almost sure of a comfortable win in what is considered a safe seat. Devamany would be moved to Sungai Siput instead. While individual candidates vie to be nominated, parties in BN are also said to have started squabbling, based on speculation that certain seats traditionally belonging to certain parties may be loaned to fellow parties this GE all in the name of "winnability". MCA president Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek, who has decided to sit out this GE, had to "console" MCA members and say that MCA will get back the "loaned" seats after the delineation exercise, which will be carried out after this election. The second biggest party in BN is said to have been urged by fellow member party leaders to give way to Umno, MIC and PPP. In Johor, caretaker menteri besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman of Umno offered to contest in the MCA seat of Gelang Patah after DAP's Lim Kit Siang was announced as the candidate there, while MCA's Kota Laksamana state seat in Malacca goes to PPP and the Kuantan parliamentary seat in Pahang has been loaned to Umno. And then there is the Wangsa Maju parliamentary seat which is currently caught in a tug of war between Umno and MCA. Other MCA seats "under negotiation" are the parliamentary seats of Tebrau (Johor) and Padang Serai (Kedah) and the state seat of Tanah Rata (Perak). All this is causing BN chairman Najib a real headache as he tries to sort out just who is winnable, who is undroppable and who is a liability for the coalition. The jostling for seats is not confined to BN. Within Pakatan Rakyat, fellow parties PAS, PKR and DAP have squabbled both openly and behind closed doors over some seats, and in some cases, it has come down to "who makes the announcement first". Piecemeal or incomplete announcements so far have only added fuel to allegations of infighting and "undemocratic" practices within the opposition coalition. DAP and PKR in particular have had major disagreements over seat allocations in Johor, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak, with the former insisting on contesting all the Chinese majority seats. One can only guess what impact any bad blood caused by ths issue between Pakatan partners, will have on the election results. Seat allocation discussion between Pakatan Rakyat and PR-friendly parties such as Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) have also run aground, with PKR insisting that the socialist party contest under its banner, which they did in 2008. But PSM, which is eyeing the Jelapang, Kota Damansara, Semenyih and Sungai Siput seats, wants to contest under their own banner this time around. DAP is also refusing to give way to PSM to contest in Jelapang, while both Semenyih and Kota Damasara may see a three-cornered fight between PKR, PSM and BN. In Sabah, PKR de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was supposed to announce the PKR candidate list in Likas today, had to cancel it at the last moment over unresolved conflicts. At this rate, we will only really know whose standing where for sure come nomination day. |
| Much at stake over BN's Johor fortress Posted: 12 Apr 2013 03:49 PM PDT 
The problem for Mr Chua is that despite being head of PKR Johor, he lacks support within the party or the PR coalition, being a relative new member. He was a transport minister under the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional but defected from BN partner Malaysian Chinese Association in 2009 after two failed attempts to become MCA president. By Ooi Kee Beng, For The Straits Times WHEN an army becomes restless, the general must fly into decisive action to signal that the waiting is over, and that battle plans are in place. Wearied by months, if not years, of waiting for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to dissolve Parliament and call for elections, impatience had been setting in on both sides of the political divide. This was more obvious in opposition ranks, for they had to watch and wait while Mr Najib announced and implemented a series of expensive populist instant measures designed to tempt fence-sitters. Unavoidably, some bickering was bound to set in within the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat, and serious cracks in the ranks began showing. Democratic Action Party (DAP) Johor state head Boo Cheng Hau voiced his suspicion that party ally PKR's state head Chua Jui Meng was behind anonymous attacks on the DAP. This soon took the form of jostling over which party and which candidate was to contest in Gelang Patah. This was probably the trigger that decided DAP leader Lim Kit Siang's mind to contest in his home state of Johor, the seat that Chua is known to have been seeking to run for. The problem for Mr Chua is that despite being head of PKR Johor, he lacks support within the party or the PR coalition, being a relative new member. He was a transport minister under the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional but defected from BN partner Malaysian Chinese Association in 2009 after two failed attempts to become MCA president. The 72-year-old Mr Lim had been unwilling for many months to agree to a move away from Ipoh Timor - his present seat in Perak state - to his home state of Johor. This seemed partly due to family concerns about his health. His move has certainly strengthened his party's position in Johor. In the process, it ended the squabble over which member of the PR coalition would contest Johor and has energised opposition supporters significantly. The move is consistent with Mr Lim's long political career as he had given up safe seats to contest in strategically more important but less predictable seats before. A major tenet in the ancient Chinese war classic, Sunzi Bingfa (Sun Tzu's Art of War), is that one should choose the battleground, and let the enemy react. Gaining the initiative is the key to a successful campaign. The ruling BN should hold the upper hand given its incumbent control of election timing which allows it to time its own vote-getting measures. But it has lost that initiative through Lim's move. The depth of BN's anxiety can be seen in the actions of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the United Malays National Organisation's long-term and most effective strategist. The 87-year-old former prime minister, who seems intent on leading the BN campaign whether the present prime minister likes it or not, has taken to attacking his long-term opponent fervently, calling on Johoreans to end Mr Lim's long political career; and threatening the country once more with the scenario that a victory for the DAP's Mr Lim would "bring about conflict and antagonism between the races". Mr Lim's decision to raise the stakes by moving to Johor brings into focus some trends pushing Malaysia towards a new political order. Johor has not only been a fixed deposit state for the Barisan Nasional's two major parties, Umno and the MCA. It is also the state whose political structure influenced much of the country's political structure.This is the state where Umno started and where its coalition partner MCA has had its strongest support; and where many in the country's first Cabinet came from. The active and innovative political consciousness and acumen of its elite were responsible for the founding of Umno, which has contributed to today's brand of Malay politics. The coming elections will pose a fundamental challenge to the BN model of coalition politics with Malay-based Umno and Chinese-based MCA as key partners. For one thing, MCA's position as the party representing the Chinese vote bank is under full frontal attack from the DAP. The DAP has already won hugely in the northern urban areas in 2008, reaching as much support as the Chinese population there could realistically give it. The Sarawak state elections of 2011 saw it gaining more ground in urban seats there as well. The decision to assail the Umno-MCA fortress is therefore a predictable and potent stratagem. Though Johor is not likely to fall to the Pakatan Rakyat, the MCA will most likely be taking quite a beating in its strongest state, and may nationally be reduced to irrelevance. Already, MCA president Chua Soi Lek has demonstrated a remarkable lack of confidence by announcing that he will not be contesting at all. Some of the party's traditional seats throughout the country are being "loaned" to its allies in the BN. Malaysia has to be ruled by a coalition representing all major ethnic groups, and the coalition that fails to project that image cannot be stable. For Umno and its allies, a new formula will have to be found even if they get the majority of seats. If the MCA loses most of its parliamentary seats in the coming elections - it has 13 in Johor and across the country - then BN will be without proper Chinese representation. Much is at stake in Johor.
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| GE13: Anwar has hands full with seat squabbles Posted: 12 Apr 2013 03:42 PM PDT (Borneo Insider) - KOTA KINABALU: The Pakatan Rakyat coalition plus is embroiled in a bitter fight over six parliamentary seats, as each of the partners stake a claim saying they are winnable. PKR de facto leader Datuk Anwar has now left it to the Sabah PR together with its allies, Angkatan Perpaduan Sabah and Pertubuhan Pakatan Perubahan Sabah to untangle the mess. The troubled seats are Tuaran, Kota Marudu, Tawau, Labuan, Keningau and Kota Belud. The most noticeable is the Tuaran seat where incumbent Datuk Wilfred Bumburing, who leads an ad-hoc non-governmental movement aligned to Pakatan Rakyat (APS), is facing stiff opposition from PKR veteran Ansari Abdullah, the Tuaran PKR chief. Ansari, is often seen as a loyalist to Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and is closely aligned to Azmin Ali, but he rocked the boat earlier when he openly proposed his name for Tuaran amid seat-sharing discussions with Pakatan leaders. Tawau is sought by the PKR which gave way to the DAP for the Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan parliamentary seats. But the DAP is still insisting that it is a more "winnable" choice for Tawau. The PKR is keen to field lawyer and former state minister Datuk Kong Hong Ming in Tawau while DAP's choice is the party's Tawau information chief Chan Foong Hin. The PKR has also asked PAS to make way for its candidate, Tan Sri Ibrahim Menuddin, (annpunced by Anwar on Friday) for the Labuan seat. PAS has named the party's Labuan information chief Hadnan Mohamad (picture) as its choice for that seat. Hadnan subsequently insisted that he would be contesting the seat as he had been named the Opposition candidate there. Ibrahim quit Umno last year before signing up with PKR. Anwar, in trying to play down tensions on Friday, described the existing relationship between PKR, APS and PPPS as "special and important" because the candidates from their allies would be using the PKR symbol in the GE13. He also stressed that it was also important to maintain the friendship with PAS and Democratic Action Party. He said they have learned from previous experiences, and that the people today are more open and exposed to information. "They want to see qualified Member of Parliament (MP) and Adun (assemblyman) (to represent them). Being popular does not qualify you to become a MP and ADUN, but you may be suitable for other posts, like that at the Municipal Council. "But one of the most important factor to becoming a candidate is the ability to support the Party's struggle and loyalty, especially in facing giant party like Barisan Nasional, as they have funds," he said. |
| Anwar changes tone on SAPP Posted: 12 Apr 2013 03:35 PM PDT 
Hoping to capitalise on voter discontent in the state, the opposition leader now tells Sabah PR leaders to continue talking with Yong Teck Lee Queville To, FMT KOTA KINABALU: In a surprise move, Pakatan Rakyat de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim re-opened the door for cooperation with the opposition Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP). The opposition leader who is hoping to capitalise on voter discontent in the state, told Sabah PR leaders to continue talking with SAPP president Yong Teck Lee. He said the gesture was in view of the fact that SAPP supports PR's policy and leadership, unlike the Sabah State Reform Party (Sabah Star) which has always opposed the opposition. He told reporters this during a press conference held at PPPS head Lajim Ukin's residence in Likas, near here, on Friday. Anwar's change of tone came as a surprise to many as, only two weeks ago, he announced during his visit to Sabah that Pakatan Rakyat would not engage in any more talks with local opposition parties. He charged that SAPP and Sabah STAR are untrustworthy and that PR would instead focus on solidifying its agenda in Sabah together with its local allies Pertubuhan Pakatan Perubahan Sabah (PPPS) and Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS). Touching on Tuaran PKR chief Ansari Abdullah's proposed candidates', Anwar promised "it will be given a serious consideration". He said PKR deputy president Azmin Ali is in constant communication with Ansari on the matter and said that no public announcement would be made to avoid misunderstandings. "We will take the proposal positively, especially with the discussions with APS and PPPS still ongoing. They are worried that their proposals are being ignored. "But we never forget and ignore any proposals and suggestions. I have also told them that we will consider and we accept it as serious suggestions," he said. Unresolved issues Ansari controversially announced that prominent surgeon and activist Dr Chong Eng Leong would be Pakatan's candidate in Sepanggar, Mazhry Nasir (Putatan), Anthony Mandiau (Kota Marudu), Mursalim Tanjul (Kudat), Saidil Semoi (Kota Belud) and Jonathan Yassin (Ranau). Anwar said the delay in announcing the Sabah PKR candidate line-ups for the 13th general election was due to "unresolved issues" and overlapping claims by Pakatan coalition parties in at least six state seats. "The decisions (on candidacies) will be made by the state leaders, unless there is any conflict, then we (the top leaderships) will look into it. However, about 90% of the decision are made by the Sabah leadership. READ MORE HERE |
| Avoid three-cornered fights: Karpal Posted: 12 Apr 2013 03:32 PM PDT 
Edmund Lee, The Sun Daily All the component parties in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition must ensure there would not be a three-cornered fights among themselves in the 13th general election, says DAP national chairman Karpal Singh. Karpal said the coalition of PKR, PAS and DAP must consider the danger of having this tussle before the election on May 5. "There must be a compromise among the three parties to make sure it does not happen," he told a press conference in Air Itam this morning, which saw several market-goers and passers-by supported him when they passed by the area. Calling for the three-cornered clash "must be avoided" at all costs, the parties should carefully consider this circumstance as there has to be a compromise to be made within the coalition partners, Karpal who is a veteran lawyer pointed out. Karpal was asked by reporters over a report that DAP is prepared to go for three-cornered fights in Kedah if it is not given the additional seats which the party had been asking for. Prior to this, DAP deputy chairman Tan Kok Wai had asked PKR to allow DAP to contest the Alor Setar parliamentary seat, Bakar Bata and Bakar Arang state seats. It was reported DAP was upset after PKR de factor leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's announced Kedah legal bureau chief Gooi Hsio Leong as the candidate for Alor Setar. Nonetheless, there is a possibility of such tussle happening in Sungai Acheh state seat as PAS had announced state PAS Youth chief Yusni Mat Piah for the seat which PKR's Badrul Hisham Shahrin or better known as Chegubard is to be fielded. Karpal mentioned there must be a "give and take" among the PR parties to ensure that these fights do not occur in any seats. On calls for Deputy Chief Minister II Prof Dr Ramasamy to be dropped in the election, Karpal added that the state DAP and its committee comprising of advisor Lim Kit Siang, secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, Tan, and he would be deciding on this matter. |
| GE13: ‘Chinese can never control Parliament’ Posted: 12 Apr 2013 03:27 PM PDT 
(The Star) - The Chinese will never be a dominant political force in Malaysia, even under Pakatan Rakyat, said PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu. As both MCA and DAP would be vying for the limited number of Chinese-majority seats, they would only be eliminating each other, he said. Only one would emerge winner in each seat, and the number of Chinese-majority seats remained the same, he added. As such, it would be impossible for the Chinese to wield greater influence in Parliament, he said at a ceramah in Kupang on Thursday night. It was Mohamad's inaugural ceramah in Kedah after PAS announced him as its Pendang parliamentary candidate. Mohamad also pointed out that Pakatan Rakyat fielded 23 more Malay Muslim candidates compared with Barisan Nasional in the 2008 general election. |
| GE13: ‘Third force will determine GE13 outcome’ Posted: 12 Apr 2013 03:23 PM PDT 
(The Star) - Non-partisan voters will be instrumental in determining the outcome of the 13th general election (GE13), said social entrepreneur Anas Zubedy (pic). The principal consultant and Zubedy (M) Sdn Bhd founder said the "third force" had the power to decide which party got the two-thirds majority at GE13. "We want less bickering and politicking, and we want work to be done with focus on developing the economy and cutting down on corruption," he said in an interview with SwitchUp.tv's GE13: Showdown programme, hosted by Anne Edwards. Anas believed the last election had left a positive impact as the Barisan Nasional government, under Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's leadership, had implemented many transformation programmes. "At the same time, the Opposition coalition has had a chance to run a few states, which is good, as they get to know the realities of running a state," he said. However, Anas remained cautious on whether Malaysians had become more politically mature since the 2008 general election. "A survey we did among young Malaysians last year revealed that many did not know what Article 153 of the Federal Constitution was about," he said. "Also, nearly 100% of the respondents quoted the Article inaccurately," he said. In a bid to help non-partisan voters understand how their votes could affect the GE13's outcome, Anas highlighted five election outcome possibilities. One was to hand Barisan a very strong mandate, allowing for governance the "China way", where government projects were implemented with speed rather than the "India way" where every project was debated. The second possibility was to hand the same mandate to Pakatan Rakyat, giving them a chance while expanding the talent pool of leadership beyond Barisan. "Another is a hung parliament, after which the most influential person would be the Agong. We will leave it to his wisdom to create a new coalition," said Anas. The fourth was to give Pakatan a chance to lead but with a very slim majority, so that its leaders would "continuously be on their toes". The last possibility was to maintain the status quo, which meant that voters would give the current government another five years, suspending their judgement until the next general election. |
| SAPP bemoans Pakatan’s ‘overbearing Malaya political elite attitude’ Posted: 12 Apr 2013 03:14 PM PDT 
Boo Su-Lyn, TMI Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee has grumbled about being accustomed to Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) "overbearing Malaya political elite attitude" in a fight over seats ahead of Election 2013. Yong (picture) said he was willing to cede the Penampang and Sandakan parliamentary seats to PKR and the DAP, respectively, in the 13th general election ― both of which he said SAPP could field "winnable candidates" ― but pointed out that the PR parties still insisted on contesting the state seats. "They think they're so great; they can roughshod over Sabahans," Yong told The Malaysian Insider in an interview at the SAPP operations centre here this week. "I'm utterly disappointed, but not surprised," added the former Sabah chief minister. Yong said SAPP was open to PR contesting the majority of the 25 federal seats in Sabah, but stressed that the state seats should be left to local parties. "Pakatan is forcing three-cornered fights on us. Anwar and Lim Kit Siang said Pakatan does not expect to win Sabah. So we don't know why they want to disturb the state seats," he said, referring to Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and DAP stalwart Lim. "Let the local parties have the majority of state seats and we'll let them capture most of the parliamentary seats. Pakatan just wants six, seven, twelve MPs," added Yong. Yong said his party would contest most of the 60 state seats in Sabah. SAPP, which left Barisan Nasional (BN) in September 2008, currently has two MPs ― Datuk Eric Enchin Majimbun in Sepanggar and Datuk Chua Soon Bui in Tawau ― as well as two assemblymen within the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary constituency, Datuk Liew Teck Chan in Likas and Melanie Chia in Luyang. The ruling coalition swept the state in Election 2008, with the DAP winning only the Kota Kinabalu federal seat and the Sri Tanjong state seat. Yong also said SAPP would support Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, chief of the Sabah State Reform Party (STAR), in the Bingkor state seat in Keningau. READ MORE HERE |
| PAS will shield all from race clash, veep vows Posted: 12 Apr 2013 03:08 PM PDT 
Debra Chong, TMI PAS will protect all Malaysians from any racial confrontation that may happen after the May 5 polls, Datuk Mahfuz Omar pledged even as he lashed out at its instigator, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The vice-president of the Islamist opposition party accused Dr Mahathir of being an author of racial strife bent on selling the politics of fear through the former prime minister's blog. "It's no secret that Dr Mahathir is very afraid to face the general election this time, in fact he has been reported saying he was more worried about his grandchildren's safety compared to his own if Pakatan Rakyat wins," Mahfuz was quoted saying today by PAS news portal, Harakah. "His writing clearly is a desperate attempt by Dr Mahathir to spread his fear to the rakyat and an invitation to share in his personal fears," he added, referring to the veteran Umno politician's latest blog posting two days ago, titled "Gelang Patah". In it, Dr Mahathir warned Malaysians that a "racial confrontation" was imminent if the DAP's Lim Kit Siang were to win the Gelang Patah federal seat in Johor, the birthplace of Umno at the 13th general election. Seemingly rushing to defend Lim, his political ally in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact, Mahfuz was reported holding up Dr Mahathir's statement as further evidence that the ex-prime minister was fearful to face the people's anger towards Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition it fronts in the May 5 polls. He said PAS had not only worked to prevent racial strife, which he claimed to be stoked by Umno via Dr Mahathir's blog entry, but was committed to ensure the safety of all races. "But we give our commitment to protect and care for the safety of all Malaysians, regardless if Malay, Chinese or Indians if a racial confrontation happens as Dr Mahathir aspires in his blog," the Johor PAS chief was quoted saying. READ MORE HERE |
| ‘Esok lepas kita menang, anda semua tukar kereta Camry,’ kata calon PKR Posted: 12 Apr 2013 03:06 PM PDT (Bernama) - Calon PKR Parlimen Balik Pulau Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, 48, menunjukkan sikap tidak patriotik beliau apabila mengagungkan kereta import berbanding kereta buatan tempatan dalam satu ceramah di sini malam tadi. Dalam ceramah anjuran pakatan pembangkang di pasar awam di sini yang dihadiri 300 orang, Muhammad Bakhtiar, seorang aktivis reformasi sejak 1998, berkata: "Esok selepas kita menang, anda semua tukar kereta Camry daripada Proton Wira yang digunakan sekarang." Yang turut hadir, Pesuruhjaya PAS negeri, Datuk Mohd Salleh Man, Pengerusi DAP negeri, Chow Kon Yeow, Setiausaha Politik Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, Zairil Khir Johari dan calon PAS Dewan Undangan Negeri Bayan Lepas, Asnah Hashim. Terdahulu, ketika berceramah di Teluk Bahang petang semalam, Muhammad Bakhtiar dilihat hadir dengan menaiki kereta mewah Porsche Cayenne S berwarna hitam bersama pemandu peribadi beliau. Berucap hanya kira-kira 10 minit beliau memberi alasan isi ucapannya telah disampaikan aktivis DAP, Hew Kuan Yau sebelum giliran beliau. Dua hari lepas 100 penyokong dan anggota PKR membantah keputusan ketua umum parti itu Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim mempertaruhkan Muhammad Bakhtiar bertanding kerusi Parlimen Balik Pulau pada pilihan raya umum ke-13 (PRU13), 5 Mei ini. Anwar mengumumkan keputusan itu pada satu ceramah di Sungai Ara 5 April lalu. Kumpulan itu mengadakan perhimpunan secara aman di Jalan Baru di sini bagi menyatakan sokongan terhadap penyandang Mohd Yusmadi Mohd Yusoff untuk mempertahankan kerusi itu. |
| DAP told to attend ROS inquiry on April 18 Posted: 12 Apr 2013 03:02 PM PDT 
Opalyn Mok, TMI DAP has been told to attend an inquiry by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) on April 18. DAP national chairman Karpal Singh said the party received a letter from the ROS on April 9 instructing the party's election returning officer Pooi Weng Keong and election strategist Ong Kian Ming to attend the inquiry as witnesses. The inquiry, which will start at 10am, will be conducted by investigating officer Insp Mohd Nawawi Mat. The inquiry is regarding the party polls in December last year where a 'technical glitch' occurred, resulting in an error in the vote count which saw none of the Malay candidates being elected into its central executive committee (CEC). A recount was conducted which saw Zairil Khir Johari elected to the CEC where the actual votes received by him totalled 803 as compared to 305 in the erroneous results. The whole CEC lineup remains unchanged despite the recount. The party then conducted audits of the recount, led by Ong and also by an external chartered accountant firm, and confirmed the results of the recount as accurate and free from error. This issue attracted criticisms from the party's political foes and also from disgruntled members who filed complaints with the ROS. "We have been requested to supply documents relating to the party elections including notices sent out to delegates during the inquiry," Karpal said in a press conference at the Air Itam Market this morning. "We will supply all the information and documents in support of the party elections in compliance with ROS," he said. He pointed out that the errors in the party polls were due to a technical glitch so there was no fraud or misrepresentation involved. "There have been calls for DAP to be deregistered. The deregistration of a party is a serious matter," he said. He said the ROS may have the power to deregister a party but this can only be done after an in-depth investigation had been conducted and backed up by solid evidence. "As the investigation falls on April 18, it is virtually impossible that they will make a decision before April 20, which is the nomination date, so the ROS should refrain from making decisions before then," the incumbent Bukit Gelugor MP said. READ MORE HERE |
| GE13: The good, the bad and the ugly Posted: 12 Apr 2013 02:53 PM PDT Malaysia is probably living one of its most exciting times, with delayed polls, never before seen handouts and an opposition strangulating the regime to its last breath. Ali Cordoba, FMT Malaysia's upcoming general election on May 5 seems to be scripted from the Hollywood western, 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly' but there is a surprise on the timeline. The battle to govern the nation is pitting Pakatan Rakyat leader, Anwar Ibrahim, who is living the greatest political revival in Malaysia's history, against a regime that has probably overspent its days in power. The irony of the parallel to the United States is that the ruling Barisan National is run by an old guard, shadowing a younger generation with similarities to the Republican Party. The BN, with Umno at the helm, headed by Najib Tun Razak, is intricately mired in the gripping embrace of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. The behind the scenes politics and the power deals that form part of the BN's litany of errors have in a sense contributed in catapulting the opposition to greater heights. Mahathir, fighting for his legacy and for the new Malays he helped create, is putting Umno into jeopardy, forcing it to embark on a suicidal mission to defy the people and maintain the status-quo. The bunch of old men, gunslingers of the past, have laid down the rules for Umno and BN in the wake of the GE13 and it is with their dusty intentions that the ruling coalition is going into the battle against Pakatan, re-branding the old tune into a new ring tone. Again behind the scenes, is Daim Zainuddin and to a lesser extent Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, clamouring for BN to remain in power while the people seem to understand they are struggling to keep alive their own legacies. The legacy of the Mahathir era is rigged with incidents and events that have marred the country for good, including the 'Malaysia Boleh' slogan, the Memali incident, the al-Maunah episode and the reformasi era. Mahathir is not opposing Anwar to secure the memories left behind by the street battles of the reformasi crowd seeking change in the country, but he is batting for the total recall of such vivid memories. And by recall, it clearly means the erasing of the history of the reformasi movement with the elder statesman calling for Anwar to be burried in GE13.
The sinking ship Mahathir and men of his ilk are defending their legacies of ISA arrests, the beating of Anwar in jail and of his supporters in the streets, the fallacies of the Sodomy 1 and 2 saga and cronies eating up the wealth of the country are the uglier ones in Malaysia's political arena. Then came the Najib Tun Razak era, tainted with the Scorpene scandal and the Altantunya Shaariibuu affair, with a government that did everything to become the copycat of the policies formulated by the opposition. Najib will be remembered for the lackluster BN in power, shackled by Anwar's exuberance and his forceful character whom they could not eliminate despite the plethora of ugly sex videos. READ MORE HERE |
| Jui Meng champions PR cause Posted: 12 Apr 2013 12:23 PM PDT 
(The Malay Mail) - Johor PKR chief confident, gives full support to Lim in Gelang Patah TMM: Are you upset that DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang is replacing you in Gelang Patah? Chua Jui Meng : If I were upset, I would not be making all these statements or speak to you. Previously I said in my press conference that I welcome and honour Lim in Gelang Patah. I even told the 40,000 people during the announcement to fully support him. I told them that Lim is a leader of integrity and had even sacrificed his comfortable seat in Ipoh Timur to contest in Gelang Patah. TMM: How was your relationship with Johor DAP and PAS after all the controversy? CJM: Excellent. I have a good relationship with PR in Johor. Today, we went along together for my election campaign at Kampung Abdullah, Jementah and other places to meet the public. The DAP candidate, Pang Hock Leong (former Bekok assemblyman) whom I will be replacing also spoke during a press conference and expressed full support for me. TMM: There is speculation that some members of the public especially DAP voters in Segamat aren't supporting you as a candidate. Is that true? CJM: It's not true, it's only a rumour. As I said earlier, Pang cleared the issue by speaking to the people in Segamat on that matter. TMM: As the Johor PKR chief what are your expectations for 13th general election in Johor? CJM: My expectations! That PR will at least win a minimum of 13 or 14 seats from the 26 parliamentary seats in Johor. As for the state seats, we stand a chance to form a government by winning a minimum of 29 from 56 seats. But I'm not going to tell you which seats we consider as winnable seats. TMM: What's next for you, and what will you bring to Segamat? CJM: I ought to win the Segamat seat. My message for them during the campaign is change and reform. However, most importantly, my emphasis is that people are the focus of our government's activities, we will not allow cronyism or family networks to interfere. TMM: What's next for you, and what will you bring to Segamat? CJM: I ought to win the Segamat seat. My message for them during the campaign is change and reform. However, most importantly, my emphasis is that people are the focus of our government's activities, we will not allow cronyism or family networks to interfere. |
| Tun Mahathir calon Putrajaya ganti Ku Nan? Posted: 12 Apr 2013 12:17 PM PDT 
(Sinar Harian) - Apakah Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad akan menentang calon Pas, Datuk Husam Musa merebut kerusi Parlimen Putrajaya pada Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 (PRU13)? 'Arkitek' pembangunan Putrajaya itu dikatakan sudah mengadakan pertemuan dengan Pengerusi Barisan Nasional (BN), Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak untuk berbincang perkara berkaitan kerusi di kawasan pusat pentadbiran kerajaan persekutuan itu. Sumber Sinar Harian yang mendapat maklumat daripada Pejabat Perdana Menteri juga mengesahkan tentang pertemuan antara Najib dan bekas perdana menteri itu baru-baru ini. Dr Mahathir yang menjadi perdana menteri sejak 1981 bersara pada Oktober 2003 dan tidak bertanding pada pilihan raya umum 2004 dan 2008. Beliau telah beberapa kali menyatakan tidak berhasrat untuk kembali aktif dalam politik termasuk bertanding dalam pilihan raya umum. Bagaimanapun beliau berkempen dengan kuat bagi Umno dan BN sejak empat tahun lalu khususnya selepas Najib menjadi perdana menteri. Dr Mahathir dipercayai mungkin mengambil keputusan bertanding kerusi Parlimen Putrajaya itu setelah mendapati sebahagian besar pengundi di Putrajaya adalah dari Kelantan di mana mempunyai sentimen kuat terhadap Pas dan calon Pas pula berasal dari Kelantan. Kesungguhan Dr Mahathir menawarkan diri untuk bertanding pada kali ini dikatakan dibuat bagi memastikan Putrajaya yang dibangunkan dari pemikiran dan aspirasi beliau terus kekal di tangan BN. Penganalisis politik, Prof Datuk Mohamad Abu Bakar berkata, Dr Mahathir, bekas Presiden Umno dan Pengerusi BN, mempunyai pengaruh yang kuat dan kini dilihat begitu bekerja keras berkempen di seluruh negara. "Najib kemungkinan mengambil perhatian serius terhadap tawaran yang disuarakan bekas perdana menteri itu untuk bersaing Husam merebut kerusi Parlimen Putrajaya. "Perdana menteri akan buat keputusan terbaik menentukan calon BN di kawasan tersebut dan kemungkinan terpengaruh dan mengambil kira tawaran Mahathir untuk bertanding itu," katanya. Najib dijangka mengumumkan senarai calon BN Selasa ini. Mohamad yang juga ada mendengar berita mengenai hasrat Dr Mahathir bertanding di Putrajaya itu memberitahu, pemimpin berstatus negarawan itu akan berhadapan dengan dua implikasi jika bertanding kali ini. "Pertamanya, jika Mahathir kembali bertanding dalam pilihan raya, ia akan melambangkan BN kini ketandusan calon boleh menang," katanya. Keduanya, kata Mohamad, Dr Mahathir akan dilihat telah mengambil pendirian bertentangan dengan semangatnya sebelum ini yang sering menasihati pemimpin veteran berundur bagi memberi laluan muka baru. "Sebelum ini Mahathir lantang menegur pemimpin veteran seperti Mursyidul Am Pas, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat dan Penasihat DAP, Lim Kit Siang supaya berundur. "Jika Mahathir bertanding pada PRU13 ini akan lebih memperlihatkan BN terdesak dan ketandusan calon," katanya. Mohamad juga tidak menolak kemungkinan faktor kenegerian memainkan turut memainkan peranan mempengaruhi undi. "Penduduk di Putrajaya majoritinya adalah Melayu, generasi kelas menengah yang kini hidup selesa di mana mereka tidak kisah parti mana yang memerintah sama ada Pakatan Rakyat atau BN. "Malah ia satu yang tidak mengejutkan jika ada yang mengatakan majoriti penjawat awam di situ berasal dari negeri Kelantan," katanya. Sekarang terpulang kepada Setiausaha Agung Umno dan BN, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor sama ada mahu beralah melepaskan kerusi itu. Laporan media sebelum ini menyebut Tengku Adnan yang mesra dengan panggilan Ku Nan akan bertanding mempertahankan kerusi tersebut. |
| Mahathir blasts S'pore to rally poll support for BN Posted: 12 Apr 2013 12:13 PM PDT 
(Straits Times) - FORMER Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is one of those tasked with campaigning for the Barisan Nasional slate in Johor, has reached for an old playbook in order to drum up support - by hitting out at Singapore. In a blog posting on Thursday, he accused the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) of wanting to end the traditional Malay-Chinese cooperation in Malaysia. This concord, he said, is premised on the kongsi, or sharing, principle of "not taking all our entitlements for ourselves but sacrificing some so others may get their share". Instead, the DAP wants to implement meritocracy, which he said the ruling People's Action Party in Singapore champions and is "about the winners taking all". "The meritocracy promoted by the DAP will mean diminishing opportunities for the Malays in education and in business," he said. "This will result in the Malays becoming less and less qualified and poorer." He went on to say that if DAP leader Lim Kit Siang wins Gelang Patah, a closely watched seat in Johor, an "unhealthy racial confrontation" will be the result. Tun Dr Mahathir also voiced a similar theme during a speech last Saturday to rally support for the BN in Selangor. "DAP uses the PAP way. When PAP was in Malaysia, it used the slogan 'Malaysian Malaysia'. It said Malays took everything, others nothing. Is that true?" he said. "We see that other races have wealth. "There are hundreds of millionaires among them today." He added that while Singapore closed Chinese vernacular schools, Malaysia allowed them, although most of its leaders are Malay. This shows the government's "fairness", which contrasts with the "racism of DAP". At recent Umno rallies in Johor, the state closest to Singapore, speakers alleged that Malay Singaporeans had been marginalised, and warned local Malays of a similar fate if they voted opposition. Read more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/asia-report/malaysia-elections/news/story/mahathir-blasts-spore-rally-poll-support-bn- |
| Longhouse chiefs: Land shown in Global Witness video exists Posted: 12 Apr 2013 12:08 PM PDT 
(Borneo Post) - They decided to come forward after reading Minister of Land Development Tan Sri Dr James Masing's remarks, which was front-paged by The Borneo Post yesterday, that he doubted the existence of the land. The piece of land in Julau which was highlighted in the controversial video produced by London-based Global Witness exists. 
Two longhouse chiefs from Julau, who is laying claim on part of the said land, said details of the land shown in the video were genuine. Tuai Rumah Banggom Alan from Nanga Bangkit Ulu Entabai and Tuai Rumah Pius Juyuk showed a copy of land details to The Borneo Post yesterday to prove their claim. They decided to come forward after reading Minister of Land Development Tan Sri Dr James Masing's remarks, which was front-paged by The Borneo Post yesterday, that he doubted the existence of the land. Masing said most of the land around that area (in Julau) had been cultivated by shifting cultivators for more than a century as it was one of the earliest settlements in the state, and as such there was no more timber of value left. "I know Julau land very well; it is very hilly and undulated and, therefore, it is not suitable for agricultural purposes. Only a stupid fool will buy it," said Masing. Based on an extract of the document, the land comprising an area of approximately 5,000 hectares is located in Section/Block No. 018 and Parcel/Lot No. 00002 of Tekoyong Land District. It has been issued to a company as a Provisional Lease of State Land for a period of 60 years – from February 8, 2011, to February 7, 2071. The land is classified as Mixed Zone Land, categorised as Country Land and is meant for agricultural purposes. Its annual rent is RM12,500. Banggom and Pius claimed they did not know the 'new' owners of the said land. "We are only interested in the land as we believe part of it is our native customary right (NCR) land. "It is our hope that we will get it when the Land and Survey Department carries out a perimeter survey later on". They added that they were told the land had not been surveyed yet.
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| Pak Samad tells voters to oust BN Posted: 11 Apr 2013 10:48 PM PDT 
Bersih 2.0 co-chairman Datuk A. Samad Said openly called on voters on 6 April 2013 to support the opposition and use this "once chance" to end BN rule in GE13, reports Syed Jaymal Zahiid of the Malaysian Insider. This is the first time the national literary icon, popularly known as Pak Samad, has openly urged Malaysians to back the federal opposition coalition to "overhaul" the government and "amend the broken machinery" like health care and education, which Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has promised to deliver. "This is our chance… the time has come for us to overhaul the government to that power would fall in the right hands. "This is our opportunity to amend the broken machinery like health care, education and democracy of which have been promised by the opposition," he said at an event organised by polls reform group Bersih 2.0 in Selayang. Bersih 2.0, a coalition of over 80 non-governmental organisations, has in the past been forced to defend itself against criticisms calling it a partisan group, largely due to the immense support it had received from PR leaders for its street protests. The former national laureate Samad said now is a critical time for voters to ask themselves why the same coalition has ruled Malaysia for more than five decades and why is it those in power are only Malays. "I am also a Malay but I often asked why is it that the powers above me are only Malays? "Tunku Abdul Rahman was a Malay, (Tun) Abdul Razak was a Malay, (Tun) Hussein Onn was a Malay, (Tun Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad) is not a pure Malay but can be considered a Malay… (Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak) is also a Malay," he said. Despite a solid Malay leadership for 56 years, Samad pointed to the racist tactic used by the ruling coalition to keep the country's ethnic majority on its side. "So why are we repeatedly reminded that the Malay rights will be threatened?" The private screenings of controversial 'Tanda Putera' film, purportedly depicting the May 1969 racial riots, only to Malays in the run-up to the elections was a testimony to the racism perpetrated by the BN government, he added. "It is to sow fear in the heart of the Malays," he said. Bersih 2.0 is now leading the campaign to reform Malaysia's polling system, which the coalition of rights groups claimed is rife with irregularities. It is also launching a nationwide tour to educate voters on election laws aimed at making them 'citizen observers' and to reduce fraud including curbing vote-buying under its 'Jom Pantau (Let's Monitor)' campaign. Samad pointed to widespread vote-buying when the Najib administration gave out cash handouts to key constituents under the People's 1 Malaysia Aid (BR1M) programme, which he said signalled BN's fear that its rule would come to an end soon. "You must ask why is it that the government had suddenly want to give out money? This government is desperate, that is why they even promised more BR1M," he said. READ MORE HERE |
| All systems go for Uthayakumar Posted: 11 Apr 2013 10:34 PM PDT 
With the election deposit paid, Uthayakumar is set to contest for the Kota Raja parliamentary seat and the Sri Andalas state seat. Alyaa Azhar, FMT Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar is going ahead with his plans to contest for the Kota Raja parliamentary seat and Sri Andalas state seat in the 13th general election. "Right now, it's all systems go, regardless of whether I'll stand as an independent candidate or under the Pakatan Rakyat banner," said Uthayakumar after paying his election deposit for both seats at the Selangor Election Commission office today. A sum of RM10,000 was paid for the Kota Raja parliamentary seat with an additional RM5,000 for campaign materials, and RM8,000 was paid for the Sri Andalas state seat, inclusive of campaign materials. Uthayakumar also explained why he is "forced" to contest in the coming election. "We are forced to contest because as opposed to Pakatan's promise made in 2008, it has failed to deliver even one of Hindraf's 18-point demands. "Even Pakatan's manifesto has nothing to deliver for the Indians and Anwar Ibrahim has refused to sign our 18-point demands," he said. He stressed that at least one Hindraf MP is needed to put pressure on Pakatan not to implement racist policies against the Indian poor. "The Indian poor need to focus because the problems plaguing them are critical," he said. Uthayakumar, who is also Human Rights Party Malaysia's (HRP) pro-tem secretary-general, said that out of the 222 parliamentary seats and 576 state seats, Pakatan has refused to make way for even one seat for Hindraf. "This is unfair. I have even agreed to contest under the Pakatan ticket against BN so that there won't be a split of opposition votes but Pakatan has rejected me. "If Pakatan does not make way for us, Pakatan is the one splitting the vote," said Uthayakumar. READ MORE HERE |
| Malaysia GE13: 'Racial confrontation' if Lim Kit Siang wins Johor seat, says Mahathir Posted: 11 Apr 2013 10:29 PM PDT 
(Straits Times) - Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has claimed that there will be conflict between races if opposition veteran Lim Kit Siang wins a seat in Johor.
Writing on his blog (chedet.cc) on Thursday, Dr Mahathir said Johor has been a stronghold for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition since independence, and people there "do not have strong racist feelings". "But Kit Siang is going to bring about conflict and antagonism between the races, to wage the Chinese to dislike and hate the Malays," he wrote. He added: "An unhealthy racial confrontation would replace Sino-Malay cooperation which has made Malaysia stable and prosperous." Mr Lim announced last month that he would move from his longtime seat in Perak to contest in Johor's Gelang Patah seat. Fast-developing Gelang Patah is at the heart of Iskandar Malaysia and houses Johor's administrative capital, Nusajaya. More than half of the voters are Chinese. Dr Mahathir, who has emerged one of BN's chief campaigners, urged voters over the weekend to make the seat a "burial ground" for Mr Lim's politics. |
| Anwar cancels announcement of Sabah PKR candidates, cites conflicts Posted: 11 Apr 2013 08:29 PM PDT 
Boo Su-Lyn, TMI Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has cancelled his announcement of Sabah PKR candidates, citing unresolved conflicts over a few seats. The PKR de facto leader also said today that he has assured Tuaran PKR chief Ansari Abdullah that the latter's list of proposed candidates would be considered. "In Sabah, the reason why I'm not announcing the candidates now is because although many seats have been finalised, there are still conflicts over one or two," said Anwar (picture) at a press conference in Likas here today. "I don't want to complicate matters. I'm not ready to announce yet," added the opposition leader. PKR deputy president Azmin Ali dismissed Ansari's candidate list last Friday as "mere suggestions". Ansari had announced that he would contest the Tuaran federal seat, besides naming candidates for six other parliamentary seats. The current Tuaran MP is Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing, who had defected from BN component party UPKO and formed his own party called APS in alliance with Pakatan Rakyat (PR). READ MORE HERE |
| Ambiga: I don’t campaign for Pakatan Posted: 11 Apr 2013 08:18 PM PDT 
Responding to her critics, the Bersih chairperson says she focuses on voter education and is willing to speak on the same issue at BN ceramahs, if she is invited. RK Anand, FMT This is a rose which never ceases to be a thorn in the flesh of Barisan Nasional. To the point that some have even called for her citizenship to be revoked. And now her recent ceramah in Seremban, which drew a mammoth crowd who braved the rain, is said to have rattled those in the ruling coalition once again. Following this, Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga has come under fire, with critics again taking a swipe at her for gracing opposition events despite insisting that the polls watchdog is non-partisan. Defending herself, the former Bar Council president told FMT that it is the opposition parties which invite her to educate voters on their rights. "I don't campaign for anyone. This is about voter education. I impress upon them the importance of good governance and call on them to vote out corrupt politicians and those who abuse their powers. "Unless BN fits the bill, they have no reason to be worried or complain," said Ambiga, adding that she would be more than willing to attend BN functions if invited. However, the Bersih chairperson stressed that even if she is invited to speak at a BN ceramah, she would state the same points vis-a-vis the absence of a level playing field, the elections are not clean and that the rotten must be voted out. She also pointed out that Bersih has invited BN leaders to attend its events on numerous occasions, but none of them turned up. "This is like a spoilt brat who does not attend a birthday party despite being extended an invitation and later complains about the other guests who show up," she said. Ambiga also explained that voter education included telling the people not to be afraid of change. "There are those who frighten the people on the ground, especially the Indian community with talks of riot and whatnot if there is a change in government. "I tell voters not to let fear dictate their choice, it is their freedom of choice. This is not campaigning for the opposition but getting the message across to voters on their rights," she said. While Ambiga said she has no problems with being scrutinised, she however hoped that the spotlight would be turned on the Election Commission instead, which she accused of being partisan in the discharging of its duties.
'I am not contesting' The Bersih leader also reiterated her stand of not contesting in the general election after speculations resurfaced following her recent visit to Cameron Highlands. She had attended a Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) fund-raiser and this led to rumours of her wanting to take on MIC president G Palanivel, who is slated to contest the parliamentary seat. READ MORE HERE |
| Again, PKR leaves Khalid’s future as MB open to speculation Posted: 11 Apr 2013 08:07 PM PDT 
Syed Jaymal Zahiid, TMI PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has refused to confirm if the party would keep Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor mentri besar should Pakatan Rakyat (PR) retains Selangor in Election 2013, further fuelling speculation that he may be axed from the post. When asked on the matter, Dr Wan Azizah said there are other capable leaders suitable for the post and the candidacy is not an issue as long as the coalition implements good governance in the country's industrial capital. "We have a few capable leaders, now as many as Barisan Nasional, so crowded, but Khalid is one of them because he has a track record, doesn't matter as long as the right policies are there," she told reporters at the party's headquarters here. Asked if that means Khalid will likely be dropped, Dr Wan Azizah refused to comment but said the former could still be the mentri besar. "There is a probability that he will be MB but like I said there are other capable leaders," she said. The Malaysian Insider had previoulsy reported that uncertainty hangs over Abdul Khalid's political future in Selangor as sources in PR have indicated that the interim mentri besar could lose his post even if the pact retains the state in Election 2013. The PKR leadership has so far refrained from confirming if Khalid (picture) would be selected to defend his seat, in light of growing anger among locals who purportedly view the politician as an "absent" representative. The Malaysian Insider understands the party leadership had also, at one point, considered dropping Khalid as its Ijok candidate following concerns that the mentri besar could lose the seat. Talks that Khalid would be dropped first surfaced when PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced in October last year that the former would remain as PKR's Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary candidate but did not state if Khalid (picture) would defend Ijok. READ MORE HERE |
| The question of cowardice (UPDATED with Chinese Translation) Posted: 11 Apr 2013 07:08 PM PDT The problem is: they disparage me for refusing to return to Malaysia. However, if I do return to Malaysia and nothing happens, they will say I have made a deal with Umno. And if I return to Malaysia and I get arrested, they will say that it is merely wayang to stop people from saying I have made a deal with Umno. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin According to Haris Ibrahim's blog, I am a coward for living in exile in the UK. It is interesting that Haris came out with this anti-RPK campaign at the same time that I published my article 'The consistency of change'. It looks like Haris, too, has changed his stance. He now feels I should be in jail rather than in Manchester. I suppose he is of the opinion that if I support Pakatan Rakyat then I should be in Manchester but if I do not support Pakatan Rakyat then I should instead be in jail. I thought justice was about getting a fair trial and about being spared selective prosecution cum political persecution and not about you should be free only if you are anti-government but behind bars if you are not anti-government. Anyway, laws are always subject to one's interpretation and most times people twist laws to conveniently suit their political agenda. The government does it and so does, it appears, the opposition as well. I remember that Haris was one of those who disagreed with my plan to stay in Malaysia and risk a third detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA). He was also one of those who disagreed with my plan to refuse bail and instead serve time in the Sungai Buloh Prison while awaiting trial. He, together with my wife who was in tears, pleaded with me to accept bail because, according to Haris, I would be more useful as a free man running Malaysia Today rather than behind bars with no one to manage the website. Haris was also the one who almost had a punch-up in Bangkok with the police officers from Malaysia because they wanted me to follow them to the Malaysian Embassy in Bangkok. Haris felt that it may be a trap to arrest me and smuggle me back to Malaysia and he was adamant that I stay in the hotel than risk getting trapped in the Malaysian Embassy where the Thai government would be powerless to help me. I was prepared to take that risk but Haris told my wife to lock me in the hotel room and not allow me to leave while he and another lawyer, Amarjit Sidhu, follow the police officers to the Embassy to establish what was going on. Later that night they returned to the hotel and told me that they smelled a rat and that I should not go to the Embassy. I am not blaming Haris for me being here in Manchester but he made it very clear, and even publicly stated so, that he was dead opposed to me spending my days in jail. Now he has changed his mind and feels that I am a coward for refusing to go to jail. So what I wrote in my article 'The consistency of change' that people do change has been proven right after all. Anyway, I think it is an insult to Sun Yat-sen to say that those who choose exile over jail are cowards. Sun Yat-sen, too, spent time in exile in Japan and was financially supported by a democratic revolutionary named Miyazaki Toten. Sun Yat-sen also spent time in exile in Europe, the United States, and Canada where he raised money for his revolutionary party and to support uprisings in China. Sun Yat-sen is definitely not considered a coward for refusing to go back to China to spend the rest of his days in jail. In fact, in 1896, Sun Yat-sen was detained at the Chinese Legation in London. He was released after 12 days through the efforts of James Cantlie, The Times, and the British Foreign Office, resulting in him becoming a hero (not a coward) in Britain. Sayyid Ruhollah Mostafavi Musavi Khomeini, too, spent 14 years in exile and only returned to Iran in 1979 after the Shah had been toppled. Joseph Stalin was also in exile and only returned to Russia in 1917 when the Russian Revolution succeeded, as did Vladimir Lenin -- both heroes, and not cowards, of the Russian Revolution. I do not like to use Prophet Muhammad as another example lest people misinterpret this as me comparing myself to the Prophet but he too spent eight years in exile until he had a large enough army to return to Mekah unmolested in 630. In fact, history is rife with political exiles -- Englishmen exiled in France and Frenchmen exiled in England. Voltaire, Norodom Sihanouk, Bahadur Shah II, Alberto Fujimori, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Erich Honecker, Alan García, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, King Zog, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew Louis-Napoléon, and many, many more all spent time in exile -- the list is just too long. Anyway, what I had commented on was the call for Malaysians to kill and/or die to prevent phantom voters from casting their votes on 5th May 2013. My contention is that Malaysians would be the last one to put their life on the line when even getting them to register to post comments in Malaysia Today is impossible. Hardly 1% would dare do that because they fear that their identity may be known. If they do not even dare reveal their identity how can we expect these people to kill and/or die to prevent phantom voters from casting their votes? Do you know that many people do not even dare vote because they are worried that their vote is not secret and the government or police would know whom they voted for? There is even a protest because the ballot papers are marked with serial numbers. So what if people know who you vote for? What is wrong with that? Whenever I vote I proudly hold up my ballot paper for all and sundry to see and to make sure that they can see that I voted for the opposition before I put it into the ballot box. And here people refuse to vote in case others get to know whom they voted for. And these same people call me a coward? If I am a coward for showing everyone my ballot paper then what do we call those who refuse to vote because they fear people will find out who they voted for? Malaysians are real strange creatures indeed. And they don't realise that when they insult me they also insult Prophet Muhammad, Sun Yat-sen, Khomeini and thousands of other people whom history has labelled as great people and heroes because they went into exile. The problem is: they disparage me for refusing to return to Malaysia. However, if I do return to Malaysia and nothing happens, they will say I have made a deal with Umno. And if I return to Malaysia and I get arrested, they will say that it is merely wayang to stop people from saying I have made a deal with Umno. And the question is: why do they now want me to return to Malaysia and go to jail whereas in the beginning they were adamant that I stay free and out of jail? Only an idiot would require me to answer that question. *************************************** 懦夫的問題
他們鄙視我，說我不敢回去。但如果我真的囘去了而沒有事情發生的話，他們會說我私底下早和巫統僑好了。即使我真的被捉，他們還是會講這只是場'wayang'，演出的目的是要阻止所有人講説我私底下早就和巫統僑好的。
原文：Raja Petra Kamarudin
譯文：方宙
Haris Ibrahim的博客裏寫到，我是個流放英國的懦夫。
能夠看到在我發表'不變的改變'（http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/no-holds-barred/55836-the-consistency-of-change ）這篇文章的同時Haris 也提出'反RPK運動'，這真的是很有趣。看起來Haris也在改變中，他現在認爲我應該在監獄裏而不是曼徹斯特。
我想，他應該是這樣認爲的：如果我支持民聯那我可以待在曼徹斯特，反之我則應該在監牢裏度日。
我還以爲正義是你能夠得到公平的審訊，而不是得到含選擇性或政治性的檢控，也不是說你反政府就能自由而你贊同政府就得入獄。
無論如何，法律是很視乎個人詮釋的，很多時候很多人會扭曲法律來達到他們的政治議程。囯陣這麽做，現在看來民聯也是。
我記得Haris 是其中一個不贊同我留在馬來西亞而冒著第三次被政府用内安法令扣留的危險。他也不認同我不要交保釋金而要在Sungai Buloh扣留所等候發審的想法。他當時和我那淚流滿面的妻子一起哀求我交保釋金，他認爲我出來操作Malaysia Today會好過我在監獄裏一無所為。
Haris 也在曼谷因爲大馬警察要'陪伴'我到大馬大使館而幾乎和他們拳腳相加。他認爲那是個圈套，儅我進了大使館以後他們就會扣留我再而把我遷囘大馬。他堅決要我留在酒店裏而不是被套在泰國警方無法保護我的大使館裏。
正當我準備要冒險時，Haris叫我妻子把我鎖在酒店内，然後他和另一個律師Amarjit Sidhu親自到大使館看個究竟。當晚他們回報說他們覺得有問題而勸我別去。
我並沒有因我現在身在曼徹斯特而怪罪Haris ，他之前也很清楚地表明他不想我在監牢内度日，他甚至還爲此寫了公開文。但現在他改了想法，認爲說我是個不敢進牢的懦夫。所以我寫的那篇'不變的改變'的内容是很正確的。
我認爲那些發表'不去監牢而選擇流放的是懦夫'言論的人是對孫中山先生大大不敬的。孫中山先生曾經流放日本，而在當地他也接受了宫崎滔天（http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Dten_Miyazaki ），一個民主革命士的金錢資助。孫中山先生也曾流放美國，歐洲，加拿大等地向當地華人籌資來推動他的革命。
沒有人會因爲孫中山先生拒絕回到當時清朝統治的中國的監獄而把他稱爲懦夫。事實上，孫中山先生1986年在倫敦被中華使館拘捕。在James Cantlie，泰晤時報，和英國外交辦事處的周旋下，他于12天后獲釋。當時他被稱爲是英雄而不是懦夫。
Sayyid Ruhollah Mostafavi Musavi Khomeini也一樣流放他國14年。他在1979年巴列维王朝
被推翻后才回到伊朗。史大林和列寧這兩名俄羅斯革命英雄也是在1917年革命成功后才結束流放的。
我不大喜歡用先知默罕默德舉例，因爲其他人可能認爲我把自己比喻成他。但是，先知也曾在外流放8年，直到630年，在他擁有強大的軍隊后他才回歸麥加。
事實上，人類歷史是充滿政治流放的。Voltaire, Norodom Sihanouk, Bahadur Shah II, Alberto Fujimori, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Erich Honecker, Alan García, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, King Zog, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Napoleon Bonaparte外甥Louis-Napoléon,還有很多很多人都曾在外流放過。
話説回來，我要提的是，我呼籲所有馬來西亞人要'不惜一死'來防止幽靈選民在5月5號投票日投票。我此話的根據是，馬來西亞人是很'怕死怕輸'的，不到最後一秒鐘他們都不會行動。看看MT的讀者就知道，要他們註冊留言也難。只有至多1%的讀者敢那麽做，因爲其他人都害怕暴露他們的身份。
如果他們連暴露身份都不敢，那你還奢望他們能'不惜一死'來防止幽靈選民在5月5號投票日投票？
你知道嗎，很多人是連票都不敢投的，因爲他們擔心他們的選票並不保密，政府和警方都會知道他們投的人是誰。他們還因爲選票上有編號而投訴。如果真的有人知道你投誰，那到底有什麽問題？哪有什麽不對經呢？
儅我投票時，我會很自豪地高舉我的選票給四周圍的人看，我要他們看清楚我投的是反對黨。而在這裡他們就因爲擔心別人知道他們投給誰而連票也不敢投。這些就是把我叫成懦夫的人？如果我這個懦夫敢把我的選票公開給所有人看的話，那些不敢投票的人又是什麽？
馬來西亞人真的是個很奇怪的生物。儅他們侮辱我的時候他們並不知道他們也在侮辱著先知默罕默德，孫中山先生，和其他成千上萬曾經流放過的歷史偉人。
他們鄙視我，說我不敢回去。但如果我真的囘去了而沒有事情發生的話，他們會說我私底下早和巫統僑好了。即使我真的被捉，他們還是會講這只是場'wayang'，演出的目的是要阻止所有人講説我私底下早就和巫統僑好的。
最後的問題是，爲什麽現在他們要我回去坐監，而之前他們堅決地認爲我應該保住自由之身不應該坐牢呢？只有白痴才需要我解釋吧！ |
| PAS Leader Sex Video: The Conspiracy Theories Posted: 11 Apr 2013 05:12 PM PDT 
Farah Harith, Malaysian Digest The latest sex video allegedly involving an opposition politician may hit a snag almost as quickly as the video going viral. The video showing a man resembling PAS secretary-general Dato Mustafa Ali having sex with a woman in a hotel room was uploaded first by a blog Kedah69ers.com at 8.30pm last night.
It was then shared by several others with lengthier clips of the same video. The initial clip was a mere 4 seconds, with hapraknews.blogspot.com having an 11 minute version of it.
However, according to a posting on theflyingkick.blogspot.com today, the woman is believed to be Mustafa's second wife.
Another blog, daengselili.blogspot.com posted that an unnamed source has confirmed that the woman is in fact Mustafa's second wife, and that Mustafa is slated to hold a press conference today to explain the situation along with a copy of their marriage certificate.
As of press time, there has been no word yet on the press conference.
Meanwhile, PAS vice president Datuk Husam Musa, in a report on Malaysiakini this morning believes that the video is 'fake' and that PAS does not need to investigate the matter further.
Husam is confident that videos can be made up and this is an example of one such effort that is merely politically motivated.
"This does not effect Pakatan's campaign in any way," he added.
Earlier, controversial blogger, Papa Gomo had insinuated that the woman was hired by PKR, and that the whole scandal is part of the opposition coalition's alleged infighting.
That led to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) today denying any involvement in the distribution of the video cip.
Malaysiakini reported that PKR vice-president N Surendran issued a statement saying that the relations between PKR and other Pakatan Rakyat party component is cordial and that they are united in their fight to bring down Barisan Nasional (BN).
It was earlier rumored that several Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) members had been arrested in Terengganu for distributing VCDs of the video clip.
However a report on The Star quoted Terengganu CID Chief Assistant Commissioner K Manoharan as saying that while the police managed to seize the VCDs and several photographs, no arrests have been made.
Meanwhile, Suara Pakatan Rakyat came out with an article last night, after the release of the video clip, claiming that they were the first to report on the existence of a sex clip implicating Mustafa.
The blog, which the opposition coalition has denied having any control over, said that the first time they mentioned the existence of the video was in May last year.
They also allege that the 'hands' behind the video was a small group within PAS itself, in an effort to oust Mustafa. |
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