Sabtu, 21 September 2013

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Online campaign against Erdogans

Posted: 21 Sep 2013 09:55 AM PDT

A defined lobby of young, educated and ambitious ulama in PAS are using the Internet in an unprecedented way to undermine the Erdogan camp ahead of the party election in November.   

The PAS election has not received the kind of publicity that the Umno election is getting but it is no less intense or critical for the future of the party. Almost all the top posts are likely to be contested and only Hadi is assured of winning uncontested at this point in time.

Joceline Tan, The Star

ZAHARUDIN Muhammad of PAS is apparently quite amused at being compared to Umno's Khairy Jamaluddin. He has been labelled as "the son-in-law" by some PAS members and it is not exactly a compliment.

Zaharudin's father-in-law is none other than PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang and the young ustaz has been accused of using his family ties to influence decisions in the party. Zaharudin has brushed off the allegations but "the son-in-law" of PAS has been the subject of much debate in the Internet among the PAS crowd.

His detractors call him "Din Ayam" but it is easy to see why his father-in-law takes him seriously. Zaharudin was educated in Egypt and Syria; he speaks well and relies on facts rather than rhetoric to get his point across. He is a fierce defender of Hadi and has accused certain quarters in the party of trying to topple the president.

He is also an ally of PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan and deputy Youth chief Nik Abduh Nik Mat, whose father is Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat. They form the young and ultra-conservative cohort of PAS.

Zaharudin is not a rising star in his party as some have imagined but he is definitely part of the group which wants to see the ulama reassert their dominance at the party election and muktamar in November.

Intense challenge

The PAS election has not received the kind of publicity that the Umno election is getting but it is no less intense or critical for the future of the party. Almost all the top posts are likely to be contested and only Hadi is assured of winning uncontested at this point in time.

And like Umno, PAS is also going through a tug-of-war between those who want PAS to return to the good, old conservative ways and those who want the party to move on with the times.

But the most intriguing part of what is happening in the run-up to the polls is the way the pro-ulama group are using the Internet to campaign and, quite shockingly, to accuse and malign the other side, namely the professionals or the Erdogans as they are known.

PAS leaders have often denied that there is such a thing as "ulama versus Erdogans" in the party. They claim it was created by an imaginative media. But the rivalry between the ulama camp and the Erdogan gang is being played out in full view in Facebook and blogs. Some of the stuff posted will make you go OMG!

The pro-ulama camp, normally restrained and publicity shy, is now the aggressor, doing the attacks, making accusations against the Erdogans and even promoting certain ulama personalities.

And the warfare is most intense in El-Haraki, a fan page on Facebook. People in PAS pretend they do not read it, some even claim they have never heard of it, but all of them have been avidly following it because the kind of things posted on El-Haraki is something which has never happened before in PAS. The ulama are finally putting on their gameface for the big fight.

El-Haraki is Arabic for "social movement" and the people behind it are believed to be the young Turks among the ulama who have been unhappy with the way the Erdogans have dominated PAS politics over the last decade.

The Erdogan dominance was best epitomised by Mohamed Sabu winning the deputy president post in the last party polls while the three vice-president posts were won by non-ulama.

The chief targets of the pro-ulama group are those they call the "kepala-kepala Erdogan" (Erdogan chieftains), namely vice-president (VP) Datuk Husam Musa, treasurer Dr Hatta Ramli, central committee member Khalid Samad and strategic director Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

The pro-ulama group claim that the quartet are more concerned about Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's agenda than their own party's cause. They call the Erdogans "parasites," "Anwarinas" and "ular daun" (grass snakes), meaning they are the enemy within. But the most hurtful label of all has got to be "Umno agents".

Their attacks are being carried out in the name of saving PAS and the president. They also imagine that Husam is about to make a bid for the presidency even though he has said he is defending his post.

They have depicted Husam as a failed politician who has fallen out with the Kelantan palace and who is more interested in looking after his goats. There are lots of pictures of him cuddling and playing with goats.

This group of people are evidently well connected. They posted a letter showing how Husam's name was crossed out in the proposed list of exco members for the new Kelantan government. The rejection came from the palace and the letter has been verified by Kelantan sources as authentic.

It looks like the group is throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the quartet. Even a Hari Raya banner put up by the party's Batu division has come under attack because it did not include Hadi's picture.

A recent posting blamed Husam and Dr Hatta for Pakatan Rakyat's failure to capture Putrajaya and various states.

Smear campaign

Everything the quartet said and did in the last few years has been dredged out to be scrutinised and presented as proof of their "betrayal".

For instance, Instagrams of Dr Hatta flying to Kota Kinabalu in a private jet with Anwar and other Pakatan leaders are being used as proof of how close Dr Hatta is to the PKR leader, and he has been accused of preferring Anwar over Hadi as Prime Minister. Dr Hatta should have opted for an Air Asia flight – it would have been cheaper and less problematic.

Excerpts of an interview that Khalid, who is also Shah Alam MP, gave to a business weekly have been interpreted as his alleged pluralistic tendencies. That is a big no-no for PAS, which regards pluralism as a branch of liberal Islam that could destroy the religion.

They even claimed he had threatened to quit PAS if PKR's Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim was not reappointed Selangor Mentri Besar, which he has denied.

There were also posters of PAS' Khalid in a church. The stunt won him praise from non-Muslims but has returned to haunt him ahead of the party polls.

A previous remark by Dr Dzulkefly that PAS was ready for a non-Muslim as their deputy president is also being dragged out for airing.

Khalid has defended himself in a three-part article in his blog but the rest have chosen not to respond.

Those in the pro-ulama group are very protective of the top two – Hadi and Mursyidul Am Nik Aziz.

Their motto is: "To be with the ulama in PAS is akin to being with the Holy Prophet. Whoever goes against the ulama, they are on the way to hell."

Ulama figures like Kelantan deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Amar Nik Abdullah, Youth chief and Temerloh MP Nasrudin Hassan, and a host of other hardline ulama get favourable coverage in El-Haraki.

A top PAS official, anxious to absolve the top ulama leaders from all this, stressed that the Internet campaign is the work of "young and over-zealous" second echelon ulama and that the top ulama leaders are not involved.

Even the party newsletter Harakah and the online Harakahdaily have not been spared. The two party organs have often come under pressure from the conservatives who claim that the ulama view is not well represented.

The editorial team, in wanting to make the publications more interesting, tries to include news about other Pakatan parties but the conservatives think the party organs should be strictly about PAS and its ideology.

Two of its editors, Rashidi Hassan and Zukifli Sulung, resigned after the general election and the latter is now working for an online news portal as its features editor.

But Zulkifli was mistaken if he thought he would be able to report as he pleased. An article he wrote on the ailing Nik Aziz titled "Berehatlah Tok Guru" (Time to rest Tok Guru) has come under attack.

It was a touching piece about how Nik Aziz had woken up in his hospital suite and asked to see Husam. But poor Zulkifli was accused of trying to promote Husam for the presidency and even of being his campaign manager.

"The campaign is very hot this time," said Zulkifli.

It is quite evident that the pro-ulama groups see Husam, Khalid, Dr Dzulkefly and Dr Hatta as the brains behind the success of the Erdogans. To defeat the group, they need to discredit the gang of four and that is what those behind El-Haraki are out to do.

The old generation ulama of PAS do not believe in campaigning or promoting themselves. They prefer to pray and leave everything else in the hands of God.

But the younger and Internet savvy generation who want the ulama to be in control are stepping up the game.

However, PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali has a word of caution: "Everybody should adhere to the campaign ethics. Please don't go overboard because in the past, people lost when they campaigned too much."

 

Time to leave the CPM era behind

Posted: 21 Sep 2013 09:51 AM PDT

The death of Chin Peng has created a buzz about the relevance of the Red spectre in Malaysia, especially among Malaysian Gen Yers.

But for over 80% of the Malaysian population aged below 55 (some 25,610,000 Malaysians) who would have been in their diapers or not born when the Emergency ended, Chin Peng remains a distant grandfather story or, at the most, an answer to an examination question.

Hariati Azizan, The Star

IT has been an educational week for finance manager Rita Wong* as she tried to find the answers for her 10-year-old son's questions.

"He's always curious and this week it has been all about Chin Peng," Wong relates. "'Who is he, mum; why can't he come home; why do we have to be scared of his ashes?'"

Wong, a 40-something working mother, says she has had to recall her history lessons in school but even then "most of the answers he is asking for are hard to give as I don't really understand it myself."

Chin Peng, the Malayan-born guerilla who led a fierce Communist insurgency against the British in the peninsula after World War Two, and later against the government after independence, died early last week after living in exile in Thailand for more than two decades. He had fought alongside the British during the Japanese military occupation, but had started a fight to establish an independent Communist state here in 1948.

Thousands were reportedly killed during the insurgency, tagged by the British administration as the Malayan Emergency, that lasted until 1960.

Hence, even in death, his name still evokes much bitterness in Malaysia, as seen during the week in the media and social media network.

"I can never forgive him because the Communists killed my grandfathers and uncles," says a marketing manager in his 30s.

But for over 80% of the Malaysian population aged below 55 (some 25,610,000 Malaysians) who would have been in their diapers or not born when the Emergency ended, Chin Peng remains a distant grandfather story or, at the most, an answer to an examination question.

With his death, many are saying it's time to also put the CPM ghost to rest, as can be seen in the comments in cyber space.

"Does Chin Peng's death really matter?" writes secondary school student Tianqian Tong. "I thought he had died for years actually..."

Like many young people, Tong does not see Chin Peng and communism as a security threat any more.

"Chin Peng and the CPM are in the past, not in the present, neither will they be in the future. We are now free and independent," notes Tong.

"Anyway, history is a lesson for the future – every single thing will be remembered. It will be good for us to learn that 'In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher'."

A number of the comments in cyber space are also quite light-hearted and related to a topic that's very popular among Gen Yers these days.

"His ashes could spread around the country and invade the body of every Malaysian. This could be worse than an alien invasion ..." says one in a long line of zombie jokes about the "Chin Peng ashes – to return or not to return" debate.

A budding entrepreneur who only wants to be known as Amin admits that he finds the issue a tad confusing. "We all now want to 'make friends' with communist China and break into their market," he observes.

Chin Peng and the CPM have not been a valid bogeyman for a long time, local theatre director and lecturer Mark Teh says.

"Bogeymen are ghosts or phantoms. The reason we have them is to create an irrational fear in people," he opines.

For many young people, the Emergency and communists are lumped together with the Japanese Occupation and fight for indepen­dence under the topic of "War in History", Teh points out.

"Many do not know the difference. But it is not completely their fault that they are confused. It's because the history books present it in a sketchy manner. It is presented in a linear way that does not add up sometimes and discussions are not encouraged."

This may have led to a thirst for information on communism among some, but not to the point where they want to stage a revolution, he adds.

"They are intrigued by it because of the gaps in history but I don't think they are interested in the ideology or to embrace communism."

Teh, who used to teach Culture and Society in Malaysia, had organised an "Emergency Festival" with a loose collective of young artists in 2008 to mark the 60th anniversary of the insurgency.

It was an attempt to re-examine the documents, images and narratives of the Malaysian Emergency from the younger generation's perspective, he explains.

"We saw many students participate because they wanted to create alternative spaces for themselves and answer the questions they have about this part of Malaysian history."

Teh feels this is the underlying issue in the debate on Chin Peng and the CPM's role in the struggle for independence.

"The argument is contemporary because it is really about people fighting for their own version of Malaysia now – and they are reclaiming a past, whether it includes the CPM, Chin Peng or a past that excludes their contribution or labels them only as terrorist," he says.

Writer Zedeck Siew, in his 20s, agrees, saying that any interest in communism among the young is mainly due to the suppression of communism's place in history.

"In the classroom, we had the impression of the communist as an evil, grimacing Chinese fellow creeping through the jungle, killing cops and citizens. People have realised that this is not a complete picture.

"Those who want to learn about the CPM and Chin Peng are merely trying to find out more about the country's past," he reasons.

Crucially, interest does not equal participation, he stresses. "Frankly, I just can't see my peers leaving their iPad, artisanal cupcakes and comfortable suburban warrens to join a people's Armed Struggle and subsist on rations."

Women rights activist Smita E concurs, saying that young people now seem to be largely anti-ideological. "I base this statement on my observation that people don't read enough and don't have time to read big books and think big thoughts."

What is true, however, is that young people are starved for local histories, she adds. "It's about alternative histories, not communism per se."

Postgraduate student Ahmad Z also feels ideology rarely survives these days. "The grand narrative is history, though I believe young people see communism as a symbolic representation of change.

"If there is a resurgence in interest, it is a romantic interest of communism in Malaysia but not in the sense that people are trying to revive it and to suddenly pick up arms," he says.

Putting the academic input into the issue, Boon Kia Meng believes that for many young people, the communist armed struggle belongs in the annals of history now.

"As Chin Peng mentioned in his memoirs, he was a man of his time and circumstances, where the world, in the immediate aftermath of the Japanese occupation, was overtaken by nationalist and anti-colonial movements and liberation struggles," explains the academic.

"The armed resistance of the CPM was conditioned by those wars and the realistic options before them, in the context of British detention of firstly the Malay anti-colonial Left (a thousand were detained before the Emergency) and the crackdown on labour unions and political groups. The Emergency in 1948 was the culmination of British desire to secure their economic and geopolitical interests in the region.

"The CPM, rightly or wrongly, decided on armed struggle in the face of such challenges."

Today, conditions are very different, says Boon. "A measure of formal democratic institutions has prevailed, and capitalism is triumphant globally, including in so-called communist China. As such, the bogeyman of communist terror in Malaysia is no longer a plausible claim."

In fact, he highlights, most left-wing political movements today are democratic grassroots movements or parties.

"Just look at the elected governments of Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador, or even the growing popularity of the Greek radical left, Syriza (a likely winner in the next Greek elections) and the Occupy Wall Street movement. They are all non-violent, popular struggles."

Ironically, even Chin Peng had noted the change of the times. Writing in his 2003 memoir My Side of History, he said: "A revolution based on violence has no application in modern Malaysia or Singapore... The youths who have known only stable governments and live in an independent age of affluence will find the choices I made as a teenager deeply puzzling... I was young in a different age that demanded very different approaches."

He also stated that one of his final wishes was to "exchange views with young Malaysians nowadays to understand how history is shaped, exchanging ideas about how things move the world."

 

Open dialogue and ­reconciliation

For many young people, an open dialogue on Chin Peng and communism is something they hope will happen now.

Student Nik Zurin Nik Rashid says it might be difficult for them to feel the victims' experience but it will not hamper them from empathising.

"To ask the current generation that live in ignorance of such an experience is like asking a Malaysian what it feels like to be at Auschwitz: they can't answer, and neither should they," says the 19-year-old who is currently an undergraduate in a university in Texas.

The fact is that in the modern context, any way you look at it, the CPM is no longer around, she says.

"The CPM is no longer the enemy for the simple fact that it does not, for all intents and purposes, exist as a cohesive force that mobilises the masses since it signed the armistice with our government in 1989. By that alone, they are no longer the "Number One Enemy" as much as the Russian Federation is no longer a de facto enemy to Nato or the US since the Soviet Union collapsed."

Nevertheless, she does not believe the CPM deserves any form of pardon.

"If Hitler is still unforgiven for his crimes, then I don't see why Chin Peng needs to be forgiven for his Red Terror campaigns during the Emergency.

"To many, Chin Peng and his Commies will not be forgiven, and that is understandable."

Alternative musician A. Nair feels that an open dialogue will help reconcile our nation with its painful past.

"If we try to be politically correct all the time, we will not get any idea across. If the older generation gets upset about us not caring or being insensitive about what they went through, it is something we need to learn to understand.

"But they also need to understand that it is not relevant to us now. We are moving towards a developed society, so we need to be more open and less sensitive."

 

Umno polls: Six file papers for three vice-president slots

Posted: 21 Sep 2013 12:16 AM PDT

(The Star) - Two nominations for the Umno vice-presidency were turned in about an hour before the close of submission period for nomination forms, bringing the total number of people contesting to six.

They were from Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and former Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.

Describing his chance as 50-50, Mukhriz said: "I am not using my father's (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) aura to win the vice-president's post."

In the morning, three incumbents for the vice-president's post, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal had submitted their nomination forms personally.

Another candidate in the race is Felda chairman Tan Sri Isa Samad. 

No forms were submitted so far for the president and deputy president post as at 4pm today, other than that from incumbents Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

 

Pas willing to have dialogue with Umno on Islam, Malay

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 04:36 PM PDT

(NST) - Pas is willing to have a dialogue with Umno on issues concerning Islamic religious and Malay community on a condition that it is done based on four main references, namely Al-Quran, Hadith, 'Ijma ulama' and 'qiyas'.

Its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said Pas had never shut its door for talks with Umno and stressed that the party was prepared to meet-up anytime based on issues and mutual interests.
 
However, he stressed that the talks would only between Pas and Umno, without the presence of neither components parties from Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat.
 
"We are ready to have talks with Umno on selected issues. Based on this spirit, we have never closed our door for Umno," he said after closing Muassasah Darul Ulum Islamic Education Carnival in Pokok Sena here today.


Umno polls: Mukhriz's winning factor

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 04:33 PM PDT

Rahimah Ghazali, The Star

Despite being born as a child of one of the most-renowned political figures in the country, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir rise in Umno is based on his own merit, and not because of his father's influence.

"He can't run away from the fact that he is the son of (former Prime Minister) Tun Mahathir Mohamad and he gained people's respect because of that - but they are two different personalities," Umno expert Datuk Prof Dr Ramlah Adam told The Star Online.

Ramlah, who is also a political analyst from Universiti Teknologi Mara, said Mukhriz, 49, will make a great impact in Umno if he is elected as one of its vice presidents in the upcoming party election on Oct 19.

"Although he is still considered young in politics, he already has the authority in (policy decision-making at state level) and people perceive him as educated and professional.

"These are the traits that Umno should highly seek for, as it can open up the floodgates of young politicians to become the next in line in Umno before the next general election," she said.

Mukhriz went against the odds when he announced his candidacy as an Umno vice-president Thursday, facing veterans such as former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Ali Rustam and former Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Tan Sri Isa Samad.

The youngest among the pack, he also will be up against incumbent Umno vice-presidents, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

The trio has also formed a pact to work together to defend their positions at the polls.

When asked whether Mukhriz was aligned to Ali and Isa to unseat the incumbents, another political analyst Datuk Prof Zainal Kling said the situation was unlikely.

"The new faces are fighting individually to displace any of the incumbents, that is all," said Zainal, who is also a political analyst from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris.

All three incumbents, he said, are working hard to gain momentum on the ground and he said it is still not clear who would fall as each has a fair chance winning.

"However, the weakest link would probably be Shafie, because he does not really stand out compared to the rest.

"But you never know, he might make it through because there are delegates who want a representative from East Malaysia," said Zainal.

He also said although Mukhriz had the advantage of being the son of a former premier, he has yet to prove his capabilities in both Kedah and Umno.

 

"Being a son to Mahathir could be a winning factor, and he could win some votes from delegates from his age range.

"I still don't foresee any changes at the top leadership. I think Hishammuddin, Shafie and Zahid will remain as vice-presidents," he said.

Ramlah, however, had a different take, despite arguments suggesting that Mukhriz was not politically mature to make it through.

"Mukhriz has every advantage to win because now he is a leader from Kedah, a state which holds strongly to the principles of Islam and he has the backing from the people," she said.

She also compared Mukhriz's political influence compared to Isa and Ali, whom she said no longer have the authority in policy decision-making at the state or the federal level.

"Although Ali is the chairman of Malacca Economic Consultative Council and Isa is a Felda chairman, they are not policy makers, unlike Mukhriz," she said.

"I think it is time we give opportunity for young blood to rise up rather than maintain the old faces," she added.

 

In Mukhriz, Zaid sees no trace of “Mahathirism”

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 04:28 PM PDT

(MM) - Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir found an unlikely supporter today in one of his father's more strident critics, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who urged Umno members to give the vice-president hopeful a chance in the coming party polls.

Zaid, a former Umno man himself, said Mukhriz will provide "good balance" to the status quo and even dismissed talk that the latter's leadership would see a return to the era of "Mahathirism".

"Naive to think Mukhriz will bring back Mahathirism," Zaid wrote in a series of postings on his Twitter page this afternoon.

"Mukhriz will provide good balance ; the Champions of the Malays must come from different group. Otherwise plunder will be worse.

"Mukhriz not a smooth talker but he should be given a chance. Being nationalistic not a sin, being corrupt and hypocritical is," he added.

Mukhriz has thrown his hat in the ring for the Umno vice-presidency, effectively turning the heat on in a crowded race among powerful leaders like incumbents Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal; and aspirants Datuk Seri Ali Rustam and Tan Sri Abdul Isa Samad, both wily old campaigners.

A victory by Mukhriz in the vice-presidency race would put him on the path to mount a challenge for the number two spot in Umno ahead of the 14th general election, which, if successful, could make him Malaysia's next deputy prime minister.

Political analysts have said that Mukhriz's bid for ascendancy signalled the desire of Umno's "old guard" to preserve conservative leanings in the dominant Malay party.

Pro-Mahathir bloggers have begun campaigning for Mukhriz, seeing in him the return to the days where Dr Mahathir ruled with an iron grip and a reversal of policies that purportedly allowed the special position of the Malays to be challenged.

Professor Datuk Mohamad Abu Bakar, political scientist from Universiti Malaya, noted last Thursday that Mukhriz has yet to show that he is a "man of his own", and that the 48-year-old is seen instead as living in his father's shadow.

But in an interview on Berita Harian today, Mukhriz dismissed this, saying he does not intend to continue the political dynasty of his father Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad with his entry in the Umno vice-presidency race.

Mukhriz, who is also the Kedah mentri besar, said that he had his own ideas, although he would not negate the good that the former prime minister has done and that he was "excited" to continue what Dr Mahathir has fought for.

"My presence is not to create a dynasty," Mukhriz said in an interview with the Malay-language daily.

"Coincidentally, I am interested in politics even though my father curbed my interest during the time he was leading the country," he added.

This year's Umno polls will see some 146,500 delegates directly elect their top leaders after the party amended its constitution to allow more members to vote, up from the previous 2,500.

Nominations for the Umno supreme council elections will be held on September 28 and voting on October 19. 

 

Decision on Chin Peng’s ashes: Umno polls a cause?

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 04:24 PM PDT

Political analysts say the impending Umno polls is one of the reasons why Chin Peng's ashes is barred from being brought to Malaysia.

Leven Woon, FMT

While debates surrounding the government's barring of Chin Peng's remains from being brought home continued, political analysts attributed the looming Umno polls as one reason behind the government's harsh response.

Center for Policy Initiatives chief executive officer Lim Teck Ghee and Merdeka Centre executive director Ibrahim Suffian concurred that Umno polls on Oct 19 had influenced the government's decision to prevent the return of former Malayan Communist Party leader's remains to his homeland.

They also pointed out that the anti-communist sentiment had traditionally been inculcated in Umno, and that Umno wanted the public to subscribe to that value.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was quick to announce a blanket ban on the return of Chin's remains to Malaysian soil when he died on Sept 16, with Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin joining the pack in demonising the deceased communist leader later in the day.

Lim said the ban was as a result of Umno leaders and supporters imposing their will on the government, and that Zahid's statement that the government would not allow any group to glorify Chin as an independence fighter was simply political bluster, ahead of the Umno general assembly.

"Both Zahid and Najib have to be extra vocal and play the Malay card as much as possible to ensure that they do not lose out in the coming Umno general assembly.

"Had Chin Peng died in the run up to the last election, they may have considered the impact on Chinese voters and could have softened the tone," he told FMT yesterday.

Lim, however, said Umno would have refused "at all times" the request of allowing Chin's remains to return because it was part of Umno's political ideology to view CPM and its members "in the worst possible light."

Lim said this was despite many historians – local and foreign – having acknowledged Chin as a true independence fighter who went against the British and Japanese.

READ MORE HERE

 

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Umno polls: Mukhriz's winning factor

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 04:33 PM PDT

Rahimah Ghazali, The Star

Despite being born as a child of one of the most-renowned political figures in the country, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir rise in Umno is based on his own merit, and not because of his father's influence.

"He can't run away from the fact that he is the son of (former Prime Minister) Tun Mahathir Mohamad and he gained people's respect because of that - but they are two different personalities," Umno expert Datuk Prof Dr Ramlah Adam told The Star Online.

Ramlah, who is also a political analyst from Universiti Teknologi Mara, said Mukhriz, 49, will make a great impact in Umno if he is elected as one of its vice presidents in the upcoming party election on Oct 19.

"Although he is still considered young in politics, he already has the authority in (policy decision-making at state level) and people perceive him as educated and professional.

"These are the traits that Umno should highly seek for, as it can open up the floodgates of young politicians to become the next in line in Umno before the next general election," she said.

Mukhriz went against the odds when he announced his candidacy as an Umno vice-president Thursday, facing veterans such as former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Ali Rustam and former Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Tan Sri Isa Samad.

The youngest among the pack, he also will be up against incumbent Umno vice-presidents, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

The trio has also formed a pact to work together to defend their positions at the polls.

When asked whether Mukhriz was aligned to Ali and Isa to unseat the incumbents, another political analyst Datuk Prof Zainal Kling said the situation was unlikely.

"The new faces are fighting individually to displace any of the incumbents, that is all," said Zainal, who is also a political analyst from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris.

All three incumbents, he said, are working hard to gain momentum on the ground and he said it is still not clear who would fall as each has a fair chance winning.

"However, the weakest link would probably be Shafie, because he does not really stand out compared to the rest.

"But you never know, he might make it through because there are delegates who want a representative from East Malaysia," said Zainal.

He also said although Mukhriz had the advantage of being the son of a former premier, he has yet to prove his capabilities in both Kedah and Umno.

 

"Being a son to Mahathir could be a winning factor, and he could win some votes from delegates from his age range.

"I still don't foresee any changes at the top leadership. I think Hishammuddin, Shafie and Zahid will remain as vice-presidents," he said.

Ramlah, however, had a different take, despite arguments suggesting that Mukhriz was not politically mature to make it through.

"Mukhriz has every advantage to win because now he is a leader from Kedah, a state which holds strongly to the principles of Islam and he has the backing from the people," she said.

She also compared Mukhriz's political influence compared to Isa and Ali, whom she said no longer have the authority in policy decision-making at the state or the federal level.

"Although Ali is the chairman of Malacca Economic Consultative Council and Isa is a Felda chairman, they are not policy makers, unlike Mukhriz," she said.

"I think it is time we give opportunity for young blood to rise up rather than maintain the old faces," she added.

 

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Umno polls: Six file papers for three vice-president slots

Posted: 21 Sep 2013 12:16 AM PDT

(The Star) - Two nominations for the Umno vice-presidency were turned in about an hour before the close of submission period for nomination forms, bringing the total number of people contesting to six.

They were from Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and former Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam.

Describing his chance as 50-50, Mukhriz said: "I am not using my father's (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) aura to win the vice-president's post."

In the morning, three incumbents for the vice-president's post, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal had submitted their nomination forms personally.

Another candidate in the race is Felda chairman Tan Sri Isa Samad. 

No forms were submitted so far for the president and deputy president post as at 4pm today, other than that from incumbents Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

 

Pas willing to have dialogue with Umno on Islam, Malay

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 04:36 PM PDT

(NST) - Pas is willing to have a dialogue with Umno on issues concerning Islamic religious and Malay community on a condition that it is done based on four main references, namely Al-Quran, Hadith, 'Ijma ulama' and 'qiyas'.

Its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said Pas had never shut its door for talks with Umno and stressed that the party was prepared to meet-up anytime based on issues and mutual interests.
 
However, he stressed that the talks would only between Pas and Umno, without the presence of neither components parties from Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat.
 
"We are ready to have talks with Umno on selected issues. Based on this spirit, we have never closed our door for Umno," he said after closing Muassasah Darul Ulum Islamic Education Carnival in Pokok Sena here today.


In Mukhriz, Zaid sees no trace of “Mahathirism”

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 04:28 PM PDT

(MM) - Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir found an unlikely supporter today in one of his father's more strident critics, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who urged Umno members to give the vice-president hopeful a chance in the coming party polls.

Zaid, a former Umno man himself, said Mukhriz will provide "good balance" to the status quo and even dismissed talk that the latter's leadership would see a return to the era of "Mahathirism".

"Naive to think Mukhriz will bring back Mahathirism," Zaid wrote in a series of postings on his Twitter page this afternoon.

"Mukhriz will provide good balance ; the Champions of the Malays must come from different group. Otherwise plunder will be worse.

"Mukhriz not a smooth talker but he should be given a chance. Being nationalistic not a sin, being corrupt and hypocritical is," he added.

Mukhriz has thrown his hat in the ring for the Umno vice-presidency, effectively turning the heat on in a crowded race among powerful leaders like incumbents Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal; and aspirants Datuk Seri Ali Rustam and Tan Sri Abdul Isa Samad, both wily old campaigners.

A victory by Mukhriz in the vice-presidency race would put him on the path to mount a challenge for the number two spot in Umno ahead of the 14th general election, which, if successful, could make him Malaysia's next deputy prime minister.

Political analysts have said that Mukhriz's bid for ascendancy signalled the desire of Umno's "old guard" to preserve conservative leanings in the dominant Malay party.

Pro-Mahathir bloggers have begun campaigning for Mukhriz, seeing in him the return to the days where Dr Mahathir ruled with an iron grip and a reversal of policies that purportedly allowed the special position of the Malays to be challenged.

Professor Datuk Mohamad Abu Bakar, political scientist from Universiti Malaya, noted last Thursday that Mukhriz has yet to show that he is a "man of his own", and that the 48-year-old is seen instead as living in his father's shadow.

But in an interview on Berita Harian today, Mukhriz dismissed this, saying he does not intend to continue the political dynasty of his father Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad with his entry in the Umno vice-presidency race.

Mukhriz, who is also the Kedah mentri besar, said that he had his own ideas, although he would not negate the good that the former prime minister has done and that he was "excited" to continue what Dr Mahathir has fought for.

"My presence is not to create a dynasty," Mukhriz said in an interview with the Malay-language daily.

"Coincidentally, I am interested in politics even though my father curbed my interest during the time he was leading the country," he added.

This year's Umno polls will see some 146,500 delegates directly elect their top leaders after the party amended its constitution to allow more members to vote, up from the previous 2,500.

Nominations for the Umno supreme council elections will be held on September 28 and voting on October 19. 

 

Decision on Chin Peng’s ashes: Umno polls a cause?

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 04:24 PM PDT

Political analysts say the impending Umno polls is one of the reasons why Chin Peng's ashes is barred from being brought to Malaysia.

Leven Woon, FMT

While debates surrounding the government's barring of Chin Peng's remains from being brought home continued, political analysts attributed the looming Umno polls as one reason behind the government's harsh response.

Center for Policy Initiatives chief executive officer Lim Teck Ghee and Merdeka Centre executive director Ibrahim Suffian concurred that Umno polls on Oct 19 had influenced the government's decision to prevent the return of former Malayan Communist Party leader's remains to his homeland.

They also pointed out that the anti-communist sentiment had traditionally been inculcated in Umno, and that Umno wanted the public to subscribe to that value.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was quick to announce a blanket ban on the return of Chin's remains to Malaysian soil when he died on Sept 16, with Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin joining the pack in demonising the deceased communist leader later in the day.

Lim said the ban was as a result of Umno leaders and supporters imposing their will on the government, and that Zahid's statement that the government would not allow any group to glorify Chin as an independence fighter was simply political bluster, ahead of the Umno general assembly.

"Both Zahid and Najib have to be extra vocal and play the Malay card as much as possible to ensure that they do not lose out in the coming Umno general assembly.

"Had Chin Peng died in the run up to the last election, they may have considered the impact on Chinese voters and could have softened the tone," he told FMT yesterday.

Lim, however, said Umno would have refused "at all times" the request of allowing Chin's remains to return because it was part of Umno's political ideology to view CPM and its members "in the worst possible light."

Lim said this was despite many historians – local and foreign – having acknowledged Chin as a true independence fighter who went against the British and Japanese.

READ MORE HERE

 

Malaysia’s Multiracial Promise Marred by Bigotry and Political Persecution

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 12:12 PM PDT

(Time) - Race-based incentives, crackdowns on opposition figures, and an exodus of non-Malays: how Malay supremacists are creating a divided and fearful society

Malaysia is fond of presenting itself as a beacon of multiculturalism, but intolerance and division are increasingly the hallmarks of this southeast Asian nation of just over 29 million.

The return to court on Tuesday of 66-year-old opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim — who has spent the last five years fighting "sodomy" charges that he insists are politically motivated, and now awaits the verdict of a government appeal against his acquittal in January — is the latest fissure in the nation's fractious politics. Others include the announcement of $9.4 billion worth of race-based incentives and a worsening climate of racial bigotry and hate speech that has seen Malaysia declared one of the world's least tolerant societies.

General elections on May 5 saw the incumbent National Front coalition government of Prime Minister Najib Razak returned to power despite only getting 47% to the opposition's 50% of the popular vote. But this translated to 133 to 89 parliamentary seats due to the "first past the post" electoral system, alleged electoral irregularities and apparent widespread gerrymandering.

The opposition Pakatan Rakyat (People's Alliance) coalition, led by Anwar, complained bitterly and tens of thousands took to the streets to demand an investigation. In response, several opposition figures were arrested amid a crackdown that saw democracy take "significant steps backward," according Bridget Welsh, an associate professor in political science at Singapore Management University.

Read more at: http://world.time.com/2013/09/19/malaysias-multiracial-promise-marred-by-bigotry-and-political-persecution/ 

 

Move to ensure bumis have assets

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 12:07 PM PDT

(Bernama) - The Government will build more affordable housing to ensure the bumiputra do not lag behind in non-financial assets, said the Prime Minister.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said this would be implemented under the third focus of the Bumiputra Economic Empowerment measures.

"The affordable housing will be increased through Syarikat Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia (PR1MA), Syarikat Perumahan Negara Berhad and state governments nationwide," he said.

Last Saturday, Najib announced new measures and strategies to strengthen the bumiputra's economy under the Bumiputra Economic Council, to be established and chaired by him soon.

That council will replace the Bumiputra Agenda Action Council in implementing the five main strategies of the empowerment measures.

One of the strategies is to handle the issue of bumiputra who still lagged behind in ownership of non-financial assets such as homes, industrial premises and commercial complexes.

 

The world will laugh at us, says ex-top cop who negotiated 1989 peace treaty with Chin Peng

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 11:44 AM PDT

http://rightways.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/chin-peng_intriguing.jpg?w=780

Chin Peng, flanked by C.D. Abdullah and Tan Sri Rahim Noor, during the signing of the Peace Accord in Haadyai in 1989. 

"I do not know why it should develop along this line (Chin Peng versus government). The fact is that good or bad - whatever Chin Peng was - the background is a peace treaty had been signed. We got to jolly well honour the terms and conditions," he said.

(TMI) - A former top cop has warned that Malaysia will be made a laughing stock if the government is adamant about its "naïve" decision to refuse to allow Chin Peng's ashes to be brought back to be interred.

Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Mohd Noor, a former inspector-general of police, said this would also help turn the ex-communist leader into an icon and that it was a step backwards in the government's attempts to win back Chinese support following the poor performance in the last general election.

"There is a hue and cry from the public not to even allow his ashes (back into Malaysia). My God... this is stretching the argument a bit too far. It's a bit naive I think.

"If the government succumbs to this public pressure not to allow Chin Peng's ashes to be brought back, I think, we are making Malaysia a laughing stock to the whole world," he said in an interview from the United Kingdom that aired on BFM yesterday.

Abdul Rahim, who was Special Branch director at that time, led the peace talks which culminated in the Haadyai Peace Treaty 1989. It officially ended the Communist Party of Malaya's armed struggle against the government.

The refusal to allow Chin Peng into the country even when he was alive, he said, also made a mockery of the 1989 treaty.

He said he convinced the government at that time to engage with the communists in talks, more than 30 years after the failed 1955 Baling negotiations.

He said that even though the 12-year Emergency was lifted in 1960, security forces were still battling communist remnants in the 1980s, but the decline of communism in the region was an opportunity for renewed peace negotiations.

At that time, there were still around 2,000 communists along the Malaysian-Thai border, with the two largest groups being the North Malayan Bureau and the 10th Regiment, which largely comprised Malays, he said.

He said that with the backing of then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the Special Branch secretly initiated negotiations with the communists at the end of 1987 and early 1988 on Phuket Island over five rounds of talks.

As a result, the 1989 treaty was signed in Haadyai comprising two agreements, one containing the core terms and the other administrative details on how the terms would be implemented.

"I was involved in the drafting of both agreements, so I know full well that under the terms of the agreements, all the agreements applied are binding on every CPM member, from the highest topmost to the bottom.

"So if you say that Chin Peng, as secretary-general of the party (CPM) is the highest most member, then he qualifies to get all the privileges, advantages or whatever promises made in the agreement, which includes for him to be allowed to come back (to Malaysia)," Abdul Rahim said.

He said, according to the agreement, in the event these former communist members were not allowed to permanently return to Malaysia, they should be allowed to enter the country on social visits.

"But in the case of Chin Peng, he was not allowed both. To me, it's absurd, totally absurd. It's unfair, grossly unfair... There were other ex-communists who were allowed to come back and they were mainly Malays," he said.

"Abdullah CD (CPM chairperson) was allowed to come back to Malaysia and was even given an audience with the current sultan of Perak. Rashid Maidin (CPM central committee member), I was told, performed his pilgrimage through KL with the help of the Malaysian authorities. What's all this?"

Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/the-world-will-laugh-at-us-says-ex-top-cop-who-ngotiated-1989-treaty-with-c 

 

Mukhriz’s VP bid first step towards new Dr M era?

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 11:10 AM PDT

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/uploads/articlesmahathir_open_house5_600_400_100.jpg 

(MMO) - Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir's entry into the Umno vice-president's race portends his father, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's desire to reassert a hold over the Malay nationalist party, said a political analyst.

According to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Professor Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, this was because Umno — the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) — was seen as holding the keys to the country's economy.

"With billions of dollars in the offing, nothing is better than being in the centre of Umno," Shamsul was quoted as saying by the Astro Awani portal in a report yesterday.

On Thursday, the Kedah mentri besar ended speculation on whether he would aim for one of the three VP spots when he came out to announce his candidacy in Alor Setar. Days before that, Dr Mahathir warned Umno of a pressing need for new blood in the party, saying in party mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia that the older generation of leaders should not overstay their welcome.

"... they have to realise how important it is not to exceed their time. Sooner or later people will feel bored, even get disgusted of leaders that are outdated but still don't want to accept the truth," the country's longest-serving prime minister wrote in his column in Utusan Malaysia on Monday.

Observers suspect, however, that call was a pre-emptive volley for his son's then-unannounced campaign.

The Malay Mail Online previously reported that Mukhriz's bid for ascendancy was symptomatic of a desire from Umno's "old guard" to preserve the right wing leanings in the party.

"A win or lose is not the point. The point is to signal their presence," Shamsul said further in the report.

The emergence of Akhramsyah Sanusi, the son of Tan Sri Sanusi Junid and loyal ally to Dr Mahathir, to challenge Khairy Jamaluddin for the post of Umno Youth chief further bolstered perception that an orchestrated effort was being conducted to entrench the conservatives' hold over Umno.

When announcing his candidacy today, Akhramsyah was forced to deny he was a stand-in for Dr Mahathir's camp in the Umno Youth race.

"I deny that I belong to any faction… if you say I am a proxy I would say yes I am. I am a proxy that represents the aspiration of grassroots members that want change," he said here yesterday.

 Far-reaching effects

The contest for a seat of power in Menara Datuk Onn also has bearings in faraway Putrajaya.

A victory by Mukhriz in the vice-presidency race would put him on the path to mount a challenge for the number two spot in the party ahead of the 14th general election, which, if successful, could make him Malaysia's next deputy prime minister.

Already, the Umno-linked blogs that rose to prominence during Dr Mahathir's vitriolic — and successful — campaign to unseat successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi have begun to promote Mukhriz's bid for the vice presidency, introducing a #MM4VP hashtag to generate grassroots support for him on social media sites.

In him, they see the promise of a return to the days of Dr Mahathir's uncompromising rule over Malaysia and a reverse of the reforms and policies that they allege have allowed the special position of the Malays and the sanctity of Islam to be challenged.

Dr Mahathir was prime minister from 1981 to 2003, but has remained active in Malaysian politics despite his retirement.

Still, Mukhriz, the "young" 48-year-old politician, will not have an easy task to win one of the three coveted spots, even with the support of his father and the latter's loyalists.

He faces a crowded field that includes powerful incumbents Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal; and aspirants Datuk Seri Ali Rustam and Tan Sri Abdul Isa Samad, both wily old campaigners.

Adding to the uncertainty of the race this time around is the enlarged voter pool.

This year's election will see some 146,500 delegates directly elect their top leaders after the party amended its constitution to allow more members to vote, up from the previous 2,500.

Nominations for the Umno supreme council elections will be held on September 28 and voting on October 19.

 

Accused soccer match-fixers scared of alleged ringleader Segaran 'Gerry' Gsubramaniam, court told

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 11:04 AM PDT

http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2013/09/20/1226723/636304-46a57faa-21ac-11e3-9e56-5e7e9e244699.jpg 

Gerry Gsubramaniam, 45, from Malaysia. 

(News.com.au) - SOCCER players charged with match-fixing are so scared of the alleged ringleader they have been barricading their doors at night, a court has heard.

 

Det-Acting Sen-Sgt Scott Poynder said two of the four Southern Stars Football Club players jammed chairs against their hotel room door for fear Segaran "Gerry" Gsubramaniam, 45, would get people to "come visit them".

 

Mr Gsubramaniam allegedly passed on information from associates in Hungary and Malaysia - including a known international criminal fixer of sporting matches - to members of the Dingley-based club in exchange for cash, accommodation and rental cars.

 

Melbourne Magistrates' Court heard the continuing investigation may potentially involve other Victorian clubs, as well in clubs in Queensland and overseas.

 

Sen-Sgt Poynder said transaction records seized from his Oakleigh South premises - including ripped-up documents that were pieced together - indicated Mr Gsubramaniam had receive about $230,000 from international accounts since July.

 

The Malaysian national is accused of fixing five Victorian Premier League matches involving the Southern Stars between July and September this year.

 

Five other men - including the team coach and goalkeeper - who were charged and bailed in relation to Australia's largest match-fixing scandal appeared at court today.

 

Read more at: http://www.news.com.au/national-news/victoria/accused-soccer-matchfixers-scared-of-alleged-ringleader-segaran-8216gerry8217-gsubramaniam-court-told/story-fnii5sms-1226723637012

‘Mukhriz gave me his blessing’

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 11:03 AM PDT

Akhramsyah (in brown) being flanked by his supporters during a press conference.

(The Star) - Umno Youth chief aspirant Akhramsyah Sanusi said he has received endorsement from Kedah Umno chief Datuk Paduka Mukhriz Tun Mahathir to contest the post.

And, I am not being a proxy to any leader, including Mukhriz, to take on incumbent Khairy Jamaluddin, he said.

"Mukhriz has given me his endorsement, just as he has given other candidates from Kedah who will be contesting in the party election," said Akhramsyah.

"I am grateful for the support and at the same time, I will also throw my support behind him as the candidate for the vice-presidency.

"But this does not mean that I am a proxy. If I am, I want to be one to the grassroots and those who vote for me."

The contest for the Umno Youth chief post is expected to be a four-cornered fight. Apart from Akh­ramsyah, it has been reported that a relatively unknown wing member Karim Ali, who is Merbok division Youth chief, and Syed Rosli Syed Har­man Jamalullail from Pandan Umno division will be joining the fray.

Akhramsyah, 39, who has a masters degree from London's Imperial College in chemical engineering and son of former Kedah Mentri Besar Tan Sri Sanusi Junid, admitted to being an "underdog" in the race.

"Khairy has an advantage, being the incumbent and a minister. The party leadership has taken great pains to carry out political transformation so I should use this opportunity to take part in a healthy contest," he added.

His decision to have a go at the post was prompted by the realisation that many at the grassroots level felt that the movement was no longer playing its role as a pressure group to fight for the Malay agenda.

He observed that the past years saw Malay-based non-governmental organisations emerging to champion the Malays but did so with no political clout.

"I may not be that well-known, but support for me will come from like-minded people who wants Umno Youth to champion for them, to look after their interests and to ensure that well-intended Govern­ment policies reach the grassroots," he stressed.

Should he be successful, Akhram­syah pledged to revive what he believed was the movement's responsibility – defend the Malay cause.

However, he stressed that his plans for the movement should not be seen as practising right-wing politics.

"What I am offering is based on Islamic principles. The Malays have led the country for decades and what Umno is doing is just a continuity," he said.

With his campaign motto "Hidup Melayu" (Long Live the Malays), Akhramsyah will be touring the country to introduce himself to Umno Youth members.

 

Mahathir: Reject corrupt candidates

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 11:00 AM PDT

(The Star) - As Umno goes into election mode, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called on the 146,500 delegates to reject corrupt candidates.

He said voting in corrupt leaders would be detrimental to the party, as they risk facing the brunt of the electorates in the next general election.

"If we choose corrupt leaders, they would have no qualms selling out the race," he said on his blog.

Dr Mahathir also called for the weeding out of deadwood and replacing them with young blood in order to rejuvenate the party.

He said Umno should get as many youths with nationalist spirit to join the party.

He also took a swipe at detractors who claimed that he was trying to remain in power by proxy through his son Mukhriz, who is vying the vice-president post.

"If I want to help my son, I would have done that when I was the Prime Minister.

"But I did not do that," said Dr Mahathir.

Mukhriz, meanwhile, said that if his father had any intention of creating a dynasty, he would have allowed him to be active in politics while he was in power.

"But my father only allowed his kin to be active in politics after his retirement," he said.

 

146,500 delegates to decide Mukhriz fate

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 10:56 AM PDT

(Bernama) - Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir said that he had his parents' blessings to contest for one of the three Umno vice-president seats at the party election next month.

"I have met with them and my dad (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) left it to me to make the final decision, but he did give his advice and opinion based on his experience in contesting for the vice-president post.

"However, this year's election will be decided by 146,500 delegates. No more nomination system. There's a big different between his (Tun Dr Mahathir) time and the current situation," he said.

Mukhriz, who is Kedah Umno Liaison Committee chairman, was met at the ceremony to introduce Jerlun Umno candidates for the divisional elections at Wisma Umno Jerlun, 30km from here today.

Apart from Mukhriz, former Melaka Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam and Felda chairman Isa Samad are also vying for the Umno vice-president post, while the three incumbents – Mohd Shafie Apdal, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and i Hishammuddin Tun Hussein – have made it clear that they will defend their seats.

Mukhriz said if he won the contest and joined the other two vice-presidents, they would definitely have something to offer to the party based on their experience in solving people's problems at the grass roots.

"It's not about policy or policy-making, but it's a responsibility to solve the people's problems, as well as poverty and employment issues depending on financial ability, human capital and the many aspects that have to be taken into account.

"In this aspect, my experience as a Menteri Besar, although only four months, is really needed at the central level.

"I'm confident that I can contribute by sharing my opinions and experience because I have came across many situations that demanded immediate decision," he added.

 

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The battle for democracy continues

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 11:53 AM PDT

Firstly, all Malaysians should respect the emotions of those who lost relatives during our various conflicts (including the Emergency), and more generally pay tribute to those who died defending our land throughout history (including members of the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army).

Tunku Abidin Muhriz, TMI

The death of a polarizing figure can harden opinions held while the person was alive. When Baroness Thatcher passed away earlier this year, some Britons celebrated in the streets with the ditty 'Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead', while others solemnly sang 'I Vow to Thee, My Country' as they followed her ceremonial funeral'.

History is replete with leaders who can be viewed as heroes or villains, even centuries later.

Similarly, the death of Chin Peng in Bangkok on September 16 has triggered a reprise of arguments about the man and his legacy. I'd like to reiterate four points I've made before.

Firstly, all Malaysians should respect the emotions of those who lost relatives during our various conflicts (including the Emergency), and more generally pay tribute to those who died defending our land throughout history (including members of the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army).

Secondly, Merdeka for Malaya was achieved on Aug 31, 1957 with a democratically legitimate government in place, but the Communist Party of Malaya continued to wage a campaign of violence in the independent Federation of Malaya. Responsibility for many of the acts of terror and resultant deaths ultimately lay with its leader, Chin Peng.

This is important, because those who claim a parallel to the forgiveness towards Germany or Japan for past transgressions fail to distinguish between a national or institutional collective responsibility and individual responsibility.

There are very different leaders in those countries today, and even the present Communist Party of China is hardly like it was under Chairman Mao (symmetrically, Umno today is hardly like it was under Tunku Abdul Rahman), but individuals remain even if institutions change: last month, a nonagenarian former Nazi bodyguard was awaiting trial for acts committed 70 years ago.

Having said that, and thirdly, emotions should be separated from the legal aspects. If the government of Malaysia made an agreement with the CPM concerning the right of party members to live in Malaysia, it should have been honoured. A democracy that fails to practice this basic element of rule of law tarnishes its reputation and damages its institutions. Worse still is the selective application of the agreement, especially on racial grounds.

Fourthly, much of today's distortion and polarization stems from ever-increasing political interference in the teaching of history. Some astonishing obituaries label Chin Peng a national hero simply because of his fight against the Japanese that got him appointed an OBE, completely ignoring his post-Merdeka record.

READ MORE HERE

 

Chin Peng Deserves a Place in His Country

Posted: 20 Sep 2013 10:51 AM PDT

http://www.malaysiandigest.com/images/images/Kee_Thuan_Chye.jpg 

Imagine this. Police personnel stationed at every entry point into Malaysia from Thailand, including at airports, going through the bags of everyone coming in. As if they have nothing better to do. But then, for all we know, the ashes might have been sent to someone in, say, Indonesia instead, and this person comes into Malaysia with it, unchecked. How stupid can it get? 

Kee Thuan Chye
 
The pettiness of the Government has not been so clearly exposed as it is now over the issue of whether the former Communist leader Chin Peng's ashes should be allowed into Malaysia to be buried in the land he loved and fought for. Even the police – who should have better things to look out for like the increasing incidences of crime – are putting out alerts to prevent the ashes from being brought back from Thailand, where he died. As if these ashes were lethal and could, by some preternatural means, maim the Malaysian populace.
 
Imagine this. Police personnel stationed at every entry point into Malaysia from Thailand, including at airports, going through the bags of everyone coming in. As if they have nothing better to do. But then, for all we know, the ashes might have been sent to someone in, say, Indonesia instead, and this person comes into Malaysia with it, unchecked. How stupid can it get? Perhaps even now, the ashes are already in the country.
 
Meanwhile, the authorities still quibble over the trivia that Chin Peng was not Malaysian because he could not produce the necessary documents to prove he was so, but it seems more likely that they did not want to let him return, full stop.
 
He first applied, under the guarantees of the peace agreement, to resettle in Malaysia in 1990, but his application was rejected the following year. In 2004, he wrote to then prime minister Abdullah Badawi, but got no reply. That year, he received instead a letter from the Home Ministry's secretary-general saying that his request to enter Malaysia had been rejected. No explanation was given.
 
He took the matter to the courts. But in 2005, the High Court rejected his application to enter Malaysia on the grounds that he had to show identification papers to prove his citizenship. Chin Peng, however, said he could not do so because his birth certificate was seized by the police in 1948. In 2008, the Court of Appeal upheld the ruling.
 
Just a few days ago, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar reiterated that Chin Peng was never a Malaysian citizen and, as such, the question of his being buried in Malaysia should not arise. 

But documents are only stuff on paper. They are no match for what a person feels for his country and the things he does in respect of that feeling. Whatever you call that feeling – patriotism if you like – it is far and above more meaningful than a piece of paper.

The fact is, Chin Peng fought against the Japanese when they invaded Malaya and the British retreated. If this alone does not automatically qualify him to be Malaysian, what will? Entering the country illegally and agreeing to vote for Barisan Nasional, like the immigrants in Sabah who have been given identity cards for doing just that? In the latter case, in fact, having documents doesn't mean diddly squat.
 
More tangible than this, the Malaysian Government signed a peace treaty in 1989 with the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), of which Chin Peng was its head. And in that agreement, the CPM agreed to disband and cease all armed activities while the Government agreed to allow the CPM's members to settle down in Malaysia. Since then, many have been allowed home, including leaders like Rashid Maidin and Shamsiah Fakeh. But why not Chin Peng? Why was he discriminated against?
 
The other favourite argument of the Government's against Chin Peng's return to Malaysia is that he was a terrorist and the head of a terrorist organisation that had caused the deaths of thousands. But when you hold this up against the terms of the agreement, you can straight away see that the argument is unfair. The man and his comrades had given up the fight, they would no longer "terrorise". It was time for both sides to put the past aside and move on. For the sake of peace. That's what an agreement is about. So how could the Government sign an agreement and still call the other signatory a villain? Might as well not sign the agreement in the first place!
 
Why does the Government want to behave in such bad form over this? Because it thinks maintaining Chin Peng as a bogeyman is worth its tarnishing its honour?
 
But even on the issue of Chin Peng being a terrorist, the lines are not clear-cut. To some, he was one, but to others, he was a freedom fighter. When he served the British cause in fighting against the Japanese, he was awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire), but when he consequently fought against the British to gain independence for Malaya, he was a terrorist. 

True, his Communist ideology was not everyone's cup of tea and the CPM did kill many people to fulfil its mission, for which it should be condemned, but Chin Peng has also taken responsibility for the CPM's taking of thousands of lives. In an interview with history professor Cheah Boon Kheng in 1998, he said, "This was inevitable. It was a war for national independence."

That this was so is affirmed by our first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, in his book Lest We Forget: "Just as Indonesia was fighting a bloody battle, so were the Communists of Malaya, who, too, fought for independence."
 
The Japanese, on the other hand, were invaders, and they tortured and killed thousands more of our countrymen during their invasion, and yet we have forgiven them their atrocities. In fact, the Japanese are now our friends, and they are a people we look up to, thanks to ex-premiere Mahathir Mohamad's Look East policy. So why is it that we cut them more slack?
 
Is the Government hard on Chin Peng because it feels embarrassed that Umno, the party that it has heaped so much credit on for winning independence, did not fight any bloody battles for it, like Chin Peng and the CPM did? And that, also, one of Umno's revered leaders of the past, Abdul Razak Hussein, actually worked for the Japanese?
 
Well, in the book Tun Abdul Razak: Potret dalam Kenangan, a collection of reminiscences by people who knew the country's second prime minister, there is a mention of his having been an administrative officer for the Japanese. It is in the chapter entitled 'Saya Mendayung, Dia Mengemudi' (I Rowed, He Held the Helm), written by former Cabinet minister Ghazali Shafie.
 
And in a study called 'Sejarah Penubuhan Universiti Teknologi Mara UITM' (http://coredev.fsktm.um.edu.my/servlet/sreport.sReportShow?report_id=154&xslFile=all), there is a photograph of Razak with three others dressed in Japanese uniform with the rising sun insignia pinned on their shirt pockets. This apparently depicts the time he was being trained by the Japanese.
 
To be sure, Ghazali also mentions in his chapter that he and Razak were actually nationalists. "We felt that since we had known the British much longer … it was easier to stand up to them than the Japanese, whom we had not got a full measure of yet … Therefore, we felt we had to master [the] Japanese [language] and at the same time, we had to look for channels to contact the British … so as to obtain their assistance in fighting the Japanese."
 
From his account, it looks like the strategy adopted by him and Razak was a pragmatic play-both-sides one that is different from the direct warfare approach opted for by Chin Peng.
 
In view of this, do we still say that Chin Peng doesn't deserve to even have his ashes brought home to the country he wanted to return to and die in?
 
Well, I would say that he has more right to be buried in Malaysia than many people I could name. For example, those who have been behind the giving of illegal identity cards to illegal immigrants in Sabah are certainly not as worthy as Chin Peng in claiming this country as their home. He never sold out his country; in fact, he wanted it to be free. His problem was, his ideology was not accepted. And he was on the wrong side of history.
 
I think it's time to set the history right.
 

* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the new book The Elections Bullshit, now available in bookstores. 

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net
 

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