| ‘It won’t be Anwar at Istana gates’ Posted: 14 Dec 2011 01:10 PM PST Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim may have underestimated the technicalities of forming a new government post 13th GE. When push comes to shove, everyone must be realist. Can a person who will probably be in jail become a PM? Can a person with an image problem be PM? We will be defending a person who is stung by accusations of all sorts of moral depravities all of which suggests moral weaknesses. Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, Free Malaysia Today In about two months' time Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim may perhaps be a special guest to the government. So post 13th general election, he may not be there jumping up and down outside the Istana Negara gates. It won't be him, but another trusted person who waves the paper that contains the list of MPs who back him (Anwar) as their prime minister. Anwar will insist, the choice of PM can be done this way, since precedence has been created in Perak. The MPs whose names are in the list waved are also at the gates. They would have all travelled in buses provided free by businessmen eager to ingratiate themselves to the new rulers of Malaysia. But that person who probably has no stature and standing at the Palace gates is refused entry. Because inside in audience with the King is the Attorney-General. The AG, in the presence of the Chief Secretary of the government informs the King that the test of support of the majority of MPs must be done in a parliamentary sitting. So, Anwar's paper with the list of MPs is useless unless parliament sits. The Agong for the first time will be truly tested. The country cannot afford to not have a constitutionally established government. Humbling reality The Agong will need to use his discretion to decide, who he and his brother rulers regard as the person who has the credibility and support to form the next government. The interest of the country now overrides anything else. He will only see the person whom he thinks command all round respect. Anwar may have underestimated the technicalities of forming a new government. He can't bulldoze his way around and do an Arab Spring or a series of street demonstrations. He must now realize, his earthly salvation lies in the hands of other people. The big 3 – PKR, PAS and DAP – must direct themselves to this possibly. They must collectively address the issue who is their collective leader, the person with the stature, the experience and who possesses sufficient credibility to become Pakatan's leader. Anwar and PKR must acknowledge the bigger picture. His salvation may indeed depend on this humbling reality. READ MORE HERE |
| Sodomy II verdict on Jan 9 Posted: 14 Dec 2011 01:08 PM PST High Court Judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah will deliver his decision on Anwar Ibrahim's case on Jan 9. (Free Malaysia Today) - Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim will know his fate on Jan 9 next year after the defence and prosecution wrapped up the Sodomy II case today. High Court judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah said he would deliver the verdict after hearing the final submissions this morning. Three years ago, Anwar was charged with having sodomised Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, his former aide, then 22. Anwar pleaded not guilty to the offence, allegedly committed at a Desa Damansara condominium unit in Bukit Damansara on June 26, 2008. The PKR de facto leader is facing a maximum of 20 years in prison and whipping, if found guilty under Section 377B of the Penal Code. This is the second time he was accused of sodomy. In 1998, Anwar lost his deputy prime minister's post after he was charged with corruption and sodomising his family driver. He was freed in 2004 after six years of imprisonment when the Federal Court overturned the sodomy conviction. It took almost a year for the Sodomy II trial to start, after a number of delays due to several applications by Anwar's lawyers that went to the Federal Court. Among others, the main applications were to quash the charge, seeking key documents they claimed were denied, and to recuse the sitting judge. The prosecution had called 27 witnesses, including Saiful. Prima facie case There were three doctors from the KL Hospital who examined Saiful two days after the alleged incident. The prosecution also relied heavily on the findings of two chemists, Dr Seah Lay Hong and Nor Aidora Saedon, whose testimonies showed that the DNA profile of "male Y" found in the anus of Saiful was Anwar's. On May 16, Mohamad Zabidin ordered Anwar to enter his defence after ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case. He ruled that Saiful was a "credible" and "truthful" witness whose testimony was corroborated by the evidence of expert witnesses, including doctors and chemists. READ MORE HERE |
| Buzz your rep on the bus issue Posted: 14 Dec 2011 12:59 PM PST Azmi Sharom There is a need to understand what the philosophies of the competing political parties are, to know their thoughts on the problems of the day. ________________________
UNLIKE most of my contemporaries who signed up for driving lessons as soon as they turned 17, I was a late bloomer. I did not learn to drive till I was way into my 20s and then I did not actually drive until a few months after getting my licence because the Mini Minor I bought blew her gasket when my mate was driving it from the dealer to my house. So for years, getting to and from work meant taking a bus. From the depths of Keramat, I would take a blue Sri Jaya bus to Chow Kit and from there I would take either a yellow No. 12 minibus or a pink No. 30 minibus (Actually its number 39. The Star made a mistake. Just in case there are any mini bus fanatics reading this!) to get to my final destination (both the Sri Jaya bus and the minibuses are now history of course). The whole trip would normally take me an hour and a half. It was pretty tiring just getting to work. The buses were usually full to the brim. If I was fortunate enough to actually get a seat, inevitably there would either be an old pakcik standing next to me tremulously holding on for dear life or, more commonly, a heavily pregnant woman looking at my seat with undisguised longing, her bulging belly gently bumping my head. Needless to say, I would end up standing for the entire journey hanging on to a metal bar as I perched precariously on the outside step of the bus, my Billy Ray Cyrus mullet blowing in the wind. Once, I got to my final stop in such an exhausted state that I knew I would die if I tried to cross the busy street to my office. Being the wise young man I was, I just curled up on the bus stand bench and slept, lulled by the gentle sounds of the mon-soon drain gurgling and the kapchais spluttering. The reason I am reminded of these adventures during my early days in Kuala Lumpur is the news that some bus companies are actually stopping entire routes because they are losing so much money from them. READ MORE HERE |
| Every Thai student should have a tablet PC by May: Education Minister Posted: 14 Dec 2011 12:57 PM PST (The Nation) - The government's One Tablet PC per Child policy will be fully implemented by May, Education Minister Woravat Auapinyakul pledged yesterday. "We will try to give tablet PCs to all students in primary and secondary school," he said, adding that vocational students would also get the tablets. He was speaking in response to reports that due to a limited budget, the tablets would first be handed out to Prathom 1 students only. "I am looking for additional funds," he said. In response to comments that the tablets might not be useful for some vocational subjects, Woravat said the devices would serve as a learning tool, giving students access to other materials. The One Tablet PC Per Child policy was one of the many campaign promises made by the ruling Pheu Thai Party. "We have set a goal and we will achieve it," the education minister insisted. While Woravat was keen to implement Pheu Thai's election policies, he paid little attention to the New Breed of Teachers project launched by the previous government. "It's not a main policy of the current government," he said. "I will push for this government's policies first." However, he said, he had no intention to scrap or suspend projects introduced by his predecessors and that he would look into the details of the project later. "Today, the country must move to stay competitive in the international arena. We can't pin all our hopes on a new-breed of teachers alone," Woravat said. Assoc Prof Piniti Ratananukul, deputy secretary-general of the Office of Higher Education Commission (Ohec), said the Thailand Education Deans Council was seeking clarity on the teacher project. "We will raise the issue with the education minister," Piniti said. According to him, Ohec is seeking Bt278.7 million (S$12 million) to operate the project in the next fiscal year but it has yet to hear from Woravat. According to a previous Cabinet resolution, the New Breed of Teachers Project was to be implemented this year and run until 2015, expecting to produce 30,000 new-breed teachers for the country. "I can explain the needs for the project," Piniti added. |
| Between friends, comrades and acquaintances Posted: 14 Dec 2011 12:18 PM PST 
Opposition supporters demonstrate a very low level of maturity. They allow their thinking to be clouded by emotions. We need to be pragmatic. Support the cause by all means. The cause is what matters. But leaders are dispensable. Leaders come and go. The cause remains. NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin Back in the days when I used to do business (that would be pre-1995) I had a 'guiding light'. I do not do business with people I socialise with and I do not socialise with people I do business with. I keep my friends and my business acquaintances separate.
I did, however, break that rule a number of times. I did business with some friends and each time I got screwed big time. I lost quite a bit of money and that was when I got so disgusted I decided to call it quits in 1995 and thereafter focused fulltime on my real passion, writing. Well, only friends can screw you because only friends are able to exploit your trust.
I suppose the saying 'the surest way to lose a friend is to lend him money' holds true here. That is why whenever a friend wants to borrow money I just give him a portion of what he asks for and tell him that it is a gift, not a loan. And then I just write off the amount. Better that than you never get the money back and lose a friend in the process.
The same goes for political comrades. I separate the 'rakan seperjuangan' (comrades of the same struggle) from friends. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. For example, Haris Ibrahim, the President of the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) is both a comrade and a friend (plus my lawyer as well). But (Sam) Haris, as I said, is the exception.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is my friend. But he is not my rakan seperjuangan though. Dr Mahathir's struggle is to ensure that Umno stays in power while mine is ABU (Anything But Umno).
I know, at this point some of you are going to start foaming at the mouth and scream: how can I regard Dr Mahathir as a friend after what he did to Malaysia? Well, as I said, we differ on ideology but that does not mean I can't take him as a friend, and vice versa.
When I was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in September 2008, Dr Mahathir made a public statement condemning my detention. He was most upset that the government detained me, whom Dr Mahathir said, is just a Blogger and not a threat to national security.
When the court released me in November 2008, Dr Mahathir phoned me. He wanted to know how I was and, understandably, I was pleased that the ex-Prime Minister took the trouble to phone me on the day of my release.
No one else phoned me, not one of the opposition leaders, not even Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (Ronnie Liu and Saari Sungib did come to see me though). They could not be bothered about me although I was detained because I was doing the work of the opposition. Dr Mahathir, however, phoned me to ask how I was. Under those circumstances how can I not regard Dr Mahathir as a friend?
Another person who spoke up for me when I was detained was Datuk Zaid Ibrahim. In fact, Zaid not only spoke up for me but he even resigned from his post as Minister in protest of my detention. Name me one Barisan Nasional minister who would resign from his/her post out of protest for detaining his/her friend. Most would rather distant themselves from their friend to ensure their political survival. Zaid, instead, sacrificed his political career for a friend.
Again, just like many can't understand why I regard Dr Mahathir as a friend, they also can't understand why I support Zaid, whom they regard as a traitor to the opposition cause. Nevertheless, while I regard Zaid as my friend, I refused to join his political party (which hurt his feelings, I know).
When I had to leave the country to avoid a third detention under the ISA, Zaid flew to Manchester to meet me. He even took me to a football match at the Old Trafford (Manchester United versus Sunderland). When I flew to Bangkok in January this year, Zaid came over to meet me and to buy me dinner. Last week, he, again, flew to Bangkok to meet up with me and to spend some time with me.
The other friends who went to Manchester (three times over three years) to meet me were Tan Sri Sanusi Junid and Mat Sabu of PAS. Mat Sabu even slept in my house and his purpose for going to Manchester was for no other reason other than to meet me and to spend time with me.
Sanusi Junid even phoned me on Hari Raya day to wish me 'Selamat Hari Hari'. I am not a rakan seperjuang of Sanusi. Just like Dr Mahathir, Sanusi's perjuangan is Umno and mine is ABU. But he calls me on Hari Raya day to wish me 'Selamat Hari Raya' while none of the opposition leaders would do that (or even members of the Selangor Royal Family).
Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and quite a number of Umno leaders are my friends. Many Umno Bloggers are my friends. A few of the MCA, Gerakan and PPP leaders are also my friends. All these people meet me when they are in the UK and also phone me from time to time.
Okay, I have talked about Dr Mahathir, Zaid, Sanusi, Mat Sabu, Nazri Aziz and all those others. You are probably by now wondering: what about Anwar Ibrahim? What is Anwar to me?
Well, Anwar is the Opposition Leader. So I support Anwar because I am pro-opposition and Anwar is the Opposition Leader. But he is not my friend. He is not my friend because he has not demonstrated friendship like Dr Mahathir, Zaid, Sanusi, Mat Sabu, Nazri Aziz, etc., have.
But that is all Anwar is to me, my rakan seperjuangan, nothing more. And don't expect me to demonstrate loyalty to Anwar as a friend would because he has not shown me that he is my friend like Dr Mahathir, Zaid, Sanusi, Mat Sabu, Nazri Aziz, etc., have.
Some say I am too critical towards Anwar. Actually, I have been holding back. You have not seen how critical I can be if I really wanted to. I do not want to go all out to criticise Anwar because too many people will take this criticism as a sell out or an act treacherous to the opposition cause.
The trouble is: people expect me to suck Anwar's dick to prove my loyalty to the opposition cause. Why must the opposition cause be tied to Anwar? The opposition cause is the opposition cause and Anwar is Anwar. They are two different issues and should not be packaged as one issue.
This, many can't seem to understand. They think that since you support the opposition then you must also support Anwar. I support PAS as well. Does that mean I must also support Hasan Ali? Can't I oppose Hasan Ali while supporting PAS?
Opposition supporters demonstrate a very low level of maturity. They allow their thinking to be clouded by emotions. We need to be pragmatic. Support the cause by all means. The cause is what matters. But leaders are dispensable. Leaders come and go. The cause remains.
The million-dollar question is: is Anwar the only Malaysian out of 28 million Malaysians who can lead the opposition? I think not. You mean out of 28 million Malaysians we can't find a replacement to Anwar? How come Anwar has been made so indispensable?
Anwar is most likely going to jail. He is most likely going to jail because he may be convicted of sodomy. Never mind if Anwar is or is not guilty or whether Anwar is a victim of a political conspiracy. That no longer matters. What matters is, who is going to lead the opposition once Anwar goes to jail?
Surely we are not serious about storming the Sungai Buloh Prison to break down the walls to free Anwar from jail and make him Prime Minister, like what Azmin Ali said? That's not how Prime Minister's are appointed in a parliamentary democracy.
Let's get real. We need someone to lead the opposition. And once Anwar is sent to jail it will have to be someone new. Personally, if you ask me, I would choose Nurul Izzah. But that is my personal opinion and my opinion may be clouded and not the best choice. Anyway, I am entitled to my personal opinion even if I may be wrong.
In closing, let me just say that I choose my own friends and no one is going to tell me who I can take as my friends. Yes, I know that many in the opposition resent the fact that I take Dr Mahathir, Sanusi, Zaid, Nazri Aziz, etc., as my friends. Well, tough! There is nothing you can do about that.
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| Naza joins in race for Proton Posted: 14 Dec 2011 10:26 AM PST Business Times understands that the Naza bid could be slightly higher than the rumoured price of RM6 to RM7 a share. (Business Times) - The Naza Group, the country's biggest privately-held automotive group, made a closed-door presentation to Khazanah Nasional Bhd yesterday to buy its stake in Proton Holdings Bhd. The presentation came just a day after UMW Holdings Bhd made a similar presentation to the government's investment fund. UMW has a 25-year-old strong relationship with Japanese Toyota Motor Corp, the world's largest carmaker by sales volume. UMW, which is majority-controlled by the government's Permodalan Nasional Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund, is also the single largest shareholder of Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd, the manufacturer of Malaysia's second national car. "They (Naza) have sent in a letter of intent to Khazanah to acquire Proton," said a person familiar with the matter.
Business Times understands that the Naza bid could be slightly higher than the rumoured price of RM6 to RM7 a share.
The other bidder for the national carmaker is DRB-HICOM Bhd, the country's biggest publicly-traded automotive company.
DRB-HICOM is controlled by Malaysia's second youngest billionaire Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary.
Almost seven years ago, Syed Mokhtar had locked horns with the Naza Group for control over DRB-HICOM.
Against the odds, the tycoon came out tops and since then, his management team has helped transform DRB-HICOM into a profitable entity.
Khazanah has a 42.7 per cent stake in Proton, and has confirmed in recent days that it had received proposals on Proton from certain parties.
A bid at RM7 a share values Proton at RM3.84 billion, which is a steep premium over its current market value of slightly over the RM2.1 billion mark.
It is, however, still much lower than the national carmaker's book value of RM5.4 billion or RM9.84 per share as at end-March 2011.
The Naza pitch is a stand-alone bid, with no foreign participation.
The group has been in the automotive business since 1975, and has been one of the more successful private businesses operating in the competitive automotive business.
"It has a proven track record in the business," said the source. The Naza group — the country's largest importer of luxury automobiles such as Ferrari, Peugeot and Brabus — has in recent years, carved a significant share in the buoyant retail car market.
It currently has tie-ups with South Korea's Kia Motors, French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroën, and General Motors, the US automotive giant. Naza has a manufacturing plant in Gurun, Kedah, which has rolled out more than 150,000 vehicles to date.
The Naza group had invested as much as RM500 million in May 2004 to set up the plant, which is its flagship manufacturing base.
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| The Proton saga continues Posted: 14 Dec 2011 10:14 AM PST Interestingly, the announcements on Proton's seemingly imminent sale — and even the likely buyer — are coming from Dr Mahathir, who is an adviser to Proton, rather than its major shareholder — Khazanah, which has been rather quiet throughout the episode. Written by Joanne Nayagam, The Edge The Proton-DRB-Khazanah saga continued yesterday with Proton Holdings Bhd issuing a statement saying that Khazanah Nasional Bhd, "in its normal course of business, it regularly receives proposals, enquiries and expressions of interests in relation to its various investments and companies where it has interest in, including Proton. Khazanah will make necessary disclosure at the appropriate time". Khazanah neither denied nor confirmed the rumour of the sale of its 42.7% equity stake in Proton to DRB-Hicom Bhd. This was the second statement from Proton in a week, although it sent a clearer signal that something may be brewing at the national carmaker. On Dec 6, in a response to an article in The Edge, Proton had flatly denied any corporate development. It announced to Bursa Malaysia that "after making due enquiry with the board of directors and major shareholders, the company is not aware of any reason for the unusual market activity in its shares and that there is no material corporate development not previously disclosed". Meanwhile, DRB-Hicom did not acknowledge that it is keen on buying into the national carmaker. The conglomerate had last week denied the speculation of it acquiring an equity stake in Proton. | 
| Proton needs a strategic partner to ensure it thrives in an increasingly competitive
environment. | Proton's announcement came after the comments made by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that DRB-Hicom "is likely to win the bid for Khazanah's equity interest in Proton" on Monday. Interestingly, the announcements on Proton's seemingly imminent sale — and even the likely buyer — are coming from Dr Mahathir, who is an adviser to Proton, rather than its major shareholder — Khazanah, which has been rather quiet throughout the episode. The Edge weekly reported over a week ago that Khazanah might sell its stake in Proton to DRB-Hicom, which also assembles cars for Suzuki, Mercedes-Benz and global car maker Volkswagen AG (VW). It is a well-known secret that Khazanah has been looking for a suitor for its majority stake in Proton, in which the the former does not have a board representative despite being the major shareholder. In 2006, VW was interested in purchasing Khazanah's stake in Proton, but the plan hit a snag due to what some said was nationalistic interest. Three years later in 2009, DRB-Hicom approached Proton and submitted a bid to buy 32% of Proton shares. Again, the talks failed for reasons unknown. Today, Proton is not exactly in the pink of health. Proton's net profit fell 76% to RM15.6 million for 2QFY12 ended Sept 30 from RM65.9 million a year earlier due to higher expenses incurred by Lotus Group. Likewise, its 1HFY12 earnings took a sharp 86.6% fall to RM20.1 million from RM150 million a year earlier. As at Sept 30, Proton had RM1.31 billion in cash, bank balances and deposits. Its short-term and long-term borrowings grew 158% to RM959.1 million compared with RM371.2 million six months earlier. Proton is in the second year of a five-year turnaround plan for Lotus Group that costs £480 million (RM2.35 billion). However, if Khazanah didn't sell its stake in 2006, one might wonder why the rush now, indeed? And why narrow the potential buyers to only a few local parties? Would it not be better to have a tender exercise open to global auto players as well? Limiting the pool of buyers will not get Khazanah the best price, or a partner for Proton that will ensure it thrives. Proton could definitely use a helping hand given its current weakening financial position, but certainly there should be no rush to make a transaction of such size and importance. Recently, DRB-Hicom in an announcement to Bursa refuted claims that it is looking to secure a substantial stake in Proton and would later divest part of the stake to VW. This wasn't exactly a denial of the possibility that it could buy Khazanah's stake and simply not sell it.
If VW had expressed interest in Proton five years ago, surely it has some ideas on how to turn the company around. Was it even approached now? If Khazanah is indeed interested in potential buyers for its stake, the national sovereign wealth fund should open up the bids in a more transparent manner for a longer period of time. This is especially since Proton is currently trading below its book value per share of RM9.81, net tangible assets per share of RM7.62 as well as Khazanah's estimated cost of above RM8 per share. Proton can rely on bigger automotive players to not only invest money in the national carmaker, but also to lend research and development (R&D) capabilities, something which DRB-Hicom can not offer. When contacted by The Edge Financial Daily, Aberdeeen Asset Management fund manager Abdul Jalil Rasheed said: "A lot of the car manufacturing brands are owned by one company, where divisions like R&D are shared by all the different divisions within the company". If a significantly large auto player like VW were to have a stake in Proton, the local carmaker could stand to gain substantially from its R&D capabilities. Back in its heyday from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, almost every Malaysian had a Proton car. Fast forward to 2011 and Proton is seeing a decline in its market share, despite strong protectionist policies that result in hefty taxes and Malaysia having some of the highest car prices in the world. Thanks to economies of scale and continuous investments in R&D, there are plenty of foreign carmakers that are selling much nicer cars, priced not much higher than Proton here and far cheaper overseas. This is Proton's biggest challenge. Jalil said the more pertinent question at this time is not if Khazanah were to sell its Proton stake to DRB-Hicom, but if Proton can just survive by being Proton. With all three parties neither denying nor agreeing to the claims of the sale of Proton, it really is anyone's guess how the saga will further develop. Proton's existing management is also said to have expressed interest in a management buyout, with the proposal spearheaded by its chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, and its CEO Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamad Tahir. However, on a brighter note for Proton, the group has seen some interest in its shares of late. Yesterday, Proton closed at RM4.27, four sen higher than Monday's close. |
| Race and religion are ‘sensitive’ because Umno feels threatened Posted: 14 Dec 2011 10:09 AM PST Maclean Patrick, Hornbill Unleashed
The need to label any attempt to have a discourse on race or religion has always been considered sensitive in Malaysia and we are conditioned to believe that this is the way the world operates. From young, Malaysians are taught by the BN government that nature has provided a system where we are separated based on our race and the religion that we profess. And when we take a step forward to discuss and query those from different faiths, lines must be drawn and any time someone crosses this line; we must throw up a hand and tell them to back off. We then surmise that the issue is sensitive and no-one is allowed to discuss it. In Malaysia, it is sensitive when the authorities call it sensitive. And no one else has any say. And because of this propaganda and brain-washing, many everyday Malaysians have some hang-up or other about race and religion. Racial and religious polarization is on the rise thanks to the BN's continuous efforts to keep the Malays separated from the non-Malays. The only saving grace is that violence has not broken out despite provocation and threats by groups linked to Umno such as Perkasa and Pekida. Tools of the politicians Really, it is only those in politics who find religion and race a sensitive issue, since both serve as tools for Prime Minister Najib Razak to gain political mileage and to character-assassinate political rivals. One good example of an Umno stirred-up spat is between JAIS and the Christian community. It has allowed Umno and its supporters to claim that Muslims are being turned away from their faith by Christians groups. The Muslims are always portrayed as innocent lambs led to the slaughter by the evil Christians who would not hesitate to stoop to using money and false assistance in order to lure Muslims away from Islam. Yet, to date, the actual number of Muslims turning away from their faith remains under wraps. We only have the word of feverish politicians to go by, with no real facts and figures to read or research. Christians upset The Christians can also call the matter sensitive since their faith is also being questioned and even subjugated to another. A good Christian is called upon to make disciples of men and thus the higher calling takes precedence over rules and regulations put in place by mere mortals. Existing laws are adequate to address an alleged rise in the proselytisation of Muslims, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom recently, adding that failure to enforce such laws was what needed redress, not the lack of laws. Jamil, the minister in charge of Islamic affairs, was responding to newspaper reports alleging that attempts to convert Muslims were increasing in the country. And this is the state of affairs in Malaysia. Accusations are hurled by top level government officers. Najib himself has led the charge in insinuating a real threat from the Christians – and this directly after an official visit to the Vatican to create diplomatic ties. It is no wonder that Christian leaders here have felt the need to speak out against the government to the foreign media. At the very least, it is a form of self-defense and a real disgrace to the Umno-led BN government. That citizens in Malaysia feel the need to seek protection of the global community shows the type of 'people' leading the government of the day. Until real numbers are shown, all the feverish claims are hearsay and mere whispers that insult Malaysian Christians and infringe on the basic right of a citizen to practice his or her belief. To draw the Sultan of Selangor into the fray was a sad attempt at hiding the ulterior motives of Umno to wrest back Selangor from Pakatan Rakyat's rule. Umno knows, in a straight fight, it is doomed to lose at the ballot boxes. So it plays up the fears of the Malays by telling them that Islam was being trampled on and that they were losing ground because the Christians were proselytizing Muslims in the country. The use of race, as a tool to scare the electorate into voting BN, will surely be used with full effect in all the Pakatan states. Prime Minister Najib Razak gave a hint of this strategy during the Umno General Assembly, which was subsequently echoed by all branches of the Umno political machinery. Ironically, when real issues that threaten Malay rights present themselves; Umno and Perkasa who both insist they are the champions of the Malays and the Malay Rulers remain silent. Take for example the RM100 million suit filed by a Kelantan prince against the police and effectively against the government. Why has Perkasa or Umno not come forward to defend a royal who is seeking justice via the courts of law? Why has Perkasa not come out to take up the Kelantan prince's cause? READ MORE HERE |
| Public spat between Karpal and Ramasamy resolved – DAP leadership to move forward as one ... Posted: 14 Dec 2011 09:56 AM PST Joint Media Statement by DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng, DAP Life Advisor Dr. Chen Man Hin and DAP Parliamentary Leader On Tuesday, 13th December 2011, the DAP Central Executive Committee entrusted a three-man committee to resolve the differences between the DAP National Chairman Karpal Singh and DAP Penang Deputy Chairman and Penang Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. P. Ramasamy. On Wednesday, 14th December 2011, Makkal Oosai Chief Editor M. Rajan issued a correction on its 28th Nov. 2011 news report, admitting its mistake and making clear that its 28th November 2011 report about DAP candidatures for the next general elections had not originated from Ramasamy and expressing sadness that its news report had been the cause of the public controversy between Karpal and Ramasamy. Hoping that the differences could be resolved as soon as possible, the Makkal Oosai chief editor paid tribute to the leadership qualities of Karpal and Ramasamy and wrote: "Untuk kita, Karpal Singh dan Professor Ramasamy adalah pemimpin yang terpenting. Karpal Singh adalah pejuang dalam barisan pembangkang yang amat disanjungi di negara kita. Beliau telah melalui banyak penderitaan dan dugaan. Beliau berpegang teguh kepada prinsip parti dan berjuang sehingga masuk ke penjara. "Seperti itu juga, pemberian jawatan Timbalan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang kepada seorang India adalah sejarah dalam politik negara kita. Pada pilihanraya lepas, Professor Ramasamy telah memenangi DUN dan Parlimen di Penang dan menjadi Timbalan Ketua Menteri. Beliau juga memberikan khidmat yang baik kepada masyarakat India Pulau Pinang dengan jawatan sebagai Timbalan Ketua Menteri tersebut." DAP leaders, including Karpal and Ramasamy, are conscious of the high expectations and great trust of the people in the DAP leadership to create a new political landscape in the imminent 13th general elections, particularly in bringing about a genuine two-coalition system in national politics by effecting a change of federal power in Putrajaya for the first time in 54 years of independent nationhood. Taking into account the Tamil Oosai clarification and mindful of the great concerns of the people over the unity, cohesion and solidarity of the DAP leadership, Karpal, Ramasamy and the DAP Central Executive Committee have decided to move forward as one solid and committed political team to complete the final preparations for the challenges of the 13th GE expected in the next few months. We will address and resolve internal differences using party channels to strengthen party unity, solidarity and cohesion so that we can single-mindedly ensure that DAP and Pakatan Rakyat can take on and defeat UMNO and Barisan Nasional in the 13th general elections. Lim Guan Eng Dr. Chen Man Hin Lim Kit Siang |
| Oh! Woe to the book lover Posted: 14 Dec 2011 09:46 AM PST One becomes more empathic to social issues and will contribute to the worthiness of a cause when one has a learned viewpoint of the world, as opposed to having shallow knowledge. A reading and intellectual society begets learned critics; when one has a learned viewpoint of the world, as opposed to having shallow knowledge, one becomes more empathic to social issues and will contribute to the worthiness of the cause. By Dina Zaman, The Star THE recent literary kerfuffle over the weekend was news of Jakim finding Lee Kuan Yew's book (and other books) haram for not meeting its guidelines. To date, Putrajaya and Jakim's director-general are "… still studying the book." However, Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going is not banned yet and is still on Malaysian bookshelves. A blogger, The Malaysian Reader (http://themalaysianreader.com/2011/12/08/jakims-list-of-banned-islamic-themed-books-2011/), had posted a list of books banned by Jakim; and a literary figure, Feisal Tehrani, is also one of the authors scrutinised, and whose book Batu di Kuala Berang is banned. First, what is the difference between a ban and the term "haram"? A ban means a prohibition, censure, condemnation by public opinion. Haram means forbidden, especially those actions and deeds deemed so by Allah. According to lawyer Art Harun, "… assuming Jakim has the power to declare books (actually to declare anything) as haram, its declaration that the book is haram only operates as a declaration per se and nothing more. "It brings about no legal repercussions to any Muslim who defies that declaration by proceeding to be in possession of the book, touching it passionately or even using it as an object of pleasure. "As for banning a book, that is the purview of the Home Ministry. Banning a book has legal connotations. People in possession of or selling the book can be charged in court; and if found guilty, punished." Now what is the role of Jakim in multicultural Malaysia? "In 1968, the Malaysian Council of Rulers decided that there was a need for a body that could mobilise the development and progress of Muslims in Malaysia in line with the country's status as an Islamic country which was growing in strength as well as fast gaining worldwide recognition," its website states. "In realising the fact, a secretariat for the National Council of Islamic Affairs of Malaysia was formed to protect the purity of faith and the teachings of Islam." The question every discerning Malaysian reader wants to know is: What are Jakim's guidelines towards books? Are these men of the cloth also literature graduates? Do learned and pious men make good literary critics? I do not know the content of Hard Truths. I am a fan of history, not of biography, though Keith Richards' Life is a rocking read. (Now will that book be banned for its celebration of a life of decadence?) I am also a believer that when you have your religious/humanist basics right, you will be able to perform an intelligent comparative analysis when you come across a text which may offend or cause discomfort. It will not be based on emotions, but facts. I can say this confidently: Muslims, in general, are an intelligent lot. At least my friends are. Even the most pious of my friends enjoy a good read and are able to discern what is right and wrong. I have a friend, Mr Greenbottle, who is a proud supporter of PAS and crazy about books. He once gave me a book about the lives of pigs. Yes, you read and saw that right: PIGS. "Hey, the religion never said anything about not being allowed to READ about pigs, right? We just can't consume it," he clucked as I stared incredulously at the book. The book was a really interesting read about the animal and I stopped halfway when I came to the chapter which discussed the dismemberment of pigs. For that matter, I stopped reading Mary Roach's Stiff halfway: learning about corpse farms in America turned my stomach. What is this fear that Malaysians and Muslim-Malaysians may be influenced negatively by the books they read? Are we so incapable of independent thought, and our faiths so shallow that we cannot navigate the terrain? Countless articles have been written, expounding the benefits of reading to society. A reading and intellectual society begets learned critics; when one has a learned viewpoint of the world, as opposed to having shallow knowledge, one becomes more empathic to social issues and will contribute to the worthiness of the cause. A reading and educated society takes itself out of poverty and empowers its children. Every industry's work is documented on paper and in a digital format – you cannot escape literature! On a personal note, reading helps stave off dementia and makes me a more interesting person! Reading also brings different worlds together. I am now researching for my new book and I am reading about Catholic women saints and Japan's hidden Christians. At the same time, I am comparing the saints to Sufi women saints and reading about the persecution of Muslims during Prophet Muhammad's time. I am struck by the passion and grit of these people, who had only one thing in common: to serve God. However, by reading books that are not Islamic in content, am I committing a crime? I read these books for research and also out of sheer curiosity. Will the latter be censured? Dr Asri Zainal Abidin in his book, Islam in Malaysia: Perceptions & Facts also commented on the lack of intellectual and critical thinking in the country. "The practice of blind taklid was never taught by any imam (of the Sunni community as a whole). "On the contrary, imams have demanded that each person must strive to build his or her own intellectual ability," he wrote in Facts and Evidence in Islam. If "… the academic world has acknowledged the competence of non-Shafi'i (but Muslim) scholars… (why) should we reject them on the basis of their school...?" (The Need for an Open Mind). Obviously, in this context, Asri is talking about mazhabs, but it is also clear that Islam does not hinder critical thinking. It encourages it. I fear having an authority decide which books can be read and which are disallowed. I have said that wearing the hijab is not an issue to me, but veiling my thinking and the books I choose to read will be a threat to my freedom and happiness. Dina Zaman is a writer based in KL. She is interested in Malaysian religious histories and its people. |
| Shafie: Karpal-Rama feud a time bomb Posted: 14 Dec 2011 09:40 AM PST (The Star) - The feud between DAP national chairman Karpal Singh and deputy secretary-general Dr P. Ramasamy shows that there is a crack in the party, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said. He said the feud could be just the tip of an iceberg with a bigger fight ahead. "When leaders of a political party quarrel openly and start calling names, what does that mean? "It only shows that they are actually not on good terms with each other and a fight is waiting to break out just like a time bomb," he said yesterday. Shafie said if the people analysed the on-going spat between the two DAP leaders, they would realise that it was about cronyism. "Apparently, cronyism is practised widely in the party and that made its senior leaders upset. "I think many DAP members are aware of this and they are waiting for someone to express it on their behalf," he said. Karpal and Dr Ramasamy have been engaged in a tit-for-tat feud over the past week, after the former chastised the latter for allegedly offering seats to certain leaders in exchange for their support and loyalty. In an apparent dig at Dr Ramasamy, Karpal also said the DAP had no place for "warlords". Dr Ramasamy denied that he had offered any seat and launched a veiled attack on Karpal by saying that DAP had no place for "godfathers". |
| Taking the DNBN Kuburkan BN initiative to the Malay heartlands Posted: 14 Dec 2011 09:32 AM PST 
THE PEOPLES' PARLIAMENT Over the last one month, in a stealth exercise, more than 200,000 copies of a DNBN KUBURKAN BN DI PRU13 documentary have been distributed to our Pakcik2, Makcik2 and Adik2 in the kampungs throughout Malaya. For some time now, we have realised that even as many of us are able to get at the truth as to what is happening in our country, our brothers and sisters in the Malay heartlands, on a daily basis, are fed doses and doses of lies, fear mongering, divisive reports and hate rhetoric by the main stream media. With a view to countering this, over the last 7 months, a team has worked to put together a video documentary to deliver a message to the kampungs : that if we are to save this nation, UMNO and BN must be removed from Putrajaya nad buried. After much brainstorming, we felt that, if nothing else, it was imperative that the following 3 messages reach the Malays in the kampung. Firstly, and most importantly, that UMNO's sloganeering of 'Ketuanan Melayu' is unIslamic, as Islam does not countenance any notions or race supremacy or discrimination on grounds of race or ethnicity. Secondly, that over the last 30 – 35 years, on the pretext of working to help the impoverished Malays, UMNO has hijacked the New Economic Policy (NEP) to enrich its own leaders and their cronies, leaving some 40% f the population living in poverty today. Finally, that contrary to UMNO's claims, UMNO was not the party that fought for independence from the British and that, to this date, by constantly playing up manufactured race and religion issues, UMNO endeavours to keep the people colonised and enslaved whilst they hijack the national wealth. The DNBN KUBURKAN BN DI PRU13 documentary, which is about an hour and 44 minutes long, is, in its content, most complementary of the ASALKAN BUKAN umno initiative to be lauched later tonight. READ MORE HERE |
| Apa lagi PAS nak perjuangkan! Posted: 14 Dec 2011 09:20 AM PST Hakikatnya undi orang Melayu tidaklah banyak — sekitar 6.3 juta manakala bukan Melayu lebih 4 juta. Namun jika diambil perhatian, pengundi Melayu memang tersangatlah liat untuk keluar mengundi lebih-lebih lagi jika hujan lebat di sebelah pagi hari pengundian. Zulkifli Jalil, The Malaysian Insider Negara berkebajikanlah, Buku Jinggalah. Sesiapa pun kalau "membacanya" pasti mengerti semua yang terkandung di dalam dua agenda pembangkang ini sudah pun terangkum dalam pelan pembangunan negara sejak merdeka lagi. Berkehendakkan sekolah, klinik dan hospital, nah! semuanya beribu-ribu terpampang di muka bumi Malaysia ini. Itu belum lagi soal yang lain-lain sehinggakan rakyat asing pun "tercengang-cengang" sebaik sahaja tiba di tanah air ini termasuklah kira-kira dua juta pekerja mereka. Tambah manis lagi apabila aspek pembangunan negara ini digarap dengan pelan transformasi yang digerakkan Datuk Seri Najib Razak sejak menyandang jawatan Perdana Menteri. Manfaat pelan ini mula menebar rezekinya di kalangan rakyat. Kerana itu, kalau secara kasar kita boleh ungkapkan: "apa nak lagi"? Tapi biarlah secara tertib "bukankah semuanya sudah ada". Buat apa ibarat "tikus membaiki labu". Sewajarnyalah PAS yang diketuai Presidennya, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang membuktikan dahulu parti itu boleh membangunkan ummah dalam bidang ekonomi dan ilmu. Ini khususnya di sebuah negeri Pantai Timur yang diperintahnya hampir lebih 20 tahun itu. PAS perlu berfikiran besar. Jangan terlalu jumud dan kecil. Janganlah gunakan diri sendiri untuk mengukur alam yang luas ini. Cuba renung-renungkan cerita orang buta dan gajah. Bila yang seorang terpegang ekor gajah, maka disangkanya gajah itu panjang dan tirus. Yang seorang lagi terpegang telinga gajah, lalu disangkanya gajah itu nipis. Seorang lagi memegang badan gajah dan disangkanya gajah itu keras macam tembok. Islam itu hakikatnya lebih besar dari gajah yang ditafsir oleh tiga orang buta tadi. Malah Islam itu lebih besar dari tafsiran sempit sebilangan pengikut yang berpartikan PAS yang menganggap mereka lebih Islam daripada orang lain. Dalam Islam, kenalah keutamaan yang betul dalam soal agama ini. Kalau kita asyik kejar yang sunat dan yang kecil, kita akan abaikan yang besar atau yang penting. Masalahnya, sebilangan dalam PAS ini lebih utamakan yang kecil dan cabang dari itu yang besar dan yang penting. Kelak, lama-kelamaan kita pentingkan apa yang sebenarnya perkara luaran sahaja. Bukan isi atau semangatnya. Kita hanya pentingkan cara menangkap daripada mengajar atau membetulkan. Ini penting untuk kita fahami sedalam-dalamnya supaya kita dapat melahirkan umat Islam yang berhati besar, yang kuat, yang kaya dan yang berilmu. Itu sahaja caranya kita nak lawan orang lain. Kalau kita lawan dengan air liur dan cakap sahaja seperti mana Abdul Hadi dalam memperkatakan Negara Berkebajikan PAS sedangkan di negeri Pantai Timur itu pun sampaikan pembangunan pesat di Jeli termasuk projek Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) pun diusahakan oleh Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed dari parti kerajaan, tak akan ke mana kita. Cuba sekali lagi kita renung-renungkan kisah PAS semasa pilihan raya. Antara yang paling menarik ialah tentang kedudukan wanita sebagai calon pilihan rayanya. Ya, memanglah calon wanita pertamanya yang diturunkan ialah Khadijah Sidek ketika pilihan raya (umum) pada 1955 yang ketika itu negara ini dikenali nama Tanah Melayu. Tetapi sejak itu, calon-calon wanita dari parti itu lenyap terus kelibatnya. Tiba-tiba pada Januari tahun ini, PAS mengakui parti itu membuat tafsiran semula ayat al-Quran berhubung keputusan meletakkan calon wanita bertanding pilihan raya apabila menurunkan Normala Sudirman pada pilihan raya kecil Tenang di Johor. Isu calon wanita menjadi bukti betapa PAS sebenarnya membuat sesuatu dasar bukanlah kerana mereka benar-benar ingin mengikut ajaran Islam sebenar. Tetapi lebih kepada soal kepentingan politik. READ MORE HERE |
| Non-halal books? What’s next? Posted: 14 Dec 2011 09:17 AM PST We do not want this action by Jakim to be a precedent which, if left unchecked, will lead us to follow in the footsteps of the Chinese during the Qin Dynasty where they burned books and buried their scholars, or the Nazis when they burned Jewish literature, or the Spanish conquistadors when they destroyed the Aztec codices. Dr Kamal Amzan, Free Malaysia Today Muslims can now can look forward (or backward) to bookstores having halal and non-halal sections nationwide. Publishers get ready. Books about yoga, the poco-poco dance and even Lee Kuan Yew's "Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going" will be placed in the non-halal section. If you haven't heard, Jakim has declared Lee's book haram. But do not worry, no rush, you still have ample time. It took Jakim nine months before they realised Lee Kuan Yew's book was not suitable for Malaysian Muslims. According to The Malaysian Insider, 15 books/magazines were declared haram by Jakim. Upon going to their site, I found out that one of them is "Majalah Tora Aman Doraemon — Kisah Penciptaan Dunia". Though Doraemon made the cut, romance books by Mills and Boons, books like "Poem of the Man God", "The Da Vinci Code", "The Anarchist Cookbook", "Misteri Nusantara", "Koleksi Cerita Hantu Asia" did not make it to the list. And if I may add, anyone reading and believing in Doraemon needs a trip to Tanjung Rambutan. Lee Kuan Yew's book may be offensive to some but then again it is not compulsory reading. I know I am pushing the fantasy further but even IF it is made compulsory reading, Jakim should not have banned it but instead pursued legal and civil way to deal with the matter. They must realise that we are not a country of mullahs and ayatollahs, but a constitutional democracy that protects the civil rights of everyone, and yes that includes Muslims. Muslims are therefore free to choose what to read and insinuating we will become less of a Muslim just from reading certain books, or doing yoga, is very, very insulting; demeaning and superficial to say the least. Books, works of art, public debates are essential to critical thinking, problem solving and the maturing of a society. It creates a nation of critical thinkers who look for and find answers outside the box. Banning books no matter how controversial they are cannot be the answer, what more in the name of protecting Malaysian Muslims. The country needs thinkers, at this juncture now more than ever. READ MORE HERE |
| Post GE13 political scenarios-Part 4 Posted: 14 Dec 2011 09:05 AM PST SAKMONGKOL AK47 I am surprised to see comments asking where do we put Najib and Muhyidin in this entire wild speculative and kite flying article. If people find this article purely speculative and just a load of rubbish, then UMNO has nothing to worry about. No need to go into sixes and sevens. (by the way- that is an expression of being in a state of disorientation and confusion that neatly describes the recent UMNO GA). Where do you place Najib and Muhyidin? This article is founded on a belief that UMNO and BN are out in the GE13. Najib will be the opposition leader and Muhyidin will be there too. So what to talk about Najib and Muhyidin? We are all entitled to our own political beliefs. Some call it potatoes, others call it pertatoes, portartoes etc. There is no present or past tense in politics. There's only relevance. Is Razaleigh relevant? In my mind, given the manic and xenophobic stage of our politics, we urgently need political sanity. How do we achieve that? Through a leadership committed to the rule of law, fair play and inclusiveness, democratic and liberal principles. That leadership I believe can be provided by a person of the stature and standing, experience and man of substance like Tengku Razaleigh. Relevance comes with the commitment to immutable principles- a sense of fair play, rule of law, good governance, and jealous observation to democratic principles. It's funny to see judgmental stand on this- Razaleigh is old, yet Mahathir who is in his 80s is waiting in the wings. Because some people think he is relevant. I am old, but Najib and Muhyidin who are older, aren't classified as old. Hence old, young, or whatever is just management of subjective and very personal numerical perception. It depends on how you want to angle it; hence the managed perception has no universal application. It's subjective. A frequent objection to Tengku Razaleigh has been this concerted effort to link him with the infamous BMF affair. As finance Minister at that point in time, he has no involvement at all with the BMF scandal. BBMB was answerable to the PM's office at the time and the person principally responsible over BBMB affairs was Dr Mahathir. Tengku Razaleigh won many defamation cases against international newspapers which attempted to link him with the BMF affair. Local politics at that time, controlled by Dr Mahathir of course, directed local mainstream newspapers to carry but scant reports about Razaleigh successfully clearing his name from any involvement in the BMF affair. READ MORE HERE |
| PKR man quits, calls DAP ‘autocratic’ Posted: 14 Dec 2011 08:48 AM PST (New Straits Times) - An opposition grouping insider called the DAP-led state government "autocratic and undemocratic" with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng constantly meddling in the affairs of the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP). Lim Boo Chang, 56, said this after leaving Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and resigning as MPPP councillor. He was also PKR Bukit Gelugor division chief. He said Penang PKR was often sidelined by DAP, which behaved arrogantly because of its huge majority of 19 seats in the state assembly. PKR has nine, Pas one and Umno 11 seats in Penang. He said MPPP had lost its autonomy because of Guan Eng's constant interference. Boo Chang, who served as MPPP councillor for 11 years, and the last three years as a PKR representative, cited the subterranean Penang
International Convention and Exhibition Centre (sPICE) project as an example of Guan Eng's strong-arm tactics. Councillors were forced to act as rubber stamps as Guan Eng wanted to see his brainchild project completed, no matter what, he said. "Until now, I have not even been given a copy of the agreement signed between MPPP and developer, Eco Meridian. "I have been a councillor for nine years and I have never seen such an undemocratic thing happening in the council. "The state government keeps chanting about its CAT (competency, accountability and transparency) principles, but in reality, it does not exist." Boo Chang was one of two councillors who objected to the RM50 million that MPPP would have to pay for the sPICE project. The other councillor, Dr Lim Mah Hui, also put on record his opposition during MPPP's budget presentation in October . As for PKR, Boo Chang said he decided to quit as he had become disillusioned with the party. "I joined PKR in June 2008 as I was attracted to its reformation pledges. "However, all the promises made by their leaders have fallen short of expectations. "The internal squabbling has also caused me to lose confidence in the party." Boo Chang started his political career in Gerakan in 1984, but left the party in 1999 to join MCA. His late father, Datuk Lim Ee Heong, was a founding member of Gerakan. Boo Chang, who was also the state PKR legal and social service bureau chief, said he had sent his letters of resignation to PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and MPPP president Patahiyah Ismail. The former Datuk Keramat assemblyman (1995 to 2004) said all the internal problems faced by the opposition had pushed the loose alliance to the crossroads, but it was putting on a united front because of the pending general election. "Mark my words. It will go its own way after the general election." On the contrary, he said, the transformation programmes laid out by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to move the country forward had impressed him. Citing the 1Malaysia vision as an example, he said Najib had demonstrated a determination to be close to the people and unite all Malaysians. "That is also why I have decided to quit PKR. "I hope those who share my views will join me in support of Barisan Nasional's transformation programme." He said he hoped to rejoin Gerakan, but had yet to officially inform the party's leadership. "I have seen how Gerakan transformed after the last general election and I want to lend it a helping hand throughout the transformation process." State Gerakan chairman Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan said Boo Chang was welcome to join Gerakan, but he had to fill up a membership form. He added that Gerakan's central working committee would decide whether to accept Boo Chang. "As long as someone subscribes to Gerakan's ideologies and BN's policies, he is more than welcome to join us."
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| MIC to keep up with times Posted: 14 Dec 2011 08:43 AM PST (New Straits Times) - The MIC will be fielding more young and new faces as candidates in the next general election, said its secretary-general S. Murugesan. This is to keep up with the growing demand for younger blood, meeting new challenges and keeping up with the younger voters, he added. "There will definitely be a mixture of old and new faces, but we will field more younger people," he said in an interview yesterday. On the selection of candidates, he said the party needed to consider, among other things, whether the person could deliver, keep up with the expectation of voters, was likeable and accepted by the people and enjoy good support from the constituents. On preparations for the 13th general election, he said the party had taken several measures like appointing coordinators at parliamentary and state seats the party had held. Their job included organising activities and getting to know the people, their problems and needs. He said the party was also working closely with several non-governmental organisations on various issues. On seat swapping, he said they would only consider doing so if the deal was fair. At the same time, he acknowledged that winning some seats like Kota Raja, Subang, Kapar and Batu Caves would be tough. Nevertheless the party was ready. "Yes, we are ready. We are prepared for battle," he added.
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| PAS begins to gather proposed candidate lists Posted: 14 Dec 2011 08:39 AM PST (Bernama) -- PAS has received the proposed lists of candidates for the next general election from almost 60 per cent of the states, the party's information chief, Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, said today. He advised the states which have yet to submit the proposed list of electoral candidates to do so. However, the party has yet to make the final decision on the choice of candidates, he added. "We will only make the final decision close to the dissolution of parliament," he told Bernama. Tuan Ibrahim said each of the states would usually send the names of two or three potential candidates for each parliamentary and each state seat. Commenting of the stated desire of Kelantan PAS to reduce the number of candidates from elsewhere contesting in the state, he said it was only a proposal. "If there are potential candidates who are good, their names can be sent to the PAS headquarters. We have no problem accepting them," he said. Asked whether it is true that former Selangor PAS commissioner Datuk Dr Hasan Mohd Ali would be dropped as a candidate for the next general election, Tuan Ibrahim, who is also Pahang PAS commissioner, said it was only the personal opinion of certain people and not true. "We are only receiving the lists of proposed candidates. How can Hasan be dropped? It is not true. The choice of candidates is not final yet," he said. |
| Zul asks people to reject document on PAS welfare state Posted: 14 Dec 2011 08:33 AM PST (Bernama) - An Independent MP has called on the people to reject the document on a PAS Welfare State which he claims contains sweet promises of the opposition party in its attempt to take Putrajaya in the next general election. Datuk Zulkifli Noordin, the MP for Kulim-Bandar Baharu, said the document was engineered solely to oppose the concept of moderate Islam which formed the basis of the 1Malaysia Concept of "People First, Performance Now". In the latest entry in his blog, he said he felt that the opposition was pressured by the approach of moderation promoted by the government helmed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Zulkifli said that in 2003, PAS had come up with the document on an Islamic State to oppose the Islam Hadhari concept introduced by then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. "But now that 2003 document has been discarded by PAS and the new document was launched by its president, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, on Dec 11. PAS itself rejected the document on the Islamic State and its struggle for an Islamic state on the grounds that the Quran did not make any reference to an Islamic state," he said. Zulkifli said there was nothing to stop PAS from discarding its document on a welfare state to replace it with something else, and added that PAS's stand seemed to waver with its alignment with the DAP. |
| 15 students held over 'silent' protest at KL Sentral Posted: 14 Dec 2011 08:29 AM PST (The Star) - Fifteen students were detained by the police after they held a silent protest at KL Sentral here Wednesday. Brickfields OCPD Asst Comm Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid said the students, aged between 20 and 22, were from several local universities. He said they were being investigated under the Section 27 of the Police Act. A total of 30 students, led by Movement for Academic Freedom (Bebas) chairperson Mohd Safwan Anang, staged a flashmob at the main entrance hallway of KL Sentral in the afternoon. The group carried placards protesting against the oppression of academic freedom in the country. Their demands included the guarantee of academic autonomy and repeal of the controversial Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA). The group was asked twice by the police to disperse but refused to do so, leading to the arrest of the 15. |
| Additional exco post for Indians in Selangor? Posted: 14 Dec 2011 08:22 AM PST An additional exco seat will be the best move to reach out to the Indian community, says Selangor MIC secretary K Parthiban. (Free Malaysia Today) - In an attempt to win the hearts and minds of Indian voters, the Barisan Nasional (BN) is planning to give an additional state executive council (exco) seat in Selangor. The ruling coalition would also promise an Indian-held exco seat for Indians in Pahang. "In total, Selangor will have one extra Indian exco seat, making it two Indian exco members in the state while Pahang would have an Indian exco member. The Pahang's exco is new. "We expect this to be contained in the BN's manifesto for the next general election," a reliable source told FMT. Prime Minister and BN chief Najib Tun Razak, the source said, has already promised the additional exco post for Indians in Selangor in his meeting with BN Indian leaders. "But this is provided the BN takes back Selangor. He (Najib) also intends to push for an Indian exco post in his home state in Pahang. These strategies are in the pipeline and is expected to be announced during the campaign period for the next general election. "This is BN effort to woo Indian voters," he said, adding that the BN realised that it would need the votes of the community to retain power at the coming general election. The source said Najib was "very sensitive" to the plight of the Indian community and would offer the best to rope in the votes. More inclusive politics Selangor has one of the largest Indian concentrations in terms of population, constituting 13 percent of the total 5.5 million people in the state. MIC, a BN component party and the largest Indian-based political party in the country, has over nearly three decades asked the ruling BN to allocate an extra exco seat in the state. "At the 2008 general election, the Indians were frustrated… they wanted their voice to be heard. They deserted the BN for the first time. Although Pakatan Rakyat had a golden opportunity to remedy BN's mistake, it failed to capitalise on it. "If Najib's promise is kept, then many Indians, if not all, will return to the BN fold. Only a small number might remain with Pakatan," said the source. READ MORE HERE |
| Jeffrey to reveal his political future Posted: 14 Dec 2011 08:16 AM PST Speculation is growing that the UBF president will form the Sabah chapter of a Sarawak-based party. (Bernama) - Come this Friday, United Borneo Front (UBF) president Jeffrey Kitingan will make an announcement on his political future, amidst growing speculation he would form the Sabah chapter of a Sarawak-based party. The former PKR vice-president, who is scheduled to hold a press conference, here on that day, is expected to announce the names of office-bearers of the Sabah chapter. It was reliably learnt that the president of the Sarawak-based party is also expected to attend the press conference while the launch of the party in Sabah is expected to be held early January, next year. Sources said the majority of UBF members were in favour of pursuing their political struggles through the Sarawak-based party as the party subscribed to the Borneo agenda advocated by Jeffrey. UBF has also indicated its willingness to form an alliance for all Sabahans, regardless of race and religion, to stand united to protect and safeguard the interests and rights of the people. The newly-revived Usno became the latest entity to support the UBF and the fight for the restoration of Sabah's rights. In what is seen as a show of support for the UBF, a prominent leader of the revived Usno is slated to join the press conference, the sources said, adding that Jeffrey was hopeful of forging an alliance with the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) and Pakatan Rakyat in the coming general election. Apart from opposition Sarawak National Party (SNAP), the other opposition Sarawak-based party is State Reform Party (Star) led by Patau Rubis.
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| Pakatan, be prepared for the worst Posted: 14 Dec 2011 08:12 AM PST The recent Umno general assembly ignored critical national issues and continued to 'make other parties and races feel inferior so that they would have to crawl to Umno' for help. On the other hand, Najib Tun Razak, who succeeded Pak Lah in 2009, was initially uncertain on the kind of political system he would adopt, which explained the many flip-flop decisions on a number of issues which made Mahathir critical of his leadership. Awang Abdillah, Free Malaysia Today A statesman believes that political power comes from the people and that entrusted power should be used for the enrichment of the people and nation. A dictatorial political leader, however, believes that political power can be won or usurped by force and used to establish an authoritarian government. An undemocratic leader believes in the art of false leadership. The undemocratic leader bulldozes his way to secure political power from the people and will go to any length to maintain such power. Very often the border-line between an undemocratic political system and that of a dictatorial system overlaps. It is not surprising then for an undemocratic politician to walk through the corridors of power of an authoritarian government. Such different kinds of leadership and political system are based on the value system a leader adopts as explained in my earlier articles. In Malaysia, we have a number of political leaders who practise the undemocratic system where all kinds of malpractices are the hallmarks of their governance. Over a period of time this bad system will become worse when it turns into an undemocratic-dictatorial government and then, if unchecked, could turn into a worst kind – the undemocratic-despotic rule. BN has long been dysfunctional Let's look at Umno. The original true spirit of Umno – which existed in the party from 1955 till 1981 – which fought for the Malays and the nation is gone . Lost, too, is the spirit of national unity and cooperation that held together the Barisan Nasional (BN) entity which built this nation from 1974 till 1981. From 1981 till 2003 both these political entities were under the personal control of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his henchmen. Umno controlled the political power in the country while the BN coalition has long suffered from political dysfunctional problems. Hence, both the original Umno and BN can now be considered as a defunct party and entity respectively. During this period, Malaysia was ruled by Mahathir's undemocratic and authoritarian doctrine. Unlike a despotic rule where actions taken are more arbitrary in nature, an undemocratic-authoritarian rule, though bad, is more systematic and established. Even in retirement and after handing over the reins of the nation's administration to his chosen successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah), Mahathir wanted control. He wanted Pak Lah to walk the corridors of power wielding an undemocratic-dictatorial system. Pak Lah resisted. He failed as a leader not because he did not continue the Mahathir dictatorial legacy – it would be suicidal to do so – but because he did not pick the good value system and put it to work.
Najib wins Mahathir's approval
On the other hand, Najib Tun Razak, who succeeded Pak Lah in 2009, was initially uncertain on the kind of political system he would adopt, which explained the many flip-flop decisions on a number of issues which made Mahathir critical of his leadership. But he seems to have redeemed himself in Mahathir's eyes with his stand in the recent 62nd Umno general assembly. Najib, it now appears, firmly believes in and is determined to pursue Mahathir's undemocratic-dictatorial doctrine. Hence, Mahathir now fully backs Najib and had openly declared that the prime minister is on the right track. However, unlike the Mahathir government – which, although undemocratic and authoritarian in nature, was backed by systematic policies and strode in economic development – Najib's administration has nothing to offer. Najib's government is best described as an undemocratic-despotic one where flip-flops and arbitrary actions are the order of the day. At the recent Umno general assembly, "Najib the Great" continues his agenda to hit hard at Pakatan Rakyat in order to win back the lost Malay support. He invoked history, race and religious rhetoric and launched personal and vicious attacks on the opposition leaders. Najib did not bother to beg for the support of other races because people like him and Mahathir believe in the unsinkable power of Umno as long as the said doctrine is in place. Part of this doctrine is to make other parties and races feel inferior so that they would have to crawl to Umno for help. READ MORE HERE |
| How Do You Prove Someone's a Witch in Saudi Arabia? Posted: 14 Dec 2011 08:10 AM PST Call the religious police's Anti-Witchcraft Unit and get them to set up a sting operation. (Foreign Policy) - In yet another reminder that the phrase "witch hunts" isn't only used figuratively these days, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced on Monday that it had beheaded a woman named Amina bint Abdul Halim bin Salem Nasser for practicing "witchcraft and sorcery." The London-based al-Hayat newspaper, citing the chief of the religious police who arrested the woman after a report from a female investigator, claims Nasser was tricking people into paying $800 per session to have their illnesses cured. So, how did Saudi authorities prove Nasser was a witch? The government hasn't gone into detail, but a look at the kingdom's past witchcraft cases suggests the bar for proving someone guilty isn't very high. Witch hunting is fairly institutionalized in Saudi Arabia, with the country's religious police running an Anti-Witchcraft Unit and a sorcery hotline to combat practices like astrology and fortune telling that are considered un-Islamic. But institutionalized is not the same thing as codified. A top official in the kingdom's Ministry of Justice told Human Rights Watch in 2008 that there is no legal definition for witchcraft (Saudi Arabia doesn't have a penal code) or specific body of evidence that has probative value in witchcraft trials. Instead, judges have wide latitude in interpreting Sharia law and sentencing suspected criminals. And Amnesty International claims these judges use witchcraft charges to arbitrarily "punish people, generally after unfair trials, for exercising their right to freedom of speech or religion." A Human Rights Watch researcher tells The Media Line that foreigners in particular are often the targets of sorcery accusations because of their traditional practices or, occasionally, because Saudi men facing charges of sexual harassment by domestic workers want to discredit their accusers. The evidence arrayed against witchcraft suspects typically revolves around statements from accusers and suspicious personal belongings that suggest the supernatural, in a country where superstition is still widespread. In 2006, for example, an Eritrean national was imprisoned and lashed hundreds of times for "charlatanry" after prosecutors argued that his leather-bound personal phone booklet with writings in the Tigrinya alphabet was a "talisman." A year later, Saudi authorities beheaded an Egyptian pharmacist who had been accused by neighbors of casting spells to separate a man from his wife and placing Korans in mosque bathrooms. "He confessed to adultery with a woman and desecrating the Koran by placing it in the bathroom," the Saudi Press Agency reported, adding that books on black magic, a candle with an incantation "to summon devils," and "foul-smelling herbs" had been found in the pharmacist's home. |
| Malaysia's Mahathir Defends Sarawak Chieftain Posted: 14 Dec 2011 07:59 AM PST Charges of looting Sarawak could just be electioneering, he says (Asia Sentinel) - Malaysia's former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has defended Sarawak's embattled chief minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud, questioning calls by international NGOs for investigations of Taib's vast fortune. "When an election is near, you get funny things like this coming out," Mahathir told reporters at a press conference Tuesday. "If it is just a political game to try and undermine somebody's political image then I think it is not right."
If the allegations are true, the 86-year-old Mahathir said, the authorities could be expected to take action. In May, Swiss authorities announced they were investigating accounts held in Swiss banks by the Taib family for evidence of corruption. Shortly after that, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission announced it would also investigate Taib's holdings, although observers in Kuala Lumpur said it was unlikely that the MACC would follow through, Indeed, one source told Asia Sentinel recently that the investigation had "gone cold." A Taib spokesman said the funds had been legitimately deposited and that there was no evidence of criminality.
Many political observers expect Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to call national elections in the early part of 2012, possibly in March. Sarawak, the country's largest state, is key to efforts by the Barisan Nasional, the country's ruling national coalition, to maintain a healthy majority in parliament. Both Najib and Mahathir earlier this year reportedly tried to dissuade the scandal-ridden chief minister to quit before state elections.
When Taib refused to step down, both had to criss-cross the state, campaigning for Taib's coalition. However, the coalition produced a two-thirds majority in the state assembly. Although he had publicly offered to step down, the magnitude of the victory impelled him to stay in power.
Mahathir's defense of Taib was generated by the fact that on Tuesday, NGOs from six different countries issued a joint letter demanding that Malaysia's sultan appoint a royal commission of inquiry and that authorities arrest and prosecute Taib and 13 members of his family for massive fraud, theft, corruption, illegal appropriation of land and abuse of public office. They allege that the looting of Sarawak's rich timber and other natural resources has earned Taib's family billions of US dollars through investment in as many as 400 companies in 25 countries.
They also demanded that a multi-agency task force be appointed to attempt to repatriate the vast sums from other countries to the people of Sarawak.
Research released earlier this month by the Switzerland-based Bruno Manser Fund said official documents show the Taib family stake in 14 Malaysian companies alone is worth US$1.46 billion. The fund has uploaded all of the documents onto the Internet. They can be found here. Billions more are believed to be held in other countries.
The fund said its research only covers publicly available information from Malaysia's Registry of Companies and other official documents and the total of all of the Taib family's holdings could run well in excess of that amount.
"Not counting their more hidden wealth, this puts the Taib family firmly into the category of one of the richest families in the world and makes them far richer than the Queen of England (whose assets are a mere half billion pounds)," the fund said.
In all, according to the fund, named for a Swiss environmentalist who disappeared in Sarawak in 2000 while trying to aid the Penan tribe, the family also has stakes in companies in Australia (22 companies), Bermuda (1), the British Virgin Islands (7), Brunei (1), Cambodia (1), Canada (9), the Cayman Islands (1), Fiji (3), Hong Kong (7), India (2), Indonesia (3), Jersey (1), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1), Labuan (1), New Zealand (5), the People's Republic of China (2), the Philippines (1), Singapore (2), Sri Lanka (1), Thailand (2), the United Arab Emirates (1), the United Kingdom (4), the United States of America (6) and Vietnam (1). READ MORE HERE |
| ABU: Movement of the Rakyat for the Rakyat Posted: 13 Dec 2011 03:47 PM PST "We (ABU) are not linked to any political party. We are independent and this is a movement, not an organization. This is the rakyat's movement," he said. Meanwhile, Haris of MCLM who had just been deported from Sabah on Dec 7 said ABU was set to reach to the rakyat with information that will show how Umno have been "manipulating" the country for the past six decades. by Django Setemolya, Malaysian Digest Something big may be brewing in this time of uncertainty surrounding our political landscape. And this time it has nothing to do with Anwar Ibrahim, Pakatan Rakyat, Perkasa or extremist, racist, religious groups or terrorist groups of sort. Instead, this one comes in the form of a sincere initiative by the people, for the people; and the main objective of this movement which fittingly call itself ABU or Asalkan Bukan Umno (Anyone But Umno) is to call out to the rakyat to come out from their silence to reject Umno. "We are calling out to all workers, farmers, fishermen, associations, organizations, government bodies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties – excluding Umno, opposition parties or Independent parties, professionals, academicians and intellectuals, artists and all those who are marginalized including Mat Rempits, the homeless, unemployed and others to establish clearly (through media statements or demonstrations) our loss of confidence towards Umno which has lost its purpose, corrupt, conceited, oppressive, ruthless and more lately IGNORANT and ARROGANT!" Badrul Hisham told a press conference held at the KL Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Dec 9. Badrul, or better known as CheGubard, who is the president of Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) is believed to be one of the main men behind ABU. Among those alongside him at the media conference on Dec 9 were Haris Ibrahim of Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) President Haris Ibrahim as well as representatives from Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM), Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) and members of various non-governmental organizations. Calling All Malaysians The nationwide movement which had held media conferences in every state in the Peninsula on Dec 9 (the same announcement will be made in Sabah and Sarawak at a later date). ABU can be seen as the voice of Malaysians who are saying 'enough is enough'. The way they see it, Umno has taken their selfish and excessive desire for material gains too far and it is time to put a stop to this as it has become clear that Umno is beyond repair (NFC and PKFZ are just two of the many scandals that has been exposed of recent, imagine the others that have not been detected).
"Now is not the time to remain silent anymore and disregard, unless you are willing to bequeath Malaysia which has been impoverished to our future generations. Do we still fail to see or intentionally allow the little that's left of our democratic rights which have mostly been denied while our demands continue to be ignored?" Badrul added. Not Linked to Pakatan Even though Badrul is one of the most influential figure in Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) among the Opposition youth supporters, he is not playing his role in ABU in his capacity as a political party member, neither are the rest of the key people in the movement. He insisted that ABU is a non-structured movement and people from all segments of life are invited to join the movement.
"We (ABU) are not linked to any political party. We are independent and this is a movement, not an organization. This is the rakyat's movement," he said.
During the media conference which declared ABU's intention, he also announced that ABU will be holding a big forum at Taman Melewar, Gombak on Dec 15 which will be attended by the rakyat from all over the country. He added that the movement will also be making another big announcement which will change the "unhealthy political situation" in the country.
Meanwhile, Haris of MCLM who had just been deported from Sabah on Dec 7 said ABU was set to reach to the rakyat with information that will show how Umno have been "manipulating" the country for the past six decades.
"Even before the Independence, Umno has been largely responsible in manipulating towards the rakyat.
"It is now that ABU will expose all (of Umno's wrongdoings) and spread it to the rakyat to prove that the sentiments that Umno helps and protects Malaysians are wrong," said Haris. NFC Scandal: A Sign That Things Are Getting Out of Control Things are getting from bad to worse for the country under Umno/BN's rule. Looking at the latest development on the NFC issue, now even Umno senior leaders like its former president Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Umno supreme council member Bung Mokhtar Radin have come out to ask its main culprit Shahrizat Abdul Jalil to leave the party. Others like Batu Pahat MP Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi and Cheras Umno Division chief Syed Ali Alhabshee have asked NFC's executive chairman who happens to be Shahrizat's husband Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail to come clean on the controversy involving the family-owned company as it has tarnished Umno's image.
Those Umno men are not the only ones who had expressed concern about the party's bad rep. Other members especially the veterans have also shown that they are getting sick and tired of what has been happening to their once venerable party. The others just choose to remain silent as it has become a culture or rather a sickness in the party for them to be 'yes men' and remain silent on any decisions they personally disagree on or are blatantly wrong. Just read the blogposts by these Umno vets and you can sense that all the wrongdoings that has cost damage to people's wellbeing and even lives (eg Teoh Beng Hock, Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed and Baharuddin Ahmad) has finally taken its toll on the ruling government.
Sure, not everything Umno/BN has done have been bad. They had done good too in the past. But the way things have been going lately the bad heavily outweighs the good, contrary to the level scales which is the symbol being used by BN. Because of this ABU feels that it is absolutely necessary to boldly take the country back on track. It is calling for the people to see through all unbridled rhetoric from Umno/BN and it is saying that the time has come for Malaysians to take the power away from party's 52-year rule and give it back to the people. This is People Power and this is what this country needs. |
| ‘Rosmah, Dr M should stay out of politics’ Posted: 13 Dec 2011 03:43 PM PST The Kita president says the former premier should realise his time in politics is over. (Free Malaysia Today) - Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's wife, Rosmah Mansor and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad should not meddle in politics, said Kita chief Zaid Ibrahim. "Mahathir, now that he has retired, should stay out of politics. Once your time is over, it is over," Zaid said in response to a question at a forum entitled "13th General Election: Whose Vote Decides?" organised by Malay daily Sinar Harian yesterday. A polling agent raised the question of Rosmah's influence on her husband and if it may contribute to BN faring badly in the upcoming general election. The other speakers were Deputy Higher Education Minister and Umno supreme council member Saifuddin Abdullah, Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, Lembah Pantai MP and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar and Universiti Malaya media studies senior lecturer Abu Hassan Hasbullah. Saifuddin came to the government's defence and dismissed the notion of Rosmah's influence on her husband and in the politics of the day. He cited the amendments to the Universities and University Colleges Act, the government's transformation programmes and the repeal of the ISA as examples of how Najib acted independently without anyone's influence. Rosmah has been in the news for her alleged exhorbitant and extravagant spending since Najib came into power in April 2009. Abu Hassan weighed in by calling voters to reject individuals who misuse public funds. "Irrespective of whether they are wives or children of ministers, if they misuse public funds, they must be rejected," he said. The panellists, however, had different opinions on which group would be an influential force to decide on the fate of the next government. New reality voters Zaid said that the Malay votes would be a crucial factor. "They will determine the outcome as they are the biggest group. "The Malays would only be able to be a strong voter bloc if they were willing to reject the corrupt culture perpertrated by Umno whom he referred to as the 'biggest Malay party'." READ MORE HERE |
| PRU-13: Pekida ikrar pangkah BN Posted: 13 Dec 2011 03:39 PM PST Presiden Jamaluddin Yusof berkata Pekida bertanggungjawab untuk memenangkan Barisan Nasional supaya orang Melayu bernafas. (Free Malaysia Today) - Pertubuhan Kebajikan dan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (Pekida) menyatakan ikrar mereka untuk setia 'pangkah' Barisan Nasional (BN) pada pilihan raya umum (PRU-13) akan datang. Presiden Pekida, Jamaluddin Yusof berkata tidak cukup untuk pertubuhan itu memberi sokongan moral semata-mata memandangkan kemenangan BN pada PRU-13 kelak menjadi keutamaan bersama. "Kita bagi sokongan dengan mengajak ahli-ahli Pekida untuk memenangkan BN agar kekal memerintah negara. Sokongan moral sahaja tidak cukup, maka kita mahu ahli-ahli pangkah BN pada pilihan raya nanti. Kerana pada anggapan Pekida BN menjalankan pemerintahan dengan berkesan. "Semua ahli-ahli Pekida perlu sokong BN….kita ibarat adik-beradik maka akan sama dan perlu bantu antara satu sama lain. Pekida bertanggungjawab untuk memenangkan BN supaya orang Melayu bernafas. "Tapi bagaimana untuk kami gerakan kepada ahli-ahli ia adalah rahsia," katanya kepada FMT. Pekida kini mempunyai dua juta ahli di seluruh negara dengan mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi adalah merupakan penaung bagi pertubuhan berkenaan. Sementara itu, Jamaluddin mengakui bahawa sokongan orang Melayu terutama anak muda menjadi pertikaian memandangkan mereka kini lebih banyak terpengaruh dengan fahaman luar.
Sokongan anak muda terhakis Katanya ia menjadi ancaman kepada kepimpinan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak untuk mengekalkan pemerintahannya kerana secara tidak langsung menghakis sokongan anak muda kepada pemimpin nombor satu negara tersebut. Walau bagaimanapun, menurut Jamaluddin Pekida mempunyai 'cara' tertentu untuk menarik minat golongan anak muda ini terus menyokong BN. Namun beliau enggan menjelaskan secara terperinci perkara itu, dan sebaliknya berkata ada perkara tertentu perlu diselesaikan Najib sebelum mengadakan PRU-13 nanti. READ MORE HERE |
| Video hina hudud ada kaitan dengan Noh Omar? Posted: 13 Dec 2011 03:34 PM PST (HARAKAH DAILY) - Penerbit video Sembang Rakyat yang menerbitkan klip video yang menghina hukum hudud adalah dimiliki oleh orang yang sama yang menguruskan blog Datuk Seri Noh Omar. Penerbit video ini juga adalah orang yang sama yang menguruskan laman web Puteri Umno Selangor dan Umno Tanjung Karang di samping blog Pena Noh Omar itu.
"Besar kemungkinan dia adalah orang kuat Noh Omar," kata seorang blogger yang juga menerbitkan video klip bagi mendedahkan siapa sebenarnya di belakang video klip yang menghina hukum hudud ini.
Video klip pendedahan itu diterbitkan oleh Malaysianews di laman Youtube.
Pelbagai pihak kesal dengan tindakan pihak kerajaan tidak mengambil apa-apa tindakan terhadap penghinaan yang dibuat oleh video klip sembang rakyat itu.
Drs Khalil Idham Lim mempersoalkan mengapa Menteri Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan, Datuk Seri Rais Yatim terus membisu terhadap video yang berjudul 'Musim Hudud Pas' dan 'Lagi Hudud PAS' itu secara jelas mengelirukan umat Islam di Malaysia yang telah disebar luas di laman Facebook dan Youtube baru-baru ini.
"Kita tidak boleh nafikan bahawa sejak akhir-akhir ini media boleh direka dalam pelbagai bentuk dan corak kerana perkembangan teknologi yang pesat, tetapi seharusnya tidak boleh sehingga menghina agama lebih-lebih lagi Islam itu sendiri.
"Kita amat khuatir terhadap perkembangan sebegini memandangkan para pelakonnya terdiri dari orang Islam dan ada di antaranya berlakon yang sebagai agamawan di samping penggunaan kamera beresolusi tinggi yang sudah pastinya mahal harganya," ujar Ketua Sekretariat Pakatan Rakyat Perak itu.
Beliau yang juga Adun Titi Serong berkata, klip video itu juga mempunyai unsur yang boleh mencetuskan salah faham serta penghinaan terhadap hukum Islam.
Menurut Malaysianews, kaitan antara video klip sembang rakyat itu amat jelas dengan Noh Omar dan Umno Selangor.
Ia mempunyai persamaan antara satu sama lain melalui emailnya iaitu " ajaff8@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it " yang ada sebagai email penerbit dan webmaster untuk kesemua laman-laman dan video klip itu. |
| Dap's Extended Honeymoon in Penang Posted: 13 Dec 2011 03:30 PM PST Khoo Kay Peng Susan Loone of Malaysiakini was right to note that Dap had lost an opportunity to address it's plan and blueprint for Penang during the party's recently concluded state annual conference. Dap leadership and members should have used the opportunity to discuss some crucial state centred issues such as strategy to mitigate looming economic slowdown, job creation, curbing inflation, improving local authority services and enhance public transport. Prior to the 2008 general election, the party was at the forefront in promoting and advocating local council election. What has happened to the pledge? Did the party leadership do anything substantial to prepare the state for local council elections? Leaders who were at the forefront of the campaign such as Sec-Gen Lim Guan Eng, MP Liew Chin Tong and others should help explain why the pledge was not being fulfilled.
A number of us who had helped in the drafting of the Penang Development Blueprint would like to know the status of the report. Surely Dap does not need to take 4 years to come out with it's own socio-economic development blueprint for Penang.
For voting in a new government, surely we have the right to know how the new government intends to lead us differently from the past ineffective Gerakan leadership under Dr Koh Tsu Koon.
Nevertheless, the Dap state leadership has done well to reduce deficit and strengthened the financial position of the state. It had introduced several measures to reduce the use of plastic bags, no car day for a particular stretch in the city, provided RM100 for elderly citizens and others.
Dap has done remarkably well to sustain the support of the Chinese voters, however the party must take cognizance of a potential erosion in non-Chinese support. Two main problems already emerged among the Malay voters. First, a lack of Malay centric agenda to help uplift their social and economic status will cause some Malay voters to swing their support back to a Malay patronage leadership under Gerakan or MCA. Second, rapid private housing development on the Penang island, higher inflation and cost of living and a lack of job opportunities are pushing a lot of Malays to the edge of the island.
Lim Guan Eng's government has been to overly focused on the island as an engine of growth for Penang. His administration had proposed a few initiatives such as sPICE, education hub and a theme park - all centred on the island. Both the education hub and theme park are supposed to be located at Balik Pulau, almost the last bastion of Malay hinterland on the island. READ MORE HERE |
| PD’s man in the hot seat Posted: 13 Dec 2011 12:21 PM PST Municipal Council President Abdul Wahab talks about the problems he faces and the good things that lie in store for the tourist town Ravi said it's difficult for tourists to purchase the tickets on weekends. I don't understand what the actual issue is. There are no parking charges on weekends. But still, to say that the coupons are not sold on Saturday and Sunday is a lie. Zefry Dahalan, Free Malaysia Today Many people would envy someone who heads the local government in a tourist town, but Port Dickson's Abdul Wahab Samsudin says he has no time to bask in it, what with his state assemblyman constantly breathing down his neck. In a recent wide-ranging interview with FMT, he complained that PKR's M Ravi, sometimes aided by Ean Yong Tin Sin (DAP-Lukut), was always finding fault with his administration. He rejected the allegation that he held a bias against Pakatan Rakyat politicians, although he admitted to withholding written permission for their programmes. Abdul Wahab became president of the Port Dickson Municipal Council (MPPD) in 2009. He said it had been a hot seat for him since Day One. Apart from responding to various allegations by Ravi and Yong, he also explained some the efforts being done to improve Port Dickson's appeal to visitors. Excerpts from the interview: The Pakatan Rakyat representatives allege that you are denying them the right to put up festival banners carrying their party logos. What is your response? Those allegations are not true. I gave them permission orally, but I told them I could not give them written permission. They asked why. It is within my authority to give either oral or written permission. What's wrong with giving it orally? I told my officers not to dismantle the banners. I have no problem with them having their party logos on the banners. But previously we did remove the banners. At that point of time, they had not asked for permission. What about your recent rejection of their application to use the town hall for a badminton tournament? They wanted to use the hall on Dec 3. I rejected the application because the town hall was due for upgrading works at that point of time. They insisted that we give them a rejection letter. I said it was not necessary because I didn't want them to use the letter for political purposes. Recently, Pakatan representatives speaking at a public forum likened the Port Dickson beach to a rubbish dump. How true is that? I'm aware of the allegations as they were reported in a newspaper. They are lies. In the pictures published in the newspaper, one of the Pakatan leaders was holding an empty plastic bag. If Port Dickson is a dumping ground, then where is the so-called rubbish? We clean the beach regularly and consistently conduct cleaning campaigns with NGOs. How can they say that Port Dickson is a rubbish dump? When I took over the MPPD in 2009, "Cleanliness is our priority" became our motto. As an elected representative, Ravi should not tarnish the image of the Port Dickson with tags like that. It will give the town a negative image among tourists. It will have implications on the local traders and hotel operators as well. Let me speak about another issue that Ravi raised. He questioned the rationale of installing convex mirrors at the end of every row of shophouses. He said those mirrors should instead be installed at road junctions, where they would be useful to motorists. He did not check the facts with us. We installed the mirrors not for motorists, but for pedestrians. We fix them at the walls of banks and corner shops to alert the public against criminals hiding behind walls. He said the mirrors were a waste of public funds. This project comes under the Local Government and Housing Ministry's budget. We installed the convex mirrors as part of the Town Safety project under the ministry and we were accorded the Safe Town status by the ministry. What about the drainage system in Port Dickson? The town is flood prone, isn't it? We are trying our best to maintain the drainage system. Some parts of the system are under our jurisdiction and the rest are under the Drainage Department. Much of Port Dickson is below sea level. There will be floods no matter how big the monsoon drains are. What about the status of the Lukut landfill? Wasn't is supposed to be closed and rubbish redirected to a new landfill in Bukit Nanas? I can't comment too much on this as the matter as it is under the jurisdiction of the state and federal governments. The landfill sits on state government land and MPPD just supervises it. But I've learnt that the shift to Bukit Nanas is in progress. Ravi told the State Assembly that the counters selling parking coupons are too far from the parking lots and motorists had complained that agents selling the tickets were late in opening those counters. He said that both these facts had resulted in many motorists being fined for parking without coupons. Actually this is the result of the motorists' habit of buying the coupons at the last minute. As locals from Port Dickson, why can't you buy the coupons earlier? Ravi said it's difficult for tourists to purchase the tickets on weekends. I don't understand what the actual issue is. There are no parking charges on weekends. But still, to say that the coupons are not sold on Saturday and Sunday is a lie. Whatever we want to introduce is always seen as wrong. If they have the attitude of wanting to oppose everything, then it's very difficult for us. We initially gazetted 14 areas where we would use the parking coupon system, but we only implemented it in two areas. These two are business areas. We don't have parking charges at beaches or other tourist areas. The coupon system is superior to the coin machine system. Coin machines are very costly and prone to vandalism. We conducted a study on three parking systems—the coupon, coin and receipt systems. We found the coupon system to be the best. We collected RM400,000 six months after implementing the coupon system. Just imagine that! The system also generates income for the agents who sell them. Ravi spoke of cases in which motorists were compounded even as they were buying their coupons. This is not true. I told my enforcement officers to wait for the motorists to go back to their vehicles from booths or shops selling the coupons. The cases in which they were compounded were when they disappeared after parking their cars, or reappeared only after 30 minutes. READ MORE HERE |
| Penang PKR’s municipal councillor quits party Posted: 13 Dec 2011 12:16 PM PST (The Star) - Parti Keadilan Rakyat member Lim Boo Chang announced he had resigned from the party and Penang Municipal Council councillor post Wednesday. According to him, he had tendered his resignation letters to the council and PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail. Lim expressed his interest in returning to Gerakan. Lim, a Bukit Gelugor PKR chairman, is a familiar face in Penang politics for over 25 years. He joined PKR in June 2008. He was a former national Gerakan Youth chief and vice-president in the 1990s. He quit the party shortly after the 1999 polls when he successfully defended the Datuk Keramat state seat in Penang. About three weeks after his resignation, the two-term assemblyman joined MCA where he stayed for eight years. He was suspended from the MCA along with then Jawi assemblywoman Tan Cheng Liang in 2002 when the duo abstained from voting against a DAP-tabled motion during an assembly sitting. He resigned from MCA in early June 2008 and joined PKR. |
| PAS ganti UMNO? Posted: 13 Dec 2011 11:30 AM PST Saya teringat akan kata-kata ulamak Islam Syeikh Muhamad Abduh (1849-1905) ketika dia melawat Eropah dia mengkagumi kemajuan dan ketamadunan Eropah (Barat) yang nilainya sama dengan Islam. Dia berkata, "I went to the West and saw Islam, I got back to the East and saw Muslims but not Islam". Mujahid Yusof Rawa, Merdeka Reivew Muqadimah
Program PAS Ganti UMNO (PGU) telahpun dilancarkan awal tahun ini. Ia merupakan satu slogan bagi meyakini orang ramai bahawa ketiadaan UMNO sebagai parti dominon bukanlah bererti orang Melayu hilang arah kerana PAS akan tampil untuk mengambil alih kepimpinan dan politik orang Melayu. Ini bersandarkan kepada realiti bahawa PAS adalah merupakan parti komponen PR yang terbesar berpandukan kepada keahlian, jentera dan pengalaman. Saya boleh bersetuju PGU dalam konteks pengambilalihan kepimpinan politik Melayu tapi awas! Kalau ganti itu membawa makna PAS akan ganti "perangai" UMNO di tampuk pemerintahan, saya akan menolak slogan PGU. Itulah yang diluahkan oleh Timbalan Presiden PAS dalam ucapannya yang disiarkan dalam MerdekaReview pada 5 Disember 2011, ditulis oleh Lim Hong Siang.
Jangan Ganti Perangai UMNO
 Perangai buruk UMNO sebagai parti yang memerintah kerajaan persekutuan hari ini boleh disimpulkan dalam satu permasalahan yang dinamakan sebagai isu integriti. Persoalan ini menghantui UMNO dan mendapat persepsi yang buruk di kalangan rakyat. Apakah PAS ganti UMNO untuk rakyat nanti menyaksikan pemimpin PAS hidup mewah di luar kemampuannya? Ataukah bakal-bakal Menteri dalam kabinet Pakatan nanti khususnya PAS akan mengulangi "perangai" minta komisyen atau salahguna kuasa yang ada? Itukah maksud PGU? Persoalan ini membimbangkan Timbalan Presiden PAS itu.
Islam dan Muslimin
Mohamad bin Sabu atau lebih dikenali sebagai Mat Sabu melontarkan satu ide tentang bagaimana Barat lebih dilihat Islamik dari sudut tatacara kelola kewangan negara, ketelusan dan integriti sebuah kerajaan dan hak asasi manusia. Saya teringat akan kata-kata ulamak Islam Syeikh Muhamad Abduh (1849-1905) ketika dia melawat Eropah dia mengkagumi kemajuan dan ketamadunan Eropah (Barat) yang nilainya sama dengan Islam. Dia berkata, "I went to the West and saw Islam, I got back to the East and saw Muslims but not Islam". Saya yakin Mat Sabu tidak berkata tanpa satu pengamatan dari susur galur kebangkitan Eropah dan zaman malap tamadun Islam. Apa yang malang dari kenyataan Mat Sabu ialah keadaan tidak berubah sejak ia diucapkan oleh Syeikh Muhammad Abduh kurun yang lampau.
Tunjuk contoh dulu
Saya memahami bahawa apa yang disebut oleh Timbalan Presiden PAS itu didasari oleh kebimbangan melihat masa depan PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat secara umum jikalau diberi amanah untuk memerintah. Ini adalah kerana tidak ada gunanya kita melaungkan reformasi atau islah jika kita gagal membuat perubahan dan membongkah akar umbi kebusukan yang akan ditinggalkan oleh regim lama BN. Kalau kita mengulangi kebusukan BN maka reformasi kita hanya kosmetik dan hanya tukar baju tapi dalam penuh dengan panau dan kurap. Saya berpendapat bahawa kenyataan Mat Sabu mewakili ramai dari rakyat yang mahukan perubahan yang tulen dan bukan palsu.
Jalan sukar
Berkenaan dengan Arab Spring Revolution yang menumbangkan kebusukan regim diktator dunia Arab, saya berpendapat perubahan regim yang berlaku akan mengalami jalan yang sukar dan berliku. Ini adalah kerana buat sekian lama dunia Arab bukan sahaja berada di bawah pemerintahan kuku besi tetapi kedudukan sosial dan strata masyarakat serta keadaan ekonomi membentuk satu cabaran yang besar kepada order baru seperti Tunisia, Mesir, Libya dan Syria.
Pengajaran
 Pengalaman kebangkitan Arab mengajar kita untuk membuat lonjakan dalam melakar perubahan regim. Saya mencadangkan bagi mengukuhkan pandangan Mat Sabu (gambar kiri), lonjakan kita mesti melibatkan program kesedaran, pemodelan negeri Pakatan sebagai contoh dan reformasi parti-parti politik yang perlu dilihat telus dalam menyusun sistem organisasi parti. Parti-parti politik kita khususnya komponen Pakatan masih tidak menunjukkan kesungguhan mereformasi partinya dulu sebelum mampu mengemukakan reformasi politik.
Mat Sabu saja yang tahu
Adapun kenyataan Mat Sabu yang mengatakan golongan kiri dan liberal Barat lebih dilihat bersungguh mengamalkan integriti, ia adalah satu cabaran besar kepada parti Islam yang seharusnya mengungguli prinsip integriti berdasarkan prinsip moral yang dilaungkan. Apakah benar kebimbangan Mat Sabu itu, adakah benar dakwaan beberapa EXCO Kelantan tidak mencerminkan kehidupan sederhana yang dilaungkan oleh PAS?
Saya tidak mempunyai jawapan, hanya Mat Sabu yang tahu apakah maksud yang tersirat daripada kenyataannya. Namun mengenali Mat Sabu, beliau adalah orang yang setia kepada parti dan tidak mempunyai apa-apa kepentingan apabila memberi pandangan. Saya juga berpendapat Mat Sabu berada sebagai orang nombor dua parti Islam untuk menjalankan tugas mengocak air yang tenang supaya parti jangan berada di zon selesa. |
| Political rhetoric to the fore Posted: 13 Dec 2011 10:05 AM PST Weigh the threats with caution When the member from Gombak, Azmin Ali, wanted to tear down the walls of the Sungai Buloh Prison to free Anwar Ibrahim if he were to be found guilty at his current on-going trial for sodomy, or a leader promising to take to the streets if the election results were not to their liking, then we should be careful. By Zainul Ariffin Md Isa, New Straits Times WITH the political season heating up, our daily diet of speeches has gotten hotter. This is the time for political speak, which is often high on rhetoric and metaphors. So for the upcoming general election, Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) members have been advised by their president to prepare for war, while Pakatan Rakyat leaders have been asking us to help them to save the country.
Some speeches are to inspire, some to motivate, some to proclaim, while others to incite. Politicians, by profession, do a lot of them to drum up support and rouse people into action (read vote). Some do that and nothing else, ever on the stump from the first day they were elected.
People get the exaggerations and the over-the-top-ness of great political speak, since they add colour and vigour, and are able to encapsulate ideas in a nutshell for easy and manageable bites. They get the adrenaline going and make an otherwise passive act of listening into a participatory thing.
But even if people understand that in the heat of battle we tend to say things, they are unlikely to tolerate flippant, chauvinistic and racist remarks -- hence, for example, the controversy that followed Pas deputy president Mat Sabu's belittling of dead servicemen and Perak assemblyman Nga's racist reference to his mentri besar.
When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said his party should be prepared for war, we know no one was training for combat nor expecting to put life or limb on the line. It's war, but not the warring kind -- the battlegrounds are the constituencies; it is not turf nor resources the fight is all about, but instead a share of voters' hearts and minds.
Politicians like to evoke a sense of battle. In politics where ideas are grand and visions are pure -- it is the "fight" between good and evil, us against them, our way of life and theirs, etc -- the images get them along quickly.
War suggests battles, and the ultimate outcome of war is that the winner takes all. The loser, too, loses something more precious, which is his sovereignty. So if Umno or BN members don't get the message -- they lose everything if they were defeated in the political battlefield -- then, I suppose, nothing else will.
In political speak, many try to evoke a sense of the divine, too, or semi-divine. The Pas president was famous for branding Umno infidels to the point that animals slaughtered by them were haram. Its adviser, too, can do no wrong and comes out with edicts almost at will.
A sense of drama would be great, too. DAP "Godfather" Karpal Singh suggested that he was willing to die -- over his dead body -- in his opposition of the hudud. I believe it was a figure of speech from him, rattling the cages, though not necessarily literally fighting to the death with his mates in Pas, who at this moment still see hudud as the end game in a Pakatan Rakyat takeover of the government.
It is also good to be lumped by association with underdog political figures, like American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, or Myanmar prisoner of conscience Aung San Suu Kyi, or South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, by referring to them in political speeches.
Us, the unwashed masses, should be too thick to see through them, I suppose.
Righteousness is such a common commodity in the Dewan Rakyat, peppered in all speeches that at times we hope all of the righteous right honourable elected members could practise it beyond the confines of the august hall.
But it is when politicians decide to disband from the metaphors and start being specific, which is not along the lines of someone saying that someone is God's gift to Malaysians, that we should worry about.
When the member from Gombak, Azmin Ali, wanted to tear down the walls of the Sungai Buloh Prison to free Anwar Ibrahim if he were to be found guilty at his current on-going trial for sodomy, or a leader promising to take to the streets if the election results were not to their liking, then we should be careful.
Similarly, there is no poetic reference to a suggestion that our submarines cannot dive. There is no vagueness in the statement. Was the intention in the political speech then to rouse anger by propagating unsubstantiated untruths?
Would Azmin really be bringing Anwar supporters armed with hammers and picks to break down the walls? If he was not, then he better find a better speechwriter; his metaphor sucks. There was no reference to the alleged walls of injustice, for instance, but instead the brick and mortar walls of the Sungai Buloh Prison.
If he is serious, then he must surely be an anarchist. The specificity of his threat to create chaos or tear down buildings is a threat at subverting law and order and to create chaos.
Former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan suggested that Myanmar is better than Malaysia in the issue of human rights. We have made the case that politicians -- which I think Ambiga is, based on the company she keeps -- like to exaggerate. But even then, I cannot reconcile her statement with the images of street protesters shot in the streets by the armed forces, and guess what, we are worse off than that.
We can live with the hyperbole. We know when they are full of rhetoric and when they are not. We know they are political speak, mostly words to add spice to the situation.
But surely, we can live without some of them.
Perhaps we can laugh at them as the consequences of politicians getting shallow on ideas trying to drum up emotion in the absence of substance. |
| DAP feud has PAS worried Posted: 13 Dec 2011 09:56 AM PST (The Star) - Penang PAS is disturbed over the ongoing spat between DAP chairman Karpal Singh and his deputy secretary-general Dr P. Ramasamy. If this open-ended conflict worsens, it may impact the political support for the Pakatan Rakyat alliance, said state PAS deputy commissioner III Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa. Although PAS regards the issue as an internal matter of DAP, but as a Pakatan partner, it cannot help but feel concerned over what has transpired, Dr Mujahid, who is the Parit Buntar MP, said in an interview. "I am a nobody to advise the likes of Karpal, a veteran Opposition figure, or Dr Ramasamy, our Deputy Chief Minister II here. However, PAS hopes the matter can be resolved fast." Every political party that practises democracy could face conflicts and misunderstandings but what is important, is how the party resolves them, said Dr Mujahid. Penang Barisan Nasional secretary Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahya said that party leaders who espoused democracy should be able to stomach and not take offence to such trivial remarks as 'warlords' and 'godfathers'. "This is the impression that is formed by the public when they witnessed how the DAP leaders bickered among themselves during the Penang DAP convention (last Sunday)," said Dr Hilmi. Asked whether the perceived internal rift among the DAP leaders would give Barisan an advantage in the next general election, Dr Hilmi replied that it was still up to the voters to make their choice. "I am sure that they are wise enough to decide who they want to run the state government." |
| Sodomy II: You Are Also On Trial Posted: 13 Dec 2011 09:31 AM PST Malaysians must be feeling a state of déjà vu. In 1998, for Sodomy I, a soiled mattress was dragged into court, Anwar was poisoned with arsenic and the charges of Anwar having sex with a range of people, to lurid sexploits related by the virgin Queen, Ummi Hafilda, made Malaysian courts a laughing stock. Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysian Mirror On the face of it, Sodomy II is the trial of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim by his accuser, Saiful Bukhari Azlan. In truth, Sodomy II is also the rakyat's trial. It is one where Malaysians are pitted against government misrule, miscarriages of justice and institutionalised repression. Sodomy II represents a fight to restore democratic rights, for public institutions to recover their integrity, for the judiciary to be made independent and for the police to regain the public's respect. To most observers, trial judge Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah, appears to have decided Anwar's fate already. So who has the most to gain, if Anwar were to be jailed when the judge delivers his verdict? Who was frustrated when the sodomy charge in Sodomy I was overturned in 2004 by the Supreme Court and Anwar was freed? The answer is not Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, but the former PM, Mahathir Mohamad. Najib will be pleased, but Mahathir will be ecstatic. Najib and the other corrupt BN politicians, their families and cronies, will heave a collective sigh of relief. But for Mahathir, it is the settling of old scores. His political legacy and dynasty can then prosper, without interference. A corrupt person can continue his evil deeds only if he is surrounded by people with no integrity and low principles. When Anwar's earlier sodomy conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2004, Mahathir was livid, as were the handful of other individuals who wanted Anwar to remain behind bars. Anwar said yesterday, that he was "prepared for the best, but expected the worst" when asked to comment about what he thought the judge's verdict would be on his case. Last June, Anwar's three attempts to have Zabidin recused failed. Anwar's first attempt was when Zabidin failed to take action against Utusan Malaysia for unfair reporting. Zabidin had also threatened to cite Karpal Singh for contempt. Anwar's second attempt was when Zabidin "pre-judged" the trial when he said complainant Saiful Bukhari's testimony was "reliable" and that it would "establish all the facts required to prove the charge against the accused". Zabidin relied solely on Saiful's testimony. In-depth studies based on various intelligence reports, have shown Najib's cabinet, that they will fare badly in GE-13. Political observers claim that Najib will want Anwar incarcerated and announce the date for GE-13 during the period set aside for him to appeal. Najib will claim that he did not put Anwar in jail, but the judge did. Perhaps, this is what autocratic rulers say, when they absolve themselves of their responsibilities and shift the blame onto others in their administration. Remember how Mahathir denied that he had ordered Operation Lalang and said that the crackdown had been authorised by the IGP Haniff Omar? Or as in the current news, President Assad of Syria declared recently, that he did not order the brutal retaliation on his people, and that it was his army which was responsible for the violence. At a press conference yesterday, Mahathir questioned the need for international NGOs to levy corruption charges against Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud. He said, "When an election is near, you get funny things like this coming out. "If it is just a political game to try and undermine somebody's political image then I think it is not right." Mahathir ignores the fact that the timing for the finale of Sodomy II, is set against a backdrop of GE-13. Did he think this was a coincidence? Perhaps, Mahathir has got Alzheimer's. In Sodomy I, Anwar faced charges of corruption and sodomy because Anwar, Mahathir's protégé, refused to bail out companies, during the Asian financial crisis in 1997, using taxpayer's money. Some of these companies belonged to his son and cronies. Anwar became a threat to Mahathir and had to be removed. It did not help that others in Umno were jealous of the close relationship that Mahathir and Anwar enjoyed. In 2008, Najib, who was the prime minister in waiting, was faced with Anwar becoming a threat to his premiership and to Umno domination in Malaysian politics. Najib realised that Anwar had to be removed, especially as his mass appeal was increasing and he was able to galvanise the fragmented opposition parties. Unfortunately, Najib is not very creative and his plan, to remove Anwar, involved rehashing the previous one made by Mahathir. Thus, Sodomy II was conceived. But Najib's blundering ways mean that whatever he does, lacks planning and detail, just like the cursory effort that was put into his Peaceful Assembly Bill (PAB) which then needed urgent amendment barely 24 hours after being tabled. Nevertheless, Mahathir will be pleased at the prospect of Anwar being jailed. His dream will finally be realised. Malaysians must be feeling a state of déjà vu. In 1998, for Sodomy I, a soiled mattress was dragged into court, Anwar was poisoned with arsenic and the charges of Anwar having sex with a range of people, to lurid sexploits related by the virgin Queen, Ummi Hafilda, made Malaysian courts a laughing stock. In 2011, the seedy plots have varied little. The only changes are the actors like Saiful, his semen stained briefs and the allegations of him having sex with several men as his rectal swabs carried the semen of several men. These are mere distractions. The main thrust is that Najib needs to win GE-13, by hook or by crook. Losing means he will be made accountable for his part in the corruption scandals which have dogged Malaysia. He will have to answer for the Scorpene scandal and the murder of Altantuya Shaaribu, amongst others. His ministers will have their own corruption scandals to deal with. Mahathir's reason is simple. He does not want previous illegal deals to be aired by Anwar, who must have been privy to them, when he was Finance minister. All Mahathir wants is his political dynasty to continue via his son, and his family to keep their business empire, which was built on public money.
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| The Battle for Umno: Infighting at the very top Posted: 13 Dec 2011 08:41 AM PST HORNBILL UNLEASHED Nawawi Mohamad There has never been any real agreement between the UMNO president Najib Razak and his deputy Muhyiddin Yasin. There was competition between them even before Najib was proclaimed the UMNO president after Abdullah Badawi was forced by rebelling warlords to retire early. Muhyiddin's name is now becoming famous in the Malay community. It has cropped up many times as a possible contender for the top post although both his image and Najib's are always presented side by side in the government-controlled media to create the perception that they are on the most friendly terms. But make no mistake, the competition between the two men has always been there. How loyal is the 'most loyal' deputy? In 2008, unfortunately for Muhyiddin, former premier Mahathir Mohamad had decided that Najib should be the one to take over from Badawi as many had predicted he would. Muhyiddin was devastated at having been beaten by Najib at the eleventh hour. But as they say, what to do? Mahathir is still a force in UMNO to be reckoned with and it would be even worse to cross him and his 'geng' or gang of right-wing political thugs. It is also interesting to note that by then Muhyiddin was as powerless as any ordinary UMNO member because he did not have the backing from the grass roots and the other UMNO leaders, not even from his home state of Johore. He was on his own and had to find supporters, if not followers. Muhyiddin was not promoted by Badawi and son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin when Badawi was PM because there was Khairy to be groomed into power. So, it was that Muhyiddin was left on the fringes although not totally in the wilderness. It was then that Muhyiddin learnt how to survive on his own, even though he was never alone. The desire to hold the top post is still burning strong in Muhyiddin and more so now, because of his age and as opportunity knocks. Najib is weak, torn apart by the myriad of problems and dilemmas nagging him 24/7. But how sincere is Muhyiddin when he only said that he is the most loyal deputy? Did he promise not to challenge for the presidency? Will Muhyiddin just lie down and let Najib steamroll over him? Disunity Actually, Muhyiddin has already launched several maneuvers with his advisors and small group of supporters. Despite their huge handicap, we can still feel the impact when he questioned the 1Malaysia concept as soon as Najib announced it. Muhyiddin then showed his confidence when he declared he was Malay first and Malaysian next. Muhyiddin even defied Mahathir when he committed himself to teaching mathematics and science in Bahasa Melayu instead of English, which had been implemented by Mahathir. It is clear Muhyiddin is trying to be his own man and garner more grass root support for his impending revolt against Najib at the eleventh hour. That's right. Say what he will during his 'loyalty' pledge to the UMNO assembly, but Muhyiddin is bound to go neck to neck with Najib for president's seat. Same as Najib would if the shoe was on the other foot. Really, Muhyiddin has got nothing to lose. To win, Muhyiddin does not need to get 100% support from those in UMNO and he knows it. All he needs to do is to harp on the various scenarios that threaten the unity in UMNO, and Najib and his band of sycophants will be forced to heel. The pressure is already massive for Najib to step down if he wants to save UMNO from another split, more so with the next General Election or GE-13 nearing. READ MORE HERE |
| Mahathir, Lee Kuan Yew and The Lazy Native Posted: 13 Dec 2011 08:38 AM PST LOYAR BUROK There are few other living and active political giants in Southeast Asia, other than Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia and Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. One wonders if Mahathir and Lee Kuan Yew share the same philosophy. The Ultra Malay Mahathir and Radical Chinese Lee are almost always at odds with one another. From politics to policies, there seems to be infinite issues for them to brawl over and, even if there are none, they can't seem to help pulling a mickey out of one another. But read between the lines and you will realize that they share the same philosophy – the same reductionist philosophy that subjugated the region into chains of colonization in the past. But before going into the shared philosophy espoused by these leaders, it helps to first understand how a reductionist view on any subject would eventually lead to the perversion of an original idea. An idea or perception of a matter or subject is defined based on the senses and on our analytic thought. That, infused with cultural surroundings and historical impact produces the eventual paradigm in which we live. Now, that's not very hard to follow, is it? However, no matter how accurate one's senses in perceiving a subject, an observer with a reductionist view tries to simplify things by creating faulty arguments and slippery judgments. Thus, when it comes to formulating a policy, a reductionist approach is, at best, dangerous on many levels. Firstly, a reductionist may not solve the problem at hand but instead exacerbate it by not fully understanding the mechanism in the first place. In other words, a reductionist would rush to 'fix' the problem based on first impressions, hence neglecting the intricacies of the initial problem. Secondly, even if the problem is solved, it will leave an aftertaste of resentment as its early mechanism was forcibly changed in order to facilitate its new functions. This "machinery" is forced to function based on the whims of the reductionist, rather than working naturally based on its mechanics. On a third level, a reductionist distorts an original idea by implementing the interpretation of the idea into a form either unfounded or too extreme in the earlier idea. This is because the reductionist digests the original idea only in its cosmetics instead of understanding the whole dynamics and principles of the idea. For example, such a view of sociology gave birth to Communism; a reductionist view of biology gave birth to Nazism, and a reductionist view of Islam gave birth to Islamic terrorism. The same can be said about both Mahathir and Lee Kuan Yew. In his book The Malay Dilemma, Mahathir espoused the view that Malays – particularly the rural ones whom he characterized as less competitive compared to the urban and racially mixed Malays – were somewhat lacking in intelligence as compared to others. By others, I refer to the Chinese, Indians, and Malays of racially mixed background. Therefore, in his assessment an open and competitive market environment would actually cause the Malays to be weaker than permitted by status quo. Mahathir may have written The Malay Dilemma in the early years of his entry into politics, but his view remains unchanged. An example can be his recent comments – especially with regards to Premier Najib Razak's drive to promote meritocracy – as a clear sign that he has yet to ditch his post-colonialist belief in social anthropology (which ascribes to the idea that certain races are born superior than others). Does Mahathir believe pure-blooded Malays to be superior to other races? No. In fact, he believed that pure-blooded Malays are somewhat incompetent when it comes to competition with other races. It was thus written in his book, and reiterated during his post-retirement era where he concluded that meritocracy would benefit only certain races, as compared to affirmative action which, in his opinion, would level the playing field for everyone. In his paradigm, to which I believe and presume many UMNO Old Guards still adhere, affirmative action is a must to ensure all races be able to stand together and fairly reap the nation's economical benefits. READ MORE HERE |
| Malaysia losing “faith capital values” Posted: 13 Dec 2011 08:26 AM PST Norani Abu Bakar, New Mandala Gallup Chairman Jim Clifton asserts in The Coming Jobs War, that what everyone in the world wants today is a good job. He added that the fate of a nation relies on good jobs, and that nations are in revolt and cities are crumbling for the lack of them. Can one simply accept his statement that jobs bring prosperity, peace and human development and that it is not the other way round? On the one hand, in the short term, it may be that the economy dictates the quality and character of human life. But in the long term, character values of justice, trustworthiness, mutual respect, benevolence and peace are foundational for the flourishing of any nation that strives towards a long term growth. The lack of these qualities creates tension, instability, and eventually loss of good jobs for the nation. Ethical apathy and economic stagnation can create a cycle of decline. As Hans Kung, the President of the Foundation of Global Ethics, said to the Parliament of the World's Religion inMelbournein December 2009, "a painful truth is evident: this economic crisis is characterised by a notable absence of common ethical values and standards."
In Malaysia, about 97 percent of the population claimed to adhere to faith traditions, enriched with ethical values and customs that ought to offer significant faith-based social capital. Diverse in its ethnicity and religious traditions, Malaysia theoretically should flourish much more compared to some of its neighboring countries, like Singapore which citizens are of almost the same ethnic and faith traditions but lack of land space and natural resources. Malaysia undermines its "faith capital values" and thus retards potential economic growth, loses good jobs to other nations, and consequently, has lost almost 330,000 university graduates, especially the non-Malays; Six-hundred thousand of them have left to work in Singapore alone. If Tun Mahathir is right that 90 percent of Malaysia's tax comes from the non-Malays, then this "brain drain" crisis, occasioned in part by dissatisfaction with Malaysia's social and ethical values, further undercuts the financial capital of the nation. By recognising faith as the basis of social capital, such discourse can identify the responsibilities of the government leaders, the function of social institutions in shaping the patterns of behavior and character development of citizens, and the roles of Malaysian Muslims as the majority in the population. These three agents will have the greatest influence in bringing about change. This is not to say that public activism, marketplace dynamics, and the presence of other faiths or non-faith adherents are insignificant, but at present, they have less influence in Malaysia's pseudo-democratic context. Thus the first step in moving forward is to analyse where the three key agents fall short. Surveys conducted in the last quarter of 2010 in Malaysia and Indonesia on "Values, Dreams, Ideals – Muslims Youth in Southeast Asia" release good news that Malaysia Muslim youths, who are at the center stage of this nation's population, prioritised believing in God and becoming better Muslims over becoming rich. Almost 70 percent wanted the Quran to replace the federal constitution. However, further analysis shows a contradiction, given that those interviewed are rather lax about praying, reading the Quran, and fasting, and prefer to watch television, listen to music, or surf the internet in their free time. Data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) indicates that almost 65 percent of Malaysia population are internet users, a great increase from 15 percent in 2000. Youths are inclined towards technology, especially the internet and SMS text messages. Clearly, youths are increasingly consumed by the cyber world and distracted from other faith-related aspects of life, such as learning to exegete Quran passages or engaging themselves with the mosque communal gatherings and community services. Many of those interviewed denounce violence, yet 62.4 percent perceive the late al-Qaeda terror group leader Osama bin Laden as a "freedom fighter." This ethical contradiction has parallels elsewhere in society. READ MORE HERE |
| New Reality Voters Will Determine 13 General Election Outcome - Saifuddin Posted: 13 Dec 2011 08:24 AM PST (Bernama) -- Umno supreme council member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah has opined that the kingmakers in the 13th general election would be the group of "new reality voters". Saifuddin, who is also Deputy Higher Education Minister, claimed neither the Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat comprising the DAP, PAS dan Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) had enough support to form the next government and were equally dependent on the group to give them the score.
In special a discourse entitled "PRU 13 Undi Siapa Jadi Penentu" (13GE - Whose votes will determine the outcome?) here today, he said the "new reality voters" comprised groups that used the new media not only to communicate, share and operate online but adopted it as a lifestyle.
"They form a loose network among themselves, yet are close-knitted, producing ideas or reasoning, and acting without concerns for bureaucracy," he said as a panellist at the discourse organised by the Sinar Harian newspaper.
Saifuddin said the "new reality voters" were also aware that politics and democracy go beyond elections or becoming a people's representative for the BN or Pakatan Rakyat and they wanted the involvement of the youth, workforce including professionals, media and university students in the process they perceived as democratic.
The lone BN panelist, and facing an audience of mostly opposition party supporters in the auditorium, Saifuddin maintained that BN still stood a good chance of winning the next general election.
He said from feedback, those who voted in protest against the BN in 2008 had "returned to the fold".
"I feel a majority of them have accepted that the BN is committed and serious in wanting to make changes, via government, economic and political transformation as initiated by the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak)," he said.
The other panellists were DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar, KITA party chief Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and senior lecturer at Universiti Malaya's Media and Social Science Studies Faculty, Associate Prof Dr Abu Hassan Hasbullah.
International Islamic University, Malaysia's Humanities and Revelation-based Knowledge Kulliyah Lecturer Dr Maszlee Malik acted as the moderator.
Lim said for Pakatan Rakyat, winning depended on their control of parliamentary seats in Sabah (25 constituencies) and Sarawak (31 constituencies). |
| Asalkan Bukan Umno - Gerakan Massa Dari Rakyat Untuk Rakyat Posted: 13 Dec 2011 08:10 AM PST 9 Disember lepas satu sejarah telah berlaku di mana satu sidang media serentak di seluruh negara berlaku dengan menyuarakan satu maksud yang sama. Tanpa pimpinan 'besar', hanya rakyat biasa dari perbagai latar belakang seperti peniaga kecil, pelajar, pekerja kilang, aktivis masyarakat dan lain - lain tampil untuk bertemu media di seluruh negara dengan menyatakan iltizam bersama menggerakkan rakyat dengan semangat 'ABU' Asalkan Bukan Umno. ABU bukan organisasi seperti NGO, jauh sekali sebagai parti politik. ABU ialah semangat yang mengikat rakyat dan satu gelombang kesedaran betapa Umno (United Malay National Organisation) merupakan pewaris penjajah yang menjadi punca kecelaruan dan perbagai masalah dalam negara ini.
Dari masalah perkauman melampau, ketegangan antara agama membawa ke masalah ekonomi, rasuah serta kelemahan pentadbiran sehingga pembaziran melampau yang mencipta kepayahan hidup sehinggalah kenaikan kos hidup (harga barang) secara mendadak dan melampau. Semuanya ialah kerana Umno yang dicipta penjajah mewarisi negara ini dan lebih - lebih lagi ia sudah terlalu lama berada ditampuk kuasa.
Siapa ABU ? ABU ialah saya, saudara dan kita semua rakyat biasa yang bersetuju mengenepikan perbezaan dalam mencari kesamaan melawan kezaliman Umno sehingga tumbangnya Umno dari kekuasaan. ABU tidak dimonopoli oleh mana - mana parti politik atau organisasi. ABU milik rakyat yang sedar perlunya bangkit dengan berani dan dengan tegas menyatakan tidak kepada Umno. ABU ialah trend kebangkitan melawan penindasan. Semua rakyat, organisasi dijemput bersama dan ialah pemilik gerakan ABU. SAMM terlibat menggerakkan ABU atas kesedaran tetapi ABU bukan milik SAMM.
RAPAT RAKYAT Gerakan kesedaran ini bergerak dengan perbagai pendekatan dari kempen umum, pengedaran risaalah, vcd. Penyampaian mesra media baru tanpa menolak secara konvensional seperti edaran bahan ke rumah - rumah dan pejabat - pejabat. Hinggalah ke kempen secara grafiti dan sabotaj. ABU juga bergerak secara anarkis dan organik. ABU berteraskan rakyat.
Gerakan ABU ini wujud sudah lama cuma sudah sebulan lebih SAMM cuba menggerakkan secara serius mengikut skala yang kami mampu dengan mengikat beberapa lagi organisasi termasuk parti politik dalam usaha serius menyedarkan rakyat mengenai ABU.
Satu program memperkenalkan ABU akan diadakan di peringkat kebangsaan dan negeri. Semua dijemput ke program memperkenalkan ABU peringkat kebangsaan seperti berikut :
Rapat Rakyat ABU "bersatu ASALKAN BUKAN UMNO" 15 Disember 2011 8.30 malam Dataran Sebelah KUIZM, Tmn Melewar, Gombak.
Program ini akan menampilkan kelainan dengan mengetengahkan pidato dari rakyat biasa yang mengenengahkan masalah sebenar rakyat, dari pemandu teksi,setinggan, pekerja kilang, suri rumah, pengamal rawatan alternatif, kerani, pegawai bank, cikgu, artis sehinggalah pimpinan parti politik.
Antara pimpinan politik yang telah mengesahkan kehadiran ialah YB Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PAS), Arulchelvam (PSM), Dr. Rohana (PRM) dan Haris Ibrahim (MCLM). Kemunculan khas kali pertama dalam pentas rakyat di semenanjung ialah Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee (Presiden SAPP) yang akan membuat pengumuman khas bersangkutan ABU.
Majlis juga menjemput Hishamuddin Rais yang porpular dengan blognya Tukar Tiub, beliau didapati antara yang awal menggunakan perkataan ABU sehingga menjadi trend kepada khususnya anak muda.
Diharap semua rakyat yang bersetuju dengan ABU dapat sama membantu menghebahkan maklumat program juga hadir beramai - ramai dan kemudian menjadi agen penyampai maklumat ABU.
Asalkan bukan Umno, selamatkan Malaysia.
che'GuBard Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM)
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SIDANG MEDIA PELANCARAN KEMPEN "ASALKAN BUKAN UMNO" SERENTAK DI SELURUH NEGARA 9 DISEMBER YANG LALU.
Sidang Media Pelancaran ABU di Pulau Pinang
Tempat: George Town Coffee House, KOMTAR Walk, P.Pinang Masa : 11.30pg
1. Wakil PRM - Dr Rohana 2. Wakil SAMM - Sdr Aidilfitri Ibrahim / Sdr Ziezullhakim Zainol / Sdr Azhar Noordin / Azrizal Tahir 3. Wakil AMK Negeri - Sdr Amir Ghazali Kt AMK Negeri / Sdr Rizal Hamid Kt Penerangan AMK PP 4. Wakil Pemuda PAS - Sdr Ust Yusni bin Md Piah (Wakil) 5. Wakil DAPsy - YB Yeoh Soo Pin ( Peng DAPsy Penang) 6. Wakil AMK B.Baru - Sdr Shaari Md Salleh 7. Wakil Suaram - Sdr Ong Jien Cheng 8. Wakil PSM - Sdr Lee Choon Khai
9. Wakil Jingga 13 Penang - Zainulfaqar Yaacob 10. Wakil JIM - Tuan Haji Taufek ( AJK JIM PP) 11. Wakil KERABAT - Sdr Azizan ( Jawatankuasa KERABAT Pulau Pinang) (Per Bekas Perajurit) 12. Wakil Per Ibu Tunggal - Pn Latifah Hussainsa (Pengerusi Per Ibu tunggal Pulau Pinang Barat Daya 13. Wakil WATAMI - Cik Sabariah (AJK WATAMI) Pulau Pinang 14. Wakil Unit Ehsan - Zulkarnanin Md Ali (Penyelaras UE Penang)
Mengapa 'Asalkan Bukan Umno' ?
Pulau Pinang dijadikan sasaran paling utama untuk Umno melampiaskan politik perkauman. Ketua Menteri P.Pinang juga sering menjadi mangsa serangan perkauman oleh Umno kononnya meminggirkan melayu walaupun pada hakikatnya statistik terbaru menunjukkan Kerajaan P.Pinang sebenarnya lebih banyak mengagihkan projek dan tender terbuka kepada bumiputra.
Perkauman sempit yang dimainkan oleh Umno dengan cubaan melaga-lagakan keharmonian rakyat di Pulau Pinang jelas memberi gambaran betapa Umno tiada cara untuk meraih perhatian rakyat melainkan dengan dendangan perkauman. Adalah menjadi kelebihan buat Umno jika berlaku ketegangan kaum di Pulau Pinang, tetapi bagi rakyat ianya mengundang rasa tidak selamat jika taktik perkauman sempit ini terus tidak dibendung.
Umno juga telah menyalahguna anak muda di Pulau Pinang untuk politiknya. Anak-anak muda ini diupah untuk membuat kacau dalam beberapa himpunan memburuk-burukkan Pulau Pinang, lantas mengambil kesempatan memberi gambaran buruk ke seluruh negara di atas penguasaan media yang dimiliki Umno.
Semua gabungan yang menyokong ABU di Pulau Pinang menyatakan sokongan dan sedia untuk bersama dalam menjayakan Rapat Rakyat ABU pada 15 Disember di Dataran Markas PAS Taman Melewar. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sidang Media Pelancaran ABU di Johor
Tempat: Kelab Persatuan Wartwan, 11, Jalan Cermat 1, Taman Maju Jaya. Masa: 2.30pm
Kehadiran
Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM Johor)
PRM Johor
PSM Johor
Wakil Keadilan
Mengapa 'Asalkan Bukan Umno' ?
JOHOR BAHRU: Seperti yang dirancangkan hari ini, serentak di seluruh negara telah dilancarkan satu gerakan dikenali sebagai Asal Bukan Umno (ABU). Di negeri Johor, sidang media pelancaran ABU ini telah diadakan pada jam 2.30 petang di Kelab Persatuan Wartwan, 11, Jalan Cermat 1, Taman Maju Jaya.
Antara NGO yang hadir petang tadi adalah daripada 7 komrad SAMM (Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia) yang diketuai Penyelaras SAMM Johor, Ahmad Anwar Asyraf Ismail, SU PRM (Parti Rakyat Malaysia) Johor Mohd Salleh Haji Ahmad, Tim. Peng. PRM Negeri S.K Song dan wakil PKR En Tan. Gerakan Rakyat 'Asal Bukan Umno (ABU)' ini ditubuhkan bagi memastikan Umno BN tumbang pada Pilihan Raya Umum akan datang.
Sdr Ahmad Anwar menyentuh isu-isu masalah yang dirasai oleh rakyat Johor di bawah pemerintahan kerajaan negeri yang ditunjangi oleh parti Umno antaranya seperti masalah kos sara hidup yang tinggi, harga pemilikan rumah yang tidak mampu dimiliki oleh warga Johor sendiri terutama di kawasan bandar Johor Bahru, masalah harga air yang tinggi dibandingkan dengan negeri-negeri lain, serta masalah pemilikan tanah.
Pada sidang media yang sama, Sdr Ahmad Anwar turut mengecam amalan politik sempit dan samseng oleh Umno apabila mengelurkan satu kenyataan berbaur ugutan akan berlakunya kekacauan di atas program ceramah anjuran PR yang melibatkan Mohamad Sabu di Muar yang dirancang akan berlangsung pada 11 Disember ini seperti yang dikeluarkan di dalam akhbar Sinar Harian hari ini. Sedangkan sebagai sebuah negara yang mengamalkan demokrasi, Umno sepatutnya menghormati kebebasan program-program yang dianjurkan oleh parti lain, malah PR Muar telah memohon permit Polis dan mengikut saluran-saluran yang betul untuk anjuran program ini.
ABU akan meneruskan program dari semasa ke semasa bagi memastikan Malaysia diperintah oleh parti yang menawarkan pentadbiran lebih baik. S.K Song turut mengumumkan bahawa pelancaran ABU dan forum peringkat kebangsaan akan diadakan pada 15 Disember ini di Markaz Tarbiyah PAS, Taman Melewar, Gombak.
Sidang media pelancaran ABU yang sama turut berlangsung di seluruh negeri di Semenanjung Malaysia kecuali di Sabah dan Sarawak kerana aktivis ABU dihalang dari memasuki kedua-dua negeri itu.
Antara yang menyertai ABU ketika ini termasuklah golongan mahasiswa, pekerja, petani, nelayan, pelbagai segmen NGO, parti pembangkang, golongan profesional, karyawan, mat rempit, penganggur dan kumpulan masyarakat yang tertindas di bawah pentadbiran Umno selama ini.
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Sidang Media Pelancaran ABU di Melaka Tempat: Pejabat Parti Keadilan Rakyat, No9A Jalan Asean 1, Taman Asean, Melaka Masa: 3.30pm
Kehadiran Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM Melaka) NGI Wakil Peniaga Wakil Mahasiswa Mengapa 'Asalkan Bukan Umno' ? Penyelaras SAMM Melaka telah membangkitkan isu pembaziran sebagai satu isu paling terkesan di Melaka. Pembaziran ini berlaku ketika rakyat dipaksa untuk berhemah dalam berbelanja. Pembaziran-pembaziran ini juga menjadi punca ketirisan selain membantu kedudukan indeks rasuah negara mencecah paras terburuk dalam sejarah. Berikut adalah antara pembaziran jelas yang berlaku di Negeri Melaka;a) Eye On Malaysia disita.
Fitraco NV memfailkan saman pada Eom dan MST Ad Suria Sdn Bhd (MST Ad Suria) pada 15 September tahun lalu, selepas syarikat terbabit gagal melunaskan hutang pinjamannya sebanyak RM17 juta bagi menyewa dan membawa roda berkenaan ke Malaysia pada 2006.
Sebelum itu Kerajaan Negeri Melaka bersetuju untuk mengambil alih roda berkenaan setelah sebelum ini ianya beroperasi di Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur dari 1 Januari 2007 hingga 31 Ogos 2008. Kerajaan Negeri Melaka mempunyai kepentingan di dalam Eye On Malaysia ini menerusi Eom, sebuah syarikat usahasama yang ditubuhkan bersama MST Ad Suria. Kerajaan negeri diwakili Kumpulan Melaka Berhad (KMB). RM8 juta duit rakyat Melaka hangus disebabkan kelemahan dan kelalaian kerajaan negeri Melaka pimpinan Ali Rustam.
b) Pusat Bowling Antarabangsa Melaka (MIBC) yang dirasmikan pada 1Ogos 2009, yang terletak berdeketan MITC, Ayer Keroh yang mempunyai 52 lane telah menelan duit rakyat sebanyak RM15 juta.
c) Projek Pulau Melaka terdiri dari 4,387 unit rumah kediaman dan 4,180 unit separa perniagaan termasuk pusat pelancongan mewah, hotel serta pelbagai aktiviti pantai dengan kos yang bernilai RM1.46 bilion dan dilaporkan telah terjual sebanyak RM195.3 juta iaitu sebanyak 1,419 unit sehingga 31 Januari 2005. Malangnya projek ini akhirnya menjadi projek gajah putih apabila sebahagian besar banguan yang dibina tidak siap dan tidak berpenghuni. Masjid yang tersergam indah tidak digunakan secara maksimum kerana tidak ramai orang Islam tinggal di kawasan tersebut. Walaupun kerajaan negeri cuba menukarkan projek ini menjadi 'Pulau Arab' namun hasilnya sehingga kini belum diketahui.
d) Kincir air berharga RM1.47 juta di Sungai Melaka juga merupakan projek yang membazir. Tambahan pula kincir air ini rosak dan tidak dapat berfungsi.
e) Projek Monorel yang menelan belanja sebanyak RM210 juta yang setakat ini telah berpuluh kali rosak.
g) Dataran Klebang. Segalanya telah musnah samada struktur pantai, ekosistem laut, spesies hidupan laut, tempat tumpuan pelancong menikmati keindahan laut, membunuh para peniaga di pantai Klebang dan hilangnya satu indentiti Melaka iaitu belacan dan cencaluk kerana di sini merupakan tempat yang banyak menghasilkan penangkapan udang geragau yang diperlukan untuk membuat belacan dan cencaluk.
Kerajaan hanya mementingkan keuntungan yang diperolehi dari pemaju saja tanpa memikirkan kelansungan hidup para nelayan.
• Menara Taming Sari berharga RM23 juta • Projek Hang Tuah Mall berharga RM 8.5 juta; • Projek air terjun Bukit Beruang berharga RM 1.7 juta; • Projek pintu gerbang MBMB berharga RM 2.7 juta; • Jeti Parameswara berharga RM 13 juta; • Satu unit tandas awam berharga RM 125,000/- • Bandaraya Mall(Taj Mahal di Bangunan MBMB) berharga RM 4.5 juta; • Projek pesiaran kaki Jonker Walk sepanjang 600 meter berharga RM 1.8 juta atau RM 300 sekaki; • Bunga pasu berharga RM800 sebuah di sepanjang Jalan Bendahara; • Air pancut dan pesiaran kaki di depan Mahkota Parade berharga RM 2 juta dan jalan berbatu yang rosak sebaik ia disiap berharga RM 2.5 juta. • Projek mencantikkan Sungai Melaka telah makan belanja hamper RM 100 juta dan akan memakan belanja tambahan RM 100 juta lagi. Pihak kerajaan telah berjanji bahawa banjir kilat akan diatasi kerana air pasang tidak akan melimpah keluar dan air Sungai Melaka akan sebersih sehingga boleh cuci mata. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sidang Media Pelancaran ABU di Negeri Sembilan Tempat: Jalan Tuanku Antah, Tingkat 1, Restoran Bidara Corner, Seremban Masa: 3.30pm Kehadiran SAMM N.Sembilan - Sdr Saufi (Penyelaras SAMM N.S), sdr Azizi, Sdr Sani, Sdr Yaser PEWARIS N.Sembilan Kelab Bermotor United Shark - Sdr Saiful Wakil peneroka Felda Sendayan - Sdr Daud Idris Wakil Pengusaha Restoran - Sdr Musliady Wakil Nelayan - Noor Aiza Wakil Mahasiswa - Sdr Farel Mengapa 'Asalkan Bukan Umno' ? Saudara Musliady wakil dari pengusaha restoran membangkitkan isu kenaikkan harga barang berasaskan makanan dan keperluan harian menyebabkan kesulitan untuk pihak pengusaha restoran meletakkan harga jualan. Sdr Daud wakil Peneroka Felda Sendaya meluahkan rasa kecewa peneroka Felda yang menjadi mangsa penipuan Felda selama puluhan tahun. Selain itu, FELDA juga dikhuatiri terdedah kepada risiko rasuah dan ketirisan memandangkan pengerusi FELDA pernah terlibat dengan jenayah rasuah untuk kepentingan politik. Wakil dari kelab motor United Shark, saudara Saiful pula mengetengahkan isu insfrastruktur untuk sukan permotoran di N.Sembilan yang begitu terhad, menyebabkan Negeri Sembilan begitu terkenal dengan aksi 'merempit di malam minggu'. Semua wakil dari Negeri Sembilan termasuk wakil PEWARIS bersetuju untuk menyokong kempen Asalkan Bukan Umno dan akan turut hadir dalam program raksasa Rapat Rakyat ABU pada 15 Disember 2011.
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Sidang Media Pelancaran ABU di Perak Tempat: Pejabat Biro Masyarakat Keadilan, Ipoh Masa: 3.30pm Kehadiran Wakil PKR - YB Chang Lih Kang SAMM Perak - Sdr Mat Saman Kati, Sdr Alfa MCLM Perak - Sdr Mat Noh NGI Untuk sidang media negeri Perak, sila rujuk klip video di bawah; Mengapa 'Asalkan Bukan Umno' ? Isu tempatan yang membuatkan rakyat negeri Perak terus membenci Umno ialah Rampasan Kuasa di Perak pada Febuari 2009. Cacamerba yang berlaku di Perak akhirnya terdiri sebuah kerajaan haram di mana Umno sebagai dalangnya dan Najib pula sebagai petualangnya. Dengan ini, gabungan besar dari Perak menyatakan sokongan penuh kempen ABU dan akan bersama dalam program Rapat Rakyat ABU pada 15 Disember 2011 di Taman Melewar. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sidang Media Pelancaran ABU di Kedah Tempat: 345A Air Mendideh, Sg Petani Masa: 3.30pm
Kehadiran
SAMM Kedah - Sdr Angah Habib PRM - Tok Gandang MCLM - Sdr Viveg
Gabungan Kedah menyokong penuh Kempen ABU ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sidang Media Pelancaran ABU di Perlis Tempat: Kelab Media Perlis, Jalan Sekolah Derma, Kangar, Perlis Masa: 3.30pm
Kehadiran SAMM Perlis - Asrul (Ketua Penyelaras SAMM Perlis) Wakil Parti Keadilan - Amran Kamarudin (SUK Keadilan Perlis), Zamri Sapar (Bekas Ketua AMK Perlis) Wakil Mahasiswa - Farhan Azis Wakil Peniaga - Lee Mom Leong Antara NGI yang hadir - Zaidi(Peniaga pasar sehari), Siah Teow Eng(usahawan), Shukri(pengusaha cybercafe), Azmi(pencen kakitangan kerajaan) Mengapa 'Asalkan Bukan Umno' ? 1. Isu Banjir di Perlis yang tidak selesai apabila rakyat masih belum nampak bilakah projek saliran dari Empangan Timah Tasoh terus ke Laut berjaya disiapkan. 2. Isu perebutan kuasa dalam pelbagai kem Umno di Perlis membuatkan rakyat menjadi semakin meluat dengan Umno. 3. Isu peluang pekerjaan yang terhad menyebabkan ramai anak perlis yang mempunyai tenaga mahir berhijrah ke negeri lain. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sidang Media Pelancaran ABU di Pahang Sidang media ABU peringkat negeri Pahang berlangsung di Bilik Pusat Khidmat PKR Adun Semambu. Antara yang hadir menyokong pelancaran ABU dalam sidang media ini termasuk;
Clement (SMSL) Hatta (SAMM) Andansura, Mat dan Ali Akhbar (PAS) Allen Lee (PKR)
Antara Isu tempatan yang dibawa dalam sidang media ini ialah isu Lynas yang mengancam keselamatan bukan sahaja penduduk setempat, tetapi turut menjadi ancaman kepada seluruh negara. Penduduk negeri Pahang dan Sempadan di Terengganu akan terkesan dengan risiko radioaktif.
Antara yang terkandung dalam kenyataan media yang diedar di seluruh negara mengenai Lynas; Kini keselamatan rakyat akan terancam dengan kewujudan kilang Lynas dimana kesan radioaktif akan membahayakan mereka. Alasan petroleum semakin kering digunakan bagi kononnya mencari sumber ekonomi yang baru malah wang simpanan Negara telah masuk ke dalam poket pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO/BN dan kroninya. Lynas akan menjamin keuntungan mereka walaupun membahayakan rakyat.
Ini isu nasional yang harus dilawan bersama, namun rakyat setempat perlu main peranan lebih penting kerana rakyat setempatlah merupakan kumpulan paling terdedah pelbagai risiko yang merosakkan keturunan ini.
Semua wakil sidang menyokong ABU dan bersedia untuk mobilisasi rapat ABU pada 15 Disember. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sidang Media Pelancaran ABU di Kelantan
Masa : 3.30pm
Tempat : Hotel Raudah, Kota Bharu, Kelantan
1. Gerakan Bertindak Royalti Rakyat Kelantan (GEGAR)
2. Forum Anak Muda Kelantan (AMUK)
3. Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM Kelantan)
4. BERSIH Kelantan
5. Subway Photographer
6. Dewan Pemuda PAS Kelantan
7. Angkatan Muda Keadilan Kelantan
Mengapa 'Asalkan Bukan Umno' ?
Di Peringkat Negeri Kelantan pula, kita dapat saksikan betapa hampir 24 tahun Rakyat & Negeri Kelantan dinafikan haknya dari segi pembangunan dimana semenjak pemerintahan bertukar tangan dari UMNO/BN kepada PAS, 118 projek Pembangunan bermula dari RMK-5 sehingga RMK-10 telah disekat oleh UMNO/BN yang menerajui Pentadbiran Kerajaan Pusat.
Selama hampir 24 tahun juga Rakyat Kelantan telah dinafikan haknya dari segi pembangunan infrastruktur apabila Jalanraya-Jalanraya utama yang penyeliaannya berada dibawah kawalan Kerajaan Pusat tidak diselenggara dengan baik malah Permohonan Kerajaan Negeri untuk mendapatkan Peruntukan bagi pemulihan dan pembinaan lebuhraya yang lebih baik untuk kemudahan Rakyat Kelantan juga diabaikan oleh UMNO/BN yang menerajui Kerajaan Pusat.
Begitu juga dalam isu Air Kelantan yang pada akhir-akhir ini dimainkan oleh UMNO/BN dan Semua Rakyat Negeri Kelantan juga perlu ingat bagaimana Hasil Bumi Negeri Kelantan iaitu Petrolium dan Gas dirompak dan dinafikan hak Royaltinya dengan pelbagai alasan yang tidak masuk akal berbeza dengan 3 Negeri lain dibawah kekuasaan UMNO/BN (Sabah, Sarawak dan Terengganu) yang menikmati pembayaran Royalti dari Hasil Bumi Petrolium dan Gas Negeri masing-masing. Nota dari Blogger NGI Mengapa ABU harus menjadi asas dalam memilih ketika pilihanraya yang akan datang? Jasa sesuatu pemerintah bukan pertimbangan untuk mengekalkan mereka. Itu adalah tanggungjawab mereka. Mereka yang datang dan menawarkan diri. Gaji mereka dibayar oleh rakyat. Mereka adalah kuli dan pekerja kepada rakyat. Apabila "Asal Bukan UMNO" (ABU) ini menjadi kenyataan, maka, pemerintah yang baru adalah pemerintah yang berasa takut kepada rakyat. Mereka berasa tidak selamat untuk melakukan kejahatan kerana pemerintah yang baru adalah pemerintah yang bila-bila masa boleh dijatuhkan rakyat kembali. Untuk kontek Kelantan, asas atau falsafah ABU harus menjadi pertimbangan kerana : 1. Hasil bumi Kelantan yang dirompak dari Kelantan. Diagih-agihkan kepada negeri-negeri UMNO yang boros dan rasuah. Antara hasil bumi Kelantan ialah petroleum, gas, pengambilan hutan Kelantan untuk dijadikan Taman Negara tanpa bayaran royalti, dan sebagainya. 2. Sabotaj Kelantan dalam belanjawan negara setiap tahun. Cukai dipungut dari setiap peluh anak Kelantan. Hasil bumi dikaut dari setiap inci bumi Kelantan. Tetapi, dimansuhkan negeri Kelantan dalam setiap kali belanjawan negara dibentangkan. 3. Dakwaan kepada memonopoli, ugut dan penipuan gred kepada petani-petani Kelantan. Padi, beras dan kelapa sawit. 4. Dakwaan kepada mengugut pentadbiran awam Kelantan. Dengan tindakan tukar ke luar daerah atau daerah yang sukar. 5. Pemulauan terhadap pendidikan anak Kelantan. Sekatan bantuan terhadap institusi pondok agama dan sekolah agama rakyat (SAR). 6. Isu kedaulatan Negeri Kelantan. UMNO/BN gagal menjawab dakwaan sesetengah pihak bahawa projek pemberian IC kepada warga Thailand, sekaligus menjadikan mereka dwi warganegara dan boleh mengundi untuk menentukan hidup mati anak peribumi Kelantan. 7. Dakwaan terhadap sabotaj pembinaan janakuasa elektrik pada tempat-tempat tertentu, dimana ianya bertujuan menghalang rakyat Kelantan mendapat kemudahan air yang sempurna. 8. Projek-projek kerajaan pusat yang dilewat-lewatkan. Ada yang dimansuhkan. Bertujuan menghukum keputusan demokrasi rakyat Kelantan. 9. Membenarkan UMNO sendiri, MCA dan MIC memburuk-burukkan dan menghina hudud yang terkandung dalam Al-Quran. 9 perkara ini adalah antara hujah mengapa falsafah ABU wajib digunakan dalam pertimbangan mengundi di pilihanraya kelak. Kami menyeru kepada seluruh rakyat Kelantan khasnya, Malaysia umumnya, supaya mendapatkan satu suasana pilitik baru yang lebih segar, terbuka pada masa akan datang dengan menjatuhkan UMNO/BN. Sesuatu keuntungan yang tidak ternilai kepada rakyat adalah apabila mendapat satu pemerintahan yang sangat takut kepada rakyatnya sendiri. Dengan ini juga, kami mengumumkan pada 15 Disember 2011 ham 8.30 malam, satu forum terbesar ABU akan diadakan di Markaz PAS Taman Melewar, Kuala Lumpur. Sekian, terima kasih. - Aduka Taruna ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sidang Media Pelancaran ABU di Terengganu Tempat: Muara Tomyam, Jalan Sultan Sulaiman, K.Terengganu Masa: 5.00pm SAMM Terengganu - Rafzi Ramli Wakil PSM - Sdr Zaidi Wakil Peniaga Wakil Nelayan Wakil petani Mengapa 'Asalkan Bukan Umno'? Terengganu merupakan sebuah negari yang kaya dengan hasil bumi. Petrolium berkualiti tinggi disedut dari pesisir laut Terengganu berpuluh tahun tetapi kedudukkan Terengganu yang menjadi negeri nombor dua termiskin dalam Malaysia menimbulkan persoalan besar. Sepatutnya Terengganu menjadi sebuah negeri yang kaya memandangkan dalam semenanjung Malaysia ini hanya Terengganu selain Kelantan, menjana pendapatan terbesar negara melalui industri petrolium dan gas. PETRONAS seumpamanya menjadi syarikat terbaik dan terkaya dari Malaysia namun Terengganu terus miskin. Terengganu menuntut jumlah royalti yang lebih besar berbanding 5 peratus yang ditawarkan selama ini. Pembangunan Insfrastruktur di Terengganu juga amat mengecewakan. Kerajaan yang dikuasai oleh Umno telah berbelanja secara mewah tetapi menyediakan kualiti yang sangat rendah. Runtuhan Stadium Tuanku Sultan Mizan adalah lambang ketirisan Umno dan akhirnya segala baikpulih juga banyak yang ditanggung oleh wang rakyat. Kerajaan Terengganu yang dipimpin Umno juga telah gagal dalam projek pertanian yang menelan belanja berjuta ringgit di Terengganu. Kerajaan Umno di Terengganu juga merupakan sebuah kerajaan yang kuat membazir wang rakyat, ketika lebih ramai rakyat yang hidup miskin selain daripada banyak merugikan rakyat dan negara. Antara konsep yang dikenali sebagai Gajah Putih ini ialah Projek Monsun Cup. Pembinaan untuk projek ini menelan belanja 300 juta ringgit dan kos penganjuran selama 4 tahun setakat ini telah menelan belanja lebih dari 200 juta ringgit. Jika di campurkan kedua-dua jumlah ini ianya telah mencecah 500 juta ringgit duit rakyat dibelanjakan. Selain itu, Projek Masjid Kristal yang dibina berhampiran dengan bandaraya Kuala Terengganu. Projek ini menelan belanja sebanyak 259 juta ringgit. Tidak ada pun peluang pekerjaan yang boleh di manfaatkan oleh masyarakat sekitar. Mengapa masjid yang menelan berjuta ringgit itu dibina di kawasan yang tidak cukup qariah? Lebih pelik, berhampiran dengan masjid kristal terdapat sebuah masjid yang sudah lama didirikan. Ia satu pembaziran dan rakyat wajib menolak Umno dalam PRU akan datang! Pembaziran ini juga suatu ketirisan dalam pentadbiran. Ke mana perginya duit yang sepatutnya boleh dijimat? Dengan alasan ini juga, gabungan NGO di Terengganu menyokong kempen ABU dan akan bersama menjayakan Rapat Rakyat ABU pada 15 Ogos nanti.
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Sidang Media Pelancaran ABU di Selangor/WPKL (Nasional) Tempat: KLSCAH
Masa: 3.30pm
Kenyataan Media (Peringkat Nasional) ABU - Asalkan Bukan Umno 9 Disember 2011
9 Disember, 2011: Kami merayu dan menyeru kepada semua; pekerja, petani, nelayan, persatuan dan pertubuhan, badan kerajaan dan bukan kerajaan (NGO), parti politik komponen Barisan Nasional, kecuali UMNO, parti pembangkang atau parti politik bebas, golongan profesional, ahli akademik dan cendiakawan, mahasiswa, karyawan, para artis dan pekerja seni, malah semua kelompok rakyat tersisih dan tertindas (marginalised) seperti kumpulan Mat Rempit, gelandangan (homeless), penganggur (jobless) dan lain-lain supaya melahirkan dengan nyata (melalui kenyataan media seperti ini atau tunjuk perasaan dan sebagainya) rasa tidak yakin kita masing-masing terhadap UMNO yang sudah tidak sedar diri, korup, angkuh, menindas, zalim dan kebelakangan ini BODOH SOMBONG!!!
Kini bukan masanya lagi untuk kita terus mendiamkan diri dan tidak mahu ambil tahu, kecuali anda rela mewariskan Malaysia yang musnah kepada generasi akan datang. Masihkah kita tidak nampak atau sengaja mahu membiarkan saja apabila sisa-baki hak demokratik rakyat yang hanya tinggal secebis itu pun dinafikan, manakala segala tuntutan rakyat terus diabaikan?
Sepanjang pemerintahan UMNO/BN kita semua juga sebenarnya telah bersama-sama menyumbang –akibat sikap kita yang 'biarkanlah', 'tidak kisah' serta 'ignorant', dll– dalam menyemai kuasa kuku besi pemerintah yang kejam hinggalah kini kuasa itu menjadi parah dan terlalu mencengkam.
ABU akan melancarkan kempen ke seluruh Negara untuk menyeru rakyat supaya berani menyatakan pendirian jijik dan perasaan meluat mereka terhadap penyelewengan dan rasuah yang UMNO/BN amalkan, lantas dengan tidak teragak-agak menolak UMNO/BN.
Kesan yang kini dirasai rakyat ialah kenaikan harga barang yang melampau. 80 peratus rakyat Malaysia kini terpaksa menanggung beban kos sarahidup yang semakin tinggi. Sedangkan pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO/BN dan kroninya hidup dengan mewah sekali.
Kewujudan undang-undang kejam yang menekan dan menzalimi rakyat sehingga teguran dan rintihan rakyat tidak dipedulikan. Bantahan rakyat dengan angkuh diperangi secara kejam dan ganas. Kini timbul pula undang-undang Perhimpunan Aman 2011 yang langsung tidak masuk akal.
Politik perkauman digunakan untuk menakutkan rakyat. Taktik 'pecah' dan 'perintah' dilaksanakan untuk menutup berita penyelewengan dan rasuah serta boros dan tamaknya pemimpin-peminpin UMNO/BN ini. Selama pemerintahan UMNO/BN rakyat Malaysia didodoikan dengan slogan perkauman sempit. Kini isu agama dicipta dan diapi-apikan untuk memastikan kelangsungan jangkahayat politik UMNO/BN.
Kini keselamatan rakyat akan terancam dengan kewujudan kilang Lynas dimana kesan radioaktif akan membahayakan mereka. Alasan petroleum semakin kering digunakan bagi kononnya mencari sumber ekonomi yang baru malah wang simpanan Negara telah masuk ke dalam poket pemimpin-pemimpin UMNO/BN dan kroninya. Lynas akan menjamin keuntungan mereka walaupun membahayakan rakyat.
Operator-operator kami di seluruh Negara sudahpun menjalankan kerja-kerja penerangan kepada rakyat, termasuk anggota polis, tentera dan kakitangan awam agar lebih celik kepada pembohongan dan kekejaman yang dilakukan pada mereka oleh UMNO/BN.
Kini, ketika cebisan harapan hak-hak rakyat dalam keadaan uzur kritikal yang hampir saja mustahil dapat dipertahankan akibat dibantai pemerintah selama ini, apakah lagi alasan dapat mewajarkan ketakutan dibiarkan bermaharaja-lela membungkam suara hati kita?
Apabila tuntutan rakyat tidak dihiraukan malah terus saja dipersendakan pemerintah, cukupkah sekadar bersandarkan alasan-alasan ideal (umpamanya; apolitical, non-partisan, impartial dan macam-macam lagi) sebagai lapik indah. Sudah tiba masanya bagi kita untuk tidak lagi menghalalkan sifat 'dayus' dan 'bacul' kita dengan terus kekal takut untuk bangkit berjuang menyatakan pendirian dan terus menolak UMNO/BN.
Dengan ini kami umumkan pada 15 Disember 2011 jam 8.00 malam satu forum besar-besaran akan diadakan di KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall. Forum yang akan dihadiri oleh rakyat dari seluruh Negara ini akan juga membuat satu lagi pengumuman besar yang akan merubah situasi politik di Negara Malaysia
ABU - Satu Gerakkan Massa Dari Rakyat Untuk Rakyat ! |
| DAP stay silent on hudud challenge Posted: 13 Dec 2011 08:07 AM PST (The Star) - HUDUD was brought up several times during the sitting with two MCA representatives challenging their DAP counterparts to make their stand clear. The issue was brought up by Dr Sheikh Ibrahim (PAS Sungai Abong), who said there was no harm in hudud. "When parties like the MCA belittle hudud law, they also belittle Islam," he said and was immediately interrupted by Datuk Tee Siew Kiong (BN Pulai Sebatang) who challenged DAP representatives to state their stand. "I guess DAP agrees with what PAS wants and that is why they are just keeping quiet," he said. Dr Lee Hong Tee (BN Jementah) also challenged DAP to make a stand on the matter. "Tell the people. Do you support PAS' hudud law or not?" Tee asked. He was interrupted by Dr Boo Cheng Hou (DAP Skudai) who started quoting from Buku Jingga. Dr Sheikh also said that only those who stole or were involved in bribes were scared of hudud. Tee, however, said the MCA was not afraid of hudud but added the Federal Constitution was sufficient and no additional law was needed. Meanwhile, at a press conference, the MCA backbenchers club again reiterated that DAP was just brushing aside the issue. "We need a concrete answer from them so that the people are not confused," said club chairman Datuk Ng See Tiong (BN Parit Yaani). He also urged the Opposition to stop harping on the same issues, including their statements on the state going bankrupt by March next year due to financial mismanagement. "I pose a challenge to him (Dr Boo). If the state goes bankrupt by midnight, March 12, I will resign. If it doesn't, he should resign," said Ng. He said Dr Boo should also apologise to karaoke singers in the state who were upset after he made a statement on Monday through a poem claiming they were liars. |
| Dr M against general offer for Proton Posted: 13 Dec 2011 08:00 AM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - Khazanah Nasional should not sell its entire stake in Proton as this would trigger a mandatory general offer and affect the potential buyer's ability to turn the national carmaker around, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today. "I'm not okay with it... (because) the cost will be very high for whoever buys," the Proton advisor told reporters at the Palace of the Golden Horses today. "And when the cost is very high, turning it around becomes very difficult because whoever buys it will have to inject more money into Proton, maybe inject another RM2 billion." This high initial capital expenditure may affect Proton's revival plans in the long term unless the buyer was "very strong" financially and could manage spending well, Dr Mahathir pointed out. "I don't want Proton to be hurt. I don't care if others are hurt but not Proton," he stressed. The former prime minister added he did not favour any particular buyer, but said he would like the company with "the biggest amount of money" to purchase Khazanah's stake in Proton. "At the moment, Proton cannot make progress, introduce new vehicles and all that because of shortage of funds," he said. READ MORE HERE |
| After Umno attacks, Pakatan says must assuage ‘Malay fears’ Posted: 13 Dec 2011 07:57 AM PST (The Malaysian Insider) - Admitting that Umno's attacks can affect the opposition's Malay support base, Pakatan Rakyat leaders (PR) have said they will focus on alleviating fears that the dominant community's rights would be at risk under their rule. Top PR leaders who spoke to The Malaysian Insider said more needed to be done to create awareness among the Malays on how the pact's four states implemented policies that "empowered" the community, as well as a guarantee the community would not be sidelined. Umno intensified its attacks against the opposition two weeks ago through its general assembly that saw delegates and leaders accusing PR of being anti-Malay and Islam. "Umno is reverting back its age old policy of Malay agenda which has enabled it to maintain its traditional support base in the past. But Pakatan has not done enough to alleviate these Malay fears, despite how untruthful it is," Nurul Izzah Anwar told The Malaysian Insider. "Our message needs to be carefully catered to address Malay fears stemming from the use of politics of fear and race that the Umno-BN is currently using against us." The PKR vice-president said Malay support for PR has been noticeably affected since Umno's renewed attacks, and that PR's ceramah circuit was a way they could counter the "baseless" accusations. "Pakatan has policies, like in Penang for example, where 70 per cent of contracts go to deserving Bumiputera contractors based on an open tender system. We have these policies implemented but we need to address them, keep repeating it and remind people during ceramahs, perhaps through leaflets. "More often than not, politics is about perception," she said. One of the most common misconceived notions about PR, said Nurul Izzah, was that Malay rights and privileges would be in jeopardy should they take over Putrajaya. "We reiterate our commitment to defending the Articles spelled out in the Federal Constitution, including maintaining and protecting the special position of the Malays... I believe the policies enshrined in our Common Policy Framework (CPF) address the problems faced by many Malaysians, especially focusing on alleviating the poor — most of whom include Malays. "Steps proposed such as minimum wage legislation, focusing on and strengthening vocational and technical institutions, as well as returning the independence of various institutions to ensure we tackle graft, corruption and abuse of power accordingly, are crucial in changing current economic conditions and improving the overall welfare of the rakyat — Malays included," said the Lembah Pantai MP. She said this issue was an "on-going agenda" but became more important in light of the upcoming election. PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution agreed, saying coalition is already taking steps to counter Umno's claims. READ MORE HERE |
| Najib risks Malaysia's reputation in his treatment of Anwar Ibrahim Posted: 13 Dec 2011 07:49 AM PST If the opposition leader is convicted of sodomy he will become yet another victim of an egregious, politically suspect injustice Now Najib is taking no chances as his lieutenants warn that Anwar is fomenting an Arab spring-style uprising – a so-called "hibiscus revolution". Having more or less reneged on shaky, post-July promises of civil rights reform, Najib is now pushing through remodelled restrictions in the form of the Peaceful Assembly act. Simon Tisdall, The Guardian The portents do not look good for Malaysia's opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, whose trial on highly dubious sodomy charges draws to a close this week. If Anwar is found guilty – and the trial judge seems to have made up his mind already – he will not be the only or even the most important victim of an egregious, politically suspect injustice. Malaysia's democratic reputation will have been critically wounded, and for that outrage, Malaysians will have their prime minister, Najib Razak, to thank. The plodding Najib's overriding objective is winning the general election expected next year, possibly within a few months. The son of Malaysia's second prime minister, the nephew of its third, president of the dominant United Malays National Organisation (Umno), and a former defence minister, Najib was born to power and is accustomed to wielding it. As the charismatic leader of the opposition coalition, Anwar represents the biggest challenge to his continuing ascendancy. It hardly seems coincidental that the sodomy charges were levelled at Anwar shortly after the opposition inflicted unprecedented defeats on Umno and its allies in the 2008 elections. Anwar's main campaign plank – combating the official, institutionalised discrimination that favours ethnic Malays over the country's large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities – threatened the post-colonial order that has kept Umno and its National Front coalition on top since 1957. In a court appearance earlier this year, Anwar, 64, a married father of six, denied accusations he had had sexual relations with a former male aide. Homosexuality is punishable by law in Malaysia by caning and up to 20 years in jail. The allegations were "a vile and desperate attempt at character assassination" and a "blatant and vicious lie" spread by his political enemies, he said. "This entire process is nothing but a conspiracy by Najib Razak to send me into political oblivion by attempting once again to put me behind bars." Najib flatly rejects the idea of a political vendetta. But the recycling of sodomy accusations – Anwar was jailed on a similar charge in 1998 and detained until the conviction was quashed in 2004 – suggests a lack of originality characteristic of the prime minister. The case turns on the testimony of the alleged victim and DNA evidence produced by the prosecution. Defence lawyers suggested this week that Anwar's accuser was a "compulsive and consummate liar" who may have been put up to it. Yet the trial judge has already declared the prosecution's evidence "reliable" and credible", leading Anwar to claim he is being denied a fair trial. Najib gives every appearance of preparing for snap polls on the assumption that Anwar will be out of the way and the opposition decapitated. He told Umno's annual congress to prepare for battle because "the time is near" and urged delegates to work harder, for example by using social media, to attract a "new generation of Malaysians who are more critical and have rising expectations of the government". The party must adapt or face "tragedy", he warned. To Najib's evident alarm, that tragedy almost occurred in July when tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur. The highly unusual public display of discontent was spurred by a range of factors: spending cuts, official corruption and cronyism, a defective electoral system, curbs on public assembly and debate, and state-imposed censorship considered draconian even by regional standards. The example of recent political upheavals in neighbouring Thailand and Singapore also played a part. In response, thousands were beaten and detained by police. Now Najib is taking no chances as his lieutenants warn that Anwar is fomenting an Arab spring-style uprising – a so-called "hibiscus revolution". Having more or less reneged on shaky, post-July promises of civil rights reform, Najib is now pushing through remodelled restrictions in the form of the Peaceful Assembly act. The act effectively makes peaceful assembly impossible by restricting it to undefined "designated places". No gatherings are permitted within 50 meters of prohibited places including hospitals, schools or places of worship. The police can dictate the date, time and place. Najib's idea of engaging the "new generation" of young Malaysians is to ban anyone under the age of 21 from organising a protest. Opposition parties, lawyers and activist groups have condemned the new law, as has Amnesty International. But Najib Khairy Jamaluddin, Umno's youth-wing leader, articulated Najib's paranoia last month when he accused Anwar's coalition of "trying hard to manufacture panic and disorder" by promoting street rallies instead of elections. "The opposition often quotes social movements in the Middle East to instigate people to take part in street revolutions and in the process manufacture a Malaysian version of the Arab spring," Khairy said. Najib's authoritarian tendencies, blatant political scaremongering, and the judicial travesty that is Anwar's trial all suggest Malaysia's western allies, including Britain and the US, should take a closer look at their friend. Malaysia is valued as a trading partner, counterproliferation collaborator, and noncombatant member of the Afghanistan coalition. But the government's human rights record and democratic practices merit closer scrutiny. In a visit last year, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton extracted a promise that Anwar would receive a fair trial. "The US believes it is important for all aspects of the case to be conducted fairly and transparently and in a way that increases confidence in the rule of law in Malaysia," she said. In a recent speech, Clinton urged all states to end discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. As Anwar's ordeal approaches an ugly climax, it seems increasingly unlikely that these benchmarks will be met. The next question is: what will Malaysians and their friends do about it? |
| Political gimmicks to con voters Posted: 13 Dec 2011 07:43 AM PST Umno leaders are playing a dangerous game and leading the nation towards the brink of destruction when they choose to play the race card at the drop of a hat. Umno is now leading the nation towards the brink of destruction and the abyss of doom when its leaders choose to play the race card at the drop of a hat. Emotions will run very high if the Malay mind is conditioned by Umno to be under a siege-mentality. Selana Tay, Free Malaysia Today Umno, MCA and MIC never fail to use the race card to gain support from the Malays, Chinese and Indians respectively. This race card is the trump card which the British colonialists had left as a legacy to those three parties in the then "Alliance Formula". Therefore, the opposition will always find it difficult to win the general elections due to these three parties always availing themselves of the ace from the deck of cards dealt by the past colonial masters. This means that even before Independence itself, the cards have always been stacked against the opposition as the rakyat's minds are already pre-conditioned with the issue of race. With the 13th general election tipped to be just around the proverbial corner by political pundits, Umno politicians have upped the ante in their recent 65th Umno general assembly with racial speeches accusing the Chinese and the DAP of wanting to grab political and economic power. Stirring up Malay sentiment is Umno's tried and tested formula of successfully wooing the Malays and it has always yielded tremendous gains for Umno. As such, during the British era right until this present day, there has not been a single shred of doubt that Umno is the dominant party in the BN coalition. It is Umno which calls the shots and assigns MCA and MIC to only look after their respective race. This formula of divide-and-rule which has been started by the British has been continued by Umno, MCA and MIC to this present day for them to maintain and stay in power. It is almost impossible to break the divide-and-rule policy because the rakyat are not ready for it. And that is the sad reality to this present day. For example, there have been rumours that this time the Batu candidate for this coming polls is a Malay guy. Previously in 2008, PKR's Tian Chua defeated Gerakan's Lim Si Pin by a 9,000-plus vote majority. If Umno fields a Malay candidate in Batu, will PKR also field a Malay candidate? The demographics in Batu roughly mirrors that of the demographics of the nation. Harsh reality It is a harsh reality here that in Malaysia it is all about race, race and race with a capital "R". A former prime minister has once commented that PAS is afraid to contest in a Chinese-majority seat. Well, actually it is Umno which is afraid. In Kepong at least 88% of the voters are Chinese. If Umno fields a Malay candidate in Kepong, PAS will also field a Malay or Chinese candidate and we will be seeing a PAS versus Umno tussle in Kepong – a very interesting and intriguing battle indeed. Why doesn't Umno field a Malay candidate in Kepong in line with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's much-hyped up 1Malaysia slogan? Race-based politics is a legacy left by the British and honed into perfection by Umno. It will continue to be the order of the day if BN continues to win the coming general election. As the rural Malay vote is the crucial decider this time around, Umno is going all out to woo the rural Malays by playing the race card. This is evident going by the vitriol spewed forth at the recent Umno general assembly where the Chinese have been vilified by one Umno delegate after another who accused the Chinese of wanting to usurp the Malays. READ MORE HERE |
| Has Rama become too big for his britches? Posted: 13 Dec 2011 07:40 AM PST To stir controversy and not know how to douse it is only going to create problems for the DCM II and DAP. While Karpal and Ramasamy are embroiled in a war of words, DAP's arch enemy, Umno, is grabbing the opportunity to impress upon the rakyat, Penangites in particular, that the current internal crisis facing DAP is proof that unity is an asset this party cannot claim to have. Jeswan Kaur, Free Malaysia Today The on-going altercation between DAP national chairman Karpal Singh and Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy serves as a costly lesson for both the party and the latter. Ramasamy has been in the spotlight the past week for making a premature announcement in Tamil daily Makkal Osai on Nov 28 on party's Indian candidates for the 13th general election. This prompted the 71-year-old Karpal to chastise Ramasamy, who is also DAP's national deputy secretary-general, for behaving like a warlord by promising seats for candidates of his choice. Ramasamy, also the Penang DAP deputy chief, responded by calling the party to get rid of godfathers, in an obvious reference to Karpal. Many party leaders and members felt Ramasamy's godfather remark had undermined party elders such as Dr Chen Man Hin, Lim Kit Siang and Karpal. While Karpal and Ramasamy are embroiled in a war of words, DAP's arch enemy, Umno, is grabbing the opportunity to impress upon the rakyat, Penangites in particular, that the current internal crisis facing DAP is proof that unity is an asset this party cannot claim to have. With Umno loyalists wasting no time scurrying about painting a bad picture of DAP, the rift between Karpal and Ramasamy needs urgent repair. Karpal, once dubbed the "Tiger of Jelutong", has been with DAP through thick and thin. A former detainee under the now-defunct Internal Security Act (ISA), his affection for DAP is understandable and so is his anger towards Ramasamy for branding DAP veterans "godfathers" or "warlords". Ramasamy, an academician-turned politician, has miles to walk in politics. Perhaps it was his arrogance as DCM II that resulted in him making those remarks, which have backfired on him. The no-nonsense Karpal give Ramasamy an ultimatum – either apologise or face the music for misbehaving. On Dec 11, at the Penang DAP convention, Karpal cautioned Ramasamy not to let power get to the former lecturer's head. The ferocious lawyer also demanded Ramasamy immediately retract and apologise for his godfather remark against the party's veteran leaders, especially him. Reminding Ramasamy that the position of DCM II was an honour to ethnic Indian community, Karpal said it was thanks to DAP that Ramasamy won in the 2008 general election. Ramasamy has lots to learn as a politician The incident brings with it hard lessons for Ramasamy who quit his lecturing job in Singapore to venture into politics. To stir controversy and not know how to douse it is only going to create problems for both him and the party. Having labelled Karpal and the other veterans of DAP as "godfathers", Ramasamy has given the impression that the party operates along the lines of "mafia-ism", something which Karpal said was unthinkable as DAP is a party for all races. If at all DAP works ala "mafia", when really did Ramasamy realise this? Where did he gain the conviction that the very party which gave him his political break is all about mafia? What about the sacrifices of veterans like Karpal and Lim Kit Siang? Do they amount to nothing? Or has this DCM II become "too big for his shoes", ambitiously confident about his future in politics? Perhaps it has… for Ramasamy said he was willing to quit DAP if necessary and return to his hometown in Sitiawan. Karpal is furious, too, that Ramasamy, with his announcement on party candidatures, had trespassed all party decorum, as it was seen as usurping the power of the central executive committee. Ramasamy was also taken to task for promoting an unknown individual, lawyer K Mangaleswari, as a candidate for the Jawi state constituency. READ MORE HERE |
| Dr M: Just say sorry, Ramasamy Posted: 13 Dec 2011 07:39 AM PST All Karpal is asking for is an apology, the former Umno boss said. (Free Malaysia Today) - In a strange twist of events, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad advised DAP leader P Ramasamy to apologise to his chief, Karpal Singh. Referring to Karpal as "the godfather of DAP", the former Umno president wondered if the spat between the two DAP men was nothing more than political drama. "I don't know if it is not sandiwara (drama), but we all know that the godfather of the DAP is Karpal Singh." "Everybody knows that Karpal is the godfather, and you have to be nice to him. If you insult him, you must apologise," he told reporters at a press conference. He said this after officiating at the Sailing the Sand of Sahara event at the Palace of the Golden Horses. Mahathir was referring to the ongoing spat between DAP deputy secretary-general Ramasamy and DAP chairman Karpal. Ramasamy was first thrust into the spotlight for reportedly making a premature announcement on Nov 28 about the party's Indian candidates in the coming general election. Karpal then accused Ramasamy of acting like a party warlord by promising seats to DAP candidates of his choice. Annoyed, Ramasamy said that the party needed to get rid of its godfathers, apparently referring to Karpal. READ MORE HERE |
| Post GE13 political scenarios-Part 3 Posted: 13 Dec 2011 07:24 AM PST SAKMONGKOL AK47 About this having big time grudges or even hating Anwar, let me say this. Just how do you arrive at that judgment? Because I don't write good things about him? Some of these PKR diehards must have a short memory- if they go into my archives, they will see that UMNO people are accusing me of being pro Anwar. One of them must also be the vermin who insisted that I hate Anwar whenever I wrote something unflattering or not advantageous to Anwar. I advise them if they want to see the real hate writings on Anwar to go visit the extreme pro UMNO bloggers. Nothing personal against Anwar. To me he remains the crowd puller who can captivate the masses with his mesmerizing oratory. He can call the birds in the trees to his palms. But I don't fancy Anwar as PM because of (a) his duplicity and deceiving nature. He wears too many masks. (2) He is compromisable. I am stating what I see as the possible outcome of post GE13. Anwar has been committed to jail by then. On the steps of parliament Anwar told someone who I know very well, that the government is bent on jailing him. He himself is convinced he will go to jail. We shall wait. As to the person who ranks according to hierarchy who should become the new PM, who sets the hierarchy? If PKR does not come out with the largest number of seats among DAP, PAS and PKR, how does one arrive at the ranking? Ini bukan suka suka mahu taruh Anwar jadi PM. He can't be PM without the concurrence of DAP and PAS. Let's examine DAP and PAS. DAP and PAS are more interested to oust the UMNO/BN government, less with the idea that Anwar MUST be the next PM. I hope PKR people get this into their cool heads. PAS and DAP can live together because they are committed to the bigger picture which is – seeing the BN out. PKR's big picture it seems to me is to see Anwar installed as PM. Hence, the "we will break prison walls mindset" this isn't about Anwar brother… As for PAS and DAP, they can't accept anyone from either party to become PM. I think PAS knows its limitations. They have the material suited to be anything but the PM. Nizar or no Nizar. He's an MB material for now. DAP can't accept any PAS leader to become PM not on account of religion (the personal views of Karpal Singh notwithstanding) but because of fears that Malaysia will regress. Now, we may not agree with this assessment, but how DAP sees things appear to have adherents especially among the Chinese in general. The Chinese in general will be troubled at the idea of having a Mullah heading the country. Why can't they accept Anwar? Because they can't afford to have a person who has just gone through a blackened period to be the immediate PM. Perhaps later when Anwar is fully rehabilitated in the eyes of the public. The views held by Anwaristas are immaterial at the moment. The voters are more important. The Anwar supporters must also come to terms that maybe they have to take one step backwards to save their leader. And also because they ( DAP and PAS) have other reasons I am not at liberty to divulge. Why is Hassan Ali, a close comrade in arms with Anwar Ibrahim since varsity days breaking ranks with Anwar? The talks of his willingness to be the bridge for unity between PAS and UMNO show that to him, Anwar is a non-factor already. So, PAS, DAP and even some sections of the PKR leadership and even those in UMNO who are waiting in the wings look out for someone with the standing, stature and respect as the next PM. My own view is that, the only person fitting the bill is Tengku Razaleigh. Because it's important for the Pakatan to gain allegiance and support of the 20% fence-sitter voters. This section of the public has a different psychology. They want to know who the next PM is. Is the next PM going to be more acceptable than the present one? They want certainty and some confidence in the person. That person must have the substance, experience, standing and respect all around. Furthermore, the fence sitters who constitute some 20% of voters will demand to see some clarity. These are mostly apolitical and can be persuaded only if the person designated has the qualities and the wherewithal to become PM. If we put Anwar up, they may as well say, if the thing aint broken, why fix it? Whether we like it or not, the 20% fence sitter voters are not exactly enamored with the idea of having Anwar as PM. They might as well stick with Najib. Tengku Razaleigh is too old. Well, Mahathir remains PM until nearly 80. Deng Hsiopeng became leader of China in his late 70s. Many leaders become head of states at late ages. They have the stamina and wisdom and the experience. Malaysia is in need of someone of that stature. There's no past tense when it comes to political relevancy and making sense. Didn't I read that Mahathir says, if it isn't broken don't fix it? Only if we are sentimental fools. We are not going to be romantics dreaming of a perfect past in order to perpetuate all the negatives that are associated with the past. The salad and halcyon days perpetrated during the Mahathir era is now over. Of course Dr Mahathir wants a return to his era where everything is more or less decided by him. That presupposes the existence of a leader like him- non inclusive and iron willed. Najib does not have those qualities. Neither does he have the qualities to convince UMNO people the virtues of his liberal ideas. READ MORE HERE |
| A Badly Conceived Election Budget Allocation Posted: 12 Dec 2011 10:35 PM PST By Koon Yew Yin Recently the leading state newspaper in Perak carried an article which contained details of the Perak State Government's budget for 2012 which was tabled before the State Assembly on 21St Nov. 2011 (The Ipoh Echo, Issue 133, 1-15 December 2011). Among the key items of planned allocation in what is clearly a pre-election budget aimed at buying votes for the present state government in the coming elections, the most problematic is the RM60 million fund set up to assist first time house buyers by providing the 10% deposit as required by Banks to purchase a new house. I sympathise with the plight of first time low income house buyers and agree on the need to assist them in helping with home ownership. I can also understand the populist intention of the programme. However, this programme – as it is currently designed - is not only likely to fall short of its noble goal but will result in grief to the Perak administration. I can already foresee the following difficulties:- 1. What will happen if the buyers cannot pay the monthly instalments to the banks? A Housing Loan Manager of one of the leading banks told me that the bank can issue the first letter of demand after the defaulter fails to pay up only after 3 months. Also that the bank is able to initiate legal action only after 3 letters of demand have been sent out. In all likelihood, the legal procedure to recover
the property will take 6 months or more. Hence, it could take more than one year at least for the Bank to evict a defaulter. By the time the house is reprocessed, it would be in such a deplorable condition that the Bank will not be able to recover its loan and administration cost in most of the cases. To sell a reprocessed property, the bank also has to advertise to invite bids. In most cases, the Bank will not be able to get the reserved price in the first auction. If this happens, the bank will have to reduce the reserved price by 10%. If the second auction is not successful, the reserved price will have to be reduced by another 10%. 2. What will happen when a buyer cannot pay back the 10% to the State Government? Does the Government have the necessary machinery to recover the debt? As you can see above, there are laws to protect the poor men. Even the commercial banks with all the rules and regulations in place, still have difficulties to recover their money, how can the Perak State Government expect to do
better? The administrative cost to recover the debt is not only likely to be considerable but could also exceed the 10% loan outlay. This will further impoverish the state by diverting resources to unproductive expenditure. What this means is that any recovery of loan funds will be much less than what has been dispensed, leading to a short life span for the so-called "rolling" fund. I hope all members of the Perak State Assembly will consider these comments seriously and delay the implementation of the scheme until a later date when all the design and operational kinks and problems are fully understood and accounted for. A better planned and more stringent housing loan scheme is needed for the state if it is to be sustainable. The unseemly haste with which this poorly designed scheme is being pushed through for the coming elections will surely backfire on the state government and all Perak subjects. |
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