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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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• The myth of the two-party system
• GE13: ‘Two dragons’ giving way
• Pamper the kingmakers?
• Needed now: Some ‘good tailoring’
• Anwar’s not important, good governance is
• And after BN, you think you’ll be in heaven?
• What can Saiful’s father offer PKR? Nothing!
• Getting ready for GE13
• Political chameleons
• Jeffrey wants Orang Asal, Allies as ‘Force to be Reckoned With’ in mainstream politics
• Sabah security in fits-and-starts
• Who knows what the truth is these days?
• When Musa said what he said
• Lahad Datu – a bizarre crisis
• Waiting to gobble up Selangor

The myth of the two-party system Posted: 17 Mar 2013 06:37 PM PDT Malaysian politics has been at a crossroads since the 2008 general election. Politicians have engaged in a life-and-death confrontation while the people were forced to take sides of either to support the BN or Pakatan Rakyat. They are not allowed to be neutral or impartial. Lim Sue Goan, Sin Chew The general election is approaching and all kinds of dirty political means have been used to achieve personal political aims. The past two weeks have been filled with political violence. The disturbances at PKR dinners in Perak, Malacca and Penang indicate the deterioration of political culture. On March 8, the fifth anniversary of the 2008 political tsunami, father of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan suddenly claimed that Pakatan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was a victim of a political conspiracy in the whole sodomy affair, before making an announcement of joining the PKR on March 11. Screenshots of a sex video clip allegedly featuring the opposition leader and a man were then spread across the Internet on March 14 and the video clip is expected to be released soon. I think that everyone believes that the two events could not be a coincidence. Malaysian politics has been at a crossroads since the 2008 general election. Politicians have engaged in a life-and-death confrontation while the people were forced to take sides of either to support the BN or Pakatan Rakyat. They are not allowed to be neutral or impartial. To win the election, one after another muckraking game has been staged. Words like sodomy, anal sex and oral sex can always be found on newspapers, affecting children's morality. The political climate of loyal support has turned the people's thinking radical. Political violence can be found in both real life and the online world, penetrating every corner of the society. Political fanaticism has reduced the people's ability to judge while affecting their views on the freedom of the press. Initially, the people wanted the two-party system to make the country a better place but due to political myth, the two-party system has become a system of supporting a particular political party. The two-party system should be a political concept that helps to improve the country's political system, with the ultimate goal of reforming the country's system, improving governance and making the country financially sound through checks and balances. If we narrowly position the two-party system as supporting a political party, we will then be hostile to those with different views and even prejudice against them in political discussions. The political confrontation between the two coalitions has shifted the focus. Today, the system has not been changed while the debt continues to increase. Fanatical supporters must also bear the responsibility. Members of the public should support all political ideas that can bring the country a positive change, regardless of whether the ideas are from the BN or Pakatan Rakyat. I support Datuk Seri Najib Razak's removal of the 30 per cent Bumiputera quota on new shareholding, the abolition and amendment of demonic laws, as well as electoral reforms. I also agree with the Pakatan Rakyat's open tender and the idea of making state assembly members' properties public and abolishing the New Economic Policy (NEP). I do not agree with money distribution measures, which are not cost-effective. Only by changing the economic structure, the people's incomes can be improved and root of the problem can be resolved. I support the two-party system with the hope that those in power will be restricted through checks and balances. We must determine who has the ability to bring changes to the country and curb corruption, instead of blindly support without caring about the weaknesses of leaders. We must also assess which management approach is able to reduce debt and consolidate the country's financial situation, instead of supporting the one that can distribute more money. Today's irrational politics originates from the wrong interpretation of two-party system. Fanatic supporters have caused the ruling and alternative coalitions to take the wrong directions. It is a misfortune for the country.

GE13: ‘Two dragons’ giving way Posted: 17 Mar 2013 12:45 PM PDT   Mohd Zin and Noh have declared that they are not after the mentri besar post, paving the way for Barisan Nasional to make Selangor the epicentre state in the general election. Joceline Tan, The Star  THE big question of who will be Barisan Nasional's candidate for mentri besar is still blowing in the wind. No one in Barisan is quite sure who it will be. But what many are sure of is that two of Selangor's most prominent Umno leaders have declared that they will not be going for the MB post. Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed and Datuk Seri Noh Omar openly said at a recent political retreat in Shah Alam that they had informed the Prime Minister of their stand. Noh, who is Tanjung Karang MP and Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister, was the first to broach this touchy subject before the gathering of about 200 multi-level grassroots leaders from all state Barisan component parties. For Noh, it is also about coming to terms with the new political landscape in Selangor. The Umno strongman has been unable to live down that "pendatang" remark made during the Hulu Selangor by-election back in 2010 and it sort of sealed his fate for bigger things in the state. He told the gathering that he is happy to remain a candidate for a parliamentary seat in Selangor which would effectively put him out of the running for the MB post. "Why would I want to be MB? I am not exaggerating, I am telling everyone that I am not chasing the post. This is my fourth term as an MP. I have been a parliamentary secretary, deputy minister and now minister. "If I contest again, it will be my fifth term as a wakil rakyat. Even if I am not nominated, I promise, I will work for the party," he said to loud applause. Mohd Zin, who is Sepang MP and Selangor Barisan coordinator, was also greeted by applause when he said that he had informed Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak that he was not interested in the MB post. "It does not make sense to squabble for the MB post. We prefer to see ourselves as Team Najib," he said. He assured everyone that he was quite satisfied being an MP. He also drew laughter when he joked that the Selangor MB's post was too hot to handle and that life would be simpler being an ordinary MP or perhaps an ambassador. "They are big names. They are like the dragons of Selangor. The message we got was that they are putting the party's interest above their own. That gives PM the freedom to decide," said Kapar Umno deputy chief Datuk Faizal Abdullah. Najib is said to be very pleased with the work put in by Mohd Zin who was initially Selangor Umno secretary. Last year Najib promoted him to state Barisan coordinator and last month, he was made deputy state election director. Mohd Zin is not only hardworking, but has injected a lot of thinking and strategy into Barisan's comeback quest in Selangor. He has built up an impressive war room and some are even talking about the Selangor model being made a political prototype. Both men have given their commitment to Najib, who is the Selangor Barisan chief. Najib is said to have two or three names in mind for the post. He does not intend to announce the names until the time is right. He has told selected circles that if Barisan is successful in Selangor, he will present the names to the Sultan of Selangor and if Tuanku has no objection to any of the names, he will exercise his prerogative to pick the MB of his choice. He respects the Palace, he understands protocol and he intends to observe the procedure. By now it is amply clear that Barisan is hungry to regain Selangor. All their efforts and preparations of the last five years are about to come to this moment. There has been a lot of hoopla about Johor being the Pakatan frontline state, but the big battleground will be Selangor. The mood among the Barisan players, especially Umno, is very high. Selangor has 56 state seats of which Pakatan controls 32, Barisan 20 and one by an independent. "The PM has told us very clearly that he is not interested in hearing feel-good fairy tales. He does not want us to tell him bedtime stories or sing nice songs. He wants the hard facts," said Faizal, who is also deputy treasurer of the state Barisan. At the last state Barisan meeting, Najib informed those present that he had a good feeling about the election. Everywhere he has gone, people of all races have given him an enthusiastic reception. He recalled that some even try to hug him and he can feel their warmth and friendship. Everyone laughed when he said: "Insyallah, I pray it will also translate into votes." The Selangor manifesto is ready and Faizal who has had a sneak preview of it said that it is a comprehensive document that reaches out to everyone. "More important, it is not empty promises," said Faizal. The word is out that Barisan is confident of taking 32 seats. It has conceded 14 black seats held mainly by DAP while another 10 seats are considered as grey seats. The casualties in Selangor will be PAS and PKR, especially in seats where Malays form the bulk of voters. "Selangor will be the epicentre. Our aim is to ensure that Selangor will be the first state to achieve a high-income economy," said Mohd Zin.

Pamper the kingmakers? Posted: 17 Mar 2013 12:16 PM PDT You should by now see the ratio of civil servants and their families to the overall voter population. If we take 5.68 million, it is almost half of the number of eligible voters in the country, and the ratio will well exceed half if we take 7.10 million. by Lim Mun Fah and translated by Dominic Loh, Sin Chew Reasonable increments have never become an issue at all. While there are justifiable reasons for the RM1.5 billion early pay adjustments for the country's civil servants, the same never fails to arouse controversies from people on different sides of the political divide. There are some 1.42 million civil servants in this country, and the increments will benefit each and every one of them, including the 50,000 whose contracts will expire by the end of this year, as their services will most likely be extended for another year. Let's put aside the question whether the 1.42 million civil servants make up an opulent part of the country's 28 million population (about one in every 20 Malaysians), and let's also put aside the question whether the proposed increments will add to the country's burden or jazz up public service productivity. Increments for civil servants have oddly become a rare "consensus" among ruling and opposition parties which are inclined to find faults with each other in almost everything. Such a consensus needs no profound economic theories to sustain. Anyone with the most fundamental arithmetic abilities will be able to deduce that such a manoeuvre is well worth the effort. Let's do some simple calculations: There are 1.42 million civil servants in the country, and let's suppose each household is made up of an average of four members, and this will bring us a total of 5.68 million people benefiting from the government's latest generosity. And if each household has five members, then the total will swell to 7.10 million. Now let's take a look at another figure. According to the latest electorate statistics, there are 13.29 million Malaysians eligible to vote in the coming general election. You should by now see the ratio of civil servants and their families to the overall voter population. If we take 5.68 million, it is almost half of the number of eligible voters in the country, and the ratio will well exceed half if we take 7.10 million. Of course, the actual figure may not be that high, as we must exclude minors not eligible to vote. If we take only three people for each household, the total beneficiaries will stand at 4.26 million, almost a third of all eligible voters. The most formidable bedrock of democracy is the electorate. Given the political reality where every vote counts, accommodating public desires has provided the most reliable assurance for secured ballot support. The 1.42 million-strong civil servants along with their family members should form a powerful force that will tip the final election outcome, a fact no parties, ruling or opposition, can afford to ignore or contravene. Given the fact that every party wants an additional vote count, it has now transcended beyond the question of right or wrong to increase civil servants' salaries. Public servants constitute a reckoned force in every single democratic election under the sun, whom rival parties would try their utmost to please. The total ballot count is of paramount importance. No one would bother how much thinner our treasury will become, nor would they recall the austerity drive we once championed loudly.

Needed now: Some ‘good tailoring’ Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:42 AM PDT The NEP "morphed" into the NDP, and the package of political arrangements that had been devised to go with it was now given a new, and continuing, justification through the doctrine of "Ketuanan Melayu", an ideology of permanent and perpetual Malay ascendancy over national life. Clive Kessler, TMI A nationally fateful election is about to be called. While we all wait, a key underlying question becomes ever more insistent: What does Malaysia now need? My answer to that question is "some good tailoring". Yes, there are tailors aplenty in Malaysia, many of them good, and far better than just good. But by good tailoring I mean here something else. Clothing the Body Like most countries, Malaysia has a constitution. That constitution is basis of the nation. It provides the inner structure and form of "the body politic". It furnished the basis of Merdeka and remains the bedrock of nationhood. The Constitution is still sound. It will remain sound provided people understand it clearly: so long as people understand what it says and was intended to say, and how what it says was shaped — and so is to be "read against", meaning initially and primarily understood in the context of — the political challenges of that time. Of that time, and not the rather different current political demands that people may now wish to "read back" into it. Despite all the many political dramas and traumas of half a century and more, it is still in good shape. It is not only remains a solid basis for nationhood. More, it is the only one that Malaysia has, or is ever likely to. But like any human body, it cannot live naked in the world. It needs to be appropriately clothed. It needs proper attire and appropriate garb if it is to appear publicly to people at any time. That is true not just of Malaysia but applies everywhere. The body's basic form and structure, its bare constitutional fundamentals, need to be properly clothed and dressed. That kind of clothing, needed by all nations in their own individually distinctive ways, is an appropriate set of political arrangements and institutions. A socially serviceable framework of governance. Such a framework is needed to give practical form and expression to the constitution and constitutional principles. Only in that way that can constitutional principles bridge, and bind together in a morally sustainable and hence politically effective way, the great dualities: state and society, government and people, rulers and citizens, national policy and the everyday life of the people. Malaysia's political clothing: A brief historical overview. Malaysia has, in its half century and more of national independence, "kitted itself out" with that necessary kind of political clothing. More than once, in fact. Its initial set of political clothing, the nation's first proudly worn outfit, was created and taken on with the achievement of independence. That was the first form in which the nation's constitutional fundamentals were given political form and expression, or politically effective attire. That outfit was the political framework or "dispensation" that carried forward into national independence the political understandings and processes of "intercommunal conciliation" — what some call the pre-independence "Merdeka process" leading to the "Merdeka agreements" — that had enabled national independence to be achieved and recognised. The nation's first political dispensation, framework or "ruling formula" was centred on the old "tripartite" Alliance Party of Umno, MCA and MIC. As is well known, that political framework collapsed, in the wake of the 1969 elections, after less than 12 years of independence. The election results, following the intense political contestation over the years immediately preceding those events, painfully demonstrated that those arrangements could no longer effectively bridge, and connect, state and society, the logic of national governance and the dynamics of everyday life at the popular level. They no longer provided serviceable clothing for the underlying body of the nation's constitutional principles, its foundational commitments. In short, they were no longer convincing. They no longer seemed legitimate. So, in turn, they no longer had the capacity to endow the existing national leadership with popular legitimacy. With the collapse of that first "ruling formula" or set of political arrangements, a kind of interval — a "holiday" from routine politics or "political recess" — was declared. The national "body politic" and its basic constitutional form were now stripped bare of their familiar institutional garb. The liberal democratic political attire that it had worn since independence was temporarily set aside. Instead, for a couple of years it wore a kind of basic semi-military clothing. It put on the plain garments, sometimes called "fatigues" or heavy-duty "overalls", that are well suited for doing rough work. Malaysia, that is to say, was instead managed, administered and ruled under a national command directorate (known as the National Operations Council) while some new attire, a second set of political clothing for the Constitution, could be tailored and fitted onto nation's underlying body. Between 1970 and 1972 that new political clothing, the new political arrangements and framework of national governance, was created and made known. Centred upon the new and expanded Umno-led ruling coalition now known as the Barisan Nasional, it was instituted with one central objective: to promote what was seen as the essential remedy for the causes of the upheavals of 1969, the National Economic Policy or NEP. The source of those upheavals was seen to have lain in the economically-based marginalisation of the peninsular Malays from national life; the remedy was now to be a massive programme of affirmative action in the Malay interest, the NEP. That was the policy that had to be implemented; and the new political arrangements or governing formula, the new political clothing that was fitted upon underlying constitutional principles, was created in order to promote that overriding national objective. As initially intended, the NEP was to be for a finite period, strictly for 20 years until 1990. Yet, as is well known and needs no explanation here, the NEP imperative lived on beyond 1990; and the political arrangements that were created to facilitate its implementation were also extended. The NEP "morphed" into the NDP, and the package of political arrangements that had been devised to go with it was now given a new, and continuing, justification through the doctrine of "Ketuanan Melayu", an ideology of permanent and perpetual Malay ascendancy over national life. This new attire for the Malaysian "body politic" clothed national life throughout the second half of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's two decades and more as prime minister. They were still what Malaysia was wearing when, under Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's leadership, it went to its 12th nation elections or GE12 in 2008. Growth and change When the nation went to the polls in 2008, it was already more than 50 years old. The Malaysian "body politic" went into GE12 wearing the same political attire, with the same outfit of political arrangements, that it had been wearing since its "teenage years crisis". It was wearing, largely unmodified, a suit of political clothing that was now 35 years old. When people advance into middle age, their bodies grow and "fill out" and change. No surprise in that. As they do, they outgrow their old clothing. And meanwhile, clothing fashions in the world around them also change. This is the fate not only of middle-aged individuals who seek to remain "with it" and up-to-date. It was also Malaysia's fate. In the intervening years the nation had simply outgrown its political clothing. That old, familiar suit no longer fitted. No matter how pleasing it may have seemed and how well it may still have fitted some parts of the national political body, this clothing was just getting a lot harder to wear, and to wear convincingly and with dignity, in public. In short, and as the results of the 2008 elections dramatically demonstrated, there was now a mismatch between the nation's political body and the framework, or suit, of political arrangements that it was still wearing. As the result of some deeply-seated and slowly advancing developments, Malaysia had by now demonstrably outgrown its long-serving tailoring. What developments? Basically two. On the one hand, since the 1970s the NEP has so diversified and transformed peninsular Malay society — in all dimensions: socially, educationally, occupationally, professionally, economically, intellectually and culturally — that it was no longer simple, of even possible, for Umno to maintain its national political ascendancy in the name, and on its preferred and habitual basis, of "Malay political unity". That unity, if it had ever existed once PAS split from Umno in the early 1950s, and the power and plausibility of its appeals were now largely exhausted. And despite strenuous efforts, it had not proved possible to preserve Malay unity, or to provide some effective countervailing effect upon the processes of Malay sociocultural diversification and political fragmentation, by appeals to Islam and through recourse to the institutional apparatus, both the "traditional" and the more recent and modern creations, of Islamic religious administration. Here, as the governing logic of "Malay political unity" collapsed, the Umno was undone not by malign outside forces. Rather, it was confounded by the long-term and widespread success of its own grandest, and most successful, policy "package" — by the direct yet unanticipated and unmanageable effects of the NEP. The familiar logic and assumptions of Umno ascendancy were undone, because they were now repudiated, by so many of the children of the NEP. Not just by many of them as individuals but also collectively, by the deeply-grounded advance beyond the Umno's own conventional political horizons of two generations and more of the NEP's children. That defection of the children of the NEP had first been dramatically signalled by the "Reformasi challenge" of 1999. The problem had not meanwhile gone away. Umno had not been without the time and opportunity to come to terms with it, had they only wanted and chosen to do so. Yet, as Umno tried to "shore up" its position against this erosion of its Malay base, it saw nowhere to turn but to increasingly insistent affirmations of the doctrine of "Ketuanan Melayu", on occasions restated in powerful symbolic language by the unsheathing and brandishing of the Malay keris by the Youth leaders at Umno general assemblies. So the old arrangements were undercut on both sides: by the disaffection and widespread defection of the best of the "new post-NEP Malays" and by the alienation and bitter disappointment of many non-Malays at the desperate measures taken by Umno in an attempt to limit the erosion of its own mass or popular base. By 2008 the position of Umno's non-Malay partner parties in BN had become largely untenable; it had become so because the general basis for non-Malay trust in the ability of those partner parties promote the political interests of their once loyal support base and to protect their basic citizenship rights had collapsed. It had been killed off by Umno itself, by its desperate and ever more extravagant embrace of the logic of "Ketuanan Melayu". And it did nobody any good — not Umno, not its non-Malay partner parties, not the nation's non-Malay citizens, not the nation itself, nor even Umno's mass supporters among the majority Malays — to keep asserting that the non-Malays were just recent arrivals; that they should be grateful for what they had; and (quite incorrectly, in historical terms!) that, on their continuing behalf, their own former political leaders in the Merdeka period had assented to their perpetual and unalterable political subordination. In sum, there was now as GE12 dramatically suggested a mismatch, even a growing gulf, between the nation's political arrangements and the long-developing realities of everyday Malaysian life in the early 21st century: a disjunction between state and society, between the rulers and the ruled, in especially in the key political mechanism — namely the electoral system — that linked the government, via its chosen political vehicle the BN, and the people. In short, the old political clothing of the national body politic was no longer a good fit. It was no longer even serviceable. It could no longer provide Umno with what was expected from it, namely the empowering prestige of strong and resonantly legitimate government. Modern democratic elections do not so much choose governments as endow them with popular legitimacy. Elections provide governments with the essential basis of their authority, and hence their ability to lead, to rule and to deliver what they intend. Malaysia's current electoral arrangements — so the experience of GE12 in 2008 and what has happened since then have now demonstrated — are no longer capable of serving that purpose, of delivering that indispensable authority into the hands of Umno/BN. Something new, better, and more appropriate to the times is now needed. If that had not been clear before, it was the unmistakeable message that GE12 delivered to all Malaysians, but especially to Umno/BN, in 2008. It is the defects and deficiencies of the central political mechanism in this ensemble of arrangements, namely of the electoral system, that in the years since 2008 — while the government has been happy to leave the problem largely unaddressed and unrepaired — have provided Bersih with its opening, its opportunity, with its seemingly irresistible "traction". Malaysia today: In need of some good new clothing Malaysia's current "political dispensation", its most recent suit of political clothing for its underlying constitutional form, came into being after the 1969 crisis which saw the collapse of its first political dispensation, or framework of enabling political arrangements. As noted, that new dispensation had consisted of two parts. The two key features of national life instituted in the early 1970s, the economic and the political, were to remain in force, first, throughout the 1990s, which culminated with the Asian Economic Crisis and the Reformasi challenge; and then well into the first decade of the new century, as Dr Mahathir struggled to restore national economic life and political stability and so to ensure the survival of his own achievements, the legacy of his two decades and more as prime minister. Over those years Malaysian society changed, and how it meshed with national politics, or now failed to do so, did too. But the same political "clothing" that had been newly created to adorn the national "body politic" and its underlying constitutional principles in 1970-1972 remained in service. Those political arrangements continued to operate simply because over that extended period no new ones were devised. They continued in force. But did they remain appropriate and effective? Were they still serviceable? For how long? GE12 in 2008 showed that those arrangements were now exhausted, that their political "shelf-life" had expired. They had reached their acceptable "use-by date". For all the talk of change since then, this still remains the situation, the basic and implacable fact of the nation's political life. While the nation's constitutional foundations remain sound and in good working order, the political body is in dire need of a new suit, a new ensemble of political arrangements and enabling institutions, to fit that body and meet it current needs. The nation and its political life have simply outgrown their existing clothing or arrangements, their institutional suiting. That clothing, the suit that the nation wears upon its political body, is in need of basic renovation and renewal. After its long and unnaturally protracted afterlife, Malaysia's second post-independence "political dispensation" — born in the wake of the 1969 crisis — is now exhausted. That fact has been made clear to all, both in the government and on the opposition side, who have considered seriously the implications of the 2008 election outcome. It is abundantly clear to all who can now recognise that Malaysian society, especially over the decade or so since the Reformasi challenge, has vastly outgrown the political framework under which it still sits and through which it must operate and seek to manage public affairs. The old framework is exhausted. It is now time for a new political dispensation, a third political framework of arrangements suited to the realities and requirements of this stage of Malaysia's national development. How do I see Malaysia today? I see it in urgent need of some good and timely political "tailoring". Why I worry That is easily said, but not so easily done and delivered. And that is why I now worry. I worry because I do not see any signs, on any side or from any quarter, that any appropriate new institutional tailoring, a fine and well-fitting new suit of political clothing, may soon come into being. Worse, I see no sign even that the main political players have any awareness, or are capable of any, that this is what is urgently required. That this challenge is basic to the nation's hopes of renewal and progress. What do I see? What is currently on offer? For its part Umno/BN still seems untroubled and happy with the old suit. It's all just fine, they say. In his time Tun Razak liked it, Tun Dr Ismail too. Why should we now want to propose anything different? "Tanda Putera" fashion: what could possibly be better, more stylish, than that? We have been happy with that same old suit for 40 years, they aver, and we could happily go on wearing it for another forty. Not much hope there in that quarter. The interesting thing here in this context is that, under Najib Razak's prime ministership, there has been much grandiose Umno-led talk about national transformation, about developing new structures and arrangements together with the suitable enforcement mechanisms and attitudes to go with them: in economics, commerce, management — virtually across the board. In everything, in short, but in the framework of national politics itself — in the fundamental rationale of Malaysian democratic governance, as distinct from mere national public administration. Yet that is the core of the matter, and the core of the Umno/BN government's seeming inability to build up any convincing momentum as it moves towards, but ever diffidently continues to hold back from calling, the next national elections, GE13. Meanwhile, for their part, the hardline Malay ethno-supremacists — who these days operate not only as powerful pressure groups (while deceptively calling themselves NGOs, a terrible misnomer!) upon the Umno/BN government from outside, but who also now exercise increasing "clout" within the dominant Umno itself — take this same logic one step further. They think and loudly declare that the old suit — or how they like to imagine it once was, and was always really meant to be — is just fine. All it needs, they say, is a little more in the way of repairs and judicious mending, and some strong structural reinforcement at the well-known "middle-age stress points", to turn this once respectable old national-democratic "three-piece" suit into a "Ketuanan Melayu" or Malay ascendancy straight-jacket. And, as they look at the fabric of its fine old material, they imagine that they see within the pattern of its very cloth not some sort of complexly aligned "herringbone" style or an attractive pluralistic motif but the wording, in a lovingly woven but hidden script, of the slogan "Malays on top, now and forever!" Not much hope from there either. On the opposition side, the PAS component, at least, has a very clear idea of the new kind of political suiting that its leaders think the national political body requires, and must in time be patiently educated to welcome and accept. READ MORE HERE

Anwar’s not important, good governance is Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:27 AM PDT A good government is constituted by good people and the Umno-BN regime falls very short on 'goodness'. Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz, FMT This coming general election is not about the culmination of efforts to make Anwar Ibrahim a prime minister. Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his followers would want us to believe in that big lie. But it's a lie that we must politely refuse if we still can do so politely. Making Anwar a prime minister is secondary. The primary purpose is to install a good government. Now, a good government is constituted by good people. That is the fundamental requirement. We need good people, qualified, dedicated and selfless who work the system to make the country better. When we say that, it is easy for people like Mahathir and Chandra Muzaffar (president of the International Movement for a Just World) to pour scorn and ridicule. Mahathir in politics and Chandra in intellectual-dom cannot understand the contradiction. It is as such not hard to reconcile the contradicting nature of people in Umno and people represented by Chandra. They think and believe that ONLY they are capable of doing good and are unable to bring themselves to accepting that they can do wrong. In order to "disbelieve" that "good" people like them can deteriorate into evil-doers requires a longer and indirect thinking process. It requires them to subordinate their emotions to rational thinking. Mahathir has no time for that and it seems Chandra doesn't want to do that either. They prefer to continue believing that it's ONLY them who can do good and it is impossible for good people like them to do "no good". READ MORE HERE

And after BN, you think you’ll be in heaven? Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:25 AM PDT The DAP is not democracy in action. PKR is not justice in action. PAS is sometimes Islamic in action – but democracy and justice cuts across race and religion. Gobind Rudra, FMT By all means work furiously to topple the Barisan Nasional if you wish: but the Malaysian fight is to restore democracy, justice and fairness to all, and a life in which every Malaysian is accorded his full dignity. That is the true task before all Malaysians. They must not allow agitators and activists to fool them into thinking that their task is to put Pakatan Rakyat in power. The task to restore democracy and justice will remain, no matter who is in power. Political party activists and agitators prefer you not to think about that. The agitator prefers you to keep thinking only about the parties. They have their own reasons, and their job (some are paid directly, some paid indirectly and many not paid) is to remove one set of politicians and replace them with another. That is not our task, as citizens. All Malaysians must recognise that politicians and political parties are merely vehicles by which the citizen can move towards the ultimate goal – that goal being democracy and justice (or perhaps for some Muslims, an Islamic state and Islamic justice). The BN does not represent democracy and justice. Neither does the Pakatan represent democracy and justice. The DAP is not democracy in action. PKR is not justice in action. PAS is sometimes Islamic in action – but democracy and justice cuts across race and religion. Those words "democratic" and "justice" in the names of those parties are merely marketing slogans. Political parties exist to secure power. They will "sell" whatever you will buy. Parties are not a popular movement for democracy or justice. They are about achieving power. Whether they will deliver democracy or justice is another thing altogether. To achieve political power, politicians use the words "democracy" and "justice" to get to the top. After they get to the top, if they are honest they will deliver their version of "democracy", their version of "justice". Their version of democracy and justice may not be anything like what the people want or need – because parties, like companies, must deal with the demands of their members (and not you, the public) and the demands of their business, corporate and government sponsors (and not you, the public). The parties and their hordes of political agitators will serve their members, their friends, and their sponsors first – long before they serve you, the people. People in power are not angels So what must the people do? None of this is new. Humankind has had to deal with this many, many times before. Western political philosophers have said: Eternal vigilance is the price of all liberty – Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), US abolitionist and columnist. That means stay on our guard at all times no matter who is in power and hold them to account all the time There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men – Edmund Burke (1729-1797), author, statesman, political philosopher. That means never completely trust those buggers in office, those buggers who hold power, and always be suspicious of them and their motives. READ MORE HERE

What can Saiful’s father offer PKR? Nothing! Posted: 16 Mar 2013 02:30 PM PDT What is the rationale in PI Bala, Deepak and Saiful's father being put to the fore by PKR, by Anwar, as a battering ram against Najib and Umno? CT Ali, FMT Mercenary, turncoat, scum, spin doctor, fiction writer, Umno mole! Even as I am being called these names, Saiful Bukhari Azlan's father Azlan Mohd Lazim joins PKR a day after insisting that his son was being used by several unscrupulous people, including a special officer to the PM, to fabricate lies against the de facto leader of PKR, Anwar Ibrahim. Now which part of S.T.U.P.I.D does PKR not understand? First PKR has Johari Abdul facilitating the press conference where Saiful's father announced that his son was being manipulated by the other side. The very next day, the same Johari Abdul is there again when Saiful's father announced that he is joining PKR. Now who is this Johari Abdul? He is the PKR member of parliament for Sungai Petani with a Master Degree in Strategic Studies. Simple rule of thumb for PKR in any future expose: if you want the Malaysian public to believe that Saiful's father did all that he did on his own volition, then do not have Johari or any PKR operatives near him when he makes the announcement. Better still, make sure no PKR operatives are even in the same room, same building, same locality. Why? Because when you do that, then right thinking Malaysians may believe that Saiful's father is doing it all on his own convictions. Then if he does want to join PKR, please lah, give a decent interval between that announcement and having a photo opportunity for Johari Abdul so that the Malaysian public may be persuaded that he joining the PKR has got nothing to do with him calling his son a liar who is being manipulated by unscrupulous men connected to Najib. But this Johari does not seem to have the ability to understand these simple niceties, and he has a Masters in Strategic Studies? Some of you cannot see beyond the tip of your nose, what more the ability to follow the chain of events of why and how things happen in this sandiwara and odious drama that passes for politics in our country. Ignorance I can understand, but stupidity I cannot tolerate. For me Najib Tun Razak, Umno and all that are remotely within its sphere of toxicity are a lost cause. So I would prefer to work on what is not yet a lost cause in as far as I am concerned. Pakatan Rakyat, PKR and Anwar Ibrahim are not a lost cause yet! They potentially can be the future we aspire to. They can potentially be the government we need in Putrajaya. They are our hope for change, but only if they are deserving of our trust and worthy of being leaders capable of good governance. We are not imbeciles You ask me if I have something against Anwar? Yes I do! He had the opportunity of being PM once – he was just a step away from it happening. All it would have taken for him to be Prime Minister then would not even be 10 % of the effort he has put in the last nine years to get where he is today. Now again he has been give this opportunity to be the PM designate if Pakatan Rakyat wins government in this 13th general election  – and is he once again going to shot himself in the foot? Of course I am angry! How many politicians have a shot at the PM seat even once? Only Anwar had – and is he going to screw it up again? And why am I angry? Simply this – I have been blogging for the past three years and all this time I have worked on my blog for Anything But Umno (ABU). By default Anwar will lead Pakatan into the 13th general election to make ABU a reality because no one else, at this pointof time, can do it better. I am but one of the many thousands of people who have done work for ABU, for Pakatan Rakyat and for Anwar to be the change we want through what I write. However small my contribution has been, it has been work I have done because we have no other choice but Pakatan if we want a new beginning. And then we see the late P Balasubramaniam, Deepak Jaikishan and this Father of Saiful being put to the fore by PKR, by Anwar to be used by PKR and Anwar as a battering ram against Najib and Umno. READ MORE HERE

Getting ready for GE13 Posted: 16 Mar 2013 09:22 AM PDT The long wait for the general election to be called is almost over as all the signs point to the Prime Minister making the big move this week. Joceline Tan, The Star EVERYONE thinks it is going to be any day now. They are, of course, talking about when Parliament will be dissolved for the general election. Last Wednesday, there was a mild speculation frenzy after the Prime Minister's black Proton Perdana Executive was spotted going through the Palace gates early in the morning. A Malay daily tweeted about it and soon the chatter was Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had sought the King's consent for the dissolution of Parliament. Najib did indeed have an audience with the King as he does every Wednesday before chairing the weekly Cabinet meeting, and many people had a good laugh at themselves after that. Speculation about the dissolution date has gone from "Is it going to be next month?" to "Is it tomorrow?" or even "Heard that PM is meeting the (Yang di-Pertuan) Agong this afternoon." The window is getting smaller and every little move by Najib is scrutinised and analysed for hints. But even those with access to him are flummoxed. "We keep watching PM's body language but no hints at all from him. When we ask him, all he says is, be ready," said Umno executive secretary Datuk Rauf Yusoh. A few days ago, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali tweeted that Parliament would be dissolved on March 18. But the opposition parties have been predicting the general election since 2010 and we are still waiting. The Prime Minister is as ready as can be, according to several top editors who met him at his office on Monday. It was a sort of tea-chat where they exchanged views over a variety of issues. And, of course, there was the burning question of the day: When? Nobody really expected him to say when but what came across during the exchange was how visibly confident Najib was. "He was upbeat, he looked at ease. I think he is ready. He has an impressive report card in terms of the Government's economic transformation policies. He has responded to the new political landscape in terms of social and political reforms. He's got his finger on the national pulse, he has reached out to everyone and he's tuned in to issues of the day," said one of the editors. Najib told them he is "cautiously optimistic" about Barisan Nasional's chances in the elections. It is a phrase he has used whether in private or in public. During a televised town hall-style session titled "Conversation with the PM" a few days ago, he had said: "I say cautiously optimistic because we cannot take anything for granted. But I am very encouraged by the people's response especially when I go round. At the same time, we have done our assessments, numbers and we believe the rakyat is behind us and the rakyat feel that their future is more secure with Barisan Nasional." He has put his heart and soul into his work and those close to him said he has every reason to be confident and that he has his sights set on regaining Barisan's two-third majority in Parliament. But like all seasoned politicians, he knows that this is the time when politicians are about to approach the people to ask for their precious votes and support. Humility is important and it is not the time to talk big or be presumptuous. Najib has often been described as a wartime prime minister given the challenging post-2008 political landscape. But the terror intrusions in Lahad Datu has lent an uncanny meaning to the sobriquet and he has been able to draw on his experience as Defence Minister in handling the crisis. He has been visibly saddened by the deaths on the battle front and his focus over the last few weeks has been as much on the situation in Sabah as it has been on the polls. The crisis is under control but far from over. It has also taken on a life of its own in terms of national impact. There has been a surging tide of nationalist and patriotic sentiments especially among the Malays. Many have been moved by the nightly reporting from the battle front and the televised replay of the Jalur Gemilang-draped coffins emerging from the belly of army aircraft as solemn military music played in the background. Malaysians have been galvanised by what is happening in Lahad Datu and what it means to the country's national security. They are angry there are people out there who have attempted to ridicule the gravity of the situation. For instance, Wong Chin Huat, a leading figure in the Bersih group and now working for a Penang government think-tank, had in the early weeks of the crisis tweeted that the Sulu intruders were here for Chinese New Year, they would be getting ang pows, they decided to stay for Chap Goh Meh, they enjoyed it so much they extended their stay. He probably meant it as a joke but it was not funny when people, especially our police personnel, began dying. PKR vice-president Tian Chua is facing sedition charges after dozens of police reports were lodged over his alleged remarks that the Sabah intrusion was a political conspiracy. Very few are keen to talk openly about how Lahad Datu will impact on the political prospect of either Barisan or Pakatan Rakyat. It would be in bad taste given that the armed forces are out there, putting their lives on the line for the nation. But the political mood in Sabah is very different today compared to a month ago and talk about "Ubah" or change has quietened somewhat. Pakatan leaders have been going on about how they are going to take Putrajaya. They have been reluctant to say how many seats they can possibly win to form the government but are making a concerted bid to win more seats in Johor, Sarawak and Sabah. They have been very strategic in focusing on these states where there are a sizable number of Chinese-majority seats because they have won all the Chinese seats that they could possibly win in other states on the west coast. But they have been tactically silent about the fact that Kedah and Selangor are looking wobbly. They may also lose seats in several other states that were won thanks to the political tsunami. For example, at least five parliamentary seats are expected to fall to Umno in Kelantan. In Penang, Umno is sure of taking back two parliamentary seats from PKR while in Perak, at least four Pakatan parliamentary seats are in danger. This means that the gains Pakatan makes in their frontline states may be negated by losses elsewhere. State seats usually carry parliamentary seats and if Kedah and Selangor fall, Barisan will be looking at a two-thirds majority. The general consensus is that Barisan will still be in Putrajaya after the general election. It will win with a comfortable margin but will fall short of a two-thirds majority. Besides, very few democracies in the world enjoy two-thirds majority governments. "Only the size of the majority remains uncertain," said Asli CEO Tan Sri Michael Yeoh. Yeoh put it in a nutshell when he said that there are basically three possible outcomes for the elections: > The status quo remains for Barisan at around 140 parliamentary seats. > A reduced majority for Barisan. > Barisan regains two-thirds majority. Najib, said Yeoh, will campaign from a position of strength that is premised on his personality, the hard work he has put in and his track record of policies and programmes. One of the reasons why Pakatan's recently launched manifesto has not had the traction of the earlier Buku Jingga is because of Najib's Janji Ditepati reputation, which has been in sharp contrast to Pakatan's excuse that "manifesto bukan janjian" (a manifesto is not a promise). He has shown that it can walk the talk and deliver on its word. "However, the urban voters are still largely with the Opposition. The urban Chinese support for DAP is strong and as high as 85% of urban Chinese may vote for it," said Yeoh. Umno, he said, will be the big Barisan winner and DAP will be the big Pakatan winner. Malaysian politics is likely to get even more racially polarised. It has been a long wait for the mother of all battles. During a pre-election briefing for the editorial staff a few weeks ago, this paper's group chief editor Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai asked how many in the auditorium were covering the general election for the first time. On seeing the number of hands, he said with a laugh: "Never mind, don't worry. The last five years have been one long election campaign." He is so right. It has also been five years of endless politicking over almost everything and anything. And just as you thought that it could not get any more complicated, you have Saiful Bukhari Azlan and his father Azlan Mohd Lazim contradicting each other on Saiful's sex allegations against Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. But nothing could have been more stunning than how the Lynas campaign has unfolded. Lynas leader Wong Tack is now a DAP election candidate and he has veered from wanting to burn down the plant to okaying Lynas if it "goes through the front door". On the other hand, Anwar said Lynas may be allowed to operate but his PKR Wanita chief Fuziah Salleh went the opposite direction with a firm "No". The saying that fact is stranger than fiction has been all too true when it comes to politics since 2008. Publisher Datuk A. Kadir Jasin's gripe about some of the greenhorn politicians swept in by the political tsunami is that they have been like "ayam jantan baru belajar berkokok" (cockerels learning how to crow). "They not only crow at the wrong time, they are also out of tune and are a nuisance to the whole kampung," said Kadir. The result has been some questionable Yang Berhormats who have a talent for saying the wrong things at the wrong time about issues which they are less than qualified to talk about. Malaysians have had ample time to assess what the two coalitions are about. And that is why candidates are going to be a big factor in the elections. Najib will meet the King again on Wednesday prior to the Cabinet meeting. But this time, according to insiders, this might just be the day when he seeks His Majesty's consent to dissolve Parliament. If that happens, he will then return to inform his Cabinet before making a public announcement. The long wait is almost over.

Political chameleons Posted: 16 Mar 2013 09:20 AM PDT Politicians and wannabe politicians have hijacked the green movement to pursue their political goals at the expense of genuine environmental concerns. Wong Chun Wai, The Star HIMPUNAN Hijau activist Wong Tack has found himself facing a barrage of criticism after deciding to contest under the DAP banner in the coming general election. His fellow members in the anti-Lynas movement feel let down because they see his decision as politically opportunistic. They want him to step down from the movement but he says it is unwarranted because Himpunan Hijau isn't registered anyway. He is even saying that his position as chairman is not an official position. But what Wong has not said is that all this while, he has been freely making press statements in that capacity. Dr Kua Kia Soong, adviser for human rights group Suaram, has expressed similar sentiments about Wong, saying the latter must step down. Dr Kua was a Chinese educationist who quit the United Chinese School Committees' Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) in 1990 to contest under the DAP in the 1990 general election. He won the Petaling Jaya Utara parliamentary seat but he did not last long in the DAP as his idealism and uncompromising principles did not fit in the opposition party. The respectable human rights activist, who was detained under the Internal Security Act in 1987, left the DAP bitterly and ended up pouring out his frustrations in a book, Inside the DAP: 1990-1995. Dr Kua has returned to NGO activities. As he rightly wrote recently, "Politicians like to spout the platitude that 'politics is the art of the possible', but movements must bear pressure on them to make their demands possible. "Now, before Wong has even started his career as a politician, he is already faced with his first dilemma." Pakatan Rakyat chief (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Kua wrote, "has demonstrated the 'art of the possible' by declaring that if Pakatan comes into power, Lynas will be given a chance to prove the plant's safety". Wong, when asked to respond to what Anwar had said, was quick to support the Opposition Leader's statement. That was a far cry from his earlier pledge to burn down the Lynas plant himself if Pakatan comes to power. That's precisely the trouble with NGO leaders, especially some activists in Penang, who decide to take a partisan political stand. They begin to make compromises and, worse, they begin to lose their neutrality as they openly side with Pakatan. At least one former NGO leader has taken up a Senator's post while others have been co-opted into various state government posts. Others cannot remember which hat they were wearing when they made statements. The only beacon that stands out in Penang, home of NGOs, is the Consumers Association of Penang, which has consistently spoken out about issues affecting the country and state. Unlike many NGOs which are actually one-man shows, CAP is professionally run and is focused on education and research. It does not need to flirt with politicians and has kept its credibility fully intact. Wong obviously owes the thousands of people who took part in the anti-Lynas protest walk an explanation. Was he using them to increase his profile so he could secure himself a candidacy? His commitment to the environment itself has now been questioned as he has maintained a stoic silence on the blatant raping of forests in Kedah and Kelantan, two states run by PAS, a partner in the Pakatan. Again, I quote Dr Kua in reference to NGO leaders who have wavered after becoming involved in politics: "Is it because they are so caught up with the political hoopla they have also stepped down a notch from their previous uncompromising stand? "It's time they found their own voice now that their erstwhile chairperson has gone on to pursue his political career." There have been high hopes that environment issues would play a major role in this coming election but it would appear that much of it has been tainted with political motives. Politicians and wannabe politicians have hijacked the green movement to pursue their political goals at the expense of genuine environmental concerns. Take, for example, the Bukit Koman gold mine issue. Purported environmental activists have claimed that the mine's use of cyanide caused medical problems among the residents nearby. Until now, however, not a shred of evidence has been produced to support their claims. Last year, DAP Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw, a skin specialist, said "there is still no evidence to show the occurrence of skin problems among Bukit Koman residents in Raub is linked to cyanide used in gold mine activities". "It is difficult to attribute the skin problems to a certain substance as it is a very slow process. I think we should approach this issue in a rational manner," he said. Yet, the same allegations have been recycled, with the hope that if a lie is told a thousand times, it will become fact. Interestingly, the gold mine employs over 300 local residents, and Barisan Nasional is claiming that most of the protesters are actually from outside Raub. It is also interesting to note that a gold mine operator in PAS-run Kelantan uses cyanide and actually explained its operations on its official website. But there's not even a whisper of protest against it from pro-Pakatan environmentalists, who seem to choose their targets. Two other gold mines in Pahang are said to also use cyanide but again they are not in the political spotlight. Bukit Koman, however, is in the Raub parliamentary constituency, which the opposition feels it has a chance of wresting from the Barisan. Environmental awareness is crucial and important. Malaysians must demand that protection of our environment be included as part of the national agenda. This newspaper has exposed wanton logging, illegal or otherwise, in Pahang, Kedah, Kelantan and Perak. We have highlighted the problems of the natives in Sarawak and incurred the wrath of politicians and developers over our reports on the excessive hill development in Penang. Then there is the never-ending issue of illegal sand mining in Selangor. Our reporters have been threatened by both sides of the political divide but that's the price we have to pay if we are to pursue the issue passionately. The Buku Jingga, for example, is totally silent on the customary land rights of the orang asli, public transport system and even a sustainable energy policy. Environmental groups and voters must insist on these when the Barisan unveils its manifesto.

Jeffrey wants Orang Asal, Allies as ‘Force to be Reckoned With’ in mainstream politics Posted: 15 Mar 2013 04:55 PM PDT   Joe Fernandez Activists from Sabah strongman Jeffrey Kitingan's various NGOs are mercilessly bludgeoning both sides of the political divide, even mosquito parties, with sledgehammers of sorts. Apparently, Jeffrey is leaving nothing to chance as the countdown to the 13th General Elections is set to begin after the Christmas and New Year festive cheers. This is politics in the jungle at its best. Jeffrey's inner circle points out that even if the other Opposition and ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) "did not ask for it", they would be "morally obliged to make mincemeat of all those who are against the Agenda Borneo". The Agenda Borneo, in a nutshell, stands against everything that the "agenda parti parti Malaya in Borneo" or "Agenda Malaya" stands for in Sabah and Sarawak. The Borneon in Jeffrey alleges that the Agenda Malaya is a thinly-disguised policy of internal colonisation in Sabah and Sarawak, waged against the Orang Asal in particular -- Murut and Dusun including Kadazan or urban Dusun in Sabah and Dayak in Sarawak -- and Borneons in general. Jeffrey accuses Peninsular Malaysia-based coalitions and local parties aligned to them of stealing seats in Parliament which belong to the "Nations in Borneo" to further facilitate internal colonisation policies. Sabah and Sarawak, he never tires of pointing out during his Borneo Tea Party sessions, were pledged a minimum one third plus one parliamentary seats under the Malaysia Agreement and other constitutional documents. In short, both BN and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) should stay out of the fray in Sabah and Sarawak. Jeffrey wants to bring back the Orang Asal to mainstream politics Towards this end, as Daniel John Jambun put it starkly in a statement earlier this week, his fellow activists are pledged to literally chase out the Malayan parties and their local allies from Borneo. Daniel is Deputy Chairman of the United Borneo Front (UBF), an ad hoc apolitical human rights NGO movement working across the political divide in Sabah and Sarawak. UBF activists will contest the 13th GE under the symbol and flag of the State Reform Party (Star), a Borneo-based national political party pledged to put a 3rd Force in the Malaysian Parliament "to steer evenly between BN and PR". The thrust of Jeffrey's politics, one long flogged by him, is to bring back the Orang Asal in particular as a force to be reckoned with in the mainstream of Malaysian politics. This is easier said than done. Successive administrations in Putrajaya have systematically marginalized and disenfranchised the Orang Asal. One way, in Sabah, has been by Putrajaya allegedly padding the electoral rolls with the names of illegal immigrants issued MyKads by the backdoor.   Sinister move to reduce Orang Asal, Christians in Malaysia To add insult to injury, non-Muslims with bin or binte in their names are routinely, by a policy directive, being classified by the National Registration Department (NRD) in Putrajaya as Islam on the face of their MyKads. Those who protest are advised by NRD in writing to get a Ruling from the Syariah Court that they are "no longer Muslims". The NRD emphasis is on "no longer Muslims" and on "not Muslims". The manner in which the NRD words its advice in writing on getting the said Ruling, makes it virtually impossible for the Syariah Court to issue a "no longer Muslim" Ruling. It was estimated by a former Sabah Attorney General, not so long ago in one newspaper statement, that no less than 600,000 Dusun are missing from official statistics "in a move designed to reduce the number of Orang Asal and Christians" in Malaysia. Jeffrey stands accused of dividing the Orang Asal further through his politics. He has denied the charges in stressing that absolute unity might be an impractical goal somewhat "given the fact that various Orang Asal parties themselves are willing to be stooges to the local proxies of Putrajaya". Instead, the Star chairman is more focused on denying both BN and PR the 112 seats that they would need to form a Federal Government with a simple majority. For this, he doesn't need absolute Orang Asal unity. He has pledged to do this (deny 112 seats) by, among others, taking away Orang Asal seats held by parties other than the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), indisputably the premier force par excellence among the original inhabitants of Sabah.   Star accused of being pro-BN, financed by it Star is prepared to support either BN or PR, but not both, in Parliament to form a Federal Government with a working majority. The party does not see itself as being part of the Federal Cabinet of such a Government. However, it wants a third of other Government positions, according to party strategists, if the Federal Government comes to power with its support in Parliament. PR has gone to town with Star's admission that BN stands an equal chance of forming the Federal Government as the Opposition Alliance. This is being propagated by PR as Star being pro-BN or even worse being financed by it. This beating of the drums of war by PR may be fuelled by its fears that BN, as the incumbent, may stand a better chance of forming the Federal Government with Star's support in Parliament. One factor, it's said, is PBS President Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Jeffrey's elder brother in politics. Star only sees itself as being in the Federal Cabinet when it can initiate, form and lead the Federal Government on its own accord. The party's strategists reckon that Star and allies like Hindraf Makkal Sakthi would need 50 parliamentary seats at the very minimum to head the Federal Government as the minority partner to either BN or PR as the majority partner. The party insists on holding the Prime Minister's post as the minimum condition in a Federal Government headed by it. That might be some way down the road. As an alternative to denying both BN and PR 112 seats in Parliament, Star favours the 45 per cent minorities in Malaysia -- the component of the population divided by geography, economics, ethnicity, language, culture and religion -- heading a Federal Government in alliance with a moderate third of the 55 per cent majority community who are united by language (Malay) and religion (Islam). Moderate, in Star's language, means NO to a list of issues: hudud, Syariah, Islamisation, ketuanan Melayu, the Prime Minister's post being held permanently by Muslims, non-Muslims being forced to become Muslims, and internal colonisation.   Star leaders delusional, biting off more than they can chew, say critics Moderation among Muslims, in the Star language, also means secularism, diversity in the Government sector, freedom, democracy and respect for human rights. Critics say that Star leaders are delusional, or at the very least, are biting off more than they can chew. In Star's defence, it can be said that Putrajaya's politics of putting its hand in the National Cookie Jar under various guises has caught up with the powers that be to haunt their future. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's reported US$ 44 billion wealth salted away in Japan and other locations abroad and a damaging international report on Malaysia suffering US$ 200 billion flight of dirty money last year alone are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.   Historical opportunity for Sabah, Sarawak to right wrongs by Putrajaya Not surprisingly, the 55 majority community is irreversibly split with Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Pas and Democratic Action Party having sizeable portions of the Malay vote bank with them in Peninsular Malaysia. Umno, at best, commands no more than 45 per cent of the Malay vote bank, with the rest held by the three opposition parties and fence sitters who are neither for BN or PR. The 45 per cent still with Umno is expected to be considerably whittled down by the 13th GE if Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak does not move against Mahathir over his reported ill-gotten gains and remove him from the political equation. The more that Mahathir pontificates sanctimoniously in public, the worse it will be for Umno come the 13th GE. Star sees the political disunity and divisions in Peninsular Malaysia as a God-sent historical opportunity for Sabah and Sarawak to emerge as Nations in Malaysia in line with their choosing independence as their self- etermination on 31 Aug 1963 and 22 July 1963 respectively. Malaysia, as Jeffrey preaches, will remain an aberration in Borneo for the Orang Asal in particular so long as the Nation status of Sabah and Sarawak in the Federation are ignored by Putrajaya and the "States in Malaya".

Sabah security in fits-and-starts Posted: 15 Mar 2013 04:12 PM PDT   It appears that the reason why Malaysian security forces have been slow in responding to the Lahad Datu intrusion and Standoff may be more due to the fact that the PMD was solely responsible for security in Sabah.  Joe Fernandez Sabah security in fits-and-starts just won't do. We are now told that the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) will be responsible for security along the newly-created Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) stretching from Kudat in the North to Tawau in the south-east corner, past the wolf's mouth segment on the map of the territory. Mindef takes over from the all-powerful Prime Minister's Department (PMD) which had hitherto been apparently responsible for security in Sabah. Indeed, it appears that the reason why Malaysian security forces have been slow in responding to the Lahad Datu intrusion and Standoff may be more due to the fact that the PMD was solely responsible for security in Sabah. Both these items, Mindef and PMD, are news to Sabahans and probably most Malaysians. The PMD, according to 2010 figures, employed 43,544 people and had a budget of RM 3.9 billion. It was a hyper ministry but labeled Department, a misnomer. We still don't know whether the PMD would be responsible for security in the rest of Sabah and who is responsible for the security situation in neighbouring Sarawak which has a long border, albeit for the most part difficult mountainous terrain in jungled territory, with Kalimantan.   Nur Misuari should be given benefit of the doubt In any case the PMD has no business getting involved directly in security matters, internal and security, except through the National Security Council (NSC) headed by the Prime Minister. Is it any wonder therefore that the intelligence services, both Special Branch and Military, have been caught "napping" in a way on the Lahad Datu intrusion by terrorists from the nearby Sulu islands. In fact, they were not napping at all. They weren't responsible for the security of Sabah. No wonder illegal immigrants continued flooding into Sabah over the decades as Putrajaya, by all accounts, looked the other way. One exception was the period after the Sipadan hostage incident in 1999-2000 when Ramli Yusuff became Commissioner of Sabah from 2001- 2004. Upon the specific instructions of then Chief Minister (2001-2003) Chong Kah Kiat, Ramli formed a Special Task Force with Army Commander of Sabah, Brig-Gen Mohd Yassin, to expel thousands of illegal immigrants from the Philippines and Indonesia in particular. On another score, we must take Nur Misuari's statements on Malaysia's involvement in training the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) seriously. Of course, it's an open secret in Sabah that not only Malaysia but Libya from the days of the Mustapha regime has been arming the MNLF. But this is the first time that Nur Misuari himself has directly admitted what has been only openly talked about in the warongs for decades. Between Nur Misuari's admission and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's outright self-serving denial, the benefit of the doubt can be given to the former.   Parliament should act on Eastern Sabah Security Zone Taking the announcement on ESSCOM at face value, it seems that not everything is above board. It has often been said that a Government, on paper, has the power to do anything, even the "illegal" if necessary, and detractors can resort to the Court by way of an Application for Leave to secure a Judicial Review either by Mandamus (to compel) or Certiorari (to squash) any errant Government decision by administrative law – not law at all but policy in action -- on any matters of state. Questions abound! Under the Federal Constitution, the Prime Minister has no legislative power, not even in an emergency situation, points out Star chairman Jeffrey Kitingan, for one. Apparently, the power lies with the Yang Di Pertuan Agong and Parliament. Under Article 150, "if the Yang Di Pertuan Agong is satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security, or the economic life, or public order in the Federation or any part thereof is threatened, he may issue a Proclamation of Emergency making therein a declaration to that effect." Under Article 149, it is for Parliament to pass the necessary laws if there is any "action has been taken or threatened by any substantial body of persons, whether inside or outside the Federation -…(f) which is prejudicial to public order in, or the security of, the Federation or any part thereof,"   Long-term diplomatic and political solution for Sabah The area from Kudat to Tawau involves 11 Parliamentary seats and 27 state seats. The Parliamentary seats affect the whole of Malaysia, not just Sabah. No doubt the internal security problems and international issues facing Sabah, including the claim to Sabah or parts of it by the Philippines and/or Sulu, culminated in the Lahad Datu Standoff. Sabah requires require a long-term diplomatic and political solution, not a military one, a point which is gathering consensus among most people in the state. The United Nations (UN), whose Secretary-General has urged the Malaysian government to find an amicable solution in the wake of Lahad Datu, should be brought in to help resolve issues involving Sabah in Malaysia. No Referendum was held on Malaysia in Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Malaya. The Cobbold Commission was not a Referendum of the people but a sampling survey of community leaders with only Suluk and Bajau leaders agreeing to Malaysia. The Malayan and British Governments dragged Sabah and Sarawak into Malaysia on 16 Sept, 1963 AFTER both Nations had obtained their independence on 31 Aug, 1963 and 22 July, 1963 respectively. Security in Malaysia, for Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei, -- against the crocodiles in the region viz. Philippines and Indonesia -- was an afterthought when it emerged that others were reaping the real benefits of Federation and not the people in Borneo: Britain could consolidate its commercial empire in the region through Malaysia; Singapore obtained independence through merger with Malaya via Malaysia; and the Malaya-led and dominated Federal Government virtually had unlimited access to the resources and revenue of three potentially rich Nations in Borneo. Brunei staying out of Malaysia at the 11th hour floored the argument that the Orang Asal populations of Borneo were needed to facilitate the merger between Chinese-majority Singapore and non-Malay majority Malaya. Not surprisingly, Singapore was expelled from Malaysia two years later as the Malay-speaking communities in Malaya felt demographically threatened by Singapore despite the added numbers of the Orang Asal in Sabah and Sarawak. However, Sabah and Sarawak were not likewise allowed to exit Malaysia. These and other matters, including the so-called Sulu claim, should be resolved by the UN Security Council lest there be an even greater flare-up in Borneo one day when the Orang Asal react violently against their marginalization and disenfranchisement given the continuing influx of illegal immigrants into their countries.   Joe Fernandez is a mature student of law and an educationist, among others, who loves to write especially Submissions for Clients wishing to Act in Person. He feels compelled, as a semi-retired journalist, to put pen to paper -- or rather the fingers to the computer keyboard -- whenever something doesn't quite jell with his weltanschauung (worldview). He shuttles between points in the Golden Heart of Borneo formed by the Sabah west coast, Labuan, Brunei, northern Sarawak and the watershed region in Borneo where three nations meet.

Who knows what the truth is these days? Posted: 15 Mar 2013 04:06 PM PDT   Kee Thuan Chye  How do you decide what is truth and what is falsehood as the build-up to Malaysia's 13th general election heats up? So many bizarre twists and turns have emerged in recent days that Malaysians must be in a state of shock and awe. First, businessman Deepak Jaikishan openly alleged that Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor were involved in forcing private investigator P. Balasubramaniam to make a second statutory declaration to contradict his first, which had implicated Najib in the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu. Then Bala returned from exile earlier this year to affirm that he stood by his first statutory declaration, reinforcing the revelations made by Deepak about how the second declaration came about. The latest twist is Azlan Mohd Lazim's announcement that Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is innocent of the charge of having sodomised Azlan's son, and that Anwar is the victim of a political conspiracy. Taking everyone by surprise, including apparently Saiful as well, the father attests that his son was "used by several unscrupulous individuals", including a special officer of Najib's, to tarnish Anwar's image. READ: Saiful's father joins PKR, defends Anwar READ: Saiful's dad apologises to Anwar, says son was 'used' Saiful, however, disputes his father's testimony. He stands by his accusation of Anwar, which had led to the Sodomy II trial, debunks the claim of political conspiracy, and insists that it is his father who is being used. He actually lashes out at Anwar and warns him not to "use my father to twist the truth, no matter how desperate you are". Is Anwar desperate? He was acquitted of the charge by the High Court in January last year, but the attorney-general appealed, and the hearing has been scheduled for July 22. By that date, the general election should be over, and if Anwar's coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, is in control of Putrajaya then, he might be able to get his new attorney-general to quash the case, but if it isn't, he could be in for troubled times.  If the Court of Appeal finds him guilty and subsequently, upon his expected appeal, the Federal Court upholds the verdict, he could be shut away for years. In that sense, he might truly be anxious – if 'desperate' is too strong a word – to avoid being in the soup. But then again, would getting Azlan to denounce Saiful's claim be of any help to Anwar at the appeal hearing itself? Unless Azlan is called as a witness and has new evidence to clear Anwar, his denunciation will be of no consequence in court. The only value it may have for now is in creating a perception among the public that Anwar is indeed innocent and a political victim, as this would boost his image and help his coalition's chances at the polls.  But even so, discerning Malaysians are already waxing sceptical about Azlan's sudden turnaround. He was, after all, quite forceful in urging the attorney-general to file an appeal after Anwar's acquittal. They are also questioning his motive and the timing of his announcement. And why he was accompanied at his press conference by Johari Abdul, an Opposition member of Parliament. Such circumstantial indicators promote speculation that the coalition might have engineered the new twist to aid its chances of winning Putrajaya so Anwar could escape further prosecution, but other questions arise which confound that theory, like why would a father discredit his own son?  Then there's the other theory that is being bandied about a lot – of promised rewards to Saiful that have not been fulfilled prompting retaliatory action by his father. And another popular one – that the recent bombshell developments, starting with Deepak's revelations, followed by Bala's return and now Azlan's volte face implicating Najib or at least his men, are the work of Najib's own party rivals plotting his downfall. Although this seems foolhardy and potentially suicidal for his party since the general election is so near, one never can tell in politically surprising Malaysia, especially with so much intrigue piling up almost every other day. So far, Najib has said or done hardly anything to counter the serious allegations against him, and this is something that greatly befuddles the public. It could mean that there is truth to the allegations or that he is someone who doesn't bother with what others say about him and prefers to let his performance as prime minister do the talking. But even on that score, Najib has been coming across as a rather weak leader, and his confidence of winning the elections seems to be waning. He may have to drop a few bombshells of his own to blow up his rivals' chicanery and set a course for not just winning the elections but winning big. As such, in the coming days, Malaysian politics could get even dirtier than it already is. And the public could become more bewildered trying to figure out truth from lies, reality from fiction, and the other way around. As it looks so far, the 13th general election will certainly be the dirtiest one ever. * Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We're All Malaysians, and the latest volume, Ask for No Bullshit, Get Some More!

When Musa said what he said Posted: 15 Mar 2013 12:11 PM PDT   (fz.com) - So why did Musa say what he said, despite going on record saying "I am still very much an Umno man".   WE all know what Tun Musa Hitam said. Yes recently. Yes, about the country not going bankrupt if a regime change happens after the general election. To recap, the former deputy prime minister had said: "If the opposition were to rule, they would not make foreign investors run away. They will not do so and bankrupt the country."   And he said it would be foolish for anyone to say the country would be destroyed should the opposition come into power. "Do not insult the intelligence of the electorate," he said.   To supporters of Pakatan Rakyat, that is a "very good" endorsement for the opposition pact in their "march to Putrajaya".   To the "neutrals" – well at least those who posted comments on the internet – when big name former Umno leaders make such a statement, it not only lends credence to Pakatan but could also mean "they (the leaders) know what's going to happen and talk of change of government after this GE could very well be true".   And Musa is one such leader who many see as "credible" and with "integrity", thus "highly respected".  And he is also a "gentleman", they say, pointing to his "willingness" to quit the DPM post over "irreconcilable differences with then PM Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad". In short many hold him in awe.   Datuk Ariff Sabri, a former Umno man who was once in PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak's inner circle, has this to say: "Musa has set himself up for a lynching over his comments."    And he added:  "Musa Hitam isn't a man unfamiliar with or afraid of controversy".    That was part of what he posted on his blog Sakmongkol AK47.  Arif was information chief of the Pekan Umno division, whose head is, yes, Najib.  He is now a DAP member.   But according to an Umno strategist, the party does not have to attack Musa. "It's important that Umno does not overkill Musa's statement, let it be," he said, stressing that the party should instead focus on the Pakatan manifesto, calling it "a fraud".    However, "attacking" the Pakatan manifesto is something BN have been doing every chance they get – since the opposition unveiled it weeks ago.   According to news portal Malaysian Insider, BN lawmakers it spoke to reacted with "dismay and cynicism at Musa's assertion that Malaysia will not go bankrupt if Pakatan captures Putrajaya in the next election".   To some political observers, "Pakatan had always expected BN to attack their manifesto. When Najib and everybody in BN hammer it, that would lead to people to want to see what's the manifesto all about. That's why they released the manifesto very early".   Back to the things Musa said. The Umno strategist feels the former DPM's statement "would not have any adverse effect on BN as "Musa is not an economist, one who is not in the economic sphere".  But he agrees that "Musa is credible". Still, he insisted, "even Nobel Prize winners cannot defend the stupidity of that manifesto".   Yet there are many who feel what Musa said is, or can be, damaging to the BN and "is a slap" on the faces of many a BN leader. Almost all in BN – including, or rather especially, Mahathir and Najib – had said the country will "go bust and be destroyed if Pakatan takes over".   Musa did not name names. Neither did he point fingers when he said such remarks were "political statements".   So why did Musa say what he said, despite going on record saying "I am still very much an Umno man".   Perhaps Musa was being Musa. One who speaks his mind, regardless of the official party line (what more he has "quit active politics").  He has always maintained that his actions and statements "are for the good and betterment of the agama, bangsa and negara (religion, people and country)".   Read more at: http://fz.com/content/when-musa-said-what-he-said

Lahad Datu – a bizarre crisis Posted: 15 Mar 2013 08:25 AM PDT The sultan should seriously get a life and or get a job. How long can he and his band of merry men last if they continue to go around pretending to be royal consorts of an imaginary kingdom? Iskandar Dzulkarnain, FMT Apparently, our billion-ringgit jet fighters missed their targets, as mopped-up operations failed to turn in any bodies, while the chief of the militant group, "Prince" Agbimuddin Kiram, has appeared on Philippine national TV live in a telephone interview. So, there was no total victory as reported and the siege has not ended. The stand-off is turning more bizarre as the Philippine media reported a conspiracy involving the Philippine opposition under former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Coincidentally, the Malaysian government is also pointing its fingers at the involvement of the opposition here. Representatives of the self-proclaimed Sultan Jamalul Kiram III were alleged to have attended the Umno annual general assembly last year, while some Sabah Umno representatives are alleged to have close ties with the Sulu Sultanate. So, it is not merely the case of a simple band of 200 opportunistic marauders landing on Sabah's shores with the high hopes of staking a claim on Sabah. Apparently, there is more at stake involving the governments or opposition of both countries. "Princess" Jacel Karim of the Sulu Sultanate has come up with contradicting statements, adamant that the Malaysian government has agreed in principle to pay compensation to the Sulu Sultanate, a few months before the onset of this conflict. She is also reportedly unhappy with the terrorist label and claims that the intruders are armed with the "truth". "Sultan" Jamalul Kiram III describes the 200 intruders as the "Royal Sulu Army" – men of honour, disciplined, peace-loving, who have returned to stake their claim on their long-lost homeland. They want to live among Sabahans, share their land with us including the riches and spoils of Sabah. They also want to install a Sultanate and enforce the Syariah code. Sabahans can also look forward to a Sultanate and become his loyal subjects. Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chief Nur Misuari seems to be taking a great interest in the crisis by initially offering to mediate a ceasefire. Later, he warned that MNLF will not sit idly by and watch the Malaysian army annihilate the intruders. President Benigno Aquino III will not be forgiven for standing back while Malaysia rained bombs on Filipino citizens in Sabah, Nur Misuari has said. "Aquino should be more decisive and stop Malaysia's attack on Jamalul's men in Sabah instead of siding with his southern neighbour. What he has done is very bad." "And for what reason is he [Aquino] aligning this country with Malaysia, a colonial power occupying the land of our people? I am totally against that with all my soul. The country will be in total chaos if they [Malaysia] arrest the Sultan, I promise you." A mischief-maker From his statement, Nur Misuari is adamant on prolonging this conflict for whatever reason best known to him. And basing on his actions, Nur Misuari has proven himself to be a mischief-maker bent on war and destruction. Why would anyone want to quote him defies the imagination. The Philippines and Malaysia should leave him alone to his little toys and avid imaginations of grandeur. Ironically, the Christian Filipino government has just signed a peace treaty with the Muslim rebels, signalling a ceasefire in the Southern Philippines. Are the restless freedom-fighters now eyeing other easy targets to the South? About 800,000 Filipinos from the Tausog tribe are known to be residing in East Malaysia with many holding blue ICs and citizenship. The MNLF has warned that another 10,000 Tausogs have set sailed for the coast of Sabah to reinforce the 200 intruding militants. The USS Guardian, an American warship that ran aground in the Sulu Sea three weeks before the invasion, has set off speculation that the US may be involved, and equated the incident to the migration of the Sulu militants to Sabah. Whatever it is, Sabah has chosen to unite under the Malaysian federation in 1963 and it is an undeniable part of Malaysia. Malaysia should not entertain any opportunists, whether the Sultan of Sulu or the Filipino government, that are trying to stake a vague claim on Sabah. Whether there was any conspiracy in the Lahad Datu stand-off, the Malaysian government must move quickly to resolve this crisis before it blows out of proportion. An alternative is to provide a safety corridor for all the militants to return to the sea peacefully. Porous borders All foreigners without valid documents should be asked to leave Sabah before our government embarks on a high-profile operation to crack down and rein in all the illegals. Besides, there should not be any illegals residing in Sabah or anywhere else in Malaysia, according to the law. Secondly, the Malaysian navy should take concrete steps to seal our porous borders against any future illegal intrusions. Trade can continue as long as foreigners are in possession of legal documents. It is time to solve Sabah's longstanding immigrant problems once and for all. We believe that the majority of legal Filipino Malaysians residing in Sabah would be loyal to Malaysia and would not want any conflict to jeopardise the peace and tranquillity of the state which they have chosen to call their homeland. In short, they are no more Filipinos but legal Malaysian citizens who speak the Malay language, like what former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said. READ MORE HERE

Waiting to gobble up Selangor Posted: 15 Mar 2013 08:20 AM PDT In BN's mission to regain Selangor, three major factors are used as weapons. They can be classified as the 3Ws: water, welfare and waste.  Najib's special project has always been to get back Selangor after having successfully regained Perak through diabolical means. Selena Tay, FMT The Selangor State Legislative Assembly will be automatically dissolved on April 22. This has lent some credence to the rumours that polling for the 13th general election will be held in April, adding fuel to fire that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had the April month in mind since the beginning of this year as he had planned to get back Selangor after the general election. Polling in the month of April will thus prevent the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor state government from going for separate polls. With the Selangor electoral roll being the dirtiest in the whole of Malaysia, the tremendous advantage certainly belongs to Barisan Nasional. Recently, Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, who holds the state seat of Ijok, located in the parliamentary seat of Kuala Selangor (held by PAS MP, Dzulkefly Ahmad), has highlighted some facts in regard to the discrepancy in the electoral roll. Khalid brought to light that in Bestari Jaya Utara in Ijok, the population stands at 1,788 but the number of voters is 3,589. "It certainly does not make any sense that voters can outnumber the population who will surely include those below the voting age of 21 and those who are not even registered voters," said Khalid, who is also the Bandar Tun Razak MP. PAS Shah Alam MP, Khalid Samad, said that Najib always avoid issues concerning the electoral roll. "I am of the view that the Election Commission [EC] will be used by BN as the main weapon to stay in power. All the efforts spearheaded by the Pakatan Selangor government in collaboration with Bersih to clean up the electoral roll have been ignored by the EC and the BN federal government is also silent on this matter," said Khalid. This shows that the EC could not be bothered whether the electoral roll is clean and accurate or not. "The EC is acting in BN's interests and this is wrong. I wish to remind the chairman and deputy chairman of the EC not to be the enemy of the state," added Khalid. BN's Machiavellian politics wherein the end justifies the means is only all too obvious. In Perak, BN stole the Silver State using the frog service and in Selangor it will be the phantom and alien factors. Foreign workers as voters "Currently, the BN federal government is bringing in more Bangladeshi workers. This is because the Bangladeshis who have obtained their Malaysian citizenship can be relied upon to vote for the incumbent government because they know nothing about the Malaysian political scenario. "[On the other hand], the Indonesians who have stayed here a long time sometimes may prefer to vote for the opposition as they know that price increase in goods will affect their income," said a PKR strategist who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding that PKR grassroots workers had obtained this information from survey conducted among the Indonesians. Therefore this simply means that the prime minister is being economical on the truth. He talks about "moderation, model democracy, noble values" and so on and so forth, but his words are empty and meaningless because at the back of it all, he intends to strangle and kill off Pakatan by using or rather misusing the government's heavy machinery. Najib's special project has always been to get back Selangor after having successfully regained Perak through diabolical means. READ MORE HERE

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