Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Ku Li and the ‘third force’ intrigue
- BN out to keep iron grip on Selangor rural base
- BN win forecast by foreign diplomat
- BN sees opportunity in urban fringe
| Ku Li and the ‘third force’ intrigue Posted: 22 Apr 2013 08:49 PM PDT
Free Malaysia Today In the war of words between rebel Sabah PKR supreme council member Ansari Abdullah and former Barisan Nasional-Upko MP-turned-defector Wilfred Bumburing, the most intriguing reminder is that the latter is the deputy president of Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Amanah). Way back in 2011, Amanah was linked to the rise of a "third force" within Malaysian politics, vis-a-vis Umno. Amanah was set up by Umno stalwart Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (Ku Li) in 2011. Amidst a racially divided Malaysia, Razaleigh had called for Umno to return to the party's original struggles as envisioned by Tunku Abdul Rahman. Amanah was his platform to "unite" Malaysia by "reaffirming and reigniting a sense of togetherness and true family spirit that prevailed among Malaysians during our struggle for national indepedence". Razaleigh's move to form Amanah further fuelled talks of him having identified independents who would then be fielded in the 13th general election. These would be candidates who were Umno at heart but who "disagreed" with the way the party had morphed under Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Razaleigh, 75, an Umno stalwart and Gua Musang incumbent MP, had once led Semangat 46 after Umno was declared illegal in 1988 following a failed bid to wrest the party presidency from Mahathir. He returned to Umno and laid low until rumours started surfacing in late 2010. There were all kinds of rumours floating about, including speculation that he had held secret talks with opposition leaders and was eyed as the replacement leader for Anwar Ibrahim in the event Pakatan Rakyat wrested Putrajaya. There was no hard denials from PAS spiritual head Niz Aziz Nik Mat and PKR de facto leader Anwar. Anwar, when asked, had merely said that "he was not in the know" of such meetings. If past reports and alliances are any measure, then Razaleigh is well accepted by Pakatan as an alternative leader. In Sabah, he is a "hero" of sorts, having thrown light on the haunting "Double Six" air tragedy that killed Sabah chief minister Fuad Stephens and his ministers hours after they allegedly disagreed with the terms of the oil agreement on June 6, 1976. 61 'independents' Ansari's rantings on his Facebook on nomination day have brought the speculations back in focus. In his posting, Ansari demanded to know why Bumburing and men were allocated seats under the PKR banner when they were aligned to Umno's Razaleigh, via Amanah. Additionally interesting is the fact that a staggering 61 Umno members had filed their nomination papers on April 20 to contest in the general election as independents. They are contesting in parliamentary and state seats across the country, raising the possibility that a "pseudo-third force" is available to partner any which side that wins. In Sabah alone, just under 30 Umno members were sacked for allegedly sabotaging or undermining Umno-BN's bid to retain Sabah. Sabah and Sarawak are crucial to Umno and BN in its battle to keep Putrajaya.
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| BN out to keep iron grip on Selangor rural base Posted: 22 Apr 2013 03:27 PM PDT
The Straits Times reported that for now, neither side has an overwhelming advantage. The BN has been marred by corruption, with its former mentri besar convicted of fraud. But the PR has been sullied by internal quarrels between Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's right-hand man, Azmin Ali. The Malaysian Insider DAP candidate Ng Suee Lim knows he has a tough fight on his hands in defending his Sekinchan state seat in the coastal farming and fishing belt in Selangor. His majority in the 2008 general election was a wafer-thin 190 votes. "People here want to see you face to face, and we need to build relationships day by day," Ng, who speaks Javanese, having grown up in Sekinchan, a village of Malays of Javanese descent, told the Singapore Straits Times. To make sure people know him, he carries a giant replica of a ballot paper with an "X" next to his name and the rocket symbol on his campaigns. According to the daily, Ng is literally going from house to house, in between phone calls to the local council to get street lights repaired in response to residents' complaints. It is a far cry from urban campaigns, which rely on mass rallies and the Internet. The report said this was the main reason the federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has found it hard to make inroads into the rural areas, even in Selangor, Malaysia's most urbanised and industrialised state. Other than PAS, the opposition does not have a grassroots network to rival the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), which has built up its ground since the 1950s. This has helped it maintain an iron grip over its rural base. In 2008, PR surprised everyone by winning Selangor, taking 36 of 56 state seats, though one later turned independent. The Straits Times reported that other than Ng's seat, PR seats are in a tight urban swathe near Kuala Lumpur. It said the densely urban areas may stay with the PR. Since last Saturday, when the campaign kicked off, urban opposition rallies have drawn the crowds, it added. The BN has not bothered with these hardcore opposition areas but is aiming to hold on to its rural seats while trying to snatch PR's seats on the fringe of urban areas, the daily said. Subahan Kamal, BN candidate for Templer, which sits on the outskirts, believes the BN can do better in such areas. "We have promised welfare payments for the disabled, elderly, single mothers, and also aid for students. We are going to build 15,000 affordable houses," the daily quoted him as saying. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak spent a full day in Selangor yesterday, whizzing through 16 stops on the outskirts to woo voters. The Straits Times reported that for now, neither side has an overwhelming advantage. The BN has been marred by corruption, with its former mentri besar convicted of fraud. But the PR has been sullied by internal quarrels between Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's right-hand man, Azmin Ali.
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| BN win forecast by foreign diplomat Posted: 22 Apr 2013 01:51 PM PDT
Diplomatic evaluations this should never be underestimated. By Syed Nadzri Syed Harun, FMT "And when it was announced [last week] that Zulkifli Noordin was to use a BN ticket, the prospects shrunk even more. But still BN will pull through." The ambassador shall remain unnamed but that was a loaded observation about BN's move on controversial independent candidate and Perkasa vice-president Zulkifli Noordin for the Shah Alam parliamentary seat. There would be some people around the chosen candidate who would want to dismiss the presumptuous comment. They might even get angry. But I think diplomatic evaluations such as this should never be underestimated. Over the years, I have always taken assessments by foreign missions very seriously because, with their far-reaching feelers and regiments of deep-throats, they can be deadly accurate as the 2008 election had shown. I must note, however, that the above appraisal came before Perkasa leader Ibrahim Ali, even more abrasive than Zulkifli, had managed to elbow out the anointed BN candidate on nomination day and got his way to contest the Pasir Mas parliamentary seat in a straight fight against PAS' Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz. As with Zulkifli, the diplomat did not have good feedback about Ibrahim, saying the vote swings related to the two could be crucial or even fatal. A couple of other diplomats I chatted with last week had similar reservations although they gave a lot of plus points for Malaysia's business climate and the long list of bantuan (aid) handed out to the rakyat by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak over the last four years. But nearly all of them pointed out to the first-time voters and fence-sitters as being the determining force in this round, and that was why the intelligence report cited above, brought in the part about Zulkifli dropping points for BN. Despite top Umno leaders coming to his defence as him being a "principled politician", it was the views he held and expressed which could be deemed counter-productive to BN's effort to attract the fence-sitters, said the ambassador. I suspect the intelligence report from the embassy would be further adjusted as a result of Ibrahim's latest foray in Pasir Mas.
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| BN sees opportunity in urban fringe Posted: 22 Apr 2013 12:19 PM PDT Malaysian Premier Najib Razak's daughter, Ms Nooryana Najwa (left), and her brother, Mr Nor Ashman (centre), sharing a light moment yesterday with party supporters as their father campaigned ahead of the GE in Selayang. BN has not bothered with densely urban areas, which are hardcore opposition areas, but is aiming to hold on to its rural seats while trying to snatch PR's seats on the fringe of urban areas. Carolyn Hong, ST WHEN Mr Ng Suee Lim campaigns in the small town of Sekinchan in Selangor's farming belt, he carries a giant replica of a ballot paper with an "X" next to his name and the rocket symbol. The Democratic Action Party (DAP) candidate is taking no chances as he defends the opposition's sole seat in this coastal farming and fishing belt. His majority last time was a wafer-thin 190 votes. "People here want to see you face to face, and we need to build relationships day by day," said Mr Ng, who speaks Javanese, having grown up in a village of Malays of Javanese descent. His campaign is literally going from house to house, in between phone calls to the local council to get street lights repaired in response to residents' complaints. It is a far cry from urban campaigns, which rely on mass rallies and the Internet. This is the main reason the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has found it hard to make inroads into the rural areas, even in Selangor, Malaysia's most urbanised and industrialised state. Other than Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), the opposition does not have a grassroots network to rival the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), which has built up its ground since the 1950s. This has helped it maintain an iron grip over its rural base. In 2008, the PR surprised everyone by winning Selangor, taking 36 of 56 state seats, though one later turned independent. Save for Mr Ng's seat, PR seats are in a tight urban swathe near Kuala Lumpur. The densely urban areas may stay with the PR. Since last Saturday, when the campaign kicked off, urban opposition rallies have drawn the crowds. Mr Tony Pua, the DAP candidate for Petaling Jaya North, said they collected donations of RM45,000 (S$18,300) on the first night alone. The BN has not bothered with these hardcore opposition areas but is aiming to hold on to its rural seats while trying to snatch PR's seats on the fringe of urban areas. Mr Subahan Kamal, BN candidate for Templer, which sits on the outskirts, believes the BN can do better in such areas. "We have promised welfare payments for the disabled, elderly, single mothers, and also aid for students. We are going to build 15,000 affordable houses," he said. "These are our strengths that the people will see." Prime Minister Najib Razak spent a full day here yesterday, whizzing through 16 stops on the outskirts to woo voters. For now, neither side has an overwhelming advantage. The BN has been marred by corruption, with its former Menteri Besar convicted of fraud. But the PR has been sullied by internal quarrels between Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's right-hand man, Mr Azmin Ali. One swing seat may be Ijok, an oil palm area which is seen to be in play because of reported neglect by the state government. Indeed, Mr Khalid has left it for the urban Port Klang seat. The BN's advantage is a close-knit, risk-averse, rural Malay electorate. Sitting at a food stall decorated with flapping party flags at the edge of a padi field, farmer Ismail Harun, 41, said life was hard but he dared not take the risk. "I do not dare to go for change as we do not know what we will get with other people ruling us," said Mr Ismail, who lives in the village of Simpang Lima, about 130km from Kuala Lumpur. PR leader Anwar was in the area yesterday trying to convince voters that they had nothing to fear. He spoke of an anonymous leaflet circulating which said that if the PR won federal power, Islam would no longer be the official religion of the country and the monarchy would be abolished. "Do they think people are stupid?" he asked, speaking from a mobile stage at a commercial area in Kuala Selangor. "I am a Malay. Do you think that I would want to get rid of the King and Islam?" Dr Aziz Bari, a former International Islamic University law professor, said the PR may improve in some rural areas this time because it is fielding more local candidates. Dr Aziz himself is competing in the farming area of Sabak Bernam, his hometown. "I grew up here, I have friends and family here," said the former professor, who now lives in a wooden house in the village of Tebuk Pulai. "It's not impossible." A foreman, 25, who wanted to be called Ah Lun, said he registered as a voter six months ago because he wanted change. Mr Mohd Desa Ramli, 51, a farmer, also said he believed people wanted change. |
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