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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Anwar plays political poker in Sabah
Chua Jui Meng's final chance
Give Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail a seat: SIGN THE PETITION
Pakatan eyeing magical 112 seats or more
GE13: End of an era
GE13 – Nik Aziz: Do not follow leaders blindly
Opposition still bickering over seats in many places
BN sure of bagging 15 extra seats as opposition squabbles
April 13, 2013: Our 40th wedding anniversary in Liverpool (VIDEO INSIDE)
Wrangle over who goes where
Much at stake over BN's Johor fortress

Posted: 15 Apr 2013 09:12 PM PDT

Sabah Pakatan Rakyat is yet to consolidate its list of candidates as it toys with STAR and SAPP.

Pushparani Thilaganathan, FMT

With nominations just days away, speculations are rife that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is engaging Jeffrey Kitingan's State Reform Party (STAR) in a 11th hour bid to find a solution to what promises to be a crippling election for Pakatan Rakyat if it remains adamant and uncompromising on Sabah seats.

Nomination is set for April 20 and by tomorrow all state Barisan Nasional component parties would have announced their list of candidates.

In Sabah, KadazanDusunMurut (KDM)-based Upko and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) have already announced their candidates. Umno, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are expected to follow suit.

Amidst this, Sabah Pakatan Rakyat is yet to consolidate its list.

A pre-emptive announcement of some candidates by PKR Tuaran division chief Ansari Abdullah earlier this month, which was later rubbished by party deputy president Azmin Ali, has made clear the depth of distrust and angst within PKR members of the PKR central leadership.

As such, these late-in-day "talks" with local parties can only mean that Anwar is troubled.

Barely a week ago, Anwar said he would direct Sabah Pakatan to re-open talks – which he had himself terminated – with Sabah Progressive People's Party (SAPP).

Anwar had, at one point, ridiculed SAPP when he asked the party to prove its worth. And this too after incessant meetings dating back to 2011 to discuss possible straight fights.

But SAPP sources said today that they have not been approached "as yet and time is running out".

SAPP is aiming to contest in 20 state and about 10 parliamentary seats.

STAR, meanwhile, is targeting to contest in at least 40 state and up to 20 parliamentary seats.

Word is that STAR, while weak on infrastructure, has a KDM-reach that outruns PKR's and Anwar knows this.

Thus, this explains the move to reach out to Jeffrey. According to sources, Anwar's man spoke to Jeffrey late last week and "made him an offer".

Meanwhile, rippling through the grapevine here are talks that Anwar's partiality towards Wilfred Bumburing and Lajim Ukin has backfired. Both defected from Barisan Nasional in July last year, pledging their allegiance to Anwar vis-a-vis PKR.

Anwar had left Bumburing to harness the KDMs and Lajim to look into the Muslim votes.

Herein lies the hiccup. Rumours are that Pakatan needs a bulk of KDM votes and that it doesn't have it yet.

A wily politician

Said a PKR member, who declined to be named: "The situation has changed. The Muslim seats can go anywhere. Lajim has influence over a few Bisaya seats.

"But Wilfred [Bumburing] is in trouble. People don't trust him. Our members are saying if he [Bumburing] is sincere, then why is he not a PKR member? They will not support any of his candidates."

Both Bumburing and Lajim are MPs and are likely to defend their Tuaran and Beaufort seats under the PKR banner. Both have also been pushing for their own followers to be given seats and that has not gone down well with members.

But Anwar is going all-out to get Putrajaya and has declared that he needs the numbers from Sabah and Sarawak to cap their quest.

READ MORE HERE

Chua Jui Meng's final chance

Posted: 15 Apr 2013 07:28 PM PDT

Lim Mun Fah, Sin Chew

From a well respected federal minister to an ordinary man in the street. From a key leader in the ruling coalition to one in the opposition pact. From someone who told people not to act childish to one told likewise by others. From hiding away from public radar to open outpour of disgruntlement. From having no place to go to some place he can now stake his future on.

Chua Jui Meng's more recent political journey has made a truly exciting and intriguing political soap opera of unexpected upheavals and dramatic twists.

His frequent turnarounds seem to illustrate the point that there are no permanent friends nor foes in politics.

Everything has to go back to square one. The naked political reality that lies before this PKR Johor chairman is: This is going to be your very last chance. Whether you can revive your political prominence will very much depend on the outcome of the Segamat battle.

There are 47,115 voters in the Segamat parliamentary constituency, of whom 21,502 or 45.64% are Chinese, 20,921 (44.4%) Malays and 4,692 (9.96%) Indians and others. Looking at the figures, this is going to be a mixed constituency that warrants some really good effort to win.

If the internal conflicts within Pakatan Rakyat could be resolved amicably, there are still chances for Jui Meng to clinch a "surprise win" and contribute positively towards Pakatan's advances towards Putrajaya.

If things go as expected, Jui Meng is to face off with human resources minister S. Subramaniam from MIC, who defeated DAP's Pang Hok Liong by a reduced majority of 2,991 in the 2008 elections.

A lot of changes took place during the last five years, impacting the stronghold of BN while arousing desires for change among the people in the state.

Segamat's residents are not to be exempted. They have loudly demanded the establishment of an independent Chinese secondary school in town, and this gives Jui Meng a glimmer of hope to unseat BN in Segamat.

However, Subramaniam has also worked very hard over the past five years and feedback from the voters has been largely positive. While he may not stop the drain of Chinese votes towards the opposition, he should be able to retain the solid support from the local Malays and Indians.

Notably, the electorate structure of Segamat has experienced some changes over the same period of time. There are now 6,407 more voters than in 2008, among whom 4,273 are Malays, bringing the Malay percentage higher from 40.9% to 44.4%. On the contrary, the figures for Chinese and Indian voters pale at 1,950 (a drop of 2.39% in overall electorate) and 184 (-1.11%) respectively.

Whether the surge of Malay voters could offset the negative swing of Chinese votes would be a key factor to determine the final outcome of the race.

Another delicate factor will be the Indians and other races who will assume the role of the ultimate kingmakers in a tightly fought battle.

Give Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail a seat: SIGN THE PETITION

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 11:47 PM PDT

We, the undersigned, appeal to Parti Keadilan Rakyat for Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to be given a state seat in Selangor to contest.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/azizah/

Pakatan eyeing magical 112 seats or more

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 06:45 PM PDT

DAP also says that Pakatan can cause 'phenomenal political revolution' in Johor.

Athi Shankar, FMT

Pakatan Rakyat can exceed the magical number of 112 parliamentary seats to capture the federal government if the coalition can win at least 33 of the 83 federal seats up for grabs in Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.

DAP senior leader Lim Kit Siang acknowledged that these three states held the keys to Putrajaya.

Lim said he decided to leave his safe seat in Ipoh Timur to contest in Gelang Patah, Johor, in 13th general election to convert these three Barisan Nasional 'fixed deposits' into Pakatan's loyal voters.

He also said that Pakatan could possibly win by a 28-seat majority to form the next federal government.

A total of 222 parliament seats are up for grabs. A simple majority of 112 seats is sufficient to form the federal government.

"We're aiming to win the 25 parliamentary seats which BN won with less than a 55% popular votes in previous polls," Lim said.

Among the seats targeted by Pakatan are Arau (Perlis), Alor Star (Kedah), Kuala Nerus (Terengganu), Larut, Kuala Kangsar, Kampar and Lumut (Perak), Bentong, Raub and Jerantut (Pahang), Sabak Bernam and Pandan (Selangor), Rembau (Negeri Sembilan) and Bukit Katil (Malacca).

"Pakatan can win with a good and comfortable majority," said Lim, who was once Kota Melaka, Sri Petaling and Tanjung MP.Lim's calculation is based on DAP and PAS winning 40 parliamentary seats each, and PKR 45 seats this time.

Pakatan targets big in Johor

Lim was speaking at a press conference at Wisma DAP here today. Also present were DAP secretary general and Lim's son Guan Eng, state DAP chief Chow Kon Yeow and his deputy P Ramasamy, secretary Ng Wei Aik and other state party leaders.

In the last general election in 2008, BN won 140 seats against Pakatan's 82 to retain the federal government despite a massive swing among voters against BN in the Peninsular.

Unlike other capital cities and urban areas, Johor Baru was the only state capital that managed to maintain Umno and BN dominance in 2008.

READ MORE HERE

GE13: End of an era

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 03:30 PM PDT

This election the country might bid farewell to leaders like Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (87 years old), Lim Kit Siang (72 years old), Karpal Singh (72 years old), Datuk Seri Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat (82 years old), Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu (77 years old), Tun Musa Hitam (78 years old) and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (76 years old).

Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, fz.com

THIS coming general election we will probably witness the climactic end to the career of politicians that have coloured and shaped the country's politics as we know it today.

Leaders who have flushed the country's newspaper headlines and stirred public imagination with their unmistakable quotes.

Politicians of conviction and not consensus, as the late Margaret Thatcher had described herself.

This could also be used to describe these politicians who never minced their words regardless of how ridiculous they may have sounded to the common people.

Charismatic leaders who were puppet masters, able to tug at the heart and emotions of the rakyat with their oratory masterpieces.

The country's political sentiments have been swayed and anchored by these stalwarts of Malaysian politics and torchbearers of public opinion.

My generation, my father's generation and grandfather's generation have seen these leaders gun-slinging against one other with their quick and sharp retorts.

With most of the leaders well into their 70s, it is hardly likely the country will see them campaigning in the 14th general election.

These leaders' personas reflected the country's state of political maturity at a time when the nation was still looking for direction and identity.

A country that was still learning how to breathe and considered as a backwater of the region.

A country of farmers and fishermen, rubber and tin.

Fifty-seven years later, these leaders still dominate the nation's politics but the country is no longer a blip between Singapore and Thailand.

The country is no longer black or white but black and white, with an emergence of a grey area.

The country is no longer divided into distinct racial or religious silos but united in their economic hardship.

The rakyat is slowly realising that their loyalty is not for any political party but to themselves and their future.

Politics in Malaysia is slowly becoming about the people and no longer about the political parties and its personalities.

Loyalty has often been used by politicians in the post-colonial era to divide and conquer but it is time that we move forward.

As the country turns a new chapter with polling day next month, both Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional will introduce new candidates as both try to reach out to the 3.7 million new voters who had never experienced the hardship of the pre-Merdeka generation.

The next five years, we will see who among the new leaders will able to take up the mantle from the old guards and drive their parties forward.

These leaders will determine which political party will survive or slowly disappear into the history books.

We need leaders who are not looking to blow their own trumpet but able to articulate and intelligently discuss issues that affect the people.

We need thinking leaders and not only preachers.

It will be interesting to see which leaders will be pushed into the upper echelons of their party leadership.

Will it be leaders like Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Tony Pua, P Kamalanthan, Gan Ping Sieu, Rafizi Ramli, or Salahuddin Ayub?

Malaysia will decide.

GE13 – Nik Aziz: Do not follow leaders blindly

Posted: 14 Apr 2013 03:22 PM PDT

He also debunked the myth that ulamas are always right. "Ulamas can also talk nonsense. During the Prophet's time, some ulamas were from the Jews and they were used to oppose the Islamic movement. Even Umno is doing this now – using the ulamas to oppose the Islamic movement."

Zakiah Koya, fz.com

KELANTAN's interim Menteri Besar and PAS spiritual leader Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat is not very well. He shuffles slowly to the interview area in the MB office and then places his two little feet onto the thermal massager.

He then switches on his hearing aid, ready for an exclusive interview with fz.com.

The 82-year old Nik Aziz is quite a character. His witty cutting remarks, his political speeches which tend to be religious-based lectures and attacks on ruling party Umno make him an interesting politician to watch. His alertness when spewing out attacks against his main enemy – Umno – belies his frail health.

PAS members say the pint-sized man in his simple ulama attire – who still lives in the small half-wooden house despite being the MB – is a gift from above to the party. But Kelantanese, PAS or otherwise, all agree that he is one of a kind.

Nik Aziz said that he will stand as a candidate in the coming General Election and will continue to be active in politics as long as PAS asks him to do so.

Nik Aziz first stood in the Kelantan Hilir parliamentary seat in 1967 (later renamed as Pengkalan Chepa), which he held on to until 1986. He then played a role as the state PAS commissioner in ousting Datuk Asri Muda, the then PAS president who brought PAS into the ruling coalition of Barisan Nasional.

Nik Aziz later on was active in Kelantan politics as a state assembly member. In 1990, PAS managed to wrest back Kelantan from Barisan Nasional and he was appointed the menteri besar. Nik Aziz became the PAS spiritual leader in 1991.

"It is not that I do not want to step down, but I have never asked to be a candidate. The party wants me to stand. PAS Election Chief Datuk Mustafa Ali had said it is compulsory for me to stand, so I have to appease PAS," said Nik Aziz, referring to the attacks by Umno on his refusal to step down from helming PAS despite being ill.

Nik Aziz claimed that PAS has now been able to attract the higher educated group to join the party as it promises more than mere material gains.

"We now have not only the village people, but also the doctors, the PhD holders, the knowledgeable ones," said Nik Aziz.

He likened those who are opting for the opposition to the people of Medina who welcomed the Prophet Muhammad and his followers who were fleeing from the Meccans' hostility to Islam.

"The prophet then offered something which was never offered by the governments before him. He offered to open up their heart – not open up the country. The governments before him had brought development, roads, money, (and) food; but those were all. The prophet's teachings promised that it is God who is all powerful – not the King, not the President.

"No one can create a blade of grass, a grain of padi or make an ikan bilis (anchovy), and everyone has to answer to his doings after he dies. It is not only the kampung people who will die, even doctors will die – but who wants to die? No one wants to die!" said Nik Aziz, referring to retribution after death for those who have done wrongs.

He said that PAS offers a government that is God-fearing and not just mere material development.

"Malaysia is a country rich in natural resources and the development of Malaysia for the past six decades has been one of material development.

"Umno is like the cat, it will pounce, take and then hide with its booty," said a laughing Nik Aziz.

Nik Aziz said that the lack of fear in God is the one factor that leads to bribery and corruption.

"I would like to know why Umno does not make Islam as its basis and (instead) goes on nationalism. Is it because Islam is expired?"

To the question of whether PAS is now being more open to the professionals as compared to before when the top leaders were only ulamas, Nik Aziz also said that there is no such thing as segregating professionals and ulamas.

"What is an ulama? It is the European terms – ulamas and professionals. Now, ulamas and scientists have come together to agree. Both are from universities, only some become ustaz (teachers), some become scientists and so on. Both are knowledgeable people.

"The prediction by the prophet thousands of years ago also has come true, that it is through the findings of science that people will return to the religion," said Nik Aziz, trying to explain that there should not be such a segregation among members of PAS.

He also debunked the myth that ulamas are always right.

"Ulamas can also talk nonsense. During the Prophet's time, some ulamas were from the Jews and they were used to oppose the Islamic movement. Even Umno is doing this now – using the ulamas to oppose the Islamic movement.

"I wonder why Umno did not take national leaders for its Kelantanese candidates – why resort to ulamas after finishing millions of ringgit in giving away BR1M? If they had finished giving away so much money, they do not have to resort to emulating PAS by fielding ulamas. It shows that Umno itself is already shaky. If you want to emulate PAS, copy everything – follow Islam," said Nik Aziz.

He also questioned as to "what kind of ulamas join Umno – for it was Umno which wanted judi bola (betting on football matches) to be made legal in Kelantan".

Nik Aziz was referring to the federal government's attempt to legalise sports betting ahead of the 2010 World Cup. However, the move was aborted due to opposition from several quarters.

Umno has in recent years courted some renown ulamas to boost their Islamic image among the Malays.

On allegations that PAS is very dictatorial, Nik Aziz also said it is not true that PAS members are not allowed to question their leaders.

"How can you be sure of something when you do not question? One must always question. I am always questioned and I say to PAS members, question your leaders. Blind following is not allowed in Islam," said Nik Aziz.

Nik Aziz said that the main struggle of PAS is to bring "a change in the mindset" of the people.

"We want people to change their mindset – that this world is not forever. PAS is for all Malaysians – not only for the Malays, but also for the Chinese and Indians. Islam tells us to treat all properly," said Nik Aziz.

On the allegations by Umno that illegal logging and corruption are rife in Kelantan under PAS, Nik Aziz challenged his critics to show proof.

"In 20 years under my administration, the anti-corruption agencies have never been able to convict any of my officers. We denounced Umno because of their corruption, and it will not be right if we come into power and end up being corrupted too.

"I tell my officers, you are answerable to God – not to me or to anyone else – for you answer in the hereafter for your doings. The character is of priority and the mindset must be changed to include the world and the hereafter," said Nik Aziz.

Opposition still bickering over seats in many places

Posted: 13 Apr 2013 04:04 PM PDT

NO AGREEMENT: It shows they are not capable of running the country, says UUM don

(NST) - EVEN as it draws near to nomination day, the loose opposition coalition comprising PKR, DAP and Pas still cannot resolve the seat allocation issue and this may force them to contest against each other.

Universiti Utara Malaysia political analyst Prof Datuk Dr Mustafa Ishak opines that this reflects badly on Pakatan Rakyat as it was considered "old hand" when it comes to elections.

"They claim they can govern the nation. How can they do that if they cannot even resolve the most basic thing in a general election?" he said.

Barisan Nasional, on the other hand, has achieved a consensus in terms of the allocation of seats despite having 13 component parties.

"This is the real problem Pakatan is facing -- the possibility of three-cornered or multi-cornered fights among them underscores that there is no better formula than the one practised by BN."

He added that BN leaders did not squabble openly and the swapping of seats among them was for strategic purposes, so only one component party could represent BN in a particular seat.

"But in the case of Pakatan, every single party wants to gain maximum benefit and the maximum number of seats to determine who can lead the coalition post-general election," Mustafa explained.

Since the opposition did not have a clear agreement or arrangement on who should lead the coalition, Mustafa said this had prompted it to make a decision based on the number of seats each party was contesting.

"If PKR wins more seats, it will head the coalition.

"If DAP wins more, it will call the shots. Same goes to Pas," he added.

Pakatan is embroiled in seat allocation disputes in several states.

In Perlis, animosity is brewing between PKR and DAP over the Indera Kayangan state seat, where both have refused to budge on who should be contesting.

In Penang, the opposition is facing a similar problem with the Sungai Aceh state seat where PKR and Pas had both announced their respective candidates.

Meanwhile in Johor, the squabbling on seat allocation is still not over, with both PKR and DAP adamant on contesting the Johor Jaya state seat.

DAP had gone ahead and announced its candidate and this had angered many state PKR leaders also vying for the seat.

Apart from Johor Jaya, two other state seats -- Pengkalan Rinting and Tangkak -- are also being eyed by both parties.

There is also a tussle for seats in Sarawak with DAP staking a claim to predominantly Dayak areas -- Mambong and Sri Aman -- which PKR had also expressed its intention to contest.

Problems may also arise between PKR and DAP as the latter also wants to contest in Mas Gading, Bintulu and Kapit.

To complicate matters, Pas has also joined in the fray by naming candidates to contest in Kota Samarahan and Julau.

DAP has also reportedly refused to budge in the Chinese-majority seats of Stampin and Miri.

Trouble is also brewing over seat allocation involving opposition-friendly Parti Sosialis Malaysia, which is adamant in contesting under its own banner this time around in seats that PKR had claimed.

(PSM could not contest using its own logo in previous elections as the party was not registered then.)

In a statement, its secretary-general S. Arutchelvan said PKR could not claim rights to the Semenyih and Kota Damansara state seats, and Sungai Siput parliamentary seat as no PKR members had ever stood there in previous elections.

BN sure of bagging 15 extra seats as opposition squabbles

Posted: 13 Apr 2013 03:58 PM PDT

(ST) - Malaysia's ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) is confident of reaping a bonus of 15 federal seats due to infighting in the opposition camp, bringing the total it can win from 160 to 175 seats, according to coalition information chief Ahmad Maslan.

Mr Ahmad claimed party intelligence indicated multi-cornered fights in the 15 parliamentary constituencies where opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat (PR) component parties have ostensibly failed to resolve the deadlocks in its seat allocation talks, the Malaysian Insider reported.

"Our latest intel is indicating that we could add 11 more seats where Pakatan have failed to resolve the negotiations so there is a huge possibility that we would have multi-cornered fights there.

"On the same note, we can also win four more in Sabah and Sarawak," he told a press conference at Umno's headquarters here on Saturday.

Mr Ahmad had previously said BN was confident of restoring its parliamentary supermajority by winning 160 seats. The coalition won 140 of the 222 federal seats it contested in 2008. It needed just eight more to take two-thirds control of the House.

He said BN was confident of recapturing 5 seats each from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), which together won 51 seats, while it expects to retake 10 of the 31 seats PKR won in Election 2008.

"The 140 seats we won were during the 'political tsunami'. As I said before, the tsunami has ended. It was stopped by Najib's many initiatives like BR1M, PR1M, KR1M and many more," he said, referring to the programmes benefiting the lower income group initiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who chairs the BN.

In the last election 2008, which was dubbed Malaysia's "political tsunami", saw BN lose its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority and cede four more states - Perak, Penang, Kedah and Selangor - to the loose opposition pact of PKR, PAS and the DAP that later formed Pakatan Rakyat (PR). PAS had also retained Kelantan.

Earlier this week, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he expects BN to score a bigger parliamentary majority in Election 2013 than in 2008 with the "possibility" of the ruling coalition regaining a supermajority.

He also said in an interview with Malay-language broadsheet Utusan Malaysia published on Saturday that BN had a 50-50 chance of retaking Kelantan and Penang, and slightly higher chances at 55-45 in winning back Kedah and Selangor in the 13th general election.

Mr Ahmad's statement comes as PR component parties are struggling to settle differences on seat-sharing for the May 5 election.

In one instance of this, the Insider report said, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was forced to cancel the announcement of PKR's candidates list for Sabah, a state key to PR's push for federal power.

April 13, 2013: Our 40th wedding anniversary in Liverpool (VIDEO INSIDE)

Posted: 13 Apr 2013 02:59 PM PDT

ELmpyPuQeYo

SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELmpyPuQeYo

Wrangle over who goes where

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 03:54 PM PDT

by Zakiah Koya and Pathma Subramaniam, fz.com

WITH the April 20 nomination day just days away, political coalitions in the country are still scrambling to finalise their candidate list, despite both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) previously boasting that they are all ready for the 13th general election (GE).

BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak has, from the dissolution of Parliament on April 3, warned that eager contenders who fail to be picked as candidates are only allowed to sulk for 24 hours, after which he expects them to kiss, make up, and go all out to campaign for BN.

Najib also said all should keep in mind that the ultimate purpose of an election is to form a formidable government, and not an avenue to fulfil personal objectives.

With such "advice" dished out openly, one can only imagine the kind of heavy lobbying that must be going on among local BN warlords hoping to secure a candidacy.

This is happening not only in Umno, the party with the lion's share of seats, but in MIC as well.

Its president Datuk Seri G Palanivel is said to have booted out another MIC leader, Datuk S K Devamany, from the parliamentary seat of Cameron Highlands so that he is almost sure of a comfortable win in what is considered a safe seat. Devamany would be moved to Sungai Siput instead.

While individual candidates vie to be nominated, parties in BN are also said to have started squabbling, based on speculation that certain seats traditionally belonging to certain parties may be loaned to fellow parties this GE all in the name of "winnability".

MCA president Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek, who has decided to sit out this GE, had to "console" MCA members and say that MCA will get back the "loaned" seats after the delineation exercise, which will be carried out after this election.

The second biggest party in BN is said to have been urged by fellow member party leaders to give way to Umno, MIC and PPP.

In Johor, caretaker menteri besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman of Umno offered to contest in the MCA seat of Gelang Patah after DAP's Lim Kit Siang was announced as the candidate there, while MCA's Kota Laksamana state seat in Malacca goes to PPP and the Kuantan parliamentary seat in Pahang has been loaned to Umno.

And then there is the Wangsa Maju parliamentary seat which is currently caught in a tug of war between Umno and MCA. Other MCA seats "under negotiation" are the parliamentary seats of Tebrau (Johor) and Padang Serai (Kedah) and the state seat of Tanah Rata (Perak).

All this is causing BN chairman Najib a real headache as he tries to sort out just who is winnable, who is undroppable and who is a liability for the coalition.

The jostling for seats is not confined to BN.

Within Pakatan Rakyat, fellow parties PAS, PKR and DAP have squabbled both openly and behind closed doors over some seats, and in some cases, it has come down to "who makes the announcement first".

Piecemeal or incomplete announcements so far have only added fuel to allegations of infighting and "undemocratic" practices within the opposition coalition.

DAP and PKR in particular have had major disagreements over seat allocations in Johor, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak, with the former insisting on contesting all the Chinese majority seats. One can only guess what impact any bad blood caused by ths issue between Pakatan partners, will have on the election results.

Seat allocation discussion between Pakatan Rakyat and PR-friendly parties such as Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) have also run aground, with PKR insisting that the socialist party contest under its banner, which they did in 2008.

But PSM, which is eyeing the Jelapang, Kota Damansara, Semenyih and Sungai Siput seats, wants to contest under their own banner this time around.

DAP is also refusing to give way to PSM to contest in Jelapang, while both Semenyih and Kota Damasara may see a three-cornered fight between PKR, PSM and BN.

In Sabah, PKR de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was supposed to announce the PKR candidate list in Likas today, had to cancel it at the last moment over unresolved conflicts.

At this rate, we will only really know whose standing where for sure come nomination day.

Much at stake over BN's Johor fortress

Posted: 12 Apr 2013 03:49 PM PDT

The problem for Mr Chua is that despite being head of PKR Johor, he lacks support within the party or the PR coalition, being a relative new member. He was a transport minister under the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional but defected from BN partner Malaysian Chinese Association in 2009 after two failed attempts to become MCA president.

By Ooi Kee Beng, For The Straits Times

WHEN an army becomes restless, the general must fly into decisive action to signal that the waiting is over, and that battle plans are in place.

Wearied by months, if not years, of waiting for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to dissolve Parliament and call for elections, impatience had been setting in on both sides of the political divide.

This was more obvious in opposition ranks, for they had to watch and wait while Mr Najib announced and implemented a series of expensive populist instant measures designed to tempt fence-sitters.

Unavoidably, some bickering was bound to set in within the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat, and serious cracks in the ranks began showing.

Democratic Action Party (DAP) Johor state head Boo Cheng Hau voiced his suspicion that party ally PKR's state head Chua Jui Meng was behind anonymous attacks on the DAP. This soon took the form of jostling over which party and which candidate was to contest in Gelang Patah.

This was probably the trigger that decided DAP leader Lim Kit Siang's mind to contest in his home state of Johor, the seat that Chua is known to have been seeking to run for.

The 72-year-old Mr Lim had been unwilling for many months to agree to a move away from Ipoh Timor - his present seat in Perak state - to his home state of Johor. This seemed partly due to family concerns about his health.

His move has certainly strengthened his party's position in Johor. In the process, it ended the squabble over which member of the PR coalition would contest Johor and has energised opposition supporters significantly. The move is consistent with Mr Lim's long political career as he had given up safe seats to contest in strategically more important but less predictable seats before.

A major tenet in the ancient Chinese war classic, Sunzi Bingfa (Sun Tzu's Art of War), is that one should choose the battleground, and let the enemy react. Gaining the initiative is the key to a successful campaign.

The ruling BN should hold the upper hand given its incumbent control of election timing which allows it to time its own vote-getting measures. But it has lost that initiative through Lim's move.

The depth of BN's anxiety can be seen in the actions of Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the United Malays National Organisation's long-term and most effective strategist.

The 87-year-old former prime minister, who seems intent on leading the BN campaign whether the present prime minister likes it or not, has taken to attacking his long-term opponent fervently, calling on Johoreans to end Mr Lim's long political career; and threatening the country once more with the scenario that a victory for the DAP's Mr Lim would "bring about conflict and antagonism between the races".

Mr Lim's decision to raise the stakes by moving to Johor brings into focus some trends pushing Malaysia towards a new political order.

Johor has not only been a fixed deposit state for the Barisan Nasional's two major parties, Umno and the MCA. It is also the state whose political structure influenced much of the country's political structure.This is the state where Umno started and where its coalition partner MCA has had its strongest support; and where many in the country's first Cabinet came from. The active and innovative political consciousness and acumen of its elite were responsible for the founding of Umno, which has contributed to today's brand of Malay politics.

The coming elections will pose a fundamental challenge to the BN model of coalition politics with Malay-based Umno and Chinese-based MCA as key partners. For one thing, MCA's position as the party representing the Chinese vote bank is under full frontal attack from the DAP.

The DAP has already won hugely in the northern urban areas in 2008, reaching as much support as the Chinese population there could realistically give it.

The Sarawak state elections of 2011 saw it gaining more ground in urban seats there as well. The decision to assail the Umno-MCA fortress is therefore a predictable and potent stratagem.

Though Johor is not likely to fall to the Pakatan Rakyat, the MCA will most likely be taking quite a beating in its strongest state, and may nationally be reduced to irrelevance.

Already, MCA president Chua Soi Lek has demonstrated a remarkable lack of confidence by announcing that he will not be contesting at all. Some of the party's traditional seats throughout the country are being "loaned" to its allies in the BN.

Malaysia has to be ruled by a coalition representing all major ethnic groups, and the coalition that fails to project that image cannot be stable. For Umno and its allies, a new formula will have to be found even if they get the majority of seats.

If the MCA loses most of its parliamentary seats in the coming elections - it has 13 in Johor and across the country - then BN will be without proper Chinese representation.

Much is at stake in Johor.

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Rabu, 17 April 2013