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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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• ‘EC must explain discrepancy’
• Lajim Ukin’s son charged with graft
• Pembongkaran perjanjian rahsia tidak mengejutkan
• Yazid, Hilmi re-arrested under SOSMA
• History of Chinese immigration to Tanah Melayu
• The "ALLAH" CONTROVERSY: Why I Wrote It
• Snubbed Nose, Yellow Skinned Canto/Madarin-Malay Speaking
• Plot to oust Musa Aman - Part 1
• Red Bean Army?
• Najib's violation of any agreement is expected
• Ipoh Timur MP and Perak PKR secretary charged with failure to comply with Peaceful Assembly Act
• Going back to the polls?
• Undi Melebihi Kertas Undi Dikeluarkan Di Dalam Peti Undi, Kesalahan Membeli Undi Yang Berleluasa
• Azmin’s BN-friendly move welcomed
• EC seeks polls law review
• Freedom isn't free
• Now, let the polls petitions speak
• Sarawak DAP to `go rural' in 2016 state election
• We are what we are today because of what happened in the past (part 2)
• 'Anwar using Red Bean Army to incite hatred'
• Is GE-13 over yet?
• Bitter election creates long-term headache Najib
• Redelineation exercise can erode Sabah rights further - BoPi MaFo
• PM Najib: BN has to adapt to remain relevant
• Election Commission promises utmost transparency in redelineation exercise
• Anwar: Yes, we instigate the people
• MCA: Asset strippers and plumbers within?

‘EC must explain discrepancy’ Posted: 26 May 2013 01:19 PM PDT   (FMT) - Surprised voters said are confused by the very high turnout when in their view the turnout could be only between 65% to 72%, or even lower in some areas. The election figures released by the Election Commission are raising eyebrows here. With Malaysia's registered voters numbering 13.3 million and the average turnout said to be 80%, this should translate into about 10.6 million votes cast. But talk among polls watchers and the internet is that the total number of vote slips counted on May 5 was higher than this. The discrepancy is baffling minds here. Many observers now want the Election Commission, better known as SPR, to explain the discrepancy. They have also raised questions over the delay in releasing accurate data on the final tally. Already in Sabah, surprised voters said they were confused by "the very high turnout" when in their view the turnout could be only between 65% to 72%, or even lower in some areas. A voter here who spoke on condition of anonymity claimed that when he came to vote at about 1.30pm on the polling day on May 5, he found only three or four names underlined (a mark that they had voted) on the same page his name appeared. "How could it be the turnout was that high … more than 80%?" he asked. Another voter from Kota Belud who said he came to cast his vote only after 4pm, less than one hour before polls closed, also claimed that he too saw only a few names underlined on the same page his name was on.  Read more at: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/05/27/%E2%80%98ec-must-explain-discrepancy%E2%80%99/

Lajim Ukin’s son charged with graft Posted: 26 May 2013 01:14 PM PDT Syed Jaymal Zahiid, TMI The son of former Umno leader Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin was today charged with alleged corruption for using forged documents to win a government tender to build roads in Sembrong, Johor. Nizam Lajim, 31, is accused of committing the offence on August 8, 2012, where he was said to have used a forged recommendation letter signed by then Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal to acquire the project. The letter purportedly stated the minister's approval for the road work to be given to several companies allegedly linked to him Nizam was charged under section 471 of the Penal Code which carries a maximum two-year jail term or a fine or both. The 31 year-old claimed trial and the management case has been set for June 25. He was released on RM50,000 bail with one guarantor. Lajim, a former deputy minister who defected from ruling party Umno to form pro-opposition Pakatan Perubahan Sabah late last year, was present in court when the charge was read out to his son. READ MORE HERE

Pembongkaran perjanjian rahsia tidak mengejutkan Posted: 26 May 2013 01:08 PM PDT Apabila Jusuff Kalla membuka segala rahsia dan perjanjian sulit itu, kedua-dua Anwar dan Najib menafikan tidak memenuhi janji.  Oleh Aspan Alias, FMT Sekarang terbit isu baru tentang perundingan sulit di antara Perdana Menteri Najib Tun Razak dengan Ketua Pembangkang, Anwar Ibrahim untuk menghormati keputusan pilihanraya yang ke 13 yang lalu. Perundingan itu diatur oleh Jusuff Kalla, bekas Naib Presiden Indonesia yang telah berusaha mengadakan perjanjian di antara kedua-dua belah pihak. Kedua-dua Najib dan Anwar bersetuju untuk menghormati keputusan pilihanraya itu, tetapi Jusuff mengatakan Anwar telah memungkiri janji beliau untuk menghormati keputusan pilihanraya yang telah diadakan pada 5 Mei lalu. Begitulah politik di negara ini. Kedua-dua bergaduh, tetapi minta orang luar untuk mendamaikan dan membuat perjanjian senyap-senyap dan selepas itu tidak menghormati perjanjian. Itulah namanya 'janji politik'. Cerita perjanjian ini tersiar di seluruh dunia. Tidak perlu kita marah kepada sesiapa di seluruh dunia sebabnya pihak di sini yang meminta orang luar dari negara ini untuk mengamankan kita. Apabila bekas Naib Presiden Indonesia itu membuka segala rahsia dan perjanjian sulit itu, kedua-duanya menafikan tidak memenuhi janji. Najib terus terang menuduh Anwar yang tidak memenuhi janji untuk menerima keputusan pilihanraya itu dengan bergerak beramai-ramai untuk berhimpun menentang keputusan pilihanraya itu. Sebaliknya Anwar memberikan alasan yang beliau tidak dapat meneruskan perjanjian itu kerana Barisan Nasional (BN) telah mencuri kemenangan Pakatan Rakyat. Jangan berjanji Itu sebabnya jangan berjanji dengan seteru politik dan jika kita sudah lama melalui asam garam politik beberapa pimpinan kita, ia tidak pula susah untuk mencari sebab kenapa perjanjian ini berlaku dan kenapa ia dimungkiri. Sebelum pilihanraya diadakan, pihak Pakatan yang ditunjangi oleh Anwar telah merasakan pihaknya akan berjaya menundukkan BN buat kali pertamanya dalam sejarah kemerdekaan negara. Tentulah Anwar mahukan pihak BN untuk menerima keputusan itu dengan baik dan jangan melakukan apa-apa tindakan yang tidak diingini. Anwar pun telah membuat beberapa telahan apa yang akan berlaku jika Pakatan menang dalam pilihanraya itu termasuk melakukan perkara yang tidak diingini. Anwar begitu yakin Pakatan akan menang dan beliaulah akan menjadi Perdana Menteri. Najib pun menerima cadangan Anwar itu. Orang yang menjadi perantaraannya ialah Jusuf Kalla, bekas Naib Presiden Indonesia. Tetapi apabila sangkaan Anwar yang Pakatan akan menang itu meleset, maka jelaslah yang cita-cita beliau untuk menjadi Perdana Menteri itu tidak kesampaian. 'Confidence' yang begitu tinggi untuk menang telah memberikan keputusan yang di luar jangkaan Anwar. Rupa-rupanya BN tidak payah berbuat apa-apa lagi kerana telah memenangi mandat rakyat dan menang tipis dengan jumlah 133 kerusi, cukup untuk menubuhkan kerajaan minoriti sejurus selepas awal pagi 6 Mei yang lalu. Sebenarnya Anwar sememangnya terlalu yakin yang pilihanraya kali ini akan menjadikan beliau Perdana Menteri. Anwar sudah mula memberikan amaran kepada banyak pihak yang beliau akan mengambil tindakan terhadap mana-mana pihak yang telah melakukan kerja yang tidak baik jika menjadi Perdana Menteri. Saya pun ada keyakinan kuat yang Anwar akan menjadi Perdana Menteri dan saya gembira kerana akhirnya demokrasi di negara ini mampu menukar kerajaan. Tetapi saya, sebagai orang Melayu, tambahan pula orang yang terdidik di kampung yang terpencil, saya merasakan ada yang tidak kena sedang berlaku di kalangan pihak Pakatan sendiri. Terlalu yakin Saya merasakan pihak Pakatan telah terlalu 'over confident' dan saya merasakan perasaan yakin yang keterlaluan itu akan memusnahkan harapan pihak Pakatan. Lantas saya menulis dengan memperingatkan pihak Pakatan Rakyat supaya 'jangan membuangkan air di dalam tempayan semata-mata terdengar guruh di langit'. Saya juga mengingatkan sesiapa yang berkenaan, 'burung yang terbang jangan dipipiskan lada' dan 'duduk dahulu sebelum berlunjur' dan berbagai-bagai lagi. Justeru apabila apa yang dijangka itu tidak menjadi maka berlakulah tuduhan dari Pakatan yang BN telah melakukan penipuan. Anwar terus mengadakan perhimpunan mengajak anak-anak muda supaya berhimpun menentang keputusan PRU itu. Saya tidak menolak kemungkinan penipuan itu, tetapi belum lagi nampak buktinya sehingga isu itu dihakimkan oleh Mahkamah Tinggi nanti. Di peti undi tempat saya membuang undi di Seri Menanti Kuala Pilah, tidak ada pula elemen tipu menipu ini. Tetapi isu yang dibangkitkan oleh Asian Wall Street Journal yang menceritakan yang Jusuf Kalla telah menuduh Anwar memungkiri janji itu sebenarnya tidak mengejutkan sesiapa yang memahami politik Anwar. Sebenarnya Anwar sudah begitu 'over confident' untuk menang dan tidak mahu BN berbuat angkara jika Pakatan mendapat mandat rakyat. READ MORE HERE

Yazid, Hilmi re-arrested under SOSMA Posted: 26 May 2013 01:02 PM PDT The section makes it an offence to harbour terrorists. Those found guilty under the act would face a life sentence and liable to a fine, or a maximum of 20 years imprisonment and a fine. K Pragalath, FMT One week after being freed from charges under Security Offences (Special Measures Act) 2012, canteen operator Yazid Sufaat has been detained under the same act once again. Yazid and his assistant Hilmi Hashim were re-arrested under security law this morning. "He was arrested under SOSMA at his home in Ampang. The arrest took place at 8am. His two daughters were also nearly arrested by the police when they protested against the arrest of their father," said lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, when contacted. Another lawyer, Wan Hidayati Nadirah Wan Ahmad Nasir confirmed that Hilmi has also been arrested under similar circumstances. "We have no confirmed information. We believe that both are detained under SOSMA and will be charged under section 130 K (A) of the Penal Code. They are currently detained in Bukit Aman," she said. The section makes it an offence to harbour terrorists. Those found guilty under the act would face a life sentence and liable to a fine, or a maximum of 20 years imprisonment and a fine. In February, Yazid, were detained under SOSMA and charged under section 130 of the Penal Code for promoting terrrorism in Syria. Hilmi and Halimah Hussin were charged with abetting with Yazid. On Feb 8, Yazid, a canteen operator at the Jalan Duta Court Complex here and Halimah, a housewife, were charged with allegedly committing the offence at a house in Taman Bukit Ampang, Ampang, between 8.30 and 10.30 am, from Aug 1 to Oct 20, 2012. They were the first individuals to be charged under Section 130G(a) of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum of 30 years in prison and fine, upon conviction, after the abolishment of the Internal Security Act 1960. All three were however freed last week after judge Kamardin Hashim allowed the application by defence counsel led by Amer Hamzah Arshad to strike out the charges on the grounds that SOSMA which was enacted under Section 149 of the Federal Constitution could be used to detain the trio. Kamardin said Article 149 of the Federal Constitution was only applicable for acts of threats in Malaysia. "Since the charges against them involved offences committed in Syria, Article 49 and SOSMA, which is enacted under Article 149, cannot be used to prove the charges against them," he added. He said it would be an abuse of the court process if the prosecution was allowed to go on. Deputy public prosecutor Abdul Wahab Mohamad then applied for the three to be detained pending an appeal of the court's decision at the Court of Appeal. However, the application was rejected.

History of Chinese immigration to Tanah Melayu Posted: 26 May 2013 12:53 PM PDT   Without Melayu support for them, most of them would not have survived a week living in Tanah Melayu. Mansor Puteh It was the Great Famine in South China in the early Nineteenth Century which drove many young Chinese to leave the country to come to Tanah Melayu or Malaya and Nusantara Melayu or Southeast Asia, in droves, sailing in junks, which were all wind-powered. Only much later, the Chinese women started to join the men, i.e. when steamships were introduced, making the sailing time from South China to Southeast Asia shorter and more bearable to the women. The Great Famine may be the main reason for the Chinese to come to Southeast Asia or 'Nanyang' – meaning 'South Seas' There are basically two other reasons for the Chinese men to flee from South China, and they are because of their involvement in the Triads and for being hounded by the Manchus, especially on those who were strong supporters of the Ching Dynasty ruler who lost to the Manchus to rule China. I wrote this book, 'The Sinkek' as a personal tribute to some of my ancestors who too had come from that country. And from my estimation there are about thirty percent Chinese in Malaysia, if not more, especially so in Melaka who have Chinese ancestry, with some having closer anscestry than the others. And each time I started to discuss the matter, I discovered my Melayu friends who said their mother, grandmother, grandfather and great-grandmother or great-grandfather was Chinese. It is not surprising but mostly sad that the history of Chinese immigration to Tanah Melayu or Nusantara Melayu has not been dwelt with before. Is there fear in discussing such issues? So the program on the matter broadcast on TV3 was certainly welcome, despite its flaws. And not surprisingly, too, the history of Chinese immigration to Tanah Melayu especially has never been written in the forms of novels or produced as a feature film or television drama serial, except for 'Kinta 1881', which seems to concentrate on the gangsterism and triad activities of the early Chinese of Tanah Melayu. No wonder the film bombed, simply because the Chinese in Malaysia today especially the younger generation, do not have much fascination on the history of their ancestors. They prefer fantasy films produced by Hong Kong studios over the China-produced ones which deal mostly with their ancient history and recent social and cultural developments experienced by the new generation of Mainland Chinese. But the most interesting aspect of this episode on the Chinese immigration to Tanah Melayu was the role played by the Melayu hosts, who welcome the Chinese who comprised mostly of the young and confused and sickly, which has never been acknowledged before. For without Melayu support for them, most of them would not have survived a week living in Tanah Melayu. And no wonder, too, one could find a tiny Chinese store selling all sorts of things right in the middle of a rural Melayu village, serving the community, with the Melayu supporting it, simply because the Melayu wanted to help the Chinese out. If the Melayu villagers had wanted to be nasty, they could have boycotted the store causing the Chinese to seek employment as coolies, cutting grass and carrying water for the wealthy Melayu. In fact, many wealthy Melayu then had Chinese women as 'amahs' and other servants. Those who live in the towns could find employment being active in the Triads or 'kongsi' groups, extorting money from small Chinese establishments up to the late 1960s when the Triad groups started to diminish in numbers as the economy grows and many being able to get proper education. Many of the early Chinese boys were processed in Singapore and later taken to the different states in Semenanjung Tanah Melayu or Melayu Peninsula. It was only much later that tin was found in Perak that drove many Chinese boys and men to go there since there was easy employment that they could get there. Many Chinese and Malaysians in the country also do not realize that the Chinese were forbidden by the Chin Dynasty emperor from leaving China; those who left are considered to be 'traitors', and should they return, they would be arrested and hanged. The only provision available for the Chinese to leave China then was for them to not return, ever; and that they should abide by the laws of the countries they are in and for them to follow the local ways and adopt their lifestyles and languages. This was what the early Chinese Babas and Nyonyas had done when they embraced Melayu cultures and lifestyles without losing their own peculiar identity, so much so that they stopped speaking in Chinese especially Hokkien. And if one were to look at the experiences in other countries, especially the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, one can say that the Chinese immigrants to these countries had adapted themselves well, despite the fact that in Indonesia they were forced by law to do so. And because only men initially fled from China to Indonesia or Jawa Island, one can say that most of the Jawa living in the northern part of the Jawa Island have Chinese ancestries, with their grand-fathers and great-grandfathers being Chinese. No wonder, even till today, when one looks carefully in the faces of many Jawa, one can see Chinese features. Only much later Chinese women were able to go to Jawa where they marry their own kinds so that a group of Chinese-Indonesians was established. One such Chinese-Indonesian woman is the mother of Lee Kuan Yew who was born in Semarang, Jawa in Indonesia. She married another Chinese-Indonesian man who then went to Singapore. So Kuan Yew can be said to be Chinese with Indonesian ties, whose father came to Singapore for other opportunities which was to expand on his business.

The "ALLAH" CONTROVERSY: Why I Wrote It Posted: 26 May 2013 12:46 PM PDT   Azly Rahman Drawn mainly from my column "Illuminations" in Malaysiakini, this is to be the first compilation in a series of essays on Malaysia in the age of change, complexity, competition, and chaos.  This first volume is called "The Allah Controversy and other essays on Malaysian hypermodernity." It contains products of my latest period of reflections on the society, framed from a world view I have lived in and familiar with. The topics touched on issues such as the ongoing linguistic controversy surrounding the use of the term "Allah" in the Bahasa Melayu version of the Bible, the state of affairs as Malaysia approaches a most exciting general elections, the fate of the ruling party and UMNO, education of the children of the "stateless Malaysians of Tamil origin,", Biro Tata Negara as a master indoctrinator and promoter of divisive politics, politics and philosophy of science in our development plan, on the issue of mother-tongue language, cognition and educational progress, the notion of a "successful failure" in our schooling system such as in the MARA schools, and a range of other topics framed from a "hybridic, heteroglossic, and hypertextualized" perspective with a good dose of contemporary cultural, political-economic, and informational theories alluded to. These pieces of writing represent my commitment to looking at society in newer ways and to offer novel perspectives that policy-makers and opinion leaders can use. They are mildly academic in nature but accessible as well to anyone who wish to read about Malaysian issues written in "newer language"; from a hybrid view drawn from the fields of anthropology, philosophy, political science, education, history, literature, and cybernetics. In short this volume manifests itself kaleidoscopically.   READ MORE: http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-allah-controversy-my-latest-book-on.html

Snubbed Nose, Yellow Skinned Canto/Madarin-Malay Speaking Posted: 26 May 2013 12:38 PM PDT You Boleh Nyanyi Negara Ku Ah? Apa Rukun Negara? Lu Olang Mana? Mana IC? Berapa Lama Lu Duduk Malaysia? Mana Dapat Ini IC? You Bangla Ah? Bangla Sohai! Saya Pukul Sama Lu! These are just a few sayings that GE 13 has made famous by the very people propagating racial equality and tolerance. Parwaiz Win  It cannot be denied what occurred was none other than racial profiling of anyone who was either dark skinned or had Indian features of some kind. You could have dressed down for the day and you would immediately be looked upon with suspicion by the self-appointed vigilante groups who felt it was their duty to protect our elections from phantom voters. To date, we have yet to see any concrete evidence from the opposition to prove to us that Bangladeshis were brought in to vote for the government. The run up to the elections saw a malicious lie perpetuated by sinister pro opposition supporters who spammed our Facebook accounts with stories of so called planes loaded with foreigners coming in to vote, Bangladeshi Prime Minister allegedly saying she can get a Malaysia citizenship easily and other sensational stories to accuse the government of fraud and manipulation. All have now proven to be false, including the much debated blackouts during polling day which opposition figures from those seats have rebuked such rumours. But yet the so called tech savvy educated urbanites and their now enlightened political minds seem to find it hard to accept the truth when it is staring at them in their faces. Maybe, tech savvy they are but they surely fell short on the power to reason when it mattered. The sheer logistics of what they accuse the government of doing is mind-boggling to anyone with half a brain. This of course is a totally another topic. Excuse me for deviating. Going back to racial profiling; if you were dressed down, looked as if you jumped out of bed without a shower, had tanned skin with sharp features; you were a confirmed foreigner out to steal the rights of Malaysians. As it has been shown in numerous clips in YouTube, and the people who predominantly did such racial profiling were non other then, stubbed nosed, yellow skin and speaking Canto Malay speaking. I for one got confused. When did Malaysia become a nation where a person who is dark skinned and with sharp features automatically become a Bangladeshi? One can just browse YouTube and we can see numerous cases where innocent people were stopped just based on their looks. Nothing concrete till date has been brought forward besides clips which really do not prove the person voted, had the intention to vote or even had a Malaysian identification card. But yet, the tech savvy,  snubbed nose, yellow skin… Canto/Mandarin-Malay speaking community (their version of speaking Bahasa Malaysia) continued to believe whatever they read and saw online. This truly amazes me how gullible people can be or maybe it's just the racist in them coming out when the opportunity came forward. Endless cursing and psychological and emotional threats; 'Sohai Lu Bangla .. Lu Duduk Sini, Tak da Olang Pukul Lu!!'. Who the hell made these people jury and judge? Their very actions are contrary to what they supposedly stand for but in reality it was just a charade. They were nothing but racist bigots who profiled individuals and made malicious accusations. I saw one clip on online where 3 snubbed nose, yellow skinned Canto/Mandarin-Malay speaking individuals tried to question the legality of a dressed down, tanned skin individual with sharp features only to be put in their rightful place. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2eMlbj5gC4 Another incident involved a group of tanned skinned, dressed for a Sunday with sharp features again racial profiled by snubbed nose, yellow skin, Canto-Malay speaking individuals. Yet again … our snubbed nose, yellow skinned Canto-Malay speaking individuals got it wrong. What surprised me was no one called them racist for profiling individuals. But if it was done to them, they would be saying, we are treated like second class citizens and are asked to go back to where their forefathers came from. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-tuOKSjMgY Here's another incident where snubbed nosed, yellow skinned Canto-Malay speaking individuals have accused an innocent person of being a phantom voter just because of his looks. Threats and harassment without proof. Are we supposed to allow such behaviours? Who made these snubbed nose wanna be gangsters jury and judge? Is this the Malaysia under such people? Maybe, its time when we see snubbed nose, yellow skinned Canto/Mandarin-Malay speaking individuals; we ask them for their IC and accuse them of being pimps, illegal dvd sellers, prostitutes and triad members? I for one will give them the benefit of doubt even though my racial profiling tendencies would make me think that; but my higher conscious and not being a racist would stop me from profiling them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD61EWkOJ3Y Who is to be blamed for the high handed actions of such individuals? The government? Why the government? They have without skipping a heart beat been the denying the existence of Bangladeshi voters. It has been the opposition leaders with the help of the so called 'Red Bean Army' who have laid the foundation for such hatred leading up to the elections with innuendo, accusations, doctored pictures and edited text who until this very date have not been able to bring one person forward with concrete proof; these are the real enemies of the nation. Surprisingly… NOT , the so called Red Bean Army is made up of snubbed nose, yellow skinned Canto/Mandarin-Malay speaking punks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdA8AbFFdfg There are countless clips of so called phantom voters online but not one really proves anything besides accusations being hurled. Where is the proof? Did anyone see a clip of a phantom voter with a fake identification in hand? Don't show a doctored clip or a clip that was staged. Be real! Win elections not on half-truths and lies but on merit. In the end, GE 13 is past us and we are still waiting for these alleged tens and thousands of phantom voters that the government brought in. Not one has been apprehended by these snubbed nose, yellow skinned Canto/Mandarin-Malay speaking racist profilers. Logically one can only conclude that the whole fiasco about alleged Bangladeshi voters was nothing but a psychological warfare to ingrain doubt and suspicion on the Election Commission and the incumbents.   There is a saying 'If you eliminate the impossible (bringing in Tens and thousand of Bangladeshis to vote for GE 13 which PR has failed to provide proof), whatever remains (BN denying rumours), however improbable (BN winning the election), must be the truth. I am now ready for accusations by people who I care little about calling me a racist; little do these very people know, if I were to become a racist, it is because of their actions. Mine is nothing but a reaction to their doings. One cannot be accused of murder if one is defending oneself from an attacker. I am quite certain, the actions of these snubbed nosed, yellow skinned Canto/Mandarin-Malay speaking individuals this past election will not be forgotten by those who were at the receiving end. Like it or not, there will be repercussions, one cannot expect to go about living as if one did not do anything wrong. When you wrong people, the people who got mistreated will come back to haunt you when you least expect. Hence, sleep with one eye open my dear 'snubbed nose, yellow skinned Canto/Mandarin-Malay speaking friends!'. Your nightmare has just begun.

Plot to oust Musa Aman - Part 1 Posted: 26 May 2013 12:33 PM PDT It all began with OIL…   Sabah: Ground Zero  Sometime in late 2007, a group of businessmen approached Sabah CM Musa Aman to discuss ways they could explore and benefit from the state's lucrative oil & gas industry. Now, these are the same group of people who benefitted greatly from the state's timber resources via Yayasan Sabah and other channels for many, many years. The Sabah reforestation plan and conservation programme that was put in action by Musa's government was taking a toll on this group of businessmen. They could not make as much money as before and therefore, needed another cash cow. Unlike the millions they made in the timber industry, the petroleum industry has the potential to make them billions! Sabah has Malaysia's top oil reserves and the Sabah Basin is projected to produce oil for a much longer period than any other oil-producing states in Malaysia. All they had to do was get Musa's blessings and the money from the petroleum industry would start pouring into their coffers. But the unimaginable happened. Read more at: http://sabahgroundzero.blogspot.com/2013/05/plot-to-oust-musa-aman-part-1.html  http://sabahgroundzero.blogspot.com/2013/05/plot-to-oust-musa-aman-part-2.html  http://sabahgroundzero.blogspot.com/2013/05/plot-to-oust-musa-part-3.html

Red Bean Army? Posted: 26 May 2013 12:32 PM PDT   Let me state clearly and categorically that until a few days ago when I came across the Utusan Malaysia series of write-ups on the so-called "Red Bean Army", I have not heard of the term before.  Lim Kit Siang  Claims that DAP spends RM108 million in past six years to employ a 200-strong Red Bean Army of cybertroopers a total figment of imagination of Utusan Malaysia and failed UMNO/BN propagandists Yesterday, the UMNO "lies-paper" Utusan Malaysia front-paged "Perangi Red Bean Army – Pelbagai pihak gesa kerajaan pinda Akta Komunikasi dan Multimedia" while today another UMNO mouthpiece New Straits Times headlined "'Anwar using Red Bean Army to incite hatred'". Suddenly, the "Red Bean Army" has become the vogue of attack of the gutter press of UMNO/BN. Even the truculent and belligerent new Home Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was roped into the propaganda "circus" with him declaring that the Home Ministry, via the police, will work together with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) as well as Malaysian CyberSecurityj to check immediately the channelling of contents by certain cybertrooper groups which violate social media laws. How much I had wished that the police, the MCMC and Malaysian CyberSecurity had identified the culprits and cleaned up the racism and poison spewed by UMNO/Barisan Nasional cybertroopers on the Internet during the 13th general elections, in particular those which had targetted me and the DAP as either having caused the May 13 riots in 1969, or all the lies and falsehoods to paint a picture that I am anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay Rulers. But absolutely nothing had been done. Now they are pointing their fingers at DAP for spending RM15 million a year to employ a 200-strong Red Bean Army of cybertroopers to attack Umno/BN leaders on the cyberspace, which is a total figment of the imagination of Utusan Malaysia and failed Umno/BN propagandists. Yesterday's Utusan, for instance, alleged that the DAP employs 200 Red Bean Army (RBA) cybertroopers who are paid RM3,000 a month since six years ago; that the DAP expenditures for the Red Bean Army (RBA) is some RM1.5 million a month, split into two parts with one operating from a hotel in Kuala Lumpur and the other based in Komtar in Penang – all these are modern-day fairy tales completely without one iota of truth in them! According to the Utusan report, the modus operandi of the Red Bean Army cybertroopers is to attack any politician, businessman or entertainer who are seen as pro-BN via facebook, tweet, YouTube in order to arouse racial hatred of Chinese voters against them. Let me state clearly and categorically that until a few days ago when I came across the Utusan Malaysia series of write-ups on the so-called "Red Bean Army", I have not heard of the term before. If Utusan and the Umno/BN propagandists are right, that DAP has under its wing some 200 cybertroopers who are paid RM3,000 a month for the past six years – this would mean a monthly outlay of some RM600,000 a month, RM7.2 million a year or a total budget of RM43.2 million in the past six years! Further, if DAP spends RM1.5 million a month on the cybertroopers, in six years the budget would have come to a shattering RM108 million! DAP just does not have this type of money although to UMNO/BN, this is just a drop in the ocean of their funds! DAP does not pay a single sen to any cybertroopers, unlike UMNO/BN which used hundreds of millions of ringgit of public funds to organise Social Media Conventions all over the country to raise an army of 10,000 Umno/BN cybertroopers in the run-up to the 13th general elections. Should we call this 10,000 Umno/BN cybertroopers the Belachan Army, Ikan Bakar Army or Cincin Army? Let Zahid or the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak give Malaysians a full and proper accounting of the Umno/BN "Belanchan, Ikan Bakar or Cincin" army of cybertroopers!

Najib's violation of any agreement is expected Posted: 26 May 2013 12:27 PM PDT   Did such an agreement exist? If it does, then it's incumbent upon Yusuf Kalla to produce the agreement that he has brokered. And reveal to us, what is it that Anwar reneged on. Was Anwar's agreement insured against Najib's promise not to cheat in the GE?  Sakmongkol AK47  The revelation by Yusuf Kalla one time deputy president of Indonesia has produced not a few rushed judgements. For those who have in-built prejudices against Anwar will recall that Anwar is such and such a fellow. Most of these perceptions were formed a long time ago and some formed after one or two encounters.   I have met Anwar only once in person and that was last year when he was already entrenched in the role as opposition leader. I wasn't interested to form a personalised perception of Anwar preferring to judge and assess him on his thinking, ideas and articulation. His darker side if it exists is none of my concern. I am never a fan of Anwar but as I have said if more people believed in him that those who don't, there is nothing anyone can do about it. As it is, more people like Anwar than Najib and that is why PR got 51% of the popular votes. That translates into nearly 500,000 human beings rejecting Najib.  As I have also said before, in the context of sexual dalliances, the person he is compared with is just as heroic as he is. That, if we believe all those insinuations about Anwar are true. If they are, then they are equally true about poster boy Najib. Read more at: http://sakmongkol.blogspot.com/2013/05/najibs-violation-of-any-agreement-is.html

Ipoh Timur MP and Perak PKR secretary charged with failure to comply with Peaceful Assembly Act Posted: 26 May 2013 12:23 PM PDT (The Star) - Ipoh Timur MP Thomas Su Keong Siong, 47, was charged with failure to inform the district police chief of a rally held in Ipoh at least 10 days before the event under Section 9 (1) of the 2012 at the Sessions court here on Monday. Su, was charged with committing the offence on May 9 at 7.30pm at the Dewan Wisma Chin Woo, No. 36, Jalan Hussein, Ipoh. Perak PKR secretary Mohammad Anuar Zakaria, 46, was also charged in the same court under the same section for a different rally. Mohammad Anuar was charged with committing the offence on May 12 at 7.30pm, in front of the PKR office, No. 10, Jalan Medan Istana, Ipoh. In both cases, Judge Julie Lack Abdullah set bail at RM4,000 with one surety and July 19 for mention. Gobind Singh lead the defence counsel of 10 lawyers for Su, while Baldip Singh, Mahdi Hassan and Ranjit Singh defended Mohamad Anuar. Deputy public prosecutors were Masri Mohd Daud and Fadhli Abdul Wahab.

Going back to the polls? Posted: 26 May 2013 12:21 PM PDT It just might be that what Malaysians need to do is to go back to the polls. Christopher Fernandez, FMT  More Malaysian voters who have begun to weigh heavily towards Pakatan Rakyat (PR) are absolutely devastated that it is instead Barisan Nasional (BN) that has been installed as the government–of-the-day after the 13th GE. Saying and describing that the majority of voters, as the popular votes were in favour of Pakatan, were "devastated" is to put it mildly as tens of thousands of Pakatan supporters are gathering at mass rallies to protest against the outcome of the 13th GE. While Pakatan has stopped short of organising mass rallies and to take to the streets in the form of mass demonstrations, their leaders have nevertheless gone to the ground to get the rakyat to nullify the results of the recently-concluded general election. Going by the huge turnouts at these rallies, with Pakatan claiming that they have been robbed of victory by the Election Commission (EC) and BN partnering to ensure victory for the latter, Malaysians of all walks of life, including non-voters are beginning to realize that all is not well in the political arena. By and large, it might be that the best solution would be to call for fresh general election, only this time round with major changes being made in how the election proper is conducted. Change the electoral system If more and more Malaysians are of the view and believe that there were the tampering of votes and other possible irregularities, they have every right to believe so because there is no smoke without fire. For them to believe that all was not well at the 13th GE is really to smell a single rat somewhere and this is enough to suspect that the whole and entire process of the 13th GE was conducted in a dubious manner which creates distrust and suspicion among voters and Malaysians. While Pakatan leaders going to the ground to argue their case before the people is a fair and good idea, the opposition coalition probably needs to ask Malaysians to agree to go to the polls again, only this time round with major changes to the electoral system. It is really the electoral system that has failed us Malaysians. Therefore there is a need for all the political stakeholders in this country to come together and agree to conduct free and fair polls by a reformed EC. Only by ensuring that the EC undergoes great structural changes and conforms wholly and totally to the tenets and obligations of parliamentary democracy, can Malaysians be assured that democracy is in place in this country. This means the results of the 13th GE must be declared null and void before the two sides of the political divide sit down to discuss terms and conditions of a free and fair polls to be undertaken by an EC that is approved by both sides of the political divide. As it stands, it looks as if Pakatan is totally unhappy with the way the present EC has conducted the 13th GE as they have more and more questions highlighting irregularities and have grave doubts cast over whether the general election was free of interference and manipulation. Read more at: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/05/27/going-back-to-the-polls/

Undi Melebihi Kertas Undi Dikeluarkan Di Dalam Peti Undi, Kesalahan Membeli Undi Yang Berleluasa Posted: 26 May 2013 12:18 PM PDT   Pulau Pinang adalah salah satu negeri yang menyaksikan persaingan sengit dalam PRU13, terutamanya di kawasan-kawasan majoriti Melayu yang kebanyakannya ditandingi KEADILAN. Rafizi Ramli  KEADILAN tewas tipis di Parlimen Balik Pulau (majoriti kalah 1,539, undi rosak 612) dan di kerusi-kerusi DUN dibawahnya iaitu Telok Bahang (majoriti kalah 801, undi rosak 167) dan Pulau Betong (majoriti kalah 395, kertas undi tidak dikembalikan 223). Siasatan awal menunjukkan penyelewengan-penyelewengan berikut yang telah berlaku: UNDI MELEBIHI KERTAS UNDI DIKELUARKAN Bagi pengundian di saluran 2, SRJK(C) Yu Chye (Kod Daerah Mengundi 053/40/05), keputusan rasmi berdasarkan Borang13 (jumlah kertas undi yang dikeluarkan) dan Borang14 (jumlah undi diperolehi oleh setiap calon) menunjukkan bahawa jumlah kertas undi yang berada di dalam peti undi selepas pengundian adalah lebih banyak dari jumlah kertas undi yang dikeluarkan awalnya. Borang 13 (Penyata Kertas Undi) bagi saluran 2 bagi Parlimen Balik Pulau menunjukkan bahawa sebanyak 424 kertas undi dikeluarkan. Nombor siri yang didaftarkan bagi 424 kertas undi ini juga turut mencurigakan kerana nyata berlainan dari bilangan kertas undi yang diterima dari Pegawai Pengurus, seolah-olah ada set kertas undi yang berlainan. Selepas pengiraan dibuat dan keputusan dipindahkan ke Borang 14 (Penyata Pengundian Selepas Pengiraan Undi), keputusan bagi saluran 2, SRJK(C) Yu Chye menunjukkan terdapat 562 undi di dalam peti undi, iaitu 138 undi melebihi dari jumlah kertas undi yang telah dikeluarkan.   Lebih teruk lagi, keputusan rasmi seperti yang tertera di Borang 14 bagi Parlimen Balik Pulau telah diisytiharkan sebagai keputusan bagi DUN Telok Bahang iaitu salah satu DUN di bawah Parlimen Balik Pulau. Helaian mata (scoresheet) bagi N40 Telok Bahang seperti Borang SPR760 mukasurat 2/2 menunjukkan bahawa keputusan saluran 2 (jumlah kertas undi 562, undi PKR 369) adalah bersamaan dengan keputusan Borang 14 bagi keputusan Parlimen.   Ketiga-tiga borang rasmi yang mengandungi keputusan yang salah dan mencurigakan, terutamanya undi di dalam peti yang lebih telah menyelewengkan keputusan bagi parlimen dan DUN diantara 138 hingga 318 undi. Dengan majoriti yang rendah dan undi rosak yang tinggi, keputusan di saluran 2 ini sahaja sudah cukup untuk mengubah keputusan di peringkat Parlimen Balik Pulau dan DUN Telok Bahang. Ketiga-tiga borang ini tetap dikeluarkan oleh Ketua Tempat Mengundi, Muhamad Shukri bin Din walaupun dibantah oleh ejen calon yang hadir ditempat pengundian. Oleh kerana Ketua Tempat Mengundi berkeras tidak akan memberikan salinan borang-borang jika tidak ditandatangani (yang membolehkan lebih banyak manipulasi berlaku), ejen calon akhirnya menandatangani untuk mendapatkan salinan. Kejadian ini membuktikan bahawa peristiwa undi yang dikira melebihi dari kertas undi yang mulanya dikeluarkan memang berlaku. Ia berlaku di Balik Pulau dan sudah tentu juga berlaku di tempat-tempat lain, walaupun semua laporan tidak mungkin boleh dikumpul oleh #siasatpru13. Ia juga mempersoalkan ketelusan dan kecekapan SPR mengendalikan pilihanraya apabila masalah kecil seperti kesilapan tertukar keputusan di antara calon parlimen dan DUN masih boleh berlaku. KESALAHAN MEMBELI UNDI YANG BERLELUASA Seperti yang telah dilaporkan seperti ini, kesalahan membeli undi berlaku dengan berleluasa terutamanya di Pulau Pinang sepanjang PRU13. Parlimen Balik Pulau juga tidak terkecuali dan beberapa rakaman telah dibuat menunjukkan orang ramai beratur untuk menukar baucer yang diberikan dengan wang tunai di sebuah kedai di DUN Pulau Betong (rujuk 2 video yang disertakan). Perkara yang sama juga telah berlaku di DUN Bayan Lepas, satu lagi DUN di bawah Parlimen Balik Pulau bertempat di premis bernombor Lot 25, Lorong Helang 3, Sungai Dua. Satu laporan polis telah dibuat oleh Dato' Abdul Halim Hussain mengenai perkara ini pada 10 Mei 2013, iaitu hari kejadiaan (laporan polis disertakan bersama).   Kedua-dua contoh yang disertakan menunjukkan bahawa penyelewengan dan penipuan yang melanggar akta-akta bersabit pilihanraya telah berlaku dan mengukuhkan lagi pandangan umum bahawa penipuan berleluasa telah berlaku dalam PRU13 yang lepas. Sementara bukti-bukti ini akan dipertimbangkan di dalam petisyen pilihanraya, KEADILAN akan terus mendedahkannya kepada pihak media dan awam untuk membuktikan bahawa penipuan memang berlaku dalam PRU13.

Azmin’s BN-friendly move welcomed Posted: 26 May 2013 12:17 PM PDT   (The Sun Daily) - MCA and Gerakan have welcomed the offer by PKR deputy president Azmin Ali to engage with Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders for the good of the nation. "We welcome this as the people have spoken through the ballot box already, so we should respect the rakyat's decision to build the nation," said MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai yesterday. Liow told theSun that all parties have a role to play in nation-building, including the opposition and the government. "What is important is to ensure the wealth and stability of the nation," said Liow. Meanwhile, Gerakan acting president Datuk Chang Ko Youn also agreed with Azmin's views. "It is better to sit down and talk with each other rather than attack each other through the media," said Chang. He said both sides – BN and Pakatan Rakyat have to bring the political temperature down – in the aftermath of the May 5 polls as both sides need to find a common ground. "Instead of exploiting the issues to attack each other, both sides should sit down and to talk about so-called electoral fraud, issues of corruption, the National Economic Policy, and freedom of the media, for the betterment of the people," said Chang. Azmin on Saturday had declared his willingness to initiate an engagement process with the Barisan Nasional (BN) for the good of the nation. Speaking at a press conference after the opening of the Ninth PKR Youth and Women's Wing Congress, he was reported as saying: "We believe there is room for all of us to work together for the interest of the people." "We can agree to disagree but at least there will be a dialogue to share views on matters of national concern," said Azmin. However, he stressed his proposal did not imply a desire to form a "unity government" with BN. Azmin added that while the Dewan Rakyat would be the best platform for such an engagement process, there should also be closed-door dialogues.

EC seeks polls law review Posted: 26 May 2013 12:14 PM PDT   (The Star) - Among the matters being considered by the commission was to seek the power to "remove" voters who do not live at the address and update the registration in accordance with the address listed in their MyKad. The Election Commission (EC) will soon begin a review of election laws and voter registration procedures to deal with complaints such as unusually large number of voters registered at the same address. Among the matters being considered by the commission was to seek the power to "remove" voters who do not live at the address and update the registration in accordance with the address listed in their MyKad. "We will examine in detail all aspects related to the present laws governing voter registration to look at all the loopholes which can give room for fraud by any political party when they register voters," EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar (pic) said yesterday. There are two laws, the Elections Act 1958 and the Election Offences Act 1954, governing elections, in addition to three other statutes Elections (Conduct of Elections) Regulations 1981, Elections (Registration of Electors) Regulations 2002 and Elections (Postal Voting) Regulations 2003. Representatives of political parties appointed by the EC as assistant voter registrars are allowed to sign up new voters but both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat have traded accusations of "shifting" voters by getting supporters to change their address and be registered in constituencies where their side could win. Wan Ahmad said one of the problems the EC faced in dealing with such cases was its inability to strike out the name of any voter from an address even when the commission was sure that the voter had never lived there or was no longer staying at the place. He said that under existing laws, only the voters had the authority to change their voting address. "As such, we want the power to strike out their names, find out from the National Registration Department where their actual addresses really are before we inform the voters and place them in their proper constituencies. This will not jeopardise their right to vote," he said. Wan Ahmad agreed that this would not be enough to fully resolve the problems facing the present voter registration system. "But this is part of a raft of measures that the EC will mull in its review, to identify and fix the loopholes that currently exist in voter registration procedures and laws. "We are doing this review because so many people are questioning the electoral roll. We will tighten the laws and procedures to prevent any opportunity for fraud in voter registration," said Wan Ahmad. He said if it was deemed necessary, the EC would also recommend to the government new measures, amendments to laws or even to abolish the laws altogether so that they could be replaced with new legislation. The last major review of electoral laws and procedures in 2001 led to changes such as the year-round voter registration. Wan Ahmad said the EC set up an internal committee in the wake of the Parliamentary Select Committee's electoral reform recommendations in April last year. He said the panel had completed a detailed probe to identify the weaknesses in the current voter registration system and electoral roll. The EC's top management would study the committee's findings before drawing up its proposals to improve the system. However, Wan Ahmad said no time frame had been set for the review to be completed.

Freedom isn't free Posted: 26 May 2013 12:10 PM PDT   Throughout my entire journalistic career, I've always had to walk this line - entertain my reader, but not at the expense of losing an advertiser. At the end of the day, a business's main responsibility is to its customers. Can you, the freeloading reader, really blame them if they run articles that aren't in your best interests? Lau Chak Onn, fz.com   THE recent boycott of mainstream media has left us with online as our main source of media. So why are people still so reluctant to pay for it?   Recently, a guy posted something up on my Facebook about thinking twice before boycotting a major newspaper, as it had thousands of employees who had families to fee and whose jobs were now at risk.    My first thoughts were of incredulity - if a company wasn't selling me something I liked, why would I feel the need to support its continued existence? But a few troll posts later, I realised something else - perhaps there weren't enough jobs in other forms of media for these poor shmucks.   Apparently after GE13, we're supposed to be boycotting radio stations, newspapers and television. Although television is probably like the old man in the apartment upstairs passing on quietly in the night and no one noticing for weeks, the first two are actually surprisingly still a part of my media diet. I listen to the radio whenever I run out of music, and read newspapers every time I need a good laugh.    However, there's no denying that like many youngsters today (a demographic I'm barely clinging on to), I go online to get most of my information. Some of it is from news sites, some from links recommended by friends, and some from sites which I pay to subscribe to.   Many of the same people who participated in that thread about the newspaper boycott are the same people staring at me like an alien from another planet when I tell them that I pay for online content. Why pay when I can get it for free? So let me explain myself.    You see, writers need to eat.   Read more at: http://www.fz.com/content/freedom-isnt-free#ixzz2USWQvnxf

Now, let the polls petitions speak Posted: 25 May 2013 06:48 PM PDT The gathering on Saturday has been described as the climax of a series of massive rallies that began at the Kelana Jaya Stadium on May 8, followed by similar events in almost all the states in the peninsula. All these events underscore the sentiments of voters that the reports of electoral irregularities must be thoroughly and impartially examined so that the people's will is accurately reflected in the election results. That point is already unmistakably clear. fz.com THE sea of people who turned up on Saturday night at Padang Timur, Petaling Jaya to protest against alleged fraud in the 13th general election have shown that public disquiet over several controversial aspects of the polls is not to be underestimated.   The sizeable turnout for the event, despite being the umpteenth public rally since the national vote was held on May 5, is also significant because it comes on the heels of a testy statement by new Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that there would be no more warnings before the authorities act against those who disrupt public order.   Furthermore, the rally-goers who flooded the protest venue despite the arrests of several political leaders, activists and peaceful protesters in the preceding days were more concerned to show that they want action on the reported irregularities than they were worried that the assembly was deemed illegal.   The gathering on Saturday has been described as the climax of a series of massive rallies that began at the Kelana Jaya Stadium on May 8, followed by similar events in almost all the states in the peninsula. All these events underscore the sentiments of voters that the reports of electoral irregularities must be thoroughly and impartially examined so that the people's will is accurately reflected in the election results. That point is already unmistakably clear.   So, enough is enough. The general election is over and the government has been formed. The country must move ahead. Last Wednesday, the Election Commission gazetted the official results of the election. Under Malaysia's laws, the result of an election can only be challenged by an election petition which must be filed within 21 days of the gazettement. So let the aggrieved parties prepare their evidence and file their petitions. Present the cases in the court and let the judiciary play their role in upholding the rule of law. After all, the ultimate avenue for redress in a democracy is the court of law.   The street protests and rallies must stop. The constant attempts to whip up the emotions of the people through grandstanding and rhetorical speeches will only tend to create an atmosphere charged with tension and confrontation.   Let's focus on building the country instead. There is a great task ahead for all of us to bring positive changes to our national institutions and strengthen governance. Pressing for greater transparency, checking corruption and preventing abuse of power is a responsibility of all Malaysians. These challenges will take systematic work and unwavering commitment to democratic ideals.   If the opposition and its allies continue to push the people towards extra-judicial measures that can paralyse the country, they will run the risk of developing "protest fatigue" and may come face-to-face with a public backlash.   Should that happen, they will only have themselves to blame for pushing their luck with the people that they claim to represent.

Sarawak DAP to `go rural' in 2016 state election Posted: 25 May 2013 06:33 PM PDT (The Sun Daily) - Inspired by its electoral successes in the 2011 state and this month's parliamentary elections, Sarawak DAP is now eyeing the rural seats, particularly the Dayak-majority areas. "A rural drive committee, which I am asked to lead, will sit down this Tuesday to chart down and plan what we need to do," Sarawak DAP Dayak Consultative Committee chairman Dr John Brian Anthony said today. He said the drive committee will identify the seats which the party may contest in the 2016 state election. He said the "go rural" is in line with the party's objective to penetrate the rural areas, instead of just concentrating in the urban and Chinese-dominated constituencies for support. Brian was assigned to lead the rural drive at the party's state committee meeting here yesterday. In the 2011 state election, the party won 12 urban seats, while in the recent parliamentary election, it won five urban seats. After the 2011 state election, the Sarawak DAP proposed to merge with the now defunct Sarawak National Party (SNAP) as a political vehicle to penetrate the rural areas. The proposal, however, was rejected by the SNAP's supreme council. Meanwhile, Sarawak DAP chairman explained that the party is embarking on the rural drive to prepare for the next state election. He said it is time for the party to spread its influence in the rural areas, especially the Dayak majority seats. Wong, who is also the State Assemblyman for Bukit Assek, said that the party needs to reach out to the rural areas where he believes that it will be accepted. On the parliamentary election, Wong said Pakatan Rakyat (PR), comprising the DAP, PKR and PAS, could have won more seats had the election been fair. "Money politics was rampant, especially in the rural areas," he alleged. Wong also said that the Sarawak DAP will hold its annual convention on June 9 in Sibu to elect new office bearers.

We are what we are today because of what happened in the past (part 2) Posted: 25 May 2013 05:40 PM PDT The British 'master plan' was for the Malays to take over the administration of Malaya, for the Chinese to manage the finance and commerce of the country, and for the Indians to do the labour work in the plantations, railway and public works. And, to satisfy this master plan, from the mid-1800s to 1920 (when the policy ended), the Chinese and Indians from Southern China and Southern India/Ceylon respectively were brought into the country by the shiploads. THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin The fallacy we have been fed all this while is that Umno was created to fight for independence or Merdeka from the British. This, of course, is not true. The majority of the Malays 'loved' their British colonial master. This is mainly because the Malays are extremely feudalistic in nature, as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has more than once pointed out (with great regret on top of that), and for a long time Hang Tuah was the hero while Hang Jebat the villain. For those who do not get the meaning to this, Hang Tuah was one of the five warriors of Melaka -- as legendary as Robin Hood of England -- who obeyed the Sultan even when the Sultan was cruel and unjust while Hang Jebat defied the Sultan and hence was considered a traitor. The only thing is Hang Jebat defied the Sultan because of the cruelty towards Hang Tuah -- just like Robin Hood opposed Prince John because the 'acting-monarch' was evil -- but Hang Jebat became the baddie while Hang Tuah is considered the goodie. Such is the feudalistic mind of the Malay. Hence, when the British implemented the Malayan Union, which would reduce the powers of the Raja-Raja Melayu (Monarchs of the Malays), the elitist and intellectual Malays rose up in protest. This probably startled the British -- who were still recovering from the aftershocks and affects of World War II and just did not need another 'war' on their hands -- because never before have the Malays resisted their 'bosses'. The Malays were once Hindus (except those in Negeri Sembilan who were Buddhists). However, when their Ruler converted to Islam, the entire population followed suit without question. Considering that Melaka depended on the Arabs and the Muslims from India for trade, it made sense for the Malays to become Muslims, which would improve foreign relations and hence trade as well. Northern Malaya was ruled by Thailand and the Malays obediently sent the Bunga Emas tribute to Thailand every year. There was no resistance whatsoever. Southern Malaya was part of the Riau Empire and the Malays had no problem with this as well. In short, it was very easy to colonise the Malays. Hence when the Portuguese colonised Melaka followed by the Dutch and then the British, and for a short while the Japanese, the Malays loyally served all colonial masters and became what today we would probably call the running dogs of the colonial masters. The British knew they could win the loyalty of the Malays just as long as you did not 'disturb' their customs, traditions, language, religion (by that time Islam, of course) and the 'symbol' of their kedaulatan or sovereignty (the Raja-Raja Melayu). Touch any one of those and the Malays would melenting (leap up like a cat whose tail you stepped on). The British knew even back in 1900 that they needed to 'gently' educate the Malays to become more 'modern'. Hence, for this purpose, they built schools modelled after the English public schools. And the Malay College Kuala Kangar (MCKK) was one such example. The objective was to 'modernise' the Malays while at the same time maintaining and 'not disturbing' the Malay customs and traditions plus their religion, Islam. It is probably cruel for me to say that the British wanted to turn the Malays into 'brown Englishmen' who played rugby and cricket and drank tea at four and sipped brandy after dinner. But that is basically what happened, whether by accident or by design. The plan to create these 'brown Englishmen' was so that they could groom 'English-minded' Malays to take over the country when the British decided to 'wind down' or leave Malaya some time in the future. The British 'master plan' was for the Malays to take over the administration of Malaya, for the Chinese to manage the finance and commerce of the country, and for the Indians to do the labour work in the plantations, railway and public works. And, to satisfy this master plan, from the mid-1800s to 1920 (when the policy ended), the Chinese and Indians from Southern China and Southern India/Ceylon respectively were brought into the country by the shiploads. But the Chinese and Indians had begun coming to Malaya more than 500 years before that. And many, since then (after 20 generations or so), were now more Malayan than Chinese or Indian. In fact, some Chinese, the Straits Chinese -- a.k.a. the Babas and Nyonas -- were more Malay than Chinese and some spoke Malay at home and no longer spoke a word of Chinese. And many Indians (in particular the Muslims) had since married Malays to the extent that in some places the majority of the 'Malays' were of mixed Indian blood (Mamaks) that outnumbered the 'pure' Malays'. For all intents and purposes, the definition of 'pure' Malay was now very blurred and to find a 'pure' Malay was as difficult as finding a 'pure' Englishman (something that also no longer exists). Hence, to look at the Malays, Chinese and Indians in the proper perspective, you need to break them down into sub-groups such as pure Malays, Malays of mixed blood, pre-1800s Indians, pre-1800s Chinese, and post 1850-1900 Malays, Chinese and Indians who migrated to Malaya to participate in the economic boom at that time but still had strong ties with their motherland. And these are probably whom Umno refers to as pendatang (immigrants). However, pendatang should not refer to just the Chinese and Indians. There are even more Malay pendatang than there are Chinese and Indian pendatang (those Malays who came to Malaya from the 1850s onwards). Anyway, if you wish to argue this matter further, what is the definition of Malay? To call Malays Malay would be like calling someone a European. There are hundreds of 'Europeans'. Even the British can be broken down into so many sub-groups. Hence Malay is merely the label you use for a dark- or brown-skin native of South East Asia -- who lives or came from the region South of China, East of India, and North of Australia. And that is certainly a very large grouping indeed. Tian Chua, therefore, is NOT a pendatang since his family went to Melaka 500 years ago and long before the mid-1800s, while Dr Mahathir, whose father migrated to Malaya in the early 1900s, can be classified as a pendatang. Ironical, is it not? (I am of course using pre-1850 and post-1850 as my 'yardstick'). In 1948, after the British abandoned the Malayan Union in favour of the Federation of Malaya or Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, Umno, the organisation created in 1946 to oppose the Malayan Union, began to become more political. Nevertheless, it still remained very pro-British. Umno just wanted to participate in the government. It did not want to take over the country or sought independence from Britain. In 1954, the first Umno-MCA delegation went to London to discuss this matter. By then Onn Jaafar had already left Umno because Umno refused to open its doors to the non-Malays and in 1951 he formed his Independence of Malaya Party or IMP. However, the IMP did not get much support (it got wiped out in the elections soon to come). The Malays, Chinese and Indians would rather be grouped into race-based parties such as Umno, MCA and MIC. Tunku Abdul Rahman, the new Umno leader, together with Tun Razak Hussein and Tan Cheng Lok's nominee, T. H. Tan, arrived in London in May 1954 to engage the British in talks regarding the administration of Malaya. (Tan Cheng Lok did not like to fly so he sent T.H. Tan in his place). The talks, however, failed. The British did not want to layan (entertain) a loose grouping that did not represent the majority voice. Furthermore, Umno and MCA were not the only two players. On 'the other side' were the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM); the Malayan Democratic Union (MDU); the Malay Nationalist Party (PKMM); the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC); the Pan Malayan Federation of Trade Unions; the Clerical Unions of Penang, Malacca, Selangor and Perak; the Selangor Indian Chamber of Commerce; the Selangor Women's Federation; the Malayan New Democratic Youth's League; the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Ex-Comrades Association; the Singapore Chinese Association; the Peasant's Union. etc., which made up the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action (AMCJA) and which had a wider support base than Umno and MCA. In short, the anti-British and the left wing (Socialists and Communists) group -- that also saw birth around the same time as Umno in 1946 -- was bigger and stronger. For the British to layan Umno and MCA, they must first show strength. So, in 1954, the Alliance Party was formed with MIC now also a member alongside Umno and MCA. And, in the first state elections held that same year, the Alliance swept 226 of the 268 seats and in the Federal Legislative Council election the following year (where 52 of the 100 seats were contested) Alliance swept all but one seat. This proved that the Alliance was the choice of the people so the British started talking to them regarding Merdeka. It must be noted that the British wanted to grant Merdeka to Malaya as much as the Malayans wanted Merdeka. However, it would be better to hand the government to a pro-British group like the Alliance rather than the Malay Nationalists ('extremists', to the British), Socialists or Communists take power whereby Britain's 80% economic interest in the country, which contributes to 30% of Britain's economy, would be at risk of being nationalised. And one more thing to note is, the Malays in the Alliance (meaning Umno) were mostly 'brown Englishmen' who had been groomed since 1900 to one day take over the country's administration and at the same time protect British interests in Malaya. Hence it was what we would today call a win-win situation. And that was how the nation-state of Malaya was created in 1957 and why until today we still have the same government in power. TO BE CONTINUED

'Anwar using Red Bean Army to incite hatred' Posted: 25 May 2013 03:05 PM PDT (NST) - A former PKR leader has claimed that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is utilising a band of cyber troopers, known as the Red Bean Army (RBA), in an elaborate effort to incite hatred against the government by spreading falsehoods over social media. Ex-PKR Youth information bureau secretary Nordin Ahmad told the New Sunday Times Anwar was fully aware of the existence of the RBA, which he claimed had been operating for the past six years. "Among others, this group is responsible for the vicious rumour circulating online that several polling centres had suffered blackouts during the vote-counting process on May 5, sparking claims of election irregularities." He also claimed that Anwar had employed the services of the RBA, which is believed to be DAP-funded, after Pakatan was formed in March 2008. Nordin said the group's subtle but effective propaganda had managed to influence many Malaysians into thinking that the elections were mired with fraud, thus enabling Anwar to stage a series of rallies called Blackout 505. "When Pakatan appeared to be losing that day, social network sites like Facebook were bombarded with claims of blackouts and many Malaysians chose to believe the rumours. That's the extent of the RBA's influence." Nordin, who was a strong supporter of Anwar in 1999, explained that the series of alleged blackouts had "conveniently" given Anwar a valid reason not to retire from politics despite promising to do so should the opposition pact fail to win the election. "Now Anwar says he cannot retire until the Barisan Nasional government and the Election Commission admit that the election was fraudulent in nature. That is why he had been openly supporting the Bersih rallies in the past," he said. Nordin said the recent Bersih rallies, which called for free and fair elections, had provided Anwar a platform to convince the public that the EC was untrustworthy. "After the people became certain that the EC's credibility was compromised, all the RBA had to do was to post a picture purportedly showing EC staff counting votes in the dark to ignite the Blackout movement." However, EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar had said on Friday that the photograph was taken prior to the polls. "They had staged the act even before the elections and spread it on the Internet as a ploy to show that a blackout had occurred. "The EC staff shown in the photo were not even wearing EC uniforms," he had said. Nordin pointed out several of the RBA's alleged postings, which included rumours of price hikes, had been proven to be mere hoaxes meant to deceive the public and stir up hatred against the government. The RBA, which is believed to consist of 3,000 members, is said to be a dedicated network based in Komtar in Penang and Concorde Hotel here.

Is GE-13 over yet? Posted: 25 May 2013 02:52 PM PDT KTemoc Konsiders One could be excused for believing the 13th general elections in Malaysia is still not over as some Malaysians continue to demand on a different outcome (results) of the elections to what it has been, wakakaka. I would claim to be among the earliest (if not the earliest) to explain why BN with 47% of the popular votes ended up with 133 or 60% of the 222 federal parliamentary seats. I wrote on that in my 06 May 2013 post The Morning After - Part 1 as follows: It's also interesting to note than Pakatan has actually won the popular vote by amassing about 51% share of the total votes for GE-13 but been rewarded with only 40% share of federal seats, whilst BN with 47% of total votes garnered 60% of the 222 federal seats  Only once before in Malaysia's political history has a party with the majority of federal seats lost the popular vote, to wit, in 1969. But this is a result of a combination of 'first past the post' contest combined with gross gerrymandering where in one federal constituency, only 15,000 registered voters can elect a MP to represent them in parliament while in another constituency, nearly 150,000 voters may only vote for also one MP to represent them. The voter in the former has ten times the say in parliament compared to his/her sardine-ized fellow Malaysian in the latter, who is perhaps a 'lesser' Malaysian. The job of a truly independent impartial Election Commission, which of course doesn't describe the Malaysian EC, would have endeavoured to ensure the universal suffrage of 'one person, one vote' in a democracy, thus dividing the 222 federal constituencies into lots having an average of, say, 60,000 voters in each [some minor variations may be allowed but subject to justifications, etc]. Kapar would then be divided into Kapar East (or North) and Kapar West (or South) represented by 2 MPs while Putrajaya doesn't deserve to be be a federal seat by itself and would be subsumed under another Wilayah constituency or combined with Labuan as one. But that's only a pipe dream as the ruling party will never allow such impartial professionalism to come about for the EC. Let me share a very closed secret with you - the EC is in fact UMNO's real fixed deposit, not just some pro-UMNO states. Nonetheless, I would say, notwithstanding suspicions of UMNO's alleged 'creativity' with the alleged help of the EC, Najib has done well not to let the BN lose and, what more, also in regaining BN's control of Kedah and retaining rule in the Silver State, the latter very much to my surprise! It's a truism of politics that political parties lose elections, not win them. I believe poor Anwar Ibrahim must have thought he would end up as the PM of a post GE-13 situation when he made a secret peace deal with Najib which was brokered by former Indonesian VP Jusuf Kalla. The broker had recently emerged to criticize Anwar for reneging on the peace deal by his continuation of post-election protest rallies. Of course Anwar's fave journalist, Terence Netto, expectedly came up with an article in Malaysiakini on the circumstances an issues surrounding this so-called peace deal which concluded with a one-liner stating "It looks like Anwar has allowed one Bugis, Jusuf Kalla, to get him snookered by another, Najib Razak." Let me just say I am not at all impressed by Netto's terrible Bugis remarks. Anwar has no shortage of supporters in this apparent attempt to create a state of political instability, not when his supporters possess the mindset of Myrmidons. They drew heavily on the 51% vs 47% popular votes as indicative of Anwar's right to be PM without even understanding the Westminster first-past-the-post character. And what for - why let the inconvenience of facts interfere with jolly good protests! They talked about the BN government being a 'minority' government without understanding that its 133 seats out of 222, namely 60% of the total number of parliamentary seats, is not a minority in any way. Their Myrmidon mindset was apparent when in an (pre election) article about Hishamuddin Hussein escaping unscathed from a private chartered helicopter during is election campaigning, some readers of that news article berated him for misusing RMAF (TUDM) helicopter for his political purpose. Attack, attack, attack - that's all they can think of. Just right up someone's alley, which to understand more will require you to read The fantasy of Anwar Ibrahim? wakakaka. In my second post-election post The Morning After - Part 2 I stated very clearly my 5 reasons why Dr Mahathir will NOT oust Najib from being PM despite not winning 2/3 majority in GE-13. In support of this, my personal views, I also wrote on Najib's election achievements in a letter to Malaysiakini which was surprisingly but to my entire delight published as an article titled (wakakaka) Apa lagi UMNO mahu? In one of RPK's articles I left a comment about my 6th reason which I missed out in The Morning After - Part 2, that currently UMNO has no one apart from Najib to lead UMNO. Thus I am not surprised at all to hear Dr Mahathir echoing my views in Malaysiakini's Mahathir says Umno has no alternative to Najib. But our dear Olde Man couldn't resist harping on the Chinese tsunami bullsh*t, stating that national unity will be an uphill task because, according to him, "We are still striving to bring the races together". He striving to bring the races together? Wakakaka, what an obscenity of such a brazen claim by him, and then some. He provided the nonsense that because of racial polarization, Najib couldn't obtain Chinese support, conveniently avoiding mention that the Chinese had voted for Malays in PKR and PAS, while Malays also voted for Pakatan. And I feel sorry for those Chinese who had voted for BN to be so insulted by Dr Mahathir. Though Dr Mahathir was speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Japan, he was obviously addressing his propaganda to the Heartland faithful. Given that the Malay middle and upper social class and Malay young voters have swung towards Pakatan, his strategy for UMNO would have to be keeping up the rage against the evil bogeymen behind every Hibiscus plant in Malaysia, those bloody Chinese. READ MORE HERE

Bitter election creates long-term headache Najib Posted: 25 May 2013 02:42 PM PDT Reuters' interviews with 15 polling agents give an indication of why many Malaysians have lost faith in an electoral system that clearly favours the governing coalition. Reuters Malaysia's divisive election has left a bitter taste for millions of people that risks creating a long-term problem of legitimacy for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's long-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. The outrage was clear at a busy intersection across from one of Kuala Lumpur's fanciest shopping malls, where a huge poster of Najib and his deputy had been defaced — a rare display of public disrespect in the Southeast Asian nation. One of the scrawled comments poked fun at the unconvincing share of the votes won by Najib's ruling coalition in its May 5 election victory: "47 percent PM," it said. "If you don't like it, you can leave," mocked another, alluding to a comment by Najib's new home minister that those unhappy with the result — and the electoral system that produced it — should pack up and emigrate. The tense political atmosphere threatens to prolong policy uncertainty that investors hoped the polls would put to rest, as Najib braces for a possible leadership challenge and the opposition mounts a noisy campaign to contest the result. By securing 60 percent of parliamentary seats with less than 50 percent of the popular vote, the BN's victory has served to expose starkly the unfairness of a gerrymandered electoral system that is also prone to cheating and bias. That has galvanized the opposition, led by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, into holding a series of big rallies as it refuses to accept the result and prepares legal action to challenge the outcome in nearly 30 close-run seats. Disgruntled Malaysians have submitted over 220,000 signatures to the White House online petition page, exceeding the number required for a response from President Barack Obama. In response, divisions have appeared in Umno, the main party in the ruling coalition — in power since independence from Britain in 1957. Hardliners have urged a crackdown on dissent and blamed minority ethnic Chinese voters for deserting the ruling coalition. That has raised racial tensions in a country whose ethnic Malay majority dominates politics and enjoys special privileges to offset what its leaders see as its disadvantaged position compared to relatively wealthy ethnic Chinese. Reformers have urged Najib to press ahead with social and economic reforms to blunt the opposition's appeal and address the concerns of discontented young and urban voters. That includes many ethnic Malays who voted for the opposition. "Every day Najib sees angry Malaysians on the Internet. It is not an easy thing to swallow," said a senior government official who declined to be identified. "There are people in his cabinet asking for a crackdown and there are others asking for him to brandish his reformist side." The hard liners appeared to gain ground last week when police used the colonial-era Sedition Act to detain three opposition politicians and activists and charged a student with inciting unrest. The three arrested were later released after a court rejected the police remand order, but could still face charges. Najib is under pressure from Umno conservatives such as Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who served as prime minister for 22 years, to show a tougher side ahead of a leadership election that could be held as early as August. At least until then, planned reforms such as steps to widen Malaysia's tax base and reduce heavy food and fuel subsidies are likely to stay on hold. "Najib is not in a very strong position," Mahathir told reporters in Tokyo on Saturday, saying there was a risk that his majority could be weakened further if some ruling coalition politician defected to the opposition. "When you are concerned about that, the focus on development, economy and all that will be affected. That is Najib's problem." The opposition has yet to present clear evidence of widespread fraud, but Reuters interviews with 15 polling agents give an indication of why many Malaysians have lost faith in an electoral system that clearly favours the governing coalition. A majority said that officials of the Election Commission (EC), which is part of the Prime Minister's Department, did not follow procedures or were ill-equipped to oversee the polls. "Some, not all, officials were not trained enough or did not have the experience to determine what was a spoiled vote," said a counting agent in the Segamat parliamentary seat in southern Johor state, where the BN candidate won by a slim 1,200 majority with 950 votes deemed as spoiled. "I cannot speculate on whether it was deliberate but there was quite a bit of incompetence," said the agent, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Anwar's three-party alliance says it has evidence that BN officials bought votes with cash and transported immigrants granted citizenship on shaky grounds to vote in areas with close races. While its legal action, due to be filed with courts around the end of May, is unlikely to succeed, it will keep the electoral fraud issue in the spotlight for months ahead. In Selangor state near Kuala Lumpur, a Reuters examination found at least 2,000 voters had identity cards deemed "dubious" by a commission of inquiry in Sabah. That commission is investigating longstanding allegations that the ruling coalition handed out citizenship for votes to immigrants. The government denies the fraud claims, accusing the opposition of being sore losers and of trying to stir up an Arab Spring style revolt. The EC says it took a tough approach in eradicating possible fraud in the electoral rolls. "The opposition did not lose because of election rigging, it lost because they did not get the vote," EC chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof told Reuters. Deep concerns over the integrity of Malaysia's elections are nothing new. The government has been shaken by huge street rallies in recent years organized by the influential Bersih movement that has called for sweeping reforms, including a clean-up of the electoral roll and equal access to media. After a violent police response to a 2011 rally, Najib burnished his reform credentials by rolling back some draconian security laws and introducing limited electoral reforms. Bersih says those reforms did not go far enough, and is refusing to recognize the election results until it has verified hundreds of allegations of fraud in a "people's tribunal". It has previously highlighted instances of voters over 120 years of age and hundreds of voters living at a single address. Likely far more influential than fraud are electoral boundaries that have been manipulated over the years to favour the BN. Pro-opposition constituencies in urban areas have up to nine times the number of voters than pro-government seats. The opposition won just 89 seats in the 222-seat parliament, despite winning more than 51 percent of the vote. "Najib won on malapportionment rather than his policies to eradicate corruption and reform theeconomy as voters felt he wasn't sincere," said Ooi Kee Beng, Singapore-based deputy director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Najib, the 59-year-old son of a former prime minister, is unlikely to countenance deeper electoral reforms, a move that could be political suicide for the BN. Reformists within Umno are urging him, however, to ignore calls for a security crackdown and push ahead with steps to tackle corruption and make the ruling coalition more appealing to urban and ethnic Chinese voters who have deserted it. "Of course the debate on whether we are truly a majority government will go on. But we can gain respect from the people," said Saifuddin Abdullah, a prominent reformist who is a member Umno's Supreme Council.

Redelineation exercise can erode Sabah rights further - BoPi MaFo Posted: 25 May 2013 02:37 PM PDT The UK-based Borneo Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo) is in full support of Upko's stance that the proposed redelineation of electoral boundaries must strictly adhere to the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement. The Upko Kota Belud Deputy Chief, Ewon Benedick, had stated argued that Sabah and Sarawak are not ready for the one-vote-one-value voting system as both states will see its representation in Parliament reduced to only 15% from the present 25% or 56 of the total 222 seats.   "We have 981,814 voters in Sabah and 1,083,972 voters in Sarawak. That makes 15 per cent of the total 13,268,007 voters in Malaysia. If we adopt the one-vote-one-value system, then the people of Sabah and Sarawak must be ready to accept its consequences," said Ewon.   BoPi MaFo's President, Daniel John Jambun warned in a statement here that the redelineation exercise can be implemented to further erode Sabah and Sarawak's position as equal partners in the Federation.   "Sabahans are very worried that after this exercise Sabah and Sarawak will lose more rights and voice in Parliament," Jambun said. "This is because the exercise can be another federal manipulation with gerrymandering after which Sabah and Sarawak will lose more leverage as Borneo states."   He said that consistent with the spirit of the 20 Points, both states should have 34% of the parliamentary seats, and it is for this reason that  Sabah and Sarawak must never surrender any seat -- parliament or state seat -- to any Malayan-based parties, but defend it by all means.   "Local opposition based party must unite and fight for their rights consistent with the Malaysia Agreement, the 20 Points, the IGC Report and the Oath Stone, both in letter and spirit. Allowing any seats to be contested by KL parties tantamount to surrendering the rights of the Bornean states.   "But as it is now, most of these seats have been robbed by KL-based parties -- Umno, MCA, and Gerakan from BN, and DAP and PKR from PR," he said. "The usual excuse is that the candidates of these parties are still from Sabah, but we can't deny the fact that the parliamentarians who have won on these parties' tickets are subservient to their Peninsular parties.   "We have to understand that the very purpose of the 34% seats that Sabah and Sarawak have is not only to represent the two states but to enable us to veto any negative laws that Kuala Lumpur may decide to impose on the Borneo states.   "Any seat transferred to a Peninsula-based party will be our serious loss because the parliamentarians will not be able to speak firmly for Sabah, simply because they have to toe the line with their Malayan political bosses.   "What we are worried about is that the federal government may be ignorant about Sabah rights as promised as special arrangements in the many documents such as the Malaysia Agreement the 20 Points, the Cobbold Commission Report and even the Oath Stone,"Jambun said. "This worry is strongly founded by the fact the during the recent campaign, the Prime Minister was making statements betraying his ignorance of Sabah history and Sabah rights.   "For example he, just like the PKR supremo Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, didn't know that Sabah's autonomy was a special arrangement promised before the formation of Malaysia. If the federal leaders are still this ignorant, or feigning ignorance, then we are bound to lose a lot more with this redelineation exercise.   "There is also the real danger that the Barisan Nasional will use this exercise to strengthen its grip on the two states, which it considers to be its fixed deposits. I commend Upko for its strong stance, but it should be consistently fighting for Sabah rights from now on. It should also ask itself up to what limit it will fight for Sabah rights. Will Upko be daring enough to leave BN if the coming redelinenation exercise will not adhere to the spirit of the Malaysia agreement?" Jambun asked.

PM Najib: BN has to adapt to remain relevant Posted: 25 May 2013 02:29 PM PDT (The Star) - Change is imminent and Barisan Nasional has to adapt if it wants to continue to be relevant, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. He said the political landscape would continue to undergo significant change due to several factors. "Among the elements that will bring forth changes are urbanisation, better standards of living and access to information and communication technology. "Nothing is constant. Whether it is quick or not, change will happen," said Najib at a thanksgiving event with members of Pekan Barisan's election machinery here Sunday. He said that was why the party had to adapt its strategy and change with the times. "We cannot assume what we used before will be a suitable recipe for the future. We must be open, be pragmatic not dogmatic, solve problems and not deny them. Only if we act this way, Barisan will continue to be relevant," said Najib. Najib said with each elections, the ruling party would face even tougher challenges. "The fact that we are in power now does not mean it is a passport to our victory forever," he said.

Election Commission promises utmost transparency in redelineation exercise Posted: 25 May 2013 02:22 PM PDT Many people are unaware of how the review is conducted and merely believe some political parties which accuse us of not doing our job in accordance with the law. (The Star) - The Election Commission (EC) will begin a review of the country's electoral boundaries by the end of this year, and has assured the public of "utmost transparency" in the exercise. EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said the commission would display the draft of its redelineation to the public for registered voters, state governments and local councils to present their views and objections before submitting the final report to the Dewan Rakyat for approval. (see graphic) "This exercise will be conducted according to the utmost level of transparency before going to Parliament to be debated, so there is no question of us trying to conceal anything from the people," Wan Ahmad said when contacted. He said that any proposed redelineation of electoral boundaries would require the approval of a simple majority in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat. The creation of any new constituencies would require two-thirds support. Asked whether new constituencies would be created, he said: "Logically, there should be more seats because there have been so many new voters since the 12th general election." According to Article 113(2)(ii) of the Federal Constitution, the redelineation of the constituencies must be made within a period of not less than eight years and not more than 10 years from the completion of the previous review. Wan Ahmad said the Federal Constitution provided a maximum of two years for the commission to complete the review. The last redelineation exercise was completed in March 2003, and while the next review should have started in March 2011, the EC decided to postpone it because it was preparing for the 13th general election. Responding to allegations that the EC would attempt to gerrymander the electoral boundaries to favour Barisan Nasional, Wan Ahmad said: "Many people are unaware of how the review is conducted and merely believe some political parties which accuse us of not doing our job in accordance with the law." On why small urban constituencies have more voters than large rural seats, Wan Ahmad said it was to ensure that voters in urban, semi-urban and rural constituencies all had reasonable access to services by their elected representatives and local councils. Citing an example, Wan Ahmad said the parliamentary constituency of Puchong had 107,010 voters but residents enjoy good access to services and the elected representative can travel throughout the constituency within a few hours by car. The parliamentary constituency of Silam in Sabah, on the other hand, has only 51,662 voters but is remote and is as large as Negri Sembilan and Malacca combined, he added. "To ensure equal voter weightage, we will have to widen the boundary of Silam even further and this would be unfair to the voters as it would make it even harder for them to get service of their elected representatives and local council who will have even more ground to cover," Wan Ahmad said. On why Putrajaya, which only has 15,791 voters, was considered a single parliamentary constituency when its neighbouring constituencies had more voters, Wan Ahmad said: "This is because the constituency of Putrajaya was formed not by a redelineation exercise but by an Act of Parliament following the establishment of the administrative capital. "It is therefore not possible to merge Putrajaya with any of its neighbouring parliamentary constituencies." Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Pakatan MPs would not support the boundary redelineation exercise although two-thirds majority is not required for the exercise (unless it involves creation of new constituencies). He alleged that the EC had lost its credibility and was complicit in electoral frauds, and as such, Pakatan did not recognise its legitimacy.

Anwar: Yes, we instigate the people Posted: 25 May 2013 02:13 PM PDT The opposition leader says that Pakatan Rakyat instigates the people to defend their rights and stand up against 'robbers'. RK Anand, FMT Since the 2008 electoral battle, which left the mandibles of Barisan Nasional agape with horror, Malaysia continues to remain trapped in the jaws of election mode. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak exacerbated the situation when he kept dropping hints of a snap polls but instead chose to dissolve Parliament upon the completion of his five-year term. Now after the 13th general election, which saw BN suffering an even bigger setback, the election mood still grips the nation, with the opposition claiming that fraud had prevented it from capturing federal power. And last night, thousands of vehicles clogged the major arteries here, bringing traffic to a crawl, as more than 50,000 people packed Dataran PJ opposite Amcorp Mall for a pro-Pakatan Rakyat rally. In the evening, less than 3,000 braved the blistering heat to listen to the various NGO leaders' spirited speeches while volunteers went around collecting donations since the organisers claimed that funds were needed to settle the PA system bill. Down the road at the Civic Centre, PKR was holding its annual congress while the pathways leading to Dataran PJ were littered with stalls selling opposition merchandise, food and drinks. But as the sun began to set, droves of people dressed in black came pouring into the field. Soon the blaring of vuvuzelas and rapturous cheers shattered the tranquility of the night. The familiar sight of party flags as well as banners and placards denouncing the Election Commission, Najib and BN flooded the field. Despite Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's stern warnings with regard to the gathering, police presence was minimal, with the majority being traffic policemen. 'The government is afraid' "The government is afraid… the slightest provocation by the police could set the nation on fire and that is why you don't see the FRU and water cannons. "The people are angry [over the alleged election fraud]… So testing their patience would not be wise and BN knows this," said Kevin Thanaraj, a 28-year-old chemical engineer. His friend, Darren Teoh, argued that the rallies were getting tiresome and wanted the opposition to take more drastic measures. "Yes, the people are angry. But the opposition cannot expect us to keep attending rallies, sing songs and hear the same things over and over again for the next five years," said the 34-year-old businessman. Asked what he would propose, Teoh, without the slightest hesitation, replied: "The time has come to take these protests out of the fields and stadiums… It is time to take them to the streets." Overhearing the conversation, law student Hafiz Iskandar, 23, cited the famous phrase, "Bila tipu pilihanraya, kita turun jalanraya [When there is cheating in the polls, we must take to the streets]." "I have attended four rallies so far, and I am tired of blowing the vuvuzela, my mouth hurts. This is not a fun-fair… It is a serious issue and serious action must be taken," he stressed. READ MORE HERE

MCA: Asset strippers and plumbers within? Posted: 25 May 2013 02:07 PM PDT The latest tension within the party hierarchy on the proposed Matang-Scope affair is a good reason for the re-introduction of the CBOT to the party. Stanley Koh, FMT There is a certain hypocrisy and controversy in the latest proposed Matang-Scope merger involving MCA's financial arm, Huaren Holdings Berhad. The ongoing proposed merger between Scope Industries and Matang Holdings Bhd had minority shareholders crying foul and alleging bad faith over the proposed deal. Scope Industries is an electrical and electronic manufacturer while Matang Holdings Berhad is a property investment company that was established some 36 years ago. Huaren Holdings is the largest capital shareholder in Matang, having 10.72 per cent or 12.864 million shares. With 19,984 shareholders, most of them are in Johor (81.48%) followed by Selangor and Malacca. Spokesman for the minority shareholders Wong Pang Nam, who has since left Matang as financial controller, had claimed that he was kept in the dark and disallowed to be engaged in the negotiation on the proposed merger. Wong, in his formal written complaints to the relevant authorities, listed five major grievances, the main one over the market value figures on the assets held by Matang Holdings. According to claims by the minority shareholders, the valuation on the assets (properties) of Matang indicated a shortfall or difference of RM48.45 million, assessed by their respective professional market consultants engaged separately by the disputed parties. The disputed parties have also engaged their respective solicitors. In a statement through its solicitors, the Matang Board of Directors had denied they acted in bad faith or have failed to discharge their fiduciary duties to the shareholders of Matang. The prevailing dispute is not only an embarrassment but has put the party leadership into the public's spotlight on the hypocrisy and double standard of its leadership in tackling its own backyard on investment matters when it had frivolously attacked the Pakatan-led Selangor government over the disputed valuation of landed assets of Talam Corporation. On the political front, besides blaming the party president Dr Chua Soi Lek for the MCA's disastrous electoral showing, his critics are raising questions as to why an outgoing president and his key officials are pursuing investment opportunities for the party's financial arm when they should in fact leave it to the impending new MCA leadership expected to emerge in a few months' time. This they argued would be consistent to the tough stand undertaken by Chua and his core group when they had similarly challenged and opposed the proposal for a Board of Trustees in 2008 on the ground that outgoing Ong Ka Ting presidential office should leave the matter to the newly elected incoming leadership. Then, Ka Ting's detractors objected to the proposal for a Central Board of Trustees (CBOT) to manage the party's movable and immovable assets believed to worth some RM1.5 billion at that time. CBOT's objectives were to ensure more transparency in investment decision-making and a collective accountability in managing the party assets. It would also have diluted the powers of the party president in relation to the management of party assets and custody of the party's funds. It was not surprising that those who objected the CBOT proposal were backers of Chua. Introduce CBOT now Perhaps this is the time again for MCA to bring back the CBOT proposal. The latest tiff within the party hierarchy on the proposed Matang-Scope affair is a good reason for the re-introduction of the CBOT to the party. The proposal to set up a central board of trustees would be a positive move to rationalise or prevent the power abuses of the president's office in making investment decision-making. It would also involve key signatories, including the party treasurer and the secretary general, in managing party assets and party funds. That will definitely require a major review and overhaul in the party's constitution, specifically referring to the Article 146 and other related provisions pertaining to managing the party's assets. "Many in the party seemed to have forgotten or perhaps have not learned any lessons over the party's decision to acquire Nanyang Siang Pau group of companies which split the party into two major factions," a party insider said. READ MORE HERE

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