| Heat on EC as irregularities become a dime a dozen Posted: 14 May 2013 01:03 PM PDT 
A montage of photos of some of the incidents that was perceived to be wrongs committed or permitted by the EC during GE13.Maria Dass, fz.com THE Election Commission's (EC) independence and fairness and the conduct of its officers have been questioned for as long as I can remember. I covered my first general election (GE) as a journalist in 1999, and 14 years later the allegations and complaints have become more profound and disturbing. Varying from unknown voters registered at a certain address; phantom voters; foreigners voting with Malaysian identity cards; incentives to mark 'X' in the box of a particular party; legitimate voters discovering someone had already voted on their behalf; postal voters being told by superiors whom to vote for; results at the counting centre changing after so called additional "ballot boxes" appearing, especially after some mysterious blackout. These are among the long list of alleged discrepancies heard over the years. And over the last week, they have been the topic of conversations at every other breakfast, lunch, dinner, wedding and birthday gathering. The difference in the 13th General Election (GE13), however, is that the public, seemingly fed up with EC's lack of will to resolve these problems, decided to take matters into their own hands, resulting in ugly incidences, and innocent people getting hurt. An acquaintance was made to sing Negaraku to prove he was Malaysian, and not a Bangladeshi, while another voter told me her first person's account of how two men, suspected of being Bangladeshis, were roughed up by a crowd at a polling station in Klang. There was even a commotion outside the Lembah Pantai counting centre to stop what the public thought were "suspect" ballot boxes from being brought into the centre. In Jerantut, Pahang, counting agents for Damak state seat independent candidate Koh Boon Heng, refused to allow the EC to move ballot boxes from the counting centre as they suspected foul play during the vote-counting process. While I do not agree with the high-handed methods adopted by some, especially with regards to the manhandling of suspected dubious voters/foreigners lining up to vote at some centres, it is obvious that this stems from too much mistrust and suspicion following a rising number of irregularities. Read more at: http://fz.com/content/heat-ec-irregularities-become-dime-dozen |
| A few intriguing situations 2 Posted: 14 May 2013 12:45 PM PDT  
If the representation is not effective, then it really does not matter whether there are Chinese ministers inside, since if they are not effective or dare not speak against fellow UMNO ministers, then they may even be presenting a wrong picture to the whole cabinet. Dr. Hsu Second intriguing question is that will there be Chinese representation in the cabinet and state excos? This is because MCA and Gerakan have decided not to accept any cabinet positions in view of their poor performance in this election. To answer this, we must look back and see how effective the past Chinese representation has been. Chinese representation were mainly from Chinese based parties such as MCA, and multiracial parties such as Gerakan and SUPP. The best gauge would be the community's reaction to those who are representatives inside. The fact that the community has rejected these parties shows that the representation has not been effective in channeling what the community needs and wants. The perception among the public is, apart from OTK who went against Bn culture by digging into the PKFZ (though he was not the one exposing it), the Chinese ministers are yes men, and are only there for their self interest. Even the deputy of Dong Zhong, the Chinese educationist grouping, openly stated in newspapers that "better not to have them than to have them inside". This reflects the views of many. Personally, I agree that if the representation is not effective, then it really does not matter whether there are Chinese ministers inside, since if they are not effective or dare not speak against fellow UMNO ministers, then they may even be presenting a wrong picture to the whole cabinet. Even as early as in the 50s, this type of misrepresentation has happened. There was a MCA executive secretary then name Tan Tong Hye (later known as Mohamad Tahir Tan), this is what wikipedia said about him ( and the Tunku too had mentioned this in one of his books): In May 1954, an UMNO-MCA Alliance delegation composed of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak and Tan arrived in London to demand for an effective elected majority in the new Federal Legislative Council. The MCA president, Tan Cheng Lock, could not make it because he would not travel by air. He authorized Tan Tong Hye to represent him in the talks. For the trip, Tan was instructed by MCA to hand a memorandum issued by the MCA and Chinese educational bodies opposing colonial education policy over to the British Undersecretary of State for Colonies, Oliver Lyttelton . But Tan did not hand over the memorandum… Tan did not pass to the British the memorandum of the Chinese education bodies then. One might wonder what would be the course of history if he had passed the memorandum to the British government; would there be a policy more inclined to the aspiration of the Chinese community, noting that at that time, there was no internet and social media from which the British could get feedback, other then from MCA which purportedly represented the Chinese community. So an ineffective representation may lead to disinformation and misinformation. (What TH Tan did was a form of disinformation to mislead the British, why he did so, there were many theories). Read more at: http://hsudarren.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/a-few-intriguing-situations-2/ |
| Selepas PRU isu perkauman lebih menebal Posted: 14 May 2013 12:37 PM PDT 
DAP walaupun perlembagaannya adalah 'multiracial', penampilannya masih rasis. DAP mempunyai lebih dari 90 ADUN dan 38 ahli parlimen yang menang, muka Melayu tidak sampai pun empat orang. Aspan Alias Saya menyebut dalam posting saya yang lepas yang kita telah banyak belajar dalam pilihanraya ke 13 yang baru lepas ini. Satu lagi isu ialah isu rasis dan tuduh menuduh di antara BN dan Pakatan terutamanya DAP. UMNO kata DAP rasis dan DAP pula menuduh UMNO itu rasis. Bagi saya ini adalah isu pasca pilihanraya kerana sekarang timbul isu penipuan yang dilakukan oleh BN dalam PRU yang lepas. Isu perkauman menjadi-jadi selepas PRU ini masing-masing pihak menuduh di antara satu dengan lain sebagai parti rasis.
Apa yang saya belajar sejak setahun dua yang lalu sehingga saat ini saya sudah tidak mempercayai lagi isu rasis ini akan selesai dengan mudah kerana isu itu adalah alat mainan politik kedua-dua belah pihak. Selagi ada penawaran untuk mentadbir negara setiap lima tahun sekali isu rasis ini akan tetap timbul kerana tiada kejujuran masing-masing untuk membinasakan isu rasis buat selama-lamanya.
UMNO, MCA dan MIC dikatakan rasis kerana kewujudan parti-parti itu berdasarkan kepada bangsa masing-masing. Jika dikumpulkan ketiga-tiga parti ini sebagai satu gagasan iaitu BN tadi, maka BN juga adalah sebuah parti yang formal kewujudannya sebagai 'multiracial'. BN itu pendeknya adalah multiracial.
Pakatan Rakyat tidak pernah terdaftar sebagai satu parti dan DAP, PAS dan PKR itu berdiri di atas identiti masing-masing. DAP itu dikatakan sebuah parti 'multiracial' kerana perlembagaannya membolehkan bangsa lain termasuk orang Melayu sendiri seperti saya menyertai parti itu. Jika dibandingkan di antara BN dan DAP, 'apple to apple', BN adalah lebih 'multiracial'. Di sebaliknya DAP hanya mempunyai peruntukan dalam perlembagaannya yang membolehkan setiap bangsa menyertai parti itu tetapi parti itu menampilkan sifat parti yang jauh daripada parti 'multiracial'.
Pada praktisnya, DAP dikuasai oleh kaum Cina dan seorang dua Melayu di dalamnya sudah menjadi persepsi ramai sebagai 'window dressing' dan dalam politik itu merupakan perkara biasa. Hanya apabila seseorang itu membuat penilaian politik dan akademiknya sahaja yang tahu hakikat yang sebenarnya. Peruntukan perlembagaan dengan keadaan sebenarnya adalah berbeza dan lama kelamaan rakyat akan dapat menghidunya.
Tetapi itu bukanlah satu kesalahan DAP. Jika DAP bergiat untuk menjadi parti 'multiracial' dan dikuasai kaum Cina itu adalah haknya untuk berbuat demikian, lebih-lebih lagi sebelum pilihanraya yang baru lepas ini. Situasi semasa itu seolah-olah Pakatan Rakyat akan mendapat kemenangan besar dan akan berkuasa. Maka DAP terlupa yang mereka adalah parti 'multiracial' kerana keseronokan menunggu mendapat kuasa buat pertama kalinya. Tetapi hanya satu perkara yang perlu diperbaiki dalam parti ini iaitu, jangan buat 'preaching' bahawa parti itu multiracial tetapi hakikatnya keadaan 'multiracial' itu tidak wujud. Jika ia wujud pun hanyalah sekelumit sahaja. Oleh kerana masing-masing masih mahukan kekuatan kewujudan mereka berdasarkan kepada kaum tidak ada siapa yang boleh berbuat apa-apa. Buatlah apa yang masing-masing hendak lakukan. Read more at: http://aspanaliasnet.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/selepas-pru-isu-perkauman-lebih-menebal.html |
| Mirror mirror: Which political leader has the most fake followers on Twitter? Posted: 14 May 2013 12:30 PM PDT 
(Meld Magazine) - These days, it's not just the celebrities who have fake followers on Twitter, if the figures that show up on the online application Fake Follower Check are true. HOW do our world leaders fare when it comes to online influence? Hayden Waugh delves into the Twittersphere and investigates the accounts of Barack Obama, Najib Razak, Julia Gillard and more. Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all? These days, it's not just the celebrities who have fake followers on Twitter, if the figures that show up on the online application Fake Follower Check are true. In our comparison of eight political leaders from the US, Australia, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak topped the list for having the largest proportion of fake followers. A recent check using Fake Follower Check showed a whopping 70 per cent of Prime Minister Najib's 1.41 million followers were fake. He was followed by Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at 55 per cent and 54 per cent respectively. 
Comic: CW Vong
Just under half of US President Barack Obama's 13.1 million followers were found to be fake, and for Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, 36 per cent of her 130,680 followers were fake. Those who have done well include Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, with 62 per cent of his more than 25,000 following made up of engaged or "good" followers, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe whose engaged followers numbered at 58 per cent of 81,200. These figures show that perhaps numbers tell only part of the story when it comes to determining popularity and influence. Thomas Tudehope, social media expert from social@Ogilvy and former advisor to Australian Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband Malcolm Turnbull, says Twitter users can easily purchase followers starting from 100 and upwards to 10,000 followers at varying prices. Read more at: http://www.meldmagazine.com.au/2013/05/world-leaders-fake-followers/ |
| Najib’s new Cabinet to have ‘familiar faces’, more Umno men Posted: 14 May 2013 12:22 PM PDT 
One likely to make a comeback is Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor (TMI) - The new Cabinet to be announced tomorrow will have a familiar look and loaded with Umno lawmakers, with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak having one eye on this year's party polls. One likely to make a comeback is Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor, the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno secretary-general who gained notoriety several years ago for allegedly fixing judicial appointments during the Mahathir era. Also on the shortlist is Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, the former Terengganu mentri besar who together with Tengku Adnan is a member of the BN war room that planned the coalition's Election 2013 campaign. Another member of the war room, Rompin MP Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis, could also be rewarded with a Cabinet post, sources said today. But they said that no losers in the general election will be appointed to the Cabinet through appointments as a federal senator. The Cabinet list is being scrutinised with interest on expectations that they have to be in line with Najib's drive for reforms after getting his own mandate in the May 5 general elections. There has been speculation that he would also opt for newer and younger faces to push his reform agenda outlined under the BN manifesto and various socio-economic initiatives since he took power in 2009.  One polarising figure in the discussion for a Cabinet position is Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.The names of two state companies chiefs, Malayan Banking Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar and Khazanah Nasional Berhad's managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar have also been bandied about but there is strong sentiment in Putrajaya that by virtue of winning 88 federal seats, Umno must be rewarded.
One polarising figure in the discussion for a Cabinet position is Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin with strong push back from the Mahathir camp, arguing that his baggage from the Abdullah years will be a liability. In his corner is Najib who believes that Khairy, who tripled his majority from 5,746 votes in Election 2008 to 18,357 in this year's polls, will be important in tackling social media and coming up with strategies to win the young. Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/najibs-new-cabinet-to-have-familiar-faces-more-umno-men/ |
| Ini bukan artikel RACIST Posted: 14 May 2013 12:16 PM PDT 
Niat sebenar DAP iaitu mewujudkan lebih banyak kawasan parlimen Cina melalui kempen bawah sedar "Satu Orang, Satu Undi, Satu Nilai" kepada rakyat Malaysia. Paneh Miang 1. Tidak adillah kalau nak kata semua Cina racist. Sahabat Cina kami yang sama belajar di Sekolah Kebangsaan, yang fasih bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa Kebangsaan, yang selalu pakai baju kurung hari Jumaat, yang hormat dengan agama Islam sebagai agama Persekutuan, serta faham akan batas serta hak Melayu/Bumiputera dan kaum-kaum lain etc. tak sepatutnyalah digelar racist.
2. Walaupun hanya 10.8% atau 565,672 undi Cina telah memihak kepada Barisan Nasional di PRU-13 berbanding jumlah pengundi Cina berdaftar di Malaysia yang mencecah 3.87 juta; sekaligus membuktikan bahawa lebih 3 juta undi Cina telah memihak kepada Komplot Pembangkang di PRU-13; maka takdelah "racist sangat Cina ni"...kan?
3. Tambahan pula jumlah 565,672 undi Cina kepada Barisan Nasional adalah kurang separuh berbanding 1.3 juta ahli berdaftar parti MCA. Maknanya ahli MCA sendiri pun tak sokong BN...pun takdelah racist juga kan?..kan?
4. Lagipun, mungkin lebih 3 juta pengundi Cina yang mengundi Komplot Pembangkang di PRU-13 hanyalah Cina yang tak fasih berbahasa Melayu, malah ada yang langsung tak tahu cakap bahasa Melayu, pastu nak cover tak tau cakap Melayu...dibantainya cakap English; yang belajar di sekolah berjenis-jenis, yang 99% kehidupan hariannya hanya bergaul dengan kaum sespesis, yang menghina Islam, yang suruh perlahankan azan, yang padam semua tulisan jawi di signboard jalan, yang nak masukkan kalimah Allah dalam Al-Kitab (bukan bible bahasa Indonesia seperti di Sabah/Sarawak), yang memperjuangkan hak sama rata semua kaum (adil bukan bermaksud sama rata), yang menyokong pluralisme agama dan LGBT, yang halau Melayu balik kampong, yang mengamalkan nepotism dalam parti, CEO Flight bangang yang tak nak beli slot iklan dalam Utusan etc; pun masih tak racist juga Cina ni kan?..kan?..kan?
5. Sungguhpun berjuta undi Cina telah memihak kepada Komplot Pembangkang di PRU-13, namun kami kurang setuju apabila pemimpin BN mengatakannya sebagai 'Chinese Tsunami', tetapi lebih sesuai rasanya dikatakan sebagai 'Urban Tsunami'.
6. Kami ambil contoh di Negeri Sembilan, kebanyakan peti undi yang BN kalah, atau nyaris kalah (undi sedikit) adalah di kawasan yang ramai pengundi luar, iaitu pengundi yang menetap atau bekerja di bandar (urban) seperti di Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Perak dan Penang. Malah antara negeri yang BN menang tipis atau kalah seperti Kedah, Terengganu, Perak dan Kelantan juga memiliki jumlah pengundi luar (urban) yang ramai.
7. Harap selepas ini BN akan buat analisa terperinci di setiap peti undi terutama di kawasan yang BN menang tipis atau kalah di PRU-13. 8. Komplot Pembangkang kini sedang menghangatkan isu Undi Popular vs Undi Electoral sepertimana gambarajah di atas yang banyak dikongsi dalam laman MukaBuku. Malah isu Undi Popular ini dijadikan modal oleh Komplot Pembangkang untuk meng'halal'kan mereka berdemonstrasi 505. Tapi kami taklah berminat nak ulas perbezaan antara Undi Popular dan Undi Electoral sebab dah ramai yang ulas pasal tu. Cuma sengaja juak pembangkang ni buat-buat dungu tak faham sebab nak jadikannya isu bagi menarik simpati rakyat Amerika dan Israel.
9. Kalau masih tak tahu mengapa Malaysia mengiktiraf Undi Electoral berbanding Undi Popular, bolehlah rujuk sana, atau sini, atau nak lebih ringkas dan padat lagi di sinun.
10. Kami hanya ingin fokus pada sisi kecil yang kurang di'highlight' oleh gambarajah di atas, tetapi 'jarum'nya telah disuntik sekian lama secara halus ke dalam minda rakyat Malaysia, terutama kepada generasi muda Pribumi; 11. Jika anda perasan, kebanyakan kempen DAP sejak PRU-10 pada 1999 ialah "Membahagikan kerusi parlimen dengan lebih sama-rata", dan "Satu Orang, Satu Undi, Satu Nilai". Malah DAP juga kerap mengeluarkan kenyataan mengenai persempadanan semula kawasan pilihanraya berteraskan prinsip "satu orang, satu undi, satu nilai", serta menubuhkan jawatankuasa bagi tujuan itu. Boleh rujuk kenyataan DAP di sini dan di sinun.
12. Persoalannya, adakah orang Melayu/Pribumi terutama generasi muda faham makna tersirat dalam kempen DAP "Satu Orang, Satu Undi, Satu Nilai"? Read more at: http://paneh.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/ini-bukan-artikel-racist.html |
| Rallies? Demonstrations? Stop This Madness! Posted: 14 May 2013 12:11 PM PDT 
PR must push for reforms in the proper way and let's hope they could capture Putrajaya in 2018 with a two-third majority and change the law. Art Harun Art Harun asks everyone to hit him. Kinky. I am going to be unpopular with this post. But I feel strongly about it and I just have to put my thoughts on this issue. I know there are many many videos of buses allegedly ferrying foreigners to polling stations on 5th May, the polling day. There are reports of "Bangladeshis" or people who look like Bangladeshis/foreigners being interrogated while lining up to cast their votes. There are also videos of people who are supposedly being paid off by what appeared to be agents of Barisan Nasional. And almost 95% of netizens, I dare say, conclude that there was massive fraud during GE13. We therefore attended rallies to question the GE results. Anwar Ibrahim vows not to stop rallying until the BN is forced out of Putrajaya. Today I read somewhere a threat to "go to the streets" to force BN out. Frankly, I think this is SHEER MADNESS. The election laws are there. You have 21 days from the gazette of the results to file election petitions. Proof your case in the election courts and get the results annulled. It is as simple as that.
I know. I know. The Courts cannot be trusted, right? haven't we heard of this before? This is the same Court which acquitted Anwar Ibrahim; the same Court which held Utusan Malaysia to be liable for defamation on countless occasions; the same Courts which annulled JAWI's action against Borders; the same Courts in which Rosli Dahlan won his case etc etc. The election laws are tough, that I know. They are tough because the basic premise is that the result which is being challenged is a result of VOTING. Therefore unless there are cogent reasons and reasons which could stand the scrutiny of the laws, that results stand and MUST STAND. So, if there is evidence — evidence which satisfies the burden of proof — then by all means, file a petition and get it heard. Many of us confuse things. There are two issues here: Read more at: http://www.loyarburok.com/2013/05/14/stop-this-madness/ |
| Authorities revoking work pass of Malaysian who participated in illegal gatherings Posted: 14 May 2013 12:09 PM PDT 
(Today Online) - The police reiterated that Singapore "does not take sides in the politics of other countries, and will work with whoever forms the government there". The authorities are revoking the work pass of a Malaysian who was involved in both illegal gatherings over Malaysia's election results at the Merlion Park on Wednesday and Saturday last week. Out of the 21 Malaysians who participated in last Saturday's gathering, the visit passes of two others have also been cancelled, the police said in a statement late last night. "As for the remaining 18 persons, their work passes will be reviewed upon completion of further investigations," it added. The police will also be issuing "stern conditional warnings" to all those who participated in last Saturday's gathering. "Their employers will be informed of this. This follows the conditional warnings issued to nine persons who took part in the illegal gathering at the same location on May 8," it said. Read more at: http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/authorities-revoking-work-pass-malaysian-who-participated-illegal-gatherings |
| ‘Boycott pro-Pakatan Kuok firms’ Posted: 13 May 2013 09:55 PM PDT 
It accuses the tycoon of funding Pakatan Rakyat and practising racial discrimination. K. Pragalath, FMT The Muslim Consumers Association today called for a boycott of five businesses owned or partly owned by tycoon Robert Kuok, accusing him of racial discrimination. Nadzim Johan, who heads the association, said the boycott would affect the Pappa Rich and Old Town White Coffee restaurant chain, Sri Murni oil, Marina fish products, Massimo bread and two flour brands produced by a Kuok company. "It's a selective boycott," he said, adding that the action was endorsed by several other NGOs. He accused Kuok of siding with Pakatan Rakyat in the recent general election and "contributing" to the deterioration of race relations. "We have information from staff of certain companies that their companies have provided funds for Pakatan," he said. Nadzim appeared to be blaming Kuok and Pakatan for what he said was a souring of relations between the Malays and the Chinese. "We spoke to former Malacca chief minister Mohd Ali Rustam who worked closely with the Chinese community. He said that during his election campaign they don't even look at him," he said. He added that the boycott was also intended to prevent PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim from "further inciting the rakyat" and DAP from making use of Chinese Malaysians to "obtain power". READ MORE HERE |
| The wheat from the chaff Posted: 13 May 2013 08:37 PM PDT 
Now, just like many of you, I was ecstatic in March 2008 when Pakatan Rakyat won five states and managed to deny Barisan Nasional its two-thirds majority in Parliament by winning 82 of the 222 parliamentary seats. Then things began to take a turn and things were no longer honky-dory and peachy-rosy. We began to detect some characteristics of Barisan Nasional in Pakatan Rakyat. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin (The Malaysian Insider, 14 May 2013) - The results of the recent general election show that Umno is as strong as ever despite Barisan Nasional losing the popular vote, according to a Straits Times (Singapore) report today. Writing in the Singapore daily, James Chin, a senior visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Iseas), argued that many Malaysians are misreading the situation and think that Umno is weak. He said Umno today is as strong as it was in 1971, adding that it is BN that is dying, not Umno. "The Malay heartland, all in rural areas, backed Umno and that is why it increased its number of parliamentary seats and why there is an Umno-alone government in Kuala Lumpur today," he wrote. Chin said it has become increasingly clear in the past two decades that Umno is now BN and BN is Umno. Umno accounts for just less than half of Cabinet ministers. In Parliament, the overwhelming bloc within BN is always Umno. In 2008, Umno won 79 seats out of BN's 140. This year, Umno won 88 out of BN's 133 seats. In percentage terms, this translates to 56 per cent and 66 per cent respectively. "Today after 56 years of independence, Umno still controls the rural Malay mind. Yes, it is true Umno has lost control over large sections of the Malay community in urban areas. Under Malaysia's electoral system, it is the rural seats that decide the federal government, not urban seats. Urban seats account for less than a quarter of Malaysia's 222 parliamentary seats while about 150 seats are Malay/Bumiputera-majority seats," he wrote. Chin argued that Umno is unlikely to reform in time for the 14th GE, and does not need to. "As long as the first-past-the-post system continues to allot disproportionate weight to rural voters, all Umno has to do is to keep the fire of Ketuanan Melayu and Ketuanan Islam burning brightly in rural Malaysia," he said. ******************************************** I am not going to repeat what I have already written in parts 1-11 in my series of post-May 5th articles in The Corridors of Power. Just read the parts marked red above, which reinforces what I have already said. I will just say: I rest my case. Now read the news item below regarding former British Cabinet minister Chris Huhne. People ask me what the hell I want. I whack Barisan Nasional. Then I whack Pakatan Rakyat. They tell me that I must make up my mind and decide which of the two I support. I need to support one and whack the other. I cannot whack both at the same time and not support either one. Well, that is how the mind of a third-world citizen works. And, as Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said, Malaysia has first-world infrastructure but people with third-world mentality. And even back when Pak Lah said that (at the time he was still the Prime Minister) I agreed with him and said so openly (even though I opposed him with zeal). Yes, just because we may disagree with the man that does not mean we must disagree with everything he says. When he is right we agree and when he is wrong we disagree. Okay, before I go on, I have titled my article today 'The wheat from the chaff'. This means 'to choose what is of high quality over what is of lower quality' or 'to choose the things or people that are of high quality from a group of mixed quality'. In short, as I have said many times before, we avoid pouring old wine into a new bottle. Now, just like many of you, I was ecstatic in March 2008 when Pakatan Rakyat won five states and managed to deny Barisan Nasional its two-thirds majority in Parliament by winning 82 of the 222 parliamentary seats. Then things began to take a turn and things were no longer honky-dory and peachy-rosy. We began to detect some characteristics of Barisan Nasional in Pakatan Rakyat. That was in 2010. We soon found out that corruption was being perpetuated in the new Pakatan Rakyat state governments. You may argue that the corruption is not as serious as when these states were under Barisan Nasional. There may be some corruption, but it is 'small' corruption, not 'big' corruption, like in the federal government. Okay, the corruption may be small, you may say. Agreed! But it is small only because Pakatan has been in power for only two years (in 2010) and they are running just a few states and not the federal government. Do we want to wait 50 years when the corruption is already cancerous before protesting? Would that not be too late and would not too much damage have been done by then? We found out that certain Pakatan Rakyat leaders were collaborating with big-time businessmen who are actually Barisan Nasional cronies and who made hundreds of millions ripping off the country with the help of Umno/Barisan Nasional. We found out that the sand-mining scam, which used to be an Umno cash cow, is now a PKR cash cow. We found out that the PKR lawyers and their cronies/families are getting legal work at higher prices than what the non-crony/family lawyers would have charged. Furthermore, the invoices for the legal work were based on lump-sum figures with no details or breakdown. Do you know that Anwar Ibrahim wanted Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim to pay John Soh Chee Wen RM2 million, the outstanding rental on PKR's headquarters, but Khalid refused to do so? Now you know why 'they' are so angry with Khalid Ibrahim and accuse him of being so tight-fisted (kedekut) -- because he refuses to use or abuse state government money to pay for the party's expenses. Khalid should be given a medal rather than vilified and called a lame duck. And all that is merely the tip of the iceberg. Many more 'funny' things are going on which many of you are not aware of. However, if I were to list down all the transgressions, you will scream 'fitnah' and will demand proof. On the legal fees involving the PKR lawyers I did publish the evidence. But what happened after that? Yes, what happened after that? Tell me! As the Malays would say: Dah malas nak cakap! You people can go on and believe what you want to believe. No need for me to say anything any more. Okay, now look at the news report below. A British Cabinet Minister, Chris Huhne, was sacked and was sent to jail together with his wife for a mere traffic offense. That's right, a mere traffic offense. Yet he lost his job and got sent to jail. Now, Chris was a Member of Parliament for Eastleigh and a Minister from my party, the Liberal Democratic Party. In the by-election, however, Lib Dem won back that seat (so it looks like the voters forgave us for that 'mistake'). So you see, in the UK, we jail a Minister and his wife for just a traffic offense. And Chris is finished. Kaput! His political career has been totally destroyed. In Malaysia, however, we select them to, again, contest the 2013 general election and allow them a second term. I have not seen Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim's list of EXCO Members but I am prepared to bet that some of these crooks and scoundrels are going to, yet again, be appointed EXCO Members. And I shudder to imagine who will be on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's Cabinet Minister list. And you want me to declare whom I will support and whom I will whack, is it? You cannot understand why I whack both and don't support either, is it? You cannot understand why I want politicians, even if they are Ministers, to be sent to jail for a mere traffic offense, is it? Well, you cannot understand because you are dishonest. You have no principles. You will scream when it comes to Barisan Nasionals' corruption but you will tutup mata (close your eyes) when it comes to Pakatan Rakyat's corruption. And don't give me that crap about Malaysia is not the UK and Malaysia is not ready for such 'high standards' and all that other nonsense. There is no such thing as 'right time' and 'wrong time' to be honest. Either you are honest or else you are a crook. No two ways about it. And also don't start asking that stupid question that you always ask me: so you want us to reject Pakatan Rakyat and choose Barisan Nasional, is it? That is another third-world mentality type of question. I am asking you to separate the wheat from the chaff irrespective of political affiliations. And if you don't get this then you deserve the government you currently have. ******************************************** Former UK minister and ex-wife freed from prison (AP, 13 May 2013) - LONDON: Former British Cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce have been freed from prison after each serving two months of their eight-month sentences. The pair had been convicted of charges stemming from a 2003 speeding ticket. Pryce had told authorities she was driving even though her then-husband was at the wheel. The 58-year-old Huhne had pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice; Pryce was convicted after a trial. Pryce, 60, said in a statement Friday she is pleased to be home and looks forward to returning to her career as an economist. Former Energy Secretary Huhne did not offer an immediate comment. Many experts say his political career has been virtually destroyed by the speeding ticket scandal. |
| Selepas PRU isu perkauman lebih menebal Posted: 13 May 2013 06:37 PM PDT 
BN dan DAP, jika kita nilai 'apple to apple' BN secara 'relative'nya lebih 'multiracial' sedangkan DAP walaupun perlembagaannya adalah 'multiracial', penampilannya masih rasis. DAP mempunyai lebih dari 90 ADUN dan 38 ahli parlimen yang menang, muka Melayu tidak sampai pun empat orang. Aspan Alias Saya menyebut dalam posting saya yang lepas yang kita telah banyak belajar dalam pilihanraya ke 13 yang baru lepas ini. Satu lagi isu ialah isu rasis dan tuduh menuduh di antara BN dan Pakatan terutamanya DAP. UMNO kata DAP rasis dan DAP pula menuduh UMNO itu rasis. Bagi saya ini adalah isu pasca pilihanraya kerana sekarang timbul isu penipuan yang dilakukan oleh BN dalam PRU yang lepas. Isu perkauman menjadi-jadi selepas PRU ini masing-masing pihak menuduh di antara satu dengan lain sebagai parti rasis. Apa yang saya belajar sejak setahun dua yang lalu sehingga saat ini saya sudah tidak mempercayai lagi isu rasis ini akan selesai dengan mudah kerana isu itu adalah alat mainan politik kedua-dua belah pihak. Selagi ada penawaran untuk mentadbir negara setiap lima tahun sekali isu rasis ini akan tetap timbul kerana tiada kejujuran masing-masing untuk membinasakan isu rasis buat selama-lamanya. UMNO, MCA dan MIC dikatakan rasis kerana kewujudan parti-parti itu berdasarkan kepada bangsa masing-masing. Jika dikumpulkan ketiga-tiga parti ini sebagai satu gagasan iaitu BN tadi, maka BN juga adalah sebuah parti yang formal kewujudannya sebagai 'multiracial'. BN itu pendeknya adalah multiracial. Pakatan Rakyat tidak pernah terdaftar sebagai satu parti dan DAP, PAS dan PKR itu berdiri di atas identiti masing-masing. DAP itu dikatakan sebuah parti 'multiracial' kerana perlembagaannya membolehkan bangsa lain termasuk orang Melayu sendiri seperti saya menyertai parti itu. Jika dibandingkan di antara BN dan DAP, 'apple to apple', BN adalah lebih 'multiracial'. Di sebaliknya DAP hanya mempunyai peruntukan dalam perlembagaannya yang membolehkan setiap bangsa menyertai parti itu tetapi parti itu menampilkan sifat parti yang jauh daripada parti 'multiracial'. Pada praktisnya, DAP dikuasai oleh kaum Cina dan seorang dua Melayu di dalamnya sudah menjadi persepsi ramai sebagai 'window dressing' dan dalam politik itu merupakan perkara biasa. Hanya apabila seseorang itu membuat penilaian politik dan akademiknya sahaja yang tahu hakikat yang sebenarnya. Peruntukan perlembagaan dengan keadaan sebenarnya adalah berbeza dan lama kelamaan rakyat akan dapat menghidunya. Tetapi itu bukanlah satu kesalahan DAP. Jika DAP bergiat untuk menjadi parti 'multiracial' dan dikuasai kaum Cina itu adalah haknya untuk berbuat demikian, lebih-lebih lagi sebelum pilihanraya yang baru lepas ini. Situasi semasa itu seolah-olah Pakatan Rakyat akan mendapat kemenangan besar dan akan berkuasa. Maka DAP terlupa yang mereka adalah parti 'multiracial' kerana keseronokan menunggu mendapat kuasa buat pertama kalinya. Tetapi hanya satu perkara yang perlu diperbaiki dalam parti ini iaitu, jangan buat 'preaching' bahawa parti itu multiracial tetapi hakikatnya keadaan 'multiracial' itu tidak wujud. Jika ia wujud pun hanyalah sekelumit sahaja. Oleh kerana masing-masing masih mahukan kekuatan kewujudan mereka berdasarkan kepada kaum tidak ada siapa yang boleh berbuat apa-apa. Buatlah apa yang masing-masing hendak lakukan. Pendeknya di antara kita semua ini jangan lagi bermain dengan isu rasis ini kerana nampaknya kedua-dua belah pihak masih rasis jika dipandang dari sudut yang berlainan. Bagi saya hanya PAS sahaja yang tidak pernah menyebut tentang isu rasis kerana parti itu hanya mengutamakan isu Islam dalam perjuangannya yang tidak mengira kaum dan cara hidup masing-masing. PAS juga telah menurunkan beberapa orang calon dari agama lain baru-baru ini bagi membuktikan bahawa Islam itu adalah agama yang memimpin semua pihak, samada dari segi bangsa dan agama. Tujuan saya menulis isu ini ialah untuk meminta semua jangan menuduh di antara satu dengan lain sebagai rasis, kerana pada hakikatnya semuanya ada isu rasis. Yang membezakannya hanyalah dari sudut mana kita melihatnya. |
| In the aftermath of May 5th (part 11) Posted: 13 May 2013 05:20 PM PDT 
They recently did a poll in Pakistan and 11% voted in favour of a democracy, 22% in favour of military rule, and 53% in favour of the Khalifah system. The Khalifah system would basically mean a Monarch as the head of religion plus head of the nation. "What has Pakistan got to do with Malaysia or the Malays?" you may ask. Well, many Malay ulama' (religious scholars) received their education in India/Pakistan (Nik Aziz Nik Mat included). THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Umno relying more on rural Malay support, says writer (The Malaysian Insider, 14 May 2013) - The results of the recent general election show that Umno is as strong as ever despite Barisan Nasional losing the popular vote, according to a Straits Times report today. Writing in the Singapore daily, James Chin, a senior visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Iseas), argued that many Malaysians are misreading the situation and think that Umno is weak. He said Umno today is as strong as it was in 1971, adding that it is BN that is dying, not Umno. "The Malay heartland, all in rural areas, backed Umno and that is why it increased its number of parliamentary seats and why there is an Umno-alone government in Kuala Lumpur today," he wrote. In his article, he gave a rundown of the evolution of Umno from its formation in 1946 under various leaders including Datuk Onn Jaafar, Tun Abdul Razak and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and how the party has changed over the years. Chin wrote that the flaw in Dr Mahathir's Malay state building was the scourge of money politics. "With so much money flowing out of the government into selected Umno elite, the competition became so intense that the only way to get support was to 'buy' support." He said money politics in Umno was tolerated because it did not contradict Malay or Islamic dominance of the system. As long as the money did not threaten Umno or Ketuanan Melayu, it was seen as a necessary evil for the functioning of Umno. Chin also wrote that despite losing the two-thirds parliamentary majority in the 2008 general election, Umno failed to tackle the corruption issue or move to the middle ground. It cared only about control over Malay minds and control of the federal government. He argued that reforms undertaken after 2009 were mainly cosmetic and in the economic arena; real political reforms did not take place and that is why the urban polity rejected Umno this year. "For example, on the issue of Ketuanan Melayu, rather than deal with it, the party simply 'subcontracted' the work to Perkasa, a Malay right-wing organisation established after 2008." He said the urban public did not buy the argument that Umno had reformed when Perkasa's president and deputy president became BN candidates this year. It became clear that Umno would not change its political leanings. Chin said it has become increasingly clear in the past two decades that Umno is now BN and BN is Umno. Umno accounts for just less than half of Cabinet ministers. In Parliament, the overwhelming bloc within BN is always Umno. In 2008, Umno won 79 seats out of BN's 140. This year, Umno won 88 out of BN's 133 seats. In percentage terms, this translates to 56 per cent and 66 per cent respectively. "Today after 56 years of independence, Umno still controls the rural Malay mind. Yes, it is true Umno has lost control over large sections of the Malay community in urban areas. Under Malaysia's electoral system, it is the rural seats that decide the federal government, not urban seats. Urban seats account for less than a quarter of Malaysia's 222 parliamentary seats while about 150 seats are Malay/Bumiputera-majority seats," he wrote. Chin argued that Umno is unlikely to reform in time for the 14th GE, and does not need to. "As long as the first-past-the-post system continues to allot disproportionate weight to rural voters, all Umno has to do is to keep the fire of Ketuanan Melayu and Ketuanan Islam burning brightly in rural Malaysia," he said. ********************************************** Najib to have an audience with Agong tomorrow for approval on new cabinet line-up (Bernama, 14 May 2013) - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is scheduled to have an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah at Istana Negara here at noon tomorrow to get approval for his new Cabinet line-up. According to the statement issued by the Prime Minister's Department today, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had agreed that ceremony to present letters of appointment, as well as for the appointed ministers and deputy ministers to take the Oath of Office, Loyalty and Secrecy be held at the palace at 9.30am on Thursday. ********************************************** Well, there you have it. Khalid Ibrahim has been sworn in as the Menteri Besar of Selangor for a second term and Azmin Ali, who called Khalid a lame duck (mainly because Khalid tunduk or kowtow too much to DAP and PAS), has openly supported Khalid (not that he has any choice in the matter). What Azmin is not happy about, according to him, is that Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail did not check with him first before replying to His Highness the Sultan's letter when he (Azmin) is the Director of Elections for Selangor. After all, the candidates contesting the general election are within his (Azmin's) authority so he should have the final say as to who amongst the winners go where. Khalid was very coy about his list of EXCO Members, though. He would not reveal whom he is going to propose as EXCO Members, only saying that his list is ready. The issue is, Khalid first needs to get the Sultan's approval before he makes his announcement. Most likely His Highness will approve the list, unlike in Kelantan where the Sultan wanted some names removed, Husam Musa amongst them. The question is, the Sultan is merely a Constitutional Monarch, so does the Menteri Besar need to get the Sultan's approval? Can't the Menteri Besar announce it first and, as a formality, just inform the Sultan as to what has already been decided? And if the Sultan is not happy or does not approve the EXCO list, can the Menteri Besar go ahead anyway even if this meets the Sultan's displeasure? A lawyer such as Malik Imtiaz Sarwar or Tommy Thomas would probably argue that it is within the Menteri Besar's power and authority to appoint the EXCO Members of his choice and the Sultan does not have the power and authority to interfere in the running of the government. Furthermore, the Sultan must swear in the Menteri Besar that has been decided by the party with the most number of seats in the State Assembly and His Highness cannot reject this candidate. On point of law plus according to the Constitution this would most likely be very true. The Ruler must take the advise of the Menteri Besar (or the Agong the advise of the Prime Minister). Remember what the First Agong, His Majesty Tuanku Abdul Rahman said: the Prime Minister (Tunku Abdul Rahman) can remove me but I can't remove the Prime Minister. Hence that sums up the 'relationship' between the Rulers and the Chief Executives. However, we are not just talking about the law or the Constitution here. We are talking about Malay tradition/culture and Islam as well. And that is what many non-Malays do not seem to understand about the Malay psyche. The law/Constitution takes second place to adat dan agama (tradition and religion). And we have to understand that the Menteris Besar (in those states that have Monarchs) are Malays/Muslims first and politicians second. Hence they just cannot sidestep adat and agama even if doing so would be sidestepping the law and the Constitution instead. After all, the Monarchs are what the Malays would call Raja-Raja Melayu (Rulers of the Malays) and Ketua Agama (Head of Religion). Bernama reported, "Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is scheduled to have an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah at Istana Negara here at noon tomorrow to get approval for his new Cabinet line-up." So, it seems the Prime Minister, too, needs the 'approval' of His Majesty the Agong before announcing the Cabinet line-up. So, again, the Prime Minister has to be Malay/Muslim first and politician second. And he needs the 'nod' of His Majesty the Agong before doing something or else he would not do it. Malaysian politics is a very complicated animal. Malay politics is an even stranger animal. Malay politics does not follow 'rules'. It follows sentiments, emotions, adat and agama. And this is what one needs to understand to be able to win the battle of the hearts and minds of the Malays. They recently did a poll in Pakistan and 11% voted in favour of a democracy, 22% in favour of military rule, and 53% in favour of the Khalifah system. The Khalifah system would basically mean a Monarch as the head of religion plus head of the nation. "What has Pakistan got to do with Malaysia or the Malays?" you may ask. Well, many Malay ulama' (religious scholars) received their education in India/Pakistan (Nik Aziz Nik Mat included). Hence they are indoctrinated or influenced by the Indian Continent's brand of Islam. People like Hadi Awang, of course, received his education from Medina and Cairo. Nevertheless, they still subscribe to the Khalifah system and aspire to one day see Malaysia become a Caliphate (although they agree that would not be something you can see now but must be a plan for the future). If you were to poll, say, 10,000 Malays, you will find that 60% regard themselves as Muslims first, 30% as Malays first, and just 10% will say they are Malaysians first. So how do you handle these types of people? The fallacy is those ultra-Muslims are mainly people from the rural areas or from the Malay heartland. In other words, these are kampong Malays who are less educated than the urban Malays. That is where you are wrong. There are more ultra-Muslims amongst the professionals living in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Damanasara, Bangsar, etc., than you thought. This may surprise you but most of my Malay friends living in the 'up-market' residential areas in the big towns and cities have 'disowned' me because of my 'liberal' views. They cannot accept the fact that I propagate the rights of apostates and gays. So, Malays living in multi-million ringgit homes in gated communities and driving BMWs are not as 'modern' as you may think. In fact, they are even more intolerant of liberalism compared to the Malays in the rural areas. And the more affluent the Malays become, the more religious they become as well, and the more intolerant they are of liberalism. And most of them vote for PAS, not for Umno. Does that surprise you? Well, how then do you explain why PAS can win in a place like Shah Alam, a city that is predominantly 'wealthy' Malay, while Umno can win in a 'backward' place like Gua Musang? And I will bet you RM10,000, if Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah contests in Shah Alam against Khalid Samad, PAS will still win. Hah! You thought you understood the Malays, did you? The 'upper crust' Malays are not as anti-corruption as you thought. They are more pro-Islam. |
| Muslim lawyers see red over Christian ‘Allah’ prayer poster on Facebook Posted: 13 May 2013 03:51 PM PDT 
(TMI) - An evangelical church group's Facebook message calling Christians to pray for "Allah's blessings" on the country has riled up a group of Muslim lawyers who are demanding state Islamic bodies act against what they have branded a "criminal" offence against their creed. The Muslim Lawyers Society of Malaysia (PPPMM) today accused the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (NECF) of committing "criminal" blasphemy against Islam by misappropriating the name of the Islamic god for their purposes, even as the dispute is being heard in the Court of Appeal. "It is an offence for any party to deliberately and continuously use Allah and a few other words with roots from Islam in the context of a non-Islamic religious for any purpose. "The NECF poster that has clearly misused the sacred name of Allah is obviously a criminal action and breaches the Schedule of (Section 9) Part I of the Enactment that forbids the use of the name of Allah as well as other Islamic terms by non-Muslims," PPPMM president Datuk Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar said in a statement. 
Claiming to have received numerous complaints from various non-governmental Islamic organisations, Zainul urged the respective state Islamic departments and councils to file police reports to pressure the government to act against the church. In its Facebook page, the umbrella body representing the country's evangelical churches urged, in the national language, all churches and Christians to "embrace, love and bless the country with Allah's presence and power". The same message was also carried in English and Chinese. Under a project it called "Malaysia My Home", the NECF urged believers in the faith to put prayer and action together for God's blessing to institute "real and lasting change for our communities". READ MORE HERE |
| Pakatan to fight ‘seditious’ calls to abolish vernacular schools, says DAP Posted: 13 May 2013 03:44 PM PDT 
Ida Lim, TMI Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will protect vernacular schools from being abolished after suggestions were made that their continued existence had affected national unity and contributed to Chinese voters overwhelmingly backing the opposition, the DAP said today. The PR party's secretary-general Lim Guan Eng was referring today to a recent call by Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Arshad to abolish the schools where Mandarin and Tamil are the main languages of instruction. Lim (picture) said the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) pro-chancellor's remark amounted to sedition. "Abdul Rahman's call for the abolition of Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools in favour of a single stream school is seditious and a BN MP, Mark Koding, was even convicted of sedition in 1982 for making the very same suggestion in Parliament in 1978," Lim said in a statement. He said the Federal Constitution protects vernacular schools and education in the mother tongue, citing Article 152 (1) (a) and (b) of the country's supreme law. "For this reason, PR and DAP are ready to fight legally in courts and seek support from all Malaysians — Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban and Kadazan — to protect Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools from being abolished by Umno supporters like Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Arshad," the Bagan MP said. Last Sunday, Abdul Rahman had reportedly said that vernacular schools presented a barrier to unity within the country, saying that the 13th general election showed that there was no unity in Malaysia and there was greater racism now. He noted that the different ethnic groups did not mix around enough as most of the Chinese and Indian communities attend vernacular schools, while few of them are sent to national schools. "It would be best that we have a single stream using Malay language in order to improve unity," he was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini at a forum titled "GE13 post-mortem: Muslim leadership and survival." READ MORE HERE |
| Sultan Selangor beri 3 sebab lantik Khalid sebagai MB Posted: 13 May 2013 03:37 PM PDT 
(Bernama) - Sultan Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah hari ini memberikan tiga sebab mengapa baginda berkenan melantik Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim sebagai Menteri Besar Selangor bagi penggal kedua selepas pilihan raya umum ke-13 (PRU13) pada 5 Mei lepas. Setiausaha Sulit baginda, Datuk Mohamad Munir Bani dalam satu kenyataan berkata baginda berkenan melantik Abdul Khalid sebagai Menteri Besar sebab ketua-ketua parti komponen Pakatan Rakyat iaitu Pas, DAP dan PKR mengemukakan hanya satu nama iaitu Abdul Khalid sebagai calon menteri besar. "Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim juga memenuhi semua syarat yang diperlukan bagi jawatan Menteri Besar Selangor seperti mana diperuntukkan di bawah Undang-undang Tubuh Kerajaan negeri Selangor 1959," katanya. Mohamad Munir berkata satu lagi sebab ialah Sultan Selangor berpendapat Abdul Khalid pernah menjadi menteri besar sebelum ini dan pengalamannya boleh membantu melicinkan pentadbiran kerajaan negeri. Beliau menjelaskan bahawa kelewatan melantik menteri besar ialah kerana Sultan Selangor menunggu calon-calon menteri besar dikemukakan oleh ketiga-tiga parti itu. "Di samping itu, Presiden PKR Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail pernah menyatakan sebelum pilihan raya bahawa calon menteri besar tidak semestinya Abdul Khalid apabila PR memenangi Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13. "Justeru itu, Sultan Selangor menunggu parti-parti komponen PR mengemukakan calon menteri besar dan akhirnya berpuas hati bahawa hanya seorang calon yang dikemukakan," katanya. |
| Ahmad Maslan cabar pembangkang jemput SPR beri penjelasan Posted: 13 May 2013 03:24 PM PDT 
(Bernama) - Ketua Penerangan Umno Datuk Ahmad Maslan (gambar) mencabar pembangkang menjemput Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) memberi penjelasan terhadap isu yang dibangkitkan mereka mengenai pilihan raya umum ke-13. Katanya langkah itu lebih baik daripada pembangkang terus menyebarkan pelbagai dakwaan dan tohmahan terhadap institusi tersebut sehingga menimbulkan kemarahan orang ramai, terutama penyokong mereka. "Kalau SPR boleh pergi ke majlis anjuran Umno, sudah tentu SPR akan pergi ke majlis yang dianjur oleh parti-parti lain," katanya kepada pemberita selepas mempengerusikan taklimat kepada ketua-ketua penerangan cawangan, bahagian dan sayap Umno, serta badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) bersama SPR, di sini hari ini. Anggota Parlimen Pontian itu juga yakin SPR akan menjawab sebaik mungkin isu yang dibangkitkan seperti pengundi hantu dan dakwaan lampu padam pada sesi dialog tersebut, sekali gus menghentikan penyebaran fitnah yang berleluasa terhadap institusi berkenaan. Pada masa yang sama Ahmad menyarankan SPR membawa pihak yang memfitnah mereka ke muka pengadilan. "Tiada salahnya mereka saman mana-mana NGO atau pihak yang buat fitnah kerana segala-galanya ada bukti seperti di suratkhabar milik pembangkang atau rakaman ucapan pihak pembangkang. "Jangan biarkan fitnah bermaharajalela sampai rakyat fikir kerajaan hari ini tidah sah. Tuduhan itu berikan nama buruk kepada SPR dan mencemarkan nama Malaysia di dalam dan luar negara," katanya. Sehubungan itu beliau berkata jentera penerangan Umno akan menjelajah ke seluruh negara bagi memberi penjelasan kepada rakyat mengenai dakwaan pembangkang berkenaan. |
| GE13 and the politics of urban chauvinism Posted: 13 May 2013 03:07 PM PDT 
I will conclude with three suggestions. First, in general, urban chauvinism should be avoided and resisted by all parties — politicians, pundits and especially thoughtful scholarly analysts. Simplistic portrayals of a rural-urban divide and denigration of "uninformed, uneducated" rural folks should not pass for intelligent analysis. Eric C. Thompson, The Malaysian Insider As pundits and political analysts dissect the outcome and meaning of the 13th general election (GE13), one prominent explanation for the results has been a supposed gulf between urban and rural voters. As one online commentator put it: "The urban-rural divide was clear. Pakatan won votes from all races and religions in the urban areas while BN retained their rural base. It is an election result between urban and rural, West Malaysia versus East Malaysia, between the better educated, better informed versus the lesser educated and lesser informed." Similarly, the Wall Street Journal's (Asia Edition) front-page story of May 8 described the result by stating: "…the vote was heavily split between Malaysia's thriving cities, which largely voted for opposition parties, and rural, mostly ethnic-Malay areas that threw their support behind Mr Najib…" The idea that the GE13 vote reflected a divided society, split between urban and rural inhabitants, has been echoed through many other online and print forums. It is a simple — and simplistic — explanation for a very complicated electoral result. And it reiterates a politics of urban cosmopolitan chauvinism that I have observed in Malaysia and elsewhere, dating to at least the 1990s. The last and only time I have been in Malaysia on Polling Day itself was in 1995, now nearly two decades ago. That was a year when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Barisan Nasional were riding high on the pre-1997 economic boom, before Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's dismissal from Umno and subsequent "Reformasi" movement. In the process of following that election — among other things, attending and collecting cassette tapes of PAS ceramahs — I observed the particular ways that the figure of "orang kampong" (villagers) was dealt with in the elections (Thompson 2013). Dr Mahathir, at least since the publication of "The Malay Dilemma" (1970), had championed a distinctively urban-oriented path to economic development and prosperity. Rural Malays, in Dr Mahathir's published opinion, were (quite literally) inbred and backwards. The early 1990s catch-phrase and concept of the "New Malay" (Melayu Baru) reiterated the idea that the only way for the Malay race to succeed would be through urbanisation ("membandarkan Melayu") and championing of a new breed of Malay entrepreneurs (Muhammad 1993). In that climate, PAS positioned itself as the champion of kampung folk against an urban, corporate ("korporat") Umno elite. While Umno and by extension Barisan Nasional (BN) held certain rural "strongholds," it was by no means seen as a rural-based party. If anything, supposedly conservative, rural kampung folk were seen as the backbone of the PAS electorate — with overwhelmingly rural and conceptually remote Kelantan cast as ur-PAS territory. Now in 2013, the rhetoric of rural-urban difference is cast very differently. Post-election analysis suggests that urban areas support progressive change while rural voters are stuck in old habits, clinging to patronage politics. In its most provocative form, as suggested by the first quote above, the country is divided between urban, better educated, better informed voters and rural, less educated, less informed ones. Such rhetoric is both misguided and wrong. It is misguided, as far as opposition aspirations go. It is wrong in so far as it reiterates stereotypes of rural backwards and rural-urban difference in a Malaysia where substantive rural-urban difference is fast dissipating. With regard to opposition aspirations, there is a serious danger that the rhetoric of urban chauvinism may become entrenched among activists — particularly those affiliated with PKR. PKR has sought to challenge Umno as a "centrist" force in Malaysian politics. PKR takes a moderate line vis-Ã -vis the role of Islam in politics and society, in contrast to PAS. And it has sought to avoid association as a party championing communal, racial interests, in contrast to the DAP, which despite efforts to the contrary is seen as a "Chinese" party. PKR's problem is that it is seen as a party of urban, elite, intellectuals, mainly interested in contesting Umno and BN hegemony, not for the sake of the rakyat (ordinary citizens) but as one urban elite group (the Anwaristas) trying to wrest power from the Umno old-guard. Rather than simply casting the rakyat who live outside of urban centres as foolish dupes of BN, the better question to ask is: what, if anything, did Pakatan Rakyat (PR) offer to rural citizens of Malaysia? An examination of the PR and BN election manifestos is revealing. The BN, among other things, states explicitly what they have done for those living "luar bandar"; in particular the thousands of kilometres of roads stretching throughout the country. By contrast, the PR manifesto is very thin when it comes to plans or promises to non-urban constituents. While, on the one hand, it speaks explicitly to taxi drivers and other urban interest groups, the only rural constituents that the PR manifesto addresses directly or in any detail are Felda settlers, who make up only a small part of the rural Malaysian electorate. READ MORE HERE |
| Khalid Ibrahim sworn in as Selangor MB Posted: 13 May 2013 03:00 PM PDT 
Clara Chooi, TMI After a week of speculation, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim finally received his appointment letter from Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah this morning and was sworn in for his second term as state mentri besar. According to The Star Online, the PKR leader arrived at Istana Alam Shah in Klang at around 9.40am for the brief ceremony. An official from Khalid's office was yesterday quoted as saying that the dispute over who should be the next leader of the country's richest state had ended with the latter's name selected as the best person for the job. "The exco line-up is already prepared," Khalid was also quoted by state news agency Bernama as telling reporters at the Bukit Kayangan palace in Shah Alam yesterday. "We target two weeks at the latest and a week at the earliest for the new exco to be appointed," he added. Khalid's political secretary Faekah Husin later confirmed with The Malaysian Insider that his swearing-in ceremony would take place at Istana Alam Shah in Klang this morning. The DAP and PAS have endorsed Khalid as Selangor mentri besar, amid claims by PKR deputy president Azmin Ali that Khalid's candidacy had bypassed the democratic process. Pakatan Rakyat (PR) won a two-thirds majority in the Selangor state assembly in the May 5 general election by taking 44 of the 56 state seats. PKR, however, won only 14 seats while the DAP and PAS took 15 each. READ MORE HERE |
| Mufti Perak dakwa bukan Melayu taksub perkauman, gunakan Anwar untuk jajah Melayu Posted: 13 May 2013 02:51 PM PDT 
(TMI) - Mufti Perak Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria telah menuduh bukan Melayu sebagai taksub perkauman dan menggunakan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim untuk menjajah Melayu. Mengikut naratif dimulakan golongan kanan Umno, beliau memberitahu Utusan Malaysia bukan Melayu marah kerana rancangan mereka untuk menjajah "kita" tidak berjaya.Utusan Harussani (gambar) tidak menamakan kaum mana yang beliau maksudkan akan tetapi mengulangi menggunakan perkataan "mereka" sebagai rujukan kepada dakwaannya untuk menjajah Melayu. "Ini sebenarnya bukan politik sahaja tapi taksub perkauman. Bila kehendak sendiri tak tercapai yang jadi mangsa rakyat. Mereka ikut sertai dia membantah supaya dapat jajah kita, hapuskan Perlembagaan tapi rancangan mereka tak jadi begitu, ini yang mereka marah. "Mereka undi Melayu langsung tidak, kita pula tolong mereka kalahkan Melayu. Tetapi tetap kalah dan bila begitu, kata tak betul," katanya dipetik dari akhbar berbahasa Melayu Utusan Malaysia. Kumpulan berhaluan kanan dalam Umno, termasuk Utusan Malaysia telah berusaha untuk mewujudkan pertarungan antara masyarakat Cina dan Melayu susulan keputusan pada Pilihan Raya 2013 baru-baru ini. Pihak polis ketika ini sedang menyiasat Utusan Malaysia kerana menghasut selepas akhbar tersebut menghasilkan artikel "Apa lagi Cina Mahu?" serta menuduh pengundi Cina cuba melakukan provokasi kaum dengan mengundi menentang BN. Utusan Malaysia juga mengeluarkan beberapa artikel lain seperti "Golongan Muda Cina Monopoli Persahabatan haram" dan "DAP Terus Cetus provokasi", serta mengeluarkan gambar pemuda Cina membantah di perhimpunan baru-baru ini di Pulau Pinang dan Petaling Jaya bagi menuntut pilihan raya bebas dan adil. Naib presiden Perkasa kontroversi Datuk Zulkifli Noordin, juga merupakan calon langsung Barisan Nasional (BN) yang tewas di Shah Alam dalam Pilihan Raya 2013, membuat tuduhan Lim Kit Siang bertanggungjawab dalam insiden berdarah tersebut dalam mesej yang dihantar di Twitter pada malam ulangtahun ke 44 rusuhan tersebut semalam. READ MORE HERE |
| The fantasy of Anwar Ibrahim? Posted: 13 May 2013 02:36 PM PDT 
Methinks Anwar Ibrahim suffers from more than a wish to become PM through normal election (democratic) process, though of course there is definitely that. I hypothesized he entertains a fantasy, one where he leads a rousing cheering adoring crowd of hundreds of thousands who will storm Putrajaya with him, garlanded of course and lifted onto their adulating shoulders, to become the head of the nation. KTemoc Konsiders It's the usual kaytee 'methinks'.
I appreciate Anwar Ibrahim must be downright disappointed by Pakatan Rakyat not winning majority rule in the recent general elections, more so when he had vowed to retire if his side didn't win majority rule. And it's a vow he has recently backtracked from, citing he still has mucho "unfinished work" to be done. For nearly 15 years, this man has waited for his moment, to fulfil what he believes to be his destiny, to become PM of Malaysia.
But alas, time and time again, fate (and elections) failed him. Did he make the vow to retire in an optimistic belief that surely this time, fate couldn't be that cruel again and he would triumph?
He is obviously and totally dismayed and demoralized by the outcome of GE-13, and his defiant stand finds sympathies nationwide what with the public lack of trust in the EC's integrity and impartiality ...
... aggravated by the Commission's lack of professionalism, for example, in the so-called indelible ink affair, with the Chairman and his deputy not only making implausible excuses but constantly changing them - eg. from the initial 'staff didn't shake the bottle properly' to 'deliberate dilution of the ink's indelible properties to meet Islamic ablution requirements' (if so, then why bother with the indelible ink when by its dilution the EC has deliberately make it not indelible?) to the most idiotic of all, that 'the erase-ability of the so-called indelible ink didn't matter as the voters won't be able to vote the following day', etc - and that's only one of EC's numerous problems with its lack of professionalism. Nonetheless, I do have concerns with Anwar's rolling series of Perhimpunan Blackout 505.
The first at Kelana Jaya was a success and I believe the message or point to be made on Pakatan's disagreement, dissatisfaction and disgust with the conduct of the polls has been made in a very powerful and inescapable notice.
But like all good things, overdo it and the powerful message will lose its impact. Along the way, earlier sympathies gained will gradually or even swiftly leached away, leaving behind growing irritation at the rallies.
PAS has indirectly shown its disenchantment with Anwar's style of protests in Harakah's Blackout 505: PAS serah kepada negeri where its top leadership has diplomatically left participation to the discretion of the party's state leaders, meaning PAS central leadership doesn't support it. It's obvious Pak Haji is distancing himself from Anwar's continuing protest rallies. READ MORE HERE |
| Why PAS lost Kedah to BN Posted: 13 May 2013 02:27 PM PDT 
BN state communications chairman Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah claims that the people are fed up with PAS who didn't deliver when they were running the state. By Azli Jamil, FMT The people's disillusionment over the bickering PAS administration, a well-managed campaign by Barisan Nasional and the Mukhriz Mahathir factor, are the main reasons why BN won Kedah back from Pakatan Rakyat in the 13th General Election. BN walked away from a successful campaign with wins in 21 out of 36 state seats and 10 out of the 15 parliamentary seats in the state. By comparison, BN only managed four parliamentary seats and 14 state seats in the last GE. "The people are fed up with PAS who didn't deliver when they were running the state," BN state communications chairman Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah told The Malaysian Reserve yesterday. "People were not impressed with what PAS had done when it was in power." "Now BN will do its utmost to deliver what it promised in its AkuJanji manifesto. People of Kedah also felt that PAS needed to prove that they were capable and not only to rely on their name. "Kedah is not like Kelantan. We are more flexible and people are not too fixated on PAS," said a Kedahan politician who declined to be named. He said many Kedahans are also proud that the state has produced two prime ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman and Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who are both from BN. During its five year administration of the state, PAS did not do its cause any favours by frequently providing fodder for the newspaper about mismanagement, internal strife and disunity even within the state government. Mahathir's son, Mukhriz, giving up his parliamentary seat to contest and win the state seat of Ayer Hitam was also seen as a factor which swayed voters because he is seen as able to attract big projects to the state. One day before GE13, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced that Mukhriz would be appointed mentri besar if BN were to win Kedah. READ MORE HERE |
| ‘BN will be toppled this year’ Posted: 13 May 2013 02:21 PM PDT 
A massive street rally is being planned to overthrow the ruling government. "We will mobilise a big group and rally on the streets. This is not a threat, this is a promise," he stressed. Lisa J. Ariffin, FMT Pro-Pakatan Rakyat groups have vowed to overthrow the Barisan Nasional government this year through a massive street rally. Speakers at a forum held yesterday unanimously agreed that waiting for five years until the next general election was too long, and vowed to overthrow BN this year through "force". The street rally is rumoured to be as early as May 17 or 18 to overthrow BN and capture Putrajaya. "We will take to the streets and take over Putrajaya. If we really want to overthrow them, there is no other way. Democracy does not work," Haris Ibrahim from ABU (Anything But Umno) told the 1,500-strong crowd here. "The people cannot wait anymore. We don't want to wait another five years. We will take the streets," he added. PKR vice-president and Batu MP Tian Chua mirrored Haris' cry to overthrow BN through force, and said it was the people's choice. "The decision to wait another five years or fight is not the right of Pakatan leaders, the results during the polls were not of Pakatan… but the rakyat's," he said.
'This is not a threat, it is a promise' Meanwhile, student leader Adam Adli Halim challenged the authorities to arrest him for urging the public to overthrow the government. READ MORE HERE |
| Kamarul Baharin punca kekalahan Posted: 13 May 2013 02:17 PM PDT 
Pakatan Rakyat bukan sahaja gagal mengambil alih Negeri Sembilan malah jumlah kerusi DUN yang dimenangi pada PRU13 juga merosot. (FMT) - Negeri Sembilan sering disebut-sebut sebagai negeri yang bakal tumbang ke tangan Pakatan Rakyat (Pakatan) sebelum Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 (PRU-13). Walaubagaimanapun setelah PRU yang paling sengit dalam sejarah tanahair berakhir, Pakatan bukan sahaja gagal mengambil alih Negeri Sembilan malah jumlah kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) yang dimenangi juga merosot berbanding pencapaian tahun 2008. Kalau pada PRU-12, tahun 2008, Pakatan menang 15 kerusi DUN, kini tinggal 14 kerusi DUN sahaja di Negeri Sembilan. DAP mencatat keputusan paling cemerlang apabila menambah dari 10 DUN (2008) kepada 11 DUN (2013). DAP menang di semua 11 DUN yang ditandingi iaitu Chennah, Bahau, Nilai, Lobak, Temiang, Bukit Kepayang, Rahang, Mambau, Senawang, Lukut dan Repah. PKR pula yang menang empat DUN pada tahun 2008, hanya mampu mempertahankan tiga DUN sahaja iaitu Sikamat, Chuah dan Port Dickson. DUN Ampangan yang dimenangi pada PRU-12 kini terlepas ke tangan Barisan Nasional (BN). PKR bertanding di 13 DUN pada PRU-13. PAS pula kalah di semua 12 DUN yang ditandingi termasuk DUN Paroi yang merupakan satu-satunya DUN dimenangi oleh parti itu pada tahun 2008. FMT menerima satu email daripada seorang yang mahu dikenali sebagai 'Demi Rakyat Negeri Sembilan' (DRNS). Beliau berhujah lengkap dengan gambar rajah analisa; memberikan argumentasi dan punca kekalahan Pakatan di Negeri Sembilan. DRNS mendakwa pada 21 Februari 2013, pemimpin PKR Negeri Sembilan ada menghantar email kepada semua pimpinan pusat PKR iaitu Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Nurul Izzah Anwar, Tian Chua, Fuziah Saleh, Saifuddin Nasution dan Dr. Abdul Rahim Ghouse. DRNS menyatakan pandangan akar umbi bahawa meletakkan Datuk Kamarul Baharin Abbas (Ahli Parlimen Telok Kemang) di kerusi DUN dan mempromosi beliau sebagai Menteri Besar Pakatan Rakyat Negeri Sembilan akan menyebabkan kemerosotan undi. Kemerosotan undi akan bukan sahaja di kerusi-kerusi yang ditandingi PKR tetapi juga yang akan ditandingi oleh rakan Pakatan yang lain khususnya PAS. Ketika itu, analisa menunjukkan kejatuhan sekitar tujuh peratus jika meletakkan Kamarul Baharin sebagai calon DUN/calon Menteri Besar Pakatan. Tetapi hakikatnya, penolakan sebenar yang ditunjukkan dalam analisa PRU-13 lebih parah iaitu sehingga mencapai 35 peratus. Bongkak, angkuh dan sombong "Penolakan masyarakat terhadap Kamarul Baharin kerana prestasinya yang amat buruk di Parlimen Telok Kemang dan sikap beliau yang bongkak, angkuh dan sombong. "Menganalisa semula keputusan PRU-13, kemerosotan undi akibat pencalonan beliau di DUN Ampangan untuk membolehkan beliau menjadi Menteri Besar Negeri Sembilan, kesan kemerosotan undi jatuh lebih teruk sehingga 35%. Ini berdasarkan: - Undi majoriti Parlimen Telok Kemang dimenangi Kamarul Baharin: 1,579 undi
- Undi majoriti DUN Port Dickson dalam Parlimen Telok Kemang dimenangi M Ravi: 2,422 undi
- Kemerosotan undi 843/2,422 = 35 peratus.
"Berdasarkan kiraan ini, jika diambil penolakan lima peratus kerana DUN lain yang terbabit di luar Parlimen Telok Kemang sebagai ada kesan jumlah undi semakin berkurangan apabila berada di luar Telok Kemang. Ini mengakibatkan 30 peratus faktor Kamarul Baharin memberikan kesan kepada pengurangan undi kepada Pakatan di Negeri Sembilan. "Analisa ini menunjukkan kekalahan di lima kerusi DUN di Negeri Sembilan adalah kerana penolakan terhadap Kamarul Baharin yang hendak dipromosi oleh Anwar sebagai Menteri Besar Negeri Sembilan. Jumlah keseluruhan kerusi yang sepatutnya diperolehi Pakatan di Negeri Sembilan adalah sebanyak 19 kerusi DUN untuk membolehkan kerajaan Pakatan Negeri Sembilan dibentuk. Ini berdasarkan kemenangan 14 kerusi sedia ada ditambah dengan lima kerusi DUN di atas," kata DRNS. Azmin juga bertanggungjawab DRNS juga berkata Kamarul Baharin selaku Pengerusi PKR Negeri Sembilan dan Timbalan Presiden PKR, Azmin Ali yang juga Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pilihan Raya PKR Pusat (JPRP) harus bertanggungjawab sepenuhnya di atas kegagalan PKR menambah kerusi DUN di Negeri Sembilan. Beliau mendakwa Azmin tidak berhak bercakap soal nepotisme atau kronisme apabila beliau sendiri yang mengamalkan budaya kronisme dalam PKR. "PKR seharusnya menang di DUN Ampangan dan DUN Pilah jika meletakkan calon dari cabang yang telah bekerja dan menyusun jentera di situ sejak empat tahun lepas. READ MORE HERE |
| A Budding Sprightly Spring Posted: 13 May 2013 01:50 PM PDT 
Rallying the people and riling them up will not be enough. They will want to see action, expect a resolution to the claims of cheating. If Pakatan doesn't offer one, how would they feel? What then might be the consequences? Kee Thuan Chye The young are not happy with the result of the 13th general election (GE13) held on May 5. I saw that for myself at the 'Black 505' rally in Penang on May 11, at which most of the participants were young people – of all races. They came by the tens of thousands, carrying Pakatan Rakyat and Malaysian flags, blowing vuvuzuelas … and sporting banners that spoke of the unity they profess: "We are Malaysian – Malay, Chinese, Indian." For them, the race-based politics of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) is anathema. In that sense, the 'Black 505' rallies, which have since been held in Selangor,Penang and Perak to tremendous responses have become more than just demonstrations of disgust at the alleged electoral fraud of GE13; they are also manifestations of a real sense of unity among like-minded Malaysians. This is the kind of unity that BN, despite throwing out billions of ringgit to buy allegiance, cannot possibly engender. In fact, this unity has come about because BN, after its poorest performance at a general election to date, has been playing the racial card wildly. Prime Minister Najib Razak and ex-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and Umno's propaganda rag Utusan Malaysiahave been attempting to demonise the Chinese for BN's own failings. But their devious attempts have backfired on them. Other Malaysians have come forward to defend the Chinese, including even Umno members Saifuddin Abdullah, the former higher education deputy minister, and Shahrir Samad. They point out from clear-cut evidence in the voting patterns that Malaysians of all races voted strongly against BN, not just the Chinese. The popular vote itself spoke resoundingly of more than half the voters' rejection of BN. Indeed, this is the first time in Malaysia's electoral history that the winning coalition obtained less of the popular vote than the loser. Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim knows this favours his coalition, and is milking the voters' dissatisfaction to maximum effect through organising the 'Black 505' rallies. In Selangor on May 8, about 100,000 people showed up for what turned out to be essentially another Opposition ceramah running down BN and the Election Commission (EC) for allegedly colluding in the fraud. But that didn't really matter to the cheering crowd. What mattered most was the sense of community they experienced gathering together to denounce the alleged act of fraud that had denied them a change of government. Those who had been devastated by the GE13 result, those who had cried their hearts out when it was announced – they all experienced catharsis at the Kelana Jaya Stadium in the company of fellow comrades for change. I was there that night, and what heartened me was not the politicians' rhetoric but the spirit of the people. They indicated they were not going to accept the GE13 result meekly, and in their cries of "tipu" (cheating) and "bohong" (lying) was the unmistakable ring of steely determination. It was this that motivated me to attend the Penang rally as well. And what I saw there was basically the same. For starters, the drive from Penang island to the Batu Kawan Stadium on the mainland took nearly three hours as the North-South Expressway was jammed up for several kilometres, but the people in the cars that crawled along with me were apparently too buoyed up to care. Mostly dressed in black, the colour designated for the occasion, they were singular in purpose. Everyone was a friend. The four middle-aged Indian men in a car I passed by, the group of young Chinese in another car with PAS and PKR flags sticking out of it, the young Malays on motorcycles bearing PAS and DAP flags – they smiled, they waved, they raised thumbs-up signs. Everyone was in it together. Everyone recognised in one another their common purpose. Even lorry drivers passing by on the North-South Expressway honked in support. When I got to the Bukit Tambun toll gate, I was amazed to see the number of cars already parked in its vicinity. I asked someone how far more I would have to go to reach the stadium and was told it would be another three kilometres. Many people were willing to leave their cars at the toll area and walk all the way there. I decided to drive on. As I did so, I passed thousands of people walking in an orderly fashion towards the stadium. They were mostly young and in high spirits, headed more for a carnival than for a protest rally. They carried flags, blew vuvuzuelas, sang songs, chanted slogans. There was hardly a policeman in sight; in fact, the police needn't have been there because the marchers were all so disciplined. And the motorcyclists as well. It was about 8.30pm when I reached the stadium and managed to find a parking space. Inside, about 30,000 to 40,000 thousand people had gathered, but as the night wore on, more and more came in. Many others couldn't make it, like my friend and his nephew coming from the island only to find they couldn't cross the Penang Bridge because it was too jammed up. One by one, the politicians came forward to speak, but it was the same old bluster. They accused the EC of being complicit in the fraud, called on Najib to step down, said Pakatan had won the popular vote, that it had won the entire general election. But did it? After drumming up such a frenzy with these rallies, Pakatan must surely have to prove that it did. But can it? I've been told that Pakatan is investigating 27 seats, and numerous lawyers and accountants have volunteered for the job. But will they be able to secure the tabulated results from all the streams of the constituencies whose results are being questioned? Will they be able to get the all-important Borang 14(Form 14) which carries the details of the voting in each stream, validated by all the polling agents present and the ketua tempat mengundi (returning officer)? Will they be able to get all the Borang 14 of all the streams in all the 27 constituencies? Is this what the rallies so far and those to come – in Pahang, Johor andSabah – are leading to? Will they culminate in the presentation of incontrovertible evidence that Pakatan was indeed cheated of victory? Or are these rallies just Anwar's way of trying to drum up a show of strength to boost his cause? A case of taking a gamble and hoping to come up with aces? Ultimately, he must know, rallying the people and riling them up will not be enough. They will want to see action, expect a resolution to the claims of cheating. If Pakatan doesn't offer one, how would they feel? What then might be the consequences? As I thought about this that night while sitting out the jam heading home after the rally had ended, something else distracted me. It was the sight of the rally participants walking back to their vehicles, in the same orderly manner as before. They showed they were not there to create a disturbance; they were there to assert their right – to be heard. And they were united in spirit. It is this that is perhaps the most precious feature of these rallies. And it is this that Malaysia needs to cultivate. If nothing else, Anwar and Pakatan have managed to harness that spirit. And it is perhaps their success in doing so that might exonerate them if nothing comes off in the end. As I watched the young rally participants pass by, still energetic despite the long walk, some reluctant to go home, some still waving banners by the side of the expressway to the encouragement of honking motorists, I felt exhilarated by their refreshing vigour. I felt I was witness to a revolution of the young. A Budding Sprightly Spring. * Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We're All Malaysians, and the latest volume, Ask for No Bullshit, Get Some More! |
| Sir Alex Ferguson's farewell parade in Manchester: 13th May 2013 Posted: 13 May 2013 01:27 PM PDT |
| Tee Keat For Senator? Posted: 13 May 2013 01:13 PM PDT 
(The Malay Mail) - Who among the current crop of Chinese leaders would best be able to represent the community? Following MCA's poor showing in the recent general election, the community is in dire need of leaders able to rise to the challenge and become the voice of the community at national level. Though many from within and outside the party feel current deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai would be able to shoulder the burden, there are concerns as to whether he would be able to do it alone. Rumours have been rife that in recognition of this dilemma, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak may just turn to former MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat to once again jump into the ring, this time as a senator and help garner support. Though sidelined for certain reasons, Ong is still seen as a credible and formidable figure who commands a certain degree of respect from the community. "What is important here is that Ong is liked by the community, which was clearly evident from the support he garnered in the Pandan constituency. With this strong community support, he will be able to play his role in uniting the people. "Ong is among those who has demonstrated an ability to place the people's interests at heart and work relentlessly for them," said a party veteran. By offering Ong a senatorship, he would be able to work from the grassroots level to help rebuild the community's confidence. "Though this process if rebuilding may take more than five years, it will be a strong start. Ong at the moment remains the best bet," said the insider. When contacted, politicians from both BN and the Opposition agreed that from the fold, Ong has the best chance of reaching out to the people. One BN leader, who declined to be named, said it was very likely that Ong would be made a senator. "Look around...who else does MCA have? Liow will need all the help he can get and Ong is the only one who still commands respect in the community," he said. Another name being touted as a people's favourite is Wangsa Maju MCA division chief Datuk Yew Teong Look who, although considered winnable, was also not among the candidates in the recent election. Yew is another stalwart who commands strong support, which was clearly demonstrated in the tremendous backing he received from his dicision and constituents before the candidacy was named. Both Ong and Yew have been singled out by party veterans who feel that these two should be given some role in helping to strengthen and unite the community. "All hope is not lost. The community is still very receptive to good leaders and I am sure names like Ong and Yew will appeal to them. "However, any move for Ong to take up a government position will put him in a quandary, as MCA has said its members will not take up positions. He will be going against his party if he accepts, so how he is going to juggle this will be interesting," the veteran said. Prof Dr Chin Yew Sin, who was appointed by Najib to the MACC consultation and corruption prevention panel, has also been touted as someone with the potential and capability to play a formidable role. Apart from his involvement in numerous NGOs, he also possesses the experience and education needed for such a position. "What the community needs now is a role model. Someone they can look up to and respect...not merely a politician, but a genuine leader," said the party veteran. Another frontrunner for a potential senatorship is former deputy highe education minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, who, despite losing in the recent election, is someone well-liked and respected by all races. Saifuddin is regarded as one of the most sensible, knowledgeable and credible politicians who possesses strong leadership qualities. "He is someone who more than deserves to be part of the government. It would be a loss if someone with his capabilities and calibre is excluded," said a BN leader. |
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