Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Opposition house in disarray?
- We are looking at the fifth estate
- Umno’s missed opportunity
- Fielding Malay candidates: A DAP’s gimmick?
- Umno’s sound and fury a sign of desperation
- Battle for the Malay vote
- The Proton saga continues
- Pakatan, be prepared for the worst
- ABU: Movement of the Rakyat for the Rakyat
- PD’s man in the hot seat
| Posted: 17 Dec 2011 09:49 AM PST The loose coalition appears to be a bit under the weather lately Nasharuddin, who along with Dr Hassan, is widely tipped to be dropped in the next election due to their stand, told Berita Minggu today in an interview that Pas had started to derail from its original struggle. A. Jalil Hamid, New Straits Times IT IS said that Islamic party Pas is having second thoughts about keeping maverick Pas leader Da-tuk Dr Hassan Ali because he is fighting for Islam. In Penang, the mainly Chinese DAP has been rocked by a widening feud between two non-Chinese leaders in the party. Just as the floods are causing havoc in Kuala Lumpur and other parts of the country due to the monsoon, the opposition is a bit under the weather these days. Pas and DAP, the two main parties in the tripartite Pakatan Rakyat, have seen their respective infightings coming out into the open to dominate the front pages in recent weeks. With de facto Pakatan leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim battling his seemingly endless legal woes -- the verdict for his Sodomy II trial is due on Jan 9 -- the opposition alliance is slipping further into disarray despite the imminent general election. Up to now, Anwar's fledgling Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has been the glue that binds the more established Pas and DAP. But it seems more a marriage of convenience because of their contrasting party ideologies. Such unions may not last long. PKR has experienced top-level resignations, the latest being Bukit Gelugor division chief Lim Boo Chang, who resigned from the party and hit out at the DAP-led Penang government. In all, PKR has seen the resignations of six members of parliament, five state assemblymen, a deputy president, a vice-president, a secretary-general and several supreme council members. DAP and Pas have also lately bickered over issues such as the imposition of hudud law, apostasy cases in Selangor, the beer-sale ban in Selangor and the future of the casino in Genting Highlands. The parties, along with PKR, rule Selangor, Penang, Kedah and Kelantan and hold sizeable seats in Parliament after their unprecedented strong showing in the March 2008 election. Critics say the opposition, which struggled to rule those states, began campaigning for the coming general election right after the last election by forcing or diverting the Barisan Nasional (BN) government from its responsibility of governing. This, however, has not deterred the government from pushing ahead with its transformation agenda. The latest opposition disarray could provide an impetus for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to hold the elections sooner than later. No doubt he will call for elections when the time is right, after considering many factors. There are possibly many things running through his mind when deciding on the date, but winning by a comfortable majority should be the overriding consideration. BN, banking on its proven track record, will continue to work hard for the election, which Najib has described as one of the "toughest". It will certainly not take things for granted. There are certainly positive signs in BN's favour. For instance, Pakatan is believed to have conceded that Pas, on its own, is unlikely to be able to maintain the Malay support it enjoyed in the 2008 election. Observers say Pas would face an uphill task even defending its seats in the Malay heartland, including parliamentary seats in its power base of Kelantan, which it has ruled for a record 21 years. Within Pas, the rife worsened after Dr Hassan, who is also exco member in the PKR-led Selangor government, fell out with the Pas leadership. It has also seemed to have opened up a brewing discontent within the party over Dr Hassan's strong commitment to Islam. Dr Hassan, who has been viewed by some as a thorn both in Selangor Pas and Pakatan, has won the support of former Pas deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, who has insisted that Pas should put Islam first. Nasharuddin, who along with Dr Hassan, is widely tipped to be dropped in the next election due to their stand, told Berita Minggu today in an interview that Pas had started to derail from its original struggle. "Pas should be more firm and consistent in stating its stand on many issues," the former academic said. "The perception from outside is that Pas appears to be less rigid. This is dangerous." In the case of DAP, it was a bitter row played out in the media between DAP chairman Karpal Singh and Penang deputy chief minister II P. Ramasamy. A three-member panel to resolve the dispute has declared that the issue between Karpal and Ramasamy had been resolved and that the party leadership would move forward as a united team to face the elections. Saying the issue was far from being resolved, Karpal on Thursday made it clear that the panel might have come to its own conclusions, but "it was definitely not the end of the matter". Looks like it's a case of "it never rains but it pours" for the opposition this rainy season. | ||
| We are looking at the fifth estate Posted: 16 Dec 2011 08:12 AM PST Why should politics reach out to social media? Just look at the figures put out by the Internet and Mobile Association of India. At 112 million, and growing by 5-7 million internet users a month, India is well on its way to topple the US (245 million users) and come within sneaking distance of China (485 million). With that pace, India would well cross 500 million by 2015.
A joke doing the rounds in cyberspace gives an idea of social media's chain reaction. "Thank God, the Kolaveri song was sung by Dhanush. If it was sung by his father-in-law Rajnikanth, it would have been our national anthem."
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| Posted: 16 Dec 2011 07:44 AM PST Issues of national concern were not discussed at the recent Umno general assembly. Delegates also failed to call on Najib to step down for Umno to rise again. Under an undemocratic-despotic government where gross abuse of power is the hallmark of the regime, it is of no surprise then that no concerted efforts have been made by the government to tackle such malpractices let alone remove corrupt federal ministers, chief ministers and menteris besar. Awang Abdillah, Free Malaysia Today Frankly, the recent Umno general assembly was the best venue and probably the last chance for Umno leaders to show their sincerity in addressing party and national concerns. Instead of adopting the Mahathir doctrine or rather its despotic policy, Umno president and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should have discussed with the party leaders on how best to tackle the party and national problems. Disgruntled members should have urged Najib to step down as one of the solutions for Umno to rise again. Personal leadership, party strength and national issues and problems are all inter-related. Glaringly missing at the Umno general assembly were discussions on issues of national concerns. Allow me to list it all out here. The most prominent of the major national issues is the growing national debt which now stands at RM437 billion, dwarfing the expected revenue of RM186.9 billion for 2012. A massive national debt is one of the main factors that can destabilise the economy of the country. Such a gigantic problem can be seen from afar by financial institutions and fund managers, the Employees Provident Fund board, foreign investors, dealers and speculators in the Malaysian foreign exchange market, investors in Bursa Malaysia, trading partners and our neighbouring countries. If this problem remains unsolved, a number of fallouts are expected: banks will hold on to credit outflow leading to higher lending rates; flight of capital out of Malaysia; panic selling of the ringgit leading to a free-fall of the currency; panic selling of stocks in Bursa Malaysia; foreign direct investment will be neglible; unemployment will rise; delays in public funding of development projects, and so on. There is no reason for a country like Malaysia – blessed with natural resources, high exports of primary commodities and other goods valued at RM639.4 billion for 2010 – to become a net borrower for development funds. We believe as much as 30 to 40 percent of the development allocations in the yearly national budget goes indirectly to Umno politicians and Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), too, and its companies. For 2012 , a sum of RM51.2 billion is allocated for development. As much as 30 to 40 percent of the amount may be siphoned away through marked-up prices of government contracts, maintenance of public projects and supplies to government ministries, departments and agencies. Some of such practices are partly revealed by the Auditor-General Report 2010. Unfortunately, the Auditor-General made false reports on the Sarawak government's public accounts for the last nine years, for reasons best known to him. If Umno cares about the welfare of the rakyat, then Najib and his top party leaders should discuss ways during the party general assembly to reduce this serious national problem instead of pushing it aside. For any country, if its national debt keeps on growing, it would mean that government development funds in the past years have not been properly utilised for productive economic projects, which can give good returns to the government. Instead, a big portion of it goes to the personal accounts of Umno politicians.
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| Fielding Malay candidates: A DAP’s gimmick? Posted: 15 Dec 2011 05:40 PM PST Many quarters believe the party cannot get rid of its image of promoting only one community. Political analyst, Che Hamdan Mohamed Razali, said DAP's move was not only to make Malays fight each other but also to to wrest power in certain states. He reminded Malay voters and Bumiputeras specifically to make a wise choice because otherwise their security and rights could change. Mohd Hisham Abdul Rafar, Bernama DAP's plan to field Malay candidates in Malay-majority constituencies in the 13th general election is seen by various quarters as a mere gimmick. Prof Dr Ahmad Atory Hussain said it was impossible for the DAP to free itself from its image of representing only one community. "Every party in the peninsula cannot escape from the fact that they are fighting for a specific community," he said when contacted by Bernama. The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Social Science Studies Centre lecturer said the Chinese would not support DAP if it placed a Malay candidate in a Chinese-majority area, and vice versa. PAS secretary-general, Mustafa Ali, recently said the issue of DAP wanting to field Malay candidates in Malay-majority seats had never been discussed by the opposition pact's leadership. However, the DAP plan was confirmed by Selangor PAS commissioner III Khalid Abdul Samad recently, who said it was discussed at a PAS-PKR meeting. Rumours have also been rife that the DAP would be going along this route. Umno supreme council member and Kelantan Umno liaison committee deputy chairman Dr Awang Adek Hussin said DAP was welcome to field Malay candidates in Kelantan. "This aspiration of the DAP is seen as an attempt to seek the support of the Malays and to prove that the party is accepted by all races," said Awang Adik, who is also Deputy Finance Minister. Meanwhile, DAP national deputy chief and Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw said the opposition coalition always discussed the matter of candidates in every general election. Influential Malay leaders Asked if DAP was formulating a strategy to field Malay candidates in Malay-majority areas in the next general election, Tan said he was not aware of it. However, this is not something new for the DAP as it had fielded Malays candidates since it general election foray in 1969. Why the need and what is the hidden motive in DAP's aspiration to place Malay candidates when PAS and PKR are loaded with Malay candidates? Some political observers think DAP is not too confident of the winnability of Malay candidates from PAS or PKR in certain Malay-majority areas. Secondly, they think that the DAP might be forced to field Malay candidates so that one of them could be highlighted as a main personality to replace PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim to head the opposition coalition should Anwar be found guilty of the sodomy charge he is facing and goes to jail. Political analyst, Che Hamdan Mohamed Razali, said DAP's move was not only to make Malays fight each other but also to to wrest power in certain states. "The strategy will allow DAP to control a state. If DAP wins the majority and has a Malay candidate to feature, the state will be under the DAP's thumb despite having a Malay menteri besar," he said. The Terengganu Universiti Technology Mara (UiTM) Dungun campus lecturer said, for the strategy to work, DAP truly needed influential Malay leaders to get the support of liberal Malays. He was confident DAP would only gamble their Malay candidates in towns. He said DAP was also seen as trying to dominate the opposition pact by highlighting Malay candidates and simultaneously controlling the administration of the states if the opposition won the next national polls. He reminded Malay voters and Bumiputeras specifically to make a wise choice because otherwise their security and rights could change.
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| Umno’s sound and fury a sign of desperation Posted: 15 Dec 2011 09:49 AM PST The raving and ranting at the recent Umno general assembly showed us that the party is a cornered animal. Anger, fear and ignorance were greatly evident at Umno's recent annual general assembly. There was little else but the sound and the fury. By the end of the meeting, we were left only with the impression that here was a dying 65-year-old political organisation desperately trying to cling on to life by baring its fangs and claws, like a cornered beast. Stanley Koh, Free Malaysia Today "Those who are skilled in combat do not get overwhelmed by anger and those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus, the wise win before they fight, while the ignorant fight to win." These wise words were spoken by Zhuge Liang (181-234 AD), an accomplished military strategist, scholar and statesman who became chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. Anger, fear and ignorance were greatly evident at Umno's recent annual general assembly. There was little else but the sound and the fury. By the end of the meeting, we were left only with the impression that here was a dying 65-year-old political organisation desperately trying to cling on to life by baring its fangs and claws, like a cornered beast. "How hurt we are that Umno, which has given so much service, is today being incessantly condemned and criticised to the extent of erasing from history all our past contributions." That was the party president himself addressing the assembly. Does Najib Tun Razak seriously think that today's Umno is even a shadow of the kind of party that Onn Jaafar envisioned? Do today's big shots in the party have the same leadership qualities that the early leaders had? Do they have the same integrity, honesty and sense of fair play? Many pundits trace the rot back through only two Umno presidents. They say it was during Dr Mahathir Mohamad's long tenure that money politics and corruption were worked into the system to consolidate the power of the Umnoputra. Today's Umno is in fact the same as it was in 2000, when Mahathir spoke at the party's 54th anniversary. "Money can buy anything," he said. "Money can buy influence and popularity. Money means power. And money for the urban Malays, thanks to the New Economic Policy, is easily available." Yet there are some who would give Najib the benefit of the doubt and credit him with sincerity in trying to root out nepotism, cronyism and money politics from Umno and, by extension, from government. If so, we should perhaps blame dissensions and dissatisfaction among hardliners within the party for his apparent flip-flopping and inability to convince us that his transformation plan is working. Some pundits think that Najib is hanging on to power merely by the skin of his teeth. Umno's performance at the next general election will be crucial to his political survival. Apparently he, along with his deputy and the delegates to the assembly, believe that Umno can perform well if it emphasises its jingoistic character. Missed opportunity The race card was played to the hilt. The past glory of Umno was replayed and amplified. Blind loyalty and unconditional love for the party were expressed in melodramatic moments that would have made Bollywood blush. In the process, Umno missed the opportunity to use the assembly as a major platform to win the hearts and minds of the Malaysian public for the coming electoral battle. We are reminded of Theodore Roosevelt's characterisation of ageing political parties: "The old parties are husks, with no real soul within either, divided on artificial lines, boss-ridden and privilege-controlled, each a jumble of incongruous elements, and neither daring to speak out wisely and fearlessly on what should be said on the vital issues of the day." The assembly confirmed to us that Umno has become a political dinosaur. The event itself was an image of the party's brand of leadership, which the non-Malay heartland has labelled as The Thee Rs: Repulsive, Repugnant and Racist. Ironically, the party president's message was also on three Rs: Race, Religion and Royalty.
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| Posted: 15 Dec 2011 09:06 AM PST Until the next general election, political parties will engage in serious courting, especially for the fence-sitters A movement called Asalkan Bukan Umno (Anyone But Umno) has arisen but it is too early to tell if such bodies can make any impact on voting patterns at the next polls. What is certain is that Umno, Pas and PKR have all stepped up their posturing as defenders of the Malay/Muslim vote, while DAP is seeking to alleviate concerns that the Malay community's rights would be at risk under opposition rule. Zubaidah Abu Bakar, New Straits Times POLITICAL parties competing for Malay votes are scrambling to solidify their traditional support banks ahead of the coming general election. Winning over voters in the traditional Malay heartland has become the focus even of non-Malay-based parties and non-governmental organisations. Of late, issues sensitive to the Malays are being cautiously handled by the governments of both sides of the political divide for fear of losing the support of the community. Although much wooing of Chinese support has taken place in the past three years, particularly by Barisan Nasional, political realities have shifted the attention of both blocs to Malay voters. Malays make up 65 per cent of the population. Of the country's 222 parliamentary constituencies, only 46 are Chinese-majority and none has an Indian majority. While BN linchpin Umno continues to be the key player in the ruling coalition, the multiracial Parti Keadilan Rakyat and secularist Chinese-majority DAP have joined forces with Pas to cover the Malay ground. A movement called Asalkan Bukan Umno (Anyone But Umno) has arisen but it is too early to tell if such bodies can make any impact on voting patterns at the next polls. What is certain is that Umno, Pas and PKR have all stepped up their posturing as defenders of the Malay/Muslim vote, while DAP is seeking to alleviate concerns that the Malay community's rights would be at risk under opposition rule. DAP and PKR are courting the urban Malays, mostly young, educated and liberal, many of whom had opted out of the electoral process. But in Penang, where DAP's main foe is Umno, Malay votes, according to analyses by Persatuan Anak Jati Melayu Pulau Pinang (Pajim), could swing to Umno while the DAP hangs on to the lion's share of the Chinese electorate. PKR and Pas are out to cut Umno's influence on rural Malays, especially in the Felda schemes. The opposition partners have accepted that Pas, on its own, is unlikely to be able to maintain the Malay support it enjoyed in the 2008 general election. Pas' internal surveys show that it will have difficulty even defending its seats in the Malay heartland, including federal seats in Kelantan, the state that has been under Pas rule for the past 20 years. The Islamist party is facing the stark possibility of declining Malay support if it remains in league with PKR and DAP. It may indeed be fighting a losing battle with Umno. The chances are there of Pas' traditional supporters moving away from the party they feel has deviated from its core values for the sake of expediency. Pas knows that in order to attract new supporters among the Malays, it will have to satisfy the community that it champions, the Malays and Islam, a task that needs careful juggling with the opposition's multiracial commitments. Malays would be less inclined towards Pas if they see the party as simply caving in to its allies. Insiders said PKR, Pas and DAP took serious note of a finding by political analyst Dr Wong Chin Huat, a lecturer at Monash University, that revealed at a Pas convention in February that the opposition alliance could lose as many as 34 parliamentary seats if Pas did not regain its Malay support base. Pas did well in non-Malay areas in 2008. It won 82 seats on the back of support from all races but has seen between seven and 10 per cent of Malays swinging back to BN in recent by-elections. The erosion of Malay support, proven in the string of Umno's by-election victories and its intensified attacks on opposition parties lately, including during the recently concluded Umno general assembly, is causing jitters in the opposition front. Opposition leaders have since embarked on a mission to persuade the Malays that the four states under opposition rule have implemented policies to guarantee the community would not be sidelined. Among the opposition's counter-measures is an intense chasing of the Felda vote by fanning distrust against BN over alleged irregularities and mismanagement. Roughly two million people are directly or indirectly involved in Felda, about 1.2 million of whom are voters. Discontent could thus affect the delivery of votes in the 54 parliamentary and 92 state seats that contain Felda land schemes. There are more than 400 Felda land schemes with more than 113,000 settlers nationwide, mostly in Pahang, Johor and Negri Sembilan, making Felda settlers an important political force. They are traditionally Umno loyalists and up to 2008, only an average of 10 per cent favoured Pas. Pas now claims as much as 25 to 30 per cent support in some Felda schemes. Pas and PKR have intensified campaigning and recruitment drives with the help of non-governmental organisations to win Felda votes. Umno has responded with its own array of partisans. Although no conclusive evidence has been adduced, it is widely held that a number of civil servants -- a previously secure BN vote bank -- have switched to becoming fence-sitters. One thing is for sure, the battle for the Malay vote will, until the next general election, be fierce, especially for the fence-sitters. | ||
| Posted: 14 Dec 2011 10:14 AM PST Interestingly, the announcements on Proton's seemingly imminent sale — and even the likely buyer — are coming from Dr Mahathir, who is an adviser to Proton, rather than its major shareholder — Khazanah, which has been rather quiet throughout the episode. Written by Joanne Nayagam, The Edge The Proton-DRB-Khazanah saga continued yesterday with Proton Holdings Bhd issuing a statement saying that Khazanah Nasional Bhd, "in its normal course of business, it regularly receives proposals, enquiries and expressions of interests in relation to its various investments and companies where it has interest in, including Proton. Khazanah will make necessary disclosure at the appropriate time". Khazanah neither denied nor confirmed the rumour of the sale of its 42.7% equity stake in Proton to DRB-Hicom Bhd. This was the second statement from Proton in a week, although it sent a clearer signal that something may be brewing at the national carmaker. On Dec 6, in a response to an article in The Edge, Proton had flatly denied any corporate development. It announced to Bursa Malaysia that "after making due enquiry with the board of directors and major shareholders, the company is not aware of any reason for the unusual market activity in its shares and that there is no material corporate development not previously disclosed". Meanwhile, DRB-Hicom did not acknowledge that it is keen on buying into the national carmaker. The conglomerate had last week denied the speculation of it acquiring an equity stake in Proton.
Proton's announcement came after the comments made by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that DRB-Hicom "is likely to win the bid for Khazanah's equity interest in Proton" on Monday. Interestingly, the announcements on Proton's seemingly imminent sale — and even the likely buyer — are coming from Dr Mahathir, who is an adviser to Proton, rather than its major shareholder — Khazanah, which has been rather quiet throughout the episode. The Edge weekly reported over a week ago that Khazanah might sell its stake in Proton to DRB-Hicom, which also assembles cars for Suzuki, Mercedes-Benz and global car maker Volkswagen AG (VW). It is a well-known secret that Khazanah has been looking for a suitor for its majority stake in Proton, in which the the former does not have a board representative despite being the major shareholder. In 2006, VW was interested in purchasing Khazanah's stake in Proton, but the plan hit a snag due to what some said was nationalistic interest. Three years later in 2009, DRB-Hicom approached Proton and submitted a bid to buy 32% of Proton shares. Again, the talks failed for reasons unknown. Today, Proton is not exactly in the pink of health. Proton's net profit fell 76% to RM15.6 million for 2QFY12 ended Sept 30 from RM65.9 million a year earlier due to higher expenses incurred by Lotus Group. Likewise, its 1HFY12 earnings took a sharp 86.6% fall to RM20.1 million from RM150 million a year earlier. As at Sept 30, Proton had RM1.31 billion in cash, bank balances and deposits. Its short-term and long-term borrowings grew 158% to RM959.1 million compared with RM371.2 million six months earlier. Proton is in the second year of a five-year turnaround plan for Lotus Group that costs £480 million (RM2.35 billion). However, if Khazanah didn't sell its stake in 2006, one might wonder why the rush now, indeed? And why narrow the potential buyers to only a few local parties? Would it not be better to have a tender exercise open to global auto players as well? Limiting the pool of buyers will not get Khazanah the best price, or a partner for Proton that will ensure it thrives. Proton could definitely use a helping hand given its current weakening financial position, but certainly there should be no rush to make a transaction of such size and importance. Recently, DRB-Hicom in an announcement to Bursa refuted claims that it is looking to secure a substantial stake in Proton and would later divest part of the stake to VW. This wasn't exactly a denial of the possibility that it could buy Khazanah's stake and simply not sell it. If Khazanah is indeed interested in potential buyers for its stake, the national sovereign wealth fund should open up the bids in a more transparent manner for a longer period of time. This is especially since Proton is currently trading below its book value per share of RM9.81, net tangible assets per share of RM7.62 as well as Khazanah's estimated cost of above RM8 per share. Proton can rely on bigger automotive players to not only invest money in the national carmaker, but also to lend research and development (R&D) capabilities, something which DRB-Hicom can not offer. When contacted by The Edge Financial Daily, Aberdeeen Asset Management fund manager Abdul Jalil Rasheed said: "A lot of the car manufacturing brands are owned by one company, where divisions like R&D are shared by all the different divisions within the company". If a significantly large auto player like VW were to have a stake in Proton, the local carmaker could stand to gain substantially from its R&D capabilities. Back in its heyday from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, almost every Malaysian had a Proton car. Fast forward to 2011 and Proton is seeing a decline in its market share, despite strong protectionist policies that result in hefty taxes and Malaysia having some of the highest car prices in the world. Thanks to economies of scale and continuous investments in R&D, there are plenty of foreign carmakers that are selling much nicer cars, priced not much higher than Proton here and far cheaper overseas. This is Proton's biggest challenge. Jalil said the more pertinent question at this time is not if Khazanah were to sell its Proton stake to DRB-Hicom, but if Proton can just survive by being Proton. With all three parties neither denying nor agreeing to the claims of the sale of Proton, it really is anyone's guess how the saga will further develop. Proton's existing management is also said to have expressed interest in a management buyout, with the proposal spearheaded by its chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, and its CEO Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamad Tahir. However, on a brighter note for Proton, the group has seen some interest in its shares of late. Yesterday, Proton closed at RM4.27, four sen higher than Monday's close.
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| Pakatan, be prepared for the worst Posted: 14 Dec 2011 08:12 AM PST The recent Umno general assembly ignored critical national issues and continued to 'make other parties and races feel inferior so that they would have to crawl to Umno' for help. On the other hand, Najib Tun Razak, who succeeded Pak Lah in 2009, was initially uncertain on the kind of political system he would adopt, which explained the many flip-flop decisions on a number of issues which made Mahathir critical of his leadership. Awang Abdillah, Free Malaysia Today A statesman believes that political power comes from the people and that entrusted power should be used for the enrichment of the people and nation. A dictatorial political leader, however, believes that political power can be won or usurped by force and used to establish an authoritarian government. An undemocratic leader believes in the art of false leadership. The undemocratic leader bulldozes his way to secure political power from the people and will go to any length to maintain such power. Very often the border-line between an undemocratic political system and that of a dictatorial system overlaps. It is not surprising then for an undemocratic politician to walk through the corridors of power of an authoritarian government. Such different kinds of leadership and political system are based on the value system a leader adopts as explained in my earlier articles. In Malaysia, we have a number of political leaders who practise the undemocratic system where all kinds of malpractices are the hallmarks of their governance. Over a period of time this bad system will become worse when it turns into an undemocratic-dictatorial government and then, if unchecked, could turn into a worst kind – the undemocratic-despotic rule. BN has long been dysfunctional Let's look at Umno. The original true spirit of Umno – which existed in the party from 1955 till 1981 – which fought for the Malays and the nation is gone . Lost, too, is the spirit of national unity and cooperation that held together the Barisan Nasional (BN) entity which built this nation from 1974 till 1981. From 1981 till 2003 both these political entities were under the personal control of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his henchmen. Umno controlled the political power in the country while the BN coalition has long suffered from political dysfunctional problems. Hence, both the original Umno and BN can now be considered as a defunct party and entity respectively. During this period, Malaysia was ruled by Mahathir's undemocratic and authoritarian doctrine. Unlike a despotic rule where actions taken are more arbitrary in nature, an undemocratic-authoritarian rule, though bad, is more systematic and established. Even in retirement and after handing over the reins of the nation's administration to his chosen successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah), Mahathir wanted control. He wanted Pak Lah to walk the corridors of power wielding an undemocratic-dictatorial system. Pak Lah resisted. He failed as a leader not because he did not continue the Mahathir dictatorial legacy – it would be suicidal to do so – but because he did not pick the good value system and put it to work. But he seems to have redeemed himself in Mahathir's eyes with his stand in the recent 62nd Umno general assembly. Najib, it now appears, firmly believes in and is determined to pursue Mahathir's undemocratic-dictatorial doctrine. Hence, Mahathir now fully backs Najib and had openly declared that the prime minister is on the right track. However, unlike the Mahathir government – which, although undemocratic and authoritarian in nature, was backed by systematic policies and strode in economic development – Najib's administration has nothing to offer. Najib's government is best described as an undemocratic-despotic one where flip-flops and arbitrary actions are the order of the day. At the recent Umno general assembly, "Najib the Great" continues his agenda to hit hard at Pakatan Rakyat in order to win back the lost Malay support. He invoked history, race and religious rhetoric and launched personal and vicious attacks on the opposition leaders. Najib did not bother to beg for the support of other races because people like him and Mahathir believe in the unsinkable power of Umno as long as the said doctrine is in place. Part of this doctrine is to make other parties and races feel inferior so that they would have to crawl to Umno for help.
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| ABU: Movement of the Rakyat for the Rakyat Posted: 13 Dec 2011 03:47 PM PST "We (ABU) are not linked to any political party. We are independent and this is a movement, not an organization. This is the rakyat's movement," he said. Meanwhile, Haris of MCLM who had just been deported from Sabah on Dec 7 said ABU was set to reach to the rakyat with information that will show how Umno have been "manipulating" the country for the past six decades.
Something big may be brewing in this time of uncertainty surrounding our political landscape. And this time it has nothing to do with Anwar Ibrahim, Pakatan Rakyat, Perkasa or extremist, racist, religious groups or terrorist groups of sort. Instead, this one comes in the form of a sincere initiative by the people, for the people; and the main objective of this movement which fittingly call itself ABU or Asalkan Bukan Umno (Anyone But Umno) is to call out to the rakyat to come out from their silence to reject Umno. "We are calling out to all workers, farmers, fishermen, associations, organizations, government bodies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties – excluding Umno, opposition parties or Independent parties, professionals, academicians and intellectuals, artists and all those who are marginalized including Mat Rempits, the homeless, unemployed and others to establish clearly (through media statements or demonstrations) our loss of confidence towards Umno which has lost its purpose, corrupt, conceited, oppressive, ruthless and more lately IGNORANT and ARROGANT!" Badrul Hisham told a press conference held at the KL Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Dec 9. Badrul, or better known as CheGubard, who is the president of Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) is believed to be one of the main men behind ABU. Among those alongside him at the media conference on Dec 9 were Haris Ibrahim of Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) President Haris Ibrahim as well as representatives from Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM), Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) and members of various non-governmental organizations. Calling All Malaysians The nationwide movement which had held media conferences in every state in the Peninsula on Dec 9 (the same announcement will be made in Sabah and Sarawak at a later date). ABU can be seen as the voice of Malaysians who are saying 'enough is enough'. The way they see it, Umno has taken their selfish and excessive desire for material gains too far and it is time to put a stop to this as it has become clear that Umno is beyond repair (NFC and PKFZ are just two of the many scandals that has been exposed of recent, imagine the others that have not been detected). Not Linked to Pakatan Even though Badrul is one of the most influential figure in Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) among the Opposition youth supporters, he is not playing his role in ABU in his capacity as a political party member, neither are the rest of the key people in the movement. He insisted that ABU is a non-structured movement and people from all segments of life are invited to join the movement. NFC Scandal: A Sign That Things Are Getting Out of Control Things are getting from bad to worse for the country under Umno/BN's rule. Looking at the latest development on the NFC issue, now even Umno senior leaders like its former president Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Umno supreme council member Bung Mokhtar Radin have come out to ask its main culprit Shahrizat Abdul Jalil to leave the party. Others like Batu Pahat MP Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi and Cheras Umno Division chief Syed Ali Alhabshee have asked NFC's executive chairman who happens to be Shahrizat's husband Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail to come clean on the controversy involving the family-owned company as it has tarnished Umno's image.
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| Posted: 13 Dec 2011 12:21 PM PST Municipal Council President Abdul Wahab talks about the problems he faces and the good things that lie in store for the tourist town Ravi said it's difficult for tourists to purchase the tickets on weekends. I don't understand what the actual issue is. There are no parking charges on weekends. But still, to say that the coupons are not sold on Saturday and Sunday is a lie. Zefry Dahalan, Free Malaysia Today Many people would envy someone who heads the local government in a tourist town, but Port Dickson's Abdul Wahab Samsudin says he has no time to bask in it, what with his state assemblyman constantly breathing down his neck. In a recent wide-ranging interview with FMT, he complained that PKR's M Ravi, sometimes aided by Ean Yong Tin Sin (DAP-Lukut), was always finding fault with his administration. He rejected the allegation that he held a bias against Pakatan Rakyat politicians, although he admitted to withholding written permission for their programmes. Abdul Wahab became president of the Port Dickson Municipal Council (MPPD) in 2009. He said it had been a hot seat for him since Day One. Apart from responding to various allegations by Ravi and Yong, he also explained some the efforts being done to improve Port Dickson's appeal to visitors. Excerpts from the interview: The Pakatan Rakyat representatives allege that you are denying them the right to put up festival banners carrying their party logos. What is your response? Those allegations are not true. I gave them permission orally, but I told them I could not give them written permission. They asked why. It is within my authority to give either oral or written permission. What's wrong with giving it orally? I told my officers not to dismantle the banners. I have no problem with them having their party logos on the banners. But previously we did remove the banners. At that point of time, they had not asked for permission. What about your recent rejection of their application to use the town hall for a badminton tournament? They wanted to use the hall on Dec 3. I rejected the application because the town hall was due for upgrading works at that point of time. They insisted that we give them a rejection letter. I said it was not necessary because I didn't want them to use the letter for political purposes. Recently, Pakatan representatives speaking at a public forum likened the Port Dickson beach to a rubbish dump. How true is that? I'm aware of the allegations as they were reported in a newspaper. They are lies. In the pictures published in the newspaper, one of the Pakatan leaders was holding an empty plastic bag. If Port Dickson is a dumping ground, then where is the so-called rubbish? We clean the beach regularly and consistently conduct cleaning campaigns with NGOs. How can they say that Port Dickson is a rubbish dump? When I took over the MPPD in 2009, "Cleanliness is our priority" became our motto. As an elected representative, Ravi should not tarnish the image of the Port Dickson with tags like that. It will give the town a negative image among tourists. It will have implications on the local traders and hotel operators as well. Let me speak about another issue that Ravi raised. He questioned the rationale of installing convex mirrors at the end of every row of shophouses. He said those mirrors should instead be installed at road junctions, where they would be useful to motorists. He did not check the facts with us. We installed the mirrors not for motorists, but for pedestrians. We fix them at the walls of banks and corner shops to alert the public against criminals hiding behind walls. He said the mirrors were a waste of public funds. This project comes under the Local Government and Housing Ministry's budget. We installed the convex mirrors as part of the Town Safety project under the ministry and we were accorded the Safe Town status by the ministry. What about the drainage system in Port Dickson? The town is flood prone, isn't it? We are trying our best to maintain the drainage system. Some parts of the system are under our jurisdiction and the rest are under the Drainage Department. Much of Port Dickson is below sea level. There will be floods no matter how big the monsoon drains are. What about the status of the Lukut landfill? Wasn't is supposed to be closed and rubbish redirected to a new landfill in Bukit Nanas? I can't comment too much on this as the matter as it is under the jurisdiction of the state and federal governments. The landfill sits on state government land and MPPD just supervises it. But I've learnt that the shift to Bukit Nanas is in progress. Ravi told the State Assembly that the counters selling parking coupons are too far from the parking lots and motorists had complained that agents selling the tickets were late in opening those counters. He said that both these facts had resulted in many motorists being fined for parking without coupons. Actually this is the result of the motorists' habit of buying the coupons at the last minute. As locals from Port Dickson, why can't you buy the coupons earlier? Ravi said it's difficult for tourists to purchase the tickets on weekends. I don't understand what the actual issue is. There are no parking charges on weekends. But still, to say that the coupons are not sold on Saturday and Sunday is a lie. Whatever we want to introduce is always seen as wrong. If they have the attitude of wanting to oppose everything, then it's very difficult for us. We initially gazetted 14 areas where we would use the parking coupon system, but we only implemented it in two areas. These two are business areas. We don't have parking charges at beaches or other tourist areas. The coupon system is superior to the coin machine system. Coin machines are very costly and prone to vandalism. We conducted a study on three parking systems—the coupon, coin and receipt systems. We found the coupon system to be the best. We collected RM400,000 six months after implementing the coupon system. Just imagine that! The system also generates income for the agents who sell them. Ravi spoke of cases in which motorists were compounded even as they were buying their coupons. This is not true. I told my enforcement officers to wait for the motorists to go back to their vehicles from booths or shops selling the coupons. The cases in which they were compounded were when they disappeared after parking their cars, or reappeared only after 30 minutes.
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