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Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Confidence tricks in Sabah politics
- Neither BN nor Pakatan good for Sabah, S’wak
- Winds of change blowing towards BN
- Malaysian Psephology: Kapar 2008
- MIC is finished, says ex-leader
- Should Indians even trust Najib?
- Year end visits to Sabah by Najib, Anwar
| Confidence tricks in Sabah politics Posted: 26 Dec 2012 03:46 PM PST
Former Chief Minister Harris Salleh's latest comments are indicative of how disengaged Sabah leaders, both past and present, are from the man on the street. Free Malaysia Today Ask almost anyone in Sabah, especially those in the Chinese business community, and they'll tell you the state's economy is in a bad way and will be so for the foreseeable future. Sabah's prized assets are in greedy hands. Its golden crop – oil palm – is losing its lustre in the commodities market, its tourism lure is messy, the prices of goods and services have gone up, property prices have sky-rocketed and where jobs are available wages are low and the infrastructure remains creaky and basic. With all this pointing to deepening economic woes, you'd think that the state's politicians who have rarely been so unpopular would be cautious about throwing stones at glass houses that they are living in. But no, its still business as usual. The constant government boot-polishing goes on as though these things don't matter. Have the state's leaders become disengaged from the people? Are they out of touch with what the man in the street thinks? Former chief minister Harris Salleh, who never misses an opportunity to give advice though he was unceremoniously booted out of government more than 27 years ago, gave some insight into the state politicians' thinking this week by heaping praise on what most would view as failure and incompetence. Speaking as though he was giving the state a Christmas present, Harris predicted more of the same from the Barisan Nasional and Chief Minister Musa Aman for Sabah after the looming 13th general election. He said BN will win in Sabah without breaking a sweat. The prediction came with the usual boot polishing and though couched in the language of the confident, sounded like a plea when he said there was a possibility that the BN might lose a few seats, especially in the urban areas where people were more in touch with what was going on. An indication that the former chief minister is aware that the ruling coalition is facing a tough time. Explaining what it has done with the years it has been given to develop the state, Harris said: "… changing from Barisan Nasional is just like the English saying jumping from the frying pan into the fire" and the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat was without "real leaders". As though reciting a mantra, he added: "Sabah under Musa has done very well. It is a well managed state. This was confirmed by the Auditor-General's report that Sabah has the best accounting system in Malaysia. Musa has also jump-started the Sabah economy from the top to the bottom. This is almost completed." But the former chief minister also said that further pain was necessary for all Malaysians for this "top to bottom" economic revamp being put in place heroicly by the current chief minister with a little help from a BN government in Putrajaya. "After this election Musa will jump-start the economy from the bottom if the federal government adopts the policy to abolish all subsidies, education and medical fees and in return pay a cash allowance of RM300 to every person. "This will immediately trigger the development of abandoned rural lands. It will also create hundreds of thousand jobs for Sabahans," he was quoted as saying. That distribution of cash, which has always been one of the former chief minister's monetary policies since his days helping Berjaya, has always led to head-scratching among the more economically prudent and will again bemuse most. Observers noted that Harris who has given candid advice about state and national governance has not dared to point out that Musa has done nothing out of the ordinary and can instead be blamed for allowing poverty to flourish during his tenure. The man who signed over Sabah's oil and gas rights in return for 5% royalty and controversially ceded the island of Labuan, which used to be part of Sabah, to the federal government, making it the second Federal Territory in the country, sees the writing on the wall for the BN and is hoping he can help starve-off defeat and perhaps protect his legacy. Sounding as though he was pleading to Sabahans he said: "With another five years there is ample time for Najib to reform both the government and Umno. "With the plan to reform, it will give time to Najib to jump-start the economy from the bottom. This means that everybody – the rural people will be given opportunities to improve and sustain their economy forever." Harris talked of "well-planned" programmes for the cultivation of both cash and permanent crops that have to be introduced in the rural areas to jump-start the economy from kampong-level and raising to the top. All this, however, borders on an insult to many who have made the best they can with poorly planned and delayed infrastructure development in the state, including in healthcare and educational services. The most controversial of the former chief minister's suggestions was that the government halt all subsidies as, he said, these were creating an artificial sense that the living standard and cost of living in Malaysia is cheap.
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| Neither BN nor Pakatan good for Sabah, S’wak Posted: 26 Dec 2012 03:08 PM PST Declassified documents pertinent to Borneo, found in the British archives, indicate that Putrajaya's policies may be running foul of the unwritten constitution of Malaysia. Joe Fernandez, FMT Former Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Harris Salleh has never failed to appear from time to time as a bundle of contradictions to the extent of even embarrassing his own party leaders. Harris, in his defence, may be said to mean well and even acting in good faith but often this argument is nothing more than the proverbial fig-leaf. The man simply can't be allowed to get away with it too many times. It creates not just bad but dangerous precedents. Both Harris and former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad appear to be birds of a feather in more ways than one. However Harris isn't even facing the remotest danger of being hauled up by Umno — assuming he's still a member of the party given his penchant for sponsoring mosquito parties including Usno 2006 which is awaiting "registration" — on disciplinary charges for bringing it into public disrepute. This Mother of All Charges, with apologies to Saddam Hussein, is sure to cook anyone's goose for good. Harris, in the latest, put his aging foot in his mouth in making comparisons between the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (Pakatan). In remarks carried earlier this week in the local media, a seemingly worried and frustrated Harris warned Sabahans in no uncertain terms that voting in Pakatan will be like going into the fire from the frying pan (BN). Either state is not a desirable "ideal" for Sabahans. Harris however seems quite convinced that the frying pan is the lesser of two evils for Sabahans "since there's no other choice". Orang Asal — Murut and Dusun including Kadazan or urban Dusun — activists beg to disagree with Harris on his theory that "better the frying than the fire". For starters, they think the jury is still out on whether Pakatan is the fire or the frying pan, not that it makes any difference. Pakatan, in a way, might be akin to going into the frying pan from the fire (BN). Pakatan has pledged that Sabah and Sarawak will enjoy 20 per cent oil and gas royalty under its federal administration vis-a-vis the present measly five per cent they collect from the BN federal government. Agenda Borneo vs Agenda Malaya Is this what Sabahans really want after 50 years of putting up with Malaysia in the mould of the Peninsular Malaysia-dominated Putrajaya? This year alone, the federal government collected RM18 billion in oil and gas revenue from Sabah. Elsewhere, it has collected RM24 billion in other revenue. The Malaysia Agreement stipulates that 40 per cent of this combined total must be returned to the state. However, this stipulation has allegedly not been honoured since 1970, according to sources in the know. Orang Asal activists like local hero Jeffrey Kitingan are urging the people to say "enough is enough!". "Ini kali lah!", scream Sabahans who want to have nothing to do whatsoever with Putrajaya allegedly continuing to rule Sabah and Sarawak through local proxies and their stooges. "Kalau bukan sekarang, bila lagi! Kalau bukan kita siapa lagi!", they want to know. Enter the Agenda Borneo, propagated by Jeffrey's United Borneo Front (UBF), as the eternal stand against the Agenda Malaya of Putrajaya and the parti-parti Malaya operating in Borneo. The Agenda Malaya, according to Jeffrey and his people, has seen the Federation of Malaya masquerading as the Federation of Malaysia since 1963. Giving proof they cite the fact that Putrajaya claimed that Malaysia was 55 years old this year, the figure calculated from Aug 31, 1957, the day that the British advisors to the Bugis Sultans gave up their control of the Malayan Administration. As further proof they point out that Putrajaya keeps referring to Sabah and Sarawak as the 12th and 13th states and has ensured that local history text books maintain the fiction that both "nations in Malaysia" secured their independence through Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963. Malaysia has unwritten constitution Nothing could be further from the truth on the history of Malaysia, swear activists in Sabah and Sarawak. Sarawak in fact chose independence as its form of self-determination and secured that status on July 22, 1963. Sabah, likewise, chose independence as its form of independence and secured that status on Aug 31, 1963. It follows therefore that both Sabah and Sarawak entered the 1963 Federation as "independent nations" in Malaysia unlike self-governing Singapore which became independent through the new Federation. Brunei chose to remain a British protectorate rather than risk all in emulating Singapore. Brunei was proven right when Singapore left Malaysia two years later in 1965. Sabah and Sarawak, which realised that the written Constitution of Malaya was being passed off as the written Constitution of Malaysia, were not allowed by Putrajaya to follow in Singapore's footsteps and go back to solely their hard-won self-determination status of July 22, 1963 and Aug 31, 1963 respectively. Malaysia, Jeffrey and company want to tell the whole world, has an unwritten constitution based on the Batu Sumpah among other constitutional documents including the written constitution of Malaya. The other constitutional documents cited are the Inter-Governmental Committee Report (IGCR); the Cobbold Commission Report (CCR); the 20/18 Points; the informal UN survey in Sabah and Sarawak; the Malaysian Bill and the state constitutions of Sabah and Sarawak. Constitution a pandora's box STAR deputy chairman Daniel John Jambun and activist Kanul Gindol claim that they found more than 5,000 declassified documents during a month's research stint in November at the British Archives in Kew Gardens, England.
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| Winds of change blowing towards BN Posted: 25 Dec 2012 03:08 PM PST
Associate Professor Dr Rohana Yusof from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) said a recent survey showed that 70 per cent of 10,800 respondents in Kedah had no confidence in Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's leadership. S. Kisho Kumari, Bernama Choosing the tagline of 'Fulfilling Promises' as the foremost important agenda, the Barisan Nasional (BN) has touched the hearts of many Malaysians regardless of age, gender, religion and living standards with continuous efforts for the betterment of all. Placing importance on welfare, none of the people had been left behind including students, women, senior citizens, entrepreneurs, civil servants and youths under the BN government. Looking back in the early part of 2012, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also the BN chairman, had felt the hardship faced by fishermen, and had distributed aid ranging from RM5,000 to RM10,000 to them throughout the country to repair their homes, on Jan 21. The aid was part of the RM300 million Special Fund for Fishermen's Housing, which was announced in the 2012 Budget last year. To further reduce the burden of the people, the government had continuously assisted the rakyat through programmes such as the Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia (PR1MA), Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M), Kedai Kain Rakyat 1Malaysia, Kedai Buku 1Malaysia, Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M), Skim Amanah Rakyat 1Malaysia (SARA 1Malaysia), Transformasi Kedai Runcit (TUKAR) and Menu Rakyat 1Malaysia (MR1M). As a result of the BN's sincere move to improve the well-being of the people, the wind of change began to appear within the BN, including in the states ruled by the opposition pact. A very recent report showed that about 400 hardcore PAS members in the Semerak state constituency in Kelantan had joined Umno, saying they had been duped by the so-called "Amanat Haji Hadi" (Haji Hadi Message), which branded Umno members and supporters as infidels. Even the majority of over 30,000 teachers in the state were now BN supporters, a good sign that BN is capable of wresting Kelantan from the opposition. Kelantan Umno liaison deputy chief, Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin said they were also willing to work hard to ensure that BN would be back in power after the general election since the current federal government had taken their (teachers) interest into consideration and fulfilled all promises made. In Penang, hundreds of hardcore supporters of the opposition party showed interest in joining the BN after losing their hope in the DAP leadership. This had become a reality when almost 350 former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) members from Bayan Baru, Bukit Gelugor and Jelutong submitted their application letters to rejoin Umno to Najib on Dec 8. Describing Penang as a Gerakan stronghold for 40 years before losing to DAP in the 2008 general election, Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the party was determined to do more and better for the people in Penang and asked voters to give the party a chance in the 13th general election to serve them. Close to their hearts and minds, Gerakan members and Malaysians were saddened by the demise of its former president Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik, 73, one of the political giants and longest serving Chinese minister in Malaysia, last Saturday. Back on track, a positive sign was also seen in Kedah and Selangor through surveys done by several academicians in the middle of the year. Associate Professor Dr Rohana Yusof from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) said a recent survey showed that 70 per cent of 10,800 respondents in Kedah had no confidence in Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's leadership. According to the survey, the respondents felt that it was pointless for the current PAS government in Kedah to continue ruling the state and therefore, the BN government would be the best choice for the development of Kedah and the country in general. In Selangor, a simulation study done based on the previous 11th and 12th general election and with the latest registered voters' profile, showed that BN could win 40 state seats during the coming general election. Taking all these scenarios into consideration, the coming 13th general election could be shaky for the opposition pact of PKR-DAP-PAS to retain the states currently under their rule especially in Selangor where the outcome is said to be a 50-50 chance. Evaluating support given by all the ethnic groups, the Indians were the biggest swingers in the last general election but they appeared to be withdrawing their support for the Pakatan due to the frustration of being cheated with empty promises. A noticeable trend swept through the 2008 polls when almost 85 per cent of the Indian votes went to the opposition pact, as a result of issues played up by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf). Thereafter, the Indian community's support for the BN had risen to over 70 per cent following government aid amounting to RM415 million being given to improve their living standard. The aid was distributed via Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia or AIM (RM100 million), Tabung Ekonomi Kumpulan Usahawan Malaysia or Tekun (RM65 million) and a RM250 million allocation to entrepreneurs. During the 66th MIC Annual General Assembly held on Dec 9, party president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said the support was stronger for the ruling coalition after receiving considerable benefits, particularly in education, public service development programme, economy and social programmes initiated by Najib. Meanwhile, MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai also expressed his confidence that MCA, which took a severe beating in 2008, would rise again in the next general election. With plenty of aid given through 1MCA Medical Foundation, allocations for education and entrepreneurs, the Chinese community saw the winds of change blowing in the level of support towards the government compared to 2008. In Sabah, its chief minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman believed that the state had grown as a progressive, prosperous, peaceful and stable state under the initiatives taken by BN. The establishment of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the issuance of citizenship to illegal immigrants, appointing locals to helm Federal departments in the state and the recognition of Sept 16 as Malaysia Day proved that BN always listened, cared and worked to fulfil every request made by the people.
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| Malaysian Psephology: Kapar 2008 Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:54 PM PST
Prashun Dutt, The Sun Daily FROM 1995 to 2008, the number of registered voters (electorate) had grown by over 66% from 67,555 to 112,224. This indicates a substantial increase of 44,669 voters over this 13-year period, making Kapar among the largest Parliamentary constituencies in Malaysia. In terms of ethnic breakdown, as of March 2008, Malays constituted 49.3% of the Kapar electorate, while Chinese made up 37.6%, Indians 12.6% and the rest less than 0.5%. Despite the sizeable growth of the electorate, the percentage of voting has remained consistently high throughout these 13 years (from 73% to 78%). Ballot papers issued had increased by nearly 77% from 49,595 (1995) to 87,644 (2008), confirming that the increasing number of registered voters in Kapar remained similarly committed towards casting their votes. Despite growth in electoral size, the percentage voting support for Barisan Nasional (represented by MIC) has been declining or inconsistent since the resounding 67.1% support garnered by MIC's G. Leelavathi in 1995. Prominent MIC leader Datin Komala Devi received 49.6% of the votes in 1999, overcoming the challenge by PAS and avoiding a closer contest due to a split in opposition ranks. She retained the seat in 2004, this time brushing off a PKR challenge, with 57.9% support and a convincing margin of 14,588 votes. In 2008, however, she lost the seat by a similarly convincing margin of 12,297 votes to PKR's Manikavasagam Sundaram. PKR wrested the seat with 55.3% of the votes versus 41.2% polled by BN-MIC. While the gap in votes polled by the two candidates was around 15%, this seat witnessed one of the most noticeable "swing factors" of 2008. From losing the seat by 14,588 votes in 2004, PKR worked the ground and connected adequately with at least an additional 1/3 of the electorate, including the new entrants in the constituency, besides retaining most of their own support base. Considering all the relevant contributing factors – the 8,039 growth in size of electorate (from 2004 to 2008), the number of additional 11,000 plus ballots in the box (in 2008 compared to 2004), and the difference in voting support – the swing factor was over 24% in the final touchdown. The constituency has a mix of well-settled urbanites, new townships and some rural areas. With ethnic block-voting trends declining in Malaysia, large electorate constituencies having different socio-economic clusters will require sincere constructive groundwork by all candidates. However, at the time of print, theSun was yet to obtain comments from both parties regarding their specific plans for this constituency.
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| MIC is finished, says ex-leader Posted: 24 Dec 2012 03:39 PM PST Muthu Palaniappan predicts a worse outing than in 2008 and says the party will drag down BN with it. Zafry Dahalan, FMT MIC will do worse in the coming election than it did in 2008, according to a former leader of the party. M Muthu Palaniappan, a defector to PKR who claims to be familiar with grassroots feelings, made this prediction in an interview with FMT. He said a majority of Indian voters had grown tired of MIC's "empty promises" and would make their feelings known at the ballot box. Muthu's main power base is Negeri Sembilan, but he was one of the few state MIC leaders who rose to national prominence in the 80s and 90s. He was MIC Youth chief from 1979 to 1984 and vice president of the party from 1997 to 2000. He holds the record as the longest serving Negeri Sembilan state assemblyman from MIC, having won the Si Rusa (now Port Dickson) seat in 1982 and the Rantau seat in 1986 and 1990. He was a member of the state exco for 13 years until 1995. He was the Negeri Sembilan MIC chief from 1979 to 1995. He was often in the news in the late 80s and early 90s for his bold criticism of party president S Samy Vellu. Muthu studied law at Lincoln's Inn and was once the chairman of the London Union of Malaysian and Singapore Students. FMT: Why did you leave MIC after being with the party for 40 years? MIC is not on the right track. Gone are the days of MIC leaders working for the people. Nowadays they work only to enrich themselves. They are not bothered about the Indian community. Just look at the civil service and how the Indians are left out. The state of Indians in the public sector is very sad. What has MIC has done? Nothing. MIC leaders at the national level have not kept their promises. That's why I left and joined PKR. How do you think MIC will fare in the 13th general election? It will lose badly, worse than in 2008. The people—Malays, Chinese and Indians—have already made up their mind to vote for changes. The expectations of the Indians are high. They want government jobs, but the intake of Indians into government service leaves much to be desired. And even among those lucky enough to have jobs in the civil service, they have low expectations of being promoted. The situation is similar with intake into public universities. Not enough places are offered to Indian students although many of them are deserving. MIC does nothing about all this. The only thing MIC does is make empty promises, millions of empty promises. Let's talk about Negeri Sembilan. Indians make up quite a sizeable number of voters in the state. Surely some will vote for MIC. MIC will lose everything in Negeri Sembilan. The remaining MIC seat in Negeri Sembilan is the Jeram Padang state seat. This seat will go to Pakatan Rakyat. MIC has been talking about winning back the Port Dickson state seat and the Teluk Kemang parliament seat. It must be joking. Negeri Sembilan MIC is very ineffective. It has done nothing for the Indians in the past 10 years. Other Barisan Nasional component parties also will face the same fate as MIC because the Indians are the balancing power in Negeri Sembilan. This fact is known to Umno as well. No point giving hampers at the last minute. There is awakening among the Indians in the state. Negeri Sembilan MIC is divided into factions, but they pretend to be united. There are many MIC branch leaders pretending to be loyal to the party. But they are only eyeing the material benefits that will come during the election campaign period. Politically, they have felt cheated for a long time. They are disappointed. Just watch out; these leaders will throw their support behind Pakatan during the general election. What are your feelings about MIC chief G Palanivel? He is the weakest president in MIC's history. He can't gather any support. He has no grassroots support. Palanivel has a strange political style. He has chosen a few people to be with him in a small circle. He doesn't know that these people are actually there only for material benefits, not out of loyalty to MIC and BN. What do you think of the idea of bringing back Samy Vellu to help MIC retake Sungai Siput? BN will lose at least an extra 10% of votes not only in Sungai Siput, but also throughout the country. Samy's presence will tremendously help Pakatan. It will send a signal to the voters that Palanivel is a weak president.
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| Should Indians even trust Najib? Posted: 23 Dec 2012 01:44 PM PST Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's conditional 'if' over the condo project on Batu Caves temple grounds is typical of arrogant BN and spineless MIC. Toffee Rozario, FMT Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak recently lined up the present and past MIC top brass to convince the Indians that the condominium project in sacred Batu Caves would be halted "if" Barisan Nasional wrested Selangor. The same BN government, which approved the condominium project with the full knowledge of its MIC members who sat at the various meetings, is pointing the finger at Pakatan Rakyat (current Selangor government). Frankly, there is no real motivation for the MIC to ask Najib to put a stop to the destruction of this temple, first, on the grounds that it is sacred to the Hindus, and secondly and more importantly, on the grounds that it is a national monument. But all that is not important to the MIC and the BN now. What is important to them are their seats in the Selangor State Legislative Assembly. And that is the sole reason MIC supports Najib's "if". As prime minister Najib has the power to intervene and protect a "national monument", there is no need for the "if." "If" is found only in the dictionary of fools; are all Indians to be made fools of? Is Najib really sincere? Why wait till the election is over and set it as a condition on a minority community to win the state for him? Where is the sincerity if it is conditional? Do the Indians make the majority of the voting population in Selangor? How can the Indians and in particular the Hindus (as there are Muslims, Christians and Sikhs among the Indians) ensure a BN victory? Even if BN wins the state, will Najib say that it was not won on Indian vote alone and let the condominium project continue? Would Najib also turn around and claim BN lost because the Indians voted against him? You can do anything with a minority, and the Indians are a minority this BN government never treated well at all. Quarries paid BN millions Let's talk history. History has proven the Selangor BN government to be callous and arrogant. Dolomite Industries has been blasting the site since way back in the 1970s. It was given the approval to build the condominium by the previous BN government. The quarrying approval was known to MIC councillors and Public Works Department authorities who had allowed other quarries to also blast away rocks in the area. Now let's talk money. In the 1970s, the Selangor BN government was reportedly paid some 300,000 sterling pounds (British currency) a year for quarrying rights by the quarrying companies. The BN government then was not bothered about the Hindus and their interests because the quarries brought in more money. In the mid 70s Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) initiated a "Save Batu Caves Campaign" which was almost immediately supported by the Malaysian Nature Society, The Environmental Protection Society and the Batu Caves Protection Society. In 1978, at the eleventh hour the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment submitted an urgent report to the Selangor government warning that serious damage would befall the caves if immediate action was not taken as cracks had began to appear in the caves. Two years after that report was sent to the Selangor BN government, the blasting was ordered to halt in June, albeit prolonged delays. By then more cracks had appeared on the caves and stalagmites had begun falling. But the companies appealed and despite knowing the extent of damage, the Selangor BN government gave them an additional six-month extension. There was no concern about the temple or the fact that hundreds of thousands of Hindus considered the caves sacred. The quarries brought in money and that was what mattered.
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| Year end visits to Sabah by Najib, Anwar Posted: 23 Dec 2012 01:40 PM PST It is learned that both have scheduled their final visits to the politically volatile state on Dec 28 and Dec 29 respectively. Luke Rintod, FMT KOTA KINABALU: Come year-end, the country's top two 'rivals' in Malaysian politics – Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and opposition supremo Anwar Ibrahim – will once again slog it out in Sabah. It is reliably learned that both have scheduled their final visits to the politically volatile state on Dec 28 and Dec 29 respectively. Besides wooing potential voters here, the duo will be also be fighting for the spaces in the local newspapers. Media editors here have spoken of the "interesting" heat emanating from the political slugging and its reach to voters across the vast state of Sabah. Sabah is equivalent to the combined size of nine smaller states in the Malayan Peninsular. The state is frankly a logistical nightmare and poor communication in Sabah has made it favourable to politicians to get maximum coverage in local newspapers. Anwar, it is learned, would fly in from Jakarta and will visit Kuala Penyu and possibly another area during his visit. Najib meanwhile is expected to officiate the annual congress of a tiny Barisan Nasional (BN) component, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), which faces annihilation in rural town of Pensiangan in the 13th general election. According to those in the know, Najib is also scheduled to appear in Papar. This would be Najib's seventh visit to Sabah this year. It is a record unsurpassed by all the previous five premiers and telling of the political situation in the peninsular. At stake in Sabah are 26 parliamentary seats, including the sole seat in Labuan, and 60 state seats, of which the Umno/PBS-led Sabah BN controls 23 and 57 seats respectively. Pre-Christmas visit The last time Najib was in town was about a week ago where he went to Sandakan to officiate the annual congress of another BN minor partner, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). In Sandakan, he feted the Christian community to lunch in a bid to stop the decreasing support for BN from that community. The community has been under extreme pressure from the Najib's administration. The "Alkitab" or Bible issue is still hanging, while Najib's own Muslim groups of supporters had been pressuring him not to retract a certain edict or fatwa in as many as 10 states that bars Christians from using many Malayanised Arabic-rooted words that include Allah, bait Allah, solat, kiblat, rasul, firman Allah, kaabah and even iman.
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