Court turns a blind eye to justice

P Ramakrishnan

Immediate past president, now Aliran executive committee member

27 March 2013

Malaysians were rudely shocked to learn that the High Court in Shah Alam put itself in a straitjacket and refused to see the glaring injustice that was clearly highlighted by Klang MP Charles Santiago in a suit that was decided on 14 March 2013.

Mr Santiago wanted the Court to review the principal and supplementary electoral rolls for his parliamentary constituency.

It was very disappointing that Judge Vernon Ong said that the Court was bound by Section 9A of the Elections Act 1958 and cannot review a gazetted electoral roll, literally throwing to the wind the conventional wisdom that “where there is a malady the Court will provide a remedy” – even if it has to use its inherent powers.

The Judge further noted that the Court could not compel the Election Commission (EC) to respond to the queries of the MP as there was no provision in the Act for it to do so. While it may be true that there is no such provision, what is far more important is whether there is specifically any provision in the Act prohibiting the EC from responding?

Why was this logical point entirely overlooked by the Court? If the Court was the bastion of justice as provided by the inherent powers of providing a remedy for a malady, it would have been the natural consequence to fall back on this logic. But surprisingly, this was not the case.

While it may be true that the Court was bound by Section 9A of the Election Act, shouldn’t the Court invoking its overview functions have also looked into the legality of this section?

Is it constitutional? Is it constitutional to perpetuate a wrong in spite of fraud, probably even of a criminal nature, that were clearly established by Mr Santiago?

Section 9A was controversially introduced to the Elections Act 1958, after the High Court in Kota Kinabalu declared the Likas by-election of 2001 null and void. The Kota Kinabalu High Court nullified the Likas by-election because there were discrepancies in the electoral roll.

Section 9A states: “After an electoral roll has been certified or re-certified, as the case may be, and notice of the certification or re-certification has been published in the Gazette as prescribed by regulations made under this Act, the electoral roll shall be deemed to be final and binding and shall not be questioned or appealed against in, or reviewed, quashed or set aside by, any court.”

This is what lawyers call a “privative” or “ouster” clause. The effect is to prevent any Court from having a review of the matter at hand. In this particular case, it has to do with the electoral rolls.

Courts in many common law jurisdictions have always viewed such privative or ouster clauses in a very dim light as such clauses effectively prevent the judiciary from discharging its independent role under the doctrine of the Separation of Powers as arbiters of rights and duties vis-à-vis citizens and the State.

In our view, this “deeming” section was introduced so that the Barisan Nasional can win elections through phantom voters and by cheating. By placing this fraud beyond the purview of the Courts, the BN government has legitimised winning of elections through fraudulent means.

The injustice is so obvious and glaring. How could a Court not address this issue even in passing?

 Mr Santiago has provided solid proof that the names of those who had not registered as voters were found in the electoral roll. How could this happen?

He had pointed out the case of one Premila Menon, who resides in Dublin, Ireland. She had not registered as a voter; yet her name appears on the electoral roll. He had further produced a Statutory Declaration from a Pandamaran resident stating that he is the only voter registered at his address but another 60 voters of other races are mysteriously listed under this same address.

These two cases clearly establish the irrefutable fact that the electoral roll is padded with dubious voters.

The electoral roll is not clean and yet these dubious voters can vote in the coming 13th General Election. In the case of Premila Menon, someone else can assume her identity and vote in the election. This was how the BN candidate in the Likas by-election got elected.

Even though the Court said it was helpless because of the seemingly prohibitive Section 9A, surely it could have pointed out the injustice perpetuated by this section. It could have taken judicial notice that there are phantom voters on the roll. The Court cannot ignore this gross injustice and turn a blind eye to this grievous wrong as the legitimacy or otherwise of the popular mandate is intrinsically bound to the sanctity or otherwise of the roll per se.

To dismiss Mr Santiago’s justified application as frivolous and vexatious is to add salt to the injury. It is a travesty of justice.

Is this a forerunner of things to come post-election?

Even if the existence of unaccountable dubious voters on the electoral roll (that may contribute to a BN victory in certain seats) is subsequently established beyond reasonable doubt, the Pakatan Rakyat cannot challenge this. It cannot win because cheating has been legitimised. The BN will win the case and the PR will lose its challenge in any court of law in Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 March 2013, 11:58 am and is filed under
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Ignorance isn’t bliss when it comes to bigots

The Malaysian Insider

March 28, 2013

MARCH 28 ― They say ignorance is bliss. And Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon says the Cabinet interfaith committee has deliberately avoided censuring those who spark religious tension in order to prevent giving them further publicity.

The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for unity and performance management said such people would only say “more and more” if the interfaith committee castigated them.

“Very often, ignoring is the best,” he said. “After one day, no more news… We better focus on promoting harmony.”

He has a point there except this strategy has failed miserably. These people are not used to being ignored by anyone and have become more brazen as days go by.

Look at what has happened this year. Malay rights group Perkasa urged Muslims last January to burn Malay-language bibles that contain the word “Allah” and other religious Arabic script.

Columnist Dr Ridhuan Tee Abdullah allegedly disparaged the Hindu community in an article published in Malay-language daily Sinar Harian on February 18.

All this just a few years after a group of men dragged a cow’s head in Shah Alam to protest a Hindu temple. Cows are sacred in Hinduism, something which almost every Malaysian knows.

Yet, Koh said today that JKMPKA has been privately engaging individuals who expressed extremist views, but refused to specify their identities.

“Such efforts should not get the limelight,” said the senator.

This policy of quiet engagement does not appear to have worked and makes the government of the day appear to be ignoring the “elephant in the room”.

How far do we want to appear as ignoring this problem, which doesn’t seem to go away but continues to grow in our midst?

How long do we want to be ostriches who bury their heads in the sand at the first sign of danger or conflict?

It is time Putrajaya takes this matter seriously and act publicly. If they can name and shame those involved in corrupt practices, they should do the same for those who insult people of differing faiths.

Malaysia is a multi-racial society; that has been said many times. It is time we made sure that everyone has mutual respect for one other, not just mutual tolerance.

That starts by not sweeping such cases or rebukes under the carpet. Take action and punish those who threaten our peace and harmony. Now.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 March 2013, 6:30 am and is filed under
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Koh defends private screenings of Tanda Putera

by Koh Jun Lin

Malaysiakini

Mar 28, 2013

Private screenings of the controversial film on the May 13, 1969 racial riots, Tanda Putera are allowed because the cabinet decision to postpone its screening is restricted to public screenings only.

“There have been some private screenings for people to make some judgments and decisions.

“As long as there is no public screening, for that is the decision that was made by the cabinet,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Koh Tsu Koon said today.

Asked why was this allowed despite charges that the film was racially divisive, the de facto unity minister questioned such a charge.

“I don’t know how many screenings there have been, but has it led to racial strife? I don’t know. You better check the facts before reporting on that,” Koh told reporters.

Information Minister Rais Yatim had previously said that Tanda Putera’s premier has been deferred because of ‘inappropriate’ scenes in the film.

‘For the people’s benefit’

“The cabinet has decided for the benefit of the people, that the official premiere of the film be postponed as it contains scenes that may cause conflicts.

“This is because it shows the tragedy of May 13 which is disputed by various parties,” he said in November last year.

Koh, who was fielding questions at a press conference today, also announced that Malaysia has won the third place in the World Interfaith Harmony Week 2013 competition organised by the Jordan-based Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought.

The Department of National Unity and Integration would be awarded with a bronze medal and US$5,000 at a ceremony in Jordan on April 25.

Malaysia had marked the celebration with a series of events from Feb 1 to Feb 8, including one where Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak toured five places of worship in Brickfields on Feb 2.

Koh added that the people should not engage with religious extremists who are at the fringes. Instead, the best policy was to simply ignore them and focus on efforts to foster harmony with those in the mainstream.

“Very often, people want to be heroes and utter certain statements. If you engage with them, there is more opportunity for them to say more and more,” he said.

On other issues, Koh, who is also Gerakan president, declined to comment on Malay rights pressure group Perkasa’s threat not to support his party’s candidates.

“Let (Penang BN chief) Teng Chang Yeow deal with it, there is no need for me to issue a statement on this. To us, it is just a small matter and Teng has stated his stance on the issue clearly,” Koh said.

Perkasa is irate about Teng’s statement that he would not have attended the group’s event at Speaker’s Square, Penang, had he known earlier that Perkasa was involved in it.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 March 2013, 6:18 am and is filed under
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Second Objective of Battle of Gelang Patah – Target 19 of the 26 Parliamentary and 30 of the 56 State Assembly seats in Johore

Yesterday, when visiting Taman Damai Jaya in Gelang Patah, I spoke about the meaning of the Battle of Gelang Patah.

I stressed that the Battle of Gelang Patah is not my personal battle on whether I can be re-elected to Parliament.

If this is the case, I should stay back in Ipoh Timor which I had won with a majority of over 21,000 votes in the 2008 general elections, instead of going for a very high-risk contest in Gelang Patah which was won by the MCA/BN candidate with a majority of over 8,000 votes in 2008 and a humoungous majority of 31,666 votes in 2004.

In Gelang Patah I could very well lose but I am prepared to take the risk.

This is because the Battle of Gelang Patah is not so much about the victory or defeat of an individual or the gains or losses of individual parties, but whether Johore can become a “kingmaker” in the 13GE to spark a political tsunami in the country from the south and cross the South China Sea to effect the first peaceful and democratic transfer of power from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat.

The First Objective of the Battle of Gelang Patah is in south Johore – to target the six Parliamentary and 13 State Assembly seats in south Johore to pave the way for Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya in the 13th General Elections.

Johor Baru has three parliamentary and six state assembly seats, namely Johor Bahru, Pasir Gudang and Tebrau parliamentary seats and Stulang, Tanjong Puteri, Johore Jaya, Permas, Puteri Wangsa and Tiram State Assembly seats.

None of these Johor Baru parliamentary and state assembly seats had been won by the Opposition, which is against the national trend where parliamentary and/or state assembly seats in the capital of most of the states are strongholds of the Opposition, whether Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Perak, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu or the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur where the Pakatan Rakyat swept 10 of the 11 parliamentary seats in 2008.

There are three other parliamentary seats and seven state assembly seats in the South Johore region, namely Gelang Patah, Kulai and Pulai with seven state assembly seats, namely Skudai, Nusajaya, Pengkalan Rinting, Kempas, Senai, Bukit Batu and Bukit Permai.

Objective One of the Battle of Gelang Patah is to win for Pakatan Rakyat the six Parliamentary and 13 State Assembly seats in South Johore, for if we cannot achieve this objective, the chances of Pakatan Rakyat winning the 13GE to form the new Federal Government would be a very slim one.

The Second Objective of the Battle of Gelang Patah is the challenge to Pakatan Rakyat on a state-wide basis in Johore in 13GE.

If we can create a political tsunami to set off from Johore, then Pakatan Rakyat should aim to target 19 Parliamentary seats and 30 State Assembly seats.

The 19 Parliamentary seats are the 12 first-tier constituencies of  Johor Bahru, Pasir Gudang, Tebrau, Pulai, Gelang Patah, Kulai, Tanjong Piai, Kluang, Batu Pahat, Bakri, Labis and Segamat and the seven second-tier seats of Sekijang, Ledang, Muar, Ayer Hitam, Sri Gading, Simpang Rengam and Sembrong.

For the 30 State Assembly seats in Johor, the Battle of Gelang Patah should target the 23 first-tier seats of Stulang, Tanjong Puteri, Johor Jaya, Permas, Puteri Wangsa, Tiram, Pengkalan Rinting, Kempas, Skudai, Nusajaya, Senai, Bukit Batu, Bukit Permai,  Pekan Nenas, Mengkibol, Penggaram, Bentayam, Sungai Abong, Bekok, Jementah, Tangkak, Paloh and Yong Peng. There are seven second-tier winnable seats, viz: Mahkota, Layang-Layang, Parit Yaani, Maharani, Gambir, Tenang and  Pemanis.

The future not only of Johore but also Malaysia is in the hands of the voters of Johore in the 13GE.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 March 2013, 6:30 pm and is filed under
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Time starting to run out for BN

 ― Fikry Osman

The Malaysian Insider

March 28, 2013

MARCH 28 ― The Negri Sembilan state assembly ran out of time and all the mentri besar could do is say that his is now the caretaker state government.

What kind of leadership is this? As the state’s chief executive, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan should have had the scrotal gumption to dissolve the legislature and notify the Election Commission (EC).

It would be up to them to decide the timing for polls, whether to hold it first or wait for the other assemblies and Parliament to also be dissolved.

Instead, he waited until time ran out and reportedly said, “There has to be a caretaker government because we will have to pay wages and look into other matters during the period… without a caretaker government, there will be anarchy.”

That is stating the obvious. Of course there is a caretaker government until the polls are held, whether he dissolves it or it is done automatically.

He should have just gone ahead and done it himself instead of looking like a clueless politician waiting for further orders from Putrajaya.

It reflects his lack of leadership and confirms what Negri Sembilan Umno leaders have been complaining about. That he is useless and allows his family to run the state Umno and government.

If Barisan Nasional (BN) is serious about keeping the state, or any other state and even Putrajaya, it can start with a better slate of leaders. It can start with those who won’t wait for Putrajaya to tell them what to do.

Maybe the prime minister has his reasons for delaying the polls as reported today, but that does not mean the Negri Sembilan assembly should be allowed to lapse just like that. It is a historic first but not a good one.

It shows how lacklustre this state government is that its leaders can just watch the assembly expires, without doing anything.

If this is BN’s strategy, it will backfire and they will lose the state.

We want a dynamic leadership in Seremban to take care of Negri Sembilan. Not the current crop of politicians who don’t have the guts to dissolve the state assembly.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 29 March 2013, 6:52 am and is filed under
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12-Day Countdown to 13GE:  Third Objective of Battle of Gelang Patah –  BN’s fixed deposit states of Johore, Sabah and Sarawak “Going, Going, Gone!” by targeting to win 33 out of the 83 Parliamentary seats in the three states

In the last two days, I had discussed the first two objectives of the Battle of Gelang Patah:

Objective One:
 to target the six Parliamentary and 13 State Assembly seats in south Johore to pave the way for Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya in the 13th General Elections. The six Parliamentary seats are Johor Bahru, Pasir Gudang, Tebrau, Gelang Patah, Kulai and Pulai.  The 13 State Assembly seats are: Stulang, Tanjong Puteri, Johore Jaya, Permas, Puteri Wangsa, Tiram, Skudai, Nusajaya, Pengkalan Rinting, Kempas, Senai, Bukit Batu and Bukit Permai.

Objective Two:
 to target a total of 19 Parliamentary seats and 30 State Assembly seats in the state of Johor, including the six Parliamentary and 13 State Assembly seats in South Johore which I had already mentioned. The additional 13 Parliamentary seats in the rest of Johore are Tanjong Piai, Kluang, Batu Pahat, Bakri, Labis, Segamat, Sekijang, Ledang, Muar, Ayer Hitam, Sri Gading, Simpang Rengam and Sembrong. The additional 17 State Assemby seats are Pekan Nenas, Mengkibol, Penggaram, Bentayam, Sungai Abong, Bekok, Jementah, Tangkak, Paloh, Yong Peng, Mahkota, Layang-Layang, Parit Yaani, Maharani, Gambir, Tenang and Pemanis.

I am not claiming that Pakatan Rakyat can score a bullseye and win all the 19 Parliamentary and 30 State Assembly seats in Johore mentioned.  In fact, if Pakatan Rakyat can achieve 50 per cent of this target, it is already a “phenomenal political revolution” in Johor, bearing in mind the arrogant boasts of Barisan Nasional leaders just five years ago before the 2008 general elections that they would ensure that Johore would become a “zero Opposition” state!

I am of course expecting hitting a more than 50% success for  the PR target of 19 Parliamentary and 30 State Assembly seats in Johore the 13GE.

In fact, it would be easier to achieve the objective  of winning more than one-third of the Parliamentary seats in Johore and help propel Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya  to form the new Federal Government than to win a simple majority in the State Assembly seats to form the next Johore State Government in the 13GE.

For the past ten days, Barisan Nasional leaders have been attacking me for returning to my home state to contest in Gelang Patah, with more than one leader warning that it could backfire and that I could be defeated in Gelang Patah.

I agree that my leaving Ipoh Timor where I had won with a majority of 21,000 votes in the 2008 general election to contest in Gelang Patah where the MCA/BN candidates had won with humongous majorities of over 8,000 votes in 2008 and over 31,000 votes in 2004 is a very high-risk venture.

But I am prepared to accept all the risks of being “kubured” (word coined by BN propagandists) in Gelang Patah, as I am not prepared to be “kiasu” and “kiasi” like the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who up to now is unable to decide when the dissolve Parliament to hold the 13GE although his premiership, Cabinet and Government have long “expired” in credibility and legitimacy after the fifth anniversary of the “308 political tsunami” on March 8.

The Battle of Gelang Patah is never about the victory or defeat of an individual or the gains or losses of individual parties.

It is about the Battle of Johor, whether Johore can become a “kingmaker” in the 13GE to spark a political tsunami in the country from the south and cross the South China Sea to effect the first peaceful and democratic transfer of federal power from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat.

It is about the Battle of Malaysia, which takes me to the Third Objective of the Battle of Gelang Patah – to signal in clear and unmistakable terms that the Barisan Nasional’s three fixed deposit states of Johore, Sabah and Sarawak are “Going, Going, Gone!”

In the 13GE, the three “fixed deposit states” of Sabah, Sarawak and Johore hold the keys to Putrajaya.

In the 2008 General Elections, PR won 82 parliamentary seats while BN won 140 seats. If in the 13GE, PR can win at least 40% of the total of 83 parliamentary seats in these three states, i.e. 33 out of a total of 83 seats in Johore, Sabah and Sarawak, PR would have exceeded the magic number of 112 for a simple majority of the 222 parliamentary seats.

The Third Objective
of the Battle of Gelang Patah is to target to win 33 Parliamentary seats for Pakatan Rakyat in the three BN “fixed-deposit states” of Johore, Sabah and Sarawak.

However, PR can only win with a good and comfortable majority if we can win at least 125 parliamentary seats (i.e. a majority of 28) in 13GE, comprising say 45 seats for PKR and 40 seats each for DAP and PAS.

The question is whether PR can win another 10 – 12 parliamentary seats from Barisan Nasional’s total of 140 seats won in 2008 from states other than the three “fixed deposit states” of Johore, Sabah and Sarawak.

I will discuss this
Fourth Objective of the Battle of Gelang Patah
 tomorrow.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 March 2013, 8:11 am and is filed under
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Are we really independent?

P Gunasegaram

Malaysiakini

Mar 29, 2013

QUESTION TIME
 On the eve of the general election, it is appropriate to take a moment to reflect on how independent are we really.

What a moment it must have been when Malaysia (then Malaya) achieved independence from the British on Aug 31, 1957 and the flag of the newly independent country was raised.

At five years old, I was too young to remember what it was like then but have vague memories of my brother getting lost on a family visit to Kuala Lumpur town during the celebrations and being taken care of by policemen, before he was reunited with our parents.

It must have held so much hope for Malayans of all races and religions who put aside their differences to work for the formation of a new nation.

Tunku Abdul Rahman declared himself the happiest prime minister in the world and was proud of the fact that independence was achieved via negotiation without a single drop of blood being shed.

To be sure there were differences and in the years before independence there was much debate and agonising over how a disparate country of Chinese and Indian immigrants, many of whom had nowhere else but Malaya to call home, were to be integrated with the majority Malay community.

But there was a plan and everyone stuck to it and the country became independent. The communist threat had been beaten back although it would take until the sixties before they were more or less completely vanquished.

We were independent but how free were we? And did not independence mean freedom as well?

At independence, partly because of the communist insurgency at the time and the need of the British to control the people, we inherited many oppressive laws which it was not thought expedient to change at the time. The excuse was the communist insurgency.

Thus the Internal Security Act and the laws against press freedom remained in the statute books. But we had elections and in the first two, the ruling Alliance, comprising basically the three race-based parties, Umno, MCA and MIC won handsomely.

There was an underlying discontent, especially among urban non-Malay voters which often led to local councils falling to the opposition. The Tunku did away with local elections in 1965 using the confrontation with Indonesia as the excuse. He promised to bring it back after the confrontation but successive governments never fulfilled the promise.

The big curbs on personal freedom began after the May 13, 1969 racial riots in Kuala Lumpur which made the Tunku the saddest prime minister in the world and led to his exit. Many felt that the riots were engineered to re-consolidate the position of Umno after election setbacks that year.

Whatever press freedom was curbed further and the country moved towards greater control by the federal government in all spheres of life. Twelve years after independence, it was back to paternalism and the attitude of the government knows best.

When university students demonstrated in 1974 over poverty in Baling, amongst other things, the government’s response was to remove university autonomy summarily and impose the infamous Universities and University Colleges Act.

Travesty to their children

Our founding fathers, who no doubt agitated against British occupation as student activists and were allowed to by the British, decided to completely exclude university students from taking part in politics when they did so in their days! What a double standard and what a travesty to their children.

The attitude of father knows best persisted and while the country grew economically, the institutions of checks and balances in the country were eroded in favour of the executive. The independence of the judiciary was heavily undermined and compromised and the police and the civil service came under undue political influence.

Politicians wielded all the power and used it to indiscriminately put down all kinds of dissent, allowing selective demonstrations by their supporters and crushing, sometimes ruthlessly, others with a different viewpoint. Legitimacy was not the issue, power was.

The oppressive laws permitting detention without trial were used freely against political opponents and to strike fear among the populace whenever it was deemed necessary. May 13 was used as a threat over and over again.

The federal constitution was amended well over a hundred times to accommodate all kinds of laws restricting the rights of citizens and to exert central control over dissenters.

Patronage politics emerged in a big way and favoured companies and individuals received contracts which made them millionaires virtually overnight. Some became billionaires. Umno morphed from a party of teachers to one of businessmen, and the MCA and MIC tried to keep up.

As part of a private vendetta, a former deputy prime minister was accused of sodomy under archaic laws seldom applied for decades. As it turned out, the charges were trumped up. He was punched up while in detention. And then he was charged again with sodomy.

Most of the mainstream press was controlled by political parties and some of them were rabidly pro-political parties in the ruling coalition almost totally, stifling any intelligent debate on political, social and economic issues that affected the nation. TV and radio stations are government-owned or controlled, being propaganda tools of the ruling coalition.

Since the setback of Barisan Nasional in the last elections of 2008, there were attempts to free things up to reflect the feeling of the electorate but the attempts were half-hearted at best and strongly resisted by right-wing elements in the ruling coalition.

The current situation with respect to allowing freedom of expression and its dissemination is reflected in the recent declaration by the information minister that opposition parties will be given 10 minutes, 10 minutes! to present their election manifestos to Malaysians via TV and radio.

Well, are we really independent? Yes, perhaps, because our fate is now in our own hands although the hands are often tied. But we could be much freer than we are. Hell, we can’t even be sure that we are freer now than when under the British.

And that plainly shows, 55 years after throwing off the British yoke, we have not fully reaped the fruits of independence. How much longer will it take?

P GUNASEGARAM is founding editor of KiniBiz. Like most Malaysians he believes democracy is much more than one man, one vote.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 March 2013, 6:35 am and is filed under
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Arms deals inked by ‘expired PM’ may not be valid

by Koh Jun Lin

Malaysiakini

Mar 30, 2013

Pakatan Rakyat would review all contracts signed by the federal government after March 8 and possibly cancel them if they are found to be unfair or involved abuse of power, if the coalition takes over Putrajaya, said DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang.

He said in his speech at Seputeh today that the government has no business signing these deals five years after the last general election; they should be considered interim agreements subject to confirmation by the succeeding government.

Highlighting the RM4.2 billion arms deal signed in Langkawi two days ago, he said: “We will not be bound by these agreements because these are done after March 8, when the prime minister has lost legitimacy and credibility, and is only an ‘expired’ prime minister.

 “He cannot sign these agreements,” he said, adding that the federal government should declare every deal it inked since that date because it should not have endorsed them.

Lim was speaking at the official launching of DAP’s Seputeh election operations centre, which occupies a shoplot that local MP Teresa Kok said was let out to the party for free by a supporter.

It’s about legitimacy, not legality

 When pointed out at a press conference later that the government is legally in power for five years since the parliament’s first sitting was on April 28, 2008, he dismissed it, saying that this was a question of legitimacy, not legality.

“(It is about) political morality,” he said, when pressed by reporters to quote relevant legislation to back his claims that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is an illegitimate occupant of the office.

He pointed that past prime ministers have called for polls soon after taking over from their predecessors, but Najib has not sought a fresh mandate since replacing Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2009.

This also means that current state governments that have not dissolved automatically are still legitimate, he said when asked, because they still enjoy the 2008 general election mandate.

Under Article 42(2)(a) of the federal constitution the prime minister is appointed by the Agong from among the members of parliament, whom he thinks is “likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House (of Representatives)”.

Similar provisions are also found in state constitutions in relation to the formation of state governments, but with the governor or sultan appointing them in place of the Agong.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 March 2013, 5:16 pm and is filed under
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BN, no need for the politics of fear

JD Lovrenciear

Malaysiakini

Mar 27, 2013

As we gear towards an imminent dissolution of Parliament, the leaders and political party vanguards are really getting completely violently vile in thought, speech and deeds.

Are we the rakyat and nation-loving people to be left in the lurch and to stomach all this bullying then?

Why on earth is the prime minister of the nation – a leader for all Malaysians, himself also holding a gun to our heads?

BN leaders and party wigs are making all kinds of statements; are smilingly witnessing all kinds of abuse; and allowing all kinds of rubbish to be pumped out through all the mainstream media.

Are these not akin to holding a gun to the citizens’ heads?

They say that the nation will go bust if they are not returned to power.

They say the nation will be in chaos if they are not elected into power.

Some even go the distance to threaten that there will be racial clashes if they are not returned to power.

They rile the rakyat to cry for murder – as in the incident where the crowds screamed “Kill Tian Chua”, recently.

What is all these? Are we back to a wild-wild-west timeline?

Does this country belong solely to the BN machinery and their cartel of kingpins?

Are we the rakyat to pawn our rights and allegiance to a singular political party and not remain as the true and loyal subjects of the king.

If the prime minister is going to lose his job because of BN’s failure in the coming polls, is that the rakyat’s problem?

Should it not then be solely the political party – Umno’s problems? Why hold a gun to the citizens’ heads for your own job security?

Please politicians, battle the elections by all means with sensible and legitimate justifications as to why we the voters should consider voting you to form the machinery that will govern.

Consistently enlighten the voters on what your singular and collective achievements have been, but leave the judgment to the voters. Don’t point a gun to our heads while seemingly patting our backs.

BN be reminded. Malaysia is a sovereign nation not a communist regime or socialist republic.

It is not a police state or a military junta, please. It should be a democratic nation of people with a constitutional monarchy.

Its citizens have the absolute freedom to elect democratically the political party that will form the government.

Therefore, nobody, not even the current prime minister of the nation, has the autonomy and power to demand to be returned to power.

Political parties can come in or go bust every five years, but our revered ruler and his fervent subjects remain supreme in this constitutional monarchy, Malaysia.

This the politicians especially those in BN must learn and accept out of loyalty to King, subjects and nation. Otherwise they are guilty of rigging this nation and should be charged with treason. Yes?

So politicians stop pointing a gun to the citizens’ heads and demanding that the voting population vote for BN only.

You are not indispensable as much as your opposition camp is not indispensable.

Stop gloating on all the success you have brought as seen in your ‘Satu Lagi Projek Oleh Barisan Nasional’ billboard publicity.

Success is not for you to crow; success is what you were put there in the first place to deliver.

So go bury your guns if you are serious about putting BN back on the saddle come GE13.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 March 2013, 6:57 am and is filed under
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Malaysia’s debt: the misleading debt-to-GDP ratio

by
Pak Sako

CPI Asia

This is the third part of a three-part CPI series on Malaysian debt. The first part, entitled, ‘
Investigate Malaysia’s debts now
‘ , surveyed the overall debt situation. The second part, entitled, ‘
Malaysian government debt to approach RM1 trillion by 2020
‘, looked at the trend in government debt.

This part critiques the debt-to-GDP ratio and questions Malaysia’s official debt figures.

An over-optimistic and misleading impression of debt results when the government puts its faith in one number, the debt-to-GDP ratio.

The current government-debt-to-GDP ratio for Malaysia of 53% is assumed as being within safe limits, below the 55% ceiling set by Malaysian policy.

Here it is argued that judging the nation’s debt condition primarily on account of this one indicator is wrong. A critical look at debt is required to understand the real situation and health of the economy.

Problems with the debt-to-GDP ratio

(i)
It is an incomplete measure of the debt situation

he debt-to-GDP ratio is useful in providing an idea of a country’s debt level and potential capacity to repay debt, but it has discrepancies.

GDP, the value of goods and services produced in the country, is a crude measure that does not reflect the money actually available for servicing debt. Only part of GDP belongs to Malaysians and can theoretically be used to settle debt— the amount collected by the government as tax and the disposable cash that enters the savings of citizens.

More accurate indicators of debt would be government debt as a percentage of export earnings and government debt as a percentage of the government’s capacity to tax.

However these indicators too are imperfect. Clearly, not all of export earnings is cash that is available for debt repayment. Measuring debt as a proportion of government tax receipts is questionable when domestic debt is involved, since it implies that the government can tax its citizens to repay what it borrowed from the savings of the citizens themselves.

It is clear that “no individual indicator can provide an adequate measure of the complexity of a country’s debt problem” (K. Pilbeam,International Finance, 2006, p. 384). These indicators “neglect factors such as differing degrees of vulnerability to external shock, differing capacities to increase export earnings”, “differing future economic prospects of the economies”, or institutional and political factors.

(ii)
Domestic debt matters

A study asked why countries default on foreign debt even though these debts seemed relatively small (C. Reinhart and K. Rogoff, 2011, ‘The forgotten history of domestic debt’,
Economic Journal
, Vol. 121).

It found that large domestic debt is linked to external debt defaults. This helps explain why “emerging market governments tend to default at such stunningly low levels of debt repayments and debts-to-GDP”.

Unlike external debt defaults that grab headlines, the study found that defaults on domestic debt— money borrowed by governments from the savings of its own citizens (pension funds etc.)— have been numerous, but are hidden. This finding raises the question of whether governments cheat when it comes to repaying what is owed to its citizens.

The Malaysian government’s external debt is about RM17 billion, but its domestic debt holdings are substantial. At the end of 2012, domestic debt stood at RM485 billion and accounted for 97% of total Malaysian government debt, and 66% of all Malaysian government and private sector debts.

Government debt is predicted to almost double to close to RM1 trillion by 2020, following the historical trend and forecasts suggested by the IMF (see ‘Malaysian government’s debt to approach RM1 trillion by 2020’,
Center for Policy Initiatives
, 25 February 2013).

Can the Malaysian government default on its domestic debt? The debt-to-GDP ratio gives no clue.

(iii)
The debt-to-GDP ratio is only as good as its underlying numbers

The debt-to-GDP ratio is only as meaningful as the debt and GDP values used to calculate it.

Malaysia’s current GDP figures may not be reflecting long-lasting or sustainable growth.

GDP numbers may be artificially high when we rapidly draw down on natural resources, such as petroleum reserves and forests, without regard for future generations, or stimulate all sorts of economic activities even if they are unproductive and have questionable returns for the public.

Therefore using unsustainable GDP figures to calculate the debt-to-GDP ratio understates the seriousness of our debt situation.

There is also suspicion that the Malaysian government’s debts are higher than what is being revealed.

Questions have been asked about the government’s hidden debts, such as ‘contingent liabilities’ (see ”Hidden debt” edges M’sia beyond 55pct limit’, Malaysiakini, 27 September 2012). Contingent liabilities are difficult to trace, less transparent and its existence may pose a greater risk than the official debt size alone.

Because such debt can be kept hidden, “it is questionable whether many governments face sufficient incentives to reduce the use of contingent liabilities” (T. Ito and A.K Rose (eds.),
Fiscal Policy and Management in East Asia
, 2007, p. 285).

The Malaysian government’s contingent liabilities are not fully known but are growing (see IMF Country Report No.13/51, February 2013, pp. 12, 22). Although Malaysia is not alone in its failure to account for this openly and transparently, it is important to take action to reduce the use of contingent liabilities before they reach a dangerous level and overwhelm the country’s fiscal capacity.

Another type of debt not captured by the usual debt-to-GDP ratio is household debt. The above-mentioned IMF report says that Malaysia’s “household debt is high, as is bank exposure to households (55% of bank credit)”, and “growth in credit to households remain in double digits” (p. 9).

If these other debts are taken into account, the debt that the Malaysian government is exposed to breaches the 55% ceiling.

Also worrying is the evidence that Bank Negara Malaysia’s statistics is giving conflicting information about Malaysia’s true total debt.

In one part of Bank Negara’s
Quarterly Bulletins
, Malaysia’s domestic and external debts, both private sector and government, are provided and total up to RM695.4 billion for 2011 and RM737.6 billion for 2012.

Elsewhere in these bulletins, there are indications that Malaysia’s total debt is much higher:

“Malaysia’s total external debt declined to RM257.2 billion… as at end-December 2011… and remains small as a share of total debt (12.7%)” (BNM, Quarterly Bulletin, fourth quarter 2011, p. 134).

“Malaysia’s total external debt declined to RM252.8 billion at end-December 2012… and accounted for only 14.5% of total debt” (BNM, Quarterly Bulletin, fourth quarter 2012, p. 146).

Simple calculations show that the total debts implied here are RM2.025 trillion for 2011 and RM1.743 trillion for 2012.

The total-debt-to-GDP ratio becomes 230% for 2011 and 184% for 2012.

Given that government debt is currently around two-thirds of total debt, a speculative estimate of the government-debt-to-GDP ratio gives us the figures of 115% for 2011 and 92% for 2012.

These are crisis-level percentages.

(iv)
The debt-to-GDP ratios of different countries cannot be directly compared

It is sometimes simplistically argued that Malaysian debt level is healthy because other countries tolerate higher debt-to-GDP ratios than Malaysia’s without adverse effects, or that Malaysia’s debt-to-GDP ratio is similar to that of other countries that are doing economically well.

This is fallacious thinking. A well-regarded study on sovereign debt has found that debt thresholds are importantly country-specific (C. Reinhart, K. Rogoff and M. Savastano, 2003, ‘Debt intolerance’,
Brookings Papers on Economic Activity
, Vol. 1).

Comparisons with countries such as Japan, Germany and Australia, which may have similar or higher debt-to-GDP ratios, can be erroneous.

These countries may have far more ‘leg room’ to take up larger debts.

For instance, Japan and Germany have the capacity to innovate, create homegrown technology and export without undermining their resource base. Australia, with a population size that is close to ours, has immensely large and important mineral deposits.

Malaysia lacks world-beating innovative capacity (hence the ‘middle income trap’), is reliant on limited resources (oil reserves and land area), and suffers brain drain. Malaysia may not be as equally geared as some other countries to assume the same proportion of debt for this and other reasons.

More accountability is needed on debt

The Malaysian government appears to have carte blanche in procuring debt. The ordinary citizen is left in the dark about debt levels and debt policy.

A more democratic approach is required given that debt has a critical effect on the people’s wellbeing. Debt amounts and debt policies should be brought under parliamentary scrutiny. Critical debt decisions could be put to public referenda.

Transparency is required. The government must clarify how it intends to repay the money that it has borrowed from the savings of its citizens, and at what rates and by when. The government is obliged to inform its citizens about the use that is being made of borrowed money. The government must reveal the full extent of the government’s debt holding and the annual interest payments that are being made on it.

In a genuine democracy, the people must be able to evaluate how much absolute debt they would be willing to collectively shoulder.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 March 2013, 1:18 pm and is filed under
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Najib’s Afraid of Losing His Job

By
Kee Thuan Chye

I stand corrected for predicting that Prime Minister Najib Razak would dissolve Parliament on March 26 to allow for the 13th general election to be held in mid-April. I had thought he would be man enough to do it.

It is unclear now when he will make the much-awaited move to face the people’s decision as to whether they want to retain his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition as the government or consign it to the Opposition benches. He could also wait for Parliament to automatically dissolve on April 28.

In fact, the Negeri Sembilan State Assembly has already been automatically dissolved – as its five-year term ended on March 27. The next state assembly to follow suit is the Pahang one on April 7.

Najib’s delay does not look good for him as it shows a lack of confidence. Already, many are calling him “coward” on social media. In contrast to the Opposition’s push forward by first unveiling its manifesto way ahead and DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang’s daring declaration of standing in the Gelang Patah parliamentary constituency in Johor, the bastion of BN, followed by DAP MP Liew Chin Tong being moved from Penang to a yet-unnamed seat also in Johor, Najib’s inaction is a sign of weakness.

To make it worse, BN’s Penang state chief, Teng Chang Yeow, has been dared by DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to face him in the Padang Kota state seat. If he declines, he might be called “coward” too. And BN can’t afford to have too many of these in its leadership.

Meanwhile, what Najib has done in an obviously desperate measure to win votes is going around throwing money and goodies at people – first, at the military, the police and the civil service; then at the employees of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) and Telekom Malaysia; and lately at the staff of seven statutory bodies. He has also been promising that if BN continues as government, it will dish out more money to the rakyat. The BR1M (Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia) RM500 handout could become RM1,000.

No wonder a Singapore Straits Times editor, Reme Ahmad, was prompted to call such tactics “Santa Claus politics”. He also pointed out that handouts would not necessarily ensure votes for the giver because the “harsh reality is the more you give, the more people want”. And “the freebies have to be paid for by somebody down the line”.

Most telling is his point that Malaysia is now into its 16th year carrying a budget deficit since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. As such, he thinks that the tax revenue that could have been better spent for development purposes may instead be used to fulfil campaign promises.

“In other words,” he says, “they will be paid for by the same voters who thought they got them for free.”

Negeri Sembilan caretaker Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan has tried to justify Najib’s lack of action and resolve to call for elections by saying the automatic dissolution of Parliament should be made a common practice. This, he reasons, is because it will prevent speculation on the election date, which could make investors hold back their investment decisions. He also opines that if a government were allowed to serve its full term, that would help it develop the country without interruption.

That kind of talk serves no purpose because our system is not specifically designed for governments to serve full terms. At the same time, Mohamad Hasan should note that it is actually Najib’s indecisiveness that has encouraged the unnecessary speculation and investor hesitancy.

Obviously, his was a spin one could foresee even before he said a word. It belongs in the same rubbish bin as former Selangor Menteri Besar Mohd Khir Toyo’s praise for Najib for choosing to serve the full term and “abandon his privilege to call for a snap election”.

Najib is not opting for that by choice. He’s simply afraid of doing badly at the polls and even losing. Even winning it but with a reduced majority could cost him his job. He has openly admitted that. And it doesn’t help his cause that ex-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has rubbed it in by saying the same thing.

Be that as it may, the prime minister has to call the shots. If he doesn’t, everyone will be kept in abeyance, including investors. Win or lose, it’s all part of the democratic game. And Najib has to learn to play it fair and square.

*
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!

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 March 2013, 5:08 pm and is filed under
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Our Hope

Our Hope

By Allan CF Goh

The dark clouds may threaten,

Seemingly for eternity.

But after the rain,

The rainbow will appear,

Radiant with colours,

Alive with hope.

The darkness may stretch

Endlessly into the night,

A tarry mass of fright.

But dawn will surely come,

Bringing along the sun-bright,

To dispel the shifting shadows.

So must any rotten regime,

Bloated with corruptions,

Inert with inefficiency,

Accepted decreasingly,

Must sink into oblivion,

Into history’s waste bin.

The wind of change is blowing,

From within people’s soul,

Fresh with gentle hopes,

Full of quiet longings,

Seeking meaningful expressions,

For a better tomorrow.

This general election,

Though fraught with dark threats,

Brings forth that opportunity

For the rainbow arch,

And the sun’s radiance,

To enrich our lives.

For this coming election,

All citizens of good conscience,

Must come out to vote,

With utmost wisdom,

For our country’s future,

For our national salvation.

For our children’s,

And their children’s sake,

Let not this regime sack

Their tender dreams,

And hallowed ambitions,

Into the racist void.

Come this election,

Citizens can realize their dreams,

By voting in righteousness,

And integrity.

Sweep out the corruptions.

Demolish the racism.

Let us wake up to a new morn,

Where the nation is in harmony,

Thriving in meaningful pursuits,

To the best of our potential.

Let the nation grow in peace.

Let us celebrate a true nation.

This election must ensure

A government of the people,

Working for the people,

In tune with the nation,

Marching to a shared future.

Let’s make our hope come true.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 March 2013, 12:00 pm and is filed under
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Tsu Koon can redeem himself if he is prepared to take a honest and honourable stand on Wednesday’s Cabinet to demand the total suspension of the May 13 film Tanda Putra or to submit his resignation as Cabinet Minister

I feel very sorry for the Gerakan President and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Tan Sri Dr.Koh Tsu Koon but he has only himself to blame for the avalanche of public odium heaped on him in the last 48 hours when he did the indefensible – defending the private screenings of the May 13 riots  film, Tanda Putera.

Tsu Koon claimed that the private screening of the controversial Tanda Putera are allowed because the Cabinet decision to postpone its screening is restricted to public screenings only.

What sycophancy, hypocrisy and sophistry!

No wonder Cabinet Ministers are not the most highly regarded and respected people in Malaysia – and the Najib Cabinet makes history as the Cabinet which beats all previous Cabinets in having the most useless “deadwood”.

Even the former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir and former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin in their recent interviews took turns to scalp the Ministerial “deadwood” in the Najib Cabinet.

Mahathir fully endorsed Daim’s condemnation of the Najib Cabinet as “carrying too much deadwood” with “most are already past their use-by date”, saying caustically: “I agree entirely. Lots of deadwood should be chopped down and thrown away and new trees grown.”

I don’t think a former Prime Minister had ever been so contemptuous and dismissive of the Cabinet of the current Prime Minister which cannot but reflect on the Prime Minister’s quality and leadership.

In justifying the private screening of film Tanda Putra, whose premier had been deferred by the Cabinet because of  “inappropriate” scenes in the film and the highly disputatious account of the tragedy of May 13, Tsu Koon has not been able to rebut one simple question which comes to the mind of every Malaysian, is it ok to have private screening of pornographic films?

But it is still possible for Tsu Koon redeem himself and restore some respectability among the Malaysian public.

Tsu Koon still has a last opportunity. He should demand the total suspension of the May 13 film Tanda Putra on Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting or to submit his resignation as Cabinet Minister. Is Tsu Koon capable of such a last honest and honourable stand?

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 30 March 2013, 12:42 pm and is filed under
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11-Day Countdown to 13GE: 4th Objective of the Battle of Gelang Patah – Pakatan to target 12 parliament seats from the non-BN fixed deposit states in Peninsular Malaysia to pave the way to Putrajaya in 13GE

Over the past 3 days, I have outlined the three objective of the Battle of Gelang Patah as part of the larger objective to propel Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya.

The Third Objective which I outlined yesterday was Pakatan’s target to win 33 out of 83 parliamentary seats in the three fixed deposit states of Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.

If Pakatan can successfully defend the 80 parliamentary seats it won in the non-fixed deposit states in Peninsular Malaysia in GE12 and the Kuala Terengganu by-election, and if Pakatan can win 33 additional seats in the three BN fixed deposit states of Johor, Sabah and Sarawak, then Pakatan would exceed the magic number of 112 needed to form the Federal Government.

However, Pakatan can only win with a good and comfortable majority if we can win at least 125 parliamentary seats in 13GE, comprising say 45 seats for PKR and 40 seats each for DAP and PAS.

To reach the 125 seat (or a 28 seat majority) target, Pakatan needs to win 12 more parliament seats from the non BN-fixed deposit states.

This the
Fourth Objective
of the Battle of Gelang Patah.

There were a total of 25 parliament seats which the BN won less than 55% of the popular vote (not including Kuala Terengganu). There is at least one of these BN marginal seats in every one of the non BN fixed deposit seats. Pakatan will target to win half of these seats. The 12 marginal seats which Pakatan can realistically win include Arau in Perlis; Alor Setar in Kedah; Kuala Nerus in Terengganu; Larut, Kuala Kangsar, Kampar and Lumut in Perak, Bentong, Raub and Jerantut in Pahang, Sabak Bernam and Pandan in Selangor, Rembau in Negri Sembilan and Bukit Katil in Melaka.

The other marginal BN seats which are in our sights are Dungun in Terengganu; Jerlun in Kedah; Padang Rengas, Tambun, Parit, Tapah, Pasir Salak and Bagan Datok in Perak; Temerloh in Pahang; Sepang in Selangor; and Jempol in Negeri Sembilan.

These seats are already marginal seats to begin with. Many of these seats have experienced a sizable increase in the number of new voters, many of whom are younger voters who are more attracted to Pakatan’s hope for the future than to be threatened by BN’s scaremongering references to the past.

With more time for preparation and the fielding of candidates who have worked the ground in these areas, Pakatan’s chances of being able to deliver another 12 seats out of these 25 marginal seats and at the same time defend all of its seats won in the non BN-fixed deposit seats look bright.

The Battle for Gelang Patah has already sent out political ripples to nearby seats in Southern Johor. We will see it spread to the rest of Johor in the coming weeks.

During the campaign, the surge in the mood for change will emerge from the ground in Sabah and Sarawak, which can no longer be considered fixed deposit states for the BN.

This groundswell will also emerge in the other non BN fixed deposit states in Peninsular Malaysia and will send the Pakatan to power in Putrajaya and Najib to a newfound position as the leader of the opposition, which also may be a short lived position for him.

No wonder then that Najib is too ‘kiasu’ and ‘kiasi’ to dissolve Parliament as he knows that his time as the 6th Prime Minister is coming to an end and that even his time as BN opposition leader after the 13th general election will be a short lived one.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 31 March 2013, 11:17 am and is filed under
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Call on Najib to make public all the mega defence and other contracts entered into by the Federal Government in the past three weeks since March 8 when his premiership has “expired” its credibility, authority and legitimacy

The RM4.2 billion arms deal worth RM4.2 billion entered  into by the Defence Ministry at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (Lima 2013), on top of the earlier argument that Parliament could not yet be dissolved as a  caretaker government cannot enter into mega-ringgit defence deals at LIMA, has brought to the centrestage the important questions of good governance and public  integrity and the issue of corruption in Malaysia – especially what is the proper and ethical conduct of a government which is reaching close to or gone past its “expiry” period.

There can be no contention that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is already the country’s longest unelected Prime Minister without a mandate of his own after taking over the reins of premiership from Tun Abdullah Badawi is already an “expired”  Prime Minister leading an “expired” Cabinet and Government in the past three weeks since March 8, when it  lost all  public credibility, authority and legitimacy as the government of Malaysia.

Why can’t the RM4.2 billion arms deal in LIMA wait until after the 13GE for whichever  government, whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat, to make the final decision?

If Pakatan Rakyat wins in the 13GE and forms the new Federal Government, it would want to use its first mega billion-ringgit arms deal to send out a clear and unequivocal message that it would be a model of accountability, transparency, integrity and good governance, in line with a policy of “zero tolerance” for corruption where not a single ringgit or sen would be squandered for corrupt or crony purposes.

As fighting corruption is allegedly onn  top on the agenda of Najib’s Government Transformation Programe (GTP) and his various NKRAs (National Key Result Areas), is the Cabinet on Wednesday prepared to take a decision to make the RM4.2 billion arms deal in LIMA the first test case of a “Zero Tolerance for Corruption” policy, subjecting the RM4.2 billion arms deal to the most stringent examination and scrutiny by a bi-partisan group comprising representatives from Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Rakyat and NGOs?

I want to reiterate that otherwise, the RM4.2 billion deal would be subject to review if Pakatan Rakyat forms the next Federal Government after the 13GE, and cancellation if they are found to be unfair or involved abuses of power or corrupt practices.

In this connection, I call on Najib to make public all the mega defence and other contracts entered into by the Federal Government in the past three weeks since March 8 when his premiership has “expired” its credibility, authority and legitimacy.

This will be a further test of  Najib’s commitment to the war against corruption to uphold the principles of accountability, transparency, integrity and good governance.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 31 March 2013, 3:34 pm and is filed under
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10-day Countdown to 13GE – Three reasons why Johoreans will vote in record numbers for Pakatan Rakyat in the 13th general elections

Johor, my birth state, is arguably the most important state in Peninsular Malaysia in the upcoming 13th general elections. Not only does it have the largest number of parliament seats in Peninsular Malaysia (26), it is also a state where, unlike in the past, the BN can no longer guarantee a clean sweep of all or almost all of the parliament and state seats.

I have outlined the four objectives of the Battle of Gelang Patah last week. Objective One is to target the 6 Parliamentary and 13 State Assembly seats in South Johor. Objective Two is to target a total of 19 Parliamentary and 30 State Assembly seats in the whole of Johor, which includes the South Johor seats mentioned in Objective One. Objective Three is to target 33 out of the 83 Parliamentary seats in the BN ‘fixed deposit’ states of Johor, Sabah and Sarawak in order to reach the magic number of 112 parliament seats. Objective Four is to win an additional 12 seats to win 125 parliament seats and obtain a comfortable governing majority of 28 seats.

Why do I feel confident that the winds of change are blowing sufficiently strongly in Johor so much so that it will no longer be a BN ‘fixed deposit’ state in GE13? There are at least three reasons.

Firstly
, we have seen how big swings in the past have allowed the opposition to make significant gains. If these swings are big enough, it may even allow the opposition to win a majority of seats and gain control of a state government.

We saw this in Selangor in 2008. From 1995 to 2004, the opposition failed to win a single parliament seats in this state, including the 1999 general elections where the BN suffered a backlash from the victimization of Anwar Ibrahim, especially among the Malay voters. From 1995 to 2004, the most number of state seats won by the opposition was 6 out of a total of 48 state seats (1/8th or 12.5% of total state seats). And yet, in 2008, the opposition’s share of the popular vote jumped from 34% in 2004 to 55% in 2008, a massive swing of 21%! As a result, the opposition parties – PKR, PAS and DAP – won a majority of parliament seats (17 out of 22) and well as state seats (36 out of 56), thereby ushering in a Pakatan state government in Selangor for the first time in Malaysia’s history.

Table 1: Number of parliament seats won by the opposition (1995 to 2008)

1995

1999

2004

2008

Parliament Seats

0

0

0

17

State Seats

3

6

2

36

There is no reason to think why something like what happened in Selangor in 2008 cannot take place again in Johor in 2013. Although the swing may not be sufficient for Pakatan to win a majority of parliament and state seats, the target of winning at least 1/3rd of seats should be achievable under the current political circumstances.

Secondly
, we have actually seen shifts in the voting patterns in Johor in the past (1999 and 2008). But the magnitude of these shifts was not big enough to increase the number of seats won by the opposition. BN’s support in Johor fell from 76% in 1995 to 73% in 1999. It fell by 10% from 75% in 2004 to 65% in 2008. Johoreans lost the opportunity to send a strong signal to the BN in 1999 and 2008. I am confident that they will not lose a third opportunity to do so in the upcoming 13th general election.

Thirdly
, Johor has experienced a significant increase in the number of new, mostly young, voters in the 2008 general election. Johor has experienced the 2nd highest increase in the number of voters from 2008 to 2012, after Selangor. There has been a net increase (new voters and those who have moved to Johor minus those who have passed away and move out of Johor) of close to 300,000 from 1.3 million in GE2008 to 1.6 million in the 4th quarter 2012 electoral roll, an increase of 23%. The number of newly registered voters is higher – at 450,000 new voters which is 28% of total voters in Johor. 52% (or 235,000) of these newly registered voters are below the age of 30. 70% of them (315,000) are below the age of 35. These are the voters who will vote according to the new political realities of today and not be tied down to past voting patterns and habits in Johor. These are the swing voters who will decide who governs in Putrajaya and also who controls the state administration of Johor. I am confident that a majority of them will vote for change, that they will vote for Pakatan and that they will vote for a better and brighter future for Johorians and all Malaysians.

For far too long, Johoreans have allowed the BN to have a free reign in the state of Johor. This will no longer be the case after the 13th general election.

In my next article, I will outline why Johoreans need to vote for a Pakatan federal as well as a state government.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 April 2013, 4:06 pm and is filed under
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27-year-old Liow Cai Tung, product manager, is DAP candidate for Johor Jaya state assembly seat – a “7227” partnership of the old, middle-aged and young

There have been many misleading, incorrect and even baseless  reports about Pakatan Rakyat negotiations on seats allocations which I think should be put straight for the record, viz:

Firstly, the Pakatan Rakyat leadership decision  that I leave the comparatively safe seat of Ipoh Timor which I had won with a majority of over 21,000 votes in 2008 for Gelang Patah, which was won by the MCA/BN with a majority of some 9,000 votes in 2008 and a humongous majority of 31,666 votes in 2004 in a mission to help propel a “political tsunami” in Johore  for Pakatan Rakyat to arrive in Putrajaya in the 13GE was not in exchange for any seat.

Secondly, the proposal that DAP allow PKR’s Chua Jui Meng to contest in Segamat is under discussion and  negotiation.

UMNO/Barisan Nasional leaders and propagandists have launched ferocious hypocritical and double-tongued attacks against Pakatan Rakyat, alleging among the Malays that a Pakatan Rakyat victory would be detrimental to the future of Malays and Islam on the ground that  DAP is anti-Malay and anti-Islam while the Chinese are warned that a Pakatan Rakyat victory will see the deprivation and derogation of the rights of the Chinese and the non-Muslims because the DAP are only stooge, puppet even “eunuchs” vis-a-vis PAS leaders.

These are just lies and falsehoods. The great difference between the Pakatan Rakyat and the Barisan Nasional is that PR is a coalition of political equals while BN is a coalition of UMNO as the political hegemon where the other 13 BN partners are just puppets and hangers-on.

This is why I had said many times public that I hoped that the Pakatan Rakyat will be able to win the 13GE with the strong and healthy majority by winning 125 parliamentary seats which will be distributed evenly among the three PR parties – PKR with 45 and DAP and PAS with 40 parliamentary seats each.

For Johore, an even distribution of the 26 Parliamentary seats among the three parties in PR would mean each party would be contesting in eight or nine seats each.

In the 2008GE, DAP contested in six parliamentary seats, namely Kulai, Kluang, Bakri, Labis, Segamat and Tanjong Piai. Even with Gelang Patah in the 13GE, DAP will be contesting in seven parliamentary seats which is short of the one-third of eight to nine parliamentary seats.

Thirdly, one-third of the 56 state assembly seats in Johore is 18 – 19 seats.  DAP contested in 12 State Assembly seats in the 2008GE. For the 13GE, DAP proposes to contest in 15 State Assembly seats (including Pengkalan Rinting and Johor Jaya) – which is three to four seats short of the one-third of the Johore State Assembly seats  which DAP should be contesting.

There have been allegations that I am “greedy” and want to stand both in Gelang Patah parliamentary seat and the Johor Jaya state assembly seat.

Nothing could be further from my mind.

Let me make it very clear that I  never had any intention to contest in any Johor state assembly seat, especially as the DAP has a most suitable and appropriate candidate for the Johor Jaya seat – Sdri Liow Cai Tung, DAPSY Executive Council member and DAPSY Assistant Publicity Secretary.

Liow is 27 years old and I am 72 years old, but our “7227” partnership symbolises the real  strength and vigour of the DAP where the old-middle/aged-old unite the wisdom, experience, enthusiasm and energy of all age groups in a common cause to bring justice, freedom, competitiveness and prosperity for the country and all Malaysian citizens.

I have no doubt that Liow would be an excellent PR State Assemblywoman for Johor Jaya and give her the fullest endorsement.

I admit however that the allocation of the Johor Jaya state assemby seat has  yet to be decided by the Pakatan Rakyat parties, although DAP could legitimately seek to contest in another three or four seats in keeping with a one-third distribution of the 56 state assembly seats in Johore among the three PR parties.

I have never wanted to comment on ongoing discussions particularly on seats negotiations but  I am making an exception today in order to correct the many misperceptions running wild in the public domain.

I would however urge everyone, whether in DAP or Pakatan Rakyat parties, to refrain from making any more public comments on the on-going seats negotiations and to leave it to the PR leadership to make the final decision – as we must never be deflected from one and only one goal, to defeat  UMNO and BN in the 13GE and to establish a new PR Federal Government to end the rampant corruption, cronyism, injustices and abuses of power after 56 years of UMNO/BN rule.

(Speech when visiting Taman Johor Jaya on Monday, 1st April 2013 at 10 am)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 April 2013, 7:42 pm and is filed under
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DAP Gelang Patah Declaration: A Vision & Strategy for Indian Empowerment

(On 31st March 2013, the DAP Gelang Patah Declaration “A Vision and Strategy for Indian Empowerment” was formally launched in Gelang Patah at a historic meeting attended by DAP national, state and local leaders including DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat, M. Kulasegeran, DAP MPs Gobind Singh Deo (Puchong), Charles Santiago (Klang)  and Manogaran (Teluk Intan), former Senator S. Ramakrishnan, DAP State Assemblymen including Perak Assemblyman for Sungkai A. Sivanesan and Negri Sembilan Assemblyman for Senawang P. Gunasekaren.

The DAP Gelang Patah Declaration will be the basis for the DAP continued espousal of the cause of the Malaysians Indians to end their deplorable status as the new underclass in Malaysia. – LKS)

DAP Gelang Patah Declaration – A Vision and Strategy for Indian Empowerment

DAP offers justice, peace and equality for all.

DAP puts the aspirations of the people at the centre of its social and economic policies.

DAP recognizes BN’s 56 year rule has created unequal distribution of wealth, resulting in poverty among Indians and other vulnerable groups. But we shall ensure fair and effective distribution of our national wealth. The needs of the marginalized groups will be addressed under DAP.

Our policies will help all marginalized communities, especially the Indian poor and the lower middle-classes.

The Gelang Patah Declaration aims to create an enabling environment for the Indian community. DAP  recognizes the significant contribution and struggles of the Indian community and wants to re-affirm, through this Gelang Patah Declaration, that under our leadership there will be improvement of their inherent rights and standard of living.

The Gelang Patah Declaration is DAP’s promise to the Indian community in Malaysia.

1. To resolve the problem of the stateless Indians within 100 days of a Pakatan Rakyat administration

2. To establish a National Housing Board which will build decent and affordable housing for marginalized groups,  especially for displaced Indian plantation workers

3. To ensure that all National School Type Tamil schools become fully funded and the infrastructure of every single school is up to par with Sekolah Kebangsaan.

4. To invest in technical and vocational training coupled with apprenticeship programs to provide an alternative education and career path for school drop outs from low income Indian families.

5. To provide jobs and raise the wages of low income Indians by implementing a-RM1,100 minimum wage scheme.

6. To increase the number of Indians in GLCs, local councils, and public services.

7. To alienate land for existing Hindu temples and burial grounds and find replacement land for temples and burial grounds which have to be relocated.

8. To provide microcredit and other financial assistance schemes to Indian small businesses, with a special focus on women, youths and home based business.

9. To put in place the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) and to eliminate deaths in police custody and custodial deaths.

10. To establish a special fund to promote Indian equity ownership in the country.

11. To establish a Commission to address urban poverty and social problems faced by the community.

12. To establish policies that could economically enable single mothers, including house ownership schemes.

13. To establish or enrol in existing residential schools outstanding Indian students from plantation and urban poor families.

14. To abolish all anti-rakyat legislation and to get rid of discrimination.

Gelang Patah 31st March 2013.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 April 2013, 8:50 am and is filed under
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Dr M comes to Johor BN’s defence, tells voters to end Kit Siang’s political career

by Mohd Farhan Darwis

The Malaysian Insider

April 01, 2013

JOHOR BARU, April 1 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad told Johor folk last night to end Lim Kit Siang’s political career in Gelang Patah in Election 2013 as Barisan Nasional (BN) brought out the veteran leader to defend its political fortress from an opposition onslaught.

In his usually truculent self, the country’s longest-serving prime minister also took swipes at other opposition leaders such as Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, saying the 13th general election was the occasion to end Kelantan mentri besar’s political career

“Now Lim Kit Siang wants to come to Johor as it’s easy for him to win anytime he wants. Johoreans must crush him to the end… to ensure it is his last day in politics,” Dr Mahathir told thousands at a people’s housing project launch organised by Pulai Umno outside Hospital Permai near here.

His highly-publicised appearance here came amid almost nightly ceramahs by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders who are confident of winning several federal and state seats in Umno’s birthplace.

The former Umno president and BN chairman reserved a major part of his speech on Lim, his political arch-rival from the time he was prime minister in 1982 until retiring in 2003.

“If he wants to contest in Penang, Malacca, we can understand but want to attack Umno’s fortress in Johor is stupid, doesn’t make sense,” Dr Mahathir said of Lim, the veteran DAP leader who counts Johor as his birthplace.

He said DAP leaders should think of retiring after being in politics for a long time as the party had always talked about change.

“He has been around for a long time, wants to bring change but he should change himself. He has been a leader since I was an MP. BN has changed a few times but he hasn’t moved.

“What change is that?” Dr Mahathir asked at the event held by Pulai Umno chief Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed. Others present included Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman and Kota Tinggi MP Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar.

The former prime minister also charged after Anwar, who was his former deputy in Umno and the government until sacked in 1998 on sodomy and corruption charges. Anwar was later acquitted after Dr Mahathir retired.

He told the crowd that the opposition leader would “sell” Malaysia after capturing Putrajaya in the general election.

“Nauzubillah (God forbid), if he becomes PM, he will sell our country. This is the man who apparently agreed that Israel has a right to self defence,” he said, referring to an interview of Anwar in the Wall Street Journal newspaper.

“Want to change the government, or choose a government is not hard. We are a democratic country. But we must be smart in voting, don’t choose mad people to be PM.

“YouTube video… I haven’t watched but people talk. People like that if become the PM, even the office boy he will take, die lah,” Dr Mahathir said in an oblique reference to Anwar’s second sodomy charge which he was also acquitted of last year.

“But I know Johoreans will not give a chance. He knows he will lose and now he is planning chaos if he loses. If he loses, it’s dirty but if wins, it is clean,” he added.

He also said that electoral reform movement Bersih’s three rallies were the opposition’s proof that elections are not fair and required foreign observers in Election 2013.

“They can win if people like but if people don’t like them it isn’t the government’s fault,” said the veteran leader.

The former prime minister has been actively campaigning for BN ahead of the general election, a turn from Election 2008 where he left Umno to protest his successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s leadership.

The sour ties between both leaders affected BN, which lost its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority and four states in the 2008 general election.

But the octogenarian is now backing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s efforts to regain the parliamentary super-majority and states lost in 2008.

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 April 2013, 9:07 am and is filed under
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Dr M’s April Fools’ Day Joke?

by Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 April 2013, 11:35 am and is filed under
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Invitation to Mahathir to contest in Gelang Patah and let the voters of Johore decide whether Gelang Patah should be mine or his “political kubur”

Tun Mahathir has come to Johor to help UMNO/Barisan Nasional fight Pakatan Rakyat’s Battle of Gelang Patah, which seeks to create a political tsunami from the south spreading to the rest of Malaysia,  crossing the South China Sea to Sabah and Sarawak, to effect the first peaceful and democratic transition of federal power  in the nation’s 56-year history.

In his speech in Johor Baru last night, Mahathir urged Johor folk to end my political career in Gelang Patah in the 13GE, saying:

“If he wants to contest in Penang, Malacca, we can understand but want to attack Umno’s fortress in Johor is stupid, doesn’t make sense.”

He further said:

“Lim Kit Siang wants to come here (to contest). I urge the people of Johor, all communities should pool their energy to ensure that the state of Johor will be the ‘burial ground’ for Lim Kit Siang’s politics.

“We must ensure that he (Kit Siang) loses in Johor. The state of Johor will continue to become the ‘fixed deposit’ for BN (Barisan Nasional).”

Mahathir said I  wanted the people to ‘Change’ and ‘Transform’ the present government led by the BN, but in actual fact, it was the “DAP veteran leader who should be changed”, saying:automatically

“We have changed six prime ministers since independence in 1957, but he has never changed. Give his children or grandchildren a chance.”

But has Mahathir who has given himself the best description of “the devil that you know”  really retired from politics?

I am sure nobody would answer “No”. In fact, he is more powerful than ever from “behind the curtains of power”, with him as busy as when he was Prime Minister for 22 years, with daily statements or speeches laying the “law” for the Umno/BN leadership.

Mahathir toppled a Tun Abdullah as the Prime Minister after the 2008 general elections and has openly threatened to bring down Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the Prime Minister if the latter fails to secure a better general elections win than Abdullah in the 13GE.

It is no exaggeration to say that Mahathir is in fact the “de facto” Prime Minister, the person whom Najib fears the most as Mahathir is the man who  could still decide Najib’s political fate!

With Mahathir still so active in Malaysian and in particular Umno politics, I invite him to come to Gelang Patah to contest in the parliamentary elections and let the people of Johor decide whose political life should be ended, and whether Gelang Patah should the political “kubur” for me or for him.

I am prepared to submit my political life to the people of Gelang Patah, a microcosm of the Malaysian society, comprising some  53 per cent Chinese voters, 33 per cent Malay voters and over 12 per cent Indian voters.

Is Mahathir prepared to submit his political life to the voters of Gelang Patah?

After all, Gelang Patah had always been a fortress for BN – with the BN winning with some 9,000-vote majority in the 2008 GE and a humoungous 31,66-vote majority in 2004 GE.

By leaving Ipoh Timor which I had won with a majority of over 21,000 votes in the 2008 GE to contest in Gelang Patah, I am putting my head on the chopping block.

With such a history of Gelang Patah GE results, Mahathir should be very comfortable to win with a stunning majority in Gelang Patha.

I await Mahathir in Gelang Patah.

(Speech when visiting Taman Molek in Johor Jaya on Monday, 1st April 2013 at 12 noon)

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 April 2013, 5:49 pm and is filed under
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Who will keep a watch on one of Umno’s most-recognised rabid rabble rousers?

by Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Monday, 1 April 2013, 10:14 am and is filed under
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9-day Countdown to 13GE – Pakatan Rakyat promises Accountable and Transparent, Sustainable and People-Friendly and Equitable Development for the people of Johor if voted in as the Federal as well as State government

Yesterday, I gave three reasons why Johoreans will vote in record numbers for Pakatan Rakyat in the upcoming 13th general elections. Today, I give three reasons why Johoreans need to vote in a Pakatan government not just at the federal level but also at the state level as well.

Firstly, Johoreans must vote in a Pakatan federal and state government to ensure that Accountable and Transparent Development takes place in the state of Johor.

Southern Johor is the site of three mega projects that are in various stages of development namely, the Khazanah owned Iskandar Development Region (IDR) outside Johor Bahru, the Petronas owned Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project in Pengerang and the Benalec owned Tanjung Piai Maritime Industrial Park project in Tanjung Piai.

Billions of ringgit have already been poured into Iskandar and billions more of are expected to be poured into the other two mega projects.

These projects require the approval of not just the federal government but also the state government especially when it comes to land acquisition, reclamation and development.

Without the presence of a Pakatan government at the State as well as Federal government, the people of Johor will suffer the same fate as the people in Penang and Selangor before the 2008 general election.

In other words, land will be sold at below market prices to politically connected parties without any benefit to the average Johorean.

For example, it was announced last month that the Johor state government has signed an MOU to sell 1,000 acres reclaimed land in Tanjung Piai to a private company called 1MY Strategic Oil Sdn Bhd.

It was also announced last month that this same private company has signed an agreement with the government of the United Arab Emirates to develop an RM21 billion oil storage complex in Tanjung Piai.

There were no accompanying details as to the price of this land sale and the ownership structure of 1MY Strategic Oil Sdn Bhd.

Contrast this opaque deal with the Penang state government’s announcement of the undersea tunnel project linking Gurney Drive on the island to Bagan Ajam on the mainland, where the cost of the project, to be paid for by reclaimed land, was publicly disclosed for all to see.

Without a Pakatan federal government and a state government in Johor, these sorts of land grabs, which has been Barisan Nasional’s modus operandi throughout its 56 year rule, will happen with greater abandon in Johor with the influx of these mega projects.

This was why I championed the cause of the hundreds of smallholders in Gelang Patah and Tanjong Kupang about two decades ago, whose 33,000 acres of land were being compulsorily acquired by the Johor State Governmen for the Second Link and the Iskandar Development Project, making them “victims of development” in cases of land acquisition for private sector projects.

In November 1994, I visited Gelang Patah to meet with the affected smallholders from Gelang Patah and Tanjong Kupang because of more and more cases of government land acquisition for development by the private sector to end up in fantastic profits for private companies and individuals while private landowners become the victims of such development.

I raised this issue in Parliament and even organised a National Conference against Land Acquisition Abuses and Injustices in Kuala Lumpur on 8th January 1995.

Secondly, Johoreans must vote in a Pakatan federal and state government to ensure that Sustainable and People-Friendly Development takes place.

Pakatan is not against development but a responsible government must ensure that development does not come at the expense of the well-being of the people and the environment.

A responsible government must also ensure that development will bring benefits to all people and not just a favored few.

But this will not happen under a BN federal and state government. What we have seen so far in Iskandar is development which benefits those who can afford multi-million ringgit properties and send their children to expensive private schools.

We have not seen any concrete plans by the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) to set aside significant portions of land in Iskandar to build affordable housing.

We have not seen any plans by IRDA or the local authorities to expand and improve the bus service in this area.

The only plans in terms of public transportation which have been announced are a proposed Rapid Transit System (RTS) that will join JB and Singapore and also the High Speed Rail (HSR) linking KL with Singapore.

The emphasis on these expensive mega projects will be of little benefit to those who rely on public transportation that are not connected to these rail links. Furthermore, such mega projects are tremendously expensive and will take years to construct.

A people-friendly government should instead focus on a more affordable and more immediate public transportation alternatives such as the roll out of a more extensive bus network.

In addition, the BN state and federal governments will likely ‘fast-track’ Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies for some of these mega projects in the interest of ‘development’.

The environmental impact on the mangrove swamps and habitat in the Tanjung Piai National Park, for example, as a result of the Tanjung Piai Oil and Gas hub, may be potentially devastating.

Similarly devastating environmental effects may be felt by the residents and habitat in the Pengerang area if the RAPID project is rolled out without proper study and consideration.

Thirdly and finally, Johoreans must vote in a Pakatan federal and state government to ensure that Equitable Development takes place.

Currently, the focus is all on Southern Johor while other parts of Johor including in the north in Muar, Segamat and Labis and in the northeast in Mersing and in the center in Kluang and Batu Pahat, have been neglected.

A responsible government will ensure that the benefits of the rapid development in South Johor are felt and enjoyed by Johoreans in other parts of the state.

A responsible government will also ensure that development takes place in other parts of Johor and not just in the south.

A Pakatan federal government and state government in Johor represent a new deal for the people of Johor.

We will be a government which focuses on Accountable and Transparent Development, Sustainable and People-Friendly Development and Equitable Development for the betterment of the lives of all Johoreans and not just a select few.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 April 2013, 12:17 pm and is filed under
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All hail Dr M?

— Lucius Goon

The Malaysian Insider

April 01, 2013

APRIL 1 — I am thankful to The Malaysian Insider for giving publicity to whatever Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is saying these days.

Because it allows more Malaysians to appreciate what a fraud he is and understand that a vote for BN is a vote for Dr Mahathir.

These are my reasons for calling Dr Mahathir a fake, a Petaling Street knock-off, a politician who will say anything or do anything to perpetuate the system of excesses which he put in place.

● Fraud 1

Dr Mahathir goes around the country urging Umno members to stay united and not sabotage candidates and help Datuk Seri Najib Razak win big. That is like a serial thief urging his offspring to stay on the straight.

Wasn’t Dr Mahathir the biggest sabotage king in 2008 when he left Umno and undermined Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, allegedly because Abdullah was leading Malaysia to ruin.

I think a more plausible reason for Dr Mahathir’s tantrums was that Abdullah refused to allow him to be the de facto PM as he seems to be these days.

After not getting his way, he left the party and damaged it and played some role in BN’s poor performance in 2008. And yet he is lecturing his party members on loyalty. Says a lot about this man’s hide and much more about the spineless members in Umno.

● Fraud 2

Dr Mahathir is urging Johor voters to send Lim Kit Siang packing, noting that the DAP politician does not know when to retire.

Yes, it would be nice for political renewal to take place at a faster place in political parties in Malaysia but Dr Mahathir is not qualified to talk about retiring.

Officially, he retired in 2003 October but we know that Dr Mahathir is, in reality, still very active. Besides working with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to force Abdullah down, he is constantly breathing down Najib’s neck.

Why, only recently he said that the PM could have to go if the election results were worse than 2008? And hasn’t he been giving his input on candidates, etc?

The difference with Kit Siang is that he has stayed loyal to his party and the political process. Maybe he has stayed on too long but he has been open about it, unlike some pretender who says he has retired but is still mucking about and wanting the limelight.

● Fraud 3

Dr Mahathir says that non-Malays, especially the Chinese, should support the BN. But not all of us have short memories.

In May 2008 in Johor, Dr Mahathir warned the Malays that the non-Malays were getting too big for their boots and said that they would be marginalised if they kept quiet. He painted a scary scenario for the Malays and framed the non-Malays as the bad guys.

Now with the elections around the corner and needing votes, the chameleon changes his colours once again.

The irony for me is that people used to accuse Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of being a fraud but when I watch his ceramahs on YouTube, I notice that even in a Malay setting he is fair to non-Malays.

So I am pleased that more publicity is given to Dr Mahathir Mohamad, a man who still believes that he is the PM of Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 April 2013, 6:31 am and is filed under
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Bishop: What sort of justice is this?

RK Anand| April 1, 2013

Free Malaysia Today

Bishop Paul Tan is incensed over the video which shows MP Zulkifli Noordin belittling the Hindu faith and demands action from the ‘1Malaysia’ government.

KUALA LUMPUR: The video recording of a member of Parliament belittling the Hindu faith has prompted a Catholic priest to question the government’s double standard in dealing with such matters.

Bishop Paul Tan pointed out that the present ruling government had not hauled up any Muslim who uttered seditious words and made seditious gestures against those of other religions while it acted against those who stated unpleasant things about Islam.

The head of the Malacca-Johor diocese was responding to the video of Kulim Bandar Bahru MP Zulkifili Noordin who mocked how statues of Hindu deities could not prevent a flood in Masjid India here.

The video, which was uploaded on YouTube, had since gone viral.

Zulkifli is also the vice-president of Perkasa, whose president Ibrahim Ali had also earned the wrath of Tan when he called for the torching of Malay bibles that used the term Allah.

The bishop recounted how he had in the past called on the government to take action against both Ibrahim and Perkasa patron and former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad over this issue.

“What sort of justice is this? It is no justice but bigotry which the Almighty God himself would be ashamed of,” he said.

“God sees, hears and knows everything. In spite of the fact that final justice is rendered by the Almighty God, we humans are not exempt from taking the right means to right what is wrong.

“Failure to do so is an immorality which must be punished,” he added.

Tan also quoted PKR vice-president N Surendran, who pointed out that Section 198 A of the Penal Code provided for the punishment of those who utter words which cause disharmony, feelings of enmity, hatred and ill-will on grounds of religion.

“Let his [Surendran’s] words ring in the ears of those who planned 1Malaysia,” said the Bishop, in reference to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

“Or is the 1Malaysia only a political slogan with self interests?” he asked.

Rising bigotry

Without any political interest, Tan said he would lend his support to the politicians and groups who called for action to be taken against Zulkifli, a lawyer by profession.

The latest video controversy had also cast doubts on whether Barisan Nasional would throw its support behind the ex-PKR leader in the coming polls.

Zulkifli quit the Anwar Ibrahim-led PKR after crossing swords with the leadership and since then had launched a smear campaign against the opposition party.

Although the Najib administration had stressed on the importance of fostering stronger racial and religious ties, bigotry appeared to be on the rise.

The prime minister had also been criticised for not acting or reprimanding the culprits, such as the likes of Perkasa, who seem to be above the law, leading some to claim that it was backed by Umno.

These controversies had also tainted Malaysia’s image in the international arena as being a moderate Muslim nation.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 2 April 2013, 5:38 am and is filed under
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