Myth of “UMNO is Malay; Malay, UMNO” Forever Shattered!

M. Bakri Musa

While UMNO apologists and sycophants in academia, blogosphere, and mainstream media quibbled over such minutia as the number of participants at last Saturday’s massive KL112 (January 12, 2013) rally, two facts are indisputable. First, that peaceful and largely Malay demonstration, the largest the nation had ever witnessed, forever shattered the myth that UMNO is Melayu, and Melayu, UMNO. Second, given a modicum of respect by and without provocation from the authorities, Malaysians are quite capable of partaking in peaceful rallies.

            On this second point the authorities, specifically the police under its new leadership, are finally learning that water tankers, personnel with anti-riot gears or tear gas canisters, and other crude displays of power often precipitate rather than prevent violence. BERSIH 3.0 demonstrated that very clearly.

            The size and orderliness of the rally, together with the bravery and determination of the participants, was reminiscent of the transformative event of over 66 years earlier, the opposition to the Malayan Union Treaty. That altered the course of our history. Insha’ Allah (God willing), last Saturday’s rally too, will.

            The power imbalance between those demanding change and those in power back in 1946 was enormous. Then it was mostly illiterate and unsophisticated Malay peasants facing the much superior and more formidable colonial authorities. Yet in the end, right won over might, and justice prevailed!

            Today, while the UMNO Government is detested to the same degree as the old colonials, it is nowhere as sophisticated wielder of power as the British. Meanwhile, those clamoring for change are far more worldly, more committed, and in far greater numbers than their adversary, UMNO and its supporters. More importantly, unlike the colonials, today’s UMNO government is crippled with corruption and incompetence while also being crude wielders of power. All the more we should expect that right and the truth, as well as justice, will again prevail.

            National Laureate Pak Samad’s stirring reading of his poetry “Di Atas Padang Sejarah” (On This Field of History) last Saturday at Merdeka Stadium prompted me to make that comparison with the anti-Malayan Union Movement. He is old enough to remember and may have even participated in that historic protest.

            “Di atas padang sejarah,” Pak Samad asserted in his poetry, “pantang kita mungkiri janji.” (We must not renege on our promises.). Today, the successors to those who brought us merdeka over 55 years ago have betrayed that great promise.

            While Pak Samad’s gray hair and rousing poetry lent an air of history and gravity to the moment, the Blue Gang’s Ito Mohammad and his “Ubah Sekarang” (Change Now!), specifically composed for the occasion, gave the gathering a certain hip! There was no mistaking however, the seriousness of his message.

            “Ubah sekarang,” Ito belted out in his trademark rhythm and blues beat to the cheers of thousands, “Kita cari kebenaran! (We seek the truth!) Ubah sekarang/Teggakkan Keadilan (Institute justice!)” Then to the roar of the crowd, he added, “Ubah Sekarang / Send-off Barisan!”

            Ito is a talented performer and a committed crusader with a definite mission, in the mold of Bono. Ito is for truth and justice, to give meaning to merdeka, for the sake of our children and grandchildren. One thing is certain: Ito is no carma (cari makan – hired hand) artist!

            The anti-Malayan Union Movement was led by the charismatic, farsighted and savvy Datuk Onn; so too KL112 in the person of Anwar Ibrahim. In many substantive ways Anwar is a far more formidable and superior leader. Onn meekly obeyed the commands of his sultan in the sycophantic manner of Hang Tuah, and was banished to Singapore; Anwar in the chivalrous tradition of Hang Jebat had the courage to take on a man far more powerful (at least then) than the sultans or King – Mahathir. Anwar paid greatly, physically and in many other ways, for his defiance but in the end, unlike Jebat, Anwar prevailed. Last Saturday was proof of that victory. Meanwhile his old nemesis Mahathir was left to rant in his blog.

            Far more important than leaders are the commitments of their followers. UMNO could not have organized a rally a fraction of the size of KL112 without resorting to bribes, outright giveaways, or having their carma artists, academics and journalists singing high praises for its leaders.

            There was a pathetic attempt, no doubt by a bumbling UMNO operative, at a Facebook posting calling those rally participants to collect their fees! That posting bombed as it was immediately exposed for the hoax that it was. Those UMNO hired hands were not even sophisticated enough to pull a cyberstunt!

            Anwar commits to ten goals, the top being free and fair elections. Elections must not only be fair and free but more importantly, be seen as such. Our Elections Commission lacks credibility, both on conducting elections as well as maintaining the integrity of the electoral rolls.

            It is too late to change the personnel at EC. Besides, that would not make any difference. They have been indoctrinated to believe that their agency is just another electoral instrument of Barisan instead of an independent agency answerable to the King and thus the citizens. The only credible way to ensure fair and free elections would be to invite external observers.

            Free and fair elections should be the priority. The responsibility for maintaining the integrity of the electoral process extends beyond the EC and Election Day.

            We must never let or tolerate the 2008 post-election fiascoes of Perak and Selangor to recur. In Selangor, the hooliganism and vandalism of the staff of and condoned by its outgoing UMNO Chief Minister Khir Toyo stood in marked contrast to the civility and orderliness in the transfer of power between Gerakan and DAP in Penang. This being Malaysia, the races of the main protagonists at both events did not escape notice. In Perak, the permanent establishment including the sultan which should have been the stabilizing and buffering elements were themselves hopelessly entangled in the mess. They did not shine; they were the problem. Khir Toyo, now convicted of corruption, epitomizes UMNO’s rotten core.

            We must also never allow the prostituting of government agencies and departments into Barisan election machinery. I have no problem with The New Straits Times and Utusan continuing as UMNO newsletters and their “journalists” as UMNO propagandists; after all both are owned by UMNO. I take issue when taxpayer-financed agencies like Bernama, Radio Television Malaysia (RTM), and Biro Tata Negara (National Civic Bureau) doing the same.

            Ito’s rhythmic ubah sekarang is not, as UMNO leaders would like us to believe, changing horse midstream rather letting an old lame and tired one to pasture. Our culture is kind; we do not send old horses to the glue factory.

            A second into midnight on August 31, 1957, at the same Merdeka Stadium, Tunku Abdul Rahman declared merdeka for our new nation. He brought home from England our Declaration of Independence. More importantly, he gave us hope to all the promises implied with our new sovereignty. Today, Tunku’s successors in UMNO Baru (New UMNO), through their venality have betrayed that solemn covenant. They have, in Samad Said’s poetry, mungkiri janji. It is time we reclaim that promise and our dream.

            Last Saturday, when Anwar repeated “Merdeka” seven times in the manner of the late Tunku, he had begun that process of reclaiming. Tunku brought the document of declaration of Merdeka; Anwar will give meaning to its words in our everyday lives.

            Ubah sekarang! Tolak mereka yang memungkiri janji! Change now! Remove those who have betrayed us!

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 January 2013, 7:53 am and is filed under
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Ripples of Hope, Sea of Change

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 January 2013, 10:34 am and is filed under
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The rally proves Malaysia has civil liberties?

 — Fikry Osman

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 14, 2013

JAN 14 — Now that the Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat is over, the one question that begs to be answered is this: does the rally prove that civil liberties exist in Malaysia?

To the more than 100,000 who turned up at Stadium Merdeka last Saturday, maybe.

After all, the police stood by and ensured the peace. No riot police, water cannons, roadblocks, razor wire strung across roads or anything to make Malaysia look like a police state.

Maybe, it was the spirit of the times that such a rally could even take place without ending in teargas blanketing the air, water cannons drenching the crowd and everyone running helter-skelter to avoid being beaten up or arrested for assembling without a permit.

Oh, no more permit required. So, that makes Malaysia look better just months before the general election. That must be it, to give Malaysia an appearance of a modern democratic country where people can make a stand publicly and gather without the threat of being cowed by authority or violence.

See, even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak praised the police and also the opposition for respecting the spirit of the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012 at the rally.

“The rally that took place peacefully in Stadium Merdeka last Saturday is a testimony to the ability of all, whether it’s the authorities or the organisers to obey the provisions and spirit of the existing Act.

“Congratulations on the professionalism displayed by the authorities.

“I also say thank you to the opposition although I don’t agree…but they respected the spirit of the Peaceful Assembly Act,” the prime minister said today.

Perkasa also took the cue and have made a U-turn by backing freedom of assembly with information chief Ruslan Kasim saying they were fully behind the Najib administration’s commitment to improve civil liberties as the rally was free of any untoward incidents.

Ruslan said Perkasa was against street demonstrations in the past after most of them ended with violent clashes with the authorities. This gave the opposition the opportunity to demonise the ruling coalition to win support, he added.

I guess the only one who didn’t get the memo to say that law reforms such as the PAA 2012 worked was the Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, our former prime minister and the man with the acerbic wit who believes it is his way or the highway (which has long been privatised).

In his mind, the weekend rally was an opportunity for the opposition to overthrow the Barisan Nasional (BN) government

“They want to topple the government, and so they had a rally, but this government is unlike the Arab government.

“We are not a dictator government. This government is elected by the people,” Dr Mahathir said today.

No credit whatsoever to the police, authorities or even the government for allowing the rally to take place without onerous restrictions.

That he doesn’t trust the opposition isn’t news. But Dr Mahathir didn’t even praise the government for letting the people exercise their civil liberties.

He might just be the true voice among the public relations spiel being put out by Perkasa or Barisan Nasional leaders who want to take credit for the peaceful rally last Saturday.

That credit, really, belongs to the people. Malaysians are not a violent lot. Violence only happens when roughhouse tactics are applied to stop civil liberties.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 January 2013, 8:30 am and is filed under
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Tips on winning the coming election

By Koon Yew Yin

The recently concluded mammoth Stadium Merdeka rally – Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat  – has provided a much needed infusion of new life into the opposition campaign. Although they have invigorated their challenge to Barisan Nasional (BN) rule, opposition leaders must realize that they have an uphill battle to dislodge BN from power.

Instead of boasting or congratulating themselves on what they have achieved at the rally, it is essential that the opposition parties work harder in taking the fight especially to the Barisan strongholds.

The next few months will be crucial. The opposition must only show that it is alive and kicking. Pakatan Rakyat (PR) needs to prove that it is the superior coalition to run the country. The campaign to convince Malaysians to vote for change can work if PR keeps in mind the following key strategies.

Strategies to ensure electoral victory for PR

Run a principled and ethical campaign.  Malaysian voters know that the BN is a party that thrives on spinning and dirty tricks.  From race baiting to inciting religious sentiments to demonization of the opposition, BN are masters of the sleazy campaign.  The PR should not emulate the BN.  Fight a clean campaign. This will resonate with the basic positive values and good sense of Malaysians.

PAS and DAP must not kill the coalition by disagreement on religious concerns or any other part of their manifesto.  Loose cannons end up shooting at themselves and their allies instead of the opponents. Every small dispute will be magnified by the mass media which is more one-sided and partisan than in the 2008 elections.  PR leaders from the top down must remember that discretion and opening their mouths only when necessary is the art of the political war.

Design an innovative campaign aimed at the grassroots and heartland of UMNO and BN support.  Mobilize election teams to fan out in swing constituencies to show that there is stronger inter-racial unity and solidarity among the opposition coalition parties while focusing on the common needs of the Malay or non-Malay electorate.

Develop a progressive outreach that can incorporate the concerns of the smaller but nevertheless significant minority voters such as Indians and natives of East Malaysia.

Focus on the fixed deposit vote bank of the BN amongst civil servants and Felda and other rural voters.  These two constituencies are the likely game changers.

PR must especially focus on the Malay electorate which once again are having peanuts thrown at them in the BN’s desperate attempt to bribe their way into power again.  This should not be a major obstacle as Malays have woken up and are fully aware of the cronyism and corruption costing hundreds of billions of ringgit which have enriched a small elite of UMNO and BN leaders and insiders.

Target a campaign focusing on national issues such as the high cost of living; crime and insecurity; lack of employment opportunities; decline in education standards, etc. but don’t ignore or underestimate the power of local issues.

The water issue in Selangor and the attempt by Syabas and Rozali to use water as a weapon to bring down the Selangor government has backfired.  This issue alone is worth hundreds of thousands of votes.  Feature the ordinary man in the street in Cheras and Ampang Jaya having to queue up for their daily water and their views – this will be more effective than having opposition politicians give long speeches and blast at BN misdeeds during ceramahs .

In Perak my home state, the palace coup which brought down the legitimate PR government is a major sore point with many citizens. But there are new issues which should be brought into the campaign.  Perak has a large Felda, Indian and Orang Asli population. They are well aware of the mismanagement and greed of previous BN regimes.  Their votes will go to PR only if the opposition can convince the masses that they will do a better job of running the state and resolving the problems of the rakyat.

Energize first time, young and women voters to go to the polling booths, even if they may be located in Barisan-held constituencies. They may vote for the Barisan but do not discount the possibility of last minute switches in voting and party loyalty. For this possibility to emerge, PR must have their youth and women leaders and manifesto and empower them.  From my observation at ceramahs, much time is given to the established leaders who often give long and boring SOS (same old stuff!) speeches. My suggestion: keep speeches short and sweet and provide a platform for women and young speakers. Remember about 50% of voters are female and the youth can convince their parents and relatives to vote wisely.

Finally, turn the BN’s superiority in media coverage, money, resources, manpower, state support, etc. to the PR’s advantage.  Many Malaysians sympathize with the underdog especially if it has been unfairly tied up, beaten and abused by a superior authority that cannot stand any opposition. Remember all Malaysians dislike bullies. Voters understand that the BN has remained in power for so long not because of their virtues or honesty but because they have abused the electoral system and democratic process.

They all know that they and their children have been taken for a long downhill ride by the Barisan parties. All Malaysians are suffering from inflated water, toll, electricity and other high living costs.  Every voter will have at least several experiences in which they and their families have suffered from the bad governance of BN.  The election voting booth is the place to finally get themselves and the country on track towards a better future.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 January 2013, 10:44 am and is filed under
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Voting for the future

 — Tommy Thomas

The Malaysian Insider

January 15, 2013

JAN 15 — Imagine Britain being governed by the same political party, say, Labour, for 55 successive years from 1957. Or the United States by the Republican party for the same continuous, unbroken period.

That has been Malaysia’s fate since Merdeka. The 13th general election, which must be held before June 28, gives Malaysians an opportunity to break free from the monopoly of political power exercised by Umno, first, in the guise of Alliance and subsequently as Barisan Nasional.

Umno dominance

The five years between the 12th general election in March 2008 and the 13th have been a watershed period in post-independent Malaysia because of the establishment of a truly functioning two-party system, with a strong opposition capable of forming the next government.

But it took half a century for our nation to accomplish this stage of democratic development.  Like many peoples of nations emerging from colonial rule in the Third World, Malaysians were very grateful to the Alliance party, led by Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, for gaining independence from the British.

The reservoir of goodwill for nationalist independence fighters greatly assisted Umno in the early decades. Race, which the colonial power had exploited in its divide-and-rule policy, became the singular fundamental feature of Malaysian politics since Merdeka, reflected at the centre by the Alliance coalition comprising Umno, the MCA and MIC, each representing a specific race, and expected to pursue the interests of its ethnic constituency.

In the early days, Umno acted as the elder brother, with a semblance of contribution from its junior siblings, the MCA and MIC. But there was never a question of parity. After the National Operations Council (NOC) through its director, Tun Abdul Razak, assumed actual power in the wake of the May 13, 1969 riots, Umno’s ascendency and dominance were never questioned.

Hence, the practical reality since the early 1970s is that Barisan is actually Umno, and major decisions affecting the nation are more often than not taken in the inner recesses of Umno rather than the Cabinet.

Ayatollah Khomeini’s rise to power in the Iranian Revolution of 1979 resulted in an Islamic resurgence across the globe.

It had its influence in Malaysia by the mid-1980s when Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad decided to outflank PAS by taking up Islam as a political idealogy and weapon. Thus, Umno added religion to race, a powerful emotive cocktail in a plural society. Race or religion infects nearly every decision made by Umno, and the state apparatus controlled by it.

It will therefore not be an understatement to describe race and religion as the fundamental elements of modern Malaysian politics.

Perhaps the most unacceptable consequence of a lengthy rule by Umno is its control over all the nation’s public institutions, like the media, the universities, the civil service and the police. Length of governance creates rulers who believe they have a divine right to rule, that, there is no longer any difference between the nation state and the ruling party — they become inseparable. Thus, Umno has behaved as if its interests are identical with that of Malaysia.

When genuine support for Umno ebbed over time, a climate of fear was developed, with the spectre of May 13 repeated time and again to intimidate and frighten the electorate, especially the older generation and non-Malays.

The success of Pakatan in depriving Barisan of the much vaunted two-thirds majority in Parliament, winning 10 out of 11 parliamentary seats in Kuala Lumpur, and capturing power in five states in March 2008 forever demolished the myth of Umno’s invincibility.

Even if ethnic-based politics played a role in securing Merdeka and governing an infant nation, it has long outlived its use, and should be jettisoned.  The next stage in Malaysia’s evolving democracy is a change of national government.

As night follows day, it will inevitably happen.

Deepak

The Deepak Jaikishan saga currently hogging the Internet media, which has for all practical purposes became the mainstream media for millions of Malaysians disgusted with the putrid reporting of newspapers, epitomises the depths to which our public life has descended: only a basket nation like Zimbabwe can provide an adequate parallel.

Here is an absolutely unknown businessman of a minority ethnic group without any known institutional support mocking the prime minister and his wife for over one month without anyone from Umno defending them.

One would have thought that such repeated public criticism of Umno’s president constitutes a direct challenge to the entire party, which in the past was always met with a stinging rebuttal from Umno, and thereafter by the full might of the state. One only needs to recall strident calls just months ago to revoke the citizenship of Ambiga Sreenevasan, also a member of the same minority ethnic group, when she bravely led Bersih’s legitimate struggle for electoral return.

What must be kept in mind about Deepak’s allegations is their gravity: after all it concerns the barbarous murder of a Mongolian mother visiting her alleged lover in Kuala Lumpur, and its cover-up. The critical issue in her murder — who gave the instructions to the two patsies to C-4 her has never been investigated — and the perpetrators have never been charged.

A society that does not allow the most thorough, independent and professional investigation leading to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of Altantuya’s actual murderers forfeits all claim to be a decent, law-abiding society.

It is no coincidence that such brazen conduct takes place in a society where the political leaders have governed for half a century, and have treated the nation and its institutions like their private property, and its electorate with contempt. Accountability, integrity and truth are lost values in our society.

Even the establishment’s response to Deepak’s blackmail has been striking: since his private debt has to be settled, a company which purports to look after the interest of armed forces servicemen has been directed to bail him out. What has been totally disregarded is the corporate governance question: how are the interests of this company, its shareholders and creditors served by this transaction?

Because Umno controls the management of hundreds of companies, the distinction between Umno’s interests and the interests of such companies is blurred. Seldom in history is Lord Acton’s acute comment “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” more apt than in contemporary Malaysia.

Governing Malaysia

It is often argued by Umno apologists that on a relative basis, Malaysia is prosperous. The response should be: with which country are we being compared to? If we are compared to Myanmar, Nigeria or Columbia, yes, we are flourishing. But surely, any comparison should be with countries with equivalent standing, that is, our peers. South Korea and Malaysia were victims of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Indeed, South Korea received IMF assistance in 1998. But 15 years later, by every measure, South Korea has surpassed Malaysian by leaps and bounds. Whether in heavy industry, shipbuilding or technology, South Korea is absolutely world class: think Samsung, LG and Hyundai.

Likewise, its democratic traditions.

Hence, the best way to describe the management of Malaysia’s economy is that despite poor and misguided policies that have impinged on business, Malaysia has thrived because of natural resources and the industry, initiative and inherent business skills of its people, especially those in the SMEs. Corruption and nepotism have caused leakages in the billions.

If Tan Siew Sin had remained as Malaysia’s finance minister for these 55 years, his prudent stewardship would have saved, I suggest, at least RM1 trillion.

A nation’s greatest asset is its people: human capital. Umno’s brilliant policies have driven away 1½ million to two million Malaysians with their skills and talents to be enjoyed by other nations, and in return, we have attracted four million to five million immigrants (legal and illegal) to keep our country “cheap” and to depress the wages of our labour. What a great exchange! Just to cite one illustration of the loss to Malaysia and benefit to other nations: if all Malaysian citizens were to immediately leave Singapore, and return to Malaysia, Singapore will be seriously affected.

A Pakatan government?

It is often asked: we accept Umno’s weaknesses, but better the devil you know; can we trust Pakatan to govern better. The short answer is that in a proper functioning two-party system we shall have an opportunity in four to five years to throw them out at the 14th general elections. A nation is always better served when governments alternate regularly: after all, that is the raison d’etre of genuine free and fair general elections.

But the better answer is to consider the actual track record of the five Pakatan state governments from 2008. Even detractors accept Lim Guan Eng has led Penang superbly, and should be entrusted with national leadership. Likewise, Selangor.

Proponents of “big development” criticise the PAS style of leadership in Kelantan and Kedah: what is disregarded in this analysis is that their soft, gentle and slow style receives support from their electorate. Nizar Jamaluddin was a fantastic mentri besar in Perak, and his administration was already making waves in the first year, which resulted in the Umno-orchestrated coup d’etat. Even a cursory consideration of the Pakatan performance as administrators of five states will establish that they are fair, reasonable and, most importantly, not corrupt.

Can the same be said of the other state governments ruled by Umno?

When one also takes into account heavyweight politicians of the standing and experience of Nik Aziz, Hadi Awang, Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh being given senior Cabinet positions, the ship of the state will be in very safe and capable hands.

Anwar Ibrahim will be sworn in as Malaysia’s 7th prime minister when Pakatan is elected. In a public life exceeding 30 years, Anwar had had his detractors. But it must be remembered that he was a very successful finance minister for some five years, even earning accolades from Mrs Thatcher. He was equally a very successful deputy prime minister; indeed, so successful that his boss had to remove him in 1998! Being in the political wilderness for 15 years, and having suffered the humility of prosecution, persecution, conviction and a long jail sentence can only have humbled him. Dr Mahathir and Umno have been obsessive, and have used the might of the state to prevent Anwar from assuming power. But the Malaysian electorate is the final arbiter. Malaysians should therefore look forward with confidence to his prime ministership. We hope his government will take race-free, religion-free and colour-blind decisions.

The one person in Malaysia who cannot accept Anwar becoming prime minister is Dr Mahathir, who can only judge people by his (Dr M) own values and standards.  Consequently, Dr Mahathir expects an Anwar administration to settle scores, particularly against him and his family. He may be proved wrong. What is to say that rather than wasting the time, energy and resources of the state in investigating and prosecuting Dr Mahathir and his cohorts in what may be perceived as political vendetta, Anwar may appoint a “Truth and Reconciliation” Royal Commission, modelled along Nelson Mandela’s post-apartheid South Africa, with a mandate to discover the truth (rather that punishing wrongdoers) as a means of reconciling the nation, and moving forward to meet fresh challenges.

If the majority of Malaysians accept that a change of government is imperative and cast their ballots in the forthcoming general election, it will happen. Pious people should also seek divine intervention. With God’s blessing, Malaysia should finally leave the yolk of one-party rule by the middle of this year. Millions cannot wait for it to happen soon enough.

* Tommy Thomas is a senior Malaysian lawyer.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 15 January 2013, 8:17 am and is filed under
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85-Day Countdown to 13GE: Najib – Listen, Listen, Listen!

The latest Malaysian Internet phenomenon when the video clips of  “Listen, listen, listen!” diatribe of a 1Malaysia activist, Sharifah Zohra Jabeen rebuking second-year law student Bawani KS went viral is in fact a reflection of the double failure of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s two most important policies in his four-year premiership:

•	Firstly, his “transformation” programmes, whether government, economic, political, educational or social which are all predicated on the principle that “The era where the government knows best is over”.

•	Secondly, his signature 1Malaysia policy to create a Malaysia where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second.

If Najib’s various transformation programmes are to have any hope of success, they must be based on a two-way communication and dialogue between the government and the governed and not on a “Listen, listen, listen!” one-way traffic imposed by the government on the governed.

Is Najib and the UMNO/BN government prepared to “Listen, listen, listen”?

Clearly not so. Or the chief economist of Bank Islam, Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin would not have been suspended following media reports on a presentation he made at the Regional Outlook Forum in Singapore last Thursday predicting a narrow victory for Pakatan Rakyat in the 13th general elections.

Actually, the media had only reported one of three scenarios relating to the 13GE based on his research, viz:

(1)	“High probability” scenario – Narrow federal victory for PR (115 – 125 parliamentary seats), PR winning eight state governments, viz: Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Kelantan, Perak, Negri Sembilan, Terengganu and Perlis.

(2)	“Moderate probability” scenario – Narrow federal victory for BN (112 to 122 parliamentary seats), PR winning six states seats, viz: Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Kelantan, Perak and Negri Sembilan.

(3)	“Low probablility” scenario – Big federal victory for PR (130 – 140 parliamentary seats), PR winning nine state governments, viz: Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Kelantan, Perak, Negri Sembilan, Terengganu, Perlis and Pahang; BN narrowly retaining Johor and Malacca.

Azrul was immediately suspended from Bank Islam when the media reported his “high probability” scenario that the Barisan Nasional would lose the 13GE as it would secure only 97-107 parliamentary seats, without even mentioning that his forecasts for state elections – that BN would fail to retake Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Kelantan and would lose in four other states, Perak, Negri Sembilan, Terengganu and Perlis while “narrowly retains Pahang and Johor”.

Would Azrul have been sacked immediately by Bank Islam if the media had reported his “low probability” scenario of BN suffering big losses in securing only 82 – 92 parliamentary seats while losing nine state governments, “narrowly retaining Johor and Malacca”?

Would Azrul be promoted if he had predicted at the Singapore forum as the Prime Minister and some UMNO/BN leaders had been boasting – that in the 13GE,  BN would regain two-thirds parliamentary majority and win back all the five state governments of Kelantan, Penang, Kedah, Selangor and Perak which BN  lost in the 2008 general election?

Azrul made his 13GE forecasts at the Singapore forum last Thursday. Since then, his forecasts that the 13GE could be favourable to PR rather than BN had been strengthened by the successful and historic holding of KL112 with over 100,000 Malaysians coming from all the country to support the agenda for change.

But even before the KL112, Johore Mentri Besar  Datuk Ghani Othman had predicted almost the same 13GE scenario as Azrul, publicly telling Kulai Chinese organisations last Tuesday that Pakatan Rakyat could win the 13GE with a slim majority of 5% to 10% of the parliamentary seats – i.e. ranging from PR winning 117 to 122 parliamentary seats or close to Azrul’s “high probability” scenario.

Will Ghani Othman be asked to resign as Johore Mentri Besar for making such a 13GE scenario which is not very different from Azrul’s?

What is Najib promoting?  “The era where the government knows best is over” mindset or the “Listen, listen, listen!” culture propounded  by Sharifah Zohra in the latest Malaysian Internet phenomenon?

The Sharifah-Bawani episode highlights both the hollowness and hypocrisy of Najib’s signature 1Malaysia policy, which suffered a fatal blow right at the beginning when Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin distanced himself from it by declaring that he was “Malay first, Malaysian second”.

Although Sharifah Zohra is an 1Malaysia activist and exponent,  she is totally bereft of the 1Malaysia spirit when she could berate Bawani and said that if the second-year law student is critical of local policies, she could “Go to Cuba, go to Argentina, go to Libya, go everywhere”, asking “What are you doing in Malaysia?”

I am reminded of the incident in Parliament in the seventies when I was stopped during my speech and told by a powerful UMNO Cabinet Minister that if I was so critical of UMNO/BN policies, I could leave Malaysia, and my instant retort to him that if he did not want to hear what I have to say on behalf of Malaysians who sent me to Parliament, he was the one who could leave Malaysia!

Sharifah is the latest in the long-line of anti-1Malaysia sentiments expressed by so-called advocates and exponents of Najib’s 1Malaysia policy, all products of the Biro Tata Negara, from Najib’s special officer Datuk Nasir Safar to the school principal Hajah Siti Inshah Binti Mansor, with the former not only labelling Indians and Chinese as “pendatang”, but  adding insult to injury in declaring that “Indians came to Malaysia as beggars and Chinese especially came to sell their bodies”.

In the Kuala Lumpur High Court this morning, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and UMNO Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar settled their defamation suit after Khairy reversed his earlier position and stated that he did not call Anwar a traitor and a puppet of the United States and Jews.

Najib, “Listen, listen, listen!” – Is the Prime Minister  prepared in the interest of ushering in  honest and ethical politics in Malaysia, to immediately send out a directive to all UMNO/BN leaders and mainstream media to stop fabricating lies and false and baseless allegations implying that Pakatan Rakyat leaders are traitors and anti-national because they disagree with UMNO/BN, especially as PR leaders are as nationalistic and patriotic, if not even more, than UMNO/BN leaders?

If “Najib – Listen, listen, listen!” does not work, then the only option left to Malaysians is to vote for change of the Federal government in Putrajaya in the 13GE – the first time in 55 years.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/17/pengiraan-detik-85-hari-ke-pru13-najib-listen-listen-listen/

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, 2:31 pm and is filed under
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Dengarlah (Listen)

— Izham Ismail

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 15, 2013

15 JAN — Semalam, kita digemparkan oleh sebuah video yang disebarkan di YouTube, memaparkan perjalanan sebuah forum yang diadakan di Universiti Utara Malaysia. Forum tersebut bertajuk “Seiringkah Mahasiswa dan Politik” dan perkara yang mengejutkan adalah tindakan panel forum terbabit, Saudari Sharifah Zohrah Jabeen yang memberi respon kepada pertanyaan pelajar UUM, Bawani dengan cara yang agak keterlaluan.

Berikutan daripada video ini, pelbagai reaksi telah diberikan oleh semua pihak terutamanya para mahasiswa. Majoriti mahasiswa merasakan bahawa perkara seperti ini tidak seharusnya berlaku apatah lagi tujuan forum tersebut diadakan adalah untuk menjadi medium interaksi dalam kalangan mahasiswa dan ahli panel berhubung isu-isu politik. Malah, selaku Presiden Suara Wanita 1 Malaysia, sebuah NGO, tindakan tersebut sememangnya tidak boleh diterima dan secara peribadi, saya masih tercari-cari rasional saudari Sharifah bertindak sedemikian.

Saya tidak mahu mengulas dengan lebih terperinci tentang intipati kenyataan Saudari Sharifah kerana saya percaya, semua sahabat mahasiswa sudahpun menonton video ini dan mendengar dengan jelas “hujah” yang diberikan oleh Saudari Sharifah. Perkara yang ingin saya tekankan adalah berkenaan soal integriti Saudari Sharifah yang saya kira tidak menggambarkan profesionalisme yang sepatutnya, sesuai dengan status beliau selaku seorang Presiden.

Saya percaya dan sentiasa akan percaya, semua orang mempunyai hak untuk menyatakan apa yang dirasai. Segala firasat, teori, pandangan mahupun kritikan sewajarnya diberikan ruang yang adil untuk disalur dan dikongsi. Apatah lagi, dengan adanya forum sebegini, soalan-soalan “panas” memang merupakan sesuatu yang pasti dan atas sebab itulah, ahli panel perlu bijak menangani.

Selaku mahasiswa, kami sentiasa mempunyai aspirasi yang tersendiri. Biarpun kami mungkin berbeza ideologi sesama sendiri, bernaung di bawah berlainan panji, waima menjadi ahli fikir neutralisasi, ada perkara yang kami kongsi merentas seluruh universiti. Kami berkongsi bahawa hak mahasiswa itu perlu dibela, suara mahasiswa itu perlu dijaga, malah hati, maruah dan pendirian mahasiswa itu perlu diutama. Atas dasar inilah, pelbagai forum atau debat dilaksanakan di peringkat universiti agar medium ini diangkat sebagai saluran idea mahasiswa sekaligus menjunjung semangat demokrasi.

Namun, sayangnya hal ini seolah-olah tidak difahami oleh Saudari Sharifah.

Tindakan yang dibawakan oleh Saudari Sharifah ini sememangnya bertentangan dengan apa yang diperjuangkan oleh mahasiswa. Malah, berani saya katakan juga, ia bertentangan dengan sikap keterbukaan kerajaan yang kini sudah banyak mengangkat martabat mahasiswa sehingga membenarkan mahasiswa untuk menjadi calon dalam PRU13 nanti. Tatkala suara mahasiswa semakin didengari, tiba-tiba Saudari Sharifah berkelakuan sebegini, apa sudah jadi?

Secara jujur, saya berpendapat bahawa Saudari Bawani juga agak beremosi tatkala mengajukan soalan kepada ahli panel. Saya juga berpendapat, cara soalan itu diajukan turut mempunyai sedikit unsur provokasi. Namun, saya lebih berpendapat, selaku seorang yang bepengalaman dan profesional, bukan begitu cara Saudari Sharifah untuk memberikan reaksi kepada persoalan Saudari Bawani.

Soalan saya, adakah wajar seorang mahasiswa diperlakukan sebegitu di khalayak ramai? Jika jawapannya adalah “YA”, soalan saya, adakah begitu cara untuk seorang Presiden yang menggunakan nama 1 Malaysia dalam persatuannya menegur dan memperbetulkan sikap seorang mahasiswa? Jika jawapannya masih “YA”, soalan saya, kalau begitu, apa beza Saudari Sharifah dan Saudari Bawani selain O Level yang dimiliki?

Inilah yang akhirnya berbalik semula kepada nilai hormat yang perlu diterapkan kepada semua. Ironinya, Saudari Sharifah juga berbicara perihal “menghormati” ini namun beliau mungkin terlupa perihal “menghina”. Saya percaya, seandainya Saudari Sharifah mahu membuka mata mahasiswa, saudari perlu juga belajar untuk membuka mata saudari menghormati kami. Saya juga percaya, seandainya haiwan seperti kucing, jerung, lembu dan lain-lain pun boleh bercakap, nescaya mereka akan menyuruh Saudari Sharifah berhenti bertindak sebegitu rupa.

Namun begitu, tanpa menidakkan intelektual mahasiswa semasa, saya juga ingin berpesan kepada sahabat-sahabat mahasiswa, bahawa kita juga perlu bijak dalam menilai sesuatu isu. Jangan kerana kita dimomokkan oleh cetusan-cetusan yang beremosi, kita juga turut sama berkongsi bahang kemarahan tersebut baik di Facebook, Twitter mahupun blog dengan kata-kata yang tidak sopan. Disinilah ujian sebenar untuk kita buktikan kepada semua, bahawa mahasiswa Malaysia sudah matang dan bukannya melulu tanpa merancang. Janganlah kita melampiaskan kemarahan kita secara membuta tuli kerana kelak, maruah kita juga yang diperjudi. Usah kita berikan ruang untuk mereka di luar sana melakukan “serangan balas” atas sikap kita.

Akhirnya, kita semua perlu belajar dari insiden ini. Usah menuding jari ke arah Sharifah semata-mata, mungkin kita juga ada kekurangan yang menuntut kita bermuhasabah diri. Musuh sebenar kita bukanlah Sharifah Zohra, tetapi adalah rasa hormat dan rasional yang kian hilang dalam diri kita. Gelaran MAHASISWA itu begitu besar ertinya, sama besar amanahnya, jangan sesekali kita nodai tanggungjawab ini. Selaku YDP MPPUM, saya mewakili kepimpinan MPPUM 2012/2013 ingin menyatakan pendirian kami bahawa kami menentang segala bentuk tindakan yang merendahkan martabat mahasiswa dan saya menjemput Saudari Sharifah Zohra untuk mengadakan sesi dialog di Universiti Malaya untuk kita bersama-sama membincangkan soal hala tuju negara. Moga kedua-dua pihak mendapat manfaat daripadanya.

Kepada Saudari Bawani — You’ll Never Walk Alone.

* Izham Ismail adalah Yang DiPertua Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar Universiti Malaya 2012/2013.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, 11:52 am and is filed under
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Listen to Shahrifah Zohra

― Darren Nah

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 16, 2013

JAN 16 ― Malaysians all over the globe are pouring spiteful derision at an unknown, supercilious lady, Shahrifah Zohra, whose bubbling partisan affinities and inability to address the contentious issues posed by a contrarian student, Bawani KS (now an overnight sensation), led her to do what all noisome vixens do: Raise a whole lot of malarkey and hullabaloo about monkeys, cows, goats and, yes, even sharks.

Her bestial [pertaining to beasts] diatribe came in an interminable, rapid fire succession. Shahrifah Zohra went from calling Ambiga (a Malaysian public figure fighting for free and fair elections) an anarchist, to asking the student, Bawani, to leave the Malaysia given Bawani’s dissatisfaction, and to then doling out Galaxy Notes gratuitously to a body of passive, browbeaten students who was indifferent to the whole Orwellian mis-en-scene, and merely parroted affirmatives and clapped in support of both sides. In Shahrifah Zohra’s deluge of half-baked, quasi-educated Malay-English creole verbiage, many might mistake her fulmination to be a truculent message sponsored by the Selangor Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

However, Shahrifah Zohra does artfully credit Ambiga, the “anarchist,” with one thing: enlightening Malaysians to human rights, which in this case, it so happens to be the right of free speech. Shahrifah Zohra, of course, in trumping the right of every individual to free speech, does not hesitate to remove her opponent’s (Bawani’s) microphone, and quickly proceeds to up the volume-ante to an audibly deranging holler.

Aside from the (hopefully) non-permanent ear damage that Shahrifah Zohra’s twenty-minute harangue has caused, it is very odd that Shahrifah Zohra should undermine her own case by saying that “it is my human right to speak, and you to listen” (paraphrased).

Shahrifah Zohra‘s logic is a non sequitur. If everyone has a human right to speak, it does not follow that every human has a right to not speak when another speaks. In other words, you can’t stop me from speaking simply by saying that you have a right to speak. We can both speak at the same time, though no one would be listening. (Bawani by this time has gone back to her seat, probably fatigued by her obtuse opponent. Stupidity can be very tiring!).

In fact, Bawani’s real contention was with the lack of free education in Malaysia. Or more pointedly, the lack of quality education in Malaysia was her main complaint. Which good citizen does not complain about her own nation, not to bring it down, but to build it better?

Again, Shahrifah Zohra’s non sequitur logic resurfaces, this time in international fury! She beseeches Bawani to leave Malaysia and go to Cuba, Libya and Argentina. Shahrifah Zohra does not mention the United States, the United Kingdom or Australia, but third-world nations. In her logic, we’re meant to compare ourselves with Libya. Right. I’m sure you win a race by running with handicaps.

It is very sad (and here comes my plangent tone) that the Malaysians in the video were so indifferent. “All the students in this hall,” Shahrifah Zohra vaunts, “are happy with whatever the government does for them.” And to a great extent, this is very true. The government does too much, and the people too little, and this is how we’re silenced.

People like Shahrifah Zohra can speak with such temerity at another co-citizen simply because, she knows (and we know) that the Malaysian government can take away whatever it has given; free education, petrol subsidies, free this and free that. One can even say that Bawani, by asking for free education, indirectly empowers people like Shahrifah Zohra!

No one stops to think about the larger picture. No one talks about the appropriate role of government. Everyone talks about democracy, but no one talks about mob rule. Everyone wants things free, but no one sees the hidden charges.

Maybe this article is too harsh on Shahrifah Zohra (now alienated by her own Party), and too light on Bawani (now an overnight celebrity). Nevertheless, it is not the individuals that are bad or good, generally, but most of the time, it is the institutions of our civil and political life that lead to (wo)men like them.

People are what they are because of their surrounding influences, and in a nation where dependency is rife, one will always find the haughty superior and the rapacious dependent; and in a nation of dependent subjects, one will hardly find free men and responsible individuals.

But these are hard pills to swallow. Who doesn’t want cheap government goods, government scholarships, government medicine, government tenders, government schools, government housing? All I can ask, for those too afraid to find out the truth of the matter, and prefer attacking Shahrifah Zohra and not the system, is to, “Please listen.”

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, 11:08 am and is filed under
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Listen…..Umno

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, 11:18 am and is filed under
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PM Damaged by Deepak’s Dirt Dug from Under the Carpet

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, 12:30 pm and is filed under
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RCIII in Sabah – Integrity of Election Commission and National Registration Dept? (2)

Dr M’s right-hand men implicated in Sabah IC scam

Nigel Aw

Malaysiakini

Two of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s closest confidantes were today implicated by witnesses testifying before the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the alleged citizenship-for-votes scam in Sabah.

A former Sabah National Registration Department (NRD) officer testified that he and the others stayed at the house of Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin (right), who was then Mahathir’s political secretary, when they were roped in to issue blue identity cards to the immigrants.

Yakup Damsah, who was then Tamparuli NRD chief, told the RCI that he and the other NRD officers were flown from Sabah to Kuala Lumpur, from where they worked out of Aziz’s house in Kampung Pandan.

“After receiving instructions from then-Sabah NRD chief Abdul Rauf Sani, we were ordered to go to KL and were placed at Pak Aziz Shamsuddin’s residence in Kampung Pandan,” Yakup said.

He said they were tasked to sign the identity cards that were to be issued to the immigrants, which were subsequently laminated at the NRD headquarters in Petaling Jaya and shipped to the Kota Kinabalu NRD for distribution.

Detained under Internal Security Act

“We were briefed about our special assignment by a person not known to us, named ‘Mat Nor’. He told us to issue blue identity cards to the immigrants,” he said.

Yakup, who was eventually detained under the Internal Security Act, said he was aware that the operation was illegal, but he followed the instructions as he was a public servant.

“We were told that we would be protected from any legal action,” he said.

Yakup said his group signed a total of 40,000 blue identity cards within a month, based on the filled up application forms provided to them.

“We did not look at the forms in detail, we just signed… We know that they were immigrants, mostly Indonesians and Filipinos, but we did not know whether they were legal immigrants or not,” he said.

He added that the intent of their action was to increase the number of Muslim voters in Sabah and to ensure that these people would vote for Umno in the 1994 Sabah state election.

Concurrently, Yakup said, his group was also involved in another operation, in which they did not grant the immigrants citizenship but issued them with temporary identity card receipts (NRD receipts) with an expiry date, purely for the purpose of the election.

‘Ex-deputy home minister also implicated’

Testifying on this earlier, former Sabah National Registation Department director Ramli Kamaruddin, who succeeded Abdul Rauf, said this operation began close to the election date.

Ramli said the operation was carried out after he personally received instructions from then-deputy home minister Megat Junid Megat Ayub (left).

Elaborating on the operation, Ramli said he was instructed to issue identity card receipts to immigrants using the details of people who were already in the electoral roll but had never voted before.

“I received a call two weeks before the 1994 Sabah state election to meet Megat Junid at a hotel. I was instructed to help to ensure that a state government endorsed by the federal government would win.

“I was instructed to issue NRD receipts using the name and IC numbers of voters already in the electoral roll, with the sole purpose of allowing them to vote,” Ramli added.

NRD receipts are temporary identity card slips that are issued prior to the granting of a proper identity card. This document is sufficient to enable a person to vote, he explained.

The other personality present at the hotel then was Osu Sukam, who would go on to become Sabah chief minister in 1999.

When contacted late this evening, Aziz Shamsuddin’s immediate repose was: “I don’t remember anything about this matter. Thank you.”

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, 7:58 pm and is filed under
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RCIII in Sabah – Integrity of Election Commission and National Registration Dept? (3)

‘NRD’s G17 processed over 100k blue ICs for foreigners’

Nigel Aw

Malaysiakini

7:22PM Jan 16, 2013

A special unit dubbed G17 operated out of the Sabah National Registration Department (NRD) headquarters in Kota Kinabalu beginning 1990 and was responsible for processing the application forms for some 100,000 blue identity cards for immigrants, the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) on immigrants in Sabah was told today.

Kee Dzulkifly Kee Abdul Jalil, who was part of the unit, said he was tasked to write down the names and numbers on the blue identity cards that was then done manually before they were shipped to Kuala Lumpur.

“I wrote down the names according to what is in the application forms that were given to us,” he said, adding that the unit processed an estimated 100,000 such identity cards.

Furthermore, he said his unit was also responsible for issuing letters of approval for birth certificates, which he estimated the unit had produced some 200,000 for the children of immigrants.

“This approval letter would allow them to get hospitals or district office to issue them with a birth certificate,” he said. He admitted to being paid RM80,000 for his work.

Primarily Muslims targeted

Beginning 1987, statutory declaration were no longer accepted for the application of blue identity card and birth certificates were required.

He added that later, such applicants were charged RM300 each and the funds were then channeled to G17.

He said the targets were primarily Muslims from Indonesia, the Philippines and Pakistan, some of whom were later recruited to work for unnamed political parties.

He was later detained under the Internal Security Act from 1995 until 1997, followed by another year of house arrest.

Also testifying today were Kee Dzulkifly’s former NRD colleagues who were all involved in the operation and detained under ISA, namely Asli Sidup, Alcop Damsah @ Yakup Damsah, Nasit Sugip and their boss Ramli Kamaruddin.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, 8:25 pm and is filed under
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RCIII in Sabah – Integrity of Election Commission and National Registration Dept? (4)

‘We gave Muslim foreigners IDs to vote’

Free Malaysia Today

FMT Staff | January 16, 2013

Sabah NRD director tells the RCI that he was personally instructed by Megat Junid Megat Ayub to recruit new voters.

KOTA KINABALU: A former National Registration Department (NRD) officer told an inquiry here that he took part in a project to give foreigners here identity cards so that they could vote in an election in the 1990s.

Mohd Nasir Sugip, who was detained under the now repealed Internal Security Act (ISA), told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) he was part of a top secret operation dubbed ‘Ops Durian Buruk’ (Operation Rotten Durian) on the instruction of his bosses in the department.

He claimed the operation ran from 1992 to 1995 and said the instruction to furnish the foreigners with identity cards so that they could vote came from the state Election Commission (EC).

“At that time, Sabah SPR director Wan Ahmad handed over a list of 16,000 names to be made into ‘bumiputera Islam’ voters.

“My boss, Sabah NRD director Ramli Kamarudin, then verbally told me to execute this project,” he said.

Mohd Nasir said three other individuals were present when the instruction was issued but their names could not be immediately ascertained.

He said he followed the instructions given to him and recruited other officers at the district level for the operation.

Based on a list of names provided by the EC, foreigners were issued with new identity card numbers that contained their date of birth, photographs and names and all were mostly from Sandakan, Tawau, Sempoerna and other parts of the state, he said.

“The list consisted of Filipinos and Indonesians who were Muslim and aged above 21 years,” Mohd Nasir told the inquiry.

‘We planted voters’

These individuals were then planted as voters in various constituencies around Sabah with the objective of boosting the number of Muslim voters in the state.

“An example is in the state assembly seat of Sugut and the parliamentary seat of Kinabatangan. We planted about 800 voters in Sugut and in the next general election. the result was in favour of BN. The candidate won by 79 votes,” he said.

Mohd Nasir said all he was doing was following orders and he did not receive any payment for taking part in the operation. He was detained under the Internal Security Act, for three years from May 30, 1995.

The former NRD officer’s evidence flies in the face of repeated denials by top state leaders including former chief minister Harris Salleh that there was no concerted effort to provide immigrants with citizenship in exchange for votes for the BN as has long been alleged.

Meanwhile, NRD director, Ramli Kamaruddin, backed up Mohd Nasir’s claim saying he embarked on recruiting ‘new’ voters after personally receiving instructions from then-deputy home minister Megat Junid Megat Ayub.

“I received a call two weeks before the 1994 Sabah state election to meet Megat Junid at a hotel. I was instructed to help to ensure a state government endorsed by the federal government would win,” he told the inquiry.

He said he was instructed to issue to immigrants receipts for identity cards containing the details of people who were already in the electoral roll but had never voted.

“I was instructed to issue NRD receipts using the name and IC number of voters already in the electoral roll just to allow them to vote,” he said.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, 8:53 pm and is filed under
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RCIII in Sabah – Integrity of Election Commission and National Registration Dept?

(1)
Ex-NRD man says ordered by Megat Junid to let immigrants vote

UPDATED @ 06:21:55 16-01-2013

By Boo Su-Lyn

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 16, 2013

KOTA KINABALU, Jan 16 — A former National Registration Department (NRD) official accused the late Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayub of ordering him to issue NRD receipts enabling illegal immigrants in Sabah to vote in the 1994 state election.

Former Sabah NRD director Ramli Kamarudin said Megat Junid, then the deputy home affairs minister, had told him that the NRD receipts were to match the names and IC numbers of registered voters.

“We gave them (immigrants) RM20,” Ramli told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants here today.

“We teach them how to vote. We gather them in a house. We send them by bus to the polling stations. Then we send them back and we collect the receipts. The receipts are just for voting. We did not give them identity cards,” he added.

Ramli said that about 200 NRD receipts were issued in five or six state constituencies each in Sabah that were considered “black spots that were difficult for the government to win.”

“One area maybe 400,” he said.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister who was in power from 1981 to 2003, has been accused of spearheading the so-called “Project IC”, in which citizenships were allegedly given to immigrants in exchange for their votes.

But former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh, who administered the state from 1976 to 1985, denied yesterday the existence of “Project IC”.

The 1994 state election saw Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) winning just 25 out of 48 state assembly seats.

But several PBS MPs defected to Barisan Nasional (BN) shortly after, causing the collapse of the PBS government.

Ramli said today that he was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) from 1995 to 1997.

He also denied receiving bribes.

“This was a direct order from the deputy home affairs minister himself, even though I admit that it was illegal,” said Ramli.

He added that the directive was given at a meeting with Megat Junid, Umno’s Datuk Seri Osu Sukam (who later became the Sabah chief minister in 1999) and an NRD registration officer called Asli Sidup, at Hyatt Hotel here two weeks before the 1994 state election.

“The receipts were strictly for voting. After that, we would collect the receipts and destroy them,” said Ramli.

Asli testified later that 200 NRD receipts were used in the Kawang state constituency in the 1994 state election, which Osu won by a mere 64 votes.

The inquiry before RCI chairman Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong resumes tomorrow.

(2)
EC ordered NRD to give ICs, change immigrants’ names, RCI told

By Boo Su-Lyn

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 16, 2013

The RCI was yesterday told that foreigners accounted for 28 per cent of Sabah’s populace. — File picKOTA KINABALU,

Jan 16 — The Election Commission (EC) had instructed the National Registration Department (NRD) to change the names of 16,000 immigrants in Sabah and to give them identity cards, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants heard today.

Former Sabah NRD deputy director Mohd Nasir Sugip, who worked in Sabah NRD from 1992 to 1994, told the RCI today that the then-Sabah EC director, Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Yusof, had ordered Sabah NRD to change the names of Indonesian and Filipino immigrants to increase the number of Muslim voters in Sabah.

Wan Ahmad’s full name was not given.

“Ops Durian Buruk (Spoilt Durian) is an operation that involves changing and creating new names from the names given by SPR,” said Nasir at the RCI here today, referring to the EC by its Malay acronym.

“It means that the names were changed, IC numbers were changed, date of birth was changed… and their pictures,” he added.

Nasir said he was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) from 1995 to 1998 for giving identity cards to unqualified immigrants.

Nasir added that 800 names had been handed to the Sugut state and the Kinabatangan parliamentary constituencies.

“As far as I remember, the results of the elections favoured Barisan Nasional (BN), YB Datuk Surady Kayong,” he said.

BN candidate Surady had defeated Parti Bersatu Sabah’s (PBS) Jublee KK Zen in Sugut during the 1994 state election with a razor-sharp margin of 79 votes.

Surady is currently the assistant minister of local government and housing in Sabah.

But Nasir denied receiving bribes for his role in the exercise.

“I just followed instructions… and I signed a pledge with my director,” he said.

Asked if there was a pact between the EC and the NRD to increase the number of voters in Sabah, he said: “There was some co-operation and collaboration between [the NRD] and [EC] in this kind of exercise.”

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister who was in power from 1981 to 2003, has been accused of spearheading the so-called “Project IC”, in which citizenships were allegedly given to immigrants for their votes.

But former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh, who administered the state from 1976 to 1985, denied yesterday the existence of “Project IC”.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 16 January 2013, 6:53 pm and is filed under
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84-Day Countdown to 13GE: Mahathir should forever shut up if he is not prepared to volunteer to appear before the Sabah RCIII  to clear allegations that he is traitor for giving ICs and voting rights to foreigners just to shore up UMNO’s political power

The Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Deputy President, Azmin Ali has called  former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad a traitor to the country following revelations at the Sabah Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants (RCIII) of “citizenship-for-votes” schemes in Sabah in the nineties.

Yesterday, several former National Registration Department (NRD) officers told the RCI in Kota Kinabalu that they were instructed to facilitate immigrants to vote during the 1990s and help install a BN-friendly state government.

These operations ranged from issuing identity card (IC) receipts of existing voters to immigrants to issuing blue identity cards to unqualified immigrants – also known as Project IC or Project M where “M” stood for Mahathir.

Two of Mahathir’s closest confidantes and right-hand men at the time have been implicated by witnesses before the RCI in the citizenship-for-votes scam in Sabah – the late Megat Junid Megat Ayub, Deputy Home Minister to Mahathir, who was also Home Minister and Aziz Shamsuddin, Mahathir political secretary. Megat Junid went on to become Minister for Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs while Aziz Shamsuddin later joined the Cabinet as Minister of Rural and Regional Development.

If the Project IC or Project M allegations of “IC receipts-for votes” and “citizenship-for-votes” made at the RCIII are true, and there are no reasons to suspect their truth and veracity as these have become open secrets in Sabah, not only in the 2001 judgment by Justice Datuk Muhammad Kamil Awang in the election petition nullifying the  Likas state assembly election result in 1999 because of  the existence of thousands of dubious “phantom” names in the electoral roll, but confessions in the public domain  by former Sabah UMNO officials and government servants  involved in the scam, people like Mutalib Mohd Daud, Karim bin Ghani and Hassnar Ebrahim, then the capital crimes of treason had been committed.

Azmin has raised a very apt and pertinent question – was former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir guilty of treason in the “IC receipts-for-votes” and “citizenship-for-votes” scams in Project IC or Project M in Sabah in the nineties.

Furthermore, were  his two lieutenants who later became Cabinet Ministers, Megat Junid and Aziz Shamsuddin, also guilty of treason for their involvement in the “IC receipts-for-votes” and “citizenship-for-votes” scams in Sabah?

Mahathir should forever shut up if he is not prepared to volunteer to appear before the Sabah RCIII  to clear allegations that he was a  traitor for giving ICs and voting rights to foreigners just to shore up UMNO’s political power and to speak up to clear the names of Megat Junid and Aziz Shamsuddin.

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/18/pengiraan-detik-84-hari-ke-pru13-mahathir-patut-selamanya-tutup-mulut-sekiranya-beliau-tidak-bersedia-untuk-secara-sukarela-tampil-di-hadapan-rciii-sabah-untuk-membersihkan-tuduhan-bahawa-beliau-adal/

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 January 2013, 3:43 pm and is filed under
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Dr M admits citizenships given out in Sabah, says nothing illegal

By Ida Lim

The Malaysian Insider

Jan 17, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today admitted that citizenships were given to foreigners in Sabah, but stressed that it was “within the law”.

The former prime minister was asked to comment on the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Sabah’s illegal immigrants issue.

“When I was prime minister, I was in power to determine the implementation of government policies.

“The government received foreigners to be citizens if (they) fulfilled certain conditions, furthermore those who are there are not one, two days but already 20 to 30 years and they speak in Bahasa Melayu, have the right to be Malaysians,” Dr Mahathir (picture) said at a press conference here.

“So the problem is when there are people who are tidak senang (unhappy) when there are some who become Malaysians although those individuals have already long resided in Malaysia, that is what causes problems.”

Throughout the press conference, he repeatedly stressed that the giving of citizenships to foreigners was “within the law”.

“I never deny it were given. What I deny is that I did something against the law, that I will deny.”

When asked if he was saying that the Project IC was lawful, he said: “Yes, it is lawful.”

Earlier in the press conference, Dr Mahathir was asked if the handing out of citizenships to foreigners was politically-motivated and to enable Umno to take over Sabah.

He replied: “I mean that is their right. Once they become citizens, whether they support Umno, Barisan Nasional, that is their business.”

“We know for a fact that not all of them are supporters of Barisan Nasional,” he added.

He also reminded reporters of the country’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, claiming that he gave out citizenships to those who were unqualified to receive it.

“One should also look back and remember that Tunku Abdul Rahman was worse than me, he gave one million citizenships to people who are not qualified and not even tested?”

“Why is it when he does it, it is not wrong, and when I do it, it’s wrong?” he asked.

Dr Mahathir, the country’s longest serving prime minister who was in power from 1981 to 2003, has been accused of spearheading the so-called “Project IC”, in which citizenships were allegedly given to immigrants in exchange for their votes.

But former Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh, who administered the state from 1976 to 1985, denied on Tuesday the existence of “Project IC”.

Yesterday, the late former deputy home affairs minister Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayub was accused of ordering the National Registration Department (NRD)’s Sabah branch to issue temporary documents to allow immigrants to vote in a 1994 state election.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 January 2013, 7:56 pm and is filed under
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Getting Malaysian citizenship cheaply

– The Malaysian Insider

January 17, 2013

JAN 17 – Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today explained why citizenship was given to illegal immigrants in Sabah, an issue being investigated by a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI).

Dr Mahathir said the process was within the law as the immigrants had been in Sabah for decades and spoke Bahasa Melayu.

“When I was prime minister, I was in power to determine the implementation of government policies.

“The government received foreigners to be citizens if (they) fulfilled certain conditions, furthermore those who are there are not one, two days but already 20 to 30 years and they speak in Bahasa Melayu, have the right to be Malaysians,” he said at a press conference here.

“So the problem is when there are people who are tidak senang (unhappy) when there are some who become Malaysians although those individuals have already long resided in Malaysia, that is what causes problems.”

That defence is weak, especially when those who have testified at the RCI say they were ordered to issue citizenship and receipts for blue or citizen’s identity cards.

An official accused the late former deputy home affairs minister Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayub of ordering the National Registration Department (NRD)’s Sabah branch to issue temporary documents to allow immigrants to vote in a 1994 state election.

But what is most shocking is the attempt to draw parallel between his government’s action and those of Malaysia’s founding prime minister, Al-Marhum Tunku Abdul Rahman Al-Haj.

“One should also look back and remember that Tunku Abdul Rahman was worse than me, he gave one million to citizenships to people who are not qualified and not even tested?”

“Why is it when he does it, it is not wrong, and when I do it, it’s wrong?” he asked.

In the run-up to Merdeka in 1957, Tunku’s Alliance government ensured that non-Malays who resided in Malaya had a right to citizenship, which was agreed by all including the Conference of Rulers.

The thing is this, Tunku Abdul Rahman did not give out citizenship to subvert the electoral process. He gave it to those who had stayed long enough in Malaya to be Malayans.

Now that might also be Dr Mahathir’s defence but it flies in the face of the testimony given thus far.

A Malaysian citizenship is not something to be simply given except those born here or elsewhere with Malaysian parentage.

Anything less than that for electoral gains is a cheap way of winning. And a betrayal of the Federal Constitution, no matter the excuse of time in Malaysia or knowing Bahasa Melayu.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 January 2013, 10:23 pm and is filed under
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Lesson from ‘listen, listen, listen’

by Azly Rahman

Malaysiakini

Jan 17, 2012

As a student of Cultural-Philosophical Studies with a passion in radical educational change framed within the context of cybernating-hypermodern societies such as Malaysia, I see the “Bawani-Zohra Affair” as emblematic of a nation gone berserk on the issue of freedom of speech and the culture of dialogue and public discourse.

We are in an ‘amuck-latah’ mood. The nation, at least in cyberspace, is furious (amuck) of what happened, and the protagonist of the propaganda machine fumbled big-time (latah) assuming that the teaching techniques of the “top-down, humiliate-first, no-apologies later” of many a Biro Tata Negara speaker can still be deployed unreservedly onto university students at the time when amateur videos can go viral, when tweets can flow like a tsunami, and when Facebook pages can be created in a fraction of seconds.

That’s the mistaken assumption – that the Frankenstein called “social media technology” will also not run amuck helping those silenced to have their poetic justice, and those humiliated to become an honourable being raised to the level of stardom, overnight.

It is said that at times, you do not need to find the revolution – for the revolution will find you. The revolution found both Bawani and Zohra in such an ‘absurd’ way, such as in many of the plots of French surrealist dramas like Eugene Ionesco’s rhinoceros running wild on the city streets, and Kafka’s character moving from desolation to awareness in “Metamorphosis”.

The timing was perfect, like that storm brewing right after the almost-a-million Malaysian march to take over Putrajaya; after the Deepak drama which was over-played, overdosing even the older folks; after the successes of all those Bersih rallies, and many other watersheds upon watersheds of consciousness-raising events, and ultimately, after the last hurrah circa GE13 – all these ripened the relevance of the fateful “Bawani-Zohra” rendezvous.

Hence, Malaysians saw not only an explosion of anger, but one that fuelled tremendous amounts of creative products, mainly in the realm of multimedia (music videos, Facebook and Internet posters, audio and video materials, and the production of other forms of creative artifacts inspired by the mantra “listen-listen-listen…”).

That is my observation, albeit too, as a ‘participant-observer’ who managed to contribute to the dialogue through my public writings here on Facebook, and in my other column in Malaysia-Today.

I have always found examples of the chaos and complexity theory at work in these kinds of phenomena; the “butterfly effect” of Malaysian public discourse, which must be framed in its most kaleidoscopic and multidimensional way.

Mind-controlling machinery?

In this case, a simple few minutes of verbal exchange in a dialogue on a campus situated way up in the “boonies” as the Appalachians in Ohio would say, can have far-reaching impacts up till now, leading to even the fall of the Barisan Nasional regime that has, for the last 30 years, been using the universities as a place wherein the human mind – of student, staff, and even faculty – would essentially need to “shut up and listen-listen-listen”.

At the same time, the leaders will be carrying big sticks and speaking not-so-gently, so that the entire mind-controlling machinery can function effectively while being devoid of critical sensibility.

For too long, society has allowed such stupefication to happen via the work of government-controlled propaganda-producing agencies trained in Soviet-styled mind-bending, mind-numbing, and mind-emptying strategies so that the dying ideology of one-race dominancy in the self-glorified, ill-intentioned ‘1Malaysian’ sloganism can prevail.

Even when the world outside has mutated multiple times and gone through the process of adaptations as a consequence of globalisation and the continuing relevancy of cosmopolitanism.

I don’t know, these are my ramblings for the day, folks… my Joycean stream-of-consciousness mood speaking:

Watching how the Mandelbrott set of Malaysian universities will play out; watching how the butterflies in this absurd drama will flap their wings; and watching how the ancient Malay dialectics of deadly dualism will be spoken.

The “amuck-latah” syndrome will be transmutated into newer forms in a hypermodern society – in a bipolar Malaysia trying to live in accordance with an ill-constructed ‘1Malaysia’ while society is firmly destroyed by implosive devices akin to the famed ‘C4′ used to end the life of a young Mongolian mother of a very young child some time ago, when truth was still a corpse waiting to come alive.

I don’t know, but there are now minds in those Malaysian universities that are refusing to just “listen-listen-listen” …until the truth explodes and destroys the creators of falsehood.

Please share your thoughts… humbly of course.

But where do we go from here?

——————————————————————————–

DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master’s degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 300 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 January 2013, 12:43 pm and is filed under
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LKS: KL112 – Many Historic Firsts

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 January 2013, 11:48 am and is filed under
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Pengiraan Detik 85 Hari ke PRU13: Najib – Listen, Listen, Listen!

Fenomena terbaru di internet apabila klip video teguran “Listen, listen, listen!” seorang aktivis 1Malaysia, Sharifah Zohra Jabeen kepada pelajar tahun dua undang-undang Bawani KS  tersebar luas mencerminkan dua kegagalan dasar paling penting Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak sepanjang empat tahun menjadi perdana menteri:

Pertama, program “transformasinya”, sama ada kerajaan, ekonomi, politik, pendidikan atau sosial yang semuanya bersandarkan prinsip ”Era kerajaan tahu semua telah berlalu”.

 Kedua, dasar 1Malaysia beliau untuk mewujudkan Malaysia yang mana rakyatnya melihat diri mereka rakyat Malaysia dahulu kemudian barulah kaum, agama, tempat atau latar belakang ekonomi.

Sekiranya pelbagai program transformasi Najib berharap untuk berjaya, ia haruslah bersandarkan komunikasi dan dialog dua hala antara pemerintah dengan yang diperintah dan bukannya “Listen, listen, listen!” secara satu hala dipaksakan ke atas yang diperintah oleh pemerintah.

Najib dan kerajaan UMNO/BN bersedia untuk “Listen, listen, listen”?

Jelas sekali tidak. Jika benar bersedia untuk mendengar pastinya Ketua Ekonomi Bank Islam, Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin pasti tidak akan digantung berikutan laporan media berkenaan pembentangannya di Regional Outlook Forum Singapura Khamis lepas yang meramalkan kemenangan tipis Pakatan Rakyat dalam pilihan raya ke-13.

Sebenarnya, media melaporkan hanya satu daripada tiga senario melibatkan PRU13 berdasarkan kajiannya, iaitu:

Senario “Berkemungkinan besar” – Kemenangan yang tipis untuk PR (115 – 125 kerusi parlimen), PR memenangi lapan negeri, iaitu: Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Selangor, Kelantan, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu and Perlis.

Senario “Berkemungkinan sederhana” – Kemenangan yang tipis untuk BN (112 to 122 kerusi parlimen), PR memenangi enam negeri, iaitu: Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Selangor, Kelantan, Perak dan Negeri Sembilan.

Senario “Berkemungkinan kecil” – Kemenangan besar PR (130 – 140 kerusi parlimen),PR memenangi sembilan kerajaan negeri, iaitu: Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Selangor, Kelantan, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu, Perlis dan Pahang; BN secara tipis mengekalkan Johor dan Melaka.

Azrul serta merta digantung daripada Bank Islam apabila media melaporkan senario “kemungkinan besar” bahawa Barisan Nasional akan kalah PRU13 memandangkan BN hanya dapat mempertahankan hanya 97-107 kerusi parlimen, tanpa menyatakan ramalannya untuk pilihan raya negeri – bahawa BN akan gagal untuk mendapatkan smeula Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Selangor dan Kelantan dan akan kalah di empat negeri lain seperti Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu dan Perlis sementara “mengekalkan Pahang dan Johor dengan tipis”.

Adakah Azrul akan dipecat serta merta oleh Bank Islam sekiranya media telah melaporkan senario “kemungkina kecil” BN mengalami kekalahan teruk dalam mempertahankan hanya 82-92 kerusi parlimen sementara kalah sembilan kerajaan negeri, “mengekalkan dengan tipis Johor dan Melaka”?

Adakah Azrul akan dinaikkan pangkat sekiranya beliau telah meramalkan di forum Sungapura itu sepertimana cakap besar Perdana Menteri dan sesetangah pemimpin UMNO/BN – bahawa dalam PRU13, BN akan mendapat semula dua pertiga majoriti parlimen dan memenangi semua lima kerajaan negeri Kelantan, Pulau Pinang, Kedah, Selangor dan Perak yang terlepas dari tangan BN pada pilihan raya umum 2008?

Azrul membuat ramalan PRU13 beliau di forum Singapura Khamis lalu. Sejak itu, ramalannya bahawa PRU13 berkemungkinan memihak PR berbanding BN telah diperkukuhkan dengan kejayaan dan penganjuran bersejarah KL112 dengan kehadiran 100,000 rakyat Malaysia dari serata negara untuk menyokong agenda perubahan.

Akan tetapi sebelum KL112, Menteri Besar Johor Datuk Ghani Othman telah meramalkan senario PRU13 yang hampir serupa seperti Azrul, secara terbuka memberi tahu pertubuhan Cina Kulai Selasa lepas bahawa Pakatan Rakyat boleh memenangi Pru13 dengan majoriti tipis 5% hingga 10% kerusi parlimen – antara PR menang 117 hingga 122 kerusi parlimen atau hampir kepada senario “kemungkinan besar” Azrul.

Adakah Ghani Othman disuruh meletakkan jawatannya sebagai Menteri Besar Johor kerana membuat pernyataan senario PRU13 sedemikian yang tidak begitu berbeza dengan pernyataan Azrul?

Apa yang Najib cuba tegakkan? Cara fikir “Era kerajaan tahu semua telah berlalu” atau budaya “Listen, listen, listen!” yang diajukan Sharifah Zohra yang menjadi fenomena terkini internet?

Kejadian Sharifah-Bawani menonjolkan kehampaan dan kepura-puraan dasar 1Malaysia Najib, yang terkena tamparan hebat sejak awal lagi apabila Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin menjauhkan dirinya dari dasar itu dengan mengisytiharkan bahawa dirinya adalah “Melayu dahulu, rakyat Malaysia kemudian”.

Walaupun Sharifah Zohra adalah aktivis dan pendokong 1Malaysia, dia tiada langsung semangat 1Malaysia apabila dia menyelar Nbawani dan mengatakan sekiranya mahasiswa tahun kedua jurusan undang-undang itu kritis terhadap dasar di Malaysia, beliau boleh “Pergi ke Cuba, pergi ke Argentina, pergi ke mana-mana sahaja”, dan bertanya, “Apa yang kamu buat di Malaysia?”

Saya teringat kepada peristiwa di Parlimen pada tahun tujuh puluhan sewaktu saya dihentikan ketika ucapan saya dan disuruh oleh seorang Menteri Kabinet UMNO yang berkuasa sekiranya saya begitu kritis engan dasar UMNO/BN, saya boleh tinggalkan Malaysia, dan balasan pantas saya kepadanya ialah sekiranya dia tidak mahu mendengar apa yang saya mahu katakan bagi pihak rakyat Malaysia yang menghantar saya ke Parlimen, dia yang sepatutnya meninggalkan Malaysia!

Sharifah adalah watak terbaru dalam barisan sentimen anti-1Malaysia diluahkan oleh kononnya pendukung dan penyokong dasar 1Malaysia Najib, semuanya produk Biro Tata Negara, daripada pegawai khas Najib, Datuk Nasir Safar sehinggalah pegetua sekolah Hajah Siti Inshah Binti Mansor, Datuk Nasir Safar bukan sahaja melabel kaum India dan Cina sebagai pendatang, tetapi bagai meletakkan garam ke luka dengan menyatakan bahawa “Orang India datang ke Malaysia sebagai pengemis dan orang Cina datang untuk jual tubuh”.

Di dalam Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur hari ini, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dan Ketua Pemuda UMNO Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar menyelesaikan saman fitnah selepas Khairy menarik balik kata-katanya dan menyatakan beliau tidak menggelar Anwar pengkhianat dan boneka Amerika Syarikat dan Yahudi.

“Listen, listen, listen!” Najib – adakah Perdana Menteri bersedia demi membawa politik yang jujur dan beretika di Malaysia, untuk segera mengeluarkan arahan kepada semua pemimpin UMNO/BN dan media perdana untuk menghentikan pembohongan dan penipuan serta tuduhan tak berasas bahawa pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat adalah pengkhianat dan benci negara kerana mereka tidak bersetuju dengan UMNO/BN, terutamanya apabila pemimpin PR, jika tidak lebih, sama patriotik dan sayangkan negara seperti pemimpin UMNO/BN?

Sekiranya “Najib – Listen, listen, listen!” tidak berkesan, maka satu-satunya pilihan untuk rakyat Malaysia adalah untuk mengundi perubahan kerajaan Persekutuan di Putrajaya dalam PRU13 – buat pertama kalinya dalam 55 tahun.

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/16/85-day-countdown-to-13ge-najib-listen-listen-listen/

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 January 2013, 9:05 am and is filed under
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Pengiraan Detik 86 Hari ke PRU13: PR tidak perlu bermain permainan menaikkan nama sendiri dengan menjatuhkan orang lain bersama BN kerana KL112 tanpa ragu lagi adalah peransang semangat untuk UBAH dalam PRU13 yang semakin hampir dan PR cuma perlu bergerak terus

Selepas tergamam dan membisu pada hari Sabtu sesudah berlangsungnya perhimpunan KL112 yang bersejarah melihatkan ratusan ribu rakyat Malaysia daripada berbilang kaum, agama dan tempat berada di Stadium Merdeka, dan juga membisu sepanjang hari Ahad, pemimpin UMNO/Barisan Nasional telah memapu bersuara kembali dan kelam-kabut mahu meminimakan gelombang politik yang terhasil daripada KL112.

Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak jelas kelihatan tertekan dengan kejayaan dan kemananan KL112 sehingga menumpang nama terhadap kejayaan perhimpunan mega Pakatan Rakyat sewaktu menjadi tuan rumah Malam Penghargaan Media perhimpunan agung UMNO 2012.

Selepas berbincang dengan strategis beliau sepanjang hari Ahad untuk mengira kos politik kepada UMNO/BN terutamanya bagi PRU13, Najib kembali dan mengisytiharkan secara terbuka semalam bahawa KL112 menunjukkan kejayaan reformasi politik dan kerajaan yang beliau telah lakukan sejak menjadi Perdana Menteri selama empat tahun.

Najib dilihat mengelak untuk menerangkan mengapa perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 dan Bersih 3.0 yang diadakan juga semasa beliau menyandang jawatan perdana menteri menjadi tragedi polis dan kerajaan BN, memandangkan KL112 telah membuktikan tanpa ragu bahawa rakyat Malaysia adalah manusia yang cintakan keamanan yang hanya mahu melaksanakan hak mereka untuk berhimpun dan meluahkan secara bebas serta kedua-dua perhimpunan Bersih 2.0 dan Bersih 3.0 boleh menjadi model antarabangsa perhimpunan aman jika tidak kerana kesombongan dan tekanan daripada polis serta kerajaan.

Tetapi Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, yang dijangka mempersoalkan perkara yang tidak disebut itu, memberikan jawapan berat sebelah apabila beliau menyalahkan kekacauan Bersih 3.0 kepada penolakan penganjur terhadap tawaran kerajaan untuk melakukannya di stadium, seolah-olah amukan, penyalahgunaan kuasa dan kekerasan melampau polis seperti tembakan rambang gas pemedih mata dan semburan air kimia boleh dijustifikasikan ketika itu.

Malah manusia berkuasa tanpa jawatan di dalam tempoh Najib menjadi perdana menteri, iaitu mantan Perdana Menteri Tun Mahathir bersuara tentang KL112, menggambarkan ia sebagai “meniru” apa yang terjadi di beberapa negara Arab dengan hasrat menjatuhkan kerajaan sedia ada memandangkan penganjur tahu mereka tidak dapat memenangi pilihan raya.

Mahathir mengatakan perkara yang sama tentang perhimpunan Bersih 3.0 pada 28 April 2012 mendakwa bahawa perhimpunan itu bertujuan untuk “kebangkitan” menumbangkan kerajaan kerana Oposisi tahu melalui pilihan raya, rakyat tidak akan memberikan mereka kuasa membentuk kerajaan.

Pada ketika itu, Mahathir bukan satu-satunya yang mengutuk perhimpunan Bersih 3.0 dan membuat tuduhan liar – dengan Najib mendakwa bahasa “duduk bantah” Bersih 3.0 di Dataran Merdeka merupakan cubaan kudeta oleh oposisi bagi menumbangkan kerajaan, Hishammuddin mendakwa “tedapat pihak yang mahu kecederaan serius dan kematian”, tiga sokongan membuta tuli tiga mantan Ketua Polis Negara kepada tuduhan kudeta ileh Najib dan Menteri di Jabatan perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz memaklumkan Parlimen bahawa garam dan botol air mineral boleh menjadi senjata pemusnah untuk menjatuhkan kerajaan Najib.

Sekurang-kurangnya Najib telah melalui “transformasi” untuk tidak membuat tuduhan liar dan tidak berasas mengenai KL112 – walaupun ucapan terima kasihnya kepada Pakatan Rakyat kerana memastikan keamanan KL112 masih belum disambut semua gerombolan UMNO/BN beliau.

Mahathir bagaimanapun dikecualikan, memandangkan mantan Perdana Menteri itu masih menyatakan tuduhan liarnya bahawa KL112 bertujuan meniru Kebangkitan Arab untuk menumbangkan UMNO/BN yang dipilih rakyat.

DAP dan Pakatan Rakyat tidak berhasrat meniru Kebangkitan Arab tetapi mahukan Kebangkitan Malaysia melalui jalan yang aman dan demokratik menerusi peti undi dalam PRU13.

Najib semalam berkata bahawa peralihan kuasa yang aman akibat daripada pilihan raya yang demokratik  ialah “tradisi kita”, mendakwa ia dapat dilihat melalui keputusan 12 pilihan raya umum sejak kemerdekaan.

Setelah berulangkali mencabar Najib sejak empat tahun lalu untuk mengisytiharkan secara terbuka bahawa beliau, UMNO dan Barisan Nasional akan memastikan peralihan kuasa dengan aman Putrajaya kepada Pakatan sekiranya itulah keputusan para pengundi PRU13, saya mendapati jawapan Najib tidak memuaskan kerana kali ini beliau benar-benar mengelak daripada menjawab.

Tidak relevan Najib merujuk kepada “peralihan kuasa yang aman” dalam 12 pilihan raya umum lalu, kerana tidak pernah dalam satu pun daripada 12 pilihan raya umum di dalam 55 tahun sejarah negara ini terdapat “peralihan kuasa secara aman” pada peringkat persekutuan kepada parti atau perikatan lain, yang menyebabkan pertukaran Perdana Menteri daripada parti atau perikatan Oposisi selepas pilihan raya umum.

Apa yang akan terjadi dalam PRU13 adalah senario yang berbeza sama sekali daripada 12 pilihan raya umum sebelumnya – memandangkan ia akan menentukan sama ada BN atau oposisi Pakatan Rakyat yang akan membentuk Kerajaan persekutuan dan sama ada Najib atau oposisi Datuk Seri Anwar akan menjadi Perdana Menteri baru selepas PRU13.

Dalam keadaan itu, Najib tidak boleh terus mengelak persoalan sama ada beliau, UMNO dan Barisan Nasional akan menerima keputusan pengundi di dalam PRU13 untuk Pakatan Rakyat menggantikan Barisan Nasional di Putrajaya dan memastikan peralihan kuasa yang aman buat Anwar menggantikannya sebagai Perdana Menteri.

Pemimpin UMNO/BN dan media perdana, baik bercetak, penyiaran atau atas talian, menghabiskan masa, tenaga dan duit yang banyak mendakwak KL112 adalah gagal, sama ada dari segi kehadiran ataupun kesannya.

Najib dan leftenan-leftenan UMNO/BN perlu membelanjakan jutaan ringgit dana awam untuk membayar kehadiran dan menarik orang ramai ke acara mereka, akan tetapi di dalam kes KL112, lebih 100,000 rakyat Malaysia daripada berbilang kaum dan agama hadir dengan kehendak dan belanja sendiri malahan menyumbang RM262,000 untuk melunaskan perbelanjaan KL112 dan menganjakkan agenda UBAH untuk PRU13.

PR tidak perlu bermain permainan menaikkan nama sendiri dengan menjatuhkan orang lain bersama BN kerana KL112 tanpa ragu lagi adalah peransang semangat untuk UBAH dalam PRU13 yang semakin hampir dan PR cuma perlu bergerak terus.

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/01/15/86-day-countdown-to-13ge-pr-does-not-have-to-play-the-game-of-one-up-manship-with-bn-as-kl112-is-undeniably-a-major-morale-booster-for-ubah-in-13ge-which-is-around-the-corner-and-pr-should-just-move/

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 January 2013, 9:02 am and is filed under
Anwar Ibrahim
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Elections
,
Hishammuddin
,
Mahathir
,
Najib Razak
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Pakatan Rakyat
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