Kit Siang will lose in Gelang Patah unless ….

The Pirates of Putra Jaya

20130407

Gelang Patah is one of the hottest seats right now in the country. UMNO is in full alert after the introduction of Lim Kit Siang into this area. After conducting a situation analysis on the ground, the Pirates is coming to the following conclusion

Situation Analysis

The results in 2008 should give UMNO a cause to worry. In N48 Skudai, DAP led by Dr Boo managed to overturn a 2,193 majority for BN obtained in 2004 into a  landslide 12,854 majority. This was a net shift of over 14,000 votes in 4 years that indicates the GE 12 tsunami did reach the shores of Johor. Dr Boo’s giant killing feat in this regard should not be underestimated as well.

Elsewhere, in N49 Nusajaya, BN managed to hold the seat. BN’s candidate YB Aziz Sapian managed to beat out PAS’s Mohd. Shah Lamat with an over 7,000 majority. This however was still a far cry from the 14,000 majority BN obtained in 2004, to which people attribute it as being caused by Pak Lah.

Now here comes the interesting bit. If you add the number of votes obtained by PR component parties, namely DAP and PAS, it should add to 32,383. This would have allowed PR to gain a comfortable 5,000+ majority and take Gelang Patah away from BN.

However, it did not turn out that way. Instead MCA’s Tan Ah Eng beat out Dr Zaleha Mustafa comfortably, obtaining 33,630 votes compared to the 24,779 votes obtained by Dr Zaleha’s.

This meant that on a net basis, over 7,000 voters who had voted for PR turned and voted for BN. If we add Malay voters who would have voted for BN in the state and PR in the Parliament in order to support a Malay candidate, this indicates that the actual number of Chinese votes lost by PR in Parliament could be as high as 8,500 to 10,000 votes.

Our assessment of this area is that UMNO support is around 80-85% of the Malays in this area. The net increase in Chinese voters for PR may be strong, but if a solid 80% turns out against Kit Siang, the situation may turn out to be more difficult than usual.

The key issue for DAP in this battle is to ensure that MCA’s Jason Teoh is replaced by Ghani. From our observations, if Jason Teoh is repalced, then Jason’s supporters will sabotage Ghani at the polls. If DAP can hold on to 80% of the votes secured in 2008, then he will still need 28% of the Malay vote assuming that only of the 30% of the Indian votes are cast in favour of the DAP.

As it stands 28% is touch and go for LKS. Our feel of Malay support for Kit Siang in Gelang Patah could be as low as 10% to 15%. Thus it is quite conceivable that Kit Siang would lose given the current circumstances.

The biggest difficulty for PR right now is its complete lack of a strategy in Johor. The big issue with the Malays in this state is Lim Kang Hoo.  But so far, PR has strangely avoided bringing up this issue.  Other issues surround the takeover of the land by PTP and this too has been avoided.

This issue becomes critical given the choice of candidate. Right now, Dr Mahathir’s factions are pushing for Ghani to vacate his state seat and contest in Gelang Patah against Kit Siang.

No doubt this will cause a great disappointment for Jason but Ghani is still a formidable opponent to face down Kit Siang. Given Ghani’s status in Johor, it is quite conceivable that he will be able to obtain at least 30% of the Chinese votes and 80% of the Indian votes. In order for Kit Siang to beat Ghani, Kit Siang needs to obtain at least 30% of the Malay votes, which is an extremely difficult hurdle to cross.

This has caused headaches for Kit Siang. If Kit Siang turns on the racial afterburners in Gelang Patah, it may backfire as our survey have indicated that there exists a segment of Chinese voters who put great value in preserving “tranquillity” and will be turned off by the Sibu style campaign tactics. The situation in Johor and Sibu is greatly different, because Ghani is not as hated by the Chinese over here as was Pek Moh in Sarawak.

With respect to the Malay votes, PR’s current strategy of trying to portray DAP as a non-racist organization is doomed to fail. The voters won’t buy it which has so far led to PAS being extremely weak in this area. Rightfully or wrongfully, Malay voters I talked to who may have an issue with an MCA candidate will not vote for Kit Siang as that is a jump too far for them to make. As the blogger Another Brick In Wall said, either PAS wakes up its idea in Gelang Patah or it will face annilihation in the Malay majority areas. National issues are not considered favourable as Najib enjoys a relatively strong approval rating amongst the Malays here, and surprisingly even a better opinion than Tan Sri Muhiyiddin Yassin.

The only option is for PR to secretly field an anti Ghani candidate in order to prevent Ghani from gaining 85% of the Malay votes. In this regard we have already done our homework and have identified Mat Bendang, an ex UMNO strongman contractor whose fate had taken a dive for the worse with the emergence of Abang Sam.

The issue of Lim Kang Hoo can be more effectively played by this “3rd party” candidate who can also work together with PAS’ campaign machinery. After all right now PAS campaign machinery is considered very weak and areas like Kg Pulai which used to be strong PAS have now returned back to UMNO. In fact PAS can even roll out its campaign infrastructure for an anti Ghani candidate because no matter what PAS does for Kit Siang in the lead up to polling day, it will have 0 effect against changing Malay voter perception towards Kit Siang. So rather than waste this campaign machinery, PAS can campaign hard on land issues and Ghani’s perceived weakness to cause a split in the UMNO ranks. If the third party candidate can steal 10% of the Malay votes due to the Kang Hoo issue, then Kit Siang can just about squeeze in and obtain a razor thin several hundred vote victory over Ghani.

From our survey, it seems that this issue involving Lim Kang Hoo is heard in the grapevine but not fully explained to the people. Without its exploitation, it seems quite likely that Lim Kit Siang will face his waterloo in Gelang Patah.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 11 April 2013, 6:43 am and is filed under
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Malaysian Police Ready Two Election Plans

By
John Berthelsen
 | TUESDAY, 09 APRIL 2013

Asia Sentinel

One if Anwar wins, the other if Najib does

For the first time ever, according to sources in Kuala Lumpur, the Royal Police have formulated two contingency plans for the night of Malaysia’s 13th general election, expected to be on April 27 or after.

The first, a source said, is “how to whisk the Prime Minister from the Putra World Trade Center where the Barisan Nasional is holding its election night celebration, back to Sri Perdana, the Prime Minister’s residence, safely in the event that the Barisan Nasional loses, or if there is trouble.” The second, the source said, is how to bring Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim from his home to the palace to be sworn in if the opposition were to win.

Implicit in both of those plans are questions whether there will be violence started by the losing side.

Both plans are unprecedented because there has never been a time in the 57-year history of the country when anybody thought the opposition might actually win. It still may not. But the fact that the plans are in place is an indication that even the police think the election is too close to call.

A call to ACP Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf, the assistant director of management for public relations at the national police headquarters at Bukit Aman in Kuala Lumpur, to ask about the plans went unanswered.

“How it will pan out is something else – whether Anwar is allowed to be sworn in if he wins, etc.” a source told Asia Sentinel. “But the fact that they have these contingency plans in place would suggest that despite the confidence shown by Najib and UMNO leaders, it is going to be a very close race.”

Other sources say that the mood inside the “war room,” or election headquarters at the United Malays National Organization is brimming with confidence. “I don’t know why,” an independent source said. “They must know something.”

Both the Barisan Nasional, or national ruling coalition, and Pakatan Rakyat, the three-party opposition coalition, have been campaigning feverishly for months. However, a number of factors are strongly in favor of the Barisan, particularly in the way the districts are laid out. The below chart of previous elections, prepared by Greg Lopez for the New Mandala website, based at the Australian National University’s College of Asia, shows that since the country became a nation, the Barisan’s popular vote has always run well below the number of seats it captured in Parliament.

Even though it only won 50.14 percent of the votes in the 2008 national election to the opposition’s 46.41 percent, the Barisan managed to retain 63.1 percent of the seats against only 36.9 percent for the opposition. In 1969, the year that disaster struck in the form of murderous race riots, the Barisan actually gained only 49.3 percent of the popular vote against 50.7 percent for the opposition, but it still won 66 percent of the parliamentary seats against 34 percent for the opposition.

The districts haven’t been reapportioned. So in order for the opposition to actually take control of the Parliament, the opposition probably must win a substantially larger number of the votes.

Source: Greg Lopez, New Mandala

If that were to happen, it would be a landslide of epic proportions. In order to attempt to stop it from happening, the Prime Minister Najib and the Barisan Nasional have poured an estimated US$2 billion into what a cynic might describe as outright bribes to the electorate – much of it in the form of cash handouts but more in mortgage relief, salary raises for the military, civil servants, employees of the judiciary and just about anyone else remotely connected with government, including 4,000 workers of the national energy company Petronas, who received RM1,000 cash bonuses when they showed up at a rally put on by Najib and the forces of the Barisan.

Against that, and against an undeniably healthy economy that is delivering 5.6 percent economic growth, the Barisan is faced with the outright collapse of the component parties, the Malaysian Chinese Association, Gerakan, and the Malaysian Indian Congress, which most observers believe won’t get more than a handful of sets in Parliament, and which means that UMNO will probably end up governing the country by itself.

The two opposing sides expect to closely split the 165 parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia. The two East Malaysia states of Sabah and Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan control 57 of the total 222 seats. The common wisdom is that if the two sides are deadlocked in Peninsular Malaysia, the two states hold the key to the future for both opposition and Barisan. Both of the current governments are believed to be in control of enough votes to win their respective statehouses.

Most political observers believe that given the shifting loyalties in the two states, the parties will be open to the blandishments of the competing Barisan and Pakatan in the form of promises of Increased royalties from oil and timber, and increased development for both states, which are the poorest in the country, for whichever side the two choose.

But in the past few days that has been complicated by renewed allegations of huge scandals on the part of both chief ministers, Abdul Taib Mahmud of Sarawak and Musa Hasan in Sabah. An NGO, Global Witness, staged a filmed sting on Taib’s representatives in which it was alleged that the Sarawak chief received billions of ringgit in kickbacks over timber and land deals that have denuded the North Borneo state. Musa as well has been named as having deposited millions of ringgit in Swiss banks through nominees.

That raises the question whether Anwar and his three component parties, who have campaigned for years on a reform platform, can actually do business with the two scandal-scarred ministers and their parties in the wake of the election.

The Barisan also faces the headwinds of some truly massive scandals which have been the focus of widespread reporting in the indefatigable internet press, which largely forms the opposition press, since the mainstream media is owned by all three of the major political parties.

Two of those scandals have resulted in trials that continue at the moment, including corruption in the construction of the Port Klang multimodal port, which could cost as much as RM12.45 billion if the port is forced to default on all of its loans, which appears possible.

Ling Liong Sik, the longtime former head of the MCA, is on trial in a Kuala Lumpur Courtroom now over the affair. In another case, which has gained the name “Cattlegate,” in which the husband of the former head of the women’s wing of the party, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, then Malaysia’s minister for women, family and community development, has been accused of misusing huge amounts of money from a loan to set up the National Feedlot Corporation, a scandal-plagued scheme to slaughter as many as 60,000 cattle annually but fell far short of that goal.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 11 April 2013, 9:15 am and is filed under
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Najib has done a great injustice in not allowing MCA President Chua Soi Lek to stand as a Barisan Nasional candidate in the 13GE

I have greatest sympathy and even pity for the MCA President, Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek, who had to declare today that he will not be contesting in the 13th general election, thus becoming the first MCA President not to be fielded.

It is so embarrassing and humiliating an event that Chua had to come out with a statement which will make history as utterly without credibility, claiming that he is opting out of contesting in the 13GE because he is “walking the talk in allowing new and young leaders in the rejuvenation process so that the party will continue to remain relevant”.

In actual fact, having a MCA President who is not allowed to contest in the 13GE by the Barisan Nasional (BN) Chairman and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is in fact the latest and most powerful evidence of the utter irrelevance of MCA not only in the new Malaysian political landscape but in post-2008 Barisan Nasional politics.

Chua possesses a special illogic when he claimed that his not contesting in the 13GE is to allow him “to prove a point that I am fighting for a cause, that MCA remains relevant”, when the “point” all Malaysians see from the episode is a MCA President who is so irrelevant , unqualified and unsuitable that the UMNO President does not allow him to stand as a BN candidate in the 13GE, as he will not only become a liability for MCA candidates but also to all UMNO and BN candidates as well!

Najib is clearly fearful that Chua’s candidature on the BN ticket will ensure the realisation of the most famous RAHMAN political prophecy with him as the last UMNO/BN Prime Minister

Chua’s claiming that his not contesting as a candidate in the 13GE is “to prove a point that he is fighting for a cause” makes as much sense as his earlier criticism that I am a “political fugitive” for leaving a comparatively safer constituency of Ipoh Timor where I had won with a majority of over 21,000 votes to a high-risk constituency of Gelang Patah which was won by the BN candidate with a 9,000-vote majority in 2008 and a humongous 31,666-vote majority in 2004.

Najib has done a great injustice in not allowing MCA President Chua Soi Lek to stand as a Barisan Nasional candidate in the 13GE.

It is no business of UMNO to dictate who should be the MCA candidate, let alone vetoing the MCA President from contesting in the 13GE.

Will MCA ever thought of imposing a veto on any UMNO candidate, when MCA leaders dare not utter a squeak of protest when Tun Mahathir praised Perkasa’s Ibrahim sky-high as a saviour for Malaysia?

If Chua is not fit to be a BN candidate in the 13GE, how can he be fit and qualified to be the MCA President, sitting in the highest decision-making councils of the Barisan Nasional and government?

If no one in the MCA national leadership dare to speak up against the injustice which Najib has done to Chua and the office of MCA President, let me speak up on Chua and MCA’s behalf – as Najib has no right to stop Chua as a BN candidate in the 13GE when he accepts Chua as an “equal” in the UMNO Supreme Council and even as a member of the BN government’s highest economic planning council in the country.

Who would have imagined that Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir or Tun Abdullah ever (or even daring to) veto the prerogative of their contemporaries as MCA Presidents like Tun Tan Siew Sin, Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu, Tan Sri Lee San Choon, Tan Koon Swan, Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik or Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting as a Barisan Nasional candidate when they were MCA Presidents?

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 11 April 2013, 4:05 pm and is filed under
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Season of quotes

Aliran
| 3 April 2013

Mahathir once wrote that “only the most capable and experienced should be made Ministers and be in the Cabinet”.
Tota
asks him what he thinks of the present Cabinet line-up.

In their utter desperation to retain political power, the Umno–dominated BN is resorting, as always, to all kinds of unfair, indeed dirty tactics to demonise Pakatan Rakyat and its leaders.

The mainstream print and electronic media is littered with quotes from opposition leaders with the aim of poisoning the rakyat’s minds.

Below is an excerpt from Mahathir’s The Malay Dilemma which amply reveals the Machiavellian character of the writer:

It is obvious that only the most capable and experienced should be made Ministers and be in the Cabinet. But independent Malaya chose to treat membership of the cabinet as a reward for loyalty to party chiefs and acceptability to the Prime Minister. Once appointed, no amount of dereliction of duty could affect the position of a Minister. On the other hand, even if the Minister performed well, failure to remain on good terms with the Prime Minister meant removal from the Ministry.

The result was that mediocre men were left to run the country. The capable ones never got into the government and even if they did, they did not stay long. As Cabinet after Cabinet was formed and the same pattern continued, the whole nation gave up hope that the government would ever be made up of the truly able. The people became cynical and respect for the Ministers was minimal. This feeling did not merely pervade those who were opposed to the government, but also those who supported the government.

As can be expected, these governments of mediocre people were bereft of ideas, were unable to understand the limits of their authority, and were generally unable to rule. A formula generally used to counter criticism was to appoint commissions to study and report. The work of these commissions, usually composed of able public figures, normally took time. This gave the government breathing space. When finally the reports were made, the Cabinet found difficulty to study each report. A new committee would be appointed to study each report. More time was consumed. When finally the Cabinet made a decision on the report, whole chapters were rejected and the implementation of what was left was put off indefinitely. In effect, the work of the commissions was a futile exercise and a waste of public money and time. The government carried on very much as if no commission was appointed at all.

All the while, however, the government was busy on devices to perpetuate itself. These devices were so transparent and so lacking in subtlety that they achieved just the opposite effect. Everyone except the government saw this. Thus, long after the rural development schemes had lost their impact, the government still carried on building mosques and community halls, not because these facilities were thought necessary, but in the mistaken belief that it would favourably influence the voting at the next election. As was to be expected, as an election approached, the grants for these rural development schemes increased. Until just before and during election, the Ministers were kept busy handing out cheques. The recipients of this largesse made a great show of gratitude, but it was apparent to those who cared to observe that their sympathy was not automatically with the government. But the most damaging things about these handouts was the discrimination in favour of known party supporters or party strongholds. This blatant partiality evoked the most bitter resentment against the Government and ensured that those opposed to the government remained permanently so. On the other hand, as the government could not possibly meet all the requests of party supporters, there was an ever increasing disillusionment with the party and more defections. (From “The Malay Dilemma”, Federal Publications 1970, Pages 11-13)

When Mahathir became Prime Minister, he filled his Cabinet, as perceived by many, with cronies, boot-lickers and psychopaths. For example, Rais Yatim, a turncoat from Semangat 46, was appointed Minister of Law. He represented Malaysia at the ICJ over our own claim to Batu Puteh. Singapore got the island and Malaysia got a few rocks!

Mahathir, did you say only the “capable” and “experienced” should become ministers? Look at the Mentris Besar you appointed – Rahim Tamby Chik; alleged to have committed … well, you know … ; Toyo, a corrupt fellow; Ghani implicated in the gold coin scandal; Mohammad Taib, an ex-MB and currency smuggler.

Since 1983, about 100 financial scandals have been exposed – three Bank Bumi scandals cost the country RM2.5bn, Scorpene submarines bought at inflated price of RM6.7bn with Baginda-linked entities allegedly receiving RM570m in commission; RM10bn lost in the MAS-Tajuddin scandal; Bank Negara allegedly lost RM33bn in its forex caper; the Mahathir administration squandered RM500m of EPF money at the London Metal Exchange; PKFZ could lose up to RM12.5bn, etc etc.

Mahathir used millions from public coffers to allegedly rescue his son’s business failure. In the Umno elections, Mukhriz received a good kick in the Umno Youth elections – he came out third behind Khairy and Toyo. In his interview with theSun (25 March 2013), Tengku Adnan said of Mahathir, “We still need some guidance and he is giving a lot of his thoughts”. Now we know how Mukhriz became a deputy minister and why Khairy is languishing as a henchman fit only for barking and organising demonstrations! I can predict one more advice he will give Najib. If Barisan wins back Kedah, Mukhriz will become MB – and Mahathirism will be resurrected.

Mahathir, you were Tunku’s greatest critic. It is obvious to one and all that you are unfit to lick his boots!

Many believe that Najib is a lame duck PM, whose baggage allegedly includes the murder of Altantunya, the Scorpene scandal, the theft of jet engines, the corruption scandals, the failure of the government to safeguard the Sabah coastline resulting in the unnecessary loss of policemen’s lives etc etc.

Many believe too that Mahathir is running the country. Najib is faithfully and fearfully following his mentor’s advice. One look at the composition of his Cabinet will convince anyone about that:

Muhyiddin – MB of Johore for 10 years. Thought to be one of the richest men in Umno. Openly sabotaged Najib’s 1Malaysia.

Nazri – Our de facto Law Minister. Ambiga taught him some law regarding the Witness Protection Act. Said that the separation of powers among the Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary is a luxury Malaysia cannot afford.

Rais Yatim – A Semangat 46 turncoat. Once very critical of ISA but as Minister under Mahathir supported the draconian law

Zahid Hamidi – An ex-ISA detainee. Defence Minister who failed to safeguard Sabah. Now playing the race, religion and rajah card to rise in Umno.

Koh Tsu Koon – Defeated, disgraced and discarded ex-CM of Penang. Went through the back door into the Cabinet.

Shahrizat – Defeated, disgraced and discarded on 8 March 2008. Went into the Cabinet through the back door. Tough-talking politician who self-destructed

Hishammuddin – Keris-kisser who often plays the race card. Over the legality of Bersih 3.0, the court condemned him as “irrational”. He said that Jawi had the right to confiscate the book “Allah, Liberty and Love” but the High Court has put Jawi in its place.

If you look beyond the Cabinet, you see many cronies and boot-lickers holding positions in state governments and quasi government bodies.

Ghani Othman – Continues as MB for Johore

Ali Rustam – Barred as a candidate in Umno elections but continues as CM in Malacca. Said that Umno does not need non-Malay support to remain in power. Now Najib is asking for forgiveness and begging the Chinese and Indians to give BN one more chance!

Syed Hamid – A hopeless Home Minister. Now chairman of Spad, but public transport is in a mess.

Mohd Isa – Lost his post as MB of Negeri Sembilan; suspended for six years from Umno because of money politics. Suspension lifted and permitted to stand for elections. Now enjoying a sinecure as chairman of Felda Holdings.

Rahim Tamby Chik – alleged to have committed … well, you know…. Now, chairman of Risda.

Chua Soi Lek – adulterous porn star; now chairman of Penang Port commission

Jamaluddin Jarjis – a GRO accused him of groping her at the Havana Club. Later (for obvious reasons?) she withdrew her police report. Now ambassador to US!

Mahathir, what have you to say about Najib’s Cabinet and the way he is running amok with taxpayers’ money distributing goodies and freebies to get votes?

Tota is the pseudonym of an occasional contributor to Thinking Allowed Online.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 11 April 2013, 8:41 am and is filed under
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Soi Lek: Don’t ask me about MCA seats, all up to PM

By Clara Chooi

The Malaysian Insider

April 10, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 — Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek berated the media today for constantly pushing him to answer questions on his or his MCA’s contest in the polls, pointing out that the final decision lies solely in the hands of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Met on the sidelines of the Barisan Nasional (BN) divisional meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) this afternoon, the MCA president refused to entertain the questions and turned around instead to question the motive behind them.

“PM already told you people that there is no final decision. Why must we keep repeating the same thing again and again?” he said.

“You all must understand. The PM already has the final say. No final decision (has been made). So you don’t need to sibuk-sibuk (be busybodies), hoping that I say something different from the PM.

“And then you can create another crisis – (that MCA has) differing views. What’s the purpose? No purpose,” Dr Chua added.

Dr Chua was asked at first to reveal if he would be entering the coming polls contest and to state his chosen seat, to which he replied, “Don’t talk about myself. Talk about BN first.”

Sources recently told The Malaysian Insider that the former minister had recently declined the offer to contest in Gelang Patah where Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is fielding DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, leaving BN to consider other choices for what is expected to be the hottest battle in Umno’s home state of Johor.

The Malaysian Insider also understands MCA is pushing for caretaker Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman to fight the DAP adviser but an unsettled Malay ground and pro-opposition Chinese voters could scuttle those plans.

“Some in the BN war room thought it would be a titanic fight and that Dr Chua is strong enough to face Kit but the MCA president said no,” a BN source told The Malaysian Insider, referring to the veteran opposition leader by his moniker Kit.

“Now other choices are being considered as the final list must be ready by Tuesday,” the source added.

PR announced last month that Lim was to run in Gelang Patah, and spearhead the opposition pact’s push to pick up more federal seats in Johor. Soi Lek was then dared by the DAP to face Lim but the MCA president declined the challenge last week.

The MCA had earlier named local division leader Jason Teoh to run in the federal seat won by Johor Wanita MCA chief and deputy national vice-chairman Tan Ah Eng in Election 2008 when she retained the seat by defeating PKR’s Zaliha Mustafa by 8,851 votes.

Lim’s political arch-foe Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad called the move from Ipoh TImor “ridiculous”, calling BN members to bury the DAP adviser’s political career and said the local Chinese would not give support.

Lim then asked Dr Mahathir to run against him but was turned down. Since then, MCA-controlled newspaper The Star has been reporting that Ghani was popular with the electorate and would be ideal to face the veteran DAP leader.

However, it is learnt that BN has not included the caretaker Johor mentri besar in its candidates list due to a pushback from the local Malay community upset with rising costs and being elbowed out of the fast-developing and pricy Iskandar Malaysia economic corridor.

The 67-year-old Umno leader has been a four-term MB but it is understood that BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak wants to put in younger and “winnable” candidates to helm the Umno home state.

“Najib has promised at least 40 per cent new faces and he wants those who are capable of pushing Iskandar Malaysia even higher,” said an Umno source, confirming that Ghani’s name is not on any list.

He cited Ghani’s frosty ties with the Johor palace as one of the main reasons that the state leader is being dropped, adding “That’s why he is free to offer himself for Gelang Patah because there is no seat for him.”

It is understood that caretaker Higher Education Minister Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin and UDA Holdings chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed are in a short list to replace Ghani as Johor MB if BN keeps the southern state.

“BN needs to put someone strong there as every parliamentary seat is crucial in this election. But Dr Chua doesn’t want and Ghani is willing but there are issues that could cut his support,” the Umno source said.

“We’ll find out soon enough but it won’t be a titanic fight now,” he added.

Some 13.3 million voters, including 5,200 abroad, are eligible to cast their ballots in Election 2013 to elect lawmakers in 222 federal and 505 state seats in 12 states. Sarawak already held its state elections in 2011.

The Election Commission (EC) announced today that the 13th general election will be held on May 5, and nomination day falls on April 20, which will signal the start of formal electoral campaigns that will last 15 days.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 11 April 2013, 5:40 am and is filed under
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The Hour has Arrived! May the Force be with us!

By Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 11 April 2013, 8:18 am and is filed under
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Why Rais Yatim shouldn’t drive the Information Department vans around the bend

by
Dr Mustafa K Anuar

Honorary Secretary, Aliran
 | 10 April 2013

Aliran roundly condemns Information, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim’s recent indefensible justification for the Barisan Nasional’s blatant use of government machinery for its election campaigning in the run-up to the general election.

What was done had nothing to do with the functions of the caretaker government. The three Information Department vans were there to assist the BN coalition to prepare for the opening of the BN’s election command centre for the Batu parliamentary constituency on Sunday. Government machinery was definitely used for party purposes.

It is crucial that all parties concerned must acknowledge and respect the demarcation line between party and government use to prevent abuse of power and to ensure a level playing field between the incumbent coalition and its contenders.

Surely, it doesn’t take a legally trained person to realise that it is immoral for a caretaker government to take undue advantage of its incumbency in this callous manner.

The BN must emulate instead the fine and praiseworthy example shown by both the Selangor and Penang caretaker governments that recalled all official cars from their respective state executive councillors recently in keeping with ethical behaviour.

Similarly, it is politically indecent of the BN caretaker government to offer only a one-off 10-minute pre-recorded slot over Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) to the opposition coalition during the election campaign period. To ensure a level playing field, the opposition coalition deserves and must be given equal access to the broadcasting station, funded by taxpayers, who, in turn, deserve to know better the policies of the competing parties.

It is therefore understandable that the Opposition coalition had no option but to reject the pathetic offer by the BN government, an action which Rais considered an attempt to ‘mock’ RTM. He fails to realise that without doubt he is mocking the democratic process.

To be sure, the caretaker government’s misdemeanour in this matter is itself sufficient to mock the broadcasting station without the help of anyone outside of the ruling coalition.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 11 April 2013, 8:27 am and is filed under
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23-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Dr M in his post-PM decade has emerged as the greatest enemy of his own Bangsa Malaysia concept in Vision 2020 and the single greatest threat to Malaysian nation building

Tun Mahathir had no qualms in breaking his pledge to leave politics “completely” when he stepped down ten years ago as the country’s longest Prime Minister for 22 years, and despite his brief departure from the UMNO Baru which he had formed, Mahathir is now so firmly ensconced in the corridors of power that he is undoubtedly  the most feared man by all UMNO/Barisan Nasional politicians.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak fear him most as  Mahathir has proven that he could make and unmake Umno Prime Ministers, and the last thing Najib wants is to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Tun Abdullah of  being toppled as Prime Minister after failing to secure an acceptable winning majority in Parliament in the 13GE.

But the saddest and most tragic aspect of the second rise of Mahathir in the UMNO/BN corridors of power is his baleful and baneful influence on Malaysian politics and nation-building, as he has emerged in his post-PM decade as the greatest enemy of his own Bangsa Malaysia concept in Vision 2020 and the single greatest threat to Malaysian nation building.

In the past week, Mahathir provided two examples of the baleful and baneful influence as the arch-enemy of Bangsa Malaysia and the greatest threat to Malaysian nation building.

Firstly, Mahathir’s sky-high praises for the Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali, elevating the patron of the Malay supremacist group as a “saviour” of the nation and leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that Ibrahim Ali would be the ideal candidate for Mahathir to be Prime Minister of Malaysia!

Secondly, his utterly racist blog yesterday warning of a “race confrontation” if I win in Gelang Patah in the 13GE.

Mahathir made the  most  irresponsible, wild, baseless and unworthy allegations that I am contesting Gelang Patah with dishonourable objectives, namely:

•	Because Gelang Patah has a Chinese majority and I want “the Chinese there and in Johor to reject working together and sharing with the Malays”;

•	I am going to play on Chinese sentiments; and

•	“to bring about conflict and antagonism between the races, to urge  the Chinese to dislike and hate the Malays”.

This is a most  rabid and irresponsible rant from the former Prime Minister who made the dire prediction:

“An unhealthy racial confrontation would replace Sino-Malay cooperation which has made Malaysia stable and prosperous. That cooperation will end when Kit Siang wins Gelang Patah. Even if there will not be violent clashes as seen in many countries where people are divided by race or religion, but confrontation between the three major races in Malaysia will be disruptive and will not be conducive to the development of Malaysia.”

I feel both outraged and sad at Mahathir’s blog –  outraged that the former longest-serving Prime Minister could make such a wild and baseless allegations heedless of the harm such irresponsible rantings could cause to the nation-building process and sad that Mahathir has circumnavigated a full circle from a communalist to a Malaysian visionary  who could advocate the inclusive  “Bangsa Malaysia” concept in Vision 2020 and back to the earlier communalist stance.

Mahathir’s blogpost on “Gelang Patah” is a most disgraceful, unworthy  and communalist ranting completely unworthy of  a person who had been the longest serving Prime Minister spanning 22 years.

Let me rebut Mahathir’s  irresponsible, wild and baseless allegations in his blog yesterday.

In the first place, I do not know what Mahathir is driving at when he blogged that I am contesting in Gelang Patah because it has a Chinese majority.

This is because all the previous five parliamentary constituencies which I had contested in the past 10 general elections, namely Kota Melaka, Petaling, Tanjong, Bukit Bendera and Ipoh Timor had a Chinese majority.

What should stand out in Gelang Patah as compared to the other five Parliamentary constituencies which I had contested is that it has the least Chinese majority, comprising some 53% with Malay voters at some 33% and Indian voters at 12%.

What should stand out in Gelang Patah as compared to the other five Parliamentary constituencies which I had contested is that it has the least Chinese majority, comprising some 53% with 33% Malay voters and Indian voters at 12%.

I do not expect praise from Mahathir for moving from a comparatively safer Ipoh Timor parliamentary seat where I had won in 2008 with more than 21,000-vote majority to a high-risk Gelang Patah where the MCA/BN candidate won with nearly 9,000-vote majority in 2008 and a humongous majority of 21,666-vote in 2004, but it is just mind-boggling for Mahathir to completely ignore this fact and to go on a rampage on the ground that I would be contesting in Gelang Patah because it was a Chinese-majority seat when the other parliamentary constituencies I had contested, like Ipoh Timor had over 80 per cent Chinese electorate.

Is Mahathir seriously suggesting that if I win in Gelang Patah there will be “race confrontation” but not in the other five parliamentary constituencies I had contested although the percentage of Chinese electorate is very much higher?

In the second place, has Mahathir any evidence that in the Gelang Patah campaign, I  want the Chinese in Johore to hate the Malays and to reject working together with the Malays?

The contrary is in fact the case, as I had been speaking and exhorting all voterrs, regardless of race, to work together as one Malaysian, which is why DAP is in the multi-racial and multi-religious coalition of Pakatan Rakyat comprising DAP, PKR and PAS.

Is Mahathir aware that in all my speeches in Gelang Patah in the past three weeks, I had stressed that I want to win not just on Chinese votes but also with the support of Malay and Indian votes, to emphasise the importance of all racial groups in Johore and Malaysia working together for the common good of the  plural population in the country?

Mahathir is just continuing the demonization campaign by UMNO down through the decades painting the DAP as anti-Malay and anti-Islam when these are  totally untrue, false and downright lies.

Which UMNO leader for instance had sacrificed like the DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who had gone to jail for 18 months and disqualified as an MP because he went to the defence of the human rights and dignity of an underaged Malay girl?

Right from the very beginning of DAP history in 1966, DAP had stood for the rights and interests of all Malaysians, regardless of race and religion, and this is why the second by-election contested by the DAP in our 47-year history was the Tampoi by-election in the UMNO stronghold of Johore in September 1967 and our candidate was Daing Ibrahim Othman.

In the 1969 general election, the first in DAP history, two DAP Malay candidates were elected as State Assemblymen, one in Perak and the other in Negri Sembilan, and down the decades, we had fielded Malay candidates both at Parliamentary and State Assembly levels, with Sdr. Ahmad Nor being the first Malay DAP leader elected as MP for Bayan Baru, Penang in 1990.

The Gelang Patah election will be a test whether the decades of lies and falsehoods by UMNO propagandists and by Mahathir in his blog yesterday that I am anti-Malay and anti-Islam could  be demolished, whether the politics of lies to incite racial hatred and religious distrust could be debunked – for this is the first precondition for the realisation  of the Malaysian Dream where all Malaysians regardless of race and religion unite as one people for the advancement of the country and its people.

Mahathir should withdraw and apologise for his lies and falsehoods against me in his blog or he should produce evidence to substantiate his baseless allegations and not to spew more lies and falsehoods.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 12 April 2013, 4:56 pm and is filed under
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Apathy and change

by
The Malaysian Insider

APRIL 12 ― There’s an old wives’ tale about the boiled frog. That a frog would get used to water that is slowly boiled and die without trying to escape. It isn’t true but it illustrates how people can slowly get used to changes without realising it.

This holds true in some parts of Malaysia, especially politicians who tell us to stick to the status quo and warn us of chaos if there is change, just like what caretaker Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman cautioned Malaysians last night against voting for the opposition in Election 2013.

“Don’t try to experiment,” Musa told a thousand-strong cheering crowd at the launch of the Barisan Nasional (BN) machinery in Penampang, Sabah.

“What can you hope for in the opposition? They talk about bad things, create trouble, chaos, Bersih 1, Bersih 2, for what?” he added.

It is no surprise that Musa would say all that, especially since the opposition and activists have been after him over several corruption cases.

He was linked to businessman Michael Chia, who was arrested at Hong Kong International Airport and charged with money laundering after attempting to smuggle S$16 million (RM40 million) back to Malaysia in 2008.

It was reported that Chia had at the time allegedly told Hong Kong authorities that the money belonged to Musa.

The Sarawak Report news portal also revealed documents allegedly from Hong Kong’s anti-graft agency, the ICAC, showing a Sabah lawyer was holding some US$30 million (RM93 million) in a Swiss bank account for Musa.

Earlier this month, the Reuters news agency reported that a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) document showed Musa consistently signed off on concessions that exceeded, or even doubled, the allowable timber cut. While not illegal, it shows the state was exceeding its own guidelines on deforestation.

Some of the companies on that list made payments into a UBS corporate account belonging to a former Musa associate, bank statements on the account obtained by Reuters shows. From the same account, withdrawals were made by the associate to fund Musa’s sons who were studying in Australia, according to the statements.

Then there is the case of Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud who has thumbed his nose to the MACC, calling them “naughty” and “dishonest” for investigating him over a Global Witness video clip that alleged graft in the state’s timber industry.

Have we gotten so used to these cases that they do not even raise eyebrows anymore? Are we inured to such excesses that we listen still to these same politicians when they predict chaos if there are changes?

Fact is, what is more dangerous than Malaysians not exercising their right to vote is Malaysians not reacting to endemic and wanton corruption as well as excesses in system. Remember that, the next time a politician talks about keeping the status quo rather than moving towards a better Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 12 April 2013, 12:54 pm and is filed under
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Bishop Sebastian Francis: “Your vote should not only be secret but sacred as well!”

by Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Friday, 12 April 2013, 9:01 am and is filed under
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BN woos Indian votes but indifferent to Hindus

by
Aliran

11 April 2013

It is appalling that the higher-ups in the civil service are totally not bothered about Hindu sensitivities, observes P Ramakrishnan citing his experience with medication supplied at a general hospital.

The Prime Minister and the Barisan Nasional have been very busy going after the Indian Malaysian votes. They seem to be addressing some issues to pacify the Indians in their attempt to win them. The Indian vote is very crucial to the BN and they are desperately trying to woo them.

But it would appear that they are not bothered about the sensitivities of the Hindus. It is appalling that the higher ups in the civil service are totally not bothered about Hindu sensitivities. They are indifferent and insensitive to the Hindus.

One good example is the medication that is provided by the General Hospital.

Those suffering from IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) have been put on the medication ‘Duspatalin’. I am one of those taking this medicine for a number of years.

This particular medication was easily available for some years now. But when I went for my supply in February, I was given ‘Mebetin’ capsules and the packaging was different. When queried, the explanation was that it is the same medicine – only the packaging was different.

On reaching home, my wife examined the box containing the medicine. Horror of horrors, she discovered printed on the box the wording “Bovine coated”. Immediately, she alerted me and told me that as an Hindu I couldn’t take it as there was a beef extract added to the medicine.

We went back to the hospital, met up with the pharmacist and told him of my predicament. He understood my problem, went to the back of the store and came back with 80 tablets of Duspatalin. That was all they had, he told me.

Another pharmacist, an Indian, came to see me and assured me that she would bring this to the notice of those above her. I was told that I would be contacted the following week.

But there was no call so I went to see them. This time they told me that they were trying to source the Duspatalin and had not been successful.

In the meantime I went to my private pharmacy to make enquiries. Fortunately they had this supply of Duspatalin. I went back to inform the hospital but I was told that they managed to source from the Bukit Mertajam hospital.

When I went back for my supply of Duspatalin in March, I was happy that it was available. I remarked that all Hindus must be receiving this from now onwards. “No”, he told me, “you are the only one in Penang receiving this.”

When I asked why, the reply was that I was the only one who complained!

This is preposterous! Most patients simply consume the medicine given to them. They hardly read the write-up; there are others who can’t read and therefore they are not aware that certain medicines are “bovine coated”. Also, many don’t understand what is “bovine”.

My wife is on Omeprazole for her gastritis. She has been on it for a number of years. In March when she went for her supply, she was given Omerprazole capsule, the packaging of which was different. She was assured that it was the same medicine. On reaching home, she discovered that this was also “Bovine coated”.

I had occasion to discuss this problem with a doctor when I went for my next consultation. I asked him why this was not raised with the higher-ups. His reply was that they had but the response from those above was, “They are a minority. If they don’t want to take, they don’t have to take.”

This kind of attitude is totally unacceptable. They are callous and indifferent and they don’t deserve to be where they are. They are a disgrace to the human race!

In the past, medicine used to be porcine coated. The Ministry of Health rightly stopped this in deference to the sensitivities of the Muslims. This is the correct thing to do.

By the same token, the sensitivities of the Hindus should have been addressed as well and taken care of. But it was not and deliberately so.

If the Prime Minister was not aware, no one can blame him or fault him. But now that it has been revealed what would be his reaction? Would he condemn those insensitive people who are not bothered? Would he direct the Ministry of Health to stop this indifferent attitude and put a stop to this atrocious behaviour?

Will he address the sensitivities of the Hindus as astutely as he is wooing the Indian votes?

                This entry was posted on Friday, 12 April 2013, 8:57 am and is filed under
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Dr M: Race confrontation if Kit Siang wins Gelang Patah

By Debra Chong

The Malaysian Insider

April 11, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 – A Lim Kit Siang win in Gelang Patah will result in racial confrontation, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today, arguing that Chinese-Malay economic partnership will be ruined.

With weeks left to Election 2013, the former prime minister continued his doomsday prediction by hammering on the opposition leader with his warning that Lim’s victory in the southern state would trigger racial clashes that would replace the existing cooperation between the Malay majority and Chinese community.

“Kit Siang is going to bring about conflict and antagonism between the races, to wage the Chinese to dislike and hate the Malays,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his chedet.cc blog.

The 87-year-old Dr Mahathir has become a de facto campaigner-in-chief for the Barisan Nasional (BN), going on the stump with the vigour of a much younger man as the 13-party coalition faces what is seen as its stiffest challenge ever from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact.

The Johor-born Lim has been bearing the brunt of Dr Mahathir’s attacks ever since announcing his plan to battle BN on its home turf – the birthplace of its anchor party Umno and the last standing home of Chinese partner, MCA.

Dr Mahathir has been relentless in chipping away at the predominantly Chinese DAP’s credentials to share power with its political allies, whether the Islamist PAS or the urban-based PKR led by his former deputy, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He pounded on the DAP’s “Malaysian Malaysia” slogan purportedly championing raceless meritocracy, saying it was inherited from the Singapore-based PAP – which is now the republic’s ruling party – and a stealth tactic to weaken the Malay influence.

“When Kit Siang decided to contest in Chinese majority Gelang Patah it is because he wanted the Chinese there and in Johor to reject working together and sharing with the Malays.

“An unhealthy racial confrontation would replace Sino-Malay cooperation which has made Malaysia stable and prosperous.”

He added, “That cooperation will end when Kit Siang wins Gelang Patah.”

The fourth prime minister, who had been Lim’s main adversary in Parliament during his 22 years in office, said that even if violent clashes did not happen, a “confrontation between the three major races” would prove disruptive to the country’s development.

“For this reason the decision of Kit Siang to contest in Gelang Patah will be the focus of the 13th General Election in this country.

“Will the DAP end Malay-Chinese friendship and cooperation in Johor or will “kongsi” remain the bases of race relations in Johor and in Malaysia?” he asked.

Malays make up about 60 per cent of Malaysia’s 28 million population, while the minority Chinese make up slightly more than a quarter and are seen as an influential vote group.

Lim, who is leading the DAP’s charge in Johor, is banking on launching a political tsunami from the south, targeting at least one-third of the 83 parliamentary seats for PR in BN fortresses in Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.

An incumbent in the Ipoh Timor seat in Perak, the 72-year-old was recently announced as the PR candidate in Johor’s Gelang Patah, a strategic move by the opposition in its bid to wipe out as many MCA-held seats as possible in the southern state.

PR is said to be on its best election footing yet to end BN’s half-century rule in Malaysia, having grown greatly in strength and in numbers since its harried formation after Election 2008.

A total of 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats are up for grabs.

Some 13.3 million voters, including 5,200 abroad, are eligible to cast their ballots in Election 2013 to elect lawmakers in 222 federal and 505 state seats in 12 states. Sarawak already held its state elections in 2011.

The Election Commission announced yesterday that the 13th general election will be held on May 5, and nomination day falls on April 20, which will signal the start of formal electoral campaigns that will last 15 days.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 12 April 2013, 6:52 am and is filed under
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Let Us Ubah!

by Allan CF Goh

Bring on the transformasi.

Start the cleansing tsunami.

From Johor to fair Sabah

Let the change of wind ubah.

Sweep clean the foul corruptions,

And all unjust restrictions,

Break down slavery’s fetter

To make Malaysia better!

Drown out the vile racism,

And foul communalism.

Let’s vote for a one-nation,

Where folks live without friction,

In nationwide harmony,

Free from harsh acrimony.

Come General Election,

Vote for the best selection

Of good, moral candidates.

On that vital polling date,

Ubah! make the country well,

Make citizens, with pride, swell.

Citizens, come out to vote,

Let’s build a nation of note!

                This entry was posted on Friday, 12 April 2013, 11:40 am and is filed under
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Silly conjectures

The Malaysian Insider

April 11, 2013

APRIL 11 – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad must not be feeling confident of a Barisan Nasional (BN) victory in Gelang Patah.

The former BN chief wrote today that a Lim Kit Siang win in Gelang Patah will result in racial confrontation, arguing that Chinese-Malay economic partnership will be ruined.

“Kit Siang is going to bring about conflict and antagonism between the races, to wage the Chinese to dislike and hate the Malays,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his chedet.cc blog.

“When Kit Siang decided to contest in Chinese majority Gelang Patah it is because he wanted the Chinese there and in Johor to reject working together and sharing with the Malays.

“An unhealthy racial confrontation would replace Sino-Malay cooperation which has made Malaysia stable and prosperous.”

How ridiculous is this conjecture? That an opposition win will cause racial conflict.

Is this how to scare voters to support the BN? Through fear not respect or popularity.

Is this what Dr Mahathir has to fall back to get BN to win Gelang Patah, no matter whether MCA or Umno gets to stand there?

No one should use the race card or the threat of racial conflict to win an election. This is blackmail in its purest form.

More so Dr Mahathir. Wasn’t he who said he wants to build a Bangsa Malaysia but now fears losing Gelang Patah will undo his efforts.

Malaysians will do well to ignore such silly conjectures. Such threats and mindset belongs to the past.

Malaysia and Malaysians are now a lot more mature, perhaps even more than politicians, to think that an opposition victory in one like Gelang Patah will lead to any kind of racial conflict.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 12 April 2013, 7:03 am and is filed under
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Soi Lek: 50-50 chance of MCA ceding Gelang Patah to Umno

by Clara Chooi

The Malaysian Insider

April 11, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 – Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said today it is still a toss-up between MCA and Umno for the Gelang Patah contest, despite strong indicators pointing to Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman as Barisan Nasional’s (BN) likely candidate.

The MCA president told a press conference here that no decision has been made, even reminding pressmen to report him saying that the chances of a seat swap between Umno and MCA in Gelang Patah was still 50-50.

“We are still negotiating,” he said, before a reporter asked if MCA would cede the seat to Umno.

“Maybe yes and maybe no. You must write maybe yes and maybe no to be fair to me… if not, I will call and scold you,” he added.

Ceding the Gelang Patah seat to Umno, however, would mean MCA loses another federal seat in the coming polls contest, narrowing its chances to make a bigger comeback in Election 2013.

MCA, BN’s second-largest component party, suffered an embarrassing polls defeat in Election 2008 when its parliamentary representation was slashed by nearly half from 31 to just 15 seats.

The fight for the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat is shaping up to be a heated one with Lim’s entry into the battle and the possibility of Abdul Ghani’s contest.

Dr Chua (picture) was asked to face Lim for the contest but sources said the former minister declined the offer, leaving BN to consider other choices for what is expected to be the hottest battle in Umno’s home state of Johor.

The Malaysian Insider also understands that Abdul Ghani had offered himself up to fight the DAP adviser but an unsettled Malay ground and pro-opposition Chinese voters could scuttle those plans.

“Some in the BN war room thought it would be a titanic fight and that Dr Chua is strong enough to face Kit but the MCA president said no,” a BN source told The Malaysian Insider, referring to the veteran opposition leader by his moniker Kit.

“Now other choices are being considered as the final list must be ready by Tuesday,” the source added.

PR announced last month that Lim was to run in Gelang Patah, and spearhead the opposition pact’s push to pick up more federal seats in Johor. Soi Lek was then dared by the DAP to face Lim but the MCA president declined the challenge last week.

The MCA had earlier named local division leader Jason Teoh to run in the federal seat won by Johor Wanita MCA chief and deputy national vice-chairman Tan Ah Eng in Election 2008 when she retained the seat by defeating PKR’s Zaliha Mustafa by 8,851 votes.

Lim’s political arch-foe Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad called the move from Ipoh TImor “ridiculous”, calling BN members to bury the DAP adviser’s political career and said the local Chinese would not give support.

Lim then asked Dr Mahathir to run against him but was turned down. Since then, MCA-controlled newspaper The Star has been reporting that Ghani was popular with the electorate and would be ideal to face the veteran DAP leader.

However, it is learnt that BN has not included the caretaker Johor mentri besar in its candidates list due to a pushback from the local Malay community upset with rising costs and being elbowed out of the fast-developing and pricy Iskandar Malaysia economic corridor.

The 67-year-old Umno leader has been a four-term MB but it is understood that BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak wants to put in younger and “winnable” candidates to helm the Umno home state.

“Najib has promised at least 40 per cent new faces and he wants those who are capable of pushing Iskandar Malaysia even higher,” said an Umno source, confirming that Ghani’s name is not on any list.

He cited Ghani’s frosty ties with the Johor palace as one of the main reasons that the state leader is being dropped, adding: “That’s why he is free to offer himself for Gelang Patah because there is no seat for him.”

It is understood that caretaker Higher Education Minister Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin and UDA Holdings chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed are in a short list to replace Ghani as Johor MB if BN keeps the southern state.

“BN needs to put someone strong there as every parliamentary seat is crucial in this election. But Dr Chua doesn’t want and Ghani is willing but there are issues that could cut his support,” the Umno source said.

“We’ll find out soon enough but it won’t be a titanic fight now,” he added.

Some 13.3 million voters, including 5,200 abroad, are eligible to cast their ballots in Election 2013 to elect lawmakers in 222 federal and 505 state seats in 12 states. Sarawak already held its state elections in 2011.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 12 April 2013, 6:32 am and is filed under
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Stealing the elections: Act One

by
Dr Lim Teck Ghee

Centre for Policy Initiatives

Even before the dust has set on the fixing of the polling date, the Barisan Nasional (BN) had already begun the hijacking of the elections. With the apparent connivance of the Election Commission (EC) – the pit bull ensuring BN’s electoral victory for the past 12 general elections – they have imposed a 10-minute slot for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties to explain their polls manifesto over the official media.

According to Rais Yatim, the Information, Communications and Culture caretaker minister, the short time offered to PR will be more than enough to showcase their pledges. Although an attempt has been made by the EC at damage control over the government’s ludicrous but at the same time deadly serious intent – it has explained that the opposition had misunderstood the offer which was intended to be serial and not one-time – the objective of the government is clear.

This is to use its monopoly of the official (and much of the unofficial print) media to ensure a BN election victory by seeing to it that the public – especially rural and Malay voters – will hear only the good side and promises of the BN and to downplay, ignore or demonize the PR side.

Quite rightly, the PR has snubbed the offer in response, calling it a “joke” and a mockery of press freedom.

In fact, media manipulation has been one of the cornerstones of the BN’s remarkable record of cheating and trickery in the elections over the past 50 years. So it is not surprising that the BN and its partner in electoral crime, the EC, will want the racket to continue.

And it will continue until the strongest possible stand is made against it.

Although the media in Malaysia does not primarily decide the outcome of elections, its role in influencing the decision-making process of the electorate is crucial and needs to take place on a level playing field. Free and fair access to media should be what our electorate deserves, not media coverage which is saturated by BN propaganda and political advertisement overkill.

What is puzzling for now is the timidity of the opposition response. Although leaders from the opposition pact have maintained that they want equal media access in the mainstream media and television stations controlled by the government (RTM)) or by companies that are closely linked to the BN (the New Straits Times, The Star, Utusan Malaysia, etc) they appear to have forgotten or decided not to draw a line in the sand on this No.1 game changer.

Surely the opposition must be aware that any decision to limit them to anything less than equal time over official media for the elections will make a mockery of the democratic process.

Not only that, this blocking of media access will also hurt – if not – kill the PR’s chances of winning power in Putrajaya. Although PR have rightly rejected the offer, they need to go further and to insist on equal time as a precondition for participation in the elections or else they will boycott it.

Such a stand is not as extreme as it may appear.

PR in allowing themselves to be restricted in national media coverage is akin to trying to compete with the BN in a 100-metre sprint by conceding the archrival a 30-meter head start.

Media restriction that creates a lopsided situation where PR have no way of responding to BN claims and attacks or making their case for being the next government is a deadly handicap, especially since the caretaker minister had earlier told national news agency Bernama that it was “okay” for the BN to use state assets to campaign ahead of the official campaigning period.

The opposition have an important case to make to Malaysia and the world by standing firm and refusing to go to the elections without equal media access. Should they fail to do so, it may be construed that blinded by the scent of power, Pakatan Rakyat have been beguiled or have permitted their arm to be twisted on this important principle.

And should they lose – as is likely to happen if the media access and coverage issue is not redressed – it will be too late for them to complain. The EC will insist it has conducted free and fair elections; the BN will call their opponents sore and perennial losers, and PR will deserve to remain warming the opposition benches.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 12 April 2013, 7:25 pm and is filed under
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22-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Mahathir has another 24 hours to withdraw and apologise for his chauvinist blog on “Gelang Patah” making irresponsible and baseless attacks on me or face legal action for defamation for his lies and falsehoods

Tun Mahathir has another 24 hours to withdraw and apologise for his chauvinistic blog on “Gelang Patah” making irresponsible and baseless attacks on my reputation and character or face legal action for defamation for his lies and falsehoods.

Yesterday, I had challenged Mahathir to stop spewing more lies and falsehoods but to produce evidence to substantiate his baseless attacks on my reputation and character or he should retract and apologise for his lies and falsehoods against me in his blog on Thursday.

There has only been silence on Mahathir’s part and I am giving him another 24 hours to vindicate himself, produce proof to substantiate his allegations against me or behave as a responsible “elder statesman” and retract and apologise for his defamatory blog against me.

In his blog, Mahathir made the most chauvinistic, scurrilous and totally baseless attacks on me, accusing me of wanting to contesting Gelang Patah because

I want the Chinese in Gelang Patah and Johor to “reject working together and sharing with the Malays”;

urge the Chinese in Johor “to dislike and hate the Malays” to create “conflict and antagonism between the races”;

create “an unhealthy racial confrontation” between the Malays and Chinese in Johor, which will be “disruptive and will not be conducive to the development of Malaysia”.

All these three allegations by Mahathir are downright lies and falsehoods, which I had never uttered in Gelang Patah and Johore since the announcement on March 18 that I would be contesting in Gelang Patah.

In fact, in my 47 years in politics, I had never been guilty of anyone of these three charges by Mahathir as it goes against the very grain of my political beliefs – that Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or geography must unite as one people to create a country which will be an international example and inspiration of the success story of the coming together of a plural society of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures to build an united, prosperous, competitive, just and free nation.

I have repeatedly said in Gelang Patah that I hope to win not just on Chinese votes alone, but on the votes of all the racial groups in the country i.e. the Chinese, Malay and Indian voter support, urging the Chinese, the Malays and the Indians in Gelang Patah to show to Barisan Nasional that they can unite under the banner of Pakatan Rakyat comprising the three parties of DAP, PAS and PKR to work for the common welfare of Malaysians and common good of the country – which is totally against the lies and falsehoods which Mahathir is so irresponsibly spewing in his blog against me.

There are attempts to make the 13GE the dirtiest general election in Malaysia history of 13 general elections in 56 years, with the deployment of the entire menu of novel and unprecedented dirty tricks and stratagems, targeting leaders of all three parties in the Pakatan Rakyat – DAP, PKR and PAS – to defame them and inflame public feelings and tension.

One such “dirty trick” is fabrication and dissemination of fake videos making malicious and vicious attacks on PR leaders, including synthetic sex videos. Another “dirty trick” is the character assassination of PR leaders accusing them of all sorts of political sins and crimes which are concocted in toto, without an iota of truth whatsoever.

One such dastardly and despicable deed was already at work in Gelang Patah, where inflammatory leaftlets, without revealing the identity of the printer or authofr, are surreptitiously distributed among Malay voters accusing me of being the “provocateur” of the of the May 13 riots in 1969.

This anonymous leaflet accused me of inciting racial hatred and tension in Kuala Lumpur on May 11, 12 and 13 of 1969, leading processions in the streets of KL making seditious anti-Malay and anti-Islam slogans which provoked the May 13 riots.

In actual fact, I had answered these irresponsible allegations, lies and falsehoods  both in Parliament and outside, that I was never in Kuala Lumpur on May 11,12 and 13 of 1969 and I could not be guilty of all the terrible things they have alleged about me just before May 13, including the earlier allegation in the multi-million ringgit film “Tanda Putera” that I had urinated on the flagpole in front of the official residence of the then Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Harun Idris precipitating the May 13 riots.

These are all lies and falsehoods, which could easily be borne out by the police who would have full records in their archives on my movements on May 11, 12 and 13 of 1969.

If I have just done one-tenth of the terrible things the Umno propagandists and cybertroopers are accusing me of on May 11, 12 and 13 of 1969, causing the May 13 riots, this would have become an issue in the past 44 years and not suddenly discovered in the past four years to be used to attack my credibility and integrity.

What I find shocking is not only the perpetration of the dirtiest tricks in the run-up to the 13GE by the immoral and unethical mercenaries and scums in the political propaganda departments of UMNO and BN, but prominent  UMNO/BN political leaders are themselves getting involved in such “dirty tricks”, disseminating lies and falsehoods without ethical or moral qualms.

This is what Mahathir had done with his blog on “Gelang Patah” making the most chauvinist and scurrilous attacks on me, accusing me of wanting to cause a racial confronation coming to Gelang Patah.

Let me ask Mahathir why he has become so desperate as to scrape the bottom of the barrel to come out with downright lies and falsehoods against me; why instead of restraining and stopping the political mercenaries and scums from resorting to the dirtiest tricks and stratagems to keep the 13GE as clean, free and fair as possible, he is polluting the campaign with his own lies and falsehoods.I expect an answer from Mahathir.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 13 April 2013, 1:10 pm and is filed under
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Kutty’s no match for LKS

By
Bennyloh

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 13 April 2013, 10:54 am and is filed under
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Lim’s return to Johor emboldens the Chinese

From Sakmongkol AK47

Free Malaysia Today

April 12, 2013

The return of Lim Kit Siang to Johor should not matter to Umno and BN. Why should it cause worry? Isn’t it mathematically impossible for PR to go from 1 seat to 15 parliamentary seats? The Johor Chinese are different. They have an unshakeable allegiance to the state. So the Johor Chinese are by definition, naturally indifferent to what is happening around in the country.

The Chinese are a very practical people, says Chua Soi Lek. He must of course be referring to their apparent indifference to his sexual escapades. By that reasoning, the Chinese must also be indifferent to whatever stories are said of Anwar Ibrahim and they should be indifferent to Najib’s overextended and boring self-praising assessment of his Alphabet Soup vision. Ah Jib Gor does what Ah Jib Gor does best – tell tall stories mostly about himself.

Being practical they want to know, whether we can establish a good government. One that will practise good governance, consists of good, selfless and dedicated people. They want to go about making wealth under a government that upholds the rule of law. Which in turn require that the institutions that safeguard the rule and implementation of law be strong and independent and are established on principles of integrity. The Chinese want to live peacefully with the other major races in Malaysia. These are hallmarks of practical people.

I don’t think being practical means, they accept corruption, wheeling and dealing with the powers that be, accepting hegemony from others. If they are like that – that’s not being practical but being sly and acting like hustlers. The things that made the Chinese practical is economic independence. So being practical as in economically independent, the Chinese can exercise wider choices. They will chose to side with Pakatan Rakyat. That’s practical and acknowledging reality.

I hope the PR people are not learning from the same further maths book that BN uses to say that if DAP wins all the parliamentary seats it contests, DAP can form the next government. Now, where is that damn maths book?

If the DAP is given 50 parliamentary seats and wins them all, DAP will form the next government, and this country will be a Republic with Kit Siang as President, Christianity as the official religion, Malays will not be able to pray in suraus and mosques. Yes, DAP must be learning from the same maths book to even imagine PR can win up to 15 parliament seats and anything more than 16 state seats.

The truth is, we don’t use the same antiquated maths book. We are reading a book scripted and written by the people that says, we the people, have had enough with corrupt Umno-led government.

BN has a bottomless war chest. It has the loyalty of the Elections Commission which is the 15th BN component party. It owns the legitimate coercive forces in the country. It owns the media and is campaigning all year long for each day since 2008. It must have built up an insurmountable lead. It has the loyalty and fealty of the million new Malaysians. Najib has a string of media hyped achievements. His achievements through his Alphabet Soup are spectacular. Things are so good that no one can defeat BN.

With all these pluses, people are bewildered as to why does the PM delay elections? Why, why? It’s a shoo-in for Umno and BN.

Yet, the news that Lim Kit Siang is contesting in Gelang Patah has sent shock waves throughout the country. MCA leaders behave as MCA people do – taking pains to denounce that strategic move. But they do so from the deadly embrace of paranoia. It begins by self deluding itself and members by retreating into its comfort zone insisting that Johor Chinese are different. And so we ask, being poor and marginalised in Johor isn’t the same of being in the same situation elsewhere? Are Johor Chinese so thick to not appreciate that the country is going to the dogs?

The fact is – Kit Siang’s return to Johor IS bad news to MCA. If not why is the need to even lament that DAP is contesting against MCA candidates? Why should anyone not do so? We have the chance to wipe MCA out entirely. DAP does so to replace MCA as the party of choice for the Chinese. It’s not out to prove right the MCA version of a multiracial party. DAP is out to replace MCA and that is worrisome for MCA.

It signals the end of MCA in the south and elsewhere in Malaysia. For MCA to get even two parliamentary seats will now be difficult. Why should Kit Siang’s entry to Johor politics cause so much consternation when he is after all a touch and go and hit and run politician? Seventy-two year old Kit Siang is just a political guerrilla.

MCA’s fear is understandable – it stands to lose all the seats it now currently holds in Johor. The annihilation of MCA in Johor will confirm what the people feel about the party – that MCA is no longer relevant to Malaysian Chinese. To the Umno Malays, MCA is just its errand and water boy.

The move by Kit Siang has the immediate effect of galvanising Chinese support and picking up of the undecided voters. Kit Siang’s return to Johor is giving meaning and purpose to the Malaysian Chinese.

The Chinese now have a choice – to be an MCA Chinese, lackey and errand boy for Umno living under Umno hegemony and domination or to become a better Chinese and be part of the political process to kick out the corrupt government. I am sure, being practical people the Chinese understand that we do not inherit this world from our forbears, but borrow it from our children. we owe it to our Children and progeny to make this world a better world. There is a better world without Umno!

It will have a positive impact on the Johor Malays too. For too long they have been under the yoke of Umno hegemony and allowed themselves be indoctrinated to think in terms of ethnic calculations. Malay votes for Pakatan will even scale up to 50% because they would not want to be left behind in determining the future of this country.

I pity those commentators who keep insisting that MCA and Umno people will make sure the Chinese will not support DAP/PR. These people don’t have any inkling on what’s happening in the south. My friend Nurjazlan is in for a surprise. When I was there recently, his detractors are coming not from the opposition parties but from within the ranks of Umno. But he is all right as he has his business to direct his mind and body.

As to the rest who inhabit the dream world, allow me to enlighten them.

Even Kit Siang was pleasantly surprised to see at least 3,000 people attend his lunchtime ceramah in Batu Pahat. That’s lunchtime under the sweltering heat at the Essential CafÃ© or Lau Ti Fang at Jalan Mustafa, Batu Pahat. Tony Pua had to go out of the restaurant a few times to seek relief from the heat.

What does the gathering and open support mean? It means that the Chinese are solidly behind Kit Siang in his efforts to spearhead PR’s challenge in Johor. The attendees to the luncheon ceramah would now feel gratified to learn that Kit Siang a former student of Batu Pahat High School is coming home to Johor. It’s the return of the fortunate son.

Kit Siang was doing four ceramahs already when he arrived at another gathering in Kluang Johor at around 10pm. The entire Chinese population in Kluang must have been there. PAS supporters were also on hand to show support for DAP. It appears that Kluang will likely go back to the days when the legendary Lee Kaw was MP for Kluang.

The candidate for Bandar Penggaram was almost brought to tears when attending a ceramah at Kg Linau in Batu Pahat. She is a Batu Pahat native and has contested the DUN seat for the last four elections. She was at a loss for words seeing the reception she got from the largely Malay audience. She has never been to this part of Batu Pahat and the support she received that night was so positively given. Malays no longer fear the DAP – that fear being a product of paranoia and bigotry from Umno.

The Chinese are indeed practical people. Like other people, they want to free themselves from the xenophobia that Umno conditions the country with. They too, want to live as One people under a good Malaysian government. Surely the Umno and BN people, including MCA do not object to that, do they?

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 13 April 2013, 5:41 am and is filed under
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No votes for racists

Zan Azlee

The Malaysian Insider

Apr 12, 2013

APRIL 12 ― I turn to my right, and I see two Malaysians. Their names are Cherish Leow and Cynthia Ng. I look further down to the left; I see another Malaysian. His name is Thinesh Kumar. This is my workplace.

I look to my left, I see four Malaysians. They are the Lau family. I look further ahead and I see another Malaysian. His name is Steven Tan. This is my residential area.

I look to my right, I see a Malaysian. Her name is Ang Swee Poh. I look further down to the right, I see another Malaysian. His name is Ganesh Selvacumarasamy. This is my family.

I look to my left, I see a Malaysian. Her name is Jasmine Abu Bakar. I look in my arms, I see a Malaysian. Her name is Athena Azlee. These are my wife and daughter.

Then I read in the news and see prominent Malaysians endorse and encourage racial politics, in particular, one former Inspector-General of Police.

He says that racial politics is relevant to our society because the different races need to be able to share power so as to have a stable and peaceful country.

Bullshit! I say it’s just a divide-and-conquer strategy to ensure certain people get the power. What do you think? Could my humble opinion actually be right?

Today, I walked through my constituency just to see for myself the goings-on of the political machinery this general election season and to get a feel of the voters’ sentiments.

At a small warong, an Umno member called me over for a chat after he saw me conversing with the warong’s owner about the candidates that will most likely be fielded in the area.

He decided to give me a ceramah, most probably thinking that he could influence me to vote a certain way. As for which way, I’m not particularly sure.

At one point in the conversation (or ceramah), this Umno member said to me:

“We dare not say to the Chinese, ‘Keep quiet or go back to China!’. We dare not say to the Indians, ‘Keep quiet or go back to India!’ We dare not say this because as Malays, we are not united enough to have the strength to do so. And that is exactly what we need to build.”

Then the warong owner, whom only then I find out happens to be an Umno member as well, interjected:

“The youth these days never experienced the racial tension that we experienced. For example, what happened during May 13, 1969. So that’s why they don’t see the importance of being united as a race!”

You know what? It’s true youths like myself (yes, I consider myself young!) did not experience the kind of racial tension the older generation did. We are the post May 13, 1969 generation.

We are a generation that wants to experience our own experiences instead of what you did. We are the generation that sees and recognises each other as equal fellow Malaysians.

So, please, do not come to us and preach about the relevance of racial politics. And, definitely, please do not come and tell us to be scared of history instead of learning from it.

So, at the end of the day, that particular Umno member did, in fact, manage to influence me to vote a certain way.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 13 April 2013, 6:33 am and is filed under
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Presidents of MCA, GERAKAN and SUPP have lost their political and moral legitimacy to lead

For the first time in Malaysian history, at least three incumbent Presidents of BN component parties will not be standing as candidates for their respective parties. They are MCA President Dr Chua Soi Lek, GERAKAN President Dr Koh Tsu Koon and SUPP President Peter Chin. They may be joined by a fourth – PPP President M.Kayveas.

Their non-candidacy is yet another indication of the emasculation of the BN component parties under the ‘rule’ of ‘Big Brother’ UMNO. Not only has UMNO forced other BN component parties to ‘return’ seats such as the Grik parliamentary seat (GERAKAN) and the Kuantan parliamentary seat (MCA) and the Pasir Panjang state seat in Perak (MIC) to ‘Big Brother’, there are strong indications that even more seats would be given to UMNO including Wangsa Maju in the Federal Territories (MCA) and the Gelang Patah seat in Johor (MCA) which I will be contesting in for the upcoming General Election.

If this trend continues, the Barisan Nasional (BN) might as well change its name to UMNO Plus since it will comprise of an over-dominant UMNO plus a number of powerless component parties helmed by Presidents whose candidacies are decided by the UMNO President.

Furthermore, by not contesting, these leaders have lost all legitimacy to lead their respective parties within the BN. They will not represent the BN in parliament or in the cabinet unless they take the ignominious road of being ‘back door’ Ministers via the Senatorship route which some, including Dr. KohTsu Koon, have shamelessly done. They will be sitting at the BN table as non-elected representatives while being surrounded by UMNO leaders who are elected representatives.

The notion that these leaders are stepping aside to allow younger blood to be groomed is even more laughable especially when Dr. Chua Soi Lek himself cannot guarantee that his ‘protégé’ in Gelang Patah, Jason Teoh, whom he showered with effusive praise in the past, will be able to contest in the MCA seat of Gelang Patah!

If all of these BN component leaders are serious about grooming younger blood to take over, then they should promise to step down as the Presidents of their respective parties after the 13th general election! To date, none of these leaders have made such a promise. This, in fact, is the worst kind of leadership by example – not daring to face the voters to get a mandate and yet, still wanting to be in charge of their respective parties.

If in the mother of all elections that is the 13th General Election, these BN component party leaders are not ready and able to stand up and face the voters but still want to remain as party presidents, then I call upon all Malaysians to reject all candidates belonging to these parties since they are being led by leaders who have lost their political and moral legitimacy to lead.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 13 April 2013, 1:23 pm and is filed under
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The EC Must Address These Doubts

By
Kee Thuan Chye
 | Saturday, 13 April 2013 17:19

Malaysian Digest

WHILE announcing the date for the 13th general election, the Election Commission (EC) also said that it would make the event “the best” ever held. In pledging this, its chairman, Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, reiterated what he had said on Feb 5.

But somehow the pledge rings hollow. Many Malaysians have lost too much confidence in the EC to believe that it will be, in Abdul Aziz’s words, “transparent” and that it “will not help any party to win”. Its actions and pronouncements have too often indicated the contrary.

Besides that, NGOs that have engaged with the EC know how frustrating the experience can be. The latter is notorious for not replying to pressing questions concerning the electoral process or improper conduct at elections. Its dismissal of Bersih’s demands for electoral reform compelled the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections to take its cause to the streets in July 2011.

The EC is also noted for its apparently cavalier attitude towards calls for cleaning the electoral roll. Instead of getting down to the task of doing it, it has been giving excuses – even though a Merdeka Center survey in April 2012 revealed that 92% of Malaysians in Peninsular Malaysia want the roll cleaned.

The biggest joke, made in April 2012, was Abdul Aziz’s declaration that the Malaysian electoral roll was “the cleanest in the world”. He said there were only 42,000 dubious voters out of the 12.6 million registered, which works out to a mere 0.3%.

But political scientist Ong Kian Ming had a radically different figure to present. Ong said an analysis conducted under one of his projects showed that the number of dubious voters was 3.3 million.

Apart from dubious voters, missing names and other anomalies have reportedly been found in the constituencies of Klang MP Charles Santiago and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, both from Pakatan Rakyat.

But when they both requested the EC to look into the matter, it did not respond accordingly. Both were forced to go to the High Court. However, Section 9A of the Elections Act denies the courts jurisdiction in regard to the electoral roll, so their cases were thrown out.

More distressing for Izzah is the sudden spike in the number of postal voters there. By the end of 2011, it had gone up by an unusual 1,400% from 2008. And since postal votes are known to favor the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, their increased presence could be a bane to the PKR vice-president.

As for the total number of voters in Lembah Pantai, there has been, according to Izzah, a phenomenal increase of 15,000. While some are newly registered voters, many more appear to have been transferred there, for reasons known only to the EC.

With the general election coming up on May 5, what happens now to the discrepancies in the electoral roll? Do Malaysians go to the polls with doubt in their minds about whether the process might be compromised and phantom voting might influence the outcome unfairly?

What about newly registered voters who find they are no longer registered?

Someone who had confirmed in 2010 that he was a registered voter got a shock when he checked his polling station online last week at the EC’s website and was greeted with this: “Record not found.”

He went to the EC’s headquarters in Putrajaya to find out what had happened. The counter clerk asked for his identity card number and after keying it into the system found that all his personal details were in there but he was not a registered voter.

He was flabbergasted. How could the EC have his personal details in its system if he was not a registered voter?

When he asked for the situation to be rectified, the clerk merely told him to register again – and wait to vote at the next general election!

Angry and disappointed, he posted his story on Facebook and several others responded with similar ones. Like him, they were also new voters.

Is this another example of a compromised electoral roll? Is the EC shedding new voters because it’s worried about whom they will vote for? How many more have been deprived of their right to vote?

Meanwhile, Tindak Malaysia, an election watch NGO, has just raised reasonable doubts about the EC’s instructions on the use of indelible ink.

A Bersih demand that the EC acceded to, the use of indelible ink is aimed at preventing double, even multiple voting. But the EC has decided that those who will be voting before the actual election day, which would include its own officials, are to be considered postal voters and therefore exempted from having their fingers marked with indelible ink.

As this involves a huge number of voters because the EC officials alone already add up to about 300,000, what is there to prevent some of them from surreptitiously voting again on election day itself since their fingers are not marked?

Another curious decision made by the EC is that the indelible ink would be applied on each voter before they cast their vote.

Tindak Malaysia has tried this out in a practice run and found that it’s a bad idea because it could result in the ballot paper getting smudged, which could lead to the vote being considered spoilt.

Worse, prior application of the ink will also slow down the voting flow. Tindak Malaysia has timed the process of applying the ink and waiting for it to dry at between 50 seconds and two minutes. If it takes that long per voter in an average voting stream of about 700 voters, the stipulated nine hours on election day will not accommodate even half of that number.

According to Tindak Malaysia’s estimation, if this procedure were to be followed, as low as only 38% of the people queuing up would get to vote!

The NGO proposes instead that the voter’s finger be marked after they have voted. This makes sense because no one will be held back waiting for the voter ahead of them. It will neither disrupt nor slow down the voting flow. It will also prevent smudging of the ballot paper.

In fact, this is the way it is done at elections in other countries. So why has the EC chosen to do it the opposite way?

Tindak Malaysia has tried contacting the EC for answers, but, as usual, the latter has not responded.

Furthermore, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recommends that election commissions using indelible ink for the first time should carry out open trial runs before election day, in order to instil confidence in the voting public.

If the EC doesn’t carry that out, the public should pressure it to do so. Otherwise, “the best” general election might well turn out to be neither free nor fair. It could even become the dirtiest one ever.

*
Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All Malaysians, and the latest volume, Ask for No Bullshit, Get Some More! The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 13 April 2013, 10:23 pm and is filed under
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