Pakatan victorious: How frightening!

RK Anand | February 26, 2013

Free Malaysia Today

BN propagandists strike fear in the hearts of the Chinese about PAS and in the hearts of the Malays about DAP. But still a substantial of number of Malaysians dream of change.

COMMENT

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Scene I

The Honda Cub coughed up a trail of black smoke as it chugged along the labyrinth of dimly-lit alleys until it came to a screeching halt outside a dilapidated budget hotel. Chua missed the comforts of his Mercedes Benz but these were difficult times. The government’s decision to stop trade with evil nations like the United States had been a fiscal nightmare. Much had changed since that fateful general election.

With his helmet still on, he tiptoed up the creaking stairs and into the room where she was waiting for him. He then scanned the walls for hidden cameras. Satisfied, he slipped out of his clothes, climbed into the bug-infested bed and snuggled under the sheets next to his mistress. He recognised the fragrance of the Chanel perfume which seduced his nostrils. He had given it to her as a gift for Chinese New Year. It had to be smuggled from Singapore as such immoral items were banned. He leaned closer and his pulse raced with excitement and trepidation. He craved for a glass of Cognac to calm his nerves but alcohol, like Viagra, had been banned as well. These clandestine meetings placed them at severe risk with the ever vigilant moral police keeping watch for adulterous couples.

Chua’s greatest fear was that those bearded men in robes would burst through the door, drag him in chains to the public execution square Dataran Nik Aziz, once known as Dataran Merdeka, and stone him to death.

Scene II

He was in unbelievable pain. The soles of his feet stung from the three-hour lion dance practice and his back was sore since given his lack of height, he was forced to be at the rear of the lion, crouching. Ibrahim had to endure this ordeal three times a week. He detested it as much as he did the Mandarin classes he was forced to attend thrice a week as well. But there was no choice, this was the law. Much had changed since that fateful general election.

He switched on the television, and there was the usual propaganda, this time about the government-run pig farms under the National Feedlot Centre. He missed Utusan Malaysia. The government had shut down its operations and converted the office into a Bah Kut Teh restaurant. He had tried to warn the Malays but it fell on deaf ears. His good friend, the old doctor, also tried to do so in vain. He had not seen the doctor in a long time. The old man had disappeared after the fall of Putrajaya. Some claim that he now lived with his relatives in India. Ibrahim’s home was a squalid one-room flat. The authorities had confiscated the bungalow which he purchased under the Bumiputera quota and turned it into a printing press, where, among other Christian paraphernalia, Malay-language bibles were printed.

Ibrahim’s greatest fear was that those clean-shaven men in robes would burst through the door, drag him in chains to the public conversion square Dataran Kit Siang, once known as Dataran Merdeka, and force him to embrace the new official religion and change his name to Abraham.

Psychological warfare

The above are extreme fictional scenarios should PAS’ theocratic ambition or DAP’s alleged Chinese-Christian plot come to fruition.

This is the psychological warfare that Barisan Nasional’s propagandists wage on the minds of voters with the hope that the seeds of fear sowed would sprout into votes during the general election.

MCA leaders instil fear in the Chinese about a Taliban regime and the erosion of fundamental liberties under PAS while Umno leaders instil fear in the Malays about Chinese dominance and the erosion of their special rights under DAP.

MIC, which represents those in the economic and social doldrums, utilises a more sophisticated mind war technique. It consists of reciting mantras on the glories of the prime minister, organising stage shows with Indian cinema stars and distributing free bags of rice.

The truth is, both the Muslims and non-Muslims are concerned about DAP and PAS. But despite the reservations, a substantial number of Malaysians of all colours and creed still dream about the opposition forming the federal government.

So it would be more productive if the BN propagandists and spin-doctors stop short-circuiting their cerebrums in devising new fear-mongering methods and unearth the reasons behind this sentiment instead. What motivates these Muslims and non-Muslims to throw caution to the wind?

A wise person once remarked that the people revolt when the government becomes revolting. Decades of institutionalised corruption, institutionalised abuse, institutionalised racism and institutionalised arrogance have pushed the people to the brink of their patience.

BN has lost the trust and confidence of the informed and cosmopolitan voter. Its fate now hinges on those in the rural areas, who are more gullible to the diabolical and insidious propaganda laced with racism and threats of communal violence.

Peddlers of the evil doctrine

Since the last general election, desperate politicians have upped the ante in exploiting racial and religious issues, caring not for the dangerous thoughts impressed upon impressionable minds, ensuring that this nation continues to be divided along these fault lines in the coming generations.

These irresponsible leaders have also soiled Malaysia’s so-called moderate reputation in the international arena.

A friend, who returned to Malaysia with her son after her marriage with a foreigner fell apart, disclosed how this is affecting the legal dispute over the child.

Her husband, in his argument, told the court there that Malaysia is an Islamic state, replete with Muslim fanatics, which practises double standard with regard to favouring one particular ethnic race and faith.

He also said that his son, who is classified as an Indian, would be a second-class citizen, without access to equal opportunities.

Fighting back tears, she confided to be at a loss on how to counter these arguments when news reports lent credence to her estranged husband’s contentions.

Those who widen communal fissures for political mileage and those who help them peddle this doctrine of hate, just as those who bleed the nation’s coffers, are leeches that suck the blood of their host.

While both DAP and PKR are not shining examples of multiracial politics, the two however represent the important stepping stone towards realising such a colour-blind future. After all, Rome was not built in a day.

And if the opposition fails to capture Putrajaya in the next polls, the crumbling of BN would happen in the following election or the one after that as the mechanics of destruction have been set in motion. The death knell has been sounded, and it could be heard across the nation, from east to west.

After the last election, there is now a prime minister who speaks Mandarin and Tamil, wears Chinese traditional outfits and visits Batu Caves during Thaipusam. Not that he wants to, but he is forced to.

So an even slimmer majority in the coming polls would perhaps see Najib Tun Razak, if he survives the daggers in Umno, and his wife performing the Indian classical dance and acting in Chinese operas.

This is called power of the people!

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 26 February 2013, 8:51 am and is filed under
DAP
,
Elections
,
MCA
,
PAS
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Stop lying, Mahathir

— Othman Wahab

The Malaysian Insider

Feb 26, 2013

FEB 26 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad does protest too much. He says all this talk by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the opposition about him and nepotism is slander and that he is clean and his sons are self-made businessmen.

I can only imagine that mixing around with the likes of Datuk Ibrahim Ali has made the former prime minister believe that all Malaysians have the IQ of Ibrahim.

The simple reality is that we don’t need Anwar to tell us what we know about you. All we need to do is remember the crony capitalism which you promoted, bumped up IPP contracts for certain cronies, a sweetheart deal to take over the national airline by another crony (who incidentally had a string of legal suits against him by government entities miraculously settled because he knew too much about your dealings and promises to him), the bailout of Konsortium Perkapalan during the financial crisis by MISC.

Oh yes, we also remember your pathetic performance at the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the Lingam video where you suddenly had amnesia. But thankfully the commissioners saw through your act and named you and your friends (Lingam and Vincent Tan) as parties who subverted the course of justice.

Mahathir, you have never declared your assets to Malaysians. We still don’t know how you bought that nice home in the Mines or why is it that the likes of Syed Mokhtar and others love lending their private jets to you or taking you on six-star holidays jaunts.

You say that your children are self-made businessmen. Can you let us know how Mokhzani became a businessman in the first place, the Tongkah deals, etc. And what about Mirzan (congrats on becoming a shareholder of San Miguel… burp). And what about young Mukhriz. By all accounts, he is not a smart chap but he does own a palatial home in Bukit Tunku.

Yes, why don’t you pen the rags-to-riches story of your boys. I don’t even mind if they are sold in the fiction section.

Anwar Ibrahim and the opposition are not guilty of slander: they are only guilty of telling Malaysians what fools we have been to believe your lies all these years.

The true story of Mahathir and his boys can only be unearthed after Malaysia has a change of a political system. How about it, Malaysians?

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 26 February 2013, 11:04 am and is filed under
Anwar Ibrahim
,
Mahathir
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


The long wait is nearly over. Did Najib delay too long?

Written by John Berthelsen

Asia Sentinel

Monday, 25 February 2013

Malaysian Election Finally Nears

With the Lunar New Year out of the way and after months – years, in fact – of speculation, it appears that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will finally call national elections, probably for the second week in April, amid speculation that he may have let it go too long.

Under Malaysia’s parliamentary system, inherited from Britain’s 127-year rule, the prime minister can dissolve parliament any time he feels his chances are good of winning a majority. There has been speculation for two years over when an election would be called. But Najib put it off while he struggled to put his touted Economic Transformation Program (ETP) reforms in place and to let some of the myriad scandals around him cool off.

For the prime minister, there are dangers on several sides. The common wisdom is that he must not just preserve the Barisan Nasional’s parliamentary majority in the 222 seat Dewan Rakyat, but must pull more than the 76 parliamentary seats that the United Malays National Organization won under his luckless predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in the disastrous 2008 election. He must also preserve more than 125 total seats for the component parties of the Barisan.

If not, his detractors say, he is likely to be blindsided from the right of his own party by forces aligned with ultra-Malay nationalists determined to preserve ketuanan Melayu, or Malay ethnic and cultural dominance and sovereignty. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, a Malay nationalist, is commonly believed to be after Najib’s job although UMNO stalwarts deny it. The state political parties in Sabah and Sarawak, whose allegiance has always been slippery, are also said to be ready to opt for the opposition if the vote is close and the price is right.

Najib, an economist, has periodically threatened the ketuanan Melayu philosophy with his attempts to reverse some of the Malay privileges through the ETP’s economic liberalization. That has resulted in loud demonstrations led by the ultra-Malay NGO Perkasa and its leader Ibrahim Ali, backed implicitly by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Although there have been no reliable polls, many political observers are predicting the closest election since Malaysia became an independent nation in 1957. Although the latest Merdeka Centre poll puts Najib’s approval rating at a strong 62 percent – a figure western politicians would kill for – approval ratings for UMNO, the largest ethnic political party in the ruling coalition, have fallen below 50 percent. The party is widely perceived to be riddled with corruption and cronyism to the point where it is crippling the economy.

One of the biggest jokers in the deck is the presence of some 3 million new voters on the rolls. No one, political sources in Kuala Lumpur say, knows which way they will swing. Younger voters tend to be more liberal and urban ones are turned off by corruption. But Najib has been wooing them assiduously, attending pop concerts, wielding his Twitter account feverishly and setting up a string of Internet sites designed to counter the opposition news sites that gained widespread influence in the 2008 election, to the Barisan’s detriment.

Although by law campaigning is prohibited until parliament is dissolved and is supposed to last a minimum of 10 days, both sides have kept up a furious drive against each other for more than a year, with nearly constant campaign meetings throughout the country. Najib’s latest salvo, two weeks ago, was to bring the enormously popular Korean entertainer PSY to Penang to perform his famous Gangnam Style dance in the ethnic Chinese stronghold of the opposition Democratic Action Party. With his wife Rosmah Mansour in attendance, Najib asked the enormous crowd if they liked the singer. They roared their approval. Then, when he asked if they liked the Barisan Nasional, he was greeted with a long, loud “Nooooooo!!”

Then last week, Bernama, the state-owned news service, published a confident report on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s predictions for the upcoming election, concluding that the respected research organization was predicting a strong victory going away for the Barisan – only to have the independent news Web site Malaysiakini come up with the real EIU report, which said no such thing but instead presented a sober-sided analysis that said the upcoming race would probably be one of the tightest in Malaysian history and that both sides were pouring in enough budgetary promises to imperil the country’s finances if enacted.

Najib has long been expected to call the election for sometime around the second week of April after he completes the selection of candidates for Parliament. That is can be a precarious process. In 2008, which was the biggest election debacle since the Barisan took power, Badawi discarded some of the parliament’s old bulls in favor of reform candidates only to have the ousted ones turn on him. That was partly responsible for the loss, for the first time, of the Barisan’s two-thirds majority in the parliament.

Najib, an UMNO insider told Asia Sentinel, is wary of making the same mistake while at the same time seeking to choose enough reform candidates to mollify voters who have been fed up with a series of scandals big enough to make the word “massive” no longer trite.They include allegations of a US$150 million bribe to UMNO from French submarine manufacturer DCN; the misuse of a RM250 million soft loan by the family of the head of the UMNO women’s wing for a National Feedlot Corporation project; an ongoing trial over the possible loss of as much as RM12.5 billion to corruption and mismanagement in the construction of the Port Klang Free Zoner and countless others.

The Election Committee is expected to set the polling date after parliament is dissolved. The Barisan is expected to wait until after April 4 for the elections themselves. Good Friday falls on March 29, Easter on March 31, and Qingming, the Chinese grave-sweeping holiday, on April 4, when Chinese families travel back to their hometowns, making an election holiday irritating at a time when Najib must seek to pull every Chinese vote he can get.

While Najib has promised a vast range of economic and other perks for civil servants and the rural poor in his budgets, the three-party Pakatan Rakyat led by Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat has campaigned on eliminating corruption, bringing greater transparency to the public bid process and dismantling the rent-seeking cartels and monopolies set up to protect the crony capitalists whose sway goes back to the 22-year reign of former Prime Minister Mahathir.

Along the way Anwar has had to endure renewed charges of having forced homosexual sex with a then 22-year-old aide. Acquitted of the charges a year ago by a Kuala Lumpur court, he was faced with an appeal of the decision by the prosecution. The case is still hanging over Anwar’s head, making its way through the appeal process. Supporters of the 65-year-old Anwar have long alleged that the charges were trumped up by Najib and his wife.

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 26 February 2013, 11:33 am and is filed under
Elections
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Your Vote Counts

by Allan CF Goh

Like the tiny drops of water,

When split, remains a puny thing;

But when all gathered together,

Become the mighty ocean king.

Like the ocean of tiny drops;

Pushed hard, it forms a tsunami.

We, too, can create the same impact,

When united with all you, him, me.

In this impending election,

Your ‘lonely vote’ really matters;

Together with like-minded folks,

And combined with other charters,

Can, too, bring forth a tsunami.

All our ‘insignificant’ votes,

When massed, unified and counted,

Can ensure a victory of note.

Change for a better tomorrow.

Stand up to vile exploitations.

Reject those without moral spine.

Realize our just expectations.

Convince your family and friends,

And those who righteousness support,

Do your citizen’s great duty.

On voting day, show your rapport.

We have the political strength,

With a unified you, him, me,

To make Malaysia very right,

To create another tsunami,

So as to sweep out the corrupt,

Wash out the discriminations,

Ensure racism does not erupt,

For a beautiful Malaysia!

                This entry was posted on Tuesday, 26 February 2013, 5:23 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
Poem
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


43-Days to 13GE – Has  Transparency International Malaysia provisions to delete and disqualify signatories to its Election Integrity Pledge who blatantly violate its four principles in the run-up to the 13GE?

The Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob has followed in the footsteps of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz to criticise Pakatan Rakyat leaders for their reluctance to sign the Transparency International-Malaysia’s  (TIM) Election Integrity Pledge which was signed with such fanfare by the Prime Minister last Wednesday.

Adnan repeated the “old chestnut” that Pakatan Rakyat leaders are  reluctant to sign the TIM Election Integrity Pledge because they have something to hide and that they are  still doubtful whether the opposition coalition could responsibly run the country if they come to power.

Speaking at the opening of a meeting of the Pahang branch of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress in Kuantan on Sunday, Adnan said : “In future, if they abuse their powers, then the opposition leaders will give the excuse that they did not sign the integrity pledge to escape.”

I am shocked at such  nonsensical argument spouted by a   Mentri Besar, completely ignoring the laws of the land, religious teachings and ethics   against corruption and abuses of power.

Is Adnan seriously suggesting that all the Barisan Nasional leaders, whether at the national or state levels, whether Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers, Mentri-Mentri Besar, Chief Ministers and State Excos can claim entitlement to corrupt practices and abuses  of power solely on the excuse that they had not yet signed the TI Election Integrity Pledge?

It is these lame excuses of UMNO/BN leaders which have raised questions and concerns whether  the TIM Election Integrity Pact is meaningful or whether it is  being used to “whitewash” all the corruption and abuses of power which have been committed by UMNO/BN leaders whether at the national or state levels in the past.

Even officials of the Election Commission (EC), which should be an independent, professional and credible body to conduct free and fair elections in the country, have joined the bandwagon to echo UMNO/BN leaders’ criticisms of Pakatan Rakyat on the TIM Election Integrity Pact.

The  Deputy Chairman of Election Commission, Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, hit out at Pakatan Rakyat by declaring that it is “a shame” that opposition party leaders are shying away from signing TIM’s  Election Integrity Pledge.

The real shame is the Election Commission’s failure to understand it is only confirming its subservience and subordination to the ruling coalition of UMNO/BN to the extent of echoing UMNO/BN criticisms against PR, when the Election Commission should stay above the fray to conscientiously carry out its constitutional duty to conduct free and fair elections in the country.

If Wan Ahmad wants to dabble in politics, he should resign from the Election Commission and contest the 13GE as a BN candidate instead of continuing to undermine the independence and integrity of the Malaysian electoral process by being a subservient agent of Umno/BN.

Wan Ahmad said it is incumbent on candidates contesting in the general election to sign the pledge as the people desired representatives not merely to profess to have integrity but to practise it as well.

He said he believed the people would feel more assured in their choice if the candidates had no qualms about signing the pledge, as what Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had done.

Although I must say that Wan Ahmad has given more sensible arguments than Adnan Yaakob to present the case for candidates signing the TIM Election Integrity Pledge, his remarks reek of  hypocrisy and dishonesty as the Election Commission has never taken a stand against the rampant corruption of money politics by UMNO/BN in previous general elections.

I have qualms about signing the TIM Election Integrity Pledge precisely because of the Prime Minister’s cynical signature without showing any signs that he is serious and fully committed to its principles, and the abject and disgraceful role of Election Commission in the past in ensuring a clean, ethical, free and fair elections in the country.

TIM’s  Election Integrity Pledge stipulates four principles for all signatories to observe in the 13th general elections, viz:

•	Truth, integrity, ethical conduct and accountability, including not accepting or giving bribes or being involved in corrupt practices in any way;

•	Upholding and giving priority to the interests of the rakyat as a whole;

•	Good governance and transparency; and

•	Compliance with all the applicable laws and regulations of Malaysia.

Has TIM any mechanism to receive and investigate public complaints that signatories have violated the four principles enshrined in the Election Integrity Pledge – even in the run-up to the 13GE?

Are there any provisions for TIM to delete and disqualify signatories to its Election Integrity Pledge who blatantly violate its four principles in the run-up to the 13GE?

For instance, within days of signing the Election Integrity Pledge, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has violated his commitment to conduct a clean and ethical election campaign, when he declared in Kuala Terengganu on Saturday that “a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of Muslims” – a most unethical and shameless incitement of racial and religious hatred which is also totally against Najib’s signature 1Malaysia policy.

Will TIM communicate with Najib that the Prime Minister has violated the Election Integrity Pledge which he had signed last Wednesday to conduct a clean and ethical election campaign?

Will TIM ask the Prime Minister to withdraw and apologise for  the irresponsible and unethical statement which is not only baseless and irresponsible but a most shameful example of incitement of racial and religious hatred and conflict?

If Najib is not prepared to withdraw and apologise for his unethical remark, will TIM delete Najib’s signature from its roster of signatories and disqualify him as eligible to be a signatory because of his blatant disregard of the four principles laid down in the TIM Election Integrity Pledge?

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/03/01/pengiraan-detik-43-hari-ke-pru13-apakah-transparency-international-malaysia-boleh-memadam-dan-membatalkan-penandatangan-kepada-ikrar-integriti-pilihan-raya-yang-terang-terangan-melanggar-em/

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 27 February 2013, 11:12 am and is filed under
Corruption
,
Elections
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Can Chua tell fact from fantasy?

Stanley Koh | February 27, 2013

Free Malaysia Today

His hatred of the Pandan MP must have been so intense that it has affected his judgment.

ANALYSIS

MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek raised more than a few eyebrows recently when he announced that the party had chosen Gary Lim as the party’s election candidate for the Pandan parliamentary constituency in place of incumbent Ong Tee Keat, who has proven his winnability through five consecutive elections.

Within days, he was exposed as having told a lie. MCA’s Pandan division denied that it had chosen a candidate.

In making his ill-considered announcement, Chua offered possible reasons for the division’s rejection of Ong, which now sound like he had spun them out of his imagination.

In the two days between his announcement and the Pandan division’s “clarification” of it, one could almost hear glasses clinking and yells of “yam seng” as the opposition camp celebrated its certain victory in the constituency against an unknown candidate.

After all, Ong was one of the survivors of the 2008 political tsunami that halved MCA’s representation in Parliament.

He would have been a formidable candidate even against the highly visible and popular Rafizi Ramli, the likely Pakatan Rakyat candidate for Pandan.

We can now assume that that Chua was so consumed by his hatred of Ong that he has allowed it to poison his mind, making it unable to differentiate between reality and fantasy.

It should not surprise anyone that his indiscretion has dismayed insiders in MCA as well as other parties in Barisan Nasional. It came barely a week after he had issued a stern reminder to party leaders to keep secret the names of candidates the party had nominated.

Party members are also disappointed that their president has chosen to draw attention to his long-standing feud with Ong even as they were rejoicing over news pointing to a DAP-PKR quarrel in Johor.

In a reaction, Ong has been telling his friends that Chua’s latest gaffe did not surprise him. He said the president had been trying, for more than a year, to put an end to his political career.

If Chua’s intention was to demoralise him and his supporters by making the false announcement before the end of the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration, Ong added, then he was mistaken.

“Probably, he is thinking of himself as a Cao Cao battling a Zhuger Liang,” said the former party chief.

Cao Cao was emperor of the Wei Kingdom and a central figure in the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. Legend has it that he was at the same time an excellent political strategist and a merciless tyrant. Liang was great as both a military strategist and a statesman.

Calculated move

Some Ong supporters see Chua’s announcement not as evidence of a failing mind, but as part of a calculated move to further his vendetta.

There is another Ong in the picture – Eric, who despite being chairman of Pandan MCA, was absent from Friday’s executive council meeting to affirm that the division had yet to nominate a candidate.

Sources said Chua had managed to drive a wedge between the divisional chief and the MP.

According to Confucius, those furthering a vendetta should first dig two graves. An MCA insider wisecracked that in Chua’s case, one grave is for himself and the other is for the party. “He will be dragging himself and MCA down into hell in the 13th GE.”

Indeed, Chua has made a public announcement that he would step down as party president if MCA were to perform badly again at the polls.

Party members are bound to hold him to that promise. Dissatisfaction with his leadership has spread to the grassroots.

Critics allege he has failed to introduce structural reforms to strengthen the party, a promise he made when campaigning for the presidency in 2010.

Some accuse him of blatant hypocrisy in promoting the political career of his son, Tee Yong. They note that during the presidential race, he accused one of rivals, Ong Ka Ting, of nepotism in grooming his brother, Ka Chuan, for leadership.

Many observers, including party insiders, say there is no doubt that Chua has failed to fulfil his pledge to restore Chinese support to his party.

Neither is there any doubt that he has managed to make new internal enemies since taking over the party’s leadership.

Whether or not he will survive as a politician is still the subject of conjecture, but one thing is for sure – many are waiting in line for the sweet taste of revenge.

Stanley Koh is a former head of MCA’s research unit. He is a FMT columnist.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 27 February 2013, 8:52 am and is filed under
Elections
,
MCA
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Putrajaya welcomes all comers to Lahad Datu!

Erna Mahyuni

The Malaysian Insider

Feb 27, 2013

FEB 27 ― Welcome to Lahad Datu, where you do not need a passport so long as you carry a gun and a dubious claim to Sabah!

You will be greeted by the smiling Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who never misses a good photo op.

After all, he does have to cement his claim to being the most ineffectual home minister Malaysia has had since Merdeka.

Ignore party poopers like former CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim. He went and wrote a piece asking who, exactly, was taking responsibility for the whole mess?

Obviously, it was not the home minister. He was too busy being photographed in camos.

It probably is the prime minister who has been seen preening and proud about having “avoided bloodshed.” So far.

Of course no one in Putrajaya is stating the obvious: That foreign invaders trespassed on our waters, attempted to annexe part of the country and threatened the safety of our citizens.

But it is all right so long as you bring your M16s to Sabah.

Please refrain from visiting Selangor or Malacca, as you would be deported post-haste… in body bags.

We also advise Sabah foreign visitors to refrain from wearing yellow or pretending to be citizens.

Putrajaya has no qualms about using tear gas and water cannons on unarmed citizens especially if they are dressed in yellow.

In Malaysia, yellow is code for “Fire the water cannons!” Obviously.

Do we not have a fine and capable army, navy and police force?

Yes, we do. Unfortunately their hands are tied by Putrajaya so in the meantime, so as not to disturb your peaceful annexation of Sabah, the police are busying themselves arresting Al-Jazeera journalists.

The nerve of these foreign media to come and attempt to report such inconvenient things like the truth.

Thanks to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s incredible foresight, Sabah’s population is now perhaps a third Pinoy.

We hear Philippine President Benigno Aquino is preparing a medal amongst other honours as thanks to Dr Mahathir for helping the Philippines reclaim Sabah with the least amount of bloodshed.

Syabas, Putrajaya!

And as you enjoy the sights in this beautiful state of ours, let us greet you with the warm welcome that people like the prime minister, home minister and the venerable Dr Mahathir have made possible:

“Welcome to the Sulu Sultanate, autonomous region of the Philippines.”

Or maybe we’ll just say “Maligayang pagdating!” (Welcome) next time.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 27 February 2013, 9:21 am and is filed under
Sabah
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Sabah for Sabahans?

by Erna Mahyuni

The Malaysian Insider

Feb 20, 2013

FEB 20 ― Before you send me to Kamunting, realise I am not advocating Sabah leaving Malaysia.

But I think it is high time Sabahans have a good, long think about the status quo.

As it is, things cannot stand.

Last I checked, Sabah is still the poorest state in Malaysia. Nabawan in Sabah is the poorest town in the country, with a 70-per-cent poverty rate.

On top of that, a small private army has landed in Lahad Datu intent on claiming Sabah as its own.

If we had a referendum, what with all the “free citizenships” Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration has so benevolently bestowed upon foreigners, would Sabahans actually have the numbers to keep the state in Malaysia?

Or would our new Sabahan brothers and sisters vote overwhelmingly to become part of the Philippines or even choose allegiance to the Sultan of Sulu?

A wanted Filipino fugitive is also now finding safe haven in the state, rumoured to have family connections on the Sabah government.

So much for Sabah “prospering” under Barisan Nasional rule.

Sabah politicians have called on the federal government to do something about the massive influx of foreigners into the state for a long time.

Only now has a Royal Commission of Inquiry been called, and it has confirmed what most of us already knew.

That we have been betrayed.

What right did the former prime minister have to give citizenships to foreigners as he liked?

What he did might have been technically “legal” but it was morally wrong and it was a betrayal of the state, a betrayal of the Sabah people and going against the heart of the 20-point agreement that said the state had jurisdiction over immigration matters. Not the prime minister.

And can Sabahans trust PKR to change things, when Sabah’s PKR is a toothless body helpless to even choose its own leaders? When all decisions are centralised and it has no say in choosing who should lead it into the state?

I wouldn’t be surprised if Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim attempted to parachute another West Malaysian in to lead Sabah PKR like he did with Azmin Ali.

What next? Azmin Ali as Sabah chief minister? If that happens, I am surrendering my passport and moving to the Philippines.

It is time Sabahans said, “Enough”. It is obvious that Putrajaya and Pakatan Rakyat are deaf, dumb and blind to what Sabah really needs and what Sabah really is.

Sabah is not “just” another state. It was equal party to an agreement between Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia. Each had special status, certain rights, and to this day the federal government has chosen to piss upon the spirit and the words of the agreement.

If Sabah is to become more than an impoverished state beholden to cruel masters, it has to start rejecting subjugation.

The first step is saying a big, firm “No” to West Malaysian-based parties like Umno and PKR who are more interested in pushing the Malay agenda than the Malaysian agenda.

(I might perhaps make an exception for Sabah DAP, which has a long history in Sabah, refreshingly free of the stupidity displayed by both Umno and PKR in the recent years.)

Some say Sabah is “selfish” for harping about its rights when it should think of “Malaysia” as a whole instead of its special privileges.

Basically, Sabah should just lie on its back and think of Malaysia? Brilliant.

That has not worked now, has it? The more Sabahans demur, the more our rights are stripped away. Most of the state’s revenue goes to the federal government while Sabah just has to make do with the leftovers.

This is the sad truth: Unless you have lived in the state, know its peoples and have a firm grasp of its issues, you are in no position to solve its problems.

So Sabahans should have no reason to vote for PKR or Umno when they have the (barely arguable) better choice of either the SAPP or STAR.

All our “questionable” guests? Deport them. We have an army. We have a navy. And the Philippines will have to take responsibility for all its people who have run our way. As should the Indonesians.

Revoke all of Dr Mahathir’s freely-given citizenships. I may sound cruel and heartless, but there is no other way. And truth is, we should have done that years ago.

To encourage better relations with our West Malaysian siblings, we should encourage them to come to the state but under “skilled migrant” rules.

We need doctors. We need teachers. Civil engineers. Encourage people who want to help build the state to come over, but under the restriction that if they want labour it has to be Sabah labour.

God knows Sabah needs the jobs.

And if you have lived and contributed enough, then why not give them “Sabah PR” status.

Let Sabah choose who it will embrace, and if we want to be choosy, we should have every right to be.

If not for the state’s poverty and poor infrastructure, it would be a heaven on earth. The sunsets are spectacular. The beaches are amazing. Even our cloud formations are nothing like you will ever see in the Peninsula.

The people are laidback. Less judgmental. Not as uptight.

I experienced far more racism and ostracism in one year living in Selangor than I have in all my years living in Sabah. So please, don’t patronise us Sabahans by talking about 1 Malaysia.

Sabahans are not asking for anything but what we deserve: to be treated with dignity and as equals. Not as indentured slaves, fit only to be trampled and used by Putrajaya.

By right, we should even be asking for Labuan back. Haris Salleh had no right to hand Labuan over, as Dr Mahathir had no right to give out citizenships to illegal immigrants.

There is no point now to look back. All Sabah can do is move forward. And it can only do that with the strength of its own people because there can be no help found in Umno or PKR.

Sabah deserves better than liars or traitors.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 27 February 2013, 12:22 am and is filed under
Elections
,
Mahathir
,
Sabah
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Sulu sultan defies Aquino – ‘Point of no return is nearing’

Philippines Inquirer

12:02 am | Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

Withdraw now, or face the consequences.

President Aquino yesterday warned Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III he would face the “full force of the law”—possibly including arrest—unless he withdrew his armed followers from Sabah, Malaysia, but the sultan was defiant, saying his men were staying put in the disputed territory.

Amid the President’s warning, officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) met with Malaysian diplomats in Manila and simultaneously sent one of its senior officials to Kuala Lumpur to help end the crisis.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told the Inquirer Tuesday night that among those who could face arrest and charges were “principals by inducement and principals by direct participation.” She said the sultan could possibly be charged for being a principal by inducement.

At a press conference before flying to Cagayan de Oro City, where he was to campaign for the administration’s senatorial ticket, Aquino called on Sultan Kiram to order his followers in Sabah to come home, saying the situation was nearing “the point of no return.”

“We are fast approaching that point,” Aquino said, apparently referring to the 48-hour extended deadline imposed by Malaysian authorities for the group led by Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, brother of the sultan, to leave the village of Tanduao village in Lahad Datu town.

The deadline was to expire at the last hour of Tuesday.

“This is a situation that can’t persist,” the President said. “This is the time to demonstrate that you are a true leader both in name and deed.”

Foolhardy act

Aquino stressed: “The right thing to do now would be to order your followers to return home as soon as possible… If you choose not to cooperate, the full force of the laws of the state will be used to achieve justice for all who have been put in harm’s way.”

Reminding the sultan that war had never been the Philippines’ policy in pressing its territorial claims, Aquino warned: “As President and chief executor of our laws, I have tasked an investigation into possible violations of laws by you, your followers, and collaborators engaged in this foolhardy act.”

He added: “May I remind you as well that… you are bound by the Constitution and its laws. Among your possible violations is Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, which states that the Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy.”

The President drew the sultan’s attention to the Revised Penal Code, which punishes those who “provoke or give occasion for a war… or expose Filipino citizens to reprisals on their persons or property.”

“You are now fully aware of the consequences of your actions,” said the President.

Appeal rejected

The ailing Kiram sounded unmoved by the warning.

At a news briefing in his house in Taguig City, Kiram rejected the President’s appeal for him to immediately recall his men who have been occupying a part of Sabah for nearly three weeks.

“I have already given my order to them. And they have to stay put in that area,” Kiram said in a muffled voice.

He said his men would not go back home “until an arrangement has been done by our officials and the President, and if that will be arranged accordingly with a written agreement signed by the parties concerned.”

Kiram said that in the last conversation he had with Agbimuddin on Monday, his younger brother told him that he and their 235 followers were firm in their decision to stay despite a food blockade ordered by the Malaysian authorities.

Asked what actions Agbimuddin and his men might take if the deadline for them to leave Sabah expired, the Sulu sultan said: “I asked them to wait for orders from me or from my [other] brothers.”

Ready to be jailed

Kiram, who has been suffering from diabetes for years, said he was ready to go to jail if the government filed a case against him and members of his clan.

“It’s OK with me. I’m already 74 years old. An old man going to jail? It’s OK,” Kiram said. “I cannot understand what violation I made… I have always respected the Constitution. My brother went down there with his men and settled down in their own homeland. Is that a violation?”

Asked if he considered Aquino’s statement a threat, he said: “Maybe that’s a threat for us.”

In a statement read by his daughter, Princess Jacel Kiram, the sultan reiterated that Agbimuddin and his men “will not initiate the violence… But we are prepared to defend our lives and aspirations.” He said the Sabah issue “can be peacefully settled without threat, but in a diplomatic way.”

“Is it hard for Malaysia to sit down in a square table and to diplomatically settle the issue on the claim? All we ask is for Malaysia to sit down with the Kirams and come up with a win-win solution,” Kiram stressed.

Envoy to KL

Kiram insists he is the head of the Sulu sultanate, which once controlled parts of Borneo, including the site of the standoff. The sultanate leased the disputed area to Europeans in the 1870s.

While the sultanate’s authority gradually faded as Western colonial powers exerted their influence over the region, it continued to receive lease payments for Sabah, which became part of Malaysia in 1963.

Abraham Idjirani, the sultanate’s secretary general, said the decision of Kiram’s followers to hold their ground “is not a hardline stance.” Idjirani told reporters: “We welcome the statement of the President. It’s a development on the right track.”

Foreign  Undersecretary Jose Brillantes has flown to Kuala Lumpur to help resolve the situation.

“We see that there would be a need for more people who would be able to help out in the coordination work…  He’s there to help Ambassador (Eduardo Malaya) to help in coordinating the peaceful resolution of this issue,” said DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez.

“Being a senior diplomat and being a former ambassador in Malaysia, he will also have some contacts and he would be able to coordinate well with the Malaysian authorities to be able to achieve the objectives to bring the group back home,” Hernandez said.

A ship the Philippines plans to use to ferry Kiram’s supporters home remains on standby in Tawi-Tawi.

Emergency meeting

De Lima called an emergency meeting with the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation but declined to say anything except that she had given them specific assignments.

De Lima said the only directive Aquino gave them was for the PNP and NBI to “investigate, find out and determine violations of the law that the Kiram group have committed through their actions…. with the end view of filing charges if warranted.”

Asked if an arrest was in order after the sultan said his followers remained in Sabah, she said: “So be it if that is the case.” On whether the sultan and his followers would be arrested if they defied  the President, De Lima said: “There is always that possibility.”

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 27 February 2013, 8:07 am and is filed under
Foreign
,
Police
,
Sabah
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


The police farce in Lahad Datu

— Donald Pinto

The Malaysian Insider

Feb 26, 2013

FEB 26 — How incredible can this be? The police treat some 100 armed militants with kid gloves but accuse a Filipino reporter with Al Jazeera’s English service of being a spy with the “Royal Sulu Sultanate Army”.

The media reported today Jamela Alindongan was accused several times of working with the self-styled army while being questioned by unidentified Special Branch officers.

Despite Alindongan showing them her employee ID, she was questioned for two-and-a-half hours, the longest among the three Al Jazeera crew detained in the sea off Tanjung Labian village, near the Lahad Datu standoff between Malaysian security forces and Sulu sultanate supporters, on February 20.

Can the police explain this? How do you treat one unarmed person this way but give almost-royal treatment to this rag-tag bunch of armed men.

At best, they are invaders, at worst just a bunch of pirates who have been treated too well too long.

This is embarrassing for Malaysians. We have a police force which can’t tell the difference between what is dangerous and what is harmless.

How much more do the police want to shame us with this farcical behaviour?

They can’t chase a group of men from Malaysian territory but they will play rough with a journalist.

We need a higher standard for our police force, not this farce of a police who can’t keep peace and security in every part of Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 27 February 2013, 12:01 am and is filed under
Police
,
Sabah
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Too much made of The Economist Intelligence Unit Report

by Kee Thuan Chye

MSN Malaysia

24 Feb 2013

Too much has been made of the recent report by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which is part of the magazine The Economist.

The Malaysian news agency Bernama spun it to make it appear a forecast of the upcoming general election result. It claimed the EIU predicted the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government “will” win the upcoming general election while the Opposition Pakatan Rakyat, for making “costly promises”, appears “a distant second”. It also said the EIU’s conclusion was based on BN’s “successful track record, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s reform agenda, and his successful economic leadership”. On the other hand, it added, “Pakatan’s populism has remained to be simply hot air”.

Rafizi Ramli, chief of strategy for one of Pakatan’s component parties, PKR, has, however, dismissed Bernama’s spin as being filled with incorrect information. “The report in itself is very neutral,” he said, “but because of Bernama and the way they spin it, it looks like The Economist is giving us a real thrashing.”

It has to be said, after looking at the EIU’s report, that Bernama has indeed coloured its report with subjective interpretation. Nowhere does the EIU state that BN will win the general election. It merely says that BN is “likely” to win, but also that “it will probably fail to attain the two-thirds parliamentary majority that would enable it to make constitutional changes unchallenged”. Neither does the EIU intimate that BN’s likely victory would be due to its “successful” track record and Najib’s “successful” economic leadership. The use of “hot air” is also Bernama’s own editorialising.

In fact, the EIU report actually says that the BN government “has spent lavishly in two consecutive budgets in order to please voters”. And, essentially, it sees the general election as “likely to be a tight race”, and does “not expect the outcome to lead to a dramatic improvement in the public finances”.

What the report really centres on is the likely financial outlook for Malaysia in the aftermath of the general election, hence its title ‘A fiscal bidding war’. Its priority is not really about predicting which side would win.

Even so, a closer analysis of the language the report uses could indicate a slight bias. For instance, it points out that Pakatan “is making many costly promises to the electorate in its eagerness to gain power” but these have “attracted less attention than the generosity” of the BN government. There appears a fair measure of editorialising in the choice of words like “eagerness to gain power”, which throws a negative hue on Pakatan, and “generosity”, which engenders positive connotations for what is really disputable spending on the part of BN.

It also singles out the Pakatan-led Selangor state government for having been accused, mainly by BN, of breaking its promises, having implemented only 15 per cent of its election pledges made in 2008. Why does it pick on the Selangor state government on this particular aspect while it overlooks the positive fiscal achievements accomplished by it and the Penang state government, which is also Pakatan-led?

In any case, the report appears to have been made from an armchair position as it says nothing new that clued-in Malaysians don’t already know about. And for all its professional reputation as a reliable assessor, the EIU is not privy to the country’s hidden accounts and offers no reading of the Malaysian ground sentiment. Its report should therefore be given only a fair amount of serious consideration.

                This entry was posted on Wednesday, 27 February 2013, 9:04 am and is filed under
Elections
,
Media
,
Pakatan Rakyat
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


42-Day Countdown to 13GE – My dream results for the 13GE: Pakatan Rakyat win with at least 125 PR MPs comprising 45 PKR MPs and 40 MPs each from DAP and PAS

The Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) forecasts a Barisan Nasional victory in the 13GE with an expected 123 to 135 seats ( i.e. a majority of 24 – 48 seats) and presented three possible outcomes for the 13th General Elections, viz:

•	Scenario 1: The present status quo remains, i.e. 140 Barisan Nasional (BN) seats as against 82 seats for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) following the March 8, 2008 “political tsunami” in the 12th General Elections.

•	Scenario 2: A reduced majority for BN, i.e. less than 58-seat majority after the 308 “political tsunami”; and

•	Scenario 3: BN regains two-thirds majority, i.e. winning at least 148 parliamentary seats or minimum of 74-seat majority.

There are however  two other possible outcomes, predicated on a Pakatan Rakyat victory, viz:

• Scenario 4: Victory for Pakatan Rakyat with narrow majority.

• Scenario 5: Victory for PR with good and comfortable majority.

The fourth scenario has been postulated by none other than the Johore Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman when he spoke to Kulai Chinese organisations early last month, conceding that the most the PR could win would be a slim majority of 5% to 10% of the parliamentary seats.

PR winning a slim 5% to 10% parliamentary majority would range from PR winning 117 seats to BN’s 105 seats giving PR a 12-seat majority (i.e. 5.5% majority) to PR winning 122 seats to BN’s 100 seats with a majority of 22 seats (i.e. 10% majority).

In fact, Ghani’s estimate that PR could win in the 13GE with a majority ranging from 12 – 22 parliamentary seats is very close to the estimate given by the former Bank Islam Malaysia chief economist, Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin at the Singapore Regional Outlook Forum last month that BN was likely to win only between 97 and 107 of the 222 parliamentary seats – yielding for a PR victory with a majority ranging from eight to 28 seats.

The fifth scenario is my dream results for the 13GE, i.e. PR winning with a good and comfortable majority of at least 125 parliamentary seats (i.e. a majority of 28) – with a distribution of 45 MPs for PKR and 40 MPs each for DAP and PAS.

Although UMNO/BN seems at present to enjoy an edge over PR, the 13GE is going to be a very tight race and the general election campaign itself  will be the final determinant as to which coalition will win in the race for the Federal Government in Putrajaya.

That there is no surety that UMNO/BN is going to win the 13GE is best seen from the numberless flip-flops of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the past two years agonising on when to dissolve Parliament, as he is just not confident that he would not go down in history as the last Umno/BN Prime Minister to fulfil the RAHMAN political prophecy.

Early last month, Najib had thought he was ready to dissolve Parliament and hold the 13GE when he approved  the “secret weapon” for the 13GE,  spending RM3.5 million to invite the Korean pop superstar, Psy, to Penang for BN Chinese New Year Open House, to swing the electoral tide in his favour.

However, Najib lost such confidence when his  Psy initiative was drowned in a sea of “No, No, No” not only in Penang but reverberating throughout the country since the political and public relations disaster of the first magnitude in the Psy and Gangnam Style appearance on Feb. 11.

The last University of Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (Umcedel) polls conducted between Dec. 26 and Jan. 11  reinforce the forecast that the outcome of the 13GE is too close to call, as the difference between those who believe BN can beat PR in the 13GE has been slashed from 25% in December 2011 to 5% in January 2013.

Respondents who believe that Pakatan Rakyat can take Putrajaya in the 13GE have steadily climbed from 18% in December 2011 to 21% in April 2012 to 30% in Sept. 2012 and 37% in Jan 2013.

In contrast, respondents who believe that Barisan Nasional can win the 13GE had fluctuated from 43% in Dec. 2011 to 49% in April 2012 to 44% in Sept. 2012 and 42% in Jan 2013.

Respondents undecided or unsure who could win the 13GE fell from 39% in Dec. 2011 to 30 per cent in April 2012 and 26% in Sept 2012 and 21% in Jan 2013.

On this Umcedel scenario, all that is needed for PR to beat BN in the race to Putrajaya in the 13GE is to win over more than five per cent of the undecided or unsure respondents, which stands at 21% in January 2013.

The latest Merdeka Centre poll on the Prime Minister’s approval rating is the new headache for Najib and his strategists.

In a poll between January 23 and February 6, just before the Chinese Year and his “Psy” disaster as well as the string of embarrassing developments for  the Prime Minister (the continuing Royal Commission of Inquiry hearings in Sabah, the criticisms by private investigator P. Balasubramaniam, carpet trader Deepak Jaikishan and former police chief Musa Hassan), Najib’s popularity rating has slipped down further two percentage points from a similar survey held last December.

According to Merdeka Centre, the decline is mainly attributed to a four-point drop in satisfaction among Malay voters, down from 77 percent a month earlier.

Chinese satisfaction with Najib’s performance was at status quo at 34 percent, while Indian support dipped one point to 75 percent.

Najib’s dissatisfaction rating has increased by two points to 32 percent – making it the highest since he took power in 2009.

March 8, 2013 will furnish the final test whether Najib is so lacking in confidence about the 13GE that he must brave the infamy of  being the one and only Prime Minister  in Malaysia to drag out Parliament’s tenure over its five-year natural term and to fall back on the constitutional provision to allow him another 50 days of “breathing space” as Prime Minister as constitutionally Parliament’s five-year term is calculated from its first meeting (i.e. on April 28, 2008) and not the previous general elections on 8th March 2008.

In 2008, the political tsunami in Peninsular Malaysia came down from the north with PR scoring victories in Penang, Kedah, Perak and Selangor.

In the 2013, the political tsunami must go up from the south, creating new breakthroughs in Johore, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Johore and Terengganu.

Pakatan Rakyat has set the 13GE goal of winning more than nine parliamentary seats  in Johor, as  together with breakthroughs in Sabah and Sarawak, to pave the way to Putrajaya in 13GE and more than 19 state assembly seats to deny UMNO/Barisan Nazional two-thirds majority in the Johor State Assembly.

Are these goals achievable?

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/03/01/pengiraan-detik-42-hari-ke-pru13-keputusan-impian-saya-untuk-pru13-pakatan-rakyat-menang-dengan-sekurang-kurangnya-125-ahli-parlimen-pr-terdiri-daripada-45-ahli-parlimen-pkr-dan-40-ahli-par/

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 February 2013, 1:40 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
Pakatan Rakyat
,
Parliament
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Malaysia Reborn

by Allan CF Goh

Let’s dare a vision,

Of a Malaysia reborn,

A true one-nation

With good values as her bond.

There was once a land,

So peaceful and harmonious,

With friendship so grand,

With nothing acrimonious.

Then come the racists,

Who feed on communalism;

Vile supremacists,

Who kill good fraternalism.

Those immoral things,

Who wallow in corruptions,

Steal fair labour’s fruits,

By foul discriminations.

Malaysia reborn,

Means a united nation,

Inclusive of races,

Scornful of exploitations.

Malaysia is us;

Let there be no lesser sons.

Each must stand equal,

Under the Malaysian sun.

Let Malaysia grow

With good racial harmony,

Where all cultures bloom,

Creating a common symphony.

Each his potential,

Nurtured and nourished fully,

To its highest point,

To serve the nation gladly.

This beautiful land,

Can regain her great glory,

By choosing rightness,

To sweep out things vile and gory.

There must be freedom,

For talents, ideas to grow,

To their bright fruition.

This is how Malaysia can glow.

This land must reform,

To disperse the evil cloud;

Bring back the sunshine,

Make Malaysians truly proud.

Return the freedom,

Make our life with blessings brim.

Resurrect justice,

Let Malaysians live their dreams.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 28 February 2013, 3:52 pm and is filed under
1Malaysia
,
nation building
,
Poem
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


41-Day Countdown to 13GE – Challenge to Najib to ensure 13GE is a contest which coalition can do more to serve the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, Kadazans and Ibans instead of a contest of who could tell more lies or incite hatred or resort to politics of fear

February 2013 has come and gone – a month which will probably go down  in history as the most critical and crucial month of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s four-year premiership  and 37-year political career as this is the month he abandoned his latest “final decision” to dissolve Parliament and to hold the 13th General Elections in March.

In early January, the sixth Malaysian  Prime Minister who turns 60 in five months’ time on 23rd July, had been persuaded by his political strategists to make up his mind to end his two-year flip-flops and to dissolve Parliament in the last week of February to finally seek a mandate from the 13.3 million voters in the 13th General Elections, buoyed up by the knowledge that he had an armoury of “secret weapons” to woo or intimidate the voters, including:

The RM3.5 million invitation to South Korean K-Pop superstar Psy not only to perform Gangnam Style but to popularise Gangnam 1Malaysia Style starring Psy with Najib, Rosmah and Ng Yen Yen in Penang on the second day of the Chinese New Year;

The tendentious and divisive May 13 film, “Tanda Putra”, giving a totally divisive, distorted and untrue  account of the causes of the May 13 riots in 1969 to inflame the sentiments of  Malay voters on the one hand  and to frighten the non-Malay voters on the other;

Promise of BRIM 3.0 if UMNO/BN is re-elected;

The Prime Minister’s signing of Transparency International’s Election Integrity Pledge to present Najib as a new convert to the battle against corruption and abuses of power;

The extension of Project IC to Peninsular Malaysia for the “citizenship-for-votes” scams in Sabah which have proved to be so successful in entrenching UMNO political power in the “Land below the Wind”’; and

An army of 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers to create havoc and mayhem on the social media with lies, falsehoods and incitement of hatred on race and religious issues.

But this was not to be as by mid-February, after the Psy and Gangnam Style initiative had degenerated into a political and public relations disaster of the first magnitude for the Prime Minister and UMNO/BN, with cries of “No, No, No” for Najib and BN daily reverberating throughout the land, Najib and his political strategists abandoned the earlier decision for a Parliament dissolution at the end of February and to drag out the Parliamentary term as long as possible as permitted by the Constitution before seeking a new mandate for the electorate – i.e. up till April 28, 2013!

Making a virtue out of necessary, Najib announced in Seremban on Sunday that the 13GE had not been announced yet because the government wants the national transformation policy to be truly proven successful and that the people fully benefit from it.

He said creative ideas, detailed planning and effective implementation were crucial in the government efforts to champion the cause of the people and bring development to the country.

Speaking at the launching of the Seremban Sentral 1Malaysia People’s Housing (PR1MA) project, Najib said: “That is why we wait until we are exhausted to hold the general election, we wait because I want to prove that the national transformation policy can truly succeed.”

Najib should not underestimate the intelligence of the people as to believe that they will buy his spin, for everybody knows what is haunting Najib is his fear that the 13GE will seal his fate as the sixth UMNO Prime Minister, whether UMNO/BN wins or loses in 13GE.

Nobody believes that Najib could prove that his four-year National Transformation Programme is a success  in the additional 50 days he could gain from invoking the constitutional provision that the five-year term of the 12th Parliament is calculated from its first meeting ending automatically on April 27 and not on March 8, the fifth anniversary of the “political tsunami” of the 2008 general elections.

In fact, if Najib wants to wait until he could prove the success of his National Transformation Programme, then the 13GE would have to be put off indefinitely, and he might have to wait until 2020 to prove that his transformation policy could work.

Najib’s political strategists are now scouring for new “dirty tricks” to save the day, and there are signs that among these “dirty tricks” is the nefarious design to  declare DAP as an illegal and unlawful organisation although this will be the height of abuse of power as there is no ground or basis for any action whether by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein or the  Registrar of Societies.

Najib should realise that such unethical and unprincipled “secret weapons” and “dirty tricks” like the gross abuse of power to declare DAP illegal and unlawful, totally contemptuous of the rule of law and mala fide exercise of powers and responsibilities by both the Registrar of Societies and the Home Minister  have a way to  boomerang back and  cause  even greater  damage on the perpetrators themselves than their targeted victims.

When Najib was in Seremban on Sunday, he declared that as the Prime Minister, he won’t  promise what he can’t deliver and pledged that he would not sacrifice the people’s future or that of the country merely to fish for votes.

Unfortunately, Najib’s promise that he won’t promise what he can’t deliver has been observed more by their breach, and it will be very easy for anyone to produce a catalogue of promises which Najib could not deliver and yet he dared to promise.

The most glaring example of the promise he could not deliver is his signature 1Malaysia policy, which is not only publicly repudiated by the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, but was violated by Najib himself as he gets increasingly desperate about his 13GE prospects.

For example, in Kuala Teregganu last Saturday, Najib betrayed 1Malaysia principles when he pandered to religious incitements by declaring the lie and falsehood that  “a vote for PAS would lead to discord among the Muslims and a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of Muslims”.

Is Najib prepared to retract his most dishonest, hypocritical and unprincipled allegation against the DAP, which is totally at variance with his 1Malaysia signature policy?

Najib said in Seremban: “We must have principles in our struggles. We must have principles in life. That’s why the general election is not about who will win, but the destiny of our country… we will determine its future soon.”

Let me ask Najib: “Are you prepared to put your money where your mouth is make the 13GE as contest as to which coalition could do more to serve the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, Kadazan and Ibans instead of a contest of who could tell more lies and falsehoods or incite racial and religious hatred or resort to the politics of fear and intimidation?”

Artikel ini juga boleh didapati dalam Bahasa Malaysia di:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/03/01/pengiraan-detik-41-hari-ke-pru13-cabaran-buat-najib-untuk-memastikan-pru13-adalah-pertandingan-antara-perikatan-mana-yang-mampu-berkhidmat-untuk-melayu-cina-india-orang-asli-kadazan-dan/

                This entry was posted on Friday, 1 March 2013, 11:52 am and is filed under
Elections
,
Najib Razak
,
nation building
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


From race and religion to Psy

Hafiz Noor Shams

The Malaysian Insider

Feb 28, 2013

FEB 28 — For better or worse, quantity is important in a democratic contest. It is about gaining the majority. It is about popularity.

With that as the context, we have to remember we live in a young society. The Department of Statistics estimates that the median Malaysia age in 2010 was slightly above 26 years. In simpler terms, the age of one half of the population today is younger than the median just three years ago. The profile of the Malaysian electorate pretty much reflects the demographics of our society.

Thanks to their sheer size, those in their 20s and 30s are clearly the biggest and thus the most important group. Collectively they can decisively determine the path which the country would take.

But what makes these young people stand out further politically is that most of them will be voting in a national election for the first time in their lives. Their minds more flexible than those belonging to the older generation who more often than not are hung up on legacy issues. Ibrahim Ali, for instance, still has the May 13 incident as his talking point.

So, young adults are the cool kids on the block and the two nationally-relevant political factions are competing to be the friend of these cool kids. The Barisan Nasional-led federal government has launched several policies for that purpose and chief among them are affordable housing and other cash transfers. The federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat promises the same young adults free tertiary education, among others.  Both sides are pulling out all stops to be the one special friend.

While I find many of those policies too populist, at least those policies are serious in the sense that they affect a person’s welfare. The existence of a real policy competition between two credible sides is heartening since previously, it was really all about the old, stale, suffocating issues of race and religion. That is not to say that race and religion are no longer factors but at the very least, we have something substantive to base our election on.

But I do have a feeling that the courting is starting to go a bit too far and starting to appear regressive. It is starting to go into the realm of the trivial that debases the very serious nature of our elections. In an effort to become ever more popular, political parties are starting to make entertainment the focal point of their political events, instead of what the parties stand for.

This happened in Penang recently. Barisan Nasional organised its Chinese New Year celebration with Psy, the Korean sensation — and not the Malaysian prime minister — as the star of the event. The hosts of “That Effing Show” — a sarcastic online talk show focusing on Malaysian affairs — were right on the money when they joked that in the United States, a singer would introduce the president to the crowd but in Malaysia, the prime minister introduced a singer. Such is the office of the prime minister which is obviously too engrossed in crass populism.

While I despise the debasement of the highest political office of the land, I think I understand the reasoning behind it. Young adults are seen wedded together with pop culture. They ARE the pop culture.

Maybe, just maybe, the politicians think, if they could harness the power of pop culture, if they could show that they have their finger on pop culture, then they could connect with these young adults. We could win their votes, so the politicians thought. At the end, these politicians hoped what happened in Penang stayed in Penang. (Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen had a different idea in Malacca, some weeks after.)

But this line of thinking — of entertainment, young adults and politics — is potentially insulting to young adults. Is entertainment the thing that matters the most in attracting them to participate in a political process? Are young adults fluffy-headed, uncritical, naïve voters to be wooed with inconsequential gimmicks? Is the future worth a trivial song in an age where one-hit wonders happen almost every week, if not every day? I pray to the god in the mirror for the answer to be no.

I know it did not work in Penang but I do not know if it will never work. I hope that it will never work so that our elections have less possibility of becoming an exercise of triviality. The truth is Barisan Nasional is not the only one guilty of putting entertainment at the centrestage or a big part of a political event or rally.

The danger is that if it works and pulls in the votes. When that happens, there goes the future as votes of substantial value are traded for a trivial piece of song popular with the cool kids.

If it does happen, that will be no progress from the days of race and religion. It is just as bad as the days of old.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 1 March 2013, 6:56 am and is filed under
Elections
,
Najib Razak
,
Penang
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Malaysia will survive GE13, says ‘Dr Doom’

By
ZURAIRI AR
 | MARCH 01, 2013

The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — The Malaysian economy will weather the next general election and stay robust even with a change in government, renowned world economist Nouriel Roubini said today.

Roubini, also known in the media as “Dr Doom” for his consistently pessimistic economic outlook, gave his prediction today amid previous warnings by names such as veteran statesman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former top cop Tan Sri Musa Hassan that Malaysia will descend into political and economic chaos should Pakatan Rakyat (PR) wins the next polls.

“I would say whatever the result is going to be, this country has shown institutional and political stability,” Roubini said here in his keynote address at the Datum Economic Forum 2013.

“Investors recognised that, and therefore as long as there is a democratic process, as long as there’ll be policy clarity after those elections, it’s certainly going to be positive.”

Roubini admitted that the electoral process itself will introduce elements of uncertainty for investors, but refused to comment on the election date that has yet to be announced.

“I think whether the decision will be taken imminently or shortly … whatever those results may be, this is a stable democracy that’s been committed to following economical policies to economic success

“It’s going to be positive,” he added.

Roubini also offered his observation on pre-election practices which are affecting Malaysia’s economic standing.

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (centre) officiates the Datum Economic Forum 2013 “Building Communities Enriching Lives” in Kuala Lumpur March 1, 2013. — Picture by Choo Choy May

“Whenever there’s an election, whoever’s in power before elections provides cash handouts to the people as a way of boosting chances of winning, and that increases a chance of deficit in an election year,” Roubini said.

“Hopefully that will be reversed after the election.”

Roubini, who was named as Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine, gained popularity after he predicted the United States sub-prime crisis and the subsequent worldwide recession in 2008 three years before it happened.

On January 2011, Roubini’s analysis firm Roubini Global Economics (RGE) commented that much-needed reforms to Malaysia’s pro-Bumiputera policies would likely be put on the back burner until Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak secures a new electoral mandate.

In the report titled “Wednesday Note — Malaysia’s Middle-Income Malaise” RGE reported that Umno was “unlikely” to revamp such policies “blocking” Malaysia’s rise to high-income nation status before the next general election for fear of antagonising Malay voters.

It also said that affirmative action policies have exacerbated the non-Bumiputera brain drain problem and also created a “strategic disadvantage” for local firms by limiting human and financial capital as well as “perpetuating an unlevel playing field” for entrepreneurs.

Roubini, an economics professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, previously advised the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and currently holds research fellowships at London’s Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 1 March 2013, 10:55 pm and is filed under
Economics
,
Elections
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Pengiraan Detik 41 Hari ke PRU13 – Cabaran buat Najib untuk memastikan PRU13 adalah pertandingan antara perikatan mana yang mampu berkhidmat untuk Melayu, Cina, India, Orang Asli, Kadazan dan Iban bukannya pertandingan siapa lebih hebat menipu atau menghasut kebencian atau beralih kepadan politik ketakutan

Febuari 2013 telah tiba dan berlalu –bulan yang berkemungkinan tercatat di dalam sejarah sebagai bulan paling kritikal dan penting dalam empat tahun sebagai Perdana Menteri dan 37 tahun kerjaya politik Datuk Seri Najib Razak kerana ini merupakan bulan beliau membatalkan “keputusan muktamad” terbaru beliau untuk membubarkan Parlimen dan mengadakan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 pada bulan Mac.

Pada awal Januari, Perdana Menteri keenam Malaysia yang bakal berusia 60 tahun lagi enam bulan pada 23 Julai, telah dipujuk oleh strategis politiknya untuk tetapkan fikiran supaya mengakhiri dolak-dalik selama dua tahun dan membubarkan Parlimen pada minggu terakhir Febuari untuk akhirnya mendapatkan mandat daripada 13.3 juta pengundi dalam Pilihan Raya ke-13, diyakinkan bahawa beliau mempunyai “senjata rahsia” untuk memikat dan menakut-nakutkan pengundi, termasuklah:

RM3.5 juta jemputan kepada bintang K-Pop Korea Selatan Psy bukan sahaja untuk mempersembahkan Gangnam Style tetapi juga untuk mempopularkan Gangnam 1Malaysia Style  yang dipersembahkan Psy bersama Najib, Rosmah dan Ng Yen Yen di Pulau Pinang pada hari kedua Tahun Baru Cina;

Filem 13 Mei yang boleh menimbulkan perbahalahan dan perpecahan, “Tanda Putera”, memberikan gambaran serong, memecah-belah dan kisah tidak benar punca rusuhan 13 Mei pada tahun 1969 untuk mengapi-apikan sentiment pengundi Melayu dan menakut-nakutkan pengundi bukan Melayu;

Janji BR1M 3.0 sekiranya UMNO/BN dipilih semula;

Perdana Menteri menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya Transparency International  bagi menggambarkan Najib sebagai wira baru memerangi rasuah dan salahguna kuasa;

Lanjutan Projek IC ke Semenanjung Malaysia bagi penipuan “warganegara untuk undi” di Sabah yang terbukti begitu berjaya dalam mengukuhkan kuasa politik UMNO di “Negeri Bawah Bayu”; dan

10,000 tentera cybertrooper UMNO/BN untuk mencetuskan huru-hara dan kacau-bilau di media sosial dengan penipuan, pembohongan dan hasutan kebencian terhadap isu kaum dan agama.

Akan tetapi itu semua tidak terjadi kerana menjelang pertengahan Febuari, selepas inisiatif Psy dan Gangnam Style telah bertukar menjadi bencana politik dan perhubungan awam besar buat Perdana Menteri dan UMNO/BN, dengan laungan  “No, No, No”  untuk Najib dan BN bergema setiap hari di seluruh negara, Najib dan ahli strategi politiknya membatalkan keputusan sebelumnya untuk membubarkan Parlimen pada hujung Febuari dan mengheret penggal Parlimen selama mana dibenarkan Perlembagaan sebelum mendapatkan mandat baru pilihan raya – iaitu sehingga 28 April, 2013!

Tidak dapat rotan akar pun berguna, Najib mengumumkan di Seremban pada hari Ahad bahawa PRU13 tidak diumumkan lagi kerana kerajaan mahu dasar transformasi negara benar-benar terbukti berjaya dan bahawa rakyat mendapat manfaat sepenuhnya.

Beliau berkata, idea kreatif, perancangan rapi dan perlaksanaan efektif amat penting dalam usaha kerajaan untuk memperjuangkan rakyat dan membawa pembangunan kepada negara.

Bercakap di pelancaran Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia (PR1MA ) Seremban Sentral, Najib berkata: “Sebab itulah saya tunggu sampai kita letih hendak buat PRU, kita tunggu kerana saya hendak buktikan bahawa dasar transformasi negara benar-benar boleh berjaya.”

Najib tidak sepatutnya memandang rendah kebijaksanaan rakyat dengan merasakan mereka akan termakan dengan helahnya, kerana semua orang tahu apa yang menghantui Najib adalah ketakutan bahawa PRU13 akan menentukan nasibnya sebagai Perdana Menteri UMNO keenam sama ada UMNO/BN menang atau kalah di dalam PRU13.

Tiada siapa percaya bahawa Najib boleh membuktikan bahawa empat tahun Program Transformasi Nasionalnya merupakan kejayaan dalam 50 hari yang akan diperolehinya dengan menggunakan peruntukan perlembagaan bahawa lima penggal parlimen ke-12 mula dikira daripada tarikh pertama persidangan yang berakhir secara automatic pada 27 April dan bukannya 8 mac, ulangtahun kelima “tsunami politik” pilihan raya umum 2008.

Sebenarnya, Najib mahu menunggu sehingga beliau dapat membuktikan kejayaan Program Transformasi Negaranya, barulah PRU13 akan diadakan, dan beliau mungkin terpaksa tunggu sehingga tahun  2020 untuk membuktikan dasar transformasinya berjaya.

Ahli strategi politik Najib sekarang mula melakukan “helah kotor” baru untuk menyelamatkannya, terdapat tanda bahawa antara “helah kotor” itu adalah strategi jahat untuk mengisytiharkan DAP sebagai pertubuhan haram walaupun ini merupakan penyalahgunaan kuasa tertinggi memandangkan tiada sebab sama ada Menteri Dalam Negeri, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein atau Jabatan Pendaftaran Pertubuhan untuk mengambil tindakan.

Najib sepatutnya sedar bahawa “senjata rahsia” dan “helah kotor” yang tidak beretika dan tidak berprinsip seperti menyalahgunakan kuasa untuk mengisytiharkan DAP sebagai pertubuhan haram, benar-benar menghina kedaulatan undang-undang dan menggunakan kuasa berdasarkan niat yg buruk oleh Jabatan Pendaftaran Pertubuhan dan Menteri Dalam Negeri mampu melantun kembali dan menyebabkan kerosakan lebih besar terhadap penjahat berbanding mangsa.

Ketika Najib berada di Seremban pada hari Ahad, beliau mengisytiharkan bahawa sebagai Perdana Menteri, beliau tidak akan menjanjikan sesuatu yang beliau tidak mampu tunaikan dan berikrar bahawa beliau tidak akan menggadaikan masa depan rakyat atau negara semata-mata kerana undi.

Malangnya, janji Najib bahawa beliau tidak akan menjanjikan perkara yang beliau tidak mampu tunaikan telah diperhatikan oleh semua, dan lebih mudah untuk sesiapa menghasilkan satu senarai janji yang Najib tidak dapat tunaikan tetapi beliau berani janjikan.

Contoh paling ketara janji yang beliau tidak dapat tunaikan adalah dasar 1Malaysia, yang bukan sahaja dipertikaikan secara terbuka oleh Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, tetapi telah diingkari oleh Najib sendiri apabila beliau semakin terdesak akan peluang PRU13nya.

Contohnya, di Kuala Terengganu Sabtu lalu, Najib mengkhianati prinsip 1Malaysia apabila beliau menggunakan hasutan agama dengan mengisytiharkan pembohongan dan penipuan bahawa “Satu undi PAS, membawa kepada perpecahan umat Islam dan satu undi DAP adalah satu undi yang membawa kepada penindasan umat Islam”.

Apakah Najib bersedia untuk menarik balik dakwaan paling tidak jujur, tidak berprinsip dan hipokrit terhadap DAP, yang amat bercanggahan dengan dasar 1Malaysianya?

Najib bercakap di Seremban: “Kita mesti ada prinsip dalam perjuangan, dalam hidup kita mesti ada prinsip sebab itulah pilihan raya umum bukanlah tentang siapa akan menang tapi nasib negara kita…masa depan penentuannya akan kita tentukan tak lama lagi.”

Biar saya tanya Najib: “Adakah kamu bersedia untuk benar-benar menjadikan PRU13 sebagai pertandingan antara perikatan mana yang mampu berkhidmat untuk Melayu, Cina, India, Orang Asli, Kadazan dan Iban bukannya pertandingan siapa lebih hebat menipu atau menghasut kebencian atau beralih kepada politik ketakutan dan menakut-nakutkan?”

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/03/01/41-day-countdown-to-13ge-challenge-to-najib-to-ensure-13ge-is-a-contest-which-coalition-can-do-more-to-serve-the-malays-chinese-indians-orang-asli-kadazans-and-ibans-instead-of-a-contest/

                This entry was posted on Friday, 1 March 2013, 5:44 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
Najib Razak
,
nation building
,
Pakatan Rakyat
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Pengiraan Detik 42 Hari ke PRU13 – Keputusan impian saya untuk PRU13: Pakatan Rakyat menang dengan sekurang-kurangnya 125 Ahli Parlimen PR terdiri daripada 45 Ahli Parlimen PKR dan 40 Ahli Parlimen dari DAP dan PAS tiap parti

he Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) meramalkan kejayaan Barisan Nasional dalam PRU13 dengan anggaran 123 hingga 135 kerusi ( iaitu majoriti 24-48 kerusi) dan membentangkan tiga kemungkinan untuk Pilihan Raya PRU13, yakni:

Senario 1: Status quo sekarang kekal, iaitu 140 kerusi Barisan Nasional (BN) berbanding82 kerusi untuk Pakatan Rakyat (PR) berikutan “tsunami politik” 8 Mac, 2008 dalam Pilihan Raya Umum ke-12.

Senario 2: Merosotnya majoriti untuk BN, iaitu kurang daripada majoriti 58 kerusi selepas “tsunami politik” 308; dan

Senario 3: BN memperoleh semula majoriti dua pertiga, iaitu memenangi sekurang-kurangnya 148 kerusi parlimen atau minimum majoriti 74 kerusi

Akan tetapi ada dua lagi kemungkinan, meramalkan kemenangan Pakatan Rakyat, yakni:

Senario 4: Kemenangan buat Pakatan Rakyat dengan majority tipis.

Senario 5: Kemenangan buat PR dengan majoriti selesa.

Senario keempat telah dihujahkan oleh tidak lain tidak bukan Menteri Besar Johor Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman ketika dia bercakap kepada pertubuhan Cina Kulai awal bulan lalu, mengakui bahawa paling banyak PR boleh menang adalah majoriti tipis 5% hingga 10% kerusi parlimen.

PR memenangi majoriti tipis parlimen 5% hingga 10% adalah antara PR memenangi 117 kerusi manakala BN 105 kerusi memberikan PR majoriti 12 kerusi (iaitu 5.5% majoriti) kepada PR memenangi 122 kerusi manakala BN 100 kerusi dengan majoriti 22 kerusi (iaitu 10% majoriti).

Sebenarnya, anggaran Ghani bahawa PR boleh menang dalam PRU13 dengan majoriti antara 12-22 kerusi parlimen amat dekat dengan anggaran bekas ketua ekonomi Bank Islam Malaysia, Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajudin di Singapore Regional Outlook Forum bulan lepas bahawa BN berkemungkinan untuk menang hanya antara 97 dan 107 daripada 222 kerusi parlimen – memberikan kememangan PR dengan majoriti antara 8 hingga 28 kerusi.

Senario kelima ialah keputusan impian saya untuk PRU13, iaitu PR menang majoriti selesa sekurang-kurangnya 125 kerusi parlimen (iaitu majoriti 28) – dengan pembahagian 45 Ahli Parlimen PKR dan 40 Ahli Parlimen dari DAP dan PAS tiap parti.

Walaupun UMNO/BN kelihatan seperti menikmati kelebihan berbanding PR, PRU13 akan menjadi perlubaan sengit dan kempen pilihan raya umum itu sendiri akan menjadi penentu terakhir perikatan mana akan memenangi perlumbaan untuk Kerajaan Persekutuan di Putrajaya.

Tiadanya kepastian bahawa UMNO/BN akan memenangi PRU13 dapat dilihat dengan jelas daripada pelbagai dolak-dalik Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak sepanjang dua tahun tentang bilakah masanya untuk membubarkan Parlimen, memandangkan beliau tidak yakin yang beliau tidak akan tercatat di dalam sejarah sebagai Perdana Menteri UMNO/BN terakhir memenuhi ramalan politik RAHMAN.

Awal bulan lalu, Najib menyangka beliau sudah sedia untuk membubarkan Parlimen dan mengadakan PRU13 apabila dia meluluskan “senjata rahsia” untuk PRU13, membelanjakan RM3.5 juta bagi menjemput bintang pop Korea, Psy, ke Pulau Pinang untuk Rumah Terbuka Tahun Baru Cina BN bagi mengalih arus pilihan raya memihak kepada beliau.

Bagaimanapun, Najib kehilangan keyakinan itu apabila inisiatif Psy tenggelam di dalam lautan “No, No, No” bukan saja di Pulau Pinang tetapi juga bergema di seluruh negara sejak bencana politik dan perhubungan awam itu bermula ketika kemunculan Psy dan Gangnam Style pada 11 Febuari.

Tinjauan terakhir Pusat Kajian Demokrasi Dan Pilihan Raya Universiti Malaya (Umcedel) yang dilakukan antara 26 Disember dan 11 Januari mengukuhkan lagi ramalan bahawa keputusan PRU13 sukar diramal keputusannya, memandangkan perbezaan antara mereka yang percaya BN boleh menewaskan PR dalam PRU13 telah berkurangan dari 25% pada Disember 2011 kepada 5% pada Januari 2013.

Responden yang percaya Pakatan Rakyat boleh mengambil alih Putrajaya dalam PRU13 semakin meningkat daripada 18% pada Disember 2011 kepada 21% pada April 2012 kepada 30% pada September 2012 dan 37% pada Januari 2013.

Sebaliknya, responden yang percaya Barisan Nasional boleh memenangi PRU13 telah berubah daripada 43% pada Disember 2011 kepada 49% pada April 2012 kepada 44% pada September 2012 dan 42% pada Januari 2013.

Responden yang tidak pasti atau tidak dapat memutuskan siapa boleh memenangi PRU13 jatuh daripada 39% pada Disember 2011 kepada 30 peratus pada April 2012 dan 26% pada September 2012 dan 21% pada Januari 2013.

Di dalam senario Umcedel, apa yang diperlukan oleh PR untuk mengalahkan BN dalam perlumbaan ke Putrajaya dalam PRU13 adalah dengan memikat lebih daripada lima peratus responden yang tidak pasti dan tidak dapat memutuskan, yang terdiri daripada 21% responden pada Januari 2013.

Tinjauan terkini Merdeka Centre terhadap populariti Najib memeningkan kepala Najib dan para ahli strateginya.

Di dalam tinjauan antara 23 Januari dan 6 Febuari, betul-betul sebelum Tahun Baru Cina dan bencana “Psy” dan juga rantaian perkembangan memalukan untuk Perdana Menteri (Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja di Sabah, kritikan oleh penyiasat persendirian P. Balasubramaniam, peniaga permaidani Deepak Jaikishan dan bekas ketua polis Musa Hassan yang berterusan), popularity Najib telah jatuh sebanyak dua peratus daripada tinjauan yang sama dilakukan Disember lalu.

Menurut Merdeka Centre, penurunan ini disebabkan kejatuhan empat mata rasa puas hati di kalangan pengundi Melayu, turun dari 77 peratus satu bulan lalu.

Rasa puas hati orang Cina dengan pencapaian Najib berada pada status quo 34 peratus sementara sokongan India jatuh satu mata kepada 75 peratus.

Kedudukan rasa tidak puas hati terhadap Najib meningkat dua mata kepada 32 peratus menjadikannya paling tinggi sejak beliau memegang tampuk kuasa pada 2009.

8 Mac, 2013 akan memberikan ujian terakhir melihat sama ada Najib begitu tidak berkeyakinan tentang PRU13 sehingga beliau terpaksa mengharungi penghinaan menjadi satu-satunya Perdana Menteri di Malaysia yang mengheret penggal Parlimen melepasi lima tahun penggal kebiasaan dan bergantung kepada peruntukan yang memberikannya “ruang bernafas” 50 hari lagi sebagai Perdana Menteri kerana mengikut perlembagaan, penggal lima tahun Parlimen mula dikira daripada mesyuarat pertamanya (iaitu 28 April 2008) dan bukannya tarikh pilihan raya sebelumnya pada 8 Mac 2008.

Pada tahun 2008, tsunami politik di Semenanjung Malaysia datang dari Utara dengan kejayaan PR di Pulau Pinang, Kedah, Perak dan Selangor.

Pada tahun 2013, tsunami politik mestilah datang daripada selatan, mencipta kejayaan di Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Johor dan Terengganu.

Pakatan Rakyat telah menetapkan matlamat PRU14 untuk memenangi lebih banyak kerusi berbanding Sembilan kerusi parlimen di Johor, seiring dengan kejayaan di Sabah dan Sarawak, untuk membuka jalan baru ke Putrajaya dalam PRU13 dan memperoleh lebih daripada 19 dewan undangan negeri  dalam Dewan Undangan Negeri Johor.

Adakah matlamat ini dapat dicapai?

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/02/28/42-days-to-13ge-my-dream-results-for-the-13ge-pakatan-rakyat-win-with-at-least-125-pr-mps-comprising-45-pkr-mps-and-40-mps-each-from-dap-and-pas/

                This entry was posted on Friday, 1 March 2013, 3:07 pm and is filed under
Elections
,
Pakatan Rakyat
,
Parliament
,
UMNO
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.


Pengiraan Detik 43 Hari ke PRU13 – Apakah Transparency International Malaysia  boleh memadam dan membatalkan penandatangan kepada Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya yang terang-terangan melanggar empat prinsipnya menjelang PRU13?

Menteri Besar Pahang Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob telah mengikut jejak Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz untuk mengkritik pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat kerana enggan menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya Transparency International-Malaysia  (TIM) yang telah ditandatangani Perdana Menteri Rabu lalu.

Adnan mengulangi topik lama bahawa pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat enggan menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TIM kerana mereka menyembunyikan sesuatu dan mereka masih ragu-ragu sama ada perikatan oposisi mampu metadbir negara dengan bertanggungjawab jika mendapat kuasa.

Bercakap ketika pembukaan mesyuarat Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja Malaysia (MTUC) di Kuantan pada Ahad, Adnan berkata: “jika berlaku salah guna kuasa nanti mereka tidak mahu bertanggungjawab dan memberi alasan bahawa mereka tidak sign ikrar tersebut.”

Saya terkejut dengan hujah tidak masuk akal yang dilontarkan seorang Menteri Besar, mengabaikan terus undang-undang, ajaran agama dan etika terhadap rasuah dan salahguna kuasa.

Adakah Adnan benar-benar bermaksud bahawa pemimpin Barisan Nasional, baik di perinkat negeri atau negara, baik Perdana Menteri, Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Menteri-Menteri, Menteri-Menteri Besar, Ketua Menteri dan Exco Negeri boleh didakwa mengamalkan rasuah dan salahguna kuasa semata-mata kerana mereka belum lagi menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TI?

Alasan tempang dari pemimpin UMNO/BN seperti itulah yang telah membangkitkan persoalan dan kebimbangan sama ada

Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TIM bermakna atau sama ada digunakan untuk “membersihkan” semua rasuah dan salahguna kuasa yang telah dilakukan pemimpin UMNO/BN dulu baik di peringkat negara atau negeri.

Hinggakan pegawai Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR), yang sepatutnya merupakan badan bebas, professional dan berwibawa bagi menjalankan pilihan raya yang bebas dan adil di negara ini, telah menyertai pemimpin UMNO/BN mengkritik Pakatan Rakyat tentang Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TIM.

Timbalan Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya, Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, menghentam Pakatan Rakyat dengan mengatakan adalah “memalukan” apabila parti oposisi enggan menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TIM.

Perkara yang sebenarnya memalukan ialah kegagalan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya untuk memahami tindakan itu hanya mengesahkan yang mereka tunduk kepada perikatan pemerintah UMNO/BN ke tahap sanggup mengulang kritikan UMNO/BN terhadap PR, sedangkan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya sepatutnya tidak melibatkan diri dengan sebarang percakaran bagi melaksanakan tugas mengikut perlembagaan menjalankan pilihan raya bebas dan adil di negara ini.

Sekiranya Wan Ahmad mahu terlibat dengan politik, dia sepatutnya meletakkan jawatan di dalam Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya dan bertanding dalam PRU13 sebagai calon BN bukannya berterusan menjejaskan kebebasan dan integriti proses pilihan raya dengan menjadi agen UMNO/BN.

Wan Ahmad berkata wajib bagi calon yang bertanding di dalam pilihan raya menandatangani ikrar itu memandangkan rakyat inginkan wakil yang bukan saja mengatakan memiliki integriti tetapi turut mengamalkannya.

Katanya dia percaya rakyat akan berasa lebih terjamin terhadap pilihan mereka sekiranya calon tidak ragu-ragu menandatangani ikrar itu, seperti mana yang telah dilakukan Perdana Menteri  Najib Abdul Razak.

Walaupun saya perlu katakan yang Wan Ahmad telah memberikan hujah yang lebih masuk akal berbanding Adnan Yaakob untuk kes calon menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TIM, kata-kata beliau berbau hipokrasi dan tidak jujur memandangkan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya tidak pernah membuat pendidiran terhadap berleluasanya rasuah dalam bentuk politik wang yang oleh UMNO/BN dalam pilihan raya umum sebelumnya.

Saya ragu-ragu menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TIM kerana tandatangan sinis Perdana menteri tanpa menunjukkan sebarang tanda beliau serius dan sepenuhnya iltizam kepada prinsip-prinsip ikrar itu, dan juga peranan memalukan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya di masa lalu dalam memastikan pilihan raya bersih, beretika, bebas dan adil di negara ini.

Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TIMM menetapkan empat prinsip untuk diperhatikan semua penandatangan dalam pilihan raya umum ke-13, yakni:

Kebenaran, integriti, tatalaku beretika dan akauntabiliti, termasuk tidak menerima atau memberi rasuah atau terlibat dengan amalan rasuah dalam apa jua cara;

Mendukung dan memberi keutamaan kepada kepentingan rakyat secara keseluruhan;

Tadbir urus yang baik serta ketelusan; dan

Mematuhi semua undang-undang dan peraturan yang berkaitan Malaysia.

Apakah TIM mempunyai sebarang mekanisme untuk menerima dan menyiasat rungutan bahawa penandatangan telah melanggar empat prinsip yang termaktub di dalam Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya – walaupun ketika menjelangnya PRU13?

Apakah terdapat peruntukan untuk TIM memadam atau membatalkan penandatangan Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya yang terang-terangan melanggar empat prinsipnya menjelang PRU13?

Contohnya, beberapa hari selepas menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya, Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak telah melanggar iltizamnya untuk menjalankan kempen pilihan raya yang bersih dan beretika, apabila beliau mengisytiharkan di Kuala Terengganu pada Sabtu bahawa “satu undi untuk DAP ialah satu undi untuk penindasan umat Islam” – hasutan kebencian kaum yang paling tidak beretika dan memalukan juga sepenuhnya bercanggah dengan dasar 1Malaysia.

Adakah TIM akan menghubungi Najib menyatakan bahawa Perdana Menteri telah melanggar Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya yang telah ditandatanganinya Rabu lalu bagi menjalankan kempen pilihan raya yang bersih dan beretika?

Adakah TIM akan meminta Perdana Menteri menarik balik dan memohon maaf untuk kenyataan tidak bertanggungjawab dan tidak beretika yang bukan saja tidak berasas tetapi juga merupakan contoh hasutan kebencian dan konflik kaum serta agama paling memalukan?

Adakah TIM akan memadam tandatangan Najib dari jadual penandatangan dan membatalkan kelayakan beliau sebagai penandatangan kerana terang-terangan mengabaikan empat prinsip yang digariskan dalam Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TIM?

This article is also available in English at:
https://blog.limkitsiang.com/2013/02/27/43-days-to-13ge-has-transparency-international-malaysia-provisions-to-delete-and-disqualify-signatories-to-its-election-integrity-pledge-who-blatantly-violate-its-four-principles-in-the-run/

                This entry was posted on Friday, 1 March 2013, 3:04 pm and is filed under
Corruption
,
Elections
,
Najib Razak
. You can follow any responses to this entry through
RSS 2.0
.