Uncle Kit, you never walk alone

by
George Lee

The Malaysian Insider

APRIL 24 – Recently there was a snapshot posted on Facebook of DAP senior leader Lim Kit Siang taking a late flight out to Johor Bahru. Cutting a lone figure and waiting for his flight like any ordinary folk, one must be wondering whether Uncle Kit should have taken on lighter things in life since his children especially the dynamic Lim Guan Eng is continuing his legacy in politics.

Undoubtedly a well known fatherly figure with Malaysians from all walks of life. I do not know Uncle Kit personally but I did have glimpses of him in close proximity on a number of occasions.

Often, the places that we ‘met’ were the five foot way coffee shop or restaurant. Beside his distinctive (comb from front to back) hairstyle and short-sleeve shirt, Uncle Kit is a well-read person.

Before the Internet age, he was always seen clutching stack of newspapers where ever he went, stealing precious time he had to read. Nowadays he and his tablet computer seem inseparable.

It is especially admirable to see such elderly statesman, outsmarting the younger generation, outwitting many challenges and levying the social networking plus media to expand his work and political beliefs. (Though, I do understand he has a team of IT savvy individuals helping him). Uncle Kit’s ingenious nature and never stop learning attitude has certainly compel many politicians to backpedal.

Many Malaysians wish that we could love our work in the same manner how Uncle Kit loves his. However, Uncle Kit’s aspirations in his lifetime work are hard act to follow, to an extent unmatched by others. Life as an opposition politician is not gleaming, especially in a racial polarizes society like Malaysia.

As one of the leaders from minority race, Uncle Kit speeches and actions come under immense scrutiny from others. Recent fiasco where RoS did not recognize the DAP’s central executive committee which paralyzed the party in issuing any authorization letter and nearly forced it to abandon the rocket symbol had caused Uncle’s Kit to shed tears openly.

RoS and many critics commented that DAP had misquoted, misinterpreted and overly sensitive towards RoS’s letter but ordinary Malaysians knew that the vigilance stand taken by DAP was proper given the unscrupulous behaviour of the authority in power.

Uncle Kit, to ordinary Malaysians, your tears are not in vain for you have demonstrated to us your affection for DAP, your constant fight against unjust administration and your brawny desire to see a new Malaysia.

Over the last few weeks, we have seen your detractors among them the head of MCA (‘Malaysia Comedian Association’) giving garbage remark that you ran away from your last constituency because you did not provide good service. We know all these are not accurate because your earnest deeds speak louder than any fallacious word.

Uncle Kit, for every step you take, you never walk alone. You have earned the respect of many ordinary Malaysians across race, culture and religion. We look forward to your pounding victory in Gelang Patah, beating the living daylights out of the corrupted administration.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 25 April 2013, 6:19 pm and is filed under
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Zaid tells Malays to reassert their identity: VOTE FOR KIT SIANG!

Harakahdaily

Saying the Malays had accepted the idea of sharing power with other communities in the past thus replacing traditional power structure hitherto dominated by Malay rulers, former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Zaid Ibrahim  said they should now continue to pursue such a path.

Slamming UMNO leaders’ statements threatening racial discord if DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang defeats BN’s Abdul Ghani Othman in Gelang Patah, Zaid urged the Malays to prove to the world that they are not a people out to create trouble as depicted by prime minister Najib Razak and UMNO strongman Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“Now the Malays have been asked to answer more big questions in Gelang Patah. Do they want moderate, sensible politics in multiracial Malaysia? Do they want racial harmony to continue? Or will they endorse the vile sectarian politics of Dr Mahathir Mahathir and his progeny Najib Razak?” asked Zaid.

He said Malays must kill off all attempts to raise spectre of violence and showcase to others of the community’s moderation.

“We have to reassert our identity in this election. We are moderate sensible people. We listen to issues and we decide to vote based on the facts before us. That’s the kind of Malays we are, the genuine Malays of this country,” said the former Kota Bharu member of parliament.

Zaid praised Kit Siang as “one of the finest parliamentarians we have”, saying the DAP leader was far from being a racist “the kind we have in Perkasa and its patron”, he added, referring to BN’s strongest ally supported by Mahathir.

“Despite his (Kit Siang’s) stern look and the fact that he rarely smiles, he is a good man… We judge a leader not by his colour or race but by his deeds. Put the records of service between Kit Siang and Ghani Othman on the table… and compare and contrast. There’s no need to go on a rampage as some irresponsible leaders want you to do,” Zaid stressed.

There are 106,864 eligible voters in Gelang Patah, 52 percent of whom are Chinese, 34 percent Malays and 12 percent Indians.

-Harakahdaily

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 25 April 2013, 12:44 pm and is filed under
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9-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: Sarawak BN has conceded that 11 parliamentary seats in the state are in danger – a step closer to Putrajaya

I have just returned from a 42-hour whistle-stop visit to Sarawak and Sabah, where I challenged voters in the three Barisan Nasional “fixed deposit states” of Sarawak, Sabah and Johor to rise up to the historic challenge to achieve the target of winning a total of 33 Parliamentary seats in the 13GE from the three states – which is an important precondition for Malaysians to effect change in Putrajaya with Pakatan Rakyat replacing Barisan Nasional as the new Federal Government of Malaysia.

It is a tall order for the three BN “fixed deposit” states of Sarawak, Sabah and Johore to win for Pakatan Rakyat 33 out of the total of 83 parliamentary seats in these three states on 13GE Polling Day on May 5, as PR only won three or one in each state in the 2008 general elections – namely Bandar Kuching in Sarawak, Kota Kinabalu in Sabah and Bakri in Johore – but it is not an impossible target as it would have been five years ago.

I am encouraged from my lightning visits to Sabah (Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu) on Wednesday and Sarawak (Kuching, Mas Gading where our parliamentary candidate is Mordi Bimol and Serian where our parliamentary candidate is Edward Andrew Luat) yesterday that the winds of change are blowing strong and hard in these two states.

It was in Sabah that the catchcry “Ini Kalilah” and in Sarawak where the other catchcry “UBAH” first rang out loud and clear and which have now been joined as “Ini Kalilah – UBAH” to become the common cry and inspiration of all Malaysians in the country who want change to embrace the Malaysian Dream and an end to the politics of race, corruption, cronyism, abuses of power, violation of democratic and human rights, injustices and lack of good governance!

In the PR scheme of things for the 13GE, I envisage each of the three “fixed deposit” states not only winning at least one-third of the parliamentary seats in their respective states, i.e. nine seats each for Sabah and Johor and 11 seats for Sarawak, but collectively achieving a higher goal of 33 parliamentary seats.

Adding 33 parliamentary seats to the 79 seats won by PR in all the other states, PR will have reached the magic figure of 112 to win a simple majority in the Dewan Rakyat of 222 MPs.

This is of course a very precarious parliamentary majority of two, and PR must win another 12 additional seats from the other states to have a total of 125 MPs with a comfortable majority of 28 seats.

I am most encouraged by what is reported in the Sarawak press when I caught the 6 am flight from Kuching to Senai, which quoted the Sarawak Barisan Nasional election war room as conceding that 11 parliamentary seats in the state are in danger.

The Sarawak BN 13GE war room has categorised the state’s 31 parliamentary seats in “black”, “dark grey”, “white grey” and “white” areas.

White is for safe seats, black for areas where the coalition faces overwhelming odds, dark grey for seats where it faces very strong opposition while constituencies where there are opposition candidates capable of causing an upset are white grey.

State BN secretariat spokesman Dato Peter Minos in revealing the ratings of the seats at a media briefing at PBB headquarters in Kuching yesterday said only Bandar Kuching, where voters seemed to have made up their mind, had been graded black.

He added that five constituencies listed as dark were Stampin, Sarikei, Sibu, Lanang and Miri while another five seats – Mas Gading, Saratok, Lubok Antu, Selangau and Hulu Rajang – were considered white grey.

With this concession from the Sarawak BN that 11 parliamentary seats in the state are under the various hues of danger, the Pakatan Rakyat is one step closer Putrajaya, provided Sabah and Johor can deliver their challenge of exceeding one-third of the parliamentary states in the respective states.

The situation in Sabah is very volatile, with 96 candidates contesting for the 26 Parliamentary seats (including the Federal Territory of Labuan) and 258 candidates contesting for the 60 State Assembly seats, viz:

Party

Parliament

State Assembly

BN

26

60

PR

26

60

STAR

21

48

SAPP

8

41

Ind

15

49

Total

96

258

If the Sabah voters are fully conscious and mindful of the historic and national significance of the 13G, to bring about an unprecedented change of Federal government which will have far-reaching impact on the future of Sabah, and join all Malaysians in the great battle between Pakatan Rakyat versus Barisan Nasional and not to allow a single vote to be wasted for a third candidate, then Sabah is capable of delivering its quota of 9 – 11 parliamentary seats to PR to realise the first democratic transition of power in Putrajaya.

Now to Johor – the third BN “fixed deposit” state. Can Johor deliver to Pakatan Rakyat more than a third of its total of 26 parliamentary seats – whether 11 or 12 seats?

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was in Johore to carry out the directive issued earlier by the de facto UMNO leader, former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir, that Gelang Patah be my “burial ground” while preserving Johor as the BN stronghold.

I have explained the rationale for my leaving Ipoh Timor, which I had won with a majority of over 21,000 votes in 2008 to contest in a high-risk constituency of Gelang Patah which was won by the MCA candidate with close to 9,000-vote majority in 2008 and a humongous majority of 31,666-votes in 2004.

I have said that I have put my head on the chopping block in contesting Gelang Patah and I am prepared to have my head chopped.

But if in the process, it could create greater political awareness and unity among Johor voters, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians or Orang Asli, to cause them to stand up for the Malaysian Dream, an objective which the Johor Malay leader Dato Onn Jaafar had also fought for as far back as 62 years ago in 1951 when he suggested that UMNO open its door to non-Malays and UMNO change its name from United Malays National Organisation to United Malayans National Organisation, I would consider it as a worthwhile patriotic contribution to the Malaysian Dream shared by all patriotic Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, down the decades, whether in Malaysia or in the world Malaysian Diaspora.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 26 April 2013, 2:59 pm and is filed under
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Banner of the Year!

by Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Friday, 26 April 2013, 11:11 am and is filed under
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GE 13: Vote with anger, wipe away corruptions, racism, religious intolerance and FEAR

by
Richard Loh

Are they trying to share their FEAR of losing power by orchestrating the many violence we are seeing lately?

Umno perkasa bn have been telling people that CHANGE will lead to chaos and violence and only by staying with them will we see peace and stability.

But what are we observing today, daily reports of violence going on and they are still the caretaker government yet they are not doing anything to curb nor condemn the ongoing violence.

Have you heard the caretaker PM ordering the violence to stop or the police to take drastic action against whomever are perpetuating these violence? NO and WHY?

Instead of trying to stop the violence they go further by issuing statements of chaos and violence help by national television stations and their controlled MSM repeatedly reminding everyone of May 13.

General election is about electing a government that is going to run the nation with the rakyat in mind, a non violence government who will abide by the constitution and laws of this land.

Political parties running for general election should be campaigning about their manifestos, policies and how they are going to run, manage the country in a transparent and fair manner.

Voters must not FEAR or be confused by the threat of chaos and violence being perpetuated by umno perkasa bn leaders. The more they threaten the more angrier we should be and vote with anger on polling day to show that we do not need this kind of government to hang the FEAR over us at every general election.

This GE 13 we are not only voting against corruptions, racism, religious intolerance but voting away the FEAR that hang over our head for 56 long years.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 26 April 2013, 8:22 pm and is filed under
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Opinions: The Odds, they are a-Changin’

by
Kee Thuan Chye

MSN Malaysia

As it looks, a few days past nomination day, the odds are changing to favour Pakatan, although at the time of the dissolution of Parliament, the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) seemed to have the upper hand: Kee Thuan Chye reports.

The Opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat must be very careful between now and polling day not to make any colossal mistakes that could deny it victory at the 13th general election. I’m thinking of something about the same magnitude as or greater than the faux pas made by Tengku Razaleigh in wearing the Kadazan headgear with a cross on it on the eve of the 1990 general election.

As it looks, a few days past nomination day, the odds are changing to favour Pakatan, although at the time of the dissolution of Parliament, the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) seemed to have the upper hand.

BN appears to be in trouble now with so many of its members having abandoned the coalition to stand as independents. Umno, the biggest component party, alone suffered the defiance of 61 mutineers. This is totally unprecedented and comes as a huge blow for the party of caretaker prime minister Najib Razak. It could well mean a loss of confidence in the party.

What’s more, BN must also be hurting from the defection of one of Umno’s stalwarts, Muhammad Muhammad Taib, to PAS. As a former menteri besar of Selangor, he will be influencing Malay voters to help Pakatan retain the government in Selangor, much to the chagrin of Najib, who has been gunning to get it back for BN.

Pakatan, too, is faced with the plight of members standing as independents. On top of that, after nominations were over, component parties PKR and PAS found themselves competing with each other over seven seats. This might have been due to lack of coordination, but whatever the reason, the matter has been resolved, with each party taking three seats.

The seventh, which concerns the Kota Damansara seat, is more tricky because the candidate standing on the PKR platform is from PSM, a socialist party that PAS finds itself at odds with ideologically.

On the whole, the picture that emerges of Pakatan is that PKR, PAS and its third partner, the DAP, have coalesced as a united force with the required team spirit. Reinforcing this could have been the threat to the DAP’s legitimacy to stand under its own symbol posed by a surprising letter sent by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) only two days before nomination day.

Thrown into a quandary, the DAP sought the help of its partners and was readily granted it, as both PKR and PAS offered to let it stand under their party symbols. In the end, it didn’t turn out to be necessary, but the bond between the grateful DAP and the other two parties appears to have been strengthened.

Now the coalition appears to be positively charged to take on BN. The latter seems to have nothing innovative to offer except more threats – like the Iskandar region in Johor being halted in its progress if Pakatan were to win Johor or that there would be racial strife if the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang were to win Gelang Patah – and more vote-buying handouts, like the cash vouchers spotted in Alor Setar and Nibong Tebal by the election watchdog Pemantau. But Pakatan is going full steam ahead with post-election pledges.

For Sarawakians who want change – or, in Malay, ubah, which is the rallying cry of many Malaysians throughout the country – Pakatan promises that if it wins federal power, it will instruct the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the current chief minister there, Taib Mahmud, for corruption, resulting perhaps in the eventual appointment of a new chief minister.

As for the Iskandar region, Pakatan will honour commitments already made to current investors, but it will ensure, according to Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, that business deals are “more transparent” and that opportunities are generated “for the locals”. It will also continue to encourage investment and development.

That Pakatan is more positive in its campaign is also reflected in the newspaper advertisements put out by both coalitions. BN’s tend to focus on showing up what it considers the potential negative scenario in the event of a BN defeat, like the MCA questioning the wisdom of ubah or reiterating the threat aimed at non-Muslims that a vote for the DAP is a vote for PAS and therefore an Islamic state.

Pakatan, on the other hand, has one of DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng taking a winning attitude: “Not anti-Malay, not anti-Islam, only anti-CORRUPTION.”

In terms of public perception, BN has also suffered a credibility gap for fielding Ibrahim Ali and Zulkifli Nordin, two of the candidates most dreaded by voters who want ubah.

Both are leaders of the right-wing NGO Perkasa of which ex-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is the patron. In fact, before nominations, Mahathir had publicly endorsed Ibrahim – deemed an extremist for calling on Muslims to burn Bibles that carried the word ‘Allah’ – as a candidate for Pasir Mas, and said there should be more Ibrahim Alis so that Malaysia could be saved.

But when Najib announced the candidates’ list, Ibrahim was not included although Zulkifli was. Ibrahim then announced he would stand as an independent. He was quick to add, however, that the reason for it was not to go against BN. In fact – and this sounded stupid – he urged all Perkasa members to back … not him, but the BN candidate! Why on earth would he contest only to lose?

The shadow-play behind it all became apparent on nomination day when Najib’s nominee, Che Johan Pa, arrived at the nomination centre but didn’t submit his papers. This automatically allowed Ibrahim to take on his PAS opponent in a straight fight.

Che Johan reportedly said his withdrawal was to “make way for BN to win” because a three-cornered fight would have benefitted the PAS candidate. It’s striking that he mentioned BN when Ibrahim is standing as an independent. It’s also striking that the large group of BN supporters who accompanied Che Johan to the centre actually cheered when they heard he was not contesting!

One could speculate from this that Najib didn’t dare name Ibrahim outright for fear of being exposed for contradicting his own 1Malaysia sales pitch. At the same time, he apparently dared not go against Mahathir and therefore opted for a decoy.

The ploy has not fooled the public, however. Neither has the fielding of Zulkifli as an unprecedented “friend of Barisan Nasional” candidate purportedly because he is a “winnable” one. Najib should know that Indians offended by Zulkifli’s insensitive remarks about them and their religion have not forgiven him although he has apologised to them, so his selection must be due to some other reason.

Anwar spoke what was on the mind of many sensible Malaysians when he asked, rhetorically, why Najib would field Zulkifli. The answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind.

So, what will it look like on election day? A victory for Pakatan Rakyat as the call for ubah rings ever more loudly each day, boosted by the support of legions of overseas voters who are organising to come home and vote?

Who knows? If the elections are fair and free of fraud, that might just be the result.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 26 April 2013, 10:48 am and is filed under
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The Man in the Arena of Gelang Patah!

by Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Friday, 26 April 2013, 10:22 am and is filed under
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Why I’m Flying Back to Malaysia to Vote

BY
HUI MEI LIEW KAISER
 | APRIL 18, 2013

Foreign Policy

I’m a Malaysian citizen who’s been living in Switzerland since I married my German husband two and a half years ago. Ever since I made the move to Europe, though, I’ve been keeping an eye on the political situation back in my native country. Earlier this year, when it became apparent that a general election was imminent, I flew back to Malaysia — 6,200 miles away — just so that I could vote.

Unfortunately, after my arrival, the government decided to hold off on calling the new election, so when I couldn’t wait any longer I flew back to Zurich — only to hear the news that Prime Minister Najib Razak had dissolved parliament. Soon after that the date of the new election was set: May 5.

So I turned around and
flew back
 to Malaysia.

Yeah, it’s crazy. But I’m not the only one. Many of my
compatriots
 in Malaysia’s far-flung expat community — it’s estimated that there are around one million of us around the world — are doing the same thing. That’s a reflection of how high the stakes are in the upcoming election — and how strongly many of us want to vote for change.

The 2013 general election (or “GE13,” as Malaysians like to call it) is shaping up to be one of the most decisive battles in the country’s modern history. The ruling National Front Coalition (Barisan Nasional or BN) has run Malaysia for the past 56 years. The opposition People’s Pact (Pakatan Rakyat or PR) believes that the chance may have finally come to challenge BN’s hold on power.

I don’t think it’s important to tell you which candidates I’m voting for. Suffice it to say that I don’t think it’s a goodthing when one group of people run a country for so long, and that I believe we desperately need change. In my own life as a Malaysian I’ve experienced far too much in the way of discrimination, injustice, bureaucracy, and inefficiency. And I don’t want others who live in Malaysia to go through the same things.

So why not just vote absentee? Can’t I just sign up to send in my vote by mail? Why do I need to go to the trouble of taking a sixteen-hour flight just so that I can be there in person at the polling place? After all, there’s plenty of evidence that the government won’t shy away from tampering with the vote even if you’re physically present in Malaysia.

It should be noted that this is the first time in Malaysia’s history that citizens living overseas have the chance to vote (with the exception of some Malaysians in a few other Southeast Asian countries). But very few — only about
0.6 percent
 — have actually signed up to vote absentee. Thousands have decided instead to return home solely for the election.

Some of them may have opted to do this because the absentee voting law doesn’t actually make it very easy for overseas Malaysians to register. But I think the far more important reason is that most of us don’t trust the government to tally our votes, especially when we’re not there to stand up for our right to be counted.

Over the past few years Malaysias have witnessed the astonishing growth of the
Bersih
 (“Clean”) reform movement, a grassroots initiative that has galvanized the longing for free and fair elections. (The most
recent Bersih
 demo a year ago drew up to a quarter of a million people onto the streets of Kuala Lumpur.) That’s a response to widespread and credible reports of vote tampering that traditionally plague Malaysian elections.

Government meddling spans vote buying, ballot box stuffing, multiple voting (including busing of pro-government voters to other constituencies), and even the granting of quick citizenship (with voting rights) to illegal immigrants who are instructed how to vote. Many of us fear that there will be even more such shenanigans this time around, given the government’s obvious nervousness about its eroding support in recent by-elections. (The minister of education, for example, recently called together teachers and told them to vote for the BN-led government.) Our distrust extends to the national election commission, which has uncomfortably close ties to BN and offers little in the way of independent oversight.

Overseas Malaysians offer particular opportunities for fraud. There have been recent reports of Malaysian citizens living in China who have been registered as postal voters without their knowledge. In one case, a businessman residing in Shanghai for over nine years discovered that he’d registered as a voter in Kelantan, although he has never been to the state. In fact, he’s never even registered as a voter. Such tales of “phantom voters” reinforce the notion that the best way to prevent such fraud is by showing up at the polls. (The Election Commission has already
admitted
 that some 42,000 names on the electoral roll are actually “phantoms,” and civil society organizations fear that the number is far higher.)

So far I’ve spoken with Malaysians in Afghanistan, Australia, and the United Kingdom who are planning to fly home to cast their ballots. Two
university students
 in
Taipei
 each spent a sum equivalent to a month of living expenses in order to purchase tickets home. One middle-aged Malaysian lady posted a photo of herself online at Los Angeles International Airport as she prepared to head pack to her hometown of Perak. “I am flying home from Los Angeles to cast my precious vote!” she wrote, “I refuse to be dumb anymore for my grandchildren and next generations. I love my country. I love the land where I have grown up ~ Malaysia! Change!”

Some Malaysians have responded by getting together to help others make the trip. The local branch of Bersih in Shanghai has initiated a “
Go Back to Vote Campaign
” that is offering 500 renminbi (about $82) for airfare to Malaysians in the city who might not be able to afford the trip home.
Bersih Shanghai
‘s Weng Liew estimates that a total of 3,000 people have confirmed flying home from China. Bersih’s Hong Kong chapter has launched a similar
campaign
, offering 500 Hong Kong dollars (about $60) towards a plane ticket “A high turnout will minimize fraud and offers a better chance of stability in the event there is regime change or hung parliament,” says Lee Willson of
Bersih Hong Kong
.

Of all the Malaysians living abroad, by far the biggest group — some 300,000 to 500,000 — is in Singapore. Two travel companies, easibook.com and catchhatbus.com, have jointly launched a
promotion bus fare
 for all Malaysians working in Singapore to go home to vote. One company says it will be doubling the number of coaches making the trip (from 50 to 100). Some Malaysians working in Singapore are also arranging
carpools
 or offering lifts to compatriots through social media. That prompted the Electoral Commission to
warn foreigners
 not to drive Malaysians cross the border in cars with foreign plates.

Norman Goh told me that he’d decided to fly back from Singapore to vote in his home state of
Sarawak
. He told me that the journey home to vote for some of his friends from there will only be beginning when they get off the flight from Singapore. They still face another two hours by bus and then another three by boat in order to arrive at their destinations deep in the jungles of Borneo.

This all might sound rather extreme. But it’s actually pretty reasonable. Many of my compatriots are tired of the corruption and racism that rule over public life in our country. We want to establish a truly bipartisan system that encourages real checks and balances. And we want a country that’s clean, green, safe, and progressive. To get there, we have to vote.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 26 April 2013, 10:39 am and is filed under
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You Will Never Walk Alone

by Allan CF Goh

A holy fire burns in your heart,

To battle politics’ vile, black art.

Yours is already a legacy,

Placed on youths for legitimacy.

You could have chosen the gentle way,

To enjoy old age in genteel sway.

But you want a better tomorrow,

To make good, folks’ dreams, true and hallow.

You want people to thrive without strife,

To fulfill expectations of life.

You arouse people’s inspirations,

To realize their life’s aspirations;

Not to be wreaked by foul corruptions,

Nor those racist discriminations.

You want a holistic one-nation,

Not one broken into bits, fractions.

You want only complete citizens,

Not partly accepted denizens.

Now you choose a path that’s really rough,

To win a mission that’s truly tough.

Dear Kit, you will never walk alone,

Folks are with you, with wills set in stone.

When you falter, and/or are depressed,

There are thousands cheering your progress.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 26 April 2013, 8:19 pm and is filed under
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8-Day to 13GE Polling Day – Tsu Koon invited to Gelang Patah daily press conference at 11.30 am tomorrow and I will explain to him my stand on hudud

New Straits Times
 today carried the following report:
“Tsu Koon throws challenge to Kit Siang and Guan Eng on hudud”
.

Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, who is Gerakan President,  “threw a challenge” to me and  DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng “to make a formal stand on hudud, the Islamic law”.

Koh said both DAP leaders “had not made it clear whether they supported or opposed PAS’ stand on hudud or left the matter to the party’s national chairman, Karpal Singh”.

I am surprised by Koh’s statement, as he has got a Ph.D and having been Penang Chief Minister for nearly two decades, he should be more knowledgeable and literate than ordinary Gerakan and Barisan Nasional leaders and members.

I am therefore astounded that Koh could feign ignorance about our very clear stand on hudud as only stupid or low I-Q people or those with an ulterior agenda can claim ignorance, as what Guan Eng and I  said about  our stand on hudud cannot be clearer.

If Koh is genuinely confused about what I had said about hudud, I invite him to my  Gelang Patah daily press conference at 11.30 am tomorrow and I will explain to him my stand on hudud and he could seek any clarification needed  from me.

If he dare not turn up at my Gelang Patah press conference tomorrow morning, it is no surprise that he had been unceremoniously booted out as an elected representative in Penang after serving four terms as Penang Chief Minister.

He should also shut up on this issue.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 27 April 2013, 7:04 pm and is filed under
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BR1M brings misery

by
P Ramakrishnan

ALIRAN

The joy of receiving RM500 has been fleeting. Now, the coffee shops, market traders, hawkers and food courts have all increased their prices, and the pain will not go away, observes P Ramakrishnan.

The Barisan Nasional is feeding opium to the people through BR1M. The people then become deluded into believing that a lot of money is being given out. Indeed they feel elated and happy clutching the RM500 that is dished out to them.

At that moment – after waiting in long queues and sweating in an uncomfortable environment – when they finally receive the RM500, they feel that they are suddenly rich. For the poor people this has a big impact.

But what is the consequence of this hand-out? Unfortunately, this is what the people don’t seem to realise. Their momentary joy has clouded the long term effect that is felt by every Malaysian.

Have you noticed that things have suddenly shot up in price?! The coffee shops have increased their prices – all the prices of drinks have gone up. The cost of food at hawker stalls and food courts have gone up. Every food item costs more now. The goods in the market – vegetables, fish, meat, fruit etc – and every item in the grocery shops have all suddenly gone up in price.

On a daily basis, we spend more now than we did before BRIM was introduced. And you feel this hardship everyday throughout the year. In no time the BR1M RM500 has disappeared and you have to bear this extra burden of costly things triggered by BR1M!

The BN has no notion as to how to help the people – especially the poor. By doling out on a one-off basis, it doesn’t solve their problem. This dole does not stretch long enough to sustain them or make their daily living any easier. In fact it has added to their misery and they suffer more.

If, on the other hand, the government takes steps to keep prices down, that would be a great relief. The government must contain the prices of essential foodstuffs. The basic food must be made affordable and within the reach of the poor. The spiralling cost of living must be addressed seriously and effectively.

Surely, the government must have by now realised that whenever salaries go up or allowances are declared, there is a price to pay. The prices of goods escalate. This escalation only enriches the suppliers and shopkeepers and makes it difficult for poor people to make ends meet.

Instead of bribing people with their money, the government must be sensible enough to control prices. In this way they may be able to help the people more meaningfully. This may be better appreciated and better served.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 27 April 2013, 10:42 am and is filed under
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Can you smell the elephant in the room?

by Stan CH Lee

Recently DPM Muhyiddin Yassin proudly announced that Malaysia’ branding is something that is real, rooted in reality. Not something that it aspires to be.

1Malaysia?

I guess he has to justify the staggering amounts paid to some Israeli PR firm for massaging the image. He obviously believes the guy who said “Get a good creative person and he can make a stinking dead elephant smell like perfume.” To be sure, good creative work can even wipe a dark past clean, but for this to work, the subject must have already started on the road to redemption. You could have been a scoundrel in your younger days, but are now a responsible member of society. If you continue in your merry old ways, it shows up jarringly against the branding.

Bikin tak serupa cakap, they say.

Branding or in layman’s terms image- how you want others to see you is an important part of marketing whatever your product is. It could be a consumer item, a service, a dream.This is what a woman does when she puts on her make up. A perfectly human desire- looking good for the world. And the feeling is priceless.

I used to be in advertising. And I am familiar with photo retouching, having done all ths from the early days of the Airbrush to the current Photoshop. I have retouched faces, products, entire neigborhoods, completely changed the ambience of a scene. I have created images of things yet to exist- all the better to sell a dream. Entire neighborhoods filled with lush landscaping, shady sidewalks that encourages the beautiful people to come out and play. A lifestyle that all can aspire to. Though buyers won’t see anything of it when they put their 10-30% money down. The promise- it will be realised 3 to 4 years down the road. Many a developer leveraged on this to sell their unbuilt properties.The smart and successful ones did deliver. And they have to deliver to sustain the brand image. These companies continue to do good business and will do so for a long time yet.

There are also those, some even backed by big names, who ran off with the money. Today, many empty husks stand as broken, half finished monuments to broken promises.

Perception

Between the branding and the reality is something that our dear Home Minister likes to call perception. Perception is usually shaped by what people feel. In the past, perception is easily managed. Good publicity in the media goes a long way to maintain a feel good brand image. Keep away any negative reports and you will have people eating out of your hands.Media control is key.Used to work very well when you have only the Mainstream Media. Man, I was totally brainwashed for 50 years of my life! And I believeI am a decently informed person, I consider myself well read, and is well abreast of current events – all courtesy of the Malay Mail, then the Star. How naïve I was to underestimate the influence MSM had in my life. I felt safe. I used to be proud of Dr M and his Malaysia Boleh. I used to cheer when he stood up to the Western powers. He had a Vision- Wawasan 2020. The song “Setia” made me tear up. I believed the dream.

Reality Check

Reality hit us hard. Today it is a totally different world. With internet, Cell phones, Citizen journalism, the world of reality TV, the truth will be out there before you can leave the elephant in the room. There is no such thing as a closed private meeting anymore where you can let it all hang out like the Listen Incident. People can see what you are really like in “private“and compare this with the public airbrushed/photoshop brand image being circulated. The consequences of a disconnect between the brand and the reality will result in a total collapse in credibility. Leading sometimes to strange behaviour amongst those who nobody believes anymore. They cannot tell the difference between “Right” and Wrong”, “Forgive” and “Apologise”, “Private Funds” from “Public Funds”, “Protect” and ”Assault” and most of all, “Government” and Country”.

Hard to believe, but this is really happening.

Like the Admiral who defended purchase of Scorpenes by alluding to the Portuguese invasion of Malacca, many of our leaders today are still living in the last century. Shows how out of touch some people can be after living too long in their ivory towers, isolated from the grimey reality on the streets..

The reality, in spite of lame assurances by the authorities is out there for all to see. And they see it faster, clearer and often looong before the authorities have a clue as to what happened. You can deny, but you cannot hide, you cannot run, so you throw money, you throw rice. To no avail.

The truth is out. So are you

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 27 April 2013, 10:50 am and is filed under
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DAP parti pelbagai kaum, sentiasa membuka pintu dan peluang kepada orang Melayu

Oleh kerana masih ada pemimpin politik UMNO dan BN serta cybertroopers upahan mereka yang masih menyebarkan fitnah tentang DAP, saya ingin menjelaskan bahawa DAP adalah sebuah parti politik yang sah yang terbuka kepada semua bangsa dan kaum. Jika DAP bertindak di luar undang-undang atau melanggar Perlembagaan Persekutuan, tentu DAP sudah lama diharamkan.

DAP adalah parti pelbagai kaum, sentiasa membuka pintu dan peluang adil kepada orang Melayu. Yang menjadi masalah kepada DAP ialah UMNO dan BN telah lama menggunakan media dan alat-alat kerajaan untuk menyebarkan fitnah kononnya DAP adalah parti cauvinis Cina dan bersifat perkauman.

Fitnah ini diulang-ulang sehingga ada orang keliru dan tidak sedar bahawa UMNO lah yang menutup pintu kepada orang bukan Melayu menyertainya, MCA pula tidak membenarkan orang bukan Cina menyertai dan MIC tidak membuka pintu kepada orang Melayu atau Cina. Jadi BN yang mengamalkan politik berasaskan kaum.

Namun, saya lega sekarang kerana semakin ramai orang Melayu sudah sedar tentang fitnah UMNO dan BN yang disiarkan melalui media. Semakin ramai orang Melayu tidak percayakan laporan oleh Utusan Malaysia, TV3, Berita Harian dan lain-lain media yang dikawal ketat oleh UMNO dan BN.

Malah, semakin ramai orang Melayu, yang hadir ceramah Pakatan Rakyat, yang melawat laman-laman web parti-parti komponen Pakatan Rakyat serta portal berita internet yang lebih adil dan objektif telah sedar bahawa DAP tidak berjuang kerana kaum atau agama.

DAP berjuang demi rakyat, demokrasi, keadilan sosial, kebebasan dan peluang saksama tanpa mengira kaum atau agama. Malah DAP terus berusaha lebih kuat untuk membantu semua rakyat Malaysia, termasuk orang Melayu, India, Kadazandusun, Iban, Bidayuh dan kaum-kaum Bumiputera lain.

Sejak ditubuhkan pada tahun 1966, DAP mempunyai ramai pemimpin dan calon daripada pelbagai kaum, termasuk Melayu. Malah, DAP telah meletakkan calon-calon Melayu dalam setiap pilihanraya umum yang telah ditandinginya sejak tahun 1969.

Sebanyak 6 wakil rakyat Melayu daripada DAP telah memenangi kerusi dewan undangan negeri serta parlimen, termasuk Ibrahim Singgeh dan Ahmad Nor. Berbanding dengan parti-parti komponen BN, jelas bahawa DAP yang paling banyak meletakkan calon-calon Melayu sejak lebih 40 tahun lalu.

Malah, sehingga sebelum Parlimen dibubarkan pada 20 April lalu, DAP adalah satu-satunya parti yang mempunyai wakil rakyat berketurunan India yang terbanyak di kalangan semua parti di Malaysia. Kini DAP mempunyai ramai calon Bumiputera di Sabah dan Sarawak. Inilah bukti DAP parti pelbagai kaum yang berjuang untuk kepentingan semua rakyat Malaysia.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 27 April 2013, 5:57 pm and is filed under
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Most Crucial GE & Govt Dumps Suhakam!

by Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 27 April 2013, 10:53 am and is filed under
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People or party? Wooing civil servants

by
Bridget Welsh

Malaysiakini

2:08PM Apr 25, 2013

GE13 SPECIAL
 In caretaker Premier Najib Abdul Razak’s political targeting, one group has received special attention – civil servants. Why would those in the heart of government garner such special focus for an election? The reality is that in Malaysia’s close electoral races, civil servants can be decisive in shaping the final tallies. This is one of the groups that I will be highlighting as decisive in this campaign.

Over the past few years Najib’s administration has worked to stem the erosion of support from his traditional base of government employees with mixed results.

A decisive constituency

Civil servants make up 1.4 million voters, or 10.5 percent of the electorate. The civil service is made up of senior appointments, the police, army personnel, teachers, and a variety of industrial and manual (IMG) groups. There are also an estimated 657,000 government pensioners.

Civil servants disproportionately comprise large shares of votes in key seats such as Putrajaya or Setiu in Trengganu, among others. Postal votes from the army and police have furthermore been decisive in shaping outcomes in many seats like Sibu and Kluang. Conservatively, we can see the numerical effect of civil servants in at least 20 percent of the national parliament seats.

Besides their numbers, however, there are three other factors that make this group impactful. First of all, civil servants are stationed throughout the country. They are national in scope and extend even into the most remote areas.

Second, they are often locally respected leaders having indirect influence – teachers, district officers, village headmen, religious teachers and government doctors are critical in shaping voting behavior within communities. This influence is particularly important in the semi-rural and rural areas, where ties in the community are strong.

Finally, civil servants are more exposed to developments in the capital, as they are on the political frontline, and thus are conduits for information ‘from outside’. This is important in the more remote areas in places such as Sabah and Sarawak.

Sources of disgruntlement

The civil service is arguably one of the most criticised organisations nationally. Over and over, they are lampooned for taking ‘tea breaks,’ engaging in corruption and portrayed an ineffective. Some of this is coloured by stereotypes of the different ethnic communities.

While there are some legitimate areas for concern, especially with the unchecked rise of corruption within the bureaucracy and perceived failure to adequately bring in non-Malays and East Malaysians, this sweeping negative assessment does a disservice to the variation within the civil service itself – which differs at the state and federal levels – and undervalues the important role that this group plays in governing the country.

They are engaged in work for the public, often thankless, and in many cases poorly paid for doing so. On many levels, the constraints the civil servants face are multiple, and many of the problems lie with the leadership and stalled efforts at political reform. The transformation of the civil service in areas such as governance,  inclusion and productivity is one of the pressing issues facing the country ahead.

Over the past four years of Najib’s government, many of the challenges have come to the surface. There has been contention over the engagement with the civil service, leading to unhappiness within its ranks. The causes are complex, combining resistance to reform and failures and management on the part of Najib’s administration.

The first issue has involved pay and fairness in the pay scheme. Najib’s originally disastrously proposed Public Service Remuneration Scheme (SBPA) pay scheme of 2011 did not consult the main civil service bodies especially the Congress of Union of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) and introduced heavily skewed salary increases towards the top ranks.

Under the SBPA, the chief secretary to the government would receive RM60,000 and staff grade officers about RM36,000 a month. In contrast, some in the lower grades would get an increase of as little as RM1.70. The Najib government subsequently was forced to reach a settlement with the powerful civil service union, Cuepacs, and rethink how it would conceive the salary structure.

He retracted SBPA in March 2012. This contributed to the ‘retirement’ of a number of senior architects of the proposal last year.

Cuepacs continued to call for a review of pay scheme, which has essentially remained stagnant for 20 years. Right before polls in March this year, Najib proposed a new plan, the Malaysian Remuneration System (SSM). This plan offers salary raises for civil servants and kept in place most of the incentive schemes and allowances. It also offered sharp pay increases.

This plan (detailed) below reversed the blatant bias toward the top ranks, but continues the significantly higher salaries for the senior officers, a source of discontent. Moreover, given the high cost of living, these increases are only marginally making an impact for the lower ranks of the service.

 A second concern involves promotion and the criteria for promotions. Political loyalty has become the primary mode for promotions, rather than merit. It has been compounded by perceptions of race as a factor in promotion.

This is a legacy of the Mahathir Mohamad tenure, but has persisted and arguably deepened. Najib’s government attempted to introduce incentives at the top, to continue his pattern of financial rewards, but left out the average civil servant in the assessment, in what was seen as a grossly unfair move.

The appointment process has come under scrutiny. Efforts were made in 2011 to change promotions for teachers, for example, with RM7,500 incentives offered in February 2011 and a new promotion scheme in May of that year.

These efforts have had mixed results, as they have been skewed by the norms of loyalty and favouritism rather than genuine performance excellence. More and more of those talented in the system have become frustrated by decisions made as part of patronage personal ties rather than addressing the public good.

A third factor has been the limited buy-in on decisions that they have to implement. Many civil servants are professionals, who have opted for public service, and are hampered by the system in carrying out their jobs.

While those actually involved in policy are small, the mode has been one of limited consultation with civil servants on problems and possible reform. In fact, Najib has tried to side-step the civil service and relied heavily on consultants to formulate policy. The classic example of this is Pemandu, which clears economic policy through the Economic Council and Cabinet, but ends up ordering ministries to do things rather than getting their inputs and buy-in.

The fact that the high-paid private sector Pemandu staff often fail to understand the challenge of implementation is resented and frustrating. The mode has been to order the bureaucrats, rather than engage and consult the government service and this has thus sent a message of disrespect.

Perhaps the most salient has been the deepening of the corruption in the system. The system is skewed toward those who use their position for financial gain. The reports of corruption at the civil service, including those supposed tackled by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in areas such as customs and the police, have risen sharply.

The fact is that the corruption disease that has so infected the leadership of the country has seeped into its bureaucracy. District officers suddenly have new cars, new houses and overseas bank accounts. Those involved work with ‘consultants’ in areas such as infrastructure and procurement to pad spending that is taken from public funds for personal gain.

It is the civil servants who see the abuses first hand, in renovations for buildings and purchases of textbooks. They are also the ones who are instructed to distribute funds to the electorate, sometimes siphoning off funds to themselves. In many cases, much of the funds do not reach the ground. Those inside the system see this, and many are disgusted.

The leakages are undermining the services and affecting the public. More and more of those inside the system have become fed up. What makes it worse is that the anti-corruption efforts are selective, reinforcing perceptions of unfairness and favouritism. As part of the system, civil servants know first-hand what the impact of corruption has been on the country.

To make the situation more troubling, civil servants are instructed to support and defend the system. To be loyal to the BN at all costs. The pressures to go along are real and involve the livelihoods of families of these 1.4 million people. Many fear the loss of their jobs.

Whistleblowers are not adequately protected and thus the decay in the system in terms of professionalism and performance deepens. Najib’s tenure has only served to bring these issues closer to the surface, as many inside government are openly exposing the excesses and abuse.

Financial incentives

Given these underlying issues, it is thus no surprise that civil servants have been wooed. Najib’s campaign to consolidate support in the civil service has taken a two-fold approach – the carrot and the stick.

The incentives have taken the form of increases in salaries outlined in the SSM scheme above introduced the month before dissolution of parliament. In addition there have been increases in salaries in 2012, amounting to RM3.7 billion annual costs. This included a two month bonus in July and September last year (although this was actually part of the annual Hari Raya bonus repackaged as a ‘Najib’ salary bonus.)

These increases have had a significant impact on the national budget, as these increases are not one-off handouts. The costs of civil service emoluments from 2009-2013 are captured in the table below, as it shows an increase from RM43 billion to RM59 billion, an increase of 27 percent.

It is important to appreciate that these costs are part of Najib’s political electioneering with public money, and continue the pattern of record breaking costs for election related spending. Rather than engage in real public sector reform, the focus has been on treating the civil servants as those that can be bought.

In real terms the amount is marginal on the civil servants themselves. Even with these increases, many civil servants, especially in the lower ranks, are struggling to make ends meet.  As these measures have been introduced, there has been a cutback on allowances and other spending for the civil service as part of different budget priorities for wooing the public electorate.

For the first time in decades, the actual operating budgets of many of the departments have been cut under Najib, affecting civil servants’ work directly and curtailing performance.

 In this vote-wooing effort, special accommodation was also made for different civil servant groups – teachers and security personnel.

Let’s take the example of teachers. Under Najib they now receive more access to training, a revamped promotion scheme in 2012, increased spending on schools and bonuses, as the Najib government recognised the reality of winning over teachers.

 The impact of these initiatives has been mixed, as many of the teachers have felt that they are not incorporated into the decision-making of the reforms of the education system, do not receive these benefits fairly and are worried about the quality of education.

Like many Malaysians, teachers appreciate that there are real problems with improving the content of the curriculum and student performance. They know, for example, that there is a large number of students dropping out of high school and these dropouts lack the skills to find effective jobs. They know that money is not the solution to improving education.

Another targeted group of security personnel in the army and the police have also received special Najib treatment. The issues of corruption and contracts have challenged ethics of professionalism within the security forces. The police force in particular remains the least trusted institution in the country, which is of concern given the persistence of high crime and the critical role this organisation is supposed to play in security.

This time round the BN cannot rely on the unified support of security personnel, as shown by recent high-profile defections of army generals and legitimate concerns with the handling of Lahad Datu from the ranks, among others.

The last minute offer of pay increases for the army and police  immediately before polls, and promise to synchronise their pay scheme in line with SSM from next January is part of Najib’s continued efforts to stem the erosion in the traditional BN base.

Warnings and meetings

These organisations have also faced the stick in the form of a political barrage. Along with the salary increases and targeted engagement, the BN has simultaneously issued warnings to government personnel not to participate in politics, or rather not to participate in the politics of the opposition.

They have recently denied a respected veteran navy first admiral access to the Lumut naval base and issued orders not to allow the navy fair access to information from both sides of the political divide. These directives come through meetings, in which staff are required to attend, explicit and implicit instructions and patterns of favouritism that discriminate against suspected opponents of the government.

While denying participation in opposition politics, civil servants are expected to actively support the BN. Given that the grey lines in using the bureaucracy and its resources in electioneering, many civil servants are further ‘encouraged’ to participate in the BN-related campaign activities, even if it is not directly stated.

Many are happy to go along. Some, however, understandably fear that they will lose their jobs if they do not go along with the politicisation, while others are quietly resisting. The level of leakages from the system speaks to the latter, as there are undercuts of angry and disappointment. No one likes being berated and ‘warned’.

Like Malaysians, civil servants are less afraid. In past weeks, the BN government has ratcheted up the ‘meetings’ and ‘instructions’ as the campaign period has approached, creating more pressure within the civil service.

Tough choices ahead

This election is perhaps one of the defining decisions for the history of the civil service itself. In 1999 the government servants rebelled and reflected the anger in society. In many ways the civil servants reflects the splits in society itself, especially in the Malay community.

But this election, they will play a decisive role. Civil servants will decide how they will balance loyalty to the party or loyalty to the country. They will ultimately choose whether there will be more reform to strengthen the service and how these reforms will take place. They will assess their own performance and the quality of the leadership.

In particular, they will evaluate Najib’s efforts to woo their support.  It is a mistake to assume that the civil servants are unaware of the challenges they and the country face ahead. In this election, civil servants have the power to shape the country’s future, and more than ever this will be the real test of whether they are public servants.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 27 April 2013, 10:40 am and is filed under
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We Don’t Feel Safe Anymore!

by Martin Jalleh

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 27 April 2013, 10:44 am and is filed under
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Winds of change

by
Mark Baker

Editor-at-Large, The Age

Anwar Ibrahim once seemed a certainty to rule Malaysia. Then came his arrest and imprisonment. Now, with his party shaking up the establishment, is he set to finally fulfil his ambition? By Mark Baker.

It’s nearing midnight in Penang. In a park surrounded by decaying concrete apartment blocks, a swelling crowd waits patiently amid the sticky heat and pungent aromas of food stalls, traffic fumes and open drains. This is a poor Malay neighbourhood, but there are Chinese and Indians here, too, a representative cross-section of multiracial Malaysia.

Suddenly a slim figure in dark trousers and white shirt emerges from the darkness through a side gate and the crowd erupts in jubilation, clapping, cheering and sounding horns. A squad of armed security men guides him through the crush and up towards the fluorescent glare of a makeshift stage. “There have been attacks by provocateurs at other meetings. We have to be careful,” says a senior aide.

Anwar Ibrahim sits down briefly on the rough grass among the sweating youths in the front rows. He then mounts the stage, takes a microphone and steps back down to stand facing the crowd. “I will stay down here. This is better,” he says. The audience roars approval at the intimacy of his gesture. “The time has come for change,” he declares. “We can create a new environment. We can change the political landscape of this country. We can end the corruption, the cronyism, the wasteful spending. Enough! Enough! Enough!”

The day after this, thousands of people bussed in from across peninsular Malaysia will assemble in a stadium in Kuala Lumpur to hear a formal speech by Prime Minister Najib Razak, head of the Barisan Nasional coalition government. They will all have party-issued gift bags and party-issued “We Love BN” banners, and they will all applaud on cue for national TV. But tonight Anwar Ibrahim, leader of Pakatan Rakyat, Malaysia’s tri-party opposition alliance, is giving a one-man show and no one has been paid to come.

He has no prepared speech. He speaks with passion from a script lived hard over long years of imprisonment and political exile. But there is no bitterness to it. Anwar jokes and teases the crowd and they lap it up.

He quotes Lincoln on the impossibility of fooling all of the people all of the time. He sings unaccompanied a version of a popular Malay song about trees shaking in the wind. But this time it’s Najib who is shaking – to winds of change being fanned by Anwar Ibrahim. The assembled crowd reverberates with laughter.

The journey to this moment began 15 years ago when Anwar, then Malaysia’s deputy prime minister, anointed successor to Mahathir Mohamad, and one of the rising stars of Asian politics, was abruptly sacked by his mentor and accused of corruption and sex offences. Then came prison, two trials, a further ban from political office and unending vilification by former friends and colleagues. That journey will reach a conclusion on Sunday, May 5, when Malaysians vote in the most closely fought election since the country gained independence from Britain in 1957.

In January last year, Anwar returned
 to the austere chambers of Kuala Lumpur’s High Court for the conclusion of his second trial on charges of sexual misconduct. He arrived to find the court registrar and her deputy in tears. “We will pray for you, sir,” they whispered to him.

The women, like many of Anwar’s supporters, were convinced the charges were politically motivated and that his conviction was inevitable. The accusation that Anwar had had sex with a former male aide was raised just months after the opposition scored big gains in the 2008 national elections and as Anwar prepared to return to parliament in a by-election.

The women, like many of Anwar’s supporters, were convinced the charges were politically motivated and that his conviction was inevitable. The accusation that Anwar had had sex with a former male aide was raised just months after the opposition scored big gains in the 2008 national elections and as Anwar prepared to return to parliament in a by-election.

But the verdict, after an exhausting two-year trial, was to shock everyone. Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah stepped into the court and spoke for just 90 seconds. He declared DNA evidence submitted by the prosecution to be unreliable and acquitted Anwar. “Thank God it didn’t succeed,” says Anwar. “That would have been the finish for me. Everyone was convinced I would be convicted and I still don’t know why I wasn’t. Maybe it was the judge’s conscience in the end.”

There was no such judicial introspection a decade earlier, when Anwar was convicted and jailed on charges that he and his supporters insist were fabricated.

The relationship between Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister and his deputy fell apart in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. As finance minister, Anwar had committed to austerity measures suggested by the Inter-national Monetary Fund to rescue the battered Malaysian economy. But Mahathir claimed the cause of the problem was a conspiracy by global financiers and backed a slew of lavish bailouts for failing Malaysian corporations, including his son’s shipping company. Anwar also upset Mahathir by moving to tackle widespread corruption in the government and embracing political and social reform, as many Malaysians cheered the unrest that brought down the Suharto regime in Indonesia in May 1998.

Mahathir abruptly sacked Anwar that September. Three days later, police used tear gas and water cannon to break up the biggest protest rally in Malaysia’s history as more than 50,000 people took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur in support of Anwar. Malaysia’s reformasi movement was born.

That night, Anwar was arrested and detained. A week later he appeared in court with a black eye, the result of a beating in prison by police inspector general Rahim Noor (Rahim was later jailed for two months for the assault). He was eventually sentenced to six years’ jail for abusing his ministerial position by directing police special branch officers to pressure witnesses to retract allegations that he’d had sex with his family’s driver and an illicit affair with the wife of his private secretary (both homosexuality and adultery remain criminal offences in Malaysia). A subsequent trial saw him also convicted for the sexual offences themselves.

The verdicts were later upheld
 on appeal to the Federal Court. This was despite evidence that Anwar’s driver had three times denied having sex with his employer and compelling evidence that police had threatened witnesses and manipulated evidence. The appeal judges also ignored an admission by police special branch chief Mohamad Said bin Awang that in 1997 – a year before Anwar’s sacking – he had sent a report to Mahathir dismissing the allegations of sexual misconduct as a whispered smear campaign.

Anwar says his time in prison and subsequent years in which he was barred from political office have strengthened his resolve to see fundamental change in Malaysia. He wants to free Malaysia’s government-controlled mainstream media. He wants to restore the independence of the judiciary and the bureaucracy and to make the security services accountable. And he wants to end a culture of endemic corruption and cronyism.

“The last 15 years have certainly changed me,” he says. “You talk about freedom or reform. It is not the same when you actually understand what it is to be denied your freedom. My passion for justice is far more pronounced now. In prison I saw so many guys who were beaten up, black eyes, but they were never reported in the media. I was fortunate that the whole world saw what happened to me. I knew, when I saw it happening to so many others, that I can’t allow this to continue.”

Anwar, now 65, is not bitter that he has had to wait so long for a chance to claim the leadership position that he was poised to inherit when Mahathir retired in 2003. Unlike many of his supporters, he says he has forgiven Mahathir for orchestrating his political downfall. This is despite the continuing attacks on his character from the elder statesman and his successors in the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the dominant party in the ruling coalition.

“Mahathir, in a sober moment, did say once [to the UMNO leaders], after the second trial, ‘Why do you use the same script as me? The way it was done, the sodomy charge, you should not use the same script twice.’ But I don’t want this to be seen as a sort of Anwar-Mahathir battle. It’s not personal. To me, he is obsolete, except to defend the business interests of his children. What else does he do? Does he talk about reform? He is just defending his own policies; he wants to maintain his legacy. But beyond that, it’s just about his family.”

He says the 87-year-old Mahathir only retains influence within UMNO because of its weak leadership. “They feared him when he was in power but that is no longer so.”

Anwar Ibrahim may have rising popular support
 on his side in his quest to end UMNO’s 56-year reign, but everything else seems stacked heavily against him: a ruling elite that will spend whatever it takes to preserve its power and perks; a government that is in pork-barrelling overdrive to shore up its position; an electoral system corrupted by the mother of all gerrymanders.

All of Malaysia’s mainstream media is either owned or controlled by the government. The judiciary is subservient to the executive. The bureaucracy – and particularly the police and internal security agencies – is deeply politicised. Key figures in the government and their business backers have built fortunes through patronage and corrupt deals. Malaysia has been ranked the third-worst country in the world for illicit capital outflows, with about $25 billion a year being illegally siphoned out of the country.

The government has been shameless in seeking to buy electoral favour. More than 20 per cent of the country’s budget is spent on consumer subsidies, including about $8 billion a year on keeping petrol prices down. Twice in recent months the government has given 500 ringgit ($155) cash handouts to lower-income families and it has promised the money will keep rolling after the election. The day before he dissolved parliament, Najib announced a 1000 ringgit ($310) bonus for every employee of the state oil company, Petronas – and told them they should repay the generosity by voting the government back in.

Malaysia has an electoral gerrymander that would have drawn a blush to the cheeks of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who ruled Queensland long after his party had ceased attracting anything like a majority of votes. At the 2008 national election, Anwar’s Pakatan Rakyat coalition won more than 50 per cent of the popular vote but took just 82 seats in the 222-seat parliament. The government held the rural seat of Putrajaya with just 6008 votes while the opposition needed 112,000 votes to take the urban seat of Kapar, in Selangor state.

Analysis by Bersih, the Malaysian corruption and election watchdog, has found that the gerry-mander means it is feasible for the ruling coalition to achieve a simple majority in parliament with as little as 18.9 per cent of the popular vote.

Bersih chair and former Malaysian Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan says the electoral rolls have been corrupted, with hundreds of thousands of migrants from Indonesia and the Philippines being given identity cards to bolster support for UMNO. “We have real concerns and the failure of the Electoral Commission to do anything about it is deeply worrying,” she says.

Despite these obstacles
, the 2008 national elections were a watershed that saw the UMNO-led coalition lose its two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time since independence. The opposition parties, forever the fringe dwellers of Malaysian politics, proved themselves a viable alternative, also winning control of five state governments. The result has convinced Anwar he can win this time. Private government polling is said to point to a potential swing of 7 per cent to the opposition, and political analysts believe that if the opposition gets more than 100 seats they will be able to horse-trade with minor parties to secure a parliamentary majority.

“All we need is a few percentage points more,” says Anwar. ”Was there gerrymandering in 2008? Yes. Was there a fraudulent process then? Yes. Were the entire resources of government used? Yes. Will they use more money this time? Yes, because we have done more to criticise and expose the cronyism and the billionaires. They are being named. But I still believe we can do it.”

He expects a tough and dirty campaign but is encouraged by Najib’s comment to journalists after dissolving parliament that the government will ensure a smooth transition if it loses. “For the first time we have a prime minister saying that he will surrender power peacefully in the event that the opposition wins the election. This means a lot because what he said goes down to the security apparatus, the police and the army. It should influence the way they behave.”

Anwar believes that message will be reinforced by the fact that the opposition has won the backing of several top-ranking military officers, including former army chief Hashim Hussein, who will be one of its candidates in Johor. He says the government’s decision to stretch its five-year term to the limit proves it is worried. “They are not confident,” says Anwar. “Although technically it is legal, morally it is unacceptable. They are very nervous.”

The opposition’s prospects have also been boosted by a surge in the number of younger Malaysians who will vote for the first time in this election. More than three million of them have been added to the electoral rolls, a 25 per cent increase in the voting population since 2008. The explosion in social media and independent news websites means younger Malaysians are better informed than their parents’ generation. “The opposition has the upper hand in the social-media wars and it is likely to be a big factor in this election,” says Steven Gan, editor-in-chief of Malaysiakini, the country’s most popular news website and a tough critic of the government.

At Friday prayers in the village
 of Sama Gagah, in the heart of his Penang electorate, Anwar Ibrahim holds court in a small, crowded mosque. He wears flowing Malay robes and a black felt songkok. The men embrace him and the young boys pay obeisance, kissing his hand before touching it with their foreheads.

His address is a deft blend of politics and piety. “As good Muslims we cannot be corrupt. We must purify our hearts and souls to do good to people. Even though we are in an election campaign we must respect others. We have to follow the path of God.”

He talks of his time in prison. “That was God’s test of me. And I thank God for that time to obtain virtue and knowledge. It gave me time to study the Koran. Although people slandered me and falsely accused me, I did not retaliate. I had faith in God and I came through it.”

Critics fear an Anwar government would steer Malaysia down a more radical Islamic path. His coalition includes the fundamentalist Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and the opposition platform would allow a greater role for shariah law in Malay Muslim communities.

Anwar began his political career as a firebrand student activist, co-founding the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia in 1971 and serving as president of the National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students. His first taste of prison came in 1974, when he was jailed for 20 months under the Internal Security Act – which allowed detention without trial – for leading student protests against rural poverty. Anwar retains the respect of many conservative Malay Muslims and their leaders. “I am very Malay, very Muslim in my views,” he says. But he is as much a political secularist and pragmatic internationalist as he is a man of faith.

He attended the prestigious, anglophile Malay College Kuala Kangsar in Perak – known as “the Eton of the East” – and is still fond of Shakespeare and English literature. Western leaders who became friends during his time as finance minister admired him as an intellectual, someone willing and able to straddle the divide between East and West. Anwar has also championed the role of women in Malaysian politics and the opposition is fielding a much stronger team of female candidates in this election than the government. His wife, Dr Wan Azizah, ran his party and held his seat in parliament during his political exile, and his daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar, is an impressive young MP tipped as a future leader.

If he wins next Sunday, Anwar is confident effective democracy and clean government can be restored in Malaysia without major upheaval. He says there is no comparison with the challenges faced in countries such as Tunisia, which he visited soon after its liberation in the Arab Spring.

“We still have a functioning civil service, even though it is getting more decadent compared with the level of professionalism in the past. We have an army that is not too political and we have police, some of whom can remain quite professional. The economy has growth of about 5 per cent, which could be better but is okay.”

Anwar promises to abolish all controls on the media and to end the use of the courts to hound political critics and rivals. Harder will be the task of tackling corruption and dealing with those “who have stolen billions”. He says that while serious crimes must be dealt with, he doesn’t want retributive justice and is prepared to forgive lesser transgressions.

Beyond the glitter of the Petronas twin towers
 in Kuala Lumpur and the brash modernity of the country’s federal administrative centre, Putrajaya, Malaysia remains a country with vast disparities between rich and poor. Many Malays in rural areas and members of the minority Indian community live below the local poverty line of 700 ringgit ($220) a month. Anwar seethes at the injustice. “There is still abject poverty,” he says. “Infant mortality among the Penan people in Sarawak is among the highest in Asia and this in our richest state, where the leaders plunder billions annually.”

As we drive towards another night rally, Anwar winds down his window to greet and touch hands with the cheering supporters lining the road. “I am blessed that people continue to give me their support and hope. Their affection keeps me going. The rural areas have never been our stronghold but now we are seeing signs of growing support. Some are influenced by the incessant propaganda in the media and by all the cash handouts, but many are fed up with it all.”

Anwar knows the obstacles to victory, but believes they can and will be overcome. “I mean, how much can they cheat? I genuinely believe I can do it. I have the wisdom, the hindsight of prison, the experience of government that helps ensure I can lead this country and, damn it, I want to prove it.”

With that, he steps from the car and is consumed by another sea of jubilant supporters, for whom an Anwar victory would mean as much as it does for the man who has travelled so far and so hard to reach this moment.

                This entry was posted on Saturday, 27 April 2013, 2:57 pm and is filed under
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7-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – DAP membantah Berita Harian, akhbar kawalan UMNO-BN, yang menghasut orang Melayu supaya membenci DAP dan kaum-kaum lain di Malaysia

DAP membantah Berita Harian, akhbar kawalan UMNO-BN, yang menghasut orang Melayu supaya membenci DAP dan kaum-kaum lain di Malaysia. Fitnah yang mereka lemparkan semakin tidak masuk akal, malah menghina daya pemikiran orang Melayu.

Fitnah terbaru datang daripada Berita Harian edisi Ahad hari ini 28 April 2013 dalam satu komentar yang ditulis oleh seorang yang bernama Mahfar Ali. Tajuk rencana itu sahaja sudah menunjukkan sikap hipokrit dan pembohongan media kawalan UMNO-BN tersebut. Tajuk “Pertahan prinsip kesederhanaan, tolak ekstremisme” cuba berselindung di sebalik kebencian penulis kepada perpaduan antara kaum yang dianjurkan oleh DAP dan Pakatan Rakyat.

Dia menulis: “Apakah nanti demonstrasi jalanan dan gerakan LBGT (Lesbian, Gay, Biseksual dan Transgender) yang menjadi budaya Barat, akan turut diterima di negara ini? Inilah kemelut dua parti diketuai pemimpin Melayu yang diperkudakan DAP – parti cauvinis Cina yang dasar pentadbirannya di Pulau Pinang dilihat lebih banyak menekan orang Melayu. Barangkali juga DAP menyertai pakatan pembangkang sebagai mainan politiknya untuk memecahbelahkan orang Melayu dan Islam.”

Berita Harian sebagai lidah UMNO cuba menggambarkan bahawa PKR dan PAS sebagai parti orang Melayu – kerana UMNO hanya faham politik yang berasaskan kaum semata-mata, ia tidak faham demokrasi, hak asasi, keadilan sosial. Dan kedua-dua parti itu dianggap oleh UMNO sebagai mudah diperalatkan oleh DAP.

Jelas Berita Harian buta sejarah dan enggan menerima hakikat kebenaran. DAP adalah parti politik yang sah yang menjunjung dan mempertahankan Perlembagaan Persekutuan 1957. Ini bererti DAP menerima Perlembagaan yang mendaulatkan agama Islam sebagai agama Persekutuan dan pada masa yang sama melindungi hak agama-agama lain untuk diamalkan secara bebas.

Hakikat ini termaktub dalam perlembagaan parti DAP yang meluhurkan Perlembagaan Persekutuan 1957 sebagai undang-undang teragung di negara kita. Malah, DAP sudah banyak kali dalam beberapa deklarasi mengulangi pendirian ini. Hanya manusia yang rasis sahaja yang buta kepada fakta ini.

Kedudukan istimewa Melayu yang disebut dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan tidak pernah dipersoalkan oleh DAP. Malah, DAP dengan tegas mempertahankan apa-apa hak yang termaktub dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan, termasuk agama Islam sebagai agama Persekutuan dan Bahasa Malaysia sebagai Bahasa Kebangsaan.

Jelas di sini DAP dan Pakatan Rakyat lah yang sebenarnya mempertahankan prinsip sederhana dan menolak ekstremisme, dan bukannya UMNO-BN yang rasis dan semakin kasar dan biadap dalam kempen mereka. Dengan itu, DAP dan Pakatan Rakyat menyeru rakyat supaya menolak politik kotor UMNO-BN.

Saya yakin rakyat Malaysia, termasuk orang Melayu, yang benci dan marah dengan politik kotor UMNO-BN yang menabur fitnah dan bersifat perkauman sudah bersedia untuk membuat perubahan yang akan menamatkan era politik kotor keji dan benci.

Ubah! Ini kalilah!

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 28 April 2013, 4:23 pm and is filed under
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BN’s femme fatale – the power of women

by
Bridget Welsh

Malaysiakini

6:19PM Apr 27, 2013

GE13 SPECIAL
 Apart from
civil servants
, another decisive group in GE13 are women. They comprise 51.7 percent of the electorate and regularly turn out in high numbers, especially in semi and rural areas.

In close races, how women vote can make the difference. Numerically, women are largely in the urban areas, but disproportionately they are more influential politically in the more rural areas, as men are often outstation for employment.

Let’s take a look at how women can shape and have shaped the election so far, recognising that they will make an important impact this election and the trends are moving against the BN.

Traditionally, women disproportionately support the incumbent government more than men in the range of 5-8 percent.

 The BN gender advantage varies by ethnicity; it is more pronounced among Malays, Indians and East Malaysians, although almost non-existent among Chinese. The gap also varies by class, as it is most pronounced among women in the lower classes.

The reasons for this gender gap are multiple, but four factors stand out. First, traditionally the Umno campaign has had the strongest women’s branch, Wanita Umno, and this group has played a major role in winning support. It has been the female face for the BN.

It is important to note that Umno historically was the first to include women actively in politics.

Second, women have less access to alternative forms of information outside of the mainstream media, as they often have less time to surf the Internet due to family responsibilities and do not attend ceramah at night in as high a number as men due also to the same family responsibilities.

Third, women, particularly those in the lower classes, are more responsive to the incentives of money. On the front line of managing the household economy, women find the extra funds useful for families and at the same time feel more obliged to repay the support.

Finally, women are also seen to be more responsive to the fear tactics adopted by BN, and worry about the impact on their families. From information to fear, women generally appear more risk-averse and this favours the incumbent government.

Yet, over the past few elections, this gender gap has been narrowing. The trend has been toward more women supporting the opposition. In fact in the urban areas among the Chinese, women are more likely to support Pakatan than BN.

Polling has also found a sharp increase of ordinary women engaged in politics in Malaysia from 2003 onwards, as seen by the composition of the rallies, protests such as Bersih and anti-Lynas and a female expansion of civil society at the local level.

From the broad trends, the gender gap this election will likely narrow further. Trends suggest more women in Malaysia are awakening politically, and clamouring in favour of change.

More attuned to local issues

One of the reasons for this movement in the voting pattern of women has to do with the salience of different issues in the GE13 campaign, as well as the outreach efforts by both camps.

Among women themselves, different groups, such as single versus married, have different sets of concerns. Yet, there are a few broad commonalities across women.

While men and women alike tend to prioritise concerns over cost of living, women disproportionately highlight greater concerns with issues tied to the family, such as education, weigh social problems such as drug addiction more heavily, and especially in the urban areas are deeply concerned with rising crime.

The tragic murder of Irene Ong Ai Sam in Bukit Gasing has brought to the fore the legitimate concerns regarding safety, and had a special impact for women who identify strongly with the mother-daughter bond.

One in four Malaysians are reported in surveys that either themselves or a family member have been a victim of crime, and disproportionately many of these crimes, such as robbery, affect women.

Studies show that women are more attuned to local issues than national ones. It is thus not surprising that many of the Himpunan Hijau environment group protestors were female.

The test in this election will be whether women think nationally and make the connection between their children’s future and the national results.

The BN’s strategy has been to keep the campaign with women local, using largely financial incentives and, in the past few days of the campaign, racial insecurity and fear.

Pakatan’s strategy toward women has been less clear, as outreach toward women has been uneven, but largely incorporated into the ‘change’ umbrella.

The two sides point to different sections in their manifestos, with the BN broadly promising gains in micro-finance and empowerment, while simultaneously touting its school vouchers and single mother packages.

In this latter group, the BN has been especially effective as the financial incentives have made an impact for this vulnerable community, especially among Indians and in East Malaysia.

Pakatan has developed a Women’s Initiative, which is geared largely toward married women, but offers the innovative idea of a retirement and emergency fund for housewives, training opportunities for all women and greater voice in government.

It is clear that both sides recognise the voting power of women, and have extended programmes, despite the limited public attention and knowledge of these initiatives.

Deteriorating BN record

Ordinary voters are not fully swayed by the promises, however. They are often actually influenced more by what happens in the campaign itself or the record in government.

BN is resting on its money-and-fear formula, while Pakatan is appealing to principles of cleaner government and fairness. The record of Najib Razak’s administration on women is coming into question, as he has served as women’s minister.

The women’s minister who was in cabinet, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, was dropped for the National Feedlot Corporation corruption scandal.

That the caretaker premier felt he was best suited to be women’s minister or could not find a suitable replacement in his coalition has already cast a cloud on the sincerity of attention to women’s issues.

It was blighted further by the faux pas in October 2012 when Najib claimed that Malaysia did not need women’s organisation as women were already empowered.

While significant gains have been made historically, Malaysia’s ranking is low globally at 120. There are persistent obstacles women face, from the difficulties of single mothers and higher levels of female poverty to political inclusion.

One area that is especially acute is protection on issues of family law. The share of Malaysian women in parliament, 9.9 percent, is lower than the global average of 18 percent.

The number of women ministers (one) and deputy ministers (six) in the BN has dropped as a share of the overall cabinet since Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took office, as fewer women, especially elected women, have been given decision-making power.

The perception of the most powerful women in the Najib government is his wife, Rosmah Mansor, who has not stood for election.

There is no clear success that Najib can point to in his four years in office for women. In fact, there are worrying trends.

Consider the issue of political representation further. The decline of women at the top of the BN corresponds to less influence in all of the main coalition parties, except Gerakan.

In Umno, MCA and MIC women leaders have been either marginalised or, in the case of Umno, scandalised.

MCA dropped its most prominent woman, Ng Yen Yen, while the MIC did not field any women for parliament. Tian Lian Hoe of Gerakan has emerged as one of the strongest and more reputable BN women leaders, but she is still not a minister.

Umno’s dropping of the deputy Wanita Umno leader is now well-known, but the persistent low of fielding women as candidates is not.

As the table below shows, the share of women fielded for parliament and state for Umno has remained stagnant since the 1999 election. Umno was in the vanguard for women’s political representation in Malaysia. It is now on par with PAS for fielding women.

Wanita Umno as an organisation has been facing serious decline, and its ability to even influence its own members to field women has waned. Many in Wanita Umno feel slighted.

The BN has not significantly increased its representation of women, especially at the national level. MCA has dropped the number of women fielded from seven to four, while no women from MIC will be contesting for parliament.

The opposition in contrast has increased its fielding of women, especially PAS. PKR top the number of women fielded for the opposition, but PAS has the biggest increase over the past elections.

This is a long way from their position in 1999, and speaks to a quiet revolution of women’s empowerment in the party.

Nevertheless, the Islamic party is still among the lowest in fielding women. The majority of seats fielding women are at the state level, and there is a shift in the numbers of women from the national level to the state level for women in parties like the DAP.

For the first time in history, the BN collectively with East Malaysia is now tied with the opposition in fielding 77 women each. Clearly, the BN has lost the advantage in fielding women.

New trends in fielding women

Given the gains over time the baton of political empowerment of women is moving from the BN to the opposition.

What is striking about the women’s candidates is the increasing diversity in backgrounds and impressive credentials of those fielded.

In PAS, we find singers such as Wan Aishah Wan Ariffin in Jempol, along with doctors and lawyers such as Mumtaz Md Nawi in Kelantan.

In the DAP, there are pharmacists such as Alice Lau (right) in Lanang. In Pakatan, the professional backgrounds has risen compared to the past.

Some of the women have served in politics, such as Kasthuriraani Patto in Batu Kawan, one of the few Indian women fielded nationally.

The women candidates like orator Siti Aisha Shaik Ismail in Tambun and master’s degree holder Aiman Athirah Al-Jundi in Jelebu are young and dynamic, bringing new ideas and energy to the campaign.

The BN’s women candidates have not raised the same excitement, with concern at the fielding of Jessie Ooi fielded in Kuala Kubu Baru for the MCA, for example, whose infamy was an incoherent political tirade.

Yet, there are many bright women contesting, such as Mary Yap in Tawau, a teacher who has strong local roots, and Halimah Mohd Sadique of Johor.

What is important to note is that the women candidates in the BN have not received the same attention. In fact, what has drawn attention has been negative, such as the alleged actions of Hamidah Osman of Perak Umno who was blacklisted by Bersih.

This election does see, however, more women fielded than ever before, reflecting a national trend of growing female empowerment, but these numbers are far below global averages and targets within the parties themselves.

One factor that may have contributed to this is the dirtiness of this campaign, discouraging women from contesting.

Attacks on women can backfire

The women in this campaign, however, face fierce fights. An estimated 80 percent of women fielded in this campaign are in difficult races at the parliamentary level.

Some of these such as Pengerang, Jelebu and Tambun are real uphill battles. The same trend is replicated at the state level. In some cases, such as Ampang, women are campaigning against each other, diminishing the chances of women to get into office.

The incumbent women, especially those that pose threats to the legitimacy of BN and have been strong performers, have been targeted.

Nowhere is this clearer in the campaign, however, than in the contest of Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin against Nurul Izzah Anwar (right).

Here the unelected federal minister has been using public money to win himself a seat, as he has taken personal credit for projects under this ministry, while simultaneously pouring in his personal funds gained in the lucrative construction sector.

For years now, Nurul Izzah has been targeted to be ‘brought down’. Parallel examples can be found in Teo Nie Ching now in Kulai and Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud of PAS who has to work hard to win Kota Raja, although these candidates have more promising chances.

What has become part of the political targeting has been the use of personal attacks against women. This happens on both sides, with Rosmah Mansor receiving arguably the most attacks.

She is portrayed as corrupt and controlling her husband, with these criticisms perhaps the sharpest within Umno itself.

This reflects a gender dimension of the campaign, the perceived role of what a political wife should be with resistance for women taking a prominent role, especially when they are not the one elected into office.

Attacks on political candidates have extended to Nurul Izzah, Kamilia Ibrahim and Teo Nie Ching (left) from smut videos, calls of ‘traitor’ allegedly by no less than Rafidah Aziz herself now stationed in Kuala Kangsar to the recent disgraceful leaflets ridiculing Teo’s new motherhood role and breast feeding.

To make use of motherhood is not acceptable. The fact is that attacks on women backfire when they are perceived to be unfair, as shown in the past.

One only needs to look at the impact of attacks on Teresa Kok from 1999 onwards to see how foolhardy attacks on women can be politically.

Women stand as another group in this campaign that will set the direction for the country. They will shape who will lead their children, who will make the decisions that will shape their lives and who will be the leadership models for society.

From crime and security to the dignity of women, these issues will influence women in the polls. How national they are in voting will be decisive.

Despite the BN gender advantage, the underlying trends in political participation, campaign issues, fielding of women and attacks on women point to potential gains for Pakatan and for more women entering parliament. This will be a woman’s election, whatever the outcome.

                This entry was posted on Sunday, 28 April 2013, 12:06 pm and is filed under
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