Archive for April 4th, 2012

Najib kata jangan tukar pemandu tengah jalan

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 04, 2012

4 APRIL — Hari ini Najib Razak mengingatkan semua supaya tidak menukar kerajaan yang merbahaya dalam pilihanraya ini. Katanya “jangan tukar pemandu dipertengahan jalan”. Maksudnya jangan tukar kerajaan dalam pilihanraya ini kerana itu adalah tindakan merbahaya.

Setiap kerajaan bertukar tangan dalam perjalanan. Parti Conservative dan Liberal Democrat telah mengambilalih kerajaan Britain dari Parti Buruh dalam perjalanan. Mana ada kerajaan yang sudah tiada untuk ditukar? Tentulah kerajaan yang sedang berkuasa yang selalu ditukar dan mereka ditukar kerana bersebab, bukan saja-saja untuk ditukar.

Perjalanan mentadbir negara adalah tugasan yang berterusan kepada siapa yang diberikan mandat. Ibarat sebuah bas yang dalam perjalanan jauh, ia disyaratkan supaya mempunyai pemandu gantian (spare driver).

Banyak kemalangan berlaku kerana pemandu itu terlena sambil memandu kerana telah memandu terlalu lama. Maka itulah undang-undang mensyaratkan setiap bas ekspress mesti mempunyai seorang lagi pemandu gantian supaya bas itu dipandu bergilir-gilir supaya tidak merbahayakan penumpang yang sedang tidur lena itu.

Dalam kes kerajaan pimpinan Najib, penumpang-penumpangnya sudah bangun dari tidur dan telah merasakan yang pemanduan Najib sudah cukup merbahaya. Najib memandu dengan tidak mematuhi undang-undang memandu. Read the rest of this entry »

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Implement PSC reforms before polls, Bar Council tells Najib

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 04, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 — The Bar Council today urged Datuk Seri Najib Razak to “exercise political will” and ensure all the electoral reform recommendations passed by Parliament yesterday would be implemented before the 13th general election.

Council president Lim Chee Wee said in a statement here that the prime minister should also consider the weaknesses in the 22 recommendations, which were contained in the parliamentary select committee’s (PSC) final report to the House.

“The Malaysian Bar urges the PM… to pursue holistic solutions towards rectifying the problems of the electoral roll and implement unhesitatingly all the recommendations of the PSC, before the next general election,” he said.

Lim described, however, the PSC’s report as “incomplete” and “inadequate” to achieve free and fair elections, which was the panel’s main objective when it was formed last year.

Najib had mooted the PSC last October, several months after his administration drew widespread criticism in the international media for its handling of Bersih 2.0’s rally for free and fair election last July 9.

But the PSC’s 22 recommendations, tabled and approved by Parliament without debate yesterday, have been criticised for purportedly failing to touch on specific issues pertaining to discrepancies in the current electoral roll.

“This was the principal and immediate concern that gave rise to Bersih 2.0,” Lim reminded today. Read the rest of this entry »

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Massive deception and propaganda campaign afoot that PSC majority report complies with seven of eight Bersih 2.0 demands when only one is being implemented

A massive deception and propaganda campaign is afoot, making full use of public funding and mobilising the mainstream media and Barisan Nasional cybertroopers, to create the impression that the majority report of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reform complies with seven of the eight Bersih 2.0 Demands for clean, free and fair elections when in actual fact, only one is being implemented.

The only one of the eight Bersih 2.0 Demands which is being implemented is Bersih 2.0 Demand 3 on “Use of Indelible ink” while the other seven Bersih 2.0 Demands are either given partial and unsatisfactory responses, or mere lip-service and meaningless recognition or outright rejection as in Bersih 2.0 Demand 4 on “Minimum 21 days campaign period”.

The eight Bersih 2.0 Demands that motivated 50,000 Malaysians transcending race, religion and region to support the historic July 9, 2011 Bersih 2.0 rally were:

  1. Clean the electoral roll

  2. Reform postal ballot

  3. Use of indelible ink

  4. Minimum 21 days campaign period

  5. Free and fair access to media

  6. Strengthen public institutions

  7. Stop corruption

  8. Stop dirty politics

The best example of the failure of the PSC majority report to address the core demand for a clean, free and fair election is Bersih 2.0 Demand 1 on “Clean the electoral roll”, which states: Read the rest of this entry »

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A transformed country, but an untransformed Parliament

— The Malaysian Insider
Apr 04, 2012

APRIL 4 — On the day Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak celebrated three years in office with the satisfaction of a plan in progress, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia showed the shallowness of the transformation towards a developed nation by 2020.

Najib can be proud of achievements under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and Government Transformation Programme (GTP), but in terms of a Political Transformation Programme (PTP), he can follow other Malaysians and frown at the tyranny of power shown by the Speaker yesterday.

Pandikar Amin dismissed the requests for a debate on a minority report from opposition members who wanted to add to the final report from the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Electoral Reforms. And he tried to chase them out of the House for disputing his decision to disallow the debate.

Why the fear of a debate on a minority report? The entire report has all the recommendations and the discussion to reform the electoral process in Malaysia. So, why not a report that details the arguments for recommendations that did not make its way to the final report? Read the rest of this entry »

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Bersih 2.0: PSC report fails in five key areas

Malaysiakini
Apr 3, 2012

Election reforms pressure group Bersih 2.0 is disappointed that the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform has failed to address five key issues.

The five issues, Bersih 2.0 said, are:

1.Manipulation of the electoral roll;
2.The citizenship-for-votes scam in peninsula Malaysia;
3.Enforcement of the Election Offences Act 1954 and enhancing the definition of election offences;
4.A plan to stop ‘dirty politics’; and
5.Inviting international observers.

In view of this, the Bersih 2.0 steering committee said it was “highly likely” that electoral fraud and other irregularities will continue unabated. Read the rest of this entry »

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Bersih 2.0’s point-by-point responses

Malaysiakini
Apr 3, 2012

Election reforms pressure group Bersih 2.0 is not satisfied with the parliamentary select committee (PSC) final report and have scrutinised all 22 of the latter’s recommendations.

Bersih 2.0, who organised the mass rally on July 9 last year, is one of the main factors attributed the Najib administration’s decision to establish the PSC.

Below is Bersih 2.0’s comments, edited for brevity and clarity, on all 22 recommendations:

1. Voters residing overseas

The proposal to allow voters residing overseas to cast their ballots should be implemented immediately without any conditions. The condition set by the PSC for voters to return periodically to qualify to vote from overseas is unconstitutional.

There is no need for further study on carrying out overseas voting as proposals have been submitted and it will only delay implementation. Provisions exist to allow overseas registration of voters.

Civil society organisations will implement overseas voting on the Election Commission’s behalf if resourced financially. Read the rest of this entry »

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