Archive for category Elections
Thousands throng Pakatan’s final rallies in major cities
DAY 15 LAST DAY Quotable quotes, planned events and unplanned incidents as they take place in the run-up to GE13.
12 midnight: The 15-day campaign has come to an end. There is an eight-hour cooling-off period before polling stations open at 8am tomorrow.
Voters are urged to vote early as showers and thunderstorms are expected in many parts of the country in the afternoon. Polling will end at 5pm tomorrow and the counting of votes will begin soon after. Results will start coming in at around 8pm.
Malaysiakini will be reporting LIVE all day tomorrow.
11.50pm – Gelang Patah: In his final speech before polling day, DAP supremo and Gelang Patah candidate Lim Kit Siang praises Malaysians for creating history in the 15-day campaign.
“There were thousands of people who attended our ceramah in Gelang Patah and elsewhere in Johor.
“Thousands of people want change. Ubah! Wu Yue Wu, Huan Zheng Fu! (Change, May 5th, change the government)”
The veteran politician also urges party supporters to stay calm no matter what the election outcome tomorrow. Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar vows no retributive justice for political foes
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Elections, Mahathir, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday, 5 May 2013
by Susan Loone
Malaysiakini
May 4, 2013
Pakatan’s prime minister-designate Anwar Ibrahim has vowed that his political opponents will not face “retributive justice” should he assume power in Putrajaya tomorrow.
His political enemies, among others, is his former boss,ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad.
“I have no intention of taking revenge against him nor will we be conducting any investigation on him,” said Anwar at a press conference in Kubang Semang today.
“However, this does not mean that the wealth of Petronas will continue to remain a monopoly in the hands of his cronies,” he was quick to add.
“Such ill gotten wealth must be returned to the people,” he stressed.
“I can understand his hysterical outburst recently but no one said we will go after him,” he quipped. Read the rest of this entry »
1-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Coming-of-Age of Malaysian Dream, with PR campaigning on “hope” while BN campaigning on “fear”
Posted by Kit in Elections, nation building, Pakatan Rakyat, Parliament on Saturday, 4 May 2013
Let the 13th General Elections tomorrow mark the coming-of-age of the Malaysian Dream, uniting Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region, in a common national vision and destiny to build a more united, democratic, free, just, competitive and prosperous nation for all Malaysian citizens.
In my 47 years in politics, I have always regarded myself as a Malaysian first and last. I have never regarded myself purely as a Chinese, but as a Malaysian of Chinese ethnic descent whose loyalty is unswervingly to the Malaysian nation, having common cause with all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region to build a better Malaysia for all Malaysians.
Loyalty to the Malaysian nation is however not the same as loyalty to the government of the day.
It is a complete misunderstanding and misperception of the meaning of “loyalty” for the caretaker Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional leaders to equate support of the government-coalition of the day with loyalty to the nation. Read the rest of this entry »
DAP mempertahankan kedudukan istimewa Melayu; jangan terpedaya dengan fitnah UMNO-BN
DAP mempertahankan kedudukan istimewa Melayu; jangan terpedaya dengan fitnah UMNO-BN. Saya merayu kepada semua pengundi Malaysia, terutamanya orang Melayu, supaya menolak fitnah dan pembohongan tentang diri saya dan DAP.
Sebagaimana yang saya jelaskan sebelum ini, saya tidak terlibat dengan peristiwa 13 Mei 1969. Saya tidak pernah berada di Kuala Lumpur pada 13 Mei 1969 kerana saya berada di Kota Kinabalu, Sabah pada masa itu. Hakikat tentang perkara ini ada dalam rekod pihak berkuasa polis dan Kementerian Dalam Negeri.
Dengan itu, sebarang pembohongan tentang saya berada di Kuala Lumpur untuk mencetuskan rusuhan atau menjadi dalang peristiwa 13 Mei adalah fitnah semata-mata. Jangan percaya perkara karut ini, terimalah kebenaran yang hakiki.
Satu lagi fitnah yang terus dilemparkan kepada DAP ialah kononnya DAP mahu menghapuskan hak orang Melayu. Ini juga tidak masuk akal, tidak bertanggungjawab dan sangat rasis. Ia amat berbahaya untuk perpaduan kaum di Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
After 56 years, will Malaysia finally get a new government?
by HARI RAJ
Former journalist for The Star in Malaysia
Crikey
Every four or five years since they won independence from British rule in 1957, Malaysians have shuffled off to the polls. Every four or five years, they have woken up the next morning with the status quo intact. The country’s ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional, has been in power for every one of the past 56 years.
Malaysia goes to the polls again on Sunday. But many of the country’s citizens are buoyed by an unfamiliar sentiment: hope for change. Read the rest of this entry »
Hail the Comrades for Change!
Posted by Kit in Articles, Elections, Kee Thuan Chye on Saturday, 4 May 2013
by Kee Thuan Chye
Yahoo! Malaysia
The purest and most heartwarming feature of this upcoming general election, predicted to be the dirtiest ever in Malaysian history, is the solidarity of the Malaysians who are calling for ubah (change) and proclaiming, “Ini kalilah!” (This is the time to do it!)
In the course of a year, it has swelled into a movement. Partly from the Bersih rallies that brought people closer together because they went through adverse circumstances together. Partly from the rallies organised by the Opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, that gave hope of a viable alternative to Malaysians disenchanted by 55 years of Barisan Nasional (BN) rule. Read the rest of this entry »
100,000 rally in Penang in wake of vote-buying claims
by Susan Loone
Malaysiakini
8:31AM May 4, 2013
PENANG Pakatan Rakyat held several gatherings in Penang yesterday, including a mammoth rally at the Esplanade which was swarmed by about 100,000 people who stayed until midnight.
This is the coalition’s biggest rally on the island where it managed to collect a record RM505,000 in donations from its supporters.
The carnival-like event, which included a stage and canopy, dozens of hawker stalls and DAP’s own merchandise sales corner, kicked off at 5pm while about 500 people watched a mini-concert by local bands such as Zombie Station, TUC, and Sweet Scream.
The open field facing the iconic British-styled Town Hall building was packed by 8pm, including youths and senior citizens, and the crowd spilled over onto the surrounding roads.
Several small separate rallies were held in front of the Town Hall and nearby Clock Tower with groups of supporters waving opposition party flags while blowing the vuvuzuela, wildly deafening to the ears. Read the rest of this entry »
Elections in Malaysia: “Ubah” you can believe in?
The Economist
May 4th 2013 | PENANG |From the print edition
“NO TO racism, no to corruption,” bellows Anwar Ibrahim from a stage in front of 50,000 delirious supporters, braving heavy rain to acclaim their idol in Penang. It is the last week of campaigning before Malaysia’s general election on May 5th and the leader of the opposition has been criss-crossing the country to shore up his support and make inroads into government territory. The task before Mr Anwar (pictured) is one of the most daunting in the annals of modern democracy: to unseat the world’s longest continually elected governing coalition, the Barisan Nasional (BN). It has ruled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957.
He will never have a better chance than now. In the latest poll, in 2008, Mr Anwar’s Pakatan Rakyat coalition won five out of 12 state contests and for the first time robbed BN of its two-thirds majority in parliament. This time it could be closer. Mr Anwar’s rallying-cry of “ubah”, meaning “change”, has captured a widespread feeling among younger, mostly urban and increasingly affluent voters that their country requires fundamental restructuring to break out of the “middle-income trap”, to move away from the race-based politics of BN, and to become a modern democracy. No fewer than 2.6m new voters have registered (out of a total of 13.3m). Their tweets and texts will have a vital say in the outcome of the election.
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Elections, Farish Noor on Saturday, 4 May 2013
— Farish A Noor
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2013
MAY 4 — It is close to midnight and I am typing this as I try to pack up my things and finish off the fieldwork that I have been doing for the past two weeks, covering the election campaign in three different places — Temerloh, Kuala Selangor and Kota Kinabalu.
Lugging an antiquated laptop that dates back to the Jurassic age made of granite has not helped, and my back is wrecked as a result. My eyes are failing me, so excuse the typos as you come across them, too.
I have been following elections in Malaysia for ages, in 1999, 2004, 2008 and now this one, in 2013. In the course of my work as a wandering academic I’ve also covered elections in Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
And I have since grown somewhat cynical about the promises that are made during campaigns, for I have seen them broken too many times as well. Read the rest of this entry »
A changed Malaysia come May 6
By Jahabar Sadiq
Editor
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2013
COMMENT, May 4 — No matter which coalition makes the government in the early morning of May 6, one thing is certain — Malaysia has changed and it is business unusual for the new administration.
With the respected Merdeka Center for Opinion Research’s latest survey showing a dead heat between both Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat (PR), the winner’s first job is to respond to a populace that questions and demands more from its government.
Forget the docile and subservient citizenry that thought government always knew best. That worked for some 55 years but this is a new Malaysia where the people are more advanced and ambitious in thought than their politicians.
A population where pensioners and the bloated civil service are no longer a sure vote bank, where racial barriers have collapsed and people are one as Bangsa Malaysia — concerned more about the economy than the personal lives of politicians.
This single-mindedness and unity comes despite the overt racist tones in the campaign since Nomination Day on April 20 or the fear-mongering being played out by certain political parties. Read the rest of this entry »
13GE – Justice for Teoh Beng Hock
Posted by Kit in Elections, Teoh Beng Hock on Saturday, 4 May 2013
DAY 14 What’s happening during the election campaigns around the country today? Quotable quotes, planned events and unplanned incidents as they take place.
11.15pm – Pasir Gudang: Soh Cher Wei, the wife of political aide Teoh Beng Hock who died mysteriously at the premises of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), asks the help of the audience of some 3,000 to “lend” her their votes to seek the truth behind Teoh’s death.
Speaking at a Pakatan function for the second time after yesterday’s ceramah at Kulai, the civil servant is unfazed that action could be taken against her for speaking at Pakatan ceramah.
“I would come (and speak at Pakatan ceramah) for the third, fourth or fifth time (if I’m asked to). I don’t think they would pardon me but at least I die (penalised) for a cause.”
Soh reminds the audience that the truth is still being denied four years after Teoh died. Read the rest of this entry »
2-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: Hari Kebebasan Akhbar Sedunia pada hari ini 3 Mei 2013 dicemari di Malaysia dengan semua media arus perdana berkempen untuk Barisan Nasional serta menyebar fitnah dan pembohongan terhadap Pakatan Rakyat
Hari Kebebasan Akhbar Sedunia pada pada hari ini 3 Mei 2013 dicemari di Malaysia dengan semua media arus perdana berkempen untuk Barisan Nasional serta menyebar fitnah dan pembohongan terhadap Pakatan Rakyat.
Semua media arus perdana, sama ada Utusan Malaysia, The Star, TV3, RTM dan sebagainya, telah melanggar dan mencabul segala undang-undang, peraturan dan kod etika kewartawanan yang wujud. Dan tidak ada satu tindakan pun dikenakan oleh pihak berkuasa.
Media massa sepatutnya bersifat dan bersikap adil dan objektif. Ia tidak boleh berpihak dan ia hanya menyiarkan laporan yang benar dan berfakta tanpa rasa takut. Undang-undang tidak boleh dikenakan terhadap laporan yang tepat dan benar. Tetapi di Malaysia, semua ini telah dicabul oleh kerajaan UMNO-BN.
Saya sendiri telah menjadi mangsa fitnah dan pembohongan oleh media massa, terutamanya media berbahasa Melayu, yang menuduh saya sebagai anti- Melayu, anti-Islam dan sebagai pencetus rusuhan kaum 13 Mei 1969. Semua ini telah terbukti bohong.
Saya telah dituduh menjadi dalang 13 Mei, saya telah dituduh kencing di tiang bendera di rumah Menteri Besar Selangor dan saya dituduh menghasut rakyat pelbagai kaum untuk bergaduh. Semua ini juga telah terbukti fitnah. Read the rest of this entry »
Gelang perkauman patah di Gelang Patah
Oleh Rahmat Haron | 12:56PM Apr 18 2013
Malaysiakini
Laporan maharaja lawak ‘April Fool’ yang lalu memberitakan khabar mantan perdana menteri Dr Mahathir Mohamad menyeru rakyat Johor menjadikan pertandingan PRU13 kerusi Parlimen Gelang Patah sebagai kubur kerjaya politik tokoh veteran DAP Lim Kit Siang.
Malah ke tahap melampau, Dr Mahathir membakar api perkauman dengan menyatakan kemenangan Lim Kit Siang akan mengakibatkan perseteruan antara kaum.
Menteri besar kerajaan sementara Johor Abdul Ghani Othman pula menambah rencah menjadi wira Melayu kununnya dengan berkata kemenangan Lim Kit Siang bakal menggugah keharmonian kaum di Johor.
Gelang Patah menjadi ‘kubur’ Lim Kit Siang merupakan suatu saranan yang teramat munasabah untuk politik tahun 1983. Di zaman kebenaran paling muktamad hanya didapatkan daripada tiga saluran tivi warna, dengan imej wajah ‘dewanya’ tidak lain dan tidak bukan ialah Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Tetapi pada tahun 2013 ini, di zaman pencerahan Internet, ia menampakkan sikap yang menggelabah. Kerana maklumat dan pengetahuan telah pun mematahkan gari ideologi, gelang perkauman yang merantai kita selama ini. Orang sudah tahu.
Read the rest of this entry »
3Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: Jadikan 5 Mei sebagai hari menamatkan fitnah 13 Mei dan pembohongan perkauman UMNO-BN
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Parliament on Thursday, 2 May 2013
Jadikan 5 Mei sebagai hari menamatkan fitnah 13 Mei dan pembohongan perkauman UMNO-BN. Hanya dengan memilih Pakatan Rakyat – PAS, PKR dan DAP – rakyat Malaysia dapat membuka lembaran baru untuk mendedahkan apa yang benar dan apa yang fitnah.
Golongan yang memfitnah saya dengan tuduhan menjadi dalang peristiwa 13 Mei 1969 masih terus berbuat demikian tanpa sebarang tindakan tegas daripada pihak yang berkuasa, termasuk daripada Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan calon saingan saya bagi Parlimen Gelang Patah, Dato Abdul Ghani Othman.
Golongan yang memfitnah saya telah memutarbelitkan fakta untuk mengelirukan pengundi, terutamanya orang Melayu, dengan mengapi-apikan sentimen perkauman. Mereka menyangka rakyat Malaysia masih hidup dalam tahun-tahun 1960-an yang mudah terpengaruh dengan emosi kaum.
Oleh itu, saya dengan rendah diri, memohon agar semua pengundi Malaysia menjatuhkan hukuman berat kepada golongan penyebar fitnah ini bersama dengan para pemimpin yang merestui perbuatan keji mereka dalam PRU ini. Caranya mudah sahaja, semua pengundi perlu membuat pilihan bijak dengan mengundi mana-mana calon Pakatan Rakyat di seluruh negara pada hari mengundi 5 Mei ini.
Seperti mana yang saya jelaskan semalam, dengan mandat baru oleh pengundi Malaysia, saya akan mencadangkan kepada Parlimen dan Kerajaan Persekutuan di bawah pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat supaya menubuhkan satu Suruhanjaya Bebas Parlimen untuk menyiasat apa, mengapa dan siapa punca sebenar berlakunya tragedi 13 Mei 1969. Read the rest of this entry »
Gerakan stalwart backs Hadi’s May 13 stand
Posted by Kit in Elections, nation building on Thursday, 2 May 2013
Malaysiakini
May 1, 2013
A Gerakan veteran emerged today to back PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, who accused Umno of masterminding the May 13 racial riots in 1969.
Hadi told a political rally in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, on Monday that the bloody racial riots 44 years ago were orchestrated by Umno to cling on to power.
“May 13 was not an ethnic phenomenon. It was a political occurrence,” former Gerakan leader Goh Cheng Teik told Malaysiakini.
“Only those who were members of Umno or associated with it were involved. PAS members had nothing to do with May 13.” Read the rest of this entry »
4-day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Cadangan menubuhkan Suruhanjaya Bebas Parlimen untuk menyiasat apa, mengapa dan siapa punca sebenar tragedi 13 Mei 1969
Posted by Kit in Elections, Parliament on Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Saya akan mencadangkan kepada Parlimen dan Kerajaan Persekutuan yang baru di bawah pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat supaya menubuhkan satu Suruhanjaya Bebas Parlimen untuk menyiasat apa, mengapa dan siapa punca sebenar berlakunya tragedi 13 Mei 1969.
Ini adalah penting kerana sampai sekarang tiada siapa yang tahu mengapa, apa dan siapa yang menjadi punca peristiwa 13 Mei itu. Lagi pun, kerajaan UMNO-BN selama ini tidak mempedulikan cadangan itu. Malah, pimpinan UMNO-BN membenarkan penyokong mereka menabur fitnah menuduh saya menjadi dalang peristiwa itu.
Walaupun tuduhan itu palsu dan bohong serta berniat menghasut dan membangkitkan api perkauman, pimpinan UMNO-BN, termasuk Perdana Menteri Sementara, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, masih tidak serius untuk mengambil tindakan terhadap penyebar fitnah yang membahayakan hubungan antara kaum itu.
Cadangan saya untuk Parlimen menubuhkan Suruhanjaya Bebas Parlimen bukanlah satu cadangan yang baru. Malah kali pertama saya menyuarakan cadangan ini adalah 42 tahun yang lalu! Read the rest of this entry »
My vote is for ABC4M’sians
by KJ John
Malaysiakini
11:13AM Apr 30, 2013
We are coming into our 13th general election. I have voted every time since I was 21, unless I was not in the country. This time we have a large number of younger Malaysians who are voting. Except for my youngest, all my other five children (including one spouse; the other is an American) are eligible to vote.
Therefore, I want to write an open letter to all younger Malaysians on what criterion I will use to vote in this general election. My last nine columns were also focused on this general election and the processes of electioneering. Please review them, and if needed, drop me a note to my private email address and I will be glad to give a response! Read the rest of this entry »
Fitnah 13 Mei: Dato Ghani Othman perlu lebih berani, tegas dan serius untuk menolak kempen politik kotor
Saya kesal kerana risalah fitnah kononnya saya menjadi pencetus peristiwa 13 Mei 1969 masih disebarkan tanpa sebarang tindakan tegas daripada pihak berkuasa. Malah sikap tidak serius Dato Abdul Ghani Othman, calon BN yang menjadi saingan saya bagi Parlimen Gelang Patah, membayangkan seolah-olah beliau tidak peduli dengan kempen kotor yang dilakukan oleh pelampau kaum di Johor.
Saya telah beberapa kali meminta Dato Ghani beliau supaya bersama-sama dengan saya untuk memastikan kempen pilihanraya benar-benar bersih dan tidak dicemarkan oleh penipuan dan pembohongan. Sebagai bekas Menteri Besar yang lama berkhidmat, beliau tentu faham betapa pentingnya untuk mengamalkan kempen PRU yang bersih.
Fitnah 13 Mei terhadap saya bukan sahaja kejam dan keji di sepanjang kempen PRU ini tetapi ia juga akan memberi kesan buruk kepada hubungan antara kaum selepas selesai PRU. Ini adalah kerana ia berasaskan pembohongan dan penipuan semata-mata. Dato Ghani Othman perlu lebih berani, tegas dan serius untuk menolak kempen politik kotor ini.
Malah Dato Ghani sebagai seorang pemimpin yang sederhana serta bijak dalam bidang akademik sepatutnya lebih sedar tentang sejarah Malaysia. Beliau sepatutnya tahu bahawa saya tidak terlibat sama sekali dengan peristiswa 13 Mei 1969. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s Ruling Party Gets Desperate
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Elections, Najib Razak on Monday, 29 April 2013
by Azeem Ibrahim
The Huffington Post
Malaysia has in reality been a one party state for over 55 years with the ruling UMNO party winning a string of elections without much opposition. However, with the stellar rise of Anwar Ibrahim, the ruling party is facing its most tightly contested election in its history. In the final days of campaigning in an election which many pollsters now believe the government will lose, it seems to be pulling a number of desperate stunts.
Firstly is the amount of money the prime minister’s office is spending on advertising. Industry experts have identified over 50 million USD in advertising buys by the prime minister’s office alone. Sources say that the amount of money being spent on advertisements exceeds one million, a virtual buy out of all ad space on Microsoft networks (which include Skype and Bing) for the last 10 days of the campaign. On Facebook the PMO’s office, again according to sources, is spending upwards of $200,000. Read the rest of this entry »
6-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: Masanya sudah tiba untuk rakyat Malaysia menamatkan riwayat politik perkauman
Masanya sudah tiba untuk rakyat Malaysia menamatkan riwayat politik perkauman yang selama ini telah menyebabkan kita hidup dengan penuh rasa takut, gelisah dan cemas.
Perubahan akan bermula apabila rakyat Malaysia menolak politik benci dan politik suka menakutkan rakyat yang dibawa oleh UMNO-BN. Perubahan akan bermula apabila pengundi Malaysia menerima politik bersih, amanah dan bebas rasuah yang dibawa oleh Pakatan Rakyat. Perubahan akan bermula apabila kita semua menolak politik perkauman.
Saya menyeru pengundi Malaysia supaya menamatkan riwayat politik perkauman yang menjadi amalan UMNO-BN kerana ia bukan sahaja bahaya untuk perpaduan kaum, ia juga telah digunakan untuk melindungi kezaliman dan salahguna kuasa.
- Isu lembu dan kondo NFC bukanlah isu ekonomi Bumiputera; ia sebenarnya isu salah guna kuasa dan penyelewengan pemimpin BN dan keluarga mereka;
- Isu penswastaan dan kerugian syarikat penerbangan MAS bukanlah isu ekuiti saham Bumiputera; ia soal salah guna kuasa kerajaan dan kegagalan pentadbiran kroni;
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