Archive for category Mahathir

Lim: Stop racialising elections results

G Vinod| May 8, 2013
Free Malaysia Today

The DAP veteran urges Barisan Nasional leaders to improve the fraudulent electoral system instead of racialising the poll results.

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP has criticised Barisan Nasional leaders for racialising the recent general election results instead of revamping the electoral system marred with irregularities.

Speaking at a press conference held at the party headquarters, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang reiterated that the massive swing of support to Pakatan Rakyat was a Malaysian wave rather than a Chinese one.

“No doubt there are was considerable swing from the Chinese but it also involved the Malays and the other communities. Do you think I could have won the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat without the support from the Malays and the Indians?” he asked.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak attributed the heavy losses suffered by the ruling coalition due to a “Chinese tsunami.”

Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia yesterday carried a provocative headline, “Apa Lagi Cina Mahu?” (What else do the Chinese want) attacking the Chinese for backing Pakatan Rakyat. Read the rest of this entry »

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‘Stop blaming one community for BN’s bad performance’

BY CLARA CHOOI
The Malaysian Insider
May 08, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today demanded a stop to all attempts at racialising last Sunday’s polls by blaming a particular community for Barisan Nasional’s (BN) poor showing at the ballot boxes.

“This is unfair and unhelpful,” he said in a statement here.

The former prime minister, who stepped down in favour of Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2009 after he led BN to lose its coveted two-thirds parliamentary majority in Election 2008, agreed that following Sunday’s polls results, there was a pressing need for the country to undergo the process of national reconciliation and unity.

He also called on the opposition to accept and respect the election results, despite the fact that they had lost by slim majorities amid claims of fraud and widespread irregularities in the polling process.

“Malaysians deserve stability and certainty that can only come with finality and closure from this election,” he said in his message to the opposition.

“Let us move on in the interest of all Malaysians.” Read the rest of this entry »

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Ordinary Malaysians, extraordinary day

by Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
May 5, 2013

GE13 SPECIAL On this historic day of GE13, Malaysians are bravely stepping into the unknown. Some are already queuing up to vote, and yet others are waiting for the crowd to disperse before heading out to the polling stations. Every Malaysian knows today will not be an ordinary day.

There are four intense but quiet battles taking place that will shape whether May 5 will indeed bring about change.

The first battle is a personal one, national in scope, taking place deep in the hearts of every Malaysian. It is a contest over what sort of country Malaysia should be. Many Malaysians are voting for a different moral foundation for the country’s politics.

The anger and sense of disbelief of BN governance runs deep, from the issues of corruption to its racial polemics. While there are many Malaysians who strongly support the status quo, among this group are many who question whether something is not quite right.

Indeed, today the country will be voting for its soul. Read the rest of this entry »

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Anwar vows no retributive justice for political foes

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 »

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Dalang sebenar Mei 13 dibongkar oleh Dato’ Mohd Tamrin Ghafar

Dato’ Mohd Tamrin b. Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba menyangkal fitnah UMNO terhadap Lim Kit Siang dan DAP sebagai dalang peristiwa Mei 13, 1969.

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Dr M, you should also think of your own grave!

by Martin Jalleh

Dr-M-Think-of-Your-Own-Grave

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Who’s the racist these days?

The Malaysian Insider
April 28, 2013

APRIL 28 – Going into Malaysia’s 56th year of independence, one would assume that racism would not rear its ugly head especially among its leaders – young or old.

There is Barisan Nasional (BN) and its predecessor Alliance that has always put cooperation as one of its pillars. And there is Pakatan Rakyat (PR), all three multi-racial parties that have eschewed racism.

Then, there is Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who once spoke of a Bangsa Malaysia when he was Malaysia’s prime minister but for some time now, has resorted to racism and accusing others of racism in his speeches and writings.

Today, the New Sunday Times had him accuse the DAP of racism in going for the Gelang Patah federal seat due to its sizeable Chinese majority.

“If DAP does not play on its Chinese-ness, it cannot win. That is why Kit Siang chose Gelang Patah where 53 per cent of the voters are Chinese,” the weekly quoted Dr Mahathir.

This isn’t the first time Dr Mahathir has gone on this tangent. Earlier this year, he blamed Tunku for granting citizenship to Indians and Chinese at the advent of independence. Read the rest of this entry »

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21-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Attorney-General Gani Patail given opportunity to arrest and charge Mahathir for sedition and criminal defamation before I instruct my lawyers to institute legal proceedings against Mahathir for defamation in connection with his blog on “Gelang Patah”

As the former DAP MP for Segambut Lim Lip Eng has lodged a police report this morning in Kuala Lumpur against the former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad for sedition and criminal defamation, I will give the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail the opportunity to arrest and charge Mahathir for sedition and criminal defamation before I instruct my lawyers to institute legal proceedings against Mahathir for defamation in connection with his blog, “Gelang Patah” last Thursday, 11th April 2013.

I had given Mahathir two opportunities to withdraw and apologise for his chauvinistic and seditious blog which made irresponsible and baseless attacks on my reputation and character or face legal action for defamation for his lies and falsehoods, but the former Prime Minister had been totally unmoved and unrepentant.

Mahathir had disgraced and dishonoured the office of the former Prime Minister, which is provided by Parliament every year with a princely allocation from the annual Federal Government budget for its upkeep, by spewing downright lies and falsehoods to make the 13th General Elections the dirtiest in the the nation’s history which is most unworthy and unfitting for a former Prime Minister whose living and maintenance expenses is billed to the public purse.

Two days ago, the latest “black operation” in the 13GE surfaced with the appearance of a sex video purportedly involving the PAS Secretry-General Mustapha Ali, which has been categorically denied by Mustafa who said that UMNO was desperate enough to lie in order to drop him from the country’s arena.
Read the rest of this entry »

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What will it be for BN — Ibrahim Ali or 1 Malaysia?

By Jahabar Sadiq
The Malaysian Insider
April 08, 2013

COMMENT

April 8 — The Barisan Nasional (BN) has unveiled a centrist manifesto that fits its 1 Malaysia philosophy but Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s endorsement of Datuk Ibrahim Ali as a coalition candidate would appear to be at odds with the concept.

The stout Perkasa chief has been anything but centrist or even 1 Malaysia in his approach to push for Malay rights at a time when BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been advocating a gradual economic liberalisation and equity for Malaysians.

But why would the country’s longest-serving prime minister, who spoke in 1991 of a future Bangsa Malaysia plump, for an ethno-centric Ibrahim (picture), who ran on a PAS ticket in Election 2008 only to turn pro-Umno after winning the Pasir Mas seat? Read the rest of this entry »

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Dr M should campaign honourably

― Ravinder Singh
The Malaysian Insider
April 13, 2013

APRIL 13 ― Dr Mahathir Mohamad is obviously very unhappy that Lim Kit Siang is contesting in Gelang Patah. That is his right: to be unhappy and say so.

In his recent write up on this, he says “when Kit Siang wins Gelang Patah” ― here, he is acknowledging that this candidate is going to win.

What is regretted is that Dr Mahathir then goes on to say that this candidate’s win would result in racial confrontation and “even if there will not be violent clashes as seen in many countries where people are divided by race or religion, but confrontation between the three major races in Malaysia will be disruptive and will not be conducive to the development of Malaysia.”

Instead of making such irresponsible statements that can give wrong ideas to some people, he should take the honourable way of neutralising this candidate’s chances of victory. Read the rest of this entry »

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22-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Mahathir has another 24 hours to withdraw and apologise for his chauvinist blog on “Gelang Patah” making irresponsible and baseless attacks on me or face legal action for defamation for his lies and falsehoods

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Kutty’s no match for LKS

By Bennyloh

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23-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Dr M in his post-PM decade has emerged as the greatest enemy of his own Bangsa Malaysia concept in Vision 2020 and the single greatest threat to Malaysian nation building

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Silly conjectures

The Malaysian Insider
April 11, 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Dr M: Race confrontation if Kit Siang wins Gelang Patah

By Debra Chong
The Malaysian Insider
April 11, 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Season of quotes

Aliran | 3 April 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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1Day Countdown to 13GE: Challenge to Mahathir to a series of seven public debates on his 22 years as fourth Prime Minister as Mahathir has made 13GE a double referendum on Najib as well as Mahathir premierships

When I started the 100-day countdown daily statements to the 13GE on 1st January 2013, I had not expected that I would have to complete the 100-day series as it was generally expected that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would have mustered the courage to end his real-life Hamlet agonizing “To Be or Not To Be” during the Chinese New Year in February as to dissolve Parliament for the long-awaited 13th general elections to be held.

But his carefully-planned RM3.5 million Psy and Gangnam Style appearance for the Penang Barisan Nasional Chinese New Year Open House on Feb. 11 went kaput when it proved to be a political and public relations disaster of the first magnitude with tens of thousands of people shouting “Yes, Yes, Yes” to Najib’s first question of “Are You Ready for Psy?” followed by the thunderous and categorical “No, No, No” to Najib’s second question of “Are You Ready for BN?”.

This “No, No, No” episode has captured the imagination of Malaysians and entered the Malaysian political history and folklore – not to mention Najib’s other Psy embarrassments in Penang, like the five-minute futile wait by the Prime Minister and former Prime Minister of the country for Psy to join them to “Loh Yee San” or Psy’s refusal to dance with Najib, Rosmah and Ng Yen Yen for a premier rendition of “Gangnam 1Malaysia Style”.

Today is exactly the 100th Day of the “100-Day Countdown to 13GE” series, the day the Election Commission is to meet to announce the dates for nomination and polling for the 13GE – an acid test whether Najib will honour the Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M)’s Election Integrity Pledge to hold free, fair and clean elections! Read the rest of this entry »

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Dr M, Malaysia needs more racists and clowns?

By Martin Jalleh

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Mahathir should be a responsible “elder statesman” and stop race-baiting and inciting communal sentiments which is completely antithetical to his concept of Bangsa Malaysia in Vision 2020

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has become the No. 1 campaigner for Umno/Barisan Nasional in the 13GE, even putting the Prime Minister/Umno President Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the shadows, as if Mahathir is fighting for his own political life.

This may in fact be the true picture, as the 13GE is not only a “life-and-death” battle for the Najib premiership, it is shaping up to be a “life-and-death” struggle for the 22-year Mahathir legacy.

This is why Mahathir has become the “campaigner extraordinaire” in the 13GE, and I don’t think he has ever campaigned as hard for Umno/BN even in the five general elections he had led as Prime Minister, namely the 1982, 1986, 1990, 1995 and 1999 general elections, spanning two decades.

Mahathir is fully within his rights to campaign all-out to protect the 22-year Mahathir legacy, but he must always act as a responsible “elder statesman” and not succumb to cheap and irresponsible tactics as race-baiting and inciting communal sentiments which is completely antithetical to his concept of Bangsa Malaysia in Vision 2020. Read the rest of this entry »

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Malaysia needs more Ibrahim Alis, says Dr M

by Koh Jun Lin
Malaysiakini
Apr 6, 2013

The country would be saved if there were more people like Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali, said former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The patron of the Malay supremacist group said this today when endorsing Ibrahim to contest the Pasir Mas parliamentary seat under BN’s ticket.

“This is repayment, because in BN we repay good deeds… God willing if he is made a candidate, I would go to Pasir Mas to campaign.

“Perkasa is no small ‘party’, it has 400,000 members. It is probably bigger than PAS, but is not greedy.

“If there are many people like Ibrahim, this country is saved,” he said amid the cheers of a 3,000-strong audience.

Mahathir was speaking at Perkasa’s ‘Save Selangor Rally’ today held on a waterlogged field in Shah Alam. Read the rest of this entry »

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