Archive for category MCA
In Tenang, Malay votes won the day for BN
By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — More than half of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) 1,200-vote gain over PAS in Tenang was due to increased Malay support in the constituency, DAP statistics have shown.
Malays who had in 2008 voted against Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s stewardship of BN or abstained from the general election, came out to signal its support for Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration.
The Malays make up about 49 per cent of the 14,753 voters in Tenang. Chinese account for over 38 per cent and Indians, 12 per cent.
Umno’s Azahar Ibrahim received 83.3 per cent of Malay votes, up four percentage points from Election 2008, said DAP publicity chief Tony Pua on Twitter earlier today.
A Malay turnout of 81 per cent yesterday, up two points from 2008, translated to a 700-vote increase.
BN’s 3,707-vote majority was also due to Chinese voters skipping yesterday’s by-election.
Although Normala Sudirman managed to hold on to PAS’s 64 per cent Chinese support from the 2008 general election, an 18-point fall in turnout resulted in another 300-vote gain for BN’s majority. Read the rest of this entry »
Muddy waters: Post-Tenang reflections
Posted by Kit in Elections, Islamic state, MCA, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS, UMNO on Monday, 31 January 2011
Bridget Welsh | Jan 31, 11 4:58pm
Malaysiakini
COMMENT
Malaysia’s 14th by-election since March 2008 scored another victory in the BN column, as they held onto their seat. This was expected, as it was home ground for Umno and the contest was purely about the winning majority.
Even with the lower voter turnout, Umno did well with a comfortable and higher majority of 3,707. Rather than provide a numerical assessment of the voting results, let me share some broader observations and tensions that arise from the Tenang campaign.
Despite the centrality of machinery and money, this election highlights the increasing challenges of engaging the diverse electorate in Malaysia. Arguably, the dynamics of the by-election in Johor muddy the waters, making the decisions about national electoral strategies and tactics even more complex.
Decision to proceed irresponsible
The most defining feature of this election was the weather. It was dreadful, and it negatively affected the polling. Watching voters drench themselves to vote, despite umbrellas, and wade in up to knee-high water to the polling station, made me question whether the by-election was worth the risks involved.
I remain deeply puzzled why this by-election was not postponed. I woke up the morning of the poll thinking that it might already be time for Noah’s Ark as the overnight downpour had already affected roads and submerged parts of the constituency. Read the rest of this entry »
With 10% increase of Chinese voter support for Pas/PR candidate in Tenang, will Chua Soi Lek have the political courage to tell UMNO the truth?
Posted by Kit in Election, MCA, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Monday, 31 January 2011
I had said at the close of the Tenang by-election campaign that Pakatan Rakyat would have cause to celebrate if it could achieve three of four aims – firstly, to debunk Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s boast of winning 5,000 majority in Tenang which he had described as a Barisan Nasional “fortress”; secondly, to slash the BN’s 2,492 majority won in the 2008 general election; and thirdly, to secure the votes of more than 55% of the Chinese electorate who voted for the PAS candidate in the 2008 general election.
The fourth aim is to win the Tenang by-election, which I had not considered as likely.
In the event, only two of three aims – debunking Muhyiddin’s boast of 5,000-vote majority and increasing Chinese voter support for the Pas/PR candidate from the previous 55% – were achieved in the by-election yesterday.
I have no doubt that all the three goals would have be achieved if not for the climatic disaster, resulting in incessant rain and heavy flooding aggravated by selective and discriminatory assistance given by various government agencies ferrying only Barisan Nasional voters to the polling stations. All this caused unprecedented low voter turnouts, especially in Chinese and Indian areas.
Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan decries selective assistance to voters
Kuek Ser Kuang Keng | Jan 30, 11 4:50pm
Malaysiakini
The day-long downpour in Tenang had caused flooding in many areas across this rural constituency in Johor, rendering several of the 12 polling stations inaccessible to voters.
Pakatan Rakyat complained that this had significantly reduced the turnout of Chinese voters, considered the ‘vote bank’ for the opposition.
Although police, army, the Civil Defence Department and various government agencies had been deployed to assist the voters to get to the polling stations, Pakatan leaders are upset that the assistance were not provided equally to all.
According to them, more transportation facilities were deployed in Felda areas, which are BN strongholds.
“Why are there no boats to ferry the voters in Labis town, which is also flooded, but Felda gets all the police and fire department boats?” asked DAP publicity chief Tony Pua in a tweet message.
BN secured 80 percent of votes in the three Felda settlements in Tenang in the 2008 general election.
“The failure to provide sufficient boats and trucks, and distribute them evenly across all polling districts will severely tilt the outcome of this by-election.
“The police and army should not just provide their assistance to selective areas because the flood is everywhere in the constituency.” he added when contacted by Malaysiakini. Read the rest of this entry »
MCA continues to tell lies in Tenang by-election through its newspaper Star – but good luck to Chua Soi Lek continuing as MCA President!
Today is polling day for the Tenang by-election, the fourteenth since the 2008 general election.
The outcome of the by-election should be left to the 14,753 voters but it is most regrettable that MCA continues to peddle lies and falsehoods through its newspaper The Star.
In its analysis report today headlined “Up to the voters now to choose who is best”, Sunday Star wrote:
“Never mind that the Barisan Nasional candidate Mohd Azahar Ibrahim is from Umno, it was the MCA that DAP, especially its adviser Lim Kit Siang, was after.
“A political observer viewed the DAP’s all-out effort to attack MCA as mainly an attempt to divert the community’s attention from the various breakthroughs the MCA has achieved since Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek became party president in March last year.
“’A stable and united MCA has always been a threat to DAP,’ reasoned a veteran MCA leader, pointing out that DAP’s survival hinged a lot upon MCA’s weaknesses as both parties banked on the support of the Chinese community.
“The fact that Dr Chua has adopted a low-key and personal touch in his campaign, such as personally meeting Tenang voters, has also put the opposition in a bind, remarked a political observer.
“As expected by many MCA supporters, Kit Siang had, in his ceramah in Tenang, challenged Dr Chua to step down if he failed to get the support of the Chinese community in the by-election.”
I had never in any ceramah in Tenang challenged Chua to step down if he failed to get the support of the Chinese community in the by-election.
Unlike the views of the majority of MCA leaders and delegates, I have no objection whatsoever if Chua continues as MCA President, regardless of the Tenang by-election result today. Good luck to him! Read the rest of this entry »
BN to win with 700-vote boost in majority
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Islamic state, MCA, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS on Sunday, 30 January 2011
Ong Kian Ming | Jan 29, 11
Malaysiankini
PREDICTION
Tomorrow, Jan 30, and just four days before Chinese New Year, voters in Tenang will decide on the 14th by-election since the 2008 general election.
The outcome is not in doubt. BN will win this seat. Even the opposition has conceded as much. The only question that remains is BN’s winning majority and why the margin may (or may not) be important in the larger electoral picture.
Like most analysts and observers, I anticipate a higher vote margin for the BN than in 2008 as a reflection of the larger national trend of voters moving back to the BN in 2010, especially the Malay and Indian voters.
But the winning majority will fall far short of the 5,000-vote majority Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been predicting. Instead, I anticipate a majority of roughly 3,200 votes, or a 700-vote increase from 2008.
The increase in the BN majority will be from a five percent increase in the Malay vote, from 80 percent to 85 percent, and in the Indian vote from approximately 70 percent to 80 percent.
I expect the Chinese vote for the BN to remain at approximately 35 percent. I base these calculations on a 71 percent turnout rate, two percent less than the 2008 general election because of the proximity to Chinese New Year, and turnout rates of 77 percent, 71 percent and 58 percent among the Malay, Chinese and Indian voters. Read the rest of this entry »
Factors that will shape tomorrow’s outcome
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Islamic state, MCA, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS, UMNO on Sunday, 30 January 2011
Bridget Welsh | Jan 29, 11
Malaysiakini
ANALYSIS
In this semi-rural constituency, rain and floods have dampened the turnout at ceramah and made for a low-key campaign. Walkabouts and quiet face-to-face campaigning, sometimes backed by ‘gifts’, have been the norm, as the BN aims to reach the lofty target of 5,000 majority and Pakatan Rakyat fights hard to win ground in an area that is far outside of its usual base.
No question, political watchers are fatigued observing this 14th by-election since March 2008, and hearing the same old issues of money politics and racial politics shaping the outcome.
For some, the fight for a few thousand votes in the protracted struggle for power is a distraction and waste of money. With an estimated RM150 million cost for campaigns in this tiny constituency, it is no wonder that cynicism has set in nationally.
It is important to understand that the Tenang by-election – its campaign and political significance – symbolise an ongoing climate change in Malaysian politics that has evolved since Najib Razak came into office. As with climate change generally, we do not yet know the impact, but its immediate effects are significant.
The Tenang contest will affect future campaigns and political fortunes, even though the actual result will likely remain in the BN column. Below, I describe three broad transforming features tied to Tenang and point to a few key factors that will shape the contest in tomorrow’s outcome and the size of the majority. Read the rest of this entry »
Chua Soi Lek should have the courage to tell Umno not to misread Chinese votes for PR Tenang candidate Normala
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, DAP, Islamic state, MCA, Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 25 January 2011
MCA leaders led by its President Datuk Chua Soi Lek have made PAS and the Islamic State as their main weapons in the MCA “scare-and-fear” campaign strategy in the Tenang by-election to frighten the Chinese voters from voting for the Pakatan Rakyat Tenang candidate, Normala Sudirman.
Their first line of attack is that a vote for Normala is a vote for an Islamic State alleging that DAP has betrayed our principles and supported PAS’ Islamic State agenda.
This is a downright lie, as the DAP’s stand on this issue has remained constant and unchanged since the party’s establishment in 1966 – DAP upholds the 1957 Merdeka Constitution which provides that Islam is the official religion but Malaysia is not an Islamic State. The Constitution clearly stipulates that Malaysia is a democratic and secular nation. Read the rest of this entry »
Open Letter to Chua Soi Lek
Posted by Kit in Kee Thuan Chye, MCA, Najib Razak, nation building, UMNO on Wednesday, 12 January 2011
By Kee Thuan Chye
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Malaysiandigest.com
Dear Soi Lek,
You are a highly educated person and one with the ability to think. As such, you are probably aware that the welfare of this nation rests on more than just the MCA winning its share of seats at the next general election and remaining in the coalition that holds the power to decide the fate of Malaysia.
You are probably aware that the way forward for Malaysia is renouncing the way of the Barisan Nasional, led by Umno, falling back on an outdated decades-old formula. And that if you and the MCA continue to collude with the other parties in BN to retain power, you are subscribing to practices that could lead the nation to racial rifts and economic ruin.
Would you not agree with me that at this point in our history, as we stand at this crucial crossroads deciding which is the best path to take, national politics should no longer be race-based?
Read the rest of this entry »
Sad MCA leaders’ grasp of Constitution and political principles so shallow – no wonder no MCA Minister dare to tell Muhyiddin that he was wrong and anti-1Malaysia in declaring he is Malay first and Malaysian second!
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Constitution, DAP, MCA, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS on Friday, 10 December 2010
After I have thrown back the question to the MCA Youth leader and Deputy Education Minister, Datuk Wee Ka Siong whether there is any provision in the Constitution which bars a Chinese or Malaysian of any race or religion from being Deputy Prime Minister, I would have thought that all the top MCA leaders would have become more educated about the Malaysian Constitution.
But this does not appear to be the case, with Wee continue to persist with the question whether I agree with the Pas Mursidul Am and Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat that only a Muslim can become a Deputy Prime Minister.
It is obvious that my answer is “No” but this seems to be too difficult for the top MCA leaders to understand or fathom.
It is sad that the MCA leaders’ grasp of the Constitution and political principles are so shallow. Read the rest of this entry »
“Can a Chinese become Deputy Prime Minister?” – shows up MCA true colours when MCA leaders could ask such a question!
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Constitution, MCA, nation building on Thursday, 9 December 2010
“Can a Chinese become Deputy Prime Minister?”
Although this question was posed by the MCA Youth leader and Deputy Education Minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong as a challenge to me, it shows up MCA true colours when MCA leaders could ask such a question.
Are top MCA leaders, including Ministers and Deputy Ministers, ignorant of the Malaysian Constitution?
Is there any provision in the Constitution which bars a Chinese or Malaysian of any race or religion from being Deputy Prime Minister? Or for that matter even as Prime Minister?
No wonder MCA Ministers and Deputy Ministers maintain monumental silence when MCA Cabinet posts have suffered one degradation after another, from Finance Minister and Minister for Industry and Commerce in Merdeka days to Deputy Finance Minister and Deputy Minister for International Trade and Industry. Read the rest of this entry »
Galas assault: Heng a liar, says TBH group
Posted by Kit in Election, MCA, Teoh Beng Hock on Tuesday, 2 November 2010
By Wong Teck Chi | Nov 2, 10 4:26pm
Malaysiakini
The ‘Malaysians for Beng Hock’ movement released a series of photographs today to prove that one of their members was manhandled by an MCA grassroots leader in Gua Musang, Kelantan, last Saturday.
The movement’s coordinator Ng Yap Hwa said the photographs proved that one of its members, Soh Cher Hai, was in fact violently pushed by an individual who has been identified as the Gua Musang MCA division secretary.
The movement said the photographs were proof that Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Heng Seai Kie had issued misleading statements on the incident.
Heng had claimed that Soh did not exactly fall onto the ground and that she had ensured Soh’s safety before she left.
Read the rest of this entry »
Get a backbone, Kit Siang tells MCA
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, MCA, Najib Razak, UMNO on Wednesday, 13 October 2010
by Joseph Sipalan
Malaysiakini
13.10.2010
DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang today challenged MCA’s ministers to take a clear stand and demand for action to be taken against two headmasters charged for racism and the closure of the National Civics Bureau (BTN).
He said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had already given them the green light to make their position known, when the latter said that MCA should be given “space” within the BN coalition when officiating at their annual general meeting last weekend.
“Here you have the prime minister saying ‘give space to MCA’, and although he said that, you don’t see any MCA minister daring to stand up to make a clear stand to demand that action must be taken against the two headmasters,” Kit Siang (right) said at a press conference in the Parliament lobby.
“Even after Umno gave space to MCA, they don’t use the space. I call on MCA ministers to demand that action be taken against the headmasters and close down the BTN, which is a poisonous anti-Malaysia organisation.” Read the rest of this entry »
Why should MCA interfere with Utar?
Posted by Kit in MCA, NH Chan, university on Thursday, 7 October 2010
by NH Chan
Centre for Policy Initiatives
06 October 2010
Human nature is such that there are two kinds of human behaviour when it comes to charity – the pretentious and the altruistic donor. I have always doubted the sincerity of those who give to charity by proclaiming it under the flashbulbs of press photographers. In these amusing photo ops, you see the donors posing with an enormous mock cheque to emphasize the size of the donation. If you’re truly charitable, why not dispense with the fanfare and write the amount on a normal cheque?
Having said this, I can now tell you about the truly altruistic gesture of philanthropist Koon Yew Yin. He made an offer of RM30 million, quite gratuitously, for the building of hostels for University Tunku Abdul Raman (Utar) students in Kampar.
Ever since the university was founded, its students have had to find their own accommodation outside campus. In many cases, they have to pay exorbitant rents far beyond the means of poor or even middle- class students.
The generosity of Koon was brought to my attention by the unflattering headline ‘Tycoon wanted seat on council’ in theSun (Sept 3, 2010). The article’s sub-headline was ‘Koon also wanted Utar residential village named after him, says MCA division chief’.
The MCA division chief in question, Ipoh Timur’s Thong Fah Chong, had said Koon’s requests were not acceptable as they had “exceeded the university’s jurisdiction and [could be] deemed an interference in the management of the university”. Thong added that hostels could not be named at one’s whim and fancy.
In his immediate response, Koon countered that although it was correct that while the facility was to be named after him, what he had specified was that the hostel blocks should be named after the fundamental rights such as Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Freedom, or the qualities of integrity such as honesty, justice, etc.
Koon also categorically denied he had ever requested a seat on the Utar council, clarifying instead that he had agreed to Utar’s counter-proposal for a task force to oversee the construction of the hostels.
He said his requests, including for a seven-man task force (four from Utar and three to be nominated by him) to oversee the construction of the hostels, and for all construction contracts exceeding RM10,000 to be open to competitive tenders, were to ensure everything was done in the interest of the students. He said it was not meant to interfere with the management of the university. Read the rest of this entry »
RM30m for UTAR not taken up
Posted by Kit in Education, MCA, university on Sunday, 26 September 2010
By Teoh El Sen
Free Malaysia Today
SAT, 25 SEP 2010
PETALING JAYA: In August 2009, philanthropist Koon Yew Yin offered to donate RM30 million to Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) to build hostels with recreational facilities at its Kampar campus in Perak.
But there has been no response from Utar to the generous gesture. Koon, 77, then withdrew his offer on Sept 12, this year.
However, on Sept 13, Utar’s board of trustees and council said it did not accept the RM30 million donation because of the “many conditions (imposed) such as setting up a foundation where he (Koon) will be chairman and be in full control over the spending of his money”.
Then on Sept 14, Utar issued a statement saying it did not turn down Koon’s offer but was still discussing it.
But Koon, who called for a press conference here yesterday, rubbished the claim he wanted to exercise full control over his money.
“Ever since I made my written RM30 million donation offer on Aug 18 last year, the Utar authorities have been using various means to delay accepting my offer. Now they have informed the public that the delay is because I want full control over the spending of my money,” said Koon.
“This is factually incorrect and misleading. Even if I had wanted control, common sense would dictate that I should have some control. But I did not say that,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
The MCA number game backfires
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, MCA, Thomas Lee on Friday, 24 September 2010
by Thomas Lee
My Sinchew
23.9.2010
The revelation that the senior private secretary of ex-Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has asked for the vehicle registration numbers MCA 1 to MCA 9999 in Malacca be reserved for MCA members is clearly a reflection of the high-handed manner a small-time political administrator in the Barisan Nasional abused his little derived authority.
Current Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha has confirmed that such a request was contained in a memorandum dated 17 Feruary 2010 and addressed to Road Transport Department (RTD) director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan.
Tee Keat has denied that he had endorsed the memorandum written to the RTD director-general by his private secretary, saying that “I still remember, among the things that came to my attention which I rejected included this memorandum, although I had returned to duty in March after some health problems.”
Kong, meanwhile, said that the instruction would be rescinded.
“Nobody can reserve any number for the MCA. It is part of the sequence of the way that the RTD issues the registration number and according to the state,” he said.
This ignominious and scandalous incident is certainly more serious and shameful than that of the so-called Support Letters Scandal in Selangor, in which swift and harsh action was taken against the errant municipal councillor by the state government and the DAP. Read the rest of this entry »
Congrats Nazri for being the first in Cabinet to declare he is Malaysian first and race second – Ministers who refuse to make such declaration should be dropped from Cabinet
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Gerakan, MCA, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, Sabah, Sarawak on Monday, 20 September 2010
Congrats to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz for being the first in Cabinet to declare that he is Malaysian first Malay second in his open letter in reply to Awang Selamat of Utusan Malaysia (The Malaysian Insider).
Why it has taken more than six months since my challenge to Cabinet Ministers during the debate on the Royal Address in Parliament on March 18, 2010 to declare that they are Malaysian first and race second is really beyond me, as it demonstrates their total lack of support, commitment and political will to make Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia policy work and suceeed.
I had at the time posed three simple tests of 1Malaysia to determine whether all the Cabinet Minsiters were sincerely and seriously committed to Najib’s 1Malaysia, viz:
• Whether he or she agrees to the establishment of an Opposition-headed Parliamentary Select Committee on 1Malaysia;
• Is he or she prepared to declare that the basis of 1Malaysia is “ketuanan rakyat Malaysia” and not “ketuanan Melayu”; and
• Is he or she prepared to endorse the objective of 1Malaysia as defined by the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Roadmap to create a nation where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion or region second.
Is NEM a pipe dream?
Posted by Kit in DAP, MCA, Najib Razak, NEP on Sunday, 15 August 2010
Breaking Views
The Malaysian Insider
August 15, 2010
AUG 15 — Tun Abdul Razak Hussein could never have imagined that his brainchild, the New Economic Policy (NEP), would ever split the country.
That it has 40 years after coming into being. Meant to eradicate poverty among all Malaysians and uplift the Bumiputeras who were economically backward then, it is now seen as the sacrosanct right of every Malay.
Especially the corporate ones who fear losing their tranche of Approved Permits (APs), shares and government contracts.
The NEP’s great defender today is Datuk Ibrahim Ali, the diminutive Perkasa chief with lofty ambitions of keeping privileges as Malay rights. With him, to a certain extent, is Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who argues the policy is needed until the Malays reach their targets. Read the rest of this entry »
The consequences of sleeping with the enemy
by Mariam Mokhtar
MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek’s comments about both Umno and PAS using religion to dominate the Malays and influence their vote, is a bit too little, too late. For decades, he, like previous MCA leaders, pandered to the wishes of Umno. Now that PAS has teamed up with DAP and PKR to become a credible opposition party, it is Dr. Chua who must contemplate his standing in his community and evaluate the worth of his party’s friendship with Umno.
Dr. Chua’s hypocritical attack on PAS is ill-judged and offensive. PAS have always been consistent in its Islamic roots but when it morphed into a modern Islamist party, it created panic in Umno.
He should direct his vitriol at Umno only, for it jumped onto the religious bandwagon, to appear more conservative than PAS so as to lure Malay voters.
Perhaps it is Dr. Chua who has been caught on the hop, just as in his previous indiscretion?
Dr. Chua urged the Chinese community to think about the impact if PAS were to rule at the federal level. He said, “Do not be too optimistic that if PAS comes to power, the country will be free from corruption and other problems”.
This is a bit rich coming from him. Is this an attempt to suck up to Prime Minister Najib, to Umno or to his own party and community? Was he as voluble complaining about the excesses, in previous years? Read the rest of this entry »
DAP chides Chua’s negative portrayal of Muslim nations
Posted by Kit in Islam, Islamic state, MCA on Saturday, 7 August 2010
by Susan Loone | Aug 7, 10 11:57am
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has today rubbished the views of MCA chief Dr Chua Soi Lek, who has portrayed Muslim countries as “poor, backward and corrupt”.
Lim (right in photo) urged Chua to learn more about the history of Islamic civilisation, whose global empires had not only contributed breathtaking art and architecture, but also the introduction of numbers, algebra and astronomy.
“Muslim countries are suffering from the same problem suffered by India and China previously.
“Only when India and China were free, independent and not dominated by imperialist powers, that they were able to realise their potential and take their place in the world stage as economic powers,” he said at International Integrity Conference 2010 today in Penang.
“I believe that Muslim nations can also recapture their past glories if they were allowed to be similarly unshackled like India and China,” he added. Read the rest of this entry »
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