Archive for category Najib Razak
What Now After the Umno Elections?
Posted by Kit in Kee Thuan Chye, Najib Razak, UMNO on Wednesday, 23 October 2013
By Kee Thuan Chye
23.10.2013
Mohd Ali Rustam lost badly in his bid for a vice-presidency at the Umno party elections last weekend. He managed to win only seven votes out of a possible 191. With the new system of electoral colleges, this means he got votes from seven divisions, as each division made up one electoral college.
In terms of number of votes from individual delegates, he obtained 15,294, which works out roughly to only about 10.4 per cent of the total of 146,500. Significantly, the people who voted are Malays, so Ali Rustam can’t blame the Chinese for his loss this time, as he did for his loss at the recent general election (GE13).
Not only is this poetic justice; it is also a vindication of the fact that the outcome of GE13 was not, contrary to what Umno President and Prime Minister Najib Razak claimed, due to a “Chinese tsunami”. Barisan Nasional (BN) did worse at GE13 because other races rejected it, including the Malays.
In Ali Rustam’s case, he stood in the parliamentary constituency of Bukit Katil, which was made up of 53 per cent Malay voters, 41 per cent Chinese and 6 per cent Indian. So for him to blame the Chinese was simply unfair as the majority of the voters were Malays.
For his Umno vice-presidency defeat, whom is he going to blame? The delegates who didn’t vote for him? Because they might have considered that in 2009, he was disqualified from contesting the same position for engaging in money politics? And that last year, he threw a lavish wedding for his son and incurred a hefty food and beverage bill of RM600,000, which prompted investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)? Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia: High Income Nation, but Low Income Rakyat
Posted by Kit in Economics, Finance, Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak, NEP on Tuesday, 22 October 2013
By Anas Alam Faizli
Oct. 22, 2013
Malaysia’s current socio economic structure can be summed up in four words, “Rich Malaysia, Poor Malaysians.” Malaysia is blessed with abundant natural resources with petroleum being the most precious. Add the land, other commodity resources, large youthful population and the country has all the essential ingredients to flourish. How then did this small nation of 30 million manage to end up with the unsolicited title of among the region’s most unequal nation between the rich and poor. What happened? Read the rest of this entry »
Bebalisma in Malaysian society
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Education, Mahathir, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Aerie Rahman
The Malaysian Insider
October 21, 2013
OCT 21 — The Malaysia that I know of, which has forever been under the Barisan Nasional power structure, is akin to a poorly written play.
Those in power are actors onstage while the rakyat are members of the audience.
Lights out, please!
The play would begin with members of parliament squabbling and haranguing each other. Grandstanding is the game here, gents.
Suddenly, things would come to a halt with the Auditor-General bursting into Parliament. The mood is intense. He subsequently submits his annual report. Read the rest of this entry »
Umno polls show that what goes around comes around
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
Oct 20, 2013
COMMENT The results are in. Despite the last-minute swing to Mukhriz Mahathir due to the sympathy factor associated with the false reporting of vote-buying and buoyed by his father’s support, the count clearly shows that Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s personal influence in Umno has waned.
In fact, when one looks at the election of the 25 spots for the Supreme Council, Mahathir loyalists have lost badly. The question arises whether this party election indeed spells the end of an era, a changing of the guard of sorts within Umno.
While personal loyalties may have moved on and Mahathir’s influence has been checked, his legacy persists within the party and given the competitiveness of the results, Mahathir’s own role will continue to shadow Najib’s premiership. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s Najib entrenches power as reform drive fades
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Monday, 21 October 2013
By Stuart Grudgings and Niluksi Koswanage
Reuters
Oct 20 2013
KUALA LUMPUR- Internal voting for top posts in Malaysia’s ruling party at the weekend has proved Prime Minister Najib Razak to be a canny survivor – five months after a poor showing at national elections – but at a cost to his reform agenda.
In May, Najib seemed dead in the water to some observers after presiding over the long-ruling Barisan National (BN) coalition’s worst election result.
The internal United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) elections, however, confirmed Najib had seen off challenges from rival factions – including the son of influential former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Mukhriz Mahathir, 48, fell just short of snaring one of three vice president positions, all of which went to incumbents backed by Najib. Najib’s allies also retained their dominance of the 25-member UMNO Supreme Council. Read the rest of this entry »
Umno can’t change, will soon be extinct, says former NST chief editor
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, UMNO, Zahid on Sunday, 20 October 2013
by Jennifer Gomez
The Malaysian Insider
October 20, 2013
Umno is unable to bring change and just like the dodo bird, will soon become extinct, writes the former group chief editor of Umno-controlled New Straits Times.
The analogy of the now-extinct bird species from Mauritius is made by Datuk A. Kadir Jasin on his latest blog posting.
He writes that whether there were 2,000 or 140,000 delegates who took part in the just-concluded Umno polls, it is obvious that the party could not make the leap forward as it could not elect a fresh line-up of future leaders.
For Kadir, the only consolation in the Umno vice-presidential race is that those who accused of being involved in money politics have been rejected.
According to Kadir, while the status quo for the veep line-up was a good sign for Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the same could not be said for the party. This is because it could not vote in a new generation of leaders except for a few who made it to the supreme council. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia should move forward to end the half-year of drift and even regression to forge national reconciliation to build a united, inclusive, competitive and prosperous Malaysia for all Malaysians
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Mahathir, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday, 20 October 2013
All eyes were on the Umno party elections yesterday for indications whether the government and country will continue to be haunted, as in the half-year since the General Elections, by the politics of hate and lies projecting the completely false image that Malays and Islam are under siege or whether the government and country will be able to set off on a new trajectory of nation building and development.
Former Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam played the race card to the hilt in the Umno party elections, continuing to indulge in Chinese-bashing for his defeat in the Malay-majority Bukit Katil parliamentary seat in Malacca, oblivious to the fact that he would not have lost in the May general elections if he had not also lost the support of the Malay voters in his constituency.
Is Ali going to blame the Chinese again for his loss in the Umno Vice President contest yesterday, where even the overwhelming majority of the Umno divisions in his Malacca state did not vote for him?
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir was equally irresponsible, ruthless and reckless in playing the race card, reiterating the preposterous allegations and lies since his failed attempt to racialise the Gelang Patah battle in the 13th General Elections that the Chinese in Malaysia were out to oust the political power of the Malays and dominate Malaysian politics.
But the Umno party elections yesterday is further confirmation that Mahathir’s aura and magic have been on an unchecked decline, not only among the Malaysian and Malay public from his 13th general elections campaigns in Gelang Patah, Shah Alam and Pasir Mas but also inside UMNO. Read the rest of this entry »
Moving beyond May 5 and October 19
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, UMNO on Saturday, 19 October 2013
– Ranjit Singh
The Malaysian Insider
October 19, 2013
The year 2013 will go down in the annals of Malaysian history for two important dates. First, May 5, when the Opposition won the popular vote in the 13th General Election, and second, October 19, when the second echelon of power in Umno will be decided.
While May 5 saw the incumbents retain power, October 19 will decide if they have enough firepower to ensure that they hold on to the power in the general election due in 2018.
The very fact that the candidates vying for the vice-presidents’ posts were not allowed to debate was a real missed opportunity for Umno members to evaluate the calibre of their future leaders.
Prime Minister Datuk Najib Razak’s seismic shift from 1Malaysia to the right, in a move seen by many as “playing to the gallery”, has actually undone all the ambitious programmes under his transformation programme and has sowed seeds of anger and distrust among the non-Malays. Read the rest of this entry »
Mahathir cannot be more wrong – three generations of Malaysians regardless of religion have been singing the state anthems of seven states invoking the name of Allah to bless and protect the Sultan and people
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Mahathir, Najib Razak, nation building on Saturday, 19 October 2013
Former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir cannot be more wrong when he said that non-Muslims insisting on the use of the word ‘Allah’ in peninsular Malaysia are disrupting what was already a working arrangement, claiming that “insisting to do so creates tensions between different religions” as non-Muslims in the peninsula do not traditionally use the word.
This is because three generations of Malaysians regardless of race or religion have been singing the state anthems of seven states, Johore, Selangor, Perak, Kedah, Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu invoking the name of Allah to bless and protect the Sultan and people. Were they wrong? Read the rest of this entry »
Has Najib’s 1Malaysia Policy degenerated in four years into a 2Malaysia Policy with different interpretations of constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion for two different regions in Malaysia?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Constitution, Islam, Najib Razak, nation building, Religion on Friday, 18 October 2013
Has Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Policy degenerated in four years into a 2Malaysia Policy with different interpretations of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion for two different regions in Malaysia?
This is a question that cries out for answer after the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup told Sin Chew Daily that the Cabinet had decided after the Court of Appeal judgment on the “Allah” case that in keeping with the earlier 10-point solution, the word “Allah” can be used by Sabahan and Sarawakian Christians in their worship, including in the Malay-language bible Al-Kitab.
Many queries have been spawned, including whether the Cabinet can override the Court of Appeal judgment by executive fiat, which no lawyer, whether in Cabinet, government, Parliament or in the country would ever claim.
What then is the legality, legitimacy and longevity of the Cabinet decision attempting to override the Court of Appeal “Allah” judgment? Read the rest of this entry »
In Umno, battle is between incumbents and challengers, not reformers and right wingers
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, UMNO on Wednesday, 16 October 2013
NEWS ANALYSIS BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
October 16, 2013
Malaysians should disabuse themselves of any notion that the Umno elections are a battle between reformers and conservatives or the enlightened and blinkered, as the victors of last weekend’s Umno Youth and Wanita polls would like to see it.
It is really a battle between incumbents and challengers and nothing separates them in terms of ideology. It is me first, Umno, Malays and then the national interest.
Both Khairy Jamaluddin and Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil won because they had the power of incumbency, and were supported by a push from the top which wanted to keep the status quo.
And their challengers were minnows.
Everything also points to the incumbents being returned as vice-presidents this weekend, no matter the strong challenge from the popular Tan Sri Isa Samad, Datuk Seri Ali Rustam and Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia in 2030
Posted by Kit in environment, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, Transport on Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Liew Chin Tong
The Malaysian Insider
October 16, 2013
In discussing the issues we face in 2013, it will be instructive for us to find new perspective by looking beyond the horizon to consider the possibilities that 2030 holds.
Both Tun Abdullah Badawi who was Prime Minister from October 2003 till April 2009 and Dato’ Seri Najib Razak who took over from him since then have missed the boat to reform Malaysia. Likewise, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Vision 2020 is just a distant dream, a castle in the sky.
Post-13th General Election, discussions about Malaysia’s future is no longer depending on Barisan Nasional. The government-in-waiting Pakatan Rakyat and the rakyat (people) need a broader horizon as a reference for this kind of conversation. Read the rest of this entry »
Parliament Must Replace Najib with Tengku Razaleigh
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Parliament, Razaleigh Hamzah, UMNO on Monday, 14 October 2013
M. Bakri Musa
14.10.03
Malaysia cannot afford Najib Razak’s continued inept leadership. As UMNO has failed to terminate his leadership, and the next election is too far away, it is now up to Parliament to do the necessary. Najib, who is also Finance Minister, will table his budget on October 25, an opportune time for Parliament to pass a no-confidence vote on the budget – and hence his leadership – thus forcing the son of Tun Razak (TR-1) to resign. MPs have a far greater duty beyond loyalty to their leader, and that is loyalty to their country.
With the Will and Guidance of Allah, SWT, Najib can spare himself this unprecedented disgrace and simultaneously relieve his fellow parliamentarians of this distasteful chore by ceding the Prime Ministership to Tengku Razeleigh (TR-2). By gracefully withdrawing now, Najib could return later to lead his party for the 14th national election, and would be a better leader for this voluntary hiatus.
Should Najib contemplate being stubborn, he should remind himself of similar parliamentary practices resulting in the ejection of his contemporaries. In August, British MPs denied Prime Minister Cameron his motion to intervene in Syria. This defying the leader is also not alien to UMNO. TR-1 did it to Tunku Abdul Rahman, albeit in a soft, subtle way. The wise and sensitive Tunku readily saw the signals. Read the rest of this entry »
In Umno, incumbency rules, not reforms
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Sunday, 13 October 2013
The Malaysian Inside
October 13, 2013
Three things we learned from this weekend’s Umno polls.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s influence in the party on the wane.
Yes, he is still the most recognisable name in Malaysian politics and a segment of Umno members yearn for a return to the days when he owned Putrajaya but there is a limit to what Dr Mahathir Mohamad can do these days.
We got a peek into his waning influence in the run-up to the general elections on May 5 when he could not alter the outcome in many places where he campaigned furiously. Remember Gelang Patah. Remember Shah Alam. Remember Pasir Mas. Remember Lumut.
For many younger voters, he was like a voice from another generation. For many non-Malays, he was the leader of the right-wing brigade and a reminder of all the excesses of the Mahathir era. Read the rest of this entry »
In Khairy, Shahrizat twin victories, analysts see a more powerful Najib
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, UMNO on Sunday, 13 October 2013
By Ida Lim
The Malaysian Insider
October 13, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — The return of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s “allies” Khairy Jamaluddin and Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abd Jalil back into their posts as Umno Youth and Wanita chiefs last night will cement the prime minister’s own position in the Barisan Nasional (BN) lynchpin, analysts have said.
According to analysts, Najib, who has himself returned unopposed as Umno president recently, now has his feet planted firmly on the ground, and has been given the green light to proceed with his transformation plans with the same team of soldiers.
Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani, a political analyst from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), pointed out that both Khairy and Shahrizat already support Najib’s national policy of transformation.
“If they win, I think they will strengthen Najib’s position in Umno,” he told The Malay Mail Online when contacted yesterday shortly before the duo’s twin victories, after noting their appointments to positions within the Najib administration this year. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib’s silence on Zahid signals trouble
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Police, Zahid on Saturday, 12 October 2013
– Jay Jay Denis
The Malay Mail Online
October 12, 2013
OCT 12 — “If we get evidence, we shoot them first,” Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was quoted as saying. Reporters were then threatened that if any of what he said was reported, their news portals might be shut down. This is a Member of Parliament put in charge of one of the most key ministries in the country.
What will happen after this? I think you know. There is no need for elaboration.
The Home Affairs Minister has “crossed the line” many a time but has he been held accountable? I don’t recall him being investigated for his statements at all.
To say that “we shoot them first” is preposterous. And that coming from a minister!
Many countries try to observe the rule of law, putting it above everything else so that it acts (via the judicial system), as a check and balance for any society. Ahmad Zahid has undermined the rule of law. Read the rest of this entry »
Despicable meme
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak, UMNO on Thursday, 10 October 2013
COMMENTARY
The Malaysian Insider
October 10, 2013
This is what’s…
• Despicable about Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and his ilk: They believe that the day after the Umno polls on October 19 they can wrap up their divisive talk and everything will be normal again in Malaysia.
It won’t.
These past weeks of cutting words and right wing rhetoric has set back race relations years, maybe even decades. The fighting words from Zahid and Datuk Seri Ali Rustam – one pitching Indians as criminals and Malays as victims and the other pigeonholing Chinese as power crazy – have reminded non-Malays that behind the cash handouts and 1,000-kilowatt smiles, an enemy looms.
A true test of a leader is his consistency and what he utters under pressure. Will he play to the gallery to score points? Will he sacrifice race relations to get voted into office? Will he speak with a forked tongue to win?
The trouble with the Umno politician today is that he stands for everything that is rotten about the state of the country. He is corrupt; he is a plunderer; he is vindictive; he has no understanding of the rule of law.
And he actually believes that hurt from a quiver full of verbal arrows fired at non-Malays can be forgotten. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s got talent, but they’re being driven away, mostly to Singapore – world economic report
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, NEM, NEP on Thursday, 10 October 2013
The Malaysian Insider
October 10, 2013
The huge presence of foreign workers in Malaysia has led to static wages, according to the WEF report. – The Malaysian Insider pic, 10 October, 2013.The huge presence of foreign workers in Malaysia has led to static wages, according to the WEF report. – The Malaysian Insider pic, 10 October, 2013.Affirmative action policies and an overreliance on cheap foreign labour have led to Malaysia’s best and brightest leaving to find greener pastures, particularly in Singapore, according to a new report released by the World Economic Forum.
The Geneva-based body’s Human Capital Index evaluates such things as quality of healthcare, infrastructure and education, in order to gauge a country’s ability to develop a skilled workforce.
Its 2013 report ranks Malaysia at the 22nd spot in a list of 122 countries. Topping the list is Switzerland, followed by Finland, Singapore, the Netherlands and Sweden. Asean countries in the list include Thailand which is placed at number 44, Indonesia (53) and the Philippines (66).
The report notes that Putrajaya’s affirmative action policies as well as cheap migrant labour have kept Malaysia from achieving a skilled workforce to compete with its smaller and richer neighbour, Singapore. Read the rest of this entry »
What is the PM, Cabinet and IGP’s stand on Zahid’s policy of police “shoot first” when dealing with suspected criminals
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Police, Zahid on Thursday, 10 October 2013
Both the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar cannot continue to remain silent on the Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s policy of police “shoot first” when dealing with suspected criminals.
Zahid gave automatic backing to the IGP when Khalid made the ludicrous excuse that the 44 missing police firearms could have “fallen into the sea” when the 2012 Auditor-General’s Report revealed RM1.33 million worth of missing police assets which had included 29 vehicles, 156 handcuffs, 26-walkie-talkies and 22 radios.
Is Khalid going to give similar backing to the Home Minister that police is now operating on a policy of “shoot first” when dealing with suspected criminals?
Whichever the position, Malaysians are entitled to know from the Inspector-General of Police whether the police had adopted a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in line with Zahid’s announcement last Saturday, and if so, when this new SOP had taken effect. Read the rest of this entry »
Call on all Malaysians to reaffirm the Malaysian Dream which is not anti-Malay, anti-Chinese, anti-Indian, anti-Kadazan or anti-Dayak but pro-all Malaysians
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, Najib Razak, nation building, UMNO on Wednesday, 9 October 2013
The UMNO party elections campaign have rocked the country with intolerant, incendiary, racist and even seditious pronouncements by contending UMNO candidates which run afoul of what former Deputy Prime Minister and one-time Deputy UMNO President, Tun Musa Hitam had cautioned UMNO candidates against in a recent interview where he said:
“… often times, to show one’s Malayness they become anti-other groups or accuse others of being anti-Malays. Only then they become heroes. This cannot be.”
Two UMNO politicians who had blatantly and irresponsibly played the race card utterly reckless of the damage they do to 56 years of nation-building in the country are Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam and Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in their campaign for the UMNO vice presidency on Oct. 19.
In a bout of Chinese-bashing, Ali Rustam blamed the Chinese voters for his defeat in the Malay-majority Bukit Katil parliamentary seat in Malacca, oblivious of the fact that he would not have lost in the May general elections if he had not also lost the support of the Malay voters in his constituency.
Is Ali Rustam going to blame the Chinese again if he loses in the UMNO Vice Presidential elections next Saturday?
Zahid’s racist, incendiary and seditious rantings are more serious as it compromised his high office as Home Minister. Read the rest of this entry »
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