Archive for category Pakatan Rakyat
National Reconciliation Requires Realisation, Non-Retaliation and Reforms
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Thursday, 27 June 2013
Shortly after the results of the 13th general election were announced, Prime Minister Najib promised to undertake a national reconciliation program. While the intention of that announcement may have been good, the actions and words of Prime Minister Najib and some of his cabinet ministers and Barisan Nasional leaders have been anything by reconciliatory. In fact, what we saw and what we continue to see are troubling signs that the desire is not to have national reconciliation but to have national retaliation.
This comes from a misguided and mistaken view that it was the ‘Chinese Tsunami’ that caused the BN to lose an additional 7 parliament seats and to fail to win back Selangor and Penang while in fact it was a ‘Malaysian tsunami’ that saw the opposition representation strengthened at the federal and state levels. Without this realisation, without a firm commitment towards non-retaliation and to undertake extensive reforms, Prime Minister Najib’s national reconciliation plan has died before it has even taken off.
It was not a ‘Chinese Tsunami’ that allowed Kelantan to be retained by Pakatan Rakyat. It was not a ‘Chinese Tsunami’ that almost saw Pakatan take over the state government of Terengganu where 96% of all voters are Malay. It was not a ‘Chinese Tsunami’ that allowed Pakatan to capture the 88% Malay seat of Kuala Terengganu, the 98% Malay seat of Kuala Nerus, the 96% Malay seat of Dungun, the 64% Malay seat of Temerloh, the 61% Malay seat of Alor Setar, the 57% Malay seat of Sepang and the 66% Sabah Bumiputera seat of Penampang. It was not a ‘Chinese Tsunami’ that saw PAS increase its state seats in Selangor from 8 to 17, all of them in Malay majority areas.
It was a ‘Malaysian Tsunami’ which saw all three Pakatan parties increase their share of vote in Peninsular Malaysia. It was a ‘Malaysian Tsunami’ which allowed Pakatan to win 713,000 more votes than Barisan Nasional in Peninsular Malaysia. It was a ‘Malaysian Tsunami’ which allowed Pakatan Rakyat to win 51% of popular vote in Malaysia thereby making the BN a minority supported government. It was a ‘Malaysian Tsunami’ which saw BN’s vote share in Perlis – a 85% Malay state – fall by almost 5%. It was a ‘Malaysian Tsunami’ which saw BN’s vote share in Pahang – a 70% Malay state – fall by 4.3%. It was a ‘Malaysian tsunami’ which saw BN’s vote share in Sabah – a 80% Sabah Bumiputera state – fall by almost 7%. It was a ‘Malaysian tsunami’ which saw BN’s vote share in Johor – a 53% Malay, 39% Chinese and 7% Indian state – fall by more than 10%. Read the rest of this entry »
GE13: What happened? And what now? (Part 2)
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Friday, 14 June 2013
— Clive Kessler
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 13, 2013
JUNE 13 — The first part of this commentary analysed the paradoxical outcome of GE13. It traced how the election of a reduced Barisan Nasional (BN) presence and increased opposition numbers in Parliament has amplified, not diminished, Umno’s power — here meaning specifically its power within the nation’s government and over the formation of national policy. It then examined the nature of the election campaign that yielded this paradoxical outcome.
A rejection of Perkasa?
GE13 was a less than explicit, and often inchoate, engagement, or contestation, between two rival views of the Malaysian nation, of what it is and where it was, or might be, headed.
On the one side, Umno/BN, and especially in its appeals to its own power base in the core Malay electorate, maintained incessantly that the country is and has always been tanah Melayu — Malay land and the land of the Malays — and that the country’s defining Malay identity would now have to be upheld by a reaffirmation and, if necessary, even an expansion beyond previously existing understandings of what that characterisation as tanah Melayu might mean.
On the other side, the Pakatan Rakyat coalition stuck to the terms of the agreement binding together its three partners. In a less than fully worked-out way they insisted that Malaysia was, or must become, a land of and for all Malaysians, and was now ready to do so. Or at least to make a common start on that journey — that quest for a shared future based upon a new national understanding and, under the existing Constitution, a new principled foundation.
That was the choice that was placed on offer to the voters. If it was the campaign that was waged by Umno/BN that won the day, can it be said that the overall election result represented a rejection of Perkasa by the nation, especially the Malay electorate?
Hardly. That is simply not so.
Yes, two Perkasa men who received Umno/BN backing were defeated. But 88 Umno candidates won. And that is more important, that is what matters.
They won on the “Malays in danger, Islam under threat” campaign waged in the Malay media that, as its main election effort, Umno directed at the nation’s Malay voters.
The Perkasa position is in effect, as some put it, “Malays on top, now and forever. That is Malaysia, love it or leave it!”
It is a hard, uncompromising position. But that, too, if in slightly more polite and modulated terms, was the essence of the Umno campaign that was projected daily, with ever increasing determination and with increasingly disquieting effect, by Utusan and its media consociates to the ever more fearful Malay voters in the rural heartlands.
Two outright, upfront card-carrying Perkasa candidates lost, even though they enjoyed Umno support.
But Umno ran, and won handsomely upon, a campaign which can simply be described as “Perkasa Mild”. A Perkasa-type campaign detached from the perhaps dubious or extreme reputation of Perkasa itself. A Perkasa-line not, like the original, angry but one for the somewhat more polite and genteel, and for those gripped by a fearful, and artfully cultivated, collective cultural and political anxiety.
A Perkasa line, it might perhaps be said, for those who might hesitate, not out of fear but even out of basic decency and in good conscience, to be publicly identified with Perkasa.
On the contrary. Perkasa, they might well feel, may be extremists. But Umno is mainstream. And if that is what Umno is saying, if that is the campaign that it is running, well, that line and that campaign, being Umno’s, cannot be extreme. That, for some, was the psychology of supporting “Perkasa Mild”. Read the rest of this entry »
Prize for “Political Gaffe of the Month” or “Putting one’s foot in the mouth” will be a toss-up among three competitors, Wan Ahmad, Muhyiddin and Mahathir
Posted by Kit in Elections, Mahathir, Muhyiddin Yassin, Pakatan Rakyat, Zahid on Monday, 10 June 2013
The prize for “Political Gaffe of the Month” or “Putting one’s foot in the mouth” will be a toss-up among three competitors this month – Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Tun Mahathir, viz:
• Election Commission deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar in asking why he and the Election Commission Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof should resign when they have done their job of running an election, completely blissful of the national and international uproar over 13GE for failing to meet the most basic criteria of being a clean, free and fair elections as to cause for the first time in the nation’s 56-year history widespread doubt about the legitimacy of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as the Prime Minister.
• Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s threat that the 47% BN minority government will penalize and discriminate against 51% majority of popular vote for supporting Pakatan Rakyat and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in contrast to the 47% popular vote for Barisan Nasional and Datuk Seri Najib Razak – starkly raising the question whether Najib and the BN Government are Prime Minister and Government for only 47% of Malaysians or for all Malaysians.
• Former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s latest racist vituperation alleging that the 2013GE outcome is proof that the Chinese in Malaysia are out to oust the political power of the Malays and to dominate Malaysian politics highlighting the falsehoods and moral turpitude he is prepared to indulge in to perpetrate his racist objectives .
Muhyiddin’s should stop his “double-speak” as his open threat of 47% minority government penalizing 51% majority of voters is the latest subversion and not defence of national institutions of the country
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Elections, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Monday, 10 June 2013
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin should stop his “double-speak” as his open threat on Saturday of 47% minority government penalizing 51% majority of voters is the latest subversion and not defence of national institutions in the country.
It is surprising that Muhyiddin could be guilty or such “double speak” uttering totally contradictory sentiments at the same function, i.e. the BN thanksgiving function in Kundang Ulu, Johor.
Although Muhyiddin claimed that Malaysian voters have conveyed a clear message in the 13GE that they want the government to be more stern and bold in defending the important institutions in the country, “enforcing the law, upholding the country’s Constitution, and fighting crime effectively as well as eradicating corruption”, Muhyiddin has completely nullified these high-sounding sentiments with his threat to discriminate and penalize 51% of the popular vote who supported Pakatan Rakyat and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in contrast to the 47% of the voters who supported Barisan Nasional and Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Surely, Muhyiddin’s declaration that the BN administration will direct “greater assistance” towards the communities that backed it during the general election, implying a punitive policy of neglect and discrimination for the 51% majority of the popular vote, is the most powerful proof that Najib has a long way to go to prove that he is Prime Minister of all Malaysians and not just 47% of Malaysians!
Or do we have a situation where we have Najib who wants to be Prime Minister of all Malaysians but Muhyiddin only wants to the Deputy Prime Minister for 47% of Malaysians?
When Muhyddin talked about the people’s “clear message” in wanting the government to defend the important institutions in the country, he has missed the Elephant in the Room as it is UMNO/BN who must bear the full responsibility in the past three decades for undermining and subverting the key national institutions in the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Accepting criticism with an open mind
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat on Saturday, 8 June 2013
— Douglas Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
June 07, 2013
JUNE 7 — I have little difficulty in confessing that I am a Pakatan Rakyat supporter.
After weighing the pros and cons of either coalition, the answer that emerges seems rather intuitive in nature. The current Barisan Nasional (BN) is corrupt, greedy and tyrannical — the worst kind of democratic government possible. Compare that to Pakatan — freedom fighters, typical wage-earning leaders, who also happen to be the electoral underdog.
In this battle, Pakatan occupies the moral high-ground, strengthening their discourse with populism and calls for social justice. Consequentially, any attack on Pakatan’s “character” by BN supporters seems ludicrous and invalid.
So what’s the issue here? Some might say that this is after all a classic good-versus-evil political narrative. Our sentiments (as with any good story) often lie with the struggling underdog who champions a good cause.
But there’s a catch. The trouble with this kind of dichotomous division of political parties is that we over-sympathise with and to some extent even victimise our party of choice. Read the rest of this entry »
Regressive polls reactions
Posted by Kit in Elections, Media, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Sunday, 2 June 2013
P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
May 31, 2013
QUESTION TIME The reactions to the elections by Barisan Nasional and Umno in particular and related organisations is nothing short of shocking. It reflects an alarming and regressive move towards hardline stances which are blatantly racist and with complete disregard to what the election results themselves indicate the electorate wants.
Considering that the majority of voters were against BN and by implication Umno, the stance towards needless toughness and the callous appeal to base racial hatred will only alienate the BN from the public who have clearly indicated they want change for the better and which have by and large rejected race itself as an issue.
It reflects a belligerent, biased, boorish and childish response to election results by influential quarters, including ministers, a former prominent judge, Utusan Malaysia editors and others who have successfully drowned out a few reasonable voices within Umno and hijacked the so-called reconciliation process post-elections.
Persisting with these actions has not only put paid to the reconciliation process but unnecessarily raised tensions among all people. This may have been the intention of those who raised these issues in such a manner in the hope of keeping themselves and their ilk in power by perpetuating fear.
But in the end, those who play with fire are likely to burn themselves. Malaysians are already aware that the race card is repeatedly played to trump all manner of ills facing Malaysia, and especially Umno and BN patronage, corruption and cronyism which lead to a plethora of social ills.
If Umno goes on along this line and if the government machinery, including the police, continue to selectively prosecute only those opposed to them, they can expect a severe backlash from the electorate five or less years down the line. Read the rest of this entry »
The myth of a two-party system in Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat, Parliament, Politics on Saturday, 1 June 2013
— Nicholas Chan and Koay Su Lyn
The Malaysian Insider
May 31, 2013
MAY 31 — A contention exists after the 2008 general election, be it academically or by propaganda, that Malaysia will benefit greatly from a two-party system, a concept constantly thrown around but highly vague in its actual meaning, or at least in the public understanding of it. Hence, after all these years of political shakeup, did we achieve the two-party system? If yes, how far did it go? Are we enjoying the fruits of it or did it come at a cost, like the political gridlock that has been plaguing Washington?
By definition, the most commonly agreed feature of a democratic two-party system is that it is a political environment, dominated by two major political parties with either party winning in almost all the elections held. Although the system does not negate the existence of other splinter parties or independent candidates, it usually thrives in an “either-or” situation whereby the ruling party is just one or the other. The most notable example of a two-party system is the United States, as the Congress is populated by politicians from two major parties while the presidency is always a tussle between a Republican and a Democrat candidate. A two-party system is not an engraved certainty as the United Kingdom, which had witnessed a two-party system between the Labour and the Conservative for decades (except for the case of a hung Parliament in 1974), was struck by an embarrassing situation in its most recent 2010 elections, whereby neither party earned the simple majority to form the government, resulting in a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government. Read the rest of this entry »
The de-racialisation of Barisan Nasional?
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Tuesday, 21 May 2013
— Yang Razali Kassim
The Malaysian Insider
May 20, 2013
MAY 20 — On the 44th anniversary of the May 13, 1969, racial riots that gave birth to it, the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) displayed signs of being in existential angst.
Though it won the 13th general election on May 5 by securing the most parliamentary seats, BN lost the popular vote and failed to wrest back its two-thirds parliamentary majority in the face of Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) strong showing.
While BN was relieved to have been returned to power, the results were a body blow that sent it into deep introspection. A significant upshot has been a proposal to transform itself from the current model of a coalition of communal parties into a single, merged multi-racial entity.
Significantly, too, this idea came from no less than the secretary-general of Umno, the party that is the lynchpin of BN and the epitome of Malaysia’s communal politics. Given his key position, Datuk Tengku Adnan Mansor could well be reflecting an internal debate now spilling into the open.
Other Umno leaders who have begun to publicly float such “radical” views in the wake of the 2013 general election (GE13) are Datuk Nazri Aziz and Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, both members of the Umno supreme council and the previous Cabinet. While Tengku Adnan and Nazri successfully defended their parliamentary seats, Saifuddin lost his despite being known for his reformist views. Read the rest of this entry »
10 things Anwar must do
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Pakatan Rakyat on Monday, 20 May 2013
P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
May 17, 2013
QUESTION TIME By now the cabinet has been appointed and while there are fresh faces, no one I have spoken to expects any drastic changes from the norm especially as Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is bound to face pressure from Umno delegates at the forthcoming Umno general assembly.
We seem to be going from one election to another and delaying much needed change accordingly. And as everyone knows by now, Umno delegates don’t at all represent the common voice of the Malays but posture to make it appear as if they do.
Thus it was that when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi got a massive mandate from the people in the 2004 elections, obtaining over 90 percent of parliamentary seats, he refrained from taking measures he promised because his advisers told him there will be a backlash from Umno delegates.
Ah, well, history repeats itself, especially when you don’t learn from it, and one can expect the pressures from within Umno to stop any push towards major change which will benefit the country as a whole without descending into the morass of race, religion and language.
For Pakatan Rakyat, very much still in opposition, the fight continues in earnest. But if it wants to wrest Putrajaya from Barisan Nasional, there are a number of things it has to do and its de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim will have to bear these in mind.
Pakatan would have made much more headway in the elections just past if they had focused on even half of this. But no matter, there is always still time and it is necessary to build on the gains if Malaysians are to see the two-party system emerge.
To my mind, a two-party system emerges only when there has been at least one change of power. That has not happened yet and here is our list of 10 things that Anwar must do if he wants a fair chance of Pakatan forming the next government. Read the rest of this entry »
You are racist if you are not racist
— conspiracytheor1st
The Malaysian Insider
May 19, 2013
MAY 19 — You will never read from anywhere that brand Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King as racists.
Abraham Lincoln pawned his life to fight against the enslavement of the African Americans, Nelson Mandela traded decades of his freedom to free South Africa from the shackles of the Apartheid policy and Martin Luther King paid for his life for the equal rights of Americans. Their detractors could call them any vile names they wished but never as a racist.
Only in Malaysia, the very people who do not condone racism and voted against it are labeled as racists. Over the decades, Umnno, led by Dr. Mahathir and his armada of mass media had been accusing DAP with its vision of “Malaysian Malaysia” as a bigoted political party, hell-bent to destroy the Malay.
The rakyat particularly the IT savvy urban-dwellers who ironically voted for the multiracial parties from Pakatan Rakyat in GE13 were branded as racists because they rejected the race-based political system where every race fights endlessly to defend their respective rights.
To put things into perspective, could anyone imagine any American being branded as racist if they do not endorse Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist organization? Read the rest of this entry »
Najib’s feckless and uninspiring cabinet
Posted by Kit in Hindraf, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Sunday, 19 May 2013
Mariam Mokhtar| May 19, 2013
Free Malaysia Today
Najib is impotent when tackling corruption, or defusing racial and religious tensions. His weakness as a leader is reflected in the Cabinet line-up
COMMENT
Najib Tun Razak’s defence of the Malay daily Utusan Malaysia which displayed a provocative headline, “What more do the Chinese want?” does nothing for national reconciliation, something which Najib promised to address, after GE-13.
Trying his best to placate an increasingly cynical public, Najib vowed to be a prime minister for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, state or political views.
He said, “I love my country …… We will also continue to promote moderation among multiracial Malaysians and place great importance on racial harmony and national unity.”
Despite the sweet talk, he refused to censure Utusan, but said, “You blame Utusan but you don’t ask about the Chinese papers.”
If Najib was adamant that both the Malay and Chinese newspapers were stoking racial hatred, the right thing would have been to punish both papers.
Najib is impotent when tackling corruption, or defusing racial and religious tensions. His weakness as a leader is reflected in the Cabinet line-up. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia in “best of times, worst of times” – call on Malaysians to keep faith and hope in moment of despair and to press on until victory is achieved for change of government and policies
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday, 19 May 2013
The two weeks of Malaysia since the 13GE on May 5 is best described by Charles Dickens in the opening paragraph of his historic fiction of the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities (a book written 154 years ago and which has sold over 200 million copies):
“IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”
It was “the best of times” for Malaysia, when Malaysians, transcending race, religion, region, class, gender and age, were united in the hope of change of government and policies; but it was “the worst of times” when such hopes were crushed by the dirtiest general election in the nation’s 56 year history.
It was “the spring of hope” when Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, class, gender and age dare to dream the Malaysian Dream where there is an end to the politics of race, corruption, cronyism, abuses of power and all forms of injustices; but it was “the winter of despair” with one post-13GE drivel after another from those re-established in power about “Chinese tsunami”, “Chinese taken for a ride”, “Apa Lagi Cina Mahu” and the latest challenge to patriotic Malaysians to “Migrate elsewhere” if they are not satisfied with the country’s electoral system, demonstrating that the evil tentacles of the old politics of race, lies and fear are still very much alive and powerful.
The “Light” in the epoch of “Darkness”, when there is so much disappointment, outrage and anger in the country at the 13GE results that Datuk Seri Najib Razak could be sworn in as Prime Minister with 47% of popular vote while Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is denied the highest office in the land with 51% of the popular vote, is the accelerated political awakening of Malaysians, particularly the young generation of Malaysians regardless of race, religion, region and class, coming out in their tens and hundreds of thousands to demonstrate their commitment to bring about peaceful and democratic change in the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Forcing a paradigm shift in MCA and Umno
Posted by Kit in Elections, MCA, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Thursday, 16 May 2013
by Oon Yeoh
Malaysiakini
May 15, 2013
COMMENT
Much has been written about MCA and Gerakan’s decision not to join the cabinet following their poor performance in the recently concluded general elections.
Some commentators have said that because Malaysia is a multiracial country, there must be Chinese representation in the cabinet to look after Chinese needs. That’s an interesting notion because MCA and Gerakan ministers have never assumed the position of Chinese affairs minister or anything like that. Such a position doesn’t exist.
They take up other positions like transport minister or health minister or energy, water and communications minister. So, how do they look after Chinese interests if their job is to look after transportation, health or energy, water and communications issues?
Perhaps, they can speak up about Chinese-related issues privately to the prime minister. But do they have to be in the cabinet to speak the PM about such issues? Aren’t there other channels to highlight such issues besides being in the cabinet?
In fact, if the PM really wanted to understand Chinese concerns, he should speak to opposition leaders for it’s obvious they have a better handle of Chinese grouses than MCA or Gerakan leaders.
Besides, if it’s Chinese representation in the cabinet that people are worried about, the prime minister can always appoint prominent members of the Chinese community as senators and make them ministers.
But who exactly is calling for Chinese representation in the cabinet? Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has called for it. So has Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin. Columnist Azman Ujang has done so, too. Read the rest of this entry »
A Budding Sprightly Spring
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 14 May 2013
by Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest
THE young are not happy with the result of the 13th general election (GE13) held on May 5. I saw that for myself at the ‘Black 505’ rally in Penang on May 11, at which most of the participants were young people – of all races.
They came by the tens of thousands, carrying Pakatan Rakyat and Malaysian flags, blowing vuvuzuelas … and sporting banners that spoke of the unity they profess: “We are Malaysian – Malay, Chinese, Indian.” For them, the race-based politics of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) is anathema.
In that sense, the ‘Black 505’ rallies, which have since been held in Selangor, Penang and Perak to tremendous responses have become more than just demonstrations of disgust at the alleged electoral fraud of GE13; they are also manifestations of a real sense of unity among like-minded Malaysians. Read the rest of this entry »
The journey of 900km
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 14 May 2013
— R. Yang
The Malaysian Insider
May 13, 2013
MAY 13 — On the night of May 5, the outcome of the election was somewhat predictable — the slow release of the electoral results coupled with huge contradiction between the official and unofficial results. We were filled with disbelief, disappointment and anger towards to failure of the caretaker government and the affiliated public institutions to ensure a clean and fair election.
On May 6 evening, there was news that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) calling for a mass rally at the Kelana Jaya stadium. Upon arriving back in Singapore on May 7, my friends IV and BF informed me of their intention of participating in what would be a maiden rally for them. With little hesitation, we took the decision to be part of the historical moment in Malaysia. I informed my manager on my decision to take urgent leave and, delightfully, he wished me all the best for the trip.
On May 8 afternoon, BF and I rented a car in Johor Baru and started the journey of 400km at 3pm. In general, everything was smooth. We were stopped by policemen at Seremban who asked us where we were heading to. “Shah Alam,” I said and we were released. Some wrong exits were made but fortunately we managed to pick IV and continued our journey to the stadium.
At 7.30pm traffic was crawling along the North-South Expressway at the Subang exit. It took us more than 45 minutes to travel the final 2km and the cars weren’t moving at all after the toll. It was 8.15pm. Some drivers abandoned their cars and walked. We were lucky to locate a spot to park the car and headed to the stadium. Read the rest of this entry »
Silver linings in a GE13 without gold
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Monday, 13 May 2013
Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
May 12, 2013
COMMENT
The dust is beginning to settle one week after the dirtiest election in the country’s history. Some of the dirt will stick, while others will hopefully wash away as the memory of the election fades.
My earlier pieces have focussed on the questions about the electoral process and impact of an Umno ‘victory’. Here I turn to the effects of the election on the expansion of democracy in Malaysia.
The message is one of strength, not weakness, or hope, rather than despair. Read the rest of this entry »
The nation cried on May 8, 2013
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday, 12 May 2013
— Foong Wai Fong
The Malaysian Insider
May 12, 2013
MAY 12 — My brother and his friend picked me up from Saujana and we proceeded slowly over to the Kelana Jaya Museum. None of us were speaking much as it was a solemn and sad occasion; it is like we are going
for a wake… to mourn the death of democracy.
I truly felt how the family of Tan Beng Hock felt when they were told that their son “committed suicide.”
On the morning of May 6th even pass midnight of May 5th, that was how we felt, “ PR Lost.” The whole process of announcing the result make you feel that they forced it down your throat, “ I said you lose, so you lose.”
How different is this from the way they treated the death of Tan Beng Hock.
My brother and I, and some of our other friends felt we just have to be at the Kelana Jaya Rally. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Misconception created by Chinese press’
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Saturday, 11 May 2013
Alyaa Azhar| May 10, 2013
Free Malaysia Today
DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang says his statement with regard to a possible DAP-BN coalition was misconstrued by the Chinese press.
KUALA LUMPUR: DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang today said that newspaper headlines in Chinese press were to blame for a misconception that he wanted to form a coalition government with the Barisan Nasional.
“I was told that I have been the target of attacks in the social media for betraying the people. I have done nothing to justify that. The fault actually lies with the Chinese newspapers headlines, mixing two separate issues – first if DAP will join BN to replace MCA, and secondly the separate proposal of a BN-PR coalition government,” Lim told a press conference today.
Lim said that Sin Chew’s frontpaged headline gives readers, who only read the first headline, the impression that he supports the idea of DAP joining BN to replace MCA.
The main headline reads: ‘Lim Kit Siang: Can have coalition government with BN’ while the sub-heading reads: ‘Condition: Accept PR’s election manifesto’.
He said that Sin Chew and it sub-editors should be careful in ensuring that their primary headlines do not create misconceptions.
“They cannot assume that readers will read the full contents or even the sub-headings. You know how it is nowadays, most people only read the primary headline and not the full report,” he said.
He added that to avoid misunderstanding, both the main headline and sub-headings should not vary drastically. Read the rest of this entry »
Guan Eng: DAP has no interest in BN
Posted by Kit in Bersih, DAP, Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Saturday, 11 May 2013
Athi Shankar| May 10, 2013
Free Malaysia Today
Lim Guan Eng accuses Umno of trying to break up the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.
GEORGE TOWN: DAP has no interest in joining Barisan Nasional for posts, said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in a statement here today.
This is because, he said DAP struggled for principles and people-centric policies not positions and personal interests.
He claimed that BN was using underhand tactics to split up Pakatan Rakyat by inviting DAP to join the coalition.
He stressed DAP’s urgent priority of polls reform that respected the “one-man, one-vote, one-value” principle would not be undermined by such underhand tactics.
He claimed that Pakatan’s failure to wrest the federal government from BN despite garnering more popular votes demands urgent polls reforms.
He said Pakatan was willing to co-operate with BN to implement polls reform to reflect the unhappiness of majority Malaysians, who voted for change and yet discover that despite winning the popular votes, they could not vote out BN. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s Opposition not after an ‘Arab spring’ – DAP leader
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Saturday, 11 May 2013
ABC Radio Australia
10 May 2013, 21:47 AEST
Malaysia’s opposition is planning several political gatherings across the country this month, over last Sunday’s disputed national elections.
The protests could be the most provocative challenge to the Malaysian government in years.
Mr Lim Kit Siang, a veteran senior member of the DAP, a component of the three-party Pakatan Rakyat, told Asia Pacific that the Opposition is studying allegations of fraud in between twenty to thirty constituencies.
Mr Lim, who caused a political upset last Sunday by winning a seat in Johor state against the incumbent chief minister, says media reports of a ‘wave of protests’ are erroneous.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Lim Kit Siang, member of parliament for Gelang Patah, and senior member of the opposition Democratic Action Party
LIM: Well, we’re having ceramahs (meetings) in order to explain to the people the electoral fraud, as well as the latest political situation in the country. I had one last night for instance, a DAP ceramah. Of course people are angry and frustrated that the election process has been so unfair, not having a level playing field, that has deprived the country of a government that they wanted – which is a replacement of the present government and prime minister.
LAM: Are you concerned that such ongoing protests might lead to national instability?
LIM: Well, we definitely do not want an ‘Arab spring’ in the sense of having national incidents and all that. We want to continue to have peaceful and orderly process, where there can be public meetings to explain to the people the latest political developments in the country, including the electoral fraud. Read the rest of this entry »
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