Archive for category Pakatan Rakyat
Ipoh Ceramah at Chin Woo Hall on 9th May 2013
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat on Friday, 10 May 2013
The 2013 Election Results: Back to the Drawing Board for Both Coalitions
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Lim Teck Ghee, Mahathir, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Friday, 10 May 2013
by Dr. Lim Teck Ghee
Finally the general election is over. For politicians and analysts, the work of number crunching, deciphering the results and trying to understand the choices made by voters is just beginning.
Some conclusions are easy to arrive at. Firstly, despite a skewed electoral playing ground and the rolling out of more than RM2.6 billion worth of financial and other incentives to voters, the BN could not improve on its 2008 performance. Although it regained power in one state and has a comfortable majority at parliamentary level, its share of state and parliamentary seats has been substantially reduced. Had a fair election prevailed, it would have been consigned to the opposition benches. In fact BN lost the popular vote count by a substantial margin nation-wide. In most if not all electoral systems found in the world, it would have been booted out of office. In our case, it came dangerously close to it. Read the rest of this entry »
How Malays voted at GE13
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Thursday, 9 May 2013
— Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied
The Malaysian Insider
May 09, 2013
MAY 9 — Speaking at a news conference a day after the release of the results of the general election, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak stressed that: “On the whole, the people’s decision this time shows a trend of voting polarisation…This worries the government, because if it’s not handled well, it could spark tension.” These comments were made in light of the premier’s knee-jerk observation that the increasingly politicised Chinese community have now swung towards the opposition unlike Malays who are firmly in support of Barisan Nasional (BN).
Compelling as such reasoning can be, Najib’s reflex reaction towards BN’s worst defeat since 1969 masks the deeper nuances of voting patterns and trends in Malaysia. While the results of the 13th general election (GE13) provide evidence that the Chinese-Malay divide in Malaysian politics has indeed manifest itself at the ballot box, there are other developments within the Malay populace in the country that have become more apparent and may follow a more protracted course in the coming years.
The rural-urban divide is the most obvious phenomenon that has emerged among the Malay electorate. Read the rest of this entry »
Message from voters to BN — race card brings dwindling returns
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Thursday, 9 May 2013
By Leslie Lau
The Malaysian Insider
May 09, 2013
The Pakatan Rakyat rally in Petaling Jaya last night saw a very multiracial crowd. — Picture by Saw Siow MengMAY 9 — As if offended by all the post-election Chinese-bashing, a truly Malaysian crowd turned out last night at a stadium in Petaling Jaya to send a chilling message to the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
The message was many ordinary Malaysians wanted an end to the race debate surrounding Sunday’s vote in Election 2013.
Instead of election fatigue many voters were galvanised by what they saw as unfair and dishonest polls as well as an attempt by BN to blame the Chinese.
Those who attended last night’s rally did not care about the police calling the gathering illegal.
And not all were loyal supporters of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, or card-carrying members of the three Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties.
Chances are of course that they voted for PR parties.
But there were many young Malaysians and it was multiracial in nature.
This should serve as a warning to politicians that playing the race card is a strategy of diminishing returns. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib’s hollow victory
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Elections, Mahathir, Mariam Mokhtar, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Thursday, 9 May 2013
by Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
May 6, 2013
It is widely believed that a happy and contented Singaporean is one who has achieved the 5Cs – cash, credit card, car, condominium and country club.
In neighbouring Malaysia, the victorious Umno Baru leader is defined by the 6Cs; corruption, chaos, cheating, cronyism, cowardice and concubine.
BN head Najib Abdul Razak injected many millions of ringgit into the country to secure a victory, and unleashed a violent campaign of ‘blood, sweat and tears’ to defend Putrajaya. In the end, he only managed a ‘win’ by a handful of seats.
For many Umno Baru leaders, the effort has been worthwhile because the alternative is a long spell behind bars.
Ironically, the worst damage inflicted on Najib and BN, was Najib’s own ‘1Malaysia’ slogan.
Malaysians are fairly reticent people and not known for outward displays of public-spiritedness, but yesterday, in the true spirit of ‘1Malaysia’, Malaysians of all races were united in defending their polling stations against foreign ‘phantom’ voters. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia BN’s polls slump a ‘Malaysian tsunami’, ex-NSTP boss says
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, Parliament on Monday, 6 May 2013
The Malaysian Insider
May 06, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 ― Barisan Nasional’s (BN) weaker showing in Election 2013 points to a strong wave of rejection from all Malaysians and not just from the minority Chinese, a former editor of the Umno-owned New Straits Times said today.
Datuk A. Kadir Jasin observed that the 13-party coalition not only drew fewer seats in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat and 12 state assemblies in yesterday’s general election compared to 2008, but also lost the popular vote for the first time since polls in 1969.
“Is it not possible that this is not a Chinese tsunami or racial chauvinism but a Malaysian tsunami that is centred on the aspiration and new reality, especially among young voters?” the man who had been group editor-in-chief of the public-listed News Strait Times Press during the Mahathir administration wrote in his blog.
BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak had alluded to a “Chinese tsunami” in an immediate speech just after midnight when the Election Commission announced the BN as winners by a simple majority, but the veteran journalist today brushed aside the perception as unlikely. Read the rest of this entry »
Final tally: BN 134, Pakatan 88
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Monday, 6 May 2013
FMT Staff| May 5,2013 FMT
Free Malaysia Today
Pakatan Rakyat says that it would not accept the results, blaming the EC for manipulating the polls to ensure a BN victory.
FULL REPORT
PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional has formed the federal government by winning 134 out of 222 seats. In 2008, it won 140 seats.
Pakatan Rakyat meanwhile won 88 seats – six more than their total in 2008.
DAP emerged as the biggest winner among Pakatan parties, romping home to win 38 seats. PKR won 29 seats while PAS brought home 21 seats.
In 2008, PKR was the biggest winner with its 31 seats, followed by DAP (28) and PAS (23). Read the rest of this entry »
Psy war as both sides leak GE13 ‘win’ numbers
By Jahabar Sadiq
Editor
The Malaysian Insider
May 05, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — Both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) began leaking numbers of possible wins in the tight Election 2013 race just as voters finished casting their ballots today.
The BN is confident of winning 145 federal seats, with at least 118 in the white list, said sources from the coalition’s war room.
But PR is also bullish about capturing Putrajaya, with sources saying that it can win at least 117 federal seats. It is understood that an independent poll showed possibly taking at least 125 seats, with at least 40 per cent of the Malay vote in the bag.
The Umno-controlled Berita Harian has also been publishing an exit poll of various hot seats that indicate BN are in the lead. It is learnt that the numbers are from the BN war room.
PR sources say that their worst-case scenario is taking 100 federal seats and possibly wresting the Perak and Negri Sembilan state assemblies while keeping Kelantan, Kedah, Penang and Selangor.
But BN sources say they are also confident of keeping Perak and taking Kedah and Kelantan as part of their “Blue Wave” campaign. Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar vows no retributive justice for political foes
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Elections, Mahathir, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday, 5 May 2013
by Susan Loone
Malaysiakini
May 4, 2013
Pakatan’s prime minister-designate Anwar Ibrahim has vowed that his political opponents will not face “retributive justice” should he assume power in Putrajaya tomorrow.
His political enemies, among others, is his former boss,ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad.
“I have no intention of taking revenge against him nor will we be conducting any investigation on him,” said Anwar at a press conference in Kubang Semang today.
“However, this does not mean that the wealth of Petronas will continue to remain a monopoly in the hands of his cronies,” he was quick to add.
“Such ill gotten wealth must be returned to the people,” he stressed.
“I can understand his hysterical outburst recently but no one said we will go after him,” he quipped. Read the rest of this entry »
1-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Coming-of-Age of Malaysian Dream, with PR campaigning on “hope” while BN campaigning on “fear”
Posted by Kit in Elections, nation building, Pakatan Rakyat, Parliament on Saturday, 4 May 2013
Let the 13th General Elections tomorrow mark the coming-of-age of the Malaysian Dream, uniting Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region, in a common national vision and destiny to build a more united, democratic, free, just, competitive and prosperous nation for all Malaysian citizens.
In my 47 years in politics, I have always regarded myself as a Malaysian first and last. I have never regarded myself purely as a Chinese, but as a Malaysian of Chinese ethnic descent whose loyalty is unswervingly to the Malaysian nation, having common cause with all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region to build a better Malaysia for all Malaysians.
Loyalty to the Malaysian nation is however not the same as loyalty to the government of the day.
It is a complete misunderstanding and misperception of the meaning of “loyalty” for the caretaker Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional leaders to equate support of the government-coalition of the day with loyalty to the nation. Read the rest of this entry »
9-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: Sarawak BN has conceded that 11 parliamentary seats in the state are in danger – a step closer to Putrajaya
I have just returned from a 42-hour whistle-stop visit to Sarawak and Sabah, where I challenged voters in the three Barisan Nasional “fixed deposit states” of Sarawak, Sabah and Johor to rise up to the historic challenge to achieve the target of winning a total of 33 Parliamentary seats in the 13GE from the three states – which is an important precondition for Malaysians to effect change in Putrajaya with Pakatan Rakyat replacing Barisan Nasional as the new Federal Government of Malaysia.
It is a tall order for the three BN “fixed deposit” states of Sarawak, Sabah and Johore to win for Pakatan Rakyat 33 out of the total of 83 parliamentary seats in these three states on 13GE Polling Day on May 5, as PR only won three or one in each state in the 2008 general elections – namely Bandar Kuching in Sarawak, Kota Kinabalu in Sabah and Bakri in Johore – but it is not an impossible target as it would have been five years ago.
I am encouraged from my lightning visits to Sabah (Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu) on Wednesday and Sarawak (Kuching, Mas Gading where our parliamentary candidate is Mordi Bimol and Serian where our parliamentary candidate is Edward Andrew Luat) yesterday that the winds of change are blowing strong and hard in these two states.
It was in Sabah that the catchcry “Ini Kalilah” and in Sarawak where the other catchcry “UBAH” first rang out loud and clear and which have now been joined as “Ini Kalilah – UBAH” to become the common cry and inspiration of all Malaysians in the country who want change to embrace the Malaysian Dream and an end to the politics of race, corruption, cronyism, abuses of power, violation of democratic and human rights, injustices and lack of good governance!
Read the rest of this entry »
Three Challenges to three Barisan Nasional “fixed deposit states” of Sarawak, Sabah and Johore on their catalytic role to take Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya in 13GE
The coming 13th GE is the most historic and significant one in the 56-year history of the nation as Malaysians will decide if the change of Federal government in Putrajaya will come about on Polling Day on May 5, 2013.
The battle of the 13GE is the battle between the politics of the future represented by the Pakatan Rakyat coalition versus the politics of the past as practised by the Barisan Nasional in the past few decades.
The politics of the past is the politics of race and the politics of rampant corruption, cronyism, massive abuses of power, gross violation of democratic and human rights, injustices, unsustainable development because of despoilation of the environment, lack of transparency, accountability and good governance.
The politics of the future transcends racial politics where Malaysians unite not because they are Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans or Kadazans but because they are Malaysian patriots who dare the dream the Malaysian Dream to create a more harmonious, just, free, progressive and prosperous Malaysia for all Malaysians.
Read the rest of this entry »
10-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: UMNO dan Barisan Nasional perlu menjelaskan secara terbuka sama ada mahu melaksanakan hudud atau tidak – DAP tidak ubah pendirian dan tetap berpegang kepada Perlembagaan Persekutuan
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Thursday, 25 April 2013
UMNO dan Barisan Nasional perlu menjelaskan dengan terbuka sama ada mahu melaksanakan hudud atau tidak. UMNO dan BN tidak perlu membuang masa untuk mengelirukan rakyat dengan menjadikan hudud sebagai isu politik.
Malah saya menyeru Datuk Seri Najib Razak supaya memartabatkan agama Islam dan menghormati umat Islam dengan menghentikan kempen yang mempergunakan agama kerana ia memberi kesan buruk kepada masyarakat. Saya harap para pemimpin BN benar-benar menghormati kesucian Islam dan agama-agama lain kerana kepercayaan agama bukanlah alat permainan politik.
Dengan itu, saya ingin menjelaskan bahawa laporan dalam media massa hari ini tentang cabaran Datuk Seri Najib supaya Pakatan Rakyat menyatakan pendirian secara jelas mengenai isu hudud, hanyalah satu gimik politik semata-mata. Saya kesal kerana beliau terus mempergunakan agama dalam PRU kali ini.
Saya juga ingin menjelaskan bahawa DAP tidak ubah pendirian dan tetap berpegang kepada Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Pakatan Rakyat telah pun menyatakan bahawa hudud tidak terkandung dalam Manifesto Rakyat, pendirian bersama dan apa-apa prinsip bersama.
Read the rest of this entry »
GE13: REFSA chooses transformation
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Thursday, 25 April 2013
By Teh Chi-Chang, Executive Director | 25 April 2013
refsa.org
On Sunday, May 5, Malaysians go to the polls. For the first time in our history, in the 56 years since Merdeka, we have a real choice in choosing who to grant the privilege of governing us. Which coalition will you choose? The incumbent Barisan Nasional (BN), which is the only federal government that all of us have known so far? Or the young upstart Pakatan Rakyat?
We at REFSA have made our choice. We choose transformation. We choose Pakatan Rakyat.
Pakatan has transformed race relations. Malaysians of all races gather congenially under the PAS moon and DAP rocket. A Malaysian-Chinese flying the PAS flag, or a Malay waving the DAP rocket symbol, would have been an unimaginable sight as recently as Feb 2008. Pakatan leaders have transformed the prisms by which we view each other, and led Malaysians from narrow communal siloes to broader, harmonious relations.
Pakatan has transformed state governments. The federal Auditor-General has given Penang top marks for being the best financially-managed state; and the RM1.2b cash savings in Selangor are the highest in 28 years. Pakatan state governments were the first to give direct welfare aid to Malaysians: for example, the Senior Citizen Appreciation Programme in Penang and the TAWAS programme in Selangor. Pakatan has demonstrated that it is possible to be financially responsible and populist at the same time.
Read the rest of this entry »
Still uphill for Johor Malay vote, admit Pakatan leaders
Posted by Kit in Elections, Johore, Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 23 April 2013
BY IDA LIM, MOHD FARHAN DARWIS AND DEBRA CHONG
APRIL 22, 2013
The Malaysian Insider
JOHOR BARU, April 22 — While Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders on their campaign trail have been feted like rock stars in the Chinese-majority areas across Johor, the muted response from the Malay-dominant neighbourhoods shows the opposition has a long and uphill road to victory in the May 5 polls.
Several PR leaders have acknowledged so.
“I’m seeing positive signs but Ghani still has the advantage,” DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang told The Malaysian Insider last night after wrapping up a night ceramah in Pulai Perdana, a fringe Malay residential neighbourhood chock-a-block with car service workshops.
The 72-year-old Gelang Patah MP candidate is up against four-term Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman in the parliamentary constituency where Chinese make up 52 per cent, while Malays and Indians account for 34 per cent and 12 per cent of the registered voters there.
Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan sees state model guiding path to power
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 23 April 2013
Stuart Grudgings, Reuters
8:50AM Apr 22, 2013
Lim Guan Eng, the hyperactive caretaker chief minister of Malaysia.s Penang state, is not the type to miss a good photo-opportunity, so there were plenty of witnesses when he handed over the keys to his government Mercedes ahead of a May 5 general election.
Integrity is a central battle cry for Malaysia’s disparate three-party Pakatan Rakyat opposition as it pursues its best chance of ending 56 years of rule by the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
“The official cars should not be misused for our own personal use,” Lim, a 52-year-old ethnic Chinese, told reporters as his administration shifted to caretaker status this month. “This is the integrity held by the state administration.”
Five years after the opposition took control of four state governments, northwestern Penang will be Exhibit A in its case that it can make South-East Asia’s third-largest economy cleaner and more competitive.
Read the rest of this entry »
16-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: DAP use of PAS and PKR symbols in 13GE – a disaster in-the-making or a game changer that will propel Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya?
April 18, 2013 had been the most heart-rending day in my life, the day when the Registrar of Societies dispatched a letter to the DAP to knock out the Rocket symbol from the 13GE, with the Nomination Day less than 48 hours away, completely without any legal basis or plausible ground.
I was not the only one to shed tears yesterday as all over the country, many DAP stalwarts and supporters who are Malaysian patriots whose home and sole object of loyalty is Malaysia and do not know or recognize another country as their motherland, also cried at the injustice, oppression and iniquity of the ROS action , clearly at the behest of the political masters in UMNO/Barisan Nasional.
For 47 years, DAP had waged a patriotic, nationalistic but uphill battle to build a united, multiracial, just and democratic Malaysian nation with many leaders like Dr. Chen Man Hin, Ahmad Nor, P. Patto, Ibrahim Singgeh, Fadzlan Yahya, Peter Dason, Lau Dak Kee, Lim Cho Hock, V. David, Karpal Singh, Datuk Chian Heng Kai, Chan Kok Kit, Dr Tan Seng Giaw, Lim Guan Eng, Tan Kok Wai, Teresa Kok, paying a heavy personal price in their love, patriotism and loyalty to Malaysia, including losing their personal liberties enduring detention under the Internal Security Act, imprisonment and disqualification as MP and disenfranchisement of their civil rights such as the right to vote and to stand for elections for a period of time.
Read the rest of this entry »
Battle royale brewing in Gelang Patah, Putrajaya hot seats
The Sun Daily
Posted on 17 April 2013
KUALA LUMPUR (April 17, 2013): As political parties tie up the loose ends to their candidate line-ups for the 13th general election on May 5, the political battle taking shape in hot seats — Gelang Patah, Putrajaya and Lembah Pantai — are being keenly watched.
Billed the “battle royale” or “clash of the Titans”, the tussle for Gelang Patah (broken bracelet) parliamentary seat is a battle between political bigwigs — Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman and DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang –who is out to create a “political tsunami” in Johor, an Umno bastion.
Kit Siang, a political veteran, was reported to have said in Penang recently that he would not withdraw from contesting in Gelang Patah as he wanted the “political tsunami” created in the 2008 general election to be felt nationwide.
Prof Datuk Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak, who heads the Political, Security and International Affairs Cluster of the National Council of Professors, says Ghani’s service track record as the menteri besar and the people’s elected representative is a “good benchmark” to gauge the “best choice” for the rapidly-developing suburban seat.
“Ghani is the supremo and the architect of Johor’s impressive progress. He is also very popular among the electorate vis-a-vis Kit Siang, a relatively newcomer to Johor’s political scene.
“By far and large, the voters, including the Chinese community, appreciate what Ghani has done for Johor. Ghani is instrumental in developing Nusajaya and the Iskandar Malaysia economic corridor, besides being the person very familiar with Johor’s “nooks and corners” as opposed to Kit Siang,” he told Bernama.
Nusajaya, the Johor state government’s new administrative centre, encompasses the Southern Industrial and Logistics Clusters, medical hub and EduCity.
The BN’s Tan Ah Heng from MCA won the Gelang Patah seat in the 2008 general election by a comfortable 8,851-vote majority, trouncing Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s (PKR) aspirant Zaliha Mustafa.
Mohamed Mustafa says Ghani’s prospects of retaining Gelang Patah for BN was bright albeit the keen tussle for the predominantly Chinese-majority seat. Fifty-four per cent of the electorate are Chinese. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s general election: A time of gifts
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Sunday, 14 April 2013
The benefits of incumbency versus the lure of the unknown
The Economist
Apr 13th 2013 | SINGAPORE |From the print edition
SINCE Malaysia’s independence from Britain in 1957, the main question answered by general elections has been the size of the government’s majority. The poll that the election commission this week announced would be held on May 5th, is the first the government faces a real possibility of losing. Even if it does not—and the odds must still be in its favour—the election is likely to have a profound impact on Malaysian politics.
The ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional, is dominated by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), whose leader, Najib Razak, is prime minister. He has never led the party through an election, having taken over in 2009 after the humiliation of his predecessor, Abdullah Badawi, in the election the previous year. For the first time, Barisan lost the two-thirds parliamentary majority that enabled it to change the constitution. Ever since, the opposition Pakatan Rakyat, a three-party alliance, has sniffed power. Its most prominent figure, Anwar Ibrahim, was once in line to lead UMNO.
Helped by a strong economy, Mr Najib has been doling out goodies: cash handouts for poorer families; pay rises for civil servants; and promises of affordable housing and new highways. A lot is at stake: simultaneous assembly elections will be held in 12 of the 13 states. In 2008, five elected opposition administrations. More largesse is promised in Barisan’s manifesto. Since its own is equally open-handed, Pakatan accuses its opponents of plagiarism.
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In Ipoh, a lingering loyalty for Pakatan among the Chinese
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, Perak on Thursday, 11 April 2013
By Emily Ding | April 11, 2013
The Malaysian Insider
IPOH, April 11 — The city’s traditionally pro-opposition Chinese appear unlikely to budge this May 5 when they face the ballot box again, many still strong in their conviction that a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government will care for their rights better than Barisan Nasional (BN).
Last weekend’s luncheon with Perak’s Chinese guilds and associations and Datuk Seri Najib Razak seemed to reflect this trend as even though the crowd appeared in droves at the Tow Boo Keong Taoist temple here, many still expressed disdain at the ruling pact.
When approached by The Malaysian Insider, some were very generous with their criticisms and even openly admitted that they were only there because they were invited and wanted the free food.
“We are just here to eat,” a 36-year-old civil engineer who prefers to be known only as Kevin told The Malaysian Insider.
He glanced over at his friend, a 42-year-old civil contractor who prefers to go by the name Tiger, and an elderly retiree they had just met, who both nodded and laughed.
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