Archive for category Pakatan Rakyat
Himpunan Hijau ke Putrajaya… Wah, lebih 100,000 hadir!
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS, UMNO on Sunday, 3 June 2012
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 02, 2012
2 JUN — Himpunan Hijau ke Putrajaya di Alor Star malam tadi adalah perhimpunan raksasa dan yang hampir sebesar perhimpunan Bersih 3.0 yang diadakan pada 28 April yang lalu. Himpunan Hijau itu telah menunjukkan kepada rakyat seluruh negara bahawa kedatangan lebih daripada seratus ribu pengunjung perhimpunan itu membayangkan manifestasi keseluruhan rakyat benar-benar serius untuk ke Putrajaya selepas PRU yang akan datang ini.
Himpunan anjuran PAS ini sangat berjaya kerana orang ramai sudah memenuhi stadium dari pukul 4 ptg semalam. Orang ramai bukan sahaja telah memenuhi semua tempat duduk Stadium Alor Star itu tetapi juga meliputi padang stadium tersebut dan juga di luar stadium. Ramainya peserta himpunan ini menunjukkan bahawa rakyat serius dalam perjuangan untuk menuju ke Putrajaya dan sambutan itu sudah cukup untuk memberikan gambaran sebenar akan kemahuan rakyat keseluruhannya.
Kejayaan ini amat membanggakan kerana mereka datang dengan sukarela dari seluruh negara tanpa dibayar tambang atau tempat penginapan dan tidak pula diberikan kemudahan perkhidmatan ribuan bas percuma seperti yang dilakukan oleh Umno. Bayangkan jika Umno menganjurkan perhimpunan tanpa wang, topi dan T-shirt serta tempat penginapan tidak akan ada siapa pun yang akan hadir kerana pergerakan Umno dan ahlinya memerlukan tolakan dengan wang ringgit.
Jika Umno hendak mengadakan perhimpunan sebesar ini secara “conservative”nya ia akan memakan belanja sekurang-kurangnya RM15 juta. Itulah sebabnya saya dan ramai yang lain selalu berkata Umno (baru) tinggal sejarah sahaja setelah wujud sejak 24 tahun yang lepas. Read the rest of this entry »
Call on Malaysians to emulate the spirit of 250,000 Bersih 3.0 supporters who acted selflessly out of supreme patriotism for Malaysia and for the sake of next generation
Posted by Kit in Bersih, DAP, Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Saturday, 2 June 2012
We should now be in the thick of the battle of the 13th General Election and not be launching the Perak DAP 13th General Election machinery if not for the “428” Bersih 3.0 rally which completely scattered Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s earlier plan for June polls.
Events are proving me right when I said in early May that Bersih 3.0 was a greater public relations disaster for Najib than Bersih 2.0, as this has been confirmed from the high-handed, insensitive and reactionary government responses so far, especially the high-level campaign of demonization of Bersih 3.0 and the 250,000 Malaysians regardless of race, religion, class, region, age or gender who gathered peacefully in Kuala Lumpur in support of a common national cause – a clean election for a clean Malaysia.
Every day we are seeing the Barisan Nasional leaders shooting themselves in the foot – the latest being the announcement by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to upload a video compilation of what happened on Bersih 3.0 on the Home Ministry website, which made an utter mockery of the assurances by the Barisan Nasional government that it wants an independent inquiry to find out the true facts of what went wrong on Bersih 3.0 on April 28, causing the incidents of brutality and violence, regardless of whether the victims were police personnel, media representatives or peaceful protestors.
My strongest message today is to call on Malaysians to emulate the spirit of the 250,000 Bersih 3.0 supporters who acted selflessly on April 28 out of two most honourable motives – firstly, as an act of supreme patriotism and love for Malaysia and secondly, for the sake of the next generation of Malaysians to ensure that they have a better Malaysia than today. Read the rest of this entry »
Main challenges for a PR government
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Friday, 1 June 2012
– Ong Kian Ming
The Malaysian Insider
Jun 01, 2012
JUNE 1 — What happens in the unlikely event that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) wins and maintains control of the federal government after the 13th general election? This is a question which few people have tried to address systematically. In this article, I want to highlight what I think will be the five main challenges facing a PR federal government as a way to contextualise the policy options which such a government will have to address.
I have summarised these five main challenges into five “P”s: (i) Dealing with the “Past” (ii) Distributing “Power” between the federal and state governments (iii) Coming up with a new set of “Plans” in the economic, political and social arenas (iv) Focusing on a smaller number of “Priorities” which can be delivered within 100 days and one year and finally (v) Finding a set of “Procedures” to deal with disagreements within the PR coalition.
(i) Past
Having been in power for 55 years, there are bound to be a whole list of “legacy” issues which a new government has to figure out how to deal with. It would not be practical for a new federal government to conduct a massive witch hunt to weed out all those who have paid bribes to the previous government to obtain contracts, to find evidence to convict all BN politicians who have received bribes or have amassed wealth beyond their means or to sack all civil servants who have been complicit in corrupt dealings involving the previous government. But at the same time, it makes sense for a PR government to outline a clear set of rules with regard to how it will, for example, deal with dubious contracts which the government has signed with private companies. This is important because there is a great temptation for PR to blame the previous BN government for many of the problems that it will face when it is governing. Instead of blaming BN in an ad-hoc manner throughout its first term in government, it would be better for PR to outline a place to clear out the skeletons in the cupboard early in its tenure in power. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia after regime change
Posted by Kit in Articles, Elections, Lim Guan Eng, Mahathir, NEM, NEP, Pakatan Rakyat on Saturday, 26 May 2012
– Greg Felker
New Mandala
May 26th, 2012
Credibility and the search for a new developmental model
In comparative politics the word “regime” refers to the formal and informal institutions by which political power is acquired and exercised. In political economy, a regime refers to an enduring combination of “socio-economic alliances, political-economic institutions, and a public-policy profile” (Pempel 1998: 20). In the case of Malaysia, the Barisan Nasional (BN) regime’s durability in the former, political sense has been closely associated with a particular sort political economy, or regime in the second sense. Despite significant changes over the years, Malaysia’s hegemonic-party political system, centered on United Malays National Organisaion’s (UMNO) dominance, has since the early 1970s practiced a form of developmentalism that has shaped Malaysian society in profound ways. As the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) understands, its challenge to the BN’s national political monopoly is inescapably a contest about Malaysia’s economic development model, as well. To what extent, and in what ways, does the prospect of change in Malaysia’s political regime imply a change in the country’s pattern of development?
Contemporary debates make clear the close connection between political contestation and economic policy choices. Indeed, one of the UMNO-led government’s vulnerabilities is a sense, growing in recent years, that the Malaysian development miracle has wavered and, for large segments of the population, inadequately fulfilled its promise of a steadily improving quality of life. The notion of the “middle-income trap”, first popularised in a global context by Geoffrey Garret in 2004, quickly became a frame for discussions of possible policy reform within Malaysia and among foreign observers. Two themes have been prominent in these discussions. One is the issue of the quality of governance as this affects broader economic efficiency and productivity. Second is the mooted necessity of a broad liberalisation of restrictions and regulations to enable greater flexibility and entrepreneurial dynamism. In both areas, the opposition and pro-reform civil society organisations have made telling critiques of the incumbent leadership. For its part, Najib Razak’s administration has launched a series of reform initiatives under the New Economic Model (NEM) that speak to the same concerns about governance and the structural challenges to Malaysia’s continued economic development. This dimension of the new competitiveness in Malaysia’s politics adds programmatic substance to a political tableau in which mass protest, scandal, and cultural controversies have comprised much of the drama. Read the rest of this entry »
Instead of raging over Mahathir’s outrageous and preposterous blog, Malaysians should commiserate with him
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Mahathir, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Saturday, 26 May 2012
Yesterday, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir blogged that the Bersih 3.0 rally was a “preparation” and “warm-up” by Pakatan Rakyat for violent demonstrations to reject the results of the 13th general election should the opposition fail to win it.
He said: “Their defeat will be followed by violent demonstrations that will go on and on so that the election results are rejected and a new government is put in place, that is approved by the opposition.
“After that, they will attempt to hold an election again that they can manipulate.”
Mahathir must hold the Malaysian record of having made the most number of outrageous and preposterous statements in his political life, before, during and after his 22-year premiership (1981-2003) but what he blogged yesterday must rank as among his most outrageous and preposterous statements.
It was a complete figment of his imagination as there is no truth or basis whatsoever – like Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s ludicrous allegation that Bersih 3.0 was an Opposition coup d’etat attempt to topple the government (an idea probably inspired by the discredited Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Rahim Noor) when all that the peaceful protestors were armed with, if at all, were salt and water bottles to protect themselves against any indiscriminate police teargas and chemically-lacked water cannon. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib and Hishammuddin must condemn and dissociate themselves if they do not want to be regarded as encouraging a political culture of aggression, thuggery and violence by their prolonged silence on recent series of disruptions and attacks on PR functions
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Hishammuddin, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Friday, 25 May 2012
The question Malaysians are asking is whether the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussin are encouraging a political culture of aggression, thuggery and violence by their failure to condemn the recent series of disruptions and attacks on Pakatan Rakyat functions!
Is this the route for Malaysia to take to become the world’s best democracy as Najib had boasted after Bersih 2.0 on July 9 last year?
Is this the example Najib is setting for the world on what he meant when he called for a Global Movement of Moderates to isolate and marginalize the extremists?
Yesterday, a Pakatan Rakyat ceramah in Lembah Pantai was pelted with eggs and stones, leaving several injured and bloodied. Read the rest of this entry »
Time is on Pakatan Rakyat’s side – any delay in 13GE will provide more opportunity to debunk UMNO/BN lies and expose the “greatest lie” in 3-year Najib premiership that “Bersih 3.0 itu Kotor”
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Saturday, 19 May 2012
Until the Bersih 3.0 rally of April 28, 2012, it was fairly certain that the 13th General Election will take place in June this year.
This certainty has now disappeared because the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has suffered another attack of hesitation and indecisiveness, as a result of the unprecedented support by Malaysians for fair, free and clean elections not only in various parts of the country and by the Malaysian Diaspora throughout the world but also by the hundreds of thousands of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, class, region, gender and age who gathered peacefully in Kuala Lumpur for the Bersih 3.0 “sit-in” at Dataran Merdeka on Aprl 28.
All the “tough talk” by Najib at the UMNO anniversary at Bukit Jalil Stadium on May 11 and the specious claim that the sea of red that night was bigger than the Bersih 3.0 sea of yellow on April 28 could not hide the fact that Najib’s confidence that June would be the best timing for him to call general elections had been greatly shaken.
With Najib again agonising on when to dissolve Parliament to go for national polls, the country is now back to the guessing game, whether the 13th general election is still in June, or pushed back to July, September or even later.
This reflects Najib’s realisation that although he may have secured high personal polls, his personal popularity could not be translated into high voting support for UMNO and Barisan Nasional and the next general elections is a veritable “do or die” battle for him, UMNO and Barisan Nasional. Read the rest of this entry »
Umno berslogan, Pakatan Rakyat melaksanakannya
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Friday, 18 May 2012
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
May 18, 2012
18 MEI — Slogan-slogan politik bercambah-cambah dan slogan-slogan itu bertukar apabila bertukar kepimpinan sehinggakan kita sudah kenyang dengan slogan-slogan itu. Slogan selalunya diperkenalkan oleh seseorang pemimpin itu untuk membezakan “brand” kepimpinan masing-masing. Selalunya ia akan diwar-warkan yang dibawah pimpinannya keadaan itu berbeza dari keadaan yang lazim dialami rakyat dizaman kepimpinan sebelumnya.
Berslogan mula bercambah sejak kepimpinan Dr Mahathir Mohamad sahaja. Apabila Mahathir mengambil alih rakyat telah cuba di dakyahkan sebagai zaman yang amat berbeza dengan pimpinan sebelum beliau. Gandingan beliau dengan Musa Hitam digambarkan sebagai pimpinan yang sangat berbeza dengan kepimpinan sebelumnya kerana bermula dari beliau zaman itu bermulalah zaman kepimpinan negara diterajui oleh orang biasa. Maka pimpinan itu telah dipanggil sebagai kepimpinan 2M (Mahathir-Musa)
Pimpinan 2M terbengkalai dengan perletakkan jawatan Musa sebagai Timbalan Perdana Menteri pada Februari 1986. Perletakkan jawatan Musa telah akhirnya membawa kepada pertandingan besar dalam Umno pada tahun berikutnya 1987 diantara TR/Musa dan Mahathir /Ghaffar.
Apabila Mahathir mula-mula mengambil alih, maka terciptalah slogan “Bersih, cekap dan amanah”. Tetapi slogan ini hanya tinggal slogan kerana semasa itu tidak ada yang bersihnya, tidak ada kecekapan dan jauh sekali untuk melihat amanahnya. Zaman ini lah bermulanya rasuah yang begitu hebat dan budaya itu terus diwarisi oleh kepimpinan Pak Lah dan pimpinan DS Najib sekarang ini. Read the rest of this entry »
PR Leadership Council reaffirms unswerving commitment to common policy accords before or after 13GE and the principle that there must be consensus for any change of PR policy
Posted by Kit in DAP, Pakatan Rakyat, PAS on Monday, 14 May 2012
The Pakatan Rakyat Leadership Council today reaffirmed unswerving commitment to common policy agreements reached by the three component parties, namely PKR, PAS and DAP, whether before or after the 13th General Elections, in the PR Common Policy Framework of December 19, 2009, Buku Jingga of 20th December 2010 and the Joint PR Leadership Statement of 28th September 2011.
As stated in PR Common Policy Framework unanimously adopted at the First Pakatan Rakyat Convention in Shah Alam in December 2009, Pakatan Rakyat is committed to uphold the spirit and provisions of the Federal Constitution, in particular, to
1. Defend the Federal Constitution, Islam as the religion of the Federation while other religions can be practiced peacefully anywhere in the country and protecting the special position of the Malays and the indigenous peoples anywhere including Sabah and Sarawak, and the legitimate interests of other races in accordance to Article 153.
2. Defend the role and responsibility of the institution of Constitutional Monarchy.
3. Uphold the use of Bahasa Melayu in accordance to Article 152 of the Constitution and promote Bahasa Melayu as the regional lingua franca, while protecting and strengthening the use of mother tongue languages for all races. Read the rest of this entry »
Hoping for winds of change
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat on Saturday, 14 April 2012
Aneesa Alphonsus | April 14, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
Malaysians want to see the country taking a turn for the better after the 13th general election, although some feel it will be the same old story.
FEATURE
If you’re going to ask any Malaysian this question, “What are your hopes for the government post- general election”, you’d better get ready for an onslaught of opinions, emotions and cynicism – not necessarily in that order.
In the case of Manaf Abdul Samad, it was just cynicism when he opined, “It doesn’t matter who wins, because all of them are the same. You ask me what my hopes are? I can’t even bring myself to say it because right now, it would sound funny because it’s all wishful thinking. Yes sure I’ll vote, but to be honest, I don’t think I’ll get to see what I hope for in my lifetime.”
Coaxed out of his reluctance with the promise of another hot Nescafe into sharing his thoughts, the 62-year-old Manaf gives in.
“The biggest mistake Barisan National made is to have underestimated Malaysians, using all kinds of scare tactics to make us feel that there will be chaos should a new government come into power. We are not stupid. Many of my peers agree that we allowed the government to do what it has because we trusted them and we gave them due respect.
“Many people are terkejut [shocked] when they hear that we are speaking up. My friends abroad are surprised and say that they never thought we had it in us. My reply to this is always the same – we have always had it in us, but we have been patient for too long. The fight was always there and the government shouldn’t have thought lowly of its people. So if you ask me what are my hopes for the new government, I would say that it should recognise that we are smart and that we should be treated fairly and not be taken for fools who will not fight back,” he said.
There are, however, Malaysians like Hameed Hamzah, a 50-something business owner, who feels that one party will do better than the other. He speaks passionately about a Pakatan Rakyat government which will bring a new dawn in Putrajaya, convinced that there will be an abundance of honesty, transparency and accountability – the holy trinity of what good governance should be all about. Read the rest of this entry »
Is the Tun hallucinating?
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Pakatan Rakyat, Penang, Selangor on Friday, 13 April 2012
by P Ramakrishnan
Aliran
12 April 2012
In an open letter to Mahathir, P Ramakrishnan takes to task the former premier for his outrageous statements about the Pakatan administrations in Penang and Selangor of late.
My dear Tun Dr Mahathir,
I’m at a loss as to whether you are hallucinating or failing to see the reality.
Your views on Penang and Selangor are misconceived and misplaced. You come across as a dishonest politician determined to score political points and mislead Malaysian voters. You do no credit to yourself nor do you live up to your reputation as an elder statesman (Bernama, 29 January 2012).
Your statement, “They have already been given a lot of chances. A lot of unhappy things have happened in Penang, the same (is happening) in Selangor,” does not make any sense at all. “They have been given a lot of chances”, you unreasonably claim.
Pakatan only came to power on March 8, 2008. They have been in office only for four short years. What chances were given to them and who gave them those chances? What are you talking about? What miracles were you expecting them to perform in this short period of time?
Compare their short term of office to the Barisan Nasional’s nearly 55 years of tenure – truthfully and honestly. We can justifiably throw back at the BN the very words you had uttered: “They (BN) have already been given a lot of chances. A lot of unhappy things have happened in Penang, the same (is happening) in Selangor.” This is indeed a valid observation requiring an honest answer from you, dear Tun. Read the rest of this entry »
Repeal of pernicious and draconian ISA long overdue but new replacement of security laws raise grave concerns about human rights abuses
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, ISA, Pakatan Rakyat on Thursday, 12 April 2012
The tabling of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Bill 2012 to repeal the 52-year Internal Security Act which vests pernicious, draconian and undemocratic detention-without-trial powers on the Executive which could be extended every two years is welcome as it is long overdue.
This is the victory of the decades-long struggle for democracy and human rights which have been waged by patriotic Malaysians cutting across race and religion, many paying a heavy price in terms of personal liberties – culminating in the pledge by the Pakatan Rakyat for the repeal of the ISA.
However, the replacement of the slew of new security laws in the four bills presented to Parliament, namely the Security Offences (Special Measures) Bill 2012, the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2012, the Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012 and the Evidence (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012 raise grave concerns about new human rights abuses which must be met and addressed by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak if Malaysia hopes to approximate to be “the best democracy in the world” – practising “a functional and inclusive democracy where public peace and prosperity is preserved in accordance with the supremacy of the Constitution, rule of law and respect for basic human rights and individual rights”.
The Internal Security Act has stunted the growth of democracy in Malaysia. What is there to guarantee that although the ISA powers of indefinite detention-without-trial is repealed, the new provision limiting detention without charge to 28 days “for purposes of investigation” without judicial review will not be the new bane for democracy and human rights in Malaysia? Read the rest of this entry »
One-third of seats in four states enough to win, says Kit Siang
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, Sabah, Sarawak on Wednesday, 11 April 2012
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 11, 2012
PETALING JAYA, April 11 — Victories in a third of the parliamentary seats from Sabah, Sarawak, Johor and Pahang will guarantee that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) takes the next general election, Lim Kit Siang has said.
The DAP parliamentary leader stressed that it was crucial for the federal opposition to make an impact in these states, which have long been considered Umno-Barisan Nasional (BN) strongholds.
“Sabah, Sarawak, Johor and Pahang all make up 99 parliamentary seats. If we can win one-third of each state’s parliamentary seats, we would have approximately 33 seats.
“If we then add that to the 82 seats we have now, we will have passed our majority mark and (be) on our way to Putrajaya,” Lim told attendees at a DAP fundraiser last night. Read the rest of this entry »
Cadangan PR untuk memansuhkan PTPTN wajar mendapat sokongan
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO, university on Sunday, 1 April 2012
by Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 31, 2012
31 MAC — PTPTN wajar dimansuhkan dan saya bersetuju dengan cadangan Pakatan Rakyat(PR) untuk menghapuskannya jika PR diberikan mandat oleh rakyat dalam pilihanraya kali ini. Saya telah menulis isu pembiayaan pelajaran ini banyak kali kerana isu pelajaran dan pendidikan adalah isu teras dalam pembangunan negara. Pendidikan selalunya percuma di negara-negara maju.
Janganlah kita mengaku yang negara kita adalah negara maju dan rakyat yang berpendapatan tinggi tidak lama lagi tetapi kita tidak nampak tanda-tanda hasrat yang dilaungkan oleh PM Najib itu akan tercapai seratus tahun lagi. Takkanlah dengan memberikan wang ehsan RM500 baru-baru ini telah menjadikan negara kita rakyat yang berpendapatan tinggi.
Di kesebelasan negara-negara Scandinavia pelajaran adalah percuma. Di Germany juga percuma dan di Perancis dan banyak lagi negara-negara lain yang memberikan pendidikan dan pelajaran percuma sehingga peringkat tertinggi. Di negara-negara tersebut tidak ada nampak pemimpin politiknya pergi ke kawasan masing-masing menabur wang 500 euro dan sebagainya. Mereka tidak pun sibuk mendabik dada yang mereka telah memberikan sedikit kelegaan kepada rakyat mereka. Read the rest of this entry »
Anwar: Christian threat is Umno propaganda
Posted by Kit in Islam, Pakatan Rakyat, Religion on Wednesday, 28 March 2012
S Pathmawathy | Mar 28, 2012
Malaysiakini
Pakatan Rakyat condemned the latest move to instil fear of the threat of Christianisation in the country, blaming it as tactic by Umno to “frighten” the Muslim Malay majority.
“I want to state, the all mighty in Malaysia is Umno – Umno is in charge of religion, Umno is in charge of the finances – so if the allegations (of attempt to spread Christianity) is true, that means it is Umno that failed to strengthened the faith of the Muslims,” said opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
“What I can confirm is that this is nothing other than a disgusting political manoeuvre to use religion to frighten the people,” Anwar said.
Speaking at a press conference at Parliament today, Anwar pointed out that if a movement exists to threaten the faith of the Muslims, then there are adequate legal measures that can be taken for transgressing the law. Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan promises to buy back MEX if voted to power
Posted by Kit in Elections, Good Governance, Pakatan Rakyat on Wednesday, 28 March 2012
By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 28, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pledged today to buy back the part publicly-funded Maju Expressway (MEX) from its concessionaire should they wrest Putrajaya in the coming polls, claiming the move would save over RM4.6 billion in taxpayers’ money.
In a statement signed by representatives from all three PR parties – Rafizi Ramli (PKR), Tony Pua (DAP) and Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS) — the leaders noted that it was one of PR’s Buku Jingga promises to restructure toll rates and the country’s many highway concession agreements, many of which they claim have over-benefitted Barisan Nasional (BN) cronies.
Speaking at a press conference in Parliament today, Pua, DAP’s publicity secretary, said it was more sensible for Putrajaya to buy back the highway with a maximum payment of RM400.9 million, instead of allowing Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd to profit from its sale.
He said that Maju Group executive chairman Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed stands to make a clean profit of RM1.09 billion or 1,800 per cent of his initial investment of RM60 million from his sale of MEX to EP Manufacturing Bhd (EPMB) for RM1.7 billion.
“This profit is too high because the government has already used taxpayers’ money to fund 74 per cent of the highway’s construction cost,” he said.
This, added Pua, amounts to a whopping RM976.7 million. Read the rest of this entry »
Get real Mr Prime Minister!
Posted by Kit in Economics, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Thursday, 22 March 2012
By Sakmongkol AK47 | March 22, 2012
The Malaysian Insider
MARCH 22 — Like many others, I read somewhat amused at PM Najib’s war cry that he is confident of getting back the states now under the opposition. I say war cry because here we have a PM seized by an extreme bout of paranoia declaring that we are at war. With who?
He has to stop the charade. It’s not like Umno and BN people are gifted with extraordinary talent that reserves them the right to govern the country. Who can argue against facts? The top three states which drew the highest FDI are Pakatan-led states. Just under one term, Pakatan governments can achieve these good things which no other BN lead states have ever achieved is an incontestable testimony that Pakatan people are more talented.
This is what Umno and BN and the Umno president fear most. That people are slowly but surely realising that there is life without Umno and what’s better, there is a better life without Umno. Let’s repeat this once more there’s life without Umno and there’s a better life without Umno indeed. Tell your friends, neighbours about this; let us kick out the kleptocratic maniacs out of Putrajaya and forge a new future. Let’s square off with Najib as the opposition leader. We will see he is a paper tiger who, without a scripted text, cannot respond to out-of-pre-approved questions.
Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan: No point to Lynas PSC
Posted by Kit in Elections, Lynas, Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Patrick Lee | March 20, 2012
Free Malaysia Today
A PSC investigating Lynas’ purported radiation will have no effect, with Pakatan MPs scoffing at its advent.
KUALA LUMPUR: A Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) investigating the Lynas rare earth plant near Kuantan will come to naught, opposition lawmakers said.
Pakatan Rakyat politicians said the government had no intention to scrap the controversial plant, hence it was pointless to form a PSC to study the plant’s safety standards.
They said this after opposition MPs marched out of the Dewan Rakyat, moments after a motion tabling the PSC was approved. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib wants Selangor, badly
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, Selangor, UMNO on Friday, 16 March 2012
— Gomen Man
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 16, 2012
MARCH 16 — There is a reason why Najib Razak is going to Selangor nearly every week: Getting back the country’s richest state is the minimum passing mark he has set himself in the coming elections.
Umno insiders say that Najib and his strategists do not believe Barisan Nasional (BN) can regain its two-thirds control of Parliament, but think that winning back Selangor will assuage Umno members and prevent a coup attempt against him.
And that is why Najib is using money like water in Selangor and spending nearly every weekend in some district there. And that is also why Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has reason to be worried about the sudden increase in the number of voters in constituencies in the state.
As it stands, Najib is confident that he will still be the prime minister and that he will do slightly better than Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. But not everyone in Umno believes that Najib’s advisors are giving him the right information, with some betting that anything between six and 10 parliamentary seats will fall in Sarawak, and that a good number of seats in Johor will also be lost.
On the flip side, Umno is confident that Kelantan will be retaken and Perak will stay with BN. Najib is due to visit Perak tomorrow and meet folks in Beruas and Ipoh, among other places, to convince them that his coalition is the best for the state. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia after regime change
Posted by Kit in Elections, Mahathir, Pakatan Rakyat, Post-2008 general election on Wednesday, 14 March 2012
— Ooi Kee Beng
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 14, 2012
MARCH 14 — Malaysia had to begin life as a federation because, like all federations, its diversity of polity, culture, history, ethnicity and economy was simply too deep for a centrally controlled regime to be practicable.
That was why the Malayan Union of 1946, hopefully constructed by a colonial power recovering from a devastating world war and that badly needed to simplify its control apparatus, could never succeed. Indirect and de facto colonialism was acceptable, but centralised and direct colonialism was too much for the Malay community to accept.
And yet, as became clear in the aftermath of the 2008 general election, the country nevertheless had in reality become centrally controlled by a coalition centred around Umno (United Malays National Organisation), the party formed in 1946 by Onn Ja’afar to fight the Malayan Union.
The 2008 election results can thus be read as a strong negative reaction by the newly-liberated electorate to this sustained political denial of the country’s historical diversity. Read the rest of this entry »
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