Archive for category Pakatan Rakyat
Open Letter to ALL Pakatan MPs
Posted by Kit in Letters, Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday, 7 February 2010
Open letter by Emmanuel Joseph
Dear Few Pakatan Rakyat Elected Representative (You Know Who You Are)
Yang Berhormats,
I am writing this to vent my frustration, irritation, disgust, disbelief and anger on how many of you are acting recently. Its with sincerest and most honest intention that I am writing this, as a Pakatan grassroots ‘small fry’ member, who like the millions of Malaysians came out in full force to support you all when you were practically nobodies and put you where you are today, sitting in the highest decision making bodies in your own states and country respectively. Some of you were luckier than others, and been appointed to important government posts, some even head entire state governments. Congratulations, your long wait and tireless effort paid off. But please do kindly remember, it was not only your effort alone, but the effort and will of more than half the Malaysian electorate that put you where you are. You did not win entirely on your own charm, your education level, your profile in your respective fields of expertise or struggle. Frankly, most Malaysians who supported you did not even care who you were or what you did, as long as you were not donning a dark blue cap with a BN logo on it. That is the reason we had aircraft mechanics voted into power in the last General Election.
The next time any of you decide to foam in the mouth about lack of funding, lack of resources and other similar grumbles, please bear in mind these few facts. Firstly, you stood for the election on your own free will. Nobody put a gun on your foreheads asking you to run for elections, nobody begged you to contest. Out of your own reasons, rightly or wrongly you stood, representing the people, and because of that, the people rallied behind you and riding on this, you were catapulted into where you now are. Secondly, others have had far less than you, suffered much more than you and been doing it for far longer. Take a look at the likes of YB Dr Tan Seng Giaw, YB Fong Kui Loon, YB Dr Wan Azizah, YB Mustafa Ali, YB Nasharuddin Mat Isa and many more. Read the rest of this entry »
Of Optimism, Opportunity & the Opposition
Posted by Kit in Martin Jalleh, Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 2 February 2010
By Martin Jalleh
Is the Opposition coalition crumbling like a cookie? Is the door for real, relevant and radical change slowly closing in on us? Shall we just call it a day as we witness Umno’s final curtain of a failed State? Or shall we remain committed to a change in government no matter how challenging? Perhaps part of the answer begins with a review of the Opposition in 2009.
2009 saw the end of the euphoria that enveloped the whole country after the political tsunami of March 2008. It was a year during which the Opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat (PR), was brought down to earth and was forced to face the enormity of the challenge to deliver what they had promised during the elections.
It was also a year when the public increasingly perceived the fledging PR to be a “fragile”, “feuding”, “fraying” “faltering” coalition – one that was “not on a firm footing”. For some members of the public, trusting the PR enough to vote them in as the next Federal government was farthest from their minds!
One would have thought that PR, after having lost Perak to the BN in Feb. 2009, as a result of Umno’s subterfuge and scheming, would come to its senses and seek an inseparable synergy. But they continued on with their petty and puerile inter and intra public squabbles, spats and skirmishes, much to the surprise and scorn of the public and the satisfaction of Umno!
Read the rest of this entry »
PR Penang greatest legacy – prove right policies can make Malays and Malaysians compete and succeed against the best
Posted by Kit in DAP, Lim Guan Eng, Pakatan Rakyat, Penang on Sunday, 31 January 2010
by Lim Guan Eng
Pakatan Rakyat Penang’s greatest legacy to Malaysia and greatest threat to BN’s stranglehold on power is to prove that the right policies can make Malays compete and succeed against the best in the world. Ever since the Pakatan Rakyat Penang state government took power in March 2008, we have made integrity and CAT governance(Competency, Accountability and Transparency) the hallmark of financial administration.
New measures implemented includes competitive and public open tender, payments directly to recipients without going through middle-men, priority given to Penang contractors, e-tender through the internet and a 2 week objection period to ensure that successful contractor no longer need “political cables” but “computer cables”. There is no doubt that competitive open tenders saves costs and improve quality.
Many contractors have been liberated with the implementation of open tenders at all levels. For Class F contractors which is only open to bumis, open tender system has allowed non-UMNO linked contractors in Penang to get contracts for the first time. In the past contracts are usually reserved for UMNO cronies and those outside the state. Clearly the competitive open tender system of PR is more transparent, accountable and beneficial to the people compared to the negotiated tender system for BN cronies.
What is more surprising is the outcome of the open tender system open to all races. Instead of perception that Malays cannot compete and that the non-Malay contractor would win all open tender contracts, this is not true. Since the new PR government took over, Penang Development Corporation(PDC) had issued 23 tender awards, of which 7(30%) were won by non-Malay contractors and 16(70%) won by Malay contractors. Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang(PBAPP) had issued 66 tender awards of which 22(33%) were won by non-Malay contractors as compared to 44(67%) by Malay contractors.
The performance by Malay contractors in an open tender system with non-Malays proves that Malay contractors can compete with others and win tender awards on their own merit. Clearly it is not the race that is an issue but failed policies that encourage dependency especially when it helps BN maintain the status quo and its grip on power. Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan Rakyat – what next
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat on Saturday, 30 January 2010
Pakatan Rakyat won a renewal of public confidence and trust with the successful holding of the Pakatan Rakyat national convention in Shah Alam on Dec. 19 last year and the demonstration of greater responsibility and maturity as compared to Umno and Barisan Nasional in the response to the “Allah” controversy which had further marred the image and reputation of Malaysia, both locally and internationally, since the new year.
But in a matter of days, these hard-won gains for the Pakatan Rakyat were largely undone not by the acts of our political adversaries but by the deeds of Pakatan Rakyat standard-bearers.
As a result, there is now a new round of public questioning as to whether Pakatan Rakyat can be trusted with the great responsibility of federal power in the next general elections.
This internal haemorrhaging, at a time when the Umno-led Barisan Nasional is intensifying its political offensive with a new round of abuses of the national institutions and instruments, must end.
This will be the challenge of the Pakatan Rakyat leadership council when it meets tomorrow. Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan Rakyat Policy
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, Letters, Pakatan Rakyat on Thursday, 24 December 2009
By Vincent Lee
I do not know whether this feedback can reach you YB but i hope it will.
I have read the details of the policy of Pakatan Rakyat and it sounds very impressive. It seems like its the opposite of BN policy.
As a voter, especially a loyal supporter of Pakatan Rakyat, I wish to suggest a few feedback. No matter how good is a policy, its implementation is even more important. And what is even more importance is to setup a team of watchdog to oversee the implementation.
For example when you mention to reform the EPF. Who will implement them? The board member of EPF I suppose? I’m a guy from the corporate sector and I don’t think the members of the board which get used to BN regime for decades can reform itself. Of course I’m not suggesting that the board members been replace as it may trigger a lot of misunderstanding that PR are power crazy. May I suggest that the senior member of Labour Unions be the watchdog for the implementation. At least 3 of them from 3 different unions. This is of course based on the logic, the best person that take care of the labour’s money is the labour himself. This way is even more effective if you can rotate the members within the watchdog panel every 2 or 3 years to avoid any abuse.
Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan Rakyat all set to do battle for Putrajaya
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat on Monday, 21 December 2009
COMMENT
by Thomas Lee
20 December 2009
The Pakatan Rakyat (PR), the still informal political coalition comprising the DAP, PKR and PAS, has taken the first big step to formalise its status to be a viable, vibrant and vigilant alternative to the current ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
The PR held its first national convention in Shah Alam on Saturday 19 December 2009, and made a public declaration that its set target for the next general election is nothing less than the takeover of Putrajaya.
One thousand five hundred delegates, comprising 500 grassroots leaders from all over the country representing each of the three component parties of the PR, enthusiastically heeded the clarion call to prepare for the electroral battle of Putrajaya, scheduled before early 2013 or perhaps even earlier. Read the rest of this entry »
The Policies of Pakatan Rakyat
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat on Saturday, 19 December 2009
The Policies of Pakatan Rakyat that was unanimously adopted today at the 1st Pakatan Rakyat Convention at Auditorium MBSA, Shah Alam.
The Policies of Pakatan Rakyat
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Transparent and Genuine Democracy
- Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law
- Separation of Powers
- A Clean, Free and Fair Electoral System
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Driving a High Performance, Sustainable and Equitable Economy Read the rest of this entry »
Is the Opposition wasting a historic opportunity?
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat, Tunku Abdul Aziz on Saturday, 7 November 2009
By Tunku Aziz
A mere footnote at the bottom of a page of Malaysia’s political history or a tome on political change that recreated and revitalised a sick and openly corrupt society into a vibrant and prosperous democracy for all? Pakatan Rakyat must decide quickly where it wants to be. On present showing, it has not a ghost of a chance to ever breach and occupy the still impregnable Putrajaya citadel, in spite of the credible 8 March 2008 electoral onslaught. It does not have to look far to find out why it is in such a sorry state. Lim Kit Siang’s warning of a “one term miracle” could well become self-fulfilling and Putra Jaya would be just a gleam in the eye if his words are not taken to heart.
Pakatan Rakyat leaders must come to terms with the reality that is Barisan Nasional. We may despise its politics of immorality, of corruption and injustice, but even the most rabid alternative political practitioners must readily concede that it is still a formidable organisation with an armoury of unsavoury tricks they have to contend with. Remember Perak, and the bad after taste that lingers on and on. Pakatan must wake up from its euphoric pie in the sky self-induced dream that the one off massive voter handouts would be there for the asking at the next general elections. There will be no repeat performance until and unless it gets its act together. The electorate owes PR nothing. The truth is that Pakatan Rakyat owes their supporters everything.
Read the rest of this entry »
It was the best of times it was the worst of times…..
Posted by Kit in Hussein Hamid, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Friday, 30 October 2009
“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 directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way.” Charles Dickens.
Those lines are an apt description of the situation Pakatan Rakyat finds itself in today! Pakatan Rakyat is the Government in waiting and yet will it govern?
The people had the wisdom to chose Pakatan Rakyat in the last GE and yet would they be foolish enough now to hand it back to UMNO; Pakatan Rakyat leaders had belief that the people within their midst were committed to the ideals and aspirations of the Rakyat and Party and yet incredibly there are those within Pakatan Rakyat that would put self before the party – even before the Rakyat; Read the rest of this entry »
To restore public confidence in Pakatan Rakyat, PR component parties should make a 10 or 20-year commitment to abide by the PR common principles and impose discipline among their leaders to uphold and protect PR image and integrity
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday, 25 October 2009
The Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak could not have a more disastrous end for his two-hour long speech for his first budget for 2010 in Parliament on Friday, as he said: “Our recent success in Bagan Pinang has sparked our zeal to embark on this journey of transformation to lift our beloved nation to greater heights.”
Najib’s last two sentences in his speech were virtually drowned in the shouts by Pakatan Rakyat MPs with their spontaneous chant of “Rasuah” – which was a dubious parliamentary record in the past five decades, not only for a maiden budget speech but also for any budget presentation by former Finance Ministers.
Najib had earlier failed to make any impression on MPs when he devoted two cursory paragraphs of his budget speech to “Combatting Corruption”, but which did not evince any political will on his part to break the back of the problem of rampant corruption in Malaysia.
Read the rest of this entry »
PR rout in Bagan Pinang by-election – PR must go back to drawing board
Posted by Kit in Election, Pakatan Rakyat on Monday, 12 October 2009
Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad’s victory in the Bagan Pinang by-election was not unexpected, as in the by-election, Isa the candidate bulked larger than Barisan Nasional the party.
This is the cause for the comment that BN can win the battle in Bagan Pinang by-election but will lose the war in the country in the next general elections, for Isa’s victory despite his record of Umno money politics would be a clear and unmistakable message that Umno/BN could not be redeemed or reformed to play any meaningful role to cleanse the country of deep-rooted corruption.
What was unexpected was Isa’s 8,013-vote and thumping majority of 5,435 votes sweeping all the eight voting streams – the result of gross abuses of power, money politics as well as the postal ballot chicanery.
Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan Rakyat will seek registration as a coalition under the Societies Act
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat on Friday, 9 October 2009
Pakatan Rakyat will seek registration as a coalition under the Societies Act 1966 with the stand taken by the Registrar of Societies Datuk Md Alias Kalil that the law requiring at least seven political parties to register as a society does not apply.
Section 2 of the Societies Act 1966 defines “society” as including
“any club, company, partnership, or association of seven or more persons whatever its nature or object, whether temporary or permanent, but does not include—
(a) any company registered under the provisions of any written law relating to companies for the time being in force in Malaysia;
(b) any company or association constituted under any written law;
(c) any trade union registered or required to be registered under the provisions of any written law relating to trade unions for the time being in force in Malaysia;
Read the rest of this entry »
Mahathir right on Isa but wrong on PR
Posted by Kit in Mahathir, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Monday, 28 September 2009
Umno’s choice for Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad as the Barisan Nasional candidate for the Bagan Pinang by-election appears quite set – and the latest indication is the “advice” by Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, asking former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad not to “interfere” and “embarrass” the Umno leadership with any more public statements on the question of by-election candidature. (Sin Chew)
Mahathir is right on Isa when he said that the issue is not just Bagan Pinang by-election but the next 13th general elections.
As Mahathir conceded, if Umno fields a candidate who is not clean, it might win in Bagan Pinang but would lose in other constituencies as the people throughout Malaysia want to know whether Umno is serious about eradicating money politics and corruption.
However, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak seems so desperate for a by-election victory in Peninsular Malaysia after seven consecutive by-election defeats after the political tsunami of the March 8 general elections last year that he is prepared to face the hazards warned by Mahathir.
Read the rest of this entry »
Five reasons why voters of Permatang Pasir must vote for PAS/PR candidate Hassan Man and reject Umno/BN candidate Rohaizat Othman
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Monday, 24 August 2009
There are five important reasons why the 20,290 voters of Permatang Pasir, regardless of race or religion, should vote for the Pas/Pakatan Rakyat candidate Mohd Salleh Man and reject the Umno/Barisan Nasional candidate Rohaizat Othman in the by-election polling tomorrow.
They are:
• Firstly, declare what all Malaysians know but no Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC or Barisan Nasional component party Minister or leader dare to say – that Rohaizat is not fit to be candidate for any elective office because of his being struck off the lawyers’ rolls under the Legal Profession Act for breach of trust, dishonesty and unprofessional conduct “unbefitting” a lawyer which “brings the legal profession into disrepute”. The media conference statement by his former law firm partner, Yusri Isahak, in Kuala Lumpur yesterday has done nothing to cleanse his “tainted” reputation or made academic the question: “How can a person not honest enough to be a lawyer be trusted to be a candidate for elective office, let alone to be elected as a State Assemblyman. Read the rest of this entry »
Should Pakatan Rakyat agree to disagree?
Posted by Kit in Hussein Hamid, Pakatan Rakyat on Saturday, 15 August 2009
There is much talk these days of internal strife within Pakatan Rakyat. These talk generally comes from people who does and does not matter. (Lest I upset anybody–put yourself where you think you deserve to be). They make their comments from information based on what crumbs they obtained from government control media, talk in the kedai kopi and hastily scribbled messages over the net (careful here brother and sisters–the SB is looking over your shoulder!) Let us be clear on a few things.
PR is a coalition that celebrates diversity – in religious, racial and political beliefs. What do you expect? We have a past UMNO President that left the party until what he perceived were wrongs was made right. Do you think this past President and the past PM before Najib would ever be able to sit and converse in a civil manner? No they will not be able to. Do you think the past UMNO Ketua Wanita and the current Ketua Wanita would be able to sit and chat over a teh tarik. No they cannot. We are talking about a party established over 50 years ago having problems at the highest level – out in the open for all to see.
Read the rest of this entry »
Multimedia Super Corridor vs. Multicultural Supra Conquistadora
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, Pakatan Rakyat on Friday, 14 August 2009
By Azly Rahman
There is an ongoing and intensifying war between Barisan Nasional and the Pakatan Rakyat. And the country is watching. It can both be a healthy and an unhealthy educational process. The war is to win the hearts, minds, and souls of Malaysians as we await another ritual of Malaysian democracy: the 13th. General Elections. Like the war between the Israelis and the Palestinians it has been a long 50-year war between Malaysia’s forces of hegemony and of counter-hegemony.
Hegemony, borrowing the Italian Marxist thinker, Antonio Gramsci who wrote on the Fascist government of Mussolini, is a condition of subtle and total control — of the mind, media, machinery, and materials projected as a form of “intellectual and moral leadership” of the ruling party whose developmentalist agenda follows that of the Fordist paradigm of post-industrial revolution.
Malaysia’s ruling regime, particularly in the time of its fourth Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, has survived on hegemony and the language of vision and utopianism its developmentalist agenda fuelled by informational and communication technologies, architectured through physical installations such as Cyberjaya, Putrajaya, and the Petronas Twin Towers – all these are iconic/signs-symbols-signifiers of ultra-exclusive-Malay ideological dominance.
Read the rest of this entry »
The art of Managing a Crisis…do we want one?
Posted by Kit in Hussein Hamid, Pakatan Rakyat, Post-2008 general election on Thursday, 13 August 2009
Me thinks something is stirring in the Pakatan Rakyat and UMNO camps. The winds of change seems to blow ever so slowly. Diversions are being thrown around here and there by Pakatan Rakyat. The issue of selling beers in Selangor seem to take a life of its own unencumbered by thoughts of Pakatan unity. There is the ‘life and death struggle’ of Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor and the internal ‘bickering’ between PAS and DAP. For Barisan they want Selangor back and the word is out that they are confident enough to look at holding elections in Perak…it all points to the classic diversionary tactics of ‘creating a crisis’ – but by whom? Barisan or Pakatan?
What is self-evident now is that there is a growing momentum towards creating a Malaysia the people are unfamiliar with. The dismantling of the great racial divide, the real possibility of Pakatan Rakyat emerging as the next Government after the General Elections (at worse an effective opposition) and the potential demise of UMNO and the Barisan Coalition it leads as the Party in power.
Concurrently as part and parcel of this progression there is an increasing demand by the people for transparency and openness in Government – akin to Putri Gunung Ledang agreeing to marry the Sultan if given:
Read the rest of this entry »
What is wrong with Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government?
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat on Wednesday, 12 August 2009
(This is one response to an earlier post expressing concern about what is happening to the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government which I think is important enough to share in the public domain to elicit a wider discussion. – Kit)
There is certainly the “need to be worried” matter in Selangor. One quote going around from some prominent businessmen is that ” It took BN 50 yrs to become so arrogant, but it took PR only 1(one) year to be just as arrogant”. Nowhere is that business sentiment more acutely felt than amongst some housing developers.
The aetiology is of course multifactorial. Many unscrupulous and other less-than-straight developers had ridden on the past (less transparent) govt to execute projects that left much bitter aftertaste/heartaches amongst unconsulted residents in a forced topdown approach. Unfortunately in yesteryears (and even recently) REHDA had not come down hard on these recalitrants, thus much of society had tarred all and sundry developers in the same manner. Read the rest of this entry »
As I see it
Posted by Kit in Hussein Hamid, Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 11 August 2009
By Hussein Hamid
steadyaku47
The past:
Big win gives Malaysia’s Abdullah mandate
The 2004 elections won by Barisaan’s Nasional was the biggest for any Political Party in Malaysian history. With a parliamentary majority of over two thirds, the multi ethnic Barisan Nasional coalition that UMNO heads can pass law uncontested. This success was matched in polls for the state assemblies with Barisan winning 12 of the 13 states.
This puts to rest the challenge of PAS in the Malay heartland states in the North and seemed to wipe out Keadilan.
Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, faced a recount in her seat, which was once occupied by her husband Anwar Ibrahim who is now serving a 15-year jail term for sodomy and abuse of power, and the party looked unlikely to win any other seats.
Current realities: Read the rest of this entry »
Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government facing a life-and-death threat with a high-powered Umno-BN conspiracy to topple it at all costs and restore Umno-BN rule in Selangor as in Perak six months ago
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat on Monday, 10 August 2009
The Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government is facing a life-and-death threat with a high-powered Umno-BN conspiracy to topple it at all costs and restore Umno-BN rule in Selangor as in Perak six months ago.
This is not an ordinary challenge but a no-holds-barred onslaught and take-no-prisoners assault mobilising all available means and resources, including the most unethical and illegal, whether at state or national level, whether government or outside like the mass media, to destroy the Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government and cause the break-up of Pakatan Rakyat.
DAP and Pakatan Rakyat leaders in Selangor and in the country should be fully aware of this latest life-and-death threat to the 17-month-old Selangor Pakatan Rakyat government as testified by two pronouncements by the two top Umno leaders today.
Read the rest of this entry »