Archive for category Politics
Does Cuepacs’ Omar know what he’s saying?
Posted by Kit in Election, Politics, public service on Tuesday, 20 January 2009
“Cuepacs: Nizar doesn’t know what he’s saying” – New Straits Times today reported the Cuepacs president Omar Othman denying that civil servants had contributed to Pas’ victory in Saturday’s Kuala Terengganu by-election.
The NST reported:
He (Omar) said public services employees, both those serving the federal and state governments, fully supported the Barisan Nasional and Umno leadership.
He was commenting on a claim by Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.
“Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin claimed government staff serving the federal and state governments sympathised with and supported Pas,” Omar said yesterday.
“He also said they had become more daring to vote for Pas in the by-election despite being threatened or forced.
“This is a big lie by a man who knows nothing about the public services or its system.
“The more than 1.2 million civil servants in this country have been loyal and supportive of the government. There is no doubt about that.”
He said civil servants appreciated what the government had been doing for them all these years.
“They know who has been fighting for their welfare and paying their salaries to enable them to feed and support their family. Leave them alone,” Omar said.
Does Omar know what he is saying? Read the rest of this entry »
Musa not fit to continue as IGP a single day
Posted by Kit in Crime, Parliament, Politics on Thursday, 4 December 2008
My censure motion to cut the salary of Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, in Parliament today was defeated by a 48 to 30 votes when it was put to the House.
I had moved the motion against Musa on two grounds, viz:
• For being more of a lobbyist for police megal deals instead of being the police leader to keep crime down and the country safe for Malaysians, tourists and investors; and
• Telling Malaysians that they had been living “a great lie” in the past five years under the Abdullah premiership by succumbing to the new police line that the real problem is not worsening crime situation or a misperception.
When winding-up, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heong admitted the veracity of the two letters I handed to him earlier during my speech, viz:
• letter from Musa as IGP to the Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop dated 12th February 2007 on the subject “Cadangan Kontrak Sewaan Helicopter Kepada Polis Diraja Malaysia Selama 30 Tahun Melalui Private Funding Initiative (PFI)” where Musa gave his full endorsement for the RM20 billion Asiacopter proposal to rent out 34 helicopters to the police for 30 years; and
• letter from Musa as IGP to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dated 3rd November 2006 on “E-Police Force Solution – Letter of Intent”, pressing for the issue of an “Letter of Exclusive Intent” to Web Power Sdn. Bhd. by the government for its RM4.2 billion “E-Police Force Solution” proposal.
However he tried to dismiss the “integrity issues” in the two letters, although I said that this was the first time an IGP has breached general orders and gone out of his way to lobby for mega police deals for a particular company – which had never been done by his predecessors, whether Tan Sri Bakri Musa, Tan Sri Norian Mai, Tan Sri Rahim Noor or Tun Hanif Omar. Read the rest of this entry »
Books and politicians
Posted by Kit in Parliament, Politics, Teresa Kok on Thursday, 23 October 2008
By Hafidz Baharom
[email protected]
The Nut Graph
WHAT’S the difference between a book and a politician?
This was a question posed to me recently by a close friend after having one too many beers. Somehow, the mind gets more creative when it’s intoxicated.
Well, I said the first major difference was that I find books interesting to read. From Bill Maher’s New Rules to Lewis Black’s Nothing’s Sacred, political satire is definitely alive in Western comedy. Heck, these books are even selling well.
On the other hand, I view the Malaysian politician as someone with minimum knowledge and memory, but who can outspew a rabid spitting camel.
Take the former Member of Parliament (MP) for Jerai, Datuk Paduka Badruddin Amiruldin. Recall the 2007 Umno general assembly, during which delegate Zaleha Hussin implied that the uniforms for Air Asia’s women flight attendants were a tad skimpy.
I’m not sure if it was plain idiocy or whether he was merely gatal, but our dear Badruddin agreed: “Yes, we can see a tunnel under her skirt.” Perhaps if he was at a bar after a few shots of vodka, I’d understand. But to be sober at the Umno general assembly and say this in front of the media? Read the rest of this entry »
Obama for Putrajaya
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, Keadilan, Politics on Wednesday, 22 October 2008
by Azly Rahman
“…Haji Ramli Street was a dirt lane where Obama used to while away the hours kicking a soccer ball. In the long rainy season, it turned to thick, mucky soup; Obama and his friends wore plastic bags over their shoes to walk though it,” said Adi, who at 46 is the same age as Obama….
“Neighborhood Muslims worshiped in a nearby house, which has since been replaced by a larger mosque. Sometimes, when the muezzin sounded the call to prayer, Lolo and Barry would walk to the makeshift mosque together.
… “His mother often went to the church, but Barry was Muslim. He went to the mosque. I remember him wearing a sarong,” said Adi. – reported by Paul Watson in The Baltimore Sun, March 16, 2007
“… given the increasing diversity of America’s population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers. …
And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools?
Would we go with James Dobson’s, or Al Sharpton’s? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination?
How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount – a passage that is so radical that it’s doubtful that our own Defence Department would survive its application?”
– Barack Obama Call to renewal: keynote address June 28, 2006
Barack Hussein Obama for prime minister of Malaysia? Read the rest of this entry »
With seismic events afoot, who do you believe?
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politics, UMNO on Sunday, 21 September 2008
(1) KUALA LUMPUR: An English daily’s report that certain Umno Supreme Council members had asked Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to speed up the transition plan at their meeting on Thursday was inaccurate, Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday.
(2) In Shah Alam, Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Mu-hammed Taib said members who supported the call for Abdullah to speed up the transition of power to his deputy were not supporting the Pakatan Rakyat’s moves to wrest control of the Federal Government.
One of the two Umno leaders-cum-Ministers is telling a lie. Which one?
The marvel is that these gems of contradictions appear in the same report in Star today, “Hishammuddin: English daily’s report inaccurate”.
Hishammuddin was referring to Star’s front-page report yesterday “Pak Lah under pressure to exit” by Joceline Tan, viz: Read the rest of this entry »
Race Relations Act – will it enable Barack Obama phenomenon in Malaysia?
Posted by Kit in nation building, Politics on Saturday, 20 September 2008
When the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hamid Albar announced yesterday that the Cabinet has approved the proposed Race Relations Act to strengthen ties among the different races in the country, I immediately thought of two matters.
The first is the “penumpang” controversy set off by the Bukit Bendera Umno division chairman, Datuk Ahmad Ismail as part of Umno’s most racist and inflammatory campaign in the Permatang Pauh by-election, which was decisively rejected by the voters from all racial groups uniting as a pioneering Bangsa Malaysia to give a thumping victory to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to return to Parliament in triumph after an enforced absence of a decade.
The real fall-out from the “penumpang” controversy was after the Permatang Pauh by-election, where for two weeks, Ahmad was allowed to assume “hero” status among extremists and communalists for his provocative, inflammatory, insensitive and racist reference because of the abdication and bankruptcy of the moral and political authority of the Cabinet and the Barisan Nasional leadership in failing to take immediate action to strike down such divisive and destructive outbursts. Read the rest of this entry »
March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat, Politics on Friday, 19 September 2008
Got this email from Malaysia’s hard-hitting journalist and playwright Kee Thuan Chye:
“I hope you can mention in your blog that my book, “March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up”, is now in bookstores.
“I think it will be in the interest of multi-racialism, justice, fairness and a better Malaysia.”
These quotes from the book’s promotion will catch everyone’s attention:”
Quotes
“If the system is flawed, I believe it should be reformed, not blindly tolerated or accepted with a helpless shrug or defended with excuses—by the powers that be, the media, the man in the street.”
– Kee Thuan Chye
Do you think Penang people are stupid enough to support (Guan Eng)? We Penangites are not stupid.
– Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, said before March 8
An army can come but I know how to fight it out….The people in Sungai Siput are with me. They are my strength. I have strived for them and served them.
– MIC President S. Samy Vellu, said before March 8
The Barisan is peaking now. We let [DAP] shoot and finish their bullets. Now we’re the ones with the bullets and we’re chipping away at their arguments.
– Former Gerakan President Dr Lim Keng Yaik, March 7, The Star
Call for fresh general election now
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Politics, Sabah on Thursday, 18 September 2008
The Borneo Post
September 17, 2008
Editorial
OUR political troubles aren’t over. And, we may be in for an even longer crisis that could lead into political chaos and adverse instability in our fragile multi-ethnic nation.We need a solution, an acceptable, near perfect and more lasting political solution; not one that could solve a problem but create a new nightmare at a time when political and economic difficulties and uncertainties are looming large over us and threatening to make life even more difficult for everyone — from the wage earner to the businessmen and investors and families striving to make ends meet throughout our diverse land.
Superfluous to say that it is imperative we fix our political problems using a more acceptable method that borders on democratic values which is more reflective of the wishes of the majority.
The current unprecedented political crisis that has given rise to a near political mess, does not seem to want to go away with no acceptable solution in sight. Not even if some BN MPs were to defect and cross over to Pakatan Rakyat (motivated by personal reasons, political reasons or promises of money and positions) to allow de facto opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to form the next federal government and become the new prime minister of the many ethnic communities thirsting for good governance.
Anxious Malaysians are witnessing an unacceptable situation where the incumbent prime minister, seemingly unpopular with his economic policies and actions, yet stays embattled with forces within his own party and ruling BN coalition. Read the rest of this entry »
Abdullah should direct the 54 BN MPs to cut short their “blur blur” agriculture study tour of Taiwan
Posted by Kit in Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Anwar Ibrahim, Foreign, Politics on Wednesday, 10 September 2008
Malaysia’s image and international standing are trampled upon and “rubbished” by the 54 Barisan Nasional MPs currently on a “blur blur” agriculture study tour of Taiwan as they are been tracked by the Taiwan print and electronic media as if they are bizarre or exotic creatures from a strange land if not from another planet.
Instead of conducting themselves as proud elected representatives of a nation held in high esteem in international circles, the 54 BN MPs are caught in a hide-and-seek with journalists as if they are fugitives from justice or agents of rogue nations as they are unable to give a honest and honourable explanation of the real purpose and reason for their sudden trip to Taiwan.
A Guang Ming Daily columnist has rightly coined the phrase “mong cha-cha” or “blur blur” tour to describe BN MPs junket to Taiwan, for the BN MPs were in a “blur” when summoned by SMS to submit their passports for the “trip to nowhere” as the country destination was not known and undecided, “blur” when they boarded the flight and continue to be “blur” when they landed in Taiwan.
The 54 BN MPs know that they have become a laughing stock in Taiwan and a standing joke wherever they go in the island republic. As a result, they cannot hold their heads high when appearing in public in Taiwan.
The 916 obsession – 54 BN MPs have Anwar to thank for the last-minute free junket to Taiwan
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Pakatan Rakyat, Politics on Tuesday, 9 September 2008
The last-minute free junket to Taiwan for 54 MPs is shaping up to be the greatest political farce in the nation’s 51-year history – all because of the “916 obsession” of the Umno/Barisan Nasional leadership.
UMNO/Barisan Nasional leaders have put up a bold public front dismissing the possibility of any change of government come Sept. 16, dismissing the “916” speculation as political gimmick and “day-dream”, although in their heart of hearts, it has become a “living nightmare” to the Umno/BN leadership.
This is because Umno/BN leadership are acutely and painfully aware that six months after the March 8 general election, more and more BN MPs are convinced that the Prime Minister and the Barisan Nasional leadership have completely lost their way as illustrated by the latest Ahmad Ismail furore and have neither the vision nor political will to relate and become relevant to the revolution of new hopes and expectations of post-political tsunami Malaysia.
As compared to six months ago, there are even fewer BN MPs who are prepared to defend the policies and programmes of the Prime Minister and the BN leadership, as they have lost all hope and confidence in the their ability to manage a major turnaround of political support of the people.
“The birds have flown” – BN MPs forced to flee from Malaysia because of “916”
Posted by Kit in nation building, Pakatan Rakyat, Politics on Monday, 8 September 2008
The Star front-page headline today “Off to Taiwan – 50 Barisan MPs begin eight-day study trip” is the latest update of the political farce which could be appropriately entitled “The Birds Have Flown” to tell the story as to how 51 years after Merdeka, two-thirds of the 75 BN parliamentary backbenchers were forced to flee from Malaysia to ensure that they don’t take part any “916” political changes.
Despite maintaining a public stanc of stoic indifference, there is no doubt that with the daily countdown to September 16, there is an increasing panic in Umno and Barisan Nasional leadership ranks over the degree of cohesion, solidarity and allegiance of the 75 Barisan Nasional parliamentary backbenchers, resulting in the farcical “forced flight” overseas by two-thirds of the BN MPs to make it absolutely sure that none of them will participate in any “916” developments.
The Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BBC) chairman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (Bintulu) may pride himself for coming up with a “political masterstroke” to thwart “916”, but he did not realize that he has made the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the entire Umno and BN leadership look even more foolish in the eyes of Malaysians and the world! Read the rest of this entry »
Rise of PP voters as pioneers of Bangsa Malaysia generation shaming Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC leaders for their race politics
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, nation building, Pakatan Rakyat, Politics on Wednesday, 27 August 2008
The Permatang Pauh by-election and Anwar Ibrahim’s victory is a historic milestone in Malaysian nation-building and political development for three reasons.
It is firstly a ringing endorsement of the March 8 “political tsunami” where Malaysians transcended race, religion and political affiliation to vote as one people to demand an end to the decades of Barisan Nasional misrule, abuses of power, corruption and human rights violations.
It demonstrates that the 12th general election results which saw the establishment of five Pakatan Rakyat state governments and the end of the unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority of the Barisan Nasional represented the deep-seated aspirations of Malaysians and not a fluke shot or fleeting phenomenon.
Secondly, it is an unmistakable verdict on behalf of 27 million Malaysians at their disappointment with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the Cabinet and the Barisan Nasional component parties at their failure in the past six months after the March 8 general election to end the deepening crisis of confidence and restore public trust and faith in the government as well as a censure of Abdullah’s failure to honour his renewed pledges to implement wide-ranging reforms, especially the police, the judiciary and on anti-corruption.
Thirdly, the rise of Permatang Pauh voters as the pioneers of the Bangsa Malaysia generation rejecting and putting to shame Umno, MCA, Gerakan and MIC Ministers and leaders for their dirty, immoral and racist politics in the 10-day by-election campaign.
Until yesterday, there was nothing for Malaysians to celebrate in the forthcoming 51st National Day on August 31. Read the rest of this entry »
Storming of Bar Council forum – Had Umno plotted for the extreme reaction?
Posted by Kit in nation building, Pakatan Rakyat, Politics, Religion, UMNO on Monday, 11 August 2008
Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday that the Bar Council’s persistence in going ahead with a forum on conversion to Islam has triggered extreme reaction from certain quarters, which in turn would threaten the country’s harmony.
He added that he had expected the extreme reaction to occur as the council ignored advice to call off the forum.
Is this an admission that UMNO had plotted for the extreme reaction to the Bar Council forum on religious conversions in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday – including the deplorable and disgraceful police conduct in submitting to the ultimatum by demonstrators threatening to storm into the Bar Council auditorium to disrupt the forum if the half-day forum was not ended by 10 am?
This must be the first time in the history of the Malaysian police force where it had openly and publicly submitted to the threats of demonstrators to commit an offence, i.e. to storm into a private property to disrupt a lawful meeting!
Can the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan and the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar defend and justify the shocking failure of the police to uphold law and order on Saturday? Read the rest of this entry »
Permatang Pauh by-election – turn it into a mini political tsunami
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Pakatan Rakyat, Politics on Sunday, 3 August 2008
The voters of Permatang Pauh have a historic opportunity to create a mini-political tsunami in the impending by-election with far-reaching impact to the national political landscape far exceeding the fate of an individual or a constituency.
The stakes involved in the Permatang Pauh by-election is not just about an individual and a constituency but the future of the Malaysian people and nation.
The issue in the Permatang Pauh by-election is not whether Pakatan Rakyat leader and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim can win but whether he can achieve a thumping and landslide victory with a majority bigger than the 13,388-vote majority won by PKR President Datuk Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in the March 8, 2008 general election.
If Anwar can win the Permatang Pauh by-election with an even greater majority won by Azizah five months ago, despite an even more massive onslaught by the whole weight of the Barisan Nasional juggernaut, it would have a special import in shaping the development of the Malaysian political landscape. Read the rest of this entry »
Umno-Pas talks – repudiation of transformational message of March 8 “political tsunami”
In the United States, Senator Barack Obama’s nomination as the Democratic Presidential nominees heralds a new milestone in American nation-building and race relations but in Malaysia, the UMNO proposal for Umno-PAS talks marks a regression in Malaysian nation-building and the Vision 2020 objective of a Bangsa Malaysia.
The latter repudiates March 8 “political tsunami” where for the first time in half-a-century of nationhood, Malaysians transcended race, religion and political affiliation to vote for change to give primacy and priority to justice, freedom, solidarity, integrity and progress.
The March 8 “political tsunami” marks a bold and visionary stride forward by Malaysians to rise above their communal selves to reach out to a common national identity. Read the rest of this entry »
Authoritarian solution?
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Najib Razak, Politics on Wednesday, 9 July 2008
( From Australian Broadcasting Corporation transcript of the Protes rally at the Kelana Jaya Stadium on Sunday. Clive Kessler is professor sociology at the University of New South Wales and one of Australia’s foremost Malaysia watchers.)
Clive Kessler: The situation in Malaysia at the moment is remarkable and that the brave hopes of independence have turned into an unbelievably sordid soap opera and the popular feeling among many people on the streets is precisely that. That in the sense they find the politics unbelievable, damaging and destructive and they see that more clearly than many of the political principles themselves.
Edmond Roy: He’s got a point. Consider this: the Opposition leader of the country is accused of sodomy.
The country’s Deputy Prime Minister is accused of conspiring to quash a murder investigation involving his private secretary and two of his bodyguards.
And last week, the Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was accused of having sex with the murder victim, Mongolian translator Altantuya Sharribuu, whose body was blown up with weapons-grade explosives in a forest outside the capital. Read the rest of this entry »
9MP Midterm Review – Tsu Koon’s “beggar politics”
Posted by Kit in Penang Government, Politics on Saturday, 28 June 2008
(Speech by DAP MP for Ipoh Timor Lim Kit Siang at the opening of the DAP Tebing Tinggi service centre, Ipoh on Saturday, 28th June 2008)
One result of the March 8 “political tsunami” which saw the end of the Barisan Nasional’s unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority and its loss of five state governments, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan, is a bout of public soul searching by some Barisan Nasional leaders.
One such public heart-baring was by the Gerakan Adviser Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik who confessed that as Umno did not give the other component parties equal standing, Gerakan, MCA and MIC were reduced to the status of “beggars” in the ruling coalition – resulting in their massive rejection by the electorate in the March 8 “political tsunami”.
Gerakan Acting President Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon has proven his predecessor right about the “beggar politics” and “beggar mentality” of Gerakan vis-à-vis Umno in Barisan Nasional in his response to the RM3.5 billion Ninth Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review deferring of the PORR and Monorail projects in Penang. Read the rest of this entry »
“First-world infrastructure, first-world mentality”?
(This is from the blog of Hannah Yeoh, DAP Selangor Assemblywoman for Subang Jaya)
SMKSU Prefects’ Reunion
Friday, June 20, 2008
Few months ago, I was invited to the Prefects’ Reunion of SMK Subang Utama to be held next week. I just received news that I could no longer attend the function because I’m an assemblyman from Pakatan Rakyat.
Two prefects have confirmed that the teachers have issued a threat to the prefects to withdraw their invitation to me and if not, the event would be cancelled.
I am upset with this. Let me explain to you why this threat by the teachers is so fundamentally wrong:-
this is a private function to be held outside the school; every past and present prefect is entitled to attend this event; and
I was the Head Prefect for 1995/1996 and was one of the pioneers to start this yearly reunion for the prefects.
I am not a criminal or a bad role model. All I did was this, exercised my right to vote, exercised my right to stand for election, to stand up for my generation and to fight corruption. As a young person, I am not afraid to stand up for righteous principles, not afraid of intimidation by the ‘supposedly powerful’ groups but today I am told that I am not a welcoming sight at a function which I championed and fought for many years ago. Read the rest of this entry »
No Tun Samy Vellu?
This will be the reaction of most Malaysians to the Yang di Pertuan Agong’s birthday honours list today – why Tun Dr. Lim Keng Yaik but no Tun Samy Vellu.
Is MIC leaving Barisan Nasional?
Should I cross over for those millions?
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, Politics on Tuesday, 3 June 2008
by Azly Rahman
[email protected]
http://azlyrahman-illuminations.blogspot.com/
That is a two million ringgit question.
How much does one get for ‘crossing over’ these days? I do not know. But if there are millions of ringgit involved, this nation will continue to rot as corrupt politicians continue switching allegiances, getting appointments to good positions, and making horror decisions for you and your children.
We must destroy this culture and heal anew.
We were convinced things will be better after the elections. We were sure that the revolution was going to benefit the masses and no party hopping would occur.
We are wrong. Things are getting more complex, in a complex time of rising prices.
This is my template letter to anyone on the verge of party hopping for money:
Dear sir/madam,
Don’t make this mistake.
Don’t do it if it’s for two million ringgit. Stay to be free, and speak up against internal party corruption.
You will die satisfied that you have not sold your soul to any other party in whose ideology you actually do not subscribe to. These ‘party jumpers’ have no clear intention, just clear benefits for themselves. Read the rest of this entry »
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