Have no fear, PAS is near!
Posted by Kit in Martin Jalleh on Monday, 15 April 2013, 3:17 pm
by Martin Jalleh
Why I shall vote in GE13
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Election, Police on Monday, 15 April 2013, 1:06 pm
— Philip Yeoh
The Malaysian Insider
April 15, 2013
APRIL 15 — I shall vote to give Malaysia a better chance of stemming the bleeding of our public finances and downward spiral in our standard of living.
I shall vote to protect our land and people from policies, practices and businesses that threaten our ecological safety and integrity.
I shall vote to open the door for reforms in our institutions of governance particularly the judiciary, MACC, police and the central bank. Read the rest of this entry »
20-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Gelang Patah will be my “life-and-death” political battle as I will be fighting not just popular four-term Johore Mentri Besar, but the PM, Najib Razak, former longest-serving PM Mahathir and future PM hopeful Muhyiddin Yassin
Finally the die is cast. From all accounts, MCA has surrendered the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat to UMNO and the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate will be the popular four-term Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.
When I decided to leave the Ipoh Timor parliamentary seat where I had won with over 21,000-vote majority in the 2008 General Elections to contest in the BN fortress of Gelang Patah (which was won by BN with a 9,000-vote majority in 2008 and 31,666-vote majority in 2004) and which had never been won by the Opposition in the past 12 General Elections in 56 years, it was a high-risk decision.
But I was prepared to take the calculated risks for at least four reasons:
- To target the six Parliamentary and 13 State Assembly seats in south Johore to pave the way for Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya in the 13GE. The six Parliamentary seats are Johor Bahru, Pasir Gudang, Tebrau, Gelang Patah, Kulai and Pulai. The 13 State Assembly seats are Stulang, Tanjong Puteri, Johore Jaya, Permas, Puteri Wangsa, Tiram, Skudai, Nusajaya, Pengkalan Rinting, Kempas, Senai, Bukit Batu and Bukit Permai.
Johor Baru is the only State capital which had been able to maintain UMNO/BN political hegemony since Merdeka in 1957, when other State Capitals and urban centres have come under strong Opposition/Pakatan Rakyat influence, namely Kuala Lumpur, Kajang, Ipoh, Klang, Subang Jaya, Kuching, Petaling Jaya, Seremban, George Town, Malacca, Kota Baru, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan and Sungai Patani.
- To target a total of 19 Parliamentary and 30 State Assembly seats in the State of Johor, including the six Parliamentary and 13 State Assembly seats in South Johore. The additional Parliamentary seats in the rest of Johor are Tanjong Piai, Kluang, Batu Pahat, Bakri, Labis, Segamat, Sekijang, Ledang, Muar, Ayer Hitam, Sri Gading, Simpang Rengam and Sembrong. The additional 17 State Assembly seats are Pekan Nenas, Mengkibol, Penggaram, Layang-Layang, Parit Yaani, Maharani, Gambir, Tenang and Pemanis. Read the rest of this entry »
Lost Legitimacy & Leadership!
Posted by Kit in Martin Jalleh on Monday, 15 April 2013, 9:45 am
by Martin Jalleh
BN settles on Ghani to defend Gelang Patah from Kit Siang
By Jahabar Sadiq
The Malaysian Insider
April 15, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman will defend Gelang Patah against the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang while the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) now seeks a safe state seat for his potential successor as Johor mentri besar, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, in Election 2013, say coalition sources.
Despite BN’s pledge to put new faces, The Malaysian Insider understands that the 66-year-old MB is the best bet against the 72-year-old Lim as the ruling coalition is depending on the Malay vote to carry it in the May 5 general election.
“It has been decided that Ghani will defend Gelang Patah as BN doesn’t want to risk losing its fixed deposit in Johor,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.
He said the MCA has agreed to give up the seat to Umno, under a strategy where the BN war room believes Umno candidates can beat back the DAP attack in Johor and other Malay-majority states rather than MCA hopefuls.
“There will be a number of veterans being asked to stay on and defend their seats because DAP and PAS together can cause trouble,” the BN source added, referring to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties that also includes PKR. Read the rest of this entry »
A Barisan Win is No Victory for Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Bakri Musa, Elections, Najib Razak, Parliament, UMNO on Monday, 15 April 2013, 6:56 am
by Bakri Musa
(Second of Four Parts)
There can only be three possible outcomes to the next election: Barisan to win with a comfortable victory; Pakatan Rakyat to prevail; and a hung parliament. A comfortable victory is one where the expected hopping of a dozen or so successful candidates would not materially affect the political balance. A hung parliament is where the buying or the shifting of allegiance of a handful of elected members would significantly alter the political balance.
Contrary to the pronouncements of many, the worst possible outcome would not be a hung parliament but a Barisan victory. The best possible outcome would be for Pakatan to secure that majority. A hung parliament is not the worse but then also not the best possible outcome either. Read the rest of this entry »
21-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Attorney-General Gani Patail given opportunity to arrest and charge Mahathir for sedition and criminal defamation before I instruct my lawyers to institute legal proceedings against Mahathir for defamation in connection with his blog on “Gelang Patah”
Posted by Kit in Elections, Law & Order, Mahathir, UMNO on Sunday, 14 April 2013, 12:51 pm
As the former DAP MP for Segambut Lim Lip Eng has lodged a police report this morning in Kuala Lumpur against the former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad for sedition and criminal defamation, I will give the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail the opportunity to arrest and charge Mahathir for sedition and criminal defamation before I instruct my lawyers to institute legal proceedings against Mahathir for defamation in connection with his blog, “Gelang Patah” last Thursday, 11th April 2013.
I had given Mahathir two opportunities to withdraw and apologise for his chauvinistic and seditious blog which made irresponsible and baseless attacks on my reputation and character or face legal action for defamation for his lies and falsehoods, but the former Prime Minister had been totally unmoved and unrepentant.
Mahathir had disgraced and dishonoured the office of the former Prime Minister, which is provided by Parliament every year with a princely allocation from the annual Federal Government budget for its upkeep, by spewing downright lies and falsehoods to make the 13th General Elections the dirtiest in the the nation’s history which is most unworthy and unfitting for a former Prime Minister whose living and maintenance expenses is billed to the public purse.
Two days ago, the latest “black operation” in the 13GE surfaced with the appearance of a sex video purportedly involving the PAS Secretry-General Mustapha Ali, which has been categorically denied by Mustafa who said that UMNO was desperate enough to lie in order to drop him from the country’s arena.
Read the rest of this entry »
Chance for change? The possibility is there
By Bridget Welsh | 8:40AM Apr 13, 2013
Malaysiakini
GE13 SPECIAL Well, the dates have finally been set and Malaysia heads towards the most competitive electoral contest in the nation’s history. It is important to step back and look at how and why GE13 is competitive.
The broad reason is clear: this election offers the possibility of an electoral transition of power. More power is in the hands of ordinary Malaysians than ever before. The underlying dynamics that might make this change happen however, are more obscure.
This article – as part of a special series of pieces on the polls – maps the contest nationally and draws attention to fundamental shifts that are making the May polls historic, whatever the outcome.
The grey seats
The fierceness of the contest is evident in the numbers of seats that are “grey” – seats that can go either way.
Looking at a combination of factors in individual seats, the patterns of margin of victory and history of vote swing, the changing number and composition of voters, the candidate choices and infighting as well as macro national and state shifts in voting behaviour drawn from my fieldwork, I currently estimate that 42 percent of the parliamentary seats nationally are ‘grey’.
Read the rest of this entry »
‘Soi Lek a tiger or political eunuch?’
By Ho Kin Chai | 11:50AM Apr 13, 2013
Malaysiakini
COMMENT Following its poor performance in the 2008 general election, MCA is at the crossroad – to take the bull (its rival) by the horns or sink into the road of oblivion.
The current MCA leadership, particularly president Dr Chua Soi Lek, has failed to seize this opportunity to take on Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah.
Lim (left) has taken a bold gamble by thrusting himself into the traditional BN and MCA stronghold.
Johor is the backyard of MCA which won seven out of eight parliamentary seats it contested in 2008.
The DAP wrested Bakri, causing a dent. As the MCA president, Chua should seize this golden opportunity to take up this challenge.
By not taking up the challenge, he was sending a negative signal to its senior partner, Umno, and the MCA candidates and general membership.
Being the MCA supremo, he must rise up to the occasion to give Lim the strongest possible resistance.
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, 10:46 am
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.
Read the rest of this entry »
What will it be for BN — Ibrahim Ali or 1 Malaysia?
By Jahabar Sadiq
The Malaysian Insider
April 08, 2013
COMMENT
April 8 — The Barisan Nasional (BN) has unveiled a centrist manifesto that fits its 1 Malaysia philosophy but Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s endorsement of Datuk Ibrahim Ali as a coalition candidate would appear to be at odds with the concept.
The stout Perkasa chief has been anything but centrist or even 1 Malaysia in his approach to push for Malay rights at a time when BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been advocating a gradual economic liberalisation and equity for Malaysians.
But why would the country’s longest-serving prime minister, who spoke in 1991 of a future Bangsa Malaysia plump, for an ethno-centric Ibrahim (picture), who ran on a PAS ticket in Election 2008 only to turn pro-Umno after winning the Pasir Mas seat? Read the rest of this entry »
Dr M should campaign honourably
― Ravinder Singh
The Malaysian Insider
April 13, 2013
APRIL 13 ― Dr Mahathir Mohamad is obviously very unhappy that Lim Kit Siang is contesting in Gelang Patah. That is his right: to be unhappy and say so.
In his recent write up on this, he says “when Kit Siang wins Gelang Patah” ― here, he is acknowledging that this candidate is going to win.
What is regretted is that Dr Mahathir then goes on to say that this candidate’s win would result in racial confrontation and “even if there will not be violent clashes as seen in many countries where people are divided by race or religion, but confrontation between the three major races in Malaysia will be disruptive and will not be conducive to the development of Malaysia.”
Instead of making such irresponsible statements that can give wrong ideas to some people, he should take the honourable way of neutralising this candidate’s chances of victory. Read the rest of this entry »
The EC Must Address These Doubts
Posted by Kit in Elections, Kee Thuan Chye on Saturday, 13 April 2013, 10:23 pm
By Kee Thuan Chye | Saturday, 13 April 2013 17:19
Malaysian Digest
WHILE announcing the date for the 13th general election, the Election Commission (EC) also said that it would make the event “the best” ever held. In pledging this, its chairman, Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, reiterated what he had said on Feb 5.
But somehow the pledge rings hollow. Many Malaysians have lost too much confidence in the EC to believe that it will be, in Abdul Aziz’s words, “transparent” and that it “will not help any party to win”. Its actions and pronouncements have too often indicated the contrary.
Besides that, NGOs that have engaged with the EC know how frustrating the experience can be. The latter is notorious for not replying to pressing questions concerning the electoral process or improper conduct at elections. Its dismissal of Bersih’s demands for electoral reform compelled the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections to take its cause to the streets in July 2011.
The EC is also noted for its apparently cavalier attitude towards calls for cleaning the electoral roll. Instead of getting down to the task of doing it, it has been giving excuses – even though a Merdeka Center survey in April 2012 revealed that 92% of Malaysians in Peninsular Malaysia want the roll cleaned.
Read the rest of this entry »
The NEP and Corruption: Why Malaysia is Lagging Behind
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Economics, NEP on Saturday, 13 April 2013, 10:20 pm
By Koon Yew Yin | 13th April 2013
My object in writing this is to support Professor Dato Dr. Woo Wing Thye’s lecture on 12th April in Syuen Hotel, Ipoh. In his lecture he listed 5 root causes for our poor performance in comparison with South Korea and Taiwan.
Prof. Woo, possibly because of the election fever, tried to be politically correct and made little mention of the New Economic Policy role in our failure to keep up with our neighbours. In fact it is not only Prof. Woo who is silent on the NEP – most analysts appear to have sidelined this policy in the election debate to date.
This is a mistake as the real policy culprit explaining our failure to devlop as quickly as our neighbours (see table attached) is the New Economic Policy (NEP) and the abuse of power in the B.N. Government’s implimentation. As a result, our neighbours are doing much better than us in spite of the fact that they all did not have the natural resources such as oil and gas.
Presidents of MCA, GERAKAN and SUPP have lost their political and moral legitimacy to lead
For the first time in Malaysian history, at least three incumbent Presidents of BN component parties will not be standing as candidates for their respective parties. They are MCA President Dr Chua Soi Lek, GERAKAN President Dr Koh Tsu Koon and SUPP President Peter Chin. They may be joined by a fourth – PPP President M.Kayveas.
Their non-candidacy is yet another indication of the emasculation of the BN component parties under the ‘rule’ of ‘Big Brother’ UMNO. Not only has UMNO forced other BN component parties to ‘return’ seats such as the Grik parliamentary seat (GERAKAN) and the Kuantan parliamentary seat (MCA) and the Pasir Panjang state seat in Perak (MIC) to ‘Big Brother’, there are strong indications that even more seats would be given to UMNO including Wangsa Maju in the Federal Territories (MCA) and the Gelang Patah seat in Johor (MCA) which I will be contesting in for the upcoming General Election.
If this trend continues, the Barisan Nasional (BN) might as well change its name to UMNO Plus since it will comprise of an over-dominant UMNO plus a number of powerless component parties helmed by Presidents whose candidacies are decided by the UMNO President.
Furthermore, by not contesting, these leaders have lost all legitimacy to lead their respective parties within the BN. They will not represent the BN in parliament or in the cabinet unless they take the ignominious road of being ‘back door’ Ministers via the Senatorship route which some, including Dr. KohTsu Koon, have shamelessly done. They will be sitting at the BN table as non-elected representatives while being surrounded by UMNO leaders who are elected representatives.
Read the rest of this entry »
22-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Mahathir has another 24 hours to withdraw and apologise for his chauvinist blog on “Gelang Patah” making irresponsible and baseless attacks on me or face legal action for defamation for his lies and falsehoods
Tun Mahathir has another 24 hours to withdraw and apologise for his chauvinistic blog on “Gelang Patah” making irresponsible and baseless attacks on my reputation and character or face legal action for defamation for his lies and falsehoods.
Yesterday, I had challenged Mahathir to stop spewing more lies and falsehoods but to produce evidence to substantiate his baseless attacks on my reputation and character or he should retract and apologise for his lies and falsehoods against me in his blog on Thursday.
There has only been silence on Mahathir’s part and I am giving him another 24 hours to vindicate himself, produce proof to substantiate his allegations against me or behave as a responsible “elder statesman” and retract and apologise for his defamatory blog against me.
In his blog, Mahathir made the most chauvinistic, scurrilous and totally baseless attacks on me, accusing me of wanting to contesting Gelang Patah because
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I want the Chinese in Gelang Patah and Johor to “reject working together and sharing with the Malays”;
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urge the Chinese in Johor “to dislike and hate the Malays” to create “conflict and antagonism between the races”;
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create “an unhealthy racial confrontation” between the Malays and Chinese in Johor, which will be “disruptive and will not be conducive to the development of Malaysia”.
All these three allegations by Mahathir are downright lies and falsehoods, which I had never uttered in Gelang Patah and Johore since the announcement on March 18 that I would be contesting in Gelang Patah.
Read the rest of this entry »
No votes for racists
Zan Azlee
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 12, 2013
APRIL 12 ― I turn to my right, and I see two Malaysians. Their names are Cherish Leow and Cynthia Ng. I look further down to the left; I see another Malaysian. His name is Thinesh Kumar. This is my workplace. Read the rest of this entry »
Lim’s return to Johor emboldens the Chinese
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, DAP, Elections, UMNO on Saturday, 13 April 2013, 5:41 am
From Sakmongkol AK47
Free Malaysia Today
April 12, 2013
The return of Lim Kit Siang to Johor should not matter to Umno and BN. Why should it cause worry? Isn’t it mathematically impossible for PR to go from 1 seat to 15 parliamentary seats? The Johor Chinese are different. They have an unshakeable allegiance to the state. So the Johor Chinese are by definition, naturally indifferent to what is happening around in the country.
The Chinese are a very practical people, says Chua Soi Lek. He must of course be referring to their apparent indifference to his sexual escapades. By that reasoning, the Chinese must also be indifferent to whatever stories are said of Anwar Ibrahim and they should be indifferent to Najib’s overextended and boring self-praising assessment of his Alphabet Soup vision. Ah Jib Gor does what Ah Jib Gor does best – tell tall stories mostly about himself.
Being practical they want to know, whether we can establish a good government. One that will practise good governance, consists of good, selfless and dedicated people. They want to go about making wealth under a government that upholds the rule of law. Which in turn require that the institutions that safeguard the rule and implementation of law be strong and independent and are established on principles of integrity. The Chinese want to live peacefully with the other major races in Malaysia. These are hallmarks of practical people.
I don’t think being practical means, they accept corruption, wheeling and dealing with the powers that be, accepting hegemony from others. If they are like that – that’s not being practical but being sly and acting like hustlers. The things that made the Chinese practical is economic independence. So being practical as in economically independent, the Chinese can exercise wider choices. They will chose to side with Pakatan Rakyat. That’s practical and acknowledging reality. Read the rest of this entry »
Stealing the elections: Act One
Posted by Kit in Articles, Lim Teck Ghee on Friday, 12 April 2013, 7:25 pm
by Dr Lim Teck Ghee
Centre for Policy Initiatives
Even before the dust has set on the fixing of the polling date, the Barisan Nasional (BN) had already begun the hijacking of the elections. With the apparent connivance of the Election Commission (EC) – the pit bull ensuring BN’s electoral victory for the past 12 general elections – they have imposed a 10-minute slot for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties to explain their polls manifesto over the official media.
According to Rais Yatim, the Information, Communications and Culture caretaker minister, the short time offered to PR will be more than enough to showcase their pledges. Although an attempt has been made by the EC at damage control over the government’s ludicrous but at the same time deadly serious intent – it has explained that the opposition had misunderstood the offer which was intended to be serial and not one-time – the objective of the government is clear.
This is to use its monopoly of the official (and much of the unofficial print) media to ensure a BN election victory by seeing to it that the public – especially rural and Malay voters – will hear only the good side and promises of the BN and to downplay, ignore or demonize the PR side. Read the rest of this entry »
