23-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Dr M in his post-PM decade has emerged as the greatest enemy of his own Bangsa Malaysia concept in Vision 2020 and the single greatest threat to Malaysian nation building
Posted by Kit in DAP, Elections, Mahathir, nation building on Friday, 12 April 2013, 4:56 pm
Tun Mahathir had no qualms in breaking his pledge to leave politics “completely” when he stepped down ten years ago as the country’s longest Prime Minister for 22 years, and despite his brief departure from the UMNO Baru which he had formed, Mahathir is now so firmly ensconced in the corridors of power that he is undoubtedly the most feared man by all UMNO/Barisan Nasional politicians.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak fear him most as Mahathir has proven that he could make and unmake Umno Prime Ministers, and the last thing Najib wants is to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Tun Abdullah of being toppled as Prime Minister after failing to secure an acceptable winning majority in Parliament in the 13GE.
But the saddest and most tragic aspect of the second rise of Mahathir in the UMNO/BN corridors of power is his baleful and baneful influence on Malaysian politics and nation-building, as he has emerged in his post-PM decade as the greatest enemy of his own Bangsa Malaysia concept in Vision 2020 and the single greatest threat to Malaysian nation building.
In the past week, Mahathir provided two examples of the baleful and baneful influence as the arch-enemy of Bangsa Malaysia and the greatest threat to Malaysian nation building.
Firstly, Mahathir’s sky-high praises for the Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali, elevating the patron of the Malay supremacist group as a “saviour” of the nation and leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that Ibrahim Ali would be the ideal candidate for Mahathir to be Prime Minister of Malaysia!
Secondly, his utterly racist blog yesterday warning of a “race confrontation” if I win in Gelang Patah in the 13GE. Read the rest of this entry »
Apathy and change
APRIL 12 ― There’s an old wives’ tale about the boiled frog. That a frog would get used to water that is slowly boiled and die without trying to escape. It isn’t true but it illustrates how people can slowly get used to changes without realising it.
This holds true in some parts of Malaysia, especially politicians who tell us to stick to the status quo and warn us of chaos if there is change, just like what caretaker Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman cautioned Malaysians last night against voting for the opposition in Election 2013.
“Don’t try to experiment,” Musa told a thousand-strong cheering crowd at the launch of the Barisan Nasional (BN) machinery in Penampang, Sabah.
“What can you hope for in the opposition? They talk about bad things, create trouble, chaos, Bersih 1, Bersih 2, for what?” he added. Read the rest of this entry »
Let Us Ubah!
by Allan CF Goh
Bring on the transformasi.
Start the cleansing tsunami.
From Johor to fair Sabah
Let the change of wind ubah.
Sweep clean the foul corruptions,
And all unjust restrictions,
Break down slavery’s fetter
To make Malaysia better!
Drown out the vile racism,
And foul communalism.
Let’s vote for a one-nation,
Where folks live without friction,
In nationwide harmony,
Free from harsh acrimony.
Come General Election,
Vote for the best selection
Of good, moral candidates.
On that vital polling date,
Ubah! make the country well,
Make citizens, with pride, swell.
Citizens, come out to vote,
Let’s build a nation of note!
Bishop Sebastian Francis: “Your vote should not only be secret but sacred as well!”
Posted by Kit in Elections, Martin Jalleh on Friday, 12 April 2013, 9:01 am
by Martin Jalleh
BN woos Indian votes but indifferent to Hindus
by Aliran
11 April 2013
It is appalling that the higher-ups in the civil service are totally not bothered about Hindu sensitivities, observes P Ramakrishnan citing his experience with medication supplied at a general hospital.
The Prime Minister and the Barisan Nasional have been very busy going after the Indian Malaysian votes. They seem to be addressing some issues to pacify the Indians in their attempt to win them. The Indian vote is very crucial to the BN and they are desperately trying to woo them.
But it would appear that they are not bothered about the sensitivities of the Hindus. It is appalling that the higher ups in the civil service are totally not bothered about Hindu sensitivities. They are indifferent and insensitive to the Hindus.
One good example is the medication that is provided by the General Hospital.
Those suffering from IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) have been put on the medication ‘Duspatalin’. I am one of those taking this medicine for a number of years. Read the rest of this entry »
Silly conjectures
The Malaysian Insider
April 11, 2013
APRIL 11 – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad must not be feeling confident of a Barisan Nasional (BN) victory in Gelang Patah.
The former BN chief wrote today that a Lim Kit Siang win in Gelang Patah will result in racial confrontation, arguing that Chinese-Malay economic partnership will be ruined.
“Kit Siang is going to bring about conflict and antagonism between the races, to wage the Chinese to dislike and hate the Malays,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his chedet.cc blog.
“When Kit Siang decided to contest in Chinese majority Gelang Patah it is because he wanted the Chinese there and in Johor to reject working together and sharing with the Malays.
“An unhealthy racial confrontation would replace Sino-Malay cooperation which has made Malaysia stable and prosperous.”
How ridiculous is this conjecture? That an opposition win will cause racial conflict.
Is this how to scare voters to support the BN? Through fear not respect or popularity.
Is this what Dr Mahathir has to fall back to get BN to win Gelang Patah, no matter whether MCA or Umno gets to stand there? Read the rest of this entry »
Dr M: Race confrontation if Kit Siang wins Gelang Patah
By Debra Chong
The Malaysian Insider
April 11, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 – A Lim Kit Siang win in Gelang Patah will result in racial confrontation, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today, arguing that Chinese-Malay economic partnership will be ruined.
With weeks left to Election 2013, the former prime minister continued his doomsday prediction by hammering on the opposition leader with his warning that Lim’s victory in the southern state would trigger racial clashes that would replace the existing cooperation between the Malay majority and Chinese community.
“Kit Siang is going to bring about conflict and antagonism between the races, to wage the Chinese to dislike and hate the Malays,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his chedet.cc blog.
The 87-year-old Dr Mahathir has become a de facto campaigner-in-chief for the Barisan Nasional (BN), going on the stump with the vigour of a much younger man as the 13-party coalition faces what is seen as its stiffest challenge ever from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact.
The Johor-born Lim has been bearing the brunt of Dr Mahathir’s attacks ever since announcing his plan to battle BN on its home turf – the birthplace of its anchor party Umno and the last standing home of Chinese partner, MCA.
Dr Mahathir has been relentless in chipping away at the predominantly Chinese DAP’s credentials to share power with its political allies, whether the Islamist PAS or the urban-based PKR led by his former deputy, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Read the rest of this entry »
Soi Lek: 50-50 chance of MCA ceding Gelang Patah to Umno
by Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
April 11, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 – Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said today it is still a toss-up between MCA and Umno for the Gelang Patah contest, despite strong indicators pointing to Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman as Barisan Nasional’s (BN) likely candidate.
The MCA president told a press conference here that no decision has been made, even reminding pressmen to report him saying that the chances of a seat swap between Umno and MCA in Gelang Patah was still 50-50.
“We are still negotiating,” he said, before a reporter asked if MCA would cede the seat to Umno.
“Maybe yes and maybe no. You must write maybe yes and maybe no to be fair to me… if not, I will call and scold you,” he added.
Ceding the Gelang Patah seat to Umno, however, would mean MCA loses another federal seat in the coming polls contest, narrowing its chances to make a bigger comeback in Election 2013. Read the rest of this entry »
In Ipoh, a lingering loyalty for Pakatan among the Chinese
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, Perak on Thursday, 11 April 2013, 4:31 pm
By Emily Ding | April 11, 2013
The Malaysian Insider
IPOH, April 11 — The city’s traditionally pro-opposition Chinese appear unlikely to budge this May 5 when they face the ballot box again, many still strong in their conviction that a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government will care for their rights better than Barisan Nasional (BN).
Last weekend’s luncheon with Perak’s Chinese guilds and associations and Datuk Seri Najib Razak seemed to reflect this trend as even though the crowd appeared in droves at the Tow Boo Keong Taoist temple here, many still expressed disdain at the ruling pact.
When approached by The Malaysian Insider, some were very generous with their criticisms and even openly admitted that they were only there because they were invited and wanted the free food.
“We are just here to eat,” a 36-year-old civil engineer who prefers to be known only as Kevin told The Malaysian Insider.
He glanced over at his friend, a 42-year-old civil contractor who prefers to go by the name Tiger, and an elderly retiree they had just met, who both nodded and laughed.
Read the rest of this entry »
Najib has done a great injustice in not allowing MCA President Chua Soi Lek to stand as a Barisan Nasional candidate in the 13GE
I have greatest sympathy and even pity for the MCA President, Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek, who had to declare today that he will not be contesting in the 13th general election, thus becoming the first MCA President not to be fielded.
It is so embarrassing and humiliating an event that Chua had to come out with a statement which will make history as utterly without credibility, claiming that he is opting out of contesting in the 13GE because he is “walking the talk in allowing new and young leaders in the rejuvenation process so that the party will continue to remain relevant”.
In actual fact, having a MCA President who is not allowed to contest in the 13GE by the Barisan Nasional (BN) Chairman and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is in fact the latest and most powerful evidence of the utter irrelevance of MCA not only in the new Malaysian political landscape but in post-2008 Barisan Nasional politics.
Chua possesses a special illogic when he claimed that his not contesting in the 13GE is to allow him “to prove a point that I am fighting for a cause, that MCA remains relevant”, when the “point” all Malaysians see from the episode is a MCA President who is so irrelevant , unqualified and unsuitable that the UMNO President does not allow him to stand as a BN candidate in the 13GE, as he will not only become a liability for MCA candidates but also to all UMNO and BN candidates as well! Read the rest of this entry »
24-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Vision 2050 for Malaysians
Yesterday I completed the series of 100-day countdown of daily statements to the 13GE which I started on 1st January 2013, not expecting to have to complete it as it was then generally expected that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would have dissolved Parliament after the Chinese New year holidays in February for the long-awaited 13th General Elections to be held.
The 100th-Day Countdown to 13GE statement yesterday, in which I challenged Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to a series of seven public debates on his 22-year premiership as Mahathir has made the 13GE a double referendum on both the Najib and Mahathir premierships, coincided with the announcement by the Election Commission of 20th April as Nomination Day and 5th May as Polling Day for the historic 13GE.
I am therefore beginning today a new series of 24-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day statements.
I have said that the Battle of Gelang Patah is to kick off the Battle of Johore and the larger Battle of Malaysia for two reasons:
Firstly, to launch off a political tsunami from the south in the 13GE to complete the partial 2008 political tsunami, including winning over one-third of the total of 83 parliamentary seats in the three fixed deposit states of Johor, Sabah and Sarawak (ideally, 33 seats from Johor, Sabah and Sarawak) to complete the partial 2008 political tsunami towards the establishment of a Pakatan Rakyat federal government in Putrajaya.
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysian Police Ready Two Election Plans
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Elections, Najib Razak, Police on Thursday, 11 April 2013, 9:15 am
By John Berthelsen | TUESDAY, 09 APRIL 2013
Asia Sentinel
One if Anwar wins, the other if Najib does
For the first time ever, according to sources in Kuala Lumpur, the Royal Police have formulated two contingency plans for the night of Malaysia’s 13th general election, expected to be on April 27 or after.
The first, a source said, is “how to whisk the Prime Minister from the Putra World Trade Center where the Barisan Nasional is holding its election night celebration, back to Sri Perdana, the Prime Minister’s residence, safely in the event that the Barisan Nasional loses, or if there is trouble.” The second, the source said, is how to bring Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim from his home to the palace to be sworn in if the opposition were to win.
Implicit in both of those plans are questions whether there will be violence started by the losing side.
Both plans are unprecedented because there has never been a time in the 57-year history of the country when anybody thought the opposition might actually win. It still may not. But the fact that the plans are in place is an indication that even the police think the election is too close to call.
Read the rest of this entry »
Season of quotes
Aliran | 3 April 2013
Mahathir once wrote that “only the most capable and experienced should be made Ministers and be in the Cabinet”. Tota asks him what he thinks of the present Cabinet line-up.
In their utter desperation to retain political power, the Umno–dominated BN is resorting, as always, to all kinds of unfair, indeed dirty tactics to demonise Pakatan Rakyat and its leaders.
The mainstream print and electronic media is littered with quotes from opposition leaders with the aim of poisoning the rakyat’s minds.
Below is an excerpt from Mahathir’s The Malay Dilemma which amply reveals the Machiavellian character of the writer:
It is obvious that only the most capable and experienced should be made Ministers and be in the Cabinet. But independent Malaya chose to treat membership of the cabinet as a reward for loyalty to party chiefs and acceptability to the Prime Minister. Once appointed, no amount of dereliction of duty could affect the position of a Minister. On the other hand, even if the Minister performed well, failure to remain on good terms with the Prime Minister meant removal from the Ministry.
Read the rest of this entry »
Why Rais Yatim shouldn’t drive the Information Department vans around the bend
Posted by Kit in Elections, Law & Order, Rais Yatim, UMNO on Thursday, 11 April 2013, 8:27 am
by Dr Mustafa K Anuar
Honorary Secretary, Aliran | 10 April 2013
Aliran roundly condemns Information, Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim’s recent indefensible justification for the Barisan Nasional’s blatant use of government machinery for its election campaigning in the run-up to the general election.
What was done had nothing to do with the functions of the caretaker government. The three Information Department vans were there to assist the BN coalition to prepare for the opening of the BN’s election command centre for the Batu parliamentary constituency on Sunday. Government machinery was definitely used for party purposes.
It is crucial that all parties concerned must acknowledge and respect the demarcation line between party and government use to prevent abuse of power and to ensure a level playing field between the incumbent coalition and its contenders.
Surely, it doesn’t take a legally trained person to realise that it is immoral for a caretaker government to take undue advantage of its incumbency in this callous manner.
Read the rest of this entry »
The Hour has Arrived! May the Force be with us!
By Martin Jalleh
Kit Siang will lose in Gelang Patah unless ….
The Pirates of Putra Jaya
20130407
Gelang Patah is one of the hottest seats right now in the country. UMNO is in full alert after the introduction of Lim Kit Siang into this area. After conducting a situation analysis on the ground, the Pirates is coming to the following conclusion
Situation Analysis
The results in 2008 should give UMNO a cause to worry. In N48 Skudai, DAP led by Dr Boo managed to overturn a 2,193 majority for BN obtained in 2004 into a landslide 12,854 majority. This was a net shift of over 14,000 votes in 4 years that indicates the GE 12 tsunami did reach the shores of Johor. Dr Boo’s giant killing feat in this regard should not be underestimated as well.
Elsewhere, in N49 Nusajaya, BN managed to hold the seat. BN’s candidate YB Aziz Sapian managed to beat out PAS’s Mohd. Shah Lamat with an over 7,000 majority. This however was still a far cry from the 14,000 majority BN obtained in 2004, to which people attribute it as being caused by Pak Lah.
Now here comes the interesting bit. If you add the number of votes obtained by PR component parties, namely DAP and PAS, it should add to 32,383. This would have allowed PR to gain a comfortable 5,000+ majority and take Gelang Patah away from BN.
However, it did not turn out that way. Instead MCA’s Tan Ah Eng beat out Dr Zaleha Mustafa comfortably, obtaining 33,630 votes compared to the 24,779 votes obtained by Dr Zaleha’s. Read the rest of this entry »
Soi Lek: Don’t ask me about MCA seats, all up to PM
Posted by Kit in Elections, MCA, Najib Razak on Thursday, 11 April 2013, 5:40 am
By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
April 10, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 — Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek berated the media today for constantly pushing him to answer questions on his or his MCA’s contest in the polls, pointing out that the final decision lies solely in the hands of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Met on the sidelines of the Barisan Nasional (BN) divisional meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) this afternoon, the MCA president refused to entertain the questions and turned around instead to question the motive behind them.
“PM already told you people that there is no final decision. Why must we keep repeating the same thing again and again?” he said.
“You all must understand. The PM already has the final say. No final decision (has been made). So you don’t need to sibuk-sibuk (be busybodies), hoping that I say something different from the PM.
“And then you can create another crisis – (that MCA has) differing views. What’s the purpose? No purpose,” Dr Chua added.
Dr Chua was asked at first to reveal if he would be entering the coming polls contest and to state his chosen seat, to which he replied, “Don’t talk about myself. Talk about BN first.” Read the rest of this entry »
Regardless of whether the BN candidate is Ghani Othman or other UMNO heavyweight, the Battle of Gelang Patah for a Malaysian Dream and to kick off a political tsunami from the south to complete the 2008 political tsunami is definitely on
Deputy Barisan Nasional (BN) Chairman and Deputy UMNO President, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin predicted that I would be defeated in the BN fortress of Gelang Patah.
Muhyiddin said the BN is looking into the possibility of fielding Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Abdul Ghani Othman in Gelang Patah and that I am “trapped” as I had not anticipated an UMNO big-gun being deployed to contest in the constituency.
I admit that I had not anticipated an UMNO big-gun being deployed to contest in Gelang Patah, as who would have thought that MCA leadership could so openly admit that they don’t have a single MCA “big-gun” left for Gelang Patah or that MCA would have a President for the first time in MCA history who is prepared to give away parliamentary and state assembly seats to be contested by other BN parties, like Gelang Patah, Kuantan, Wangsa Maju and Tronoh as if conducting a “fire sale” of MCA assets. Read the rest of this entry »
The hidden hand of underhanded tricks in GE13
By Jimmy Wong | APRIL 09, 2013
The Malaysian Insider
APRIL 9 — When did politics get so sneaky that Malaysian political parties start putting up fake banners of their foes or sending emails using fake identities?
Who are these hidden hands? The ones who put up banners and buntings using DAP and PAS leaders’ faces. The ones who keep flooding my inbox with lousy arguments against Pakatan Rakyat (PR)?
Why do political parties resort to such play instead of confronting each other on issues of the day? Instead, they resort to sneaky dirty tricks to make the other side look bad. Does it work? No.
What do they hope to achieve with such tricks? That we will believe how bad these parties are? Isn’t that stupid?
In the United States, both the Democrats and the Republicans regularly take out advertisements picking on and criticising each other’s policy points. Why don’t Malaysian political parties do this instead of anonymous attacks?
Read the rest of this entry »
Umno mulls straight fights with DAP, banks on Malay vote
BY JAHABAR SADIQ, EDITOR | APRIL 10, 2013
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 ― Umno plans on fielding their candidates either in all of the DAP seats or most of them as the Malay vote is more dependable than Chinese support, say strategists.
The Malaysian Insider understands the Barisan Nasional (BN) war room believes Umno candidates can beat back the DAP attack in Johor and other Malay-majority states rather than MCA hopefuls.
“Umno candidates have a better chance of keeping BN seats than the MCA, so we’re looking into pushing more Malay candidates,” a ruling coalition source told The Malaysian Insider.
DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang is spearheading the move into traditional MCA seat Gelang Patah while party strategist Liew Chin Tong is eyeing the Kluang seat. Johor PKR chief Datuk Seri Chua Jui Meng has also been named for the Segamat seat held by MIC.
Read the rest of this entry »
