GE13 a referendum on media
— The Malaysian Insider
Feb 28, 2013
FEB 28 — This must be the longest wait ever for a general election in Malaysia, and it’s impossible to hold it five years after the March 8, 2008 elections.
This will also be an election that will test and assess the Malaysian media.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was realistic when he called it the “social media” elections, because most of what Malaysians know now come from online sources.
In effect, this year’s election is also a referendum on the kind of media that Malaysians want.
Do we want an untruthful media tied to political interests — online, print or television — or do we want a media that serves the interests of Malaysians?
Do we want a media that regurgitates without question or one that questions, inquires, checks facts and verifies before publishing or broadcasting news?
Do we want our news “vanilla”, in the parlance of the Internet, or do we want it coloured with bias and perception without it being labelled as such? Read the rest of this entry »
40-Day Countdown to 13GE – Malaysians invited to give their views whether I should sign TI-M’s Election Integrity Pact after signature by Najib
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Elections, Najib Razak on Saturday, 2 March 2013, 8:05 am
Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) chairperson Paul Low has conceded that the Election Integrity Pledge (EIP) signed by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last week is not legally binding.
However, TI-M will hold the signatories, including Najib, responsible by publishing their wrongdoings on its website and social media such as Facebook and Twitter to put pressure on violators of the pledge.
I thank Paul Low for being frank about admitting that there is no legal way to enforce Najib’s signature of the EIP but what should be troubling for TI-M is that the EIP also lacks moral, ethical and persuasive force as its strategy of “name and shame pledge violators online” is unlikely to strike fear in the hearts of hardened violators.
This is why Najib could be a serial violator of the TI-M EIP in the 15-day Chinese New Year of the Snake, including the following instances: Read the rest of this entry »
Pengiraan Detik 40 Hari ke PRU13 – Rakyat Malaysia dijemput untuk memberikan pandangan mereka sama ada saya perlu menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TI-M selepas ditandatangani Najib
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Elections, Najib Razak on Monday, 4 March 2013, 3:06 pm
Pengerusi Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) Paul Low telah mengakui bahawa Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya (EIP) yang ditandatangani oleh Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak minggu lepas tidak terikat dengan undang-undang.
Bagaimanapun, TI-M akan mempertanggungjawabkan mereka yang menanda tangan, termasuklah Najib, dengan mendedahkan kesalahan mereka pada lama sesawang dan media sosial seperti Facebook danTwitter untuk memberikan tekanan kepada mereka yang melanggar ikrar.
Saya berterima kasih kepada Paul Low kerana berterus-terang mengakui bahawa tiada cara menguatkuasakan melalui undang-undang tanda tangan EIP Najib akan tetapi apa yang sepatutnya membuatkan TI-M terganggu adalah kurangnya moral, etika dan kemampuan meyakinkan kerena strategi “memalukan mereka yang melanggar ikrar secara atas talian” tidak mungkin menggentarkan hati keras mereka yang melanggar ikrar.
Inilah sebabnya mengapa Najib boleh menjadi pelanggar EIP TI-M bersiri dalam tempoh 15 hari Tahun Baru Cina, termasuklah contoh berikut: Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia will survive GE13, says ‘Dr Doom’
By ZURAIRI AR | MARCH 01, 2013
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — The Malaysian economy will weather the next general election and stay robust even with a change in government, renowned world economist Nouriel Roubini said today.
Roubini, also known in the media as “Dr Doom” for his consistently pessimistic economic outlook, gave his prediction today amid previous warnings by names such as veteran statesman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former top cop Tan Sri Musa Hassan that Malaysia will descend into political and economic chaos should Pakatan Rakyat (PR) wins the next polls.
“I would say whatever the result is going to be, this country has shown institutional and political stability,” Roubini said here in his keynote address at the Datum Economic Forum 2013.
“Investors recognised that, and therefore as long as there is a democratic process, as long as there’ll be policy clarity after those elections, it’s certainly going to be positive.”
Roubini admitted that the electoral process itself will introduce elements of uncertainty for investors, but refused to comment on the election date that has yet to be announced.
Read the rest of this entry »
Two M’sians among 12 killed in Lahad Datu
Posted by Kit in Hishammuddin, Police, Sabah on Friday, 1 March 2013, 3:31 pm
From fb
Tweets:
1. Most shocking at death of 2 police cammandoes n 2 injured. http://goo.gl/YMnkq 2 M’sians among 12 killed in Lahad Datu (Mkini)
2. Death of two police commandoes unacceptable as Msian police enjoy superior security strength/logistics. Hisham also told press conference today “no deaths”
(From Malaysiakini) A spokesperson of the sultanate of Sulu claimed that 10 people were killed and four others wounded in a exchange of fire between Malaysian security forces and the Sulu sultanate intruders in Lahad Datu this morning.
Meanwhile, Bernama reported that two Malaysian police commandoes were killed in a mortar attack, and that another two injured soldiers have since been airlifted to a hospital.
ABS-CBNnews reported that Sulu sultanate spokesperson Abraham Idjirani said he had just talked to the self-proclaimed Sulu sultan Jamalul Kiram’s (left) brother Azzimudie Kiram, who heads the armed group in Lahad Datu. Read the rest of this entry »
41-Day Countdown to 13GE – Challenge to Najib to ensure 13GE is a contest which coalition can do more to serve the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, Kadazans and Ibans instead of a contest of who could tell more lies or incite hatred or resort to politics of fear
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, nation building, UMNO on Friday, 1 March 2013, 11:52 am
February 2013 has come and gone – a month which will probably go down in history as the most critical and crucial month of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s four-year premiership and 37-year political career as this is the month he abandoned his latest “final decision” to dissolve Parliament and to hold the 13th General Elections in March.
In early January, the sixth Malaysian Prime Minister who turns 60 in five months’ time on 23rd July, had been persuaded by his political strategists to make up his mind to end his two-year flip-flops and to dissolve Parliament in the last week of February to finally seek a mandate from the 13.3 million voters in the 13th General Elections, buoyed up by the knowledge that he had an armoury of “secret weapons” to woo or intimidate the voters, including:
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The RM3.5 million invitation to South Korean K-Pop superstar Psy not only to perform Gangnam Style but to popularise Gangnam 1Malaysia Style starring Psy with Najib, Rosmah and Ng Yen Yen in Penang on the second day of the Chinese New Year;
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The tendentious and divisive May 13 film, “Tanda Putra”, giving a totally divisive, distorted and untrue account of the causes of the May 13 riots in 1969 to inflame the sentiments of Malay voters on the one hand and to frighten the non-Malay voters on the other;
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Promise of BRIM 3.0 if UMNO/BN is re-elected;
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The Prime Minister’s signing of Transparency International’s Election Integrity Pledge to present Najib as a new convert to the battle against corruption and abuses of power;
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The extension of Project IC to Peninsular Malaysia for the “citizenship-for-votes” scams in Sabah which have proved to be so successful in entrenching UMNO political power in the “Land below the Wind”’; and
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An army of 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers to create havoc and mayhem on the social media with lies, falsehoods and incitement of hatred on race and religious issues.
Pengiraan Detik 41 Hari ke PRU13 – Cabaran buat Najib untuk memastikan PRU13 adalah pertandingan antara perikatan mana yang mampu berkhidmat untuk Melayu, Cina, India, Orang Asli, Kadazan dan Iban bukannya pertandingan siapa lebih hebat menipu atau menghasut kebencian atau beralih kepadan politik ketakutan
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, nation building, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Friday, 1 March 2013, 5:44 pm
Febuari 2013 telah tiba dan berlalu –bulan yang berkemungkinan tercatat di dalam sejarah sebagai bulan paling kritikal dan penting dalam empat tahun sebagai Perdana Menteri dan 37 tahun kerjaya politik Datuk Seri Najib Razak kerana ini merupakan bulan beliau membatalkan “keputusan muktamad” terbaru beliau untuk membubarkan Parlimen dan mengadakan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 pada bulan Mac.
Pada awal Januari, Perdana Menteri keenam Malaysia yang bakal berusia 60 tahun lagi enam bulan pada 23 Julai, telah dipujuk oleh strategis politiknya untuk tetapkan fikiran supaya mengakhiri dolak-dalik selama dua tahun dan membubarkan Parlimen pada minggu terakhir Febuari untuk akhirnya mendapatkan mandat daripada 13.3 juta pengundi dalam Pilihan Raya ke-13, diyakinkan bahawa beliau mempunyai “senjata rahsia” untuk memikat dan menakut-nakutkan pengundi, termasuklah:
- RM3.5 juta jemputan kepada bintang K-Pop Korea Selatan Psy bukan sahaja untuk mempersembahkan Gangnam Style tetapi juga untuk mempopularkan Gangnam 1Malaysia Style yang dipersembahkan Psy bersama Najib, Rosmah dan Ng Yen Yen di Pulau Pinang pada hari kedua Tahun Baru Cina;
- Filem 13 Mei yang boleh menimbulkan perbahalahan dan perpecahan, “Tanda Putera”, memberikan gambaran serong, memecah-belah dan kisah tidak benar punca rusuhan 13 Mei pada tahun 1969 untuk mengapi-apikan sentiment pengundi Melayu dan menakut-nakutkan pengundi bukan Melayu;
- Janji BR1M 3.0 sekiranya UMNO/BN dipilih semula;
- Perdana Menteri menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya Transparency International bagi menggambarkan Najib sebagai wira baru memerangi rasuah dan salahguna kuasa;
- Lanjutan Projek IC ke Semenanjung Malaysia bagi penipuan “warganegara untuk undi” di Sabah yang terbukti begitu berjaya dalam mengukuhkan kuasa politik UMNO di “Negeri Bawah Bayu”; dan
- 10,000 tentera cybertrooper UMNO/BN untuk mencetuskan huru-hara dan kacau-bilau di media sosial dengan penipuan, pembohongan dan hasutan kebencian terhadap isu kaum dan agama.
From race and religion to Psy
Posted by Kit in Elections, Najib Razak, Penang on Friday, 1 March 2013, 6:56 am
Hafiz Noor Shams
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 28, 2013
FEB 28 — For better or worse, quantity is important in a democratic contest. It is about gaining the majority. It is about popularity.
With that as the context, we have to remember we live in a young society. The Department of Statistics estimates that the median Malaysia age in 2010 was slightly above 26 years. In simpler terms, the age of one half of the population today is younger than the median just three years ago. The profile of the Malaysian electorate pretty much reflects the demographics of our society.
Thanks to their sheer size, those in their 20s and 30s are clearly the biggest and thus the most important group. Collectively they can decisively determine the path which the country would take.
But what makes these young people stand out further politically is that most of them will be voting in a national election for the first time in their lives. Their minds more flexible than those belonging to the older generation who more often than not are hung up on legacy issues. Ibrahim Ali, for instance, still has the May 13 incident as his talking point.
So, young adults are the cool kids on the block and the two nationally-relevant political factions are competing to be the friend of these cool kids. The Barisan Nasional-led federal government has launched several policies for that purpose and chief among them are affordable housing and other cash transfers. The federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat promises the same young adults free tertiary education, among others. Both sides are pulling out all stops to be the one special friend.
While I find many of those policies too populist, at least those policies are serious in the sense that they affect a person’s welfare. The existence of a real policy competition between two credible sides is heartening since previously, it was really all about the old, stale, suffocating issues of race and religion. That is not to say that race and religion are no longer factors but at the very least, we have something substantive to base our election on.
But I do have a feeling that the courting is starting to go a bit too far and starting to appear regressive. It is starting to go into the realm of the trivial that debases the very serious nature of our elections. In an effort to become ever more popular, political parties are starting to make entertainment the focal point of their political events, instead of what the parties stand for. Read the rest of this entry »
Who will be PM?
Posted by Kit in Elections, Muhyiddin Yassin, Najib Razak, Pakatan Rakyat, Selangor on Friday, 1 March 2013, 6:43 am
P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
5:50PM Feb 28, 2013
QUESTION TIME On the surface, that seems an easy enough question to answer. Perhaps if Pakatan Rakyat wins, then almost everyone expects Anwar Ibrahim to become prime minister, even though there are minor dissenting voices from among coalition partners, notably PAS.
So why should not Najib Abdul Razak become prime minister if Barisan Nasional wins? Sure he will, for a start but how long he remains prime minister will depend crucially on how well – or badly – BN does at the polls.
As it is there is not a single person I could find who does not think there is some kind of tension between Najib and his deputy, both as Umno head and prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin. The popular wisdom is that Muhyiddin is poised to take on Najib if BN does not do well enough in the polls.
This column took a look at who is likely to win the polls about a month ago. In the unlikely event that Pakatan wins, Anwar is the clear choice for prime minister.
In the likely event that BN wins, the situation is not very clear-cut. Recall that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was pressured to step down as Umno head and prime minister even though he was a mere eight seats short of a two-thirds majority in the 2008 elections.
At the federal level it was a victory that would have counted as respectable in most countries except Malaysia, and of course our neighbour down south, Singapore.
The bigger rub was the unprecedented loss of five states in peninsular Malaysia and the popular vote here being just over 50 percent – for the opposition. Unquestionably Sabah and Sarawak saved the day for BN.
Abdullah had to come down from a major victory previously in 2004 when BN won over 90 percent of parliamentary seats and all states but Kelantan. The strong turn against BN in the peninsula was the reason Abdullah had to relent to pressure within his party to go, which he did later in 2008.
That resulted in Najib becoming the longest serving prime minister and Umno head without a direct mandate from the people via elections. But the day of reckoning is near and by June 28 at the latest the die will be cast. Then it will become clear, if BN wins, whether Najib will face pressure to cede the reins of power to Muhyiddin.
At the federal level, the common view, which I share, is that BN will not regain its two-thirds majority but is likely to remain in control via a smaller majority. That is not likely to help Najib’s case any, unless there are mitigating factors, aka the results of the state elections. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia Reborn
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building, Poem on Thursday, 28 February 2013, 3:52 pm
by Allan CF Goh
Let’s dare a vision,
Of a Malaysia reborn,
A true one-nation
With good values as her bond.
There was once a land,
So peaceful and harmonious,
With friendship so grand,
With nothing acrimonious.
Then come the racists,
Who feed on communalism;
Vile supremacists,
Who kill good fraternalism.
Those immoral things,
Who wallow in corruptions,
Steal fair labour’s fruits,
By foul discriminations. Read the rest of this entry »
42-Day Countdown to 13GE – My dream results for the 13GE: Pakatan Rakyat win with at least 125 PR MPs comprising 45 PKR MPs and 40 MPs each from DAP and PAS
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, Parliament, UMNO on Thursday, 28 February 2013, 1:40 pm
The Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) forecasts a Barisan Nasional victory in the 13GE with an expected 123 to 135 seats ( i.e. a majority of 24 – 48 seats) and presented three possible outcomes for the 13th General Elections, viz:
• Scenario 1: The present status quo remains, i.e. 140 Barisan Nasional (BN) seats as against 82 seats for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) following the March 8, 2008 “political tsunami” in the 12th General Elections.
• Scenario 2: A reduced majority for BN, i.e. less than 58-seat majority after the 308 “political tsunami”; and
• Scenario 3: BN regains two-thirds majority, i.e. winning at least 148 parliamentary seats or minimum of 74-seat majority.
There are however two other possible outcomes, predicated on a Pakatan Rakyat victory, viz:
• Scenario 4: Victory for Pakatan Rakyat with narrow majority.
• Scenario 5: Victory for PR with good and comfortable majority.
Pengiraan Detik 42 Hari ke PRU13 – Keputusan impian saya untuk PRU13: Pakatan Rakyat menang dengan sekurang-kurangnya 125 Ahli Parlimen PR terdiri daripada 45 Ahli Parlimen PKR dan 40 Ahli Parlimen dari DAP dan PAS tiap parti
Posted by Kit in Elections, Pakatan Rakyat, Parliament, UMNO on Friday, 1 March 2013, 3:07 pm
he Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) meramalkan kejayaan Barisan Nasional dalam PRU13 dengan anggaran 123 hingga 135 kerusi ( iaitu majoriti 24-48 kerusi) dan membentangkan tiga kemungkinan untuk Pilihan Raya PRU13, yakni:
- Senario 1: Status quo sekarang kekal, iaitu 140 kerusi Barisan Nasional (BN) berbanding82 kerusi untuk Pakatan Rakyat (PR) berikutan “tsunami politik” 8 Mac, 2008 dalam Pilihan Raya Umum ke-12.
- Senario 2: Merosotnya majoriti untuk BN, iaitu kurang daripada majoriti 58 kerusi selepas “tsunami politik” 308; dan
- Senario 3: BN memperoleh semula majoriti dua pertiga, iaitu memenangi sekurang-kurangnya 148 kerusi parlimen atau minimum majoriti 74 kerusi
Akan tetapi ada dua lagi kemungkinan, meramalkan kemenangan Pakatan Rakyat, yakni:
- Senario 4: Kemenangan buat Pakatan Rakyat dengan majority tipis.
- Senario 5: Kemenangan buat PR dengan majoriti selesa.
43-Days to 13GE – Has Transparency International Malaysia provisions to delete and disqualify signatories to its Election Integrity Pledge who blatantly violate its four principles in the run-up to the 13GE?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Elections, Najib Razak on Wednesday, 27 February 2013, 11:12 am
The Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob has followed in the footsteps of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz to criticise Pakatan Rakyat leaders for their reluctance to sign the Transparency International-Malaysia’s (TIM) Election Integrity Pledge which was signed with such fanfare by the Prime Minister last Wednesday.
Adnan repeated the “old chestnut” that Pakatan Rakyat leaders are reluctant to sign the TIM Election Integrity Pledge because they have something to hide and that they are still doubtful whether the opposition coalition could responsibly run the country if they come to power.
Speaking at the opening of a meeting of the Pahang branch of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress in Kuantan on Sunday, Adnan said : “In future, if they abuse their powers, then the opposition leaders will give the excuse that they did not sign the integrity pledge to escape.”
I am shocked at such nonsensical argument spouted by a Mentri Besar, completely ignoring the laws of the land, religious teachings and ethics against corruption and abuses of power.
Is Adnan seriously suggesting that all the Barisan Nasional leaders, whether at the national or state levels, whether Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers, Mentri-Mentri Besar, Chief Ministers and State Excos can claim entitlement to corrupt practices and abuses of power solely on the excuse that they had not yet signed the TI Election Integrity Pledge?
It is these lame excuses of UMNO/BN leaders which have raised questions and concerns whether the TIM Election Integrity Pact is meaningful or whether it is being used to “whitewash” all the corruption and abuses of power which have been committed by UMNO/BN leaders whether at the national or state levels in the past. Read the rest of this entry »
Pengiraan Detik 43 Hari ke PRU13 – Apakah Transparency International Malaysia boleh memadam dan membatalkan penandatangan kepada Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya yang terang-terangan melanggar empat prinsipnya menjelang PRU13?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Elections, Najib Razak on Friday, 1 March 2013, 3:04 pm
Menteri Besar Pahang Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob telah mengikut jejak Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz untuk mengkritik pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat kerana enggan menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya Transparency International-Malaysia (TIM) yang telah ditandatangani Perdana Menteri Rabu lalu.
Adnan mengulangi topik lama bahawa pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat enggan menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TIM kerana mereka menyembunyikan sesuatu dan mereka masih ragu-ragu sama ada perikatan oposisi mampu metadbir negara dengan bertanggungjawab jika mendapat kuasa.
Bercakap ketika pembukaan mesyuarat Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja Malaysia (MTUC) di Kuantan pada Ahad, Adnan berkata: “jika berlaku salah guna kuasa nanti mereka tidak mahu bertanggungjawab dan memberi alasan bahawa mereka tidak sign ikrar tersebut.”
Saya terkejut dengan hujah tidak masuk akal yang dilontarkan seorang Menteri Besar, mengabaikan terus undang-undang, ajaran agama dan etika terhadap rasuah dan salahguna kuasa.
Adakah Adnan benar-benar bermaksud bahawa pemimpin Barisan Nasional, baik di perinkat negeri atau negara, baik Perdana Menteri, Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Menteri-Menteri, Menteri-Menteri Besar, Ketua Menteri dan Exco Negeri boleh didakwa mengamalkan rasuah dan salahguna kuasa semata-mata kerana mereka belum lagi menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TI?
Alasan tempang dari pemimpin UMNO/BN seperti itulah yang telah membangkitkan persoalan dan kebimbangan sama ada
Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya TIM bermakna atau sama ada digunakan untuk “membersihkan” semua rasuah dan salahguna kuasa yang telah dilakukan pemimpin UMNO/BN dulu baik di peringkat negara atau negeri. Read the rest of this entry »
Putrajaya welcomes all comers to Lahad Datu!
Erna Mahyuni
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 27, 2013
FEB 27 ― Welcome to Lahad Datu, where you do not need a passport so long as you carry a gun and a dubious claim to Sabah!
You will be greeted by the smiling Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who never misses a good photo op.
After all, he does have to cement his claim to being the most ineffectual home minister Malaysia has had since Merdeka.
Ignore party poopers like former CID chief Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim. He went and wrote a piece asking who, exactly, was taking responsibility for the whole mess?
Obviously, it was not the home minister. He was too busy being photographed in camos.
It probably is the prime minister who has been seen preening and proud about having “avoided bloodshed.” So far.
Of course no one in Putrajaya is stating the obvious: That foreign invaders trespassed on our waters, attempted to annexe part of the country and threatened the safety of our citizens. Read the rest of this entry »
Too much made of The Economist Intelligence Unit Report
Posted by Kit in Elections, Media, Pakatan Rakyat on Wednesday, 27 February 2013, 9:04 am
by Kee Thuan Chye
MSN Malaysia
24 Feb 2013
Too much has been made of the recent report by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which is part of the magazine The Economist.
The Malaysian news agency Bernama spun it to make it appear a forecast of the upcoming general election result. It claimed the EIU predicted the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government “will” win the upcoming general election while the Opposition Pakatan Rakyat, for making “costly promises”, appears “a distant second”. It also said the EIU’s conclusion was based on BN’s “successful track record, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s reform agenda, and his successful economic leadership”. On the other hand, it added, “Pakatan’s populism has remained to be simply hot air”.
Rafizi Ramli, chief of strategy for one of Pakatan’s component parties, PKR, has, however, dismissed Bernama’s spin as being filled with incorrect information. “The report in itself is very neutral,” he said, “but because of Bernama and the way they spin it, it looks like The Economist is giving us a real thrashing.” Read the rest of this entry »
Can Chua tell fact from fantasy?
Stanley Koh | February 27, 2013
Free Malaysia Today
His hatred of the Pandan MP must have been so intense that it has affected his judgment.
ANALYSIS
MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek raised more than a few eyebrows recently when he announced that the party had chosen Gary Lim as the party’s election candidate for the Pandan parliamentary constituency in place of incumbent Ong Tee Keat, who has proven his winnability through five consecutive elections.
Within days, he was exposed as having told a lie. MCA’s Pandan division denied that it had chosen a candidate.
In making his ill-considered announcement, Chua offered possible reasons for the division’s rejection of Ong, which now sound like he had spun them out of his imagination.
In the two days between his announcement and the Pandan division’s “clarification” of it, one could almost hear glasses clinking and yells of “yam seng” as the opposition camp celebrated its certain victory in the constituency against an unknown candidate. Read the rest of this entry »
Sulu sultan defies Aquino – ‘Point of no return is nearing’
Philippines Inquirer
12:02 am | Wednesday, February 27th, 2013
Withdraw now, or face the consequences.
President Aquino yesterday warned Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III he would face the “full force of the law”—possibly including arrest—unless he withdrew his armed followers from Sabah, Malaysia, but the sultan was defiant, saying his men were staying put in the disputed territory.
Amid the President’s warning, officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) met with Malaysian diplomats in Manila and simultaneously sent one of its senior officials to Kuala Lumpur to help end the crisis.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told the Inquirer Tuesday night that among those who could face arrest and charges were “principals by inducement and principals by direct participation.” She said the sultan could possibly be charged for being a principal by inducement.
At a press conference before flying to Cagayan de Oro City, where he was to campaign for the administration’s senatorial ticket, Aquino called on Sultan Kiram to order his followers in Sabah to come home, saying the situation was nearing “the point of no return.”
“We are fast approaching that point,” Aquino said, apparently referring to the 48-hour extended deadline imposed by Malaysian authorities for the group led by Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, brother of the sultan, to leave the village of Tanduao village in Lahad Datu town.
The deadline was to expire at the last hour of Tuesday.
“This is a situation that can’t persist,” the President said. “This is the time to demonstrate that you are a true leader both in name and deed.” Read the rest of this entry »
Sabah for Sabahans?
by Erna Mahyuni
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 20, 2013
FEB 20 ― Before you send me to Kamunting, realise I am not advocating Sabah leaving Malaysia.
But I think it is high time Sabahans have a good, long think about the status quo.
As it is, things cannot stand.
Last I checked, Sabah is still the poorest state in Malaysia. Nabawan in Sabah is the poorest town in the country, with a 70-per-cent poverty rate.
On top of that, a small private army has landed in Lahad Datu intent on claiming Sabah as its own.
If we had a referendum, what with all the “free citizenships” Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration has so benevolently bestowed upon foreigners, would Sabahans actually have the numbers to keep the state in Malaysia? Read the rest of this entry »
The police farce in Lahad Datu
— Donald Pinto
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 26, 2013
FEB 26 — How incredible can this be? The police treat some 100 armed militants with kid gloves but accuse a Filipino reporter with Al Jazeera’s English service of being a spy with the “Royal Sulu Sultanate Army”.
The media reported today Jamela Alindongan was accused several times of working with the self-styled army while being questioned by unidentified Special Branch officers.
Despite Alindongan showing them her employee ID, she was questioned for two-and-a-half hours, the longest among the three Al Jazeera crew detained in the sea off Tanjung Labian village, near the Lahad Datu standoff between Malaysian security forces and Sulu sultanate supporters, on February 20.
Can the police explain this? How do you treat one unarmed person this way but give almost-royal treatment to this rag-tag bunch of armed men.
At best, they are invaders, at worst just a bunch of pirates who have been treated too well too long.
This is embarrassing for Malaysians. We have a police force which can’t tell the difference between what is dangerous and what is harmless.
How much more do the police want to shame us with this farcical behaviour? Read the rest of this entry »
