Month: December 2012

The unity, solidarity and commitment of DAP and reaffirmation of the Middle Malaysia concept by the just-concluded 16th DAP National Congress in Penang have struck fear in UMNO/BN and reverberated throughout the country, ringing alarm bells in UMNO/Barisan Nasional, as they realize that the agenda has been set for the crucial and critical battle in the 13th General Elections in the next 100 days to decide for the first time in the nation’s 55-year history whether there shoud be a change of federal government in Putrajay.

It jolted UMNO leaders including the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak into quick reaction, claiming that it was the Barisan Nasional and not the DAP that represents “Middle Malaysia”.

If Najib is confident that it is UMNO/BN which represents Middle Malaysia, and has overwhelming support of the four million middle ground voters in the 13 General Elections – the three million new voters and the one million swing voters from the 12GE in 2008 – Najib would have dissolved Parliament and the 13GE would have been held already.

Furthermore, Najib would not have to suffer the “To Be or Not To Be” agony in the past two years to decide on the dissolution of Parliament (an agony which he is still undergoing despite Parliament having only some four months’ tenure before it is automatically dissolved under the Constitution on April 28, 2013) and the ignominy of being the longest unelected Prime Minister in Malaysia without his own mandate from the people.

The former Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah was also awakened to describe the 16th DAP National Congress as an unhealthy phenomenon on the ground that it showed that DAP is monopolised by a particular race.

But the most laughable comment must go to the Gerakan President and former Penang Chief Minister, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon who described the non-election of any Malays in the DAP central executive committee as against the 1Malaysia spirit. Continue reading “UMNO/BN must renounce the tactics and ideology of extremist politics including Ketuanan Melayu and the four hate politics of race, religion, lies and fear if they want to compete for the support of Middle Malaysia”

By Kee Thuan Chye
Penang Monthly
December 2012

We often hear of electoral fraud and unfair election practices but what do they really mean? What forms does electoral fraud usually take? What constitute unfair practices and how have they surfaced?

Beyond that, what are the measures that need to be taken to ensure that Malaysian elections are free and fair so that this vital aspect of our democracy is truly well-served and our vote for the candidate or party we support is not made a mockery of?

A new book called Democracy at Stake?: Examining 16 By-elections in Malaysia, 2008-2011, published by Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, answers our questions and collates our concerns into a handy and comprehensive compact.

Edited by Wong Chin Huat and Soon Li Tsin, it analyses the 16 by-elections that have been held since the 12th general election according to such relevant categories as how free, fair and clean they were; the freedom and quality of the campaigning; the political parties’ access to media; corrupt practices that were perpetrated; how impartial or otherwise the public institutions were; the amount of campaign money spent; the electoral roll; and the polling process. Continue reading “How Our Democracy is Damaged”

Dr Lim Teck Ghee
CPI
14 December 2012

The Prime Minister, Najib Razak, has stated that his vision of 1Malaysia is intended to counter the growing national divide between Malaysians on race, religion and other sensitive socio-cultural issues. He has also argued that the aim of the vision is to strengthen national unity on the basis of inclusiveness – “this policy means that we’ll try to be as inclusive as possible, in a sense that we should have a government that is able to reach out to all communities”. (Interview with CNN, Talkasia, 1 Nov 2010)

Not only was this vision of 1Malaysia markedly absent from the recent Umno general assembly but the real driving force of the party – one completely at odds with 1Malaysia – emerged from the shadows during the singing of a song by Tokyo Umno Club representative Arif Yassir Zulkafli.

The lyrics of the song ‘Lagu Warisan’ can be seen to encapsulate the ideological leifmotif of Umno. It provided the emotional and psychological high point of the meeting and explains why the song left delegates in tears and in spontaneous rendition.

It also explains why the Umno mind and mentality has remained unchanged during the last 66 years of the party’s existence – insecure, envious, delusional, un-accepting of other Malaysians, and propagating a bankrupt doctrine of ‘Blood and Soil’ nationalism akin to that of the Nazis and fascists.

Blood and soil nationalism refers to an ideology that focuses on ethnicity based on two factors – descent and homeland. Readers interested in learning more about blood and soil nationalism can read the Wikipedia. Continue reading “Umno and the burning down of 1Malaysia”

by Leven Woon | December 16, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

Of the 10 members co-opted into the CEC this morning, seven of them are non-Chinese and East Malaysians.

GEORGE TOWN: The newly-minted DAP central leadership today appointed seven non-Chinese and East Malaysian leaders into the centre executive committee (CEC) in a bid to sharpen its multiracial appeal.

DAP first-term senator Ariffin M Omar was made a vice chairman to replace Tengku Abdul Aziz who quit the party in May.

Besides him, Zairil Khir Johari, Sabah party chairman Jimmy Wong, Sarawak member John Brian Anthony, Sabah member Edwin Bosi, former Perak speaker V Sivakumar were also the new faces in the CEC.

Both Tan Seng Giaw and P Ramasamy, who were bitterly voted out by party members yesterday, made their way back to the CEC through appointments. Continue reading “DAP adds non-Chinese, East M’sians to CEC”

The Sun
14th December 2012

GEORGE TOWN (Dec 14, 2012): DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has described tomorrow’s 16th DAP National Congress as crucial, “both internally and externally”, to select a new party leadership line-up, as well as begin the 100-day countdown before the 13th General Election.

He said, this time around, the selection of the leadership line-up was a record by itself, as 2,576 delegates were eligible to vote in the party’s election.

“This DAP party congress will select the new leadership for the next three years. As such, the congress is important both internally and externally. Continue reading “16th DAP national congress crucial for party: Lim”

The PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli returned from his second trip to Hong Kong and meeting with its Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) with the news that the possibility is high that Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman could be charged with money laundering by the Hong Kong authorities following the submission of “new evidence” related to Musa’s alleged logging commissions.

Last week, it was disclosed that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) Operations Review Panel had requested the Attorney-General to review its decision on the RM40 million allegedly channeled from timber trader Michael Chia to Musa.

The question is why the MACC could not act independently and professionally, and on its own re-open investigations into the scandal of the RM40 million “political donation to Sabah Umno” in the light of “new evidence”, especially with many questions left answered, including:

Whether the RM40 million cash in Singapore currency, which Sabah timber trader Michael Chia had in his luggage before boarding a flight to Kuala Lumpur at the Hong Kong International Airport on August 14, 2008 and was impounded by the Hong Kong for three years but which had to be released when the Malaysian authorities refused to co-operate with ICAC on the case, was “dirty money” derived from corruption and/or illegal logging activities in Sabah which had to be smuggled or laundered back into Malaysia. Continue reading “Why can’t MACC re-open investigations into the scandal of the RM40 million “political donation to Sabah Umno” in the light of new evidence instead of asking the AG to review his decision on the case?”

The 16th DAP National Congress the next two days is the focus of national attention for more reasons than one, viz:

• It is the last national conference this year for any political party in Malaysia;

• In fact, it is the last national conference for any political party before the 13th General Elections which would be held in the next 100 days;

• DAP is the only political party in the country which dares to hold party elections on the eve of impending general elections, as all other political parties have postponed their party elections until after the elections;

• Will the DAP emerge stronger or weaker after the 16th DAP National Congress;

• Will Pakatan Rakyat and the cause for “UBAH” to effect political change in Malaysia all the way to Putrajaya be strengthened or weakened?

In the past month, Pakatan Rakyat suffered a serious setback when the four million middle-ground voters who will be the arbiter as to whether it is the Pakatan Rakyat or the Barisan Nasional which will appoint the Prime Minister and form the government in Putrajaya after the 13GE developed doubts and hesitations as to whether Pakatan Rakyat parties of PKR, PAS and DAP are fully committed to the PR Common Policy Framework and Buku Jingga common platforms.

This is a salutary lesson to all the component Pakatan Rakyat parties that in the “hot-house atmosphere” which will further intensify with the approach of the long-awaited 13th General Elections, that they must always be conscious that every statement and action not only of the national leaders but of the other echeleons can have an impact many times larger than ordinary times when exploited and distorted by unscrupulous and unprincipled political propagandists with their biased mainstream media.

The Kelantan gender-segregation ruling affecting non-Muslim hair salons is a case in point where on the one and same issue, DAP is accused of being “subservient” to PAS while PAS is accused of compromising to “appease” the DAP. Continue reading “16th DAPNC – sound the call to arms for a PR government in Putrajaya with 125 PR seats in Parliament with distribution of 45:40:40 seats respectively for PKR, PAS and DAP”

— The Malaysian Insider
Dec 13, 2012

DEC 13 — In the past 24 hours, some of you and definitely The Malaysian Insider have been inundated with emails from a number of names like Imran Sulaiman, Ranesa Jegatheesa and Malaysian Indian over the PKR protest for Indians who are purportedly stateless in Malaysia.

These emails are spam.

They are a waste of time and definitely a waste of money if someone is being paid to churn them out and send them to all and sundry.

It shows how much political parties and even governments go to great lengths to get their views across to each and every one of us Malaysians ahead of the general election.

But it is a pain. Continue reading “Spamming Malaysia”

by Azly Rahman
Malaysiakini
Dec 13, 2012

The refusal to teach Mathematics and Science in English is not just an ideological position but an idiotic one as well.

It is an attempt to self-fulfil a prophecy that the rural children, especially the Malays, cannot be challenged and must continue to be given easy passes through social promotion.

The refusal to acknowledge that English is currently a language of scientific progress, more than Bahasa Melayu, is an example of hypocrisy in dealing with success on the part of our policymakers and Malay language nationalists.

Based on spurious research findings headed by a teacher training university, sanctioned by other public universities, the government has erred in its decision that will not only impact the future of Malaysian children in a continually globalised world, where English is the lingua franca.

And this will open up avenues for the establishment of classes of schools, increasing the demand for the setting up of private schools that will emphasise the English language as a language of instruction and a rigorous curriculum that will prepare students for a competitive world. Continue reading “Just teach them in English!”

The UMNO/Barisan Nasional propagandists have been working overtime to forecast various doomsday scenarios for DAP, Pakatan Rakyat and the country in the run-up to the 13th general elections, as for instance, warning of a repetition of May 13 racial clashes, chaos and even Malaysia becoming bankrupt and be like Greece in three years if UMNO/Barisan Nasional is replaced by Pakatan Rakyat in Putrajaya.

It is almost five years since the Pakatan Rakyat formed the state governments in Penang, Selangor and Kedah and over 22 years since PAS captured the Kelantan state government. Have there been May 13 racial clashes in the Pakatan Rakyat states or have they gone bankrupt?

If Pakatan Rakyat rule is such a disaster, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would not have to undergo the two-year agony of repeatedly postponing the date for the 13th general elections because of his lack of confidence that UMNO/BN would get a renewed mandate to continue to govern Malaysia.

There would also have been no need for Najib to resort to undemocratic and unconstitutional means to mount an illegal coup d’etat to grab power from the duly-elected Pakatan Rakyat state government in Perak in February 2009, a result which the people of Perak are determined to reverse by restoring Perak state to Pakatan Rakyat in the 13th general elections.

The UMNO/BN leaders and propagandists must be told in no uncertain terms to stop their various false doomsday scenarios for the people and the country if they truly love Malaysia.

Just as Kelantan had not gone bankrupt after more than 22 years of PAS rule and Penang, Selangor and Kedah have not gone bankrupt after nearly five years of Pakatan Rakyat state governments, but in fact chalking up a better record than Barisan Nasional both in good governance and promoting the people’s welfare, Malaysia will not become bankrupt after three years.

On the contrary, under PR governance, Malaysia will be set on a new growth path to lead to greater prosperity and justice for all Malaysians for the country, not only because of an end to corruption, cronyism and abuses of power but because Malaysia will be governed by leaders whose first priority is the best interests of all Malaysians and the country rather than of themselves and their cronies. Continue reading “1st task of “100 Days to Putrajaya” Campaign – prove UMNO/BN prophets of doom wrong with ringing/powerful endorsement by 16th DAP NC for Karpal-Guan Eng leadership to lead DAP in the PR battle for Putrajaya in 13GE”

— Elizabeth Gimbad
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 13, 2012

DEC 13 — One of my first field trips as a researcher was to a small kampung in Sabah. I was new to the job and after a day of shadowing more experienced colleagues, they decided that I was ready strike out on my own and dropped me off in front of a rickety house on the edge of the village.

As I stood at the bottom of the stairs, a 14-year-old boy with a toddler in his arms came out to greet me, followed by a bevy of younger children. When I asked him for his parents, he hesitated: “They are not around. Shall I get my aunt for you?”

Sabah has the highest incidence of poverty in Malaysia. According to the latest statistics, the poverty rate has dropped from 23 per cent in 2004 to 19.2 per cent in 2009. However, this means that one out of five people in Sabah is still living below the poverty line. The national average for poverty in Malaysia is 3.8 per cent.

In Sabah, households with a combined monthly income below RM1,050 are identified as poor; while the absolute poor have a monthly income of less than RM630. This is higher than the poverty line set for Peninsular Malaysia which is below RM760 a month — it has to be remembered though that the high cost of living is much higher in Sabah compared to Peninsular Malaysia. Continue reading “Rethinking poverty in Sabah”

At the end of the recently concluded UMNO General Assembly, Prime Minister and UMNO President Datuk Seri Najib Razak rightly warned his UMNO base not to repeat Republic presidential candidate, Mitt Romeny’s mistake, to over rely on older, white voters to win the elections. Similarly, UMNO should not be overly dependent on the rural Malays to win the upcoming Malaysian general election at the expense of ignoring the growing urban multiracial middle class.

Najib is right in pointing out Romney’s mistake. Romney won a majority of the white vote against Obama – 59% to 39% – but he failed to even break 30% of any of the minority groups. Predictably, he lost the African American vote – 6% to 93% – but he also lost the Latino vote – 27% to 71% – and the Asian American vote – 26% to 73% – by significant margins.

Romney won a majority of the votes of those aged 65 and above – 56% to 44% – but lost in the 30-44 age group – 45% to 52% – as well as in the 18-29 age group – 37% to 60%. Among the ideological moderates, Obama defeated Romney by 56% to 41%.

Romney was treading old ground here. The same results, more or less, were achieved by McCain in the 2008 presidential elections. McCain won a majority of the white vote against Obama – 55% to 43% but lost the African American vote – 4% to 95% – , the Latino vote – 31% to 67% – and the Asian America vote – 35% to 63%. He won 53% of the voters aged above 65 (against Obama’s 45%) but lost in the 30-44 age group – 52% to 46% – and lost the 18 to 29 age group by a landslide – 32% to 66%. Among the ideological moderates, Obama defeated McCain 60% to 39%.

Both Republican candidates had to appeal to their ‘base’ of conservative, mostly white and old voters in order to win their respective primary elections. As a result both could not broaden their appeal to reach out to a sufficient number of moderate voters including many minorities in order to win the American Presidency.

Sadly, Najib’s advice is likely to fall on deaf ears within his own party. Continue reading “Pakatan Rakyat must avoid repeating the mistakes of the Republicans who lost the US presidency twice because they lost sight of the Middle Ground”

All eyes are on the 16th DAP National Congress in Penang this weekend not only because it is the last national congress for political parties in Malaysia this year, but also because it heralds the last hundred days before the holding of the long-postponed/awaited 13th General Elections.

Let the 16th DAP National Congress be a historic curtain-raiser to the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya” campaign for Malaysians to create history and usher in a new, truly united, democratic, just and prosperous Malaysia under a Pakatan Rakyat Malaysian Government in the 13th General Elections.

Let the 16th DAP National Congress send out the clear and unequivocal message to all Malaysians throughout the country – that DAP leaders, delegates and members are imbued with a profound sense of vision, commitment, responsibility and discipline to accomplish the historic mission and objectives of the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya” campaign for Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, Kadazans or Ibans; whether Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Taoists or Sikhs; whether in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah or Sarawak, to unite as one people to restore Malaysia’s greatness as a model of a harmonious plural society where there is tolerance, freedom, justice, human rights, democracy, sustainable development, prosperity, good governance and a clean and incorruptible government.

In the run-up to the 16th DAP National Congress and during the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya”, UMNO/Barisan Nasional propagandists and spin-masters will go into an overdrive in their politics of lies, hate and fear not only to demonise the DAP and create maximum division and damage inside the party but also in DAP’s relations with our Pakatan Rakyat parties, PKR and PAS. Continue reading “Let 16th DAP National Congress this weekend be a historic curtain-raiser to the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya” campaign for Malaysians to create history and usher in a new, truly united, democratic, just and prosperous Malaysia under a PR Malaysian government”

“Jangan tembak SPRM dari belakang” adalah salah satu tajuk akhbar hari ini, memetik Ketua Pesuruhjaya Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah (SPRM) Datuk Seri Abu Kassim semalam ketika meminta ahli politik untuk tidak “menembak SPRM dari belakang” kerana itu akan menyukarkan untuk memerangi rasuah.

Beliau berkata: “SPRM adalah tentera untuk memerangi rasuah. Jika anda menembak kami dari belakang, kepada siapa lagi masyarakat boleh meminta pertolongan untuk menentang rasuah.”

Abu Kassim benar-benar telah silap. Ahli politik Pakatan Rakyat bukan menembak SPRM daripada belakang tetapi daripada depan berkenaan kegagalan nyata dan ketidakcekapan di dalam memerangi rasuah, namun membenarkan SPRM untuk mempertahankan dirinya. Tiada sebab untuk pemimpin politik PR menyembunyikan kritikan mereka terhadap SPRM.

Hanya ahli politik UMNO/Barisan Nasional mempunyai sumber, cara malah motivasi untuk menembak SPRM dari belakang, untuk memastikan SPRM yang sudahpun menjadi alat menurut perintah kepada pemimpin politik yang berkuasa, supaya menjadi lebih menurut perintah kepada pemimpin bawahan yang lain di dalam perikatan pemerintah.

Kedua, empat tahun selepas menaiktaraf Biro Pencegahan Rasuah (BPR) kepada SPRM dengan penambahan kuasa, dana dan kakitangan, rakyat Malaysia masih belum yakin bahawa SPRM merupakan “tentera untuk memerangi rasuah”.
Continue reading “Beranikah SPRM mengikut jejak rakan sejawatnya di Indonesia, Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) dengan memperkenalkan pengubah-permainan di dalam pencegahan rasuah dengan mengkehendaki semua pemimpin politik dan penjawat awam untuk memperjelas tentang kekayaan luar biasa yang tidak setara dengan gaji rasmi mereka?”

by Ahmad Fuad Rahmat
New Mandala
03 December 2012

The nation

The problem begins with the nation-state ideal; for its coherence depends on there being a people deemed as the rightful owners of a land. It is rooted to the belief that territory is property – a thing to own – and that loyalty to the people means, among other things, the readiness to uphold the integrity of territory to ensure it belongs to the nation.

This requires clearly defined, finite, national borders, which – at least at the face of it – appears as a simple enough idea. Matters become complicated when we ask who those borders are meant for. There cannot be a nation-state, if there is no nation to begin with.

But identities unlike land cannot be enclosed and demarcated. Cultures do not flourish in vacuums. They develop out of interactions and fusions with one another. New words, outlooks and practices are adopted while others fade, in a slow, arbitrary and often ambiguous organic process of contact and migration through time.

The nationalist agenda is at odds with this reality. The belief in the congruence of identity and territory – or indeed identity as territory – at the face of inevitable cultural change that can neither be controlled nor predicted, means that each nation will always find itself in the position of having to redefine the conditions of membership, to determine what or who should or should not be excluded. Culture too is given boundaries as a result.

The nationalist imagination must, in other words, assume however implicitly that there is some supposed essence underlying the flux of culture and identity, out of which the ‘Otherising’ so common to nationalist politics is legitimised. The marker could be anything from a common language, religion, ethnicity, race or history. It could even be a set of values or general traits. None of this is exclusive, of course. At any given time, depending on the issue and occasion, different factors can be evoked to proclaim dissimilarity. Continue reading “The pathologies of Malay nationalism”

“Don’t shoot MACC from behind” is one newspaper headline today, quoting the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abu Kassim yesterday when urging politicians from all parties not to “shoot the MACC from behind”, saying that this would only make it even more difficult to fight corruption.

He said: “The MACC is the army to fight corruption. If you shoot us from behind, who could our society ask for help against corruption.”

Abu Kassim is grossly mistaken. Pakatan Rakyat politicians do not shoot MACC from behind but from the front, for its obvious failings and ineffectiveness in the war against corruption, allowing the MACC to defend itself. There is no reason for PR political leaders to hide their criticisms of MACC.

Only UMNO/Barisan Nasional politicians have the resources, means and even the motivation to shoot MACC from behind, to ensure that the MACC, which is already a complaint and subservient creature of the political leaders in power, will become even more compliant and subservient to the other lower-ranking leaders in the ruling coalition.

Secondly, four years after the elevation of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to MACC with increased powers, funding and staffing, Malaysians are not convinced that the MACC is “the army to fight corruption”.

MACC has still blood on its hands, with the death of DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock and customs officer Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamad on its premises still to be unsatisfactorily accounted for. Clearly, only a change of government in Putrajaya in the 13GE followed by the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry can get to the bottom of the mysterious deaths of Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbaini on the MACC premises. Continue reading “Dare MACC emulate its Indonesian counterpart, KPK and introduce game-changer in anti-corruption battle by requiring all political leaders and public servants to explain unusually high wealth not in line with their official salary?”

— The Malaysian Insider
December 10, 2012

DEC 10 — The Automated Enforcement System (AES) is supposed to help cut down the number of accidents and road fatalities by making motorists slow down for fear of being caught and having to pay punitive fines.

Everyone gets that bit. Especially when there are enough reports of corrupt policemen or enforcement officials out there. Which leads to continuing mayhem and a loss of revenue for the government.

But that isn’t the reason to bulldoze the AES as the answer to ensuring laws are observed and those captured on film pay their fines and hopefully not continue speeding in the future.

The reasons are simple. Till today, the government can’t explain why the service has been privatised. Continue reading “Wrong to bulldoze the AES”

Untuk empat tahun berturut-turut, sepanjang tempoh Najib menjadi Perdana Menteri (2009-2012) telah mencatatkan kedudukan rendah di dalam Indeks Persepsi Rasuah (CPI) Transparency International (TI) 2012 berbanding dua Perdana Menteri sebelumnya iaitu Tun Mahathir dan Tun Abdullah.

Di tahun pertama CPI TI pada 1995, Malaysia berada pada kedudukan ke-23 daripada 41 negara, menjunam ke tempat ke-37 pada 2003 ketika Mahathir meletakkan jawatan sebagai Perdana Menteri pada hujung tahun itu.

Meskipun berdegar-degar Abdullah dikaitkan dengan imej “Mr. Clean” dan”Hakim Bao Zaman Moden”, “pencegahan rasuah secara menyeluruh” dan “penahanan 18 ‘ikan besar”, CPI TI Malaysia masih berterusan menjunam dalam tempoh lima tahun Abdullah menjadi Perdana Menteri, jatuh ke tempat 47 pada tahun 2008.

Akan tetapi empat tahun Najib memegang jawatan Perdana Menteri memperlihatkan CPI TI Malaysia menjunam ke paras yang lebih rendah – No.56 pada tahun 2009 dan 2010, No. 60 pada 2011 dan No. 54 pada 2012.

Kesannya, sepanjang tempoh Najib memegang jawatan Perdana Menteri beliau mempunyai rekod buruk menjadi lebih korup berbanding lima Perdana Menteri sebelumya, memandangkan tiada yang menyatakan rasuah di bawah tiga Perdana Menteri awal iaitu Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak dan Tun Hussein lebih serius berbanding pengganti mereka.

Sehingga tahun tujuh puluhan, skandal terbesar di Parlimen adalah skandal RM65 juta Bank Rakyat yang saya bahaskan di Parlimen pada tahun 1979.
Continue reading “Tahun depan merupakan tahun petaka untuk CPI TI Malaysia memandangkan UMNO/BN bersedia untuk menaburkan berbilion ringgit di dalam PRU13 bagi mengekalkan kuasa – membawa politik wang ke satu paras baru sejarah negara”

by Richard Loh
10 Dec. 2012

Your PM is blackmailing and using his ‘legal’ bribery ‘I help you, you help me’ bribing his way to recapture Penang. Penangnites must not fall into this dangerous trap.

Your Prime Minster has proven beyond doubt that he is a very weak and incapable leader. His daily speeches, a multitude of plea, threat, admission, omission and deceptive promises that allowed one to see how a man looks like when the fear of losing power is imminent.

His latest trip to Penang on the 8th December 2012 was to galvanize support to retake Penang in the next General Election with more ambiguous speeches and deceptive promises.

Every Malaysian must ask this question “Who is paying for all the extravagant expenses of your PM playing Santa Claus Merry going round the country”?

What kind of leadership is he trying to prove, a leadership for all Malaysians or just to those who like and support his Umno coalition BN?

He made a call to Penangnites to ensure a BN victory only then will they get to have (mind you, only pledges) 20,000 affordable homes and monorail. Is he a real joker PM or what? Can I put three questions to him. Continue reading “Penang Lang must defend Penang at all cost”

For the fourth consecutive year, the Najib premiership (2009-2012) has registered a lower ranking in the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2012 than under the two previous Prime Ministers, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah.

In the first year of TI CPI in 1995, Malaysia was ranked 23rd out of 41 countries, plunging to No. 37th placing in 2003 when Mahathir stepped down as Prime Minister at the end of the year.

Despite all the Abdullah boast of “Mr. Clean”, “Modern-Day Justice Bao”, “all-out war against corruption” and “impending arrest of 18 ‘big fishes’”, Malaysia’s TI CPI continued on a headlong plunge in Abdullah’s five-year premiership, falling to No. 47 position in 2008.

But the four years of Najib premiership saw Malaysia’s TI CPI plunging to even lower depths – No. 56 in 2009 and 2010, No. 60 in 2011 and No. 54 in 2012.

As a result, the Najib premiership has the dubious record of being even more corrupt than all the previous five premierships, as no one has ever suggested that corruption under the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein were more serious than their successors.

Until the seventies, the biggest scandal in Parliament was the RM65 million Bank Rakyat scandal which I debated in Parliament in 1979.
Continue reading “Next year will be a bad year for Malaysia’s TI CPI as UMNO/BN are set to spend billions to try to retain power in the 13GE – taking money politics to new depths in nation’s history”