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Kit Siang set to announce candidature in Johor

By Lee Way Loon | 4:13PM Mar 15, 2013
Malaysiakini

In an attempt to win federal power, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, who has been visiting Johor frequently of late, is expected to contest a parliamentary seat in the state in the coming general election.

It is learnt that the Ipoh Timor MP will be making an official announcement on his shift to the southern BN stronghold at DAP’s 47th anniversary celebration and ceramah in Skudai, near Johor Bharu, on Monday.

Several party insiders told Malaysiakini that the possibility of Lim contesting a Johor parliamentary seat in GE13 was “very real”.

However, it could not be confirmed that whether Lim would also name the seat he intended to contest, tough speculation has been that it could be Gelang Patah.

Lim,when contacted on this matter, refused to comment.

On Tuesday, DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke (left) said a “major announcement” would be made at the party’s anniversary celebration in Skudai.
Continue reading “Kit Siang set to announce candidature in Johor”

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The most probable date for long-awaited Parliament dissolution is Monday, March 25 although it could be later or even earlier

The most probable date for the long-awaited dissolution of the 12th Parliament is Monday, March 25 although it could be earlier in the next ten days or even later.

The automatic dissolution of the Negri Sembilan State Assembly on midnight on 26th March 2013 should under ordinary circumstances be the last cut-off date for the dissolution of Parliament, but these are not ordinary times, and Parliament can be dissolved earlier in the next 10 days or even later, exhausting another 32 days to lead up to the unprecedented automatic dissolution of Parliament on midnight April 27, 2013.

It is precisely because these are not ordinary times that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has put the country for nearly four long years on an election mode ever since he became the sixth Prime Minister on April 3, 2009, spending more time campaigning to get an elected mandate of his own instead of uniting and inspiring Malaysians with an overarching vision and governing the country efficiently and professionally, with integrity and full commitment to democracy, human rights and the environment.

If we are in ordinary times, the 13th general elections would have been held already and Malaysians would have known whether Najib has finally his own mandate to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia or whether Malaysia has got a new Pakatan Rakyat federal government in Putrajaya with a new Prime Minister in the person of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Continue reading “The most probable date for long-awaited Parliament dissolution is Monday, March 25 although it could be later or even earlier”

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Malaysian government using spyware against citizens? No, not really.

By Keith Rozario | march 15, 2013
keithrozario.com

I’ve been pretty busy the past few months, and my post count has been pretty low, and although I just returned from a 2 week trip abroad and am now flushed full of work, I decided to burn a bit of the midnight oil today because the Malaysian Insider completely pissed me off.

It all started with an article from Lim Kit Siangs blog, which read “Malaysia uses spyware against citizens, NYT reports“. The post was merely a cut-and-copy reproduction of a Malaysian Insider article that had the same headline. The headline really got my blood churning and it was followed up with an even more mouth watering opening paragraph:
Continue reading “Malaysian government using spyware against citizens? No, not really.”

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‘Najib’s economic figures are fictional’

By Ong Kian Ming | 4:56PM Mar 14, 2013
Malaysiakini

COMMENT Yesterday, March 13, 2013, national news agency Bernama quoted Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak as saying:

“We have been able to buck the external global economic trend. In the last quarter, we achieved 6.4 percent growth, which indicates the resilience of the national economy.

“When we talk about benefits to the people from 2009 to 2011, our gross national income (GNI) per capita has grown from US$6,670 to US$9,970, roughly about 49 percent. There is no country in the world that has achieved this kind of result.”

Najib said this in the ‘Conversation with the PM’ programme aired by Media Prima group’s TV3 on Tuesday night (March 12).

Where did our prime minister-cum-finance minister get these figures from? I suspect that it’s from none other than Idris Jala (left), the chief executive officer of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), which comes under the PM’s Department.
Continue reading “‘Najib’s economic figures are fictional’”

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Lahad Datu intrusion – sovereignty compromised

Through my aging eyes
By Dr Edwin Bosi
Borneo Post
3rd March 2013

I received a surprise call from DAP National Advisor Sdr Lim Kit Siang on the evening of 18th February 2013, first asking me about the “armed intrusion” in Lahad Datu and then telling me that he is flying into Tawau tomorrow and to proceed to the flash point in Kg Tanduo. I have booked my flight earlier to Tawau for the 20th to attend the Tawau DAP Chinese New Year gathering and later the next day to see some cattle in Kabalakan. Kit Siang’s plan caused me to re-schedule my flight.

Deputy DAP Chairman Fred Fung and I managed to get a flight to Tawau on 19th evening, arriving Tawau just 20 minutes earlier than Kit Siang. At the airport, DAP Chairman Jimmy Wong, Chan Foong Hin and few others were waiting for him. We went to one of Tawau best seafood restaurants where he was briefed on the plan to Lahad Datu. All along we were in the dark about the incident and could only refer to the articles in the main stream and alternative media.

We left for Lahad Datu at 6am the next day in three vehicles. We had a quick breakfast at Lahad Datu town together with DAP leaders from Sandakan Stephen Wong and George Hiew. We made contact with the District Police to make a courtesy call on the OCPD but unfortunately he was not free to meet up with Kit Siang.

There was nothing amiss in Lahad Datu town. Everything seemed to be normal as far as I can observe. I spent a lot of time in Lahad Datu when I was with the Wildlife Department and SOS Rhino (USA) and it reminded me of my lucky star when a group of armed men attacked and robbed the bank in town. That was in 1985. We had left Lahad Datu town in search for rhinos at Danum Valley and was shocked upon returning to Lahad Datu a week later to learn of the gun battle.

Seeing Kit Siang so cool and composed made me worried. My mind was at times confused. Without any arms and no Police escorts, I was practically praying that nothing bad would happen. We heard a group of journalists were inside the “battle zone” and were unable to get out. They were not allowed to leave. We did ponder what happen if Kit Siang and the group cannot leave after visiting the site? We even made some jokes of Kit Siang been kidnapped and what would happen. We refused to think of been caught in a running gun battle. Continue reading “Lahad Datu intrusion – sovereignty compromised”

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27-Day Countdown to 13GE – IMF Report Card warns of an austerity scenario for Malaysian economy not too dissimilar to that of several EuroZone countries

The nation is just weeks away from choosing a Government to steer the ship of state.

The upcoming General Election will be momentous and will demand a choice between Barisan Nasional, a coalition that has ruled the nation for almost five and a half decades, and Pakatan Rakyat, an alternate group that offers change and a new direction.

Meaningful choices should ideally be based on full information about the current state of affairs and the alternative visions offered by the two coalitions.
The information on the state of the economy is less than transparent and that which is available is skewed in favour of the incumbent regime. The opposing coalition lacks full access to information.

Under these circumstances, it is necessary to look to alternative independent sources to arrive at objective assessments.

Such an objective and comprehensive assessment is indeed available. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducted its Annual Article IV Consultations in Nov –Dec 2012. A report based on the consultations was considered by the IMF’s Board of Executive Directors in late February 2013. The Fund has released the report and posted it on its website. Continue reading “27-Day Countdown to 13GE – IMF Report Card warns of an austerity scenario for Malaysian economy not too dissimilar to that of several EuroZone countries”

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Malaysia Reformed

by Allan CF Goh

The country lives in calmness,
And grows into its greatness.
People live a useful life,
Free of any racist strife.
Each is allowed his own dream,
Without nightmare or rude scream.
Each nurtures his potential,
With no obstacles racial.
We’re one nation, one people.

Malaysia Reformed has charms,
In people’s smile that disarms;
Like the beaches with tall palms,
And the breeze’s caressing balm.
Malaysia is harmony,
Sharing a common destiny,
Of one country, one nation,
With the same destination.
This is the hope of one people. Continue reading “Malaysia Reformed”

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Is anybody listening to what Sabahans want?

Lucy Ahmed
Malaysiakini
Mar 4, 2013

When speaking of the recent Sabah intrusion incident, many people are trying to relate it only to the bigger picture of the Malaysian government’s political issues.

But it is much deeper than that as it has crept into the fabric of the social lives of Sabahans.

I am here talking because I am a Sabahan, and my hometown is Sandakan, which is only few kilometres from where the incidents are taking place.

I am definitely very concerned over the lingering issue of never ending claim by some non-existent sultanate that has no legitimacy at all since the Suluks “lordship” was only valid around 200 years ago.

While the main decisions are being discussed and taking place miles away from across the ocean in the peninsular Malaysia, we the people of North Borneo are all living in a tense situation and in uncertainty on our own soil.

We are not given any right at all to voice our opinions over the matter. We are just like a colony without any power to decide our future, but to simply follow orders from across the ocean. Continue reading “Is anybody listening to what Sabahans want?”