Month: March 2013

By Allan CF Goh

To the south, to the south,
To Johor, they engage.
Into BN’s strong state,
Let them not fear and fade.
Forward, the Rights Brigade!
Bring change for the better.
Choose light over darkness,
Make Malaysia brighter.
Forward, the Rights Brigade!
For a cause blessed and right.
This is not a blunder.
This is for “People’s Might”.
Theirs is to reason why;
Theirs not to let reasons die.
Let Johor know the truth.
Don’t let folks live a lie.

Desperation and fear,
And hostility reign.
Vulgar threats may be hurled,
Like the black falling rain,
May volley and thunder,
But will not shake their will.
Boldly they must campaign,
Thro’ all threats and all ill.

Lay bare the corruptions,
Let the truth rant the air.
Expose exploitations.
Demand for what is fair.
Ban discriminations,
And unfair deprivations.
Fight with full conviction
For a better Nation. Continue reading “The Charge of the Rights Brigade”

DAP welcomes the announcement by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would be announcing the formation of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate the Sulu intrusion of Lahad Datu and that details of the RCI would be revealed tomorrow.

DAP’s welcome is however tinged with caution as the RCI into the Suluk intrusion in Lahad Datu and Semporna, which has caused the lives of 10 national heroes from the police and army, must be an independent, impartial and professional one, and should not be become a political and electioneering tool to serve the political agenda of any political interests, whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat.

In fact, this is an occasion for all political forces, whether Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rayat, to put aside their partisan differences and unite as one patriotic Malaysian movement not only to pay tribute and honour the ten national heroes who gave their lives in the defence of national sovereignty and to ensure the safety of the people of Sabah, but also to give unstinting support to the security forces to adopt all necessary measures to protect national sovereignty and defend security of the people and security forces personnel.

Let us not blemish the great sacrifices of our 10 national heroes with petty divisions and agendas. Let all Malaysians, including the PM, DPM, Cabinet Ministers, political leaders whether BN or PR, rise above their partisan differences and unite as one patriotic Malaysian people on this issue. Continue reading “18-day countdown to 13GE – Cautious welcome for RCI on Suluk intrusion into Sabah but it must not be a political ploy for electioneering purpose and should start public hearing only after 13GE”

Aidila Razak
Malaysiakini
Mar 23, 2013

COMMENT

Whether 41 percent or 49 percent, the numbers in the Economic Transformation Programme 2012 annual report is essentially trying to tell us this – Malaysia will reach high income status by 2020.

That gives the impression that the average Malaysian will be bringing home about RM48,000 (or US$15,000) a year by that time.

But will they? Does the average Malaysian feel 41 percent – or even the more modest 24 percent in ringgit terms – richer today compared to 2009? Are their pockets deeper?

The simple answer is no.

So is the government lying to us? Not exactly. Continue reading “Is your pocket 41 percent deeper?”

K Temoc
Malaysiakini
Mar 22, 2013

I refer to your news article ‘Guan Eng sends Liew on mission to ‘K’ seat in Johor’ which informs us of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) election strategy to breach the Barisan Nasional (BN) stronghold in Johor. By now, everyone knows that veteran politician Lim Kit Siang will not stand in his current blue ribbon seat in Ipoh Timor in order to offer himself as an election candidate to the people of Gelang Patah in Johor to represent them in the next federal parliament.

His intention has struck terror in the BN camp, which has even drawn out former PM and Umno icon Dr Mahathir Mohamad to make what I see as a half-hearted but obligatory dismissal of the DAP man’s candidature in Gelang Patah.

Lim KS standing in and winning that Johor federal constituency will be as earth-shaking as the 2008 political tsunami. More than the BN’s fear of losing a federal seat, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) knows that such an occurrence will virtually be its death knell, for a Lim KS victory will not only defeat Tan Ah Eng, its candidate in Gelang Patah, but will effectively strike right into its political heart.

So much is at stake for BN but no more than that for Lim KS. Continue reading “Kit Siang in Johor will be as earth-shaking as 308”

by Martin Jalleh

In response to a question from a reporter after visiting Taman University market in Gelang Patah yesterday morning, I stressed that there is absolutely no legal, constitutional or any legitimate ground for any punitive action by the Registrar of Societies against the DAP, whether suspension or deregistration.

The DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) elections last December had been above-board and a transparent and democratic process although there was an honest mistake from a computer glitch when announcing the results.

The DAP CEC has no doubt that there can be no justification whatsoever for the Registrar of Societies to take any action against the DAP for the party elections, especially as the DAP leadership had not received any complaint from party delegates on the CEC elections while the DAP had fully co-operated with the Registrar of Societies with regard to queries and requests for clarification.

This is why I am baffled how the Utusan Malaysia today could carry a front-page headline report that the ROS were facing “difficulties in its probe” on the DAP CEC elections last December. Continue reading “19-Day Countdown to 13GE – Najib will commit supreme abuse of power if he toys with the UMNO/BN “Dirty Tricks” department with the ploy of illegally banning DAP to exclude Rocket symbol in 13GE as it will be the “last straw that break’s the camel’s back””

Malaysiakini
12:39PM Mar 22, 2013

DAP election strategist Ong Kian Ming has urged the Election Commission (EC) to investigate the existence of old red and green identity card numbers in the electoral roll.

While acknowledging that the holders of these old identity card (IC) numbers may have since gained citizenship, Ong pointed out the fact that they were found in constituencies with large numbers of IC numbers deemed “problematic” by the National Registration Department (NRD) was a cause for concern.

“When we investigated the latest electoral roll of the fourth quarter of 2012, we found that there were 7,029 voters with old identity card numbers belonging to the red IC range and 446 voters with old IC numbers belonging to the green IC range.

“This means that there could potentially be 7,475 people who are non-Malaysian residents and not eligible to register to vote but who have been put on the electoral roll,” Ong (left) said.

His checked the electoral roll for old red identity card numbers from H6000000 to H6040000 and old green identity card numbers H8000000 to H8040000, which were provided by Sabah and Sarawak NRD IC division chief Ruslan Alias during the royal commission of inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah. Continue reading “‘Probe red and green ICs on electoral roll’”

by P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
3:05PM Mar 22, 2013

QUESTION TIME It is a common thing in Malaysia for many politicians to live way beyond their means. And although there are ways and means to check anyone’s wealth simply by tracking down their assets, these people live in relative peace being troubled neither by the police nor by their conscience.

The anecdotal evidence has been there that corruption is a great problem, especially grand corruption of which virtually nothing has been done. And this has been greatest in Sabah and Sarawak where those in power live with fabulous riches and are associated with other rich, but often infamous people.

Even for someone who expects that all these corruptions routinely take place, the recent graphic revelations about Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s family members and the ease with which NGO Global Witness was able to obtain video recordings damning them was shocking to me.

If you have not seen the video yet, go here to look at it. It is a case of such blatant complacency, arrogance and cockiness showing that the perpetrators were super confident that they could get away with such things. Continue reading “Sarawak’s shame”

by Martin Jalleh

Joseph Tawie | March 22, 2013
Free Malaysia Today

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is under tremendous pressure to act against Sarawak’s Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud’s alleged abuses and corruption.

KUCHING: Sarawak opposition DAP has called on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to “walk his talk” in fighting corruption which was one of his national key result areas (NKRA) launched in 2010.

Reminding Najib, party secretary Chong Chieng Jen said: “It is time for Najib to prove that he walks the talk when it comes to fighting corruption as one of his NKRA.

“If Najib is serious about fighting corruption as one of his NKRAs, he should immediately do the following:

(1) arrest all the personalities mentioned in the Global Witness video clip for investigation;

(2) obtain a full disclosure of the amount of state land being alienated to Taib’s family members’ companies at fractions or even as low as 10% of market prices; and,

3) freeze all bank accounts and assist personalities mentioned in the video clip. Continue reading “Walk your talk on corruption, Najib”

Economist
Mar 23rd 2013 | KUALA LUMPUR

– A two-year election campaign nears its climax

WITH a tight election coming up, it is politics as usual in Malaysia—only more so. This month alone has seen the opposition accused of colluding in a foreign invasion of the state of Sabah in Borneo; the death of a private investigator, reviving stories of the grisly murder in 2006 of a beautiful Mongolian woman linked to a friend of the prime minister, Najib Razak; the leader of the opposition, Anwar Ibrahim, denying that he was one of two men appearing in grainy pictures online in an affectionate clinch; and a film shot on hidden cameras that appears to show large-scale corruption in the government of the other Malaysian state in Borneo, Sarawak.

Sailing blithely above the mud and filth that make Malaysian political waters so murky, Mr Najib went on national television on March 19th to deliver the scorecard on the “transformation programme” his government has implemented. He had a good story to tell, of robust economic growth of 5.6% in 2012, poverty virtually eliminated, inequality reduced and 400 legal cases against corruption initiated. And he was able to announce that a scheme to give cash handouts to poorer households will become an annual event.

All should be set fair, you might think, for Mr Najib’s ruling coalition, the Barisan Nasional (BN), to romp home again at the election, as it has done in every ballot since independence in 1957. Mr Najib is expected to dissolve parliament any day now, with the voting to follow in mid-April after a brief official campaign period (the unofficial one has now lasted two years or more). If he does not dissolve parliament, its term will expire at the end of April, and the election must then be held by the end of June.

In fact, the outcome is in doubt, for the first time in Malaysia’s history. Continue reading “Malaysia’s looming election – Video nasties”

by Dr Chris Anthony
Malaysiakini
Mar 20, 2013

The decision by Lim Kit Siang, the DAP adviser and veteran opposition leader, comes as no surprise from a politician of his calibre.

This is not the first time he has chosen to take such risks but this is the first time his risk is most significant in changing the political landscape of the country.

His willingness to contest in the high-risk Gelang Patah seat in Johor may well initiate a political tsunami from the south that could result in a win for Pakatan Rakyat for the first time in the history of the nation.

We salute Kit Siang for his boldness to take that risk not many politicians will be willing to undertake. Continue reading “Salute Kit Siang for going for broke”

— Lim Sue Goan
The Malaysian Insider
March 22, 2013

MARCH 22 — BN has made an all-out effort to create a feel-good atmosphere but its political strategy is not as flexible as Pakatan Rakyat’s.

Pakatan Rakyat has started to unveil its candidates and display its strength. BN, meanwhile, is still carefully selecting candidates and considering constituency exchanges, causing election campaign activities in some constituencies to now lag behind.

Take the DAP as an example. Some candidates have been decided such as Negri Sembilan DAP chairman and Lobak state assemblymen Anthony Loke, who will be contesting the Chennah state seat, party parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang will contest the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat and Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Tack will contest the Bentong parliamentary seat.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had also announced on Wednesday some PKR parliamentary candidates. His daughter Nurul Izzah will seek re-election in Lembah Pantai and PKR strategic director Mohd Rafizi Ramli will contest the Pandan parliamentary seat. Also, five Sarawak parliamentary candidates have also been decided.

There are also some signs showing the deployment of PAS candidates, including party vice-president Salahuddin Ayub who will be contesting in Johor while former Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin will be contesting the Changkat Jering state seat. Continue reading “Political rivals in a strategic battle”

by Sakmongkol AK47
Thursday, 21 March 2013

The return of Lim Kit Siang to Johor should not matter to UMNO and BN. Why should it cause worry? Isn’t it mathematically impossible for PR to go from 1 seat to 15 parliamentary seats? The Johor Chinese are different. They have an unshakeable allegiance to the state. So the Johor Chinese are by definition, naturally indifferent to what is happening around in the country.

The Chinese are a very practical people says Chua Soi Lek. Soi lek must of course be referring to the Chinese apparent indifference to his sexual escapades. By that reasoning, the Chinese must also be indifferent to whatever stories are said of Anwar Ibrahim and they should be indifferent to Najib’s overextended and boring self-praising assessment of his Alphabet Soup vision. Ah Jib Gor does what Ah Jib Gor does best-tell tall stories mostly about himself.

Being practical they want to know, whether we can establish a good government. Which will practise good governance. Consists of good, selfless and dedicated people. They want to go about making wealth under a government that upholds the rule of law. Which in turn require that the institutions that safeguard the rule and implementation of law be strong and independent and are established on principles of integrity. The Chinese want to live peacefully with the other major races in Malaysia. These are hallmarks of practical people.

I don’t think being practical means, they accept corruption, wheeling and dealing with the powers that be, accepting hegemony from others. If they are like that- that’s not being practical but being sly and acting like hustlers. The ‘thing’ that made the Chinese practical is economic independence. So being practical as in economically independent, the Chinese can exercise wider choices. They will chose to side with PRakyat. That’s practical and acknowledging reality. Continue reading “One Small stride by Kit Siang, One Giant Step nearer to Putrajaya”

by Martin Jalleh

by Martin Jalleh

Datuk Seri Idris Jala, CEO of PEMANDU has issued a statement stating that growth of Gross National Income (GNI) per capita in US dollars from 2009 to 2012 has been revised down to 41 percent from 49 percent.

He is reported to have said that the revision arose following the adoption of a new accounting method, rather than a deliberate attempt to fudge numbers.

He pointed out that the change in figures was due to the adoption of the latest version of the United Nations System of National Accounting (SNA 2008) in 2012 which had pushed the GNI per capita up for 2009 from US$6700 to US$7059.

He offered other weak and lame reasons defending the method and the numbers put out by PEMANDU.

Little of what he said cuts much ice. The change in numbers makes little difference. The attribution to an adoption of a new method or international standard has little to do with the nature of the numbers.

He has been caught in a gross deception by applying the concept of GNI to project growth in per capita incomes of individuals. GNI is defined by the UN Statistical Division as: Continue reading “20-Day Countdown to 13GE – Lies, Damn Lies and PEMANDU Statistics”

by Tay Tian Yan
The Malaysian Insider
March 21, 2013

MARCH 21 — DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has, after all, engaged in politics for half a century. He is indeed a daring veteran politician of Malaysia, just like Lian Po, a prominent military general of Zhao during the Warring States period of China.

Reputable Lian Po was an outstanding general who had fought in battles for decades. He was still ambitious even in his old age.

He was a semi-retired general when he was 70 years old. However, since there was no general to lead the troops to fight against Qin, someone actually suggested Lian Po. The emperor of Zhao frowned and asked: “Is the old Lian Po still able to eat?”

He then sent someone to find it out.

Lian Po knew that the emperor was trying to find out his condition, he thus invited the scout to stay for a meal. He ate a bucket of rice and 10 pounds of meat in front of the scout and gave a horse-riding performance to prove that he was still very strong.

However, the scout was bribed by his political enemy. He told the emperor that Lian Po could still eat, but he went to release himself three times during the meal.

The emperor then thought Lian Po was no longer capable and thus he dared not field him for the battle. Zhao was later defeated by Qin in the Battle of Changping. Continue reading “Kit Siang’s ambition”

by Lim Mun Fah
The Malaysian Insider
March 22, 2013

MARCH 22 — Many Pakatan Rakyat supporters were filled with a wild ecstatic happiness and believed that it would be a sure-win battle when Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made the announcement that DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang will contest in Gelang Patah, Johor. Most members of public also believe that his odds of winning are extremely high.

If we analyse calmly, however, the MCA might not necessarily lose the battle. Nothing is impossible in politics. Moreover, Lim is not God, he has suffered five defeats in his political career over the past nearly half a century, including the Serdang state seat in the 1968 by-election, the Bandar Hilir state seat in 1982, the Tanjung Bungah state seat in 1995, and the Bukit Bendara parliamentary seat, as well as the Kebun Bunga state seat in 1999, plunging his political career into a trough.

There is a certain risk for Lim to contest in Gelang Patah, the MCA’s turf. If we look at the election records of Gelang Patah, the MCA’s Chang See Ten @ Teu Si won the seat with 24,219-vote majority in 1995 and 26,405-vote majority in 1999. In 2004, the MCA’s then fresh candidate Tan Ah Eng achieved a peak by winning the seat with a 31,666-vote majority, and given the anti-ruling party sentiment in 2008, Tan still won the seat with 8,851-vote majority. The record shows that Gelang Patah has been a stronghold of the MCA and it is not that easy to pull it down. Continue reading “A sure win for Lim Kit Siang?”

by Martin Jalleh