Day: April 16, 2013

The announcement of Datuk Ghani Othman, the Johor Mentri Besar, as the candidate of the Barisan Nasional parliamentary constituency of Gelang Patah in the 13th General Election has not created any surprises as this has been an open secret for the past fortnight.

This was both the request of the MCA President, Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek who was even prepared to unilaterally surrender the Gelang Patah seat, traditional fortress of MCA, as well as the directive of the former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir who came to Johore on April 1 and called on the people of Johor in the 13GE to end my political career.

Ghani’s candidature is the implementation by the Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak of Mahathir’s first directive in the 13GE, “End Kit Siang’s political career”.

Nobody doubts that the most powerful man in UMNO and Barisan Nasional today is not the Prime Minister and BN Chairman but Mahathir, the de facto power behind the throne in UMNO and BN. Continue reading “Ghani Othman’s candidature in Gelang Patah – implementation of Mahathir’s first directive in the 13GE: “End Kit Siang’s political career””

On April 11, 2013, I unveiled my Vision 2050 for Malaysia to replace Vision 2020.

I believe that Malaysians need a new vision for a bolder, brighter and better Malaysia especially since the aspirations of Vision 2020 has been tarnished, perhaps irrevocably so, by the actions and words of the very person who outlined this vision, Dr. Mahathir.

I unveiled 10 points for my Vision 2050 which I very much hope can start a national conversation about new aspirations for the country and the course which we must chart in order to achieve these aspirations.

The mother of all election battles which is the Battle of Gelang Patah, where I will face off against the popular Johor Menteri Besar, Abdul Ghani Othman, is more than just a contest to determine the results in one seat.

It is more than just a contest for Johor. And it is most definitely more than just a contest for Putrajaya. It is a contest for the heart, soul and mind of Malaysia.

As such, as part of the 24 day countdown to polling day on May 5, 2013, I want to share my thoughts on each one of these points.

While I most likely will not live to see 2050, I sincerely hope that I will be able to witness our beloved country moving in the right direction. Win or lose, this battle to achieve Vision 2050 must go on. Continue reading “19-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: Vision 2050 – A Thriving Democratic Nation”

Firstly let me deplore and condemn in the strongest possible terms the uncivilised and inhuman two explosions at the Boston Marathon which have killed three persons and injured some 30 people in one of the world’s best known marathons.

The Boston Marathon was held on Patriot Day, the third Monday of April, since 1897 and attracted an estimated half-million spectators and some 20,000 participants.

Although the criminal incident happened far-way in Boston, the people of Gelang Patah, Johore and Malaysia, like all human beings throughout the world, are shocked and revolted by such inhumanity and utter disregard for human lives.

The world has become a global village and what happens in one part of the world attracts the concern and attention of people in other parts of the world, like the two explosions of the Boston Marathon.

The Boston Marathon explosions is particularly pertinent to Malaysians, facing the 13th General Elections, as Umno/Barisan Nasional leaders have been warning about chaos and bloodshed ala-Arab Spring.

Let all political leaders, whether BN or PR, stand as one to condemn the violence and inhumanity of the Boston Marathon as well as to reaffirm that what we want to witness in the 13GE is not the bloodshed and chaos of Arab Spring but the peaceful and democratic transition of power like the South Korean Spring in 1997 if the verdict of the 13.3 million voters on May 5 is for a change of government in Putrajaya, with Pakatan Rakyat replacing Barisan Nasional as the new Federal Government of Malaysia.

The four-term Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Ghani Othman is as good as the BN candidate for Gelang Patah with the MCA surrendering the MCA/BN fortress to UMNO.

If this is the case, I invite Ghani Othman to join me in making Gelang Patah the model constituency of clean, free and fair elections out of 222 parliamentary and 505 state assembly constituencies in the country in the 13GE as it is expected to be dirtiest in election history in Malaysia.

Already, the most unscrupulous and unprincipled “dirty tricks” have been used coupled with unspeakable lies and falsehoods that is spread anonymously.

I invite Ghani to join me in reaching an accord to make Gelang Patah the most gentlemanly contest where: Continue reading “Invitation to Ghani Othman to make Gelang Patah the model constituency of clean, free and fair elections in whole country in the 13GE which is expected to be dirtiest in election history in Malaysia”

by Kee Thuan Chye
MSN Malaysia

If voters fall for the promise of more BR1M, it will show they are willing bribe-takers, that they are people who are prone to being dependent.

To woo Indian voters, BN pledges RM500 million in seed funding towards raising the equity of the Indian community to at least 3 per cent. Pakatan, however, does not pander to any ethnic community, preferring to take a broad multi-racial approach in its plans for the country’s future without favouring any particular race. This augurs well for a better Malaysia and shows up once again BN’s attempt at blatant vote-buying.

On the whole, the BN manifesto is nothing new. As a veteran economist who has served in the civil service notes, it is structurally the same BN manifesto that has been used in past general elections for decades. It is superficial and short-term, particularly in its focus on cash handouts. He would have wanted BN to tackle the key issues of improving education, for instance, and removing the fixation on the NEP and the accompanying idea of Ketuanan Melayu. Both of these are comprehensively addressed in the Pakatan manifesto. Continue reading “Who is the Leader, Who the Follower?”

by Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
11:51AM Apr 15, 2013

In keeping with the unhealthy obsession with cerita hantu (ghost stories) and the supernatural, which is displayed by the rakyat – especially the Malays – caretaker Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should be applauded for converting some Malaysians into zombies.

The living dead are characterised by their lack of self-awareness and the inability to think for themselves. Najib’s zombies may not crave human flesh, but they do feast on cash handouts and freebies. In the zombie culture, human brains are considered a delicacy. Perhaps Umno has seized on the rakyat’s minds as a means to spread their evil. They have mentally enslaved us and used this exploitation to satisfy their greed for material goods, and hunger for power.

Six decades ago, Malayans had to decide – either continue to be ruled by the British, or accept change and take charge of running the country. The operative word was change. Continue reading “Najib’s zombie apocalypse”

By Jahabar Sadiq
The Malaysian Insider
April 16, 2013

ANALYSIS, April 16 — Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek’s move to drop two senior MCA leaders and put his own men is already causing waves in his party, but will it help Barisan Nasional (BN) in Election 2013 or just the party president in internal polls this year?

And are veterans like former party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat not viewed as a “winnable candidate” in his Pandan stronghold which is will be contested by PKR’s “expose man” Rafizi Ramli in the May 5 general election?

Ong’s former cohort, party vice-president Senator Gan Peng Siu, has also been omitted from the list announced by Dr Chua yesterday, leading credence to whispers that only the president’s men are contesting the national polls.

Another vice-president, Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, is also not contesting the polls, but the controversial tourism minister said she has asked for the break although there were concerns that her performance has affected BN in the past few years.

“Basically, Chua Soi Lek is preparing for the MCA elections after the GE. Hence, he is dropping all contenders and their supporters,” an MCA source told The Malaysian Insider.

“It is all the president’s men for GE13,” he said, adding the candidates list will strengthen Dr Chua’s hand in the next party polls due this year rather than BN’s defence of Putrajaya. Continue reading “Is party polls behind MCA’s revamped GE13 slate?”