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Uncle Kit, you never walk alone

by George Lee
The Malaysian Insider

APRIL 24 – Recently there was a snapshot posted on Facebook of DAP senior leader Lim Kit Siang taking a late flight out to Johor Bahru. Cutting a lone figure and waiting for his flight like any ordinary folk, one must be wondering whether Uncle Kit should have taken on lighter things in life since his children especially the dynamic Lim Guan Eng is continuing his legacy in politics.

Undoubtedly a well known fatherly figure with Malaysians from all walks of life. I do not know Uncle Kit personally but I did have glimpses of him in close proximity on a number of occasions.

Often, the places that we ‘met’ were the five foot way coffee shop or restaurant. Beside his distinctive (comb from front to back) hairstyle and short-sleeve shirt, Uncle Kit is a well-read person. Continue reading “Uncle Kit, you never walk alone”

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Three Challenges to three Barisan Nasional “fixed deposit states” of Sarawak, Sabah and Johore on their catalytic role to take Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya in 13GE

The coming 13th GE is the most historic and significant one in the 56-year history of the nation as Malaysians will decide if the change of Federal government in Putrajaya will come about on Polling Day on May 5, 2013.

The battle of the 13GE is the battle between the politics of the future represented by the Pakatan Rakyat coalition versus the politics of the past as practised by the Barisan Nasional in the past few decades.

The politics of the past is the politics of race and the politics of rampant corruption, cronyism, massive abuses of power, gross violation of democratic and human rights, injustices, unsustainable development because of despoilation of the environment, lack of transparency, accountability and good governance.

The politics of the future transcends racial politics where Malaysians unite not because they are Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans or Kadazans but because they are Malaysian patriots who dare the dream the Malaysian Dream to create a more harmonious, just, free, progressive and prosperous Malaysia for all Malaysians.
Continue reading “Three Challenges to three Barisan Nasional “fixed deposit states” of Sarawak, Sabah and Johore on their catalytic role to take Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya in 13GE”

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10-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: UMNO dan Barisan Nasional perlu menjelaskan secara terbuka sama ada mahu melaksanakan hudud atau tidak – DAP tidak ubah pendirian dan tetap berpegang kepada Perlembagaan Persekutuan

UMNO dan Barisan Nasional perlu menjelaskan dengan terbuka sama ada mahu melaksanakan hudud atau tidak. UMNO dan BN tidak perlu membuang masa untuk mengelirukan rakyat dengan menjadikan hudud sebagai isu politik.

Malah saya menyeru Datuk Seri Najib Razak supaya memartabatkan agama Islam dan menghormati umat Islam dengan menghentikan kempen yang mempergunakan agama kerana ia memberi kesan buruk kepada masyarakat. Saya harap para pemimpin BN benar-benar menghormati kesucian Islam dan agama-agama lain kerana kepercayaan agama bukanlah alat permainan politik.

Dengan itu, saya ingin menjelaskan bahawa laporan dalam media massa hari ini tentang cabaran Datuk Seri Najib supaya Pakatan Rakyat menyatakan pendirian secara jelas mengenai isu hudud, hanyalah satu gimik politik semata-mata. Saya kesal kerana beliau terus mempergunakan agama dalam PRU kali ini.

Saya juga ingin menjelaskan bahawa DAP tidak ubah pendirian dan tetap berpegang kepada Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Pakatan Rakyat telah pun menyatakan bahawa hudud tidak terkandung dalam Manifesto Rakyat, pendirian bersama dan apa-apa prinsip bersama.
Continue reading “10-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: UMNO dan Barisan Nasional perlu menjelaskan secara terbuka sama ada mahu melaksanakan hudud atau tidak – DAP tidak ubah pendirian dan tetap berpegang kepada Perlembagaan Persekutuan”

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Fear-mongering ads against Pakatan likely to backfire, says industry

BY EMILY DING | APRIL 24, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 — Barisan Nasional’s (BN) advertisement campaign in newspapers is peddling racial fear against Pakatan Rakyat (PR) but could backfire in the May 5 general election, say industry insiders and opposition politicians.

A few of the print advertisements play on Chinese fears of PAS’ Islamist influence on the one hand, and Malay fears of DAP influence on the other, with the slogan: “A vote for DAP is a vote for PAS,” and vice versa.

An advertisement in the MCA-owned The Star depicts a rocket shooting into the sky only to reveal the PAS moon logo in its wake, with the message: “The power behind DAP is PAS. First their flag. Tomorrow their fundamentalist principles?”

“The ads look like they are designed to cause anxiety and fear that the Chinese would lose their culture and education if they vote for DAP,” Masjaliza Hamzah, from the Centre of Independent Journalism (CIJ), told The Malaysian Insider.

“There’s zero concept. Just accusations with no tact or respect. The ads are very patronising, an insult to the people’s intelligence,” said 32-year-old copywriter Kevin, who declined to give his last name.
Continue reading “Fear-mongering ads against Pakatan likely to backfire, says industry”

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Zaid tells Malays to reassert their identity: VOTE FOR KIT SIANG!

Harakahdaily

Saying the Malays had accepted the idea of sharing power with other communities in the past thus replacing traditional power structure hitherto dominated by Malay rulers, former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Zaid Ibrahim said they should now continue to pursue such a path.

Slamming UMNO leaders’ statements threatening racial discord if DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang defeats BN’s Abdul Ghani Othman in Gelang Patah, Zaid urged the Malays to prove to the world that they are not a people out to create trouble as depicted by prime minister Najib Razak and UMNO strongman Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“Now the Malays have been asked to answer more big questions in Gelang Patah. Do they want moderate, sensible politics in multiracial Malaysia? Do they want racial harmony to continue? Or will they endorse the vile sectarian politics of Dr Mahathir Mahathir and his progeny Najib Razak?” asked Zaid.

He said Malays must kill off all attempts to raise spectre of violence and showcase to others of the community’s moderation.
Continue reading “Zaid tells Malays to reassert their identity: VOTE FOR KIT SIANG!”

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DAP’s dark horse in Tanjung Piai

Pauline Wong | 23 April 2013 – 11:30pm
The Sun

PONTIAN (April 23, 2013): The battle in the Tanjung Piai parliamentary constituency of about 51,000 voters may not be as intense as in Gelang Patah, where top guns Lim Kit Siang (DAP) and Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman (BN) are facing off.

Still, Tanjung Piai is exciting because a relatively unknown and dark horse candidate will give incumbent MP Datuk Wee Jeck Seng (BN) a run for his money.

Mahdzir Ibrahim, 37, (pix) from Batu Pahat, is eager to make his mark here.

“About one month ago I was asked by DAP leadership to stand in Tanjung Piai, and after I went on the ground and did some groundwork, I accepted the challenge,” said the former DAP Roketkini.com co-ordinator.

As the only Malay candidate fielded by DAP in Johor, the humble and forthright former lecturer (in music and arts) said he is under no illusion that being a Malay would give him an advantage in the Malay-majority area.
Continue reading “DAP’s dark horse in Tanjung Piai”

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Are Chinese voters still fearful of PAS?

By LIM MUN FAH | 2013-04-24 13:18
Translated by DOMINIC LOH
Sin Chew Daily

MCA advertised aggressively on newspapers targeting specifically DAP and PAS.

Lim Kit Siang trashed the advertisements for portraying DAP as attempting to turn Johor into another Kelantan, where no entertainment outlets would be allowed, no safety and all commercial activities would come to a halt.

These advertisements were just among the tricks deployed to win the hearts of voters, but they could inadvertently turn against the ruling coalition itself.

As an observer, what I personally understand is this: Ten years ago, such advertisements would indeed turn some Chinese voters away from the opposition. But today, their effects would be drastically subdued, and would even work the other way round, arousing detestation among the voters!
Continue reading “Are Chinese voters still fearful of PAS?”

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Return of old warrior

by Terence Fernandez TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2013 – 16:54
Malay Mail

Party elder comes out of retirement 23 years later after call from Kit Siang

THE last time he was in active service was in the 1990 elections, where he had campaigned for his party the DAP in Kluang.

After that, party elder Lee Kaw, called it quits to focus on his business and retire to a life of “napping, walks and taking care of my old lady”.

So what motivated the once treasurer-general of the DAP to come out of retirement 23 years later? For one, it was the call from fellow party elder Lim Kit Siang.

Then, it was the candidate. “No matter who calls, if I don’t believe in the candidate they put up … if they don’t like them — I’m not going to waste my time. If the candidate is a useless fellow, why should I support?” said Lee over coffee at the Rail Coffee cafe — the town’s main meeting place run by the Lim family of the famous Kluang Railway Station Canteen.
Continue reading “Return of old warrior”

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The turning point of 1969: Lessons to be learnt

By Koay Su Lyn | APRIL 22, 2013
The Malaysian Insider

APRIL 22 — The general election held on May 10, 1969 in Malaysia remains an eventful one despite the passing of 44 years. People who lived through that era of transformation will probably describe the event as having altered the course of Malaysia’s political history forever.

The unprecedented event came as a rude awakening for the Alliance with the victory of the opposition parties, namely the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, the DAP and PPP. The exceptional victory, coupled with rising ethnic tensions within, contributed to the occurrence of the May 13 riots.

As a crucial turning point in Malaysia’s political history, the 1969 general election and its aftermath serve as a considerable lesson that all Malaysians could learn from and ponder in the light of the upcoming general election of 2013. However, to fully comprehend its significance, it would be necessary to first appreciate the political developments prior to 1969.

The 1964 elections and the birth of new parties

The elections in 1964 were held under the shadows of Indonesian Confrontation and internal opposition, stemming from the Socialist Front. Due to the instabilities encountered, the political climate was certainly unfavourable to the opposition parties. Their failure to co-operate and formulate a common strategy resulted in unnecessary multi-cornered battles. Grassroots support was also poor as the majority preferred stability in the government’s defence of national sovereignty. The failure to foresee such circumstances led to a shocking defeat and served as a severe lesson to the opposition in the forthcoming elections.
Continue reading “The turning point of 1969: Lessons to be learnt”

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GE13: REFSA chooses transformation

By Teh Chi-Chang, Executive Director | 25 April 2013
refsa.org

On Sunday, May 5, Malaysians go to the polls. For the first time in our history, in the 56 years since Merdeka, we have a real choice in choosing who to grant the privilege of governing us. Which coalition will you choose? The incumbent Barisan Nasional (BN), which is the only federal government that all of us have known so far? Or the young upstart Pakatan Rakyat?

We at REFSA have made our choice. We choose transformation. We choose Pakatan Rakyat.

Pakatan has transformed race relations. Malaysians of all races gather congenially under the PAS moon and DAP rocket. A Malaysian-Chinese flying the PAS flag, or a Malay waving the DAP rocket symbol, would have been an unimaginable sight as recently as Feb 2008. Pakatan leaders have transformed the prisms by which we view each other, and led Malaysians from narrow communal siloes to broader, harmonious relations.

Pakatan has transformed state governments. The federal Auditor-General has given Penang top marks for being the best financially-managed state; and the RM1.2b cash savings in Selangor are the highest in 28 years. Pakatan state governments were the first to give direct welfare aid to Malaysians: for example, the Senior Citizen Appreciation Programme in Penang and the TAWAS programme in Selangor. Pakatan has demonstrated that it is possible to be financially responsible and populist at the same time.
Continue reading “GE13: REFSA chooses transformation”

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Satu lagi fitnah UMNO tentang 13 Mei untuk menaman rasa benci orang Melayu terhadap DAP; tetapi orang Melayu sudah bersedia untuk perubahan bersama Pakatan Rakyat dalam PRU13.

DAP menjadi mangsa fitnah Berita Harian, akhbar harian kawalan UMNO, hari ini Rabu 24 April 2013 apabila ruangan Rencana di muka surat 25 yang ditulis oleh “Lanang” telah mendakwa, tanpa sebarang bukti, bahawa DAP adalah “parti perkauman yang memperalatkan hak sama rata”. Malah rencana itu menuduh “Masa kempen pilihan raya 10 Mei 1969, DAP ghairah mainkan isu perkauman. Hasilnya sengketa 13 Mei 1969”.

Satu lagi fitnah UMNO tentang 13 Mei untuk menaman rasa benci orang Melayu terhadap DAP; tetapi orang Melayu sudah bersedia untuk UBAH bersama Pakatan Rakyat dalam PRU13. Semakin ramai orang Melayu sedar bahawa DAP bukan pencetus tragedi 13 Mei 1969.

Saya ingin jelaskan bahawa ini adalah pembohongan dan penipuan. Saya telah banyak kali jelaskan bahawa tuduhan itu tidak benar sama sekali kerana DAP tidak mencetuskan peristiwa 13 Mei 1969. Malah saya telah menuntut kepada kerajaan Malaysia supaya membuat siasatan terbuka dan pendedahan awam sepenuhnya tentang rusuhan kaum 13 Mei 1969 kerana masih banyak rahsia yang tidak didedahkan oleh pihak berkuasa. Tetapi sehingga sekarang tidak ada mana-mana pemimpin kerajaan BN yang berani berbuat demikian.

Kemudian, tulisan Lanang itu dalam Berita Harian mendakwa pula “DAP hanya benarkan PAS dan PKR bergasak sesama sendiri di tujuh kawasan. Yang untungnya DAP kerana berjaya melihat Melayu pecah” dan “Akhirnya yang rugi adalah Melayu. Yang berkuasa dan memencilkan kuasa Melayu adalah pihak lain. Kita dapat tulang, depa dapat isi.”
Continue reading “Satu lagi fitnah UMNO tentang 13 Mei untuk menaman rasa benci orang Melayu terhadap DAP; tetapi orang Melayu sudah bersedia untuk perubahan bersama Pakatan Rakyat dalam PRU13.”

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Zaid Ibrahim accepts invitation to be Pakatan Rakyat adviser for Battle of Johor which is critical for PR to win Battle of Malaysia to replace Barisan Nasional in Putrajaya

I want to thank Datuk Zaid Ibrahim for speaking in support of my parliamentary candidature at the Pakatan Rakyat ceramah in Taman Nusantara, Gelang Patah last night.

The Battle of Gelang Patah is a microcosm of the battle for the hearts and minds of Malaysian voters in the 13GE and a prelude to the Battle of Johor and Battle of Malaysia in the 13GE.

I call on the caretaker Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to lead a campaign throughout the country and all the states of Malaysia which is clean, fair and honest, not marred by the politics of money.

I can speak on behalf of Pakatan Rakyat that this the type of general elections Malaysians want and should have in the 13GE. It is not too late for Najib to send our a message loud and clear to let the 13GE the “most clean, free and fair” instead of being the most dirty, unfree and unfair in the nation’s 56-year history.

Since the ending of the four-year wait by Malaysians for the 13th national polls on April 3, there is a new hope and a new expectation in the air for all Malaysians, regardless of whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans of a new political order – as summed up in the powerful catchphrase first coined in Sabah: “Ini Kali Lah!”

The historic objective of Pakatan Rakyat in the 13GE is to effect a peaceful and democratic change of government in Putrajaya – and this is why the PAS Vice President Sallehuddin Ayub and I have left comparatively safe seats in Perak and Kelantan respectively, together with Gen (rtd) Tan Sri Hashim of PKR, to return to Johore to lead the charge in the state to trigger a political tsunami emanating from the south reaching upwards to the north of the country, and to cross the South China Sea to Sabah and Sarawak to complete the partial political tsunami in the 2008 GE. Continue reading “Zaid Ibrahim accepts invitation to be Pakatan Rakyat adviser for Battle of Johor which is critical for PR to win Battle of Malaysia to replace Barisan Nasional in Putrajaya”

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11Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – I never accuse Ghani Othman as a “racist” , I believe he is not a “racist” and I invite Ghani to join me in making Battle of Gelang Patah and the Battle of Johor a clean, fair and gentlemanly contest of ideas and visions with no playing race or religion cards or money politics

Johor Mentri Besar, Johor Barisan Nasional Chairman and BN candidate for Gelang Patah, Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman is reported in the media of expressing his disappointment that I had accused him of playing the race card.

He said I should not get “desperate” and insinuate that he is racist just to gain support from the Chinese voters who made up the majority of constituents in Gelang Patah.

He told New Straits Times: “I believe that he (Lim) is getting desperate. Everyone knows that I am not racist, and that is why I think he is trying to paint a picture of me being one”.

I do not know where Ghani got this report, just as I am equally mystified where Ghani got the report that I had said that if I win in Gelang Patah, PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang will become the Prime Minister.

I had never said that Ghani is a racist. I do not believe Ghani is a racist. This is what I said about Ghani two days ago:
Continue reading “11Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – I never accuse Ghani Othman as a “racist” , I believe he is not a “racist” and I invite Ghani to join me in making Battle of Gelang Patah and the Battle of Johor a clean, fair and gentlemanly contest of ideas and visions with no playing race or religion cards or money politics”

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Buying support – Najib’s ‘commercialisation’ of GE13

by Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
9:58AM Apr 23, 2013

GE13 SPECIAL The billion ringgit question of this campaign is how much is being spent in the 2013 general election campaign and who is paying for it?

Throughout the country, voters are already reporting early efforts to woo the electorate such as special grocery vouchers of RM300 in Sandakan and handouts of RM50 to attend a Umno meeting in Tanjong Malim, among many others.

The promise of more goodies on the way is being repeated over and over, from the symbolic extension and increase of BR1M (Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia) to more general ‘assistance’. Continue reading “Buying support – Najib’s ‘commercialisation’ of GE13”

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Zul’s shallow apology

by Kunjuraman Karuppan
The Malaysian Insider
April 22, 2013

APRIL 22 — Does Datuk Zulkifli Noordin think his shallow apology to the Indians helps his cause in Shah Alam?

Does the Perkasa vice-president standing on a Barisan Nasional (BN) ticket think he can blame the Pakatan Rakyat for his congenital racism?

How does he imagine all this will help him go against Khalid Samad in Shah Alam and win “101 per cent” in the May 5 general election?

Khalid was the one MP who stood side by side with the Indian community after the cow-head protest in Shah Alam even when it was not the politically smart thing to do. Continue reading “Zul’s shallow apology”

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If Najib cannot implement his Transformation Agenda with a strong 58-MP majority, there is no hope that he could ever “walk the talk” in transforming Malaysia after the 13GE

Yesterday, I was on a 20-hour 700-km four-state campaign trail, from Gelang Patah to Malacca, Rasa in Ulu Selangor parliamentary/Kuala Kubu Baru state assembly constituencies in Selangor, then to the three Parliamentary constituencies in Perak in Teluk Intan, Lumut and Bruas, ending in Ipoh.

Wherever I went, there were large throngs of Malaysians from all races and religions, representing the Malaysian microcosm of a plural society, united and excited by the common hope and aspiration that the country undertake the greatest political enterprise in the nation’s 56-year history – a peaceful and democratic change of the Federal Government in Putrajaya.

Although Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak want Malaysia to become the world’s best democracy, we still have to establish the preconditions for Malaysia to become a normal democracy before we can really aspire to be the world’s best democracy.

One of these pre-conditions of a normal democracy is the peaceful and democratic alternation of power in general elections, where voters exercise the final and undisputed right to decide whether it is the incumbent or the Opposition which should form the government of the country for the next four or five years until the next national polls!
Continue reading “If Najib cannot implement his Transformation Agenda with a strong 58-MP majority, there is no hope that he could ever “walk the talk” in transforming Malaysia after the 13GE”

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12-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: MCA cuba pancing undi dengan menghina Islam – UMNO berdiam diri membiarkan Islam dihina

MCA cuba memancing undi dengan menghina umat Islam di Malaysia dan UMNO pula berdiam diri membiarkan Islam dihina. Inilah kerjasama MCA dan UMNO dalam Barisan Nasional yang telah pun dan akan terus memecahbelahkan perpaduan kita sebagai rakyat Malaysia.

Saya kesal dengan tindakan MCA yang menggunakan akhbar The Star yang dikuasainya untuk menyiarkan iklan-iklan politik yang menghina orang Melayu dan mempermainkan agama Islam.

MCA sengaja berbuat demikian untuk menunjukkan kepada kaum Cina bahawa ia tidak akan tunduk kepada orang Melayu dan Islam.

Manakala UMNO pula berdiam diri dan tidak berani mempertahankan Islam dan Melayu kerana mahu membiarkan MCA memperolehi undi kaum Cina melalui cara yang kotor dan keji ini.

Dalam iklan The Star hari ini di muka surat 25, iklan bertajuk “Why is DAP silent?” (Mengapa DAP berdiam diri?) mengutuk kerajaan negeri PAS-Pakatan Rakyat Kedah yang didakwa merobohkan tempat menyembelih haiwan, mengharamkan panggung wayang, mengharamkan persembahan seni oleh wanita dan mengharamkan sambutan Hari Valentine.
Continue reading “12-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: MCA cuba pancing undi dengan menghina Islam – UMNO berdiam diri membiarkan Islam dihina”

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Naughty, dishonest ROS

By P Gunasegaram | 4:26PM Apr 19, 2013

QUESTION TIME It looks like other Malaysian bodies besides those responsible for curbing corruption are being “naughty and dishonest”, the latest being the Registrar of Societies (ROS) which has draconian powers to oversee societies, including political parties.

Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud famously (notoriously?) labelled the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation of himself for graft as “victimisation”, and reserved his cooperation because he believed that they have been “naughty and dishonest”.

“They (MACC) don’t deserve my cooperation because they have been naughty… and they have not been honest,” he said recently.

Change some names, and the DAP is now a victim of “naughty and dishonest” investigation by the ROS. This is likely closer to the truth than the MACC allegations by Taib who continues unscathed despite everything. What’s more, delve deeper into the latest issue and you will wade deep into a conspiracy theory to rival any book by Jeffrey Archer.

The DAP – yes, to its discredit then – had a “technical glitch” during its December elections for the central executive committee (CEC) which resulted in a minor revision to its election results. The studious ROS began investigations, but only decided not to recognise DAP’s CEC several months later, yesterday – just two days before nomination day. How convenient.
Continue reading “Naughty, dishonest ROS”