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18-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: Invitation to Ghani Othman to a series of seven public debates in Gelang Patah on the importance of the 13th GE to Johore and Malaysia – the first one to be held before Nomination Day on April 20

A week ago, I challenged former and longest-serving Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who has become the most powerful person in UMNO/BN and the person whom the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak fears most, to a series of seven public debates on his 22 years as the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

This is because of the very clear and systematic attempt to revive Mahathirism, a campaign led by none other than Mahathir himself.

This series of seven public debates with Mahathir will cover an entire spectrum of achievements and failures, in fact national disasters, of the 22-year Mahathir premiership with its host of human rights violations, mega-financial scandals, rampant corruption, collapse of educational standards and the across-the-board subversion of independent national institutions like the judiciary, the police and the civil service in the country during the long night of the 22-year Mahathir premiership.

But Mahathir has declined the invitation to the series of seven public debates in Gelang Patah to examine his legacy and the baneful effect of Mahathirism on Malaysian nation-building although he has no qualms whatsoever to continue to pump racist poison, lies and falsehoods into the mainstream of Malaysian public discourse, including his seditious, inflammatory and baseless accusation against me for wanting to create a racial confrontation by contesting in Gelang Patah and his open call to the people of Johore to make Gelang Patah my “political graveyard”. Continue reading “18-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: Invitation to Ghani Othman to a series of seven public debates in Gelang Patah on the importance of the 13th GE to Johore and Malaysia – the first one to be held before Nomination Day on April 20”

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Ghani Othman’s candidature in Gelang Patah – implementation of Mahathir’s first directive in the 13GE: “End Kit Siang’s political career”

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””

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19-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: Vision 2050 – A Thriving Democratic Nation

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”

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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

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”

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Who is the Leader, Who the Follower?

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?”

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Najib’s zombie apocalypse

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”

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Is party polls behind MCA’s revamped GE13 slate?

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?”

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Shame on you, EPF!

by P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
6:16PM Apr 12, 2013

Whatever possessed the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to throw in the towel way before the fight had finished, leaving other minority shareholders aghast at its surrender even before the battle had started in earnest? Shame on you, EPF!

We are referring of course to the national provident fund’s meek capitulation by accepting national oil company Petronas’ revised offer of RM5.50 per MISC Bhd share yesterday, eight days before the offer was due to close.

By accepting the offer it has made it that much easier for Petronas to reach its target of acquiring 90 percent of MISC shares, a condition for Petronas’ takeover offer for MISC, and the level at which the oil company can delist MISC from Bursa Malaysia. Petronas has just under 80 percent of the shares now after EPF’s acceptance, 10 percent short of the offer becoming unconditional. Continue reading “Shame on you, EPF!”

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Mission almost impossible for Kit Siang

Free Malaysia Today
April 15, 2013

JOHOR BARU: For DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang to win the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat in Barisan Nasional’s fortress in Johor, he not only needs to win the “hearts and minds” of the Chinese electorate, who are the majority voters in the suburban seat, he must also work hard to woo votes from the Malay electorate.

A substantial 54% of the eligible voters in Gelang Patah are Chinese while the Malays account for 33% and Indians make up 12%.

Judging from the electoral composition, it is clear that to win the rapidly-developing Gelang Patah seat, the candidate, either from BN or DAP, must romp home with the support of the Chinese and Malays, the bulk of the electorate in the constituency, adjacent to Pulai and Johor Baru parliamentary seats.

But with the irremovable stigma that Kit Siang and DAP are “anti-Malays” and “anti-Islam, it is a big question mark whether the Malay voters in the constituency will accept or welcome the veteran DAP politician. Continue reading “Mission almost impossible for Kit Siang”

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A very ‘American’ election

by Clive Kessler
The Malaysian Insider

APRIL 15 — So far it has been, as a friend remarked the other day, “a very American election”.

With its mobilising and symbolic focus on PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the GE13 “pre-campaign” has been nothing if not “presidential”.

“Presidential” campaigning: PM Najib and BR1M

If Umno/BN is now a brand, Najib is its face. Its trademark.

Not unlike a certain avuncular colonel and his own certain brand of fried chicken.

And if Umno/Bn now has a strategic approach, it is Najib’s own iconic BR1M.

Umno/Bn now relies upon communicating an irresistible sense of party and government largesse that, in a very personal way, the prime minister distributes and also symbolises. Continue reading “A very ‘American’ election”

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Why I shall vote in GE13

— Philip Yeoh
The Malaysian Insider
April 15, 2013

APRIL 15 — I shall vote to give Malaysia a better chance of stemming the bleeding of our public finances and downward spiral in our standard of living.

I shall vote to protect our land and people from policies, practices and businesses that threaten our ecological safety and integrity.

I shall vote to open the door for reforms in our institutions of governance particularly the judiciary, MACC, police and the central bank. Continue reading “Why I shall vote in GE13”

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20-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Gelang Patah will be my “life-and-death” political battle as I will be fighting not just popular four-term Johore Mentri Besar, but the PM, Najib Razak, former longest-serving PM Mahathir and future PM hopeful Muhyiddin Yassin

Finally the die is cast. From all accounts, MCA has surrendered the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat to UMNO and the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate will be the popular four-term Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.

When I decided to leave the Ipoh Timor parliamentary seat where I had won with over 21,000-vote majority in the 2008 General Elections to contest in the BN fortress of Gelang Patah (which was won by BN with a 9,000-vote majority in 2008 and 31,666-vote majority in 2004) and which had never been won by the Opposition in the past 12 General Elections in 56 years, it was a high-risk decision.

But I was prepared to take the calculated risks for at least four reasons:

  1. To target the six Parliamentary and 13 State Assembly seats in south Johore to pave the way for Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya in the 13GE. The six Parliamentary seats are Johor Bahru, Pasir Gudang, Tebrau, Gelang Patah, Kulai and Pulai. The 13 State Assembly seats are Stulang, Tanjong Puteri, Johore Jaya, Permas, Puteri Wangsa, Tiram, Skudai, Nusajaya, Pengkalan Rinting, Kempas, Senai, Bukit Batu and Bukit Permai.

    Johor Baru is the only State capital which had been able to maintain UMNO/BN political hegemony since Merdeka in 1957, when other State Capitals and urban centres have come under strong Opposition/Pakatan Rakyat influence, namely Kuala Lumpur, Kajang, Ipoh, Klang, Subang Jaya, Kuching, Petaling Jaya, Seremban, George Town, Malacca, Kota Baru, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan and Sungai Patani.

  2. To target a total of 19 Parliamentary and 30 State Assembly seats in the State of Johor, including the six Parliamentary and 13 State Assembly seats in South Johore. The additional Parliamentary seats in the rest of Johor are Tanjong Piai, Kluang, Batu Pahat, Bakri, Labis, Segamat, Sekijang, Ledang, Muar, Ayer Hitam, Sri Gading, Simpang Rengam and Sembrong. The additional 17 State Assembly seats are Pekan Nenas, Mengkibol, Penggaram, Layang-Layang, Parit Yaani, Maharani, Gambir, Tenang and Pemanis. Continue reading “20-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Gelang Patah will be my “life-and-death” political battle as I will be fighting not just popular four-term Johore Mentri Besar, but the PM, Najib Razak, former longest-serving PM Mahathir and future PM hopeful Muhyiddin Yassin”
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BN settles on Ghani to defend Gelang Patah from Kit Siang

By Jahabar Sadiq
The Malaysian Insider
April 15, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman will defend Gelang Patah against the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang while the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) now seeks a safe state seat for his potential successor as Johor mentri besar, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, in Election 2013, say coalition sources.

Despite BN’s pledge to put new faces, The Malaysian Insider understands that the 66-year-old MB is the best bet against the 72-year-old Lim as the ruling coalition is depending on the Malay vote to carry it in the May 5 general election.

“It has been decided that Ghani will defend Gelang Patah as BN doesn’t want to risk losing its fixed deposit in Johor,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.

He said the MCA has agreed to give up the seat to Umno, under a strategy where the BN war room believes Umno candidates can beat back the DAP attack in Johor and other Malay-majority states rather than MCA hopefuls.

“There will be a number of veterans being asked to stay on and defend their seats because DAP and PAS together can cause trouble,” the BN source added, referring to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties that also includes PKR. Continue reading “BN settles on Ghani to defend Gelang Patah from Kit Siang”

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A Barisan Win is No Victory for Malaysia

by Bakri Musa

(Second of Four Parts)

There can only be three possible outcomes to the next election: Barisan to win with a comfortable victory; Pakatan Rakyat to prevail; and a hung parliament. A comfortable victory is one where the expected hopping of a dozen or so successful candidates would not materially affect the political balance. A hung parliament is where the buying or the shifting of allegiance of a handful of elected members would significantly alter the political balance.

Contrary to the pronouncements of many, the worst possible outcome would not be a hung parliament but a Barisan victory. The best possible outcome would be for Pakatan to secure that majority. A hung parliament is not the worse but then also not the best possible outcome either. Continue reading “A Barisan Win is No Victory for Malaysia”

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21-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Attorney-General Gani Patail given opportunity to arrest and charge Mahathir for sedition and criminal defamation before I instruct my lawyers to institute legal proceedings against Mahathir for defamation in connection with his blog on “Gelang Patah”

As the former DAP MP for Segambut Lim Lip Eng has lodged a police report this morning in Kuala Lumpur against the former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad for sedition and criminal defamation, I will give the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail the opportunity to arrest and charge Mahathir for sedition and criminal defamation before I instruct my lawyers to institute legal proceedings against Mahathir for defamation in connection with his blog, “Gelang Patah” last Thursday, 11th April 2013.

I had given Mahathir two opportunities to withdraw and apologise for his chauvinistic and seditious blog which made irresponsible and baseless attacks on my reputation and character or face legal action for defamation for his lies and falsehoods, but the former Prime Minister had been totally unmoved and unrepentant.

Mahathir had disgraced and dishonoured the office of the former Prime Minister, which is provided by Parliament every year with a princely allocation from the annual Federal Government budget for its upkeep, by spewing downright lies and falsehoods to make the 13th General Elections the dirtiest in the the nation’s history which is most unworthy and unfitting for a former Prime Minister whose living and maintenance expenses is billed to the public purse.

Two days ago, the latest “black operation” in the 13GE surfaced with the appearance of a sex video purportedly involving the PAS Secretry-General Mustapha Ali, which has been categorically denied by Mustafa who said that UMNO was desperate enough to lie in order to drop him from the country’s arena.
Continue reading “21-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Attorney-General Gani Patail given opportunity to arrest and charge Mahathir for sedition and criminal defamation before I instruct my lawyers to institute legal proceedings against Mahathir for defamation in connection with his blog on “Gelang Patah””

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Chance for change? The possibility is there

By Bridget Welsh | 8:40AM Apr 13, 2013
Malaysiakini

GE13 SPECIAL Well, the dates have finally been set and Malaysia heads towards the most competitive electoral contest in the nation’s history. It is important to step back and look at how and why GE13 is competitive.

The broad reason is clear: this election offers the possibility of an electoral transition of power. More power is in the hands of ordinary Malaysians than ever before. The underlying dynamics that might make this change happen however, are more obscure.

This article – as part of a special series of pieces on the polls – maps the contest nationally and draws attention to fundamental shifts that are making the May polls historic, whatever the outcome.

The grey seats

The fierceness of the contest is evident in the numbers of seats that are “grey” – seats that can go either way.

Looking at a combination of factors in individual seats, the patterns of margin of victory and history of vote swing, the changing number and composition of voters, the candidate choices and infighting as well as macro national and state shifts in voting behaviour drawn from my fieldwork, I currently estimate that 42 percent of the parliamentary seats nationally are ‘grey’.
Continue reading “Chance for change? The possibility is there”