BY CLARA CHOOI
The Malaysian Insider
May 08, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today demanded a stop to all attempts at racialising last Sunday’s polls by blaming a particular community for Barisan Nasional’s (BN) poor showing at the ballot boxes.
“This is unfair and unhelpful,” he said in a statement here.
The former prime minister, who stepped down in favour of Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2009 after he led BN to lose its coveted two-thirds parliamentary majority in Election 2008, agreed that following Sunday’s polls results, there was a pressing need for the country to undergo the process of national reconciliation and unity.
He also called on the opposition to accept and respect the election results, despite the fact that they had lost by slim majorities amid claims of fraud and widespread irregularities in the polling process.
“Malaysians deserve stability and certainty that can only come with finality and closure from this election,” he said in his message to the opposition.
“Let us move on in the interest of all Malaysians.”
The just-concluded Election 2013 saw the ruling BN pact recapture federal power but with an even slimmer majority than in Election 2008, polling only 133 seats to Pakatan Rakyat’s 89 in the 222-seat Parliament.
It had been a nail-biting race from start to finish between both powerful pacts and although BN emerged the winner, the vote trend that saw a large majority of the Chinese community backing PR has sparked a mini racial war between those across the political divide.
In his first response at the close of the polls, Najib termed the results a “Chinese tsunami”, even saying that if not handled carefully, the nation could see days of unrest ahead.
He mooted the idea for national reconciliation, saying efforts to unite the country through the introduction of fair and moderate policies were necessary to ensure Malaysia maintains its stability.
But in defiance of the prime minister’s words, analysts and opposition leaders disagreed with Najib’s reading of the election results, pointing out that PR had won the popular vote by a signficant 51.4 per cent to BN’s 48.6 per cent.
They said that this showed that it had not merely been a “Chinese tsunami” that caused BN to bleed seat but a massive swing in the urban and middle-class electorate towards the federal opposition.
The analysts also said that despite the clear increase in Chinese support for PR, the political tsunami had also swept with it “large numbers of the Malays”, many among them forming part of the country’s middle- to upper-class voters.
Adding salt to an alreay festering wound, Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia published on its front page yesterday an article headlined “Apa lagi Cina mahu? (What else do the Chinese want?)”, a phrase which has turned viral in the internet’s social sphere.
The newspaper came immediately under fire and angry netizens and politicians across the political divide railed against Najib and Umno for allowing the media to run riot with such incendiary headlines.
But despite the criticisms, Najib came to the paper’s defence yesterday and even appeared to blame the DAP, claiming the predominantly Chinese opposition party had misled the Chinese into greater racial polarisation by making them think that voting the party would lead to a change of government.
“You blamed Utusan but you don’t ask about the Chinese papers,” Najib told a press conference when asked how is he to achieve national reconciliation if Utusan kept harping on race issues.
He did not say what was objectionable in the Chinese-language newspapers.
Joining Najib, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he was shocked BN’s poor performance in Election 2013, and laid the blame on ‘ungrateful’ Chinese and ‘greedy’ Malay voters.
Why, they never say Kelantan Malay don’t support bn, that they no grateful? Kelantan under PAS more than 15 years !
or that Selangor Malay support pkr, been ungrateful?
Don’t insult the Chinese been misled by anyone !!
If Badawi really cared about his party, he and Razaleigh should put their heads together and knock some sense into the UMNO Supreme Council..At least give it a try one time before washing their hands of the whole thing..
dont forget, zulkifli nordin n ibrahim ali both also lost in a Malay majority area
Know what, the bastards are playing a very childish game!
They will try to tie up the time of the opposition leaders with their wild accusations.
So, Malaysians, still harbour thoughts about having these children as your leaders???
About the possibility of their reforming???
Najib claimed that he Chinese had been misled by the opposition party (DAP) that voting for DAP can lead to a change in government. Pls do not insult the intelligence of the Chinese.
Hope UMNO can face the reality that not only the Chinese but also many fellow Malaysians, be they Chinese,Malays, Indians,Kadazans and Ibans also badly wanted a change in Government and I am sure they know why.
Pls let me reiterate and remind UMNO that the Chinese are not so naive and can be easily misled. For the fact that the opposition won almost all the urban seats is already a clear cut fact that the more educated had rejected UMNO/BN. In reality it is UMNO that had misled the rural folks who are less educated and spiced with their rampant bribery had deceived them to vote for the devil.
Najip Razak!! How dare you allow foreigners to take away our rights as Malaysians to vote for a better future!! SHAME ON YOU and MAY THE TRUTH PREVAIL!! WE ANAK MALAYSIA DO NOT RECOGNIZE YOU OR BN AS THE LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT!! UNDURLAH!!!
It is unfair for Najib to blame the Chinese for BN’s bad performance when DAP did not blame the Malays for not supporting its goal to vote in a clean government.
Najib, You talk cock in order to mitigate your loss in almost all the urban seats. You dare not even stand up to have a debate with Anwar. For 55 years who do not know what is UMNO and who are those in UMNO and what they stand for. Najib, please do not use the racial card to cover up your weaknesses. A true progeny of Mahathir, a recalcitrant racialist.
1. From Aspan Alias Blog,
Despite the electoral fraud.The analysis has shown that PR has won in Peninsula Malaysia but lost in Sabah and Sarawak. East Malaysia stills the Fixed Deposit for BN.
This mean that most of the ”people” from semenanjung has rejected the BN.
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Meh kita tengok satu lagi aspek keputusan PRU 13 yang melibatkan kerusi-kerusi parlimen yang diperolehi oleh BN dan Pakatan rakyat mengikut wiayah: Semenanjung Malaysia dan malaysia Timor ( Sabah & sarawak).
BN
Semenanjung Malaysia = 76 kerusi
Malaysia Timor = 57 kerusi
Jumlah = 133 kerusi
Pakatan Rakyat
Semenanjung Malaysia = 80 Kerusi
Malaysia Timor = 9 kerusi
Jumlah = 89 kerusi
——–
Dari tabulasi diatas 3 fakta utama yang dapat dilihat, iaitu:
1. BN TEWAS DI SEMENANJUNG MALAYSIA DALAM PRU 13.
2. KEMENANGAN BN DISUMBANG OLEH KEMENANGAN KERUSI-KERUSI DARI SABAH DAN SARAWAK. KEDUA NEGERI INI MASIH MENJADI FIXED DEPOSIT BN DALAM PRU 13.
3. WALAUPUN PAKATAN RAKYAT TEWAS TEROK DI SABAH DAN SARAWAK TETAPI DARI SEGI UNDI POPULAR MEREKA MENUNJUKKAN PENINGKATAN. PAKATAN MENUNJUKKAN PENINGKATAN DI PERINGKAT DUN SABAH APABILA MEMENANGI 12 KERUSI DUN DALAM PRU INI BERBANDING 1 DALAM PRU 12.
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data diatas boleh diulas dari pelbagai segi mengikut selera penyokong parti mana, namun, satu fakta yang jelas – walaupun BN menggunakan pelbagai cara untuk memenangi hati rakyat di semenanjung, malah keseluuhan kempen BN bertujuan besar untuk ini, BN TELAH TEWAS DI SEMANJUNG MALAYSIA.Jadi, kelebihan undi popular yang dimenangi oleh pakatan rakyat itu bukanlah satu fakta sampingan jika dibaca bersama-sama data yang saya kemukakan diatas. Data diatas juga menunjukkan bahawa “TSUNAMI MALAYSIA” sudah berlaku dan momentumnya adalah real dan mempunyai energy yang kuat.
Bagi memanjangkan hujahan fakta ini, terpulanglah kepada pembahas-pembahas sekalian untuk meneruskannya dari perspektif masing-masing