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This is a Democracy, You Understand?

by Kee Thuan Chye

Prime Minister Najib Razak blamed the Chinese for not voting for his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition at the 13th general election on May 5 and ex-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad slammed the Chinese and the Malays who voted for Pakatan Rakyat.

Others from BN and its main component party, Umno, jumped on the bandwagon and said the same thing, accusing the Chinese of being ungrateful.

They all made it sound as if it was a great sin to vote for the Opposition.

What is so wrong with voting for the Opposition? Why is an Opposition set up in the first place? Isn’t it to provide competition to the ruling party? So if people are more persuaded by the case made by the Opposition, why shouldn’t they vote for it?
Continue reading “This is a Democracy, You Understand?”

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Rais: Decision by MCA to reject Cabinet posts shallow

The Malaysian Insider
May 11, 2013

JELEBU, May 11 — MCA should not have made a decision that reflected its shallow politics by making impulsive remarks, like not wanting to accept posts in the Cabinet, said Datuk Seri Rais Yatim.

The former Information, Communications and Culture Minister said the stance taken by MCA was not proper because Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was still in the process of forming a new federal government, likewise at the state level.

“There should be consultations, but they rejected from the beginning. This attitude is very suspicious.

“Honestly, we have to say that MCA and Gerakan have actually contributed partly to Barisan Nasional’s loss.

“The internal bickering and misunderstanding or absence of collective stand to an extent that several seats were lost to the BN’s political enemy,” he told reporters after a thanksgiving ceremony at the Jelebu District Council hall, Kuala Klawang here last night. Continue reading “Rais: Decision by MCA to reject Cabinet posts shallow”

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BN is effectively a minority government

by Tommy Thomas
Malaysiakini
8:26AM May 10, 2013

COMMENT In assessing the results of the long-awaited 13th general elections, it is imperative that one considers the actual conditions under which the elections were conducted.

Uninformed observers, particularly from overseas, assume that because Malaysia has a Westminister-style parliamentary democracy, our elections are conducted freely, fairly and in the spirit of fair play.

The reality is that our elections are never held as they are in mature democracies like the United Kingdom, India or Australia.

They are rather akin to another Commonwealth country, Zimbabwe, where Robert Mugabe has been in power for some 33 years, and where the ruling party always wins because it thinks it has a divine right to rule, and will cheat to remain in power. Institutions intended to be independent and impartial have never acted independently and impartially. Continue reading “BN is effectively a minority government”

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The new Malaysia

— Abdul Haleem Abdul Rahiman
The Malaysian Insider
May 10, 2013

MAY 10 — If you are not aware — there is a NEW MALAYSIA out there. The NEW MALAYSIA with a new generation. Before you think this is the young new generation let me tell you that you are wrong. No, the word “generation” is not an age group defined.

This NEW MALAYSIA also not restricted by geographical boundaries. A Malaysian, no matter where is he or she based at, be it Australia, the Middle East, North America, North Asia, Europe or Africa — they are and they also surely will be part of this NEW MALAYSIA.

This NEW MALAYSIA no longer intimidated by tear gas or risk of being arrested for participating in public gatherings.

This NEW MALAYSIA will speak up, will stand up and will walk for miles to be heard, to be recognised and to be RESPECTED. Continue reading “The new Malaysia”

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The Star and being Malaysian

― The Malaysian Insider
May 10, 2013

MAY 10 ― Nothing is more nauseating than hypocrisy.

After weeks and months of driving a wedge between races in Malaysia and contributing to the “Chinese tsunami” myth in its coverage, The Star has now decided it is time for reconciliation and unity.

So, today, it has a front page montage of many happy faces of Malaysians, topped off with a headline “We are Malaysia”.

Are we now expected to forget the attempts by The Star and its owner MCA to pit Muslims against non-Muslims through its hudud-bashing articles and advertisements? Didn’t they realise that the hudud bashing was offensive to Muslims and other God-fearing people? Didn’t the editors bother about national unity then?

Are we expected to suffer from amnesia and forget reports by The Star’s editors and columnists aimed at portraying the DAP as a chauvinist party and PAS, extremists?

Now that its slavish adherence to MCA’s strategy has resulted in a near-complete rejection by Malaysians, the party-owned newspaper has decided to play the unity card and talk up reconciliation. Continue reading “The Star and being Malaysian”

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‘Misconception created by Chinese press’

Alyaa Azhar| May 10, 2013
Free Malaysia Today

DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang says his statement with regard to a possible DAP-BN coalition was misconstrued by the Chinese press.

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang today said that newspaper headlines in Chinese press were to blame for a misconception that he wanted to form a coalition government with the Barisan Nasional.

“I was told that I have been the target of attacks in the social media for betraying the people. I have done nothing to justify that. The fault actually lies with the Chinese newspapers headlines, mixing two separate issues – first if DAP will join BN to replace MCA, and secondly the separate proposal of a BN-PR coalition government,” Lim told a press conference today.

Lim said that Sin Chew’s frontpaged headline gives readers, who only read the first headline, the impression that he supports the idea of DAP joining BN to replace MCA.

The main headline reads: ‘Lim Kit Siang: Can have coalition government with BN’ while the sub-heading reads: ‘Condition: Accept PR’s election manifesto’.

He said that Sin Chew and it sub-editors should be careful in ensuring that their primary headlines do not create misconceptions.

“They cannot assume that readers will read the full contents or even the sub-headings. You know how it is nowadays, most people only read the primary headline and not the full report,” he said.

He added that to avoid misunderstanding, both the main headline and sub-headings should not vary drastically. Continue reading “‘Misconception created by Chinese press’”

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Guan Eng: DAP has no interest in BN

Athi Shankar| May 10, 2013
Free Malaysia Today

Lim Guan Eng accuses Umno of trying to break up the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

GEORGE TOWN: DAP has no interest in joining Barisan Nasional for posts, said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in a statement here today.

This is because, he said DAP struggled for principles and people-centric policies not positions and personal interests.

He claimed that BN was using underhand tactics to split up Pakatan Rakyat by inviting DAP to join the coalition.

He stressed DAP’s urgent priority of polls reform that respected the “one-man, one-vote, one-value” principle would not be undermined by such underhand tactics.

He claimed that Pakatan’s failure to wrest the federal government from BN despite garnering more popular votes demands urgent polls reforms.

He said Pakatan was willing to co-operate with BN to implement polls reform to reflect the unhappiness of majority Malaysians, who voted for change and yet discover that despite winning the popular votes, they could not vote out BN. Continue reading “Guan Eng: DAP has no interest in BN”

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Malaysia’s Opposition not after an ‘Arab spring’ – DAP leader

ABC Radio Australia
10 May 2013, 21:47 AEST

Malaysia’s opposition is planning several political gatherings across the country this month, over last Sunday’s disputed national elections.

The protests could be the most provocative challenge to the Malaysian government in years.

Mr Lim Kit Siang, a veteran senior member of the DAP, a component of the three-party Pakatan Rakyat, told Asia Pacific that the Opposition is studying allegations of fraud in between twenty to thirty constituencies.

Mr Lim, who caused a political upset last Sunday by winning a seat in Johor state against the incumbent chief minister, says media reports of a ‘wave of protests’ are erroneous.

Presenter: Sen Lam

Speaker: Lim Kit Siang, member of parliament for Gelang Patah, and senior member of the opposition Democratic Action Party

LIM: Well, we’re having ceramahs (meetings) in order to explain to the people the electoral fraud, as well as the latest political situation in the country. I had one last night for instance, a DAP ceramah. Of course people are angry and frustrated that the election process has been so unfair, not having a level playing field, that has deprived the country of a government that they wanted – which is a replacement of the present government and prime minister.

LAM: Are you concerned that such ongoing protests might lead to national instability?

LIM: Well, we definitely do not want an ‘Arab spring’ in the sense of having national incidents and all that. We want to continue to have peaceful and orderly process, where there can be public meetings to explain to the people the latest political developments in the country, including the electoral fraud. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Opposition not after an ‘Arab spring’ – DAP leader”

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Rapprochement tough after BN’s ‘divisive’ campaign, says The Economist

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
May 10, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 ― National reconciliation appears a distant dream post-Election 2013 for a country scarred by the “nasty, divisive” electoral campaign led by Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) in the rural heartlands, The Economist has said.

The international current affairs magazine observed that Umno, to shore up its base of rural Malay voters, had alienated the Chinese and other communities already fed up with the alleged cronyism and corruption associated with affirmative action policies that favour the country’s largest ethnic group.

“Mr Najib has said he wants to be prime minister for all Malaysians. Sadly, however, he presided over an ugly campaign by his… Umno, the main component of Barisan,” the magazine wrote, referring to Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was sworn in for his second term as prime minister after BN emerged victors again for its 13th general election running.

“In the rural Malay heartlands, Umno was as negative, racially divisive and pro-Malay as ever,” it added.

Adding salt to wound, The Economist said blaming BN’s losses on a “Chinese tsunami” had been unwise of Najib as the vote trend had clearly shown a massive swing in votes from the young and rising urban middle class, which cut across racial lines.

“Casting the election in such racial terms is neither wise nor accurate,” the magazine wrote in one article titled “A dangerous result”. Continue reading “Rapprochement tough after BN’s ‘divisive’ campaign, says The Economist”