Month: May 2013

DAP mempertahankan kedudukan istimewa Melayu; jangan terpedaya dengan fitnah UMNO-BN. Saya merayu kepada semua pengundi Malaysia, terutamanya orang Melayu, supaya menolak fitnah dan pembohongan tentang diri saya dan DAP.

Sebagaimana yang saya jelaskan sebelum ini, saya tidak terlibat dengan peristiwa 13 Mei 1969. Saya tidak pernah berada di Kuala Lumpur pada 13 Mei 1969 kerana saya berada di Kota Kinabalu, Sabah pada masa itu. Hakikat tentang perkara ini ada dalam rekod pihak berkuasa polis dan Kementerian Dalam Negeri.

Dengan itu, sebarang pembohongan tentang saya berada di Kuala Lumpur untuk mencetuskan rusuhan atau menjadi dalang peristiwa 13 Mei adalah fitnah semata-mata. Jangan percaya perkara karut ini, terimalah kebenaran yang hakiki.

Satu lagi fitnah yang terus dilemparkan kepada DAP ialah kononnya DAP mahu menghapuskan hak orang Melayu. Ini juga tidak masuk akal, tidak bertanggungjawab dan sangat rasis. Ia amat berbahaya untuk perpaduan kaum di Malaysia. Continue reading “DAP mempertahankan kedudukan istimewa Melayu; jangan terpedaya dengan fitnah UMNO-BN”

by HARI RAJ
Former journalist for The Star in Malaysia
Crikey

Every four or five years since they won independence from British rule in 1957, Malaysians have shuffled off to the polls. Every four or five years, they have woken up the next morning with the status quo intact. The country’s ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional, has been in power for every one of the past 56 years.

Malaysia goes to the polls again on Sunday. But many of the country’s citizens are buoyed by an unfamiliar sentiment: hope for change. Continue reading “After 56 years, will Malaysia finally get a new government?”

by Jayant Menon, ADB and ANU, and Thiam Hee Ng, ADB
East Asia Forum
April 25th, 2013

Private investment in Malaysia never fully recovered from the impact of the Asian financial crisis.

Foreigners have continued to shun Malaysia, but it now seems that even domestic investors are fleeing, with Malaysia becoming a net exporter of capital since 2005. One explanation for the sluggish performance of domestic private investment relates to the crowding-out effect of the growing dominance of government-linked corporations (GLCs) in many sectors. The influence of GLCs, however measured, is both widespread and pervasive.

The GLC share of operating revenue is approximately one-third in the aggregate, and they control more than half the industry share in utilities, transportation, warehousing, agriculture, banking, information communications and retail trade. GLCs employ around 5 per cent of the national workforce and account for approximately 36 per cent and 54 per cent, respectively, of the market capitalisation of Bursa Malaysia and the benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index. Continue reading “Malaysian government-linked corporations crowd out private investment”

by Kee Thuan Chye
Yahoo! Malaysia

The purest and most heartwarming feature of this upcoming general election, predicted to be the dirtiest ever in Malaysian history, is the solidarity of the Malaysians who are calling for ubah (change) and proclaiming, “Ini kalilah!” (This is the time to do it!)

In the course of a year, it has swelled into a movement. Partly from the Bersih rallies that brought people closer together because they went through adverse circumstances together. Partly from the rallies organised by the Opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, that gave hope of a viable alternative to Malaysians disenchanted by 55 years of Barisan Nasional (BN) rule. Continue reading “Hail the Comrades for Change!”

by Susan Loone
Malaysiakini
8:31AM May 4, 2013

PENANG Pakatan Rakyat held several gatherings in Penang yesterday, including a mammoth rally at the Esplanade which was swarmed by about 100,000 people who stayed until midnight.

This is the coalition’s biggest rally on the island where it managed to collect a record RM505,000 in donations from its supporters.

The carnival-like event, which included a stage and canopy, dozens of hawker stalls and DAP’s own merchandise sales corner, kicked off at 5pm while about 500 people watched a mini-concert by local bands such as Zombie Station, TUC, and Sweet Scream.

The open field facing the iconic British-styled Town Hall building was packed by 8pm, including youths and senior citizens, and the crowd spilled over onto the surrounding roads.

Several small separate rallies were held in front of the Town Hall and nearby Clock Tower with groups of supporters waving opposition party flags while blowing the vuvuzuela, wildly deafening to the ears. Continue reading “100,000 rally in Penang in wake of vote-buying claims”

The Economist
May 4th 2013 | PENANG |From the print edition

“NO TO racism, no to corruption,” bellows Anwar Ibrahim from a stage in front of 50,000 delirious supporters, braving heavy rain to acclaim their idol in Penang. It is the last week of campaigning before Malaysia’s general election on May 5th and the leader of the opposition has been criss-crossing the country to shore up his support and make inroads into government territory. The task before Mr Anwar (pictured) is one of the most daunting in the annals of modern democracy: to unseat the world’s longest continually elected governing coalition, the Barisan Nasional (BN). It has ruled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957.

He will never have a better chance than now. In the latest poll, in 2008, Mr Anwar’s Pakatan Rakyat coalition won five out of 12 state contests and for the first time robbed BN of its two-thirds majority in parliament. This time it could be closer. Mr Anwar’s rallying-cry of “ubah”, meaning “change”, has captured a widespread feeling among younger, mostly urban and increasingly affluent voters that their country requires fundamental restructuring to break out of the “middle-income trap”, to move away from the race-based politics of BN, and to become a modern democracy. No fewer than 2.6m new voters have registered (out of a total of 13.3m). Their tweets and texts will have a vital say in the outcome of the election.
Continue reading “Elections in Malaysia: “Ubah” you can believe in?”

— Farish A Noor
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2013

MAY 4 — It is close to midnight and I am typing this as I try to pack up my things and finish off the fieldwork that I have been doing for the past two weeks, covering the election campaign in three different places — Temerloh, Kuala Selangor and Kota Kinabalu.

Lugging an antiquated laptop that dates back to the Jurassic age made of granite has not helped, and my back is wrecked as a result. My eyes are failing me, so excuse the typos as you come across them, too.

I have been following elections in Malaysia for ages, in 1999, 2004, 2008 and now this one, in 2013. In the course of my work as a wandering academic I’ve also covered elections in Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

And I have since grown somewhat cynical about the promises that are made during campaigns, for I have seen them broken too many times as well. Continue reading “Malaysia”

By Jahabar Sadiq
Editor
The Malaysian Insider
May 04, 2013

COMMENT, May 4 — No matter which coalition makes the government in the early morning of May 6, one thing is certain — Malaysia has changed and it is business unusual for the new administration.

With the respected Merdeka Center for Opinion Research’s latest survey showing a dead heat between both Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Rakyat (PR), the winner’s first job is to respond to a populace that questions and demands more from its government.

Forget the docile and subservient citizenry that thought government always knew best. That worked for some 55 years but this is a new Malaysia where the people are more advanced and ambitious in thought than their politicians.

A population where pensioners and the bloated civil service are no longer a sure vote bank, where racial barriers have collapsed and people are one as Bangsa Malaysia — concerned more about the economy than the personal lives of politicians.

This single-mindedness and unity comes despite the overt racist tones in the campaign since Nomination Day on April 20 or the fear-mongering being played out by certain political parties. Continue reading “A changed Malaysia come May 6”

Malaysiakini

DAY 14 What’s happening during the election campaigns around the country today? Quotable quotes, planned events and unplanned incidents as they take place.

11.15pm – Pasir Gudang: Soh Cher Wei, the wife of political aide Teoh Beng Hock who died mysteriously at the premises of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), asks the help of the audience of some 3,000 to “lend” her their votes to seek the truth behind Teoh’s death.

Speaking at a Pakatan function for the second time after yesterday’s ceramah at Kulai, the civil servant is unfazed that action could be taken against her for speaking at Pakatan ceramah.

“I would come (and speak at Pakatan ceramah) for the third, fourth or fifth time (if I’m asked to). I don’t think they would pardon me but at least I die (penalised) for a cause.”

Soh reminds the audience that the truth is still being denied four years after Teoh died. Continue reading “13GE – Justice for Teoh Beng Hock”

Hari Kebebasan Akhbar Sedunia pada pada hari ini 3 Mei 2013 dicemari di Malaysia dengan semua media arus perdana berkempen untuk Barisan Nasional serta menyebar fitnah dan pembohongan terhadap Pakatan Rakyat.

Semua media arus perdana, sama ada Utusan Malaysia, The Star, TV3, RTM dan sebagainya, telah melanggar dan mencabul segala undang-undang, peraturan dan kod etika kewartawanan yang wujud. Dan tidak ada satu tindakan pun dikenakan oleh pihak berkuasa.

Media massa sepatutnya bersifat dan bersikap adil dan objektif. Ia tidak boleh berpihak dan ia hanya menyiarkan laporan yang benar dan berfakta tanpa rasa takut. Undang-undang tidak boleh dikenakan terhadap laporan yang tepat dan benar. Tetapi di Malaysia, semua ini telah dicabul oleh kerajaan UMNO-BN.

Saya sendiri telah menjadi mangsa fitnah dan pembohongan oleh media massa, terutamanya media berbahasa Melayu, yang menuduh saya sebagai anti- Melayu, anti-Islam dan sebagai pencetus rusuhan kaum 13 Mei 1969. Semua ini telah terbukti bohong.

Saya telah dituduh menjadi dalang 13 Mei, saya telah dituduh kencing di tiang bendera di rumah Menteri Besar Selangor dan saya dituduh menghasut rakyat pelbagai kaum untuk bergaduh. Semua ini juga telah terbukti fitnah. Continue reading “2-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: Hari Kebebasan Akhbar Sedunia pada hari ini 3 Mei 2013 dicemari di Malaysia dengan semua media arus perdana berkempen untuk Barisan Nasional serta menyebar fitnah dan pembohongan terhadap Pakatan Rakyat”

Oleh Rahmat Haron | 12:56PM Apr 18 2013
Malaysiakini

Laporan maharaja lawak ‘April Fool’ yang lalu memberitakan khabar mantan perdana menteri Dr Mahathir Mohamad menyeru rakyat Johor menjadikan pertandingan PRU13 kerusi Parlimen Gelang Patah sebagai kubur kerjaya politik tokoh veteran DAP Lim Kit Siang.

Malah ke tahap melampau, Dr Mahathir membakar api perkauman dengan menyatakan kemenangan Lim Kit Siang akan mengakibatkan perseteruan antara kaum.

Menteri besar kerajaan sementara Johor Abdul Ghani Othman pula menambah rencah menjadi wira Melayu kununnya dengan berkata kemenangan Lim Kit Siang bakal menggugah keharmonian kaum di Johor.

Gelang Patah menjadi ‘kubur’ Lim Kit Siang merupakan suatu saranan yang teramat munasabah untuk politik tahun 1983. Di zaman kebenaran paling muktamad hanya didapatkan daripada tiga saluran tivi warna, dengan imej wajah ‘dewanya’ tidak lain dan tidak bukan ialah Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Tetapi pada tahun 2013 ini, di zaman pencerahan Internet, ia menampakkan sikap yang menggelabah. Kerana maklumat dan pengetahuan telah pun mematahkan gari ideologi, gelang perkauman yang merantai kita selama ini. Orang sudah tahu.
Continue reading “Gelang perkauman patah di Gelang Patah”

The Economist
Apr 28th 2013, 6:53 by Banyan | SINGAPORE

THE story of Lim Guan Eng, chief minister of the Malaysian state of Penang, tells much about how Malaysian politics has been transformed in recent years. Mr Lim heads the Democratic Action Party or DAP, a member of the three-party opposition coalition hoping to wrest power from the ruling Barisan Nasional in a general election on May 5th.

This is the first time since independence from Britain in 1957 that the opposition has a genuine—if still outside—chance of winning a federal-government election. That follows its startling advance in the previous general election in 2008, when, as this year, 12 of Malaysia’s 13 states held simultaneous elections. One of the opposition’s triumphs was to win the thriving state of Penang, an island off the west coast famous for its electronics and tourism industries. Continue reading “The Penang effect”

Jadikan 5 Mei sebagai hari menamatkan fitnah 13 Mei dan pembohongan perkauman UMNO-BN. Hanya dengan memilih Pakatan Rakyat – PAS, PKR dan DAP – rakyat Malaysia dapat membuka lembaran baru untuk mendedahkan apa yang benar dan apa yang fitnah.

Golongan yang memfitnah saya dengan tuduhan menjadi dalang peristiwa 13 Mei 1969 masih terus berbuat demikian tanpa sebarang tindakan tegas daripada pihak yang berkuasa, termasuk daripada Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan calon saingan saya bagi Parlimen Gelang Patah, Dato Abdul Ghani Othman.

Golongan yang memfitnah saya telah memutarbelitkan fakta untuk mengelirukan pengundi, terutamanya orang Melayu, dengan mengapi-apikan sentimen perkauman. Mereka menyangka rakyat Malaysia masih hidup dalam tahun-tahun 1960-an yang mudah terpengaruh dengan emosi kaum.

Oleh itu, saya dengan rendah diri, memohon agar semua pengundi Malaysia menjatuhkan hukuman berat kepada golongan penyebar fitnah ini bersama dengan para pemimpin yang merestui perbuatan keji mereka dalam PRU ini. Caranya mudah sahaja, semua pengundi perlu membuat pilihan bijak dengan mengundi mana-mana calon Pakatan Rakyat di seluruh negara pada hari mengundi 5 Mei ini.

Seperti mana yang saya jelaskan semalam, dengan mandat baru oleh pengundi Malaysia, saya akan mencadangkan kepada Parlimen dan Kerajaan Persekutuan di bawah pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat supaya menubuhkan satu Suruhanjaya Bebas Parlimen untuk menyiasat apa, mengapa dan siapa punca sebenar berlakunya tragedi 13 Mei 1969. Continue reading “3Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: Jadikan 5 Mei sebagai hari menamatkan fitnah 13 Mei dan pembohongan perkauman UMNO-BN”

Malaysiakini
May 1, 2013

A Gerakan veteran emerged today to back PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, who accused Umno of masterminding the May 13 racial riots in 1969.

Hadi told a political rally in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, on Monday that the bloody racial riots 44 years ago were orchestrated by Umno to cling on to power.

“May 13 was not an ethnic phenomenon. It was a political occurrence,” former Gerakan leader Goh Cheng Teik told Malaysiakini.

“Only those who were members of Umno or associated with it were involved. PAS members had nothing to do with May 13.” Continue reading “Gerakan stalwart backs Hadi’s May 13 stand”

Saya akan mencadangkan kepada Parlimen dan Kerajaan Persekutuan yang baru di bawah pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat supaya menubuhkan satu Suruhanjaya Bebas Parlimen untuk menyiasat apa, mengapa dan siapa punca sebenar berlakunya tragedi 13 Mei 1969.

Ini adalah penting kerana sampai sekarang tiada siapa yang tahu mengapa, apa dan siapa yang menjadi punca peristiwa 13 Mei itu. Lagi pun, kerajaan UMNO-BN selama ini tidak mempedulikan cadangan itu. Malah, pimpinan UMNO-BN membenarkan penyokong mereka menabur fitnah menuduh saya menjadi dalang peristiwa itu.

Walaupun tuduhan itu palsu dan bohong serta berniat menghasut dan membangkitkan api perkauman, pimpinan UMNO-BN, termasuk Perdana Menteri Sementara, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, masih tidak serius untuk mengambil tindakan terhadap penyebar fitnah yang membahayakan hubungan antara kaum itu.

Cadangan saya untuk Parlimen menubuhkan Suruhanjaya Bebas Parlimen bukanlah satu cadangan yang baru. Malah kali pertama saya menyuarakan cadangan ini adalah 42 tahun yang lalu! Continue reading “4-day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – Cadangan menubuhkan Suruhanjaya Bebas Parlimen untuk menyiasat apa, mengapa dan siapa punca sebenar tragedi 13 Mei 1969”

by Ravinder Singh
The Malaysian Insider

MAY 1 — Actions speak louder than words. BN’s words splattered all over the landscape proclaim 1Malaysia, which people have been made to believe is about all races and religions living as one big family while practicing their own religions and cultures. However, its recent actions show the hidden agenda behind the facade. The ugly head of racism has been put up for all to see.

The appearance of BN billboards with the extremely racist message “Do you want to see your grandchildren praying in this Allah’s house?” is something all peace-loving Malaysians of all racial and religious backgrounds must condemn. I’m sure many Malays too do not condone this racial bigotry of stirring up racial feelings for the sake of winning elections. Continue reading “Racism must be rejected by the people”

by KJ John
Malaysiakini
11:13AM Apr 30, 2013

We are coming into our 13th general election. I have voted every time since I was 21, unless I was not in the country. This time we have a large number of younger Malaysians who are voting. Except for my youngest, all my other five children (including one spouse; the other is an American) are eligible to vote.

Therefore, I want to write an open letter to all younger Malaysians on what criterion I will use to vote in this general election. My last nine columns were also focused on this general election and the processes of electioneering. Please review them, and if needed, drop me a note to my private email address and I will be glad to give a response! Continue reading “My vote is for ABC4M’sians”