Adieu, Pakatan Rakyat

Syerleena Abdul Rashid
The Malaysian Insider
19 June 2015

After seven years, leaders from both PKR and DAP decided it was time to bury Pakatan Rakyat. Although, this decision came as a shock to most Malaysians, to some of us, it was just a matter of time.

DAP’s Lim Kit Siang released a statement stating, “A fortnight ago, I gave my most pessimistic forecast that in two weeks’ time, there may not be a Pakatan Rakyat left. It would appear that my worst-case forecast for Pakatan Rakyat has come to pass and all that is left are the funeral rites.

And on June 17, 2015, the coalition of seven years officially ceased to “exist” in its present form when PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail confirmed the coalition’s fate and marked the end of the seven-year-old pact.

In these seven years, Malaysians started to see things differently. Continue reading “Adieu, Pakatan Rakyat”

Hopes for achievement of PR Common Policy Objectives without PR in 14GE is not impossible as UMNO/BN in self-confessed terminal stages from being in “wad biasa”, “wad kecemasan”, “ICU’ and “tanah kubur”

Today is special for two reasons.

Firstly, it is Duanwu Festival, which the Chinese celebrate with zongzi or dumpling. It commemorates the death of the poet and minister Qu Yuan 2,355 years ago in ancient state of Chu during the Warring States period of the Zhou Dynasty, for his sacrifices in his principled stand against corruption and abuses of power.

Malaysia is today mired in the biggest financial scandal in the nation’s history, the RM42 billion 1MDB scandal, with new exposes almost everyday highlighting the lack of good governance, accountability and transparency in an administration which had at first boasted about National Transformation Programme and commitment to combat corruption and abuses of power in high political places.

The latest chapter in the 1MDB scandal is the Wall Street Journal expose yesterday alleging that the 1MDB funds running into billions of ringgit were used to bank-roll Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib’s 13th General Election campaign.

Najib’s extraordinary and ominous silence, coupled with the failure by the Prime Minister either to announce his readiness to appear before the Public Accounts Committee to undergo full investigation on the Wall Street Journal allegations or institution of legal suit against Wall Street Journal for defamation signify that Najib does not lead a Nothing2Hide administration as he seems to have a lot of things to hide.

If Qu Yuan had been alive today, he would be in the forefront against such government abuses regardless of the cost to his life and future. Continue reading “Hopes for achievement of PR Common Policy Objectives without PR in 14GE is not impossible as UMNO/BN in self-confessed terminal stages from being in “wad biasa”, “wad kecemasan”, “ICU’ and “tanah kubur””

Let us move on and keep faith with the hopes of Malaysians for change in the 13GE to ensure that although there is no more Pakatan Rakyat, the PR Common Policy Framework of national unity, justice and prosperity of Malaysians must remain achievable goals in 14GE

Yesterday, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang claimed that Pakatan Rakyat is not dead yet and that the coalition still exists.

This is in contrast to the statement to The Malaysian Insider by the Dewan Ulama Chief and Johor PAS Commissioner Datuk Dr. Mahfodz Mohamed who said yesterday that he does not regret the PAS Muktamar motion to cut ties with DAP, even though it led to the dissolution of Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Mahfodz Mohamed said they were aware of the repercussions when passing the emergency motion during the ulama wing’s congress on June 3, which was subsequently adopted by the 61st PAS Muktamar without debate.

He said:

“To me, there is no turning back, there is no U-turn, because all this while we had been patient in the face of everything PKR and DAP did to PAS. We never responded rudely.

“But when we did that during the congress, we knew there would be no U-turn. We had thought it through, and we knew the consequences of our actions.”

Continue reading “Let us move on and keep faith with the hopes of Malaysians for change in the 13GE to ensure that although there is no more Pakatan Rakyat, the PR Common Policy Framework of national unity, justice and prosperity of Malaysians must remain achievable goals in 14GE”

Najib cannot keep silent about the serious allegations by Wall Street Journal that 1MDB funds running into billions of ringgit were used to bankroll his 13th General Election campaign

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak cannot keep silent about the serious allegations by Wall Street Journal yesterday that the 1MDB funds running into billions of ringgit were used to bank-roll his 13th General Election campaign.

A Wall Street Journal report yesterday said this was achieved by having 1MDB make overpriced purchase of power assets from Genting Group in 2012.

Genting then made a donation to a foundation controlled by Najib before the 13th general election and it claimed the funds were used for campaigning.

The WSJ report said:

“The 1MDB fund in October 2012 acquired a Genting unit that owned a 75 percent stake in a 720-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Kuala Lumpur.

“The price, which was equivalent to about US$740 million at the time, came to RM2.3 billion.

“A few months after the sale, a unit of Genting called Genting Plantations Bhd made a donation of about US$10 million to a Najib-linked charity, according to a spokesperson for Genting Plantations.”

Continue reading “Najib cannot keep silent about the serious allegations by Wall Street Journal that 1MDB funds running into billions of ringgit were used to bankroll his 13th General Election campaign”

A crushed Mat Sabu warns PAS of slide into authoritarianism

by Looi Sue-Chern
The Malaysian Insider
20 June 2015

In the final part of our interview with Mohamad Sabu, one of PAS’s most popular leaders, he tells The Malaysian Insider that he is worried with the thinking among leaders in the Islamist party, warning it can be dangerous for the country.

PAS has begun to follow a “dangerous” trend where the focus is on punishing those who disagree with Islamic leadership, one of the party’s ousted “progressives”, Mohamad Sabu said.

The former deputy president, popularly known as Mat Sabu, who lost in recent party elections said this tendency in the practice of Islam today had started in the Middle East, and PAS has jumped on the bandwagon of “takfiri” (Muslims accusing other Muslims of apostasy) when faced with those who disagreed with them.

“You disagree with us, then you are not with us. You are an infidel, a liberal, a ‘munafiq’ (a hypocrite who outwardly practises Islam while inwardly concealing his disbelief).

“This is happening in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Somalia, Algeria and Pakistan. It is very dangerous and students, who studied in the Middle East, have brought it home with them,” he said in an interview with The Malaysian Insider.

Mat Sabu also drew out larger implications for Malaysia if this way of thinking continued. Continue reading “A crushed Mat Sabu warns PAS of slide into authoritarianism”

Call for immediate dissolution of Biro Tatanegara (BTN) as the country has wasted over RM1.1 billion on the BTN in the past 30 years as it continued to incite racism, disunity, bigotry and intolerance instead of fostering patriotism, unity, inter-racial and inter-religious understanding and goodwill

Recently, the latest evidence was uncovered that the Biro Tatanegara (BTN) under the Prime Minister’s Department had continued its negative, divisive and anti-national activity of inciting racism, disunity, bigotry and intolerance instead of fostering patriotism, unity, inter-racial and inter-religious understanding and goodwill.

Even for former top Malay civil servants in G25 have condemned BTN of being “ultra Malay-racist”.

Former diplomat and spokesperson of G25 Datuk Farida Ariffin also joined the growing chorus demanding that the Najib government should dissolve the “anti-national” BTN forthwith.

Five years ago, the Najib administration had promised a revamp and Malaysianisation of BTN after a nation-wide furore when a senior BTN official had used the terms “si mata sepet” and “si botol” at a closed-door Puteri Umno gathering to describe the Chinese and Indians respectively, but clearly nothing had changed and BTN remains the bulwark of brainwashing and hotbed of racism, opposing the concept of Malaysianisation as a whole and Najib’s 1Malaysia policy in particular in the Malaysian civil service.
Continue reading “Call for immediate dissolution of Biro Tatanegara (BTN) as the country has wasted over RM1.1 billion on the BTN in the past 30 years as it continued to incite racism, disunity, bigotry and intolerance instead of fostering patriotism, unity, inter-racial and inter-religious understanding and goodwill”

Malays won’t fare better or worse if BN falls, says veteran newsman

The Malaysian Insider
19 June 2015

The Malays “won’t be better off” if opposition parties take over Malaysia in the next general election, said veteran journalist Datuk A Kadir Jasin, but neither will they be “worse off”.

But those who knew how to take advantage of opportunities would benefit from a new non-Barisan Nasional government, said Kadir, the former group editor-in-chief of the New Straits Times.

“The opposition pact cannot sideline Malays and Muslims if in the long term they want to govern fairly and preserve national peace,” Kadir wrote in his latest blog posting.

Kadir said that he had written this assessment as a response to the numerous questions he received over what will become of the Malays if the Barisan government was to fall in the next general election. Continue reading “Malays won’t fare better or worse if BN falls, says veteran newsman”

Najib should live up to his “Nothing2Hide” claim by accepting Mahathir’s challenge to a live-telecast “Ask and Answer All” public duel

It has really come full circle – the longest-serving Prime Minister of Malaysia who in his 22-year premiership had repeatedly denounced Opposition leaders, even former leaders of the Umno/BN coalition government, most notably his one-time Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister-designate, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, of disloyalty in using international forums to undermine their own country, being now the target of the very same accusation by the present administration!

In an open letter to the New York Times, the Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman made these same accusations against the “super patriot” Tun Mahathir for attacking the country’s administration and political party, expressing regret at Mahathir’s action “to undermine his own country through the international media as part of a personal political vendetta”.

Anifah wrote: “It is irresponsible of any citizen, let alone a former prime minister, to spread lies and distort facts about state owned companies.”

Anifah criticised Dr Mahathir’s attack over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Umno and accusations against current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Continue reading “Najib should live up to his “Nothing2Hide” claim by accepting Mahathir’s challenge to a live-telecast “Ask and Answer All” public duel”

PAS will never get back non-Muslim support, says Mat Sabu

by Looi Sue-Chern
The Malaysian Insider
19 June 2015

Mohamad Sabu is one of PAS’s most popular leaders, outside his party and among non-Muslims, that is. Internally, the party booted him out at the recent elections where he failed to defend the deputy president’s post. In the first of a two-part interview, Mat Sabu, as he is popularly known, mourns the passing of an Islamist party that enjoyed the support of non-Muslims for a period and fears it may never regain that trust.

Even if he is voted back into the PAS leadership, the Islamist party will never regain its non-Muslim support, said former deputy president Mohamad Sabu.

Better known as Mat Sabu and popular with the non-Muslim crowd, he also told of how hard he had to work to persuade PAS grassroots members to go out and rally with non-Muslims in earlier demonstrations led by electoral reform group Bersih.

Mat Sabu painted a bleak future for the only opposition party with a religious ideology that had contributed to the death of Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

He said there was now no remedy which could fix the situation for PAS to get back its non-Muslim support.

“Non-Muslims are disappointed and broken-hearted by the whole situation.

“Furthermore, PAS is now led by personalities from the east coast who rarely come into contact with Malaysians of other races and faiths,” he told The Malaysian Insider. Continue reading “PAS will never get back non-Muslim support, says Mat Sabu”

Malaysian Ex-Prime Minister Unleashes Criticism

Interview by THOMAS FULLER
New York Times
JUNE 17, 2015

Mahathir Mohamad, who served as prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003, turns 90 next month. He is forcing his way back into the center of Malaysian politics with a fire hose of criticism for the man he helped install in office, Najib Razak, the current prime minister.

In an interview, Mr. Mahathir lashed out at Mr. Najib for what he described as wastefulness and lavish spending. But he also broached a host of other topics, questioning the tenets of modern democracy and calling for a boycott of Myanmar over its persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority there.

Here are excerpts from the interview.

On the splintering of Malaysian politics:

The reason why Malaysia has managed to remain stable and to grow economically was because there was one big coalition of parties. But now you can see there’s a breakup. What will happen in the next election is that no one will be able to gain a majority. This, of course, leads to instability.

On the current prime minister:

I had always supported Najib. I was in a way instrumental in his becoming prime minister. [But] the apparent disappearance of huge sums of money. This is not good. He has never been able to explain how the money was spent. He wants to leave his own legacy. But what he does is verging on criminal. He’s going to lose in the next election. Continue reading “Malaysian Ex-Prime Minister Unleashes Criticism”

Power Struggle in Malaysia Pits Former Premier Against a Protégé

By THOMAS FULLER and LOUISE STORY
New York Times
JUNE 17, 2015
Photo

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia — Malaysia’s governing party is at war with itself, embroiled in a power struggle that is destabilizing the country and threatening the party’s nearly six-decade stretch of uninterrupted governance.

The battle has revealed itself publicly in a nasty spat between two political titans. Mahathir Mohamad, a former prime minister who turns 90 next month, is the chief architect of a political insurgency aiming to oust the man he helped put into office six years ago, Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Having lost none of the combativeness honed during more than two decades in power, Mr. Mahathir is pressing allegations of malfeasance in a sovereign wealth fund, criticizing the “lavish” lifestyle of the prime minister’s wife, and has resurrected troubling questions about the murder of a Mongolian woman, the mistress of a former top aide to Mr. Najib.

“I’ve had quite a long time in government, and I’ve learned a few things,” Mr. Mahathir said in an interview at his office on Wednesday in Putrajaya, the administrative capital he built from scratch when he was prime minister.

Mr. Najib “wants to leave his own legacy,” he said. “But what he does is verging on criminal.” Continue reading “Power Struggle in Malaysia Pits Former Premier Against a Protégé”

No cause for dejection or despondency over the death of PR – there must instead be greater resolve and commitment to pursue the inclusive Malaysian Dream of unity, justice, dignity and prosperity for all Malaysians through a new political realignment

(Scroll down for English text)

Tidak perlu bersedih dan putus di atas kematian Pakatan Rakyat – sepatutnya harus ada ketetapan yang lebih kuat serta komitmen untuk terus memburu Impian Malaysia yang inklusif ke arah perpaduan, keadilan, maruah dan kemakmuran buat semua rakyat Malaysia melalui susunan politik yang baru

Nampaknya ramai yang kecewa dengan kematian Pakatan Rakyat, namun ini bukan alasan untuk merasa sedih dan kecewa di saat sepatutnya wujud ketetapan yang lebih kuat serta komitmen untuk terus memburu Impian Malaysia yang inklusif ke arah perpaduan, keadilan, maruah dan kemakmuran buat semua rakyat Malaysia menjelang pilihanraya umum ke-14.

Meskipun perjuangan politik tujuh tahun Pakatan Rakyat telah berakhir ekoran pelanggaran-pelanggaran serius terhadap Dasar Bersama Pakatan Rakyat oleh PAS, kita percaya bahawa impian dan visi ke arah Malaysia baru yang memiliki perpaduan nasional, persefahaman antara kaum dan agama, serta rasa hormat, keadilan, akauntabiliti, urus tadbir yang baik, menamatkan rasuah dan salahguna kuasa, memelihara maruah, mempunyai sistem pendidikan, kesihatan, perumahan, pengangkutan yang baik serta persekitaran yang selamat untuk semua rakyat Malaysia harus menjadi objektif utama bagi PRU ke-14.

Atas tujuan ini, DAP akan bekerjasama dengan parti-parti politik dan kuasa-kuasa politik yang sependapat, demi membawa muafakat politik baru yang komited terhadap prinsip-prinsip tersebut dan wawasan Impian Malaysia.

Kami di DAP tidak akan bekerjasama dengan pimpinan PAS yang telah mencabul Dasar Bersama Pakatan Rakyat, tetapi bersedia bekerjasama dengan kuasa-kuasa politik dan rakyat Malaysia yang komited terhadap Dasar Bersama tersebut, termasuklah ahli-ahli PAS di pelbagai peringkat yang tidak menolak dan mengabaikan Dasar Bersama tersebut. Continue reading “No cause for dejection or despondency over the death of PR – there must instead be greater resolve and commitment to pursue the inclusive Malaysian Dream of unity, justice, dignity and prosperity for all Malaysians through a new political realignment”

Pakatan ends, and the lessons for a new pact

COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
18 June 2015

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is finally and formally dead, and it is surprising that it lasted as long as it did. Its predecessor, Barisan Alternatif (BA), lasted a scant two years and was scuttled for the very same reasons – Islamist policies.

To be fair, PR was born out of a simple idea of avoiding three-cornered contests and having straight fights with the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), rather than forming governments prior to the 2008 general election.

To DAP, PAS and PKR’s surprise – the three-party pact with PSM in tow won the state governments in Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor apart from PAS keeping Kelantan.

And a formidable 82 seats in Parliament, denying BN its customary two-thirds parliamentary super-majority.

It took some time but the three parties formed governments in the three states although Perak fell within a year due to defections.

But the same leadership that agreed to PR and its common policy framework no longer exists in PAS. It has been replaced by a set of conservative clerics or ulama who believe that Islamist policies must take priority. Continue reading “Pakatan ends, and the lessons for a new pact”

Mat Sabu: Seperti ada ‘pembersihan etnik’ PAS

Susan Loone
Malaysiakini
17 Jun 2015

Bekas timbalan presiden PAS Mohamad Sabu berkata masa depan politiknya masih belum jelas selepas berasa “dihalau” dalam muktamar ke-61 di Kuala Selangor minggu lalu.

Katanya, keadaan di muktamar itu seperti “pembersihan etnik’ pemimpin profesional dan pro-Pakatan Rakyat yang bertanding dalam pemilihan jawatan pusat PAS.

Mohamad dan kumpulannya kalah teruk dalam pemilihan setiap dua tahun itu kepada kumpulan proulama yang mendukung kepimpinan Presiden Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

Mohamad, atau lebih dikenali sebagai Mat Sabu, berkata akan membuat keputusan berhubung masa depannya dalam PAS selepas hari raya Aidilfitri pada pertengahan Julai nanti.

Beliau akan mendapatkan pandangan penyokong dan akar umbi PAS terlebih dahulu sepanjang Ramadan ini, yang bermula esok, sebelum membuat sebarang keputusan.

Mohamad juga berkata perbincangan akan mengambil kira bagaimana kumpulan profesional dapat menyumbang sesuatu untuk perubahan, dan ia termasuk kemungkinan membentuk parti baru. Continue reading “Mat Sabu: Seperti ada ‘pembersihan etnik’ PAS”

Sekarang puaslah hati PAS

Rahmat Haron
Malaysiakini
17 Jun 2015

Perkara 1, Pengistiharan Hak Asasi Manusia Sejagat menyebut, “semua manusia lahir bebas dan saksama dalam maruah dan hak-haknya.” Maruah merujuk rasa kemuliaan diri dan kehormatan peribadi. Ia merujuk kepada perihal nama baik dan harga diri.

Penggunaan frasa harga diri membayangkan suatu jenis urusniaga perasaan – mahal, murah atau sampah (seperti saya!). Ia mengukur makna kehinaan – penghina, orang yang dihina dan penghinaan.

Ia permainan kejam si kuat ke atas si lemah – yang tuan dan yang hamba, yang kalah dan yang menang, yang mulia dan yang hina, yang ularmak dan yang profesorsional, yang mencakar dan yang terluka, parah serta dalam kedukaannya.

Dalam politik, maruah (nama baik dan kehormatan diri) amat penting untuk dijaga. Misalnya, ahli parlimen Jeli, Mustapha Mohamad merasa terhina dengan niat suci DAP mahu membina masjid buat para mangsa banjir.

Ataupun golongan pro ulama Pas merasa terhina dengan ucapan Lim Kit Siang yang mengangkat hak-hak kemanusiaan, menolak pelaksanaan perundangaan deraan fizikal dan hukuman mati yang kejam.

Makanya, hasrat Muktamar PAS yang meluluskan usul tanpa bahas anjuran sayap teras Dewan Ulamanya untuk memutuskan hubungan dengan DAP telahpun menjadi kenyataan.

Sekarang, puaslah hati kalian. Pakatan Rakyat (PR) akhirnya gagal membawa harapan perubahan, menghapus rasuah, menegak hak asasi dan pendemokrasian di Malaysia.

Setiausaha Agung DAP Lim Guan Eng telahpun mengumumkan Pakatan Rakyat Sudah tidak wujud lagi.

Makanya kini jalan keindahan yang dihasratkan golongan konservatif Melayu Islam, untuk melihat perundangan hudud terlaksana semakin terbuka luas. Continue reading “Sekarang puaslah hati PAS”

Antara PAS dan DAP, siapa perempuan?

Khalid Samad
Malaysiakini
17 Jun 2015

Muktamar PAS ke-61 telah berakhir pada hari Sabtu 6 Jun 2015. Saff pimpinan baru yang dipilih menjanjikan satu perubahan dan perbezaan berbanding yang sebelumnya.

Ada yang menamakan perubahan saff kepimpinan sebagai kejayaan mengembalikan PAS kepada “landasan yang betul” – kononnya berubah kembali seperti asalnya. Kata-kata ini seolah-olah menuduh pimpinan sebelum ini telah menyimpang dari landasan asal PAS.

Maka ahli menunggu-nunggu supaya pembaharuan dan perbezaan ini dizahirkan. Pada masa sama, mereka menunggu juga penjelasan berhubung penyimpangan yang telah dilakukan pimpinan lama.

Mereka ingin tahu sama ada pendekatan almarhum Tuan Guru Yusuf Rawa, Ustaz Fadzil Noor dan Tuan Guru Nik Aziz turut dianggap sebagai suatu penyimpangan dari landasan asal PAS. Continue reading “Antara PAS dan DAP, siapa perempuan?”

PAS tak boleh sendirian jika mahu tumbangkan BN, kata anak bekas pemimpin

oleh Hasbullah Awang Chik
The Malaysian Insider
17 June 2015

Pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat (PR) seharusnya kembali kepada pendekatan yang ditinggalkan bekas mursyidul am PAS Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat dalam usaha menyelamatkan gabungan pembangkang dan menumbangkan Barisan Nasional (BN), kata Nik Omar Nik Aziz.

Anak bekas menteri besar Kelantan itu berkata, arwah bapanya sering mengingatkan, segala permasalahan perlu dibawa ke meja rundingan dan pemimpin PAS seharusnya memulakan inisiatif itu.

“Cara nak selesai, lebih baik melalui meja rundingan. Dalam PR ada Majlis Presiden, di sinilah ruang terbaik.

“Saya rasa parti PAS yang mesti memulakan inisiatif langkah terbaik, bincang secara teliti, ikhlas supaya dapat dikekalkan PR, sebab itu pendekatan Tok Guru,” katanya kepada The Malaysian Insider.

Nik Omar berkata, ayahnya terlalu sayangkan ikatan sesama parti dalam PR melebihi kasih sayang kepada anaknya sendiri kerana sedar PAS tidak akan dapat mentadbir negara sendirian.

Katanya, Nik Aziz sedar landskap politik Malaysia memperlihatkan PAS perlu bersama sekutunya – PKR dan DAP – dalam usaha untuk menumbangkan kerajaan BN. Continue reading “PAS tak boleh sendirian jika mahu tumbangkan BN, kata anak bekas pemimpin”

Anwar seeks UN probe on Putrajaya over deprived rights

The Malay Mail Online
June 17, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 — Jailed PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has submitted a request to a United Nations group to investigate Putrajaya for allegedly depriving him of his rights with a five-year term for sodomy.

Anwar’s international legal team said today that the opposition figure’s jail sentence was based on “fabricated sodomy charges” and that in truth, he was only imprisoned for because he represents “a democratic and non-violent threat” to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“Anwar is experiencing a great injustice,” one of Anwar’s lawyers, Sivarasa Rasiah, was quoted saying in a press release today.

“The international community should be alarmed by the politically-motivated nature of Anwar’s conviction and jailing, which is part of a broader crackdown on political opposition and dissent in Malaysia,” he added.

According to the press release, human rights lawyer Jared Genser is leading Anwar’s legal team that had on Monday filed a case with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Continue reading “Anwar seeks UN probe on Putrajaya over deprived rights”

Erdogan succumbs to the fog of politics

David Gardner
Financial Times
June 17, 2015

A striking collapse of judgement in a leader who once mesmerized his electorate

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant this week suffered another defeat at the hands of Syrian Kurdish fighters who captured Tel Abyad, a town that Isis had held since last summer, when it declared its cross-border caliphate and convulsed the heart of the Middle East.

The striking victory by the Syrian Kurdish militia, affiliated with the Democratic Union party (PYD), brings with it two momentous changes. The Syrian Kurds can now link up territory they hold from the border of the self-ruling Kurdistan Regional Government(KRG)in northern Iraq, through Tel Abyad, on the Turkish-Syrian border, and on westwards to Kobani, recaptured from the jihadis this year after a long emblematic siege that cemented the collaboration between PYD forces on the ground and the US-led coalition against Isis.

But second, the capture of Tel Abyad severs the Isis supply line from the Turkish border to Raqqa, the de facto capital of the caliphate it calls Islamic State. This is — for now — a body blow to the jihadis, and a real advance for the coalition after the recent Isis capture of Palmyra in central Syria and Ramadi in western Iraq. Continue reading “Erdogan succumbs to the fog of politics”

Tiada lagi Pakatan

– Izmil Amri
The Malaysian Insider
16 June 2015

Al-Fatihah.

Selesai dimandi, dikapan, diratap kematiannya; jenazah Pakatan Rakyat kini diusung menuju kuburan sebelum ia ditanam dalam kubur cetek separas buku lali. Tragedi ini kita saksikan bersama lebih sepuluh tahun lalu, ketika DAP meninggalkan Barisan Alternatif.

Kubur cetek Barisan Alternatif menyaksikan kebangkitan semula kebangkitan roh muafakat politik baru yang sepanjang dua pilihan raya lalu berjaya menggugat kerusi kerajaan Umno dan Barisan Nasional.

PR juga mati, dan rohnya kini bergentayangan mencari jasad baru untuk dirasuk; bagaikan watak antagonis novel kanak-kanak Harry Potter; Lord Voldermort yang meski tiada berjasad masih “hidup” dalam berbilang juzuk, sebelum tiba masanya ia bangkit semula.

PR, muafakat tiga parti politik pembangkang; tiada lain sekadar jasad, yang sepuluh hari lalu dijangkiti penyakit bawaan Muktamar PAS, kini terpaksa di-euthanasia; ekoran sakitnya yang bersangatan dan tidak terubat lagi. Continue reading “Tiada lagi Pakatan”