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Get used to us, opposition tells Umno in Pasir Gudang after fracas

by Shufiyan Shukur
The Malaysian Insider
16 July 2015

Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) have to get used to the opposition’s presence in Pasir Gudang, Johor, said DAP and PKR politicians who were recently on the receiving end of harassment by people said to be Umno members.

DAP and PKR leaders today returned to the “hornet’s nest” of Taman Megah Ria in Pasir Gudang to distribute Hari Raya hampers to the needy, and were blocked at one point by a disgruntled bystander.

This was near the scene of a fracas on July 5, which saw several opposition politicians roughed up while attending a DAP event called “Forum Kedai Kopi”.

The bystander today took exception to PKR members who were carrying party flags near Pasar Borneo and tried to block their way as they were walking towards a coffee shop to hold a press conference. Continue reading “Get used to us, opposition tells Umno in Pasir Gudang after fracas”

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Major takes off from PAS and lands in New Hope

By Susan Loone
Malaysiakini
Jul 16, 2015

Major Zaidi Ahmad, who was expelled from the Royal Malaysian Air Force over the GE13 indelible ink issue, said he joined Gerakan Harapan Baru (GHB) because PAS has diverted from its principles.

Zaidi, who joined the party only this year, after the military court discharged him from his duties in February, said PAS has become “backward” in its struggles.

“I’ve been a supporter of PAS since I was a young boy in Sungai Petani, so were my parents.

“But when I went to the recent party’s muktamar in Selangor in early June, I saw how the party has diverted from its principles,” he told Malaysiakini, when met after the launch of GHB’s pro-tem committee by its state chief Mujahid Yusof Rawa in Butterworth today.

Zaidi, who is a member of GHB’s 35-member pro-tem committee in Penang, said PAS only wants to promote certain groups and not inclusive anymore.

He said all factions – ulama or progressives – need to work together in PAS but the recent muktamar put an end to that. Continue reading “Major takes off from PAS and lands in New Hope”

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Ex-PAS man chides party over vote-splitting plan

By Terence Netto
Malaysiakini
Jul 16, 2015

PAS would be doing a ‘childish thing’ if the party decides to field candidates from its supporters’ wing against the DAP in the next general election.

This intention was broached by the Islamic party’s Election Director Mustafa Ali in the course of remarks made to a web news portal on the DAP and the new political entity being set up by PAS progressives who were routed in internal elections at the party’s muktamar held last month.

Hu Pang Chow, a founding member of the Dewan Himpunan Penyokong PAS (DHPP), said PAS should instead engage in public debates with the DAP over its vision of Malaysia rather than choose to split the votes for the opposition by fielding candidates against established opposition political parties.

“Engage in public debates with the DAP, outline your vision of a new Malaysia,” was the advice to PAS offered by Hu, who was chairman of DHPP from its inauguration in 2004 until 2010. Continue reading “Ex-PAS man chides party over vote-splitting plan”

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DAP nation-wide must be prepared for three-cornered contests, both parliamentary and state assembly, in the next general elections

With the demise of Pakatan Rakyat as a result of the PAS Muktamar resolution on June 3, 2015, DAP nation-wide must be prepared for three-cornered contests, both parliamentary and state assembly, in the next general elections.

DAP will co-operate with all progressive political parties and forces, including PKR and the progressive PAS leaders who are in the process of forming a new political party, to save Malaysia from becoming a failed state because of rampant corruption, socio-economic injustices and collapse of good governance so as to re-set the country on the correct course towards an united, harmonious, ethical, democratic, just, progressive and prosperous Malaysia.

I feel sad at the demise of Pakatan Rakyat after seven years of a common political struggle based on the Pakatan Rakyat Common Policy Framework (CPF) and the operational consensus principle that any PR decision must be based on the consensus of the three component parties, but when the PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi repeatedly violated the PR CPF and the PR consensus principle, even ignoring the decision of the previous PAS Central Committee, followed by the PAS Muktmar resolution to sever ties between PAS and DAP, we must accept the unmistakable signs that the PR had died. Continue reading “DAP nation-wide must be prepared for three-cornered contests, both parliamentary and state assembly, in the next general elections”

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Can PAS lose Kelantan in 14GE?

PAS leaders, like its President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and former Secretary-General Datuk Mustafa Ali have publicly stated that the PAS Progressive’s Gerakan Harapan Baru will not last more than two years.

DAP had always been concerned particularly since the Kelantan floods last December as to whether PAS could again win the Kelantan state government in the next general election.

DAP had informed the top PAS leadership before the 13th General Election in May 2013 that Pakatan Rakyat was on the way to losing Kedah state government in the 13GE and changes were needed in the Kedah Pakatan Rakyat State administration but our concerns and warning fell on deaf ears.

Is it possible that PAS will lose the Kelantan state government in the next general election (GE14)?

Even though the political sentiment at the national level does not seem favourable to UMNO/BN due to factors such as the GST, 1MDB and the worsening economic situation, unique local factors may be sufficient such that PAS may lose votes in Kelantan even as the opposition gains more votes at the national level in the other states.

This is not unprecedented.
Continue reading “Can PAS lose Kelantan in 14GE?”

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Gani Patail should withdraw from 1MDB task force, say former A-G, lawyers

V. Anbalagan
The Malaysian Insider
16 July 2015 7:00 AM

A former attorney-general has urged top government lawyer Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail to disassociate himself from the task force investigating the prime minister over the 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal, saying this will enhance public perception and integrity into the probe.

Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman’s views were also shared by lawyers who said Attorney-General Gani should not be part of the investigation or else his office would not be seen as being independent.

Gani currently heads the task force which is investigating the alleged irregularities in 1MDB and the RM2.67 billion allegedly channelled into Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal bank accounts.

The task force also comprises the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and police. Continue reading “Gani Patail should withdraw from 1MDB task force, say former A-G, lawyers”

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With Anwar in jail, is there anyone in Malaysia who could stitch together a new coalition with support from over 112 MPs to “Save Malaysia” from becoming a failed state and re-set nation-building policies?

There has never been a Haji Raya Aidilfitri like this one in modern-day Malaysia, when Muslims and non-Muslims gather to celebrate the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

Firstly, never had Ramadan sales been so poor and dispirited, with one survey estimating a plunge in Ramadan sales of as much as 20 per cent compared with last year.

Secondly, never before have national issues been so dominant during Ramadan and in Hari Raya Aidilfitri open houses – questions galore about the catalogue of financial scandals, breakdown in law and order with Low Yat race riot the latest example less than a week from Hari Raya Aidilfitri and what the future has in store for the people and the country.

But so few answers! Continue reading “With Anwar in jail, is there anyone in Malaysia who could stitch together a new coalition with support from over 112 MPs to “Save Malaysia” from becoming a failed state and re-set nation-building policies?”