Johore is a key battleground for the vision of a Malaysian Dream as a unifying factor for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region and antidote to the revival of extremist and intolerant racist politics in the five months after the 13th general elections on May 5, 2013.
In fact, the Vision of a Malaysian Dream was given expression in the Battle of Gelang Patah in the 13th General Elections, as a direct response to irresponsible and reckless campaign by UMNO politicians, led by former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir, to racialise the Gelang Patah contest in particular and the 13th general election in general.
But Gelang Patah was a major failure for Mahathir, particularly his irresponsible and reckless campaign to racialise the Gelang Patah battle between former Mentri Besar Datuk Ghani Othman and myself by falsely and mischievously alleging that I had wanted to create a “racial confrontation” and that I was seeking to incite the Chinese to hate the Malays.
In fact, far from trying to racialise the electoral battle, it was in pursuit of the Malaysian Dream as a rallying point of unity for all races in the country that was behind my high-risk decision to leave the Ipoh Timor parliamentary seat, where I had won with a majority of over 21,000 votes in the 2008 GE, to contest in the Barisan Nasional fortress of Gelang Patah which BN had won with some 9,000-vote majority in the 2008 GE and a humoungous 31,688-vote majority in the 2004 GE.
There was no surety that I could win in Gelang Patah. In fact, there was a lot of concern that I would lose as I had seemed to have bitten more than I could chew, especially with top UMNO campaigners like Tun Mahathir and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin calling on the voters to make Gelang Patah my “graveyard”.
There was not an ounce of truth in Mahathir’s allegations, but it was most significant that Mahathir’s allegations and lies failed to make any impression on the voters, particularly the Malay voters, as I could not have won Gelang Patah with a majority of over 14,000 votes without the support of the Malay voters.
In the past five months, UMNO leaders led by Mahathir are back on their irresponsible and reckless campaign trail, with their preposterous allegations and lies that the 13th General Election was proof that the Chinese in Malaysia were out to oust the political power of the Malays and to dominate Malaysian politics.
This is why there is a need for Malaysians to embrace the Vision of a Malaysian Dream as an antidote to the revival of extremist and intolerant brand of racist politics, totally antithetical to the Bangsa Malaysia concept in Vision 2020 conceived by Mahathir himself more than two decades ago or the 1Malaysia Policy of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
As the state which had wrought the greatest changes in the 13th General Election, ending Umno and MCA’s hitherto unchallenged stranglehold on Johore as a “fixed deposit state” and with Pakatan Rakyat winning the most number of increased State Assembly seats – from 6 in 2008 to 18 in 2009, one seat short of denying Barisan Nasional two-thirds majority in the Johore State Assembly – Johore will be a key battleground for the Vision of Malaysian Dream.
This is most appropriate as it was in Johore 62 years ago that the great Johore Malay leader and founding UMNO President Datuk Onn Jaffar proved he was far ahead of his times when he made the historic call for the opening up of Umno to non-Malay members and to change Umno to mean United Malayans National Organisation.
This will be the greatest challenge for the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat leaders, MPs and State Assembly members in Johore in the next few years, how to get the people of Johore to play a leading role in the country in the fulfillment of the Malaysian Dream, viz:
Firstly, to get all voters of DAP and Pakatan Rakyat to be advocates of the Malaysian Dream to build a Malaysia for all Malaysians and not a Malay Malaysia, Chinese Malaysia, Indian Malaysia, Kadazan Malaysia or Iban Malaysia; and
Secondly, to spread the message of the Malaysian Dream to non-DAP and Pakatan Rakyat areas to enlist the support of more Malaysians to the Vision of a Malaysian Dream to call for the end of politics of race, corruption, cronyism and abuses of power.
As Johore DAP State Secretary, Tan Chen Choon (Assemblyman for Jementah) said to the press yesterday, 15 DAP elected representatives in Johore (four DAP MPs and 11 State Assembly members) who met in Simpang Rengam on Saturday night have reached a consensus on building a more united, cohesive and purposive political force in Johore – that internal party problems should be resolved through internal party channels.
With this consensus by the DAP Johore leadership, the stage is set for the great challenge of the DAP Johore as well as DAP Pakatan Rakyat – to transform Johore as the key battle ground in the country for the vision of a Malaysian Dream as an antidote to the revival of extremist and intolerant racist politics in the past five months.
God is great.
But I don’t see why 3 judges can decide Allah cannot be the god of all people?
Maybe, these judges are ‘big’ enough to override god?
Now how do you stop me from praying to allah in private? And if I can pray to allah in private, why can’t I pray to the same allah in public?
Questions only malaysans ask?
This is why Malaysians move in circles.
If you can convince the Felda heartland in Johor to turn, then so will those in Perak, Pahang etc will and that should be enough.. But its literally going the very heart of UMNO which as we have seen in the their currrent election is in no mood to change anything..
Straits Times: ”
“US Secretary of State John Kerry (left) with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak during an innovators event at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, Oct 11, 2013. Mr Kerry lauded Malaysia on Friday as a modern, innovative and multi-faith model for the world. -”
One is a liar-hypocrite rolled in one, the other a dreamer and out-of-touch alien.
They are way ahead of us. We are beginning to toddle. Our first man managed to take a ride around the orbit. That’s all. They have already landed on the moon years ago. China has launched its’ very own rocket. Any Malaysian who dares to dream and to be selected for a kamikaze ride to Mars ? Don’t forget. He is from Yale. Any Malaysian from Yale ? But if you are from Yale, you will not be allowed to hold the reins of power. Why ? Because of immaturity.
Sucker!!!!
You needn’t to appear personally instead use your mouth and tongue are enough… Keep sucking!!!!
Apologizing for wrong comment chosen unintentionally… The right position is right below at #8…
Sorry!!!!
You are right Kit.
Let us all work very very hard for the Malaysian Dream.
We are all Malaysians. Let us capture our country from corrupt bigots, who are always begging for more.
We are with you Kit. Long live the Malaysian Dream
Mr Lim,
Taking Gelang Patah in GE13 from BN was indeed a Herculean task.
You have now set yourself yet another with the Malaysian Dream.
As I was not able to support your campaign in Gelang Patah being from another constituency, allow me to support you on the Vision of a Malaysian Dream.
Broken bracelet.
Sucker!!!!
You needn’t to appear personally instead use your mouth and tongue are enough… Keep sucking!!!!
While half-truth becomes our guiding light and the quality of our universities keeps sliding down the slope towards Mariana Trench; I was wondering what has become of our MSC project when no Malaysian University even qualified to enter the preliminary round of the IBM sponsored annual competition in IT programming. Out of the final round of 38 universities in the Asian zone, China has 21, India 5, Japan 3 with single entry from Iran, Vietnam, Indonesia, of course Korea, Singapore. If money is the input, I am sure Malaysia would have stood right in front. And in such an environment, we snobbishly refused to recognize those Asian universities! On the record, the world champion in this competition, since the turn of the century has been mostly either Russian or Chinese University! This caused the US educators to stampede and they have advocated for STEM emphasis on their students! The only attraction they can hold on is the market for attracting those brains to the US to become over-night billionaires! What can we offer? neither! We still vote JOKERS who preach fears and shadows to the less fortunate just to frighten them into reading Utusan and its spin. Malaysian Dream will flounder sooner rather than later with such education policy. A policy to COW the Majority of Malaysians so that they can continue to dip their hands into the national coffer! Just look at the results of the UMNO election! Wantonness and Greed are glorified as national pride!
The scums in the ruling party are causing massive turmoil in this country with their ploys regarding race and religion.
They themselves cannot be described as religious because they are immersed in corruption, scams and scandals.
The reason why they are fighting so hard to retain their grip on this country by pandering to the major race is that they want to continue robbing this country.
And by holding onto power, they will obstruct justice which should be meted out to them.
As for calls for them to reform, don’t waste time.
Reforms are anathema to them as it will mean their self destruction.
All Malaysians must make it their life’s mission to kick UMNO/BN out of Putrajaya.
Nothing less will do!!!!
Najib latest remark that he thinks “we will escape Fitch rating downgrade”. The key word is “escape” because it sublimal advertisement of his administration – to “escape” this and that especially when it comes to the hardest issues.
Given the uncertainty of all developed and big markets, the truth is things will slow down and UMNO has to spend to just stay where they are. The real bad news is that there is a certain determination of not changing the incumbency at the lower rung of UMNO and consequently the larger Malay electorate BUT its likely the march of zealotry is going to continue at the higher echelon of UMNO. Combined, change is actually quite hard in the heartland of Johor
YB,
Congratulations on another trailblazing triumph in Gelang Patah last GE. I wish more in Pakatan will now follow your most commendable SunTzenesque strategy.
For example, LGE should contest in Balik Pulau next time. Why bother with a sure win electorate but Pakatan ends up losing the war in Putrajaya? Similarly, DSAI should also go ahead with a neighbouring BN controlled constituency come next GE. So Husham didn’t win against Ku Nan but he’s still a winner.
Generals don’t die but they go in fighting to the very end and become immortalised in the winner’s annals. Najib is nothing but a seat warmer for the real PM who is prepared to sacrifice him/herself politically for the rakyat.
“Conquering” rural Johor is the key to wresting the state from Umno.
Some diversion to education: to those parents or students who want to pursue IT education, try entering these Chinese Universities; they entered the Asian Final group in the IBM sponsored competition: Beihang University, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Fudan Unversity, Harbin Institute of Technology, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, NingBo Institute of Technology, Northeast Normal University, Peking University, Renmin University of China, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, South China University of Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tianjin University, Tsinghua University, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, University of Hong Kong, Zheijiang University, Zongshan [Sun Yat-sen] University. Of course many of the above institutions will require stiff competition to enter; but with these universities seeking to join the Quality University Competition, foreigners may enjoy a kind of advantage. With a 2 to 1 exchange rate, the costs should be very competitive especially for working parents. Even from local University colleges, especially those with NO Reputation to refer to, their papers are as good as what the employers perceive then to be.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/appeal-court-inept-judgment-based-on-internet-research-ng-kam-weng
For a scholarly dissection of the ‘Allah’ judgment, read the above.
Looks like Malaysia has legal luminaries and legal lumberjacks who cut and paste.
Yes let’s start the campaign for GE-14 with “MALAYSIA FOR ALL” with posters of groups of Pakatan leaders working together on projects for the development of all Malaysians all over the country. We can post these posters of true unity and patriotism all over the internet. In rural areas with poor internet access we can distribute these posters to branch offices of PR component parties. We will prevail!!!