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Who won Hulu Selangor? (1)

By Bridget Welsh

Despite the BN victory, the geography and ethnic breakdown of the victory does not suggest that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and BN are out of the woods. Quite the opposite is the case; the close Hulu Selangor by-election win of 2.7% shows that the BN is far indeed from regaining national and state power.

The main finding from the by-election results is that the electorate remains deeply polarised. The results show that there is no major national swing across races or generations.

Let me take you through my analysis of the results. Let’s begin with a bit of basics about this constituency. It is huge – with isolated communities, many with little connection to each other. The Chinese communities are comprised of 13 new villages and Chinese in the main town of Kuala Kubu Bahru. The Indian communities are concentrated in estates, with considerable number living throughout the constituency especially in the south.
Continue reading “Who won Hulu Selangor? (1)”

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Praises for Najib for honouring RM3 million pledge to SRJKC Rasa and Rasa voters for being pioneers of New Politics towards a New Malaysia of justice, freedom, excellence and prosperity while insisting on their rights as citizens and taxpayers

I commend the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak for honouring his RM3 million pledge to SRJKC Rasa for the construction of a new building for the 81-year-old dilapidated school which was made on Hulu Selangor by-election polling eve on Saturday.

I will not quibble that the RM3 million cheque was only handed over to the Chairman of the SRJKC Rasa Ng Tek Kui yesterday when it should have been on Monday as pledged.

Greater praises are in order to the voters of Rasa who have demonstrated that they are worthy pioneers of New Politics in Malaysia to usher in a New Malaysia of justice, freedom, excellence and prosperity for all, regardless of race, religion or region, while insisting on their rights to development as citizens and taxpayers.

In the March 8 “political tsunami” of the 2008 general elections, the successful PKR candidate Datuk Zainal Abidin secured 56.74% of the Chinese votes in Rasa.
Continue reading “Praises for Najib for honouring RM3 million pledge to SRJKC Rasa and Rasa voters for being pioneers of New Politics towards a New Malaysia of justice, freedom, excellence and prosperity while insisting on their rights as citizens and taxpayers”

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When and why has MCA fallen so low with Chinese voter support for Barisan Nasional in Hulu Selangor plunging to 15% with Umno Secretary-General Tengku Adnan estimating that BN only secured the support of 22% of Chinese voters in the by-election?

The immediate reaction of the MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek to the Barisan Nasional’s win but MCA’s loss in the Hulu Selangor by-election on Sunday was that it should be a wake-up call for MCA leaders that the Chinese community is no longer just concerned with basic needs but about also national issues.

He said that the MCA would also be more vocal from now on.

But this pledge of a wake-up call for the MCA leadership and to be “more vocal from now on” was broken in the next 24 hours, when the MCA leadership failed to speak up on the imperative need that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak must honour his by-election eve pledge to sign in the next 24 hours of a by-election victory a RM3 million allocation to the school board’s account for the new building of the 81-year-old SRJK© Rasa.

Monday yesterday had come and gone but there had been no honouring of the signing of the approval of the RM3 million for the SRJK © Rasa.
In fact, I had a twitter exchange with the MCA Deputy Education Minister and MCA Youth leader Datuk Wee Ka Siong yesterday, as follows:
Continue reading “When and why has MCA fallen so low with Chinese voter support for Barisan Nasional in Hulu Selangor plunging to 15% with Umno Secretary-General Tengku Adnan estimating that BN only secured the support of 22% of Chinese voters in the by-election?”

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Pakatan still on track to Putrajaya after Hulu Selangor

By Kenny Gan

It was an intense hard fought by-election in a traditional Umno stronghold which many said was too close to call. BN’s Hulu Selangor campaign was as dirty and nasty as any other by-election and dirtier than most with the stakes seen as a referendum on Najib’s administration. BN fought mostly with character assassinations and money. Both sides also released strategically timed policies, land titles and grants although naturally PR could not match BN’s largess.

The campaign was fierce and furious with both sides throwing in their biggest guns with PR bringing in revered Tok Guru Nik Aziz to shore up Zaid’s Islamic credibility among the conservative Malays. The normally ignored Orang Asli were wooed by BN with parties, booze and cash and Felda settlers who were nursing grievances for decades suddenly found the sky raining with money and promises. Even Maika shareholders were buoyed by the strategically timed news that a buyout of their troubled investment is in the works.

In an uncharacteristic move for an incumbent prime minister which underscored how important this by-election is, Najib Razak himself joined the fray. The Election Commission also got into the act with a dubious transfer of 14,000 voters between polling stations, seen as a calculated move to cause confusion. Several hundred pro-opposition voters were also transferred outside the constituency and denied their right to vote.
Continue reading “Pakatan still on track to Putrajaya after Hulu Selangor”

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So why did PKR lose in Hulu Selangor?

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid | The Malaysian Insider

APRIL 26 — It was rather anticipated that Barisan Nasional would snatch the Hulu Selangor seat yesterday from right under Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) nose and without giving too much credit to the former, two factors contributed to this somewhat predestined outcome.

First, the notoriously poor and inefficient machinery. The second is the candidate factor itself.

PKR’s Datuk Zaid Ibrahim lost to MIC information chief P. Kamalananthan by a 1,725-vote majority. The former law minister garnered 23,272 votes while his opponent, a public relations practitioner whose qualifications were subject to tactical scrutiny by Zaid and Co, bagged 24,997 votes.

Yes, there were strong intrinsic statistical factors that led to Zaid’s loss as reflected by past voting patterns. After all, the sizeable constituency of 64,500 eligible voters has been opposition-proof up until the unpopular Datuk G. Palanivel, a four-term incumbent, was dethroned in Election 2008.
Continue reading “So why did PKR lose in Hulu Selangor?”

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Twitter spat on Najib’s HS RM3m pledge to SRJKC Rasa

weekasiongmp:
RT @NajibRazak: Honoured the ppl of HS have given us their vote. Our work has just begun. focus now is on delivering on what we promised.
04/26/2010 03:39 PM

limkitsiang:
Well if Najib can spend RM77 million 2wangle a Najib-Obama meet, what is RM200 million 2wangle byelection victory though pyrrhic victory
04/26/2010 03:39 PM

limkitsiang:
Pyrrhic victory – a victory with such devastating cost 2victor; carries implication anthr such will ultmtly cause defeat http://bit.ly/X4MMf
04/26/2010 03:44 PM

limkitsiang:
Based on 24,997 BN votes will work out 2RM6,666 per head RT @Maobi72: @limkitsiang Sdr. you can only divide based on voter turn out..
04/26/2010 03:56 PM
Continue reading “Twitter spat on Najib’s HS RM3m pledge to SRJKC Rasa”

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BN’s pyrrhic victory in Hulu Selangor

by Dr Lim Teck Ghee

Far from being a resounding victory for the BN and a devastating loss for Pakatan Rakyat, the Hulu Selangor election result is another clear indicator that Malaysians do not see a secure future for themselves in a continuation of the BN government.

The BN leadership may be happy about the outcome and the official media may spin about the vote of confidence for Najib’s leadership but the extremely large opposition vote – against all odds – shows that many in Hulu Selangor and throughout the country (as the string of recent by-elections demonstrates) continue to embrace the “reformasi” programme of change for the country.

From the moment, Zaid was nominated to stand in Hulu Selangor, it was always going to be an uphill battle for the Paktan. This was no ordinary opponent that the PR was bringing into the fray. Thus, Zaid was a candidate that the BN had to kill off – whether by hook or by crook.

Zaid had been a Minster brought into the last Badawi cabinet to give the electorate some hope that Umno was capable of implementing a programme of change for the good of the country. He was not the usual leader who had risen to power through the opportunistic use of race and religion, and whose main agenda was aggrandizement of self and family under the guise of “untuk agama dan bangsa”.
Continue reading “BN’s pyrrhic victory in Hulu Selangor”

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Would MCA Ministers and Deputy Ministers resign if Najib does not honour his Hulu Selangor by-election promise to issue RM3 million cheque today for building of new Rasa Chinese primary school?

The 1,725-vote majority victory of the Barisan Nasional in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election yesterday is a pyrrhic victory for the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak – so devastatingly costly both in political and monetary terms that they lay the seeds for the forthcoming defeat of the Barisan Nasional.

The Barisan Nasional has a bill of over RM100 million for its Hulu Selangor by-election campaign – RM60 million for various infrastructure projects and easily more than RM40 million for the Barisan Nasional election campaigners and the many rent-a-crowd outings for the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and other Cabinet Ministers.

After such outpourings of money politics, the 1,725-vote majority is actually more a defeat than a victory for Najib and the Barisan Nasional.

The UMNO target was to win Hulu Selangor with at least 6,000-vote majority and the Umno leadership was so confident of this huge victory that the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin went public on this Umno objective mid-day during Hulu Selangor polling yesterday.
Continue reading “Would MCA Ministers and Deputy Ministers resign if Najib does not honour his Hulu Selangor by-election promise to issue RM3 million cheque today for building of new Rasa Chinese primary school?”

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MACC should investigate whether Najib had committed at least two election bribery offences under Election Offences Act 1957 in the Hulu Selangor by-election campaign yesterday

It has been brought to my attention that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should investigate whether the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, had committed at least two election bribery offences under the Election Offences Act 1957 in the Hulu Selangor by-election campaign for the Barisan Nasional candidate yesterday.

The first incident was his blatant disregard of the Election Offences Act against bribery when he tried to induce the 1,500 voters of Rasa to vote for the BN candidate by announcing the approval of RM3 million for rebuilding Rasa Chinese Primary School but with one big condition.

Najib publicly declared: “If we win this by-election, you can come to Kuala Lumpur the next day to look for me. I will write a personal letter to approve the money and it will be transferred to the school board’s account. If we lose, don’t have to come.”

The second incident was during his visit to Kampong Hassan where he promised the Chinese-majority voters in the area that the Barisan Nasional government would build 200 low-cost housing for them if the BN candidate wins the by-election.
Continue reading “MACC should investigate whether Najib had committed at least two election bribery offences under Election Offences Act 1957 in the Hulu Selangor by-election campaign yesterday”

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MACC’s latest and greatest test – dare it investigate the Prime Minister whether he had violated Election Offences Act 1954 for RM3 million electoral bribery in Hulu Selangor by-election?

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Malaysia’s Corruption Perception Index 2010 ranking of Transparency International are already reeling from two serious blows:

  1. the mysterious death of DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock at the MACC Headquarters falling from 14th to 5th floor on July 16 last year and the inability of the Teoh family and the Selangor State Government to persuade renowned Thai pathologist Dr. Pornthip Rojanasunand to return to Malaysia continue her testimony at the Teoh Beng Hock inquest because of “pressures” on the Thai Government from the Malaysian side; and

  2. the farce of the prosecution and acquittal on corruption charges of the two Perak “frogs”, Perak State Assemblymen Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu who played key roles in the illegal and undemocratic toppling of the Pakatan Rakyat Perak State government in February last year.

    3. Now, there is a third and bigger headache for the MACC.
    Continue reading “MACC’s latest and greatest test – dare it investigate the Prime Minister whether he had violated Election Offences Act 1954 for RM3 million electoral bribery in Hulu Selangor by-election?”

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Tweets since polling eve

@limkitsiang

ntv7 censorship n Joshua’s resignation – call 4public inquiry as Najib’s denial of Rosmah’s role lacks credibility http://bit.ly/dCtT14
about 24 hours ago via web

1+million MCA mmbrs shld openly vote agnst MCA/BN candidates in next GE as they cannot hold heads high, in pride/honour http://bit.ly/cbQ6KG
about 24 hours ago via web

#P94 #HS Latest survey shows PKR slightly ahead http://bit.ly/c29QHN PR 51.7% vs BN 48.3 %
about 23 hours ago via web

Very true RT @ahpooki: @limkitsiang uncle lim, be careful wif these borderline numbers..can go either way. PR must hv 80%..yeah !! go PR go..!!
04/24/2010 01:44 PM
Continue reading “Tweets since polling eve”

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Eight reasons why the 8,000 MCA members in Hulu Selangor should teach MCA and UMNO leaderships a severe lesson by voting for PR candidate Zaid Ibrahim on Sunday’s by-election

There are only 36 hours of campaigning left before the Hulu Selangor voters go to the polls in the Sunday by-election.

Barisan Nasional has the lead in the Hulu Selangor by-election. The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir have unleashed a blitzkrieg Umno/Barisan Nasional assault marked by a campaign of falsehoods and character assassination against the Pakatan Rakyat and candidate.

The impact of such intensive Umno/BN campaign, particularly on the Malay voters in the outlying areas without easy access to Pakatan Rakyat information, cannot be underestimated.

I am sounding this alarm alert as I believe it is still possible to overcome this Barisan Nasional lead in the next 36 hours for Datuk Zaid Ibrahim to be elected as the new MP for Hulu Selangor, provided all Pakatan Rakyat leaders and campaigners from PKR, PAS and DAP make a supreme effort to get every possible voter out to the polling stations on Sunday.
Continue reading “Eight reasons why the 8,000 MCA members in Hulu Selangor should teach MCA and UMNO leaderships a severe lesson by voting for PR candidate Zaid Ibrahim on Sunday’s by-election”

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Kit sounds alarm bells for Pakatan campaign

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA KUBU BARU, April 23 — Lim Kit Siang urged his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition today to fight for every single vote in the final stretch of the Hulu Selangor by-election campaign, pointing out that Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is now the underdog against Barisan Nasional’s (BN) P. Kamalanathan.

“The red light is on,” Lim told a press conference here this morning, in a tacit admission that PR was now trailing behind BN in the race for votes this Sunday.

Lim (picture) said the campaigning effort in the Malay and Indian majority areas by BN is not to be underestimated.

“According to them, they are in the lead and have more chances to win. This is a critical development.

“I want to set the alarm and urge all leaders to go all out to secure every single vote,” said the Ipoh Timur MP.
Continue reading “Kit sounds alarm bells for Pakatan campaign”

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Fastest withdrawal of Bill thanks to HS by-election – proposal to increase traffic compound fines from RM300 to RM1,000 pulled back after 48 hrs

It is an adverse reflection on the mediocrity of the Barisan Nasional Cabinet that the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill tabled in Parliament for first reading on Monday will now be withdrawn after 48 hours because of pressures from the Hulu Selangor by-election on Sunday.

When speaking in Batang Kali last night for the Hulu Selangor by-election campaign of the Pakatan Rakyat candidate, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, I had spoken specifically to censure the Transport Minister and former MCA President, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, other MCA Ministers and the MCA national leadership, as well as the entire Barisan Nasional Cabinet for tabling an amendment Bill to the Road Transport Act to increase compound fines for traffic offences by more than three-fold from RM300 to RM1,000.

I described this as “the act of a Transport Minister and government which are completely unconcerned and unsympathetic about the plight of the ordinary people in these difficult times”.

During the ceramah, the crowd in Batang Kali unanimously asked me to speak on their behalf in Parliament to demand that the proposal to increase compound fines for traffic offences from RM300 to RM1,000 should be withdrawn altogether or this would be one reason why the Barisan Nasional should be taught a lesson on the by-election polling day on Sunday, April 25, 2010.
Continue reading “Fastest withdrawal of Bill thanks to HS by-election – proposal to increase traffic compound fines from RM300 to RM1,000 pulled back after 48 hrs”

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Kit Siang claims beer-bashing is Umno ploy to implicate Najib, Hisham

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal | The Malaysian Insider

DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang wants Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to put an end to “dirty politics” in the Hulu Selangor by-election, claiming that the attacks on PKR candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim were part of a ploy to implicate the PM as being a drinker.

The veteran politician told reporters in Parliament that there was an “ulterior motive” behind the unwarranted attack on Zaid, who was a former Umno member, in order to “target” top Umno leaders like Najib as well as Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
“There are layers of conspiracy and power struggles in Umno.”

“I wonder whether those responsible for these dirty politics, making this unwarranted attack on Zaid Ibrahim have ulterior objectives.”
“Their objective is to attack Najib and Hishammuddin because Hishammuddin is now dragged in, Najib also dragged in. The people behind this attack, are they going for a larger target?” quipped Lim.
Continue reading “Kit Siang claims beer-bashing is Umno ploy to implicate Najib, Hisham”

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Withdraw or Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat should be censured for tabling a more than three-fold hike in compound fines for traffic offences from RM300 to RM1,000 under Road Transport (Amendment) Bill

Former MCA President and Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat should be censured for tabling a more than three-fold hike in compound fines for traffic offences from RM300 to RM1,000 under the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill.

This bill was presented for first reading yesterday (Monday) and meant for passage by Parliament this week.

This is the act of a Transport Minister and government which are completely unconcerned and unsympathetic about the plight of the ordinary people in these difficult times.

This is also the voice of the people of Hulu Selangor and we want to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Transport Minister and the entire Cabinet that this Bill should be withdrawn and dropped altogether or this will be one reason why the Barisan Nasional should be taught a lesson on the by-election polling day on Sunday, April 25, 2010.

What is the position of the other MCA Ministers and the MCA national leadership as they cannot keep quiet at such an oppressive amendment to the Road Transport Act especially as the Transport Minister is from the MCA.
Continue reading “Withdraw or Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat should be censured for tabling a more than three-fold hike in compound fines for traffic offences from RM300 to RM1,000 under Road Transport (Amendment) Bill”

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Most important issue in Hulu Selangor by-election – send stirring message to all Malaysians that time has come for Putrajaya change of power

The most important issue in the Hulu Selangor by-election on April 25 is to send the stirring message to all Malaysians all over the country that the time has come for national change of power in Putrajaya come the 13th General Elections.

Yesterday at the launch of the DAP SuperSunday 18 Walkabouts by DAP MPs, SAs and party leaders in 18 locations in the Hulu Selangor constituency, I had said that the Hulu Selangor by-election is no sure-winner for the Pakatan Rakyat and our candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and there must be no complacency on the part of any Pakatan Rakyat campaigner, whether DAP, PKR or PAS.

I had used some wrong data for the 2008 general election results for the Hulu Selangor parliamentary and the constituent three state assembly constituency results for Hulu Bernam, Batang Kali and Kuala Kubu Baru, but the underlying thrust of my warning remains unchanged.

To put the record straight, the Barisan Nasional polled a total majority of 6,176 votes in winning the three state assembly seats of Hulu Bernam, Batang Kali and Kuala Kubu Baru but for the Hulu Selangor parliamentary contest, the BN incumbent candidate G. Palanivel lost the seat to the PKR candidate Datuk Zainal Abidin in a wafer-thin majority of 198 votes.
Continue reading “Most important issue in Hulu Selangor by-election – send stirring message to all Malaysians that time has come for Putrajaya change of power”

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Hulu Selangor: A critical political litmus test

By Bridget Welsh | Malaysiakini

The Hulu Selangor campaign has begun in earnest as Malaysia heads into a record 10th by-election since March 2008.

Admittedly, many Malaysians are fed-up – they are tired of the empty promises that by-elections bring, the disappointments that come with politicians on both sides of the political divide not delivering on electoral promises, the pettiness of the campaign mud-slinging and the distraction from addressing the problems the country is facing.

This election, however, is one where people should take notice. The fact of the matter is that more than any other by-election since March 2008, this is a critical political litmus test for the country’s future. It is a national contest, with national stakes.

Allow me to briefly elaborate:

1) Referendum on Najib Razak
Continue reading “Hulu Selangor: A critical political litmus test”

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Hulu Selangor by-election is no sure-winner for Zaid – winnable provided PAS, PKR and DAP fully mobilise to get out every single Malay, Chinese, Indian and Orang Asli vote on April 25

We are launching this SuperSunday18 walkabouts by DAP Members of Parliament, State Assembly members and leaders from all over the country even from Sabah (we have MP for Kota Kinabalu Hiew King Cheu and DAP Kadazan leaders with us) in 18 Chinese new villages, Malay kampongs and Indian settlements in the Hulu Selangor constituency in the only available Sunday in this eight-day by-election.

Hulu Selangor by-election is no sure winner for the Pakatan Rakyat and our candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.

In the March 2008 general election, PKR candidate Datuk Zainal Abidin defeated Barisan Nasional candidate G. Palanivel with a slim majority of 198 votes.

However, in the three constituent state assembly seats, all won by BN, the three majorities secured by BN totalled 6,176 votes, comprising 3,548 majority in Hulu Bernam (contested by PAS), 2,179 majority in Batang Kali (contested by PKR) and 448 majority (contested by DAP).

What is the reason for the reversal of the total BN majorities of 6,167 votes from the three constituent state assembly seats into a 198-vote majority for the PKR?

Was it because 6,167 votes for BN at the state assembly level turned around to vote for PKR at the parliamentary level?
Continue reading “Hulu Selangor by-election is no sure-winner for Zaid – winnable provided PAS, PKR and DAP fully mobilise to get out every single Malay, Chinese, Indian and Orang Asli vote on April 25”