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Youths in BN T-shirts heckle Guan Eng

By Regina Lee and Kuek Ser Kuang Keng | Malaysiakini

The welcome given to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng at two back-to-back functions in this small constituency of Tenang last night were poles apart.

While Lim was given a rousing welcome when he arrived for his first ceramah in Bandar Labis Tengah, it was a totally different scene in the night, in Felda Chemplak Barat.

As early as 5pm, reporters were told that Umno supporters would “demonstrate” against Pakatan Rakyat at the settlement around 8pm, when Lim was expected to arrive.

It was only around 9pm when about 30 youths wearing BN T-shirts gathered some 20 metres from the PAS ceramah venue.
Continue reading “Youths in BN T-shirts heckle Guan Eng”

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Explain why Malaysia topped the world in per capita illicit capital outflows, losing RM888 billion as a result of corruption and misgovernance, instead of campaign of lies and falsehoods in Tenang by-election

UMNO and MCA leaders should be explaining why Malaysia topped the world in per capita illicit capital outflows, losing RM888 billion in nine years from 2000 – 2008 as a result of corruption and misgovernance, instead of disseminating lies and falsehoods in the Tenang by-election in Johore.

It is five days since the Washington-based financial watchdog, Global Financial Integrity (GFI), reported that Malaysia is among the countries which registered the highest illicit financial outflows over a period of nine years in the last decade.

The five countries with the highest illicit financial outlays between 2000 and 2008 were:

1. China $2.18 trillion
2. Russia $427 billion
3. Mexico $416 billion
4. Saudi Arabia $302 billion
5. Malaysia $291 billion.

Capital outflows from Malaysia more than tripled from US$22.2 billion in 2000 to US$68.2 billion in 2008, totaling US$291 billion (or RM888 billion) in nine years between 2000 and 2008. Continue reading “Explain why Malaysia topped the world in per capita illicit capital outflows, losing RM888 billion as a result of corruption and misgovernance, instead of campaign of lies and falsehoods in Tenang by-election”

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Najib cannot be more wrong. Tenang is about future of Malaysia – no more TBH Kugan Aminurasyid Krishnan & unaccounted deaths

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in Tenang yesterday that he also want to know the real truth of Teoh Beng Hock’s death.

If so, it is not too late for him to meet the demands of Teoh Beng Hock’s family and the overwhelming majority of Malaysians who want to see that justice is not only done but seen to be done by setting up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to probe further into the Coroner’s finding of Teoh Beng Hock’s prefall neck injury.

The Teoh Beng Hock RCI should be a meaningful and high-powered one comprising independent and credible members with the widest terms of reference to ferret out the truth of Teoh’s death and a commitment that the government will accept and implement its findings unlike the Lingam Videotape RCI.

Although Najib pledged his commitment “to unravel the mystery” behind Teoh’s death in Tenang yesterday, and that “we have ways to find out the truth”, government actions in the past 18 months since Teoh’s tragic and outrageous death at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters in Shah Alam on July 16, 2009, where he had gone voluntarily to give his co-operation to the MACC as a witness and not as a suspect, had not inspired confidence that the Prime Minister would “leave no stone unturned” to uncover the whole truth about Teoh’s death.
Continue reading “Najib cannot be more wrong. Tenang is about future of Malaysia – no more TBH Kugan Aminurasyid Krishnan & unaccounted deaths”

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Be realistic, Kit Siang tells Pakatan supporters

By Kuek Ser Kuang Keng | MalaysiaKini

Pakatan Rakyat supporters were told to be realistic in their target for Tenang, which is to reduce BN’s majority instead of winning the by-election.

“We need to be realistic. It is not easy to win this by-election,” said DAP leader Lim Kit Siang at PAS’ candidacy announcement ceremony last night in Labis.

“If we could reduce the over-2,400 majority of Umno and BN in the 2008 general election, it would be a victory for the people and Pakatan Rakyat, paving the way for the next general election.”

He pointed out that should the BN majority be reduced, it would mean the political tsunami in 2008 that spared Johor had hit the southern state and Johor is no longer a BN ‘fixed deposit’.

BN retained the state seat in the last general election with a 2,492 majority.
Continue reading “Be realistic, Kit Siang tells Pakatan supporters”

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Tenang by-election: Attempt to transfer husband for failing to ‘control wife’

By Kuek Ser Kuang Keng | MalaysiaKini

The Johor Education Department has attempted to transfer the husband of PAS’ Tenang candidate Normala Sudirman from Tenang to Johor Bahru on the ground that he cannot “control his wife”.

he sudden directive, which orders Normala’s husband Makrof Abd Mutalib to relocate to Johor Bahru within 24 hours, was however retracted after the couple (left) protested.

“The headmaster said it was because I can’t control my wife, referring to her political participation in PAS,” said Makrof Abd Mutalib, who has been teaching in a school in Tenang for the past 13 years.

Met at a PAS event to announce its candidate last night, Makrof told Malaysiakini that he received the transfer notice a few days ago when it was heavily speculated that his wife could contest the Jan 30 by-election for the state seat.
Continue reading “Tenang by-election: Attempt to transfer husband for failing to ‘control wife’”

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Pre-polls reforms unlikely, says Roubini’s RGE

By Yow Hong Chieh
The Malaysian Insider
January 13, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — Much-needed reforms to Malaysia’s pro-Bumiputera policies will likely be put on the back burner until Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak secures a new electoral mandate, a report by star economist Nouriel Roubini’s RGE global economic analysis firm has predicted.

RGE said in its “Wednesday Note — Malaysia’s Middle-Income Malaise” released yesterday that Umno was “unlikely” to revamp such policies “blocking” Malaysia’s rise to high-income nation status before the next general election for fear of antagonising Malay voters.

Najib’s market-friendly reforms under the New Economic Model (NEM) have received lukewarm to hostile response from the Malays, many of whom regard such proposals as a challenge to the special position of Bumiputeras outlined in the Constitution.

“[Given] the governing party’s reliance on Bumiputera support, major changes are unlikely until new elections are held and the government has the political confidence to confront popular resistance to reform,” RGE said. Continue reading “Pre-polls reforms unlikely, says Roubini’s RGE”

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Sarawak activists, lawyer detained ahead of polls

by Keruah Usit
Malaysiakini
Jan 7, 11

Police detained four activists and confiscated ‘seditious’ CDs and VCDs containing video and audio recordings of TV Sarawak Bebas and Radio Free Sarawak late last night in Kuching and Miri in what appears to be coordinated arrests.

Kuching-based land rights activist and Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) secretary Nicholas Mujah and Miri-based land rights lawyer and activist Abun Sui Anyit were both detained by Kuching and Miri police respectively.

The duo had their statements taken by the police. The other two, who were arrested by police in Kuching but without their statements taken, were social activist Ong Boon Keong and Sadia staff Nikodemus Singgai.

Six Home Ministry officials and a team of Special Branch officers raided Sadia office just past midnight and confiscated about 1,200 of CDs and VCDs. Also confiscated were two compact disc burners and some promotional leaflets.

Mujah, Singgai and Ong were subsequently taken to the Satok police station in Kuching.

A few hours later, Mujah was transferred to the Home Ministry office in Kuching for questioning after the confiscated materials were recorded at the Satok police station.

He was told that he is being investigated under Section 6 of the Film Censorship Act. Continue reading “Sarawak activists, lawyer detained ahead of polls”

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100-day reforms: BN has lost and Pakatan deserves a chance

by Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysia Chronicle
Thursday, 23 December 2010

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin scoffed at Pakatan’s 100-day reforms in the event that they formed the federal government and reminded the public ‘why BN has been in power for more than half a century and counting’.

His shameless attempt to discredit Pakatan is an insult to the electorate. He said, “Pakatan can promise the sun, moon, stars and mountains… But that is not the way of the BN government. We cannot squander our nation’s wealth.”

Muhyiddin is far removed from reality. People are disillusioned. After 53 years, the nation is more divided than ever, and our economy is in tatters. Our standards in education are falling, our defence budget is spiraling out of control and the civil service is bloated. The Prime minister’s residence and the King’s palace are undergoing a multi-million magical transformation whilst some people live without piped water and electricity.

Does Muhyiddin still think the electorate deserves to give BN another chance? Is 53 years of failure not long enough? Continue reading “100-day reforms: BN has lost and Pakatan deserves a chance”

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Mid-term poll suggests Pakatan can keep Selangor

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
23 December 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 — A Merdeka Center mid-term survey of voters showed that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was likely to retain Selangor in an election, despite a marginal decline in Malay support.

According to the survey report released to The Malaysian Insider, 57 per cent of the 1,214 respondents polled believed that Selangor PR was heading in the right direction while 28 per cent thought otherwise.

There was a slight dip in Malay confidence, however, from 63 per cent agreeing in June 2009 that the state was on the right track to only 55 per cent in August this year.

Support from the Chinese community was maintained at 53 per cent in the same period despite a small decline to 47 per cent in January this year.

The PR government scored the highest with the Indian community, with a steady increase in support from 63 per cent to 72 per cent across the same period. Continue reading “Mid-term poll suggests Pakatan can keep Selangor”

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1Choice for Malaysia

Malaysiakini
Mariam Mokhtar
Dec 20, 10

Malaysia’s upcoming general election offers the country its most significant choice for several decades.

The political tsunami of 2008 was an eye-opener. At the second Pakatan Rakyat convention in Kepala Batas, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang acknowledged the weaknesses in the opposition pact and urged party member to unite and remain focused.

The nation faces enormous challenges in the years to come. The economic demands are tremendous. The next government needs to stabilise the economy and stimulate growth in the private sector. It has to deal with its burgeoning debt, cut subsidies and rein in borrowings if it does not want to risk bankruptcy.

Our problems are not just economic. We are faced with a rising tide of extremism from Malay groups, borders which are porous, a rise in Islamic fundamentalism, a rise in racist incidents, problems in our schools and hospitals, the destruction of the police and judiciary, babies being abandoned, high levels of corruption and a weakening of civic society.

These problems demand a robust solution and a strong government to tackle them. The burning question is: Which party is best suited to lead us out of this quagmire? Continue reading “1Choice for Malaysia”

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Pakatan Rakyat ready to rule?

– by Azly Rahman
Dec 20, 10

Just do it.” – Nike slogan.

As a disinterested and apolitical analyst of Malaysian politics I believe that for the good of all Malaysians, democracy needs renewal, either through evolution or revolution all through its inevitable march towards its final solution. It is not political philosophy that is at issue here but the people that translates it into practice.

Except for the allegedly orchestrated bloody racial riots of May 13 1969, Malaysia is fortunate to have seen peaceful stages of evolution although her prime ministers hailed from the bourgeoisie-class of hybridised Malays helming the race-based party that has no clear ideology; a party that is losing its effect in rallying the Malay electorate due to its own poor understanding of the meaning of nationalism and cosmopolitanism in an age of cybernetics and globalisation.

Is the death of Malaysia’s National Front or the Barisan Nasional near? Can Malaysian politics be “gentlemanly” or borrowing Kung Fu Tze’s word for gentleman, “Chuan tze” enough for the 50-year race-based coalition regime to give way for a coalition of multiculturalists such as Pakatan Rakyat to rule for the next 50 years? Are Malaysians ready enough for this gentlemanly act that will give meaning to the evolutionary democracy Malaysian-styled?

Perhaps the nation is ready. An era awaits no nation. It only needs to be cemented by political will. Continue reading “Pakatan Rakyat ready to rule?”

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Pakatan pledges ‘100 day’ reforms for Putrajaya win

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
December 19, 2010

KEPALA BATAS, Dec 19 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) finally revealed a detailed policy framework today, emphasising quick economic and political reforms should the coalition win federal power.

Titled the “Pakatan agenda”, the policy framework is seen as PR’s answer and solution to questions surrounding the opposition’s administrative plans in comparison to Barisan Nasional (BN).

Speculation is rife that a general election will be held as early as next March although BN’s mandate does not expire until May 2013.

“Pakatan Rakyat will initiate reform plans throughout the country in all fields following the original principles underlined in the common policy framework,” an excerpt from the 56-page orange-bound booklet read.

According to the booklet, PR promised instant reforms within the first 100 days of them taking over Putrajaya. Continue reading “Pakatan pledges ‘100 day’ reforms for Putrajaya win”

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Ku Li caught in an Umno trap?

By Philip Bowring
Malaysiakini

The result of the 12th by-election since the tumultuous general elections in 2008 is in practical terms irrelevant. Whether or not PAS retains the state seat of Galas in tomorrow’s by-election will make no difference to the Islamic party’s control of the state legislature. (PAS captured 38 of the 45 state seats in Kelantan, while ally PKR picked up one and Umno, six)

But it will be a test of the influence of Umno’s most distinguished internal dissident, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, and his calls for sweeping reform of Umno. Galas is part of Razaleigh’s federal parliamentary constituency and is centred on his hometown of Gua Musang in the south of Kelantan. And, together with a federal seat by-election on the same day, the election is expected to play a role in whether Prime Minister Najib Razak will go to national polls in early 2011.

But interpreting the Galas result will not be easy. The 73-year-old Razaleigh, usually known as Ku Li, is between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, the Kelantan aristocrat knows that his calls for reform of Umno are unlikely to make much progress if the erosion of support for the Umno-led BN ruling coalition that was seen both in the 2008 federal election and in subsequent by-elections is stemmed or reversed.
Continue reading “Ku Li caught in an Umno trap?”

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Galas assault: Heng a liar, says TBH group

By Wong Teck Chi | Nov 2, 10 4:26pm
Malaysiakini

The ‘Malaysians for Beng Hock’ movement released a series of photographs today to prove that one of their members was manhandled by an MCA grassroots leader in Gua Musang, Kelantan, last Saturday.

The movement’s coordinator Ng Yap Hwa said the photographs proved that one of its members, Soh Cher Hai, was in fact violently pushed by an individual who has been identified as the Gua Musang MCA division secretary.

The movement said the photographs were proof that Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Heng Seai Kie had issued misleading statements on the incident.

Heng had claimed that Soh did not exactly fall onto the ground and that she had ensured Soh’s safety before she left.
Continue reading “Galas assault: Heng a liar, says TBH group”

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Leave activists alone, says DAP

By Patrick Lee
Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR: The DAP has condemned the police and the MCA for not giving social activists leeway in Galas.

Four people from the social activist group Malaysians for Beng Hock, including Teoh Beng Hock’s sister, Teoh Lee Lan, were arrested on Sunday during the Galas by-election campaign.

The group arrived in Galas to seek justice for the death of Teoh, a DAP political aide.

They were picked up for distributing leaflets on custodial deaths and attempting to goad MCA officials into supporting the formation of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Teoh’s death.
Continue reading “Leave activists alone, says DAP”

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A PR win in Batu Sapi will signify national change, Kit Siang says

By Melissa Chi
The Malaysian Insider
October 31, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang emphasised today the importance of the Batu Sapi by-elections, claiming that only Pakatan Rakyat (PR) could offer Sabah the dire need of change.

“It will have a large implication… it will be a preview to the federal change of power,” the Ipoh-Timur MP told The Malaysian Insider over the phone.

“What this by-election means, is for the first time the people of Sabah in a by-election will be voting for national change,” the federal lawmaker said, confident that if the opposition coalition wins the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat, chances of winning the next general election will be much higher.

He claimed that it is not possible for a “real change” in Sabah change without a national change in government.
“The significance and implications of this Batu Sapi election, this message can be sent out to the voters. I believe the majority of the voters will see the importance… if Pakatan Rakyat wins, there is a possibility of change. Continue reading “A PR win in Batu Sapi will signify national change, Kit Siang says”

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Malaysia’s GPS for General Election-13

By Azly Rahman

Come Malaysia’s general election No 13, how lucky will we be to have the entire nation bold enough to experiment with radical changes, a mega-trend, a paradigm shift, and the will to even replace the blue ocean in which sharks and piranhas battle against each other in a seemingly calm sea of change?

So – are Malaysians ready with a global positioning system that will leave behind that ancient regime calloused with the will to use religion, ethnicity, and race to cling on to power fast waning? As the Malaysian election approaches, people are talking about ‘the new politics’, ‘sustainable capitalism’, ‘new economic model’, ‘radical multiculturalism’, ‘politics of moderation’.

What are these? Are they merely another set of rhetoric, or are they signifiers to a new world of Malaysian political-economic realism? After fifty years of a Rostowian and Friedmanian developmentalist agenda – that we adopt and have a difficult time understanding, and yet we imitate – we are faced with a brand new old question: where do we go from here?
Continue reading “Malaysia’s GPS for General Election-13”

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Will Ku Li’s words get in the way in Galas?

By Yow Hong ChiehThe Malaysian Insider
ANALYSIS
Oct 9, 2010

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah will lead the Barisan Nasional (BN) bid to recapture the Galas state seat in the November 4 by-election, campaigning for a party that has sidelined him over the years.

The Kelantan prince has not minced his words with Umno, with his latest battle centred on oil royalty payments for his home state.

The PAS state government has taken the matter to court and Tengku Razaleigh said today it would be sub-judice to mention it, when he accepted the task of leading the BN election campaign.

He will finalise the campaign details on Monday with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, his opponent for the Umno presidency.

In campaigning for Umno, the politician popularly known as Ku Li will have to live down his various speeches and quotes on issues that are at odds with the party. Continue reading “Will Ku Li’s words get in the way in Galas?”

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The Tengku Razaleigh factor

by Jema Khan
The Malaysian Insider
October 04, 2010

OCT 4 — The upcoming Galas state seat by-election is interesting on many fronts. It was a seat won by PAS in the last general election though Umno won the Gua Musang parliamentary seat which encompasses Galas.

By many accounts winning the Gua Musang parliamentary seat has nothing to do with Umno but more due to it being the stronghold of its long-standing MP, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Who is this man known colloquially as Ku Li?

Well, if you read “Malaysian Maverick” written by Barry Wain which is actually about Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, you would know. Ku Li is an elder statesman in Malaysia who also, by many accounts, could have been PM of Malaysia.

A jovial, effervescent and decent man who has within him the institutional memory of this country, he really personifies all that was good in our founding fathers. Ask him about any of them, be it Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, you name it, he was there at the time and can still give you a decent recollection of what they stood for.

He has a very Malay way of putting his objections to all the bad things that are happening to our nation. See him on YouTube under Mycitizen and you will get a flavour of the man. Our founding fathers were the generation that really sacrificed their wealth and wellbeing for this country and their views would be very similar to that of Ku Li’s today.

In fact, the irony of it all is although Ku Li sacrificed so much personally for Umno, it is the opposition that today have a greater appreciation for his integrity and intellect. They accept him as an elder statesman that they would love to have on their side. Continue reading “The Tengku Razaleigh factor”