Posted on

16th DAPNC – sound the call to arms for a PR government in Putrajaya with 125 PR seats in Parliament with distribution of 45:40:40 seats respectively for PKR, PAS and DAP

The 16th DAP National Congress the next two days is the focus of national attention for more reasons than one, viz:

• It is the last national conference this year for any political party in Malaysia;

• In fact, it is the last national conference for any political party before the 13th General Elections which would be held in the next 100 days;

• DAP is the only political party in the country which dares to hold party elections on the eve of impending general elections, as all other political parties have postponed their party elections until after the elections;

• Will the DAP emerge stronger or weaker after the 16th DAP National Congress;

• Will Pakatan Rakyat and the cause for “UBAH” to effect political change in Malaysia all the way to Putrajaya be strengthened or weakened?

In the past month, Pakatan Rakyat suffered a serious setback when the four million middle-ground voters who will be the arbiter as to whether it is the Pakatan Rakyat or the Barisan Nasional which will appoint the Prime Minister and form the government in Putrajaya after the 13GE developed doubts and hesitations as to whether Pakatan Rakyat parties of PKR, PAS and DAP are fully committed to the PR Common Policy Framework and Buku Jingga common platforms.

This is a salutary lesson to all the component Pakatan Rakyat parties that in the “hot-house atmosphere” which will further intensify with the approach of the long-awaited 13th General Elections, that they must always be conscious that every statement and action not only of the national leaders but of the other echeleons can have an impact many times larger than ordinary times when exploited and distorted by unscrupulous and unprincipled political propagandists with their biased mainstream media.

The Kelantan gender-segregation ruling affecting non-Muslim hair salons is a case in point where on the one and same issue, DAP is accused of being “subservient” to PAS while PAS is accused of compromising to “appease” the DAP. Continue reading “16th DAPNC – sound the call to arms for a PR government in Putrajaya with 125 PR seats in Parliament with distribution of 45:40:40 seats respectively for PKR, PAS and DAP”

Posted on

1st task of “100 Days to Putrajaya” Campaign – prove UMNO/BN prophets of doom wrong with ringing/powerful endorsement by 16th DAP NC for Karpal-Guan Eng leadership to lead DAP in the PR battle for Putrajaya in 13GE

The UMNO/Barisan Nasional propagandists have been working overtime to forecast various doomsday scenarios for DAP, Pakatan Rakyat and the country in the run-up to the 13th general elections, as for instance, warning of a repetition of May 13 racial clashes, chaos and even Malaysia becoming bankrupt and be like Greece in three years if UMNO/Barisan Nasional is replaced by Pakatan Rakyat in Putrajaya.

It is almost five years since the Pakatan Rakyat formed the state governments in Penang, Selangor and Kedah and over 22 years since PAS captured the Kelantan state government. Have there been May 13 racial clashes in the Pakatan Rakyat states or have they gone bankrupt?

If Pakatan Rakyat rule is such a disaster, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would not have to undergo the two-year agony of repeatedly postponing the date for the 13th general elections because of his lack of confidence that UMNO/BN would get a renewed mandate to continue to govern Malaysia.

There would also have been no need for Najib to resort to undemocratic and unconstitutional means to mount an illegal coup d’etat to grab power from the duly-elected Pakatan Rakyat state government in Perak in February 2009, a result which the people of Perak are determined to reverse by restoring Perak state to Pakatan Rakyat in the 13th general elections.

The UMNO/BN leaders and propagandists must be told in no uncertain terms to stop their various false doomsday scenarios for the people and the country if they truly love Malaysia.

Just as Kelantan had not gone bankrupt after more than 22 years of PAS rule and Penang, Selangor and Kedah have not gone bankrupt after nearly five years of Pakatan Rakyat state governments, but in fact chalking up a better record than Barisan Nasional both in good governance and promoting the people’s welfare, Malaysia will not become bankrupt after three years.

On the contrary, under PR governance, Malaysia will be set on a new growth path to lead to greater prosperity and justice for all Malaysians for the country, not only because of an end to corruption, cronyism and abuses of power but because Malaysia will be governed by leaders whose first priority is the best interests of all Malaysians and the country rather than of themselves and their cronies. Continue reading “1st task of “100 Days to Putrajaya” Campaign – prove UMNO/BN prophets of doom wrong with ringing/powerful endorsement by 16th DAP NC for Karpal-Guan Eng leadership to lead DAP in the PR battle for Putrajaya in 13GE”

Posted on

Pakatan Rakyat must avoid repeating the mistakes of the Republicans who lost the US presidency twice because they lost sight of the Middle Ground

At the end of the recently concluded UMNO General Assembly, Prime Minister and UMNO President Datuk Seri Najib Razak rightly warned his UMNO base not to repeat Republic presidential candidate, Mitt Romeny’s mistake, to over rely on older, white voters to win the elections. Similarly, UMNO should not be overly dependent on the rural Malays to win the upcoming Malaysian general election at the expense of ignoring the growing urban multiracial middle class.

Najib is right in pointing out Romney’s mistake. Romney won a majority of the white vote against Obama – 59% to 39% – but he failed to even break 30% of any of the minority groups. Predictably, he lost the African American vote – 6% to 93% – but he also lost the Latino vote – 27% to 71% – and the Asian American vote – 26% to 73% – by significant margins.

Romney won a majority of the votes of those aged 65 and above – 56% to 44% – but lost in the 30-44 age group – 45% to 52% – as well as in the 18-29 age group – 37% to 60%. Among the ideological moderates, Obama defeated Romney by 56% to 41%.

Romney was treading old ground here. The same results, more or less, were achieved by McCain in the 2008 presidential elections. McCain won a majority of the white vote against Obama – 55% to 43% but lost the African American vote – 4% to 95% – , the Latino vote – 31% to 67% – and the Asian America vote – 35% to 63%. He won 53% of the voters aged above 65 (against Obama’s 45%) but lost in the 30-44 age group – 52% to 46% – and lost the 18 to 29 age group by a landslide – 32% to 66%. Among the ideological moderates, Obama defeated McCain 60% to 39%.

Both Republican candidates had to appeal to their ‘base’ of conservative, mostly white and old voters in order to win their respective primary elections. As a result both could not broaden their appeal to reach out to a sufficient number of moderate voters including many minorities in order to win the American Presidency.

Sadly, Najib’s advice is likely to fall on deaf ears within his own party. Continue reading “Pakatan Rakyat must avoid repeating the mistakes of the Republicans who lost the US presidency twice because they lost sight of the Middle Ground”

Posted on

Let 16th DAP National Congress this weekend be a historic curtain-raiser to the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya” campaign for Malaysians to create history and usher in a new, truly united, democratic, just and prosperous Malaysia under a PR Malaysian government

All eyes are on the 16th DAP National Congress in Penang this weekend not only because it is the last national congress for political parties in Malaysia this year, but also because it heralds the last hundred days before the holding of the long-postponed/awaited 13th General Elections.

Let the 16th DAP National Congress be a historic curtain-raiser to the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya” campaign for Malaysians to create history and usher in a new, truly united, democratic, just and prosperous Malaysia under a Pakatan Rakyat Malaysian Government in the 13th General Elections.

Let the 16th DAP National Congress send out the clear and unequivocal message to all Malaysians throughout the country – that DAP leaders, delegates and members are imbued with a profound sense of vision, commitment, responsibility and discipline to accomplish the historic mission and objectives of the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya” campaign for Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, Kadazans or Ibans; whether Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Taoists or Sikhs; whether in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah or Sarawak, to unite as one people to restore Malaysia’s greatness as a model of a harmonious plural society where there is tolerance, freedom, justice, human rights, democracy, sustainable development, prosperity, good governance and a clean and incorruptible government.

In the run-up to the 16th DAP National Congress and during the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya”, UMNO/Barisan Nasional propagandists and spin-masters will go into an overdrive in their politics of lies, hate and fear not only to demonise the DAP and create maximum division and damage inside the party but also in DAP’s relations with our Pakatan Rakyat parties, PKR and PAS. Continue reading “Let 16th DAP National Congress this weekend be a historic curtain-raiser to the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya” campaign for Malaysians to create history and usher in a new, truly united, democratic, just and prosperous Malaysia under a PR Malaysian government”

Posted on

Tahun depan merupakan tahun petaka untuk CPI TI Malaysia memandangkan UMNO/BN bersedia untuk menaburkan berbilion ringgit di dalam PRU13 bagi mengekalkan kuasa – membawa politik wang ke satu paras baru sejarah negara

Untuk empat tahun berturut-turut, sepanjang tempoh Najib menjadi Perdana Menteri (2009-2012) telah mencatatkan kedudukan rendah di dalam Indeks Persepsi Rasuah (CPI) Transparency International (TI) 2012 berbanding dua Perdana Menteri sebelumnya iaitu Tun Mahathir dan Tun Abdullah.

Di tahun pertama CPI TI pada 1995, Malaysia berada pada kedudukan ke-23 daripada 41 negara, menjunam ke tempat ke-37 pada 2003 ketika Mahathir meletakkan jawatan sebagai Perdana Menteri pada hujung tahun itu.

Meskipun berdegar-degar Abdullah dikaitkan dengan imej “Mr. Clean” dan”Hakim Bao Zaman Moden”, “pencegahan rasuah secara menyeluruh” dan “penahanan 18 ‘ikan besar”, CPI TI Malaysia masih berterusan menjunam dalam tempoh lima tahun Abdullah menjadi Perdana Menteri, jatuh ke tempat 47 pada tahun 2008.

Akan tetapi empat tahun Najib memegang jawatan Perdana Menteri memperlihatkan CPI TI Malaysia menjunam ke paras yang lebih rendah – No.56 pada tahun 2009 dan 2010, No. 60 pada 2011 dan No. 54 pada 2012.

Kesannya, sepanjang tempoh Najib memegang jawatan Perdana Menteri beliau mempunyai rekod buruk menjadi lebih korup berbanding lima Perdana Menteri sebelumya, memandangkan tiada yang menyatakan rasuah di bawah tiga Perdana Menteri awal iaitu Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak dan Tun Hussein lebih serius berbanding pengganti mereka.

Sehingga tahun tujuh puluhan, skandal terbesar di Parlimen adalah skandal RM65 juta Bank Rakyat yang saya bahaskan di Parlimen pada tahun 1979.
Continue reading “Tahun depan merupakan tahun petaka untuk CPI TI Malaysia memandangkan UMNO/BN bersedia untuk menaburkan berbilion ringgit di dalam PRU13 bagi mengekalkan kuasa – membawa politik wang ke satu paras baru sejarah negara”

Posted on

Penang Lang must defend Penang at all cost

by Richard Loh
10 Dec. 2012

Your PM is blackmailing and using his ‘legal’ bribery ‘I help you, you help me’ bribing his way to recapture Penang. Penangnites must not fall into this dangerous trap.

Your Prime Minster has proven beyond doubt that he is a very weak and incapable leader. His daily speeches, a multitude of plea, threat, admission, omission and deceptive promises that allowed one to see how a man looks like when the fear of losing power is imminent.

His latest trip to Penang on the 8th December 2012 was to galvanize support to retake Penang in the next General Election with more ambiguous speeches and deceptive promises.

Every Malaysian must ask this question “Who is paying for all the extravagant expenses of your PM playing Santa Claus Merry going round the country”?

What kind of leadership is he trying to prove, a leadership for all Malaysians or just to those who like and support his Umno coalition BN?

He made a call to Penangnites to ensure a BN victory only then will they get to have (mind you, only pledges) 20,000 affordable homes and monorail. Is he a real joker PM or what? Can I put three questions to him. Continue reading “Penang Lang must defend Penang at all cost”

Posted on

Next year will be a bad year for Malaysia’s TI CPI as UMNO/BN are set to spend billions to try to retain power in the 13GE – taking money politics to new depths in nation’s history

For the fourth consecutive year, the Najib premiership (2009-2012) has registered a lower ranking in the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2012 than under the two previous Prime Ministers, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah.

In the first year of TI CPI in 1995, Malaysia was ranked 23rd out of 41 countries, plunging to No. 37th placing in 2003 when Mahathir stepped down as Prime Minister at the end of the year.

Despite all the Abdullah boast of “Mr. Clean”, “Modern-Day Justice Bao”, “all-out war against corruption” and “impending arrest of 18 ‘big fishes’”, Malaysia’s TI CPI continued on a headlong plunge in Abdullah’s five-year premiership, falling to No. 47 position in 2008.

But the four years of Najib premiership saw Malaysia’s TI CPI plunging to even lower depths – No. 56 in 2009 and 2010, No. 60 in 2011 and No. 54 in 2012.

As a result, the Najib premiership has the dubious record of being even more corrupt than all the previous five premierships, as no one has ever suggested that corruption under the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein were more serious than their successors.

Until the seventies, the biggest scandal in Parliament was the RM65 million Bank Rakyat scandal which I debated in Parliament in 1979.
Continue reading “Next year will be a bad year for Malaysia’s TI CPI as UMNO/BN are set to spend billions to try to retain power in the 13GE – taking money politics to new depths in nation’s history”

Posted on

Adakah UMNO/BN akan memperoleh majoriti dua pertiga semula atau adakah Pakatan Rakyat akan menawan Putrajaya dengan majoriti lebih 20 di dalam PRU13?

Terdapat seorang lagi yang berkerja lebih keras daripada Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak untuk memastikan UMNO/Barisan Nasional bukan sahaja memenangi Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 tetapi juga mendapat majoriti dua pertiga kerusi Parlimen.

Orang itu adalah Tun Dr. Mahathir yang sepatutnya sudah bersara daripada politik apabila meletakkan jawatan pada penghujung 2003 selepas 22 tahun menjadi Perdana Menteri.

Semalam, Mahathir berada di Sik untuk mengingatkan ahli UMNO bagi menghilangkan rasa tidak puas hati terhadap calon yang dipilih oleh kepimpinan tertinggi UMNO/BN sekiranya mereka mahu lihat UMNO/BN kekal berkuasa selepas PRU13.

Beliau meminta ahli UMNO untuk mengenepikan perbezaan mereka dan memberikan sokongan penuh kepada calon UMNO/BN yang terpilih kerana keutamaan sepatutnya untuk memastikan kemjayaan supaya BN dapat menang besar dan membentuk kerajaan yang kuat.

Perkara itu amat luar biasa tetapi kebiasaan Mahathirism yang mana Mahathir perlu memberi amaran tentang penyakit “Melayu mudah lupa” sebagai punca tidak puas hati di dalam UMNO sehingga tidak menyokong calon yang terpilih, sedangkan Mahathir sendiri adalah gambaran terbaik penyakit “Melayu mudah lupa” apabila beliau dengan giat berkempen menentang Tun Abdullah sebagai Perdana Menteri pada pilihan raya umum 2008.
Continue reading “Adakah UMNO/BN akan memperoleh majoriti dua pertiga semula atau adakah Pakatan Rakyat akan menawan Putrajaya dengan majoriti lebih 20 di dalam PRU13?”

Posted on

Will UMNO/BN regain its two-thirds parliamentary majority or will Pakatan Rakyat capture Putrajaya with a 20 Plus majority in the 13GE?

There is one person who is working even harder than the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to ensure that UMNO/Barisan Nasional not only win the 13th General Election but also regain its two-thirds parliamentary majority.

This person is Tun Dr. Mahathir, who is supposed to have retired from politics when he stepped down as Prime Minister after 22 years at the end of 2003.

Yesterday, Mahathir was in Sik to remind UMNO members to rid themselves of the feeling of dissatisfaction over candidates chosen by the top UMNO/BN leadership if they want to see UMNO/BN remain in power after the coming 13GE.

He said UMNO members must all set aside their differences and give their full support to the selected UMNO/BN candidates as the priority should be ensuring victory so that BN can win big and form a strong government.

It is most extraordinary but typical Mahathirism that Mahathir should be warning of the “Melayu mudah lupa” complex as the cause of the disgruntled in UMNO not supporting the chosen candidate, when Mahathir himself was the best illustration of the “Melayu mudah lupa” complex when he campaigned actively against the premiership of Tun Abdullah in the 2008 general election.

It is clear that to Mahathir, what is at stake in the 13GE is not so much the Najib premiership but the Mahathir legacy, and no one has any doubt as to which would get the priority if there is a clash between the Najib premiership and the Mahathir legacy!
Continue reading “Will UMNO/BN regain its two-thirds parliamentary majority or will Pakatan Rakyat capture Putrajaya with a 20 Plus majority in the 13GE?”

Posted on

Dirty tricks of the BN media

— Fikry Osman
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 09, 2012

DEC 9 — There is a good reason not to buy newspapers owned by Barisan Nasional (BN) parties. They lie, twist and misinterpret news against opposition parties.

Look what The Star has done with Kelantan this week, reporting that four non-Muslims were caught for khalwat by local council officers. The officers had also apparently asked for bribes.

Isn’t this just another trick by the MCA-owned newspaper to make PAS look bad? To make people fear PAS and raise the spectre of an intolerant and punitive Islamic state?

On the other side, the NST does the same, except it is against DAP where it says our way of life is in danger because DAP is secular, communist or Christian in outlook.

These newspapers should make up their mind. It is one or the other and not all. It just shows how they will lie for their political masters. Continue reading “Dirty tricks of the BN media”

Posted on

Nonsensical Najib must be very nervous!

By Martin Jalleh
9 Dec 2012

The General Elections beckons and it looks as though the Prime Minister (PM) has gone berserk. He is making comments most bizarre! He blurts out statements beyond human logic!

Soon after the last General Elections he had warned his political party that either it changes or the government that it so dominates will be changed by the people.

He now surprisingly admits that Umno needs to change (The Malaysian Insider, 7 Dec., 2012). In other words, his party has not changed – which in fact clearly contradicts what he and his cohorts have been saying! Continue reading “Nonsensical Najib must be very nervous!”

Posted on

Everyone will have something to lose

Steve Oh
CPI
Dec 8, 2012

The fires of May 13, 1969 still burn in the mind of older Malaysians who lived through the racial riots that swept through the major cities of the peninsula.

I was a teenager then and the sight of my father quickly putting on his shoes to go out to our middle-class and predominantly Chinese neighbourhood to call for the menfolk to come out and defend their homes if the Malays attacked us was hard to reconcile with the ‘happy-go-lucky’ life we were enjoying.

We could hear the drums beating in the distance where there was a Malay kampung. And for his efforts my father came back fuming that an old Chinese woman had scolded him for being a ‘busybody’. It turned out she was also a distant relative.

A month before Penang had seen a curfew when a policeman was killed after a politically linked incident. Tension was high. But not all of us were bent on spilling racial blood.

We made sure that the Malay teacher and his mother who lived in our street was safe. I checked with my Malay friend and his family who lived in an adjoining suburb (which was predominantly Chinese) that they were safe. We took care of one another and there was no incident in all the neighborhoods around us – Chinese protecting Malays and Malays protecting Chinese.

Not everyone, in fact few Malaysians considered in total, were infected with the madness. Continue reading “Everyone will have something to lose”

Posted on

PR mesti menumpukan untuk memenangi lebih empat juta undi “atas pagar” sekiranya mahu berjaya dalam pertembungan menawan Putrajaya pada PRU13

Perhimpunan Agung UMNO ke-66 selama lima hari, yang mana pengkritik meggambarkannya sebagai “Lima hari pesta liar bingit dan berang” berakhir dengan kepimpinan UMNO merasa yakin bahawa UMNO/BN akan mencapai “kemenangan besar pilihan raya” – memenangi semula dua pertiga majoriti di Parlimen juga negeri-negeri Pakatan seperti Kelantan, Pulau Pinang, Selangor dan Kedah pada Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 dan mempertahankan kuasa yang tidak sah dan tidak mengikut perlembahaan di Perak.

Bagaimanapun, ucapan kempimpinan UMNO selepas Perhimpunan Agung UMNO, terutamanya “tok dalang” UMNO, Tun Dr Mahathir tidak menampakkan keyakinan itu.

Sungguhpun begitu, pertembungan merebut Putrajaya pada PRU13 akan menjadi sangat sengit dan sesiapa yang memenangi majoriti empat juta pengundi “atas pagar” akan mendapat kelebihan.

Pakatan Rakyat sepatutnya menumpukan pada memenangi empat juta pengundi “atas pagar” sekiranya mahu berjaya dalam pertembungan menawan Putrajaya pada PRU13.

Untuk PRU13, daftar pemilih telah meningkat lebih daripada 13 juta pengundi. Terdapat lebih kurang 3 juta pengundi baru di dalam daftar pemilih, 60% adalah di bawah usia 30 tahun. 25% daripada daftar pemilih pilihan raya umum akan datang terdiri daripada pengundi baru.
Continue reading “PR mesti menumpukan untuk memenangi lebih empat juta undi “atas pagar” sekiranya mahu berjaya dalam pertembungan menawan Putrajaya pada PRU13”

Posted on

PR must focus on winning over the four million “middle ground” votes if we are to succeed in the battle to Putrajaya in 13GE

The five-day 66th UMNO General Assembly, which a critic has described as “A five-day orgy of sound and fury”, ended with the UMNO leaders breathing confidence that UMNO/BN are headed to “a resounding electoral victory” – winning back the two-thirds majority in Parliament as well as state power in the Pakatan states of Kelantan, Penang, Selangor and Kedah in the 13 General Election and retaining illegal and unconstitutional power in Perak.

However, the speeches of UMNO leaders after the UMNO General Assembly, particularly the UMNO “eminence grise”, Tun Dr. Mahathir do not bear out this confidence.

Be that as it may, the battle for Putrajaya in the 13GE is going to be a very close one and whoever wins the majority of the four million “middle ground” voters will have the upper hand.

Pakatan Rakyat should focus on winning the over four million “middle ground” voters if we are to succeed in the battle for Putrajaya in 13GE.

For the 13GE, the electorate has increased to slightly more than 13 million voters. There are approximately 3 million new voters in the electorate, 60% of whom are under the age of 30. New voters will comprise 25% of the electorate in the next general election.
Continue reading “PR must focus on winning over the four million “middle ground” votes if we are to succeed in the battle to Putrajaya in 13GE”

Posted on

For Malaysia’s Governing Party,’ Defining Point’ Is Near

By LIZ GOOCH
New York Times
December 3, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR — Bathed in a sea of the party’s signature red, the headquarters of the United Malays National Organization swarmed with thousands of party faithful last week, eager to hear from their leader as the clock ticked toward Malaysia’s next election.

UMNO, the largest party in the National Front coalition, which has governed Malaysia for more than half a century, is preparing to contest what many analysts predict is likely to be its toughest election yet.

Vowing that the government would fight for every vote, Najib Razak, the prime minister of Malaysia and president of the party, said Thursday that it would be “no ordinary election.”

“It will be the defining point for the destiny of the people and country,” he said during a spirited speech to flag-waving party members at the UMNO General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur.

With the wounds inflicted by the opposition during the last elections still fresh in the minds of party members, the next election, which must be held by June, will mark the first time Mr. Najib will seek a mandate from voters.

Observers say he will confront an influx of unpredictable young voters and a stronger opposition, setting the stage for a tight race. Continue reading “For Malaysia’s Governing Party,’ Defining Point’ Is Near”

Posted on

A 5-day orgy of sound and fury

Stanley Koh | December 6, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

Nothing substantive came out of the recent Umno assembly.

COMMENT

Many followers of the news must be relieved now that the silliest season of the year is over.

Umno delegates spent five days at their annual meeting straining their throats with meaningless rhetoric, noisy battle cries and hilarious claims about their party’s importance in the life of the nation.

They even risked blasphemy. An unwritten resolution of the meeting is that the morally challenged party is God’s own. Umno’s founding fathers must have turned in their graves.

Some of us might have excused the criminal waste of time, newsprint and airwave if only a fraction of the delegates had made some intelligent observations about the current state of Malaysian democracy or questioned how far Umno had gone in president Najib Tun Razak’s transformation programme.

But this is what we have come to expect from Umno since it became Umno Baru in 1988. And it has only gotten worse with time.

Can Umno continue to survive in the rapidly changing Malaysian political landscape, where even schoolchildren can see through the hollowness of its rhetoric? Can this self-proclaimed protector of the Malay race and religion withstand the demands of a generation awakening to the call for justice, human rights and the rule of law? Continue reading “A 5-day orgy of sound and fury”

Posted on

Discourage rather than encourage a repetition of May 13

by Koon Yew Yin
7th December 2012

The biggest losers will be the Malays

As the countdown to the elections begins to take place in earnest, we are getting more and more calls from desperate and irresponsible politicians drawing attention to the possibility of a repetition of the infamous May 13 violence if the election results should go against the expectations of various political parties and interests.

The fact that these calls are directed towards the Bumiputra component of our population, are expressed in the national language, and are widely carried in the Malay mass media and internet world makes me suspicious of the intentions of these politicians who claim that they are simply doing Malaysians a favour by warning of the backlash should the election outcome not bring about a continuation of the present power structure.

To my mind, these politicians are not only applying crude pressure on the Malay electorate to vote for them but they are also blatantly revealing their trump card – that violence, chaos and political instability will automatically erupt in the event that the opposition parties win the elections.

This blackmailing of our electorate as well as incitement of disruptive and hooligan elements in our society is totally unacceptable. Various groups such as academicians and individual politicians from the opposition have spoken up against such fear mongering in the recent past. However, not enough has been done by members of the business community and other professional organizations to speak out against these warnings and threats although they will be the main losers should another May 13 episode takes place.

Much more needs to be done by key stakeholders to condemn the individuals and organizations making these threats as the risk of them becoming self-fulfilling prophesies increases by the day. Continue reading “Discourage rather than encourage a repetition of May 13”

Posted on

Can BN Lose Sabah? Boleh Bah Kalau …

By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest
6th December 2012

Three men in a coffeeshop with nothing much to do.

DOGOL: Hey, Ragang, you think Sabah will fall to the Opposition this coming GE?

RAGANG: I don’t know.

LUNCHAI: You don’t know? You Sabahan and you don’t know?

RAGANG: I not God.

DOGOL: Umno is now praying to God to win the GE. Najib told the members at their general assembly last week, better pray hard!

LUNCHAI: As if God will side any political party.

DOGOL: God does not take sides, so to call on God to help Umno and BN win is itself ungodly.

LUNCHAI: Hahaha! You’re right! Continue reading “Can BN Lose Sabah? Boleh Bah Kalau …”

Posted on

From now on, it’s a Malay vs Malay contest

― Ooi Kee Beng
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 05, 2012

DEC 5 ― As Umno general assemblies go, the one held last week was rather tame in its rhetoric. It was certainly memorable for its lack of vitriolic language.

And it was expectedly so ― therein lies its significance.

Things were quite different back in the days before 2008, when ethnocentric exhortations were run of the mill, and Umno Youth was the amplifier of racial extremist voices. This year, showing party unity was the order of the day.

Much of the credit must go to the fact that Malaysia today has a surprisingly stable two-party system in place. As we know, such a competitive structure has a strong moderating effect on extremist voices, be they racial or religious. After all, gaining the middle ground is how electoral victories are won. Continue reading “From now on, it’s a Malay vs Malay contest”

Posted on

UMNO is incapable of change unless it is sent to the Opposition benches in the 13GE

The recently concluded and highly-choreographed 66th UMNO General Assembly has only served to underline one inescapable fact of Malaysian political life – that UMNO is incapable of change unless it is sent to the Opposition benches in the 13th General Elections.

Malaysian voters will do UMNO and the country a great national service by dispatching UMNO to the Opposition benches for they will not only be creating the necessary conditions before any “transformation” can be effected in UMNO, but also laying a firmer and more solid basis for greater maturity of the parliamentary democratic process by institutionalizing the two-coalition system and the peaceful alternation and transition of power through the democratic process.

Without these “building blocks”, Malaysia cannot even talk about wanting to be the “world’s best democracy” as had been claimed by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Continue reading “UMNO is incapable of change unless it is sent to the Opposition benches in the 13GE”