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Bersih 3.0 necessary due to ‘haste’ in holding polls, Ambiga tells EC

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 06, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 — Bersih 2.0 has defended its planned April 28 rally, saying it is necessary as the government has not shown any commitment to implement the group’s eight reform demands before the next election.

The election watchdog’s chairman, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, accused the government of “showing haste” in calling for elections, which she predicted would be soon, and this made Bersih’s rally even more relevant and timely.

“As I said it is the government that is showing haste in holding the elections. No one has said that the reforms Bersih 2.0 has called for will be implemented before the 13th general election. Why is that?

“We have to do this now because the elections seem to be round the corner… I strongly disagree with what Datuk Wira Wan Ahmad Wan Omar had said,” she told The Malaysian Insider. Continue reading “Bersih 3.0 necessary due to ‘haste’ in holding polls, Ambiga tells EC”

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‘Duduk means sit, Bantah means protest’, so let’s ‘Jom Duduk Bantah, Malaysians’

— May Chee Chook Ying
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 05, 2012

APRIL 5 — I must apologise for such a weird title for my write-up this time. I’m doing it for the benefit of some upstart whose tweet went like this: “…jumping like Monkeys in d street not going to solve anything in Malaysia….we r not Planet of the Apes. Be civilized Pakatan #Bersih3…”

Our Twitter friend above, firstly, has a very poor command of the national language. Go, take some tuition, it helps to understand the national language better for some politician wannabe like you.

Secondly, for calling your paymasters “Monkeys”, you ought to be sacked!

Thirdly, what have you solved, so far?

I used to think that Gerakan were notches above the MCA. They were the lean ones, you see. Till today, I feel kind of sorry for Koh Tsu Koon. Still believe he’s a good man, may not be the right man for the job, nevertheless, don’t see any evil in him. (Will keep you in my prayers, KTK.)

Looks like the GE13 will be the dirtiest yet. If what we hear is true, the incumbent government is pulling no stops to be voted in. That means the plundering will not stop. Neither will we see an independent judiciary, MACC, and what-nots. Justice will not see the light of day for many. The education system will go to the pits. Idiots will use the name of the Almighty in vain. The poor will become poorer, the thieves will become richer. We will die because with 1 Care, we will be robbed blind and not have the means to seek proper treatment. We can’t help our neighbour without being accused of proselytising! Murderers, thieves and criminals can still roam free! Malaysia will go bankrupt in no time! I’d better stop before I throw up! Continue reading “‘Duduk means sit, Bantah means protest’, so let’s ‘Jom Duduk Bantah, Malaysians’”

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DAP gives thumbs up to Bersih 3.0

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 05, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 – The DAP formally voiced its support today for Bersih’s third rally for free and fair elections this April 28, agreeing with the group that the Parliamentary Select Committee’s (PSC) electoral reform proposals were inadequate.

Its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said in a statement here that the PSC’s report, approved in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday, had shown a “serious lack of commitment” to addressing fundamental issues of electoral irregularities, which was the panel’s main objective.

“Given the lack of commitment to provide a clean electoral [roll] so that the next general election is free and fair, the DAP fully supports Bersih 3.0’s call to gather at Merdeka Square from 2pm to 4pm on April 28.

The DAP also reiterates its support for the full implementation of Bersih 2.0’s eight demands, out of which only one – the use of indelible ink – was sufficiently addressed in the PSC report,” Lim (picture) said in the statement. Continue reading “DAP gives thumbs up to Bersih 3.0”

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Gross stupidity might be a good reason for you to march

— Abdul Haleem Abdul Rahiman
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 05, 2012

APRIL 5 — I will join the Bersih 3.0 rally because I can’t stand the gross stupidity that is crippling the entire nation. Honestly, as much as I agree stupidity has no limit, I can’t take this absurdity which has been feed to us in high doses on a daily basis.

Day in, day out the events unfolding in Malaysia make you sick and drive you insane. With all the transformation programmes and what-not, I believe we are on full speed in a very wrong direction. Almost every institution in this country is failing. Religious bigotry is at its peak. Most MPs, if not all, are busy politicking rather than working. Corruption is nothing but the norm. A priority list is something unfamiliar in our daily life in Malaysia. Common sense is not so common anymore.

What irks me the most lately is the amount of stupidity and bigotry.

The latest, in declining a permit for a Singapore ballet group to perform here, is just absurd. The reason given is indecent costumes. Ballet costumes deemed indecent? Are you joking? I will not buy that reason simply because it’s insane to agree ballet costumes can poke your eye! Assuming it does, how do we justify swimsuits then? A gymnast who will be performing in the coming Olympics? Are we going to censor all female categories in gymnastics? Perhaps we should censor all female sports from being broadcast then. When countries like Saudi Arabia are sending female athletes to participate in the Olympics, we are banning ballet costumes. We have banned books, movies, T-shirts, yoga and what-not. Can we ban idiots who can’t even speak or write English from standing for elections? Continue reading “Gross stupidity might be a good reason for you to march”

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Pak Samad ready for Bersih 3.0, ‘disturbed’ by lagging reforms

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 05, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — National literary icon Datuk A. Samad Said made headlines last year when it was his slightly-hunched, barefooted frame that was seen leading a group of Bersih 2.0 marchers to deliver a memorandum on electoral reforms to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Today, he is “disturbed” that no real electoral reforms have taken place since the chaotic July 9 event.

The soft-spoken septuagenarian told The Malaysian Insider repeatedly that he was “not happy” with the 22 recommendations put forward by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on polls reform in its report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.

The government’s and PSC’s failure to suggest total reform, he said, was “good reason” why Bersih 3.0 “should” be held.

“I’m not happy with what has happened. I’m not happy. Not happy,” the bearded poet said yesterday, shaking his shock of white hair.

“So that’s why I think, because of what’s happening, it is very disturbing as far as I’m concerned.

“That’s a good reason why we should have this (Bersih 3.0),” he said. Continue reading “Pak Samad ready for Bersih 3.0, ‘disturbed’ by lagging reforms”

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Implement PSC reforms before polls, Bar Council tells Najib

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 04, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 — The Bar Council today urged Datuk Seri Najib Razak to “exercise political will” and ensure all the electoral reform recommendations passed by Parliament yesterday would be implemented before the 13th general election.

Council president Lim Chee Wee said in a statement here that the prime minister should also consider the weaknesses in the 22 recommendations, which were contained in the parliamentary select committee’s (PSC) final report to the House.

“The Malaysian Bar urges the PM… to pursue holistic solutions towards rectifying the problems of the electoral roll and implement unhesitatingly all the recommendations of the PSC, before the next general election,” he said.

Lim described, however, the PSC’s report as “incomplete” and “inadequate” to achieve free and fair elections, which was the panel’s main objective when it was formed last year.

Najib had mooted the PSC last October, several months after his administration drew widespread criticism in the international media for its handling of Bersih 2.0’s rally for free and fair election last July 9.

But the PSC’s 22 recommendations, tabled and approved by Parliament without debate yesterday, have been criticised for purportedly failing to touch on specific issues pertaining to discrepancies in the current electoral roll.

“This was the principal and immediate concern that gave rise to Bersih 2.0,” Lim reminded today. Continue reading “Implement PSC reforms before polls, Bar Council tells Najib”

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Massive deception and propaganda campaign afoot that PSC majority report complies with seven of eight Bersih 2.0 demands when only one is being implemented

A massive deception and propaganda campaign is afoot, making full use of public funding and mobilising the mainstream media and Barisan Nasional cybertroopers, to create the impression that the majority report of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reform complies with seven of the eight Bersih 2.0 Demands for clean, free and fair elections when in actual fact, only one is being implemented.

The only one of the eight Bersih 2.0 Demands which is being implemented is Bersih 2.0 Demand 3 on “Use of Indelible ink” while the other seven Bersih 2.0 Demands are either given partial and unsatisfactory responses, or mere lip-service and meaningless recognition or outright rejection as in Bersih 2.0 Demand 4 on “Minimum 21 days campaign period”.

The eight Bersih 2.0 Demands that motivated 50,000 Malaysians transcending race, religion and region to support the historic July 9, 2011 Bersih 2.0 rally were:

  1. Clean the electoral roll

  2. Reform postal ballot

  3. Use of indelible ink

  4. Minimum 21 days campaign period

  5. Free and fair access to media

  6. Strengthen public institutions

  7. Stop corruption

  8. Stop dirty politics

The best example of the failure of the PSC majority report to address the core demand for a clean, free and fair election is Bersih 2.0 Demand 1 on “Clean the electoral roll”, which states: Continue reading “Massive deception and propaganda campaign afoot that PSC majority report complies with seven of eight Bersih 2.0 demands when only one is being implemented”

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A transformed country, but an untransformed Parliament

— The Malaysian Insider
Apr 04, 2012

APRIL 4 — On the day Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak celebrated three years in office with the satisfaction of a plan in progress, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia showed the shallowness of the transformation towards a developed nation by 2020.

Najib can be proud of achievements under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and Government Transformation Programme (GTP), but in terms of a Political Transformation Programme (PTP), he can follow other Malaysians and frown at the tyranny of power shown by the Speaker yesterday.

Pandikar Amin dismissed the requests for a debate on a minority report from opposition members who wanted to add to the final report from the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Electoral Reforms. And he tried to chase them out of the House for disputing his decision to disallow the debate.

Why the fear of a debate on a minority report? The entire report has all the recommendations and the discussion to reform the electoral process in Malaysia. So, why not a report that details the arguments for recommendations that did not make its way to the final report? Continue reading “A transformed country, but an untransformed Parliament”

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Bersih 2.0: PSC report fails in five key areas

Malaysiakini
Apr 3, 2012

Election reforms pressure group Bersih 2.0 is disappointed that the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform has failed to address five key issues.

The five issues, Bersih 2.0 said, are:

1.Manipulation of the electoral roll;
2.The citizenship-for-votes scam in peninsula Malaysia;
3.Enforcement of the Election Offences Act 1954 and enhancing the definition of election offences;
4.A plan to stop ‘dirty politics’; and
5.Inviting international observers.

In view of this, the Bersih 2.0 steering committee said it was “highly likely” that electoral fraud and other irregularities will continue unabated. Continue reading “Bersih 2.0: PSC report fails in five key areas”

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Bersih 2.0’s point-by-point responses

Malaysiakini
Apr 3, 2012

Election reforms pressure group Bersih 2.0 is not satisfied with the parliamentary select committee (PSC) final report and have scrutinised all 22 of the latter’s recommendations.

Bersih 2.0, who organised the mass rally on July 9 last year, is one of the main factors attributed the Najib administration’s decision to establish the PSC.

Below is Bersih 2.0’s comments, edited for brevity and clarity, on all 22 recommendations:

1. Voters residing overseas

The proposal to allow voters residing overseas to cast their ballots should be implemented immediately without any conditions. The condition set by the PSC for voters to return periodically to qualify to vote from overseas is unconstitutional.

There is no need for further study on carrying out overseas voting as proposals have been submitted and it will only delay implementation. Provisions exist to allow overseas registration of voters.

Civil society organisations will implement overseas voting on the Election Commission’s behalf if resourced financially. Continue reading “Bersih 2.0’s point-by-point responses”

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Parliament debate on PSC report on electoral reform – most disgraceful episode and worst blot on Malaysian Parliament in nation’s 55 years

What happened today is the most disgraceful episode and worst blot on the Malaysian Parliament in the nation’s 55 year history.

It all stemmed from the mistake made by the Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin who had rejected an amendment motion by the three Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Members of Parliament on the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reform, Loke Siew Fook (Rasah), Mohamed Azmin (Gombak) and Dr. Mohd Hatta (Kuala Krai) seeking to incorporate a minority report into the PSC final report tabled in Parliament yesterday.

After the PSC Chairman Datuk Maximus Ongkili moved the motion on the PSC report after question time, Loke stood up to object to the Speaker’s rejection in chambers of the amendment motion by the three PR MPs.

Pandikar quoted Parliamentary precedents from New Zealand and the United Kingdom and said there is no such thing as a “minority report”. Continue reading “Parliament debate on PSC report on electoral reform – most disgraceful episode and worst blot on Malaysian Parliament in nation’s 55 years”

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Pakatan declares polls reform panel a failure

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 02, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) representatives in the government-mooted parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reforms complained today the panel had failed to meet its objectives, despite six months of heated discussions and at least six public hearings.

The members, Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak), Hatta Ramli (PAS-Kuala Krai) and Anthony Loke (DAP-Rasah), told a press conference here that the bipartisan panel had fallen short of expectations as it had completely neglected to address “fundamental issues” surrounding concerns over the country’s election system.

Key among these, said Azmin, was the call to clean up the current voter registry, which civil society groups and PR leaders have alleged are fraught with discrepancies.

The trio said today they have filed a motion notice with the Dewan Rakyat Speaker’s office under Standing Order 30(1) calling for amendments to be made to the PSC’s final report. Continue reading “Pakatan declares polls reform panel a failure”

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Has Najib’s confidence of a sure win in 13GE been shattered by Mahathir’s repeated gloomy warnings?

For the past three weeks in his intensive electioneering campaign in Selangor and Perak in the build-up to an expected 13th General Election date in June, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been exuding increasing confidence of a sure win in the next general election, including taking back Selangor state government from Pakatan Rakyat.

Najib’s popularity has been on the rise, surging 10 points to 69 per cent following his role as Santa Claus with RM500 cash handouts to low-income earners and a slew of multi-million ringgit approvals and allocations in line with his “I help you, you help me” philosophy – but the Prime Minister’s high personal approval rating is not matched by the ruling coalition component parties.

Only last week, Najib said “strong winds are blowing towards Barisan Nasional”, public feedback “very encouraging” and people have been telling him that BN has regained public support since the 2008 polls.

The stage seems all set for 13GE in June.

But something very strange has happened in the past few days as if all the momentum for a June elections have suddenly faltered. Continue reading “Has Najib’s confidence of a sure win in 13GE been shattered by Mahathir’s repeated gloomy warnings?”

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My wish list for electoral reforms

— Tota
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 30, 2012

MARCH 30 — If anyone thinks that general elections in Malaysia are free and fair, he or she must either be blind or totally daft.

We only go through the motions of participating in general elections without satisfying the prerequisites, which are the hallmarks of a truly democratic and progressive country. The shortcomings in the Malaysian electoral system are indeed shameful.

Below is my wish list for electoral reforms:

1. Amend the Constitution to make the Election Commission a totally independent body with powers to act against all forms of corruption and malpractice.

2. Implement the 2:1 rural/urban weightage in the delineation of constituencies as was provided for in the Reid Commission’s recommendations.

3. Stop all gerrymandering which has allowed the Barisan Nasional so often to get about 50 per cent of the popular vote but take 80 per cent of the seats in the state assemblies and Parliament. Continue reading “My wish list for electoral reforms”

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The tangled web Umno weaved (1)

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 29, 2012

MARCH 29 —

Oh what a tangled web we weave,

When first we practise to deceive!

That’s the whole problem with Umno in short. It has deceived the country and most of all it has deceived the Malays into believing that only Umno can deliver the Malays to the Promised Land. And it continues to weave the web and got itself entangled that the only way to free the Malaysian races is to destroy the web of deceit.

Let’s us now resolved to do just that. Kick out the band of robbers and the trader of false hopes. Let us kick out the deceivers.

It forfeited what it got- power since 1957 to accomplish what it set out to do — uplift the Malays. Why? Because it started on the wrong premise, and that premise wasn’t adapted and evolved into the engine to uplift the Malays first (since Umno’s struggle and raison d’etre is to serve Malay interest) and this country. Continue reading “The tangled web Umno weaved (1)”

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Nazri: No need for BN-PR panel to monitor GE-13

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 29, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — Putrajaya has rejected Lim Kit Siang’s call to form a bipartisan commission to oversee the next general election, saying the Election Commission (EC) was capable enough of doing the job.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz told the Dewan Rakyat today that the EC was an independent body despite criticisms by the opposition, pointing out that the body had already successfully run 12 general elections and a total of 184 by-elections as of last year.

“The government does not plan to form another commission to ensure the coming polls are clean.

“This is because the EC already exists as an independent commission with integrity… its responsibility to conduct polls, whether general election or by-elections, has been carried out well and the governments formed so far after each poll are legitimate governments.

“Including when YB Bagan (the DAP’s Lim Guan Eng) became the chief minister (of Penang)… that was also a legitimate government,” he said.

But a dissatisfied Lim, who is the DAP’s parliamentary leader, stood up to refute Nazri’s claim, insisting that if the EC was truly free from political manipulation and the country’s election process had always been clean and fair, the opposition would have won in past polls.

“YB (Nazri) mentioned the results of the 12th general election. If the system was fair, perhaps Barisan Nasional (BN) would have already fallen, the government changed. Continue reading “Nazri: No need for BN-PR panel to monitor GE-13”

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Pakatan promises to buy back MEX if voted to power

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 28, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pledged today to buy back the part publicly-funded Maju Expressway (MEX) from its concessionaire should they wrest Putrajaya in the coming polls, claiming the move would save over RM4.6 billion in taxpayers’ money.

In a statement signed by representatives from all three PR parties – Rafizi Ramli (PKR), Tony Pua (DAP) and Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS) — the leaders noted that it was one of PR’s Buku Jingga promises to restructure toll rates and the country’s many highway concession agreements, many of which they claim have over-benefitted Barisan Nasional (BN) cronies.

Speaking at a press conference in Parliament today, Pua, DAP’s publicity secretary, said it was more sensible for Putrajaya to buy back the highway with a maximum payment of RM400.9 million, instead of allowing Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd to profit from its sale.

He said that Maju Group executive chairman Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed stands to make a clean profit of RM1.09 billion or 1,800 per cent of his initial investment of RM60 million from his sale of MEX to EP Manufacturing Bhd (EPMB) for RM1.7 billion.

“This profit is too high because the government has already used taxpayers’ money to fund 74 per cent of the highway’s construction cost,” he said.

This, added Pua, amounts to a whopping RM976.7 million. Continue reading “Pakatan promises to buy back MEX if voted to power”

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Cowed no more

by Kapil Sethi
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 27, 2012

MARCH 27 — Till maybe a decade ago, the average Malaysian adult, when confronted with a political topic in a public place would shuffle uneasily, take a quick peek over his shoulder and either change the topic or restrict his response to a quick whispered sentence or two. Very Orwellian, but understandable in the context of realities such as the ISA, Ops Lalang, Special Branch and the Anwar black eye incident.

In the context of all the deeply intellectual prognoses by hordes of political analysts on the outcome of the next general election, it seems strange that there has been no acknowledgement of the profound impact of this loss of fear among the electorate.

From rumours of serial numbers on ballot numbers being used to identify and harass those who voted a particular way, to civil servants’ jobs and promotions being in jeopardy if they didn’t toe the line, to the full might of the law being used to finish careers of those who openly supported the other side, it seems everyone in Malaysia had a instructive story to tell of those who chose oppositional politics. Continue reading “Cowed no more”

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Bilalah Abdul Wahub akan muncul?

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 27, 2012

27 MAC — Lama juga rasanya saya berada dalam Umno dan pernah bergiat hampir tiga dekad lamanya. Walaupun saya bukan seorang yang pandai dan jauh sekali untuk memandai-mandai, saya dapat banyak pengalaman bergiat dalam parti yang telah diberikan mandat untuk mentadbir negara selama kita mencapai kemerdekaan. Itulah sebabnya saya berani dan boleh untuk menceritakan perkara-perkara yang membezakan diantara Umno yang dahulu dengan Umno Baru yang baru berumur 24 tahun itu.

Bak kata orang tidak ada yang lama tidak ada yang baru. Keadaan bersalah-salahan itu memang satu keadaan yang natural. Hanya kita sahaja yang boleh memilih untuk memilih salah satu dari sifat berlawanan itu. Kalau ADA lawannya TIADA, Begitulah keadaannya. Mana kita tahu yang sesuatu itu panjang jika tidak ada elemen yang pendek. Masakan kita tahu mana yang panas jika kita tidak tahu dan pernah merasakan yang sejuk dsb.

Dalam politik dinihari kita sedang melihat satu politik yang belum pernah kita lihat dan alami sebelum ini. Keadaan ini berlaku disebabkan kali ini merupakan pilihanraya dalam mana rakyat ramai terutamanya gulungan yang muda bersama-sama terlibat memainkan peranan untuk membezakan politik dahulu dan politik sekarang ini. Kali ini juga merupakan politik yang pertama kalinya BN menghadapi pengaruh PR yang sudah pun memegang teraju pemerintahan dilima buah negeri dalam persekutuan ini. Continue reading “Bilalah Abdul Wahub akan muncul?”

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Mentalqinkan Umno

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 27, 2012

Mari talqinkan Umno.

Ianya bukan apa apa. Umno sudah sampai masa tamatnya. Bila dah tiba maut, kita tak boleh melambat atau menyegerakan walaupun sesaat. Rakyat sudah lemas dan meluat dengan Umno. Untungnya, Umno tidak boleh melakukan apa apa untuk menyelamatkan dirinya. Setiap hari Umno menunjukkan lemasnya.

Najib berkata kepada rakyat jangan melakukan kesilapan sekali lagi. Amat benar — jangan melakukan kesilapan dengan memberi lesen kepada pimpinan Umno untuk merompak dan melanun negara ini. Pada kadar kerajaan Umno memberi kontrak dan pinjaman dengan kadar rendah, seolah-olahnya, kerajaan pimpinan Umno memerah rakyat. Negara akan bengkrap.

Lebih mendukacitakan — Najib menunjukkan sifat Umno yang bongkak. Umno merasakan dialah sahaja Melayunya. Dialah sahaja yang pandai mengurus negara. Dialah sahaja yang melindungi orang Melayu. Dialah sahaja yang boleh beri masa depan kepada orang Melayu dan Malaysia. Akan tetapi, fakta menunjukkan negeri-negeri di bawah Pakatan Rakyat di tadbir dengan lebih baik. Continue reading “Mentalqinkan Umno”