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BN has failed the Indian community

— S. Barathidasan
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 26, 2012

MARCH 26 — The Malaysian Indians Progressive Association (MIPAS) has done surveys, studies, gained information and feedback from the rakyat showing that it is not true that the rakyat’s support for Barisan Nasional (BN) is peaking based on the party’s record of fulfilling its promises, as claimed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

MIPAS feels that it is not true that “big winds” are blowing towards BN.

The rakyat still does not have confident and full trust in the BN government as many issues have still not been fulfilled. Continue reading “BN has failed the Indian community”

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Probe on AG and ex-IGP if Pakatan captures Putrajaya

Nigel Aw | Mar 26, 2012
Malaysiakini

DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang has declared that Pakatan Rakyat will probe attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail and former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan for alleged criminal wrongdoing if it captures federal power in the next general election.

This, he said, is because Prime Minister Najib Razak’s refusal to act on former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) chief Ramli Yusuff’s complaint that Gani had fixed him and his team of police officers after they arrested an underworld figure.

“If there is no judicial tribunal, then we have to go back to the mandate of the people for a tribunal to find out whether we have criminals as the (former) head of police and attorney-general,” Lim told a 5,000-strong crowd at a Pakatan Rakyat ceramah in the Kuala Selangor stadium last night.

Lim said the allegation made by a former top police officer was unprecedented even in other countries and should have warranted an immediate investigation from the premier.

Last Friday, Najib had dismissed calls for a tribunal, stating that it was merely a claim which had yet to be substantiated.

Following this, Ramli expressed his disappointment that he and his officers, which he said had been wrongly charged but subsequently cleared by the courts, have been denied any avenue for justice. Continue reading “Probe on AG and ex-IGP if Pakatan captures Putrajaya”

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Najib’s concern must be for real

Jeswan Kaur | March 25, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

Indulging in corruption, cronyism and nepotism is not what a leader who “listens” to his people does.

COMMENT

Trusting a politician is the hardest thing to do; the risk is not just worth it. So when Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak says he will listen to the rakyat in choosing candidates for the 13th general election, it is too good an assurance to hang on to.

Is it not Najib who keeps “cautioning” the people that he wants “winnable” candidates to contest in the looming GE? How then does the rakyat’s choice make a difference to him?

In his March 22 interview with DJs Sam Mak and Tan Yi Hui in the one-hour 988 Street VIP programme of the 988 FM radio station, Najib said he would have to listen to the people when it comes to choosing candidates for the next general election.

“It is only right as a leader. I should listen to the people. So, therefore, I will make a decision that his or her time is up and should not stand as a candidate anymore,” were the premier’s words.

Najib is very right that he “must” listen to the rakyat, which he has not been doing. Indulging in corruption, cronyism and nepotism is not what a leader who “listens” to his people does. Continue reading “Najib’s concern must be for real”

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Scandal-ridden BN on the ropes?

Neil Khor | Mar 24, 2012
Malaysiakini

COMMENT

It has been some three months since I last wrote an article for Malaysiakini. I have, nevertheless, kept up with the issues that continue to glue Malaysians to their computer screens, iPads and mobile phones. Even the mainstream media cannot keep Cowgate off its pages!

There is little doubt that the next general election will happen in 2012. Every pundit in Malaysia is saying June. One cannot continue beating the war drums and delaying the date of battle.

For the opposition, the elections of 2008 never ended and they have been prepared for a long battle. Few remember now that nobody expected Pakatan Rakyat to stay together.

One senior member of a Chinese kongsi told me that he did not expect Lim Guan Eng to be CM for more than six months but now sings the CM’s praises.

Instead, what looks most brittle is the BN as a coalition. The decision to put up winnable candidates will apply across the board.

This means less seats for Umno’s traditional partners the MCA and the MIC; and the other component parties. This cannot go down very well with the component parties. Continue reading “Scandal-ridden BN on the ropes?”

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Malaysia after regime change

— Tricia Yeoh
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 24, 2012

MARCH 24 — The intricate nexus between the worlds of business and politics has been an age-old tradition in Malaysia. Crony capitalism, a term to describe the intertwined relationship between business, politicians and the state, where individuals in the private sector benefits by obtaining licenses, concessions, government subsidies, other forms of protection from governments and appointments to key state owned enterprises through their close relationship with politicians and bureaucrats.

The main questions to ask in the event of a regime change are: Will it really ever be possible to extricate one from the other, given the context where this is an assumed norm? Second, how would a new government go about making these drastic changes?

There has been recognition of this problem by political players from both sides of the divide.

The Pakatan Rakyat (Pakatan) Shadow Budget admits, for example, that “Pakatan will face resistance from cronies that desire to perpetuate patronage and rent-seeking” when it begins to attempt open tenders and a more transparent procurement policy.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak also announced that a new initiative under the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) would regulate financing for all political parties, where all funding must be channelled to an official party account. He said that “a proper receipt record” would “prevent corruption and misappropriation on a grass-roots’ level…” Continue reading “Malaysia after regime change”

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‘No More Bullshit’: Political Cognizance of a Rakyat for the Rakyat

by Syed Zahar
Malaysian Digest

We are living in interesting times. Here and now is a crucial episode in Malaysia’s modern political history, where things can go either way. To put things in perspective, it is a national duty of writers and media practitioners to feed Malaysians with the lowdown on the political situation in this post-March 8, 2008 era. And one writer has stepped up to the plate since even before the historical 12th General Election to do Malaysians a big favor by helping us make that informed decision come poll day.

Following his March 8: The Day Malaysia Woke Up (2008) and its sequel, March 8: Time for Real Change (2010), veteran journalist Kee Thuan Chye’s latest book is aptly titled No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All Malaysians. It’s a compilation of his trademark straightforward commentaries on Malaysian politics that were published in various print and online media (including Malaysian Digest) as well as the author’s past speeches, political plays, poems and interviews with various media.

Malaysians now can be categorized into four political mindsets. To put it simply, there are the staunch Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters, the fence-sitters, the strong Opposition supporters and then those who are more than willing to vote for the Opposition for the sake of change and to get the two-party system going. I would say Kee belongs to the last category as we can see from the following excerpt from his new book: Continue reading “‘No More Bullshit’: Political Cognizance of a Rakyat for the Rakyat”

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The civil service must prepare for change of government

— IDEAS
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 23, 2012

MARCH 23 — The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) today releases a new Policy Ideas briefing paper that calls for the civil service at federal and state levels to plan and prepare for a smooth transition of administration. This is particularly important as we get closer to the general elections.

The Policy Ideas briefing paper argues that a smooth transition is more than just a peaceful transfer of power. It is also about ensuring that the effective functioning of government does not become too disrupted during the transition period. It provides case studies on how transition was managed in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, and the strengths and weaknesses of the systems in these countries.

Wan Saiful Wan Jan, chief executive of IDEAS says: “A clearly defined transition process is important. Politicians, especially those who are now in power, must accept that for the sake of the rakyat, they must create a proper transition plan. And looking at the latest developments, I think that it is more important to prepare in the states rather than federal because there is a chance we will see some states changing hands. Just imagine how disruptive it could be for the rakyat there if Kelantan or Sabah change hands. We can avoid the disruption by planning early.” Continue reading “The civil service must prepare for change of government”

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“I was born in Malaysia and I shall die in Malaysia” – I am proud I have stood by my statement of commitment and patriotism to Malaysia when I was 28 years old under my first ISA detention 43 years ago in 1969

Recently, there has been a coarsening and vulgarisation of politics in Malaysia, even in this august House of Parliament, where lies and falsehoods are disseminated without conscience or compunction whatsoever.

During the present and past meetings of Parliament, the most irresponsible and despicable falsehoods had been made against me, accusing me of having instigated the deplorable May 13 riots 43 years ago in 1969.

For four decades, the police, the security forces and the government could not pinpoint who caused the May 13 riots in 1969, but suddenly, somebody knew who caused the May 13 riots – and I have been accused in this House of having caused May 13, through making the most racist slogans in the streets of Kuala Lumpur on May 11, 12 and 13, 1969.

As a result, these lies and falsehoods that I had incited and sparked the May 13 riots, particularly in the streets of Kuala Lumpur on May 11, 12 and 13, 1969 had been blazoned on the blogs of UMNO cybertroopers. Continue reading ““I was born in Malaysia and I shall die in Malaysia” – I am proud I have stood by my statement of commitment and patriotism to Malaysia when I was 28 years old under my first ISA detention 43 years ago in 1969”

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Sejak Merdeka isu Melayu berkumandang, Melayu tidak ke mana juga

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 21, 2012

21 MAC — Isu Melayu tetap menjadi bahan kempen Umno dan Barisan Nasional semasa kita sedang menanti tarikh muktamad pilihanraya yang akan datang. PRU boleh jadi hampir atau mungkin lambat lagi. Mungkin Najib Razak menangguhkan PRU ke13 ini sampai akhir penggal pada bulan Mac 2013. Terpulang kepada beliau untuk menentukannya.

Yang saya hendak sebut hanya tentang isu yang dimainkan oleh Umno dan BN sekarang ini dan isu yang paling jelas ialah isu keselamatan dan masa depan orang Melayu. Isu ini digunakan setiap kali pilihanraya di adakan. Ia semata-mata untuk menakutkan orang Melayu untuk meninggalkan Umno dan memberikan sokongan ke pihak lain. Ia menunjukan kegagalan Umno untuk memberikan penyelesaian terhadap isu Melayu ini.

Sejak mencapai kemerdekaan ini sahajalah isu yang dimainkan. Ia merupakan lagu lama yang sudah jarang didengar. Lagu ini kita dengar bermusim sahaja, iaitu semasa pilihanraya diadakan. Ianya adalah seperti lagu lama nyanyian Momok Latif dan anak muda sekarang ini sudah tidak suka mendengarnya lagi. Continue reading “Sejak Merdeka isu Melayu berkumandang, Melayu tidak ke mana juga”

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Pakatan: No point to Lynas PSC

Patrick Lee | March 20, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

A PSC investigating Lynas’ purported radiation will have no effect, with Pakatan MPs scoffing at its advent.

KUALA LUMPUR: A Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) investigating the Lynas rare earth plant near Kuantan will come to naught, opposition lawmakers said.

Pakatan Rakyat politicians said the government had no intention to scrap the controversial plant, hence it was pointless to form a PSC to study the plant’s safety standards.

They said this after opposition MPs marched out of the Dewan Rakyat, moments after a motion tabling the PSC was approved. Continue reading “Pakatan: No point to Lynas PSC”

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BR1M=BN’S money politics

by Jeswan Kaur
Free Malaysia Today
March 19, 2012

Where did the government obtain the additional funds for the programme as only RM1.8 billion was allocated in the budget approved last year?

COMMENT

A meagre RM500 packaged under the guise of Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) might not do the trick in influencing the country’s voters to sway in favour of Barisan Nasional. The alm was nothing more than a trickery, conceived by the federal government to make sure the people’s nambikei or trust is bought at the cheapest price possible.

To hypothesise that the BN government is prihatin or sensitive towards the high cost of living plaguing the rakyat would be wrong; if BN was bona fide in its concern, its chairman and Prime Minister Najb Tun Razak would have more prudent with his monthly electricity and water bills, both amounting to RM160,000 and RM66,000 respectively.

Likewise, if Najib was sincere in wanting to assist the people, he would not have used money from the national purse to finance his daughter’s engagement ceremonies, as claimed by opposition PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli. Continue reading “BR1M=BN’S money politics”

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Guan Eng rallies DAP members, says survival at stake in GE-13

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 18, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 — Lim Guan Eng today called for extra vigilance from DAP members to counter Barisan Nasional’s (BN) vote offensive, reminding them that the party’s political survival would be at stake in the coming polls.

Predicting that the 13th general election would be the country’s “dirtiest” in history, the DAP secretary-general said it was crucial for party members to stay resilient in the face of attacks from the ruling BN pact.

“DAP urges all leaders and members to redouble efforts to ensure that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) wins the next general elections so that DAP can remain a party in power in state governments and hopefully in the Federal government too.

“The danger signals are evident that the 13th general election will be the dirtiest in Malaysian history,” Lim said in a statement here in conjunction with DAP’s 46th anniversary today. Continue reading “Guan Eng rallies DAP members, says survival at stake in GE-13”

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‘Useless’ to hold another rally, Muhyiddin tells Bersih 2.0

By Lisa J. Ariffin
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 18, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin dismissed today warnings that Bersih 2.0 may launch another rally, telling the election watchdog that street demonstrations are “useless”.

“To me, it is useless to do so (hold another rally),” Muhyiddin told a press conference today after attending the Federal Territory Umno Election Assembly here.

“Demonstrations won’t solve problems, they are just to show how much support you have,” he added, saying that if Barisan Nasional (BN) was to hold a similar demonstration, the pact could easily rally one million supporters.

Muhyiddin was speaking today in response to Bersih 2.0 chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, who yesterday warned Putrajaya of a potential “Bersih 3.0” rally in light of lagging polls reforms and reports of a sudden surge of voters in some parliamentary constituencies. Continue reading “‘Useless’ to hold another rally, Muhyiddin tells Bersih 2.0”

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Pakatan to back ‘Bersih 3.0’ if polls reform fails

By Lisa J. Ariffin
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 18, 2012

Aunty Bersih takes to the streets in the quest for electoral reforms during the Bersih rally last year.- file picKUALA LUMPUR, March 18 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders have declared their support for a “Bersih 3.0” rally in the capital city if the Najib administration fail to implement meaningful electoral reforms before polls are held.

The leaders stressed that Putrajaya could avoid a tumultuous rally like last July 9 if their demands are met and recommendations by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) for electoral reforms are implemented by the Election Commission (EC). Continue reading “Pakatan to back ‘Bersih 3.0’ if polls reform fails”

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Why women are marching on March 18

— Ivy Josiah
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 17, 2012

MARCH 17 — Tomorrow, a coalition of organisations called Wanita Suara Perubahan will gather at the Padang Astaka in Petaling Jaya. The staff, members and volunteers of the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) will also be marching proudly as part of Wanita Suara Perubahan with thousands of women from all over Malaysia demanding a clean government.

We will all be wearing white gloves. The gloves represent clean hands and symbolise clean government and as the country prepares for next general election, we want our elected representatives to commit to ensuring a clean government for Malaysia.

We want our political leaders to accept and realise the demands of women, which include: a government free from corruption, the introduction of a decent living wage, a better quality of life, an end to gender-based violence, the repeal of laws that restrict public assemblies and the establishment of free and fair elections.

Our demand for a corruption-free and accountable government is critical, as women are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of corruption, racism, exploitation, divisive politics and a curtailment of civil liberties. Millions of ringgit have been misspent that should have been used to ensure adequate housing, health, transportation, education, living wages and environmental protection. Women suffer the consequences of unjust laws as well as poor enforcement of laws relating to personal safety and gender-based violence. Continue reading “Why women are marching on March 18”

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Najib wants Selangor, badly

— Gomen Man
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 16, 2012

MARCH 16 — There is a reason why Najib Razak is going to Selangor nearly every week: Getting back the country’s richest state is the minimum passing mark he has set himself in the coming elections.

Umno insiders say that Najib and his strategists do not believe Barisan Nasional (BN) can regain its two-thirds control of Parliament, but think that winning back Selangor will assuage Umno members and prevent a coup attempt against him.

And that is why Najib is using money like water in Selangor and spending nearly every weekend in some district there. And that is also why Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has reason to be worried about the sudden increase in the number of voters in constituencies in the state.

As it stands, Najib is confident that he will still be the prime minister and that he will do slightly better than Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. But not everyone in Umno believes that Najib’s advisors are giving him the right information, with some betting that anything between six and 10 parliamentary seats will fall in Sarawak, and that a good number of seats in Johor will also be lost.

On the flip side, Umno is confident that Kelantan will be retaken and Perak will stay with BN. Najib is due to visit Perak tomorrow and meet folks in Beruas and Ipoh, among other places, to convince them that his coalition is the best for the state. Continue reading “Najib wants Selangor, badly”

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Mr Prime Minister, debate this!

by Praba Ganesan
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 15, 2012

MARCH 15 — So Najib does not like to debate. But why not?

Some people don’t like to eat oranges, we let them be.

So I suppose if some have the right to not like round juicy objects which are hard-going — peeling with your hands and all (so prole!) — you can equally extend this right to Datuk Seri Najib Razak in other arbitrary matters, such as refusing to debate publicly about our country’s current path and how to raise the bar as a progressive society.

However, the prime minister has to keep some consistency, just so the historians characterise him right later.

He should start by closing down Parliament. This is an institution intended to encourage our finest political minds to have laborious, unyielding and rarely funny discussions about the country, mostly by disagreeing. Continue reading “Mr Prime Minister, debate this!”

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Fixed dates for elections

— P. Ramakrishnan
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 14, 2012

MARCH 14 — Aliran executive committee members have a discussion before making their submissions to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms

Elections should not be a cat-and-mouse game. It should never be a guessing game either. There should be a definite predetermined date that is publicly disclosed so that everyone knows the date of the next general election.

This is practised by a number of countries which have a fixed date for the election. Among them are Norway and Switzerland with fixed dates. Canada and its provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Northwest Territories) have implemented fixed-term elections too.

In the United Kingdom the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 fixes the general election on the first Thursday in May every five years. Elections to the European Parliament occur every five years in June. Continue reading “Fixed dates for elections”

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Malaysia after regime change

— Ooi Kee Beng
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 14, 2012

MARCH 14 — Malaysia had to begin life as a federation because, like all federations, its diversity of polity, culture, history, ethnicity and economy was simply too deep for a centrally controlled regime to be practicable.

That was why the Malayan Union of 1946, hopefully constructed by a colonial power recovering from a devastating world war and that badly needed to simplify its control apparatus, could never succeed. Indirect and de facto colonialism was acceptable, but centralised and direct colonialism was too much for the Malay community to accept.

And yet, as became clear in the aftermath of the 2008 general election, the country nevertheless had in reality become centrally controlled by a coalition centred around Umno (United Malays National Organisation), the party formed in 1946 by Onn Ja’afar to fight the Malayan Union.

The 2008 election results can thus be read as a strong negative reaction by the newly-liberated electorate to this sustained political denial of the country’s historical diversity. Continue reading “Malaysia after regime change”

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RM500 buys…

— Lucius Goon
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 13, 2012

MARCH 13 — It is not surprising that PM Najib Razak says that the government will give cash to Malaysians if revenue goes up. He has found out that his disbursement of RM500 has been a success. Nothing it seems keeps Malaysians happy than some lucre in the pocket.

Najib knows this and if it means emptying the coffers to win the election he will do it. The PM a great believer in deal-making knows that RM500 will…

•persuade many Malaysians to have amnesia and forget the catalogue of flip-flops and mistakes from Najib who has inherited mantle of flip-flop king from Abdullah Badawi.

•make Malaysians forget about the string of corruption issues and dodgy deals from the development of land near Martrade (Naza TTDI) to the rm9 billion patrol boats to the super sweetheart West Coast Highway deal (60 year toll concession) to the RM2.2 billion Kidex highway. Continue reading “RM500 buys…”