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DAP lawmaker claims offered RM150,000 to run for BN in GE13

By Debra Chong
Oct 01, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 — A suspended Johor DAP assemblyman today revealed he had been offered RM150,000 and 50 acres of land to quit his party and stand as an independent candidate aligned to rival Barisan Nasional (BN) in the coming national polls.

First-term Bentayan state lawmaker Gwee Tong Hiang said he was approached last Tuesday by a Chinese man claiming to be a representative from the Prime Minister’s Department who caught him while he was feeling down over his six-month suspension for alleged power abuse. Continue reading “DAP lawmaker claims offered RM150,000 to run for BN in GE13”

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Come to the light(-hearted) side

— Yow Hong Chieh
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 01, 2011

OCT 1 — So Jabba the Hutt has struck the first blow against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s new reform package barely two weeks after it was announced.

Despite promising to give more latitude to the media, his administration’s knee-jerk response to the “Undilah” video has only demonstrated that old habits die hard — if something disagrees with you, ban it.

The issue for me is not whether Pete Teo had intended to draw parallels between Najib and the hermaphroditic mob boss.

Only Teo truly knows the answer to that and, even if the allegation were true, the last time I checked it wasn’t a crime to be a hypocrite (in this case, to be allegedly partisan in what was intended to be a non-partisan project).

The issue is the disproportionate reaction of government to the perceived slight. To think the wheels of our state machinery were put in motion for what is, at worst, a sly but harmless dig at the current administration.

Lighten up, guys. Continue reading “Come to the light(-hearted) side”

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Kedah-Kelantan pipeline carrot for Umno men, claims US cable

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 29, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 — A leaked US diplomatic cable issued in 2007 said that Malaysia’s RM21 billion trans-peninsula oil pipeline was likely launched as a means to reward Umno loyalists with lucrative contracts if Kelantan’s PAS government fell in Election 2008.

The cable pointed out that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports were prepared nor economic viability studies conducted for the project as ecological risks were not a major concern to the then Abdullah administration.

“Domestic politics may be a bigger driver for the project than the potential economic payoff,” said the cable, leaked by whistleblower site WikiLeaks and published by the Malaysia Today news portal today.

It said the government viewed the pipeline, which was to run from Kedah to Kelantan, as an opportunity to reward Umno supporters “regardless of whether or not the project makes long-term sense”.

“The refinery and pipeline in Bachok would be seen as a potential Umno deliverable and might just tip the balance in a PAS-controlled state shortly before the election,” the cable said.

It added that such order of business for major projects in Malaysia was “typical”. Continue reading “Kedah-Kelantan pipeline carrot for Umno men, claims US cable”

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Middle Malaysia

By Liew Chin Tong | September 28, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

SEPT 28 — Middle Malaysia is elusive but it is clear that whichever coalition that is able to win across the traditional fault lines of race, religion and regions takes Federal power.

Barisan Nasional is now the world’s oldest elected government still in office. Its predecessor, the Alliance party, first won the Federal election for self-government in 1955.

BN’s longevity in government can be attributed to successful manipulation of the carrot and stick. Carrots range from contracts for big tycoons to rural patronage for the Umno base while the sticks are really big – dissenters can be put behind bars without trial for years while the mass media are muzzled.

But there is something deeper: there is no alternative.
Continue reading “Middle Malaysia”

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Beware of false prophets

— Jacob Sinnathamby
The Malaysian Insider

SEPT 27 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak certainly talks a good game. It is election season and he needs to win big so everything goes.

Today he talks about how Bumiputera quotas need to go, eventually. No one knows when this eventually will be because as we all know the Umno-hijacked New Economic Policy was extended under pressure from the Umno beneficiaries.

Najib is not the first Umno president to talk about removing quotas or taking away the crutches from Bumiputeras.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Badawi both mentioned this when they wanted to show Malaysians that they were enlightened leaders and when they were fishing for support from non-Malays before elections.

Needless to say all their “good intentions” never materialised. Once they got the votes, they promptly forgot about taking away the quotas and instead fortified the distortions in the system. Continue reading “Beware of false prophets”

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Electoral reform for Sarawak

by Duwen Babat

My focus on electoral reform with reference to Sarawak are in four areas that are as follow.

1. Development during campaigning period – I would suggest that all development must be stopped when the DUN/Parliament is dissolved. The caretaker government must not be allowed to used development during the campaigning period to secure vote. Further, such practice could lead to abuse or mismanagement of public fund that would be very unfair to the new government especially if there is a change in government. Also, the current government has been given ample time (around 5 years) to implement development and there is no necessity for last minute implementation.

2. Enact laws to strictly prohibit vote buying either directly or indirectly by the candidates or his/her agent or someone else. If proven guilty, the candidate is deemed to be disqualified, and entitled the other candidate with the second highest votes as winner without re-election.

3. Permit the Sarawakians who reside in Malaya to vote in Malaya. The current technology and infrastructure would facilitate this process without much a problem. Continue reading “Electoral reform for Sarawak”

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Pakatan commits to PSC

by Aidila Razak
Malaysiakini
Sep 21, 11

Pakatan Rakyat will participate in the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reforms despite earlier boycott threats.

After the Pakatan leadership council meeting in Kuala Lumpur, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said that the coalition was willing to “give the government a chance” to prove its commitment to electoral reforms.

However, the coalition has yet to appoint its three representatives to the nine member committee. Five will be filled by BN MPs and another from the Independent bloc.

“We have given our members full mandate to represent Pakatan and state their priorities, collaborate and see the workings of the committee and decide if it is a delay tactic.

“We are giving the government a chance, we don’t want to be presumptuous,” he said. Continue reading “Pakatan commits to PSC”

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Najib must retract his “crushed bodies, lives lost” speech and declare that he will accept the general election verdict of the people, including a change of government in Sri Perdana Putrajaya

On Sunday the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak claimed that his Malaysia Day speech announcement of the repeal of the Internal Security Act and other law reforms was an effort to make Malaysia “the best democracy in the world”.

Within 48 hours however Najib demonstrated that he has neither the political commitment nor the necessary mindset to “walk the talk” of making Malaysia “the best democracy in the world” when he spoke to the Association of Former Members of the Social Welfare Department (PBAKM) calling for assistance to defend Putrajaya by declaring that Seri Perdana is the residence of UMNO and a BN Prime Minister.

Najib cannot be more wrong as Sri Perdana is not the private property of UMNO and Barisan Nasional but the public property of the people of Malaysia, regardless of the outcome of any general election. Continue reading “Najib must retract his “crushed bodies, lives lost” speech and declare that he will accept the general election verdict of the people, including a change of government in Sri Perdana Putrajaya”

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To be a statesman or to remain a politician?

by K Kabilan
Free Malaysia Today
September 20, 2011

Critics can be silenced only if Najib shows that he is genuine in making political reforms. For that, he has to start the ball rolling now, not next year, not after the general election.

COMMENT

It’s not surprising that there are so many sceptics to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s proposed political reforms as announced by him on Malaysia Day.

It has been about a week now and we are yet to be shown any outlines or details of the mechanism under which Najib proposes to revoke the three Emergency proclamations, do away with the draconian Internal Security Act and on what form would the two replacement Acts be.

Neither have we seen any fine print on how the other Emergency Ordinance-related laws such as the Banishment Act and the Restricted Residence Act 1993 will be replaced. Continue reading “To be a statesman or to remain a politician?”

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Foreign sell-off, economy top concerns despite reforms push

by Lee Wei Lian
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 19, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — Despite the Najib administration’s political reforms, a Bloomberg report today said foreign funds may continue paring down local share stakes in an indication that the world economy will remain the government’s biggest headache ahead of an expected general election.

Terence Wong, head of research at Kuala Lumpur-based CIMB, was reported as saying that worsening global economic turmoil may cause investors to keep unloading the nation’s equities.

Wong also said that promises made last week by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to burnish Malaysia’s democratic credentials and abolish the controversial security and media laws will not be enough to boost confidence.

The Bloomberg report said that KLSE data showed that foreign funds sold RM3.8 billion worth of Malaysian shares last month, the most since at least October 2009 after four consecutive months of inflows. Continue reading “Foreign sell-off, economy top concerns despite reforms push”

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Pak Lah warns Najib of internal resistance to reforms

By Shannon Teoh
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 19, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today that Datuk Seri Najib Razak should expect hardliners in Barisan Nasional (BN) to resist his plans to repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA) and other security laws because they want to maintain the old ways to silence critics.

The former prime minister, who was conferred Universiti Malaysia Kelantan’s first honorary doctorate today, said in his acceptance speech that his own efforts to implement reforms were “opposed not just by those outside but also those from within.”

“There are hardliners who want to maintain the old system, controlling the flow of information and using laws to silence the public. Najib may face the same challenges I did before. The job of a reformist is not easy.

“I hope there will not be those that oppose silently, ‘seperti gunting dalam lipatan’, as the policy that (Najib) wants to create with the repeal of the ISA will benefit the public and the nation in the long term,” Abdullah said, using the Malay idiom that refers to internal saboteurs. Continue reading “Pak Lah warns Najib of internal resistance to reforms”

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From the people behind Tony Blair, a ‘cool’ Najib

By Leslie Lau
Executive Editor
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 19, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — In the last few weeks, a group of political strategists that includes members of the team behind Tony Blair’s “New Labour” have started work to reinvent Datuk Seri Najib Razak as a moderate reformist to appeal to voters as he prepares to lead his Barisan Nasional (BN) for the first time into elections.

The Malaysian Insider understands that besides the former Blair operatives, the Najib team is also seeking the counsel of a familiar face — Paul Stadlen, the former boss of APCO Malaysia, the team that met an ignominious end a few months ago for alleged links to Israel.

As part of the Najib team’s big push, it is also understood that multi-million ringgit funding has also been worked out for a new website and to hire hundreds of people to promote “Brand Najib” and “Brand BN” on social media and other websites.

A new Najib — one who attends concerts and speaks of being “cool” — has already emerged despite the short time the “Blair team” has been working here.

Last week, the prime minister pushed aside the hawks that had been dominating space in his administration by announcing plans for a raft of reforms including the repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA). Continue reading “From the people behind Tony Blair, a ‘cool’ Najib”

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Stop the charade of claiming to want to be the “best democracy in the world” – what Najib should do is to immediately end Malaysia’s ranking as a “flawed democracy”

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is outdoing himself every day with taller and ever incredible claims – yesterday claiming that no one else but Barisan Nasional should take credit for the repeal of the Internal Security Act and other law reforms he announced in his Malaysia Day message and today reiterating that the repeal of the ISA is not due to pressure from any quarter but an effort to make Malaysia the “best democracy in the world”.

Najib should stop the charade of claiming to want to be the “best democracy in the world” when what he should do is to immediately end Malaysia’s ranking as a “flawed democracy” before Malaysia could qualify to rank among the full democracies in the world.

The third edition of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Democracy Index 2010 released early this year categorised Malaysia as a “flawed democracy” due to “a gradual erosion of civil liberties and political culture in the past year” with Malaysia’s aggregate score dropping 0.17 to 6.19 out of 10 from the previous index in 2008, and the overall country ranking falling from 68th to 71st out of 167 countries. Continue reading “Stop the charade of claiming to want to be the “best democracy in the world” – what Najib should do is to immediately end Malaysia’s ranking as a “flawed democracy””

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Will repeal of ISA and slew of other legislative changes be completed before next general elections or will they be “work-in-progress” trotted out as BN election “goodies” ?

I had said at the Sabah Pakatan Rakyat convention in Kota Kinabalu last evening that the Pakatan Rakyat has begun to chalk up victories even before the 13th general elections, citing as example the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s announcement to repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA) which is one of the specific promises made by Pakatan Rakyat in the Buku Jingga manifesto.

This has been quickly rebutted by Najib today who said that no one else but Barisan Nasional should take credit for the repeal of the ISA and the slew of other law reforms which he announced in his Malaysia Day message on Wednesday night.

Najib claimed that “these are not the fruits of their struggle” but was a decision made by the Barisan Nasional government “because we listened to Malaysians who want this change”.

Najib even said the decision to scrap the ISA was part of his promise to amend the controversial law when he took office in 2009.

Not to mention Malaysians at large – but even leaders and members of Barisan Nasional parties would require enormous capacity of self-deception to believe such tall tales. Continue reading “Will repeal of ISA and slew of other legislative changes be completed before next general elections or will they be “work-in-progress” trotted out as BN election “goodies” ?”

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And the pretending goes on …

— The Malaysian Insider
Sep 13, 2011

SEPT 13 — Presumably, if you keep on message all the time, you must hope that fiction turns into fact. Let’s take the issue of the six per cent service tax on users of prepaid mobile services.

It was introduced by this government (included somewhere in the last budget by the Finance Minister) and yet Malaysians have had to go through this painful sandiwara by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak (who urged the telcos to reconsider passing on the tax to consumers), Information Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim, who was keen to paint the telcos as the bad guys, and now DPM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The country’s number two, like his Cabinet and Umno colleagues, is keen to show that the government is compassionate and mindful of the pain felt by the rakyat. He, like his friends, speaks as if it was some third party who suddenly imposed this tax out of thin air and the BN fairy came along, waved a wand and took away the pain of the rakyat. Continue reading “And the pretending goes on …”

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Pakatan asks BN to jointly fix polls date

By Shannon Teoh and Mohamed Hosni Ibrahim
September 13, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — The federal opposition has called for the Barisan Nasional (BN) government to negotiate and fix the date of the next general election together to avoid any dispute over the implementation of electoral reforms that Datuk Seri Najib Razak has promised.

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers said today that as Putrajaya has set aside six months for a parliamentary select committee to table recommendations to the House, the government should allow enough time for the reforms to take place before federal polls are called.

“It will show their commitment to electoral reforms. It has never happened before but we can make history and avoid any dissatisfaction,” said PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub.
Continue reading “Pakatan asks BN to jointly fix polls date”

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Official arrogance will bring Najib down

Jeswan Kaur | September 13, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

When he took over as prime minister, Najib Tun Razak said he will listen to the people but his officers have turned a deaf ear to the promise with their arrogance.

COMMENT

In 2009, when Najib Tun Razak took over the country’s affairs from Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, he promised the rakyat that his government would be all ears. But two years down the road it appears that the promise was just lip service.

One such example of refusing to listen to the rakyat was displayed through the insensitive remark by the Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Minister Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal.

In February this year, Raja Nong Chik had admonished the Bukit Jalil estate workers who turned to him for help in trying to avoid being evicted from their homes. The minister told the residents that they should be contented with the Little India project when they wanted to negotiate compensation. Continue reading “Official arrogance will bring Najib down”

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Slide began before Bersih

— Lucius Goon
The Malaysian Insider
Sep 12, 2011

SEPT 12 — Sorry but I don’t buy this attempt to blame the slide in the prime minister’s rating to his mishandling of Bersih 2.0 rally.

What happened on July 9 and the twisting and turning of words after that by the PM (I offered the stadium and no I didn’t and yes I did) is just symptomatic of an administration which lost its direction and a leader who is afraid of his own shadow.

Long before Bersih happened, the country was in a drift towards worsening race ties, upsurge in the power of the right wing and flip-flops in policy reforms. Sad to say but Najib has become Abdullah Ahmad Badawi: good with slogans and rhetoric but very elastic with implementation.

Abdullah had Islam Hadhari and Najib has 1 Malaysia but under the umbrella of those two “concepts” is the same rubbish which has been stinking up Malaysia since the Mahathir administration: corruption by politicians, worsening race relations, abuse of powers, widening gap between the haves and have-nots, talent drain, inflated privatisation contracts, cronyism and nepotism and a complete hijacking of the Bumiputera agenda by Umno politicians and the decaying state of institutions. Continue reading “Slide began before Bersih”

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PM’s blame game

— The Malaysian Insider
Sep 10, 2011

SEPT 10 — So far the only people not blamed for the mishandling of the Bersih 2.0 rally are Al-Qaeda, Chin Peng, Kermit the Frog and Ayah Pin.

You get the drift, right. It seems that the order to turn Kuala Lumpur into a war zone and treat ordinary Malaysians like criminals was everybody’s fault but that of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

In the short time following the rally on July 9, Najib’s operatives and aides spent considerable time convincing journalists and pundits that he was all for offering Bersih organisers the use of a stadium but was persuaded otherwise by

a) Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein;

b) Information Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim;

c) Deputy IGP Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar;

d) Datuk Ibrahim Ali and Perkasa; and

e) Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhiyiddin Yassin Continue reading “PM’s blame game”

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Religious issues hurting Najib’s chances

The Malaysian Insider
Sep 11, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 — A raid on a church by Muslim authorities has raised religious tension in Malaysia and could cost Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak votes in an election set for 2013 but which many expect to come much earlier.

The raid has sparked an angry verbal battle between Christians and the majority Muslims, forcing Najib to seek what may be an elusive peace between the ethnic Malays and minorities, both of which believe the government isn’t doing enough to safeguard their rights.

Conservative Muslims want the government to crack down on what they say is growing boldness by Christians to try to convert Muslims, which is an offence in Malaysia, while ethnic minorities worry their rights are being eroded.

Analysts say Najib is caught in a bind and will have to tread extremely carefully to avoid being seen as favouring either side in his efforts to mediate. Continue reading “Religious issues hurting Najib’s chances”