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And they think we are stupid

By Othman Wahab
June 16, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 16 — Ibrahim Ali thinks he is a brilliant strategist and Umno is confident that it is onto something and Khalid Abu Bakar, the deputy inspector-general of police for Umno, performed just like a politician did.

Of course, I am referring to the moves to stop civic-minded Malaysians from gathering on July 9 and protesting about election shortcomings. The Bersih 2 rally is now not likely to happen, with police threatening tough action (they can’t nab criminals but they can bully tax payers. That is what happens when an institution becomes politicised).

As pointed out by Raja Petra Kamarudin, blogger extraordinaire, the government is worried at the prospect of huge turnout, concerned that momentum could build towards coming polls. They are also worried about the impact of Arab uprising here, despite protestations by the government that Malaysia is not like Egypt. Continue reading “And they think we are stupid”

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A nation in crisis

by Stanley Koh
Free Malaysia Today
June 15, 2011

Is the barometer of our nation’s social health showing critical signs of a national coma? Is our nation mentally sick?

COMMENT

Between now and the first quarter of 2012, the temperature in anticipation of the next general election is likely to heighten as Malaysians will go to the polls to elect their government.

After the shocking results of the 2008 general election which saw the ruling Barisan Nasional regime losing its two-thirds majority and its 53-year authoritarian style of governance shattered, Malaysians are gradually awakening to the fact that there is no more justification for their leaders knowing what is best for the nation.

This approach which worked well for decades due to the wisdom of the founding fathers is obviously eroding with the new generation of leaders and the one-party state system.

What aspects of society should matter to Malaysians at the coming election? Continue reading “A nation in crisis”

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Why Is Perkasa Against Bersih?

By Kee Thuan Chye | 14 June 2011
Malaysian Digest

MANY people have come to regard Ibrahim Ali as a clown, including Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz. One hopes Ibrahim was just talking like a clown when he recently announced that his organization, Perkasa, would oppose the planned Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9 by staging a counter-demonstration. “That means,” as he himself says, “on that day, there will be confrontation.”

This is militant talk. This is a threat to cause violence. And to add fuel to it, Ibrahim has pledged that in the event of a clash, “I will fight to the end”.

But why would Perkasa want to oppose the Bersih 2.0 rally? The rally has nothing to do with race – it is not demonstrating against Malay supremacy, which Perkasa was set up to defend. The rally is calling for electoral and institutional reform. It is calling for the electoral roll to be cleaned up, postal voting to be reformed, indelible ink to be used at elections, all political parties to be given free and fair access to the media, automatic voter registration, a minimum of 21 days for the campaign period, the strengthening of public institutions, a stop to corruption, and a stop to dirty politics.
Continue reading “Why Is Perkasa Against Bersih?”

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Let’s see who’s bigger, Perkasa dares Bersih

By Shannon Teoh
June 15, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — Claiming the support of 36 NGOs, Perkasa threw down the gauntlet last night to organisers of the Bersih gathering to see who could rally more support when the two groups face off in the federal capital on July 9.

The Malay rights group said that it had no choice but to take to the streets to counter election watchdogs Bersih because “if we don’t, then the world will think that they have the support of all Malaysians.”

“Wait for July 9, then we will see who has more,” Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali told reporters after chairing a roundtable meeting with representatives from various NGOs.

The Pasir Mas MP insisted the 37 NGOs including Perkasa was not trying to “create chaos” as alleged by critics but simply wanting to show that “we are rakyat as well.” Continue reading “Let’s see who’s bigger, Perkasa dares Bersih”

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Bersih rally goes on, says Ambiga, PAS

By Boo Su-Lyn
June 12, 2011 | The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — Bersih 2.0 chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and PAS leaders have dismissed opposition towards next month’s Bersih rally and maintained plans to proceed with it.

Umno daily Utusan Malaysia today urged Malaysians to boycott the protest and quoted Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein’s warning that “it will be chaotic when those for and against the street demonstration clash.”

“Opposition is normal. It is a democratic country,” Ambiga told The Malaysian Insider today.

“My own reading is that a lot of people are very supportive of the demands we are making. There’s unhappiness…like example in the Sarawak (election), unhappiness about corruption, (and) unhappiness about the independence of our institutions,” added the election watchdog chief. Continue reading “Bersih rally goes on, says Ambiga, PAS”

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Najib cannot be more wrong as PAS polls outcome is a win for PR and a loss for UMNO

When history is written in the future, the present period may be described as the most exciting, challenging and momentous period in the nation’s history since Merdeka and formation of Malaysia as for the first time in half a century, Malaysians feel that it is within their power to effect far-reaching changes affecting not only themselves, but their children and children’s children.

Just look at the news on online portals and they reflect the multi-facted turmoil affecting the country.

For instance, if we look at the main news headlines on The Malaysia Today, we read the following:

• “Kit Siang, Soi Lek agree race column outdated”
• “Ku Li calls for RCI on power deals”
• “Ex-cop claims AG concealed billion-ringgit scandals”
• “Najib: People, not slogans, decide who wins Putrajaya”
• “PAS polls outcome a win for DAP, says Najib” Continue reading “Najib cannot be more wrong as PAS polls outcome is a win for PR and a loss for UMNO”

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13th GE: Your choice ‘Original Malaysia’ or ‘Fake 1Malaysia’

By Richard Loh

We are warned and reminded about fake goods that look like it, feel like it but it is not the original branded goods. Many have been conned into believing that at a cheaper price you can still get the same original products that you wanted.

Being cheated of buying fake products may not cause us any harm in anyway except burning a hole in the pocket. A lesson to learn and you will be more careful when offered any branded goods at great discount the next time.

But what happen when you are conned into believing in a fake product that can caused great harm to you, your family and future generation?
Continue reading “13th GE: Your choice ‘Original Malaysia’ or ‘Fake 1Malaysia’”

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Intel report sees strife in BN, Pakatan

Malaysiakini
Jun 1, 11

Specialist publisher Economist Intelligence Unit has warned that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak may face political revolt within Umno and from coalition parties in Sabah and Sarawak, should he fail to secure a clear victory in the next general election.

Divisions among the three Pakatan Rakyat component parties are also likely to widen if PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim is jailed for sodomy, the publisher said in the June report for Malaysia.

It predicted that Malaysia’s political stability will come under moderate threat in the next five years due to internal strife within the two main political alliances. Continue reading “Intel report sees strife in BN, Pakatan”

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A ‘snap poll’ in Malaysia? Political surprise, journalistic cliché

Clive Kessler
The Malaysian Insider
May 30, 2011

MAY 30 — Once again there is talk of an early or imminent election in Malaysia.

No surprise, nothing unusual in that.

And once again the commentators are considering the likelihood of a “snap poll.”

Again, no surprise, nothing unusual in that. Just silly.

The expression “snap poll” a cliché.

And, as ever, hasty recourse to the irresistibly available cliché is a sure sign that clear, fresh and direct thinking about the matter at hand has been avoided, short-circuited. That an “end-run” (to use a cliché!) had been made around the moment of analysis, the need for thought.

What is, or was, a snap poll? The term was coined to denote an election that is called suddenly, at an unexpected moment, to take advantage of the element of surprise.

The snap poll is to political life, to electoral politics, what Pearl Harbor was to naval warfare. Suddenly, early one morning, unannounced, out of a clear blue sky… Continue reading “A ‘snap poll’ in Malaysia? Political surprise, journalistic cliché”

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‘BN not worried about facing separate polls’

Malaysiakini
May 27, 11

Barisan Nasional (BN) is not worried over the possibility of facing a separate election should the Pakatan-held states refuse to dissolve their state assemblies, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said.

“We cannot determine what they can do; we can only determine what we can do.

“So, I’m not worried about what they will do because I cannot control their actions. I will only give serious consideration to things that I can do,” he told a media conference after chairing the Umno supreme council meeting at the party’s headquarters today.

Najib said that under the federal constitution, state governments could advise the Sultan or the Yang Dipertua Negeri whether or not to dissolve their state assemblies. Continue reading “‘BN not worried about facing separate polls’”

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Sabah KDM BN parties must be firm on gerrymandering

By Daniel John Jambun (loyarburok.com) | May 27, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

MAY 27 — It had recently been announced that the Election Commission is planning to change yet again the boundaries of the state and parliamentary constituencies throughout the country. And so far, strangely, nobody has made any statement about the matter although we are all very much aware of the serious ramifications of such an exercise.

As a Kadazandusun voter and leader, I see this new redelineation as another opportunity for the Election Commission to indulge in another gerrymandering exercise — the manipulative shifting of electoral boundaries. For all we know, this exercise will be an all-important one in which BN will do its utmost to secure maximum political advantage through various ways.
Continue reading “Sabah KDM BN parties must be firm on gerrymandering”

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Muhyiddin is shaping up to be the worst DPM and Umno Deputy President in history – completely no class or standard!

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is shaping up to be the worst Deputy Prime Minister and Umno Deputy President in history.

I would not yet say that he is destined to be the nation’s worst Education Minister although he is undoubtedly leading the pack in a more competitive field.

I had thought that the “creative conspiracy” by the Defence Minister and Umno vice president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi where he allegedly “exposes DAP’s plan to name Malay candidates in general election” takes the cake for being the most silly political statement of the year.

But I was wrong, for within 48 hours, Muhyiddin dislodged Zahid in making the silliest political statement of the year! Continue reading “Muhyiddin is shaping up to be the worst DPM and Umno Deputy President in history – completely no class or standard!”

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“The Great Pretender” Onslaught To Win Big In The 13th General Election (13th GE )

Richard Loh | May 24, 2011

“You had to pretend conformity while privately pursuing high and dangerous nonconformism” (Anthony Burgess)

‘Pretend’: To feign an action or character, give a false appearance of; feign, represent fictitiously, make believe, take upon oneself; venture.

And the person who pretends is called the ‘pretender’.
Continue reading ““The Great Pretender” Onslaught To Win Big In The 13th General Election (13th GE )”

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DAP against following BN for snap polls this year

By Clara Chooi | May 24, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 — The DAP announced today that it would not agree to holding concurrent elections in Pakatan Rakyat-led (PR) states should the federal government call for snap polls this year.

Secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the DAP’s central executive committee (CEC) agreed on the position at its meeting yesterday as the party preferred for all four PR governments to complete their full five-year term.
Continue reading “DAP against following BN for snap polls this year”

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Will the GST be another nail in the coffin?

Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
May 22, 2011

MAY 22 — A long time ago, I wrote about the government’s plan to implement goods and services tax (GST). I am not going to bother looking at what I wrote. Maybe what I wrote then did not make sense at all.

But to me, the plan to implement the GST will be another nail in the coffin for the Barisan Nasional government. In almost all cases where the GST was introduced, it has raised a lot of discontent. Governments have fallen because of the GST and finance ministers have resigned.

Remember this: Governments have fallen, finance ministers have quit.

I hope, the government’s tax package is not an attempt to trick workers into thinking that they will be better off after the proposed tax cuts. I also hope it will not trick people on government benefits that they will be better off after the so-called “compensation”, despite the introduction of a GST.

Consider this. Our tax base is perhaps only 15 per cent, i.e. only about 15 percent of the population pays taxes. The balance do not pay taxes — kampong people, self-employed, ordinary folks outside the tax bracket. Now, all are caught in the tax trawler net and will pay consumption tax. Never mind, says the government, we will compensate the ordinary people. Continue reading “Will the GST be another nail in the coffin?”

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Change a byword for Kedah Chinese, but to whom?

By Sheridan Mahavera
The Malaysian Insider
May 22, 2011

ALOR SETAR, May 22 — About a month after he was put in charge of Kedah Barisan Nasional (BN), Datuk Paduka Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah declared the state’s Chinese community was returning to the national coalition.

Ahmad Bashah, who made this claim after a Chinese New Year dinner in February, was confident this was happening because of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia concept.

He is not far from the truth. The Malaysian Insider conducted a straw poll of Kedah Chinese residents and found that a significant number of respondents wanted to change the Pakatan Rakyat state government.

However, this did not mean they liked BN either. In fact, the poll showed that only 12 per cent of all Chinese respondents found the 1 Malaysia concept exciting or attractive. The rest were lukewarm, totally uninterested or unclear about it.

Also, though there were more Chinese respondents who wanted to change the state government, this was not reflected in their feelings about the PR administration. More than half of respondents felt satisfied with how PR was running things. Continue reading “Change a byword for Kedah Chinese, but to whom?”

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BN must respect next GE result

by John Inbaraj
The Malaysian Insider
May 21, 2011

MAY 21 — Great Men talk of Ideas, Average Men talk of Things, and Small Men talk of other Men. If I choose to be kind, I can best rate the Malaysian government as average.

In the days of old, our leaders were visionaries, people who talked of great plans and ideas for the country. They had quality — the likes of Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Hussein Onn.

Whether or not their visions and policies achieved their desired goals, they were genuine Malaysians with a heart for the nation. There were others on the sidelines who stood strong to ideals and contributed unselfishly to nation building.

However, the prime minister after that, the great Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, began the systematic dismantling of the principles of democracy and the downward slide of an entire nation. He is widely seen as the man who almost single-handedly destroyed the basic instruments of parliamentary democracy. Continue reading “BN must respect next GE result”

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The General Election is in July, folks!

By Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad | May 20, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

MAY 20 — I wish I didn’t have to say this but better safe than sorry, so I’m going to say it anyway. I honestly hope I’m completely wrong but my sixth sense is telling me that I’m right again.

Yes, despite whatever the prime minister has said, is saying, and will be saying, about the date of the 13th General Election (GE), I dare say that it’s all meant to coax and delude us into believing that it’s not going to be a snap poll.
Continue reading “The General Election is in July, folks!”