Posted on

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

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

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

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

Posted on

Perkara paling mengecewakan daripada Najib pada Perhimpunan Agung UMNO – kegagalan mengisytiharkan perang ke atas rasuah

Perhimpunan Agung ke-66 “perang” UMNO baru sahaja berakhir dengan penuh keyakinan dan tawa gembira, apabila Setiausaha Agung UMNO Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor dan pemimpin UMNO yang lain mengisytiharkan bahawa UMNO bukan sahaja bakal menang pada pilihan raya umum akan datang, tetapi akan memenangi kembali majoriti dua pertiga dan keempat-empat negeri Pakatan termasuklah Kelantan dan Pulau Pinang.

Walau bagaimanapun, manusia hanya merancang, Tuhan yang akan menentukan”.

Kemungkinan untuk Barisan Nasional mendapatkan kembali keempat-empat negeri Pakatan Rakyat iaitu Pulau Pinang, Kelantan, Selangor dan Kedah atau menyekat kemaraan Pakatan Rakyat untuk memenangi semula Kerajaan Negeri Perak tidak harus ditolak sepenuhnya. Continue reading “Perkara paling mengecewakan daripada Najib pada Perhimpunan Agung UMNO – kegagalan mengisytiharkan perang ke atas rasuah”

Posted on

Can BN regain its supermajority?

by Tay Tian Yan
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 03, 2012

DEC 3 — Umno’s morale has been boosted after its general assembly and even its goal has changed.

Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak set retrieving two-thirds of parliamentary seats as the new goal. As the prime minister, he must have a certain degree of confidence to say so or he would have to face both internal and external pressure once he fails to achieve the goal.

Najib is very clear that he is just a “transition prime minister”, who received the regime directly from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In other words, he has not received a formal mandate from the people.

To be a strong leader, he must lead his team and win the election. And he understands that if Barisan Nasional just barely wins, the regime will be inevitably unstable while his personal reputation will also be very low.

Abdullah’s experience showed that Umno needs a powerful regime instead of a simple majority ruling.

Umno’s demand is very clear, namely to win two-thirds of the parliamentary seats and retrieve Selangor. Only that will be called the true victory of Umno and the BN coalition. Continue reading “Can BN regain its supermajority?”

Posted on

Greatest Najib disappointment at the 66th UMNO GA – failure to declare all-out war against corruption which is proof that UMNO incapable of change so long as it remains corrupted in the corridors of power

UMNO’s “war” 66th General Assembly has ended with UMNO leaders confident and euphoric, with the UMNO Secretary-General Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and other UMNO leaders declaring that UMNO will not only triumph in the next general elections, but will win back the two-thirds parliamentary majority as well as all the four Pakatan states including Kelantan and Penang.

However, “Man proposes, God disposes”.

The possibility of Barisan Nasional wresting back the four Pakatan Rakyat states of Penang, Kelantan, Selangor and Kedah or blocking Pakatan Rakyat from winning back Perak State Government cannot be dismissed completely.

At the national level, the 13GE is going to be a nail-biting finish, with the outcome a toss-up as it could go either way with Barisan Nasional returned to Federal power in Putrajaya or Pakatan Rakyat replacing BN as the new Malaysian government breaking UMNO political hegemony.

The 13GE will be faced with a new Malaysian political demography – with the majority of the 29 million population of today born after Malaysia Day, with nearly 70 per cent living in the urban areas, eighty per cent are under the age of 45 while half of our people under the age of 25.

Who wins Putrajaya in the 13GE will not be decided by the BN or PR hardcore but the middle ground voters, comprising some 30 per cent of the 13.1 million, i.e. 4 million, registered electorate. Continue reading “Greatest Najib disappointment at the 66th UMNO GA – failure to declare all-out war against corruption which is proof that UMNO incapable of change so long as it remains corrupted in the corridors of power”

Posted on

Irresponsible threats of May 13 and chaos if Umno loses 13GE, falsely claiming that Malays will lose political power, is best proof of failure and hypocrisy of Najib’s 1Malaysia policy

The irresponsible threats raised by UMNO leaders at the 66th UMNO General Assembly of “May 13” and chaos if UMNO loses the 13th General Election, falsely claiming that Malays will lose political power and will be rendered “destitute in our own land”, is the best proof of the failure and hypocrisy of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia policy.

If the 1Malaysia Policy proclaimed by Najib after he became Prime Minister in in April 2009 is more than election gimmicks for votes in the 13GE, its philosophy “to create a Malaysian nation where every Malaysian will regard himself or herself as Malaysian first and race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic status second” should have been the guiding spirit of speeches of UMNO/BN leaders and their party conferences.

But this is clearly not the case despite the onset of the 43rd month of Najib’s premiership, as illustrated by the 66th Umno General Assembly. Continue reading “Irresponsible threats of May 13 and chaos if Umno loses 13GE, falsely claiming that Malays will lose political power, is best proof of failure and hypocrisy of Najib’s 1Malaysia policy”

Posted on

Will PR become the proverbial rabbit?

Dr. Hsu Dar Ren
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 23, 2012

NOV 23 — As the end of the year approaches, there is still no sign of any election being called. Now it looks like the general election (GE) will only be held after the automatic dissolution of our Parliament in late April 2013. Another possible date is perhaps March 2013.

Malaysia’s political landscape cannot be more different from that of the United States. Yet the recent presidential election there reinforces one important fact. That even if a person or a party cannot win the majority of the biggest ethnic group, the person or the party can still win the election by winning an overwhelming majority of the minorities.

President Barack Obama won because of the votes of the minorities. He carried almost 93 per cent of the African-American votes, over 70 per cent of the Asian and Hispanic votes, but got only 39 per cent of the votes of the White majority. In contrast, his opponent won the majority of the white votes at around 59 per cent but still lost the election.

Based on this, I think it is possible for Pakatan Rakyat to win the next general election in Malaysia, given that majority of the Chinese will vote for the opposition. What is needed is to make certain that the majority of Indian votes go to PR. Most of the Malay votes (my estimate is over 60 per cent) — the Malays form the biggest ethnic group in the country — will be for BN. Continue reading “Will PR become the proverbial rabbit?”

Posted on

The politics of accommodation in PAS

Bridget Welsh
Malaysiakini
Nov 20, 2012

COMMENT

Islamist parties throughout the world are grappling with new roles and responsibilities. PAS is no exception.

The discussions at the party’s muktamar held in Kota Bharu last weekend highlight that PAS is adapting to new conditions globally and nationally, and in fact embracing reform.

Perhaps more than any party in Malaysia, PAS is engaging in accommodation.

Despite news reports focusing on the comments of one or two individuals – a common feature, especially in the reporting of Malaysia’s Islamic party – PAS is moving towards a more nationally-oriented position in which it can play a prominent role as a partner in an alternative government.

In fact, judging by its actions and the meeting taken as a whole rather than the words reported, the muktamar highlights that PAS is continuing to embrace more progressive positions, especially among its leadership.

Its challenges, however, have more to do with winning over its more parochial and conservative membership that is reluctant to change and struggling to adapt and understand a more complex and demanding political environment. Continue reading “The politics of accommodation in PAS”

Posted on

In the final lap to 13GE, PR leaders should focus single-mindedly to win support of majority of Malaysians for PR Common Policy Programmme and not fall into Umno/BN “Divide and Rule” trap

In the final lap to the 13th General Elections, Pakatan Rakyat leaders should focus single-mindedly to win support of the majority of Malaysian voters for the Pakatan Rakyat Common Policy Programme and not fall into the Umno/barisan Nasional “Divide-and-Rule” trap.

Let us be guided by the Joint Statement of Pakatan Rakyat leaders when Pakatan Rakyat was formed in 2008 which reaffirmed the solidarity, commitment and consensus basis of PR to implement an agenda to develop the nation and create a prosperous society based on justice, freedom, democracy and good governance, irrespective of ethnicity, religion and culture.

The Joint Statement of PR leaders dated 12th April 2008, bearing the signatures of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Datin Seri Dr. Wan Azizah Ismail, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang and myself, states:

“The policies of Pakatan Rakyat are centred on objectives that have been agreed upon and accepted by the leaders of the three parties that are keADILan, DAP and PAS. Among these are to develop this country on the basiss of justice, create opportunities for all citizens to enjoy national prosperity and to accord priority to those who are poor and marginalized.
Continue reading “In the final lap to 13GE, PR leaders should focus single-mindedly to win support of majority of Malaysians for PR Common Policy Programmme and not fall into Umno/BN “Divide and Rule” trap”

Posted on

Two pre-conditions for Pakatan Rakyat to beat Umno/Barisan Nasional in the battle for Putrajaya in the 13GE

PAS President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said in his speech at the opening of the 58th PAS Muktamar this morning that PAS is prepared to take federal power with its Pakatan Rakyat allies.

Malaysians are at the crossroads in the 13th General Elections, to decide whether the country should have a new beginning by electing a new Pakatan Rakyat federal government in Putrajaya or whether the corruption, abuses of power, injustices and inequalities of the Umno/Barisan Nasional Government should continue to blight the future, hopes and aspirations of the people.

There are two pre-conditions if Pakatan Rakyat is to beat UMNO/Barisan Nasional in the battle for Putrajaya in the 13 General Elections.

The Pakatan Rakyat coalition of PAS, PKR and DAP must be able to show and convince Malaysians of two important differences with the Umno/Barisan Nasional coalition.

Firstly, that the Pakatan Rakyat coalition practices the politics of “Unite and Rule” as distinct from the traditional but divisive and destructive politics of “Divide and Rule” of UMNO/BN, polarizing instead of uniting Malaysians along racial and religious lines. Continue reading “Two pre-conditions for Pakatan Rakyat to beat Umno/Barisan Nasional in the battle for Putrajaya in the 13GE”

Posted on

A stirring of discontent

— Christine SK Lai
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 13, 2012

NEW DELHI, Nov 13 ― The blurb on Facebook was catchy. “Come experience the Ubah Dream Machine”.

There were some interesting names bandied about, though no big-time personalities apparently. That suited me fine actually, because I didn’t fancy stomaching political ra-ra-ra speeches. I wanted to hear from ordinary folks like myself.

So for the first time in my 52 years of being a Malaysian citizen, I attended a “ceramah umum”.

It was awful timing, actually. Saturday nights are for enjoying with family and frens, partying, R-n-R stuff. Who would want to come and hang out at a car-park listening to more of the same-same things that have been said umpteen times already?

Add to that the unkind weather which literally washed out the whole idea of an open air gathering, and any smart event organiser will conclude it’s bound to be a PR disaster on your hands.

But I went anyway, more out of curiosity than anything else, since personally I am not a die-hard of any political party.

I didn’t expect any crowd as the rain was a real dampener, and indeed as I looked across to the car park grounds, it was miserably empty. Continue reading “A stirring of discontent”

Posted on

Sabah voters will be the “kingmakers” in the 13GE to decide who will form the Federal Government in Putrajaya and who will be the Prime Minister of Malaysia

After my latest visit to Sabah and three-day “DAP UBAH tour” of Papar (Kg Tamui), Kota Belud ( Kg Nahaba), Inanam, Matunggung (Kg. Pinaurat) and Kudat, with Sabah DAP leaders, it is clear that the Pakatan Rakyat Sabah’s RM7.28 billion Alternative Budget 2013 announced last month has “hit the marks” and put intense pressure on the Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Aman and the Barisan Nasional Sabah leaders.

For instance, Musa was reported in the Sabah newspapers on Friday of handing over funds totaling RM30.9 million to 140 non-Islamic religious bodies and 266 schools including Chinese independent and missions schools in the state – made up of RM18 million to religious bodies including churches, Chinese temples and other non-Muslim places of worship and RM12.9 million to the schools.

Although Musa said that “the large allocation for non-Islamic religious bodies was reflective of the Barisan Nasional government’s commitment in upholding religious freedom in the country”, it was clearly in response though weak and inadequate to the fourth of five thrusts of Pakatan Rakyat Sabah’s Alternative Budget 2003 on “Empowering Local Communities”.

However the Sabah BN government has fallen far short of what the PR Sabah Alternative Budget proposed.
Continue reading “Sabah voters will be the “kingmakers” in the 13GE to decide who will form the Federal Government in Putrajaya and who will be the Prime Minister of Malaysia”

Posted on

Pakatan Rakyat’s 13GE call and objective is positive “Unite and Rule” unifying all races and religions while Umno and Barisan Nasional resort to the traditional polarising “Divide and Rule” tactics

For the first time in the nation’s history, voters in Sabah and Malaysia have become very impatient of waiting for the general elections as they have been waiting for more than two years for the most crucial and critical 13th General Elections.

Everywhere throughout Malaysia, whether in Sabah, Sarawak or the peninsular states, whether at ceramahs, dialogues or walkabouts, the question most frequently asked is: “When is the general elections?”

Although it has become the national guessing game for more than two years, only one man in the country has the answer – the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

But the greatest irony is that even Najib does not have the answer as he agonises for over two years on when to call for the 13th General Elections – not because of any high national consideration or reason of state but purely from the selfish standpoint of his own personal political survival.
Continue reading “Pakatan Rakyat’s 13GE call and objective is positive “Unite and Rule” unifying all races and religions while Umno and Barisan Nasional resort to the traditional polarising “Divide and Rule” tactics”

Posted on

Whether Najib likes it or not, its countdown for 13GE as Parliament has life-span of less than six months before it is automatically dissolved

Malaysians have been waiting for the past two years for the 13th General Election but the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been dilly-dallying as he hunts for the best timing for the dissolution of Parliament not so much for UMNO and the Barisan Nasional, but to ensure that he could remain ensconced in Sri Perdana after the polls.

Whether Najib likes it or not, its countdown for the 13GE as the 12th Parliament which was elected in the political tsunami of 8th March 2008 has a life-span of less than six months before it is automatically dissolved followed by the “mother of all general elections” in Malaysia.

There is just four months left if we take into account the polling day on 8th March 2008.

However, as Article 55 (3) provides that “Parliament unless sooner dissolved shall continue for five years from the date of its first meeting and shall then stand dissolved”, the 12th Parliament’s tenure will only end on April 27, 2013 as its first meeting was held on 28th April 2008.

Najib has already created two “history” – firstly, being the longest Prime Minister without an elected mandate of his own, compared to any of his predecessors which would include his father, Tun Razak, as well as the ensuing three Prime Ministers Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir and Tun Abdullah.

His second “history” is to be Prime Minister of the longest Parliament to be dissolved, now entering into the last six months of its tenure.

The question is whether Najib will achieve a “triple” in making Malaysian history – of being the last UMNO Prime Minister in Malaysia. Continue reading “Whether Najib likes it or not, its countdown for 13GE as Parliament has life-span of less than six months before it is automatically dissolved”

Posted on

Daydreaming or plain cocky?

Jeswan Kaur | November 1, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

Just why does BN/Umno find delight in playing the racism card when the issues beleaguering the rakyat are one too many?

COMMENT

The Barisan Nasional government is doing its worst to prevent the opposition alliance of Pakatan Rakyat from setting foot in Putrajaya and calling the shots.

Much castigation and accusations have been thrown upon Pakatan and its leaders by Umno, BN’s patronising arm.

Still, the rakyat seem eager to give Pakatan a chance to administer the nation, having had enough of ruling government BN’s domineering and rhetorics post-1957.

If BN is not puzzled as to why the rakyat are all thumbs-up for Pakatan, the former is either daydreaming or plain cocky.

To the people of this nation in particular the non-Malays, they have had it with the antics of BN’s top guns like Muhyiddin Yassin, the deputy prime minister.

Two years ago Muhyiddin stunned Malaysians when he claimed that he was a Malay first and then Malaysian.

Why should the people be in favour of BN as the ruling government when its leaders are doing all they can to perpetuate an agenda that only serves to discriminate and segregate Malaysians of different faiths? Continue reading “Daydreaming or plain cocky?”

Posted on

Barisan Nasional has lost all credibility, legitimacy and moral authority to continue to rule in Malaysia

The latest report to emanate from the Barisan Nasional camp is that in the 13th General Election, it expects to win more than the 140 parliamentary seats it took in the 2008 General Election and that its worst-case scenario is winning just over 120 seats.

But this is only one of the many projections making their rounds with the worst-case scenario for the Barisan Nasional ranging from the bleak one of losing majority control of Parliament to the even more dismal one which would give Barisan Nasional a total of less than 100 parliamentary seats.

For the first time in the nation’s 55-year history and in thirteen General Elections, Malaysian voters have within their hands the power to decide whether the time has come for a change of Federal government although this would be heavily dependent on whether the next general election is a free, fair and clean one.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is not confident that he will survive unscathed to continue as the sixth Prime Minister after the 13GE, and this is why he had dillied and dallied for almost two years over when to call for general election although he cannot be unaware of the pressure from the ignominy of being the longest unelected Prime Minister without his own national mandate for the highest office in the land.

Whatever the electorate’s verdict in the 13GE, what is becoming increasingly evident is that Barisan Nasional has lost all credibility, legitimacy and moral authority to continue to rule in Malaysia because it is prepared to undermine the Malaysian nation-building process with contradictory lies, deceit and hypocrisy when campaigning to different racial groups. Continue reading “Barisan Nasional has lost all credibility, legitimacy and moral authority to continue to rule in Malaysia”

Posted on

MCA and UMNO leaders’ “devil’s compact” for each side to tell the most blatant lies and falsehoods to frighten Chinese and Malay voters respectively

My first reaction to the speech by the MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek at the MCA 59th Annual General Assembly on Sunday is one of outrage that so much lies and falsehoods could be crammed into a single speech.

Just three examples of such lies and falsehoods spouted by Chua on Sunday:

1. “DAP has succeeded in convincing non-Mulsims that PAS’ hudud will reduce crime and corruption in the country. This is another big lie. Of the 11 countries that practice hudud, eight are regarded as the most corrupted and they are also recognized as unstable and unsafe countries.”

2. “UBAH is for :- U for Untuk, B for Bentuk, A for Agama and H for Hudud ala PAS. CHANGE, would mean :-C = Choose H = Hudud A = At N = Next G = General E = Election”

3. “It (DAP) will continue to mislead, give false hope to the Chinese that if the Chinese vote DAP, they are empowered to be kingmaker in the country”

Chua is desperately trying to convince himself and Malaysians that DAP is championing PAS’ hudud to the extent of arguing that it will “reduce crime and corruption” in Malaysia and turning the 13 General Election into a referendum for “hudud ala PAS”.

Chua is right. This is a “big lie”, but a big lie perpetrated by Chua himself and not by the DAP. Continue reading “MCA and UMNO leaders’ “devil’s compact” for each side to tell the most blatant lies and falsehoods to frighten Chinese and Malay voters respectively”

Posted on

Pakatan is doing the right stuff

Jeswan Kaur | October 17, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

With the Auditor-General’s report vouching for Pakatan’s ability to ‘do a good job’, does BN have any other trick up its sleeve to bring the curtains down on its arch rival Pakatan?

COMMENT

Poetic justice – that best sums up the 2011 Auditor-General’s report that has given the opposition Pakatan Rakyat-controlled four states top marks for fiscal management.

The Auditor-General in its report had praised Selangor and Penang for collecting a revenue of RM62.50 million and RM192.19 million respectively.

Both states recorded a surge of 46.8% and 4% respectively as compared to the previous year.

The AG’s report also praised Kedah and Kelantan for their revenue collection but said that the states needed to improve their debt management system.

The DAP-led Penang showed the way in terms of revenue collection, chalking up RM192.19 million or 46.8% increase compared with the RM410.70 million generated in 2010.

Selangor, the country’s richest state, increased its revenue collection by RM62.50 million or 4% for the same period.

A paradoxical scenario indeed for in spite of the vehement attacks by Barisan Nasional on Pakatan’s ability to administer the four states under its fold, the opposition coalition, as revealed by the Auditor-General’s report, has proven its rivals wrong, shutting them up in the most fashionable way through an impressive performance. Continue reading “Pakatan is doing the right stuff”

Posted on

AG report: Top marks to Pakatan states

Syed Jaymal Zahiid | October 15, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

The 2011 Auditor-General’s report showed that apart from a few minor glitches, all four states showed good financial standing.

KUALA LUMPUR: The 2011 Auditor-General’s report indicates good fiscal management by all four Pakatan Rakyat-controlled states with revenues improving.

DAP-held Penang led the way in terms of revenue collection, recording a RM192.19 million or 46.8% increase compared with the RM410.70 million made in 2010 while Selangor, Malaysia’s richest state, increased by RM62.50 million or 4% for the same period.

Kedah, on the other hand, saw its surplus drop when it recorded an increase in operating expenditures despite boosting its revenue, but the report noted that the PAS-led state government had more or less maintained a “satisfactory” balance sheet. Continue reading “AG report: Top marks to Pakatan states”

Posted on

Governing Malaysia

Zairil Khir Johari
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 12, 2012

OCT 12 — A favourite line of attack adopted by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government these days is the accusation that the opposition is only capable of making empty promises and hence is unable to govern.

To corroborate this premise, the prime minister recently suggested three points, namely: that the opposition coalition has failed to formalise itself under a common party symbol, that the inability to formulate a shadow Cabinet reveals a lack of credibility, and that the opposition’s sweet promises are in reality “venomous poison” that will eventually bring financial ruin to the country. In stressing the last point, he even went so far as to say that the Buku Jingga, the opposition’s official policy manifesto, “is not worth the paper it is printed on.”

Now, it’s all very fine for the prime minister to partake in showboating, especially when the mainstream media will offer no space for a rejoinder by the opposition. Unfortunately, even with the near-monopoly of information that he enjoys, it is disappointing that the prime minister has to resort to mischievous half-truths, unabashed hypocrisy and outright lies in order to malign the opposition. Continue reading “Governing Malaysia”

Posted on

What’s keeping Malaysia’s Opposition together?

— Bridget Welsh
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 10, 2012

Oct 10 — What keeps the Malaysian opposition Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance) together? The quick answer often given is the common search of political power.

While power frames the relationships between three disparate political parties – Islamist PAS, secular-committed Democratic Action Party and the umbrella reform-oriented PKR of Mr Anwar Ibrahim – it is not the glue of the opposition alliance. Were this the case, PAS would have left the coalition when UMNO floated the offer of joining the government in 2008 and intense jockeying took place within PAS.

The answer lies in the three parties’ shared moral compact. Pakatan Rakyat is an alliance of profoundly different backgrounds, with secularists, theocrats, conservatives and progressives working together. In a world wracked with tensions over religion and misunderstandings, Malaysia’s opposition stands out in bucking international trends of difference. Continue reading “What’s keeping Malaysia’s Opposition together?”