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Suggestions for more suitable term than Pakatan Rakyat are most welcome

Many suggestions have been made for a more suitable term than Pakatan Rakyat for the proposed co-operation of KeADILan, DAP and PAS as a follow-up to the March 8, 2008 general election results for the common objective to promote justice, freedom, democracy, integrity and good governance in Malaysia.

When the term Pakatan Rakyat was tentatively chosen, the consensus was to avoid the use of the term “Barisan”.

The term Pakatan Rakyat is subject to the confirmation by the respective leadership of the three parties. Suggestions for a more suitable term than Pakatan Rakyat are most welcome.

Statements issued in the past three days have raised the question whether all the three parties have fully learnt the lessons of the 2001 crisis of the Barisan Alternative, where the DAP had to leave the opposition coalition because of PAS’ insistence to pursue the Islamic State objective, which was not in the common Barisan Alternative manifesto. Continue reading “Suggestions for more suitable term than Pakatan Rakyat are most welcome”

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Najib, you are wrong

by Richard Teo

Yes the tide is turning in Kelantan but certainly not in favour of BN but for PAS. As a kelantanese I can safely tell Najib the true current political situation in Kelantan. How could Zubaidah Abu Bakar speculate in the 6th Jan.2008 NST that “there are many in Kelantan who want to see a change of government”?

This is farthest from the truth. The Malay psyche in Kelantan is vastly different from the psyche of Malays from the other states. The Malays in Kelantan are astute when it comes to politics. That explains why it is the only Malay state where the opposition party other than UMNO has ruled for a substantial period since Merdeka.

During BN’s tenure, pork sellers in the Chinese market were harrassed daily. They were confined to a small inconspicous space where pork could be sold hidden from public view. There was conditional and restricted time when pork could be sold. When PAS took over the government in 1990, they improved the Chinese market and pork was sold without any restrictions. In
short they were not harrassed.

Again, during BN’s tenure, Chinese could not buy houses built on Malay reservation land. Since most of the land come under the purview of Malay reservation, most Kelantanese Chinese could not own a home. But all these changed when PAS came to power.

Under the able DUN of Kota Bharu, Dato Annuar Tan, 30% of houses built on Malay reservation land were allocated for sale to the Kelantan Chinese.

Any doubts where the Chinese loyalty lies can easily be dispelled by visiting the Chinese enclave in Jalan Kebun Sultan. Ask any Chinese business community there and they will brazenly tell you that they will vote for PAS. Yes the Chinese votes in Kelantan are solidly behind PAS. Continue reading “Najib, you are wrong”