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If hudud had been a hot controversial issue in the 13GE, Barisan Nasional would not only have regained two-thirds parliamentary majority to redelineate electoral constituencies at will, Pakatan Rakyat might have lost Selangor and Johore would have reverted as invincible BN “fixed-deposit” state

If hudud had been a hot controversial issue in the 13th General Elections on May 5, 2013, the Barisan Nasional would not only have regained its two-thirds parliamentary majority to redelineate electoral constituencies at will, Pakatan Rakyat might have lost Selangor apart from Kedah and Johore would have reverted as an invincible Barisan Nasional “fixed-deposit” state.

The hudud issue has never been and will never be a vote winner for PAS based on past electoral evidence.

PAS and PKR won all 8 parliamentary seats and 28 out of 32 state seats in Terengganu in the 1999 GE / GE10 because of the backlash against UMNO arising from Anwar’s arrest and the Reformasi movement.

But despite passing the state hudud enactment in 2001, PAS and PKR only managed to retain 1 out of 8 parliament seats and 4 out of 28 state seats in the 2004 GE / GE11.

Furthermore, PAS and PKR won 4 out of 8 parliament and 15 out of 32 state seats in GE13 in Terengganu without campaigning explicitly to implement hudud in the state.

In fact, according to the ‘5 Janji Awal Manifesto PAS Terengganu’ and ‘5 Lagi Manifesto PRU13’ for GE13, the issue of hudud was not even mentioned. The failure to mention hudud in the state manifesto did not cause PAS to lose any ground in Terengganu.
Continue reading “If hudud had been a hot controversial issue in the 13GE, Barisan Nasional would not only have regained two-thirds parliamentary majority to redelineate electoral constituencies at will, Pakatan Rakyat might have lost Selangor and Johore would have reverted as invincible BN “fixed-deposit” state”

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Mahathir should end his game of mischief in trying to demonise Pakatan Rakyat parties and incite racial hatred and conflict

The Malaysian Insider today reported a column in Utusan Malaysia by Tun Dr. Mahathir showing that the former Prime Minister is still up to his game of mischief to demonise Pakatan Rakyat parties and incite racial hatred and conflict in the country.

Mahathir said PAS will never lead Malaysia and even if Pakatan Rakyat captures Putrajaya it will be a junior partner and a DAP puppet.

Before the 13GE, DAP was accused of being a PAS puppet among the Chinese and non-Malay voters while PAS was accused of being a DAP puppet among Malay voters.

It would appear that UMNO/BN leaders and propagandists want Malaysian voters to believe that DAP is puppet to PAS, while PAS is puppet to DAP – thinking that Malaysians can be easily fooled into believing that DAP could be puppet to PAS and PAS puppet to DAP!

This is of course utter nonsense, for DAP is no puppet of PAS just as PAS is no puppet of DAP. Just because UMNO can make the other Barisan Nasional parties its puppet does not mean that this is the operating principle in Pakatan Rakyat as well.
Continue reading “Mahathir should end his game of mischief in trying to demonise Pakatan Rakyat parties and incite racial hatred and conflict”

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Impian Sabah – seperti Impian Sarawak – adalah sebahagian daripada komitmen DAP untuk mengejar Impian Malaysia bagi membentuk negara Malaysia untuk semua warga Malaysia

Dalam Pilihanraya Umum ke-13, Pakatan Rakyat telah mensasarkan 33 kerusi dari 3 negeri “deposit tetap” Umno/BN, iaitu Johor, Sabah dan Sarawak. Kita telah gagal mencapai sasaran dan hanya memenangi 14 kerusi di negeri-negeri berkenaan, dengan 3 daripadanya kerusi parlimen di Sabah – Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan dan Penampang.

Bagaimanapun, kita telah berjaya “menghancurkan” label “deposit tetap” pada Johor dan Sarawak menerusi peningkatan besar jumlah undi keseluruhan. Di Johor, undi popular Pakatan Rakyat meningkat sebanyak 10%, iaitu kepada 45%, manakala di Sarawak peningkatan sebanyak 8.9%, iaitu kepada 37.3%.

Bagaimanapun, undi popular Pakatan di Sabah hanya meningkat sebanyak 3.4%, iaitu kepada 35.9%.

Maka, tidak syak lagi bahawa Pakatan Rakyat perlu berusaha sedaya-upaya untuk meningkatkan sokongan di negeri yang mempunyai 26 kerusi parlimen ini (termasuk Labuan).

Sabah secara logiknya adalah negeri paling bersedia untuk menerima perubahan kerana negeri itu berdepan dengan banyak masalah, termasuk tahap korupsi, salah urus, dan kemiskinan yang tinggi di sana, selain kekurangan peluang kerja dan kebanjiran pendatang haram yang dikaitkan dengan masalah sosial dan keselamatan.
Continue reading “Impian Sabah – seperti Impian Sarawak – adalah sebahagian daripada komitmen DAP untuk mengejar Impian Malaysia bagi membentuk negara Malaysia untuk semua warga Malaysia”

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DAP, PAS dan PKR mencapai keputusan terbaik di peringkat parlimen dan negeri menerusi kerjasama ketiga-tiga parti dalam pilihanraya umum tahun 1999, 2008 dan 2013

Dalam pilihanraya umum tahun 1999, ketika berdepan dengan cabaran empat parti Barisan Alternatif yang terdiri dari DAP, PAS, PKR, dan Parti Rakyat, juru strategi dan propaganda Umno/BN menggunakan pendekatan lidah bercabang dalam kempen mereka dengan memberi amaran kepada orang Melayu bahawa “DAP + PAS = Islam Hancur” dan pada masa yang sama mereka memberitahu Cina bahawa undi untuk DAP sama dengan undi untuk PAS dan Negara Islam, sebuah negara yang tidak mempunyai babi, alkohol, kuil, gereja, karaoke, dan sekolah Cina; semua perempuannya perlu menutup kepala; perempuan cantik tidak akan mendapat kerja; dan hukuman potong tangan dan kaki akan dilaksanakan.

Umumnya, pengundi Melayu dalam pilihanraya tahun 1999 tidak terpedaya dengan helah tersebut, sedangkan pengundi Cina menjadi mangsa pembohongan dan gertakan Barisan Nasional. PAS lalu muncul sebagai pemenang terbesar dalam Barisan Alternatif apabila ia berjaya memenangi 27 kerusi parlimen, 98 kerusi negeri, dan membentuk kerajaan negeri Terengganu selain Kelantan yang memang telah dikuasainya, manakala DAP berdepan kekecewaan besar apabila berjaya mendapatkan hanya 10 kerusi parlimen dan 11 kerusi DUN. PKR memenangi 5 kerusi parlimen dan 4 kerusi DUN.

Dalam Pilihanraya Umum 2013, berdepan dengan cabaran Pakatan Rakyat, penyusun strategi dan propaganda Umno/BN kembali menggunakan pendekatan lidah bercabang dan menyebarkan pembohongan. Mereka mengingatkan Melayu bahawa PAS akan menjadi boneka DAP, manakala Cina pula diingatkan bahawa DAP akan menjadi alat PAS.

Tidak seperti Pilihanraya Umum 1999, pengundi Cina tidak termakan umpan Umno/BN dalam pilihanraya tahun 2013. Bagaimanapun, tidak seperti Pilihanraya Uum ke-10, pembohongan yang disebarkan oleh Umno telah memberi dampak pada pengundi Melayu.
Continue reading “DAP, PAS dan PKR mencapai keputusan terbaik di peringkat parlimen dan negeri menerusi kerjasama ketiga-tiga parti dalam pilihanraya umum tahun 1999, 2008 dan 2013”

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DAP, PAS and PKR achieved their best parliamentary and state assembly results during their tripartite co-operation in the 1999, 2008 and 2013 General Elections

In the 1999 General Elections, faced with the challenge of the four-party Barisan Alternative comprising DAP, PAS, PKR and Parti Rakyat, UMNO/BN strategists and propagandists launched a fork-tongued campaign, warning the Malays one the one hand that “DAP Plus PAS Equals Islam Hancur (destroyed)” while on the other hand warning the Chinese that a vote for DAP was a vote for PAS and an Islamic State where there would be no pork, no alcohol, no temples, no churches, no karaokes, no Chinese schools, women would have to cover their heads, beautiful women could not find jobs and that there would be the chopping of hands and feet.

By and large, the Malay voters in the 1999 general elections did not take the bait but the non-Malay voters, particularly the Chinese voters, fell victim to the campaign of falsehoods and fear generated by the Barisan Nasional, resulting in an outcome where PAS was the biggest winner in the Barisan Alternative as the largest parliamentary opposition with 27 MPs and 98 State Assembly representatives, capturing Terengganu state government in addition to Kelantan while DAP suffered severe setbacks, securing only 10 parliamentary and 11 state assembly seats. PKR won 5 parliamentary and 4 state assembly seats.

In the recent 2013 General Elections, faced with the challenge by Pakatan Rakyat, Umno/BN strategists and propagandists returned to their traditional fork-tongued campaign of lies and falsehoods, warning the Malays on the one hand that PAS would be a puppet of DAP while warning the Chinese on the other hand that DAP would be a stooge of PAS.

Unlike the 1999 General Elections, the Chinese voters did not take the Umno/BN bait in the 2013 polls. However, unlike the 10th General Elections, the UMNO campaign of lies and falsehoods made some impact on the Malay voters.
Continue reading “DAP, PAS and PKR achieved their best parliamentary and state assembly results during their tripartite co-operation in the 1999, 2008 and 2013 General Elections”

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Dr Dzul: Sokongan Melayu kepada DAP meningkat, PKR, PAS menurun

Oleh Mohd Farhan Darwis
The Malaysian Insider
November 24, 2013

PKR menerima penurunan tertinggi sokongan masyarakat Melayu.PKR menerima penurunan tertinggi sokongan masyarakat Melayu.Sokongan masyarakat Melayu kepada DAP ketika Pilihan Raya Umum 2013 (PRU13) meningkat, namun sokongan etnik berkenaan terhadap rakan komponen Pakatan Rakyat (PR) yang lain mengalami penurunan, kata Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

Ahli Jawatankuasa Kerja (AJK) PAS Pusat itu ketika membentangkan dapatan itu di Muktamar Tahunan PAS ke-59 PAS berkata, PKR menerima penurunan tertinggi sokongan masyarakat Melayu, iaitu sebanyak 7%, dan sokongan Melayu terhadap PAS turut menurun 2%.

DAP bagaimanapun menerima peningkatan sokongan sebanyak 2%.

“Bagaimanapun, sokongan masyarakat Melayu terhadap PAS meningkat di Terengganu dan Johor,” kata bekas ahli Parlimen Kuala Selangor itu di Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam hari ini. Continue reading “Dr Dzul: Sokongan Melayu kepada DAP meningkat, PKR, PAS menurun”

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Based on present redelineation, Pakatan Rakyat should aim to win 135 parliamentary seats in 14GE to capture Putrajaya with PKR, PAS and DAP each winning 45 seats , with a parliamentary majority of 48

Based on present redelineation, the Battle for Putrajaya in the 14GE will depend on the outcome in 80 marginal seats – 51 presently held by Barisan Nasional and 29 from Pakatan Rakyat.

Taking more than 55 per cent vote secured in the 13GE as a “safe” seat, BN has 82 safe seats while Pakatan Rakyat has 60 safe seats.

In the 13GE, Pakatan Rakyat won the popular vote but robbed of Putrajaya as Barisan Nasional is the federal government with the majority of seats – 89 for Pakatan Rakyat as against BN’s 133 seats.

If Pakatan Rakyat had won another 23 seats in the 13GE, PR would have the simple majority of 112 out of 222 seats.

In the 14GE, apart from retaining all our 89 parliamentary seats, Pakatan Rakyat should not just aim at winning 23 of the 51 BN marginal seats, but should aim to double this target to win over 46 out of the 51 BN marginal seats so that the Pakatan Rakyat can win a total of 135 out of 222 parliamentary seats with a parliamentary majority of 48 – with the seats evenly distributed among the three Pakatan Rakyat parties, i.e. PKR, PAS and DAP each having 45 parliamentary seats. Continue reading “Based on present redelineation, Pakatan Rakyat should aim to win 135 parliamentary seats in 14GE to capture Putrajaya with PKR, PAS and DAP each winning 45 seats , with a parliamentary majority of 48”

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The Opposition’s new mandate

By Nurul Izzah Anwar | June 18, 2013
The Malaysian Insider

JUNE 18 — Thousands of Malaysians voted abroad during the 13th general election. Many more returned from Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, London and Taiwan, traditionally places with large numbers of Malaysians, to exercise their right to suffrage on May 5th.

This is a peculiar phenomenon.

Why do Malaysians who have found greener pastures abroad feel compelled to return to the country to cast their ballot? This certainly goes against the thesis of Albert O. Hirshman — who argued in a famous treatise in 1970 that when people have the chance to leave, they will, especially if they have found the entity to be increasingly dysfunctional and inefficient.

Malaysia, or rather its government, over the last few decades, has certainly manifested such features.

Concurrently, those who decided to ‘stay back’ would attempt to improve the country by voicing out. Be that as it may, those who have left the country are not expected to express their voices anymore let alone to vote. Yet, vote they did.
Continue reading “The Opposition’s new mandate”

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You are racist if you are not racist

— conspiracytheor1st
The Malaysian Insider
May 19, 2013

MAY 19 — You will never read from anywhere that brand Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King as racists.

Abraham Lincoln pawned his life to fight against the enslavement of the African Americans, Nelson Mandela traded decades of his freedom to free South Africa from the shackles of the Apartheid policy and Martin Luther King paid for his life for the equal rights of Americans. Their detractors could call them any vile names they wished but never as a racist.

Only in Malaysia, the very people who do not condone racism and voted against it are labeled as racists. Over the decades, Umnno, led by Dr. Mahathir and his armada of mass media had been accusing DAP with its vision of “Malaysian Malaysia” as a bigoted political party, hell-bent to destroy the Malay.

The rakyat particularly the IT savvy urban-dwellers who ironically voted for the multiracial parties from Pakatan Rakyat in GE13 were branded as racists because they rejected the race-based political system where every race fights endlessly to defend their respective rights.

To put things into perspective, could anyone imagine any American being branded as racist if they do not endorse Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist organization? Continue reading “You are racist if you are not racist”

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Crossing the lines – BN’s early strategic mistakes

Bridget Welsh | 1:35PM Apr 19, 2013
Malaysiakini

In assessing any electoral campaign, it is essential to review the assumptions and implications of different strategic moves.

Three decisions on the part of BN in the last two weeks are leading to tectonic shifts within the electorate, and thus strengthen the opposition’s position nationally.

These are:

  1. The use of sex videos against PAS and possibly other opposition politicians.

  2. The fielding of Perkasa leader Zulkifli Noordin in Shah Alam.

  3. The action by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) in not recognising DAP’s central executive committee (CEC).

The combined effect of these moves have strengthened the opposition coalition and negatively impact the BN’s position with the electorate in the lead up to the May 5 general election.

Let’s take each of these in turn:

1. Smut videos Continue reading “Crossing the lines – BN’s early strategic mistakes”

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15-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – 13GE: A battle between the future as represented by PR and the past as represented by BN

The 13th General Elections has shaped up to be a historic battle for Malaysia at the crossroads.

It is a battle between the future as represented by Pakatan Rakyat and the past as represented by Barisan Nasional.

All DAP leaders, members and supporters are relieved that today’s Nomination Day went off smoothly as far as the DAP’s Rocket symbol is concerned, with 51 DAP parliamentary and 103 State Assembly candidates filing their nomination papers and being permitted to use the Rocket symbol during the 13GE polling day on May 5.

The crisis over the use of the Rocket symbol which erupted less than 48 hours before Nomination Day, which completely derailed the DAP’s final preparations for the 13GE in the last 48 hours to Nomination Day, should not have happened at all.

Clearly, political forces were at work behind the Registrar of Societies’ letter refusing to recognise the DAP Central Executive Committee after the CEC had been elected for close to four months and over a complaint which had never been communicated to the DAP, whether internally by the so-called complainants or by the Registrar of Societies himself.

Be that as it may, there is always a silver lining to every crisis.

The crisis over the use of Rocket in the 13GE has highlighted the unity, cohesion and solidarity of Pakatan Rakyat five years after its formation. Continue reading “15-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day – 13GE: A battle between the future as represented by PR and the past as represented by BN”

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16-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: DAP use of PAS and PKR symbols in 13GE – a disaster in-the-making or a game changer that will propel Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya?

April 18, 2013 had been the most heart-rending day in my life, the day when the Registrar of Societies dispatched a letter to the DAP to knock out the Rocket symbol from the 13GE, with the Nomination Day less than 48 hours away, completely without any legal basis or plausible ground.

I was not the only one to shed tears yesterday as all over the country, many DAP stalwarts and supporters who are Malaysian patriots whose home and sole object of loyalty is Malaysia and do not know or recognize another country as their motherland, also cried at the injustice, oppression and iniquity of the ROS action , clearly at the behest of the political masters in UMNO/Barisan Nasional.

For 47 years, DAP had waged a patriotic, nationalistic but uphill battle to build a united, multiracial, just and democratic Malaysian nation with many leaders like Dr. Chen Man Hin, Ahmad Nor, P. Patto, Ibrahim Singgeh, Fadzlan Yahya, Peter Dason, Lau Dak Kee, Lim Cho Hock, V. David, Karpal Singh, Datuk Chian Heng Kai, Chan Kok Kit, Dr Tan Seng Giaw, Lim Guan Eng, Tan Kok Wai, Teresa Kok, paying a heavy personal price in their love, patriotism and loyalty to Malaysia, including losing their personal liberties enduring detention under the Internal Security Act, imprisonment and disqualification as MP and disenfranchisement of their civil rights such as the right to vote and to stand for elections for a period of time.
Continue reading “16-Day Countdown to 13GE Polling Day: DAP use of PAS and PKR symbols in 13GE – a disaster in-the-making or a game changer that will propel Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya?”

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Let’s Ubah!

By Allan CF Goh

For well over fifty years,
Parents have wept silent tears,
Over their children’s great dreams,
Wreaked by those foul racist screams.
Theirs is not to question why
To share not an equal sky!
They stand under the same sun,
But only as lesser sons.
Their destined education
Failed to come to real fruition,
Their abilities denied,
Their hopes promised, never neigh,
Because of vile racism,
And racial extremism.
Let’s ubah the sick regime.
Make Malaysia shine and glean!

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DAP’s agreement to let PKR contest Segamat parliamentary seat contingent on settlement of all DAP-PKR disputes on all seat allocations in Johore – DAP contesting seven parliamentary seats as well as contesting in 15 state assembly seats including Johor Jaya

On the announcement by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last night that PKR Johor Chairman, Datuk Chua Jui Meng is the PKR candidate in the Segamat parliamentry constituency, I wish to clarify the following:

1. The decision for my contesting in Gelang Patah parliamentary seat to kick off a political tsunami from Johore in the south in the 13GE so as to complete the 2008 “political tsunami” all the way to Putrajaya is a stand-alone decision and not made in exchange of any parliamentary seat between the DAP and PKR. Consequently, Segamat is a seat to be contested by DAP at that point in time.

2. DAP’s agreement to let PKR contest in Segamat parliamentary seat is contingent on the settlement of all DAP-PKR disputes on all seat allocations in Johore – DAP contesting seven parliamentary seats out of a total of 26 parliamentary seats as well as contesting in 15 state assembly seats (including Johor Jaya) out of a total of 56 state assembly seats. In both cases, DAP will be contesting in less than one-third of the total parliamentary and state assembly seats in Johor.

3. With Anwar’s announcement, it can be taken that the contingent conditions for the DAP’s agreement to let PKR contest in the Segamat parliamentary seat has been agreed upon by the PKR leadership, i.e. DAP will be contesting in seven parliamentary seats and 15 State Assembly seats (including Johor Jaya).
Continue reading “DAP’s agreement to let PKR contest Segamat parliamentary seat contingent on settlement of all DAP-PKR disputes on all seat allocations in Johore – DAP contesting seven parliamentary seats as well as contesting in 15 state assembly seats including Johor Jaya”

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16th DAPNC – sound the call to arms for a PR government in Putrajaya with 125 PR seats in Parliament with distribution of 45:40:40 seats respectively for PKR, PAS and DAP

The 16th DAP National Congress the next two days is the focus of national attention for more reasons than one, viz:

• It is the last national conference this year for any political party in Malaysia;

• In fact, it is the last national conference for any political party before the 13th General Elections which would be held in the next 100 days;

• DAP is the only political party in the country which dares to hold party elections on the eve of impending general elections, as all other political parties have postponed their party elections until after the elections;

• Will the DAP emerge stronger or weaker after the 16th DAP National Congress;

• Will Pakatan Rakyat and the cause for “UBAH” to effect political change in Malaysia all the way to Putrajaya be strengthened or weakened?

In the past month, Pakatan Rakyat suffered a serious setback when the four million middle-ground voters who will be the arbiter as to whether it is the Pakatan Rakyat or the Barisan Nasional which will appoint the Prime Minister and form the government in Putrajaya after the 13GE developed doubts and hesitations as to whether Pakatan Rakyat parties of PKR, PAS and DAP are fully committed to the PR Common Policy Framework and Buku Jingga common platforms.

This is a salutary lesson to all the component Pakatan Rakyat parties that in the “hot-house atmosphere” which will further intensify with the approach of the long-awaited 13th General Elections, that they must always be conscious that every statement and action not only of the national leaders but of the other echeleons can have an impact many times larger than ordinary times when exploited and distorted by unscrupulous and unprincipled political propagandists with their biased mainstream media.

The Kelantan gender-segregation ruling affecting non-Muslim hair salons is a case in point where on the one and same issue, DAP is accused of being “subservient” to PAS while PAS is accused of compromising to “appease” the DAP. Continue reading “16th DAPNC – sound the call to arms for a PR government in Putrajaya with 125 PR seats in Parliament with distribution of 45:40:40 seats respectively for PKR, PAS and DAP”

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Let 16th DAP National Congress this weekend be a historic curtain-raiser to the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya” campaign for Malaysians to create history and usher in a new, truly united, democratic, just and prosperous Malaysia under a PR Malaysian government

All eyes are on the 16th DAP National Congress in Penang this weekend not only because it is the last national congress for political parties in Malaysia this year, but also because it heralds the last hundred days before the holding of the long-postponed/awaited 13th General Elections.

Let the 16th DAP National Congress be a historic curtain-raiser to the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya” campaign for Malaysians to create history and usher in a new, truly united, democratic, just and prosperous Malaysia under a Pakatan Rakyat Malaysian Government in the 13th General Elections.

Let the 16th DAP National Congress send out the clear and unequivocal message to all Malaysians throughout the country – that DAP leaders, delegates and members are imbued with a profound sense of vision, commitment, responsibility and discipline to accomplish the historic mission and objectives of the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya” campaign for Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, Kadazans or Ibans; whether Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Taoists or Sikhs; whether in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah or Sarawak, to unite as one people to restore Malaysia’s greatness as a model of a harmonious plural society where there is tolerance, freedom, justice, human rights, democracy, sustainable development, prosperity, good governance and a clean and incorruptible government.

In the run-up to the 16th DAP National Congress and during the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya”, UMNO/Barisan Nasional propagandists and spin-masters will go into an overdrive in their politics of lies, hate and fear not only to demonise the DAP and create maximum division and damage inside the party but also in DAP’s relations with our Pakatan Rakyat parties, PKR and PAS. Continue reading “Let 16th DAP National Congress this weekend be a historic curtain-raiser to the “Hundred Days to Putrajaya” campaign for Malaysians to create history and usher in a new, truly united, democratic, just and prosperous Malaysia under a PR Malaysian government”

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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”

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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?”

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Hishammuddin should apologise for his unbecoming and deplorable “No safety guarantee” stance or is he going to apologise only after the next general election like his keris-wielding as UMNO Youth Leader?

The Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has made many outrageous statements and done many outrageous things in his political career, like

• his infamous keris-wielding as Youth Leader for three consecutive years since 2005 until he had to apologise for them when MCA, Gerakan and even UMNO leaders blamed him as one of the causes of “political tsunami” in the March 2008 general election;

• his defence and justification of the insensitive and sacrilegious cowhead demonstration in Shah Alam in September 2009;

• his xanthophobia (fear of the colour yellow) in the run-up to the Bersih 2.0 rally on July 9, 2011 when he declared the yellow Bersih T-shirt illegal and a police arrestable offence to wear them and his illogical, unreasonable and unlawful ban on Bersih 2.0.

• his wild, reckless and deplorable allegation that “some parties” wanted serious injuries and deaths at the Bersih 3.0 rally at Dataran Merdeka on April 28, 2012 in support of the Prime Minister’s equally wild, reckless and deplorable allegation that the Bersih 3.0 rally was an attempted coup d’etat to topple the government when the hundreds of thousands, regardless of race, religion, age and gender, who came out were peaceful, armed at most with salt and mineral water to protect themselves from police tear-gas and chemically-lacked water cannons, wanted only to send the message of clean, free and fair elections to the government.

However, Hishammuddin has put all his previous outrageous statements and acts in the shade with the “mother of all outrages” when he made it clear yesterday that there will be no guarantee of security for PKR’s nationwide Merdeka Rakyat tour. Continue reading “Hishammuddin should apologise for his unbecoming and deplorable “No safety guarantee” stance or is he going to apologise only after the next general election like his keris-wielding as UMNO Youth Leader?”