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MCA and Gerakan cannot dismiss Jamil Khir’s “Malaysia is not secular state” statement in Parliament as a personal view but must demand a retraction and a clear Cabinet and BN Supreme Council pronouncement that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as official religion

After more than a week, both the MCA and Gerakan Presidents have finally come out with a position today on the parliamentary statement by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom that Malaysia is not a secular state, but both have tried to evade the issue by dismissing it as merely Jamil’s “personal view”.

The excuse that a Minister is giving his “personal opinion” might be used if the Minister is speaking outside Parliament, but it is completely unacceptable when a Minister makes a speech or a statement in Parliament.

There is no such thing as a “personal view” when a Minister speaks in Parliament, whether in speeches or in replies to parliamentary questions, as whatever the Minister speaks in Parliament is in an official capacity on behalf of the Barisan Nasional Cabinet which binds all Ministers under the doctrine of collective Ministerial responsibility. Continue reading “MCA and Gerakan cannot dismiss Jamil Khir’s “Malaysia is not secular state” statement in Parliament as a personal view but must demand a retraction and a clear Cabinet and BN Supreme Council pronouncement that Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as official religion”

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Liow Tiong Lai and Mah Siew Keong should ask Najib to put on hold any Cabinet reshuffle as MCA/Gerakan will not be part of BN Cabinet …

The Malay Mail Online has reported that the Umno Selangor Assemblyman for Sungai Air Tawar Kamarol Zaki Abdul Malik has submitted a motion to push for the implementation of hudud law for the forthcoming Selangor State Assembly beginning next week.

The Malay Mail Online has also reported that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak may carry out a major Cabinet reshuffle as early as Friday, which will include bringing in the MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and the Gerakan President Datuk Mah Siew Keong.

Liow and Mah should ask Najib to put on hold any Cabinet reshuffle as MCA and Gerakan will not be part of Barisan Nasional Cabinet until UMNO can give an undertaking that it will not push for implementation of hudud law whether at federal or state level, as this will be against the founding principles of the founders of UMNO, MCA, MIC and Gerakan as well as the Malaysian Constitution that Malaysia is a secular democratic nation. Continue reading “Liow Tiong Lai and Mah Siew Keong should ask Najib to put on hold any Cabinet reshuffle as MCA/Gerakan will not be part of BN Cabinet …”

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Umno reps mull push for hudud in Selangor

By Zurairi AR
The Malay Mail Online
June 10, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 ― After Kelantan, Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) is now eager to see hudud roll out in Malaysia’s most developed state, which is likely to open another can of worms.

The state opposition coalition is meeting today to decide whether or not to propose a study to push out the controversial Islamic penal code at the next sitting of the Selangor legislative assembly, which starts next Monday.

Selangor State Assembly Speaker Hannah Yeoh confirmed the study on hudud to be among four proposals she received from BN for debate.

“I have yet to decide on them, whether to allow or not for them to be debated,” she told The Malay Mail Online in a text message.

Umno’s Sungai Air Tawar assemblyman Kamarol Zaki Abdul Malik, who mooted the study, told The Malay Mail Online that his proposal was submitted last week.

“It was submitted around a week ago, but it was sent on my behalf by Inmind,” Kamarol said over the phone, referring to Institut Perkembangan Minda, an agency which acts on behalf of BN assemblymen in the state. Continue reading “Umno reps mull push for hudud in Selangor”

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Dyanamania, Dyanaphobia and Dyanaphiles

– OMG
The Malaysian Insider
4 June 2014

Malaysiakini reported today that high-ranking officials in the Education Ministry had called a teacher since last week, “advising” her to remove Facebook postings on Dyana Sofya which they deemed as “anti-government.”

The teacher told the Malaysiakini news portal that a special officer to the Education Ministry director-general had told her to close down her Facebook page and that she will be “watched”.

“It is indeed the height of irony that on one hand, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is urging teachers to return to politics under Barisan Nasional’s fold, conceding that the headmasters, principals and teachers were the ‘real movers’ of Umno, MCA, MIC and BN in the past, but on the other hand, high-ranking officials from Education Ministry were reprimanding a teacher for posting campaign posters of Dyana Sofya on Facebook,” Mr Lim Kit Siang, the MP for Gelang Patah, Johor said in a statement today.

“Is Dyanaphobia the inevitable result of what has been described as “Dyanamania” which swept Teluk Intan and the country during the Teluk Intan by-election,” he asked.

My online Merriam-Webster dictionary definitions are:

1. mania: extreme enthusiasm for something that is usually shared by many people

2. phobia: an extremely strong dislike or fear of someone or something

3. -phile: suffix used to specify some kind of attraction or affinity to something

So now we can express precisely what all the hullaballoo was about. Continue reading “Dyanamania, Dyanaphobia and Dyanaphiles”

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Will Najib at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow put a stop to the Dyanaphobia which is beginning to sweep Muhyiddin’s Education Ministry?

A new phobia is sweeping the Boleh-land of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

I will like to know whether Najib at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow will put a stop to the Dyanaphobia which is beginning to sweep the Education Ministry under the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin or whether he would also succumb to it.

Is Dyanaphobia the inevitable result of what has been described as “Dyanamania” which swept Teluk Intan and the country during the Teluk Intan by-election from May 19 – 31, although 26-year-old DAP/PR candidate, Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud lost to the Gerakan President and BN candidate, Datuk Mah Siew Keong by a wafer-thin majority of 238 votes in a record-low voter-turnout of 66.5% on polling day on May 31.

It indeed the height of irony that on the hand, the UMNO Secretary-General and Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is urging teachers to return to politics under Barisan Nasional’s fold, conceding that the headmasters, principals and teachers were the “real movers” of Umno, MCA, MIC and BN in the past, but on the other hand, high-ranking officials from Education Ministry were reprimanding a teacher for posting campaign posters of Dyana Sofya on Facebook. Continue reading “Will Najib at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow put a stop to the Dyanaphobia which is beginning to sweep Muhyiddin’s Education Ministry?”

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Malaysia is ready for Dyana

Aerie Rahman
The Malay Mail Online
MAY 29, 2014

MAY 29 — It seems that nothing can stop Dyana Sofya’s meteoric rise. The cynic could cast aspersions that she is merely a DAP token. After all, the DAP is a predominantly Chinese party which has been trying to shake off this description.

The DAP needs to widen its support base in order to hold real power and not rely on the atavistic PAS or the fractious PKR. Dyana is Malay, young and from the affirmative action university, UiTM. It all fits the bill for the cosmetic change that DAP appears to desire.

But look deeper and one can see that Dyana’s story is something that most post-NEP Malaysians can relate to and identify with. And that makes her worth more tokens than one can spend at Genting. Continue reading “Malaysia is ready for Dyana”

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GE14 lost if Barisan still fails to impress young voters, warns Sabbaruddin Chik

by Md Izwan
The Malaysian Insider
May 29, 2014

Barisan Nasional (BN) will lose Putrajaya in the 14th general election (GE14) if young voters remain unimpressed with the coalition and its handling of issues such as corruption and transparency, warns former Umno secretary-general Tan Sri Sabbaruddin Chik.

He said the younger generation was no longer stupid, and Umno and BN were in for an unprecedented nightmare should Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his administration carry on without any meaningful reforms.

“In the next general election, I am worried that if we do nothing, we will face bigger problems… most of the Generation Y are not with us,” Sabbaruddin told The Malaysian Insider.

The Election Commission (EC) said in 2013 that 70% of the estimated 4.2 million unregistered voters were between the ages of 21 and 40. Some 450,000 Malaysians turn 21 each year, the eligible voting age in the country.

Sabbaruddin did not rule out the possibility that BN would lose half the seats it managed to cling to in last year’s general election, which already saw the ruling coalition lose the popular vote in its worst polls showing in history. Continue reading “GE14 lost if Barisan still fails to impress young voters, warns Sabbaruddin Chik”

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Zahid, Umno’s absurd vote-catcher in Teluk Intan

COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
May 26, 2014

Does Umno and Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expect the Chinese to vote for Datuk Mah Siew Keong just because the Umno vice-president said they are ungrateful if the Gerakan president does not win this Saturday?

Is this a show of tough love or just the same kind of vile and disgusting mindset of politicians who have been in power too long and now expect people to show their gratitude instead of the other way round?

The absurd thing is this – Zahid made the remarks on the same day he was seen having his arms around Mah – the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate facing DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud.

And yet Mah and Gerakan and the MCA have the cheek to share the same stage with Umno in the Teluk Intan campaign. Continue reading “Zahid, Umno’s absurd vote-catcher in Teluk Intan”

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Dyana Sofya dan keberanian politik DAP

Amin Iskandar
The Malaysian Insider
MAY 25, 2014

Sejak Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud dinamakan DAP sebagai calon mereka bagi Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Teluk Intan, nama gadis itu terus melonjak naik dan menjadi “darling” kepada media.

Sebagai pengamal media atas talian, saya sendiri dapat menyaksikan apa sahaja berita yang mempunyai nama Dyana Sofya tidak kira yang menyanjung atau menghinanya, pasti akan “laku terjual”.

Di media sosial seperti Facebook, Twitter dan YouTube, Dyana Sofya begitu laku sekali.

Teluk Intan yang bersedih di atas kematian bekas Ahli Parlimen Seah Leong Peng kerana penyakit barah kini mempunyai fenomena baru dengan kehadiran Dyana Sofya. Continue reading “Dyana Sofya dan keberanian politik DAP”

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Can the Dyana phenomenon last?

Josh Hong
Malaysiakini
May 23, 2014

DAP’s decision to field Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud as the candidate for the Teluk Intan by-election is not only bold, but epoch-making. More than merely a window-dressing to showcase the party’s multi-racial credentials, the move has changed the dynamics of the campaign in that the party is now directly competing against Umno, the Barisan Nasional’s lynchpin and a world-renowned racist entity, relegating the (even more) Chinese-based Gerakan to insignificance.

In many ways, DAP remains very much rooted in its Chinese constituency – just look at the rousing public speeches – albeit imbued with populism – by Hew Kuan Yew, popularly known as Superman, and the triumphal reception that greets him in Chinese-majority areas.

But the party has begun to demonstrate more and more resolve to become a broad church (I bet some ill-educated and incurious Umno members would scream at the word ‘church’ and the idiom), and now boasts an army of young blood, of whom many are also female professionals, Dyana being just the latest addition.

Moreover, DAP has always maintained the loyal support of the Indian community to a considerable extent, thanks perhaps to the late P Patto, V David and Karpal Singh who did much to prevent the party from becoming parochial and ethnicised.

Dyana is of course not the first Malay candidate on a DAP ticket, but her being a young woman usually without a tudung and, most shocking to Umno, hailing from a true-blue Umno family background, has been portrayed as an original sin by the Malay press.

All hell broke loose and we have seen a stunned Umno dispatch its ruffians to wreak havoc at DAP. Expect more to come as the by-election campaign is gearing into full force in the coming week. Continue reading “Can the Dyana phenomenon last?”

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Dyana says she’d rather be called a traitor than be involved in dirty politics

by Hasbullah Awang Chik
The Malaysian Insider
May 23, 2014

Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud is willing to be declared a traitor for contesting on a DAP ticket rather than get involved with the dirty politics practised by Umno and Barisan Nasional.

The Teluk Intan by-election candidate said she agreed with what former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said about Umno.

Malaysia’s longest serving prime minister said that Umno’s failure to attract professionals to the Malay party had caused many to turn their backs on it.

“Dr Mahathir had said that Malays were smart in joining Pakatan Rakyat. He is correct,” Dyana said.

“After that he calls us traitors. Wow, that’s rich.” Continue reading “Dyana says she’d rather be called a traitor than be involved in dirty politics”

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‘Do it again and DAP HQ will burn’

Lee Long Hui
Malaysiakini
May 22, 2014

Umno Youth members issued a fiery warning to DAP, threatening to torch the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur if its elected representatives hurled insults again.

Angry shouts of “let’s burn it down” and “kill them” rang out at a protest outside the building when Federal Territory Umno Youth chief Mohd Razlan Mohd Rafii asked if submitting a memorandum was sufficient.

He then warned DAP that the next insult would invite a “catastrophic” response. Continue reading “‘Do it again and DAP HQ will burn’”

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Call on the people of Teluk Intan to protect Dyana Sofya from the wiles of UMNO/BN who want to break her political will and fighting spirit with lies and falsehoods in the way they have succeeded in destroying DAP and other Opposition leaders in the past

I fully agree with Sin Chew columnist Ng Miew Luan who in her article today gave three reasons for UMNO’s strong reaction to Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud as DAP candidate for Teluk Intan by-election causing the Wanita Umno leader, Datuk Shahrizat Jalil, UMNO Youth leader, Khairy Jamaluddin and even former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to open fire on her.

These three factors are firstly, UMNO stagnates in the struggle of mono-racial politics and paternalistic leadership and has not been able to change with the times; secondly, UMNO equates itself with the government; and thirdly, UMNO equates itself with the nation; and it is this inability to differentiate party from nation in its political operations which have caused negative consequences.

There is today a very perceptive opinion piece “Arise, the Malay that Umno fears” in The Malaysian Insider by Umran Kadir, who wrote:

“The entry of Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud onto the political scene has been met by an unprecedented and sustained attack by some of the biggest guns in Umno: an Umno Supreme Council member, the head of Wanita Umno and none other than Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself.

“But why is a political novice like her deserving of so much attention by the powers-that-be?

“I would argue that it is because she represents everything that Umno does not want the Malays to be – capable, confident and unshackled. Continue reading “Call on the people of Teluk Intan to protect Dyana Sofya from the wiles of UMNO/BN who want to break her political will and fighting spirit with lies and falsehoods in the way they have succeeded in destroying DAP and other Opposition leaders in the past”

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Arise, the Malay that Umno fears

– Umran Kadir
The Malaysian Insider
May 21, 2014

Sheriff John Brown always hated me

For what I don’t know

Ev’ry time I plant a seed

He said, “Kill it before it grows.”

He said, “Kill them before they grow.” – Bob Marley, I Shot the Sheriff

The entry of Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud onto the political scene has been met by an unprecedented and sustained attack by some of the biggest guns in Umno: an Umno Supreme Council member, the head of Wanita Umno and none other than Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself.

But why is a political novice like her deserving of so much attention by the powers-that-be?

I would argue that it is because she represents everything that Umno does not want the Malays to be – capable, confident and unshackled. Continue reading “Arise, the Malay that Umno fears”

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Five reasons Malaysians should be grateful to Umno

COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
MAY 21, 2014

It is that silly season again, when Umno gets in a tizzy over more evidence that its grand-sounding statement that Umno is Malay and Malay is Umno is just that, a statement and nothing more.

That umbilical cord between Umno and the Malays was cut a long time ago. And yet they still pretend to be the vanguard of the Malays.

Now, they are feigning indignation that Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud is contesting the Teluk Intan by-election on a DAP ticket. She has been called an ingrate and a traitor. The sheer hypocrisy of the name-callers who tell Malaysians that we should be forever grateful to them.

In keeping with the Umno spirit, the Malaysian Insider offers five reasons we must “tabik” Umno politicians. Continue reading “Five reasons Malaysians should be grateful to Umno”

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Siapa mengkhianati siapa?

– Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
MAY 20, 2014

Tidak syak lagi Umno bankrap modal untuk bahan kempen di Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Teluk Intan.

Malam tadi, ada desas-desus Umno atau penyokong mereka akan sebar video ibu calon bercium dengan lelaki. Inikah yang terbaik dapat Umno lakukan?

Tapi kepala biul Umno, mereka akan lakukan apa sahaja untuk menang.

Tidak ada yang mustahil dengan parti yang lebih rela berkawan dengan syaitan daripada malaikat.

Yang bertanding ialah anak, yang jadi mangsa ialah emaknya.

Ini betul-betul macam perlakuan golongan feudal zaman dahulu, jika anak dituduh bersalah, habis satu keluarga dimusnahkan.

Perbuatan yang Umno lakukan sama seperti yang dilakukan oleh golongan feudal zaman dahulu, disebabkan fakta bahawa Umno itu sebetulnya, sebuah parti politik feudal. Continue reading “Siapa mengkhianati siapa?”

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Why is Dyana Sofya a threat to Umno?

COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
May 20, 2014

It is just supposed to be a parliamentary by-election but the battle for Teluk Intan is now between Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud and Umno, which appears to be rattled by her candidacy on a DAP ticket.

She has apparently struck fear in several Umno leaders, from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil – who have all castigated the political novice for not joining Umno.

Even Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali has thrown his soiled fingers into the fray, urging Gerakan to use a photograph of him together with the 27-year-old DAP candidate as campaign fodder.

But Gerakan has refused to use the photograph as part of the campaign by their president Datuk Mah Siew Keong, the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the May 31 by-election.

So why is Umno so afraid of the young UiTM law graduate, whose mother is an Umno member? Several reasons come to mind. Continue reading “Why is Dyana Sofya a threat to Umno?”

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She’s like Marina, mom turns tables on Dr M

Malaysiakini
May 20, 2014

Turning the tables on Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud’s mother puts the former premier’s Umno parenting skill under the microscope.

Peppered with liberal doses of sarcasm, Yammy Samat said her daughter turned out more like Mahathir’s daughter Marina, a social activist whose views often contradict that of her father’s.

“I tried teaching her to be like Mukhriz, but when she grew up she became like Marina,” she was quoted as saying by Astro Awani.

Mukriz, who is Mahathir’s son, is currently the Kedah menteri besar and state Umno liaison committee chairperson.

Furthermore, Yammy, a long-term Umno member, said that she has given her daughter the freedom to choose between right and wrong. Continue reading “She’s like Marina, mom turns tables on Dr M”

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29-year-old PKR exco, a UiTM graduate, launches impassioned defence of Dyana

by Himanshu Bhatt
fz.com
May 20, 2014

GEORGE TOWN (May 20): PKR’s Dr Afif Bahardin, who at 29 is the youngest state executive councillor in the country, launched a vigorous defence of aspiring lawmaker Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud today after she had been reportedly attacked by rival politicians from Umno for supposedly betraying Malays by joining DAP.

Speaking at the Penang state assembly, Afif in particular hit out at suggestions that Dyana, 27, had become such a betrayer as she graduated from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

Like Dyana, Afif is also a graduate of UiTM, having obtained his medical degree there in 2009. He also won the Seberang Jaya seat last year when he was about the same age as Dyana is now in contesting the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election.

“I am a product of UiTM… Youths like Dyana and I are from UiTM and we are active the way we are because we are fed up with Umno-Barisan Nasional,” he said. Continue reading “29-year-old PKR exco, a UiTM graduate, launches impassioned defence of Dyana”

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The Malay DAP candidate for Teluk Intan is one of us, she’s Malaysian

– Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
MAY 19, 2014

What else can the mentally-challenged Umno stormtroopers say? Malays who join DAP are DAP’s lapdogs. That kind of statement cannot be answered by a negation such as, no I am not so. It would not be believed anyway. So, we won’t bother to dignify such stupidity.

I am very surprised that Umno and its adherents cannot understand one simple basic fact: people are free to choose political allegiance. Why is it hard and difficult for Umno to accept that some people just don’t want to be with and near Umno? Umno has to learn to accept that not every Malay wants to join Umno and not joining Umno is a perfectly rational choice. Those who don’t want to join Umno are beyond the judgmental standards of Umno. Accept this reality.

Semi-urban and urban Malays are likely not to vote Umno. We expect Umno to come out strong to help its ally Gerakan – its pet poodle. It will spend a lot on money to buy Malay votes to stop the Dap candidate, Dyana Daud. If Dyana Daud wins, she will be an icon among the younger Malay generation to signal that there is a more meaningful life without Umno. Continue reading “The Malay DAP candidate for Teluk Intan is one of us, she’s Malaysian”