by Martin Jalleh
What has Umno achieved?
by Martin Jalleh
The ‘class acts’ promoting Umno/BN
― Jimi Huang
The Malaysian Insider
March 25, 2013
MARCH 25 ― In the past few weeks, there have been many luminaries who have been promoting the continued rule of Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN). Of course, all of them come from Umno.
Let’s see, we have had Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, of course. The wise man who says Malays have to save Selangor in order to save the Malays themselves. He would say that because he has never read the Federal Constitution, which talks of the special position of the Malays.
And Tun Daim Zainuddin, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar. They all owe their positions and influence to Umno and BN. Why would they say different?
These “class acts” also all have something in common: They are part of a political system that promoted and celebrated excesses in power.
Now that they are no longer at the pinnacle of power, they have turned to advising Malaysians on what choices to make.
You can’t expect any of them to say anything different except that Umno and BN are the best for the country. Continue reading “The ‘class acts’ promoting Umno/BN”
Stupid things politicians say
― Fikry Osman
The Malaysian Insider
March 25, 2013
MARCH 25 ― Yes, we know it’s silly season in Malaysia. You can tell by reading what the politicians are saying these days in the run-up to the 13th general election (GE13) that could happen in the next few weeks.
These politicians sometimes say the dumbest and most obvious things. Tan Sri Shahrir Samad said today that the DAP is out to destroy MCA by sending its big guns to Johor.
Wow, this is really brilliant deduction.
I guess he could not have said the DAP is focussing on Johor because of the number of urban seat there, the number of Chinese voters, and that the abysmal record of Datuk Ghani Othman and hangers-on like Shahrir and others make the southern state a good target.
Continue reading “Stupid things politicians say”
One Small stride by Kit Siang, One Giant Step nearer to Putrajaya
by Sakmongkol AK47
Thursday, 21 March 2013
The return of Lim Kit Siang to Johor should not matter to UMNO and BN. Why should it cause worry? Isn’t it mathematically impossible for PR to go from 1 seat to 15 parliamentary seats? The Johor Chinese are different. They have an unshakeable allegiance to the state. So the Johor Chinese are by definition, naturally indifferent to what is happening around in the country.
The Chinese are a very practical people says Chua Soi Lek. Soi lek must of course be referring to the Chinese apparent indifference to his sexual escapades. By that reasoning, the Chinese must also be indifferent to whatever stories are said of Anwar Ibrahim and they should be indifferent to Najib’s overextended and boring self-praising assessment of his Alphabet Soup vision. Ah Jib Gor does what Ah Jib Gor does best-tell tall stories mostly about himself.
Being practical they want to know, whether we can establish a good government. Which will practise good governance. Consists of good, selfless and dedicated people. They want to go about making wealth under a government that upholds the rule of law. Which in turn require that the institutions that safeguard the rule and implementation of law be strong and independent and are established on principles of integrity. The Chinese want to live peacefully with the other major races in Malaysia. These are hallmarks of practical people.
I don’t think being practical means, they accept corruption, wheeling and dealing with the powers that be, accepting hegemony from others. If they are like that- that’s not being practical but being sly and acting like hustlers. The ‘thing’ that made the Chinese practical is economic independence. So being practical as in economically independent, the Chinese can exercise wider choices. They will chose to side with PRakyat. That’s practical and acknowledging reality. Continue reading “One Small stride by Kit Siang, One Giant Step nearer to Putrajaya”
24-Day Countdown to 13GE – Malaysians deserve a Cabinet and a Government which is not a laughing stock of the world because of the frequency of stupid statements and foolish acts by Ministers
I believe we are entering the final week when the 12th Parliament will at last be dissolved to pave the way for the holding of the long-awaited and much-postponed 13th General Elections next month.
This explains why UMNO/Barisan Nasional leaders are getting more and more panicky, with some even making hysterical statements, under the intense pressure of the impending 13GE, which cannot be postponed much further after the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had put the country on an election campaign footing for close to four long years and breaching the five-year natural life of Parliament – and now just a week ahead of the automatic dissolution of the Negri Sembilan State Assembly on March 26!
Najib has said he wants Malaysia to become the world’s best democracy. Then Najib and Umno/BN leaders must first learn to accept Lesson One of the most basic prerequisites of a functioning normal democracy, i.e. to accept that their power in government is not a divine right but a trust granted by the people once every four or five years to be withdrawn or renewed in every general elections.
Up to now Najib and all the Umno/BN leaders have been conspicuously silent on what would be very routine and matter-of-fact in developed democracies all over the world – that they will submit to the verdict of the electorate in the impending general elections and if they lose the mandate to continue as the Federal government for the first time in 56 years, they would peacefully and democratically ensure a peaceful transition of power from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat and they would all serve the role of a loyal Opposition in Parliament as the DAP had done in the past 47 years since the formation of DAP in 1966. Continue reading “24-Day Countdown to 13GE – Malaysians deserve a Cabinet and a Government which is not a laughing stock of the world because of the frequency of stupid statements and foolish acts by Ministers”
Has Umno helped Malays?
P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
Mar 14, 2013
QUESTION TIME When former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said in typical acerbic but unsubstantiated fashion that Malay rights, privileges and its position would be affected if the opposition were returned in Selangor, it begged two other questions.
What did he do for the ordinary Malay during the long 22 years he was in power from 1981 to 2003, and how much was he responsible for the lack of their progress? And to broaden the question further, how much has Umno done for the Malay on the street and in the kampung?
A good starting point to answer the question is to look back at the New Economic Policy (NEP) of the seventies which provided the framework and target for economic redress between the races. The noble twin aims of the policy which few argued with were the eradication of poverty irrespective of race and the elimination of race identification with economic function.
This restructuring was supposed to have come from an increasing economic cake so that no community would feel deprived from the process which would be made over 20 years.
But the reality was different. While there was much effort in equalisation of opportunities initially through the education of Malays and giving them chances for jobs in the government service and the private sector, the policy morphed into one that focused on the equalisation of outcomes instead.
This resulted in drops in educational standards and minimum qualifications to accommodate weaker students instead of helping weaker students to cross existing bars by increased and better tuition. Continue reading “Has Umno helped Malays?”
Selangor skewers Dr M’s record in defending Malay interests
By Ida Lim
The Malaysian Insider
March 13, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 ― Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s political secretary today slammed Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s for his inconsistent defence of Malay and Bumiputera interests, following the former prime minister’s plea for the group to back Barisan Nasional in Election 2013.
Faekah Husin also defended the state’s Pakatan Rakyat (PR) administration from Dr Mahathir’s recent remarks that the special rights of Malays and the position of Islam will be threatened if the pact retains its hold on Selangor in Election 2013.
“Dr Mahathir is still singing an old song; song of racism and to frighten Malays and to refresh racial clashes, after he planted seeds of hatred towards other races and adherents of other faiths among the people during his 22 years of rule,” she wrote in an open letter to Dr Mahathir dated today.
Faekah pointed to Umno’s alleged abuses when it had been in power in Selangor, saying that the party once led by Dr Mahathir owns hundreds of acres of land in the state that they allegedly only paid a minimum premium of RM100 per acre.
She said that much of these plots of land were sold for hefty profits to private development firms owned by non-Bumiputeras, adding that this pointed to the hypocrisy of Umno. But she was quick to say she was not questioning the non-Bumiputeras’ ownership of land.
“We also found out that during Umno’s rule in Selangor, thousands of acres of Malay Reserve Land in the city were retracted and converted to freehold status,” she said, claiming that the plots of Malay Reserve Land were shifted to those in the rural areas such as Panchang Bedena, Sabak Bernam and Hulu Selangor. Continue reading “Selangor skewers Dr M’s record in defending Malay interests”
The most probable date for long-awaited Parliament dissolution is Monday, March 25 although it could be later or even earlier
The most probable date for the long-awaited dissolution of the 12th Parliament is Monday, March 25 although it could be earlier in the next ten days or even later.
The automatic dissolution of the Negri Sembilan State Assembly on midnight on 26th March 2013 should under ordinary circumstances be the last cut-off date for the dissolution of Parliament, but these are not ordinary times, and Parliament can be dissolved earlier in the next 10 days or even later, exhausting another 32 days to lead up to the unprecedented automatic dissolution of Parliament on midnight April 27, 2013.
It is precisely because these are not ordinary times that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has put the country for nearly four long years on an election mode ever since he became the sixth Prime Minister on April 3, 2009, spending more time campaigning to get an elected mandate of his own instead of uniting and inspiring Malaysians with an overarching vision and governing the country efficiently and professionally, with integrity and full commitment to democracy, human rights and the environment.
If we are in ordinary times, the 13th general elections would have been held already and Malaysians would have known whether Najib has finally his own mandate to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia or whether Malaysia has got a new Pakatan Rakyat federal government in Putrajaya with a new Prime Minister in the person of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Continue reading “The most probable date for long-awaited Parliament dissolution is Monday, March 25 although it could be later or even earlier”
Is Malaysia pioneering a new-fangled “trial by police reports” in the latest twist of injustice and selective prosecution under Malaysia’s “rule by law”?
The charging of Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s Vice President and MP for Batu, Chua Tian Chang for sedition for allegedly linking Umno to the Sulu-Police shoot-outs in Lahad Datu in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today is most regrettable and deplorable, for two reasons:
Firstly, it would appear that the Federal Government of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is not prepared to provide the lead and set the example to unite and rally all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion and political affiliation as one patriotic Malaysian people to face up to the challenges posed by the Sulu terrorists to protect unequivocally our national sovereignty and the right to security of the people of Sabah and the security forces.
Is this the reason why the Cabinet in two consecutive meetings yesterday and the previous Wednesday refused to act on the proposal for the convening of a special session of Parliament on a six-point proposal (1) to give full support to the security forces to take all necessary measures to protect the national sovereignty and security; (2) pay tribute and honour to the nine fallen heroes from the police and armed forces in the shoot-outs in Lahad Datu and Semporna; (3) set up a special foundation to look after the welfare of the families of the fallen heroes and ensure the life-long education up to university level for their children at government expense; (4) condemn the atrocities committed against the fallen heroes by Sulu terrorists; (5) urge the immediate halt of the annual “cession payment” of RM5,300 to the self-proclaimed heir of Sulu Sultanate and (6) to call on the Philippines Government to drop all claims to Sabah.
Secondly, the prosecution of Tian Chua is setting a most dangerous precedent for the grave and gross miscarriage of justice in present-day Malaysia for at least two reasons: Continue reading “Is Malaysia pioneering a new-fangled “trial by police reports” in the latest twist of injustice and selective prosecution under Malaysia’s “rule by law”?”
Musa Hitam says country will not go bankrupt if PR takes over
By Martin Jalleh
A beast out of time
By Stan CH Lee | 13 March 2013
The Drawing Is On The Wall
If there is any doubt that the time is up for BN, it will be swiftly removed by watching the actions of its minions trying to show their strength and power at the most primitive, gutteral level possible. In scenes that belongs more to a WWE ring than on the streets of Malaysia, the BN hoodlums and hired thugs try to intimidate sensible Malaysians by acting in the most violent, disgusting ways. They have been raining stones and bottles on PR Ceramahs. They have gatecrashed talks and thrown chairs around. They have attacked PR buses. They have tried to kick down the glass doors at LGE’s office. They have even thrown fists at Nurul.
They have also set up their very loud ceramahs in the immediate vicinity of planned PR talks with the intent of drowning out the opposition with their superior sound systems. Everything about them is big, loud, brash. All these were done with the Police simply watching. Tacitly approved by the silence of the BN leadership.
Continue reading “A beast out of time”
Should Malaysia be saved from Dr Mahathir?
— Bangsa Malaysia
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 11, 2013
MARCH 11 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad may not be standing for elections anymore but ultimately he is just like any politician who will do or say anything to stay in power.
As evidence just take a look at his latest remarks about saving the Malays from the opposition.
As reported in The Malaysian Insider yesterday he has dropped all pretense for a Bangsa Malaysia and has gone for the Malay vote and slammed the Opposition for listening and accommodating the views and needs of the non-Malays.
State news agency Bernama quoted the country’s longest-serving prime minister as saying that Selangor must be saved from the opposition to ensure the rights and position of the Malays and Bumiputeras are maintained in the state.
Really? The Malays and Bumiputeras need saving? Continue reading “Should Malaysia be saved from Dr Mahathir?”
M’sia Scores A First in Movie Ratings
By Martin Jalleh
LKS: Debunking the 5 Big Lies of Umno/MB
By Martin Jalleh
Debunk the Five Big Lies of UMNO/BN 13GE Campaign
Tonight, on the fifth anniversary of the “308 political tsunami” of March 8, 2008, I want to debunk the five Big Lies of the Umno/Barisan Nasional 13th General Elections campaign.
Lie No. 1 – that Malaysia will be bankrupt in five, three or even two years’ time (depending on which Umno/BN leader is telling the lie) if Pakatan Rakyat forms the Federal Government after the 13 GE.
Only a person with a very low IQ will make or believe such a lie.
Have the state governments of Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan which are run by Pakatan Rakyat gone bankrupt after five years in the case of Penang, Selangor and Kedah and for over 22 years in the case of Kelantan?
If Pakatan Rakyat succeeds in the journey to Putrajaya in the 13GE, we want to be the Federal Government not just for one term, but also to be able to continue to get the national mandate to govern Malaysia in the 14th, 15th and future general elections.
The fastest way to end Pakatan Rakyat’s mandate to govern Malaysia is to lead the country to bankruptcy and economic ruin and this is the last thing that a Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya will do.
In fact, a Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya will prove that we can govern Malaysia better than Umno/Barisan Nasional, leading the country to new heights in national unity and harmony, good governance, international competitiveness and economic prosperity. Continue reading “Debunk the Five Big Lies of UMNO/BN 13GE Campaign”
34-Day Countdown to 13GE – Call on Malaysians to complete “unfinished business” of “308 political tsunami” five years ago by electing a new Malaysian Government and new Prime Minister in Putrajaya in 13GE
Today is a double anniversary – the fifth anniversary of the peaceful and democratic uprising of Malaysians which has now entered into the Malaysian political folklore as the “308 political tsunami” of the 12th general elections on March 8, 2008 and the 36th International Women’s Day after the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed March 8 as the UN Day for women’s rights and world peace.
Both have one theme in common – empowerment and enfranchisement of the Malaysian citizenry in the former and women as a whole internationally in the latter.
On the occasion of this “308” double anniversary, I wish to make two calls.
Firstly, to call on Malaysians to complete the “unfinished business” of 308 “political tsunami” five years ago by electing a new Malaysian Government and a new Prime Minister in Putrajaya in the 13th General Elections.
Before “308” five years ago, nobody dared to hope or think that the Malaysian political landscape could undergo a paradigm shift through the peaceful and democratic process that the prospect of a new Federal Government and a new Prime Minister for the first time in five decades of the nation’s history is dreamable, possible, do-able and achievable!
Two days before the historic “political tsunami” of March 8, 2008, I gave the following statement at a media conference when campaigning in the Ipoh Timor parliamentary constituency: Continue reading “34-Day Countdown to 13GE – Call on Malaysians to complete “unfinished business” of “308 political tsunami” five years ago by electing a new Malaysian Government and new Prime Minister in Putrajaya in 13GE”
Pengiraan Detik 41 Hari ke PRU13 – Cabaran buat Najib untuk memastikan PRU13 adalah pertandingan antara perikatan mana yang mampu berkhidmat untuk Melayu, Cina, India, Orang Asli, Kadazan dan Iban bukannya pertandingan siapa lebih hebat menipu atau menghasut kebencian atau beralih kepadan politik ketakutan
Febuari 2013 telah tiba dan berlalu –bulan yang berkemungkinan tercatat di dalam sejarah sebagai bulan paling kritikal dan penting dalam empat tahun sebagai Perdana Menteri dan 37 tahun kerjaya politik Datuk Seri Najib Razak kerana ini merupakan bulan beliau membatalkan “keputusan muktamad” terbaru beliau untuk membubarkan Parlimen dan mengadakan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 pada bulan Mac.
Pada awal Januari, Perdana Menteri keenam Malaysia yang bakal berusia 60 tahun lagi enam bulan pada 23 Julai, telah dipujuk oleh strategis politiknya untuk tetapkan fikiran supaya mengakhiri dolak-dalik selama dua tahun dan membubarkan Parlimen pada minggu terakhir Febuari untuk akhirnya mendapatkan mandat daripada 13.3 juta pengundi dalam Pilihan Raya ke-13, diyakinkan bahawa beliau mempunyai “senjata rahsia” untuk memikat dan menakut-nakutkan pengundi, termasuklah:
- RM3.5 juta jemputan kepada bintang K-Pop Korea Selatan Psy bukan sahaja untuk mempersembahkan Gangnam Style tetapi juga untuk mempopularkan Gangnam 1Malaysia Style yang dipersembahkan Psy bersama Najib, Rosmah dan Ng Yen Yen di Pulau Pinang pada hari kedua Tahun Baru Cina;
- Filem 13 Mei yang boleh menimbulkan perbahalahan dan perpecahan, “Tanda Putera”, memberikan gambaran serong, memecah-belah dan kisah tidak benar punca rusuhan 13 Mei pada tahun 1969 untuk mengapi-apikan sentiment pengundi Melayu dan menakut-nakutkan pengundi bukan Melayu;
- Janji BR1M 3.0 sekiranya UMNO/BN dipilih semula;
- Perdana Menteri menandatangani Ikrar Integriti Pilihan Raya Transparency International bagi menggambarkan Najib sebagai wira baru memerangi rasuah dan salahguna kuasa;
- Lanjutan Projek IC ke Semenanjung Malaysia bagi penipuan “warganegara untuk undi” di Sabah yang terbukti begitu berjaya dalam mengukuhkan kuasa politik UMNO di “Negeri Bawah Bayu”; dan
- 10,000 tentera cybertrooper UMNO/BN untuk mencetuskan huru-hara dan kacau-bilau di media sosial dengan penipuan, pembohongan dan hasutan kebencian terhadap isu kaum dan agama.
Pengiraan Detik 42 Hari ke PRU13 – Keputusan impian saya untuk PRU13: Pakatan Rakyat menang dengan sekurang-kurangnya 125 Ahli Parlimen PR terdiri daripada 45 Ahli Parlimen PKR dan 40 Ahli Parlimen dari DAP dan PAS tiap parti
he Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) meramalkan kejayaan Barisan Nasional dalam PRU13 dengan anggaran 123 hingga 135 kerusi ( iaitu majoriti 24-48 kerusi) dan membentangkan tiga kemungkinan untuk Pilihan Raya PRU13, yakni:
- Senario 1: Status quo sekarang kekal, iaitu 140 kerusi Barisan Nasional (BN) berbanding82 kerusi untuk Pakatan Rakyat (PR) berikutan “tsunami politik” 8 Mac, 2008 dalam Pilihan Raya Umum ke-12.
- Senario 2: Merosotnya majoriti untuk BN, iaitu kurang daripada majoriti 58 kerusi selepas “tsunami politik” 308; dan
- Senario 3: BN memperoleh semula majoriti dua pertiga, iaitu memenangi sekurang-kurangnya 148 kerusi parlimen atau minimum majoriti 74 kerusi
Akan tetapi ada dua lagi kemungkinan, meramalkan kemenangan Pakatan Rakyat, yakni:
- Senario 4: Kemenangan buat Pakatan Rakyat dengan majority tipis.
- Senario 5: Kemenangan buat PR dengan majoriti selesa.
41-Day Countdown to 13GE – Challenge to Najib to ensure 13GE is a contest which coalition can do more to serve the Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, Kadazans and Ibans instead of a contest of who could tell more lies or incite hatred or resort to politics of fear
February 2013 has come and gone – a month which will probably go down in history as the most critical and crucial month of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s four-year premiership and 37-year political career as this is the month he abandoned his latest “final decision” to dissolve Parliament and to hold the 13th General Elections in March.
In early January, the sixth Malaysian Prime Minister who turns 60 in five months’ time on 23rd July, had been persuaded by his political strategists to make up his mind to end his two-year flip-flops and to dissolve Parliament in the last week of February to finally seek a mandate from the 13.3 million voters in the 13th General Elections, buoyed up by the knowledge that he had an armoury of “secret weapons” to woo or intimidate the voters, including:
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The RM3.5 million invitation to South Korean K-Pop superstar Psy not only to perform Gangnam Style but to popularise Gangnam 1Malaysia Style starring Psy with Najib, Rosmah and Ng Yen Yen in Penang on the second day of the Chinese New Year;
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The tendentious and divisive May 13 film, “Tanda Putra”, giving a totally divisive, distorted and untrue account of the causes of the May 13 riots in 1969 to inflame the sentiments of Malay voters on the one hand and to frighten the non-Malay voters on the other;
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Promise of BRIM 3.0 if UMNO/BN is re-elected;
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The Prime Minister’s signing of Transparency International’s Election Integrity Pledge to present Najib as a new convert to the battle against corruption and abuses of power;
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The extension of Project IC to Peninsular Malaysia for the “citizenship-for-votes” scams in Sabah which have proved to be so successful in entrenching UMNO political power in the “Land below the Wind”’; and
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An army of 10,000 UMNO/BN cybertroopers to create havoc and mayhem on the social media with lies, falsehoods and incitement of hatred on race and religious issues.