Posted on

42-Day Countdown to 13GE – My dream results for the 13GE: Pakatan Rakyat win with at least 125 PR MPs comprising 45 PKR MPs and 40 MPs each from DAP and PAS

The Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) forecasts a Barisan Nasional victory in the 13GE with an expected 123 to 135 seats ( i.e. a majority of 24 – 48 seats) and presented three possible outcomes for the 13th General Elections, viz:

• Scenario 1: The present status quo remains, i.e. 140 Barisan Nasional (BN) seats as against 82 seats for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) following the March 8, 2008 “political tsunami” in the 12th General Elections.

• Scenario 2: A reduced majority for BN, i.e. less than 58-seat majority after the 308 “political tsunami”; and

• Scenario 3: BN regains two-thirds majority, i.e. winning at least 148 parliamentary seats or minimum of 74-seat majority.

There are however two other possible outcomes, predicated on a Pakatan Rakyat victory, viz:

• Scenario 4: Victory for Pakatan Rakyat with narrow majority.

• Scenario 5: Victory for PR with good and comfortable majority.

Continue reading “42-Day Countdown to 13GE – My dream results for the 13GE: Pakatan Rakyat win with at least 125 PR MPs comprising 45 PKR MPs and 40 MPs each from DAP and PAS”

Posted on

Pakatan victorious: How frightening!

RK Anand | February 26, 2013
Free Malaysia Today

BN propagandists strike fear in the hearts of the Chinese about PAS and in the hearts of the Malays about DAP. But still a substantial of number of Malaysians dream of change.

COMMENT

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Scene I

The Honda Cub coughed up a trail of black smoke as it chugged along the labyrinth of dimly-lit alleys until it came to a screeching halt outside a dilapidated budget hotel. Chua missed the comforts of his Mercedes Benz but these were difficult times. The government’s decision to stop trade with evil nations like the United States had been a fiscal nightmare. Much had changed since that fateful general election.

With his helmet still on, he tiptoed up the creaking stairs and into the room where she was waiting for him. He then scanned the walls for hidden cameras. Satisfied, he slipped out of his clothes, climbed into the bug-infested bed and snuggled under the sheets next to his mistress. He recognised the fragrance of the Chanel perfume which seduced his nostrils. He had given it to her as a gift for Chinese New Year. It had to be smuggled from Singapore as such immoral items were banned. He leaned closer and his pulse raced with excitement and trepidation. He craved for a glass of Cognac to calm his nerves but alcohol, like Viagra, had been banned as well. These clandestine meetings placed them at severe risk with the ever vigilant moral police keeping watch for adulterous couples.

Chua’s greatest fear was that those bearded men in robes would burst through the door, drag him in chains to the public execution square Dataran Nik Aziz, once known as Dataran Merdeka, and stone him to death. Continue reading “Pakatan victorious: How frightening!”

Posted on

Pengiraan Detik 48 Hari ke PRU13: Najib ke arah mencipta rekodnya yang ketiga sebagai Perdana Menteri Malaysia bagi mengelakkan daripada menjadi Perdana Menteri UMNO/BN terakhir lantas memenuhi ramalan “RAHMAN”

Parlimen ke-12 sepatutnya dibubarkan hari ini bagi membolehkan berlangsungnya Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13, dengan pencalonan pada 16 Mac dan pembuangan undi pada 30 Mac.

Akan tetapi 22 Febuari akan datang dan berlalu tanpa sebarang pembubaran Parlimen, dengan spekulasi bahawa tarikh pembubaran dianjakkan antara 15 – 21 Mac dengan tarikh pembuangan undi pada minggu pertama atau kedua April (dijangkakan pada minggu kedua supaya ramai pengundi Cina di negeri lain tidak akan membuang undi kerana mereka dijangka tidak akan pulang ke kampong halaman sekali lagi selepas pulang ke sana minggu sebelumnya bagi menyambut perayaan Qing Ming yang akan jatuh pada 5 April).

Saya dimaklumkan pertama kali tentang pembubaran Parlimen pada 22 Febuari selepas mensyuarat peringkat tertinggi strategis politik Perdana Menteri di Putrajaya pada hari yang sama, dan lima minggu selepas itu, ia menjadi tarikh yang terus dispekulasikan sebagai tarikh paling “hangat”untuk pembubaran Parlimen PRU13.

Namun jelas dengan kesilapan demi kesilapan, Datuk Seri Najib Razak kekurangan keyakinan terhadap persediaanya untuk Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 dan kemampuan untuk melepasi ujian Mahathir oleh mantan Perdana Menteri pada 31 Januari tahun ini.

Pada Malaysia Strategic Outlook Conference ke-15 mantan Perdana Menteri yang berkhidmat paling lama serta menjadi kuasa sebenar di belakang takhta UMNO secara terbuka merumuskan “ujian Mahathir” untuk Najib di dalam PRU13 – iaitu tidak cukup bagus untuk Najib sekadar menang dan beliau sepatutnya melepaskan jawatan dan memberikan laluan kepada Timbalan Presiden UMNO Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin sebagai Perdana Menteri jika UMNO/Barisan Nasional Cuma mendalam majority tipis di dalam PRU13, yakni tanpa memperolehi majority dua pertiga parlimen untuk Barisan Nasional.

Akan tetapi sehingga Tahun Baru Cina pada 10 Febuari, dengan Psy dan Gangnam Style yang berharga jutaan ringgit untuk Tahun Baru Cina Pulau Pinang pada 11 Febuari, Najib masih sangat yakin bahawa beliau bersedia untuk pembubaran Parlimen pada 22 Febuari.

Namun Gangnam Style dan Psy terbukti senjata makan tuan, memandangkan kemunculan Psy di Pulau Pinang bukan sahaja satu kegagalan, akibat buruknya tersebar seluruh negara sepertimana yang digambarkan oleh sambutan dingin yang diterima Najib apabila beliau cuba mencipta sejarah sebagai Perdana Menteri pertama yang menghadiri Rumah Terbuka Tahun Baru Cina Dong Zong enam hari selepas kesan Psy. Continue reading “Pengiraan Detik 48 Hari ke PRU13: Najib ke arah mencipta rekodnya yang ketiga sebagai Perdana Menteri Malaysia bagi mengelakkan daripada menjadi Perdana Menteri UMNO/BN terakhir lantas memenuhi ramalan “RAHMAN””

Posted on

Chinese see Psy, Malays see May 13 film

By Mariam Mokhtar | February 22, 2013
Free Malaysia Today

As we approach the 13th general election (GE13), Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s interpretation of “1Malaysia” gets more bizarre.

To herald in the Year of the Snake, Najib made the surprise announcement that the Chinese would be treated to a special performance by the Korean entertainer Psy. Earlier this week, after much delay and heavy censorship, the Indians were finally allowed to view the film, “Vishwaroopam”.

The Malay masses, always on the wrong end of the stick when it comes to Umno’s largesse, were forced to view the Umno propaganda film “Tanda Putera”.

Psy’s performance allegedly cost RM3 million for a mere 12 minutes. The ban on Vishwaroopam caused promoters to suffer significant financial losses. Much of the box-office takings were diverted to pirated DVDs which were openly sold throughout Malaysia.

“Tanda Putera” cost RM4.8 million and is funded by the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) and the Multimedia Development Corporation (Mdec) – in other words, the taxpayer.
Continue reading “Chinese see Psy, Malays see May 13 film”

Posted on

48-Day Countdown to 13GE: Najib is heading towards setting a third record as Malaysian Prime Minister in order to avoid a fourth record as the last UMNO/BN Prime Minister fulfilling the “RAHMAN” prophecy

The 12th Parliament is supposed to be dissolved today for the 13th General Elections to be held, with nomination on March 16 and Polling on March 30.

But February 22 has come and will go without any dissolution of Parliament, with the speculation on the critical dates of dissolution shifted to between March 15 – 21 with polling in the first or second week of April (with the bets on the second week so that many out-of-state Chinese voters would not cast their votes as they are not expected to return to their hometowns after returning in the first week for the annual Qing Ming festival or All Souls’ Day which falls on April 5).

I was first informed of the February 22 dissolution of Parliament on January 9 after a high-level meeting of the Prime Minister’s political strategists in Putrajaya on the same day, and in the ensuing five weeks, it became an increasingly speculated date to become the “hottest” date for dissolution for the 13GE.
But clearly with one blunder after another, Datuk Seri Najib Razak just lack the confidence to be ready for the 13th General Elections and to be able to pass the Mahathir test formulatedf by the former Prime Minister on January 31 this year.

It was at the 15th Malaysia Strategic Outlook Conference that the former and longest-serving Prime Minister who has emerged to be the real power behind the UMNO throne publicly formulated the “Mahathir test” for Najib in the 13GE – that it is not good enough for Najib just to win and that he should step down and give way to Deputy UMNO President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as Prime Minister if UMNO/Barisan Nasional only scores a slim majority in the 13th GE, without regaining a comfortable two-thirds parliamentary majority for Barisan Nasional.

But until the Chinese New Year on February 10, with the multi-million ringgit Psy and Gangnam Style coup for Penang BN CNY on February 11, Najib was still supremely confident that he was ready for February 22 dissolution of Parliament.

This Psy and Gangnam coup however proved to be a dud and counter-productive, as the Psy Appearance in Penang was not only a failure, its adverse repercussions were nation-wide as illustrated by the lukewarm response Najib received when he tried to make history as the first Prime Minister to attend the Dong Zong Chinese New Year Open House six days after the Psy Effect. Continue reading “48-Day Countdown to 13GE: Najib is heading towards setting a third record as Malaysian Prime Minister in order to avoid a fourth record as the last UMNO/BN Prime Minister fulfilling the “RAHMAN” prophecy”

Posted on

Tanda Putera a double-edged sword

By Carrie Rina | 12:13PM Feb 21, 2013
Malaysiakini

FILM REVIEW Despite the cabinet deciding against airing the controversial Tanda Putera film until after the next general election, the leader of the same cabinet, Najib Abdul Razak, appears keen on showing it to selected segments of the Malaysian populace.

The reason is likely that the film is a double-edged sword, serving as an effective propaganda tool for one community – but which may well offend the other communities.

While both the Malays and Chinese are depicted in the film as turning on each other during the May 13 riots, the Chinese were often characterised as the aggressors.

The film opens with a group of Chinese, who appear to be Communist sympathisers, attacking a party worker, abd calling for the 1969 general election to be boycotted.

The victim was later revealed to be an Umno member, for news flash with the headline: ‘Umno party worker killed’ is shown.
Continue reading “Tanda Putera a double-edged sword”

Posted on

Suaris Interview: The Future of Malays Part 4

by Bakri Musa

It is said that Malays are at a crossroad. This is particularly so with the upcoming General Election 13 where the choice is between feudalism and liberalism. To what extent do you agree with that viewpoint?

[The original in Malay appeared in suaris.wordpress.com on February 6, 2013.]

MBM: I agree that we Malays are at a critical juncture. Our choice is between continuing on the present path that has led us to where we are today, with our minds still trapped, or make a sharp turn towards liberating them. Remember that the path to the dumpsite is the one well-trodden.

I do not agree that the forthcoming election (GE 13) will be a choice between liberalism and feudalism, as I understand both terms. Instead it will be between a party that has grown old, tired, and bankrupt of ideas versus another that is young, vigorous, and full of fresh talent.

As an aside, “liberalism” to me means a system that treats every human as having certain inalienable rights or freedoms granted unto him (or her) by Almighty Allah, among them, the freedom of thought, to choose our leaders, own properties, and pursue happiness. Feudalism on the other hand was the social system prevailing in Medieval Europe where humans were either lords or peasants. Land, property and peasants belonged to the lords. Your fate and place in society was determined at birth and remained fixed throughout life. Meaning, born a peasant, and you would remain one until death.

Clearly from the perspective of respect for human lives and values, liberalism is closer to Islam than is feudalism. Continue reading “Suaris Interview: The Future of Malays Part 4”

Posted on

54-Day Countdown to 13 GE – Najib should announce three ang pows at Dong Zong CNY Open House tomorrow: full recognition of UEC, approval for four Chinese Independent Secondary Schools and review of National Education Blueprint

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should announce three ang pows at the Dong Zong Chinese New Year Open House tomorrow, namely:

* Full government recognition of Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) as one of the academic qualifications for entry into national higher learning institutions, public services and teaching academies;

* Government approval for four Chinese independent secondary schools in Petaling Jaya, Puchong, Segamat and Johore Baru;

* Review of the National Education Blueprint to give full recognition of mother-tongue education in the mainstream of the national education system, including:

1. Increase in the number of Chinese and Tamil primary schools dependent on the needs of parents to send their children to Chinese and Tamil primary schools in order to ensure the right of students to receive mother-tongue education; and

2. Fair and just capital allocations for development expenditures of Chinese and Tamil primary schools and the provision of adequate trained teachers; and

3. Assist Malaysian independent Chinese secondary schools in financing, teacher-training, curricula design, amenities, etc and to allow them to relocate, set up branches and put up new premises.

DAP and Pakatan Rakyat are committed to the full recognition of UEC and if Najib fails to make such an announcement tomorrow, then it will be one of the priority policy announcements of a new Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya after the 13GE. Continue reading “54-Day Countdown to 13 GE – Najib should announce three ang pows at Dong Zong CNY Open House tomorrow: full recognition of UEC, approval for four Chinese Independent Secondary Schools and review of National Education Blueprint”

Posted on

22 questions for Dr M, again

P Gunasegaram
Malaysiakini
Feb 14, 2013

QUESTION TIME I became a journalist at the Business Times, then a standalone newspaper, in 1978.

Three years later in 1981 Dr Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister of Malaysia, its fourth, succeeding Hussein Onn.

I have followed his career quite closely since and frankly I am not impressed. He started off with promise – and promised a lot – but fulfilled none if any.

In fact I would go so far as to say that he was positively the worst prime minister this country has ever had.

Through destruction of institutions such as an independent judiciary, running roughshod over civil servants, bringing his brand of power, patronage and poor economics into decision making, and making use of oppressive laws he used an iron fist to rule and in the process brought more harm to this country than any other person alive or dead.

Much of the problems of Malaysia can be traced back to him and he has made it difficult for his successors to make major changes going forward, much of which would involve unwinding processes and linkages he had put in place before. Continue reading “22 questions for Dr M, again”

Posted on

Gross Encounters of the Zin Kind

By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest

I was greeted first thing this morning by an SMS from a dear old friend. It read: “Saudara XXX [my friend’s name in full], Selamat Menyambut Hari Lahir. Happy Birthday. Ikhlas dari DS Ir Mohd Zin Mohamed, Kordinator BN Selangor. Sayangi Selangor, Yakini BN.”

At first, I wondered why my friend had forwarded me this SMS. Then when I saw the four-letter word he had appended at the end of it, I understood. He was sharing with me his disgust at the greeting from Mohd Zin.

This coordinator of Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) who is campaigning to win the state from Pakatan Rakyat at the soon-to-be-held general election has been sending out many such messages to a whole lot of people ever since last year. However, they have become such an annoyance that the recipients invariably express nothing but disgust each time they receive such messages.

Some of my other friends have also been complaining to me about Mohd Zin’s barrage of not only SMSes but postcards and letters as well. And social media is full of curses against him and his unsavoury proselytising efforts to the BN cause.
Continue reading “Gross Encounters of the Zin Kind”

Posted on

Dr Mahathir and his mouth

— Greg War
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 12, 2013

FEB 12 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad seems to think that Malaysians are still intellectually backward and unable to read. In today’s Malaysia where one has access to immediate news from the Internet, the rakyat are not easily fooled.

Still, some of his public statements have been downright shocking, leaving the rakyat revolted in disbelief and protest. Every time he opens his mouth these days he seems either to spew out venom or spew out lies and hatred. He is a man of 88 but he has not lost any of his vengeful leanings.

Even after retirement, Dr Mahathir’s speeches have continued to stink of racism and his thoughts seem bizarre for an experienced former head of government. Is he sensationalising just to grab the headlines from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak or is he rooting for someone else?

Dr Mahathir conned three generations of Malaysians and kept them in check with his various laws to silence them. One would imagine that after having governed the country for 22 years and having enriched many around him, he would be content to rest on his laurels (sic) and spend some quality time with his grandchildren. Continue reading “Dr Mahathir and his mouth”

Posted on

Suaris Interview: The Future of Malays Part 3:

by Bakri Musa

[The original, in Malay, appeared in suaris.wordpress.com on January 31, 2013]

Suaris: You advocate strategies that are generally deemed to be evolutionary in nature to change the collective Malay mindset. Should Malays be “shocked” with revolutionary changes as we saw with the Japanese and South Koreans that led to their quantum leap in achievement?

MBM: When Mohamed Bouazizi burned himself to death in Tunisia on January 4, 2011, it was not his intention to start a riot or revolution. He had simply given up hope; he just wanted to end his misery. His personal action however, triggered a revolution not only in Tunisia but also the entire Arab world.

Gamel Nasser was frothing at the mouth in wanting to revolutionize the Arabs; he was lucky that his Egypt was not totally whipped by Israel in the 1967 War. Senu Abdul Rahman and other Malay leaders like Abdullah Badawi, together with our intellectuals, were also intoxicated with their Revolusi Mental back then. Today, you could not even find the book of the same title that they wrote, and we Malays have remained the same.

Whether a change is evolutionary or revolutionary depends not on action or intention but on results and consequences. Bouazizi merely intended to end his suffering but his action reverberated throughout the Arab world, taking down hitherto strong men like Ghaddafi and Mubarak. Continue reading “Suaris Interview: The Future of Malays Part 3:”

Posted on

The decline and fall of Najib

Mariam Mokhtar | February 8, 2013
Free Malaysia Today

The prime minister had the perfect opportunity to act, but he neglected to do so. Consumed by greed and power, like many politicians in Malaysia, he looked the other way.

COMMENT

As soon as Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announces the date for 13th general election, it will probably sound his political death knell.

For the benefit of the rakyat, and in front of the television cameras and news photographers, Najib and his Cabinet present a united front; but behind the scenes, another story emerges.

Damaging leaks about the shortcomings of his leadership continue to undermine Najib. His grip on the party is tenuous. His strongest ally, the self-styled First Lady Rosmah Mansor, will do her utmost to ensure he succeeds.

Last month, the independent organisation, the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research, found that Najib had high popularity ratings of 63% among voters in Peninsular Malaysia.

For the sake of “completeness”, why not a survey among voters in Sabah and also, Sarawak? It would have been interesting to gauge Najib’s popularity in Sabah, before and during the proceedings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) for Sabah.

If the same survey had been conducted among ministers in Najib’s own Cabinet, the results would be a good gauge of their confidence in his leadership. Continue reading “The decline and fall of Najib”

Posted on

Can Psy horse power boost BN?

Jeswan Kaur | February 8, 2013
Free Malaysia Today

Is getting Psy a pathetic reflection of how desperate BN has become in gearing up for the coming 13th general election?

COMMENT

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad just cannot have enough of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, finding any excuse possible to meet the actor, be it here or in India.

But the rendezvous with Shah Rukh Khan is always a private affair for Mahathir unlike the desperately seeking-attention Barisan Nasional, which is banking on South Korean “happening” rapper Psy do deliver them the much-needed people’s support.

BN has invited the rapper to grace its Chinese New Year open house in Penang on Feb 11, a move which comes at a cost of RM1 million to RM3 million.

Psy will be doing his “horse riding dance” or tarian kuda in the presence of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and some 60,000 guests expected at the CNY open house.

Where will BN get the money from? Has it “appointed” sponsors to take care of the massive payment Psy wants for his debut performance here?

Does BN or rather Najib seriously think getting the 35-year-old singer, songwriter, rapper and dancer Psy to do his “Gangnam Style” dance moves will bring in the crowd to its CNY open house?

If yes, then it is a pathetic reflection of how desperate BN has become in gearing up for the coming 13th general election. Continue reading “Can Psy horse power boost BN?”

Posted on

Pengiraan Detik 62 Hari ke PRU13 – Memenuhi impian Bapa Malaysia dalam pilihan raya 1990 untuk memperkenalkan sistem dua perikatan dan meletakkan asas kepada Malaysia untuk merapatkan jurang dengan Korea Selatan

Hari ini merupakan ulangtahun kelahiran ke-110 Bapa Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman – dua hari sebelum Tahun Baru Cina 2013 dan dua atau tiga minggu sebelum pembubaran Parlimen bagi diadakan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13.

Pada hari kedua Tahun Baru Cina yakni pada 11 Feb, bintang pop Korea Selatan Psy yang video “Gangnam Style-nya” telah ditonton lebih daripada 1 bilion kali (rekod terkini: 1.27 bilion) di Youtube, telah dijemput ke Pulau Pinang untuk menjadikan Rumah Terbuka Tahun Baru Cina Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak sebuah acara yang julung-julung kalinya dan bersejarah.

Secara terbuka saya katakan bahawa rakyat Malaysia sepatutnya bergembira dengan persembahan Psy, tetapi sebelum dan selepas keriangan dan hiburan, rakyat Malaysia perlu melakukan pencarian diri terhadap persoalan mengapa nasib negara terbalik sepanjang setengah abad lalu, dengan Korea Selatan kini dua hingga tiga kali ganda lebih kaya berbanding Malaysia dan jauh kedepan dalam semua usaha yang dilakukan sedangkan negara kita pernah tiga kali ganda lebih kaya dan membangun berbanding Korea Selatan ketika kita mencapai Kemerdekaan pada 1957.

Saya percaya sekiranya Tunku masih hidup lagi hari ini, itu akan menjadi perkara yang paling diberi perhatian dalam urusan beliau, tentu beliau akan menjadi lebih sedih berbanding orang lain melihat kemunduran Malaysia bukannya kemajuan apabila membandingkan Malaysia dengan Korea Selatan.

Bukan sahaja dalam demokrasi dan tadbir urus yang baik, perkembangan ekonomi, kemajuan teknologi, pembangunan modan insan, seni dan budaya, tetapi juga dalam bidang sukan, Korea Selatan telah jauh mendahului Malaysia dalam setengah abad lalu. Continue reading “Pengiraan Detik 62 Hari ke PRU13 – Memenuhi impian Bapa Malaysia dalam pilihan raya 1990 untuk memperkenalkan sistem dua perikatan dan meletakkan asas kepada Malaysia untuk merapatkan jurang dengan Korea Selatan”