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Najib’s Achilles heel and poison arrow

Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | October 31, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

Every Umno leader knows that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad blames Rosmah Mansor for the position Umno and Najib Razak find themselves in today.

COMMENT

It’s none of our concern if Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s attacks on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak are tactical or real. What we know is that they are all masters and practitioners of subterfuge and deception.

I suspect the Umno camp is really worried about the attacks on their man that they have to do a spin on the whole works.

That’s Umno thinking for you. When something is not working for them, they will manufacture a preferred storyline.

Hence the story line they come out with is that Mahathir is doing his usual reverse psychology.

Every Umno leader knows that Mahathir blames Rosmah Mansor for the position Umno finds itself today.

Rosmah is the heel to Najib’s Achilles. Mahathir is the poison arrow.

Mahathir never ceases to bully Malays into believing they are inadequate and therefore the solution is to entrust their future in the hands of good people like him.

Social evils, intoned Mahathir, arise from the activities of evil people and if only known devils like him and the band of marauders and plunderers are in control, Malaysia is safe.

What is wrong with this kind of thinking? Well, it only requires one to be unthinking and self-praising.

Mahathir likes to self-praise although he has a round-about way of doing it. The medical doctor uses self-deprecation to disarm and defeat opponents. Continue reading “Najib’s Achilles heel and poison arrow”

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Barisan Nasional has lost all credibility, legitimacy and moral authority to continue to rule in Malaysia

The latest report to emanate from the Barisan Nasional camp is that in the 13th General Election, it expects to win more than the 140 parliamentary seats it took in the 2008 General Election and that its worst-case scenario is winning just over 120 seats.

But this is only one of the many projections making their rounds with the worst-case scenario for the Barisan Nasional ranging from the bleak one of losing majority control of Parliament to the even more dismal one which would give Barisan Nasional a total of less than 100 parliamentary seats.

For the first time in the nation’s 55-year history and in thirteen General Elections, Malaysian voters have within their hands the power to decide whether the time has come for a change of Federal government although this would be heavily dependent on whether the next general election is a free, fair and clean one.

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is not confident that he will survive unscathed to continue as the sixth Prime Minister after the 13GE, and this is why he had dillied and dallied for almost two years over when to call for general election although he cannot be unaware of the pressure from the ignominy of being the longest unelected Prime Minister without his own national mandate for the highest office in the land.

Whatever the electorate’s verdict in the 13GE, what is becoming increasingly evident is that Barisan Nasional has lost all credibility, legitimacy and moral authority to continue to rule in Malaysia because it is prepared to undermine the Malaysian nation-building process with contradictory lies, deceit and hypocrisy when campaigning to different racial groups. Continue reading “Barisan Nasional has lost all credibility, legitimacy and moral authority to continue to rule in Malaysia”

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Twenty-five years later, camaraderie in adversity

Liew Chin Tong
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 27, 2012

OCT 27 — The collective adversity suffered by the DAP, PAS and civil society leaders in 1987 ironically built the steely resolve for change and the deep camaraderie to see it through.

This day 25 years ago, October 27, 1987, was one of the darkest days in Malaysian history when 106 politicians and social activists were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in Operation Lalang. Printing permits for three newspapers, namely The Star, Sinchew and Watan, were withdrawn.

The security crackdown that shocked the nation and marked the end of the boisterous, often mistaken as democratic, first phase of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s leadership that began in 1981. Dr Mahathir succeeded Tun Hussein Oon with a weak base in Umno and virtually no one to trust.

By pitting Musa Hitam against Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in Umno’s deputy presidential elections of 1981 and 1984, Dr Mahathir bought himself time and space. But the chickens came home to roost by 1987 when Tengku Razaleigh teamed up with Musa to challenge the Dr Mahathir-Ghafar Baba ticket.

The election on April 24 saw Tengku Razaleigh losing to Dr Mahathir by a mere 43 votes, allegedly after a suspicious blackout at the vote-counting centre. Continue reading “Twenty-five years later, camaraderie in adversity”

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Hudud will not impact non-Muslims, minister says

by Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 24, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Hudud will not have an impact on non-Muslims in Malaysia, Umno minister Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom has said, disputing the repeated warnings by political ally MCA to the Chinese community on the controversial Islamic penal code.

In a written reply to Tan Tee Beng (IND-Nibong Tebal), the minister for Islamic affairs, explained that hudud, which prescribes the amputation of hands for theft, could only be applied to those who come under the jurisdiction of the Syariah court — Muslims.

“Therefore, hudud law will not impact non-Muslims,” he concluded.

MCA has been using the hudud issue to warn the non-Muslim community away from voting for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in the coming polls, insisting that the pact’s “dominant” partner PAS would insist on its implementation despite its ties with secular DAP and PKR.

Hudud has remained a sensitive touch point in Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy, which has a 60 per cent Muslim population, with political parties continuing to spar over the subject in the run-up to the 13th general election.

The idea of an Islamic criminal code has been used to either scare the minority Chinese voters, or shore up support among the majority Malay-Muslim community. Continue reading “Hudud will not impact non-Muslims, minister says”

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Muhyiddin’s boys target Nov 30

Toffee Rodrigo | October 25, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

According to Muhyiddin Yassin’s camp, campaigning in December will give BN a strategic advantage, given that the middle-class and Christians will be distracted.

COMMENT

Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin’s boys want the general election this year. They are pushing Muhyiddin to pressure Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to dissolve Parliament by Nov 30.

Muhyiddin’s supporters feel Nov 30 should be the latest date, or else Umno and Barisan Nasional will be in trouble.

According to them, campaigning in December will give BN a strategic advantage.

The strategic advantage they are talking about is in East Malaysia. A December poll, they believe, will give the Christians (read opposition) less time to campaign, they will be busy with Christmas and have little time to dwell on politics.

And this will be good for the BN as far as Sarawak is concerned as the natives will be also too busy with the festivities to seek out the alternative media. They will thus depend on the propaganda dished out by the government-controlled mass media especially the radio and TV.

In West Malaysia, the middle class, which is seen to be anti-establishment, will be busy taking holidays. Many of them may not be around even to vote if the election is called in December.

And this is what BN needs to win back states like Selangor and Penang. Continue reading “Muhyiddin’s boys target Nov 30”

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MCA’s long day’s journey into night

S Thayaparan
Malaysiakini
Oct 24, 2012

“Sometimes… it’s better for a man just to walk away.
But if you can’t walk away?
I guess that’s when it’s tough.” – Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman)

COMMENT

MCA president Chua Soi Lek may think that everyone has a role to play in this coming “war”, which is the upcoming general election, but the only role the MCA is going to play is that of cannon fodder in the ultimate showdown between Umno and their arch nemesis Anwar Ibrahim.

I get it. I really do. Malaysians are constantly being told to be grateful. Each community has been brainwashed into thinking they should be grateful for different reasons but above all their gratitude should be directed at Barisan National.

The opposition thinks that non-Malay Malaysians have woken up but the reality is that the MIC and MCA fell asleep on the job. Dereliction of duty when it came to the communal interests of the non-Malays at the expense of Umno hegemony is what has caused the downfall of these component parties. That and of course the infighting, corruption and hubris of being the only game in town.

What is really destroying the MCA is not the propaganda of the DAP but the acceptance by a large voting demographic of the Chinese community that no representation in the government is better than MCA representation. Continue reading “MCA’s long day’s journey into night”

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UMNO/MCA “Devil’s Compact” confirmed by Mahathir within 24 hours

Yesterday, I publicly said that MCA and UMNO leaders have reached a “Devil’s Compact” for each side to tell the most blatant lies and falsehoods to frighten Chinese and Malay voters respectively in their desperate belief that such politics of hate and duplicity is the only way to stampede Chinese and Malay voters to vote for Barisan Nasional in the 13th General Election.

I had expected MCA and UMNO leaders and their propagandists to embark on prolonged polemics to deny the existence of such an unholy compact and to throw up all sorts of “red herrings” to distract attention from the “Devil’s Compact”.

What I least expected was for my expose of UMNO/MCA’s “Devil’s Compact” to be confirmed within 24 hours in a most authoritative fashion and in a manner completely disarming and stripping the MCA and UMNO leaders and propagandists bare of their wiles and hypocrisies.

There is only one person who could perform such a feat – Tun Dr. Mahathir and this was exactly what he did yesterday. Continue reading “UMNO/MCA “Devil’s Compact” confirmed by Mahathir within 24 hours”

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Bankrupt Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M)

Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Oct 22, 2012

The election chest is empty, chaos threatens BN, the overseas bolt-holes paid for with taxpayers’ money look increasingly inviting to corrupt politicians and Malaysians no longer feel that the government is on their side.

(With apologies to the composer of the popular children’s song below)

There’s a hole in the budget, dear Rosmah, dear Rosmah,
There’s a hole in the budget, dear Rosmah, a hole.
Then mend it, dear Najib, dear Najib, dear Najib,
Then mend it, dear Najib, dear Najib, mend it.

With what shall I mend it, dear Rosmah, dear Rosmah?
With what shall I mend it, dear Rosmah, with what?
With an AES, dear Najib, dear Najib, dear Najib,
With an AES, dear Najib, dear Najib, with an AES.

There’s a hole in my budget, dear Rosmah, dear Rosmah,
There’s a hole in my budget, dear Rosmah, a hole.
Use your head, then! dear Najib, dear Najib, dear Najib,
Use your head, then! dear Najib, dear Najib, use your head!

With former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad taking potshots at him from the fringes and many in his own coalition undermining him, isn’t it time someone put Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak out of his misery?

Few in his party consider him a capable leader and it does appear as if Najib is the only one who believes that he is up to the job. Either this prime minister has hidden talents, or we are blind to his abilities. Continue reading “Bankrupt Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M)”

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MCA and UMNO leaders’ “devil’s compact” for each side to tell the most blatant lies and falsehoods to frighten Chinese and Malay voters respectively

My first reaction to the speech by the MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek at the MCA 59th Annual General Assembly on Sunday is one of outrage that so much lies and falsehoods could be crammed into a single speech.

Just three examples of such lies and falsehoods spouted by Chua on Sunday:

1. “DAP has succeeded in convincing non-Mulsims that PAS’ hudud will reduce crime and corruption in the country. This is another big lie. Of the 11 countries that practice hudud, eight are regarded as the most corrupted and they are also recognized as unstable and unsafe countries.”

2. “UBAH is for :- U for Untuk, B for Bentuk, A for Agama and H for Hudud ala PAS. CHANGE, would mean :-C = Choose H = Hudud A = At N = Next G = General E = Election”

3. “It (DAP) will continue to mislead, give false hope to the Chinese that if the Chinese vote DAP, they are empowered to be kingmaker in the country”

Chua is desperately trying to convince himself and Malaysians that DAP is championing PAS’ hudud to the extent of arguing that it will “reduce crime and corruption” in Malaysia and turning the 13 General Election into a referendum for “hudud ala PAS”.

Chua is right. This is a “big lie”, but a big lie perpetrated by Chua himself and not by the DAP. Continue reading “MCA and UMNO leaders’ “devil’s compact” for each side to tell the most blatant lies and falsehoods to frighten Chinese and Malay voters respectively”

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MCA’s death knell gets louder

Stanley Koh | October 20, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

The party goes into a crucial annual assembly amidst doubts over its chances of recovery.

COMMENT

Chinese voters are no longer asking whether MCA will remain credible as part of the ruling coalition, but whether it will survive even as an opposition party.

The general belief is that it will do worse in the 13th general election than the bruising it got in 2008, and most of the blame is placed on Dr Chua Soi Lek’s leadership, or rather the lack of it.

At the party’s 59th annual general assembly this weekend, Chua will no doubt try to boost party morale in preparation for the impending election. Sources familiar with his style predict that he will use emotional rhetoric aimed at imbuing the rank and file with the fighting spirit necessary to pull off the miraculous feat of winning more seats than the party did in 2008.

He is also expected to emphasise that he has brought unity and stability to the party, as he has done on many occasions. His detractors in the party say the claim sounds more hollow and frivolous with each repetition.

Chua, 65, limped into the MCA presidency in April 2010, carrying a tremendous amount of moral baggage. Since then the party has plunged ever more deeply into the political abyss, with no convincing sign that it will recover any time before the election.

Such is the pessimism within a sizeable section of the membership. But many prefer to whisper to each other about their grievances and frustrations rather than discuss them openly, mostly for fear of being accused of disloyalty in the face of a seemingly formidable Pakatan Rakyat, specifically DAP. Continue reading “MCA’s death knell gets louder”

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The happiest PM in the world

Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Oct 15, 2012

The Tunku once described himself as “the happiest prime minister” when he was interviewed in 1983, by Peter Hastings, the foreign editor of the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH).

Today, as we read about Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, and the tactics used against the rakyat, NGOs, civil liberty groups and the opposition, we see a man who resorts to foul play, even breaking the law if necessary, to prolong his political career and that of his party, Umno.

Perhaps, what the Tunku possessed and what his successors lack is a sense of humour. Behind the calm purpose of his jokes, Tunku was able to show his spirit of tolerance.

Tunku laughed when Hastings reminded him of the time an Islamic group had sought the Tunku’s support for adulterers to be stoned to death and he had replied: “There are not enough stones in Malaysia.” Continue reading “The happiest PM in the world”

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TV3 akan menghadapi nasib yang sama seperti Utusan?

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 16, 2012

16 OKT — TV3 sedang merudum “rating”nya. TV3 yang termasyhur sebagai lidah Umno dan BN kini sudah mula tidak mendapat sambutan ramai. Sebelum 2010, TV3 telah mendapat “rating” yang tertinggi sehingga mendapat 3.5 juta penonton sehari dan kini jumlah tontonan dari rakyat telah jatuh sehingga 1.2 juta sehari. Kejatuhan bilangan penonton lebih dari 60 peratus ini tentu bersebab dan sebabnya boleh diagak oleh kita semua. Kejatuhan ini akan akhirnya membawa padah kepada pendapatan syarikat dan menjejaskan prestasi kewangan syarikat televisyen itu.

Selalunya kejatuhan penonton sesebuah syarikat penyiaran seperti TV3 itu adalah kerana kejatuhan keyakinan penonton terhadap kredibiliti saluran itu. Dalam sejarah banyak syarikat penyiaran dan saluran TVnya telah jatuh kerana tidak mendapat sokongan ramai. Keadaan ini tidak mengecualikan TV3 yang kini sudah menampakkan keadaan seperti itu akan berlaku ke atas syarikat televisyen itu.

Kejatuhan penonton yang dialaminya sekarang sudah mula menampakkan apa yang dialami oleh banyak syarikat TV yang terpaksa ditutup di negara-negara yang lain itu akan berlaku ke atas TV3 jika saluran televisyen itu tidak menjaga kredibilitinya di mata penonton yang sedia ada sekarang.

Ramai di antara pengiklan-pengiklan barangan dan perkhidmatan telah mula memikirkan untuk mengiklankan barangan dan perkhidmatan mereka di saluran-saluran yang lain kerana TV3 tidak menjadi saluran sukaramai rakyat lagi. Kejatuhan jumlah penonton untuk saluran ini masih menurun dan dijangkakan yang ia akan melewati bawah dari 1 juta penonton setiap hari.

Keadaan ini berlaku bukan kerana apa….tetapi kerana TV3 sudah menjadi alat pembohongan BN dan Umno dan rakyat yang berfikiran “professional” tidak menganggap saluran TV3 ini sebagai saluran untuk rakyat. Sikap “tidak professional” TV3 ini menjadi persoalan ramai kerana orang ramai tidak gemar dengan sikap condong yang keterlaluan terhadap sesuatu pihak dalam politik ini adalah tindakan yang dianggap tidak jujur. Continue reading “TV3 akan menghadapi nasib yang sama seperti Utusan?”

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Jangan was-was, lakukanlah perubahan

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
October 14, 2012

Okt 14 — Rasa tidak terdaya untuk membaca dan mengulas tentang isu-isu yang mengelilingi politik negara. Seperti mana yang saya sebut selalu kebanyakan isu yang ditimbulkan ialah isu rasuah yang besar yang berlaku dalam pentadbiran kerajaan yang dipimpin UMNO kini. Saya tetap akan terus menerus bercakap tentang rasuah ini kerana rasuah adalah kerja yang sangat hina dan ia boleh menjahanamkan sebuah negara. Sebelum ia menjahanamkan negara elok rakyat bertindak dengan kesatuan yang kuat kerana perasuah ini bukan mudah untuk dihapuskan.

Usaha menghapuskan rasuah ini memerlukan kerjasama yang rapat di antara semua pihak dan rakyat keseluruhannya kerana kehancuran terhadap negara itu akan pasti sampai jika rasuah yang keterlaluan ini tidak dibendung. Perjuangan ini merupakan perjuangan yang panjang dan memakan masa yang lama, tetapi langkah permulaan wajar berlaku sekarang kerana jika usaha ini ditangguh-tangguhkan ia akan menjadi barah yang susah untuk dikawal.

Perjuangan melawan rasuah ini memerlukan permuafakatan yang jitu dari rakyat semua kaum dan juga dari parti-parti politik serta setiap individu-individu yang sedar tentang bahayanya rasuah ini dibendung. Maka samada terdaya atau pun tidak, kita harus ke depan dan memerangi rasuah ini habis-habisan melalui cara yang halal dan dibenarkan oleh perundangan negara kita.

Banyak pihak telah membuat teguran dan desakan untuk pimpinan sekarang ini melakukan pembersihan terhadap rasuah ini kerana UMNO merupakan parti yang memimpin negara kita. Namun semua desakan itu tidak pergi ke mana, malahan rasuah berkembang dengan begitu menjolok mata sehinggakan kita semua tidak tahan lagi untuk bersabar. Continue reading “Jangan was-was, lakukanlah perubahan”

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Najib refuses to disclose source of Sabah Umno’s political donation

By Md Izwan
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 13, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak refused tonight to disclose the source of a political donation received by Umno Sabah that was the subject of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation of Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman.

“It is a political donation. All parties have a right to receive political donations. As long as it is through the right channels, it is not an offence,” the Umno president (picture) told reporters after chairing a Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council meeting.

“We are not at liberty to disclose… the opposition also receives donations and they don’t disclose,” he said.

Yesterday, Parliament was told the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had cleared Musa of graft and money-laundering allegations after finding that the over S$16 million (RM40 million) allegedly channelled to the Sabah chief minister through corrupt means was meant for Sabah Umno’s use. Continue reading “Najib refuses to disclose source of Sabah Umno’s political donation”

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Mahathir lwn Soros

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 10, 2012

Oct 10 — Kenyataan Dr Mahathir semakin hari semakin bizarre. Orang Melayu kata macam buang tebiat. Sewel, biul dan merapu. Terbaru Dr Mahathir berkata mengundi Pakatan Rakyat bererti mengundi Soros dan mengundi Soros bererti penaklukan semula. Re-colonisation.

Makna nya kalau Anwar PM- maka Soros dibelakang nya. Haji Hadi, Kit Siang semua menjadi antek neo-kolonialisme. Begitu? Rakyat Malaysia yang 29 juta ini apa pula? Anak kambing? Who are you trying to kid DR Mahathir? ( kid =anak kambing). Keluarga Shahrizat anggap kita lembu. Mahathir anggap kita anak kambing.

Siapa Soros? Kita tahu dia seorang yang kaya dan membuat pelaburan melalui beberapa syarikat milik nya terutama flagship company nya- Quantum Funds. Dia guna kekayaan nya untuk membantu pertubuhan dan gerakan2 mendapat kemerdekaan. Dia juga seorang dermawan yang terkemuka membantu rakyat yang buta huruf, kebuluran dan yang ditimpa mala petaka.

Dr Mahathir kata dia tak bagus dan penyangak. Tapi jutaan rakyat dalam negara yang duduk dibawah pemerintah yang zalim menganggap Soros sebagai anugerah Tuhan kepada mereka.

Kepada Dr Mahathir Soros penyangak. Tapi Dr Mahathir menulis suatu surat kepada Soros dengan nada yang merayu rayu ajak berjumpa untuk menyelesaikan masaalah ekonomi secara bersama. Kalau Soros ini jahat mengapa Dr Mahathir tulis surat kepada Soros dan kemudian nya berjumpa? Boleh jadi inilah agaknya maksud lebih baik berkawan dengan syaitan yang dikenali daripada malaikat yang tidak dikenali. Syaitan mesti kenal geng seangkatan dengan nya. Continue reading “Mahathir lwn Soros”

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Sendiri yang tak pandai, salahkan Soros pula

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 08, 2012

8 OKT — Dr Mahathir semalam bercakap lagi dan menambahkan keyakinan ramai yang beliau tidak lagi berasa senang melihat kejatuhan Umno dan BN. Jika BN jatuh beliaulah orang yang paling merasakan panasnya dan ini merupakan satu igauan bagi beliau.

Beliau tidak pernah menyangka yang suatu hari nanti beliau akan tertekan dengan keadaan politik ciptaan beliau sendiri. Beliau tidak pernah menyangka yang suatu hari nanti rakyat akan membuka mata dan politik selepas itu akan menjadi mimpi ngeri bagi beliau.

Selama ini beliau merasakan beliau boleh melakukan apa sahaja terhadap politik dan rakyat negara ini. Beliau tidak pernah menyangka yang pada suatu hari selepas beliau meletakkan jawatan dan bersara dari kerajaan pimpinannya akan datang isu-isu yang menjadikan parti dan kerajaan pimpinannya akan dibelakangkan oleh rakyat semua kaum.

Berbagai cara beliau untuk mempertahankan kejatuhan Umno yang beliau tubuhkan itu. Menuduh semua orang bertanggungjawab di sana sini terutamanya pihak pembangkang. Dr Mahathir bukan sahaja mengutuk pembangkang untuk memalingkan rakyat mengarahkan kesalahan kepada beliau malahan beliau menumpukan masa dan waktunya untuk menuduh Abdullah Ahmad Badawi pemimpin yang beliau pilih sendiri untuk menggantikannya.

Semua orang salah kecuali beliau dan keluarga beliau. Dr Mahathirlah pemimpin yang bergaduh dengan semua pihak semasa beliau memegang kuasa beliau seorang sahajalah yang betul. Orang lainnya semuanya tidak betul. Orang lain semuanya anti Melayu. Hanya beliau sahajalah pejuang Melayu. Orang yang benar-benar Melayu tidak memperjuangkan Melayu tetapi mereka yang menjadi Melayu “by choice” memperjuangkan hak Melayu. Itu kepercayaan Dr Mahathir. Continue reading “Sendiri yang tak pandai, salahkan Soros pula”

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Nothing political in Penang dialogue, say pastors

By Opalyn Mok
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 07, 2012

Penang church pastors have refuted allegations that Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had engaged them in political talk recently. — File picture GEORGE TOWN, Oct 7 — Penang church pastors refuted today allegations in Utusan Malaysia that Lim Guan Eng had engaged them in political talk during a recent dialogue session, the latest black mark against the Umno daily in its reporting of the state chief minister.

The DAP secretary-general has been under fire by Umno leaders and Utusan Malaysia columnist Awang Selamat for allegedly telling Christians to stand up to injustice.

“There were no political speeches made during that luncheon dialogue session between the state government and us,” national co-ordinator of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Pastor Sam Surendran told a press conference here this evening.

“I was present at the lunch dialogue session and all the pastors here also attended the session and we are refuting any claims that the chief minister had delivered any politicial speeches on that day,” he added.

The Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia had claimed Lim delivered a political speech at a church to garner votes for the upcoming elections. The news report had also quoted the Bishop of Lutheran Evangelical Church Rev Dr Solomon Rajah and National Church Council president Rev Dr Thomas Philips allegedly criticising Lim for using churches as a place to win votes. Continue reading “Nothing political in Penang dialogue, say pastors”

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Stubborn Umno ‘killing’ race relations

Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz | October 7, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

Umno’s refusal to adapt to the changing socio-political setting in the country is its own doom.

The Malaysian people have already shown that they no longer accept the Umno solution.

The coming together of various races during Bersih 3.0 earlier this year sent shivers along the spine of the Umno leadership unless of course they misread or simply refused to read the signals sent by the tens and thousands of participants who voluntarily rallied.

Umno’s approach to ‘unity’ is something like the Nazi final solution. It thinks it can achieve national unity by pitting one race against one another.

Today the Chinese, tomorrow the Indians and later all other non-Malay Malaysians.

Eventually, it will apply the same gas-chambering treatment to the Malays who dared challenge and reject Umno.

The Malays who are opposed and reject Umno are classed as either not having sufficient Malayness or apostates. The majority of us reject this fascism. Continue reading “Stubborn Umno ‘killing’ race relations”

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Pecahkan ruyungnya dahulu sebelum mendapatkan sagunya

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Oct 04, 2012

4 OKT — Kenapa kita mendengar rakyat bercakap dan berbincang tentang politik tidak henti-henti sehinggakan jarang-jarang kita mendengar orang ramai bercakap pasal lain. Keadaan sebegini tidak pernah berlaku sampai ketahap ini dan ini sahaja menunjukkan rakyat sedang dalam pencarian. Kehidupan rakyat tentulah ada masa pasang dan surutnya dan ia bergantung kepada siapa yang mentadbir dan memerintah kita. Setiap rakyat ditadbir oleh badan kerajaan secara “direct” atau “indirect” di dalam mana-mana negara yang berkerajaan.

Rakyat ditadbir oleh kerajaan sehingga dikampung-kampung dan mereka ditadbir oleh Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung (JKKK). JKKK itu adalah struktur pentadbiran kerajaan yang terendah sekali. Selalunya apabila sampai rakyat biasa bercakap ditempat-tempat awam tentang politik, tidak akan ada perkara lain yang berlaku selain dari berlakunya perubahan. Dalam politik dini hari rakyat Malaysia setiap peringkat bercakap politik dan politik kepartian.

Perubahan itu tetap berlaku dan ini adalah hakikat yang tidak boleh di nafikan oleh sejarah. Kita tidak terlepas daripada angin perubahan ini dan sememangnya perubahan itu sudah sampai untuk berlaku. Kalaulah Muhammad SAW dahulu tidak berhijrah Islam itu susah untuk berkembang kerana masalah tentangan dari kaum mushrikin Makkah. Kemajuan dan perkembangan Islam sendiri terpaksa melalui perubahan dalam bentuk hijrah. Continue reading “Pecahkan ruyungnya dahulu sebelum mendapatkan sagunya”

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Malaysia’s Coming Election: Beyond Communalism?

International Crisis Group
Asia Report N°235
1 Oct 2012

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Malaysia’s thirteenth general election, which Prime Minister Najib Razak will have to call by April 2013, could be a watershed in communal relations. More than ever before, there is a chance, albeit a very small one, that opposition parties running on issues of transparency, economic equity and social justice could defeat the world’s longest continually-elected political coalition, the National Front (Barisan Nasional), that has based its support on a social compact among the country’s Malay, Chinese and Indian communities. That compact, granting Malays preferential status in exchange for security and economic growth, has grown increasingly stale as the growing middle class demands more of its leaders. Both ruling party and opposition are using images of the Arab Spring – the former to warn of chaos if it is not returned to power, the latter to warn of popular unrest unless political change comes faster. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Coming Election: Beyond Communalism?”