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Christians used as ‘pawns’ for votes, say church leaders

By Clara Chooi | December 13, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Many Christians feel victimised and are convinced they are being used as political pawns to win Muslim votes in the next general election, a number of church leaders have said.

The church leaders told the New York Times in a report published today that there was generally a feeling of Christian-bashing among the community which makes up less than 10 per cent of the population and consists of most major denominations.

“I think Christians are generally feeling that there is kind of a Christian-bashing going on,” Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) vice-president Rev Thomas Philips told the newspaper.

The report pointed out that recent events had worsened religious tension here, particularly after the controversial August 3 raid on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in Petaling Jaya.
Continue reading “Christians used as ‘pawns’ for votes, say church leaders”

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Pengucapan bebal disana sini

By Sakmongkol 47 | December 12, 2011
The Malaysian Insider

12 DIS — Dalam dua minggu ini, saya ingat saya sudah mendengar semua kenyataan tolol dan bebal dalam negara kita. Rupa2 nya saya salah. Tiba2 senator Ezam Mohd Nor mengeluarkan suatu kenyataan yang mengatasi kebebalan kenyataan2 yang sudah2.

Mula saya ingat Muhyiddin Yassin sudah tebiat bila menakutkan orang Melayu mengenai ancaman keatas Melayu oleh bangsa lain. Setelah itu, ketua penerangan Umno mengukuhkan lagi rasa cemas pemimpin parti yang kian tenat bila menyatakan pandangan bebal yang sama. Jika DAP dan orang Cina memerintah negara habis lah orang Melayu, habis lah Islam dan habislah Raja2 Melayu.

Sana sini orang bercakap. Adakah pemimpin Umno sudah jadi bingung? DAP yang bukan Kristian mahu mengkristiankan orang Melayu? Yang sepatutnya di soalkan orang Melayu ialah mengapa terjadi nya murtad di kalangan orang Melayu? Adakah kebajikan mereka tidak di jaga oleh pihak yang berwajib? Mengapa aqidah mereka teruk sedangkan masyarakat Melayu di lemaskan dengan 1,001 program keIslaman?
Continue reading “Pengucapan bebal disana sini”

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Parallels between Russia and M’sia

By Mariam Mokhtar | Dec 12, 2011
Malaysiakini

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received the brunt of the wrath of former KGB spy and ex-president Vladimir Putin, when he blamed her for encouraging Russian street protests.

When BN cranks up its dirty tricks, will Clinton risk the fragile relationship of trade and investment with the Malaysian government by telling its people to take to the streets, as she did in Russia?

Premier Putin’s desire to return to power as president next year, with the United Russia party ‘winning’ the elections, reminds us of Umno wanting to prolong its 54 years of power. The parallels between Malaysia and Russia are too many to ignore.

With reports of ballot box-stuffing and ‘carousel voting’ fueling their anger, Russians took to the streets to protest. Carousel voting is when people are driven from polling-station to polling-station to vote time and time again.
Continue reading “Parallels between Russia and M’sia”

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Chameleon politics

— Tan Teck Huat
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 12, 2011

DEC 12 — If anyone wants to know the chameleon nature of the Najib government or perhaps even the prime minister, you just have to look at the government’s attitude towards Singapore.

On one hand, Najib talks about closer ties with Singapore and his upcoming retreat with Lee Hsien Loong, where some great announcement is going to be made about a joint announcement in Iskandar.

We are supposed to be good pals after years of difficult ties. But before anyone starts celebrating, there is Najib’s good friend, Senator Ezam Noor, warning undergraduates that the DAP is bent on turning Malaysia into Singapore!

Let there be no illusion about Ezam’s close connection to the establishment. A political maverick like Ezam can only be accepted back into the system and be appointed as a senator only with the blessings of the prime minister. Continue reading “Chameleon politics”

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A single spark starts the prairie fire?

— Sakmongkol AK47
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 11, 2011

DEC 11 — Dengar cerita CEO NFC (suami Sharizat) dpt gaji 100k sebulan, anak sulung (age 31) dpt gaji 45k sebulan, anak kedua (age 27)dpt 35k sebulan, anak ketiga (age 25) dpt 35k sebulan. Jika ini betul, ia sesungguhnya memalukan. Ambil duit rakyat buat bayar gaji besar.

Anak saya pun graduate juga. UPSR, PMR, SPM dapat semua A. Umur 24 tahun. Kerja swasta. Dia pun work hard. Balik kerja paling awal jam 9 malam. Kadang2 sampai 1 pagi. Gaji dia RM2,700/sebulan. Adakah anak saya akan sokong BN/Umno kalau begini keadaannya? Saya dah tahu jawapannya. Umno tak boleh kelentong orang cerdik. Umno is not capable of changing, not with the current leaders.

When more than 50 per cent of our working population is earning less than RM2k/month, tak tahu malu ke mereka-mereka ini. Merompak siang dan malam, 7 hari seminggu. Perompak Ali Baba P. Ramli pun ada cuti hujung minggu.

8 December 2011 15:12

Even if we refuse to admit it, the above is an outpouring of bitterness. Although Umno people will wish it’s confined, it’s personal anecdotes such as this that strikes fear in Umno. Maybe it’s already that single initial spark that has ignited the prairie fire.

Shahrizat Jalil can huff and puff and weave her tales as her mythical namesake did in 1,001 Nights. While she can fool Umno delegates by employing attack as the best form of defence, her actions are only an exercise in futility. For her, the writing is already on the wall. Whatever she does will not extinguish her blackened image. Continue reading “A single spark starts the prairie fire?”

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Umno/BN no joy for babies

Dean Johns | Dec 7, 2011
Malaysiakini

I’ve always had a soft spot for babies, and thus have found the fathering and nurturing of several in the course of my somewhat chequered marital career to be life-enhancing experiences.

So I was far from surprised that, of all the lovely people I was privileged to meet at the Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia dinner in KL last Saturday night, the new acquaintance I found most utterly enchanting was the youngest ‘member’ or at least attendee, a three-year-old aptly named Joy.

There were two reasons why my heart went out to this delightful little sprite. Firstly, her spirit of frolic and fun that inspired me to play so many silly games with her that I ended up limp with exhaustion and soaking with sweat, while she was still as fresh as the proverbial daisy and ready for more.

And secondly, she reminded me of my own similarly joyful daughter Sammie, whose birth in Malaysia 16 years ago transformed me from an appalled but passive expatriate observer of the local political scene to an outraged critic of the evils I saw her as having to face if she stayed in Umno/BN’s Bolehland.

Happily she’s been spared most of such problems, thanks first to the efforts of her mother, maternal grandparents and some very good teachers in Malaysia, and also her subsequent relocation into the admittedly far-from-perfect but at least somewhat more progressive Australian educational system. Continue reading “Umno/BN no joy for babies”

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Umno Baru at a crossroads again

— Nur Jazlan Mohamed
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 10, 2011

DEC 10 — The recently concluded Umno General Assembly came and went and offered little in terms of the new manifesto of the party. The public were disappointed with the lack of new policy initiatives. Many Umno delegates who had to sit through many stale and uninspiring speeches were left with little enthusiasm to return to their respective constituencies to rally their fellow members in preparation for the impending 13th General Election soon.

The uninspiring lack of ideas put forward by the members best describes the state of the party at the moment. Umno has the largest base of members and voters of any political party in the country. It is the party that claims to have the most support from the Malay population which is the largest ethnic group and expected to be about sixty per cent of the population by 2020.

But as a party that claims to represent the majority race in the country , it doesn’t seem to able to break away from the “Malay under siege mentality” rethoric it has used since the fight for independence to attract support from the public. The party is frozen in time and is paralysed to steer the nation through a more challenging future.

The party has failed to offer new ideas to attract the young Malays to support its idealogy which in recent years has drifted more to the right. The Prime Minister, Dato Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak, through the concept of One Malaysia has tried to bring Umno back to the centre space of national politics where race and religious tolerance is at equilibrium. Continue reading “Umno Baru at a crossroads again”

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Demonising the opposition

Jeswan Kaur | December 8, 2011
Free Malaysia Today

Instead of using the opposition as its punching bag, Umno has to wisen up and engage in some soul-searching, that too if there is any of it left.

COMMENT

The recently concluded Umno general assembly had the trappings of all things fake, from the speech and rhetorics of its president-cum-prime minister Najib Tun Razak to the personal hidden agendas of the delegates.

For Najib and the rest, the 62nd annual general assembly was nothing more than a misused platform to do the despicable – condemn and ridicule their adversaries, i.e. the opposition led by dethroned former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

Such immature acts of trying to so very hard to make an impression among the people that Umno has everyone’s interest at heart is pure gibberish. The truth is that Najib in all his desperation is playing to the gallery for the sake of his political survival.

Using the Umno general assembly to announce that the 13th general election is just round the corner is not going to win Najib and Barisan Nasional the rakyat’s votes, going by the track record of the premier, Umno and BN.

To childish attack on the opposition for one reason or another merely reflects Umno’s desperation and BN’s anxiety at the fate that awaits them at the coming national polls. Continue reading “Demonising the opposition”

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Umno in the fierce light of day

— Rama Ramanathan
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 08, 2011

DEC 8 — I am restless. I slipped into this condition when I started observing the Umno general assembly last week.

The word which best describes the theme, tone and thrust of the assembly is racism (of the Malay superiority variety).

I shudder when I think of Umno leaders: Prime Minister Najib, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin, Home Minister Hishammuddin, de facto Law Minister Nazri. They spew racism. They speak as if Malay means Umno. They methodically attack other Malay parties, PKR and PAS, saying the latter will sell their racial privileges. Meritocracy. Many years ago I believed fear of meritocracy was the primary engine of Umno’s racism.

In “The Malay Dilemma”, probably the most racist book I’ve read, our former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir even suggested Malays are dim due to inbreeding! Mahathir, of course, has been proved wrong. Malays now dominate the civil service, the judiciary, the armed forces and the majority of large Malaysian public companies. You don’t dominate by being dim. You dominate by using power and threats.

Egotism. Prior to the Umno assembly, I thought the primary engine of Umno’s racism was egotism, i.e. a grand sense of self-importance, with boastfulness. What did they boast about? They boasted about remaining entrenched, sustaining the “special position” of the Malays, maintaining “national security” and retaining Islam as the official religion (as if it was ever under threat); boasts which are more implied than spelt out. The venue, dress, food, cars, etc helped reinforce the wealth of Umno leaders. Continue reading “Umno in the fierce light of day”

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The oxymoronic world of Umno’s politics

by Edwin Yapp
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 07, 2011

DEC 7 — Oxymoron.

That’s the word that has been on my mind of late. Why? Because that’s exactly what we, Joe Public, are being fed on a daily basis.

Etymologically speaking, the word is derived from the fifth century Latin “oxymoron”, which in itself is derived from the ancient Greek to mean “sharp, dull,” according to Wikipedia. The noun describes “a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction.”

And therein lies the connection — such is the frequency of contradictory ideas and terms used in today’s local political sphere that it’s almost as if our government has nothing else to worry about.

Case in point: The highly controversial Peaceful Assembly Bill passed last week in Parliament, and our Prime Minister’s declaration that the Bill is “revolutionary,” and that the amendments follow international norms. That’s oxymoronic.

Also, the war cries of one Umno leader last week that labelled those who support opposition parties as “bangsat” (bastards) and that a vote for DAP is a vote for the destruction of Islam. Hmm… that’s another one.

And finally the PM’s quote in his closing speech, “When I started 1 Malaysia, I did not say — let’s neglect the Malay agenda.”

I can go on, but I’m sure you get my drift. Continue reading “The oxymoronic world of Umno’s politics”

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Zaid is spot-on – UMNO GA speeches portend dangerous trends in the nation’s politics as they make nonsense of Najib’s 1Malaysia, NEM and proposal for a “Global Movement of Moderates”

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is right and spot-on. Recent statements from UMNO leaders about the Opposition parties at the UMNO General Assembly are both regrettable and worrying.

They portend dangerous trends in the nation’s politics as they make nonsense of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia call, New Economic Model and his proposal for a “Global Movement of Moderates”.

Has Najib decided to cancel his initiative to launch “the Global Movement of the Moderates” in Kuala Lumpur with an inaugural International Conference of the Global Movement of Moderates from Jan 17 to 19 as his speeches and those of UMNO leaders at the UMNO General Assembly are completely antithetical to any acceptable definition or concept of “moderates” or “moderation”.

I challenge Najib to conduct a public opinion poll whether he is perceived by Malaysians as speaking for 1Malaysia and for all Malaysians, as well as whether he is speaking as a “moderate”, in his UMNO Presidential Address, or just for UMNO and in particular UMNOputras? Continue reading “Zaid is spot-on – UMNO GA speeches portend dangerous trends in the nation’s politics as they make nonsense of Najib’s 1Malaysia, NEM and proposal for a “Global Movement of Moderates””

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PR mesti ingat: ‘The darkest part of the night is just before dawn’

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 06, 2011

6 DIS — Perhimpunan Agong Umno yang baru selesai ini menampakkan kepada kita segala niat dan matlamat Umno serta pimpinannya yang sebenar. Bermula dari ucapan Timbalan Presidenya semasa perhimpunan 3 sayap parti pada selasa lepas membawa kepada ucapan dasar presiden dalam Perhimpunan Agong Umno sehinggalah kepada ucapan penangguhan persidangan pada sabtu yang lepas semuanya penampilan parti yang “desperate dan panicky”.

Seperti biasa agenda Melayu menjadi isu yang terbesar seperti perhimpunan-perhimpunan sejak Umno mula berkecai selama lebih dua dekad yang lalu. Isu agenda Melayu ini pada saya hanyalah merupakan umpan yang ampuh untuk memerangkap orang Melayu untuk dipergunakan bagi pemimpin-pemimpin parti yang sentiasa lapar kepada kuasa tetapi tidak bertanggungjawab kepada rakyat yang memberi mandat itu.

Isu agenda Melayu ini memang isu yang tidak pernah tertinggal dalam Perhimpunan Agong Umno atau dalam mana-mana convention parti dan selalunya pemimpin terutamanya Najib akan mengeluarkan dari mulutnya segala istilah-istilah serta acronym acronym yang hebat-hebat tanpa memahami apa yang beliau katakan. Program Transformasi Ekonomi (PTE) merupakan sebutan seperti menyebut nama cucu oleh seorang atuk, tetapi semua orang tahu dan merasakan yang setakat ini tidak ada satu pun lagi PTE yang sedang berjaya dilaksanakan. Continue reading “PR mesti ingat: ‘The darkest part of the night is just before dawn’”

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UMNO General Assembly: Beating the drums for another May 13

Dr. Lim Teck Ghee
CPI
6th Dec 2011

Commentary

The UMNO General Assembly has come and gone. Most political observers had expected it to be the usual rah-rah event aimed at rallying UMNO members ahead of the coming elections and in support of the leadership of Najib Razak, the party president. They were right. The public were subject to yet another spectacle of sound and fury on how important the party is to the future of Malays, albeit with the occasional reminder of how indispensable the party is to the well being of all the citizens of the country.

Optimistic observers who had hoped that the party would live up to its rhetoric of being a mature and transformed party of moderation – at least for the duration of this publicly viewed occasion – were disappointed. The collective breast beating led by the party president and deputy president – on the greatness and goodness of the party compared with the weaknesses and evilness of the opposition – was quite unprecedented in the history of the party’s general assemblies.

The attacks against PAS, PKR and especially the DAP during the meeting have only just begun. Can we expect it to continue with greater viciousness and spitefulness as UMNO leaders fan out into the grassroots to campaign in the next few months leading to the elections? What should be of concern is not just the running down and bad mouthing of the opposition. This has been the norm in past assemblies, especially those leading up to the elections. What is new and unexpected is the vitriol and venom directed openly and without inhibition at opposition parties and their leaders. Continue reading “UMNO General Assembly: Beating the drums for another May 13”

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Bring it on, Pakatan tells Umno

by Nigel Aw
Malaysiakini
Dec 5, 2011

A day after the Umno general assembly concluded with the beating of war drums and vows to wrest back Pakatan Rakyat-held states, the federal opposition went on the offensive as well.

PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim, the star at a rally of 5,000 in Shah Alam last night, said Pakatan will not only defend Selangor, but improve its electoral performance in the state.

“(Prime Minister) Najib Abdul Razak said he wants to recapture Selangor (but) we tell him that he can keep dreaming about Selangor – and that we will capture Putrajaya,” declared Anwar.

He picked apart Umno’s Malay credentials which the party has attempted to project in the run-up to a looming general election.

“Do you believe that Umno defends the Malays? If they defend the Malays they would not sell Malay land.

“The last bastion of Malay land in Kuala Lumpur (is Kampung Baru). They (the government) wants to hand it over to (Federal Territories Minister) Raja Nong Chik under the Kampung Baru Development Act.”

Also present was DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang who moved to deflect Umno’s relentless attacks on his party during the general assembly. Continue reading “Bring it on, Pakatan tells Umno”

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Challenge to Muhyiddin – substantiate his UMNO General Assembly speech that DAP wants to set up a Republic or apologise for the lie

I challenge Deputy Prime Minister and UMNO Deputy President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to substantiate his UMNO General Assembly speech that DAP wants to abolish the system of Malay sultanates and set up a republic or he should apologise for the lie.

In his speech opening UMNO’s Wanita, Youth and Puteri wings’ annual general assemblies on Tuesday, Muhyiddin appeared to substantiate his allegation of a DAP agenda to form a republic when he followed up with a rhetorical question:

“If not, do they dare suggest the prime minister’s position be selected based solely on elections and without being chosen by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong? What is the meaning of this?

“It means that the democratic parliamentary system and the constitutional monarchy which we have been practising thus far no longer suit their interest to seize power.”

But this is a downright lie as no DAP leader had ever made such a statement. Continue reading “Challenge to Muhyiddin – substantiate his UMNO General Assembly speech that DAP wants to set up a Republic or apologise for the lie”

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Who lied – Najib/Muhyiddin or Chua Soi Lek? Or all three?

The 65th UMNO General Assembly closed yesterday with one big question among thinking and patriotic Malaysians, regardless of political affiliation: – “Who lied – Najib/Muhyiddin or Chua Soi Lek? Or all three?”

At first the lies and poison were only told and used at closed-door UMNO meetings. Then they were spread by anonymous UMNO blogs and cybertroopers on the Internet, followed by the UMNO media.

When these lies and poison failed to achieve the desired public and political impact with the approach of the 13th General Elections, UMNO strategists became more irresponsible, reckless and desperate.

In the past week, these lies and poison became the staple diet of UMNO leaders in the meetings preparatory to and during the sessions proper of the 65th UMNO General Assembly, with the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in their capacities as UMNO President and UMNO Deputy President giving their personal stamp of approval by adopting and retailing these lies and poison to sway votes in favour of UMNO in the coming polls.

Culminating in Muhyiddin and Najib, one UMNO leader after another in the past week have taken to the public pulpit in a carefully-orchestrated campaign to demonise the DAP and frighten Malay voters with the lies that the Malays will lose their rights and power should Pakatan Rakyat win more federal seats in the next general election, or in the words of the UMNO information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan, “the Malay language will be lost, say goodbye to the Malay Sultans, Say goodbye to Islam because they (DAP) are agents of Christianisation”.

Muhyiddin was completely unabashed in playing the race card when he falsely accused the DAP of being anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay Rulers, even telling the lie that the DAP’s agenda is to establish a Republic in Malaysia.

Muhyiddin made history as the only Deputy Prime Minister in the world who was caught out telling a bare-faced lie, for he had been completely silent to my challenge to him to substantiate his allegation that the DAP wanted to abolish the constitutional monarchy and establish a Republic. Continue reading “Who lied – Najib/Muhyiddin or Chua Soi Lek? Or all three?”

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Umno: Yang boleh memerintah hanyalah AKU, yang boleh menjamin kehidupan kamu adalah AKU… semuanya AKU!

— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 03, 2011

3 DIS — Dalam kita menanti pilihanraya umum ke13 ini masing-masing terlalu sibuk untuk mengambil tempat sebagai calon terutamanya dalam Umno. Masing-masing yang berminat untuk di pilih menjadi calon bercakap yang mereka adalah “winnable candidate” dan pasti menang jika pucuk pimpinan sedar tentang kehadziran mereka dalam politik tempatan.

Dalam pada itu pimpinan tertinggi menggunakan segala tenaga dan fikiran untuk membelasah pihak yang tidak mahu mengikut telunjuk mereka. Siapa sahaja yang tidak sebulu dengan Umno atau pun BN, bermacam-macam nama di gunakan mereka untuk melabelkan seseorang yang tidak bersama mereka.

Yang paling kuat sekali ialah TS Muhyiddin Yassin yang memanggil orang itu pembelot dan pengkhianat, seolah-olah mereka itu bukannya pengkhianat kepada bangsa dan negara mereka.

Elok kita kupas sedikit tentang isu pembelot ini. Siapakah pembelot itu dalam konteks politik dan kenegaraan? Apakah yang di lakukan oleh seseorang itu untuk boleh di labelkan sebagai pembelot? Definasi pembelot ini sangat luas jika dipandang dari sudut makronya.

Tetapi biar kita berbahas dalam konteks politik pilihanraya yang hampir tiba ini. Pembelot dan pengkhianat negara boleh ditafsirkan sebagai sesiapa yang melakukan kejahatan kepada negara. Apa pula perkara-perkara yang dianggap jahat yang dilakukan kepada negara? Perkara-perkaranya banyak.

Rasuah merupakan pembelotan terbesar kepada negara. Perasuah itu adalah pengkhianat, apatah lagi kalau dilakukan oleh mereka yang telah diberikan tanggungjawab untuk menjaga harta benda rakyat melalui pilihanraya. Perbuatan rasuah itu adalah satu dosa besar kepada negara. Dalam kejadian rasuah ianya melibatkan wang rakyat dan sesiapa yang menerima wang rasuah itu, ia adalah satu kegiatan mencuri. Mencuri wang rakyat adalah pengkhianat negara. Continue reading “Umno: Yang boleh memerintah hanyalah AKU, yang boleh menjamin kehidupan kamu adalah AKU… semuanya AKU!”

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Umno vs. Najib

by Wan Saiful Wan Jan
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 04, 2011

4 DIS — Ketua Pemuda Umno YB Khairy Jamaluddin baru-baru ini mengatakan bahawa Umno kini dilihat sebagai lebih progresif dan lebih liberal. Jika ini benar, maka nampaknya masih ada yang tidak tahu mengenai perubahan itu.

Walaupun demikian saya gembira melihat Khairy secara terbuka menyeru Umno menjadi lebih progresif dan liberal. Seruan ini amat penting. Khairy sendiri mungkin perlu berusaha lebih keras untuk mengejar di belakang status Dato Saifuddin Abdullah yang kelihatan mendahului kelompok progresif dalam parti. Umno memang memerlukan lebih ramai pemimpin yang berfikiran progresif. Walaupun Khairy belum lagi sampai ke peringkat Saifuddin, beliau tetap ada potensi. Dan saya ikhlas mengharapkan Khairy akan sampai ke situ secepat mungkin.

Di kalangan pemimpin Ahli Majlis Tertinggi Umno, Saifuddin nampaknya konsisten menyeru ke arah penambahbaikan. Beberapa cadangan yang beliau utarakan memang bagus, dan beliau terus istiqamah walaupun menghadapi cabaran dari dalam parti sendiri, terutamanya dari kalang cybertroopers pro-Umno.

Minggu lepas Saifuddin ada mengeluarkan kenyataan yang amat berterus terang. Beliau mengatakan bahawa dalam Umno ada tiga kumpulan. Kumpulan pertama sentiasa mahukan perubahan dan mereka tidak bergantung kepada kemahuan Perdana Menteri. Kumpulan kedua juga mahukan perubahan tetapi komitmen mereka bergantung kepada kata Perdana Menteri. Kumpulan ketiga pula tidak mahukan perubahan besar kerana mereka selesa dengan status quo. Continue reading “Umno vs. Najib”

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Umno inciting power struggle with dominant DAP role, says Pakatan

By Melissa Chi
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 04, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders scorned Umno’s latest strategy to portray DAP as the dominant party in the opposition pact as an attempt to incite a power struggle among the three political allies.

“They say that PAS is being used by DAP, this is the strategy they use among the Malays, Muslim. With the Chinese, they say that PAS is using the Chinese. “They have used that for some time now but people know that even in terms of figures and numbers, DAP is stronger but we work collectively,” PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali told The Malaysian Insider over the phone yesterday.

DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang pointed out that Malays will continue to be the majority population in the country but Umno is creating the fear that DAP is anti-Malay, anti-Islam, and anti-ruler.

He reiterated his support of the constitutional monarchy.

“Nobody has undermined the Malay rulers. It is Umno and Umno leaders themselves,” he said, adding that BN leaders are contradicting themselves in their attacks against PR.

“In Barisan Nasional, it is very obvious that Umno is the hegemon and now they say that DAP is the dominant party. What has Chua Soi Lek been saying? MCA has been saying? That DAP is the puppet to PKR, to PAS, that the rights of the Chinese would be completely lost (in our hands).

“Now you have Umno saying the rights of the Malays will be completely lost. Who is lying?” he said. Continue reading “Umno inciting power struggle with dominant DAP role, says Pakatan”

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Winners and losers at Umno assembly 2011

The Malaysian Insider
Dec 03, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 — In a few hours, the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) will be empty of the thousands of delegates, observers and supporters attending the annual Umno general assembly. The five-day meeting saw a slew of speeches that touched on the issues facing the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

Here are the winners and losers.

WINNERS: Hardliners in Umno because the speeches and tone from this year’s assembly suggest that the party has moved further away from the centre. Umno used to be a broad church of opinions from the farmers, religious scholars to the teachers and businessmen and pure political animals concerned about social justice, economy, religion and race.

Today, race is the dominant theme and the supremacy of the Malay race is being used to bulldoze and shut out other voices in the party. The DAP was singled out as the main cause impeding unity talks between the Malay parties. Ironically, PAS was formed by the Umno religious wing in 1951 and both parties only worked together in 1973 to 1977 in the aftermath of the May 13 race riots.

But the DAP gets the blame for the lack of Malay unity and the race riots. Continue reading “Winners and losers at Umno assembly 2011”