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Umno-PAS attacks fuel anti-DAP sentiments among Malays, study finds

BY ZULKIFLI SULONG, FEATURES AND ANALYSIS EDITOR | The Malaysian Insider
Published: 7 January 2016 6:59 AM

Malay anger towards DAP

Anger towards DAP among Malay Muslims, especially in rural areas, has increased due to Umno’s consistent campaign to demonise the Chinese-dominated party, even as it recruits more Malay members and leaders, says a think tank.

The animosity intensified after the break-up of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in June, when DAP parted ways with former ally PAS, the country’s second largest party of Malay Muslims.

With Umno and PAS starting to work together, the anti-DAP campaign is becoming more effective as both Malay parties use religion to attack it, said the Darul Ehsan Institute (IDE).
Continue reading “Umno-PAS attacks fuel anti-DAP sentiments among Malays, study finds”

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Malacca DAP must continue to help lead Malaysia towards a new future – where Malaysians can regain confidence to be able to compete with the rest of the world instead of fighting among ourselves over a diminishing national economic cake

Malacca had always played a leading role in DAP’s 50-year campaign to create a new and better Malaysia – where Malaysians can regain confidence to be able to compete with the rest of the world instead of fighting among ourselves over a diminishing economic cake.

Malacca was one of the six founder DAP branches after the party was registered on March 18, 1966, the other being Seremban, Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Johor Baru and Penang. The formation of the DAP branch in Ipoh made these seven branches the Magnificent Seven in the first year of the DAP’ s political struggle in 1966.

No other state could claim to have a special relationship with the 50 year struggle of the DAP, as four out of the five DAP Secretaries-General had special associations with Malacca, starting with DAP’s first Secretary-General C.V. Devan Nair (who was at the time DAP MP for Bangsar and later became President of Singapore), myself, Kerk Kim Hock and Lim Guan Eng who together served as Secretary-General of DAP for some 47 of the party’s 50-year history.

Right from the very beginning, DAP was formed as a political party with a commitment and vision for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region. Continue reading “Malacca DAP must continue to help lead Malaysia towards a new future – where Malaysians can regain confidence to be able to compete with the rest of the world instead of fighting among ourselves over a diminishing national economic cake”

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The UMNO Rednecks and their Cohorts

Sakmongkol AK47
December 30, 2015

Who is the typical UMNO redneck? The answer is- he or she is someone who blames the Chinese forever as the source of their unhappiness.

The other favourite bete noire is Dr Mahathir. On this I am really surprised. If the UMNO people can turn on their own while he is still UMNO, this speaks volumes on the morality of UMNO people. Suddenly he is also the cause of all the problems. Najib has merely inherited the problems. The lopsided contracts with IPPs, the ERL, KLIA , Proton etc.etc.

Where is the cut-off point? Najib was preceded by Pak Lah. Pak Lah’s tenure ought to have extinguished all links to Mahathir. Najib should take responsibility over his tenure because the people gave him the mandate. They did not give to Dr Mahathir.

In any case, people are asking about 1MDB, the RM2.6 billion into his private account while in his public capacity as UMNO president and PM, the money from SRC. These issues are the makings of Najib. So how is the link to Mahathir established? Continue reading “The UMNO Rednecks and their Cohorts”

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UMNO Asemblyman raises eyebrows when he demands revelation of donor for the RM10 million arch facelift, but cowardly silent about Najib’s 2.6 billion “Donorgate”, which is 260 times bigger than the face-lift donation

I could not believe my eyes when I saw the report, “Reveal donors for RM10m arch facelift, Umno rep tells MB” (Malaysiakini), and I had to read it a second time to believe what I had.

Most readers would have reacted in similar disbelief and incredulity to the report, for the common question which would leap to everyone’s mind is the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM2.6 billion “Donorgate” with the astronomical sums in his personal banking accounts before the 2013 general election, and the many turns and twists, including parliamentary escapades, of this RM2.6 billion “Najib Donorgate”, which had intrigued national and international attention for some six months since it was first exposed by Wall Street Journal in early July.

The marvel is not that a Selangor UMNO Assemblyman Mohd Sharif (Dengkil) is asking for the identity of the donors for the RM9.8 million facelift for the Kota Darul Ehsan arch along the Federal Highway and marks the border between Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, but that there is not a single one from the whole gang of UMNO Members of Parliament and State Assembly representatives in the country demanding revelation from Najib about the RM2.6 billion “DonorGate”, which is 260 times bigger than the RM10 million facelift donation in Selangor. Continue reading “UMNO Asemblyman raises eyebrows when he demands revelation of donor for the RM10 million arch facelift, but cowardly silent about Najib’s 2.6 billion “Donorgate”, which is 260 times bigger than the face-lift donation”

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Umno, PAS perlu gabung jadi satu parti

Amin Iskandar
The Malaysian Insider
20 December 2015

Peristiwa Presiden Umno Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan Presiden PAS Datuk Seri Hadi Awang berada di atas satu pentas di Kuala Lumpur minggu ini menjawab pelbagai persoalan yang sebelum ini tidak begitu jelas.

Dalam hal kerjasama di antara 2 parti Melayu itu, Umno kelihatan lebih jujur berbanding PAS.

Ketika Hadi dan beberapa pemimpin lain masih berdolak-dalik tentang kerjasama di antara 2 parti itu, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed mendedahkan sudah 2 tahun Umno dan PAS bekerjasama. Continue reading “Umno, PAS perlu gabung jadi satu parti”

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Umno-PAS alliance a ‘reinvention’ to remain relevant

P Ramasamy
Malaysiakini
20th December 2015

COMMENT Is it a major surprise to Malaysians that Umno and PAS are moving closer and closer for a final embrace? Or are Malaysians shocked beyond belief that those once-formidable foes have sunk their deep-seated differences for a new political alignment?

Whether Malaysians are surprised or shocked, the reality of this new alliance seems to be looming in the horizon. Whether such a relationship will be cemented in the form of admission of PAS into BN or a formation of a different sort of arrangement, remains to be seen.

However, most political analysts seem to think that a political relationship is in the offing.

What are the benefits for Umno if this alignment takes shape? Continue reading “Umno-PAS alliance a ‘reinvention’ to remain relevant”

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Why it is good for the soul of UMNO to be defeated in 14GE – the only way for UMNO to get rid of corrupt leaders and to reform to be politically relevant again as experienced by Indian National Congress, Taiwan Kuomintang and Japanese Liberal Democratic parties

Some 10 days before the recent UMNO General Assembly, the Deputy UMNO President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said in his speech to 1,000 Barisan Nasional leaders in Pagoh that Malay support for UMNO had dwindled to 30 per cent when Malay support for UMNO over the years had always been above 50 per cent.

He warned that unless this warning signal to UMNO, in particular the unhappiness of the people over Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s twin mega scandals of the RM2.6 billion “donation” in his personal banking accounts before the 13th General Election and the RM55 billion 1MDB debts, is faced by the UMNO leadership, UMNO may be defeated in the 14th General Election in two years’ time.

This theme was taken up by the Perak Mufti, Harussani Zakarai who warned at the Regional Conference (Multaqa Serantau) for al-Azhar University alumni in Kuala Lumpur that Malays will lose their political power in about two years’ time if their leaders continue to fight against one another.

In an apparent reference to the 14th general election, Harussani called for the defence of Malay power in the country, saying the maintenance of that power would protect the position of Islam.

He said: “Malay leadership in this country must be defended because that’s where the strength of Islam lies.

“If the Malays are defeated, then Islam will too.”

There are two dangerous fallacies here. Continue reading “Why it is good for the soul of UMNO to be defeated in 14GE – the only way for UMNO to get rid of corrupt leaders and to reform to be politically relevant again as experienced by Indian National Congress, Taiwan Kuomintang and Japanese Liberal Democratic parties”

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An Umno-PAS coalition and its impact on all of us

— Liew Ching Tong
The Malay Mail Online
December 19, 2015

DECEMBER 19 — A coalition between Umno and PAS is very likely to take shape following Prime Minister Najib Razak’s speech at Umno General Assembly recently, as well as Najib and Hadi Awang’s joint appearance in pink Baju Melayu at the Regional Conference (Multaqa Serantau) for Al-Azhar Graduates yesterday.

The Umno-PAS merger is part of a series of “once-in-a-generation” political earthquakes, aftershocks and realignments in 2015 and beyond.

On the one hand, in the aftermath of clean sweep of the conservative faction at the PAS Muktamar elections on 6 June, the progressives formed Parti Amanah Negara on 16 September. Pakatan Rakyat ceased to exist and a new coalition Pakatan Harapan was formed on 22 September.

Before the actual split, internal debate within PAS was focused on two issues: Continue reading “An Umno-PAS coalition and its impact on all of us”

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Najib and Hadi have reached rare unanimity that Najib does not have to answer the question “Mana RM2.6 billion?” but 30 million Malaysians, including three million UMNO members and one million PAS members, want Najib to give immediate answer without any more delay

This is the fourth of my five-whistlestop visit to Perak today as part of the “Solidarity with Lim Kit Siang & Mana RM2.6 billion?” nation-wide campaign.

I started in Kopisan in Gopeng, went to Kampar, and now coming from Bidor, ending up in Hutan Melintang after this visit.

Everywhere I went, since the first day of this nation-wide campaign after my six-month suspension from Parliament for wanting the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to give full and satisfactory accounting for his twin mega scandals – the RM2.6 billion donation in his personal banking accounts and the RM55 billion 1MDB scandal – I found the question “Mana RM2.6 billion?” close to the hearts and minds of all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.

They are also close to the hearts and minds of the three million UMNO members and one million PAS members, although their respective leaders, Najib and Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, are in advanced “courtship” based on the understanding that these twin mega scandals should be banished from the public domain in Malaysian politics. Continue reading “Najib and Hadi have reached rare unanimity that Najib does not have to answer the question “Mana RM2.6 billion?” but 30 million Malaysians, including three million UMNO members and one million PAS members, want Najib to give immediate answer without any more delay”

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May the farce be with you

Mariam Mokhtar | December 20, 2015
Free Malaysia Today

Why the Umno general assembly failed to be a bore buster.

Several thousand Umno-Baru fans rolled-out the red carpet for the premiere of the “The Farce Awakens,” which was held at the Putra World Trade Center (PWTC) on December 11.

Four days later, in Los Angeles, Star Wars fans queued for days for the premiere of the much awaited Disney blockbuster, “The Force Awakens.” Critics praised it as the best Star Wars film ever made.

To compensate for the long queues, the Star Wars producers should have taken the lead from Umno-Baru leaders, who bussed in thousands of its supporters and decked them in shades of red. The elite among them were dropped off in the latest Porsches, Maybachs, Hummers, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, making it look as though all the stars of Star Wars had driven to the PWTC.

Whilst the Star Wars films are classic tales of the fight between Good and Evil, and of heroes, heroines, loyal troops, action, drama and romance, the Malaysian “The Farce Awakens” is a repeat of the same old drivel perpetuated by Umno-Baru since its formation in 1988. Continue reading “May the farce be with you”

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A new political realignment is in the works – where UMNO-PAS co-operation could be more powerful and far-reaching than UMNO’S coalition with the other 13 BN parties

A new political realignment is in the works in the political demography in Malaysia, driven by Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s overpowering passion to survive as Prime Minister of Malaysia and President of UMNO despite all odds, including his RM2.6 billion “donation” and RM55 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals.

This is why the advanced courtship between Najib and the PAS President, Datuk Seri Hadi Awang has graduated from secret conclaves to the public domain, cemented by Hadi’s role as the pre-eminent defender of Najib in the Prime Minister’s twin mega scandals in the past few months.

In May, Hadi had publicly said that Najib should not bow down to pressures from the 1MDB scandal and should not resign as Prime Minister.

In July, Hadi was quick to come to the defence of Najib after the Wall Street Journal expose of RM2.6 billion deposits into Najib’s personal banking accounts before the May 2013 General Election, demanding for witnesses without which the Wall Street Journal allegation should be ignored.

As a result, the relationship between Najib and Hadi became increasingly warm and friendly in the last few months. Continue reading “A new political realignment is in the works – where UMNO-PAS co-operation could be more powerful and far-reaching than UMNO’S coalition with the other 13 BN parties”

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Umno’s regressive, harmful discourse

Netusha Naidu
The Malaysian Insider
17 December 2015

A lot has been said about the recent Umno general assembly, especially the president’s speech as presented by Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Instead of making the usual commentary of my own opinions about its contents, I felt that a discourse analysis would have been more appropriate to shed some light on the matters that drew my attention.

A discourse analysis is when we look at the usage of language by particular parties and how the messages are being conveyed to intended audiences. Most of time, such methods are used to display the variety of approaches that authors take to portray certain ideologies. As a result, we learn that some ideas become more dominant than others. All because of how it is being articulated and who is the proponent of those ideas.

What appeared most central of all my observations in the speech was the wordplay of Islamism that has ultimately dominated the entire text. This should come as no surprise to most of us. After all, religion has been something that we have been obsessing over lately. Not just within the country, but globally as well, in the light of the escalating violence of Isis, the preposterous call for banning Muslims by Donald Trump and a severe refugee crisis in Europe. Continue reading “Umno’s regressive, harmful discourse”

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Proof of utter failure in Malaysian nation-building when the sixth Prime Minister asked last week: Whether UMNO President should be an ultra or pro-Malay only and must be Islamic or not?

It is proof of the utter failure in Malaysian nation-building when the sixth Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak asked at the UMNO General Assembly last Thursday: Whether UMNO President should be an ultra or pro-Malay only and must be Islamic or not?

Has Najib forgotten or abandoned his 1Malaysia signature policy which he proclaimed with such fanfare when he became Prime Minister in April 2009 that the goal of 1Malaysia is to create a nation where every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first and race (whether Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan or Iban), religion (Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Sikh) or region as second.

Six years and eight months after becoming the Prime Minister with his signature policy of 1Malaysia, and after tens and even hundreds of million of ringgit spent on 1Malaysia promotional products, is Malaysia going forwards or backwards as far as Najib’s 1Malaysia policy is concerned?

That Najib is publicly asking the question whether he should be “an ultra or pro-Malay only” as UMNO President and Prime Minister is sad indication that he himself needs convincing as far as his 1Malaysia signature policy is concerned!

Najib’s UMNO/BN government is adrift and at sea, bereft of any direction or vision for Malaysia. Continue reading “Proof of utter failure in Malaysian nation-building when the sixth Prime Minister asked last week: Whether UMNO President should be an ultra or pro-Malay only and must be Islamic or not?”

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Umno presidential speech could have been more balanced

Ramon Navaratnam
Malaysiakini
14 Dec 2015

The Umno president YAB Najib Abdul Razak’s speech at the opening of the Umno general assembly on Dec 11 was most interesting, assertive and determined.

However as a loyal and committed non-bumi Malaysian, I felt left out like many others, including many bumis, as the president’s speech could have been much more justly balanced and inclusive of all Malaysians. After all, the Umno president is also the prime minister for all Malaysians in our beloved country as One Malaysia.

For instance the learned chairperson of the Wasatiyyah Institute of Malaysia, Dr Abdullah Md Zin, who somewhat harshly criticised the highly respected G25 Group for allegedly misunderstanding the definition of wasatiyyah, gave his enlightening definition of wasatiyyah.

Dr Abdullah described wasatiyyah as “justly balanced, stressing fairness, balance, excellence and moderation”.

But the speech did not adequately fulfil all these criteria for the following reasons – Continue reading “Umno presidential speech could have been more balanced”

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The Darth Vader of Umno Baru

Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
14 Dec 2015

Is Othman Aziz, the Jerlun Umno Baru division vice-chief, on Najib Abdul Razak’s side or is he secretly trying to undermine the PM? His unfortunate choice of words, describing Najib as “The Chosen One” (by God), does not augur well for the PM. If Othman has watched ‘Star Wars’ (SW), he will realise that ‘The Chosen One’ is not a complimentary term.

It is stupid to claim that Najib is ‘The Chosen One’. He has failed to deal with any of the allegations which beset him. At worst, it is blasphemy to use God’s name in this fashion.

How did Othman, a mere mortal, obtain a hotline to God? Which crystal ball is Othman gazing into? Did he consult the self-styled Raja Bomoh, Mahaguru Ibrahim Mat Zin, and look through the shaman’s ‘telescopic bamboo’ to see what God has ordained for Malaysia?

This time last year, ‘The Chosen One’ was playing golf with his buddy, President Barack Obama of America and neglected to deal with the worst floods in Malaysia’s recent history. ‘The Chosen One’ was forced to return home, only after he was ridiculed on social media for his lack of compassion and leadership. Continue reading “The Darth Vader of Umno Baru”

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Anti-Najib Forces Planning ‘Guerrilla War’

By John Berthelsen
Asian Sentinel
December 14, 2015

With the United Malays National Organization’s annual general meeting safely out of the way last week and with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in the saddle as expected, the opposition led by dumped Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and former Premier Mahathir Mohamad is expected to set off on a new course. Some are calling it guerrilla war.

The four-day conclave was programmed down to the last speaker and lunch menu to make sure that Muhyiddin, Mahathir and other dissidents didn’t have a chance to upset anything despite huge controversies over dual scandals involving Najib’s personal finances and massive debt owed by the state backed 1Malaysia Development Bhd. investment fund. Continue reading “Anti-Najib Forces Planning ‘Guerrilla War’”

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What “olive branch” Najib could offer PAS in exchange for support of 14 PAS MPs to secure two-thirds parliamentary majority together with 134 UMNO/BN MPs to amend the Constitution for redelineation of parliamentary constituencies?

If by some miracle, it is possible to restitch back Pakatan Rakyat and get back together the three parties, DAP, PKR and PAS (plus a second miracle of re-uniting PAS and Parti Amanah Negara) under one roof for the 14th General Election, could the reconstituted Pakatan Rakyat defeat the UMNO/BN coalition by winning more parliamentary seats than the 13GE?

I don’t think so although UMNO in the 14th GE will be more fractured and weaker than in the 13GE with Datuk Seri Najib Razak as Prime Minister haunted and hounded by so many political and economic scandals as compared to the general election two years ago.

This is because the reconstituted Pakatan Rakyat in the 14th General Election will be fighting a losing battle just to win back the same number of parliamentary and state assembly seats, for the most important element which led to the 53% popular support for Pakatan Rakyat in the 13th General Election, resulting in 89 Parliamentary and 229 State Assembly seats (minus Sarawak) will be missing, i.e. absolute trust and confidence in the PR because of the people’s belief in the adherence and unswerving commitment of DAP, PKR and PAS to the PR Common Policy Framework and the PR consensus operational principle.

I am reminded of the nursery rhyme:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Like Humpty Dumpty after its “great fall”, it would not be possible to put Pakatan Rakyat together again. Continue reading “What “olive branch” Najib could offer PAS in exchange for support of 14 PAS MPs to secure two-thirds parliamentary majority together with 134 UMNO/BN MPs to amend the Constitution for redelineation of parliamentary constituencies?”

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Outcome of UMNO General Assembly – Najib stronger but UMNO weaker

The outcome of the UMNO General Assembly over the weekend is that the Prime Minister and UMNO President Datuk Seri Najib Razak has emerged stronger while UMNO has become weaker.

This is good for Pakatan Harapan for the 14th General Election but not good for Malaysia in the next 30 months as the country stumbles from one crisis to another under a government paralysed by crippling denial syndrome and an administration which is fractured, inept and cut off from the realities on the ground.

This is why the UMNO General Assembly completely ignored four of the five biggest political and socio-economic scandals in the country this year – Najib’s RM2.6 billion “donation” and RM50 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals; the undemocratic and unconstitutional National Security Council Bill which usurps the constitutional powers of the Yang di Pertuan Agong, the Cabinet and 13 State Governments; and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) adding to the hardships of low-income Malaysians, already sandwiched between rising costs of living and falling incomes.

On the fifth biggest scandal in the country, there was even an attempt at the UMNO General Assembly to hijack public funds to come out with a publication to glorify the Sept. 16 “Red Shirts” rally in Kuala Lumpur which turned the 2015 Malaysia Day into a “black-lettered” day full of negative vibes of inter-racial disunity, division and disharmony when it should be a day to celebrate the unity, union and harmony of Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region! Continue reading “Outcome of UMNO General Assembly – Najib stronger but UMNO weaker”

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DAP made bogeyman to rally Malay support, divert attention, say analysts

by Anisah Shukry
The Malaysian Insider
14 December 2015

The demonising of DAP in this year’s Umno general assembly was a calculated move by party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak to use the opposition party as a bogeyman to drum up support among the Malays and distract his supporters from his own weaknesses, say political analysts.

DAP was Umno’s villain of choice because PKR was not seen as a threat, due to the jailing of party de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, while PAS was seen as a potential ally, said Ibrahim Suffian (pic), the executive director of independent pollster Merdeka Center.

“The economy is not doing so well, the prime minister and the party are less popular. So in order to round up support, particularly among its core supporters, it needs to define an opponent that is very different from them.

“Here, DAP is targeted as the bogeyman to rally Malay support because it represents the antithesis of what Umno stands for – DAP is secular, it champions a more liberal democracy, it wants more equality for minorities, for example.”

Lim Teck Ghee, the executive director of the Centre for Policy Initiatives said Najib was also trying to distract supporters from his own failings by demonising DAP. Continue reading “DAP made bogeyman to rally Malay support, divert attention, say analysts”