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Po Kuan incommunicado

Media Conference Statement (2) by Lim Kit Siang at the Perak DAP State hqrs in Ipoh on Tuesday, 19th February 2008 at 1 pm

There are four days left to Nomination Day on Sunday. It is most unfortunate that in the past few days, particularly in the past 72 hours, the DAP had shifted from pace-and-agenda setting for the 12th general election, which is the “Battle of the Century”, to one of complete disarray because of party problems particularly over Fong Po Kuan’s shock announcement that she will not contest in Batu Gajah parliamentary seat and other general election and candidature questions.

DAP leaders have been trying to reach Po Kuan since Sunday but have not been successful as she is incommunicado. From the public responses to her and my blogs, she should know that she is held in very high regard as the voice of the oppressed and beacon of hope of the marginalized.

We all hope that Po Kuan can reconsider to return to the frontline of the Battle of the Century in the 12th general election for the third contest in the Batu Gajah parliamentary seat.

I fully respect the right and responsibility of the media to report and chase news and undoubtedly, Po Kuan and the DAP’s general election problems are newsworthy.

However, the media should be fair and balanced in the coverage of all newsworthy party developments, not just of the DAP but also of Umno, MCA, Gerakan,, MIC and all other Barisan Nasional component parties. Continue reading “Po Kuan incommunicado”

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Samy Vellu’s days are numbered – Subra as next MIC leader

Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has become the most unpopular politician in the country and probably in Malaysian history, being booed, jeered, car blocked, thrown stones, rotten eggs and even slippers almost every day in public places.

This public rejection of Samy Vellu has spread to MIC and Barisan Nasional (BN) functions, with other MIC and BN leaders becoming also the target of public resentment and fury, as illustrated by the meet-the-people session led by Perak Mentri Besar and Barisan Nasional chief Datuk Seri Mohamad Tajol Rosli Ghazali in Buntong, Ipoh yesterday.

The political days of Samy Vellu, MIC President and sole Indian Cabinet Minister for over 28 years, are numbered. Moves in fact are afoot for the former deputy president, Datuk S. Subramaniam, to become the next MIC leader as Samy Vellu is slowly phased out of the political scene.

I expect Subra to make a political comeback on Sunday on his nomination as a Barisan Nasional candidate for the 12th general election and preparatory to his joining the Cabinet – something Subra had been denied and been waiting for nearly three decades. Continue reading “Samy Vellu’s days are numbered – Subra as next MIC leader”

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Mandate of heaven this nation awaits

Dr. Azly Rahman

Sometime ago, I wrote these:

1)”Let our children learn that it is terrifying to be corrupt; such as to build palaces while the homes of the poor are demolished. Let us teach them to vote with their conscience.”

2) “The current regime cannot solve the problems it creates. It must dismantle itself, die a natural death, destroy the symbols of power it has abused, and let a peaceful renewal take its natural course.”

We have 13 days of campaigning period and after that, the opportunity to exercise our fundamental rights as Malaysian citizens. We are doing this at a time when our political system is in utter chaos – the three branches of government are growing more visible thorns and climbing onto each other, while the roots are diseased in this wasteland called democracy in which the air is foul and toxic. Is this a curse of our obsession with the number 13?

These 13 days are crucial for our nation’s future. It might not be as dramatic as 10 days that shook Russia in October 1917 but nonetheless it is a time when the change we need is now. The process of getting there is “perestroikic”. The previous ruling regime that has served Malaysia for 50 years too I believe is asking for radical change to happen. This feeling resides in the collective unconscious of our race-based politics. It will be our bipolarist Freudian moment of Malaysian Machiavellianism. The calm of Mahathirism is now creating a storm of unknown proportions. Continue reading “Mandate of heaven this nation awaits”

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Just Vote opposition to deny BN 2/3 Majority

Letters
by Richard Teo

I would like to refer to the Malaysiakini article ‘Finally a chance to wrest Penang.’

In this article, Ronald Quay seems to contradict himself.His caption seems to suggest there is a good chance of the opposition wresting Penang from B.N and yet in the same breathe predicted that’B.N will still win the General Elections ,hands down’What is perhaps galling is his statement that’the Barisan national is still the best party to govern Malaysia today’.

If Ronald is so confident that his theory of opposition contesting the State seats as oppose to contesting the Continue reading “Just Vote opposition to deny BN 2/3 Majority”

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Freedom of the press

By Ishwar Nahappan

Dr Mahathir thrust a deep dagger into the heart of fundamental and civil liberties of Malaysia. This is the legacy that he will be known best for. Progressively under his rule the concept of “Free and Fair” elections were thrown out of the window.

The expression “Free and Fair” incorporates many underlying principles including legal, ethical, and internationally accepted historical conventions. It does not just mean the freedom to vote. An open free press to express its views without duress and manipulation is a fundamental liberty which is the absolute right of ALL MALAYSIANS OF ALL RACES.

The newspapers and visual media (government controlled) are blanketed and filled with goodies and ang pows from the barisan government and all opposition activities are blocked and blacked out by a pliant press and media under the control and ownership of the constituent parties of barisan. UMNO or UMNO members control the New Straits Times, Berita Harian, The Malay Mail, the Utusan, etc. MCA control the Star and Nanyang Siang Pow and Datuk Samy Vellu’s personal family members control the Tamil Nesan.

Freedom of the press in Malaysia is like a wayang kulit, now you see it now you don’t. Or a water tap which can be turned on and off or reduced to a trickle whenever the government so chooses.

The press deliberately ignores:

• Any mention by the opposition of continuing breaches of civil liberties, the incidents of endemic corruption, acts of wasteful expenditure, the list could go on and on but I will save that for another day.

• It now appears that Bukit Bintang has 5,000 new postal voters who have suddenly appeared without any logical or legitimate rhyme or reason. One should ask WHY and the reason being is to neutralise one community’s voting strength.

• The leadership of the MIC is fast losing any residual credibility with the Indian community. Its great leader Datuk Samy Vellu has been harassed on two occasions in the last few days and just yesterday with eggs and slippers. Consequently more and more Indians are joining the DAP, totally frustrated with Samy Vellu’s self-centered and self-aggrandizing leadership. Last Thursday evening, at a dinner I hosted in Klang, 250 ordinary Indians, many of them from the MIC openly joined the DAP.

• Samy Vellu can’t even speak out and on behalf of 300 men, women and children who were demonstrating peacefully and calling them criminal to boot. Perhaps he should look at a mirror himself and adjust his coiffeur (hairdo), it might help him see things more clearly. A meaningful response to this horrendous act by the police was made by Datuk Anwar yesterday. His speech was reported in The New Paper.

Fortunately for us today and what makes this election a watershed is the power of electronic media communication both through the internet and the sms. The Thaipusam celebration which was boycotted by the Indian community at large resulted in the number of devotees visiting Batu Caves reducing to a generous estimate of approximately 250,000 people as opposed to the usual 800,000 – 1 million people. Samy’s days are numbered. It could not happen sooner. He will be the fourth of a pack of rotten apples who came to power in the seventies who so spoiled Malaysia. I wish him a peaceful retirement.

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How to Stop Cars and Win Enemies

By Farish A. Noor

When it comes to dealing with the grouses of the Malaysian public – many of which happen to be legitimate, mind you – it would seem that the benighted leaders of our blessed country have read every single page of the stupid book.

We recall the period when we, the Malaysian public were told by our – Malaysian – government that we had the right to speak up and that our voices would be heard. We were assured that we had the right to speak, to raise our concerns, to voice our opinions and to even state our differences and disagreements in this new Utopian, idyllic public space that had appeared out of nowhere. But no sooner than had we opened our mouths to utter the first sentence beginning with “But…”, the tear gas canisters were shot in our faces, the batons were raised, the water cannons were put to work. It is hard, as I wrote not too long ago, ‘to listen to the people while you gas them in the face’.

The latest (of many) instances of back-tracking came with the defensive posture taken by the senior leadership of this country in the face of the demands voiced by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) of Malaysia. I write this as someone who is concerned about the poverty and growing income gap among all Malaysians, and not Hindus solely. And while I cannot lend my support to any grouping that is sectarian and exclusive by nature, neither can I deny the fact that many of the complaints raised by Hindraf happen to be real – or at least really felt – by the members and supporters of the movement itself. Continue reading “How to Stop Cars and Win Enemies”

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Financial Autonomy To Universities A Good Start

by M. Bakri Musa

The decision by Minister of Higher Education Datuk Mustapa to grant financial autonomy to public universities is a good start. He should not stop there however; he should also push to extend academic, management, and other freedoms. Our universities will forever remain trapped in mediocrity as long as they remain within the clutches of the civil service.

University of Malaya Law Professor Azmi Sharom says it best, “If we love our universities, we must set them free!”

It shows how cumbersome the administrative machinery of the government is that such a simple decision would take months if not years to implement. It would involve among others changing the various laws and regulations, right down to employment and procurement practices.

Further, with the coming elections, there is no assurance that Mustapa will remain in his present post. His successor may make yet another policy U-turn that regularly afflicts our education system. Even if Mustapa were to keep his present position, there is no guarantee that he could overcome powerful forces that would resist ceding control of our universities. Continue reading “Financial Autonomy To Universities A Good Start”

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Po Kuan – Malaysia needs you to create history to deny BN 2/3 parliamentary majority

It’s 2.45 am. Endless series of meetings, internal and external, in the past 72 hours, putting me on the road from Petaling Jaya to Perak, Penang and down to Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, including two ceramahs with Po Kuan in Batu Gajah parliamentary constituency on Friday night and the launching of two election operation centres (Tebing Tinggi and Menglembu in Perak) as well as visit to traditional DAP stronghold in Kuala Lumpur, the Bukit Bintang parliamentary constituency, but which has now become a “danger” seat because of electoral manipulation in the influx of over 6,000 postal voters.

Have been up for 22 hours – including a five-hour marathon meeting of DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat leaders which ended with primary agreement for one-to-one contest between DAP or PKR with the Barisan Nasional in Peninsular Malaysia states – with the last meeting just ended an hour ago.

Very tired but no thought of sleep until I blog about Fong Po Kuan. Not just because I have been made the villain causing Po Kuan’s announcement that she would not contest in the 12th general election but also because of her qualities.

At about 2.30 p.m., I received calls asking why I had forced Po Kuan to retire from politics, as AIFM (Chinese) received by motorists had carried news flash that Po Kuan had announced her resignation from the DAP because of her unhappiness with me in forcing her to contest in another constituency.

I never did such a thing and Po Kuan never resigned from the party – but the damage was done, as first impressions (however false) are most lasting, that I had forced Po Kuan to resign from the DAP because I was forcing her to contest in another constituency apart from Batu Gajah. Talking about “eating dead cat”!

The party never asked Po Kuan to change constituencies, as all party leaders had expected and fully supported her to contest for the third time in the Batu Gajah parliamentary seat. Continue reading “Po Kuan – Malaysia needs you to create history to deny BN 2/3 parliamentary majority”

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Traditional DAP stronghold Bukit Bintang has become a “danger” seat – the Battle for 5Cs

I have chosen Bukit Bintang as the first DAP parliamentary constituency to visit after the dissolution of Parliament on Wednesday because this traditional DAP stronghold for over three decades has become a “danger” seat through dirty electoral tricks with the influx of over 6,000 postal votes since the 2004 general election.

DAP can lose the Bukit Bintang parliamentary seat in the March 8 general election, not because the people of Bukit Bintang have ceased to support the DAP and decided to abandon their historic role as the national political vanguard for justice, equality and freedom in Malaysia but because of electoral hanky-panky and the most lopsided playing field for Bukit Bintang parliamentary constituency in 50 years.

If the two-term DAP incumbent Fong Kui Lun loses Bukit Bintang parliamentary constituency on March 8, it is not just a personal or a DAP party loss, but a major setback of historic proportion for the long, hard and grueling political struggle to create a fair, just and equal Malaysia where all Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, can have an equal place under the Malaysian sun.

If Fong Kui Lun is defeated in the traditional DAP stronghold of Bukit Bintang, it will be the triumph of all that is wrong with our country not only in the past quarter-century, but also in the past four years of Abdullah premiership. Continue reading “Traditional DAP stronghold Bukit Bintang has become a “danger” seat – the Battle for 5Cs”

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Samy Vellu should apologise to ISA detainees and peaceful demonstrators for equating them as “criminals”

MIC President and the sole Malaysian Indian Cabinet Minister for over 28 years, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has become the most unpopular Malaysian Indian leader in the country, being booed and jeered almost daily by the Malaysian Indians in the country.

Last night, as reported by the press, Samy Vellu was again the target of boos and jeers by Indian crowds in Prai, Penang. This is the New Sunday Times report: “Mob jeers Samy Vellu, blocks his car”:

BUTTERWORTH: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu went through a harrowing experience last night when some 100 people blocked his car and demanded the release of Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) protesters detained at an illegal rally in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The crowd surrounded and banged his car as he was leaving SRJK (C) Chung Hwa 3 in Prai here after attending a function at 9pm.

The works minister was earlier escorted to the car after a mob started to jeer him. Continue reading “Samy Vellu should apologise to ISA detainees and peaceful demonstrators for equating them as “criminals””

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Police crackdown on Hindraf rose campaign – another day of international shame for Malaysia

Another day of international shame for Malaysia – the firing of tear gas, chemically-laced water cannon and use of excessive force by the police against peaceful demonstrators and children during today’s Hindraf rose campaign in Kuala Lumpur .

Over 200 people have been arrested, reportedly including children, with allegations of manhandling by police.

Why was it necessary for the crude display of police force against peaceful Malaysians and children who wanted to use the Valentine Day to present roses to the Prime Minister at the Parliament grounds and to appeal for the immediate and unconditional release of the five Hindraf leaders unjustifiably detained in Kamunting Detention Centre under the Internal Security Act? Continue reading “Police crackdown on Hindraf rose campaign – another day of international shame for Malaysia”

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Sack Zam as “caretaker Information Minister” if he continues to misuse RTM/Information for BN propaganda and spread falsehoods against Opposition

I had commended the Election Commission Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman for fixing a 13-day campaign period for the 12th general election, which is longer than the previous five general elections between 1986 to 2004, i.e. 10 days each in 1986, 1990 and 1995, nine days in 1999 and eight days in 2004.

This is however only a small step towards conducting a free,fair and clean general election and there are many areas which the Election Commission Chairman must address to ensure that the Malaysian election system can be internationally acclaimed as of world-class standard in terms of its efficiency and being fair, free and clean.

For a start, I call on Rashid to address two issues:

Firstly, make nomination for the general election a disqualification-free process. At present, preparing for nomination is as traumatic as preparing for a major legal case for lawyers or sitting for higher degree examinations in universities.

Let us have a disqualification-free nomination process whereby no proposed candidate could be disqualified for any technical mistake in filling up the nomination form. There should only be disqualification of candidates for fraudulent claims but not for technical mistakes which should be allowed to be corrected during or even after the nomination. Continue reading “Sack Zam as “caretaker Information Minister” if he continues to misuse RTM/Information for BN propaganda and spread falsehoods against Opposition”

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Hindraf and the Pluralisation of the Malaysian-Indian Community

By Farish A. Noor

Since it came to the public stage of Malaysian politics the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) of Malaysia has been cast as a troubling phenomenon, but to whom? Predictably the reaction of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) and its leadership has been to respond to Hindraf’s demands by stating that it is a troublesome organisation that is bent on dividing (and consequently weakening) the Indian community. Hindraf however has defended its actions on the basis that the MIC has singularly failed to defend the interests of the Hindus of Malaysia, and that the leadership of the MIC is entirely beholden to the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition instead. The vernacular Malay press in turn has attacked Hindraf on the grounds that it was seen and cast as being ‘anti-Malay’; though Hindraf in turn has proclaimed its loyalty to the concept of Malaysia as a universal idea while rejecting the notion of Malay cultural and ethnic supremacy.

Needless to say, these manifold configurations and postures has made it difficult to locate Hindraf on the Malaysian political landscape; but it has also expanded that very same political landscape to include a new range of disaffected and marginalised political actors. What many critics have failed to recognise is that despite the verbal pyrotechnics employed by Hindraf, it has actually contributed to the pluralisation and complexification of the Indian minority, and by doing so has rendered the simplistic mode of race-based politics in Malaysia more and more difficult.

While Hindraf’s appeal to the Indian minority in Malaysia is primarily communal and sectarian it has also introduce a cleavage – both political and ontological – in the Malaysian-Indian community itself. Hindraf’s sustained efforts to highlight the marginalisation, alienation and discrimination in all walks of life did not merely challenge the staid rhetoric of the Malaysian state whose brand of multiculturalism dates back to the mode of race-relations first developed during the colonial era, but more importantly rendered hollow the MIC’s claim to be the main representative, patron and protector of the Malaysian-Indian community.

Many of the accusations levelled by the leaders of Hindraf towards the leadership of the MIC and its President Samy Vellu in particular were based on long-held grouses that were nurtured over Samy Vellu’s long stewardship of the party: During the time of Samy Vellu the MIC expanded its patronage machinery and used its educational outreach unit, the Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED) to sponsor the education of more than 10,000 Tamil schoolchildren. In 1982 Maika Holdings was created by the MIC to help pool together the economic resources of the Indian minority so that they could collectively invest in Malaysia’s economic development. Maika however was criticised by some as a patronage arm of the MIC, despite the fact that it was built from the collected sum of RM 106 million that was raised by many poor Tamil families. Following a succession of mismanagement scandals, Maika faced serious losses and many of the Tamil families could not recover their investments. In the face of growing criticism of his leadership Samy Vellu maintained a strong grip on the MIC: S. Subramaniam, who was brought into the MIC during the time of former MIC President Manickavasagam, was one of the strongest opponents of Samy Vellu, and accused the latter of mismanagement of the party. Nonetheless Subramaniam was defeated at the MIC Annual General Meeting of 2006, shoring up Samy Vellu’s position in the party even further. Continue reading “Hindraf and the Pluralisation of the Malaysian-Indian Community”

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Pak Lah – “Who is Anwar”?

BELIEVE IT OR NOT series (1)
2008 General Election

Let us start a new series – “2008 General Election – Believe it or not?” starting with the following:

M’sian PM has ‘forgotten’ about Anwar
Thu, Feb 14, 2008 AFP

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14, 2008 (AFP) – Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Thursday insisted dissident politician Anwar Ibrahim was not a factor in upcoming elections, saying he had “forgotten” about him.

Anwar has objected to the timing of the polls on March 8, just a month before he is eligible to run for office after a ban expires, saying it was designed to keep him out of the race.

“Nothing to do with that,” Abdullah said after a meeting with top leaders of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

“We have forgotten about Anwar. I don’t remember about Anwar,” he told reporters.

Your contributions are welcome.

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Report those using govt resources in campaign: DAP

Malaysiakini
Yeow Boon Kiat | Feb 14, 08 5:36pm

DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang has urged voters to lodge a police report if they find any candidate utilising government resources in their election campaign.

“Whenever you see the prime minister, deputy prime minister, ministers or deputy ministers arrive in government vehicles or using government funds to campaign, lodge a police report immediately and call the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to investigate”, he told a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

dap islamic state roundtable 100807 lim kit siang”This is a blatant abuse of power and money politics,” he declared, adding that all Malaysians should help to ensure that ministers are behaving as caretaker ministers so that the elections will be clean, just and fair.

Lim described the recent ‘ang pows’ and ‘goodies’ dished out by the BN in recent weeks as electoral abuses and the people should consider them as such.

He also cited the incident in which MCA president Ong Ka Ting made use of a Fire and Rescue Services Department helicopter to campaign in Johor in 2004 as an example of the abuse of government resources. Continue reading “Report those using govt resources in campaign: DAP”

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Tsu Koon following Pak Lah- Ending Penang CM-ship with a lie

(Media Conference Statement at DAP PJ Hqrs on Thursday, 14th February 2008 at 12 noon)

The New Straits Times today reported that Koh dismissed as mischievous the DAP’s claims that he, as Acting Gerakan President, was “kow-towing” to Umno over the choice of candidate for the Penang chief minister’s post.

Koh was following Abdullah’s precedent in telling a lie to end his four terms as Penang Chief Minister when he claimed that in submitting three names to Abdullah to pick as the next Penang Gerakan Chief Minister, he was just sticking to the principle, procedure and tradition of referring such matters to the prime minister, who is the BN chairman.

After the 1990 general election, the Gerakan leadership did not surrender the right to decide who should be the Penang Chief Minister to Umno or the Barisan Nasional President.

It was the Gerakan Central Working Committee which decided which one of the two contenders, Koh Tsu Koon or Dr. Goh Cheng Teik, should be selected as the Penang Gerakan Chief Minister after the electoral defeat of Dr. Lim Chong Eu.

Both Koh Tsu Koon and Goh Cheng Teik were asked to leave the Gerakan Central Working Committee meeting to allow the CWC members to deliberate and decide on the matter, at the end of which, both were called back to the CWC to be informed that the choice of the Gerakan CWC (actually that of the then Gerakan President Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik) fell on Koh Tsu Koon.

Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who was then Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional President, was never asked to choose from the two candidates, Tsu Koon and Cheng Teik, as to who should be the Gerakan Penang Chief Minister. Continue reading “Tsu Koon following Pak Lah- Ending Penang CM-ship with a lie”

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Of Bull, Broken promises, Blockheads, Buffoons, Bigots, and Bravehearts

Martin Jalleh
14 Feb. 2008
It is the Year of the Rat. The Prime Minister (PM) has just let the cat out of the bag – the “General Elections (GE)” will be real soon, for there is a feeling amongst many that the country is going to the dogs.

The PM, who has never lost any sleep since he became the PM – has been trying to awaken the nation to an imminent GE. He had declared in June last year, in what could have been the most important statement of his political career: “I am no sleeping PM”!

Four years have passed swiftly by since Pak Lah became PM. He has made it very clear he is no “one-term” PM. Why, in between his many 40 photogenic winks he has even come up with Vision 2057! Who says the PM has failed to walk the talk — when he has even managed Bolehland sleepwalking!

But the boys on the fourth floor of Putrajaya who have been spinning the broken record which critics have entitled “I started a joke” have a tough job ahead. Experts of make-believe and myths, they have to create a mega-mirage of a PM and a government with a proven track record this coming GE.

Often, and as was evident in 2007, their script and sandiwara have spun out of control by the silly statements of small-minded and self-serving sycophants surrounding the PM, causing Pak Lah and his government to stumble from one comic caper to another.

As the government’s delivery system fell apart, very symbolically and significantly so did structures give way in buildings such as parliament, the world’s second largest court complex in Jalan Duta and even Putrajaya.

Back to the PM’s “proven track record”, surely the year 2007 was a very “revealing” year and there was so much that the ordinary citizen of Bolehland could fall back on to help them decide who they should vote for this coming GE. Continue reading “Of Bull, Broken promises, Blockheads, Buffoons, Bigots, and Bravehearts”

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‘He looks like PM, sounds like PM, is he PM?’

(Media Conference Statement at DAP PJ Hqrs on Thursday, 14th February 2008 at 12 noon)

Abdullah ends his first term as PM with his credibility, reputation and reform pledges in tatters with his 12-hour somersault of “no” and then “yes” to dissolution of Parliament yesterday

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has ended his first term as Prime Minister with his credibility, reputation and reform pledges in tatters with his 12-hour somersault of “no” and then “yes” to dissolution of Parliament yesterday.

It has given powerful illustration of Lingam-speak – “He looks like the Prime Minister, he sounds like the Prime Minister, but no one can say 100% that he is the Prime Minister”!

In his press conference yesterday announcing the dissolution of Parliament. Abdullah tried to explain why he had ended his first term as Prime Minister with a lie on Tuesday night categorically denying that Parliament would be dissolved yesterday and yet doing precisely the opposite 12 hours later in seeking an audience with the Yang di Pertuan Agong to dissolve Parliament.

Abdullah explained he could not give any clue to the date as he needed to get the consent of the Yang di Pertuan Agong first before he could make the announcement.

Agreed. But has Abdullah to tell a lie, declaring: “The Cabinet meeting will go on, go on and go on” after dismissing suggestion that yesterday’s Cabinet meeting will be the last for the llth parliamentary term?

Need Abdullah be reminded that what he had done is totally against the Islam Hadhari which he had propounded as Prime Minister and Chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC)? Continue reading “‘He looks like PM, sounds like PM, is he PM?’”

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Malaysia’s Coming Elections: Between Change and Inertia

By Farish A. Noor

And so, with the dissolution of the Malaysian Parliament on Wednesday, Malaysia is heading to the elections once again. The precise date of the 12th General Elections of Malaysia is yet to be known, but it is clear that this will be one of the more hotly contested elections that Malaysia has witnessed.

Over the past two years alone a string of controversies have stirred the Malaysian public’s interest in the goings-on in the corridors of power in the country: The highly publicised case of the murder of a Mongolian model has dragged many a famous name (including that of politicians) into the limelight; the revelation of irregularities in the appointment of senior judges has brought the judiciary into close focus; the destruction of a number of Hindu temples has aroused the anger of many Malaysian Hindus; while the plethora of on-going marriage and divorce cases between Muslims and non-Muslims has added to the widening of the gulf between the religious and ethnic communities in the country.

What is more, the spate of public demonstrations – many of which took place in the capital Kuala Lumpur – would suggest that sections of the Malaysian public are more politically aware and politically literate than before. The BERSIH campaign calling for free and fair elections, for instance, was a movement that is rooted in Malaysia’s civil society and which cut across the racial, ethnic and religious divides which have always been the salient markers of the Malaysian political landscape. Conversely the demonstrations organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) would suggest that communitarian and sectarian political remains a defining factor of Malaysian politics until today.

All eyes will now be on the administration of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who faces the tough prospect of retaining the public’s support for a second term. Continue reading “Malaysia’s Coming Elections: Between Change and Inertia”