An open letter to MP Fong Kui Lun (DAP - Bukit Bintang)

An open letter to MP Fong Kui Lun (DAP - Bukit Bintang)
Posted by Raja Petra
Friday, 14 March 2008, MT

Dear YB Fong,

Three months ago, I asked you a question on how the opposition parties are going to work together for the 12th General Election if you have not even experimented with the formation of a shadow cabinet. Your reply to me then was to pull a face of displeasure at so impertinent a question.

Earlier this week, the leader of your party issued a statement that has made many Malaysians angry. His apology since then has barely registered, and rightly so, it will take us a while to forgive, let alone forget.

Let us suppose for a moment that the opposition parties had spent a couple of days behind closed doors to strategise before the GE.

Scenario 1:
Perak State leaders from DAP, PKR and PAS sit down to strategise the 'what if' outcome. They calculate that if the state falls, DAP will hold the greatest number of seats. DAP decides to swap a "safe seat" with PKR, so that at least one ADUN from DAP will be qualified to become MB in case BN falls.

Scenario 2:
Or they make sure they have at least one Malay Muslim candidate on their ticket to keep the possibility of a DAP MB open.

Scenario 3:
Or come up with a brief blueprint on how to allocate positions once the dust settles.

Scenario 4:
Did not even read up on the state constitution prior to March 8th. Which is what seems most likely to have transpired.

Neither your party, or PKR or PAS has had the foresight to plan for the future. Let’s put that aside for the moment as a part of growing pains. What about the Indians and HINDRAF?

HINDRAF was the first to make demands regarding the top state positions. But have you realised that the headquarters for HINDRAF as listed on their official website has been a place devoid of activity for months. The heart and soul of HINDRAF lie in Kamunting, yet I have seen in the past few days all kinds of calls on behalf of this organisation that claims to speak for Indians.

On top of that, the Hindu Sangam and Indian Business Guilds and others of their ilk have realised that their Master, i.e. MIC, is dying if not dead and are suddenly finding their voice again after 30 years of silence.

What steps are you taking as a "coalition" to ensure that this organisation called HINDRAF, and the voice of the Indian voters is not hijacked by opportunists or even worse, by ex MIC honchos?

FROM AN OPEN LETTER TO THE OPPOSITION PARTIES AND HINDRAF, MALAYSIA TODAY DEC 12TH 2007.

.....Yesterday, DAP hosted a talk " A New Deal For Marginalised Indians " at NUBE in Brickfields.
The message delivered by all the speakers is for Malaysian Indians to spread the news and to vote for the opposition candidates in the next GE, as well as an open invitation for them to join the respective parties.

It will be a crying shame if the next GE sees a reduction in the popular vote to BN to below the 50% mark, and yet BN still forms the government because the Opposition parties can't unite and work together in a more concrete manner.

When this question was raised to the speakers, not a single one of them said they will speak to the other leaders to get the ball rolling, all we get is more rhetoric about the raw deal the Indians have had, how UMNO is bad, and the same old sob stories.

Time for rhetoric is over.

PAS, KeADILan, DAP, PSM and whoever else, put your heads together and show us that you can unite beyond individual ideologies to come with a blueprint for a better Malaysia. Decide on which is more important. Your individual ideologies or a better future for Malaysia and Malaysians?.............

Jeevindra Kumar

Yang Adil Disembah, Yang Zalim Disanggah.

Jangan Besar Kepala
Posted by labisman MT
Friday, 14 March 2008

Peringatan ini ditujukan kepada semua pimpinan PAS, PKR dan DAP (atau lebih dimesra digelar Barisan Rakyat) disegenap peringkat.

READ MORE HERE


Yang Adil Disembah, Yang Zalim Disanggah.
03.13.08
Jangan Besar Kepala!

Posted in Bloggers-United, Malaysia, Reformasi at 2:52 am by Ketua Perusuh

Peringatan ini ditujukan kepada semua pimpinan PAS, PKR dan DAP (atau lebih dimesra digelar Barisan Rakyat) disegenap peringkat.

Anda telah mendapat undi kepercayaan dari segenap lapisan masyarakat Bangsa Malaysia (tanpa mengira kaum) dalam Pilihanraya Umum Ke-12 (PRU12) kali ini samaada dengan undi yang bertambah mahupun dengan kadar undi yang sama seperti pilihanraya yang sebelumnya. Oleh itu sebenarnya kemenangan yang anda perolehi adalah hasil usaha undi dari semua Bangsa Malaysia dan tidak sewajarnya anda melakukan perkara-perkara seperti yang disebutkan dibawah ini.

1. Anda tidak sewajarnya berprasangka bahawa kemenangan yang anda dapat ini kerana anda memang popular.
2. Anda tidak sewajarnya berprasangka bahawa kemenangan yang anda dapat ini kerana penyokong anda sahaja yang mengundi anda.
3. Anda tidak sewajarnya berprasangka bahawa kemenangan yang anda dapat ini kerana janji-janji kosong yang anda taburkan semasa berkempen.
4. Anda tidak sewajarnya berprasangka bahawa kemenangan yang anda dapat ini kerana prinsip yang anda dokongi.
5. Anda tidak sewajarnya berprasangka bahawa kemenangan yang anda dapat ini kerana kaum anda menyokong penuh perjuangan anda.
6. Anda tidak sewajarnya berprasangka bahawa kemenangan yang anda dapat ini membolehkan anda mengubah sesuka hati segala undang-undang negeri @ negara dan membelakangi Paduka Sultan dan Raja-Raja Melayu.
7. Anda tidak sewajarnya berprasangka bahawa kemenangan yang anda dapat ini membolehkan semua tindakan anda mendapat sokongan Bangsa Malaysia tanpa “check and balance”.

Namun anda sewajarnya mengambilkira semua pandangan rakyat (Bangsa Malaysia) yang telah meletakkan anda ditempat anda sekarang ini. Oleh itu anda amat wajar berhati-hati mengeluarkan pandangan anda (walaupun parti anda memerlukan anda berbuat demikian) kerana jika tidak pastinya anda dan parti anda akan tersungkur pada PRU13 akan datang.

Bangsa Malaysia kini telah matang dan tidak membezakan kaum dan pegangan agama. Oleh yang demikian jika sekiranya anda masih lagi berpegang dengan cara pemikiran lama, anda dan parti yang anda dokongi wajar ditolak oleh semua Bangsa Malaysia. Anda perlu ingat bahawa dalam kemenangan anda ada undi dari kaum-kaum yang lain (Melayu, Cina, India dan lain-lain).

Ingat, anda cuma ada masa 4 tahun atau lebih sahaja untuk membuktikan bahawa anda masih relevan dalam politik Malaysia.

Akhir kata, kami (Bangsa Malaysia) boleh menaikkan anda ditempat anda berada sekarang dan kami (Bangsa Malaysia) juga boleh menurunkan anda dari tempat anda berada sekarang.

“WE CAN HIRE AND WE CAN FIRE”

Deal stitched, all systems go in Perak

Deal stitched, all systems go in Perak
Mar 14, 08 12:04pm

The opposition has successfully averted an impasse after party leaders reached an amicable decision to reallocate the composition of the Perak state executive council posts last night.

PKR deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali confirmed that the new composition will be six DAP, three PKR and one PAS to form the 10-person Perak state executive council.

Yesterday, PKR threatened to pull out from the Perak state administration on hearing that eight posts will go to DAP.

"In the spirit of sincere openness, we stress that the composition of the exco must reflect the composition of the population of Perak and represent the interests of all ethnic groups fairly," said Syed Husin in a statement yesterday.

Syed Husin said the new state government will also appoint a PKR representative to be one of its two senators.

More details will be revealed after the swearing-in of the new Perak Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin from PAS.

Syed Husin also said that a second deputy MB post will be allocated to PKR. It is expected that Perak will follow Penang's example of naming two deputy MBs.

He added that the compromise was reached after both Perak and central leaders concluded their discussions last night.

[Full report to follow]

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Expert: No legal need for Malay deputy MB

Expert: No legal need for Malay deputy MB
K Kabilan | Mar 14, 08 10:53am

A constitutional expert today dismissed claims being made by the Selangor royal household that the deputy menteri besar should ideally be a Malay to assist the menteri besar in Islamic and cultural duties.

“The Sultan of Selangor does not need the menteri besar or the deputy menteri besar in matters pertaining to religion and Malay custom,” Prof Abdul Aziz Bari (left), who lectures law at the International Islamic University Malaysia, told Malaysiakini.

He added that the sultan, being the head of Islamic matters and the Malay adat, is the person in charge of such matters in the state, and not the menteri besar or his deputy.

Abdul Aziz was referring to media statements made by the Selangor sultan’s private secretary Muhammad Munir Bani on the palace's "preference" for a Malay deputy menteri besar.

Yesterday Muhammad Munir denied reports that the sultan wanted “a deputy from a particular race”.

However, he added the sultan was the religious head for Islam and Malay culture and the mentri besar has the task of assisting in these duties, which would also have to handled by his deputy and as such, it was only proper that a Malay be the deputy mentri besar.

PKR’s secretary-general and Ijok state assemblyperson Khalid Ibrahim (photo, right) was sworn in as the new menteri besar yesterday.

Khalid has not named his deputy but it is believed that a Chinese candidate from the DAP, which is second biggest party in the ruling coalition, will fill in that slot.

Unnecessary and unconstitutional

Abdul Aziz said that a prolonged delay in the appointment of a deputy menteri besar was unnecessary and might even be unconstitutional.

“Matters cited by the palace are entirely within the sultan's jurisdiction,” he said. Abdul Aziz added that this was also the position in eight other states which has sultan or raja. In states without the sultans - Malacca, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak - the gap is filled by the Yang di Pertuan Agong.

“As the sultan may act on his own discretion on these matters, the constitution provides that a council may be appointed to assist him.

“This is what is commonly known as religious councils or majlis agama, which looks after the religious department or the jabatan agama. In the other four states and federal territories, the Agong will have the same establishment,” added Abdul Aziz.

He further stated that in any event that the sultan needs assistance on such matters, he has the state mufti to fall back on.

“The reason why the constitution put those matters under the sultan's exclusive jurisdiction is pretty clear; namely history and that it will prevent religion from being politicised.

“Given this, the reading of the Selangor palace is quite contrary to the spirit of the constitution.

“In fact, the problem within the Muslim community is that the politicians control the mosques while religious matters are being handled politically at the expense of Islam,” he said.

Khir’s problem

Abdul Aziz said the Selangor palace must differentiate state religious matters and state administration, adding that the state constitution does not allow for these to be mixed.

He added it was precisely this convergence that caused the Barisan Nasional to suffer defeats in Saturday's national polls.

“One of the reasons why PAS thrived was (former menteri besar Dr Mohd) Khir Toyo (right) behaved as if he was the head of Islam.

“This makes one wonders where the sultan is for he is the head of religion with an essentially absolute power to look after the religion,” added Abdul Aziz.

He also noted that his comments on this matter were not seditious as the “law says one may point out mistakes”.

“And it is important that the better interpretation of the constitution is put in the public domain,” he added.

Khalid told the media yesterday that he has not decided on his deputy, whom he said could be from any race. DAP’s Teresa Kok, the state assemblyperson for Kinrara, is the leading candidate for the post.

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DAP risks squandering polls victory

DAP risks squandering polls victory
Kua Kia Soong | Mar 14, 08 1:09pm


comment The DAP’s squabble over the choice of mentri besar for Perak and deputy mentri besar for Selangor exposes the party’s surprising lack of integrity and professionalism.

If its leaders had these qualities, they would have simply put forward their candidates before the sultan for endorsement, as is required in our democratic system. Instead, the DAP leadership has continued with their tedious PAS-phobia posturing and in so doing, have demeaned our parliamentary democracy by passing the buck to the sultans.

In our democratic system, the Agung and the sultans merely endorse the executive list that is put before them by the ruling coalition. In Perak and Selangor, the DAP has created a serious precedent by passing over this prerogative to the respective sultans and it is all because of their PAS-phobia posturing in Perak and intra-party factionalism in Selangor.

It is a bad precedent and one which the DAP will have to take responsibility.

During the recent election campaign, we have seen the open support given by PKR and PAS to DAP candidates. None of these DAP candidates, as far as I know, asked these PAS supporters to stay away but were quite content to bask in the cross-ethnic support.

In Selangor, we have seen a situation in which the DAP cannot blame PAS but can only blame itself. The choice of deputy MP has become the arena of DAP’s intra-party squabble. Such factionalism in the DAP has been hitherto relegated to the gossip columns and the leadership is really showing contempt for the people of Selangor by dragging on the issue of deputy MB.

As in Perak, we have seen the DAP passing the buck to the sultan, who now plays the role of executive ruler instead of a constitutional monarch. Again, this is a bad precedent in which the peoples’ representatives have passed on their prerogative to the sultan.

Intra-party power struggles

The people of Selangor expect the DAP to make good their commitment to meritocracy and not air their petty intra-party power struggles in public.

If the DAP does not have a mechanism to assess the relative merits of their own candidates for deputy MB, how can they shout about the BN’s failure to honour meritocracy? The public knows that Teng Chang Khim has served longest in the Selangor State Assembly as a very capable leader of the opposition and any rookie forced down our throats by the DAP central leadership is not going to change that fact.

What is at stake is the credibility of the DAP central leadership. Their recent actions have shown that they are merely paying lip service to integrity and professionalism. They should mend their ways or prepare to face the consequences before long.

While we are on the subject of integrity and professionalism, the DAP should try to take a leaf from the disgraced MCA. Despite the MCA’s failings, there were two democratic principles of theirs the DAP should emulate:

1. Fixed terms for the party leader

It was surprising that this simple democratic principle should have emanated from Ong Ka Ting and not Lim Guan Eng. When are we going to hear the announcement of this elementary democratic principle from DAP?

2. No overlapping of federal and state offices

One normally expects such greedy ambitions of the BN representatives and not the opposition. However, we have seen numerous DAP candidates standing in federal as well as state seats in the recent elections.

Is there an assumption that serving the people in a federal constituency is so free and easy that these representatives can have the time to serve another state constituency? This seems to be a convenient invention of the opposition parties here which is anathema to the principles of people’s democracy.

I remember when I was in the Selangor DAP in the 90s and we managed to kick out from the state an MP who not only ran two private practices but still insisted on standing in a state constituency.

Clearly, political office had become a convenient career for these DAP representatives. But I am surprised that instead of progressing and making this principle standard throughout the party, the Selangor DAP has reverted to the old formula.

After all, haven’t we been told that there are now so many new talents in the DAP? So why do these old DAP leaders need to be so greedy? Is this all so that the people can be served better?

Did not Gerakan’s Dr Koh Tsu Koon choose to run only for a federal seat by giving up his state seat? Why is the opposition backward compared to the BN on this principle?

I pause for a reply…


Dr KUA KIA SOONG, head of New Era College, is former DAP member of parliament.

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'Stop all this bickering!'

'Stop all this bickering!'
Mar 14, 08 10:28am

What makes the so-called BR so different from BN now? Before we can even savour the victory of unseating the BN, we see you guys all acting like partisan mavericks.



On PKR threatens to pull out of Perak state gov't

Latestarter: For God’s sake, stop all this bickering! What makes the so called Barisan Rakyat so different from the Barisan Nasional now? DSAI and LKS, please get your act together, and quickly rein in your men to discipline them. Stop shooting yourselves in the foot. Before we can even savour the victory of unseating the BN, we see you guys all acting like partisan mavericks. What happened to your promises to work in consensus, cooperation and all that bullshit? Why the need for all this partisan outbursts?

Is the Barisan Rakyat a reality or not? Or is it just a dream? If this is going to carry on, all the goodwill gained from our Malay, Chinese and Indian friends is just going to be lost. If this bickering is going to go on, we might as well just surrender Perak to the BN. Grow up you nitwits. The voters have placed their trust in you. So please get off your backsides, stop all the in-fighting, and get on with the business of governing. Don’t blame the voters if they lose faith in you. Your antics are just providing more ammo to the BN who will not hesitate to exploit the racial issue to bring you down.

CH Siew: I am feeling really disgusted with the action taken by all three parties who not only can't get their act together but have started the grab for power. This is especially so for the state of Perak. Evidently this bunch of people forgot that there is still a big wolf at their door waiting for its opportunity.

Come on! Umno, MCA, Gerakan and MIC can survive together for 50 years (well, Gerakan joined in later in 1969 or so), and the opposition can't even stay together for four days?

Further more, what is with this brawl over the seat allocation? Do you need compensation if you don't get the MB seat? Honestly I find that all these struggles between parties shows the lack of professionalism, especially on DAP’s part. Have they forgotten their manifestos already? How would the people dare to trust them any more in the future?

The behaviour of these people have not grown beyond their ‘opposition’ days. Sometimes, there is always a reason why they have been where they were all these while. The people may already be feeling the slap on their face for choosing such monkeys for the job. BN may just call for a snap election within a month or so if you continue to act on in such manner.

Disgusted Indian: Don’t let the people down. If you do you will be brought down not in five years time but within five months. The people will be very disappointed if you guys play this kind of dirty politics. Let there be proper representation from all the races and get down to work.

The rakyat are not stupid. This is the first time the people have voted not as Chinese, Indian or Malay but as Malaysians supporting each other. Let’s us just fight and eradicate all forms of corruption and all things will fall into their places.

HL Ooi: Why don’t the parties in the BR alliance just stick to the original exco arrangement of DAP-PAS- PKR 6-2-2 as originally agreed by everyone? I believe the people who voted in Barisan Rakyat were not buying tickets to a cliffhanger movie. We want a BR government that can function harmoniously together without racial, religious or inter-party friction and bring improvement to the people as promised in the election manifestos of the component parties.

The people of different races and religions got together and voted harmoniously to put these people in place, trusting in their ability to show better governance, so they jolly well better reflect harmony and honour the trust that has been bestowed upon them.

Del Capo: DAP and PRK, be very, very aware that BN & Umno are in the background trying to stir trouble to break up the DAP-PKR-PAS pact and to make you look bad. Don’t fall into their trap. Hang in there and work with what you have. You have just started to gain ground. Don’t shoot yourselves just yet.


On Lim apologises, DAP reps to attend ceremony

Michael Sun: If Kit Siang can recall, that the national papers featured Fong Po Kuan on their front pages when she said she did not want to stand for elections and when she stood again, the news was buried in the tons of BN propaganda. So will your ‘apology’ and the chances are that the His Royal Highnesses would not even know that you have apologised.

Being a long time opposition leader, you should use your brain rather than your heart. Now the BN-controlled media will just send you to the cleaners. You are still behaving like an oppositionist rather than a statesman. In Perak, Selangor and Penang, you are NOT the opposition. Please behave like a statesman. Sometimes we need to move one step backwards to go two steps forward.

I hope Kit Siang learn from this. You asked the voters to ‘Just Change It’, maybe it is appropriate for you to change your 1970s style of politicking which does not jell well with the X and Y generations. May God continue to bless and protect you and give you wisdom. "

Allan Tham: Mr Lim Kiat Siang has done the right thing. DAP should be more patient and place trust on PAS as the political landscape is very much different compared to that in 1999.All opposition parties should work on a common ground to establish a capable opposition force in time to come.

Jo-han: Good on you YB, we were all worried there for awhile. Let's not give anymore fodder for the rogue mainstream papers.Your reversal and apology shows great leadership and humility, qualities we would never expect from any of the top BN leaders (until maybe a disastrous event like say losing 80 seats in a national election).

Thank you for looking at the bigger picture. It really does not matter which party holds the Perak’s MB post. What's important is you work together as a team. Let's not squabble over details and technicalities when there is so much more to do, and so much to look forward to.

Frankie Ch'ng: I think it is so unbecoming of LKS for showing much disrespect to the Sultan of Perak. I am so disappointed, even though LKS did apologise. I think DAP should be free from LKS and it is time LKS loosen his grip on DAP. Politics today has changed, the voters today are not stupid. Should LKS keep on harping on this matter, we the voters will bring the Rocket down, this I promise you.

Hami: Mr Lim Kit Siang, you and DAP surely blundered for your disrespect and greed. This showed how faithful you are and that the DAP in the BA coalition is opportunistic. Your party’s attitude not to work with PAS is just arrogance. It is time for you and DAP to review this course, before there is any change in attitude among those who supported you.


Malaysiakini.

Troubling times

Troubling times
P Ramakrishnan | Mar 7, 08 6:21pm

The silent majority must wake up and take a stand against opportunistic politicians who are using race and religion to stir the cauldron. These are troubling times and we have every reason to be troubled. Race and religion seem to be running riot and upsetting the equilibrium of our lives and portending a dangerous future for the nation.

Race and religion can cause discomfort and disquiet. They can be a very potent force that can threaten and shatter our fragile unity, undo our common efforts to live in peace and harmony.

We have witnessed these many months how unscrupulous people have used the issues of race and religion for their selfish ends without any consideration for the welfare of the country.

It is indeed sad that half-a-century of nationhood has not produced a common citizenry. We are still compartmentalised into our ethnic identities in so many ways. Whether it is your birth certificate, identity card, application forms, registering for an examination, getting married – whatever you do locally – you are forced to identify yourself along ethnic lines.

It is only when you apply for visas to leave the country that you can identify yourself as a Malaysian. But once you return home, you lose that identity.

We should not be subjected to this moral shame. It is demeaning and undignified that I should leave the country as a Malaysian and return home as an Indian.

Why is it so difficult to forge a common nationhood? Shouldn’t that be the natural consequence of independence? Wasn’t that the dream of our forefathers that eventually we would evolve into a nation with a common destiny, remaining true to King and Country?

But that was not to be so. Selfish communal politicians made sure that it is in their interest to keep the various communities apart. They never stopped stirring the cauldron of hate; they made sure that intolerance and prejudice would be there at all times, smouldering and simmering.

Stirring the cauldron

It was only recently that we witnessed how extreme the situation has become. It was shocking that so much venom was spewed with such impunity in the Umno general assembly, which was termed as ‘the most racially charged Umno event in years, shocking many people who watched the proceedings on television.’

No leader intervened to stop the speakers from expressing so much antagonism, anger and hatred. Nobody at the assembly chided them for their unbridled tirade. But, on the other hand, there was much cheering and approval for what was said.

Clearly some of the things that were said were without doubt seditious. They had a tendency to inflame emotions and provoke passions.

An Umno veteran, Mohamed Rahmat, who should known better because of his vast experience - previously a cabinet minister of many years, Malaysian ambassador to Indonesia, a long-standing former BN and Umno secretary-general - nevertheless warned, ‘Please don’t test the Malays; they know ‘amok’. We don’t want to reach that level’.

The delegate from Malacca, Hansoor Sidang Hussein, declared, ‘Umno is willing to risk lives and bathe in blood in defence of race and religion. Don’t play with fire. If they mess with our rights, we will mess with theirs’.

An Umno Youth exco member did not mince his words in expressing his views, ‘When tension rises, the blood of Malay warriors will run in our veins’.

A Penang Umno delegate, Musa Sheik Fadzir, added, ‘Don’t test the patience of the Malays and don’t play with fire’.

A Perlis delegate must have stolen the show when he put it very provocatively, ‘You have unsheathed the keris, waved it, kissed it, when are you going to use it?’

It was so bad and shocking that the PM later lamented that the level of open debate on issues relating to race and religion was worrying. But it appeared that he was helpless to put a stop to this very damaging rhetoric that had a field day!

Insensitive, irresponsible

Even component party members found the remarks intolerable.

In responding to the hate-filled sentiments at the assembly, MCA Youth chief Liow Tiong Lai said, ‘...it is regrettable that the Umno assembly was shrouded in an atmosphere of fiery and emotional sentiments, remarks that were more poisonous and unreasonable than those of the opposition.’

A clearly upset then Gerakan president Dr Lim Keng Yaik remarked, ‘You can raise issues, but you should not attack or hurt the feelings of other communities while highlighting the problems of one particular community...You think it’s very clever, but it hurts people’s feelings...Don’t do anything that will provoke’.

Said the MCA president for his part, "If we followed some of the debates over the past few days, we might think there is cause for concern."

But it should not be viewed as if only the non-Muslims were upset and angry with what transpired at the Umno assembly. A vast majority of well-meaning Malaysians, both Malays and non-Malays, were aghast that the assembly could have descended to such an atrocious level. They were disappointed that a dominant ruling party could be so insensitive and irresponsible in dehumanising and demonising all citizens outside their party.

Religious ultras, opportunistic politicians

While the racial approach is being played contemptuously, the religious approach is gaining a frightening momentum. It is fanned by the ultra-conservatives and opportunistic politicians who are hell-bent on changing the way of life that we have been accustomed to. They have gone into top gear to bring about changes that will ultimately affect all those who disagree with them by denying the very rights that are guaranteed under the constitution.

The Umno Youth leader, Hishammuddin Hussein Onn, declared to thunderous applause, ‘This is a warning from the Youth movement. Do not raise any issues in relation to Article 11'.

What does this mean? Does it mean that citizens cannot claim those rights promised under this Article? Does it imply that citizens have lost their guaranteed rights under Article 11? Does it mean those rights will not be honoured in the future?

Knowing that it is Umno that dictates policies and sets the directions of the country, citizens have cause to worry. Party decisions become national policies with no regard for the majority opinion at the national level.

Take the question of the proposed Inter-faith Council, which has come under extreme pressure and criticism. The Umno deputy president declared, ‘Umno strongly opposes the formation of the so-called Inter-Faith Council which can threaten the harmony of this country’.

It is difficult to comprehend the reasoning for this uncompromising stand. They proclaim that Islam is under assault but produce no evidence. They claim that it is an insult to Islam to have an Inter-faith Council but do not clarify how it is so.

We wonder how is it possible to have inter-religious dialogues in mature democracies in the civilised world without any of these impediments becoming a problem to inter-ethnic relations. How is it there can be so much tolerance and mutual respect elsewhere that seems to be lacking here?

No problem before

Twenty-six years ago we held a seminar with participants from different religious groups and persuasions. There was no problem. We even came out with a book, One God, Many Paths, which contained a record of the seminar proceedings reflecting the viewpoints of Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Science.

Why, 16 years ago we had another seminar which resulted in a book, The Human Being: Perspectives from Different Spiritual Traditions. That respected Islamic spiritual leader from the largest Muslim social organisation in Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid, presented a paper, ‘Aids and Impediments to the realisation of humanity according to Islam’. There was no problem.

Since then, things have taken a dramatic turn for the worse. It has become so intolerable that what used to be a natural thing as wishing and greeting one another during festive occasions and visiting open houses and holding joint celebrations have been ‘declared’ un-Islamic.

Religious incitement is on the increase. Unfounded claims were made by a mufti that between 100,000 and 250,00 Muslims had renounced Islam. That same mufti was responsible for what would have caused a nasty religious clash by spreading rumours that a church in Ipoh was going to conduct a baptism ceremony for Muslims. But strangely, no action has been taken against him, even though he was guilty.

Time to wake up

If we take a careful look at the way things are evolving, it reveals a minority vocal group in influential positions who are dictating terms and deciding policies. And as long as the majority who disagree with them stay sullen and silent, things will not get better – it will only become worse.

That is why it is necessary for the majority of Malaysians to realise that unless we get together and take a common stand against the forces that pose a clear danger to our ethnic relations and harmony, we stand to lose all that we cherish.

Well-meaning people must get involved in this effort all over the country and send forth a clear message that if the present political leaders do not change, then we must change them for the good of the nation. We must not hesitate but act seriously and bravely.

Let us draw strength and hope from this saying: ‘It is from the numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance’.
P RAMAKRISHNAN is Aliran president. This article first appeared in Aliran Monthly.

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Melayu, Islam tetap diutamakan

Melayu, Islam tetap diutamakan
Mar 13, 08 11:01pm
Nasib orang Melayu dan kepentingan Islam akan tetap terpelihara bawah kerajaan baru pakatan DAP-PKR, kata timbalan ketua menterinya Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin hari ini.

Bercakap kepada media selepas majlis mengangkat sumpah jawatan di hadapan Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas di Dewan Sri Pinang, Mohammad Fairus berkata dua perkara itu telah diamanahkan untuk dijaganya.

"Agenda Melayu adalah agenda yang penting yang telah diamanahkan kepada saya dan saya tak akan sama sekali membiarkan perkara ini goes in vain. Saya akan pastikan kepentingan ini terbela sebaik-baiknya," beliau dipetik sebagai berkata.

Beliau, yang menang kerusi Penanti, berkata beliau akan memastikan segala perancangan yang dibuat oleh kerajaan negeri tidak akan mengorbankan kepentingan orang Melayu di negeri itu, lapor Bernama.

Mengulas isu ekonomi, lulusan sains politik Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) itu berkata, "agenda ekomoni baru ini mengambil kira kepentingan semua kaum, sekiranya Melayu terpinggir maka Melayu akan dibela, begitu juga jika Cina atau India yang terpinggir maka mereka juga akan dibela."

Orang Melayu di negeri itu, tambahnya, perlu menilai keupayaan mereka dan tidak menjadikan rasuah dan amalan kronisme untuk memajukan diri mereka.

Kerajaan baru itu juga tidak akan mengamalkan sikap cauvinisme dan sentimen yang boleh menimbulkan ketegangan kaum, kata Mohammad Fairus, yang juga setiausaha PKR negeri.

Malaysiakini.

Between perception and reality

Between perception and reality
Posted by Raja Petra
Wednesday, 12 March 2008

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In spite of all the rhetoric, Barisan Nasional knows it lost the 2008 general election. The final result may show that it won, but if you exclude the one million 'stuffed votes', then this would translate to a loss.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Politics is not always what you see. Even if the great Houdini or David Copperfield tried their hands at politics, all the 'magic' in the world could not transform political perception into reality, and vice versa. The perception was, until midnight of 8 March 2008, is that the invincible Barisan Nasional could not be brought down. The reality is it can.

Another perception is that Barisan Nasional still won the 2008 General Election with a comfortable margin. Sure, it lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament. But it is still above the 112 seats it requires to form a government with a simple majority. The reality is, Barisan Nasional garnered less than 50% of the popular vote in Peninsular Malaysia. Only when the votes from Sabah and Sarawak are added in would Barisan Nasional's share of the popular votes increase above 50%, but even then only slightly above 50%. In other words, the ruling coalition versus opposition votes were split almost 50:50. But then the ruling coalition comprises of 14 political parties as opposed to the opposition's three. It was like a football match of 14 players versus only three.

Even then the football match analogy would not be that accurate. In this particular 'football match', the referee, linesmen and water-boy also kicked the ball and scored a few goals, every goal the opposition scored was declared foul, they tied the legs of the three opposition players so that they could not run but could only hop all over the field, and much more. And even before the kick-off, they declared that the 14 players from the ruling team had one million goals to their credit. This one million goal handicap were the quarter million postal votes and the estimated three quarters of a million 'phantom' voters. The ruling coalition had safely tucked away one million votes into the ballot box long before 8 March 2008. It was already 1 million-zero before the football game started.

Yet, in spite of all this -- in spite of the one million vote advantage, the mainstream media it controlled, the government machinery at its disposal, the police on its side, the Elections Commission as its fifteenth coalition member, the threats of Indians and Chinese 'losing their voice in the government' if they voted opposition, banning Raja Petra Kamarudin from speaking in Penang, and much, much more -- the best Barisan Nasional could do was win only half the votes.

The opposition fought with catapults and swords against an army that had helicopter gunships, rocket launchers, napalm bombs, night vision telescopes, and satellite tracking devices at its disposal. Even the Taliban of Afghanistan did not have that hard a time when it sent the Russians packing back to Moscow. Yet the opposition garnered 50% of the popular votes, denied Barisan Nasional its two-thirds majority in Parliament, and captured five states. If it had been a level playing field, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would no longer be the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

But Abdullah is not going to remain Prime Minister for long though. The next general election, which can be called any time after 8 March 2011 and before 8 March 2013, will be led by a new Prime Minister. This new Prime Minister might be from the ranks of Barisan Nasional, in particular Umno, but then again it might not.

The opposition needs just another 30 more Parliament seats to form the next federal government. If 30 Members of Parliament from any of the component members of Barisan Nasional, Umno included, cross over, then the Barisan Nasional government will fall. Sarawak and Sabah have more than 50 Parliament seats. And there are another 80 plus in Peninsular Malaysia. And all the opposition needs is just 30 from this more than 130.

Even if the rakyat are not yet ready for an opposition-led federal government but would like the Barisan Nasional government to remain in office for awhile longer to give the opposition time to prove it can manage the five states before being entrusted with the job of running this country, the Prime Minister can still be changed. And for that to happen, 30 Members of Parliament from Barisan Nasional just need to stand up and support an opposition vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister as soon as Parliament is convened.

When that happens, according to the Constitution, then the Agong has no choice but to elect a new Prime Minister from amongst the Members of the House whom, in His Majesty's opinion, would command the confidence of the majority of the House. Though this new Prime Minister must also be a Member of Parliament, he need not be from the ruling coalition. He could also be an opposition Member of Parliament just as long as he commands the confidence of the majority of the House. In other words, if the Agong is of the opinion that Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah would command the confidence of not less than 112 Parliamentarians, then His Majesty can appoint Ku Li as the new Prime Minister. And Ku Li appears to be the only Member of Parliament thus far who would get the support of both Barisan Nasional as well as the three opposition parties.

Abdullah will of course pre-empt this by offering Ku Li the position of Minister of Trade. Abdullah hopes that once Ku Li is made a Minister, and of a quite important portfolio on top of that, Ku Li would not entertain any thoughts of passing a vote of no confidence in Parliament against the Prime Minister. I suppose even millionaire Princes have their price and probably Ku Li's price is an important cabinet post.

In spite of all the rhetoric, Barisan Nasional knows it lost the 2008 general election. The final result may show that it won, but if you exclude the one million 'stuffed votes', then this would translate to a loss. Abdullah saw his majority slide by 7,000 votes. If the postal and phantom votes are excluded, then Abdullah would suffer the fate of Zam and Sharizat. In actual fact, Abdullah should have been automatically disqualified anyway since he never filed his 1999 election accounts. Any way you look at it, Abdullah is an illegitimate Prime Minister.

Abdullah's son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, too lost. On the first count he lost by 114 votes. He then demanded a recount and this 114-vote loss mysteriously transformed to a 5,000-vote win. The great David Copperfield himself has admitted that even he is not able to perform this trick. Khairy knows he lost. Every man and his dog knows he lost. Whatever you might say can never transform this perception into reality.

This could never have happened if Umno had not turned on Khairy. Opposition votes alone could never defeat Khairy. It needed Umno votes swinging to the opposition to be able to do this. And this is what alarmed Khairy. Rembau was a safe seat. No opposition candidate could have made it in Rembau unless Umno too votes opposition. And this is what happened on 8 March 2008 in Rembau.

The signal is clear. Abdullah and his son-in-law were not rejected by the opposition. They were rejected by Umno. So, looking at what happened in the 2008 general election, it is not a pie in the sky for 30 Members of Parliament from Barisan Nasional standing up to throw their support behind the opposition in passing a vote of no confidence against Abdullah at the next Parliament session. And the same simple majority would also not have any problems in accepting Ku Li as the new Prime Minister of Malaysia.

This is what lies in wait. And Abdullah and Khairy are frantically talking to each and every Barisan Nasional Member of Parliament to find out where they stand if such a scenario transpires. They are not leaving the opposition Members of Parliament out as well. Abdullah and Khairy are sending out feelers to see if PAS would like to join Barisan Nasional and be part of the ruling government. If PAS agrees to cross over, then not only would Abdullah be safe from a vote of no confidence, but Kelantan, Kedah, Perak and Selangor would also fall back into Barisan Nasional hands. Only one state, Penang, would remain opposition. They are also talking to those from PKR and offering millions to those who agree to cross-over. The going rate is RM10 million per head. And although the cost may total RM500 million or so, if they can get at least half the opposition Members of Parliament to cross over, then the price would be worth it and RM500 million would be peanuts to retain the post of Prime Minister, unchallenged, and getting back four of the five states under opposition control.

Tomorrow, we should see the Selangor and Perak state governments getting sworn in. PKR will lead Selangor and DAP, Perak. That would mean two states would be led by PAS, two by DAP, with one for PKR.

This is only the beginning. Winning the five states and denying Barisan Nasional its two-thirds majority in Parliament was damn difficult but still relatively easy compared to what lies ahead. We shall talk more about this later once all the state governments settle down. The problem now is money and that is the first thing we need to address. And Malaysia Today is already talking to various parties as to how we can attract investments into the five opposition-led states. We shall show the rakyat who voted for us how we run these five states in spite of being denied any federal funds. Then, come the next election, the rakyat will vote the opposition state governments back into office not because of rhetoric, fiery speeches and promises but because of performance and the ability to deliver. If not, expect all these states to go back to Barisan Nasional.

Sistem dua barisan dalam pembentukan?

Sistem dua barisan dalam pembentukan?
Lee Ban Chen | Mar 12, 08 5:15pm
Malaysia telah dilanda tsunami politik pada 8 Mac 2008 yang menyebabkan Barisan Nasional kehilangan majoriti dua pertiga dalam Parlimen (BN: 140 kerusi, pembangkang dan bebas: 82 kerusi) dan kuasa pemerintahan empat lagi kerajaan negeri (Pulau Pinang, kedah, Perak dan Selangor) sudah diambilalih oleh parti-parti pembangkang, di samping Kelantan yang sedia dalam tangan PAS.

Rasanya hingga sekarang masih ramai yang masih tidak dapat mempercayai ‘angin perubahan’ boleh memuncak ke tahap ‘tsunami’ yang dalam sekelip mata telah mengubah landskap politik negara kita! Namun ini bukan mimpi tetapi realiti yang perlu diterima oleh semua pihak terbabit supaya dapat menyesuaikan diri dengan perkembangan terbaru ini..

‘Tsunami politik’ sungguhpun mengejutkan, ia juga umpama tsunami alam, pasti ada sebab musababnya meskipun ia gagal dikesani sebelum berlaku. Jika parti-parti atau para penganalisis politik (termasuk saya sendiri) tidak dapat menjangka perubahan politik yang total ini, atau lebih teruk lagi tidak dapat terima dan menyesuaikan diri (umpamanya bekas menteri-menteri besar yang ‘menghilangkan’ diri), bermakna kita sebenarnya sudah gagal mengetahui sentimen dan trend pengundi sebelum mengundi, dan tidak berani menghadapi realiti baru selepas para pengundi membuat keputusan muktamad.

Punca ‘tsunami politik’ tidak dapat dikesani terlebih awal, selain daripada kemungkinan yang berkaitan dengan penguasaan secara struktur dan monopoli media/pendapat umum oleh BN serta sekatan dan tindasan terhadap parti-parti pembangkang, badan bukan kerajaan dan media alternatif melalui undang-undang represif dan alat-alat negara, mungkin juga berkaitan dengan kelemahan-kelemahan badan-badan terbabit, khasnya tersisih daripada masyarakat pelbagai lapisan.

Rasanya ramai penganalisis politik, termasuk media dan parti alternatif hanya mengesani perubahan drastik dan meluas sentimen pengundi kaum India kerana telah ‘dikejutkan’ oleh perhimpunan raksasa Hindraf pada hujung tahun 2007 serta perkembangan susulannya, termasuk penahanan lima pemimpin Hindraf di bawah ISA yang terkutuk dan tindasan ganas terhadap mereka yang ingin menghantar ‘bunga ros’ kepada Perdana Menteri Abdullah, meminta agar tahanan-tahanan ISA dibebaskan.

Menjelang pilihanraya umum, sentimen pengundi Cina juga dipercayai lebih menguntungkan calon DAP, sungguhpun mereka sering dianggap sebagai pengundi yang ‘sofistikated’ dan sukar diteka. Misalnya kehadiran mereka dalam perhimpunan ceramah calon pembangkang tidak menjamin mereka pasti akan memberi undi kepada calon terbabit, dan yang mengundi calon pembangkang mungkin juga melakukannya secara senyap-senyap tanpa diketahui orang lain.

Kejutan kepada BN

Mungkin kerana terpengaruh oleh propaganda Umno/BN (umpamanya riuh rendah tentang tekad merampas kembali DUN Kelantan) dan media aurs perdana bahawa kaum Melayu adalah penyokong setia Umno/BN dan pengaruh PAS dan PKR (khasnya faktor Anwar Ibrahim dan gerakan reformasi) sudah makin merosot. Perlu diakui, jarang ada yang mempercayai matlamat pembangkang untuk menafi dua pertiga kerusi BN akan dicapai dalam pilihanraya umum kali ini.

Sungguphpun ada sebab musababnya, tidak dapat dinafikan juga wujudnya unsur kebetulan di luar sangkaan. Umpamanya siapakah dapat menjangka Lim Guan Eng yang terumbang-ambing ke sana ke mari mencari tempat selamat untuk bertanding, boleh angkat sumpah menjadi Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang sekarang? Siapa pula dapat menjangka DAP sanggup menubuhkan kerajaan negeri bersama PAS? Dengan kata lain, implikasi ‘tsunami politik’ kali ini amat meluas dan mendalam, jauh lebih signifikan daripada perasaan kejutan saja. Ia memerlukan kajian yang lebih teliti, tetapi yang nyata ialah:

Pertama, jelas sekali ‘Harapan baru’ (slogan PKR), ‘Jom berubah’ (slogan DAP) dan ‘Negara kebajikan’ (slogan PAS ) telah disambut baik oleh pengundi pelbagai bangsa untuk menafikan majoriti dua pertiga BN dalam Parlimen, dan menyebabkan BN kehilangan kuasa pemerintahan di lima negeri.

Namun, ia bukan saja merupakan ‘kejutan’ kepada BN, tetapi juga merupakan ‘kejutan’ kepada parti-parti pembangkang terbabit, ‘kematangan’ dan ‘keunikan’ tingkah laku dan cara-cara para pengundi dalam menggembleng ‘tsunami’ politik memerlukan kajian yang lebih perinci. Begitu juga tentang peranan yang dimainkan oleh klip video, SMS , e-mail , blog dan media elektronik yang rasanya amat berkesan kali ini.

Kerajaan campuran

Kedua, sistem Dua Barisan yang diperjuangankan sejak hujung tahun 80-an abad ke-20 seolah-olah dalam pembentukan pada peringkat awal dengan tertubuhnya kerajaan negeri campuran oleh DAP, PKR dan PAS di Perak dan Selangor (belum begitu jelas lagi di Pulau Pinang dan Kedah ) sungguhpun DAP telah menarik diri dari Barisan Alternatif .

Yang sinis tetapi amat bermakna ialah sokongan pengundi kepada ketiga-tiga parti pembangkang terbabit serta pertimbangan politik untuk berkuasa telah ‘memudahkan’ DAP dan PAS mengambil sikap pragmatik yang sanggup berkompromi antara satu sama lain agar tidak mengecewakan sokongan dan pilihan para pengundi yang begitu nekad dan bijak.

Ini satu perkembangan yang patut dialu-alukan dan dihargai oleh semua pihak, sebagai peluang dan inisiatif baru untuk memulihkan kerjasama dalam Barisan Alternatif jika pembangkang ingin mengambil alih kuasa kerajaan pusat pada suatu hari nanti.

Ketiga, selepas dilanda tsunami politik, nampaknya Umno telah diberi pengajaran seperti dijanjikan, MCA, Gerakan dan MIC telah menerima pukulan maut oleh pengundi pelbagai kaum. Dalam keadaan ini, legitimasi parti-parti tersebut untuk mendakwa parti masing-masing mewakili kaum-kaum terbabit sudah dinafikan oleh pengundi pelbagai kaum. Keadaan ini menandakan tumbangnya politik perkauman dan falsafah kongsi kuasa BN yang sudah menghidap barah rasuah, kronisme dan nepotisme yang tidak dapat diubati.
Ringkasnya, harapan politik perkauman beransur-ansur diganti dengan politik baru, yang menekankan keadilan untuk semua tanpa mengira bangsa atau agama, sudah wujud dengan sokongan padu pelbagai kaum seperti yang ditunjukkan dalam pilihanraya umum ke-12 yang baru-baru dilangsungkan.

Harapan baru dan peluang keemasan sudah benar-benar wujud selepas setengah abad negara kita mencapai kemerdekaan, dan sesudah pengorbanan demi pengorbanan oleh begitu ramai pejuang politik negara kita dari semasa ke semasa. Oleh itu, kita wajib meneruskan perjuangan sehingga terlaksananya Malaysia yang benar-benar adil, demokratik, bebas, makmur dan progresif!

Malaysiakini.

Guan Eng: These are not populist policies

Guan Eng: These are not populist policies
Beh Lih Yi | Mar 13, 08 6:36pm

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has said his two major announcements after taking office and which won accolades from the people were not meant to be populist policies.

This include his move to waive all summonses involving hawker licences and parking fees before the general election, as well as to appoint a Malay and an Indian as his deputies.

"If I want to make populist moves, I will cancel many more things, not just traffic summonses," he said in Penang today when asked to comment on whether he is running the state government as a populist government.

Elaborating on the decision, he said there have been a lot of complaints on how the summonses were issued and policies which were not carried out in a transparent manner.

"We want a fresh start since this is a new government that is a complete departure from the previous government. So let’s have a fresh start from March 11," he added, referring to the day that he was sworn in as the fourth chief minister of Penang.

While the move to waive the summonses was well-received by Penangites, critics had said this may not be an appropriate as it is done at the expense of the government’s coffer. Lim was uncertain about the exact figure when asked earlier.

Asked on the same subject today, the CM replied: "We have an estimate of the cost, we will work it out (but remember) all these collections you don’t get in full. We are trying to get a final amount."

Lim has also named its ally PKR’s Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin and DAP’s P Ramasamy as the DCM (I) and (II) respectively to show his government represents all communities.

The move was hailed by many parties as it was the first time an Indian has been appointed to such a high post, in the wake of grouses that the Indian community has long been marginalised.

The appointment of Mohammad Fairus as DCM (1) in the state is also seen as a move to pacify anxiety among the Malays in Penang, a minority group, that they will be sidelined by the predominantly Chinese DAP.

State exco line-up unveiled

Lim was met by reporters after witnessing 10 state executive councillors, including his two deputies, sworn in this morning at the Dewan Sri Pinang on the island. (See chart below)

The state exco line-up comprises seven representatives from the DAP and three from PKR.

They are DAP’s Chow Kon Yeow (Padang Kota), Wong Hon Wai (Air Itam), Lim Hock Seng (Bagan Jermal), Ong Kok Fooi (Berapit), Phee Boon Poh (Sungai Puyu), Law Heng Kiang (Batu Lanchang), PKR’s Law Choo Kiang (Bukit Tambun) and Abdul Malik Abul Kassim (Batu Maung).

On the line-up, the CM disagreed that the prominent portfolios - such as economic planning, local government and international trade - were all allocated to DAP representatives.

"I don’t think so, I think the portfolios are well distributed. It didn’t go to any particular party and (it was finalised) after discussion with PKR. I will reject that sort of analysis," he said.

"This is a government for all and I will have regular discussion with my two deputies," he added.

Penang PKR chief Zahrain Mohamed Hashim when asked on the same issue said he was of the view that the portfolios given to the party’s state representatives were "proportionate".

"I think the portfolios are very relevant to us and I have got the assurance from Guan Eng that I am free to discuss with him at anytime (on state’s matters)," he told reporters when met at the sidelines of the ceremony.

Other PKR representatives felt that the PKR and DAP will work together for the betterment of Penangites regardless of the posts given.

"Nobody is not important. Whatever the arrangement is, we shall cooperate with each other," said PKR’s Kebun Bunga state assemblyperson Jason Ong.

Bukit Tambun’s Law conceded he was surprised at first when he was told of the portfolio given to him as he was more familiar in the areas of education and business.

"But every portfolio is equally important," he stressed.




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Penang CM slams PM, denies stoking racial tension

Penang CM slams PM, denies stoking racial tension
Beh Lih Yi | Mar 13, 08 5:57pm
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has vehemently refuted Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s claim that he was stoking racial tension over the issue of dismantling the New Economy Policy (NEP) in the island state.

In a sign that could signal the start of a rocky relationship between the federal and the state governments, Lim has instead slammed Abdullah for seeking to provoke racial tensions with his allegations.

“I said we will have an open-tender system (in Penang). What’s the problem with that? Unless Abdullah doesn’t like open tenders but corruption, cronyism and inefficiency.

“I don’t understand what has it (abolishing the NEP) got to do with marginalising the Malay or the Indian community. I think he is not right, (he’s) going on the wrong facts and trying to provoke (racial) sentiment,” Lim told a press conference after witnessing the swearing-in of 10 of his state excos at the Dewan Sri Pinang today.

Yesterday, Abdullah expressed his dismay over the plan by the DAP-led state government not to practise the NEP, an affirmative action policy which favours the bumiputeras.

“Do not marginalise the Malays. I want to ask Lim Guan Eng what are his plans for the Malays in Penang. What are his plans for the Indians in Penang. What are his plans for other minority groups in Penang?” said Abdullah.

Who hold the shares?

At the press conference, the Penang CM argued that the NEP was a source of corruption, citing the example of the unequal distribution of wealth, including shares which were ‘swallowed up’ by a few selected individuals.

“If they want to help Malaysians, I asked these people to ‘vomit out’ some of the (bumiputera) shares... Who hold these shares? Perhaps (Umno Wanita chief) Rafidah Aziz,” he claimed.

“We have not enacted any policy which marginalises a certain group. The only decision that we have made is to waive the (traffic and hawkers) summonses - tell me, which group loses out with that?”

In a sarcastic tone, Lim said the premier’s criticism could have been linked to his revelation yesterday that the RM25 billion project of the Penang Global City Centre (PGCC) had yet been approved by the local authorities.

“I understand why he may not be happy with my decision on the PGCC, but the PGCC is not even related to a Malay developer,” argued the Penang CM.

The PGCC is undertaken by developer Abad Naluri, an associate company of Equine Capital Berhad which is controlled by the premier’s ally, businessman Patrick Lim.

Abdullah ‘not informed’

Lim also suggested that the prime minister might have made his criticism without checking out the facts beforehand.

“The PM maybe provoked by Utusan Malaysia - that I wouldn’t know. (But) I understand, because when he launched the PGCC, he was not informed that the project was not even approved, still he went ahead and launched it - this could be just the same case,” a combative Lim said.

Asked on his assurance to the Malay community in the state that they would not be marginalised, Lim reiterated that his government is for all races.

Meanwhile, PKR - DAP’s ally in the state government - gave the party’s backing to the Penang state government on the decision to do away with NEP.

“The NEP is no longer new - it has been there for 30 years and it has failed to a certain extent,” said Bayan Baru member of parliament Zahrain Mohamed Hashim, who is also PKR state chief.

“It’s time to explain to Malaysians about the Malaysian Economic Agenda which is fairer,” said Zahrain, referring to the need-based policy advocated by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

“The Malays would not be sidelined in the new state government, this is an assurance that Lim has given to me and it’s the duty of the state government to ensure all communities are taken care of,” said Zahrain.

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DAP, PKR stumbles to be expected

DAP, PKR stumbles to be expected
Abdullah Junid | Mar 13, 08 5:28pm

Well, that didn't take long, did it? The polling booths have hardly emptied, and the bickering among and against the Barisan Rakyat (BA) coalition has already started. There's conflict over the Perak Mentri Besar's post, while the Selangor and Perak palaces appear to be engendering some political mischief.

Meanwhile, Pak Lah and Mohamed Khir Toyo have already given a preview of Umno's line of attack over the next four years - what else, but harping on the erosion of Malay rights - while the mainstream media is beginning to stir up some mischief of its own (Beware! PAS is going to turn Kedah into an Islamic state, yadda,yadda).

Now, the DAP appears to have got their wires crossed, with the Perak branch seemingly at odds with the national body over who should have beeen the Perak Mentri Besar.

Before anybody gets into panic mode, take a deep breath and relax. This is just a healthy, robust Parliamentary democracy at work, as rival parties pounce on stumbles by their opponents. Did you expect everyone to now sit under the banyan tree, sip teh tarik and sing ‘Kumbaya’?

That would be boring, frankly.

And, boy, have the DAP stumbled politically right out of the gate. Clearly, the party is not used to governing and is going to go through some teething pains as it adjusts to learning the subtle nuances of being the government in some states.

The DAP's style in opposition has always been that of a bull rampaging in a china shop. And that has probably been necessary, considering the odds it has always faced, and that have allowed it to survive successfully. But it seems to have instinctively adopted the same approach in its initial days in government, and it has resulted in some embarrassing setbacks.

First, the Perak brouhaha. The DAP clearly did not know what it's right hand was doing while the left hand was doing something else. The state DAP submitted three names on the understanding that whoever the palace chose would be acceptable.

Now that the palace has chosen the sole PAS rep - maybe with a view to create some ripples within the opposition coalition - it is bad form for Lim Kit Siang to have a knee-jerk reaction more suited to being an opposition figure rather than the head of a party that is now part of some state governments.

There is also the little matter of the state constitution, which states that the MB should be a Muslim Malay. It comes across as hypocritical for DAP to whine about the Perak palace following the state constitution when the DAP itself is part of a coalition whose sole aim in the elections was to deny the national BN a two-thirds majority and the ability to amend the national constitution!

Second, Lim Guan Eng has also shown some political amateurism in his first few days as Penang chief minister. It was silly of him to declare openly that the state government would no longer follow the New Economic Policy, and then to go on and bad-mouth the NEP.

Hello, the policy may be unfair and may have engendered lots of corruption and mal- administration. But the Malays, as a whole, have clearly benefitted from the policy, and to stand up and declare right off the bat that you are going to pull this ‘rug’ from under them is not smart politics.

Why not just not say anything about the NEP? Why not just say we are going to share things more fairly in the future without heightening the anxiety many Malays must be quietly feeling after last Saturday? This is not the time to create a ruckus. For the first year or so, it would be better if the governments formed by the Barisan Rakyat quietly go about finding their feet as governments and make everyone comfortable with having them at the helm.

Tread softly, please. At least until you have gained some experience and the people's confidence.

Is it any surprise that the seasoned player Pak Lah immediately latched onto the stray pass from Guan Eng and scored a quick goal by warning him about ... yes, you guessed it .... eroding Malay rights?

Developments of the last few days also seem to indicate that this marriage of convenience among the PKR, DAP and PAS, forged solely out of anger over the excesses of the BN, is going to face a rocky future. It's all muhibbah now, but it is difficult to see how the DAP and PAS, who have absolutely nothing in common ideologically, will be able to forge a deeper partnership.

In fact, the glue that held it all together during the run-up to the election was Anwar Ibrahim. One wonders how long he will be willing to continue being the referee between these two parties.

After all, Anwar has his own party to look after. And let's get real here. Anwar naturally wants to be the nation's undisputed leader, backed by his own party holding a parliamentary majority, not someone who is going to spend the rest of his political life putting out other people's fires.

So interesting times lie ahead.

Meanwhile, could someone please clarify what is the accepted official term for the opposition .... er, Barisan Rakyat .... er, Barisan Altenatif? At least it would make things easier for humble commentators like myself to write clearly about things.

Hey, a standard name could be the first solid cooperative effort following the elections - if the DAP and PAS can agree on it first!

Guidelines for Letters.Malaysiakini.

Sultan, please listen to rakyat's voice

Sultan, please listen to rakyat's voice
Edward Beruang | Mar 13, 08 5:28pm

The Selangor sultan's reasons for wanting a Malay deputy mentri besar are, with due respect to His Highness, very disappointing. His private secretary said, on TV3's news, that it was because, "Sometimes when the MB is away, we need the deputy MB to officiate at functions like opening a mosque. If the deputy MB is a non-Malay, things could be difficult."

What is disappointing is that the sultan has built an image (in the media) of a progressive, enlightened, open-minded and fair man. He told the media that he wanted to limit the issuance of datukships to ensure ‘better quality’ datuks. He summoned the (late) Datuk Zakaria Deros to the istana (the real istana in Shah Alam and not the one built by Zakaria in Klang) to account for his misdeeds in Klang.

But now the sultan's private secretary has cited this perplexing reason. I mean, when the mentri besar is away, can't they find a single Muslim state exco member to officiate at mosque openings? What about the state mufti?

We already have a Malay mentri besar. Will it jeopardise the position of Malays if Chinese and Indian deputy MBs are appointed? Even PAS has appointed a non-Malay state exco member in Kedah despite that there are very few non-Malay state assemblymen there.

All this seems totally at odds with the image of the sultan himself. He is seen at high society events like the great Louis Vuitton bash, and cuts the figure of an urbane, educated man. Surely, His Highness has more substance and depth as a fair-minded man beyond the issue of datukships?

We earnestly hope that such reasons are not coming from him. Perhaps the sultan's private secretary was speaking in his personal capacity? We hope that His Highness can clarify this matter speedily, especially in these times of political uncertainty.

The people of Selangor have spoken loud and clear. We have voted in a multi-racial coalition for change. Penang has already appointed a deputy MB to include even an Indian, to indicate a sense of inclusiveness for all races. That, surely, is the progressive, forward-thinking thing to do?

We pray that the sultan can listen to the rakyat's voice in this respect. That he can really be a modern monarch that reflects the aspirations of the Selangor people. The alternative - being a feudal-type ruler who does not respect democratic decisions - is something that was supposed to wither away when we declared Merdeka in 1957.

We hope that he can be a ruler that is truly respected by all ethnic groups, a sultan for all the people of Selangor.

Guidelines for Letters. malaysiakini.
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Ex-MCA veep: Chinese have rejected Ka Ting

Ex-MCA veep: Chinese have rejected Ka Ting
Soon Li Tsin | Mar 13, 08 5:36pm

Former MCA vice-president Chua Jui Meng made a plea to current party president Ong Ka Ting to do the right thing and step down.

At a press conference in his Kuala Lumpur office today, Chua said the Chinese community has already "rejected Ong in the clearest possible manner."

"For the sake of MCA, please reconsider your decision not to step down. You must do the honourable thing. It is only politically ethical to take responsibility," he said.

Describing the party’s election defeat as "the darkest hour in our history", the former health minister said Ong placed his personal agenda above MCA and Barisan Nasional (BN).

"He dropped all the experienced and senior MPs who consistently delivered the votes and carried huge majorities even in the 1999 elections. They were taken out in name of rejuvenation.

Bakri seat

Chua then proceeded to give several examples including his own seat in Bakri which was the sole parliamentary seat lost in the BN stronghold of Johor.

"I was taken out, the president did not even call me. I built up this parliamentary seat since 1986 which I won for five terms.

"What was the reason? Bakri was a strong division with 13,000 members. People said if I stood, they would support me, not the party," the seasoned politician related.

In 2004, Chua defeated DAP’s Azhari Ismail by a massive 19,059 majority.

However, in the elections that just ended, Ong picked Tay Puay Chuan from the Muar division who lost by 722 votes to DAP’s Er Teck Hwa.

Chua also said that Ong had picked new faces to contest in order to secure their votes to retain his president position in the party elections due to take place in three month’s time.

Silent politics

Another reason why MCA did so poorly was because Ong remained silent on many important issues that were besieging the Chinese community, according to Chua.

"He remained silent when people expected him as party president to speak up for the community. All he would say is that he would discuss this behind closed doors

"A silent politician is no politician. Silent politics is equivalent to zero politics. We paid for that big mistake he made," he asserted.

He added if MCA does not address the problem in its leadership, the party will suffer "a tsunami together with a tornado" in the next general election

Relations between Ong and Chua had soured since the latter challenged the former for the MCA presidential post in the 2004 party elections.

However Chua lost and has been sidelined by the party since then. He went on to focus on his business ventures soon after.

Asked whether he would make a political comeback, he smiled and answered: "I don’t think so. I’m thoroughly enjoying my time now."

Performed well

The 12th general election saw the opposition clocking their biggest win in history getting about 49 percent of the majority vote and 82 out of 222 parliamentary seats.

While Umno did not lose the bulk of their support, other component parties such as MCA, MIC, Gerakan and PPP suffered phenomenal losses.

Quizzed whether the plea for Ong to step down applies to BN chairperson Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as well, Chua replied: "No."

"The decision by Umno has already been made. He performed well under the circumstances," he said.

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Khalid sworn in as S'gor MB

Khalid sworn in as S'gor MB
Fauwaz Abdul Aziz | Mar 13, 08 5:47pm

PKR secretary-general and Ijok state representative Abdul Khalid Ibrahim today received the appointment letter and was sworn in as the 14th Selangor menteri besar before Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.

The 20-minute ceremony took place at Istana Bukit Kayangan in Shah Alam at 3.30pm.

After taking the oath of office, Khalid signed the appointment letter witnessed by Shah Alam High Court Judge Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad.

Among those present at the ceremony were State Secretary Ramli Mahmud, PAS state commissioner and Gombak Setia state representative Hassan Mohd Ali, and DAP publicity secretary and Kinrara state assemblyperson Teresa Kok.

In the press conference that followed, Khalid said he has not been given a "deadline" to submit to the sultan the name for a deputy menteri besar.

The more urgent matter at the moment is that of the state executive committee (exco) members, who have to be sworn in on or before March 22 and who will spearhead the state development programmes, he said.

"I have not given any advice (to the sultan on the matter). I will (seek as soon as possible to) reveal only the exco positions first, so that it gives us enough time to work out what are our plans for the future of Selangor," he said.

"(The issue of excos) is of a higher priority than the position (of deputy menteri besar)," he added.

Earlier in the press conference, the Selangor Sultan’s private secretary Muhd Munir Bani had said reports that the palace was in favour of appointing a deputy menteri besar from one particular race was not true.

As the Sultan’s responsibilities include being head of Islamic affairs and matters pertaining to Malay customs, however, the appointed deputy menteri besar "should be a Malay Muslim in order to facilitate the above tasks," said Munir.

Capability of exco members

Commenting on this, Khalid said it would take time to resolve the issue.

"You must appreciate that we are in a monarchy system in that (many) states have their own conventions that need to be considered very carefully," he said.

DAP leader Kok, among other leading figures in Selangor, had been widely rumoured to be in the running for the post of deputy menteri besar.

Admitting that he had been pressured by various quarters lobbying one or other candidate for the post, Khalid said it was normal occurrence.

"From business... and organisational point of view, we have to work together to assign people on the basis of their capability and also the type of assignment we want to give them," he said.

On the Sultan’s advice to him as incoming MB, Khalid said he was counselled to ensure that there are no drastic changes of senior civil servant or other employees so as to ensure the state government machinery operates as smoothly as possible.

Among the first steps to ensure that state government’s operational costs do not needlessly increase, Khalid also said he will recommend that government offices not be refurbished or renovated to any great degree or other such expenditures for at least one year.

"The people want to see us managing Selangor in the most effective and transparent manner. I owe it to the voters, so as the first step, we will limit the luxuries but sustain the activities of the state," he said.

Among the state government’s present challenges is fulfilling PKR, DAP and PAS’ election promises while facing such economic issues as inflation, the slowing down of global economies, and ensuring that Selangor continues to grow, said Khalid.

Commenting on the New Economic Policy (NEP) that the DAP-led Penang government, on the one hand, vowed to dismantle while the PAS-led states of Kedah and Kelantan, on the other hand, said they would ‘reform’ the NEP, Khalid said it was "not an issue" for the Selangor.

"(The question is) have we done enough to everyone of those in need, whether they are Malays, Chinese, Indians or others? We must respect the constitution which gives rights to Malays, but not to the extent of jeopardising the cohesiveness of the community," he said.

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Swearing-In Of Perak MB Postponed

Swearing-In Of Perak MB Postponed PDF Print E-mail
Posted by Raja Petra
Thursday, 13 March 2008

(Bernama) -- The swearing-in of a PAS state assemblyman as the new Perak Menteri Besar which was scheduled to be held at Istana Iskandariah, Kuala Kangsar this afternoon had been postponed.

The postponement was announced by the Comptroller of the Royal Household at the Istana Iskandariah, Datuk Seri Raja Mansor Raja Razman.

Perak PAS secretary Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin was initially scheduled to take his oath of office as the Menteri Besar before the Regent of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah at 4pm today.

DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang had earlier instructed all the 18 DAP state assemblymen in Perak to stay away from the ceremony as he did not agree to the selection of the PAS representative as the Menteri Besar. Lim later apologised and retracted his statement.

Meanwhile, Istana Kinta said in a statement faxed to Bernama that the postponement was in view of the latest development that showed that the DAP, PKR and PAS had not reached a strong consensus in forming the coalition government.

The statement, signed by the Private Secretary to the Sultan of Perak, Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohamad Nor, said that Raja Dr Nazrin Shah had ordered that the swearing-in ceremony be postponed.

"In the light of recent developments, it appears to his Royal Highness The Regent of Perak Darul Ridzuan, that there are some uncertainties as to whether the three parties, DAP, PKR, PAS are able to work together to form a coalition, and form a stable government.

"As a consequence, His Royal Highness The Rengent of Perak Darul Ridzwan has directed that the appointment and swearing in ceremony of the Menteri Besar scheduled for this afternoon be postponed."

However, the statement did not indicate when the ceremony would be held.

Perak PKR chairman Zulkifly Ibrahim said he was shocked to hear news of the postponement.

Speaking to reporters at Istana Iskandariah, he said the rehearsal for the swearing-in ceremony was held this morning and attended by the Menteri Besar designate Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin and Deputy Menteri Besar II designate Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi from the PKR.

"To my knowledge, all the three candidates for the post of Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar, Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Perak DAP chairman Ngeh Koo Ham had been invited to have an audience with Raja Dr Nazrin Shah at Istana Kinta at 2pm today," he said.

He said the DAP representative had informed the palace that the candidate for the post of Deputy Menteri Besar I, Ngeh Koo Ham and several of their elected representatives would attend the swearing-in ceremony this afternoon.

The postponement was believed to have been prompted by the objection by the central DAP yesterday against the decision by the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah in selecting Mohammad Nizar as the Menteri Besar who would lead the coalition goverment to be formed by the DAP, PKR and PAS.

Initially, the Central DAP had approved only the DAP or the PKR candidate to head the coalition government while the Perak DAP acted in contrast when it agreed with PAS and PKR to nominate three names to be consented by the Sultan of Perak.

The crisis in the formation of the DAP, PKR and PAS coalition government cropped up because the DAP, which won 18 seats compared to seven won by the PKR and six by PAS, had been pressured by its supporters to ensure that its representative headed the state government to be formed.

The Perak State Constitution provided that only a Malay who is a Muslim can be appointed as the Menteri Besar but there is a section that empowers the Sultan of Perak to use his discretion to set aside the provision.

The Sultan of Perak yesterday gave his consent to the application by the three political parties to form a coalition government and selected Mohammad Nizar as the Menteri Besar after the three parties submitted the list of candidates to be selected.

In a joint statement, the Perak DAP chairman had also agreed unanimously with the Perak PKR and PAS to accept the decision by the Sultan of Perak to appoint anyone of the three candidates as the Menteri Besar.

Lim's attitude in objecting to the selection of the PAS candidate as the Menteri Besar was widely criticised by many bloggers who described the DAP advisor as being disrespectful of the Sultan of Perak.

In fact, many had expressed the view that Lim was outdated and driven by racialist sentiments.

Ngeh, 47, who is the State Assemblyman for Sitiawan, also won the Beruas parliamentary seat in the recent general election while Mohammad Nizar, 51, who is the Perak PAS Liaison secretary, won the Pasir Panjang state seat.

Jamaluddin, 52, who is the Perak PKR treasurer, won the Behrang state seat.

Antara Kuasa, Kemenangan dan Perjuangan

Antara Kuasa, Kemenangan dan Perjuangan
Posted by Super Admin
Thursday, 13 March 2008
Alahamdulillah kita menang di Kedah dan mengekalkan Kelantan dengan cemerlang. Adalah tugas dan tanggungjawab kita untuk melaksanakan segala janji-janji manifesto dan perjuangan yang telah kita tanamkan bukan sahaja kepada pengundi tetapi juga ahli-ahli jamaah.

Namun di Pulau Pinang, Perak dan Selangor, kita hanyalah parti minoriti yang sedang diperhatikan oleh orang Islam, terutamanya orang Melayu. Apakah demi kuasa dan kedudukan kita akan mengorbankan kepentingan orang melayu dan orang Islam?

Sebagai orang Melayu yang percaya Pas adalah alternatif kepada UMNO, saya tidak mahu melihat hak-hak kepentingan dan kedudukan kuasa politik Melayu di negeri-negeri ini terutamanya di Selangor dan Perak akan dijadikan bahan ejekan.

Apa relevannya Pas mencalonkan diri untuk Menjadi Menteri Besar di Perak sedangkan kita hanya menang 7 kerusi DUN berbanding DAP 18 kerusi? Apakah kita mahu menjadi Menteri Besar boneka kepada DAP?

Memang benar kita menyampah dan benci dengan UMNO, tetapi apakah rasional kita sebagai orang Islam lebih sanggup mengadakan perjanjian dengan DAP yang terang-terangan menentang kedudukan istimewa Islam di Malaysia?

Apakah kita lebih sanggup bekerjasama dengan DAP sehingga memberi jawatan Timbalan Menteri Besar kepada DAP di Selangor?

Ramai pengundi Pas yang mengundi parti ini atas kepercayaan perjuangan dan kedudukan orang Islam lebih penting daripada kuasa, apatah lagi berkompromi dengan DAP. Sedangkan dalam kempen-kempen kita, kita menyatakan kepada pengundi bahawa tiada kerjasama dengan DAP. Di mana maruah dan air muka kita bila berhadapan dengan orang Melayu nanti?

Kita adalah parti minoriti di Selangor dan Perak. Terima hakikat tersebut dan jangan sekali-kali gadaikan kedudukan orang Melayu dan Islam di kedua negeri ini hanya untuk kuasa.

Jangan sampai tercatat dalam sejarah bahawa Pas lah yang bertanggungjawab meruntuhkan status quo orang Islam dan Melayu di kedua-dua negeri ini. - SUARA ISLAH PAS

Angkat Sumpah MB Perak Ditangguh :Rakyat Kutuk Kit Siang

Angkat Sumpah MB Perak Ditangguh :Rakyat Kutuk Kit Siang PDF Print E-mail
Posted by Erin
Thursday, 13 March 2008

(GB/tranungkite) - Rakyat seluruh negara hari ini kecewa dan mengutuk keras tindakan Lim Kit Siang, Penasihat DAP yang sebelum ini memanggil ahli-ahli dewan undangan negeri daripada Parti Tindakan Demokratik (DAP) untuk memboikot majlis istiadat angkat sumpah Menteri Besar Perak yang baru, Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin daripada PAS.

Ekoran itu, Sultan Perak telah mengambil keputusan istiadat mengangkat sumpah anggota Dewan Undangan Negeri daripada PAS sebagai Menteri Besar Perak yang dijadual berlangsung di Istana Iskandariah, Kuala Kangsar petang ini telah ditangguhkan.


Penangguhan itu diumumkan oleh Datuk Pengelola Bijaya Diraja Datuk Seri Raja Mansor Raja Razman di Istana Iskandariah.

Lim Kit Siang yang biadab lagi celupar itu sekalipun telah menarik balik keputusannya, namun akibat daripada hebahan besar-besaran olewh media arus perdana (cetak dn eletronik) menyebabkan tindakan pemboikotan yang diwarwarkan oleh pemimpin DAP itu telah mendapat liputan meluas sehingga telah menyebabkan keresahan di kalangan rakyat dan juga pihak istana.

Ini bukanlah kali pertama Lim Kit Siang bertindak biadab dan tidak lansung mengindahkan orang Melayu yang berugama Islam yang telah sama-sama berjuang di dalam Barisan Alternaif.

Malah pemerhati politik berpendapat keangkuhan Lim Kit Siang kerana kemenangan besar partinya di dalam pilihanraya umum ke 12 yang baru lalu menyaksikan bahawa beliau telah cuba untuk mempersendakan sentimen malah ada banyak ketikanya mencabar maruah dan kedaulatan sistem beraja khususnya dan seluruh orang Melayu amnya dengan melupakan hakikat bahawa kemenangan besar partinya itu juga adalah sebahagian bsarnya sokongan yang diberikan oleh orang Mealyu yang menyokong PAS dan dari ahli UMNO yang memprotes partinya.

Beliau cuba menjadi jaguh di dalam memperjuangkan hak kaum Cina sedangkan masyarakat kaum Cina sendiri sebenarnya meluat dengan indakan dan sikap Lim Kit Siang yang keterlauan dan emosional itu dan tidak layak untuk menjadi wakil kepada suara kaum Cina di negara ini.

Ini dapat dikesani daripada komentar-komentar yang terdapat di dalam blognya dimana ramai pengunjung blognya itu telah melahirkan kekecewaan yang teramat sangat terhadap tindakan Lim Kit Siang yang dirasakan merupakan ancaman besar terhadap perpaduan yang terjalin di kalangan anggota Barisan Alternatif.

Salah seorang pengunjung blognya pernah menyatakan :

"If DAP starts this internal bickering 3 days after election then I beg you, please let DAP gulung tikar ‘coz it will prove DAP never meant to work with others."

(Jika DAP mula menimbulkan kekecohan dalaman 3 hari selepas pilihanraya, saya ingin menyatakan, sila DAP untuk gulung tikar kerana ia membuktikan DAP tidak mungkin boleh berkejasama dengan orang lain)

"Jelas tindakan Lim Kit Siang itu adalah satu percubaan untuk mewujudkan ketegangan kaum di negara ini dan tentunya seluruh rakyat perlu mengutuk sekeras-kerasnya tindakan biadab lagi angkuh Penasihat DAP itu," tegas seorang pemerhati politik di sini.

Barisan "Harapan" Rakyat: It's Your Last Chance! Grow or Get Wiped Out!

Thursday, March 13, 2008 .. Surind ..
Barisan "Harapan" Rakyat: It's Your Last Chance! Grow or Get Wiped Out!



This is a final warning to all & I don't care who you are! Don't Mess With "Barisan Rakyat" (The People's Front) & The Political Tsunami That It (Increasingly) Brings! Hero / flag worship, racial politics & fear mongering is dead! Performance, contribution (giving), consistency, walking the talk, following through on "The People's Declaration" & "being" are all that counts! 5 years will fly... "listen"!
To truly understand politics, the Yang Berhormat's, the Rakyat, the Boss, needs to think like politicians - & yet have enough control & personal security not to completely "go over". There is an element of truth in the famous saying... "It takes one, to know one." If there is one thing this whole fiasco has thought us... be patient & think before you speak! See the big picture & think long-term!

Politics man, politics... do not completely trust any politician! Remember, it is us, the rakyat, whom have to speak up & pressure for systems of checks & balance - "Balance of Powers". We will have "birth pains" in creating BR & we too must walk the talk, for action speaks louder than words ever will.

I'm no political scientist (my degree is in Management), but you don't have to be an unbalanced smart ass to see the truth! Remember that DAP is an old party; & just like any old organisation, there is past (heritage) that it comes along with it. It would most likely have different movements & groups / bandwagons within. Ideologies, mentality, maturity, comfort zones, etc. Evidence... the infighting! & duality that you, or at least "some" see.

Going deeper, I don't like to stereotype & it's not actually an age thing, though you will most likely tend to see more of certain age group in any 1 of the bandwagons mentioned above. To digress a little, I would like to see an end to "Auntie" politics! We have had enough of your Oprah (Chat Show) busy-body, ladies night, cocktail party, gossipy, over emotional, sympathy (vs. empathy), etc. conduct!


We want young, brave, intelligent, courageous, matured & balanced women with some "balls" metaphorically speaking, whom are not afraid to rock the boat! I would like to see more young professional women getting involved in Barisan Rakyat. People like Hannah Yeoh. Dear ladies, if DAP or any other political party marginalises you or you suffer discrimination (like they have done in the past) let us know. Death to "Auntie" politics, especially those whom get nothing done in Parliament!

I would also like to take some time to remember the contributions of V David.

Moving on respectfully, LKS is sharp, with good experience & still shows no signs of slowing down. Having said that, I do think that the older generation in DAP needs to take more of a back bench when it comes to giving statements & addressing the press (PC). Let the young(er) mature guys in DAP handle it, Guan Eng included.

Next... chauvinistic attitudes, blind spots (lack of awareness) & "taking the easy way out", is apparent both in DAP & PAS. Just like any other corporation (corrupt-ration) in this country, whom wants to stay in business (win votes) & keep its customers satisfied. It takes a shock & big smack in the face to wake some of this people / groups up & for them to get out of their comfort zone! We have just demonstrated how we slapped their face, grabbed their balls & moved them to a better place, for our vision to become a reality: Anak Bangsa Malaysia & Barisan Rakyat (The People's Front)!

At this point (in my opinion), I would also like to say that Bahasa "Malaysia & English" is our "Anak Bangsa Malaysia" language! Every other language should take a back seat in this country & highly specialised & globalising learning world / economy that we live in! There is simply not enough time & the ethnic Chinese, Indians, DLL should not be wasting time fighting for Tamil & Chinese schools! We should be working towards (transition stage), only 1 type of school system where these languages & more, should be offered as a full examinable subject. Practice is important & for a child, it is the parents responsibility to use these languages at home. Do not underestimate the importance of this & working towards it!

Moving on, Barisan Rakyat damage control & the group of Malaysians (ethnic Chinese mainly) whom are still anti PAS. Trust me when I say, that we need to have faith in PAS (a moderate group of them within at least), be proactive & empower this group of Malaysians, whom still have these immature feelings in their hearts & thoughts in their minds. A strong, progressive, fair, transparent, accountable & moderate (balanced) PAS, is our only hope in overthrowing UMNO! 2 party system, DAP & PKR merger, & PAS on the other side. A professional, prosperous & harmonious working relationship!

Let's say, I have already looked into my crystal ball & seen our new Perak MB doing a great job in the months & years to come! How... that's my little secret.


Please commit to this & get the ball rolling. Hidup Barisan Rakyat!


from:
Malaysia today

Perak’s Barisan Rakyat will care for all, says new MB

Thursday, 13 March 2008

IPOH: Policies of the new ruling coalition in Perak will not marginalise any one race in the state, newly-appointed Mentri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said.

Calling the new government “Barisan Rakyat” (People’s Front), he said: “We will take into account the interest of the people when we make decisions or formulate policies.”

“We will not marginalise any community in the state. This is the government of the people, for the people and by the people. We will protect the rights of all races,” he said.

He told a press conference at the PAS headquarters here after being named the ninth Mentri Besar of Perak that the people should not feel worried, unhappy or anxious about the new government and his appointment.

Urging the people to give their full cooperation and support to the new government, Mohammad Nizar said he hoped the people would accept it as the “people’s victory.”

“Please do not harbour any suspicions or doubts about the new government,” he said.

On concerns over the implementation of Islamic rules, he said the policies would take into account the people's interests. - STAR


Excerpt from a comment here:

The Opposition should understand that one of the factors that caused the down fall of BN was not because the Rakyat loved the Opposition so much that it voted for them. It is because the Rakyat hated the BN and would have voted for a ‘Piece of Wood’ if it was nominated as a candidate. I am so sure if UMNO forces Pak Lah and KJ out,if MCA and MIC treatens to pull out of BN if those 2 dont remove themself from the BN, come next election, the Opposition will loose all 4 the states it gained this time.

Therefore, now is the only opportunity for the Opposition to show how well it can work together and put the well being of the Rakyat as the No.1 agenda of each party. This will make them be seen as a true alternative for the Rakyat no matter how much BN changes its ways to appeal to the Rakyat. One must not forget that most part of the Rakyat still loves the BN but not the people in it who have become arrogant over the years. This election was just a punishment to the BN, and by no means a shoe of Love to the Opposition.

Next, the Opposition must remember that the country has lived under the NEP environment for many years. Trying to totally abolish this system all of a sudden is not at all a good idea. It will be like Indonesia when Suharto resigned and democratic values was suddenly introduced. It was a shock to the system. People were going crazy with their new found freedom and this caused a lot of social difficulties. People are not ready for it (although they think there are). It has to be clearly thought out, planned and introduced in small doses.

Hence, the opposition should fucking stop this infighting, racial politics, talk of abolishing the NEP, scare mongerring the non-muslims against PAS, and starting working for the Rakyat. If you guys continue this way, by God you can be sure that come the next election, if BN nominates a ‘Piece of Wood’ (like they normally do) the Rakyat will vote for it just to teach the Opposition a lesson.

Could it be that the DAP was using this as a measure - a cheeky referendum of sorts - to prove to its hardcore supporters and all BRakyat politicans that the rakyat wants a coalition? This way, all three parties can comfortably form the Barisan Rakyat! It could be an Anwar-Kit-Nik Aziz behind-the-scenes plan. If that's even remotely the case, i must say that we have geniuses in our midst.


Excellent, Must Read! from:
Malaysia Today

The Malay Votes DAP!