Serdang Evening News

2010-07-26T07:42:00.001+08:00

Save Malaysia. Vote for change

Ladies and gentlemen, and the award goes to.....

2009-12-23T09:52:00.000+08:00

The theft of not one, but TWO F5-E fighter jet engines from the Royal Malaysian Air Farce, eh sorry, Air Force, perhaps aptly defines the year 2009 as far as Malaysia (1 or otherwise) is concerned.

The absurdity of it all. And not to mention the audacity of it all. And as if to further add sodium chloride to the wide gaping wounds that all of us, Malaysians, suffer every time our so called leaders forget to take their medications, we are told that so and so have been sacked or told to leave their job, some even earning pensions and whatever.

First it was some plastic explosives being taken out from the storage to blow to smithereens some poor woman from far away lands, whose entry into Malaysia was erased from record. Just like that. As if C4 explosives from the people who are supposed to protect our country are just some cheap chewing gum which could be taken by anybody, at any time, for whatever reason. As if Immigration records are notations made on some scrap book which could be altered, amended or erased by anybody, at any time and for whatever reason.

And nobody even shake their butt to do anything. No report. No investigation. No blinking nothing. Just like that.

At the same time, the public has to endure living in fear of crimes. We have to keep even our rubbish bins in locks and chains. Our drainage cover has to be welded lest it will be stolen in bright day light. Our roads and lanes have instant holes as the sewage covers are stolen. The women can't even walk on the side of our roads for fear of being dragged to their death by handbag snatchers.

Nowhere is safe. Not even in the police lock-ups, as Kugan found out the hard way. Not at the MACC office either, if reports of torture and even death are to be believed.

Meanwhile, those upon whom are entrusted the duty to protect us are busy tracing individuals like Raja Petra Kamarudin, who apparently had so insulted Islam that he was, and still is, deemed to be a threat to national security. Even then, with all the might and powers of the State behind them, they are not able to trace him!

If RPK had insulted Islam, what about those who had walked after Friday prayers with bloodied and severed cow head with the policemen standing by the side doing nothing for fear of "making the situation worse"? Haven't they insulted Islam? What about those who said non-Malays are second class citizens? And those who wrote that the Kelings are so lucky to be in Malaysia that they should just shut up and count their blessings? Oh well, they are given a pat on their shoulder because the newspaper they wrote for is the "voice of the people".

And at the same time, billions are squandered, pillaged and stolen. PKFZ have become really dirty alphabets. And what do we all get? Yes. We get engineers, architects and some minions charged for falsifying claims and the likes. Now, the questions are, were all those false claims paid? If so, why? And who are the beneficiaries of those payments? Who authorised those payments? Aren't they guilty of something too?

Elsewhere we are the masters of sloganeering and self-glorification. We shout and scream 1 Malaysia at every possible instant and opportunity. Why? Even our mandatory "salam" has been reviewed to "Salam Satu Malaysia".

We have become, or been reduced to, a society which is shallow. Which is no deeper than our skin and the colour of it. We are obsessed with some drama actress becoming the second wife of a Member of Parliament who ironically declared that women "leaked" once a month. Never mind the FDIs. Never mind the proposed GST. Never mind the Copenhagen Conference failing to reach any kind of tangible consensus on climate control.

Never mind. Because we are a society who love celebrities and their weddings. And divorce too.

An old Professor of mine remarked something profound to me over tea some months ago. After leaving Malaysia for Japan for so many years, he observed that Japan had gone through a period of extreme physical and material transformations. Coming back to Malaysia briefly after some years, he also noted that Malaysia had achieved so much physical and material transformations, just like Japan.

But there is one marked difference. Japan and her people have not seen their values and honour change. Their values and old aged honour are still part of their society. They still know their responsibilities. Their duty to account. They still possess a deep sense of honour. And all that despite their physical and material achievements.

Malaysia and her people, according to him, have lost their sense of honour. We have changed our values. We are now measured not by our honesty, honour and sense of responsibility. We are now measured by the location of our house and mansions; by the Cayennes, X6 and whatever road going behemoth that we drive; by how much power we could wield to bend the rules and laws in our favour; by how much favour we could call our friends in high places to do us. And of course by the trophy wives and girl friends (and vice versa) who are seen beside us with the obligatory gold and diamond crusted watch, LV handbag and Blahnik shoes.

Because that is what we are now. How we acquire those material possessions is not important. The question is what we do possess.

We are a society which is almost bereft of any spiritual and moral guidance. As if whatever is fair is foul and foul is fair. As if the very fabric of our existent has changed. And for worse, that is.

It is little wonder that two whole jet engines could be stolen from our royal air force. It is a right royal embarrassment, by any count. But what do we care? They are old engines. We could buy thousands more. We have the money. We have oils and gas which we plunder from some states without compensation. And the persons whom we think are responsible for this shameful, dastardly and treasonous act have left.

Never mind any criminal offence which have quite obviously been committed by these people. They have after all been punished by being told to quietly leave. That was what we did to Ahmad Ismail, remember? And Isa Samad, remember? We dealt with them internally. They have served their sentence. And they, as everybody else, deserve a second, or even a third, chance. Why? Even Anwar Ibrahim, a convicted criminal, is now a Member of Parliament.

And so we are told that we do have a full-proof system which would ensure these kind of things do not happen. But is this system fool-proof? Because if it is not, then there will always be some fools who can't even operate within a full-proof system. That is quite obvious.

And so we are told that there will not be a cover up. Yes, we, the people expect that there will be no cover up. But of course what constitute a "cover-up" is subject to interpretation, isn't it? Like "we will not discuss it ever ever because the matter concerns national security". Is that a cover up? Or "we cannot charge them because matters concerning national security should not be discussed in open Courts". Is that a cover-up? Or "we can only charge them behind closed doors because the matter concerns national security". Is that a cover-up?

And we are left to wonder how it all happen. And why did it take a full year before the whole magical act was discovered by our ever vigilant military who is supposed to protect our nation from rogues countries, evil terrorists, Islam-insulting individuals scum of the Earth and hell and Ketuanan Melayu evil objectors who really should just go back to wherever they came from (never mind the fact that these people were born in this country). And quite why it takes another full year before this event is made known to all of us, the stupid, gullible and irrelevant stakeholders of the military? Well, never mind. We will tell you what we think is relevant. And at the most opportune moment as deemed by us.

Would it be a severe case of paranoia if we, the people, start to wonder what else has been stolen from our military? Like our defence strategy? Or tactical blueprint? After all, these are sensitive and highly protected secrets (or supposed to be). Remember what they said in Parliament when questions were raised as to why there was no open tender for the submarines that we bought? It was said that open tenders should not be called because that will expose our national security matters unnecessarily.

Oh well, why must we worry. We still have our submarines.

Art Harun

Nothing legal about Perak putsch

2009-10-19T16:41:00.000+08:00

You can’t fault Datuk Seri Najib Razak for trying.

The Umno president last week got his party to accept reforms for its internal elections, making himself a hero for almost returning democracy that it had before being deregistered in 1988.

Today, he widened his appeal by making Malaysia Day a public holiday in an effort to push his and Barisan Nasional's popularity in Sabah and Sarawak, which the ruling coalition regards as its vote bank and is defending it assiduously against the Pakatan Rakyat.

But it is trying for the prime minister to still defend the February Perak putsch and ask the people to accept the current Barisan Nasional administration as the legal government over that formed by Pakatan Rakyat.

"I hope the people will accept that the due process of law has taken place in Perak; from the formation of the government and then back to the process in court," Najib said yesterday.

“We will not do anything against the provisions of the law. We will follow the rules.

“We have a legal government in place so there is no reason why there should be any disturbances (in the assembly) that could create an inaccurate impression of the political situation in Perak,” he told a press conference after meeting Perak Umno leaders in Ipoh.

Perhaps he has convinced himself about the legality of the Zambry administration that he propped up in February but all right-minded people of Perak and Malaysians can never accept the current Barisan Nasional government in the Silver State.

We should never forget how the institutions of government were used for the power grab, from the civil service to the police and judiciary to legitimise what was illegal in the first place. Lawmakers can cross the political divide but wrong cannot be right just because someone says so.

We should never forget how Article 72 of the Perak Constitution was abused. The two clauses of the article read:

Clause 1: “The validity of any proceedings in the Legislative Assembly of any State shall not be questioned in any court.”

Clause 2: “No body shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or vote given by him when taking part in proceedings of the Legislative Assembly of any State or of any committee thereof.”

First, it was tossed aside when the Pakatan Rakyat government used it to justify their hold on power but when it suited the power-grab speaker, the courts proceeded to apply it. Double standards?

We should never forget that the Perak royal household handed power to Barisan Nasional instead of allowing the people of Perak to go to the ballot box and elect their own representatives to the 59-seat assembly.

We should never forget about the three Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers who jumped to the other side, just as we should not forget the Barisan Nasional lawmaker who jumped in and out like it was a normal political activity.

We should never forget the thuggish behaviour of the policemen inside the state assembly, who disregarded all decorum to drag away an elected assembly speaker and people's representative. Or the ones who nabbed those wearing black or being in the vicinity of the state assembly. And also the ones who arrested those for holding candles in the night.

It is a nice try, Mr Prime Minister. A power grab is a power grab, and time does not change that fact. The Barisan Nasional can bus people in and proclaim 1 Malaysia but there are events that cannot be erased by a speech or a get-together.

For the statute of limitations on this illegal act only expires at the next general election when the people of Perak can decide whether to accept Barisan Nasional as their legal government. It will be their voice that decides, not the prime minister's.

The Malaysian Insider

Too much is enough

2009-10-09T15:16:00.000+08:00

Today, Barisan Nasional promises us change and reform — a stark difference from its previous insinuations that Malaysians want and need more of the same. But Barisan has blatantly failed to deliver, even under the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak. All we keep getting is the same old — pardon my French — crap.

Barisan says it will clean house, tossing out the corrupt and criminal. It’s said that before; Tun Dr. Mahathir entered office promising a slew of reforms, as did Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. We know what they gave us; their protégé, Najib, is giving us more of the same. I need not elaborate on Isa Samad’s rehabilitation; that speaks for itself.

Just permit me to add that we have known about the multi-billion ringgit Port Klang Free Zone debacle for years now, and that to date, nobody has been collared and held in the MACC offices overnight for non-stop questioning. We can question a lowly state assemblyman’s aide about the petty sum of RM2,400, but we can’t even bring ourselves to hold ministers and tycoons accountable for wasting billions — this has been the case since the time of Mahathir, and it remains the case today.

Barisan promises to unite the country. Again, we have heard this before. Dr. Mahathir’s Bangsa Malaysia has gone down the drain, with nothing accomplished. Abdullah promised to work for all Malaysians, but try as he did, he delivered nothing except a handful of intensely racist Umno party conferences. Until you walk the walk, you’re just talking cock.

Perhaps the most telling incident under Najib’s regime so far has been that of the cow’s head protest. I dare not imagine what would happen if an Indian group had done the same to a Quran — if they had mutilated it, dragged it along a road and then trampled on it. This is exactly what laws like the Sedition Act are meant to prevent — and yet the incident met with terribly muted response from Umno leaders, who are content to pretend they speak for all Malaysians, while really only speaking for their own kind.

Najib promised instant action on the cow’s head incident — and yet nobody has been jailed, no Umno member has been reprimanded. The standard refrain of “Let the courts and police do their job” rings hollow when it is used to cover a multitude of injustices and sins. Does anyone honestly doubt that if something similar had been done to the Quran, the men behind it would be languishing right now in Kamunting, or worse?

Barisan, you ask us for the benefit of the doubt, to give you another chance. How many more bloody chances do you need to prove that your party is just too stricken by arrogance and graft to govern? We have given you more than enough chances — we have returned you to power in every general election since Independence.

We need to stop pretending that Barisan is worthy of consideration because of all these nitpicks you can find with Pakatan Rakyat. Yes, Pakatan is not perfect. But I would much rather have an imperfect Pakatan government than vote for the perfectly consistent dishonesty of Barisan. The biggest corruption scandal in Pakatan to date involves a few cows and petty cash amounting to a few thousand ringgit here and there; the biggest scandal in Barisan involves a multi-billion ringgit white elephant. Let’s not even talk about racism — not when the ideology of Barisan’s largest component party is Ketuanan Melayu, and the ideology of Pakatan’s largest component party is ketuanan rakyat.

There is absolutely no reason to keep voting Barisan back into power. Barisan is as predictable as clockwork; each prime minister promises us the things we want, and each prime minister delivers the exact opposite of his promises. There is no dilemma here; we know exactly what a Barisan government will deliver. We have yet to learn what exactly Pakatan can accomplish. If you really are fed up with billions of your ringgit going down the drain, if you really are fed up with leaders more obsessed about the colour of your skin than the content of your character, you ought to vote for Pakatan.

John Lee

Corruption is corruption, Mr Prime Minister!

2009-10-08T08:47:00.000+08:00

Corruption is corruption, Mr Prime Minister. There are no two ways about it. You cannot minimise the crime by camouflaging the offence under some other label. Neither can you make it disappear by simply declaring “that the offence committed by Isa was not an offence under the law”.

It is not true that Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad only breached party ethics. That would be a lie. He was found guilty of indulging in money politics to secure his victory in the Umno party elections for the post of Vice-President in 1994. He won the post with the highest number of votes. In fact, he wasn’t satisfied with the number of votes he garnered. He then quipped that he expected to win his position with an even higher majority!

Following his victory, complaints were lodged with the Umno Disciplinary Board accusing Isa of having resorted to money to secure his victory. The Disciplinary Board instituted an investigation to probe into the allegations of money politics. It called up witnesses to collect evidence and establish proof of the allegation. Isa was given ample opportunity to defend himself. After what must be deemed as a very thorough and fair investigation, the Disciplinary Board found him guilty. He was stripped of his position and suspended for six years, a two-term period. On appeal, his sentence was drastically reduced to three years, a 50 per cent reduction.

Isa was such a powerful force within Umno with wide ranging influence. It would have been very difficult to find such a personality guilty but the evidence surely must have been overwhelming that the Board had no other alternative except to convict him. Eminent people sat on the Disciplinary Board among whom were Tan Sri Zaki Azmi, the present Chief Justice, and Tengku Ahmad Rithaudeen, a one time long-serving cabinet minister and lawyer. So the verdict has total credibility and substance to quash any question of impropriety in their decision.

For the PM to claim that the offence was merely a technical one and that it was not an offence under the law is preposterous. Money politics is a criminal offence, it is an act of corruption, and if the PM has any other notion, then this matter should be referred to the MACC to seek their professional opinion! It is rather disappointing that the MACC did not move in to investigate Isa for corruption. If an Opposition person was embroiled in similar circumstances, there would be no doubt as to how the MACC would have acted.

Umno did Isa a favour by not referring Isa’s money politics to the MACC. If that was done then, today Umno will not have this shameful episode of offering a corrupt politician as its candidate at the Bagan Pinang by-election.

P Ramakrishnan
President of Aliran
7 October 2009

Penjelasan tapak kuil Seksyen 23 Shah Alam

2009-08-29T12:23:00.000+08:00

Baru-baru ini, banyak betul yang kita dengar berhubung isu tapak kuil yang dicadangkan di Seksyen 23, Shah Alam. Yang tahu, yang tak tahu dan yang buat-buat tahu, semuanya turut sama mengemukakan pandangan masing-masing. Di antaranya, pandangan Noh Omar yang menyatakan bagaimana kerajaan PR tidak peka terhadap sensitiviti umat Islam.

Oleh itu, bagi mereka yang ingin tahu, izinkan saya menceritakan serba sedikit perkara sebenar berkenaan isu ini. Tapak Kuil yang dicadangkan adalah di kawasan Industri, lebih 200 meter dari kawasan perumahan. Sebuah Kuil yang sekarang ini berada di Seksyen 19 akan dipindahkan ke tapak baru yang dicadangkan ini. Di Seksyen 19, kuil berkenaan hanya berjarak 20 kaki dari kawasan perumahan! Buka pintu rumah, seberang jalan terdapat kuil.

Sebenarnya, kuil Seksyen 19 telah berada di situ sejak zaman sebelum wujudnya Shah Alam lagi. Pada masa itu kawasan di mana kuil tersebut dibina dinamakan Ladang Sungai Renggam. Apabila PKNS ambil-alih, maka dijadikan kawasan perumahan. Semasa membina dan menjual rumah-rumah di Seksyen 19, PKNS tidak menunjukkan kuil tersebut di dalam pelan mereka. Sebaliknya yang ditunjuk adalah rumah-rumah teres dua tingkat.

Maka, para pembeli rumah sekitar kuil tersebut, 80% dari mereka yang merupakan orang Melayu Islam pun terperanjatlah apabila berpindah ke rumah baru mereka dan mendapati kuil masih berada di situ. Sedangkan mereka diberitahu bahawa kuil tersebut akan dipindahkan. Malangnya, PKNS di bawah pemerintahan Kerajaan Negeri UMNO/BN, tidak menunaikan janji mereka dan tidak juga bertanggung-jawab dalam soal ini. Kalau diusahakan pada ketika itu, masih terdapat banyak kawasan lapang, maka perancangan yang lebih sesuai dan tepat dapat dilaksanakan.

Seperti yang diduga dan sepertimana biasa, kerajaan BN tidak melakukan apa-apa. Penduduk terpaksa bersabar selama 26 tahun, menagih janji dari PKNS dan kerajaan BN Selangor, sehinggalah naiknya kerajaan PR. Kami mengusahakan dengan serius dan bersungguh-sungguh sehingga terhasilnya cadangan kuil Seksyen 19 dipindahkan ke Seksyen 23.

Sepatutnya Noh Omar mencerminkan diri sebelum mengeluarkan pendapatnya. Takut-takut meludah ke langit, terjatuh ke muka sendiri. Siap dengan kahak lagi! Sekiranya tapak di Seksyen 23 mahu dikatakan tidak peka dan tidak sensitif, kedudukan di Seksyen 19 mahu dipanggil apa? Mendera? Menyeksa? ataupun derhaka?

Kalau ikut kehendak masyarakat Hindu yang juga merupakan rakyat negeri ini, mereka ingin kuil tersebut kekal sahaja di situ. “Inilah tapak asal kami, sepatutnya PKNS mengambil kira kehadiran kuil kami di sini semasa merancang pembangunan kawasan Shah Alam”, kata mereka. Tetapi apa boleh buat, nasi sudah pun menjadi bubur, mereka amat menyesal mengundi BN sejak dari dulu lagi. Akhirnya hasil perbincangan yang waras, mereka sanggup bertolak ansur. Sanggup berpindah, asalkan tidak terlalu jauh. Kuil ini dikunjungi penganut Hindu dari Seksyen 19, 20 dan 23.

Oleh itu, PKNS ditugaskan untuk mencari tempat yang sesuai. Tapak yang dicadangkan adalah seperti yang dinyatakan. Cadangan dikemukakan kepada MBSA dan seterusnya kepada Exco kerajaan Negeri. Semua menganggap ianya sesuai dan masalah di Seksyen 19 di mana suasana diperhangatkan oleh NGO Melayu/UMNO seperti Pewaris, perlu diselesaikan dengan segera.

Ini yang perlu kita perlu fahami. Tapak di Seksyen 23 bukan untuk kuil baru. Ianya adalah untuk memindahkan kuil yang sedia ada di Seksyen 19. Kedudukannya tidak terlalu hampir dengan kawasan perumahan, di mana terdapat Dewan orang ramai dan juga sebuah padang permainan di antara tapak kuil tersebut dengan kawasan perumahan. Ianya merupakan kawasan Industri. Kalau kilang boleh diletakkan di situ tanpa sebarang bantahan dari penduduk, mengapa tidak kuil? Sedangkan jarak kawasan Industri dari perumahan sudah mengambil kira terlebih dahulu semua aspek yang wajar dipertimbangkan.

Saya faham ada yang ingin mempolitikkan isu ini. Memang suku sakat Ketua Bahagian UMNO duduk di situ. Saya rasa Najib kena ‘mendidik’ ahli UMNO. Kikis semangat perkauman yang sempit yang diasaskan selama ini. Adakah beliau mampu lakukannya? Adakah beliau ingin lakukannya? Najib ke Batu Caves dengan begitu gah ceria, 1Malaysia katanya. Kita ingin lihat sejauh mana falsafah Najib difahami ahli partinya sendiri atau ianya semua hanya satu sandiwara untuk mengaburi mata rakyat?

Seorang penduduk Seksyen 23 memberitahu saya, “Jangan layan sangat YB, puak-puak ini, bukan sekadar kuil mereka bantah. Buat kuliyyah di Surau pun mereka bantah juga”.

WaLlahu 'Alam

Y.B Khalid Samad

Najib, Cricket and the Bitter Pill

2009-08-19T20:25:00.000+08:00

Up till Tun Hussein, UMNO had been led by those who wanted to govern like playing cricket. Principles and values were to be respected, no matter how difficult was the national agenda. It was all relatively stiff upper lip and gentlemanly. Those within UMNO who held extremist nationalist views, or who wanted more drastic action to be taken were held at bay. And ethnocentric opposition parties who challenged the equity of the agenda were treated likewise. But there was acceptance that a dominant one-coalition rule needed to be benevolent and fair.

But Malays did not get very far. And nor did the country.

When Dr. M took over, he changed all this. His political views were shaped by his own life journey. He studied in Singapore and competed in the top medical school and succeeded against all odds. He wanted Malays to be like him, tougher, more enterprising, slicker, more conniving, more resilient, etc. because he thought that this was the key to their survival and success. Fancy values and principles are meaningless if you cannot feed your family, he must have reckoned. He also probably assumed that if the Malaysian economic pie was enlarged, these compromised principles and values would not be missed, since all Malaysians will be better off.

So everything was done to support the creation of this ‘new Malay’ in the context of creating a richer Malaysia. And those of us old enough to remember his rule will remember just how he did it. Cricket had then become out of fashion.

No one can deny the success he has brought the country. But at what cost?

• Under his administration, the ultra-Malays became key enablers to create and sustain the new Malay paradigm. Now they rule the roost and refuse to be dislodged.
• Under his administration, short cuts were tolerated to give Malays a leg-up. Now, many of them are addicted to special rights, and crippled without their fix.
• Under his administration, patronage was utilized to create a Malay entrepreneurial class that would also help finance UMNO. Now money politics and corruption are a way of life.
• Under his administration, justice, honesty and transparency were sacrificed to quell dissention. Now the separation of powers and the rule of law are almost an aberration.

The Pandora’s box has been opened and it cannot be shut. Race relations have gone from bad to worse. And the iniquity swirls viciously to destroy everything that has been built. Nothing is safe from its path, including Barisan and UMNO’s longer-term future. The country is now too ill for any single leader to fix, and we are all at risk. We just cannot go back to cricket as it was played before. A benevolent single-coalition rule is no longer an option.

The solution needs the collective effort of everyone from all sides. It lies in the creation of a stable two-party system of democracy, where each side of the political divide inclusively represents the interest of all Malaysians and communities. Once institutionalised, both sides will be forced to produce a moderate ideological platform and purge extremism to garner support across all Malaysians. Both will be forced to keep their houses clean and efficient in order to stay competitive. The distrust between communities can be minimised, since both alternatives would represent all communities under their own respective power-sharing formulation. With all that in place, the reforms that this country needs to create a civilized, harmonious and successful Malaysia can start to take root, no matter who is in power. This is the new game of cricket that we now need.

Pakatan Rakyat is going through growing pains. But we must congratulate them for what they have achieved, and support them and wish them well in their journey to becoming a sustainably viable alternative to Barisan Nasional. We must be patient with them as they try to overcome obstacles in their way. The Rakyat cannot afford for them to fail, no matter which party/coalition we support, given the irreversible rot that we are in.

Acknowledging and supporting a two-party system is the bitter pill that UMNO/Barisan must swallow if it is to save itself, the communities it represents, and the nation as a whole.

To Najib, I say: Stop trying to destroy Pakatan Rakyat. Instead, do the exact reverse, and help make it secure as a sustainable viable political choice. And compete with it on even terms, fairly and squarely.

Do it in the name of your father, who knew what it meant to play cricket.

Take this bitter pill and do what’s right. Before it is too late.

Suflan Shamsuddin

Mengapa berdemonstrasi?

2009-08-02T21:38:00.000+08:00

Kerajaan telah menyatakan bahawa Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) sedang dikaji. Mengapa berdemonstrasi lagi?

Biarlah pandangan dikemukakan secara berhemah. Demonstrasi untuk apa?

Ada kewajarannya seandainya soalan tersebut diajukan oleh kanak-kanak. Namun, soalan tersebut telah dilontarkan seorang Perdana Menteri negara. Maka ia tidak boleh diperlekehkan.

Mengapa berdemonstrasi?

Kerana Teoh Beng Hock, Kugan, Ulaganathan, dan ribuan yang mati dalam tahanan. Mereka tidak mampu untuk berdemonstrasi dan bersuara. Maka, perlunya orang lain untuk bertindak dan bersuara untuk mereka.

Kerana mereka yang nampak macam Lingam, mereka yang berkuasa, mereka yang hartanya pantang didedahkan di bawah matahari, bahkan politikus yang berkuasa untuk membawa perubahan tetapi mendiamkan diri ketika berdepan dengan ketidakadilan, mereka akan terus menggunakan pelbagai kuasa untuk memerintah kita. Mereka semestinya tidak akan berdemonstrasi. Mereka akan mencari seribu cara untuk menghalang demonstrasi.

Kerana mereka yang miskin, yang dipinggirkan, yang ditekan, yang didiskriminasi, malah yang dianiaya, langsung tidak berpeluang untuk mempengaruhi mereka yang berkuasa.

Kerana pendekatan "bertutur dengan penuh hemah" telah digunakan untuk berpuluh-puluh tahun. Sehingga air liur kering-kontang, tidak meninggalkan sebarang kesan. Kerana cadangan reformasi yang penting (termasuk membenarkan demonstrasi aman) yang dikemukakan SUHAKAM dan Suruhanjaya Di-Raja, tidak diterima dan terlaksana. Kerana bayang IPCMC tidak kelihatan, sebaliknya rasuah dan keganasan menular ke setiap pelusuk. Lebih teruk lagi, walaupun banyak nasihat diberikan, namun kerajaan tetap menggunakan RELA untuk menjadikan keadaan lebih parah.

Masih ingatkah "Suqiu"? Suqiu tidak berdemonstrasi, dengan penuh hemah, meminta dan merayu. Apa kesudahannya? Pandangan disampahkan, malah mereka yang tidak pernah berdemonstrasi ini dituduh sebagai pengganas.

Tanya lagi, mengapa berdemonstrasi?

Kerana mereka yang tidak berdemonstrasi disalah-labelkan oleh kerajaan. Mereka dilabelkan sebagai "majoroti yang senyap" (silent majority). Politikus mendakwa bahawa majoriti yang mendiamkan diri itu sebagai petanda sokongan kepada kerajaan, lantas kerajaan perlu mengambil kira kepentingan majoriti ini. Hari ini, antara majoriti yang senyap ini, ramai tidak sanggup mendiamkan diri lagi.

Masih nak tanya mengapa?

Ya, kerana kerajaan yang munafik ini tidak akan berjaya menipu seluruh dunia untuk selama-lamanya. Kerana nepotisme hanya memanfaatkan beberapa kerat orang, yang lain akan terkejut dari tidur satu hari nanti.

Kerana "perkauman" yang dimainkan itu telah terbongkar rahsianya. Ia hanyalah muslihat yang jijik untuk memecah-belahkan masyarakat kita.

Kerana bukan sukarnya untuk menyedari bahawa, mengapa Malaysia yang kaya dengan sumber semula jadi dan tenaga manusia ini, taraf hidup rakyatnya tidak melangkaui Singapura, sebuah pulau kecil tanpa sumber semulajadi?

Kerana negara yang menerima demonstrasi secara aman telah menikmati kekayaan dan kestabilan, atau dalam proses perubahan ke arah yang lebih baik. Negara yang menekan demonstrasi aman secara kekerasan, rakyatnya hidup merana kepapaan.

Juga kerana, Mahatma Gandhi pernah berdemonstrasi. Nelson Mandela pernah berdemonstrasi. Martin Luther King pernah berdemonstrasi. Tunku Abdul Rahman juga pernah berdemonstrasi.

Kerana semakin ramai menyedari, bahawa demonstrasi aman langsung tidak menjejaskan keselamatan negara, hanya menggugat kedudukan mereka yang berkuasa.

Kerana apabila politikus dengan senyuman berkata rakyat adalah tuan kepada kerajaan, ini semuanya pembohongan! Cuba tanya, mana adanya hamba yang menggunakan gas pemedih mata, baton dan gari untuk melayan tuannya?

Kerana, seandainya semua demonstrasi dalam sejarah menemui ajal, maka hari ini, India, Malaysia dan banyak lagi negara yang lain masih merupakan tanah jajahan. Afrika Selatan masih mengekalkan dasar apartheid, Nelson Mandela masih meringkuk di penjara. Malah Barack Obama mungkin masih merupakan seorang hamba di Mississippi, dalam rancangannya untuk melarikan diri.

Kerana maruah dan kebebasan bukan hadiah durian runtuh. Ia perlu diperjuangkan semua orang. Ia ada harganya. Seandainya kita inginkan kehidupan sebagai seorang manusia, kita tidak boleh menjadi penikus untuk seumur hidup.

Soalan mengapa berdemonstrasi umpama soalan yang menanya, mengapa memperjuangkan kebebasan atau kesaksamaan? Yang harus ditanya adalah, mengapa tidak boleh bebas, tidak boleh saksama?

Jadi, persoalannya bukan mengapa berdemonstrasi, tetapi mengapa tidak boleh berdemonstrasi secara aman?

MerdekaReview

Sayang Malaysia Negara Polis

2009-08-02T21:36:00.000+08:00

Hari ini (1 Ogos 2009) buat kali pertama dalam sejarah hidup saya, saya menjadi mangsa bom gas pemedih mata. Pedih sungguh mata dan hati saya! Inilah pengalaman saya berhimpun dan berarak bersama dengan berpuluh ribu rakyat Malaysia di Kuala Lumpur. Ia benar-benar membuka mata saya di samping memberi banyak pengajaran.

Saya amat terkejut kerana tidak menyangka betapa kejamnya polis bertindak terhadap rakyat yang hanya berhimpun dan berjalan secara aman. Rakyat hanya mahu meluahkan perasaan tentang buruknya Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) yang perlu dimansuhkan secepat mungkin. Rakyat kita tidak membawa senjata; mereka hanya membawa anak-anak untuk menyedarkan warga kecil betapa kejamnya ISA. Lelaki, perempuan, tua dan muda, pelbagai kaum, bermacam agama, semuanya berhimpun secara aman di ibu kota. Hak untuk berhimpun secara aman adalah hak asasi rakyat. Tapi nampaknya hak yang dijamin oleh Perlembagaan Persekutuan ini sudah tidak ada guna lagi. Hak kita sudah hancur kerana polis yang bersenjata, yang berkuasa penuh, yang sombong dan angkuh, kini telah menentukan hak kita. Bila polis kata perhimpunanan itu haram, maka kita semua yang berhimpun atas dasar kebebasan dan hak yang telah dijamin oleh Perlembagaan Persekutuan, telah menjadi mangsa kekerasan polis. Ya, polis yang mengaku diri sahabat rakyat, kini menunjukkan belang sebenar mereka. Tak sangka, dengan sedikit kuasa itu, mereka sudah merasakan diri seperti Fira’un.

Saya sebagai warga Malaysia yang prihatin telah turut sama menyertai perhimpunan aman ini. Tapi saya bersama dua anak saya dan kawan-kawan lain tak tahu ke mana mahu dituju kerana polis telah tutup banyak jalan. Kami hanya mahu ke Istana Negara untuk menyaksikan penyerahan memorandum anti-ISA. Kami telah tersepit di sebatang jalan dekat Masjid Negara. Ramai yang berarak menghala ke Jalan Kuching ke arah Selangor Club; kami pun ikut sama. Niat kami hanyalah untuk bersama-sama orang ramai menunjukkan sokongan. Tetapi bila sampai sahaja di belakang Selangor Club, polis dengan ganasnya telah menyembur gas pemedih mata dan menggunakan pncutan air tekanan tinggi. Lintang-pukang orang berlari. Saya pun tunggang-langgang lari.

Polis kemudian meminta orang ramai bersurai. Tetapi ke mana nak bersurai kerana semua jalan sudah ditutup. Tak ada cara lain kecuali patah balik ke arah Masjid Negara. Saya pun bersedia untuk bersurai. Tapi bila sampai dekat dengan Masjid Negara, ada pula sekatan jalan polis. Di situlah saya lihat orang ramai angkat tangan supaya polis membenarkan mereka bersurai ke arah bagunan Dayabumi. Saya juga angkat tangan kerana kami memang nak bersurai. Ada dua orang wanita tua bersama saya yang merah serta berair mata mereka di samping terbatuk-batuk akibat bom gas pemedih mata. Sa orang peserta lelaki yang cacat anggota dengan crutches nya tidak dapat lari. Saya tak tahu apa nasib maanusia berani ini. Kasihan saya melihat mereka semua.

Rupa-rupanya polis sudah berniat jahat. Tanda angkat tangan tidak ada erti kepada mereka. Walau pun melihat ramai antara kami yang sudah mahu bersurai, polis terus melepaskan bom pemedih mata. Saya dapat lihat wajah-wajah polis berkenaan, kebanyakannya orang Melayu, yang penuh benci dan kesumat dendam. Maka terpaksa lagi kami berlari elakan diri. Tapi nak ke mana lagi? Di Jalan Kuching dekat Selangor Club pun polis sudah melemparkan bom pemedih mata. Bom dari canisters yang tidak ada jenama kata kawan saya. Bererti bom jenis buatan haram. Dinegara kita apa pun boleh dilakukan Ramai orang termasuk saya terpaksa lari masuk ke dalam hutan kecil berhampiran Jalan Kuching dengan melompat pagar bangunan di situ. Mujur juga ada pengawal keselamatan di situ yang baik hati yang telah melepaskan kami keluar dari perkarangan bangunan tersebut. Semoga Allah membalas budi baiknya. Di sana barulah kami dapat keluar untuk bersurai. Masa itu mata kami semua sudah merah, suara parau dan seluar koyak akibat terpaksa melompat pagar. Saya pun baru sedar bila sudah berumur begini lutut sudah tidak sekuat waktu muda dulu.

Memang jelas hak dan kebesan kita semakin terhakis. Apa yang polis lakukan dengan cara mengepung orang ramai yang hanya mahu berhimpun secara aman dan membelasah mereka dengan semburan air dan bom pemedih mata adalah untuk menunjukan kepada rakyat bahawa kerajaan Barisan Nasional tidak peduli dengan kehendak dan keperluan rakyat. Mereka mahu mengajar rakyat Malaysia bahawa era Pak Lah yang mahu mencuba membuka ruang kebebasan sudah tidak wujud lagi. Ini era Najib yang tak mahu dengar dan tak terima pandangan rakyat.

Bagi polis yang jelas bekerjasama dengan UMNO dan Barisan Nasional, mereka mahu rakyat takut kepada mereka. Mereka tidak mahu kita di Malaysia bebas seperti Indonesia dan Filipina yang memberi rakyat peluang bersuara dan berhimpun secara aman. Mereka mahu semua rakyat sedar bahawa Malaysia adalah Negara Polis seperti Myanmar. Sesiapa yang berhimpun dianggap bersalah kecuali mereka yang berhimpun untuk menyokong Najib dan pemimpin UMNO yang lain. Inilah mesej 1Malaysia ciptaan Najib yang memberi amaran kepada rakyat bahawa kekerasan akan digunakan pada bila-bila masa sahaja demi mengekalkan kuasa.

Tapi rakyat Malaysia termasuk saya juga ingin menyampaikan berita kepada Najib. Kita akan berkorban apa saja untuk menentang kekejaman dan kezaliman. Kita yakin kita di pihak yang benar kerana kita menentang salaha guna kuasa, penyelewengan dan rasuah. Kuasa rakyat akan menang juga suatu hari nanti di negara Malaysia yang tercinta ini, InsyaAllah.

Zaid Ibrahim

Rakyat Didahulukan Prestasi Diutamakan ISA Diteruskan – Satulah Malaysia

2009-08-01T20:00:00.002+08:00

Hari ini didalam sejarah, Ibrahim Ali hilang dalam ratusan ribu penyokong Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) yang tidak hadir pada hari ini. Walaupun hujan telah turun disebelah petang di sebahagian besar Semenanjung Malaysia, suara Ibrahim Ali tidak kedengaran bersama katak-katak yang bergembira menyambut hujan turun.
Dalam pada itu, Menteri Pertahanan Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata adalah mustahil untuk ISA dimansuhkan. Sementara itu, Menteri Di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Nazri Aziz pula bersumpah bahawa Barisan Nasional akan mengekalkan ISA.

Manakala di Kota Bharu, Perdana Menteri Najib Razak, cuba merayu supaya Menteri Besar Kelantan, Nik Abdul Aziz Bin Nik Mat menjaga sensitiviti Ahli-ahli UMNO.

Persoalannya, siapakah yang akan menjaga sensitiviti lebih 80,000 orang yang membanjiri Kota Kuala Lumpur dengan perasaan cintakan negara sambil membeli belah, minum-minum dan teringin melihat memorandum diserahkan ke Pejabat Yang DiPertuan Agung.

Tentu sekali bukan pihak polis yang ternyata mengamalkan dasar 1 Malaysia, Rakyat Didahulukan, Prestasi Diutamakan.

Dalam hal ini, pihak polis menganggap rakyat mereka yang merah, putih , kuning, hitam atau apa warna kulit atau baju dipakai adalah sama sahaja sesuai dengan slogan 1 Malaysia.

Lebih dari itu, tentu sekali rakyat didahulukan lebih dari pengganas, perogol, peragut dan lain-lain penjenayah.

Akhir sekali, prestasi diutamakan, iaitu prestasi peralatan-peralatan canggih yang dibeli dari duit rakyat dan mesti digunakan untuk rakyat.

Maka hari ini berjayalah Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara.

Syabas.

Kickdefella

Now I bet you would like to welcome Badawi back as PM

2009-07-18T08:55:00.001+08:00

Someone commented that I should shut-up and give Najib’s administration an opportunity to perform hence I shouldn’t be so negative about the current ruling government. Maybe this guy/gal did not have the opportunity to visit the infamous MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) office and tasted a cup of their aroma coffee. I wonder if this smart fellow would sing the same song of praise for Najib if he was humiliated, his/her loved ones threaten, made to stand for four hours and numerous other interrogation techniques used by MACC. That’s right – Najib’s 100-days were full of promises *applause* but thereafter (post 100-days) scored the first death in the hand of MACC.

All of a sudden the whole episode made you think if MACC consists of thugs, the same league as the Royal Police force. Maybe both MACC and the Police are racing against time to show who is the best in their interrogation techniques; hoping to win applauses from Najib’s administration. But wait, I shouldn’t be so negative because it was not Najib’s fault that MACC used such technique and in the process caused the death of a soon to be father (political secretary to a Selangor state executive councilor) Teoh Beng Hock. It wasn’t Najib’s fault in the first place that such stupid MACC officers were recruited. But a baby is set to arrive to this world without a daddy and that’s sad. To tell the baby later that his/her father was threatened and “accidently” murdered by a bunch of supposedly anti-corruption officers is beyond words.

Suddenly you may think and hoped that Abdullah Badawi was still the Prime Minister. Sure, he slept on the job but at least he did that openly and never hides about it. But now you’ve a new Prime Minister whose policy amongst others encourage and adopt dangerous intimidation and interrogation style that could cause deaths. Which would you prefer – a boring or a hellish administration? In reality there was no death under Abdullah Badawi’s administration but now the country is entering an era where one’s life is so cheap that throwing you out of the window is like throwing a piece of tissue paper *gulp*. Perhaps those morons who still think Najib’s administration is still finger-licking good should tell that to the face of Teoh Beng Hock’s fiancée, 28-year-old teacher Soh Cher Wei who was two-months pregnant.

To deny the fact that the current MACC is mirroring the thuggish police and has nothing to do with Najib’s administration is an under-statement. The fact that Najib’s administration was quick to warn everyone not to link the death (Teoh Beng Hock) to MACC was sufficient to show that the current intimidation, threat and physical torture policy of the current government is set to continue and most likely flourish, whether you like it or not. The ball is now in Najib’s court. You don’t think MACC’s latest action in targeting the opposition parties was done without the endorsement of Najib’s administration, do you? If you still think Najib’s administration is as clean as babies’ diaper *yuck* then you’re a moron, stupid and deserve to be rape by the current government.

Unless Najib give instruction in bringing the real culprit(s) to face the music the perception of the public will remains the same – Najib’s administration is involving in the murder of innocent citizen. But knowing how the ruling government works, this murder case will be stamped with “No Further Action” and everything will be business as usual until the next unfortunate person experiences the Malaysian style’s bungee-jump again. Najib has to do the right thing and that is to come clean with the murderer, there’s no two ways about it. And to the oppositions who cries for Royal Commission – please shut up because it has been proven many times that Royal Commission is another toothless and powerless get-together-and-have-coffee session. There’s nothing special with that “Royal” word anymore. If Badawi is still around maybe this poor chap will not die so cheap but then both Badawi and Najib are still the same product coming from the same factory *sigh*.

- Stocktube

The writing was already on the wall so long ago

2009-07-18T08:35:00.000+08:00

This has been going on for far too long. The MACC acts like God. They kidnap families and torture those they arrest. They threaten those they interrogate with death if they refuse to talk.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The writing was already on the wall very much earlier. Alarm bells were wailing like banshees. But this was largely ignored. It was ignored because it was Malaysia Today that had triggered the alarm bells. Malaysia Today is not the most reliable source. It does not offer the best of information. What Malaysia Today dabbles in are rumours and innuendoes.

When the Anti-Corruption Agency, now called the MACC, kidnapped the family of a police inspector, Malaysia Today raised the alarm. They had kidnapped the wife and child of a police inspector who had investigated a Chinese underworld boss on the instructions of a higher-up with the rank of ASP.

The inspector was just doing what his boss had ordered him to do, and that was to open a file and launch an investigation into the activities of the Chinese prostitution, loan shark, drugs and gambling syndicate. And this resulted in the detention of three syndicate bosses.

What the MACC wanted the police inspector to do was quite simple. They wanted him to change his report so that the three underworld bosses can be freed from detention. And he would have to do that if he wants to secure the release of his family.

The police inspector refused to do that. Instead, he made a police report. And so did his wife. But nothing was done about the matter. The MACC officers were not arrested and dragged to court on kidnapping charges.

The MACC then leaked information to the media that they are investigating a very senior police officer, the Director of the CCD, for the crime of not declaring RM27 million worth of assets. The fact that MACC investigations come under the Official Secrets Act was not a hindrance. After all, the OSA is only used against opposition supporters and not against those who serve those who walk in the corridors of power.

Nevertheless, the Director of the CCD was finally not charged for not declaring RM27 million in assets. He was charged for using police property for his personal reasons, something that all government officers, ministers and politicians do blatantly every day of the week. But his real crime is that he detained several Chinese underworld bosses who control the prostitution, loan shark, drugs and gambling business all over Malaysia.

Then they arrested the lawyer who acted for the CCD Director. The MACC officers came to his office on the eve of Hari Raya and handcuffed him after roughing him up like one would do to an armed bank robber. To ensure that the lawyer suffered the greatest embarrassment this Hollywood-style arrest was done in full view of the entire office.

Malaysia Today wrote about all this. Malaysia Today not only wrote about all this but Malaysia Today repeated the stories again and again to make sure no one would say they somehow missed the story. But still nothing was done. No one denied the story. More importantly, no one did anything about what Malaysia Today revealed.

The MACC has been a tool of those who walk in the corridors of power for a long, long time. Officially, Barisan Nasional has 14 component members with Umno as the lead partner. Unofficially, Barisan Nasional has seventeen component members. The Election Commission is the fifteenth component member of Barisan Nasional, the Malaysian police the sixteenth, and the MACC the seventeenth. They all serve the interests of Umno and the Prime Minister.

The writing was already on the wall very much earlier. Alarm bells were wailing like banshees. But this was largely ignored. It was ignored because it was Malaysia Today that had triggered the alarm bells. Malaysia Today is not the most reliable source. It does not offer the best of information. What Malaysia Today dabbles in are rumours and innuendoes.

“Where is the smoking gun?” they ask. “Show me the body!” they demand. No gun, no body, then no crime has been committed.

Well, today, there is a body. It is the body of a most unfortunate Chinese opposition member who was arrested and tortured by the MACC officers. Yes, he was tortured. And he was tortured because the MACC wanted him to talk.

But he could not talk. He could not talk because there was nothing to talk about. The MACC wanted him to finger his comrades in the opposition. They wanted him to implicate his friends in the opposition for various crimes that the MACC alleges had been committed by those in the opposition.

He tried to explain that he is not being stubborn. He tried to explain that no crime had been committed. He tried to explain that he could not possibly implicate his comrades in the opposition for various crimes if these crimes are merely a figment of the MACC’s imagination.

So they continued to torture him. And he could no longer stand the torture. After all, he is not the macho type of man. He is but a gentle man who only wanted to get married this weekend. That was all that he wanted.

They threatened to kill him if he refuses to talk. With tears running down his cheeks he begged for mercy and pleaded with them not to harm him. They threatened to throw him off the top floor if he refuses to talk. Sobbing like a baby he went down on his knees and begged for his life.

They dragged him across the room and opened the window. Then something went terribly wrong. It was supposed to be just a threat. They just wanted to put fear in him. They did not really want to throw him off the top floor. They just wanted him to see what the ground floor looks like from the top floor.

The unfortunate young man panicked. He went ballistic when he saw the distance he would have to travel before hitting the ground floor. He struggled. They could not hold onto him. Gravity took over and the life of this young man was prematurely snuffed out.

The MACC then announced that they had released him the night before. They failed to announce that they had not released him from custody but released him from this world. Then they suddenly found his body the day after. He jumped. He committed suicide. He took his own life. He was never tortured. He was not dragged to the window with the threat that they would teach him how to fly.

This has been going on for far too long. The MACC acts like God. They kidnap families and torture those they arrest. They threaten those they interrogate with death if they refuse to talk.

And now one young man has really died. But no one will be punished. No one will be punished because they will say the young man took his own life. Why he took his own life no one knows. He was never tortured. He was never threatened with death. He was not made to look how far down the ground floor is. He was not accidentally dropped when he panicked and struggled and they could not get a good grip on him.

That is what they will be telling you and me later today.

Rahsia anak muda sokong Pakatan

2009-06-01T16:58:00.000+08:00

Selepas tsunami politik yang berlaku pada 8 Mac 2008, iklim politik di Malaysia terus panas dan menyaksikan penyertaan aktif rakyat dalam politik.

Perkembangan ini semakin rancak apabila beberapa siri pilihanraya kecil yang berlaku selepas itu bermula di Permatang Pauh, diikuti Kuala Terengganu dan kemudian Bukit Gantang.

Krisis politik di Perak dan isu penentangan terhadap dasar kontroversi PPSMI ibarat "menyimbah petrol" ke api yang sedang marak.

Golongan muda tidak ketinggalan untuk bersama-sama dengan pergolakan politik tanah air. Setakat ini, majoriti anak muda di Malaysia lebih condong untuk menyokong Pakatan Rakyat berbanding BN.

Perkembangan ini diakui sendiri oleh pimpinan-pimpinan BN apabila parti pemerintah tersebut tewas di kebanyakkan saluran pengundian 3 dan 4 yakni saluran pengundi muda dalam pilihanraya umum lalu dan beberapa siri pilihanraya kecil.

Ramai penganalisis melihat kencenderungan golongan muda bersama Pakatan kerana mereka lebih terdedah kepada maklumat-maklumat alternatif di internet, berbanding golongan tua yang sudah terbiasa dengan maklumat daripada akhbar atau televisyen.

Memang satu faktor yang tidak dapat dinafikan, internet memainkan peranan besar dalam mempengaruhi keputusan pilihanraya umum yang lalu.

Sebab itulah ramai pemimpin-pemimpin BN membuka blog sebaik sahaja keputusan pilihanraya ke-12 diumumkan kerana menyangka bahawa mereka kalah teruk oleh kerana tidak mempunyai blog!

Mereka ini terlupa bahawa jika semua pemimpin BN mempunyai blog atau laman web sekalipun, ia menjadi tidak berguna jika idea yang disampaikan tidak berbeza daripada apa yang boleh dibaca di Utusan Malaysia dan Berita Harian.

Maklumat basi ini tidak akan berdaya menarik minat dan selera orang muda, jauh sekali mampu mengubah trend sokongan golongan muda terhadap BN.

Sifat melawan atau “rebel” memang tersemat dalam diri golongan muda. Sebab itulah kita dapat melihat bagaimana golongan mudalah yang bangkit untuk melawan sesuatu regim atau kediktatoran.

Di negara jiran Indonesia, kita dapat melihat bagaimana golongan muda yang majoritinya mahasiswa memimpin rakyat untuk menumbangkan regim Soeharto yang telah memimpin selama lebih 30 tahun.

Dalam sejarah gerakan reformasi di Malaysia sejak 1998, kita dapat melihat bagaimana berbondong-bondong mahasiswa dan anak-anak muda bersama-sama rakyat dalam demonstrasi-demonstrasi anti-Mahathir Mohamad pada ketika itu.

Penentangan golongan muda terhadap regim BN bertambah hebat pada hari ini oleh kerana Pakatan berjaya meyakinkan golongan ini bahawa mereka (baca: Pakatan) adalah alternatif yang terbaik bagi BN.

Jika Pakatan terus bersatu dan bertambah kukuh sehingga pilihanraya umum akan datang, sokongan kuat golongan muda akan semakin meningkat berikutan pertambahan jumlah pengundi muda dalam daftar pemilih.

BN yang ditubuhkan oleh perdana menteri kedua, Abdul Razak Hussein pada 1973 sebagai menggantikan Perikatan telah memerintah Malaysia dengan begitu lama. Jika dikira dengan zaman pemerintahan Perikatan, mereka telah mentadbir negara bermula dari tarikh kemerdekaan sehinggalah hari ini.

Apabila sesuatu parti politik memerintah dengan begitu lama dan tambahan lagi sentiasa dalam keadaan kuat (mempunyai majoriti 2/3 di parlimen) sebelum ini, maka lahirlah satu sifat "kerajaan sentiasa betul".

Seperti apa yang dikatakan oleh bekas menteri undang-undang, Zaid Ibrahim, bahawasanya presiden Umno itu seseorang yang paling berkuasa di dunia.

Zaid membandingkan kuasa yang ada pada presiden Umno berbanding dengan presiden Amerika Syarikat.

“Jika di Amerika, Obama perlu menjawab kepada Dewan Senat, Parti Demokrat dan media, di Malaysia presiden Umno (perdana menteri) boleh berbuat sesuka hatinya tanpa perlu menjawab kepada sesiapa berhubung dengan tindakannya" katanya dalam sebuah forum yang bertajuk 'Can Najib Deliver His Reform Promises?' bulan lalu di Dewan Perhimpunan Cina Selangor.

Pindaan perlembagaan yang dilakukan oleh Dr Mahathir pada 1993 telah menjadikan perdana menteri Malaysia begitu berkuasa apabila raja-raja boleh diseret ke mahkamah khas. Oleh kerana itu, lahirlah sifat angkuh dan sombong pimpinan-pimpinan Umno dan BN.

Apabila Umno dan BN merasakan mereka terlalu kuat dan tidak mampu dicabar oleh kumpulan-kumpulan lain, maka mereka menjadi sukar untuk menerima idea-idea baru atau bertentangan.

Mereka mahu paksakan kepada golongan muda untuk mengikut cara mereka dan tidak menerima segala kritikan yang diberi. Lihatlah apa yang terjadi kepada orang muda seperti Khairy Jamaluddin di dalam Umno?

Walaupun beliau telah menang sebagai ketua Pemuda Umno menewaskan Khir Toyo dan Mukhriz Mahathir, beliau tidak dilantik untuk menganggotai kabinet baru Najib Razak - antaranya kerana Khairy tidak mengikut "acuan" yang diinginkan banyak "warlord" Umno.

Khairy tidak dimahukan lagi oleh Umno oleh kerana beliau tidak bercakap dalam bahasa Umno. Sikap politiknya yang liberal dan tindakannya mempertahankan media alternatif seperti Malaysiakini atau The Malaysian Insider apabila diharamkan untuk membuat liputan dalam perhimpunan agung Umno bukanlah ketua Pemuda yang dimahukan oleh pembesar-pembesar Umno.

Pembesar-pembesar Umno mahukan ketua Pemuda yang boleh bercakap dalam bahasa Umno seperti "Umno perlu kuat", "ISA untuk mempertahankan hak Melayu" dan "media alternatif adalah agen asing". Kenyataan-kenyataan seumpama ini hanya boleh dituturkan oleh Khir Toyo atau Mukhriz Mahathir yang mempunyai ideologi "ultra Umno".

Umno menganjurkan pelbagai demonstrasi apabila berlakunya krisis Perak. Kita boleh lihat berapa ramai golongan muda yang menyertai mereka berbanding dengan puluhan ribu yang hadir di kediaman MB Perak untuk mendengar ucapan Nizar Jamaluddin yang dirampas kuasanya.

Propaganda Umno untuk mengajak anak muda menentang Nizar yang dikatakan "menderhaka" kepada Sultan Perak tidak mendapat sambutan. Propaganda yang mengatakan bahawa Nizar adalah agen DAP juga tidak dapat mempengaruhi pengundi-pengundi di saluran 3 dan 4 yang majoritinya memberikan undi kepada Pakatan dalam pilihanraya kecil Bukit Gantang, awal April lalu.

Oleh kerana BN sudah terlalu lama berkuasa, mereka sering memandang rendah kepada tahap keintelektualan rakyat terutamanya golongan muda.

Lihatlah bagaimana TV3 cuba untuk memperbodohkan rakyat dengan propaganda-propaganda tahun 1960-an.

Meluat dengan apa yang merek saksikan telah mendorong anak muda beramai-ramai untuk membantu Pakatan tanpa mengharapkan sebarang imbuhan atau upah. Buah fikiran dan tenaga yang diberi dianggap sebagai satu tanggungjawab yang wajib dilakukan walaupun mereka tidak dipaksa oleh mana-mana pihak.

Di Bukit Gantang, saya terjumpa dengan sekumpulan penulis blog anak muda yang telah berkampung di kawasan parlimen tersebut untuk memastikan kemenangan Nizar Jamaluddin.

Ada yang telah berada di Perak semenjak berlakunya krisis politik di negeri tersebut dan telah berbulan-bulan tidak pulang ke rumah. Mereka mencari dana sendiri dan beroperasi siang dan malam untuk melaporkan perkara sebenar yang berlaku di negeri Perak dan menjawab propaganda-propaganda BN di alam siber.

Melihat ketabahan dan semangat mereka menyebabkan saya berasa terharu. Pakatan sangat beruntung kerana mempunyai sokongan yang begitu kuat daripada golongan muda yang merasakan melawan BN sebagai satu tanggungjawab berbanding dengan penyokong-penyokong BN yang sentiasa mengharapkan wang dan upah.

Jika Pakatan terus membawa api perjuangan dan agenda perubahan, saya yakin golongan muda akan sentiasa bersama mereka.

Saya bersetuju dengan Abdullah Ahmad (Dollah Kok Lanas) yang menyatakan dalam temubual majalah Off The Edge bahawa Najib hanya mampu menjadi PM selama tiga tahun sebelum pilihanraya umum ke-13 dengan syarat Anwar Ibrahim, Abdul Hadi Awang dan Lim Kit Siang terus duduk bersama dan Pakatan kukuh.

Jika Pakatan berpecah dan pemimpinnya sentiasa bergaduh sesama sendiri, harapan, buah fikiran dan tenaga golongan muda yang membantu kemenangan mereka akan menjadi sia-sia.

Malaysia tidak akan menemui perubahan sehingga sekurang-kurangnya 50 tahun akan datang.

Amin Iskandar [Malaysiakini]

BN's power grab in Perak and the September 16 similarity joke

2009-05-17T13:30:00.000+08:00

Recently there has been repeated statements made by PM Najib Tun Razak and some BN leaders concerning their power grab in Perak and how the “other side” (read PR and Anwar) have started all these problems and defection hysteria as they desperately try to convince a wary nation to accept their pathetic script. As a Perakian, let me compare the September 16 and Najib's power grab in Perak and how each was intended to be or ended up to be.

By Ibrahim Ahmad

September 16 was Anwar's ultimatum of seizing the federal government through massive defections of BN lawmakers. However, it has never materialized. BN and in particular PM Najib can't fault Anwar for courting BN MPs because Najib argued that defection is acceptable and even Churchill once defected, of course Najib knows little of what prompted Churchill to ditch his party. But we will forgive him knowing that he is a man who reads little.

However, in Anwar's version, he sought power to better Malaysia and immediately implement pro-people policies, at least that’s what he claimed. He has detailed what he wanted to do once he ends up in Putrajaya.

He ruled out the idea of getting all BN MPs since a number of them were tainted and only promised to seek the help of BN's conscientious MPs. Anwar also explained that he will use Parliament to unseat the BN PM and not make deals with anyone including the King behind the scenes since it was unconstitutional.

He too made it clear that he will call for a General Election six months after he obtains power and in those six months he will reform state institutions like the EC, Police, Judiciary and other institutions and explain his political platform and polices in detail.

Anwar also explained that he will reward poor but resource rich states like Terengganu, Sarawak and Sabah which contribute much to the national coffers but obtain little in return. He claimed that he wanted power to use it to replace a moribund leadership that was failing Malaysia.

Therefore, had he succeeded, Malaysians would have never felt mortified because he used an orthodox method that's acceptable morally and democratically, albeit with many including his supporters and partners disapproving his plan. The fact is that Anwar was open about what he wanted and why he wanted.

On the other hand, Najib sought the help of the 3 most scandal ridden politicians in Perak, a clear break from Anwar's promise to only seek BN's clean hands; the 3 of which two of them (Osman Jailu and Jamaluddin Mat Radzi) the Sultan of Perak felt weren't fit to lead his state and rejected their leadership. Hee of Jelepang was the greediest element of all Perak legislators and we know how she started to throw tantrums after she wasn't made an Exco mainly due to education handicap and later made noise when she wasn't given a Camry and an elegant office as Deputy Speaker. Some benefits she wasn't entitled to. Her rapacious greed was clear from day one and even DAP MPs like Jeff Ooi predicted as early as April of 2008 that she may ditch the party.

Najib brought down a performing government that made tremendous gains in just ten months unlike Anwar's promise to replace the lackluster regime of Abdullah Badawi. Unlike Anwar who has informed Malaysians of what he intended to do in Putrajaya, Najib acted in order to save face after he has been thrashed in Permatang Pauh (PP) despite mounting the sleaziest campaign ever run in Malaysia's electoral history; after he has been forced to prevail upon Umno's Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir of Kulim to withdraw his petition against PKR's Zulkifli Nordin of Kulim.

Though Sheikh Fadzir was assured of winning the petition, Najib realized that meeting PR and Anwar in Kulim after his disastrous outing in PP may be his waterloo. Then God intervened and we had the Kuala Terengganu by-election in Malay heartland.

Najib spent mind boggling money in KT and despite that lost badly. It wasn't lost on all that Terengganu is a state under Umno with 2/3 majority. Therefore, Najib's single reason to act was to save face and show that despite his unacceptability to Malaysians, he could provide “leadership” and act against the opposition. His intentions were malevolent indeed.

Also, Najib used unconstitutional methods to have the BN MB installed unlike Anwar's promise to use Parliament. This led to the demonization of the Perak Sultan who overnight became the most demonized Sultan. A stark contract from the ululations that he used to receive from Perakians and Malaysians.

People started to hate him and lampoon him. They started unearthing his and his children's business interests and that's how many of us came to know about it. Najib knows that two of his brothers have business interests with some children of the Sultan. No need for names here. Malaysians know about it.

Anwar promised a speedy economic plan and the implementation of his egalitarian Malaysian Economic Agenda (did you notice BN started to pilfer some of his platforms like the economic liberalization?). For Najib, it was to cripple Perak's economy and reverse a healthy trend under Nizar who has made some tremendous progress. MIDA's latest report about the failing economic situation in Perak is a testimony of the malevolent nature of Najib's leadership. As a Perakian, I ask myself, do we deserve the crippling of our economy simply to save the face of Najib who fears to face us? The people's PM, my foot!

Anwar promised an election, Najib refuses elections but has the temerity to blame Anwar. Sir, Anwar was ready for an election in the event that he succeeded in his plan and it proved problematic. In your case, you are a poltroon who thinks that people' can't see through your shenanigans despite your nefarious Perak works failing. Thanks to you, Perak today is in tatters.

Anwar didn't abduct BN legislators; neither did he entrap them. He didn't use state institutions to arm twist his way into Putrajaya. For you, you abducted elected legislators using the Special Branch and later compelled them to defect so that their corruption cases can be dropped.

You easily forget that the BN media had lynched them and called for their sacking. That you settled for those vulnerable characters is a testimony of your leadership and vision, a far cry from your father who was known to collect the best brains in the nation. Tun Razak must be turning in his grave.

Now that you 'succeeded' in toppling Mohd Nizar, what have you gained? These are what you gained:

1. You reduced once glorious Perak to a failed state. It will be your waterloo like Iraq was Bush’s waterloo.

2. You made Anwar more popular. Today, all Malaysians including your supporters know that you fear to face him in an election. But remember, you called PKR (Parti Kurang Relevan) in Lembah Pantai while campaigning against Nurul Izzah just one year ago. That you refuse to face that kurang relevan party (and its partners) is ironical indeed. Spare me “BN doesn’t fear elections” petty joke. Ask my 5 year old son and he will tell you that you fear elections.

3. You made Mohd Nizar an iconic figure. From an obscure person not known to Malaysians, today he is assured of Pakatan's leadership post Anwar and he will be the PM in the future insha Allah, thanks all to you. PR's greatest weakness was Anwar since he was its father figure and the only acceptable face to all parties. Because of you, we have Nizar who happens to be more popular than Anwar in some cases. So if you think PR will collapse if you use Lingam-appointed judges against Anwar in your sodomy manufactured sleazy work, then we have Nizar who will bury you for good.

4. Mahathir's hateful crusade against Abdullah has fallen flat. He argued that once Najib takes over, Malaysians will troop to BN. Well, today Mahathir is saying BN (under you) will lose in Perak and lost Bukit Gantang with a bigger margin. Exactly in May last year, he argued (in The Sun) that BN will reclaim Perak in an election if Abdullah Badawi is not the PM. His hypocrisy and your moribund leadership is making Badawi remembered positively.

5. You made many Malaysians hate the Royalty and you are solely responsible for the slide it has taken in its reputation and history will judge you harshly. You try to hide behind the Sultan's name. Najib, Perakians know that you fear Anwar Ibrahim and Mohd Nizar, so stop the crap of Sultan this, Sultan that.

6. You united Pakatan supporters and also made many fence-sitters be pro-PR. It was you who brought Karpal and Hadi Awang to Bukit Gantang.

7. You lost the people's goodwill and your spin about 1 Malaysia, Performance now (and other jokes like the People's PM) mantra down the drain. You released many ISA detainees but the people are laughing at you rather than cheering your moves. Do you know why? Perak!

8. You have given PR enough ammunition to use against you in any by-election and in the next general elections. Oh, Mahathir said the people “will have short memories.” He would have to know that no society accepts cruelty as a rule (Ali Ibn Abi Talib [ra]). Ask him also.
Using thugs against our elected leaders in hallowed precincts like Parliament is not what we will forget. Dividing the nation and crippling our state's economy is not what we will forget. Using state institutions to achieve personal goals is not what we will forget. Abducting elected legislators is not what we will forget. Fanning the flames of tribal and race rancour in order to sustain few aristocrats in power at the expense of the nation is not what we will forget.
If we will forget, we would have forgotten Badawi's promises in 2004. When he failed, we sent him packing. That fate awaits you. You will be the Gerald Ford of Malaysia. Unelected leader who ruled for a while and when he sought a mandate to rule, the people rejected him. You will live with the ignominy of bringing down Umno and BN and being a PM who never received a mandate from his people even in a by-election.

9. You lost all the fence sitters to PR. Majority of the voters are fence-sitters. Now that they know what you are capable of in your personal sadism, they won't mortgage the nation in order to satisfy you.

The Abdullah Badawi is weak jokes are laid bare. It was all about honesty and God fearing leadership. We gave him a sweeping mandate to lead us to Canaan and heal the nation after Mahathir's repressive 22 years. But he slept. Now it is clear that you won't subdue the nation through hard tactics because the people won't budge. It is clear that you will only win if you are honest and pro-people, but you aren't.

So Umno people know that their time is up because Malaysians have made up their minds. Ketuanan Melayu, the Royalty, Anwar's sodomy that you personally manufactured and many other scare tactics won't work. The only thing that will work is to vote against Umno and how satisfying that will be.

Now you know that Malaysians won't accept spin. We are looking for honest answers. Catchy phrases and rallying calls won't help you. You can manufacture millions of them and they won't work. But honesty will work.

Ibrahim Ahmad,
Ipoh, Perak

- Malaysia Today

Was it worth it?

2009-05-07T16:09:00.001+08:00

MAY 7 — Hee Yit Fong got the position and attention she craved for today. Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir received the guard-of-honour treatment he desired so much. And Barisan Nasional completed the sordid power grab in the state of Perak, earning the right to titles, perks and position but not what matters most to any government — legitimacy.

The three defectors (two who need some cover from serious corruption charges and one who was unhappy at being treated like a doormat by her comrades in the DAP) can enjoy their new-found status as kingmakers in the assembly.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the BN can at last calm the nerves of members and supporters who were beginning to believe that the coalition had lost its ability to win at any cost.

But at what cost? Was the prize so valuable that it was worthwhile trampling on the image and standing of the country’s important institutions, the Federal Constitution and the sense of right and wrong?

Surely not. Even the most myopic BN supporter has to agree that achieving power through the backdoor has come at a great cost to the judiciary, monarchy and the police, not to mention the new leaders in Putrajaya who have been trying to erase the negativity surrounding Umno with the 1 Malaysia concept.

• Impact on judiciary: It is a sad day that even before a court makes a decision, the public have discounted the impartiality of the panel. But this appears to be the case in Malaysia today. Such is the cynicism and scepticism here today that more attention is paid to the composition of the Federal Court than the legal arguments made in the Palace of Justice.

That is what happens when decisions by illustrious and respected judges on the doctrine of separation of powers is ignored. This is what happens when Article 72 of the Federal Constitution (which puts matters in the legislative assembly beyond the scrutiny of the courts) is treated like a footnote.

• Constitutional monarchy: One single incident has turned one of Malaysia’s most beloved families into villains. Instead of dissolving the assembly at the urging of Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin, Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak did the unthinkable — he asked Nizar to resign and installed BN as the new state government. By doing so, he refused to recognise that it is the right of Perakians to decide who represents them. He said recently that the Malay Rulers were above politics. Sadly, many Malaysians do not view the constitutional monarchy as honest brokers today.

• Police: Crime appears to be spiralling out of control in Malaysia, snatch theft victims are dying on the streets and the men in blue seem more interested in enforcing a dress code and arresting social activists and politicians on lame-duck sedition charges. Really, the reputation of the Royal Malaysian Police takes a beating every time they forget that their duty is to serve the Malaysian public. But still they persist in acting in a manner which alienates the same people who are paying their salaries.

So was it worth it? Was taking power through the backdoor worth it? Only Malaysians can provide the answer to that question. They should do so at the ballot box at every opportunity between now and the next general election. - The Malaysian Insider

Najib clarifies Khairy’s role

2009-04-12T09:36:00.002+08:00

PATTAYA, April 11 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar had stated his willingness to concentrate on party activities although he was not given a Cabinet post.

"He understands his situation and it's not a problem for him," said Najib when asked about comments by some quarters that the Umno Youth chief should be given a role in the Cabinet.

At a press conference with the Malaysian press here last night, Najib had said it was impossible to please everybody.

"I choose to satisfy the public at large, the people come first," he said in response to dissatisfaction by some quarters in Umno about the Cabinet line-up, including from those who won posts in the party's elections recently.

However, Najib said he would also look into the political aspects of the party structure and the situation of the government in efforts to stengthen the party.

Following the new Cabinet line-up announcement on Thursday, Khairy had said that he was willing the help the prime minister strengthen Umno especially Umno Youth. — Bernama

Let us not kid ourselves. They can probably said this to a kindergarten kid and get away with it but not the rest of Malaysians. Everybody knows Najib didn't include KJ in because of Mahathir's explicit warning. Najib didn't dare goes against the old man's wishes because he still exert a substantial influence over UMNO. He can say whatever he wants but we all can safely conclude that Mahathir's got Najib under his thumb.

KJ might be brash and brave but he's no fool. To go against the man who almost single-handedly brought down his father in law and several previous prime ministers would be a political suicide. I mean the old man is already 84 and if he waits another 3-4 years he'd probably be gone by then. Then only can he makes his move up the political ladder.

The People Have Spoken

2009-04-08T13:04:00.000+08:00

The results from Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau are but definite proof that more than a year after March 8, 2008, the people are still resolved to show their discontentment and complete unhappiness with the ways of the Barisan Nasional in general and UMNO in particular. It is also conversely a display of strengthening support for Pakatan Rakyat, regardless of the apparent ideological and political differences in the allegiance of the 3 political parties of which it consists.

That the two by-elections are won by the Pakatan Rakyat with increased majority is of course a cause for concern for the BN and the newly minted Prime Minister, Najib Razak. Add in the fact that the whole might of the BN's election machineries - including government machineries - was at full steam to ensure a BN victory, the win by Pakatan Rakyat is conclusively a mega achievement in the true spirit of the proverbial David and Goliath fight.

The BN has done everything within its power to win these two by-elections. The whole cabinet could be seen campaigning tirelessly in the two areas. Hotshots from the Federal Capital converged the two areas and lighted the campaign trail. Amidst the cries of reforms from within UMNO and the euphoria of a new found "unity" - when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi held the hand of Mahathir Mohammad and Najib Razak at the closing ceremony of the recently concluded UMNO General Assembly - as well as the installation of Najib Razak as the nation's 6th Prime Minister, the campaign started and was conducted with such intensity that any independent observer would be hard pressed to think of a PR victory, let alone with an increased majority.

No stone was left unturned by the BN to woo the voters. Schools were visited by the Minister of Education. Rhetoric was aplenty - where Muhyiddin Yassin's call for the "slaughter" of Nizar for the latter's apparent treasonous behaviour towards the Sultan has to take the cake and its icing too - as well as name calling and the usual brow beating. (It was quite a disappointment though when the "Class F contract vending machine" which was used during the Kuala Trengganu by-election was nowhere to be seen this time). Concerts by scantily clad Chinese lady singers were even thrown by the BN at a fishing village attended by, non other than the defender of the Muslim faith, Zahid Hamidi who later famously proclaimed that the Chinese culture must be respected.

As the new Prime Minister, Najib Razak made a refreshing inaugural speech, releasing 13 ISA detainees and promising a comprehensive review of the ISA; singing the oft repeated unity, one Malaysia and fairness slogans as well as inviting all Malaysians to embark on a great journey with him. This was expected to make an impact on the voters.

The most startling show was of course reserved for the grand old man of UMNO, Mahathir Mohammad. After Najib Razak was installed as the PM, Mahathir MOhammad rejoined UMNO. He then happily hit the campaign trail, campaigning for the party which he proclaimed as a "corrupt party" just about a week before. It was thought that Mahathir Mohammad would take the by-elections by storm and galvanise the voters to support the BN.

The Pakatan Rakyat, on the other hand, had to face obstacle after obstacle in their campaign. Their rallies were invaded by the Federal Reserve Unit. Acid laced water was sprayed at the attendees. In Bukit Selambau, the police moved in without warning and even fired tear gas at the crowd attending a PR rally. When permits were given, unreasonable conditions were imposed. A certain dead Mongolian woman's name was even prohibited by the police from being mentioned by the PR in any of its rally. A person caught selling that particular woman's mask was arrested. And leading to the campaign, the Suara Keadilan and Harakah - the PKR's and PAS's respective publication - were suspended from publication for 3 months by the Home Ministry.

The state owned mass media were of course playing their old games of blowing the BN horn while puking at everything which the PR did. Interviews with the BN supporters who would laud the "development brought about" by the BN government were shown every day and night. The newspapers were full of praise for the BN and its leaders. Not a single teeny weeny good report was made about the PR. That is what they call "balanced and factual" reporting.

Despite it all, PR still won the two by-elections. What went wrong for the BN? If it needs more than 3 minutes for the BN or UMNO to find out what went wrong for them, then may I suggest that the party be dissolved forthwith.

First of all it shows that the people don't believe what the state owned or mainstream mass media are saying anymore. Everything they say is being disbelieved or at the very least taken with a huge cup of sodium chloride. The younger voters now are a sophisticated and educated lot. They scourge the internet for alternative news. It is, rightly or wrongly, set in their mind that whatever is being said by the mass media is a lie and conversely everything which is said on the internet is the truth. Can they be blame for that? If the BN thinks that elections could be won by massive propaganda, positive or negative, through the mass media, it is completely ignorant of reality. The people now laugh at all the so called news and "balanced reporting" by the mass media. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that mass propaganda undertaken by the BN spectacularly backfired!

Secondly, the people just do not believe all the cries and slogans for "reform" and "change". A case in point is the apparent differences between what the UMNO leadership is saying and what its grass root leaders were saying the UMNO Assembly. While Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak pledged and in fact pleaded for reforms and changes, the speeches from the delegates were talking about filling up the GLCs and Universities with UMNO people! They were talking about withdrawing scholarships from those students who dare oppose UMNO. They were talking about how UMNO should wantonly use its powers when the powers are still with it.

Viewed from that perspective, Najib Razak's release of the 13 ISA detainees and the promise of a comprehensive review of the ISA also backfired. While the true intention was doubted by the people, such move was also seen and perceived as a victory of sorts by the people. In their mind, that was the effect of the people's pressure on the government. In their mind, if the people would unite to pile on the pressure, perhaps more detainees would be released and the ISA abolished. And so, in their mind, they were saying, let pile on more pressure by voting for PR.

Thirdly, the BN should be mindful that we are all now living in the 21st century, a new millennium. Character assassination don't work anymore. Calling a person a traitor without basis don't work. Spreading nude pictures of a PR MP don't work. Opening up blogs to call really bad names against the opposition candidate don't work. The people want engagement. The people are now smart enough to desire an intellectual engagement. Calling name is so passe!

Fourthly, the people now want answers and they want them fast. And clear. Parochialism is a thing of the past. Even the Malays are not easily bought by Ketuanan Melayu anymore. The people look at real issues which are affecting or may affect them. The economy. The sharing of the economic pie. Education. Justice. Fairness. An across the board enforcement of the law as opposed to selective one. These are close to the people's heart nowadays.

If there is one thing which the people despise, and despise strongly at that, is hypocrisy. And this is the most important element. The advent of technology now makes it easy for the people to store data and facts and access the same within seconds. And it is just not kosher for politicians and leaders to say one thing and do completely the opposite and be found to have done completely the opposite.

In the two by-elections, the people came out, they saw and they conquered.

By Art Harun

Hello MACC.. are you at home?

2009-04-03T09:22:00.000+08:00

By drrafick

1. The Selangor government action in setting up the Special Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency (SELCAT) on the 26th May 2008 is most welcome. I love to see SELCAT in action, as I believe there are many irresponsible wrong doings by the previous Selangor government. So far, it has exposes Khir Toyo and his wife involvement in spending Balkis money against the charter of the organization. It seems Khir and his entire family has bee spending Selangor Government Company’s money as if it is their own.

2. It is reported that the SELCAT committee will regulate and inspect the competence, accountability and transparency in all administrative matters of the state government and all agencies, statutory bodies, local authorities and organisations linked to or are under the administration of the state government.

3. I was analyzing what transpired concerning the family overseas trip using PNSB money. I am not shocked at this entire expose. As a former government servant, I have seen this before. I can say that this culture is rampant among the BN state government. This is actually a norm in many government companies and the state formed NGO.

4. The modus operandi is simple. The MB is usually the chairperson of the board. By virtue of being the MB, he has strong influence of the board members. He would “kowtim” few important people in the board as well as the CEO. The way this is done is by bestowing titles, land and others. Once the board is in the hand then the board will legitimize what ever request that comes in. It can be in kind of donation, study tour and others. No CEO of the State Government agency will challenge the MB or his wife. If anyone does that, that would be the end of the carrier. In the usual case, the CEO is always a docile fellow that will say “Saya menurut perintah”

5. This is a blatant abuse of power. This is a blatant abuse of position and yet I have yet to hear any statements made by MACC that they would be investigating Khir Toyo. From what is written in the online media, it appears the evidence of abuse is rock solid. There is much evidence that was documented as well as the statement taken under oath is more than enough for one to be prosecuted. The way I see, SELCAT has completed ¾ of the work that MACC needs to do.

6. Government agencies like the Police, Army and the MACC must not only appear neutral but they must show that they are truly neutral. If they failed to do so then they will lose the public support. Worldwide history has shown that the failure of the uniformed agencies to be neutral can lead to riots and chaos. It can cause government to fall. The way I see it, the failure of MACC to act will only strengthen people belief that BN needs to go. I believe the sign is already there. It appears that in the case of Khir Toyo, Zaharah Kechik , Balkis and PNSB, MACC is aiding BN downfall.

Majlis Angkat Sumpah Najib Sebagai PM Dibatalkan?

2009-04-02T14:16:00.001+08:00

She-who-must-not-be-named

2009-03-31T20:30:00.002+08:00

Look out Voldermort, you've got a new competition now. She's so scary, powerful and explosive that just by mere mention of her name would send shivers down one's spine. One whose conscience is ridden with guilt that is.

The words ‘Altantuya Shaariibuu’ should not be an offence — Leslie Lau

MARCH 31 — By banning any mention of murdered Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu from the Bukit Gantang campaign trail, the police has reached a ridiculous new low. The police are supposed to be responsible for public order and security. It should not be legislating what words can or cannot be used on the stump.

What is next?

Will the police decide that the names of certain candidates cannot be mentioned? Or will the police decide what language can be used during rallies? If local police police officers think they are doing Datuk Seri Najib Razak a favour by imposing the Altantuya ban, then are sorely mistaken. The repeated linking by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) of Najib to Altantuya’s murder is arguably done in bad taste. The accusations hurled at Najib have also not been backed by evidence. But in banning the mere mention of her name will certainly fuel the rumours and speculation surrounding the murder.

There is no need for the police to ban the mention of Altantuya. If any crime is committed by any politician then the police can initiate prosecution. And if any body decides to make unsubstantiated accusations then he or she is subject to legal action in the law of defamation. The police are not doing anyone any favours with such a ban. What the police needs to do is to ensure political rallies do not get out of hand. The job of the police is to ensure the safety of the public and to arrest anyone who commits an offence.

Mentioning the words “Altantuya Shaariibuu” is not a criminal offence.

The new role of the SPR

2009-03-24T13:13:00.000+08:00

By Khalid Samad

MARCH 24 - Heard about the new role being played by the SPR in Selangor?

They have now become part of a committee formed under the PM's Department responsible for the implementation of a program called 'people centric'.

This programme has, as its objective, the upliftment of BN's image in the eyes of the public and the battering of the image of the PR.

This is then to lead to the defeat of the PR government in Selangor in the next General Election. The activities which are being planned in relation to this program is to be financed by Federal funds!

If this does not constitute misuse of public funds, I do not know what does!

When the Minister in charge of the ICU (Implementation Coordination Unit) under the PMs department, being the unit responsible for the implementation of this programme, was queried about the matter in the Parliament, he refused to respond. He neither denied nor acknowledged the allegation nor was he the least embarrassed about its disclosure.

In fact, there were those from the BN who even responded by asking, "What is wrong with it?"

When such blatant misuse of power happens and is then defended, one wonders if the BN members of Parliament have any understanding what a Democracy is all about. It would come as no surprise if the answer to that question is a straight forward 'no'.

They have no understanding nor any respect for the system and will be willing to stifle or cripple the system in order for them to survive.

In the Dewan Undangan Negeri Selangor, I was told, a BN ADUN responded by saying, "What's the problem? You have been surpressed all this while before and you still won.

So, surely now, while in power, you can face this challenge with no problems". Talk about dumb.

There were other BN MPs who simply asked out loud, "where did you get that document? Pass it to me. You should be charged under the OSA!" Yes, the OSA. Another act to protect and cover their misuse of power.

The SPR being the independent Commission responsible for a fair election cannot be a party to such a program.

The fact that it sits in the committee which works for the down fall of the PR government in Selangor only adds legitimacy to the fear that the next General Election will be the most crooked in Malaysian history. As if it was not bad enough already!

This means that there will be no short cuts to victory next time around. In 2008 the BN was complacent. They never realised the mood of the rakyat and they allowed for a semi-tainted election process.

This time around they are completely aware of their poor chances and the need for a completely tainted election process. Nothing short of an over whelming support from the rakyat will nullify and neutralise the dirty tactics which they will have in store for us.

That is why we have to work hard. Harder than ever before. Harder than when we were in the opposition. As the cards are stacked against us and the dices doctored,

I estimate that nothing less than a clear 60 per cent voter support will be able to see us through this time around.

The BN will have at least a 10 per cent advantage from the word go.

An advantage due to the phantom voters or 'pengundi hantu' who will be registered as legitimate voters, compliments of the SPR.

A fitting strategy for a dying political entity.

Kajian: Hanya 4% kuasai BI melalui PPSMI

2009-03-19T09:41:00.000+08:00

Kajian mendapati dasar Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Inggeris (PPSMI) hanya berjaya meningkatkan empat peratus penguasaan bahasa asing itu, dan sebaliknya mengurangkan minat untuk mempelajari dua subjek tersebut.

"Sumbangan PPSMI hanya mampu menyumbang pada tahap paling minimum, iaitu kurang empat peratus kepada peningkatan pencapaian Bahasa Inggeris secara keseluruhannya," laporan bertajuk 'Tahap Kompetensi Guru dalam PPSMI serta Implikasinya terhadap Pembangunan Modal Insan Murid' dipetik.

Menurut kajian 53 pakar bahasa itu, dasar kontroversi tersebut juga "menimbulkan kerugian berganda kepada kepada murid, terutama kepada 75 peratus murid yang tergolong dalam kategori (pencapaian) sederhana dan lemah dalam tiga mata pelajaran terbabit, Bahasa Inggeris, Sains dan Matematik.

"PPSMI telah dan akan membunuh minat, semangat dan keghairahan murid-murid untuk belajar Sains dan Matematik sejak di peringkat sekolah rendah lagi."

Kajian yang melibatkan tujuh universiti awam itu dijalankan antara Jun hingga Disember tahun lalu oleh Permuafakatan Badan Ilmiah Nasional (Pembina).

Universiti terlibat termasuklah Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris, Universiti Sains Malaysia dan Universiti Teknologi Mara.

Kajian merumuskan PPSMI harus ditamatkan dan mengembalikan sistem pengajaran sebelum dasar itu diperkenalkan pada 2003.

"Dari segi perkiraan analisis kos-faedah dalam konteks pelaburan jangka panjang, amalan PPSMI tidak menguntungkan, sebaliknya membantut tahap kecerdasan murid serta merugikan generasi akan datang.

"Dengan ini, disarankan supaya dasar PPSMI diberhentikan," laporan eksekutif setebal sepuluh halaman itu dipetik.

Menurut kajian, analisis keputusan peperiksaan terhadap 5,595 sampel pelajar tahun lima daripada 56 sekolah kebangsaan mendapati pencapaian pelajar makin merosot dan merudum mendadak apabila berpindah ke tahun enam.

Kajian menjelaskan, kemerosotan berlaku akibat kegagalan pelajar memahami konsep sains dan matematik kerana tidak mampu berinteraksi dengan guru atau murid lain menggunakan bahasa Inggeris.

Pola yang sama didakwa turut ditemui daripada kajian Kementerian Pelajaran dan Pejabat Daerah dan sekolah tertentu.

Pengerusi eksekutif Pembina, Datuk Abdul Raof Hussin yang menaungi kajian itu mengesahkan kajian tersebut kepada Malaysiakini hari ini.

Laporan eksekutif kajian itu diedarkan buat pertama kali kepada umum semalam di hujung Kongres Kebudayaan Melayu Kedua anjuran Gabungan Persatuan Penulis Nasianal Malaysia (Gapena), Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia, Jabatan Kebudayaan dan Keseniaan Negara dan Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) di ibu negara.

Kongres itu turut meluluskan resolusi yang membawa akibat pemansuhan PPSMI apabila mendesak hanya satu bahasa kebangsaan tunggal dilaksanakan dalam seluruh sistem pendidikan dari tahap rendah hingga universiti.

Hasil kajian yang sama pernah dibentangkan dalam mesyuarat meja bulat membahaskan dasar tersebut anjuran Kementerian Pelajaran tahun lepas.

Menjelaskan latar belakang kajian, Abdul Raof berkata, walapun pakar bahasa yang terlibat hanya diberikan saguhati minimum, namun kajian tujuh bulan itu tetap melibatkan kos besar kira-kira RM470,000.

Beliau berharap kajian itu mampu memberikan gambaran sebenar pelaksanaan PPSMI kerana, sampelnya besar dan luas, melibatkan 15,089 orang daripada pelbagai jenis dan aliran sekolah dari pelbagai kawasan perbandaran seluruh negara.

Seramai 553 guru – termasuk pengetua, guru besar dan penolong kanan sekolah – turut dipilih sebagai sampel.

Abdul Rauf menegaskan, kajian itu dilakukan secara bebas dan tidak dibuat berdasarkan kepentingan tertentu.

"Kami hanya mengemukakan hasil kajian. Kalau positif, positiflah, kalau negatif, negatiflah," katanya.

A racist bites the dust, at last

2009-03-17T20:17:00.001+08:00

Remember what happened during the PPP Convention in Melaka back in October 2007? I am sure some of you probably can’t and many of your may have never even read the article posted in this same column back then. Never mind, for those who may have missed it or have forgotten about it, in commemoration of Ali Rustam’s banning from contesting the Umno party elections, I am republishing this piece.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Ali Rustam: Even God can’t sink Umno
The Corridors of Power, 19 October 2007

“This ship in unsinkable, even God Himself can’t sink it!” screamed the newspaper headlines just before the Titanic sailed off on its maiden voyage.

The sinking of the Titanic was certainly a great tragedy. They were so confident that even God Himself could never sink it they did not provide enough lifeboats for every passenger because they never thought they would need them. While the higher-paying first class passengers faced no problems finding a seat in the limited lifeboats, the poor rakyat who could not afford the luxuries accorded the first class passengers had only one choice; a watery grave. But it was not a tragedy for everyone though. Decades later they made a movie about the incident and grossed hundreds of millions while Celine Dion made tons of money from the theme song.

Anyway, what does this whole episode teach us? First, the poor rakyat is always at the bottom of the food chain. Second, never tempt fate. Fate just loves challenges and will never shy away from proving you wrong. And this is something Umno should learn. But Umno, being Umno, will never take advantage of lessons of the past. It will keep repeating history to the detriment of the party. And, today, Umno is saying that even God Himself can’t sink the party.

On 15 October 2007, the Chief Minister of Melaka, Mohd Ali Rustam, officiated the People’s Progressive Party’s state convention and he sang the same old tune, Umno is unsinkable and even God Himself can’t sink the party. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a bit what he said. But this was basically what he told the assembly of PPP leaders and members in a very long-winded manner -- one and a half hours to be exact.

Ali Rustam, the self-proclaimed ‘Senior Vice President’ of Umno -- actually there is no such post but he likes to address himself as such -- stood on stage in front of the entire hall filled with PPP leaders and members, and with fingers pointed said that PPP can leave Barisan Nasional. Leave today, or even tomorrow, said Ali Rustam, just don’t wait for the next election before leaving.

The PPP President and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk M. Kayveas, fidgeted in his seat, as did the entire hall. Ali Rustam was going berserk. He was reminiscent of Adolf Hitler jumping up and down, ranting and raving like a dog foaming at the mouth that had gone mad with rabies. Nobody reacted. Nobody could react. They were all too shocked to react and just sat there for the next one and a half hours as Ali Rustam told PPP and the entire non-Malay population of Malaysia that they are insignificant and Umno does not need them.

Ever wonder why Nazri Aziz told the Agong off and declared that he is nothing more than the Prime Minister’s clerk? The Prime Minister decides and the Agong just signs like a good little boy or else he will get sent to bed without any ice cream. Such is the arrogance of Umno. And if there were any doubts before this, 15 October 2007 laid that matter to rest once and for all when Ali Rustam repeated numerous times, “I was with Najib yesterday,” as if to send the message to all and sundry that he has Najib’s blessing to tell the Indians and Chinese that they can go back to India and China for all Umno cares.

Umno has ruled Malaysia for 50 years, said Ali Rustam, and they can rule for another 50 years more. And Umno does not need PPP, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, Sabah, Sarawak or anyone else to do this. Yes, and even God Himself can’t sink Umno like He could not sink the Titanic.

Ali Rustam should not tempt God or fate or whatever it is that he believes in. Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is fond of relating the story of the mistake he made in 1969 when he told the Chinese he does not need their votes. 3,000 Chinese swung to PAS, said Mahathir. And Yusuf Rawa won that seat while the Grand Old Man of Malaysian politics was sent into temporary retirement. Even the great and very confident Mahathir will caution you about telling the non-Malay voters that you don’t need them. And surely Mahathir is a bigger man than Ali Rustam.

Well, that is probably what we think. But Ali Rustam does not think this way at all. He thinks he is the Chief Minister of the greatest nation on earth. Melaka is not part of Malaysia, said Ali Rustam, Malaysia is part of Melaka. This may sound strange to a student of history, and to ensure that you get a new twist to history, Ali Rustam warned the assembly that Melaka was once a great empire that included half of Thailand and half of Indonesia.

I thought that maybe in my old age my memory was beginning to fail me so I flipped through the pages of Joginder Singh Jessy’s and D.J. Muzaffar Tate’s ‘History of Malaya’ but could not find any reference to this. Maybe it is true, as they say, history is written by the victor, not the vanquished. But I was reading the history books written by Malayans and not those written by the Orang Puteh such as Stamford Raffles, R.O. Winsted, Barbara Watson, Leonard Y. Andaya or J. Kennedy.

Anyway, that just goes to show I am not really as clever as I thought I was. There are still many things about Malayan history that I am not aware of. And one thing that I was not aware of was that Melaka had once upon a time colonised half of Thailand and half of Indonesia. I suppose this is why Ali Rustam is the ‘Senior Vice President’ of Umno and I am not. In fact, Ali Rustam is so clever he can become the ‘Senior Vice President’ of Umno even when no such post exists.

Umno does not need any of the component members of Barisan Nasional, Ali Rustam went on. Umno has four million members and it can win the elections without the help of the rest of the component members of Barisan Nasional. Umno has been strong for 50 years and it will continue ruling this country for the next 50 years as well, Ali Rustam assured the assembly of PPP leaders and members.

PPP had better not ask for any seat in Melaka, Ali Rustam warned the assembly. If Perak wants to allow PPP a seat then that is up to the Perak Menteri Besar. That is his own decision and the party does not support him on this matter. After all, the Perak Menteri is a kaki bodek, said Ali Rustam to the shocked audience who could not believe they were hearing all this.

Maybe PPP was once a strong party, Ali Rustam added. When it joined Barisan Nasional it had four Parliament and 14 state seats. But that is an old story. Why bring up an old story? It is like Lee Kuan Yew talking about old stories. Now, Ali Rustam was shifting his aim to the Island State south of the border, across the Causeway. Lee Kuan Yew is an old man, argued Ali Rustam, insinuating that the Grand Old Man of Singapore was getting senile, and he is illogical. And to emphasis the point, Ali Rustam repeated, “Yesterday I was with Najib,” as if to again drive the point home that Najib is with him on this.

The punch line that Ali Rustam wanted to deliver to the assembly of PPP leaders and members is that the party is not going to be given any seat in Melaka. And to demonstrate that he meant business, he asked PPP to leave Barisan Nasional. Leave now! What are you waiting for? Leave now! You want a seat is it? No seat for you! Who says Umno needs the component members, especially PPP? PPP means nothing to us! Leave now!

And as if what he had said thus far was not shocking enough, Ali Rustam took a swipe at the Pahang Menteri Besar. If the Pahang Menteri Besar wants to give you a seat in Pahang then that is his problem. He is crazy and he does crazy things. He can give PPP a seat in Pahang. Why ask from the other states? And the icing on the cake was when Ali Rustam said that if the Prime Minister gives PPP a seat then he has no balls (pengecut). Tak boleh ikut cara dia, Ali Rustam boldly declared. Yes, since Malaysia is part of Melaka and not Melaka that is part of Malaysia, then this would certainly make sense.

Until today, no one knows what triggered Ali Rustam’s outburst that 15 October 2007. It was as if the message to the Indians and Chinese is that Umno does not need them anymore. The latest poll shows that the non-Malay support for Barisan Nasional has gone below 50% while the Malay support is still above 70%. This would mean that the non-Malay parties in Barisan Nasional might not be able to deliver the votes if the general election is held within the next month or so.

Ali Rustam seems to feel that Umno ruled Malaysia for 50 years without any help or support from the non-Malays and that they can continue to do so another 50 years without any problems. Of late, Ali Rustam has been demonstrating his contempt for the non-Malays. His move to kill the pigs in Melaka and drive the Chinese pig farmers out of business is one case in point. He boasted to all and sundry that he wants to show the Chinese that he is the boss, something his predecessors were not able to and did not dare do. The pig farmers and their family and friends command a lot of votes and it is better that the government leaves them alone. All the Chief Ministers before this adopted this policy. But Ali Rustam wanted to show them that he decides and he calls the shots. And this is what he told the PPP convention that 15 October, “I decide.”

Ali Rustam believes that the Prime Minister will announce the dissolution of Parliament on 9 November followed by the general election on 25 November. If this happens then the Chinese would be with the opposition. Ali Rustam realises that how much you may court the Chinese it would be futile. Therefore, since you cannot get their support anyway, you might as well whack them. It makes no difference anyway.

Of course, many would ask why whack the Chinese? Well, PPP in Melaka is led by a Chinese and it would be Chinese and not Indians who matter, though the Indian support for PPP is nevertheless strong since it has a large Indian membership.

This is Ali Rustam’s version of keris waving. The fact that he repeated many times, “I was with Najib yesterday,” was his way of telling the world that he is Najib’s de facto number two. This means if Najib goes up to become the Prime Minister then he would be the Deputy Prime Minister. To become the number two in Umno is not up to the voters. It is up to the Umno divisions. So he must come out looking like a Malay hero from Melaka a la Hang Toh Ah and Hang Jer Baht, never mind that these two may have been Chinese rather than Malays. And this ranting and raving about Melaka once being an empire that ruled over half of Thailand and half of Indonesia fit nicely into the theme. But Ali Rustam probably thought that Kayveas and his PPP members are all illiterate rubber tappers who never read history when he said that Malaysia is part of Melaka and not Melaka that is part of Malaysia.

But why the need to repeat so many times that he was with Najib the day before? Every time he dropped a bombshell he would add that he was with Najib the day before. What was his message here? Was it that he was delivering Najib’s message or that Najib has endorsed what he is saying? Or is it to demonstrate that he is Najib’s number two?

Anyway, whatever it may be, Ali Rustam has made it very clear that Umno does not need anyone. Umno has managed 50 years without depending on anyone and it can carry on another 50 years without them. Is this Ali Rustam’s or Najib’ message: that if the component members do not deliver the votes then they will be kicked out of Barisan Nasional? When MCA did badly in 1969 it was proposed they leave the Alliance Party since the Chinese no longer support them. The only difference this time around is that Umno is telling them before instead of after the general election.

There is much speculation on who will be Najib’s Deputy when he takes over as Prime Minister. This question has been satisfactorily answered on 15 October 2007. Ali Rustam made it clear that he and not the Prime Minister makes the decisions. As far as Ali Rustam is concerned the Prime Minister pengecut, the Perak Menteri Besar is kaki bodek, while the Pahang Menteri Besar is gila who does crazy things. Yes, that leaves only him remaining as the most suitable candidate to become the next Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Hmm.....should I seriously consider migrating?

***************************************

Ali Rustam: PPP can leave BN – now
Malaysiakini, 20 October 2007

People’s Progressive Party (PPP) members are left reeling after receiving a political blow from Umno’s third most powerful leader during the Malacca PPP annual general assembly early this week.

At the assembly on Monday, Umno vice-president Mohd Ali Rustam delivered a scathing speech, which chided the PPP for “threatening” Barisan Nasional for more seats to contest in the coming general election

He also repeatedly stressed that PPP could leave the BN fold if it was unhappy.

This left many party members in a daze at how Mohd Ali - who was the guest of honour as Malacca chief minister - could utter such remarks.

“He came to our house, seemingly with the intention to humiliate us,” said a PPP source who attended the event.

Eyewitnesses said a handful of party members stormed out of the venue in protest, but that did not deter Mohd Ali.

“PPP can leave BN,” said Mohd Ali.

He then pointed at the stunned delegates and added: “All of you can leave. Either today or tomorrow. Why wait until the general election? What’s there to wait for?”

Mohd Ali also claimed that the Umno supreme council was unhappy with PPP for accepting former Umno members as their members.

He even asked if any of the delegates formerly with Umno, MCA, Gerakan and MIC to put up their hands.

Mohd Ali also took a dig at Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob for suggesting that PPP should ask every state for a seat to contest in.

“That's his business. As far as I am concerned - no seat in Malacca (for PPP),” he added.

When Mohd Ali wrapped up his tirade and declared the assembly open, PPP delegates refused to applaud.

Eyewitnesses reported that PPP president M Kayveas maintained his composure throughout the hour-long speech and was seen vigorously taking down notes.

When contacted, Kayveas said delegates were “disappointed and dejected” by the “unwarranted and undiplomatic” remarks uttered by Mohd Ali.

Kayveas said delegates were expecting inspiring speeches from Mohd Ali in order to prepare the party for the upcoming general election.

“(Instead) the chief minister's speech made the entire assembly feel like a funeral. As the third highest ranking in Umno, the consequences of his speech worries me,” he said.

He added that some remarks which Mohd Ali made regarding other BN component parties and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi were also uncalled for.

According to media sources, Mohd Ali had asked journalists to exclude the hard-hitting part of his speech in their reports. He claimed these were only meant for the delegates.

It is uncertain if Mohd Ali’s speech would lead to souring ties between PPP and Umno.

However, there is already talks within PPP rank-and-file that the party may silently boycott Umno programmes and functions.

Raja adil Raja disembah, Raja zalim Raja disanggah

2009-03-17T20:06:00.001+08:00

Yes, we speak out against the Sultans -- we, who defend the Monarchy from its enemies. But we speak not because we are treacherous. We speak because we love the Monarchy and wish to save it from itself.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Malay customs and culture can be very complicating indeed, even for Malays themselves. From an early and impressionable age, Malays are taught that Allah is above all else and anything else comes second to Allah. Islam, therefore, must be the guiding light for all those who profess Islam as their religion.

However, in that same breath, Malays will say they are Malays first and all else second. This is certainly contradictory. Islam propagates non-race. Malays propagate Malay Nationalism. Each is incompatible with the other. How do you reconcile Islam with nationalism when Islam is opposed to nationalism and declares such concepts as haram (forbidden)?

Probably not a single Malay would be unaware of the Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, Tun Perak and Melaka Sultan story. While almost all would agree on the storyline, the jury is out as to who is the hero and who is the villain in that story. Some view Hang Tuah as the hero and Hang Jebat as the villain. Others would view the Sultan as the villain, Hang Jebat as the hero, and Hang Tuah as being just plain stupid. However, while the argument is focused on just three personalities, very few even talk about Tun Perak, the most crucial player in this entire scenario, and whose role made whatever happened possible.

In other words, because Tun Perak defied the Sultan’s orders, Hang Jebat died and Hang Tuah lived. If, on the other hand, Tun Perak had followed the Sultan’s orders, then Hang Tuah would have died and Hang Jebat would have assassinated the Sultan. Tun Perak was the man who changed the course of history. But his role is very seldom discussed. Those most talked about are Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat and the Sultan of Melaka.

And this is what makes the Malays most complicating animals. Why are the Malays arguing about Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat and about who should be declared the hero and who the villain? Should not the focus of the Malays be on Tun Perak? Tun Perak defied the Sultan. Is he therefore a hero for daring to do so or is he a villain for not carrying out the Sultan’s orders?

The Malays would rather not tread into this most dicey territory. If Tun Perak were to be declared a hero then Hang Jebat would also become a hero since both were of the same mind that Hang Tuah should not be killed. If, on the other hand, Tun Perak were to be declared a villain for disobeying the Sultan’s orders, then Hang Jebat would also become a villain because he too opposed the Sultan on the issue of whether Hang Tuah should be killed.

This means Tun Perak’s status in the Malay mind -- whether he was a hero or a villain -- would also affect Hang Jebat’s status. Furthermore, how can Tun Perak be a villain even though he defied the Sultan’s orders when by doing so he actually saved the Sultan’s life? So this is something the Malays would rather not discuss.

Some members of my family are most upset that I wrote that open letter to Nizar, the ousted Pakatan Rakyat Menteri Besar of Perak. (http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/18734/84/). They are of the opinion I have committed treason against the Sultan of Perak. No doubt the Sultan can’t order my execution like in the days of old. But I can certainly be hauled up on sedition charges, which is what I am already facing anyway.

My reply would be the same as Hang Jebat’s famous quotation: Raja adil Raja disembah, Raja zalim Raja disanggah. If Hang Jebat is a villain in the eyes of my family, then I suppose that too makes me a villain; so be it. But maybe even my own family does not know of my loyalty to the institution of the Monarchy, mainly because they remained silent and refused to surface more than 20 years ago during the 1980s Constitutional Crisis.

I said I am loyal to the institution of the Monarchy. This does mean I will also offer blind loyalty to the Monarchs. To the institution, yes! To the Monarchs, no! I will only be loyal to the Monarchs when they uphold the sanctity of the institution of the Monarchy and not otherwise. There is a difference.

I have been told I must offer a public apology to the Sultan of Perak as well as to the public at large for that open letter to Nizar. I’m afraid I can’t do that. And I can’t do that because I have earned, the hard way, my right to take the Monarchs to task on their errors and wrongdoings.

More than 20 years ago, the Monarchy came under attack from Umno. Most Malays; my family included; kept very silent. No one came forward to speak in defence of the Monarchy. I, however, wrote to the Selangor Palace and requested an audience.

The long and short of it all: I met the Royal Households of Selangor, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis. I was not able to meet the Royal Household of Perak but word was sent back that although we were not able to personally meet I can take it that Perak was with us on the issue and will undoubtedly endorse the decision of the brother-Rulers.

The issue was simple. Umno was attacking the Monarchy and there was a danger Malaysia would be transformed into a Republic. Our aim was to find a solution on how to defend the Monarchy and ensure that it is not abolished, whereby all the Rulers would be forced off the throne.

I am not able to reveal details of the meetings and about what transpired. Suffice to say the Rulers agreed to the plan but they would have to leave it to us to implement. The Rulers can’t be seen as being involved in politics. It would be extremely dangerous to implicate the Rulers in any move to fight back as this may incur the wrath of Umno and doom the Monarchy for good.

Needless to say, if the plan backfires or we get caught, the Rulers will not be able to come to our aid. They would not even be able to admit that any meeting ever took place. We were entirely on our own. If it succeeds, the Rulers’ position would be secure. If it fails, we would have to take the fall, and a most heavy fall at that.

We then launched our counter-attacks. We did certain things to garner the support of the rakyat. Umno soon realised they could not get rid of the Rulers that easily and thereafter backed off and left the Rulers alone. But they had to create the impression they had won. So they introduced certain new ‘rules’ that gave an impression the Rulers have lost their immunity while leaving the Constitution intact. The recent developments in Perlis, Terengganu, Selangor and Perak prove the Rulers have lost nothing.

I made it very clear I was not doing this for the sake of the Rulers. I was doing it for the sake of the institution of the Monarchy. I did not wish to save the Rulers. I wished to save the Monarchy. And from thereon the Rulers had better learn how to behave, I added. The Rulers are their own worst enemies. It is their misconduct that allows Umno to attack them. If they behave then Umno would have nothing to use against them.

I also made it clear that any misconduct by one Ruler put all the Rulers at risk. Even if just one Ruler commits a crime, Umno would call for the blood of all the Rulers. We must, therefore, make sure that all Rulers behave themselves. And we shall attack any Ruler who misbehaves so that the entire institution of the Monarchy can be protected.

That was more than 20 years ago. The Rulers, then, were under attack. So they agreed that the Rulers should not be above criticism. And if any Ruler misbehaves then he should be taken to task. And he should be taken to task because what he does endangers not only himself but all Rulers as well.

Today, I hold the Rulers to what they agreed more than 20 years ago. 20 years ago the Rulers panicked when they thought their days were numbered. But we came forward to offer to save them. And we presented the plan and they agreed to it. And we, in turn, agreed that if anything adverse happens we would not implicate the Rulers but would instead take the fall even if it meant our deaths.

Today, I have been asked to make a public apology to the Sultan of Perak. But my family that wants me to apologise did not surface more than 20 years ago when we put our safety on the line in defence of the Monarchy.

I have earned my right to criticise the Rulers. I came to the defence of the Monarchy in its hour of need. The Rulers agreed that their position was under threat. And they agreed that we would implement certain plans to garner the support of the rakyat in our effort to ensure that the Monarchy remains intact and Malaysia will not get transformed into a Republic.

Yes, who is the villain? Was it Hang Jebat or Hang Tuah? Or maybe it was Tun Perak. Whatever it may be, the three were just acting in the service of the Sultan. But the Sultan forgets very easily. Those who serve him are condemned to death. But he who the Sultan condemns to death always resurfaces to defend him in his hour of need. And what would the villain be then? Would he still be a villain or would he be the Sultan’s saviour?

History has taught us nothing. Yes, we speak out against the Sultans -- we, who defend the Monarchy from its enemies. But we speak not because we are treacherous. We speak because we love the Monarchy and wish to save it from itself.

There are not many Monarchies left in this world. Even Australia wants to dispose of its Queen. About half the Monarchs live in Malaysia, which has ten. Should we stand by and do nothing and see the demise of the institution of the Monarchy? Or should we speak out and run the risk of treason in the interest of saving the Monarchy?

I chose to speak. I have earned that right to speak. But I do not speak the words of treason. I do not want to see the Republic of Malaysia replace the Constitutional Monarchy that we have now. But as Malaysia grows and our population exceeds 30 million in time to come, how can we stop the tide? And what if the tide turns into a Tsunami? Can a mere ten Monarchs resist the will of 30 million?

The Monarchs need to demonstrate it is the Monarchy of the rakyat -- Raja bersama rakyat. Raja adil Raja disembah, Raja zalim Raja disanggah. That was so 500 years ago. That is still so today. So let me play that most unwanted role of taking the Monarchs to task. But I do so only as a wakeup call. Yes, he who bells the cat becomes dinner for the day. But he suffers so that others can be protected. That is the fate of he who bells the cat.

Sick of Being A Malay?

2009-03-08T13:16:00.000+08:00

Many Young Malays nowadays are too shy to acknowledge themselves as Malay. Please don’t slam them as lacking of ‘jatidiri’ or ’tak sedar diri’ before we understand where all this problem came from.

“When we die, god will not ask whether we are a Malay, Chinese or Indian,” The MB of Kelantan once told me.

Nik Aziz, has never failed to surprise me with the depth of his thinking. When I interviewed him a month ago, he shoot this to me, “When the Chinese (in Malaysia) has the Chinese medium school, nobody made a noise, there is TV news in Chinese, nobody make any noise, there is newspaper in Chinese, nobody demonstrate against it, but when they wanted to put a road sign in Chinese, people jump sky high! Lagu mano ni?

“The problem with us is that our thinking is too shallow, we think the way we wanted ourselves to think, not the manner God wanted us to us our brain…”

“This is the problem with UMNO (and many of the Malays).”

“I pray to god (to open the heart of the Malaysian) to elect to office more non Muslim Malaysian who are more Islamic friendly to replace the Malays leaders who are Muslim but afraid to fight for the sake of Islam”.

My exclusive interview with Tok Guru is in the latest Qiadah, published during the Chinese New Year.

The sickness that Malaysia is suffering now is due of over dosage of Malay-ism. This is a long time game plan by a shrinking brain of UMNO politician. UMNO wants us to keep remembering that the Malays owe them for what the Malays are today.

What is the Malay today? Do our children still enjoy the benefits of being a Malay like we and our father enjoy decades ago?

What happen today is only selected few Malays are enjoying the benefit of being a Malay. While some quarters are rubbing shoulders with the selected few hoping to get some lose change from them, the rest of the Malay are just getting what other races are getting.

So why should the rest of the Malay subscribe to the Malay Supremacy ideology if only it was mend for those selected few like the Kings and Sultans and the UMNO elites?

Why not we all not just equal like all Malaysian at least we are not being cheated neither are we cheating our own self.

During the old Malay Nationalists time in UMNO, those Malay leaders whom were decorated with power as Ministers, fights for the Malays through series of policies that benefits the Malay but at the same time did not discriminate other races. This method basically died a natural death slowly after Tengku Razaleigh lost to Tun Dr. Mahathir in 1997.

Since then UMNO has never been the same pillar of strength for the Malays. UMNO radically subscribe to a different ball game altogether. Everything turns to dollar and cents.

Instead for fighting for the Malays, most of the UMNO elites found that it is more important for them to fight for their survival in UMNO. Instead of paving changes through government policies, the leaders in UMNO wants only status quo while forcing the Malays to accept them through series of organised bribery.

If the Malays really love UMNO then they must willing to let go of UMNO for as long as UMNO still receive their support, they will never change. The Malay will only get worst.

Can the Malay imagine how their future will look like when the future of UMNO today lies in the hand of those people like Ahmad Ismail, Neena Merican and Azeez UMNOPUTRAS, not to mention those UMNO ‘dignitaries’ like Hishamuddin, Khairy, Khir Toyo and even Mat Taib?

For those who question the land deals in Perak and the manner the PR government given it to the Chinese, I wish to ask them, hasn’t the Chinese has given so much to the state. If you understand the history of Perak, then you will understand that the Chinese has played such an important role to make it what it is today.

I felt very uncomfortable to describe this beautiful Malaysia by mentioning the races name, I feel much more lighten up to just think of us as Malaysians. We have been segregated by races differences to long and it has brought us more harm than glory. Let us celebrate those differences and think of us as only Malaysians.

It should be easy for the Malays as most of them are Muslim. Didn’t Islam teaches us to accept the differences in all of us as the sign of how magnificent our creator is. So in each languages, each skin tones and each physical differences is the sign of how great the Al Mighty is. Furthermore Islam also teaches that none of us is greater than the other, none of us is special then the other and none of us should claim this land is ours, for we are only His slaves.

For this reason, I found more and more non-Malays are finding comfort in PAS then in UMNO. Me too feel the same.

And for the young Malays, most of those in the private higher learning institution, all the embarrassment does not mean that they has become traitor but because for many years they have been betrayed by the brand behind the Malay name.

The brand that they see in Najib Razak, Mat Taib, Rahim Thamby Chik, Hishamuddin Rais, Khairy Jamaluddin and lots more. There is nothing wrong with them, but a whole lot of ‘wrong’ in those who shouted ‘ketuanan Melayu’. -Kickdefella

The truth that refuses to surface

2009-03-06T22:38:00.000+08:00

The Altantuya Shaaribuu’s case: how and why she was killed
Published in the Liberation French newspaper on 5th March 2009

This is the English translation of the Liberation French article:

Shaaribuu Setev is a bitter and disappointed man. Yet, behind the saddened face of this Mongolian lies a fierce determination. Seated in a sofa in the lobby of an Ulaan Baataar hotel rattled by gushes of a freezing wind, this sixty years old man is ready to fight. His face features, hardened by the suffering and the stern climate, and his intense gaze tell all. “My daughter has been murdered by Malaysians on Malaysian territory. And they did not have even offer a word of apology,” states this professor of psychology at the National University of Mongolia.

The assassination of his daughter, Altantuya Shaaribuu, took place in October 2006. This was a murder unlike others in a region where business conflicts or petty politics are often settled with a gun. Everything in this case, which started in 2002 when the French Spanish company Armaris concluded the sale of three submarines to the Malaysian government for the amount of one billion Euros, is out of the ordinary.

The impact of the “Altantuya case” in France, Malaysia and Mongolia has yet to reach its climax. The murder of the 28 year old Mongolian was the result of a “commission” at the price of 114 million Euros by Armaris to its Malaysian counterpart. This “commission,” which was acknowledged by the Malaysian government in front of the Parliament in Kuala Lumpur, has triggered a chain of events that has led to the assassination of Altantuya and the disappearance of several key witnesses in the case.

A report from the Malaysian police, written on 19th november 2006 and which has been kept secret until now (can be read below), reveals dry and precise descriptions as to how this young woman, a member of Asian high society, has been killed. In this document, one of the killers, a policeman of the Malaysian Special Branch named Sirul Omar, replied to the questions of an officer at a police station close to the murder scene. “When the Chinese woman saw that I was taking a gun, she begged me to spare her, saying she was pregnant. Azilah (the commanding officer of Sirul) grabbed her and [threw] her on the ground. I immediately shot the left side of her face. Then Azilah took off her clothes and put them in a black plastic bag. Azilah noticed that her hand was still moving. He ordered me to shoot again, which I did”, said Sirul. This is the first confirmation of Altantuya’s assassins’ identity. “Then we carried her body into the woods. Azilah wrapped the explosives around her legs, her abdomen and her head, and we exploded her.”

The revelation of this report in the French newspaper Liberation is the latest chapter in this colourful and dramatic saga featuring French weapon sellers, Mongolian Shaman, and Malaysian politicians. This case is explosive not only for the Malaysian government, since the deputy Prime minister Najib Razak (who is scheduled to become Prime minister at the end of March) is suspected of having links to the case, but also because it could embarrass the DCNS, this French company specialising in military shipbuilding. The French Spanish company Armaris, which sold two Scorpène and one Agosta submarines to Malaysia in June 2002, was bought by DCNS in 2007.

With her magnetic beauty and sophistication, Altantuya is reminiscent of the troubling image of a Far East Mata Hari. She grew up in Saint Petersburg (Russia), then studied at the Institute of Economic Management in Beijing. Besides speaking English, she is fluent in Russian, Chinese and Korean. The fateful cycle for Altantuya came into gear when she met Abdul Razak Baginda in Hong Kong in 2004. Baginda is a security expert and the director of the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre, a pro-government think-tank. The two quickly became romantically involved. Altantuya, nicknamed Tuya by her friends, proved to be a useful assistant, helping Baginda translate from Russian to English.

Whereas Altantuya is young and beautiful, the rich and alluring Baginda is a well known figure of the Kuala Lumpur’s elite, notably because of his proximity to the Malaysian Deputy Prime minister and minister of Defense Najib Razak (he is also his security affairs adviser). Baginda parades in the most exclusive circles of Kuala Lumpur, sometimes accompanied by his legitimate wife.

In March 2005, Altantuya and Baginda departed for Europe, touring France, Germany, Italy and Portugal in the red Ferrari of Baginda, staying in posh hotels and dining in the finest restaurants of the old Continent. This trip, however, was not only for tourism: the contract for the sale of the submarines had been signed in 2002, but important details had yet to be settled. “We knew that Baginda was used by Deputy Prime minister Najib Razak as an intermediary for weapons systems deals, especially the high level ones,” says a regional security affairs expert.

At the end of March 2005 the couple was in Paris, where they met with Najib Razak. A picture shows the threesome in a Parisian private club. “Tuya showed me the pix. She said that one of the men was her boyfriend, Abdul Razak Baginda, and the other the “big boss”, Najib Razak. I asked her if they were brothers because of the names, but she said no, and that Najib Razak was the ‘prime minister’”, said Amy, Altantuya’s best friend (Najib Razak has sworn on the Koran that he has never met Altantuya). According to a private detective, now in hiding in India, the beautiful Tuya was also the occasional mistress of the deputy Prime minister, who was introduced to her by Baginda at the end of 2004.

The story became dramatic when, in October 2006, Altantuya was informed that the commission paid by the French-Spanish company Armaris had arrived on a Kuala Lumpur bank account. It had been paid to Perimekar, a company owned by Baginda. Altantuya rushed to Kuala Lumpur, in order to claim her share of the commission from Baginda ; she said she was entitled to 500,000 dollars. Baginda and Altantuya broke up prior to this. A jealous Rosmah Mansor, the feared businesswoman and wife of Najib Razak, objected any payment to Altantuya. Altantuya arrived in Kuala Lumpur with two other Mongolian women, one of them was a Shaman responsible for putting a spell on Baginda if he refused to pay. For several days, Altantuya harassed her ex-lover.

On the 18th of October, Baginda could no longer tolerate the daily scenes made by Altantuya in front of his house. He contacted the Director of the Special Branch, Musa Safrie, who happened to also be Najib Razak’s aide de camp. On October 19th, 2006, a little before 9 pm, two police officers of the Special Branch, Azilah Hadridan and Sirul Omar, were sent in front of Baginda’s house where Altantuya was gesticulating and shouting. They had the order of “neutralising the Chinese woman.” They kidnapped her, and drove her ten kilometers away and shot her several times. Then, they destroyed her body with C4 explosives, a type which can only be obtained from within the Defense Ministry. Her entry into Malaysia was erased from the immigration records. It would appear that Altantuya had never come to Malaysia, because there is no trace left of her.

There is no perfect crime. The taxi driver hired by Altantuya for the day did not appreciate that his passenger was kidnapped under his eyes without payment for the fare. He took note of the registration plate of the kidnapper’s car and filed a complaint at the local police station. In a few days, the police identified the car and realised that it was a government vehicle.

Events unfolded that even the Deputy Prime minister Najib Razak could not impede. He tried to cover the case. A few hours before the arrest of Baginda, he sent him a SMS: “I will see the Inspector General of Police at 11 am today… The problem will be solved. Be cool”. A few hours after, Baginda was arrested as well as the two police officers of the Special Branch, Azilah and Sirul.

After a trial considered dubious by many observers, Baginda was acquitted with the accusation of having ordered the murder and released in November 2008. Accused of having perpetrated the murder, Azilah and Sirul appeared in front of the Court last month. If convicted, their sentence is death. The verdict is scheduled for the 9th of April.

Thousands of miles from there, in the Mongolian capital city Ulaan Baataar, Shaaribuu Setev, Altantuya’s father, is trying to control his anger. To him and his family, the acquittal and release of Baginda is symbolic of the unfairness of the Malaysian judicial process: “The Malaysian government is not even answering to the letters from the Mongolian Foreign Affairs Ministry,” he says.

When Shaaribuu came to the Malaysian Parliament to meet Najib Razak, the Deputy Prime minister had to escape through a back door in order to avoid an embarrassing encounter. The Altantuya case has become a key element of the Malaysian political game between Najib Razak (who is expected to become Prime Minister after the United Malay Nation Organisation (UMNO) Congress in March) and the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. So far, Najib Razak has navigated around the obstacles, but the murder of the young Mongolian remains a sword suspended over his head.

One of the most obscure aspects of the Altantuya case is the role of the Armaris company. In October 2007, the Malaysian Deputy Defense minister, Zainal Abdidin Zin, acknowledged in front of the Parliament that Armaris had effectively paid 114 million Euros in commission to Perimekar. He maintained that it was not a bribe, but a payment for “support and coordination services.”

Was there corruption as in the case of the Taiwanese frigates in which the French DCNS was also implicated? DCNS, a private company with public financing, has declined our request for a meeting. “Nobody can comment on this case,” was the sober reply of the DCNS Press relations officer in Paris. A document, which could establish a link between Altantuya and the French company is the guarantee letter written by Abdul Razak Baginda so that his mistress could obtain a visa to enter the Schengen zone (of whom France is a member country). The French embassy could not refuse this service to a man decorated with the Legion d’Honneur. But the role of Altantuya in the submarines negotiations is still not clear. Intelligence agencies find her background intriguing and the Russian FSB (ex-KGB) is following closely the case.

In Ulaan Baataar, Mungunshagai, the eldest son of Altantuya, who is 12 years old, is traumatised by the death of his mother. Altanshagai, the youngest, who is five years old and mentally handicapped, has not understood that he will never see again his mother. “He is asking for her all the time and is staying the whole day prostrated on his chair. Every evening, I bring him sweets and I tell him that his mother gave it to me for him”, says Shaaribuu Setev, the grandfather of the two boys. As for Baginda, he settled down in the United Kingdom with his family. He never uttered a word of regret on the deadly fate of the one who shared his life for two years.

Arnaud Dubus (in Kuala Lumpur, Ulaan Baataar and Paris)

New BN government to be sworn in, Nizar calls it is a coup

2009-02-05T19:55:00.000+08:00

IPOH, Feb 5 — Perak plunged deep into crisis today after Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin refused to resign on the orders of Sultan Azlan Shah, desribing the situation as a coup by Barisan Nasional, while the Umno-led coalition prepares to be sworn in as the new government.

Umno leaders, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi, are already gathering at the Istana Kinta here, even as Pakatan Rakyat leaders seek a last-minute reprieve from the ruler.

"We are not rejecting the decision of the Sultan. We are pleading to ask for the dissolution of the assembly.

"The Sultan told me that BN has 31 to 28 but I told him that was inaccurate as three have vacated their seats.

“I asked for consent to dissolve to protect the rights of the people,” he told reporters at the official residence of the MB here.
He said the Sultan had asked him to resign, and he told the ruler he would not.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the PR alliance of Pas, PKR and DAP fully supported Nizar, and wanted the matter “returned to the court of the people”.

“BN has twisted it as if we are committing treason. But we are merely pleading.

“The leadership council of Pakatan will seek an audience with the Sultan,” he told reporters at the same press conference.

Pakatan Rakyat leaders were earlier locked in an emergency meeting following Sultan Azlan Shah’s refusal to grant a dissolution of the Perak state assembly and his order for Nizar to resign.

This decision to not to resign will lead PR on a collision course with the Sultan, whose decision has been greeted with immense criticisms even on his own website where visitors have been expressing their disappointment.

It is understood letters have been sent by fax to the MB's and all state executive councillors, asking them to vacate their offices.
The police have also set up road blocks around the state secretariat here.

Many offices have also closed early for the day, with employers asking their staff to go home early.

It remains unclear if a planned public rally tonight will go ahead but Barisan Nasional leaders are already going ahead with plans to form the next state government.

Earlier, Sultan Azlan Shah announced his refusal to give his consent for the dissolution of the Perak state assembly, and asked Nizar to resign in a statement carried by national news agency Bernama.

And if Nizar refuses to resign, the post will be declared vacant.

This will pave the way for BN to form the next state government.

The office of the Sultan of Perak, in a statement, said that after meeting all the 28 BN assemblymen and the three independents, the Sultan was convinced that Nizar had ceased to command the confidence of the majority of the state assembly members.

"If YAB Datuk Seri Ir Mohammad Nizar bin Jamaluddin does not resign his post as Perak menteri besar together with the members of the state executive council, the posts of menteri besar and state executive councillors are considered vacant," the statement said.

It is understood that a candidate for the MB's position has already been proposed to the Sultan, who has given his approval.

Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi is also expected to meet the Sultan at 6pm today to confirm the formation of a new state government.

A mammoth gathering has been planned tonight, originally to be held at the MB's residence, but which has apparently been shifted to the Perak Stadium.

Earlier, the Sultan concluded a busy morning of talks with both Nizar and Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Razak in a bid to break the political impasse in the state.

He met Najib twice before summoning Nizar to his palace as well.

"Signs are good," Nizar told reporters as he left the palace.

But Najib was equally optimistic that the Sultan would rule in his favour and allow BN to form the state government.

In his second audience with the Sultan, Najib brought along the 28 BN state legislators and the three independents backing the coalition to see the Ruler to make his case for a new government.

"A second audience with the Sultan was arranged. It was attended by all 27 Barisan state assemblymen and Datuk Nasarudin Hashim, who has returned to BN, together with the three state representatives who left their parties and are now supporting Barisan.

"All of them pledged their support to Barisan, and the person to be appointed as the menteri besar later, before the Sultan," he told reporters before chairing the state Umno liaison committee meeting.

He said the final decision now rests with the Sultan.

Najib added that BN would respect and abide by the Ruler's decision, even if meant the dissolution of the state assembly to enable fresh state elections to be called.

Nizar's Pakatan Rakyat government has filed a suit to declare three state seats vacant after their representatives turned independent. The three — from Behrang, Changkat Jering and Jelapang — have thrown their support behind BN, which also accepted back the Bota assemblyman who had defected earlier.

Pakatan Rakyat had hoped this move would persuade the Perak Sultan to accede to a request to dissolve the 59-seat assembly and pave the way for snap polls.

Earlier, Najib was granted an audience with Sultan Azlan Shah this morning a day after he declared BN has enough support to form the state government.

Najib was seen entering Istana Kinta here around 10am accompanied by Bagan Datok MP Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi and other BN officials.

The cheerful-looking Najib and the state Umno deputy chief Zahid left the palace about 30 minutes later.

When met later Najib said that he had informed the Ruler that BN has the majority in the state assembly and intent to form the new state government.

He added that the Sultan had expressed his wish to meet all 31 BN supporters in the assembly before the decision on the new state government can be made.

"We will respect whatever decision made by the Sultan as it is his discretion," Najib told reporters at the state Umno building.

The deputy prime minister, who is also the Perak BN chairman, announced yesterday the coalition now enjoys the support of 28 of its assemblymen and three independents in the legislative assembly with 59 members.

The state BN's success in toppling the PR government would give legitimacy to Najib's leadership as he is slated to take over the premiership by the end of March, after suffering a blow with the defeat in the Kuala Terengganu by-election. - The Malaysian Insider

Anwar says Pakatan not going against the palace

2009-02-05T19:48:00.000+08:00

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Perak Menteri Besar’s refusal to resign despite the request by Sultan Azlan Shah did not mean Pakatan Rakyat was on a collision course with the Perak palace.

“Considering the spirit of constitutional monarchy and Parliamentary democracy, this takover if allowed will be a disaster to the democratic system,” Anwar told reporters after a meeting with PR leaders.

He added that only a dissolution of the state assembly and a state-wide election would solve the problem.

On the order by the state secretariat for the leaders to vacate the building, Anwar described the action as abnormal.

“The MB has not resigned, has not been dismissed. It is abnormal under the so-called democratic system,” he added.

DAP’s Lim Kit Siang described the takeover attempt by BN as a coup led by Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“A month before Najib becomes the sixth Prime Minister, but today he has launched a coup de etat,” said Lim adding that Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin was still the Menteri Besar.

“The PR government is still legitimate. This takeover is illegal and unconstitutional,” said the Ipoh Timor MP.

Earlier today Nizar was ordered to resign by the ruler as he was deemed to have lost the support of the majority of the state’s lawmakers.

The government has however refused to step down saying that BN has no majority in the assembly, claiming that the three independents who back the coalition have resigned as legislators. - The Malaysian Insider

Ku Li says BN faces public scorn over dubious crossovers

2009-02-05T19:46:00.000+08:00

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said a large section of the public will be angry if the Perak Ruler does not dissolve the state assembly and invites Barisan Nasional to form the state government on the basis of dubious crossovers.

Writing in his blog, the Gua Musang Umno MP cautioned that taking control of Perak without getting the mandate of the people will spell disaster for BN in the next general election.

"Our taking control without resorting to elections would cement the enmity of the very people we should be trying to win back.

"Come the next general election, they are going to reject both our state and parliamentary candidates with greater vehemence, and not just in Perak."

The former finance minister said contests in a democracy are not a fight for survival where anything goes but a competition to serve and BN must reform to improve its ability to serve with distinction.

He said this was a long-term goal which required immediate focus, adding that BN did not need questionable victories which he described as distractions but needed to upgrade itself to win elections again, fair and square.

Tengku Razaleigh said this was the only sustainable way for BN to win back the public.

He said Umno was in critical condition because of ethical failures and its biggest challenge was tackling corruption at every level.

"We are under close public scrutiny and unless we implement radical reforms and are seen to be doing so, we are finished politically come next elections".

However, he said, BN was embroiled in "winning back" Perak with the crossover of who he described as low-calibre individuals.

"The two assemblymen whose allegiance we have suddenly gained are under investigation for corruption, while the Bota assemblyman's justification for his record-breaking 10-day double-hop is an insult to the public's intelligence and nauseating in its insincerity."

He said this open abuse, for personal gain, is what caused people to hate Umno.

Tengku Razaleigh also lashed out at the circumstances surrounding the defections.

"The mysterious disappearances, sudden reversals, and weak explanations, show ample signs of illegal inducement.

"No matter what the truth of the matter, let us not fool ourselves. People will not believe that these crossovers were honest. This mistrust will taint any government formed on the back of these crossovers."

He said the celebrations over the Perak takeover were premature because the defections may or may not topple the state government.

"The Constitution and the role of the Ruler in such crises must be respected because defections are not a basis for the formation of a government. Elections are."

He said the Constitution spells out a formal process for the formation of a government and the Ruler is sworn to uphold and protect this constitutional process.

"The menteri besar has sought the Ruler's consent for the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly. The decision now rests with the Ruler." - The Malaysian Insider

BN set to form Perak govt as Sultan defers decision on dissolution

2009-02-04T18:28:00.000+08:00

A Barisan Nasional (BN) government in Perak is looking all but certain after a PKR state assemblyman defected back to Umno while three independents pledged their support for the coalition.

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin also failed to secure consent from Sultan Azlan Shah to dissolve the state assembly in his last ditch attempt to have fresh polls and head off BN's attempt to seize power.

“The decision is now with the Sultan,” Nizar told reporters after an audience with Sultan Azlan Shah.

At a press conference in Putrajaya earlier, Deputy Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced to reporters that Jamaludin Mohd Radzi, Osman Jailu and Hee Yit Foong would back a BN government while Datuk Nasarudin Hashim, who had just two weeks earlier defected to PKR, would rejoin Umno.

“BN now has the majority to form the next government. We will seek an audience with the Perak Sultan.

“BN has 28 seats now, which is equal with Pakatan Rakyat, but we have three exxtra who are friendly to Umno and BN,” Najib said

He added that the three independent lawmakers had also informed the Sultan in a letter sent yesterday that they had quit their parties.

All four assemblymen appeared at the press conference with Najib.

Jamaluddin, Osman and Hee had earlier turned independent while Nasarudin had defected to PKR less than two weeks ago.

“The situation in the state is critical. I have to make sacrifices,” Nasarudin said when asked why he had decided to rejoin Umno.

The other three did not speak to reporters.

With their defections, it is looking likely that BN will get to form the state government.

More PKR lawmakers are also expected to defect to BN.

Najib said BN representatives would meet the Sultan as soon as possible to seek his consent to form the next state government.

With the defections to BN, the Pakatan Rakyat will only have 28 seats to Barisan Nasional’s 31 in the 59-seat assembly.

Nizar is now resting PR’s hopes on the Sultan in the hope that consent will still be granted for fresh polls.

The PR alliance of PKR, Pas and DAP are confident of winning fresh polls with a bigger mandate.

But with a four seat majority, and more defections likely, the Sultan looks likely to accept BN’s offer to form the next government. - The Malaysian Insider

Latest on Perak

2009-02-04T17:27:00.000+08:00

The Sultan of Perak is said to be in Kuala Lumpur. The Perak Menteri Besar is not able to have an audience with Tuanku to request the dissolution of the Perak State Assembly.

Perak has fallen.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will announce the formation of a new Perak state government at 4.00pm today in Putrajaya.

Dato Nasaruddin has crossed back to Umno. Two more DAP Perak State Assemblyman/ women are said to have defected.

Five Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblymen in Kedah are said to be ready to cross over to Barisan Nasional. The Kedah state government is also about to fall. - Malaysia Today

BN bentuk kerajaan baru Perak

2009-02-04T17:23:00.000+08:00

BN mempunyai cukup jumlah Adun untuk membentuk kerajaan baru Perak selepas empat Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) melompat kepadanya secara terbuka dan rasmi hari ini.

Tiga bekas wakil rakyat Pakatan termasuk Adun Jelapang dan juga bekas Timbalan Speaker DUN Perak, Hee Yit Foong akan kekal wakil rakyat bebas tetapi bersama kerajaan BN, kata timbalan perdana menteri.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak berkata beliau akan menghadap Sultan Perak secepat mungkin.

Adun Bota, Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim - yang mengumumkan melompat kepada PKR selama 10 hari - kembali semula kepada Umno.

4:25pm Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Behrang, Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi dan Adun Changkat Jering, Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu akan menyertai Umno.

Kedua-duanya kini berada di pejabat timbalan perdana menteri.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak memanggil semua Adun dan ahli parlimen BN sebelum mengadakan sidang akhbar khasnya jam 4 petang ini.

Adun Bota, Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim - yang mengumumkan melompat kepada PKR selama 10 hari - juga kelihatan di pejabat timbalan presiden Umno itu.

Adun Jelapang dan juga bekas Timbalan Speaker DUN Perak, Hee Yit Foong kelihatan di Putrajaya.

3.52pm Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Perak dijangka akan dibubarkan dalam masa terdekat jika Sultan memberikan perkenan kepada kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat itu untuk memanggil pilihanraya negeri secara mengejut.

Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin kelihatan masuk Istana Kinta di Ipoh jam 3.50 petang untuk menghadap Sultan Perak.

kemaskini 3:25pm Menteri Besar Perak, Datuk Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin dalam sidang medianya tadi memaklumkan Adun Bota, Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim "diculik". - Malaysiakini

Nizar seeking Sultan’s consent to dissolve assembly

2009-02-04T17:12:00.000+08:00

Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin is meeting Sultan Azlan Shah for his consent to dissolve the state assembly in a bid to head off attempts by the opposition Barisan Nasional to form a new state government.

Nizar’s abrupt move comes amid amid swirling rumours more Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen are defecting to BN, on top of the three who have turned independent.

The menteri besar told reporters at 3pm that he would be seeking an audience with the Sultan to dissolve the state assembly.

He also said that Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasharudin Hashim, who had defected to PKR from Umno less than two weeks ago, has now gone missing, adding that he had heard unconfirmed reports that the lawmaker had been “abducted”.

The MB added that he had been informed by the assemblyman’s wife that her husband was taken by Umno assemblymen Datuk Ahmad Pakeh Adam and Datuk Hamdi Abu Bakar to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s house in Kuala Lumpur.

Nizar’s announcement that he would seek an audience with the Sultan also comes amid news that the DAP’s Hee Yit Foong had just quit her party.

“I am on my way to the palace now to get consent from Tuanku to dissolve the state assembly after the loss of two PKR assemblyman and the uncertainties surrounding the Jelapang assemblywoman.

“Even though we have governed well and done good work there have been attempts to rob the right of the people who have chosen a Pakatan Rakyat government,” he said.

Nizar added that if BN were to accept the two PKR men into their fold, it would reflect a government weak in morals.

BN is expected to make an announcement this afternoon that Nasharudin has defected back to Umno and that it is offering to form a new state government in Perak.

Najib has called for a press conference in Putrajaya today at 4pm, and speculation is rife that he will be making the announcement on behalf of BN.

A number of senior BN assemblymen are already making their way to Putrajaya.

It is not clear when BN officials will seek an audience with the Sultan.

Earlier, political circles were buzzing with talk that Sultan Azlan Shah had asked Nizar to form a unity government.

Hee’s exit from DAP means she now joins the two PKR state assemblymen who have declared themselves independent and makes Nizar’s administration a minority government. The Pakatan Rakyat government now holds 29 seats to Barisan Nasional’s 27 in the 59-seat assembly.

If Nasharudin rejoins Umno, BN’s representation will go up to 28. If the three independents back BN, the coalition will then have a three-seat majority.

Nizar is now resting PR’s hopes on the Sultan in the hope that consent will be granted for fresh polls.

The PR alliance of PKR, Pas and DAP are confident of winning fresh polls with a bigger mandate.

The BN coalition is hoping, however, to be able to secure the support of the three renegade PR lawmakers who have now turned independent to form the government.

With their backing, BN will hope to attract even more PR lawmakers to defect.

Constitutional experts have said calling for snap polls is the only way out of the Silver State’s political quagmire with the Election Commission refusing to call for by-elections in Behrang and Changkat Jering.

The Pakatan Rakyat government has already given the Election Commission 48 hours from yesterday to reverse its decision.

Social pressure group Aliran has added its voice to objecting the Election Commission’s decision, saying it has no inherent powers to decide whether a vacancy has occurred in a constituency.

“Legally there exist no doubts as to the vacancies of these two seats but there are clearly doubts as to why the Election Commission chose to take this decision which is without doubt ultra vires,” Aliran president P. Ramakrishnan said in a statement.

He lamented that the decision will perpetuate the problem of party hopping plaguing Perak, saying the razor-thin majority will ensure “the uncertainties of governance will continue to exist to the detriment of the people and their welfare”.

“Aliran would also like to appeal to His Royal Highness, the Sultan of Perak, in all humility, to kindly consent to the dissolution of the state assembly as a way to overcome this deadlock,” Ramakrishnan said. - The Malaysian Insider

BN will not win from Perak defections

2009-02-03T19:32:00.000+08:00

By Wong Chin Huat

EVENTS are moving so fast in Perak that by the time this column is published, the Barisan Nasional (BN) may be in control of the state legislative assembly if there are enough defections to its side from Pakatan Rakyat.

Even though the two Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives who were tipped to cross over to the BN have reportedly tendered their resignations, nothing is certain.

Already, one of the elected representatives, PKR's assemblyperson for Behrang, Jamaluddin Mat Radzi, has denied resigning. If, as stated by Jamaluddin, the resignation was tendered by the party and not by the representatives themselves, it could potentially be contested.

Hence, it is still possible that Jamaluddin and Changkat Jering state representative Mohd Osman Jailu, who have been charged with corruption, could still defect from the Pakatan Rakyat to Umno. The Pakatan Rakyat-BN ratio in the state government would then be a wafer-thin 30:29.

This would mean the defection of just one more Pakatan Rakyat state assemblyperson would put an end to the coalition-run state government. If such a defection occurs, it also means that the BN would have succeeded in reducing the number of Pakatan Rakyat-ruled states from five to four. This could mark the beginning of its revitalisation since its disastrous performance in the 8 March 2008 general election.

My reading, however, runs contrary. If the Perak Pakatan Rakyat government is brought down through defections, this may, in fact, hasten an early demise for the BN and its federal government. On one condition: that a snap poll for Perak — what a majority of democratic governments would opt for in the face of a no-confidence vote — is called by the state government.

A referendum on Umno

Should this happen, the BN's chance of winning Perak is really slimmer than a sheet of paper. The existing party and ethnic breakdown of the current Perak state legislative assembly is telling. The Pakatan Rakyat's current 32 seats consists of DAP's 18, PKR's eight and PAS's six. On the BN's side, 26 out of 27 lawmakers are from Umno. The 27th BN lawmaker is from the MCA.

Ethnically, the Pakatan Rakyat has 22 non-Malay Malaysian representatives (all of DAP's 18 and four of PKR's) and 10 Malay representatives, in sharp contrast to the BN's 26 Malay Malaysians and one non-Malay. That could mean there are 36 Malay-majority seats and 23 non-Malay majority or mixed seats in Perak.

However, PAS Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin (holding the Pasir Panjang seat), and PKR's assemblyperson for Behrang, Jamaluddin, both won in seats that were traditionally contested by the MIC, seats which are non-Malay-majority or mixed seats. Thus there are actually two fewer, or 34, Malay-majority seats and two more, or 25, non-Malay-majority or mixed seats in Perak.

If a snap poll was called for, how would the Malay and non-Malay Malaysian electorate vote?

There is no legitimate ground for a vote of no-confidence against the current Pakatan Rakyat state government. Except for the corruption charges against Jamaluddin and Mohd Osman, the Pakatan Rakyat is not implicated in any major scandal of corruption, power abuse or incompetence.

If anything, the Pakatan Rakyat government, which prides itself for its "inexperience in corruption", has scored with flying colours. Even on a financial note, its 2008 revenue has increased by RM97 million, or a whopping 15%, from 2007.

Hence, a snap election would actually be a referendum on whether Perak voters should reinstall or reject an Umno-dominated government.

Fatal self-deceit

What has Umno done since 8 March to win back non-Malay Malaysians? Nothing.

If anything, provocative statements by the likes of Datuk Ahmad Ismail and Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, and worsening police violence have created more bad press for Umno and the BN.

At the same time, it would be fatal self-deceit if the BN actually thinks that the retention of Chinese Malaysian votes in the recent Kuala Terengganu by-election can be repeated elsewhere.

So, there is a good chance that the BN will lose all the 25 non-Malay-majority and mixed seats in a snap poll. This would send a strong signal to all Umno's non-Malay allies: the end is nigh. Stay in the BN and you will sink with Umno because of the electorate's wrath. That would give little incentive to these allies to continue remaining in the BN.

But what about the Malay-majority seats? If the Pakatan Rakyat sweeps away all the 25 non-Malay-majority and mixed seats, it would only need another five seats to form a simple majority government. Hence, to stop Pakatan Rakyat, Umno must prevent the Pakatan from winning another five Malay seats.

Has the Pakatan Rakyat government done so badly in meeting the needs and aspirations of the Malay Malaysian electorate that it cannot keep even five out of its current eight Malay-majority seats?

In reality, PKR and PAS will not only keep the five Malay-majority seats they need to remain in power, they are also likely to make inroads into Umno heartland.

How? Just sing Umno's tune of Malay unity. If a Pakatan Rakyat state government in Perak is a given because of the non-Malay Malaysian voters, the choices left for Malay Malaysian voters are straightforward: vote PKR or PAS for stronger Malay representation in government, or vote Umno for a stronger Malay opposition.

Faced with that kind of choice, isn't it obvious Malay Malaysian voters will vote for the Pakatan Rakyat to ensure they are strongly represented in government?

A worse scenario

That is not the worst that could happen to the BN.

A worse outcome is that Umno manages to deny PKR and PAS those crucial five Malay seats. Imagine this scenario: Umno wins 30 Malay seats, while the Pakatan Rakyat takes the 25 non-Malay or mixed seats and the remaining four Malay seats.

While Umno would then claim that Malay Malaysians have returned to its fold, the Pakatan Rakyat would likely undermine such claims by producing evidence of alleged electoral fraud, especially with the likely wafer-thin victories in most of the Malay seats; and by organising protests or acts of civil disobedience.

Meanwhile, an all-Malay government is something Malaysians have not ever experienced. And Umno cannot count on the defection of non-Malay Malaysian lawmakers from the Pakatan Rakyat opposition who would fear the electorate's wrath more than anything. No less because such a defection would be seen as a sell-out in an environment that is profoundly anti-Umno. And unlike Sabah in 1994, the next federal government need not be Umno-led. These factors will surely influence the calculation of possible defectors.

As we can imagine, a Perak under Umno would likely be ungovernable given the inevitable strong opposition from half of the Malay and almost all of the non-Malay Malaysians in the state. In such a situation, the federal government may even call for a state of emergency if opposition to an Umno-led state government starts to become messy.

But whether this happens or not, Umno would lose its "stability" appeal, something it has held on to even during the Reformasi years. Voting Umno would then be associated with voting for chaos.

Do we need to ask how voters would then vote during the 13th general election?

The best scenario

The best scenario for the BN to form the next state government is to bring down the current one through defections to its side, instead of going through a snap poll. But that would require Perak MB Nizar not requesting for the state assembly's dissolution for snap polls to be held. Or it would require Sultan Azlan Shah rejecting such a request if it was made.

But why would Nizar hand over his government to his enemies? And why would the well-respected Perak Sultan sacrifice his reputation of benevolence, modernity and unity to save Umno?

As Stephen Covey states in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, begin with the end in mind. That's good advice to political parties before they start playing with fire. - The Nut Graph

Jamaluddin, Osman dilapor jadi Adun bebas

2009-02-03T19:27:00.000+08:00

Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Behrang, Jamaluddin Mat Radzi dipetik memberitahu sebuah portal berita yang beliau telah keluar dari PKR dan kini menjadi wakil rakyat bebas.

Portal berita itu juga memetik Jamaluddin sebagai berkata, Adun Changkat Jering, Osman Jailu juga telah keluar parti dan kini menjadi Adun bebas.

Agendadaily - yang melaporkan telah menghubungi Jamaluddin selepas Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) memutuskan Jamaluddin dan Osman Jailu masing-masing masih Adun Behrang dan Changkat Jering - memetik beliau sebagai berkata, tiada sebab untuknya terus berada dalam parti itu.

Manakala Bernama pula memetik Setiausaha Agung PKR, Datuk Salehuddin Hashim menolak spekulasi bahawa Jamaluddin dan Osman telah keluar daripada parti itu.

"Setakat ini kita (PKR) tidak menerima sebarang surat mengenai peletakan jawatan mereka, tiada rekod bahawa mereka keluar parti dan tiada rekod yang mengatakan mereka masuk parti lain.

"Ini bermakna mereka masih lagi ahli parti kita dan tidak ada sebab nak buang mereka dari parti. Kita yakin mereka bersama kita," katanya kepada Bernama hari ini.

Agendadaily memetik Jamaluddin sebagai berkata, beliau membuat keputusan berkenaan seteleh meneliti sikap dan keputusan PKR berhubung dengan surat perletakan jawatannya yang ditandatangani Mac lalu.

"Surat itu disimpan oleh PKR negeri Perak. Mana mungkin surat perletakan jawatan itu boleh disampaikan kepada Speaker DUN Perak jika bukan dihantar sendiri oleh PKR negeri.

"Bagi saya ini membuktikan sikap sebenar PKR. Dengan menghantar surat itu kepada Speaker Dewan ia juga boleh ditafsirkan mereka telah membuka pintu dan meminta...Jamal kamu keluarlah," katanya.

Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Perak yang dianggotai PAS, DAP dan PKR kini mempunyai 32 kerusi dengan DAP (18), PKR (lapan) dan PAS (enam) manakala Barisan
Nasional (BN) 27 kerusi.

Dengan Jamaluddin kini menjadi wakil rakyat bebas, kerajaan Pakatan Perak kini mempunyai 31 Adun.

Jika Osman mengikut jejak langkah Jamaluddin, maka jumlah Adun Pakatan di negeri itu akan 30 orang dan BN,27 orang dan bebas dua orang. - Malaysiakini

Hangat di Perak

2009-02-03T19:22:00.000+08:00

Hari ini ada tiga perkara penting berlaku. Satu, pertemuan MB Nizar dengan Sultan Perak. Dua, sidang media Fauzi Muda, dan ketiga, Mesyuarat PKR.

Satu….

Aku cuba juga tunggu kot-kot ada berita dari Malaysiakini atau dari Bernama tentang apa yang dibincangkan oleh Nizar dengan Tuanku Sultan. Tapi tak dak. Saja aku tunggu pasai kalau aku dulu pecah lubang, orang kata aku saja buat cerita. Tapi pasai sapa pun tak cerita, dan aku pun dah tak larat nak beli top-up pasai masing-masing dok tanya…aku kena cerita jugak.

Pagi tadi Nizar mengadap Sultan. Perkara utama yang dibincangkan ialah kesahihan (validity) surat perletakan jawatan dua ADUN PKR. Baginda Sultan Perak adalah bekas Ketua Hakim Negara. Kalau baginda kata surat tu tak sah..melopong la Nizar. Tapi apabila baginda bersetuju bahawa surat itu sah dan boleh diterima….maka bersedia lah dengan pilihanraya kecil. Dan petang tadi, Anwar, Dr. Haron Din, Nizar ada bermesyuarat. Apa yang dibincang tak tau la, tapi berkisar dengan pilihanraya kecil. Dan apabila mesyuarat PKR petang tadi menyuruh semua jentera pilihanraya bersiap sedia…faham-faham la.

Sekarang ni, cuma tunggu apa SPR kata. Esok SPR akan bermesyuarat dan tunggu keputusanya. Dipihak PR, kita bersedia dengan pilihanraya kecil di Changkat Jering dan Behrang, TAPI KALAU SPR TIDAK MAHU MENERIMA SURAT PERLETAKAN JAWATAN ITU, DEWAN UNDANGAN NEGERI PERAK AKAN DIBUBARKAN.

Dua…

Malam semalam aku tulis pasai Fauzi Muda nak buat PC dengan Ezam untuk mengisytiharkan diri masuk Umno. Tup-tup, pagi ini dia buat PC tentang Najib nak bagi dia RM50 juta. Ha..ha….aku gelak sakan.

Pada aku, pendedahan Fauzi tu cuma sebagai nak jaga maruah Hj. Osman. Orang kanan dan kiri Hj. Osman, Jamaludin dan Kapt. Osman dah hilang. Cikgu Mat dah letak jawatan sebagai Setiausaha. Semua yang sokong kehadiran Hj. Osman sebagai Ketua PKR Perak semua dah tak dak…yang tinggal cuma Fauzi Muda. Hangpa percaya kat Fauzi Muda ni ka?

Betui! Dia kata Najib offer dia 50 juta untuk tarik ADUN PKR lompat masuk Umno sebaik saja Pilihanraya ke12. Tentang offer yang Najib buat tu aku percaya, tapi jumlah tu aku tak tau la, sebab memang dia salah sorang yang cuba suap ADUN kita suruh masuk Umno tapi tak berjaya. Duit punya pasai, memang dia boleh buat apa saja. Kalau dia berjaya hari tu, mungkin tambah lagi satu bini macam dua EXCO tu.

Kemudian lepas dua EXCO tu kena cekup BPR, Najib masih suruh dia buat kerja untuk tarik dua EXCO ni masuk Umno! kalau kali pertama Najib suruh buat dan dia terus tolak, hangpa ingat Najib boleh suruh dia untuk kali kedua ka? Lu fikir la sendiri.

Dan semalam, aku tulis pasai dia nak buat PC untuk keluar PKR. Hello brader, gua punya kabel sudah bagi tau…lu sudah setuju dengan SD Johari untuk keluar.Tapi pasai aku dah tulis, dan pasai surat perletakan jawatan dua EXCO ini sudah dikeluarkan, hang pusing 360 darjah. Masuk Umno pun tak guna, tak dak sapa nak bayar.

Kalau Fauzi keluar PKR, imej Hj. Osman terus jatuh. Ini lah orang terakhir yang boleh membela Hj. Osman. Tak percaya tanya Mamamat. Imej PKR tak jatuh, sebab orang kenai sapa Fauzi Muda.

Sekarang, AMK pulak nak sambut Akuan Berkanun tu dengan membuat laporan diPutrajaya esok. Kalau tanya aku, tok sah buang masa la. Pi susun jentera pilihanraya kat Changkat Jering dengan Behrang lagi baguih.

Tadi dia buat PC dan membuat laporan tentang rasuah Najib. Pehhh..kalau ada dokumen macam beli kapal selam pun BPR tak buat apa, hangpa ingat BPR boleh bertindak tanpa apa-apa bukti? Bagi aku, Fauzi saja nak jadi hero, untuk menyelamatkan Hj. Osman. Dan kalau dengar berita TV, Hj. Osman kata, dua EXCO ni masih ADUN PKR sebab dia tak terima surat perletakan jawatan. Bila dia kata dia tak tau menahu tentang surat yang telah tersedia, aku pun tak tau nak cakap apa. Pasai apa tak tanya? Orang lain semua tau, Ketua PKR Perak tak tau! Tak pelik ka?

Hangpa ingat, Nizar keluarkan surat tu tanpa merujuk kepada Anwar? Anwar yang bagi greenlight, tapi bila Ketua PKR Negeri kata dia tak tau….susah la. Kalau Anwar buat keputusan tanpa memberitahu Ketua PKR Negeri….faham-faham la.

Ketiga,

Petang tadi ada mesyuarat PKR. Yang dibincangkan ialah persiapan pilihanraya kecil.Tu biasa la. Tapi yang syok sikit bila YB Yunus dari Kuala Kurau dan YB Kesavan bagi tau depa ditawarkan oleh SD Johari untuk melompat kedalam Umno. Bukan setakat ditawarkan wang ringgit malah mereka diugut sekiranya tidak menyertai Umno.

Sepatutnya yang ni la buat laporan polis! Pasai apa tak buat kalau dah ada bukti?

semalam aku tulis,

“Ada seorang lagi ADUN PKR yang hampir termakan pujukan Jamal untuk menyertainya melompat kedalam BN, dan nama ini telah disebut oleh SD Johari. Tetapi oleh kerana ADUN ni tidak turut melompat, aku tak sebut namanya dulu. Tapi kita tahu sapa dia.”

Hari ni, dua ADUN muda ini telah mengakuinya dalam mesyuarat PKR Negeri siang tadi.

Kenapa? tak percaya? - Perak Express

No two ways about it: DISSOLVE the Perak State Assembly

2009-02-03T19:20:00.000+08:00

If fresh state elections are held, Pakatan Rakyat may sweep at least 40 seats, leaving Umno with just 19 seats. MCA, MIC, Gerakan and PPP will not win a single seat.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

No by-elections, says EC - so what happens now?

The political turmoil in Perak has taken on a new twist with Election Commission chairperson Abdul Aziz reportedly saying that no by-elections would be held because of doubts over the resignation letters of the two state assembly members.

Aziz pointed out that assembly members had submitted letters to deny their validity of the resignation letters submitted by the Perak Speaker.

Where does this leave Perak?

Of course, the Pakatan still has a majority of one, but if that is threatened, then they have the option of dissolving the assembly and calling for fresh elections. – Anil Netto

***************************************

That was what Anil Netto asked in his Blog today (http://anilnetto.com/). I have no time to write my normal five-page ‘cheong hei’ article because I am rushing off for a meeting with my lawyers (I have three court cases over four days next week and they want to prepare for them).

So, in the few minutes that I have left, allow me to sum up as follows.

Pakatan Rakyat started out with 31 seats in the Perak State Assembly against Barisan Nasional’s 28. This means if just two Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblymen cross over, Barisan Nasional would have 30 seats against Pakatan Rakyat’s 29. This would also mean Barisan Nasional will form the new Perak state government with a majority of one seat.

While Barisan Nasional was working on these two ‘candidates’ to cross over -- the Changat Jering and Behrang State Assemblyman -- one Umno State Assemblyman crossed over to Pakatan Rakyat. Now, Barisan Nasional needs three Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblymen to cross over instead of just two.

Today, the Elections Commission rejected the resignation letters of the Changkat Jering and Behrang State Assemblymen. This means they can now join Barisan Nasional -- so Barisan Nasional will now have 29 seats against Pakatan Rakyat’s 30. All Barisan Nasional needs is just one more cross-over from Pakatan Rakyat and they will form the new Perak state government.

This not only can happen. It most likely will happen.

Pakatan Rakyat has no other choice. It has to dissolve the Perak State Assembly and call for fresh state elections. Note one thing here. It is not actually Barisan Nasional versus Pakatan Rakyat. It is Umno versus Pakatan Rakyat. From the 29 seats that Barisan Nasional now has, 28 are from Umno and only one from MCA -- with NONE from the other 12 Barisan Nasional component members.

However, to dissolve the Perak State Assembly, Pakatan Rakyat must first obtain the consent of the Sultan of Perak. Will the Sultan give his consent? Many feel the answer is no. Therefore Pakatan Rakyat will be ‘locked’ with a one-seat majority that may turn out to be a one-seat minority in the very near future.

If fresh state elections are held, Pakatan Rakyat may sweep at least 40 seats, leaving Umno with just 19 seats. MCA, MIC, Gerakan and PPP will not win a single seat. That is why Umno would not want fresh state elections, or even two by-elections. If they allow this to happen they will get wiped out and Pakatan Rakyat will increase its margin of seats even more. With a 21-seat majority it will be impossible for Barisan Nasional to continue dreaming about taking over Perak.

Where do we go from here? I wish I knew. I, on the other hand, am off to my lawyers to see whether they can keep me out of jail and the Kamunting Detention Centre.

Till later. In the meantime, I hope Pakatan Rakyat can see the logic of dissolving the Perak State Assembly so that fresh state elections can be held. That would be the only way to hold on to Perak. - Malaysia Today

Your 5.5 million against my 1 million

2009-02-03T19:18:00.000+08:00

Umno has 20,000 branches within 191 divisions. So they need to fabricate members to allow these branches to exist. The members do not really exist. They are just names to make up the numbers so that the branches can be created and thereafter perpetuated.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Muhyiddin: Don’t underestimate 3 million strong Umno

Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin reminded opposition parties, including Pas, not to belittle Umno, while admitting the party’s need to improve various areas. Muhyiddin, who is also International Trade and Industry Minister, said the rise and fall of power is part and parcel of life and had happened to all parties.

“That is his opinion. For us in Umno, the party has been long established with more than three million members and can be regarded as the biggest political organisation.”

“Every political organisation will have its seasons. Sometimes we are strong, sometimes we will face problems. Opposition leaders will not respect us. We don’t expect them to make positive comments or statements although problems also exist in PAS and Pakatan Rakyat,” he said.

Muhyiddin was commenting on Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat’s statement describing Umno as a dying tree, after attending a Chinese New Year open house organised by Umno Kalabakan.

He said Umno and Barisan Nasional’s (BN) defeat in several by-elections are not indicators that the party is weak and cannot rise again. “We admit our weaknesses, but it does not mean that we are hopeless cases. After the general election we realised this and have started to make internal changes and reforms. Don’t underestimate Umno’s strength,” he said.

He said BN and Umno hoped to send a message to the people that the party is not static and are willing to make improvements necessary with the country’s changing political landscape. Muhyiddin added that he is confident the people will accept the party’s changes and ensure victory for BN in the next general election for continuing development in the country. — Bernama, 3 February 2009

***************************************

Okay, today, let’s get away from the Perak political crisis for the meantime while we wait for the official announcement as to whether we are going to see two by-elections or we are going to see the Perak State Assembly dissolved to make way for fresh state elections. If the Elections Commission ‘rejects’ the resignation letters of the Changkat Jering and Behrang State Assemblymen, then Pakatan Rakyat would have no choice but to dissolve the Perak State Assembly and hold fresh state elections.

What I want to talk about today is the statement by the incoming Deputy Prime Minister who will serve under incoming Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. The incoming Deputy Prime Minister meant here is Umno Vice-President cum International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. And his statement is about the three million members that Umno has.

Actually, Umno may have three million members, as they always proudly claim, but if you were to include the members of the 13 other component members of Barisan Nasional, then it would come to 5.5 million, or so they claim.

A short digression to this subject but still related to the issue: in the two weeks that we spent in Kuala Terengganu in the run-up to the by-election last month, we noticed that almost EVERY Chinese citizen of Kuala Terengganu is an MCA life member. Yes, that’s right, almost all the Chinese in Kuala Terengganu are life members of MCA.

Going by these statistics, Barisan Nasional should have garnered at least 90% of the Kuala Terengganu Chinese votes. But they didn’t. Isn’t this telling? Boasting about how many members you have is one thing. Whether your own members will vote for you is more important. If you can’t get even your own members to vote for you then what chance do you have of getting the ‘fence-sitters’, those who are not card-carrying members of any party, to vote for you? And we are not yet even talking about winning over the votes of the opposition supporters. This would be as remote as seeing Umno abandon Ketuanan Melayu and the New Economic Policy.

Barisan Nasional is supposed to have 5.5 million members, three million in Umno alone. But in the 8 March 2008 general election, Barisan Nasional garnered only 4,082,411 or 50.6% of the popular votes. Pakatan Rakyat managed 3,796,464 or 49.4% of the votes with only one million members.

What happened? How come Barisan Nasional won only 4,082,411 votes against the backdrop of 5.5 million party members? And surely, in an election, not only your own members vote for you. Surely the ‘fence-sitters’ or non-card-carrying voters of any party also vote for you.

Let us work out the arithmetic. Barisan Nasional has 5.5 million members and Pakatan Rakyat about one million or so. That comes to 6.5 million voters who are card-carrying party members. So about 4.5 million voters are not card-carrying members of any party. This would be the ‘fence-sitters’ or uncommitted voters that both coalitions would want to win over.

In the 8 March 2008 general election, 222 Parliament seats in 12 states (including the Federal Territory which has 13 seats) and 505 state seats in 13 states were up for grabs (Sarawak did not hold state elections in the 2008 general election). There were 10,922,139 registered voters (an increase of 600,000 over the 2004 general election), which includes the 221,085 postal voters. So the ‘real’ voters came to only 10,701,054.

The total votes garnered by Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat combined were 7,878,875. This comes to a voter turnout of 70.71%, a very low turnout indeed. If we minus the 221,085 postal votes, which are ‘bonus’ votes for Barisan Nasional, the ‘genuine’ voters would come to only 7,657,790.

This means if we minus the 221,085 postal votes, Barisan Nasional actually garnered only 3,861,326 votes against Pakatan Rakyat’s 3,796,464. This comes to a majority of only 64,862 votes.

Okay, Barisan Nasional has 5.5 million members. This means they should get at least 70.71% of this (calculated on an across-the-board basis according to the voter turnout). Therefore, Barisan Nasional should have garnered 3,889,050 votes if all their members voted for them and if calculated on a 70.71% voter turnout. Then they got the 221,085 postal votes. So the total votes for Barisan Nasional should have been 4,110,135 votes.

This means three things. Firstly, about 30% of Barisan Nasional’s members did not bother to come out to vote for their own party. Or, secondly, many of their members voted for the opposition. Thirdly, if we assume that all your members voted for you and not for the other side, this means NONE of the non-card-carrying voters voted for you. ALL voted for the ‘other side’.

Whatever it may be; it is impossible for the opposition to win 100% of the uncommitted voters. Many would also vote for Barisan Nasional even if they are not members of any of the 14 component members of the coalition. This would then mean many Barisan Nasional members did not vote for their own party. Or probably these members do not exist in the first place.

Pakatan Rakyat has just one million members or so. Yet they garnered 3,796,464 votes. The bottom line is: Pakatan Rakyat got almost four times the votes compared to the members it has, while Barisan Nasional could not even get the same number of votes as it has members.

Muhyiddin Yassin’s boast about Umno having three million members, or of Barisan Nasional having 5.5 million, means nothing if you can’t translate these numbers into votes. Hell, only 70.71% came out to vote on 8 March 2008. About 30% or three million people stayed home, many of them Barisan Nasional members as well. You not only could not get your own members to come out and vote, even those that did come out to vote did not all vote for you, their own party.

Anyway, everyone knows that Umno’s and Barisan Nasional’s ‘members’ are ‘paper’ members only. They only exist on paper. In many instances they can’t even hold general meetings because they can’t get the quorum at branch level and many meetings are mere ‘paper’ meetings.

Umno has 20,000 branches within 191 divisions. So they need to fabricate members to allow these branches to exist. The members do not really exist. They are just names to make up the numbers so that the branches can be created and thereafter perpetuated. Many branches are mere signboards to give an impression that they exist. There is really no branch activity as such.

Either way it is a farce. If the members do exist then that is bad news because your own members did not vote for you. And if the members do not exist then you are just kidding yourself. Both do not augur well for the ‘largest Islamic party in the world’, as what Umno claims to be. - Malaysia Today

Rasuah UMNO

2009-02-03T19:14:00.000+08:00

By Dr. Mahathir Mohamad

1. Semasa bahagian-bahagian UMNO sedang menamakan calon untuk jawatan-jawatan parti, terdapat laporan bahawa Jawatankuasa Disiplin telah terima lebih daripada 900 aduan berkenaan dengan rasuah.

2. Tetapi hingga kini tidak ada apa-apa pun berita tentang tindakan yang telah diambil oleh Jawatankuasa Disiplin atau mana-mana pihak.

3. Sekarang kita dengar cerita lain pula. Wakil-wakil Bahagian yang akan hadir Mesyuarat Agong pada bulan Mac sudah pun ditentukan oleh bahagian-bahagian. Mereka terdiri daripada ketua bahagian, naib ketua bahagian, ketua wanita, ketua pemuda dan tujuh orang yang dipilih dalam mesyuarat bahagian yang lalu. Jumlah 11 orang semuanya.

4. UMNO mempunyai lebih kurang 190 bahagian, bermakna jumlah wakil ke Mesyuarat Agong adalah seramai 2,090 + ahli Majlis Tertinggi.

5. Sasaran rasuah ialah kepada 2,090 wakil ini. Saya dengar (tetapi saya tidak percaya) sudah ada calon bagi jawatan tertentu yang sudah beri elaun bulanan kepada sebilangan besar daripada 2,090 wakil ini. Bahagian mereka mencalon calon-calon tertentu tetapi yang akan undi dalam Mesyuarat Agong ialah perwakilan. Dan mereka yang dapat elaun mungkin (mungkin sahaja) akan undi calon yang memberi elaun kepada.

6. Jika yang menang adalah orang yang menghulur rasuah maka UMNO akan dipimpin oleh perasuah.

7. Dan Kerajaan Malaysia dan Kerajaan Negeri akan dipimpin oleh perasuah selepas Pilihanraya Umum ke 13 jika Barisan Nasional menang. Dan pemimpin jenis ini akan sauk duit Kerajaan dan duit siapa sahaja yang berurusan dengan Kerajaan.

8. Saya telah berbual dengan beberapa orang yang tidak berparti dan juga yang berparti. Pendapat mereka semuanya sama - mereka tidak ingin diperintah oleh Kerajaan pimpinan perasuah.

9. Saya tanya jika tidak ingin apakah yang mereka boleh buat?

10. Mereka akan perhati dengan teliti pemilihan pemimpin UMNO bulan Mac ini.

11. Jika perwakilan UMNO memilih orang yang diketahui umum mengguna wang untuk dapat undi dan menjadi pemimpin UMNO mereka akan tentukan UMNO dan Barisan Nasional akan kalah Pilihanraya Umum ke-13.

12. Bolehkah mereka berbuat demikian? Jawab mereka lihat sahaja keputusan Pilihanraya Umum ke-12. BN kalah di lima buah negeri dan tidak dapat 2/3 di Parlimen kerana mereka memberi undi mereka kepada parti lawan.

13. Undi mereka, kata mereka adalah undi penentu. UMNO tidak boleh menang kerana undi ahli-ahli UMNO sahaja. UMNO perlu undi pengundi yang bukan ahli.

14. Kata mereka bukan sahaja yang bebas tidak akan beri undi pada calon pilihanraya UMNO, tetapi ramai juga ahli UMNO yang kecewa kerana kelakuan ahli dan pemimpin UMNO yang tidak akan mengundi calon UMNO dan BN. Mereka yakin kalau mereka percaya pemimpin UMNO yang dipilih Mac ini adalah perasuah, mereka akan tentukan UMNO akan kalah Pilihanraya Umum ke-13.

15. Pendapat ini disuarakan juga oleh orang Cina dan India. Kalau yang akan pimpin UMNO lepas Mac ini adalah yang terkenal mengguna wang untuk jadi ahli Majlis Tertinggi UMNO, mereka juga akan undi parti lawan.

16. UMNO tidak perlu ambilkira pendapat mereka ini. Bukankah UMNO parti yang terkuat di Malaysia? Takkanlah UMNO boleh dikalahkan!

Perak gives 48 hour ultimatum for EC to reverse decision

2009-02-03T19:12:00.000+08:00

IPOH, Feb 3 — Perak plunged deeper into crisis today when the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government declared today that it would give the federal Election Commission (EC) 48 hours to review its decision not to hold the Behrang and Changkat Jering by-elections.

Senior executive councillor Ngeh Koo Ham told reporters today that if the EC does not change its mind, the Perak government would take necessary action.

He declined to say what action would be taken but it would likely involve challenging the federal authority’s decision in court.

“The EC is usurping the function of the speaker and has misconstrued its role. It is there to conduct elections not to decide whether or not there should be an election,” said the Perak DAP chief.

The Perak government appears determined to force polls for the two state seats in order to bring an end to the political uncertainty which plagues the state now.

Perak state assembly Speaker V Sivakumar had declared the two seats vacant after receiving resignation letters from two PKR lawmakers Jamaluddin Radzi and Osman Jailu, who had gone missing last week and were expected to defect to the opposition Barisan Nasional (BN).

But the two renegade PKR men now claim the said resignation letters were undated documents they signed after PR parties won the state in last year’s general election.

The expected defection of the two will result in the state government being left with only a wafer-thin one seat majority in the state legislature.

State PR officials are hoping to use by-elections, which the allied parties are confident of winning, to make the defections moot.

But the EC announced today that the two men had written to the Speaker to say their resignations were not valid, and this has cast doubt in the matter.

The political intrigue in the state looks set to continue as both PR and BN are understood to be actively trying to lure each other’s assemblymen.

With this scenario, the Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin is likely to be also considering the possibility of dissolving the assembly and calling for fresh elections.

In a press conference at the Perak DAP headquarters here, Ngeh added that it was not up to the speaker nor the EC to conduct any enquiry into the validity of the letters but to act on them.

“A dispute can be taken up in court. We are not saying there should be no avenue for redress but that grievances should be taken to the courts,” he said.

He added that while PR did not want to pursue the matter in court, it would have to weigh up its options once the 48 hours were up.

He said that the EC’s refusal to call by-elections clearly showed biasness against the PR government although he sidestepped questions of whether the EC was siding with BN.

Ngeh however said that the accusation of bias would be retracted if the EC reversed its decision. - The Malaysian Insider

Perak political crisis - all options will have to be considered

2009-02-03T19:10:00.000+08:00

By Lim Kit Siang

The Election Commission has acted unconstitutionally outside its jurisdiction in refusing to recognize the decision of the Perak Speaker, V. Sivakumar on the vacancy of the Changkat Jering and Behrang state assembly seats and to hold by-elections.

As pointed out clearly by the former Election Commission Chairman, Tan Sri Rashid Rahman, the Election Commission’s constitutional duty is to act on the Perak Speaker’s official notification on the vacancy of the two state assembly seats and to call for by-elections to be held in the next 60 days.

It is no business of the Election Commission to act and usurp the jurisdiction of the courts to dispute the Speaker’s decision – as any such legal challenge should come from Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu if they want to challenge the legality of their resignations from their respective state assembly seats.

In this case, the Election Commission has even acted as a court of law – in a decision which is clearly influenced by the political interests and considerations of the Barisan Nasional.

With the further odds against the Pakatan Rakyat state government in Perak, all options to resolve the political crisis in Perak will have to be considered.

Pak Lah says PKR men in Perak may soon defect to UMNO

2009-02-01T19:18:00.000+08:00

By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today gave a strong indication that the Barisan Nasional may soon wrest back control of the Perak state government from the Pakatan Rakyat.

Abdullah responded in the affirmative when asked if there was any truth to the rumours that two PKR assemblymen in Perak would hop over to Umno soon.

"God willing, that may happen," he told reporters at the launch of the Federal Territories Day festival here this morning.

He added that it showed confidence, even among political rivals, that Umno is a party that fights for their ideals.

Abdullah refused to comment further when pressed to elaborate.

The outgoing Umno president said the leadership would make the announcements when things were confirmed.

The two coalitions are currently engaged in a tug-of-war over the loyalties of their members, which came to a head today, forcing the Perak state government leadership into an emergency meeting.

PKR Behrang assemblyman Jamaluddin Radzi and his Changkat Jering colleague Osman Jailu have been reported "missing" since the Umno Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasarudin Hashim publicly declared his intention to cross over to their party.

The PKR duo were at the centre of a bribery charge last year. Last August, Jamaludin and Osman, along with three others, were charged with 16 counts of corruption involving a RM180 million housing project spanning 36 hectares in Sri Iskandar, south of Ipoh.

Their trial is scheduled to begin on Feb 10. If convicted, they could face a maximum of 20 years in jail and a fine of not less than five times the amount of gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

According to rumours, they were offered to have the corruption charges against them dropped if they switched camps.

Abdullah was also asked to comment on the protest by Umno members against the investigation by the newly-minted Malaysian Anti-Coruption Commission (MACC) into allegations of money politics in the Malay-based party.

He clarified that the protest was not so much against the MACC's investigations into Umno as it against the methods allegedly employed by the anti-corruption team in extracting information.

An Umno member has complained of being tortured during the MACC questioning.

Abdullah said that the matter should be left to the police to investigate first before deciding on the next step.

Either you are with me, or you die

2009-02-01T19:14:00.000+08:00

Yes, in Malaysia, you do not work against those who walk in the corridors of power. If you oppose the powers-that-be you end up dead, disappeared, or in jail. That is if they can’t buy you.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Seremban Umno makes history

The Seremban Umno division yesterday made history as the only division in the party to hold three meetings after the first two attempts failed. The first meeting on Nov 9 was postponed after a fight broke out. The second meeting on Dec 27 was postponed.

Yesterday, Seremban Umno division chief Datuk Ishak Ismail retained his position, which he had held since 1988, when his opponent, Mohd Nor Awang, did not qualify to contest after facing bribery allegations. -- The New Straits Times, 1 February 2009

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Live by the sword, die by the sword

Meanwhile, as they try their best to get back Perak through foul means, in other places they run the risk of losing power. In Negeri Sembilan, all Pakatan Rakyat needs are three state seats to oust Barisan Nasional from the state. Umno is watching that state closely lest three Barisan Nasional State Assemblymen cross over to Pakatan Rakyat to help them form the new Negeri Sembilan state government. And Negeri Sembilan is Khairy Jamaluddin’s state, the state he hopes he will one day become Menteri Besar of before he journeys to Putrajaya to take the seat as Prime Minister of Malaysia some time after 2020.

But Khairy no longer has time to worry about Negeri Sembilan. Negeri Sembilan is something in the future. Negeri Sembilan can wait. Khairy has more immediate problems to worry about. -- The Corridors of Power (https://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/17434/84/)

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Umno’s disciplinary problems

What makes it so difficult for the tribunal (the Umno Disciplinary Board) to effectively carry out its functions is the selective prosecution it must practice in the discharge of its duties. Actions can only be taken if required or useful to certain top leaders. The tribunal lacks clear mandate from the party management in dealing with money politics, Umno's euphemism for corrupt practice. -- Datuk Zaid Ibrahim

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Either you are with me or you are against me, said President Bush Junior. Either you are with me or you die, says Umno. Hey, what the fork, can’t we agree to disagree? (Ha! I bet you thought I was going to use the ‘other’ four-letter ‘F’ word. Gotcha!).

The objective of the Umno exercise is very simple, so simple that many within Umno do not see it. That’s because they try to look for the ‘udang sebalik batu’ (the prawn behind the stone; meaning, the hidden agenda).

There is no udang sebalik batu or hidden agenda. The agenda is very clear and ‘transparent’. Bring down Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s key people so that, come March 2009, the Prime Minister will be all alone and isolated, and would therefore have to step down and hand over to Najib Tun Razak as planned.

Negeri Sembilan is Khairy Jamaluddin’s, the Prime Minister’s son-in-law’s home base. And that is where he is building his political fortunes so that in the next election (say in 2012-2013) he can contest a state seat and become the next Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan. Then, say around 2017-2018 or so, he will contest a parliament seat and will be on the way to become the Prime Minister by the age of 40 as he aspires.

Make no bones about it. Khairy can make it and I will place my money on that happening (unless Pakatan Rakyat kicks out Barisan Nasional and takes over the federal government first). But he can make it only if Najib does not take over as Prime Minister in March 2009 and if Pak Lah continues as Prime Minister until the next general election.

Khairy knows this. Najib knows this. And probably nearly every Malaysian, Pak Lah included, knows this as well. So, do you think Najib is going to allow this to happen? There is room for only one at the top. And Najib wants this to be him, not Khairy.

Even the CEO of Air Asia knows that Khairy’s days are numbered, or so he thinks, and he is quickly distancing himself from Khairy as his Malaysiakini interview has revealed. “The biggest mistake of my life, and to be fair to this guy, is (when) Khairy Jamaluddin’s team came to propose sponsoring the MyTeam (football project). Honestly, it was the biggest mistake of my life,” said Tony Fernandez.

When the rats begin to desert the ship then you certainly know that the ship is about to sink. And there is another rat that has deserted what he believes to be the sinking ship. And this rat is the Honorary Consul of Mongolia to Malaysia, Syed Rahman Alhabshi.

When I first met Syed Rahman it was during a meeting I was having with Zahid Md Arip and Datuk Kamal Amir at The Dome in the Bangsar Shopping Centre. I had known Zahid, the grandson of Tun Ghafar Baba, since 1998. I know his uncle, Tamrin, even longer, probably since the 1980s. But that was the first time I met Datuk Kamal.

As we were talking, Syed Rahman passed by and Datuk Kamal invited him to join us, which he did. It was then that I realised who he was. Okay, he is not a dashing-looking sort of fellow and it is not quite like his face stands out in the crowd. So I did not recognise him at first until I was told who he is.

What Syed Rahman told us was no different from what Bala said is his Statutory Declaration. The long and short of it all, what Syed Rahman revealed was that Najib and Rosmah are involved in Altantuya’s murder and that Najib was in fact having an affair with the now dead Mongolian beauty.

I met Syed Rahman once or twice after that at the Mahbol Mamak restaurant in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, this time with a larger crowd that included Jadawi Datuk Ghazali and his wife, Salleh Yassin, a military intelligence chap called Major Salleh, Aspan Alias (an Umno stalwart), Naqib, and about a dozen or so others. It was one huge party of people.

Syed Rahman has the habit of shooting his mouth off. He would tell all and sundry and every man and his dog the story of Najib and Altantuya, if they cared to give him their ears. He was Malaysia’s one and only tukang karut (storyteller). In fact, he even gave press conferences and related in great detail and with much gusto his disgust with how the Malaysian police and the judiciary are handling the Altantuya murder investigation and trial. It appeared like he was going to single-handedly bring down Najib.

Altantuya’s father, Dr Steve Shariibuu, was so impressed with Syed Rahman’s performance that he gave him an entire dossier that would be able to implicate Najib in Altantuya’s murder, or at least implicate him in an affair with her. “I trusted him so much,” explained Dr Shariibuu, “and did not suspect he would betray me.”

According to Syed Rahman, who never denied that Dr Shariibuu had given him this thick dossier, he had handed it to the police to help them in their investigation. He said he never thought of making any copies. And this is the same thing Dr Shariibuu said when asked if he had made any copies of the dossier.

How convenient. Only one copy of the very damaging dossier exists and it has been handed to the police. Neither Syed Rahman nor Dr Shariibuu made any copies. Guess what has now happened to that only one copy of damaging evidence? No, no prize for the right guess.

Syed Rahman said the IGP spoke to him and advised him to ‘leave the country’ if Najib ever becomes Prime Minister. Would the IGP do such a thing? Was Syed Rahman telling the truth or was he preparing the ground to eventually jump ship and he needed the ‘justification’ to do so?

Whatever it may be, Syed Rahman did jump to the other side, whether under threat or inducement. And in late August 2008, a few days before the Permatang Pauh by-election, he went before national television to deny all the ‘lies’ and to endorse Najib and to proclaim Najib's innocence in the Altantuya murder.

Why this about-turn? Was he threatened like private investigator Bala and the two missing PKR State Assemblymen -- who are all still missing even as you read this? Or was he offered a large amount of money, too large to say no to? Remember, when they tried to convince the Umno State Assemblyman who had crossed over to PKR earlier this week to return to Umno, they reminded him about what happened to Altantuya and Bala. In short, if he refused to return to Umno then expect the same fate.

Yes, in Malaysia, you do not work against those who walk in the corridors of power. If you oppose the powers-that-be you end up dead, disappeared, or in jail. That is if they can’t buy you. Those in Umno face sacking from the party as many have discovered. You just do not oppose those who imagine themselves as God.

Take the money or die. Take the money or get sacked. Take the money or go to jail. That is the Umno way of doing things. And many have fallen victim to this ‘gentle persuasion’. And those who do not heed this ‘advice’ will suffer. And if you have a low tolerance for pain you succumb to the cohesion. And if you are stubborn you face the consequences.

It may already be a foregone conclusion that the two PKR State Assemblymen from Perak would rather not go to jail. Never mind if they face fabricated charges and were set up. You still go to jail. Would you rather go to jail or accept power and plenty of money? Many would rather choose power and money over jail, unfortunately.

Anyway, in case anyone would like to know, Barisan Nasional still needs one more Perak State Assemblyman or woman to form the state government even if the two PKR State Assemblymen cross over to Umno. And the going price for the last State Assemblyman or woman they need to complete the takeover of Perak is RM15 million. Yes, that’s right, the price has gone up from RM10 million to RM15 million. And they need just one more State Assemblyman or woman. Any takers?

And while you mull on that, also mull on the following. Was Kugan killed while in police custody because he was a car thief or because he was a witness to the car-stealing ring that involved senior police officers? This is what the family is asking. And the first autopsy showed he died because of water in the lungs. Hmm, in some countries you die of water in the lungs while under police custody because they submerge your head in the toilet bowl and flush the toilet. Most interesting indeed would you not agree?

Okay, back to Syed Rahman. What was Syed Rahman’s motivation for the U-turn? Did they threaten him or was he paid a lot of money? Maybe this photograph of him with Najib can shed some light on the matter. Does he look frightened? Does it appear like he is an unwilling participant? Or is this a photo of a very happy man who has just made millions by endorsing Najib and proclaiming to the world that Najib is innocent and is not involved in the Altantuya murder?

You be the judge.

Paradise in a political party?

2009-01-31T21:17:00.000+08:00

(Sin Chew Daily) I feel sorry for Tan Sri Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen as his well-intended suggestion has been badly criticised.

He is an old-fashioned politician and he could not fit into today's political phenomenon. Many party members of the older generation have been addicted to money politics while the young ones learn from the elders and certainly, they will outperform their teachers.

Look at the crowd which demonstrated in front of the Putra World Trade Centre. They protested against the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) arrest of Umno members for fraud in the party election. They also protested against Tengku Ahmad's suggestion.

For them, frauds and corruption for power and money are justified. Right and wrong could be reversed and there is no difference between black and white.

They are young and they are having such thoughts, I believe that they are going to bring a greater national disaster when they grow older.

Isn't Tengku Ahmad's suggestion to abolish Umno's main wings, including Puteri Umno, Putera Umno, Umno Youth and Wanita Umno reasonable?

Many good children have been thrown into a huge dye vat, could they keep being themselves and not being affected?

Do the British Conservative Party and Labour Party have a youth wing? Do the American Republican Party and Democratic Party need a bureau for young women? Can you find a bureau for young men in the Australian Labor Party and Liberal Party?

In these countries, young people may concerned about or participate in the nation's politics. But they could not be made use by politics and at the same time, they are not allowed to use political parties as a platform for promotion.

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of China used to have these bureaus to attract young ones as they needed a huge number of enthusiastic members to start a revolution. They even wanted to set up a children bureau if they could, so they could have early brainwashing.

Radical political parties would make use of young people while speculative young people would as well make use of these political parties. Together, they turned the country upside down. I believe everyone would know what are the consequences.

Umno followed the mode of revolutionary parties to set up Umno Youth so that it could mobilise all available manpower to advocate Malay Nationalism and fight against colonialism. And other parties, including MCA, MIC, Pas, Gerakan, DAP and even PKR just followed the suit. These young people are supported by their parties and by calling themselves the racial pioneers, they dared to voice out many of the most radical and extreme remarks.

The revolutionary era is over, do we still need young people to make trouble? Today, the party with the most young members gets the least support from young people as the majority of young people no longer accept such concept.

Schools, instead of political parties are the paradise for children. They should concentrate in studies and when they reach their puberty, just go and date; those who wish to be a big star could take part in singing contests and those who are fetish, just hug their Hello Kitty. (By TAY TIAN YAN/ Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily)

Live by the sword, die by the sword

2009-01-31T21:03:00.000+08:00

These two PKR men are now missing. They have been missing since the last four days and no one knows where they are. But they are not really missing as such. They are safely in the hands of Umno. And Umno wants them to agree to a deal.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Buy them, or kill them! That is the theme for the Year of the Ox. And that is the theme Umno lives by. And if you live by the sword, so will it be that way you die, by the sword. Make no bones about it. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.

I remember the story told to me 20 years ago by an Umno stalwart. A certain one-time Menteri Besar of a certain state was on his deathbed. Friends and relatives read his last rites by his bedside, basically reading the Surah Yassin for he who is about to die.

But he would not die. He lingered on and on, not wanting to die and yet barely alive. His mouth would move when spoon-fed with soup. Yes, he who lived a life of makan suap (corruption) was being makan suap (spoon-fed) the last days of his life here on earth.

It soon became very tiring. Here was a man supposed to die whom they were reading his last rites. But he would not go away. He stayed on, neither alive nor dead. How to make him leave?

They called in a religious man, a man most respected by the Muslim community. The religious man told the family to open the safe and take out some of the millions stashed away in it. This was no time for discussion or debate. They did as they were told.

The religious man took out handfuls of cash from the safe and stuffed them into a pillowcase. The pillowcase, now full and bursting at its seams, was handed to the man who would not die, the man lying on his deathbed the last one week, he who was once the all-powerful and most corrupted Menteri Besar of this extremely rich state, the frail and very sick man who was not alive yet would not die.

The once very powerful and extremely rich man hugged his pillowcase stuffed with money, broke into a smile, gave a deep sigh, and closed his eyes and breathed his last breath. He was now gone from this world and entered the next.

Yes, this one-time Menteri Besar lived for money. He would only die with his money gripped tightly in his arms. He lived by the sword. He died by the sword. Money was his ‘God’. From money he came, to money he returned. Not dust to dust and ashes to ashes, but cash to cash. And his heaven was the printing press where they print money. That is where he resides in his ‘next world’.

Umno is not a political party. No doubt that is what it once was. But, that, it no longer is. Umno is now a trading house. It is a business. It is the new-age East India Company of Malaya or the Noble House of Hong Kong. It is what the old British companies used to do 200 years ago in this region.

The old Colonial masters used to buy and sell power. And to buy and sell power you need to buy and sell people. And people who could not be bought and sold would be incarcerated or killed. That is the Colonial game. That is the way the British played the power game. But the British are no longer around. They are no longer Malaya’s Colonial masters. We have a new Colonial master. And that Colonial master is called Umno.

I too was offered a deal. Work for the incoming regime, those who will be the new Colonial masters in March 2009, and become filthy rich. To resist is futile. Power can’t be resisted. To resist would mean to incur the wrath of the new masters who will be so in March 2009.

The alternative would be imprisonment. The two choices are simple: work for the powers-that-be and become rich or go to jail. I chose jail. So, two weeks later, on 12 September 2008, they came to my house and sent me to the Kamunting Detention Centre.

But I had good lawyers. And my lawyers did something never before done in the almost 50 years history of the Internal Security Act. They managed to convince the court that my detention was illegal and that I should not be in Kamunting but instead should be sent home. And the judge in the Shah Alam High Court agreed. So he sent me home.

The government is now appealing the Shah Alam High Court decision. They want the Federal Court in Putrajaya to declare that the Shah Alam High Court judge erred and that I should not have been released. This is the final stage of my fight. If they win, I get sent back to Kamunting. There is no further recourse. There is no higher court for me to continue my fight. The Federal Court is the last stop. It is the court of the last resort. I either remain free or I get detained indefinitely.

I asked for seven judges -- at the very least, five. The Federal Court has refused my application. My fate now lies in the hands of only three judges. Seven judges would have been safer. Five would not have been too bad. With only three judges my chances are slimmer. And three men are going to decide whether I continue sleeping in my comfortable bedroom the next few years, until the day I die, or I get to spend my last days in a hellhole.

I could have taken the money. I could have enjoyed the remaining years of my life in comfort. Now, I face the risk of spending my final days as the life of a detainee. But that is how Umno works. They try to buy you. And if they can’t buy you, they kill you. And if killing is not an option, they at least incarcerate you. That is the only game they know how to play.

When Pakatan Rakyat formed the Perak and Selangor state governments soon after 8 March 2008, Umno quickly offered PAS a deal. If PAS was prepared to form a coalition with Umno in Perak and Selangor, they agreed to allow PAS to become the Menteri Besar of these two states. As a sweetener, Umno also agreed that the Islamic law of Hudud be implemented in Perak and Selangor. Umno will give PAS its Hudud that it seeks.

It was a sweet deal. Not only will PAS be running Perak and Selangor and will hold the post of the Chief Operation Officers of these two states, but PAS will also realise its dream of seeing Hudud as the law of the land where it had failed in Kelantan 20 years ago and Terengganu ten years ago.

Sweet deal as it may be, PAS said no. Realising its dream and being in charge is one thing, but they also have to consider their loyalty to their partners, PKR and DAP. They will not betray their partners in Pakatan Rakyat for any amount of money. So PAS said no.

Umno then worked on DAP since PAS was no longer a possibility. The offer was RM10 million for each DAP man who was prepared to cross over. The DAP men and women all declined the extremely attractive offer. RM10 million is a nice figure. That kind of money will go a long way. But there is more to life than money. And no DAP man and woman took the offer.

Okay, buying Perak and Selangor State Assemblymen and women from Pakatan Rakyat is not possible. No one is for sale. So, if you can’t buy them, then kill them. And Umno got a certain MIC man who married his boss’s wife after sleeping with her whenever the boss was out of town to do what he is most good at. They wanted PKR men fixed up.

That was easy. He is an expert at fixing up people. He fixed up his boss. He fixed up his boss’s wife who is now his wife. He can fix up PKR men easily enough. He asked to meet two PKR men. He then arranged for his driver to carry a bagful of money to the appointed meeting place with instructions to drop the bag under the table unseen and unnoticed. He did just as he was told.

No sooner had the bagful of money hit the ground when the Anti-Corruption Agency officers rushed in, picked up the bag, and arrested the two PKR men on allegations of corruption. They did not know what hit them. They did not even realise the bagful of money under the table.

These two PKR men are now missing. They have been missing since the last four days and no one knows where they are. But they are not really missing as such. They are safely in the hands of Umno. And Umno wants them to agree to a deal. Accept RM10 million each and cross over to Umno or else go to jail on corruption charges -- the same deal they offered me and which I declined and which resulted in my detention under the Internal Security Act on 12 September 2008.

The day the two PKR men were picked up and kept under ‘protective custody’, one Umno State Assemblyman crossed over to PKR. That spoilt the whole plan. They needed just two PKR State Assemblymen to bring down the Pakatan Rakyat state government in Perak. Now, with their own Umno man crossing over to PKR, two will no longer be possible. They now need three.

They offered the ex-Umno, now-PKR State Assemblyman the post of Menteri Besar. If he crosses back to Umno and Barisan Nasional grabs the state, he will be made the new Menteri Besar. They need him back or else it would be pointless to blackmail the two PKR State Assemblymen now facing the prospects of jail. Even if they took the RM10 million in exchange for jail, Umno would still not be the government in Perak. They are still one State Assemblyman short.

What irony. Even as they kidnap two PKR State Assemblymen and put a sword at their throats, an Umno State Assemblyman crosses over to thwart their plan. They ‘gently persuade’ the ex-Umno man in their efforts to get him to cross back to Umno. “Altantuya was killed and Bala has disappeared,’ they told him. They are ‘worried’ something may also happen to him if he does not cross back to Umno.

Yes, Umno is in the power business. They buy and sell power. They also buy and sell people in their effort to attain or maintain power. But even as they hatch their evil plots, their own people cross over to the other side. And that caught them with their pants down. Those who live by the sword die by the sword. And that is what happened to Umno in Perak.

Meanwhile, as they try their best to get back Perak through foul means, in other places they run the risk of losing power. In Negeri Sembilan, all Pakatan Rakyat needs are three state seats to oust Barisan Nasional from the state. Umno is watching that state closely lest three Barisan Nasional State Assemblymen cross over to Pakatan Rakyat to help them form the new Negeri Sembilan state government. And Negeri Sembilan is Khairy Jamaluddin’s state, the state he hopes he will one day become Menteri Besar of before he journeys to Putrajaya to take the seat as Prime Minister of Malaysia some time after 2020.

But Khairy no longer has time to worry about Negeri Sembilan. Negeri Sembilan is something in the future. Negeri Sembilan can wait. Khairy has more immediate problems to worry about.

Khairy is no longer in the lead for Umno Youth Leader. Khir Toyo is now in the lead. Of course, it has cost Khir Toyo a colossal amount of money. He has thus far spent hundreds of millions to ensure that he is the hot favourite for Umno Youth Leader. But it is money well spent, as far as he is concerned. After all, it is not his money. It is not money he made pulling out teeth as a dentist. It is money he stole all those years he was the Menteri Besar of Selangor.

Word is out that in April 2009, as soon as Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hands the Prime Ministership to Najib Tun Razak, Khairy will be dead and buried. And Khairy too knows this. But what can he do? He is going to die a day earlier to Pak Lah’s death. He will not be attending Pak Lah’s funeral. Pak Lah will be attending his. This, Najib will see to it.

In the recent Umno Supreme Council meeting, an anti-Pak Lah demonstration was organised in front of the Umno headquarters in the PWTC. It was made to appear like it was organised by NGOs. But the hidden hand of Najib was at work.

Najib suspects that Pak Lah might not hand over the chair to him in March 2009 after all. And the message he wants to send Pak Lah is that he must let go in March and not a day beyond that. So the anti-Pak Lah demonstration was organised to drive this point home.

Many of Pak Lah’s right-hand men are now facing corruption charges. According to the Umno Disciplinary Board, there are 900 cases of ‘money politics’ -- meaning corruption. But they are pursuing only a handful. And these ‘handfuls’ are those aligned to Pak Lah.

They want Pak Lah’s men all out of action before March 2009. Then, come March 2009, Pak Lah will be all alone and isolated. Not only his key men, even Khairy Jamaluddin must be brought down. That would be the only way to ensure that Pak Lah will really go in March 2009 as planned. One Umno man detained for ‘corruption’ alleges that they tortured him and forced him to implicate Khairy as the man behind the move to buy votes.

So, people like Norza Zakaria, Ali Rustam, Azeez Rahman, and the man with two Muhammads in his name, all have their hands full, as does Khairy. They are all fighting their own little battles to stay out of jail. They have no time to worry about Pak Lah. Their own survival is at stake. They are now focused on saving their own necks, leaving Pak Lah to sort out his own problems.

Yes, Umno moves with such brutality. Become rich or go to jail. Retire in comfort or behind the high walls of prisons and detention centres. That is the modus operandi for Umno. They take no prisoners. They kill on the battlefield. It worked for the British Colonialists 200 years ago. It still works for Umno today. But those who live by the sword die by the sword. And Umno is going to discover this soon the hard way.

Meanwhile, watch as those who once walked in the corridors of power fall, one by one. There will be many bodies. You will not see any wounded. It is either you are with us or you are dead meat. There is nothing in between. Who are going to become the victors and who will be those vanquished? No one knows at this stage. But Pak Lah might still stay on beyond March 2009. He has no choice. With the stakes too high and with the ‘winner takes all and loser losses all’ game that Umno is playing, there can only be one left standing at the end of the match. - Malaysia Today

No action against Ahmad Ismail

2009-01-31T21:00:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — Datuk Ahmad Ismail, the man who put race relations on a knife’s edge with his comments about Chinese in Malaysia in August last year, will remain a free man — for the time being.

The police have wrapped up investigations into a sedition charge against him but thanks to the intervention of senior party leaders, the veteran Penang Umno politician is not likely to see the inside of the courtroom anytime soon.

Umno sources told The Malaysian Insider that several delegations of party officials from Penang made representations to the Umno leadership on behalf of Ahmad over the past week, arguing that he has already paid a severe price for calling Chinese “immigrants’’ and “squatters’’ during a political rally in the run-up to the Permatang Pauh by-election.

Ahmad was suspended from holding any positions in Umno for three years by the party’s supreme council. His supporters also pointed out that charging him in court would merely re-ignite debate on race and religious issues and further complicate relations between component parties in Barisan Nasional.

Party officials were also concerned on the impact action against Ahmad could have on the fluid political situation in Umno.

“There is still a concern that some state assemblymen and MPs may be considering jumping over to the opposition. Ahmad Ismail is a popular figure in Umno. He may be vilified outside the party but among party members, there is a great deal of respect for standing up for Malay rights,” said a party official.

Earlier this week, The Malaysian Insider reported that the police had completed their probe into the Umno warlord and that the Attorney-General’s Chambers was on the cusp of ordering that the politician be charged with sedition.

News of this impending action filtered to the party rank and file in Penang and they made a beeline to Putrajaya to plead and cajole on behalf of Ahmad. - The Malaysian Insider

Umno discipline and ethics - rules that apply to some but not to others

2009-01-30T20:24:00.000+08:00

By Zaid Ibrahim

1. The call by Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen, Chairman of The Disciplinary Tribunal, for UMNO to disband its youth, wanita and puteri wings, as part of the measures to curb corruption, has attracted much flack from the party’s senior leaders including Dato Najib Razak. Instead of brushing aside the suggestion, as is the standard response of the party when confronted with something new, they should reflect and try to understand what Tengku Din was trying to tell them. Tengku Din was exasperated with the extent of the corruption permeating the party at all levels.

He was saying that the Disciplinary Tribunal alone could no longer cope with the practice and culture of corruption within the party. As a loyal party man he was trying to politely tell the party leaders that UMNO could no longer be salvaged under the present structure, and under the present crop of leaders I might add.

2. What makes it so difficult for the Tribunal to effectively carry out its functions is the selective prosecution it must practice in the discharge of its duties. Actions can only be taken if required or useful to certain top leaders. The Tribunal lacks clear mandate from the party management in dealing with money politics, UMNO’s euphemism for corrupt practice. When I was suspended for allegedly being involved in money politics, I knew that Tengku Din, although Chairman, was not involved in making the decision. Someone else in the management wanted me out. So an UMNO member will be subject to investigation and harassment if he does not belong to the right camp. Many others will escape with impunity and they can bribe the delegates as much as they want and not get the attention of the Tribunal. So even Tengku Din now realises the futility of having the Disciplinary Tribunal to deal with corrupt practice. I therefore urge Tengku Din to retire and resign from the Tribunal.

3. UMNO leaders who are critical of Tengku Din should also be mindful that they are not supposed to criticise him or the Tribunal. Look what happened to me for criticising the Tribunal and for not wanting to apologise when asked. I got suspended because they said I violated party ethics. UMNO got ethics? Well that’s the true story. So they same fate will fall on Dato Najib and his friends in the Supreme Council. They too may get suspended if they continue to criticise the Disciplinary tribunal or its Chairman.This is of course wishful thinking, as there are rules in UMNO that apply to some but not to others.

Samad Said: Jika demo gagal, undi protes PPSMI

2009-01-30T20:14:00.000+08:00

Jika demonstrasi besar membantah dasar pengajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam bahasa Inggeris Mac ini masih gagal menarik perhatian kerajaan, pilihanraya umum akan datang boleh dijadikan penentuan akhirnya, kata seorang tokoh sasterawan.

"Jika masih gagal, ia perlu diterjemahkan dalam pilihanraya, sebagai kuasa yang terakhir.

"Gunalah undi secara bijaksana," kata Sasterawan Negara, Datuk A Samad Said kepada Malaysiakini hari ini.

Beliau diminta mengulas tindakan lanjut yang perlu diambil sekiranya perhimpunan raksasa 100,000 rakyat – ala Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih) – anjuran Gabungan Mansuhkan PPSMI (GMP) masih tidak dihiraukan kerajaan.

GMP yang dipengerusikan bekas ketua pengarah Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) Datuk Dr Hassan Ahmad merancang mengadakan perhimpunan itu pada 7 Mac bagi menyerahkan memorandum kepada Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-pertuan Agong bagi memohon campur tangan baginda berhubung isu itu.

Sebuah lagi perkumpulan aktivis bahasa Gabungan Penulis Nasional (Gapena) yang dianggotai 24 persatuan penulis di seluruh negara turut mengancam mengadakan "Perarakan Keranda" – dinamakan Keranda 152 – bagi tujuan yang sama, dijadual pertengahan bulan depan.

Gapena juga tetap dengan pendiriannya mengheret kerajaan ke mahkamah berhubung pelaksanaan dasar itu sejak tujuh tahun lalu yang didakwanya melanggar Perkara 152, Perlembagaan Persekutuan – yang menggariskan bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa kebangsaan.

Berhubung rancangan GMP berhimpun besar-besaran, A Samad berkata tindakan generasi muda daripada pelbagai kumpulan bagi tujuan menyatakan bantahan terhadap dasar itu memang wajar.

"Wajar kerana semua sumber lain telah digunakan, tetapi tidak dihiraukan," katanya, yang lebih mesra dipanggil Pak Samad.

Bekas editor kanan Berita Harian dan pengarang pelbagai genre kreatif itu juga menyangkal tanggapan bahawa tindakan berdemonstrasi seperti GMP atau Gapena sebagai "tidak rasional".

Mengulas sama ada aktivis bahasa dan sastera veteran wajar sama-sama turun padang berdemonstrasi, A Samad berkata:

"Orang tua berjuang daripada sisi yang lain. Tetapi tidak bererti tidak berjuang. Sekarang giliran angkatan muda."

Generasi muda sekarang, tambahnya, daripada pelbagai organisasi dan parti politik termasuk Umno mendukung perjuangan bersama itu.

Selasa lalu, A Samad hadir dalam mesyuarat GMP bagi membincangkan siri bantahan terhadap PPSMI di bangunan Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri (SUK) Selangor.

Turut terlibat dalam perbincangan itu beberapa tokoh sastera dan politik, termasuklah Timbalan Presiden PAS Nasharuddin Mat Isa yang menganggotai jawatankuasa induk GMP.

Ditanya sama ada kemunculannya itu boleh menjejaskan imejnya sebagai tokoh sasterawan yang tidak partisan selama ini, A Samad menjelaskan, kehadiran beliau berdasarkan isu, bukan pihak yang mendukung gerakan tersebut.

"Saya tidak boleh terlepas daripada apa yang bergelora (dasar PPSMI)," jelasnya.

"Orang kiri jemput saya pergi (hadir), orang kanan jemput saya pergi."

Esok, kira-kira 500 pencinta bahasa dijangka memenuhi ruang depan kompleks membeli-belah Sogo di Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman membantah pelaksanaan PPSMI.

Beberapa tokoh utama bahasa seperti penyair Dinsman, bekas profesor bahasa Dr Abdullah Hassan dan penulis Ainon Mohd akan turut serta.

Pak Samad diura-urakan akan turut serta buat pertama kali dalam program sebegitu.

Sewaktu ditanya penyertaannya esok, sasterawan kelahiran Singapura itu bagaimanapun masih mahu berteka-teki.

"Awak tengoklah esok," katanya, sambil ketawa kecil.

A Samad menerima gelaran tertinggi dalam dunia kesusasteraan tanah air pada 1986.

Selain itu, beliau yang terkenal dengan novel Salina – mengisahkah keperitan hidup seorang pelacur di Singapura akibat perang – turut dianugerahkan SEA Write Award daripada kerajaan Thailand. - Malaysiakini

Nizar kembali meletup

2009-01-30T20:13:00.000+08:00

Assalamualaikum,
Henry Gurney telah menyebabkan seorang ahli istana sebak kerana memperkenalkan pembinaan kampung baru Cina. Dengan mengambil tanah negara. Sebenarnya isu tersebut adalah satu daripada ujian yang sedang dilalui oleh Menteri Besar Perak ini untuk mematangkan beliau sebagai seorang statesman.

Kita dapat baca duduknya beliau dikerusi menteri Besar tersebut bukanlah kerana kekuatan PAS, tetapi oleh faktor lain. Hakikatnya Allah menghendaki beliau menduduki kerusi tersebut.

Menganugerahkan tanah kepada penduduk kampung baru Cina di negeri Perak telah ditentang oleh pelbgai pihak, kononya membelakang Kanun Tanah Negara. Tetapi beliau terus dengan keputusannya. Menganugerahkan title tanah 999 tahun kelihatan seolah tangan beliau dipulas oleh DAP, tetapi beliau teruskan keputusannya. Kerana beliau ingin memberikan status kekal kepada penerima.

Sara bara dan duka nestapa serta susah payah masyarakat Cina yang dibura dan diherdik British di zaman darurat tidak banyak didokumentasikan dalam penulisan berbahasa Melayu. Seolah orang Melayu sengaja tidak peka dengan nestapa yang telah menimpa masyarakat tersebut. Nizar membela keperitan mereka setelah lebih 60 tahun mereka diazab dan disisih.

Mengapa perlu mereka dibela? sebab mereka adalah warganegara Malaysia. Pemerintahan sebelum ini tidak memberi peruah langsung kepada mereka. Dan kepentingan Orang Melayu langsung tidak terjejas dengan pembelaan ini.

Ada pihak yang menggunakan saluran tertentu untuk membantutkan usaha Nizar menukarkan Pengarah Pengarah Jabatan Agama Islam Perak Dato' Haji Jamry Sury. Beliau telah akur, dan dengan penuh santun dan rendah diri merombak semula arahan terdahulu. Peristiwa ini sahaja sebenarnya telah cukup untuk menurunkan beliau dari kerusi menteri besar, walaupun dari segi undang undang arahan awal beliau adalah betul.

Tetapi beliau terus bertahan.

Masuknya Dato' Nasarudin ADUN Bota ke PKR telah membenihkan spekulasi baru. Sama seperti kongelomerat RENONG memakan syarikat ibunya dalam satu maneuver bisnis yang dikenali sebagai reverse takeover, kelicik politik yang ini juga cuba dikaitkan dengan reverse takeover kerusi Menteri Besar Perak.

Saya baca ini tidak akan berlaku. Pertama maneuver ini bukan dalam bisnis. Kedua implikasi politik terlalu besar dan tidak menentu sekiranya ia dilakukan, sedangkan PR, terutama PKR dan PAS sedang menonggang gelombang populariti yang tinggi sekarang. Mengapa perlu rosakkannya?

Maneuver RENONG tidak akan berlaku di sini.

Cuma Nizar masih belum lincah berpolitik high profil. Belum perlu lagi dimasyhurkan sekian ramainya ADUN/MP BN yang akan lompat ke PR.

Nizar perlu belajar hal timing. - Hamirdin

KLIA East called off

2009-01-30T19:59:00.000+08:00

(The Malaysian Insider) It is confirmed. The controversial KLIA East project is off, stillborn at the drawing board because it had become too costly politically for the administration.

But it was not all bad news for Air Asia, the region’s largest budget carrier and the promoter of the idea to build the RM1.6 billion airport in Labu. The carrier managed to extract some concessions from the government, namely that Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB) build a new terminal by 2011 and consult Air Asia on the design and other issues pertaining to the operations of the facility.

Several government officials told The Malaysian Insider that MAHB was told to lower charges for the budget carrier, complete the construction on time and make the new terminal an energy efficient complex.

Today’s meeting was chaired by Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and attended by Air Asia’s Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, officials from the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning Unit and MAHB.

When contacted, Fernandes said: “It was a positive meeting and we got a good hearing from everyone.’’ He declined to go into the specifics of the meeting.

Najib called for today’s meeting as a result of the firestorm of criticisms which followed an announcement last month that the government had approved a plan by Air Asia to build a new LCCT in Labu. Critics assailed the government saying that this decision would hurt KLIA’s ambitions of becoming a regional hub. They also argued that if a new facility had to be built, it should be built within KLIA.

Air Asia countered by saying that MAHB was unable to build a new LCCT by 2011 to cater for its growth. It pointed out that MAHB was only able to build a new LCCT by 2014.

The government fearing a political backlash and unwilling to test its popularity in this more challenging political climate began sending out feelers a couple of weeks ago that it was looking for a compromise solution.

It received a helping hand from Sime Darby Berhad, the government-linked company which informed the government that it was only willing to sell a tract of land in Labu to Air Asia and was not providing any financing for the project.

This move threw into doubt whether Air Asia could raise the financing for the RM1.6 billion terminal and the RM700 million connectivity infrastructure.

Government officials, who were briefed about today’s meeting, said that MAHB and Air Asia will have to come back in two weeks with firm plans for the new LCCT.

“The DPM played the role of an honest broker. He did not take sides but wanted to make sure that national interest was served. This could only happen if the new LCCT was built in KLIA but Air Asia’s legitimate interests and concerns were addressed,” a government official told The Malaysian Insider.

It may have been a happy ending for all parties but this episode certainly raised some serious questions over decision-making in the government.

And begs the question on why MAHB and Air Asia could not be forced to the negotiating table earlier.

Sarawak the key mood for change

2009-01-30T19:38:00.000+08:00

By Angus Grigg (Australian Financial Review)

SYDNEY, Jan 30 — Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud drives a cream Rolls-Royce, wears a gem the size of a walnut on his ring finger and is said to have once paid US$2 million (RM7 million) for a piano owned by Liberace.

The Chief Minister of Sarawak, like the late American entertainer, is certainly flamboyant and he's been well rewarded for his 28-year rule of the resource-rich province. But his time at the top is coming to an end.

Having celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary last week, the man known as the "White Haired Raja" has begun talking about succession. The likely departure of the 72-year-old is sure to shake up local politics in Sarawak, but it could also have a profound impact at the national level.

The theory is that if Taib were to step down, fresh elections could be required in the state, as any successor would lack the influence to hold the local legislature together. This is an opportunity for national Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his three-party coalition, which has been working hard for some time to woo voters outside Peninsular Malaysia.

If Anwar's PKR and its allies were to control the Sarawak state assembly, analysts believe it would be only a matter of time before MPs from Sarawak tapped the public mood and crossed the floor in Kuala Lumpur. This would hand the government to Anwar and bring about the biggest political change in Malaysia since independence in 1957.

Such a scenario is some way off, but it's the one confronting prime minister-in-waiting Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

That's why his government pulled out all stops to win a by-election in the state of Terengganu on Jan 17. It failed, handing another seat to the opposition, but the contest in the country's north-east is a case study of what to expect when the battle for Sarawak begins.

Even by Malaysia's lofty standards of political patronage, the Kuala Terengganu by-election was expensive. Najib and his ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, desperate to arrest its electoral fortunes, tried to spend its way to victory. The numbers are both appalling and beguiling.

All told, Najib, who is expected to take over from Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in March, handed out A$4.4 billion (RM10.5 billion) to voters. That works out at nearly A$55,000 for each voter in the seaside electorate. The big-ticket items were the establishment of a A$4.2 billion trust to manage the state's oil revenue and the well-timed handover of A$169 million in petroleum royalties.

But this was not the headline act. In a ceremony the local press described as "controversial", Najib Razak handed out A$25 million in government contracts to 600 local firms at a party rally. Even more cynically, the government gave A$21 million to Chinese schools in the district, just as it looked like the parents of these students would determine the election.

In the end, they didn't and the government lost because Malay voters deserted it, while the ever-cautious Chinese either sat out the election or voted for the opposition. And while a 2.5 per cent swing against the government is hardly a landslide, the by-election loss would be very worrying for Najib given the amount of money thrown at the problem.

"The government's traditional strategy of just buying votes failed," said political analyst Wong Chin Huat, who lecturers at Monash University's campus in Kuala Lumpur. "The win by the opposition showed the mood for change still exists in Malaysia."

This mood for change is also breaking down traditional rivalries in a country long divided by race and religion. The opposition coalition won in Terengganu despite fielding a candidate from the deeply conservative Pas. Not only did Pas gain more secular Malay voters, thanks to a moderating of its language, but it also did not scare off the Chinese.

This was despite Najib and the government doing their best to stoke racial and religious tension.

The victory is also a direct result of Anwar being able to hold together a coalition containing Pas, the Chinese moderates of the DAP and his own multiracial PKR. It is, to say the least, a diverse coalition, united in many ways only by its hatred of a government that has ruled Malaysia since independence.

Finding common ground will be the challenge if the opposition ever comes to power, but for now it's still focused on how to get there. Sarawak holds the key, and while patronage failed the government in Terengganu, it has long held sway in Borneo. — Australian Financial Review

Agreeing to disagree paying off for Pakatan

2009-01-30T19:36:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 — In the weeks following Pas's win in the Kuala Terengganu by-elections, there has hardly been a whisper about hudud or the supposed split among Indians within Pakatan Rakyat.

It appears that the gamble taken by Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to bite his tongue and sidestep those issues during the campaign has paid off.

The PKR de facto leader did not have to isolate any group of supporters by making a definite stand despite calls for him to do so.

In the end, the euphoria of victory has allowed the last embers of dissent on these matters to die out.

This has perplexed Barisan Nasional leaders, who believed that the "infighting" would have caused votes to leak from the opposition.

The governing coalition ended up losing the seat by a majority four times that which it had itself won by in the March 2008 general election.

Analysts believe that PR made gains by allowing each party the freedom to speak on issues.

"By allowing DAP and Pas to continue to beat their drums on hudud, they are given a cause to champion to their political constituents," says political consultant Khoo Kay Peng.

By conventional wisdom, such issues, when left to fester, can result in deep cracks in a coalition.

But the only conventional wisdom that Malaysian politics has had has been from BN.

PR appears to have a different idea about dealing with consensus building within a coalition.

When BN's Ketuanan Melayu or Malay supremacy achilles' heel starts to blight it, its supreme council, the highest decision-making body in the coalition, stops the rot by virtually issuing an edict on such matters.

When then Bukit Bendera Umno division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail referred to Chinese Malaysians as "immigrants," the fierce spat between component leaders and Umno ultras saw grassroots members from both Umno and Gerakan asking for Gerakan to leave BN.

The supreme council had to step in with the final word on the matter and allowed Umno to suspend Ahmad for three years.

But while PR has an informal leadership council made up of Anwar, Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, the body has existed in most part only to sign off on agreements designed to pledge allegiance to the coalition or on principles such as Malay rights.

Under the proposed PR charter, a presidential council made up of the top leadership of each party will be established as its highest decision-making body.

But leaders from the tripartite coalition told The Malaysian Insider that it will not operate in the same way as BN's supreme council as PR prefers to recognise different ideological stands and allow an open debate on issues to reach a consensus before implementing any policy.

"The idea to establish it is there but only to deal with major issues and not on ideals and political differences," said DAP Socialist Youth chief Anthony Loke, who is a member of the coalition's joint secretariat.

Anwar, when pressed on hudud during the Kuala Terengganu campaign trail, had maintained this line by saying: "We abide by our Constitution, but we should allow Muslims to articulate their views. I have no objections discussing it within PR."

Meanwhile, several Pas and DAP leaders such as the former's spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat and the latter's chairman Karpal Singh had voiced their opinions on the matter loudly, leading to dissent within PR supporters.

But the opposition does not see it necessary to muzzle such public disagreements.

"It takes time to reach a consensus, so we should be prepared to engage in discussion," said Khalid Samad, Pas's Shah Alam MP.

Yusmadi Yusoff, MP for Balik Pulau, added that for PKR, it was interested in real harmony not an artificial one imposed by BN.

"BN is about homogenising any dialogue and creating taboos. But in the PR setup, when Karpal or Hadi make a stand, it is based on principles and democratic convictions," he said.

In short, while both Khalid and Yusmadi agree that a BN supreme council-based mechanism would be politically expedient, it would not achieve "real reform." - The Malaysian Insider

Giliran Umno Kena Buli

2009-01-29T22:15:00.000+08:00

"Sudah berpuluh tahun rakyat kena buli dengan Umno. Hampir separuh abad Umno menjadi pembuli. Umno buli generasi pasca merdeka. Tanpa ada rasa belas kasihan Umno menjadi ketua buli dalam Barisan Nasional. Melayu kena buli dengan Umno, cina kena buli dengan MCA dan India kena buli dengan MIC. Paling lawak, Umno jugak sekali-sekala suka buli MCA dan MIC.

Ketika Umno sedang seronok buli rakyat yang baru terlepas dari cengkaman penjajah dan sangat mengharapkan sesuap nasi, Umno begitu seronok menakut-nakutkan anak-anak yang ketika itu masih kecil bertelanjang.

Generasi ketika itu sangat takut kepada Umno. Apa yang Umno buat betul belaka. Putih kata Umno, putihlah pada rakyat. Sesiapa yang berani membangkang ketika itu, pasti akan mendapat azab dari Umno. Mereka akan di 'raging' secukup-cukupnya oleh Umno.

Jika yang menentang pegawai kerajaan, bersiap-siaplah mereka untuk di poskan ke kawasan pendalaman. Mereka akan dihukum berkerja di wilayah persekutuan jin bertendang.

Sebaliknya jika mereka yang membangkang itu berkerja sendiri, jangan haraplah nak merasa baja subsidi, tanah, jalan raya, atau apa-apa kemudahan prasarana dari kerajaan. Mereka akan dibuli oleh tali barut Umno yang bergelar YB, Tok Sidang, Tok Penghulu, atau Pengerusi JKKK. Dan jika yang membangkang itu pelajar, jangan mimpi nak dapat biasiswa atau apa-apa bantuan. Silap-silap kena humban di dalam ISA.

Itu dulu. Ketika Umno sihat dan muda. Kini usia Umno lebih 62 tahun. Umno sudah tua. Oleh kerana banyak masa mudanya digunakan untuk buat jahat, Umno cepat kena penyakit tua. penyakit nyanyuk dan mudah lupa. Barangkali berkat doa orang yang dizalimi membuatkan Umno terlalu mudah dihinggapi pelbagai penyakit tua yang kronik.

Kini tiba giliran Umno kena buli. Dalam keadaan sakit tua Umno telah dibuli oleh generasi muda. Pengundi muda inilah yang telah buli Umno melalui saluran peti undi pilihanraya. Generasi muda yang lahir di era 70-an ini telah dibesarkan dihadapan Umno sendiri. Generasi ini telah lama meluat melihat gelagat dan telatah Umno ketika membuli ibu bapa mereka.

Generasi muda ini telah menjumpai formula kelemahan Umno. Selaku orang tua, Umno mudah dikalahkan jika pertandingan pilihanraya berlaku dengan satu lawan satu. Selama ini Umno kuat sebab tiada pakatan di kalangan pembangkang. Akhirnya Umno mudahmendominasi pertandingan. Lalu setiap pilihanraya Umno dan BN akan buli parti-parti pembangkang secukup-cukupnya.

Dan sekali lagi, itu dulu. Ketika Umno masih boleh membuli. Ketika SPR, Polis, media, dan pegawai-pegawai kerajaan cari makan dengan Umno. Ketika Umno boleh memperbodoh-bodohkan rakyat.

Kini giliran Umno kena buli. Rakyat telah bangkit untuk buli Umno dan BN. Dan rakyat semakin bersedia untuk mencari pembuli-pembuli datuk nenek mereka. Selepas ini tiada siapa yang terlepas. Baik kerajaan atau pembangkang tetap tidak terlepas jika masih membudayakan perangai pembuli seperti Umno.

Seronok tengok Umno gelabah beruk kena buli dengan generasi muda. Dan yang lawaknya, dalam diam sekali sekala dilihat MCA dan MIC juga ambil kesempatan untuk turut buli Umno. Maklumlah mereka juga pun dah lama bengang dengan Umno.

Bagi semua ahli politik ingatlah, sejarah tidak pernah berulang, yang berulang hanyalah kesilapan manusia itu sendiri! - Tranungkite

Ikrar & Sumpah jadikan Umno-BN Parti Sesumpah

2009-01-29T22:14:00.000+08:00

"Adegan ikrar dan Sumpah taat setia kini menjadi peluru getah Umno untuk menunjukkan kekuatannya. Malangnya ia tidak sedikit pun mampu mencalarkan keutuhan Pakatan. Bermula dengan kekalahan teruk dalam Piliharaya ke-12 Mac tahun lalu. Semua pemimpin ahli dan pimpinan BN tuduh menuduh. Gerakan, MCA, MIC bergaduh besar dengan Umno hingga Hishamuddin hampir-hampir mencabut kerisnya lagi.

Kepercayaan pada Abdullah merosot teruk hingga terpaksa mengumpulkan semua pemimpin dan wakil rakyat Umno-BN di PWTC untuk menyatakan ikrar taat setia pada Dollah Badawi.

Kemudian dengan paksa rela Abdullah mengumumkan persaraan pada bulan Mac akan datang iaitu genap setahun beliau menerima Kekalahan paling teruk dalam sejarah Politik beliau memimpin Umno-BN.

Seterus kecoh pula isu Ahli PArlimen Sabah Sarawak nak masuk Pakatan. Mereka dipanggil membuat kenyataan Ikrar dan Sumpah taat setia pada BN, Malangnya SAPP tekad keluar BN membawa dua orang ahli Parlimen untuk menjadi wakil rakyat bebas.

Saat Pilihanraya Kecil Permatang Pauh tiba, Pemuda BN pula mengigau ditengah hari. Semua ahli Parlimennya dipanggil lagi untuk membuat sumpah taat setia sebelum turun bertarung menentang Anwar dan bala tentera Pakatan.

Setelah mengalami Kalah teruk di Permatang Pauh, Calon BN yang kalah, Ariff Shah dikatakan ingin beralih kepada Pakatan. Namun dengan pantas Umno-BN mengirimkan wakil memujuknya untuk terus bersama Umno. Maka sekali lagi beliau terpaksa angkat Sumpah taat setia.

Kemudian kecoh pula Ketua UMNO Bahagian Petaling Jaya Utara Selatan Kapten (B) Datuk Zahar Hashim yang menyertai Pas-Pakatan bersama ahli-ahli hingga sanggup menukarkan Pejabat Umno Bahagian itu menjadi Pusat Khidmat Wakil Rakyat Pas.

Terkejut dengan tindakan itu, Wakil Rakyat dan Pimpinan Umno Selangor bermuzakarah.Sumpah taat setia dan ikrar untuk terus bersama Umno-BN berkumandang lagi di Selangor.

Kemudian sewaktu Pilihanraya Kecil Kuala Terengganu, senyap-senyap Umno-BN merayu agar pimpinan dan ahli Umno-BN berikrar untuk memenangkan Calon BN yang akhirnya terpaksa berputih mata kerana terlepas jawatan Timbalan Menteri, senator dan tak layak jadi Ahli Parlimen.

Dan terkini Kes Adun Bota, Nasruddin yang mengumumkan perceraian beliau dengan Umno dan pernikahan beliau dengan Keadilan. Ia umpama halilintar yang membelah keangkuhan Umno Perak kerana sebelum itu Ahli Parlimen Umno Perak, Zahid Hamidi mengarahkan agar Jentera Kerajaan Persekutuan untuk tidak bekerjasama dengan Kerajaan Negeri.

Selain itu isu perkauman dan juga hak strata menjadi isu Umno Perak hingga masyarakat berpecah belah khususnya kalangan kaum Melayu dan Cina.

Maka dengan tindakan Nasruddin itu, memeprjelaskan lagi kelemahan dalaman Umno Perak yang akhirnya terpaksa dipanggil Najib ke Kuala Lumpur untuk melafazkan Ikrar dan sumpah taat setia yang sudah lali diucapkan.

Maka jadilah Umno-BN ini parti sesumpah yang mana sumpahan itu akhirnya bakal memakan diri mereka dan Umno hanya tinggal kenangan sahaja tak lama lagi. - Tranungkite

Berhati-Hati Wahai Umat Islam Di Baling

2009-01-29T22:11:00.000+08:00

Pada 27 Jan 2009, TV3 menyiarkan berita tentang UMNO Baling menyerahkan peruntukan RM 50 ribu untuk perlaksanaan program agama di seluruh masjid dalam Parlimen Baling. Turut hadir dalam majlis tersebut ialah Ketua Putera UMNO Malaysia, Dato' Abd.Azeez Abd.Rahim dan Dr.Mashitah Ibrahim.

Dalam wawancara, Abd.Azeez memberitahu kepada media bahawa selama ini UMNO yang membayar segala bil elektrik dan air untuk seluruh mesjid dalam daerah Baling ini. Nampak macam 'bagus' puak-puak UMNO ni kerana beri duit untuk program mengimarahkan masjid. Bayarkan bil. Cuma ada satu persoalan yang bermain dalam fikiran ini, sejak bila pulak UMNO ni dah insaf dan nak balik pada agama ???

Saya nasihatkan kepada seluruh umat Islam di Baling agar berhati-hati dengan 'permainan' golongan MUNAFIQ ini. Bagi saya, apa yang dilakukan ini adalah bertujuan untuk meraih simpati dan sokongan dari penduduk Baling yang telah menolak mereka dalam Piliharaya Umum yang lalu. Jangan kita gelap mata dan mudah hilang pendirian bila mendengar pemberian peruntukan puluhan ribu ringgit untuk program masjid seperti yang berlaku di Baling ini.

Jangan kita lupa. Allah SWT telah menceritakan di dalam Al-Qur'an bagaimana perangai golongan MUNAFIQ di Madinah yang bertindak membina sebuah masjid (Masjid Dhirar) dengan tujuan untuk menghalang kerja dakwah Rasulullah serta mahu memecahbelahkan umat Islam pada ketika itu. Golongan munafiq Madinah berharap dengan adanya Masjid Dhirar yang cantik ini, maka umat Islam akan berpecah kepada dua golongan. Satu golongan bersembahyang di Masjid Nabi dan satu golongan lagi bersembahyang di masjid mereka. Kerja jahat ini dilaksanakan apabila mereka melihat semakin ramai masyarakat Islam Madinah menyokong dan bersama perjuangan Rasulullah SAW.

Apa bezanya kerja yang dilakukan oleh puak-puak munafiq UMNO ni dengan kerja yang dilakukan oleh golongan munafiq Madinah itu. Tak ada bezanya. Bezanya hanya dari sudut perlaksanaan tetapi matlamat mereka adalah sama sahaja, yaitu mahu menghalang orang ramai daripada menyokong PAS. Sebab UMNO tahu bahawa PAS memang ikhlas untuk melaksanakan pemerintahan Islam. Cumanya mereka tak cakap terang-terang.

Kita melihat senario 'ketakutan UMNO hilang kuasa' ini semakin ketara sejak kemenangan PAS di Kuala Terengganu pada 17 Januari lalu. Ditambah lagi dengan pengisytiharan ADUN Bota, Dato' Nasarudin Hashim yang keluar dari UMNO dan menyertai Pakatan Rakyat.

Inilah balasan terhadap UMNO yang mendustakan ayat-ayat Allah. Mereka hanya beriman dengan sebahagian daripada Al-Quran dan mengingkari sebahagian yang lain. Yang mana ada kepentingan untuk mereka, mereka ikut seperti zakat. Sebab zakat menghasilkan duit.

Jangan kita percaya dengan cakap-cakap golongan ulama' UMNO yang ada hari ini. Mereka ini digelar oleh Allah sebagai Ulama' Jahat. Golongan inilah yang menjadi punca ramai umat Islam dalam negara berada dalam kesesatan yang tidak disedari. Golongan ulama' sebeginilah yang sengaja menyembunyikan ilmu dan kebenaran yang mereka ketahui demi menjaga kepentingan peribadi.

Allah SWT melaknat golongan ulama' pengampu ini sebagaimana yang disebut dalam Al-Qur'an. Sila rujuk pada Surah Al-Baqarah (2) : ayat 159.

Saya menyeru kepada seluruh umat Islam di Malaysia dan khususnya di Baling agar jangan sekali-kali terpedaya dengan segala 'permainan' UMNO ini. Mereka sanggup berbuat apa sahaja demi mencapai 'matlamat jahat' yang tersembunyi. Beringatlah bahawa golongan munafiq ini cukup pandai berbicara sehingga menarik perhatian orang yang mendengarnya. Bak kata orang 'Lembut gusi dari lidah'.

Sekian, Jazakallah.

Jom Sertai PAS. - Monazmuslim

Siasatan politik wang: Ahli UMNO dakwa didera pegawai SPRM

2009-01-29T22:08:00.000+08:00

SEORANG ahli UMNO membuat laporan polis mengatakan bahawa beliau dikasari semasa dalam tahanan oleh pegawai Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) negeri Pahang pada 23 Januari lalu.

Halimi Kamarulzamman, 46, mendakwa kejadian tersebut berlaku di dalam lokap tahanan Tingkat 10, Wisma Persekutuan di pejabat SPRM Kuantan, Pahang.

Dalam laporan polisnya, Hamidi berkata beliau telah menyerah diri pada pagi 23 Januari berhubung siasatan rasuah melibatkan pemilihan UMNO di negeri tersebut.

Menurut laporan polis yang tersebar melalui email itu, Halimi, seorang kontraktor, mendakwa beliau dipukul oleh tiga pegawai SPRM semasa proses soal-siasat.

Selain dipukul, mangsa juga mendakwa dibogelkan dan di minta berguling-guling di atas lantai.

"Bakul sampah yang kotor telah diletakkan di atas kepala saya, dan saya dipaksa untuk menyanyikan lagu Negaraku berkali-kali, lagu UMNO berkali-kali dan disuruh menyebut Rukun Negara berulang kali. Semasa saya dipaksa berbuat demikian bakul sampah di atas kepala saya diketuk berkali-kali," katanya dalam laporan polis yang dibuat pada 28 Januari.

Menurut Halimi, pada 24 Januari, sewaktu di bawa untuk tahanan reman, beliau sudah memaklumkan kepada Majistret di Ibu Pejabat Polis Kuantan dan dinasihatkan untuk membuat aduan kepada Biro Pengaduan Awam selepas dibebaskan.

Katanya lagi, beliau dipaksa untuk mengaku bahawa seorang pemimpin UMNO, Datuk Norza Zakaria terlibat dengan politik wang.

Jelasnya lagi, biarpun didera dan disiksa, beliau tetap memberitahu perkara yang sebenar dan menafikan pembabitan Datuk Norza Zakaria dengan politik wang.

"Sepanjang masa saya dipukul dan didera, mereka telah memadamkan kamera CCTV yang berada di dalam bilik tahanan itu dengan menggunakan plaster," kata beliau.

Di akhir laporan polisnya, Halimi mendakwa, jenayah yang dilakukan oleh pegawai SPRM tersebut kepada beliau adalah mirip peristiwa yang sering berlaku di Abu Gharib (penjara di Iraq).

"Saya amat terkejut dan takut bahawa perkara ini juga berlaku di bawah SPRM yang baru ditubuhkan ini," katanya.

Parlimen akhir Disember lalu memberikan kuasa yang lebih besar kepada SPRM untuk membenteras rasuah di negara ini. Dulunya SPRM di kenali sebagai Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR). - KLPos

Is there a doctor in the house?

2009-01-29T22:00:00.000+08:00

Umno needs a better doctor than all those quacks. It is dying, not just tired. And unless they treat it with the right medication Umno is going to soon be buried like how I buried my father and Mr. Tate.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Muslim NGO echoes police warning for Kugan’s funeral

Pewaris, a non-governmental Muslim advocacy group, today appealed to MIC president Datuk Seri Samy Vellu to urge the Indian community not to get involved in any protest demonstrations during tomorrow's (yesterday’s) funeral procession for A Kugan, a suspect in a car theft case who died while in police custody.

Pewaris deputy chairman II, Rahimuddin Md Harun, told a press conference here that any protest during the procession was inadvisable as it might offend the sensitivities of others.

Yesterday, Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar issued a warning that police would take stern action if the procession was used to stage illegal protest demonstrations.

Kugan's remains will be brought from the University Malaya Medical Centre near here to the Batu 14 Puchong crematorium for final rites before being cremated. Kugan, 22, was arrested on Jan 15 on suspicion of being involved in the theft of luxury cars. He died on Jan 20 while detained at the Taipan police station in Subang Jaya. The case has been classified as murder. — Bernama 27 Jan 2009

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Malaysians want harmony

Malaysians still appreciate peace and harmony and the MCA will play its role to strengthen unity among the various races, said party president Ong Tee Keat. He said the racial composition of guests at the MCA Chinese New Year open house celebrations on Monday was encouraging.

“The joyful celebration at this year's open house shows that the rakyat still appreciates peace and harmony between the races, religions and cultures of this country. As a Barisan Nasional component party, MCA will continue its efforts to further strengthen this unity. Even in other celebrations such as Christmas, we celebrate it Malaysian style,” he said at the open house at Wisma MCA here.

Observing his first Chinese New Year as MCA president, Mr Ong said he was confident that the positive and hardworking attitude of Malaysians' would help the country pull through global financial crisis.

Mr Ong said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sent his wishes but could not attend the open house celebration at the last minute as he was unwell. 'I was informed by the Prime Minister's office this morning (Monday morning) that he is not well. I hope he gets well soon,' he added.

Meanwhile, party vice-president Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said he was happy to see people from all walks of life attend the open house. “I hope this merry occasion will continue and that the spirit of unity can be strengthened. What is important is that we all must work together. Let's lift our spirits in the Year of the Ox and may we emulate the strength of the ox to work hard in facing the challenges,” he added.

Former MCA president Ong Ka Ting, who was also present, said it was important to stand united during this challenging period. “I hope the Government will make more strategic policies and that the rakyat will be more prudent and continue to work hard as many things still need to be done,” he added.

MIC president S. Samy Vellu said unity among races was still strong and should always be cherished. “Even overseas, Malaysians, regardless of race are proud to say they are from Malaysia. This unity is in our hearts and cannot be changed,” he said when met at the Gerakan open house at Wisma PGRM.

Gerakan president Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the auspicious occasion was an opportunity to learn from the spirit of the ox which represents perseverance, dedication and loyalty. -- THE STAR/ANN 28 Jan 2009

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Worse situation if change is delayed: Muhyiddin

The Barisan Nasional (BN) should take drastic action to arrest the decline in support. And, the ruling coalition of 13 political parties should do this fast, Umno Deputy President aspirant Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Saturday.

"We are not concerted in our efforts. Because we are late in instituting changes, many think that Umno will not change. If we take too long a time to change, the people will not wait for us. The pre-March 2008 (the last general election where the BN lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament) situation still has not changed. We must be more effective and do extraordinary things in extraordinary times," he said at the prize-giving ceremony of the Tan Sri Muhyiddin charity golf tournament at the MINES Golf and Beach Resort, here.

Muhyiddin, who is also International Trade and Industry Minister, said it was not only Umno - the backbone of the BN - that needed to change, but also all other component parties.

"The longer we wait to initiate changes, the longer we change, the situation gets worse. The people are not going to wait for us. We also have to look at the BN component parties, be it MCA, Gerakan, MIC or other component parties. We need drastic changes and Umno must take the lead in this. We are fearful of the situation. There are many programmes that must be implemented and grassroots leaders must work with the leaders at the top to institute these changes," he said.

On the economy, the Minister said Malaysia was far better in facing the latest global economic crisis than many other nations. Muhyiddin, who accompanied Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his just-concluded visit to Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates said although the nation was not in economic recession, the global economic situation was not getting any better.

"There are some sub-sectors which have already reported a downturn in exports. Electronics and electrical industries have already been hit. The first economic stimulus package is just a start. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also Finance Minister, has announced that there is a possibility of a second stimulus package. Malaysians must remain resilient. Although we are not in recession, we must take steps to cushion the impact of the crisis," he added.

Meanwhile, the charity golf tournament Saturday netted RM20,000, which was handed over to the Gaza Humanitarian Fund run by Berita Harian. – Bernama 28 Jan 2009

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How many of you detected the ‘hidden messages’ and the contradictions in the message by the Malays compared to the non-Malays? And I must add that as much as I do not like to use the terms ‘Malays’ and ‘non-Malays’, I have no choice because this is how the mainstream media and the politicians always talk. So I have to use the ‘normal’ vocabulary or else many may not understand what I am saying.

How would the citizens of America be called? Would the ‘original’ inhabitants of the land be called ‘Indians’, or ‘Red Indians’, and the immigrant British, Italians, Germans, Jews (from Russia, Germany, Italy, France, the Middle East, etc.), Arabs, Chinese, Japanese, Malaysians, Indonesians, Filipinos, and what have you, be called ‘non-Indians’ or ‘non-Red Indians’?

I am just using the ‘agreed’ standards adopted by Malaysia. The Malay, the ‘Lord of the Land’, is called Bumiputera, or son-of-the soil, and all those who came slightly later are called non-Bumiputera.

Okay, I know this opens up an entirely new debate. What about Tian Chua, some may ask, whose family came to this country 500 years ago, and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose father was born in India? Mahathir is Bumiputera and Tian Chua is non-Bumiputera. If ‘he who came first to Malaya’ is the yardstick, then Tian Chua would be Bumiputera and Mahathir would be non-Bumiputera, many will argue.

Unfortunately, it does not work that way at all. Even if Mahathir himself were born in India and even though Tian Chua is 20th generation Melaka Malaysian, Mahathir would still be Bumiputera and Tian Chua would be non-Bumiputera. And that is why I, who was born in England, am also Bumiputera, while many of you whose grandfathers and/or grandmothers were born in this country are non-Bumiputera.

Now, before you scream ‘not fair’, remember, life is never fair. So quit grumbling like a good non-Bumiputera. You are the ‘pendatang’ whether you like it or not.

Okay, let us look at what Pewaris said: any protest during the procession was inadvisable as it might offend the sensitivities of others. He meant, of course, the sensitivities of the Malays when he said ‘others’. ‘Others’ here means those who are not Indian. He knows the Chinese will not be sensitive about the matter so he did not think that ‘others’ meant Chinese as well.

Saying that Malaysia’s race relations has improved is not enough, especially when it is Barisan Nasional politicians who are talking. This is mere rhetoric and even those making the statements know this is true. We need to do more than just talk. We need to act as well.

How can we explain why an estimated 90% of those who die in custody are Indians when Indians are not 90% of those behind bars? I have been behind bars many times myself and I can tell you that those who share the prisons or detention centres with me are not 90% Indians. In fact, 90% of the ISA detainees are Malays while the majority of those under EO are Chinese (with quite a number of Indians as well of course). In the lockups, more than half are Malays. In some lockups, depending on where it is, it is an almost all-Malay population.

This means the high number of Indians killed behind bars does not reflect the proper ‘racial quota’. Is it any wonder that the Indians are upset? And if the Indians demonstrate their unhappiness, who are those ‘others’ who are going to become ‘sensitive’ about it? Certainly not the Indians, and the Chinese could not care a damn.

The Malays and Barisan Nasional politicians must guard what they say. What comes out of their mouths reflect what’s in their minds. And what’s in their minds is that Malay ‘sensitivities’ come first and the sensitivities of all others are not important. How can we shout about how much improved Malaysia’s race relations are when what you say does not give this impression?

Parti Keadilan Nasional (PKN) once threw a dinner party back in 1999 (before it became PKR) and the food had beef in everything, even in the vegetables. I asked the organiser why he did not provide for a vegetarian alternative for the Hindus and vegetarians. Even the vegetables were ‘not halal’ to Hindus and vegetarians.

The reply the organiser gave me was that Malaysia is a Muslim country so they have prepared a ‘halal’ menu according to the Muslim tradition. The non-Muslims will have to learn to live with this, the organiser added. They can always not touch the food, the organiser said.

Why would anyone want to come to a dinner party and not eat the food? Would they rather not come? The late MGG Pillai pointed this out to me and said that keADILan should be more sensitive to the feelings of those who are Hindus or vegetarians. At least one vegetarian table should have been prepared, he said.

I apologised to Mr Pillai and promised to take him to dinner later to make up for it. “Oh, it’s not about me,” he replied. “I am just pointing it out to you.” And he went and whacked the chicken and fish. Mr Pillai was not grumbling because he could not eat what had been prepared. He was more concerned about the party’s image and what people might say about a ‘multi-racial’ party that caters only to the Muslim diet and tells those guests who can’t eat the food to “jangan makanlah kalau tak boleh makan.”

Malays are always concerned about their ‘sensitivities’. But when others also get ‘sensitive’, the Malays get upset and get the impression that the non-Malays are becoming too much and too demanding. This is a Malay country. Why are the non-Malays complaining so much? If they don’t like it then why not they go back to India or China or wherever they came from?

But that’s just the point. They came from Malaysia, just like everyone else. They can’t go back to China or India. They did not come from China or India. They came from a town somewhere in Malaysia, the place where they were born. And they are as Malaysian as everyone else. How to make the Malays understand this?

There is no way we can reinstall the program in their heads. We can’t even reformat the hard disk. The old program is so corrupted and the hard disk practically destroyed. We need to buy a totally new hard disk. This is what Malaysia and its race relations have been reduced to.

Indonesia is not safe for the Chinese, many Malays will tell you. They kill Chinese in Indonesia. And that is why many Chinese have left Indonesia and have migrated to another country. The Chinese are more fortunate in Malaysia. In no other country are the Chinese as lucky as the Chinese in Malaysia. This is the belief of most Malays.

Well, in November 2008, Indonesia passed the Non-discrimination Act (UU No. 62/58) that makes it a crime to discriminate against any ethnic group. Indonesia’s aim is to unite all the races. Sure, there may have been problems in Indonesia in the past. Malaysia too has been having problems on and off since even before Merdeka. But Indonesia is trying to change all that. Malaysia is not only perpetuating racial problems but we even have institutionalised racial discrimination.

Indonesia is no longer the ‘cowboy’ country that it once was. It has taken a giant leap into the new Millennium. They even give the opposition parties equal airtime on the government-owned television networks. Malaysia, unfortunately, is now far behind Indonesia. I know many Malaysian Chinese who have shifted their business interests to Indonesia. If we are not careful all our money is going to exodus to our neighbour and one day, soon, we are going to be poorer than that largest Muslim country in the world.

Then what will come next? Indonesian maids will stop coming here to work? Instead, Malays will go to Indonesia to work as maids? Don’t laugh! It not only is not funny, it can even happen, though maybe not in the immediate future.

In the 1960s, the Pakistanis used to go to England to work as labourers. 50 years on and many Pakistanis are now the towkays while the ‘whites’ work for them. Stand on Oxford Street and see for yourself. Look at all the Rolls Royces passing by. The ‘white skins’ are driving the cars while the ‘brown skins’ sit in the back seats. Okay, some Pakistanis still work as the kuli. Not all are towkays. But the streets are no longer being swept by the ‘brown skins’. The ‘white skins’ do that dirty job. And the ‘white skins’ rent apartments owned by the ‘brown skins’.

Muhyiddin Yassin talks about Umno going downhill and what they should do about it. The problem is, he is totally clueless about the reason. The doctor can’t cure the disease until he can diagnose what is wrong with you. My late father was suffering from heartburn, said his doctor, and he recommended anti-acid tablets. After he suffered a heart attack and died at a young age of 40 plus, the doctor said maybe it was not heartburn after all. Maybe it was a mild heart attack that became worse because it was not treated.

A friend of mine, DJ Tate, went to the Tawakal hospital because he was not feeling well. Just fatigue, said the doctor, go home and rest. Tate phoned me to tell me he would not be joining me at Anwar Ibrahim’s house for tea that day. He was not feeling well, he said. He hung up, slumped into the chair, and died within seconds. Five minutes later the wife phoned to say that Tate had died. I was shocked. I spoke to him barely a few minutes before that.

Yes, unless the doctor knows what is wrong with you he might recommend an afternoon nap or some anti-acid tablets. You then lie down and die. Umno needs a better doctor than all those quacks. It is dying, not just tired. And unless they treat it with the right medication Umno is going to soon be buried like how I buried my father and Mr. Tate.

Keris makan tuan

2009-01-29T21:57:00.000+08:00

JAN 29 — Isu wakil rakyat melompat parti agak melucukan bagi penonton politik, menggembirakan bagi parti yang menerima anggota baru itu dan amat memilukan bagi parti yang ditinggalkan wakil berkenaan.

Penonton politik sering melihat drama di mana jika yang melompat itu dari parti A, maka parti itu akan bising dengan soal maruah, kesetiaan dan pengkhianatan terhadap mandat rakyat. Malah mahu digubal undang-undang anti lompat. Sebaliknya, parti B yang menerima wakil rakyat melompat itu menganggapnya sebagai hak dan kebebasan dalam amalan demokrasi.

Suatu ketika dahulu, yang menentang undang-undang anti-lompat adalah Umno dan Barisan Nasional. Kini yang menjadi juara anti-lompat adalah Umno dan BN, khususnya selepas pilihan raya umum Mac 8 tahun lalu kerana ada ura-ura beberapa Ahli Parlimen BN mahu menyeberang ke sebelah Pakatan Rakyat.

Tetapi adakah mereka ini jujur mahu menjamin dan mempertahankan mandat rakyat?

Sedangkan 25 tahun lalu sudah ada usaha serius untuk melaksanakan undang-undang anti-lompat. Malah ada kerajaan negeri yang telah pun meluluskan rang undang-undang anti-lompat hampir suku abad yang lalu.

Parti Bersatu Sabah pimpinan Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan telah berjaya menewaskan Berjaya yang menerajui BN Sabah dalam pilihan raya negeri pada April 1985 dengan memenangi 25 daripada 48 kerusi yang dipertandingkan. Namun gangguan dan demonstrasi jalanan dari penyokong BN menyebabkan Pairin terpaksa mengadakan pilihan raya negeri sekali lagi pada Mei 1986.

Kali ini PBS menang besar di 34 daripada 48 kerusi yang dipertandingkan. PBS kemudian menyertai BN tetapi sepanjang tempoh penyertaannya, ramai pemimpin kanannya merasakan mereka dianaktirikan oleh pucuk pimpinan di Kuala Lumpur.

Dalam pilihan raya umum 1990, PBS membuat keputusan mengejut apabila ia keluar dari BN sewaktu kempen pilihan raya. Parti itu kekal memerintah Sabah tetapi keputusannya untuk meninggalkan BN membuka ruang bagi Umno untuk masuk ke Sabah.

Bermulalah politik tawar-menawar dan cubaan membeli Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri PBS dalam usaha menjatuhkan kerajaan negeri pimpinan Pairin. Menyedari keadaan itu, kerajaan negeri Sabah memperkenalkan undang-undang anti-lompat tetapi telah ditolak oleh Mahkamah Tinggi pada 1992.

Pada 19 Februari 1994, pilihan raya negeri Sabah diadakan lagi, dan walaupun BN berkempen dengan rasuah pembangunan dan taburan wang yang hebat, PBS terus diberi mandat oleh rakyat Malaysia di Sabah apabila ia memang tipis dengan 25 kerusi berbanding BN 23.

Apa yang berlaku selepas keputusan diumumkan adalah satu sejarah baru dalam politik negara pada masa itu. Pairin terpaksa menunggu di luar pagar Yang Dipertua Negeri selama tiga hari siang dan malam semata-mata untuk mengangkat sumpah sebagai Ketua Menteri.

Dua minggu selepas melantik kabinet negeri, beberapa Adun PBS mendakwa mereka ditawarkan berjuta-juta ringgit untuk melompat menyertai BN. Pada 12 Mac pemimpin PBS Datuk Lajim Ukin, Rubin Balang dan Datuk Zaini Isa, salah seorang dari Adun dilantik (selain 25 Adun yang menang pilihana raya, perlembagaan negeri membenarkan enam Adun dilantik oleh parti yang menang) mengumumkan keluar parti.

Sewaktu kekecohan itu, Kementerian Dalam Negeri mencatatkan rekod kepantasan tugas dengan meluluskan permohonan beberapa parti politik dalam masa beberapa hari sahaja untuk membolehkan mereka menjadi parti kepada Adun-Adun yang melompat dari PBS.

Pada 17 Mac 1994, Pairin secara gentleman telah menyerahkan surat perletakan jawatan sebagai Ketua Menteri kepada Yang Dipertua Negeri setelah hampir70 peratus barisan Adunnya melompat parti.

Dari 25 kerusi yang dimenangi serta enam Adun dilantik, iaitu 31 kesemuanya, PBS hanya tinggal lima Adun. Dengan itu, tidak sampai sebulan setelah memenangi pilihan raya negeri secara sah, PBS kehilangan kuasa apabila Umno dan BN berjaya membeli hampir kesemua Adun-Adun berkenaan.

Bekas Adun-Adun PBS itu pula telah berpecah kepada lima parti negeri di mana keadaan itu membolehkan Umno menguasai majoriti kerusi dalam DUN Sabah dengan memegang 22 kerusi.

Namun ia tidak mematahkan semangat PBS apabila mencuba nasib sekali lagi dalam pilihan raya negeri pada Mac 1999. Walaupun ia tewas kepada BN, kerusi yang diperolehinya meningkat semula kepada 17 manakala Umno juga menambah lagi kekuatan kepada 24 kerusi. Parti-parti komponen BN lain semakin mengecut kekuatan mereka.

Dalam pada itu berlaku lagi lompat parti dari PBS ke Umno. Ini menyebabkan PBS tiada pilihan lain kecuali memohon untuk menyertai semula BN pada 2002.

Apa yang ingin diperingatkan di sini adalah sewaktu episod lompat pada Mac 1994 dan kemudiannya berulang selepas Mac 1999 adalah pendirian pemimpin-pemimpin kanan Umno dan BN di Kuala Lumpur. Rata-ratanya mereka menghalalkan lompatan dari parti lain untuk menyertai mereka atas dasar kebebasan wakil rakyat membuat pilihan sendiri.

Kini fenomena lompat ini kembali menghantui Umno dan BN. Selepas kebimbangan Ahli-Ahli Parlimen BN melompat parti selepas Mac 8 tahun lalu dikendurkan berikutan tiada apa-apa yang berlaku pada tarikh 16 September sebagaimana yang diramalkan oleh Ketua Pembangkang Parlimen Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, kini ketakutan sekali lagi melanda kepimpinan BN.

Keputusan Adun BN Datuk Nasarudin Hashim yang mewakili Umno di kawasan Bota, Perak telah menimbulkan pelbagai spekulasi berhubung kemungkinan beberapa Adun lain yang akan mengikut jejak langkahnya.

Buat pada masa tumpuan diberikan di Perak. Namun ada juga khabar-khabar angin mengenai Adun-Adun di beberapa negeri lain yang mula berminat untuk berpindah parti.

Sama ada mereka mahu meninggalkan Umno dan BN kerana masalah dalaman parti sendiri atau kerana yakin dengan perjuangan Pakatan Rakyat, ia bukan lagi soal perundangan kerana Malaysia memang tidak mempunyai undang-undang anti-lompat.

Malah, wakil rakyat masih dicengkam undang-undang yang melarang mereka bertanding semula dalam tempoh lima tahun jika mengosongkan kerusi.

Keadaan ini memaksa mana-mana wakil rakyat yang ingin berpindah parti terus melompat sahaja kerana sebarang usaha untuk menguji kekuatan dalam pilihan raya kecil dilarang oleh undang-undang. Yang membawakan undang-undang itu adalah Umno dan BN juga.

Bagi Umno dan BN sekarang, mungkin ini agaknya maksud pepatah Melayu "keris makan tuan". - The Malaysian Insider

Police report lodged against Selangor police chief

2009-01-29T21:55:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 — The Member of Parliament for Kapar, S. Manikavasagam, today lodged a police report against Selangor police chief, Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar who claimed that two deputy ministers and the family of car theft suspect, A.Kugan, had barged into the Serdang Hospital mortuary on Jan 20.

Manikavasagam and lawyer N.Surendran lodged the report at the Brickfields District Police Headquarters at 12.10 pm.

“We not only lodged a police report, we also handed over a CD recording to the police to prove that the allegation that the two deputy ministers in the Prime Minister’s Department, Senator T. Murugiah and Datuk S.K. Devamany, and the victim’s family had barged into the hospital mortuary was totally incorrect,” he said.

Manikavasam said the CD recording clearly showed that the two deputy ministers concerned were not at the scene when the people entered the mortuary, and were only present several hours later.

“The police allegation that the victim’s family had trespassed into the mortuary was also not true because the recording showed that the staff at the mortuary had allowed all family members of the victim to come into the room,” he said.

Manikavasagam said that as such, action should be taken against the Selangor Police Chief for making a false statement.

Kugan, 23, who had been detained on suspicion of being involved in the theft of luxury cars in Sungai Chua, Kajang, was found dead while in custody at the lock-up of the Subang USJ Police Station.

Brickfields OCPD, ACP Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Talib, when contacted by Bernama, confirmed receiving the report at 2.20 pm.

Khalid, when contacted by Bernama, declined to comment on the police report lodged against him. — Bernama

Abolish Umno, not just wings, says Kit Siang

2009-01-29T21:54:00.000+08:00

PETALING JAYA, Jan 29 — Umno disciplinary board chairman Tengku Tan Sri Ahmad Rithaudeen’s call to abolish Umno’s Wanita, Youth, Puteri and Putera wings to curb money politics in Umno is insufficient but the entire party should be done away with, says DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang.

“Just as no one expects Rithaudeen’s proposal would be taken seriously by an Umno leader, nobody believes that it is possible to eradicate corruption in the country’s most corrupt institution, Umno, because of the sheer absence of such political will,” the opposition stalwart said.

“Rithaudden’s sense of despair and futility in the impossible battle against corruption and money politics in Umno caused him to make the radical proposal to abolish the various Umno wings.

“When will an honest and upright Umno leader make the next logical proposal – that UMNO be abolished altogether?” Lim asked rhetorically in a press statement.

Rithaudeen’s proposal has met immediate objection from vice president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Wanita chief Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and Puteri chief Datuk Noraini Ahmad.

Today, the top two in the party also rejected the idea as deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that Umno will not abolish any of its wings as they are important in nurturing future leaders of the party while president Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi said that money politics would be dealt with other means.

“If Rithaudeen is right — and he is right — that the many elections for the Umno Youth, Wanita, Puteri and Putera wings created opportunities for money-making, all that Najib meant about ‘nurturing future leaders of the party’ is to give them opportunities to be adept in the art of corruption in Umno party elections,” Lim added.

The DAP supremo also questioned Rithudeen’s justification for not allowing the newly-minted Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) full jurisdiction over alleged corruption in the party.

In a New Straits Times report, Rithaudeen used the analogy of a doctor trying to operate while drunk, stating that the doctor can be charged for criminal negligence but also sued in a civil suit and stripped of his ability to practice by the Malaysian Medical Council.

In the same way, Umno’s disciplinary board conducts its investigations with the option of suspending a member independently of any action by the MACC.

Investigations by the MACC and the board will be done separately by each body and any sharing of information will be done on a case-by-case basis, he said.

However, Lim stressed that the board would be violating the law and committing crimes themselves if they withhold from the MACC any case of Umno money politics — which MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan had categorically called “corruption” in a separate New Straits Times interview on Jan 25.

Does Cuepacs' Omar know what he's saying?

2009-01-28T22:04:00.000+08:00

By Lim Kit Siang

"Cuepacs: Nizar doesn't know what he's saying" - New Straits Times today reported the Cuepacs president Omar Othman denying that civil servants had contributed to Pas' victory in Saturday's Kuala Terengganu by-election.

The NST reported:

He (Omar) said public services employees, both those serving the federal and state governments, fully supported the Barisan Nasional and Umno leadership.

He was commenting on a claim by Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.

"Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin claimed government staff serving the federal and state governments sympathised with and supported Pas," Omar said yesterday.

"He also said they had become more daring to vote for Pas in the by-election despite being threatened or forced.

"This is a big lie by a man who knows nothing about the public services or its system.

"The more than 1.2 million civil servants in this country have been loyal and supportive of the government. There is no doubt about that."

He said civil servants appreciated what the government had been doing for them all these years.

"They know who has been fighting for their welfare and paying their salaries to enable them to feed and support their family. Leave them alone," Omar said.

Does Omar know what he is saying?

If Nizar's statement that government servants, both federal and state, sympathized and supported PAS is to be challenged, it should come from UMNO and Barisan Nasional and not from Cuepacs.

How does the Cuepacs President know who the government servants voted for in the by-election?

Is there no secrecy of the ballot and the constitutional right of every voter, including a civil servant, to vote freely?

In saying that Nizar had told "a big lie" in claiming that government servants have become more daring to vote for PAS in the by-election despite being threatened or forced, Omar has strayed into a territory which is no business of the Cuepacs President, as it concerns the constitutional and citizenship right of a government servant to vote freely without coercion or inducement.

Is Omar seriously suggesting that civil servants in Pakatan Rakyat state governments should unite and vote against the Pakatan Rakyat candidates in by-elections or the next general election?

What has happened to the important principle that the civil service should be non-partisan in political party preferences and should loyally serve the government-of-the-day which has won the mandate of the people?

If the Cuepacs President can act in repudiation of these fundamental principles of a functioning democracy, no wonder Malaysia is lagging behind so many countries in maturing as a normal and healthy democracy. - DAP Malaysia

Lompat: Datuk Ahmad Fakeh Adam 'next'?

2009-01-28T21:53:00.000+08:00

ADA kejutan lagi dalam beberapa hari ini? Desas-desus begitu kencang bertiup mengatakan ada lagi YB dari Umno akan lompat ikut jejak Adun Bota beberapa hari lepas yang tekad melompat ke PKR. YB Lintang, Datuk Ahmad Fakeh Adam yang juga Adun dari Umno disebut-sebut akan meninggalkan parti Melayu terbesar yang mempunyai ahli Melayu teramai di dunia itu.

"Ketika ini 50-50. (Niat) nak kekal (dalam Umno) dengan masuk pembangkang sama banyak.

"Orang PAS, PKR dan DAP hari-hari telefon dan hantar SMS. Yang dah datang jumpa pun ada, yang nak jumpa pun ada lagi," katanya kepada portal berita paling popular, Malaysiakini.

Beliau bagaimanapun belum memutuskan parti pembangkang yang bakal disertainya jika meninggalkan BN.

Beliau menambah, ada pemimpin DAP ingin menawarkan jawatan menteri besar Perak tetapi "saya tahu itu gula-gula sahaja."

"(Tetapi) hati rasa hendak keluar (Umno). Kita (Adun) telah dipinggirkan.

"Kami seolah-olah tidak penting. Yang lebih penting sekarang ialah ketua Umno bahagian," katanya.

Ada lagi Adun lain yang tak puas hati

Ahmad Fakeh yang kalah bertanding jawatan ketua Umno bahagian Sungai Siput, Oktober lalu, berkata, ada beberapa Adun lagi yang tidak puas hati dengan keadaan yang berlaku sekarang.

Beliau kalah kepada timbalannya Datuk Mohd Zulkifli Harun dalam pertandingan satu lawan satu jawatan tersebut, lapor portal itu lagi.

Datuk Seri Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar (Adun Kubu Gajah), Datuk Hamdi Abu Bakar (Pengkalan Baharu) dan Hamidah Osman (Sungai Rapat) diura-urakan turut tidak berpuas hati.

Ahmad Fakeh bagaimanapun tidak pasti sama ada mereka juga berhasrat untuk meninggalkan Umno dan menyertai parti pembangkang.

"Saya sudah membawa perkara ini dalam mesyuarat Umno Perak tetapi tiada tindakan yang diambil.

"Tetapi bila (Datuk) Nasharuddin Hashim (Adun Bota) keluar parti baru kelam-kabut, baru kami ini penting," katanya.

Ahmad Fakeh berkata, beliau kecewa kerana kerajaan pusat lambat memberi peruntukan kewangan walaupun wang sudah ada.

Sebaliknya, kata beliau, peringkat persekutuan begitu cepat meluluskan bantuan kepada ketua Umno bahagian.

Sebagai contoh, katanya, Kementerian Kemajuan Luar Bandar dan Wilayah mudah memberikan bantuan kepada ketua bahagian walaupun mereka bukan wakil rakyat.

“Ini menjadi masalah kepada Adun yang tidak memegang jawatan ketua bahagian,” katanya lagi.

Bantuan tetap kerajaan pusat kepada setiap Adun ialah RM300,000 setahun, tidak termasuk peruntukan tambahan yang perlu dimohon, tambahnya.

Katanya lagi, seseorang Adun sukar membantu penduduk di kawasan yang diwakilinya tanpa wang peruntukan tersebut. / Malaysiakini, KLpos

Najib to take over as Perak Umno, BN chief on Feb 1

2009-01-28T21:51:00.000+08:00

IPOH: Datuk Seri Mohd Tajol Rosli Ghazali is expected to resign as chairman of the Perak Barisan Nasional and state Umno liaison committee to take responsibility for the defection of Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasarudin Hashim.

Party insiders told the New Straits Times that the former menteri besar had conveyed his intention to quit to Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Razak in a meeting at the latter's residence in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

It is learnt that Tajol Rosli, a supreme council member, will officially step down this week, with Najib assuming both posts effective Feb 1.

Tajol Rosli was supposed to vacate the posts after the party elections in March but decided to leave immediately following Nasarudin's defection to Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

He has held the two posts since 1999.
"Tajol Rosli was not asked to do so, but as a good leader he has decided to step down and take responsibility for his failure (to prevent the defection)," said a source.

"Najib is calm about this and will probably take over the helm of the Barisan Nasional in Perak."

It is learnt that Lintang assemblyman Datuk Ahamad Pakeh Adam and Pengkalan Baharu assemblyman Datuk Hamdi Abu Bakar were also present at the four-hour meeting.

The presence of the two men was due to rumours that they were also leaving Umno for the PKR.

"However, both pledged their loyalty to the party and gave their assurance that they would not jump ship, as widely speculated," the source said.

Kubu Gajah assemblyman Datuk Seri Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar, who was linked to the two men, also called Najib from abroad to affirm that he would not be crossing over to the opposition.

"All of them had a heart-to-heart talk on this matter and everything has been resolved for now," said another source.

With Nasarudin's defection to the PKR, Pakatan Rakyat now has 32 seats in Perak to BN's 27. - NST

Politik wang: Umno disaran mansuh semua sayap parti

2009-01-28T21:46:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno disaran supaya memansuhkan semua sayap partinya bagi memastikan gejala rasuah politik dapat dihapuskan dengan lebih berkesan.

Pengerusi Lembaga Disiplin Umno, Tan Sri Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Tengku Ismail berkata langkah penstrukturan semula parti itu penting kerana pengurangan sayap parti akan mengurangkan proses pemilihan bagi membendung gejala politik wang.

"Lagi banyak pemilihan, lagi banyak berlakunya masalah politik wang.

"Saya fikir perlukah ada Puteri dan Putera kerana lagi ada Puteri dan Putera banyak lagi main (guna) duit.

"Saya juga memikirkan barangkali Pemuda dan Wanita juga perlu dipertimbangkan kerana di England rasanya tidak ada pertubuhan wanita baik dalam parti Konservatif mahupun Parti Buruh," katanya dalam sidang media di Ibu Pejabat Umno di sini hari ini.

Beliau turut mengakui gejala politik wang turut berlaku dalam pemilihan peringkat Puteri dan Putera Umno namun hingga kini masih belum ada pihak yang tampil membuat aduan secara rasmi.

"Saya dengar-dengar Putera, Puteri pun dah pandai main (guna) duit," katanya.

Jelas beliau ahli Puteri dan Putera Umno yang terdiri daripada golongan muda seharusnya memberikan tumpuan terhadap pelajaran dan bukannya bergiat aktif dalam bidang politik.

Ditanya pandangan beliau mengenai objektif penubuhan kedua-dua sayap parti itu adalah bagi memberi pendedahan awal terhadap politik, beliau berpendapat pendedahan tersebut masih terlalu awal.

"Mereka sepatutnya pentingkan pelajaran dahulu, mereka masih belasan tahun dan awal 20an.

"Kalau nak bagi pendedahan pun janganlah terlalu awal kerana sekarang ini bukan masanya lagi mereka aktif berpolitik," katanya.

Tambah beliau lagi kepimpinan hari ini memerlukan golongan muda yang akan menerajui negara pada masa akan datang.

"Kita bergantung kepada orang muda untuk membawa negara kita pada tahap yang tinggi dan bertanding dengan negara lain," katanya.

Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen turut mencadangkan agar sistem kuota yang diamalkan untuk tujuan pemilihan dalam parti dimansuhkan kerana ia dilihat menyumbang kepada gejala politik wang.

Mengulas mengenai tindakan Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Bota, Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim yang keluar daripada Umno dan menyertai Parti Keadilan rakyat (PKR), beliau kecewa dengan tindakan itu.

"Saya sebenarnya kecil hati dengan tindakan seperti itu terutamanya bila ada masalah.

"Kita boleh selesaikan masalah yang timbul dari dalam parti," katanya. - MSTar Online

Syed Hamid: Don't regard criminals as heroes

2009-01-28T21:43:00.000+08:00

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 28 — The people should not regard criminals as heroes and the police who enforce the law as demons, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said today.

Speaking in general terms, he said no one was above the law and added that action would be taken against those who broke the law, even if it was the police.

“We will not conceal the facts,” he told reporters at his office here.

Syed Hamid said he was not linking his statement, made in general terms, with the death of car theft suspect A. Kugan who had died while in police custody at the Taipan police station in Subang Jaya on Jan 20.

“I am not pinpointing anybody,” the minister stressed.

He explained that police had detained three suspects including Kugan following investigations into 19 cases of vehicle theft and armed robbery.

The minister also asked the people not to politicise the investigation into Kugan’s death, saying it would make the police task more difficult.

“They must talk of the case based on facts and not assumptions,” he said.

Kugan, 22, who was detained on Jan 15 at the Taipan police station on suspicion of being involved in the theft of luxury cars in Sungai Chua, Kajang, had died while being questioned.

Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar had said a post-mortem found that Kugan had died due to fluid in his lungs but Kugan’s family sought a second post mortem, insisting that Kugan had died of injuries.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said later that Kugan’s death had been classified as murder. A second post-mortem on Kugan has been done since.

The police are investigating Kugan’s death and the results are expected to be known soon.

Kugan’s funeral was held today. — Bernama

Rais: Nasaruddin should quit

2009-01-28T21:42:00.000+08:00

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 28 — The Perak Barisan Nasional (BN) should organise a mass movement to demand that Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim gives up the seat to enable a by-election as he has chosen to cross over to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), said Umno Supreme Council (MT) member Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

Rais, who is also Foreign Minister, said Nasaruddin won the seat on the BN ticket in the general election and by deserting the coalition, he had betrayed the trust the people had placed in him.

“If I were a Perakian, I would start mobilising all the NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and village chiefs now to demand his resignation. The Perak BN should take this step.

“We (Umno) have thousands of branches in Perak. Umno branches, the Putera, Puteri, Youth and Wanita wings all must speak up. Just voicing in the media is not good enough,” he told reporters after handing the letter of appointment to Malaysia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Datuk Othman Hashim, at his ministry here today.

He added that he was confident the BN would not have any problem winning the seat if a by-election was held.

On Sunday, Nasaruddin, who won the seat by a majority of 2,068 votes against PKR’s Usaili Alias in the general election held last March, declared that he was quitting Umno to join PKR.

Following his move, the Pakatan Rakyat government of PAS, DAP and PKR in the state increased its seats to 31 in the State Assembly while the BN’s was reduced to 28.

On the call by Umno’s disciplinary board chairman Tan Sri Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Tengku Ismail for the wings in the party to be abolished to check money politics, Dr Rais said each suggestion to improve Umno now would be given its due consideration.

“If the majority feel it would be good for Umno, the MT will definitely take it further,” he said. — Bernama

Perak UMNO in disarray

2009-01-28T21:37:00.000+08:00

(The Malaysian Insider) - Following the defection of Perak state assemblyman Datuk Nasarudin Hashim to PKR, Umno representatives in the state are now complaining of being sidelined by the party leadership.

They told The Malaysian Insider today that the Umno leadership must keep the people’s interest ahead of the party if it was serious about taking over Perak from Pakatan Rakyat.

They said infighting in Perak Umno has led to some of the party’s representatives being unable to perform their duties effectively.

The rift within the state Umno started soon after the party’s divisional meetings late last year, where some assemblymen lost their positions and it became public with Nasarudin’s defection.

The crossover also came as a blow to Perak Umno chief Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali, who was said to be having problems working with some of the party’s assemblymen, as he had promised to topple the PR-led government through defection, by Aug 31 last year.

“I am disappointed with the leadership at the divisional and state level as they are not doing anything for the next election.

“We will end up like Kelantan, where they are very happy to lead the divisions, but do not want to win elections,” said Pengkalan Baharu assembyman Datuk Hamdi Abu Bakar.

The former Beruas Umno chief who lost his post in the party election last October, however, denied that he was thinking of crossing over, adding that the situation in Perak has calmed down after a meeting with party deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“But they must not be complacent,” said Hamdi.

Another assemblyman, Hamidah Osman, said the sidelining of elected representatives in favour of division chiefs would further erode the people's confidence in the party.

“There should be more room for the people, for their representatives. What is going to happen if the people’s confidence in Umno continues to decline?” said the Sungai Rapat assemblyman, who is Barisan Nasional’s (BN) sole representative within the Gopeng federal constituency.

“If they want to win the people’s support, they should not be focussing only on Umno members,” she told The Malaysian Insider, admitting that she has been contacted by a PKR official to defect but had rejected the offer.

Hamidah added that Umno divisional leaders were only interested in protecting their positions within the party instead of focussing on strengthening the party.

Lintang state assemblyman Datuk Ahamad Pakeh Adam claimed that many Umno representatives in the state are facing the same problems, but he added that they were not ready yet to defect to PR.

Still, he did not rule out the possibility.

“There will be more,” said Ahamad on Perak Menteri Besar’s remark that three Umno assemblymen would be joining PR.

Soon after Bota assemblyman Nasarudin joined PKR, Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin claimed that three more Umno representatives would defect to one of the PR parties.

The defection of the former Parit MP brought the number of PR representatives to 31 against BN’s 27.

Ahmad Ismail to face sedition charges?

2009-01-28T21:31:00.000+08:00

The Malaysian Insider understands that the police have completed their probe into his comments about Malaysians of Chinese origin and the veteran politician is likely to be charged with sedition.

This move is going to be applauded by many Malaysians who were upset at his boorish behaviour in the wake of that episode but will upset Umno members who believe that his three-year suspension from all positions in the party was sufficient punishment.

His court date could also reignite the debate on race and religion in the country, and polarise the country further.

Ahmad became the talk of the country when he allegedly said that Chinese were immigrants and squatters and therefore could not expect to have equal rights as the Malays.

His comments were reported in Sin Chew Daily and sparked off a furious debate on the position of non-Malays in the country.

It led to several component parties in the Barisan Nasional calling for Ahmad to be disciplined.

Ahmad remained unrepentant and warned Chinese not to “try the patience” of the Malays.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak tried to calm the tense situation by apologising on Ahmad’s behalf to the Chinese.

In September, the Umno Supreme Council suspended Ahmad from all party positions for three years.

But that was not the end of the drama.

The Sin Chew journalist who reported Ahmad's allegedly seditious comments was detained under the Internal Security Act. The government defended the move by saying that it was for the protection of the reporter.

Following public outcry, she was released after 18 hours in the lock-up.

This detention only served to frame the episode in them versus us terms, with several commentators wondering why the police were quick to act against the messenger and not the individual who uttered the allegedly seditious comments.

Those found guilty of sedition in Malaysia can be jailed up to three years, face a RM5,000 fine or both. The law classifies speech or comments as seditious if it, among others, promotes ill feeling between the races.

Gan Tack Guan, you bloody well appear in court on 10 February

2009-01-28T21:25:00.000+08:00

After appearing once and making a boo-boo about plasticine you went missing because you knew you were in for some frying from defence counsel J Chandra and Gobind Deo, I am just hoping that that training course in Taiwan has taught you how to be a professional cop and thus throw back at Gobind the tag he tatooed on you, i.e. you are a useless investigator.

If you do not appear, I will suggest to the Police Instpector General, to have you assigned to an investigation that is not so taxing and that requires less investigatibe skills - go look for the three pairs of shoes stolen from Tun Daim's house.

Let's recap a little bit to get a better picture of what this posting is all about:

Thursday, 09 October 2008

Superintendant Gan Tack Guan, the chief investigator of the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu said that it was not C4 which was used to blow up her body. He said “If I am not wrong, one kind of plasticine explosive was used to blow up her body at an empty place at Puncak Alam.

It was not C4 (a type of explosive),” Supt Gan, who is Interpol’s National Centre Bureau assistant director based at Bukit Aman, told the packed courtroom.

Questioned further by Gobind Singh, Supt Gan said he did not know how the explosive was placed on the woman’s body before it was detonated.

“I was together with (another investigating officer) Asst Supt Tonny Lunggan," he said, prompting Gobind Singh to retort that “you are a useless investigating officer”.(Tonny is the guy who invited PI Bala for fish-head curry dinner the same day he made his first Statutory Declaration. YES?)

+++++

Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin claimed the prosecution was deliberately delaying his sedition trial when the complainant in his case was not available to be questioned by his defence team on Thursday 18 Dec 2008.

“Why must the prosecution bring this case to court today just to amend the charge and postpone it?,” Raja Petra, 58, told the Sessions Court.

“How long are we going to wait for Supt Gan Tack Guan (chief investigator in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case and the complainant in Raja Petra’s sedition trial)?

“He was on medical leave earlier and is now gone for training,” he said

He was on medical leave earlier and is now gone for training,”

(The court went into recess to await the Medical Certicate. I just wonder if the MC was obtained from a Government Hospital, as required, and did it indicate that the applicant was unfit for work?)

What training! He is training on how to 'manufacture evidences' and how to fine tune the art of cut and paste job.

Justice delayed is justice denied.

Supt Gan Tack Guan (chief investigator in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case) was not subpoenaed. Then why fix date for trial if one is not serious about attending court. The courts should know better. The training could have been postponed. Even the courts do not uphold the constitution.

+++++

Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo asked the court to direct the prosecution to close the case if they were unable to call Supt Gan to be cross-examined.

“Supt Gan is aware that the hearing has been fixed for four days but he deliberately chose to go away. He is a police officer and should know the procedure,” he contended.

Rozina said Supt Gan was not subpoened and set three days from Feb 10 for continuation of the trial.

+++++

Taiwan seems a preferred place of refuge for our government people. Remember how the backbenchers were packed off to learn horticulture and the intricacies of how grass-hoppers hop.

HANTU however hinted that for certain class of refugees, Kolkata (ask Bala) has top billing.

+++++

SO GAN TACK GUAN, IF YOU ARE NOT OFF-SHORE WEST OF HERE

YOU BLOODY WELL APPEAR IN COURT ON 10 FEBRUARY 2009 AND

NOT PUT TO SHAME THE GAN CLAN.

Ezam Noor: A bitter man who lost his marbles in UMNO politics

2009-01-27T20:37:00.000+08:00

Ezam Mohd Noor: A moribund character
Ahmad Kadir | January 23, 2009

I refer to the Malaysiakini report Ezam vows to ‘diminish’ Anwar’s influence.

Ezam Mohd Noor was the most juvenile and vulgar element of PKR during the reformasi years. He called Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad unprintable names. All is captured in video and writing. Why was Ezam behaving like this? The reason is because he didn’t have higher ideals.

He was literally worshiping Anwar Ibrahim. He was a young man who was angry that he was ejected out of power. Of course, he didn’t have power but walking on the red carpets laid down for Anwar was too tantalising.

Ezam paid the price for his Anwar worship and went to jail. Mahathir left office and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi riding on a ‘Oh…Mahathir left’ popular wave cruised to a crushing BN victory. In the process, Ezam’s dubious character of eating from both camps was unearthed.

Anwar Ibrahim was released. He went abroad both for medical reasons and also as he said, to ‘give Abdullah enough space to operate.’ He started rebuilding a tattered party, building alliances, bridging gaps and formulating policies. It was here that Anwar was forced to choose his soldiers wisely.

Having learnt from his 1998 episode, Anwar became stealthy and very cautious. Though accommodative to all, he trusted few. Despite going to jail for his worship, Ezam was not part of the trusted lieutenants in the new era despite being one in the past. Though I’m not a PKR member, I generally support PAS and PKR and have many good friends in both parties.

A highly placed PKR man told me: ‘Anwar opted for cautious people like him and it was here that Azmin Ali carried the day.’ Ezam quit PKR. As we remember, he said Anwar was ‘a dictator’ and Azmin Ali a chief manipulator (in that he manipulated Anwar into becoming his right hand man - a job Ezam wanted).

During the Permatang Pauh by-election, Ezam reveals his inherent jealousy and said: ‘I have not been accommodated in PKR as I wanted which I suffered for.’ No need to explain this.

Ezam formed GERAK (ironically bankrolled by UMNO’s most corrupted man). He languished in obscurity and irrelevance though he continued lashing out at UMNO and claiming that he will lodge report after report on its ‘massive corruption’. It remained so until the March 2008 came when Anwar led three disparate parties to a historical win. Then Anwar started courting BN MPs, and UMNO went into panic overdrive.

Khairy Jamaluddin brought in Ezam in the hope that he will blunt Anwar’s advances. The problem was that Ezam was not a leader of any group or society. He has never been a state assembly person let alone an MP. His only claim to office (and fame ) as his being an Anwar’s clerk.

During the Permatang Pauh by-election he went round inventing every imaginable calumny against Anwar. The trouble was he had done the same to others before and people knew this. So his rants didn’t hold water. His and UMNO’s politics were rejected in a resounding manner. He went underground and was only found when the Kuala Terengganu by-election arose.

Ezam’s desperate antics went a notch higher in KT. He came up with another joke. ‘The six boxes are kept outside the country’ by Anwar he claimed. Subhannalah! Now that was the biggest joke he had made in one decade.

‘The boxes contain evidence against Anwar’s cronies and because of that I left PKR’ he said. Ya Allah! Never mind what he has been saying for years and years that the boxes were in relation to Mahathir and UMNO!

Then came the most base move he could make - the Anwar Ibrahim letter. He threatened to reveal a letter in which Anwar sought to make peace with Mahathir. His paralysed personality and feeble mind was on display for all to see. For one, the letter he showed was published in 1999 in the ‘Free Anwar Ibrahim’ Campaign website. It was also published in many other personal blogs and was also published in ‘Malaysia-Today’ last year.

But the shock was when Ezam claimed that he sought the permission of Abdullah and Najib to reveal the letter. I couldn’t believe what I read. If that’s true, then it proves that Dollah and Najib are beyond salvation. How can you seek permission for a letter that has been in the public domain for 10 years?

And the letter showed the positive nature of Anwar more than any anything else. What is the wisdom behind ‘revealing’ it? But that’s what you get when you rely on scandalous minds.

When Pakatan Rakyat was using dignified people like former UMNO Petaling Jaya Selatan division leader Capt (R) Zahar Hashim and Zaid Ibrahim, UMNO (or rather Najib and Abdullah since ordinary UMNO members avoided him) were using Ezam.

You think people fail to make comparisons? To compare notes? Who told you badmouthing your opponent, particularly over a case of ‘sour grapes’, makes you gain ground? Who told you employing dubious elements convinces people?

Remember, voters have dignity and they have issues and questions. They want those answered and they want the ones who are answering to be impeccable.

Ezam was there vomiting on the shoes of UMNO and its leaders before and he was there doing the same in Kuala Terengganu. He even dared PAS Vice-President Husam Musa. As usual, Ezam swore and challenged Husam to do the same and meet for a swearing session. Knowing his diseased ego, Husam answered that swearing was for those who weren’t sure of themselves and that he (Husam) was not a tokoh unlike Ezam. It was a devastating sarcasm.

Finally, this is my advice to Ezam. You claim to be fighting for Islam and the Malay people. Sir, neither Islam nor the Malays have ordained you to speak on their behalf. Islam has its Protector in Allah the Almighty. Furthermore, Islam is about ideals, dignity, trustworthiness, shyness, humility, manners, patience, benevolence, forgiveness, humbleness and you exhibit none. Go and learn Islam before you ‘defend’ it.

I hope that you will do some good for your wife, children and parents by carrying yourself with dignity. I doubt you can, but I really feel disturbed that you are putting your own parents and children in the line of disdain and ridicule. Go and do something good with your life.

2 caveats on MACC’s independence, credibility and professionalism

2009-01-27T20:34:00.000+08:00

By Lim Kit Siang

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) must live down its very bad start which has seriously undermined its claim to independence, credibility and professionalism as compared to its predecessor, Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).

The MACC had swung into action in the past week and although it seemed to be in an “all-out war” mode against Umno “ikan bilis”, it has to convince Malaysians that it is becoming another ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption of Hong Kong) which brooks no nonsense in its fight against corruption on two important grounds:

• Firstly, when will it move from Umno “ikan bilis” to Umno “ikan yu” to eradicate corruption in the most corrupt institution in the country; and

• Secondly, its “stop work” in its first 17 days of establishment for fear of jeopardizing UMNO’s victory in the Kuala Terengganu by-election on January 17, although Malaysians were promised that the MACC would hit the ground attacking corruption from January 1, 2009.

In fact, on January 14, three days before the Kuala Terengganu by-election, the MACC was forced to delay charging a former Barisan Nasional (BN) state assemblyman in Selangor for corruption so as not to affect UMNO’s result in the Kuala Terengganu by-election.

Former BN Selangor State Assemblyman (Semenyih), Datuk Ahmad Kuris Mohd Nor, also former head of the Hulu Langat Umno division, was only charged on four separate counts of corruption involving RM200,000 in the Ampang Sessions Court a week later – after the Kuala Terengganu by-election result.

In the event, whether a former Umno state assemblyman was charged for corruption before or after the polling would have made no difference to the outcome of the Kuala Terenggany by-election result.

But would the MACC be so “considerate” as to hold back corruption charges if the accused involved had been a PAS or Pakatan Rakyat leader?

Can we hear an explanation from the Chief Commissioner of MACC, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan, to these two clear caveats about the independence, credibility and professionalism of MACC in the very first month of MACC existence?

Crossover Will Rejuvenate Umno Instead - Tajol Rosli

2009-01-27T20:33:00.000+08:00

SITIAWAN, Jan 27 (Bernama) -- Bota state assemblyman Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim's crossover from Umno to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) last Sunday will not weaken Perak Umno but will instead pave the way for efforts to rejuvenate and reinvent the party to ensure it remains strong, Perak Umno Liaison Committee chairman Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali said today.

He said Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was coaxing Barisan Nasional (BN) elected representatives in the state to cross over with the offer of certain posts in a desperate move to enable the PR maintain its power in Perak.

The PR government in Perak was forced to resort to such a measure in preparation for the possible loss of two PKR elected representatives who had been charged last August for accepting bribes along with three other people, he told reporters at the Chinese New Year open house organised by Perak MCA chairman Datuk Kong Cho Ha at the hall of the SMJK Nan Hwa here.

Changkat Jering assemblyman Capt (Rtd) Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu, 57, and Behrang assemblyman Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi, 52, are scheduled to attend court hearing from Feb 10 on the charges.

Meanwhile, at the Chinese New Year open house organised by the Perak Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Ipoh, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin denied that Nasaruddin had crossed over from Umno to PKR because he had been offered a certain post as an inducement.

He said the PR state government had not offered any post or money to the former Parit MP.

In KOTA KINABALU, Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said today Nasaruddin's crossover from Umno to PKR had tarnished the democratic process in the country.

"The people had placed their trust in someone who stood on one (Umno) ticket. Then he crossed over.

"The voters placed their trust in him not because of the individual himself but because of his capacity in the party he represented which enabled him to win (in the elections)," he told reporters after a gathering with the leaders organised by the Federation of Sabah Chinese Associations.

Shafie said elected representatives should not belittle the party's struggle by actions similar to that of the Bota assemblyman.

"People are not goods to be traded," he said.

On the Umno elections in March, in which he is contesting a post of vice-president, Shafie said he was confident the delegates would elect leaders who were acceptable not only to the Malays in the party but also to the Malays and other communities outside the BN.

"If the other communities can accept us, this can help to strengthen the party, especially in the next general election.

"It is most important that communities outside the party accept us because they will also determine the government," he said.

At the function, Shafie's ministry donated RM50,000 to the federation to carry out various cultural activities, particularly involving the young.

Zahid Hamidi bersifat Jahiliyah moden

2009-01-27T19:51:00.000+08:00

"Mengapa dan kenapa Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri mengeluar arahan melarang pegawai kerajaan persekutuan menghadiri mesyuarat rasmi kerajaan negeri Perak yang dikuasai oleh pakatan rakyat.

Kerajaan Pusat tidak mengiktiraf tandangan dan cop rasmi JKKK atau penghulu yang dilantik oleh kerajaan negeri Perak.

Datuk Zahid Hamidi bagaikan seorang pengikut setia Abu Jahal dan Zahid Hamidi contuh seseorang yang bersifat "JAHILLLIYAH MODERN", yang digambarkan oleh pengarang buku "interlekual dalam Islam yang dikarang oleh Al-Syahid Ali Syariati.

Jahilliyah modern amat sukar untuk diberi nasihat atau amat sukar untuk menerima kebaikan. Hatinya cukup keras malah biasanya terjadi pada seseorang yang tahu tentang ugama atau seseorang cerdik dan ada ilmu malah berpelajaran. Amat sukar untuk menembusi hatidan sanubari malah selalu membuat halangan dan berhujah dengan akal tidak berpandukan konsep Islam dan taqwa.

Zahid Hamidi terlupa dan membuat lupa tugas kerajaan persekutuan dan negeri dari sudut undang-undang perlembangan. Memang Zahid Hamidi membuat buta dan tuli walaupu matanya dan hatinya tidak buta. Celik dalam buta.

Ingat rakyat benci pada pemimpin yang bersifat angkuh dan tidak mesra rakyat. Jadi betul apa yang dikatakan pemimpin umno yang lain, Pemimpin umno sendiri merosakan perjuangan umno.

Zahid Hamidi mengapa anda bersifat dengki dan mulut celupar dan membuat arahan seperti dizaman Abu jahal dan angkuh seperti Firaun?.....Cuba renung kata-kata pemimpin umno......

Umno hilang daya tarikan....Tan Sri Muhyuddin Yasin.....

Kami meminta Zahid Hamidi dan Kerajaan Persekutuan menarik kembali arahan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri dan kabinet . Anih dalam tangkapan ramai orang membenci pemimpin umno ada suara nakal membaut arahan sperti zaman kerata lembu. " - ALISYARIATI/Tranungkite

Lompat: Petanda awal gelombang wakil rakyat - Penganalisis politik

2009-01-27T19:45:00.000+08:00

Oleh Zanarian Abd. Mutalib

TINDAKAN Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Bota dari Umno, Datuk Nasarudin Hashim melompat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) kelmarin, salah satu komponen Pakatan Rakyat, dilihat kemungkinan petanda awal "gelombang wakil rakyat" berbanding "gelombang rakyat" Mac lalu.

Justeru, penganalisis politik berpendapat tindakan Nasarudin yang mengumumkan untuk menyertai Pakatan Rakyat kelmarin dilihat mungkin akan membuka jalan kepada wakil rakyat BN yang lain untuk mengikut langkah beliau.

Pensyarah sains politik Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Prof. Madya Dr. Ghazali Mahyudin berkata, untuk menyifatkan tindakan melompat parti ini sebagai permulaan 'gelombang wakil rakyat' mungkin terlalu awal, namun ia tidak mustahil.

"Setakat ini, mungkin terlalu awal untuk meramalkan akan ada lagi wakil rakyat BN yang akan melompat ke pembangkang kerana pada masa ini baru ada seorang wakil rakyat BN yang menyertai pembangkang.

"Jika ada yang kedua (menyertai pembangkang), mungkin itu boleh dikatakan permulaan 'gelombang wakil rakyat' selepas berlakunya 'gelombang rakyat' pada pilihan raya umum, Mac lalu," katanya ketika dihubungi mStar Online.

Beliau berkata, tindakan Nasarudin seperti 'menunjuk jalan' kepada wakil rakyat BN lain yang mungkin sedang berkira-kira untuk menyertai pembangkang.

"Hal ini tidak mustahil akan berlaku kerana dalam Umno, ada banyak puak dan mungkin ada yang rasa mereka dipinggirkan lalu memikirkan perkara itu.

"Mungkin ada yang tidak puas hati kerana kalah dalam perebutan jawatan dan sebagainya.

"Mungkin mereka tidak menyatakannya tetapi dalam diam-diam, siapa tahu... seperti apa yang dilakukan Nasarudin," katanya.

Ghazali berkata, tindakan nekad tersebut mungkin diambil Nasarudin memandangkan Umno kini berada dalam keadaan lemah dan mempunyai saingan yang semakin kuat.

"Jika Umno kuat dan parti lawan lemah, mungkin mereka akan berfikir dua kali untuk ke parti lawan tetapi oleh sebab Umno sedang lemah, maka mereka rasakan tidak ada guna bertahan dalam Umno.

"Kita tahu dalam politik, semua orang mahu menjaga kepentingan masing-masing dan istilah setiakawan adalah perkara terakhir yang diambil kira," katanya.

Beliau berkata, gabungan parti dalam Pakatan Rakyat yang terdiri daripada PKR, PAS dan DAP yang semakin kuat sememangnya mampu menarik wakil rakyat BN menyertai mereka.

"Selepas menang di lima negeri pada pilihan raya umum Mac lalu, mereka juga telah memenangi pilihan raya kecil Permatang Pauh dan Kuala Terengganu dan jika tidak menang pun pada pilihan raya Sarawak yang akan datang, mereka mungkin berjaya menambah kerusi," katanya.

Sementara itu, Pensyarah Kanan Sains Politik dan Strategi Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Dr. Ahmad Nizamuddin Sulaiman juga berpendapat, tindakan Nasarudin itu akan menarik wakil rakyat BN yang lain untuk mengikut jejak langkah beliau.

"Saya tidak menolak kemungkinan bahawa ia akan menjadi bola salji yang semakin lama semakin besar... semakin lama, semakin ramai pula yang akan bertindak demikian.

"Mungkin pada masa ini, ada yang sedang tunggu dan lihat dan tindakan ADUN Bota ini menyebabkan mereka semakin berani," katanya.

Beliau berkata, tindakan Nasarudin sebagai wakil rakyat Umno menyertai PKR sememangnya sesuatu yang mengejutkan memandangkan ahli-ahli Umno mempunyai disiplin yang kuat dan patuh kepada arahan parti.

"Walaupun beliau adalah ADUN, bukan ahli Parlimen tetapi tindakan beliau sebagai seorang pemimpin daripada Umno sememangnya mengejutkan.

"Kita tidak jangka 'lompat parti' ini akan berlaku di kalangan ahli Umno yang kuat disiplinnya dan sering mengikut arahan parti. Kita jangka mungkin wakil rakyat dari Sabah atau Sarawak," katanya.

Beliau berkata, tindakan Nasarudin itu bagaimanapun merupakan langkah 'selamat' kerana Perak kini diperintah oleh Pakatan Rakyat.

Bagaimanapun, beliau percaya, kekalahan Nasarudin merebut jawatan Ketua Umno Bahagian Parit baru-baru ini menjadi penyumbang utama kepada tindakannya menyertai PKR.

"Walaupun beliau ADUN, jawatan Ketua Bahagian penting kerana saluran dana kerajaan pusat untuk membantu rakyat akan disalurkan kepada Ketua Bahagian.

"Mungkin kekalahannya itu menyebabkan beliau tidak berpuas hati dan merasakan telah hilang pengaruh," katanya.

Justeru katanya, BN sebagai parti pemerintah perlu mengkaji semula pengagihan dana ini yang bukan sahaja hanya diserahkan kepada Ketua Bahagian tetapi juga kepada ADUNnya.

Katanya, wakil-wakil rakyat Umno sepatutnya mempunyai semangat setiakawan yang kuat dan berjiwa Umno jika tidak mahu perkara ini terus berulang.

"Jangan kerana nyamuk seekor, habis kelambu dibakar," katanya. / Mstar

Autopsy no. 2 finds external injuries

2009-01-27T19:44:00.000+08:00

The Malaysian Insider

A second autopsy on suspected car thief Kugan Ananthan has found external injuries caused by blunt force trauma, sources told The Malaysian Insider.

The 22-year-old, who died while in police custody on Jan 20, was said to have died of cardiac arrest following the injuries, the sources said.

Initial findings also revealed Kugan was asthmatic, and his condition had caused phlegm to accumulate in his lungs.

The full report is expected to be issued within days after Universiti Malaya Medical Centre pathologists carried out the autopsy that lasted nearly 10 hours on Sunday following a dispute over earlier findings that he had died of "water in the lungs".

The Attorney-General’s Chambers have classified the case as murder and 11 policemen from the Subang USJ Taipan police station have been reassigned to desk duty pending investigations.

It is understood that closed-circuit-television-cameras (CCTV) were not placed in the police station’s lock-up despite a directive years ago that was intended to prevent claims of police abuse.

Kugan was said to be part of a syndicate involved in stealing luxury cars but his family said he has no criminal record and worked as an insurance claims executive.

Kugan will be cremated at the Puchong Batu 14 crematorium on Wednesday.

Fearing trouble, police have warned his family and friends not to turn the funeral into a protest following unconfirmed reports that a procession with banners and placards are being planned.

The police are now questioning some 21 people, including two deputy ministers, for allegedly barging into a hospital mortuary to view Kugan’s body last week. The family and the two politicians dispute the police and hospital version of events, saying they had a right to see the body.

His death is the latest over the years of suspects, mainly Indians, who had died suddenly in police custody.

Political parties across the divide have asked for an independent probe into his death and others in the past.

His family has also criticised the police for hiding behind a wall of silence over the death.

“The police never informed us that he was arrested and we only heard about it from an anonymous caller,” Kugan’s uncle V. Raviroy told The Malaysian Insider.

The 42-year-old businessman said no matter what Kugan was accused of doing; he did not deserve to die.

“Kugan was only 22, he had his whole life ahead of him, why did he end up dead in the lockup?” he lamented.

Rakyat tolak Najib jadi PM, tidak mahu peralihan kuasa

2009-01-27T19:40:00.000+08:00

(Hrkh) - Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak akan melalui jalan sukar untuk menduduki kerusi Putrajaya sebagai Perdana Menteri kerana terdapat petunjuk proses peralihan kuasa mungkin tidak berlaku atas desakan pelbagai pihak dalam Umno sendiri kata Naib Ketua Dewan Pemuda PAS Pusat, Azman Sharpawi.

Azman yang juga Ketua Dewan Pemuda PAS Terengganu ketika berceramah di Kampung Razali delat sini, baru-baru ini menjelaskan proses peralihan kuasa terganggu akibat Najib yang mengetuai pilihanraya kecil Parlimen Kuala Terengganu hilang wibawa akibat daripada kekalahan Umno-BN dalam pilihanraya kecil tersebut.

"Dulu apabila Unno BN kalah dalam pilihanraya umum semua tangan menunjukkan kearah Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yang dianggap lemah. Kemudian berlaku desakan agar peralihan kuasa dalam Umno perlu dilakukan.

"Kemudian apabila Umno BN kalah lagi dalam pilihanraya kecil Permatang Pauh, desak lagi agar segerakan peralihan kuasa dalam bulan Mac. Pak Lah turut lagi, ini bermakna semasa berlakunya pilihanraya kecil Kuala Terengganu Najib adalah Presiden Umno dan Najib adalah bayangan Perdana Menteri. Tetapi rakyat secara jelas telah menolak kepimpinan Najib dengan mengalahkan calon Umno. Sebab itu kita percaya Najib lalui jalan sukar,"katanya.

Tambah Azman terdapat banyak desakan agar Perdana Menteri Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi meneruskan kepimpinan sebagai Perdana Menteri bagi meneruskan agenda pembaharuannya dalam pentadbiran.

"Banyak desakan kita dengar agar Pak Lah meneruskan jawatannya sebagai Perdana Menteri. Ada yang berpendapat kalau Najib ambil alih keadaan bertambah buruk," katanya.

Mengenai kejayaan PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat dalam pilihanraya kecil Kuala Terengganu Azman berkata sokongan luar biasa golongan muda memberi keyakinan kepada PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat untuk menerajui kerajaan pada pilihanraya akan datang.

"Sokongan golongan muda memang luar biasa dan amat membimbangkan Umno. Kejayaan kita kerana golongan muda berpihak kepada PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat, kalau trend ini berterusan masa depan PAS dan Pakatan Rakyat memang cerah,"katanya.

Defection prompts Tajol to quit as Perak UMNO boss soon

2009-01-27T19:38:00.000+08:00

The Malaysian Insider

Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali will quit as Perak Umno chief soon while three Barisan Nasional state reps have hinted at following Datuk Nasarudin Hashim into Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) as discontent grows over Umno’s recent divisional polls, The Malaysian Insider learnt today.

The state Umno is in turmoil now after the Bota state assemblyman repudiated the party to join his Universiti Malaya campus mate Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday and revelations by Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin that he is negotiating with the trio to cross over to Pakatan Rakyat.

Among the trio are state representatives within the Larut and Bruas parliamentary constituencies, sources told The Malaysian Insider.

“Tajol Rosli has indicated to the party leadership that he will relinquish his post soon,” a source said today.

Tajol Rosli, who was Perak Menteri Besar before BN lost the state to Pakatan Rakyat in the March 2008 polls, had met with Umno deputy president and deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak yesterday to discuss Nasarudin’s defection.

He alluded to problems within the Parit Umno division that led to the former Parit MP’s decision to quit.

It is learnt that the other state assemblymen mulling their future in Umno voiced out concerns about similar problems within their divisions.

They are also unhappy that the national leadership have ignored their problems and felt that several national leaders are behind moves to oust them from party politics. Politicking and jockeying for key posts have increased since Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s exit plan was brought forward to this March.

Najib has been elected unopposed as Umno’s new president and will have to face a party rife with factional interests and ambitious warlords conspiring for their own interests rather than that of the dominant Malay party that has led the nation since Merdeka.

“Its a zero-sum game. When some lose party positions, they lose everything. The only way up could be through another party,” an Umno leader said, alluding to Nasarudin’s loss in party division elections a few months ago.

The veteran Perak leader has seen his influence diminish when he was moved from the Parit parliament seat constituency to the Bota state seat in the last elections. While he won the state seat, he lost his Felcra chairmanship, a position normally given to an MP.

The Parit Umno deputy chief’s failed challenge for the divisional top post was the last straw, sources added.

Several other divisions are facing similar problems, with the most prominent being Larut Umno’s imbroglio between current chief Datuk Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar and challenger Larut MP Datuk Hamzah Zainudin.

Raja Ahmad has charged that Hamzah, who is Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister, is ineligible to contest for the division post due to procedural issues but Tajol Rosli has referred the matter to the party supreme council for a decision. No decision has been made and the division has yet to hold its elections.

Anwar, who is Parliamentary Opposition leader, yesterday also hinted of more cross-overs but Najib has denied it, calling it “rumours”.

Nasarudin’s defection is seen by many as a blow to Najib just weeks before he assumes the party presidency as it reflects a lack of faith in his leadership.

“It’s a blow to Najib as some don’t think he can handle the party well. Nobody will attribute this to Pak Lah as he is already on the way out,” a Umno veteran said.

While Perak Umno is in turmoil, Tajol Rosli maintained yesterday that the party was confident of wresting back the state from the Pakatan Rakyat electoral pact in the next elections.

“We have three years to do it and the BN has put in motion all measures especially to get the votes of the youth,” he said.

Tajol Rosli also said he has yet to meet Nasarudin, who has been avoiding his calls.

0-3 But Najib is hopeful

2009-01-27T19:37:00.000+08:00

The Malaysian Insider

The score is 0-3 and the threat of more embarrassment being piled upon him, the party and ruling coalition he will soon lead, grows by the day.

Defeat in Permatang Pauh. Defeat in Kuala Terengganu. Cross-over in Bota.

But he is still the calmest man in the room. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has told Cabinet minister, senior politicians and government officials that he does not believe that the setbacks suffered by Umno/Barisan Nasional since March 8 2008 are signs that Malaysians want the ruling coalition out of power.

He does not believe that Umno is on a death watch.

He does not believe that the country is ready to flick away, like an annoying piece of lint, the government which has held the reins of power since independence and transformed a largely agrarian society to one of the top trading nations in the world.

Najib, who will become leader of the party and be installed as the prime minister of Malaysia by March 31, is confident that with some meaningful reforms and a steady stewardship of the economy, he will be able to staunch the bleeding of support for Umno/BN and put it on the right path to recover lost ground at the next general elections, scheduled for 2013.

But …

But first he will have to convince his party men that phase of change does not end when Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi steps down from power in March. Indeed, the changing of guard at the top should signal the beginning of a period of sustained change in the party. The first step

should be the composition of the Cabinet.

Every Umno president has been forced to “respect’’ the wishes of the 2,000 Umno delegates and reward successful candidates at party elections with Cabinet positions.

So it did not matter if you were corrupt, incompetent, average or a chauvinist. If you snared a senior party position, you were a shoo-in for a Cabinet seat.

Shaken by the results of Election 2008, Abdullah flirted with the idea of loading his Cabinet with at least four or five top Malay professionals.

He finally buckled to pressure from the party and only selected Amirsham A. Aziz and Zaid Ibrahim. He loaded the Cabinet with politicians, considered heavyweights in Umno but average by the rest of the country.

Najib has drawn up a list of credible individuals who have the brainpower and stature to be ministers but is already being told that he should not be too adventurous.

In short, stick to the old formula of promoting Umno politicians who bag the most number of votes at the party elections.

There are several problems with sticking with the old tried and discredited formula.

Even Umno politicians concede that vote buying and corruption is rampant this time around. What message will Najib send Malaysians if he loads his Cabinet with politicians who purchased their positions in Umno?

But…

But first he will have to oversee an economy that will be in the doldrums for between 12 to 24 months.

In the days ahead, the government will tweak its official position and acknowledge that the growth forecast of 3.5 per cent for 2009 cannot be met.

Research houses and analysts say that Malaysia will be in recession, with the economy contracting by between 1 per cent and 2 per cent.

Government officials told The Malaysian Insider that they still believe that economy will expand this year, perhaps by 0.5 per cent. That is the best case scenario and is anchored on this important assumption: that the RM7 billion stimulus package is implemented in a timely fashion.

The Malaysian Insider has learnt that some RM5 billion has been released to individual ministeries but the money has not flowed down to projects earmarked under the stimulus package.

The biggest challenge Najib will face is to keep Malaysians in their jobs.

The second stimulus package to be announced soon will include measures to reduce the cost of doing business, including a possible corporate tax cut.

The government hopes that by cutting down cost for businesses, employers will not cut jobs. If this gambit proves unsuccessful and the rate of retrenchment increases, Najib and the BN government will have to face the prospect of between 200,000 and 300,000 Malaysians out of work.

What then? How do you inspire people when their confidence has been sucked dry, sapped by the loss of the one thing that keeps them and their loved ones going?

But…

But first he will have to make sure the more trying economic times and more fractious political scenario does not further weaken the frayed ties between Malaysia’s races.

Looking back, one of the biggest disappointments of the Abdullah era has been his paralysis in tackling racial and religious issues.

The PM hoped that if you left tricky issues alone long enough, they would sort themselves out.

They don’t. They just become festering sores.

Just after the Hindu Action Rights Force persuaded 30,000 Indians to take to the streets in November 2007 and pushed the marginalisation of Indians to become a national issue, Abdullah convened a meeting of Indian community leaders in his office.

He was given an unvarnished account of the crime situation among Indians; the economic deprivation and cautioned that the despair in the community was like a ticking time bomb.

Abdullah promised action but there was little follow-up. In a separate meeting, he was told by non-Muslim religious leaders that there was restlessness among Buddhist, Christians and Sikhs over the perceived encroaching on their freedom to worship by the government.

Today, these complaints are as loud as ever. Abdullah found himself caught in a dilemma: he wanted to be fair to the non-Muslims but he was concerned about upsetting his power base in Umno and among the Malays.

So he did nothing.

The option of doing nothing will not be available to Najib. Indeed, the option of following the old playbook will not be available to Najib.

Bila ADUN UMNO menyertai Keadilan

2009-01-27T19:29:00.000+08:00

ABDULLAH AHAMAD BADAWI DEMAM....!!!

Bagaimana pula dengan Najib Tun Razak yang masih terus membuat kenyataan tidak akan berlaku sebarang penghijarahan lagi kalangan wakil rakyat Barisan Nasional menyeberang ke gagasan Pakatan Rakyat?

KAMAL AMIR MENULIS

NASHARUDDIN HASHIM Adun Bota,Perak telahpun Mengistiharkan dirinya keluar dari Umno untuk menyertai Pakatan Rakyat (Keadilan) selepas mantan Ketua Umno Bahagian Petaling Jaya Selatan Lapten (B) Datuk Abu Zahar mengumumkan secara terbuka meninggalkan parti tersebut untuk berada dalam sab kepimpinan Pas anggota Pakatan Rakyat saat Parlimen P.36 Kuala Terengganu mengadakan pilihanraya kecilnya.

Khabar semakin tersebar meluas Ketua Umno Larut yang juga Adun Selama pasti akan meninggalkan siasah Umno untuk menyertai Pakatan Rakyat seandainya kemelut di bahagian tersebut masih gagal diselesaikan oleh pimpinan parti peringkat tertinggi.

Badan Pencegah Rasuah juga bagaikan tidak lagi mahu menoleh kebelakang untuk mengheret siapa sahaja yang didapati terlibat dalam percaturan politik wang musim pemilihan Umno diperingkat Bahagian hujung tahun lalu.

Dan hari ini pimpinan kerajaan baru mula membuka mulut untuk bercakap benar berhubung kemelesetan ekonomi yang melanda negara selepas begitu lama berbohong kononnya negara ini tidak akan menghadapi sebarang kesan dari permasalahaan ekonomi global. (Lihat beberapa kali kenyataan memanda wazir Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dan Najib Razak).

Setelah hampir satu juta rakyat mengelami kehilangan pekerjaan kesan penutupan kilang serta syarikat besar dari luar negara baru kelmarin Tan Sri Muhayuddin Yassin menyatakan kemelesetan ekonomi dunia semakin hebat menyerang negara hingga mengakibatkan begitu banyak syarikat bakal gulung tikar.

Memanda Timbalan Perdana Menteri pula barulah mahu mengakui secara terbuka bahawa negara bakal menghadapi situasi payah kesan krisis ekonomi global. Ertinya selama ini beliau berbohong kepada rakyat dengan menyatakan bahawa rangsangan serta kekangan ekonomi bakal menyaksikan negara terus memacu kemantapan ekonominya.... hempeh sungguh kenyataan dan pembohongan yang dilakukan selama ini.

Berbalik kisah penghijarahan beberapa orang pemimpin Umno menyertai Pakatan Rakyat, akhbar arus perdana sekali lagi melakukan pembohongan tersohor seperti yang dengungkan musim pilihanraya kecil di Kuala Terengganu tempoh hari apabila kenyataan Timbalan Perdana Menteri Mohd Najib Razak dipetik sebagai berkata berita penghijrahan tersebut adalah khabar angin semata-mata.

Malahan mantan Menteri Besar Perak Datuk Tajul Rosli yang memimpin Umno di Perak hingga terlingkup di tangan Pakatan Rakyat juga turut menyatakan bahawa apa yang berlaku di negeri tersebut hanyalah sekadar cerita seorang pemimpin kerdil sahaja menyertai pakatan Rakyat, malahan dia menyatakan Umno masih kukuh dan relevan lagi di negeri Perak....kononnya!!!!!

Mantan Menteri Besar Selangor Dato’ Seri Mohd Khir Toyo pula diberitakan semakin lancang menuduh berlakunya penyelewangan dalam kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat di negeri tersebut dalam isu agihan 49 ekor lembu untuk sambutan hari raya korban tahun lalu.

Maka sayapun terfikir apakah Khir Toyo masih mahu membuka tin yang penuh dengan seribu kebusukkan pernah dilakukan oleh kerajaan Barisan Nasional musim mentadbir negeri Selangor sebelum merudum dan terjunam di baham kebangkitan gelombang “ Suara Rakyat Kuasa Keramat” hingga mengakibatkan pemimpin dari BN ditendang keluar darianjung kuasa di Shah Alam?

Terlupakah olehnya bagaimana rakyat merasa begitu meluat melihat angkuhnya beliau merobohkan rumah rakyat bertaraf setingan di Kampong Berembang serta beberapa kawasan lain? Atau Khir Toyo yakin rakyat sudah lupa cerita satu lori ayam yang didermakan olehnya musim sambutan hari raya tahun pertama beliau menjadi Menteri Besar yang tidak diketahui dari mana datangnya biaya pembelian ayam-ayam tersebut?

Apakah Khir Toyo bersedia untuk memulakan perang hingga memaksa Tan Sri Khalid segera mendedahkan bagaimana cerita sebenar disebalik ceretra syarikat Lebar Daun memperolehi tanah di Shah Alam? Begitu juga dengan aduan rakyat dalam kisah seribu satu malam penganugerahan tanah kepada syarikat Metro Kajang?

Dalam situasi tersebut Tan Sri Khalid yang sudahpun memperolehi pelbagai bentuk laporan serta kertas keputusan exco kerajaan Selangor yang terdahulu sewajarnya segera menyampaikan cerita sebenar kepada rakyat. Musim untuk selindung menyelindung, tutup menutup sudah berakhir. Hari ini rakyat menuntut agar pimpinan kerajaan Selangor mendedahkan hal sebenar serta segera mengheret mereka yang mengkhianati kepercayaan rakyat kemuka pengadilan.

Menurut laporan dari berita arus perdana petang tadi, Memanda Wazir Abdullah Ahmad Badawi diberitakan tidak dapat menghadiri rumah terbuka anjuran parti MCA sempena menyambut tahun Baru China atas alasan kesihatannya terganggu.

Apakah beliau masih keletihan selepas seminggu berada di negara Teluk atau mungkin dengan berlakunya penghijarahan saudara Nasaruddin Hashim keluar dari Umno untuk menyertai Parti Keadilan membuatkan imam besar mazhab Islam Hadhari itu demam kepanasan?

Bagaimana pula dengan Najib Tun Razak yang masih terus membuat kenyataan tidak akan berlaku sebarang penghijarahan lagi kalangan wakil rakyat Barisan Nasional menyeberang ke gagasan Pakatan Rakyat? Mampukah beliau tidur nyenyak setelah menyaksikan mimpi indahnya untuk bertandang ke Seri Perdana semakin suram dan samar?

Khabar yang diterima dari Sabah sudah terdengar akan berlakunya pilihanraya kecil kerusi Pensingan yang tentunya bakal menjelmakan lagi “Suara Rakyat Kuasa Keramat” untuk membenamkan sekali lagi bahtera Barisan Nasional.

Begitu juga di Sarawak, saya menerima beberapa kiriman sms menyatakan bakal berlakunya ahli Parlimen meninggalkan Barisan untuk menyertai Pakatan Rakyat. Sejauh mana benar cerita tersebut masih belum dapat dipastikan namun menyaksikan kenyataan demi kenyataan pemimpin hari ini terlalu sukar rasanya menolak kebenaran tersebut.

Quovadis Umno!!!!!! Mampukah pimpinan menyelamatkan bahtera Umno dan Barisan Nasional?

3 lagi ADUN BN Perak sertai Pakatan?

2009-01-27T19:26:00.000+08:00

(mStar Online) - Kira-kira 24 jam selepas Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Bota dari Umno menyertai Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Menteri Besar Perak, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin mendakwa tiga lagi ADUN Barisan Nasional (BN) dijangka menyertai Pakatan Rakyat.

Terdahulu di ibu negara, Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak menafikan bahawa ada lagi wakil rakyat BN yang akan menyertai Pakatan Rakyat.

Timbalan Pengerusi BN itu menyifatkan semua itu sebagai khabar angin sahaja.

"Semua itu khabar angin sahaja...saya tidak fikir (ada lagi yang akan berpaling tadah)," katanya kepada pemberita ketika ditanya mengenai perkara itu berikutan tindakan Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim yang menyertai PKR semalam.

Nizar ketika mengulas lanjut isu itu memberitahu, perbincangan dengan ketiga-tiga ADUN terbabit sedang berlangsung dengan Pakatan Rakyat.

"Kita sedang berurusan. Perbincangan mengenainya sedang berjalan," kata beliau kepada pemberita selepas menghadiri Rumah Terbuka Tahun Baru Cina anjuran DAP Perak di Ipoh hari ini.

Ketika ditanya mengenai identiti ADUN berkenaan, beliau berkata ketiga-tiga wakil rakyat berkenaan ialah dari Umno.

"Kami mengalu-alukan penyertaan mereka ke dalam Pakatan Rakyat dan kami terbuka untuk menerima mereka," katanya.

Dengan keputusan Nasarudin, kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat negeri Perak yang dianggota DAP, PAS dan PKR mempunyai 32 kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri manakala BN 27 kerusi iaitu 26 Umno dan satu MCA.

Dalam pada itu, Pengerusi Badan Perhubungan Umno Perak, Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali berkata, keputusan Nasaruddin tidak menjejaskan kedudukan BN.

Kata beliau, keputusan Nasaruddin itu hanya membawa perubahan kepada jumlah kerusi di persidangan DUN.

Tajol Rosli, yang juga Pengerusi BN Perak, berkata BN di Perak masih kukuh dan berazam mahu merampas semula Perak daripada Pakatan Rakyat pada pilihan raya umum akan datang.

"Kita ada tiga tahun lagi untuk berbuat demikian dan BN telah menggerakkan semua jentera terutamanya untuk meraih undi pengundi muda.

"BN mendapati kekurangan undi pada pilihan raya umum ke-12 adalah di saluran tiga dan empat... kita akan gerakkan jentera untuk mendapatkan sokongan pengundi muda daripada saluran tersebut," katanya selepas menghadiri sambutan rumah terbuka Tahun Baru Cina Menteri Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan di Gunung Rapat di sini.

I just love this country

2009-01-27T19:24:00.000+08:00

Datuk Nasarudin’s ex-comrades and ‘friends’ from Umno have been to see him to persuade him to re-crossover to Umno. “Altantuya is dead,” they remind him. “Bala is missing. We don’t want anything happening to you as well.”

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Item 1

The Selangor police have warned those attending the funeral of A. Kugan, who died whilst in police custody, not to participate in any illegal gathering or carry banners and posters. The funeral is scheduled on Wednesday.

Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said the funeral should not be politicised or turned into an illegal demonstration as it would disrupt public order and lead to chaos. He believed that plans were underway by certain groups to turn the occasion into an illegal gathering to protest against alleged police brutality.

Khalid said the police learnt the funeral procession would be organised in such a manner that it would involve certain parts of the city before arriving at an undisclosed burial ground in Selangor.

"Cards and banners are also expected to be carried by members of the procession," he said in a statement here Monday.

The police chief advised the public not participate in the illegal gathering as the force was not against a normal funeral procession and respected the grieving family. (Bernama 26 Jan 2009)

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Item 2

Two deputy ministers are likely to face action if they are found to have broken the law in the incident where a crowd raided the mortuary of Serdang Hospital in Selangor on Tuesday, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar.

Datuk K. Devamany and Senator T. Murugiah, both deputy ministers in the Prime Minister's Department, were present at the mortuary when the crowd entered the premises to examine the body of suspected car thief A. Kugan who had died while in police custody.

"No minister or member of the administration is above the law and if you have committed an offence then you have to face the consequences," Syed Hamid told reporters before attending a public forum on the Internal Security Act (ISA) here last night.

He also said that the 11 policemen being investigated for allegedly causing hurt to Kugan would not be spared action if they were found to have abused their powers.

Kugan, 22, who was detained on Jan 15 at the Taipan police station in Subang Jaya on suspicion of being involved in the theft of luxury cars in Sungai Chua, Kajang, died while being questioned on Tuesday.

Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar had said a post-mortem found that Kugan had died due to fluid in his lungs but Kugan's family sought a second post-mortem, insisting that Kugan had died of injuries.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said later that Kugan's death had been classified as murder. (Bernama 26 Jan 2009)

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Item 3

The MIC will defend the two deputy ministers if the authorities find them to have broken the law in the incident where a crowd raided the mortuary of Serdang Hospital last Tuesday.

"We will hire as many lawyers to defend them if they are charged in court," MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said in a statement issued here today.

He was commenting on Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar's statement yesterday that Datuk K. Devamany and Senator T. Murugiah, both deputy ministers in the Prime Minister's Department, might likely face action if they were present at the mortuary when the crowd barged into the mortuary to examine the body of suspected car thief A. Kugan who had died while in police custody.

The MIC president said it did not matter from which party the two deputy ministers hailed from as long as they were Indians "because the MIC represents the Indian community in Malaysia".

While Devamany is a MIC member, Murugiah is from the People's Progressive Party (PPP).

Devamany was among nine people quizzed by the police yesterday over the incident. It was also reported that 11 policemen being investigated for allegedly causing hurt to Kugan would not be spared action if they were found to have abused their powers.

Kugan, 22, who was detained on Jan 15 at the Taipan police station in Subang Jaya on suspicion of being involved in the theft of luxury cars in Sungai Chua, Kajang, died while being questioned on Tuesday.

Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar had said a post-mortem found that Kugan had died due to fluid in his lungs, but Kugan's family sought a second post-mortem, insisting that Kugan had died of injuries.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said later that Kugan's death had been classified as murder.

Samy Vellu also urged Syed Hamid to ensure that the police probe into Kugan's death was transparent.

"The MIC will be monitoring the case but we are confident that the police will leave no stones unturned in their investigation," he said. (Bernama 26 Jan 2009)

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Item 4

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has described Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasarudin Hashim’s decision to join Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) as “not surprising”.

“I am not surprised ... but he might have his own reasons (to defect) and we should know the reasons,” he said yesterday.

Ahmad Zahid who was met by reporters after the closing of the Islamic Economic Development Festival 2009 (I-Fest 09) here, said the Barisan Nasional needed to look not only into Nasarudin’s reasons for making the decision, but also that of other assemblymen and MPs who intended to do the same, especially in the opposition-ruled states.

“Perhaps the problem is about allocations, where we (federal government) can help. Maybe they find it difficult to fund activities, which they often do as the people’s representatives.

“So, assistance should be extended to them so that personal pressure does not become political pressure for these elected representatives,” added Ahmad Zahid, who is an Umno Supreme Council member.

Yesterday, Nasarudin announced his decision to join Parti Keadilan Rakyat which he said was made after due consideration. (Bernama 26 Jan 2009)

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Item 5

The Terengganu state government will investigate if there were any misdeeds by chairmen of village security and development committees (JKKK) in distribution of aid.

Terengganu Menteri Besar, Datuk Ahmad Said, said detailed investigation had to be done as perhaps the allegations were just that. He however admitted that there were cases where JKKK chairmen had given aid to their own family members.

"There have been cases when if someone challenged the JKKK chairman, he (the chairman) would not provide aid...he would give it to his family members," Ahmad told reporters at the MCA Terengganu Chinese New Year celebration at Dewan Tunku Abdul Rahman here today.

Ahmad said the appointment of the JKKK chairman and members was done twice a year by the district office after names were suggested by the local representatives.

"We will study the performance of the JKKKs...how many times they meet a year, what activities they have to benefit the people. All this will be considered before new appointments are made," he said. (Bernama 26 Jan 2006)

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Yes, that was what Bernama reported yesterday, the first day of the Year of the Ox. And, going by the Bernama reports, it is going to be an extremely turbulent year for Barisan Nasional and Umno.

Incidentally, someone told me that the Year of the Ox is also dangerous for those born in the Year of the Tiger. The Year of the Ox, I was told, is full of pitfalls for those born in the Year of the Tiger. And I was born in the Year of the Tiger -- 1950 to be exact. So I expect this spells bad news for me considering the many court cases and trials that I will be faced with the next 12 months.

But then I was born a few minutes after midnight -- on 27 September 1950 -- and those born around midnight are supposed to be ‘Midnight Tigers’ because tigers come out late at night to search for food. Well, that is what my late Chinese mother-in-law told me. “Midnight Tigers are very fierce,” she told me. “They will ‘eat’ their parents. Both your parents face the risk of dying young because of you.”

I never did believe these old wives’ tales -- Malay, Chinese or Indian -- and I never took a second take on the matter. But then both my parents died in their mid-40s and it set me wondering if old wives’ tales could have some element of truth in them after all. Did I ‘eat’ my parents, as my mother-in-law said would happen?

Anyway, Barisan Nasional’s and Umno’s problems are bigger than mine, so it appears from the Bernama reports. MIC is in crisis. MCA is in crisis. Umno is in crisis.

Tomorrow, at 2.00pm, Kugan’s funeral procession will commence from the University Hospital mortuary and will end up at the 14th-mile Puchong cemetery. Will members of MIC also join the funeral? If they do not then it will be seen as if MIC has abandoned the Indians. But if they do join then they would be seen as ‘anti-government’.

Damned if you do join the funeral and damned if you don’t. And if the Malays and Chinese join the funeral, as I have been told will happen, then MIC is double-damned if they don’t also participate. And they will also be double-damned if they do participate considering PAS, DAP and PKR leaders will also be in the funeral procession.

Hah! I hate to be in MIC’s shoes tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Umno is pretending that Datuk Nasarudin Hashim’s crossover to PKR is a non-issue. Well, why then did Najib call all the Barisan Nasional Perak Wakil Rakyats for a meeting and force them to swear to God that they will not also crossover? And why were eight Barisan Nasional Perak Wakil Rakyats absent from the meeting? Is it maybe true after all what the Perak Menteri Besar said that two more Barisan Nasional Perak Wakil Rakyats would also soon join Pakatan Rakyat?

Umno has ‘counter-offered’ Datuk Nasarudin a tasty carrot. If Barisan Nasional forms the Perak State Government then he would be made Menteri Besar if he leaves Pakatan Rakyat and rejoins Umno. Datuk Nasarudin had a good laugh at the offer.

Tasty carrot, maybe, but no thanks, he replied. He said he has his principles and once he spits he never drops to the ground to lick it up again. Yeap, not all pray to money. Some do treat money as their servant and not instead become a servant to their money, even some in Umno -- Datuk Zaid Ibrahim being another case in point.

Other than tasty carrots, Datuk Nasarudin is also being given the stick. Datuk Nasarudin’s ex-comrades and ‘friends’ from Umno have been to see him to persuade him to re-crossover to Umno. “Altantuya is dead,” they remind him. “Bala is missing. We don’t want anything happening to you as well.”

Hmm…is this ‘friendly advice’ or a veiled threat? Take it how you like but Datuk Nasarudin is not succumbing to whatever it may be, advice or threat. And even the six cars parked in front of his house are not making him change his mind, although he does admit it is making him a bit worried.

Finally, on the JKKK issue. All the JKKK officials are Umno branch and division committee members. You can’t be in the JKKK otherwise. And they get tons of money, which is supposed to be dished out to the kampong people -- but only to the Umno kampong people, not the opposition people. This is how they buy support and ensure that the kampong people remain with Umno.

No one accounts for the money. As long as Umno wins the elections no questions are asked even though everyone knows hundreds of millions are siphoned out through this ‘scheme’. But now that Umno lost the Kuala Terengganu by-election they want to start ‘auditing’ how the money was spent and find out what happened to all those millions of Ringgit.

Malaysia sure is funny is it not? The government can tolerate mismanagement of public funds as long as Umno wins all the elections. But the instant they begin losing then they want to audit the expenditure. And while Umno leaves no stone unturned in its effort to buy over Pakatan Rakyat Wakil Rakyats, what happens instead is Barisan Nasional Wakil Rakyats cross over to the opposition.

I just love this country. - Malaysia Today