Monday, May 20, 2013

Zahid: No more warnings before hammer drops on dissenters

UPDATED @ 09:00:45 PM 20-05-2013

May 20, 2013

Zahid said the ministry’s actions must not be seen as politically motivated. — File picPUTRAJAYA, May 20 — The government will not be issuing warnings anymore but will act tough against individuals whose extreme actions would only disrupt public order, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today.
He said the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and heads of departments and agencies under the Home Ministry had been given the full power to carry out the task within their respective jurisdiction and without political interference.
Ahmad Zahid said any action taken by the ministry to maintain public order must not be regarded as politically motivated but was based on the existing laws of the country.
Hence, he reminded the opposition leaders not to politicise the actions to be taken by the authorities in order to preserve peace and stability in the country.
He warned these leaders that they would face a big risk if they insisted on being stubborn.
“Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng should differentiate political objectives and political measures from the implementation of laws. Do not politicise every law enforcement by the IGP and other agencies under the ministry.
“We will not compromise but will act in accordance with the existing Acts and enactments. We will not give anymore warnings, so don’t be angry with us when we take action,” he said at a news conference in conjunction with his first day as home minister, here.
Also present were his deputy Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and the new IGP, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.
To ensure smooth implementation of whatever by the ministry, Ahmad Zahid said it required the co-operation, support, views, suggestions and feedback from all quarters including the local communities, institutions, NGOs and political leaders from in and outside the government.
“This is not for our (Barisan Nasional) own political interest but for the good of society and country,” he said.
On statements made by opposition leaders over various matters recently, Ahmad Zahid said these could be argued out in parliament.
“As politicians, we meet in the political arena, not on the street or at the open field but in the Dewan Rakyat,” he added.
Later in Kuala Lumpur, Ahmad Zahid gave an assurance that there would no political interference in the police’s jurisdiction in upholding the laws to maintain peace and stability in accordance with the power accorded to them.
Speaking to reporters during his visit to Bukit Aman here today, he said as long as actions taken by the police were not against the law, they should not be disputed by any quarters.
He said the Home Ministry had also emphasised the need for the police to enhance co-operation with law enforcement agencies, particularly the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, in managing change and tackling social media wave as it was capable of destabilising the country.
On the arrest of student activist Adam Adli Abd Halim on Saturday for his involvement in a May 13 forum, Ahmad Zahid said the student activist had allegedly incited the people to overthrow the government through demonstrations, a call deemed to be undemocratic as he advocated waging a war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“The government was formed through a democratic system and a coup through an uprising to form the government had never occurred in the country before.
“Seizing power undemocratically is against the Federal Constitution and an utter disregard to the position of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong,” said Ahmad Zahid. — Bernama

SHEER Arrogance: New Home Minister tells unhappy Malaysians to emigrate

COUNTDOWN FOR A NEW PM BEGINS: Despite 'winning' GE13, Najib is now at his weakest!

Dato' Seri Zahid Hamidi displays the worst traits of a minister who is arrogant, ignorant and shockingly forgetful

Zahid has shot himself in the foot, corrupt procurements are not a perception - Rafizi

Najib’s 100-day programme to woo national, party critics

By Jahabar Sadiq
Editor
May 20, 2013

Najib is expected to get to work quickly to improve the public delivery system, cut crime and corruption, enhance transparency and strengthen inter-ethnic harmony. — Reuters picKUALA LUMPUR, May 20 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak is expected to roll out a 100-day programme within days to win over doubters and persuade Umno that he is the best to lead the party and the country, say sources.
The Malaysian Insider understands that borrowing some ideas from the Abdullah administration, the Najib government will also work to improve the public delivery system, cut crime and corruption, enhance transparency and strengthen inter-ethnic harmony.
“Najib wants a quick start, he is already meeting advisers on this,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.
In an interview with Singapore's The Straits Times 10 days ago, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin also said Najib’s 100-day programme is to speed up existing programmes to reduce crime and corruption, and cap the cost of living.
“These are the top three issues that weighed heavily in the urban swing,” he had said, adding that Najib will continue to improve the public sector and economy, and expand civil liberties.
The sources said Khairy, now youth and sports minister, and younger ministers such as Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan will be among those playing a leading role in the 100-day programme.
Najib had named his Cabinet last week, a mix of veterans and new faces, to continue his transformation programmes he initiated in his first four years in office.
He co-opted Transparency International Malaysia president Datuk Paul Low and Malayan Banking Berhad chief executive Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar into the Cabinet while keeping his economics team intact.
Najib’s Barisan Nasional (BN) campaigned on “A Better Nation” platform in the May 5 general election but lost more federal seats, only getting 133 to the 140 won in Election 2008.
Although his Umno won more seats and the coalition took back Kedah, there has been some criticisms about the BN campaign, with long-serving former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad saying he had expected a better performance.
Dr Mahathir’s views are seen as crucial as the veteran leader had criticised his successor Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s moves to reverse some policies and programmes after winning the coalition’s biggest mandate of 91 per cent in the 2004 elections.
Dr Mahathir’s criticisms led to BN losing its two-thirds majority in Election 2008 and four states, prompting Abdullah to quit office in 2009.
When Abdullah took office in 2003, he launched a high-profile 100-day programme that saw faster passport application processing and high profile anti-graft arrests.
In February 2004, former Perwaja Steel managing director Tan Sri Eric Chia and the then Land and Co-operative Development Minister Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam were arrested for corruption.
On February 13, 2004, then Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim announced that at least another 18 high-profile corruption cases were with various authorities awaiting further action.
But there were no further arrests and both Chia and Kasitah won acquittals in their corruption charges.
Dr Mahathir had also launched a 100-day programme when he took office in 1981 and later expanded it in BN’s “Bersih, Cekap, Amanah” (Clean, Efficient, Trustworthy) manifesto in the 1982 polls.

Malaysia's Rigged Electoral System

UMNO is strong, only Barisan Nasional is weak

THIS IS THE LAST STRAW, BN... GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR WAY!

Headache for Najib; PRS rejects cabinet posts

Malay PM Najib Razak seeks to heal divisions with new cabinet

Sunday, May 19, 2013

I will not retire, says Anwar

Athi Shankar | May 19, 2013

'But why should I retire? We won. Are Umno people stupid? We won and we will fight together with the people against this robbery, says Anwar at a Penang rally.

GEORGE TOWN: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim will not retire from active politics any time soon, hinting that he would still be around come the next general election.
The Permatang Pauh MP defied calls for him to retire by claiming that Pakatan Rakyat had actually “won” the 13th general election, only to be robbed by electoral frauds.
He said Pakatan’s popular votes, which were more than Barisan Nasional’s, proved that majority Malaysians have voted for a change of federal government.
Strangely, he claimed that the popular choice of the people had become the opposition while minority choice had formed the government.
Hence, Anwar told a nightly rally here yesterday that he would not heed to quit calls made by his opponents.

Critics have called on Anwar to make good of his pre-election promise to retire and go into lecturing if BN won the polls and retained Putrajaya.
Many cyber commentators have called on Anwar to fulfill his promise for once this time. But Anwar is adamant he would not heed their call.
“Yes I said I would retire from politics if Pakatan loses. Some told me to retire as promised and to fight it out next time.
“But why should I retire? We won. Are Umno people stupid? We won and we will fight together with the people against this robbery.
“We can’t tolerate this rigging, robbery and fraud. We want answers now,” he thundered before a roaring and flag-waving mammoth crowd in Esplanade field.
A total 11,054,577 votes were recorded for federal contest in the just concluded polls on May 5. Pakatan garnered 50.9 or 5,623,984 popular votes against Barisan Nasional’s 47.4% or 5,237,699.
The three parties in Pakatan – Chinese-dominated DAP, Anwar’s PKR and Islamist PAS, collectively won 88 parliamentary seats against BN’s 133 seats.
Pakatan-friendly Malaysian Socialist Party (PSM) won a federal seat in Sungai Siput to make it 89 in the parliamentary opposition bench.
Soon after the polls, Pakatan led by Anwar has been organising rallies across the country to claim that their victory was robbed by electoral frauds and an incompetent Election Commission.
Pakatan leaders also claimed that they were rightful, legitimate winners due to higher popular votes, while hammering BN as a minority government.
Karpal’s threat to walkout

Last night’s rally, organised by the DAP-led Penang government, to introduce the coalition’s state executive councillors and assemblymen, echoed the same Pakatan propaganda.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, DAP senior parliamentarians Karpal Singh and Lim Kit Siang and many others touched on the issue.
In the election, the main stakeholder in Putrajaya administration, Umno led in popular votes among individual parties.
Umno secured 29.3% or 3,241,286 popular votes and won 88 federal seats, leaving the second biggest party, the DAP far behind with 15.7% or 1,736,267 popular votes and 38 seats.
Meanwhile, Karpal in his speech vowed to walkout from the DAP if the party joined the BN federal government.
He noted that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s government faced a big problem today due to lack of Chinese representation in the cabinet.

He said it would be difficult for Najib to run a government in long run without a strong Chinese representation due to electoral trashing of BN’s Chinese-based parties, MCA and Gerakan.
Karpal acknowledged that the Chinese community backed the DAP over MCA and Gerakan this time.
However, he insisted that the DAP would not join BN despite growing calls for the party provide the Chinese representation in the federal government.
“There is no way the DAP will join BN. The DAP will never join BN.
“I will be the first to walkout if the DAP joins BN,” stressed the veteran politician.

I will not retire, says Anwar

Sunday, May 19, 2013

by Athi Shankar

I will not retire, says Anwar

Anwar Asks if Obama Is Aware of Malaysia Election-Fraud Claims

Anwar seeks ‘national consensus’ to reject BN rule

Anwar faces last, best shot in GE13

THIS IS THE LAST STRAW, BN... GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR WAY!

Thousands pack Kelana Jaya stadium for Pakatan rally

PENANG gears up for its biggest-ever rally: 'WE NEED TO CHANGE, SERIOUSLY'

THIS IS THE LAST STRAW, BN... GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR WAY!

SHEER Arrogance: New Home Minister tells unhappy Malaysians to emigrate

Benarkah Zahid Hamidi Nak Tangkap Anwar?

Greenboc

Bernarkah Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Menteri Keselamatan Dalam Negeri bercita-cita untuk menangkap DS Anwar Ibrahim atau ia sekadar propagnda murahan akhbar pencacai yang begitu tertekan dengan sambutan rakyat terhadap siri perhimpunan yang diadakan oleh Pakatan Rakyat di seluruh negara?
Jika benar Ahmad Zahid Hamidi bercita-cita demikian, yang akan menerima kesan negatif paling besar ialah UMNO BN sendiri kerana masing-masing sudah pun melihat bagaimana sambutan rakyat terhadap Anwar malah segala kempen dan perancangan untuk menghancurkan kareer Anwar tidak berjaya. Malah apa yang berlaku ialah di sebaliknya dimana “majoriti” rakyat menyokong Anwar. Saya menekankan perkataan “majoriti” kerana itulah hakikatnya, Pakatan Rakyat berjaya memperolehi “majoriti” undi popular semasa PRU13 yang lalu.
Hanya “persempadanan” yang dilakukan oleh SPR menyebabkan majoriti “bilangan kerusi” tidak dimenangi oleh Pakatan Rakyat. Hal itu pun masih banyak menimbulkan keraguan kerana petisyen akan berlaku selepas ini yang mana sekurang-kurangnya 27 kerusi parlimen kini sedang diteliti oleh Pengarah Strategi KEADILAN, Rafizi Ramli.
UMNO BN tetap tumbang kerana sepertimana GB selalu ungkapkan, hukum kebenaran dan keadilan akan tetap berjalan. Kemenangan dengan cara penipuan tetap tiada keberkatan dan kemenangan secara demikian tidak mempunyai dasar yang kukuh untuk bertahan lama.

SHEER Arrogance: New Home Minister tells unhappy Malaysians to emigrate

Benarkah Zahid Hamidi Nak Tangkap Anwar?

Bernarkah Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Menteri Keselamatan Dalam Negeri bercita-cita untuk menangkap DS Anwar Ibrahim atau ia sekadar propagnda murahan akhbar pencacai yang begitu tertekan dengan sambutan rakyat terhadap siri perhimpunan yang diadakan oleh Pakatan Rakyat di seluruh negara?

Jika benar Ahmad Zahid Hamidi bercita-cita demikian, yang akan menerima kesan negatif paling besar ialah UMNO BN sendiri kerana masing-masing sudah pun melihat bagaimana sambutan rakyat terhadap Anwar malah segala kempen dan perancangan untuk menghancurkan kareer Anwar tidak berjaya. Malah apa yang berlaku ialah di sebaliknya dimana "majoriti" rakyat menyokong Anwar. Saya menekankan perkataan "majoriti" kerana itulah hakikatnya, Pakatan Rakyat berjaya memperolehi "majoriti" undi popular semasa PRU13 yang lalu.

Hanya "persempadanan" yang dilakukan oleh SPR menyebabkan majoriti "bilangan kerusi" tidak dimenangi oleh Pakatan Rakyat. Hal itu pun masih banyak menimbulkan keraguan kerana petisyen akan berlaku selepas ini yang mana sekurang-kurangnya 27 kerusi parlimen kini sedang diteliti oleh Pengarah Strategi KEADILAN, Rafizi Ramli.

UMNO BN tetap tumbang kerana sepertimana GB selalu ungkapkan, hukum kebenaran dan keadilan akan tetap berjalan. Kemenangan dengan cara penipuan tetap tiada keberkatan dan kemenangan secara demikian tidak mempunyai dasar yang kukuh untuk bertahan lama.

20 comments:

SHEER Arrogance: New Home Minister tells unhappy Malaysians to emigrate

Kit Siang accuses IGP, Zahid of ‘playing politics’, tells them to curb crime

May 19, 2013

GEORGE TOWN, May 19 ― The country’s new police chief and home minister should stop “playing politics” and start keeping Malaysians, tourists and investors safe from crime and harm, DAP’s Lim Kit Siang said today.
The DAP advisor’s criticism today follows both Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar (picture) and Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s statements about Pakatan Rakyat (PR) rallies and Malaysians unhappy with the electoral results.
“Both should realise that they are being paid by the taxpayers to carry out their primary duty to reduce crime, to protect the safety of Malaysians, tourists and investors and to abolish the fear of crime which is haunting Malaysians in many criminal black spots in the country, instead of abdicating from their duties by playing politics with their positions,” the Gelang Patah MP said in a statement.
"But what is intolerable and unacceptable is the double-standards and the distorted sense of police priorities involved," he said.
Giving an example of their reversed sense of priorities, Lim cited a front-page report in today's Mingguan Malaysia broadsheet in which the police chief had said he was investigating a purported opposition plot to overthrow the federal government through street demonstrations.
The DAP veteran said he welcomed the investigation but questioned the basis for it, pointing out it the person who had made the accusations had not even lodged a police report prompting the IGP to instruct his own officers to file one to enable the police to take action.
He noted that police reports had been lodged against former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah over the latter's provocative remarks at a public forum in which the latter had allegedly blamed the Chinese as ingrates for betraying the friendship of Malays and urging the Malays to defend their rights.

"When will Malaysia have an IGP who dare to declare and act publicly that his first duty is to defend Malaysians from crime and the fear of crime, and not to play political games to please the political masters of the day?" he asked.
He also slammed Ahmad Zahid for his "outrageous" call telling Malaysians unhappy with the country's electoral system to migrate elsewhere, which Lim said was showed ignorance of the meaning of patriotism and democracy.
Lim said the duo should set a challenge to curb crime within the next 12 months or step down from office, and suggested they start with Johor Baru, which he claimed to be the "capital of crime in the country".
Putrajaya has sought to address concerns over the crime rate and introduced crime-reduction as a National Key Result Area (NKRA), which the police and the government's efficiency unit Pemandu said has been successful in reducing crime.
But the ubiquity of crime reports, both in the news and shared in social media, have led to doubts over the veracity of the authorities' professed drop in crime.
Crime watchdog group MyWatch also accused the police in February of massaging the crime statistics, claiming cases of snatch theft and robbery without firearms as well as burglaries and house break-ins, were higher than the published crime index from January to October 2011.
The police have denied manipulating national crime figures.

SHEER Arrogance: New Home Minister tells unhappy Malaysians to emigrate

I want clean elections, Kit Siang tells Utusan Malaysia

Ex-judge warns Chinese of Malay backlash for betrayal against BN

Twelve year-old girl found dead in Klang car park

The foreign invasion

Girl, 7, raped in front of sister

SHAH ALAM: A 7-year-old girl left under the supervision of a Bangladeshi worker was allegedly raped in front of her older sister when their parents were away at work.

In the incident at 2pm on Aug 25, the victim and her 8-year-old sister were left at home with the suspect, in his 30s.
Selangor CID chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Adnan Abdullah said the suspect had been asked to clean canopies at the house and look after the two children at the same time.
Adnan said the suspect had ordered the victim to lie down in the living room and raped her. The older sister claimed to have witnessed the incident.
"The victim complained of pain in her genitals and told her parents what happened. They lodged a report at Pandamaran police station.
"The victim was taken to Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital for a medical examination. The doctor confirmed she had been raped," he said in a press conference here yesterday.
The suspect remains at large.

http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/girl-7-raped-in-front-of-sister-1.136011#ixzz2KDA7pHNf

The foreign invasion

Malaysia is no longer safe: Billions wasted on Public Security

Housewife’s death: ‘Police trigger-happy’

Cyberjaya flyover collapses

ONE COUNTRY, TWO POLICE AGENCIES?

Crime & corruption will win Najib, BN two-thirds majority? HELLO, AHMAD MASLAN - WAKE UP!

Face the fact, BN! MALAYSIANS LIVE IN FEAR

Jogger Sacrifices Her Life To Save Daughter From Robbers In Bukit Gasing

The foreign invasion

Three guards hacked up like ‘meat’ in brutal Cheras attack

May 19, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 ― Two men launched a savage attack upon three security workers at an apartment complex here yesterday, hacking away at their victims with parangs as though they “were meat”, The Star reported on its website today.
The gruesome attack was captured on a closed-circuit television recording, but is unclear if the video was able to identify the assailants as they both wore crash helmets during the event.
According to the newspaper, the attackers were believed to be thieves targeting the residents of the apartment. This was also not the first time the guards were attacked.
“The previous attack was not so serious. They only punched a guard and broke the window,” resident association chairman Bruce Tan was quoted as saying in the report.
“The attack this time was so horrifying. I watched the CCTV recording and saw the guards being chopped like they were meat.”
The attack was confirmed by KL CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ku Chin Wah, who added the victims were in stable condition.
The incident is the latest in a growing trend of violent crimes reported in the country. Last month, 52-year-old Irene Ong was killed after she was stabbed repeatedly during a botched robbery attempt in broad daylight at the idyllic Bukit Gasing hiking trail in Petaling Jaya.
The same month also saw Royal Malaysian Customs deputy director-general II Datuk Shaharuddin Ibrahim, 58, shot dead near a traffic light near the Putrajaya police station.
Putrajaya has sought to address concerns over the crime rate and introduced crime-reduction as a National Key Result Area (NKRA), which the police and the government’s efficiency unit Pemandu said has been successful in reducing crime.
But the ubiquity of crime reports, both in the news and shared in social media, have led to doubts over the veracity of the authorities’ professed drop in crime.
Crime watchdog group MyWatch also accused the police in February of massaging the crime statistics, claiming cases of snatch theft and robbery without firearms as well as burglaries and house break-ins, were higher than the published crime index from January to October 2011.
The police have denied manipulating national crime figures.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Malaysia's Rigged Electoral System

Malaysia's Rigged Electoral System

The playing fireld for Malaysia's next GE

The playing field for Malaysia's next GE

A win for the opposition is nearly impossible
As the smoke clears after the Malaysian election battle it has become clear that under the current electoral system defeat of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) was never quite on the cards, even without the electoral roll and election day cheating and vote buying claimed by the opposition.

Indeed all other factors being equal it would probably take another 4 percent swing against the BN for the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition to win the majority of seats.

As it was this was a remarkable victory for the PR which won 51.7 percent of the popular vote and 53 percent in under-represented peninsula Malaysia. Yet it took only 89 seats compared to the BN's 133 seats. Those numbers tell the tale of just how rigged the system has become.

Each BN seat cost an average of 39,400 votes while each PR one cost 63,200. Those figures show the success of years of outrageous BN gerrymandering which has made nonsense of democratic, one-man one-vote principles. The extent of this has gone almost unnoticed by the foreign media - and foreign government reaction, treating the result as though it were the outcome of a relatively normal democratic process. Gerrymandering on Malaysia's epic scale is just as undemocratic as the ballot-counting frauds which President Ferdinand Marcos used to turn defeat into claimed victory during his years as president of the Philippines.

Given the BN's control of most media and the machinery of government, the result was a remarkable victory for the PR. So although there is much disappointment and some youthful anger among the ranks of the PR that is because expectations of what could be achieved were naturally over-optimistic. Assuming the PR holds together till the next general elections it will probably need to begin to reverse the gerrymander - or break the Barisan - if it is to break UMNO's stranglehold on power.

More immediately the opposition and its component, Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Rakyat in particular, is focused on the cheating alleged to have taken place in a significant number of constituencies whether through giving ballots to non-nationals, voting more than once, manipulating the electoral roll or simply offering cash to those who prove they voted for the BN. The PKR says that as 27 seats were won by the BN with a majority of less than 5 percent of the vote, cheating could have made a critical difference. Certainly in some of the more closely fought contests, the arithmetic somehow seemed to favor the BN. Thus it was declared the winner in no less than 11 of the 15 seats where the margin was less than 1,000 votes and in 25 of the 35 seats where the margin was under 2,000 votes. This may or not have been chance.

Nonetheless given the other factors favoring the BN, cheating would have had to be on a more substantial scale than has been shown to be the case so far, and to have been well-targeted - some alleged instances occurred in constituencies where the BN was never under threat.

So looking ahead the PR must find some way to raise not just awareness but real anger at how the democratic process has been undermined to protect the BN's politics of corruption and patronage. Some of the numbers are quite startling thanks to Dr Mahathir's getting rid of the rules which once governed the relative size of constituencies. Thus today the largest constituency PKR held, Kapar in Selangor, had an electorate of 144,159, nine times that of the smallest, fittingly Putra Jaya, the seat of government with just 15,791.

In many countries rural voters are somewhat favored over urban ones but Malaysia has taken this to remarkable extremes. This was originally primarily aimed at limiting the predominantly Chinese DAP which once dominated all the inner cities and remain strong there. But now it is the mixed, mostly Malay majority new urban and suburban districts which are increasingly disenfranchised primarily to the disadvantage of the PR, and PKR in particular.

This disenfranchisement can only get worse unless new constituencies are created and boundaries re-drawn for the simple reason that this is where most population growth is taking place. Selangor with its urban centers surrounding the federal territory now has 10 constituencies with electorates of over 100,000. By contrast, Johor, an UMNO stronghold has only one such constituency, that held by DAP leader Lim Kit Siang. Other relatively large constituencies in Johor are also mostly DAP or PKR. The same phenomenon is found in other major cities such as Seremban, where the DAP held seat has over 100,00 voters, the cities of Melaka, Ipoh, Taiping, Kuala Kedah etc etc. The extreme bias combines ethnic with political discrimination on a grand scale.

The most egregious of all is found in Sarawak, whose PBB is now the second largest component of the BN, with 14 seats acquired at average cost of 16,600 voters. Needless to say the urban constituencies of Kuching, Sibu and Miri with their large Chinese populations have vastly larger electorates. The rural Sarawak seats are not only mostly tiny but display the power of local leaders over the electorate. In one the PBB candidate polled 10 times that of his only opponent.

The over-representation of Sarawak - and to a lesser degree Sabah - owes something to the special consideration they were given to persuade them to join Malaysia. But it has been augmented by UMNO's need for the seats that the PBB and its mega-rich leader Abdul Taib Mahmud could deliver to the BN. In both the Borneo states there appears a constituency size and boundary bias not just against the Chinese and urban people generally but also non-Muslim bumiputras.

It is ironic then that these states, which often appear less starkly divided by race and religion than the mainland ones, and also harbor some semi-separatist sentiments, should now be the main prop of UMNO at the federal level. No wonder Taib is left alone despite the many money scandals for which the state has become especially notorious.

So is there any prospect of the reform of the gerrymander? This year a national boundary delineation is due. But changing boundaries will do relatively little. New seats need to be created (or old ones merged). That requires a two-thirds majority in parliament. In the past the BN two-thirds majority enabled it to gerrymander by adding seats. Now any new seats will require agreement with the opposition. In theory the status quo suits the BN. But it also increasingly exposes it to ridicule and resentment by the new urban voters and makes it ever the less likely that Chinese support can be won back. So can it do a deal which grants some electoral reform?

There seems scant prospect of anything remotely constructive while the PR is still seething with frustration and Najib is under pressure from UMNO critics headed by Mahathir and must face UMNO elections later this year. But if UMNO is to do more than circle the wagons of racial discord around its bloated patronage system it must take aboard some lessons from its electoral defeat. The main one is that class and income distribution issues are now more important than race for increasing numbers of voters. With urbanization of a youthful population, that can trend only grow, especially in the currently disenfranchised new urban areas. The semi-feudal UMNO is failing to adapt to the modern urban Malaysia that it has actually, and to its credit, created.

Bersih to set up tribunal to probe election fraud

Ambiga: Transfer of foreigners to vote is ‘treason’

THIS IS THE LAST STRAW, BN... GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR WAY!

Anwar Asks if Obama Is Aware of Malaysia Election-Fraud Claims

I want clean elections, Kit Siang tells Utusan Malaysia

BN HAS NO POLITICAL LEGITIMACY TO BE IN GOVERNMENT

PENANG gears up for its biggest-ever rally: 'WE NEED TO CHANGE, SERIOUSLY'

Thousands pack Kelana Jaya stadium for Pakatan rally

Anwar seeks ‘national consensus’ to reject BN rule

Malaysia elections: What happened and what it means - former US ambassador

NOT CHINESE TSUNAMI…..MORE A NURUL TIDALWAVE!

Dr M blames ungrateful Chinese and greedy Malays for BN’s worst performance

Ex-judge warns Chinese of Malay backlash for betrayal against BN

Pakatan leaders warn Najib to stop stoking fire

Bersih to set up tribunal to probe election fraud

Ambiga: Transfer of foreigners to vote is ‘treason’

Limited future for Najib after worst electoral showing

Malay PM Najib Razak seeks to heal divisions with new cabinet

Malaysian PM Najib sworn in after election win

In GE13, BN wins Malay heartland, Pakatan the cities

COUNTDOWN FOR A NEW PM BEGINS: Despite 'winning' GE13, Najib is now at his weakest!

Bersih to set up tribunal to probe election fraud

Ambiga: Transfer of foreigners to vote is ‘treason’

Friday, May 17, 2013

UMNO is strong, only Barisan Nasional is weak

May 17, 2013 by dinobeano

3 Votes

May 17, 2013

UMNO is strong, only Barisan Nasional is weak

by http://www.themalaysianinsider.com(05-14-13)

The results of the recent general election show that UMNO is as strong as ever despite Barisan Nasional losing the popular vote, according to a Straits Times report today.

Writing in the Singapore daily, James Chin (left), a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), argued that many Malaysians are misreading the situation and think that UMNO is weak.

He said UMNO today is as strong as it was in 1971, adding that it is BN that is dying, not UMNO.

“The Malay heartland, all in rural areas, backed UMNO and that is why it increased its number of parliamentary seats and why there is an UMNO-alone government in Kuala Lumpur today,” he wrote. In his article, he gave a rundown of the evolution of UMNO from its formation in 1946 under various leaders including Datuk Onn Jaafar, Tun Abdul Razak and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and how the party has changed over the years.

Chin wrote that the flaw in Dr Mahathir’s Malay state building was the scourge of money politics. “With so much money flowing out of the government into selected UMNO elite, the competition became so intense that the only way to get support was to ‘buy’ support.”

He said money politics in UMNO was tolerated because it did not contradict Malay or Islamic dominance of the system. As long as the money did not threaten UMNO or Ketuanan Melayu, it was seen as a necessary evil for the functioning of UMNO.

Chin also wrote that despite losing the two-thirds parliamentary majority in the 2008 general election, UMNO failed to tackle the corruption issue or move to the middle ground. It cared only about control over Malay minds and control of the federal government.

He argued that reforms undertaken after 2009 were mainly cosmetic and in the economic arena; real political reforms did not take place and that is why the urban polity rejected UMNO this year.

“For example, on the issue of Ketuanan Melayu, rather than deal with it, the party simply ‘subcontracted’ the work to PERKASA, a Malay right-wing organisation established after 2008.”

He said the urban public did not buy the argument that UMNO had reformed when PERKASA’s President and Deputy President became BN candidates this year. It became clear that UMNO would not change its political leanings.

Chin said it has become increasingly clear in the past two decades that UMNO is now BN and BN is UMNO. UMNO accounts for just less than half of Cabinet ministers. In Parliament, the overwhelming bloc within BN is always UMNO. In 2008, UMNO won 79 seats out of BN’s 140. This year, UMNO won 88 out of BN’s 133 seats. In percentage terms, this translates to 56 per cent and 66 per cent respectively.

“Today after 56 years of independence, UMNO still controls the rural Malay mind. Yes, it is true UMNO has lost control over large sections of the Malay community in urban areas. Under Malaysia’s electoral system, it is the rural seats that decide the federal government, not urban seats. Urban seats account for less than a quarter of Malaysia’s 222 parliamentary seats while about 150 seats are Malay/Bumiputera-majority seats,” he wrote.

Chin argued that UMNO is unlikely to reform in time for the 14th GE, and does not need to. “As long as the first-past-the-post system continues to allot disproportionate weight to rural voters, all UMNO has to do is to keep the fire of Ketuanan Melayu and Ketuanan Islam burning brightly in rural Malaysia,” he said.

Groups seek to prove that UMNO IS ILLEGAL!

UMNO fighting hard from its deathbed: But for Najib, it's GAME OVER!

UMNO has a long tradition of parting with its leaders for various reasons

Saturday, 18 May 2013 20:31

End of the road for BN and Najib: It has got to be JUSTICE FOR ALL MALAYSIANS

Written by J. D. Lovrenciear

It is very telling that the onslaught of racists slurs and demands for ‘Malays’ rights is all geared to distract the rakyat from the core issue that needs to be addressed affirmatively. Thank God too that the honorable citizens – Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans and Ibans and others have not fallen for the UMNO bait or the BN poison.
UMNO and its BN coalition are shrouding the electoral results that are being questioned by the rakyat. Their tactics so far is not fooling the rakyat who are determined to return the honor and glory to the nation and restore its dignity and pride in the eyes of the global community of citizens who are watching Malaysia very closely.
But it won't work
Using the UMNO-newspaper and the national television to pump all kinds of ammunition-propaganda is not working. Utusan can without mercy paint the pages of its newspaper red for all the rakyat cares. It is not going to distract or derail the people from their seeking answers to the many issues, allegations, and concerns surrounding the 13the GE.
If the citizens can relate well with the cry “Death of democracy”, no artillery or armor can withstand the momentum. And history teaches us this lesson.
Already some but few wise men within UMNO and BN have spoken up with courage. But it appears certain that even those prods are not going to take the heat away from the BN power house.
Even threatening to take away the citizenship of the opposition leader is not going to stop or muzzle the rakyat. In fact, that may just be the last straw to break the camel’s back for UMNO and BN.
Citizens can no longer stand BN
Well BN may get away with the Altantuya murder – even to the unprecedented extent of establishing motive as relevant but essential. But murdering democracy will not be tolerated by the global community that is already well on its way riding the waves of liberty and human rights. We do not have to go far – even neighboring Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand are good enough examples for UMNO-BN to chew on.
The fact is the citizens are so resolved that even all the security barricades and onslaught of chemical laced water cannons and batons may not hold back the nationwide of unhappiness over the GE-13 outcome.
Now, this Letter to the Editor is not a threat. Citizens are not used to the ways of the BN government these past three decades. They are merely advising UMNO-BN to wise up. If the members of UMNO and BN are serious about having their party returning onto more favorable and firmer ground, they better learn fast and to begin with they should first learn to eat humble pie.
If the opposition could learn to eat mud pies for over five decades and still perservere, what is so difficult for UMNO-BN to chew on humble pies for a start after 55 years?
BN about to implode
What is most obvious is UMNO is already stretching very thin and is almost at a snapping point given the tension between the right and left wing members of the party. MIC and MCA and Gerakan are in a state of delirium that is too obvious not to notice.
It is the rakyat who crown leaders and not power brokers within political parties who can bestow such a vestige of power. So, if you see hundreds of thousands willing to congregate adorned in black, it is a message that no advertising or propaganda churning can match, let alone drown.
Today, as the clock keeps ticking on the count of the 21-days grace period to lodge complaints on the elections, UMNO-BN remain adamant to not wanting to demonstrate leadership strengths that can win the confidence and admiration of the citizens.
Instead, it continues plundering on that savage path of more threats, more police reports, more warnings, more riling of the rakyat’s nerves, and raging race and religious madness.
Stop, that's the message from the people
Bluntly put, the rakyat are saying stop! Stop being unpatriotic to the nation by being so undemocratic! Stop being so desperate by trying to bait the citizens onto the warpath! Stop making a mockery of the democracy that is already working very well in neighboring nations where there are also muslims and non-muslims and a multi-racial and multi-tribal population working in harmony and thriving on the pathway of democratic principles.
If UMNO-BN truly has an adequate inventory of right and wise leaders, it will not be tumbling down this road of divisive politics. Instead it will have the strength to address the GE-13 outcome decisively and favorably not only for all Malaysians but also pass in the eyes of the global community of democracy-centered governments.
Please UMNO-BN, stop making the rakyat into a cornered dog. And I you do – blinded by your own omissions and excisions, the price may be too high for you.
The mantra is: embrace, collaborate, cooperate, consult; do not continue with your condescending disposition with your flawed mantra of the outdated ‘mathiristic’ philosophies.
And please do not say the rakyat never told you so. Likewise, the age of politicians telling off the rakyat is long over - that goes as way back as the 2008 elction tsunami ut somehow UMNO-BN never could get it right into their swollen heads.
MAILBAG

More discontent within BN

Anisah Shukry | May 18, 2013

The People’s Progressive Party, which lost all seats it contested in the elections, is unhappy to be working from a “platform of emptiness” in Johor

PETALING JAYA: The Johor chapter of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) today appealed for the BN to provide it with one senator post and 10 councillor posts, amid discontent within the party at being sidelined by the ruling coalition.
“PPP Johor, though works dedicately (sic) for Barisan Nasional, we seem to be working from a platform of emptiness,” said its chairman Dr S Sivakumar today.
“Barisan Nasional has not given us any recognisable posts for us to work confidently and approach the electorate with more strength.”
The PPP contested the Kepong parliamentary and four state seats in the 13th General Election but failed to win a single seat.
DAP’s Tan Seng Giaw slaughtered PPP’s Chandrakumanan Arumugam in Kepong by a majority of 40,307 votes.
PPP was similarly decimated in the 12th General Election. Yet its president, M Kayveas, was made a senator in 2008 after losing his Taiping parliamentary seat, and was subsequently made Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s department.
But this time around, no PPP member was appointed as senator and made it to the Cabinet, and this has frustrated the party in Johor, which feels it had worked hard to amass grassroot support for BN there.
“Prior to the 13th General Election on May 5, 2013, PPP Johor had mobilised all PPP members and workers to work on the ground level to seek support for a Barisan Nasional victory.
“Johor PPP, with 23 divisions and 53,000 members did their work well. As always, PPP members are disciplined and approach the people with dignity and respect. All Malaysians are fully aware of this,” said Sivakumar.
‘Johorians unhappy with govt policies’
He said the party needed the positions to recapture the confidence of voters in Johor, whom he claimed were unhappy with government policies there.
“As we worked on the ground during campaigns prior to [GE13] we can conclude that Malaysian of all races are to certain extent unsatisfied with government policies and treated differently,” said Sivakumar.
He said that while Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had announced a slew of projects for the people’s betterment, ensuring that these schemes reached the people posed a real challenge.
Indians in Johor were particularly affected, claimed Sivakumar, pointing out they were unable to work in either the civil service nor government-aided private companies.
“They still struggle for business opportunities. Though many business loans schemes are announced for Indian entrepreneurs, in actual fact, even if they possess the requirements, they do not get the loans.
“Tens of thousands of Malaysians are commuting daily to Singapore to work. Many leave as early as 3 in morning and return after work late at night. What do we do for them?”
He said there were many other issues PPP and BN must tackle to gain the support of the voters in the next general election, which he suggested may be “The Tusnami of Youth”.
“We appeal to Barisan Nasional to consider our request [for senatorsip and councilor positions] more seriously, as PPP Johor is faced with more challenges to recapture the confidence of Voters.
“We trust Prime Minister will consider our requests, to continue our struggle for the people. Johor PPP will make a decision based on the outcome of our requests for senator and councillors’ seats.

‘No Chinese Tsunami’
Sivakumar also slammed the BN for calling the 13th general election a “Chinese Tsunami”, noting that the Johor state party boasts more than 5,000 staunch Chinese supporters.
On election night, Najib had described the election results as a “Chinese Tsunami”, although analysts had later refuted this by insisting that the polls reflect an urban-rural divide.
Umno-owned newspaper Utusan had played on this the following day with a headline on its front page that read “Apa lagi Cina mahu?” (What more do the Chinese want?), courting fury from the masses.
But Najib had reportedly defended the paper, and insisted the coalition’s own study contradicted claims that BN was favoured only in rural Malaysia.
“Talk that the Chinese voters had largely supported the opposition and to call this phenomena as ‘Chinese Tsunami” is unacceptable and absurd,” said Sivakumar today.
“Even after 56 years of administration to unite all the races as Malaysians, and recently with ‘1Malaysia’, our mental state still seems to be centred on racial undertone.
“Such thoughts should not have occurred to us at all,” said Sivakumar.

End of the road for BN and Najib: It has got to be JUSTICE FOR ALL MALAYSIANS

J. D. Lovrenciear | 18 May 2013

Saturday, 18 May 2013 20:31

End of the road for BN and Najib: It has got to be JUSTICE FOR ALL MALAYSIANS

Written by J. D. Lovrenciear

Umno likely to speed up party polls to August

UPDATED @ 04:56:03 PM 20-05-2013

By Jahabar Sadiq
Editor
May 20, 2013

File photo of delegates at the party’s 2010 general assembly.KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 — Umno is likely to bring forward its triennial party polls to August from October to prevent issues from festering and bogging down its leadership, say party insiders.
The Malaysian Insider understands that the party leadership wants members and delegates to decide quickly on a new slate to take the Barisan Nasional (BN) lynchpin forward before the next general election.
“The party elections are now likely in August and delegates to be chosen during the fasting month in July," a party source told The Malaysian Insider today.
The party’s 191 divisions will hold meetings to indirectly vote for top office bearers together with some 2,500 delegates attending the annual general assembly.
Party information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan said last week that some 146,500 Umno delegates nationwide will elect the party leadership in line with Umno’s constitutional amendments.
“Previously, only 2,500 delegates determined the party leadership but this time it has been increased to 146,500. The election starts at branch level.”
Ahmad believed that the Umno election of office bearers would not become chaotic as what happened in the election of opposition parties.
The special Umno general assembly in 2009 approved constitutional amendments giving 146,500 delegates the right to vote for the leadership, abolishing the quota system, simultaneous delegates meeting, and allow more women appointees.
Umno also made membership fees one-off, empowered Youth, Wanita and Puteri wings to approve new members and recognise the contributions of division secretaries.
Ahmad said the amendments were part of the Umno transformation process to make the party more democratic, transparent and inclusive.