Find People's Fault First, Performance Later

For the first few months governing one of the richest states in Malaysia, the Selangor government was only keen to search for and catalog Khir Toyo's follies and fumbles. Even their very own brethren were tainted in money politics and insider dealings resulted in the departure of Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim's special officer.

Enter Eli Wong, the state assemblyman and State Exco, whose nude pictures taken by dear boyfriend were released on the internet. Eli was pressured to step down even by party mate YB Zul Noordin, Kulim. Eli took a long holiday before being offered to continue working with the State Government by Tan Sri Khalid. Not to anyone's surprise, Pakatan Rakyat accused Barisan Nasional for orchestrating the whole episode instead of dear boyfriend (his boyfriend is still missing).

Perak is similar. After losing 3 State Assemblymen to Barisan Nasional, they've been adamant to tear the current Perak Government down through the courts with petty issues. DAP has been attempting to attack every technical & legal avenue possible; failing to recognize that all of this had started with their own 3 jumping ship (Pakatan should seek clarification from its defacto leader as to the status of the other 30 MPs ready to abandon the BN ship). The attacks included blaming the Sultan of Perak for misinterpreting the state constitution in his Majesty's decision to ask Nizar to step down as Menteri Besar.

Because they were locked out from the State Govt office, the disbanded Pakatan Rakyat "Exco" led by Sivakumar convened a meeting under a tree to extract more sympathy votes for their struggle. A plaque dedicated to the "tree of democracy" was built but later vandalized. To add salt to the wound, the Ipoh Municipal decreed that the plaque was erected illegally.

In Penang, the Deputy Chief Minister, Fairuz, was asked to resign due to his intention to further his studies (why did he contest in the first place knowing that he would want to go to grad school during his tenure?). Fairuz was allegedly involved in some dealings concerning state quarry projects. Lim Guan Eng was furious that he was not notified of Fairuz' resignation (Isn't he the Chief Minister)? Anwar later apologized to Lim Guan Eng. Meanwhile, Fairuz had threatened Pakatan Rakyat that he would expose their treasured secrets if his name was not cleared. The MACC then had cleared his name.

All kinds of drama in "Makkal Sakthi" movement. Find People's Fault First, Performance Later. The clock is ticking. General Election is around the corner. Get ready.

This is the real "People First, Performance Now". Please take note.

To PKR: This is no Chess Club

Wan Azizah stepped down last year to make way for hubby, the de-facto leader of Pakatan Rakyat. A by-election was in order due to the resignation. The PR coalition is supposedly gaining momentum, on its way to seize and conquer Putrajaya. After failing his bid to declare a new government on Sept 16 last year, Anwar decided to change the take over date to Hari Raya Qorban. Hari Raya Qorban had passed, and Anwar was still the opposition leader. Maybe it was the wrong date.

Then, Arumugam, State Assemblyman of Bukit Selambau, Kedah, caught with some scandal resigned, making way for another by-election. He had claimed that there was pressure to make him switch camp, a promise of great wealth & fortune if he packs and joins BN. Fortunately, PKR retained the seat.

Now, the Deputy Chief Minister Fairuz, previously claiming to further his studies, has resigned, suspected of being involved in multiple corruption cases concerning quarry management and other projects in Penang. His resignation will force the voters to come out once again. Fairuz is now threatening PR to clear his name, lest be exposed of its inner dealings that I reckon the public would have an interest on.

With all the money being spent on by-elections, when will it stop? If Fairuz were to be trialed and convicted with a crime, the seat should be left vacated until the next general election. We are not in the right economic environment to be spending resources on by-elections everytime some inconsiderate YB resigns (deaths are acceptable of course but they raise the question of health screening among YBs). There should not be any correct economic environment in the first place to justify such practice. Are we to condone these leaders vacating a seat like it was the Chess Club?

The Malays are known to possess a trait of being "kesian" (having sympathy for someone), according to the late Senu Abdul Rahman. He would have said "kesian dia".

"Double Standard" Anwar Dalam Kes Elly, Arumugam Terbongkar

"Double Standard" Anwar Dalam Kes Elly, Arumugam Terbongkar
Posted on Tuesday, March 31 @ 15:58:27 MYT

Oleh Adnil Mohd

Bukit Gantang -- Bekas Setiausaha Pemuda dan Ahli Majlis Tertinggi Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Lokman Noor Adam mendakwa Penasihat PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sehingga kini tidak mahu Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Bukit Lanjan, Elizabeth Wong melepaskan jawatan disebabkan peranan penting Elizabeth kepada parti itu.

Lokman yang kini Exco Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO Malaysia seterusnya mendedahkan pada tahun 2003, Anwar telah menghantar pimpinan kanan PKR ke Washington DC untuk mendapatkan dana daripada George Soros bagi menghadapi Pilihan Raya Umum ke-11 ketika itu.

Menurutnya, pertemuan itu telah diatur Tian Chua dan pimpinan PKR yang menghadap George Soros ketika itu ialah Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Azmin Ali dan Khalid Jaafar.

"Bagaimanapun Tian Chua tidak ada pada pertemuan itu sebaliknya beliau menghantar Elizabeth Wong untuk menguruskan pertemuan berkenaan.

"Pertemuan mereka terbongkar apabila berlaku pertengkaran di antara Azmin Ali dan Elizabeth setelah Azmin tidak membenarkan Elizabeth memasuki perbincangan tersebut kerana khuatir ada pihak luar yang mengetahui tindakan mereka menagih dana dari Soros", katanya.

Beliau mendedahkan perkara itu ketika berceramah ‘Kenapa Harus Tolak Pas’ di sini, Isnin malam.

Kata beliau lagi, perkara tersebut dimaklumkan oleh Ezam semasa mesyuarat 'inner circle' mereka.

Tegas beliau hakikat berkenaan jelas membuktikan “double standard” Anwar dalam berdepan dengan krisis dalaman parti tersebut.

"Saya katakan begitu kerana apabila bekas ADUN Bukit Selambau terlibat dengan masalah moral (perempuan simpanan) beliau segera desak agar ADUN tersebut meletakkan jawatan.

"Namun bila berdepan dengan kes Elly, Anwar mempertahankan Elizabeth habis-habisan sungguhpun ADUN berkenaan didakwa menghadapi masalah ketagihan rokok, arak dan yang terkini masalah gambar bogel serta hubungan dengan pemuda Islam (Helmi)", katanya.

Lokman seterusnya menambah Anwar masih tidak mahu Elizabeth meletakkan jawatan kerana Elizabeth adalah ‘jambatan’ kepada dana yang diberikan kepada PKR dari pihak asing yang mahu mengkucar-kacirkan negara.

Pada 1997, George Soros dilabel sebagai penyangak mata wang yang menyebabkan ekonomi negara merundum dan ekonomi Asia juga turut tergugat.

Jumping Ship the Malaysian Way

There is no word to describe how silly Malaysian politics has turned out since March 8th. It all started with Pakatan being greedy with their gains. Since winning 5 states is not sufficient to quell their thirst for power, Dato' Seri Anwar vowed to magically turn 30 Barisan Nasional MPs to Pakatan.

On hearing this threat of losing control of Parliament and subsequently the Federal Government, the Barisan Nasional government sent some 49 Members of Parliament to Taiwan to study agriculture and hordes of other life skills from the Taiwanese. Pursuing them were several Pakatan MPs, who boarded the next plane to Taiwan with a mission in hand of securing jumps from the agriculture enthusiasts.

Then the President of PKR pulled a stunt to make way for her husband. Her husband was reported to have contemplated several seats, including Bandar Tun Razak and Kulim. Both were deemed to be too hot to handle. Fearing that his ambitious return would backfire, he returned to Penang to win comfortably, crushing BN's candidate to dust with a bigger majority.

Not perturbed with changing the so-called take over dates numerous times to the point of idiocy and ridicule creating a national political conundrum, the new MP of Permatang Pauh scouted from state to state to seek potential disgruntled BN reps who are willing to jump ship for a range of reasons. The most talked about states were Sabah, Sarawak, and now Perak. The first to break the ice was Nasarudin Hashim, Bota state assemblyman. He said "Kalau dulu UMNO banyak pemimpin penuh dengan idealisma, kini semakin terhakis dengan politik wang dan juga soal-soal lain, dan semua ini turut menghakis kepercayaan saya kepada UMNO", during a PC with DSAI and his lieutenants.

The primary concern that should be addressed is not tightening regulations to prohibit party jumps, however, it is to probe why people are not satisfied with the leadership and why they were selected to contest. As soon as Nasarudin made the jump official, Dato' Tajol called for a meeting with all Perak UMNO State Assemblymen. 5 were MIA. This is not a good signal for UMNO leadership. Dato' Seri Najib has taken over the post of BN State Chairman of Perak.

2 more state assemblymen have resigned to make way for 2 more by-elections. Pretty soon, the Malaysia Book of Records would include the biggest number of by-elections held in a term. Huge amount of resources have to be spent to conduct these events, especially when we are in the midst of an economic turmoil. Not to mention the amount of time and commitment needed to run campaigns. Irresponsible, shameless, reckless, self-centered. These words suit well for these fine Wakil Rakyat.

Short Clips 2: Pakatan & KT By-Election

• Anwar Ibrahim is out of bargaining chips after changing his 'take over' date several times. Sept 16 went and nothing happened. Hari Raya Qorban went and nothing exciting occurred. Instead of focusing on administrating the 4 newly acquired states (which sees nothing different besides free water in Selangor, more lands given out in Perak and Penang and 1 temple demolition) and keeping the coalition together (with all the internal conflicts, no surprise there since it is a young coalition), he is still adamant to get 30 MPs to jump ship. The question that is begged to be asked and answered is whether people still want this? Is PAS still in line with the coalition's objectives after getting assaulted day in and day out by partner DAP from enforcing Islamic laws in Kedah to logging activities and inconsistent views on sales of alcohol and many other provoking issues.
• The Kuala Terengganu by-election will witness a modicum of interesting challenges. With 3 DUN seats under PAS' control (DUN Wakaf Mempelam, Ladang, Batu Buruk), BN will have a tough time retaining the seat, especially after the issue of the MB selection, the use of Mercedes as official cars, the wrestling of oil royalty funds, Monsoon Cup and the construction of the crystal mosque. BN won the seat by a mere 628 votes (Arwah Datuk Razali garnered 32562 votes vs Mat Sabu's 31934 & Maimun's 685).
• However, because of PAS' alignment with recalcitrant DAP which seeks to fight to the death to protect vernacular schools from being Malaysianized into one synchronized public school system, there might be some reservations from voters. Might. PAS might also face public pressure for its inability to continue fighting for their predetermined campaign causes before the formation of Pakatan Rakyat. Might. What is their stand on education? It has to be made clear lest they are comfortable being labeled as small time partner in the coalition. Perhaps we should just suggest to Kadazans and Ibans to have their own vernacular schools!

Malaysian Digest

Coalition cracking again? (Update 1)

28/7: Gelugor MP Karpal Singh condemns PAS for discussing issues with UMNO in the name of Malay unity. He said that Pakatan Rakyat should re-evaluate its partners involvement in the coalition (senior partner mind you with 2 states under their belt).

After the resignation of Sr SO to Menteri Besar Selangor, now there's dispute on money transferred to PKR accounts, Penang's resentment on Kedah's intention to pursue logging activities, DAP's disapproval of PAS' islamic state concept. Don't people discuss things before making press statements or is it just plain acting for PR (public relations, not Pakatan Rakyat)?....Is the coalition disintegrating again?

On the same note, Ezam left and joined UMNO. Dato' Nalla left and formed his own party. What would be the driving force for these decisions? Obviously both are gatekeepers of key tactical and strategic information. Is this a trojan horse play? Is this all planned? Who knows.

What I do know is that it will be another exciting term in UMNO and Malaysian politics come December. Reporters and political analysts alike are making predictions and betting on their 'horses', anticipating the big guns' maneuvering judging from recent events and press statements. People have started lobbying for positions in the party, which is norm in election year. This is when you get phone calls from people you haven't heard from since the last party election. I hope UMNO in all levels will make the right choices and not revert to the old ways of thinking (always difficult to choose between making the right decision and making the popular decision) or simply put "SOS" (same old shit). If not, it will be another tough battle come 13th GE.

Coffee shops all over the country are talking about who's contesting what post. We must not forget that the party rebuilding process has precedence and is a monumental initiative. As such, please put your votes to good use.

Recent events in coalition parties suggest that change is inevitable. Like Barack Obama's campaign; let's have a 'change we can believe in'.

Then again, I suspect it will be SOS. What do you think? Or do you think it's no longer relevant?

UMNO Election (Update 4) and PR's choice for DPM (update 1)

Update 4 (28/7): Tok Pa pulled out from the race.

Update 3 (27/7): Datuk Seri Utama Mohamad Hassan pulled out from the VP race.

Update 2 (25/7): List of UMNO Vice Presidency candidates:

1. DS Hishamuddin Tun Hussein
   
2. DS Syed Hamid Albar (being challenged at Division)
   
3. TS Rahim Tamby Chik
4. DS Khaled Nordin
5. DS Ali Rustam
6. TS Muhammad Muhammad Taib
7. DS Shafie Afdal
8. DS Adnan Yaakob
9. DS Musa Aman
10. TS Mohd Isa Abdul Samad
11. DS Rais Yatim (being challenged at Division by his deputy Datuk Yunus Rahmat, Klawang State Assemblyman)
12. DS Shahidan Kassim
13. Datuk Zahid Hamidi

20/7:

• One branch attempted to open the flood gates by nominating Datuk Seri Najib as UMNO president. One division in Johor might follow suit. Other contests:
• Sembrong, Kubang Pasu (TDM's former division), Balakaban (enjoying pension money after declining deputy minister post), Beaufort, Sipitang have nominated AAB as President and DSNR as Deputy President.
• Gua Musang nominated their chief as candidate for presidency
• Putrajaya plans to also nominate AAB and DSNR this Saturday
  
• D Mukhriz supports DS Hisham's notion that the top two posts should be contested
• PR has officially announced DSAI as their choice for the top seat should PR takes over from BN government. The question is, who is their choice for DPM? PAS will be furious if the composition of the newly formed government does not have at least 60% of Malay YBs after the planned hop in September (now DSAI says the plan has been delayed because of the sodomy case). PAS has already met with their UMNO counterparts to discuss issues regards the Malays and Islam. Will this widen the crack in Pakatan Rakyat?
  

The Strength of the Malays, PAS co-operating with UMNO & of Biotech competition in the south

Had an intellectual chat with a senior OP whom I highly respect. When I was 17, he was actually the first person lecturing my peers and I about the history of the Malacca sultanate, the special rights of the Malays and that we should not be ashamed of having that constitutional provision. He also instilled a sense of nationalism in our head and continuously reminded us that we have the responsibility to the nation to serve to lead.

Fast forward to 11 years later, I still see the same spirit in him when talking about the present political landscape. We both agreed that the provision in Article 153 of the Constitution has been opened to abuse by people driven by greed and lust of power. He agreed that race-based politics was by design not intention, that the colonial masters had established the system in such a way that the basis of politics is racial background. I personally think that we would see this trend diminish in the urban areas.

On the sensitivities among the non-Malays about Article 153, he argued that the non-Malays should not feel threatened as long as the policy is administered well. The Malays should be the ones protecting not only their interests but also ensuring that the entitlement for others is not compromised (with power comes great responsibility).

Malays who have been offered scholarships and have completed their studies must fulfill their contractual obligations. Those who were offered loans and defaulted should be punished severely for abusing the privilege. Same goes with leaders who flaunt openly with their wealth and mansions. The decline of moral in leaders and the Malaysian citizens is apparent. The respect of law and order has also diminished extensively. Mat rempits should be taken off the streets and forced to conduct community service or be sent to jail for rehab or labor work (this would reduce the need for foreign workers by 5% in the construction industry).

We also talked about our alma mater and the merits of relocation. He did convince me that relocation made some sense. First of all, the buildings that we have were not meant to last long. The walls of the dormitories are made of asbestos and the whole structure is slowly falling apart. The relocation would enable us to build something more resilient and relevant to current times. This should be a permanent feature and we must ensure that the construction is solid to avoid another relocation in 50 years. It should reflect the greatness of RMC but not too much that it pampers the boys too much. I'm just worried about the close proximity of the power lines. The old buildings should remain in the hands of RMC, not NDU. Allocation should also be put aside for the International Baccalaureate program. MCKK and TKC are the other 2 schools intending to implement the same system within the next few years.

On the poor participation among the young ones to give back, he agreed that youths are typically highly-driven and energetic. They should focus their energies and ideas into actions and also listen to wise old men for advice.

Other news:

• PAS cannot be taken lightly. With 83 seats compared to DAP's 73 and PKR's 40, it is the actual backbone of PR with 2 states under its belt. Why is it consulting with UMNO? Another crack in the coalition? Even Selangor PAS youths are giving the subtle hints.
• Meanwhile, is Malaysia Biotech Corp ready to take on Singapore? "One ground-breaking proposal is to let promising biotech firms list even if they do not have a financial track record. The move could make Singapore the first stop for such firms in Asia". That is a very bold and competitive move. How will we counter this and continue to attract investors?
• On food price increase: Even religious ceremonies were not spared.