I am just a Malaysian who wants a better future for his country. I support the Alternative Front, an Opposition political coalition whose aims I agree with.
Well, it has been more than a week since I wrote in my blog.
I've been busy helping BA. Election time, y'know. Lots of work to do, no time for blog writing. God willing, I'll update this blog after 21st March. I will [b]try[/b] to update before election day but I cannot promise because of the extra work I have right now.
Vote BA on 21st March.
Malaysian Election 2004: The see-saw performance of the Opposition
The Malaysian opposition parties have always had a see-saw performance at General Elections. Back in 1986, the ruling BN coalition buried them under a landslide. Four years later in 1990, it received a shock when Kelantan fell to the opposition. In 1995 - BN landslide. The year 1999 can be said to be the opposition's best performance at the polls since 1969. Kelantan, Trengganu became PAS strongholds. BN's northern fortresses of Kedah and Perlis were weakened when the Malays voted for the PAS/KeADILan coalition. The Anwar factor helped of course.
There is a pattern here. A BN landslide win in one general election will be followed by a weak BN showing at the polls in the next election. It will be then be followed by another huge BN win in the subsequent election. Since the '99 election was an election BN would rather forget, will the upcoming '04 general election see BN winning a landslide? Or can the opposition parties create history and capture yet another state?
The political situation in Malaysia is different now. Several issues like government corruption, police brutality, nepotism and cronyism have left an indelible mark on the political landscape. These topics were never discussed ten or fifteen years ago. Not because they did not exist but most people were too afraid to voice out their concerns. With a more educated electorate, many of whom are first time voters, who are fed up with the BN's "father knows best" attitude, the opposition has a very good chance of wresting a few more seats from the ruling coalition. PAS especially has transformed itself from a villager's party into a Muslim professional's party, able to attract lecturers, lawyers, doctors and recently PAS has boasted the admission into its ranks a number of former Establishment figures mostly from the Armed Forces and the Civil Service.
This does not mean that the opposition has a chance of taking over government. There is a still long way to go before they can achieve that. But I believe they no longer have to face the see-saw fate that they face at the polls every election year.
But then again....that is up to us, the voter, isn't it? So go out there and vote PAS, KeADILan or DAP on March 21st.
Malaysian Election 2004: If election is not the time to change government, when is?
Below is a letter published in Malaysiakini.com. Written by a member of the public, it makes more sense than Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Maybe the author should be Prime Minister. :wink: - Anti Pharaoh
Norris 5:18pm Tue Mar 9th, 2004
I was disturbed to read yesterday's headline in one of the Malay mainstream media (Berita Minggu). Allegedly our PM was quoted as saying that "election is not the time to change the government". Why would he say that? Is he introducing into the general election so-called Umno ‘democracy’ where the president is not to be challenged?
I consider what he said as a ‘threat’ (hasutan) to Malaysians. It is a similar kind of threat that the coalition is accusing the opposition of doing with the "promise of heaven / threat of hell" issue.
Isn't it amazing that government has been encouraging Malaysians to explore new territory, to venture into new area of development or business opportunity and not to be afraid of experiment? But when it comes to election time, the tone has changed. "Be afraid of experiment," they say. "Don't try something you might regret later," they warn.
Let me give you an analogy, Mr PM. If your tailor is getting lousy at his work and charging you more for his atrocious taste in colour and fashion, would you continue with his service? Or would you dare to experiment with a new tailor?
Malaysian Election 2004: The Opposition and its travails
WHAT THE GENERAL ELECTION 2004 shows starkly that if the Opposition wants to challenge the National Front (BN) head on, it must change its strategy and tactics, and prepare for the 2009 elections within months of 21 March. What it does not, with few exceptions, is to think about it when the rumours fly. It must have a coalition in which all the major races are represented, with a clearly-defined minimum programme of action, and its candidates chosen early for the constituencies, so that they could begin work. The constituents know who could represent them. Now, it is too often a shot in the dark, with both BN and Opposition candidates chosen at the last possible moment and often not from the area. The election becomes a form, with the important interaction between elected representative and voter all but non-existent. Ask anyone who his representative is, and he would often stare blankly at you. I have lived in the same flat for more than 30 years, and voted in every election during that time, but in the last three general elections, I have not once met the MP making his rounds.
If the Opposition does not make that effort, as the BN does not, it would give democratic institutions a bad name. Politics is as far removed from the average citizen these days because he does not partake in it. He is told to shut up when he has a point of view, and if he persists, threatened with dire consequencies. The BN has made politics important only for the vote. The voter is then told that since it is given it the mandate, it should accept whatever it prescribes for him. In Parliament and state assembly, there is no debate. The state assemblies do not meet more than once or twice a year, so power is concentrated in the hands of the executive, who has carte blanche to do as he likes. The Opposition accepts it, for after the election, it retreats into its shell.
Even if there is no formal connexion, the elected representatives of the Opposition must meet regularly to decide on a common position. Only PAS, amongst the Opposition, do that, but it is an exclusive meeting, in that it is confined only to PAS representatives. The Opposition often wants to make grand gestures in challenging and knocking off key BN figures, when the aim should be to be elected first, and then put the government on its toes. While it assuages the ego, there is no point in high profile contests - like KeADILan's Ezam Noor's plan to challenge the deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak, at the latter's Pekan constituency. Parliamentary debates would be all the more relevant if both are in it.
But this is what happens when the Opposition decides the only way to dent the BN's strong hold is to defeat its leaders in the polls. But this is often done as a dare, or to garner headlines, or other non-political reason. There is more to political life than scoring political points like this. But if it is done as a consequence of a move to force the government into a corner, then it should not be done as haphazardly as it now is. In the 2004 General Election, although PAS oversees the Opposition coalition ad hoc, it faces too many intangibles: the DAP is not part of it, but it wants a no-contest agreement with KeADILan. There should be to prevent fracturing the Opposition vote but such arrangements would at best be tentative.
It is important for the Opposition to firm the coalition. For that, PAS, as the main and best organised, must, and does, take the lead. It has the resources, and the wherewithal, to do so. It leaders are pragmatic enough to accept that its march to an Islamic state is only possible with multiracial support. However, it looks at it, it does not have that. And it is prepared to concede its more strident religious points en route to its goal. The Opposition has no hope to govern if it cannot break away from the BN-dominated worldview, and present one that would challenge its very basis. It is unfortunate but true that the Opposition view is to second guess the BN. In other words, it accepts from the start that it cannot unseat the BN. It is this mindset that must first be erased before it can talk of forming the government.
Which is why I do believe that, as matters stand, the Opposition can barely dent the BN's two-third majority. Where it can cause an upset is if it captures one more state. Kedah is widely tipped. But that would be a fluke. It is touch and go, but in such instances, and unless there is an ingrained hostility to the BN government, it may not happen. What PAS did in 1999 was to make solid BN constituencies into marginal ones. And it hopes, this time around, it could force the BN out. It could, but then it may not. It has denied the BN its two-thirds majority in Kedah. This time around, even if it does not take the state, there would be little change. That process could be seen in Pahang and Selangor.
The states PAS controls - Kelantan and Trengganu - the BN has promised to defeat. It is easier said than done. Kelantan is firmly in PAS hands. So should Trengganu. The BN is sure PAS would be defeated. But that does look unlikely. The Opposition does not control its advance. It is Pak Lah who does. He needs a solid victory to strengthen his hold on UMNO before the party elections later this year. But he may not pull it off. For UMNO and BN has ignored Trengganu after it got only five of the 32 state assembly seats. And caused a political furore when it refused to hand over to the PAS-run Trengganu the Petronas royalties due to the state. That is now before the courts. But what makes it difficult for BN is that it hands the petroleum royalties, which it labels 'wang ehsan', to its state leader to distribute.
It is important for the Opposition to chart a new political course. For too long, it is kept at the mercy of the BN. But it has is a sense of purpose. That should be nurtured, and strengthened. It has over the years brought BN to its knees, not for its policies but by the BN underestimating the Opposition and then insisting that it is beyond challenge. It finds that to be untrue. It would retain its two-thirds majority in what could in the end be but a pyrrhic victory. Which is why where once the short campaign period is to inconvenience the Opposition, this time it is so the BN could coast through before its internal dysfunctions would become public.
But the Opposition is in finer form than it has ever been. It has a new lease of life. But it is still disorganised. It has not yet shown itself to be an active political grouping, but what it has done so far is enough to frighten the BN. The classes PAS conducts for election agents, the unified position it takes in Parliament and state assembly debates all reflect this new mood. Its MPs are well regarded in Parliament, the one who comes out for particular mention being Mr Husam Musa. One cabinet minister told me, and not in jest, that if UMNO has a dozen Husam Musas in its ranks, it could meet any challenges. The fact is it has, and more. But it does not know where to look.
What the Opposition needs to do, and urgently, is to fashion a political philosophy that is acceptable to all races. The BN did it well, but over the years, ignored it as it became too successful, and the leaders decided they were why the coalition exists, not the component parties and their leaders on the ground. It does not have it now. That is why it is so strong electorally and yet so frightened of challenge even by a discordant Opposition as we have now.
Malaysian Election 2004: A General Election devoid of principle
NOTHING IN THIS GENERAL Election suggest anything has changed. The National Front (BN) government is in charge, and it continues to restrict the rules that make it all but impossible for its opponents to have a fair fight. Over the years, it has raised the ante to insist upon millions of ringgit in electoral deposits if a political party wants to take the BN head on. This is increased regularly over the years, that it is a financial burden to do that. Now the Election Commission want further deposits from each candidate of RM10,000 and RM5,000, for parliament and state, and returned if he removes the posters he had put up. Nothing has changed that would suggest the BN is prepared to give the Opposition a fair shake in a poll. Parliament and all state assemblies but Sarawak was dissolved yesterday (04 March 2004), the Election Commission met today to decide on nominations on 13 March and polling on 21 March, or a campaign of eight days.
That on that day the second leg of the F-1 motor race would be held in central Selangor is ignored. It would disrupt balloting in the area. But the EC, which wants more people to vote, is oblivious of it. A coalition in office for nearly 50 years has to make sure the Opposition should not be given a chance, that impediments of all kinds be laid before it. That is the mindset. The new regime of Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi does not change it. It cannot. There is too much at stake for a new leader to make drastic changes that could rebound on him. The BN should have insisted upon a new slate to reflect the changes Pak Lah has in mind, but he has done little of that. The same tired old faces are in attendance. Men and women who should have retired years ago remain candidates. Dropping a candidate is seen as a great sacrifice. In other words, little changes.
The DAP MP for Nibong Tebal, Mr Goh Kheng Huat, resigns from the party after Parliament is dissolved. Why? He could not get along with some state party leaders "who had ignored and abandoned him". He holds steadfastly to DAP's principles - if he knows what they are, perhaps he should tell us! - and that he resigned now is a sacrifice: he wanted to remain loyal to those voted him in. But one nagging doubt strikes me: did he resign because he is not a candidate in the election? How is it that he did not bring this to the attention of DAP leaders about his predicament? Penang MIC is in crisis and upset because its leader is not a candidate.
The MIC president, Dato' Seri S. Samy Vellu, is dismissive of party leaders who beg and cry to him for seats. He has promised a total revamp of MIC candidates. His definition of new faces is unique: since many of those in Parliament and state assemblymen have had put on false hair and other beauty treatments, they are in fact new faces. As for his own seat of Sungei Siput, he has decided that an MIC candidate there must have served the constituency as an elected member of parliament for at least three decades. Which is why he stands there yet again.
The Election Commission chairman said a few months ago that candidates with criminal convictions could stand so long as the appeals are not over. He reversed it as general election approaches. He said he made the earlier statement before he consulted his legal advisers. When the DAP's Wee Choo Keong, in similar circumstances, stood for the Bukit Bintang parliamentary seat in 1995, he was allowed to contest. He was returned. His MCA opponent challenged it in an election petition, and overturned it, making him the MP instead. The EC allowed it because that was the position then. It is now too. But it had to reverse itself when one of the three KeADILan members not permitted to contest was making political waves by threatening to challenge the deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak.
What this shows is the absence of principle in Malaysian politics. No one stands for it these days. The only honorable exceptions are the Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) and the Parti Socialis Malaysia (PSM). One has merged with KeADILan but the new entity is not registered because the Registrar of Societies would not. For all its faults, and it has many, KeADILan has a following but its strength is in the future: with UMNO, the main party in BN, and the Opposition PAS frame Malaysian politics in Islam, those Malays who disagree with this could well go to KeADILan, which plays the role of a multiracial UMNO.
But when Government and Opposition conduct their politics without any principle, the short term the only political goal, is it any doubt that BN has to look over its shoulders constantly? PAS pushes its Islamic agenda, though the framework for it is given constitutional sanction by UMNO, and it chips away at its nemesis by solid organisation in the Malay ground that would not ensure it victory in 2004 or even 2009, but victory it would get. Unless BN and UMNO reorganises itself to meet that challenge. There is no sign of that now. The short term, in its view, is more important than its long term plans. It also knows well that when there is no principle, it is the principal, more often monetary, that takes pride of place.
Malaysian Election 2004: Parliament, and all state assemblies but Sarawak, is dissolved
PARLIAMENT IS DISSOLVED, AS are all state assemblies but Sarawak's Council Negri. The National Front (BN) government had played a cat-and-mouse game with itself on when it would be called since Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister. The Opposition this time read the signs early and began preparations for general election in January, earlier than BN. So much so that it surprised UMNO leaders when Parliament was dissolved. The Election Commission would meet soon to decide on the polling day. The originally widely believed date of 21 March is out: on that day the first leg of the F-1 motor racing season is held in Kuala Lumpur. It would be a few days or so after that. It is Pak Lah's first general election since he became prime minister in November. He needs to do well to strengthen his chances, and cut out all opposition, when UMNO chooses its president at its annual general assembly in June.
The BN has a severe problem in Sarawak. The state BN is opposed to the chief minister, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, and could not be persuaded to work with him for one more term. Kuala Lumpur agrees with this, and to make that clear to Tan Sri Taib, the Anti-Corruption Agency called on him. There were too many odds and ends to tie up, and so it was decided not to have the Council Negri elections now. For Parliament, two state parties, the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) and its offshot, the Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), are both suspended from the coalition, and would be out of the elections. So, SNAP has decided to field candidates against the BN team. They would have for the Council Negeri if elections were called for it as well. In Sabah, matters are a little better but not by much. The state BN is badly divided, as is the state UMNO. But the Opposition is not well organised, as in the rest of the country, and that gives BN a measure of hope.
So it does not surprise that panic set in in the runup to the election. The BN is a top-down political party, with its president, who is also the UMNO president, dictating its focus. Pak Lah though could not hold his own. So he had to call for general election as soon as possible, while the country is still enamoured of him as a leader, and before the inherent problems within his administration revealed itself. The negotiations for the seats did not go down well. He finally had to call a halt to it, and demand all obey. The People's Progressive Party (PPP) leader, Dato' M. Kayveas, had nursed the new constituency of Cameron Highlands in Pahang, but it went to the MIC instead; earlier, it was earmarked for the deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak, whose Pekan constituency revealed too many shortcomings that he seriously considered shifting to another constituency. In the end, he stays where he is. Dato' Kayveas is given the Malay constituency of Bukit Gantang in the Malay heartland of Perak for no reason than that he threatened to pull the revitalised PPP out of BN if not.
The Opposition had expected the disssolution, although the Election Commission, after its chairman said in an interview that a candidate would be barred from the polls only if his conviction has not completed its appeal process, barred three Opposition leaders, who were convicted but had expected to contest, pending their appeals. It has a tough fight ahead, for the main party, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), could not get an Opposition coalition to challenge BN; the DAP stayed out. This infighting could cost it seats. It has set its eyes on Kedah, but the best it can hope, barring a miracle, is to shake up the UMNO-held constituencies this time, and capture the state in 2009. For this election, the DAP has agreed to come to an informal coalition, but this could be too little too late. But this election would see a battle royale for control of the Malay constituencies between UMNO and PAS.
Pak Lah kept to the last the distribution of the constituencies, and it was almost too late. This is not new. It happens at every election, though his predecessor, Tun Mahathir Mohamed, could decide and make it stick. Pak Lah is still finding his ground. Some signs of warlordism amongst the state UMNO leaders are evident, and he has to weave through them cautiously. Pak Lah has to act decisively this time, but he cannot afford to drop too many old timers, with their considerable hold on the constituencies. The coalition members are themselves split, and let Pak Lah take the rap to drop those they do not want. This gives the UMNO president too much power over the candidates, and he uses it with firmness. Tun Mahathir did, and Pak Lah does. But his victory could be pyrrhic if he does not ensure that young MPs are elected. There is one report that 40 per cent of BN candidates would be new. That would be a step forward if Pak Lah could prevent those dropped from revolt. He is unsure of it, which is why he called on all those dropped to campaign as hard for victory. Such good intentions are laudable, but could it work in the BN?
Malaysian Election 2004: What's with all the coalitions?
Okay, just thought I give a brief and I mean brief lesson in Malaysian politics. This blog was inspired by someone who wants to know more but is too embarassed to ask (you know who you are :wink: )
Okay...right, here we go:
Malaysia is made up of several races such as the Malays, Indians, Chinese, Iban & Kadazans. None share the same culture, language and religion. If you want to be Prime Minister how would you go about "promoting" your party to all these races and hope they will choose you? You can't and they won't. That's why you need a coalition in Malaysian politics if you want power.
The Malays probably will not vote for a Chinese dominant, non-Muslim party and the Kadazans will not choose a party that does not have the Kadazan's interests in mind. So, each major race in Malaysia has formed a political party of its own and has formed an alliance in order to gain power.
The first political coalition in Malaysia was the ALLIANCE but since I wrote that this will be a brief lesson I will jump ahead to the present day.
There are now two main coalitions. The ruling National Front or Barisan Nasional (BN) and the opposition Alternatif Front or Barisan Alternatif (BA). By the way, if there are any British or French readers who think that the name National Front reminds them of their own NF in UK and France, my answer is, "Yes. Malaysia's NF is rascist as well. Just like yours". Anyway, back to topic.
The BN has fourteen parties but most people can only name three...four if they remember Gerakan. The three are: UMNO (Malays), MCA (Chinese) and MIC (Indian). I doubt if even the BN supporters can name the remaining ten parties.
Each of the three major parties in the BN represent the three major races of Malaysia with UMNO being the dominant one in the coalition. Since the 1999 General Election however, UMNO has seen its dominance threatened when many of its Malay supporters abandoned it for the Opposition. It actually won less seats than its MCA and MIC partners. If it had stood alone it would have been thrown out of government. The other races, in a way, helped the UMNO Malays. Ironic, isn't it?
The Barisan Alternatif or BA is the Opposition's answer to the BN. It is currently made up of PAS and KeADILan. PAS, with its 'Islam First' principle, may not be popular with the non-Muslims but recently they have started to gain ground in the mainly non-Muslim Chinese community. This is something that has not happened since the party's creation. KeADILan or National Justice Party is the youngest party in Malaysia formed in the aftermath of the Anwar Ibrahim crisis of 1998. Relatively speaking it did quite well in the last election because even though it was only 9 months old when the '99 elections were held they garnered a handful of state and Parliamentary seats mainly in the Malay areas (traditionally UMNO strongholds).
Unlike the BN however, the opposition BA is not based on race but ideology. PAS insists that its members be Muslim but does not object to non-Muslim support. KeADILan acts as an avenue for those non-Muslims looking for an opposition party to support even though the party itself is Malay dominated. It does not require its members to subscribe to any religion as a prerequisite to becoming a member.
I know what you're thinking? "What about DAP?" Well, DAP isn't in any coalition. They are going it alone as an opposition party which I think is a silly strategy in this day and age. But then again, I have made it clear in an earlier blog that DAP is the UMNO of the opposition...it is a party that is gradually going downhill and does not know what to do to reverse the situation.
And there you have it. A brief lesson in Malaysian coalition parties and why they are a necessity in this country's politics. No single party can achieve power on its own. It needs help from friends. Not because the task would be too expensive but because Malaysia is too diverse for one party to be able to convince everyone that it should be the party of choice.
Malaysian Election 2004: Parliament to dissolve March 4th
Well, this is it. The day has or rather will arrive in 24 hours. The Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has advised the King for his assent to dissolve Parliament on March 4th. This will usher in the 11th General Election which must be held within 60 days. Many believe however that the election will be held near the end of the month, perhaps during the school holidays.
This is the moment that I for one have been waiting for. First time voter even though I qualified to vote 10 years ago. There are at least a million new voters this time aroud. Many are young, educated Malays and many of them no longer see UMNO/BN as their traditional party.
This is going to be interesting.
Malaysian Election 2004: Why does Dato' Seri Najib want to desert his Pekan parliamentary constituen
(The following article is a couple of days old but interesting. Najib on the run? If true then it is not a surprise. Cameron Highlands is a safe BN seat while Pekan is not. He held onto Pekan in '99 by a 241 vote majority -- the lowest for a Cabinet member. Pak Lah should tell him to stay in Pekan...and hope Najib is defeated. That way he can get rid of a Deputy PM that he does not like and be rid of a potential rival.
Dont you just love politics? -- Anti Pharaoh)
by MGG Pillai
THE MENTRI BESAR OF PAHANG, Dato' Seri Adnan Yaakob, said the National Front (BN) list is ready but for three parliamentary constituencies - Bentong, Indera Mahkota, Pekan (The Star, 28 February 2004, p12). Pekan? The seat of the Dato' Shahbander of Pahang, which two successive holders of the post, Malaysia's second prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak, and his son, the deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Najib, they had held for UMNO since 1955? The constituency was far larger in 1955 than it is today, but its crown jewel is within the present boundaries. Dato' Seri Adnan did not say why. How did a solid albeit feudal UMNO stronghold be now a marginal constituency? In 1999, the deputy prime minister, as he was not then, squeaked in by 241 votes, and this after the 2,400 postal votes were counted. The feudal spell and Razak mystique could no longer sustain his son's political future. When the constituencies were redrawn since, an army and an airforce camp from the adjoining Mentakab and Kuantan constituencies, with 4,000 voters were brought within the new Pekan electoral boundary. On the face of it, Dato' Seri Najib should easily romp home. The reality is far, far different.
The UMNO mystique in the Malay heartland is under attack. Pekan, for all its closeness to the state capital of Kuantan and the superficial modernity that marks for progress in present day Malaysia, is in the thick of it. It is a constituency which must be nurtured. His father assiduously did in his years in office. He was deputy prime minister in his thirties, and died at 53, the age when his son became deputy prime minister. Dato' Seri Najib, in many ways a more consummate politician than his father, however, ignored his ground, and allowed the opposition to build a base within it. Not all of it is his own fault, but he must bear a large share of the blame. The urbane sophistication that makes him a welcome guest at No. 10 Downing Street or the White House is seen amongst his constituents as plain old-fashioned arrogance, and this in a society which lays great store on civilised behaviour. The Opposition Party Islam Malaysia (PAS) has made impressive inroads into the state: UMNO is frustrated that many of its older members and leaders left it, especially after the 1998 sacking of the then deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, for PAS and the National Justice Party (KeADILan). The ground was slipping from under him. He did not act quickly to stop the rot.
As the 2004 general election approached, he is beset with more electoral difficulties. PAS has made strong inroads into Pekan, has three candidates ready, any one of whom could cause an electoral upset. Into the fore comes the KeADILan youth chief, Mr Ezam Mohamad Nor. He wants to stand against Dato' Seri Najib in Pekan. He is allowed to since the Election Commission has decided that since his conviction and jail sentence for an offence under the Official Secrets Act will bar him for contesting an election only after all appeals are disposed off. PAS has no objection. But Dato' Seri Najib has other difficulties too. The political rivalry between the Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and Dato' Seri Najib, for all the apparent cordial warmth in public, is now reflected, so Dato' Seri Najib's supporters claim, in a not-so-subtle campaign to unseat him.
On the face of it, this is not far-fetched. How he was appointed deputy prime minister still rankles in the Pak Lah camp. Now a serious practical problem throws the loyalty of the 4,000 voters in doubt. Recently, the air force asked the Treasury to revise the flying allowance of its pilots, now fixed at RM1,500 a month. It wanted this varied for the different aircraft their pilots fly. The Treasury decided on a fixed rate of RM3,500, insisting that since the pilots had only the SPM, the Malaysian school leaving certificate, they deserved no more. If Dato' Seri Najib does not resolve this soon, he could well be the first deputy prime minister to be defeated in a parliamentary election in Malaysia. In other words, a marginal shift in the political winds could force him to step down as deputy prime minister and defence minister. It was a similar problem with the armed forces that the then finance minister, Dato' Mustapha Mohamed, was defeated in Jeli, Kelantan in 1999: the army camp there voted solidly against him.
So where could he contest? This is where it turns murky. The BN selection committee, of which he is a member with the BN secretary-general, Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob, and Pak Lah's son-in-law, Mr Ahmad Khairy bin Jamaluddin, decided he should contest the new Cameron Highlands constituency. But the People's Progressive Party (PPP) leader, Dato' M. Kayveas, worked hard to be given it, setting up an enviable organisation there. It is a safe seat. The Opposition does not have an organisation there, and any BN candidate would be returned with a handsome majority. At the BN meeting to iron out the seats, Pak Lah asked why Dato' Kayveas is not given Cameron Highlands. Tan Sri Khalil said the PPP leader could not be given the constituency since that he would lose. The meeting became acrimonious, and Dato' Kayveas threatened to pull the PPP out of BN. The Perak mentri besar, Dato' Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali, stepped in and offered the PPP the UMNO-held Bukit Gantang constituency, a 70 per cent Malay majority area with less than five per cent Indians.
The PPP is unhappy about it. The Bukit Gantang UMNO is angry. It this is not carefully handled, another UMNO stronghold could fall to PAS. It is difficult to see how he could get another seat since the allocations are all but over unless he stands in Cameron Highlands and Dato' Seri Najib in Pekan. The PPP, let us not forget, has a new lease of life under Dato' Kayveas, is the most resurgent of the BN parties, adding members and groups so assiduously that with his Indian base, he is adding others, including from Sarawak and Sabah. Dato' Seri Tajol Rosli offered him Bukit Gantang for fear that should the PPP leave the BN, it could set up roots in his state. After all, the PPP began life as the Perak Progressive Party under the redoubtable Seenivasagam brothers. It had declined since but this rejuvenation could well give it another chance in the state. UMNO leaders in Perak do not want to contemplate it. The underlying tensions may be too much to disallow Dato' Kayveas in Bukit Gantang, but he must be given one that he has a reasonable chance of being returned. Dato' Seri Najib is more trouble than he realises.
A bit busy today so just a short note. This blog thingy is addictive isn't it? It tempts you to write :)
Anyway, I was tempted to write on the vital Chinese support in the coming elections. Like most observers, I expect a majority of the Chinese will stick with the devil they know and choose the BN candidate. They don't really care who runs the country as long as their interests are safe. Most of them don't see that happening under a PAS led government. So BN forever then.
However, one can see a growing support from the Chinese towards the Barisan Alternatif (BA). In the last general election, PAS won the state seat of Kajang which has a significant Chinese population. In the Lunas by election, KeADILan won the seat mainly due to Chinese support.
The Chinese who support the opposition traditionally will support the DAP the only Chinese dominant party in the opposition. However DAP is fast becoming the UMNO of the opposition. Its leaders are old and getting older. They refuse to make way for the younger generation to take over, stubbornly holding onto the top posts of the party. The party is going downhill or at the very best, stagnant with no new ideas forthcoming.
These former DAP supporters have begun to see KeADILan as a good alternative (no pun intended). Some have even been impressed with PAS, to the point that DAP members who advised the Trengganu and Kelantan Chief Ministers (both PAS stalwarts) chose to leave DAP when that party told them to "stop working with PAS or leave the party".
Majority of the Chinese will no doubt continue to support BN. "Rome wasn't built in a day" as they say and convincing the Chinese voters of Malaysia to switch their allegiance will take some time. But one must admit that change is happening when Malay/Muslim dominant parties in the opposition are getting a favourable word from the Chinese.
Malaysian Election 2004: A visit from some BN volunteers
Three BN volunteers came around to my house yesterday. I thought they were selling something but they looked too casual to be salespeople. It turned out the 3 teenage girls (members of Puteri UMNO?) were BN canvassers for the area. They handed me three slips of identical looking paper. Each had the names of the people residing in the particular address and their respective serial numbers. This will facilitate the voter on polling day obviously. My question is: How did they get my address and my serial number if they represented a political party? Isn't the serial number determined by the Election Commission? Isn't the Commission supposed to be neutral? How did this UMNO girls know what my number was unless they received it from the Commission? I may be wrong here and if I am, please correct me, but I smell a stinking rat. The Commission can't reveal the number except to the particular individual and even then only on polling day, am I right? The Election Commission is not independent!! *gasp* *shock* *horror*
Well, whatever. I noticed they only went to the Malay homes and there aren't many in my area. The battle for the PJ Utara Parliamentary seat has always been between BN/MCA and DAP with the Kampung Tunku State seat fought over by BN/MCA and PAS with BN winning both seats in the last election. I may have to vote for the darn Rockets since there is no other choice (my State seat vote will of course go to PAS). Will BN retain the seats? Probably but you never know. I for one will not vote for them so that's one vote lost for BN.
Election soon. Can't wait. I wonder if those volunteers can promise me that someone will drive me to the polling station on the big day. Hey, they want the Malays to vote don't they? Might as well take advantage of the situation. Like what the Kelantanese do every election year...take the gifts offered by UMNO but vote PAS. :wink:
Malaysian Election 2004: So, the countdown to the polls begin
THE NATIONAL FRONT (BN) PLAYS a cat-and-mouse game with the Opposition when General Election is at hand. It will be this year, next year, this month, next month. We decide when, so why should you be curious about when it should be? It would be held when it would be held. This is to hoodwink the Opposition and to catch it unprepared, disorganised, and disarrayed. That worked in the BN's favour in nine general elections - 1959, 1964, 1969, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1995 - but not in 1999 and in 2004. Over the years, the Opposition parties have worked around it and build up an organisation that is quite formidable but with the millions of ringgit that must be deposited as election deposits, are hampered by not having enough funds. The BN's fortunes changed in 1998 when it allowed UMNO to dismiss its deputy president from office, jailed and had him convicted in courts that would do many a community of kangaroos proud.
The Anwar Ibrahim affair, in one sense, is the most important political development since the first general election in that this man, humiliated and incarcerated for a political vendetta, caused the Malay political and cultural ground to move to the sidelines, forcing UMNO, the leader in BN, to have to fight for Malay support that it once got as their cultural and political leader. This is played down now: Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim is a nobody, he is a spent force, without him KeADILan, the political party that came out of what the BN thought was his political castration, is history. But he is not. His name is a dirty word in UMNO and BN, the fear is real of what would happen if he is indeed released. UMNO has to fight to retain its cultural and political leadership of the Malay community because of it, for it breached the fundamental relationship between leader and chieftain by humiliating him.
If this man is so unimportant and history, as the BN and UMNO now insist he is, why should his release on bail be challenged so vehemently and in a court action where the judges are in no mood to hear the arguments and instead second guess the Prime Minister's wishes? When I raised it with one UMNO official high in the heirarchy, he repeated the now familiar mantra: Anwar is history, Anwar is irrelevant, Anwar is guilty of all he is charged for. I said I could accept all that if he was convicted and sentenced in a court of law that did not look over its shoulders for political directions. I suggested that since he is history and irrelevant, why not release him. He could do no more wrong, the people have forgotten him. So what is the problem? But he is the problem, he said rather reluctantly. We think he is history, he said, but the people, especially the Malays in the rural areas, still say he is wronged, and he must be released. The government does not bend to such pressures.
How could it when the people of Malaysia have returned it to office with more than two-thirds majority in every general election todate? So how could he be released without the Government losing face. I asked him if BN would release him three or four days into the campaign to turn the tide in its favour ever more dramatically. He would not answer, but it was clear from his facial expression that that could well be one final, desperate option if the election would result in a two-thirds majority but which would not allow the Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, to keep his job. Should it happen, the Malay vote would almost certainly swing to the BN in the final days of the campaign. One hopes Dato' Seri Anwar has his instincts well-honed, as it has so far, to reject this blatant electoral bribe and insist it be decided after the election. If the decision to release is made, it is only the timing that matters.
The BN had planned this general election since September, thwarted each time by calculated leaks or internal crisis. Since Pak Lah took office in November, at least two dates were seriously discussed, in December and January before the March date is all but firmed. He needs this election to appear before the UMNO general assembly in June with a firm national mandate. It is election year in UMNO too, and his showing at the polls would determine if he would be challenged. The rush to elections now is forced upon him. The Sabah assembly's five year term ends in April. The fractious state of Sabah BN and UMNO prevented early polls there. There were plans for the election there first, so that Pak Lah could come to general elections with one state firmly in its hands. But that had to be discounted when PAS, which controls Kelantan and Trengganu, suggested it would too. The BN is under pressure in Kedah, it remains touch and go there, but the odds of being returned is high. If Kedah goes, the BN would face far more problems elsewhere than it could handle.
But the countdown has begun. The Star has a front page photograph of posters being printed. The New Straits Times has the Sabah Election Commission officials checking and sorting out the administrative paraphernalia for the elections. The newspapers now devote two and more pages on election news. The official hesitance is now replaced with an optimism of how well it would do in the polls. The news is full of individual candidates and constituencies, and how the Opposition would have to worry about the election deposit, so strong is the organisation in those constituencies. The strongest card it has is its long years in power, not how it governed: people are reluctant to throw out a sitting government, however bad, for fear of the unknown under a new government.
Still the subtle changes are missed. This frequent threats of general election caused one effect, to the BN's chagrin: in January, the Opposition parties decided polls were near, and started preparations for it to be held any time by June. The Barisan Alternatif (BA) does not have DAP as a member, but it discusses seats with KeADILan. I fear the DAP has missed the boat. It is reduced to a minor party, and while it could hope for what it now has and a few more, its heydays are over. That it wants to field both Mr Lim Kit Siang and Mr Karpal Singh in Penang - although there are attempts to have Mr Lim stand in one of two Ipoh parliamentary constituencies - is one sign of its genteel decline. The BN parties know the folly of not allowing for change from within, with regular retirements and new blood to keep it at the forefront. The DAP is now learning it the hard way.
KeADILan President behaving too much like a woman?
An acquaintance asked me recently what, if anything, is wrong with the National Justice Party or KeADILan. This was during the defection of the infamous "12 Monkeys" to UMNO. My answer to his question was that the party president behaves too much like a woman.
Yes, I know the party president [i]is[/i] a woman but does not mean she must behave as one when leading the party. What I mean is that Dr. Wan Azizah must be tough or tougher than she is now. She must not be afraid to make tough but necessary decisions in the interest of the party.
If she was tougher in handling party matters, I do not think that these defections would have happen. They will probably be fired from the party long before they could announce their defection. There would probably be less grumblings on the ground regarding the Youth Leader, Ezam Muhammad Nor, who many envy because of his "hero" status in the party. Her ignorance of the matter or most probably her reluctance to intervene and smooth the creases probably added fuel to the fire. Dr Wan Azizah is also known for her penchant for trying to please all sides, something which is impossible in politics. A headstrong leader with a clear vision will listen to views from all sides in the party but will agree with the one that will help the party the most. Agreeing to every view and opinion that differ from each other will just create false hopes and cement resentment.
That is what I meant when I said the KeADILan leader behaves too much like a woman. A female political leader must act manly in order to gain respect from her (mainly male) subordinates. Remember Margaret Thatcher?
This past couple of weeks has been intensely hot in Malaysia. I don't mean hot, I mean HOT. I'm talking ozone layer depletion kind of hot. And now it tends to rain heavily in the evenings which doesn't bode well for my sinuses.
That's why I haven't updated my blog. Probably won't be updating regularly this week. I pray that my health won't get worse. I don't want to leave this thing un-updated for too long. Besides, the other fever -- election fever -- is heating up. Don't wanna miss that.
We live in interesting times.
Malaysian Election 2004: Does KeADILan know how to fight the PR war?
A recent article by Raja Petra was damning in its criticism of the way the National Justice Party or Parti KeADILan fought the public relations war.
Raja Petra wrote that opportunities were wasted when the party did not publicise the fact that several UMNO members joined KeADILan just days after the infamous 12 defected to UMNO recently. A surge in Chinese support was also not publicised, he claimed, for fear of hurting its fellow opposition ally, the Chinese dominated Democratic Action Party (DAP). His reaction can be summed up as, "So what?"
I must say I agree. Sure, members of one party jumping to another one is so old news in Malaysia that no one cares anymore. In fact I will be the first to say that the tactic does not give any significant results. But psychologically it can be a boon to the grassroots supporter. Especially the supporters of KeADILan who, little by little, are beginning to think that their party is imploding and not expanding.
Why should KeADILan not risk offending DAP by announcing that a significant number of Chinese voters are now supporting KeADILan? Because some of those Chinese could have been DAP people at one time? Why should this concern either party? Lest we forget, DAP dissapointed its former partners in the Alternative Front (AF) soon after the last General Election by quitting the Front and going it alone. They are no longer coalition partners. The unofficial condition that no party would steal another party's members does not apply here since DAP is no longer in the coalition. In fact, when the DAP headquarters forced its members in the Trengganu state government to quit their posts there or quit the party, they unanimously chose to quit the party and the news was publicised by PAS. Shouldn't KeADILan have done the same in their case?
In politics there is no such thing as humility. Politics is a popularity contest. The party must sell itself to the people. Convince them why they should support this party and this coalition Front and not another party or another coalition Front. KeADILan must publicise the good news and downplay the bad. Right now they are downplaying the bad and not saying anything about the good stuff.
PAS and KeADILan in the Alternative Front (AF) could not possibly take over the government in this coming election (it'd be a miracle) but if both parties and especially KeADILan pull their proverbial socks up and improve their PR techniques, their stay in opposition could end soon. Dare we dream of an AF government in 2009?
[i]I believe it is the right thing to do. However, I also fear that all this is just the spilling of a lame duck's blood for election purposes. Eric Chia & Kasitah are a waning star and a little fish, respectively. When will they arrest the big sharks? Rafidah, Rahim Thamby Chik and dare I say it...MAHATHIR?? - Anti Pharaoh
(Note: I've more or less stopped writing original blogs nowadays, as ABU Q noted in the chat box on the right hand column beneath the calendar and ads. This is because I feel that MGG Pillai and RPK are better at writing and they echo what I think anyway. That's why. Although I will try to write something original...soon :wink:. My last original blog was what? January 04?[/i]
[b]Malaysian minister in corruption case quits[/b]
Wednesday, February 18 @ 11:47:12 MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 - A Malaysian minister charged with corruption in a crackdown led by new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has resigned his cabinet post.
Abdullah said Lands and Cooperative Development Minister Kasitah Gaddam quit so he could "focus on clearing his name in the court case," local media reported Wednesday.
The prime minister was speaking to Malaysian journalists in Tehran where he is attending a meeting of the D-8 economic grouping.
Kasitah, 56, was charged last week with corruption over a share transaction by the state-owned Sabah Land Development board involving up to 40 million ringgit (10.5 million dollars).
He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail of one million ringgit.
The move against Kasitah was the second high-profile arrest last week over alleged corruption during the period when retired prime minister Mahathir Mohamad was in power.
The former head of troubled steel giant Perwaja, Eric Chia, was earlier charged with embezzling 76.4 million ringgit (20.1 million dollars).
Abdullah, who took over the premiership on October 31 when Mahathir stepped down after 22 years in office, has repeatedly declared the fight against corruption to be a priority for his new administration. - AFP
Malaysian Election 2004: Has Pak Lah's anti-corruption drive gone awry?
THE PRIME MINISTER, DATO' SERI Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, was firm when he declared war on corruption. But it now looks more like President George Bush's disarrayed war on terror. It turns awry before one's eyes. A business man, a cabinet minister, a few middle level civil servants are arrested and charged in court for corruption. Another 18 VIPs await their turn in court. The minister in charge of justice, Dato' Seri Rais Yatim, says most would be prosecuted, but some could not for want of convictable evidence. The cabinet is frightened sick of the policeman's knock, after what happened to a colleague, Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam, and wants Pak Lah to slow down. One cabinet minister's house is raided while he is overseas. The market is rife with rumours of who next. The arrests though did not have the impact he expected from a society fed up of the creeping corruption around it and government inaction. The opposition dismissed it as an election gimmick. So did many a man on the street, he who would not be allowed to say their piece in the mainstream newspapers. No, says Pak Lah. It is a campaign to rid Malaysia of this evil, which to be fair until he took office did not officially exist. But there has been so many false starts and promises in the paste that it is taken as read that this is the new broom putting his mark while he still has the respect, as a new boy, of the street.
Pak Lah insists the crackdown would be unabated. "Everyone abhors corruption", he said, and it had the support of the people. It is not a gimmick. The Opposition is wrong about his intentions. But you know the Opposition. It would do anything to make fun of the National Front (BN) and poison the minds of Malaysians for political mileage. Mark you: "The election is the election. The government will carry out its obligations and we do not need to wait for the general election. Whatever we don't like - corruption - we will weed out," he said. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. It does not matter if it is or is not an election gimmick. In the end, his success will rest on how many 'big fish' he sends to jail. That is the only success that will now be accepted, in the light of the minister in charge of justice, Dato' Seri Rais's statement that only convictable cases would be brought to caught. What we need from Pak Lah is not words but action. If it is an opposition gimmick, then so be it. Why should he be bothered by the opposition barbs. It would come around to accept him as a saviour if he can pull it off. He should dismiss these barbs, and carry on regardless. If he means what he says - there is not much to hope for that, if the past is any guide; other prime ministers have made such promises and not delivered - he would have this nation's enduring gratitude. After all, in his mind, it is not an election gimmick. And he, like everyone else, "abhors corruption".
But the campaign stumbled from the start. Tan Sri Eric Chia was defiant after he was charged for corruption when he headed the government-owned, and now shut down, Perwaja Steel, for seven years until 1996, promised sparks when his trial is held, that he would not carry the can for others. He could easily pay the RM2 million bail set. But Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam? His bail of RM1 million was paid by his daughter. How could the land and cooperative development minister from a poor family in Sabah produce this sum if he survived only on his income? That magistrates now routinely set bail in the millions, suggest an acceptance of no smoke without fire, and proven when they are met promptly. Pak Lah however lost this round when he would not sack Tan Sri Kasitah after he was charged. He appointed the man last month, and he wants him to be on leave instead until after the trial. He should suspend him without pay, until after the trial, or sack him. There is no danger of the man starving. There must be millions from where that million came from. Does it surprise then politicians in Malaysia are better financial planners than the best the banking and investment industries can provide. If Pak Lah does not act firmly on those charged, he loses ground.
Pak Lah cannot act in half measures. The ground does not believe he or his government want to root out corruption. The National Front (BN) government has over the years defanged the anti-corruption laws that no one has any fear of being caught if they are corrupt. There was once a rule about living beyond one's means, with the onus on the suspect to prove he does not. It was this rule that allowed the first director of the Anti-Corruption Agency, who rose to great heights as a Federal Court judge as Tan Sri Harun Hashim, to interdict two UMNO mentris besar, of Perak and Trengganu, in 1969. It frightened the government. The ACA has been progressively defanged that today for all the good work the ACA does, it cannot initiate prosecution of the high and mighty in government if the Prime Minister would not allow it. So whenever the ACA investigate a cabinet minister for corruption, he proudly claims he is vindicated, he could easily spend the next decade and more in jail. That is still the law.
There was one attempt to set this right. In 1997, the then Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamed, was on leave. His deputy, the now-jailed Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, as acting prime minister, got the cabinet to amend the anti-corruption law to give it more powers including the right to investigate all records of whoever it investigates for up to six years previous. Retirement, or resignation, as now did not protect one. When he presented it to the cabinet, it was fiercely resisted until he asked in what now can only be described as political naivete if it does not support the amendments because the ministers have much to hide. It was passed. Two who did were one Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and one Najib Tun Razak. It was presented to Parliament, where it got its first reading quickly enough. But Dr Mahathir returned, reversed it, and it now lies in limbo. Since Pak Lah's view on corruption mirrors Dato' Seri Anwar, he should use that law as the basis, tighten its provision, and earn the undying gratitude of all and sundry that he would beard the goat.
One hopes he would. The signs of slacking are already there. Dr Mahathir insisted a cabinet minister is innocent until he is found guilty and all appeals are exhausted, and a pardon denied. Civil servants though are suspended at half pay during the process. Pak Lah applies this to Tan Sri Kasitah. Dr Mahathir misread the law. In any case that vanished when he sacked and humiliated Dato' Seri Anwar, and denied him his freedom while the cases against him wound its way through the courts. The man, ill and in a wheelchair, fights a rear guard battle in the courts to be allowed bail so he could get medical treatment. The government insists he is not entitled to it. He could, you see, subborn witnesses. But all his cases are on appeal. No witness are needed for legal arguments. Is the government afraid he would subborn the judges instead? Could not Tan Sri Eric Chia and Tan Sri Kasitah subborn witnessess? So, why are they given bail? Why is he reluctant to force Tan Sri Kasitah's resignation now that he is charged? Or does he takes this route because Tan Sri Kasitah is about to end his two three-year terms in the Senate, and would be automatically out of the cabinet? That could be, but he is at the heart of Pak Lah's most potent campaign as prime minister. He cannot afford to blink. He should not.
One-time Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad considers Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) more of a threat to Umno compared to Parti Keadilan Nasional (keADILan). Religion, lamented Mahathir, is based on faith and cannot be rationalised. Man-made ideologies are easier to defeat, said Mahathir, but how does one defeat faith? Faith is so intangible; it is a matter of the heart. PAS, therefore, is the real danger to Umno, not keADILan, reckons Mahathir. KeADILan can easily be wiped out.
True and not true. True that PAS touches your heart while keADILan deals with your head. PAS reminds you that God ordained certain guidelines for humanity that should not be challenged or disputed while keADILan expounds “modern” concepts such as freedom, fundamental rights, liberties and human decency. However, while PAS and keADILan may be singing different lyrics, the song is basically the same. The message does not differ; both talk about justice.
If at all PAS can be found wanting, it is the manner in which their message is delivered. You could say PAS does not offer any room for us to rationalise and demands that one complies in the name of God. KeADILan, however, invites us to think and to rationalise as to whether what is happening in the country is right and proper. If not, then let us go for change -- Reformation or Reformasi.
Unfortunately, humankind resents being “force-fed”. They prefer to be convinced through rational arguments. They like to think they are allowed to make choices and are not being pushed into accepting anything against their will though they may actually believe in what you are propagating. And this is PAS’ weakness if I may be permitted to call it that.
KeADILan does not tell the voters they have no choice in the matter and that supporting the party is must, something that God decreed. To be fair, PAS may not officially be adopting this line, but some of the penceramah that speak at the ceramahs do say this. And this is what the people do not like to hear. They prefer to be politely told, “Please support us because we stand for noble ideals”, not “You must support us because you are a Muslim and it is your Islamic duty.”
But the PAS line, albeit unofficial, is not a total loss though. PAS is fortunate in that it has a captive audience. There are still many devout Muslims who believe in God and God’s teachings, in particular Islam. So they support PAS out of their Islamic duty. It is actually a very good “marketing line”. But then, the not so devout Muslims, or the non-Muslims, would be turned off by this argument.
What, however, would be keADILan’s “marketing line”? How would it convince the voters it is the party for them? KeADILan’s situation is not as peachy as PAS’. It cannot tell the voters, “You must support us if you support justice”. KeADILan needs to do harder selling than PAS has to. It needs to win the voters over by persuasion and not obligation. Not so easy is it?
But then PAS has a ceiling. It has a narrow market segment and once it reaches saturation point there would be only organic growth to look forward to. And that, to a certain extent, has already happened. For keADILan, though, the sky is the limit. Since keADILan has a broader agenda it has no limit as to how far it can go. It can cut across all cultural boundaries and reach a wide segment of society. In short, PAS is a party of today while keADILan is the party for tomorrow. And Umno knows this.
But how far into the future would keADILan need to move to reach that tomorrow? This is the three billion Ringgit question; the amount of money Barisan Nasional will be spending the coming General Election to be able to stay in office. Umno has practically given up on PAS. No doubt it issues rhetoric about how it will recapture Kelantan and Terengganu. But, in its heart, Umno knows this would be an almost impossible feat. It is keADILan that Umno is watching, the party that may one day be the kingpin of the opposition coalition.
The keADILan members and leaders must realise that they cannot compare PAS’ and keADILan’s performance the last election and use this as the yardstick to measure PAS’ success and keADILan’s “failure”. PAS has been around since 1951 and in the 1999 General Election it was already 48 years old. KeADILan was then merely six months old. For all intents and purposes, it was still a breast-feeding infant.
No doubt PAS performed very well in 1999. In its heyday in 1986, the Democratic Action Party (DAP) won 24 Parliament seats. PAS, in 1999, outdid this by winning 27 seats plus two states. However, in that same 1986 election, PAS won only one seat resulting in the party going through a reformation after the resignation of its President, Asri. 1986, the year that saw DAP reach its peak almost saw the death of PAS. But PAS did not die. It bounced back in 1990 stronger and better by capturing Kelantan and thereafter did not look back until it is where it is today.
PAS and keADILan must both realise that their fortunes are tied to each other. PAS can bring the opposition coalition only to a certain level. Thereafter, keADILan needs to carry the torch. It is like a relay race. The first runner sprints with the baton. Then he has to hand it to the next runner to continue the race. But both runners need to be fast. If one falters, then both will lose the race.
BN can be equated to a Goliath. The opposition parties must not only realise this but must also realise that it is not also a Goliath but a mere David. History has shown us, though, that David can defeat Goliath. But David defeated Goliath not by unarmed combat or a head-on clash but by a well-aimed slingshot between the eyes delivered from a respectable distance. This the opposition must understand if it does want not to get beaten to a pulp. In short, just like David, it is not enough that the opposition works hard but it must also work smart.
Malaysian Election 2004: The writings were on the wall, but why did we not act early enough?
Yesterday’s crossover by the 12 Parti Keadilan Nasional (keADILan) second- and third-liner leaders was expected said its President, Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. And their exit will not seriously hurt the party contends Wan Azizah. Maybe so, but there are still pertinent questions that beg answers and Wan Azizah cannot just brush the whole issue aside with a wave of the hand.
The “top gun” in that “Dirty Dozen” is probably Ruslan Kassim, the Negeri Sembilan State Chief and one-time Information Chief of the party. The rest, save for Hanafiah Man, the Chief Editor of Seruan Keadilan (the party newspaper), could be regarded as insignificant.
What do all these defectors have in common? They are all enemies of Ezam Mohd Nor, keADILan’s Youth Leader. They just cannot stand the sight of Ezam and all their efforts at bringing down the Youth Leader have failed, so they have given up and have left the party. The crossovers last night can be attributed to one thing -- infighting.
But infighting is normal in any political party, anywhere in the world. The DAP suffers from it. MCA suffers from it. MIC suffers from it. Gerakan suffers from it. Umno suffers from it, in bigger doses than the others. And so on and so forth! Even PAS, to a certain extent, is not spared infighting, but PAS is cleverly able to contain it and the members do not allow any misunderstanding to override party interests.
Take the controversial Islamic State Document (ISD) as one example. Did you think ALL the PAS members and leaders agree with it? If you were to do a “closed-door” opinion poll, you will find that more are against it than those who support it. Nevertheless, the ISD was pushed through without too much open dissent and the simmering below the surface soon after cooled down and life went back to normal. I suppose, PAS, which is a 53-year old political party, is more mature in this respect compared to some others, even those that may be older.
But the PAS members are able to send the party certain hidden messages about their unhappiness. Mustapha Ali’s failure to win the Deputy Presidency recently is one such hidden message. And the leaders got the message.
The keADILan members and grassroots leaders too have sent their party’s top leadership clear messages. And the messages were not hidden mind you. They were very open and very vocal. But the party leaders chose to ignore them. And they do this at the detriment of the party.
Dr Wan Azizah is a doctor, albeit an eye doctor, and any doctor should know that diseases always bear symptoms. And keADILan had been showing symptoms of a certain disease. And any doctor should know that if you ignore the symptoms, then the disease will spread to a point it becomes terminal.
Pain is nature’s way of telling you there is something wrong with you. You ignore the pain; then eventually you die. A common cold may go away. But a cancer will not. And that is what keADILan had been inflicted with all along, a cancer in the form of infighting.
The second reason for the defections is that many of the keADILan members and grassroots leaders were suffering from AIDS -- an income deficiency syndrome. And they were not suffering from this “disease” due to their own doing but it was a cleverly engineered plan by the ruling party to hurt them where it hurts most, in their pockets.
When I was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) along with nine others in April 2001, the focus of the marathon interrogation sessions we were subjected to from dawn to dusk were not about bombs, guns, grenade launchers and Molotov Cocktails -- the alleged crime we had committed -- but about where the party gets its finances from, how do we survive, where does our money come from, and so on.
All ten of us were subjected to the same interrogation script. At the end of it all, our interrogators were able to figure out that income from ceramahs and the sale of Reformasi paraphernalia was where most obtained their income. Soon after that, ceramahs were banned and the police clamped down hard on any ceramah with arrests and head-breaking sessions. The street stalls selling VCDs, CDs, etc., were raided, the “illegal” items confiscated, and those petty traders arrested.
Soon the avenues for income were all sealed up and the money, though in dribs and drabs, dried up totally. The opposition members, grassroots leaders and Reformasi activists, though were earning peanuts, now no longer had any source of income whatsoever.
The authorities knew, without any means to put food on the table, these opposition diehards would soon enough “soften”. Those with any skills or qualifications moved on to make a better life for themselves. Some started working. Others opened up food stalls. Perjuangan (struggle) is fine. But if the kids at home are wailing from starvation should not your first priority be to feed them? Islam, after all, says that charity starts at home. And why should one be serving the masyarakat (community) if one’s own family is destitute?
To be fair, the party leadership like Wan Azizah was aware of this. They realised that the “ground” was being squeezed and suffering from an income deficiency syndrome. But there was nothing they could do about it. There were just too many to take care of.
There was one Reformist who needed an expensive heart operation but did not have the money. He appealed for help but everyone he turned to was equally broke. He eventually “ran away” from the hospital because he could no longer afford his stay there. He is now waiting for death to come claim him unless a Samaritan somewhere can fork out the RM60,000 required to save his life.
But even if that Good Samaritan does come forward, what about the many others? One Reformist died recently leaving a widow and two children. Earlier his house was wiped out by a landslide killing one of his sons. He had to build a new house, which the widow would now have to take care of. How do we help this family?
Another hardcore women Reformist’s husband just had his leg amputated due to diabetes. It seems, now, the other leg also needs to be amputated and so far his toes have been cut off to try to save his only leg. How can she continue working for the party with a husband in that condition and with no more money in the kitty?
It is a pathetic situation indeed. All these activists who struggled to try to make this country a better place are now struggling just to stay afloat. While they may have given so much for the sake of a better Malaysia, who will now help them in their hour of need?
Initially, many suffered in silence. They bore it for almost three years. Landlords were chasing families out of their homes due to the many months of unpaid rent. Cars were being repossessed. Those who once used to drive around in Mercedes Benzes now had to travel on buses. I too, who once not only owned a string of Benzes but a Mercedes dealership as well, took to riding a motorcycle.
We took it as all part of the struggle. But then, I may be fortunate. Though my standard of living may have deteriorated drastically, I can still live decently. What about the many others who may not be as fortunate as I? How do they continue with their lives?
Take Ruslan Kassim as one example. For the last couple of years it was apparent he was in dire straits. He was borrowing money from left, right and centre. He even owed me about RM60,000 which I knew I would never see again. And I calculated that Ruslan had debts easily in excess of RM500,000, many in the form of “loans” which the loaner sort of wrote-off the day they handed the money to him, as they knew it was a one-way street.
The party leadership also knew this. Ruslan, who was then the Information Chief, was not performing. Eventually, the Information Bureau office closed down, as Ruslan could no longer sustain it, yet he was still appointed the Negeri Sembilan State Chief. Did the top party leadership not realise that Ruslan was an accident waiting to happen? And Ruslan was not the only one in this predicament. Zahid Md Arip, is another case in point.
Granted, Wan Azizah is too nice a person. Ruslan had served the party well. He was even detained under the ISA because of his loyalty to Anwar Ibrahim. How can she or the party now just dump him? Would this not be zalim (cruel)?
This would be like saying it is cruel to amputate the leg that has gangrene. In fact, if the toes had been cut off earlier, the leg could probably have been saved. Now, due to neglect, the leg has to go. And, if neglected any further due to sayang (love) for the leg, the patient will certainly die.
Wan Azizah cannot afford to be a nice person. She has to be a strong leader. When an amputation is required, an amputation needs to be done. You cut off the leg to save the body. There are no two ways about it. And Wan Azizah, as a doctor, should know this.
If Ruslan and those “AIDS” patients had been removed, the party could have been spared this embarrassment of the defections. Wan Azizah should have known that the defections were inevitable. The only question is the timing, and it makes sense that the timing should be close to the coming election. But at least, if they did defect, they would not have been able to do so while holding “sensitive” positions in the party. That way, the party’s image would not suffer too much.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad may have been a dictator. But he was a strong party leader and he would have nipped it in the bud, like what he did with Anwar Ibrahim though mercilessly at that. And that is why Mahathir can be considered a “good” politician. Even Prophet Muhammad dealt with the enemy using the sword when all reasoning failed. One must take proactive action and not reactive like what the party is doing now in the damage control exercise following the defections.
Take my word, there are many still around who are in dire straits. Also, take my word we could probably see more defections in the days or weeks to come. Some, in fact, have “quietly” slipped away and are no longer active in the party, waiting for the “right” time to announce their defection. And there is nothing we can do about this, short of paying them a handsome monthly salary to make them stay. But then, we do not have barrels of money like UMNO does.
The positive aspect of these defections is that these people, except for people like Hanafiah Man, were not productive anyway. Their exit will not really hurt the party because they had not been contributing to the party for some time now. Maybe, in a way, this is actually good. Now that we are rid of the deadwood their places can be filled by more capable people who can really contribute to the party. We no longer need to let these people hold posts in the party, not because they are the best for the post, but because we kenang jasa (in consideration of their past services).
At worse, the party will suffer an image problem due to these defections last night. But then, in politics, image is everything and that is why UMNO is making a big show out of the whole thing. While we can easily replace these people -- which was what should have been done earlier anyway -- we will not be able to overcome that negative image problem that easily.
And this the party must address. And Wan Azizah now has to be brutal and identify those potential defectors and chop them off. And it is not too difficult to identify who they are. In fact, if you keep those bad apples around any longer, the good ones might instead leave out of disgust, like one or two have already done.
Malaysian Election 2004: Who is the more important Malaysian: Bapak Merdeka or Bapak Kamaludin?
ON 08 February 2004, Bapak Kamaludin aka Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, marked his first 100 days in office as Prime Minister; that day also marked the 101st birth anniversary of Bapak Merdeka aka Tengku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj. On that day, Malaysian newspapers and media stepped on each other to celebrate one and just as studiously ignore the other. There was not a single article to honour the man who made it possible for Bapak Kamaludin to be where he is. But, in the modern Malaysian view, he is history, dead and gone, and has no place in this Malaysia of the great and glorious Bapak Kamaludin. The Star's 48-page treacle of fawning praise caused many a reader to vomit, the story goes that Pak Lah's office tried to prevent it, but could the MCA president, Dato' Seri Ong Ka Ting, who controls the newspaper, have allowed it? Long dismissive of the man, how could he now be seen not to praise him so effusively should his loyalty be suspect? Bapak Merdeka, whose stint as chairman of The Star, and as a star columnist in the paper, saved the paper from sure ruin by a government which felt it was too big for its boots, is ignored.
We deliberately destroy our past. We do not want to be reminded of it. We think history begins anew when a new Prime Minister takes office. This is national policy. The UMNO that Bapak Merdeka led and brought Malaysia nationhood is not the UMNO that Bapak Kamaludin hopes to lead. The two are as different as chalk and cheese. The UMNO that fought for this country's independence was a national mass movement that the High Court declared illegal, and its last President, one Tun Mahathir Mohamed, helped destroy, is not the UMNO Dr Mahathir led and Pak Lah now hopes to. The UMNO made illegal had legitimacy, support, and relevance; UMNO Baru, as its successor was known, did not. To overcome that difficulty, Dr Mahathir, with the connivance of the Registrar of Societies, decreed that UMNO Baru, after its hasty registration in 1988, would henceforth officially be known only as UMNO.
Fast forward to 2003. Two opposition parties, the Parti Keadilan Nasional, and the Parti Rakyat Malaysia, merged as Parti Keadilan Rakyat, it was not allowed to continue to be called KeADILan. The registrar of societies potentiously declared that old parties should not adopt their old names when they merge or otherwise lose their identity. It sued. At the hearing yesterday (10 February 2004), the ROS wanted to settle it out of court. What else could it do? UMNO Baru can be UMNO, but KeADILan cannot be KeADILan if it merges with another. One is government, the other is opposition. One can, the other cannot. The ROS realises the mess it would be steeped in, in a public hearing. It had no choice but sue for peace.
I am therefore not surprised that Bapak Merdeka is a figure of fun and irrelevance in the Malaysia of today. Who is he anyway? A playboy prince who took 25 years to pass his law degree, provided the leadership when its then eminence grise, Dato' Sir Onn Jaffar, walked out of UMNO, and negotiated for independence. [Dato' Sir Onn, incidentally, is not honoured for his immeasurable contributions to Malayan political life - he died before Malaysia was formed - when Malaysia honours dead actors, like P. Ramlee, with titles as Tan Sri and wives of retired prime ministers are automatically Tuns: but then who is he, and when do we honour UMNO turncoats?] The Tengku's critics would harp on his learning difficulties, his indolence, and make him out to be a figure of fun. All this is true, but is there a figure in the Malaysian history of the 22nd century who would be remembered other than this indolent playboy prince?
In Pak Lah's cabinet are two men who should not be there: one who failed his SRP and his degree examinations in a British university; another who claims to be a Malaysian prince when he is not: his only connexion to Malay royalty is that he married a tengku and divorced her soon enough. Friends of the other man told me, in defence, that the Hermit of Langgak Golf aka Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is a drop out too, as if that excused the man. But the Hermit is an economics graduate from Queen's University in Belfast, went on to read law, which he discontinued when he returned home after his father died in 1962. What is more he mentions this in his curriculum vitae.
It is not only politicians who do not come clean. A senior civil servant all but lost his rosy future when it was found that his acclaimed doctorate from Harvard was a fake. Nothing happened to him but a few steps up the promotion ladder. He remained in the office he held until he retired honourably a few years later. The BN government assumes these trifles do not matter. But when it insists that it is transparent, has nothing but the interests of the people at heart, that a government must have educated and brilliant men at the helm, refuses to act when it is found out it is not, allows corruption to fester with no action taken except when it suits it or in a climate when it makes sense, and such matters as the tengku and the minister is ignored in the hope that others would too, it diminishes and devalues the administration.
But that is not how it is perceived in the Malaysia which began on 31 October. In that world, the reign of Bapak Kamaludin is all that matters. Bapak Merdeka is an anachronism. If he disagreed with what happens around him, there is always the Internal Security Act to put some sense into him. That is not as far-fetched as you might imagine. In the 1980s, a few years before he did, Dr Mahathir's thought that was not a bad idea. Instead, it was the Star that was shut down; it got its licence back after a few months on the condition, amongst others, that Bapak Merdeka should be banned from its pages. If that was when he was alive, why are we surprised it is now that he is dead and gone? Even in the world of the father of Mr Kamaludin Abdullah, he whose company was an inadvertent link to a Pakistan-led Islamic international nuclear technology transfer programme.
Malaysian Election 2004: A Mahathir crony falls, but the Perwaja Steel mess is as intractible as eve
WHEN THE ANTI-CORRUPTION Agency (ACA) arrested Perwaja Steel's former managing director, Tan Sri Eric Chia, this week (09 Feb), it raised more questions than answers. Perwaja Steel was to have been Malaysia's crowning jewel in its idiosyncratic bid to be an industrialised country by 2020. He is arrested and charged in court nine years after the ACA began investigations into this Mahathir crony's stewardship of the now shut-down Perwaja Steel. ACA had wrapped up its case years ago, but it was never allowed to prosecute. It now acts because the new Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has to show he is not tied to his predecessor's apron strings.
But it did not have the impact Pak Lah expected. The newspapers, radio and television gave Tan Sri Eric's arrest extensive coverage but it did grip Malaysians as, for instance, when the government considered serious proposals to cane rapists in public, chemically castrate them, put them to death. The melodrama of his arrest was to show how the ACA, the police, the Attorney-General's Chambers worked in tandem to arrest the man. The Inspector-General of Police said: "Several policemen were deployed to assist in the arrest ..." We are told he was arrested after a dramatic "chase" that began in Sungei Patani. Was it necessary? Tan Sri Eric is a diabetic, is confined to his house, moves about in a wheelchair. If he had been ordered to report to the police station, he would have, without the theatrics.
Pak Lah, on taking office three months ago, said he had called for the papers on the case, and linked it to his crackdown on corruption. He said after the arrest that it was "done in accordance with the law". Why was it necessary to give that assurance? Was there a danger or doubt it would not? Why does he have to assure Malaysians that if corruption is proven, the law would take its course? One gets the feeling that this arrest is done to show the new administration is doing it as a new broom. Which is a pity. So many inquiries and investigations in the past have not been followed through. The police record for solving high profile crimes, including murder, is abysmal. Often cases are resolved when the accused confesses. This one would not be. He would fight it to the hilt.
There is more to Perwaja Steel than meets the eye. It was set up in 1982 as part of an ambitious plan to lurch Malaysia into developed status by 2020. Tun Mahathir had just become Prime Minister, with Perwaja Steel the fulcrum of his grandoise plans to frogmarch Malaysia into industrialisation whether Malaysians wanted to or not, if the country was ready for it or not. It collapsed spectacularly. Within six years, it was on bankruptcy's door. The government kept it afloat. It would not have shut down had Dato' Seri Anwar not been finance minister. He did not see why good money should be thrown at the bad, especially when it was done at the expense of social and other services. Perwaja, like the Bakun dam, became casualties in this confrontation between the Doctor and the Sheikh. Given what happened since the Sheikh was sacked and jailed, his prescience cut losses much. Pak Lah is now left to pick up the detritus of that. The first casualty is Tan Sri Eric Chia and Perwaja Steel.
The ACA began its investigations in 1996, amidst this confrontation, when Perwaja Steel had suffered losses of RM2.98 billion and owed banks another RM7 billion. The annual RM815 million interest on a yen loan bled the company, the then finance minister, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, informed Parliament. It was insolvent in 1988 but the government kept it alive by injecting fresh funds into it. It was shut down in 2003, with registered losses of RM11 billion. After Tan Sri Eric's departure, Perwaja Steel was handed over to other cronies, who made an equal mess of it. It was finally shut down last year, the biggest loss incurred by a Malaysian company. The BMF scandal cost its parent only RM2.5 billion. But none matches the RM33 billion forex losses by Bank Negara Malaysia.
This charging of Tan Sir Eric for corruption is a blip on the screen, with nothing resolved and the problems arising out of proportion into an unresolvable mess. No one in Government admits to what Perwaja Steel would eventually cost it. But in once sense, it was doomed from the start. The Indian steel consultants, Mr M.N. Dastur & Co, was brought in to review the plans when the original joint venture between the Malaysian government and Nippon Seel Corporation of Japan fell apart. But Perwaja Steel rejected most of its recommendations, and the company was set for the mess it became. Tan Sri Eric Chia's role in it ended in 1996. It was handed over to two crony entrenpreneurs, one of whom saw it as a threat to his own steel operations and went into it to stymie it, the other saw it as an opportunity to be known as a steel man. Not the best of intentions to rescue a steel company. It does not surprise Perwaja Steel's subsequent inexorable descent into unrepayable debt.
Tan Sri Eric Chia is a small cog in that wheel. Whether he is convicted or acquitted does not alter the fact that there was no rational reason for Perwaja Steel to take off. It was founded on false premises, and once the losses began, it was hidden with unmentioned subsidies which would have remained hidden but for the political quarrels over how the country's finances were run that led the government with no choice but to throw someone to the wolves. The first is Tan Sri Eric. Would there be others? Yes, if Pak Lah needs more bodies to strengthen his hold on the country and UMNO. No, if he does not need it. So, when you come down to look at the impact of this high profile arrest and, one presumes, high profile trial, it proves nothing. Unless this is followed by similar high profile arrests in a sustained barrage to show Pak Lah means business. But for that to happen, he must, in the process, run to ground the legacy of Tun Mahathir. He has no stomach yet for that.
Malaysian Election 2004: NOW the Anti Corruption Agency acts on Perwaja?!!
After eight years of investigation the Malaysian Anti Corruption Agency (ACA) has arrested the former managing director of Perwaja Steel, Eric Chia.
My question is, why now? Eight years? What took them so long? This scandal has been an open secret in Malaysia ever since it erupted in 1996. The opposition parties have been clamouring for an investigation since then but to no avail. The ACA, for their part, claims that these eight years were spent investigating the case.
Well, good for them. However it is the date of arrest that raises not too few eyebrows. It is too close to the General Election scheduled to be held in March or April. Plus, everyone in Malaysia knows that Eric Chia has a good friend in Tun Mahathir who is still capable of pulling strings after stepping down as PM last year. Is the government serious in this matter or is it just another 'shadow play' to hoodwink the voters?
And will the government act on other high profile corruption allegations especially those involving Rafidah Aziz and Rahim Thamby Chik? For now I remain sceptical.
[Full report below]
Anti-corruption officers arrest former top Malaysian business leader
Monday, February 09 @ 19:22:11 MYT
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 - Anti-corruption officers on Monday arrested a former top business leader after an investigation lasting years into million dollar losses by a steel giant, the official Bernama news agency said.
Eric Chia, 71, was the former managing director of Perwaja Steel Sdn Bhd, which was established in 1982.
Perwaja was the cornerstone of the industrialisation drive that former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad began in the early 1980s.
The plant processed iron ore but faced problems, leading Japanese shareholder Nippon Steel to abandon the project.
Bernama, citing a statement by the attorney-general chambers, said Chia was detained by anti-graft officers at his residence in Petaling Jaya, west of the capital Kuala Lumpur and would be charged in a sessions court Tuesday.
In 1996, parliament was told that Perwaja Steel was insolvent and had losses totalling 2.9 billion ringgit (763 million dollars).
Bernama said the Perwaja fiasco has been under investigation by the anti-corruption agency and the police since 1996 and more than 50 witnesses, both locally and overseas, including Chia and a number of other Perwaja staff were called up.
The probe order was issued by the government after a report by audit firm Coopers and Lybrand that described Perwaja as insolvent. - AFP/zs
Malaysian Election 2004: Is Pak Lah's first 100 days in office any different from his predecessors?
WHEN THE PRIME MINISTER, DATO' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, met the editors of the mainstream media to discuss his first 100 days in office, the unmistakable sycophancy in the reporting of it make the reports they wrote moot. When it should have been a serious look of what he had achieved, the problems he had to tackle, the difficulties he has overcome in his three months in office - the meeting was on the day he completed his first three months in office - the political, fiscal, financial, policy problems were all pushed under the carpet. All that mattered from that meeting was to catalogue the paeans of praise of this greatest prime minister this blessed land ever had, how he copes under the tremendous stress that comes with the job. Job? The Prime Minister is a job? Of course, not! It is a calling! Did you ignoramuses not know that? His hopes and fears are all that matters, not the momentous problems he inherited and must resolve in months if his sojourn is to be more than a brief way stop at the start of a long journey. He did not mention how, only that he could, and would, "with the people's continued support". We do not expect much from this mutual admiration between mainstream editors and the prime ministers, but if he does not wake up and address what ails the country he is in for a rude shock within months.
Because mainstream coverage insists the prime minister is that rare bird that emerges the moment he is annointed: the philospher king who is greater than those in the past, and the determination of a Muslim King George slaying the PAS dragon with not Malay, but Chinese, help. It is more than coincidence that in his recent public orations, including the meeting with editors, he did not mention the support of the Malay community at all, except to scold them for their 'subsidy mentality'. He bends backwards to insist on the great role of the Chinese in nation building, but scarce little on the divided Malay community which brought UMNO, and by extension, the National Front (BN) it leads, into a dizzying tailspin, as a rudderless helicopter which has lost its propeller. The initial UMNO calculation was that the best time to go to the polls was in this euphoric state of mind over the new leader. But that turned out to be horribly wrong. He must hold General Election as soon as possible, dissolving Parliament before the Yang Dipertuan Agung opens the new Parliament on 08 March. There is of course no reason why he could not do so soon into the new Parliament. But that is a dangerous risk: he is not yet annointed in office, and this presumption he is could cost him dear on the especially Malay ground. In short, Pak Lah finds his options narrowing with each passing day. For all the UMNO-led BN's call to the faithful to be ready for general elections, it is undeniable it is not ready or prepared for the polls. But Pak Lah has to hold one whether he likes it or not, if the BN is ready or not.
There is nothing in these newspaper reports that he is, after all, Pak Lah, the ordinary UMNO politician, an ulama's grandson, risen to greatness by a deliberate manipulation of his predecessor, the master 'dalang' himself, Tun Mahathir Mohamed, who we are not told should be called plain Mahathir, not as Tun "for there are many Tuns but only one Mahathir". It is more than interesting that not once did he mention the deputy prime minister forced upon him, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak. There is a reason for this, which of course you would not see in any mainstream news paper: the two men can barely stand the sight of each other, their wives even more so. It is not the best way to run a government. This poisonous undercurrents remain a heavy cloud in the runup to the general elections. When they are not aired, not necessarily by the UMNO leaders, and publicly discussed, the shock of this when it does come about, especially amidst the hustle and bustle of the campaigning, can be catastrophic.
For Tun Mahathir left Pak Lah with a political poison pill when he relinquished office. He has, for his own self-interest, made Pak Lah accept a deputy prime minister he did not want, for the creative tension between the pair that could allow him to be a large influence behind the scenes. General Election must come this year, no later than the end of the year. But for practical reasons, it must be held before UMNO holds its postponed party elections in June or thereabouts. Pak Lah must appear at the UMNO general assembly as prime minister in his own right. And show he has shaken off the Mahathir embrace if he expects to continue to lead UMNO. Tun Mahathir, when he should have faded away, continues to hog the headlines. He now strays into unaccustomed territory by going to the ground in his home state of Kedah, where the Opposition PAS is overactive, and which could, if bad luck strikes the National Front (BN), form the next state government. The government intelligence agencies have found, in a secret survey late last year, found the BN's electoral chances would not be any better or any less if either or both Pak Lah and Tun Mahathir is in charge.
So, what has he achieved in his first hundred days in office, two days before this edition of Seruan Keadilan hits the streets on 10 February. He has made a series of orders and statements railing against corruption, praised the Chinese but scolds the Malay for his subsidy mentality, without adding that it is the UMNO-led BN government that nurtured it as official policy in the past three decades. Like the MIC's hold on its vote bank, the downtrodden and rural Indians, by cyncially raising the continuance of Tamil schools which only keep them tied perpetually to the poverty that is now their lot, the UMNO-led BN held on to the Malay community with its widespread policy of providing them with political subsidies that now backfires on it. What made it worse is, of course, UMNO's favourite punching bag, the jailed former deputy prime minister, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who turned that into an issue to all but destroy UMNO's hold on to the Malay cultural ground. So it reacts in panic. Pak Lah has made a few headline winning comments on corruption, but as usual he does not look at why, a few are charged, but with no attempt to address the root causes. He accepted the Mahathir cabinet, long past it sell-by date, as his own, the only two main changes - that of the new deputy prime minister and the second minister of finance - forced upon him.
At first glance, Pak Lah's first 100 days is no different from his predecessors'. But the similarities stop there. The past four prime ministers were their own men. They made the same kind of statements Pak Lah now makes, with this difference. Even if they attained office before elections, there is no doubt of their legitimacy in office. Pak Lah, on the other hand and lest we forget, is an accidental Prime Minister. He is where he is because the man who should have been there was too eager to take the mantles of office that he lost his political cool, and is now in Sungei Buloh prison for his pains. It would not have mattered if Pak Lah had succeeded him, if he he had been suspended or expelled. But Tun Mahathir wanted to make an example of him to warn UMNO leaders he would not tolerate mutinies like Dato' Seri Anwar planned. So he had UMNO concoct corruption and sodomy charges - it does not matter if he is guilty as charged, but how the judiciary, the police, the Attorney-General's Chambers cast caution to the winds and allowed the injustice to stick so he would be humiliated in the process - and in his eagerness to destroy him fell foul of two important traits in the Malay: his feudal cultural horror at a leader humiliating his chieftains and his inordinate sense of justice; both caused the Malay to retire to the political sidelines whilst UMNO sorted itself out. So far it has not. To do that, the man wronged must be made free. UMNO under Pak Lah is in no mood for that. There begins his first major recipe for political disaster
Malaysian Election 2004: Kedah, the state to be emulated: Zamri Yusuf
“Kedah is a state that should be the role model for the rest of the party,” said Zamri Yusuf, the Secretary of Parti Keadilan Nasional’s (keADILan) Election Bureau for Kedah.
“We have finalised the seat negotiations with PAS and have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cement our agreement. I think Kedah is the first state to resolve this and to put it in writing. Now we can focus on the more important issue like getting our election machinery in place. At least, if a snap election is called, we will be ready.”
“No doubt there have been difficult periods in the negotiations involving overlapping seats,” added Zamri. “But, in the spirit of solidarity and compromise, these problems were easily ironed out and an amicable solution was reached.”
“Understandably, there will always be some disagreement in any negotiation, especially when both parties want to gain the maximum advantage for their party. But if both parties can put aside personal interests for the sake of the coalition, then anything is possible.”
In response to the statement by Azmin Ali in Malaysiakini yesterday that the MoU may not get the endorsement of the top leadership in the Barisan Alternatif presidential council, Hafiz Mustafa, keADILan Kedah’s Information Chief said, “We were told that all seat negotiations are to be handled at state level.”
“For example, when the Penang seat negotiation between the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and keADILan stalled and the DAP wanted to talk to pusat, they were told to go back to the state as it would be up to the state to decide and pusat will not interfere in the matter.”
“It is not that we gave in to PAS or allowed PAS to bully us as what some may think,” argued Hafiz. “It has been agreed that Perak, Selangor, Penang and Pahang will be keADILan’s frontline states while Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis will be PAS’. Therefore we have to allow PAS to take the lead in Kedah.”
“And this makes sense,” added Hafiz. “Penang has only 25% Malay voters and Selangor and Perak about 50% or so. So keADILan should lead in these state.”
“Kelantan and Terengganu, however, have about 95% Malay voters while Kedah has more than two-thirds. Therefore, the dependence on Malay voters is very high in these states and rightfully PAS should lead the charge there.”
“Further to that, in the 1999 election, we did not contest even one seat in Kedah. We cannot lay claim to any ‘traditional seats’ other than the Lunas seat, which even then we won in a by-election. Therefore, anything we get would be a vast improvement over 1999.”
And what would they do if pusat does not recognise the MoU? Will keADILan Kedah be prepared to dishonour it?
“Certainly not!” echoed both Zamri and Hafiz. “As far as we are concerned it is a done deal and we will stand by what has been agreed. It is a matter of honour and principles.”
“Even if pusat decides to pull the rug from under us and ‘disown’ us, we will still proceed. But then maybe we will not be allowed to contest under our own party banner. In that case, we will have no choice but to contest under the PAS banner.”
There certainly seems to be a disagreement of sorts between keADILan Kedah and the central election committee. But what is perplexing, why must all this ‘dirty linen’ be aired in public through the media?
Earlier, disagreements between DAP and keADILan in Penang were debated through the media. Then, recently, the personal feud between the keADILan Youth Leader and his Secretary were bandied about through the issuing of press statement after press statement.
Can’t these leaders find another, safer, avenue to settle problems other than making press statements? They must certainly realise that going public on matters of internal disputes or disagreements only offers ammunition to the ruling party, which already controls all the mainstream media.
The opposition grumbles that the mainstream media is unfair to it and looks for any minor fault to play up. However, most of the time, it is the opposition that is giving them the issues to play up.
The perception of the general public is that the opposition is so fragmented with inter-party and intra-party bickering. The voters are beginning to ask whether the Barisan Alternatif is really that alternative government-in-waiting after all. Many have expressed their disappointment that the Barisan Alternatif has not turned out the way they had hoped and whether it may actually lack the maturity to run this country.
This is a very alarming perception indeed and something that needs to be addressed in a hurry if the opposition wishes to regain the confidence of the voters. 1999 was the high point for the opposition. Though, then, there were only four coalition partners in the Barisan Alternatif, it still managed to garner 46% of the popular vote against Barisan Nasional, a coalition of 14 political parties.
Keadilan, which was then only six months old, in turn, managed to garner about 17% of the popular vote. This is no small feat for any political party and just goes to show the strong support the voters gave it.
But the voters are no longer going to vote for the opposition based on just giving it the benefit of the doubt like they did in 1999. Today, the opposition will need to put its money where its mouth is and prove that it is a capable and viable alternative to the ruling party.
And publicly aired bickering is certainly not going to achieve this. Instead, the reverse will happen and the voters will end up convinced that the opposition has not yet got its act together.
It is not like the ruling Barisan Nasional is free of internal problems. It too has a host of problems, in fact, worse than what the opposition is facing. But it is very careful about what becomes public knowledge. And this is where the ruling coalition shows more maturity than the opposition.
Just take UMNO as one example. The new Prime Minister is under tremendous pressure. Internally, UMNO is like a gunpowder keg. There is even talk the Prime Minister may not last a full term in office, let alone the minimum two terms he hopes to serve.
But one can only speculate on this. Rumour has it his new Deputy was forced upon him by the recently retired Prime Minister. There is even talk he was blackmailed into announcing his new Deputy’s appointment.
But everything remains just that; rumours, talk and speculation. The opposition, however, is too generous with its information and not only willingly confirms the rumours of internal problems, but adds more spice to it by issuing press statements making it very interesting reading indeed.
Barisan Nasional’s “unity” is not based on mutual agreement. There is much unhappiness amongst its ranks. But it maintains its solidarity nevertheless for the sake of the common interest of the coalition. Though it has 14 member parties, it is able to keep the lid on all problems and not allow them to spill over. The opposition, however, with a mere four members now reduced to two (after the exit of the DAP and the merger of keADILan and PRM) cannot see eye-to-eye.
And the worst thing, the first resort is always to go crying to the press instead of sitting down to find a middle-of-the-road solution. Then they scream about how unfair the press is. Can you blame the press? No one likes good news. Only bad news sells newspapers. Ever wonder why they prefer to report all the bad news, especially that involving the opposition?
Malaysian Election 2004: Fresh dirt and scandal surrounds Pak Lah....
Fresh dirt and scandal surrounds Pak Lah in an otherwise irrelevant 100 days in office
by MGG Pillai
WHATEVER GLOSS IS PUT ON the Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's first 100 days in office today (07 February 2004), one unmistakeable fact is forgotten: he has achieved nothing, he would not act if it pits him against his predecessor, Tun Mahathir Mohamed, what he did is suffused in sycophancy and feudal irrelevance in a collective drum beat that is as quickly forgotten. There is no critical assessment of policy or the man. He is Prime Minister. He can do no wrong. We had 22 years of that and all but brought Malaysia to its knees. Pak Lah, on taking office, could have started with a bold revision of past policies. He did not. Every statement is delivered in sepulchre tones as if he meant it. Every act of his is a new beginning. His routine visits to his ASEAN neighbours is given an importance it does not have. It is an attempt to make him out to be more than he is. Which is a pity. He is a good man. He should have followed his instincts and charted his leadership with an eye to correcting the wrongs of his predecessor, with a new, lean cabinet that is not the deadwood he decided to inherit. Whatever the truth of his relationship with his predecessor - when it came for him to finally lay down office, Dr Mahathir had qualms about Pak Lah, who rushed about to ensure he would not be bypassed, but a dying king cannot have the undivided support of his courtiers, and the UMNO supreme council would have none of the Old Man's second thoughts abou who should succeed him - it is one which weighs on him politically and personally.
His reputation as 'Mr Clean' has taken a beating. He is brought into a needless scandal when a company controlled by his son, Mr Kamaluddin Abdullah, built centrifugal units which the US alleges were destined for Libya's nuclear bomb programme. However you look at it, he is dragged into this. The mainstream newspapers and the official position is to distance him and his son from the affair. I do not find anything wrong with supplying the units to anyone who wants to pay for it. If there is nothing wrong about it, as is now the spin, why this official subterfuge? The US leans hard on Malaysia, it wanted to link this with Dr Mahathir, it now scrambles to let Pak Lah and his family off the hook. But why does Malaysia react as if it had done something wrong? What has it done wrong? Is it an offence to build for third parties items which have multiple uses that include nuclear weapons and the oil and gas industry? Why are we playing to the gallery on the mere suspicion in Washington that a Malaysian company is involved in making components that by itself is harmless? Malaysia unfortunately is a digit in a larger programme to prevent Pakistan from helping Muslim nations from acquiring nuclear weapons. But Pak Lah's administration do not see it that way. It wants first of all to disabuse Malaysians and Washington of the idea that it could, God forbid, be involved in skullduggery - skullduggery, if indeed it is - and is a loyal poodle to Washington where it matters. But is that the right course to take?
In one sense it is fortuitious that it was Pak Lah's family that scrambles over Washington's allegation. He says there would be no cover-up over it. But there already is. He was home minister when a company controlled by his son built the offending items. He did not sound any warning signals. He should have when it became an issue. Did the Special Branch and the National Security Agency inform him of the seriousness of the link? What I find remarkable is this insistence that SCOPE, the company which built the centrifuge components, did not inquire into their end use. Since the company Pak Lah's son controls, SCOMI, is involved in the oil and gas industry, it would have known of its varied use. Yet it now says it did not inquire into what they would be used for. This is not an oversight, but criminal negligence in an atmosphere of a general belief in the West that the Muslim nations, however friendly to its interests, cannot be trusted. Pak Lah, when he should have addressed this and put the deal in context, copped out. In one sense, he is caught flatfooted, even panicked. And surrounded him and his administration with dirt and scandal. Unfortunately, this is what he would be remembered of his first 100 days in office. It should not have been.
When he took office on 31 October 2003, he was like a rottweiler let out of its leash, to change the world, and promise a heaven on earth his predecessor could not. He was the man of the future. He would deliver. All he did deliver though were homilies: corruption is bad, the Chinese are good, the Malays are untrustworthy and suffused in a subsidy mentality, rape is terrible that death is too good for the rapists. He was more intent on letting Malaysians know he will do better than Dr Mahathir, but offered no proof, by word or deed, he could. He could not of course have his own way: the good doctor left him with problems that could not be solved in decades, and continued to micromanage from the shadows, exercising power without responsibility, and Pak Lah sounding and behaving like a kept man by the day. This issues that he must address - Malaysia's unrepayable debt, the bankrupt Treasury, the disastrous decline and breakup of the Malaysian state from within, the rising expectations of the young, the belief that the National Front government can govern without Parliamentary approval, the confusion and contradiction of an Islamic state within a secular constitution, amongst others - are ignored.
How does the BN government view Pak Lah's 100 days in office? The man he did not want as deputy prime minister but is, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak, is typical and wrong: In one word, excellent. "This we can gauge from public comment not only through the media but also in daily conversation, he said, noting, as the Star reports, the people "were truly confident of Abdullah's leadership. "His dynamism as a leader is reflected through the policies and decisions he made during the period. To me, it is sufficient proof his integrity matches that of our former Prime Minister." Besides, "he is simple and warm, his humble ways and preparedness to down to the ground have been well received. I see this image shining through. Furthermore, the message Abdullah has conveyed in his humble call for 'work with me and not for me' has been increasingly embraced by the various levels of society." The government administration, mark you, is "more efficient, more friendly and ethical". All in the first 100 days of his administration? The tongue has no backbone, so it is easy to make claims and praises like this. If Pak Lah's administration had done something outstanding, he would have quoted chapter and verse.
With general elections due shortly - there need not be one till November, but Pak Lah has to cap his legitimacy as soon as possible and before the UMNO party elections. There are, however, worrying signs of a return to the tense politics in Kelantan of 1978 in Kedah in 2003. The BN underwrote it, with a daily segment in the official radio and television station focussing attention on the northern state. It is an admission that if Kedah is lost, Pak Lah is lost, especially if the BN cannot recover Kelantan or Trengannu from PAS. In 1978, there was an UMNO-inspired uprising that caused the federal government to declare a state of emergency, and in the resultant state assembly election, took control of the state government it had lost in 1959. It would appear a similar plan is in store for Kedah this year. Whether lightning could strike twice at the same spot, even if 25 years apart, is moot. But it at least suggests that the BN is more worried about Kedah than it would admit. I believe it could still be returned by the narrowest of margins, but not if something like this is planned. In other words, Pak Lah's 100 days does not suggest there is any change. It is more of the same under a new Prime Minister. That in itself should be cause for considerable worry.
