Is this the man?
The custodian of the dying ember?
The man who generations to come will remember as the last man standing, before the new dawn set in?
OR
Is this the man who is going to set in an even more harsh regime?
To ensure he and his team will have a long run on the nation?
Driven by chauvinism, and detested by the international as well as the domestic society?
Is this the start of a dynasty in the Malaysian Public Life?
Does this mean that we Malaysians are so incapable that we need a select few families to tell us how to live our lives?
Are we so dependent that all aspects of our lives need to be controlled?
Are we so handicapped that we need these political dynasties to teach how to interact with each other?
CAN WE THE MALAYSIAN PEOPLE RISE TO THE OCCASSION WHEN THE NATION NEEDS US?
CAN MALAYSIA DEPEND ON US?
The custodian of the dying ember?
The man who generations to come will remember as the last man standing, before the new dawn set in?
OR
Is this the man who is going to set in an even more harsh regime?
To ensure he and his team will have a long run on the nation?
Driven by chauvinism, and detested by the international as well as the domestic society?
Is this the start of a dynasty in the Malaysian Public Life?
Does this mean that we Malaysians are so incapable that we need a select few families to tell us how to live our lives?
Are we so dependent that all aspects of our lives need to be controlled?
Are we so handicapped that we need these political dynasties to teach how to interact with each other?
CAN WE THE MALAYSIAN PEOPLE RISE TO THE OCCASSION WHEN THE NATION NEEDS US?
CAN MALAYSIA DEPEND ON US?
The Malaysian government has applied its Internal Security Act (ISA) several times in recent weeks in order to protect citizens from the imminent threat of . . . bloggers. That’s right. The sixty-some jihadi militants, foreign agents and ethnic “rabble-rousers” locked away without prospect of trial in the country’s infamous Kamunting Detention Center were joined recently by a handful of minor opposition figures working the Internet fringe of Malaysian politics.
By definition, arbitrary arrest precludes any clear articulation of what legal offenses detainees may have committed. We are thus left to construe allegations of criminal activity based upon accusations made by various government spokespersons or politically affiliated groups.
.A change of government has never been a real possibility in any Malaysian election in the past 50 years, but the Opposition thinks that this is now in sight.
Non-partisan observers will not go so far, but after the 2008 political tsunami which arrived unnoticed, nothing can be ruled out.
What also gives people pause is that Malaysia’s 13th general election will take place in a highly charged and unpredictable political environment. The stakes are very high for Prime Minister Najib Razak and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, and the coalitions they lead.
The political careers of both Datuk Seri Najib and Datuk Seri Anwar will be on the line as anything less than a strong showing for their parties in the election will open up internal rifts that could bring about an early retirement for their leaders.
The general election is also a test of the cohesiveness of both the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and its rival, the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance.
Since the last polls in 2008, both coalitions have at times struggled to keep their component parts together and on the same page on issues of race and religion that could potentially pull them apart.
The BN faced the additional stress of having suffered a drubbing in the 2008 polls, losing in the process its long-held two- thirds majority in Parliament. Soon after the debacle, the Sabah Progressive Party pulled out of the BN.
While the BN is likely to enter the next general election with its present lot of 13 component parties, rumours continue to circulate about the loyalty of some of its smaller parties.
The BN cannot afford to lose any more components, as this will leave it in a precarious position in a tight race where every parliamentary seat counts.
For Mr Najib, there are specific personal challenges as well.’It will be a very important general election, especially for the Prime Minister, who took leadership of the country during a time of crisis in his party,’ said political analyst P. Sivamurugan of University Sains Malaysia.The government has no plans to set up an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC),Anwar is absolutely right When a structure fails you dont blame the draftsmen but the engineer When someone farts you dont abmonish the arsehole but the asshole who farts Therefore charging the lowly constables is just hogwash An escape for … Read more
Mr Najib took over the reins of government and the leadership of the UMNO ruling party in April 2009 from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who stepped down after he was widely blamed by party members for the shocking election results the year before.
Najib’s challenges
SIGNIFICANTLY, Mr Najib did not call snap polls soon after the handover; the upcoming general election therefore presents him with two huge related challenges: To claw back the lost seats and to secure his own mandate with an improved performance.
Put in specific terms, this would mean leading the BN in its mission to regain its two-thirds majority or 148 out of a total 222 seats in Parliament. In 2008, it won only 140 seats. It also lost five states – Penang, Kedah, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan – but wrested back Perak with the help of three defectors with perak royality RELATED ARTICLE http://themalay-chronicle.blogspot.com/2012/06/raja-nazrin-hero-for-privileged-and.html
The BN now has 137 parliamentary seats, after a series of defections and by-elections.
Analysts say Mr Najib is not be expected by his party to do significantly better than his predecessor by winning more than 140 seats, if not the two-thirds majority, and at least one state back, preferably the wealthy one of Selangor.
Given the stakes for him and the uphill battle, it is not surprising that Mr Najib has pushed hard to solidify his support base and win over fence-sitters. Sweeteners have included direct cash handouts to the poor and a series of political and economic reforms.
Mr Anwar and his people have not been idle either. The Opposition coalition has unveiled its own alternative economic plans, and Mr Anwar has tirelessly worked the ground through almost nightly rallies to convince voters to give the PR their vote.
Technically, Mr Najib can hold off calling an election until next April, but pundits believe he is likely to call it this year while the rosy glow from a credible economic performance still holds.
Speculation went into overdrive recently when the last few months were packed with crowd-pleasing gestures like cash handouts and political reforms. But how imminent the election will be will also have to take into account the fallout from April’s violent and chaotic BERSIH rally.
Speculation went into overdrive recently when the last few months were packed with crowd-pleasing gestures like cash handouts and political reforms. But how imminent the election will be will also have to take into account the fallout from April’s violent and chaotic BERSIH rally.
There is wide consensus that it will not be easy for the BN to regain its dominant position because a significant proportion of the constituencies are mixed seats that are not heavily dominated by any particular race.
Of the BN’s 140 seats, 56 were won with a thin majority of under 10 per cent, and of the PR’s 83 seats, 54 were won with a similarly tight majority. Of these marginal seats, around two-thirds are multi-ethnic seats.
Credibility problems
WHAT this means is that any coalition that wants to govern has to secure the middle ground votes, said opposition Democratic Action Party strategist Liew Chin Tong, also an MP in Opposition-held Penang.
It has to be able to win support across all communities and across all regions in the country, and it can do so only by holding centrist positions and moderate policies.
“I still hold the view that no coalition that wants to govern can afford to have the support of just one community or one region”‘ he said.
The BN will thus have to spread its support base beyond the Malays, and the PR beyond the urban areas. Neither has truly succeeded, leaving both in a position that makes it hard to win decisively.
The PR has tried various measures – from nightly ceramahs (rallies) in rural areas to organising outreach campaigns among different target groups like the East Malaysian natives and settlers of the state-run plantation FELDA who are traditionally loyal to BN. But its success has been patchy.
These are issues that urban voters, especially the Chinese, may be willing to overlook because of dislike for the BN but it may be a harder sell to the rural non-Chinese voter who tends to be more conservative.
The BN’s problem is of an entirely different nature: Voters remain doubtful about its sincerity in reforms. It does not help that it has embarked on a two-pronged strategy that comes across as inconsistent. On the one hand, it sings an inclusive tune but on the other, UMNO, its leading component, makes no bones about being a stridently race-based party.
Mr Najib stands for being inclusive. Since he launched his 1Malaysia unity slogan, he has made many friendly overtures to the minority communities, and has gone as far as revamping economic policies deemed as favouring the Malays. Yet, he has neglected to curb newspapers and organisations linked to his UMNO party from attacking the Chinese and Christian communities as threats to Malay- Muslim supremacy.
“Najib is banking on his personal leadership to win votes, and it does seem evident that people do like the 1Malaysia concept, whether it’s workable or not,” said Professor Sivamurugan.The government has no plans to set up an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC),Anwar is absolutely right When a structure fails you dont blame the draftsmen but the engineer When someone farts you dont abmonish the arsehole but the asshole who farts Therefore charging the lowly constables is just hogwash An escape for … Read more
At the moment, both the BN and PR appear to have cemented their bonds among members of their traditional support base, and the by-elections from 2008 to last year suggest that this division into rival camps is hardening.
The BN’s strength lies in the rural areas and among civil servants, army and police officers. The Malay vote has swung back to the BN after a 5 per cent swing to the opposition in 2008. Indian support for the BN also seems to have returned.
The PR has held on to the Chinese support and some of the urban vote.But there is an element of uncertainty from the two million new voters added to the electoral rolls since 2008. Most of them will be voters aged below 35. Will their allegiances follow older voters from their respective communities? Or will they be less brand loyal and shift according to circumstances and issues of the day? The answers to that could be critical to how battles are decided, especially in marginal wards.The speaker has clearly mis-applied Standing Order 23(1)(h) to reject Nurul’s motion. For the umpteenth time, the speaker has acted like a stonewall to block motions unfavourable to BN without valid ground, making a complete mockery of our parliamentary democracy. Perhaps, MPs should serious consider what legal means are at their disposal to deal with such a hopelessly partisan speaker who is a complete disgrace, to say the least.It’s God’s might of power and destiny,in which none of His beings could intervene. It’s unfolding in France where the change of power is moving right from the President to the lower houses and it’s unstoppable until this Sunday runoffs. What transpired in the scopene scandal shall surface for all to see, and it’s unstoppable.
Careers and coalitions
Mr Najib’s political future rests heavily on how far the electoral outcome improves the BN’s showing in 2008. After all, he came to power with the promise that he would restore the BN to its dominant position. It is obvious the PM is not looking for opportunity to clear his name otherwise he would have taken the opportunity in Parliament and in the coming case in the French Court.With C4 explosive could easily sneak out of Mindef, no speaker will allow such motion. Anyway, kudos to YB Nurul for taking your parliamentary duties on behalf of the rakyat and tax payers, where no BN-MPs dare to do so .You will be remembered for this duty. Most BN-MPs only “makan gaji dan allowance membuta tuli” since independence day. They could never understand that it is the rakyat and tax-payers that paid their salary and all the perks. Everyone was either paid to keep quiet, and in the case of Altantuya, she was killed to keep quiet. Dare we hope that the Speaker was not “threatened” to keep the issue out of Parliament?
Many have speculated that his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin, who is noticeably more pro-Malay, would launch a power challenge if Mr Najib falters. Muhyudin said that BN is facing a perception problem. To gauge the full extent of the problem, an independent online survey should be carried out with just one question: Is Najib Razak involved in the Altantuya murder and Scorpene kickback scandals? Answer YES or NOIt’s a lost-lost situation for najib and BN. Najib’s refusal to divulge into the issue is not going to make the whole thing go away. If anything, its going to make people more wanting for explanations, and without one to clarify the air, the public can make their own conclusion, which is not going to be pretty. And if a miracle happens and najib finally have the balls to face the music, he’s still not gonna be off the hook, because he has nothing to say that will not implicate him. For the time being denial is his only option and while he still have access to the msm, he’ll use those to put a blanket over the issue, and lie to the country and himself about his dire predicament. The only way out for najib is to make sure the elections is properly rigged to ensure a victory for BN. And that takes us back to square one – a clean and fair election.Rakyak can be the judge now case of this magnitude cannot be discuss in Parliament, why then have parliament session so we have help them to be oppsition after GE 13 they can learn to oppose PR policy so that we have an accountable government which PR has pledge we are able to bring many BN leader to court and charge those that are corrupt especailly AG former IGP present PM and former PM A lady has been killed. Her murderers are awaiting appeal. They were part of the PM’s bodyguards. The PM was the then Defense Minister and he was on these trips to finalise the purchase of the Scorpene subs. Serious question of corruption have been raised. He is duty bound to clear his name. Silence is not going to protect him. On the contrary this is causing more concern and many now feel that he is implicitly involved. As the PM he has to make his position clear. The waters are muddy and he has the duty as PM to clear his name. Even if he has done this for UMNO the ends cannot justify the means used and the outcomes which are horrific.His close friend is away. Why blast a body unless there was more to hide. How can we trust such a man as PM? A coward who does not even want to face Parliament and be straight with his rakyat.
So, what is at stake in the next general election could be the entire political landscape in Malaysia.
For over 50 years, the BN had been firmly in control, despite the best efforts of assorted opposition parties. A dent was made in the 2008 elections. What happens in the coming one could have serious repercussions beyond the seats totted up on election day.
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