Malaysia's Elections 2008 (Before, During & After)

[Dashken]

Originally Posted by peaz

how was it? u were there?

Nope, he was banned in island and he went to Raja Uda, after that, he was supposed to come to Chai Leng Park... but when Ronnie called someone to ask where is RPK, that someone said he's hijacked or something.

So, RPK didn't make it to Chai Leng Park. But Harris Ibrahim managed to come.

Was with two friends at CLP. Some friends attended the one at Raja Uda, thus the video that I uploaded.

Quite a disappointment RPK didn't come.. tomorrow, maybe going to Han Chiang college... Key speakers include Lim Kit Siang, Kak Wan, Karpal Singh, Lim Guan Eng. It'll be packed like hell.. last Saturday at Han Chiang, attendance was reported somewhere around 10k+.. many didn't manage to parking or else, may be more...

[belikethat]

hey the latest news... the watever ink is no longer in use!
what a waste of money!? if they bought it already

[peaz]

Originally Posted by Dashken

Nope, he was banned in island and he went to Raja Uda, after that, he was supposed to come to Chai Leng Park... but when Ronnie called someone to ask where is RPK, that someone said he's hijacked or something.

So, RPK didn't make it to Chai Leng Park. But Harris Ibrahim managed to come.

Was with two friends at CLP. Some friends attended the one at Raja Uda, thus the video that I uploaded.

Quite a disappointment RPK didn't come.. tomorrow, maybe going to Han Chiang college... Key speakers include Lim Kit Siang, Kak Wan, Karpal Singh, Lim Guan Eng. It'll be packed like hell.. last Saturday at Han Chiang, attendance was reported somewhere around 10k+.. many didn't manage to parking or else, may be more...

can send me the actual video file? or upload to youtube? the google one unavailable already la

[bslee]

Originally Posted by belikethat

hey the latest news... the watever ink is no longer in use!
what a waste of money!? if they bought it already

That was yesterday's news. It brought about lots of anger from the community forum where I reside. Everyone call it a fiasco and utter waste of tax payer's money. Oh well.. that's the BN gahmen for you..if anyone still trust them to run this country for another 5 years or forever.
Its really sad that majority of rakyat (especially non urban folks) who reads NSTP, UM and other mainstream news are brainwashed into thinking that's the news of entire Malaysia within the pages. Very SAD and very unfortunate!. They're frankly NOT in the know of other news thats NOT reported and eventually think BN is doing hellava great job running the country.

Change is VERY neccessary otherwise we'd all sink like the Titanic. You can be stripped down to your undies and they'll still harp at you "UBAH cara hidup!"

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by bslee

That was yesterday's news. It brought about lots of anger from the community forum where I reside. Everyone call it a fiasco and utter waste of tax payer's money. Oh well.. that's the BN gahmen for you..if anyone still trust them to run this country for another 5 years or forever.
Its really sad that majority of rakyat (especially non urban folks) who reads NSTP, UM and other mainstream news are brainwashed into thinking that's the news of entire Malaysia within the pages. Very SAD and very unfortunate!. They're frankly NOT in the know of other news thats NOT reported and eventually think BN is doing hellava great job running the country.

Change is VERY neccessary otherwise we'd all sink like the Titanic. You can be stripped down to your undies and they'll still harp at you "UBAH cara hidup!"

Waste of money is one thing. I think it shows just how scared BN is. It's obvious that they feel there's no choice but to cheat now.

I just went past TWO ceramahs a few hours ago in Kelana Jaya. The DAP one was outside the chicken rice shop, opposite the church along the LDP while the BN one was in the surau's parking lot just down the street from my condo.

The DAP ceramah really held up traffic because people were parking along the road. I estimated that there were at least 2000 participants. Could have been more but I couldn't see the other end.

The BN one was a laughable affair. They were more organized with nice tents up and all... but there were only about 200 people max. I wouldn't be surprised if they asked Rashit to cancel the use of indelible ink just so that they can ship in a few thousand phantom voters.

With that said, large crowds does not necessarily translate into votes. We need to do our best to convince those still sitting on the fence to vote for the opposition. Remember the key theme - DENY BN THE 2/3RD MAJORITY! There is NO GOOD REASON for them to have 2/3 majority!

[peaz]

Originally Posted by belikethat

hey the latest news... the watever ink is no longer in use!
what a waste of money!? if they bought it already

of course they bought it already no way you can get the stock u need within a few days of the election, you need to distribute them to all the election centres around the country don't you? So, such last minute reversion of the use of the indelible ink is definitely ad-hoc and not planned. security risk.. lol. WHAT security risk? Aren't the Mat Rempits which pemuda am-no wanted to hire to fetch voters an even worst risk?

[Adrian Wong]

Penang-nites BEWARE....

Secret plans are afoot to increase the toll rates for the Penang bridge, to be implemented after the general election, disclosed opposition party PKR today.

The party revealed that the increment would be by almost 70 percent, putting a bigger dent in the pockets of locals who are already reeling with the increase in the prices of daily necessary items.

PKR - quoting a confidential correspondence between the bridge concessionaire and the federal government - said that the toll increment was to be on par with the rate fixed for the new second bridge. The toll rate for the new bridge, which has started construction works, is fixed at RM9.40.

PKR's Pantai Jerejak state seat candidate Sim Tze Tzin made this revelation today citing a purported letter between United Engineers (Malaysia) Berhad (UEM) chief executive officer Ahmad Pardas Senin to the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister's Department's director-general Dr Sulaiman Mahbob.

At present, there are two different rates for cars plying the Penang bridge. Prepaid travel card Touch and Go users enjoy a discounted rate of RM5.60 while regular users pay RM7.00. Toll is only collected one-way.

Sim, who claimed to have seen the document, said that the letter also pointed to the abolishment of the existing Touch and Go discounts.

The new rate - if it is the same as the second bridge rate of RM9.40 - amounts to a 68 percent increase for Touch and Go users while regular drivers will have to fork out an extra 34 percent.

Referring to the letter, Sim said the toll rates at the Penang bridge are due anyway for a two percent annual increase and compounded every five years to a maximum of RM11.50 until the year 2051.

Sim declined to reveal as the source who leaked the correspondence but told reporters that it was dated August 2007.

The new 24-kilometer bridge - connecting the town of Batu Maung on the island and Batu Kawan on the mainland - was launched in November last year and costs an estimated RM3 billion.

United Engineers (Malaysia) Berhad, a major infrastructure player linked to Umno, is tasked with the construction of the two-lane bridge. Its CEO Ahmad Pardas could not be reached for comment.

Koh refuses to comment

When questioned at a separate press conference later, outgoing Penang Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon dodged questions regarding the Penang bridge toll hike and declined to provide a direct answer.

“We will continue to assess the situation and fight for the people of Penang,” Koh, who is also Gerakan acting president, said at the party's Penang office after being grilled on the matter.

However in an apparent justification for the possible toll hike, Koh reminded Penangites that the people's money is involved no matter what the government's decision will be.

“If the government decides not to have the hike, the government will have to pay compensation to the concessionaire, which is also taxpayers' money,” he pointed out.

Commenting that he should be judged by his previous track record, a defensive Koh told reporters to direct the question at PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim as he said the toll concession agreement was drafted in 1993 when the latter was still in cabinet.

“Under the agreement, there were supposed to be two increases in the toll price in 1998 and 2003 but I had lobbied very hard for the rate not to be increased,” he argued, adding that his both attempts were successful.

Koh said that the rates were not increased on those two occasions as the country was affected by the financial crisis in 1998 while 2003 saw the onslaught of the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) virus and the Sept 11 tragedy.

- MalaysiaKini.com

[Adrian Wong]

Here's something funny my cousin sent me

YouTube - election malaysia

[Dashken]

Activists warn elections will be 'dirtiest ever'

The March 8 general election could be the "dirtiest ever", activists said today after authorities dumped plans to curb fraud by marking voters' fingers with indelible ink.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch also said Malaysians will be denied a fair vote in Saturday's polls, accusing the government of muzzling the opposition and manipulating the electoral process.

The Election Commission (EC) said yesterday it would not introduce indelible ink as planned because it had uncovered a plot to sabotage the polls by using smuggled ink to mark unsuspecting voters before they cast their ballot, which would cause confusion.

abdul rashid ec chairman and indelible ink for election 010607EC chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said in a statement that the decision was made to avoid problems with public order.

He added: "The EC views these issues seriously, as the election process and public order and security cannot be compromised. The EC deeply regrets its decision."

Opposition parties condemned the decision as "ludicrous", saying it was designed to counter a groundswell of support for their cause, and accused electoral authorities of being in league with the government.

But Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi criticised opposition claims that the ink plan was dropped in bid by his ruling government to fix the polls.

"There is no such thing. We never cheat. We have been successful not because we cheated, we did well and we worked hard," he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

"Now the opposition is happy because now they have an excuse to tell the whole world why they cannot succeed in the election. It's the best excuse for them," he added.

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), an alliance of opposition and civil society groups, said it would now be easier for "phantom voters" to alter the course of the ballot.

"Bersih warns Malaysians that the general election on March 8 could be Malaysia's dirtiest election ever as a result of the Election Commission's decision to cancel the indelible ink on polling day," it said in a statement.

Unwilling to allow reforms

HRW said the Barisan Nasional coalition, which has ruled for half a century, was intent on retaining its two-thirds parliamentary majority and unwilling to allow reforms being demanded by Bersih.

"Once again, elections in Malaysia are grossly unfair to the opposition," the global rights monitor's deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson said in a statement.

the indelible ink 040208"Voters in Malaysia deserve a chance for every vote to count and count equally," she added. "Given the vast array of anomalies in the electoral rolls, this looks increasingly unlikely."

HRW said that already tight control on the media had become even more glaring during the campaign, with state-run and government-linked outlets observing a virtual blackout on the opposition.

While the government held rallies with tens of thousands of people, dissenting voices were refused permission to hold public meetings, and peaceful protests were dispersed with the use of tear gas and water cannons.

HRW said that in the face of major irregularities in the election process, there were concerns the government will manipulate the voting in closely fought districts.

It cited research by electoral reform campaigners who said that almost 9,000 voters born more than 100 years ago - including two reported to be 128 years old - were enrolled to vote, raising suspicions about phantom voting.

Source: Activists warn elections will be 'dirtiest ever'

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by Dashken

Nope, he was banned in island and he went to Raja Uda, after that, he was supposed to come to Chai Leng Park... but when Ronnie called someone to ask where is RPK, that someone said he's hijacked or something.

So, RPK didn't make it to Chai Leng Park. But Harris Ibrahim managed to come.

Was with two friends at CLP. Some friends attended the one at Raja Uda, thus the video that I uploaded.

Quite a disappointment RPK didn't come.. tomorrow, maybe going to Han Chiang college... Key speakers include Lim Kit Siang, Kak Wan, Karpal Singh, Lim Guan Eng. It'll be packed like hell.. last Saturday at Han Chiang, attendance was reported somewhere around 10k+.. many didn't manage to parking or else, may be more...

WTH... How can they prevent him from going to Penang island? It's a free country what.