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

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Police to remain neutral, says IGP

KUALA LUMPUR: Police will continue to remain neutral in serving the Government and the people, said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan.

He said he had also informed all his men in states where new governments had been elected to be fair and professional while carrying out their duties.

He also said that police would give their full cooperation to any political party to ensure that the peace and safety of the country was maintained at all times.

"We will help ensure that there is a smooth transition of power when the opposition party sets up their new government in states like Kedah, Perak, Selangor and Penang," he told a press conference on Sunday.

Musa also advised those who won in the general election to refrain from organising or getting involved in any more illegal demonstrations or rallies.

He was referring to several candidates who won the election on Saturday who had been arrested for participating in illegal demonstrations previously.

Meanwhile, the IGP said more than 400 police reports have been lodged pertaining to the elections and added that the police is looking into all the reports.

"Luckily there were no serious problems and the elections went on smoothly with the exception of the Marang incident. Besides that I think we had the situation under control,'' he added.

Musa expressed his gratitude to all political party leaders, voters and supporters who showed their maturity during the election process by abiding the rules and laws.

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Nice map...

Yahoo! News

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But he has no plans to step down: aide

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has no plans to resign, his spokesman said today, despite leading the ruling coalition to its worst ever election results.

abdullah ahmad badawi polling day vote 080308 06"He has no intention to step down," the premier's spokesman Kamal Khalid told AFP, although he admitted the premier was "surprised" by the scale of the setback.

"He has actually received quite a lot of support from senior party leaders and he is still on track to be sworn in tomorrow," he added.

Abdullah is facing growing calls to quit after the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition lost its two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time since 1969 and conceded four states to the resurgent opposition.

"The PM was surprised by the losses on Saturday, but having said that, although the government has not received a two-thirds majority, it was very close and the BN can still form the government," his spokesman insisted.

Umno leaders pledge support

Meanwhile, senior Umno leaders have gathered at Abdullah's official residence in Putrajaya to pledge their support for him.

However Abdullah was savaged by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who handed over to Abdullah in 2003 after two decades leading Umno which dominates the coalition.

"My view is he has destroyed Umno, destroyed the BN and he has been responsible for this," Mahathir told reporters.

He suggested Abdullah should resign, and admitted he had made a mistake in selecting him as prime minister.

"I think he should accept responsibility for this. He should accept 100 percent responsibility," he said. "I am sorry but I apparently made the wrong choice."

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Hindraf: Make ISA detainee Mano S'gor deputy MB

The Hindu Rights Action Force wants its legal advisor M Manoharan to be appointed as a deputy menteri besar in Selangor under the new state government to be formed by the opposition.

The opposition yesterday toppled the BN government by winning 36 seats out of 56 in the state. BN won the remaining 20 to be in the opposition in the state legislative assembly.

PKR’s secretary general Khalid Ibrahim, who won the Ijok state seat, is expected to be named as the new Menteri Besar to replace BN-Umno Mohd Khir Toyo.

Hindraf’s chairperson P Waythamoorthy said that it was time for the opposition to repay the Indian community for their huge support in turning the wave in favour of the opposition in yesterday’s general election.

“Nationwide, the Indian community has shown its dissatisfaction towards the BN government and had voted them out.

“The opposition has been riding on the wave of makkal sakhti (people’s power) in the run up of the general election.

“And it is no secret that the Indian voters have delivered their votes for the opposition,” said Waythamoorthy who spoke to Malaysiakini from New Delhi, India.

He added that now it was time for the opposition to repay the trust placed on them by the Indian community and not to betray that trust.

“As such we hope that Manoharan will be appointed as a deputy menteri besar in Selangor. Likewise, we hope th opposition parties will appoint an Indian representative as a menteri besar or chief minister in the other states that they have won,” he added.

The Hindraf factor

Apart from Selangor, the opposition also has taken control in Perak, Kedah and Selangor - all states which have a large number of Indian voters.

Waythamoorthy said that Hindraf had played a vital role in awakening the silent angst in the Indian community over their socio-economic sidelining.

Last week Waythamoorthy urged all Hindraf supporters to vote for the opposition to ensure that the plights of the Indian community are addressed.

Hindraf also organised a mass rally o Nov 25 last year in Kuala Lumpur, attracting some 30,000 ethnic Indians, to express their discontent with the government.

As a result five Hindraf leaders - including Manoharan -have been detained for two-years under the Internal Security Act, for allegedly being involved in terrorism activities.

Manoharan contested for the Kota Alam Shah state seat in Klang and managed to wrest the seat from BN with a 7,184 majority. In his force absence, his wife S Pushpaneela undertook the task of campaigning for him.

Apart from Manoharan, many other Indian candidates representing the opposition nationwide were elected in an unprecedented manner.

And in a total reversal, the Indian votes rejected almost all MIC candidates, resulting in heavy defeats for MIC president S Samy Vellu and his entire party top leadership.

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BUSINESS AS USUAL IN PENANG

PENANG, March 9 (Bernama) – It will be business as usual in Penang, as long as the new DAP-PKR state government remains investor-friendly, Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Northern Branch chairman Datuk O. K. Lee said here today. "There will be some teething problems in the beginning, but as long as their policies remain investor-friendly, there will not be any issues or hiccups given that politics and business are two different things,” he said. He said that Kedah and Penang, wrested by the opposition in the just-ended general election, came under the purview of FFM Penang.

"Economic development should be the priority of both state governments, and they should be able to perform. “At the end of the day, what is important are the people’s bread and butter issues. If they are hungry, they will be angry. So, the new state government needs to perform to remain relevant,” Lee told Bernama when contacted here today.

PENANG FMM, Lee said, would work hand-in-hand with the new state government to enable continued progress. “They should also get to know the investors, especially when all the state executive councillors will be new faces,” he said. Earlier, Penang chief minister-designate Lim Guan Eng said the Penang DAP-PKR state government would pursue investor-friendly policies to ensure that Penang retained its edge as the leading industrial and manufacturing hub and put public interest first in the implementation or review of any project or policy. He also noted that the new state government would be holding dialogues, discussions and consultations with industries, commerce and small and medium industries, upon taking up the reins of the government. The manufacturing sector comprises about 42 per cent of the state''s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs approximately 200,000 workers, of which half are in the electronics sector. -- BERNAMA SM MR GR

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Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

What's the final score now??? Is the Opposition still only at 82 seats??

Yup... 137 - 82.

2 seats in Sabah and 1 in Sarawak which I think will probably go to BN which was very much expected. When the voting finished and the results started to come in last night, BN already guaranteed of retaining their dominance in Sabah and Sarawak after the first/second hour and Johor as well. Those places, no fight at all. My colleagues and me were discussing whether those places got Internet or not. Sorry...

So, the final results should be 140 - 82. Still an amazing achievement!

[Max_87]

The situation is different in east Malaysia. BN parties are actually doing their job and people there are more or less satisfied. The opposition there however is weak and most know how to talk cock only (maybe except the DAP candidate in Kuching). Also, most people east Msia couldn't care less about denying BN 2/3 majority, or they just probably don't know how arrogant BN is in west Malaysia.

[pyroboy1911]

Originally Posted by Dashken

Yup... 137 - 82.

2 seats in Sabah and 1 in Sarawak which I think will probably go to BN which was very much expected. When the voting finished and the results started to come in last night, BN already guaranteed of retaining their dominance in Sabah and Sarawak after the first/second hour and Johor as well. Those places, no fight at all. My colleagues and me were discussing whether those places got Internet or not. Sorry...

So, the final results should be 140 - 82. Still an amazing achievement!

This is exactly what i was thinking

As far as i know, the culture of Kuching is more similar to West Malaysia compared to other towns, so the exposure to Kuching ppl is wide, thus DAP winning there is not a surprise for me.

IMO, If Sarawak were given more attention by the Opposition, the numbers of seats won can be more beautiful, since Sarawak have a total of 31 seats, the most among the states.

PS: it ticks me off that Bintulu's Tiong King Sing won again, only to attend dinners and getting free foods and ang paos..
he eats so much that, if he appears on the front page, he covers half of the newspaper

[ZuePhok]

think again, umno was given a big hand by BN parties in sarawak and sabah.

[bslee]

IMHO, the very best thing to happen is all the opposition parties to form a permanent coalition. The is the best time to unite, walk the talk, power sharing with least haggling or squabble. An opposition coalition serves as the foundation for greater things to happen. They cannot operate like warring states warlords. If this doesn't happen, BN will continue forever to shun and despise ALL of them like the plague.(matter of fact, those last nite's TV live broadcast guest analysts were blatantly biased with their views.) Barisan Rakyat (I'll continue to call them that) have to forge ahead and walk the talk. They cannot continue to be an underdog and in the shadow of BN. Denying 2/3 majority have been achieved. The newly elected rookies have to learn the ropes fast if they want to retain their seats and maintain their prestige and reputation. They have to excel further by gaining more rakyat confidence to do better next GE which is only 5 years away...not discounting any by-elections which can happen anytime. People ARE going to watch closely hereon and people ARE going to remember well.
The battle is still NOT over yet!.. Its a 5 year battle and they CANNOT rest on their laurels.