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

[Dashken]

2008 polls - interesting facts

Barisan Nasional only gained about 51 percent of the popular vote from the 7.9 million ballots cast on Saturday.

However, it took 63 percent of the seats contested - or 140 of 222 seats in Parliament.

Interestingly, its peninsula-wide popular vote was only 49.79 percent, which effectively means that the opposition received the majority vote in this part of the country.

However, when converted to parliamentary seats, BN has 85 of the constituencies in the peninsula, while the opposition bagged 80.

Almost 40 percent of the BN's seats are in Sabah and Sarawak - 55 out of 140.

In 2004, BN won about 64 percent of the popular vote nationwide and 92 percent of the 219 parliamentary seats on offer then.

As the dust settles on the 12th general election, we highlight a number of quirky facts and figures.

Election trivia

* The youngest candidate was PKR's Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who is 26. He defeated Seri Setia incumbent Seripa Noli Syed Hussin.

* The oldest candidate was grandma Maimun Yusuf, 89, who contested in the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat. She lost her deposit.

* 56 also-rans from opposition parties and independent candidates lost their deposits after failing to secure one-eighth of the votes cast.

* The largest majority was won by DAP's Teresa Kok against BN's Carol Chew, by 36,492 votes in the Seputeh parliamentary seat in Kuala Lumpur.

* The smallest majority was just 14 votes for BN's Hamdi Abu Bakar who beat Abu Bakar Haji Hussain of PAS in the Pengkalan Baharu state seat in Perak.

* Four pivotal players in the Lingam tape scandal also won: Loh Gwo Burne (who recorded the footage), Wee Choo Keong (lawyer who represented VK Lingam's brother during the inquiry) and R Sivarasa and Sim Tze Tzin (listed as witnesses but eventually not called). All four are from PKR.

* There will be two 'lone rangers' in Parliament: Zulhasnan Rafique, the sole BN survivor in Kuala Lumpur's 11 parliamentary seats - he took Setiawangsa; and DAP's Chong Chieng Jen who won Bandar Kuching in Sarawak - the remaining 30 parliamentary seats went to BN.

* The biggest number of candidates was in the Sukau state seat, Sabah, where eight candidates ran, including five Independents.

Debutant politicians

Prominent blogger Jeff Ooi - whose campaign was done online and funds were raised through his website - won the Jelutong parliamentary seat in Penang for DAP.

Other bloggers are Tony Pua (DAP, Petaling Jaya Utara parliamentary seat), Elizabeth Wong (PKR, Bukit Lanjan state seat) and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (PKR, Seri Setia state seat).

Civil society activists who succeeded were Charles Santiago (DAP, water-privatisation issues), Edward Lee (DAP, local community), Elizabeth Wong and R Sivarasa (PKR, human rights).

Biggest blows

The losses in BN component parties will result in vacancies in various ministries, forcing a cabinet reshuffle.

Ministers

* S Samy Vellu (Works Ministry)

* Shahrizat Abdul Jalil (Women, Family and Community Development Ministry)

* Zainuddin Maidin (Information Ministry)

* Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin (Rural and Territory Development Ministry)

Deputy ministers

* Chia Kwang Chye (Information Ministry)

* G Palanivel (Women, Family and Community Development)

* Tan Chai Ho (Home Ministry)

* V Veerasingam (Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry)

* S Sothinathan (Natural Resources and Environment Ministry)

* Donald Lim (Tourism Ministry)

* Fu Ah Kiow (Internal Security Ministry)

* M Kayveas (Prime Minister's Department)

Parliamentary secretaries

* Chew Mei Fun (Women, Family and Community Development Ministry)

* P Komala Devi (Education Ministry)

* Lee Kah Choon (Health Ministry)

* Ng Lip Yong (Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry)

* S Vigneswaran (Youth and Sports Ministry)

* Rahman Ibrahim (Home Ministry)

* Dr Mohd Ruddin Ab Ghani (Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry)

* Yew Teong Look (Federal Territories Ministry)

The full team from the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry all lost in the polls.

All top MIC leaders were wiped out - president, deputy presidents, two vice-presidents, women's chief and youth chief (one of the three vice-presidents, KS Nijar, did not contest).

Post-election quotes

Anwar Ibrahim, PKR de facto leader, quoted in Star today

Some mentris besar in the past spent half-a-million ringgit to renovate their offices. Such things cannot be an example in this new administration.

Nurul Izzah Anwar, Lembah Pantai MP at a press conference yesterday

(On whether she will vacate the seat to force a by-election so that her father, Anwar Ibrahim, can re-enter politics after a five-year ban): I have already started working in my constituency. The question does not arise.

PPP president M Kayveas, quoted in Star today

Prior to the elections, Barisan Nasional had kept on telling people to show their dissatisfaction through the ballot box. Now they have really shown it.

Sungai Petani losing BN candidate Zainuddin Maidin, quoted in Star today

It is not that they love PKR or PAS more that they voted against me.

The Chinese showed their resentment because of the economic backlash they often complained about. So, PAS and PKR should not be overly proud of their win (in Kedah).

The people may have to pay a price for their decision.

From: 2008 polls - interesting facts

[Dashken]

Pak Lah: We've learned our lesson

Barisan Nasional recognises that there are lessons to be learned from its dismal performance in last Saturday’s general election and this will be reflected in government’s future policies, said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“We must learn from this. I have always believed there are lessons to learn. Even in the worst of tragedies, there are lessons to be learned.

“I’m not a stubborn person who will not learn from lessons in life, even when these are associated with my career and my work,” he told a press conference after back-to-back Umno supreme council and BN supreme council meetings today.

“We are all collectively responsible for all that we have been doing because the government has been making decisions on the basis of consensus,” he added, apparently in response to calls for him to personally take responsibility for the ruling coalition’s disastrous performance.

In Saturday’s election, BN won only 140 of the 222 parliamentary seats. The opposition, led by PKR, won the remaining 82 with the Anwar Ibrahim-led party taking 31, DAP 28 and PAS 23.

The BN coalition’s vote share in Peninsular Malaysia also suffered a blow when it won only 48.7 percent of the popular vote. In 2004, BN rode the wave with a 64 percent popular vote nationwide.

Independent body to do post-mortem

Abdullah said that an independent body will be set up by BN to do a post-mortem on the elections.

Nevertheless, he said, BN respects the decision of voters.

“The results of the election reflect the maturity of people in Malaysia as a democracy and for that, we accept the results (as pronounced) by the (Election Commission) EC,” he said.

Among the issues that BN admits were factors that led to such results are corruption, inflation, and the rising crime rate, Abdullah conceded.

The reduced majority obtained by the coalition, however, will not hamper the BN government from continuing its development programmes.

“We have a fairly strong majority that is just short by eight (parliamentary) seats to secure the two-thirds majority. (But) it’s not something that we are worried about. We can manage.

“I would certainly like to see Malaysia doing well under the Barisan Nasional despite the fact that we don’t have a two-thirds majority,” he said.

On the fall of Malaysian stocks today by about 10 percent following the weekend’s political upsets, Abdullah said he would like to assure all quarters that the government will not make any changes in policies that are detrimental to the economy.

“It is this Barisan Nasional government that was responsible for the growth of our economy, (and) for the prudent management of our finances. Whatever actions we have taken, all those policies that we have taken before - and (which have) worked well and welcomed by the private sector - will continue.

“It is not our intention to change. But if there are necessities to make changes by way of improving later on - and we would like to make some new policies - we assure that these policies will contribute to growth and will contribute to confidence in our economy. Our economy will continue to be private-sector friendly,” he said.

Pak Lah: I ‘pity’ Khairy

To former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s charges that his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, was the reason for BN’s losses at the polls, Abdullah said this was not true.

“Khairy is not an influence on whatever I do. He is the deputy chief of Umno Youth. What we do is what we do...

He added that Khairy’s suggestions do not necessarily become government’s policies.

“Anybody is free to give views and Khairy (right), like anybody else, speaks openly. He gives statements and opinions at the Umno general assembly. That’s okay,” he added.

Abdullah also said Khairy is not one to impose his views on him.

“This is the perception (and) it is the wrong perception. I (feel) pity for Khairy, and for the kind of perception he has or his role vis-a-vis his relationship with me as son-in-law and father-in-law.”

Abdullah said no decisions on the line-up of the government’s new ministerial cabinet had been made at the Umno and BN meetings today.

He also said BN will ensure that the government will represent all communities despite the loss of several key leaders from its component parties due to their defeat at the polls.

It is expected those who have lost will be appointed as senators which will allowed them to be appointed to the cabinet.

“The government of Barisan Nasional is a government for all Malaysians.”

Source: Pak Lah: We've learned our lesson

[Dashken]

Polls shatter race-based politics

Malaysia's race-based politics has been shattered by a stunning electoral setback for the government, which has been deserted by minority ethnic Chinese and Indians, analysts said today.

The fractured system under which parties represent either the majority Malays or one of the minority groups looks set to be consigned to history, replaced by a modern two-party system, they said.

"The political landscape in Malaysia has undergone a change," said former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, who has reinvented himself as the opposition figurehead.

"People want to see justice. I could sense that people were fed up with political issues along racial lines," he said after Saturday's polls, which handed the opposition a third of parliamentary seats and four states.

The New Straits Times said the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition - made up of 14 race-based parties - achieved 51.2 percent of the popular vote after support from ethnic Chinese plunged from 65 percent to 35 percent.

Backing from the smaller ethnic Indian community plummeted from 82 percent to 47 percent, while the number of Malays, who form the coalition's bedrock, fell from 63 percent to 58 percent.

Many flocked to Anwar's PKR party, which held just one seat in the outgoing parliament but which will now have 31 lawmakers. The predominantly Chinese DAP has 28 and the Islamic party PAS has 23.

PKR has become Malaysia's first major multi-ethnic party, made up of candidates from all three races and supported by all three - a momentous achievement.

Radical rethinking needed

Meanwhile, the coalition's Chinese and Indian parties have been annihilated, bearing the brunt of anger over the government's handling of inflation as well as mounting ethnic tensions.

"The race-based system is breaking down," said Johan Saravanamuttu from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

"The government is not looking so representative... and may have to re-engineer itself to be much more cognisant of this shift in the way people are voting," he said.

Saravanamuttu said the dominant Umno, which leads the coalition, would have to do a radical rethink about how it could become more inclusive to face the new challenge posed by PKR.

Already there are calls for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down and pave the way for a revamp of the party that has ruled Malaysia for half a century.

"We now face a period of uncertainty such as we have never experienced before," said Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a former finance minister and Umno veteran.

"People are now saying that Umno has lost its legitimacy to represent the Malays. The other Barisan component parties have already lost their leadership role as representatives of the other major races of this country."

BN as one-party

The Star newspaper's Wong Chun Wai said in an editorial Monday that Barisan Nasional could consider reforming into a one-party, multi-racial organisation.

"In the years to come, convincing younger voters to support a party purely on communal grounds will become tougher," he said.

"A two-party system seems likely to evolve from the outcome of this general election. The first page of the new Malaysian political era opens today."

Source: Polls shatter race-based politics

[Dashken]

Opposition faces daunting rule after poll upsets

After stunning electoral gains that took them completely by surprise, the opposition now faces the daunting task of running five states and a third of the national parliament.

The trio of diverse parties, which had formed a loose alliance to confront the Barisan Nasional coalition, had never dreamed of bagging such rich prizes, including the two wealthiest states Selangor and Penang - home to high-brand foreign companies such as Sony and Intel.

Now PKR, party of opposition figurehead Anwar Ibrahim, as well as the Islamic party PAS and the Chinese-dominated DAP, must form workable coalitions to govern.

"We expected to make gains in the polls but not to this extent," admitted PAS policymaker Hatta Ramli, who said the party led by Islamic scholars would work with its new partners to deliver fair and efficient government.

"We have agreed to resolve issues via consensus. We will not go for each other's necks," he said.

PAS has already moved to dispel fears it could exert its ideology over the newly-acquired states, saying it would respect minority rights and that there would not be any dramatic changes for non-Muslims.

The three parties will rule the four swing states - Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor - in various coalitions. PAS also extended its hold in Kelantan, which it had ruled by a thin majority.

Attempt to sabotage

Yeah Kim Leng, group chief economist with RAM Holdings, said that although jittery investors sent the Malaysian bourse tumbling Monday, he did not expect the changeover to affect the economy and industry in key states.

"I don't think there will be any attempt to sabotage the running of the states. It will hurt the Malaysian economy if that happens because their contribution to growth is substantial," he said.

Penang, styled as Malaysia's 'Silicon Valley', is home to electronic giants from the United States, Germany and Japan including Intel, Motorola, Dell and Sony.

Selangor, which surrounds Kuala Lumpur, is Malaysia's most industrialised state with thousands of manufacturing and service-related companies.

Perak and Kedah mainly rely on forestry and agricultural trade.

State media said PAS would appoint chief ministers in Kedah and Perak. The DAP will preside in Penang and a PKR chief minister will run Selangor.

Tricia Yeoh, director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies, said the opposition must ensure their pre-election alliance remains intact.

"They have started internal meetings. They have a clear vision of what they want. They will not squabble as they have strong leaders," she told AFP. "They must ensure they do not fall prey to infighting."

Liberal democracy

Yeoh said the immediate challenge would be to master the running of four new states in which they have no experience, while in the national parliament they must form a stronger check-and-balance to the coalition government.

"The overall challenge is to put Malaysia on the map towards liberal democracy. They should not use their two-third majority to turn parliament into a mere bickering session," she said.

Anwar said late yesterday that the coalition parties would be able to put aside their ideological differences and govern effectively.

He said they would "focus on the economic issue and trying to resolve some of the problems affecting the masses, particularly in the issue of poverty and the normal needs of an average citizen.

"What was promised will be enforced with the best of ability."

Ng Wei Aik, the political secretary to DAP chief Lim Guan Eng who will be Penang's new chief minister, said they must now do the job voters had handed them.

"Our immediate challenge is to gain public confidence and to serve the masses fairly and efficiently. We also need to woo value added investments and provide employement for the locals," he said.

"We can work with PKR and PAS. There is nothing to stop us from doing that."

Source: Opposition faces daunting rule after poll upsets

[Brian]

One of the most unfortunate things to me is that even in the era of 105+ USD oil, Keadilan's manifesto was too populist.

I certainly hope that their manifesto in the next elections takes heed of this fact and accept that we have to start transitioning to a market based system, else we'll have a massive shock in store for all of us in a few years.

Otherwise, I'm looking forward to their pledge of local council elections, if it's under the State Government's purview. Finally my local councillors, the ones that are supposed to clean my longkang for me will be directly responsible to the local people.

EDIT: I just stumbled upon this......shocking to say the least:

The Malaysian Bar - Zakaria Deros of 'istana infamy' dies

Zakaria Deros of 'istana infamy' dies PDF Print E-mail
Tuesday, 11 March 2008 09:23am

©The Star (Used by permission)

KLANG: Former Port Klang assemblyman Datuk Zakaria Md Deros died after suffering a heart attack early Tuesday morning.

The controversial 62-year-old politician was dropped from the Selangor Barisan Nasional line-up for the general election.

He was replaced by his daughter-in-law Roselinda Abdul Jamil as the candidate for the seat, which she did not win.

Also a former Klang municipal councillor, Zakaria hogged headlines last year when he had a run-in with the law for not submitting building plans for a mansion that was described as a virtual “istana” (palace) by his critics.

He was also found to have not paid the assessment for another property for 12 years, while his family was caught operating an illegal satay restaurant on government reserve land.

Due to these controversies, Zakaria gave in to mounting pressure and withdrew from being a municipal councillor.

His mansion has 21 bathrooms and 16 bedrooms, including 11 that occupied by each of his children, as well as a VIP room, three living rooms, a dining hall and a prayer room.

The house also has a swimming pool, several gazebos, an orchard, a two-hole golf lawn, an office, a storeroom, two rooms for maids as well as a wet kitchen and a dry kitchen.

He is expected to be buried in Malacca.

Although I doubt many Malaysians will miss him, let's respect the dead alright?

[Dashken]

The Istana guy, breaking news enough for you guys?

Zakaria Deros of 'istana infamy' dies (updated)

KLANG: Former Port Klang assemblyman Datuk Zakaria Md Deros died after suffering a heart attack early Tuesday morning.

The controversial 62-year-old politician was dropped from the Selangor Barisan Nasional line-up for the general election.

He was replaced by his daughter-in-law Roselinda Abdul Jamil as the candidate for the seat, which she did not win.

Also a former Klang municipal councillor, Zakaria hogged headlines last year when he had a run-in with the law for not submitting building plans for a mansion that was described as a virtual “istana” (palace) by his critics.

He was also found to have not paid the assessment for another property for 12 years, while his family was caught operating an illegal satay restaurant on government reserve land.

Due to these controversies, Zakaria gave in to mounting pressure and withdrew from being a municipal councillor.

His mansion has 21 bathrooms and 16 bedrooms, including 11 that occupied by each of his children, as well as a VIP room, three living rooms, a dining hall and a prayer room.

The house also has a swimming pool, several gazebos, an orchard, a two-hole golf lawn, an office, a storeroom, two rooms for maids as well as a wet kitchen and a dry kitchen.

He is expected to be buried in Malacca.

Source: Zakaria Deros of 'istana infamy' dies (updated)

[bslee]

Ok.. the man is dead!.. Buddies and friends here..lets not gloat about it. Its perhaps the will of ALLAH!. There's a beginning, There's an end!. Thank you.

[strawroot]

Originally Posted by Dashken

The Istana guy, breaking news enough for you guys?

i think its karma

[Dashken]

That news was for jasperchc who wanted breaking news. I'm not gloating. I don't know why, but it seems that 'gloat' statement was towards me?

Well, I don't care anyway, I'm just posting updates.

On second thought, I think I'll stop posting updates here. Adrian, your turn...

[jasperchc]

Originally Posted by Dashken

That news was for jasperchc who wanted breaking news. I'm not gloating. I don't know why, but it seems that 'gloat' statement was towards me?

Well, I don't care anyway, I'm just posting updates.

On second thought, I think I'll stop posting updates here. Adrian, your turn...

he's not in politics anymore right? so that kinda doesnt count