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

[Adrian Wong]

But it is a fact that Khir Toyo has been doing a LOT of paper shredding. This is from Elizabeth Wong's blog. No wonder they are trying to stall the swearing in of the new government.

What are they trying to hide?

Fortunately, some members of the media caught this on camera.

Unfortunately, we can’t march right in to stop them because (i) we haven’t been sworn in; (ii) police has cordoned off the state office since Saturday night.

[Adrian Wong]

Here's something funny about Samy Vellu getting kicked out of politics!

YouTube - Goodbye Sam

Bye, bye, Mr. Semi Value!!

[Adrian Wong]

Non-Malays make it to the top

FOR the first time, non-Malays have made it to the top power structure in Malay-dominated states, although the ruler of Selangor has expressed reservations about the development.

Perak is on track to name Chinese and Indian deputy menteris besar. Penang, the only Chinese-dominated state in Malaysia, yesterday also announced a multiracial makeup for top state officials.

The move is seen as an attempt by the opposition to address fears of marginalisation by the minority races, and tears up the old power- sharing formula of the Barisan Nasional (BN).

The Chinese-based Democratic Action Party, the conservative Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) and the multiracial Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) seized control of four new states - Penang, Kedah, Perak and Selangor - in the election last Saturday. PAS also retained control of Kelantan.

Penang's new DAP Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng announced yesterday that he would have two deputy chief ministers, one a Malay and the other an Indian.

The previous BN govt in Penang was also led by a Chinese with a Malay deputy, but this was the first time an Indian had been named to such a high post in a state administration.

'This decision is to ensure all the communities in Penang are represented and this government is for all,' Mr Lim told reporters in the state.

'We do not sideline any community which certain quarters are trying to portray. We want to be your friend and it is our strong commitment that all Penangites will have a stake in the state government,' he added.

PKR's Mohd Fairus Khairuddin, 32, was named Deputy CM I, while former academic, Prof P. Ramasamy, 58, of the DAP would be Deputy CM II.

Mr Fairus holds a master's in business administration from Britain and is a business management consultant.

In Perak, Regent Raja Nazrin Shah yesterday also consented to having two deputy menteris besar (MB) - a Chinese and an Indian - when he approved a PAS leader as the new state chief.

The Deputy MB I is Mr Ngeh Khoo Ham from the DAP while the PKR will be nominating a yet-to-benamed leader as the second deputy MB.

In Selangor, Menteri Besar-designate Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim from PKR is expected to appoint a Chinese deputy from the DAP as part of a coalition agreement.

But this plan has come under a cloud because the palace indicated some unhappiness with the arrangement.

Datuk Mohamad Munir Bani, private secretary to the Sultan of Selangor, has said the deputy should also be a Malay.

'He (the deputy) is normally a Malay because he is supposed to help the menteri besar, such as in the opening of new mosques. If the deputy is not a Malay, that can be a problem,' he said in response to a question at a news conference.

REME AHMAD, THE STRAITS TIMES

TBH, I'm quite surprised at the reaction by the royalty in Perak and Selangor. They are supposed to be the more progressive royal families in the country. Very odd behaviour... I can't say it's welcomed, to be honest. They seem more concerned about who is at the top, rather than the person's character...

[Adrian Wong]

Who the MB of Perak is represents our trust in democracy

Farouk A. Peru
Being Human in The World » Contents

In a old episode of The Simpsons, I remember Bart, Millhouse and Martin clubbing together to buy Radioactive Man #1.

After their initial euphoria from pulling off such a purchase, right outside the shop, they fall into dispute about who gets to take comic home. I remember the Comic Book Guy (a corpulent, ineffectual individual like the BN) giving them an evil laugh before he closed the shop.

Is the opposition copying this episode of the Simpsons? If so, then BN, like the Comic Book Guy, is probably roaring with laughter as we speak.

It’s not been even a week and the DAP advisor has already voiced his dissatisfaction about the appointment of the Perak MB being from PAS. Was he right to do so? Who gets to choose the MB? Why is it that even though the DAP won the most seats, the MB was not chosen from among their ranks?

The Sultan of Perak and his son, two enlightened individuals, could not have let anything stand in the way of democracy deciding who should occupy the seat of the Perak MB so it would be unimaginable to think that the MB was chosen by race or religion. However, according to The Star quoting Husam Musa from PAS, the MB must indeed be a Malay and Muslim according to the state constitution.

The opposition has won a major battle against the BN but perhaps, as many predicted, their fragile unity will not stand up to solving problems like this one. If race or religion is the reason is indeed behind this choice for MB, then we have much to be worried about.

Can you imagine, that after the process of democracy has taken place and the rakyat has spoken, in this case giving the DAP the most seats in Perak, the MB is chosen because of his race or religion? Does our national constitution speak of this blatant disregard for the will of the people? Does the fact that DAP scored more than double the number of seats than the PKR, to say nothing of the number of seats PAS won, count for nothing? These are questions which need to be answered and if the answer is that race and religion does supersede democracy, then why participate in the process to begin with? This episode is echoing our annual event of witnessing super-students from the Chinese and Indians denied a place in local universities despite their performance. Sickening racism.

Could it be that the Malays would be more comforted seeing ‘one of their own’ take the MB’s position, thus slowly acclimatising them to the notion that its not about race, its about ethics and good performance with the hope that perhaps in the next general elections, they would be happy to see more Chinese and Indians as chief ministers? Maybe the state constitution can be changed in time? If this is indeed the case, then we Malays need to take a long, hard look at ourselves and ask just how on earth did we come to the position where we need to be acclimatised to our fellow Malaysians leading us? The Chinese and Indians have been our co-nationals for over 50 years and have settled in Malaya long before that. When are we going to be acclimatised to seeing them proliferate among our nations leaders (and I don’t mean as leaders of race-oriented parties like MCA or MIC) and with great confidence we say ‘that’s MY leader and I trust him or her to look after our nations affairs’?

My humble advice to the DAP, if these are the conditions of the game, then get some Malay frontmen for your party. Not all of us are allied to self-oriented causes. Some of us will gladly work for all Malaysians. It’s sad if it has to come to that but what else can we do? If they want to see a Malay face, fine but the mind behind it doesn’t have to be racial or religious. Even the definition of a Muslim isn’t ethics-oriented but also based on superficial signifiers, so take advantage of that

This event doesn’t bode well for the fragile unity of the opposition. The same recurrence of the break-up of Barisan Alternatif looms over us. Already Pak Lah has trained his guns on Guan Eng, probably hoping to scare the Malays about the loss of the NEP in Penang. Husam Musa, the touted agent of ‘moderation’ in PAS was quoted by The Star to mention race and religion as the criteria for the MB, which if accurate, shows us a glimpse of his real political face. If Malays really are short-sighted and the appointment of the Perak MB really was about race and religion, then don’t hope the tsunami of March 8th will return. Most likely typhoon Barisan will overtake us again, plunging us back into the abyss of racism and islamo-fascism because that’s really where we deserve to be.

[Adrian Wong]

DAP its own worst enemy

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The last few days, while everyone was still in euphoria and celebrating the recent 'victory' in the 12th general election, a few Malays who can be regarded as from amongst the elite, intellectual, progressive and privileged-class were busy meeting and planning preparations for the next general election due in 2013 if this government goes the full five-year term. Yes, even before the Perak and Selangor state governments could take their oath of office, this handful of people were already hard at work contemplating the next election in five years time though most of these 'concerned' Malays do not even know if they are going to still be alive five years from now.

The plan was simple. Leave PKR to its own devises and allow it to sort out its affairs. After all, PKR has Anwar Ibrahim and who better than this one-time Finance Minister cum Deputy Prime Minister to sort out the party that was born out of his six years incarceration. DAP and PAS, however, would need some weaning. And they would have to be cajoled and coaxed into a massive image makeover from the present Ketuanan Cina or Chinese chauvinism and Islamic fundamentalist or extremist/Taliban baggage that they are currently carrying.

The make-up of this group of Malays was quite a mixed bag. There were Umno die-hards, civil society movements types, revolutionary wannabes; basically not the usual Malays you would meet in a mosque or government department. But they were Malays and Muslims nevertheless. The only difference about these Malays as opposed to the 'usual' Malays was that they all shared one thing in common -- they would like to see emerge in Malaysia a single 'race' that no longer carried the label of Malay, Chinese and Indian and who were no longer separated by religious differences and intolerance.

I woke up early this morning to start updating Malaysia Today and after a ten-hour stint left for a 6.00pm meeting followed by a dinner appointment. I returned home at 1.00am and thought that I could at last jump into bed and get a good night's sleep. Twenty hours is, after all, a long haul and a 57 year old man like me needs as much beauty sleep as he can get. But sleep eludes me. I have been told that there are problems with forming the Selangor and Perak state governments and the problem appears to be DAP.

There goes our plan of transforming the Chinese face of DAP. There also goes our plan of transforming the Taliban face of PAS. It now looks like we shall have to go back to the drawing board and rethink our entire strategy.

The 'secret agenda' we hatched was to build up a group of Malays who share the same aspirations of seeing a one-Malaysian race emerge from the ashes of Barisan Nasional's 'defeat' in the last general election. Barisan Nasional is about race and was founded on race. It also needs to make race the main issue to stay relevant. If race no longer becomes the issue, then Barisan Nasional becomes irrelevant. And this can only happen if DAP is no longer perceived as a Chinese party and PAS a Taliban party.

It is now past 2.00am and I am still not asleep. I might as well stay awake and make it a 24-hour 'shift'. So, instead of hitting the sack, I am writing this article because if I don't then I can't sleep anyway so it makes no difference.

The PAS problem is simple. We are already talking to various non-Muslim Chinese to moot the idea of them joining PAS. We have of course not spoken to PAS yet so we really don't know if PAS will want non-Muslim Chinese as members. We hope they will though, as this will show the non-Muslims that PAS is not the enemy and that an Islamic party poses no danger to those not of the Muslim faith.

DAP is more dicey. They will of course not turn away Malays, as in the past Malays have even held key positions in the party. The question would be whether DAP would accept Malays as equals the same way they rant and rave that Chinese must be accepted as equals and that there should not be any first-class and second-class citizens. It is easy to dispense medicine but not that easy to take the same medicine you dispense others.

How wonderful to see Indians and Chinese not of the Muslim faith running around in PAS. How equally wonderful to see intellectual, progressive, elite and privileged-class Malays 'infesting' DAP. The mobilising would take over two or three years. Then, in 2010 or so, the exodus of non-Muslim, non-Malays into PAS and the Malays into DAP would commence in time for the next general election in 2012 or 2013. In one swoop, PAS and DAP would be transformed into true multi-racial, multi-religious parties and, together with PKR, Malaysians would have three 'Rakyat Malaysia' parties to choose from.

DAP says, never mind whether it is a black cat or a white cat. The most important thing is that the cat catches the mouse. DAP says, there must be a one-Malaysian race and not Malaysians labelled as Malays, Chinese and Indians. The Malays are ready for this. At least the intellectual, progressive, elite and privileged-class Malays are. And they are also ready to see the end of the New Economic Policy and a policy that considers deserving and needy cases, plus merit, as its replacement.

It takes two hands to clap though. The Malays are ready to take that one step forward. But if DAP keeps taking one step backwards, then that bridge can never be built and the divide will never be eliminated. Why must it always be Malays who are asked to sacrifice? Malays are prepared to sacrifice. But why must it be only the Malays who are asked to sacrifice? Should not nation-building be everyone's duty and not the duty of just one race.

The Malays are prepared to accept a Chinese Menteri Besar. The Malays are prepared to accept a Chinese Menteri Besar even if that Chinese is from DAP. And the Malays left it entirely to Tuanku to decide if Tuanku wants a Malay or Chinese Menteri Besar, never mind from which political party he may be from. But DAP won't accept a Malay Menteri Besar regardless if the Malay is from DAP, PKR or PAS. It must only be a Malay Menteri Besar who is not from PAS.

DAP says, this is people's power. DAP says, the people are the boss. This has been DAP's rallying call and battle-cry from one election to another. The 2008 general election was about people's power. The people demonstrated who is the boss in the 2008 general election. But DAP does not respect people's power nor regard the people as the boss in its decision to defy Tuanku by boycotting the swearing in of the Perak state government.

[Adrian Wong]

An open letter to the DAP on Perak MB's appointment

I am a Malaysian Chinese residing in Petaling Jaya and had voted for your party's candidates in the 12th GE.

I had attended practically all your party's ceramahs in the PJU and nearby areas. In the ceramahs, your speakers had continuously stressed the importance of a multiracial government that takes care of its rakyat regardless of status, race and religion.

It is therefore a great shock and disappointment to hear that the DAP is calling its Perak state assemblymen to boycott the swearing-in ceremony of the new Perak MB tomorrow just because the MB is from PAS. I feel very much let down by this decision.

Firstly, your party calls for the establishment of a Malaysian Malaysia. Isn't PAS part of Malaysian Malaysia. Or are you telling us now that just because they are from PAS, they are not? Then in the first place, you should not have ask the voters, especially your supporters, to vote for the 'Bulan' knowing fully well it is referring to PAS. If you can ask voters, especially your supporters, to vote for PAS, then why can't your party now accept a PAS assemblyman to head the state government. I was led to believe that as long as a person is qualified, he will be supported. As many speakers said in your ceramahs, 'It doesn't matter whether it is a white cat or a black cat, as long as it is able to catch rat, it is a good cat.' Doesn't the same argument holds, whether the MB is from PAS, DAP or PKR, as long as he is able to look after the welfare of the rakyat, then he is a good MB.

Secondly, if a candidate from PAS cannot be accepted by the DAP, then why in the first place you decide to set up a coalition government with them? The argument that you can cooperate with the six PAS assemblymen and yet can't accept a PAS member as the Perak MB does not hold water. Are you trying to fool us just like what the BN government had done over the last 50 years? Don't think that the public is stupid. How can we, the rakyat, trust you now when even before the state government is set up, you are already fighting among yourselves in the so-called 'Barisan Rakyat' coalition.

Thirdly, your party's Perak state chairman Mr Ngeh Koo Ham had repeatedly said that DAP, PKR and PAS will abide by any decision made by the Sultan on the Perak MB. Now that a decision had been reached, you are going back on your words. As I recall from one of the speeches by Mr Gobind Singh Deo in SS2 on March 7 in which he said, "A politician must be responsible for what he said. After making a statement, he cannot then said that he is saying things in a sarcastic manner etc so as to deny his earlier statement." Mr Gobind Singh said this when commenting on Tun Mahathir's statement that when he said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was innocent, he was being sarcastic about it. The same standard should then be applied to all DAP party leaders and speakers. You must be responsible and accountable for what you say. When you said that you will accept the decision made by the Sultan, then you must stand by what you had said. Going back on your words now can only show that the BN is right and that your party leaders, especially Mr Lim Kit Siang, is only going after personal glory/power without any regard to the well-being of the rakyat and the party. DAP would then be just a party that is "cakap tak serupa bikin".

Fourthly, your party has not come out with any reason for the rejection of the PAS assemblyman as the Perak MB. I, as a voter that voted for your party, demand to know the reason behind this decision. Your party had always stressed the importance of accountability and transparency in your election manifesto. Now, please 'walk the talk' by also being transparent and explain your decision to the public. Anything less would make you no better than the BN government which 50% of the peninsula rakyat had just rejected. Anything less would also guarantee that the rakyat would make their voices heard again in the next general election, voting against the DAP.

There are many more reasons for my feeling of utter disgust and consternation for this decision made by your party's CEC. However, I will keep them to myself at this moment.

On the morning of March 9, 2008, I truly believe that a new era has dawned on Malaysia as we are finally able to transcend race and religion in our efforts to make Malaysia the truly great country that she should be. A truly Malaysian Malaysia. Sadly, just three days later, that new era does not even have a chance to begin as the group of leaders that are supposed to lead us there are now fighting among themselves for whatever reasons best known to them.

How can we move forward as a nation when we have leaders that are so selfish, egocentric and who don't practice what they preached? Is our country forever going to be mired in mediocrity amidst a culture of intolerance, suspicion, fear, corruption and cronyism?

I sincerely thought that DAP is part of the future and a cure of our country's ills. However, this decision by your CEC had shown that DAP is a party of the past. It is already blinded by its election success and is no longer in touch with the aspirations of the rakyat to build a nation based on trust, integrity, tolerance, responsibility and accountability, regardless of status, race and religion. You had forgotten that the rakyat is the boss that voted for you and put you there to serve us. You had betrayed your voters and had rejected the rakyat's wish to move forward to form a Malaysian Malaysia.

I rest my case.

Teh Seng Hin

[Dashken]

Drama...

Lim apologises, DAP reps to attend ceremony

The crisis which developed yesterday over the appointment of a PAS menteri besar in a DAP-led Perak state assembly seemed to have been resolved today.

DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang who rejected the appointment of a PAS candidate today apologised for any offence caused to the Perak royalty over his statement.

“My three-paragraph statement at 7pm last night that the DAP central executive committee emergency meeting on March 9 had not given approval for a PAS mentri besar to head a Perak coalition state government was not made out of disrespect to the Perak sultan and regent, both whom I have always held in the highest regard and I apologise for any offence caused," he said.

“The statement was on the party position at the time. There have been further discussions and developments on the matter in the hours after the statement. Announcements of the latest position will be made.”

This was immediately followed by state DAP chairperson and Sitiawan state assemblyperson Ngeh Khoo Ham who told Malaysiakini that whatever misunderstanding that occurred over the matter has been clarified.

He also said that all DAP elected representatives will attend the swearing in ceremony before the Sultan of Perak in Kuala Kangsar today at 4pm.

"The new coalition government stands united and has agreed to a collective leadership form of governance. All policy decisions of the new government will only be implement after the executive councillors of the state have approved them."

However, in yet another twist, PKR today issued a statement threatening to pull out from the coalition government on hearing that eight of the 10 executive council posts will go to DAP while the remaining two going to other parties.

Yesterday, just hours after the Regent of Perak agreed to the appointment of Pasir Panjang state assemblyperson and Perak PAS secretary Mohamad Nizar Jamaludin as the menteri besar, DAP leader Lim Kit Siang threw a spanner in the works, stating that his party had not approved to the appointment.

Lim said that the party had only agreed to the appointment of a menteri besar from either the DAP or the PKR.

He also said that all 18 DAP state representatives would stay away from the swearing-in ceremony for Perak mentri besar scheduled tomorrow.

Ngeh and PKR’s Behrang assemblyperson Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi were the other two candidates who were in the running for the menteri besar post.

Palace released letter

Yesterday, after meeting the regent, Nizar, Ngeh and Jamaluddin told reporters that the regent had agreed with the appointment of Nizar as the menteri besar and that Ngeh would be the deputy menteri besar (1) and an Indian candidate from PKR to be the second deputy menteri besar.

Late last night, soon after Lim's statement was released, the Perak palace released the letter which stated that all three parties, including the DAP, had agreed to the decision of Sultan Azlan Shah.

According to the letter, the three candidates had unanimously agreed to abide to the sultan's choice.

The DAP's reversal today comes as a welcome relief to some who were worried that Lim’s stand would cause severe rift among the opposition not just in Perak but nationwide.

Of a total of 59 state seats, DAP controls 18 seats while PKR has seven and PAS six, making a total of 31. The remaining 28 are in the hands of BN.

National interest above all

Meanwhile, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said in Penang today that his party will place priority on national interest and the Perak royalty in handling the controversy.

The new Penang chief minister also pointed out that he has issued a directive to all Perak elected representatives to attend the swearing-in ceremony this afternoon.

"I have decided as the DAP secretary-general that we should deal with party internal matters on a different platform. I want to look at the larger question - the national interest and secondly, to ensure our respect and loyalty to the Perak Sultan," he told a press conference.

Guan Eng said this when asked to comment on his father's strongly-worded statement yesterday opposing the appointment of Nizar. He was met by reporters at the Dewan Sri Pinang after witnessing the swearing in ceremony of 10 state exco members this morning.

When asked if the DAP accepted Nizar’s appointment, Guan Eng merely said he has asked all the party's elected representatives to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

[Dashken]

Just as one fire has been doused in Perak over the appointment of a PAS man as the new mentri besar post, another one is taking place.

PKR has today threatened to pull out from the Perak coalition government on hearing that eight of the 10 executive council posts will go to DAP while the remaining two going to other parties.

In a statement issued by PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali, the opposition party expressed its objection to “the agreement made between PAS and DAP with regards to the composition of the Perak state exco”.

“In the spirit of sincere openness, we stress that the composition of the exco must reflect the composition of the population of Perak and represent the interests of all ethnic groups fairly,” said Syed Husin.

“We ask that this composition be discussed again and if the composition is not altered to the satisfaction of all parties involved, PKR will not take part in the administration of Perak.”

However, he said that PKR will honour its agreement to support the coalition government.

According to available statistics, Malays represent 53.7 percent of the population in Perak, Chinese (31.4 percent) and Indians (13 percent).

It is believed that an earlier agreement between the three parties was for the 10 exco posts to be distributed among them where DAP will have six, PKR two and PAS two.

In last Saturday’s general election, the opposition won an unprecedented 31 of 59 state seats - DAP 18, while PKR has seven and PAS six. The remaining 28 are in the hands of BN, with Umno 27 and MCA 1.

According to Syed Husin, PKR accepts Sultan Azlan Shah’s decision to appoint PAS state assemblyman, Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, as menteri besar of Perak.

“While at first we stressed the need to choose an individual that will be well received by the majority, we now accept the decision in the spirit of cooperation between PKR, PAS and DAP as well as in the interests of stability and harmony for Perak and for the whole of Malaysia.”

Furore in Perak

Yesterday, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang created a furore when he said DAP would boycott the swearing-in ceremony today in protest against Nizar’s appointment as mentri besar.

However, in a dramatic reversal this morning, he apologised for any offence caused to the Perak royalty over his statement, which he said was not made out of disrespect to the Perak sultan and regent.

Meanwhile, state DAP chairperson and Sitiawan state assemblyperson Ngeh Khoo Ham told Malaysiakini that all the party’s elected representatives will attend the swearing in ceremony before the Sultan of Perak in Kuala Kangsar at 4pm.

[Adrian Wong]

Wah.. Just follow the ratio of seats won la... That's the fairest way.