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

[jasperchc]

it would seem that BN, and Abdulah in particular had no cards left in thier hand to play except the racial card

[Dashken]

Cham liao...

Anwar says BN members want to defect

He promises to play clean, no offer of bribes

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim claimed today that many lawmakers in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition want to defect to his camp after their election debacle.

Anwar told reporters he has been approached by many ruling party lawmakers who won in the March 8 general election. They are welcome to defect but no bribes will be paid to make them to cross over, he said.

''We will remain consistent and committed to the code of ethics. If you want to surrender at a price you have chosen the wrong party,'' he told reporters.

Buying political support, especially by paying voters money, is common in Malaysia, and bribing lawmakers to defect, while not widespread, is known to occur.

The three-party opposition alliance stitched together by Anwar won an unprecedented 82 seats in the 222-member Parliament in the election. It needs 30 more lawmakers to get a majority needed to unseat the BN coalition government.

Anwar's claim could not be immediately confirmed, but would add to persistent rumours of political horse-trading in the aftermath of the disastrous poll results for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's coalition.

Abdullah says he has the full support of his party, and has rejected calls to step down. But Anwar's claim, if true, would add pressure on him to keep the party together.

Anwar did not say how many BN members have approached him, but said they belonged to Abdullah's Umno, the main party in the BN, as well as other smaller parties.

''People have approached and discussed ... but no one dared raise the issue of price (of defection) to me,'' he said, without elaborating. He said he believes some will eventually defect, even without monetary inducement.

But he refused to say if the numbers would be enough to topple the BN government, which is facing its worst political crisis in the 51 years it has been in power.

Although the BN suffered losses in some previous elections, notably in 1999, it is the first time its parliamentary majority has been eroded to this extent. In addition, Anwar's opposition alliance won control of governments in five of Malaysia's 13 states.

Anwar said many of those who approached him won their seats in Sabah and Sarawak, which have emerged as Umno's political stronghold after its spectacular loss of support in Peninsular Malaysia.

The BN won 54 out of the 56 seats in the two states, accounting for nearly 39 per cent of its total 140 seats it Parliament.

Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, was once an Umno star before being accused of corruption and sodomy by then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998. He was convicted of both charges but the sodomy charge was later overturned.

While he was in jail, Anwar's wife formed the PKR, which emerged as the largest opposition party in the elections with 31 parliamentary seats. It is in a coalition with the DAP and PAS. — AP (themalaysianinsider)

[Dashken]

Fuiyoh... more drama coming soon. Better dig a tunnel under your houses man... just in case things got out of hands.

Anwar says BN members want to defect

He promises to play clean, no offer of bribes

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim claimed today that many lawmakers in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition want to defect to his camp after their election debacle.

Anwar told reporters he has been approached by many ruling party lawmakers who won in the March 8 general election. They are welcome to defect but no bribes will be paid to make them to cross over, he said.

''We will remain consistent and committed to the code of ethics. If you want to surrender at a price you have chosen the wrong party,'' he told reporters.

Buying political support, especially by paying voters money, is common in Malaysia, and bribing lawmakers to defect, while not widespread, is known to occur.

The three-party opposition alliance stitched together by Anwar won an unprecedented 82 seats in the 222-member Parliament in the election. It needs 30 more lawmakers to get a majority needed to unseat the BN coalition government.

Anwar's claim could not be immediately confirmed, but would add to persistent rumours of political horse-trading in the aftermath of the disastrous poll results for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's coalition.

Abdullah says he has the full support of his party, and has rejected calls to step down. But Anwar's claim, if true, would add pressure on him to keep the party together.

Anwar did not say how many BN members have approached him, but said they belonged to Abdullah's Umno, the main party in the BN, as well as other smaller parties.

''People have approached and discussed ... but no one dared raise the issue of price (of defection) to me,'' he said, without elaborating. He said he believes some will eventually defect, even without monetary inducement.

But he refused to say if the numbers would be enough to topple the BN government, which is facing its worst political crisis in the 51 years it has been in power.

Although the BN suffered losses in some previous elections, notably in 1999, it is the first time its parliamentary majority has been eroded to this extent. In addition, Anwar's opposition alliance won control of governments in five of Malaysia's 13 states.

Anwar said many of those who approached him won their seats in Sabah and Sarawak, which have emerged as Umno's political stronghold after its spectacular loss of support in Peninsular Malaysia.

The BN won 54 out of the 56 seats in the two states, accounting for nearly 39 per cent of its total 140 seats it Parliament.

Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, was once an Umno star before being accused of corruption and sodomy by then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998. He was convicted of both charges but the sodomy charge was later overturned.

While he was in jail, Anwar's wife formed the PKR, which emerged as the largest opposition party in the elections with 31 parliamentary seats. It is in a coalition with the DAP and PAS. — AP (themalaysianinsider)

[Dashken]

Our CM... Proud to be a Penangite (for the moment la).

Guan Eng enggan keluar RM100 ribu

Abdul Halim Mohd Rashid

KUALA LUMPUR, 17 Mac (Hrkh) - Kerana enggan membelanjakan RM100 ribu, Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, Lim Guan Eng lebih rela tinggal di sebuah rumah berusia milik bapanya.

Naib Presiden PAS, Haji Mohamad Sabu menceritakan perkara itu selepas bertemu dengan Setiausaha Agung DAP itu di Pulau Pinang baru-baru ini.

Beliau ke pulau itu baru-baru ini kerana hendak bertemu Lim untuk berbincang beberapa perkara mengenai kepentingan bersama kedua-dua pihak.

"Oleh kerana beliau sibuk, beliau meminta saya menemuinya kira-kira pukul 10.00 malam hari itu.

"Tahu di mana Guan Eng nak jumpa saya? Di restoran McDonald," kata Mohamad Sabu yang mula mengenali Lim dengan lebih dekat ketika sama-sama di tahan dalam Operasi Lallang 1987 lalu.

Naib Presiden PAS itu juga lebih selesa bertemu di tempat terbuka kerana "tidak ada apa yang hendak dirahsiakan".

Bagaimanapun, katanya, Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang itu kemudiannya memberitahu pertemuan itu tidak dapat diadakan di tempat terbuka itu atas nasihat pihak keselamatan.

Memahami perkara tersebut, beliau terus menuju ke rumah di mana Lim tinggal.

"Di rumah, dia biasa sahaja dengan "seluaq katok" (seluar pendek). Bila saya tengok keadaan rumah yang berusia tempat dia tinggal, saya tanya dia, kenapa tak pindah ke rumah rasmi Ketua Menteri?

"Dia (Lim) jawab: 'Susahlah, kalau nak pindah kena perbaiki. Terpaksa belanja sampai RM100 ribu. Takkan saya nak belanja duit rakyat sampai RM100 ribu untuk kepentingan saya'

"Saya rasa sangat terharu mempunyai kawan seperti itu," kata Mohamad Sabu.

Walaupun perkara itu bukanlah perkara baru baginya, memandangkan Mursyidul Am, Tuan Guru Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat yang menjadi Menteri Besar Kelantan sejak 1990 memilih kehidupan yang sederhana, begitu juga Presiden PAS Tuan Guru Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang ketika menjadi Menteri Besar Terengganu dahulu, Naib Presiden PAS itu tetap merasa bangga dengan sikap sederhana dan rendah diri Lim itu.

"Saya bangga kerana dia takut nak belanja wang rakyat RM100 ribu sedangkan Perdana Menteri gasak sehingga RM15.81 juta untuk ubahsuai kediaman rasminya Seri Perdana di Putrajaya.

"Saya yakin, Menteri-Menteri Besar kita yang lain (dari PAS dan KeADILan) juag akan memilih jalan kehidupan yang sederhana yang sama seperti dua Tok Guru kita, jauh lagilah menyalahgunakan harta kerajaan," katanya.

Sementara itu, Bernama melaporkan, kata-kata pertama Lim semasa mengadakan sidang media di Pejabat Ketua Menteri di Tingkat 28 Komtar ialah: "Saya rasa seperti melangkah masuk ke kandang singa".

"Saya tidak menyangka dapat duduk di kerusi ketua menteri ini kerana pernah dipenjarakan. Ia merupakan transformasi sebenarnya dan pengalaman baru bagi saya," Bernama memetik Lim.

Sebelum mengangkat sumpah, Lim berkata beliau dapati lebih ramai pemberita menghadiri sidang akhbarnya sekarang dan "saya diterangi lampu-lampu kamera".

Dalam kenyataan kemenangannya, Lim berkata, "Kami gembira dengan kemenangan ini dan berjanji tidak akan mengecewakan penduduk Pulau Pinang.

"Kami mahu menegaskan bahawa kerajaan baru adalah untuk rakyat Malaysia daripada semua kaum. Kami ada bersikap adil, saksama dan tidak mendiskriminasikan mana-mana kumpulan - memberi bantuan kepada semua yang memerlukan.

"Penduduk Pulau Pinang yang berbakat akan mendapat peluang saksama daripada gabungan parti pembangkang itu yang disatukan menerusi kecintaan terhadap demokrasi dan menghormati hak asasi manusia, kekaksamaan politik dan keadilan sosioekonomi," katanya sambil mengesa orang ramai supaya "menghormati hasrat rakyat".

[Dashken]

For Anwar's shopping spree...

PKR.. government in waiting .. Quote: Anwar Ibrahim"

The last few days has been rather troubling for me.. I was worried about the nation.

Last Thursday an elderly man who claims to represent several malay NGO that works behind the scene came to my house. Apparently he wanted to meet me when he heard I was the chairman of a house buyers committee whose property completion was delayed by 2 years due to some problems with a particular developer in Ulu Kelang.

After about half an hour chatting about my role, he started to deviate his topic towards politics. I told him that I am not in any political party. I am not loyal to political party but was only loyal to any agenda that is relevant to the country. He claims that he and several others of people like him work behind the scene to save the Malays and that he use to work with Pak Lah. He claims that the country is in danger of collapsing due to Anwar’s involvement with the American Democratic body which gives him money to do his political campaign here. Apparently he claims that Anwar is about to send ½ billion Sing Dollar into Sabah . He gave me some home made videos for my consumption. I saw them and my conclusion was…. it was a creative video. On the content whether there is any truth in it, I don’t know. I did not any good evidence in the CD.

After he left I ponder on what he said and what I saw on the video and immediately recalled an article I read in Malaysiakini where Anwar declared that PKR is the government in waiting. At the time of reading that news piece, I was under the impression that Anwar is telling people that by next GE (PRU 13), PKR will win and rule the country. Yesterday at a relative kenduri, I heard some background talk that Azmin in his speech at UK Perdana, which was done a day earlier that BN will collapse by July and Opposition will be running the country by then. My immediate reaction was huh..?


I was troubled by all this talk. My heart was really pounding. Further research on the internet (Ku Li pushing for UMNO EGM, change in oil price and several others led me to the following conclusion. It seems that when Anwar said “PKR is the government in waiting..” was sending a strong signal that the changes at the Federal level is very imminent. The fact that Sabah politician are easily bought, I am not surprised if indeed Anwar has gone shopping for parliamentarian in Sabah . If he manage to convince the Sabah politicians of forming an alliance with PKR then, BN government will collapse. This worries me.

Dear fellow Malaysian, I have a small request to put forward to all of you to consider.

Maintain the Check and Balance system.

There is saying .. “Politicians are strange bed fellows”. When we put the PKR-DAP-PAS to power, we did it for the purpose of check and balance. We need to have a check and balance system to ensure the best result will come out and the rakyat will benefit. If there is no check and balance then, things will go back to status quo. The only differences are the players.

Is the people who switch camps did this for the country or their personal interest?

Should we Malaysian, respect those parliamentarians that switch camps? Why did they switch? They did it because of personal interest. The interest of the nation is not on their priority list. If they are sincere and unhappy with BN they should have change the flag before contesting and not after winning. Should we respect those people who switch camps because of money? What kind of character that we send to represent us.

Are we Malaysian’s ready for this change?

Assuming that this changes does take place, we need to ask if the 22 million Malaysian ready for this. In my humble opinion, I can tell you NO. Malaysians are not ready for this change. There will be problems in large proportions and even Anwar or his people cannot do anything about it. The country will go into a turmoil. As the PKR-DAP-PAS alliance has swept 6 states (including WPKL) and this is already putting many people in jitters. Mentally Malaysian are not ready for this change. At a badminton game yesterday, I was told that the state assemblyman for Klang that beat Zakaria Deros daughter in-law (Roselinda Abdul Jalil) was actually a ground cabin technician with Transmile, I was shocked and almost choke. With no disrespect intended, how many more of this honest souls but lack of professional qualification is with PKR? Can they run the country? At the moment they are still groping about how to run the states.

Impact of change

In my honest assessment, I feel that there will riots. Malaysians are not ready for this kind of change. There will be trouble. MNC may pull out and there will be more unemployment. Investors will shy away for a few years. All this changes will cause the country to go into what I termed as a “spiral down effect”.

Saudara Anwar, I beg you. Please put the country interest above self. Stop this shopping activities for now (if it is true). Allow for gradual transition. Let PKR-DAP-PAS show and proof their capabilities in running the states first. If you are good and have successfully proven yourself, you should not worry. The seond tsunami wave will come. The people will give you the chance to run. As for Malaysians, I beg you that if any of the candidates has switch camps, you should go and meet your representative and tell him/her to resign. This is not the way government should be form. An old wise man once said to me – “Before building a house, make sure you are using a good material and make sure the pillars are straight. If not your house will collapse” . Honestly I hope and pray that we do not come to this stage.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by bslee

Its all about placing transparency for the FIRST time in 50 years. Previously its firstly racial bias on tender awards, then cronism which led to only a select few enriching themselves and opened the door to many forms of corruption. The BN led gahmen KNOWS THIS and allowed it to happen for so long. Those who profited from this arrangement who now feel threatened and fear of being deprived for good ARE certain to obviously fight back behaving like cornered animals. These elements are not going to give in and are trouble makers.

Didn't Pak Lah tell everyone after the Hindraf rally that people are NOT to take their grouses to the streets. Its NOT a Malaysian culture. Then, the rakyat are can voice their disappointment via the ballot box. The rakyat DID!

Haha.. It's different if UMNO does it what.

Remember Khairy and his monkeys rioting outside the US Embassy when Condoleeza Rice came by? They should have used the tear gas and water cannon on him then.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by Dashken

Cham liao...

That's the way, Anwar!! Learn from your mistakes. Don't turn back to the Dark Side!

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by Dashken

Our CM... Proud to be a Penangite (for the moment la).

That's the way, Guan Eng! Show the BNputras how it should be done!!

[Adrian Wong]

KeADILan HAS CLEAR AND FIRM STAND ON NEP

--PRESS STATEMENT--

by Dr. Syed Husin Ali
Deputy President/Timbalan Presiden, KeADILan
March 15, 2008

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People's Justice Party) has a clear and firm stand on the New Economic Policy (NEP). As explained by the Ketua Umum of the Party, Anwar Ibrahim in his 20-page article as well as through his many public pronouncements and ceramah, and further reaffirmed in several Party documents, including the Election Manifesto, we intend to replace the NEP with the Malaysian Economic Agenda.

The NEP, after nearly 40 years is already anachronistic. It has been abused by a handful leaders and cronies in Umno-Bn to rob the country of its wealth to enrich themselves, in the name of the Malays as a whole. It has led to discriminatory practices that are against the spirit of justice and fairness for all Malaysians, particularly the poor, marginalised and disadvantaged groups of all races.

The Malaysian Economic Agenda aspires to:

(a) institute and implement fair, just and equitable redistribution of the wealth in the country;

(b) fight against and finally abolish the evil practices of corruption, cronyism and nepotism and ensure the award of contracts and projects are done in open and transparent manner;

(c) continue the policy of positive discrimination in favour of poor dan deprived Bumiputera while at the same time giving equal opportunities to poor and deprived non-Bumpiputera on the basis of need and not racial greed;

(d) utilise the wealthy resources of the country to provide better social facilities – especially education, health and housing – for the poor, irrespective of ethnic backgrounds; and

(e) generate pro-people development and strengthen the competitive capacity of Malaysia so that she can stand tall with all developed countries, starting with those in Asia.

Those leaders of Umno-Bn and the media they own that accuse Parti Keadilan Rakyat as having no stand on the NEP and on other ways of improving the lot of the poor, marginalized and disadvantaged Malays are deliberately indulging in lies to mislead the public. We wish to emphasise that a policy of positive discrimination in favour of all Malaysians who are poor, marginalized and disadvantaged will benefit the Malay rakyat more, because they form the big majority of this category of people.

[Adrian Wong]

Too bad Malaysia is not ready yet for an "Obama".

DAP wants Anwar as alternative PM

The DAP wants Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to be the alternative prime minister and help transform Malaysia into becoming a healthy functioning democratic country.

Its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the party chose Anwar because it believed that he was the most suitable person to complete the transformation.

Asked why Anwar, Lim, who is also Penang Chief Minister, told reporters that the former deputy prime minister was the common choice.

"He is widely accepted by everyone in the Opposition,” he said. "We hope he is allowed to take his rightful place in Parliament the soonest possible," said Lim.

Speaking at the one-day DAP national leadership convention, Lim urged party leaders and members not to rest on their laurels but must starting working as from now.

"Please remember that the national mission to transform Malaysia into a healthy functioning democracy is not yet won,” he said. "Only when there is political equality, equal economic opportunity, social justice, freedom from fear and corruption can this mission succeed. To do that, all members and leaders have to redouble their efforts to be a "friend" of the people to complete the national transformation of Malaysia.”

Lim said the DAP would continue to work with its allies in the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and non-governmental organisations to complete the transformation.

The DAP, in its aim to be dynamic, would double its membership by adding another 100,000 members before the next general election.

"This is challenging but not impossible,” he said. "After all, was it not considered impossible for DAP to win power in Penang together with PKR?"

"But we cannot be complacent. Just as Malaysians voted for DAP in this elections, they can just as easily vote the party out should we fail to deliver," he said, reminding them of how the DAP won by a record number of state seats in Penang in 1990 but was punished in one of their worst electoral defeat within a single term in 1995.

Earlier, party national chairman Karpal Singh said he had confident that the party would be succeed in leading the Penang government.

"It is not easy to run a state government but we have the people who are much better than the Barisan Nasional in doing so," he said. - NST