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

[Adrian Wong]

The Age of the Sledgehammer

Umno leaders should learn from Asia's other once dominant parties who lost office but were able to reinvent themselves and regain power.

By KARIM RASLAN, THE STAR

AS SOMEONE with a long family tradition linked to Umno and who counts many party leaders as my friends, the results of the last General Election were an enormous surprise.

I simply could not believe that PKR, PAS and DAP could manage the states they won.

Inspired by these concerns, I hit the road to interview the new political players. I had to find out for myself what they were like, to set my mind at ease.

While I had no idea what to expect, I must admit that the leaders of the new Pakatan Rakyat states have impressed me with their seriousness and integrity.

Even more remarkable was the company I found myself in when I ventured out of Damansara Heights into gritty Puchong. I ended up at a vast election thanksgiving dinner sitting around a table with Karpal Singh, Gobind Singh Deo, their respective wives and Theresa Kok.

What a difference one day's vote can make! I never thought that I would one day end up sandwiched by a coterie of DAP leaders.

But as the physically (though not caustically) weakened Karpal was wheeled in, and I saw the warmth and admiration with which he was greeted, I suddenly got a feeling of how grounded the leaders of the Pakatan are with Malaysians at large.

This is in contrast to my increasing disappointment with Umno and the Barisan Nasional. What are we to make of the backbiting, racialist chest beating and general turmoil that have beset the coalition since the last general election?

Frankly, I'm beginning to wish that the Barisan had lost on March 8. In being able to hold on to power, the ruling coalition is still deluding itself that it’s business as usual. It appears to feel that it can continue to rule without a total overhaul of its policies and guiding principles.

Umno leaders should be learning from Asia's other once-dominant parties who lost office but were able to reinvent themselves and regain the crucible of power. We all know the names that are being bandied about by pundits: Taiwan's Kuomintang, India's Congress Party of India and Indonesia's Golkar.

The Kuomintang in particular should have been a sterling example to Umno.

The parallels between the two parties are startling: both parties led their respective countries to nationhood. Both parties oversaw tremendous economic growth, but at the cost of spiralling corruption and autocratic leadership.

Finally, like Umno, the Kuomintang lost power in an election, but their defeat was as complete as Umno's should have been. In the 2000 presidential elections, nearly 50 years of Nationalist rule over Taiwan was broken and the party suffered the additional indignity of being routed in the 2001 Legislative Yuan polls.

The Nationalists, however, were able to look themselves in the mirror and do what needed to be done. The party took steps to dismantle the business empire it had acquired through decades of patronage.

The regrouped Nationalists broke many policy taboos that would have been unthinkable under Chiang Kai-Shek. They toned down their pro-reunification rhetoric with the mainland.

More importantly, the Kuomintang allowed the rise of young leaders like Ma-Ying Jeou, who subsequently led the party back to victory by retaking the presidency.

Umno, however, merely deals with the superficial. The substantive – namely, whether or not the party should pursue a more multi-racial future – is ignored, although several leaders like Razali Ibrahim and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin have tried to get it on the agenda.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has also surprised many by calling for Umno to become a “supra-ethnic, national party” that deals in a just manner with all Malaysians regardless of race, while still defending its “traditional vision”.

These leaders recognise that Umno has to make a strategic push either to the right, embracing a more Malay nationalist and Islamicist ethos, or to the left, to garner votes from the multi-racial “Middle Malaysia”.

To my mind a push to the right will be disastrous. Umno can never hope to defeat PAS on its territory. Moreover, in pursuing the nationalist and Islamicist vote, Umno would destroy its chances with the larger vote banks in “Middle Malaysia”.

Sadly, while Malaysia has changed, the party of Merdeka is still locked in a time warp, regurgitating screeds about Malay rights and power. What the party leaders don't seem to want to acknowledge is that their monopoly on the Malay vote is gone forever.

Essentially the community has become too diverse to be represented by one political party, and this is where the PKR and PAS have reaped the electoral harvest.

The burden of history and its own failings are preventing Umno from regaining the Malay, much less “Middle Malaysia”, vote – the world that slipped from its grasp on March 8.

Umno and its leadership are just not seeing the value of adopting a broader, non-communal approach. The party is seemingly trapped in the stranglehold of arrogance and rent-seeking that cost it so many votes.

In light of this, one wonders if a defeat on the scale that the Kuomintang suffered will be the only thing that can truly shake up Umno.

Is it possible that the strong medicine the party needs to save itself is a good four or five years in the Opposition benches?

[ALstonLoong]

So i was just wondering you guys expecting this and support him? For me i never be his Fans during Anwar as a Deputy PM and Finance Minister.

KOTA KINABALU: The Pakatan Rakyat is in a position to form the Federal Government and it will be done no later then Malaysia Day on Sept 16, according to Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Reiterating that the three-party alliance had the numbers and was in no rush to replace Barisan Nasional, the former deputy prime minister said it would all be in the timing of the announcement.

“God willing we will be there. If not next month, the following month, if not June or July, on Merdeka (Aug 31) or Malaysia Day. I think we should not exceed beyond that,” he told reporters on arrival in Sabah on Wednesday.

As to when exactly the announcement will be made, Anwar said that discussions with the Pakatan parties were needed because Umno and Barisan were known to be rough on those intending to move.

“They are using threats and intimidation. I am for example being monitored more closely now,” said Anwar, adding that he would not be discussing with those Barisan MPs interested to move while he was in Sabah and Sarawak.

He said he had his way of discussing with Barisan MPs who had given their commitment to team up with Pakatan.

“My talks could be done in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong although it might sound like a joke,” added Anwar, who thanked the Barisan MPs for their commitment to crossover.

He said Pakatan was ready to take in political parties from Barisan if they subscribed to the opposition coalition's agenda for the country.

On Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman’s claim that all state leaders were loyal to Barisan, Anwar said:

“ He (Musa) must know that he does not have all the members he claims to hold now. If he wants to know, I can meet him privately and tell him.”

He said Sabah and Sarawak MPs were keeping the Barisan afloat but was saddened that they were not given the due recognition with Umno dictating terms from Kuala Lumpur.

Anwar said that he was not making offers of anymonetary or personal positions for anyone crossing over as claimed by Barisan but was here to assure PKR’s commitment to Sabahans in addressing issues ranging from higher royalty to problems of illegal immigrants.

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by ALstonLoong

So i was just wondering you guys expecting this and support him? For me i never be his Fans during Anwar as a Deputy PM and Finance Minister.

I was not a fan of Anwar either during his days as a deputy PM or before then. But I think people can change... I hope he has changed. At least he has been saying the right things this time. That is why I supported him.

But if he does not walk the talk... I'll just be as quick to denounce him.

[Adrian Wong]

Recently, Jed Yoong of Asia Sentinel posted what seems to be a damning indictment of the current Agong, and the Sultan of Terengganu. But before you start slamming the Agong, take a step back and THINK.... Or let Petra lay it out for you.

Spin machine spinning out of control

Raja Petra Kamarudin

‘Malaysia’s Exim Bank: A Morass of Bad Loans’ said Asia Sentinel, an online newspaper. The Asia Sentinel report went on to say:

Bank Negara sits on a report that a government-owned bank has lost millions on loans to politicians and royalty

An explosive auditor’s report on the government-owned Malaysia Export-Import Bank that details tens of millions of dollars in politically tinged nonperforming loans and possible illegalities has been hidden away in a central bank file for more than four years without being acted upon.

The report, by auditors from Bank Negara Malaysia, the country’s central bank, probes borrowers closely tied to the United Malays National Organisation, the leading party in the country’s ruling coalition, as well as companies tied to the Sultan of Terengganu, the current Malaysian king. The report into the bank’s lending activities details inadequate risk management on projects amounting to RM116 million (US$37 million).

Among other shortcomings, according to the Bank Negara report, was a RM13 million (US$4.13 million at today’s exchange rate) loan to companies related to BTM Resources Group Bhd ‑ Besut Tsuda Wood Products Sdn Bhd, Besut Tsuda Industries Sdn Bhd and Gimzan Plywood Sdn Bhd. The name of Besut Tsuda Wood was earlier changed from Mizan Timber Industries Sdn Bhd to BTM Timber Industries Sdn Bhd.

Mizan Zainal Abidin is the name of the current Malaysian king. Sources within the Exim Bank and other Malaysian financial industry sources say the group is headed by Mizan, who is also the Sultan of Terengganu.

Besut Tsuda Wood Products, according to the Bank Negara audit report, “suffered repeated losses, tight liquidity and was technically insolvent" and "appeared less efficient than the market because its competitors were making profit despite lower sales." The report described the firm as a "loss making company, (that) resulted to declining shareholders funds."

(Asia Sentinel - Malaysia’s Exim Bank: A Morass of Bad Loans )


*************************************************


The Asia Sentinel report certainly looks bad for Malaysia’s Agong if you do not know the real story behind this whole thing. It makes one wonder who is behind this ‘leaked information’ and whether it was done to intentionally embarrass the Agong as punishment for throwing a spanner in the works. Last month, the Agong rejected Umno’s choice of Terengganu Menteri Besar and it is an open secret that His Majesty’s displeasure resulted from the siphoning out of RM1 billion a year in oil royalty since 2000.

It all started in November 1999 when the opposition kicked Umno out of Terengganu. A few months later, the federal government cancelled the 5% oil royalty that the state had been enjoying for more than two decades. They then handed the money over to Idris Jusoh, the Umno state chief, to manage. To circumvent the law, they reclassified the oil royalty as wang ehsan.

In the first place, Terengganu should have been allowed to retain 100% of the oil revenue under the terms of the Federation Agreement which stipulates that all state resources belong to the state. However, in 1974, they passed the Petroleum Development Act, which allowed the federal government to ‘rampas’ the state’s oil resources and nationalise it. This in itself was a breach of the Federation Agreement. The federal government then gave back 5% of this revenue to the state in the form of ‘royalty’. But in 2000 even this was rampas from the state when it fell to the opposition.

The misappropriation of this wang ehsan and how Idris Jusoh, Patrick Lim, Wan Farid, and their friends in Umno, siphoned out the money through various projects such as the Monsoon Cup is well-documented and has been discussed in great length in this same column so we do not need to repeat the details here. Suffice to say that The Agong saw more than RM7 billion of Terengganu’s money, from more than RM150 billion that the federal government pumped out of the ground since 2000, disappear and His Majesty decided that enough is enough.

The new Menteri Besar, who was handpicked by His Majesty, has now demanded that the RM1 billion a year be paid direct to the state and that it should no longer be handed over Idris Jusoh, Patrick Lim, Wan Farid, and his gang of thieves. And this has upset Umno who now wants to hit back at The Agong. And this was why the ‘secret’ about the EXIM Bank was leaked. Of course, those who do not know what is going on behind the scenes would quickly jump to the conclusion that The Agong is a slimeball just like all those others who have been robbing this country blind. But there is certainly more than meets the eye as far as this case is concerned.

Mizan Sawmill was a company set up more than 35 years ago by the then Menteri Besar, Wan Mokhtar Ahmad, and his business partners, Dato Yong, Dato Azhar and Dato Yusoff. Dato Yong was a gangster who had been banished to Terengganu under the Prevention of Crime Ordinance (PCO). Dato Azhar was the Terengganu State Secretary while Dato Yusof was the then Sultan of Terengganu’s Private Secretary. The Sultan then was the present Agong’s grandfather.

The present Agong was still in primary school and not at all involved in the business of these very notorious plunderers infamously known as ‘The Gang of Four’. Even back then the Terengganu Malay Chamber of Commerce was very upset with how ‘The Gang of Four’ raped and plundered the state’s resources but no one could do anything about it since the four were the Menteri Besar, a Chinese gangster, the State Secretary and the Sultan’s Private Secretary.

About 25 years ago, the Terengganu Malay Chambers of Commerce raised the matter with the Parliament Back Benchers’ Club (BBC) Chairman, Shahidan Kassim, who then brought it to the attention of the Deputy Prime Minister, Ghaffar Baba. There was a huge brouhaha, which made the front pages of the mainstream newspapers, in particular the Malay language newspapers, but because of the Constitutional Crisis that had just blown up, they decided to play up the issue and slant it as if it was the Sultan himself who was behind all this.

Mizan Sawmill then applied for huge tracts of forestry land in the Kenyir Lake under the guise of ‘tourism’ project. But what they really wanted to do was to cut down the trees, not to embark on any tourism project, and no one dared take any action to stop them, mainly because of the powerful people behind the company. This upset many members of the Terengganu Royal Family, the present Agong included, but then Umno and not the palace called the shots -- and in the 1980s, at the height of the Constituational Crisis, who dared challenge Umno? Even the palace kept mum lest they incur the wrath of the Umno warlords and kingpins.

Besut Tsuda, the company that was mentioned in the Asia Sentinel report, was a joint venture between Japanese interests and the Terengganu State Economic Development Corporation (SEC). This was set up about 35 years ago and was the cashcow to siphon out money to fill up Umno’s war chest. The head of Besut Tsuda was an Umno man appointed by the Menteri Besar. Besut Tsuda and Mizan were two separate entities. Besut Tsuda was for purposes of financing Umno Terengganu while Mizan was for the personal coffers of the Umno Menteri Besar of Terengganu.

Both these companies that were set up 35 years ago by those who walk in the Terengganu corridors of power when the Agong was still in primary school are now being linked to The Agong. This is clearly a spin machine that is spinning out of control. Maybe they think that this ‘revelation’ will frighten The Agong and will probably make His Majesty ease up on the demand that the RM1 billion a year wang ehsan be taken back from Umno and handed over to the state as what had been decided by Parliament in 1974.

The Agong is not the only victim of this spin machine. There is a book called ‘100 DALIL MENGAPA NAJIB TAK BOLEH JADI PM’ that Malaysia Today has received from an anonymous source. Of course, the party that gave us this book wants Malaysia Today to publish it, maybe a dalil a day for 100 days. We are still studying the contents of this book to assess whether the 100 dalils are mere innuendoes and insinuations or are really points of substance. No, contrary to what the government says, Malaysia Today does not publish innuendoes and insinuations.

Those close to the Deputy Prime Minister are not being spared either. Malaysia Today was given the name of the ex-Minister who has been accused of molesting the cigar girl in the Havana Club in a five-start hotel in KL Sentral. Malaysia Today’s initial investigation points to a smearing campaign aimed at bringing down all those close to the Deputy Prime Minister and it seems the incident has been denied by the girl concerned.

On Sunday, Najib sealed a secret pact with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Yes, Najib has thrown his forces behind Abdullah and has sworn to sink or swim with his boss. This has riled the Team B forces and they now want Najib and his boys brought down as fast as possible so that Abdullah can be isolated and brought down as well in due time. And this is probably the reason for the smear campaign that suddenly intensified the last few days.

Hmm…everyone is trying to bring down everyone so maybe we should just sit back and watch who is going to be the last man standing. Then, maybe, we can leisurely stroll in and pick up the pieces, if there is anything left to pick up after this.

Too bad she didn't bother to dig a little deeper.... She might have found the REAL story. This is the problem when you rely on "sources", instead of doing any actual investigations...

[Adrian Wong]

Take a look at how the BN government has been fleecing the people with their highways. They actually blocked up a 1.5km road just to force people to use the tolled highway!!!

Pakatan rakyat govt demolish Bdr Mahkota Cheras barricade

Residents from Sungai Long & Bandar Mahkota Cheras will not have the burden of paying toll of (RM0.90) - both ways (RM1.80)

Look how Barisan Nasional cheated Malaysian citizens, for 1.5 km distance, barricade built in order for the users to use tolls in which people have to pay for more than 6.7 km.

-mi1

[Adrian Wong]

More pictures...

[lee_what2004]

Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

Take a look at how the BN government has been fleecing the people with their highways. They actually blocked up a 1.5km road just to force people to use the tolled highway!!!

this also can ah?

[Adrian Wong]

Originally Posted by lee_what2004

this also can ah?

Exactly... Bastards!

[Adrian Wong]

Shame, shame, MCA! This is how the MCA goons cheat the people of their land and their livelihood!

MCA man told to quit over land deal

(NST) IPOH: The "Save MCA" pro-tem committee is demanding the resignation of MCA Ipoh Timur division chief Dr Chew Wai Khoon over a land controversy involving a soya sauce factory in Pasir Pinji.

Pro-tem committee secretary and the division's committee member Andy Low Kim Piau is also calling for an inquiry into the party's involvement in the matter.

"If nothing is done in 14 days, I will report it to the police and Anti-Corruption Agency."

Low said the controversy had tarnished the party's image.

Party officials should come clean and set up an inquiry panel to set the record straight, he said, commenting on a report by a Chinese daily yesterday which claimed that MCA "stole land" in Ipoh Timur.

Later, Low also pledged to engage auditors to look into the matter if the party failed to conduct its own investigation.

MCA should also issue show-cause letters to those found to be involved in the land deal, he said.

"It is morally wrong to have land dealings like this when you're a party. How can MCA stay silent and tolerate this negative publicity?"

On April 16, Perak Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin withdrew the approval for the 0.92ha land in Pasir Pinji, claiming that there were elements of injustice and victimisation.

The factory, which has been operating since 1953, was instead told to make a fresh application.

For those who are not familiar with the issue, here's a report by Lester Chan :

After Penang and Lim Guan Eng’s threat issued to the former Deputy Chief Minister of Penang to reveal all, now it’s Perak’s turn to brew its own tales on improper land transactions.

It was reported that a soy factory owner, had for many years unsuccessfully applied for alienation of a piece of land situated in Pasir Pinji Perak.

It is also reported that the chairman of MCA Ipoh Timur Chew Wai Khoon had allegedly applied for a piece of land measuring 2.18 acres in which comprised of the portion of the land the above mentioned soy factory is erected on.

It was further alleged that Chew had intended to resell the portion of the land to the soy factory owner for a handsome profit of RM188,430.66.

Housing and Local Government Minister Ong Ka Chuan was also implicated in this land scam, as furious MCA members turned the tables against Ong and claimed that he “contributed” a RM100,000.00 cheque to pay for a portion of the land premium which apparently Ong later took back.

Factional infighters within MCA are now utilising this issue to campaign again the Ong brothers in the upcoming MCA elections.

Meanwhile, the Pakatan Rakyat state government of Perak did the needful by canceling the the approval for the land to be alienated to Chew and asked the soy factory owner to submit his application directly with the state government.

Looking at the way the scandals are made known to public, it is unthinkable what would become of MCA as a party claiming to represent the Chinese community in Malaysia, as their reputation erodes when evidence of their corrupt practices surface little by little everyday.

[Adrian Wong]

More hanky-panky by the surviving BN politicians. And this one is an MCA dirtbag...

Curi Duit Stories : Ong Ka Chuan's Tiga Puluh Sen Toilet Money

By Little Bird Well, first a news report from The Star.

Ministry wants clean loos at all food outlets

KUALA LUMPUR: The Housing and Local Government Ministry might make it compulsory for all food outlets to get their maintenance staff trained by recognised institutions to upkeep facilities.Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan said some smaller outlets such as coffeeshops or rural hawker centres might face problems maintaining their toilets.

It sounds innocent enough. In fact it even sounds good. But pay attention to this tiny phrase: 'Ministry might make it compulsory for all food outlets to get their maintenance staff trained by recognised institutions to upkeep facilities.'

What are the recognised institutions which can teach toilet cleaning technology to coffee shops and warongs? Does University Malaya have a degree or diploma course in toilet cleaning?

If you visit the KLIA, the KLCC, Sentral, the Shangri La Hotel, the Hilton Hotel, etc., they have employed hundreds of highly-qualified expatriate professionals to keep the toilets clean. These expatriate professionals are called B-A-N-G-L-A-S. Some are also called I-N-D-O-N-S. At the Shangri La Hotel they are called N-E-P-A-L-I