Najib’s election date and electoral strategy

FMT LETTER: From Galvin Wong, via e-mail

It has been almost three years since Najib Tun Razak took over the helm of the nation. He has initiated a slew of legislative reforms, set out major economic and education plans but has yet to take the step to call for Malaysia’s 13th General Election.

Following the timeframe set in the constitution, Najib has the prerogative to call elections before April 21st, after which the Elections Commission must call for elections within 60 days. With time running out and only several windows of opportunity, when will he take that step? And what are his plans and strategies in the months left in the run-up to the elections?

Najib popularity was at its highest early this year when a Merdeka Centre survey in February showed that 69% and 49% of Malaysians respectively were satisfied with his and BN’s performance.

It is very likely that he would have called for elections in April or May if it had not been for Bersih 3.0. The high turnout and the people’s discontent over free and fair elections as well as allegations of police brutality resulted Najib delaying the elections and since then his popularity has not recovered with the latest survey results a far cry away from the figures early this year.

The build-up that resulted in his good showing early this year had two distinctive features. The first was a strong economy and financial incentives in the budget and the second was a large number of legislative reforms.

A vibrant economy and good standard of living are the biggest factors that determine how Malaysians vote, and Najib fared well in this criteria. 2011 was an excellent year as Malaysia came off the back of a strong economy and also a goodie filled budget laced with handouts and popular programmes.

Furthermore, calls for the abolishment and amendments to restrictive laws by civil society were finally heeded as Najib did away with draconian laws such as the ISA and amended acts like the PPPA. This combination of strategic thrusts set Najib in an excellent position for elections.

In the run-up to the 13th general election, we have and will continue to see similar actions by Najib albeit with additional attention being paid to two other major factors that have popped up in the past year – cleaner and fairer elections, and East Malaysia.

Like the previous year, 2012 has also been an excellent year for the economy. When the government first announced the 2012 GDP growth target of 5%, it was met with skepticism from research houses and the opposition alike. However, the country has performed above expectations in the last two quarters, and we look on par to achieving the target.

Legislative reforms

Likewise, the 2013 budget is similarly laced with goodies. BR1M has been expanded to benefit almost 67% of Malaysians according to the World Bank. Popular programmes such as KR1M and Klinik 1Malaysia have been retained. Also, the government reduced the 2013 budget deficit to 4% and also announced that it would fall to 3% by 2015.

We will also see the implementation of the minimum wage starting Jan 1, 2013 which will be a boost to voters especially those in Sabah and Sarawak, whose mean wages are well below the RM800 minimum. Inflation, quite the problem pre-2008 has fallen from 2.7% in Q1 to 1.4% in Q3, 2012.

One popular plan that achieved resounding success in Malaysia’s social and economic arena as well as created thousands of jobs is the ETP/GTP. With a strong showing in the recent November update, Najib will want to take the opportunity to further trump its achievements through the ETP/GTP Annual Report that will likely be announced before the elections.

We will not see many legislative reforms this time around. Najib has pushed far enough to pass the reforms he did early this year and it is likely that conservative elements within Umno will not let him go any further. However, in July he announced the government’s plan to replace the Sedition Act with the National Harmony Act. De facto law minister Nazri Aziz has stated that it will be done in 2013 and this is probably what we may see come next year.

Free and fair elections rose to the forefront of Malaysian politics in the past few years. The increased turnouts since Bersih 1.0 in 2007 is proof of growing support for this issue. As such, the EC has finally given in to the demand for a clean electoral roll and allow overseas Malaysians to vote.

We will likely see progress updates on these reforms over the next 2-3 months. It will certainly quell the simmering discontent with the EC. These moves are strategic as they will pacify the hugely influential Bersih organisation and reduce possibility of a Bersih 4.0.

Finally, Najib’s long awaited announcement of the RCI in August brought much relief to East Malaysians. This issue has been considered as the most important electoral issue to many Sabahans and Sarawakians and the move to solve it bodes well for Najib.

In recent months, the stakes have been raised with the defection of two BN leaders and the frequent campaign stops by main opposition leaders, especially Anwar Ibrahim. If the results of the RCI are not announced before GE13, Najib’s calling of an RCI may seem insincere and  construed as merely wanting to temporarily satisfy voters without seriously tackling the issue.

As such, there is the real possibility we might see the results of the RCI early next year with Najib promising a solution if BN retains power after GE13.

March-April elections

Najib has two remaining windows of opportunity to call for elections. The first is from now (early December) till early February followed by a brief interlude because of CNY celebrations. The second will be from mid February to late April.

Many have speculated that elections will be in December or January now that the Umno General Assembly is over and the grassroots are energised. I would disagree for three reasons.

Firstly, the combination of scandals, some emerging (Deepak), and some ongoing (AES, Nazri Aziz and Musa Aman and the RM40 million political donation) are fresh in people’s minds and will definitely have an impact if elections are held within these two months. Scandals like the Deepak revelations are also likely to gain traction very soon.

Secondly, a fresh round of protests such as Himpunan Hijau’s Green Walk and Dong Zong’s education gathering has raised in people’s minds the issues that have not been dealt with by the government. Although not as large as Bersih 3.0, they are still a cause for worry. Najib will want the impact of protests and scandals to leave public consciousness as much as possible before calling elections.

Finally, the expected reforms stated above will likely be done and progress updates given gradually throughout these two months. BR1M will be handed out beginning January, the ETP/GTP Annual Report was handed out early April this year but we might see it being released earlier next year.

Allowing overseas Malaysians to vote and abolishing the Sedition Act requires legislative amendments and we might see one last short parliamentary session in January to push for these reforms. Thus, we are looking at the second window after CNY holidays for elections.

Possible game changers

As the general elections loom, what can throw Najib off track and result in him delaying or possibly bringing forward the elections?

Firstly, another rally for clean and fair elections would definitely be major setback. Although the EC has announced proposed reforms, it is still unclear how far they would go. And even if they are sincere, how well they would perform especially in cleaning the electoral roll? For example, even in the in the use of indelible ink, the EC has failed to satisfy Bersih’s stringent standards.

There would likely be progress updates on EC’s actions in the next two months. But would the electoral roll be able to withstand Bersih’s scrutiny?  If it does not, Bersih 4.0 would be ideal in creating intense public pressure on the EC and Najib as a huge turnout can be expected. Najib will have no choice but to act as he cannot wait it out as he did in the previous two Bersih rallies.

Secondly, a scandal like the NFC might also result in a possible delay to wait out its impact or possibly elections brought forward in order to stymie the scandal from developing. Aided by the mainstream media, this tactic will continued to be employed. That said, would Najib risk waiting out his tenure and allow the EC to take over his prerogative to call the elections? Yes he would.

After all, with numerous allegations against EC’s independence, with one even showing that both the EC’s number one and two were former Umno members, it is possible that the EC’s  prerogative will be Najib’s prerogative.

WHO'S THE BETTER LIAR - Soi Lek or Najib: Can DAP be both anti-Malay & anti-Chinese?

Written by  Lim Kit Siang

In his winding-up speech at the 66^th UMNO General Assembly on Saturday, the UMNO President and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak ended with the flourish urging UMNO members to work harder to convince the people to support Barisan Nasional as a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Malays.

But this is the exact opposite of what MCA leaders like the MCA President Datuk Dr. Chua Soi Lek is telling the Chinese up and down the country, that a vote for the DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Chinese.

It is clear that when Najib says that a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Malays while Chua Soi Lek declares that it is a vote for oppression of the Chinese, the time has come to save Malaysia from such  dishonest, deceitful, unprincipled and immoral UMNO/Barisan Nasional government.

What credibility and  legitimacy has a political coalition like Barisan Nasional, which is capable of such blatant deceit and dishonesty, plumbing the depths of lies and falsehoods to entrench itself in power, to dare claim that it has the credentials and moral high ground  to continue to govern multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural Malaysia when it is in fact actively aggravating racial and religious polarisation in the country?

Najib and UMNO leaders are lying when they said that a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Malays, just as Chua Soi Lek and MCA leaders are lying when they sounded the warning that a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Chinese.

But since both are in one political coalition, the Barisan Nasional, they should at least co-ordinate and reconcile their differences to come out with one “Big Lie against the DAP” instead of continuing to tell two conflicting lies to two different communities and to be caught “red-handed” in their lies!

Era of Internet

Najib and the Barisan Nasional leaders should know  that they are in the era of Internet and it is no more possible for the political leaders in the country to censor or manipulate the flow of information as  to hide the fact of dishonesty and hypocrisy of UMNO leaders lying to the Malays that a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Malays while MCA leaders are lying to the Chinese that a vote for DAP is a vote for the oppression of the Chinese.

Just  on this issue alone, with the component parties of the Barisan Nasional spreading not only blatant but contradictory lies about the DAP, showing their utter bankruptcy of political principles and moral scruples, UMNO/Barisan Nasional should be drummed out of Putrajaya.

Malaysian voters regardless of race, religion or region should rise as one to speak loud and clear in the 13GE to inform the nation and the world that they  condemn, abhor and repudiate such contemptible and despicable politics of lies and dishonesty so as to introduce clean and principled governance in Malaysia.

DAP, together with PKR and PAS in Pakatan Rakyat, reject the negative and destructive UMNO/BN politics of “divide and rule” and want it to be replaced by the positive and constructive politics of “unite and rule”.

Pakatan Rakyat opposes the oppression of any race, religion or group and will ensure the end of marginalisation or discrimination of any race, religion or group which will be one of the guiding principles of a PR federal government in Malaysia.

All Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, Kadazans or Ibans will be winners in a Malaysia under a PR government.

But we cannot promise that there will be no losers if PR achieves the “impossible dream” of Malaysians to defeat the UMNO/Barisan Nasional coalition in the 13GE and forms the federal government in Putrajaya.

UMNO putras and their cronies in BN, who have waxed fat and rich at the expense of the ordinary Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Orang Asli, Kadazans or Ibans, will be the losers for it will be the end of the road for them to acquire ill-gotten gains at the expense of the Malaysian public.

Lim Kit Siang is the DAP adviser & MP for Ipoh Timur

Mere lip-service to balm rakyat’s woes

By Jeswan Kaur

COMMENT

It is the rule of karma that life’s lessons have to be learned in one way or another. And it is here that politicians make the slip, refusing to accept the humility that life brings.

This is the case with the federal government politicians who are stubbornly set in their ways, declining any help from providence to better themselves.

And so the Barisan Nasional politicians remain corrupt, sexist, philanderers, and homophobic; regrettably with no rebuke coming from their boss, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

One would have thought the humiliating defeat in the 2008 general election would have mellowed the BN leadership – but far from it, with the politicians turning from bad to worse.

Take the case of Deputy Education Minister Mohd Puad Zarkashi. A thorough let-down when it comes to “nurturing” the young minds, Puad seems confused between his duty as a deputy minister and that of a politician, often playing the role of the latter.

On Sept 20 this year, Puad started an “attack” on the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) of this country when he first agreed to launch a manual asking parents and schoolchildren to “beware” of “such people”.

He then followed it up, saying the ministry was committed in curbing the LGBT phenomenon and later said school counsellors could help weed out LGBT tendencies in students.

Recently, he commented that the Pakatan Rakyat alliance is akin to a “gay marriage”, clearly taking a knock at Pakatan’s de facto adviser Anwar Ibrahim’s alleged sexual orientation.

Clearly, Puad, the BN MP for Batu Pahat, is a self-proclaimed homophobic and one coming from the BN camp. Would the rakyat welcome such a politician in their midst?

Then we have the “I am influential and powerful” politician, Nazri Aziz who serves as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. He has no qualms that his son Mohamed Nedim, who was once involved in a brawl at a upscale condominium, has full access to an almost half-a-million ringgit worth Hummer belonging to the son of a controversial timber tycoon Michael Chia.

It was alleged that the tycoon had “gifted” Nazri and Mohamed Nedim a sports car each plus RM3 million to go with it. Would the rakyat consider Nazri for yet another term in politics?

Meanwhile, what does BN do in the face of such accusations? It simply acts dumb.

Refusing to mellow

The 2008 general election has failed to mellow the federal government under the BN flagship. On the contrary, the shocking defeat has made the federal government bitter and angry at having lost the “right” to continue to plunder the country’s riches.

Four years later and with the next general election looming, BN is beyond desperation in wanting to recover its “losses” and regain the prime states it lost to Pakatan.

That is all there is to BN’s struggle in wanting to win the 13th general election – extreme desperation.

The absolute decision on who is the best to lead this nation and its people rests in the hands of the rakyat and for the sake of their well-being and survival, the choice made has to be right if not perfect.

In this regard, there is little reason left for the rakyat to place their trust in the BN government; after all, it has been this very government that has been looting the nation’s coffers post-independence and continues to rob the country of its riches.

The daylight robbery by BN is endless and Najib continues to act dumb in the face of these accusations and that of his alleged role in the Scorpene submarines purchase.

With the national polls looming, Najib has made as many pleas as he has made promises of change, assuring the rakyat that corruption, nepotism and cronyism would be a thing of the past.

However, trusting BN to clean up its act would be foolish, given the crooked politicians in its midst that continue to cheat and lie to the rakyat.

Onus on people to change

In October last year, Wanita Umno chief and former Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil feigned ignorance when the role of her family in the National Feedlot Corporation scandal was revealed.

Now it is former Home Minister Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad who has denied any knowledge of the human trafficking offences carried out by the company, SNT Universal Corporation Sdn Bhd, of which he is a director.

The police suspect the company, ironically a government-appointed agent in the 6P amnesty programme, of exploiting and abusing hundreds of foreign workers, mainly Bangladeshis.

Just what gives such politicians the audacity to take the rakyat for a spin, using lies after lies to cover up their acts?

Would it then be worth the while to give the politicians under the BN banner the benefit of the doubt, hoping that they would have learnt their lesson and mended their ways?

Post-independence, the rakyat had placed its trust and faith in the BN leadership believing that it had the people’s best interest at heart. The truth, however, unfolded over the years, bringing with it the realisation that the rakyat was at best collateral damage in the political tussle for power.

To pin one’s hope on BN would be akin to committing hara-kiri, bearing in mind the dishonesty with which the party has ruled the country.

Change is imminent but unlike BN which relies on lip-service to balm the rakyat’s woes, the onus now is on the people to bring about the change, as they did in 2008 by putting BN “in its place” via a humiliating defeat in the national polls.

As for BN, it is pointless to go around begging for a second chance because judging from its incorrigible practices, the leadership has no plans to change for the better, what more repent.

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.

Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/11/29/mere-lip-service-to-balm-rakyat%E2%80%99s-woes/

Racial politics and Brain Drain

cartoon from the Economist.
Posted By Dr.HSU

The most important asset of a country is not its natural resources but rather human resources. This is especially true in a knowledge based economy, which of course will be the trend in future if not already the trend in most of the western countries.

My daughter, who is in her final year medicine in Auckland, told me that a team of Singapore recruitment officers have just visited Auckland and talked to the Malaysian students there, offering job and training prospect for the final year students once they graduate. My daughter also told me that over the last few years, quite a lot of her Malaysian seniors, after graduating from medical courses in NZ, have gone to Singapore to work as house-officers and subsequently stayed back in Singapore for their postgraduate training.

Similar teams are sent to Australia and UK for recruiting Malaysians there to work in Singapore .

About a year ago, in one of the articles in Reuters, this was reported:

Malaysia is counting on bright, ambitious people like Tan Chye Ling for its future, to lead it away from manufacturing and into the knowledge age.

But the 32-year-old scientist, a post-graduate in molecular biology, is not counting on Malaysia to look after her future.

"I felt very suppressed in Malaysia ," said Tan, who moved to neighbouring Singapore , the region's pace-setter for biotech investment, after a decade of study and research in Malaysia .

"I have benefited from the better research environment and salary scheme here. Things are much smoother," she said by phone from the National University of Singapore where she is studying dust mites and allergies.

Tan estimates that 60 percent of the research teams she works with in Singapore are from Malaysia, despite her country's efforts over several years to develop a biotech industry.

The Malaysian government unveiled plans last March to spend $553.3 million over five years to boost research, attract foreign investment and build new facilities. But its efforts are wasted unless it can retain more talented people like Tan.

"By the time we have the research environment in place, every other country would have taken a slice of the biotech investment pie," said Iskandar Mizal, head of the state-run Malaysian Biotech Corporation which oversees the government's strategy.

There is a serious problem facing Malaysia and that is the problem of Brain Drain. Why are Malaysians overseas not coming back to work?

Well, pay may be part of the reasons but is not the main reason. Singapore recruitment team offered Malaysian students there a salary which is a few times they would expect to get in Malaysia…..... S$40,000 a year for houseman after tax (equivalent to RM86000) which is about 5 times the pay of a houseman in Malaysia.

But, as I say, pay is not the main problem. The living expenses overseas is high. And for a person working overseas, the loneliness and the stress level is also high. So not everyone opts to work overseas because of pay. Many would not mind to work for lesser pay if they can stay near to their loved ones.

Why do people choose to work overseas, away from their loved ones?

Malaysia has many state-of-the-art hospitals and research centres, which may even be the envy of many overseas countries. But hardware alone would not attract these experts to come home. In the medical fields, I have so many friends /classmates working overseas, many in world renowned centres. Why do they do that?

Some of my classmates and friends did come back as specialists. After working a few years (many lasted only a few months), most get disillusioned and went off. There is really not much prospect of career advancement. How many can hope to become a professor, even when they are an acknowledged expert in their field? On the other hand, lesser beings are being promoted to professorship for doing much less.

How many of them can have any say about how things are to be run? How many of them can blend into the local team where the work attitude is vastly different from that overseas?

There is an unwritten rule that even if the person is very good, the head of the team has to be someone from a certain ethnic group who may not even be half as good as him.

In everyday life, some become disillusioned with the corruption, the red tape and tidak apa attitude of the officialdom. For an overseas doctor applying to work home, the application can take up to 6 months to get approved, whereas, Singapore sends teams overseas to recruit them on the spot, giving them forms to fill and offering them jobs immediately as long as they pass their final examination. See the difference?

It is the sense of being wanted and being appreciated that make these people stay overseas. Back here, they are often made to feel that they are of a lower class; they do not feel wanted and they do not feel appreciated…. That is the main reason.

For those with children, the education system puts them off. Even school children can feel being discriminated, one glaring example is the 2 systems in Pre-University education.

All these make them pack their bags and off they go again, leaving behind their parents perhaps, siblings, friends they grew up together, favouite food that is often not available overseas. No one likes to be like this; circumstances and a sense of being recognised for their worth make them go away…It is really sad.

Parents spend huge amount of money educating them, but the ones who benefit are the Singaporeans, the Americans, the Australians, the British and so on. As long as race politics is not done away with, this problem of brain drain will continue and Malaysia will always lack behind the advanced countries, no matter how many twin towers and Putrajayas we build. 

Therefore, basing on all the facts mentioned above, we would only have to believe what other people said, ie that all along our Government did not bother about the "Brain Drain" of Non-Malay graduates or professionals and indeed the more they migrate the merrier because more job vacancies could be made available to Malay graduates without any competition at all and the Government also did not care whether or not the quality of work would be compromised or the excellence of performance could be achieved..... How sad and how shameful it is if this is true!!

May God save our beloved country please!!

Absurd and malicious manipulation of statistics by The Star

Dear Friends,

Please find below my press statement in response to some incredulous articles by The Star.

Absurd and malicious manipulation of statistics by The Star and Dr Chua Soi Lek to malign the Penang state government.

I read with disbelief the recent reports published by The Star on property prices in Penang. In particular, the reports titled “Properties in Penang only for the rich, says Chua” on 24 October 2012 and “Guan Eng denies Penang house prices increased 400%” in the 26 Octo ederition today.

In these reports, it is claimed that Penang real estate has seen a “drastic increase in the price of condominiums/apartments (by 411%), flats (339%), low-cost flats (157%) and detached units (103%) within the span of a year.”

Today, The Star further reported assertions that “according to the Penang Institute, the price of apartment/condominium went up from RM450,286 during the first quarter of last year to RM2.7mil during the corresponding period this year. It was reported that the price of detached unit [sic] increased from RM1.7mil to as high as RM3.5mil, low-cost flats from RM68,000 to RM175,000, flats from RM132,000 to RM580,000 during the corresponding period.”

I would like to congratulate both Dr Chua Soi Lek and The Star for their obviously stellar ability in manipulating statistics. What they have very mischievously done is to take last year’s average price of property, and then compared it to this year’s ceiling or maximum price for each property type, as published by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH).

Furthermore, the statistics used are for certain districts in Penang and not reflective of the whole state. For example, the average price of an apartment/condominium in the North-East district as of Q1 2011 was indeed RM450,286 as reported by the Penang Institute’s paper, “Housing market trends and affordability”, published in October 2011. This price is then used by The Star in comparison to the latest Property Stock Report by the JPPH, which states that the price of apartments/condominiums in the North-East District of Penang Island as of Q1 2012 ranges from RM170,000 to RM2.7 million. To compare this year’s ceiling price to last year’s average price is completely asinine and outrageous.

To make matters worse, some of the comparisons made are between two different districts. For example, the data for low-cost flats and flats as quoted by The Star is actually a comparison between the South-West and North-East districts of Penang. Such utter disregard for ethical reporting is confounding.

The Penang Institute regrets that such absurd and malicious manipulation of data has been linked to our institution and used to malign the Penang state government, and demands that a correction is made immediately to ensure that the public is not mislead.

Zairil Khir Johari

CEO, Penang Insitute

George Town

26 October 2012

林冠英：除贪污强化教育‧靠法制 国家才有希望

林冠英：除贪污强化教育‧靠法制 国家才有希望

 2012-10-26 18:49

• 
  官有缘（左起）、罗思义、陈贞源、骆瑞珍、梁卓经、倪可汉、林冠英、曾福仔、潘俭伟、谢保恆及丘金明在“与民同在，改朝换代＂团结晚宴上一起向出席人士举手示意。（图：星洲日报）

（霹雳‧金宝26日讯）行动党秘书长林冠英表示，在檳州，如果有人说认识林冠英，或指和林冠英是好兄弟可协助办事，那绝对是骗人的，也不要去理会。

他说，如果有人希望通过中间人来获取好处，那是行不通的。

林冠英昨晚在金宝出席行动党的“与民同在，改朝换代＂团结晚宴致词说，只有树立法制，国家和州的发展才有希望。

他说，国家也需要著手处理贪污问题，确定领袖的財產来歷；最重要的是也要强化教育，提供孩子们一个新的希望。

他说，以檳州为例，主动通过3个步骤来强化教育，即制度化地拨款给学校、吸引著名大学前来檳州设分校，以及由檳州政府提供一个补习辅导中心，强化较弱学生的教育。

他也批评自动执法系统AES將加重人民的负担，並让有关公司赚钱。

潘俭伟：反贪污指数下滑

八打灵再也北区国会议员潘俭伟致词时指出，我国在国际贪污指数面对下滑跡象，即使推行转型计划也没看到改变，此现象显示国家一直处於退步状態。

李文材：伊刑事法不会落实

公正党霹雳州署理主席李文材致词说，国阵一直批评若民联执政將落实伊斯兰刑事法，是不实的说法；因为民联三党平起平坐，如有其中一党不支持或退出，民联就不会有机会执政。

行动党霹雳州主席拿督倪可汉和克兰芝区州议员曾福仔也在宴会上致词。

筵开83席筹获2410令吉

这项宴会由行动党克兰芝支部主办，宴开83席，成功在现场筹得2千410令吉。主办单位捐出1千令吉给金宝培元独中，由董事部財政何祖光代表接领。

出席人士包括党元老骆瑞珍、宋溪区州议员西华尼申、双溪古月服务队主席梁卓经、金宝克兰芝支部主席丘金明、陈贞源律师及企业家官有缘。

（星洲网）

http://www.sinchew-i.com/sciWWW/node/336498?tid=751

Balik kampung bawa berita benar : Let’s bury Soi Lek’s hudud spin

Posted on October 22, 2012

1

By Haris Ibrahim

I am not going to repeat the filthy lies that were spewed by Soi Lek and other MCA delegates at their recently concluded AGM.

No reason to give any more life to their evil design to agitate the non-Muslim community, especially the Chinese, with their alarmist message that voting Pakatan into federal power post the 13th GE will see hudud become the order of the day.

Check comments left at most of the online portals that have reported what was said at the MCA AGM on this issue and you will find that most netizens have not been taken in by this desperate attempt by MCA to create alarm on the part of non-Muslim voters with this hudud-mongering.

We, who have access to alternative news, and realise that UMNO / BN are on their last leg, no better than to buy into this crap.

Yet, as Arthur observed last night, the Chinese dailies and the Chinese news reports on TV will take this out in full force to all the Mandarin-only speaking voters, especially in the smaller towns and the Chinese new villages, and, Arthur explained, even if this causes a 1% swing from what appears to be now a solid support base for a new regime in Putrajaya post the 13th GE, it may have an impact in some constituencies.

UMNO / BN have total monopoly over the print and electronic media with regard to this issue.

People, we need to come together to work to counter this UMNO / BN media spin

Some time back, in my “Dont fall for the MCA hudud bogeyman” post, I had offered the following analysis to support my contention that we would be losing sleep over nothing if we allowed ourselves to believe the MCA spin that a vote for Pakatan might see hudud implemented.

Amongst other things this is what I said.

“So what’s MCA really saying?

Vote BN and MCA will make sure UMNO never implements hudud.

Vote Pakatan and who’s to stop PAS implementing hudud?

Time for a reality check, folks.

Things as they are right now, could either UMNO or PAS, alone, implement hudud, or move to make Malaysia an Islamic state, whatever that phrase might mean?

I’ll say no to that question, and here’s why.

Post 12th GE, UMNO won 79 parliamentary seats.

By itself, it could not even form a government, much less move to implement hudud.

PAS won 23.

Need I say more on PAS going it alone to implement hudud?

What about PAS acting in combination with others? Could they then implement hudud?

Idiot PAS Ulama chief Harun Taib thinks it can be done.

“We will implement hudud and amend the constitution even if (it is) not with the current partners we have in Pakatan (Rakyat)… Maybe there will be other pacts that will lend us their support,”,Malaysiakini reports him saying.

He’s talking rubbish and here’s why.

Lets use the 12th GE results again.

UMNO’s 79 parliamentary seats includes its 13 in Sabah

Even a combination of the seats of UMNO and PAS would not have been enough to form the government.

A PAS-UMNO merger would leave them with 102 seats.

They would still need MCA’s 15 seats and MIC’s 3 to give them a simple majority government of 120 seats in parliament.

And with hudud and an Islamic state as their stated agenda, could it be expected that the non-Muslim BN component parties in Sabah and Sarawak will remain in the coalition, or align with those who will oppose this move?

I think the latter is the more likely.

Islamic state aspirations will require a 2/3 majority in parliament.

An UMNO-PAS move to establish an Islamic state would require that they command 148 seats in parliament to make the requisite constitutional amendments.

Co-opt 28 Muslim frogs from PKR?

Well, do a quick count and there are only 16 Muslim PKR MPs now ( 18 if Zul Nordin and Zahrain hadn’t froggied last year ) out of a total of 31 when the results were announced.

Even if all hopped over to the UMNO-PAS pro-hudud newly formed coalition, working with the treacherous MCA and MIC MPs, that would give them in all, 136 seats in parliament.

138 if you include Zul and Zahrain.

139 with Ibrahim Ali.

1 less than what the BN government has now!

So how to amend the constitution and make this an Islamic state and impose hudud, lah, Harun Taib?

How, lah, MCA?

What if PAS increases its number of seats in parliament at the 13th GE, some of you might ask.

Well, for every additional seat PAS win, chalk it down as a loss for UMNO.

Their combined total will not, therefore, differ significantly.

As things stand, we have no reason to fret about hudud being implemented post the 13th GE”.

We at the ABU secretariat have checked in blogosphere and cannot find any other rebuttal to the MCA hudud spin.

If any of you have come across any that you think might be worth viraling out, please email the same to me at thepeoplesparliament@gmail.com so that I can relay the same to the Media Monitoring Team.

The Counter Propaganda Team is working to generate material to rebut this hudud scare, but it will probably not be ready in time for this coming long Raya Haji weekend, when many of you will balik kampung.

My analysis, reproduced above, has been translated into Mandarin with a view to it being used to counter MCA’s hudud lie by printing the same and taking them out to the Chinese in the smaller towns and villages.

Clicking the image of Soi Lek above will take you to a PDF copy of that translation, linked in the ABU website, under our BALIK KAMPUNG BAWA BERITA BENAR segment.

Please people, just commenting here and elsewhere on this issue will not help to counter the spin where it might impact the most.

Please help us out here.

Print as many copies as you can and take them with you as you head back to your respective home towns for the weekend holiday and distribute them to all the Chinese you meet.

Take time out to explain to them what MCA is really doing.

And them get them to also share the message with the other local Chinese.

We cannot counter this spin without your help

http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/balik-kampung-bawa-berita-benar-lets-bury-soi-leks-hudud-spin/

Speech at the Wilayah DAP Convention

Terima kasih tuan ketua pengerusi. YB-YB, saudara-saudari, selamat petang. Terima kasih kerana memberi peluang kepada saya untuk berucap hari ini.

各为亲爱的同胞们，大家好！Thank you for this opportunity to speak today.

In the lead up to the General Election, there is still so much, to do but so little time. There is good news: Najib is panicking. He doesn’t dare call the elections because he knows he’s in for a fight and he will lose! It seems like the Prime Minister enjoys following the opposition. Just on Friday, he was asked who donated RM40 million to Umno in Sabah, and he didn’t want to say because “the opposition doesn’t disclose their donors either”. It is interesting to note that Barisan Nasional is keen to follow the lead of Pakatan Rakyat.

大选要来了，虽然我们有很多东西还没做，可是看起来我们有个很好的消息：纳吉 已经很紧张！因为他不敢这么快召开大选，如果他召开大选他会输 (shu1)! 依我看，我们亲爱的首相, 很喜欢, 模仿, 反对党。因为上个拜五，有人问他到底 (dao4di3)是谁捐了(juan4le) 四十亿马币, 给Sabah的Umno， 但是, 他不敢讲是谁捐的，因为反对党也没有说。我觉得反对党很厉害，对不对？

Saudara Zairil Khir Johari wrote a fantastic article in the Malaysian insider. Some of his points were that even though they called the Buku Jingga “useless”, the BN comes out with BR1M taken straight out of the proposal to aid to households earning below RM3000!  Also there is a Go-KL free bus, but this came 2 years after the DAP led Penang State government introduced the inner-city buses.  How about free mammograms for ladies? Who’s idea was that? The Selangor state government stated the initiative two years ago. This shows that Barisan Nasional is bankrupt of ideas, and all they can do is watch how Pakatan Rakyat runs the state governments. Well, the time for pretending is over! It is now or never this is the push and I truly believe we will capture Putrajaya at GE13!

Saudara Zairil Khir Johari telah menulis artikel yang hebat di dalam Malaysia Insider. Beliau berkata isu-isu seperti. Contohnnya, walaupun kerajaan Barisan Nasional menganggapkan Buku Jingga adalah buku yang tidak berguna, tetapi mereka boleh mecadangkan BR1M. Siapa punya cadangan? Kami punya!! 还有那个Go-KL 免费巴士。我觉得公共交通是很好的主意，可是槟成的行动党政府已经在两年前做了！国阵以精美新创意！他们就会看Pakatan Rakyat 做什么，然后他们就做什么！够了吧！我们有着一次机会，我们一定要努力， 听人民的话，在第13届的大选后，国阵被踢出局！

Let’s face it. Barisan Nasional is so found of building monuments. They have built Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, the Twin Towers, KLCC, and Iskandar. Najib loves his alphabet soup, NKRAs, ETP, GTP and so on and so forth. But when we look into these things, looks nice on the outside, but inside, there is so little substance! Tell me which road in Malaysia is flat? How many tolls do we have to pay just to get from point A to B? On the Kerinch link, we go through a traffic jam, get to the toll, and then? Smooth meh? No la! Have to join another traffic jam! Just yesterday, as I was driving on Old Klang Road, half the road was under water. Saudara Lim Lip Eng posted on his Facebook page that if the rain continues, half of Segambut will be under water. You mean to tell me that after 55 years, we don’t even have a proper drainage system? The SMART tunnel doesn’t seem to be smart at all!

Kerajaan BN sangat suka membina bangunaan yang lebih tinggi, yang lebih besar, yang paling mewah. Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, KLCC, Menara KL dan Iskandar, semuanya shiok Najib dia sendiri.

Beritahu saya jalan mana di Malaysia kita ini rata? Berapa banyak tol yang perlu kita bayar dari destinasi A ke B? Sebagai contoh, di Lingkaran Kerinchi, kita mengalami kesesakan lalu lintas hanya untuk melintasi satu tol dan seterusnya ke Lebuhraya Persekutuan dan mengalami kesesakan lalu lintas semula! Adakah dengan membayar tol akan memudahkan perjalanan kita?

Semalam semasa saya memandu di Jalan Klang Lama, setengah jalan banjir. Saudara Lim Lip Eng menulis di Facebook : jikalau hujan tidak berhenti, seluruh Segambut akan banjir. Saudara saudari, ini hanya membukti bahawa negara kita tidak mempunyai saliran perparitan yang bagus selama 55 tahun ini. Anda boleh tahan lagi tak? Boleh tahan lagi? Tak boleh lah!

However, winning the election is not enough to declare victory. The real work begins when we become the Federal Government, to tackle the crucial issues one by one and going back to the basics. Yes, corruption is a big issue, but we must really pound through the issues very close to the heart of the people. The real problems. The struggles faced on a daily basis. I’d just like to talk about two of them today. First there is very real problem of the cost of living, and secondly, empowering the younger generation and getting them to stand up and make their voice heard.

How much extra is in your pocket these days? It seems like no matter how hard we work, our wallets seem to be shrinking and shrinking. These days a fresh graduate doesn’t get more than RM2,000 a month, or RM2300 for a degree holder. Now think about this, minus EPF, minus rental, minus PTPTN loan repayment, minus car loan, minus Touch N’GO, minus food cost, minus phone bill, electricity bill and what is left? What is left??!! Less than nothing?!! 你们的钱包还有钱吗？有吗？已经没有。为什么呢？现在，毕业的学生的薪水是差不多两千多块。剪掉EPF, 租费, 汽车贷款，Touch N’ Go， 日常用品. 还剩下多少？一分也没有！

Hey, at least water is free in Selangor right? Well, how many of you have drunk water out of the tap lately? Do you dare? Most of us end up investing in our own personal filtration systems, because Syabas is incapable of supplying clean water! Furthermore, we are raking credit card debt like nobody’s business, food prices have increased dramatically, almost doubling the cost of feeding a family these days. How much do you pay for your Kway Teow and your Kopi-O today? In less than 10 years, not only would this country would have gone bankrupt, but the people would be left with no savings, no assets and a mountain of debt.

Najib knows this, but he still turns around to the people to ask us to change our spending habits. What spending is he talking about? If he wants to talk about spending habits, austerity needs to stop from the top! However I don’t think Rosmah would be too happy about it!

How can a Pakatan government reduce the cost of living? A few simple steps can be put in place but I’ll just talk about one. It is time to stop spoon feeding Proton and force them to be competitive. Get rid of the APs. Malaysia has the most expensive cars in the whole of the ASEAN region apart from Singapore. But at least in Singapore, they have a pretty good public transport system so you don’t have to worry about getting a car!

In Malaysia, when a student graduates, the first thing they look for is not a job, but a car! Car loans take up almost 40% the working income of a graduate. Getting rid of the APs not just free up their income but also to boost their spending power! This is very important in order for our economy to keep going, reduce debt and increase home ownership. With over 50% of the economy reliant on government linked companies, the power needs to shift back to the private sector in the interest of sustainable development. We can’t force wages to go up, but in a more competitive, market driven economy, along with equal opportunities for all Malaysians, this can be achieved.

Briefly, the second topic I wanted to raise today was to ensure that the youth of this nation is given an official platform to speak up. I’m talking about those between the ages of 21 to 35. Malaysia is a young country and in the last General Election, it was this group of people who gave Barisan Nasional the shock of their lives. It would be this group of people to push us over the line this General Election, and it would be this group of people which would be the future movers and shakers of this nation.

I urge the leaders of the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat as a whole not to neglect this crucial group of people. We want our young people to come back to Malaysia, don’t we? We don’t want to keep losing talented young Malaysians to the likes of Australia, the UK, Taiwan and Singapore! But young people are fickle. The values are different from the previous generation. In the world of social media, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, mindsets and perceptions are always changing. The moment they are ignored, they can quickly become apathetic. We have to continue engaging with them, getting them involved and get them moving! It is time to spot and identify more young leaders who can go and inspire the youth of this nation. If we fail to adapt, there is a danger that we ourselves would quickly no longer be relevant.

I’m proud to be a member of the DAP for the past four years. I want to commend our leaders and all the members for the continuous hard work. When I see the party growing from strength to strength, with a strong leadership, I know our country is in good hands. This is not the time for party politics, or division or disunity. This is exactly what Barisan Nasional wants and it makes good news headlines. DAP internal spat, DAP leadership fallout, Rivalry grows within the DAP and so on.

If the party puts together a united front, along with our partners PAS and PKR, nothing can stop us from making history in GE13. Let us work hard, stay united, continue to listen to the rakyat, keep praying and never ever lose hope.

This is only the beginning but this is our beginning! Hidup Rakyat! Mansuhkan Barisan Nasional!

Terima Kasih! Thank you and God bless you all. 谢谢大家，神祝福你们。