Explain your role in May 13, Kit Siang to Dr M

K Pragalath

 | April 30, 2013

Picking on Thamrin Ghaffar's allegation, the DAP stalwart tells the former premier to clear the air.

KUALA LUMPUR:  DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang today alluded that former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad is one of those behind the May 13 racial riots.

“Yesterday during two ceramah in Johor, former deputy prime minister Ghafar Baba’s son Thamrin revealed that the May 13 was due to a mini-coup by a group of men in Umno to topple Tunku [Abdul Rahman]. Former foreign minister Ghazali Shafie in the 1980s said that Mahathir was involved.

“This shows that I am not involved in the May 13 incident. I was not even in KL from May 11 to 13, 1969. I was in Sabah,” he said during a press conference at the DAP headquarters.

Lim also urged Mahathir to clear the air on Thamrin’s revelation.

On the same note, the DAP leader took a swipe at Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for reminding the people of this lie – Lim’s involvement.

“They even have a candidate who keeps saying this lie in and out of Parliament – Zulkifli Noordin. Najib is saying 1Malaysia but he is dividing the people,” he said.

Lim is also disappointed that BN is playing the race and religion cards against him.

“There are rumours that I am anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay monarchs. These are all lies. This shows Najib’s insincerity in signing the Transparency International – Malaysia’s integrity pledge,” he said.

Najib had signed an election integrity pledge with the NGO two months ago and the move was aimed at showing the ruling coalition’s seriousness in fair game in GE13.

Lim also urged his BN opponent and Johor menteri besar Abdul Ghani Othman to ensure a level playing field while campaigning in Gelang Patah.

Both Lim and Ghani would be facing off each other on May 5 for the Gelang Patah seat.

“Let’s begin by ensuring that the Battle for Gelang Patah is clean, fair and done in a gentlemanly style. It does not matter who wins or loses,” said Lim.

He revealed that during his campaign rounds he was well received by the people in Gelang Patah. However there were BN campaigners distributing a 28-page booklet that claimed that Lim was anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay monarchs.

“It is despicable acts by wretched people,” he said.

Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/04/30/explain-your-role-in-may-13-kit-siang-to-dr-m/

Ex-Umno man defends DAP against May 13 charge

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Kuek Ser Kuang Keng 9:58AM Apr 30, 2013

JOHOR Ex-Umno strongman Mohd Tamrin Abdul Ghafar has become an unexpected ally in Pakatan Rakyat’s bid to counter the claim that DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang was behind the May 13 riots in 1969.

The former Batu Berendam MP, who is also the second son of former deputy premier Abdul Ghafar Baba, has claimed that the incident was the outcome of a “mini coup” orchestrated by Umno leaders including Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“What (then home minister Muhammad) Ghazali (Shafie, left) told (PKR de facto leader) Anwar (Ibrahim) and me, when we were in Umno Youth, was that the incident was a mini coup planned by Umno men, and that Mahathir was involved,” Tamrin said during two Pakatan ceramahs in Gelang Patah last night.

“(First prime minister) Tunku (Abdul Rahman) wrote in his column 'As I See It' in The Star two years before he passed away, that the incident was a deliberate seizure of power by Umno leaders who then blamed it on DAP and the Chinese.”

Lim Kit Siang is running in Gelang Patah, against incumbent Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman, in the hope of extending Pakatan’s 2008 ‘political tsunami’ to Johor.

Tamrin’s disclosure supports the argument of academician Kua Kia Soong that the racial clash in 1969 was the result of a coup d'état by then deputy premier Abdul Razak Hussein against the Tunku, and that Mahathir supported it.

Tamrin recalled that the Tunku had expelled Mahathir from Umno after the latter wrote an open letter calling for the Tunku's resignation after the riots.

“After the Tunku stepped down and Razak took over the premiership, he took Mahathir back into Umno and appointed him as education minister.

“This shows that Razak was grateful to Mahathir (for pressuring the Tunku to step down),” he explained, adding that Kit Siang (left) was not in Kuala Lumpur during the clashes.

He said the continued reference to the incident by Umno, in order to frighten Malay voters, indicates that the BN is desperate.

With anti-establishment sentiment growing rapidly among Chinese Johoreans to Pakatan’s apparent advantage, Umno has flashed the race card to consolidate its support among the Malay electorate in Johor.

Its campaigners have been found distributing publicity material to Malay voters accusing DAP and Kit Siang of causing the May 13 riots.

To counter the charge, Pakatan has brought in several former Umno leaders including ex-law minister Zaid Ibrahim and former Selangor menteri besar Muhammad Muhammad Taib to defend DAP and Kit Siang.

‘Which is the racist party?’

Speaking at his first ceramah in Taman Skudai Indah, to a mixed crowd of 300, Tamrin contrasted the track record of DAP and MCA to prove that DAP is “not a racist party”.

“Since its formation in 1966, DAP has had more than 10,000 Malay, Indian and Punjabi members. During its first party polls, Daeng Ibrahim, a Malay leader, was elected as vice-chairperson.

“Since the formation of the party up to the last general election, a total of 55 Malay candidates have contested parliamentary or state constituencies on the DAP ticket.”

However, Tamrin (left) noted, MCA has never allowed a single Malay or Indian to become its member since its formation in 1951.

“So which is the racist party?” he asked.

“I have known Kit Siang since I became a MP in 1986 ... he has never gone against the rights of Malays. He has fought for the principle of a Malaysian Malaysia. How is that different from 1Malaysia? What is the difference? The difference is that Kit Siang is not corrupted.”

Tamrin urged the Malays to thank DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng(right), who had been jailed for three years after speaking out for a Malay minor who was allegedly raped by an Umno leader.

He claimed that both former MCA president Ong Ka Ting and former deputy president Lim Ah Lek, who he had met recently, are anticipating that MCA will win a maximum of five parliamentary seats in the 13th general election.

“How to win? (MCA president Dr) Chua Soi Lek is the first general since the Ming dynasty who has not gone to war.

“Chua only won one war - the battle of Katerina Hotel, right?” he said, referring to the hotel in Batu Pahat where Chua was recorded on video, having sex with a companion.

Source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/228497

基督教的八福供治国参考

    基督教对于选举有什么圣经的教导？基督徒的圈子里有一些极端的人士，他们认为民主制度不合乎圣经教导，因为圣经是讲神权的。不过我认为这乃是错误诠释圣经，因为圣经教导信徒“凡掌权的都是上帝所命定的；还呼吁信徒要为国家掌权者祷告。这已证明选举是上帝允许的，不过掌权者的心是在祂的手中，国家的命运需要信徒关心来代祷，所以信徒是与祂同工的。

        那么选举要选阵线还是选人呢？这次的大选，支持改朝换代的人士呼吁选阵线不选人。譬如居銮的国阵候选人何国忠，有人赞赏他是个好人，但却声称他入错阵线。我看到大马的政体离开成熟还有一段距离。我们在国会和州议会里面，若需要为某课题表决的话，都必须按照阵线的意愿。若是这样，好人又怎样？若阵线的政策有违民主，好人也必须出卖良心去支持的呀！

        看那些先进国，他们的议员也有跳槽的事情。不过他们的阵线并没有规定表决时是按着阵线的意愿，而是自由地选择。我国这次大选，双方都使用了很多新人，并且质方面有所进步。我希望，再多几届，我国会来到好阵线又有好人的情况，那么国富民安的日子就不远了！

        回到基督教认同选举，耶稣一次在山上给的宝训可作为掌权者该有的质供参考，祂给了他们八个福。一、掌权者要虚心。一个坐上高位的人不知觉地越来越变得逞强，不认为自己有错，结果不愿意听批判的声音。我很欣赏圣经中大卫王的一次遭遇，掌权者应该以他作为模范。他和军士们在路上，有一个人一边咒骂大卫王一边向他掷石头。大卫王的将军要过去把他的头砍下来，王不许，并说：“由他去吧，由他咒骂吧！因为这是上帝吩咐他的。”好领袖必须要听赞许和谩骂的声音，如果只要求报喜不报忧的话，至终他们还以为人民很喜欢他们。所以掌权者对待言论越开放，对自己的地位反而越有保障。

        二、掌权者要哀恸。领袖不一定什么都对，若做错了，必须忏悔，纠正过来。三、掌权者要温柔。领袖必须记得是人民把他们选上来的。已经太多例子这样：“大选时人民是老板，大选后议员是老板。”结果议员没有服务人民，还厌烦人民常常来投诉，对投诉者不客气。四、掌权者要饥渴慕义。候选人在竞选时要求人民把他们送进国会或州议会，以便为人民发出正义的声音。结果呢，很多代议士不是不敢在议会里头吭句声，就是懒惰做功课找资料发言。

    五、掌权者要怜恤人。领袖应该想尽办法解决人民的问题，大马还有很多人处在贫穷线下，尤其是单亲妈妈，孤儿，残障者等不幸人士。我国资源丰富，每个人民都应该获得平等机会享受国家资源。六、掌权者要清心。心不清导致领袖很容易滥用权柄，使自己从各种管道上获得利益，这就是贪污及舞弊。这是出卖国家和人民。看看不少国家的领袖倒台，都与贪污摆脱不了干系，领袖必须引以为戒。

    七、掌权者要使人和睦。人民和平相处，国家才会没拦阻地前进。尤其是大马，我们是一个多元种族和宗教的国家，领袖的责任是团结人民，而不是分裂人民。若掌权者是为了私自的利益而这样作的话，到头来是自己遭殃。大马通讯越来越普及化，人民看到各地种族对峙造成无安宁日子，所以迟早人民不会被蒙骗，结果就唾弃这些种族主义者。八、掌权者要为义受逼迫。领袖必须有勇气为正义和公义的事情出面，尤其在国会和州议会里头，当讲的就讲。他们肯定会受到一些逼迫，但这一小撮代议士的牺牲，必会为来日成熟的议会铺路。我希望大马早日来到一个代议士能够自由表决心意的政体，它获益的是人民。

RAHMAN = 55 years of governance? 拉曼 RAHMAN = 55 年的执政权？

The prophecy of “RAHMAN” has shown its magic again. 

If we convert every alphabet of “RAHMAN” into number, i.e. 18+1+8+13+1+14, the total is 55. 

Is the number meant the end of 55 years of Barisan Nasional ruling??!! 

Malaysia holds the 13th General Elections on 5th May, 2013. 

(31st August, 1957 to 5th May, 2013) = 55 years.

“拉曼” （RAHMAN）的预言再次显示它的魔力。

如果我们把每个罗马字母“RAHMAN）转为数字，即，18+1+8+13+14，它的总数是 55。

这个数字是否意味着国阵 55 年的执政将要结束？

马来西亚在 2013 年 5 月 5 日举行第 13 届全国大选。

1957 年 8 月 31 日至 2013 年 5 月 5 日 = 55 年。

马大民调：谁有资格当首相？43%挺安华；39%选纳吉

2013年4月25日 傍晚7点37分

晚上8点50分更新

马大民主与选举研究中心民调显示，43%受访选民认为公正党实权领袖安华有资格担任大马首相，而原任首相纳吉却只得39%人支持。两人微幅差距4%。

不过，单就马来选民而言，安华与纳吉的差距拉得更大，安华获得54%的支持率，而纳吉有28%，差距高达26%。

对首投族来说，48%认为安华有资格担任首相，而纳吉以25%落后，两人差距23%。

安华从1月成功超前纳吉
在今年1月份，该中心公布的民调显示，纳吉与安华的受欢迎度不相伯仲，分别获得43%与42%的受访者支持成为来届首相。

由此看来，纳吉下挫了4%，而安华反升1%，成功反超纳吉。

就马来选民而言，两人的支持率也出现大逆转，纳吉从1月的46%剧跌至28%，而安华则从34%，猛升至54%，越过纳吉。

不过若单开首投族，两人却同时微跌，纳吉从30%下跌至25%，维持领先；而安华则从52%掉到48%。

不是定论因距离投票尚远
不过，莫哈末礼端提醒，这个结论尚言之过早，因为距离大选投票尚有很长的时间。

“在2008年（大选），政治海啸在4天内形成，夺取了国阵的三分之二国席优势。目前还有9天的时间（才到投票日）。”

这项民调是从4月3日国会解散当天开始，直至上周六（20日），总共访问马来西亚半岛的1407名选民。

54%指纳吉贴近人民

就贴近人民的领袖的选择，54%受访选民选择纳吉，而安华反以46%落后。

马大民主与选举研究中心总监莫哈末礼端解释，“纳吉（民调）当然比较高。他几乎每天都出现在电视上，相对的，安华只有在不利他的事情发生后才会出现（媒体）。”

就首投族心目中的友善和容易亲近领袖而言，安华却赢纳吉一个马鼻。

报告指出，50%首投族受访者认为安华是“友善和容易亲近”的领袖，相对的，纳吉只囊获45%首投族的认同，落后5%。

安华行政效率比纳吉佳

就行政效率而言，安华以38%支持率，或1%微差领先纳吉。

单看首投族，安华则享受更大差距，以46%支持率领先纳吉的39%。

另外，43%受访选民认为，安华是有伊斯兰素质的领袖，而纳吉以37%紧追在后。

62%人不相信性爱短片

针对网路流传的所谓民联领袖的性爱短片，62%受访选民表示不相信。

莫哈末礼端也透露，许多受访者相信，巫统是这些丑闻短片的幕后黑手。

“主流媒体针对安华的持续抹黑努力并没有打击他。”

“虽然有主流媒体，但是年轻一辈通过网路来阅读安华的新闻，因为他们十分熟悉网路。”

来源：http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/228048

Islamic State ‘impossible’ in multiracial Malaysia, says MCA man

BY LESLIE LAU
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
APRIL 24, 2013

Lee said no foreseeable combination of political alliances would arrive at the necessary number to execute an Islamic state. — File picKUALA LUMPUR, April 24 ― Veteran MCA politician Datuk Lee Hwa Beng hosed down today his party’s claims that a vote for DAP could lead vicariously to the implementation of hudud law, pointing out that it was “impossible” for any winner of Election 2013 to set up an Islamic theocratic state.

Without naming any party, he noted that there were politicians who relied on fear-mongering tactics among the Chinese community by warning them that an Islamic state will result if the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition comes into power or, alternatively, if there is a coalition of Umno and PAS.

MCA, hit by widespread unpopularity among the Chinese electorate, has made the possibility of an Islamic state a central plank of its campaign in Election 2013.

The party has placed a number of newspaper advertisements suggesting that a vote for DAP is a vote for hudud, the Islamic penal law, especially after the PR party said it had considered using the logo of PAS in the general election following now-dispelled doubts about its ability to apply its own symbol.

Lee, the former Port Klang Authority (PKA) chairman who gained public acknowledgement for his role in investigating the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, pointed out that any change to the Federal Constitution required a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

He said in a letter to The Malaysian Insider today that the number of seats contested by the various political parties, including the main Muslim parties of Umno and PAS, suggest that it was impossible to amend the constitution as needed for an Islamic state.

Lee based this on the assumption that all non-Muslim MPs would not vote for any amendment to introduce an Islamic theocratic state.

“For example in the Terengganu state assembly some years ago when PAS introduced hudud law, the lone MCA member abstained from voting for it whereas, in contrast, all the Umno members voted for it,” he said.

He pointed out that even if Umno won all 105 parliamentary seats it was contesting in the peninsula and the 15 in Sabah, and if Sarawak’s PBB took 14 seats there, these would still total only 134.

This, he pointed out, remains short of the two-thirds majority ― 148 seats ― needed to amend the constitution.

He added that while it may appear possible if Umno, PAS and PBB formed a coalition, it should be noted that PAS and Umno were competing for many of the same seats.

“My conclusion is that an Islamic theocratic state is impossible in our multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural country, safeguarded by our societal constitution and the Federal Constitution itself.”

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/islamic-state-impossible-in-multiracial-malaysia-says-mca-man/

马来西亚：彩虹的国度 -- 解密“7”这个数字。探讨马来西亚第 7 任首相人选

    在圣经中，彩虹是指到救恩。它是神的应许。上帝说：“我要与你们立约：凡有生命的必不再被洪水除灭，再没有洪水来毁灭大地了。”（创世纪9：11）。重点是“再没有”。当上帝使马来西亚成为一个彩虹国度时，它表示她不再被邪恶的“洪水”夺去福分。

彩虹是由七种颜色组成的。在圣经中，“7”这个数字是代表“完美”。令人惊讶的是“7”这个数字对马来西亚是非常重要的。

-- 马来亚独立日

1957 + 8 + 31 = 1966 = 7

-- 第一任首相东姑阿都拉曼

是一个苏丹的第7个王子 = 7

-- 在独立日，东姑宣告

“默迪卡”这个字7次 = 7

-- 三个殖民地于1963年9月16日加入马来亚成为马来西亚

组成了14个州，但新加坡两年后脱离

不过后来联邦直辖区替补了

（吉隆坡，纳闽，和布特拉再也乃归纳为单一直辖区名称）

13州 + 1 = 14，即7的两倍

         -- 马来西亚国旗

星有14个角，即7的两倍

红条纹 = 7

白条纹 = 7

-- 马来西亚时常宣称有七个种族

马来人，华人，印度人，卡达山人，达雅人，原住民，其他 = 7

-- 去年马来西亚成立第50年进入禧年（Year of Jubilee）

在圣经中，禧年是说明从捆绑中得到自由和释放

49年是7年的7倍

2012 + 9 + 16 + （49年的捆绑） = 2086 = 7

-- 在禧年，马来西亚人进行第13届全国大选

2013 + 5 + 5 = 2023 = 7

-- ……..第7任首相人选是…….

让我引用司提夫·奥根英文著作“马来西亚，亚洲的彩虹国度”第46到47面的一段话：

上帝的旨意是要马来西亚所有的领袖都有一个彩虹的品格。但将会来到第7任首

相，他会有美的东西与平衡、怜悯与恩典的至高体现。他会把彩虹的国度带到一个之前所没有的高峰。他会以彩虹的多姿多彩来承载挪亚的心志。他会以带领马来西亚进入一个新的释放，安息和复位之能力来彰显禧年的恩典。因着他领导力形象的重要性，就会为马来西亚第7任首相的地位出现激烈的竞争。

也请阅读“辛蒂雅各牧师给马来西亚发的三个预言：
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5955743899449414041#editor/target=post;postID=1850527018717233226;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=288;src=postname

奉行“你帮我，我帮你”策略，纳吉政府4年耗577亿派糖

奉行“你帮我，我帮你”策略
纳吉政府4年耗577亿派糖

2013年4月23日 中午12点47分

政治学者估计，原任首相兼国阵主席纳吉自2009年4月上台以来，已经耗费至少577亿令吉来派发“糖果”，以利诱选民回流支持国阵。

长期观察马来西亚政治发展的美籍学者碧莉洁（Bridget Welsh，右图）撰文表示，有别于国阵之前倾向承诺各种大型发展计划的“发展政治”，纳吉时代的国阵已经有新的商业化趋向。

“他承继一个很艰难的局面，最重要的是，他需要胜出（更多的）议席。在过去4年，他投入一场可说是东南亚区内最昂贵的选举造势活动，同时也是大马历史上最昂贵一次。”

“在这场选举，新的商业化趋势已经形成，‘你帮我，我帮你’，以及‘让我们达成一场交易’这类口头禅正在形塑这场竞选运动，这基本上就是一场金钱交易。”

研究4年新闻和预算案
碧莉洁也是新加坡管理大学政治科学副教授。她指出，在研究2009年4月以来的4000项新闻报道（主要是来自官方新闻社《马新社》），以及2010年至2013年的财政预算案和附加预算案后，她保守估计纳吉政府4年来总共耗费577亿令吉，于各种选举相关的“糖果”和计划。

其中，两大主要的“糖果”类型是具有政治针对性的拨款，以及各种一个大马概念相关的计划。

就如图表所显示，最大笔的开销其实并非是包括一个大马人民援助金在内的一马计划而已，相反也包括其他调薪和民粹措施，比如首相署直接管理的建校基金。

其他具有针对性的拨款，还包括发给德士司机的援金、重复发给渔民的拨款、拨给柔州金海湾发展计划的特别拨款、原住民所获的白米津贴、乌雪特别房屋计划、农业生意所获的50%津贴、学生乘搭火车获得特别折扣，以及太阳能津贴等等。

仍未包括一马组织开销

不过，这笔577亿令吉的选举相关开销，并没有包括特别基建的开销。这些开销已经增加，特别是国防领域。

此外，这笔开销也只是涉及公帑而已，并没有考虑到其他不透明的大型晚宴和表演捐献，以及一些与政府拥有密切关系的商人所借出的私人飞机。

碧莉洁强调，这数额只能被视为是一项估计，它同时也没有计算那些与国阵有密切关系的一马非政府组织所耗费的开销。这些组织的资金来源都不透明。

平均每名选民4363元

碧莉洁表示，若以人头计算，纳吉政府估计在每名选民已经投入4363令吉。她预测，政府接下来还会耗费更多的资源与选举活动。

她指出，国阵选举开销的其中一个重要特点就是它们具有针对性。国阵明显是鉴定潜在的选民群体后，再确定他们的紧急需要，并满足他们。

其中一些措施就是针对教师、渔民和年轻人，一些则更狭隘，只是针对特定地域。

不管兴权会华校都满足

“如果纳吉发现一个群体拥有合理的需求，他会尝试满足它，不管你是来自兴权会还是华校。”

“这都是国阵‘让我们达成一项协议’的竞选运动的一部分。其典型操作模式就和巫统选举一样，只是这次的买票形势是遍及全国，并且使用公帑来资助。”

以为大马人都可被收买

碧莉洁表示，国阵策略基本上就是假设大马公民都可以被收买，而这些民众的主要目的都是为钱而来。

“这种对唯物主义的痴迷是马哈迪时代的余毒，它假设每个人的价值都是以他们到底拥有多少间屋子、多少辆车，以及是否拥有最新的智慧电话来判断。”

碧莉洁批判说，“金钱政治”已经在巫统根深蒂固。它也假设主导范式就是累积财富，并忘记了道德和基本原则。

“他们是否还看到社会的其他需求？他们是否真的认为所有大马人只是在乎钱？”

“最核心的问题，他们已经错误认为大马人是贪婪的。他们把自己的价值和行为套用在公众身上。”
将本身当成为商品贩卖

碧莉洁表示，纳吉竞选活动另外一个商业化的倾向，就是把他自己和国阵当成商品来贩卖。

“国阵被形容是一个人民应该重新购买的商品。政府正希望选民会自动买账，重新购买这个已经55岁的执政联盟。”

“为什么把焦点放在营销纳吉？这和上述所提的商业交易是基于一样的原则。纳吉被包装成为一项商品，而过着被包装是‘长久’都会存在的商品。”

碧莉洁表示，国阵也使用大批广告开销，来支撑他们的营销。她估计，国阵至今已经耗费将近1亿令吉来刊登广告。

“传统上，政府都会使用主流媒体来传达其竞选讯息，而这次他们至今已经在公共网站、广告和节目上耗费1亿令吉来刊登广告，而这也包括《当今大马》。”

或会像罗姆尼弄巧反拙

无论如何，碧莉洁认为，纳吉商业化的竞选策略只会弄巧反拙，因为无法从人本看待问题，反而会让选民更加认为国阵已经过期。

她以美国共和党总统候选人罗姆尼为例，指后者在2012年总统大选耗费58亿美元，却最终仍落败。

“他耗费数十亿美元，但是却缺乏人性触点。这反而是（民主党总统）奥巴马从基层建立起来，以人为本的竞选组织，用来赢取人民忠诚和希望的重要接触点。”

“一个成功的竞选运动必须从人的全面人性看到人本身，而不只是视为唯物主义的消费者。纳吉商业化的竞选运动只会进一步让选民看透其其方式和产品已经过期。”

来源：http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/227739

Malaysia Needs to Get Off the Road to Mediocrity

By William Pesek Apr 23, 2013 10:00 AM GMT+0800

In his bid for re-election, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has dispensed with all shame. Vote for me, he has essentially declared, or Malaysia will suffer “catastrophic ruin” and an “Arab Winter” of the kind that has undone economies from Egypt to Libya.

Both warnings are ludicrous -- signs of how worried Najib’s National Front coalition is of losing power for the first time since 1957. They speak to the desperation of a government that has come to serve itself, not Malaysia’s 29 million people. And they are emblematic of a leader whose talk of bold change hasn’t been matched by action.

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Najib’s claim is this: Giving the opposition, led by former Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim, a chance to lead on May 5 would reverse all the gains Malaysia has made since the 2008 financial crisis. The economy would crater, stocks and the currency would plunge, and chaos would reign.

Change through the ballot box in a democracy should never be disruptive or chaotic, and rhetoric suggesting otherwise is disingenuous. Najib likes to say: “The time has come for Malaysians to make a decision.” Actually, the time has come for Malaysia’s government to grow up.

Najib’s scaremongering, some of which came out of an April 17 Bloomberg News interview, smacks of the re-election campaign run almost a decade ago by then U.S. President George W. Bush. Instead of this vote-for-me-or-you’re-in-danger appeal, Najib should scare up some headline-grabbing reforms that leave Malaysia better off in the future.

Developing Complacency

The country’s biggest problem is complacency. Malaysia Inc. can be a slow-moving, change-resistant animal in a very dynamic neighborhood. Nations as diverse as China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are evolving in ways that have enabled them to leapfrog peers in a few years. They are all competing for the same infrastructure dollars, factory projects, bond deals and stock issues. Singapore, meanwhile, has become the beneficiary of many of Malaysia’s best and brightest, who have emigrated in search of a more merit-based economy.

Malaysia is a resource-rich nation with huge potential. But it remains shackled to a four-decade-old affirmative-action program -- favoring ethnic Malays -- that turns off foreign investors and undermines national productivity. This so-called New Economic Policy was devised by Najib’s father, Abdul Razak Hussein, the country’s second prime minister.

Najib, 59, has indeed rolled back some of those preferences to encourage investment. He did away with a requirement that foreign companies investing in Malaysia and locally listed businesses set aside 30 percent of their equity for ethnic Malays and indigenous peoples known as “bumiputera.” It’s time to go much further and dismantle all race-based policies.

Little Difference

When, for example, can more ethnic Chinese expect to start winning the really big government contracts? Here, Najib’s real quarrel may be with his own government. Anwar is pro-markets and pro-investment, too. When you look at the core of what Najib is promising voters -- less corruption and higher living standards -- it’s not wildly different from the opposition’s message. The trouble is, Najib is navigating a 13-party coalition whose interests are as entrenched as any in the world. His partners are pushing back quite assertively, afraid of losing the Malay vote they could once take for granted.

Money Politics

The opposition has gained traction with its claims that Malay-run companies, from power producers to toll-road operators, unfairly benefit from their ties to the government. Najib’s pledges to clamp down on crony capitalism and to instill greater transparency have been undercut by measures such as the ban on street protests that passed on his watch. Now, many voters hope to wipe the slate clean.

When he’s not trying to frighten voters, Najib is touting Malaysia’s 6.4 percent growth as proof he is a radical-change agent. In fact, much of Southeast Asia also is booming, and the government is helping to artificially fuel growth with populist handouts. Even more than the $444 billion of private sector-led projects ranging from oil storage to a mass-transit railway that Najib has championed, the country needs reforms that will revitalize the system as a whole. The government should be encouraging more startup companies, widening the tax base and hacking away at subsidies that institutionalize complacency.

All too often, rapid gross-domestic-product growth is used as a smoke screen to hide underlying cracks in an economy’s long-run potential. In Malaysia’s case, the numbers mask a government too focused on staying in power to do its job. If anything should be scaring Malaysian voters, it’s that.

(William Pesek is a Bloomberg View columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this article: William Pesek in Tokyo at wpesek@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this article: Nisid Hajari at nhajari@bloomberg.net

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-23/malaysia-needs-to-get-off-the-road-to-mediocrity.html

EC tries to stop Ambiga from discussing politics

BY CLARA CHOOI
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
APRIL 21, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — The Election Commission (EC) allegedly attempted to bar Datuk Ambiga Sreenavasan from speaking about politics at a church in Seremban today, even threatening legal action against the polls reform activist.

Writing about the incident on her Twitter account, the Bersih 2.0 co-chairman said during the event at the Church of Visitation, an officer with the EC told her she could be charged under Section 27 of the Election Offences Act 1954.

"SPR officer came to me and said no poetical speeches or they would charge me. I said go ahead," she wrote, using the Malay acronym for the EC. Ambiga later corrected her posting to read "political speeches".

According to the well-known former Bar Council president the section of the law used by the officer was only applicable to candidates standing for election.

"I am not one," Ambiga (picture) pointed out in another posting.

Section 27 of the Election Offences Act 1957 stipulates that: "Every person who commits an illegal practice shall, on conviction by a Sessions Court, be liable to a fine of five thousand ringgit and, subject to any specific provision to the contrary in any written law relating to any election, shall by conviction until the expiration of five years from such conviction become incapable of being registered or listed as an elector or of voting at any election under this Act or of being elected at any election, and if at that date he has been elected at any election, his seat shall be vacated from the date of such conviction."

Ambiga added that in her response to the "high handed" officer, she suggested that the EC act on vote-buying and other polling discrepancies.

Despite the EC "intrusion" and heavy police presence, however, Ambiga said the event, a talk on voters rights, went on smoothly.

"Seremban rocks!" she concluded.

The EC has repeatedly warned Ambiga and the polls watchdog group Bersih 2.0 not to disrupt the coming election, alleging that the group's campaign to employ citizen observers would only hamper the polling process.

A total 13,268,002 Malaysians registered on the roll and are eligible to vote in the 13th general elections, touted to be a tight race between a stronger three-party opposition pact and the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition for federal power.

Of that figure, 12,992,661 voters will cast their ballot on May 5 while Malaysians registered to vote by post, including those living and working abroad, will get to cast their ballots earlier on April 28, a Sunday.

The EC has listed 2,954 Malaysians abroad as absentee voters.

Security personnel and their spouses from the armed forces and police force are also eligible to vote by post. The military voters number 161,251 while policemen make up 111,136 votes.

BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the dissolution of Parliament on April 3, four years to the date from when he took office in 2009, replacing Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as prime minister mid-term after the Penang lawmaker led Barisan Nasional (BN) to its worst performance since 1963.

The 13-party coalition lost its customary two-thirds majority in Parliament as well as five states in Election 2008.

A total of 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats will be contested. Sarawak will sit out this round of elections as the Borneo state went to the polls in 2011.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ec-tries-to-stop-ambiga-from-discussing-politics/