DAP ready to work with Sabah and Sarawak leaders to fight for rights

NOVEMBER 17, 2013

DAP today said it was willing to work together and cooperate with state government leaders in Sabah and Sarawak to ensure that they retained their equal status in the Federation of Malaysia.

Pasty secretary-general Lim Guan Eng (pic) attacked Umno's arrogance in assuming that they were the masters and everyone else had to submit to them.

He slammed Umno's racist and extremist ideologies, saying it had warped and twisted the minds of the party's young leaders and left them with the wrong perception.

Lim said Umno's young leaders had been influenced by the party's policies to the extent that they assumed the party were the masters and others had to be subservient.

"This has caused friction not just between Putrajaya and Sabah and Sarawak but even among the average Malaysians, especially the non-Muslims,” Lim said in a statement today in response to the frustration expressed by Sarawak Land Development Minister Tan Sri James Masing in a report published in The Malaysian Insider today.

Masing accused young Umno leaders of causing friction between Putrajaya and the Sarawak state government as they had adopted the attitude that Umno were the masters."The attack by Masing on the Umno leaders indicates that Sabah and Sarawak have realised that they are not being respected but are instead being exploited by Putrajaya," Lim noted.

Masing said when Umno spoke with them, they make themselves feel as if they were superior and Sarawakians were their coolies.

He said he felt irritated with these leaders as they did not treat those from Sarawak as equal partners in the administration of the federation.

"Sabah and Sarawak seems to be like an appendix to West Malaysia," Masing challenged.

Lim echoed Masing's frustrations with Umno, saying issues which strained state-federal ties included the Home Ministry's decision to ban the use of the word Allah in Herald, a weekly publication under the Catholic church.

"The issue has fanned the anger of the 1.6 million Christians in East Malaysia as it was seen by the people of Sabah and Sarawak as breaching the terms drawn up when Malaysia was first formed."

"Although it has taken Masing almost 30 years of his political career to realise Umno's arrogance and the master-servant attitude adopted by the party towards Sabah, Sarawak and Malaysians, but better late than never," Lim said.

He said DAP was willing to cooperate fully with the state leaders in Sabah and Sarawak to check Umno's arrogance.

"We want to ensure that Sabah and Sarawak retain their status as equal partners in Malaysia and are not reduced to a master-servant relationship reminiscent of the old British colonial era," Lim added.

DAP is willing to support Sabah and Sarawak to demand an increase in their share of oil and gas royalties from the present 5% to 20% and to end the present cabotage policy.

"The time has come to return the natural wealth of both states back to the people and to ensure a fair implementation of the 1Malaysia, 1Price policy.

"The people of Sabah and Sarawak should no longer be discriminated against by having to pay higher prices than those in peninsular Malaysia," Lim said. - November 17, 2013.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dap-ready-to-work-with-sabah-and-sarawak-leaders-to-fight-for-rights

‘Global settlement’ settles nothing, say Bersih co-chief, MPs

BY BOO SU-LYN, IDA LIM and JOSEPH SIPALAN
November 14, 2013

Ambiga countered that the law expressly allows for election petitions to challenge polls result that were in dispute. — AFP pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 14 — Barisan Nasional’s (BN) proposed blanket settlement for outstanding election petitions will not resolve the underlying issues behind the disputes even if it ends the legal wrangling, opposition lawmakers and polls reformists said yesterday. They argued that such a settlement would simply prevent scrutiny over the alleged problems, instead of allowing the Federal Court to determine once and for all if aggrieved parties can seek justice when faced with instances of alleged electoral misconduct. 
“A settlement will effectively sweep everything under the carpet, everything that is wrong with the system, as opposed to being addressed by the highest court,” Bersih co-chair Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan told The Malay Mail Online when met at the court complex here.
“It may sweep serious issues under the carpet as opposed to allowing the Federal Court to adjudicate on it but ultimately it depends on the terms of the settlement,” she added. Yesterday, BN lawyers proposed the settlement deal, which calls for both BN and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to withdraw all election petitions against results of the 13th General Election still pending appeal at the Federal Court. The counsel for the ruling coalition said the offer was put on the table as they believed that the courts should not be used “as a means to change the government”, while at the same time seek an amicable solution to the current standoff. 
Ambiga countered that the law expressly allows for election petitions to challenge polls result that were in dispute. “Bringing an election petition is a right of the party, and given some of the serious allegations that have been brought forward, we hope that the court will have a chance to decide on these issues,” she said. 
DAP’s Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo noted that far from deciding a new government through the courts, a victorious petition will merely send the contest back to the ballot box. “If we’re successful, there’ll be a re-election. It’s up to the people to decide. We’re seeking fresh elections on grounds that elections earlier were tainted with irregularities,” he said. Gobind added that the petitioners need to stay the course as they have all suffered summary disposal of their applications by the Election Court on purely technical grounds, without even being heard. “The Federal Court must make a ruling on that, to determine what has happened at the High Court, whether the approach taken is correct. This is important for future litigation,” he said. 
PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali agreed that the issue went beyond seeking an amicable solution, and spoke of a serious need to address the allegations of polls irregularities raised by the opposition. “The issue is far greater than that. It’s not just a matter of settlement. There are other issues pertaining to this, regarding the SPR and all,” he said, referring the Malay acronym for the Election Commission. But some are at least entertaining the proposal, wary of the extreme financial costs associated with seeing the petitions through to the end. 
PKR vice-president and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said that PR petitioners need to be practical when considering their options, especially since this is the last chance that they can legally challenge the outcome of the May national polls. “We’re still mediating. We must be mindful of the exorbitant costs, we must be mindful of the limitations under the current law whereby election petitions can be struck out based on mere technicalities,” she said. 
Gelang Patah MP and senior DAP leader Lim Kit Siang echoed the sentiment on the heavy costs imposed by the Election Court on failed petitions, which he described as “excessive” and “indefensible”. “That should be one of the issues to be dealt with, but even if that is taken into account, what should be the attitude (in negotiating a settlement)? We need the full details before we can say more,” he said. 
PAS’s Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad, meanwhile, said that BN must provide some consideration beyond extending the olive branch. “There must be something on top of that. Some form of reform, so that in future, the hands of the court are not tied. Make sure that things like these do not happen again. They have to ensure that there are fairer elections,” he said. 
PR and BN filed at least 56 election petitions across the country, 35 of which were by the opposition while the ruling coalition put in 21 submissions. None of the petitions was successful, leaving political parties to pay the costs running into millions of ringgit after the Election Court imposed some of the highest costs on petitioners in the history of the country’s elections. Currently, holding the record for the most expensive failure in the Kuala Berang petition, which saw the Election Court in Kuala Terengganu order PAS to pay RM150,000 in costs.
Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/global-settlement-settles-nothing-say-bersih-co-chief-mps

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Activist on a mission, Haris Ibrahim says bent on serving truth to bottom 40%

BY RITA JONG

OCTOBER 25, 2013

Activist Haris Ibrahim (pic) has made it a personal mission to take the "40%" truth to the masses in the heartlands in the next general election.

“I serve the 40% (of people) who are marginalised and if they are prepared to wait it out, then I will serve them to wait it out. If they cannot sustain their daily lives having to wait out four years, I’ll (also) serve them,” he said in an interview with Australian Broadcasting Network’s Radio Australia in Sydney yesterday.

Haris is a member of the ABU – Anything But Umno – movement. He has been fighting to change the government and one of the reasons he gives is that 40% of Malaysians live below the poverty line.

In the interview with presenter Sen Lam, he explained the scenarios faced by Malaysians recently, including the Allah issue and the religious tension as well as the negative outlook and the deteriorating fiscal position of the country’s economy.

“We need to very closely monitor the economy, to see whether we can in fact survive the huge foreign debt that this regime and its predecessor have built up. We are expecting price hikes over the next year,” he said.

“We’ve seen international reports that suggest the economy of Malaysia is on the verge of a disaster. Now the questions are being asked. A lot of the Malaysian diaspora would like to know where the nation is going to and what can they do to take it back in the direction that our forefathers had intended, 'one people, one nation', all equal.

“History has taught us, the history of revolutions will teach us, that when the numbers who are marginalised are large enough, they will come around and change the way of life of the middle class. Now they (the middle class) don’t want that to happen, so I stand with the marginalised now.”

Haris told the radio show that over the years, as he worked on the ground, he has seen the injustice, the inequality that has been perpetrated.

"This has been served to the 40%, and I think reached the point where I say this cannot go on.

"It begins to make the comfortable life that I have seemingly meaningless when, around the corner, I have to pass abject poverty to get to my comfortable home."

He said a day after the May 5 polls, he did not recognise Datuk Seri Najib Razak as Prime Minister.

"Nor do I recognise his regime as the legitimate government of Malaysia, because there was wholesale fraud on the 5th.

"We've seen the Umno election just conclude and Zahid Hamidi (Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) is the Home Minister of a government I don't recognise and, therefore, I do not recognise his position.

"He was heard to say that a known notorious bunch of gangsters should carry on with what they're doing, that there may a policy on the part of the Malaysian police to shoot first when there is evidence, rather than to allow for due process.

"Now, should I to be encouraged then, by his recent huge victory at the Umno election? Is that a message of the kind of leadership that Najib is going to bring, to take this country forward, One Malaysia? Sorry sir, I beg to differ."

Haris made news recently when his visa application to Australia was rejected.

The Australian High Commission had described him as "high risk" as he might not want to return to Malaysia because he was facing a sedition charge. Furthermore, he was unemployed.

He obtained his visa after making a second application.

Haris was previously a lawyer by profession but gave that up to help the marginalised.

“You reach a point where it becomes meaningless if so many of your fellow Malaysians are deprived of the basic opportunities that you have been given simply because of ethnic considerations.

“I guess I find the comfort in seeing little incremental improvements. Undoubtedly, the young Malaysians give me hope that even as we appear to be in a state of seeming hopelessness, we will see the light at the end of the tunnel,” added Haris. – October 25, 2013.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/activist-on-a-mission-haris-ibrahim-bent-on-serving-marginalised-40

Will Pakatan PASs the test?

Selena Tay

 | September 25, 2013

If PAS retreats from Pakatan, we will only be giving a lifeline to Umno, says Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

COMMENT

In a forum in Kedah on Sept 14, 2013, a small group of PAS leaders and members have called for a review of PAS’ ties with its coalition partners in Pakatan Rakyat.

Then on Sept 15, a Malay daily has the front-page headline ‘Pakatan Rugikan PAS?’ with the content highlighting Harun Taib’s (chief of Dewan Ulama) speech saying that PAS needs to review its ties with DAP and PKR.

Pertaining to the above matter, the interview below is the views of Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the PAS spiritual advisor.

These views were obtained via the assistance of the good office of Khalid Samad, the PAS Shah Alam MP and it deals at length with the issue of PAS in Pakatan.

Commenting on Harun Taib’s statement, Nik Aziz stressed that the co-operation with DAP and PKR was not decided upon by only a few individuals in PAS but was a collective decision by the PAS top leadership and reinforced in the PAS Muktamar in 2009.

He added that he certainly does not see this decision as a wrong one because being in Pakatan has enabled PAS to move forward in the Malaysian political scenario.

In addition to that, PAS can present the true face of Islam to the non-Muslims in a way that Umno has never done before.

“Umno not only hinders the non-Muslims from understanding Islam but also hinders the Muslims themselves from understanding their own religion. Umno’s weapon is racism, the Umno symbol is the unsheathed keris and their politics is of the style of the street gangs.

“This being the case, the non-Muslims will fail to see the beauty of Islam when it is presented by Umno,” remarked the former Menteri Besar of Kelantan for 23 years, adding that in Pakatan, PAS’ Islamic approach has never been opposed.

He also informed this columnist that even top DAP leaders frequently come to his office for a discussion on noble Islamic values. And these DAP leaders are also knowledgeable in Islamic law and terminology.

In his view, PAS must move forward and the experience of over 60 years as an Islamic movement has taught PAS that to stay relevant in the Malaysian political scene, PAS must understand the political situation and must learn to accept principles that are friendly to Islamic jurisprudence.

Therefore PAS members must not enslave PAS in their own mind. As a party that bears the name of Islam in its struggle, it is compulsory for PAS to present Islam well to all Malaysians.

“It cannot be denied that PAS wants to win in the general elections. But PAS is more than that as it is also incumbent upon PAS to be a missionary on the political stage. PAS being in Pakatan is never a wrong decision but in fact a very good decision according to the reality of Malaysian politics,” commented the current state assemblyman for Chempaka in Kelantan.

Giving lifeline to Umno

Nik Aziz also hopes that every PAS member will resolve to strengthen the party.

“And in connection with reviewing PAS’ ties with its coalition partners in Pakatan, by all means we can do so but only with the purpose of strengthening these ties. If we retreat then we are only giving a lifeline to Umno,” concluded the party spiritual leader.

Wise words indeed from him – the perfect execution of the flying blade done with finesse and panache. Not only does PAS need Nik Aziz at the helm but more importantly so do DAP and PKR.

According to this columnist’s political analyst friend, if PAS joins Barisan Nasional, then Umno can totally ignore the non-Malay voters. But as long as PAS is still with Pakatan, then Umno will still need votes from the non-Malays.

And this is why that although PAS seems to be the weakest link in Pakatan with only 21 seats compared to DAP with 38 and PKR with 30, PAS is in fact the strongest in Pakatan.

According to Khalid Samad, “Umno has failed in breaking up Pakatan. Umno will always target PAS for attack because in every election, it is mostly PAS candidates who will be contesting against Umno’s candidates.”

“Therefore if PAS is weak, Umno will have it easy in the hustings. That is the reason why Umno will always try to weaken PAS by telling the Malays that PAS is the lackey of DAP.”

Khalid also mentioned that PAS being in Pakatan has benefitted the country’s political climate by enhancing the two-coalition concept.

“Although PAS’ total of 21 seats in parliament was two less than the 23 it obtained in year 2008, the two seats of Titiwangsa (lost by 866 votes) and Kuala Selangor (lost by 460 votes) were lost due to advanced voting and definitely not Pakatan’s fault,” surmised Khalid.

Likewise the lost of Kedah was due to the enemy’s malicious propaganda on former menteri besar, Azizan Abdul Razak’s ill health and had nothing to do with DAP or PKR.

Khalid adds that he concurs with the stand of Nik Aziz, Hadi Awang (PAS president and Marang MP) and Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (PAS Information Chief) to remain in Pakatan.

Selena Tay is a DAP member and a FMT columnist.

Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/09/25/will-pakatan-pass-the-test-2/

Pemantau delivers damning verdict on GE13

Lisa J. Ariffin

 | September 11, 2013

Bersih's citizen monitoring group, Pemantau, concludes that GE13 was not clean and fair.

PETALING JAYA: The 13th general election was neither clean nor fair, said Bersih’s citizen monitoring group, Pemantau, in its report on electoral irregularities.

Pemantau, which consists of Bersih, Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections (Mafrel) and human rights group Pusat Komas – hoped their report would help the public to decide if the Election Commission (EC) should be held accountable for electoral irregularities that happened during GE13.

“The entire political culture needs changing. The inheritance of this culture and lawlessness has been going on in Malaysia for so long,” said Bersih’s Yasmin Masidi, said during yesterday’s launch of Pemantau’s election observation report titled “Clean and Fair?”.

“This all takes place in a context where the institutions believe they can get away with things (election misconduct). This needs to change,” she added.

Bersih steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah lamented that if the EC had recognised Pemantau and allowed observers into polling stations, the report would have been ‘more comprehensive’.

“The reports gathered are based on witnesses’ accounts of what transpired during the polls,” she said, referring to incidents of political violence, illegal campaigning, conveyance of voters and even harassment of election observers.

“With only 2,000 of us, we could not cover the whole country but what is stated in the report is enough for the EC to take action,” she added.

Asked if the GE13 results should be declared “null and void” in light of numerous electoral misconduct, Mafrel chairman Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh said that it was not up to Pemantau to make the call.

“We must go back to laws of the country. We have election petitions.

“We must go through the process of law before we can say the election is null and void,” he said.

However, Syed Ibrahim said that it was possible for the EC to conduct fresh election if ‘the public raise a lot of concern.’

Maria then disclosed that Pemantau was looking into producing the full report in booklet-form to be distributed to the public.

“We will give it back to the people. We will also give it to every political party, government departments, ministries and the EC,” she said.

Change is inevitable

Meanwhile, Bersih co-chairman S Ambiga urged the people to hold on to their hopes for change.

“Change is not easy and it takes time. But change is inevitable… it has already started. Malaysians are more aware of what’s going on around them,” she said.

Ambiga also reiterated her NGO’s call for the incumbent EC leaders to resign.

“We need to hold the EC accountable. They have one single job, which is running elections and nothing else… they can’t even get that right, or they do not want to get it right” she said, admitting that she believed in the latter argument.

“They have failed in their task and still adamant in staying on. They are not shamed enough to step down. However, I am confident the people will look into that,” she added.

Asked if Bersih was planning to conduct another street rally to pressure the EC chiefs to resign, Ambiga said Bersih 4.0 is ‘inevitable’ if the EC leaders continue to ignore their demands.

The report can be downloaded www.bersih.org.

Source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/09/11/pemantau-delivers-damning-verdict-on-ge13/

Bersih’s tribunal gets Election Commission tip-offs on likely electoral fraud

BY ELIZABETH ZACHARIAH
SEPTEMBER 07, 2013
LATEST UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 07, 2013 11:08 AM

The Bersih People's Tribunal panelists. The tribunal will be one of the avenues for Pakatan Rakyat to voice their electoral fraud claims. The Malaysian Insider pic, September 7, 2013.From the "thousands of complaints" the Bersih People’s Tribunal has received on electoral fraud so far, the surprise has been several "leads" provided by Election Commission officials.

Why this is surprising is because the EC is also being investigated by the tribunal for its conduct in the 13th General Election, said the tribunal's legal team chief, Professor Gurdial Singh (pic, 3rd from left).

The "leads" provided by the EC officers have been investigated by lawyers and the findings will be presented when the tribunal sits from September 18 to 22.

Gurdial said the tribunal is also tasked with finding out whether the EC had acted fairly and independently in carrying out their tasks in the polls on May 5.

Gurdial, who is also Professor of Law at the Law Faculty of the University of Malaya and Director of the Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity Law, said the leads were just a few from "several thousand complaints" on election malpractices the tribunal had received since June.

The tribunal was mooted in response to the public outcry and concerns of electoral fraud and irregularities in Malaysia’s 13th general election.

Bersih's Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan had said that the tribunal may not have any legal standing but will serve as a “moral force” to publicly expose electoral fraud.

"These complaints have come from various sources - observers from political parties, the public and also election petitions from both sides. They have identified themselves by names and contact," Gurdial told The Malaysian Insider today.

A team of 30 lawyers will collate all the information and investigate then follow-up on the complaints.

"We will use complaints by people who can directly attest to what had happened and not just through hearsay and where possible, with evidence such as photographs or documents."

Those who lodged complaints and had their reports verified and investigated, Gurdial pointed out, had to sign a statutory declaration, to add credibility to their statements.

"Those who are in the country will be required to come and give testimony during the proceedings," he added.

He explained that the tribunal has categorised every complaint under several categories of malpractices and it will be presented during the proceedings as such.

"We will look at systemic problems and how pervasive were these problems in the election process," the professor added.

The categories of malpractices include voter choice, or anything that prevented voters from voting who they wanted by promises, inducement, vote-buying, threats, money politics and the abuse of the media.

Gurdial said the other category of malpractice was whether the election process was carried out properly.

"This is where complaints on the indelible ink, double voting, the integrity of the electoral rolls and the abuse of state machinery will be probed," he added.

The last category, he disclosed, was the conduct of the institution which carried out the elections - the EC themselves - that is, if they had carried out their task under the Constitution and did they respond in an unbiased and timely manner to complaints.

The law professor also noted that to be fair, the tribunal had also written to Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

"Tengku Adnan had said that BN had filed 21 petitions, complaining about irregularities that caused their candidates to lose. So we want BN to have a say too," he said, adding that there was no answer yet from the BN on this.

Gurdial, who was also the chief prosecutor of the international Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal, said the panel will evaluate the evidence presented and then come up with proposals to reform.

"We are not only looking at problems but also want to recommend improvements," he said.

When asked if he thought whether the government would be open to the recommendations of the tribunal, Gurdial said, "this depends on whether they want to honour the commitment they made to the people or not".

"They (the government) had talked about 'dahulukan rakyat' and such. So, this is the voice of the rakyat. They should be thankful that they will get useful and constructive feedback regarding electoral practices."

The tribunal will be chaired by Yash Pal Ghai, an expert in constitutional law and Head of the Constitution Advisory Support Unit of the UN Development Programme in Nepal, former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Cambodia on human rights and former Chairperson of the Kenya Constitution Review Commission and Kenya National Constitutional Conference.

Other international panel members include Ramlan Surbakti (former deputy chairman of the Indonesian Election Commission) and Kraisak Choonhavan (president of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, a former Senator and deputy leader of the Democrat Party of Thailand).

The Malaysians on the tribunal are lawyer Datuk Azzat Kamaludin (former administrative and diplomatic officer with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia), Dr Mavis Puthucheary (former associate professor from the Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya) and Rev Dr Hermen Shastri (general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia). - September 7, 2013.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bersihs-tribunal-gets-ec-tip-offs-on-likely-electoral-fraud

Prophecies on Malaysia Compilation Part 2

Do spread these prophecies to your sphere of influence along with the previous and forthcoming ones, so that more and more people of YAHWEH in Malaysia (and globally) know what He has spoken over our Land through credible Prophets, and we will have a common rallying point and cause for Greater Unity :)

As you read and take hold of all of them, you will see God's Beautiful and Awesome Plan for Malaysia and the part we are called to play in His Global End-time plans.

Remember though, Prophecies are conditional to the Church and the people of GOD in that Land responding to His Rhema Word in Season.

Yes, there have been some disappointments and set back, but they are only temporary! 

The Church in Malaysia Will Arise to the Call of the Hour, for Greater Things are yet to Come!!!

Most Prophets the World over are saying the same thing about our Nation, "Malaysia, your time is NOW! This is your Kairos Moment, do not miss it!!!"

Can all of them, speaking through the Holy Spirit be wrong??

What are we going to do?

How are we going to respond Church?

YAHWEH's Eyes are Looking to and fro in Malaysia... 

Who will Rise up to His Call of the Hour and do the Radical Set-Apart things He is Calling us to do?

NOW is the Time Ambassador of ELOHIM, it's time to WAKE UP for the Clarion Call has gone out!!!

Please read:

The Three Prophecies on Malaysia by Rev. Cindy Jacobs

http://allenstae.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-three-prophecies-on-malaysia-by-rev.html 

敬爱的大家：

如果你有兴趣，请阅读此链接：

辛蒂雅各牧师于2012年为马来西亚发的三个预言

http://allenstae.blogspot.com/2012/08/2012.html 

马华是否该改变不入阁议决？

此篇文章也在星洲日报《言路版》刊登：http://opinions.sinchew.com.my/node/29688?tid=10
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        505第13届全国大选刚过100天，大马的政局有什么变化了？人民看不到什么对他们有利的变化，反而看到主要的政党如巫统，马华公会，国大党，民政党忙于党选及内乱，而行动党则忙于应付社团注册局的重选命令等。

        其中最近常见报的新闻是马华可能推翻之前在党大会通过的“输大选不入阁”的议决。在马华党员中，有支持也有反对“推翻议决”。而也有巫统人士及华团领袖劝马华应该入阁。

        马华在这次505全国大选的成绩是历来最差劲的，赢得的国州议员被讥笑为“7-Eleven”，大马的城镇人对此印象深刻，毕竟谁不认识“7-Eleven”连锁店？我不属于任何政党，我要对马华该不该改变不入阁和不谋官职议决作个简略分析。

        在2011-2012年的马华大会，党员通过议决，若2013年全国大选不比2008年大选更好的话，马华将不接受任何官职。当时他们有多深入的辩论，多少人反对？只有出席者知道，总之议决是通过了！但我想，带头呼吁党员支持议决的那些主要领袖们，真的没想到一旦通过了就是破釜沉舟，没有回头路，若反悔就必在“诚信”上打了折扣吗？

        马华作了如此的议决，乃不明白华裔选民的心意。马华以为华裔会担心没有华裔在政府里领导而回流马华，不，华裔乃看到华裔代表在政府里几十年每况愈下的发言表现，而认为有没有华裔代表都没所谓，结果国阵的华裔候选人都惨败！

        现在一些马华领袖，一些国阵成员党领袖，华团领袖开始劝勉检讨议决。我认为，如果这些人士在全国大选前也作出同样的呼吁，他们现在才有资格劝勉，其余在大选前没出声的都没有资格劝勉。后者作出劝勉，人民不难明白是一种看风把舵行为，想愚弄人民。

        华团领袖是什么声音？他们只是支持马华的少数华裔，没有代表性。在华裔普罗百姓的眼里，华团领袖都是大商家，两者格格不入，希望华团从今开始更频繁召集普罗百姓交流。从华裔投票的趋向，就知道真正的声音乃来自华裔普罗百姓。

        我认为，一、若马华真的推翻议决重新接受官职的话，将是马华的致命伤。马华入阁和接受官职后，真的能够改变国阵里头巫统一党独大的决策吗？若马华无能为力，一些对种族和宗教偏颇的政策将进一步腐蚀马华，下届全国大选极可能再被削减议席！尤其马华领袖抨击不公政策的言论时，中文报刊登，但巫统属下的马来文和英文报却不刊登，声音就达不到马来族群。就是这样，我们只能在中文报里吵闹！

        二、马华一旦推翻议决重新接受官职的话，下届全国大选，马华就给了民联在竞选中很强的炮弹！只要讲员站在讲台上询问听众：“你们要不要没有诚信，讲了不算数的马华？”或者：“国阵在第13届的口号‘一诺千金’，请问马华在大选后有没有一诺千金？”我的头脑现在就可想象那种震破天的回应！到时马华可能就回天无力也！

Despite goodies, Indian vote dropped by 6% in past polls

AUGUST 13, 2013
LATEST UPDATE: AUGUST 13, 2013 07:42 PM

Going into GE13, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was confident that the Indian vote was firmly with Barisan Nasional after nearly two years of doling out cash and other goodies to Indian groups.

He and other BN politicians were also boosted by the signing of a memorandum with Hindraf just before the general election, promising Waythamoorthy the position of deputy minister.

Guess what? BN lost the Indian vote to Pakatan Rakyat. The percentage of Indian support for BN dropped from 51.1% in 2008 to 45.1% this year.

This information was culled from a study by Merdeka Center of the voting patterns in 222 parliamentary seats.

Support for BN from Indian votes only increased in Kedah (11%) and Pahang (3.1%). It dropped sharply in the urban seats in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Johor, where Pakatan Rakyat found traction with its focus on BN's spotty record on fighting corruption, abuse of power, and unhappiness over unresolved issues involving minorities.

The swing away from BN was strong in Penang (14.9%), where Indians formed 10.9% of the electorate, in Johor (13.6%) where Indians were 6.6% and in Kuala Lumpur (10.2%) where 10.8% of voters were Indians.

The Merdeka Center survey also confirmed the trend of the Chinese swing away from BN. Only 24.4% of Chinese voters supported the ruling coalition, a drop of just under 20% from 2008.

Following BN's inability to win two-thirds control of Parliament for the second consecutive election, Najib and other BN leaders accused the community of betrayal, coining the phrase "Chinese tsunami" to explain BN's poor electoral performance.

The Chinese swing away from BN was strongest in Johor, which the DAP targeted as a frontline state by fielding a few of its national leaders, including Lim Kit Siang.

The Chinese were 39.4% of the voters in Johor. In 2008, BN obtained 52.7% of their vote. On May 5, this figure dropped to 21.3%.

In Pahang, where there was much concern over the Lynas rare earth project and the use of cyanide in gold mines in Chinese-heavy constituencies, the swing was a hefty 28% away from BN. In 2008, 51.4% of the Chinese voters supported BN. This time, the vote sank to 23.4%

In Kuala Lumpur, where the Chinese were 53.8% of the voters, only 12.3% voted for BN this time, compared with 30.1% in 2008. – August 13, 2013.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/despite-goodies-indian-vote-dropped-by-6-in-past-polls

Barisan Nasional would have lost without postal, advance votes, says Merdeka Center

AUGUST 12, 2013
LATEST UPDATE: AUGUST 12, 2013 09:38 AM

Numbers tell a story and the startling story that has emerged from studying the past general election results is this: Barisan Nasional could not have gone back to Putrajaya without the controversial postal and advanced votes system.

These votes alone gave BN victory in 22 parliamentary seats, which made all the difference. Without those 22 seats, BN would have tied with opposition Pakatan Rakyat at 111 seats.

Without those key postal and advanced votes, MIC would be without the two Cabinet ministers Datuk Seri S Subramaniam  (Segamat) and Datuk Seri G. Palanivel (Cameron Highlands).

Several seats in Johor and the Federal Territory would have also fallen to Pakatan Rakyat.

This new information was revealed in a voting pattern study by Merdeka Center, which was obtained by The Malaysian Insider.

Merdeka Center said that after stripping and analysing the data, it concluded that BN could have lost as many as 30 parliamentary seats if it did not win the postal/advance votes.

Data from different voting channels from the 222 parliamentary seats was analysed using a system designed to uncover natural groupings or clusters.

The study was able to show the voting patterns in GE13 and confirmed the rural and urban divide in Malaysia as well as the 20% swing of Chinese voters away from Barisan Nasional.

Merdeka Center noted that without advance and postal votes, BN would have lost 22 parliamentary seats. This finding will cause heartache for Opposition politicians who have been campaigning for the past few years for the abolishment of postal voters, arguing that it provides opportunities for fraud.

Following the general election on May 5, PKR, DAP and PAS filed petitions seeking to nullify election results in several constituencies.

Chief among their complaints was postal and advance voting fraud, pointing out that the few votes the Opposition received through these channels was far fewer than the support shown by ordinary voters across Malaysia.

The Election Commission (EC) said that there were some 372,000 advance or postal voters and they included security forces, EC workers and the media.

Their presence in any parliamentary constituency is significant considering how closely fought the election was. On average there was about 1,100 postal votes and 800 advance voters in every constituency.

The 30 parliamentary seats that BN could have lost without the postal/advance votes are: Segamat (93.3% of the postal and advance votes for BN), Bagan Serai (82.6% for BN), Muar (87.2% for BN), Pulai (88.8% for BN), Jerai (74.2% for BN), Balik Pulau (89.5% for BN), Machang (79.2% for BN), Labis (89.7% for BN), Kuala Selangor (71.7% for BN), Beaufort (71.7% for BN), Kuala Kangsar (76% for BN), Hulu Selangor (83.9% for BN), Sungai Besar (75.1% for BN), Baram (89.2% for BN), Kulim-Bandar Baharu (88.8% for BN), Pasir Gudang (89% for BN), Tangga Batu (86.4% for BN), Titiwangsa (78.9% for BN), Tasek Gelugor (68% for BN), Tenom (87.6% for BN), Bentong (89.9% for BN), CameronMIC president Palanivel won his Cameron Highlands parliament seat thanks to the postal and advance votes. TMI pic, August 12 2013.Highlands (91.3% for BN), Merbok (80.5% for BN), Ketereh (81.6% for BN), Setiawangsa (81.9% for BN), Mas Gading (72.3% for BN), and Keningau (78.4% for BN).

Among the notable politicians in Parliament today only because of advance and postal votes is MIC's president Palanivel. He won his Cameron Highlands seat by only 462 votes. And this after snaring 91.3% of the advance and postal votes.

Also fortunate was Chua Tee Yong, MCA president Chua Soi Lek' son. He won the Labis seat by only 353 votes. His share of advance and postal votes: 89.7%.

In its report, Merdeka Center concluded that "the implication of advance and postal voting on this election will certainly figure strongly as civil society and the opposition continue to pressure the EC for further reforms of the electoral process." – August 12, 2013.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/bn-kept-malaysia-thanks-to-postal-and-advance-votes1

Bersih, Pakatan want electoral roll subject to court oversight

BY BOO SU-LYN
JULY 18, 2013UPDATED: JULY 18, 2013 04:19 PM

Ambiga said if the Election Commission wanted transparency, it would not need the contentious section 9A to protect the electoral roll from judicial oversight.KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) launched an online campaign today to abolish section 9A of the Elections Act 1958 that prohibits the courts from reviewing the electoral roll.

Bersih co-chair Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan lent her support to the campaign, saying that if the Election Commission (EC) wanted transparency, it would not need the contentious section 9A to protect the electoral roll from judicial oversight.

”The problem we have with 9A is that the EC is the sole custodian of the electoral roll,” said Ambiga at a joint press conference with DAP MPs Charles Santiago, Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng in Parliament here today.

Santiago pointed out that section 9A was introduced after the 2001 landmark court ruling on the Likas by-election in Sabah, where the Kota Kinabalu High Court ruled that the electoral roll for the Likas state constituency contained phantom voters and declared the 1999 polls to be null and void.



"It is clear that section 9A was introduced to enable BN (Barisan Nasional) to protect their phantom voters," said the Klang MP.



"Once an electoral roll is gazetted, it cannot be challenged in court," he added. "The Election Commission has absolute power in controlling the electoral roll, even beyond that of the judiciary."



Santiago said that the "Mansuhkan 9A" (Abolish 9A) campaign was started by him, PAS' Sepang MP Mohamed Hanipa Maidin and PKR's Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.

Both Santiago and Nurul Izzah lost their bids in court before the May 5 polls to review the electoral rolls in their respective constituencies.



The two opposition lawmakers said there were phantom voters in the gazetted electoral rolls, but the Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam High Courts ruled against their favour, citing section 9A of the Elections Act.



PR researchers have alleged there are tens of thousands of phantom voters registered on the electoral rolls in states such as Sabah and Selangor.

The EC has disputed the claims, saying that the high percentage of discrepancies in the electoral roll was “normal”.



"Section 9A is an ouster clause as it contravenes the Doctrine of Separation of Powers," said Santiago.

"The role of the judiciary as the arbitrator of rights and duties is completely removed."



The petition is accessible at mansuhkan9A.

Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/bersih-pakatan-want-electoral-roll-subject-to-court-oversight

CHAIN OF COWARDICE: Taib Mahmud scared of Sarawak Report and Najib scared of Taib!

Friday, 05 July 2013 19:37Written by Malaysia Chronicle

MP for Pandan Rafizi Ramli slammed Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud for barring UK journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown from entering the state, warning the move would tarnish Malaysia's image as a moderate nation whilst confirming to the world that the corruption-taintedTaib had "a lot to hide".

Rafizi said that the ham-fisted action went against Prime Minister Najib Razak's promise of greater democracy, but does not expect the Malaysian premier - who is in London for a working visit - to be able to do anything to 'save face' for himself or the country.

"The prime minister is so weak he is powerless with Taib Mahmud. If Najib has his way, Taib Mahmud would not be the chief minister now. But obviously if Najib were to be tough on Taib, for sure, we would have a new government because Taib's party is in control of a lot of seats - directly and through all the small parties (in Sarawak). So don't expect any bravado from Najib," Rafizi told a press conference on Friday.

"It is so embarrassing because you have one person who is brave enough to travel from London to defend herself (against a legal suit filed against her in Sarawak). She entered the tiger's den so to speak, even though to the whole world, there is already a big question mark on the independence of the Malaysian courts. The fact that the Sarawak state government does not dare to allow a lone crusader who believes and is fully convinced of the righteousness in what she does will send a strong message to the whole world, not just Malaysia, that the Sarawak government has a lot to hide.

"Clare is a personal friend and she is one of the most persistent people I know. So if Taib Mahmud thinks by not allowing her to enter Sarawak, he can silence her, he is wrong. He will only embolden her to travel around the world and campaign around the world. Taib has just plunged himself and his government into further international 

Source: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=124311:uk-journalist-barred-taib-must-have-a-lot-to-hide-dont-expect-any-bravado-from-najib&Itemid=2#.UdfMrvk_u0o

Election officer arms PKR’s Rafizi with another dart for Election Commission

BY YISWAREE PALANSAMY
JULY 05, 2013

PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli said the call by a senior election officer in Sabah to re-register voters was further proof that the electoral system was flawed.

"I want to hear what the Election Commission chairman and his deputy have to say to this," he said.

Rafizi was commenting on the on-going Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah where the state's election director Datuk Md Idrus Ismail, when giving evidence, said the 13 million voters nationwide must be registered again as the electoral roll was tainted.

Rafizi, who is also Pandan MP, said this clearly showed that the organisation and execution of the 13th general election was highly questionable.

"There are many questions being raised on the ballot paper, the ballot boxes and the indelible ink.

"All these have resulted in the public losing confidence in the electoral system and in the conduct of the polls," he told reporters at the PKR headquarters in Tropicana, Petaling Jaya.

At the same event, PKR candidate for the Tapah parliamentary seat K. Vasantha Kumar said the fact that the presiding officer at the Tapah seat was a MIC division chief is also grounds to question the contest.

"According to election laws, a presiding officer must not hold any political positions but this was not the case in Tapah." he told The Malaysian Insider.

He has also listed, among others, the murder of his former political aide, K. Murugan, 36, as another reason to petition to nullify the result.

Vasantha lost to Barisan Nasional's Datuk M. Saravanan, a MIC vice-president.

He claimed that three ballot boxes which contained early and postal votes for the constituency were removed three days before polling day from the Tapah police station.

"The boxes are for the Tapah parliament seat as well as for the Chenderiang and Ayer Kuning state seats which amounted to 2,195 votes," Vasantha said.

He said that his campaign workers who happened to be at the station questioned the removal of the boxes but were told not to interfere.

"There were six people who loaded the boxes onto a lorry." he said.

Vasantha alleged that the Tapah police station chief had also allowed for the boxes to be removed.

"We have facts and photographs to prove our case."

According to election law, the boxes can only be taken from the police station on polling day. – July 5, 2013.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/election-officer-arms-pkrs-rafizi-with-another-dart-for-ec/