A hung Parliament: Can it happen in Malaysia and what will it be like

Maclean Patrick

In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party (or bloc of allied parties) has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament.

This was exactly the case in Australia in 2010 where there are 150 members in the House of Representatives, so to have an outright majority one of the parties needs to hold 76 seats. Neither Labor nor the Coalition reached that point. Instead, they’ll had to negotiate with the three sitting independents who have been re-elected – Tony Windsor, Bob Katter and Rob Oakeshott – as well as the Greens’ Adam Bandt, who won the seat of Melbourne.

Eventually the Labor party lead by Julia Gillard won over the independents to form a minority government.

EC is not telling the truth: It can make changes without BN approval

Maclean Patrick

16 days after Bersih 2.0 and finally the Election Commission meets Ambiga Sreenevasen on a public stage to discuss election reforms. Yet, all is not well with the Election Commission as more questions have been raise in the aftermath of its lacklustre answers.

EC deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar absolved himself and his colleagues of any responsibility towards electoral reforms amid boos and jeers during a public dialogue with Bersih chairman Ambiga Sreevenasan, stressing that there was “nothing wrong” with the EC.

“The EC is not an enforcement agency; it is only a management body for elections. The best we can do is to propose relevant laws to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Malaysians see end of the road for Najib, but fear ‘racial’ Muhyiddin

Dana Kay

Talk of Prime Minister Najib Razak faltering is buzzing all round the coffee-shops that dot the nation, with all eyes wide open to catch a glimpse of who will succeeed him.

The feelings for Prime Minister Najib Razak are mixed. There were some people who believed that Najib should continue as president of UMNO while many more see his career as “finished”.

It is surprising to see that a hawker, a lecturer, a lawyer, a teacher and an IT analysis shared the same idea that Najib has to go, while a Malay professional and a BN leader think Najib is still the best man amongst the lot to continue as UMNO president and PM of Malaysia.

Najib, Liow caught in a lie: Children demand explanation

Dana Kay

Election promises made by the Barisan Nasional are often not kept, but for two siblings, they will never forget the broken promises made by Prime Minister Najib Razak and Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai,’which contributed to the death of their father. And both siblings want answers from the PM and Liow.

Tan Chong Chern and his sister, Tiney Tan from Sri Aman told reporters today that during the State election, both Najib and Liow went to Sri Aman and assured the people there that they would have a new hospital, two specialists, an ambulance (the present one is a van converted into an ambulance) and more medical staff. The BN candidate for Simanggan, Sri Aman, Dr Francis Hardin Hollis won the election.

That was three months ago, and today, nothing much has changed at the Sri Aman hospital where their father breathed his last.

Is the Election Commission toothless, clueless or just selling out to the BN

Maclean Patrick

16 days after Bersih 2.0 and finally the Election Commission meets Ambiga Sreenevasen on a public stage to discuss election reforms. Yet, all is not well with the Election Commission as more questions have been raise in the aftermath of its lacklustre answers.

EC deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar absolved himself and his colleagues of any responsibility towards electoral reforms amid boos and jeers during a public dialogue with Bersih chairman Ambiga Sreevenasan, stressing that there was “nothing wrong” with the EC.

“The EC is not an enforcement agency; it is only a management body for elections. The best we can do is to propose relevant laws to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

“But ultimately it is the government of the day, which obtained majority votes, which has the final say. If the government decides that voting age is 21 years old, whatever proposal we send to the A-G’s Chambers can never go to Parliament,” he said at a public forum titled What next after July 9.

This is how the BN distorts human rights in Malaysia

Maclean Patrick

In 2005 the Human Rights Watch interviewed S Arutchelvan from Suaram, and he best described the difference between Internal Security Act and Emergency Ordinance as, “The ISA is top down – a government minister orders detention of someone seen as a threat to the government – whereas the EO is bottom up. The police, having failed to collect evidence to prosecute a criminal suspect, request an EO detention order from the minister.”

The Emergency Ordinance violates international law in many ways. It violates the fundamental right to liberty, right to due process, and a fair trial. Even in states of emergency, human rights standards still prohibit indefinite detention without charge or trial.

709 Rally – Significance and Implications

Friends of SUARAM (FOS) Working Committee,

Despite all forms of deception, destruction and intimidation and eventually an all-out suppression by the ruling clique of the UMNO-dominated Barisan Nasional Government, 709 rally cum “walk for democracy”, was successfully held in Kuala Lumpur City Centre, the heartland of Malaysia. It was a remarkable achievement resulting from a high-degree collective wisdom and correct leadership of Bersih 2.0 leaders, coupled with the extremely huge response and courageous participation of the people.

The Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein deployed a large number of fully-armed FRU (riot squads) to block with barbed wire all streets leading to the Merdeka Stadium. Thousands of police were instructed to arrest people, and to disperse any public gathering of people. Only a few thousand demonstrators managed to break through the barricades and successfully entered the area surrounding Merdeka Stadium.

Indians will whip BN again unless…

 R Kengadharan

No Malaysian politician must now think that Indian votes are fixed deposit.

In the last 60 years, Malaysian Indians aggressively supported Barisan Nasional. The Malaysian public in general have witnessed 12 general elections.

Approximately 80% of Malaysian Indians leaned in favour of BN up to the 11th general election.

The 12th general election in 2008 completely reshaped the political sphere of Malaysian politics wherein 65% of Malaysian Indians supported the various opposition parties resulting in BN not gaining two thirds majority in Parliament and losing five states to the opposition.

As for the Indians, the outcome of the 12th general election paved a new path in domestic policitcs.

Britain will never humiliate Najib

Mariam Mokhtar

Britain’s economy is in the doldrums so when Najib touts for business between the two countries, he is welcomed.

The United Kingdom expelled the remaining Libyan diplomats from the London Embassy on July 27, but it had little to do with democracy despite the British claims.

The announcement was more a calculated move to protect British interests in Libyan oil and minerals. Plus the fact that the EU, including Britain, found that Muammar Gaddafi was a good repeat customer for arms.

Hopeful Malaysians thinking that Britain would mete out the same treatment to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should desist from harbouring such thoughts.

Umno-BN resumes Christian attacks: Police raid Guan Eng’s videographer

Stan Lee

Barely has a forthight passed since Prime Minister Najib Razak’s visit to the Vatican, but it looks UMNO-BN is at it again. They are now trying to strir up trouble for Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng by getting at his Christian videographer Chan Lilian, who also blogs and has her own Twitter following.

“We are disgusted that this can happen. We see it as another UMNO attack on the Christian community. Prime Minister Najib failed utterly to cajole the Christians with his visit to the Pope. That he can do this now is a strong lesson – not to the Christians because we know him by now – but to the Muslims. Beware of a leader like him who speaks with a forked tongue,” Pakatan Rakyat watcher Eddie Wong told Malaysia Chronicle.

Again, the culprit was a blogger, who has attracted suspicion of being linked to UMNO, and of course, Utusan Malaysia, was there to pick up the baton.

Can BN deny paying US bloggers?

FMT Staff

A UK-based investigative news blog claims their research ‘clearly links’ America’s ‘New Ledger’ to Umno-Barisan Nasional.

Online news portal Sarawak Report (SR) has challenged Umno/Barisan Nasional to deny its ties with US-based blogsite New Ledger and other associated blogs.

The portal claimed the ruling coalition and its leaders had commissioned the various blogsites in the US to defame its political opponents including SR.

According to SR founder-editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown, Umno-BN’s ‘dirty tricks’ public relations campaign began just after the general election in 2008 when the Anwar Ibrahim-led opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, swept into power in five states.

PSM’s EO6 released

HU ALERT

Sungai Siput MP Dr D Michael Jeyakumar and five of his PSM colleagues have been released after being detained under the Emergency Ordinance for 28 days.

The police today released the six PSM leaders who had been held without trial under the Emergency Ordinance since July 2.

“The six have been released unconditionally. It is official,” said their legal counsel D Yudistira after a meeting with CID deputy director Hadi Ho Abdullah.

Their 30-day initial detention ends on Sunday.  The Home Ministry had the discretion to extend it for another 30 days and subsequently for two years.

Malaysia: Struggle For Democracy Intensifies – Analysis

V. Suryanarayan @ SAAG

On July 9, 2011, thousands of Malaysians defied the government ban and marched through the streets of Kuala Lumpur demanding democratic rights for the people. The march was organized in response to the clarion call issued by Bersih – 2, a coalition of 62 non-governmental organizations, who have been demanding a level playing field and free and fair elections.

The unprecedented demonstration was in defiance of the Malaysian Government which had detained many Bersih leaders in the false pretext that they were planning the violent overthrow of the Government and were preparing to wage a war against the Agong (Head of State). The Government declared Bersih-2 to be an illegal organization and, what is more, banned the use of yellow colour (the followers of Bersih wear yellow shirts). The access roads to Kuala Lumpur were closed, private buses were prevented from transporting passengers to Kuala Lumpur and those wearing yellow shirts and scarfs were detained before they reached the city.

Of Raja Nazrin, real stories and regal rhetoric

Aliran

During the Perak crisis, key democratic institutions were manipulated by the powers-that-be to contain and crush legitimate dissent. Martin Jalleh wonders if Raja Nazrin will tell the people the real story about what happened behind the scenes.

Your Royal Highness (YRH),

Recently, during a talk themed: “The role of Malay rulers in nurturing unity” held in Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Shah Alam, YRH declared that “rulers should not be shielded from the truth and must be told the real story”.

May I, with due respect to YRH, tell you the truth – that many of us (especially those who are sons and daughters of Perak) find it very hard to believe that you meant every word that you said during the talk. Some, in responding to the article highlighting your talk, have asked you to “walk the talk”!

Ten Good Reasons Why Malaysians Are Angry

MASTERWORDSMITHON

This is in response to Wong Chun Wai’s “On the beat” column (“Of Angry Birds and angry Malaysians”: Sunday Star 24 July 2011) where he asked Malaysians to stop being angry on the many issues affecting the nation. It was a very well written piece, well placed and sounded almost logical and rational to those who read only the mainstream media.

Allow me to give Wong 10 good reasons why Malaysians are angry…. in fact Malaysians are very, very angry.

1.0 We are angry that we have been denied our constitutional and democratic rights to a peaceful gathering. We are angry at the police brutality on a frail, tender 65 year old auntie who was sprayed with chemically laced water and tear gassed for exercising her democratic rights when she was walking alone to demonstrate peacefully what she believes in.

Tis Only Just The Beginning!

MASTERWORDSMITHON

As I drove to Caring Society Complex, a light drizzle began – almost as if the heavens were silently weeping for the six civilians, Choo Chon Kai, Sarat Babu, Sarasvathy Muthu, Sukumaran A/L Munisamy, A. Letchumanan, and Dr. Jeyakumar Devaraj (MP for Sungei Siput) who were arrested under the Emergency Ordinance on July 2nd. It has been 27 tormentous days and nights not just for them, but also for their loved ones and loyal supporters.

By the time I arrived, the darkness of the night was reminiscent of the solitary confinement cells. Did they know night from day? Or how long they had been there? Deep within, I knew that this candlelight vigil and forum “BERSIH 2.0 Crack-Down: “EO Another ISA” Forum”* would be different from the rest because of the impact of the BERSIH 2.0 rally.

Umno can’t risk sacking Ku Li

Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz

To sack Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah from Umno is to precipitate the party’s own implosion.

Why is Umno quiet about Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and his Amanah? The answer is that they simply can’t do anything about it.

Even among Umno members there is increasing disquiet about how things are managed.

Saifuddin Abdullah’s recent ‘out-of-line’ statements and Khairy Jamaluddin’s conscientious objections are only tips of the icebergs.

Tengku Razaleigh is merely pointing out the realities. He is still an Umno member – so what can Umno do at the moment?

Forget it, BN and EC won’t put through any reform, not without Bersih 3.0

Kenny Gan

The job of the Election Commission is to conduct elections fairly and act as an impartial referee. It has no business to tilt the playing field in favour of any party. In Malaysia elections have never been free and fair and this has allowed one regime to rule for more than 50 years without any fear of losing power. It has created a pseudo-democracy with endemic corruption from the top down, subjugation of all the institutions of democracy to serve the regime and abuse of democratic rights. The EC is largely responsible for this sordid state of affairs by subverting the right of Malaysians to choose their own government and kick out a corrupt one.

There are many ways which the EC has colluded with BN or not acted against abuses such as gerrymandering, postal votes, phantom votes, inducting illegal aliens as voters, unfair access to media, short campaign period, improper use of government machinery, money politics, dirty politics, disenfranchising overseas Malaysians, etc. It may take years and a change of government to clean all these up but the 13th general election is approaching and there is not much time left.

The ‘politicised’ civil society

Athi Shankar

The Malaysian civil society seems to pick and choose the issues which it wishes to champion, while its leaders prefer to be followers of politicians.

The civil society has suddenly voiced its grave concern over the draconian Emergency Ordinance (EO), wanting the security law repealed or at least reviewed.

The detention of six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) activists under the EO, which provides for detention without trial, was the wake-up call.

The six are Sungai Siput Member of Parliament Dr Michael D Jeyakumar, 56, PSM national deputy chairman M Saraswathy, 58, national Youth chief R Sarath Babu, 25, central committee members Choo Chon Kai, 33, and M Sukumaran, 50, and Sungai Siput branch secretary A Letchumanan, 49.

The French Connection

Iskandar Dzulkarnain

The recent deportation of French Lawyer William Bourdon has caused a stir in Malaysian political circles, with everyone cocking their ears, awaiting the next showdown, with the gathering of ominous dark clouds brewing into a giant storm.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein came up with a statement that William Bourdon was deported due to a visa violation. “There are certain things tourists cannot do. I don’t know what it is, but one cannot give a speech. People get deported everyday, but people have selectively chosen this case to say that it is political,” he said, reiterating that there was not any political agenda in the deportation of French human rights lawyer.

Eurofighters vs Bankruptcy 2019: Zahid should avoid the Najib ‘syndrome’

Iskandar Dzulkarnain

Not every country in the world can afford fighter jets. Its prohibitive cost, maintenance and spare parts run into the billions of ringgit. Not to mention the accompanying hi-tech accessories and weapons arsenal which the aircraft cannot do without.

The country’s fetish for any thing hi-tech is laudable. Just like us ‘kiasu’Malaysians with our i-phones and i-pads, or blackberrys that cost a bomb. Like purchases of Lamborghinis and Ferraris that are just super expensive play toys not worth their weight in gold, or RM24 million diamond rings and RM14 billion gold and jewel-studded yachts. Having a couple of units of the Eurofigter Typhoons won’t guarantee that Malaysia will win a war. It may be considered a deterrent, but a damn expensive one.

Super toy

The Mother of All Elections: Pakatan’s weak spots

Selena Tay

There is already a high probability that the 13th General Election will be held after the Budget Presentation on October 7, 2011. Although there is still a bit of time leading up to the polls if

they are to be held in October, the Pakatan Rakyat is facing a huge task ahead.

No doubt, it has made enormous gains with many fence-sitters turning the corner in the wake of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s gross mishandling of the Berish rally – pre and post July 9.

But make no mistake, there are many obstacles and roadblocks that the ruling BN coalition can be counted on to throw at Pakatan, and chief among the instrucments at its disposal is none other than the all-powerful Election Commission.

Is EC playing a trick?

Zefry Dahalan

Talk about the biometric system could be the commission’s way of buying time, says PKR man.

The proposal to use the biometric voter identification system could be a trick for the Election Commission (EC) to buy time and to avoid dealing with Bersih’s eight demands, according to Port Dickson state assemblyman M Ravi.

“I don’t think they’ll implement the system,” he said, referring to a statement by EC Deputy Chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar that the commission was still conducting studies on the system.

“One of the Malay papers today quoted Wan Ahmad saying that the EC was still doing studies on the application, effectiveness, technical aspects and cost of the biometric system.”

Survey: M’sian embassies vague about postal voting

Malaysiakini

A polls watchdog group representing the votes of the Malaysian diaspora abroad has found that Malaysian embassies are not consistent in handling postal voting, while some have claimed to have no clue on its procedures.

Global Bersih, an extension of the local Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) has discovered after researching 21 missions that most are not equipped with the knowledge, although the Election Commission (EC) is supposed to have appointed assistant registrars for all Malaysian missions after amendments to the Elections (Registration of Electors) Regulations in 2002.

“Our findings show that Malaysian consular staff around the world are unfamiliar with the postal voter registration and voting process. At best, full-time students are welcomed to register as postal voters at the embassy. 

If Hisham can’t control Utusan, he should step down

Maclean Patrick

Folks, Utusan Malaysia is not only the mouth-piece of UMNO, it has now taken a bigger and more significant role – as the moral compass of the behemoth political party that rules Barisan Nasional.

“The government needs to learn from this incident. To ensure peace and public safety, the authorities should immediately act against the troublemakers. Don’t waste the support of more than 4,000 non-governmental organisations and individuals who have lodged police reports against Bersih.

“The delay in taking action against the organisers and supporters of the illegal rally on July 9 can erode the people’s support because the government is seen as unable to implement the law. So, do not send the wrong message to the people, (that you are) afraid to take any action against the opposition leaders and Bersih organisers,” the Malay-language daily wrote in an editorial released on July 27.

Is BN injecting ‘voters’ into Sarawak?

Joseph Tawie

Is the current amnesty programme a cover for an insidious plan to legitimise illegal plantation workers in Sarawak?

Is the infamous ‘Project M’ which legitimised illegal immigrants by the thousands in the 1990s in Sabah making its way to Sarawak?

Is Umno-Barisan Nasional using the current amnesty programme as a cover for a surreptious plan to consolidating its grip for good in the state?

According to sources here, the April state polls had forced Umno-Barisan Nasional to take stock of opposition influence in the rural and rural interiors of Sarawak.

A tribute to some ordinary, courageous Malaysians

Keruah Usit

The most compelling drives in human behaviour are said to be thirst and, coming a close second, fear. Other motivating urges – even jealousy, greed and lust – seem to pale in comparison.

Fear is a natural, often healthy, emotion. Students of the mind, since the time of Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud, have postulated that the wild driving force of fear can be tamed and channelled, if ruled by a healthy self-esteem and the power of intellect.

Fear can prevent us from being foolhardy, and can also strengthen our resolve.

“With regard to the feelings of fear and confidence, courage is the mean,” Greek philosopher Aristotle said some 2,300 years ago.

Apocalypse begins

Aliran

Dealing with the current madness will not be easy or comfortable, predicts Soothsayer. So, evaluate yourselves and gauge the strength of your will power before you take the first step on this perilous journey, as Apocalypse begins.

Good is bad and bad is good. Those in power attempt to justify their acts of deceit, cruelty and oppression by hard-sell tactics using all the media tools at their disposal.

On Sunday, the news broadcast was filled with falsity and half-truths – one of which is that this country is rated one of the safest and most peaceful in the world. By whose measure, I wonder, in the face of so much murder, death, robbery and violence?

Go tell it somewhere else

FMT

The police have come up with their version of the Bersih 2.0 rally but it has created more controversies.

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. – Arthur Schopenhauer

The police story about what happened on July 9 is unconvincing. On that day, tens of thousands poured onto the streets of Kuala Lumpur to support Bersih 2.0 campaign for clean and fair elections and were immediately struck down in violent fashion. Armed with batons, the police kicked, shoved, beat in a mindless display of aggression. Equipped with launchers, they fired volleys after volleys of tear gas into the trapped crowd and even into the compound of a hospital. Armed with water cannons, they sprayed chemical-laced water into defenceless men, women and youths. There was no kind act shown as the abuse unfolded on a massive scale before the eyes of the world. The unsightly drama was recorded and there is no way the pictures and videos can tell lies. Days later, the ugly scenes went viral on the Internet. Yet the straightfaced police told the people a different tale of acts of kindness.

Resign Or Snap Election For Najib, Here’re The Reasons

As much as I would like to stop writing about PM Najib administration, the plot just got interesting and I think he may just hit the bull’s eye as far as my prediction that his downfall may be faster than his predecessor, Abdullah Badawi, is concerned. Compared with Najib, Badawi now seems like a cute adorable little kitten, who merely likes to sleep (on the job). Malaysians tend to be more forgiving on lazy prime minister but not a prime minister who lies, cheats, brutal, dirty (allegation on Mongolian Altantuya’s murder),hypocrite but above all stupid yet arrogant.

One cannot help but fell off the chair laughing after read that Najib said he cancels a family vacation because he wants to spend more time with Malaysians. This was perhaps the best joke ever by premier Najib since he took over from Abdullah Badawi. This joke actually worth a thousand “Like” on his facebook page. Forget about Bersih 2.0 because this guy may quit under pressure – not from opposition parties or Bersih 2.0 but from his internal UMNO party. Boy, if it was true that the US$24 million controversial diamond ring indeed belongs to his wife Rosmah Mansor, that ring is cursed.

The ghosts of Mahathirism

Stanley Koh

Najib has failed the leadership test in his handling of Bersih 2.0.

Is Mahathirism back with a vengeance?

Recent events do make it seem like the Najib regime has decided to adopt the former prime minister’s authoritarian style in saving its flagging political fortunes. It has resorted to using draconian laws and shameless propaganda in the face of an awakening electorate and increasing exposures of its misdeeds.

The government seems to have ignored the strong signal given by the 2008 election result that Malaysians want more democratic space. And what was Bersih 2.0’s July 9 rally if not a reaffirmation of that demand?

But instead of using the occasion to promote his much-vaunted liberalist image, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak seemed to have done what Dr Mahathir Mohamad would have done—crush them and damn what the world says.

Ahead of polls, Najib’s last card is the budget

Shannon Teoh

With less than two years left of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) mandate, hopes of an opportune time for federal polls are slim for Datuk Seri Najib Razak as dissent grows and the economy remains sour.

Politicians from both sides of the divide told The Malaysian Insider that with a cash-strapped Treasury struggling to maintain subsidies in the face of surging inflation, the prime minister should announce an election budget at the end of the year and dissolve Parliament soon after.

Analysts also believe that while heightened racial rhetoric has recovered some Malay support for the ruling coalition, it is a zero-sum game that is delivering centrist voters to Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

“We should have a good budget first. Tun Abdullah Badawi didn’t have such a budget and then called an election,” said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, referring to the former prime minister who was forced to step down a year after BN recorded its worst showing ever in Election 2008.

Bourdon: Gov’t demonised Suaram to justify deportation

Susan Loone

William Bourdon, the French civil rights lawyer, who was deported from Kuala Lumpur last week, did not take lightly the accusation by Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that human rights NGO Suaram had “utilised and victimised” him.

Bourdon said he was merely acting as a lawyer for the NGO and did not see how Suaram had taken advantage of him.

Indeed his client’s right to legal representation had been deprived when immigration officers took him off from his plane at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Friday morning.

“The only rational explanation I can see to such a statement from the authorities is that they are now trying to ‘demonise’ Suaram in order to justify an incomprehensible order to deport me,” he told Malaysiakini from Paris.

Biometric is BN’s latest decoy: EC bosses must step down

Dana Kay

Opposition leaders are fearful that the Election Commission’s proposal to use the Biometric system will lead to more abuse. The biggest fear was that the government would do anything by ‘hook or crook’ to stay in power to the extent of selling the country to ‘foreigners’.

State assemblyman for Batu Lintang, See Chee How who is also Sarawak PKR publicity chief, is not surprised that the Election Commission is thinking of the Biometric system to coax the people to calm down after Bersih.

“The strength and unity of the people in Bersih has got the government worried and that they wanted to pacify the people first. It’s just like the first Bersih rally where they suggested the indelible ink and then the whole thing was dropped just before the election,” he told Malaysia Chronicle.

Ambiga clear ‘winner’ in debate with EC

K Pragalath

The EC deputy chairman was often booed for his evasive replies.

Feisty Bersih 2.0 chairman S Ambiga emerged a clean, clear winner at a public dialogue with Election Commission deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar here today.

Although the face-off did not produce sparks, the “Iron Lady” scored points against Wan Ahmad who was most of the time booed by the audience for his evasive replies.

His standard tactic, which did not go down well with the audience, was always to put the blame on other parties.
Several times he tried to reason with the hostile participants on the floor who were evidently upset and angry at his unintelligent answers.