DEAD SET AGAINST BN!

Christopher Fernandez

Barisan Nasional (BN) politicians are still absolutely clueless, retaining their foggy ideas about democracy as practiced in the past and failing to realize that Malaysians no longer want to play by the rules of the past.

The 12th and 13th general elections clearly show that a new Malaysia is emerging and Malaysians now see partisan politics as out-of-sync with the prevailing realities of the country which is really in line with globalization.

What Malaysians of all walks of life want is not being adhered to by BN and that is precisely why the ruling coalition is beginning to lose a lot of ground and support and followers. And it is not just the Chinese who are dead set against the governance of BN.

I will not retire, says Anwar

Athi Shankar

‘But why should I retire? We won. Are Umno people stupid? We won and we will fight together with the people against this robbery, says Anwar at a Penang rally.

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim will not retire from active politics any time soon, hinting that he would still be around come the next general election.

The Permatang Pauh MP defied calls for him to retire by claiming that Pakatan Rakyat had actually “won” the 13th general election, only to be robbed by electoral frauds.

He said Pakatan’s popular votes, which were more than Barisan Nasional’s, proved that majority Malaysians have voted for a change of federal government.

Discontent in BN parties over Cabinet posts

TMI

File photo of Najib announcing his new Cabinet line-up in Putrajaya on May 15, 2013. BN parties are not happy with some of his choices.

All is not well among Barisan Nasional (BN) parties over the distribution of Cabinet posts as Sarawak’s PRS has decided to reject its appointments while SPDP is also upset its four federal wins did not get the party anything.

Several senior Sabah Umno MPs are also grumbling that they were overlooked in the Cabinet appointments while other Umno lawmakers are disputing Hindraf’s P. Waythamoorthy’s selection despite him running down the government previously.

Najib, BN fight for political survival: Nik Nazmi charged in bid to stop Black505 rallies

Maria Begum

In a bid to suppress massive public support for the Black505 rallies kicked off by Anwar Ibrahim, it looks like Prime Minister Najib Razak has reverted to scare tactics and draconian measures just days after unveiling a new “transformational” Cabinet and promised to practise “the best democracy”.

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, the PKR state assemblyman for Seri Setia, was charged in the Petaling Jaya Sessions court on Friday morning over the recently-held Kelana Jaya rally to protest fraud and irregularities in the May 5 general election.

According to his lawyer Eric Paulsen, Nik was charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act for allegedly failing to give 10 days notice to the police before the Suara Rakyat Suara Keramat or Black505 rally was held on May 8.

Angry SPDP members : Why did you drop us, Najib?

Joseph Tawie

Angry SPDP members have called for the party leaders to pull out of BN over its exclusion from the federal cabinet despite delivering four parliamentary seats.

Angry Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) members across the state have been advised to stay calm and allow its party leaders to query Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s decision to drop them from the federal cabinet.

Najib had, on Wednesday, excluded the party from his cabinet list.

SPDP won all its four parliamentary seats – Anthony Nogeh (Mas Gading), William Mawan Ikom (Saratok), Anyi Ngau (Baram) and Tiong King Sing (Bintulu) – and was expecting to be amply rewarded with one full minister and a deputy or at least two deputies.

SUPP’s deregistration ‘very real’

Joseph Tawie

Rumours are rife that Wong Soon Koh’s faction in SUPP is looking at a number of options in the event the party is deregistered.

Is 54-year-Sarawak United Peoples Party (SUPP), which began as a party for working class Chinese here way back in 1959, facing the ROS axe?

Bengoh state assemblyman Dr Jerip Susil seems to think the possibility of this happening is “very real”.

Susil is a SUPP assemblyman aligned to Senior Minister Wong Soon Koh’s faction within the party. Wong’s faction had disputed the party’s tienniel delegates convention and the presidential elections held in December 2011

Anwar to furnish ‘proof of GE13 fraud’ to Obama

Abdul Rahim Sabri

Pakatan Rakyat is turning its sights on the United States of America for help in its bid to address alleged electoral fraud during the May 5 general election, with PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim saying it will furnish “proof” to President Barack Obama.

Addressing the crowd during the ‘Blackout 505′ rally in Kuantan last night, Anwar (left) said the opposition is taking such a measure in order to solicit a response from the powerful nation on BN’s win, which he alleged is contributed in part by “foreign voters”.

“Oh, he said (Barack) Obama telephoned Najib (Abdul Razak). It’s okay, no problem. But I want to tell President Obama… America launched a war in Iraq, for what? For democracy in Iraq.

Silver linings in a GE13 without gold

Bridget Welsh

The dust is beginning to settle one week after the dirtiest election in the country’s history. Some of the dirt will stick, while others will hopefully wash away as the memory of the election fades.

My earlier pieces have focussed on the questions about the electoral process and impact of an Umno ‘victory’. Here I turn to the effects of the election on the expansion of democracy in Malaysia.

The message is one of strength, not weakness, or hope, rather than despair.

A strengthened opposition

Why the ‘urban tsunami’ stopped at the coast

Keruah Usit

Why did rural Sarawakians and Sabahans stay with BN, while their urban counterparts voted overwhelmingly for change? 

BN’s strategy of harping on ethnic insecurities made no impact in Borneo, yet BN won 48 of 57 parliamentary seats in Sabah, Labuan and Sarawak.

In Sarawak, even allowing for electoral fraud, it was clear that the “urban tsunami” stopped at the coastal towns of Kuching, Sarikei, Sibu and Miri.

Rural Sarawakians have been denigrated as “squatters” on their own land. 

The 2013 Election Results: Back to the Drawing Board for Both Coalitions

Lim Teck Ghee

Finally the general election is over. For politicians and analysts, the work of number crunching, deciphering the results and trying to understand the choices made by voters is just beginning.

Some conclusions are easy to arrive at. Firstly, despite a skewed electoral playing ground and the rolling out of more than RM2.6 billion worth of financial and other incentives to voters, the BN could not improve on its 2008 performance. Although it regained power in one state and has a comfortable majority at parliamentary level, its share of state and parliamentary seats has been substantially reduced. Had a fair election prevailed, it would have been consigned to the opposition benches. In fact BN lost the popular vote count by a substantial margin nation-wide. In most if not all electoral systems found in the world, it would have been booted out of office. In our case, it came dangerously close to it.

The hard work starts now

Josh Hong

The result was indeed an anti-climax, but those who had longed for change can take solace in the fact that they had fought an honourable battle against all odds.

In terms of the popular vote, the rakyat has won. For the first time in history, an opposition alliance has garnered more votes than the ruling coalition, a splendid achievement against the background of rampant bribery, media manipulation and, more importantly, gerrymandering. The electoral playing ground is just too skewed for Barisan Nasional’s victory to be meaningful.

Economist: Najib’s win tainted by skewed polls

The Economist

Leading international affairs weekly The Economist has described Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s win in the 13th general election as a tawdry victory which brought to fore a system skewed towards the BN.

It stated that with the “huge inbuilt advantages” skewed in the ruling coalition’s favour, it was “remarkable” that the coalition still had to indulge in vote-buying.

“The state has dispensed cash handouts and other goodies, while much of the civil service works as a party-political tool, and the election commission has long brushed aside allegations of malfeasance.

Best for Pakatan to co-opt rather than ban factions

Terence Netto

Factions are endemic to the politics of democratic parties. A survey of party politics in the democratic world would confirm this to be true.

Even in nations facing grave peril to their national security, there are factions within parties that are in contention with rival parties for the right to rule their imperiled polities.

Hence wise is the leadership of democratic parties that seeks to co-opt factions rather than to ostracise or ban them.

Voting out the wrong government

Jacqueline Ann Surin 

AS Malaysians head to the polls today, I am reminded of an insight by economist and journalist Tim Harford about what democracy guarantees. After a lecture in Kuala Lumpur in 2009, an audience member asked Harford: “What is the probability that democracy can guarantee that citizens vote in the right government?”

The author of The Undercover Economist, whose lecture was hosted by Sime Darby Bhd, replied: “Democracy cannot guarantee that you vote in the right government. It guarantees that you can vote out the wrong government.”

On my part, how I vote today will be guided by Harford’s observations. I may not know how Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will govern should it come into federal power after today. In fact none of us do, not even caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, since PR has never been the federal government. But I do know that the Barisan Nasional (BN) is the wrong government. How do I know this?

Churches must play ‘bigger’ role

Joseph Tawie

Rights, idealism and even spiritual principles take a back seat when facing abject poverty, says Sarawak PKR in explaining its loss of 14 seats in the GE.

Churches here must aid the political empowerment of their parishioners if the communities’ socio-economic well-being is to improve, said Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian.

Sarawak which is predominantly Christian has more than 40 sub-ethnic groups.

Referring to the party’s dismal performance in 14 of the 15 rural seats it contested, Bian said it was illogical that the time and effort put into educating the natives had been negated overnight by money politics.

10 things Najib must do

P Gunasegaram

The dust from the 13th general elections has not quite settled and there is some chance it may be kicked up again as Pakatan Rakyat could challenge some of the results in court. For Barisan Nasional and Najib Abdul Razak, they rule with a minority of the votes, a morally illegitimate government that reflects a flawed and fraudulent election system.

If BN wants to pick up and regain the people’s trust and recover some lost ground from Pakatan, it simply cannot continue as before. There’s no point pointing fingers at the Chinese community when there has been an urban swing to Pakatan by all communities living in major towns, cities and suburbs.

Post-GE13, what can you and I do?

Nathaniel Tan

One of the greatest things that took place on May 6 was an outpouring by Malaysians citizens greatly affected by the general election result and who started asking themselves a burning question: “This cannot go on. What more can I do to create the Malaysia we all deserve?”

This last part in this series of articles addresses that very question: what can we, as normal Malaysian citizens, do?

One of the three quotes I started this series with was: “Don’t get mad, get organised.”

What next for Pakatan Rakyat?

Gerard Lourdesamy

Rather than write a discourse on the outcome of the recently concluded 13th general election and the various reasons valid or otherwise for the failure of PR under the leadership of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to capture the federal government despite winning the popular vote, which should be left to the experts to decipher over the coming weeks, I have decided to make a few observations as to where PR and Anwar should go from here:

Anwar should remain as the opposition leader in Parliament since PR still needs his leadership, guidance and experience. Only he at present can keep the disparate parties in PR together against their common enemy BN. Besides, Anwar is the only person within PR who has been in government before and he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the workings and machinations of Umno as the backbone of the BN.

BN must decide, Pakatan must rethink

Ooi Kok Hin

“To those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.” — Barack Obama

“We accept our defeat and we wish President Obama all the best. We will work together for the best of our nation.” — Mitt Romney

Unfortunately for Malaysians, we don’t get to hear these remarks by Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Instead we get the prime minister singling out the Chinese community for not voting for Barisan Nasional and the opposition leader going on a roadshow to dispute and reject the election result. (This is why the Election Commission’s legitimacy and perceived independence are so important.)

The new Malaysia

Abdul Haleem Abdul Rahiman

If you are not aware — there is a NEW MALAYSIA out there. The NEW MALAYSIA with a new generation. Before you think this is the young new generation let me tell you that you are wrong. No, the word “generation” is not an age group defined.

This NEW MALAYSIA also not restricted by geographical boundaries. A Malaysian, no matter where is he or she based at, be it Australia, the Middle East, North America, North Asia, Europe or Africa — they are and they also surely will be part of this NEW MALAYSIA.

This NEW MALAYSIA no longer intimidated by tear gas or risk of being arrested for participating in public gatherings.

BN is effectively a minority government

Tommy Thomas

In assessing the results of the long-awaited 13th general elections, it is imperative that one considers the actual conditions under which the elections were conducted.

Uninformed observers, particularly from overseas, assume that because Malaysia has a Westminister-style parliamentary democracy, our elections are conducted freely, fairly and in the spirit of fair play.

The reality is that our elections are never held as they are in mature democracies like the United Kingdom, India or Australia.

Message from voters to BN — race card brings dwindling returns

LESLIE LAU

The Pakatan Rakyat rally in Petaling Jaya last night saw a very multiracial crowd. —

As if offended by all the post-election Chinese-bashing, a truly Malaysian crowd turned out last night at a stadium in Petaling Jaya to send a chilling message to the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

The message was many ordinary Malaysians wanted an end to the race debate surrounding Sunday’s vote in Election 2013.

Instead of election fatigue many voters were galvanised by what they saw as unfair and dishonest polls as well as an attempt by BN to blame the Chinese.

Good and bad news for BN

Dean Johns

While BN basks in the good news that it has ‘won’ the 13th general election, I’m delighted to see how much bad news this crooked, lying regime has to face in its moment of ‘triumph’.

In other words, though my hopes have been dashed that some kind of miracle might occur to rid Malaysia of this chronic curse this time around, I’m absolutely elated at the fact that it was such a pyrrhic victory for Najib Abdul Razak and his gang of nasties.

Survival with seven fewer federal seats than Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (left) achieved in 2008 is absolutely pathetic considering the fraudulence of the electoral system, the countless billions thrown around in pork-barreling and bribery, and the combined might of the mendacious mainstream media.

Pakatan lost, but not defeated

Lim Sue Goan

Although Pakatan Rakyat has failed to achieve the regime change target in the 13th general election, the next general election would be more favourable if it ploughs its political fields deeper in multiracial areas.

It seems that Pakatan Rakyat has suffered a setback and some of its leaders might not be able to sustain for another five years due to their age. The whole pattern, however, allows Pakatan Rakyat to expand its political map if the BN fails to implement more reforms.

First of all, Pakatan Rakyat obtained 51.4 per cent of popular vote while BN gained only 48.6 per cent. This is due to a wide voter population in some constituencies. As urbanisation has been accelerated, BN’s advantage in rural areas would be gradually reduced.

‘Apa lagi Umno mahu?’

K Temoc

There has been a lot of ironies surrounding and emanating from the response of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak when queried by reporters on Lim Kit Siang’s solid victory in Gelang Patah as well as BN’s loss of other parliamentary seats to the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. Najib had identified the cause as that of a ‘Chinese tsunami’, perhaps shooting that answer from his hips – at least I would like to think so.

That was all it took for former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad to run away with it in a lamentable direction so as to wreck his fury at Umno’s favourite punching bag, the Chinese. Needless to say, many like Utusan Malaysia jumped on the bandwagon to echo his regrettable spewing of unnecessary poison.

How Malays voted at GE13

Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied

Speaking at a news conference a day after the release of the results of the general election, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak stressed that: “On the whole, the people’s decision this time shows a trend of voting polarisation…This worries the government, because if it’s not handled well, it could spark tension.” These comments were made in light of the premier’s knee-jerk observation that the increasingly politicised Chinese community have now swung towards the opposition unlike Malays who are firmly in support of Barisan Nasional (BN).

Compelling as such reasoning can be, Najib’s reflex reaction towards BN’s worst defeat since 1969 masks the deeper nuances of voting patterns and trends in Malaysia. While the results of the 13th general election (GE13) provide evidence that the Chinese-Malay divide in Malaysian politics has indeed manifest itself at the ballot box, there are other developments within the Malay populace in the country that have become more apparent and may follow a more protracted course in the coming years.

Umno’s analysis of election outcome outdated and inflammatory

Campbell White

As someone once said, history is written by the victors. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, after retaining office but losing the majority of the nation’s voters’ support, described what had just happened as a “Chinese tsunami.” This is a fallacy because it was not only the Chinese, but many Malays and Indians who also turned away from Barisan Nasional.

UMR’s pre-election survey had presaged what happened on Election Day when we reported that while Pakatan Rakyat’s supporters were relatively evenly Malay and Chinese (with some Indian support); Barisan Nasional’s support was coming overwhelming from the Malays only. The result of this voting pattern is that we now see a government elected by a minority of Malaysians that essentially represents a section of just one ethnic group.

Thank you, Anwar

RK Anand

He has now accomplished so much more than what he could have as just another Umno president and default prime minister.

Fifteen years ago, Anwar Ibrahim came within a few feet of becoming the prime minister. Then it all fell apart. But unlike others who had their political ambitions decimated by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, this man refused to fade.

He has now accomplished so much more than what he could have as just another Umno president and default prime minister. He would have just been another photograph on the PWTC wall.

What unravelled in 1998 was a bane for him but a boon for Malaysia.

Good and bad news for BN

Dean Johns

While BN basks in the good news that it has ‘won’ the 13th general election, I’m delighted to see how much bad news this crooked, lying regime has to face in its moment of ‘triumph’.

In other words, though my hopes have been dashed that some kind of miracle might occur to rid Malaysia of this chronic curse this time around, I’m absolutely elated at the fact that it was such a pyrrhic victory for Najib Abdul Razak and his gang of nasties.

Survival with seven fewer federal seats than Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (left) achieved in 2008 is absolutely pathetic considering the fraudulence of the electoral system, the countless billions thrown around in pork-barreling and bribery, and the combined might of the mendacious mainstream media.

Putrajaya slams Anwar ahead of opposition rally

Reuters

Malaysia’s government accused opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of “fomenting division” and planning to cause unrest at a rally planned tonight to protest alleged vote fraud following his defeat in a national election.

Anwar has called the rally to present what he says is evidence of widespread fraud in Sunday’s election that handed victory, with a weakened parliamentary majority, to the long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.

Tens of thousands of supporters are expected to attend the event at a sports stadium on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur, despite a police warning that the opposition had not acquired the necessary permission.

‘Bangsa Malaysia’ vote makes a bitter BN

JAHABAR SADIQ

The move to vilify the Chinese for BN’s Election 2013 setback was seen as a bid to mask the coalition’s mistakes during the polls.

The popular vote in Election 2013 tells the story of a “Bangsa Malaysia” generation voting for the first time and across racial lines, but for Barisan Nasional (BN), blaming Chinese voters is far more convenient to ensure unity and mask strategies that failed.

Some three million of the 13.3 million voters cast their ballots for the first time in last weekend’s polls and many likely did so for BN’s foes Pakatan Rakyat (PR), who vowed to end cronyism, excess expenditure and endemic corruption.

Disturbing questions surrounding GE13 polling

Bridget Welsh

The GE13 results are in and the BN has managed to hold on to power, winning by a 22-seat majority. This result is the worst performance for BN in Malaysia’s history.

For the first time, the incumbent government has lost the popular vote nationally (in 2008, it was only in the peninsula). The BN coalition has still managed to hold on to power.

This piece, in a series analysing the election results, looks at the concerns raised regarding the electoral process and the potential impact these issues may have had on the final results.

Dr M: I didn’t expect Najib to do worse than Pak Lah

Ram Anand

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad admitted today he did not expect Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to do worse in this general election than his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2008.

Mahathir, a vociferous critic of the Pak Lah administration, said that he thought Najib would have done at least better than Abdullah, who led BN to take 140 parliamentary seats in the 12th general election.

Najib, despite having promised Umno and BN supporters that he would deliver a two-thirds majority, could only lead the coalition to 133 parliamentary seats, seven short of Abdullah’s achievement in 2008.

Tomorrow’s rally start of ‘fierce movement’ for polls reform, says Anwar

BOO SU-LYN

Anwar gestures during the news conference at his party’s headquarters today where he vowed to lead a ‘fierce movement’ to reform the country’s electoral system.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today his rally tomorrow would be the beginning of a “fierce movement” to fight for free and fair elections amid reports of vote-rigging in Election 2013.

The PKR de facto leader, who had led thousands in the “Reformasi” street demonstrations in 1998, also called on Malaysians to wear black or use black insignia to protest alleged electoral fraud in Election 2013.

“This shall be a beginning for a fierce movement to clean this country from election malpractices and fraud, for there is no opportunity for renewal without a clean and fair election,” said Anwar at a packed press conference at the PKR headquarters here.

GE13 an urban, not Chinese swing, say analysts

BOO SU-LYN

File photo of a DAP ceramah in Skudai on April 30, 2013, though overwhelmingly Chinese, attracted large numbers of Malays and other non-Chinese too.

The outcome of Election 2013 was not simply the result of a “Chinese tsunami” as Datuk Seri Najib Razak has claimed but a major swing in the urban and middle-class electorate that saw Malaysia’s urban-rural rift widen, analysts have said.

In their preliminary reading of the vote trend, analysts noted that despite the increase in Chinese support for Pakatan Rakyat (PR), the political tsunami had also swept with it “large numbers of the Malays”, many among them forming part of the country’s middle- to upper-class voters.