PTPTN education lifeline abused

Pauline Wong

The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (or PTPTN by its Malay acronym) has served as a lifeline for many students seeking tertiary education since it was established in 1997.

The loan is especially helpful for those who are not born with a silver spoon. They rely on the PTPTN loan to take them through university and earn a degree, which is crucial in securing a job and eventually a steady income. In short, the fund is there for them in their hour of need, providing them the opportunity to complete their studies.

However, many treat it as a grant and fail to repay when they graduate, thus depriving others from enjoying the same benefits.

Is the EC fair and independent in serving Malaysians?

Ng Kee Seng

In trying to mend its tattered image and show that it is independent, the Election Commission (EC) now proposes to cap the maximum number of voters in a parliamentary seat at 100,000.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof cited the Thirteenth Schedule of the Federal Constitution to justify its upcoming redelineation exercise, where the number of voters in a constituency should not be too high and hamper elected representatives in carrying out their duties.

However, for the EC to carry out a redelineation to increase the number of seats, it must get a two-thirds majority approval in Parliament. But the super BN-friendly EC does not have that luxury after the 12th and 13th general elections.

Malaysian elections, malapportionment, and redelineation

KAI OSTWALD

Above all the political drama, two things stand out from Malaysia’s 2013 General Election. The first is the extent to which the electoral system is distorted; on a number of measures, Malaysia has among the highest levels of malapportionment in the world. The second is the extent to which those distortions constitute a clear partisan bias, which is responsible for transforming a 4% deficit in the popular vote for theBarisan Nasional (BN) coalition into a 20% parliamentary seat advantage. Given the risk that these two factors present to political stability in Malaysia, the stakes for the upcoming redelineation exercises are remarkably high, especially in light of recent statements made by the former head of the Election Commission (EC).

Half of survey respondents say EC helped BN in May polls

V. ANBALAGAN

Almost half of the electorate believed that Barisan Nasional abused its power to retain Putrajaya, a Universiti Malaya survey has revealed.

Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (Umcedel) said 46% of voters were convinced that the Election Commission helped the ruling coalition during the May 5 general election.

However, the survey also found that 33% of respondents did not believe that BN received some kind of help from the EC, while 21% were unsure.

Impact of by-election

Lim Sue Goan

Although PAS knew that it was difficult to defeat Umno in the Kuala Besut by-election and take over Terengganu, it was still a blow to the party when the BN won with a slight increase in majority.

Kuala Besut was, after all, a stronghold of Umno. The ruling state government also had an advantage in the by-election, as it was able to concentrate its resources and get close to voters, such as the BN’s announcement of the RM400 million development plan.

Originally, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak planned to help canvassing in Kuala Besut but the trip was later canceled, showing that Umno already learned that they had a greater winning odds and did not need to trouble the Prime Minister. On the contrary, PAS exposed its weaknesses, as well as signs of defeat during the campaign period.

Do not be slaves to BN, Anwar tells Kuala Besut voters

MUZLIZA MUSTAFA

Kuala Besut voters should not enslave themselves by voting in Barisan Nasional (BN) in return for financial assistance, PKR supremo Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said last night while on the stump for this Wednesday’s by-election.

Anwar told some 800 supporters at Kampung Tok Saboh last night that voters should take the opportunity this time to change the political landscape in the country by ensuring a PAS victory in the Kuala Besut by-election.

“Do not be slaves to BN over pittance. If PAS wins Kuala Besut… every state, country will focus on Terengganu. This will change the political landscape,” he said.

EC clarifies that RM400m was budget estimate for GE13

Bernama

Malaysians queue outside a polling station to cast their vote in Pekan on May 5, 2013.

The Election Commission (EC) has clarified that the RM400 million it was said to have spent for the 13th General Election (GE13) was actually the ceiling of budget estimates approved by the Finance Ministry, and not the actual expenditure.

Its deputy chairman, Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, said the total amount spent during GE13 would only be known when the expenditure account was closed, as payments were still being made by state EC offices.

The answer to education crisis is love

Anas Alam Faizli

Students are the oppressed and the teaching system is the oppressor because the teacher-student relationship is dichotomous, instead of a single unit together in the search for the end of education.

Love. What a loaded word. As simple as what its literal meaning suggests, and as complicated as its many kinds of connotations and expressions. Every soul must have been affected by love, whether we are prepared to comprehend it or not.

Some of us might seek to analyse it, while some prefer to simply immerse in its ambiguity. But, “at the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet”, so says Plato.

Thus, the subject of love could not have escaped philosophical scrutiny of the Classical Greek époque.

Unhappy BN MPs meet over spoils of GE13 victory

Jahabar Sadiq

File photo of BN flags put up during the recent general election. Several BN MPs are unhappy that they have not been rewarded for their victory in the polls.

Several disgruntled Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs from east Malaysia met veteran lawmaker Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah last night to discuss their positions after not getting anything for their wins in the closely-fought Election 2013.

The Malaysian Insider understands that about the dozen or so MPs from Sabah and Sarawak are not keen to cross the aisle to join Pakatan Rakyat (PR) but are also not happy with Putrajaya over the spoils of victory.

The rakyat sees a new moon rising

Neil Khor

Whether or not the BN actually had a hand in the decision by the ROS not to recognise DAP’s Central Committee is now academic.
The DAP will go to the polls with the rocket symbol intact. But even more interesting is the movement that is now sweeping Facebook and the social media.

Malaysians, especially Malaysian Chinese, have adopted creative ways to adapt the rocket symbol with that of the white moon of PAS.

It is a solidarity movement that is a powerful symbol of the healthy partnership between the two poles of Pakatan Rakyat.

Time to elect servant leaders

Amar-Singh HSS and Lim Swee Im

Most of us are tired of politicians. In a real and honest world a politician is one who represents the people, a very high calling, a noble profession. These are individuals willing to sacrifice much to represent the average person on the street. They are willing to forego their own interests to meet the needs of the many. They are prepared to speak up when injustice is done and to make decisions which benefit the majority of the people. These are the persons we elect, not just the party they represent, but persons of integrity.

Unfortunately, the reality is that politicians have become self-serving individuals out to get as much power and material gain as possible. Willing to subvert basic human rights and compromise on vital issues just to meet party or personal needs.

Fixed-term polls a must

Josh Hong

It was exactly five years ago today that Umno, MCA and MIC suffered their worst electoral result in more than five decades. Although Barisan Nasional managed to stay afloat and maintain its hold on the federal power thanks to Sabah and Sarawak, the outcome in the peninsula was nothing but catastrophic, for want of a better word.

A year later, Umno executed a palace coup by deposing Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who, for all his failings, had won the sharply reduced mandate single-handedly for BN, which is a reason why I remain adamant that Najib Abdul Razak is merely an apprentice prime minister whose authority to rule is not quite legitimate.

Dirty Tricks Department and the 1969 elections

Ahmad Mustapha Hassan

By the year 1965, I had completed five years service with the Kedah state government, the minimum period of service for state scholarship holders. I was therefore free to leave the service. I applied for a post at the Ministry of External Affairs and was accepted. I wanted national and international exposure. My last post in Kedah was as Secretary of the Sungai Petani Town Council which also involved overseeing all local councils in the District of Kuala Muda.

I had to undergo an interview with a Special Branch officer to get clearance to join the service. Although I got through the security screening, I did not join the service as I was persuaded to become the Political Secretary to Senu Abdul Rahman who was then the Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

Polls sanctity is EC’s responsibility, can’t dismiss 28pc unverified Selangor voters

JAHABAR SADIQ

EC deputy chief, Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, told a press conference yesterday that not being able to trace 28 per cent of voters is “normal”.

Today, five years ago, Malaysia woke up to a changed political and national landscape with Barisan Nasional (BN) keeping the federal government with just a simple majority but losing four more states to a nascent Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in Election 2008.

Today, the ruling BN federal government and the four states under PR have yet to call elections as their mandate only expires five years after their respective legislatures began meeting.

Najib miscalculates with his guessing game

Selena Tay

Can it be said that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak plans to delay the dissolution of Parliament, thus effectively delaying holding the 13th general election?

Is there a plan to delay the general election? All things certainly seem to point to that direction.

The dateline is approaching near and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is desperate as he knows that the rakyat is waiting anxiously for the polls to be held.

Despite his rhetoric that “everyone has gone back to Barisan Nasional”, he has not displayed any sense of urgency in holding the polls at all.

BN becomes caretaker gov’t on March 8

Tommy Thomas

Parliament’s term is five years. Article 55(3) of the federal constitution states: ‘Parliament unless sooner dissolved shall continue for five years from the date of its first meeting and shall then stand dissolved.’

Because the current Parliament had its first meeting on April 28, 2008, it shall automatically ‘stand dissolved’ on April 28, 2013.  As it is an instance of automatic dissolution, no action by any person is required to trigger it.

By virtue of Article 55(4), the 13th general election (GE13) ‘shall be held within 60 days from the date of the dissolution of Parliament’. Hence, the very last date on which GE13 can legally be held, at least for Parliament, is June 28, 2013.

The second Merdeka

Mariam Mokhtar

When food bags were given out by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak at Semenyih recently, it is alleged that there was a near stampede to acquire the goodies. Najib must have felt smug satisfaction at being able to control people like that.

One does not want to judge or question why people would demean themselves by pushing others out of the way to receive the goods. Perhaps, the people who grabbed the offerings were poor, and gaining some rice and flour seemed like winning a jackpot.

It is despicable that Najib and his advisers have not learnt to treat people with more dignity. Why should these people be filmed acting like refugees from a war-torn area? Why do political parties make ordinary people feel and act like beggars?

Postal voters: Remove new clause, EC urged

Leven Woon

DAP also questioned the logic of giving overseas Malaysian voters only one day to cast their postal votes at their respective embassies.

DAP has urged the Election Commission (EC) to remove a newly introduced clause which requires Malaysians living abroad to return home for “a total of 30 days within five years” as a pre-requisite to qualify as a postal voter.

“It’s an unreasonable condition,” said DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke today.

Malaysian voters abroad must submit 1B form to EC

 A. Azim Idris

Malaysian voters abroad must submit their 1B form to the Election Commission before the Parliament is dissolved for them to be eligible to cast their votes at Malaysian embassies and consulates when the time comes.

Otherwise, the EC would not be able to send the specific ballot papers of the voters’ constituencies, the commission’s deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar told the New Straits Times today.

He said the voters can get a copy of the form by down loading it from the EC’s website starting Monday.

Polling on Saturday, March 30?

Selena Tay

Because of the one-week school holiday in March, the polls will most certainly be held during this time, and the all-defining date that pops up is Saturday, March 30.

A number of regular readers of this columnist’s articles have requested for piece on the polls date, so this issue will be tackled here. But first of all, this columnist wishes to say that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has just lost a brilliant opportunity to deal Pakatan Rakyat a fatal blow by dissolving Parliament on Jan 14 (just after the KL112 event) for early February polls, which will certainly catch Pakatan by surprise as its leaders are expecting the general election to be held only in March.

It is starting to get uncanny the way Najib seems to delay dissolving Parliament each time he has the advantage. After all, he had claimed credit for the smooth-running of the KL112 event on Jan 12 due to the Peaceful Assembly Act which was initiated by him and which was passed in Parliament in November 2011.

As polls loom Najib tells Christian community to Back BN

Bernama

Najib urges Malaysia’s Christian community to join in the journey of change and renewal for a better Malaysia.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak today called on Christian leaders to continue engaging in constructive dialogue to improve inter-religious relations in Malaysia.

He said that no one should fear constructive dialogue because “we can only respect and appreciate one another more, if we know one another better”.

“While I accept the nurturing and building relationships are time-intensive, however, we must continue to do so in the best interest of Malaysia which must always be the overriding objective of all communities of Malaysia,” he said.

Pakatan to win with 118 seats?

Selena Tay

The EC is BN’s last bastion to cling to power and the only way to curb its shenanigans is for the rakyat to come out in droves to monitor vote tallying

A neutral Chinese political analyst who is a friend of this columnist has informed that it is possible for Pakatan Rakyat to win the 13th general election by 118 seats, with BN getting 104. The total number of parliamentary seats is 222.

However, he also cautioned that hooligans may disrupt the general election campaign or the vote-counting process, thereby making it possible for the Election Commission (EC) to annul the polls results.

The last lap

Zaid Ibrahim

Just the other day, Selangor Umno confidently predicted that it would win 32 seats in the upcoming general election, while an Umno division leader from Kelantan told me that the Barisan Nasional already had 28 seats in the bag.

These assessments by BN leaders are wildly unrealistic. Taken with the prime minister’s desperate plan to dispense another round of cash handouts in January, I am now convinced more than ever that the Pakatan Rakyat will form the government after the next general election.

‘BN aiming only for simple win’

Humayun Kabir

Rafizi claims that Najib has at last come to terms with the impossibility of regaining two thirds of Parliament.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has given up hoping that Barisan Nasional will win two thirds of parliament and will announce the election date once he can be assured of a simple majority, according to PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli.

He said Najib had been demanding field reports on voter reaction to every one of his political moves and had finally despaired of reaching his target.

Rafizi did not explain how he got the information.

Opposition too weak to take on Sabah BN, says analyst

Lu Wei Hoong

Speaking at a forum in Kuala Lumpur last night, the political scientist, who requested that his name not be published, said the Pakatan Rakyat parties did not cooperate well with the Sabah local parties.Pakatan Rakyat is not strong enough to take on the BN in Sabah despite the peninsular-based opposition coalition having gradually made inroads into the East Malaysian state, a political pundit argues.

“I think (for) the opposition to deliver a strong blow to the BN in Sabah, it must unite and form a very strong opposition coalition.

Muhyiddin’s boys target Nov 30

Toffee Rodrigo

According to Muhyiddin Yassin’s camp, campaigning in December will give BN a strategic advantage, given that the middle-class and Christians will be distracted.

Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin’s boys want the general election this year. They are pushing Muhyiddin to pressure Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to dissolve Parliament by Nov 30.

Muhyiddin’s supporters feel Nov 30 should be the latest date, or else Umno and Barisan Nasional will be in trouble.

Is March GE too late for Najib?

Selena Tay

PM Najib has missed his best opportunity to hold the polls in March this year. By next March, he would have lost the element of surprise.

All throughout this year, from January till now, it can be seen that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has got no clear strategy in regard to the general election.

He will only call for the polls once he is sufficiently sure that he has gained the rakyat’s support. Hence the second round of the RM500 cash aid to strengthen the people’s support for him.

Why should the world care about GE13?

Ambiga Sreenevasan

Those in the international community may be forgiven for asking ‘is there a problem with the democratic process in Malaysia?’. In the international arena, our leaders portray Malaysia  as a moderate Islamic nation that is built on the democratic principles enshrined in the federal constitution.

The fundamental rights of freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, the right to life and a fair electoral process, are indeed guaranteed under the federal constitution. The reality is, however, far less idyllic. There are serious questions whether these rights are respected and upheld by those in power.

Overseas voting: Koreans show how it’s done

Koh Jun Lin

While the Election Commission (EC) is struggling to make the changes necessary to facilitate overseas voting, South Koreans living in Malaysia are gearing up to vote for their president from abroad for the first time.

At the Korea Day Exhibition in the Sunway Convention Centre, Subang Jaya, that ended yesterday, its embassy officials and volunteers set up a booth to register their citizens as absentee voters.

Overseas election officer Sim Hyun Whoa (left) toldMalaysiakini when met at the embassy’s booth that the necessary legislative changes were made in 2007, but preparations only started in 2011 in the run-up for the April 2012 general assembly election.

Beyond the fight to be Lembah Pantai MP

Joan Lau

The next general election is expected to be the closest fight to form the new Malaysian government. And several seats across the nation are likely to be heated battles with the slimmest of majorities. The Malaysian Insider takes a look at some of these hot seats in what will be an intense election for control of Malaysia. 

Bangsar Baru with its leafy affluent neighbourhoods and trendy cafes serving artisanal coffee is a far cry from Kampung Kerinchi and Pantai Dalam where the residents are more accustomed to teh tarik and sup ekor. Yet these two areas are part of the federal constituency of Lembah Pantai, one of the next general election’s hot seats.

ANOTHER HEAVYWEIGHT TO LEAVE UMNO: Unstoppable exodus in Sabah, Declaration in Kuching, Sarawak

Wong Choon Mei

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan Rakyat coalition are set to celebrate the September 16 Malaysia Day in Sabah and Sarawak. Not only will the resurgent Anwar and top Pakatan leadership sign a historic declaration in Kuching, he is expected to welcome another key Sabah Umno leader to the opposition side of the fence.

“Suffice to say that he is the former Sabah Umno treasurer and he will make the announcement himself on Saturday to leave the Umno-BN and join the fight for change in Sabah,” PKR vice president Tian Chua toldMalaysia Chronicle.

“This is a very influential leader and it will shake Umno-BN. They can keep pretending everything is business as usual, but the fact is, despite all their efforts and counter-offers, their men are all running away.

1Malaysia but two laws

Syed Jaymal Zahiid

The opposition leader said Najib’s administration has two laws when responding to violent acts by the ruling party and the opposition.

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim accused the Najib administration of double standard when it came to political violence.

Anwar said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has so far failed to respond to rising concerns of political violence aimed at the opposition while at the same time acted efficiently at prosecuting opposition supporters accused of misbehaviour.

Najib unveils education blueprint

Syed Jaymal Zahiid

(Full Downloadable Blueprint link inside) The blueprint aims to adjust and put Malaysia’s education at par with rich economies with focus on critical thinking.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak today unveiled the National Education Blueprint that will equip students with knowledge, thinking skills and bilingual proficiency, among others.

The reforms will be carried out in 11 shifts over 17 years.

Najib, who is aiming to make Malaysia a developed nation by 2020, said the 11-point blueprint was drafted with inputs from major stakeholders including those from the public.

Parent group: No oomph in education blueprint

Aidila Razak

(Full Downloadable Blueprint link inside) The Parent Action Group for Education (Page) has expressed disappointment with the new education blueprint (salient points), claiming it is “nothing new”.

Its chairperson Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim  said the preliminary report is merely “re-labelling” the Education Ministry’s responsibilities.

“There is no oomph or wow factor. Basically they are rebranding or re-labelling thing that are already the responsibility of the ministry,” she said.

Met after the launch of the blueprint in Kuala Lumpur today, she also expressed disappointment that it has avoided “hot topics” like the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English.

EC on irregularities: It’s just ‘human error’

Tarani Palani

The Election Commission today urged all parties who have an issue with the voters list to approach them directly instead of highlighting the matter in the press.

The Election Commission (EC) has attributed some of the irregularities in the voters’ roll to “human error”.

EC deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said that temporary staff who were recruited to assist the EC with voter registration could have made some mistakes when registering new voters. Hence, the irregularities found in the list.

Malaysians barred from Sarawak should sue Taib

Awang Abdillah

Taib Mahmud has no legal right to ban anyone from entering Sarawak unless they have violated the Immigration Act or the federal constitution.

On Feb 23 this year the Bersih 2.0 steering committee at state level was formed here in Kuching.

There are 31 parliamentary seats at stake in Sarawak. Hence it is important that the general election should be conducted in a clean and fair manner throughout the country including Sarawak and Sabah.

‘EC using legal loophole to change roll’

Tarani Palani

PKR claims that EC is using legal means to move voters illegally into a different voting constituency.

PKR today alleged that the Election Commission (EC) has new ways to manipulate the electoral roll.

This new method, they claimed, used the legal means of creating “divisions” (Belah Bahagi) to move voters illegally into a different voting constituency.

There are fears that these additions will be to the benefit of the Barisan Nasional as this practice was allegedly rampant in Pakatan Rakyat-held Selangor.

Gerrymandering will halt opposition’s march to power

Nigel Aw

A retiree arrested the attention of opposition members at the public hearing by the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform, when he told them to forget about marching to Putrajaya under the current electoral system.

Armed with printouts of his presentation slides, Ng Chak Ngoon (left) who described himself as a retiree, presented the panel with a graph that showed 222 lines with every one being taller than the other as it progressed.

The graph, said Ng at the hearing in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, which saw several others testifying, was plotted against the population size of all the constituencies in ascending order for the 2008 general election.

Selangor offers Sarawak Pakatan help

Joseph Tawie

DAP and PKR who are both aiming to contest seats in Sarawak are not worried about overlapping activities.

KUCHING:  Selangor has pledged to channel its resources, including manpower, to help Sarawak in the coming general election as it is one of the important states that can ensure the Pakatan Rakyat ‘march’ to Putrajaya is successful.

Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, who was here on a  visit together with de facto PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim, said people were begining to accept Pakatan.

“As the people are now beginning to understand our policies and our struggle, the Pakatan Rakyat will mount a very serious challenge against the Barisan Nasional government.

BN gives rival PKR a pat-on-back for ‘loyalty’

FMT

The ‘songkok’ which completes the official attire of the state assemblymen is not a religious symbol as perceived by DAP, says senior Sarawak Minister Aband Johari Tun Openg.

Opposition PKR earned itself some brownie points from the ‘ruling’ class when its three assemblymen attended the 10th Sarawak Legislative Assembly sitting in full uniform.

Lauding their ‘loyalty’ to the August House and the Head of State, Sarawak Housing and Local Government Minister Abang Johari Tun Openg said it showed the opposition to be ‘respectful’ of the institution.

Secretive Lagong keeps them guessing

FMT Staff

Pelagus assemblyman George Lagong is a much sought-after man now – by the media, opposition and Barisan Nasional.

The sole independent assemblyman in the 10th Sarawak State Legislative Assembly, George Lagong, is bent on keeping secrets.

Since his win in Pelagus in the April 16 state election, he has been as slippery as an eel, dodging questions on, among others, his loyalty to Sarawak National Party (SNAP) and whether or not he will defect.

Thus far, he has been silent, leaving the press to freely speculate on his possible moves.

GE-13: July 10 nomindation day poser and 60 ways to hurt Malaysia

Selena Tay

One of the teachings in Sun Tzu’s Art Of War says that what cannot be won by confrontation must be won by stealth.

This is very true. And there are many in the Pakatan Rakyat camp who say this typifies their BN rivals. Those who know they may not win the general election by fair means may opt to win by foul means.

And giiven the rash and irrational manner that BN boss, UMNO and its cohorts like Perkasa, are rushing headlong to stop the Bersih 2.0 rally, speculation has spread to the man in the street.

It is ‘Anwar time’ for Malaysia

Melissa Lee

More than 4,000 delegates thronged the PKR election convention on Sunday, giving Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim an extra boost to the morale as he prepares the party and the Pakatan Rakyat coalition for snap general polls widely expected to be called within these few months.

The atmosphere contrasted sharply with the PKR congress in November last year, where members were subdued after former FT chief Zaid Ibrahim, widely seen as an UMNO plant, rocked the party with a nasty challenge for the deputy presidency.

In the months that followed, PKR went through one of its worst patches, hit by both Anwar’s sodomy trial and the Datuk T sex video conspiracy. But despite the ups and downs, Anwar and PKR appear to have turned the corner quite decisively.

Focus On Demands Of Perhimpunan BERSIH 2.0

BERSIH 2.0

The demands of Perhimpunan BERSIH 2.0 promote a vibrant and transparent democracy. All citizens, politicians or otherwise, should only support these (not attack them) if they believe Malaysians deserve such a democracy.

BERSIH 2.0 believes that Malaysians deserve an electoral system of integrity, strong and independent public institutions and a corrupt free society.

It has long been recognised that NGOs play a vital role in Malaysian society. They constitute Malaysian Civil Society and the voices of the people.

Those that downplay the importance of Malaysian Civil Society downplay the importance of the voice of the people.

PKR eyes fence sitters in new GE13 campaign

Shannon Teoh

PKR will launch the Demi Rakyat website today, ahead of a campaign to focus on the economy and social issues to convince fence sitters to lean towards Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in the next general election expected within the year.

Taking a leaf from Barisan Nasional’s (BN) playbook, the PKR campaign will be led by celebrities who will focus on issues that the party believes are important to neutrals.

Screenshot of the demirakyat.org website.

“We are working on policies such as how to deal with a middle-income trap, wealth redistribution and perceived erosion of Bumiputera rights under Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim,” said a key party strategist.

‘BN will lose its ‘fixed deposit”

Queville To

‘Pakatan Rakyat Plus SAPP’ will be able to smash BN hegemony in the 13th general election, says Sabah opposition leader Yong Teck Lee

A former Sabah chief minister has predicted that Barisan Nasional (BN) will no longer be able to call the state its ‘fixed deposit’ after the 13th general election.

Yong Teck Lee said the growing dissatisfaction over the direction of the economy as well as policies affecting Sabah and Sarawak would have an effect on the general election.

He said the opposition is also banking on a revolt by consumers in the two states over prices of goods remaining much higher compared to Peninsular Malaysia despite years of platitudes by the BN government each time the subject comes up.

Mat Sabu in Bukit Bintang – a mission not impossible?

Sim Kwang Yang

Mat Sabu, the newly-elected deputy president of PAS, has a jovial personality which most people find engaging.

I have known him personally during my brief period in Parliament, and like many other people from my party, I find Mat Sabu cosmopolitan, open-minded and original in his ideas. He is one PAS MP who is customer-friendly.

This week he came out with the seemingly ridiculous suggestion that the opposition party should field him as the candidate in Bukit Bintang. 

Take your pick Umno elite, Plan A, B, C or D?

Iskandar Dzulkarnain

The recent PAS party election is seen as a setback for UMNO. Hoping fervently for a possible split between the Erdogans and the Ulamak, UMNO was taken aback at the positive results, which saw a more moderate line-up. Suddenly, in the eyes of Malaysians, PAS has become a viable alternative to UMNO.

The murmurings amongst the Malays have started to grow louder. The new line-up also meant that an UMNO-PAS tie-up is no longer deemed feasible or possible. But still UMNO’s doors remain open. With their hopes shattering, UMNO needs to fall back on Plan B.

Najib may delay GE-13 date but turbulent ‘feng shui’ in store

Selena Tay

It was only last month that PAS Kuala Selangor MP Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad made a prediction that the 13th General Election will be held in July and there was even an analyst writing in an online news portal predicting that the election will be held as early as this month.

But due to the fluid nature of the Malaysian political scene, these gentlemen have shifted their forecast somewhat. Dzul now sees GE-13 in early September. However, his Pakatan Rakyat colleague Rafizi Ramli is still stickig to July to “err on the side of caution”.

“It makes even less sense for Najib to delay now. It will only give us, especially PAS, more time to work around the Malay electorate and gain ground,” PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli told Malaysia Chronicle.

Eight police reports against Bersih 2.0 rally

K Pragalath

It will inconvenience city folk and disrupt businesses in the area, says Umno Youth.

Umno Youth lodged a report against the Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) rally organisers at the Dang Wangi district police station today.

Several other organisations followed suit and also filed reports of their own. They were the Bukit Bintang Umno Youth, KL Umno Youth, Umno’s Urban Affairs Secretariat (SHEB), Tunku Abdul Rahman Traders Association, Perkasa Youth, Angkatan Belia Islam Kepong and Gertak.