Malays protest Penang Chief Minister

The protestors, mostly Malays, gathered outside Komtar Tower in Penang. A large group of people started marching towards the tower. More than 100 protestors carried banners in the heat of the afternoon.

The situation was tense and you could tell they were very upset about has been on the boil ever since the newly-appointed Penang chief Minister, Mr Lim Guan Eng of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), announced that he would do away with the New Economic Policy (NEP).

The policy was introduced in the 1970s by the Malay-dominated Barisan Nasional (BN) ruling coalition to provide economic protection for the poorer Malays or bumiputeras.

But Mr Lim charged that the NEP breeds cronyism, corruption and systemic inefficiency.

Under the NEP, Malays have preference in jobs, education and business. But even some Malays critic saw it has been misused to benefit a well-connected Malay elite.

Still, the reaction to Mr Lim’s comments was swift and hard. He was publicly warned by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi that such a drastic move would incite racial tensions at a time when the state of affairs in Malaysia is fragile.

Former PM Dr Mahatir calls for Abdullah Badawi to resign

Former prime Minster Mahatir was very disappointed towards Abdullah’s performance. Mahatir suggested Abdullah should resign and said he had made a mistake in selecting him as prime minister.

In fact this time around, BN suffered its worst ever result in Saturday’s polls, losing its two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time since 1969 and conceding four more states to oppositions.

Abduallh Badawi was punished over rising crime and inflation in an election. He also deemed as unsuccessful leader for not managing the rising racial tesnsions between majority Muslim malays and minority ethic Chinese and Indians.

I think the people must have been very angry, all the races, Chinese, Malays and Indians, Mahatir said.

BN lost 5 states

This time, for this year’s election, the elections’ result was announced. This year was the most shocking result. Finally, the Barisan Nasional was dealt its worst ever electoral result, losing its crucial two-thirds majority and 5 states had fallen into the opposition hands. The 5 states are Penang, Kedah, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan. I am sure the media press and bloggers have been played their part to persuade the voters to choose “deny BN2/3”.

In addition, the MIC chief S Samy Vellu had been defeated. The opposition has denied the government its much-cherished two thirds majority by winning 82 seats against BN’s 131. At 4.12 am with the BN chief, Abdullah Badawi, saying: we’ve lost, we’ve lost. 

Abdullah gives election eve warning to minority voters

Malaysians go to the polls in a mood that might weaken the ruling Barisan Nasional’s grip on power after a campaign that has polarized the country along racial lines. 

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi made an announcement to minority communities to vote for the BN partners, the Malaysian Chinese association and the Malaysian Indian congress. He claimed that he do not want to form a government that is made up of only one race.  His call some say veiled threat came in the wake of strong anti-BN sentiment among the minority communities, and the prediction that the opposition parties would make a major dent in the BN’s current record 91 percent majority of Parliament seats. The campaigning that ended at midnight after 13 days has seen record crowds at opposition rallies, especially in Penang where more than 25,000 people attended two Democratic Action Party events. 

In Penang, reporters claimed that most Chinese Penang is one of the most closely-fought battlegrounds. The analyst has noted that the BN campaign did nothing to raise the low level of support among Indians and Chinese. The Indian vote – traditionally estimated by political parties at a high 80% for the BN – plunged after the government failed to address their complaints of marginalization. Their anger spilled into a street protest last November.  Mr. Ibrahim Suffian, pollster merdeka centre, said the latest numbers suggested that up to 60% could now vote opposition, while the Chinese communities support also remained low.  

According to Mr. Ong Kian Ming, an analyst of electoral politics, a 40 % swing of the Indian vote could do the BN serious damage, if the Chinese support also falls by 10% to 15% as anticipated. Statistical analysis shows that this could give the opposition as many as 65 seats, from their current 20 seats. They however need 75 seats to break the BN’s two third majority as this is the minimum number of parliamentary votes needed to amend the constitution. They last time it was lost was in 1969. 

The racially-mixed nature of most seats, and the combined strength of the safe states of Sabah, Sarawak, Johor, Pahang, Negri Sembilan and Malacca make up the BN’s strong safety net. However, the mood to the north of Negri Sembilan, especially in the urban areas, is less pro-BN. Anger over rising costs has not dissipated despite the government’s media blitz trying to counter it. 

Race relations remain as source of anger over the more aggressive push for Malay privileges, as well as Islam, that has consisted on minority rights. Furthermore, the three main opposition parties: Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), Parti Keadilan Rakyat and the Democratic Action Party – has been fairly united this time and, on some occasions have also campaigned for each other. 

The close battles to watch are Penang, where the outcome is uncertain, and Kelantan, the one opposition held state, which the BN is trying to regain after three terms under PAS.  A serious reduction in BN’s majority overall would be seen as a poor reflection on PM Abdullah’s record, with recriminations set to follow. 

Election Day!

After 2 weeks of incessant mud slinging, accusations, counter accusations and countless police reports, the day of reckoning has finally arrived! It has been 13 days of constant talk and few productive actions as the country comes to a standstill for its politicians to state their case for a 4 year term of self-enrichment (and voters hope some public enhancements too!). Honestly, I do not think I will be the only person who is relieved that Election day is here and after this, life will be back to normal again.

I mean, I have always had little time for politicians; as a breed, they all claim to be doing it to serve the common people, to further the interest of their constituency etc. However, when you think about it, don’t you realise that you often see your assemblyman/senator/governor/representative/MP ONLY during election campaigning periods? Look at it this way, they go down to the local squares and markets to shake hands with their constituents every single day during the campaigning period, do you suppose these same constituents actually see their politicians again the week after election? Chances are, they will have to wait another 4 years before he comes along to disturb their peace! (Not that bad when you think about it. He brings loads of people who will not be buying anything anyway so its actually nothing but trouble!) This is not something peculiar to Malaysia but I guess the media spotlight these past weeks have brought the issue to the fore again.

I believe its fair to say that Malaysian politics is not clean (as with politics anywhere else! The very dynamics of the job makes it almost impossible to be clean – almost because it would be unfair to the minority who manage to keep their noses clean). I am probably not the only one to hear about beautiful street lamps in Johor which cost MYR100K per lamp to install and the fact that a lot of construction projects across Malaysia are contracted to Indians. Who can forget Putrajaya as well? When Myanmar moved its capital to Naypyitaw (200 miles inside the jungles!), I immediately thought of Putrajaya. I’m not saying the reasons for the building of these 2 cities are similar but I am drawing attention to the costs involved. Although Malaysians are not exactly starving, but you have got to ask yourself, why on earth build Putrajaya when KL is perfectly fine? If the government had conducted feasibility studies (spending lots in the process) then I assume it must have gauged public and private sector opinions on such a plan. If so, why till today, when people talk about Malaysia, KL jumps to mind and not Putrajaya? Of course, you can say that was under the previous administration (hints of awarding contracts perhaps? pump priming the economy after the Asian financial crisis maybe?) but when you consider that the present administration happens to be the one that spent US$25M to send some model cum engineer (they actually exist?!?) on a all expenses paid holiday up to space! (alright, maybe the deal was negotiated at the end of Dr M’s administration but from 2003 to 2007 is 4 long years! The present administration had plenty of time to change plans considering that they had time to decide who should be the next High Court Judge before informing the selection committee of the ideal candidate)

Of course, maybe I am too critical of the present administration, Mr A has been busy building corridors across Malaysia, massive infrastructure investments which are supposed to boost the economy. That is a noble intention so perhaps I was wrong, they really had no time to think about the astronaut issue, whether US$25 million could be better spent in alleviating poverty  and building basic infrastructure in rural Malaysia or East Malaysia. The more i think about it, the more I am starting to believe, the government has been too busy. You need more proof? Why, crime rate in Malaysia has gone up since Mr A took over! They have been so busy chasing white collar crime, patrolling high class estates and new developments that they have no manpower to police the streets.

Sigh, I digress. Back to the issue, Election Day! I may be critical of politics but I am also an advocate of choosing the lesser evil. Running a country is no joke, you are not a good administrator just because you speak well. You need a large bureaucracy, the means to attract sufficient candidates and the ability to push through measures. In this case, Malaysians and Singaporeans have similar fates, they can only choose the one party to govern their countries. However, voters can still make a point! If you feel that you are not being heard, you can always voice it out with your vote. Deny the government an overwhelming majority and it would be signal that people are unhappy. Unfortunately, this does not necessarily lead to change for the better of course. So to all undecided Malaysian voters out there, please vote wisely! You can visit www.kennysia.com and use his kennysia.com Who-To-Vote-This-Election Decision Generator. Its pretty interesting! I tried and the generator told me I should vote opposition (if I were to vote, that is). Haha not much of a surprise considering what I have written right?

I just want to end by saying, the choice is yours, the selection of alternatives may not be perfect but nothing in this world ever is. Vote with your head, not your heart. Go for the person whom you feel can do the most for you, not talk the most or the best.

Battle of the Medias

VS

There has been much talk about the prominent blogger, Jeff Ooi, contesting in his first general election. It makes us wonder how much power the Malaysian government has left over the way Malaysians communicate in the country.

20 years back, the governments (especially in this part of the world) held absolute power in the way messages were sent out. It was a piece of cake – distribute censored news to the public, crack down on individuals who had something else to say about these censored news.

But it is 2008 now. The emergence of new media like blogs, podcasts and forums give everyone a voice. We no longer have to go to Speaker’s Corner (which I thought was a really lame idea) to be heard.

This is bad news for the Malaysian Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In response, he made many comments to affirm himself of the role of mainstream media:

“Mainstream media in the country need not compete with websites and bloggers on the internet to publish speculative and sensational materials and news. Instead, they should bear the heavy responsibility of conveying information to the people with the realization not to report on anything that could invite adverse reactions or create unhealthy situations”, the prime minister said.

Stressing that the mainstream media wielded influence and the people’s attention, he said: “No need to compete (with websites). Want to compete for what… don’t write untrue news, speculative reports based on false information.”

To take things a step further, there has been attempts to register bloggers not for censorship, but to ‘know the number of bloggers, how many are active and how often their websites are updated’. –> If not for censorship, for? Perhaps I am not catching something and need some enlightenment here.

It appears to me that the public and the Malaysian government are playing a game of tug of war. One side wants to pull the other over back to Traditional Media, while the other side attempts to pull towards New Media and uncensored voices. How long will this war continue and who will win in the end?

We would love to hear any opinions on this issue. Leave us a comment!

election fraud? racial tensions?

Phantom voters and massive rigging of the elections could be a possible reason why Malaysian feel that it is foolish to think they can make a difference.. after all PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi did not have to call for elections so soon… he could wait till next year.. but its rumoured he did not want to give Anwar a chance to participate in the elections.

Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s former deputy prime minister, has been barred from serving in a governmental position until April because of his conviction for corruption charges in 1998. He was convicted on possibly politically motivated charges and released in 2004.

Anwar cautioned for possible election fraud by the ruling coalition ‘We have produced evidence of massive rigging, phantom voters in every constituency. All this of course is evidence of fraud. It could be proven that there is massive rigging I don’t think it would bear well for the stability of the country.’

Another concern is the rising tensions between the different races in Malaysia.

Khairy Jamaluddin was quoted in The Star : “The (coming) general elections is not about politics but the future of the Malays.”

Did i read wrongly… or is he suggesting that the other races living in Malaysia do not matter as much as the future of the Malays?

It probably would not be a good idea to have someone who is seemingly insensitive towards the needs of the other races, who by the way are contributing to the economy of the country but not given credit for, on the governmental board..right?

The way I see it, the Malaysian elections have many obstacles to overcome.. can they convince the public that the voting is honest and fair.. and how are they going to pacify the people particularly the unhappy non-Malays so that we do not encounter a repeat of Operation Lalang?