During a forum on Budget 2018 earlier this week, Najib said that tolls should be abolished, adding that wherever possible he would look into unraveling the legacy problems caused by toll concession agreements.
Malaysians shouldn’t fall the empty promises of the Prime Minister whose track record has proven that he has zero commitment in abolishing these tolls.
It isn’t the first time Dato’ Seri Najib Razak promised to abolish tolls or lower toll rates. In Barisan Nasional’s manifesto for the 13th General Election, Najib promised the gradual reduction of intracity tolls within 5 years. Yet, 5 years on, not only has this promise failed to be delivered, he delivered the exact opposite.
In October 2015, 18 tolls operated by 11 concessionaires were allowed to increase their fares with some even going up RM2.30 overnight. These included toll routes such as the LDP, SMART Tunnel, MEX, AKLEH and NPE in the Klang Valley as well as the Senai-Desaru Highway in Johor and the Butterworth Outer Ring Road (BORR) in Penang.
In response to this, Najib turned around and said the the government had no choice but to allow the toll fares to increase because preventing it would require massive compensation payments. The Prime Minister went on to threaten Malaysians that taxes would have to be increased if the government were to abolish tolls.
The Prime Minister’s threats have proven true because when the government did remove certain tolls, they paid exhorbitant compensation equivalent to the amount of toll these concessionaires would have collected anyway!
When the Batu Tiga, Sg Rasau, Bukit Kayu Hitam and Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) tolls were removed last year, the government will be paying RM2.2 billion for the first 3 tolls. For the EDL, the government will reportedly be paying a yearly compensation of RM70 million.
The above means, Najib “abolish tolls” or not, the BN government would always profit the concessionaires. Malaysians would either have to pay for the tolls directly, or pay for them via taxes paid to the Government.
Most hypocritically, the Prime Minister had only recent on 3rd December criticised Pakatan Harapan’s plan to eliminate highway tolls and reintroduce petrol subsidies will increase air pollution in the country. So did Najib temporarily change his mind to fish for votes in the impending General Election, just as he did in 2013?
Pakatan Harapan believes in the rule of law and the sanctity of the contract signed between the Government and the toll concessionaires. The provisions of the contracts allow for the Government to expropriate or buy back the concessions at cost, subject to a minimum return for the concessionaires for the past years of operations.
Barring exceptions, the agreements do not at any point in time require the Government to compensate these concessionaires for future profits. Why is the BN Government so adamant in ensuring these toll concessionaires are paid their future profits at the expense of Malaysian tax-payers?
All this is proof that Najib’s ‘promise’ to abolish tolls is just another empty promise by a Prime Minister and government desperate to hold on to power. Malaysians should not fall for these empty promises and should not forget the government’s own inability to deliver on the same pledge that it had made 5 years ago.
Showing posts with label Elections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elections. Show all posts
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Saturday, December 23, 2017
Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin must defend Parliament's honour and dignity by reprimanding the Election Commission for treating the highest legislative institution of the land with utter contempt
During the objection hearings to the new voters being transferred to Segamat’s still unbuilt army camp, an Election Commission (EC) registrar had rejected the Parliament Hansard as evidence saying that it “cannot be believed”.
The objections are being raised in regards to the inclusion of 1079 new army voters in the Segamat constituency as list in the EC’s third quarter supplementary electoral roll. The ongoing issue had been raised by Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong because the new army camp in Segamat is not even complete but the army personnel and their spouses have already been added to the electoral roll in that constituency.
During the Budget debate in Parliament on November 27, Seremban MP Anthony Loke had asked for confirmation if the army camp was still under construction or if it had been completed.
In response the Deputy Minister of Defence, Datuk Johari Baharum said that the camp was still under construction and when question further, said that the camp was not complete. As recorded on page 136 of the Hansard, the Deputy Minister said “belum siap” when asked to confirm the status of the army camp.
Yet, the registrar chose to reject the Hansard as evidence. This is a clear case of contempt against the Parliament.
The Parliament Hansard is the official record of Parliamentary proceedings. Even in court, Parliamentary proceedings are admissible as evidence. Section 78 (1b) of the Evidence Act 1950, which states the proof required for official documents, states that
The Act clearly says that Parliamentary proceedings are proved by the minutes of the session, which takes the form of the Parliamentary Hansard and nothing else.
If the judiciary accepts the Hansard as hard evidence, who is the EC to reject the official Parliamentary document? For the EC registrar to say that the Hansard cannot be believed, they are saying that Parliament proceedings themselves cannot be believed.
We call upon the Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin to reprimand the Election Commission for the latter’s contempt and we call upon the EC to reprimand the responsible Registrar above and immediately act to rectify the injustice by reopening the objection proceedings in Segamat.
The failure of the EC to do the above would only further prove that the EC is not the independent institution conceived by our Constitution. Instead, it is merely a paw of Barisan Nasional.
The objections are being raised in regards to the inclusion of 1079 new army voters in the Segamat constituency as list in the EC’s third quarter supplementary electoral roll. The ongoing issue had been raised by Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong because the new army camp in Segamat is not even complete but the army personnel and their spouses have already been added to the electoral roll in that constituency.
During the Budget debate in Parliament on November 27, Seremban MP Anthony Loke had asked for confirmation if the army camp was still under construction or if it had been completed.
In response the Deputy Minister of Defence, Datuk Johari Baharum said that the camp was still under construction and when question further, said that the camp was not complete. As recorded on page 136 of the Hansard, the Deputy Minister said “belum siap” when asked to confirm the status of the army camp.
Yet, the registrar chose to reject the Hansard as evidence. This is a clear case of contempt against the Parliament.
The Parliament Hansard is the official record of Parliamentary proceedings. Even in court, Parliamentary proceedings are admissible as evidence. Section 78 (1b) of the Evidence Act 1950, which states the proof required for official documents, states that
…the proceedings of Parliament or of any of the federal legislatures that existed in Malaysia before Parliament was constituted or of the legislature of any State— by the minutes of the body or by the published Acts of Parliament, Ordinances, Enactments or abstracts or by copies purporting to be printed by the authority of the Government concerned.
The Act clearly says that Parliamentary proceedings are proved by the minutes of the session, which takes the form of the Parliamentary Hansard and nothing else.
If the judiciary accepts the Hansard as hard evidence, who is the EC to reject the official Parliamentary document? For the EC registrar to say that the Hansard cannot be believed, they are saying that Parliament proceedings themselves cannot be believed.
We call upon the Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin to reprimand the Election Commission for the latter’s contempt and we call upon the EC to reprimand the responsible Registrar above and immediately act to rectify the injustice by reopening the objection proceedings in Segamat.
The failure of the EC to do the above would only further prove that the EC is not the independent institution conceived by our Constitution. Instead, it is merely a paw of Barisan Nasional.
Friday, May 05, 2017
Incoming RM42 billion taxpayers' bailout: Bandar Malaysia deal collapse, sale of Edra Energy at a loss and 1MDB-IPIC “settlement” mark total failure of 1MDB “rationalisation exercise”
The entire 1MDB “rationalisation exercise” announced as “completed” by the Prime Minister on 2016 New Year’s Day has been completely unravelled with the latest announcement that the RM7.41 billion sale of 60% equity interest in Bandar Malaysia has collapsed.
The Government of Malaysia, together with its debt-stricken wholly-owned subsidiary, 1MDB has embarked on the above exercise to shed itself of its mountain of borrowings, which at its peak, exceeded RM50 billion.
The rationalisation exercise commenced with the sale of 1MDB’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Edra Energy Sdn Bhd, which held all of 1MDB’s energy assets. Edra Energy had acquired the power plants for a total of RM12.1 billion. In addition, the Government of Malaysia had subsequently extended of concession period of the above plants, as well as awarded several new power plant concessions to 1MDB.
However, despite a global open tender, 1MDB could only secure the best bid of RM9.83 billion which resulted in a direct loss of RM2.27 billion. The losses did not yet include the interest cost of funds borrowed to finance the above acquisitions which amounted to more than RM3 billion over the period.
Worse, the proceeds of the above sale of Edra Energy did not go towards the repayment of the US$3.5 billion worth of bonds which were raised for the power plant acquistion in 2012.
As a result, in a recently announced “settlement” agreement with International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC), who guaranteed the US$3.5 billion worth of bonds, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) had agreed to assume the liability of the US$3.5 billion bonds and relieve IPIC of their obligations.
This had come as a complete shock to Malaysians as 1MDB and the Finance Ministers had previously insisted that 1MDB had already made payments amounting to US$3.51 billion to IPIC and/or its subsidiaries between 2012 and 2014.
Hence the outcome of the “settlement agreement” was that Malaysians will have to foot US$7.01 billion to discharge ourselves from the US$3.5 billion of 1MDB borrowings which 1MDB took to acquire the above power plants. The power plants, in turn have already been disposed of, but without the proceeds from the sale being used to settle the US$3.5 billion bonds.
Now with the latest collapse of the proposed sale of 60% interest in Bandar Malaysia to the consortium led by Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Bhd (IWH), the entire “rationalisation” exercise architected by Arul Kanda and hailed by the Prime Minister and Cabinet has been completely unravelled.
The devastating implication of the rationalisation failure staring at our faces is staggering. Because 1MDB simply does not have any more substantial tangible assets or cash in its books, the Malaysians tax-payer will have to pay for most of 1MDB’s still-outstanding debts including:
(i) RM5 billion 30-year bond guaranteed by the Federal Government issued in 2009;
(ii) US$3.5 billion 10-year bonds issued in 2012, now guaranteed by MOF Inc.;
(iii) US$3 billion 10-year bond issued in 2013, guaranteed with a ‘Letter of Support’ issued by the Minister of Finance, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak;
(iv) US$1.23 billion borrowed from IPIC in 2015, guaranteed by MOF Inc,;
(v) RM800 million loan from SOCSO in 2010, guaranteed by the Federal Government; and
(vi) RM2.4 billion sukuk issued in 2013, which have already been assumed by MOF
The above sums up to RM8.2 billion and US$7.73 billion, or a combined total of RM41.7 billion
While I have called for Arul Kanda, the 1MDB President and CEO to resign or be sacked yesterday, it is the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak who must be ultimately accountable.
He is not only the official with the ultimate decision-making authority in 1MDB as specified in the company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, his promises of resolution of the above scandal without a bailout by the Malaysian Government have been irredeemably broken.
What’s more, banking documents exposed by the United States Department of Justice (US DOJ) have shown Dato’ Seri Najib Razak to have received in his personal bank account in Malaysia, the sums of US$731 million originating from 1MDB. He has never denied the US DOJ allegations and steadfastly refused to provide any explanations to the Parliament or the Malaysian public.
With Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s iron-grip control over UMNO and Barisan Nasional, the country’s legislative, enforcement and prosecution institutions, it is now up to Malaysians to sack the Prime Minister in the coming general elections to ensure that he is made accountable for the single biggest financial scandal in the history of Malaysia.
The Government of Malaysia, together with its debt-stricken wholly-owned subsidiary, 1MDB has embarked on the above exercise to shed itself of its mountain of borrowings, which at its peak, exceeded RM50 billion.
The rationalisation exercise commenced with the sale of 1MDB’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Edra Energy Sdn Bhd, which held all of 1MDB’s energy assets. Edra Energy had acquired the power plants for a total of RM12.1 billion. In addition, the Government of Malaysia had subsequently extended of concession period of the above plants, as well as awarded several new power plant concessions to 1MDB.
However, despite a global open tender, 1MDB could only secure the best bid of RM9.83 billion which resulted in a direct loss of RM2.27 billion. The losses did not yet include the interest cost of funds borrowed to finance the above acquisitions which amounted to more than RM3 billion over the period.
Worse, the proceeds of the above sale of Edra Energy did not go towards the repayment of the US$3.5 billion worth of bonds which were raised for the power plant acquistion in 2012.
As a result, in a recently announced “settlement” agreement with International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC), who guaranteed the US$3.5 billion worth of bonds, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) had agreed to assume the liability of the US$3.5 billion bonds and relieve IPIC of their obligations.
This had come as a complete shock to Malaysians as 1MDB and the Finance Ministers had previously insisted that 1MDB had already made payments amounting to US$3.51 billion to IPIC and/or its subsidiaries between 2012 and 2014.
Hence the outcome of the “settlement agreement” was that Malaysians will have to foot US$7.01 billion to discharge ourselves from the US$3.5 billion of 1MDB borrowings which 1MDB took to acquire the above power plants. The power plants, in turn have already been disposed of, but without the proceeds from the sale being used to settle the US$3.5 billion bonds.
Now with the latest collapse of the proposed sale of 60% interest in Bandar Malaysia to the consortium led by Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Bhd (IWH), the entire “rationalisation” exercise architected by Arul Kanda and hailed by the Prime Minister and Cabinet has been completely unravelled.
The devastating implication of the rationalisation failure staring at our faces is staggering. Because 1MDB simply does not have any more substantial tangible assets or cash in its books, the Malaysians tax-payer will have to pay for most of 1MDB’s still-outstanding debts including:
(i) RM5 billion 30-year bond guaranteed by the Federal Government issued in 2009;
(ii) US$3.5 billion 10-year bonds issued in 2012, now guaranteed by MOF Inc.;
(iii) US$3 billion 10-year bond issued in 2013, guaranteed with a ‘Letter of Support’ issued by the Minister of Finance, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak;
(iv) US$1.23 billion borrowed from IPIC in 2015, guaranteed by MOF Inc,;
(v) RM800 million loan from SOCSO in 2010, guaranteed by the Federal Government; and
(vi) RM2.4 billion sukuk issued in 2013, which have already been assumed by MOF
The above sums up to RM8.2 billion and US$7.73 billion, or a combined total of RM41.7 billion
While I have called for Arul Kanda, the 1MDB President and CEO to resign or be sacked yesterday, it is the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak who must be ultimately accountable.
He is not only the official with the ultimate decision-making authority in 1MDB as specified in the company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, his promises of resolution of the above scandal without a bailout by the Malaysian Government have been irredeemably broken.
What’s more, banking documents exposed by the United States Department of Justice (US DOJ) have shown Dato’ Seri Najib Razak to have received in his personal bank account in Malaysia, the sums of US$731 million originating from 1MDB. He has never denied the US DOJ allegations and steadfastly refused to provide any explanations to the Parliament or the Malaysian public.
With Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s iron-grip control over UMNO and Barisan Nasional, the country’s legislative, enforcement and prosecution institutions, it is now up to Malaysians to sack the Prime Minister in the coming general elections to ensure that he is made accountable for the single biggest financial scandal in the history of Malaysia.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Did Dato’ Seri Johari Abdul Ghani just blame the Prime Minister for sacrificing US$3.5 billion in 1MDB’s “settlement” with IPIC for “the bigger picture”?
In an exclusive response to Malaysiakini yesterday, Dato’ Seri Johari Abdul Ghani insisted that he has proof that Aabar Investment PJS Limited (“Aabar(BVI)”), an entity incorporated in the British Virgin Islands which 1MDB has already paid US$3.51 billion was a genuine subsidiary of International Petroleum Investment Corporation (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi.
"As far as I am concerned, based on records provided by 1MDB to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) prior to the settlement agreement, Aabar Investments PJS Ltd (BVI) is a subsidiary of IPIC. A fact which was confirmed by the Registrar of Corporate Affairs of the British Virgin Islands by its letter dated Aug 11, 2016," he told Malaysiakini.
The question is, if the so-called “proof” is so incontrovertible, then it makes absolutely no sense to concede on a whopping US$3.5 billion or more than RM15 billion based on today’s exchange rates!
Instead of being all gung-ho in being able to win the IPIC-initiated arbitration, the Second Finance Minister said “the matter is beyond [him]” in a subsequent press conference yesterday. He now made a complete U-turn claiming that the government decided to look after the “bigger picture”.
“At the end of the day, the government felt that they are looking at the bigger picture on this, in terms of the relationship between Malaysian and Abu Dhabi and so on… So I think that’s beyond me. I’m going for the facts, but this is a bigger thing.”
In fact, the Second Finance Minister shifted the blame to the Prime Minister. “The Prime Minister has made the decision for the country. That’s it,” he retorted.
But that’s exactly what Malaysians are worried about – that it’s the tainted Prime Minister who is making the decisions because he is conflicted!
Based on documents revealed by the United States Department of Justice (US DOJ), which were corroborated by the evidence produced by the Singapore prosecution against its rogue bankers, from the funds transferred to Aabar(BVI), Dato’ Seri Najib Razak personally received a sum of US$30 million in his personal bank account in Ambank in 2012.
Worse, his stepson, Riza Aziz received US$238 million via his Red Granite group of companies. Some US$100 million of the sum was used to produce the Hollywood movie, The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonardo Dicaprio.
In addition, isn’t Dato’ Seri Johari interested to find out if, despite the incontrovertible “proof” in his possession, that Aabar(BVI) had been fraudulently set up by the officers of IPIC – Khadem Al-Qubaishi and Mohamed Badawy Al-Husseiny, both of whom have been sacked by IPIC – in collusion with 1MDB officers to defraud both the Abu Dhabi and Malaysian governments?
Hence the question must be asked as to whether Dato’ Seri Najib Razak decided to ‘settle’ the IPIC dispute which resulted in US$3.5 billion of additional liability for Malaysians because it is really in the interest of the country or, to prevent IPIC from further exposing and confirming his complicity in the entire 1MDB misappropriation scandal.
Therefore, it is utterly irresponsible of Dato’ Seri Johari to wash his hands off the Ministry of Finance taking on the RM15 billion mega-liability. Instead of acting ignorant, shouldn’t the Second Finance Minister satisfy himself that the Prime Minister has not made the decision out of self-interest? In reality, was the “bigger picture” a blatant attempt to save Najib and Barisan Nasional from losing in the next General Election?
If the matter is indeed “beyond” him as he pleads, then he might as well resign as the Second Finance Minister.
"As far as I am concerned, based on records provided by 1MDB to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) prior to the settlement agreement, Aabar Investments PJS Ltd (BVI) is a subsidiary of IPIC. A fact which was confirmed by the Registrar of Corporate Affairs of the British Virgin Islands by its letter dated Aug 11, 2016," he told Malaysiakini.
The question is, if the so-called “proof” is so incontrovertible, then it makes absolutely no sense to concede on a whopping US$3.5 billion or more than RM15 billion based on today’s exchange rates!
Instead of being all gung-ho in being able to win the IPIC-initiated arbitration, the Second Finance Minister said “the matter is beyond [him]” in a subsequent press conference yesterday. He now made a complete U-turn claiming that the government decided to look after the “bigger picture”.
“At the end of the day, the government felt that they are looking at the bigger picture on this, in terms of the relationship between Malaysian and Abu Dhabi and so on… So I think that’s beyond me. I’m going for the facts, but this is a bigger thing.”
In fact, the Second Finance Minister shifted the blame to the Prime Minister. “The Prime Minister has made the decision for the country. That’s it,” he retorted.
But that’s exactly what Malaysians are worried about – that it’s the tainted Prime Minister who is making the decisions because he is conflicted!
Based on documents revealed by the United States Department of Justice (US DOJ), which were corroborated by the evidence produced by the Singapore prosecution against its rogue bankers, from the funds transferred to Aabar(BVI), Dato’ Seri Najib Razak personally received a sum of US$30 million in his personal bank account in Ambank in 2012.
Worse, his stepson, Riza Aziz received US$238 million via his Red Granite group of companies. Some US$100 million of the sum was used to produce the Hollywood movie, The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonardo Dicaprio.
In addition, isn’t Dato’ Seri Johari interested to find out if, despite the incontrovertible “proof” in his possession, that Aabar(BVI) had been fraudulently set up by the officers of IPIC – Khadem Al-Qubaishi and Mohamed Badawy Al-Husseiny, both of whom have been sacked by IPIC – in collusion with 1MDB officers to defraud both the Abu Dhabi and Malaysian governments?
Hence the question must be asked as to whether Dato’ Seri Najib Razak decided to ‘settle’ the IPIC dispute which resulted in US$3.5 billion of additional liability for Malaysians because it is really in the interest of the country or, to prevent IPIC from further exposing and confirming his complicity in the entire 1MDB misappropriation scandal.
Therefore, it is utterly irresponsible of Dato’ Seri Johari to wash his hands off the Ministry of Finance taking on the RM15 billion mega-liability. Instead of acting ignorant, shouldn’t the Second Finance Minister satisfy himself that the Prime Minister has not made the decision out of self-interest? In reality, was the “bigger picture” a blatant attempt to save Najib and Barisan Nasional from losing in the next General Election?
If the matter is indeed “beyond” him as he pleads, then he might as well resign as the Second Finance Minister.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
1MDB Foundation RM690 million spend: “corporate social responsibility” or reckless and irresponsible vote-buying for the BN administration?
1MDB has proudly announced that since 2010, its foundation has spent RM690 million into "worthy causes" which had benefited 2.8 million Malaysians through 60 projects in education, healthcare, youth development and community services.
"Examples of such activities can be found on the 1MDB website, ranging from Dana PIBG grants and academic grants to SPM and STPM students to academic grants for Sri Murugan Centre and Unified Examination Certificate holders, as well as Dana Belia 1Malaysia and 1Malaysia Mobile Clinics,” the company elaborated in its statement.
1MDB also emphasized that the funds were generated from “its legitimate business operations, formerly in energy production and more recently, in real estate development”.
1MDB’s generous spending in corporate social responsibility (CSR) appears to set the ultimate benchmark for all other companies to emulate. 1MDB’s statement and outsized CSR spend were clearly designed to enhance the perception of the state-owned firm as a benign and benevelont corporation, a stark contrast against its much maligned global reputation.
The only problem, and the crucial one, is that 1MDB never generated these cash from its businesses past and present.
For its “profitable” energy business, 1MDB borrowed extensively to acquire them for an overpriced RM12.1 billion. The borrowings were so big that the profits from the energy companies were insufficient to even service the interest of the relevant loans in the group, what more the principal.
As a result, 1MDB was “forced” to sell its energy business for RM9.83 billion, suffering a huge loss of RM2.27 billion.
However, at least 1MDB’s energy business was generating productive revenue. 1MDB’s real estate business never took off for the years in question. The land 1MDB acquired was alienated to 1MDB by the Federal Government at bargain basement prices. The company was sold undeveloped land to Tabung Haji and the Armed Forces Pension Fund (LTAT) group, who were cajoled into buying at astronomical prices. For example, LTAT subsidiary, Affin Bank paid RM4,500 per square feet for a piece of land in Tun Razak Exchange, when 1MDB acquired it from the Government at only RM64 per square feet.
What is vital to note is the fact that despite the sale of land at astronomical prices, 1MDB still cannot settle its outstanding debts that remains in excess of RM35 billion today.
As we have discovered via the Swiss Attorney-General Office and the United States Department of Justice, at least US$5 billion have been misappropriated from the 1MDB funds while more than US$730 million of the amount have found its way into the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s personal bank account in Malaysia.
Hence effectively, 1MDB wasn’t executing its CSR programmes from its cash pile arising from the company’s profits. Instead, 1MDB was pretending to be a big profitable company, spending big on CSR via its mega-borrowings which it is now unable to service.
Worse, the burden of these loans are now dumped squarely on the shoulders of ordinary Malaysians who are forced to bailout 1MDB via the Federal Government. In short, we Malaysians are footing the bill, with interest, the money that 1MDB has so “generously” spent on us via its CSR programmes.
This leads to the conclusion that 1MDB is not the benign and benevolent entity it sought to portray but a recklessly irresponsible one causing greater hardship on the rakyat. And it did so with the clear intent to influence and “buy” votes for the general elections to prop up the corrupt Najib administration.
Friday, December 02, 2016
Presiden UMNO Dato’ Seri Najib Razak telah mengeluarkan fitnah berbau perkauman yang melampau terhadap DAP untuk menakutkan orang Melayu dan mengalihkan kemarahan rakyat terhadap skandal 1MDB, SRC International dan MO1
Presiden UMNO, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak telah melontarkan pelbagai fitnah dan dusta terhadap parti DAP dan pemimpin-pemimpinnya dalam ucaptama Perhimpunan Agung UMNO semalam.
Beliau berkata bahawa “sekiranya negara ini jatuh ke tangan DAP yang memperjuangkan liberalisme melampau dan fahaman sekular berbahaya, pastinya, hak dan keistimewaan yang diperjuang serta dipertahankan oleh UMNO selama ini, termasuk Institusi-institusi Bumiputera antaranya MARA, FELDA, RISDA, FELCRA dan TERAJU akan pupus dan lenyap.”
Tambahan lagi, Dato’ Seri Najib juga menuduh bahawa “Perlembagaan parti DAP, tiada langsung menyebut Islam sebagai agama Persekutuan, tidak dinyatakan untuk menjunjung institusi Raja-Raja Melayu dan tidak tertulis satu ayat pun, tentang usaha untuk melindungi hak dan keistimewaan Orang-Orang Melayu serta Bumiputera.”
Kami ingin bertanya kepada Dato’ Seri Najib Razak - parti yang mana yang meletakkan keseluruhan Perlembagaan Persekutuan ke dalam Perlembagaan Parti? Adakah MCA, MIC, Gerakan, parti-parti Barisan Nasional di Sabah dan Sarawak menyenaraikan setiap fasal perlembagaan persekutuan ke dalam perlembagaan parti mereka?
Jelasnya tidak. Hakikatnya, Presiden UMNO hanya ingin menipu dan mengelirukan orang ramai terhadap perlembagaan parti DAP.
Adalah tertulis dalam perlembagaan DAP bahawa maksud dan semangat Perlembagaan Persekutuan seperti yang dihasratkan oleh pengasas penubuhan dan kemerdekaan Malaysia merupakan perjuangan DAP. Setahu kami, fasal-fasal yang disebut oleh Dato’ Seri Najib Razak – Islam sebagai agama Persekutuan, institusi Raja-Raja Melayu dan hak keistimewaan bumiputera adalah terkandung di dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan yang sama dipertahankan oleh DAP.
Apatah lagi, untuk menafikan pembohongan-pembohongan UMNO selama ini, semasa Persidangan Parti DAP di Shah Alam pada 8 Jan 2012[1], DAP telah mengeluarkan dan meluluskan Deklarasi Shah Alam yang antaranya menegaskan bahawa:
Kita menghasratkan Impian Bangsa Malaysia, dan dalam usaha untuk mengecapi impian ini, kita mengulangi komitmen untuk:
Mempertahankan sistem Demokrasi Berparlimen dan Raja Berperlembagaan dengan Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong sebagai Ketua Negara. DAP komited untuk menjunjung Perlembagaan Persekutuan Malaysia sebagai undang-undang yang paling agung negara dan meluhurkannya dalam semangat Merdeka 1957 dan Perjanjian Malaysia 1963.
Memelihara kedudukan istimewa orang Melayu dan Bumiputra serta hak-hak kaum-kaum lain, seperti yang termaktub dalam Artikel 153 Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
Memastikan kedudukan Islam sebagai agama Persekutuan serta kebebasan untuk mengamalkan agama-agama lain dengan aman dan damai, seperti yang termaktub dalam Artikel 3 dan 11 Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
Memartabatkan Bahasa Melayu sebagai Bahasa Kebangsaan seperti yang termaktub dalam Artikel 152 Perlembagaan Persekutuan, serta menggalakkan penggunaan dan pengajian bahasa-bahasa ibunda lain untuk membentukkan masyarakat yang cemerlang dan berbilang bahasa.
Memperjuangkan kebebasan rakyat yang terjamin dalam Artikel 10 Perlembagaan Persekutuan, iaitu kebebasan untuk bersuara, berhimpun dan menubuh persatuan.
Menghormati Perjanjian Malaysia 1963 serta hak-hak yang dimiliki oleh rakyat Sabah dan Sarawak.
Adakah Dato’ Seri Najib Razak buta huruf sehingga sehingga beliau tidak faham apa yang tertulis dan diterbitkan oleh DAP sebelum ini?
Atau Dato’ Seri Najib Razak sengaja berfitnah untuk mengapi-apikan kebencian perkauman di kalangan orang Melayu supaya segala skandal-skandal pimpinan beliau, termasuk penyelewengan berbilion-bilion dolar daripada syarikat kerajaan 1MDB dan SRC International ke dalam akaun peribadi beliau, akan dilupakan?
Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi dalam ucapan beliau dua hari dahulu menuduh pihak pembangkang mempergunakan strategi Nazi, iaitu “jika anda ingin berbohong, biarlah ia besar dan jika kamu katakannya berulang kali, orang akan mula mempercayainya.”
Apa yang dikemukakan oleh pihak pembangkang, terutamanya mengenai penyelewengan kewangan 1MDB dan SRC oleh Presiden UMNO, yang juga merupakan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan telah terbukti benar dan tidak dinafikan oleh Dato’ Seri Najib Razak. Walhal, yang benar-benar mempergunakan strategi pembohong besar Nazi adalah Dato’ Seri Najib Razak sendiri, seperti yang telah dibuktikan di atas.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
DAP Selangor will hold an emergency state committee meeting today to discuss impact of re-delineation plans on the state's Pakatan Harapan for GE14
As analysts within DAP, political parties and think tanks across the country digest the proposed re-delineation plan by the Election Commission, it has become clear that the exercise is the most brazen attempt to gerrymander a victory for UMNO in the next general elections.
Perhaps it should not come as such a surprise in the light of the fact that the Najib administration is facing the worst political crisis in the history of the country. All surveys and studies showed Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s ratings to be the lowest ever recorded by any Prime Minister as a consequence of the 1MDB financial scandal and the impact of the GST on ordinary Malaysian’s cost of living.
If in 2013, Barisan Nasional received less than 48% of the popular vote then the only logical conclusion will be that the ruling coalition will receive lesser votes in the 14th General Election.
Hence the trump card for BN was to redraw the election constituency boundaries to the extent that BN will be assured of a thumping victory even if their popular votes continue to decline.
The simplest way of doing so would be to bundle opposition inclined voters into super-constituencies with more than 100,000 voters while breaking up hard-core pro-ruling party supporters into smaller multiple constituencies.
The clearest example was in the seat of Petaling Jaya Utara which was enlarged from 85,401 voters to 150,439 voters. The newly enlarged constituency, renamed “Damansara” is projected to achieve a super-majority of 73,533 based on the 2013 voting records, as opposed to the actual majority of 44,672.
As a result, the neighbouring constituency of Subang (renamed “Sungai Buloh”) becomes a very marginal seat with only a projected 3,037 majority as opposed on 26,719 achieved in 2013.
What we have since discovered to be even more audacious however, is the plans by the Election Commission to return the Selangor state government to BN via aggressive gerrymandering.
Based on 2013 voting patterns alone, at least seven state assembly seats will be won back outright by BN in the next election. They are Sabak, Hulu Kelang, Sementa, Selat Kelang, Pelabuhan Kelang, Sijangkang and Morib.
At the same time, at least another ten seats had their majorities vastly reduced to place them within reach of the BN candidates.
With brazen gerrymandering coupled with an aggressive campaign based on race and religious rhetoric, there is now a very real possibility that Selangor will indeed fall to BN.
The DAP Selangor state committee will meet later today discuss the findings of our studies and formulate our position as well as the next steps which we need to take to ensure that the people of Selangor will not be robbed of their mandate in the next general elections.
Perhaps it should not come as such a surprise in the light of the fact that the Najib administration is facing the worst political crisis in the history of the country. All surveys and studies showed Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s ratings to be the lowest ever recorded by any Prime Minister as a consequence of the 1MDB financial scandal and the impact of the GST on ordinary Malaysian’s cost of living.
If in 2013, Barisan Nasional received less than 48% of the popular vote then the only logical conclusion will be that the ruling coalition will receive lesser votes in the 14th General Election.
Hence the trump card for BN was to redraw the election constituency boundaries to the extent that BN will be assured of a thumping victory even if their popular votes continue to decline.
The simplest way of doing so would be to bundle opposition inclined voters into super-constituencies with more than 100,000 voters while breaking up hard-core pro-ruling party supporters into smaller multiple constituencies.
The clearest example was in the seat of Petaling Jaya Utara which was enlarged from 85,401 voters to 150,439 voters. The newly enlarged constituency, renamed “Damansara” is projected to achieve a super-majority of 73,533 based on the 2013 voting records, as opposed to the actual majority of 44,672.
As a result, the neighbouring constituency of Subang (renamed “Sungai Buloh”) becomes a very marginal seat with only a projected 3,037 majority as opposed on 26,719 achieved in 2013.
What we have since discovered to be even more audacious however, is the plans by the Election Commission to return the Selangor state government to BN via aggressive gerrymandering.
Based on 2013 voting patterns alone, at least seven state assembly seats will be won back outright by BN in the next election. They are Sabak, Hulu Kelang, Sementa, Selat Kelang, Pelabuhan Kelang, Sijangkang and Morib.
At the same time, at least another ten seats had their majorities vastly reduced to place them within reach of the BN candidates.
With brazen gerrymandering coupled with an aggressive campaign based on race and religious rhetoric, there is now a very real possibility that Selangor will indeed fall to BN.
The DAP Selangor state committee will meet later today discuss the findings of our studies and formulate our position as well as the next steps which we need to take to ensure that the people of Selangor will not be robbed of their mandate in the next general elections.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Election Commission conducts single-biggest gerrymandering exercise in the history of Malaysia to steal victory in the next General Election for Barisan Nasional
The Election Commission (EC) has officially published its proposed redelineation of electoral boundaries today. As highlighted previously, there will be no increase in parliamentary seats for the whole country, and no increase in state seats for Peninsula Malaysia.
A simple cursory review of the proposals will confirm the fears of all Malaysians that the EC has made it its primary objective to ensure Barisan Nasional (BN) victory for the Federal Government.
In the proposal, my constituency, “Petaling Jaya Utara (PJU)”, to be renamed as “Damansara”, will become the single largest constituency in Malaysia with 150,439 voters, an increase of 76.2% from the 85,401 registered voters as at the 2013 General Election.
Damansara will displace Kapar as the single largest constituency, with the latter’s number of voters reduced from 144,159 to 100,456, a reduction of 30.3%.
The discretionary treatment in the two seats epitomises the completely arbitrary and brazen gerrymandering exercise the EC is carrying out to the advantage of BN.
How can the EC justify or rationalise the increase of 76.2% of voters in my constituency, making it the largest in the country while at the same time reducing the existing largest constituency by 30%?
EC has increased the size of Damansara mainly by appending 54,902 voters from Bukit Lanjan state assembly seat, previously part of Subang (now renamed “Sungai Buloh”) parliament. As a result, the number of voters in Subang/Sungai Buloh is also reduced from 128,543 (2013) to 73,448.
There is only one reason one can deduce from the EC actions. It was to add to the majority in the seats BN is deemed unlikely to win, while reducing the majorities for seats where BN sees the opportunity to re-capture.
PJU had the 2nd highest majority of 44,672 in the 2013 general election and is in all probability deemed unwinnable by BN.
Bukit Lanjan on the other hand contributed a 17,200 vote majority to the Subang parliament overall winning majority of 26,719 by Sivarasa Rasiah of PKR in 2013.
With the proposed redelineation, Subang/Sungai Buloh will be left with a much reduced estimated majority of only 9,519 votes.
By shifting Bukit Lanjan to Damansara, the EC has made Subang a much more winnable seat for BN, despite increasing the potential majority for Damansara to a whopping 61,872 (based on 2013 results)!
The similar situation applies to Kapar, when its state seat with the largest majority, Sg Pinang (renamed “Bandar Baru Klang”) is shifted to the Klang parliamentary seat which faced an increase of voters from 97,073 (2013) to 141,025.
In doing so, Kapar, which is currently held by Manivanan Gowin of PKR becomes much more vulnerable. It’s 2013 winning majority of 23,790 is approximately halved as a result of the proposed redelineation.
The absurdity of creating a monster Damansara seat with more than 150,000 voters is even more outrageous when contrasted with other seats in Peninsula Malaysia with only a fraction of the voters.
Putrajaya remained the smallest constituency in the country with only 17,627 voters (11.7% of Damansara). Perak remains the state with the highest number of low voter seats with Lenggong at 28,078 (18.7% of Damansara), Padang Rengas at 28,727 (19.1%), Kuala Kangsar at 33,113 (22.0%), Parit at 33,638 (22.4%) and Gerik at 33,832 (22.5%).
Even within Selangor, which has 2.08 million voters and 22 parliamentary seats, the disparity is unjustifiably huge, with the smallest constituency of Sabak Bernam having only 37,126 voters (24.7% of Damansara). The discrepancy in the number of voters for constituencies within Selangor itself is repugnant, when the average number of voters per seat should be approximately 94,500.
Effectively, a vote in the redelineated Damanasara is not worth even a quarter of a vote in the above gerrymandered seats designed to give the advantage to BN.
We call upon all voters in Damansara, as well as all other affected voters in Malaysia to protest vehemently at the proposed election rigging exercise by the EC which deny them of their equal rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
A simple cursory review of the proposals will confirm the fears of all Malaysians that the EC has made it its primary objective to ensure Barisan Nasional (BN) victory for the Federal Government.
In the proposal, my constituency, “Petaling Jaya Utara (PJU)”, to be renamed as “Damansara”, will become the single largest constituency in Malaysia with 150,439 voters, an increase of 76.2% from the 85,401 registered voters as at the 2013 General Election.
Damansara will displace Kapar as the single largest constituency, with the latter’s number of voters reduced from 144,159 to 100,456, a reduction of 30.3%.
The discretionary treatment in the two seats epitomises the completely arbitrary and brazen gerrymandering exercise the EC is carrying out to the advantage of BN.
How can the EC justify or rationalise the increase of 76.2% of voters in my constituency, making it the largest in the country while at the same time reducing the existing largest constituency by 30%?
EC has increased the size of Damansara mainly by appending 54,902 voters from Bukit Lanjan state assembly seat, previously part of Subang (now renamed “Sungai Buloh”) parliament. As a result, the number of voters in Subang/Sungai Buloh is also reduced from 128,543 (2013) to 73,448.
There is only one reason one can deduce from the EC actions. It was to add to the majority in the seats BN is deemed unlikely to win, while reducing the majorities for seats where BN sees the opportunity to re-capture.
PJU had the 2nd highest majority of 44,672 in the 2013 general election and is in all probability deemed unwinnable by BN.
Bukit Lanjan on the other hand contributed a 17,200 vote majority to the Subang parliament overall winning majority of 26,719 by Sivarasa Rasiah of PKR in 2013.
With the proposed redelineation, Subang/Sungai Buloh will be left with a much reduced estimated majority of only 9,519 votes.
By shifting Bukit Lanjan to Damansara, the EC has made Subang a much more winnable seat for BN, despite increasing the potential majority for Damansara to a whopping 61,872 (based on 2013 results)!
The similar situation applies to Kapar, when its state seat with the largest majority, Sg Pinang (renamed “Bandar Baru Klang”) is shifted to the Klang parliamentary seat which faced an increase of voters from 97,073 (2013) to 141,025.
In doing so, Kapar, which is currently held by Manivanan Gowin of PKR becomes much more vulnerable. It’s 2013 winning majority of 23,790 is approximately halved as a result of the proposed redelineation.
The absurdity of creating a monster Damansara seat with more than 150,000 voters is even more outrageous when contrasted with other seats in Peninsula Malaysia with only a fraction of the voters.
Putrajaya remained the smallest constituency in the country with only 17,627 voters (11.7% of Damansara). Perak remains the state with the highest number of low voter seats with Lenggong at 28,078 (18.7% of Damansara), Padang Rengas at 28,727 (19.1%), Kuala Kangsar at 33,113 (22.0%), Parit at 33,638 (22.4%) and Gerik at 33,832 (22.5%).
Even within Selangor, which has 2.08 million voters and 22 parliamentary seats, the disparity is unjustifiably huge, with the smallest constituency of Sabak Bernam having only 37,126 voters (24.7% of Damansara). The discrepancy in the number of voters for constituencies within Selangor itself is repugnant, when the average number of voters per seat should be approximately 94,500.
Effectively, a vote in the redelineated Damanasara is not worth even a quarter of a vote in the above gerrymandered seats designed to give the advantage to BN.
We call upon all voters in Damansara, as well as all other affected voters in Malaysia to protest vehemently at the proposed election rigging exercise by the EC which deny them of their equal rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Jonker Walk: Keselamatan Terjejas
MP tak yakin keselamatan di Jonker Street
Zulaikha Zulkifli
4:46PM Jun 27 2013
Ahli Parlimen Petaling Jaya Utara Tony Pua menuntut Ketua Menteri Melaka Datuk Idris Haron bertanggungjawab ke atas keselamatan peniaga dan pengunjung di Jonker Walk apabila jalan tersebut dibuka untuk lalu lintas.
"Bila saya teliti laporan ini dengan terperinci, dia kata 300 peniaga yang ada di Jonker Walk boleh teruskan perniagaan mereka. Apa yang dia tak sebut ialah adakah jalan terus dibuka atau ditutup?
"Ini kekeliruan atau silap mata yang cuba dibuat ketua menteri Melaka. Perniagaan ada tapi jalan terus dibuka. Ini boleh menjadi isu keselamatan kepada peniaga, pengunjung dan pelancong.
“Sekiranya ada apa-apa terjadi, kerajaan negeri kena bertanggungjawab," katanya dalam sidang media di bangunan Parlimen hari ini.
Beliau mengulas kenyataan Idris semalam, bahawa 300 peniaga tersebut boleh meneruskan perniagaan mereka seperti biasa di kawasan pasar malam Jonker Walk pada setiap hujung minggu.
Idris juga menjelaskan bahawa arahan penutupan gerai yang kebanyakannya menjual cenderamata di Jonker Walk itu hanya salah faham.
Katanya, jalan sekitar Jonker Walk yang menjadi tumpuan pelancong itu dibuka semula untuk kenderaan yang ketika ini ditutup bermula 6 petang hingga 12 malam pada setiap Jumaat.
Isu menghalang peniaga berniaga di Jonker Walk pada hujung minggu, sengaja dimanipulasikan pihak tertentu demi kepentingan politik mereka, katanya lagi seperti dilaporkan Bernama semalam.
Beliau tidak berpendapat bahawa langkah tersebut akan menyukarkan pengunjung dan peniaga dan mengambil contoh amalan yang dilakukan di Oxford City, England.
Peniaga menjalankan perniagaan di kaki lima jalan raya dan kenderaan dibenar melalui kawasan di situ, katanya.
Zulaikha Zulkifli
4:46PM Jun 27 2013
Ahli Parlimen Petaling Jaya Utara Tony Pua menuntut Ketua Menteri Melaka Datuk Idris Haron bertanggungjawab ke atas keselamatan peniaga dan pengunjung di Jonker Walk apabila jalan tersebut dibuka untuk lalu lintas.
"Bila saya teliti laporan ini dengan terperinci, dia kata 300 peniaga yang ada di Jonker Walk boleh teruskan perniagaan mereka. Apa yang dia tak sebut ialah adakah jalan terus dibuka atau ditutup?
"Ini kekeliruan atau silap mata yang cuba dibuat ketua menteri Melaka. Perniagaan ada tapi jalan terus dibuka. Ini boleh menjadi isu keselamatan kepada peniaga, pengunjung dan pelancong.
“Sekiranya ada apa-apa terjadi, kerajaan negeri kena bertanggungjawab," katanya dalam sidang media di bangunan Parlimen hari ini.
Beliau mengulas kenyataan Idris semalam, bahawa 300 peniaga tersebut boleh meneruskan perniagaan mereka seperti biasa di kawasan pasar malam Jonker Walk pada setiap hujung minggu.
Idris juga menjelaskan bahawa arahan penutupan gerai yang kebanyakannya menjual cenderamata di Jonker Walk itu hanya salah faham.
Katanya, jalan sekitar Jonker Walk yang menjadi tumpuan pelancong itu dibuka semula untuk kenderaan yang ketika ini ditutup bermula 6 petang hingga 12 malam pada setiap Jumaat.
Isu menghalang peniaga berniaga di Jonker Walk pada hujung minggu, sengaja dimanipulasikan pihak tertentu demi kepentingan politik mereka, katanya lagi seperti dilaporkan Bernama semalam.
Beliau tidak berpendapat bahawa langkah tersebut akan menyukarkan pengunjung dan peniaga dan mengambil contoh amalan yang dilakukan di Oxford City, England.
Peniaga menjalankan perniagaan di kaki lima jalan raya dan kenderaan dibenar melalui kawasan di situ, katanya.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Don't Give Excuses - Keep Jonker Walk
We would like to thank Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, the new Tourism Minister for the return of sensibility over the closure of Jonker Street market by the Melaka state government
Datuk Seri Nazri said he had “appealed to Malacca Chief Minister Idris Haron not to close down the Jonker Walk night market” because “the night market is an essential part of Malacca's tourism sector and should not be closed”. "Malacca is not the only place for tourism (in Malaysia), so I hope the CM would think about this properly," he said. This attempt to return to sensibility must be applauded and supported.
However, Datuk Seri Nazri then went on to cover up for the new Melaka Chief Minister, claiming that the latter told him that the market “will be closed for four weeks as a trial to see if closing down the market alleviates traffic problems there.” Nazri added that he hoped the CM "would think" about the closure of the night market again at the conclusion of four weeks.
This “compromise” is however, completely unacceptable. Despite the excuse of “traffic” being raised the reason for the closure, the Datuk Idris Haron has already himself admitted in public that the act is to retaliate against the non-Malay community in Melaka.
According to Kwong Wah Daily on Monday 24 June, Datuk Idris argued that the decision passed by the Malacca executive council on June 12 to close the night market "follows the intention of the people… Now, we see most of the Malacca residents fully supporting DAP over MCA candidates, who have been serving them. Hence, we decided to cancel the night market and we hope they will be happy."
If it is not political vengeance by the immense pettiness of UMNO-Barisan Nasional led by the new Chief Minister, then why is the issue of whether the rakyat supporting DAP or MCA even relevant to “alleviating traffic problems” there?
Furthermore, it is a complete lie by Datuk Idris Haron that the night market will only be closed for four weeks as a “trial”. I have in my possession a copy of the memo issued to the Datuk Bandar of Melaka City Council which instructed the outright closure of Jonker Street with absolutely no mention of it being a trial or a need for an official traffic study to be conducted during the so-called 1-month period.
While Pakatan Rakyat continues to serve all Malaysians regardless of whether they had voted for us, we are witnessing an increasingly vindictive Barisan Nasional where MCA threw its tantrums by shutting down all their service centres, while UMNO demonstrated their racist mindset by not only poisoning the minds of the people and destroying the people’s livelihoods.
The move is clearly akin to cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. Just because Datuk Idris Haron wanted to demonstrate his politcal pettiness to inflict damage to the Chinese community, he is willing to sacrifice the interest of the people of Melaka and her economy.
This major move to punish the Chinese voters, if left unchecked will only be the beginning of a series of actions which UMNO-led governments will take to discriminate against, sideline, punish as well as humiliate any of the minority races in the country which they deem not to have given support to UMNO-Barisan Nasional.
Hence we call upon the Melaka Government to immediate lift the ban on the Jonker Street night market, and stop using the pretext of “alleviating traffic problems” or they might as well close every single pasar malam and pasar tani through the state and country.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
UMNO's Political Retaliation: Why Not Cancel Chinese New Year?
In a shocking move involving political vengeance and retaliation against the non-Malay community, the new Chief Minister of Melaka, Datuk Idris Haron last week announced the closure of the Jonker Street weekend market, which is an extremely popular 13-year old tourist destination in an area often regarded as the Melaka Chinatown.
According to Kwong Wah Daily, Idris yesterday argued that the decision passed by the Malacca executive council on June 12 to close the night market "follows the intention of the people".
"Now, we see most of the Malacca residents fully supporting DAP over MCA candidates, who have been serving them. Hence, we decided to cancel the night market and we hope they will be happy," the daily quotes Idris as saying.
We had assumed that with the political demise of former Melaka Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Ali Rustam, you can’t possibly appoint a Chief Minister more reckless, arrogant and callous than him. However, Datuk Idris Haron has immediately proven us completely wrong.
The move is clearly akin to cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. Just because Datuk Idris Haron wanted to demonstrate his politcal pettiness to inflict damage to the Chinese community, he is willing to sacrifice the interest of the people of Melaka and her economy.
More importantly, it has proven beyond doubt that Barisan Nasional is not a “1Malaysia” government as touted by the Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, but in reality a 1UMNO party which only cares about the interest of their own leaders and cronies.
Over the past 8 weeks since the General Election, UMNO leaders and its mouthpiece, Utusan Malaysia has gone on a verbal rampage to demonise the Chinese for BN’s poor performance. But this is the first physical act by which UMNO to victimise the Chinese community for the latter’s perceived support for Pakatan Rakyat.
In fact, we have to assume that this major move to punish the Chinese voters is a directive coming directly from the top of the UMNO leadership itself. And if true, then this will only be the beginning of a series of actions which UMNO-led governments will take to discriminate against, sideline, punish as well as humiliate any of the minority races in the country which they deem not to have given support to UMNO-Barisan Nasional.
Perhaps, the new Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz will announce a similar move to close down the historic Petaling Street. Or why stop at just closing these “Chinatowns”, why not just cancel Christmas or even more impactful, ban Deepavali or Chinese New Year celebrations!
The acts by these UMNO governments runs in direct contrasts with the Pakatan Rakyat-led adminsitrations which goes out of its way to ensure that all their voters, regardless of political affiliation will enjoy the fruits of our administration. When the Selangor state government provided free water to individual households or insurance for the elderly, it was granted to all regardless or race, religion or political affiliation. This is similar in Penang, when it became the first state government to eliminate hardcore poverty in the country, despite the fact that the majority of the beneficiaries are Malays who had then supported BN.
While Pakatan Rakyat continues to serve all Malaysians regardless of whether they had voted for us, we are witnessing an increasingly vindictive Barisan Nasional where MCA threw its tantrums by shutting down all their service centres, while UMNO demonstrated their racist mindset by not only poisoning the minds of the people and destroying the people’s livelihoods.
In the past, we would have ended this statement by making a call to the Prime Minister to be the voice of moderation and uphold his commitment to his “1Malaysia”. Today, we know that Dato’ Seri Najib Razak will just remain completely silent to the above act of closing down Jonker Street as well as other threats to the non-Malay community. He silence not only proves his tacit approval and involvement in these actions, it also confirms that “1Malaysia” is purely a propaganda rhetoric to win votes in a General Election.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
BN's First Broken Promise: No Cheaper Cars
Under pressure from the Pakatan Rakyat’s manifesto to reduce car excise duties by 20% annually to lower the cost of car ownership in Malaysia, BN had responded in their manifesto that they’ll do the same before the election. UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak announced that if BN is returned to power, it will “revamp the National Automotive Policy to gradually reduce car prices by 20 to 30 per cent and increasing the competitiveness of the national cars.”
However yesterday, the Minister of International Trade and Industries, Dato’ Mustapa Mohamed, in charge of automotive policies formally announced that car prices will only be reduced after another 5 years and not in the near term. In effect, the BN Government is telling Malaysians that they can stop dreaming of cheaper cars over the next 5 years, and if car prices were to drop at all, it’ll be after the 14th General Election.
The Minister gave the most beat-about-the-bush answer about how the Government was planning to reduce car prices by claiming that “prices will be reduced in accordance with market forces... with the move expected to enhance the competitiveness and productivity of industry players.”
What “market forces” are we talking about when the real reasons why our car prices in Malaysia are substantially higher than that of other countries are because Government taxes and protection for the inefficient local car companies!
If “market forces” could not bring down car prices over the past 20 years, we would like Dato’ Mustapa Mohamed to explain in detail, exactly why Malaysians should believe him that in the next five years, these same “market forces” will suddenly be able to result in a 20% to 30% drop in prices after 5 years.
Dato’ Mustapa also tried to deflect the issue by warning that “reducing excise duty and car prices in one go would have a serious impact on the industry, which offers 200,000 job opportunities, and could lead to closure of businesses.” Mustapa also stressed that it would be difficult to sell new cars as the prices of second-hand cars would also drop.
Dato’ Mustapa’s arguments are completely flawed. Firstly, because Pakatan did not seek an immediate removal of all excise duties but a staggered 20% reduction annually over 5 years. This gradual reduction of excise duties will in effect result in approximately 4-5% reduction in car prices annually. Hence the impact on the 2nd hand car dealers will be very limited.
Worse, even if BN is only able to achieve a 20% reduction in car prices in 5 years time, the same 2nd hand car problem will arise!
Secondly, Dato’ Mustapa must have failed his economics because a reduction in taxes will not result in loss of job opportunities. Pakatan Rakyat is not asking the car companies to cut prices which will eat into their profits, which may in turn affect employment in the industry. Pakatan Rakyat was asking to reduce government excise duties which will have zero impact on the car companies' profits and hence their workers' employment. On the other hand, the reduction in excise duties will increase real disposable income for the average Malaysian and generate demand and economic activities in other key sectors of the economy.
The Minister even tried to scare Malaysians that cheaper cars will cause the trip from Shah Alam to Kuala Lumpur to take 3 hours due to greater traffic jam, which will then “cause” the construction of more “tolled highways”. Dato’ Mustapa, who is typically more rational and intelligent, when compared to his cabinet colleagues has seriously outdone himself here.
The ownership of cars in Klang Valley has already exceeded the 1:1 ratio despite the substantially higher cost of cars, is entirely because the BN government has completely neglected the public transport sector over the past 50 years. Malaysians are forced to buy pricey cars not out of choice, because the BN government is more interested to protect its crony car manufacturers who are unable to compete internationally and to enrich its toll concessionaires with uber-lucrative highway privatisation contracts.
We believe that this breach of a key manifesto promise by BN, prominently highlighted during the election campaign by the mainstream media will only be the first of many broken promises to come from Barisan Nasional. There is no political will to transform the current crony economy which is suffering from excessive protection, inefficiency and corruption.
Instead, BN will use every excuse to tax Malaysians directly via multiple channels such as car excise duties and the Goods & Services Tax (GST), or indirectly via lucrative privatised utilities or highway concessions. Taxing the rakyat more, while maintaining the existing duties are the only means by which the BN government will be able to continue funding its largesse and excesses.
However yesterday, the Minister of International Trade and Industries, Dato’ Mustapa Mohamed, in charge of automotive policies formally announced that car prices will only be reduced after another 5 years and not in the near term. In effect, the BN Government is telling Malaysians that they can stop dreaming of cheaper cars over the next 5 years, and if car prices were to drop at all, it’ll be after the 14th General Election.
The Minister gave the most beat-about-the-bush answer about how the Government was planning to reduce car prices by claiming that “prices will be reduced in accordance with market forces... with the move expected to enhance the competitiveness and productivity of industry players.”
What “market forces” are we talking about when the real reasons why our car prices in Malaysia are substantially higher than that of other countries are because Government taxes and protection for the inefficient local car companies!
If “market forces” could not bring down car prices over the past 20 years, we would like Dato’ Mustapa Mohamed to explain in detail, exactly why Malaysians should believe him that in the next five years, these same “market forces” will suddenly be able to result in a 20% to 30% drop in prices after 5 years.
Dato’ Mustapa also tried to deflect the issue by warning that “reducing excise duty and car prices in one go would have a serious impact on the industry, which offers 200,000 job opportunities, and could lead to closure of businesses.” Mustapa also stressed that it would be difficult to sell new cars as the prices of second-hand cars would also drop.
Dato’ Mustapa’s arguments are completely flawed. Firstly, because Pakatan did not seek an immediate removal of all excise duties but a staggered 20% reduction annually over 5 years. This gradual reduction of excise duties will in effect result in approximately 4-5% reduction in car prices annually. Hence the impact on the 2nd hand car dealers will be very limited.
Worse, even if BN is only able to achieve a 20% reduction in car prices in 5 years time, the same 2nd hand car problem will arise!
Secondly, Dato’ Mustapa must have failed his economics because a reduction in taxes will not result in loss of job opportunities. Pakatan Rakyat is not asking the car companies to cut prices which will eat into their profits, which may in turn affect employment in the industry. Pakatan Rakyat was asking to reduce government excise duties which will have zero impact on the car companies' profits and hence their workers' employment. On the other hand, the reduction in excise duties will increase real disposable income for the average Malaysian and generate demand and economic activities in other key sectors of the economy.
The Minister even tried to scare Malaysians that cheaper cars will cause the trip from Shah Alam to Kuala Lumpur to take 3 hours due to greater traffic jam, which will then “cause” the construction of more “tolled highways”. Dato’ Mustapa, who is typically more rational and intelligent, when compared to his cabinet colleagues has seriously outdone himself here.
The ownership of cars in Klang Valley has already exceeded the 1:1 ratio despite the substantially higher cost of cars, is entirely because the BN government has completely neglected the public transport sector over the past 50 years. Malaysians are forced to buy pricey cars not out of choice, because the BN government is more interested to protect its crony car manufacturers who are unable to compete internationally and to enrich its toll concessionaires with uber-lucrative highway privatisation contracts.
We believe that this breach of a key manifesto promise by BN, prominently highlighted during the election campaign by the mainstream media will only be the first of many broken promises to come from Barisan Nasional. There is no political will to transform the current crony economy which is suffering from excessive protection, inefficiency and corruption.
Instead, BN will use every excuse to tax Malaysians directly via multiple channels such as car excise duties and the Goods & Services Tax (GST), or indirectly via lucrative privatised utilities or highway concessions. Taxing the rakyat more, while maintaining the existing duties are the only means by which the BN government will be able to continue funding its largesse and excesses.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Himpunan Kesyukuran Pakatan Rakyat
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Pakatan Rakyat akan teruskan bantahan terhadap PRU13 yang tidak bersih dan adil. Pada masa yang sama, kami juga ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada pengundi-pengundi kerana telah memberikan sokongan yang cukup hebat kepada Pakatan Rakyat di Wilayah Persekutuan dan Selangor.
Di Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan, Pakatan Rakyat bukan sahaja berjaya mempertahankan kuasa di negeri Selangor, kami telah meningkatkan jumlah kerusi dan juga majoriti yang diperolehi oleh calon-calon kami.
DAP Wilayah Persekutuan dan Selangor akan menganjurkan satu Himpunan Kesyukuran Pakatan Rakyat dengan butir-butir seperti berikut:
Tarikh: 23hb Mei 2013 (Khamis)Penceramah termasuklah Lim Kit Siang, Nurul Izzah Anwar, Khalid Samad, Zaid Ibrahim, Tamrin Ghafar, Teresa Kok, Teng Chang Khim, Tony Pua dan lain-lain.
Masa: 7 malam
Tempat: Padang Timur, Petaling Jaya (hadapan Amcorp Mall)
Kami juga ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Pihak Polis Diraja Malaysia kerana telah memberikan kerjasama untuk menjalankan Himpunan Kesyukuran Pakatan Rakyat pada 23hb Mei (Khamis) 7 malam di Padang Timur secara lancar.
Pihak polis akan membantu mengawal trafik dan telah mencadangkan supaya para hadirin menggunakan tempat letak kereta yang sedia ada yang ditunjukkan dalam peta di bawah.
Untuk mengurangkan kesesakan jalanraya lagi, kami menggalakkan para hadirin menggunakan sistem LRT Taman Jaya.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Selangor Voters Snubs Najib's Water "Promise"
In the interest of Selangorians, Datuk Seri Najib Razak must now instruct the new Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister, Datuk Maximus Ongkili to immediately press for the return of the water concessions to the Selangor state government
The battle for Selangor in the last General Election was fought on one crucial platform – the control of water in the state.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who personally headed the BN machinery in Selangor campaigned vigourously in the state for the people to return BN into government to “solve Selangor’s water crisis”.
Pakatan Rakyat, led by Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim offered his vision for water services in Selangor where the control is returned to the state government, the rights to water to her people. Pakatan Rakyat has argued vehemently that essential services such as the provision of water should not be conceded to private companies which the sole interest of maximising profits.
We can see the consequences reflected in Subang Jaya today where the residents have been suffering for the 4th day now without water supply due to Syabas incompetence and lack of maintenance. In the water concession agreement, the obligation of maintaining the treated water reservoirs, as well as replacing broken and old pipes lay completely with SYABAS. Their failure to fulfil their obligations have caused repeated water shortages all over the Klang Valley over the past few months.
Despite the massive onslaught by BN led by the Prime Minister himself, the outcome of the 13th GE in Selangor has proven Najib’s utter and complete failure in making any in roads in the state. Not only did Najib not manage to recapture Selangor, BN lost additional 8 seats, allowing Pakatan Rakyat to capture 44 seats and leaving BN with only 12. In terms of popular support, Pakatan Rakyat Selangor enjoyed a 4% increase in popular votes from 55.4% in 2008 to 59.4% in 2013 confirming that we have won over our doubters in 2008 with our policies and administration.
Datuk Seri Najib’s defeat meant that the people of Selangor has spoken, and that they have no confidence in the BN federal government in resolving the water crisis. It is also an outright rejection of the mega-project proposed by BN, the Langat 2 water treatment plant which is expected to cost in excess of RM8 billion, inclusive of the Pahang-Selangor tunnel as well as land acquisition costs.
Instead, the rakyat have insisted in no uncertain terms, that the privatised water concessions be returned to the state government. The people of Selangor have also agreed with the state government that there are other much more effective, efficient and cheaper measures which can be taken to increase the water supply in Selangor. They can also see that the current water crisis is caused by or is manufactured by the BN Government.
Given the urgency of the water crisis in Selangor, and the appointment of a new Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister, Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili, we call upon the Prime Minister to instruct Dr Ongkili to exercise the powers vested in him under the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA) 2006 to enforce the return of the water concessions to the state government.
In fact WSIA 2006 empowers the Minister to make decisions in national interest which cannot be challenged in the court of law.
The determination of what amounts to national interest issues arising from the coming into operation of this Act shall be made by the Minister and such determination shall be final and binding upon all persons and shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed or questioned in any court.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak must accept the will of the people of Selangor to have the water concession returned to the state government. The failure to do so will mean that the Prime Minister is once again snubbing the needs and demands of the people, making a plain joke of his “people first” slogan.
The battle for Selangor in the last General Election was fought on one crucial platform – the control of water in the state.
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who personally headed the BN machinery in Selangor campaigned vigourously in the state for the people to return BN into government to “solve Selangor’s water crisis”.
Pakatan Rakyat, led by Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim offered his vision for water services in Selangor where the control is returned to the state government, the rights to water to her people. Pakatan Rakyat has argued vehemently that essential services such as the provision of water should not be conceded to private companies which the sole interest of maximising profits.
We can see the consequences reflected in Subang Jaya today where the residents have been suffering for the 4th day now without water supply due to Syabas incompetence and lack of maintenance. In the water concession agreement, the obligation of maintaining the treated water reservoirs, as well as replacing broken and old pipes lay completely with SYABAS. Their failure to fulfil their obligations have caused repeated water shortages all over the Klang Valley over the past few months.
Despite the massive onslaught by BN led by the Prime Minister himself, the outcome of the 13th GE in Selangor has proven Najib’s utter and complete failure in making any in roads in the state. Not only did Najib not manage to recapture Selangor, BN lost additional 8 seats, allowing Pakatan Rakyat to capture 44 seats and leaving BN with only 12. In terms of popular support, Pakatan Rakyat Selangor enjoyed a 4% increase in popular votes from 55.4% in 2008 to 59.4% in 2013 confirming that we have won over our doubters in 2008 with our policies and administration.
Datuk Seri Najib’s defeat meant that the people of Selangor has spoken, and that they have no confidence in the BN federal government in resolving the water crisis. It is also an outright rejection of the mega-project proposed by BN, the Langat 2 water treatment plant which is expected to cost in excess of RM8 billion, inclusive of the Pahang-Selangor tunnel as well as land acquisition costs.
Instead, the rakyat have insisted in no uncertain terms, that the privatised water concessions be returned to the state government. The people of Selangor have also agreed with the state government that there are other much more effective, efficient and cheaper measures which can be taken to increase the water supply in Selangor. They can also see that the current water crisis is caused by or is manufactured by the BN Government.
Given the urgency of the water crisis in Selangor, and the appointment of a new Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister, Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili, we call upon the Prime Minister to instruct Dr Ongkili to exercise the powers vested in him under the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA) 2006 to enforce the return of the water concessions to the state government.
In fact WSIA 2006 empowers the Minister to make decisions in national interest which cannot be challenged in the court of law.
The determination of what amounts to national interest issues arising from the coming into operation of this Act shall be made by the Minister and such determination shall be final and binding upon all persons and shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed or questioned in any court.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak must accept the will of the people of Selangor to have the water concession returned to the state government. The failure to do so will mean that the Prime Minister is once again snubbing the needs and demands of the people, making a plain joke of his “people first” slogan.
Khairy vs Zahid - Who's Spinning?
Khairy Jamaluddin says Zahid Hamidi’s “leave Malaysia” statement is the latter’s own opinion while Zahid defends his statement – so who’s spinning?
Newly appointed Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Zahid Hamidi told Malaysians in Utusan Malaysia to leave the country if they are not happy with the outcome of the 13th General Election. He gave the excuse that Malaysia has inherited the first-past-the-post system from the United Kingdom, which is also utilised in many Commonwealth states. Therefore he argued that despite Pakatan Rakyat achieving 51.78% of the popular vote, our adopted system allows for a party or coalition with lower popular vote to win 60% of the seats in Parliament.
Datuk Zahid Hamidi is in effect demonstrating his utter contempt and arrogance by telling Malaysians who wants to improve our electoral system and prevent blatant abuses via gerrymandering to leave the country.
In the ensuing uproar, first-term and newly appointed Youth and Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin tried to diffuse the controversy by telling reporters that the “leave Malaysia” comment was the UMNO Vice-President and Home Minister’s personal view. He claimed that it is not the view of Najib’s administration.
However, at the same time, Datuk Zahid Hamidi came out to defend his article claiming there is nothing wrong with his comments because he wasn’t racist.
The statements by these two Ministers makes a complete mockery of Najib’s “new” administration, and leaves Malaysians completely stunned dumbfounded.
First of all, who is Khairy to claim that the “leave Malaysia” comment is Zahid’s personal comment and not that of the Najib administration? Did Najib appoint Khairy has his official spokesperson to the extent that Khairy can dismiss outright the comments made by the UMNO vice-president? Or was it instead, only Khairy’s “personal view” that Zahid’s comments was the latter’s personal view?
It appears that Khairy has been completely discredited because the Prime Minister has himself remained completely silent over the issue. Zahid has on the other hand come out with all guns blazing defending his “leave Malaysia” statement, while ignoring the “personal view” issued by Khairy.
Unfortunately Zahid’s only defence for his statement was that he wasn’t making a racist statement. Zahid obviously doesn’t take the criticisms by Malaysians seriously as we never accused him of making a racist statement here. We are accusing him of being arrogant and contemptous of the rights of Malaysians to a freer and fairer electoral system.
Malaysians are fully aware that the first-past-the-post system does indeed grant disproportionate allocations of seats relative to the percentage popular vote. However, the system in Malaysia has been abused by BN to the extent where the gap between the constituencies with the least number of voters such as Putrajaya (15,791) and Padang Rengas (28,518) won by BN, compared to those with the biggest population such as Kapar (144,159) and Serdang (133,139) won by Pakatan Rakyat far exceeds acceptable reason. One will not find such ridiculous discrepancies between constituencies in other advanced first-past-the-post democracies such as United Kingdom or Australia.
This is the reason why hundreds of thousands of Malaysians have gathered in various cities over the past week to demand a better electoral system, be it a fairer distribution of voters in all constituencies or a thoroughly revamped proportional representation system, or a mixture of both as practiced in certain other advanced democracies. It is the right of ordinary Malaysians to demand free and fair elections.
Datuk Zahid Hamidi’s continued defense of his comments proves that BN does not believe in free and fair elections and will once again use all necessary means to manipulate constituencies in the next general election.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Zahid Hamidi's Contempt of Malaysian Voters
Newly appointed Home Minister and UMNO Vice-President is doing his very best to block and jeopardise any possibility of Najib’s so-called “national reconciliation”
In a shocking article published in Utusan Malaysia, completely unbecoming of a Home Affairs Minister, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi tells Malaysians who are not happy with the outcome of the 13th General Election to migrate somewhere else with an electoral system which suits their fancies.
In the article, he said that
Jika golongan ini mahu menerima pakai list system atau single transferable vote seperti mana yang digunakan oleh negara-negara republik, sepatutnya mereka berhijrah ke negara-negara berkenaan untuk mempraktikkan kepercayaan politik mereka.
Dato’ Seri Zahid gave the excuse that Malaysia has inherited the first-past-the-post system from the United Kingdom, which is also utilised in many Commonwealth states.
Malaysia mewarisi sistem politik daripada United Kingdom dan kebanyakan negara Komanwel juga menggunakan sistem first past the post yang mana parti-parti politik yang bertanding di kawasan pilihan raya memilih hanya seorang wakil bagi setiap kawasan pengundian yang mengambil kira prinsip undi majoriti mudah.
Therefore he argued that despite Pakatan Rakyat achieving 51.78% of the popular vote, our adopted system allows for a party or coalition with lower popular vote to win the elections.
Dato’ Seri Zahid fails in his argument on 2 separate counts. Firstly, while the first-past-the-post system does indeed grant disproportionate allocations of seats relative to the percentage popular vote, our electoral boundaries have been excessively corrupted over the past decades. The gap between the constituencies with the least number of voters such as Putrajaya (15,791) and Padang Rengas (28,518) and those with the biggest population such as Kapar (144,159) and Serdang (133,139) goes to prove that our electoral system is manipulated to give the ruling Barisan Nasional an unfair advantage. One will not find such ridiculous discrepancies between constituencies in other advanced first-past-the-post democracies such as United Kingdom or Australia.
The evidence is also clear in the fact that the average size of a constituency which Pakatan Rakyat candidates won had 77,655 voters compared to only 46,510 voters for a typical BN constituency.
Secondly, the fact that we have an imperfect electoral system in place is exactly the reason why the people are speaking up and expressing their disappointment and anger at the system. It is the reason why hundreds of thousands of Malaysians have gathered in various cities over the past week to demand a better electoral system, be it a fairer distribution of voters in all constituencies or a thoroughly revamped proportional representation system, or a mixture of both as practiced in certain other advanced democracies. It is the right of ordinary Malaysians to demand free and fair elections.
Dato’ Seri Zahid in his article is in effect denying these Malaysians their rights for a system which will better able to reflect the wishes of the citizens of the country. Such arrogance and contempt by the newly appointed Home Minister and the current UMNO vice-president points to the fact that UMNO-BN has no desire at all to seek “national reconciliation” post the 13th General Election.
His comments also points to the hypocrisy of the new UMNO-BN government which the Prime Minister has promised to be inclusive and “transformative”. It is the same arrogance and hypocrisy which has caused BN to lose its 2/3 majority in 2008 and the popular vote in 2013. Such arrogance and hypocrisy will only lead to one inevitable result in the next general election, that is the rakyat will vote overwhelmingly for Pakatan Rakyat to ensure that no amount of cheating and gerrymandering will stop the tidal wave from sinking the BN party.
In a shocking article published in Utusan Malaysia, completely unbecoming of a Home Affairs Minister, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi tells Malaysians who are not happy with the outcome of the 13th General Election to migrate somewhere else with an electoral system which suits their fancies.
In the article, he said that
Jika golongan ini mahu menerima pakai list system atau single transferable vote seperti mana yang digunakan oleh negara-negara republik, sepatutnya mereka berhijrah ke negara-negara berkenaan untuk mempraktikkan kepercayaan politik mereka.
Dato’ Seri Zahid gave the excuse that Malaysia has inherited the first-past-the-post system from the United Kingdom, which is also utilised in many Commonwealth states.
Malaysia mewarisi sistem politik daripada United Kingdom dan kebanyakan negara Komanwel juga menggunakan sistem first past the post yang mana parti-parti politik yang bertanding di kawasan pilihan raya memilih hanya seorang wakil bagi setiap kawasan pengundian yang mengambil kira prinsip undi majoriti mudah.
Therefore he argued that despite Pakatan Rakyat achieving 51.78% of the popular vote, our adopted system allows for a party or coalition with lower popular vote to win the elections.
Dato’ Seri Zahid fails in his argument on 2 separate counts. Firstly, while the first-past-the-post system does indeed grant disproportionate allocations of seats relative to the percentage popular vote, our electoral boundaries have been excessively corrupted over the past decades. The gap between the constituencies with the least number of voters such as Putrajaya (15,791) and Padang Rengas (28,518) and those with the biggest population such as Kapar (144,159) and Serdang (133,139) goes to prove that our electoral system is manipulated to give the ruling Barisan Nasional an unfair advantage. One will not find such ridiculous discrepancies between constituencies in other advanced first-past-the-post democracies such as United Kingdom or Australia.
The evidence is also clear in the fact that the average size of a constituency which Pakatan Rakyat candidates won had 77,655 voters compared to only 46,510 voters for a typical BN constituency.
Secondly, the fact that we have an imperfect electoral system in place is exactly the reason why the people are speaking up and expressing their disappointment and anger at the system. It is the reason why hundreds of thousands of Malaysians have gathered in various cities over the past week to demand a better electoral system, be it a fairer distribution of voters in all constituencies or a thoroughly revamped proportional representation system, or a mixture of both as practiced in certain other advanced democracies. It is the right of ordinary Malaysians to demand free and fair elections.
Dato’ Seri Zahid in his article is in effect denying these Malaysians their rights for a system which will better able to reflect the wishes of the citizens of the country. Such arrogance and contempt by the newly appointed Home Minister and the current UMNO vice-president points to the fact that UMNO-BN has no desire at all to seek “national reconciliation” post the 13th General Election.
His comments also points to the hypocrisy of the new UMNO-BN government which the Prime Minister has promised to be inclusive and “transformative”. It is the same arrogance and hypocrisy which has caused BN to lose its 2/3 majority in 2008 and the popular vote in 2013. Such arrogance and hypocrisy will only lead to one inevitable result in the next general election, that is the rakyat will vote overwhelmingly for Pakatan Rakyat to ensure that no amount of cheating and gerrymandering will stop the tidal wave from sinking the BN party.
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Selangor Win: Clear Endorsement for Pakatan Rakyat
Pakatan Rakyat’s overwhelming win in Selangor proves the people’s ringing endorsement of our 5 year term in power
Datuk Seri Najib Razak had made the capture of Selangor state his prime objective in the 13th General Elections (GE). In fact, he made the infamous clarion call last year to “take Selangor back at all cost” and even appointed himself as the Director of Elections for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the state, the first time a sitting Prime Minister is appointed to lead a state election machinery.
Despite the massive onslaught by BN, the outcome of the 13th GE in Selangor has proven Najib’s utter and complete failure in making any in roads in the state. Not only did Najib not manage to recapture Selangor, BN lost additional 8 seats, allowing Pakatan Rakyat to capture 44 seats and leaving BN with only 12.
If not for the self-inflicted damage of a 3-corner fight between PAS and PKR in Kota Damansara, as well as another involving PSM and PKR in Semenyih, Pakatan Rakyat would have comfortably captured an additional 2 state seats, leaving BN with only 10. In both these seats, the combined PKR-PAS and PKR-PSM votes overwhelm the votes obtained by BN by 5,783 and 1,423 votes respectively.
The resounding victory by Pakatan Rakyat is a ringing endorsement by the people of Selangor to our 5 years’ in power since 2008 where the state government has rolled out massive amounts of people-centric programmes via “Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor” as well as proving our competence in a clean and transparent state administration.
Strong increase in Malay support
What is the sweetest bit of our victory in Selangor is the massive increase in Malay support for the coalition, which has allowed us to significantly increase our seats in the semi-rural belt of Selangor. PAS has successfully captured the Malay majority seats (% Malays in brackets) of Sabak (79%), Morib (59%), Paya Jeras (57%), Dusun Tua (53%), Tj Sepat (52%) and Taman Templar (51%). This achievement was inspite of the relentless attacks by UMNO over the issues of race, religion and royalty on Pakatan Rakyat in the Malay heartlands.
DAP received multi-racial support
Similarly, for DAP, it would not have been possible for us to capture the seats we lost in 2008, Kuala Kubu Baru and Sg Pelek without increased support from both the Malays and Indians. In these 2 seats, the Malay and Indian population comprises of 33% and 21%, 45% and 21% respectively. The increased in support from the Malay and Indian community has allowed DAP to win both seats with majorities of 1,702 (2008: -448) and 1,972 (2008: -1,572) respectively.
Even in Telok Datuk, where Malays and Indians form 29% and 20% respectively, where DAP candidate won by only a marginal 698 votes, we have successfully increased our majority to 5,391 votes marking a significant increase in both Malay and Indian support.
Large increase in popular support for Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor
In terms of popular support, Pakatan Rakyat Selangor enjoyed a 4% increase in popular votes from 55.4% in 2008 to 59.4% in 2013 confirming that we have won over our doubters in 2008 with our policies and administration. This result also cements permanence of Pakatan Rakyat Selangor as a highly credible political coalition, and not a “one-hit-wonder”.
Selangorians are discerning
The only blot in Pakatan Rakyat’s Selangor results was the loss of Bukit Melawati by 806 votes, reversing the 297 votes win in 2008 by PKR. Under such marginal circumstances, the coalition’s past performance in the constituency may have affected the outcome of the vote.
However, this outcome and the narrow losses in several other state and parliamentary seats in Selangor proves that continued clean and transparent policies, and their effective implementation will enable us to win even more seats in the future.
Conclusion
The thumping endorsement from the rakyat for the Pakatan Rakyat state government is a clear cut thumbing of the nose at Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s leadership of the country and the state. It is also a rejection by the people of Selangor of all races and religion, of BN’s divisive politics of race, religion and royalty.
While Pakatan Rakyat campaigned on a platform based on our track record and our administrative credentials in contrast to BN, BN’s only target of attack was the attempt to sow discord between races and religions.
The contrast in campaign messages and styles can be perfectly encapsulated by the victory of a moderate Khalid Samad of PAS thrashing BN’s Zulkifli Nordin, Perkasa Vice-President who is universally condemned as a racist and bigot. In fact, we believed that Zulkifli’s candidature has played a crucial role in ensuring Pakatan Rakyat’s victories in Selangor with much larger majorities.
The challenge for Pakatan Rakyat Selangor in the coming 5 years will be to enable Malaysians outside of Selangor, especially in BN bastions to recognise our achievements and to realise that a vote for Pakatan Rakyat will be a step forward for them, and for their children in the next General Election.
Datuk Seri Najib Razak had made the capture of Selangor state his prime objective in the 13th General Elections (GE). In fact, he made the infamous clarion call last year to “take Selangor back at all cost” and even appointed himself as the Director of Elections for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the state, the first time a sitting Prime Minister is appointed to lead a state election machinery.
Despite the massive onslaught by BN, the outcome of the 13th GE in Selangor has proven Najib’s utter and complete failure in making any in roads in the state. Not only did Najib not manage to recapture Selangor, BN lost additional 8 seats, allowing Pakatan Rakyat to capture 44 seats and leaving BN with only 12.
If not for the self-inflicted damage of a 3-corner fight between PAS and PKR in Kota Damansara, as well as another involving PSM and PKR in Semenyih, Pakatan Rakyat would have comfortably captured an additional 2 state seats, leaving BN with only 10. In both these seats, the combined PKR-PAS and PKR-PSM votes overwhelm the votes obtained by BN by 5,783 and 1,423 votes respectively.
The resounding victory by Pakatan Rakyat is a ringing endorsement by the people of Selangor to our 5 years’ in power since 2008 where the state government has rolled out massive amounts of people-centric programmes via “Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor” as well as proving our competence in a clean and transparent state administration.
Strong increase in Malay support
What is the sweetest bit of our victory in Selangor is the massive increase in Malay support for the coalition, which has allowed us to significantly increase our seats in the semi-rural belt of Selangor. PAS has successfully captured the Malay majority seats (% Malays in brackets) of Sabak (79%), Morib (59%), Paya Jeras (57%), Dusun Tua (53%), Tj Sepat (52%) and Taman Templar (51%). This achievement was inspite of the relentless attacks by UMNO over the issues of race, religion and royalty on Pakatan Rakyat in the Malay heartlands.
DAP received multi-racial support
Similarly, for DAP, it would not have been possible for us to capture the seats we lost in 2008, Kuala Kubu Baru and Sg Pelek without increased support from both the Malays and Indians. In these 2 seats, the Malay and Indian population comprises of 33% and 21%, 45% and 21% respectively. The increased in support from the Malay and Indian community has allowed DAP to win both seats with majorities of 1,702 (2008: -448) and 1,972 (2008: -1,572) respectively.
Even in Telok Datuk, where Malays and Indians form 29% and 20% respectively, where DAP candidate won by only a marginal 698 votes, we have successfully increased our majority to 5,391 votes marking a significant increase in both Malay and Indian support.
Large increase in popular support for Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor
In terms of popular support, Pakatan Rakyat Selangor enjoyed a 4% increase in popular votes from 55.4% in 2008 to 59.4% in 2013 confirming that we have won over our doubters in 2008 with our policies and administration. This result also cements permanence of Pakatan Rakyat Selangor as a highly credible political coalition, and not a “one-hit-wonder”.
Selangorians are discerning
The only blot in Pakatan Rakyat’s Selangor results was the loss of Bukit Melawati by 806 votes, reversing the 297 votes win in 2008 by PKR. Under such marginal circumstances, the coalition’s past performance in the constituency may have affected the outcome of the vote.
However, this outcome and the narrow losses in several other state and parliamentary seats in Selangor proves that continued clean and transparent policies, and their effective implementation will enable us to win even more seats in the future.
Conclusion
The thumping endorsement from the rakyat for the Pakatan Rakyat state government is a clear cut thumbing of the nose at Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s leadership of the country and the state. It is also a rejection by the people of Selangor of all races and religion, of BN’s divisive politics of race, religion and royalty.
While Pakatan Rakyat campaigned on a platform based on our track record and our administrative credentials in contrast to BN, BN’s only target of attack was the attempt to sow discord between races and religions.
The contrast in campaign messages and styles can be perfectly encapsulated by the victory of a moderate Khalid Samad of PAS thrashing BN’s Zulkifli Nordin, Perkasa Vice-President who is universally condemned as a racist and bigot. In fact, we believed that Zulkifli’s candidature has played a crucial role in ensuring Pakatan Rakyat’s victories in Selangor with much larger majorities.
The challenge for Pakatan Rakyat Selangor in the coming 5 years will be to enable Malaysians outside of Selangor, especially in BN bastions to recognise our achievements and to realise that a vote for Pakatan Rakyat will be a step forward for them, and for their children in the next General Election.
Friday, April 19, 2013
DAP PETALING JAYA CERAMAH SCHEDULE 2013
Our DAP Petaling Jaya candidates:
Petaling Jaya Utara Parliament: Tony Pua
Damansara Utama State Assembly: Yeo Bee Yin
Kampung Tunku State Assembly: Lau Weng San
Bukit Gasing State Assembly: Rajiv Rishyakaran
Our Ceramah Schedule:(All ceramahs start at 7.30pm)
20/4 Sat - SS2 Taman Bandar (commercial centre)Speakers: Tony Pua, Elizabeth Wong, Hannah Yeoh, Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran
21/4 Sun - Taman Paramount (commercial centre, next to Giant)Speakers: Teresa Kok, Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran, others to be confirmed
22/4 Mon - SS4C/5 (commercial centre)Speakers: Charles Santiago, Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran, others to be confirmed
23/4 Tue - SS3 (covered basketball court next to Dewan Orang Ramai)Speakers: Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran, others to be confirmed
24/4 Wed - Petaling Garden Jalan 5/46 playgroundSpeakers: Charles Santiago, Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran, others to be confirmed
25/4 Thu
(i) Pangsapuri Damansara Bistari (near SS2 Mall)
(ii) Pangsapuri Sri Aman (near Taman Paramount LRT)Speakers: Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran, others to be confirmed
26/4 Fri - SS23 Tennis CourtsSpeakers: Teresa Kok, Tony Pua, Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran, Tiew Way Keng
27/4 Sat - Sungai Way Football Field (opp SRJK(C) Sungai Way)Speakers: Tony Pua, Teng Chang Khim, V Ganabathirao, Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran
28/4 Sun - Seksyen 17 (commercial centre car park - to be confirmed)Speakers: Tony Pua, Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran, others to be confirmed
29/4 Mon - SS2 Taman Bandar (commercial centre)Speakers: Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran, others to be confirmed
30/4 Tue - MBPJ Hockey Stadium, Jalan Selangor (near PJ Old Town Bus Terminal)Speakers: Tony Pua, Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran, others to be confirmed
1/5 Wed - Kpg Chempaka Basketball CourtSpeakers: Tan Kok Wai, Tony Pua, Ean Yong Hian Wah, Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran
2/5 Thu - Seksyen 5 Jalan Gasing Satellite Carpark (near St Francis Xaviers Church)Speakers: Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran, others to be confirmed
3/5 Fri - Seksyen 14 playground behind Digital MallSpeakers: Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran, others to be confirmed
4/5 Sat - Finale (venue to be confirmed)Speakers: Tony Pua, Lau Weng San, Yeo Bee Yin, Rajiv Rishyakaran, others to be confirmed
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
DAP PJ Election Fund-Raising Dinner 2013
We would like to invite you to join us in our 2013 DAP Petaling Jaya Utara Election Fund Raising Dinner. You may check out the Facebook event page here.
Theme: "Ini Kali-lah... the Final Countdown to Putrajaya"Venue: Petaling Jaya Hockey Stadium, Jalan Selangor, Seksyen 3, Petaling JayaThe speakers will include:
Date: 19 January 2013 (Saturday)
Time: 7.30pm
- Lim Guan Eng, Penang Chief Minister
- Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Parliamentary Opposition Leader
- Mohd Sabu, PAS Deputy President
- Tony Pua, MP Petaling Jaya Utara
- Lau Weng San, ADUN Kg Tunku
- Kasthuri Patto, DUN Bukit Gasing Co-ordinator
- Yeo Bee Yin, DAP Social Media Strategist
The primary language for this dinner will be English and Bahasa Malaysia. Halal food is available upon request.
The cost of the dinner will be RM60 per pax or RM600 per table. Gold and Platinum sponsorship tables are available for RM1,500 and RM3,000 per table respectively.
For reservations, please email to dapdinner@gmail.com or to me directly with your name, contact number, which dinner(s) and number of seats or tables (Platinum, Gold or Silver) required.
If you have any more questions, you can call Chew 016 8782472.
For those who are not able to make the dinner, donations are also very much welcome ;-). Cheques should be written to "DAP Damansara Branch" or cash can be deposited at DAP Damansara Maybank account: 5141 9634 2008.
The funds raised from the dinner will be used for the upcoming election campaign for Petaling Jaya Utara parliamentary seat; and Bukit Gasing, Kg Tunku and Damansara Utama state seats. Any excess from the fund will be contributed to contested seats which require additional support.
Friday, August 31, 2012
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