Archive for August, 2008

The RTM audience were generally disappointed over the live telecast of Parliament sitting which begins at 10 am on Wednesday when they failed to make it live puntuaclly, just to miss Anwar Ibrahim’s swearing-in.

The live-telecast then started at 10.10 am, after slipping in a rubbish interview with someone while Anwar’s swearimg-in was at 10.05 am in Parliament, by showing a question and answer session.

The Dewan Rakyat’s Speaker Pandikar Amin justified it by saying that there was no precedence in covering an Opposition Leader’s searing-in live. Well, Anwar is not just another Opposition Leader, he symbolises the people’s power ! 

After an absence oo 10 years, Anwar Ibrahim made a triumphant return to Parliament as the new MP of Permatang Pauh. His wife Dr. Wan Azizah resigned from the same seat to pave way for her husband’s return to active politics, and their daughters, witnessed the historic moment.

“Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, I. Anwar Ibrahim, as an MP, do hereby swear with all honesty that I will fulfill my duties honestly and will defend ana protect the constitution,” he said to thumps of support from the opposition bench.

He then took the seat allocated to him as the opposition leader, directly facing Pak Lah, the Prime Minister, and next to Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

Later, at a press conference, Anwar hit out at the Barisan Nasional government for not allowing the live telecast of his swearing-in.  “I was told by sources that it (the live telecast) will not begin until Anwar’s swearing-in”.

However, BN may successfully block public’s viewing of Anwar’s swearing-in, but they would fail to stop the peole from supporting him in their hearts.

Mohamad Asri bin Zakaria, his spouse and other supporters hailed his release with Boo Chang  outside the Butterworth Police Station on August 23.

In the course of the Permatang Pauh by-election campaign, numerous police actions were taken against PKR workers, some of which are tantamount to harassment.

All in all, four election workers were arrested for investigation from the angle of so-called undue influence under Section 9 (1) of the Election Offences Act, 1954, and they are Mohamad Asri bin Zakaria, whose house was lend to PKR for a ceramah kelompok (small by-election talk), Mohd Afendi bin Ali who was the PKR Permatang Pasir Area Campaign Chief and who erected a canopy on the site where UMNO used to erect theirs in March, Ahmad Nazir bin Yahaya and Mohd Khairi bin Haron who were just pulled away by the police on Nomination Day.

I turned up on August 21 at 8.10 pm at the Bandar Perda Police Station, which is covering the Butterworth Central Zone, as soon as I was informed of the arrest of Mohamad Asri. The investigating officer was not there. 

Mohd. Rozi, a PKR member, who waited there as I had to rush to deliver a speech at a Ceramah in Kampong Tok Elong which was scheduled at 9 pm, was told by the police that Mohamad Asri would be detained for a night and that he could come back to the police station to follow-up the following morning at 9.30 am.

Surprise! Surprise! Before we arrived at the Bandar Perda Police Station at 9.30 am the next day, Mohamad Asri had already been rushed to the Bukit Mertajam Magistrate’s Court in Sungei Rambai at 8.30 am by the police, and a remand order to detain him was obtained until August 25, the eve of polling day. We could have had objected to the issuance of the remand order by pleading before the Magistrate if we were told of the truth.

For Mohd Affendi, I was told that he would be brought before the Bukit Mertajam Magistrate’s Court on August 23 at 8.30 am. But when I, together with other members of PKR, turned up at the Magistrate’s Court and waited until 10.30 am, we were then told that he would not be brought to court after-all.

Subsequently, we rushed to the Bandar Perda Police Station to see what happened. After a long wait, we finally sighted him together with three other detainees who were hand-cuffed and in prisoners’ uniforms. They were then rushed to Butterworth Police Station which covers the Butterworth North Zone and we followed suit.

In fact, while we waited at the Bandar Perda Police Station from 9.30 am until about 7 pm on August 22, we were told by a senior police officer that he could not do anything as there was a directive from the top. However, together with Jason Ong, the PKR state-assemblyman for Kebun Bunga, we manged to have a brief talk with Dato Wira Ayup, the CPO of Penang, and pleaded to him in respect of the high-handed manner his subordinates used in these matters, and requested him to release all of them soonest possible.

Finally, all the four PKR by-election workers were released on police bails at RM2,000 each on August 23 and are required to report back to the same place i.e. Butterworth Police Station on Septembet 23.

The above episode could have been avoided as they were tantamount to police harassment, as fears were being instilled into the PKR workers and supporters, and that suspension and disruption of election works was also caused rather unnecessarily with the ‘disappearance ‘ of certain grass-root’s leaders.

With such dramatic arrests of PKR men, are all these not fitting into the picture which the BN and the main-stream media have been trying to potray i.e. PKR boys are all the ’bad guys”?

Laporkan Wartawan Rasmi Laman Reformasi http://wlr.blogspot.com

KENYATAAN DSAI

Pertemuan Pertama Majlis Pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat Dipengerusikan Ketua Pembangkang, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim

Majlis Pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat telah mengadakan Pertemuan Pertama dengan dipengerusikan Ketua Pembangkang Baru, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim pada pukul 11:00 pagi di Pejabat Ketua Pembangkang di tingkat 14, Bangunan Parlimen hari ini, Khamis 28 Ogos 2008.

Turut hadir dalam mesyuarat tersebut adalah Presiden PKR, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Presiden Pas, YB Dato’ Seri Hj Abdul Hadi Awang dan Pengerusi DAP, YB Karpal Singh. Selain itu, pimpinan tertinggi ketiga-tiga parti turut hadir iaitu YB Azmin Ali dan YB Dr Lee Boon Chye dari PKR; YB Nasharuddin Mat Isa, YB Kamarudin Jaafar dan YB Salahuddin Ayub dari PAS sementara YB Lim Kit Siang, YB Lim Guan Eng dan YB Teresa Kok mewakili DAP.

Dalam pertemuan tersebut Dato’ Seri Anwar mengucapkan penghargaan dan terima kasih kepada semua pimpinan dan penyokong Pakatan Rakyat yang telah bertungkus lumus membantu dalam memastikan Parlimen Permatang Pauh kekal di tangan Pakatan Rakyat. Kemenangan besar dan bilangan pengundi yang tinggi di Permatang Pauh adalah bukti nyata penolakan rakyat terhadap politik perkauman budaya fitnah dan politik wang.

Majlis Pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat buat kesekian kalinya mengulangi pendirian untuk memperkukuhkan semangat kerjasama di dalam Pakatan Rakyat. Dalam pertemuan tersebut juga semua pihak bersepakat untuk mengadakan Perhimpunan Pakatan Rakyat Sempena Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan di Permatang Pauh pada 31 Ogos 2008 pada pukul 9:00 malam.

Dr Syed Husin Ali
Timbalan Presiden PKR
bagi pihak Sekretariat Pakatan Rakyat

KOTA BHARU, 27 Ogos (Hrkh) – PAS menyifatkan kemenangan calon Pakatan Rakyat pada pilihan raya kecil Permatang Pauh semalam membuktikan rakyat sudah jelak dengan kempen politik melampau Barisan Nasional (BN).

Mursyidul Am, Tuan Guru Dato’ Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat berkata, rakyat menolak calon BN walaupun pelbagai serangan dihala terhadap bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim terutamanya tuduhan liwat kali kedua.

“Zaman Umno dan BN menggunakan kempen politik melampau sudah berlalu kerana rakyat hari ini tidak sama berbanding zaman sebelum merdeka,” katanya selepas menyaksikan majlis menandatangani perjanjian persefahaman antara Ladang Rakyat dan Panmont Height Sdn Bhd bagi melaksanakan projek tanaman pokok jatropha (jarak) dan nanas.

Beliau yang juga Menteri Besar Kelantan berkata, rakyat Malaysia termasuk penduduk bukan Islam kini mendekati perjuangan yang didokong PAS kerana mementingkan keadilan dan kesejahteraan rakyat.

Kata beliau Umno seharusnya mengambil iktibar daripada kesilapan pilihan raya umum sebelum ini.

“Sekarang sudah ramai rakyat yang berpelajaran tinggi, di mana berpuluh ribu setiap tahun mereka tamat belajar. Sudah tentu mereka dapat membuat pilihan antara benar dengan yang batil.

“Sudahlah, zaman Umno guna perjuangan kebangsaan dah habis dah..,” ujarnya.

Menurutnya juga Allah Taala menurunkan al-Quran untuk dijadikan perlembagaan hidup manusia, namun kerana ada kepentingan dunia perundangan itu diketepikan oleh pemerintah di negara ini. – mj _

Salmah Mat Husain

Sun2Surf http://www.thesundaily.com reports : Permatang Pauh: What happened? by Himanshu Bhatt BUKIT MERTAJAM (Aug 27, 2008) : Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had chosen a busy Sunday morning to make his campaign round for Barisan Nasional (BN) at the packed Seberang Jaya market in Permatang Pauh, only to find that his bitter foe Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was also arriving there. The BN deputy chairman took a nippy walk around the premise and was about to reach his car when a din was heard. Anwar had arrived at an entrance further down the road. Najib stopped. There was a pregnant pause as his security personnel stood still, holding his car door open, while he stayed rooted; his gaze fixed on the PKR crowd with flags and banners mobbing Anwar in the distance. It took a good moment before he slowly turned and got into his car. It was a defining image of the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election. For during the entire course of the scorching 10-day campaign, Anwar had seemed unstoppable – not just for the sheer enormity of his following, but also for the flowing reasoning he exhibited in his rhetoric. From dealing with sodomy allegations against him to deflecting accusations he would jeopardise Malay special status, from eliciting sympathy for the mainstream media’s apparent bias towards him to igniting revulsion to perceived corruption in the government, Anwar maintained a crafty and compelling strategy. Najib had appointed Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah, the local assemblyman for Seberang Jaya, as the BN candidate to stop Anwar from making a return to Parliament. Arif may have been a local favourite, but his campaign was hardly as dramatic as Anwar’s. Sportingly, he also avoided personal issues like the sodomy allegations on Anwar. Unfortunately for BN, its leaders harped on the matter, wanting to knock Malay-Muslim confidence away from Anwar. The issue proved to be BN’s death knell in Permatang Pauh. Anwar cleverly used the deep moral sensitivity of rural Malays to point to BN leaders as having cast “fitnah” (aspersions) on him. He went through great lengths to describe the emotional pain he and his family had to endure from the profane nature of the allegations. And it moved the masses. “They have beaten me, they have stripped me naked, they have robbed me of my dignity. But it’s alright. I shall get up and fight back again and again,” he once said to a cheering crowd. But the biggest, most decisive nail in the coffin must have the gripping appearance two days before polling of the imam who witnessed the swearing of Anwar’s accuser Saiful Bukhari Azlan. Ramlang Porigi’s confession that he did not believe the swearing was legitimate, and that he had been ordered to be witness, was made in the presence of no less than Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the revered PAS spiritual leader. It was a moral coup that disintegrated any remaining doubts most conservative folks would have had about the allegations. Anwar was also consistent in explaining his agenda on race. He stressed a good deal – both to Malay and non-Malay crowds – that Malay special status (he never called it “ketuanan” or supremacy) would be maintained. But he was quick to add that the Chinese and Indians must also be properly cared for. He had an oft-rehearsed refrain: “Anak Melayu anak saya, anak Cina anak saya, anak India anak saya.” (The Malay child is my child, the Chinese child is my child, the Indian child is my child.) It brought applause wherever it was uttered. Intriguingly, while multi-racial crowds roared with joy, audiences in the Malay heartland also reacted with approval. In fact, he once touched on this very theme at a service road next to the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) campus. Only two days before, the campus had seen some 5,000 Malay students protesting a proposal to bring in non-Malay students. But when Anwar spoke on ethnic harmony, the audience which included students from the UiTM hostel broke into an ovation. Then there was his promise for openness in the media. He smartly deflected the stream of negative reporting about him by certain media agencies, to bring repugnance towards them and the controlling government. Right from the beginning, PKR assumed a modus operandi to name these agencies and question their credibility. This was done frequently during rallies and through the party’s own publications distributed widely throughout the constituency. Anwar was similarly well-rehearsed in deploring the country’s economic management, as well as the nepotism and bribery. He spoke eloquently about the nation’s oil wealth and natural resources, about the lack of transparency, and how the ‘anaks’ and ‘menantus’ may be unduly reaping from the land. In contrast, the BN leaders relied to a large degree on an attempt to build a fear of Anwar – that he was double-faced, that he was a trouble-maker, that he was immoral. It hardly seemed to work. Already riding on widespread resentment towards the BN government’s social and economic policies, Anwar made sure he presented an agenda that appeared intelligent, humane and well-defined. As it is, there was high passion among supporters and even common citizens that was flowing over to the brink of physical aggression. It may have led to the sporadic violence. There were rumours about rioting or even curfew on the eve of the election. But by and large, reason prevailed. If there is a lesson to be learned from the election, it is in Anwar’s dexterous use of charisma and logic to move the people.   “We have a clear and consistent agenda,” Anwar once said. “You can see for yourself. Wherever I speak, people who hear me understand who I am, what I plan to do… They put their trust in me.”

Note :   Himanshu has made a first hand observation of the people’s mood and actually detected which side will the wind blow to.  

Below is a Commentary by Liew Chin Tong on DAP as carried in Malaysian Insider http://www.themalaysianinsider.com.my :

AUG 27 — Amidst the jubilation among delegates at DAP’s post-election national congress, the party is keenly aware of its historical mission to transform Malaysia for the better, an aspiration strengthened by its long and hard road to political prominence.

Unlike other political parties that meet annually, DAP’s delegates participate in national congresses with election for central executive committee members triennially. Between two congresses a national conference is held.

Last Saturday’s congress in Kuala Lumpur was DAP’s 15th since its formation in March 1966. It was postponed from last September as the general election was looming.

It is the first congregation of national, state and grassroots leaders since the March 8th political tsunami that catapulted DAP from a permanent opposition party to holder of state power, and now a partner in a fledging coalition contending for federal power.

In his policy speech, delivered in Malay, English and Mandarin, secretary-general Lim Guan Eng paid tributes to his fellow comrades for their sacrifices throughout the party’s 42 years of existence in Malaysian politics.

The members, according to Guan Eng, braved “the cruellest ridicule for this moment of recognition”. He said, off-the-cuff in Mandarin, that many DAP men were “often reprimanded by their wives and relatives for wasting time and money on DAP” whereas women in the party were “accused of neglecting their families”.

As Guan Eng spoke, tears flow freely down the faces of many. Rain or shine, it was these ordinary men and women that kept the party afloat through their voluntary activism, with the knowledge that there was no reward, financial or otherwise.

Just a few years ago, DAP was seen as a lost cause with many doubting its long term viability. For three consecutive elections since 1995, the party were confined to its core support base and winning only nine (1995), 10 (1999) and 12 (2004) parliamentary seats.

These dark years also saw several rounds of internal splits, with the Chinese educationists withdrawing from the party following the electoral debacle in 1995 and the so-called KOKS strife (to oust Kit Siang or some argued Karpal Singh as well), which involved three former MPs, in 1998.

Very few at last week’s meeting realise that exactly 10 years ago, on Aug 23 1998, the party held its 12th congress in an entirely different atmosphere. The party election was the final showdown between those who supported Kit Siang’s leadership and those who were against.

Delegates tried hard to fathom the brutal fact that Guan Eng was then scheduled to appear in the Federal Court for his final appeal to quash his conviction under Sedition and Printing Presses and Publications Acts the next day.

Eventually, Guan Eng was sent to the Kajang Prison on Aug 25 1998, regaining his freedom a year later. Due to his conviction, he was not allowed to participate in the 1999 and 2004 elections.

“We went through hell and back,” said Guan Eng at the recent congress. “Indeed we shed blood, sweat and tears. But we never doubted, never gave up and never surrendered.”

Indeed, DAP leaders and Guan Eng in particular went through hell over the last four decades. No fewer than two dozen DAP leaders were arrested under the infamous Internal Security Act at various times.

But the party triumphantly returned on March 8 this year.

DAP almost doubled its national popular vote share from 9.7 percent or 687,340 votes in the 2004 elections to 18.1 percent in this election, winning 1,071,431 votes nationally. Its share of parliamentary seats increased from 12 seats in the 2004 elections to 28 while state seats increased from 15 in 2004 to 73 (six more seats in Sarawak were won in the 2006 state election).

“While we never expected the political tsunami on March 8,” admits Guan Eng, “we are proud to savour this historical moment with the people.”

DAP’s long-time battle cry of denying Barisan Nasional’s two-thirds majority in Parliament was achieved at once. The Pakatan Rakyat forms the state governments of Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kedah, and Kelantan while breaking BN’s two-thirds hold in Negri Sembilan assembly.

DAP also expanded its base in other states like Malacca, Pahang and Federal Territory while witnessed breakthroughs for the first time in a decade or so in Kedah, Johor and Sabah.

Electoral gains aside, March 8 gave DAP a new lease of life, which Guan Eng recognised in his speech as “the coming of age of DAP”. From a party confined to its core base over three consecutive elections, DAP now boasts:

• Greater gender inclusiveness. The party fielded 19 woman candidates nationwide, 14 of them are now elected representatives;

• Greater multi-ethnic inclusiveness. DAP fielded the largest share of Indian candidates of any Malaysian political parties. Nearly 30 percent of our candidates are ethnic Indians and there are now seven DAP MPs and 12 DAP state assemblypersons who are of ethnic Indian background;

• New generation. A third of DAP’s candidates are of the age of 30 or below. Among elected representatives, more than a third is under 40;

• Broadening of DAP’s appeal. Estimates show that DAP candidates obtained averagely 20 percent or higher of Malay votes in urban centres.

With this broad-based support and pool of elected representatives from all backgrounds, Guan Eng vowed to take the party to a greater heights by making it a “mainstream party” that continues to uphold the highest level of integrity in governance but reaches out extensively to non-traditional constituents, especially engaging the Malays with greater tact and sensitivity.

It is in this context that Guan Eng proclaimed that the DAP aspires to be a responsible partner in power through endorsing Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the alternative prime minister of Malaysia and being committed to the struggles of Pakatan Rakyat, on the basis of promoting CAT (competency, accountability and transparency) governance and the party’s Malaysian First ideals.

DAP defines the relationship among the Pakatan parties as a pact of equals with no party imposing its will and ideology on the other.

It has been the longest way possible for DAP to come from perceived political oblivion to within striking distance of national power in coalition with others. DAP is humbly savouring its sweetest victory ever with a vision for broad-based new politics.

(Liew Chin Tong is the DAP MP for Bukit Bendera who was elected the party’s International Bureau Secretary last weekend.)

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia announced in the morning just after the by-election that Anwar Ibrahim, the new member of parliament for Permatang Pauh, will be sworn in the following day i.e. today.

Pandikar has gone againstr his own words uttered earlier that Anwar will not ne sworn in this week but next week. No reason was given for his change of mind. It could well be the people’s power to have succumbed him.

On the other hand, Azmil Ali, PKR’s Vice-President and MP for Gombak, confirmed that the PR have agreed to make Anwar as the new Opposition Leader in Parliament. A Letter of consent to that effect signed by Azmin on behalf of PKR, Tok Guru for PAS, and Dr. Tan Seng Giow for DAP was handed in to the Dewan’s Speaker by Azmin yesterday. 

Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, who campaigned very hard for UMNO’s Arif Shah, turned around to ask UMNO to review its unpopular policy immediately after the results were known. Thanks to the people’s power and their wise decision not to be influenced by Tsu Koon in his campaign !

Meanwhile, people are keen to follow-up on the trail of Anwar’s victory and his honourable return to the Dewan Rakyat after 10 years of be-wilderness, 6 of which was actually languishing in the jail – the dungeon of horror !

Anwar was charged for ‘abuse of power’ in 1999, apparently for attempting to get government officers to do things in his own way. Now that there aexist certain government leaders attempting to get a doctor and a religious officer to tell lies about Anwar so as to establish a case of sodomy against him, why no action has been taken against the culprits so far ? And when will it be taken ? Or will it ever be taken at all ?

Analisis in the Malaysian Insider  http://www.themalaysianinsider.com.my has this to say in relation to ’Anwar’s In, Pak Lah’s Out’ :

“The pain was more severe for BN because unlike March 8, they were not caught blind-sided. They poured in millions of ringgit into the campaign, brought their heavy hitters, threw every conceivable missile at Anwar but still ended up losing badly.

The consequences of the Permatang Pauh by-election could be far-reaching, with even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s neatly-packaged two-year transition of power under threat from increasingly disillusioned party members and leaders of coalition partners.

On Tuesday, only two hours after the last box of votes had been counted, senior Umno politicians were in deep discussion over the need for Abdullah to step down, believing that he had lost the ability to check a resurgent opposition.

A check of the voting pattern at 25 polling stations showed that Anwar snared a handy portion of Malays votes and the bulk of non-Malay votes.

Even the Siamese electorate – a traditional bank of BN support – gave their vote to Anwar.

Najib put on a brave face, saying that Anwar’s victory proved that democracy was alive in Malaysia. Left unsaid was that the BN defeat showed that not much had changed on the ground since March 8. Despite the raft of promises by Abdullah to reform the system, the public was not moved.

If anything, Permatang Pauh confirmed that Chinese and Indians no longer fear giving their support to the Opposition.

It also confirmed that the umbilical cord between the Malaysian voter and the Barisan Nasional has been severed.

BN politicians have compiled a list of excuses for the heavy defeat, saying that Permatang Pauh has always been Anwar’s fortress; that the campaign was pockmarked with allegations and innuendoes and that the electorate was in no mood to support the establishment because of the rising cost of living.

But they all sounded like excuses and could not obscure the fact that BN suffered its heaviest by-election defeat in recent memory.

Never has BN been in a deeper hole. Never has  Abdullah Ahmad Badawi faced such a bleak picture”.

Meanwhile, there are worries whether Najib can take on Anwar, as despite of his own swearing on the Mongolian issue and personal charge of the by-election camgaign, Anwar re-emerged with a greater majority this time.

Khoo Kay Kim on his blog <straight talk> made his observations of the ‘Immediate Implications of the Permatang Pauh Verdict‘ as follows :