Archive for May, 2009

By the Administrator

With the official figure of 46% turn-out rate of the voters, PKR is expected to score a victory of a majority of about 6,100 votes.

This is culculated on the basis of the 3 independents polling not more than 6% altogether.

UMNO/BN ‘boycotted’ this by-election and their core voters staying away, expected to be in the range of about 25% of the total voters.

The people have the cause to celebrate as this victory was uneasily won, with the police harassment so rampant by arresting PKR key leaders and constantly calling one after another of them for ‘questioning’.

Lim Kit Siang and Gobalakrisnan, etc. were questioned by the police.

The media was bias to the independent Aminah, the candidate who used the keys symbol.

However, the official results will only be announced by the EC at about 8pm tonight.

However, all the independents may have their deposits forfeited if they do not obtained more than one-eight of the total votes caste.

By the Administrator

It is good to have a bit of understanding as to what constitutes an election offence, as provided under the Election Offences Act, 1954.

Under Section 3 of the Act, it says :

3. (1) Any person who –

(a) knowingly makes any false statement on or in connection with any application to be placed on any register of electors;

(b) forges or fraudulently defaces or fraudulently destroys any nomination paper, or delivers to a returning officer any nomination paper knowing the same to be forged;

(c) forges or counterfeits or fraudulently defaces or fraudulently destroys any ballot paper or the official mark on any ballot paper;

(d) without due authority supplies any ballot paper to any person;

(e) sells or offers to sell any ballot paper to any person or purchases or offers to purchase any ballot paper from any person;

(f) not being a person entitled to be in possession of any ballot paper which has been marked with any authorized mark has any such ballot paper in his possession;

(g) puts into any ballot box anything other than the ballot paper which he is authorized by law to put in;

(h) without due authority takes out of the polling station any ballot paper or is found in possession of any ballot paper outside a polling station;

(i) without due authority destroys, takes, opens, or otherwise interferes with any ballot box, ballot paper or packet of ballot papers in use or intended to be used for the purposes of an election;

(j) without due authority prints any ballot paper or what purports to be or is capable of being used as a ballot paper at an election;

(k) for the purposes of an election, manufactures, constructs, imports, has in this possession, supplies or uses, or causes to be manufactured, constructed, imported, supplied or used, any appliance, device or mechanism by which a ballot paper may be extracted affected or manipulated after having been deposited in a ballot box during the polling at any election;

(l) votes at any election when he is not entitled to vote thereat;

(m) prints any advertisement, handbill, placard or poster which refers to an election and contains a reproduction of a ballot paper, or of what purports to be a ballot paper, to be used or likely to be used at such election;

(n) obstruct or prevents a voter who is otherwise entitled to vote from voting at an election; or

(o) votes in an election at more than one polling station in the same constituency or a different constituency

By the Administrator

By 11am, the estimated voters turn-out rate recorded as being low, a mere 16%.

If this trend continues, by 1pm the voting percentage could only reach about 30%.

This will become not more than 65% by closing time at 5pm.

Contrary instructions from the Malaysian Election Commission (EC) have also caused confusion to election workers.

The existing rule of erecting pondok panas (sheds) is that it is not supposed to be within 50 meters from the gate of the polling station. But the EC came out with a written instruction earlier to prohibit any shed that is within the 100 meters zone, whereby no candidate’s vehicles would be allowed to enter into either.

This is also the first time to see a strict enforcement of no campaigning at pondok panas on polling day, which has made the situation relatively more quiet than before.

There are two Chinese voters who voted in Mengkuang polling station, and one Malay voter in Penanti polling station in the 2008 General election, suddenly discovered that they are no longer voters here and are now voters of Permatang Pasir State seat next door.

Meanwhile, voting percentage has increased to 19% by 11.30am.

The official figure from the EC is that at 1.30pm, the voting percentage has reached 38%.

On that basis, a good projection is that it may reach 65 to 70% bench mark, and if it is so, it will be regarded as a high percentage in a by-election, let’s see. 

By the Administrator

Since 8 a.m. this morning, voters have been gradually coming out to vote at the 10 polling stations in Penanti. The situation is as fine as the weather.

Below are the locations of the 10 polling stations against the numbers of voters totalling 15,384 respectively ::

1. 044/12/01     Guar Perahu at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Guar Perahu            1,907

2. 044/12/02    Kuala Mengkuang at Sekolah Kebangsaan Guar Perahu                     2,727

3. 044/12/03    Telok Wang at Dewan Kelas (KAFA) Kg Tun Sardon                              599

4. 044/12/04    Mengkuang at Sekolah Kebangsaan Mengkuang                               1,901

5. 044/12/05    Sungai Lembu at Sek. Jenis Keb. (Cina) Sg. Lembu                               509

6. 044/12/06   Penanti at Sekolah Menengah Keb. Mengkuang                                  1,065

7. 044/12/07   Kubang Ulu at Sekolah Menengah Keb. Penanti                                  1,423

8. 044/12/08   Sungai Semambu at Sekolah Keb. Tanah Liat                                      1,872

9. 044/12/09   Tanah Liat at Sekolah Keb. Tanah Liat                                                 1,920

10. 044/12/10 Berapit Road at Sekolah Keb. (Cina) Jit Sin (A) Jln Berapit                     1,461

Meanwhile, anyone of you who has any queries on the Penanti By-Election may contact PKR Penanti hotline 04-5222916.

You may also wish to know PKR’s unofficial monitoring of the election results before the usually late official announcement of the official media by going to http://www.keadilanpenang.org/?pilih=result

Dari Suara KeADILan Online

Kempen di Penanti hari ini memasuki fasa akhir. Esok, para pengundi akan melaksanakan tanggungjawab mereka untuk memilih wakil rakyat masing-masing.

Sekali lagi saya nyatakan, calon Pakatan Rakyat, saudara Dr. Mansor Othman bakal dilantik sebagai Timbalan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang seandainya diberi kepercayaan oleh para pengundi esok.

Sehubungan dengan itu, saya memohon sokongan rakan-rakan pengundi DUN Penanti untuk memastikan kemenangan calon Pakatan Rakyat, inshaallah.

Saya juga ingin mengambil kesempatan mengucapkan selamat meraikan Tadau Kaamatan buat semua teman-teman Kadazandusun di Sabah dan Sarawak.

Semoga rezeki yang dituai semakin berhasil serta bertambah baik dan lumayan.

ANWAR IBRAHIM

Dari Wartawn Rasmi Suara Reformasi

PENANTI, 30 Mei (Hrkh) – Pengarah Jabatan Pilihan raya PAS, Dato’ Mustafa Ali berkata, sikap Tun Abdul Razak jauh berbeza dengan anaknya, Dato’ Seri Najib walaupun beliau cuba meniru gaya pemerintahan ayahnya apabila memilih China sebagai lokasi luar negara pertama setelah diamanahkan menerajui negara.

Kepimpinan Tun Abdul Razak nampak santai kerana beliau gemar mendekati rakyat dengan memperkenalkan program seperti ‘Buku Hijau’ pembukaan kawasan Felda untuk rakyat yang miskin dan pertambahan pelaburan mengikut jadual.

Tetapi Najib bersikap keras pada rakyat sanggup menangkap rakyat yang berpuasa sunat, mogok lapar kerana sayangkan demokrasi, berpiket aman dan sebagainya.
“Najib cuba nak tiru gaya kepimpinan ayahnya, Tun Abdul Razak tapi dia lupa sikapnya tidak terbuka dan terlalu banyak skandal melibatkan namanya tidak dibersihkan,” ujar beliau.
Lawatan pertama Najib ke China baru-baru ini bermatlamat membuka ruang pelaburan dan perniagaan di samping membina hubungan dua hala dalam bidang pelancungan.

Menurut Mustaffa yang juga Pesuruhjaya PAS Negeri Trengganu, Najib terpaksa ke China untuk mengembalikan sokongan masyarakat itu terhadap kepimpinan Barisan Nasional (BN) yang nyata makin terhakis.
Sokongan masyarakat bukan Islam kepada Pakatan Rakyat dalam pilihan raya umum ke-12 lalu membuatkan BN hampir menjadi pembangkang di Malaysia maka langkah terkini ialah mengembalikan kepercayaan mereka pada BN.

“Najib berharap lawatan ke China akan membolehkan sokongan diperolehi semula sebelum pilihan raya umum akan datang. Jika tidak BN pastinya berputih mata melihat perubahan yang berlaku,” kata beliau.
Walau apapun beliau berharap jentera Pakatan Rakyat bersatu tenaga untuk menentukan kemenangan berpihak kepada Dr Mansor Othman.
Jangan sekali-kali bertindak tanpa ikut arahan kepimpinan kerana ia bukan sahaja melemahkan organisasi parti malahan boleh mencetuskan rasa kurang senang di kalangan ahli gabungan Pakatan Rakyat, katanya.

Berceramah sama dalam program di Markaz Utama PAS N12 Penanti ialah Naib Presiden PAS, Ustaz Nasharudin Mat Isa, Naib Presiden KeADILan, Azmin Ali, Naib Presiden PAS Pusat, Ustaz Ahmad Awang dan ramai lagi.

By the Administrator

With the Penanti by-election just less than 24 hours away, observers are keen to find out who is leading in this four- cornered fight of PKR/Pakatan Rakyat facing 3 independents.

UMNO’s/BN’s non-participation is a big let down, especially to their own members and supporters. Though one ex-Gerakan youth branch leader Nai Khan contesting, he may not attract the BN votes as he is rather an unknown figure, and more importantly, he receives no blessings from his own party.

However, Nai Khan, as someone who was born and bred locally, may pull some Thai community votes away, especially in his own party youth branch area called Kampong Telok Wang. 

The other independent candidate Kamarul Ramizu is also not recognised by the local. Those who know him are aware that he was the parliamentary candidate who was defeated by Nizar  just not long ago in Batu Gantang, also acted as an independent. He sort of owes the electorates a good reason of his coming here, apart from being ‘professional’ enough to have come out with his own manifesto.

The most challenging independent would be none other than Aminah then. She scored a publicity stunt by revealing how Cheah Kah Peng and Peter Lim, both are from PKR, attempted to talk her out of the race, apparently on their own initiatives and some private agendas. The stepping in of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption (MACC) and the Malaysian Election Commission was rather un-called for, as Mohamad Fairus, the former State Assemblyman of Penanti, has just cleared his name from MACC in the eve of the nomination day.

However, the candidate, Mansor Othman, and his party PKR, have categorically denied to have anything to do with it, especially that the alleged incident took place before the nomination day, when Mansor was not even a candidate yet.

Aminah’s original target was Mansor Othman, but somehow she seems to have shifted her cannon head to aim at Dato Zahrain lately, the Penang PKR Chairman, who may persue a court action soon for being unjustifiably accused.

Meanwhile, Mansor Othman has issued his Manifesto. He pledges to do, among other things, implementing just, democratic, humanistic and equal treament of Penang people, in the Penang Sate Government. He also touches on the issues of Women, youth, heath care, housing, transport, poverty, rural development, infrastructure, way of living, religious harmony, racial unity, environment, and tourism. His emphasis has been one on the basis of morality to bring Penang foward.

Lim Guan Eng, the Chief Minister of Penang, has openly endorsed Mansor as the next Deputy Cheif Minister of Penang if elected, as proposed by PKR.

Some say Aminah’s strengh lies in the internal division of PKR, if any, as she has been known to be close to Ezzam, the former PKR Youth Chief who had defected to UMNO. But that is solely a pipe-dream as PKR Penang is known to be united and have been dispising her since she left the party in 2007.

Whilst UMNo Youth leader Khairi Jamalludin openly called the voters not coming-out to vote, and that UMNO is allegedly offering voters a free holiday away from Penanti on the polling day, both are apparently in contravention of the Election Offences Act if the facts are so established and are as alleged by the PKR leaders.

It is however, uncertain as to how passive are the Penanti voters, and how many of them will not come out to vote this time. Definately, the turn-out rate would not be as high as that of the Permatang Pauh by-election about eight months ago.

The PKR majority over UMNO in the 2008 General Election was 2219 votes and the voters turn-out was over 80%. PKR’s Mohamad Fairus obtained 7,346 votes, as against UMNO’s Abdul Jalail’s 5127.

Be that as it may, the PKR election machinery has been going all out to ensure a higher voters turn-out rate, as they could not afford to let the party and the people down in this by-election.

By the Administrator

This morning, I have delivered an adjournment speech at a full council meeting of the Penang Island Municipal Council.

To my surprise, when I suggested to amend the Stranding Orders which limit a councillor’s adjournment speech to 5 minutes to 30 minutes, one councillor objected to it on the pretext that he would not encourage ‘adjournment speech councillors’.

May be he was referring to someone he has in mind.  Though councillors should  work hard during normally, by enjoying a longer time to make adjournment speeches in council is also a right that a councillor should fight for, as adjournment speeches are good references for council’s decision-making , and at times, a good feed-back system from the rate-payers who may wish the councillors to speak up for them.

Councillors are decision makers, not rubber-stamps, so they have to speak out.

In fact,Jeff Ooi, the MP for Jelutong and Chief of Staff to the Penang Chief Minister, recently hit out at some councillors who boast about out-side the council, but lazily enjoying their sleeps in the council.

I also spoke on the need to revise or abolish some of the archaic council guide-lines and by-laws, many of which were inherited from the British colonial times.

We have guide-lines such as limiting the distance between two lamp posts to be not less than 60 meters. What if strategically it is needed at certain dark corners that there have to put up more lamp posts, despite of the short distance?

I also touched on the watch-out for ‘little napoleans’  who would delay or obstruct council’s decisions which are beneficial to the people as a whole.

My next point of interest was to tackle on how council minutes were taken down. We have observed that certain opinions expressed by councillors in the meetings for discussion and considerations have become council’s decision in the minutes. And that certain council decisions have become opinions expressed only, and worst still, totally disappeared from the council minutes altogether.

I touched on the need to provide free bus service to the students, the silver-hair group of over 60’s, and the handicapped. At the moment, the council free shuttle service is only provided for a limited route and to could take in about 1,700 passengers per day.

Penang has become more in need of a good bus system, especially after the do-away of the monorail project and the PORR by the Federal Government, despite of their electoral promises in 2008.

My emphasis has been that free public transport system has been provided for in the social democratic system of the West which cherish egalitarian principles. Malaysia is yet to catch up as we are still far lagging behind.

I also urged the council to take their staff as assets, and to protect them from disturbance or even physical attacks on them by certain irresponsible members of the public. Other Federal or state bodies should stop ordering our staff to do jobs beyond their scope of duties. At the very least, we must bill them for what they have ordered,

Lastly, though we know that local governments in our country, as a third tier government, do enjoy certain autonomy, and that they should not be treated as one of the Federal or State Government departments or agencies, my emphasis has been that the MPPP must work closely and in unison with the Penang State Government in fulfilling our duties to the rate-payers towards the noble objective of social reform or social transformation that is sustainable and of wider impact.

Below are some pictures of the meeting :

Councillor Cikgu Ismail having a discussion with Khoo Say Boon, the Engineering Department Director

Councillor Feelix Ooi was reporting on the decisions of the Development Standing Committee

Councillor Ghazali was emphasizing on a controversial point

Councillor Professor Zahari was airing his views