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Guan Eng receives threatening call over son

Apr 28th, 2013

PENANG Caretaker Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has reportedly received a sinister threat involving his young son from an unidentified caller.

His political secretary Ng Wei Aik said around 1pm yesterday, the DAP headquarters received a call from an English-speaking person who warned that Lim should “take care of his son”.

“It looks like they want to play dirty tactics already. So, we have lodged a police report against the person,” said Ng, who is Tanjung candidate.

Ng said that the DAP has also received information that the Internet servers of their party websites, including its Facebook, are slowing down and affecting traffic to the sites.

“We checked and this does not happen in Singapore. It looks like they are trying to block us from accessing the Internet,” he said.

He urged the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to play their “professional role” and take action on attempts to block the Internet sites of opposition parties.

“At the same time, please don’t just rely on the Internet, come to our ceramahs, especially the one to be held at Han Chiang College field, where DAP senior leader Kit Siang will be present,” he added.

‘More 1M’sia flags than voters’

Meanwhile, DAP state chief Chow Kon Yeow alleged that after eight days of campaigning, he noticed increasing incidences of “force, threats and money being used to get voters”.

“Such tactics are being done blatantly and openly, bringing our country backwards, while we are struggling to be a more democratic system.

“By using such tactics, BN is putting our people back to the olden days where money can help you achieve anything,” he said.

“We want people to prove that money is not everything, but what is more important is the pride and dignity of our children, which money can’t buy,” he added.

Chow said that Pakatan is unable to splash money around like its opponents but would rather promote its track record and future vision.

“We were naïve to expect BN to play a fair game. People are saying that there are more 1Malaysia flags than there are voters, and there is no place to hang them anymore,” quipped the Padang Kota candidate.

Samy ‘magic’ may not work in Sungai Siput

Apr 28th, 2013

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GE13 WATCH PERAK Former MIC president S Samy Vellu has picked himself up from his 2008 elections fall in Sungai Siput to morph into polls commander behind the scenes to help BN to wrest back the parliamentary seat.

NONE Samy is the Sungai Siput BN chairperson co-ordinating the polls campaign for the parliamentary seat candidate SK Devamany (MIC), Lintang state seat candidate Zolkafly Harun (Umno) and Jalong state seat candidate Liew Yew Aw.

His work day starts at 8.30am arranging the campaign schedule for the candidates and planning the entire campaign strategy and activities for the respective constituencies

However, Samy (right) avoids the routine walkabout sessions of meeting the people on the ground in person.

Instead, he only appears in public for official dinners or nocturnal activities of a political nature.

“I’m here as a BN chairperson, everyday I’m here from morning right up to 9 at the night. So we feel it will be a tough battle but we still have a chance.

Mixed reactions to Samy, MIC

“The walkabout is not my job. My job is to sit down and discuss with them (the candidates), he told Malaysiakini when met in Sungai Siput two days ago.

azlan Two nights ago, he had a noon meeting with the candidates at the Sungai Siput MIC service centre and only attended the dinner hosted by Sungai Siput MCA division that night where he delivered a short speech.

Sungai Siput is one of the most watched parliamentary seats in Perak.

It is a three-way fight as the incumbent Dr Michael Jeyakumar (PSM-PKR) crosses swords with Devamany and Independent SP Nagalingam.

Samy was the MP for Sungai Siput for 30 years, but was felled by Jeyakumar in the 2008 political tsunami by a 1,821 -vote majority.

Before the general election, Samy declared himself a “winnable candidate” if asked to contest again, but Malaysiakini found mixed reactions from the local Indians on Samy and the MIC.

Some did not like the ‘development’ brought by Samy and Devamany, some preferred Jeyakumar’s approach in solving their problems despite lacking government allocations.

Hindraf alone didn’t ‘slay’ Samy

Malaysiakini interviewed some of them two days ago, all requested anonymity as they did not want to invite unnecessary problems from certain parties.

NONE A 54-year-old said that if Devamany (right) is accompanied by Samy in his walkabout sessions, his votes will take a dive.

“He (Samy Vellu) had been here for so long, but spent little time here, ” said the middle-aged man who is a member of a local society.

In his view Samy’s defeat five years ago was not solely because of the Hindraf factor, but local people being ” not happy when seeing the BN”.

However, he said that he will consider voting for BN this time as Devamany had helped his society to get a government allocation.

Similarly a young hawker also harbours negative feelings against Samy and the MIC as they did not help in his applications for educational aid and a business loan.

“He didn’t pay attention to me at all, he only pays attention to those he knows. If he doesn’t know you, he will not notice you,” he said, adding that Samy will not be much of a help for MIC in this polls.

However, on the question of Jeyakumar’s inability to initiate any development as MIC could, should he be re-elected, the 24-year-old said: “He doesn’t have money now, so doesn’t know what to do. But if he has money, then he can do something, right?”

Thumbs up for Jeyakumar

A housewife concurred with him, liking the way Jeyakumar provided a way to solve her problem.

“(MIC) always gave different excuses, sometimes they said they were not free, even sometimes when I reached the service centre, the staff members would tell me that they were not free.

NONE “Although he (Jeyakumar, right in photo) doesn’t give away money, but he will provide us the way to solve the problem,” he said.

Nevertheless, some interviewees still recognised Samy’s past contributions to Sungai Siput.

A 25-year Sungai Siput resident, a firm supporter of Samy still remembers how he received help from the former minister and praised the BR1M programme initiated by caretaker prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

However, he reserves his view on Devamany because when he sought help at his service for a broken arm, he was rejected.

“In any case, Samy will help, but Devamany, I don’t know,” he added.

When asked about the grouses from the ground, Samy’s simple reply was: “no, no criticism”.

He also said that the people had already forgotten his defeat which happened five years ago.

Devamany also refused to comment on this matter, stressing that “nobody is perfect”.

Gov’t machinery spotted

Although the duo are facing Jeyakumar whose resources are relatively smaller than theirs, both described the contest as being a “tough battle”.

NONE And government machinery was spotted in Sungai Siput two days ago in the form of chief secretary to the government, Ali Hamsa, having lunch with public servants from Sungai Siput and Kuala Kangsar.

He then attended an event organised by the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry and handed over on its behalf RM300 in financial assistance to each of 30 selected Sungai Siput residents.

Three of the BN candidates were also present at the event.

The same night, the Sungai Siput MCA division organised a dinner for local Chinese, providing a platform for BN candidates to deliver short speeches.

During the event, Sungai Siput Umno division’s chief Zolkafly, donated RM55,000 to a local Chinese primary school to repair its water pipes and another RM10,000 to a local Chinese society to help in the maintenance of its premises.

PAS finally backs down on Kota Damansara seat

Apr 28th, 2013

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SELANGOR PAS has finally backed down from contesting the Kota Damansara state seat after almost a week of posturing and negotiations with PKR and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).

“After negotiations, I am announcing that for the Kota Damansara state seat, we shall revert to the status quo as before nomination day.

pas mustafa ali 070413 01 “The seat is allocated to PKR,” said PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali (left) at party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

As such, he said, the candidate contesting under the PKR banner for the state seat under the Subang parliamentary constituency will be the official Pakatan Rakyat representative.

Incumbent rep PSM chief Mohd Nasir Hashim (below) had earlier reached an agreement to vie for the seat under the PKR ticket, until PAS sprang a last minute surprise by fielding its own candidate Razali Ismail on nomination day.

As in other seats it has conceded to PKR, the PAS candidate will be instructed to stand down and publicly declare that he is withdrawing from the contest, while the party’s machinery will be told to campaign for the specified Pakatan candidate, said Mustafa.

NONE Asked on the possibility of resistance from the fielded PAS candidates and machinery to the stand-down orders, Mustafa dismissed such concerns.

Kota Damansara was one of seven seats that saw PAS and PKR at loggerheads, with both fielding their respective candidates on nominations day last week.

The six other seats were settled early this week, with PAS giving the Labuan parliamentary and Panti (Johor) and Sungai Acheh (Penang) state seats to its ally.

In exchange PKR gave PAS the Seberang Takir, Bukit Besi and Kota Putera state seats in Terengganu.

Kota Damansara was not resolved at the time because PAS claimed ideological differences with PSM was the stumbling block.

Short URL: http://www.freemalaysiakini2.com/?p=77938

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on Apr 27 2013. Filed under News.
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PKR and PAS: The ‘dumping grounds’ of Malaysian politics

Apr 27th, 2013

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PKR and PAS: The ‘dumping grounds’ of Malaysian politics

Parti KeAdilan Rakyat (PKR) cannot be described as a true political party in Malaysia. It was formed for a different reason, which has got nothing to do with any political agenda of national interests, other than to be a sworn enemy of Umno.

However, in the process, it became a party which is a sworn enemy of Barisan Nasional, i.e. by default.

The main characters involved in the formation of PKR are those who were staunch supporters of Umno and Barisan.

And the supporting characters are mostly the wives, children and also cronies of the de facto leader and founder of PKR, who is Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

So what can one say of this party? It does not aim to champion some wonderful national political cause, but aims to belittle and condemn the very party and coalition of parties which had trusted its founders and staunch supporters in the first place.

So it is not wrong for anyone to say PKR is a party of Umno and Barisan misfits, rejects and ingrates.

Now Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) is also in such a situation when it readily accepts a former senior Umno leader, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib as its member, who left Umno and Barisan in such haste that one wonders if he decided to join PAS in order to further extend his political life in order that it does not take him into his ‘second political childhood’.

Being in politics in Malaysia all his life, surely Muhammad Muhammad Taib cannot bear the brunt of not being able to hog the political scene for a while longer, even if he is now on the other side.

Unfortunately, most of the original founders of PKR have left the party to join mainstream politics, and are now most vocal in their criticism of PKR and its lead founder, Anwar.

One can almost discount Anwar’s first daughter, Nurul Izzah for any diatribe which she may have about Umno and Barisan as she is merely performing her filial duty and not a national duty.

And her last win in the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat was a fluke. The voters just wanted to get rid of Wanita Umno chief, incumbent Datuk Seri Sharizat Jalil, and not because they liked Nurul more. Just like how Loh Gwo Burne, who won in Kelana Jaya and became a one-term Member of Parliament after his party did not extend his political life by nominating him for the 13th general elections.

Gwo Burne could not speak Malay at all and had given or read only one speech in his halting Malay while in Parliament through the last five years, which dealt with some foreign affairs matters, that made Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, smile widely.

Anwar was very angry for not being able to succeed Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Prime Minister. He thought Dr Mahathir had made a very bad and awful decision for sacking him as his deputy.

But why did Anwar and his supporters think Dr Mahathir had made such a wise move by accepting Anwar into Umno and hence the Mahathir Cabinet, and who later shot up in the Umno and Barisan hierarchy quickly so much so that those who had been waiting in line had to be removed or sidelined?

And yet, when Dr Mahathir had the wisdom to change his mind about Anwar and sack him, why then did Anwar and his supporters not say it was also a wise move by Mahathir?

From being someone who was wise, by admitting Anwar and accepting all his quirks and style, suddenly Dr Mahathir had become not wise simply because he had chosen not to allow Anwar to have his way anymore.

Being the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia is not a right; party members of Umno do not choose who becomes the Deputy Prime Minister. The right rests in the good hands of the Prime Minister himself and it is his prerogative to appoint and even sack anyone in the Cabinet as he so pleases.

And there were many Umno and Barisan leaders who had to face similar music before as it is the practice of an incumbent Prime Minister to discontinue the services of any member of his Cabinet who he finds to have served too long or who deserves to be ‘promoted’ to retirement, a ‘post’ which many may find to be disconcerting as they think political life in Malaysia is enduring and all-encompassing so not many of them have made retirement plans.

So when it finally happens, one gets a rude shock.

One way to overcome this shock is to become a turncoat and join PKR and now PAS, the two parties which can be described as the ‘graveyards’ and ‘dumping grounds’ of Malaysian politics, especially by those who think that there is indeed life after political death, who may be party-spoilers.

Source: MOLE