Of Penanti forced by-election-what`s cooking in it?

Penanti by-election on May 31 will see a four-cornered fight with PKR's Mansor Othman taking on three independents.

Mansor, 59, Aminah Abdullah, 56, Nai Khan Ari, 41, and Kamarul Ramizu Idris, 42,

Penanti is a must-win seat for the party's morale because even with a victory gain will not change the equation in the state legislative assembly.

BN is staying out of the by-election, calling it an abuse of the electoral process and a political ploy. PKR have forced two other by-elections previously- the first was when Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail vacated her Permatang Pauh seat to enable her husband, Anwar, to return to Parliament.

Then came the Bukit Selambau by-election where PKR representative and Kedah state exco member V. Arumugam abandoned his seat amid allegations of bigamy.

The Penanti by-election was precipitated by the resignation of former Penang deputy chief minister I Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin following a graft probe. He was later cleared by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

While PKR may supposedly be guaranteed of its `base support`, party insiders are keen to see which way some 2,000 fence-sitters will go.

Penanti voters comprise of 72.6 % Malays, 24.2 % Chinese, 2.4 % Indians and 0.7 % others.





A section of the crowd attending a ceramah in Kampung Guar Jering on Wednesday night
(NST, 27.5.09).


Addressing a large and mostly Muslim audience at a football field in Guar Jering on Wednesday night, Pas spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat repeated his famous "reward from God" campaign line: "I have said this before in Kelantan, vote and you will get pahala (rewards)," declared the revered Tok Guru.

Leaflets were distributed at the ceramah bearing messages from Nik Aziz, Hadi and Penang Pas chief Saleh Man directing Penanti Pas members to come out full force to support PKR candidate Dr Mansor Othman.

Earlier there were threats from some to boycott the by-election.

Local Pas leaders are said to be unhappy with the "forced" by-election, and had even suggested that Pas should field its own candidate.

Another storm stirring is the independent candidate Aminah Abdullah's allegations that PKR had offered inducements for her either to withdraw from the by-election or rejoin the party if she won. The so called `Kak Min` CD scandal is a growing concern for Pakatan leaders.

She has been labelled as a woman of loose character and given names like "Minah Ronggeng" (cabaret woman) in the nightly ceramah that are held in Penanti.

PKR has denied the claims, which the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating.
The question that begs to be answered is why is Pakatan bashing Aminah for the dirty deeds committed by its own leaders?

After all, PKR supreme council member Cheah Kah Peng and state executive council member Law Choo Kiang's special assistant Lim Eng Nam had admitted that they indeed did meet Aminah.

Both have admitted that the conversation took place at Aminah's house on May 13.

However, they remained evasive when asked about the allegations against them.

PKR leaders may want to `shut up` her claims, opting not to respond to them and letting their lawyers deal with the matter, but internal squabbles turning into public spats could be damaging to PKR.

The young party, plagued by a host of leadership problems at various levels, cannot afford to look "small" in the eyes of its allies Pas and DAP in the Pakatan.

Aminah Abdullah has exposed the kind of intense backstabbing and power struggle that is going on in Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and in the Penang state administration.

But more importantly, she has laid bare the hypocrisy of Pakatan leaders, in the manner they are dealing with the whole affair.

Instead of living up to their competency, accountability and transparency motto, they have resorted to scathing attacks on their former colleague.

It is also interesting to note the deafening silence from Level 28 of Komtar on this scandalous affair which has implicated a state exco member.

After all, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was among the ones to call for Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam after the latter was barred from contesting the Umno elections, to take responsibility for the actions of his agent who was cited for money politics and to resign as Malacca Chief Minister.

It was a similar scenario. So it now remains to be seen if Lim would initiate any action against his own exco member for the action of the latter's special assistant.

Its clear PKR is just a noisy party that is chasing clouds in the air only? How much more have we to buy into their `holier-than thou` attitude ? We have wasted too much time in damaging our country`s economic and political stability.

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Fairus Khairuddin QUIT--- by-election ploy looms, rakyat already fatigued with costly polls

Fairus Khairuddin finaly quited as Deputy Chief Minister I of Penang and also as the state assemblyman for Penanti, following allegations that he covered up illegal quarrying activities.

In an interview with Nanyang Siang Pau recently, the PKR leader threatened to expose potentially damaging information about Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) state government, claiming that he had been framed by party insiders. He also claimed that he was a victim of internal politics

It is understood that internal bickering is the main reason why Anwar has been unable to fill the DCM post vacancy. The squabbling has put Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in a fix. It is also a by-election that the CM would not want.

The by-election for the seat, which falls under Anwar’s parliamentary constituency, will be the sixth after the March 8 general election last year. And it is the 3rd by –election called for by PKR as the result of the resignation of PKR leaders due to personal reasons or `tainted –representative` issue.

This is a costly affair for taxpayer and a waste of time. The five by-elections which have been held following the 2008 general election have already cost Malaysian taxpayers RM 33.4 million.

Amount Spent:-
P44 Permatang Pauh (26.08.08)-- RM 409,000.00 (EC) -- RM 2.5 mil.(Police)
P36 Kuala Trengganu (24.01.09)--RM 580,000.00 (EC)---RM 11.5 mil.(Police)
N29 Batang Ai (07.04.09 )---RM 400,000.00 (EC)-- - RM 5 mil.(Police)
N25 Bukit Selambau (07.04.09) --- RM 400,000.00 (EC)--- RM 5 mil.(Police)
P29 Bukit Gantang (07.04.09) ----RM 600,000.00 (EC) ----RM 7 mil.(Police)
Total spending ---- RM 2.4mil.(EC) ----RM 31 mil.(Police) =RM33.4mil.
Where did the money go?:-
Election commission(EC)-for paying election workers, staff allowances, printing costs, transportation including helicopters and accommodation.

Police- for temporary bases and tents, logistics and transportation, accommodation, rental, electricity and outstation allowances.

Political parties- millions on printing billboards, banners, posters, newsletters, logistic, transportation, accommodation and food for volunteers.

Deputy Election commission chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said the potential Penanti by-election could cost Election Commission another RM 300,000.00 depending on the number of registered voters and the remoteness of the area.

Phew!! What costly polls alright ?

PM: Too much being spent on unnecessary by-elections

Speaking at a recent press conference, after opening the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysias (ACCCIM) 63rd annual general meeting, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said,
" National Resources are being wasted on calling for by-elections when the nation should be concentrating on strengthening its economy,”

“It is different if an elected representative has passed away, then he has to be replaced but resignations are political decisions which can also be regarded as a political ploy for specific reasons,” he added.

“Malaysians did not like by-elections that were held deliberately.”

Good news is that BN may not contest Penanti by-election, if it obtains the consensus of all component parties, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in another event in Pekan today.

Najib said he did not rule out such a possibility as the latest by-election in Penang was clearly a "political ploy" by the Opposition.

"No, we are not afraid of losing to them but it is a sheer waste of public funds.”

"Whatever decision we make, we will take into consideration whether it benefits the people.”

Anwar - who is believed to have "forced" the by-election to prevent the graft allegations against Fairus from blowing up and to avert any possibility of him defecting to the United Malays National Organisation - has come under fire for the decision, but kept silent about the issue over the last week.

HOW Anwar handles the controversy surrounding the resignations of Penang Deputy Chief Minister and assemblyman Fairus Khairuddin will be one of the main issues in the upcoming by-election in Penanti, said Penang’s Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

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BN RETAINS BATANG AI, LOSES BUKIT GANTANG AND BUKIT SELAMBAU—reactions in Bukit Selambau

PKR retained the Bukit Selambau state seat with a slightly increased majority of 2,403 votes.



S. Manikumar polled 12,632 votes against Barisan Nasional's Datuk S. Ganesan's 10,229 votes. There were 415 spoilt votes.

All the 13 independent candidates lost their deposits as they failed to poll one-eighth of the ballots cast. Collectively they polled just 1,326 votes.

A scene at the Bukit Selambau by-election which ended with its much anticipated heated hue-cry from both sides of the supporters .

The Bukit Selambau by-election was called after incumbent and Kedah state executive councillor V. Arumugam resigned over morality issues.

A quick analysis of the votes showed that BN had gained some ground in rural areas of the constituency but fared badly in the urban polling stations in Sungai Petani.Some 12,000 of the seat's 35,140 voters reside in Sungai Petani town.

PKR, which began campaigning for this election high on confidence of retaining the seat with an increased majority, was somewhat subdued as polling neared as it had to deal with the "feel good effect" from Datuk Seri Najib Razak's assumption of the prime ministership.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's campaign sojourn here on Thursday also rattled PKR.

But PKR kept plodding on and repeatedly told voters that Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak had committed to appoint the winning candidate as an exco member.

Victorious Manikumar said he will work hard to justify voters' faith in him.

Manikumar is to be made Kedah Exco on april 19 after Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak sought consent today from the state ruler.

"I feel good and happy. Thank you to the Bukit Selambau voters for giving me the mandate to be their representative," he said,

Ganesan accepted the outcome."I will continue to serve the voters here. I will take a break for a while. It has been hectic," he said.



Crestfallen, MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said that the Indian votes had improved significantly for BN.


"Even though we are disappointed, we accept the verdict. We will continue to work hard to gain the confidence of the Indian community and the people."



BN election director Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said the coalition had to work harder to convince people that there is a change in the coalition's leadership and convince them of the positive impact it would bring.



"BN has taken note of the result and will rectify any shortcoming. PKR is the incumbent and it was expected to have the advantage over the BN."



State BN chief Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said the coalition accepted the result and would continue to work for the people of Bukit Selambau.


PKR vice-president Azmin Ali said the PKR and PAS' win in Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang, respectively, brought a message to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on the need for Umno and the Barisan Nasional to work hard to win the people's hearts

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Panaurama Bukit Gantang -Nizar trembles while BN dishes out TOLs

LAND ISSUE IN PERAK UNFOLD

The granting of many hectares of land to the Chinese communities in the New Villages as well as to Chinese schools and associations have alienated the Malay community who feel that they have been sidelined with the economic pie not being distributed evenly.

CAN THIS BE THE RATIONALE FOR IT?

DID YOU KNOW?

PAS influence in Perak is minimal as the party only won six state seats unlike their coalition partners DAP and PKR who won more seats than PAS.

But due to the state’s constitution, where it is stated that only a Malay Muslim can become the menteri besar of the state, Nizar Jamaluddin of PAS became the MB as there was no other qualified Malay candidates from PKR who fit the bill.He became a stooge of the DAP who called the shots in running the state.

As a result from the panuarama Bukit Gantang -

`Only temporary land titles can be issued, for now; ` ZAMBRY

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir is actively holding discussions with all the relevant bodies to enable the Chinese and other communities to get titles to their land.

He, however, said there were certain issues that needed to be addressed first, especially when they went against the provisions of the National Land Code.

In some cases, he added, the state government had issued them with temporary land titles but many still questioned why they were only for 10 years.

“They need to understand that. That is the law. The provision says that even if the maximum is 60 years, it cannot be issued in one go,” he said.

He said the first instalment would be for a maximum of 10, followed by another 10 or 20 or 30, depending on the state government when for renewal came up.

He refuted allegations that he was anti-Chinese and had never tried to prevent the community from getting titles to their land.

The land issue is one of many raised by the opposition in their campaign rounds for the Bukit Gantang by-election.

On promises made by the previous government to issue permanent land title to various quarters, Zambry said he did not know how they had planned to implement them as they were against the provisions under the National Land Code.

“They forgot about the NLC. Although the state and mentris besar have certain power over land matters, when it come to policy matters, it must be agreed by all states.

“In this case, if Perak wants to do it, it must also be implemented by other states.

“Why did Penang, Kelantan, Kedah or Selangor not want to do it too? So this is a policy matter that must be clarified,” he added.

Yes, the three coming by-elections results will determine our country’s direction but past performance is not an indicator of future performance.

LAND is a limited comodity.Therefore it has to be used for national development for all and not as an agenda for political mileage by any parties.

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LOOK WHO SHOULD BE IN POWER IN PERAK...???

Like wild fire in the bush, there are many allegations hurled at the legitimacy of the present ruling government in Perak. To understand why, we should first understand the cries of Why the rakyat should support the new government in Perak.

Good to look at the facts behind it for the good of all.



6 SEBAB MENGAPA RAKYAT MESTI
SOKONG KERAJAAN BARU NEGERI PERAK.

1. Barisan Nasional Perak mempunyai 31 sokongan Ahli Dewan dan 28 daripadanya di bawah satu lambang parti iaitu Barisan Nasional.

2. Permainan lompat parti adalah ciptaan Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Oleh itu terimalah akibatnya umpamakan `senjata makan tuan.`

3. Setelah melihat kerakusan kuasa dan penyelewangan yang berlaku dalam kerajaan negeri di bawah kerajaan campuran,ketiga-tiga ADUN Bebas membuat pengorbanan besar dengan mengenepikan kepentingan peribadi jawatan dan menggadai masa depan politik mereka untuk negara dan bangsa.

4. DYMM Sultan Perak berhak melantik Menteri Besar baru yang mendapat kepercayaan sebahagian besar daripada ahli- ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri dan secara automatik mendirikan kerajaan baru di Perak. Mengikut undang- undang tubuh negeri Perak 16(2) mengatakan bahawa rakyat wajar menyokong pendirian ADUN yang mereka pilih.

5. Mengikut fasal (18)(2) DYMM Sultan Perak bolehlah memutuskan mengikut pertimbangannya sendiri melantik seorang Menteri Besar dan keengganan untuk membubarkan DUN.

6. Apabila YB Nizar Jamaluddin mengistiharkan pembubaran DUN tanpa perkenanan DYMM Sultan Perak bermakna beliau telah menerima hakikat bahawa beliau tidak lagi mendapat kepercayaan sebilangan besar Ahli Dun. Maka mengikut pertimbangan DYMM Sultan Perak, maka wajarlah dilantik seorang Menteri Besar yang baru.

Sumber: wiragantang.blogspot.com

( sorry:-English translated version is not available yet)

Say what you want, politicing portrays strange behaviour alright. But whatever agenda it be, WE WANT NO MORE VIOLENCE NOR SLANDERING.

ANGER AND VENGENANCE IS NO WAY TO BEAT A CANDIDATE IN THE RUN-UP TO THE ELECTION.

BE MORE PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL.

PENGUNDI SUDAH BIJAK MENILAI.

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Sheep among wolves-morality in it !!!!!!!!!

::17.2.09-1500hrs- 938 LIVE(SINGAPORE) Radio News reported-

"MALAYSIAN POLITICIAN OFFERS TO QUIT OVER NUDE PHOTOS."

::On the same day, 17.2.09 -1700hrs-BBC LONDON Radio News reported –

"POLITICAN IN MALAYSIA NUDITY ROW"

~ `I wish to state that I am not ashamed of my sexuality as a woman and a single person. I have broken no laws. I stand by the fundamental principle in a democracy that everyone has a right to privacy..`

~`She is a single person. How can she allow a man into her room when they are not married? What`s the status of the relationship?`

~Other headlines ran array with hot shots while the Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar promises thorough probe by police..

~`You may face a jail term of up to three years , a fine ,or both, under Section 292 of the Penal Code for distributing and having in possession material containing pornographic elements..

Selangor executive councillor for Tourism,Consumer Affairs and Environment and Bukit Lanjan State assemblyman Elizabeth Wong, whose nude photographs were being circulated, has resigned from both posts.

She was also PKR Women`s Information Chief, a consultant for Strategic Information and Research Development Centre (SIRD) and was involved in peace and conflict work in Southern Thailand, Mindanao, East Timor and Aceh .

Elizabeth Wong lodged a police report after being told of the photographs that have been circulating via MMS, apparently taken with a camera phone. She claimed the entire episode as a gross outrage of her modesty, a gross invasion of her privacy and the sanctity of her personal life- a malicious attack to discredit her.

The photographs that were made available to the press showed Elizabeth Wong was asleep in her bed with her glasses on and her eyes were closed. She was partially covered with a "sarung".

She said the photographs could have been taken by her ex-boyfriend. It was rumored that the photos might have been circulated by her ex-boyfriend whom allegedly broke up recently and it was said he had moved to another country.

Nobody said that intrusion of privacy is ethical but in face of our local conservative society such nude photographs taken are seen as a shock as it was not a behavioral norm of a sensible person to do so , what more it is about a high profile of a so called- clean leader. ..

Given the benefit of doubts, she was likened a sheep to be slaughtered among the wolves. As a public figure, the nude photographs denoted a morally –corrupted / decayed misbehavior in a way that did not please the people around. She had made a mistake in her personal life by being too trusting in her ex-boyfriend.

Given the benefits of doubt, the fact remains the same - this is a moral issue. It is the issue of how one can command respect when one`s morality is at stake .

It is the issue of how one can continue to be a good sherpard when one can not rule the herd. People always associate good sherpads(leaders) with good grazing ground (ethics).How far is this true for PKR ?

On the other hand , it is also the moral issue of unethical behaviour of the ex-boyfriend. What does he gain by circulating such nude photos of her? Intrusion of privacy is an unethical act of insanity and often than not the woman is the victim of circumstances and technology is the wrongful means. Let not the victims be sheep ready for slaughter in the world of vicious wolves . Its only fair we should also deal with the predators too? How should we stop all these sex photo/DVD slandering or letting such moral misbehaviour from implanting deep roots into our society?

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