Politics 101 Malaysia

Commentary by Ong Kian Ming & Oon Yeoh, malaysiakini, July 11.

At first glance, it would seem that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak should be happy at Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s announcement that he will hand over power in the middle of 2010. But dig a little deeper and you would find that the announcement actually only further cements the precarious political situation that Najib finds himself in.

British Prime Minister Harold Wilson famously said that ‘one week is a long time in politics’. As we’ve seen lately, a lot can transpire within just a few days. Two years can be an eternity in political terms.

By announcing a firm schedule for stepping down, Abdullah has bought himself some time. This removes some of the pressure from those within Umno who want him to commit firmly to passing the baton to Najib.

It also gives him ample time to rebuild his support base as well as provide ample time for Najib’s enemies – be they from de facto PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim’s camp or from Abdullah’s – to further weaken the already embattled DPM. ”Continued”

This is a story I that lifted again (naughty,naughty) from malayisakini. Don’t know who the scribe is, so no by-lines.

IMO there should be a royal commission on the judge’s claims.

Surely we are not gonna let the dictator of 22 years go home to mummy, tail between legs andsobbing.

Mahathir, was the incestrous father and mother to crony politics. But I can’t be sure whether all his trades were done upright or some were done through happy-go-lucky GROs. DIY services are usually for the El Cheapstakes. ”Continued”

Commentary by Helen Ang, malaysiakini, Jun 5.

Media reform group Benar, together with CIJ, All Blogs and Wami had organised a public walk on June 1 as well as a dialogue on press freedom with de facto Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim.

Zaid did not pull his punches when he admonished mainstream media (MSM) to “tell the public the truth with no spinning”. He also challenged media practitioners: “Be honest with yourselves. If you feel strongly about the facts, do you take on the owners of the newspapers?”

Below is my Q & A (and verbal sparring) with Johann Foo, founder of Benar on the Media Freedom Walk and dialogue with the minister. ”Continued”

Top leaders of opposition parties PKR, DAP and PAS have agreed to form a new coalition called Pakatan Rakyat or People’s Alliance.

At a joint press conference this morning, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said the leaders will now take the proposal back to their respective parties for approval.

Anwar, who was flanked by DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, said that the People’s Alliance will hold its maiden conference after the proposal has been endorsed by all three parties.

Also present was the new parliamentary opposition leader, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is PKR president and Anwar’s wife.

"Pakatan Rakyat pledges to uphold the rights and interests of all Malaysians as enshrined in the Constitution," said Anwar.

He said the governments of Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor would now be known as Pakatan Rakyat state governments. ”Continued”

Exclusive interview by Fauwaz Abdul Aziz, malaysiakini, Mar 26.

The new Selangor menteri besar vows to pursue the allegations of wrongdoing against his predecessor. However, Khalid Ibrahim stresses on the importance of facts, and not sentiments.

Malaysiakini: What are your short-term and long term goals for Selangor?

Khalid Ibrahim: Selangor has got opportunities as much as challenges. One of the challenges is how to accommodate the growth in population. In Selangor and Federal Territory, the Malaysian population is around five million, while the total number of people is about eight million. At least 1.5 million of these people are foreign labourers.

They bring in economic resources to the state as well as social issues. I thought that over the years, if Selangor is to progress, we have to find ways and means to reduce our dependence on foreign labour. That is one of our objectives.

To solve that, I think we should also tackle the issue of employment among youth - those between the ages of 22 and 35. I want to make sure that all the youth in Selangor are eventually fully employed. What I want to do is to have a skills training programme to enhance the quality of the youth so that they can work in higher-income areas and be, for example, artisans such as specialised welders.

Young ladies can train to become nurses, dental assistants, or work as assistants in surgery rooms, for example. Young men could become audio and computer specialists, and move from low-skilled jobs to higher skilled jobs.

After two to three years in our programme, our target is for these youth to earn at least RM2,000 a month. If that happens, and say there were 500,000 youths in this programme, we would have reduced the income gap while at the same time create more consumer demand. ”Continued”

by Ong Kian Ming, malaysiakini.

analysis A journalist friend of mine recently asked me this intriguing question – ‘Would the opposition have won the 2008 general election if the parliamentary seats were allocated proportionally?’

This question does not seem as ludicrous one may imagine, even if the Barisan Nasional did win 63% of parliamentary seats. The reason is that parliamentary seats in Malaysia do not have the same number of voters. Political scientists define this practice as malapportionment.

Indeed, the discrepancy between the largest and smallest parliamentary seat in Malaysia is huge. The largest seat, Kapar, has 112,000 voters while the smallest, Putrajaya only has 7,000 voters.

There are discrepancies between states as well. Selangor has an average of 71,000 voters in its 22 seats while Pahang has an average of 43,000 voters in its 14 seats. Sabah has an average of 31,000 voters in its 26 and Sarawak, an average of 29,000 voters in its 31 seats.

I won’t go into the mechanics of how seats are allocated between the states and how lines are drawn within them. Rather I want to project the electoral outcomes of the 2008 general election if the parliamentary seats were allocated to the different states in proportion to the number of voters in each state. ”Continued”

by Dean Johns, malaysiakini, Mar 12.

Congratulations to the parties, candidates and supporters of Barisan Rakyat on the results of the 12th general election. The outcome was more exciting and encouraging than even the most optimistic of us could have dared hope for.

election voter 2008 vote ballot boxIt was a stunning moral victory against seemingly impossible odds. And it was only these outrageous odds in Barisan Nasional’s favour - from massive gerrymandering of electorates to its manipulation of the mainstream media - that denied the nation the change of government it sorely needs and has now shown that it dearly desires.

BN may have kept its grip on power for now, but five years of government by a long-ruling regime that knows it needs to reform itself or die, with a resurgent opposition that’s increasingly ready to put it out of its misery, may prove a salutory transitional stage in Malaysia’s political evolution. ”Continued”

by Josh Hong, malaysiakini, Mar 14.

Much of the nation was immersed in euphoria over the unexpected wins by the major opposition parties last weekend, only to taste some bitter fruits of victory now.

Yes, Umno, MCA, MIC and Gerakan fell like a house of cards in many of their parliamentary and state assembly constituencies, but racist politics is still very much alive and kicking. I mean, within the DAP itself.

Initially, I was extremely heartened to note that Islam, or the Islamic state debate, played a very insignificant role in the just concluded general elections, as opposed to the previous two.

I remember Lim Keng Yeik of Gerakan and Ng Yen Yen of MCA, the two chief non-Muslim propagandists of Umno, going around Chinese areas scare-mongering the voters with ‘no pork, no karaoke and no cosmetics’ talks in 1999 and 2004, but those ridiculous words were conspicuously absent this time around. ”Continued”

Former MCA vice-president Chua Jui Meng made a plea to current party president Ong Ka Ting to do the right thing and step down.

Chua said the Chinese community has already “rejected Ong in the clearest possible manner.”– mkini