Politics 101 Malaysia

As both Seputeh parliamentarian and Kinrara state assembly representative, Teresa Kok has had to deflect criticism that she has taken on too many political posts.

She explains the situation in an interview with Soon Li Tsin of malaysiakini and also talks about how she is managing the Selangor investment, industry and commerce portfolio. Tell us more about your state portfolio on investment, industry and commerce.

My job is to put investors in contact with the business community, to understand their problems, assist them and woo them to put their investments in Selangor. As you know Selangor is an industrialised state and our economic growth rate (about 6.4 percent) is slightly higher than the national rate (6 percent).

I have to learn about businesses, learn about economy and economic planning. It is not entirely new (to me) because I’ve learnt about investment and business from here and there. But this gives me the opportunity to know more about businesses in Malaysia and to be in touch with investors. So this is something new for me as I have been an activist for many years. ”Continued”

Have you ever seen Selangor Super Senior Exco Teresa Kok’s tits?

Doubt it.

 

During the recent swearing-in of Exco members, Teresa was apparently advised to wear baju kurung to the palace in future as she was told "my blouse is a bit too short."

What do you think?

 

 

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 Syed Jaymal Zahiid, malaysiakini, Mar 26. Sungai Pinang state assemblyperson Teng Chang Khim today said that he held no ill-feeling against the newly formed PKR-DAP-PAS state government or with the Selangor

DAP following his exclusion from the new state exco line up. He clarified that there was no ulterior intention in his part for missing the swearing-in ceremony of the new exco members on Monday.

Speculation of Teng’s discontent was rife when Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim announced that there will be no deputy post despite initial presumption that Teng was one of the favourites for the post. However Teng was not even in the exco list announced by Khalid. His party DAP’s three positions were taken by up Teresa Kok, Ronnie Liu and Ean Yong Hian Wah. ”Continued”

Up until the weekend, PKR Selangor has promised the DAP four Exco posts.

Now Khalid say DAP will only get three spots, Pas 2-3 and PKR 4-5.

Furthermore the MB will decide if he wants a deputy MB.

If he doesn’t, DAP’s nomination of Teresa Kok is gonna be a waste of time.

I have a feeling Khalid and PKR are trying to grab everything to expand the party’s influence.

Politics of patronage is it, Khalid? 

Dear Selangor MB,

Please declare Easter Weekend a public holiday to thank the many church cell groups who worked tirelessly to give the BN a blackeye in the elections.

Easter is more important than Christmas in the Christian calendar.

Thank you. 

Kinrara state assemblyperson Teresa Kok has been selected by the DAP for the Selangor deputy menteri besar post.

The party’s central committee agreed with her candidacy at a meeting held in Penang yesterday afternoon.

Teresa , DAP Selangor chief Ean Yong Hian Wah and state assemblyperson Teng Chang Khim were Selangor DAP’s recommendation for the post.

The party agreed on her’s candidacy to promote women’s participation in politics.

The DAP will have four Exco positions to be taken up by Teresa, Ean Yong, Teng and Ronnie Liu.

Commentary by Kua Kia Soong, malaysiakini, Mar 14.

(My comments in bold) 

The DAP’s squabble over the choice of mentri besar for Perak and deputy mentri besar for Selangor exposes the party’s surprising lack of integrity and professionalism.

If its leaders had these qualities, they would have simply put forward their candidates before the sultan for endorsement, as is required in our democratic system. Instead, the DAP leadership has continued with their tedious PAS-phobia posturing and in so doing, have demeaned our parliamentary democracy by passing the buck to the sultans.

In our democratic system, the Agung and the sultans merely endorse the executive list that is put before them by the ruling coalition. In Perak and Selangor, the DAP has created a serious precedent by passing over this prerogative to the respective sultans and it is all because of their PAS-phobia posturing in Perak and intra-party factionalism in Selangor.

It is a bad precedent and one which the DAP will have to take responsibility.

(I agree. I have doubts the Regent of Perak has any legal authority to require all the reps to sign a pledge of allegiance to the Pas chap. I am even more surprised the reps signed it)

The people of Selangor expect the DAP to make good their commitment to meritocracy and not air their petty intra-party power struggles in public.   If the DAP does not have a mechanism to assess the relative merits of their own candidates for deputy MB, how can they shout about the BN’s failure to honour meritocracy? The public knows that Teng Chang Khim has served longest in the Selangor State Assembly as a very capable leader of the opposition and any rookie forced down our throats by the DAP central leadership is not going to change that fact.

 (While on paper Teng appears the natural choice, his inability to work closely with the leadership may open a communication gap between the Selangor executive and the party whose ticket he contested under. Women groups would also like to see the first female DMB ever comes from Selangor.)

What is at stake is the credibility of the DAP central leadership. Their recent actions have shown that they are merely paying lip service to integrity and professionalism. They should mend their ways or prepare to face the consequences before long. While we are on the subject of integrity and professionalism, the DAP should try to take a leaf from the disgraced MCA. Despite the MCA’s failings, there were two democratic principles of theirs the DAP should emulate:

1. Fixed terms for the party leader
   
   It was surprising that this simple democratic principle should have emanated from Ong Ka Ting and not Lim Guan Eng. When are we going to hear the announcement of this elementary democratic principle from DAP?

(Dr Kua must have forgotten that when Kerk Kim Hock was SG, he initiated changes to the party constitution to restrict SG post to three terms)

1. No overlapping of federal and state offices
   
   One normally expects such greedy ambitions of the BN representatives and not the opposition. However, we have seen numerous DAP candidates standing in federal as well as state seats in the recent elections.

(The DAP’s tradition of fielding candidates for federal and state seats is because its membership is small and candidate numbers are limited. That is why the party lets NGO activists contest on its ticket. It is no use putting unknown new faces who are not winning chances. Not many new candidates have the money to contest competitively. Many new candidates this round are now heavily in debt. Many of them also have no grassroot support. Election volunteers would prefer to help a named candidate rather than an unknown. Surely Dr Kua can understand the BN needn’t field MP-SA candidates because it has 14 component parties and no shortage of candidates. Please compare apples with apples.)

Is there an assumption that serving the people in a federal constituency is so free and easy that these representatives can have the time to serve another state constituency? This seems to be a convenient invention of the opposition parties here which is anathema to the principles of people’s democracy.  

(Please define ’serve’. Does that mean longkang issues? Are MP-SAs responsible for drains?)

I remember when I was in the Selangor DAP in the 90s and we managed to kick out from the state an MP who not only ran two private practices but still insisted on standing in a state constituency.

Clearly, political office had become a convenient career for these DAP representatives. But I am surprised that instead of progressing and making this principle standard throughout the party, the Selangor DAP has reverted to the old formula.

(I have little pity for DAP Selangor, the most lansi organisation ever. Can you imagine a chap who’s been defeated in every election since the 80s putting up his hand for the DMB post. What a joke!)

After all, haven’t we been told that there are now so many new talents in the DAP? So why do these old DAP leaders need to be so greedy? Is this all so that the people can be served better?

Did not Gerakan’s Dr Koh Tsu Koon choose to run only for a federal seat by giving up his state seat? Why is the opposition backward compared to the BN on this principle?

(Dr Kua is now comparing apples with pears!)

I pause for a reply…

---

Dr KUA KIA SOONG, a former DAP member of parliament, is director of Suaram.

 

by K Kabilan, malaysiakini, Mar 14

A constitutional expert today dismissed claims being made by the Selangor royal household that the deputy menteri besar should ideally be a Malay to assist the menteri besar in Islamic and cultural duties.

“The Sultan of Selangor does not need the menteri besar or the deputy menteri besar in matters pertaining to religion and Malay custom,” Prof Abdul Aziz Bari who lectures law at the International Islamic University Malaysia, told Malaysiakini.

He added that the sultan, being the head of Islamic matters and the Malay adat, is the person in charge of such matters in the state, and not the menteri besar or his deputy.

Abdul Aziz was referring to media statements made by the Selangor sultan’s private secretary Muhammad Munir Bani on the palace’s "preference" for a Malay deputy menteri besar.

Yesterday Muhammad Munir denied reports that the sultan wanted “a deputy from a particular race”. ”Continued”