Malaysia's chameleon

Jul 30th 2009
From The Economist print edition
The rise, fall and rise of Anwar Ibrahim, South-East Asia’s most extraordinary politician

One evening in mid-July Anwar Ibrahim was deep in the rubber-tapping state of Kelantan in northern Malaysia, urging a crowd of rural folk to vote for a devout fishmonger. The candidate was from the conservative Islamic Party (PAS). A tiny by-election for the state assembly PAS already dominates is ordinarily small beer (or would be, if PAS allowed such a beverage, which it does not). But Mr Anwar needs PAS. For the paradox is that without the Islamists, the alliance he leads of Malay modernisers, Indians and secular Chinese has little chance of driving the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) from power. The coalition that UMNO dominates has ruled Malaysia since independence in 1957. Mr Anwar longs for UMNO’s destruction. The feeling is mutual.

That morning, Mr Anwar had been in Perth where he had met Australia’s foreign minister. What had he been doing with Stephen Smith? “Plotting,” replies Mr Anwar, with a conspiratorial wink. Mr Anwar spends a lot of time abroad with national and religious leaders whose names he drops slightly too easily into an engaging conversational style. He moves like quicksilver from one intriguing subject to the next, but you get the uncanny sense that he is speaking to what interests you.

Mr Anwar thinks he will soon need international support. Two days after stumping in Kelantan, pre-trial hearings began in a case in which Mr Anwar stands accused of sodomising a political aide “against the order of nature”. Mr Anwar vigorously denies the charges. He says he is the victim of a political stitch-up. International outrage might help him. Much is fishy about the case. Photographs of the former aide who brought the accusations show him with UMNO members, including people close to the current prime minister, Najib Razak. The charge has been changed from sexual assault to “consensual sex”, yet his accuser has not been charged. (All homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia.)

Mr Anwar has been here before. In 1998 he was charged with corruption and homosexual acts. In custody, he was beaten up by the chief of police. He spent six years in jail, mostly in solitary confinement, until his conviction was overturned. Upon release, his political career seemed over.

It is easy to forget now but for many years Mr Anwar led a charmed life. He made his name as an Islamist student leader in the 1970s and was even jailed under the draconian Internal Security Act. Then he shocked his former colleagues by joining UMNO, where his rise was spectacular. By 1993 he was deputy prime minister and heir to Mahathir Mohamad, the country’s long-serving leader. Malaysia seemed about to fall into his lap. “Ah,” says Mr Anwar, “the good old days.”

But during the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, Mr Anwar moved too soon against his mentor, who after 16 years in power was not ready to bow out. Mr Anwar railed against the UMNO cronyism from which he had benefited. Livid, Dr Mahathir threw him out of the cabinet and launched Mr Anwar’s persecution. Mr Anwar’s reformasi movement sputtered out with his jailing.

Yet the hopes which that movement represented surged again after the general election of March 2008, and especially after August 2008 when Mr Anwar won a seat in Penang. In the election the ruling coalition lost its precious two-thirds majority which gave it power to change the constitution. It has since lost five out of six by-elections to Mr Anwar’s forces, which also control four of 13 states. In getting out its message, the opposition has been helped by an explosion of internet opinion that has undermined the influence of the UMNO-controlled mainstream media.

UMNO’s back is against the wall. Even its own officials admit to its arrogance, with corruption bound into the fabric of its power. The New Economic Policy (NEP, introduced in 1971) instituted racial preferences for majority Malays, when ethnic Chinese and Indians owned much of business. But instead of helping the poor, the NEP has enriched rent-seekers around the ruling party, while dragging down economic growth. Resentment has spread from Chinese and Indians to poor or pious Malays.

This has made possible Mr Anwar’s strange alliance. In calling for the end to the NEP, he says poor Chinese and Indians need help as much as Malays—but because there are more poor Malays than other races, they will still get the lion’s share of government help. It is a possible way out from the baneful influence of race on Malaysian politics. But the real strength of this alliance is that Mr Anwar’s charisma and political nous holds it together. Alas, that it is potential weakness, too.
Trials and tribulations

The challenges for Mr Anwar and his alliance will now multiply. For a start, Mr Najib, prime minister since April, has said the NEP must adapt, stealing some of his opponent’s thunder.

Then there is the time-consuming trial. Mr Anwar says he will win whatever the verdict. If he is acquitted, the government which brought the case will be discredited. If found guilty, tens of thousands of supporters will take to the streets. Mr Anwar hints tantalisingly at new information in a murder case that has gripped the country partly because of its links to Mr Najib. This, he suggests, gives him ammunition to fight back.

Intriguing, but it is unlikely to be enough. If Mr Anwar does go to jail, the alliance may not survive the loss of its leader. If he calls out his supporters—for something of the martyr lurks in him—he may be blamed for the ensuing chaos. And if he appeals to international opinion, his local supporters may question that.

This points to a trap waiting to catch the silver-tongued Mr Anwar, who deftly tells different audiences—religious or secular—what they like to hear. The same blogosphere that helped his meteoric rise may one day pay more attention to his chameleon qualities. Malaysians would then come to ask more closely: who and what exactly does Anwar stand for?

Anwar's stand of the use of English

Anwar's stand on policy of teaching Science and Mathematics in the Press surprised me a bit.

I took the liberty of going into You Tube to check recorded speeches of Anwar, past and present, on matters related to Bahasa Melayu and English and found a couple of videos which could be of interest to the public.



Well Anwar stands for the Bahasa Melayu as prime language that's for sure. But it's been spinned out of proportion by The Star headlines. The headline above gives the impression that Anwar is outrightly against the use of English. However in that particluar interview, Anwar gave a more elaborative and balanced explanation of what he meant. Check out the below video and see what I mean.

A little Summary

Since March 08, I can remember

1) a little walking and shouting outside Komtar

2) a little gathering and shouting about pigs in Selangor

3) a "squatter conscious" individual and his merry making friends

4) a much bandied about relocation exercise scheduled in the middle of September

5) a much touted 50 person study tour that hitherto, we know nothing about what they learned

6) a respected, tough and hardworking single lady was given a mandatory rest of a fortnight and given plenty of eggs as supplements

7) some re-matches of a certain popularity contest, although the participants are less inclusive than the last big 1 in March

8) some complicated exercise of changing class monitor that involves changing minds of a few, a tree and a few very important people

9) over-pitching of some pictures which compared to what I can get from the internet and that hamsap bookstore, is nothing and I once heard a little boy describing that's what his grandparents, parents and uncles & aunties do anyway.

10) some stubborn member today is given the liberty to play truant for a year while his dad is being hustled to see whether he belongs to the Big House or not

11) what else?????

all I have to say is .....

I hope there is political maturity and respect for common sense when it comes to political gamesmanship in this country.

In vying for power, please respect the basic foundation on which it is built, i.e. confidence and trust of the people on the capability of the political parties who offer to serve and lead.

There should be no place in the voters’ heart for political leadership who thrives and depends on any other means.

The colonists left a bad taste in our mouth but 1 good thing they did left behind was a system and a culture of law and that has set us apart from Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei. Is there any patriot would want to give up our advantage?

Dear DSAI, how would you like to be remembered in History?

I have been restless today. Knowing that RPK appears in court, but unable to make it there, I've been sitting in front of the computer trying to get things done but more frequently surfing the blogs for the latest news and sightings of RPK.

Ironic, that RPK put his life and liberty on the line not only for the country, but also to ensure DSAI had the support he needed. RPK knew that he would be arrested, and he could forsee that the only possible release of his detention would be if PR took over. He sounded confident that they would...now Sept 16 seems like a dream.

That sensation of having a good dream, and waking up to harsh reality seems to be dawning on Malaysian citizens. Some were cynical from the beginning, some were believers from the start, some could not help but be swept into the wave of euphoria and hope that Anwar had cast upon us.

Now, RPK has been sent to Kamunting, and Anwar has not breathed a word for at least 2 weeks.

I hope that Anwar better have a proper transition plan, not just for our sake but also for his own legacy, because failure to bring about change as he so eloquently put forward will be in short nothing less than political suicide.

History is written by the victors, and only will the victorious be remembered in history as legends, heroes and martyrs. The losers will forever be rebels, traitors and 'shit-stirrers'.

So Anwar, I wonder what history will remember you as? I personally hope its the former; for the sake of us, our nation and for RPK and all the other ISA detainees.

So what if it's not September 16

Above: News excerpt from Reuters

 

Does anyone know the cost of the 41 MPs' 'educational' Taiwan trip? For me it's educational too, as I did not know that Taiwan has the leading edge in agriculture. More of computer and electrical products I would say, being the leading manufacturer of RAM, PC motherboards and so on. The MP's flight would most likely be chartered, or using the Government's private jet. The costs would be different from say, flying there by MAS; but anyway here's my estimation of the market 'value' of the travelling and accomodation costs:

Flight by MAS
RM1,800 x 2 trips x 41 pax                                                          RM147,600.00

Accomodation     
Say at the 5-star The Sheraton Taipei Hotel, twin room with breakfast for at least 7 nights till Sept 16

USD350 x 3.5 forex x 41 pax x 7 nights                                            RM351,575.00

Other expenses   RM300 x 41 pax x 8 days                                  RM98,400.00

Total                                                                              RM597,575.00

I'm not too sure about the living expenses of RM300 per day but I dare attest that's the bare minimum. Also I have not included any conference or event costs which would involve banquet room rental, etc. Banquet room rental can easily cost up to RM15K a day for 41 pax, without food and beverage that is. Throw in another RM205K if you like. BN is really really scared. Would would believe the sole purpose of this trip for other than taking out the said 41 MPs out of town so that they are out of reach on Sept 16?

Anwar, I'm a big picture guy. It does not matter whether you succeed in taking over the government by Sept 16 or not, so long you take over by the month or the next. So long the inflation rate does not increase nor stagflation begin to worsen. Sept 16 will always be remembered as a moronic day when the PM took his MPs for a little ride out of town to escape the New Malaysia Day.  Badawi, is this  Taiwan trip budgeted kah? No wonder we run into high deficits each year. For the sake of nation-building it seems. 

Below: Excerpt from Bloomberg newsportal

                                                                                              

Further evidence to show BN is irrelevant

The landslide majority win by Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday has proven that the citizens do not believe in the rhetorics used by the BN machinery. The Permatang Pauh by-election has shown BN dropping to a new level of low, where personal attacks and videos of Saiful's swearing were played during their campaign. Instead of focusing on what they would do for the constituency and the nation, the ruling government preferred instead to resort to character assassination to discredit their rival.

Clearly, the government would rather distract voters from the real issues at hand i.e. the current rising inflation, which is reported to be at an all time high in 27 years, and the fact that the KLSE stock index has dropped 25% this year due to foreign investors losing confidence in this country.

Many comments suggest that BN should contemplate performing a post-mortem. In my opinion, post- mortems happen only to dead bodies, so really BN is officially dead. Remember the coffin being carried out in Permatang Pauh? That is an omen to BN that they are dead.

What killed them? I would say that it was suicide really. The fact that they did not understand the wake-up call from the March 8 elections, the fact that they stay continuously disconnected and selfish towards the rakyat, and the fact that they are using Neanderthal methods and ideology to govern, these are all contributors to their present state. And also, the fact that we have been continuously bashing them in cyberspace sending them the same message over and over again which they choose to ignore and instead instigate that we are traitors, non-patriotic and seditious even.

I hope and pray for the day when we are truly 'Merdeka' from this bunch of goons who think they can run the country by instilling fear and banking on people's ignorance. And judging from the sentiments of the Permatang Pauh voters, who by the way a good majority represent the youth group of age 21-40, that day will come as long as BN continues to dig their own graves.

After Permatang Pauh: The crucial next 20 days

What's the significance of September 16? Here's a list of events that came out of my Google search:

-September 16, 1908- The start of General Motors, the car company.
-September 16, 1923- The birth of Lee Kuan Yew, founder of Singapore.
-September 16, 1956- The birth of David Copperfield, world-renowned illusionist.
-September 16, 1963- The formation of Malaysia from Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak.
-September 16, 2008- The date Anwar Ibrahim promises to form a new Malaysian government.

DSAI has won a tough battle by capturing the Permatang Pauh by-election today- I call it tough because it's a David vs Goliath fight against the BN election machinery. Even so, this August 26 by-election is viewed as walk-in-the-park for Anwar by many political analysts and bloggers alike- the BN 'machinery' was just fresh beaten to the pulp during the last March 2008 General Elections. Anwar, the accredited architect behind the huge Opposition win, was expected to win if he turun ke padang himself, bearing unforeseen circumstances. The Malaysian public know these 'unforeseen circumstances' very well- the results of elections in Malaysia have been proven vulnerable to postal votes and phantom voters' votes. A leading vote count could be washed away by the sudden appearance of the mysterious postal votes.
Above: Lee Kuan Yew-
the least worried guy.

But what happens in the next 20 days is even more crucial in the formation of Anwar's government. BN will go for broke in preventing Anwar's government formation. The sodomy case will intensify- I won't talk about it here- it is disgusting using religion (Quran swearing) as a political tool. What's the last triumph card? Racial riots of course. Incite racial riots, get people killed, get the Parliament suspended and the NOC takes over like in the year 1969. Why are there such conspiracy theories brewing in peoples' minds? Well, this country is run by thugs and crooks right, so anything can happen. After all the king of thugs who propagated the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) also coined the term 'Malaysia Boleh'.

It wasn't too long ago (year 2006) that UMNO Youth openly supported road thugs Mat Rempit by planning to 'retrain' and convert them. Convert them into what?? Eyes and ears of the Government of course.

Left: Hallo bruder. KJ with a Mat Rempit. Photo courtesy of The Star.

"The ultimate goal of Putera Umno is to make Mat Rempit the eyes and ears of the police and to report on the activities of rogue Mat Rempit."- Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, the Putera Umno chief 2006.

These Mat Rempit guys will be most suitable candidates for creating unrest and disorder. If Anwar has the numbers, it is advisable these numbers turn up and get started to form a new government before September 16. Don't wait any longer because the worst shit hasn't come out yet. Time is passing by, Anwar; after all you have pulled a David Copperfield already.
Left: David Copperfield looking detached.

Unofficial results of the Permatang Pauh by-election

According to an SMS I've received from Permatang Pauh, Anwar's leading by 7,000 votes majority. Fingers- crossed that this result will be official soon!!!

Update 10.20 pm: Was on the road and received sms from my MP one and a half hours ago saying that the unofficial lead was in access of 17K votes.

Our hopes lie in the voters of Permatang Pauh

Why would I vote for DSAI?

1) He is the only hope currently to bring change to Malaysia. He was able to bring the rakyat's hope of a strong opposition to live through Pakatan Rakyat.

2) You may not trust him, but you have to trust his wife and family. For a man to have such strong unfaltering family support, he must be a good man.

3) He has been beaten and downtrodden, could have left the country and build a good life overseas, but chose to stay and fight it out.

4) He has brains, knows what he's talking about, and yet is not arrogant in his manners.

Why would I vote against BN?

1) I do not doubt Datuk Arif Shah Omar's capability, he looks like a nice man, unfortunately he stands in the wrong party. The fact is BN has not changed after GE-13 and will never change judging from their conduct recently.

2) Although the natural reaction of voters should be to vote for who can serve them well in the constituency, our country is at crossroads right now, and we should look at the bigger picture. Do we want a longkang serving MP, or do we want someone who can bring the nation's grievances to Parliament? Time and time again we put BN candidates with great track record on the stands, but yet they fail us when issues arise. Take for example the hike in fuel price, where all the BN MPs supported the motion.

3) There is only one reason why people still vote for a BN candidate, it's called self-interest. Only people who want to continue securing their business links would vote for BN.

Voters of Permatang Pauh, we have seen you fight ever since 1998, and all of us have emulated your conduct in the GE-13. I have no doubt a resounding victory will be delivered, the question is of what margin? And that is up to you Permatang Pauh voters. This is the time to show your dissatisfaction and protest against corruption, cronyism and racial politics.

BN should stop lying to themselves

Yesterday, I was tickled with laughter over Najib's remarks that the only reason why Anwar has been promoting the quota allowance for non-bumiputra's admission into UITM is because he does not have the support of the majority of Malays. According to Najib, Malays either support PAS or Umno, therefore Anwar needs to garner the support from Non-malays.

This seems to me a ridiculous statement. And I make this observation from my point of view as a citizen living in the urban city of Kuala Lumpur, where my neighbors and friends are culturally, religiously and racially diverse. Speak to any urban Malay living in Kuala Lumpur, I guarantee you that one out of three professes their support for PKR. The reason being that PKR is able to capture the younger generation of voters who have grown up in the 80's and 90's era where globalisation has kicked in, the means of transportation in travelling not only around the country, but around the globe has become increasingly easier and more affordable.

These are the people who have traveled the world, garnered enough knowledge and realize that the way forward is to be more competitive and to constantly challenge oneself in this 'dog eat dog', 'survival of the strongest' world. These are the people who shy away from the Islamic professions of PAS, not to say that they are non-religious, but because they believe that religion and the state has to be separate and imposing one's religion is not the best way to profess love for that religion. These are the people who are tired of the constant manipulation and corrupt practices by Umno and their BN components, using racial divide as their 'command and conquer' technique.

These are the people who are fed-up, tired and struggling to make ends meet. They are sick of the government, they cannot subscribe to Pas' ideology, yet they cannot fit-in with the dominantly Chinese DAP, these are the people like me. Does it matter that I'm not Malay? No, because as long as we still talk in terms of racial demographic, we will never really be able to move forward and embrace our cultural diversity.

I do not profess to say that PKR is the best political party ever, but currently it is the only one which I feel I would be likely to fit in. It does not care that my forefathers were from China, and it speaks languages that I understand best, English and Bahasa (I admit I have a poor grasp of my own mother tongue). It professes to be multi-cultural and multi-racial, and is SEEN to be multi-cultural and multi-racial. It is not the best, obviously not with the lights of people like Zulkifli Nordin as one of the MPs, but is there any other alternative?

And because there is no other alternative, PKR is seen to be the only party that can bring a wave of change and has adapted to the current sentiment of young urbanite voters. That is the support they garner, it is the support of youth, of people who are desperate for change, and who feel any kind of change is better than the current situation. Lets forget whether these people are malay or non-malay, that's besides the point, and UMNO is still not getting the point!

Malaysia may face possible trade sanctions if it does not buck up on human rights issues

I applaud the manner U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza defends the US stance on human rights and political matters in Malaysia. Condoleezza spoke a stern message at the 41st ASEAN meet in Singapore earlier this week on the manner Anwar was treated.

When warned by Malaysia's Foreign Minister Rais Yatim not to meddle in Malaysia's affairs, Rice stated firmly that 'We are always going to speak up on human rights cases, political cases, but again we do so in a spirit of respect for Malaysia'. Condoleezza had also brushed off Rais Yatim's statement that this was an 'internal affair', saying ' The United States doesn't recognize that it is simply internal affairs when a case of this kind comes up. We want to see transparency and for rule of law to be completely followed..' which means to say this is now US business and you all better not mug around with human rights.

Last Wednesday July 23, our Home Minister met up with foreign diplomats to 'brief' on the Anwar case. Brief? Do they need briefing? Sounds more like a subtle threat to me. 10 hours ago, the former chief of World Bank, IMF and even the ex-President of Canada released a press statement saying Malaysia should drop the sodomy charges against Anwar. Here's the rest of the report:

'"We have heard with deep concern the charges filed against the honorable Datuk Seri Dr. Anwar Ibrahim," said the statement by former Canadian prime minister Paul Martin, ex-World Bank chief James Wolfensohn, and Michel Camdessus, the former head of the International Monetary Fund. They said the charges were brought "in spite of the fact that similar unsubstantiated charges filed 10 years ago against him were overturned by the Supreme Court."

They therefore hoped that "the government of Malaysia will ... demonstrate, by dropping the charges... an exemplary sense of respect for the rights of the individual which are so important to the international standing of Malaysia."

The three reiterated their "full confidence in his (Anwar's) moral integrity."

I took a quick look at US trade sanctions policy. The US Treasury, which via its Office of Foreign Assets Control ('OFAC') controls and enforces the US foreign policy on countries outside the US considered to be:

- sponsoring/ carrying out terrorist activities
- carrying out narcotics trade
- producing/ procuring weapons of mass destruction.

Amongst the states which are under US sanctions are Libya, Zimbabwe,Syria, Iran, few other African states and Burma. What's Burma famous for? Not really terrorism activities; but as narcotics vendor, junta and Aung San Suu Kyi. US sanctioned because of human rights issues. If Malaysia doesn't watch it, it too will be in line for trade embargo. Remember, Condoleezza said, ' blah... blah... in a spirit of respect for Malaysia..' which means Malaysia is a borderline case- which should be now under current review by the OFAC for sanctions. Human rights is just one matter. Does anyone remember the Badawi-Scomi case which involved the supply of nuclear missile related parts to the Middle East. Yes, one more supporting point for the case. This is a red flag and should prompt the BN to sit up straight.

In summary, I demand :
- that the Ministers should revisit what's being being said to the US relating to Anwar and drop the hardball act on Anwar
- that the PR MPs must address this matter in the context of international trade and economic risk exposure; and pressure the BN to make the immediate repairs

Anwar Ibrahim arrested today

Got the news via sms from Wee Choo Keong that Anwar Ibrahim's been arrested near his house. Checked The Star online, and the story's there too.

I'm getting really pissed-off with how this country is run, for many years I have tolerated this dictatorship, racism crap. We have done all we can, as citizens. What's next now?

Dr. Saiful Anwar Hospital

Take a break from the Mohd Saiful and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim case. Read about this hospital in Malang, Indonesia named Dr. Saiful Anwar Hospital.

Blogger news on Anwar

I caught this latest posting on Anwar from Hard-T's blog. Hard-T is known for his 'hard' writing and breaking-news-scoops but this piece of news is bizarre. Hard-T's posting points to another blogsite here.

Updated:
Source: The Star, June 3, 2008
Hospital denies issuing statement on Mohd Saiful
The Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH) has denied that it issued a statement on the results of the medical examination conducted on Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 23, who alleged that he was sodomised by PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar's speech at Stadium Shah Alam, June 20 2008

Video courtesy of Malaysiakini

Anwar praises the good governance in Kelantan and Penang and change which Guan Eng has made to Penang since DAP took over. He also briefly talks about his recent Dubai trip, meeting Middle East taikos and the prospect of bringing Middle East investments to Selangor. To the supportive crowd he lists the achievements done so far in Selangor State and adds to talk about good economic growth without corruption. With this, Anwar energetically requests BN MPs to cross over to PR.

I'm convinced in the need for a new government ASAP

Yesterday I managed to pull my dad to a talk by the Pakatan Rakyat led state, Selangor in Ulu Klang. Despite short notice, the field was packed to the brim at about 9.30 pm.


Of course the main star of the event was de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim. Here's an interesting fact divulged by the new state government; the so called subsidies which the goverment claim they can't handle anymore amounts to about RM15 billion. Fair enough, but do you know that only RM2 billion is actually subsidised to the Rakyat?

Apparently about 6 billion goes to Independant Power Producers which are actually held by large multi-million dollar corporations such as Genting Sanyen and YTL corp. Also, another 5 billion goes to other similar large privatized companies who are rolling in money. Only about 2 billion reach the rakyat...


This has convinced me, any change is definitely better than the current polpots who are in power now. My parents did not raise me up to be a boot licker, so FUCK you BN I will not join MCA just to fill my pockets at the expense of everyone else.


And to anyone who is in BN thinking that they can do good and serve the people, there are only 2 scenarios:

1)they're fucking liars

2)they're brainwashed into thinking the goverment is good, in this case refer to the North Koreans and how they believe Kim Jong Il is God.


I really doubt ANYONE can do a worse job then the current goverment so screw inexperience, screw the "it's immoral to cross over" crap! I want a change, and I want it before we end up being a bankrupt third-world has-been country.

Malaysian Opposition Leader Says Ruling Coalition Members Willing to Defect

By VOA News

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim says members of the country's ruling coalition are willing to defect and help form a new government.

Anwar said Wednesday that coalition lawmakers from Malaysia's eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak had contacted him about switching sides, a move that could help shift the power balance and unseat the government.

Anwar's three-party opposition coalition won more than a third of parliamentary seats and four states during the March 8 election.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi denied Anwar's claim that the ruling National Front coalition is falling apart and plagued by infighting.

His new 69-member Cabinet was sworn in Wednesday, nearly two weeks after the ruling coalition suffered major losses in the elections.

On Tuesday, the prime minister slashed the 90-member Cabinet in a bid to rejuvenate his administration.

Among those dropped was Home Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad. Radzi Wednesday resigned his posts as secretary-general of the National Front and head of the United Malays National Organization. The UMNO is the major party in the ruling coalition.

KeADILan HAS CLEAR AND FIRM STAND ON NEP / PENDIRIAN KeADILan TERHADAP DEB JELAS DAN TEGAS

KeADILan HAS CLEAR AND FIRM STAND ON NEP /PENDIRIAN KeADILan TERHADAP DEB JELAS DAN TEGAS



Saturday, 15 March 2008

--PRESS STATEMENT--

by Dr. Syed Husin AliDeputy President/Timbalan Presiden, KeADILanMarch 15, 2008

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People's Justice Party) has a clear and firm stand on the New Economic Policy (NEP). As explained by the Ketua Umum of the Party, Anwar Ibrahim in his 20-page article as well as through his many public pronouncements and ceramah, and further reaffirmed in several Party documents, including the Election Manifesto, we intend to replace the NEP with the Malaysian Economic Agenda. The NEP, after nearly 40 years is already anachronistic. It has been abused by a handful leaders and cronies in Umno-Bn to rob the country of its wealth to enrich themselves, in the name of the Malays as a whole. It has led to discriminatory practices that are against the spirit of justice and fairness for all Malaysians, particularly the poor, marginalised and disadvantaged groups of all races. The Malaysian Economic Agenda aspires to:

(a) institute and implement fair, just and equitable redistribution of the wealth in the country;

(b) fight against and finally abolish the evil practices of corruption, cronyism and nepotism and ensure the award of contracts and projects are done in open and transparent manner;

(c) continue the policy of positive discrimination in favour of poor dan deprived Bumiputera while at the same time giving equal opportunities to poor and deprived non-Bumpiputera on the basis of need and not racial greed;

(d) utilise the wealthy resources of the country to provide better social facilities – especially education, health and housing – for the poor, irrespective of ethnic backgrounds; and

(e) generate pro-people development and strengthen the competitive capacity of Malaysia so that she can stand tall with all developed countries, starting with those in Asia.

Those leaders of Umno-Bn and the media they own that accuse Parti Keadilan Rakyat as having no stand on the NEP and on other ways of improving the lot of the poor, marginalized and disadvantaged Malays are deliberately indulging in lies to mislead the public. We wish to emphasise that a policy of positive discrimination in favour of all Malaysians who are poor, marginalized and disadvantaged will benefit the Malay rakyat more, because they form the big majority of this category of people.

--- Kenyataan Media --- Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KeADILan) mempunyai pendirian yang jelas dan tegas terhadap Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB). Seperti yang dijelaskan oleh Ketua Umum keADILan, Anwar Ibrahim dalam sebuah artikel 20 halaman dan diterangkannya melalui beberapa kenyataan serta ceramah umum, dan ditegaskan dalam beberapa dokumen Parti, termasuk Manifesto Pilihanraya, kami berhasrat untuk menggantikan DEB dengan Agenda Ekonomi Malaysia. Selepas dilaksanakan hampir 40 tahun, DEB ternyata sudah ketinggalan zaman. Ia disalahgunakan oleh segelintir pemimpin Umno-Bn serta kroni-kroni mereka untuk merompak kekayaan negara bagi mengkayakan diri sendiri atas nama seluruh rakyat Melayu. Ia telah mengakibatkan amalan diskriminasi kaum, bertentangan dengan semangat memberi keadilan dan kesaksamaan kepada semua rakyat Malaysia, terutama sekali mereka dari golongan miskin, terpinggir dan terbiar dari semua kaum. Agenda Ekonomi Malaysia berhasrat untuk:

(a) memperkenal dan melaksanakan dasar pembahagian kekayaan negara yang adil, seimbang serta saksama;

(b) memerangi dan akhirnya membenteras amalan jijik korupsi, kronisme serta nepotisme dan memastikan pemberian kontrak serta projek dilakukan secara terbuka dan telus;

(c) meneruskan dasar memberi pertolongan kepada golongan Bumiputera yang miskin serta terbiar tetapi pada masa yang sama memberi peluang yang sejajar kepada golongan bukan Bumiputra yang miskin, terpinggir serta terbiar, atas asas keperluan dan bukan kemakan kaum;

(d) menggunakan sumber kekayaan negara untuk menyediakan kemudahan sosial yang lebih baik – terutama pendidikan, kesihatan dan perumahan – untuk golongan miskin dan susah tanpa mengira latarbelakang kaum; dan

(e) menjana pembangunan yang menguntungkan rakya serta membina kapasiti bersaing supaya Malaysia dapat berdiri sama tinggi dengan semua negara maju, bermula dengan yang di Asia.

Pemimpin-pemimpin Umno-Bn dan media mereka kuasai yang menuduh kononnya Parti Keadilan Rakyat tidak mempunyai pendirian terhadap DEB dan cara-cara untuk mempertingkat taraf hidup orang Melayu yang miskin, terpinggir dan tercicir sebenarnya berdusta dan segaja cuba hendak menipu dan menyelewengkan perhatian rakyat. Kami menegaskan dasar memberi keutamaan untuk kebajikan golongan miskin, terpinggir akan lebih banyak memberikan keuntungan kepada rakyat Melayu, kerana merekalah yang merupakan majoriti paling ramai di dalam categori ini.

It's OK to change

I've lost respect for The Star these days. It should change its tagline from 'the People's Paper' to the 'BN People's Paper' or the 'Slander Paper'. On second thought, maybe 'the People's Paper' is just right depending on which perspective you are looking at. Hey, Star, I've got a suggestion. Why not just publish a pull-out section for the character slander category while maintaining the main section content. A separate pull-out is more organized, and allows readers to find and read about their heroes. Think it's a good idea. Implement aje-la.



Anwar, it's OK to change. We want a different tune anyway. Who cares if you are compared to a chameleon or biawak. What we are worried is no change:



2003 zzzzzz

2004 zzzzzz

2005 zzzzzz

2006 zzzzzz

2007 xxx

2008 ?



Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. John F. Kennedy