Election 2008 : Kelab Maya Barisan Rakyat

The Big Day of Election 2008 is 1 week away. I was reading updates from Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today. I noticed an important comment on the Malaysia Today Trapped in a pickle of their own making :
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written by shamadz72, February 29, 2008 13:48:02
Up until today, I have managed to print and distribute around 2,500 opposition flyers. Personally, I have distribute around 700 pamphlets and the rest was distributed by other netters who have personally emailed me to help me with the distribution. I would like to personally thank mr. Rajan who has volunteered to help distributing 400 pamphlets.

Anyway, I already started to have a back ache due to the task of preparing the pamphlets and today another bad news happened. My photocopy machine a Ricoh Alfio 200 started to run out of toner. So I will just have to depend on my faithful Canon LBP2900 mono laser jet printer to do the task until I can get my photocopy toner by next week.

Nevertheless, today I got another encouraging support while distributing the flyers at Giant Puchong. One Chinese chaps call me from behind. I thought surely someone is not happy considering that I am distributing it close to Gerakan Office and he probably want to warn me from distributing what he might consider as his turf. To my surprise with one hand holding my flyers, he give me a thumbs up with another hand. It is a small gesture but this kind of good gesture from other Malaysian really give me strength to carry on. As for those who want to volunteer distributing the pamphlets, please email me shamadz72@yahoo.com.my. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and for those who want to download and distribute themselves, please refer to http://www.bahankempen.com .

There are tons of fact on corruption, statistic figures on crime, petrol charges and tol charges. You can always use any editing software to edit the pamphlets to suit your target readers.

Ok guys. Let us keep up our good work and together we reclaimed back this country!
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I opened up http://www.bahankempen.com/ and saw this statement :

"Daripada Kelab Maya Barisan Rakyat: Kebenaran yang terserlah…untuk menghantar bahan kempen, sila emailkan kepada bahankempen@yahoo.com "

Go to the bottom right side of the page. There are plenty of distributable items there, either by mail or in physical printed form.

Ladies and gentleman, it seems someone has taken the initiative to do something for the nation ! Syabas, Shamadz72 ! People, please help out with something as simple as this - View them before distributing.

Malays, Chinese, Indians Unite ! Barisan Rakyat - PKR , DAP , PAS !

Meanwhile, I found myself shortlisted by MyCen News ( http://www.mycen.com.my/malaysia/election2008.html ) in the "Socio-Political Blogs / Bloggers / Commentary" category. Check it out.

Nomination Day for Teresa Kok (Seputeh) in Sri Petaling

Nomination Day was on Sunday, 24th February 2008. I was cordially invited by my friends to record and support Democratic Action Party (DAP). DAP is part of the Barisan Rakyat group comprising a few political parties that endorsed the People's Declaration to serve the country and all its people.

The documents on the People's Declaration can be viewed here. Haris Ibrahim and the People's Parliament are behind this meaningful initiative:

1) The People's Voice and The People's Declaration (online version)
2) The People’s Voice (PDF version )
3) The People’s Declaration (PDF version)
4) Piagam Rakyat (PDF version)
5) The People’s Declaration (Mandarin) (PDF version)

Hidup Barisan Rakyat! On 23rd February 2008 (a day before normination), representatives from various political parties (PKR, DAP, PAS etc.) had agreed and accepted the document in the Blog House, Damansara. Malaysiakini made a video recording on the historical event as well.

These are the pictures taken from Bandar Baru Sri Petaling .....



People started to gather around 7 a.m. Flags, caps and banners were distributed to everyone.


Teresa Kok's banner. People were making sure everything is ready before moving. "Jom, Ubah!" is the slogan on the banner.


The leading car started to move. As you can see everyone was enjoying themselves. The crowd threaded the car.


The crowd walked towards the nomination center. Flags were raise and cars on the road honked in support while supporters exclaimed slogans on "Change!" and "Support DAP!".


The "cheerleader" of the day. He looked experienced.


The entourage reached the nomination Sri Petaling Community Hall which functioned temporarily as the nomination center. The 2 aunties were holding DAP's emblem for Election 2008. Nomination time started at 8.00 a.m.


Teresa Kok's representative for submission of nomination. She was being interviewed by the mainstream media. There was another man meeting the officer with this lady in turquoise shirt. He moved ahead already.


Supporters waited for the procedures to complete. Objection period was from 10.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m.


View from the other side. MCA is fielding its lady candidate, Carol Chew Chee Lin, 27.


The job was completed. The representatives returned. Now everything is set for the Big Day 8th March 2008. It is Woman vs Woman on International Women's Day ! I hope the ladies will ask Pak Lah why the election was arranged to coincide with the International Women's Day.


DAP T-shirt on Loving and Saving Malaysia.


The DAP emblem and motto for Election 2008.


Event Published in Malay Mail
Malay Mail reported Teresa and Carol run for Seputeh . According to the Malay Mail: “She (Teresa Kok) doesn’t care about the people in Seputeh. She’s not even here today,” remarked several supporters of the BN at the centre.

Now, why wasn't Teresa in Seputeh. That was because she had to present herself in Kinrara for the State Seat candidate nomination.

Teresa's performance in the Parliament was brilliant. She voiced out on many matters for the community such as the nude squat issue, the highway in Sri Petaling affecting the nearby houses, the muhibbah road signboard issue, land issues, etc. etc. There were aunties who told me she sometimes would visit markets in the morning, speak with the people and ask them if there are any community issues that need to be solved.

She did all that even though her schedule was packed. Alfred Ho, the Visually-Impaired but Famous Singer oficially joined Democratic Action Party because Teresa was the only one who took the initiative to meet him.

The Seputeh community would understand that the time and date of the nomination runs in parallel all over Malaysia. It does not matter if she is "here" for the nomination. The most important thing is, she is always "here" in the Seputeh area when the people needed her as exemplified by my writings above. The contributions are always more important.

Will MCA be "there" for the community when the keris is waved with sensitive remarks spoken? Wasn't MCA the one who said it was acceptable by the Malaysian community? The least of all PKR, DAP and even PAS were "there" to discourage it.

I call for people of Seputeh to give Teresa your votes based on her good performance in the constituency. I call for people of Kinrara to give a chance to Gobind Singh (DAP , Parliamentary - Puchong) and Teresa (DAP, State - Kinrara).

Cikgu Ahmad (PAS candidate, Seri Serdang) paid a visit to Gobind and Teresa during nomination. Best wishes to Cikgu Ahmad as well.

People, please vote for Barisan Rakyat in Election 2008 ( PKR , DAP , PAS ) . There will not be any three-cornered fights. There will only be an opposition against a BN candidate at each seat.

Volunteers : Polling / Counting Agent Needed

I found the mail below in my mailbox, please help to spread this around for DAP. In the meantime, please read http://www.jelas.info , http://www.bettermalaysia.com to help PKR. Not sure whether PAS needs anything. Just check out their page http://www.parti-pas.org or Malaysiakini for any updates.

The mail from DAP seeking volunteers :
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Dear friends,

It's Election Time again, and on behalf of the Opposition, I would like to enquire if you would like to volunteer as a polling/counting agent.

Do let me know if you're not based in KL/PJ, cos we also need help in other parts of the country.

Do help me to fwd this to your network of friends/relatives if you think they'll be keen to lend a hand. Please email me privately if you're keen ( medster@gmail.com ). Cheers.

Med - medster@gmail.com (DAP)
_____________________________________

Read on to find out basically what polling and counting agents do on Election Day...

If any of you feel proactive enough and want to help out actively on Election Day, why not consider being a polling agent (PA) or counting agent (CA)?

A polling agent is someone who sits in a polling stream (the classroom where the voting takes place) and observes the voting process. Each school may have a different number of polling streams (saluran mengundi) depending on the number of voters in that area. Each polling stream caters to a specific age group.

A counting agent is someone who observes the counting of the votes after polling closes at 5pm.

You don't have to be a member of a political party to become a PA or a CA. You just have to be Malaysian and above 21 to register as a PA or a CA, and registration is done through the political parties.

A PA is armed with a copy of the electoral roll for that particular classroom, pencil/pen and a ruler. The PA basically observes the voter as he/she enters the room. The election officer will read out the voter's name, IC number and his/her number on the electoral roll. The PA will cross out the voter's name on the electoral roll to ensure that we know exactly how many people voted in that classroom.

A PA must be alert and take note if there are any irregularities, eg. the voter is female but the IC number denotes the voter is male, the voter is much much older or younger than the IC indicates, the voter is Indian but has a Chinese name, etc. The PA has a right to object and raise questions.

After 5pm, the same PA may actually have to stay on as the CA as well. This is because the opposition parties usually have manpower and resources problems. PAs and CAs for BN operate on short shifts (say 2-4 hours) and get paid for it. This is why they are never short of helpers.

Because we can't afford to pay, opposition PAs and CAs start at 7:30am and stay in the classroom till 5pm, and sometimes stay on as the CA too. If that is the case, lunch will be provided by party volunteers. Opposition party PAs and CAs are not paid an allowance.

If there are enough volunteer PAs, then the opposition parties too can organise two shifts (say 7:30am - 12noon and 12noon - 5pm). Then it would not be too taxing for volunteers.

At 5pm, when polling ends, the CA takes over and observes the counting process. It takes place in the same classroom. The boxes are emptied onto the desk, and the officer will hold up the ballot papers one by one and declare "BN" or "PAS" or "DAP" or "PKR" or "Independent", etc. The officer will then put the ballot paper into the correct party box until all the votes are counted.

Once the votes are counted in your classroom, the box is sealed and the number of votes that went to the respective candidates are confirmed and you all sign off on the agreed results.

Once that's done, you will already know whether your candidate has won in that particular school. All the CAs in the polling stream then send the results by SMS to their election operations centre, so that the centre can tally the votes from all the schools in that area and get an early result on how their party did (unless there are postal votes in that area).

As PAs also will be casting their votes on that same day, the parties generally place the PA in the same school (and if possible, the same classroom) where he/she will be voting, for convenience. However, we can't always guarantee that.

The DAP will be conducting polling agent training sessions at various locations in PJ on a regular basis. If those dates/times are inconvenient for you, we can also arrange to do the training for small groups (say 10-15) at a location and date convenient to you and your friends.

And if you would like to volunteer but don't want to be a PA or CA, do contact me too, cos there's stuff to do during campaign period, such as manning the computers when members of the public drop by to check their status, helping with logistics for ceramahs, distributing information leaflets, etc.

On Election Day, there may be lunchtime food to be delivered to PAs, transport-less voters may need rides to their polling station, etc. There's plenty to do, it's an interesting life experience, you're doing something proactive, and we need all the help we can get!

Please email me ( Med - medster@gmail.com (DAP) ) privately if you're keen to lend a hand.

Thank you.

Po Kuan's Batu Gajah Comeback

Najib's "Extremely Capable MP" Fong Po Kuan (of DAP) is back to defend Batu Gajah.

From New Straits Times :
"Now, an extremely capable MP (Fong) from the party is forced to take drastic action to show her disapproval."

From Bernama :
He said the refusal of a capable member of parliament such as Fong Po Kuan to contest in the election showed that there was a serious internal conflict within the party.

"What transpires shows that within the DAP, especially in Perak, there is a serious internal conflict to the extent that a capable member of parliament is frustrated and is not willing to contest," he said when asked to comment on Fong's announcement yesterday that she would not defend her seat in the coming general election.

Hopefully, the leadership of DAP has solved the issue. Lim Kit Siang, its leader reported Po Kuan returns! in his blog. It seems a Press Conference will be held at 2 p.m. in Ipoh.

Malaysiakini reported Po Kuan to defend Batu Gajah on the reversal of decision. I am not sure whether Po Kuan is touched by the words of Najib. However, I do think the repeated calls and support from the public could play a part.

I hope Najib, our Deputy Prime Minister of BN is happy that Po Kuan of DAP is back into fold if he thinks she is capable. Try to ask when you meet him. Sheesh.. Hehehe..

Election 2008 : Party First or Candidate First ?

I posted a comment in Rocky's Bru : Zaid dropped entry and this is an extract of his writing:

"Zaid Ibrahim. This is one politician who can count on bloggers' support wherever he decides to contest on whichever political party's ticket. Now that Umno has dropped Zaid from the BN's list of candidates, we must wonder about the possibilities.The Kota Bharu MP said he did not know why he was dropped. Well, Zahid, you are too clever, maverick, too successful, and sometimes a little brash with your comments against the people up there. Any of these reasons would have justified dropping him from the line-up.

Whoever Umno puts in Zaid's place better pray that he does not lose too badly to Pas ...

My previous postings on Zaid, here."
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According to a letter titled We want more of Zaid Ibrahim published in Malaysiakini, the letter writer claimed that Zaid had mentioned about certain politicians taking the easy way out to reach popularity by instigating racial and religious issues.

In my opinion, it is not hard to guess for Malaysians to guess which group of people he is referring to. One wonders whether it has anything to do with a certain keris waver from UMNO.

A member of a component party (ChnLady) in the coalition read my comments in Rocky's Bru post and mailed me with a relational question.
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From ChnLady to Sagaladoola
Feb 17, 2008 11:37 AM (4 days ago)

Would you encourage voters to not vote for a BN candidate just to spite BN? What if BN put up a candidate like Zaid Ibrahim (if he was running)?

Best,
ChnLady
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From Sagaladoola to ChnLady
Feb 17, 2008 7:40 PM (4 days ago)

I think there is no point of talking about him, right? Zaid Ibrahim was removed, am I right?

Besides looking at the candidate's capability, whether the party is able to produce what is required for the public does matter as a priority sometimes.

Let's consider this Zaid Ibrahim I am about to mention is from another political party called XXN and not BN.

For instance, if a leading party plays communal politics (i.e. threats etc.) and a component party subordinates itself without requesting for an apology, I think it will be no use if that particular person who can speak up like Zaid Ibrahim is in the component party.

He would have to toe the party line. He could have possibly be removed if he chose to speak up. He would have to subordinate himself.

Another example would be, if let's say a possible capable person like Zaid is clean but he chose to speak up against a leading/component parties on corruption etc. Eventually, he may be penalised and have to toe the party line. At the end of the day, he could have chosen to keep quiet to save his ass.

Another question to ask is, if this Zaid wanted to help clean up the nation, why would he choose to stay in a party where there is a system that allows corruption or play communal politics with more than 90% of the members supporting the system and the party?

That brings about the question of sincerity. What is the intention of a temporary screaming against the top people. Is it actually to garner votes from his constituency?

Finally, all in all, these people would be removed eventually because birds of a feather flock together. If you are not of A FEATHER, you are a goner. So, either way, it is not good for the public. Either that person is INSINCERE or BIRDS OF A FEATHER (same type of people)

I am just saying all of these as examples to illustrate my points. I am not sure whether you are able to map the non-reality examples to realistic situations but I do hope you can catch the examles. The principles and concept of the party does matter and it will conclusively map to the actions of the party's candidates.

Coming from an utilitarian approach, I am willing to sacrifice a person like Zaid Ibrahim in my constituency and give another chance for another party. This candidate may be too risky to support and as an overall is not beneficial to Malaysia.

When people vote against a candidate, it is not to so-called intentionally making a "spite" on a party. They do think of the overall picture. They do think of Malaysia as a whole and their own rights when they choose.

People of the past generations (those born in the 60s and before that) may not think of the big picture on the validity of the party but people of this generation knows how to use their vote.

[ Sagaladoola: 3 paragraphs were removed from here. They consist of criticism to certain individuals in the party of ChnLady. Let's not deviate from the original intention of deciphering the title of this post "Candidate First or Party First?" ]

One more point to note, people these days find it easier to accept a stupid person than an arrogant-and-stupid person. Not to mention, those who does not sincerely apologise on mistakes = arrogant as well. And then there are those, who "dare" people to do something onto them if they do not apologise even though they are in the wrong. I am saying this in general.

Simple answer : No Reform = No Vote.

P.S. You should know that I took some good amount of time to write this piece so that you can reflect. If you choose to do something out of the ordinary to me, I will tell you I am defenseless. I am speaking in fear but I do know that I have to speak. Malaysia is my homeland. I hope that Malays, Chinese, Indians etc. can live in a tolerant way. I have friends from many walks of races and religions.

Regards,
Sagaladoola
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Now, that was my reply. To top it off, most of the time I would place party as a priority. Then, I would look at the candidate. If he/she is "not bad, not necessarily excellent" according to my perspective, I will vote for him/her. If the candidate is really "undeniably bad", then I would probably look for other candidates from other contesting parties.

Police Justification on Children with Roses

Malaysiakini reported 200 nabbed at rose protest by Syed Jaymal Zahiid on Feb 16, 08 11:33am
Police fired teargas and chemical-laced water cannons in a bid to disperse some 300 Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) supporters gathered for a peaceful rose handing-over ceremony at Jalan Raja Laut early this morning.
-> Road to Parliament closed.
-> Many detained at roadblocks.

Meanwhile, on my post Is "Children With Roses" a Threat to National Security? , I have made some queries on the reason the gathering was rejected. Here is the police's reply as published in The Star Online : Not so rosy for Hindraf as cops seal off 31 roads .

Accordingly, it was said that it will not be safe for the children to be at the gathering should anything unruly happen at the gathering. Hmmn, and I thought it is the job of the police to ensure nothing unruly happens at the gathering instead. That is really weird. I would like to know whether there is any child in the crowd when the tear gas and chemical-laced water cannons are being fired since this gathering is titled "children with roses".

And it was also mentioned that the police had said: “I also turned down its appeal as I see no justification in allowing the gathering.".

Now, peaceful and freedom of assembly is actually a human right. Is it the police's role to justify whether "to call for the release of certain leaders" is a good reason for a gathering? Goodness gracious. Now, how about "protests against price hike" or "calling for clean elections"? Is it police's role to actually to justify reasons of gathering is allowable? I am very surprised.

In my opinion, it is the role of the police to allow freedom to assemble with the context of protecting the people who gathered and making sure nothing unruly happens. And I thought that is their only role. Now, they can filter out according to reasons? Hmmn, strange, strange....

Sagaladoola's Polling Final Choice

The election draws near. Malaysiakini reported Polling on March 8. In view of the current situation where there are only 3 weeks before the election day, Sagaladoola blog now moves from the basis of NEUTRAL grounds to a point of FINAL CHOICE for 2008 ELECTION.

This is the fourth year of our "Beloved Prime Minister" Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's (Pak Lah) leadership. As a blogger a.k.a. concerned citizen of Malaysia, I would like to express my extreme displeasure and super low confidence on his Administration.

It is indeed true that this is his first term. However, this should not be an excuse for an employment of communal strategies on the society. Common sense tells me Malaysians should be encouraged to be tolerant through sincere actions.

An example of horrible hypocrisy would be in the case where one speaks of muhibbah and tolerance but on the other hand raising keris accompanied by unsuitable words, having big meetings during important celebration of other races coupled by insensitive remarks and in various occasions, use deragotary statements with underlying racialist or sexist tones against people from the same nation.

How will the nation able to rise with such problems at hand? Sleeping on the job, whether literally or physically should not be justifiably acceptable even for a first timer.

I have yet to mention the economy part and how poorly the corruption is dealt with. Perhaps I should skip the part on the judiciary and how the originally peaceful assemblies are being handled. The net provides plenty of pictures and writings about this. Crime is at large. There is inflation but are the salaries of the private sector being raised accordingly? As for the racial and religious issues I do not think it is well-managed. As for the media, is it really free or influenced or controlled by the ruling coalition? In my opinion, the media is not free. If that is the case, I can't call it Open-Government. In short, I am certainly not pleased with the way things are. Cakap Mesti Serupa Bikin.

It certainly breaks my heart when various promises are made before the 2004 election but delivery is poor. Things are made worse when one of the most important person in this nation can lie to the public even on a small matter like parliamentary dissolution date.

Not to mention I think the ruling coalition is too powerful. There should be some form of control mechanism here.

For this time around, as a citizen of Malaysia I give my support to the opposition PKR , DAP and PAS . If the Barisan Nasional wants my vote, it has to deliver. MCA and MIC should have spoken for their people (on Keris and Hindraf) when they had the chance. UMNO should not be playing with communal politics.

Time for change is here . Hmmn, one thing though... Looking at the BERSIH demands , does my vote really matter for Barisan Nasional ? Hmmn... Anyway, I have had enough. I am ready for a change.

These Nak Tak Posters seems interesting. Politicians certainly say the darndest things.

This blog shall revert to its natural NEUTRAL state after the election.

Is "Children With Roses" a Threat to National Security?

Malaysiakini reported :

'Guns and roses' in Parliament? by Andrew Ong on Feb 13, 08 7:16pm
A standoff between the police and Hindraf supporters near Parliament is likely this Saturday as the police have denied a permit for the movement's 'children with roses' gathering.

The police have denied a permit for the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) to hold a gathering outside the Parliament building this Saturday, paving the way for a possible standoff should the movement decide to press on.
-> Cops: Stay away
-> Hindraf not backing down

From my understanding, Somebody from Some Party used to say the reason that permits for gatherings must be denied because of national security. Those participants were adults. It was found out that during several incidents, the people who rallied were peaceful but dispersed using non-peaceful means. mind-boggling indeed.

Now, this gathering is all about "children with roses". Again I repeat, I mean, they are children and there are roses. One wonders whether "children with roses" will threaten national security. That is mind-boggling too.

If that is not the case, the police has to explain themselves thoroughly on why the permit is not granted. Perhaps, if they have Someone standing behind them giving them orders to not provide a permission, that Someone has to be exposed to the public as well.

And I say it again, this is a "children with roses" (not adults with batons, tear gas and guns, or are they?) gathering.

Goodness gracious, I have said enough.

Update 15 Feb 2008 1.45 a.m.
zorro-unmasked posted two entries with more details on this up-and-coming gathering :
1) ITS FINAL. ITS GONNA BE GUNS N ROSES THIS SATURDAY!
2) LIVING ON A PRAYER......THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE LEFT....

Similary, people from the overseas are said to be participating in the gatherings :

Malaysia
Date : 16th February 2008 (Saturday)
Venue : Parliament House Kuala Lumpur
Address: Jalan Parlimen, 50680, Kuala Lumpur
Time : 11.00 am

London
Date : 16th February 2008
Venue: High Commission of Malaysia, London
Address: Malaysian High Commission 45-46 Belgrave Square London
Time: 10am

Los Angeles USA
Date: February 16, 2008
Venue: In front of Consulate General of Malaysia, Los Angeles
Address: 550 South Hope Street, Suite 400, Los Angeles, CA 90071)
Time: 10am - 2pm

New York USA
Date : 16th February 2008 (Saturday)
Venue : Malaysian Consulate General of New York
Address: -313 East, 43rd Street, NY, NY 10017 Nearest Subway – Grand Central
Time : 11.00 am - 1pm

Parliament Dissolution : Rumours More Dependable ?

Malaysiakini reported this yesterday :
PM: No Parliament dissolution tomorrow ( Feb 12 , 08 9:50pm )
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today dismissed speculations that the Parliament would be dissolved tomorrow to pave way for the general election.
-> Cabinet meeting as usual
-> Pak Lah’s favourite number

Similarly, Bernama published Parliament Will Not Be Dissolved Tomorrow, Says Abdullah yesterday (Feb 12) . Excerpt : Parliament will not be dissolved tomorrow to pave the way for the 12th general election, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today. "No, not tomorrow," he told reporters. Asked whether tomorrow's Cabinet meeting would be the last before the dissolution of Parliament, he said: "What makes you think it's going to be the last Cabinet meeting."The Cabinet meeting will go on, go on and go on. You are the smart aleck, you all enjoy circulating the rumours," he said with a smile.

Just now a news on a particular Flip-Flop Aleck was published on Malaysiakini main page :
PM dissolves Parliament ( Feb 13, 08 12:48pm )
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today announced the dissolution of the Parliament at a specially arranged press conference at his office in Putrajaya.
-> EC to decide on election date
-> A brief media statement

Wonder why Malaysians like to believe in rumours? That is because somehow or rather, in a twist, the rumours will turn out to be true after all. Next time Pak Lah, do not blame the citizens if they choose to trust rumours. Do not tell us not to believe in rumours. You see, in this scenario, it seems they are more dependable than your own words. Now, you know why people like to become smart alecks and circulate rumours. The press was trying to get some accurate information from you and look what you gave them and they unravel to the public ?

On closure, I would say I believe one should practise what one preaches. I always believe that "Kalau sendiri bikin tak serupa cakap, usahlah suruh orang buat cara "Cakap mesti serupa bikin".

Pak Lah Provide "Pak Lah Report Card" for Pak Lah Admin

Have you ever provided a "report card" for yourself? I have not done it before. If you were given a chance to write a "report card" for yourself, would you write E (Poor) or F (Fail)? If you were given a chance to give marks to yourself in an exam, would you give 0% or 99.9% to 100% ?

I believe these are simple questions that I will not answer here. It is my believe that as stupid as some Malaysians can be, they will not do something disadvantageous to themselves. Perhaps that depends on perspective. Sometimes, there are things we do that we think is advantageous to us but it turns out to be the contrary.
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Referring to The Star : Pak Lah provides favourable account on administration’s performance , which is also reported in Malaysia Today .

Excerpt:
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has given a favourable “report card” on the performance of his administration since the last general election in 2004.

Expressing his satisfaction, the Prime Minister said most policies had been implemented and projects were on track.

“We have carried out our duties and responsibilities on many things desired by the people. The ministers have implemented many policies that take into consideration issues that are important to the people and attract their attention.....
_______________________________________

I wonder whether Pak Lah read the reports and articles posted by Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today. Does Pak Lah read the writings of bloggers a.k.a. citizens of Malaysia?

My parents and teachers used to tell me "respect is earned", "praise is given" (by others of course and not by oneself). When it comes to silliness, stupidity and idiocy, there is never a limit in Bolehland.

As many blunders that Dr M made, I cannot recall any point of time he wrote his own report card.

Be afraid, be very afraid. Good luck, Malaysians...

PJ Utara : Chew Mei Fun's "Blurt" and Tony Pua's "Flyer"

Chew Mei Fun's "Blurt"
I had previously written two blog entries about a recent incident of "Lesson 1969":
1) Najib's "Kg. Baru" After Chew Mei Fun's "Lesson 1969"
2) Lesson 1969, Voting and Chew Mei Fun ?

In the entries above, I have quoted Lulu , the mainstream blogger regarding her translations on Chew Mei Fun, the current Wanita MCA member and Member of Parliament of PJ Utara 's infamous "blurt" :

"If we do not have enough representation in the Barisan Nasional, then to the Chinese community, the lesson of 1969 is sufficient. I think we cannot afford another such scenario.”

It seems that it was mentioned by Lulu and another Wanita MCA member through a mail addressed to me, China Press misquoted Chew Mei Fun by originally publishing her "lesson in 1969" as "May 13". In fact, China Press had apologised for the blunder.

Which brings us all to one question : What is the most significant event in 1969 if it is not May 13? I would like to direct this question towards our PJ Utara lady, Miss Chew : If you were not referring to the May 13 lesson, then which "lesson" were you talking about? Otherwise, can I, in my personal opinion conclude that you have problems communicating with the public?

"Misunderstanding" seems to be a favourite word used by many politicians on the public when similar incidents occur. Luckily, Miss Chew had yet to say that. In order to avoid such issues, Miss Chew must clarify exactly what she meant on "Lesson 1969". That is the job of a Member of Parliament, functioning as a citizens' representative. Explanation is necessary especially when the "misunderstanding" causes a big resentment from the people who voted for you to speak for them. I believe when people resent, that would mean you are not exactly speaking for them. Miss Chew, please do your job. It is not good to lose votes for the "lesson 1969" remarks. Everybody is waiting and the votes are counting, please do not hesitate. It's been days.

Tony Pua's "Flyer"
Today, I found a new comment in my previous entry by someone nicknamed "PJ Utara Resident".

PJ Utara Resident said...
Muhibbah is a personal side but politics is a different animal. So it is best to keep it apart.

Many attacked Chew Mei Fun, why is there no one attacking Tony Pua. He was found to distribute materials only to non Malay houses.

The material is intended to raise racial disharmony in the community. The issues he raised are those that are going through and have gone through the court process. He is challenging the court decision and disrupting it;s process. That is a contempt of court.

Sagadoola, Mob1900 and Zorro, how? Whats your answer?

As I see, right and wrong must have its basis and rationale. Just coz you'll favour him, you are not blinded by the danger his act could cause and the offensive nature of his act.
Friday, February 08, 2008 5:12:00 PM

The blogger Big Dog, who is a pro-UMNO supporter had published the flyer and the article in his post Police report made against Tony Pua .

In order to highlight the NEUTRALITY of this blog, I would like to bring to attention two paragraphs from the flyer" :

1) We have been following the silent creeping in of Islamisation which are affecting the lives of non-Muslims.

2) The Federal Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion. The DAP hopes that we will join hands to defend the Federal Constitution. We strongly believe that a secular state is the best form of government to protect the interests of all religions, including Islam in a multi-racial and multi-religious country like Malaysia.

I would like to state that I do not quite prefer the tone used in sentence 1 although there is nothing logically wrong in it. It is indeed true that the Islamisation process is somehow affecting the lives of Non-Muslims. Islam is the religion of Muslims and should only affect the lives of Muslims. It should not affect the lives of non-Muslims as our Federal Constitution promises the freedom of religion in a secular state of which Islam is the official religion as highlighted in sentence 2. Nothing seditious or inappropriate with that.

I find that it would best that Tony had provided an additional paragraph to clarify that "Islamisation should only affect Muslims and non-Muslims, therefore 'so on and so forth' incidents should be avoided. "

" 'so on and so forth' party would ensure the interests of all would be protected" (already mentioned in sentence 2).

The combination would be perfect. It would be good if Tony can make extra clarification in his blog. I would recommend that such flyers to be distributed to people of all races and religions. Therefore, I would like to pose a challenge to this "PJ Utara resident", which part or sentence in Tony Pua's flyer is causing racial disharmony. Tell me point by point and I may publish them because I can't find any.

Whether Tony Pua is in contempt of court or not, I would like to say that I do not find that he has done any of that. Just because the cases are in court, that does not mean one cannot speak, opine or comment about them. Besides, I leave it for the court to decide as I am not a judge.

So, "PJ Utara resident" , I am now giving you a chance to provide your opinion. I would like to write something not in favour of Tony Pua but one cannot criticise another person of something that the person hasn't done. As you said earlier, right and wrong must have its basis and rationale. I need your help. Time for you to prove it.

The Difference Between the Flyer and the Blurt
The least of all, one can understand the meaning Tony Pua was trying to relate. I take it that this Chew Mei Fun is not talking about "May 13" because China Press was told to readjust the phrase to "lesson 1969".

Again, I would like to remind that May 13 1969 is a significant date in Malaysia of racial clashes. The Malaysian chinese and malay casualties were many. Is that because, at that pont of time, the people did not vote for this so-called "chinese representation" party? What is this "lesson 1969" that Chew Mei Fun was talking about that is not significant for everyone to recall? Miss Chew, please tell us if it is not "May 13", then what is it? Please answer all the questions posted.

It would be great if Miss Chew Mei Fun can write a letter of explanation and get it published in Malaysiakini .

Lesson 1969, Voting and Chew Mei Fun ?

Sometimes I feel so bored about writing socio-political blogs. Reading Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today makes me feel that everything seems to be repeating. The same set of blunders, and inefficiency of the Hadhari government.

For example, Lulu mentioned something familiar in her post " OOOOOO Chew Mei Fun.... Lulu Says Its Time For You To Go ". It seems Lulu said certain politician gave this comment in Chinese:

"If we do not have enough representation in the Barisan Nasional, then to the Chinese community, the lesson of 1969 is sufficient. I think we cannot afford another such scenario.”

I am not sure how the brain of this Miss Chew works, but if a lack of Chinese in Barisan Nasional would trigger lesson of 1969, I would like to ask this lady whether totally (100%) voting away Barisan Nasional and all its racial representation of Malay, Chinese and Indian, be it UMNO, MCA or MIC would solve the problem at hand?

Wouldn't that be a good solution? After all there is so much dissatisfaction in all racial communities. Furthermore, there are parties like PKR, PAS and DAP. There is never a lack of alternatives. So, is that what Miss Chew wants?

Otherwise I would like to ask Miss Chew the reason she choose to mention such a fearful phrase. If Lulu had given the right translation and information, I would recommend Chew Mei Fun to leave her post. The society needs Members of Parliament who can perform efficiently and not those that use such words for suspectful motives.

In the meantime, there is an interesting read in Hiroblog2007's blog titled: Glossary of BN terms .