Here are 10 reasons why the Indian community should think before voting in the next general election.

The ‘Malay Supremacy’ agenda
I would be echoing the sentiments of the great majority of Indians in Malaysia when I say they are effectively second class citizens under Umno’s rule. Umno and BN can be used interchangeably because Umno is not only the dominant party but the de facto ruling party as well.

The much entrenched ‘Ketuanan Melayu ’ or Malay Supremacy is the unwritten code of Umno’s rule. The ruling party has perfected this philosophy to the extent of rivalling the notorious racist agenda of apartheid South Africa. Basically, Ketuanan Melayu aims to contain the progress and prosperity of the non-Malays.

The Indians have traditionally looked to the civil service for employment but in the last few decades they have seen their share of public sector jobs severely curtailed. Too many Indians have to eke out a harsh living outside the comfort of the government service and the GLCs. Many resort to low paying jobs which in turn locks them in a vicious cycle of poverty. Also, the high crime rate among Indians is a direct result of the lack of access to good, high- income jobs for Indians.

NEP’s lopsided implementation
The NEP introduced in 1970 and which has set the direction of the nation ever since was designed to:

a) restructure society so that race is no longer identified with occupation, and

b) eradicate poverty irrespective of race/ ethnicity.

However, none of these noble intentions ever reached the Indian community. The implementation of the NEP has bypassed the Indians. In the past, Indians were identified with the civil service, professions and the plantations. Today, they are increasingly associated with low pay jobs and hard, physical labour.

Many flagship projects of the NEP offered little to the Indian community. Felda which transformed the landless and the poor among the Malays to proud land owners had little impact on the Indians. It was the same story with Felcra, Risda and the numerous other schemes designed to uplift the rural poor.

Somehow, the Indian poor, a large proportion of whom were in the plantations were invisible to the formulators and the implementers of the NEP. There were no quotas assigned to the Indian community for jobs in the GLCs or the private sector. If the BN government could do it for the poor Malays, why did it overlook the poor Indians?

Was not the NEP designed for all Malaysians? Why the lop-sided implementation? Today, we have an Indian community that has high endemic poverty, the highest violent crime rate and a decreasing proportion in the top professions.

The pathetic state of the Tamil schools
Any responsible government would look into the education needs of its entire people. But then, BN has never been a responsible government. The BN government has systematically marginalised vernacular education. Fortunately, the economic and philanthropic strength of the Chinese community has mitigated the many challenges facing Chinese schools.

There are 523 Tamil schools in the country, but up to 79% or some 379 of these schools are still occupying dilapidated, termite infested, semi-permanent buildings built on private land before Merdeka. The bigger majority of these schools are in a pathetic state – undersized classrooms, leaking roofs and some even without water or electricity.

Almost all face teacher shortage of some kind, some more acute than others. Promises are made from time to time by the government to improve trainee teacher intake, training temporary teachers and offering them permanent positions but the reality is the opposite. Some 40% of all Tamil school teachers are contract or temporary teachers.

This potent combination of poor infrastructure and teacher shortage is a definite recipe for the high failure rate of Tamil school students. Tamil schools are a neglected lot and the BN must be held responsible by all Indian voters.

Limited opportunities in the civil service and GLCs
Prior to the implementation of the NEP in 1970, Indians were well represented in the civil service. The lop-sided implementation of the NEP has decimated the Indian numbers in the civil service.

Indians and other non-Bumiputeras are severely discriminated both in the intake as well as in subsequent promotions.

For instance, there is not a single Indian judge in the Federal Court. The BN government must look into an Equal Opportunity Commission & an Equal Opportunity Act to redress the gross imbalance among the races in the Government service.

Citizens denied citizenship
Almost 300,000 Indians who are eligible for citizenship do not have MyKads. They are children born to citizen parents whose births were not registered for one reason or another. In a nutshell, they have been denied citizenship due to a government bureaucracy that is callous to their plight. Many dreams have been shattered, jobs and careers foregone and households mired in poverty due to citizenship denied.

Almost all are deserving cases because most were born in Malaysia or have lived here all their lives. Of late, the MIC has organised citizenship for about 4,000 cases but this hardly scratches the surface of the problem. It is more of a publicity stunt for the BN to dupe the Indian electorate as many of the cases publicised in the media are senior citizens in their twilight years and well past their prime.

Sadly, it is a case of political gimmicking taking precedence over resolution of people’s grievances.

Highest unemployment rate
Indians have the highest unemployment rate among the major races in the country. The neglect of the Tamil schools means it ill-prepares the students for secondary school and beyond. Many Indian students lack the linguistic and numerical skills needed for today’s job market.

Moreover, Indians do not have access to skills training institutes like GiatMara, polytechnics, Mara Training Institutes, vocational schools and numerous other training institutes’ set-up with public money at the state and national levels. Certainly, there is a lack of concerted action by the BN government to train and equip Indian youths with the necessary job skills.

The typical response by BN leaders is that Indians do not apply for these opportunities. How can Indians apply for these places when it is not made known to them?

As a result, the majority resort to the private sector. With low levels of education and absence of marketable skills, they are forced to work as lorry drivers, road sweepers, dishwashers, free-lance house maids, cleaners, despatch clerks, personal drivers, etc. These jobs are shunned by the other races because of the low pay, long working hours and physical risks involved.

The situation has got so bad that Indians are forced to compete with foreigners for these very jobs.

Extremely high crime rate/custodial deaths
The poor state of the Tamil schools which contributes in large part to the high school drop-out rate and school leavers with limited skills for the demanding modern job market means that crime is an attractive option.

BN government initiatives are focussed on the symptoms and not the causes. Therefore, we have a high violent crime rate that contributes to a disproportionate high number of detainees in the detention centres and remand prisoners in the police stations. Racial profiling and a very reactive, single race monopolised police force keen on violent interrogation procedures has led to an astronomical high number of unaccounted deaths in police custody.

The way BN chooses to put up a charade that all is well and often providing the most ridiculous of answers to custodian deaths points to a police force that belongs to the bottom tier of the 3rd world.

The politicisation of Batu Caves Sri Subramaniam Temple
For some time now, the BN has used the Batu Caves Sri Subramaniam Swamy Temple for political capital. The temple committee played a pivotal role in the arrest of the Nov 25, 2007 Hindraf rally supporters who had gathered at the temple grounds on the eve of the historic event.

The presence of PM Najib Tun Razak on Thaipusam Day to endear himself to the Hindu electorate is an affront to the Hindus performing the sacred duty of fulfilling their spiritual vows. And most recently, we have the issue of the 29 storey condominium.
Vedic teachings tell us that a temple is a sacred place where one goes for peace of mind and to commune with the Almighty. But MIC and its cohorts have reduced Batu Caves to a political pawn to wage war against its political rivals. We must stop them from this sacrilege.

The labelling of Hindraf as a terrorist organisation
Until today, despite removing the ban on HINDRAF, the police chief and the police force as well as the Home Ministry have yet to apologise to Hindraf, especially the five leaders detained under the ISA, for wrongfully and maliciously labelling Hindraf as a terrorist organisation detrimental to the security of our beloved nation.

Racist agenda against Indian leaders
We see a racist agenda in demonising Indian leaders who choose to stand out and fight for our rights. S Ambiga, Dr Xavier Jeyakumar and P Uthayakumar have all been labelled unilaterally as enemies of the nation by Umno and the BN. This is done surreptitiously by pro-Umno blogs and the mainstream media as well as other radical organisations which are funded by Umno and enjoy the tacit approval of the top BN leadership.MIC, the BN designated representative of the Indians chooses to play mute, so as not to offend its political master.







 

Lawyer M Manoharan is DAP’s Kota Alam Shah state representative. He was arrested under the Internal Security Act for his involvement with Hindraf.

The great Maika Holdings and Telecom shares betrayal by MIC & Samy Vellu

The entire Indian community awaits your response and our votes hang on your action.

The great Maika Holdings and Telecom shares betrayal by MIC & Samy Vellu

It is very apparent that he keeps a very tight hold on Maika. That being the case, how could Maika undertake any business venture without his knowledge and blessing? Shouldn’t he be part of the debacle that is haunting Maika today? Shouldn’t he also shoulder the blame for "the dismal performance of the Maika management?"

Dear Mr Najib Razak, we the Indian Community in Malaysia present the story below and we are not sure in our hearts if you will respond

Maika Holdings was touted as an economic vehicle and a miracle to lift the Indian poor from the shackles of poverty, Maika was launched with much hype and hope. The poor Indians – traditional MIC supporters, the lower middle-class and the working class Indians as well as a vast majority of plantation workers – were mesmerised into responding enthusiastically.

The poor plantation workers put their life savings into the venture, some scraping the barrel, others mortgaging their property and pawning the last of their jewellery. A vast majority also took loans at exorbitant rates to invest in a venture that promised dreams of hopes and tantalising prospects.

It’s not only the poor Indians who responded to this call to rally behind MIC’s efforts to secure seven percent of corporate ownership for the Indian community – which at that time had been stagnating at under one percent since 1960.

Although the original plan by the MIC was to ensure that at least RM30 million worth of Maika shares were subscribed, so successful was the promotion campaign that by 1984, a phenomenal RM106 million was raised from almost 66,400 shareholders.

A large majority of the shareholders are poor plantation workers. The largest individual shareholder with almost 2.8 million shares was former MIC president S Samy Vellu. The amount invested in Maika was even larger than that obtained by MCA’s Multi-Purpose Holdings when the company commenced business.

When it started operations, Maika had one of the biggest cash reserves among Malaysian companies. At a time when business conglomerates like YTL, Berjaya, Malaysian Mining Corps, etc were practically unknown entities, Maika was already well known and if properly managed, would have been a billion dollar company now.

However, in its 25 years of tortured history, Maika investors have known nothing but pain and sorrow. The new dawn of a golden opportunity that was promised to the Indian poor never arrived. Instead, each passing year only witnessed dashed hopes and broken promises that littered the chequered history of Maika. Many of the investors had since passed away, their spirits broken by the betrayal of the leader they trusted.


What went wrong?

It is a case of bad management, poor investment, sheer arrogance and pure greed.

In spite of a number of major acquisitions made into some important companies – like the United Asian Bank (UAB), United Oriental Assurance (UOA), Malaysian Airlines System (MAS), Malaysian International Shipping Corporation (MISC), TV3 and Edaran Otomobil Malaysia Bhd (EON) – Maika’s performance has been mediocre.

There wasn’t any fanfare when Maika was allotted 10 million shares of Syarikat Telekom Malaysia Bhd (STMB). It was assumed in 1990 that Maika had been allotted all the shares it had subscribed to. No details were made known at that time.

Sometime in the middle of February 1992, the shroud of secrecy surrounding the Telekom shares allocation was ripped apart. Then, all hell broke loose.

A journalist from Watan disclosed that "there could have been some hanky-panky in the allocation of Telekom’s shares to Maika Holdings.

This was then followed by another report in a Tamil magazine, Thoothan on April 1, 1992, which disclosed that there could have been some discrepancy in the distribution of the 10 million Telekom shares allocated to Maika by the Finance Ministry. Malaysians learned for the first time (two years after the share issuance), that Maika acquired only one million and not the entire 10 million shares that were allotted to Maika Holdings.

Samy Vellu, through the Tamil Nesan and at MIC meetings, tried to explain by insisting that the cash flow problem faced by Maika did not allow Maika to take up all 10 million shares. But, one of the directors, a one-time ally of Samy Vellu, Vijendran, issued a statement insinuating that the truth may not have been told.

When this matter was raised in parliament, then finance minister Anwar Ibrahim disclosed that since Maika had stated that it could take up only one million shares, the remaining nine million shares were allocated to three companies proposed by Maika because to his "ministry’s knowledge, the three companies represented the interests of the Indian community" (The Star, April 30, 1992).

Note: At the time of share allocation in 1990, Tun Daim Zainuddin was the finance minister.


Maika did not reject the shares

The mystery deepened and bewildered the shareholders when another Maika director, Pasamanikam, contradicted the statements made by Anwar and Samy Vellu. According to Pasamanikam, Maika did not reject the Finance Ministry’s offer and did not propose that the nine million shares be allocated to any other company. He further revealed that Maika had indeed raised a RM50 million loan to facilitate the acquisition of the entire 10 million shares even before the Finance Ministry had withdrawn its offer.

A tidal wave of questions engulfed the share holders:

1) Why did the Finance Ministry cancel the initial offer of the 10 million shares and subsequently allot only one million shares to Maika?

2) Who was responsible for the retraction of the original offer?

3) Who lied to the Finance Ministry?

4) Who informed them that Maika had recommended that the nine million shares be given to three companies?

5) Who supplied the names of these three companies?

6) Who coerced the Finance Ministry to change their mind?

7) Who aborted this offer? (There was no earthly reason for the Finance Ministry to change its mind on its own after having allocated 10 million shares).

According to GK Rama Iyer, former managing director of Maika Holdings Bhd – as revealed in his press release dated May 16, 1992 :

Samy Vellu was informed at 6.10am on Oct 5, 1990, that Maika had been offered 10 million STMB shares and of the probability of obtaining full loan financing and that Maika intended to take up the entire allocation of 10 million shares. Indeed, a letter dated Oct 5, 1990, from Arab-Malaysian Merchant Bankers Bhd. (AMMBB) – offering RM50 million to finance the purchase of the 10 million shares was received on Oct 6, 1990.


There must have been a mistake

He further clarified that Samy Vellu replied that "there must have been a mistake. The offer to Maika should be for one million and not 10 million"

According to Samy Vellu, the remaining nine million shares were for allocation to "other MIC bodies".

"Further, Samy Vellu stated that he would contact the ministry to clarify the position."

It was then, after Samy Vellu had contacted the Finance Ministry; that the letter of offer was retracted and Maika’s allocation reduced to only one million shares.


Why did Samy Vellu prevent Maika from acquiring the 10 million shares?

Wasn’t Maika his brain-child to raise the corporate wealth of the Indian community so that their economic welfare would be secured?

Wasn’t he the leader of MIC which launched Maika as a business venture to enrich the community which had long been associated with deprivation and poverty?

This was God-sent wealth. Why did he prevent this wealth from reaching Maika?

Imagine how much Maika would have made from these shares for which it only paid RM5 per share. When Telekom shares were first traded, it fetched a price of RM6.15 per share and that too during a bearish market. By mid-1992 the share price was hovering around RM11-RM13.

According to an article in the Aliran Monthly – 1993:13(10):

Samy Vellu had taken away from Maika RM120 million in profits (which it would have attained had it just held on to the 10 million shares until 1993).


They don’t deserve 10 million shares

Samy Vellu made it extremely clear that he personally decided to allocate only one million shares to Maika. According to Samy Vellu, "I could have given all the shares to Maika Holdings if not for their past business record. They don’t deserve 10 million shares because of the dismal performance of the Maika management. They have to learn to do business on their own and not depend on shares and make money out of it". (New Straits Times May, 16 1992)

His autocratic style and arrogance comes through so forcefully: "I could have given all the shares to Maika Holdings…," he boasts. "They don’t deserve 10 million shares…," he berates.

It is very apparent that he keeps a very tight hold on Maika. That being the case, how could Maika undertake any business venture without his knowledge and blessing? Shouldn’t he be part of the debacle that is haunting Maika today? Shouldn’t he also shoulder the blame for "the dismal performance of the Maika management?"

And why should he give nine million shares to three obscure companies?

SB Management Services Sdn. Bhd and Advanced Personal Computers Sdn Bhd were in fact shell companies with paid-up capital of RM2 each. The third company is Clearway Sdn. Bhd.

Samy Vellu decided on the shares allocation – not the Ministry of Finance!

On what criteria did Samy Vellu decide that the three companies deserve to get the Telekom shares instead of Maika?

What business experience and success could these companies boast about to warrant their being chosen from among all the other Indian businesses in the country?


Serious conflict of interest

There was a serious case of conflict of interest involved in this scandal. A director of Maika was also a shareholder and director of one of the three companies, all of which divided the nine million Telekom shares equally. Lim Kit Siang named this person as R Selvendra on May 7, 1992.

Two of the three companies – Advance Personal Computers and SB Management Services – shared the same business address: Level 2, Block F-North, Damansara Town Centre, Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur.

These two companies had the same company secretary: S. Balasubramaniam.

Significantly, S Balasubramaniam and S Sothinathan were both directors and shareholders of these two companies.

Note: Sothinathan is none other than the former MIC vice-president and former MP for Teluk Kemang.

Samy Vellu rewarded a person who helped him hijack the Telekom shares by making him a deputy minister and could also probably groom him for future leadership of MIC.


Do we need leaders like this?

If the 10 million STMB shares were allocated for the MIC, who would be the natural inheritors of these shares on behalf of the Indian community – Maika with its 66,400 shareholders or three insignificant private companies with six shareholders? Does this information in any way suggest that these three companies represented the interests of the Indian community?

Who lied to the Finance Ministry that these "three companies represented the interests of the Indian community"?

What was the motive for diverting nine million shares to three private companies?

Those who sought to find the answers were threatened or beaten up. One brave soul who went on a crusade to expose this scandal was stabbed in Penang. Whenever questions regarding Maika were raised at MIC meetings presided by Samy Vellu, it was alleged that thugs would suddenly appear beside the person asking the question and that would be the end of the affair to seek answers.

On May 13, 1992, the then Selangor assemblyman for Seri Cahaya S Sivalingam (now deceased), had also acted as a thug when he led an assault on Maika shareholders who were peacefully picketing against the Maika Telekom shares scandal outside the Maika headquarters.

In October 2006, the MIC Johor assemblyman for Tenggaroh, the late S Krishnasamy assaulted M. Kulasegaran the DAP MP for Ipoh Barat at the Maika annual general meeting (AGM) at Legend Hotel. Even though Kulasegaran lodged a police report, no action was taken against Krishnasamy.

Some years ago, it was claimed that at one particular MIC meeting at the Dewan Sri Pinang in Penang, chaired by Samy Vellu, a Maika shareholder wanted to know the position of Maika. It was alleged that Samy Vellu told this shareholder that he would provide the answer after the adjournment for refreshment. In the meantime two thugs confronted this shareholder and told him that if he wanted to return home in one piece it was the right time to go home.

When the meeting resumed, Samy Vellu reportedly called for the shareholder to repeat his query. But since he wasn’t there, Samy Vellu continued with his meeting without touching on the subject of Maika.

What is puzzling is the fact that in spite of so much overwhelming evidence, the Anti- Corruption Agency (ACA) after 17 months of investigation cleared Samy Vellu of any wrong-doing but unfortunately without clearing the doubts in the minds of the Malaysians.

In 1994, the then chairman of MIC public claims committee, V Subramaniam – also known as Barat Maniam – made a startling public accusation. He charged that the accounts were fabricated to make it appear as if all the profits from the sale of Telekom shares were channelled to MIED. In challenging Samy to take him to court, he declared, "I have come out with this statement to prove that Samy Vellu is a thief. He has stolen (Telekom) shares from the Indian community."


Maika Scandal refuses to be buried

In spite of 25 years of history, the Maika scandal refuses to be buried. It keeps on surfacing, haunting and hounding the perpetrators of a crime that robbed the poor of their fair share.

The controversy surrounding the Maika-Telekom shares scandal appears to be far from over.

Promises were made; time and again, that Maika shareholders will get their hard earned money back. But not a penny was paid. At each Maika annual general meeting, the shareholders continue to press for answers. Often the meeting degenerates into violence as ‘thugs’ linked to the MIC president rough up those who dare ask questions.

Samy Vellu appointed his son Vell Paari as CEO of Maika Holdings in 1999. He was asked  to sell off the few remaining assets of Maika Holdings.

Samy Vellu is very much in control of MIC, and he runs the party as a feudal organisation where he makes all the decisions. He has systematically hounded many capable leaders out of MIC to maintain his iron grip in the party. His deputies and committee members are loyal minions who will not hesitate to do anything and everything he says. After years in power, MIC is now a rotting mass, particularly in the head. Instead of serving the Indian community, MIC has become a party that serves only its leaders while millions of Indians face untold misery. The poor Indians have remained poor while those close to Samy Vellu became rich beyond their own expectations.

MIC exists for the benefit of its leaders, not the poor Indian community.

Now Mr Prime Minister, can you just ignore these contentious issues that have destroyed the lives of thousands of your citizens?

The entire Indian community awaits your response and our votes hang on your action.

 

 

 

 

 

edited from Malaysia Today.com

Umno ahead of annual assembly: Wracked by 'civil war' & DEADLY

UMNO has been getting a lot of flak of late due to the antics and misguided actions of its leaders including its current president Najib Razak and its former president Mahathir Mohamad. But not all of UMNO's 3-million-odd members are like its elitist top leadership, given to greed and corruption and relying on racism, race championing and religious bigotry to bail themselves out when the going gets tough.

 

Ordinary UMNO members and supporters are like other Malaysians - decent and desirous of a prosperous and happy future for themselves and families. They too are at the mercy of the UMNO elite. So are the lower ranking UMNO leaders, the Opposition, the economy, the judiciary, the civil service, the flora and fauna, the rivers and hills - all in the country are at the mercy of the UMNO elite.

 

But is the UMNO top leadership really so powerful or is this because they have been allowed to get their own way for so long that they have made themselves seem invincible? For example, top UMNO leaders can instruct the police to catch anybody, fabricate all the evidence and charges, prosecute in court and then pack the hapless person off to jail. And nobody can do anything about it! Just ask past victims such as Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh - all three Opposition leaders have suffered at the hands of the UMNO elite.

 

But is this power or abuse of power? The sudden dawning of consciousness - whether from education, the Internet or sheer evolution and  accompanied by growing public anger - that such behavior is wrong and cannot be condoned is certainly a key spanner thrown into the UMNO works. It brings to an inevitable end an era that Prime Minister Najib Razak and former premier Mahathir Mohamad still hope to cling onto. Based on past record, to maintain power the UMNO 'warlords' have never and cannot be expected to hesitate to trample on democracy or abuse human rights.

 

But time waits for no man or woman, and UMNO too will have to move on. Members may not realize it but change is happening in their party. The initial stages may be crude and in the form of intense never-before-seen factional infighting, but the implosion that is bound to come will allow the pus to finally exit.

 

In the meantime, it is everyman and woman for him and herself in UMNO, currently the most-watched and dangerous party in Malaysia, capable of inflicting not only enormous damage to itself, its members but also to the rest of the nation.

 

Muhyiddin Yassin, the outcast

Obviously Najib and his cousin Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein being from the Tun Razak-Tun Hussein clan feel that they have every right to control UMNO and rule Malaysia forever. After all if Mahathir could govern Malaysia for 22-years, what more they with their 'aristocratic' political heritage.

 

The cousins certainly believe they are strong enough to take on Mahathir. They have no need for Muhyiddin, he is not on their radar at all. The current 'plan' is for Najib to continue to be the UMNO president and Prime Minister of Malaysia while Hishamuddin is promoted to be his deputy. This is why Muhyiddin is set to lose his post as the deputy premier if the cousins have their way.

 

At 64, Muhyiddin will have to really hang in there and work doubly hard if he wants to retain his place in both the Cabinet and the party. He would have to show complete obedience to either Najib or Hisham for them to accept him ito their circle.

This is why Muhyiddin has no choice but to allow himself to become the 'self-appointed' henchman for Mahathir Mohamad. He needs Mahathir, who is arguably the most powerful 'warlord' in UMNO now to keep the cousins at bay.

 

Mahathir, the king maker

Mahathir on the other hand knows he cannot depend on his sons; they are not clever enough. The 87-year-old former PM has only one hope, that his youngest boy Mukhriz will follow in his footsteps and take over as the new 'Don' in UMNO. Sad to say, at 46, Mukhriz is still not up to the mark but as far as Mahathir is concerned, Mukhriz will have to do. Mirzan and Mokhzani - his other two sons - have even less political talent while his daughter Marina has never shown interest to learn the political ropes from her dad.

This is why Mahathir and Muhyiddin are able to form a symbiotic-parasitic relationship. Both need something from the other. Muhyiddin needs shelter and support, while Mahathir needs someone who will do the dirty work and cut a track for Mukhriz to climb up and trump the cousins.

 

Muhyiddin has always taken care to show a different style from Najib's. He seldom praises or publicly shows support for Najib's policies and programs. He is especially disapproving of those that threaten the hegemony and money-making 'rights' of the party's warlords and is quick to label these as being either not in the interest of Malays or the Muslims.

To many party old-timers, the Muhyiddin-Najib face-off is similar to the Musa Hitam-Mahathir challenge. Like Muhyiddin, Musa was practically on his own when he tried to take on Mahathir and this is why Musa failed.

 

And this is also why Muhyiddin is trying so hard to win Mahathir's support. He knows he will end up like Musa, relegated to the political fringes if he does not shore up his defences. But so far, the wily Mahathir has refused to fully throw his support behind Muhyiddin, supporting him discreetly and not on all issues, most notably on education and the use of English in teaching Math and Science.

 

Publicly, Mahathir has still been expressing support for Najib but that can always change and in the blink of an eye too. Politically ruthless, Mahathir would think nothing of pulling the rug from under Najib's feet - as he did previously to undermine, and later oust, Badawi.

 

Empty or real threat to SACK

Muhyiddin raised eyebrows when he recently threatened to sack those who sabotaged UMNO especially in the run-up to the coming 13th general election. But who are the people he was referring to? Who are the most likely saboteurs?

 

Certainly, it won't be the ordinary UMNO members. The last thing they would want to do is to spend their own money on fruitless pursuits - what can they gain from such activity? It would be different of course if they were paid by their party seniors to create mischief, but this is unlikely to be what Muhyiddin meant when he used the word 'sabotage'.

 

If Umno members are deeply angered, as they were in 1999 in the aftermath of the sacking and jailing of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim on trumped-up sodomy charges, they would just vote for the Pakatan Rakyat instead of BN. Or they may spoil their votes.

This is actually the worst form of damage and Umno leaders would do well to keep their members happy, but so far, they have been taking their party for granted, engrossed in their own factional tussling and backbiting.

 

So that leaves the senior leaders in UMNO. Exactly how serious is Muhyiddin in his threat to punish these leaders? So many have brought disgrace and shame to UMNO including himself.

 

Najib too is corruption-tainted and unable to shake off the perception that he and his wife Rosmah Mansor are involved in the controversial Altantuya Shaariibuu murder. Even Isa Samad, the former Negri Sembilan chief minister found guilty of money politics, was allowed to contest in Bagan Pinang and rewarded with the cushy and extremely well-paid job of being the FELDA chairman.

 

Such dubious credential are of course a huge liability to UMNO and certainly a drag on its chances in defending the federal government come GE13. But carrying political 'baggage' and refusing to step aside for those with clean records are not likely to constitute sabotage to Muhyiddin. After all he would have to sack himself if they did.

Sabotage to you, loyalty to me!

 

To Muhyiddin, sabotage is most likely to mean someone doing something to block his path to the PM's chair. Who are those most clearly loyal to Najib? At the moment apart from Hisham, Information Minister Rais Yatim, Minister in the PM's Office Nazri Aziz and UMNO secretary-general Tengku Adnan are considered to be the PM's men. Would Muhyiddin dare to go after any of these leaders or would he attack the layers below - the divisions chiefs, branch chiefs, secretaries, advisers and strategists who would be the ones doing the actual dirty work?

 

Another point to consider is that infighting is raging hot and fierce throughout UMNO to the extent that Najib is expected to pounce on it as an excuse to delay the GE13 until next year. In fact, he has just announced that the party's annual assembly will be held from Nov 27 to Dec 1 and that the party elections would be held only after the country's general election.

 

Of course, the mainstream media has spun this around, and that the annual assembly could be postponed if GE13 were called. Really? September is already nearing an end. Why announce an event as important to UMNO as its annual meeting with such short notice if there is no intention to see it through? If Najib is so whimsical as to be able to suddenly decide he has been 'inspired' to call GE13 after Hari Raya Haji in late October, this completely debunks the myth the mainstream media has been creating to make him look good - that he is meticulous in his preparation. If anything, such impetuosity would only confirm a chronic inability to be decisive.

 

Most of all Najib should stop lying to the people. Who does not know that UMNO would want to gather all its delegates, give them the pep talk of the year, rouse up feelings of racial supremacy and yet at the same time stir up the false sense that Malays would perish if BN lost before sending them home to hang out the party flags, and convince the rest of their families and friends to vote for UMNO-BN. It is a certainty that rallying the troops would top the agenda for this year's UMNO annual assembly.

 

Relax, no sackings or purges until after GE13 - then WATCH OUT!

So Muhyiddin may have just been trying to sound important and powerful when he warned saboteurs would be sacked. Tough warlords like Mahathir would laugh till their tummies ached. When infighting is threatening to finish off UMNO, how could Muhyiddin or even Najib possibly dare to sack anyone? If they did, the party would implode even more quickly.

 

Perhaps, after the GE13. In fact, sackings and ousters will be the order of the day whether BN wins GE13 or not. If the federal government is taken by the Pakatan, the first head to roll is course Najib's. The purge will carry on until all those whom his successor - most likely to be Muhyiddin - does not like are removed from positions of influence.

 

If BN retains the federal government with a result worse than the 2008 general election, UMNO would still be wracked by instability. The difference is that there would be greater decorum in the way the 'crocodiles' are allowed to fight in their pit. UMNO would still be the governing party and it would not do to behave like a band of cut-throat pirates out to gobble the crown jewels.

 

But the outcome would not be much different. Najib would still have to go, although he may be given more time to make a 'graceful' exit. And unless the secret deals currently bubbling deep under the surface find the momentum to break up, such as Tengku Razaleigh gaining the support he still badly lacks as of now, plodding Muhyiddin will be crowned the new UMNO top dog. And sad to say - for Malaysians - their new PM!

Rooster No.1

 

Of course, if BN stunned all predictions and performed better than in 2008 or perhaps even regained their two-thirds of the 222-seats in Parliament, then Najib would crow. He would be Rooster No. 1. Rosmah would have all the overseas trips and doctorates if she so craved. Another dynasty would be entrenched, the Mahathirs would be kicked out. Hisham can then finally breathe easy and look forward to his reward of taking over once Najib is ready to relinquish the post.

 

Amazing? Comical? Stage-managed? Unbelievable? Then what about the antics of Perkasa, the butt-exercising army veterans at the home of Bersih chief Ambiga Sreenevasan, the disappearing immigration records of the murdered Altantuya Shaariibuu, the miraculous escape from prosecution of Mahathir and his Lingam tape cronies?

 

Sad to say, even after 55 years of independence from colonial rule, this is still the state of play in Malaysia's political arena. For how long more will such backward politics reign depends on how Malaysians vote in GE13. But even if they continued to choose UMNO-BN, reforms will still come to Malaysia eventually, although it may take another 55 years! Happily for Malaysians, this is the least likely scenario. Isn't it?

 

 

 

 

 

Malaysia Chronicle

With 13m voters now, urgent call to clean up electoral roll

File photo of people checking their status at a polling booth in Kuching in last year’s Sarawak state elections. 

With 13 million registered voters to date, the Election Commission (EC) now faces increasing pressure to clean up the electoral roll and conduct separate polls for areas under both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

The Selangor PR government has openly declared it will not hold state elections when the federal BN calls them unless the EC is able to show the gazetted electoral roll to be used in GE13 has been cleared of dubious entries.

In its latest electoral statistics gazetted last August 16 made available to The Malaysian Insider, the EC recorded the number of registered voters as 13,052,374 people, out of whom 12,778,127 fall into the category of ordinary voters while 274,247 are recorded as absent voters. The latter group encompasses the armed forces, the police and overseas voters.

Selangor recorded the largest number of overseas voters, currently standing at 579 people, while the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur has the highest number of absent voters with 40,543 people. This is followed by Perak with 38,367 voters and Johor a distant third with 25,058 voters.

Kuala Lumpur FT also has the highest number of absent voters from within the ranks of the armed forces, totalling 24,979 people, while Selangor has the largest number of absent voters from within the police force, with 16,525 people.

The electoral law provides for absent voters to cast their ballots through the post even if the person is stationed within the voting constituency. This lack of transparency in the voting process has led to various allegations of gerrymandering and tampering with the ballot papers.

DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke has urged the EC to speed up cleaning its voter registry.





In the last general election in 2008, the ruling BN coalition succeeded in grabbing only one out of 11 parliamentary seats in the Kuala Lumpur FT, namely Setiawangsa. The DAP won five, PKR scored four and PAS took the remaining one — leading to the most successful partnership among the three opposition parties in the last decade. 

DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke has urged the EC to speed up cleaning its voter registry, saying the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on electoral reform had stated that it would only take four months to do so.

“It has been four months since the report was out but we are still receiving complaints, that’s why we want the EC to speed up the cleaning process.

“We urge the EC to show commitment in this cleaning process, and will continue to press them to update the data or explain this issue,” said Loke, who is both a federal and state lawmaker in Negri Sembilan.

He said cleaning the electoral roll was still being carried out and the Malaysian Microelectronic System Institute (MIMOS) had found dubious voter names in the roll.
“In the parliamentary report, MIMOS found there were 324 addresses registered with more than 100 voters, and 938 addresses with more than 51 to 100 voters.

“The overall voters were more than 100,000,” he said.

However, the deputy chairman of the EC, Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar, has made it known that he disagrees with Selangor’s suggestion of separate poll dates for the state election.

Read more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/with-13m-voters-now-urgent-call-to-clean-up-electoral-roll/

Will BN take a hit over Talam and water?

The Talam Corporation issue is now a bone of contention. And it is not surprising as the name ‘Talam’ itself can be said to be controversial, in the Cantonese dialect, that is.
For ‘Talam accented properly and translated literally in Cantonese is ‘hit-collapse’. But used in a sentence it means to defeat one’s rivals, for example: “We will ‘ta-lum’ all our rivals in the competition.”

BN and especially MCA, most notably Labis MP, Chua Tee Yong, has been using the Talam Corporation issue to ‘ta-lum’ the Selangor state government helmed by Pakatan Rakyat.
So far, the Pakatan Selangor state government is holding up well. Although much time and energy has been expended to clarify matters, the state government’s explanations rarely get highlighted in the mainstream media in a prominent manner.

The Talam debate on Sept 12 saw the Labis MP refusing to debate with Pakatan MPs: Tony Pua (DAP, Petaling Jaya Utara), Dzulkefly Ahmad (PAS, Kuala Selangor) and William Leong (PKR, Selayang).

Of course, Chua does not have the level to debate with Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim. Thus the debate arranged by MCA on Sept 12, knowing that Khalid will be away, is a cheap publicity stunt in order for MCA to do damage control as the sudden emergence of the Tan Koon Swan saga will surely greatly damage MCA.

It is impossible for MCA not to know that Khalid will be away on that particular day. This is therefore an MCA stunt to claw back popularity from the Chinese who are increasingly losing respect for this party who only voices out on selective issues.

Most conspicuously missing is the MCA voice in the Jalan Sultan-Save The Heritage issue where the property owners are unhappy with the MRT tunnelling beneath their properties. The property owners’ contention is that the MRT can tunnel beneath Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock (formerly Foch Avenue) in front of Kota Raya, Kuala Lumpur.

According to Shah Alam PAS MP, Khalid Samad, MCA does not know all the facts and figures. Said Khalid Samad: “KPMG which audited the Selangor state government’s handling of the Talam matter is very well-known, established and professional auditor and it has cleared the Selangor state government of any wrong-doing.”

“The Selangor government has recovered all its loans and got back the lands. The state government has profited from the whole venture and the auditors even praised the Selangor government’s professionalism in this matter,” he added.

BN’s weapons
Till to-date the water and Talam issues are BN’s weapons to hit out at the Selangor government in order to cause its collapse. But it is MCA which is going to get hit and collapse before the 13th general election as MCA has almost lost all credibility among the Chinese voters. Only BN’s cronies support MCA now.

BN has never sat still since it lost Selangor in the previous general election. It has continuously tried every trick in the book to recapture Selangor by hook or by crook. This is not surprising as Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is the head of Selangor Umno. Previously he was the head of Perak Umno and we know what happened there.

Many people are now getting very tired and fed up with the intense and non-stop political activity since March 2008.

It is BN which is responsible for this as it controls all the public institutions, the mainstream media and the government machinery which it enjoys using at the expense of the rakyat. Pakatan has no choice but to respond to BN’s attacks and it is this factor that contributed to the intense politicking.

BN leaders seem to ignore the fact that their politicking does not augur well for the investment climate. The Felda shares have suddenly dropped to below the psychological benchmark of RM5 and this is not a healthy sign.

PAS Kuala Selangor MP, Dzulkefly Ahmad, mentioned that the incoming foreign direct investment (FDI) figure is RM7 billion but the outgoing is RM16 billion. That means the outflow is RM9 billion.

The BN federal government keeps harping on the inflow figure but forgets to inform the citizens of the outflow figure and this shows that the government is adept at being economic on the truth.

With so much hidden under the carpet, we will not be able to know the truth concerning the nation’s economic health until an implosion occurs. By then, it will already be too late.
The BN federal government cannot hold on much longer. After winning the 13th general election, it will surely increase the price of RON95 by leaps and bounds as had happened after the March 2008 general election. The goods and services tax (GST) will then be introduced and this will certainly burden the poor and the low-wage earner.

The situation in Malaysia is dire. But the incumbent government is telling the rakyat: “Everything is fine. You are in good hands. The economy is robust and thriving. BN has a proven track record unlike Pakatan Rakyat.”

Proven track record aside, we need to see how the government is going to curb expenditure in the 2013 Budget which will be tabled on Sept 28. By right the Auditor-General’s Report should also be tabled on the same day.

But last year, the budget was tabled on Oct 7 and the Auditor-General’s Report was only tabled on Oct 24, which was 17 days late. This is against parliamentary procedure. Let us see whether the same bad practice will again be adopted this year. By the way, the budget will of course be passed because the opposition MPs are outnumbered.

PAS assures Hindraf better life for Indians

Waythamoorthy has a fruitful meeting with spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and it could pave way for strong electoral ties between Pakatan and Hindraf

 
PAS has assured Hindraf Makkal Sakti that marginalised ethnic Malaysian Indians would have a better future if Pakatan Rakyat captures Putrajaya in the next election.
PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat assured that “things would be different under Pakatan” to Hindraf supremo P Waythamoorthy during a meeting on Thursday morning.
Hindraf national coordinator W Sambulingam said Waythamoorthy had explained to Nik Aziz of the human rights violations against the Indian community under Umno’s misrule.
He said Waythamoorthy told the PAS leader how most working class Indians have been  excluded and isolated from the country’s mainstream development since independence.
“Tuan Guru Nik Aziz listened attentively on the plight of marginalised Indians raised by Waythamoorthy.
“The Menteri Besar was symphatetic and assured us that under Pakatan rule things would be different,” said Sambulingam.
The private meeting between Nik Aziz and Waythamoorthy was held at the Kelantan Menteri Besar’s home.
As Nik Aziz was not feeling well, the meeting, originally scheduled at the Menteri Besar’s office, was moved to the PAS leader’s home.
Waythamoorthy also held a separate meeting with PAS vice president and Kelantan executive councillor Husam Musa in his Kota Bahru office the same day.
PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu was present.
Sambulingam said Waythamoorthy and the PAS leaders held discussions on forging electoral ties between Hindraf and Pakatan to face Barisan Nasional.

Win-win partnership
Waythamoorthy also assured Husam and Mat Sabu that Hindraf was willing to deploy its members as elections volunteers for Pakatan in Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Negeri Sembilan.
“Waythamoorthy reiterated Hindraf’s commitment to help Pakatan on the understanding that there should be a strategic win-win partnership between the parties,” said Sambulingam.
Waythamoorthy has also briefed both leaders on the displacement of about 800,000 estate workers since the 70s due to the country’s unscrupulous urbanisation programme.
Sambulingam said Waythamoorthy told them that these estate workers were systematically excluded from the government’s mainstream socio-economic master plan for decades.
He added that the PAS leaders were enlightened on how estate workers were denied land, house and cash compensations and even job opportunities.
“Waythamoorthy explained how estate workers were relegated from a vibrant pool of human resources to forgotten urban poor,” said Sambulingam.
The Hindraf chair also highlighted the plight of about 350,000 stateless Indians, who were denied proper jobs or education, own properties and even get their marriages registered.
Both the meetings were facilitated by Mat Sabu.
Waythamoorthy, who returned to Malaysia on Aug 1 after a five-year self-imposed stay in London, also met DAP national chairman Karpal Singh in Penang on Aug 12.
Waythamoorthy thanked Karpal for his support and legal assistance to the Hindraf activists who were detained without trial under the now repealed Internal Security Act.
The meeting between Waythamoorthy, a leading Indian rights activist and Muslim leaders from PAS could pave way for a strong electoral ties between Pakatan and Hindraf.

If it happens, Hindraf could help sway lost Indian votes from BN, boosting Pakatan chances to capture federal powers in next election.