resignations and defected rock opening of GE13 battle

Nomination day today was marred with a series of shocks that saw numerous politicians defy their party leaderships by contesting the May 5 general elections as independents, forcing multi-cornered fights in a staggering number of seats nationwide.

Some faced the sack while others voluntarily quit their respective parties to push through with their electoral bids for what is clearly turning out to be the country’s most fiercely-contested polls battles to date.

Wanita Umno deputy chief Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim dropped a bombshell on her party this morning when she announced her decision to quit her political posts to stand as an independent in Kuala Kangsar, a seat last held by senior politician Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.

Her Umno colleague in Penang, former minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shariff Omar also put his party membership in jeopardy when he filed is nomination papers for two seats in the northern state – the Tasek Gelugor federal seat and the Sungai Dua state seat.

MCA’s Yoong Tham Fook joined his two fellow Barisan Nasional (BN) comrades by contesting as an independent in Kuala Kubu Baru against party colleague Jessie Ooi Hui Wen.

In Gerakan, five members defied their party’s decision not to field them as candidates with one contesting under a KITA ticket and four others contesting as independents.

They include G. Krishnan in Kuala Ketil, Kedah, under KITA, A. Mohan in Batu Kawan and Bukit Tengah, Penang, Chin Kok Keong in Teratai, Selangor, Ooi Beng Kooi in Sidam, Kedah and Ooi Suan Hoe in Machang Bubuk, Penang.

In an immediate response, BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak said all rebel members standing as independents will receive their expulsion letters on Monday.

“One of the resolutions, anyone (BN leaders and members) contesting on an Independent ticket, cannot remain as a party member.

“As such, the party will take action on Monday to issue expulsion letters to members contesting as Independent candidates in the general election this time,” he was quoted saying by national news agency Bernama.

Similarly, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said in a statement here that those from his party standing as independents will have their memberships revoked immediately “with no exception”.

“The party will not tolerate the action of party members standing as independent candidates and this includes Party member, Yoong Tham Fook who has taken the liberty to contest as independent candidate in Kuala Kubu Baru.

“The MCA will take disciplinary action against the above said member and revoking their membership is the only action that the MCA will take,” he said.

Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said in a statement this evening that all five Gerakan candidates have been sacked for violating the party’s wishes.

Across the political divide, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) faced the same rebellion by several party leaders.

As of 7.30pm this evening, DAP confirmed that seven of its members are contesting as independents in the May 5 polls.

The DAP’s incumbents Jenice Lee and Sim Tong Him both defied their party leadership’s decision not to field them for the contest by filing nomination papers to defend their respective state seats – Lee’s in Teratai and Sim’s in Kota Melaka.

Others include Liew Kard Seong in Alor Setar, Loo Hock Chai in Kota Alam Shah, John Fernandez in Seremban, Yew Tian Hoe in Aulong, Perak, and Koh Boon Heng in Damak, Pahang.

Earlier today, DAP disciplinary committee chairman Tan Kok Wai confirmed that Lee and Sim would face the sack for contesting as independents.

It is believed that the other party members will face the same punishment for their bids.

In PKR, incumbent Machang Bubuk assemblyman Tan Hock Leong confirmed his intention to defend the Penang state seat. He had earlier informed the media that he quit all his party posts on Thursday to make way for his contest.

Tapah PKR division chief Ridzuan Bani did the same, and will be contesting in a four-cornered fight against Tapah incumbent Datuk M. Saravanan, who is MIC’s vice-president, PKR’s nominee Vasantha Kumar Krishnan and Berjasa’s Shaharuzzaman Bistamam.

At the close of nominations, the Election Commission (EC) confirmed a total of 579 candidates will contest 222 parliamentary seats in the May 5 general elections, including a record 79 independents.

This is the first time since the 1959 elections in the then independent Malaya to have a contest in all constituencies.

In total, BN registered 221 candidates with the rest from PKR (99), PAS (73), DAP (51), independents (79), State Reform Party (STAR) (28), Berjasa (9), Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) (8), Sarawak Workers Party (SWP) (6), Kita (2), Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM) (2), and Bersama (1).

The BN candidate for Pasir Mas Che Johan Che Pa failed to file his nomination form this morning.

The EC said 1,320 candidates will contest state seats in 12 states, made of those from BN (505), PAS (236), PKR (172), DAP (102), independents (190), STAR (49), SAPP (41), Berjasa (5), Kita (11), Bersama (4), PCM (3), and Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) (2).

The number of independent candidates has also more than doubled since the last general election in 2008, when 36 independent candidates contested the federal seats, while 66 contested the state seats.

Some 13.3 million voters, including 5,200 abroad, are eligible to cast their ballots in Election 2013 to elect lawmakers in 222 federal and 505 state seats in 12 states. Sarawak already held its state elections in 2011.

The EC announced on April 10 that the 13th general election will be held on May 5, and nomination day falls today, which will signal the start of formal electoral campaigns that will last 15 days.

The EC had said voters abroad will cast their ballots at Malaysian embassies and high commissions around the world on April 28 while postal voters will do so on April 30.

wise action for the common good...avoid bandits and corrupt BN to make profits

PAS to discuss PKR seat clashes on Monday

The PAS leadership will meet on Monday to discuss the multi-cornered contests with Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partner PKR in six seats nationwide for the May 5 general elections.

In a statement here, PAS assistant secretary-general Ahmad Sabki Yusof called on all members and supporters of PR to remain patient until a decision is reached by the party’s top leadership.

After nominations closed today, the Islamist party clashed with PKR in six seats, including the Labuan federal constituency and six state seats – Sungai Acheh, Kota Damansara, Bukit Besi, Kota Putera and

Seberang Takir.

The clashes, which resulted from the last minute breakdown in seat negotiations between the two PR partners, will likely see a split in support for the opposition bloc, giving the edge to their contenders from Barisan Nasional (BN).

In the Sg Acheh state seat, Badrul Hisham Shahrin of PKR will be involved in a contest with Umno’s Mahmud Zakaria and Yusni Mat Piah of PAS.

In Labuan, PKR’s Ibrahim Menudin will face-off with Hadnan Mohamad of PAS and Rosman Isli of BN.

In Terengganu, PAS is fielding three candidates in state seats meant to be a straight fight between ally PKR and BN.

PAS’s Adam Mat Said is up against PKR’s Mohamad Abdul Ghani Ibrahim and BN’s Mohd Mahdi Musa in Kota Putera.

In Bukit Besi, Roslan Ismail will run as the PAS candidate against PKR’s Mohd Shamsul Mat Amin and BN’s Roslee Daud.

In Seberang Pakir state seat, PAS’s Zakaria Dagang is in a three-way fight with incumbent Datuk Ahmad Razif Abdul Razak from BN and PKR’s Ahmad Nazri Mohd Yusof.

opposition sappy....bandits and corrupt UMNO-BN the profit

Multi-cornered fights in Sabah boon to BN

Multi-cornered contests throughout Sabah in Election 2013 will benefit the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) in areas with a weak opposition,,

Nevertheless multi-cornered fights for the May 5 general elections would not dent the opposition’s chances of victory in federal seats like Keningau or Beaufort, where voters choose based on personalities, rather than political parties.

Multi-cornered contests will reduce the opposition’s chances of winning a max number of seats..

In areas where the opposition is not strong, multi-cornered contests may benefit BN greatly, but in areas where personality factor counts more than party factor, multi-cornered contests don’t affect the opposition’s chances that much..

But we predicted that the opposition would win between five and six federal seats in the Borneo state – Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Beaufort, Pensiangan and Ranau – compared to the one seat in Election 2008, where the DAP won Kota Kinabalu.

The pro-opposition sentiment among the Chinese was running high in Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan, while PKR candidates Richard Sakian Gunting and Jonathan Yasin were popular in Pensiangan and Ranau respectively.

Multi-cornered fights have sprung up in Sabah between BN, opposition parties from Pakatan Rakyat (PR), local opposition parties SAPP and STAR, and numerous independent candidates on Nomination Day today.

The Keningau constituency will see the second battle between heavyweights incumbent PBS’ Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan (picture) and Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, who is his brother and the Sabah STAR chairman. PKR’s Stephen Sandor has also thrown his hat into the ring, making it a three-way contest.

STAR and SAPP are campaigning on restoring Sabah’s autonomy, while PR is urging voters to choose between it and BN in the opposition pact’s quest to win federal power in the May 5 polls.

Another three-cornered fight will take place in the Beaufort federal constituency between incumbent Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin, who defected from Umno to form the PKR-friendly PPS, STAR’s Guan Dee Koh Hoi and Umno’s Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun.

Lajim won Beaufort in Election 2008 with an overwhelming 10,914-vote majority.

The multi-cornered fights between opposition parties  also would give BN an edge, but said that independents would not create much impact, due to a lack of grassroots support.

Kota Kinabalu will see a three-cornered contest between Sabah DAP chief Jimmy Wong, PBS’ Chin Tek Ming and STAR’s Liew Hock Leong.

Sandakan, however, will see a straight fight between incumbent Datuk V.K. Liew from the LDP and DAP’s Wong Tien Fatt.

A four-cornered contest will take place in Tawau, where incumbent Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui from SAPP will defend her seat against Datuk Mary Yap from PBS, PKR’s Datuk Kong Hong Ming and independent Ahmad Awang.

The  incumbent Datuk Wilfred Bumburing, who defected from UPKO and formed the PKR-friendly APS, was popular in the Tuaran federal seat, compared to UPKO’s Datuk Wilfred Tangau, STAR’s Jasmin Dulin and independent Erveana Ansari Ali in the four-cornered fight.

BN will lose Selangor because of Zul Noordin

The Barisan Nasional (BN) will lose in Selangor this May 5 if the coalition insists on fielding Datuk Zulkifli Noordin in Shah Alam, MIC’s S. Vell Paari warned today in a text message to party president Datuk G. Palanivel.

The MIC leader said that by fielding Zulkifli, BN is risking the Indian vote, which he said would likely become the deciding vote in states like Selangor, now ruled by Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

Vell urged Palanivel to convey his concerns to Datuk Seri Najib Razak and asked for “favourable action” from the BN chairman, warning of a “disastrous situation” if not action is taken.

“Dear Datuk Seri G.Palanivel, Zulkifli Nordin being a BN candidate in Shah Alam is an insult to the Hindus in Malaysia. Everywhere people are getting emotional,” he said in the message, which was also sent to all MIC central working committee members.

The son of former party chief Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu noted that in there are some 15,000 Indian voters in Shah Alam, 31,000 in Kota Raja, 21,000 in Kapar and 17,000 in Subang, many among whom he claimed were angered by Najib’s selection of Zulkifli.

“We could lose nearly 50 per cent to 70 per cent of Indian votes which could result in loss for MIC candidates especially in Selangor but with Indian voters being a deciding vote, it could result in BN failing to capture Selangor,” he said, adding a warning that the sentiment is also spreading to other states.

“Dato Seri we cannot be keeping silent and letting everyone to walk away with an apology after insulting our religion and community.

“Our leaders on the ground especially in Shah Alam are being abused verbally,” he said.

Vell ended the text message by saying he was merely observing party decorum by seeking action on Zulkifli’s candidacy through an appeal to the party president.

“This is my strategic advice as strategic director,” he said.

Vell (picture) later confirmed with The Malaysian Insider that he had sent the SMS.

When asked if he would accept the DAP’s challenge that he quit the party if Zulkifli is not dropped from BN’s candidates list, however, the party leader would not commit a “yes” answer.

“I can pose the same question to DAP. Today, PSM is having problems in PR over seat and logo issues. PSM have stated that ‘PKR is using racial reason to deny us the seat’.

“So will DAP quit PR over the use of racial reason to deny PSM seats by PR?” he said in an SMS.

Najib confirmed Zulkifli’s candidacy in Shah Alam when unveiling the coalition’s Selangor list yesterday, allowing the Kulim Bandar Baharu incumbent to run directly on a BN ticket.

The decision earned the caretaker prime minister much criticism, largely due to Zulkifli’s reputation as a Muslim hardliner, his post as the vice-president of Malay right wing group Perkasa and the recent controversy over his insults against the Hindu community.

A video of Zulkifli uttering the word “Keling”, which Malaysians of Indian descent consider derogatory, went viral recently, just days after another video was released in which he questioned an Indian trader on why Hindu gods did not prevent the man’s shop from being flooded, drawing the wrath of Hindus.

Once a lawyer for opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Zulkifli had also questioned the purity of the Ganges River, also known as Ganga in India, which is considered sacred by Hindus.

Zulkifli became a BN-friendly Independent MP and critical of the opposition when he was dismissed from PKR on March 6, 2010 over a police report he lodged against Shah Alam incumbent Khalid Abdul Samad.

Umno candidate Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin lost to Khalid in 2008 with a 9,314 majority. In 2004, he had won against Khalid with a 13,410 majority.

 

 

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By remaining in BN, MIC is telling the world (including the Indians) that they support Zulkifli Noordin and his racist stance

bn will lose because of it's racism. Racism is so 1970s! The world is now global, racism is dead, but bn still worship racism. Say NO to racism, say NO to bn.

Selangor does not belong to BN but belong to people, and people in Selangor has long decided that BN in longer in their heart. BN now just dream that they will get back Selangor, but in reality, they will lose miserably in Selangor. Not to blame people for that. Just blame themselves. Too long in power, they just become too greedy, and realized now that they need to go back to people to get their support . The answer is TOO LATE. We have alternative that can take care of us. GOODBYE BN

BN is certain to lose SELANGOR because from what I gather even the Malay and Chinese will not vote for him because he is an embarrassment to our multicultural trust and values

BN characteristics....suspected candidates with suspected degrees ..what a shame..!!!

one of suspected....Kohilan has a Master of Science in Commerce and Industrial Economy degree from Pacific Western University in the United States.

The DAP continued today its drive to dig up more dirt on the academic qualifications of its political rivals from Barisan Nasional (BN), claiming the degrees of both deputy ministers in the Foreign Ministry had being bought from suspect universities.

A day after accusing A. Kohilan Pillay of buying his Master of Science in Commerce and Industrial Economy from Pacific Western University in the United States, DAP election strategist Ong Kian Ming alleged that the Puchong candidate had obtained a fake bachelor’s degree.

Ong also alleged that Kohilan’s colleague in the same ministry, Datuk Richard Riot Jaem, had gained his academic credentials from a well-known “bogus university”.

“In other words, both our deputy foreign ministers have not one but two degrees from dubious universities!” the opposition politician said in a statement.

“Such behaviour is totally unethical and unacceptable for any leader, not to mention two national leaders that are supposed to represent our nation on the international stage!” he added.

Ong chided the two deputy ministers for being so bold as to list their paper qualifications on the ministry’s website, noting that a simple background check revealed the universities that had awarded the duo their degrees to be suspect.

Connaught University in the Republic of Ireland from where Kohilan was said to have got his Bachelor of Economics does not have a website and had been among a list of “dubious institutions” in a 2009 investigation by local daily The Star along with the Pacific Western University where the BN man had got his master’s degree, Ong said.

Richard, the incumbent MP for Serian in Sarawak, was alleged to have bought his both his Bachelor of Business Administration from the Chartered Institute of Business Administration (Ireland), Teoranta in 1994 and his Master of Business Administration from Preston University in the US.

Ong also claimed that Nicole Wong, another BN hopeful for the Seputeh federal seat, owned “invalid degrees” from “unauthorised schools”, raising doubt over her MBA from the West Coast University Panama.

He reiterated his call on the BN nominees to withdraw from taking part in the May 5 election.

“Not having a degree does not disqualify someone from being a candidate.

“But having lied about how one has obtained a degree most certainly disqualifies a person, from an integrity standpoint, from being a candidate,” he said.

 

 

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For the sake of the country, these hopefuls should withdraw and the parties that nominate them should not support their candidacy. The deputy ministers must apologise for deceiving the people all this while. There is no harm in being a paperless person. There a lot of less educated person succeed better than the graduates. But they proudly say so and if their contributions are good they will be awarded with honorary degrees later in their careers. To buy qualifications is fraud.

one's Preston University is a well known paper mill. They have been conducting many "courses" in Malaysia and "all students pass with flying colours"!

Zero credibility. If we elect these people as our MP, then Parliament also has no more credibility.

MCA be censured for surrendering Gelang Patah to Umno...Coward traitor MCA now sold its soul to evil devil political master Umno!!!

MCA criticized for giving up its stronghold seat of Gelang Patah in Johor to another Barisan Nasional component party, Umno, and demanded that the party surrender 58 more seats to Umno.

Gelang Patah had been a historic MCA fortress with a voter racial make-up of 53 per cent Chinese, 34 per cent Malays and 12 per cent Indians.

So if MCA surrenders this seat to Umno, then it will have to surrender all its other seats where the Chinese voter percentage is less than 52 per cent..MCA also should surrender its 25 parliamentary and 33 state assembly seats that have 52 per cent or less Chinese voters.

Is MCA willing to surrender these seats to Umno? Malaysians are entitled to an explanation from the MCA leadership..

Instead of fielding a “big gun” from its own party against Lim, the MCA has given way to Umno and Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman is expected to contest against Lim.

The 66-year-old mentri besar is deemed to be the best bet against the DAP stalwart especially when the ruling coalition is depending on the Malay support to win the May 5 general election.

Labelling Gelang Patah as his “life-and-death” political battle, this time will not only be fighting a four-term MB but also Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

This would be the first time in Malaysian electoral history where an opposition candidate has to face four Umno heavyweights “all at one go”.

BN retained the Gelang Patah seat with a 9,000-vote majority in Election 2008 which is a decline from the 31,666-vote majority in 2004. The opposition has never won this seat in the past 56 years.

More than 13.3 million voters are expected to cast their votes for 222 federal and 505 state seats this May 5. Sarawak had its state elections in 2011.

 

 

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MCA has never been relevant to the Chinese community for a long time. It turned itself into UMNO's lapdog during the Tan Koon Swan vs Neo Yee Pan MCA presidential election. As history student will tell you - when you invite a 3rd party strongman to arbitrate between the two, he will eventually claim overlordship over your party/ organization / country. History repeats itself because politicians never think long term. They are short term "businessmen". As a result the Chinese community is playing second fiddle!

Parliament seat for Ayer Hitam also handed over to UMNO. MCA no more relevant but Chui Soi Lek still kowtow. This pru 13 is UMNO VS PR.

This will be the battle of the century for PR to win it and returning power back to the people. We are all behind you. Indians, Malays, Chinese and Indigenous people are all behind you! Ubah!!

Umno greedy Sabah people destitute

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim moved last night to tap underlying disillusionment among Sabah’s poor, reminding them that Umno was to blame for their penury in one of Malaysia’s poorest states.

At two rallies in the villages of Papar and Kota Belud for the May 5 general election, the opposition leader railed against Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders for allegedly enriching themselves on Sabah’s oil and timber.

“We are furious at Umno’s leadership. They have no shame,” Anwar  thundered to a 500-strong crowd at Kampung Kawang in Papar yesterday.

“You even take money from the poor. No shame. Who is the one taking all the money? What kinds of leaders are so shameless that they can even take money from the poor?” said the PKR de facto leader under a tent that was packed with people, despite a drizzle in the evening.

Anwar’s fiery speech to an audience comprising mostly Kadazandusun farmers in Papar, which is known as Sabah’s “rice bowl”, comes as Pakatan Rakyat (PR) aims to make inroads into the BN stronghold in Election 2013.

Sabah’s poverty rate was 8.1 per cent last year, almost five times higher than the national poverty rate of 1.7 per cent, according to the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in the Prime Minister’s Department, as reported by Borneo Post Online last February.

Several people that The Malaysian Insider spoke with at Papar also complained of joblessness among the youth, who are seeking employment in brick factories or in the government sector.

Sabah’s unemployment rate last year was 5.4 per cent, higher than the average national unemployment rate of 3.1 per cent.

“The people in Sabah live such hard lives,” said farmer Jila Mojinun, a Kadazandusun in Papar, which is located half an hour away from the city centre.

“We fall in between the cracks. We don’t have roads, supplies, and the roads are tarred only when there are elections,” added the 53-year-old.

Mojinun said that he came to see Anwar for the first time by hitching a ride with a friend from his home in a village 9km away, and travelled on a pothole-ridden road used by loggers.

“Anwar wants us to have a comfortable life, to develop our areas a little,” he said.

Lawrence Malating, 31, told  that his friends found it difficult to get jobs in the civil service because of discrimination, but was unable to specify further.

“He is the voice of the people,” said Malating, who is a farmer, referring to Anwar.

Anwar headed off to Kota Belud, which is about two hours away from the city centre, immediately after his event at Papar. There were no streetlamps along the winding roads to Kota Belud that is also touted to be another Sabah “rice bowl”.

The former deputy prime minister similarly sought to appeal to the majority-Bajau crowd in Kota Belud, who are mostly farmers, by citing his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar’s battle, which he painted as a David-and-Goliath confrontation, against then-federal minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil in the Lembah Pantai constituency in Election 2008.

“Tony Fernandes campaigned for Shahrizat, the CIMB chief supported Shahrizat, all the big guns supported her,” said Anwar, referring to AirAsia chief Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

“Who supported Nurul Izzah? The factory workers, taxi drivers, poor people. Who won? Nurul Izzah,” he added, drawing applause from the 2,000-strong audience in Kampung Wakap in Kota Belud.

Engineering graduate Eva, 22, complained that her village, 8km away from Kampung Wakap, has been waiting for piped water for 15 years.

“BN tells a lot of lies,” Eva, who is a member of the Sama indigenous group, told, without giving her full name.

Housewife Zainab Abdul, 58, similarly called Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak a “liar”.

“The rights of Sabahans are destroyed. Oil is taken, timber is taken, the people of Sabah are poor,” she told.

 

 

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The people of Sabah are seeing BN/Najib for what they have not done. Even Pakatan does not win this time, the defining moment has arrived. There is hope for Sabahans. This couple with the realisation of the young voters to sieze the opportunity to change the governing party in the nation speak well for the health of Malaysia!!

BN have robbed sabahan for such a long time!! Wat is sabahan like us got at the end?? Poverty n umno with others bn minister all got richet n richer!! U think this is fair?? U say this is equality?? Nop!! This is all cronism n corruption!!

Come. On!! sabahan, time is up now for a change now!! Think of the people, think of the future n think of ur children future!! We must change for better!!

flint racism...Apologise for ‘chauvinistic’ blog post or be sued, Dr M told

 

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has another 24 hours to apologise for his “chauvinistic” Gelang Patah blog entry or face a legal suit for libel, the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang said today.

The veteran opposition leader accused the former prime minister of “character assassination” by resorting to “lies” and “defamatory” statements through the latter’s latest blog entry two days ago, titled “Gelang Patah”.

“There has only been silence on Mahathir’s part and I am giving him another 24 hours to vindicate himself, produce proof to substantiate his allegations against me or behave as a responsible ‘elder statesman’ and retract and apologise for his defamatory blog against me,” Lim said in a statement.

The 72-year-old is heading the DAP’s charge against the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition on Umno’s home turf and has persistently faced Dr Mahathir’s fire since announcing his bid for the Gelang Patah federal seat.

The Johor-born Lim, who has been busy touring his home state, also said inflammatory leaftlets by unknown agents had been surreptitiously distributed among Malay voters painting him as the provocateur to the May 13, 1969 racial riots.

He denounced the allegations as lies that were being repeatedly raised to attack his credibility and integrity, saying the police had full records of his movements during that darkest period in the country’s history, which put him in the clear.

He attributed the perpetration of the claims as Umno propaganda in the run-up to the May 5 polls and singled out Dr Mahathir for accountability.

“This is what Mahathir had done with his blog on ‘Gelang Patah’ making the most chauvinist and scurrilous attacks on me, accusing me of wanting to cause a racial confrontation coming to Gelang Patah,” Lim said.

Some 13.3 million Malaysians will vote for 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats on May 5.

The fight for Johor, the BN’s southern vote bank, is touted to be the arena for Malaysia’s most dramatic battle in Election 2013.

Malays make up some 53 per cent of the state population, followed by the Chinese at 39 per cent and Indians at seven oer cent.

Lim’s decision to leave the Ipoh Timor seat he won by a mighty majority in Election 2008 for Gelang Patah has fired up Pakatan Rakyat’s spirits and strengthened the opposition pact’s resolve to take the southern state.

 

 

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Mahathir has several options:
1. Keep quite..usually he won't unless he really is lost for word.
2. Admit wrong and apologies. This is not Mahathir. The true Mahathir is never wrong.
3. Respond to LKS... let's wait and see. When he does, please don't expect the answer to be sensible.

Mahatir is nothing but ranting and raving undiluted racist. LKS , sue the pants off this ignoramus.!

Since the aithorities does not want to take any action against TDM, high time LKS do it in the civil courts. Respect is to be earned but this sly old fox does not deserve any respect. I spit on his gravestone.

PAS fields first non-Muslim candidate in Johor, to name two more soon

 

PAS named today supporters congress president Hu Pang Chow as its man for the Ayer Hitam contest, making him the first non-Muslim candidate to stand under the Islamist party's ticket, a move that could help boost its standing among Malaysia's minorities.

The Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) component party is also expected to name two more non-Muslim candidates soon. Hus's deputy N. Balasubramaniam and central working committee member Richard Wong are likely to contest Pahang and Malacca respectively.

"I will be the first time PAS is fielding a non-Muslim for a straight fight for a parliamentary seat.

"I am brining this message of PAS for all," Hu told The Malaysian Insider in an immediate response to the announcement mate by PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat this morning.

Ayer Hitam's incumbent is MCA Youth chief and interim deputy education minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong who won the Malay majority seat with a landslide majority of 13,909 votes against PAS's Hussin Sujak in Election 2008.

However, the majority Wee garnered was less than the numbers he mustered in 2008. The reduction signalled decrease Chinese support towards the MCA, a steadily growing trend reflected nationwide.

Banking on this, PR is now aiming to dent Barisan Nasional's (BN) bastion state of Johor by fielding in heavyweights like DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang who will be contesting MCA's Gelang Patah seat as it pushes for more federal seats.

Johor is seen as MCA's last standing ground after it was nearly annihilated in the historic 2008 elections. Out of the 32 seats it contested, it won only 15 and a third of it came from Johor. Even so, the victories depended heavily on Malay support.

Hu is confident that he would join the list of candidates that would wipe out MCA in Johor

"I will be a giant killer in Ayer Hitam," said Hu, a Christian Chinese.

Meanwhile Balasubramaniam told that he is likely to contest a federal seat in Pahang while Wong will stand for the Asahan state seat in Malacca.

"It has not been announced. Maybe Monday," he said.

Since last year, PAS, a founding partner of PR, has been on a vigorous rebranding exercise by making the PAS Supporters Club a part of the party's "dewan" or congress as well as recruiting former senior civil servants and businessmen.

It has also selected some of them to run for public office in the May 5 polls.

While the move was lauded by many, some political pundits believe the changes could affect the party's original supporters who had fought for a different policy and goal.

It is understood that PAS grassroots are unsettled by the party's wobbly stand on the "Allah" controversy where many of its conservative followers felt non-Muslims should not be allowed to use the Arabic term to describe their gods.

The dichotomy on the national fiasco drew flak from some non-Muslims opposition supporters, which threatened to withdraw support.

PAS leadership immediately issued a fatwa allowing non-Muslims to use the term but said attempts to translate it in religious text to confuse Muslims is prohibited.

 

 

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With umno castrating every coalition member for non-performance, it's refreshing indeed, to see PAS braving what is the biggest election since independence to field, not a Malay, Indian or Chinese, but a Malaysian!!!

Good moved by PAS!! They deserved the salutation!! Lets finish off wee ka siong reign in Ayer itam this time. Lets make this as part of history, 2008 penang captured!! 2013 johor captured!! Whack mca out of johor this time!! We can do it..

This is a good development for PAS towards "Malaysian-isation", and to instill a sense of mutual acceptance differing religious allegiance. PR pact will lead to a more harmonized Malaysia.

Time to be PROPER MALAYSIANS and not in name only from Barisan. Time for inclusiveness and not divisiveness preached by Barisan.! ABU.!