Will Semangat 46 Ghosts Return To Haunt Pakatan Rakyat

HANTU LAUT

Remember, Tengku Razaleigh and Semangat 46?

Semangat 46 was formed by Tengku Razaleigh and Team B of UMNO, a breakaway faction to challenge the then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad and UMNO.

Razaleigh had the support of two former prime ministers, Tungku Abdul Rahman and Hussein Onn, both had fallen out with Mahathir and threw their weights behind Razaleigh.

The birth of Semangat 46 was the result of a battle for the presidency of UMNO between Razaleigh and Mahathir.

Mahathir won by wafer thin majority but as he says "a win is a win, even if by one vote." and went on to become Malaysia's longest serving prime minister.

On 3 June 1989 Semangat 46 was officially registered as a political party to challenge UMNO.

In the 1990 General Elections an overconfident Razaleigh formed two coalitions with other opposition parties to take on BN. Gagasan Rakyat coalition was formed with DAP (Democratic Action Party) and PRM (Party Rakyat Malaysia) and Ankatan Perpaduan Ummah coalition was with PAS, BERJASA, HAMIM and newly formed Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress.

There were much talk that UMNO will face the toughest challenge ever and may lose the elections to Semangat 46 and its allies.Despite these alliances, Semangat 46 did poorly, winning only 8 out of 180 parliamentary seats.However, the alliance with PAS was more fruitful, but only in the state of Kelantan, winning all 39 state seats. PAS took 24 seats and Semangat 46 won 15 state seats.

Strained relationship between Mahathir and Sabah Chief Minister Joseph Pairin of PBS led to the party sudden withdrawal from BN at the eleventh hour. PBS ditched BN after nomination of seats have been made and joined Semangat 46 as an ally to fight the BN. Unforgivable treachery that led to the downfall of the PBS government in the next general elections brought about by departure of its top leaders, a coup engineered by UMNO led by its deputy President Anwar Ibrahim.

In the 1995 General Elections after having changed the party name to Parti Melayu Semangat 46 to challenge UMNO on Malay communal issue, Razaleigh again tried his luck by taking Semangat 46 to the polls, However, his relationship with DAP have by then soured and squabbles with PAS over power sharing in Kelantan compromised the party credibility and was the beginning of its end. Semangat 46 and all other political parties that contested the elections were almost decimated with Semangat 46 the worse performer, winning only 6 parliamentary seats. The other parties performed slightly better than Semangat 46 (DAP 9, PAS 7 and PBS 8)

However, they failed to punch a big hole in the BN fortress and Mahathir stayed the winner.

Over the next few years Semangat 46 lost its support and many of its members left the party to rejoin UMNO. In October 1996, the coffin was finally nailed. Razaleigh announced he would disband the party. He and most party members rejoined UMNO.

Was 28 March 2008 a twist of fate and stroke of good luck for the opposition Pakatan Rakyat that gave them the most unexpected windfall and a near shocking defeat of the BN?

Much of the erosion of supports for BN was due to former Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi failure to implement reforms that he promised the people before the 2004 General Elections. This new broom did not live up to the people's expectation.

After having given him a rousing victory in the 2004 General Elections, Badawi failed to spark the people's imagination and was the final straw that broke the camel's back. A wrong man for the job, a grave mistake made by Mahathir, who appointed him as his successor for selfish reason, to complete all his unfinished projects, particularly, the crooked bridge to Singapore and continue with his legacy.

Abdullah proved otherwise, he shelved most of the projects, which angered Mahathir to no end. Mahathir, being the man he is, started a vicious "remove Abdullah" campaign. Mahathir vicious and inundated attacks on Abdullah, infighting and sabotage in UMNO contributed to the poor performance in 2008.

Can Najib turn the table and give the opposition Pakatan Rakyat a run for their money?

Have the Chinese completely deserted BN, or are they keeping their cards close to their hearts and would spring a surprise come election day?

On the surface, it seemed obvious that the Chinese have completely abandoned the BN and trust the DAP and PKR would be able to control and stop PAS from pursuing its Islamic agenda. These are die hard chauvinistic DAP supporters and are concentrated mainly in urban and semi-urban areas and consider themselves Chinese first. This group will vote PR without hesitation.

There are about 30% smart Chinese voters who are fence sitters and pay no allegiance to anyone other then themselves. They would decide, without undue influence from any party, which side they'll cast their votes. They are voters suspicious of PAS tie up with DAP and PKR and suspect PAS of using the platform as their stepping stone to further their ambition to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state.  PAS recent encroachment into their lives by imposing Islamic values on non-Muslims have angered this group. Some have openly displayed their outrage and said if PAS can do it in the states presently under their control what makes you think they won't do it when they take the Federal government. These are the Malaysian first Chinese. Good chance this group likely to vote BN.

Though, small in numbers they can raise the highest decimal of noise to make their presence felt to whoever want to court them. These are the Indians.These are people who felt discriminated, marginalised, sidelined and abandoned by their leaders and the government. They sided with Pakatan Rakyat in 2008 to show their displeasure. They have now come to term that Pakatan Rakyat was all talk and no action and is no better than BN when it comes to looking after their interests. Most have become disillusioned with PR unfulfilled promises made in 2008 GE. Majority likely to vote BN.

The Malays, if united they alone can decide who should be the government. Unfortunately, that is not the case, they are split three ways with UMNO taking the bulk of supports and the rest divided between PKR and PAS.

The educated urban Malays, who think themselves as the intelligentsia and "I can do without the NEP" attitude are disillusioned with UMNO leaders and detest abuses of power and corruptions among Malay politicians in the party. They are also Anwar's diehard supporters, who believe he is the right man who should lead the country and won't believe any allegations of his wrong doings, or any of the videos of his illicit sexual acts, no matter how much alike the man in the video is to Anwar. These unshakable awe-stricken Anwar's supporters think Anwar is a victim of frame-ups and conspiracies by UMNO. These group is small in numbers but come, rain or shine, will vote PR.

The bigger block of Malay votes will come from the rural and semi-rural areas and with the threat of Chinese political power gaining strength majority of Malays in this group are expected to vote for UMNO, including PAS followers who are angered by PAS leaders subordinating the party to DAP and looked at these leaders as ineffectual, cowardly and interested only in power grab. There is  50/50 chance Kelantan may fall to BN.

Penang will stay with DAP,  Selangor and Perak can go either way. All other states in Peninsula Malaysia are likely to stay with BN.

Sabah and Sarawak will again be the jewels in the crown, losing some Chinese seats to DAP and nominal seats to PKR, which will not put a dent in the BN armour even if situation in Peninsula Malaysia may not be so favourable to the BN.

The rural/semi-rural areas are where the real battle will be fought and whoever win this will take Putrajaya. The greatest number of seats come from this sector, which is the basis of our electoral system.

Our electoral system is based on the Westminster system of Britain and on the basis of "first past the post, a "winner takes all" system that can make a party with more seats but fewer votes the winner.

There is a strong Malay political awakening in Peninsula Malaysia. 

The rural Malays biggest fear is that DAP may become the biggest winner in Pakatan Rakyat if their votes are split three ways and the country could end up with a weak Malay administration should Pakatan win the 13th GE.

The infighting and jockeying for seats in Pakatan Rakyat will kill their chance of taking over the Federal government.

Anwar has screwed himself big time for running the party autocratically, choosing candidates himself and without consensus of opinion.

The result of the elections could be one big surprise and one not many people would have expected.

TI:Making An Ass Of Yourself

Hantu Laut

Well done! Nazri, I for once agree with you.

Transparency International Malaysia is a donkey organisation headed by a jackass. If this donkey is a dumb-ass than I would excuse him because stupidity is a defect hard to repair but than he is not a dumb-ass and the only defect he has is his askew brain.Apple polishing someone's balls.

Wasn't there free and fair elections in this country?

Let me ask this brainy little man how he accounts for the BN near defeat in the March 2008 General Elections where the long-suffering oppositions captured 5 states and robbed the BN of its two-thirds majority if there had been systematic bias by the Election Commission in favour of the BN?

Even in by-elections, how on earth the oppositions managed to win almost half of the 14 or so by-elections so far yet this smart-ass conveniently closed his eyes and say there is no free and fair elections in this country.

If there was unfair advantage in this opposition's version of a banana republic because we have become as poor as a church mouse according to them, tell me, how could people like Anwar Ibrahim, his wife Wan Azizah, his daughter Nurul and over 80 opposition members get into Parliament?

How did heavyweight opposition leaders like Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh and Hadi Awang get elected? If there was no free and fair elections how did Lim Guan Eng become the Chief Minister of Pinang, Khalid Ibrahim the Menteri Besar of Selangor, Nik Aziz the Menteri Besar of Kelantan and Ustaz Haji Azizan the Menteri Besar of Kedah?

As far back as 1985 in the Sabah state elections where little mouse Joseph Pairin's PBS demolished the mighty Harris Salleh's Berjaya in spite of the full force of the Federal government's support where Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad even promised to "sink and swim" with Harris.

Mahathir had to walk with tail between his legs.Berjaya was decimated left with 6 seats and the giant of a man Harris lost his seat to an unknown. Even then was there no free and fair elections?

You can give away million ringgits worth of sweeteners if the people don't want you, they don't want you.Did not Najib offer the people of Sibu million ringgits worth of development projects? Did they vote for his party?

Before I conclude I would like to ask this jackass to do some soul searching the next time before he spills his guts out.

I apologise for the harsh language but some people do not deserve better.

McCain's Political Coffin:Who Killed Him?

Hantu Laut

It's a speech that brought cheers and tears.Thousands gathered to listen to his moving and awe-inspiring speech.A man who spoke with humility and a deliverance that the American people have not heard for decades.Some listened with tears running down their cheeks.

When Martin Luther King Jr marched into Washington in 1963 and delivered his 'I have a dream' speech little did he imagine of a black man becoming the president of the nation.All he wanted were equality and civil liberties for his people.He got the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent work but one that he would later pay dearly with his life.He was assassinated on April 4 1968.If he had lived long enough, he would today stands proud to see the seeds of his toil bearing fruits and the dawn of a new nation, one that had brought down the wall of racial prejudices and had become completely colour blind.

It was an extraordinary day for America, a day history was made, a day the nation shocked the world and a day America stands proud as a nation that chose a leader not because of the colour of his skin but that of his visions.It wasn't about black or white,rich or poor, it was about change and change there must be.They voted for change and they knew change would come under him.

The American people have spoken.

Eight years of living under the intransigent policies of George Bush and the Republican have given them two unfinished wars and a wrecked economy.A nation that now suffers the consequences of bad leadership and insatiable greed of the wealthy.

It was the economic meltdown and the many years of wars that most American see as nothing more than war of attrition that gave Obama the opportunity to pick up tremendous amount of support.The people are just fed up with Bush's arrogant and belligerent policies.The wars have taken toll on American families who lost their sons and daughters to wars they are not emotionally connected with.

Obama made inroads into traditional Republican states because of the horrendous policies of George Bush.This is no simple victory.It's a landslide of enormous proportion for a first timer and someone unheard of barely four years ago.His looks and intelligence have also been strong points in helping him to reach the victorious end.

Obama is no George Bush or John McCain, he is intellectually smart, politically savvy and a fantastic orator.He knows his stuffs and render it to the people with ease and eloquence.His biggest asset is the attributes of honesty and sincerity.There is absolutely no streak of hypocrisy and pretentiousness in the man that are the fortes of many politicians.He is genuinely down to earth.No matter what's the colour of his skin the people will love him for what he is.

The financial meltdown was no accident, they are engineered by the big investment gurus on Wall Street as short-cut to huge and instant wealth without giving any consideration to its ugly consequences.These are pack of greedy wolves that have no bounds with their insatiable thirst for money and power made possible by Alan Greenspan with his doctrinarie of deregulation of the banking and financial system.

The horrendously incompetent George Bush and the bail-outs of companies and financial institutions on Wall Street were the nails that finally seal the political coffin of John McCain and thrashings of Republican in the Senate and House of Representatives.

Obama had come the worst of time.He inherited the leftovers of Bush's legacy, two unfinished wars, a wrecked economy and a nation in deep financial crisis.

It would be a long and difficult road for him and may God helps him all the way.

This was Martin Luther King Jr.



This is Obama

Breaking News:Obama Won The Presidency

Hantu Laut

Barrack Obama won overwhelmingly.He got 297 Electoral votes, more than enough to secure the the Presidency.He will become the 44th President of the United States.

It was a thrashing for the Republican and for John McCain.

Well done America!

Congratulations! Barrack Obama.

A dawn for new world order.

More to follow.

Tale Of Two Princes

Hantu Laut

In Malaysia the changing political landscape has brought, out of the wood works, an assortment of political wannabes.If Charles Dickens had his 'Tale Of Two Cities', we have our 'Tale Of Two Princes'

From ex-politicians,ex-prisoners to vengeful bloggers, happy gays,politico whores and lately crown princes, all dishing out samplings of their political thoughts, some with disastrous results.

Sometimes, you can see where good and bad genes will take you to.

The Perak Crown Prince Raja Nazrin in his keynote address at "Prospects and Challenges for Nation-building" conference in April 2007 said all Malaysians are equal under the law and stressed the importance of defending the integrity of the Federal Constitution.

“Malaysians of all races, religions, and geographic locations need to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have a place under the Malaysian sun. Only when each citizen believes that he or she has a common home and is working towards a common destiny, will he or she make the sacrifices needed for the long haul.”- Raja Nazrin

This voice of moderation and reasonableness can only be appreciated by those who stand for equality and freedom.

The latest addition to the long list of political wannabes is the Kelantan Crown Prince who made a dreadful speech and a battle cry for the preservation of ketuanan Melayu and Malay rights and privileges.

Tengku Faris who apparently is still living in the past and share the same wavelength as those in UMNO said the recent elections results shows that the Malays are being challenged and non-Malays should not question Malay rights.

He said “Therefore, the rakyat must unite and never raise issues regarding Malay rights and special privileges because it is a quid pro quo in gratitude for the giving in of citizenship (beri-paksa kerakyatan) to 2.7 million non-Malays into the Tanah Melayu federation.Thus, it is not appropriate for these other ethnic groups to have citizenship, only (later) to seek equality and privileges,”

My goodness where have this guy been all these years.Didn't he know it was not only the non-Malays that wanted change, a big segment of educated and sensible Malays wanted similar change to escape from the corrupt and feudalistic UMNO regime.The ordinary Malays know ketuanan Melayu, the NEP and the Malay special rights (whatever it was)are the preserves of the top echelon in UMNO and their cronies.The Malays in the streets, if they are lucky, will only get the crumbs.

Should the prince adds insult to injury by reminding the non-Malays that they don't belong here in the first place and should be grateful that the Malays had benevolently given them citizenship.

As much as the Indians and Chinese were migrants,so were many Malays.Just take a good look at most of the leaders in UMNO, which one of them you can deservedly called true Malays.Those with ancestry from Indonesia would probably came closest to being called Malays.One that crosses my mind would be Khir Toyo, because of his Javanese ancestry.What about people like Mahathir,Abdullah Badawi,Syed Hamid Albar,Hishammudin Hussin Onn,Mohd Nor Yaakub and thousands if not millions like them in this country with mixed parentage.Mahathir is not even a Malay name, translated in Urdu or Hindi it would mean "Great Arrow". Badawi and Albar are Arabic names.

What about people like Raja Petra Kamaruddin,Karim Raslan,Kam Raslan,Diana Yusof,Maya Karin and the likes of them who by conventional definition would normally be categorised as Eurasians but would also be Malays by definitions in the Constitutions.Are they less privileged than the Malays.

At least Raja Petra didn't hide his true roots and had openly declared his mixed ancestry.Unfortunately, not all so-called Malays are proud of their mixed parentage and tried to hide it due to insecurity.Why should the Malays be more privileged than others?

The prince and the perpetrators in UMNO forgot that this is no more Tanah Melayu, this is now a nation called Malaysia.It is a federation of states, including Sabah and Sarawak and belong to Malaysian of every race, colour and creed.

If there is such thing as ketuanaan Melayu, what are the status of the people of Sabah and Sarawak, are they reduced to being colonies? The two states joined Malaysia as part of a sovereign nation and share the same status as any other state in the Peninsula.

The BN suffered badly at the polls due to the same reasons, ketuanaan Melayu,special rights and privileges for the Malay and discrimination and marginalisation of the other races.Harping on the same issues would drag UMNO deeper into the quagmire.

If Ghandi,Martin Luther King and Nelson Mendela didn't fight tooth and nail to bring changes to their people, do you think those in power would willingly give them the freedom ?

When the British gave independence to Malaya it was on conditions that the other races be made citizens and to be given equal rights as the Malays with the exceptions of certain protection accorded to the sultans and certain privileges for the Malays.When Sabah and Sarawak joined Malaysia the same conditions apply.Walloping a big slice of the economic cake for few individuals wasn't one of them.

Now, the smart prince is helping to rub salt into the wound.

UMNO Supreme Council To Decide Who Should Be PM ?

Hantu Laut

Has the badly battered Pak Lah comes to his senses ? He has indicated handing over power to his deputy Najib Tun Razak without giving any time frame on the transition of power.He only hinted he may hand over power to Najib and said he would discuss the matter with his deputy.

I wouldn't at this juncture take that hint as a promise, which was probably uttered just to cool down the harangues coming from increasing number of UMNO divisions for him to make an exit.

A hint is not a decision or a promise.

With a track record of having sailed close to the wind I hope Pak Lah is not waiting to see which way the wind blows and again changes his mind when the opportune time comes.

Abdullah has, by his own admission, blamed himself as one of the factors for BN losses. It sounds a bit strange that he said it now instead of at his valedictory speech. Most leaders would make such admission and seek apology from the nation on the day he steps down.It's certainly sounds weird to incriminate yourself and still carry on as Prime Minister.

In a smooth transition of power or demise of the Prime Minister or President, succession traditionally goes to the deputy. In a political turmoil, which is what UMNO is facing now, it would be best not to use the conventional method of succession.

It is not that Najib is less capable but he may not have the majority support of the rank and file in the party. The best possible way for a stable leadership is to allow the Supreme Council members to decide among themselves who should take over as prime minister.

The Supreme Council is representative of the voices of the rank and file and its decision to appoint the most suitable person among them as prime minister wouldn't be admonished by the members.

It wouldn't be fair to condemn Najib at the moment and before he takes over the helm and proved himself worthy of the position. Although there have been implications to Najib's character, most were mere allegations and nothing have been proven on his relationship with the murdered Mongolian girl, mistress of his close associate Razak Beginda who is now languishing in jail out of sheer arrogance, greed and stupidity.

Like most animals at the top of the food chains, humans behave the same way when they are at the pinnacle of power, some obviously think they are untouchable and can get away with murder.

If Pak Lah hands over only the PM post and retains the UMNO President post until the UMNO Elections in December than the possibility of Najib being challenged would be fairly slim.Should he hands over both positions before the party elections and Najib didn't fare well during the short period the likelihood of him being challenged would be pretty good.

Although nothing proven, the rumours of shady dealings in military contracts have stained his image and could become a liability to him at party elections.His opponents could use it as campaign materials to discredit him.

Likely candidates to challenge Najib would be Razaleigh or Muhyiddin that is if Pak Lah kept his promise and actually give up his posts as PM as well as UMNO President sooner than later.

Pak Lah In A Pressure Cooker

Hantu Laut

Pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to give up the PM's post.This time the call came from home, from 20 divisions in Johor UMNO. It wasn't a direct call for him to resign but they urged him to take a sabbatical and let DPM Najib takes over for a while to cool down the very overheated resistance to his presence as prime minister.

Not invited to the meeting were 6 divisional heads who also happened to be ministers in the Federal cabinet. They were Hishammuddin Hussein,Shahrir Abdul Samad, Khaled Nordin,Syed Hamid Albar,Muhyiddin Yassin and Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad.

The meeting was held at the residence of the Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman and the absence of the six divisional heads/ministers and Tourism Minister Azlina Othman and Deputy Minister of Human Resources Noraini Ahmad clearly shows the party is divided on the issue.Those in Pak Lah's cabinet do not want to be seen as traitors although many discreetly wanted him to go and go quickly.

More and more dissenting voices are now coming out from the rank and file.It's apparent that Pak Lah is now confronted with bigger domestic problem within the party.The pain in the neck Mahathir has achieved the objective of destabilising him. The darling of the 2004 Elections is now the most hounded man in the country.

How did Pak Lah's fortunes decline in such dizzying speed ? He is probably the only prime minister who had become unpopular in the shortest span of time. Even the cold-blooded Mahathir managed to retain power for 22 years and didn't go through such agonising moment of embarrassments. There was no spontaneous call for him to step down. Malaysians generally have a love and hate relationship with him. Members of UMNO either despise him in silence or had high regard for his leadership. He is also an enigma and can be full of surprises which kept his enemies in awe or in fear. He has managed to keep his opponents and distractors at bay through fear or favour.

When Abdullah took the helm from Mahathir he was seen as a god-fearing, clean and amiable man. His Mr Clean image and amiability strengthen by his promise to clean up corruptions was the drawing power to his massive electoral victory in 2004. Unfortunately, he failed miserably in his promise and continue to make mistakes without any attempt to correct it. He behaves like a minor thinking making promises is a game that you need not play by the rules. His natural disability of making correct statements when addressing the nation has put him in a bad light and demolished his god-fearing image. His inconsistency and contradiction are appalling.

When he was asked about his son's business and whether he has used his influence to help bolster the son's business he responded by saying that his son doesn't do business with the government and almost all his business were with foreign companies outside the country.He probably didn't realise that many people knew most of his son's businesses are with Petronas overseas operations. When he was asked to confirm the rumour that he is getting married to Jean Danker, he replied in the negative and shocked the nation when he got married a few weeks later.

Like the weather he is notoriously fickle and his state of the art fickleness was played out when he stated in no uncertain term that Parliament wouldn't be dissolved yet to make way for elections, and pronto !.......he dissolved Parliament the next day. The people were horrified in disbelief that a prime minister of a nation can make such infuriating blunders. His series of political blunder leaves a lot to be desired.

Abdullah is not made of grits and guts, he can easily give in to threats and demands.It was not untrue when Mahathir accused him of ignoring some of the candidates recommended by menteri besar and chief ministers.There were no discussions held between him and the menteri besar/chief ministers on changes he made to the list. He unilaterally took the decision to replace it with candidates of his choice.

His handling of the recent controversy with Sabah clearly shows he can buckle under pressure.The rumblings in Sabah BN necessitates him to make a journey there to meet Sabah leaders and he met the leaders separately instead of as a coalition group.He has made certain promises which Sabah BN hopes he will make good.

The appointment of Pendikar Amin Mulia as Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat is most puzzling.There are many elected member who deserved to be given that position instead of Pendikar who is not even an elected member. Pendikar is an UMNO divisional head of a very small community of people called the Iranun, a name changed by him from Illanun which is a connotation for pirate. Pendikar is well known for his abrasiveness and threatening manner, a kind of uncultivated Long John Silver.

Pendikar, Salleh Said Keruak,Amir Kahar Mustapha,Yusof Yacob and Ghafur Salleh were dropped by Chief Minister Musa Aman.Ghafur managed to wriggle he way back in through his connection with a Sabah businessman who has strong link with Syed Hamid Albar who talked Abdullah into putting Ghafur back on as candidate.

Pak Lah has also promised to give more ministerial posts to Sabah which means he has to create new posts just to fulfill that promise, a reversal of the scrapping of a few ministries when he announced his cabinet line-up.

Although Pak Lah is not an evil man and has been quite liberal in his ways, his lack of leadership and inconsistency has made him very unpopular.

Will he survives till the UMNO General Assembly in December ?

Johor, Sabah and Perak have the biggest number of divisions in UMNO. Losing the support of these three states would spell trouble for Pak Lah.

Look ! Who Is Talking Now

Hantu Laut

Samy has changed and is a reformed man. He wears the BN badge but speaks like an opposition.

Samy has found his voice again.He is now singing the same chorus as the oppositions, though a little too late

According to Samy the government failure to act on issues affecting the Indian community has turned the Indians against MIC and the BN and warned Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi that if the situation is not rectified it could lead to greater losses for BN.

Now Samy wanted the government to release the 5 Hindraf's detainees and warned PM Abdullah that refusing to do so would be at the government own peril.The Attorney General has said that the government should not release the 5 as they are threats to national security.

For 28 years at the helm of MIC, exactly the same period Robert Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe, both of them have done the same thing, one destroy a political party out of self-glorification and greed and the other had destroyed a nation out of personal glory and greed.

Although Samy's sins are comparably smaller than that of Mugabe, it has nevertheless hemmed in the Indian community into a valley of despair. Hindraf and eventually Makkal Sakthi at the polls that nearly wipe out MIC, was the result of the state of despair of the Indian community in this country, neglected and looked down upon by the leaders in MIC and the government.

For 28 years Samy who claimed to represent the Indians in this country didn't know that they have been marginalised because Samy lives in the comfort zone, in a palatial home away from the dirt and filth of poverty. He didn't know that Indian temples have been demolished because he is more concerned with preserving himself by constantly sucking up to his masters in UMNO.Some years ago he said "UMNO kasi saya jiwa" when he was trying to curry favour with the than Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.

What the point of shouting his head off now when he had all the chances to speak and do something for the Indians when he was holding ministerial position.Why didn't he force through his demand on Abdullah to release the 5 detainees before the elections. He could have issued an ultimatum to the PM to take MIC out of BN if the demand is not met, if he really cares about the Indian community. It would have saved MIC from the massive desertion by the Indians.

Samy, it's too late now, the Indian community know you are fooling them again.You only dare to speak now because you think Abdullah's government is weak and there are no more benefits you can get from him.

The best for you, MIC and the Indians in this country is for you to hand over the helm to another person and disappear from the scene.

A Demonised Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

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The once affable Abdullah Badawi has been so much demonised by the oppositions, by some of his party members and most of all, the most vocal of all his critics, his former mentor and ex Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.

His seemingly weak leadership, irresolution and people's perception of him allowing his family of getting involved in affairs of the nation, notably his unpopular son-in-law, has smudged and damaged his political image. Mahathir's relentless call for him to resign or be removed is making his tenure as prime minister untenable and UMNO divided.

The ex-premier has again called for Abdullah's resignation and accused him of having 'no sense of shame' for hanging on to a job that most people think he should give up. He also accused the PM of poor selection of candidates that led to the substantial erosion of support for the party by letting his son-in-law interfered with the list submitted by state leaders.

“Of course, everyone knows that the list of candidates is chosen and submitted to 'Sultan' Abdullah (Ahmad Badawi) by state leaders but once it reached to the party president, somebody else takes over,” he said, referring to Khairy as the culprit.

Mahathir's sarcasm is completely lacking in finesse. Calling Abdullah Sultan only shows his irrational nature and his grudge against the man.

Pak Lah is not fully responsible for UMNO's eroded support. The Mahathir's legacy that he inherited played significant role in its making.The culture of corruptions, nepotism, cronyism and abuse of power have always existed in that regime. Mahathir had always swept the dirt under the carpet if it is not in his favour.

During Anwar’s second trial in June 2000 before Justice Arifin Jaka, then ACA director Shafee Yahya had given sworn testimony when asked about an investigation on the director-general of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).

Transcript of the notes recorded by the judge of this part of the testimony (excerpts are unedited):

Counsel: Adakah you search the EPU chief’s office?

Shafee: Yes, I did.

Counsel: Was a big sum of money found in the drawer of the EPU director-general for which he could not explain?

Court: What is the relevancy? No need to answer.

Counsel: Did Anwar Ibrahim directed you to raid the office of the EPU chief?

Shafee: No.

Counsel: Did Anwar ask you to close the case against the director?

Shafee: No.

Counsel: Did anyone ask you to close the case?

Shafee: Yes, the prime minister did.

Counsel: Narrate the circumstances under which the PM asked you to close the investigation.

Counsel: Were you called up by the PM?

Shafee: Yes. I was told off, 'How dare you raid my senior officer’s office?' I was taken aback and I replied 'This was based on official complaint by an aggrieved party'.

I did what was officially required under the law. He accused me of trying to fix the former DG of EPU.

I replied that is totally wrong because it is wrong in law to fix anybody. As a Muslim it is a big sin to fix anybody.

He asked me, 'Did Anwar Ibrahim ask you to raid the office?' I said, 'no'.

It was based on an official complain and to be fair to Anwar when I mentioned the complain against the EPU chief, I inform Anwar of my intention to raid but he said, 'Have you cleared this with the PM?'.

I said, 'I mentioned this to PM, the PM kept quiet'.

Counsel: What was the tone of PM when he asked you whether Anwar asked you to raid? Was it in an angry tone or normal conversation tone?

Shafee: The tone was rather accusatory.

Counsel: The EPU was directly under the PM’s Department.

Court: No more questions on the investigation on the EPU chief. I am not satisfied of the relevancy of such evidence.

Counsel: Was the EPU responsible for awarding privatisation of projects?

Shafee: As far as I know, it is.

Counsel: After you were scolded by the PM did you inform anybody about this?

Shafee: I informed the Chief Secretary to the Government.

Counsel: What was your reaction when the PM scolded you and told you to close the case against the DG of EPU?

Shafee: I was highly dissolution and when I went home I told my wife I wanted to resign. But in view that I have two or three months to finish my extension - my wife persuaded me not to resign.

Counsel: Why did you feel dissolution and decide to resign?

Shafee: In my whole career with the government, this was the first time my boss accused me of trying to fix somebody and also my dissolution in the way the PM was interfering with my duty.

Mahathir was never investigated for interfering with the ACA investigation and Shafee had never been charged for perjury, if he had actually lied about his testimony.

Like most cases involving high level corruption by his men, the case was closed.

Pak Lah's biggest mistake was the promise he made to kill corruption before the 2004 polls. Without giving it much thought he made the promise and later realized the monstrosity of the problem and the difficulty in arresting it. It was so widespread and deeply entrenched a full disclosure would have caused the collapse of his entire administration.

The second biggest mistake he made was to allow certain amount of freedom of disclosure of corrupt practices in his administration where high-level personalities were involved but did not take appropriate actions to push through the cases and charge those involved in the court of law.

If he had followed his predecessors style of putting on the lid on every case that's likely to ruin the name of his administration , he wouldn't have the kind of problem he has now.

Another big mistake he made was to ignore the Internet, the blogging community.

In a country where freedom of the press is only free for the government. The Internet was godsend. The new found vehicle for freedom of expression has created an alternative media that penetrates millions of homes, unrestricted and uncensored. The oppositions which have no access to the mainstream media was quick to jump on the bandwagon. They not only utilised it directly themselves but also have cleverly engaged independent bloggers to their sides. Many well-known bloggers are allied to the oppositions.The government on the other hand looked at bloggers as pests and considered them unworthy of any respect.

Having a self-indulging Minister of Information didn't help either.Instead of advising the PM the benefits of engaging bloggers, he did otherwise, reviled them with all kind of names and declared them enemies of the nation.

The government, of all people, should have known that the urban areas are well wired up. Many households in the urban belt have computers and ready access to the internet.It would be safe to say at least 40 to 50 percent of BN electoral losses would have been attributed to bloggers.E-news websites like Malaysiakini and Malaysia Today had become household names and have strong followings. Those like Raja Petra Kamaruddin who was so convincing with his story, even his fictional writing sounds plausible and readily believed by his readers.

After 22 years of Mahathir's Machiavellian rule most Malaysians are not quite used to Badawai's amiable style which is translated as weakness of character.Neither is he a forceful speaker unlike the former prime minister, who has better oratory skills.

The problems in UMNO are combinations of many things, past and present, and the follies of many leaders including Mahathir and Abdullah which culminated to the current political crisis.

Is it fair to blame it just on one man?

Note:Court's transcript taken from Malaysiakini

The Politics of 'no shame'

Hantu Laut

There seems to be no difference between the politicians from both sides of the political divide.Malaysians would soon again be disappointed with their elected representatives from both sides of the political fence.

The case of "I quit....now I don't" by Buntong assemblyman A.Sivasubramaniam shows how blackmail and extortion can be used by disgruntled elected member to make demands on a fragile government.

Sivasubramiam resignation from the party could have caused the collapse of the BR coalition government in Perak.The party and coalition partners have succumbed to his demands because they stood on very weak ground, an insufferable marriage of convenience that can up in dire straits.

On the other side of the political fence some elected BN members have refused to accept minor ministerial positions and in one case a deputy minister resigned his position in less than two weeks after having accepted it, giving less than plausible excuse for his actions.

Although unspoken by them it is without any doubt that they think they deserve better and more important positions.They are sending subtle threat to weak Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi not to take them lightly.

In Sabah the 'wayang kulit' (shadow play) gets even more luminously amusing and ludicrous. A candidate dropped by Chief Minister Musa Aman in the recent elections is trying to lead a revolt against him by calling on elected members to pass vote of no confidence against Musa in the next assembly sitting.

Former Chief Minister Salleh Said Keruak has been calling on those whom he thinks are not aligned with Musa to openly revolt against him and support Rahim Ismail as chief minister, with promises of lucrative contracts and positions for those who jumped the Musa's ship.

Six of the 'topple Musa' team have seen the prime minister.The six are Salleh, Bung Mokhtar,Ghafur Salleh,Pandikat Amin,Rahim Ismail and Dr Yusof Yacob, apparently to impress the PM to change the chief ministership.

The PM may have been called by many names but wouldn't be that stupid to remove a man who delivered 24 out of 25 parliamentry seats and 59 out of 60 state seats to the BN.

Rahim Ismail,Salleh Keruak and Pendikar have been trying to take over the CM seat since two years ago but failed to convince Pak Lah to change, a decision that probably saved the BN from being thrashed in Sabah.As Pendikar and Salleh are now out of the picture, it is now only left for Rahim to go for it, which appears unlikely to see the light of day.

In the meantime, the ever caustic and witty former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohammad has accused Abdullah of having no shame at all.

He said "Anyone else would have already resigned but (Abdullah) has no shame" His son, Mukhriz made the same call for Abdullah to step down. The gathering was attended by over 1000 UMNO members including Khir Toyo.

Is Mahathir going to make a comeback and contest against Abdullah at the UMNO elections if he doesn't step down before the UMNO General Assembly ? It is a possibility you can't ruled out if there is no other candidate whom he thinks doesn't have enough punch to unseat Abdullah.

Mahathir looked the most eligible choice at the moment and would easily get the required nominations to take on Abdullah. If he wins, he probably stays on for one term and hand over the baton to another successor, hopefully not another wrong choice.

Dropped Desperadoes Trying To Mount A Frivolous Coup

Hantu Laut

New rumour circulating in Sabah of some dropped candidates in the recent election going round asking elected members of the Sabah State Assembly to pass a vote of no confidence against Chief Minister Musa Aman and support Rahim Ismail as CM, who was dropped by Musa from the State cabinet recently.

The main plotters rumored to be from an ethnic association who have records of switching parties many times are planning to unseat Musa first and than Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. They have also apparently met the PM recently to demonise Musa hoping Badawi would listen to them.

The plan is to get Musa, an UMNO loyalist out of the way and a grand plan to shift the balance of power to the oppositions.

The coup which has little hope of success is rumoured to also include a deputy minister who resigned from his post recently and a former chief minister.

The frog culture is making a come back to Sabah. It will intensify when Anwar gets elected.

Details in the pipeline.

Would You Kill A Nation To Save One Man ?

Hantu Laut

"Remember democracy never lasts long.It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet did not commit suicide" John Adams (1735-1826) 2nd President of the United States.

Translated in simple language it means no democratic government can last forever and a time will come when it has to go. In a true democratic system that would be the case. In a pseudo democratic system a government can last much longer as in the case of Zimbabwe where a bad dictatorial rule has left the country bankrupt and on the brink of anarchy.

In a continent shrouded in poverty it was once a shining example of prosperity and economic growth. When the blacks took over the country from apartheid driven Ian Smith's government after years of civil war against white rule, it has functional infrastructures, a working economy and a currency almost at par with the US dollar.

Today, hyperinflation runs in unbelievable six digits, the infrastructures broken down and the currency worthless currently exchanging at US$1.00 to 53 million Zimbabwe dollars. Robert Mugabe would rather destroy the country than give up. The damage he has inflicted on the country would take generations to repair

Where the democratic process has completely failed the only option available to remove a bad government is by way of the guns as was the case in some African countries where every successive regime led by selfish and corrupt leaders unwittingly takes the country deeper into the abyss.

Nigeria and Angola are oil producing countries and are examples of states that have failed democratically and economically in spite of being significant oil producers.

Angola is in a shambles after 27 years of civil war which ended in 2002.The war had killed 1.5 million and displaced 4 million people.It produces about 1.26 million bbl/per day of crude oil and with a population of 12 million it is still a poor country. Oil production contributed almost 85% of GDP. Its per capita income is not a true reflection of the actual income distribution.Lots of oil money are going into personal coffers of corrupt politicians.Nigeria shares the same faith or even worse as it has much bigger population. The economy is heavily dependent on oil whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement.It also produces and exports the highest number of con-man in the world.

At the other side of the scale a different ball game is played. This is where oil revenues had been put to good use, in the United Arab Emirates particularly Dubai.From an impoverish region of small principalities 30 years ago, it has been transformed into a modern state with high standard of living.It has successfully diversified its economy and oil is now only 40 % of GDP as compared to Angola's 85 %.

One have to visit the city of Dubai and the port of Jebel Ali to see how oil money had been put to good use to develop a poor region into a modern country with first class infrastructures. Its per capita income (PPP) is currently at US$55,200.

Malaysia is a country with different success story.It has been transformed from a mosquito- infested tropical backwater into a modern nation with good infrastructures, diversified economy and a pluralistic society that have worked together well.

Although it is an oil producer, it is considered small in comparison with Opec members and oil is not the mainstay of the economy.Malaysia is a multi-sector economy with bigger component of its GDP in manufacturing and services. Export of crude oil is a small portion of the GDP. It has journeyed economically well due to good fiscal policy, a fairly efficient civil service and moderately industrious population.

Over the past few years there were rumblings of discontent among Malaysians with the leadership of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The euphoria of 2004 has turned to dismay, despair and dislike.Although the economy shows impressive growth rate of over 6 % in 2007 it has not benefited the people directly. The rising cost of goods, petrol, corruption in government and rising crime rates have destroyed the people trust in his leadership.

Although Abdullah should not be totally blamed for things beyond his control, most Malaysians were under the impressions that he can at least lessen the impact as not to burden the people.

The poor showing of Abdullah's ruling coalition (BN) at the just concluded elections was the result of the people's anger at his lack of leadership and some of his ministers' unnerving arrogance and unjustifiable racialist remarks against minority ethnic races in the country. Their imperious and impudent remarks had left deep-rooted resentment among ethnic Chinese and Indians. Most people believe he has no control over his men and they took advantage of his weaknesses.

The Chinese are the economic engines of the country. Malaysia has much to thank this industrious people who have contributed immensely to almost every sector of the economy. Government must be seen to do things for the greater good of all the people in the country and not just for one particular race. The NEP, an affirmative actions for Malays and bumiputras had overstayed its welcome. It has not benefited all Malays, most of it have been used as a gravy train to enrich a few.

Abdullah has lost his credibility and integrity with the people and at least two sultans are at loggerheads with him, two appointees for deputy minister have declined his offer, one deputy minister has resigned, two menteri besar were appointed by sultans in defiance of his choices and the rank and file in his party have lost direction.Some are with him, some are not and some are undecided.

Is there any other good reason that Abdullah has that he should not resign from his Prime Minister's post and also that of President of UMNO ?

Additonal reading:
Nuraina A Samad's Borrowed Time

A Typoon Is Brewing In The "Land Below The Wind"

Hantu Laut

At the rate Sabahan ministers are leaving Abdullah's cabinet very soon there wouldn't be any of them left to represent the state at Federal level. Rumours abound that some more ministers would be leaving soon as most are disappointed with Abdullah's treatment of those from Sabah and Sarawak by giving them minor ministry and deputy ministers ignoring the facts that without them there wouldn't be any Abdullah's government.

When the full result was made known the next day after polling, most Sabahans were exuberant and were in high expectation that they would get better deals this time.Unfortunately, that was not the case, it got worse. Even Shafie Apdal who were in better ministry before was shifted to less important ministry, Ministry of Unity,Arts and Culture.Coffee shop talk says he may be next in line to leave.

While Hanifa Aman, a two-term deputy minister expecting something better was offered a deputy in a less appealing ministry which he rejected outright.Ghapur Salleh left probably for the same reason.

Newcomer Liew Vui Keong of LDP Sabah who won on wafer thin majority was given a deputy in a better ministry, Ministry of International Trade and Industry. This is the same man who slammed him on the Mazu controversy in Sabah.

A strong rumour is going around that a new party is being formed by some unhappy parliamentarians to shift the balance of power.

The possibility is very high as Sabahans felt they are being ignored and belittle by the Prime Minister. He can appoint non elected members to be full ministers and ignored those who have worked hard to bring victory to the party.

What criteria Abdullah used to appoint his ministers is a mystery but it certainly looked like more on ad hoc basis.

It also now appeared that UMNO days may be numbered in Sabah. There is very strong sentiments among Sabahans now wanting to tukaron bangkad (changing shirts).

Watch out Pak Lah ! A typhoon is brewing in the "Land Below The Wind".

Related article:
Will Sabah Change Shirts In The Malaysian Elections

Trengganu:No End In Sight

Hantu Laut

There seems to be no end to the crisis in Trengganu. Now it's back to where it started, the 22 assemblymen are still backing Idris Jusoh as MB of Trengganu.

State Umno Secretary Rosol Wahid acting as spokeman for the group said their support is unwavered and remain firm behind Idris but would leave the matter to the Prime Minister.

Trengganu receives between RM800-RM1 billlion in oil royalties annually. The royalties goes through the MB office and how the money was to be spent is decided by Puterajaya.Substantial amount are being spent every year to host the Monsoon Cup.

Has money got to do with the on going tussle for the menteri besar's seat?

Meanwhile, nothing has been disclosed out of the meeting between the PM and the Agong.

Related articles:
Trengganu MB Crisis
Discretion 'not absolute'
Ruler Has Right Over Choice Of MB

Deputy Minister Ghafur Salleh Resigned

Hantu Laut

Another deputy minister has resigned from Abdullah's Cabinet.

Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Gaphur Salleh, MP for Kalabakan, Sabah resigned from the Cabinet without giving any reason.

Why accept an appointment and resigned few days later ?

Wait for updates.

Updated:Ghapur resigns as deputy minister

Nation

Thursday March 27, 2008

Ghapur quits deputy minister post

By MUGUNTAN VANAR and RUBEN SARIO

newsdesk@thestar.com.my

KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Ghapur Salleh has quit his post eight days after accepting his appointment by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Ghapur, the Kalabakan MP and Kalabakan Umno chief, told The Star at about 7.30pm yesterday that he had sent his resignation letter to the Prime Minister’s office.

However, he said he remained Kalabakan Umno division chief and dismissed any talk of him quitting the party or joining the Opposition.

»I am not interested in any government post. I just want to do my own thing«DATUK GHAPUR SALLEH

“I’m not interested in any government post. I just want to do my own thing.

“I am still a division chief and I do not want people to speculate as my commitment is to Umno and its leadership under Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,” he said.

Asked why he decided to relinquish the post only now, Ghapur said: “I don’t want to be tied up with government duties.”

“I’m leaving the matter in the hands of the Prime Minister,” said Ghapur, a former Sabah deputy chief minister who quit the post in 1997 but returned to the state Cabinet several years later.

Ghapur, 64, is the second Sabah MP to turn down a Federal deputy minister’s post following the March 8 general election.

Soon after Abdullah named his Cabinet on March 18, Kimanis MP Datuk Anifah Aman declined to take up the post of Deputy Transport Minister.

Anifah’s elder brother, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman, later said Anifah declined the deputy minister’s post because he had served in that capacity for two terms.

Anifah had told him that it was time for him (Anifah) to make way for others, Musa said.

Blur: Double-barrelled Mohammad

Hantu Laut

Have UMNO learned anything from the disastrous outings they had at the recent polls ?

The new UMNO information chief, Double-barrelled Mohammad said the party may postpone its party election to next year in order to avoid “havoc” and described it as a big possibility.

“Things are blur right now and people cannot see clearly. There is no space to make a rational decision and when this happens, the outcome may be a regrettable one,” he said.

He said the people are not angry with Umno and BN and if the people really hate the BN all states would have been wiped out.

The UMNO General Assembly had been postponed once before and I believe further postponement wouldn't breach conditions in the UMNO's Constitution as long as it doesn't exceed 18 months from the date of the last assembly.

Below is the relevent section (in Bahasa) regarding the annual general assembly in accordance with Perlembagaan UMNO (UMNO Constitution)

8.2	Perhimpunan Agung Tahunan hendaklah diadakan sekali dalam setahun pada bila-bila masa yang ditetapkan oleh Majlis Tertinggi dengan syarat tidak lewat daripada 18 bulan dari tarikh Perhimpunan Agung yang lalu.

( The Annual General Assembly must be held once every year at anytime determined by the Supreme Council on conditions it is held not later than 18 months from the last Annual
General Assembly)

What does he means by to avoid "havoc"? He didn't give any clear answer to the question when he was asked. Does it mean to postpone just to save one man from being ousted. He said things are blur right now and people cannot see clearly.

If the bootlickers in UMNO wanted to save one man and themselves and don't care what going to happen to UMNO at the next polls than the members have the right to call an EGM to decide whether the present office-bearers deserved to be retained.

In fact with the substantial lost of support at the just concluded polls it should not be Ku Li but Pah Lah and the Supreme Council to call for an EGM to reassure himself and members of the Supreme Council that majority of the members still want him to lead the party.

Postponing the general assembly will not solve the problems.It only delays them.It also shows that UMNO hasn't change at all and hasn't learned from its mistakes.

The top leaders are still embroiled in self-preservation, arrogance and completely out of touch with the ground.

Read:Rocky's take on this here and Tok Mommy's here

Related stories:UMNO polls should not ne postponed
Umno state committees ask Pak Lah to hold polls next year

Siapa Biadap Sekarang ?

Hantu Laut

When Lim Kit Siang told DAP assemblymen to boycott the swearing in ceremony of the Perak menteri besar they called him "biadap" (disrespectful).Although Kit Siang later apologised to the Sultan and the Regent, UMNO insisted he makes a public apology.

The crisis in Trengganu is set for a showdown between the Prime Minister and the Sultan, who is also the Agong, supreme ruler of the nation, nominated once in every five years on rotational basis by the Ruler's Council.

The palace have appointed Ahmad Said as the new Menteri Besar of Trengganu and rejected PM Abdullah's choice of Idris Jusoh who purportedly enjoys majority support of the state assemblymen.

Abdullah has sent directives to all UMNO assemblymen not to attend the swearing in ceremony at the palace and warned Ahmad Said not to accept the appointment and that he would be sacked from the party if he does. The crisis deepens, Ahmad Said accepted the appointment and was sacked. Is Abdullah "biadap" ? I would say no.

It depends.For the man in the street Abdullah would be seen as "biadap" but for those who understands the constitution of the state and the Malaysian constitution he is not.

The sultan has erred in his judgment by appointing a menteri besar of his own choice.
Although there are provisions in the state constitution which allows him to exercise such rights, it must be done in good faith.

It was without any doubt that Idris Jusoh, appointed by the PM enjoys the support of the majority and would, therefore, by letter of the constitution be the menteri besar.

Support of the majority has nothing to do with those of UMNO divisions in the state.Even if he gets zero support from all the divisions and gets majority support from the state assemblymen, constitutionally he is still entitled to be menteri besar.

If the Sultan insisted on swearing in Ahamd Said, legally he becomes the Menteri Besar until he goes to the assembly and is removed by "vote of no confidence". A new menteri besar supported by majority members of the house would have to be sworn in. If the house is divided than a fresh state election would be called.

Constitutional monarchs should stay within their ceremonial status and play that role and not that of an absolute monarch. An absolute monarch has no constitution or body of law above him.

Of course Abdullah could have erred on the side of caution, be more discreet and as a show of respect just let the Sultan appoint the menteri besar with out any confrontation and later remove him by vote of no confidence. He would than not be seen as "biadap".

The Exodus 1975

Click on photo to enlarge

The Exodus

The above is from a Sabah daily, the Daily Express on 17th July 1975.

The federal sponsored Berjaya headed by Harris Salleh led a mass defections from USNO to Berjaya to topple Datu Mustapha Harun, Chief Minister of Sabah, the man who was accused of trying to take Sabah out of Malaysia.

Mustapha's USNO was later accepted into the BN.

That's the politics of federalism.

Image:Courtesy of Sikmading's Sabah

Another Frog In The Making

Hantu Laut

Another MP from Sarawak is contemplating leaving the BN and may want to join the opposition.

BN-SPDP Mas Gading MP Dr Tiki Lafe has not confirmed or denied leaving the party. He said he is on holiday with his family and is not saying anything.

It was also rumored that 10 MPs from Sabah and Sarawak are on holidays in Australia.After the hard work they need to rest and congregate in the same place !

In a new development, Richard Riot the MP for Serian has denied he is leaving the party. The new twist to the tale is, it was not Richard who made the statement, it was the SUPP publicity chief Alfred Yap.He said he spoke to Richard and he was unhappy about newspaper report that he is leaving the party and that he fully support the party and is loyal to BN.

Where is Richard and why can't he make the statement himself ?

Party hopping or frogging can be a liability or an asset to political party.
Sabah has a long history of party hopping that started as far back as the USNO government.

Sabah is the birthplace of frogging or kataking ( a Sabah term), where greedy politicians can be bought or sold at a price.

The first incident of induced frogging was in 1967 when UPKO assemblyman Payar Juman was abducted from his home in the middle of the night and enticed to join Mustapha's USNO(United Sabah National Organisation) to give it a single seat lead majority in a coalition with SCA(Sabah Chinese Association). With the crossover USNO managed to grab the government from Stephen's UPKO. Payar Juman was given a ministerial post and his abductor Halik Zaman was made his political secretary.

The biggest mass defections of politicians was in 1976 when the federal sponsored Berjaya party was formed to topple the then Chief Minister Dato Mustapha Harun. The exodus was led by Harris Salleh and discreetly supported by Donald Stephens who had converted to Islam and changed his name to Fuad Stephens and was the TYT (Governor) at that time. Berjaya won the 1976 elections and formed the state government with Fuad as chief minister. Later Fuad and some of his cabinet colleagues died in an air crash.His deputy, Harris Salleh was installed as chief minister.

In the 1994 state elections PBS won with a slim majority of 2 seats.Within a month majority of PBS assemblymen had switched side. They were offered hard cash, cabinet positions and other inducements.The then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad denied the allegations and said the crossover was due to PBS slim majority with which they will not be able to govern effectively and may cause political instability.

Party hopping is not illegal but is considered an evil act from moral point of view. It also set a bad example and sending wrong message to the younger generations who aspire to be politicians.Those who are for sale are usually of questionable character, selfish, greedy and are there purely for status and money.They don't give two hoots about serving the people and country, their priority is to serve themselves.

The federal government have used this shameful method to grab power on several occassions from the oppositions in Sabah .Should they complain if Anwar goes round trying to entice potential frogs from the BN camp ?

Another BN MP ready to jump ship?

Ku Li: It's Only A Tremor Not Yet An Eartquake

Hantu Laut

It was just a tremor when Ku Li throws the gauntlet that he would challenge Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for the UMNO Presidency. There were disquiet among Abdullah's aides and his faithfuls in UMNO of this open challenge to his leadership. The earthquake will come later.

Tengku Razaleigh or popularly know as Ku Li said the results of the just concluded elections are the worst ever for UMNO.The party is on the brink of losing its undivided and unequivocal supports of the Malays that it has enjoyed for half a century. A sizable portion of the Malay community have thrown their supports behind PAS and PKR. In the urban belt the Malay bourgeois have voted DAP where PKR and PAS didn't contest due to the pact they have.

The politically incarcerated Ku Li has also questioned the hijacking of the NEP by elitist groups in UMNO. The monopolistic control of the gravy train has resulted in inequitable distributions of the nation's wealth.Not only are there poor Indians in the country, there are probably more poor Malays as they formed the majority of the races in the country. The gravy train not only rewards the macais and those in power but has also astonishingly produced some extremely successful children of almost all the prime ministers with big businesses under their control. A Malay friend once lamented " Do you honestly think every prime minister of this country has a son who has great business acumen and a hotshot entrepreneur".

Embattled Prime Minister Abdullah besets with endless problems has denied that he has lost support of the people, instead said he has the support of the majority and that he is still in charge, trying to dispel rumours that his Oxford trained son-in-law has undue influence over many of his decisions. Many Malaysians have the impression that Abdullah has another cabinet, a kitchen cabinet at home where major political decisions are made. It could well be perceptions only but it has done a lot of damage to his credibility.

Razaleigh who challenged Mahathir for the UMNO presidency in 1987 but lost by the skin of his teeth attributed it to Najib's division last minute shift to Mahathir's camp. He left UMNO and started a breakaway party called Semangat 46 which didn't do well.He rejoined UMNO and was in the doldrums for yonks until Abdullah's stumbles at the recent elections.He ran the gauntlet on Abdullah and roared in disgust from his lair at Gua Musang.

Ku Li had made two attempts at the presidency but failed.First, against Mahathir in 1987 which almost got him the coveted title and the second in 2004 against Abdullah but failed to get sufficient nominations to stand as candidate.

The substantial rejections at the polls will need delicate and pragmatic approaches in order to pacify angry voters and rekindle their interests to return to the fold. The present leadership don't have the credibility to convince the people that they will change for the better.Ku Li is probably the only suitable candidate at the moment to heal the wounded pride and to try recover lost ground.

With the sword of Damocles hanging over Abdullah's head, it wouldn't be long before an earthquake will occur that will snap the string that hold the sword. Razaleigh call for an EGM will not succeed.His only chance to challenge Abdullah is at the forthcoming assembly.

It will be another five months before the UMNO Assembly, will Razaleigh find enough nominations to get him to challenge Abdullah ? He will and have the best fighting chance to win if Najib don't upset the applecart. Najib should stay as deputy and let Razaleigh lead the party for at least one term to regain the lost confidence and reassemble its lost supports.

There is little altruism in UMNO nowadays, that's why it suffered a massive dose of rejections. The Malay voters have found alternatives in the form of PKR and PAS.The rule of the games has changed and Malays are now more politically matured and gone are the days when ketuananMelayu was the rallying call to the Malays to close ranks and make sure UMNO stays in power.

Read 'T'ganu Umno rejects Ku Li's offer'