Political Health Diagnosis.....

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Got this from 'Labisman'.....accurate diagnosis? Your verdict?

With the thrashing that they got in the 12^th.GE, the BN is now in ICU and they are doing a post mortem to find out what happened. To help BN with this task, the following medical report has been prepared to identify the diseases / illnesses that have been plaguing it and how these ailments have caused this sickening organization to become so sick that major surgery is now being considered.

Diagnosis

Overeating – gorged themselves and ate too much of the people's money

Heart failure – did not have a heart to really care about the rakyat

Rectal cancer and constipation – did not expel all the shit from the system

Diabetes – fondness for sweet things, i.e. saying sweet things to try and con the rakyat ( in plain English, lying )

Stroke – stroked too much of their own ego and became too arrogant

Overworking – too busy running here and there cutting deals for own benefit

Alzheimer's – forgot to play the proper role of an elected representative

Obsessive-compulsive neurosis – obsession with cleaning, especially sweeping things under the carpet

HP6 – a mutation of the deadly H5N1 ( bird flu) virus which manifests itself in the form of idiocy or semi-idiocy, thus the descriptor " half past six ( HP6)". Many members of the BN are infected.

VD – Very Deaf. Did not listen to the grievances of the rakyat and did not heed the healthy advice and feedback from bloggers.

Color Bind – a form of visual impairment which is directly the opposite of being color blind. There is a fixation on color and everything must always be discussed in terms of "color" – Malay, Chinese, Indian etc.

Liver problems – failure to de-Liver on promises

"Inverted Cerebranus " – a new form of disease where the cerebrum and anus are transposed causing highly irrational and objectionable behaviour, like brandishing ancient weapons and ranting racial slurs and threats

Prognosis Not good and definitely a terminal case. Chances of recovery are 1 in a gadzillion, about the same odds as Osama converting to the Jewish faith and becoming a messenger of world peace.

Cure No known cure. Euthanasia recommended. Suggest to drink lacquer – at least it will ensure a beautiful finish.

By Political doctor

** Just thought that a little humour might get you going...too much grim! Why? BN leaders trying to play 'I'm a good leader' all of a sudden......

PAS for all . . .(updated 28th March 2008)

UPDATE 28 March 2008 - It was definitely a first time for the Church of Divine Mercy, a Roman Catholic church that took 26 years to build (not as reported earlier by me which I mistakenly put at 18 years), that she welcomed the newly elected Member of Parliament, Y.B. Khalid Abd Samad to its premises for a meet the public session. Y.B Khalid Abdul Samad, a member of the Parti Islam Malaysia offered to meet the church members when he got in touch with the Parish Priest Father Paulino Miranda and hence Thursday, 27th March 2008 would go down in history, perhaps, where a Muslim Elected Representative stepped foot into a church compound here in Malaysia. I say perhaps, because, I could not find any documents on the internet that stated otherwise. I would estimate the crowd to be around 200-250 people, almost all were parishioners, and they gathered mainly to hear for themselves what PAS or its elected representative would do for them, now that they (PAS) were part of the new Selangor State Government. The session started off 20 minutes late, but Y.B Khalid had a valid excuse. He and his team had just got in late from Kampung Rimba Jaya. Selangor state was to be declared a state free from squatters by end of year 2008, as declared by the previous Barisan Nasional lead state government. Kampung Rimba Jaya was just one of the many villages that was earmarked for redevelopment. It was reported in the MSM that this village comprised mainly of illegal squatters. I do not have the facts and figures but according to YB Khalid, from the 1000 odd families that stayed there, 200 odd are yet to receive any help in securing new accommodation despite promises made to them by the previous government. As such his team had to assist these villagers when they were given 5 days eviction notice to return the keys of long house settlements which they were currently placed in despite not having any fixed future accommodation.

He had this to say in his opening address, no formalities, no fuss. YB Khalid then proceeded to take questions from the floor. What was evident from the points raised by those who could get their voices heard was crystal clear, abundance of local council issues, and the fear of 'subtle religious' persecution. With no one to turn to, YB Khalid took all the questions one by one, and stressed that the newly formed coalition Government of PKR-PAS-DAP (in no order) was one of consensus by nature. He highlighted the willingness of DAP to back down from their calls for their choice of MB in Perak as one that signifies that the Barisan Rakyat parties can give and take and reach the middle ground that so often eluded most political parties.
Among some other questions raised were the stern action that is sorely missing in the past Government whereby appointed councilors and council officers were abusing their positions and would later be transferred instead of facing strict repercussions. It was pointed out that the current state government had announced the reduction of quit rent for places of worship to the token sum of RM1. YB Khalid had to give his view point as a Muslim member of the Islamic Party on issues ranging from the restriction of the erection of a Steeple and Cross (YB Khalid added that in Islam, there is no call to compel non Muslims to conform to the teachings of Quran, so much so that to restrict others from practising their religion is forbidden) for the church to the use of the word 'Allah' in the daily worship(In his opinion the word Allah is in the Arabic language, and having heard a Christian Priest preach in Arabic in the Mid East, he sees no reason about the fuss), as well as questions about vernacular education (PAS is of the view that teaching the mother tongue is a necessity but stressed on the need to have a common language for the logic of daily communication), religion Policing (stressed on the need for all parties to conform to society's do's and don'ts and is opposed to moral policing in general - there ought to be another approach instead of high handedness shown previously), transportation(acknowledge the lack of it in the Selangor state, and intends to take this to the MBSA council through the right channels in view of the yearly 230million revenue it receives!), the alienation of burial grounds(sees no reason why a proper Christian burial ground is not provided for given that a private company was given the rights to the sec 21 burial grounds) to higher education accessibility for all Malaysians (stressed that the need to be transparent with equal opportunity provided to all Malaysians). A church member remarked that there is a need to build inroads to East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak in view of the number of East Malaysians-almost 20,000- working here) if the coalition of PKR-PAS-DAP would like to form the next Federal Government. Perhaps its wishful thinking for now, but YB Khalid did make it known to all that the Barisan Rakyat govt in their respective states have a big role to play in order to move Malaysia ahead and on questions if the coalition was a strong one, "we are for a Government by consensus, and PAS will not impose its believe, obviously of Islamic by nature, on the community in whole as long as there is any rejection to it". He even mentioned that PAS is all for a religious society, even if each had a religion of its own. To the question as an MP, if he will lobby for the abolishment of discrimination by Race and Religion, he insisted that the differences is only in mindset. He will oppose any discriminatory policies, and will work towards a nation of True Bangsa Malaysia. (not in exact words).

It seems that almost all of those present were there to find out what PAS was all about.
From the simple gesture to engage the parishioners at their own backyard, to the explanation of the policies the new State Government hope to pursue, YB Khalid had taken a first important step to mend the divide (if at all it did exist) that seemed to have been subconsciously embedded in our minds, that PAS cannot be entrusted with the our future. Christians, that is.
I beg to differ.

To view YB Khalid's opening speech, please go here.

______ original post below_______

10 years ago, I was asked if I did ever place my trust in PAS. I said no, NEVER.
Perhaps, in retrospect, I was hasty, possibly hazy about PAS and their intentions. After all, for a non-muslim, one's fear is that if the country were to eventually be ruled by such a Religion based party, I would indeed have great difficulty in practising mine.
Having spoken to Dr.Siti Maria who successfully won the P111 Kota Raja seatin the recent election, I was still not convinced that PAS does have the interest of all Malaysians at heart.
So I looked for their manifesto and was quite impressed that they had taken the effort to try to convince all non believers. OK, I will try to get straight to the point, by omitting their usual clarion call to establish an Islamic state, perhaps this is their realisation that to do so will alienate them from people like me.
But this next step is winning me over albeit slowly. It was announced during the Easter service that the newly elected Parliamentarian for Shah Alam P108, En Khalid Abd Samad had taken the initiative to contact our parish and asked to meet the priest and other parishioners so that he can understand the problem we faced (The church of Divine Mercy in Shah Alam is built in an Industrial Zone, it was competed some 18 years after the original plans were approved. The approvals had to undergo many changes, mysteriously encountering various obstacles during the planning stages which resulted in the delay).
Such a step by the new rep speaks clear of his intentions, at least to me.
En Khalid Abd Samad will be droppiong in at the Church of Divine Mercy on Thursday, 8.30pm, and I'll be sure to meet him to get his take on why, what and how.

CYBERSPACE, The New Frontier? Says the Insider

UPDATE 26th March 2008 Monster! Monstrous!.....or at least that was what it was supposed to be. Remember monsterblog? Well, I thought I should link this post to some inside stories that should shed some light on how certain Newspapers change their direction. Oh...Suanie....now with the blogger friendly government, maybe Monster will reemerge?...Read here for a detailed insider story 1, 2, and 3! Now, how nice if we can do this all over again? At their expense...

After the announcement of the recent General Election results, most people were talking about how the Internet had help changed the Political landscape of Malaysia. The truth? Yes, perhaps it did, but we all do know about the Internet penetration vs population here in this country, so to a certain extent, this statement is yet to be proven.

Now, look at the main stream Newspapers. For one, they get 'Media' accreditation, and have all kinds of 'exclusive' interviews (such as when the former Information Minister made his remark that Bloggers are Jobless Liars!), and given their might, and good advertising revenue, all the MSM have to do is to continue churning up stories. Make hay when the sun shines, basically. Read NST's story here. 'Indeed, retired BN leader Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik on Monday acknowledged that BN's opponents had skilfully exploited the Internet.
"The opposition used the blogs to reach the voters," said the retired Gerakan president and former energy, water and communications minister, referring to web-logs or online journals.The worldwide web has allowed parties like the DAP, PKR and Pas, which have long complained of bias in the traditional media, to reach voters in their offices and homes.'
That amongst others was the point that Ms Lee Siew Lian tried to make in her story. (As is the same title of my post)

I was told about her article(and having been involved with the MSM boycott call, to a certain degree) and reluctantly, I pointed to the link that Shanghai Fish alerted me of. My initial feeling was that of elation being as finally, someone was able to bring herself to tell the truth. But reading through, I realised then the true intention of her piece. It was not to tell the readers that one of the main catalyst for the interest in the Internet for information savvy Malaysians was because they were disgusted with the web of spins that the MSM was reponsible for. It did not tell the readers that the information and news that the MSM chose to print was one that glaringly tells only of the purported successes of the Government. It did not tell the readers that the MSM could only paint the rosy picture that the Government wanted us to read. But it certainly did tell us that being in the press would mean you can use it to promote your very own.

I hold my friendship with the press corp close at heart. I am one of the members who spend at least 2 nights in a week to support their own club. But that does not mean I condone the kind of unethical practice that some choose to do. Speaking to an old blogger friend who was a 'Top Gun' in the previous administration, he lectured me on the ethical do's and dont's of a pressman. This is the guy whom I use to have many games of pulsating high tempo, big breaking snooker games with. He had the honour to play former England Champ, Eddie Charlton when the champ visited back in the early 90s. This is the guy that advised me to 'protect' my sources at all cost, when I started blogging. In fact, he told me of the many opportunities he had to promote certain stories with 'perks' to which he turned down, all the time! So , what he did tell me was the insides of
the the former organisation he worked for, to which I appreciate a great deal.

Coincidentally, Shanghai echoed that in his piece. So I thought, I had better post mine up as well.
We both could be liars, but why don't you try evaluating Siew Lian's piece in full. It is 'Dallas' of sorts, I guess...but you decide for yourself ok?

All I can say is, I asked 20 people who were getting their main source of Information through the Internet. From the 20 people, 11 cited Malaysia Kini as their main source, Malaysia Today as their next choice, followed by top blogs, Rocky's Bru, People's Parliament, Zorro's and so forth. The other 9 had other sources too, but Malaysia Tody and Malaysia Kini jostled places. Funnily, none, NONE mentioned Malaysia Insider...perhaps my sources were also liars?

Dave has his take here, and this is what he wants you to do! Remember Boycott TUESDAYS?
Time to deliver our message effectively! Word is there will soon be THE alternative.....
Read here to see what Haris Ibrahim has to say about why he is boycotting the MSM, and why most people will be doing the same..

Michael's take on Malaysia in The Age

"Abdullah has emerged as probably Malaysia's most pointless prime minister. The election results are an unmitigated disaster for him and his Government. If the opposition is sufficiently disciplined and the ruling coalition starts to crack, then his nightmare has only just begun. Could Abdullah negotiate such a minefield? So far his
political talents don't seem to have stretched beyond using chemical-laden water cannons against his own people. It would seem his days are numbered."

.....And that is what Malaysia seems to be from the eyes of a gweilo...

Read Michael Backman's column in The Age.
Oh....its where most Malaysians choose as their first country of choice to resettle.
A country where the Minister of Women's Affairs & Family Development (the former deputy Minister of Tourism) declared her interest in residing there permanently.

Loyalty to King and Country

It seems that the even the 'Rukunegara' which ensures that every citizen pledges their loyalty to King and Country has undergone some changes. Not to every law abiding Malaysian, but to UMNO elected representatives.
My point? 22 elected representatives claimed they have the support of their constituents and pledge their loyalty to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi instead! They continued to defy the selection of the Menteri Besar for Trengganu and further made demands that the proposed Menteri Besar elected by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi be that choice. 'It is non 'constitutional' claimed AAB in his latest media release.
OK, how is this different from the case of the appointment of MB in Perlis? As is claimed by AAB, that is the case. So, I am confused. Perhaps someone can shed some light on this?

To me its simple, Trengganu is the home state of our current King. It also happens to be his prerogative as the Sultan of that state to name the MB. So to go against that is treason, no?

Minister Vs Minister

Ministers. Has anyone looked into the current portfolio as well as the biodata of these buggers?
Let's see. Theres a former Financial trader who could not decide which country she wanted to live in. There is a former Minister who could not decide which she prefers, to hug an infant or an old lady, which turned out to be 'the' PR faux pas of the recent elections.
Oh, remember this? "Ministers who lose in the elections will not be appointed to the cabinet"
As we can all see now, its another flip flop by Mr.sleepy.....
Then there is the Minister (now) that would have trouble filling in Customs and Quarantine forms should he be required to travel to a foreign land. Incidentally, his former Professor (now Professor Emiritus) speaks highly of this 'bright' chap who scored first class honours! It gives me the impression that this Minister cheated his way to his degree, after all, he exclaimed that he did not understand English, right?

But my favourite is the one illustrated above, the former de facto law Minister. See? he gives us bloggers quotes which we can use. Come to think of it, almost all Ministers gives us the quotes we want....its like 'Malaysian Ministers Say The Darndest things!'

But Shabbery seems to grasp whats at stake. He had this to say, read here.
Hmmm, time to march up to the his office and chat, don't ya think?

This ex-top journo has his observations here.
This ex-journo who makes excellent mee rebus has her take here.

The Relativity of Irrelavance

Running up to the elections, the mainstream media dished out articles like a maestro with his strings. How much of that is the truth depends on which side of the political divide you stand on.
Whatever said, there were many quotes that would come back again and again, haunting those who uttered these string of words.
Here are a few of those:
1."Irrelevant"
2."If the people don't like the ISA, then they would not have voted us"
3."You people have given DAP 15 years, give us 5 years and we will show you what we can do"
4."We are confident of 2/3 majority as the Rakyat supports Barisan Nasional"
Please, refresh my memory if you have more to add.

But here is one of my favourite movie of the early nineties.....Dumb & Dumber...

Ooops...wrong pix!
.....I hope you do see the irrelavance of this post. Relevant?
Here is one VERY relevant article, and if you have not read it yet, do run through.
(read the comments too...) thanks to Haris for echoing the same....

Yes, Prime Minister...

Well it looks like its, Yes, Prime Minister again, isn't it?
But hold on! I don't think Zaid Ibrahim is like that at all.

So what do you think of the line up?

'Minister, Minister on the wall....
Why oh why are you there at all?'

Rumble on the Ground. . .

Seen around town yesterday....

1. At the Pusat rawatan Islam, Tun Razak Pedestrian Bridge, Northbound"Maruah Ahli UMNO Bukannya Sebagai Kaki Pengampu. Paklah Letak Jawatan"
2. At the Pusat Rawatab Islam, Tun Razak Pedestrian Bridge, Southbound "Ke Mana Putera Mat Renmpit Pergi? Paklah Letak Jawatan"
3. At the Kg Bharu Pedestrian Bridge, Northbound "Ekonomi Rosak. Maruah Di Pajak Gadai. Paklah Turun"
4. At the Kg Bharu Pedestrian Bridge, Southbound "Pemimpin Tersohor. Jangan Jadi Kaki Pengampu.Paklah Letak Jawatan"

Look here for photo details.

It all points to one thing, there is Rumble on the Ground in UMNO, and if the party leaders know what this means, they better do something about it.
And if LKS does not want this to happen to him, he should spend more time in isolation...

Related reads.......here and here

You cut off the foot to save the leg!

History replays itself

Following the racial riots of May 13, 1969, Mahathir was sacked from the UMNO Supreme Council on 12 July, following his widespread distribution to the public of his letter to Tunku Abdul Rahman, the then Prime Minister. In his letter, he had criticised the manner in which the Tunku had handled the country's administration. Mahathir was subsequently relieved of his party membership on 26 September.<sup>[3] (excerpt from this blog)

And we see this today....
More from this big blogger....
The original letter can be seen here....

So what will we see in the next few days to come?
This could be the possibilities;
a. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi does the honourable thing and resigns.
b. Khairy Jamaluddin leads calls for UMNO to sack Mukhriz Mahathir.
c. UMNO pulls rank and ask Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to resign.
d. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reiterates that he has the support of the nation, and that the simple majority means that they support his leadership.
e. As AAB is 'pantang dicabar' he continues to defy the many calls for his resignation and appoints KJ to the cabinet

what do you think are the chances we see 'a' and 'c' happenning?
Wishful thinking?....perhaps!</sup>

The Silver State (PERAK)

It was reported at 4.20pm in Malaysiakini that the swearing in ceremony of the Perak State Menteri Besar as well as State Executive Councilors will be postponed.
Given what transpired yesterday coupled by the statements issued by DAP, and PKR, it can well mean that there are some undercurrents that remain unsolved.

Nathaniel Tan provides the insights of PKR.
But what if the postponement was due to the Sultan having come down with a bout of influenza?
Just what if? The statement issued by the Palace was that the ceremony was potponed, issued at 4.20pm.
So before we jump to any conclusion, let's just wait and see......

Zorro's Chamber

I was sitting amongst some people discussing the political landscape the other day. All 10 at the table were staff of a high ranking UMNO official.
A lot of finger pointing and 'what must be done' to restore the party suggestions were thrown around. And then a prominent blogger, who was campaigning hard in the recent GE in Rembau against the SIL pointed to me and said 'you DAP bloggers' insinuating that I was a pro DAP blogger!

OK. That caught me by surprise. I do not even consider myself a so-po blogger. Anti MAS yes! (Do come back real soon to see what MAS has been up to!) but to go so far as to say I am pro DAP?
If I am judged purely because I was covering the many DAP ceramahs, then perhaps that would be the impresssion most of you will get. But please look back, and you will see, the many civil society initiatives that took place. Mostly at blog house. My point is, we need more people who can spend some time to give back to the Rakyat, however small it may be.

So what has this post got to do with the heading? DAP. Yes, if we were so 'DAP', then why would we do this? Still do not know what I am talking about? Read here first to have an idea.
Well, I think Lim Kit Siang should wake up and smell the roses! So let's see who will take Uncle Kit's place, and how long will it be before he gets fresh air again!

Wanted! City Councillors

As we have known all along, city councillors only get RM500.00 as a token allowance.
And these 24 councillors would assist the Elected representatives in taking up the vacancies in the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).
A logical answer was provided in that the council will appoint people who are familiar both with the area as well as the issues that the council will be addressing, citing the example of an Outdoor Billboard advertising person to combat the illegal billboards.
It seems that the long road ahead has already been charted. Walking on it, one has a feel that these councillors will have too much laid out for them given the inadequacies of the previous administration.

Its a long long loooooooong road! Lets pitch in and help if we can!
Do you fit the bill as an MBPJ councillor? Age is not a barrier, experience is not a barrier, just make sure you have the passion, patience, and most importantly expect no more than RM500 for your contribution to make Malaysia a better place to live in!

Hey Paul, seen this yet?

Its not everyday that one come across brand new cars being tested before the unveiling,
(as Paul Tan will tell you), so it was a pleasant surprise that I came across these 3 vehicles along the North South Expressway.
Paul Tan did go for the unveiling and test drive in Japan, so I guess being The Auto Man of Malaysia does have its advantage! I am not quite a brand new car kinda guy (for obvious reasons, just can't afford it!).
My blogger buddy which was with me on our drive down to RDC (as OBE would put it), made a few calls and wallah, here are the facts!
The three cars were of three different capacities, 2L, 2.4L and 3.5L, and the maker?
HONDA.....here are the shots (click to enlarge)...



Nice.....price tag? Try checking in to Paul Tan's...

Sex, Lies and Videotape.

Sounds like the title of movie in the 90's right?
Well, not quite so. In this case its, Videotape, sex, lies and more lies.
Let me elaborate, Videotape (Correct, correct, correct), Sex (Viagra for the Minister, or was it Minister for Viagra?) and Lies (all the time!)
And the latest of the long list of lies? Read here. and here. So it did not really come as a surprise as I confirmed my story, choosing to watch what TV3 was going to air with.
The truth (if you choose to believe it) was that Dato Mukhriz, the Jerlun MP did call for a press conference. As about 50 members of the media gathered in the original hotel which the press conference was called, a group of about 300 odd UMNO members gathered (TV3 reported that it was UMNO supporters showing support for AAB) and this got the Mukhriz camp to change venues to another hotel in Prai. At the hotel in Prai, with the media people leading, the 300 odd grew toa 500 odd crowd!
Wow, so much support for the President of UMNO. The members of Penang must really love him, so much so that he lost his home state! My source tells me of the planned Press conference, coincidentally called, one day after the former Prime Minister, who happens to be the father of the MP of Jerlun, was one that distinctly called for the responsible person in charge of the Party do the honourable and right thing. However, due to the large crowd that gathered, the OCPD had to have a word of caution, and proceeded, Dato Mukhriz did but with a very watered down statement.

If one was to watch the clips, so carefully screened by TV3, it could really leave one stumped!
After all, why would the MP of Kedah, who presumably would have visited his constituency, go over to Penang Island, the home state of the President to make this statement? Wouldn't it have been better to make the statement in Jerlun, where he could proudly say that the people of his constituency voted UMNO for the love of AAB's leadership?

Why don't you see it again?
Honour to a Japanese is sacred, especially to a Samurai. So sacred that if he brought shame on himself, especially so in battle(in the samurai's warrior code, loss of face is as good as a loss in battle!) he would perform the ritual of 'Seppuku' (harakiri)!
Here we talk about honour too, except, we do not call for blood, but to do the right thing!

The Aftermath

A big thank you goes out to every Malaysian who exercised their right to vote.

And yesterday, we attended the press conference called by Tun Dr Mahathir. As expected, he heaped pressure on Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, starting of the p.c by informing all that when he handed over the realms of the government to AAB, Barisan Nasional was in good hands.
Tun touched on the fact that Malaysians have voted against Barisan Nasional, and not necessarily for the opposition. When asked by reporters what is the most noble thing for AAB to do, Tun wasted not time in saying that AAB should step down.
To my question 'If this was your Government, and this is the mandate you got from the rakyat, would you resign?'. 'Yes', and elaborated that if that was the mandate by the people, he would take full responsibility and step down. To another question by a Chinese daily reporter, 'but in 1999, you did not get good support, why didn't you step down?'. To this he answered 'We got 2/3 majority(and that is why I did not resign).

I guess, this only represents the view of our former Prime Minister, former No1 of UMNO, and this was the leadership UMNO had in the past. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is better known as 'Mr.Clean' in the 2004 elections is of a different breed. So different is he that he did not know about the discontentment of the Malaysian public, when initially asked by media. And to his question after the announcement of the results, he quipped 'Su dah Kalah, Kalah lah' (if we have lost, we have lost!).

Compare this to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's statement.
Sounds to me like one person is better prepared for the loss than the other (no prizes for who vs who)

All said, there are 5 states which will be governed by the opposition. It remains to be seen if this 5 will progress as is projected or perhaps even go off the charts! As for the other 8 states, lets see if they will be able to keep up with what's been promised by Barisan Nasional.
Not surprisingly, today's KLCI Index fell, lead by Barisan Nasional linked companies. (After all the Government Linked companies are not opposition linked, are they?)
Conspiracy? Your guess is as good as mine!

For a clearer persperctive of the facts anf figures (as well as casualties of the recent election, this feisty blogger has her take!)

Anak Anak Bangsa Malaysia has spoken!

Thanks to the man who helped get this change along the way.

3:45am - Malaysia has decided! 5 States. Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Perak.
Yes. You did not read this wrongly. Malaysians who went to the polls took away the 92% mandate they gave to Barisan Nasional in 2004.
DAP went into an emergency meeting as soon as it got confirmation that it had won the majority in Penang. The past months of hard work going to the ground had paid off, but the work has just started. Lim Guan Eng gave a press conference some time after and said that DAP will pledge to work hard and not the let the people of Penang down. DAP and PKR will form the state government.
There are many factors, one may argue, that contributed to this inevitable result. I can start but judging from the analysis on National TV, it seems that all those analyst who sat on the panel (TV1/TV3/NTV7/TV9/Armani Astro/BRTV) are quick to point to internal forces. MIC, MCA, and UMNO. Which means one thing. BN still has not learned anything. Its not about MCA or MIC or UMNO. Its about the rakyat wanting to claim their rights backl. For too long the rakyat has been putting up with the nonsense that BN has been feeding us.
STAND UP! Yes, all you who voted! CHANGE. CHANGE. CHANGE.

And now, the hard work really really starts.
I know, you will soon read about RWC - Representative Watch Committees. The People's Parliament had pledged that all representatives will be watched by these committees and will bridge the long divide that had existed all this while.
Malaysians can wake up tomorrow feeling optimistic about the future.
I know I will, and I am proud that my fellow Malaysians have finally woken up to the fact that they finally want to protect their constitutional rights.

More tomorrow, time to go back to the family............
Hidup Rakyat! Hidup Rakyat! Hidup Rakyat!

DAP Country!

If you have not read Rocky's brief update, you may want to have a feel of whats on the ground in Penang.
But take a look here and you will see history in the making.

12th General Election Update!

The news is trickling in here in Blog House.
There are 4 of us here at the moment, and thanks to a well wisher, Dinner for 15 people has been arranged. Thank you sir (You know who you are!), incidentally, this well wisher is also a blogger and has been generously helping in contributing to blog house!

Unconfirmed, but our network of polling agents has just reported this.

Sg Siput - P62 - Its been reported that 7 polling stations counted and all 6 are for Dr M.Kumar (V Samy Vellu) . It is also reported that FRU Personnel are now seen in town. Latest 7:40pm Samy Vellu is fast catching up garnering 932 to Dr Kumar's 990 votes

Bkt Mertajam - P45 - Chong Eng has beaten Ong Tang Chuan.

S48 0 Kota Alam Shah - its reported that ISA Detainee Manoharan M has beaten Ching S C of BN - If that is the case, it will probably be the first that a candidate won without personally campaigning

P49 - Tanjong has been retained by incumbent Chow Kon Yeow of DAP beating BN's Khaw Veon Szu

P106 PJ Utara - Tony Pua has taken the Parliamentary seat! beating Incumbet Chew Mei Fun!
However, this are unconfirmed reports officially.

WE HAVE JUST BEEN MADE AWARE OF THE MALAYSIAKINI UPDATES AND URGE YOU TO VIEW www.malaysiakini.com for live updates from their reporters across the nation!
8:10pm, due to surge in traffic, malaysiakini is experiencing difficulties in loading. Muststopthis will endeavour to keep you updated.

8:10pm Teresa Kok DAP retains Seputeh and wins Kinrara State seat (malaysiakini 8:03pm)

8:35pm DAP is projected to take Penang.
8:35pm Lembah Pantai is undergoing a recount. NURUL IZZAH was initially thought to be the winner (source - Journalist reports )
8:35pm Bukit Bendera P48 Liew Chin Tong takes the Parliamentary seat from DAP.

8:40pm DAP wins Subang Jaya! This is reported from Lim Kit Siang's blog

9.38pm sorry for the update delay. read here for Rocky's update in Penang.

9:40pm Aiyoyo ! Samy's out! Kayveas out!

There are a lot of unconfirmed results, and cross referencing it with our local TV coverage, I am not able to post too many 'unconfirmed' results! Will endeavour to post confirmed results as soon as we get it!

CONFIRMED UPDATES:
9.45pm TONY PUA is Yang Berkhidmat fr PJ Utara!

10.00pm P121 Lembah Pantai, Sharizat loses.

10:10pm IGP reminds all party supporters not to celebrate. Confirmed Police Road blocks around Subang Jaya. Please remain calm, and do not celebrate Opposition victory. Malaysians are matured enough to remain calm. Do not listen to rumours. This road block was encountered by a blogger on his way home.

10.15pm Wan Azizah P44 - Azizah wins!

10.31pm Zam's out! Former Minister of Information OUT!

11:28pm Malaysiakini which has been our main source of information has crashed due to the high traffic. At the present moment, we are still getting updates from our polling agents. however the results on National Tv has been slow. As such we cannot update the information soon enough.

Its almost 5am, and we have just shut down.

Let's not forget its International Womens Day. Malaysia has a long way to go, and spare a thought for our partners and what they have to go through....

Keep posted here.
Blog house monitoring team

One last day of rallies....Subang Jaya & SS2

And so the day of reckoning is just hours away.
Is this the real deal? The winds of change has blown, hopefully, and tomorrow, we can all look forward to claim back our country from thieving politicians!
But before that, we ahve to make one more round of rallies.
In Section 17, Bernard Khoo a.k.a Zorro was about to take the stage to urge PJ Selatan constituents to vote Hee & Edward in. But we had to take leave, having a reporter from Radio France International with us, we moved on to the Subang Jaya / Kelana Jaya constituency where Haris was to speak for Hannah Tan one more time. She had hoped that this being the final day of rallies, that Haris would be able to spend some time wrapping up for her constituents.
Teng Chang Kim had just taken over from Loh Gwo Burne when we settled in. Teng wasted no time and reminded the people not to believe that Lee Hwa Beng was responsible for the NPE highway, as well as Kesas, which was both built during Lee's tenure as the State Assemblyman (MCA candidate) in the previous government. Lee had earlier laid claim to be the one responsible for getting the approval for these infrastructures. Teng reminded that the projects were approved at Federal level and not in the State level. This expose gave the crowd something to cheer. Teng also used the analogy of Cat and mouse, for sending Parliament hopefuls from DAP, in the house. He likened the cats to DAP MPs, and the mouse BN MPs. he descriobed that DAP MPs try their best to weed out corrupt politicians, and DAP needed more cats in the house!

In steady drizzle, the crowd of about 2 thousand stayed unfazed despite the constant irritation.
Soggy and muddy grounds surely did not deter them. They demanded more as Teng wrapped up, and made way for Haris. Haris took over, and dished this out.

(Pease return later to see the full video of Haris's speech)

We left in a hurry after Haris's wrap up, and made our way to SS2 where he was slotted in to conclude for Tony Pua. On our arrival, Tony was highlighting the case of the mysteriously approved, then 'unapproved' 33 storey tower block in Damansara Jaya (on the current Atria building). This clearly unwanted development is the very example of what Tony hopes to bring about when elected to office. He wants to be the voice of the people! A loud cheer came from the crowd, as he elaborated on the scheme of things with the MBPJ council.
Gobind Singh arrived soon after and took over from Tony, and his please were no different from the others. The crowd too gave their vocal support, and responded positively to his call for change!
Haris in his wrap, reminded the people of PJ Utara to stay focussed and strong, as well as vigilant on the possibilities of phantom voters. His impassioned plea to the people to lay claim to their constitutional right to vote drew loud applause and cheers! He finished of by reminding the rakyat that the power lies in the hands of the voters, the people, the boss!
Hidup Rakyat! Hidup Rakyat! Hidup Rakyat!

Wolves!

Pix from gottabeme2-tiffanie.blogspot.com

As a boy who grew up in a farmland, he was accustomed to helping his father feed the chickens. Collecting the eggs was a task he most looked forward to, as this would be his trophy for the hard work that he had contributed to his household.
One day, hearing some commotion in the chicken coop, he rushed out in time to see his dad taking aim at two wolves which had broken into the compound! Boooom! He heard the sound of a 12 gauge go off, and sees two dead wolves lying in the coop! Being the animal lover that he was, he asked his father why he had to kill the wolves? "Son, its because they killed our chickens andnow we will have no more eggs!"

Now, lets take it from this perspective.
You worked hard, for the past 20 years of your working adult life.
You pay your taxes, you do your part to ensure that your children get whatever help the government is giving you. Subsidised education, subsidised fuel, some relieve in Tax, good roads.
You strive for a better life, but everything around you especially the cost of living is going up.
Yes, its a global phenomenon and the government can't do anything about it. So they say.

Now read it again.
You worked hard, for the past 20 years of your working adult life.
You pay your taxes, you do your part to ensure that your children get whatever help the government is giving you. Subsidised education, subsidised fuel, some relieve in Tax, good roads.
Meanwhile the government that was, announced billions in development. Mysterious investment up to the billions. But you can't see the money on the streets. Most people are facing credit crunch, lets not even talk about retail spending. Your pay does not go up, but according to statistics, Malaysia is having a time of her life! You struggle to save enough so that your daughter who happens to be in a group that is given a quota in public universities gets enough money for her to get the most basic of degrees. Your neighbour who happens to have the right colour complains of being the same. Meanwhile, the government show you figures that indicate that its policy to help the poor has not achieved its intentioned targets and maintains that Malaysians must help Malaysians, especially the poor . Then you hear of a group of marginalised poor taking to the streets and having tear gas and chemical laced liquid sprayed at them for wanting to stand up and ask for their rights. You hear of several high profile screw ups by the government, but always, no one gets kicked out of their jobs. Better yet, they get transferred. The very people who are implicated in all these tainted scandals go on to sit as director of GLCs! The very people that you have helped vote in do not even listen anymore. They tell you that the majority voted them in 92%, in fact. And they have this to add, because you are minority, you do not have a voice. Majority rules! They say.
You strive for a better life, but everything around you especially the cost of living is going up.
Yes, its a global phenomenon and the government can't do anything about it.
And yet the government is bailing out its government linked companies which were managed by people who was put in charge by them. They spend billions of tax payers money, yet they say they do not have money to build a bridge! They burnt 100 million to celebrate 50 years of independence. And yet you hear of those companies which ran the event getting sued for breach of rights! You hear, you see, yet this very government that was put in charge for the past 50 years, still wants you to give them more time!
Why? so that they can tell us that minority have no rights? Have they forgotten that we are ALL Malaysians? Why do we do this so that they can shut us up again, why?
Why do we do this so that they can monopolise the media and give us shit?
Shit like "Good wolf and bad wolf" ? Or This(Thanks Capt for the heads up)? How much can one take?

I am not a writer, and I don't write well. But I can tell when someone is trying to shaft shit down my throat!
Here read for yourself. The writer, who happens to be the boss of the paper, who happens to own shares of a company, controversial to say the least, who happens to be in the 'elite of the business community' says for himself. the Barisan Nasional is not perfect, flawed with Greed and Arrogance, yet he tells that this is the good wolf? Funny enough, I came across the same story, word for word in this blog. Maybe its just plain coincidence? It does happen quite a lot in Malaysia.....coincidence!

Enough, my friend, please no more. Stop bringing shame to your parents, may the rest in peace.
You have sold your soul!
And I am confident that my fellow anak anak Bangsa Malaysia has also had enough of all the shit that has been dished out by Barisan Nasional.

P.S Did you see any credits to the originality of the story? I must read again. I don't think I saw one. . .

Pearl of the Orient, the return of...

pix from TVSmith

Could this be the return of the Pearl of the orient?
50 years has seen Penang, dip far below the likes of Singapore and Hong Kong.
The glory years have since long gone, the former state government of Penang had to ask for Federal government intervention to award Motorola a 1 billion Ringgit deal in order for Motorola to remain in Penang.
So it comes as no surprise that 30-50 thousand people of Penang can sense the winds of change.
Its still too soon to tell who will rule Penang come 9th March 2008.
But the people has shown that they can stand in solidarity with a party that has been the only voice in Parliament for the people.

Read here for a Penagite's perpective of the DAP rally last night in Han Chiang.
Thanks to TV Smith for the Pix and Lilian for her posting.

Ceramah ‘Makkal Sakti’ - 2nd March 2008 - Seremban

Reproduced below is the story which did not make the main stream newspapers.
For the record, two tamil dailies as well as one chinese newspaper sent reporters to cover this event. This story was sent to me by a reader, and on his request, I am posting this.

IMAGe group organized a ceramah on Sunday 2^nd March in Seremban Selatan. The objective of this ceramah was for the local population to understand the realities before them and make the right decision on 8^th March, when they go to cast their votes. IMAGe set up a counter to register Indians turning up for the ceramah in an effort to make more contacts for serving the community. It was interesting to see more people registering after the ceramah.
Ceramah started at 7.00 pm with Mr. Ravindran lightly touching on issues pertaining to Malaysian Indian’s plight and progress after 50 years of contribution to the country.

By the time Mr. Aridass and Mr. Arjunan took to the stage the crowd had already swelled to about 2,000. The main questions in everyone’s mind after their speeches was “What is wrong in asking for our rights as citizens?”, and “How could this happen in our own land?”
Noting that even UMNO leaders (Khairy Jamaluddin, calling Indians and other street demonstrators ‘beruk’ (primates) were making intimidating statements in the past few UMNO general assembly, the racial slurs and wanton criticism of the marginalized Indians cannot be accepted.

Largely because of the attitude of UMNO, the people still believe that Hishamuddin and other UMNO leaders have said that they do not need Indian and Chinese votes in this election.
The speakers spoke about the arrogance of UMNO and the crowd responded by jeering every time MIC and Samy Velu was mentioned.
They gave many specific examples on the plight of Indians which showed clearly that the gathering and outpouring of sentiment on Nov 25^th 2007 was not a result of incitement or false brainwashing by anyone. It was the result of frustration built over decades of promises and half-baked efforts to help. It was a feeling of betrayal of the trust that Malaysian Indians had placed on Barisan Nasional.

Mr. Yohan from IMAGE group spoke next, highlighting the neglect of mother tongue education’. Classes being held in shop lots, ‘kandang kuda’ (stables) and containers speaks of the legacy of BN. He asked why only Indians have to face this.
Why is it that there exist a situation where only about 60 Tamil schools are fully aided while the rest is partially aided remains an issue. The excuse of schools being located in private land is not acceptable.
He talked about the recent announcement of BN giving out millions of aide for reconstruction of Tamil schools which appeared in newspapers. The amount looked impressive, but it only works out to RM 185,000 per school. This is hardly sufficient to lay concrete for a single story building consisting of 8 classes – that too, will depend on how much trickles in after going through the red tape. The bottom line is that our leaders are trying to buy Indian voters by offering millions, but in reality it does not do enough for the community’s progress.

En. Taufik from PAS attracted the crowd by talking about ‘Kerbau Khairi’ trying to ruin life of Indians (whatever is left…..). During his speech he pointed out that only BN breaks temples, and there was no such case by the PAS led government in Kelantan. Hindus in the audience became aware that a new Shiva temple was allowed to be built in Kota Baru, complete with air con, while Hindus in other states have to beg to get land and approvals.
Finally En.Badrul Hisham of PKR took to the stage, raising awareness on corruption of the BN-led government. He proved claims about Pak Lah’s family’s involvement with the ‘oil for food’ scandal. He made aware that Pak Lah’s sister-in-law was involved, and also gave out contract reference numbers and company’s names to prove his point. It was an eye opener for those who do not see this in the main-stream media. He challenged ‘Kerbau Khairy’, son in law of ‘Kepala Bantal’ MP for a debate in Rembau on 6^th March 2008.

The ceramah ended at 10.30, and no one left the area until the last speaker left the stage.

Thanks to Harold Gomez for sending us this news.

People, why this did not appear in the MSM is clear. The government does not want the rest of us to know that the people do not want a racist government anymore. Lets stand together and vote against marginalisation and say no to injustice!

Proud to be Malaysian? Think again.

(thanks to Niamah for highlighting this)

Proud to be Malaysian! At least thats what I used to say in my days of traveling.
Now? Well, I don't meet that many foreigners to proclaim that, but truth be told?
Well.......nough bout how I feel.
Whats your take? Please tell me that he did not just say that!
I know it will be hard for me to be proud of my father in law, if he ever responded to world audience like that man just did! (for the record, I am proud of my father in-law!)
Like my friend the Ancient Mariner would normally say....sheeeesh!

Red is the colour he saw!

The election commissions chairman, Abdul Rashid saw red this morning!
No...he was not given the red card, though Prime Minister Badawi likened the government to a football team. Read here for an interview by malaysiakini and what Rashid had to say.

PReeeeeeeeeet! STOP! Hold on. Did Rashid just say that the use of the indelible ink was because of the law? That the law prohibited it? And yet they spent 2.4 million Ringgit even though they knew they had this 'legal obstruction'? What? Did he say that?
And where does the smuggling of the indelible ink fits in? Where?

WAKE UP PEOPLE! This came from Rashid, who talks of being fair. Unbiased. He says.
Didn't this man say that the only government that can rule Malaysia is Barisan Nasional? Didn't he?

Please, if you can't see this...then I'll probably pack and head down South too.........

PJ Selatan,USJ3A and Segambut Ceramah - 6th March 2008

We pushed off to PJ Selatan, as soon as Haris arrived from Bentong.
Arriving at the Section 5/44 open field area (opposite Kavithas) the local DAP representatives were already half way through their opening. Johnson Chong, a lawyer and PKR campaign advisor, took over and addressed the 200 strong crowd on why there is a need for change.
He highlighted the fuel hike rally in KLCC, in which 1300 police personnel were used to control a crowd of 300. The arrest of 56 protesters ensued, including the wanton arrest of shoppers, a pregnant woman and other people.
It has come to this stage, the Police being told to use force against marchers, and protesters. The voice of democracy in Malaysia has been reduced to this. No platform (No permits were provided for Bersih, The Human Rights March, The Hindraf March, and the Roses March), no forum for those who demand to be heard. Why there were no arrest in the UMNO Youth protest (against Condoleeza Rice visit to Malaysia) clearly shows the highhandedness of the authorities when it comes to Human rights. Johnson knows what he is talking about as he was one of those who was taken in following that protest. Fact is they try to scare us. Don't believe me? This is my third encounter with Special Branch officers in Opposition Rallies. Here, take a look.

IN PJ Selatan, the Police are our friends? Do they protect us or intimidate us?
In Bagan Dalam, Taman Mewah, they were there. I later spoke to the officer (background) and had to negotiate in order for me to keep my camera and photographs (look at previous post)

Haris took to the stage after Johnson, and he spoke at length why PJ Selatan needs to vote Edward & Hee in. Donald Lim has failed the people of PJ Selatan! He also touched on the state of security in our country, the need for the IPCMC, and the continued Islamisation of Malaysia and this was brought to the attention of the MP. Donald Lim in the first meeting with the PJ Selatan meet your MP initiative of People's Parliament mentioned that it was not easy for the MP to speak for the people as he was busy attending to municipality issues for his constituency, adding further that though it was not the job of the MP, he still did it. Preferring to do the job that he was not tasked to do instead of speaking out in Parliament against the Rashid Bill is the kind of things that Donald Lim WANTS to do for the People of PJ Selatan. How clearer does it get for the constituents to know that Barisan MPs do not speak for the people? The People's Parliament initiatives set out to engage their MPs and they did just that. Evidently from their efforts, Barisan MPs have demonstrated consistently that the Party comes first before the people!
Haris wrapped up soon after and reiterated his call for the people of PJ Selatan to wake up and vote conscientiously.

And then we left for USJ3A. The Kelana Jaya MP and Subang Jaya DUN seats.
We arrived to see a crowd of about 800 people in what can only be described as a feeble attempt to build a basketball court. The kind of facilities built by the local council for the rakyat is a shame!
Earlier Irene Fernandez spoke. Highlighting that the basic need of water is the right of all citizens, and assured those present that DAP will continue to fight for the people to ensure that there shall be no privatisation of water rights.
As did Hannah Tan. Overheard in the MCA Candidate's ceramah, it was said that if Subangites vote Hannah, and DAP, there shall be no more development in Subang. "We do not need money for development in Subang. We are already over developed!" To thundering response from the 800 odd people gathered there!
Hannah also pledge her assurance, when elected will ensure that the Municipal Council of Subang Jaya be held accountable to the rakyat! Subang does not need any more development. We need accountability and improvement to the quality of life. To that effect, Hannah also reassured that she will deliver on her role as an elected representative, and ensure that all municipality matters are delivered by the council. The role of the elected representative is to speak for the people, not just solving municipal problems.
She made so much sense. The trouble is, will this 800 people who attended the ceramah last night go home and sleep on it, or will they carry the news to the other voters who could not make it? It shall remain to be seen.
Haris made it simple and straight to the point. He reasserted why the people of Subang and Kelana Jaya need to vote for Hannah and Gwo Burne. Hannah and Gwo Burne do not speak for the party. The speak for the people. After engaging Gwo Burne, Haris is determined that this young man will go the length to speak for his constituents. Gwo Burne has agreed that Parliamentarians need a watchdog. He spoke of the need for MPs to represent the people without fear or favour.
We left USJ3A at about 10.30pm and headed straight for Segambut Bahagia. This Kampung is part of the Segambut constituency. Arriving there at about 3 mins before 11pm, we noticed a small crowd. That did not matter, as Haris proceeded straight to the speakers stand. Stella, was there to make a quick introduction.
(please come back for part of Haris's speech. Its being uploaded to youtube)
Seeing the response from this crowd, I am convinced that the poor has been systematically marginalised by the government. Those that were there was looking desperately for true representation. You can sense that all they want is a better life. Something the Barisan Nasional has promised them but had yet to deliver.

Haris Ibrahim - PKR Ceramah USJ 3A from John Tan on Vimeo.

This video is thanks to John Tan.

Barisan Rakyat campaigns for DAP in Penang!

Guest speakers from Barisan Rakyat!

The game plan...?

When the going gets tough the tough gets going! Barisan Rakyat headed up North to help DAP campaign in Bagan, Bagan Dalam and Batu Kawan(Prai). The support from civil society has spurred us on to help these very political parties which endorsed the People's declaration!
On our way up, we stopped at Ipoh and dropped off 100 odd Barisan Rakyat Posters for Md Nor (remember him?) Mohd Nor immediately swung into action and attended to the first inquiry of 50 posters! Ipoh people! You can always reach him at 0195671477 (if you happen to be in Jalan Kampar, do drop in for some nice Masak Lemak! coordinates for his stall: N 04.34.966 E101.05.475)
We pushed off soon after, with three other vehicles (RPK and team in one, Ronnie Liu in another, James Ooi and friends) and made our way north towards Prai.
On arriving into Prai, we received news that the Election Commission had just announced the cancellation of the use of indelible ink for this coming election. (read here for some events leading to the cancellation of the use of this ink) As pointed out by Haris Ibrahim, if we are to believe that fraud will be committed because 4 parties are believed to have imported this ink, what were they going to do with it? Distribute the ink so that people can use it so that they cannot vote?? What sense does that make? If the import of chemical that can remove the ink was detected, that would have been a better reason to call of the use! You figure that out.
We focussed on the task at hand, which was to go on a blitz of rallies to campaign for DAP in the areas mentioned above.
Our immediate stop for a quick rest was the Sunway Hotel in Prai. Getting there was not a problem with the help of GPS (thanks to Wilson, which later became a valuable travel companion from point to point) Ronnie moved ahead, and soon after Lim Guan Eng arrived to meet Raja Petra and Haris. We convoyed to Bagan, Jalan Raja Uda without much delay. I arrived ahead of the group and started taking some photos (please visit here for more photos)
Bagan is as local as it gets. Consisting mainly of traders and hawkers, these people care for their daily struggle, understandably. Speaking to two men who made up the crowd, this was their sentiments. John, who had downloaded the People's declaration added that it was a little too long, however the declaration was very relevant. He also added that he does not care about constituency problems, and wishes that his wakil rakyat will speak up for his constituency with passion and vigour. Raymond, had this to say. The people are now more knowledgable, and with the access to information, can judge for themselves. Raymond of Indian descent added that HINDRAF had given them a voice., as well as knowing that their rights have eroded, MIC has not done enough to help this specific community. Prai and Bagan Dalam constituency has faced a lot of problems. On Barisan Rakyat's vision of achieving a one nation, one people goal. He said that he had placed this belief in Barisan Nasional, but UMNO is making decisions that are against that belief! To the question that the opposition parties need a lot of help to reach the ground, Raymond says that he has been doing that for the past three months.


RPK Pt1

RPK Pt 2

RPK Pt 3


RPK Pt4


Haris PT1


Haris Pt2

Leaving Bagan (Jalan Raja Uda) we made our way to Bagan Dalam (Taman Mewah). Arriving there, we noted Raja Petra's departure. Haris made his way to the speakers box, and soon he started his speech. Here, the crowd of about 150 consisted mainly of low income earners. We were informed that the state seat of Bagan Dalam consist mainly of low income earners. Nevertheless they came to listen to their candidate, Thanasekaran. because of the low density of the crowd, I spotted a Special Branch officer video taping Haris's speech. I took a photo of those gathered there which also meant that I took a photo of that officer. He approached me high handedly and demanded my camera. I stood my ground and stated that I was covering Haris's speech and stated my right to take any photos that I wanted. He again demanded that I hand over my camera to which I refused, and was later approached by his superior on location. A 'Tuan Shaharul' then identified himself, and asked politely that I refrain from identifying his 'men'. I then complied, reminding him that there could always be courtesy when requesting to which he agreed and we settled the matter without any further problems.
Evidently, there will always be that feeling of fear for anyone who attends rallies, as well as speak in rallies, but if we continue to give in to this fear, the winds of change will just cease!
Though small in number, you call feel the excitement of the crowd, when they could relate to the points that were highlighted by Haris. The crowd responded with a'Makhal Sakhti cry' when Haris ended his speech.

It was soon 11pm, and we made our way quickly to Chai Leng Park(Batu Kawan) , where Haris was to address the Batu Kawan constituents with Professor Ramasamy. The crowd had just finished listening to Ronnie Liu and Haris quickly made his way to the speakers rostrum to try to squeeze in before the permit expires at 12 midnight. I approached a number of people, and they all asked about the delay and why Raja Petra has not showed up yet. Informing them of the need to cover as many rallies as possible, they contentedly listened to what Haris had to offer. Asked to keep it short, Haris restricted his part to around 10 minutes. (view his speech in the video below, sorry as it had to be taken from behind the stage!) Lim Hock Seng who was the previous MP for Bagan then took the mic to remind the people of Batu Kawan to reject Koh Tsu Koon. He reminded those who were there of Dr.Koh's cry for the Chinese to vote for the Chinese. A racist cry which the people must reject in order to unite as true Malaysians! Adding that MP's must represent the people without fear or favour, and speak up in Parliament when needed to!The crowd applauded the call and unanimously agreed! At 5 minutes to 12 whilst whilst wrapping up, a Police Patrol car on location turned on its Revolving Beacon lights to warn the organisers that it was time to wrap up. Not bad to have an alarm , don't you think?


CHAI LENG PARK - Haris Ibrahim speaks to the people of Batu Kawan


Batu Kawan Constituents appreciates!


PDRM Alarm! Ceramah has to stop!

In other developments related to the 12th General Elections, Pas Vice President Husam Musa had this to say about the Elections Commission to make the Indelible Ink Dissapear
In the past 2 weeks, Malaysia has been compared to Burma (Myanmar actuallly), Ghana, and we cannot even have a truely fair elections as compared to Indonesia and India.
Thank you Barisan Nasional!!

Police Trainees to beef up security?

On our way up to Penang, we came across a convoy of Police vehicles.
Marked 'PULAPOL' for Pusat Latihan Polis, the trainees were dressed in light brown uniform.
Is this going to be part of the Polling day security, or was it just a convoy?
Your guess is as good as mine!

One thing for sure is I have never come across any Police personnel in Brown uniform!
Have You?

Breaking NEWS!!!!!

BREAKING NEWS!!!

The election Commission has announced the cancellation of the use of the indelible ink. The reason cited for this is ‘public security reasons’. No details. No other justification. Just plain dirty. Whats more? 3 speakers that were to speak here around mainland Penang (Seberang Jaya) has been told they are a security threat and has been rejected by the police to speak in the Barisan Rakyat ceramah on Penang Island.

We have just arrived into Butterworth, and its these kinds of manipulation that gives us more energy to push ahead. If this is not abuse, what is? Have you ever heard of BN speakers ever being rejected? If a caretaker government can use these kind of tactics, whats stopping them creating red herrings?

Try looking back to 1997…

Your guess is as good as mine, who are the speakers?

1. Ronnie Liu of DAP
2. Raja Petra of Malaysia Today
3. Haris Ibrahim of The People’s Parliament.

SS2 - Barisan Rakyat speaks again!

Wouldn't you call this large?

Lau Weng San addressing the crowd

There is nothing more encouraging than to see a larger crowd, each time one attends a rally.
If Tmn Tun was larger than USJ, then surely tonights crowd would have been the largest.
The closest I could get to the stage was no more than 30 people 'deep' (at least 30 people in a straight line between the stage and me)! Hence the best shots I could take were these.
Lau Weng San was addressing the crowd in cantonese, and boy, could he speak. This is the first time I heard one of their members (other than the candidates) speak (Thanks to TKC, for pointing out that Weng San is running in Kampung Tunku). He got the message loud and clear through to the audience. Right after, Raja Petra took the stage. (At the same time, blogger Bernard of Ah?Speak now ah? called and ask if I was going to attend the DAP ceramah at Happy Gardens. A large crowd had also gathered there to hear from themselves what DAP had in mind)
Raja Petra proceeded on stage and was given a thunderous applause, even before he began. Almost immediately, the heaven's gave way! It poured as if there were water cannons pointed at us! RPK pointed that if the brave Anak Bangsa Malaysia could withstand the chemically laced water sprayed at them during Hindraf and Bersih, surely the rain would be nothing! The crowd cheered almost every punchline that RPK spurned out!

Then came the rain !!

The heavens opened and the people stayed! A good sign indeed
If the rain could not stop these people, can the BN Machinery?






Rakyat braved the rain, they stood and listened


Seeking shelter in the food court

Vantage point eager to hear more


The crowd stayed, and lets hope that they will matter come March 8th!

RPK reminded all of the Zakaria debacle, Lingamgate and asked the crowd to decide if this is the kind of government they would like (with a leader in denial?). He stressed on the faith of the Kelantanese people in voting in Pas into power for the last 18 years. Addressing the fears of non Muslims if there could be Islamic rule by PAS, he reminded that PAS is only contesting 60 seats in Parliament, and it will have no means of changing the constitution in line with its party policy. However, the previous majority held by the BN government gave it the opportunity to change the Constitution some 600 over times! The last being the Rashid Bill which allowed the current Election Commission Chairman to extend his service by one more year, presumably so to reside over this 12th election. Such, he reminded all that this kind of majority must not be given to any government that ignores the call of the people! RPK touched on the fact that currently, the country is in the care of a caretaker government, and there really is no opposition! Just Barisan Nasional vs Barisan Rakyat! (to thunderous applause again from the crowd!)
Touching on the fact that the first person to London to negotiate Malaya's Independence was Tun HS Lee, he reasserted that even Onn Jaafar left UMNO in view of the one race policy that stands in UMNO till now! RPK echoed what Barisan Rakyat has been pushing, an end to race based politics and no more dividing the people by colour!

Hidup Rakyat! Hidup Rakyat! Hidup Rakyat!

You can cheat the Rakyat sometimes, but you can't cheat them all the time!
So please look at the link above and see the difference. The pomp and pageantry that Barisan Nasional stands for or the simplicity and humble stance of the Barisan Rakyat! (No VVIP table, no Kompang troupe, no fancy sofas, no fancy fans, no fancy lights.....) YOU DECIDE!
Why do BN Candidates reject debates with Barisan Rakyat candidates? You may want to see this. Therefore, please remember having your MP is not just having someone to look after your communal issues, its about safeguarding your rights and to ensure that the Executive is accountable for the management of our country!