Bila UMNO bantah bir, bahagian II 16 August 2009

Maka pecahlah bumi mendengar dentuman-dentuman garang oleh pahlawan-pahlawan 1Malaysia dari Pemuda UMNO.

Maka dilabelkan Anwar Ibrahim itu sebagai pengkhianat Melayu.

Maka dikatakan DAP itu sebagai penghina Islam dan pencabar hak Melayu.

Maka dituduh PAS itu sebagai parti bacul menjadi pak turut telunjuk si pengkhianat dan si penghina Islam.

Mengikut laporan the Malaysian Insider:

“PAS used to fight for Islam but now they have become liberal,” Umno Youth exco member Lokman Adam told the crowd.

The founding member of PKR also questioned why the Shah Alam Municipal Council (MBSA) now controlled by PR did not revoke the license for Carlsberg brewery to operate in the district.

“When PAS wanted to ban alcohol, they did not refer to the Quran or the Sunnah, but they referred the matter to DAP,” said Lokman.

Maka dipersoalkan mengapa kilang minuman keras tidak ditutup apabila PAS mengambil-alih kerajaan bersama Pakatan Rakyat.

Adakah mereka lupa bahawa mereka memerintah negeri ini sehingga tahun lepas?

Jika begitu pentingkan isu bir, mengapa tidak berbuat apa-apa dahulu?

Maka jelas tampak cetek pemikiran mereka yang begitu lantang bersuara.

Bila UMNO bantah bir… 9 August 2009

Semalam, Utusan Malaysia melaporkan bahawa beberapa orang ahli UMNO telah membuat himpunan demonstrasi untuk membantah tindakan EXCO Selangor Ronnie Liu dalam isu bir di Shah Alam.

Laporan tersebut:

Ahli UMNO berhimpun menyokong tindakan MBSA

SHAH ALAM 7 Ogos – Hampir 200 ahli UMNO berhimpun di hadapan pejabat Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSA) bagi menyatakan sokongan terhadap tindakan pihak berkuasa tempatan itu merampas minuman keras di sebuah kedai serbaneka di Seksyen 8 di sini pada 29 Julai lalu.

Mereka menyifatkan tindakan pihak berkuasa tempatan (PBT) itu berlandaskan undang-undang termasuklah menghalang penjualan minuman keras ke atas umat Islam yang merupakan majoriti penduduk di kawasan itu.

Dalam perhimpunan yang bermula pukul 3 petang itu, kesemua mereka turut mengutuk tindakan Exco Selangor, Ronnie Liu yang mengarahkan MBSA memulangkan semula 70 tin dan botol minuman keras kepada kedai serbaneka terbabit serta membenarkan penjualan minuman tersebut kepada penduduk di situ yang majoritinya adalah penganut Islam.

Menurut Ketua Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO bahagian Shah Alam, Azhari Shaari, pihaknya menyifatkan MBSA telah menjalankan tanggungjawab menguatkuasakan larangan penjualan minuman keras berlandaskan undang-undang yang diputuskan dalam Mesyuarat Majlis MBSA 4/2009.

“Kami menyokong penuh tindakan MBSA ini. MBSA telah lakukan perkara yang betul merampas minuman keras berkenaan.

“Malah kami mengutuk tindakan Ronnie menghalang dan memaksa MBSA memulangkan semula arak berkenaan selain mengatakan bir bukan minuman keras adalah satu kenyataan yang dangkal, bodoh serta tidak bertanggungjawab,” katanya selepas menyerahkan memorandum sokongan kepada Datuk Bandar Shah Alam, Mazalan Md. Nor.

Tambah Azhari, kenyataan Ronnie itu juga satu bentuk penghinaan kepada umat Islam kerana arak tidak kira berapa kandungan alkoholnya adalah haram dan ia dinyatakan dengan jelas di dalam al-Quran serta difatwakan oleh Majlis Fatwa Selangor dan Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan.

Dalam perhimpunan yang berakhir pada pukul 4 petang itu, kesemua penyokong termasuk penduduk kawasan Seksyen 8, turut membawa beberapa sepanduk yang antaranya tertulis ‘Ajar Ronnie dengan ISA’; ‘Pakatan Rakyat Halalkan Arak’ dan ‘Pas Dulu Takbir, Sekarang Take Beer (ambil arak)’.

Bagaimanapun, tiada seorang pun pemimpin atau penyokong daripada Pas menyertai perhimpunan tersebut walaupun parti itu lantang bersuara menentang tindakan Ronnie sebelum ini.

Dalam perkembangan lain, Azhari turut menyatakan bahawa UMNO bahagian itu termasuk bahagian lain di negeri itu memberikan sokongan penuh terhadap Timbalan Presiden UMNO, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yang melabelkan Penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) sebagai ‘Pengkhianat Melayu’.

“Kita akan tetap berdiri di belakang Timbalan Presiden (Muhyiddin). Kita akan menyokong beliau dan yakin bahawa apa yang dinyatakan beliau terhadap Anwar itu adalah benar, tidak perlu minta maaf,” ujarnya.

Nampak lantang sungguh ahli-ahli UMNO tersebut ‘mempertahankan’ Islam. Siap dengan sepanduk-sepanduk yang ‘pedas’ terhadap PAS dan DAP. UMNO nampaknya begitu prihatin terhadap isu bir ini.

Tetapi hati kecil saya tertanya, jika beriya-iya benar UMNO begitu mementingkan isu bir ini dan begitu marah terhadap tindakan Ronnie Liu sehingga berhimpun (bukankah UMNO kata berhimpun itu salah?), mengapa sejak berdekad-dekad UMNO-BN memerintah Selangor tidakpun dibuat apa-apa tentang isu ini?

Orang UMNO sendiri tentu bersetuju dengan saya jika dikatakan bahawa tingkahlaku mereka ini tampak begitu hipokrit. Atau dalam Islam, dipanggil ‘munafik’.

The politics of fear and division in Bukit Gantang 8 April 2009

In the run up to the Bukit Gantang parliamentary by-election, the issues of derhaka and Nizar being a ‘puppet’ to the DAP were used by UMNO in its efforts to win the Malay votes.

UMNO and Barisan realized that Pakatan had solid support from the non-Malays of Bukit Gantang. Their best efforts at winning over the non-Malays did not seem to work, even after the usual vernecular school allocations, the ‘pemimpin bersama rakyat’ dinners, even the PR exercise of releasing 13 ISA detainees and the ‘1Malaysia’ slogan.

So they gunned for the Malay votes. Bukit Gantang is a Malay majority area, with Malays making up more than 60% of the electorate. Whilst the constituency has a sizeable minority as well, any gains the opposition alliance might have amongst the non-Malays would be offset should there be a huge swing in the Malay votes.

And why not? Bukit Gantang has a Barisan stronghold ever since Merdeka. Prior to 2008, Barisan won those seats with huge majorities. It was only during the political tsunami of 2008 that PAS wrested the seat from Barisan, with a majority somewhere in the region of 1,500 votes.

BN’s loss of Bukit Gantang in 2008 was attributed to discontent amongst UMNO members that a ‘parachute’ candidate was picked, and not a local boy. By picking Mr. Ismail Safian, a Bukit Gantang boy through and through, the logic was that Malay votes lost in 2008 would return to Barisan.

But fielding a local would not be enough. To win the Malay voters, Barisan had to be aggressive. Sure, it was boosted by the recently concluded UMNO Assembly, which supposedly elected a strong leadership for the party. The image of Messrs. Mahathir, Abdullah and Najib hand must have resonated inside some of the older Malays in Bukit Gantang. A return to the ‘good old days’, where Malays were united under a strong UMNO.

But Barisan needed more. So it launched attacks after attacks upon the PAS candidate, Pakatan Rakyat Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaludin. The issues played were supposed to strike deep into the Malay psyche.

After all, ever since Sejarah Melayu narrated the covenant between Demang Lebar Daun and his king Seri Teri Buana that the former’s descendants would remain loyal to the latter’s descendents, disobedience or derhaka to a Malay ruler is considered as a big taboo. By UMNO’s calculations, which Malay would not take offence when derhaka is committed?

Other issues being played by UMNO to the Malay audience was the fact that Mr. Nizar’s Pakatan government had awarded land titles to some Chinese families in new villages in the state. UMNO also calculated that this beri tanah issue would also alienate the Malays. Related to this, UMNO alleged that Mr. Nizar was in fact being used a boneka to the Chinese dominated DAP.

Night by night, day by day, UMNO hammered these issues into the Malays. Speakers come and go to campaign, but they all had one message: Mr. Nizar has betrayed the Malays and his Sultan for power. Mr. Ezam was brought in. Mr. Osman Jailu, who hopped and caused the downfall of the Perak Pakatan government made appearances. Even former prime minister chipped his two cents worth, making a u-turn on his views on the Perak takeover.

Apart from that, UMNO had the help of the mainstream media, specifically Utusan Malaysia and TV3. These two media dedicated inches of space and airtime to do two things: belittle Pakatan and sing praises of Barisan. A few days prior to voting day, UMNO brought a religious angle to its campaign. DAP’s Mr. Nga Kor Ming’s well-meaning but ill-advised attempt at quoting verses from the holy Quran was used to further alienate Mr. Nizar from the Bukit Gantang Malays. Heck, even some BN-friendly muftis helped Barisan’s cause.

It was typical UMNO. It used the tried and true method of garnering support, which had worked all this time up to 2008. Fear and division. It tried to sow the seeds of anxiety within the Malays so much so that Malays feel threatened by the so-called demands of the non-Malays. The DAP is portrayed as the Chinese chauvinist party and by co-operating with the DAP, PAS had compromised its principles for the promise of power. The ‘enemy’ was the Chinese DAP. By working with the ‘enemy’, PAS and the Malay elements in PKR are betraying the Malays.

It’s a simple message and it has proven to be effective before. And leading up to polling day, it appeared to work. Reports coming from ground zero said that whilst Mr. Nizar is well ahead with the non-Malays, he is trailing amongst the Malays. Even PAS’ Mr. Mustaffa Ali admitted as much. There was real concerns within Pakatan that Mr. Nizar would lose Bukit Gantang due to the loss of Malay votes.

Yet as well know, Mr. Nizar triumphed in the end, against all odds. Early reports show that whilst PAS had lost some Malay votes compared to 2008, it had substantially increased its support amongst non-Malays and specifically Chinese voters. It garnered 43% of the Malay votes, down from the 47% last year. For the record, Chinese support increased from 64% last year to 75% in the by-election.

The drop of about 4% in Malay support was not enough for UMNO to win the seat. It also shows that for all of UMNO’s best efforts, the racial and religious cards played by UMNO failed to sway the Malay votes in any substantial manner. The 4% drop may also be explained if we take the analysis that UMNO members voted PAS last year because they were unhappy with the candidate at the time. With Mr. Ismail Safian, those UMNO members would theoretically return to voting Barisan.

At the end of the day, Barisan’s old strategy of ‘divide and conquer’ did not work in Bukit Gantang. PAS level of support amongst the Malays, although less than Barisan’s, did not falter much, even after Barisan incessant attacks. This should auger well for the new politics being experimented in Pakatan, where differing ideologies come together to achieve a common goal. As for Barisan, it should realize that the old way of doing things is no longer working. Fear and division will only work as far as the rakyat wants to be divided and kept at bay by fear. Should the people want to put aside their differences, racial politics will no longer have purchase. When Barisan had seperate functions for different races, Pakatan had ceramahs filled with multi-racial crowds. When Barisan talks were mono-ethnic, Pakatan talks were multi-ethnic. And by choosing Mr. Nizar over Mr. Ismail, PAS over UMNO, Pakatan over Barisan, the majority of Bukit Gantang voters have shown which approach they prefer.

The multi-racial message brought by Pakatan and epitomized by Mr. Nizar has won the day in Bukit Gantang.

Thoughts on the Bukits and Batang 7 April 2009

Tomorrow, we will see the excuses streaming in from Barisan leaders and supporters. It’s expected, they’ll say. They were seats previously held by Pakatan, they’ll say. Mr. Najib didn’t have enough time for to carry out his reform agenda, they’ll say. They might even say that Barisan picked the wrong candidates.

But the fact of the matter is, in the battle for the two Bukits and one Batang, Pakatan edged out Barisan 2-1. Thus far, the by-election score for the two political coalitions stands at 4-1, with Pakatan winning in Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu previously. Barisan’s loss in Permatang Pauh, like the tsunami of 8 March, was blamed on former prime minister Mr. Abdullah Badawi. Similarly, Barisan’s failure in retaining the Kuala Terengganu seat was also blamed on Mr. Abdullah, as his detractors argued that he picked the wrong candidate. But Mr. Abdullah did not do anything in Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau. Yet, as Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu before this, Pakatan won with bigger majorities.

The most crucial of the three simultaneous by-elections was the one held in the Parliamentary seat of Bukit Gantang in Perak. Experts predicted a win for Barisan in Batang Ai and in all likelihood, Pakatan would retain Bukit Selambau. Yet it was at Bukit Gantang that Barisan focused its efforts upon, sensing that they might wrest the seat from PAS.

But they found that the 37 or so percent of non-Malays in Bukit Gantang shunned them. Even with their best efforts, they simply couldn’t win over the non-Malays, who had made up their mind on who to vote for. So they turned to the Malays and launched an onslaught onto Mr. Nizar Jamaludin, the PAS candidate and the Mentri Besar (PR) of Perak.

Their most often used arsenal? The so-called act of treason committed by Mr. Nizar. UMNO played up the derhaka sentiment to the hilt, along with allegations that Mr. Nizar was a DAP puppet and betrayer of the Malays. Political pariahs like Mr. Ezam Mohd Nor  and Mr. Lokman Nor Adam were sent to Bukit Gantang to attack PAS and Nizar. Utusan Malaysia and TV3 did their best to campaign for UMNO. The media, along with some BN-friendly muftis, even created a mini-uproar when a DAP politician quoted verses from the holy Quran. Bukit Gantang even saw the return of former prime minister Tun Mahathir, making his ‘grand’ comeback to UMNO. And the reports coming in from Bukit Gantang was that Mr. Nizar would lose due to a huge swing in Malay votes.

It’s still too early to receive detailed information on the voting patterns in Bukit Gantang. But with Mr. Nizar’s improved majority, it is unlikely that there was any significant swing in the Malay votes. Which means, for all UMNO’s efforts, the Malays of Bukit Gantang were not swayed by the rhetorical volley launched at Mr. Nizar.

But what does the result in Bukit Gantang mean in terms of the Perak political crisis? Pakatan Rakyat had turned the by-election into a referendum on the Perak power grab and Barisan wanted the seat badly as it would effectively ‘legitimize’ the coup d’etat. Of course, after this they would claim that Bukit Gantang is not reflective of the wishes of the people of Perak, but those excuses will sound hollow. Make no mistake, there was only one issue in Bukit Gantang that mattered and it was used by both sides; the Perak political and constitutional crisis. As such, any result is reflective of the people of Bukit Gantang’s opinion on the matter as that is what the discourse had been throughout the campaigning period.

Mr. Najib, Mr. Zahid Hamidi and Mr. Zambry Abdul Kadir should realize that the Perak coup did not have the consent of the majority of Perakians. This hugely embarassing loss in Perak should be an eye-opener to those concerned and proves once and for all that regardless of what UMNO and Barisan tries to tell us, the current Perak ‘government’ will not be legitimate in eyes of the rakyat. The result of Bukit Gantang is the biggest indicator to UMNO and Barisan Nasional that a there is only one way out of the political impasse in Perak; dissolution of the state assembly.

Are the three by-elections a referendum on Mr. Najib’s premiership? Maybe it’s too early for that. What is clear is that Mr. Najib’s public relations act of freeing the 13 ISA detainees and his new slogan ‘1Malaysia’ did not create the instant impact that he obviously wished for. The rakyat have heard enough talk during Mr. Abdullah’s era and Mr. Najib is leading a country that has become very sceptical, especially to the government. Mr. Najib will not have a honeymoon period.

In terms of Malaysian politics, the results of the by-elections today must be good for the future of a two-party system in Malaysia. Once again, Pakatan has proved that despite it’s so-called differing ideologies, PAS, DAP and PKR can work togather well to achieve a common goal. And with Mr. Nizar, PAS may have found it’s ambassador to the non-Malays, the epitome of the slogan ‘PAS untuk semua‘. Never have we seen DAP members worked this tirelessly for a PAS candidate. Never have we seen non-Malays accept a PAS man so willingly and with such open arms.

Lastly, the by-elections proved once and for all that the Tun has passed his time. His much-publicized campaigning have had little, if any, impact on the voters. He should just retire in peace and leave the nation to the man he claims will take it to greater heights.

Ini negara demokratik 4 March 2009

Ini negara demokratik!

Lupakah kau akan kata-kata Perdana Menteri yang pertama sebelum laungan keramat ‘Merdeka’? Bahawa negara ini akan menjadi sebuah negara merdeka dan demokratik yang bertunjangkan prinsip kebebasan dan keadilan?

Demokrasi sudah sebati dengan kita! Ia sudah menjadi darah dan dagang kita. Ia mengalir di dalam jasad kita. Demokrasi telah menjadikan kita warga di dalam negara ini!

Kerana demokrasi kau mendapat mandat, kerana demokrasi kau terajui negara. Melalui demokrasi rakyat telah memilih engkau untuk memerintah, sepertimana rakyat telah memilih engkau untuk memerintah semenjak 52 tahun dahulu. Semua melalui demokrasi. Kau bergantung pada demokrasi untuk mendapatkan legitimasi selama ini.

Tetapi apabila kau tidak lagi memerlukannya, apabila demokrasi tidak lagi menolong kau, kau campaknya ke tepi. Habis manis, sepah kau buang!

Mana perginya pembahagian kuasa yang manjadi asas kerajaan demokratik semerata dunia? Mana perginya perbezaan di antara legislatif, eksekutif dan kehakiman? Ini demokrasi, bukan boleh ditarik-tolak dan didolak-dalik! Bukan boleh digunakan mengikut suka.

Mana perginya perlembagaan? Kau koyak dan kau rabak bagaikan ia tidak punya nilai.

Mana perginya kedaulatan undang-undang? Kau gantikan dengan undang-undang hutan kau yang cacamarba mengikut kehendak kau.

Semua kau guna dalam kegilaan kau mendapat kuasa. Kau tidak kira apa jua caranya, kau fikir matlamat menghalalkan cara. Kau seret polis, kau seret kakitangan awam, kau seret institusi kehakiman, malahan istana juga kau seret dalam lumpur kancah politik longkang kau yang kotor.

Persetankan demokrasi, kau kata. Pedulikan kehendak dan hak rakyat marhean, kau kata. Yang penting kuasa! Kuasa memabukkan. Lebih banyak kuasa, lebih memabukkan. Kau kemaruk kuasa.

Demi kuasa kau sanggup lakukan semua. Demi kuasa kau lupakan demokrasi, yang telah memberikan kau kuasa.

Tetapi kau lupa. Kau tidak boleh lari dari demokrasi.

Demokrasi tidak boleh dihalang mahupun disekat, walau dengan arahan eksekutif atau paksaan polis, dengan perintah mahkamah mahupun titah diraja. Sesiapapun yang sanggup membunuh demokrasi itu takkan berjaya, kerana ia hidup di dalam hati dan minda rakyat.

Kau fikir kau menang. Kau fikir kau boleh lakukan semua. Tetapi kau tetap perlu rujuk pada demokrasi satu hari nanti. Kau tetap harus berhadapan dengan rakyat satu hari nanti. Pada hari itu, semoga ia tidak berpihak pada engkau.

Jangan kau lupa, negara ini negara demokratik!

A BN-PR unity government? 28 February 2009

Malaysian Insider reports that PAS President, Mr. Abdul Hadi Awang mooted the idea of a ‘unity government’, to face the current economic turmoil.

We must first detach the spin that Malaysian Insider has placed upon Mr. Hadi’s call. The news portal website claimed that Mr. Hadi’s proposal was a ’sign that Pas has yet to abandon the idea of forging a closer relationship with Umno’. Yes, PAS last year was ravaged with factionalism over the ‘muzakarah’ with UMNO for ‘Malay-Muslim’ unity, and Mr. Hadi has been ‘implicated’ in the attempts to do so by certain leaders within PAS. However, seeing Mr. Hadi’s statements recently, I do feel that the ‘muzakarah’ faction in PAS no longer entertains the idea with any serious thought.

A reading of the article will reveal that Mr. Hadi never said that the unity government that he proposed was one based on Malay-Muslim unity. His proposal was within the context of national unity. By saying that he has yet to moot the idea to the Pakatan Rakyat leadership, it implies that his suggestion is not a PAS-UMNO government, but a bi-partisan, Barisan Nasional-Pakatan Rakyat government. He said:

We need to look common ground in uniting political parties in carrying out responsibilities, it’s not that we cannot disagree, but we want this common ground to be given priority, before we spend our time on issues that we disagree on.

Most importantly, the people must be united. It has to take precedence over party interest. Let us sacrifice some of our rights sincerely for the sake of saving our country.

I wish to suggest to the outgoing Prime Minister to make some changes, to at least complete his agenda in reforming the judiciary, eradicating corruption and I believe Barisan Nasional cannot do it alone.

To do it fairly it must involve all parties, in times of crisis it is important for all of to carry out our duties collectively.

So the knee-jerk reaction by some at his suggestion is unfair to Mr. Hadi. He has tried to bridge the political divide with his suggestion, and it seems to me that he is sincerely trying end our political woes, especially when we are staring at recession in the face. Indeed, the first Finance Minister and Prime Minister designate, Mr. Najib Razak, has announced that the fourth quarter GDP for our nation is at 0.1%. That is how close we are to a recession.

A ‘unity government’, or ‘national government’, is a broad coalition government consisting of all, or at least all major, political parties in times of national crisis or emergency. Indeed, after the race riots of 1969, a unity government was formed with opposition parties like Gerakan (at that time) and PAS joining Barisan Nasional. Of course, we all know that PAS was later kicked out of BN after it was no longer useful. Yet a unity government is not at all alien to our nation. Even UMNO veteran and Gua Musang MP Mr. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah mooted the idea as recently as last year.

Many feel that the level of politicking in this country has reached an unbearable high. Politicians are more concerned at scoring political points over one another, whilst the rakyat are left to cope with the economic turmoil. A unity government, in theory, would certainly reduce the amount of politicking by these politicians and allow them to focus on brining the nation out of it’s financial rut.

Yet, a unity government will only be as successful as the individuals that make it up. It can only work if both sides agree to work together for the common good of the nation, to set aside political differences for a common goal. Unfortunately, I do not think that our politicians are mature enough and selfless enough to make such a government work. We will probably see more bickering between politicians, with party A trying to upstage party B even though they are effectively in the same government. If you thought the current government is a flip-flop one, a BN-PR government will see more flip-flops than a footwear store!

Politics in Malaysia has come to a point that there is animosity between the parties. So much so that it would be very difficult to set the two main coalitions upon a common table, let alone to reach a consensus. A BN-PR unity government at this point in time would result in a non-functioning government, which would worsen the situtation.

Further, there is also the problem with allocating parties to a respective portfolio. I’m sure DAP or PKR would want the Finance portfolio. PR would not allow BN to hold the powerful Home Ministry portfolio. Who would become the PM and DPM? These questions are difficult to answer and may never be answered.

Thus, whilst I applaud Mr. Hadi for trying to look at the bigger picture, I must say that I feel that his suggestion is doomed for failure. Much as I want PR to be part of the government, just to ‘balance’ BN’s control of the nation, the reality is the idea is too forward thinking and too idealistic to succeed.

I see, QC eh? 24 February 2009

When I read that the Barisan Nasional Mentri Besar of Perak, Mr. Zambry Abdul Kadir, is seeking the advice of a Queen’s Counsel in London, I must say that I feel quite insulted.

As a Malaysian lawyer, I could not fathom the need to run to our former colonial masters to find a solution to the crisis in Perak. The Malaysian Bar itself has around 12,500 lawyers, are none of us qualified to offer advice on the laws of our own country? Will the barrister from London give better opinion on the constitution of Perak? Surely we have our own constitutional law experts, without the need to go overseas.

When Mr. Mahathir underwent his first major heart operation, he did not do the operation overseas, like many did at that time. Instead, he choose to let a team of Malaysian doctors operate him, a first at the time. The former premier staked his life in the hands of a group of Malaysians, just to prove that Malaysians can indeed be as good, or even better, than other nationals.

A heart operation would be the same in Malaysia and elsewhere. A legal problem, on the other hand, would be require different solutions in different jurisdictions. The best person to handle a Malaysian legal problem would arguably be a Malaysian laywer. Yet, Mr. Zambry placed his trust on the orang putih.

This colonial mentality really isn’t suprising. UMNO would like to think of itself as the ultimate Malay party. Yet, it still calls itself the ‘United Malays National Organization’ and not ‘Organisasi Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu‘.

More importantly, who is paying for the trip to London and back?

Amaran rakyat Selangor kepada UMNO-BN 22 February 2009

Rentetan peristiwa sejak beberapa minggu yang lepas telah menimbulkan banyak persoalan. Sejak tersingkir kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat di Perak, khabar angin kini bertiup kencang bahawa ada usaha-usaha untuk menjatuhkan kerajaan Selangor pula. Samada khabar tersebut benar atau sebaliknya tidak dapat dipastkan, tetapi melihat ’serangan’ yang bertubi-tubi dikenakan kepada pemimpin dan kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat di Selangor, adalah tidak mustahil bahawa UMNO-BN sedang berkomplot untuk menjatuhkan kerajaan Selangor.

Ia bermula dengan cakap-cakap yang mengatakan bahawa seorang ADUN PKR di Selangor, Badrul Hisham Abdullah akan meninggalkan parti tersebut dan menyertai UMNO setelah beliau dikatan ‘hilang’ dan ‘ditangkap khalwat’. Kemudian, tersebar pula fitnah di laman web pro-UMNO bahawa Exco kerajaan Selangor,  Halimah Ali ditangkap khalwat oleh Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor. Khabar angin yang melibatkan kedua-dua ADUN Pakatan Rakyat ini telah dinafikan, tetapi nampak gayanya khabar angin tersebut hanyalah permulaan.

Minggu lepas, negara digemparkan dengan berita penyebaran foto Exco Selangor, Elizabeth Wong. Walaupun ada pemimpin Barisan yang bersimpati dengannya dan menyelar penyebaran foto-foto tersebut, masih ada juga terdapat sampah politik seperti Khir Toyo, Ali Rustam dan Azalina Othman yang menyuruh Wong untuk meletakkan jawatan. Wong akhirnya menwarkan perletakkan jawatannya kepada PKR, namun disuruh untuk ‘bercuti’ dan mempertimbangkan keputusannya.

Saya tidak percaya bahawa UMNO-BN adalah dalan di sebalik penyebaran foto tersebut. Akan tetapi, walaupun UMNO-BN tidak ada kaitan dalam penyebarannya, saya yakin bahawa UMNO-BN tidak akan teragak-agak untuk menggunakan foto-foto tersebut untuk tujuan politik mereka. Reaksi pemimpin UMNO seperti Ali Rustam, Azalina Othman dan Khir Toyo, bekas Menteri Besar Selangor yang rata-rata dibenci oleh rakyatnya sendiri, menunjukkan bahawa kepada sesetengah ahli politik UMNO, semuanya ‘halal’ dalam usaha untuk mendapatkan kuasa dan harta.

Terbaru, Ketua Pesuruhjaya SPRM, Ahmad Said Hamdan telah membuat kenyataan yang telah membuktikan bahawa SPRM sebenarnya ‘ajen’ UMNO yang dihias dengan perkataan ’suruhanjaya bebas’. Sebelum sempat pejabat Peguam Negara membuat keputusan untuk mengambil apa-apa tindakan, SPRM telah ‘menjatuhkan kesalahan’ kepada Mentri Besar Selangor, Khalid Ibrahim dengan mengatakan bahawa terdapat ‘bukti kukuh’ bahawa beliau melakukan salahguna kuasa dengan kononnya mengarahkan syarikat milik negeri untuk menyalurkan 46 ekor lembu kepada kawasan Parlimen Bandar Tun Razak untuk dikorbankan. Di samping itu, kononnya terdapat salahguna kuasa dalam penyelenggaraan kerata Lexus milik saudara Khalid yang telah beliau gunakan sebagai kenderaan rasmi dalam menjalankan tugas sebagai Menteri Besar.

Apakah tujuan SPRM membuat pengumuman tersebut? Adakah ianya untuk memberi tekanan kepada pejabat Peguam Negera untuk bertindak? Adakah ianya untuk menghakimi saudara Khalid di dalam ‘mahkamah persepsi umum’ (court of public opinion)? Adakah ianya sebagai balasan kepada saudara Anwar yang sebelumnya telah mempersoalkan SPRM dalam kes cubaan membeli ADUN PKR di Kedah? Setidak-tidaknya, kelakuan SPRM di dalam perkara ini amatlah mencurigakan.

Berikutan dengan apa yang telah berlaku sejak akhir-akhir ini, kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat di Selangor terpaksa menjadi defensif, menangkis segala alegasi dan dakwaan yang dilemparkan kepadanya. Ia sedikit sebanyak mengalihkan tumpuan kerajaan Selangor dalam usaha untuk ‘merakyatkan’ ekonomi negeri tersebut. Usaha paling penting kerajaan Selangor pada ketika ini adalah untuk memastikan tarif air tidak dinaikkan oleh Syabas mengikut perjanjian konsesi yang telah ditandatangani di antara syarikat tersebut dan kerjaan Selangor yang diterajui oleh Khir Toyo dahulu. Itupun diganggu oleh kerajaan Persekutuan, di mana Kementerian Kewangan telah campur tangan di dalam perbincangan tersebut dan dengan motif yang amat mencurigakan.

Sekiranya benar terdapat usaha-usaha untuk menjatuhkan kerajaan Selangor, sudah tentu lebih banyak asakan yang akan datang. Tidak mustahil setiap Exco kerajaan akan dijadikan sasaran, di samping pujukan dan ugutan terhadap ADUN Pakatan untuk meninggalkan parti mereka dan menjadi ‘ADUN bebas yang menyokong Barisan’, ala katak-katak Jamaluddin, Osman dan Hee di Perak.

Sekiranya benar terdapat ‘tangan-tangan gelap’ yang menjadi dalang di Selangor, saya ingin memberikan amaran sekeras-kerasnya kepada mereka yang bertanggungjawab; sekiranya apa yang berlaku di Perak berlaku di Selangor, rakyat Selangor tidak akan berdiam diri. Kami marah dengan apa yang berlaku di Perak, kami akan menjadi lebih marah sekiranya ia berlaku di negeri kami sendiri. Sekiranya UMNO-BN menjatuhkan kerajaan Selangor, kami akan memastikan bahawa mereka yang bertanggungjawab akan menerima balasan. Kami mempertahankan kerajaan yang telah kami pilih secara demokratik dan kami tidak memaafkan mereka yang sanggup mencabuli hak kami sebagai rakyat Malaysia amnya dan Selangor khususnya.

Jangan memperlekehkan rakyat dan buat sewenang-wenangnya. UMNO-BN wajar patuh pada amaran ini. Sekiranya tidak, kami rakyat Selangor akan memastikan bahawa  apabila tiba masanya kami membuat pilihan, UMNO-BN akan terkubur di negeri Darul Ehsan ini untuk selamanya.

Pakatan needs Anwar, for now 11 February 2009

Mr. Karpal’s recent outburst certainly caused a stir. No, it’s not “I’m suing the Sultan” statement. The other one.

The near-blasphemous (at least to Pakatan supporters and leaders) “Anwar must resign” statement.

To say that it came out of nowhere is inaccurate. Mr. Karpal was steadfast, even leading up to the September 16 dud, in decrying the practice of party-hopping. He kept repeating that the DAP will not support party-hopping, even when his DAP colleagues like Mr. Lim Kit Siang worked up crowds by claiming for a “sky-change” i.e. a change of government. Recently, during the campaigning period for the Kuala Terengganu by-election, Mr. Karpal threw a spanner in the works by harping on the issue of hudud and even began to criticize Mr. Anwar for his supposed ‘endorsement’ of the Islamic punitive laws.

But to ask Mr. Anwar to step down as Pakatan leader is a different kettle of fish altogether.

I am not an ‘Anwarista’, those single-minded Anwar-supporters who think that the man can do no wrong. Yet I at this point in time, I do believe that the man is the best hope for change that our country has. That is why Mr. Anwar must continue to lead the political alliance.

Yes, at this point in time, Pakatan Rakyat is merely a loose alliance of political parties, with a common enemy in Barisan Nasional. It was Mr. Anwar who managed to enjoin three disparate parties together and to put up a formidable challenge to the half-century long dominance of Barisan Nasional. With Mr. Anwar, the opposition parties settled on seat allocations throughout the country and somehow managed reap massive gains in the last general elections. Yes, without Mr. Anwar, there will be no Pakatan Rakyat.

If Pakatan Rakyat wants to proof itself to be a viable alternative to Barisan Nasional, it must also provide the voters with a viable ’shadow PM’. An Opposition Leader, who will stand toe to toe with the Prime Minister, his cabinet and the Barisan backbenchers. It needs a figurehead, a general and a rallying point. That man is Mr. Anwar.

Whilst Pakatan has thus far been successful in projecting itself as multi-racial, political realities mean that its leader must be a Malay-Muslim. To stand the middle ground, the leader must be seen to be a moderate, acceptable to the most rural of Malays to the most urban of Chinese. As it stand, he cannot come from DAP as many Malays still view it with suspicion. Similarly, he cannot come from PAS, as the party still has to completely detach itself from its hardline, conservative image. As it stands, PKR is the ‘middle party’, thus the leader comes from PKR.

I wondered though, had PKR not won the most seats, would Mr. Anwar still be opposition leader?

Yes, like his counterparts in Barisan, Mr. Anwar has been vilified incessantly. He has been called many things; sodomite, Jewish agent, betrayer of the Malays, power hungry, talam dua muka, yet like his counterparts in Barisan, many of these allegations are mere allegations. He has successfully deflected these attacks, either by sheer charisma or shrewd political acumen. A lesser man would have buckled under the weight of accusations. Despite all the allegations, he still enjoys support across wide sections of society.

So despite whatever he has done, despite the ‘troubles’ he may have caused, it is imperative that Mr. Anwar continues to lead Pakatan.

But at 62, Mr. Anwar is not getting any younger. If if he does become the prime minister in the next general elections, he could only stay on for two terms, at most. By that time, it is hoped that Pakatan has successfully cobbled itself into a true coalition, akin to Barisan Nasional, to ensure that Pakatan survives without Mr. Anwar.

UMNO asks “Where are the non-Malays”? 9 February 2009

Apart from the Machevellian way Mr. Najib orchestrated the coup in Perak, the media strategy of Barisan Nasional, by way of their mainstream media, is quite straightforward. It’s quite easy to discern the ’spin’ that they put on things.

For example, it’s obvious that they are spinning Pakatan’s stand on the crisis in Perak as a case of Pakatan against HRH the Sultan. This was most evident in Utusan Malaysia, due to its almost exclusive Malay readership. Of course, ten years ago this may have worked, but with the wealth of information available on the internet these days, such tactics have lost much of its usefulness.

Another obvious strategy employed by the BN to attack Pakatan in the Perak crisis is by targeting the relationship between the component parties. Thus far, Pakatan has presented a united front when confronted with the coup, Mr. Karpal’s comments notwithstanding. Yet UMNO-BN is hoping to strike at the seams, by targeting PAS.

When the FRU sent teargas into Masjid Ubudiah, which started the chaos last Friday, the protesters were mostly Malay-Muslims. UMNO-BN is potraying this as an example of how Malay-Muslim Pakatan and PAS supporters were being used by non-Malays and the DAP to ‘fight’ for their causes.

For example, the following was taken from Utusan’s report on what our ‘beloved’ minister of Islamic Affairs had to say:

Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi hairan mengapa hanya kaum Melayu sibuk berdemonstrasi di Perak sedangkan kerajaan campuran di situ terdiri daripada Pas, DAP dan Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

Keadaan itu (termasuk tindakan berbaring di atas jalan raya), menurut beliau, jelas menunjukkan Pas telah diperkudakan oleh DAP dan PKR .

‘‘Apa maknanya kerajaan campuran kalau orang Melayu diperkudakan kaum lain.

‘‘Saya bukan hendak main isu perkauman dalam hal ini, tetapi hakikatnya itulah yang dilihat berlaku semalam, Pas diperkudakan DAP dan PKR,’’ katanya.

Menurut Ahmad Zahid, jika benar pakatan pembangkang ingin menunjukkan kesepakatan, mengapa mereka tidak menyertai demonstrasi itu sebaliknya membiarkan satu kaum berbuat demikian.

‘Tindakan mereka memang jelas tidak menghormati raja dan saya dimaklumkan hanya satu kaum yang ada di situ, jadi mana perginya kaum lain yang selama ini mendakwa sebagai sebuah kerajaan campuran di Perak,’’ katanya.

Bernama found some ‘political analysts’ to give their insights on why only PAS and/or Malay-Muslim Pakatan supporters protested that day:

Unlike the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)’s earlier united actions of trying to get the Internal Security Act (ISA) abolished and calling for clean elections, he said the action of going against the establishment of a Barisan Nasional (BN) government in Perak showed “some discord among the PR component parties”.

What is clear is that the demonstration last Friday to oppose the appointment of BN’s Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir as Menteri Besar at Masjid Ubudiah, about 300m from Istana Iskandariah in Kuala Kangsar, was made up of Pas supporters without the participation of PR supporters of other races.

Typical Barisan. All they know is to see matters in terms of race, race and more race. To them, what happened in Kuala Kangsar is a protest by Malay-Muslim Pakatan supporters. Not a protest by Perakians.

But it’s really not a huge mystery. Nor was it proof that Malay-Muslims are being ‘used’ in Pakatan. The incident and/or protest occurred after Friday prayers, when the FRU shot teargas into the mosque.

Last I checked, non-Muslims do not go for Friday prayers.