IPOH, Feb 5 — Perak plunged deep into crisis today after Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin refused to resign on the orders of Sultan Azlan Shah, desribing the situation as a coup by Barisan Nasional, while the Umno-led coalition prepares to be sworn in as the new government.

Umno leaders, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi, are already gathering at the Istana Kinta here, even as Pakatan Rakyat leaders seek a last-minute reprieve from the ruler.

"We are not rejecting the decision of the Sultan. We are pleading to ask for the dissolution of the assembly.

"The Sultan told me that BN has 31 to 28 but I told him that was inaccurate as three have vacated their seats.

“I asked for consent to dissolve to protect the rights of the people,” he told reporters at the official residence of the MB here.
He said the Sultan had asked him to resign, and he told the ruler he would not.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the PR alliance of Pas, PKR and DAP fully supported Nizar, and wanted the matter “returned to the court of the people”.

“BN has twisted it as if we are committing treason. But we are merely pleading.

“The leadership council of Pakatan will seek an audience with the Sultan,” he told reporters at the same press conference.

Pakatan Rakyat leaders were earlier locked in an emergency meeting following Sultan Azlan Shah’s refusal to grant a dissolution of the Perak state assembly and his order for Nizar to resign.

This decision to not to resign will lead PR on a collision course with the Sultan, whose decision has been greeted with immense criticisms even on his own website where visitors have been expressing their disappointment.

It is understood letters have been sent by fax to the MB's and all state executive councillors, asking them to vacate their offices.
The police have also set up road blocks around the state secretariat here.

Many offices have also closed early for the day, with employers asking their staff to go home early.

It remains unclear if a planned public rally tonight will go ahead but Barisan Nasional leaders are already going ahead with plans to form the next state government.

Earlier, Sultan Azlan Shah announced his refusal to give his consent for the dissolution of the Perak state assembly, and asked Nizar to resign in a statement carried by national news agency Bernama.

And if Nizar refuses to resign, the post will be declared vacant.

This will pave the way for BN to form the next state government.

The office of the Sultan of Perak, in a statement, said that after meeting all the 28 BN assemblymen and the three independents, the Sultan was convinced that Nizar had ceased to command the confidence of the majority of the state assembly members.

"If YAB Datuk Seri Ir Mohammad Nizar bin Jamaluddin does not resign his post as Perak menteri besar together with the members of the state executive council, the posts of menteri besar and state executive councillors are considered vacant," the statement said.

It is understood that a candidate for the MB's position has already been proposed to the Sultan, who has given his approval.

Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi is also expected to meet the Sultan at 6pm today to confirm the formation of a new state government.

A mammoth gathering has been planned tonight, originally to be held at the MB's residence, but which has apparently been shifted to the Perak Stadium.

Earlier, the Sultan concluded a busy morning of talks with both Nizar and Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Razak in a bid to break the political impasse in the state.

He met Najib twice before summoning Nizar to his palace as well.

"Signs are good," Nizar told reporters as he left the palace.

But Najib was equally optimistic that the Sultan would rule in his favour and allow BN to form the state government.

In his second audience with the Sultan, Najib brought along the 28 BN state legislators and the three independents backing the coalition to see the Ruler to make his case for a new government.

"A second audience with the Sultan was arranged. It was attended by all 27 Barisan state assemblymen and Datuk Nasarudin Hashim, who has returned to BN, together with the three state representatives who left their parties and are now supporting Barisan.

"All of them pledged their support to Barisan, and the person to be appointed as the menteri besar later, before the Sultan," he told reporters before chairing the state Umno liaison committee meeting.

He said the final decision now rests with the Sultan.

Najib added that BN would respect and abide by the Ruler's decision, even if meant the dissolution of the state assembly to enable fresh state elections to be called.

Nizar's Pakatan Rakyat government has filed a suit to declare three state seats vacant after their representatives turned independent. The three — from Behrang, Changkat Jering and Jelapang — have thrown their support behind BN, which also accepted back the Bota assemblyman who had defected earlier.

Pakatan Rakyat had hoped this move would persuade the Perak Sultan to accede to a request to dissolve the 59-seat assembly and pave the way for snap polls.

Earlier, Najib was granted an audience with Sultan Azlan Shah this morning a day after he declared BN has enough support to form the state government.

Najib was seen entering Istana Kinta here around 10am accompanied by Bagan Datok MP Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi and other BN officials.

The cheerful-looking Najib and the state Umno deputy chief Zahid left the palace about 30 minutes later.

When met later Najib said that he had informed the Ruler that BN has the majority in the state assembly and intent to form the new state government.

He added that the Sultan had expressed his wish to meet all 31 BN supporters in the assembly before the decision on the new state government can be made.

"We will respect whatever decision made by the Sultan as it is his discretion," Najib told reporters at the state Umno building.

The deputy prime minister, who is also the Perak BN chairman, announced yesterday the coalition now enjoys the support of 28 of its assemblymen and three independents in the legislative assembly with 59 members.

The state BN's success in toppling the PR government would give legitimacy to Najib's leadership as he is slated to take over the premiership by the end of March, after suffering a blow with the defeat in the Kuala Terengganu by-election. - The Malaysian Insider

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Perak Menteri Besar’s refusal to resign despite the request by Sultan Azlan Shah did not mean Pakatan Rakyat was on a collision course with the Perak palace.

“Considering the spirit of constitutional monarchy and Parliamentary democracy, this takover if allowed will be a disaster to the democratic system,” Anwar told reporters after a meeting with PR leaders.

He added that only a dissolution of the state assembly and a state-wide election would solve the problem.

On the order by the state secretariat for the leaders to vacate the building, Anwar described the action as abnormal.

“The MB has not resigned, has not been dismissed. It is abnormal under the so-called democratic system,” he added.

DAP’s Lim Kit Siang described the takeover attempt by BN as a coup led by Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“A month before Najib becomes the sixth Prime Minister, but today he has launched a coup de etat,” said Lim adding that Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin was still the Menteri Besar.

“The PR government is still legitimate. This takeover is illegal and unconstitutional,” said the Ipoh Timor MP.

Earlier today Nizar was ordered to resign by the ruler as he was deemed to have lost the support of the majority of the state’s lawmakers.

The government has however refused to step down saying that BN has no majority in the assembly, claiming that the three independents who back the coalition have resigned as legislators. - The Malaysian Insider

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said a large section of the public will be angry if the Perak Ruler does not dissolve the state assembly and invites Barisan Nasional to form the state government on the basis of dubious crossovers.

Writing in his blog, the Gua Musang Umno MP cautioned that taking control of Perak without getting the mandate of the people will spell disaster for BN in the next general election.

"Our taking control without resorting to elections would cement the enmity of the very people we should be trying to win back.

"Come the next general election, they are going to reject both our state and parliamentary candidates with greater vehemence, and not just in Perak."

The former finance minister said contests in a democracy are not a fight for survival where anything goes but a competition to serve and BN must reform to improve its ability to serve with distinction.

He said this was a long-term goal which required immediate focus, adding that BN did not need questionable victories which he described as distractions but needed to upgrade itself to win elections again, fair and square.

Tengku Razaleigh said this was the only sustainable way for BN to win back the public.

He said Umno was in critical condition because of ethical failures and its biggest challenge was tackling corruption at every level.

"We are under close public scrutiny and unless we implement radical reforms and are seen to be doing so, we are finished politically come next elections".

However, he said, BN was embroiled in "winning back" Perak with the crossover of who he described as low-calibre individuals.

"The two assemblymen whose allegiance we have suddenly gained are under investigation for corruption, while the Bota assemblyman's justification for his record-breaking 10-day double-hop is an insult to the public's intelligence and nauseating in its insincerity."

He said this open abuse, for personal gain, is what caused people to hate Umno.

Tengku Razaleigh also lashed out at the circumstances surrounding the defections.

"The mysterious disappearances, sudden reversals, and weak explanations, show ample signs of illegal inducement.

"No matter what the truth of the matter, let us not fool ourselves. People will not believe that these crossovers were honest. This mistrust will taint any government formed on the back of these crossovers."

He said the celebrations over the Perak takeover were premature because the defections may or may not topple the state government.

"The Constitution and the role of the Ruler in such crises must be respected because defections are not a basis for the formation of a government. Elections are."

He said the Constitution spells out a formal process for the formation of a government and the Ruler is sworn to uphold and protect this constitutional process.

"The menteri besar has sought the Ruler's consent for the dissolution of the State Legislative Assembly. The decision now rests with the Ruler." - The Malaysian Insider

A Barisan Nasional (BN) government in Perak is looking all but certain after a PKR state assemblyman defected back to Umno while three independents pledged their support for the coalition.

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin also failed to secure consent from Sultan Azlan Shah to dissolve the state assembly in his last ditch attempt to have fresh polls and head off BN's attempt to seize power.

“The decision is now with the Sultan,” Nizar told reporters after an audience with Sultan Azlan Shah.

At a press conference in Putrajaya earlier, Deputy Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced to reporters that Jamaludin Mohd Radzi, Osman Jailu and Hee Yit Foong would back a BN government while Datuk Nasarudin Hashim, who had just two weeks earlier defected to PKR, would rejoin Umno.

“BN now has the majority to form the next government. We will seek an audience with the Perak Sultan.

“BN has 28 seats now, which is equal with Pakatan Rakyat, but we have three exxtra who are friendly to Umno and BN,” Najib said

He added that the three independent lawmakers had also informed the Sultan in a letter sent yesterday that they had quit their parties.

All four assemblymen appeared at the press conference with Najib.

Jamaluddin, Osman and Hee had earlier turned independent while Nasarudin had defected to PKR less than two weeks ago.

“The situation in the state is critical. I have to make sacrifices,” Nasarudin said when asked why he had decided to rejoin Umno.

The other three did not speak to reporters.

With their defections, it is looking likely that BN will get to form the state government.

More PKR lawmakers are also expected to defect to BN.

Najib said BN representatives would meet the Sultan as soon as possible to seek his consent to form the next state government.

With the defections to BN, the Pakatan Rakyat will only have 28 seats to Barisan Nasional’s 31 in the 59-seat assembly.

Nizar is now resting PR’s hopes on the Sultan in the hope that consent will still be granted for fresh polls.

The PR alliance of PKR, Pas and DAP are confident of winning fresh polls with a bigger mandate.

But with a four seat majority, and more defections likely, the Sultan looks likely to accept BN’s offer to form the next government. - The Malaysian Insider

The Sultan of Perak is said to be in Kuala Lumpur. The Perak Menteri Besar is not able to have an audience with Tuanku to request the dissolution of the Perak State Assembly.

Perak has fallen.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will announce the formation of a new Perak state government at 4.00pm today in Putrajaya.

Dato Nasaruddin has crossed back to Umno. Two more DAP Perak State Assemblyman/ women are said to have defected.

Five Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblymen in Kedah are said to be ready to cross over to Barisan Nasional. The Kedah state government is also about to fall. - Malaysia Today

BN mempunyai cukup jumlah Adun untuk membentuk kerajaan baru Perak selepas empat Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) melompat kepadanya secara terbuka dan rasmi hari ini.

Tiga bekas wakil rakyat Pakatan termasuk Adun Jelapang dan juga bekas Timbalan Speaker DUN Perak, Hee Yit Foong akan kekal wakil rakyat bebas tetapi bersama kerajaan BN, kata timbalan perdana menteri.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak berkata beliau akan menghadap Sultan Perak secepat mungkin.

Adun Bota, Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim - yang mengumumkan melompat kepada PKR selama 10 hari - kembali semula kepada Umno.


4:25pm Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Behrang, Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi dan Adun Changkat Jering, Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu akan menyertai Umno.

Kedua-duanya kini berada di pejabat timbalan perdana menteri.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak memanggil semua Adun dan ahli parlimen BN sebelum mengadakan sidang akhbar khasnya jam 4 petang ini.

Adun Bota, Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim - yang mengumumkan melompat kepada PKR selama 10 hari - juga kelihatan di pejabat timbalan presiden Umno itu.

Adun Jelapang dan juga bekas Timbalan Speaker DUN Perak, Hee Yit Foong kelihatan di Putrajaya.


3.52pm Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Perak dijangka akan dibubarkan dalam masa terdekat jika Sultan memberikan perkenan kepada kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat itu untuk memanggil pilihanraya negeri secara mengejut.

Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin kelihatan masuk Istana Kinta di Ipoh jam 3.50 petang untuk menghadap Sultan Perak.


kemaskini 3:25pm Menteri Besar Perak, Datuk Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin dalam sidang medianya tadi memaklumkan Adun Bota, Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim "diculik". - Malaysiakini

Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin is meeting Sultan Azlan Shah for his consent to dissolve the state assembly in a bid to head off attempts by the opposition Barisan Nasional to form a new state government.

Nizar’s abrupt move comes amid amid swirling rumours more Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen are defecting to BN, on top of the three who have turned independent.

The menteri besar told reporters at 3pm that he would be seeking an audience with the Sultan to dissolve the state assembly.

He also said that Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasharudin Hashim, who had defected to PKR from Umno less than two weeks ago, has now gone missing, adding that he had heard unconfirmed reports that the lawmaker had been “abducted”.

The MB added that he had been informed by the assemblyman’s wife that her husband was taken by Umno assemblymen Datuk Ahmad Pakeh Adam and Datuk Hamdi Abu Bakar to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s house in Kuala Lumpur.

Nizar’s announcement that he would seek an audience with the Sultan also comes amid news that the DAP’s Hee Yit Foong had just quit her party.

“I am on my way to the palace now to get consent from Tuanku to dissolve the state assembly after the loss of two PKR assemblyman and the uncertainties surrounding the Jelapang assemblywoman.

“Even though we have governed well and done good work there have been attempts to rob the right of the people who have chosen a Pakatan Rakyat government,” he said.

Nizar added that if BN were to accept the two PKR men into their fold, it would reflect a government weak in morals.

BN is expected to make an announcement this afternoon that Nasharudin has defected back to Umno and that it is offering to form a new state government in Perak.

Najib has called for a press conference in Putrajaya today at 4pm, and speculation is rife that he will be making the announcement on behalf of BN.

A number of senior BN assemblymen are already making their way to Putrajaya.

It is not clear when BN officials will seek an audience with the Sultan.

Earlier, political circles were buzzing with talk that Sultan Azlan Shah had asked Nizar to form a unity government.

Hee’s exit from DAP means she now joins the two PKR state assemblymen who have declared themselves independent and makes Nizar’s administration a minority government. The Pakatan Rakyat government now holds 29 seats to Barisan Nasional’s 27 in the 59-seat assembly.

If Nasharudin rejoins Umno, BN’s representation will go up to 28. If the three independents back BN, the coalition will then have a three-seat majority.

Nizar is now resting PR’s hopes on the Sultan in the hope that consent will be granted for fresh polls.

The PR alliance of PKR, Pas and DAP are confident of winning fresh polls with a bigger mandate.

The BN coalition is hoping, however, to be able to secure the support of the three renegade PR lawmakers who have now turned independent to form the government.

With their backing, BN will hope to attract even more PR lawmakers to defect.

Constitutional experts have said calling for snap polls is the only way out of the Silver State’s political quagmire with the Election Commission refusing to call for by-elections in Behrang and Changkat Jering.

The Pakatan Rakyat government has already given the Election Commission 48 hours from yesterday to reverse its decision.

Social pressure group Aliran has added its voice to objecting the Election Commission’s decision, saying it has no inherent powers to decide whether a vacancy has occurred in a constituency.

“Legally there exist no doubts as to the vacancies of these two seats but there are clearly doubts as to why the Election Commission chose to take this decision which is without doubt ultra vires,” Aliran president P. Ramakrishnan said in a statement.

He lamented that the decision will perpetuate the problem of party hopping plaguing Perak, saying the razor-thin majority will ensure “the uncertainties of governance will continue to exist to the detriment of the people and their welfare”.

“Aliran would also like to appeal to His Royal Highness, the Sultan of Perak, in all humility, to kindly consent to the dissolution of the state assembly as a way to overcome this deadlock,” Ramakrishnan said. - The Malaysian Insider

By Wong Chin Huat

EVENTS are moving so fast in Perak that by the time this column is published, the Barisan Nasional (BN) may be in control of the state legislative assembly if there are enough defections to its side from Pakatan Rakyat.

Even though the two Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives who were tipped to cross over to the BN have reportedly tendered their resignations, nothing is certain.

Already, one of the elected representatives, PKR's assemblyperson for Behrang, Jamaluddin Mat Radzi, has denied resigning. If, as stated by Jamaluddin, the resignation was tendered by the party and not by the representatives themselves, it could potentially be contested.

Hence, it is still possible that Jamaluddin and Changkat Jering state representative Mohd Osman Jailu, who have been charged with corruption, could still defect from the Pakatan Rakyat to Umno. The Pakatan Rakyat-BN ratio in the state government would then be a wafer-thin 30:29.

This would mean the defection of just one more Pakatan Rakyat state assemblyperson would put an end to the coalition-run state government. If such a defection occurs, it also means that the BN would have succeeded in reducing the number of Pakatan Rakyat-ruled states from five to four. This could mark the beginning of its revitalisation since its disastrous performance in the 8 March 2008 general election.

My reading, however, runs contrary. If the Perak Pakatan Rakyat government is brought down through defections, this may, in fact, hasten an early demise for the BN and its federal government. On one condition: that a snap poll for Perak — what a majority of democratic governments would opt for in the face of a no-confidence vote — is called by the state government.

A referendum on Umno

Should this happen, the BN's chance of winning Perak is really slimmer than a sheet of paper. The existing party and ethnic breakdown of the current Perak state legislative assembly is telling. The Pakatan Rakyat's current 32 seats consists of DAP's 18, PKR's eight and PAS's six. On the BN's side, 26 out of 27 lawmakers are from Umno. The 27th BN lawmaker is from the MCA.

Ethnically, the Pakatan Rakyat has 22 non-Malay Malaysian representatives (all of DAP's 18 and four of PKR's) and 10 Malay representatives, in sharp contrast to the BN's 26 Malay Malaysians and one non-Malay. That could mean there are 36 Malay-majority seats and 23 non-Malay majority or mixed seats in Perak.


However, PAS Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin (holding the Pasir Panjang seat), and PKR's assemblyperson for Behrang, Jamaluddin, both won in seats that were traditionally contested by the MIC, seats which are non-Malay-majority or mixed seats. Thus there are actually two fewer, or 34, Malay-majority seats and two more, or 25, non-Malay-majority or mixed seats in Perak.

If a snap poll was called for, how would the Malay and non-Malay Malaysian electorate vote?

There is no legitimate ground for a vote of no-confidence against the current Pakatan Rakyat state government. Except for the corruption charges against Jamaluddin and Mohd Osman, the Pakatan Rakyat is not implicated in any major scandal of corruption, power abuse or incompetence.

If anything, the Pakatan Rakyat government, which prides itself for its "inexperience in corruption", has scored with flying colours. Even on a financial note, its 2008 revenue has increased by RM97 million, or a whopping 15%, from 2007.

Hence, a snap election would actually be a referendum on whether Perak voters should reinstall or reject an Umno-dominated government.

Fatal self-deceit

What has Umno done since 8 March to win back non-Malay Malaysians? Nothing.

If anything, provocative statements by the likes of Datuk Ahmad Ismail and Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, and worsening police violence have created more bad press for Umno and the BN.

At the same time, it would be fatal self-deceit if the BN actually thinks that the retention of Chinese Malaysian votes in the recent Kuala Terengganu by-election can be repeated elsewhere.

So, there is a good chance that the BN will lose all the 25 non-Malay-majority and mixed seats in a snap poll. This would send a strong signal to all Umno's non-Malay allies: the end is nigh. Stay in the BN and you will sink with Umno because of the electorate's wrath. That would give little incentive to these allies to continue remaining in the BN.

But what about the Malay-majority seats? If the Pakatan Rakyat sweeps away all the 25 non-Malay-majority and mixed seats, it would only need another five seats to form a simple majority government. Hence, to stop Pakatan Rakyat, Umno must prevent the Pakatan from winning another five Malay seats.

Has the Pakatan Rakyat government done so badly in meeting the needs and aspirations of the Malay Malaysian electorate that it cannot keep even five out of its current eight Malay-majority seats?

In reality, PKR and PAS will not only keep the five Malay-majority seats they need to remain in power, they are also likely to make inroads into Umno heartland.

How? Just sing Umno's tune of Malay unity. If a Pakatan Rakyat state government in Perak is a given because of the non-Malay Malaysian voters, the choices left for Malay Malaysian voters are straightforward: vote PKR or PAS for stronger Malay representation in government, or vote Umno for a stronger Malay opposition.

Faced with that kind of choice, isn't it obvious Malay Malaysian voters will vote for the Pakatan Rakyat to ensure they are strongly represented in government?

A worse scenario

That is not the worst that could happen to the BN.

A worse outcome is that Umno manages to deny PKR and PAS those crucial five Malay seats. Imagine this scenario: Umno wins 30 Malay seats, while the Pakatan Rakyat takes the 25 non-Malay or mixed seats and the remaining four Malay seats.

While Umno would then claim that Malay Malaysians have returned to its fold, the Pakatan Rakyat would likely undermine such claims by producing evidence of alleged electoral fraud, especially with the likely wafer-thin victories in most of the Malay seats; and by organising protests or acts of civil disobedience.

Meanwhile, an all-Malay government is something Malaysians have not ever experienced. And Umno cannot count on the defection of non-Malay Malaysian lawmakers from the Pakatan Rakyat opposition who would fear the electorate's wrath more than anything. No less because such a defection would be seen as a sell-out in an environment that is profoundly anti-Umno. And unlike Sabah in 1994, the next federal government need not be Umno-led. These factors will surely influence the calculation of possible defectors.

As we can imagine, a Perak under Umno would likely be ungovernable given the inevitable strong opposition from half of the Malay and almost all of the non-Malay Malaysians in the state. In such a situation, the federal government may even call for a state of emergency if opposition to an Umno-led state government starts to become messy.

But whether this happens or not, Umno would lose its "stability" appeal, something it has held on to even during the Reformasi years. Voting Umno would then be associated with voting for chaos.

Do we need to ask how voters would then vote during the 13th general election?

The best scenario

The best scenario for the BN to form the next state government is to bring down the current one through defections to its side, instead of going through a snap poll. But that would require Perak MB Nizar not requesting for the state assembly's dissolution for snap polls to be held. Or it would require Sultan Azlan Shah rejecting such a request if it was made.

But why would Nizar hand over his government to his enemies? And why would the well-respected Perak Sultan sacrifice his reputation of benevolence, modernity and unity to save Umno?

As Stephen Covey states in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, begin with the end in mind. That's good advice to political parties before they start playing with fire.  - The Nut Graph

Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Behrang, Jamaluddin Mat Radzi dipetik memberitahu sebuah portal berita yang beliau telah keluar dari PKR dan kini menjadi wakil rakyat bebas.

Portal berita itu juga memetik Jamaluddin sebagai berkata, Adun Changkat Jering, Osman Jailu juga telah keluar parti dan kini menjadi Adun bebas.

Agendadaily - yang melaporkan telah menghubungi Jamaluddin selepas Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) memutuskan Jamaluddin dan Osman Jailu masing-masing masih Adun Behrang dan Changkat Jering - memetik beliau sebagai berkata, tiada sebab untuknya terus berada dalam parti itu.

Manakala Bernama pula memetik Setiausaha Agung PKR, Datuk Salehuddin Hashim menolak spekulasi bahawa Jamaluddin dan Osman telah keluar daripada parti itu.

"Setakat ini kita (PKR) tidak menerima sebarang surat mengenai peletakan jawatan mereka, tiada rekod bahawa mereka keluar parti dan tiada rekod yang mengatakan mereka masuk parti lain.

"Ini bermakna mereka masih lagi ahli parti kita dan tidak ada sebab nak buang mereka dari parti. Kita yakin mereka bersama kita," katanya kepada Bernama hari ini.

Agendadaily memetik Jamaluddin sebagai berkata, beliau membuat keputusan berkenaan seteleh meneliti sikap dan keputusan PKR berhubung dengan surat perletakan jawatannya yang ditandatangani Mac lalu.

"Surat itu disimpan oleh PKR negeri Perak. Mana mungkin surat perletakan jawatan itu boleh disampaikan kepada Speaker DUN Perak jika bukan dihantar sendiri oleh PKR negeri.

"Bagi saya ini membuktikan sikap sebenar PKR. Dengan menghantar surat itu kepada Speaker Dewan ia juga boleh ditafsirkan mereka telah membuka pintu dan meminta...Jamal kamu keluarlah," katanya.

Kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Perak yang dianggotai PAS, DAP dan PKR kini mempunyai 32 kerusi dengan DAP (18), PKR (lapan) dan PAS (enam) manakala Barisan
Nasional (BN) 27 kerusi.

Dengan Jamaluddin kini menjadi wakil rakyat bebas, kerajaan Pakatan Perak kini mempunyai 31 Adun.

Jika Osman mengikut jejak langkah Jamaluddin, maka jumlah Adun Pakatan di negeri itu akan 30 orang dan BN,27 orang dan bebas dua orang. - Malaysiakini

Hari ini ada tiga perkara penting berlaku. Satu, pertemuan MB Nizar dengan Sultan Perak. Dua, sidang media Fauzi Muda, dan ketiga, Mesyuarat PKR.

Satu….

Aku cuba juga tunggu kot-kot ada berita dari Malaysiakini atau dari Bernama tentang apa yang dibincangkan oleh Nizar dengan Tuanku Sultan. Tapi tak dak. Saja aku tunggu pasai kalau aku dulu pecah lubang, orang kata aku saja buat cerita. Tapi pasai sapa pun tak cerita, dan aku pun dah tak larat nak beli top-up pasai masing-masing dok tanya…aku kena cerita jugak.

Pagi tadi Nizar mengadap Sultan. Perkara utama yang dibincangkan ialah kesahihan (validity) surat perletakan jawatan dua ADUN PKR. Baginda Sultan Perak adalah bekas Ketua Hakim Negara. Kalau baginda kata surat tu tak sah..melopong la Nizar. Tapi apabila baginda bersetuju bahawa surat itu sah dan boleh diterima….maka bersedia lah dengan pilihanraya kecil. Dan petang tadi, Anwar, Dr. Haron Din, Nizar ada bermesyuarat. Apa yang dibincang tak tau la, tapi berkisar dengan pilihanraya kecil. Dan apabila mesyuarat PKR petang tadi menyuruh semua jentera pilihanraya bersiap sedia…faham-faham la.

Sekarang ni, cuma tunggu apa SPR kata. Esok SPR akan bermesyuarat dan tunggu keputusanya. Dipihak PR, kita bersedia dengan pilihanraya kecil di Changkat Jering dan Behrang, TAPI KALAU SPR TIDAK MAHU MENERIMA SURAT PERLETAKAN JAWATAN ITU, DEWAN UNDANGAN NEGERI PERAK AKAN DIBUBARKAN.

Dua…

Malam semalam aku tulis pasai Fauzi Muda nak buat PC dengan Ezam untuk mengisytiharkan diri masuk Umno. Tup-tup, pagi ini dia buat PC tentang Najib nak bagi dia RM50 juta. Ha..ha….aku gelak sakan.

Pada aku, pendedahan Fauzi tu cuma sebagai nak jaga maruah Hj. Osman. Orang kanan dan kiri Hj. Osman, Jamaludin dan Kapt. Osman dah hilang. Cikgu Mat dah letak jawatan sebagai Setiausaha. Semua yang sokong kehadiran Hj. Osman sebagai Ketua PKR Perak semua dah tak dak…yang tinggal cuma Fauzi Muda. Hangpa percaya kat Fauzi Muda ni ka?

Betui! Dia kata Najib offer dia 50 juta untuk tarik ADUN PKR lompat masuk Umno sebaik saja Pilihanraya ke12. Tentang offer yang Najib buat tu aku percaya, tapi jumlah tu aku tak tau la, sebab memang dia salah sorang yang cuba suap ADUN kita suruh masuk Umno tapi tak berjaya. Duit punya pasai, memang dia boleh buat apa saja. Kalau dia berjaya hari tu, mungkin tambah lagi satu bini macam dua EXCO tu.

Kemudian lepas dua EXCO tu kena cekup BPR, Najib masih suruh dia buat kerja untuk tarik dua EXCO ni masuk Umno! kalau kali pertama Najib suruh buat dan dia terus tolak, hangpa ingat Najib boleh suruh dia untuk kali kedua ka? Lu fikir la sendiri.

Dan semalam, aku tulis pasai dia nak buat PC untuk keluar PKR. Hello brader, gua punya kabel sudah bagi tau…lu sudah setuju dengan SD Johari untuk keluar.Tapi pasai aku dah tulis, dan pasai surat perletakan jawatan dua EXCO ini sudah dikeluarkan, hang pusing 360 darjah. Masuk Umno pun tak guna, tak dak sapa nak bayar.

Kalau Fauzi keluar PKR, imej Hj. Osman terus jatuh. Ini lah orang terakhir yang boleh membela Hj. Osman. Tak percaya tanya Mamamat. Imej PKR tak jatuh, sebab orang kenai sapa Fauzi Muda.

Sekarang, AMK pulak nak sambut Akuan Berkanun tu dengan membuat laporan diPutrajaya esok. Kalau tanya aku, tok sah buang masa la. Pi susun jentera pilihanraya kat Changkat Jering dengan Behrang lagi baguih.

Tadi dia buat PC dan membuat laporan tentang rasuah Najib. Pehhh..kalau ada dokumen macam beli kapal selam pun BPR tak buat apa, hangpa ingat BPR boleh bertindak tanpa apa-apa bukti? Bagi aku, Fauzi saja nak jadi hero, untuk menyelamatkan Hj. Osman. Dan kalau dengar berita TV, Hj. Osman kata, dua EXCO ni masih ADUN PKR sebab dia tak terima surat perletakan jawatan. Bila dia kata dia tak tau menahu tentang surat yang telah tersedia, aku pun tak tau nak cakap apa. Pasai apa tak tanya? Orang lain semua tau, Ketua PKR Perak tak tau! Tak pelik ka?

Hangpa ingat, Nizar keluarkan surat tu tanpa merujuk kepada Anwar? Anwar yang bagi greenlight, tapi bila Ketua PKR Negeri kata dia tak tau….susah la. Kalau Anwar buat keputusan tanpa memberitahu Ketua PKR Negeri….faham-faham la.

Ketiga,

Petang tadi ada mesyuarat PKR. Yang dibincangkan ialah persiapan pilihanraya kecil.Tu biasa la. Tapi yang syok sikit bila YB Yunus dari Kuala Kurau dan YB Kesavan bagi tau depa ditawarkan oleh SD Johari untuk melompat kedalam Umno. Bukan setakat ditawarkan wang ringgit malah mereka diugut sekiranya tidak menyertai Umno.

Sepatutnya yang ni la buat laporan polis! Pasai apa tak buat kalau dah ada bukti?

semalam aku tulis,

“Ada seorang lagi ADUN PKR yang hampir termakan pujukan Jamal untuk menyertainya melompat kedalam BN, dan nama ini telah disebut oleh SD Johari. Tetapi oleh kerana ADUN ni tidak turut melompat, aku tak sebut namanya dulu. Tapi kita tahu sapa dia.”

Hari ni, dua ADUN muda ini telah mengakuinya dalam mesyuarat PKR Negeri siang tadi.

Kenapa? tak percaya? - Perak Express

If fresh state elections are held, Pakatan Rakyat may sweep at least 40 seats, leaving Umno with just 19 seats. MCA, MIC, Gerakan and PPP will not win a single seat.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

No by-elections, says EC - so what happens now?

The political turmoil in Perak has taken on a new twist with Election Commission chairperson Abdul Aziz reportedly saying that no by-elections would be held because of doubts over the resignation letters of the two state assembly members.

Aziz pointed out that assembly members had submitted letters to deny their validity of the resignation letters submitted by the Perak Speaker.

Where does this leave Perak?

Of course, the Pakatan still has a majority of one, but if that is threatened, then they have the option of dissolving the assembly and calling for fresh elections. – Anil Netto

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That was what Anil Netto asked in his Blog today (http://anilnetto.com/). I have no time to write my normal five-page ‘cheong hei’ article because I am rushing off for a meeting with my lawyers (I have three court cases over four days next week and they want to prepare for them).

So, in the few minutes that I have left, allow me to sum up as follows.

Pakatan Rakyat started out with 31 seats in the Perak State Assembly against Barisan Nasional’s 28. This means if just two Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblymen cross over, Barisan Nasional would have 30 seats against Pakatan Rakyat’s 29. This would also mean Barisan Nasional will form the new Perak state government with a majority of one seat.

While Barisan Nasional was working on these two ‘candidates’ to cross over -- the Changat Jering and Behrang State Assemblyman -- one Umno State Assemblyman crossed over to Pakatan Rakyat. Now, Barisan Nasional needs three Pakatan Rakyat State Assemblymen to cross over instead of just two.

Today, the Elections Commission rejected the resignation letters of the Changkat Jering and Behrang State Assemblymen. This means they can now join Barisan Nasional -- so Barisan Nasional will now have 29 seats against Pakatan Rakyat’s 30. All Barisan Nasional needs is just one more cross-over from Pakatan Rakyat and they will form the new Perak state government.

This not only can happen. It most likely will happen.

Pakatan Rakyat has no other choice. It has to dissolve the Perak State Assembly and call for fresh state elections. Note one thing here. It is not actually Barisan Nasional versus Pakatan Rakyat. It is Umno versus Pakatan Rakyat. From the 29 seats that Barisan Nasional now has, 28 are from Umno and only one from MCA -- with NONE from the other 12 Barisan Nasional component members.

However, to dissolve the Perak State Assembly, Pakatan Rakyat must first obtain the consent of the Sultan of Perak. Will the Sultan give his consent? Many feel the answer is no. Therefore Pakatan Rakyat will be ‘locked’ with a one-seat majority that may turn out to be a one-seat minority in the very near future.

If fresh state elections are held, Pakatan Rakyat may sweep at least 40 seats, leaving Umno with just 19 seats. MCA, MIC, Gerakan and PPP will not win a single seat. That is why Umno would not want fresh state elections, or even two by-elections. If they allow this to happen they will get wiped out and Pakatan Rakyat will increase its margin of seats even more. With a 21-seat majority it will be impossible for Barisan Nasional to continue dreaming about taking over Perak.

Where do we go from here? I wish I knew. I, on the other hand, am off to my lawyers to see whether they can keep me out of jail and the Kamunting Detention Centre.

Till later. In the meantime, I hope Pakatan Rakyat can see the logic of dissolving the Perak State Assembly so that fresh state elections can be held. That would be the only way to hold on to Perak. - Malaysia Today

Umno has 20,000 branches within 191 divisions. So they need to fabricate members to allow these branches to exist. The members do not really exist. They are just names to make up the numbers so that the branches can be created and thereafter perpetuated.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Muhyiddin: Don’t underestimate 3 million strong Umno

Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin reminded opposition parties, including Pas, not to belittle Umno, while admitting the party’s need to improve various areas. Muhyiddin, who is also International Trade and Industry Minister, said the rise and fall of power is part and parcel of life and had happened to all parties.

“That is his opinion. For us in Umno, the party has been long established with more than three million members and can be regarded as the biggest political organisation.”

“Every political organisation will have its seasons. Sometimes we are strong, sometimes we will face problems. Opposition leaders will not respect us. We don’t expect them to make positive comments or statements although problems also exist in PAS and Pakatan Rakyat,” he said.

Muhyiddin was commenting on Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat’s statement describing Umno as a dying tree, after attending a Chinese New Year open house organised by Umno Kalabakan.

He said Umno and Barisan Nasional’s (BN) defeat in several by-elections are not indicators that the party is weak and cannot rise again. “We admit our weaknesses, but it does not mean that we are hopeless cases. After the general election we realised this and have started to make internal changes and reforms. Don’t underestimate Umno’s strength,” he said.

He said BN and Umno hoped to send a message to the people that the party is not static and are willing to make improvements necessary with the country’s changing political landscape. Muhyiddin added that he is confident the people will accept the party’s changes and ensure victory for BN in the next general election for continuing development in the country. — Bernama, 3 February 2009

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Okay, today, let’s get away from the Perak political crisis for the meantime while we wait for the official announcement as to whether we are going to see two by-elections or we are going to see the Perak State Assembly dissolved to make way for fresh state elections. If the Elections Commission ‘rejects’ the resignation letters of the Changkat Jering and Behrang State Assemblymen, then Pakatan Rakyat would have no choice but to dissolve the Perak State Assembly and hold fresh state elections.

What I want to talk about today is the statement by the incoming Deputy Prime Minister who will serve under incoming Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. The incoming Deputy Prime Minister meant here is Umno Vice-President cum International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. And his statement is about the three million members that Umno has.

Actually, Umno may have three million members, as they always proudly claim, but if you were to include the members of the 13 other component members of Barisan Nasional, then it would come to 5.5 million, or so they claim.

A short digression to this subject but still related to the issue: in the two weeks that we spent in Kuala Terengganu in the run-up to the by-election last month, we noticed that almost EVERY Chinese citizen of Kuala Terengganu is an MCA life member. Yes, that’s right, almost all the Chinese in Kuala Terengganu are life members of MCA.

Going by these statistics, Barisan Nasional should have garnered at least 90% of the Kuala Terengganu Chinese votes. But they didn’t. Isn’t this telling? Boasting about how many members you have is one thing. Whether your own members will vote for you is more important. If you can’t get even your own members to vote for you then what chance do you have of getting the ‘fence-sitters’, those who are not card-carrying members of any party, to vote for you? And we are not yet even talking about winning over the votes of the opposition supporters. This would be as remote as seeing Umno abandon Ketuanan Melayu and the New Economic Policy.

Barisan Nasional is supposed to have 5.5 million members, three million in Umno alone. But in the 8 March 2008 general election, Barisan Nasional garnered only 4,082,411 or 50.6% of the popular votes. Pakatan Rakyat managed 3,796,464 or 49.4% of the votes with only one million members.

What happened? How come Barisan Nasional won only 4,082,411 votes against the backdrop of 5.5 million party members? And surely, in an election, not only your own members vote for you. Surely the ‘fence-sitters’ or non-card-carrying voters of any party also vote for you.

Let us work out the arithmetic. Barisan Nasional has 5.5 million members and Pakatan Rakyat about one million or so. That comes to 6.5 million voters who are card-carrying party members. So about 4.5 million voters are not card-carrying members of any party. This would be the ‘fence-sitters’ or uncommitted voters that both coalitions would want to win over.

In the 8 March 2008 general election, 222 Parliament seats in 12 states (including the Federal Territory which has 13 seats) and 505 state seats in 13 states were up for grabs (Sarawak did not hold state elections in the 2008 general election). There were 10,922,139 registered voters (an increase of 600,000 over the 2004 general election), which includes the 221,085 postal voters. So the ‘real’ voters came to only 10,701,054.

The total votes garnered by Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat combined were 7,878,875. This comes to a voter turnout of 70.71%, a very low turnout indeed. If we minus the 221,085 postal votes, which are ‘bonus’ votes for Barisan Nasional, the ‘genuine’ voters would come to only 7,657,790.

This means if we minus the 221,085 postal votes, Barisan Nasional actually garnered only 3,861,326 votes against Pakatan Rakyat’s 3,796,464. This comes to a majority of only 64,862 votes.

Okay, Barisan Nasional has 5.5 million members. This means they should get at least 70.71% of this (calculated on an across-the-board basis according to the voter turnout). Therefore, Barisan Nasional should have garnered 3,889,050 votes if all their members voted for them and if calculated on a 70.71% voter turnout. Then they got the 221,085 postal votes. So the total votes for Barisan Nasional should have been 4,110,135 votes.

This means three things. Firstly, about 30% of Barisan Nasional’s members did not bother to come out to vote for their own party. Or, secondly, many of their members voted for the opposition. Thirdly, if we assume that all your members voted for you and not for the other side, this means NONE of the non-card-carrying voters voted for you. ALL voted for the ‘other side’.

Whatever it may be; it is impossible for the opposition to win 100% of the uncommitted voters. Many would also vote for Barisan Nasional even if they are not members of any of the 14 component members of the coalition. This would then mean many Barisan Nasional members did not vote for their own party. Or probably these members do not exist in the first place.

Pakatan Rakyat has just one million members or so. Yet they garnered 3,796,464 votes. The bottom line is: Pakatan Rakyat got almost four times the votes compared to the members it has, while Barisan Nasional could not even get the same number of votes as it has members.

Muhyiddin Yassin’s boast about Umno having three million members, or of Barisan Nasional having 5.5 million, means nothing if you can’t translate these numbers into votes. Hell, only 70.71% came out to vote on 8 March 2008. About 30% or three million people stayed home, many of them Barisan Nasional members as well. You not only could not get your own members to come out and vote, even those that did come out to vote did not all vote for you, their own party.

Anyway, everyone knows that Umno’s and Barisan Nasional’s ‘members’ are ‘paper’ members only. They only exist on paper. In many instances they can’t even hold general meetings because they can’t get the quorum at branch level and many meetings are mere ‘paper’ meetings.

Umno has 20,000 branches within 191 divisions. So they need to fabricate members to allow these branches to exist. The members do not really exist. They are just names to make up the numbers so that the branches can be created and thereafter perpetuated. Many branches are mere signboards to give an impression that they exist. There is really no branch activity as such.

Either way it is a farce. If the members do exist then that is bad news because your own members did not vote for you. And if the members do not exist then you are just kidding yourself. Both do not augur well for the ‘largest Islamic party in the world’, as what Umno claims to be. - Malaysia Today

By Dr. Mahathir Mohamad

1. Semasa bahagian-bahagian UMNO sedang menamakan calon untuk jawatan-jawatan parti, terdapat laporan bahawa Jawatankuasa Disiplin telah terima lebih daripada 900 aduan berkenaan dengan rasuah.

2. Tetapi hingga kini tidak ada apa-apa pun berita tentang tindakan yang telah diambil oleh Jawatankuasa Disiplin atau mana-mana pihak.

3. Sekarang kita dengar cerita lain pula. Wakil-wakil Bahagian yang akan hadir Mesyuarat Agong pada bulan Mac sudah pun ditentukan oleh bahagian-bahagian. Mereka terdiri daripada ketua bahagian, naib ketua bahagian, ketua wanita, ketua pemuda dan tujuh orang yang dipilih dalam mesyuarat bahagian yang lalu. Jumlah 11 orang semuanya.

4. UMNO mempunyai lebih kurang 190 bahagian, bermakna jumlah wakil ke Mesyuarat Agong adalah seramai 2,090 + ahli Majlis Tertinggi.

5. Sasaran rasuah ialah kepada 2,090 wakil ini. Saya dengar (tetapi saya tidak percaya) sudah ada calon bagi jawatan tertentu yang sudah beri elaun bulanan kepada sebilangan besar daripada 2,090 wakil ini. Bahagian mereka mencalon calon-calon tertentu tetapi yang akan undi dalam Mesyuarat Agong ialah perwakilan. Dan mereka yang dapat elaun mungkin (mungkin sahaja) akan undi calon yang memberi elaun kepada.

6. Jika yang menang adalah orang yang menghulur rasuah maka UMNO akan dipimpin oleh perasuah.

7. Dan Kerajaan Malaysia dan Kerajaan Negeri akan dipimpin oleh perasuah selepas Pilihanraya Umum ke 13 jika Barisan Nasional menang. Dan pemimpin jenis ini akan sauk duit Kerajaan dan duit siapa sahaja yang berurusan dengan Kerajaan.

8. Saya telah berbual dengan beberapa orang yang tidak berparti dan juga yang berparti. Pendapat mereka semuanya sama - mereka tidak ingin diperintah oleh Kerajaan pimpinan perasuah.

9. Saya tanya jika tidak ingin apakah yang mereka boleh buat?

10. Mereka akan perhati dengan teliti pemilihan pemimpin UMNO bulan Mac ini.

11. Jika perwakilan UMNO memilih orang yang diketahui umum mengguna wang untuk dapat undi dan menjadi pemimpin UMNO mereka akan tentukan UMNO dan Barisan Nasional akan kalah Pilihanraya Umum ke-13.

12. Bolehkah mereka berbuat demikian? Jawab mereka lihat sahaja keputusan Pilihanraya Umum ke-12. BN kalah di lima buah negeri dan tidak dapat 2/3 di Parlimen kerana mereka memberi undi mereka kepada parti lawan.

13. Undi mereka, kata mereka adalah undi penentu. UMNO tidak boleh menang kerana undi ahli-ahli UMNO sahaja. UMNO perlu undi pengundi yang bukan ahli.

14. Kata mereka bukan sahaja yang bebas tidak akan beri undi pada calon pilihanraya UMNO, tetapi ramai juga ahli UMNO yang kecewa kerana kelakuan ahli dan pemimpin UMNO yang tidak akan mengundi calon UMNO dan BN. Mereka yakin kalau mereka percaya pemimpin UMNO yang dipilih Mac ini adalah perasuah, mereka akan tentukan UMNO akan kalah Pilihanraya Umum ke-13.

15. Pendapat ini disuarakan juga oleh orang Cina dan India. Kalau yang akan pimpin UMNO lepas Mac ini adalah yang terkenal mengguna wang untuk jadi ahli Majlis Tertinggi UMNO, mereka juga akan undi parti lawan.

16. UMNO tidak perlu ambilkira pendapat mereka ini. Bukankah UMNO parti yang terkuat di Malaysia? Takkanlah UMNO boleh dikalahkan!

IPOH, Feb 3 — Perak plunged deeper into crisis today when the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government declared today that it would give the federal Election Commission (EC) 48 hours to review its decision not to hold the Behrang and Changkat Jering by-elections.

Senior executive councillor Ngeh Koo Ham told reporters today that if the EC does not change its mind, the Perak government would take necessary action.

He declined to say what action would be taken but it would likely involve challenging the federal authority’s decision in court.

“The EC is usurping the function of the speaker and has misconstrued its role. It is there to conduct elections not to decide whether or not there should be an election,” said the Perak DAP chief.

The Perak government appears determined to force polls for the two state seats in order to bring an end to the political uncertainty which plagues the state now.

Perak state assembly Speaker V Sivakumar had declared the two seats vacant after receiving resignation letters from two PKR lawmakers Jamaluddin Radzi and Osman Jailu, who had gone missing last week and were expected to defect to the opposition Barisan Nasional (BN).

But the two renegade PKR men now claim the said resignation letters were undated documents they signed after PR parties won the state in last year’s general election.

The expected defection of the two will result in the state government being left with only a wafer-thin one seat majority in the state legislature.

State PR officials are hoping to use by-elections, which the allied parties are confident of winning, to make the defections moot.

But the EC announced today that the two men had written to the Speaker to say their resignations were not valid, and this has cast doubt in the matter.

The political intrigue in the state looks set to continue as both PR and BN are understood to be actively trying to lure each other’s assemblymen.

With this scenario, the Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin is likely to be also considering the possibility of dissolving the assembly and calling for fresh elections.

In a press conference at the Perak DAP headquarters here, Ngeh added that it was not up to the speaker nor the EC to conduct any enquiry into the validity of the letters but to act on them.

“A dispute can be taken up in court. We are not saying there should be no avenue for redress but that grievances should be taken to the courts,” he said.

He added that while PR did not want to pursue the matter in court, it would have to weigh up its options once the 48 hours were up.

He said that the EC’s refusal to call by-elections clearly showed biasness against the PR government although he sidestepped questions of whether the EC was siding with BN.

Ngeh however said that the accusation of bias would be retracted if the EC reversed its decision. - The Malaysian Insider

By Lim Kit Siang

The Election Commission has acted unconstitutionally outside its jurisdiction in refusing to recognize the decision of the Perak Speaker, V. Sivakumar on the vacancy of the Changkat Jering and Behrang state assembly seats and to hold by-elections.

As pointed out clearly by the former Election Commission Chairman, Tan Sri Rashid Rahman, the Election Commission’s constitutional duty is to act on the Perak Speaker’s official notification on the vacancy of the two state assembly seats and to call for by-elections to be held in the next 60 days.

It is no business of the Election Commission to act and usurp the jurisdiction of the courts to dispute the Speaker’s decision – as any such legal challenge should come from Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu if they want to challenge the legality of their resignations from their respective state assembly seats.

In this case, the Election Commission has even acted as a court of law – in a decision which is clearly influenced by the political interests and considerations of the Barisan Nasional.

With the further odds against the Pakatan Rakyat state government in Perak, all options to resolve the political crisis in Perak will have to be considered.

By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today gave a strong indication that the Barisan Nasional may soon wrest back control of the Perak state government from the Pakatan Rakyat.

Abdullah responded in the affirmative when asked if there was any truth to the rumours that two PKR assemblymen in Perak would hop over to Umno soon.

"God willing, that may happen," he told reporters at the launch of the Federal Territories Day festival here this morning.

He added that it showed confidence, even among political rivals, that Umno is a party that fights for their ideals.

Abdullah refused to comment further when pressed to elaborate.

The outgoing Umno president said the leadership would make the announcements when things were confirmed.

The two coalitions are currently engaged in a tug-of-war over the loyalties of their members, which came to a head today, forcing the Perak state government leadership into an emergency meeting.

PKR Behrang assemblyman Jamaluddin Radzi and his Changkat Jering colleague Osman Jailu have been reported "missing" since the Umno Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasarudin Hashim publicly declared his intention to cross over to their party.

The PKR duo were at the centre of a bribery charge last year. Last August, Jamaludin and Osman, along with three others, were charged with 16 counts of corruption involving a RM180 million housing project spanning 36 hectares in Sri Iskandar, south of Ipoh.

Their trial is scheduled to begin on Feb 10. If convicted, they could face a maximum of 20 years in jail and a fine of not less than five times the amount of gratification, or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

According to rumours, they were offered to have the corruption charges against them dropped if they switched camps.

Abdullah was also asked to comment on the protest by Umno members against the investigation by the newly-minted Malaysian Anti-Coruption Commission (MACC) into allegations of money politics in the Malay-based party.

He clarified that the protest was not so much against the MACC's investigations into Umno as it against the methods allegedly employed by the anti-corruption team in extracting information.

An Umno member has complained of being tortured during the MACC questioning.

Abdullah said that the matter should be left to the police to investigate first before deciding on the next step.

Yes, in Malaysia, you do not work against those who walk in the corridors of power. If you oppose the powers-that-be you end up dead, disappeared, or in jail. That is if they can’t buy you.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Seremban Umno makes history

The Seremban Umno division yesterday made history as the only division in the party to hold three meetings after the first two attempts failed. The first meeting on Nov 9 was postponed after a fight broke out. The second meeting on Dec 27 was postponed.

Yesterday, Seremban Umno division chief Datuk Ishak Ismail retained his position, which he had held since 1988, when his opponent, Mohd Nor Awang, did not qualify to contest after facing bribery allegations. -- The New Straits Times, 1 February 2009

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Live by the sword, die by the sword

Meanwhile, as they try their best to get back Perak through foul means, in other places they run the risk of losing power. In Negeri Sembilan, all Pakatan Rakyat needs are three state seats to oust Barisan Nasional from the state. Umno is watching that state closely lest three Barisan Nasional State Assemblymen cross over to Pakatan Rakyat to help them form the new Negeri Sembilan state government. And Negeri Sembilan is Khairy Jamaluddin’s state, the state he hopes he will one day become Menteri Besar of before he journeys to Putrajaya to take the seat as Prime Minister of Malaysia some time after 2020.

But Khairy no longer has time to worry about Negeri Sembilan. Negeri Sembilan is something in the future. Negeri Sembilan can wait. Khairy has more immediate problems to worry about. -- The Corridors of Power (https://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/17434/84/)

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Umno’s disciplinary problems

What makes it so difficult for the tribunal (the Umno Disciplinary Board) to effectively carry out its functions is the selective prosecution it must practice in the discharge of its duties. Actions can only be taken if required or useful to certain top leaders. The tribunal lacks clear mandate from the party management in dealing with money politics, Umno's euphemism for corrupt practice. -- Datuk Zaid Ibrahim

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Either you are with me or you are against me, said President Bush Junior. Either you are with me or you die, says Umno. Hey, what the fork, can’t we agree to disagree? (Ha! I bet you thought I was going to use the ‘other’ four-letter ‘F’ word. Gotcha!).

The objective of the Umno exercise is very simple, so simple that many within Umno do not see it. That’s because they try to look for the ‘udang sebalik batu’ (the prawn behind the stone; meaning, the hidden agenda).

There is no udang sebalik batu or hidden agenda. The agenda is very clear and ‘transparent’. Bring down Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s key people so that, come March 2009, the Prime Minister will be all alone and isolated, and would therefore have to step down and hand over to Najib Tun Razak as planned.

Negeri Sembilan is Khairy Jamaluddin’s, the Prime Minister’s son-in-law’s home base. And that is where he is building his political fortunes so that in the next election (say in 2012-2013) he can contest a state seat and become the next Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan. Then, say around 2017-2018 or so, he will contest a parliament seat and will be on the way to become the Prime Minister by the age of 40 as he aspires.

Make no bones about it. Khairy can make it and I will place my money on that happening (unless Pakatan Rakyat kicks out Barisan Nasional and takes over the federal government first). But he can make it only if Najib does not take over as Prime Minister in March 2009 and if Pak Lah continues as Prime Minister until the next general election.

Khairy knows this. Najib knows this. And probably nearly every Malaysian, Pak Lah included, knows this as well. So, do you think Najib is going to allow this to happen? There is room for only one at the top. And Najib wants this to be him, not Khairy.

Even the CEO of Air Asia knows that Khairy’s days are numbered, or so he thinks, and he is quickly distancing himself from Khairy as his Malaysiakini interview has revealed. “The biggest mistake of my life, and to be fair to this guy, is (when) Khairy Jamaluddin’s team came to propose sponsoring the MyTeam (football project). Honestly, it was the biggest mistake of my life,” said Tony Fernandez.

When the rats begin to desert the ship then you certainly know that the ship is about to sink. And there is another rat that has deserted what he believes to be the sinking ship. And this rat is the Honorary Consul of Mongolia to Malaysia, Syed Rahman Alhabshi.

When I first met Syed Rahman it was during a meeting I was having with Zahid Md Arip and Datuk Kamal Amir at The Dome in the Bangsar Shopping Centre. I had known Zahid, the grandson of Tun Ghafar Baba, since 1998. I know his uncle, Tamrin, even longer, probably since the 1980s. But that was the first time I met Datuk Kamal.

As we were talking, Syed Rahman passed by and Datuk Kamal invited him to join us, which he did. It was then that I realised who he was. Okay, he is not a dashing-looking sort of fellow and it is not quite like his face stands out in the crowd. So I did not recognise him at first until I was told who he is.

What Syed Rahman told us was no different from what Bala said is his Statutory Declaration. The long and short of it all, what Syed Rahman revealed was that Najib and Rosmah are involved in Altantuya’s murder and that Najib was in fact having an affair with the now dead Mongolian beauty.

I met Syed Rahman once or twice after that at the Mahbol Mamak restaurant in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, this time with a larger crowd that included Jadawi Datuk Ghazali and his wife, Salleh Yassin, a military intelligence chap called Major Salleh, Aspan Alias (an Umno stalwart), Naqib, and about a dozen or so others. It was one huge party of people.

Syed Rahman has the habit of shooting his mouth off. He would tell all and sundry and every man and his dog the story of Najib and Altantuya, if they cared to give him their ears. He was Malaysia’s one and only tukang karut (storyteller). In fact, he even gave press conferences and related in great detail and with much gusto his disgust with how the Malaysian police and the judiciary are handling the Altantuya murder investigation and trial. It appeared like he was going to single-handedly bring down Najib.

Altantuya’s father, Dr Steve Shariibuu, was so impressed with Syed Rahman’s performance that he gave him an entire dossier that would be able to implicate Najib in Altantuya’s murder, or at least implicate him in an affair with her. “I trusted him so much,” explained Dr Shariibuu, “and did not suspect he would betray me.”

According to Syed Rahman, who never denied that Dr Shariibuu had given him this thick dossier, he had handed it to the police to help them in their investigation. He said he never thought of making any copies. And this is the same thing Dr Shariibuu said when asked if he had made any copies of the dossier.

How convenient. Only one copy of the very damaging dossier exists and it has been handed to the police. Neither Syed Rahman nor Dr Shariibuu made any copies. Guess what has now happened to that only one copy of damaging evidence? No, no prize for the right guess.

Syed Rahman said the IGP spoke to him and advised him to ‘leave the country’ if Najib ever becomes Prime Minister. Would the IGP do such a thing? Was Syed Rahman telling the truth or was he preparing the ground to eventually jump ship and he needed the ‘justification’ to do so?

Whatever it may be, Syed Rahman did jump to the other side, whether under threat or inducement. And in late August 2008, a few days before the Permatang Pauh by-election, he went before national television to deny all the ‘lies’ and to endorse Najib and to proclaim Najib's innocence in the Altantuya murder.

Why this about-turn? Was he threatened like private investigator Bala and the two missing PKR State Assemblymen -- who are all still missing even as you read this? Or was he offered a large amount of money, too large to say no to? Remember, when they tried to convince the Umno State Assemblyman who had crossed over to PKR earlier this week to return to Umno, they reminded him about what happened to Altantuya and Bala. In short, if he refused to return to Umno then expect the same fate.

Yes, in Malaysia, you do not work against those who walk in the corridors of power. If you oppose the powers-that-be you end up dead, disappeared, or in jail. That is if they can’t buy you. Those in Umno face sacking from the party as many have discovered. You just do not oppose those who imagine themselves as God.

Take the money or die. Take the money or get sacked. Take the money or go to jail. That is the Umno way of doing things. And many have fallen victim to this ‘gentle persuasion’. And those who do not heed this ‘advice’ will suffer. And if you have a low tolerance for pain you succumb to the cohesion. And if you are stubborn you face the consequences.

It may already be a foregone conclusion that the two PKR State Assemblymen from Perak would rather not go to jail. Never mind if they face fabricated charges and were set up. You still go to jail. Would you rather go to jail or accept power and plenty of money? Many would rather choose power and money over jail, unfortunately.

Anyway, in case anyone would like to know, Barisan Nasional still needs one more Perak State Assemblyman or woman to form the state government even if the two PKR State Assemblymen cross over to Umno. And the going price for the last State Assemblyman or woman they need to complete the takeover of Perak is RM15 million. Yes, that’s right, the price has gone up from RM10 million to RM15 million. And they need just one more State Assemblyman or woman. Any takers?

And while you mull on that, also mull on the following. Was Kugan killed while in police custody because he was a car thief or because he was a witness to the car-stealing ring that involved senior police officers? This is what the family is asking. And the first autopsy showed he died because of water in the lungs. Hmm, in some countries you die of water in the lungs while under police custody because they submerge your head in the toilet bowl and flush the toilet. Most interesting indeed would you not agree?

Okay, back to Syed Rahman. What was Syed Rahman’s motivation for the U-turn? Did they threaten him or was he paid a lot of money? Maybe this photograph of him with Najib can shed some light on the matter. Does he look frightened? Does it appear like he is an unwilling participant? Or is this a photo of a very happy man who has just made millions by endorsing Najib and proclaiming to the world that Najib is innocent and is not involved in the Altantuya murder?

You be the judge.

(Sin Chew Daily) I feel sorry for Tan Sri Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen as his well-intended suggestion has been badly criticised.

He is an old-fashioned politician and he could not fit into today's political phenomenon. Many party members of the older generation have been addicted to money politics while the young ones learn from the elders and certainly, they will outperform their teachers.

Look at the crowd which demonstrated in front of the Putra World Trade Centre. They protested against the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) arrest of Umno members for fraud in the party election. They also protested against Tengku Ahmad's suggestion.

For them, frauds and corruption for power and money are justified. Right and wrong could be reversed and there is no difference between black and white.

They are young and they are having such thoughts, I believe that they are going to bring a greater national disaster when they grow older.

Isn't Tengku Ahmad's suggestion to abolish Umno's main wings, including Puteri Umno, Putera Umno, Umno Youth and Wanita Umno reasonable?

Many good children have been thrown into a huge dye vat, could they keep being themselves and not being affected?

Do the British Conservative Party and Labour Party have a youth wing? Do the American Republican Party and Democratic Party need a bureau for young women? Can you find a bureau for young men in the Australian Labor Party and Liberal Party?

In these countries, young people may concerned about or participate in the nation's politics. But they could not be made use by politics and at the same time, they are not allowed to use political parties as a platform for promotion.

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of China used to have these bureaus to attract young ones as they needed a huge number of enthusiastic members to start a revolution. They even wanted to set up a children bureau if they could, so they could have early brainwashing.

Radical political parties would make use of young people while speculative young people would as well make use of these political parties. Together, they turned the country upside down. I believe everyone would know what are the consequences.

Umno followed the mode of revolutionary parties to set up Umno Youth so that it could mobilise all available manpower to advocate Malay Nationalism and fight against colonialism. And other parties, including MCA, MIC, Pas, Gerakan, DAP and even PKR just followed the suit. These young people are supported by their parties and by calling themselves the racial pioneers, they dared to voice out many of the most radical and extreme remarks.

The revolutionary era is over, do we still need young people to make trouble? Today, the party with the most young members gets the least support from young people as the majority of young people no longer accept such concept.

Schools, instead of political parties are the paradise for children. They should concentrate in studies and when they reach their puberty, just go and date; those who wish to be a big star could take part in singing contests and those who are fetish, just hug their Hello Kitty. (By TAY TIAN YAN/ Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily)

These two PKR men are now missing. They have been missing since the last four days and no one knows where they are. But they are not really missing as such. They are safely in the hands of Umno. And Umno wants them to agree to a deal.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Buy them, or kill them! That is the theme for the Year of the Ox. And that is the theme Umno lives by. And if you live by the sword, so will it be that way you die, by the sword. Make no bones about it. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.

I remember the story told to me 20 years ago by an Umno stalwart. A certain one-time Menteri Besar of a certain state was on his deathbed. Friends and relatives read his last rites by his bedside, basically reading the Surah Yassin for he who is about to die.

But he would not die. He lingered on and on, not wanting to die and yet barely alive. His mouth would move when spoon-fed with soup. Yes, he who lived a life of makan suap (corruption) was being makan suap (spoon-fed) the last days of his life here on earth.

It soon became very tiring. Here was a man supposed to die whom they were reading his last rites. But he would not go away. He stayed on, neither alive nor dead. How to make him leave?

They called in a religious man, a man most respected by the Muslim community. The religious man told the family to open the safe and take out some of the millions stashed away in it. This was no time for discussion or debate. They did as they were told.

The religious man took out handfuls of cash from the safe and stuffed them into a pillowcase. The pillowcase, now full and bursting at its seams, was handed to the man who would not die, the man lying on his deathbed the last one week, he who was once the all-powerful and most corrupted Menteri Besar of this extremely rich state, the frail and very sick man who was not alive yet would not die.

The once very powerful and extremely rich man hugged his pillowcase stuffed with money, broke into a smile, gave a deep sigh, and closed his eyes and breathed his last breath. He was now gone from this world and entered the next.

Yes, this one-time Menteri Besar lived for money. He would only die with his money gripped tightly in his arms. He lived by the sword. He died by the sword. Money was his ‘God’. From money he came, to money he returned. Not dust to dust and ashes to ashes, but cash to cash. And his heaven was the printing press where they print money. That is where he resides in his ‘next world’.

Umno is not a political party. No doubt that is what it once was. But, that, it no longer is. Umno is now a trading house. It is a business. It is the new-age East India Company of Malaya or the Noble House of Hong Kong. It is what the old British companies used to do 200 years ago in this region.

The old Colonial masters used to buy and sell power. And to buy and sell power you need to buy and sell people. And people who could not be bought and sold would be incarcerated or killed. That is the Colonial game. That is the way the British played the power game. But the British are no longer around. They are no longer Malaya’s Colonial masters. We have a new Colonial master. And that Colonial master is called Umno.

I too was offered a deal. Work for the incoming regime, those who will be the new Colonial masters in March 2009, and become filthy rich. To resist is futile. Power can’t be resisted. To resist would mean to incur the wrath of the new masters who will be so in March 2009.

The alternative would be imprisonment. The two choices are simple: work for the powers-that-be and become rich or go to jail. I chose jail. So, two weeks later, on 12 September 2008, they came to my house and sent me to the Kamunting Detention Centre.

But I had good lawyers. And my lawyers did something never before done in the almost 50 years history of the Internal Security Act. They managed to convince the court that my detention was illegal and that I should not be in Kamunting but instead should be sent home. And the judge in the Shah Alam High Court agreed. So he sent me home.

The government is now appealing the Shah Alam High Court decision. They want the Federal Court in Putrajaya to declare that the Shah Alam High Court judge erred and that I should not have been released. This is the final stage of my fight. If they win, I get sent back to Kamunting. There is no further recourse. There is no higher court for me to continue my fight. The Federal Court is the last stop. It is the court of the last resort. I either remain free or I get detained indefinitely.

I asked for seven judges -- at the very least, five. The Federal Court has refused my application. My fate now lies in the hands of only three judges. Seven judges would have been safer. Five would not have been too bad. With only three judges my chances are slimmer. And three men are going to decide whether I continue sleeping in my comfortable bedroom the next few years, until the day I die, or I get to spend my last days in a hellhole.

I could have taken the money. I could have enjoyed the remaining years of my life in comfort. Now, I face the risk of spending my final days as the life of a detainee. But that is how Umno works. They try to buy you. And if they can’t buy you, they kill you. And if killing is not an option, they at least incarcerate you. That is the only game they know how to play.

When Pakatan Rakyat formed the Perak and Selangor state governments soon after 8 March 2008, Umno quickly offered PAS a deal. If PAS was prepared to form a coalition with Umno in Perak and Selangor, they agreed to allow PAS to become the Menteri Besar of these two states. As a sweetener, Umno also agreed that the Islamic law of Hudud be implemented in Perak and Selangor. Umno will give PAS its Hudud that it seeks.

It was a sweet deal. Not only will PAS be running Perak and Selangor and will hold the post of the Chief Operation Officers of these two states, but PAS will also realise its dream of seeing Hudud as the law of the land where it had failed in Kelantan 20 years ago and Terengganu ten years ago.

Sweet deal as it may be, PAS said no. Realising its dream and being in charge is one thing, but they also have to consider their loyalty to their partners, PKR and DAP. They will not betray their partners in Pakatan Rakyat for any amount of money. So PAS said no.

Umno then worked on DAP since PAS was no longer a possibility. The offer was RM10 million for each DAP man who was prepared to cross over. The DAP men and women all declined the extremely attractive offer. RM10 million is a nice figure. That kind of money will go a long way. But there is more to life than money. And no DAP man and woman took the offer.

Okay, buying Perak and Selangor State Assemblymen and women from Pakatan Rakyat is not possible. No one is for sale. So, if you can’t buy them, then kill them. And Umno got a certain MIC man who married his boss’s wife after sleeping with her whenever the boss was out of town to do what he is most good at. They wanted PKR men fixed up.

That was easy. He is an expert at fixing up people. He fixed up his boss. He fixed up his boss’s wife who is now his wife. He can fix up PKR men easily enough. He asked to meet two PKR men. He then arranged for his driver to carry a bagful of money to the appointed meeting place with instructions to drop the bag under the table unseen and unnoticed. He did just as he was told.

No sooner had the bagful of money hit the ground when the Anti-Corruption Agency officers rushed in, picked up the bag, and arrested the two PKR men on allegations of corruption. They did not know what hit them. They did not even realise the bagful of money under the table.

These two PKR men are now missing. They have been missing since the last four days and no one knows where they are. But they are not really missing as such. They are safely in the hands of Umno. And Umno wants them to agree to a deal. Accept RM10 million each and cross over to Umno or else go to jail on corruption charges -- the same deal they offered me and which I declined and which resulted in my detention under the Internal Security Act on 12 September 2008.

The day the two PKR men were picked up and kept under ‘protective custody’, one Umno State Assemblyman crossed over to PKR. That spoilt the whole plan. They needed just two PKR State Assemblymen to bring down the Pakatan Rakyat state government in Perak. Now, with their own Umno man crossing over to PKR, two will no longer be possible. They now need three.

They offered the ex-Umno, now-PKR State Assemblyman the post of Menteri Besar. If he crosses back to Umno and Barisan Nasional grabs the state, he will be made the new Menteri Besar. They need him back or else it would be pointless to blackmail the two PKR State Assemblymen now facing the prospects of jail. Even if they took the RM10 million in exchange for jail, Umno would still not be the government in Perak. They are still one State Assemblyman short.

What irony. Even as they kidnap two PKR State Assemblymen and put a sword at their throats, an Umno State Assemblyman crosses over to thwart their plan. They ‘gently persuade’ the ex-Umno man in their efforts to get him to cross back to Umno. “Altantuya was killed and Bala has disappeared,’ they told him. They are ‘worried’ something may also happen to him if he does not cross back to Umno.

Yes, Umno is in the power business. They buy and sell power. They also buy and sell people in their effort to attain or maintain power. But even as they hatch their evil plots, their own people cross over to the other side. And that caught them with their pants down. Those who live by the sword die by the sword. And that is what happened to Umno in Perak.

Meanwhile, as they try their best to get back Perak through foul means, in other places they run the risk of losing power. In Negeri Sembilan, all Pakatan Rakyat needs are three state seats to oust Barisan Nasional from the state. Umno is watching that state closely lest three Barisan Nasional State Assemblymen cross over to Pakatan Rakyat to help them form the new Negeri Sembilan state government. And Negeri Sembilan is Khairy Jamaluddin’s state, the state he hopes he will one day become Menteri Besar of before he journeys to Putrajaya to take the seat as Prime Minister of Malaysia some time after 2020.

But Khairy no longer has time to worry about Negeri Sembilan. Negeri Sembilan is something in the future. Negeri Sembilan can wait. Khairy has more immediate problems to worry about.

Khairy is no longer in the lead for Umno Youth Leader. Khir Toyo is now in the lead. Of course, it has cost Khir Toyo a colossal amount of money. He has thus far spent hundreds of millions to ensure that he is the hot favourite for Umno Youth Leader. But it is money well spent, as far as he is concerned. After all, it is not his money. It is not money he made pulling out teeth as a dentist. It is money he stole all those years he was the Menteri Besar of Selangor.

Word is out that in April 2009, as soon as Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hands the Prime Ministership to Najib Tun Razak, Khairy will be dead and buried. And Khairy too knows this. But what can he do? He is going to die a day earlier to Pak Lah’s death. He will not be attending Pak Lah’s funeral. Pak Lah will be attending his. This, Najib will see to it.

In the recent Umno Supreme Council meeting, an anti-Pak Lah demonstration was organised in front of the Umno headquarters in the PWTC. It was made to appear like it was organised by NGOs. But the hidden hand of Najib was at work.

Najib suspects that Pak Lah might not hand over the chair to him in March 2009 after all. And the message he wants to send Pak Lah is that he must let go in March and not a day beyond that. So the anti-Pak Lah demonstration was organised to drive this point home.

Many of Pak Lah’s right-hand men are now facing corruption charges. According to the Umno Disciplinary Board, there are 900 cases of ‘money politics’ -- meaning corruption. But they are pursuing only a handful. And these ‘handfuls’ are those aligned to Pak Lah.

They want Pak Lah’s men all out of action before March 2009. Then, come March 2009, Pak Lah will be all alone and isolated. Not only his key men, even Khairy Jamaluddin must be brought down. That would be the only way to ensure that Pak Lah will really go in March 2009 as planned. One Umno man detained for ‘corruption’ alleges that they tortured him and forced him to implicate Khairy as the man behind the move to buy votes.

So, people like Norza Zakaria, Ali Rustam, Azeez Rahman, and the man with two Muhammads in his name, all have their hands full, as does Khairy. They are all fighting their own little battles to stay out of jail. They have no time to worry about Pak Lah. Their own survival is at stake. They are now focused on saving their own necks, leaving Pak Lah to sort out his own problems.

Yes, Umno moves with such brutality. Become rich or go to jail. Retire in comfort or behind the high walls of prisons and detention centres. That is the modus operandi for Umno. They take no prisoners. They kill on the battlefield. It worked for the British Colonialists 200 years ago. It still works for Umno today. But those who live by the sword die by the sword. And Umno is going to discover this soon the hard way.

Meanwhile, watch as those who once walked in the corridors of power fall, one by one. There will be many bodies. You will not see any wounded. It is either you are with us or you are dead meat. There is nothing in between. Who are going to become the victors and who will be those vanquished? No one knows at this stage. But Pak Lah might still stay on beyond March 2009. He has no choice. With the stakes too high and with the ‘winner takes all and loser losses all’ game that Umno is playing, there can only be one left standing at the end of the match. - Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 — Datuk Ahmad Ismail, the man who put race relations on a knife’s edge with his comments about Chinese in Malaysia in August last year, will remain a free man — for the time being.

The police have wrapped up investigations into a sedition charge against him but thanks to the intervention of senior party leaders, the veteran Penang Umno politician is not likely to see the inside of the courtroom anytime soon.

Umno sources told The Malaysian Insider that several delegations of party officials from Penang made representations to the Umno leadership on behalf of Ahmad over the past week, arguing that he has already paid a severe price for calling Chinese “immigrants’’ and “squatters’’ during a political rally in the run-up to the Permatang Pauh by-election.

Ahmad was suspended from holding any positions in Umno for three years by the party’s supreme council. His supporters also pointed out that charging him in court would merely re-ignite debate on race and religious issues and further complicate relations between component parties in Barisan Nasional.

Party officials were also concerned on the impact action against Ahmad could have on the fluid political situation in Umno.

“There is still a concern that some state assemblymen and MPs may be considering jumping over to the opposition. Ahmad Ismail is a popular figure in Umno. He may be vilified outside the party but among party members, there is a great deal of respect for standing up for Malay rights,” said a party official.

Earlier this week, The Malaysian Insider reported that the police had completed their probe into the Umno warlord and that the Attorney-General’s Chambers was on the cusp of ordering that the politician be charged with sedition.

News of this impending action filtered to the party rank and file in Penang and they made a beeline to Putrajaya to plead and cajole on behalf of Ahmad. - The Malaysian Insider

By Zaid Ibrahim

1. The call by Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen, Chairman of The Disciplinary Tribunal, for UMNO to disband its youth, wanita and puteri wings, as part of the measures to curb corruption, has attracted much flack from the party’s senior leaders including Dato Najib Razak. Instead of brushing aside the suggestion, as is the standard response of the party when confronted with something new, they should reflect and try to understand what Tengku Din was trying to tell them. Tengku Din was exasperated with the extent of the corruption permeating the party at all levels.

He was saying that the Disciplinary Tribunal alone could no longer cope with the practice and culture of corruption within the party. As a loyal party man he was trying to politely tell the party leaders that UMNO could no longer be salvaged under the present structure, and under the present crop of leaders I might add.

2. What makes it so difficult for the Tribunal to effectively carry out its functions is the selective prosecution it must practice in the discharge of its duties. Actions can only be taken if required or useful to certain top leaders. The Tribunal lacks clear mandate from the party management in dealing with money politics, UMNO’s euphemism for corrupt practice. When I was suspended for allegedly being involved in money politics, I knew that Tengku Din, although Chairman, was not involved in making the decision. Someone else in the management wanted me out. So an UMNO member will be subject to investigation and harassment if he does not belong to the right camp. Many others will escape with impunity and they can bribe the delegates as much as they want and not get the attention of the Tribunal. So even Tengku Din now realises the futility of having the Disciplinary Tribunal to deal with corrupt practice. I therefore urge Tengku Din to retire and resign from the Tribunal.

3. UMNO leaders who are critical of Tengku Din should also be mindful that they are not supposed to criticise him or the Tribunal. Look what happened to me for criticising the Tribunal and for not wanting to apologise when asked. I got suspended because they said I violated party ethics. UMNO got ethics? Well that’s the true story. So they same fate will fall on Dato Najib and his friends in the Supreme Council. They too may get suspended if they continue to criticise the Disciplinary tribunal or its Chairman.This is of course wishful thinking, as there are rules in UMNO that apply to some but not to others.

Jika demonstrasi besar membantah dasar pengajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam bahasa Inggeris Mac ini masih gagal menarik perhatian kerajaan, pilihanraya umum akan datang boleh dijadikan penentuan akhirnya, kata seorang tokoh sasterawan.

"Jika masih gagal, ia perlu diterjemahkan dalam pilihanraya, sebagai kuasa yang terakhir.

"Gunalah undi secara bijaksana," kata Sasterawan Negara, Datuk A Samad Said kepada Malaysiakini hari ini.

Beliau diminta mengulas tindakan lanjut yang perlu diambil sekiranya perhimpunan raksasa 100,000 rakyat – ala Gabungan Pilihanraya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih) – anjuran Gabungan Mansuhkan PPSMI (GMP) masih tidak dihiraukan kerajaan.

GMP yang dipengerusikan bekas ketua pengarah Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) Datuk Dr Hassan Ahmad merancang mengadakan perhimpunan itu pada 7 Mac bagi menyerahkan memorandum kepada Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-pertuan Agong bagi memohon campur tangan baginda berhubung isu itu.

Sebuah lagi perkumpulan aktivis bahasa Gabungan Penulis Nasional (Gapena) yang dianggotai 24 persatuan penulis di seluruh negara turut mengancam mengadakan "Perarakan Keranda" – dinamakan Keranda 152 – bagi tujuan yang sama, dijadual pertengahan bulan depan.

Gapena juga tetap dengan pendiriannya mengheret kerajaan ke mahkamah berhubung pelaksanaan dasar itu sejak tujuh tahun lalu yang didakwanya melanggar Perkara 152, Perlembagaan Persekutuan – yang menggariskan bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa kebangsaan.

Berhubung rancangan GMP berhimpun besar-besaran, A Samad berkata tindakan generasi muda daripada pelbagai kumpulan bagi tujuan menyatakan bantahan terhadap dasar itu memang wajar.

"Wajar kerana semua sumber lain telah digunakan, tetapi tidak dihiraukan," katanya, yang lebih mesra dipanggil Pak Samad.

Bekas editor kanan Berita Harian dan pengarang pelbagai genre kreatif itu juga menyangkal tanggapan bahawa tindakan berdemonstrasi seperti GMP atau Gapena sebagai "tidak rasional".

Mengulas sama ada aktivis bahasa dan sastera veteran wajar sama-sama turun padang berdemonstrasi, A Samad berkata:

"Orang tua berjuang daripada sisi yang lain. Tetapi tidak bererti tidak berjuang. Sekarang giliran angkatan muda."

Generasi muda sekarang, tambahnya, daripada pelbagai organisasi dan parti politik termasuk Umno mendukung perjuangan bersama itu.

Selasa lalu, A Samad hadir dalam mesyuarat GMP bagi membincangkan siri bantahan terhadap PPSMI di bangunan Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri (SUK) Selangor.

Turut terlibat dalam perbincangan itu beberapa tokoh sastera dan politik, termasuklah Timbalan Presiden PAS Nasharuddin Mat Isa yang menganggotai jawatankuasa induk GMP.

Ditanya sama ada kemunculannya itu boleh menjejaskan imejnya sebagai tokoh sasterawan yang tidak partisan selama ini, A Samad menjelaskan, kehadiran beliau berdasarkan isu, bukan pihak yang mendukung gerakan tersebut.

"Saya tidak boleh terlepas daripada apa yang bergelora (dasar PPSMI)," jelasnya.

"Orang kiri jemput saya pergi (hadir), orang kanan jemput saya pergi."

Esok, kira-kira 500 pencinta bahasa dijangka memenuhi ruang depan kompleks membeli-belah Sogo di Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman membantah pelaksanaan PPSMI.

Beberapa tokoh utama bahasa seperti penyair Dinsman, bekas profesor bahasa Dr Abdullah Hassan dan penulis Ainon Mohd akan turut serta.

Pak Samad diura-urakan akan turut serta buat pertama kali dalam program sebegitu.

Sewaktu ditanya penyertaannya esok, sasterawan kelahiran Singapura itu bagaimanapun masih mahu berteka-teki.

"Awak tengoklah esok," katanya, sambil ketawa kecil.

A Samad menerima gelaran tertinggi dalam dunia kesusasteraan tanah air pada 1986.

Selain itu, beliau yang terkenal dengan novel Salina – mengisahkah keperitan hidup seorang pelacur di Singapura akibat perang – turut dianugerahkan SEA Write Award daripada kerajaan Thailand. - Malaysiakini