By James Chin, The Canberra Times
Former deputy prime minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim won a crucial by-election for the parliamentary seat of Pemantang Pauh on Tuesday. That Anwar was going to win was never in doubt. He was first elected to the seat in the early 1980s and his wife became MP when he was jailed in 1988. Last month, she resigned from the seat so Anwar could get back into Parliament.
What was unexpected was the huge margin of victory. Anwar’s wife won the seat in the March general elections with slightly more than 13,000-vote majority. Many had expected Anwar to win by about 10,000 votes rather than the nearly 16,000 votes he took on Tuesday.
The ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition poured everything it had into the campaign. Led by the Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, the BN promised nearly 60million ringgit (about $A20million) worth of development.
Almost every minister visited the constituency offering more goodies if Anwar was defeated. The BN has spent millions in trying to discredit Anwar, using the mainstream media and giant video screens spread all over the constituency, to remind voters that Anwar is under criminal indictment for sodomy.
Sodomy is a serious offence under Islam and more than 60 per cent of Pemantang Pauh’s voters are Malay Muslims. The BN showed a tape of Anwar’s accuser swearing on the Koran that he was sodomised by Anwar. Malay voters were told also that Anwar was a race traitor.
Anwar champions the removal of the New Economic Policy, or NEP. Under the guise of affirmative action, this policy discriminates against the non-Malay population in all areas of political and economic life.
Special scholarships, bank loans, contracts and even a university were established exclusively for the Malays. While it was initially popular among the Malay population and deeply resented by non-Malays, in recent years, the younger, better educated, Malays have become critics of the NEP.
It is a known fact that the NEP has enriched only those with link to the United Malays National Organisation, the ruling party, and that poorer Malays have benefited much less. Some Malays who supported opposition parties were even denied access to the NEP.
Younger Malays are starting to realise that the NEP, far from helping them, is actually a tool for UMNO to manipulate and buy its political support from the Malay community. The culture of corruption created by the NEP has reached the plateau that a large segment of the Malay community has decided that the only way to get rid of the corruption is to get rid of the NEP and UMNO. They also want an end to racial politics in Malaysia pioneered by the BN, and UMNO in particular.
UMNO’s ideology of ”Ketuanan Melayu” or Malay Supremacy has meant open and blatant racial discrimination against the non-Malay population.
One senior Chinese minister described UMNO’s relationship with its non-Malay parties in the BN parties as akin to a ”master-slave” relationship. Race relations are now much worse after 50 years of independence.
Anwar has promised to replace the NEP with the Malaysian Economic Policy, or MEP, which does not have racial criteria. The overwhelmingly majority of the younger population sees this as the only real long-term solution to racial polarisation.
Anwar has promised that he will engineer the defection of about 30 MPs from the BN by the middle of September, and he will take over as prime minister then. There is every reason to believe that Anwar is capable of doing this, although the BN will still try to do its best to stop him. The BN will do its best to make sure that Anwar is convicted of sodomy.
It does not matter that more than 80 per cent of the population thinks that the sodomy allegations are politically motivated. The only political game Malaysia now, at least among UMNO, is to stop Anwar. The security apparatus will also be used against Anwar’s allies. Several leaders in Anwar’s parties have been arrested for corruption, and bloggers who are sympathetic to Anwar are being sued for defamation and publishing false reports on the internet.
The Government is also expected to pass laws that restrict political chatter on the internet, and crack down harder on civil society groups. The BN is still a powerful political machine and when it is threatened, it moves back to its authoritarian mode.
There is every reason to believe that there will be mass arrests under the Internal Security Act to stop Anwar from becoming prime minister.
There are too many vested interests that will stop at nothing to make sure that their corruption and past misdeeds are not exposed by Anwar’s new administration.
They have every reason to fear the consequences of an Anwar ascendancy. When Anwar’s party took power in several states after the March general elections, they exposed shady land deals and government contracts worth millions. A Morgan Stanley report published a few years ago says that corruption has cost Malaysia the equivalent of more than $110billion in the past 30 years. The NEP was promulgated about 30 years ago and it was only after the NEP came into being that ”money politics” became synonymous with UMNO.
If Anwar eventually becomes Malaysia’s prime minister, it will be one of Asia’s most remarkable political comeback tales. The closest one to it is that of Kim Dae Jung. Sometimes called the Nelson Mandela of Asia, Kim was nearly killed by South Korea’s intelligence service in the 1970s, imprisoned, put under house arrest, sentenced to death for sedition and banned from politics. Kim managed to overcome all these obstacles before becoming South Korea’s president from 1998 to 2003.
*James Chin teaches at Monash University’s campus in Malaysia.
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LIVE FROM KELANA JAYA – CERAMAH 916 HARI MALAYSIA
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There can be miracles, when you believe …
http://thexstories.blogspot.com/2008/09/exodus-or-exile.html
Keep dreaming, keep believing, dreams may just come true …
http://thexstories.blogspot.com/2008/09/916-dream-along-with-pakatan-rakyat.html
More updates ..
http://thexblogs.blogspot.com/
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Kebelakangan ini dekat 916,kita dpt lihat banyak org bodoh muncul dikaca tv.Kerja pelik-pelik,maka ada propanganda yg tak masuk akal.Syukurlah,baru kita dpt tahu adanya MP-MP yg sekongkong juga.Mai kita lihat,beberapa kes aneh,RPK membuat akuan sumpah,rumahnya dah berapakali digeladah.(polis profesional pantang dipertikaikan)Apa akan menjadi tension perkauman?(ini profesional rakyat nak bagi tau ni)Siapa dok bagi tau ketuanan melayu (tentulah si UMNO)Dok diapi-apikan tu siapa ni.Yg polis tu katanya pro,tapi api-api disengajakan ,datang dari mana ni.(mungkin jelik huruf)Kalau polis tu bersungguhan ni,dah lama ahli-ahli BN penuh kat sungai buluh.Disini bknya sya nak menyakitkan sesiapa.Sebaliknya tlglah rakyat senegara,jgn krn adanya pangkat atau jawatan berserta tawaran.Maka nasib rakyat diabaikan.Kita kena tau politik tu bagai nostagia yg berterusan.Kita kena fikir keadaan ekonomi yg dpt membantu negara.Jikalau ekonomi amat membanggakan maka jenayah akan berkurangan.Jika rakyat dpt menikmati ekonomi yg memberangsang,siapa dok kisah u lbh banyak i lbh kurang.Ni tidak,yg depa tu dok pakai harta karun negara,then pulak dgn agenda perkauman.(biarlah rakyat berdendam )Pleaselah ,hampir 1/4 penduduk dunia adalah umat islam.1/4 dpt penduduk dunia dpt menerima dan hidup makmur tanpa sebarang gangguan.Apakah betul agama tidak blh dipertikaikan?Pada zaman nabi,apakah kaum kerabat semua arab tu islam.Tetapi kesabaran,dan kekuatan iman,menunjukan kebenaran.akhirnya seluruh arab mengamalkan islam.Yg RPK tu ,cuba memahamkan kepentingan dan pegangan agama,last sekali merengkuk kat ISA.ISA tu amat bercanggah dgn agama islam.(kalau dikuti bererti apa dia ?berapa sudah keilmuan agama depa tu)Diharap semua tahanan ISA ,di perbebaskan secepat mungkin.Kami nak beritau ,tapi cuma kat sini saja berkemampuan.(sbb mana2 suratkhabar takan layan)
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Kerajaan baru ditubuhkan esok
15 September 2008 625 views 9 Comments
Anwar Ibrahim sebentar tadi berkata bahawa kerajaan baru akan ditubuhkan esok. “Malam ini ialah malam Hari Malaysia. Esok, kita bersedia untuk menubuhkan kerajaan baru.”
Beliau memberitahu bahawa Pakatan Rakyat sudah mempunyai cukup Ahli Parlimen untuk membentuk kerajaan dan sepucuk surat telah dihantar kepada Abdullah Badawi untuk memastikan peralihan kuasa yang licin.
“Esok , kita sudah bersedia untuk menubuh kerajaan tetapi masa yang sesuai, bergantung selepas pertemuan dengan Abdullah Badawi.”
Beliau berkata demikin dihadapan lebih 25,000 penyokong Pakatan rakyat diStadium Kelana Jaya untuk menyambut Hari Malaysia.
Anwar memulakan ucapan pada jam 10.15 pm berakhir sebentar tadi.
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DSAI…maintain the fortes of DEB. As what James Chin quoted above “It is a known fact that the NEP has enriched only those with link to the United Malays National Organisation, the ruling party, and that poorer Malays have benefited much less. Some Malays who supported opposition parties were even denied access to the NEP.
Younger Malays are starting to realise that the NEP, far from helping them, is actually a tool for UMNO to manipulate and buy its political support from the Malay community. The culture of corruption created by the NEP has reached the plateau that a large segment of the Malay community has decided that the only way to get rid of the corruption is to get rid of the NEP and UMNO”
SO…I believe the true spirit of DEB will have its life once the UMNO-Led government is toppled.
Do away with Malay privileges is same like infringing Federal Constitutional.
Can I say one analogy ” we are a visitor to someone who is the Tuan Rumah, then we as a visitor want the same as what Tan Rumah has”
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ANAK MALAYSIA Reply:
September 16th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
in my opinion, MALAYSIA ECONOMIC POLICY(MEP) WHICH WILL REPLACE NEW ECONOMIC POLICY(NEP) CAN MAKE THE PEOPLES LING MUCH BETTER,MAKING PELOPLES LIVE TOGETHER AS ONE AND NO RACIST.
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DSAI,
DONT WORRY…WE WILL ALWAYS SUPPROT YOU AND UR PAKATAN RAKYAT 2 MAKE SURE ABDULLAH 2 HANDOVER THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PEACEFULLY,NOT BY FORCE.
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Datuk Seri
I am looking towards Malaysia becoming a country that is justly rule with all form of injustices removed, where the people become secure in their own right in every sphere of its endeavor. I am looking forward to you taking you role to do just that. Please consider the health and personal safety of YM Raja Petra and MP Teresa Kok, and host of others languishing in Kamuting.
Thank you.
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view from the moon Reply:
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:14 am
Hi Moses,
Plse do not just make wishes here and there…or simply say ” i am looking forward etc etc…”. So easy is it ?
We want action from you. Don’t know what to do ?
1. go out and print 50 PKR T-shirts and distribute to friends.
2. Wear it every night when you go buy supper.
3. Spread the news that you are a PKR supporter.
4. Do all these and show us you have played your part…
Only then you have earned the right to say ” I look forward …”..
Otherwise, its like drawing the picture of a cake and say ” I am full already after looking at the cake instead of eating it”.
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Salam DSAI,
Tidak adakah perancangan DSAI untuk menghapuskan sekolah cina / india, saya kira tidak adil untuk orang Melayu jika mereka membenarkan NEP dihapuskan dan digantikan dengan MEA tetapi sekolah cina / india dibenar diteruskan. Sekurang-kurangnya mesti ada timbal balik dari kaum cina / india terhadap pengorbanan orang Melayu melepaskan NEP.
Lagipun jika benar orang cina / india benar-benar ikhlas terhadap bangsa Malaysia, maka wajiblah sekolah itu dihapuskan supaya anak-anak kecil dibiasakan bergaul diantara kaum. Dalam masa yang sama, penghapusan sekolah cina / india tidak bermaksud pembelajaran Mandarin / Tamil tidak boleh diajar langsung. Ia boleh diajar disekolah kebangsaan sebagai subjek pilihan dan di sini, anak orang Melayu pun boleh berpeluang mempelajarinya.
Salam.
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ANAK MALAYSIA Reply:
September 16th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
aku,
bertenang……soal pendidikan kita serahkan saja kepada yang pakar dalam hal pendidikan.Dengan adanya MALAYSIA ECONOMIC POLICY(MEP),ia boleh jadi penyelamat kepada sistem pendidikan yang sedia ada…..so kita berdoa kepada ALLAH SWT agar segalanya berjalan dengan lancar.
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view from the moon Reply:
September 22nd, 2008 at 12:28 am
Hello Aku,
If there is a war now, we will all fight the invaders, we the indians / chinese / kadazan , iban and malays…not just malays fighting.
In short, we are all equal. We are all Malaysian. If you still talk and think like old BN about the chinese / indians having to give up something, then you are fooling yourself….
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While some PR supporters feel that Anwar should not have publicised the date 16/9 as it might backfire PR and the rakyat when the Govt start pulling all kinds of strategies to ensure the day doesn’t happen … I have always felt that it was a strategy, a good one actually from PR (Anwar particularly) coz it would shake the BN and force them to make more mistakes, give a good momentum to the PR, a way to encourage feedback by the rakyat as to the very idea, and a sense of hope for the rakyat. Anwar is a really talented politician, no doubt. Hope his talents are put to good use and not misuse (like our ex-PM) always.
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