Ujian mengajar dan pengalaman mendewasakan. Arakian satelah hiruk-pikuk awal menuntut hak calun yang mewakili kelompok masing-masing, bercambahlah senarai calun.

Ada yang mendakwa wakil kabilah, kaum, agama tidak dilayani. Dan tambah panas suasana manakala terdapat tokoh daerah yang memimpin parti menganggap diri mereka terlalu layak dan parti akan hancur sekiranya mereka tidak dipilih.

Alhamdulillah dan syabas kepada rakyat, dan khususnya pengundi Bukit Selambau yang memilih agenda perubahan KeADILan dan Pakatan Rakyat dan bukannya telatah bengis atau ugutan.

Semuga ianya menjadi pengajaran buat kita semua. Yang mengkhianati perjuangan kerana harta, takhta atau dendam kesumat akan dihumban olih rakyat.

Demikianlah gesaan saya di Bukit Selambau pagi semalam, dan kepada pimpinan KeADILan Pulau Pinang dan Permatang Pauh petang semalam.

ANWAR IBRAHIM

Press Statement by Dato’ Chang Ko Youn 
Gerakan Deputy President
Chang: I do not agree with Muhyiddin’s assessment of Chinese voters

13/4/2009

Gerakan Deputy President, Dato’ Chang Ko Youn today criticised the remarks made by Deputy Prime Minister, Y.A.B. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Chinese voters in an interview with Mingguan Malaysia over the weekend.

“I have to respectfully disagree with the remarks made by Tan Sri Muhyiddin on Chinese voters. While it is true that many voted for the Pakatan Rakyat in the Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau By-Elections; we must investigate why they did so,” said Chang.

Dato’ Chang added that based on his interaction with Chinese voters in Bukit Gantang, many of them find it hard to associate with the Barisan Nasional because they believe that the Barisan Nasional no longer upholds the very best of Malaysia.

“The conventional wisdom of dolling out allocations no longer works because many see it as a disingenuous attempt to gain votes. Their problems must be handled continuously and dishing out allocations before any by-election is not effective and convincing anymore. The more substantive issues of corruption, abuse of power and equity in national leadership and government delivery system must be dealt with first; only then the voters who deserted the BN in 308 will be ready to return,” commented Chang.

Dato’ Chang also felt that greater emphasis must be placed on Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s One Malaysia concept because the focus of uniting Malaysia under the One Malaysia “People First, Performance Now” agenda is a winner because it promotes fairness and equity, and gives real meaning to the Barisan Nasional struggle.

“Many were taken with the mantra of fairness and justice of the Pakatan Rakyat. We do not need a wizard to tell us what we need to do to remain as the Government. We cannot have separate campaigns for separate communities. Our focus should be on what unites Malaysians and not what divides us. I am certain if we move away from ethnocentric campaigning and strategies, and adopt a cohesive and universal messages the voters would trust us more. We do not want to start a blame game in examining reasons for the defeat. We must look for the revival plan collectively.” said Chang.

From TV Antara

Press Statement issued by MCA Spokesperson and Central Committee member Sdr. Lee Wei Kiat in taking exception to remarks by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Bukit Gantang that “(sokongan kaum Cina) mencatatkan penurunan, macam tidak ada penghargaan terhadap apa yang kita lakukan (the drop in Chinese support is like as if there is no appreciation towards what we (BN) are doing)” as reported in Utusan Malaysia on 10 April 2009

MCA takes exception to remarks that the drop in Chinese support for BN is due to the Chinese being unappreciative

While welcoming YAB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the new Deputy Prime Minster of Malaysia, MCA takes exception to his remarks during an interview in Utusan Malaysia published on 10 April 2009 that “(sokongan kaum Cina) mencatatkan penurunan, macam tidak ada penghargaan terhadap apa yang kita lakukan (the drop in Chinese support is like as if there is no appreciation towards what we (BN) are doing).”

Malay votes also didn’t pull BN through (more…)

By Kim Quek

Unusual occurrences on the day before Najib Razak’s swearing-in as prime minister have raised questions on the royal consent to his appointment. From the time Najib left the palace ground at 12.15 hrs on April 2, after an audience with the King, the nation was kept in darkness for seven hours as to whether the King had given his consent to Najib’s premiership.

It was not until 19.38 hrs that the first newsbreak came from Bernama stating that Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Sidek Hassan announced that the King had given his consent to Najib’s appointment and that Najib would swear-in at 10.00 hrs the next day – which was the time previously circulated by the government. Was it not most extraordinary that the nation was kept in suspense for so many hours when the ceremony was only hours away? What was the reason for this big delay in announcement? Was there any problem with the royal consent?

That something was amiss was apparent in the morning of April 2 when then Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi went alone to meet the King, contradicting Najib’s disclosure on the preceding day (April 1) that he was invited by Abdullah to accompany the latter to meet the King for the royal consent to Abdullah’s resignation and Najib’s appointment.

(more…)

Terik matahari dan hari bekerja buat warga Bukit Selambau tidak menghalang mereka untuk menghadiri acara perasmian Pusat Khidmat Bukit Selambau. Hadir sama ialah YB Ahmad Kasim, YB Dato Rashid Din, YB Senator Zamry, YB Gobala dan mantan Naib Presiden PPP Dato V. Nadarajan.

Majlis ini juga menyaksikan YB Manikumar melafazkan ikrar untuk berkhidmat demi rakyat tanpa mengira sempadan kaum, agama dan perbezaan fahaman politik. Arus perjuangan baru untuk bangsa sangat diperlukan di saat politik lama masih tegar dianuti oleh segelintir walaupun diberi bungkusan baru. Saya mengucapkan semoga berjaya kepada rakan-rakan yang masih bersama-sama dengan proses pembungkusan semula tersebut.

Saya mengambil kesempatan ini untuk sekali lagi mengucapkan setinggi-tinggi penghargaan kepada penduduk Bukit Selambau kerana memilih Perubahan dan kerana memilih PKR.

Acara kedua pagi tadi membawa saya ke jamuan rakyat di Pekan Bukit Selambau. Hidangan yang maseh panas dari kawah sangat menyelerakan. Majlis kesyukuran yang serba sederhana ini hendaknya diberkati Allah S.W.T.

Dari Bukit Selambau saya menuju ke Permatang Pauh, mengambil kesempatan menziarahi rakan seperjuangan yang sedang terlantar di Hospital Seberang Jaya. Kelihatannya hospital ini sesak dan perlu ada langkah segera dari kementerian kesihatan bagi memastikan perkhidmatan kesihatan yg selesa. Janganlah pula kerana Permatang Pauh sekarang di tangan Pakatan Rakyat pihak kementerian mengabaikan kesejahteraan semua.

Pada sebelah petangnya akan ada mesyuarat bahagian dan perhubungan negeri. Kemenangan pilihanraya kecil tidak boleh dijadikan alasan untuk pendokong PKR leka dan enak diulit khayal. Usaha penerangan serta pemantapan tekad juga iltizam perjuangan perlu diperhebat. Ahli parti perlu diingatkan rasuah dan gagal melaksanakan tanggungjawab hanya akan mengundang kekalahan. Kita tidak perlu kepada mereka yang sengaja menghampakan amanah rakyat.

ANWAR IBRAHIM

Perjalanan saya ke Ipoh petang semalam ditemani hujan, agak lebat di sesetengah tempat, namun alhamdulillah semuanya selamat. Setibanya di Ipoh rombongan saya terus dibawa menuju ke kediaman YB Bukit Gantang yang baru Dato Seri Nizar di Sungai Rokam.

Sempat pandangan saya terarah kepada kehadiran anggota polis yang agak ramai dari biasa di sekitar kawasan tersebut. Sudah tentu mereka hadir bukan untuk menjaga keselamatan saya yang selaku Ketua Pembangkang ini. Rupanya ceramah malam itu masih tidak diberi permit walhal acaranya di dalam dewan tertutup.

Ingatkan berkemundangnya slogan Perubahan mengiringi kabinet baru ini keadaan akan berubah.

ANWAR IBRAHIM

Kajian oleh Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (Perc)tahun ini menunjukkan prestasi kehakiman Hong Kong serta Singapura mendahului kita. Malaysia masih jauh di belakang Jepun, Taiwan dan Filipina. Kajian yang mengambil kira pandangan 1537 eksekutif korporat yang bekerja di Asia itu sudah tentu menghambat usaha memulihkan ekonomi negara yang sedang mengalami kemelesetan.

Tambahan lagi angka mahupun maklumat yang boleh dijadikan rujukan prestasi ekonomi negara memperlihatkan kemungkinan yang merisaukan. Pengumuman Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) bahawa jumlah penumpang yang menggunakan lapangan terbang di bawah kendaliannya jatuh sebanyak 9.2% menjadikan hanya 3.274 juta penumpang pada Febuari 2009 berbanding 3.606 juta pada bulan Febuari tahun lepas.

Berulang kali saya ungkapkan manakala pentingnya jumlah dana utk ransangan ekonomi, memulihkan keyakinan umum termasuk komuniti pembentuk pendapat adalah ciri penting yang tidak boleh diketepikan ketika berhadapan dengan kegawatan kewangan. Komentar para pakar ekonomi menunjukkan pemantapan permintaan domestik memainkan peranan penting, dan ini tidak dapat dilakukan sekiranya rakyat tidak berkeyakinan terhadap pengurusan ekonomi.

ANWAR IBRAHIM