From AFP
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — Malaysia’s opposition celebrated Wednesday after big wins in by-elections seen as a rebuke to Prime Minister Najib Razak less than a week after he was sworn into office.
The votes were the first test for Najib and his ambitious agenda to reform the ruling party UMNO — which represents majority Muslim Malays — and repair ties with the nation’s ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.
Analysts said it provided a snapshot of the public mood one year after the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional coalition was humbled in general elections that saw the opposition gain unprecedented ground.
“It is a referendum on the Barisan Nasional government, on its inability to carry out promises and reforms since the March 8 elections,” opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told a press conference.
“Our support among the people is clearly increasing,” he said of progress made since the 2008 elections, when the opposition won five of Malaysia’s 13 states and a third of seats in parliament.
KUALA LUMPUR – THE defeat of Malaysia’s ruling coalition in two by-elections signals a clear rejection of new Prime Minister Najib Razak, the opposition said on Wednesday, voicing concern he will resort to repression to cement his power.
The ruling coalition brushed off the losses, saying Mr Najib needs more time to make an impression.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said his People’s Alliance increased the margin of victories in Tuesday’s polls despite Mr Najib’s pledge of wide-ranging reforms after taking office last Friday.
‘Clearly, it is a referendum (on Najib) because the entire line of (the government’s) campaign was that ‘We have a new leader, give him a chance.’ That has crumbled,’ he told reporters. The results ‘demonstrated that the people of Malaysia remain committed to change,’ he said. The three-member People’s Alliance retained a Parliament seat in northern Perak state and a state seat in northern Kedah state.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s opposition celebrated yesterday after winning two of three by-elections, less than a week after Prime Minister Najib Razak was sworn into office.
The votes were the first test for Mr Najib and his ambitious agenda to reform the ruling party UMNO, which represents majority Muslim Malays, and repair ties with ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.
Analysts said it provided a snapshot of the public mood a year after the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional Coalition was humbled in general elections.
“It is a referendum on the Barisan Nasional government, on its inability to carry out promises and reforms since the March 8 elections,” opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said. “Our support among the people is clearly increasing.”
MCA mengadakan mesyuarat tergempar barisan pemimpin kanannya pagi ini – dipercayai tidak berpuas hati dengan keputusan Datuk Seri Najib Razak – susulan rombakan kabinet perdana menteri yang dijangka lebih kecil.
Pertemuan itu diadakan di Kementerian Pengangkutan di Putrajaya selepas presidennya Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, yang juga menteri pengangkutan, bertemu perdana menteri baru kelmarin.
Dalam sidang media selepas mesyuarat selama 90 minit itu, Ong berkata MCA menggesa Najib mengekalkan kuota parti itu – rakan komponen kedua terbesar dalam BN – seperti sejak pembentukan gabungan itu pada 1974.
The results are in, and the 2-1 victory shows that both Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional held onto their original seats. But the final tallies do not suggest a status quo. Far from it.
The larger majorities for the opposition indicate serious obstacles for Najib Abdul Razak and BN. Voters have decisively rejected his new leadership less than one week into his tenure. The debate will not only centre on the numbers, but around the factors that contributed to BN defeats.
Alhamdulillah, saya panjatkan rasa penuh kesyukuran ke hadrat Allah S.W.T di atas kemenangan pilihan raya kecil pada 7hb April 2009.
Syabas saya ucapkan kepada pengundi di Bukit Selambau, Bukit Gantang dan Batang Ai. Sokongan yang anda berikan menjadi bukti kekuatan rakyat untuk berani berhadapan dengan kekuasaan. Undi yang telah anda berikan untuk Pakatan Rakyat menjadi saksi akan kemahuan yang kuat menuntut Perubahan.
Tahniah saya ucapkan kepada para calon dan petugas Pakatan Rakyat kerana bekerja keras untuk memastikan kejayaan hari ini. Kemantapan kerjasama di antara Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Pas dan Dap semakin hari semakin utuh.
Kemenangan di Bukit Selambau dan Bukit Gantang serta sokongan pengundi Batang Ai membuktikan rakyat masih yakin terhadap kepimpinan Pakatan Rakyat untuk terus menerajui perjuangan menuntut Perubahan bagi mencipta Malaysia Baru yang adil dan saksama. Hari ini rakyat menghantar mesej yang jelas. Mereka mahukan Perubahan yang nyata, bukan sekadar janji politik untuk terus kekal berkuasa.
Kemenangan Dato’ Seri Nizar di Bukit Gantang merupakan satu referendum agar dikembalikan Kerajaan Perak yang sah. Rakyat menuntut agar Dewan Undangan Negeri dibubarkan dan pilihanraya diadakan di seluruh Negeri Perak.
Kepada pendukung Pakatan Rakyat di Batang Ai, kita berhasil mengungkapkan isu tanah adat dan peminggiran rakyat yang terjadi di Sarawak. Parti Keadilan Rakyat dan Pakatan Rakyat akan terus berjuang membawa Perubahan kepada rakyat Negeri Sarawak.
Sekali lagi kewibawaan proses pilihanraya menjadi pertikaian. Pengiraan awal yang tidak dilakukan di tempat pembuangan undi serta penggunaan helikopter untuk mengangkut membuka ruang kepada penipuan. Ini seharusnya menjadi pembakar semangat untuk terus bekerja keras membawa Perubahan, bukan sahaja di Batang Ai, tetapi juga di segenap pelusuk tanah air.
Walaupun berulang kali berhadapan dengan kekerasan, fitnah dan ugutan penguasa, ianya tidak akan
menghambat kami dari menunaikan janji yang telah diberikan. Pakatan Rakyat akan terus mempertahankan keluhuran Perlembagaan dan berusaha melaksanakan agenda serta dasar untuk membantu sesiapa sahaja yang terpinggir tanpa berasaskan kaum. Pakatan Rakyat tidak akan sesekali mengkhianati amanah yang telah diberikan rakyat ini.
Saya menyeru rakyat Malaysia untuk tetap bersama-sama dengan agenda Perubahan dan Pakatan Rakyat. Sudah tiba masanya kita meniup nafas segar kepada demokrasi dan memperkukuhkan kembali kedaulatan undang-undang di negara ini.
TAIPING (April 7, 2009) : The Pakatan Rakyat convincingly retained the Bukit Gantang parliamentary seat today with a “landslide” majority of 2, 789 votes.
Former Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad, garnered 21, 860 votes in the three-cornered fight against Barisan Nasional (BN)’s Ismail Saffian who obtained 19, 071 votes while independent candidate Kamarul Ramizu Idris, received only 62 votes.
A total of 41, 626 voters or 75.1% of the registered voters casted their ballots which was higher than the 72.4% turnout during the general election last year. There were 456 spoiled votes.
The parliamentary seat which fell vacant following the death of PAS MP Roslan Shaharum, of a heart attack on Feb 9,
Roslan had secured the seat with a majority of 1, 566 votes also in a three-cornered fight against BN’s Datuk Seri Abdul Azim Mohd Zabidi and independent candidate M. Mohganan during the general election last year.
Meeting the Press after the announcement of result was made by the Election Commission returning officer Datuk Mahmud Mursidi at 9.40pm, Mohammad Nizar, 52, said he was very happy that PR had won the by-election.
“As a MP for Bukit Gantang, I will do my job cleanly, proudly, justly and transparently…
“The result is a great signal to the federal government that the people do not want any more corruption and injustice. They want fairness, justice, good governance and a good democratic system,” he told reporters.
“I think this election, with the majority that I have been given by the voters actually sends a lot of signals to everyone….. even to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that the people want good governance.
TAIPING, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysia’s premier Najib Razak was dealt a rebuke by voters Tuesday, losing two of three by-elections seen as a referendum on support for his new leadership and promised reforms.
The votes were the first test for Najib, who was sworn in last Friday, and provided a snapshot of the public mood one year after the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition was humbled in disastrous general elections.
The coalition won one of Tuesday’s ballots, for a seat in the state parliament in Sarawak on Borneo island, with a convincing majority that showed it remains the dominant political force in the underdeveloped region.
But the opposition scored a landslide victory in the most prominent of the three polls, in Bukit Gantang in northern Perak state, claiming another seat in the national parliament and a major boost to its credibility.
It also won the hotly contested third election, for a seat in the state parliament of northern Kedah.
KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — The win by Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin, the ousted mentri besar of Perak, in tonight’s by-election in Bukit Gantang will likely place additional pressure on the Barisan Nasional state government, say some political analysts.
The by-election was widely perceived to be a referendum of sorts on whether Pakatan Rakyat’s Nizar or BN’s Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir, who was sworn in by the Sultan of Perak in February, is the people’s choice.
“The result will increase pressure on the present state government to deliver on their promises because in some ways, the Bukit Gantang by-election is a referendum on who the people of Perak want as the state government,” says Ibrahim Suffian of Merdeka Centre, a political science and economics research firm. “The margin of victory is a validation that the state votes for the Pakatan Rakyat remain intact and if a statewide election is held, the results will be similar.”
Apr 7, 2009 Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia’s ruling National Front coalition suffered another major bruising by the opposition alliance when it managed to win only one out of three special by-elections held Tuesday.
The parliamentary elections were held simultaneously for the Bukit Gantang seat in the northern state of Perak, in Bukit Selambau in neighbouring Kedah state and in the Batang Ai constituency in the eastern state of Sarawak on Borneo island.
The National Front coalition of multi-ethnic parties succeeded in retaining only the Batang Ai state legislative seat, but lost its Bukit Selambau constituency and the parliamentary seat of Bukit Gantang to the opposition.
While the election results will not see any changes in power of the federal government, the polls are a slap in the face for newly appointed Prime Minister Najib Razak and the Front, both suffering from negative public approval ratings.
TAIPING, Malaysia (Reuters) – Malaysia’s new prime minister suffered an early blow after just four days in power when the opposition scored a big win in a tense by-election that was billed as a referendum on his premiership.
Facing the worst recession since the Asian financial crisis of a decade ago, voters turned out in large numbers in the poor northwestern state of Perak in a parliamentary election triggered by the death of the MP.
The Pan-Malaysian Islamist Party (PAS) said the result in which their majority for that seat rose to 2,789 votes from 1,566 votes was a judgement by the people of a putsch staged by Prime Minister Najib Razak this year to seize power in the state.
“People are just sick with the political turmoil in Perak and this is an indictment on them (the government),” PAS Deputy President Nasharudin Mat Isa said after the results.
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