Young first-timers - are they the GE15 kingmakers?...

The 15th general election will be the first nationwide election after the implementation of automatic voter registration and the lowering of voting age from 21 to 18 following the adoption of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019. It remains to be seen whether first-time voters, in particular the 18-year-olds, will become the “kingmakers” in the coming election. 

According to the latest electoral roll released by the election commission, a total of 21,173,638 Malaysians are eligible to vote in the upcoming election, an increase of 6,233,014 or 41.72% from the 14,940,624 in the 2018 election. In other words, if half of these first-time voters do come out and vote next month, their ballots should decide who will get to rule after GE15.

There was strong anti-establishment sentiment among young voters who came out in droves to vote for Pakatan and PAS in 2018. Unfortunately, very few first-timers turned up in the recent Johor state election.

Although as many as 1.43 million took part in this state election, the voter turnout was merely 54.92%, down sharply from the 74.5% recorded in 2018, and was the lowest among the four state elections held since the last general election. This means the drastic increase in the number of new voters will not assure us of high voter turnout.

Many might have the misperception that all first-timers are young people. Not true! Based on EC statistics, only 1,393,549 among the first-time voters are aged between 18 and 20, or a meager 6.58% of the total.

It is great that people reaching the age of 18 are now allowed to elect their representatives, but the thing is, the education these people have received at school does not imbue them with the awareness of exercising their citizens’ rights. Very few among the 18-year-olds are actually aware of the importance of the ballots in their hands.

These first-time voters can broadly be categorized into three groups. The first group comprises university students and people working in urban areas. This group of people generally have stronger political awareness and are more inclined to vote for PH.

The second group is youngsters living with their parents, and they are more likely to vote for the same people their parents will vote, especially if they are in rural areas. Their parents are predominantly BN supporters.

The last group is people totally indifferent to politics who have never before registered themselves as voters, and may not even be aware that they are already automatically registered this time. These people are relatively older. Although we do not have any official figures, their number is believably significant.

Sure enough there are also fence-sitters among the first-timers who cannot make up their minds whom to vote until the last minute. A Merdeka Center survey among youngsters early last year showed that more than two-thirds of respondents were uninterested in politics, no thanks to the political chaos prevalent over the past several years.

The survey also showed that 78% of respondents felt that politics and governance looked too complicated to them such that they couldn’t really understand what was going on, while 66% believed government officials and politicians were not keen on what they were thinking.

Such phenomenon is by no means unique to Malaysia. A 2020 New York Times survey among readers in 24 countries indicated poor voter turnout among the young people. From the outcome of the Johor state election, we saw that not all first-time voters were PH supporters. Many of them cast their ballots in favor of BN and PN instead.

In other words, any political alliance can potentially win the favor of first-time voters. If they can satisfy the demands of these voters and offer better promises to solve their problems, they stand a good chance of winning their hearts. To most young Malaysians, the most pressing issue is job prospect.

It is a big challenge for political parties to try to convince first-timers to come out and vote on November 19. But before that, they will have to think out of the box and map out their strategies with a new mindset in order to win over these new voters. We should be able to get a better picture of these new voters’ inclination after the nomination day, by gauging the response of candidates’ online ceramahs. - MySinchew 

Liow Tiong Lai-The RM24,000 number plate,

RM600,000 Toyota Alphard bribe & sex DVD scandals....

Liow Tiong Lai, the 10th President of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) from 2013 to 2018, has started attacking bitter rival Democratic Action Party (DAP) as the 15th General Election is going full steam. The ex-MCA chief is making a comeback to contest Bentong parliamentary seat, which he won in 1999 and defended it until his humiliation lost in the 2018 General Election.

At its peak, MCA had won a whopping 31 parliamentary seat under the leadership of Ong Ka Ting in the 2004 General Election. The political party that represents the ethnic Chinese won 1,074,230 votes. However, the party consistently lost half of its seats in the subsequent next elections – 15 seats (2008), 7 seats (2013) and finally only 1 seat in 2018 under Liow’s leadership.

By the time Liow led MCA, founded in 1949 before Malaysia’s independence in 1957, to its worst performance in the 2018 General Election, the party had already lost 95% of Chinese support to DAP. Even its sole survivor, deputy president Wee Ka Siong, was lucky to be able to keep his seat thanks to Malay voters in the Ayer Hitam constituency. Wee had won by merely 300 majority votes.

And now Liow has the cheek to lecture DAP, mocking the opposition party’s inability to keep its leaders in the same constituency from one election to another – allegedly because of unkept promises and poor performance. He said switching candidates to different areas has always been DAP’s culture, referring to the latest replacement of incumbent Wong Tack with Young Syefura Othman.

It’s public knowledge that MCA, one of the component parties of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition led by UMNO (United Malays National Organization), is UMNO’s lapdog. In fact, MCA lost the trust of the Chinese community it was supposed to represent because the party was and still is subservient to UMNO, the big bully who fed crumbs to corrupt MCA leaders.

The reason why Liow shamelessly bragged that unlike DAP, MCA consistently keeps its leaders in the same constituency is because MCA leaders have nowhere else to go. Since the 2008 General Election, where BN lost its two-thirds supermajority in the Parliament for the first time in history, MCA leaders – like beggars – have been hiding in Malay-majority seats.

For example, Wee Ka Siong, who cried publicly like a baby in 2009 after he (along with disgraced colleague Chew Mei Fun) was sacked  as MCA central committee members, would have been slaughtered by DAP strategist Liew Chin Tong in 2018 if not for the 60% hardcore UMNO-Malay voters in Ayer Hitam. That’s why Wee keeps quiet every time Chinese are bullied by UMNO.

Wee Ka Siong - Cry After Lost Power

Likewise, despicable Liow Tiong Lai depended on 49% UMNO-Malay vote bank in Bentong, a constituency with only 38% Chinese and 10% Indian voters. Wee and Liow are laughing stocks because both MCA-Chinese leaders are hiding in Malay-majority seats, and none of them dare to contest in Chinese-majority seats like Bukit Bintang, Cheras, Damansara or Kepong.

However, Liow was partially correct to say Wong Tack did not carry out his duties as an MP. Wong was selected as a DAP candidate in the 2013 General Election largely due to his role as chairman of “Himpunan Hijau” (Green Assembly), an environmentalist protest movement against Lynas, a rare earth processing plant operating in Gebeng, Kuantan, Pahang.

Wong lost to Liow in 2013 by 379 votes, but defeated the former MCA president in 2018 with a 2,032 majority. As an environmental activist, Mr Wong’s mission has been all about fighting Lynas, and nothing else. That’s why he had never raised in Parliament any of the national issues like cost of living, corruption or unemployment. And that’s precisely he was dropped this time.

The fielding of deputy Youth chief Young Syefura to replace Wong Tack shows that DAP is sensitive and aware of Bentong’s unhappiness over Wong’s lack of performance. At least DAP has decisively and boldly took the necessary steps to rectify the problem. Wong should realize that he had won in 2018 under DAP and Pakatan Harapan platform, and not because he was a superhero.

Throwing tantrums upon being dropped, and quickly announced his decision to defend Bentong as an independent only goes to show he is not a team player. The immature lone ranger naively thought he was so popular that he could win without DAP grassroots and machinery. He thought Bentong was his personal property and DAP should be grateful to him for winning the seat in 2018.

The activist hadn’t a clue that in order to fight Lynas, every parliamentary seat counts in order for opposition Pakatan Harapan to win and form the next government. Only then can the Lynas problem be tackled. Even if he wins Bentong as an independent, which he won’t, he only has 1 vote in the 222-seat Parliament. Silly Wong will only help Liow wins by splitting the Chinese votes in Bentong.

 

Wong Tack - ex-Bentong MP

Still, it’s not a walk in the park for Liow. The Chinese voters still remember how MCA became a full-blown eunuch under his leadership from 2013 to 2018, not to mention various scandals plaguing him. In 2008, MCA Youth Chief Liow called for the creation of a second deputy prime minister for MCA, a gimmick for him to win the internal MCA party elections.

Then-Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin shot down his proposal, mocking that a deputy premier for MCA would be useless even if the position was created. Hilariously, upon winning the MCA vice-president post, Liow made a U-turn and said – “One step at a time. Let us reform Barisan first. We reform Barisan, and only then we will reform the government.”

But the power-crazy Liow did not stop politicking even after MCA was insulted by UMNO. On  January 1, 2008, the party plunged into sex scandal when MCA vice-president Chua Soi Lek was caught bonking his personal friend – Angelina Yam – in the sex DVD circulating in Johor. Four suspects were arrested, but only for distributing and having in possession material containing pornographic elements.

Instantly, room 1301 of the four-star Hotel Katerina in Batu Pahat, the place where Chua engaged in extraordinary sex with his woman friend, became popular. But the police did not, could not and would not arrest the “mastermind” behind the recording of Chua’s sex act. It was obviously an inside MCA job, believed to be linked to Liow Tiong Lai.

Chua said he was caught because he made the mistake of going “to the same hotel and the same room” for his trysts with the woman. On Jan 2, 2008, he resigned as Health Minister, MCA vice-president, Johor MCA chief and Labis MP. However, he made an unprecedented comeback nine months later, and was elected MCA deputy president in October 2008.

However, then-MCA president Ong Tee Keat used Chua’s sex scandal to expel him from the party in 2009. But it backfired and a vote of “no confidence” against Ong was passed by 14 votes instead. Chua’s expulsion was overturned during an EGM (extraordinary general meeting) in 2010. In the three-cornered fight of MCA election, Chua beat both incumbent Ong and former president Ong Ka Ting.

 

MCA President Chua Soi Lek - Sex DVD Scandal

In 2015, sex actor Chua stunningly revealed how then-Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak personally helped him to edit the speech used when he went on TV to admit as the person in the sex video. Praising Najib, Chua said – “At that time, when I drafted the speech to admit on television, I wrote it with Najib. I went to his house. He thought I wrote it in a way that was too rigid, so he edited it for me.”

More importantly, Chua criticized then-MCA president Liow for still bringing up the sex video because Liow was afraid that Chua would make a political comeback again. Chua said – “I think if you want to hurt me, you have already hurt me. I have already paid the price” – suggesting that Chua knew from the beginning that Liow was the mastermind behind the sex DVD scandal.

Planting spy cameras in the hotel room was not only Liow’s expertise. He had backstabbed and betrayed his own political mentor, Ong Tee Kiat. Heck, he even deliberately sabotaged MCA during the 2013 General Election, and blamed MCA president Chua Soi Lek for the huge loses so that he could use the party poor performance to call for Chua’s resignation.

Worse, Mr Liow was as corrupt as Mr Najib. In October 2009, a whistleblower exposed Axis Construction Sdn Bhd, one of the companies that received contracts from  the Health Ministry, had paid down payment for a Toyota Alphard valued at RM574,884.10 as a birthday gift for the health minister’s wife – Lee Sun Loo. Of course, drama queen Liow denied that it was a gift.

Apparently Liow instructed his crony, “Dato Chai Kim Seng” to undertake design, build and develop a hospital in Kuala Selangor. Dato Chai then informed his partner Dato Benny from Axis regarding the RM25 million deal. The project was then awarded to a dummy 100% bumiputera-owned company – Mohd Hj Sirat Sdn Bhd – which in turn sub-contract the entire project back to Axis in order to hide that it was a direct deal.

Besides paying RM324,884.10 down payment (Hong Leong Bank cheque No: HLB 373727), the contractor also paid RM4,730 monthly payments for the MPV. In Dec 2009, Liow’s wife was interrogated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the scandal. But politician Tiong King Sing allegedly bribed MACC with a whopping RM10 million to close the Toyota Alphard corruption case.

Tiong King Sing and Wee Ka Siong

While the name Tiong King Sing might sound unfamiliar, he was the big boss of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, the turnkey contractor of the PKFZ (Port Klang Free Zone) project. Yes, Tiong King Sing was the same man popularly known within the circle of MCA as the “twin brother” of Wee Ka Siong (current MCA president, whose 47% in Hijau Sekitar Sdn Bhd was a sub-contractor of PKFZ).

Mr. Tiong, also known as the “Mafia Bintulu”, became a billionaire when he sold his Kuala Dimensi’s 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of Pulau Indah land to Port Klang Authority for a cool RM1.8 billion, the same land he had bought for only RM95 million, thanks to his connection with Mr. Wee. The PKFZ soon exploded into a RM12 billion scandal due to cost overruns and financial irregularities.

The PKFZ scandal was so explosive and toxic back in 2008-09 that even the police during the era of corrupt Barisan Nasional regime had to freeze luxury cars, lands, a Gulfstream IV jet aircraft and a Learjet 60 aircraft belonging to Mr. Tiong under the Anti-Money Laundering Act. Of course, Tiong King Sing (Bintulu MP) didn’t go to jail, let alone Wee Ka Siong.

In 2012, another scandal hit Liow Tiong Lai after he won a tender for the number plate “WWW 15” – which cost a jaw-dropping RM24,200. It would take 4 weeks for him since the scandal exploded to defend his bid for the lucky number, arguing that it was for his new official car. However, when grilled, he could not answer why such a large sum of money was spent on a number plate.

Comically, he claimed that his ministry did not pay for it, but at the same time, he was unsure who had paid for the number plate. Playing down the scandal, Liow had even said he bid for the number plate because it was the number of his grandfather’s car. Facing tremendous pressure, then-Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai reluctantly gave up his favourite “WWW 15” number plate in June 2012.

Like Najib, Liow was also a spectacular liar. During the Bersih 2.0 demonstration in 2011, Tung Shin and Chinese Maternity Hospitals were attacked by tear gas and water cannons unleashed by the police. The police had even attacked the safe sanctuaries of hospitals, launching an unprovoked violent assault within the hospital compounds to arrest peaceful protesters seeking shelter.

However, during a press conference, then-Health Minister Liow had lied when he claimed that the police did not shoot tear gas or water cannon into the hospital, despite video recordings showing otherwise. The disgraced MCA leader said – “Maybe the smoke was blown by the wind in this direction. As for the water cannon, maybe it had only brushed the edges of the hospital walls.” - FT

 

cheers.

Was Najib paid an MP's salary whilst in Kajang?...

Right to the very end, the convicted felon Najib Abdul Razak was still in denial. He maintained that he is still the MP for Pekan.Whilst it was clear to everyone that he lost the privilege to be an MP the moment he was found guilty, the stubborn convict had to waste the rakyat's money and the court's time to demand that he be allowed to attend Parliament.

An attention seeker, and a desperate one at that, Najib will try every trick in the book to remain relevant. Hence, the never-ending court appearances, judicial reviews and appeals. Article 48 of the Federal Constitution states that a person can be disqualified as an MP if he or she is convicted for an offence, then sentenced to more than one year in jail and fined more than RM2,000.

Najib was given a fair hearing and he exhausted all his appeals. So why are we humouring him with his incessant requests to get out of Kajang? He will try it on, be it for a few hours, whilst he goes to court. Or a few days, whilst he relaxes in the relative comfort of a hospital bed, instead of a cold, damp concrete floor.

He's acting like a petulant spoilt brat, throwing temper tantrums, because his requests are not fully granted. At the same time, the authorities behave like bad parents, agreeing to his many demands because they are afraid to say "no".

Aided by his lawyers, a deluded family and an army of blind supporters, Najib's sense of entitlement is as strong as ever. He demanded that he be allowed to attend the Dewan Rakyat sitting, originally scheduled from Oct 3 to Nov 29. It is doubtful that Najib will accept the verdict of the High Court in Kuala Lumpur that dismissed his leave application. 

The judge, Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid, said that with the dissolution of Parliament, the Parliament’s term had ended and Najib was no longer an MP. Like his fellow MPs, everyone ceased to be a parliamentarian when Parliament was dissolved.

How much did the session in court for the judge to say "No" to Najib cost the taxpayer? Najib's family members and blind supporters need a crash course in what happens in other professions.

A lawyer who is charged with corruption, and then found guilty and sentenced, is struck off and disbarred from practising. A corrupt doctor who is tried and sentenced is also struck off the medical register, and prohibited from treating people. A banker who is charged and sentenced for corruption is charged with CBT, and then sacked.

All of the above professionals will be fined and jailed. Despite this, the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Azhar Harun, who is a trained lawyer is now spinning another line. Najib, he claims, is still an MP. Therefore, we'd like to know: Did Najib receive the wages of an MP, from Aug 23, when he was sent to the Kajang Prison, till the dissolution of Parliament?

An MP receives perks, many types of allowances, benefits and a pension. Was Najib receiving these financial benefits whilst sitting in prison? An MP would earn RM16,000 a month. If he had been made a minister, he would get an additional RM13,400. In addition to his monthly salary, he would receive other allowances for just getting out of bed to come to work.

For turning up in Parliament, he will receive RM400. For attending government “meetings or workshops”, he receives RM300. Never mind that having meetings is part of his job. Unlike you and I, MPs do not have to spend their own money. It is the taxpayer who pays for their many goods and services.

The special perks MPs get…

One of their extra special perks is RM2,500 in “entertainment allowances”. They can purchase the latest iPhone or Macbook with the RM2,000  handphone allowance or RM6,000 computer allowance. You and I will have to slog hard and think about how long the computer should last us or our children.

MPs need not worry about their clothes as they will receive a dress subsidy of up to RM1,000. They need not worry about going places, as they have a travel allowance of RM 1,500 per month, whether or not they go anywhere. They are not bothered about toll rises, because they have a toll allowance of RM300 a month.

Naturally, there are other allowances, such as an allowance for having a driver or domestic help. So, which of these allowances is Najib receiving whilst he is in Kajang? Is he entitled to a clothing allowance, even though he can have an orange jumpsuit for free?

For every budget, the finance minister will announce generous pay rises for ministers, MPs and civil servants. What about the rest of us? People who work in the private sector, or those who are self-employed, are often left behind.

Has this government any integrity? Who can tell us whether Najib received an MP's wage and the various perks? The caretaker prime minister? He's too busy trying to stay in power in GE15.  He won't tell us. Will it be the Umno-Baru president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi? No. He is too busy trying to steal an election so that he can escape jail. He can't tell us.

The more you examine his character and his demands, the more you realise that Najib will not give up for the good of Malaysia. Therefore we say, "Let him stew in prison." - Mariam Mokhtar,mk

Saifuddin Abdullah (PN) kata Waythamoorthy (BN) yang kendalikan ICERD,Waythamoorthy jawab balik, Saifuddin Abdullah bohong.Depa tak berani sebut mana-mana nama daripada PH yang sekarang. Isu ICERD memang bukan agenda dalam PH...

Undi calon atau undi parti?...

Dah tahun 2022, masih ada yang anggap kerja Ahli Parlimen ni ialah turap jalan, tebas lalang, bersihkan parit, buat jambatan, baiki keretakan rumah, ziarah orang meninggal, dan macam-macam kerja kebajikan lagi. Kena faham ye, kerja turap jalan, tebas lalang, bersihkan parit, bina jambatan, ini semua tugas jabatan kerajaan macam JKR, DBKL. Kalau baiki keretakan rumah tu, ini tugas pihak pemaju. Jadi Ahli Parlimen ni buat apa? Apa tugas diorang? 

Ahli Parlimen ni hanyalah wakil rakyat. Maksudnya, diorang ni rakyat juga, kuasa diorang tak lebih besar pun daripada rakyat biasa lain sampai boleh petik je duit kerajaan untuk buat itu ini. Lebihnya diorang berbanding kita ni adalah pada aspek PENGARUH. Bila orang tu ada pengaruh, maka, cakap dia orang akan dengar. Dalam bahasa medsos, wakil rakyat ni sama macam 'Influencer' lah. 

Jadi, tugas wakil rakyat dalam kes2 di atas ni ialah mengajukan permasalahan kepada pihak2 berkenaan untuk tindakan lanjut. Mungkin ada yang akan kata, "hmmm, kalau setakat tu, aku pun boleh buat". Betul, kita rakyat biasa pun boleh buat kerja macam tu. Tapi, berkesan ke tidak? Kalau pegawai JKR tak pedulikan aduan kita, apa yang kita boleh buat kat dia? Bukannya rakyat boleh pecat diorang. Yang boleh pecat diorang ialah Ketua Pengarah (KP). Kalau KP pun kawtim dengan pegawai-pegawai dia, siapa pula boleh pecat Ketua Pengarah? Tetap bukan rakyat biasa. 

Jadi bawa pula ke peringkat Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian (KSU). Dah kalau KP tu golf buddy dengan KSU, awak rasa dia nak pecat? Bila KSU tak boleh harap, bawalah pula ke Menteri. Dah kalau Menteri dgn KSU ni kawan rapat sama2 terjun kolah kat asrama dulu, awak rasa dia nak pecat? Maka akhirnya, terpaksalah bawa ke Perdana Menteri (PM). Kalau PM adalah seorang yang korup, semua kes-kes aduan rakyat tadi akan tutup. Kalau nak penjarakan PM pun, Peguam Negara (AG) je yang boleh mulakan proses. Tapi kalau AG pun dilantik atas sokongan PM, awak rasa? 

Kalau nak pecat PM, Yang di-Pertuan Agong (YDPA) sendiri pun tak boleh nak pecat PM melainkan dengan 1 sebab sahaja. Satu-satunya sebab untuk YDPA boleh pecat PM ialah jika majoriti Ahli Parlimen hilang kepercayaan terhadap PM tersebut. Inilah pengaruh yang saya maksudkan. Kuasa sebenar Ahli Parlimen ialah mempengaruhi YDPA untuk melantik seorang Perdana Menteri untuk control hampir semua benda dalam Malaysia ni menerusi penggubalan polisi kerajaan dan pelantikan penjawat-penjawat awam. 

PM yang korup, akan lantik Menteri yang korup. Menteri yang korup, akan lantik KSU yang korup. KSU yang korup, akan lantik KP yang korup. KP yang korup, akan lantik pegawai yang korup. Pegawai yang korup, akan buat rakyat menyirap. Persoalannya, macam mana YDPA nak tahu, seseorang Ahli Parlimen tu menyokong siapa sebagai PM? Negara kita pakai sistem Westminster. Maksudnya, YDPA selaku Ketua Negara, akan menilai kecenderungan sokongan seseorang Ahli Parlimen tu, melalui parti politik yang dia wakili. 

Ketua blok parti politik yang memiliki majoriti ahli dalam Dewan Rakyatlah yang akan dijemput ke Istana untuk membentuk Kerajaan. Dalam konteks PRU15, ada 3 blok yang berpotensi untuk jadi Kerajaan: Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN) dan Pakatan Harapan (PH). 

Calon PM daripada BN masih samar-samar. Setakat yang diwar-warkan, Ismail Sabri lah yang akan jadi PM kalau BN menang. Tapi kena ingat, yang akan dijemput ke Istana Negara ialah ketua blok parti. Ismail Sabri bukanlah Pengerusi BN. Pengerusi BN ialah Zahid Hamidi.  Dan kita tahu perangai UMNO time PRN Johor hari tu, calon yang dijanjikan lain, calon yang dijadikan lain. Maka, secara realistiknya, kalau BN menang, Zahid Hamidilah yang akan jadi PM. Kalau Zahid Hamidi jadi PM, faham-fahamlah... 

PN? Calon PM daripada PN setakat ni ialah Mahiaddin Yasin (TSMY). Tapi orang PAS mungkin nak Hadi Awang. Jadi risiko perebutan kuasa tu masih ada. Tapi katalah calon tunggalnya ialah TSMY. Saya akui, TSMY agak popular. Ada orang kita suka TSMY sebab time TSMY lah, diorang dapat duduk rumah lama tak payah pergi ofis sambil tengok dia baca doa kat TV. 

Tapi kalau kita kisah sikit kat rakyat yang tak ada keistimewaan macam kita yang bergaji tetap ni, kita dapat lihat pentadbiran TSMY sangatlah tidak cekap dan banyak menyusahkan rakyat. Dan kalau kita tengok style TSMY, beliau ni memang kaki kawtim. Buktinya, menteri-menteri yang tak function macam Rina Harun, kekal ke akhirnya dalam kabinet beliau. Orang macam Tajudin Salak pun nak dilantiknya jadi Duta Besar kita kat Indonesia. Negara akan tenat kalau punyai PM yang berkaki kawtim ni. Aduan rakyat lambat nak selesai. 

Akhirnya calon PM daripada PH; @anwaribrahim (DSAI). DSAI adalah satu-satunya calon PM PH dan tiada orang dalam PH sekarang ni yang nak sailang beliau macam Azmin Ali nak sailang dulu. Maksudnya, kerajaan PH kali ni kalau terbentuk akan stabil sebab dah tak ada perebutan kuasa. Tapi saya akui, ramai je yang meluat dengan beliau; terutama orang Melayu. Tapi hakikatnya, antara ketiga2 calon ni, DSAI lah yang paling tegas terhadap perasuah. Kalaupun DSAI pernah juga kawtim2, kita semua tahu orang yang banyak pengaruhi Anwar sekarang ialah @rafiziramli. 

Kalau orang macam Rafizi ni ada dalam kerajaan, saya personally selaku rakyat, akan rasa lega sedikit. Saya percaya gandingan Anwar-Rafizi akan menjadikan pentadbiran Malaysia lebih cekap dengan penghapusan rasuah dari peringkat Kementerian sampailah ke peringkat Jabatan. Selain daripada penghapusan rasuah, negara juga sangat memerlukan pelaburan asing untuk merawat ekonomi negara yang agak teruk sekarang akibat Covid dan Perang Russia-Ukraine. Sekarang, Malaysia dah kalah dengan Indonesia dan Vietnam dari segi tarikan pelabur asing. 

Antara Ismail Sabri, TSMY dan DSAI, hanya DSAI seorang yang dah ada nama di peringkat antarabangsa. Kita tak perlu nak introduce DSAI kat diorang. Bila orang dah kenal, tak susah kita nak bina kepercayaan. Membina kepercayaan ni perlu untuk tarik org luar melabur kat negara kita. Jadi kalau kita berbalik semula kepada soalan "undi calon atau undi parti?", jawapannya sudah jelas. PARTI perlu didahulukan berbanding calon. Kalau calon tu warak sekalipun, tapi kalau calon PM parti yang dia wakili tu ialah seorang yang tidak cekap, kewarakannya tiada berguna. - Fliponia Ambassador@Ar-Ruzzi

cheers.

The Battle For Perak...

 Anwar’s attack in Tambun is a 

long overdue strategy to win GE15...

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim does not have much time left in his quest for the Iron Throne. He would be 80 years old in the next 16th General Election. Like any other heavyweights, the president of PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat or People’s Justice Party) has been contested in his “safe seat” – Permatang Pauh – from 1982 to 2013, before contesting in Port Dickson.

Even then, he was forced to contest in Port Dickson in 2018 after received a royal pardon because his safe seat was being held by his daughter, Nurul Izzah, who won it in the 2018 General Election. His wife, Wan Azizah, had held the parliamentary seat on his behalf in the 1999, 2004 and 2008 General Election (as well as 2015 by-election) when Mr Anwar was imprisoned.

On Thursday (Oct 20), Anwar, who is also chairman of the Pakatan Harapan coalition, announced that he will be contesting in the federal constituency of Tambun, Perak for the upcoming general election. Addressing a crowd of 7,000, he said – “I am not choosing a safe seat with a huge majority. I am brave to go and contest in Tambun. Perak will be the frontline for our struggle in this election.”

By shifting his electoral base to contest next month’s national election in the Perak state, Anwar finally adopts a new strategy to capture the federal government. Instead of playing safe since the former deputy prime minister was sacked by PM Mahathir Mohamad in 1998, PKR finally understands that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Exactly what took him so long to get out of his comfort zone and take some risks? As a start, time is not on his side. For almost 25 years, Anwar has been chasing his own tail, contesting in his safe seat while hoping his party and allies could win enough parliamentary seats to enable him becomes the next premier. Now, he suddenly realized that he has to “seriously lead” the Opposition.

Before Anwar announced that Perak will be the frontline of Pakatan Harapan, he admitted that he was inspired by Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the coalition. Indeed, if only Anwar had led PKR the same way DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang aggressively and courageously explored new frontiers, perhaps Anwar would have become a prime minister already.

Lim Kit Siang - DAP Supremo...

From Melaka (1969-1978), Lim Kit Siang contested and won in Selangor (1978-1982), before going back to Melaka (1982-1986) and thereafter Penang (1986-1999), Perak (2004-2013) and finally Johor (2013-2018). Today, except Perlis, Terengganu and Kelantan, DAP has state assembly representatives in every state in Malaysia. In the 2018 General Election, DAP won 42 parliamentary seats – its best achievement.

Kit Siang’s formula is creating a new safe seat for the party, before moving on to slaughter a new enemy and convert that seat for party members. It was through such hard work that DAP captured Penang in 2008 and together with fellow PKR and Amanah took Selangor in the same year. In 2018, the Opposition captured Kedah, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Sabah and Johor.

After Borneo states Sarawak (31 parliamentary seats) and Sabah (25 seats), Perak has 24 seats – the second most seats after Johor (26 seats) in Peninsular. No political party or coalition can form a government without first capturing Johor. The bastion of UMNO from even before independence – Johor – was lost to Pakatan Harapan 4 years ago. Now, Anwar wants to recapture Perak.

Last month, when the PKR president toyed with the idea of contesting in a seat held by a traitor of PKR or Pakatan Harapan, many thought Anwar was targeting former PKR deputy president Azmin Ali or former PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin. While it would be a sweet revenge for Anwar to slaughter Azmin and Zuraida and take back the Gombak and Ampang seats, it’s nevertheless a childish strategy.

PKR could send someone else to defeat both traitors. Anwar would be “under-used” if he contests in Gombak or Ampang because at most, Pakatan Harapan will gain an extra seat. However, if he is used as the “poster boy” in Perak, it would boost the chance to win up to 24 parliamentary seats in the state. After capturing Perak in the 2018, the state was lost in 2020 due to defection and betrayal.

Interestingly, Tambun is a relatively new stronghold for Pakatan Harapan. Having won the seat for the first time in 2018, ending over 30 years of Barisan Nasional dominance there, the seat was subsequently lost after Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu defected. Worse, the traitor won it under the Pakatan Harapan banner.

Minister of Sports Ahmad Faizal Azumu...

Azmin, along with Zuraida and another 9 PKR MPs, left the party in a move known as the “Sheraton Move”. The 11 PKR traitors joined MPs from Bersatu, led by Muhyiddin Yassin, in a coup to topple the democratically-elected Pakatan Harapan ruling government. In Perak, Chief Minister Azumu switched sides and formed a new backdoor state government with defeated UMNO and PAS Islamist party.

Hence, it does not matter which seat Anwar contests, as long as it belonged to one of the traitors. The strategy is to inflict maximum damage on the enemy base. In truth, Pakatan Harapan (previously Pakatan Rakyat) won the Perak state election in 2008 prior to 2018, but on both occasions unable to serve out full terms due to the same problem – treachery and betrayal.

With the anti-hopping law in place, Perak state can absolutely be captured again because the Opposition had done it twice. But can Anwar really win Tambun? Ahmad Faizal Azumu had won the seat with a 5,320 vote majority in 2018. The ethnic breakdown of Tambun’s electorate (2018) consists of 68.4% Malay, 18.54% Chinese, 11.5% Indian and 2% other ethnicities.

This shows Anwar has indeed taken a risky bet. Even if he could grab the entire 20% Chinese vote bank, he still needs another 30% of Malay or Indian votes combined to sail through. However, in addition to using PKR logo, Azumu had won the seat with over 5,000 vote majority in 2018 – suggesting that the Malay votes were split in a multi-cornered contest.

Unless UMNO and PAS joined forces, which is impossible as both Malay-based parties are at each other’s throats, Mr Anwar can certainly win Tambun. The fact that Azumu has immediately attacked Anwar after his announcement to contest Tambun, babbling about a 10-year-old interview with the Wall Street Journal about Israel, speaks volumes about the level of panic in Bersatu.

Heck, Azumu was so terrified and panicked that he has even announced that he would not defend the Chenderiang state seat. Obviously, the move is to eliminate the risk of Azumu, known for his incompetence during his tenure as Perak Chief Minister, losing both Tambun parliamentary seat and Chenderiang state seat. Given a change, he wanted to run away, but there isn’t any safe seat for him.

Pakatan Harapan...

Another reason Anwar could win is because UMNO-controlled news media have started attacking him, predicting that Tambun would be his Waterloo. Half-baked analysts from local universities have similarly expressed comical predictions that Anwar would lose because Azumu is younger, has stronger grassroots, a more caring leader and command the trust of young voters.

Get real, do you really think Anwar would jump blindly into Tambun without doing any survey or groundwork? Even if PKR Perak did not do any homework, DAP Perak led by Nga Kor Ming would not commit suicide by welcoming Anwar to lead the battle in Perak. If Pakatan Harapan loses, it does not matter whether Anwar wins or lose because it would be game over anyway.

But if the PKR president could inspire and mobilize the people of Perak to vote for Pakatan Harapan, not only the state would be captured, it could lead to winning the federal government. In the event Anwar lost in Tambun but the opposition won the federal government, it would still be a great victory. No matter how you calculate, betting Anwar in Tambun is still worth it.

More importantly, it creates a perception that Anwar has the balls of steel, unlike UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (hiding in Bagan Datuk) or MCA president Wee Ka Siong (surviving on Malay support in Ayer Hitam) or PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang (hiding in Marang). Traitor Mahiaddin Yassin isn’t even sure if he could defend his Pagoh, which he won under the PKR ticket in 2018 thanks to 30% Chinese votes.

But Kit Siang was not alone in flipping enemy constituencies. Before Johor, the birthplace of UMNO, fells in 2018, DAP had laid the groundwork by sending several senior party leaders to Johor in 2013 – including strategist Liew Chin Tong. Those groundwork was the essence that brought ultimately down the state in 2018, leaving arrogant UMNO speechless.

In the case of Perak, Pakatan Harapan does not need to wait another 5 years. The state had already collapsed in 2008, and again in 2018. Anwar’s tactical move to Tambun would provide the little push required to repeat the 2018 result. Not only the “Perakians” can’t wait to teach the frogs a lesson, they are sick and tired of the lack of jobs and development during Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional governments. - FT

‘Maaf Ismail Sabri, debat adalah budaya kita’

Ismail Sabri 'Debat bukan budaya kita'...

Naib Presiden Umno Ismail Sabri Yaakob hari ini menolak cadangan dibuat Pengerusi Pakatan Harapan (PH), Anwar Ibrahim, agar calon-calon perdana menteri dipertemukan dalam sesi perdebatan. Bagi Ismail Sabri, amalan berdebat untuk calon perdana menteri bukanlah budaya di negara ini, selain menganggap tidak ada faedah yang dapat diperolehi daripada sesi tersebut.

"Yang pertamanya, bukan budaya kita untuk berdebat... tak pernah kita buat. Tak mendatangkan hasil pun. "Kalau kita buat berdebat, dia (Anwar) akan sebut segala janji manifesto dia, termasuk janji bulan dan bintang... jadi ia tak perlu," katanya pada sidang media di Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur tengah hari ini. - mk

Pandai pulak Pak Mael mengata dalam laporan Tommy Thomas, pembangkang diam tanda bersalah tapi ajak berdebat mula buat alasan bodoh. - Prejudice

Ya betul budaya kita adalah hanya menyamun dan mencuri macam 1MDB , belian kapal perang dan macam macam lagi. - Wan Khalid

'Not our culture' There is always a first time. Just admit you are scared lah. You can't debate to save your life. An intellectual you are not. - Apollos

You decline Anwar Ibrahim’s invitation to a debate, on the pathetic excuse that “it is not in our culture”. We are all fully aware that the real reason is that you know Anwar would make sambal ikan bilis out of you. Any oratory skills he may have do not matter, when you will have nothing to offer in response to his arguments. What is your vision and strategy for our future as a nation? All you possess is a pitiful record of dispensing gifts and grants in the childish hope it would elevate you to statesman. - Vijay47

What Ismail Sabri is saying is, if there is a debate between prime ministerial candidates it will be between Zahid, Anwar and Muhideen.It is not UMNO's culture where a VP can be nominated as PM candidate lah.Faham lah. Read between the lines. - Dr.Raman Letchumanan

cheers.

The festival of lights...

Macam mana seorang banduan 

dapat air time dari TV1?...

Helping Hadi understand communism...

Recently, Hadi is said to have equated the DAP with communism and that communism is an ideology that disbelieve in God and that celebrating or honoring communism whether in important historical dates as well as personalities would make that person a hard core communist supporter.

Clearly to me, Hadi is in great need of education outside his own madrasah in order to be a contributing citizen, a community leader of all and perhaps even someday, the prime minister of a nation. However, before all that can happen, I wish to help him understand what it means to live in modern Malaysia and belong to a global community.

Firstly, in modern learning, a person can click on to the internet and get a lot of information on DAP, Barisan Alternatif and Pakatan Rakyat. One will find that Hadi’s party was a long time member of these political coalition that fought with Umno and the BN.

I followed many of Hadi’s speeches and ceramahs and nowhere did he declare DAP a communist party. That is history. If DAP indeed was and always had been a communist party, then PAS was a good friend of communism in Malaysia’s history!

Secondly, communism, as explained in easy reading sources like Wikipedia, is an economic model, not a religious belief. A religious belief is one that contains the idea of an afterlife, a divine entity as a God or Allah and perhaps a list of Messengers of God like Prophets and Messiahs.

Communism simply is a way of dividing essential life resources equally among the community without anyone having more than the other. Communism is an economic model, not a religious belief.

Communism is opposed to capitalism where one can be born rich, inherit wealth and does not have to work a day in his or her life. Interestingly, this economic model is almost the same as the kibbutz communal sustainable living concept in Israel.

I saw a few young Malay travelers experiencing the kibbutz life in Israel and they noted how the community ate together in a large hall and any young man or woman can choose to drive one of thirty vehicles owned by the community.

I also understand that the religious group in Malaysia called Al-Arqam also used this kind of communal ownership and distribution of wealth in their kampung living. So, communism is an economic model, not a religion.

If communism is against Islam so much, then why does one internet source quotes that there are 23 million Muslims in China and another quotes that there are 28,000 mosques in China with 19,000 in Xinjiang alone? Should not Islam have been eradicated totally by the time communism came to power?

We all know that Najib as the prime minister signed a memorandum of understanding to borrow heavily from China. Does that make Najib a communist? Or does that make Umno and BN also communist? Do visitors from Malaysia who visit China for travel and business also supporters of communism?

This is called global coexistence. We depend on each other of different nations for help, learning and other things. I have many PhD students from China at UCSI University. So, does that mean I am also a godless communist?

Once I graduated two Shi’a Iranians in PhD when I was with a public university in Johor, and so does that make me a disloyal Sunni and a closet Shi’ite? This is called academic sharing. I have also been invited to attend Christmas celebrations by my Christian friends and so does that make me a Christian? I have also spoken at Buddhist events and does that make me a kafir? No, this is called community living and mutual respect.

UMNO yang dok beromen dengan 

komunis tu,lebai2 PAS OK pulak!!!

Chin Peng was a Chinese Malayan who belonged to the communist party. Rashid Maidin was also a high-ranking member of the communist party. They were both communists. But they were also Malayan, Malay and Chinese who have family members in this country. This is called a family affair, not a political one.

However bad Najib is, I don’t believe he should be buried in an unknown island somewhere but he should be respected as a member of a large family in Malaysia.

The above take is how modern learning helps modern people relate to one another. Modern learning does not support the idea that people should follow one person’s take on everything without critical questioning and rationalizing.

In the olden days, information sources were scarce and thus, those tok gurus who had traveled extensively to acquire knowledge and wisdom from many teachers living very far from each other had the right to consider themselves exclusively knowledgeable, and those learning from them should accept without much questioning their teachings. Not so nowadays. Universities should close down if they use archaic methods of teaching and knowledge development like this tradition.

Similarly, if Hadi insists on making everyone around him who does not believe in his own brand of Islam or history an enemy, then he deserves to spend the rest of his life on a deserted island with only fishes, birds, baboons, monkeys and squirrels as well as a few dogs to “agree” or not dispute his ideas and inclinations.

But all of us have to live in Malaysia with its multiplicity of cultures, faiths and lifestyles. All of us also have to live in a larger global community and grow together as complementary and interdependent human beings and cultures in peace and harmony.

Perhaps PAS and Hadi are not ready to accept the idea of modern education and a global living community. For me, that we depend on each other as human beings, that we learn from each other to overcome weakness and that we honor each other with dignity, are the testimony of true religious spirituality. - Prof Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi 

cheers.

Anwar vs Peja: Who dares wins...

 

It shouldn’t be difficult for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to give the Tambun incumbent, the former Perak mentri besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu, also known as Peja, a bloody nose. The Bersatu deputy president, who is also the youth and sports minister, is not popular amongst ordinary Malaysians.

If Anwar (above, right) can solve Tambun’s problems, and by association, the issues troubling Ipoh and Perak, then he should not have a problem winning our vote.

Despite his lack of academic qualifications, Peja (above, left) achieved a meteoric rise up the greasy pole of politics. He possesses one stellar achievement, which is the art of ampu-bodek (grovelling), but he does not mind the negative comments about his lack of commitment, because he is handsomely rewarded for switching sides.

He was made mentri besar, then briefly became a special adviser to a former PM, and despite his mediocrity, was made a minister.

Peja also has exceptional skill in switching sides, and it is difficult keeping up with his revolving door allegiances. His early career was in Umno-Baru, but in the run-up to the 14th general election (GE14), he switched sides to Bersatu which was then part of Pakatan Harapan, and later Perikatan Nasional following the “Sheraton Move”.

The forgotten voters: the Orang Asli

A disastrous MB

The orang asli in the constituency of Chenderiang felt betrayed by Peja, who encouraged crony timber barons to encroach onto their ancestral land in 2018. When criticised, Peja blamed the orang asli for failing to improve themselves.

As menteri besar, Peja awarded multi-million ringgit forestry projects to companies with RM2 paid-up capital. No open tenders were involved, and when netizens attacked him, he brushed aside their criticisms.

Ipoh folks were furious that Bukit Kledang, overlooking Menglembu was denuded, and residents who lived lower down the hill were fearful of being buried in landslides after nonstop heavy rains. The arrogant Peja ignored residents' concerns.

Malaysians were also angry that Peja was one of the main architects in the Sheraton Move of 2020. He flip-flopped from one policy to another. He did little to support athletes when he became the youth and sports minister.

As mentri besar, he was weak and ineffective, wasted money on white elephant projects such as the money-sucking MAPS theme park. He did very little about stopping environmental degradation and was clueless about attracting young talent to return and rebuild Perak.

So, is Anwar up to the task of giving Peja a good thrashing? At one time, Tambun, like Ipoh, Kampar, Batu Gajah, and Tapah, was rich. These towns were built with tin money and were populated by millionaires.

Along came former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his Maminco project to corner the London tin market. Almost overnight, these millionaire havens became ghost towns. Mahathir could not have cooked up a better plan to rid Ipoh and its environs of the Chinese tycoons and their influence.

Will Anwar be able to rejuvenate Tambun and the Kinta Valley? It is an open secret that there are many officials on the take and many indiscriminate developments take place in the area.

Are We Doing Enough To Protect Our Limestone Hills?

Environmental destruction for ‘development’

Development is not just about building gleaming structures of concrete and steel. There is also mental and social development. Will Anwar get rid of the parochial attitudes of the administration in Perak? Does he have a creative team who will prevent young Perakians from seeking their fortunes in other states, or overseas? Our schools are struggling.

When Harapan was briefly in power in 2018, the destruction of the limestone hills was halted. Umno-Baru resumed this destruction; will Anwar stop it again?

Anwar should stand in the middle of Tambun town and look at the surrounding limestone hills. They are fast disappearing. Successive Umno-Baru MPs and administrations have done little to preserve the beauty of Ipoh, and its karst hills. These limestone outcrops are what give the Kinta valley its beauty.

The destruction can be clearly seen if Anwar were to approach Tambun from the North-South highway because on either side of him, the limestone hills are being blown to smithereens. Any caves and archaeological treasures would not have survived the explosions.

The Lost World of Tambun

Few developers in the area care. Their concern is to flatten the hills and erect concrete jungles and skyscrapers. They ignore the drainage of the area, so flash floods are common. Further north, illegal sand mining is common.

On the outskirts of Tambun, vegetable farmers have had several run-ins with the authorities. Farmers, who have tilled the lands for at least four generations, are being evicted. Malaysia has a serious problem with food security, but the government pays lip service to this problem.

Why not help the farmers who grow cheap vegetables, not just for the local trade, but also for export to Singapore? Anwar should look into this problem. We lack an efficient public transport system. Despite all the promises, the administration has failed the Kinta Valley residents. Litter is also a huge problem. The place lacks a cohesive education campaign about littering, and enforcement to punish fly-tippers is haphazard at best.

Politics is a nasty business in Malaysia and it is particularly bad, in Perak Look at how the convict Najib Abdul Razak destroyed the state’s democracy in 2009. Corruption and tribal politics have become a way of life.

Anwar can accomplish a lot in Perak, but he should do less talking. He should show us what he is capable of. Show, not tell. Act, not talk. Prove it in Tambun and even his worst sceptics might back him all the way to Putrajaya. - Mariam Mokhtar.mk

Ayor ke Ayaq ke jangan sampai tak makan...

GE15: Let the games begin...

It is our hope that on November 19, all the 21.17 million eligible voters in the country will exercise their rights and use the ballots in their hands to pick the right people who will inject a new lease of life into the country’s future!

EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh announced on Thursday that the polling day of the 15th general election will fall on November 19 (Saturday) while nomination is on November 5 (Saturday), with 14 days of campaigning.

Caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the dissolution of parliament on October 10 to pave way for an early general election. As a matter of fact, it is not too hard to fix the nomination and polling dates, but it seems that EC needed to take ten whole days to make the announcement.

His Majesty Yang di-Pertuan Agong has earlier hoped that the election would be held as soon as possible, but the November 19 polling day may likely not avert a soggy monsoon season.

The 15th general election will be using the supplementary electoral roll updated as on August 9 this year, with a total of 21,173,638 eligible voters or 6.23 million more than the 14.94 million in the last election. These first-time voters will make up a major factor of uncertainty in the upcoming election and their voting trends will very likely affect the final outcome.

222 members of parliament will be elected in GE15, although quite many states are not going to hold their state elections concurrently. Only three states – Pahang, Perak and Perlis will have 116 state assembly seats up for grabs in this election.

Separate parliamentary and state elections would invariably bring down the voter turnout, and observers are of the view that a lower voter turnout will work in the favor of Barisan Nasional because it was the unusually high 82.32% voter turnout in 2018 that brought about the first ever change in federal administrative in the country’s history.

Unfortunately, anti-establishment sentiment is not expected to be wholly duplicated this time. None of the three major political camps – BN PN and PH have what it takes to reignite the people’s enthusiasm to go out and vote. Even if the polling day falls on a Saturday, we may not see a repeat of what took place four years ago when voters traveled back to their hometowns to vote in the middle of a working week.

The voter turnout will very likely slip back to around 70%, even if such a rate already makes many democratic countries green with envy. Will BN benefit from such a low turnout? Let’s just wait and see! The imminent monsoon floods could also affect the voter turnout and hence the final outcome.

Starting from next month, the northeast monsoon is expected to bring tons of rainfall to the peninsula. The Met’s historical statistics show that it is extremely rare for three east coast states of Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan not to be inundated after mid-November.

As such, PAS votes in its fortress states of Kelantan and Terengganu will likely be thinned, especially in the absence of state elections, and this is going to give BN a possible boost. The 14 days of campaign period should be more than enough for parties to nominate and campaign for their candidates because it is still three days longer than in the last election.

But due to the decision to rush through the election before the floods arrive, the EC will only start printing the ballot papers after the nomination, and many overseas voters may not have enough time to receive and send back their postal votes. The chaos arising from postal voting in the last election is set to repeat itself this time. Although Global Bersih has urged the EC to give at least 21 days for campaigning to make sure all overseas postal votes could be sent back in time, they are going to be disappointed again this time.

The two weeks from Thursday until November 5 nomination day will mark a crucial moment for the three major political camps to allocate the seats optimally among their component parties. There’s no point fielding more candidates in unwinnable constituencies. For example for BN, it is said that Umno is eyeing the seats of Alor Setar, Raub and Alor Gajah, although this has been denied by MCA. If in the event this rumor becomes a reality, it won’t be DAP that wipes out MCA in this election but Umno!

This election offers a good opportunity for BN’s return to the core of power, but this could change if the perception of Chinese voters is affected by BN’s unfair seat allocation. By comparison, the component parties and allies of PH and PN have been largely able to avert such a dilemma, and 222 seats are enough to be distributed among the parties.

Some heavyweight candidates have decided not to defend their seats. For instance, Anwar Ibrahim will run in Tambun, while some DAP heavyweights are said to abandon their strongholds to make way for new blood and take up much more challenging seats themselves. Nevertheless, in light of the ebbing anti-establishment sentiment, their risky ventures may not necessarily pay off.

The nomination strategies of competing parties is at best guesswork in the run-up to the nomination day. That said, there are certain issues that warrant our concern. Among them, older faces should step aside while young professionals and female candidates will more readily strike a chord with voters.

Besides, candidates should watch their every move and speech, and should offer more constructive political views instead of talking rubbish. Of course, as the effects of social media are far-reaching, perhaps they should seriously consider the rights and needs of young first-time voters..

It is our hope that on November 19, all the 21.17 million eligible voters in the country will exercise their rights and use the ballots in their hands to pick the right people who will inject a new lease of life into the country’s future! - MySinchew

cheers.