26 September 2014

Pengkalan Kubor - Berkubur dah kah Pakatan Rakyat...


Dari Presiden PKR yang tidak dilantik sebagai Menteri Besar Selangor yang baru dan pemecatan Anwar Ibrahim sebagai Penasihat Ekonomi Negeri Selangor serta ketidaksefahaman PKR dan DAP dengan PAS mungkin petanda PR bakal berkubur.

Pergolakan politik negeri Selangor semacam sudah sampai ke penamatnya dengan perlantikan Menteri Besar (MB) baru yang dikatakan telah meredakan ketegangan politik Pakatan Rakyat (PR) dengan pihak istana.

Kerusi yang sepatutnya menjadi milik Anwar Ibrahim (melalui Langkah Kajang) dan kemudian melobi kerusi itu untuk isterinya yang juga Presiden Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) tetapi akhirnya menjadi milik Mohamed Azmin Ali. 

Percaturan strategi dan permainan politik MB baru ini sebenarnya harus diakui mantap dan tersusun berbanding langkah sumbang yang dibawa Pengarah Strategi parti itu sendiri.

Azmin Ali dan bayangan Khalid Ibrahim

Umum mengetahui bahawa Khalid Ibrahim seorang individu dan juga MB yang berintegriti tinggi dan memiliki rekod politik yang bersih. Legasi yang ditinggalkan oleh Khalid Ibrahim ini adalah bayangan hitam yang bakal mencabar kredibiliti Mohamed Azmin Ali sebagai MB Selangor yang ke-15.

Pembongkaran dokumen-dokumen melibatkan skandal rasuah MB baru ini sewaktu menjadi Setiausaha Sulit kepada Anwar Ibrahim pada tahun 1995 dan siasatan kesnya yang dikatakan ditutup oleh Ketua Pengarah Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR) atas arahan Anwar Ibrahim itu sendiri tidak pula dinafikan secara langsung oleh Azmin mahupun Anwar.

Disini, kita berdepan dengan satu kemungkinan yang tidak pasti. Tentang bagaimana seorang Menteri Besar yang dituduh mempunyai rekod rasuah mampu mewujudkan sebuah pentadbiran kerajaan negeri Selangor yang bersih dan telus?

Sementara itu, dalam 10 senarai baru Ahli-Ahli Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri (Exco) Selangor, PAS hanya mendapat 3 tempat manakala PKR mendapat 4 sementara DAP kekal dengan 3 jawatan Exco. 

Walaupun jawatan Timbalan Speaker Dewan akan diberikan kepada PAS kerana dikosongkan oleh Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad yang dilantik sebagai Exco, namun ini adalah satu tamparan hebat buat PAS yang sebenarnya mempunyai status quo dalam DUN Selangor dengan 15 kerusi berbanding PKR dan DAP.

Pemecatan Anwar Ibrahim

Tindakan drastik yang diambil Khalid Ibrahim pada hari terakhir beliau menjadi MB Selangor ialah dengan memecat Anwar Ibrahim dari jawatannya sebagai Penasihat Ekonomi Selangor dengan bergaji RM1. Banyak perkara yang menyelubungi isu ini yang tidak didedahkan kepada umum. 

Walaupun PR mencanangkan propaganda gaji RM1 dibayar kepada Anwar Ibrahim sepanjang menjawat jawatan ini, namun mereka gagal mendedahkan kos pentadbiran dan pengurusan pejabat Penasihat Ekonomi Selangor di Plaza Perangsang.

Siapa pula yang akan menerajui jawatan ini kelak? Apakah Azmin Ali akan melantik semula Anwar Ibrahim dengan kadar bayaran gaji yang bersesuaian ataupun sudah ada calon lain untuk mengisi kekosongan itu? 

Sewaktu pilihan raya kecil Kajang, heboh dikatakan bahawa Rafizi Ramli adalah individu yang terbaik untuk menjawat jawatan tersebut namun melihatkan betapa haru-birunya keseluruhan strategi ‘Langkah Kajang’nya itu, adalah agak pesimistik mengandaikannyanaik menjadi Penasihat Ekonomi.


pakatan_breaks_300

Dari Kajan ke Pengkalan Kubor, berkuburnya PR?

Kecelakaan yang dilalui oleh PR di Selangor berterusan di Kelantan apabila kekalahan PAS di Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) DUN Pengkalan Kubor kepada Barisan Nasional dengan peningkatan majoriti daripada 1,736 kepada 2,635 undi kali ini.

PAS sebenarnya dihukum oleh rakan-rakan gabungannya sendiri. Ketidakhadiran Anwar Ibrahim dan Lim Guan Eng sepanjang kempen PRK ini menimbulkan tanda tanya, ditahap mana sebenarnya semangat pakatan mereka.

Menariknya, yang beria-ria dengan Langkah Kajang adalah PKR dan DAP, yang mahukan Khalid Ibrahim berundur adalah PKR dan DAP, yang menerbitkan tohmahan dan tuduhan palsu terhadap Khalid Ibrahim adalah PKR dan DAP, yang mahu jadikan Wan Azizah sebagai MB Selangor adalah PKR dan DAP, yang mencabar Istana Selangor dengan menghantar satu nama calon MB adalah PKR dan DAP tetapi beban kesalahan diletakkan pada empat bekas Exco daripada PAS yang membantu pentadbiran Khalid Ibrahim ketika itu untuk memastikan tiada pilihanraya kecil negeri malah mereka dilabel pula sebagai pengkhianat oleh DAP.

Harus diakui bahawa kemenangan dengan majoriti yang besar oleh BN juga menjadi isyarat kuat pengundi yang menolak mainan persepsi PR melibatkan isu-isu semasa seperti GST, kenaikan kos sara hidup, royalti minyak dan sebagainya. Pengundi mahukan pembangunan dan soalnya apakah Kelantan dibawah pentadbiran PAS begitu lemah dalam soal pembangunan hinggakan pengundi menolak PAS?

Ironinya, PR cuba dan mahu untuk kuburkan BN tetapi ditimbus liang lahad yang digali oleh mereka sendiri.- Edwin Michael,fmt 


Kekalahan Pengkalan Kubor bukti PAS tidak boleh sendirian... 

Kekalahan PAS di Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Pengkalan Kubor malam tadi membuktikan walaupun di negeri yang mereka kuasai, parti Islam itu akan kalah tanpa sekutu mereka dalam Pakatan Rakyat (PR), kata penganalisis.

Selain itu, PAS juga terperangkap dalam pertembungan dalaman terlalu hebat untuk merampas kembali kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) itu daripada Barisan Nasional (BN), kata mereka kepada The Malaysian Insider.

“Kempen ini memperlihatkan kekuatan PAS tanpa rakan-rakan mereka, di negeri yang mereka kuasai,” kata Pengarah Eksekutif Merdeka Center Ibrahim Suffian.

Beliau berkata tanpa sekutu PR, PAS hanya bergantung kepada kekuatan Mursyidul Am PAS Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, katanya.

“Sekarang beliau sudah di penghujung usia, semakin lemah dan bukan lagi di barisan hadapan, anda dapat lihat kurangnya semangat di kalangan pemimpin PAS dan penyokongnya.”

“Kurangnya semangat dan juga disebabkan PRK tersepit di antara cuti sekolah dan Hari Raya Haji menyebabkan peratusan mengundi rendah,” kata Ibrahim.

Rendahnya peratusan keluar mengundi memberikan indikasi pengundi luar yang kebiasaannya mengundi pembangkang tidak pulang untuk membuang undi, katanya.

Calon Barisan Nasional (BN) Mat Razi Mat Ali malam tadi menang PRK Pengkalan Kubor dengan majoriti lebih besar 2,635 undi mengalahkan calon PAS Wan Ibrahim Wan Rosdi.

Mat Razi mendapat 9,961 berbanding Wan Rosdi yang memperolehi 7,326 undi dan calon Bebas Izat Bukhary Ismail Bukhary yang hanya memperoleh 38 undi.

Peratusan keluar mengundi hanya 73% berbanding 80% semasa Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 (PRU13) tahun lepas.

PRK Pengkalan Kubor berlangsung beberapa hari selepas Muktamar PAS ke-60 yang menyaksikan perlawanan secara terbuka di antara kumpulan konservatif dan kumpulan progresif parti Islam itu.

Ia juga berlangsung selepas kemelut menteri besar Selangor yang mengeruhkan hubungan antara PAS dan parti komponen PR selepas parti Islam itu mengambil pendirian berbeza.

Pemimpin tertinggi DAP dan PKR tidak kelihatan sepanjang tempoh berkempen, meninggalkan PAS sendirian di Pengkalan Kubor.

“Isu dalaman antara PR juga memberi kesan kepada pengundi di kawasan tersebut,” kata Ibrahim.

Namun beliau meragui kemelut Selangor dan sikap PAS sepanjang isu itu memberikan kesan kepada PRK disebabkan faktor Pengkalan Kubor yang berada di kawasan pedalaman.

Dr Wong Chin Huat dari Penang Institute berkata keputusan PRK memberikan gambaran masa depan politik PAS tanpa DAP dan PKR.

“Pengkalan Kubor bukan sahaja pengajaran, tetapi mini senario kepada masa depan mereka jika mahu bergerak sendirian,” katanya kepada The Malaysian Insider.

Beliau berkata kekalahan menunjukkan menteri besar baru Datuk Ahmad Yaakob gagal menunjukkan kekuatannya sejak mengambil alih daripada Nik Aziz tahun lepas.

“Beliau mencuba memposisikan dirinya sebagai pemimpin lebih baik daripada Nik Aziz, cuba mendesak pelaksanaan hudud, tetapi ia tidak mendapat sambutan,” kata Wong.

Sementara itu, penganalisis politik Khoo Khay Peng berkata PAS perlu menempuh jalan panjang untuk memenangi sokongan pengundi, terutamanya apabila PKR dan DAP tiada.

“Pakatan sudah tentu tidak membantu PAS, tetapi yang memberikan kesan kepada PAS adalah perpecahan dalamannya,” katanya.

“Keputusan PRK menunjukkan keperluan pimpinan tertinggi parti memberikan hala tuju lebih jelas dan menyelesaikan pertembungan antara golongan konservatif dan sederhana.” – tmi

Dr Wong Chin Huat dari Penang Institute berkata keputusan PRK memberikan gambaran masa depan politik PAS tanpa DAP dan PKR. – Gambar The Malaysian Insider oleh Afif Abd Halim, 26 September, 2014.
Pengkalan Kubor loss shows PAS cannot go solo...

PAS’s loss in the Pengkalan Kubor by-election yesterday proves that the party cannot survive without its allies in Pakatan Rakyat even in its stronghold, political analysts say.

They told The Malaysian Insider that the Islamist party was suffering from too many internal problems to single-handedly wrest the state assembly seat from Barisan Nasional (BN).

“This campaign reflects the strength PAS has without its partners, in its own state,” said Merdeka Center executive director, Ibrahim Suffian.

He said without its partners, PAS largely derived its strength from the personal appeal of its spiritual advisor, Datuk Seri Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

“Now he is in the twilight of his years, he is frail, no longer in the forefront, you can really see the dampening of mood and lack of enthusiasm among PAS and its supporters.”

This lack of enthusiasm, as well as the fact that the by-election was sandwiched in between the school holidays and Hari Raya Haji celebrations, had translated into a lower voter turnout, said Ibrahim.

A low turnout indicated that people from out of town, who were more likely to vote the opposition, had not returned to cast their ballots, he said.

BN's Mat Razi Mat Ali won the Pengkalan Kubor by-election with a bigger majority by defeating PAS's Wan Ibrahim Wan Rosdi, gaining 2,635 extra votes.

Mat Razi obtained 9,961 votes, beating Wan Rosdi who got 7,326 votes, while Independent candidate Izat Bukhary Ismail Bukhary only managed 38 votes.

Voter turnout out was at 73%, compared to 80% last year.

The Pengkalan Kubor by-election was held just days after PAS'sdivisive 60th annual Muktamar, which saw different factions come to a head as they discussed the future of the party.

It also came amidst the Selangor menteri besar (MB) impasse that had soured ties among PR following PAS’s decision to break ranks from its allies by refusing to support their choice of MB.

Throughout the campaign, DAP and PKR top leaders were noticeably absent, leaving PAS to manage the campaign alone in Pengkalan Kubor.

“The internal issues between PR had also dampened the mood of some within the electorate a little,” said Ibrahim.

But he doubted that the Selangor affair, and PAS’s actions throughout it, had made an impact on the by-election, given how remote Pengkalan Kubor was.

Dr Wong Chin Huat of the Penang Institute said the by-election hinted at what was in store for PAS’s political future if it continues to break ranks from DAP and PKR.

“Pengkalan Kubor is not just a lesson but a mini-scenario for their future if they were to go it alone,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

He added that the loss showed that Datuk Ahmad Yaakob “could not hold his forte” since taking over as MB from Nik Aziz last year.

“He’s trying to be more assertive than Nik Aziz, he’s been pushing strongly for hudud and selling religion heavily, but it didn’t gain traction,” said Wong.

Independent political analyst, Khoo Kay Peng, said PAS has a long way to go to mend itself if it wanted to win support from voters, especially if PKR and DAP were not around to help.

“Pakatan definitely didn’t pull their weight for PAS, but what affected it most was the factions within PAS itself,” he said.

“The by-election results shows the need for the top leadership to give the party a clearer direction, and to resolve the battle between the conservatives and the moderates.” – tmi

PAS 'menang boo, jawatan tergadai'

How did PAS lose an exco seat in Selangor...

After newly-minted Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali announced his new state executive council line-up today, it became clear that PAS lost an exco position to PKR, with its quota in the state government being reduced from four to three seats.

While some lauded this as a deserving punishment for PAS for its inconsistent position that aggravated the Selangor crisis that was started by PKR, others are angry that PAS, which has 15 state assemblypersons, should have less positions than PKR, which has only 13 seats.

PAS' conduct may have been given cause for its representation to be reduced, but the Islamic party put the nail in its own coffin after it effectively disowned two of its Selangor  assemblpersons by launching a series of vitriolic attacks against them for taking PKR's side in the crisis.

For one, PAS was seen as being inconsistent with its initial decision on the menteri besar crisis, even though its muktamar, which took place at the peak of the fiasco, was themed "Terus Beristiqamah" (to be consistent in one's struggle).

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang (left), in a series of strange moves, took three varying positions in the Selangor crisis.

These ranged from nominating PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her deputy Azmin Ali as menteri besar candidates to "leaving it to the Selangor palace to decide" and, subsequently, submitting PAS' own candidates for the top job.

These moves courted criticism from within PAS, particularly from the reform-minded professionals, dubbed the "Erdogan", and also riled up Pakatan Rakyat supporters who are pro-Anwar Ibrahim and stood by the PKR decision to push Wan Azizah as menteri besar.

The pro-Hadi faction promptly responded, and fiercely as well, to these criticisms at their party's three-day muktamar that began last Wednesday, which saw the Erdogan leaders being booed down, fuelling the heated meeting in Batu Pahat.

In a bid to cool down the tensed atmosphere at the muktamar, PAS deputy spiritual leader Haron Din implored delegates not to raise issues that can aggravate the cracks between the competing faction.

Respecting the call, delegates and party leaders struck a reconciliation on the last day of the muktamar, in a bid to calm the situation.

But the muktamar concluded with Hadi's stinging, and now infamous lackey (barua) and broker speech, which shocked those within and outside PAS, reopening the party's wounds which were, before this, seen as being on the mend.

Hadi's target was none other than the PAS assemblypersons in Selangor, Saari Sungib (Hulu Kelang) and Hasnul Baharuddin (Morib), who sided with PKR in the state's menteri besar crisis.

Disowned assemblypersons

Vexed by the party president's broadside, Saari challenged Hadi to produce proof that he was "bought over" by PKR to sign a statutory declaration in support of Wan Azizah.

Saari (left), a respected Islamist and former Internal Security Act detainee, also reiterated that he was prepared to be sacked from PAS and prosecuted for corruption if Hadi could produce any such evidence.

"I don't know what he meant by 'broker', 'lackey', 'stolen' and 'bought', as before this I have never heard about me being a 'broker', 'lackey' or 'being bought'," Saari was quoted as saying in reference to Hadi's speech.

Hadi's position, coupled with the protest stunts at the muktamar, did indeed deal a blow to the party's image.

Even though the "Kajang Move" was initiated by PKR with the aim of resolving its internal strife by installing a new Selangor menteri besar, deeper rifts have appeared in PAS.

The Selangor crisis can be likened to PKR suffering a flu for a mere few days but PAS, which contacted the infection, came down with severe fever, and which has spanned months.

Today, PAS has lost an exco seat as it is presumed to only have 13 state assemblypersons, although it was compensated with the deputy speaker position.

Prior to this, and aside from the menteri besar position, PKR and DAP only held three exco posts, while PAS had four.

The general notion has always been that PKR, is the smallest partner in the Selangor Pakatan coalition with 14 assemblypersons, and later 13 after it sacked incumbent Selangor menteri besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (left) from the party, while DAP and PAS had 15 respectively.

However, following the Selangor crisis, PAS is seeing two of its assemblypersons as "traitors" who had gone to PKR's side, even though they never renounced their loyalty to PAS.

As a result of the internal split in PAS, PKR now emerges as the strongest Pakatan party in Selangor, thereby bolstering its claim for the four exco positions it now holds, as well as the seat of menteri besar.

While PAS is still licking its wounds amid continued resentment between the pro-Pakatan and pro-Hadi groups, PKR has immediately moved to close ranks with Azmin bringing in different factions in PKR into his new government.

PKR unites, PAS remains split

Former deputy speaker Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Seri Setia), seen as a supporter of the Kajang Move, and rival Amirudin Shari (Batu Caves), who is an Azmin loyalist, were both brought into the exco line-up.

In contrast to PAS, PKR's bid to rebuild unity among its ranks is a much easier task as friction over the Selangor crisis has largely been kept under wraps and away from the media limelight

The manoeuvrings between Azmin's supporters, who have been wanting him as menteri besar, and rivals Saifuddin Nasution Ismail or Rafizi Ramli, who engineered the Kajang Move to install Wan Azizah (right) in the top post, were generally less confrontational, despite some isolated outbursts.

PKR, which also held its congress at the height of the Selangor menteri besar crisis, did not turn its annual general assembly into an open warfare. In fact, the congress was seen as rather tame and lethargic.

In contrast, competing PAS leaders publicly declared open war and their supporters hurled vitroil at one another at the muktamar, and in the social media as well.

As the Selangor saga comes to a conclusion, PAS has come out as the biggest loser, while PKR has consolidated its position, though not due to its own political savvy.

Instead, the outcome is a reflection of PAS' own political absurdity, fuelled by the Islamic party's political intrigue and unabated struggle between the Erdogan and pro-ulama groups, which have remained unresolved since 2008.

The factionalism within PAS deepened a year before the party election last year and this competition is continuing unabated , with opponents intensifying their rivalry at the muktamar that just ended, setting the tables for the next party elections due next year.

It is not for PAS to resent or blame PKR for tightening its grip on power in Selangor. However, it is seen that the Islamic party requires some serious introspection.

PAS' manoeuvring and subsequent infighting is seen as embodied the fictionial Malay clown Pak Kaduk and in the Malay saying, "menang sorak, kampung tergadai" (Winning the battle, but losing the war).- mk


PKR Youth downplays PAS’s desire to exit Pakatan


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