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Ibrahim Ali: Why Zul Noordin but not me?

Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali expressed disappointment he was not given a seat by BN, unlike Perkasa vice-president Zulkifli Noordin.
However, it did not mean that Ibrahim was upset with Zulkifli…

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Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali expressed disappointment he was not given a seat by BN, unlike Perkasa vice-president Zulkifli Noordin.
However, it did not mean that Ibrahim was upset with Zulkifli and was in fact glad that the latter will be fielded.
According to a report by Astro Awani, Ibrahim said what made him upset that he was not given any reason for being turned down.
"Not being shortlisted means I was not given a chance. I don't know why. Maybe I don't look handsome enough or other reasons," said Ibrahim in jest, when met at the airport in Pengkala Chepa.

However, Ibrahim said would be contesting as an Independent in Pasir Mas, a seat which he had won a few times with different parties.

"I want to state here that although I'm standing in Pasir Mas, it doesn't mean I'm against BN. I consider (my candidacy in) Pasir Mas as an isolated case," he said.

He said that he was not out for revenge against BN or Umno by standing as an Independent and urged all Perkasa members to back the BN candidate.

He added that his decision to stand as an Independent was based on requests from Pasir Mas electorate who want him to articulate on several issues, particularly on Malay rights and Islam.

Seventh outing

Ibrahim had stood as a candidate for Pasir Mas in every election since 1986. He scored his maiden victory that year and he retained the seat as a Semangat 46 member in 1990.

After re-joining Umno, he lost the seat to PAS in the subsequent election in 1995, which marked the start of his three contest losing streak.

In 2004, he contested as an Independent candidate and secured only 15 percent of the total votes cast.

He finally won the seat on a PAS ticket in 2008. He was not a member of PAS at the time and thus he later declared himself as a BN-friendly Independent member of Parliament.

This time round, BN is fielding Pasir Mas Umno division deputy chief Che Johan Che Pa for Pasir Mas. He is likely to face Ramli Yusof, a former police commissioner and local boy, from PAS.

Previously, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had mooted that BN field Ibrahim, to repay him for his good deeds towards BN.

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Chinese educators told to support BN in ‘special’ Johor meet

KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 – Barisan Nasional (BN) ministers went on the offensive against . Pakatan Rakyat (PR) today at a “special meeting” in Johor with Chinese-language school heads and…

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KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 – Barisan Nasional (BN) ministers went on the offensive against . Pakatan Rakyat (PR) today at a “special meeting” in Johor with Chinese-language school heads and teachers nationwide, reminding the 6,000-strong crowd of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s failed education policies when the opposition leader was in government 20 years ago.

The meeting at SJKC Foon Yew in Johor Baru, which featured BN political heavyweights from Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to MCA’s Datuk Wee Ka Siong and Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, was touted as an education ministry event arranged long before Parliament was dissolved on April 3, the Malaysiakini news portal reported.

“What Anwar failed to do, Najib completed in 1996, which was a turning point for Chinese education in Malaysia,” Health Minister Liow (picture) was quoted telling the audience.

Speaking partly in Mandarin, he reportedly urged the educators present to lend their full support to Datuk Seri Najib Razak so the prime minister could carry out progressive and open education policies for the Chinese community, who from about 30 per cent of the country’s multiracial population.

Muhyiddin, who heads the education ministry, assured the group that the BN government would preserve vernacular schools as part of the national education system, state news agency Bernama reported.

“The BN government will preserve the SJKC and SJKT to ensure that the children of the Chinese and Indian community in the country will be able to learn their respective mother tongues and their cultures,” the wire quoted the BN deputy chairman saying, using the initials for the vernacular schools.

Muhyiddin also called on the Chinese community not to get influenced by the opposition’s baseless allegation, especially during the polls, that the Chinese-language schools would be sidelined by the government.

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Anwar plays political poker in Sabah

Sabah Pakatan Rakyat is yet to consolidate its list of candidates as it toys with STAR and SAPP.

KUALA LUMPUR: With nominations just days away, speculations are rife that Opposition…

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Sabah Pakatan Rakyat is yet to consolidate its list of candidates as it toys with STAR and SAPP.

KUALA LUMPUR: With nominations just days away, speculations are rife that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is engaging Jeffrey Kitingan’s State Reform Party (STAR) in a 11th hour bid to find a solution to what promises to be a crippling election for Pakatan Rakyat if it remains adamant and uncompromising on Sabah seats.

Nomination is set for April 20 and by tomorrow all state Barisan Nasional component parties would have announced their list of candidates.

In Sabah, KadazanDusunMurut (KDM)-based Upko and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) have already announced their candidates. Umno, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are expected to follow suit.

Amidst this, Sabah Pakatan Rakyat is yet to consolidate its list.

A pre-emptive announcement of some candidates by PKR Tuaran division chief Ansari Abdullah earlier this month, which was later rubbished by party deputy president Azmin Ali, has made clear the depth of distrust and angst within PKR members of the PKR central leadership.

As such, these late-in-day “talks” with local parties can only mean that Anwar is troubled.

Barely a week ago, Anwar said he would direct Sabah Pakatan to re-open talks – which he had himself terminated – with Sabah Progressive People’s Party (SAPP).

Anwar had, at one point, ridiculed SAPP when he asked the party to prove its worth. And this too after incessant meetings dating back to 2011 to discuss possible straight fights.

But SAPP sources said today that they have not been approached “as yet and time is running out”.

SAPP is aiming to contest in 20 state and about 10 parliamentary seats.

STAR, meanwhile, is targeting to contest in at least 40 state and up to 20 parliamentary seats.

Word is that STAR, while weak on infrastructure, has a KDM-reach that outruns PKR’s and Anwar knows this.

Thus, this explains the move to reach out to Jeffrey. According to sources, Anwar’s man spoke to Jeffrey late last week and “made him an offer”.

Meanwhile, rippling through the grapevine here are talks that Anwar’s partiality towards Wilfred Bumburing and Lajim Ukin has backfired. Both defected from Barisan Nasional in July last year, pledging their allegiance to Anwar vis-a-vis PKR.

Anwar had left Bumburing to harness the KDMs and Lajim to look into the Muslim votes.

Herein lies the hiccup. Rumours are that Pakatan needs a bulk of KDM votes and that it doesn’t have it yet.

A wily politician

Said a PKR member, who declined to be named: “The situation has changed. The Muslim seats can go anywhere. Lajim has influence over a few Bisaya seats.

“But Wilfred [Bumburing] is in trouble. People don’t trust him. Our members are saying if he [Bumburing] is sincere, then why is he not a PKR member? They will not support any of his candidates.”

Both Bumburing and Lajim are MPs and are likely to defend their Tuaran and Beaufort seats under the PKR banner. Both have also been pushing for their own followers to be given seats and that has not gone down well with members.

But Anwar is going all-out to get Putrajaya and has declared that he needs the numbers from Sabah and Sarawak to cap their quest.

With just days to go before nomination, there is both scepticism and hope in Anwar’s olive branch extended to the Chinese-dominated SAPP and KDM-fuelled STAR.

Anwar is a wily politician who is apt at playing political poker. His is a hand that can either lift or kill you, a fact that both Jeffrey and SAPP president Yong Teck Lee are well aware of.

Both STAR and SAPP have been championing the cause of the Sabahans and the right to determine their own destiny which they alleged the federal government had hijacked decades ago.

Jeffrey, on his part, has been specific with his call to Sabahans to vote local and Pakatan “is not local”.

A political marriage between them, even a temporary one, will as such give Sabahans a fair chance at taking control of the state even if BN decides to plant its “agents” to split the votes.

But thus far there has been no indication that straight fights in Sabah’s 60 state and 25 parliamentary seats are likely.

Sabahans, natives included, are not as mindless as the political folks in Putrajaya wish to believe.

The unprecedented revelations spinning out of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the insidious federal agenda to neutralise Christian natives by legalising thousands of illegal Muslim immigrants to ensure Umno-BN stays in power, the “timing” of the Lahad Datu incursions, the consolidation of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) – which houses 11 parliamentary and 30 state seats – and the Petronas “scam” on local contractors have deeply scarred Sabahans.

Looking ahead, the only road left is for Sabahans to reclaim the right to “rule” their state the way they see fit.

The question now is, will Anwar and Pakatan set aside their personal demands and help Sabahans achieve this “right”?

If he does, what will be the price of this tryst?

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PSM compromises on logo, not seats

The party agrees to use other Pakatan Rakyat symbols in the coming polls, but will not back down from the four seats it aims to contest.

KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Sosialis…

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The party agrees to use other Pakatan Rakyat symbols in the coming polls, but will not back down from the four seats it aims to contest.

KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has agreed to use the symbols of other Pakatan Rakyat parties instead of its clenched fist logo in next month’s general election.

However, PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan stressed that PSM would not back down from the four seats it aims to contest.

PSM would be fielding its four candidates in two states: Semenyih and Kota Damansara state seats in Selangor; Sungai Siput parliament and Jelapang state seat in Perak.

“We have reversed the decision taken by our national committee that insisted on using our logo. The party is only willing to compromise on the logo. If PKR does not give in, we will contest the seats using our own logo,” he told a press conference here.

Arutchelvan was commenting on the party’s emergency national committee meeting resolution held last night that was participated by 93 state and branch delegates.

PSM’s national committee had passed a resolution to use their logo for GE13 on Jan 13.

Between a rock and a hard place

On Sunday night, Opposition Leader and PKR de facto chief Anwar Ibrahim announced his Serdang division chief Hamidi Hassan as the Semenyih candidate. This paved the way for a possible three-cornered showdown for the state seat.

He however did not name a candidate for Kota Damansara although PKR had shortlisted candidates previously.

Yesterday, Arutchelvan revealed that PKR had backtracked on its words by fielding candidates in PSM contested seats.

In 2008, Arutchelvan lost Semenyih to Umno’s Johan Aziz by 1,140 votes. Johan polled 11,588 votes to Arutchelvan’s 10,448 votes.

Party chairman Nasir Hashim polled 11,846 votes to beat Umno’s Zein Isma Ismail by a majority of 1,075 votes. Zein obtained 10,771 votes for the Kota Damansara seat.

PSM supreme council member Dr D Michael Jeyakumar clinched Sungai Siput by defeating former MIC president S Samy Vellu with a majority of 1,821 votes. He polled 16,458 votes to Samy’s 14,637 votes.

In Jelapang, PSM deputy chairman M Sarasvathy was defeated in a three-cornered battle.

DAP’s Hee Yit Foong polled 12,219 votes to win against MCA candidate, Loh Kai Pin’s 5,512 votes and Sarasvathy’s 1,275 votes in the Chinese-majority seat located in Batu Gajah.

For this coming election, DAP is adamant that it wants to place its candidate in Jelapang despite PSM’s long term work in the state constituency.

Even in Sungai Siput, there is talk that either PKR or DAP would want to have their candidate to take on MIC’s SK Devamany.

Meanwhile, Arutchelvan said that an emergency PSM meeting had been arranged last night since PKR’s action had put PSM between a rock and a hard place.

No PSM-friendly candidates

The emergency meeting also witnessed the rejection of offers from non-members to contest using PSM logo.

“We have rejected the requests from 12 non-PSM members because it goes against PSM’s principles. We don’t believe in parachute candidates,” he said.

The party strictly ensures that members serve a constituency for a minimum of five years before contesting for a seat. In addition, the candidacy must be supported by the party’s local branch.

On another matter, the party is also offering its local branch secretary B Suresh Kumar to contest for the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat, which will be contested by MIC president G Palanivel.

“It is a question of winnability. We are confident that Suresh can defeat Palanivel. We’ll request DAP to consider it but will not pressure them to accept our request,” said Arutchelvan.

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‘Somebody told me to go for Cameron’

MIC president G Palanivel also reveals that the prime minister did not pick MIC candidates but it was done by the party itself.

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president G Palanivel today…

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MIC president G Palanivel also reveals that the prime minister did not pick MIC candidates but it was done by the party itself.

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president G Palanivel today revealed that he initially wanted to contest the Sungi Siput parliamentary seat but decided to fight for the Cameron Highlands constituency because “somebody” told him to do so.

“First I wanted to go to Sungai Siput, but later I decided to contest in Cameron Highlands…somebody told me to contest the seat,” he told reporters after announcing the party’s list of candidates for the upcoming 13th General Elections.

Palanivel however did not mention who that “somebody” was.

Nominations for the polls is on Saturday while voting is on May 5.

Palanivel has been without a seat after his loss in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency in the 2008 general election. In the polls, then party president S Samy Vellu also lost the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat.

The Sungai Siput seat is traditionally contested by the MIC president. But this time around Palanivel chose to contest Cameron Highlands, which is relatively an easier seat for Barisan Nasional compared to Sungai Siput.

MIC has nominated party vice-president SK Devamany, who is also deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, to fight the Sungai Siput seat.

At the same press conference, Palanivel contradicted himself saying that all candidates appointed by the party was decided by the party.

“All the candidates are chosen by the party. We submit three to four names for a seat and he [the prime minister] endorses them. So all candidates are chosen by the party. The PM only advises based on the list submitted to him,” Palanivel said.

The MIC chief is also confident that the party would win all nine parliamentary seats it would contest.

“As for the 18 state seats we are contesting, we can win 14 to 16 seats.

“With the good combination of Malay, Chinese and Indian support, the BN can take back Selangor, Kedah and Perak. Voters mood favours the BN,” he said.

He also urged party leaders not selected to contest to calm down.

“Do not worry. I will take care off them by offering senatorships and GLC positions,” he said.

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Pencalonan Zul Noordin, Fathul Bari dikecam

Kecaman tersebut timbul ekoran pendirian mereka yang bersifat assabiyah dan perkauman.

PETALING JAYA: Sebuah badan hak asasi manusia, Pergerakan As Sajjad hari ini mengecam pencalonan dua ahli Umno, Zulkifli Noordin…

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Kecaman tersebut timbul ekoran pendirian mereka yang bersifat assabiyah dan perkauman.

PETALING JAYA: Sebuah badan hak asasi manusia, Pergerakan As Sajjad hari ini mengecam pencalonan dua ahli Umno, Zulkifli Noordin dan Fathul Bari Mat Jahaya, pada Pilihan Raya Umum ke 13 (PRU13) 5 Mei ini.

Zulkifli diumumkan sebagai calon di kerusi Parlimen Shah Alam manakala Fathul Bari, pengerusi Jawatankuasa Kerja Sekretariat Ulama Muda Umno (Ilmu), diumumkan sebagai calon Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Sanglang, Perlis.

Pencalonan Zulkifli, yang juga adalah Naib Presiden Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) untuk P 108 Parlimen Shah Alam gagal menjelmakan semangat dan pendekatan holistik dan terkehadapan Barisan Nasional dalam isu-isu perhubungan kaum atau etnik,” kata kumpulan itu dalam satu kenyataan media.

Kritikan terhadap Zulkifli timbul ekoran kemunculan rakaman video Youtube yang menunjukkan Zulkifli menghina konsep ketuhanan dalam agama Hindu.

Pergerakan As Sajjad juga kecewa dengan pencalonan Fathul Bari ekoran kenyataan Fathul yang bersifat anti-Syiah.

“Beliau telah melakukan pemomokan dan fitnah yang serius terhadap minoriti Syiah di negara ini.

“Kami berpendapat pencalonan Fathul Bari adalah bertentangan dengan semangat Deklarasi Islamabad 2007 yang menggariskan bahawa tiada umat Islam dibenarkan membunuh atau membahayakan umat Islam lain, samada Syiah atau Sunni,” kata kumpulan tersebut.

As Sajjad turut mengkritik penyertaan anggota kumpulan Ikatan Muslim Malaysia (Isma) yang bertanding di lapan kerusi parlimen atas tiket Barisan Jemaaah Islamiyah Semalaysia (Berjasa) kerana mereka bersifat perkauman.

Manifesto calon Berjasa menyatakan bahawa mereka bertanding untuk “menebus kembali hak dan kuasa politik Melayu-Islam di Parlimen dan Dewan Undangan-Dewan Undangan Negeri-Negeri tertentu.

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Gerrymandering Malaysia

Enthusiastic voters

(Asia Sentinel) Home field advantage
The largest electoral district in Malaysia has 144,369 registered voters, according to the latest electoral roll. The smallest has only 37,390. They are…

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Enthusiastic voters

(Asia Sentinel) Home field advantage
The largest electoral district in Malaysia has 144,369 registered voters, according to the latest electoral roll. The smallest has only 37,390. They are both in Selangor, meaning the state's largest seat is four times its smallest. The Kapar district, the biggest, was won by the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat in the 2008 elections. The smallest, Sabak Bernam, was won by the Barisan Nasional.

The disparity between these two districts fits with the practice of corralling the largest number of potential opposition voters into a single district - as opposed to keeping pro-government districts as small as possible to multiply the number of pro-government seats.

Critics are using such disparities as fuel to allege that the Barisan Nasional government is putting a wide range of other electoral misuses in place in the effort make sure the opposition Pakatan Rakyat doesn't take power after May 5 elections.

Ong Kian Ming, the director of the Malaysian Electoral Roll Analysis Project and an official with the opposition Democratic Action Party, told a forum at a Kuala Lumpur suburban library Friday, reported by the website for the KL-based publication The Edge, that the government is also packing voter rolls in crucial pro-opposition districts with pro-Barisan Nasional voters. Voter numbers in Selangor, the country's richest state, have increased by 660,000 since the 2008 elections.

The allegations by Merap, as the organization is known, and a wide variety of other sources cast doubt on whether Malaysia can really put on a fair election. Ong's complaints are a small part of a long litany of objections by neutral and opposition observers of allegations of malapportionment, gerrymandering, falsified voter registration and intimidation of voters and political activists.

What that means is that if the opposition manages to win control of Parliament, it will have to do so by a landslide. One UMNO source confidently said that isn't going to happen.

"Overall, we are not fighting to form the government but to regain the two-thirds majority, which will be tough but possible now," the source said. "Barisan morale is high even amongst the younger generation."

That may well be campaign rhetoric. Polls show a razor-thin margin in favor of the Barisan and most political analysts say the race is so close that the country may well end up with a hung parliament.

Bersih, the election reform NGO, has been pushing for cleaning up the election process for more than two years, with little to show for its efforts. One of the problems stems from the fact that the country's Election Commission, rather than being an independent body, comes under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister's office.

"Irregularities in most general elections until now have been reported quite regularly," wrote Dr. Wolfgang Sachsenroder, a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, in the Australian Monash University website New Mandala. "The long list reaches from vote buying, stuffing of ballot boxes, bussing of voters to other constituencies and multiple voting, "phantom voters," "imported voters," "missing voters," manipulated voter lists, to granting citizenship to illegal immigrants (mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines)."

And while Ong represents an opposition body, his complaints echo those made by an international fact-finding body composed of representatives from India, Australia, Germany, Indonesia and the Philippines in a report in November 2012 that quoted critics expressing concern "at the large number of voters in certain constituencies (largely held by members of the Opposition). They suggested that these voters may be allocated to these constituencies in order to enable government candidates to win elections."

Australian Sen. Nick Xenophon, one of the six-member international group, was refused entry back into Malaysia in February 2013 when he was branded a "security risk."

Critics, the report said, "raised allegations of tens of thousands of doubtful voters on the electoral roll." Other allegations from military personnel were that they intimidated not voting for the Barisan because they were certain their votes could be traced by their superiors.

Across the country, Ong said, of 3.7 million new voters in the country, 34 percent were registered by political parties, 29 percent by the Royal Post Office, 20 percent by the Election Commission and 10 percent by the Ministry of Information's Department of Special Affairs (Jasa).

Jasa has come under particular scrutiny, Ong said, "because this organization does not register voters through conventional means... Jasa is a special agency that sits under the ministry of information. The director is no other than Datuk Fuad Hassan. He is a former UMNO assembly member for Hulu Kelang until he lost to Azmin Ali in 1999."

He told local media that Jasa is "basically a propaganda unit for Barisan Nasional. It basically collects intelligence on behalf of the Barisan and tries to push out information on its behalf to win votes. It has more ability and broadest scope compared to the special branch," he said during the forum.

The opposition Pakatan Rakyat shocked the Barisan Nasional by winning Selangor, one of the biggest states in the country and the richest, in the 2008 national election. Today, Ong said, eight of the top 10 parliament seats with the most number of new voters since 2008 are in Selangor. The other two are in Johor, where Pakatan Rakyat is making a major push in the election slated for May 5 to take the state away from the United Malays National Organization.

"The reason for such malapportionment is to disadvantage opposition voters," Wong said. "The largest seats are all won by the opposition but smaller ones are won by the Barisan. That makes it quite likely that the Barisan would win a majority of the seats."

"It has gone beyond the ethnic lines, where urban Malays and rural Malays are disadvantaged when they support the opposition," he added.

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Appointment of Prime Minister after General Elections

LoyarBurok
by Tommy Thomas

as published in LoyarBurok on 10 Apr 2013

Truth is the first casualty in the Barisan controlled mass media in the final run-up to the 13th…

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LoyarBurok
by Tommy Thomas

as published in LoyarBurok on 10 Apr 2013

Truth is the first casualty in the Barisan controlled mass media in the final run-up to the 13th General Elections. Among the falsehoods widely disseminated in the mainstream media is firstly, the extent and scope of the discretion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in inviting a person to become the Prime Minister in order to form the next federal government, and secondly the allegation that Barisan is regarded as “one party” while Pakatan is considered “a coalition” is relevant in computing the level of support in the Dewan Rakyat for the purpose of appointing a Prime Minister.

We have to turn to the Federal Constitution for the answers. Article 40(2) provides that “the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may act in his discretion in the performance of the following functions, that is to say:-

(a) the appointment of a Prime Minister”.

The words “in his discretion” may indicate that the Agong has a wide discretion. However, Article 43 (2) (a) substantially narrows such discretion by stating that the Agong shall appoint as Prime Minister “a member of the House of Representatives who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House”. Hence, within the terms of the Constitution itself, the King cannot act with total freedom. Instead, the Prime Minister so appointed must be:

(i) a member of the Dewan Rakyat (as opposed to being a Senator); and

(ii) must be able to command the confidence of the majority, that is, at least 112 Members of Parliament out of a total membership of 222.

Articles 40(2) and 43(2)(a) merely set out in express terms the constitutional convention which has existed for at least 2 centuries of the Westminister type of parliamentary government which Malaysia has. We have a government, elected once in 5 years, which is responsible to Parliament, that is, a government that is accountable to the elected branch of the Legislature. Because that is a fundamental pillar of parliamentary democracy, a person can only be the Prime Minister if he can initially command – and subsequently retain for the entire parliamentary term of 5 years – the confidence of the majority of the members of the Dewan Rakyat.

It would be noted that the terms “party” and “coalition  of parties” are not referred to in Article 43(2)(b). That represents the constitutional position. Under the constitution, how a Prime Minister achieves a majority in the Dewan Rakyat is not stated. The Constitution, intended to serve as the nation’s supreme law for posterity, is deliberately drafted in wide, broad and general terms, and is also to be interpreted in a liberal and generous fashion. What is fundamental is the ability of a Prime Minister to control the majority of the Dewan Rakyat so that he has a stable government. The task facing the Agong, as constitutional monarch, is clear when appointing a Prime Minister after general elections (as opposed to the death or retirement of a Prime Minister). The King invites the Leader of the coalition of parties — either Najib Razak or Anwar Ibrahim — who enjoys the support of 112 or more members of the Dewan Rakyat. It is as simple and plain as that. I have set out the position as discussed by constitutional scholars in Malaysia, Britain, India and Australia in the Appendix that follows.

The political reality is the dominance of parties in the modern democratic system, and more significantly, the use of the party whip to ensure discipline among party members. This means that parties (or coalitions of parties) are the dominant actors in the political realm. They choose the candidates, fund them, and ensure that they run on the party ticket supporting the party manifesto. The electorate invariably votes for the party, rather than the candidate, although there are always charismatic candidates who would personally receive some votes, rather than through their party. After election, the successful Members of Parliament accept the party whip and vote with their party throughout the life of that Parliament. The party itself elects its leader. Thus, for all practical purposes, the leader of the political party that has won the general elections will be invited by the Monarch to form the next government; for example, Tony Blair leading the Labour Party to victory in 1998, and being invited by Queen Elizabeth to become Prime Minister. In such circumstances, the Monarch has absolutely no choice in the matter.

In Malaysia, no single party (not even UMNO) has been able to command the majority of the members of the Dewan Rakyat. Instead, the first government of independent Malaya which took power on 31st August 1957 was the Alliance coalition comprising UMNO, MCA and MIC. In 1972, the Alliance expanded into the Barisan Nasional coalition which now consists of 14 different political parties. All the 6 Prime Ministers of Malaysia headed coalitions, and that trend will continue in the foreseeable future.

The disinformation circulating in the Barisan mass media is that there is a major distinction between the Barisan and Pakatan coalitions which the King should take into account when appointing a Prime Minister after the 13th General Elections. According to this argument, the Barisan has been registered as a political party by the Registrar of Societies (“ROS”) under the Societies Act, 1966. As a result, all the candidates for the 222 parliamentary seats contested by Barisan will stand on a common Barisan ticket. In contrast, Pakatan candidates will contest as PAS, Keadilan or DAP candidates rather than as Pakatan candidates. This is a wholly disingenuous argument. What is never disclosed is that the ROS is a bureaucrat totally subservient to the Barisan government. He never acts independently, fairly or correctly. Just one example of his bias would be sufficient : it should be recalled when the High Court declared UMNO illegal in 1986, the ROS immediately approved Prime Minister Mahathir’s application for the formation of UMNO Baru while rejecting the application by former Prime Ministers Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Hussein Onn for the registration of their own political party. Therefore it is not surprising to learn that the ROS rejected Pakatan’s application to register itself as a political party while approving Barisan’s similar application. Thus, Pakatan is prevented from contesting as a single party.

In such circumstances, by the abuse of the law, Pakatan is not treated the same way by Barisan.  Surely that cannot objectively be a relevant factor in the exercise by the Agong of His Majesty’s discretion under Article 43(2)(b) as to who is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Dewan Rakyat.

What stands out in this general elections is a close contest which offers a simple, straight-forward choice between Barisan and Pakatan. Likewise, it is a simple, straight-forward choice between Najib Razak and Anwar Ibrahim as Prime Minister. Indeed, in the presidential style campaign adopted by Najib, his personality is very much emphasized, rather than that of UMNO or Barisan. The 13.3 million voters are also aware that they have this simple, straight-forward choice in the ballot box, and are being invited to vote along such lines in two cornered contests in nearly all the seats.

Against this background, it is absolutely flawed to argue that Najib can take into account all the Barisan Members of Parliament when computing his support in the Dewan Rakyat, but Anwar can only take into account the Keadilan Parliamentarians (but not the others who were elected under DAP, PAS or other Pakatan parties). This myth must be demolished.

Like all Malaysians, the Agong and his palace advisers will be closely following the campaign, the elections and the results. The Agong is entitled constitutionally to exercise his judgment quietly, calmly, freely, independently and impartially. No pressure or threat must be used to influence the Agong. There must be no repeat of the shameful episode in Sabah in April 1985 which resulted in the grab for power by Tun Mustapha and Harris Salleh which became the subject of litigation in Tun Mustapha Harun v Tun Mohd. Adnan Robert and Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitigan [1986] 2 MLJ 420.

Most critically, the Agong is entitled to receive independent legal advice, that is, independent of Barisan and Pakatan. This means that the Attorney General’s Chambers, which has been in the forefront of giving partisan legal advice to the Barisan government for years, and the Attorney-General who is personally beholden to Najib Razak and who has prosecuted Anwar Ibrahim since 1998, should not also advise the Agong in the monarch’s most important constitutional duty, the appointment of the next Prime Minister. The Agong should look elsewhere for independent legal advice, if that becomes necessary.

Tommy Thomas

10th April 2013

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APPENDIX

(i) MALAYSIA

Since attaining independence in 1957 there has not been any problem regarding the appointment of the Prime Minister. This is because, first, the same party has remained in power, having always won the general election by a sufficiently big majority. Secondly, when the party chooses its leader it is always with the understanding that if the party comes to power, he would be the Prime Minister. So, at the Federal level, the role so far played by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in appointing the Prime Minister, has been no more than giving constitutional endorsement to the decision of the party in power. ‘Party’ here must be read to mean the ‘major party in the governing coalition’.

(Page 80)

Secondly, the existence of ‘close ties’ between the Sultan and the nominee is not relevant. It is not a factor to be considered. The only consideration is whether he is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Assembly.

(Page 82)

Y.A.M. Raja Azlan Shah

The Role of Constitutional Rulers in Malaysia

published in

The Constitution of Malaysia – Further Perspectives And Developments

edited by F.A. Trindade & H.P. Lee [1986]

This subjective judgment may appear to give freedom of choice, yet by convention the monarch is practically bound to appoint only that person who is leader of the political party which has the largest number of seats in the Lower House. No doubt some other person could instead be appointed, since there is no way that the Agong’s own personal satisfaction in this matter could be challenged. Yet, he would not do so because he is aware that such a person would be able to stay on in office only until the next vote of no confidence is passed against him in the House. This would illustrate the view that conventions are still important for written constitutions as well.

(Pages 48 & 49)

Azmi Abdul Khalid

“ROLE OF THE MONARCH”

published in

Reflections on the Malaysian Constitution,

Aliran [1987]

(ii) Britain

… in reality the Queen’s prerogative is governed by the fundamental constitutional convention, grounded in political necessity, that she must appoint as Prime Minister the man or woman who can form a government which will have the confidence of the House of Commons. Normally this convention clearly indicates the party leader who, having majority support in the House, has an indisputable claim to be appointed.

A general election that fails to give an overall majority to one party may produce a result allowing of either a single-party minority government or a government formed from any of various combinations of parties under one or other of a number of party leaders.

… What should be the role of the sovereign in the choice of a Prime Minister in such circumstances ? The ‘golden rule’, as Robert Hazell expressed it, ‘is not to draw the monarchy into controversy or political negotiations’

By Colin Turpin & Adam Tomkins

British Government and the Constitution

7th Ed [2011)

(Page 381)

But the most dramatic and significant part of the electoral outcome came in the five days of inter-party negotiations leading to the formation of the Coalition Government.  Over the course of five long days, Friday May 7 to Tuesday May 11, 2010, the political parties entered into a multi-faceted process of negotiations, some formal, many informal, with pressures exerted upon the leading players from within their parties and without. A significant feature throughout this period was the intense confidentiality surrounding the communications and meetings between participants.

A figure of 326 parliamentary seats was needed for an overall majority, leaving the largest party, the Conservatives, 20 short.  After the Conservative Party combined with the Liberal Democrats, their voting strength in the House of Commons is 363 compared to 287 all others.

Robert Blackburn

The 2010 General Election Outcome andFormation of the Conservative —Liberal Democrat Coalition Government

[2011] PL 30

(iii) INDIA

If two or more parties enter into a coalition and thus secure a majority in the Lok Sabha, then again the President would have no option but to induct the acknowledged leader of the coalition into the Prime Minister’s office. In 1977, the Janata Party, a combination of several parties, secured a majority. The leader of Janata Party Morarji Desai was appointed Prime Minister.

(Page 186)

M.P. Jain

Indian Constitutional Law

Vol. 1 — 6th Ed [2010]

But if in a general election the party in power is defeated, and no party with a clear majority is returned to the House of the People, then, notwithstanding that the Ministry continues in office till a new Ministry is sworn in, the President has a real discretion to ascertain for himself, first, which party or combination of parties can form a stable Government, and secondly, which of the persons  contending for leadership is accepted by such party or parties as their leader.

(Pages 2043 & 2044)

Article 75 (1) provides that “the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President, and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister”. Ordinarily, by convention, the acknowledged leader of a political party, or a group of parties, which commands the support of a majority of the House of the People must be appointed Prime Minister.

(Pages 2046 & 2047)

H.M. Seervai

Constitutional Law of India

Vol. 2 — 4th Ed. [1996]

(iv) AUSTRALIA

The Westminster type of parliamentary democracy relies for its working on the presence of a head of state who acts as a kind of umpire in the electoral game. The Governor-General’s role in constituting the government (by commissioning a Prime Minister) has already been noted. Often, the choice is clear, because one party or a coalition of parties has won a clear majority of seats at the elections. But from time to time there is no clear winner; then the Governor-General faces the difficult task of determining which party leader (or other member of Parliament) is most likely to secure the confidence of Parliament. This duty can be discharged properly only by consulting with all party leaders and independent members in good faith, and by acting in an impartial manner. A party does not secure an overall majority may claim majority support in the lower house by concluding agreements with independents and minor parties. This is what happened after the August 2010 General Election when Ms Julia Gillard secured the agreement of three independents and one Green Party member to become Prime Minister although her Labor Party failed to gain a majority.

Suri Ratnapala & Jonathan Crowe

Australian Constitutional Law – Foundations and Theory

3rd Ed. [2012]

(Page 55)

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Ghani Othman’s candidature in Gelang Patah – implementation of Mahathir’s first directive in the 13GE: “End Kit Siang’s political career”

The announcement of Datuk Ghani Othman, the Johor Mentri Besar, as the candidate of the Barisan Nasional parliamentary constituency of Gelang Patah in the 13th General Election has not created…

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The announcement of Datuk Ghani Othman, the Johor Mentri Besar, as the candidate of the Barisan Nasional parliamentary constituency of Gelang Patah in the 13th General Election has not created any surprises as this has been an open secret for the past fortnight.

This was both the request of the MCA President, Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek who was even prepared to unilaterally surrender the Gelang Patah seat, traditional fortress of MCA, as well as the directive of the former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir who came to Johore on April 1 and called on the people of Johor in the 13GE to end my political career.

Ghani’s candidature is the implementation by the Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak of Mahathir’s first directive in the 13GE, “End Kit Siang’s political career”.

Nobody doubts that the most powerful man in UMNO and Barisan Nasional today is not the Prime Minister and BN Chairman but Mahathir, the de facto power behind the throne in UMNO and BN.

In fact, Najib is very afraid of Mahathir as the former longest-serving Prime Minister had proved that he was capable to both setting up UMNO/BN Prime Ministers as well as toppling them, as happened to Tun Abdullah after the 2008 general elections.

Although Ghani tried to deny the “undeniable” by stating that his candidacy was not to “bury” my political career but to defend what Johor had achieved all this while including the harmony among the different races, everyone in Gelang Patah, Johore and Malaysia know the real reason and agenda for Ghani’s candidacy in Gelang Patah.

In fact, after Mahathir’s open call on April 1, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin publicly stated that I was “trapped” in Gelang Patah saying categorically that I was “finished” politically.

There can be no more powerful evidence that the UMNO leadership, under Mahathir’s directive have worked out a strategy to ensure that Gelang Patah becomes my “political grave”.

I leave my political future in the hands of the voters of Gelang Patah who will decide whether I am politically buried in the 13GE.

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80 Per Cent New Faces In Best Transformational GE13 Line-up For Selangor, Says Najib

SHAH ALAM, April 16 (Bernama) -- The Barisan Nasional (BN) is to field 80 per cent new faces, among them professionals and credible individuals, in Selangor in the 13th General…

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SHAH ALAM, April 16 (Bernama) -- The Barisan Nasional (BN) is to field 80 per cent new faces, among them professionals and credible individuals, in Selangor in the 13th General Election, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Tuesday.

Najib, who is Selangor BN chairman, said this was in keeping with the wishes and expectations of the people in the state, and the BN submitted to the wishes and power of the people.

The candidates were the best transformational line-up to recapture Selangor from the opposition and establish a strong state government, he said before announcing the 22 candidates for parliamentary seats and 56 for state seats in the state, at an event at the Selangor Umno building here.

The BN candidates for Selangor comprise professionals such as lawyers, engineers, accountants and businessmen.

Najib also pledged to fulfil the Selangor BN's pledges and said the new state government would be unlike the present opposition state government which only made empty promises.

Najib said the BN candidates were selected after taking into account their popularity at the grassroots, people-friendly demeanour and preparedness to provide dedicated service to the people.

"As such, I expect our candidates to convince the voters that they can bring success to the BN. This is the line-up which will redeem our defeat (in the last general election) and return the BN as the government in Selangor.

"I apologise if, in the selection of these candidates, my colleagues and I were unable to satisfy the hopes of all quarters because it is impossible to do so," he said.

He said it was more important for the party to be victorious and they gave the party hope to champion the party members and the people.

Najib said that as the Selangor BN chairman, he would continue to monitor the running of the state government if the BN recaptured the state and would ensure that the state underwent a transformation and more intensive development.

"We will rectify any shortcomings to the best of our ability," he said.

In this general election, Umno is fielding nine candidates in parliamentary seats and 35 in state seats in Selangor, the MCA is fielding seven candidates in parliamentary seats and 14 in state seats, the MIC is fielding four candidates in parliamentary seats and three in state seats.

Gerakan is fielding one candidate in a parliamentary seat and three candidates in state seats, the PPP is fielding one candidate in a state seat while former Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP and Perkasa vice-president Datuk Zulkifli Noordin is being fielded in the Shah parliamentary seat.

At the event, Najib expressed his appreciation and thanks to the people for their rising support and hoped that Allah (God) would bless the BN with a victory in Selangor.

The prime minister is scheduled to launch the BN manifesto for Selangor at 8 pm tomorrow at the Shah Alam Convention Centre.

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