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 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.

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 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)

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 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.

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 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.

Kohilan upbeat over victory in Puchong

He has also identified three immediate concerns for Puchong voters - public safety, traffic woes and vernacular schools.

PETALING JAYA: Gerakan’s candidate for Puchong, A Kohilan Pillay remains confident of winning the parliamentary seat

“I am very confident of winning the Puchong seat. I have been a regular face in Puchong for the past four years.

“We’ll go all out to regain the seat,” said the 46-year-old Kohilan when contacted today.

Yesterday, Gerakan named Kohilan as its candidate to wrest Puchong from the incumbent, DAP’s Gobind Singh Deo.

He was born in Kampung Tun Razak, 13th Mile, Puchong and he is currently based in Selayang.

Kohilan is currently national vice president and Selangor chief of Gerakan. He is a senator who was made the deputy foreign affairs minister in Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s cabinet.

In the 2008 general election, Gobind won the seat with a 12,593 vote majority defeating Gerakan’s Lau Yeng Peng.

The Puchong parliamentary constituency has about 108,000 voters of which 43% are Chinese. The balance are made up 40% Malays, 16% Indians and 1% others.

There are two state seats under Puching – Umno’s Mohamad Satim Diman won the Seri Serdang state seat while Teresa Kok of the DAP won the Kinrara state seat in 2008.

When asked on his immediate concerns relating to Puchong, Kohilan listed out three issues – public safety, traffic woes and vernacular schools.

“I will discuss with the Home Ministry to increase police beats in Puchong,” he said.

There are currently two district police headquarters in Puchong.

On the traffic woes in the constituency, Kohilan did not elaborate but said that the problem would be easily resolved if the state and federal governments were made up of BN.

On vernacular schools, Kohilan said that Gerakan would upgrade SJK(C) Feng Chi and have already obtained three acres of land for the construction of a Tamil school in Puchong.

“We are working on getting the building,” he said but did not mention the location of the school.

Hindraf should not become Umno's fool

"Honestly, if you're given the choice between Armageddon or tea, you don't say 'what kind of tea?"

- Neil Gaiman


COMMENT The question is why Hindraf should wait until April 18 to see which alliance comes to the altar. My answer is they should not. They should not wait hat in hand to see which disingenuous group comes a calling but send out a message to their grassroots that they should vote as their conscience dictates.

Staying out of the elections is an unacceptable choice. As Rabindranath Tagore says, "You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water."

Hindraf's national advisor N Ganesan said, "We don't owe allegiance to any political party in the country, we owe allegiance to the people we represent," and I support this one hundred percent and would add "that most political parties have shown no allegiance to the people they claim to represent".

However, there is no way Umno would ever endorse the blueprint because by doing so, it would repudiate the racial power-sharing formula and the so-called social contract they jealously guard. In addition, always remember this election is a referendum on the decades-long Umno watch.

At this moment, Umno and BN despite what Pakatan Rakyat partisans think are playing the political game far more shrewdly than Pakatan. Caretaker PM Najib Razak is going out cash in hand to every major and minor sub-ethnic group to shore up support for his regime. His job depends on not whether his party wins but by the margin of victory.

Pakatan obviously realises that his cash handouts is gaining traction, which is why it made an about-turn and said that cash handouts would not end if they come into power after Pakatan and their supporters spent months decrying the horrid nature of Umno-BN's "money politics".

Right-thinking Malaysians have come to expect these kinds of reversals from Pakatan. This is why after months of acrimony, the DAP suddenly comes up with the Galang Patah declaration which predictably includes many points raised by the Hindraf blueprint. This of course follows a dodgy script when it comes to dealings with Hindraf. Remember the whole Indraf fiasco?

Political expediency

I have no idea on what basis DAP MP Charles Santiago (left) thinks that Pakatan is "not at war with Hindraf" since by the actions of their supporters and comments like "childish", the tone is anything but civil. However, Hindraf too has been politically inept in dealing with Pakatan. Calling Indian representatives of Pakatan "mandores" is a war cry in itself. Therefore, there is plenty of blame to go around.

By the way, there is nothing "childish" in the response of Hindraf to the Galang Patah declaration in the context of the "plagiarism" charges, unless of course you consider Nurul Izzah accusation of plagiarism on BN's manifesto childish?

However as Kua Kia Soong alluded in his article, concerning Hindraf's blueprint "Or could it be that incorporating Hindraf's proposals would pose a threat to the jostling for seats among the Indian leaders in Pakatan? If this realpolitik is indeed one of the reasons for the Pakatan-Hindraf fallout, it is a let down of serious proportions for all Malaysians who hope for change in GE13."

I have heard much the same from Malay and Chinese representatives in Pakatan. Unfortunately, political expediency nearly always trumps commitment to principles or as Kua describes this phenomenon as "wise after the event". But then again, Pakatan is not the only player in this game.

Umno-BN has been playing this game for far too long. All these cash handouts to various communities are to split whatever cohesiveness Pakatan has tenuously cobbled together. If the question is supporting the devil you know versus the devil you do not, then the answer is simple.

You support the devil you do not simply because the devil you know through the MIC is the reason why the disenfranchised of the Indian community is in the state they are in now.

Pakatan may have been derelict in fulfilling whatever promise they made to the disenfranchised of the Indian community but the fact remains that the plight of these people are a direct result of the decades-long Umno hegemony through the MIC and the apathy of most Malaysians.

How damaging would it be to the Indian community if because of the inaction of Hindraf, the MIC gains a foothold again in BN? How damaging would it be, if honest politicians like Sungai Siput MP D Jeyakumar, who benefitted from the Hindraf wave and has shown honest support for the Hindraf cause, lose to an MIC candidate ?

There is no way that BN would replace the MIC. If they were serious about Hindraf, they would have dropped MIC a long time ago, but the reason they do not is that they realise that Hindraf would not be the running dogs, content to sit in their kennels until commanded to address the Indian community.

Moreover, as far as Pakatan is concerned, they assume that the Hindraf does not command the Indian vote because if they did, they would be upon you like bees on honey. The last thing I want for Hindraf, when after the slaying of the MIC beast, is to be the means in which it is reanimated again. This could happen if by some insane outcome Hindraf throws its support behind BN.

Race still matters

Hindraf has done much to be proud of. The movement is a constant reminder that race is still a factor in this election even though the rhetoric of Pakatan and BN with their Bangsa Malaysia and 1Malaysia kool aid is a lie that is propagated as truth or worse reality.

Hindraf has managed to induce BN to recognise the plight of the disenfranchised Indians by doing what they do best, enticing the electorate with "goodies" as evidenced in their manifesto.

Concerning Pakatan, the Galang Patah declaration is evidence no matter how hard revisionists claim otherwise, that Hindraf forced their hand in this issue. What needs to be done as a political social entity not beholden to any political party, is to see that these words from both alliances translate into action.

Hindraf cannot endorse BN and Umno because their record speaks for itself. They will not commit to the blueprint because it would mean the end of the culture of privilege that favours that Malays and they do not intend to extend said privilege to disenfranchised Indians.

And even if they did, it would be because they want another handout class to act as a buffer against those recalcitrant Pakatan Malays and the Chinese community. This is one political honey trap that should be avoided at all costs.

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.

Bicara Cinta TG Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat

Hindu Activists (Shiv Sena Gatha-Pramukha) brutally hacked by five Muslim killers in Mumbai.

Shiv Sainik killed in Antop Hill

MUMBAI | TNN | Apr 15, 2013 :: A 28-year-old party worker of Shiv Sena (A Hindu Right Wing Political Party mainly based in Maharashtra) was hacked to death by five persons near his residence in Sangamnagar in Antop hill area during the early hours of Monday.

Police stated that local goons killed Raju Mistrilal Soni as he did not pay heed to the extortion threats issued by them. Investigations revealed that the accused demanded money on day-to-day basis.

The incident occurred at around 4am on Monday when Raju stepped out of his house to fill water. Around five persons attacked him, police told. Police stated that Raju had opened another video-parlour a month ago. “The five accused were threatening Raju for money to run the video parlour.

“We are looking for the accused,” said Suresh Bhavar, senior police inspector of Wadala truck terminal police station. The names of the accused are Niyaz Hussain, Firoj Idrisi, Naseem Khan, Ibbu and Hafizul Bangali. Deceased Raju has been survived by his wife Rita (25), kids Sneha (6), and Golu (4). The accused were booked under sections 143 (punishment), 144 (joining unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapon), 146 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly is guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 302 (punishment for murder) and 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code.

“Raju was a social worker. The goons demanded money from his to which he refused,” said Pramod Soni, brother of deceased. While local Sena men alleged that Raju was killed as he was against illegal slums coming up in the area, police refuted this theory.

Hindu Existence Adds: Mumbai has been treated as a safe dane of foreigner Bangladeshi Muslims along-with their Afghan, Pakistani and Myanmar Rohingya Muslims here and there. The main Muslim culprit Hafizul Bangali is a notorious criminal from Sirajgunj of Bangladesh and entered into India after 2007 to make a high network of anti-socials of Bangladeshi Muslims and their Kashmiri Counterparts to build a soft Mujahideen group to exploit Hindu Businessmen and to abduct Hindu girls under Love Jihad module.

Raju Mistrilal Soni was hacked at least thirteen times by sharpened swords, knifes and choppers etc. as ascertained by the injury report. Sriman Raju was a prominent Karyakarta in Sangamnagar in the capacity of Gatha-Pramukha (Group-leader).

We are still in search whether this groups of Hafizul Bangali has any connection with MIM Party of Hyderabad and other Islamist outfit. The brutal way they adopted to murder Raju Mistrilal Soni is most gruel-some Islamic manner. The Shiva Sena must take revenge for the murder of heavenly soul of Raju Mistrilal Soni and all Hindu Organisations in Bharat must take an oath to drive out all illegal Bangladeshi, Pakistani Muslims, POK Kashmiri, Rogingya Muslims immediately from the soil of this holy land Bharat.

Jordan woman's throat slit in 'honor' killing: police

AMMAN — Jordanian police said on Sunday they found the burned body of a pregnant woman whose throat had been slit and belly cut open showing her four-month-old fetus, in an apparent "honor killing."

"We found the body of the woman at dawn in Ruseifeh (east of Amman). Her throat was slit in a hideous way. The body was burned after the murder," a police spokesman said.

"We believe it was an honor crime. The belly of the woman, who was in her twenties, was cut open and we could see her four-month-old unborn child, who was dead too. Investigations are still under way."

Between 15 and 20 women die in so-called "honor" murders each year in the Arab kingdom, despite government efforts to curb such crimes.

Murder is punishable by death in Jordan, but in "honor killings" courts can commute or reduce sentences, particularly if the victim's family asks for leniency. — AFP

PSM goes on offensive, mulls possible 11 seats

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) will discuss running for Cameron Highlands and its position on 10 other seats where Pakatan Rakyat members have requested to contest under the PSM banner.

This will be discussed at tonight’s emergency national committee meeting called last night following PKR’s announcement of its own candidate for Semenyih, Selangor.

According to PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan (right), PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has thus reneged on his promise to hold off announcing the seat as negotiations were in progress for PSM to contest there.

On the agenda for the PSM meeting are:

• To review its position to stand in the four seats using its own logo;

• To discuss the current development where Pakatan Rakyat is three-cornering PSM in all its seats and its relationship with Pakatan Rakyat;

• To discuss and decide on the request made by non-PSM members, mostly members from DAP and PKR, who want to stand using PSM logo in some areas. To date, there have been 10 requests - two from Sabah, one from Perak, three from Negeri Sembilan and four from Selangor; and

• To discuss the request made by environmental groups and Cameron Highlands PSM to field its candidate for the Cameron Highlands seat.

Pakatan Rakyat troubles aplenty

Arutchelvan contested in Semenyih in 2008 and garnered 10,448 votes but lost to Umno’s Johan Aziz by a margin of 1,140 votes.

The PSM leader said in a statement today his party was “shocked” to learn of Anwar’s announcement last night of Serdang PKR division chief Hamidi Haasan for the Semenyih seat.

“This decision was made in spite of PSM agreeing to stand under PKR logo in Semenyih.

“The Kota Damansara seat was not announced pending negotiations with PSM. We also heard that PKR has also prepared a parachute candidate to stand in Sungai Siput,” Arutchelvan said.
Meanwhile, at PKR’s press conference today, the party’s director of strategy Rafizi Ramli downplayed the meeting as a process that PSM needed to go through with its members, just as PKR did when it allowed PSM to contest in seats where its members feel PKR is most eligible.

“That was dealt with internally, and I think that’s why the electoral pact was possible in 2008...

“At the end of the day, let’s see how this prevails over the next two or three days. I have full trust in the leadership of both PSM and PKR that they will do their best not to hamper the mood of change in this country,” he said.
PKR: Semenyih on loan
Selangor PKR deputy chairperson Zuraida Kamaruddin added that the deal in 2008 was that PSM may contest in Semenyih under PKR’s ticket, but would have to return the seat if it loses. Regardless, PSM-PKR negotiations are still ongoing.

When queried why is a candidate was announced in Semenyih if it was not finalised, unlike what was done with the Kota Damansara seat, she replied, “You can look at it this way - PKR has candidates to offer in these seats.

“As Rafizi said, we want to work for the best and we will wait for another two or three days. If there is nothing better, then we will go with that decision and bring down BN,” she said.

The PKR-PSM tiff began when PKR became adamant that the three seats PSM wanted to contest in Selangor and Perak should be done under the PKR banner and not on PSM’s.

PSM has argued that since it is now a registered political party, it should its own banner unlike the situation in 2008 when it had no choice but to contest under the PKR ticket.

According to Arutchelvan, the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat in Perak is also facing trouble with Pakatan Rakyat.

“We were also shocked to learn that previously Dr D Jeyakumar was informed that he could defend his Sungai Siput seat under the PSM logo, but during the discussions with Anwar, we were told that if he did so, the DAP will field a candidate against him,” he said.

Meanwhile, PSM has also been negotiating for the Jelapang state seat in Perak with DAP. Arutchelvan said they had been promised the seat, but on the condition it is contested under the PKR banner.

However, he said, the DAP has now gone back on the promise.

“We have requested that an NGO committee decides on the Jelapang seat, and we will adhere to that decision,” he said.

DAP won the Jelapang seat in 2008 with Hee Yit Foong (left), who subsequently defected to become a BN-friendly Independent to pave the way for BN’s takeover of the Perak.

Arutchelvan said that PSM had been promised that if it wins seats under the PKR banner in 2008, it would be allowed to use its own logo subsequently. However, this is not happening.

PKR faces flak in cyberspace

Anwar’s decision last night stirred a backlash on Facebook and Twitter against the party and its candidates.

Among others, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall civil rights committee head Liau Kok Fah said on his Facebook that since Anwar promised to help PSM in its campaign, he should continue to do so even if PSM is “forced into a three-cornered fight” with PKR and BN.

Meanwhile, more than 100 netizens have tweeted on the issue on #Arul4Semenyih since last night.

"PKR is a party with many honest activists led by a bunch of scumbags. They are not yet in power, but are already bullying the activists," tweeted netizen Kris Khaira.

Another user, Rahmah Ghazali, wrote, "I seriously think PSM should review its allegiance to Pakatan. They are not yet in power, but already bullying."

Stephen Doss tweeted, “What’s the difference between grabbing (Semenyih) and Sarawak CM Taib Mahmud grabbing in Sarawak? In principle, none!”

Meanwhile, columnist Josh Hong posted on the PKR Facebook page:

"Stop being arrogant, both PKR and DAP. PSM is one of the hardest working parties in Malaysia and I am convinced Arul, Nasir (Hashim, above right) and Dr Jeyakumar are the best candidates for Semenyih, Kota Damansara and Sungai Siput respectively.

"Jelapang should be given to them too. If you cannot in opposition even concede four seats to a small but genuine party, how can we be sure you would not behave like Umno when you are in government?"

Ex-Umno veep Mat Taib joins PAS

Former Umno vice-president Muhammad Muhammad Taib has joined PAS, but he will only be formally introduced by the party on Monday, two days after nomination day.

This is to deter any accusation that he did so in order to vie for candidacy in the 13th general election.

It is learnt that Muhammad handed his application paper to join PAS to the party's deputy spiritual leader Haron Din (left).

Central committee member Kamaruddin Jaffar, when contacted today, confirmed the membership of Mat Taib, as he is widely known, but would not say where the announcement would be made.

Kamaruddin, a former PAS secretary-general, made the confirmation when asked about speculation that a former menteri besar was to join his party.

Yesterday, Johor PAS chief Mahfodz Mohamed and PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub (below) expressed the possibility of Muhammad being that individual.

Muhammad was Selangor menteri besar from 1986-1997 and a former rural development minister.

His political career comes with baggage, for he had been charged in an Australian court over irregularities in declaring cash amounting to RM3.8 million that he was carrying.

He was cleared of the charge but has been lying low since leaving the political scene in 2009, although he remained a popular and respected figure within Umno circles.

Muhammad’s membership in PAS will be a huge blow to BN head Najib Abdul Razak, who is leading the coalition’s charge to recapture Selangor.

Two other Umno leaders - Tamrin Abdul Ghaffar of Malacca and former corporate figure Abdul Rahman Maidin - have also joined PAS.

Abdul Rahman is slated to contest in the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary seat in Penang.

PKR’s Vasanthakumar for Tapah?

The former Hindraf activist is the latest Pakatan candidate being considered to take on MIC's M Saravanan for the parliamentary seat.

PETALING JAYA: Over the last four months, hardcore opposition supporters in Tapah have been running like headless chickens. They have been without a general to lead them in the fight for the rural parliamentary constituency, which has approximately 38,000 voters.

MIC vice-president M Saravanan, who is also Federal Territories and Urban Well-being deputy minister, won in 2008, beating a PKR candidate by a 3,000 vote majority.

Tapah is relatively a small constituency in terms of registered voters. It has about 47% Malays, 32% Chinese while Indians and Orang Asli make up 20% and 1% respectively.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been experimenting with candidates, and the latest is former Hindraf leader K Vasanthakumar, at one point labeled a government stooge.

The search for a credible candidate, the delay in announcing a name has all resulted in uncertainty among the opposition in this seat, situated in the foothills of Cameron Highlands.

Vasanthakumar has been “moving” on the ground over the last three weeks and has even set up an election operations centre in Tapah.

But with just four days to go before the nominations for the country’s 13th general election, will Anwar opt for another candidate to replace Vasanthakumar?

Initially Anwar dispatched businessman K Ramachandran to start the groundwork in Tapah, giving rise to speculation that is to be the candidate to take on ‘heavyweight’ Saravanan.

No newcomer to politics

The “proposed” candidate even organised a huge Ponggal festival in the constituency in an effort to attract Indian voters, who are crucial if one wants to win Tapah.

A month later, came S Shanmugan from Setiawan. He is also PKR supreme council member.

Shanmugam organised several temple programmes and even offered goats for sacrificial rites at temple festivals. There was talk that he would be the one replacing Ramachandran.

While both these candidates have “disappeared”, now its Vasanthakumar’s turn to test the ground.

He was among the Hindraf 5 who were jailed under the now repealed Internal Security Act for organising the mammoth Hindraf rally in 2007.

The others were M Manoharan, S Ganapathi Rao, P Uthayakumar and R Gengatharan.

While Vasanthakumar is with PKR, Manoharan, Kenghadharan and Ganapathi Rao are with DAP. Uthayakumar started his own party called the Human Rights Party of Malaysia (HRP).

Political observers feel that since Vasanthakumar is no newcomer to politics, he could give Saravanan, who has been hailed as the future MIC president, a run for his money.

Saravanan beat PKR’s Tan Seng Toh in the 2008 election and will contest the seat for a second term.

Analysts say Vasanthakumar is a strong candidate. His credentials as a Hindraf leader would be able to bring in the Indian votes, they claimed.

The big question now is: Will Anwar stay true to Vasanthakumar or will he change the Tapah candidate again?

PSM: Guns placed against our head

The party prefers to remain aligned with Pakatan but will hold an emergency meeting tonight to determine its next course of action.

PETALING JAYA: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) prefers to remain aligned with Pakatan Rakyat even though PKR is eyeing three of the four seats that PSM wants to contest in the May 5 general election.

PSM’s incumbent Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael D Jeyakumar admitted that PSM’s position was now akin to being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“We are in a position where the guns are placed against our head. We have been a loyal ally to Pakatan because we do not want to undermine the people’s wishes to go against Barisan Nasional.

“However, we would prefer to knock heads with our allies and not bite the bitter pill by pulling out of the race. We don’t want party factions,” said Jeyakumar when contacted for comments over the latest developments on seat negotiations involving PKR and PSM.

He echoed the sentiments of his party members who wanted the party to field its members in the 13th general election instead of contesting under the Pakatan component parties.

He also admitted that three-cornered fights would give an advantage to BN.

Last night, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim announced his Serdang division chief Hamidi Hasan as a candidate for Semenyih state seat.

Semenyih was contested by PSM’s secretary-general S Arutchelvan in the 12th general election. Arutchelvan confirmed that he would be contesting in Semenyih again.

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.

PKR is also eyeing the Kota Damansara state seat won by PSM chairman Nasir Hashim in 2008. Anwar has yet to announce his candidate for this seat but negotiations with PSM are scheduled tonight.

In the 12th general election, Nasir polled 11,846 votes to beat Umno’s Zein Isma Ismail by a majority of 1,075 votes. Zein obtained 10,771 votes.

Making things worse for PSM, PKR is also eyeing the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat. Talks on the ground indicate that PKR would be fielding a candidate there too.

In 2008, Jeyakumar beat former MIC president S Samy Vellu with a majority of 1,821 votes. He polled 16,458 votes to Samy’s 14,637 votes.

The fourth seat in contention is the Jelapang state seat. PSM had fielded M Sarasvathy in 2008 against DAP’s Hee Yit Foong and MCA’s Loh Koi Pin.

DAP is now adamant to field its candidate there even though Hee had declared herself as an independent a year after a Pakatan government was formed in Perak.

Hee polled 12,219 votes against Loh’s 5,512 and Sarasvathy’s 1,275 votes in the Chinese-majority seat located in Batu Gajah.

Emergency meeting tonight

Arutchelvan, meanwhile, said that PSM would be holding an emergency meeting tonight to discuss its next course of action, which could include a review of the party’s relationship with Pakatan.

The main bone of contention with PSM’s candidacy seems to be the use of the party’s logo, which Pakatan leaders are worried could confuse voters.

Arutchelvan said that PSM had agreed to compromise over the logo issue, including agreeing to use the PKR logo in Semenyih but had sought for time to consider for a similar move in Kota Damansara.

He said the agreement was made during a meeting with Anwar on April 13.

“On April 14 night, we were shocked to learn that Anwar has already announced the Semenyih candidate.

“This decision was made in spite of PSM agreeing to stand under PKR logo in Semenyih. The Kota Damansara seat was not announced pending negotiation with PSM. We also hear that PKR has also prepared a parachute candidate to stand in Sungai Siput,” Arutchelvan said in a statement.

He added that during the meeting with Anwar, the PKR leader had also informed them that DAP would be contesting in Sungai Siput if Jeyakumar used the PSM logo.

“Previously, Jeyakumar was informed that he could stand under the PSM logo in Sungai Siput…we were also told that even if PSM stands in all three seats under the Pakatan logo, DAP will not allow PSM to stand in Jelapang.

“We requested that an NGO committee decide on the Jelapang seat and we will adhere to that,” he said.

He said the emergency meeting tonight will decide on PSM’s position to contest in the four seats using its own logo, and to discuss the three-cornered fights that would arise as a result of Pakatan joining in the contest, and to review the relationship with Pakatan.

Arutchelvan also said that the party would be making a decision to allow non-PSM members to contest using the PSM logo.

“To date, there have been 10 requests from non-PSM members to contest under our banner – two from Sabah, one from Perak, three from Negeri Sembilan and four from Selangor,” he said.

He also said that environmental groups have also asked the party to contest in Cameron Highlands.

In 2008, PSM had to contest under the PKR banner as it was not registered by the government. The party was only officially recognised by the Registrar of Society last year.

Since then, PSM had applied to join Pakatan as a coalition partner, a decision which is still forthcoming.

‘Missing’ gold bars: Rama issues a challenge

Lodged a report if you feel gold bars went missing under my watch, the PHEB chairman tells commissioner Gunabalan

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Hindu Endowment Board chairman P Ramasamy challenged board commissioner, K Gunabalan, to lodge a police report on the “missing” gold bars from the statutory body’s safe keep.

“I challenge Guna even to lodge a police report against me,” said Ramasamy when asked about Gunabalan’s disclosure about the “missing” gold bars to the DAP top leadership in a letter dated April 3.

Gunabalan, who heads DAP’s Jalan Tembikai branch in Bukit Mertajam, sent the letter to party national chairman Karpal Singh and copies of it to secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, adviser Lim Kit Siang, and state chief Chow Kon Yeow.

Ramasamy said that the board was currently carrying out an internal inquiry, headed by another commissioner, lawyer N Murali, on the missing gold bars.

He said Gunabalan was part of the board’s decision-making body that commissioned the internal inquiry, which has yet to complete its investigation after almost six months.

“Until the inquiry is completed, it would be premature to conclude that the three gold bars, weighing about 1kg, and worth RM150,000 each, had gone missing,” said Ramasamy.

He conceded that an internal inventory audit was not done for about three months between the resignation of previous secretary R Sivanathan and appointment of P Selva in November.

“Guna was part of the decision making… what he is complaining about?” asked Ramasamy, the DAP deputy secretary-general and Penang deputy chief.

He alleged that Gunabalan was attacking him because of the forthcoming general election.

He said the inquiry must first determine whether the gold bars were in fact missing before the board can take further action.

“Were the gold bars actually missing in the first place? If Guna thinks the gold bars were missing, ask him to lodge report. Ask him to lodge report against me,” said Ramasamy.

‘Ramasamy directly responsible’

It’s learnt that the board knew about the “missing” gold bars when Selva assumed his position.

Sivanathan lodged a police report in Seberang Jaya as a precautionary step when Selva sought clarification from him on the gold bars in an official letter in November.

It’s learnt that the police had recorded a statement from Sivanathan but have yet to interview any of the board’s commissioners.

In his letter to the DAP leadership, Gunabalan alleged “serious mismanagement” of public properties of the board led by Ramasamy.

He alleged that Ramasamy was directly responsible for all decision-making in the board.

In the letter, he stated that the “mishandling of the HEB properties led to the missing of the three gold bars.

“They were kept under the full authority of the HEB. There is no discrepancy in the inventory which was handed over by the previous HEB secretary when left.”

When contacted today, Gunabalan insisted that the onus was on Ramasamy as the board chairman, not him, to lodge the police report.

He said Ramasamy was the rightful, authorised person to lodge the report to expedite investigation on the issue.

Gunabalan said he raised the issue to DAP’s top leadership because the internal inquiry was taking a long time to complete its findings.

“A police report by the chairman would speed up and clear the case sooner,” he said.

Hadi and Haron at odds over sex video

Haron Din wants PAS disciplinary committee to investigate the sex video featuring a man resembling PAS secretary general Mustafa Ali.

PETALING JAYA: PAS deputy spiritual advisor Haron Din has urged the party’s disciplinary committee to investigate the sex video featuring an individual resembling party secretary-general, Mustafa Ali.

“PAS has its own mechanism to overcome all problems and each committee has its own work manual. If the disciplinary committee sees it fit to take action, please continue doing so.

“I have nothing to do with the committee. They know their job, if there is something worth pursuing they will do so otherwise they would just wait and see,” said Haron who is also PAS’ candidate for Arau parliament seat, to Malay daily Utusan Malaysia.

He was commenting on reports over the 11-minute sex video that emerged on Friday.

Haron Din’s stand contradicts that of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang who defended Mustafa by claiming the video is fake.

In defending his secretary-general, Hadi said that Mustafa suffers from knee-pains that does not allow him (Mustafa) to perform prayers on the ground.

“If you are looking for an actor, look for a strong one, Mustafa has knee pain even (when)he goes down the stairs. He performs prayers, seated on the chair,” said Hadi.

The Malay daily also reported that PAS may be poised to face an internal storm over Hadi’s reluctance to take action against Mustafa.

Palanivel for Tapah?

In another report, the daily speculated that MIC president G Palanivel was poised to contest in Tapah.

Tapah incumbent and MIC vice-president M Saravanan will now move to contest in Sungai Siput.

This leaves the coast clear for incumbent Cameron Highlands MP, SK Devamany, who is expected to defend his seat.

Cameron Highlands was a sore point within MIC as Palanivel had reportedly made moves to displace Devamany and contest this ‘safe’ seat.

But it now looks like the issue has been resolved, said the Malay daily.

The Tapah parliamentary constituency, Utusan Malaysia reported, was a ‘safe’ seat for Palanivel, who lost Hulu Selangor seat in the 2008 general election.

Palanivel was a three term MP in Hulu Selangor before he lost to PKR’s Zainal Abidin Ahmad by a slim 198 votes majority. Palanivel obtained 22,979 votes to Zainal’s 23,177 votes.

The report also noted that Saravanan had a better chance of wresting Sungai Siput from PSM’s Dr Michael Jeyakumar.

Until 2008, Sungai Siput was a BN fort held down by former MIC president S Samy Vellu.

Jeyakumar trounced Samy, who was Sungai Siput MP since 1978, by a 1,821 vote majority.

Jeyakumar polled 16,458 votes to Samy’s 14,637 votes.

WHAT A SNAKE! Waytha went on hunger strike to get sympathy, kept ROS approval secret

We are gravely concerned by new evidence that has come into our possession regarding a secret deal and collaboration between P. Waythamoorthy’s Hindraf faction and the UMNO BN regime.

On 8th March 2013, the Registrar of Societies had approved the registration of Waythamoorthy’s Hindraf faction under the name Hindraf Malaysia (Hindraf). The registration is signed and sealed by Dato’ Abdul Rahman bin Othman, Registrar of Societies of Malaysia.

The registration of Hindraf could not have been done without the approval of the Home Ministry and PM Najib’s blessings.

Went on fast but kept ROS approval secret

What is shocking is that Waythamoorthy and his associates deliberately concealed the fact of registration from the Malaysian public and particularly the Indian community.

This was clearly intended to keep the negotiations between Hindraf and BN secret from the public and the Indian community. We view this as a blatant attempt to mislead the public and in particular the Indian community.

Further it is highly suspicious that the registration was approved on 8th March 2013, which was just 2 days before Waythamoorthy began a so-called hunger strike. During the hunger strike he carried out a campaign of attacks against the opposition which benefited BN. It is clear that the hunger strike was intended to justify Waythamoorthy’s meeting with Najib to the Indian community.

Secret deal in London

This is proven by the fact that just two weeks into the so-called hunger strike, Waythamoorthy rushed to Putrajaya to meet PM Najib.

Prior to that UMNO BN had suddenly allowed Waythamoorthy to return to Malaysia. Soon after that on January 26, 2013 the UMNO-BN regime lifted the ban on Hindraf.

Was a secret deal concluded between UMNO-BN and Waythamoorthy in London?

The above shows evidence of collaboration and a clandestine arrangement between Waythamoorthy’s Hindraf and UMNO BN. It should be noted that this is against the founding principle of Hindraf to remove the UMNO-BN regime from power.

Such a collaboration by Waythamoorthy with UMNO-BN will be a betrayal of Hindraf’s grassroots and supporters throughout the country.

Don't lie, explain to the Hindraf grassroots

We now call upon Waythamoorthy and his Hindraf faction to explain to the public why they had concealed the registration of Hindraf and the real reasons for UMNO-BN’s sudden registration of Hindraf.

Waythamoorthy must also reveal to the Indian community all secret deals and negotiations with UMNO BN. The public has a right to know and Waythamoorthy must respond immediately.

S. Jayathas

Former Hindraf Leader and Information Chief

Anwar Ibrahim Interview On CNBC : We Are For Market Reform, But We Are Not For Corruption

Shame on you, EPF!

QUESTION TIME Whatever possessed the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to throw in the towel way before the fight had finished, leaving other minority shareholders aghast at its surrender even before the battle had started in earnest? Shame on you, EPF!

We are referring of course to the national provident fund’s meek capitulation by accepting national oil company Petronas’ revised offer of RM5.50 per MISC Bhd share yesterday, eight days before the offer was due to close.

By accepting the offer it has made it that much easier for Petronas to reach its target of acquiring 90 percent of MISC shares, a condition for Petronas’ takeover offer for MISC, and the level at which the oil company can delist MISC from Bursa Malaysia. Petronas has just under 80 percent of the shares now after EPF’s acceptance, 10 percent short of the offer becoming unconditional.

Considering that EPF holds some 9.5 percent of MISC’s shares, if it had refused to play ball with Petronas and held out, it is extremely unlikely that the offer would have succeeded without Petronas revising substantially upwards its paltry offer.

If  EPF held out for a better offer and refused to sell at any price below RM8 per MISC share - the top end of analysts’ valuation - the additional amount it would have for the same block of MISC shares would have been RM1.06 billion.

And if in the process, Petronas did not increase its bid any further and the bid fails, then all EPF needs to do as a long-term investor is to wait it out for the full impact of the restructuring - basically the fire sale of its non-core, non-LNG shipping and other businesses which have been pulling it down. That would result in better value for MISC shares.

That means EPF was too hasty in accepting the offer a week and a day ahead of the deadline and therefore sacrificing any possibility of haggling further with Petronas for a better offer. Not just that, it has put pressure on other shareholders, including national unit trust fund manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd (whose units have the next highest stake at 6.35 percent at last count) to accept the offer.

One would have thought that EPF, a major minority shareholder in virtually all prime blue chips listed on Bursa Malaysia, will play a very proactive role in protecting minority shareholders’ rights under all conditions.

This should especially be so since it is the custodian of over half a trillion ringgit of funds belonging to workers in Malaysia, making it one of the largest such funds in the world and the single largest investor in the local stock market.

As a matter of principle it should have refused to play ball with Petronas and stuck it out for the best possible deal for MISC minority shareholders. Instead it sold out of MISC, one of the bluest of blue chips on the market (if you ignored the deleterious effects of unwise diversification measures undertaken during Petronas’s stewardship) for a song at virtually one of its lowest share price over the last 10 years (see chart). Shame on you, EPF!  

Unfair but reasonable

Despite the 20-sen revision upwards of its initial offer of RM5.30, analysts were almost unanimous that the Petronas offer still substantially undervalued MISC, which is now on a recovery path after it sold off its loss-making businesses.

Almost all analysts believed the offer was unfair because even current valuations mostly indicated a price above RM6, with one or two even putting the value at over RM8 a share, which is 50 percent higher than the latest offer.

But strangely, despite the substantial undervaluation of MISC shares at RM5.50 a piece, many analysts considered it “reasonable” in what has become a near standard advice for advisers appointed for minority shareholders: unfair but reasonable.

Never mind that there is a contradiction in terms, especially for MISC which has never hitherto been a trading stock but a favourite of long-term funds because of its “boringly consistent” earnings and high dividends which gave predictable returns to them and therefore is very valuable.

Until of course, MISC, under Petronas’s stewardship, started diversifying out of the core LNG carriage business and entering into other shipping areas. In its search for “excitement”, it got its fingers badly burnt when the cyclical shipping downturn happened.

Its major shareholder Petronas had neither the stomach nor the experience to bear the losses and turn it around but instead is in the process of selling them cheaply - a fire sale. It’s yet another expensive lesson for Petronas about venturing into areas which it knows little about and bears no relation to its core functions..

Much of the restructuring is already done and we have examined the situation in some detail here where we said that EPF should not accept Petronas’ offer.

But for some reason only known to itself, Petronas is keen to restructure MISC behind closed doors and avoid the public scrutiny that would take place otherwise as it would have to disclose measures to investors via Bursa Malaysia.

If the privatisation of MISC by Petronas is successful, then it would mean a RM20 billion plus company will be delisted to the detriment of  long-term investors who would have liked to have benefited from Petronas’ turnaround plan for MISC.

Sole beneficiary of turnaround

Instead Petronas, with EPF’s connivance and cooperation, is now likely to succeed in the bid, meaning Petronas becomes the sole beneficiary of MISC’s turnaround, denying longstanding shareholders who have suffered with MISC the same benefit while hiding what might be potentially embarrassing details from the public. Shame on you, EPF!

How could you do these to your fellow minority shareholder investors who include PNB-related funds, Felda, Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen, Lembaga Tabung Haji and Penang Development Corp, amongst others.

If all these funds had cooperated, Petronas would have failed in its bid unless it increased its offers substantially. If it did not, then these funds would have the option of holding on to their MISC shares for future appreciation as most of them would have preferred to instead of facing the possibility of illiquidity if the stock was delisted.

As the largest of MISC’s minority shareholders and the largest fund in the country EPF should have taken the lead and defended minority shareholders’ interests to the hilt. But it did not. Shame on you, EPF!

Can we ever have confidence that you will invest the RM500 billion plus of our funds wisely and only in our own best interests? You latest action gives us no such assurance and we doubt that as currently structured you will be able to. Shame on you, EPF!

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P GUNASEGARAM is publisher and founding editor of KiniBiz. With the latest action by EPF, his faith in the fund has fallen to near all-time lows, same as the price at which EPF is selling its MISC shares.

Najib Strikes With Transformation Team For GE13

BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (left) with his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (right) at the presentation of credentials GE 13 candidates ceremony at Dato Onn Tower, Putra World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur. Pic: Zulkarnain Kamaruddin

KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has thrown down the gauntlet to the opposition, with the Barisan Nasional (BN) all set to field a refreshing slate of seasoned and new faces for the 13th General Election.

First timers will make up a third of parliamentary candidates and almost half of those selected for the state elections, with most fielded in opposition-led states.

No last-minute changes are expected, said Najib, who is leading the coalition for the first time as the prime minister and into the nation's toughest-ever polls, after he handed over nomination documents and the BN election pledge to BN component party leaders and state liaison chairmen in Kuala Lumpur, Monday.

Asked whether he was worried about the disappointment that might be felt by those not picked to stand in the election, Najib said: "I am more worried about the disappointment of the rakyat."

A titanic battle for Gelang Patah in Johor between Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman and DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang is all but confirmed when the parliamentary constituency was missing from the MCA's list issued Monday.

Gelang Patah was won by MCA in the 2008 General Election and the party was reportedly planning to field division chief and first-timer Jason Teoh when the dynamics changed after Lim announced his move to the Chinese-majority seat.

MCA and Gerakan were the first component parties to reveal the full list of their candidates while the People's Progressive Party (PPP) named four out of five candidates.

On Tuesday, UMNO, MIC and the rest of the BN component parties in Sabah and Sarawak are expected to unveil their candidates.

The MCA will contest 37 parliamentary and 90 state seats compared to the 40 parliamentary and 90 seat share previously. Apart from Gelang Patah, it will not run for the Kuantan and Wangsa Maju parliamentaries.

Former president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat was dropped from defending the Pandan parliamentary seat, while two vice-presidents, Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, who is also the party's Wanita chief, and Gan Ping Sieu were also excluded.

President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, who fought a bitter party contest against two predecessors, Ong Tee Keat and Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting, for the top MCA post in 2010, will not contest as he had stated earlier.

The Pandan seat has been taken over by the division's legal advisor, Garry Lim.

PPP president Datuk Seri M. Kayveas is the latest and fourth component party leader who will be out. Kayveas, who won the Taiping parliamentary in 2004 but lost it in 2008, is not among the party's candidates this time.

Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and Sarawak United People's Party president Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui are the other two leaders who had announced much earlier, that they would not be running.

Gerakan was allocated 11 parliamentary and 31 state seats, just one parliamentary seat short compared to 2008. The party suffered a huge setback when it won only two parlimentary and five state seats the last time.

But Gerakan got its wish to return and contest in Taiping. Vice-president and Wanita chief Datuk Tan Lian Hoe, who is also deputy domestic trade and consumer affairs minister, will contest there, her third parliament race after back-to-back wins in Bukit Gantang (2004) and Gerik (2008).

PPP, which was given Taiping and the Pasir Bedamar state seat in Perak in 2008, will now contest the Kepong parliamentary seat with party information chief Datuk A. Chandrakumanan picked as candidate, and four state seats, Pasir Bedamar, Guchil (Kelantan), Kota Laksamana (Melaka) and Kota Alam Shah in Selangor.

Najib, who is also Selangor BN chairman, is scheduled to reveal UMNO's candidates for Selangor which will see BN mounting a stiff fight to regain the state.

The candidates for the 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats will receive nomination letters from the respective state BN liaison chiefs Tuesday.

As the BN chairman, Najib said he had considered voter sentiment and expectations in his decision to field 33 per cent new faces for the parliamentary fight and 49 per cent new faces for the state contests.

He is confident that those picked will be able to deliver on the BN's pledges enshrined in its manifesto that was released on April 6.

He urged those who were not selected to continue to support the party because it did not mean that they had failed or were problematic, but some would have to make way in the demand for change by voters and the community.

Nomination for the general election is this Saturday, with polling on May 5.

Meanwhile, the opposition continues to lose support with more than 200 Indian members of PKR and DAP crossing over to MIC in Paya Besar in Lunas, Kedah.

In Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, Danan Timur PAS division secretary Ibrahim Ismail, 63, declared that he would contest as an independent candidate for the Selising state assembly seat to protest against PAS for fielding incumbent Saiful Baharin Mohamad.

Ambiga: You are not alone in GE13 (Video)

Blog reader Desmond sent this video link with the message: “See Ambiga at her radiant best.”

PKR-PSM fight on the cards in S’gor

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim last night announced his candidate for Semenyih, a state seat eyed by PSM's Arutchelvan. PKR is also interested in PSM's Kota Damansara.

PETALING JAYA: PKR’s decision to announce its candidate for the Semenyih state seat in Selangor is a major blow for Pakatan Rakyat-friendly PSM which had earmarked that seat for its secretary-general S Arutchelvan.

Arutchelvan is a known face in Semenyih and had started his work at the constituency believing that he would be the Pakatan representative for the seat.

However last night at a ceramah in Gombak, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim announced that PKR’s Hamidi Hassan would be contesting in Semenyih.

There could be more bad news for PSM as PKR is also said to be interested in contesting in the
Kota Damansara state seat, won by PSM president Dr Nasir Hashim in 2008.

FMT had previously reported that PKR had identified a lawyer as a candidate for this seat.

Last night Anwar did not announce his candidate for Kota Damansara, merely saying that his party was still in negotiations with PSM over the seat, and that an announcement was expected today.

Apart from PKR’s decision to contest in PSM stronghold Semenyih, there were no other major suprises in the PKR’s list of candidates for the parliamentary and state seats in Selangor.

PKR would be contesting in 11 parliamentary and 20 state seats in the state, and as expected Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim would now move to the Pelabuhan Kelang state seat, giving way to new face Dr Idris Ahmad in Ijok.

Other PKR new faces for state seats are Borhan Aman Shah (Dengkil), Lee Chin Cheh (Kajang), Dr Daroyah Alwi (Sementa), Hamidi A Hassan (Semenyih), Tengku Marziah Tengku Sulaiman (Kuang) and K Ramachandran (Batang Kali).

Eleven others, including Selangor PKR chief Azmin Ali, would be contesting in state seats they had won in 2008. Azmin will be defending his Bukit Antarabangsa seat, the others are Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Seri Setia), Suhaimi Shafiei (Seri Muda), Dr Xavier Jayakumar (Seri Andalas), Rodziah Ismail (Batu Tiga), Dr Yaakop Sapari (Kota Anggerik), Elizabeth Wong (Bukit Lanjan), Haniza Talha (Taman Medan), Amir Shaari (Batu Caves), Gan Pei Nei (Rawang) dan Yahya Sahari (Permatang).

Anwar has also decided to move former Kapar MP S Manikavasagam to contest in the Bukit Melawati state seat to replace M Muthiah.

The Kapar parliamentary seat will be contested by PKR Youth wing leader G Manivanan, one of five new faces unleashed by PKR for the parliamentary seats in Selangor.

The others are Dr Aziz Bari (Sabak Bernam), Wong Chen (Kelana Jaya), Rafizi Ramli (Pandan) and Khalid Jaafar in Hulu Selangor.

Incumbents that would be defending the parliament seats are Mohamed Azmin Ali (Gombak), Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid (Kuala Langat), R Sivarasa (Subang), Hee Loy Sian (Petaling Jaya Selatan), Zuraida Kamaruddin (Ampang) and William Leong (Selayang).

Anwar has decided to drop Loh Gwo Burne from contesting again. He won the Kelana Jaya parliamentary seat in 2008.

Azmin defends Khalid

Khalid’s move to Pelabuhan Klang was expected as the party wants to win back the seat which it lost to Umno through defection.

PKR had won the seat in 2008 through Badrul Hisham Abdullah who had defeated Umno’s Roselinda Abd Jamil and independent candidate Nazir Mansor by a 4,407-vote majority. But on Oct 29, 2009, Badrul Hisham declared himself as an independent and on April 30, 2010, he joined Umno.

Khalid himself had expressed confidence in winning back the state seat, and of forming the next state government.

Azmin meanwhile told the crowd last night that he would defend Khalid’s record in Selangor from Umno’s attacks.

“Selangor has come under terrible attack (from Umno). I will be the general in this state and defend Khalid Ibrahim,” he said, brushing aside Umno talks that he is eyeing the menteri besar’s post if Pakatan retains Selangor.

Azmin added that Umno had no capable leader to take on Khalid as the state MB.

“Who can fight him? Noh Omar? But they (Umno) had to make Najib their state chief,” he said, adding that Khalid’s administrative record of the state for the past five years was clean.

“Khalid did not steal land, he did not buy rings. Selangor’s reserves rose from RM400 million to RM2.6 billion,” he said.