———-

GE13: US hopes for continued cooperation with Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: The Office of the White House Press Secretary congratulated Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on his general election victory, saying it looked forward to continuing the close cooperation with the Malaysian government and its people to strengthen democracy, peace and prosperity in the region.

“On behalf of the President and the people of the United States, we congratulate Prime Minister Najib on his coalition’s victory in Malaysia’s parliamentary elections on May 5,” a statement from the US Embassy here said.

The general election saw Barisan Nasional returned to power after winning 133 of the 222 parliamentary seats to form the new federal government.

“We also congratulate the people of Malaysia who turned out in record numbers to cast their votes as well as the parties of the opposition coalition on their campaigns as a vibrant opposition is a foundation of democracy,” the statement said. – Bernama

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2013%2F5%2F9%2Fnation%2F20130509182951&sec=nation&utm_source=TSOL_main&utm_medium=links&utm_campaign=GE13

———-

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release May 08, 2013
Statement by the Press Secretary on Malaysia’s Elections

On behalf of the President and the people of the United States, we congratulate Prime Minister Najib on his coalition’s victory in Malaysia’s parliamentary elections on Sunday May 5. We also congratulate the people of Malaysia, who turned out in record numbers to cast their votes, as well as the parties of the opposition coalition on their campaigns, as a vibrant opposition is a foundation of democracy. We note concerns regarding reported irregularities in the conduct of the election, and believe it is important that Malaysian authorities address concerns that have been raised. We look forward to the outcome of their investigations. The United States looks forward to continuing its close cooperation with the government and the people of Malaysia to continue to strengthen democracy, peace, and prosperity in the region.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/08/statement-press-secretary-malaysia-s-elections

———-

“We note concerns regarding reported irregularities in the conduct of the election, and believe it is important that Malaysian authorities address concerns that have been raised. We look forward to the outcome of their investigations”

Bernama forgot to include this part.

Kantoi.

Isu tersebut – lebih 4,500 nama pengundi di Lembah Pantai yang diragui status mengundinya – telah dimainkan pihak Umno Lembah Pantai untuk mengatakan kononnya Pn Nurul Izzah berusaha untuk membuang nama-nama pengundi Lembah Pantai, khususnya mereka yang dahulu tinggal di kawasan setinggan atau lebih tepat berstatus peneroka bandar.

Beberapa isu yang perlu diperjelas:

1) Nurul Izzah telah memfailkan saman tersebut kerana dalam daftar pemilih Lembah Pantai ada nama-nama pengundi yang:
i. telah meninggal dunia namun masih ada dalam daftar pemilih Lembah Pantai
ii. mempunyai alamat dalam MyKad yang bukan di Lembah Pantai
iii. mempunyai alamat tidak lengkap.

Isu yang ke-3 merupakan isu yang dibangkit pihak UMNO dan Dato’ Raja Nong Chik.

Untuk makluman semua, daftar pemilih yang diperolehi KEADILAN Lembah Pantai secara rasmi dari SPR mengandungi hampir 45% nama-nama yang TIADA ALAMAT LENGKAP. Ini bermakna hampir separuh pengundi yang layak mengundi di Lembah Pantai TIDAK DAPAT DIJUMPAI.

Ini bermakna SPR telah menjual produk yang defektif/rosak kepada KEADILAN Lembah Pantai.

2) Fail saman adalah terhadap SPR dan JPN dan bukannya terhadap pengundi Lembah Pantai.

Rasionalnya adalah kerana SPR dan JPN merupakan badan kerajaan yang sepatutnya memiliki maklumat yang sahih dan benar; jika alamat seorang pengundi dalam pangkalan data SPR itu tidak lengkap, ada satu sistem - ”Agency Link-Up System” (ALIS) – yang sepatutnya memudahkan saluran maklumat (seperti alamat dalam MyKad) di antara SPR dan JPN.

Maka timbul persoalan: Adakah ALIS tidak berfungsi? Jika tidak, saya sarankan Jabatan Audit Negara menyiasat sistem tersebut.

3) Dato’ Raja Nong Chik mengatakan lebih 4,000 pengundi yang disebut dalam kes saman itu adalah pengundi yang tinggal di kawasan setinggan yang telah dipindahkan. Ini tidak benar. Dalam senarai yang dihantar kepada SPR dalam saman tersebut, ada nama-nama mereka yang tinggal di tempat-tempat yang JELAS BUKAN KAWASAN SETINGGAN:

• Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar: 2 pemilih
• Jalan Medang Serai, Bangsar: 8 pemilih
• Jalan Terasek 1: 9 pemilih
• Jalan Terasek 8: 7 pemilih
• Lorong Maarof: 17 pemilih
• Jalan Bangsar: 109 pemilih

Malah ada yang tinggal di flat dan apartmen yang tiada alamat lengkap:

• Rumah Pangsa Sri Pahang: 73 pemilih
• Vista Angkasa: 27 pemilih
• Apartmen Putra Ria: 105 pemilih
• PPR Sri Pantai (100 & 102): 41 pemilih
• Kondo Rakyat: 75 pemilih
• PPR Pantai Permai: 31 pemilih
• PPR Kerinchi: 46 pemilih

Adakah kesemua mereka ini juga tinggal di kawasan setinggan? Tidak masuk akal tinggal di flat tapi alamat tidak lengkap!

4) Bagaimana Dato’ Raja tahu nama-nama pengundi tersebut, walhal Nurul Izzah sebagai plaintif hanya menghantar senarai tersebut kepada defenden iaitu SPR dan JPN? Dato’ Raja Nong Chik bukan seorang defenden, jadi bagaimana beliau tahu nama-nama ini? Atau, siapakah yang telah memberikan senarai tersebut – yang merupakan dokumen mahkamah – kepada beliau?

5) Bagaimana pengundi-pengundi yang dahulunya peneroka bandar tahu nama-nama mereka ada dalam senarai yang dihantar defenden kepada plaintif-plaintif? Defenden tidak menghantar apa-apa surat atau senarai nama-nama kepada UMNO ataupun pengundi-pengundi tersebut. Dan bagaimana Ketua UMNO Cawangan Kg Kerinchi tahu beliau juga dalam senarai itu?

Siapa yang telah memberikan senarai tersebut kepada UMNO?

Siapa?

Yang paling penting, perjuangan untuk menegakkan keadilan diteruskan!

—–

17 April 2013
MEDIA STATEMENT: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PSM Decision: Hopeful Prelude to Opposition Avoiding Three Corner Fights

We, civil society leaders and activists, applaud the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) decision to use the symbols of other Pakatan Rakyat parties instead of its clenched fist logo in next month’s general election.

We fully understand that this is a difficult compromise made by a Party that has struggled to get registration for the past 11 years. However it clearly demonstrates PSM’s willingness to listen to, and bow to the aspirations of the Rakyat to avoid three corner fights. It is an act of compromise which reflects a deep political maturity.

We hope that this is a prelude to a general agreement between all opposition parties not to engage in three corner fights in the coming election.

Such a general agreement will clearly reflect the aspirations of the Rakyat and the sentiments of voters at the grassroots who want a regime change and are concerned that three corner fights involving PR parties and other anti BN parties will result in victory for the BN candidate at the expense of the opposition in their constituency.

We are of the opinion that three or more corner fights will only undermine the opposition’s prospects of capturing power at national level. We hope that the PSM decision can serve as a basis for electoral agreements within the opposition to ensure that there will be only two party contests against the BN at the state or federal level.

We note from media reports that PR component parties may land up contesting each other come nomination day. To avoid this unnecessary conflict that goes against the aspirations of the Rakyat we are prepared to establish a Committee of civil society members to act as mediators.

We urge the PR and other opposition parties – as well as all voters – to be especially vigilant of BN tactics in putting up independent candidates – with or without party affiliation. Such a strategy will be employed with the intention of splitting the opposition vote. This election ploy has been used by the BN during previous elections and is likely to feature strongly in the coming elections especially in East Malaysia.

Finally, we feel strongly that the voters in the country want a clear choice between the BN and PR in the coming elections. Therefore in the spirit of “Ketuanan Rakyat” espoused by the PR, we intend to use our collective influence and clout – publicly as well as behind the scenes – to ensure that the opposition parties avoid three corner contests at all cost.

Issued by Group of Concerned Citizens:-
Ahmad Syukri Ab Razab
Al-Jafree Md. Yusop
Anne Ooi
Arthur Toh
Bernard Khoo
Dr.Azmi Sharom
Dr. Lim Teck Ghee
Dr.Kua Kia Soong
Dr.Toh Kin Woon
Dave Low
Fuad Rahmat
Haris Ibrahim
Ho Yock Lin
Janice Ti
Jayanath Appudurai
Kee Thuan Chye
Liau Kok Fah
Nalini Elumalai
Patrick Teoh
Raja Rohaisham Raja Muheiddin
Ronasina
Steven Ng

17 April 2013
KENYATAAN MEDIA: UNTUK SEBARAN SEGERA

Keputusan PSM – Kemungkinan mengelak daripada pertandingan tiga penjuru

Kami, para aktivis dan ketua masyarakat sivil, menyanjung keputusan Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) untuk menggunakan simbol parti parti Pakatan Rakyat dan bukan logo parti sendiri di dalam Pilihan Raya Umum bulan depan.

Kami faham betapa sukarnya kompromi ini bagi sebuah parti yang telah bertungkus lumus selama 11 tahun untuk didaftarkan. Bagaimanapun, ini menunjukkan dengan jelas keupayaan PSM untuk mendengar dan menunduk kepada aspirasi rakyat untuk mengelakkan pertandingan tiga penjuru. Ia merupakan satu tindakan kompromi yang mencerminkan kematangan politik yang mendalam.

Kami berharap ini merupakan satu permulaan kepada persetujuan di antara semua parti politik pembangkang agar tidak melibatkan diri didalam pertandingan tiga penjuru di pilihanraya akan datang.

Persetujuan umum sebegini semestinya akan mencerminkan aspirasi Rakyat dan sentimen pengundi di peringkat akar umbi yang mahukan penukaran rejim dan khuatir bahawa pertandingan tiga penjuru akan hanya menguntungkan BN di kawasan mengundi mereka.

Kami berpendapat bahawa pertandingan tiga atau lebih penjuru akan menjejaskan prospek pembangkang untuk menawan kuasa di peringkat kebangsaan. Kami berharap keputusan PSM boleh berfungsi sebagai asas untuk perjanjian pilihanraya pembangkang untuk memastikan pertandingan dua penjuru dengan BN di peringkat DUN atau Parlimen.

Daripada laporan media, kami difahamkan bahawa datangnya hari pencalonan, parti komponen PR mungkin bertanding antara satu sama lain. Untuk mengelakkan konflik yang bertentangan dengan aspirasi rakyat ini, kami bersedia menubuhkan sebuah Jawatankuasa Masyarakat Sivil untuk belaku sebagai pengantara.

Kami menggesa PR, parti parti pembangkang yang lain dan juga pengundi untuk berwaspada dengan strategi BN menggunakan calon bebas dengan atau tanpa mengira parti politik. Strategi sebegini akan digunakan untuk membelah undi pembangkang. Helah ini telah banyak kali digunakan BN pada pilihanraya sebelum ini, dan dijangka akan digunakan di pilihanraya alan datang ini, terutamanya di Sabah dan Sarawak.

Kami percaya sesungguhnya bahawa pengundi di Malaysia inginkan pilihan yang jelas diantara BN dan PR di Pilihan Raya ini. Justeru itu, atas semangat “Ketuanan Rakyat” yang dilaungkan oleh PR, kami ingin menggunakan pengaruh dan kekuatan kolektif, secara terbuka awam dan juga di belakang tabir, untuk memastikan bahawa parti parti pembangkang elak daripada bertanding tiga penjuru.

Dikeluarkan oleh Gabungan Rakyat Prihatin:-
Ahmad Syukri Ab Razab
Al-Jafree Md. Yusop
Anne Ooi
Arthur Toh
Bernard Khoo
Dr.Azmi Sharom
Dr. Lim Teck Ghee
Dr.Kua Kia Soong
Dr.Toh Kin Woon
Dave Low
Fuad Rahmat
Haris Ibrahim
Ho Yock Lin
Janice Ti
Jayanath Appudurai
Kee Thuan Chye
Liau Kok Fah
Nalini Elumalai
Patrick Teoh
Raja Rohaisham Raja Muheiddin
Ronasina
Steven Ng

Semoga semua yang diberi amanah menjalankan tugas dengan penuh tanggungjawab.

Selamat berjuang!

—–

Salam hormat,

Adalah dengan ini dimaklumkan bahawa Parti Keadilan Rakyat Negeri Selangor dengan kerjasama Jabatan Pilihan Raya Pusat akan menganjurkan Majlis Pengisytiharan Calon – Calon KEADILAN bagi kerusi Parlimen & DUN Selangor. Majlis akan diadakan seperti butiran berikut :

Tarikh : 14 April 2013 (AHAD)
Tempat : Padang Bola AU2, Hulu Kelang ( Berhampiran Pusat Khidmat Masyarakat DUN Hulu Kelang )
Masa : 9.00 malam

Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim dan Saudara Azmin Ali akan menyampaikan ucapan selaku Menteri Besar Kerajaan Sementara dan Pengerusi Majlis Pimpinan Negeri Selangor sebelum Amanat Khas Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim dan penguman calon – calon yang telah dipersetujui oleh KEADILAN.

Justeru, sukacita kami menjemput para media untuk hadir membuat liputan sepanjang program.

Sekian, terima kasih.

PEJABAT MOHAMED AZMIN ALI
Timbalan Presiden Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KEADILAN)

—–

Radio Free Malaysia, Radio Free Sarawak and Sarawak Report all Hacked

The websites for Radio Free Malaysia, Radio Free Sarawak and the news portal Sarawak Report, which represent free media in Malaysia, have all been subject to relentless DDOS attacks since the beginning of this week.
Today, Thursday 11th April, the sites were hacked and all three were brought down. The attacks have coincided with various forms of jamming which have been attempted against the broadcasts of both the independent Radio Stations, which operate from outside of Malaysia.
Radio Free Sarawak is at 1100-1300 UTC on 15230 kHz Short Wave and Radio Free Malaysia is at 1300-1500 UTC on 1359 kHz Medium Wave. Both stations are still available on Sound Cloud:

https://soundcloud.com/radiofreesarawak
https://soundcloud.com/radiofreemalaysia

Malaysia, which poses as a democracy, has nevertheless one of the most restrictive medias in the world, dominated by the ruling Barisan National coalition. Widespread access to the internet has broken into that monopoloy over information in recent years, however, evidently causing considerable concern to a government beset by recent scandals and corruption investigations involving senior figures.

Disruption of independent online news portals is regular in Malaysia and entirely expected after the disollution of Parliament finally took place last week, in anticipation of elections due on May 5th. The human rights organisation Suaram has also been knocked offline as have the news outlets Free Malaysia Today and Malaysian Insider.

The Distributed Denial Of Service (DDOS) attacks have been mounting against the anti-corruption site Sarawak Report for the past few weeks. The site has focused on exposing timber corruption over the past three years, demonstrating how the destruction of the Borneo Jungle has been driven by a small number of politically connected individuals in the East Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah.

Yesterday, Wednesday 10th April, the site was targeted by 64 million hits designed to take down its server. The sister sites for the two radio stations received similar attacks. Most of the attacks have radiated out of Russia and Eastern Europe and site administrators were able to fend off the onslaught until the site itself was hacked earlier today.
The NGO Access Now, which campaigns to support freedom of expression on the internet, has moved to assist the websites in their purpose of providing independent news and information to Malaysian voters in the run up to May 5th.

“This is a pretty typical pattern for an automated attack”, explains Gustav Bjorksten from Access Now, “anyone opposing a dictatorial power tends to get attacked by DDOS. With the calling of an election you can pretty much set your clock by it”.

Behind the attacks are criminals who build large ‘botnets’, which they then hire out to people who pay, for example governments trying to suppress inconvenient information. The cost is phenomenal, with the sort of major attacks sustained by Sarawak Report running into hundreds of thousands of dollars over a period of weeks.
The botnets operate through a web of a very large number of compromised computers, which send out millions of emails to disable the target sites. The common perpetrators are based in Russia and countries in Eastern Europe, including Lithuania and the Ukraine. Turkey is also a centre for this kind of activity.

“This is a pretty big attack” Bjorksten said of the assault on Sarawak Report and its sister sites, “they are serious, they want you off line”.

Clare Rewcastle Brown, the Editor of Sarawak Report and the Founder of Radio Free Sarawak and Radio Free Malaysia, which operate out of London in order to avoid Malaysian censorship, said today that the Malaysian Government was only showing itself up by resorting to such tactics.
“This is not a proper expenditure of taxpayers’ money and it only goes to prove how vulnerable this 50 year old regime feels to the truth” she said. “BN controls every single news paper and broadcast outlet in Malaysia, which are all forced to pour out propaganda favouring their party and to attack opposition leaders without allowing them their right of reply. And yet BN are nevertheless clearly terrified by even the most modest platforms providing independent news or alternative information. They are also plainly threatened by the evidence about outrageous corruption by the party’s top politicians, who have been robbing the country in recent years and amassing astonishing fortunes. Such evidence is suppressed in the mainstream media, yet Malaysia has been stripped of its resources and wealth by the political classes, who are exporting huge sums into tax havens abroad. Particularly in the rainforest states of Sabah and Sarawak the mass of ordinary people have been left poorer than ever.

“The BN establishment clearly feel unable to defend themselves against the mass of available evidence of this corruption, so they are resorting to attempting to silence the messengers. It won’t work and it just reveals them for what they are, which is politicians who dare not subject themselves to free and open debate”.

“It is really quite shameful that a government such as Malaysia should consider it appropriate to resort to hiring criminals with taxpayers’ money. They talk about the benefits of winning the “cyber-war” as if there was some honour in what they are doing. This is a dishonerable tactic and it shows just what a sham this supposedly democratic election is, where the critics of bribes, jerryamandering and vote-rigging are being silenced by such means”.

—–

Kenyataan Media
7 April 2013

Cincin RM24J: Mengapa Plot Hadir Selepas Hampir 2 Tahun?

Berikutan kemunculan sebuah wawancara mengenai cincin berlian RM24 juta, Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) hari ini menegaskan bahawa kredibililti wawancara tersebut sangsi dan mencurigakan.

Terdapat beberapa perkara yang menjadi persoalan ekoran ‘cubaan’ untuk menutup persepsi besar namun dilihat menimbulkan lebih banyak polemik, antaranya;

1. SAMM pada awalnya mempersoalkan mengapa nama Datin Paduka Rosmah Mansor tertera dalam borang kastam K1, menjadi satu bukti yang tidak mampu disangkal. Namun mengapa penafian pertama rosmah pada 29 Julai 2011, tidak digunakan ruang ini untuk menjelaskan perihal sebenar? Rosmah hanya nafi tanpa penjelasan.

2. Mengapa pihak syarikat pengeluar membuat kenyataan berbentuk video hanya setelah hampir dua tahun isu ‘cincin Imelda Rosmah RM24 juta’ menggemparkan negara? Mengapa begitu lama masa diambil? Dua tahun adalah tempoh yang sangat lama untuk menjawab satu dakwaan serius.

3. Jika benar cincin tersebut masuk ke Malaysia untuk tujuan pameran, mengapa borang kastam K1 digunakan dan mengapa tidak guna borang ATA CARNET? Borang ATA CARNET diperuntukkan untuk sebarang bentuk pameran.

4. Bila tarikh sebenar cincin tersebut keluar dari Malaysia? Apakah 20 April 2011 seperti dilaporkan? Parlimen membuat kenyataan bertulis bahawa cincin tersebut dipulangkan semula kepada syarikat ‘pemilik asal’ selepas beberapa hari di Malaysia, sedangkan bulan lalu dilaporkan di media bahawa cincin tersebut dipulangkan setahun selepas masuk ke Malaysia. Mana satu yang betul? Apakah perubahan kenyataan ini berlaku kerana borang kastam K2 yang didedahkan dulu telah dibuktikan oleh SAMM sebagai satu cubaan menipu?

5. Bagaimana besan kepada Perdana Menteri turut terlibat? Apa kena mengena besan Perdana Menteri sehingga terpalit nama Rosmah Mansor dalam dokumen rasmi melibatkan harta bernilai RM24 juta?

Dalam risalah cincin yang diterbit SAMM, terdapat juga pendedahan sekeping gambar yang menunjukkan Rosmah memakai sebuah gelang bertatah berlian. Setelah diperiksa, gelang tersebut dinamakan “Zebra Safari” berharga RM1.65 juta. Ironinya gelang tersebut dikeluarkan dari syarikat pengeluar cincin bernilai RM24 Juta. Ia menggambarkan Rosmah sebagai pelanggan yang tidak asing kepada syarikat berpengkalan di New York itu dan tidak mustahil syarikat tersebut cuba melindungi pelanggannya.

Bagi SAMM, pendedahan isu cincin RM24 juta ini menjadi satu titik tolak penting kerana selepas itu lebih banyak lagi pendedahan membongkar pekung kebobrokan negara seperti pendedahan NFC dan beberapa kes keluarga menteri dianugerah projek. Isu cincin ini menjadi pendorong untuk pegawai kerajaan tampil berani menyalurkan maklumat ketirisan wang rakyat.

Akhir sekali, SAMM tidak menolak kemungkinan pendedahan cincin RM24 juta ini sebenarnya telah menggagalkan pemilikkan cincin tersebut dan seterusnya menyelamatkan wang negara ini dari terus dibazirkan kepada pihak ‘jahat’.

che’GuBard
Pengasas
Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia

And where is the citizen in this superstructure of modern organisation called democracy?

These are some questions that I believe Malaysians must face in order to overcome the illiteracy in democracy which I strongly believe is crippling our nation.

As my esteemed readers may or may not know, for the past two years I have been working for and with the MP for Lembah Pantai, which is one of 11 parliamentary constituencies in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.

In these past two years, which seems a lifetime if my swiftly greying hair is anything to go by, I have learned more than a bit about the inner and outer workings of politics on many levels of society.

And while I pretty much jumped into the deep end of the political pool and quickly learned how to swim (or rather, not sink), I found that I was still ill-equipped to really understand how things worked.

I did wish that there was some sort of primer, some kind of 101 manual that could have been handed so that I could quickly learn what to do, what to avoid, and to understand where everything stood when you took a step back and looked at the bigger picture.

Today, when I am asked why hasn’t the MP done something about the potholes, or rubbish, or missing street lights, I can confidently say that actually that’s not what the MP is there for. If one is in KL, one must quickly contact DBKL at either its hotline (1-800-88-3255) or visit its website to lodge an e-complaint. If one is in PJ, it would be via MBPJ or the local councillors – i.e. local government.

In other words, I have come to understand that an MP and ADUN is really elected to listen to the rakyat, to look at the bigger picture and why things are currently not working so well, and to propose systemic changes to the superstructure through promulgating new laws or reforming current ones.

Yet we are still under the impression that MPs and ADUNs are like “Swiss Army knives” – multi-purpose miracle tools to solve all problems.

Perhaps it’s because we have been raised with such expectations all these years.

Perhaps not much has been systematically done to change the perception that people have about the role of elected representatives.

Perhaps it has much to do with the fact that some 60 per cent of Malaysians are living with a household income of RM3,000 and below – and when we see many of these MPs or ADUNs with means (which might have been the fruits of their own hard work… or otherwise), it is not unnatural to inquire how our lot might be made better. Quickly.

Fundamentally, I believe it is a question of economics, and more specifically our current political-economic regime.

I believe that if we are able to fundamentally and permanently raise the household incomes of Malaysians, we will begin to see a shift in the dynamics of our political economy.

To put it simply, we will rely on elected lawmakers to do the work they are entrusted to do: make good laws.

And while the prognosis is much agreed by both sides of the aisle, the manner in which the goal of uplifting our common condition is being achieved is structurally divergent, if we are to look at the latest Budgets proposed by both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat – the former is looking at quick, temporary, and ultimately expensive fixes such as BR1M2.0 for the purposes of winning the next election, while the latter is focused on holistic reforms to undo debilitating cronyistic practices.

I hope that one day Malaysians will be able to appreciate the role that each and every citizen has to play, in order to make a better Malaysia a reality for all.

(First published in Selangor Times on 19 October 2012)

Firstly, we must congratulate the Malay Mail for its courage in attempting to highlight the work of a Pakatan Rakyat Member of Parliament (MP) in particular the first-term MP for Lembah Pantai, YB Nurul Izzah Anwar.

As many Malaysians are only too aware, mainstream media – newspapers, radio stations and TV – take great risks in order to strengthen the culture of debate and discourse in this country, particularly when the draconian (albeit slightly-amended) Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 hangs evermore like the Sword of Damocles.

From this perspective, newspapers such as the Malay Mail must be encouraged to continue to carry the voices of all, irrespective of political affiliations.

Secondly, I wish to draw the attention of readers to a particularly interesting choice of words, where the phrase “the BN senator has been … using his position as Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister to address (residents’) problems…” was employed.

This is particularly apt as the BN senator, Dato’ Raja Nong Chik, is very obviously using – or as some may posit, abusing – his position as a Senator and Minister to further his own private political ambitions, arguably tantamount to the dereliction of his duty as minister for all  parliamentary constituencies in the Federal Territories. One estimate puts his presence in Lembah Pantai last Ramadhan at a disproportionate 75% of the time; one can only guess at the amount of ministerial resources outlayed for such personal adventures.

As remarked by YB Nurul Izzah, a lot of the problems faced by residents in Lembah Pantai are directly related to the level of service provided by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), which like the KL Mayor is ultimately answerable to the FT Minister. In this case, the public must ask the FT Minister why have problems including housing, constant traffic jams, poor drainage, lack of maintenance of public facilities such as lifts and children’s playgrounds been allowed to fester?

Furthermore, the fact remains that even though PR MPs were democratically elected in 10 out of 11 parliamentary constituencies in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, not only do they have no annual federal allocation (~RM1-2 million), but they also have very little say in what goes on in DBKL. FT residents are therefore experiencing ‘taxation without representation’, as even the Mayor is not democratically elected but is a political appointee of the FT Minister.

As rightly pointed out by the Honorable Minister, one particularly acute problem in Lembah Pantai is that of housing. His ‘solution’ to this problem, unfortunately, is a cause of much consternation among residents not only in Lembah Pantai but also beyond: using some RM300 million of Malaysians’ hard-earned savings in the EPF to finance the purchasing of PPR-PA public housing units at a 6.5% interest rate that will definitely burden borrowers compared to the much more benign ‘Rent-to-Own’ scheme.

YB Nurul Izzah had openly requested in Parliament that the FT Minister consider the latter option, considering the disquiet that accompanied the 1% (~RM3 million) his FT Foundation would stand to make from this scheme. The Malay Mail could in this instance intervene by organizing a debate so that all sides may clarify their policy statements for the benefit of the wider public.

Despite PR MPs having no annual budget allocation, no direct say in the goings-on of DBKL, and no access to DBKL-run halls, YB Nurul Izzah still manages to pull donations and volunteers to serve the people of Lembah Pantai – from monthly free clinics with qualified doctors and basic medication, to free tuition classes for over 100 students in Pantai Dalam, to quarterly Jom Shopping programs with elderly folk, to running a full service centre, to organizing dialogues between residents and PDRM on crime and security concerns.

In Parliament, YB Nurul Izzah has made very significant contributions to our nation’s legislative progress, including proposing the revocation of the Emergencies, proposing to amend the Petroleum Development Act so that Petronas is made accountable to Parliament, as well as debating in numerous bills that last often long into the night.

In short, YB Nurul Izzah has accomplished much as a first-term MP despite these obstacles, and we look forward to working with the good people at the Malay Mail and other mainstream media to help readers understand the challenges faced and the successes attained by our democratically elected representatives, towards building a better Malaysia.

Fahmi Fadzil
Political Secretary to the MP for Lembah Pantai

(This letter was first published in The Malay Mail on 29 August 2012)

Semoga di hari yang mulia ini kita akan dapat raikan suasana Hari Raya dengan rasa taqwa, penuh keinsafan, dan jiwa yang diisi daya juang yang tinggi selepas sebulan berpuasa.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

- fahmi fadzil -

This time round, I would like to invite us all to consider, imagine, and think about the first 24 hours after Malaysia goes to the polls.

There are numerous scenarios of what may take place when the Election Commission makes that all-important call after all the ballot papers have been tallied at all the counting centers: a declaration that 1) Barisan Nasional has won two-thirds majority to form government; 2) that BN has won a simple majority and forms government; 3) that Pakatan Rakyat has won a simple majority to form government; 4) that PR has won two-thirds majority and forms government; and 5) a hung parliament, where neither side has the clear advantage.

While this article does not attempt to elaborate on the ramifications of each scenario – there isn’t enough space – what I would like to do is ask us to consider what it is that we can do, in our own little ways.

First and foremost: be calm. No matter what happens, ensure the safety of your immediate family members and your property.

In other words, after polling ends it is best to head home and to stay home, just like what we did after GE12.

Secondly: stay connected. Most online portals that night will be flooded with visitors (or DDOS attacks), so be mindful that some might be down or slow with information.

In fact, keep on hand a list of key phone numbers – close friends, party activists, journalists. And in case the Internet and phone lines get congested, just enjoy the evening. And watch some TV, maybe.

Next: double check your source before sharing that email, SMS, FB update, or tweet. Don’t spread unverified accounts of whatever you think is happening somewhere where you’re not. Check, double check, and in fact triple check – it is better to err on the side of caution than to be the boy that cried wolf.

Four: no matter what happens, stay safe. Don’t take unnecessary risks like driving out around town waving flags and such (it is an election offence to campaign after midnight into polling day).

On a more party political level, at least three key things we have to bear in mind:

One: Ensuring the safety of candidates who have been declared winners, to avoid them from being “bought” by or “convinced” to join the “other side” (whichever side that may be);

Two: Securing the sites of government, both on a state and federal level. This means putting in place safeguards promptly, to ensure that key documents are not ferried out nor destroyed by the outgoing parties.

To this end, official security services – namely Polis Di Raja Malaysia – must maintain a neutral stance and assist in the peaceful and democratic transition of government.

Three: Formation of government, which involves meeting the heads of state as well as the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and convincing them that the parties forming government do indeed have “the numbers” to do so.

Obviously this is not a comprehensive nor exhaustive study of the first 24 hours after GE13. But what I would like readers to walk away with is a sense that as Malaysians, we need to begin imagining these crucial and critical hours of our nation’s history, to be comfortable with the thought of what may take place, and most importantly: to be prepared, come what may.

(First appeared on SelangorTimes on 10th August 2012)