Monday, March 31, 2008

Non-Muslim Affairs Committee in Perak

It was an expected news that Ngeh Koo Ham the Sitiawan state assemblyman was appointed the Perak State Senior Exco. The key point is that other than chairing the Finance, Infrastructure and Public Facilities, Energy and Water committees, he is also chairman of the newly set-up Non-Muslim Affairs Committee.

This is indeed refreshing and hoped the other state governments especially those ruled by the non-BN parties will follow suit. What are you waiting for, Lim Guan Eng and Teresa Kok?

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Impak PRU 12 kepada masyarakat

Saya telah dijemput sebagai tetamu dalam rancangan Isu Semasa Khas di RTM 1 pada 12 Mac 2008 (Rabu). Walaupun ini bukan kali pertama saya menjadi tetamu dalam program TV yang disiarkan secara langsung tetapi kali ini adalah berbeza kerana topik yang dibincangkan masih lagi sangat panas.

“Pilihanraya Umum ke 12: Kesan kepada Masyarakat”. Itulah bunyi isu yang dibincangkan kali ini. Tetamu lain termasuklah Timbalan Dekan dari Universiti Putra Malaysia, Professor Dr. Raduan Che Ros dan Encik Balakrishnan pensyarah kanan dari Uiversity Malaya. Saya telah diperkenalkan sebagai penasihat Pergerakan Pemuda Malaysia (YMM), sebuah pertubuhan belia peringkat kebangsaan.

Agak janggal juga bila difikirkan semula hal ini kerana saya bukannya dari kalangan ahli akademik dan pastinya saya tidak akan memberikan pendapat saya dari perspektif akademik. Walaupun saya mempunyai pandangan sendiri mengenai topik ini, saya merasakan ia lebih baik jikalau saya mendapatkan pendapat dari kalangan kawan-kawan dengan latarbelakang yang berbeza untuk mendalami kesan PRU12 kepada masyarakat.

Antara perkara-perkara yang dilontarkan oleh hos program, Sayed Munawar Sayed Mustar ialah berkaitan impak PRU 12 terhadap hubungan etnik, sistem dwi-parti, peranan belia, kerajaan tempatan dan sebagainya.

Antara respon saya ialah mengenai pengaruh pengundi muda dalam PRU 12 yang telah memilih untuk membuat perubahan. Golongan muda yang pertama kali mengundi dan mereka yang mengundi kali kedua sejak 2004 telah membuang undi perubahan. Bagi mereka yang berasa tidak puashati dengan pelbagai isu kebelakangan ini, tiada ruginya untuk mereka membuang undi protes kerana bagi mereka tidak akan berlaku perkara yang lebih teruk dari yang sedia ada. Jika mereka tidak pilih untuk protes, keadaan mungkin lebih teruk lagi.

Mengenai sistem dua parti yang mungkin berlaku hari akan datang, saya telah menekankan beberapa perkara demi kepentingan rakyat, iaitu betapa perlunya setiap wakil rakyat mengundi berdasarkan pegangan dan prinsip mereka dan bukannya untuk kepentingan parti sahaja. Wakil rakyat harus sedar bahawa mereka dipilih untuk berkhidmat untuk rakyat dan bukannya untuk parti mereka semata-mata. Mungkin singkatan YB seharusnya bermakna Yang Berkhidmat bukannya Yang Berhormat!

Satu perkara utama diperbincangkan ialah sebab musabab berlakunya angin perubahan di PRU 12 hinggakan pakatan pembangkang tawan 4 buah negeri dan BN hilang majoriti 2/3 keanggotaan Dewan Rakyat.

Beberapa alasan telah diberikan oleh ahli panel termasuk isu kenaikan harga minyak dan barangan lain; isu berkaitan kepentingan golongan minoriti; parti kerajaan yang leka dan “over confident”, peranan media perdana dan alternatif seperti laman web dan blog, serangan bertubi-tubi pimpinan kanan BN terhadap Anwar Ibrahim yang membawakan rasa simpati terhadap Anwar dan ketidakpuasan rakyat yang berterusan tidak diuruskan dengan sebaik-baiknya.

Penggunaan media cetak dan eletronik perdana yang bertujuan menarik undi telah mengakibatkan reaksi sebaliknya. Pengundi berasa mereka dicabar kematangan mereka dalam mentafsirkan sesuatu perkara dan harus menerima sahaja apa yang disalurkan. Suntikan propaganda yang berlebihan telah menyebabkan rakyat rasa muak dan semacam diperolokkan dan akhirnya telah menolak segala mesej yang hendak disampaikan termasuk perkara-perkara yang bernas dan ikhlas.

Rata-ratanya, dari komen dan SMS yang saya terima selepas program itu, para penonton berasakan saya telah menyuarakan isihati mereka. Mengenai komen orang ramai, saya teringat semasa saya membawa keluarga saya ke sebuah taman tema di ibukota, seorang wanita dari Melaka telah mengucapkan terima kasih kepada saya di atas komen saya semasa rancangan tersebut yang merupakan pandangan beliau juga.

Dah banyak kali saya terlibat dalam perbincangan dalam program TV, tetapi kali in saya menerima respon yang paling hangat dari penonton!

Religious Committee for non-Muslims

Now with the dust already settled in Selangor with the appointment of the state executive councillors amongst members of the PKR-DAP-PAS coalition government, the time has come for the coalition elected leaders to address outstanding issues affecting the non-Muslims of the state. One of the critical issues is allocation of land for non-Muslims to build places of worship.

The previous Selangor state government has a Jawatankuasa Rumah Ibadat bukan Islam chaired by the State Secretary with members from non-Muslims state excos to address issues related to the development of places of worship for the non-Muslims. But the functions of this committee are limited and cases referred to it took a long time to be settled.

Many still remembers the incident of the group of non-Muslims Ministers in the previous Cabinet, when they were asked to withdraw the memorandum they submitted to the Prime Minister on situation of the non-Muslims community. Incidents of body-snatching and debatable conversion were also widely known all over. Another matter is the reluctance of the federal government to set up a working body within the PM department for the non-Muslims. The rejection of this proposed body, which is to be a channel for them to seek for solutions and help on matters affecting their freedom of religious practice, is perceived as non-accommodating to the needs of the non-Muslims.

If the newly established coalition government in Penang, Perak, Kedah and Selangor are serious in walking the talk, this is the time for them to put into action their commitment towards a balanced society and religious freedom as enshrined in the constitution. This is their golden opportunity to take the lead by setting up a State Committee for non-Muslims Affairs chaired by a non-muslim senior Exco in Selangor and Kedah, deputy Menteri Besar in Perak and Chief Minister in Penang.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Youth Organisations as training ground

I was very keen in observing this GE as some of the candidates from both side of political divide were involved in the same organisation as I did, the Malaysian Youth Council(MYC). Some were there before my time, some served together with me. There are those who managed to win while some did not succeed.



There are quite a number MYC former leaders whoo stood in the election.



1. Tajol Rosli - former president-Umno-former Perak MB-won his state seat but lost his State

2. Ali Rustam- former president-Umno-Melaka CM-won his seat and retain Melaka CM

3. Khir Toyo-former president-Umno-former Selangor MB-won his seat but lost his State

4. Hasan Malek-former president-Umno-Kuala Pilah MP-won his seat and appointed Deputy Minister

5. Saifuddin Abdullah-former president-Umno-Temerloh MP-won his seat and appointed Deputy Minister

6. Shamsul Annuar-Current President-Umno-Lenggong MP-won his seat in first bid

7. Mustaffa Kamil Ayub-former VP-PKR-former political secretary- lost in his third bid for parliament

8. Idris Haron-Current Deputy Pres-Umno- Tangga Batu MP- reelected and appointed Deputy Minister

9. Abdul Azeez-former Exco-Umno-lost in his first bid for Baling parliamentary seat.

10. Noh Omar-former council member-Umno-reelected Tanjung Karang MP and promoted as Minister.

11. Faisal Abdullah-former council member-UMno- was not re-elected for Beserah state seat in Pahang.

12. Tan YokeCheng-former council member-MCA-lost in his first bid for Air Putih state seat in Penang.



Anwar Ibrahim, the de facto PKR leader was a former MYC president. He is expected to stand in a by-election after April 15. What will be his destiny?

Stop Gap Measure Cabinet?

The Cabinet list already out from the stove but before it was served to the rakyat, there are already rumblings followed by aftershocks. Two deputy ministers declined appointments, one of them citing he has been too long on the job as deputy. Meaning if he is appointed a full minister, he will gladly accept it.



The oft-repeated drama played by the AP minister was replayed after been discarded from the cabinet is nothing extraordinary. Its the usual story. Maybe she should take the cue from former Umno sec-gen Sheikh Radzi and quit as well. If she did she would surely do Pak Lah a favour. She will be quickly replaced by Shahrizat as the acting wanita head. The writing already on the walls when Pak Lah appointed Shahrizat as the Special adviser with ministerial status even though she lost in Lembah Pantai. Why procrastinate? Change them while its still hot!



Pak Lah is in manouvering mode before the next Umno election by placing the people he wants in cabinet positions. This will strengthen his position as Umno president since those newly appointed Cabinet ministers will be expected to support him. Furthermore, expect a drastic change in the Umno supreme council as new ministers will be bidding for higher positions in Umno.



MCA will be having their AGM in October and sparks are expected to fly. Many has said, in politics there is no permanent friends or foes. Just look at MIC Samy Vellu and S. Subramaniam. Do not be surprised if political foes from the pre 2003 Team A and Team B establish a Reform Team. The Reform Team will link dropouts like the two former Minister of Health Chua Soi Lek and Chua Jui Meng with the losing PJU candidate vice president Lim Siang Chai forming the triple axis. This Reform Team are expected to challenge the current top leadership led by the Ongs(Huang) clan, namely Ong Ka Ting, Ka Chuan and Ng Yen Yen. Ong Tee Keat will be watching this developments closely and his move will be monitored by both sides too.



The Reform Team cannot be underestimated. Johore is still under the grip of Chua Soi Lek and Lim Siang Chai influence in Selangor cannot be discounted. Add that with the invisible hand of a former president whose son lost in his bid in the recent general election.



Is the recent Cabinet is just a stop gap measure? Will there be a major Cabinet re-shuffle after the AGM of the two main parties in BN? That will depends on the results of the respective parties election. The aftershocks is not over yet!

Computer Down

Maybe too much usage during the 12 GE, my computer hard disk went bonkers since last week and unable access internet explorer. Still awaiting the new hard disk.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Is Anwar coming to Kelana Jaya?

Many are still guessing which platform PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim will be using to re-enter parliament after April 15 when the law that bars him from standing for election expires. Two parliamentary seats currently held by PKR are considered the potential seat for Anwar.

Permatang Pauh in Penang, which was his power base during his time in UMNO, is widely speculated to be one of the options. The current Permatang Pauh MP is PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who is also Anwar’s wife. She already declared that she would vacate the seat to enable her husband to stand for election there.

The other option is Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat in Wilayah Persekutuan that was won by his daughter Nurul Izzah in the recent election.

There is a third option for him – Kelana Jaya parliamentary seat, which is held by Loh “Videoman” Gwo-Burne.


Why Kelana Jaya?

  1. The recently elected PKR MP for Kelana Jaya Loh Gwo-Burne was an “accidental MP” whom Anwar recruited to stand for the election based on his “popularity and courage” in relation to the Lingam video inquiry. It should not be a problem for Loh to vacate the seat for him.
  2. Kelana Jaya is one of the parliamentary seats won by PKR with a comfortable majority.
  3. This seat is a mixed seat. Voters are spread out amongst the three main races It will be a good symbolic representation for him to represent all races in his quest to be the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
  4. This seat is located in Selangor. The state is expected to have a Menteri Besar from PKR and this will facilitate all the necessary machinery to support him in a by-election.


    Are we staring at a by-election in Kelana Jaya before middle of the year? If this becomes a reality, prepare your wish lists now and ready for a durian runtuh, people of Kelana Jaya!

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Gentleman Tsu Koon

While following the developments of the 12GE on TV and Internet, a question come to my mind. Why results from East Malaysia are rolling in faster than those in Peninsula especially in more developed states like Selangor, Penang, Perak and WP Kuala Lumpur. Some may argue that there are fewer voters in Sabah and Sarawak constituencies. But considering the infrastructure and communication available in Peninsula, this should not be happening.

Anyway, when news came in that Penang already falls to the opposition, the incumbent Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon told a press conference that he already informed the Governor that BN could not form the next government. He also call and congratulated the state DAP opposition leader and accepted defeat. This is indeed very gentleman, gracious and magnanimous for a leader who just lost a state he led for 18 years!

In contrast, there was no response from the leaders in Kedah, Perak and Selangor who is also losing control of their state. It was shocking that results from Selangor was announced very much later than others even though on the ground, people already knew Selangorians had swung to the opposition. Situation like gathering at state administrative buildings by supporters of the political divide would have been avoided if leaders of the state did the same as Koh Tsu Koon.



To know a man’s character, give him power.
To realize a man’s true colors, take the power from him.

Cabinet minister, anyone?

The opposition in the 12th general election defeated many top guns in BN including the bosses of three component parties. If based on the power-sharing concept held by BN, will the defeated BN leaders provided a back door to be appointed as ministers, deputy ministers or parliamentary secretaries by appointing them as senators? Will these losers have moral conscience and courage to reject these appointments since the voters already rejected them? Further more, will there be ample senator vacancies for so many casualties?
When the parliament was dissolved, MCA held 4 minister positions, 9 deputy ministers and 4 parliamentary secretaries. MIC has 1-3-3 ratios, Gerakan 1-3-2 and PPP only a deputy minister position.

Cabinet positions before General Election and Seats Won

MCA MIC Gerakan PPP Total
Minister 4 1 1 - 6
Deputy Minister 9 3 3 1 16
Parliamentary Secretary 4 3 2 - 9
Total 17 7 6 1 31
Parliament Seats Won 15 3 2 0 20


Assumed the BN continued to practice the power-sharing concept and allocate similar quota, there will be a problem for them to fill all the positions. MCA secured only 15 parliamentary seats, MIC won 3 seats, Gerakan retained 2 and PPP lost its only seat in Taiping. There will be two choices i.e., either their quota are reduced or their representatives are appointed as senators before taking up government positions. While the first choice seems the easier way, it will put a blot to the power-sharing concept of BN. On the other, even if non-Umno members of the BN coalition agreed to accept appointment as senators there might not be enough senatorial position to share amongst them.


The total number of senator in Dewan Negara is 70 members. Since the state assembly in Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor are controlled by PAS-PKR-DAP, there will be 10 seats lesser for BN distribution. Any senator seat vacated by those previously appointed by BN will surely be replaced by PAS, PKR or DAP candidates.

If all the leaders who lost in the election like Koh Tsu Koon, Samy Vellu, Kayveas and others do not want to be appointed as a senator, it is possible new and fresh faces will be appointed to fulfill the quota.

On ministerial positions, MCA most probably will not face problem in filling the four positions as four of their senior leaders, Ong Ka Ting (president), Fong Chan Onn (VP), Ong Tee Keat (VP) and either Ong Ka Chuan (secretary general) or Wanita head Ng Yen Yen, won the seats they contested.

MIC expected to hand over the only minister slot to their most senior elected MP, Secretary General Dr. S. Subramaniam (Segamat) since all their top leaders lost their seats. This is of course assuming Samy Vellu, G. Palanivel or S. Sothinathan are not appointed minister by taking up a senatorship.

Another looming question is are we looking at Malaysia’s first Chinese female minister in the incoming Cabinet? This is not far-fetch if the male dominated senior Gerakan leaders decided to act like gentlemen and proposed Gerik MP Tan Lian Hoe who is also Gerakan Wanita head to lead Gerakan in the Cabinet. At least this will be an appreciative gesture for Tan Lian Hoe after the merry-go-round she went through in getting a seat to stand since 2004.


MCA might also take the same route by offering ministerial position to Ng Yen Yen instead of Ong Ka Chuan. Firstly, this approach will provide a stronger platform for Wanita MCA to strengthen the woman grassroots supporters in view of the Wanita MCA weakening representation in parliament and the frontbenchers. Secondly, in view of MCA’s heavy electoral losses, by not having Ong Ka Chuan as a minister will at least placate any further rumblings amongst MCA members and the Chinese community that an “Ong dynasty” is on the cards.


But will UMNO discard the power-sharing concept and decides to throw the baby out together with the water, i.e. to punish the voters for rejecting MCA, Gerakan and MIC by reducing or not allocating any Cabinet positions to them. If this is the path UMNO is taking, then it will be a case of a father carrying out his threat to throw the kids out of the house if they do not listen to instructions.

Is this how we treat our children by severing family ties because of differing opinions? Or should an elder or parents put in extra efforts to understand the needs and aspiration of the children better and grow with them together?



Note:
Article 45 of the Malaysian Constitution stated that the composition of the Senate or Dewan Negara are drawn from the following methods:

(1) Subject to Clause (4), the Senate shall consist of elected and appointed members as follows:
(a) two members for each State shall be elected in accordance with the Seventh Schedule; and
(aa) two members for the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, one member for the Federal Territory of Labuan and one member for the Federal Territory of Putrajaya shall be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong; and(b) forty members shall be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Wow! What a night.

Are you part of the history enfolding on March 8, 2008? If you are, congratulations on making your voice heard, whichever side of the political divide. If you are not, make sure you are part of the history next time, not just an observer.

Five states drops like domino to opposition favor.

Moon shining brigther in Kelantan.

Another moon shines on Kedah.

The scale tilted to opposition in Perak.

DAP finally conquered Penang.

Selangor will have new PKR MB.

BN lost 2/3 majority.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

BN Swept From Kelana Jaya

The D-Day is today.

Since I am a voter in Kelana Jaya (Parliament) and Subang Jaya (state) seats, I paid more attention on the candidates in these areas. Since nomination day, it can be clearly observed the BN is very confident of retaining the Kelana Jaya parliament seat and the two state seats within it, Subang Jaya and Seri Setia.

Even though Lee Hwa Beng replaces first-term MP Loh Seng Kok, there were no rumbles from local MCA members. Lee, the MCA Kelana Jaya Division chairman has a strong grip on the division’s 5,000 members. While Loh Gwo Burne has PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim campaigning for him for the parliament seat, Lee depended mostly on his well-oiled local BN/MCA machinery and his service as the three-term Subang Jaya assemblyman. No upset is expected from PKR Loh or independent candidate Billi Lim but it will be a gigantic task for BN Lee to replicate the wide margin win of 21571 as his predecessor did in 2004. Basing on the current sentiment and disgruntlement of the Indian (17.9%) and Chinese (38.7%) voters, the winning margin expected to be less than 4,000.

Update: Lee Hwa Beng was defeated by newbie Loh Gwo Burne by 5,031 majority. Turnout was 73.60%. There was a shift of more than 26,000 votes to the opposition compared to last election in 2004. The Malay voters unexpectedly tilted in favour of Loh.

As for the Subang Jaya seat which is a showdown between two women newbie, Ong Chong Swen of BN against Hannah Yeoh of DAP. This is clearly a contest between two different generations and experience. Businesswoman Ong age 57 is married with a housing developer husband while Yeoh an event manager is 29 and recently married. It’s a battle between an experience community activist and an idealistic youth full with energy. Voting preference will be influence by age. Yeoh is expected to command a big chunk of the youth voters in Subang Jaya gauging from responses she receives during her walk-about and visiting. Ong looks a bit of jaded but her election machinery will be able to secure support from traditional supporters of Lee Hwa Beng. BN will have the upper hand but the margin expected to be less than 1,000.

Update : Hannah shocked Ong Chong Swen with 13,851 majority. It was the second largest majority win in a Selangor state seat.

Seripah Noli of BN most probably will retain the Seri Setia state. The challenger is PKR’s Nik Nazmi 26, who is private secretary to Anwar Ibrahim. Even so, BN are expected to lose substantial Indian votes from this seat. Indian consists 28.3% of the total voters.

Update : Seripah Noli lost to Nik Nazmi with a majority of 2,863. The unexpected swing of Malay voters causes Seripah's downfall.

For Kelana Jayans, there is a possibility the BN candidate will be made at least a Parliamentary Secretary when he wins. This is further enhanced by high possibility that MCA might lose PJ Utara (Chew Mei Fun) and Klang, which are contested by Selangor MCA chairman C’hng Toh Eng. The previous Klang MP Tan Yee Kew was a Parliamentary Secretary.

Update : The west coast domino effect also falls on Ch'ng Toh Eng and Chew Mei Fun. Both were defeated by their opponents with huge majority.

Friday, March 7, 2008

A Tale of Two Constituencies


As the day of truth coming closer, let’s have a glimpse of the possible result to elect the peoples’ representative in two constituencies, namely the parliamentary seat of Successful Traveler and the state seat Glorious Earring. We have a Videoman, The Comic and Drainman for the parliamentary seat and the Myway Lady and The Switcher for the state seat.

What will be the possible results on March 8?

Successful Traveler Parliamentary seat and candidates

The Comic

If he wins – most of us might not believe this, but it might spell disaster if he wins this election. Just imagine, this candidate who is famous for his clarion call “dare to fail” might face a drop in the sales of his compilation and lesser opportunity in the lecture circuit.

If he fails – the saga shall continue and we won’t be seeing the last of him. In fact, he actually wins when he lost the election. He can add another “successful” failure in his profile and another story on how he “conquered” the videoman and Drainman


The Videoman

If he wins – expect a live telecast of all parliamentary proceedings since his camera will be on recording mode all the time. His main contribution during his term as an Yb - expect all Mps (maybe minus the one from Jerai and Kinabatangan) to be on their toes always or they will be instantly made famous and popular in Youtube with their un-parliamentary antics and fixes.

If he fails – he really can’t ask too much anyway since he already got a two-weeks extension to his fame and popularity. At least now all who brought injustice to the people and shame to their country will always be on guard with any young and bored chaps with a camera hanging on their neck.


The Drainman

If he wins – our drains will be glittering and shining during day and night since more allocation will be obtain from the federal government to employ contractors not only to clean the drain every day but will add another layer of Nippon Go. So don’t expect him to attend parliament 100% and raise important issues like his predecessor, as he will too busy taking care of the drains since the parliament constituency is larger than his previous turf.

If he fails – hell will break loose. Witch hunting will began within his division to look for scapegoats for his loss and do expect a challenge to his lordship by his own man close to him in the coming division party election. Also expect demand from parents of a vernacular school for his name to be removed from the school hall and administration block. At the higher end of party hierarchy, he will be made a pawn in the power struggle within the top leadership, just like what happens to his predecessor.



Glorious Earring state seat and the Candidates

The MyWay Lady

If she wins – all the homemakers will be one big family with her leading the way to success. Within five years of hard work, the ladies in this constituency will be wearing precious earrings crusted with ruby, pearl and diamond. Hopefully the local government office will be gleaming and spotless clean with all the ingredients used to mop up the premise.

If she fails – she would quietly count her blessings that she don’t have to walk and serve the demanding and vocal constituents in city of Glorious Earring for the next five years. But at the higher end of the party hierarchy, the leadership will be hard press to fulfill the targeted gender quota in the next election.


The Switcher

If she wins – the voters in the city of Glorious Earring better be prepared for clogged drains, pothole-ridden and eerily dark roads, increasing assessment rates, escalating crimes and run down vernacular schools since they voted for change. On the other hand, this might not happen if the Switcher changes her mind again and hopped over to MyWay party because she too wants to have precious earrings with ruby on it like all the other ladies.

If she fails – she is already a winner by virtue of having the courage to stand up to a challenger with a stronger army. There will be next round of fight if she desires. She can always prepare for the next fight in five years time. While waiting for the bell to struck, hopefully she will organized many fantastic events for the people of Glorious Earrings that will rivaled those organized by the Drainman.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

What's so special about no. 2?

Based on year 2000 census, 20.2% of Malaysian citizens are Buddhists. It means the Buddhists are the 2nd largest religious group in this country. What is so special for being the number 2 ?


1. Buddhists are entitled to one public holiday for it's religious occasion, i.e. Wesak, while other groups have two or more. It's ok. At least Buddhist will appreciate and thankful that Wesak was declared a public holiday since 1962.


2. Buddhists have temples everywhere, if we accept the double definition of Buddhist temple as defined by the Selangor government, which includes all the Chinese folk religion shrines!


3. Buddhists are allowed to build temples for the future generations, because it can take up to 20 years to obtain approval from the authorities.


4. Buddhists are very influential and powerful because two major Chinese-based party bosses are declared Buddhist.




5. The Buddhist community is still waiting for the 2nd Buddhist clergy/leader to be conferred a Datukship in recognition of his contribution to the nation and society. It's ok. Buddhist don't expect recognition or titles. Non-self.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

You can make the difference

Some years ago, I had dinner with some friends whom I have not met for some years since we left school. It was a very memorable meeting indeed. We talked about good old days and adventures we had during our younger days. The conversation flows to the present and many local issues were raised including expectation from the government of the day. Complaints and criticism on what ought to be done and what ought not are part and parcel of the discussions.


After listening a while I asked, “Since most of us are so concern on the well-being of the country, other than keep on complaining, can we play a role in determining the government we want”. “How many of us here are registered voters, I queried?” Surprisingly, about half of them have not registered as voters. Various reasons were offered for not being a registered voter including their vote will not make the difference. I told them if we are not even bother to use our vote, forget about whining and complaining.


Each and every vote counts. Ask the people in Kemuning, Kelantan. In the 2004 election for the state seat, the winner was decided by a majority of only two votes. Just imagine, the two votes might come from a husband and wife supporter of the winning candidate. Who knows, the winning candidate for the state seat of Subang Jaya might win with only one vote and the one vote might come from a patient of SJMC who insists on utilizing his/her right as a citizen of this country.

Sounds far-fetched? Not really. It did occurred but the incident was in a small town in USA many years ago. One patient who was hospitalized in the local hospital was adamant and insists that the doctors allowed him to go to the polling station to cast his vote. At the end of the day, the candidate that he voted for was elected with one-vote majority!


Who says one vote can’t make the difference?


In Search of Yang Berkhidmat?

As a citizen of this country, participating in the electoral process has been a duty for me since I qualified to do so. I first voted in the Klang constituency. After I shifted to Subang Jaya, I tried to change my voting residence address after the 1995 election but my name was transferred to the Kapar voters’ registry instead. I voted there for the 1999 election. I managed to change my voting address to Subang Jaya in time for the 2004 general election.

So, as a registered voter since 1990, I have voted in three different parliamentary constituencies, namely Klang, Kapar and now Kelana Jaya.

As a resident of Subang Jaya since mid 1990s, I was able to cross the ballot paper for my area YB only once, which is in 2004. Lee Hwa Beng won unopposed for the Subang Jaya state seat due to rejection of his opponent’s nomination form due to technicality. Loh Seng Kok won the parliamentary seat of Kelana Jaya with a huge majority, beating a prominent trade unionist.

Fast forward to 2008. I will be exercising my right again as a citizen of this country and this time I will be courted by 5 aspirants YB’s although one of them already enjoyed the YB status for the last 13 years.

The last election was quite an easy choice for me to make, as I am familiar with one of the candidate performance since my many years ago. My choice was proven a wise decision indeed as the candidate that I voted for live to the mark as an exemplary parliamentarian. He spoke for many of us, even to the extend of voicing out issues that his other backbencher club members dare not touch. He was even praised by the PM and his party boss for his performance as an MP. How many of our MP’s actually have a 100% attendance for parliamentary sessions. There are only four during last parliament and Loh Seng Kok was one of them.

But at last, Loh Seng Kok is not a candidate this time around even though he is still young and a full time exemplary politician. But at least he played a major role in the making of Kelana Jaya history. Looks like I need to do my homework again to search and vote for the candidate most compatible to our needs and expectation. The first thing to do is to cross check them with the Candidates Compatibility Checklist and see how all these aspiring YBs in my constituency will fare.
Which candidate in Kelana Jaya and Subang Jaya able to convince me to vote for them? I will decide when I crossed the ballots on March 8.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Welcome to lokavacana.blogspot.com.

Human world has always been full of challenges and contradictions. There will be happy and triumphant moments. It seems we are at the top of the world and hope time will stand still for us to bask on the glorious moments. On the other hand, in moments of failure and despairs, we hoped time would move faster so that our sufferings or loss will be over in the shortest time possible.

Everything comes in pairs. When there is happiness, there will be sadness; the mirror of success is failure; and when we dream of profits, we must be ready to experience loss too. It’s only when we accept to live with these natural twins of life, then we can grasp the meaning of living.

In this human world, no one is blameless. Not in the past, not now and certainly not in the future. We can be blamed for not doing enough or even for doing everything possible. A person can be blamed for saying little; blamed for saying too much; and even blamed for saying nothing at all.

That’s the reality of life. It seems life in this world is so harsh and unfair. Until we take a look at our own self and realized that we are part of the human world that comes with all the warts and deficiencies. Absorbing this realities daily, at the end of the day it is up to us to take the necessary steps to make this world a happy land for all. No one can take away this opportunity to live life the fullest if we do not allow it to happen.

History is made every moment. Are we part of it or just watching it happens. The choice is ours. We are the masters of our own destiny. Guide and steer it to a blissful direction.

Candidates Compatibility Checklist

Dear Malaysians,

Enclosed is a checklist on the 12th general election candidate’s compatibility with your expectation for your reference. This checklist can be forwarded directly in person to your respective constituency candidates or via email or ask them during their public walk-about/ceramah/forum etc.

Once you received your response (whatever the answers or the candidate did not want to response) you will be in a better position to make a wise decision on the candidate most compatible to your expectations.

No one is blameless in this world.
Not now,
not in the past
and not in the future.

You might not have any candidate in your constituency that fulfilled your expectation but at least consider the one with the least “defilements”. Do not throw away your vote. Vote with wisdom.

Our country and
Our religion is our responsibility.
No one decides for us but oneself.

Long Live Malaysia.
Long Live the Buddha-Sasana.


Malaysian Buddhist Solidarity Group [ mbsg2007@gmail.com]
3 March 2008


Candidate’s Compatibility Checklist

Dear Candidates of the 12th Malaysian General Election,

The purpose of this checklist is to gauge the compatibility of candidates for the 12th General Election with the aspiration of the electorates. Candidates are expected to state their preference in each and every question. Any unanswered question will be deemed as not in favour.

1. Are you a person of integrity, trustworthy, sincere, just, ethical, incorruptible and will serve in the people’s interest above self-interest?
[ ] YES [ ] NO

2. Are you committed to build an equitable, democratic, safe and just society?
[ ] YES [ ] NO

3. Are you committed to uphold and defend the right and freedom of religious practice and education as per Article 3, Article 11 and Article 12 of the Federal Constitution?
[ ] YES [ ] NO

4. Do you agree all religious communities must be accorded a fair and just treatment to build their places of worship as per the Federal government guidelines?
[ ] YES [ ] NO

5. Do you agree there is a need to set up an official government body to address issues affecting the non-Muslims?
[ ] YES [ ] NO

6. Do you agree Malaysia is a secular state with Islam as official religion of the Federation?
[ ] YES [ ] NO

7. Without prejudice to the generality of Article 5 (Liberty of a person), Article 8 (Equality), Article 10 (Freedom of speech, assembly and association) and Article 11 (Freedom of religion), are you prepared to advocate and support an amendment to Article 12 Clause (4), which requires all individual intending to convert to another religion to seek consent from his/her spouse, or parents if he/she is not married?
[ ] YES [ ] NO

8. Do you agree local government should be democratically elected?
[ ] YES [ ] NO

9. To promote accountability and transparency, do you agree that the Anti-Corruption Agency must report and be responsible to the Parliament?
[ ] YES [ ] NO

10. To develop a balance and united social fabric, do you agree that the civil service requires a total overhaul to produce a balanced and competitive civil service that reflects the demography of Malaysia?
[ ] YES [ ] NO


CANDIDATE’S NAME :
PARTY REPRESENTED :
SEAT CONTESTED[Parliament/State]/No. :
STATE :


Visit http://www.helplinelaw.com/law/constitution/malaysia/malaysia01.php

for more information on the Malaysian Constitution.