Rakyat tidak boleh fikir?

Apa perlu adanya pilihanraya kerajaan tempatan? Ia tidak semestinya akan membawa apa-apa perubahan dan kemajuan dalam pentadbiran. Betulkah? Biarlah hanya golongan tertentu sahaja yang melantik diri mereka sendiri sebagai pemimpin dan menguruskan hal ehwal masyarakat selama-lamanya. Bukankah begitu bagus, rakyat tak perlulah berkobar-kobar mendaftar sebagai pengundi, menyemak senarai pengundi untuk pastikan nama ada, berbaris dari awal pagi untuk ambil kertas undi dan memerah otak mereka untuk fikirkan siapa yang harus mereka pilih. Menyusahkan saja kan? Lagipun tak perlulah rakyat menanggung beban menjaga mata pencarian segelintir orang yang menguruskan pilihanraya.

Biarkanlah saja mereka yang taksub kuasa politik terus pegang tampuk kekuasaan. Kita orang biasa yang daif ini manalah tahu untuk bezakan siapa yang layak ataupun sesuai untuk jadi wakil kami. Kita ni kan senang dilayan macam kanak-kanak. Kanak-kanak tidak tahu membuat keputusan yang secara bernas dan berhemah. Itukan telah dikatakan apabila sebuah sekolah di Pulau Mutiara mengadakan pemilihan "ala" pilihanraya umum baru-baru ini. Kalau merajuk disumbatlah dengan lolipop agar kita didiamkan supaya mereka boleh hidup senang dalam mahligai hasil keringat rakyat biasa. Mungkin hanya mereka yang takutkan bayang-bayang sendiri saja yang tahu segalanya?

Tambah lagi mereka yang takutkan bayang-bayang, "pilihanraya akan makan belanja yang besar". Baik wang yang akan diguna itu disalurkan kepada mereka yang memerlukannya (mengikut penilaian mereka yang berkepentingan sajalah!, kroni namanya). Kalau gini logiknya, mengapa pula ada pemilihan di peringkat parti mahupun pilihanraya umum kebangsaan dan negeri. Itu kan juga menggunakan duit. Itu tak membazir ke kalau ikut logik mereka? Tambah lagi, kalau tak mahu terus  berpolitik, undur sajalah dari dunia politik.

Amatilah negara-negara yang telah sekian lama mengadakan pilihanraya pelbagai peringkat. Rakyat mereka diberi peluang menyuarakan isi hati mereka dan memberi kepercayaan kepada orang yang difikirkan paling sesuai untuk mentadbir melalui peti undi. Rakyat biasa dihormati dan di beri hak untuk membuat keputusan menetapkan hala tuju pembangunan tempat mereka bermastautin dan di beri peluang mengorak masa depan mereka sendiri. Rakyat dilayan secara bermaruah dan dihormati. Bukannya dilayan seperti anak-anak kecil ataupun beruk di dalam sangkar yang terpaksa menerima apa sahaja yang dilemparkan oleh tuannya.- Loka

Anwar is to blame

With the departure of MP for Bayan Baru Zahrain Hashim from Parti Keadilan Rakyat two weeks ago, it added another round of woes to PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim who is facing second round court case on sodomy charges.

It will not be surprising if one or more of PKR's MPs decided to walk out from the party that seems facing unending problems in maintaining discipline  and loyalty amongst its elected representatives. Anwar himself already admitted his mistakes in selecting the wrong candidates for the last general election. Well, at that time he don't have much choice isn't it?

PKR's membership can be pooled into three main baskets. The first group are those who jumped ship from another party particularly from Umno. The initial batch of Umno members who switched allegiance to PKR are mostly those with third level of hierarchy in Umno, except maybe for Anwar himself, Azmin Ali, Ezam Nor (who left earlier) and a couple of others. There were so many positions for grab and opportunity to stood as election candidates which will remain a dream if they are still in Umno.

The second group are those who are Anwar-infatuated people like those involved in Abim (Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia), namely Mustaffa Kamil Ayub and Mohd Nur Manuty. The third group are those who were involved in "reformasi" and NGOs like Tian Chua, Elizabeth Wong, Sivarasiah, Irene Fernandez etc. Later, after the "merging" with Parti Rakyat Malaysia, a small group of people led by Syed Husin Ali were absorbed into the party.

It is clear that Anwar is having a lot of headaches with those who were formerly with another political party. Current problematic PKR elected representatives who are formerly from Umno includes Kulim Bandar Bharu MP Zulkifli Noordin, Zahrain Hashim and Indera Mahkota MP Azan Ismail. Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong who claims a Selangor state exco from DAP was involved with the mafia was the founding Secretary General of the mosquito party Malaysian Democratic Party after his fallout with DAP and Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng was formerly with Gerakan.

Not forgetting the duo that partly caused the fall of Pakatan Rakyat's Perak state government Jamaluddin Radzi (Adun Behrang) and Osman Jailu ( Adun Changkat Jering) and also Port Klang assemblyman Badrul Hisham who quits PKR to become BN friendly independents, whatever it means!

It seems like these people could not forget their old flames which they had cohabited for so many years even after tying the knot with a new partner. As people says, they can have a new party but their heart is still with the former party. There will be more test cases to see if political frogs can be depended on their loyalty and commitment to their new party. Those on the watch list includes former MCA vice president Chua Jui Meng and wanita deputy head Dr Tan Yee Kew. We will see where their heart lies when PKR selects the next election candidates.

Anwar is right in putting the blame on himself for selecting these political frogs and frogs-to-be. Another thing which he has not openly apologised was his haste and dream to becomes the PM by encouraging political betrayal of BN MPs so that he can secure enough seats to take over Putrajaya. While he was scheming this, he was blinded by the dream for power and blinked while his enemy BN took the opportunity to snatch Perak under his nose and created continuous problems for his PR governments in Selangor and Penang. - Loka

雪州缺乏近百所佛教寺庙

五地方政府受促拨地建庙

实习记者林志斌

1月28日

傍晚 5点52分

有鉴于雪州目前缺乏大约100所佛教寺庙，雪州佛教发展委员会今日呼吁该州地方政府拨地兴建佛教寺庙，以解决佛教徒缺乏膜拜场所的问题。

该委员会主席黄世界表示，雪州目前缺少80至100所的佛教寺庙；随着人口的增长，若地方政府没做好规划，雪州将在2020年时缺少近200所的寺庙。

他表示，在雪州400万2440名居民当中，25.26%或101万1169人是佛教徒。若根据种族分布，雪州共有123万271名华裔，其中81.26%是佛教徒。

他说，根据雪州城乡规划局于2006年出版的《雪州规划指南与标准》手册，制定建设非回教膜拜场所的条文，即每2600名非回教信徒或每5000名居民，必须拥有一所寺庙。

地方政府拨出有限土地建庙

黄世界表示，配合雪州5个地方政府呼吁居民对《2020年地方规划蓝图》提出建议和反对，雪州15个佛教团体在去年12月16日开会进行讨论，要求地方政府遵守上述建设非回教膜拜场所的条文。



他表示，他们多番与雪州非回教徒宗教场所事务委员会及雪州地方政府事务委员会对话，但是上述5个地方政府的规划蓝图，仍然拨出有限或完全没有土地兴建佛教寺庙，因此希望州政府与地方政府重视此事。

这5个地方政府分别是：乌鲁冷岳县议会、安邦再也市议会、加影市议会、士拉央市议会和瓜拉冷岳县议会。


士拉央目前仅有13所佛教寺庙，根据人口统计，该区需要87所寺庙。至于安邦再也目前仅有9所寺庙，仍需要62所。


上述2个市议会在规划蓝图表示，非回教宗教膜拜场所是根据申请拨地，但是，而雪州佛教委员会却认为，根据申请拨地的说法非常暧昧，而且也不清楚申请的成功率。

而加影及瓜拉冷岳市议会更表示，该地区的寺庙已足够，而不再计划拨地建造寺庙；雪州佛教发展委员会却认为，这两个地区分别需要82所及21所的寺庙，目前当地的寺庙总数是远远不足够的。

质疑乌雪规划草案抵触宪法

佛教发展委员会也非议乌鲁雪兰莪县议会的规划草案，并质疑该草案与我国联邦宪法相抵触。

乌鲁雪兰莪县议会的规划草案里阐明，地方政府有权控制非回教宗教场所的数量与发展；但是联邦宪法第3（1）条文却阐明，虽然回教是我国的官方宗教，但是其他宗教可安宁与和谐在马来西亚任何地方奉行。

联邦宪法第11（1）条文也阐明，国民有权信奉本身的宗教，而第11（3）也指出，每个宗教团体有权管理本身宗教事务、建立和维持本身宗教或慈善事业结构及依法取得、持有并管理。

驳斥星报指增建寺庙很简单

黄世界也驳斥《星报》于1月17日社论的说法，有关社论表示，基督徒申请增建基督教堂非常困难，反观佛教徒申请增建寺庙却非常简单。
黄世界强调，他并非对基督教有意见，而事实上所有非回教信仰者申请增建膜拜场所时都面临难题，因此他希望州政府与地方政府公平拨地于各个宗教。
雪州佛教发展委员会也投诉各区寺庙面临的困境，包括时常需要租借临近的住宅或店屋进行活动，甚至曾因此接获传票。

该委员会也强调，他们并非反对州政府或地方政府的政策，只是希望获得妥当的膜拜场所。

Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/

Impact of 308 on Buddhist community

Impact of the 12th General Election on the Buddhist Community

By Loka Ng Sai Kai



Preamble

Based on historical records it is obvious that the Buddhist community has been in existence in this land since the influx of Indian traders, sailors and missionaries of Hinduism and Buddhism during the Indianization period in the Malay Archipelago. Traces of Buddhism can be found in the form of artifacts and archaeological findings in various places in Peninsula Malaya. Records of Buddhist influence are also found in some old kingdom like in Tun-Sun and Langkasuka. The dominance of the Sri Vijayan Empire from the 7th century to 13th AD also contributed to the Buddhist influence in the Malay Archipelago which includes the Malay Peninsula. The Sri Vijayan Empire was a Buddhist kingdom based in Sumatera. The arrival of Chinese immigrants in the 17th century and Singhalese from Ceylon in the 19th century during the British colonial period reinforced the Buddhist presence in this country until present day.


Buddhists in Malaysia

The Report for the Population and Housing Census of Malaysia 2000 published by the Department of Statistics Malaysia shows that while Muslims are the majority in Malaysia, the Buddhists population also has a sizeable figure which is about 20.2% of the total citizens in this country. (Refer Table 1.1 at Appendix 1). This means Buddhism has the second largest group of followers after Islam.


308 Political Tsunami

The “Political Tsunami” of March 8th 2008 which was the country 12th General Election had generated many responses and comments from political scientists in the universities to the man-in-the-street at coffee shops and modern Kopitiams. Various perspectives were given on the surged of opposition parties like Parti KeAdilan Nasional (Keadilan), Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) which managed to take over four state governments in Kedah, Penang, Perak (1) and Selangor while strengthening the grip on Kelantan. In the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, the three-party alliance now known as Pakatan Rakyat (PR), grabbed ten out of eleven parliamentary seats contested in the urban territory.


On the other hand, many reasons were given on the heavy beating experienced by Barisan Nasional (BN) and its component parties. BN lost its two third majorities in the parliament which was the majority required to amend the constitution. Some of the component parties in BN lost heavily and were nearly decimated by the rejection of the voters. Party strongman like MIC’s Samy Vellu lost at his stronghold in Sungei Siput and Gerakan’s Koh Tsu Koon failed to secure the Batu Kawan federal seat. MCA’s leaders like Ong Ka Ting can be considered lucky that he stood and won in Kulai, a seat in the state of Johor which is considered the traditional stronghold of BN.

The current MCA president Ong Tee Keat won the Pandan constituency with a reduced majority and the only parliamentary seat secured by MCA in Selangor. MCA’s Wanita national leader Chew Mei Fun was humbled by rookie politician Tony Pua in Petaling Jaya Utara while Donald Lim Siang Chai who was vice president that material time was dislodged as MP for Petaling Jaya Selatan by unknown Hee Loy Sian of PKR. Even UMNO was shocked to win fewer seats this time and loses traditional stronghold seats like Lembah Pantai, Shah Alam and Titiwangsa. UMNO’s Wanita deputy head Shahrizat Abdul Jalil was thrashed by Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter Nurul Izzah in Lembah Pantai.

The Backdrop

The 12th General Election was held during a time when many unresolved issues affecting the people were left to take its natural cause. The Hindu Action Force (Hindraf) which took to the streets in Kuala Lumpur few months earlier was still highlighting the needs of the Indian community. The demolition of a Hindu Temple near Klang before the Deepavali festival in October 2007 was still fresh in the mind of the Hindu community. The detention of five Hindraf leaders under the Internal Security Act (ISA) after the street demonstration becomes an additional cause for this unregistered (now banned by the government) but vocal grassroots group to persevere on.

The Chinese community has been uncomfortable with the perceived arrogance and bullying attitude of BN’s dominant partner UMNO. The issue of “Malay Dominance” or Ketuanan Melayu” and using the keris as a show of dominance add to the dislike of UMNO amongst the Chinese community. The Chinese community perceived the MCA and Gerakan as being too subservient to UMNO and did not fight for the needs and rights of the Chinese community. Incidents of debatable conversions and “body-snatching” which occurred when the Islamic authorities took away bodies of non-Muslims claiming the deceased already converted to Islam before his or her death created furors and uneasiness amongst the non-Muslims.

Many can still recalls the January 2006 incident when a group of nine non-Muslims Ministers in the previous Abdullah Badawi Cabinet were asked to withdraw the memorandum they submitted to the Prime Minister on situation of the non-Muslims community. 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.

The Christians community has been very obvious in showing their attention and interest on the political development of the country since the “Reformasi” period after the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim as deputy prime minister in 1998. They were vocal in issuing statements on issues affecting the non-Muslims community and also national issues affecting the people as a whole. On the run-up to the 12th General Election, some of the Christians group even invited election candidates to forums held in their churches.

The Hindu and Christian communities’ positions on the state of affairs of the nation were very clear and there were no doubts where most of their votes went to in the 12th General Glection. Some Christian and Hindu members of non-government groups even participated actively in opposition parties like PKR and DAP.


Buddhists community and Nation-Building

On the other hand, what about the Buddhist community? While the Indian/Hindu and Christians communities were voicing their concerns and demands for their communities, what was the attitude and response of the Buddhist community?

Don’t the Buddhists have any issues that they are not satisfied with and want the government and relevant authorities to address it for them?

The point to be highlighted here is whether the Buddhist community is interested to bring up issues affecting the community directly to the relevant authority or they leave it to others’ especially politicians to do it for them?


Buddhists and Politics

It has become a deluded perception amongst a wide spectrum of Buddhist leaders in this country that Buddhism and politics does not co-exist. It will not be surprising that leaders in Buddhist associations discourage its members from being politically active or sympathetic to any political parties. The notion that Buddhists should not be addressing issues that have political connotation has been ingrained in the thoughts and minds of many Buddhists for years.

In any Buddhist organization, if there are any committee members who show signs of his interest to be active in the political development of the country, he or she will be possibly treated with suspicion and frowned upon. This approach is very naïve and self-deceiving. As a citizen of this country, Buddhists has every right and responsibility to contribute to nation-building and nation-building includes participation in the political process and political parties.

The Buddhist approach in the political realm and struggle for power is on how an individual or group can achieve their objective without sacrificing their morality and act responsibly with any political power falling into their hands via a democratic political process.There are some instances when the Lord Buddha preaches about the roles of the people and responsibilities of the king (government) in maintaining a peaceful and develop country/state/district.In the Agganna Sutta, which discourse centered on the knowledge of beginnings, one part of it traces the beginnings of the process of governance involving people's participation in electing an official to manage the community affairs.

If the Buddhists leave politics only to politicians who are alien or indifference to the Buddhist cause, we are also directly and indirectly leaving our future and religious rights in the hands of politicians. If Buddhists are not keen to be involved in the political decision making process, are we prepared to leave it all to non-Buddhists and prepared to bear the consequences in the name of karma?

In the last 50 years of nation-building in this country we do not have many politicians who are Buddhists that openly speaks out for the Buddhist community. One of the more memorable incidents was during the process of seeking the government’s commitment to declare Wesak Day as a national holiday in the early 1960s. The then president of MCA Cheah Toon Lok spoke out for the Buddhists at the Dewan Negara to request the government to declare Wesak as a national holiday. Co-incidentally, Cheah Toon Lok was also the then president of the Kedah Buddhist Association.

From time to time when there are any issues affecting the Buddhist community, political leaders will be sought for their help. Most of the time the Buddhist community seeks out political leaders from MCA and Gerakan to help them in solving problems they faced with the government. The Buddhist community rarely approaches or even engaged with opposition parties to help them in any issues. This unwritten stand will later affects the Buddhist community in linking up with the opposition parties governing the state governments.

Some of the usual matters that Buddhist community faced in relation to government policies are as follows.

i. Land for temples

The allocation of land for building of non-Muslims places of worship or the lack of it has been a decades-old major problem affecting religion other than Islam. Even though there are provisions in the guidelines by the Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa, Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan Malaysia, which stated there ought to be one place of worship for non-Muslims for every 2,600 devotees or 5,000 residents”, this is rarely adhered to by the local authorities and developers. In any new housing development, one plot of land for religious usage is usually provided for the building of a surau or mosque. Even if there is an allocation of land for the building of non-Muslims place of worship in any new development, it is not unusual if only one plot of land is allocated. This means the Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Catholics and Taoist groups will be eyeing on this very piece of land to build their place of worship.

ii. Building of Temples - Government Policy and Bureaucracy

Even if the religious group owns any piece of land to build a place of worship to practice their religion, it doesn’t mean that any religious structure or building can be erected on any plot of land. The particular plot of land must be converted for religious use only. (Tanah Untuk Kegunaan Keagamaan). Some of this conversion will take a long time because it requires the approval of the respective EXCO of the State Government (Ahli Majlis Mesyuarat Kerajaan Negeri) as land is a State matter. Some of the well-known temple cases that took a long time to be solved were the Bodhi Park and Samadhi Temple in Selangor and Puzhao Buddhist Vihara in Johore. (2)

After a religious group is granted a piece of land from the state government or obtain approval for land conversion to build a place of worship; their association, temple or church group are required to submit the necessary building plans for approval from all relevant authorities like the local council.

It is at this stage that time consuming bureaucracies will pro-long the time taken for building of temples for many years. Conditions such as the building of the temple must not be more than 10,000 sq feet and height limitation to 36 feet or two storeys high will usually create a challenge to the non-Muslims community.


iii. Entry of missionary Buddhist monks

Buddhism as a missionary religion encourages the propagation of the noble religion to every corners of the world. Malaysia itself is a beneficiary of Buddhist missionaries that came centuries ago. The arrival of missionary monks to Malaysia during the 20th century changes the face and development of Buddhism in this country when prominent monks arrive. Some of the notable ones were Venerables Sumangalo, Chuk Mor, Dr K Sri Dhammananda, Kim Beng, Keng Aun, Kim Seng, Pemaratana, Gunaratana and Ananda Mangala.

Malaysia has been dependent on monks from overseas to provide Dhamma teachings and also to conduct religious services for decades. For foreign religious teachers (monks, priests, ulamaks etc) to teach in Malaysia, they will need to apply for a special visa for missionary from the Immigration Department of Malaysia. Some of the challenges faced in obtaining approval for these visas includes limitation on each period of visit, age limitation and can only teaches or conduct service at the host temple.

The authorities discouraged long term visit of foreign missionaries and wants the local non-Muslim religious group to train local people to conduct the religious teaching and temple services. It is not unusual for local Buddhist temples or association requesting politicians to issue supporting letters or intervene on their behalf to obtain the visa approval or visa extension for the resident monk.


Impact after 12th General Election


i. Weakened ministerial representation

After 12th General Election, the number of politicians/ministers who are deemed sympathetic to the Buddhist cause had declined in tandem with heavy losses suffered by MCA and Gerakan’s candidates in the general election. Politicians who are the Buddhist community’s usual focus of reference like Koh Tsu Koon, Fu Ah Kiow and Tan Chai Ho were defeated in their seats. Gerakan also lost the only ministerial position it previously held before the 12th general election. Since then Gerakan has been slipping deeper towards political oblivion and its fate is just like the Malay proverb, “hidup segan, mati tak mahu”.

Former MCA president Ong Ka Ting who stepped down as a Federal Minister after the 12th General Election was the main person the Buddhist community approaches whenever they need top level political interference. Ong Ka Ting was even named as “Minister for Buddhist Affairs” by the Prime Minister in December 2007. Ka Ting’s elder brother, Ong Ka Chuan, a declared Buddhist who replaces him as Minister for Housing and Local Government had lost his clout and influence since his defeat in the contest for the MCA deputy presidency in October 2008.

The current MCA president Ong Tee Keat, who declared to be Buddhist and known to be associated with Fo Guang Malaysia are too pre-occupied with his political agenda and maneuvering since his election as the boss of MCA. Even though Tee Keat may be keen to provide assistance to the Buddhist community, at this moment of time when MCA itself can’t even put her house in order, it looks like the Buddhist community will have to fend on its own.


ii. Christian strength, Hindu influence

While the Buddhist community still can approach MCA ministers at the Federal level for assistance, they will need to deal with the new State Government leaders from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) especially concerning places of worship since land and approval of building plans are within the jurisdiction of the state and local government. An overview on the list of non-Muslims leadership in PR governed states shows that most of them are either Christians, Hindus’ or traditional Chinese folk religions followers. Even if Hindus’ are not in senior state policy makers, their needs and requests are duly taken into serious considerations by the states in appreciation of their support given to PR during the last election.

Since the Buddhist community did not or seldom make any “noises” before and after the 12th General Election, they are conveniently expected by the Federal and State governments to take care of their own affairs and needs as they usually has been doing all this while.


iii. Representation in State Committee for non-Muslims Affairs

After the 12th General Election, the Selangor State government revamped the committee for non-Muslims affairs by having three non-Muslim State Excos to co-chair the committee in place of the State Secretary which was done during the BN state government. Representatives from each non-Muslims organization were appointed to sit in the committee known now as Jawatankuasa Hal Ehwal Selain Islam Negeri Selangor. Previously under BN, there were no representatives from the non-Muslims organization. Meetings were held more regularly at two months intervals compared to previous irregular and overdue meetings.

The Pakatan Rakyat Perak State government also established a non-Muslims affairs committee “Jawatankuasa Hal Ehwal Bukan Islam Negeri Perak” which was headed by the Christian faith Senior Exco Ngeh Koo Ham. It has a Unit which employs full-time staff to co-ordinate and manages issues related to non-Muslim affairs in the state. When the BN took over the State government on February 5, 2009 due to the defection of three PR assemblymen, the committee was retained and assigned to the only non-Muslim Exco Dr Mah Hang Soon of MCA. In a swift move by the BN state government, all the four staff appointed by the PR state government to the non-Muslims Unit was sacked from their jobs. The question now is whether BN Perak will be appointing new staff to the Unit or dissolved the Unit totally which will be a loss to the non-Muslims community.

The Penang State Government’s purported plan as reported in the Star newspaper on April 8, 2008 to establish an Inter-Religious Goodwill Council to foster better relations and mutual respect amongst the various religions and races in the state was clouded with uncertainty and derailed before it even started.


iv. Federal Government survey on statistics of non-Muslims places of worship

The Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa, Ministry of Housing and Local Government in October 2008 commissioned a private firm to conduct a survey on the places of worship for non-Muslims. The survey report will be use as a reference during the review of the planning guidelines for the development of places of worship for non-Muslims. This is taken as a response by the federal government after the general election to obtain more accurate information on the situation of non-Muslims places of worship before they decides on any policies affecting the non-Muslims.

The final draft of the report are being finalized and expected to be issued by the department soon.


v. Land allocation for non-Muslims places of worship

While policies regarding land for non-Muslims places of worship in BN state governments remained pretty much the same, there were some positive developments in PR states especially in premier state Selangor and PR-led Perak. Selangor new state government decides that land allocated must not be beside sewage ponds, beside TNB sub-station or under high tension wires. At this stage where the Perak political crisis is going into a level of absurdity and disgrace, it is yet to be seen what will be the future lies for the non-Muslims.

In Selangor, even though the State Exco was swift in approving about 30 pieces of land for non-Muslims places of worship, the actual transfer and issuance of the land title are still stuck at the departmental level.


vi. Financial allocation for non-Muslims

Financial support from the Federal and State governments for the building and maintenance of non-Muslims places of worship has been very minimal all this years. Due to this limitation, the non-Muslims especially the Buddhist and the Christian communities has been depending heavily on they own devotees and parishioners for financial resources to construct their temples or churches. If they can’t obtain land to build their place of worship they will usually rent or purchase their own building especially commercial buildings to conduct prayers and run their religious programs.

The Selangor State Government recently increases the financial allocation for the non-Muslims to maintain or build their places of worship and to organized religious programs. Allocations are via direct application to the state which differs from previous state government where it depends on the discretion of the respective constituency BN State Assemblyman. It may looks good on paper but the situation can be much more better as the actual transfer of the funds to the religious groups is being delayed due to bureaucracies at the administrative level.

vii. Review of building structure for non-Muslims place of worship

The Selangor State Government had changed policies regarding the land size for building of places of worship. With the new guidelines, temples can be built larger than 10,000 sq feet and the heights of the structure will be based on case by case basis depending on the condition of surrounding areas around the planned temple or church.


viii. Demolition of illegal structures of places of worship

Since the Hindu temple demolition incident in October 2007 which cause so much harm to BN and gives PR the necessary support from the Indians during the 12th General Election, both the BN and PR has been very cautious in handling issues pertaining to demolishing illegal religious structures built on state or private lands.

The Selangor PR Government dictates that any intention to demolish any existing religious structures must obtain the prior approval from the State EXCO.

While the Buddhist community do not face this problem compared to the Hindu community, some existing Buddhist organization are still without any land to build a proper premise of their own to run their activities. The state governments cannot be totally blamed on this situation because sometimes it is the Buddhist organizations themselves that did not put in the necessary effort to apply for state land to build their temples or centers or lacked of follow-up in their application process.

ix. Muslims Leaders response

Is there any change on the level of openness and interaction between Muslim political leaders and the non-Muslims community? Since the period of Mahathir, political leaders especially from UMNO are reluctant to be seen in the premises of places of worship for non-Muslims. Even if they enter into the premises, there will be no report on the media as there will be news black-out purported visits.

Things began to change after the “308 political tsunami” as political leaders, for political expediency or whatever reasons starts to be more open in their interaction with non-Muslims leaders in their place of worship. For instance, the PAS MP for Shah Alam Khalid Samad has no qualms of walking into a church function and let the public knows about it. The Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim visited the Dong Zhen Buddhist Centre in Jenjarom and walks straight into the main shrine during the recent Chinese New Year celebration at the temple. In comparison, when Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi visited Dong Zhen in 2006 for the same occasion, he was just visiting a floral exhibition held in a separate hall and then fed the fishes in the ponds within the temple complex.


A year after the 12th General Election, not much change is expected from the Buddhist community in regards to the policy and political process of the country. The various Buddhist groups at the national are managing the situation and latest developments based on their respective agenda and direction. Even though in Buddhism everything is subject to change, life goes on as usual for many Buddhists especially those who endeared themselves as the champion of the Buddhist community?

Change - Maybe we should just leave it to the Law of Karma. - Loka

Footnotes

1. The Barisan Nasional took over the Perak State Government after two PKR assemblymen and one DAP assemblyman quit their respective parties and declared themselves as “independents” supporting BN. The state assembly now consists of 28 BN, 28 PR and 3 independents.
2. Bodhi Park and Samadhi Temple were given the approval to develop the site in 2008. Puzhao Buddhist Vihara which was asked to stop work in 1989 was given approval to resumed re-construction recently.

Proud, shameful and a disgrace

Today Malaysians should be proud of themselves and shameful at the same time.

History has been created in the modern era where elected representatives were forced to have their sitting under a tree and open Malaysian sky. Maybe we are back to the ancient time where Socrates and Confucious were lecturing about good governance in ancient Greek and the Middle Kingdom.

We can be proud that there are still people who will defend the sanctity of the constitution and the doctrine of separation of power between the three branches of parliamentary democracy.

At the same time we should be very ashamed that there are people who claimed to be peace loving and law abiding citizens of Malaysian whom had put Malaysia in a state of shame and disgraced in the eyes of the global community.

By now the whole world would have known about the biggest joke of the day that originated from a place named Perak in Malaysia. All internet searches would have by now zoom on some of the more "popular" words, which are "Perak ", assembly, tree, illegitimate, power grab, frog, traitor, court, state secretariat, MB residence, exco Camry and of course Nizar and Zambry!

Cut off all these crap and nonsense. Return the power to the people now! - Loka

Dual referendum

The Election Commission announced today the by-elections for Bukit Gantang parliamentary seat in Perak and Bukit Selambau state seat in Kedah will be held simultaneously on April 7, 2009. Nominations will be held on March 29, 2009.

Even though the Election Commision had earlier dismissed suggestions that the nomination and election dates were fixed to accommodate Umno general assembly on 24 - 28 March, the setting of the polling day is quite close to the end 60 days period allowable for a by-election to be held whenever a seat fell vacant. The commission was informed officially of the seats vacancy on Feb 10.

For the Kuala Terengganu by-election, the seat fell vacant on Nov 28, 2008 when the MP died of heart attack. The commission met on Dec 5 and set nomination on Jan 6, 2009 and polling on Jan 17, 2009. In the Permatang Pauh by-election, when Wan Azizah resigns on July 31, 2008 the commission was duly informed by the parliament speaker on Aug 1 on the seat being vacant. The commission Aug 6 meeting decides on Aug 16 for nomination and Aug 26 for voters to cast their votes. All within 27 days.

The commission can easily set the polling day within the school holidays from March 14 - 22, 2009 since schools will be used for pollings and teachers are usually utililised to man polling stations. The commission considerations for the Umno general assembly in fixing the dates are too obvious to be ignored.

Whether Najib likes it or not, these by-elections will be taken as referendum on the two matters. Firstly on the questionable BN takeover of the Perak state government and secondly on Najib's appointment as the prime minister which is expected to take place on April Fool day!

As all of us knows by now, politics includes the art of political and media spinning. If BN wins, it will be credited to Najib but if they loses both seats, Najib can just blame it to his newly minted deputy prime minister, whoever that might be! It is usual for the deputy prime minister to take charge of by-elections as Najib did for Kuala Terengganu and Permatang Pauh by-elections.

The biggest winners for sure will be the people of Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau. Rest assured they will be experiencing windfalls or durian runtuh which they cannot even dare to imagine!

How I wish I am a voter within either one of the constituencies. - Loka

What will be Abdullah's legacy?

When Abdullah Badawi replaces Mahathir Mohamad as the fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia in 2003 there were many high hopes on him to perform and govern the country to a greater heights. Many have good words for him as the Mr. Nice Guy who ascended the highest political office of the country with a remarkable and untainted records.

The expectations were indeed sky high which Abdullah is expected to deliver during his term of office. The result of the 2004 general election when BN secures 92% of the parliamentary seats was an endorsement of his premiership. After 22 years under the strong willed control of Mahathir administration, the rakyat expected a change towards a more open and freer society.

While many exhibits their confidence for the new PM that period of time, there is also some who are keeping their fingers crossed. I was one of them. Only time will prove whether a person will deliver whatever he promises and fulfilled the needs of the people. Especially for those who live the life of a politician where there is no permanent friends or foes. For some promises is not always equivalent to commitment, dignity and honour. Whatever happens in the past may not guarantee the future political direction of the person will be the same.

Abdullah promises a lot and now he is left with only less than six months to deliver them before he calls it a day and retires as PM. Whether he can fulfilled all his promises within this short period is indeed a huge question since he had 5 years to do it but met with many stumbling block especially from his own Umno people. The results of the 2008 general election provides the drawing on the board that Abdullah and BN fails to understand the happening on the ground. Their supporters deserted them in droves. Maybe they were still enjoying the extended 2004 honeymoon. Some still dreamt of being in honeymoon and having the denial syndrome. When will they wake up? Maybe next general election when they won't be having their bed to lie on to dream anymore!

Knowing that he won't be Umno president and PM by March 2009, akin to a lame duck PM, what makes Abdullah thinks that he can overcome all those obstacles in the next six months to fulfil his promises and leave a legacy in Malaysian history?

No doubt about it, Abdullah premiership did brought change in the democratic process especially in comparison to previous PMs. The rise of NGOs and community groups in voicing their comments on the state of the nation and seeking justice and equality for the people which is unseen of during the previous Mahathir's adminstration shows that Abdullah initailly governed the country with a big ear approach . He listens.

We can't say that he did not try. The question is whether did he tried hard enough? He listens but did he courageously take actions after he heard the voices of unhappiness from the people. Later during the sunset of his premiership, he still listens but to those who asked him to used the big stick. How is his performance in managing not only the country but also his own people especially in Umno and his close associates and relatives? History will be the witness to his legacy. Will he utilised the last six months as PM to leave a legacy for the many generations to come or it will be something else?

I am not superstitious, but as usual I will keep my fingers crossed. For the outgoing PM Abdullah and also the incoming PM, whoever he is. - Loka

Buddhists Apathetic?

Before and after the general election on March 8, I was asked a similiar line of question by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. Why Buddhists are so quiet on issues affecting the people?

This was raised because in comparison to the other major religious groups, which in one way or another has been voicing our publicly their views and concern on the state of the nation.

The Hindus' was actively putting across their views and demands via Hindraf, the Christians were having forums in their churches and advocating their rights via sms'es and internet and Muslim groups issuing statements on their views and concerns.

What did the Buddhists do?

Nothing. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Right. Spot on!


When one aspiring politician raised the same issue with me few days after the election, I commented the Hindus and Christians already make their positions very clear and no one would doubt who they voted in the election. But what will be the implication if the Buddhists jumps into the bandwagon and be vociferous in their quest for their needs. Will it create a situation of the "nons" on one side of the field and the others on the opposing side? So, the Buddhists just kept quiet.

Well, this line of justification is only to pacify ourselves (the Buddhists) that we are peace loving and status-quo people and do not like to start any inkling of possible confrontation with the authorities or powers-that-be.

Buddhist leaders in this country has the tendency of solving arising issues or problems affecting the community in a "closed-door meeting" and non-confrontational approach. Most Malaysians will not even notice, because it was not in the press or blogs, that issues affecting development of Buddhist temples can take nearly 20 years to solve! In some cases, the Buddhist leaders always hoped that when the general election is looming, the powers-that-be will fast-tracked the approval for the temple development. Occasionally the wishes became a reality but sometimes it turns into another round of nightmare after the election. The actual approval are not forthcoming and will take another term of government before the matter is seriously look upon again before the next election.

Buddhists are really very patient. We will meditate and have prayers over the matter again and again. Year in, year out. We always hoped the solution will be forthcoming during the term of the current menteri besar, if not we would have to start all over again if a new MB came along.

Going back to the subject matter, are Buddhists really too soft on issues affecting the community?

It's not really the case but it's just that Buddhists especially the leaders are usually low risk takers and are not keen to rock the boat. They prefers the "follow the usual way" approach. When they faced any problems related to temple lands or visa for missionary monks, they will approach politicians from MCA to help them to solve it. How often have we heard of Buddhists approaching non-MCA or non-Gerakan political parties for help to solve problems related to their community? With the MCA and Gerakan washed-out from the west coast states, will the Buddhists shift their source of assistance to parties from Pakatan Rakyat? We shall wait and see.

Buddhists need to be aware of their rights just like any other religionists of this country. We are not seeking to be treated better at other peoples' expense nor be given special treatment. We just need to voice out our concerns and needs to the powers-that-be, whichever side of the political divide.

The Barisan Nasional need to take cognisance that the only religious group that did not openly state their demands and show any sign of their political stand is the Buddhist community. If BN is wise, they better do the needful to ensure this community will maintain their non-political stance. Buddhists has been keeping a low profile in the recent general election. No public demands or press conferences to demand for anything at all. As seems the Buddhists are very contented indeed. Is that so? Or the Buddhists has been taken for granted?

Bear in mind that while the Buddhists is the second largest religious group comprising 20.2% of citizens of Malaysia, we are only accorded ONE religious public holiday while the others like Christians and Hindus are having at least one and a half public holidays. Christians are having Christmas and Good Fridays in Sabah & Sarawak. The Hindus public holidays includes Deepavali national holiday and Thaipusam in five states and Kuala Lumpur.

Maybe the government want to consider Ullambana, Kwan Yin Birthday or Kathina? Maybe not. Already too many public holidays! Just provide us suitable tracts of land and a matching grant to develop our Dhamma education centres.

For many years the Federal government has funded official events to celebrate Hari Raya Puasa , Chinese New Year, Christmas, Deepavali, Gawai (Sarawak) and Kaamatan (Sabah). What about Wesak Day? When will the Federal and State governments, BN or PR , realised they forgotten or conveniently forgotten to sponsor an official event to celebrate Buddhists most important religious event?

Shall we as usual, keep quiet and wait and see which government, BN or PR, to be the first to response to this matter! Or shall we take this directly to the states and federal governments?

I am looking forward for the PM, Chief Ministers and Menteri Besars for all Malaysians to attend a Wesak Open House this year.

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!

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.