PM skips Wesak do

Is there any coincidence that  Prime Minister Najib Razak will be travelling overseas during this year's Wesak celebration which falls on May 17?

In recent years, it has been customary for a Malaysian Prime Minister to join the Buddhist community to celebrate Wesak Day with high tea in one of the local Buddhist temples. This practice is similiar to the PM's visits to other places of worship during other major religious festivities celebrated in the country.

It was reported Monday in the national news agency Bernama that Prime Minister Najib will be attending an investment function in New York on May 17. This means he will not be in the country for the customary goodwill visit to a Buddhist temple to celebrate Wesak with the devotees. The Buddhist community in Malaysia is the second largest religious group after Muslims in a country which has various public holidays commemorating many religious and cultural festivals.

Reliable sources revealed that the Prime Minster initially plans to visit a major Buddhist centre in Petaling Jaya but changes his plan recently. In his absence, the Minister of KPI and Unity Koh Tsu Koon are expected to represent him to attend the Wesak function in Petaling Jaya.

While PM Najib will be skipping the Wesak do this year by flying out of the country during the most important day for Buddhists, the community will be as usual carry on with their routine of prayers, meditation and performing charitable deeds on the Holy Wesak Day.

The Buddhist community all this while has been self reliant in managing and maintaining their religious affairs with minimal support or interference from the government. With or without the PM presence on Wesak Day, would it make any difference now? - Loka SK Ng

Tallest bird house in the world

After the 2011 Budget was presented live on national TV by PM Najib, I went to have teh tarik at my regular mamak joint with a friend. From the many issues discussed, the proposed 100 storeys tower to be built around the iconic Stadium Merdeka was the highlight.

Various questions about the need to have such a building were raised but before my cuppa of teh tarik reached the bottom, a quirky suggestion was made. Maybe the building will looks like a "bird house" which are gaining popularity in Malaysia.

Why not? The tallest "bird house" in the world! It will surely be registered in the Malaysia Book of Records or even Guinness Book of Records. Other than the swiftlets producing tonnes of bird nests for export, it will surely be listed as an attraction for tourists from all over the world. Wow. A fully occupied building, albeit by the swiftlets, will surely  increases the national coffers. On top of that it will cover Kuala Lumpur with renewal layers of bird shit! JKR don't have to re-surface the roads anymore. The birds will do it! - Loka

Just for show at UNGA

After the news of PM Najib's meeting with local religious leaders in his office in Putrajaya was splashed on front pages of the local newspapers, I was asked for my two cent worth on the matter.

Knowing similiar meetings being held in the past, I commented that the people especially the non-muslims should not take too seriously of what transpired. This type of meetings are held with the purpose far from what the religious leaders expected. The officers will diligently take notes of whatever grumblings from the attendees and the PM will nod his head to acknowledged those words uttered. But did he absorb and understands the issues raised? Most of the time meetings  of these sort do not have much follow-up and results. It is just for show.

Fast forward one week later, Najib was speaking to international leaders at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and he shared Malaysia's experience of religious inclusiveness. As reported in a local mainstream media, "Najib also shared with other heads of government at the United Nations that “although Islam is the official religion (in Malaysia), we honour other religions – Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism – by making their religious and cultural celebrations national holidays and celebrate them as national events.” “It is this equilibrium that leads to moderation or wasatiyyah in the Islamic tradition of mutual peace.” Malaysia, he added, was well poised to play its part in promoting understanding, given its geographical position. "

For those uninitiated, the meeting with the local religious leaders was held merely as a public relation exercise before he flies to New York for the UNGA so that he can speak with full authority and legitimacy as a open-minded and receptive leader of a multi religious nation. The pre-UNGA meeting with local religious leaders are just part of a facade to inject authority into his speech  at the UN.

Being compassionate and experience people, these local religious leaders just play along with the PM's Office on this public relations exercise. How much and how far this sort of high media coverage meeting can really promote moderation and respect amongst the readers and observers especially those hard core bigots are yet to be seen. Whether the meeting gave him extra brownie points to put up a good show in UN yet to be known too. Maybe those who attended the said meeting knows better since most of them are expected to be wise men. If PM Najib is really taking into consideration the feelings of the non-muslims seriously, he should first weed out those extremists in his own backyard and not preach to the international audience on what others need to do.

Anyway, speaking out at UNGA is not difficult as that's what the purpose of the UNGA all about. No one can stop any country leader from speaking out or condemning whoever or whatever he or she wants, even if it sounds hypocritical just like an US president asking for the banning of nuclear weapons when US has the most nuclear warheads in the world.

Sadly, at the end of the UNGA session, the only speeches that the delegates might remembers will be those by Barack Obama or Wen Jia Bao, not just another leader from the Third World unless Kim Jong-Il decided to drop by in New York. - Loka

Najib joins in Wesak procession

If anyone from Umno dares to claim that attending an other than Islam religious procession is haram then they should tell it straight to Najib Razak's face. Hold on a minute! Is Najib really attending a Tua Pek Kong procession or it is just part of the political charade especially during a critical by-election that will gauged the support of the Chinese community in Sibu particularly and Sarawak generally.

As I had wrote previously, not a single serving Prime Minister ever openly walks into a Buddhist main shrine hall, and the current PM is inclusive. Now, will Najib joins in the procession on the evening of 28th May 2010 during the Wesak celebrations at the Buddhist Maha Vihara in Kuala Lumpur? Maybe another charade for the Buddhist community. But are the Buddhist community so naive or is it just a few who will grabbed the opportunity to rub shoulder with the PM at the expense of the community's dignity and wisdom? - Loka

Winners and Losers in Hulu Selangor

After eight straight days of an all out campaign for the control of Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat the official results shows that BN candidate P. Kamalanathan upstage PKR's Zaid Ibrahim with a 1,725 majority to be elected the new MP for the large constituency.

Even though the by-election was a direct contest between the two candidates, there are many other victors and losers as well.

The Bosses

As expected the voters of Hulu Selangor were showered with goodies in the form of cash, development projects, land titles and PROMISES. For sure these are on top of the usual 10 KG pack of rice, Milo, cooking oil, drinking water, cheap T-shirts and caps and whatever that will make the day of the makciks and pakciks and the innocent kids.

The Towkays

From the popular kaya puff shop owner to the makcik who manned the roadside stall selling air sirap, these group will be hoping that by-elections will happen more often. Of course they are not cursing the newly elected MP to drop dead any soon but they can't be blamed if that aspiration is hiding behind their smiling face thinking of the flowing ringgits for the last two weeks.

The Candidates

P. Kamalanathan might have won the seat and will be greeted as YB but in the eyes of many including the community that he claims to represent he has lost his dignity and pride when he stoop so low to appease his political masters.

Zaid Ibrahim lost in this full fledge battle and having his personal matter stripped bare for the public view but his personal conviction for the interest of the people was given a strong endorsement. The people of HS will not be seeing the last of him yet.

The Commanders

Those in HS and outsiders who visited the place during the by-election has been wondering who is really the BN candidate? People noticed the large quantity of posters, billboards  and banners of his face in town might assumed Najib Razak is the candidate.

Najib Razak is actually the real winner here. He can now claim that the BN victory is an endorsement of his leadership and policies that he rolled out since appointed as Prime Minister a year ago. But then he need to reflect deeply on the 80% of Chinese votes that went to PKR, when translated meaning the Chinese actually still has doubts over his sincerity and policies.

Anwar Ibrahim has been in the forefront campaigning for his comrade since day one. Basing on the result, his popularity and support within the Malay community is not stable and if left unchecked it will be his Archilles heel in the next general election. On the other hand he  now knows he can count on the votes from the Chinese community and the support of DAP in mobilising election machinery within the community.

Muhyiddin Yassin is one big loser in this by-election. The usual Umno practice is for the party deputy president to lead the campaign in any by-election. Initially Muhyiddin was in charge but when the tide was favoring PR, his boss Najib decided to fly straight from Japan to HS to lead the campaign. This gives the impression that Najib has no confidence on Muhyiddin leadership and a slap on the face of his deputy.

Khalid Ibrahim as the Selangor Menteri Besar learn the trade to pull all the plugs as the state government to utilised all state facilities support this by-election from his predecessors but too bad that Felda is not under the control of the state government. Maybe he should be more a shrewd politician rather than a businessman when handling people from Umno.

Tok Guru Nik Aziz influence and endearment amongst the Chinese community is now gone beyond Kelantan. If he is still able to keep his momentum by the next election and campaign in BN stronghold like Johore, the Chinese voters there might shake some of the seats occupied by MCA/BN.

Lim Kit Siang is already a household name amongst the HS electorates, Malays included. Thanks to Utusan Malaysia for giving him the "coverage" from time to time. As for the Chinese voters, his presence in every political stops wstill accords him a star speaker status. With an increased of support from the Chinese, efforts need to be taken for him to penetrate the Malay electorates for the next election.

Chua Soi Lek the recently elected MCA president was not around in HS most of the time as he was said to be overseas visiting his daughter. He was only seen when Najib is in HS. His presence was nothing more than an extra in a show with Najib in the leading role. He must now dig out whatever reasons he can to explain to Najib the Chinese rejection of MCA, or is it more on Umno or he himself personally?

The Political Parties

MIC is the party of P.Kamalanathan but the party that really campaigned with whatever tricks of the trade is Umno. From the onset of this by-election it can be noticed and proven that it is Umno that called all the shots and decision making process, from the selection of candidates to whether MIC president Samy Vellu should show his face in HS. People are reminded that MIC is now Muhyiddin-In-Charge.

UMNO can now claim that the Malays are truly backing them and they have contained PKR and PAS especially PR supremo Anwar Ibrahim. But they will be barking at Chua Soi Lek asking for explanation why MCA failed to secure the Chinese votes. With millions of taxpayers money pumped into the pockets of the voters, the platform is now set for the mother of all battles - the 13th general election.

PKR losing another parliamentary seat is a big blow not just to the party but also the Pakatan Rakyat as this has increased the BN potential to reclaim 2/3 majority in Parliament. The result also shows that PKR is losing grip on whatever balance of support they have since March 2008. This party really need to revamp their election machinery if they are serious of winning seats and capturing Putrajaya.

DAP rocketing growth in terms of membership and branches since March 2008 has been a boost to the PR by-election machinery. Even though PKR lost the seat but support for the DAP is on the rise. This can be observed from the numbers of self paying volunteers from all over the country helping out in the campaign and also the huge attendance in DAP organised events during the by-election.

MCA provided token support to the BN election machinery. This is not surprising since they just went through more than one year of internal strife. Their machinery are moving half heartedly and other than some cameo appearances by some of their ministers and deputy ministers, their presence are hardly noticeable. From the result, it is not surprising if many of the 8,000 MCA members in HS voted for Zaid Ibrahim.

PAS was initially slow in mobilising their party machinery in doing real campaign work to solicite for votes even though their presence during nomination day was huge. After few days of snail paced movement which cause the Malay heartland in Felda further entrenched with Umno, PAS began to push into the Felda areas. The arrival of Tok Guru Nik Aziz provided the confidence booster but just not enough to draw out the votes.

GERAKAN which once upon time a party to be reckoned with do not even make its' presence felt in HS. Maybe only during nomination when its' president Koh Tsu Koon was a given a cameo appearance.

IPF, campaign even in death?

PPP, who is the president?

The power-play and battle of wits in HS is now over. It is time for the locals to re-claim their life in this outback district. But life would not be the same anymore. The people there now must look through their checklist on all the promises and commitments by both side of the political divide.

First thing in the morning, the people of Rasa will be waiting in front of Najib's PM office door for their RM3 million as promised. A promise is a promise even if the people of Rasa did not vote for BN. But wonders if MACC will be there too? - Loka

P#94 Hulu Selangor Snippets 1

Snippets 1 - Not too old to change

Mr. Hong, the Hainanese owner of the Yoot Loy Coffeeshop in Kuala Kubu Baru is 80 this year. He started his coffeshop more than 30 years ago with the support of his friends. He was a former Homeguards security member during the Emergency period ( 1948 - 1960). He is still waiting for a letter of commendation from the government for his service to the King and country.

Photographs of both Prime Minister Najib Razak and Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim having a drink (only black coffee, not Johnnie Walker Black Label ) in different occasions are pasted on opposite walls of the shop. Hong junior was disappointed when he saw Lim Kit Siang outside the shop few days ago but Kit Siang did not walk in. As a businessman he welcomes all to his shop, disregard of their political affiliations. As long as they pay for their bills!

His crypted response and body language tells that even if he is a card carrying member of MCA, which is part of the BN coalition, his vote on April 25 may not necessary goes to the coalition. The claims of 8,000 MCA members amongst the 16,000 voters in Hulu Selangor may be true but turning that into votes for BN is another matter altogether.

By the way, the toast with home made kaya spread and butter is one of the most popular item in this shop.- Loka

RMC - A Bridge Too Far

So PM Najib wants the Royal Military College (RMC) to increase the intake of non Malays students to 30% as a boost to his 1Malaysia concept. Good move PM, but how many students RMC will actually take in after their PMR (lower secondary public exam)? Even if it is 1,000 students per intake, that will be only 300 non-Malays students. How to achieve 1Malaysia concept when there are more than 600,000 PMR students each year!

If he is dead serious about 1Malaysia and wants it to flow down to the people from all walks of life, he should also ensure the 30% or more intakes of non Malays into the MRSM ( Residential Science College), Matriculation courses, Polytechnics and other colleges and institutions funded by the taxpayers money.

If this is just another piece meal action for scoring political points, the meaning of 1Malaysia will just remained within a few in the Prime Minister's Department. And of course minus Nasir "jual tubuh" Safar. - Loka

Youth snubs Najib?

At last the Malaysian Youth Council(MYC) held their overdue election to elect a new leadership. As usual the election this time also sees the usual lobbying and horse trading amongst the candidates and their supporters. To many youth leaders especially those linked to Umno, MYC is a platform for them to enhanced their leadership skills and political careers.

Amongst those that has been active and served as presidents in the MYC and later appointed to party and government positions includes Malacca Chief Minister Ali Rustam, Deputy Ministers Hasan Malek and Saifuddin Abdullah. The former Selangor Menteri Besar Mohd Khir Toyo was also president for two terms. Out going president Shamsul Anuar Nasarah was elected as an MP in 2008 during his term of office. Even opposition leader and former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim had helmed MYC as president during mid-70s.

Due to the strong influence of Umno members in the MYC, it is not surpirising that the umbrella organisation for youth in Malaysia is painted as pro-Umno. This perception became stronger in recent years and most obvious of them all was during the leadership of Shamsul Anuar who is also an Umno Youth Exco member. During his term of office from 2006-2010, the MYC was seen as the spokesman for the BN-lead government especially Umno. MYC became to act like a branch of Umno Youth when for many occasions its programs were held together with Umno Youth. Even the MYC's Hari Raya open house during his time were held in conjunction with  Umno's annual general meeting.

During the recent  MYC AGM to elect the new leadership, Shamsul Anuar tried to lobby for a certain candidate  to be elected the new MYC president to replace him.  It was claimed that this candidate was endorsed by the Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Razak. The said candidate was considered an outsider and parachuted candidate by many of the out-going Exco members and affiliates of the MYC. During the final Exco meeting to discuss the next line-up, 2/3 of the Exco members walked out of the meeting when Shamsul tried to push for Noor Azali Bin Sulaiman, a first term assemblyman from Terengganu as the "official" candidate.

After experiencing the last few years of perceived political interference, the grassroot youth leaders just wanted the MYC to stand firm on its principles as an youth organisation without domination of external influence. At last Noor Azali, after failing to convince his challenger Mohamed Maliki to give way to him to win unopposed and also having considered the feelings and rumblings on the ground, decided to withdraw from the presidential contest in the wee hours of voting day. The underlying message is that the lack-lustre support from the youth leaders for the PM's "hand-picked" candidate can be seen as a snub by the youths towards Najib Razak.

Even though the new president Mohamed Maliki is also known as an Umno supporter, he was accepted as the preferred choice due to his background as a serving MYC Exco member and a government servant in an university. The perception is that he will be less political in his approach and able to draw supports from different groups of youth organisations affiliated to MYC. So far, in his maiden press statement in relation to the fire-bombing of churches recently, he at least act like a leader for all races and religion by speaking out strongly against the cowardly act of aggression.

But then only time will tell if he will be able to live to the expectations for those grassroot youth organisations who paved the way for him to lead the apex youth organisation in Malaysia. - Loka

National Service, another BTN?

So much has been said and commented on the nature of the Biro Tatanegara (BTN) courses which said to promote hate among the races in this country. Some are demanding BTN courses to be scrapped while the Cabinet agreed to revamp it. On the other side there are also those who supported and defended these courses.

While the heat is still on the BTN, another type of course run by the government risks moving towards the direction of the BTN.  The National Service Training Program (NS) was started in 2003 when current Prime Minister Najib Razak was the minister in charge as the Defence Minister then. The NS is attended dutifully by hundreds of thousands of 17 and 18 year olds annually since 2004. The trainees for NS are selected through a computer generated system based on racial breakdown and geographical distribution.

One of the modules of the NS, Nation Building module ( Kenegaraan ) was managed by the people from BTN. The director-general of BTN then, Dr. Nordin Kardi was the chairman of the Sub-committee for the drafting of the module. The training program for NS trainers for the nation-building was facilitated by BTN officers.

Even if the contents of the nation building module for the NS trainees might be the usual stuff that can be found in local history books and civic courses, the intepretation and comments during the lectures can be subjected to the discretion of the trainers. If a trainer is an individual with bigoted and racial leaning, it will not be surprising if those stories about the BTN will also be heard soon regarding the NS.

If the government do not monitor closely the teaching methods and contents intepretation of the thousands of NS trainers, the furore over the BTN related courses will be repeated itself in the NS. - Loka

Sin Chew and free paper

Suddenly a copy of newspaper was pushed over to my hand and I heard a voice saying, "it's free". Before I can even say anything, a copy of the  Sin Chew Daily which is the highest circulated Chinese vernacular newspaper in the country was already in my hands. Initially I thought it was the free Chinese language paper launched recently.

I took a quick turn and saw a man wearing a  T- shirt with Sin Chew emblazoned on it giving out today's paper to everyone in sight - free of charge. Within less than five minutes all the lunch patrons in the coffeeshop was either holding a copy of the paper or laid on the table.

After I took my seat at the only unoccupied table, I have a quick browse of the said "free" paper. Not that I read it, but just to look through on some statistics and photographs related to the UPSR results announced yesterday.

Thinking about it later, I have a hunch that the reason the Sin Chew paper was distributed free today was related to the spat between the paper and the MCA central committee member Ti Lian Ker. Ti had claimed the paper are used to promote the hidden agenda to discredit MCA's president Ong Tee Keat.

Is Sin Chew feeling the heat that the public are upset with its recent purported agenda against Ong Tee Keat and their circulation are dropping by the day. By giving out free papers, Sin Chew hopes its agenda will continue to be read by the public and keep its leading circulation status intact.

Maybe I will visit the coffeeshop again to tomorrow to see if I will be given another free copy of the Sin Chew Daily News.

New Chinese-based Party

Are we looking at the birth of another political party to look after the Chinese interest?

Since majority of the Chinese are already disillusioned with the MCA, the Chinese community will be looking for an alternative new party to look after their interest. Is that what Umno telling MCA's president Ong Tee Keat that MCA is dispensable and can be replaced and forsaken anytime if Tee Keat do not toe the BN, err.....Umno line.

Even though Umno leaders are emphasizing the importance of MCA's unity and stability in the interest of Barisan Nasional, the reality is more on the hidden but well known agenda of Umno's ability to shadow MCA's leadership than anything else. Have we ever heard of any comments from other BN component leaders on the current MCA leadership struggle. None actually. Or maybe just from the chap who is embroiled in the PKFZ fiasco.

It will not be surprising to all if a new Chinese based party is established and given an instant birth certificate of registration after this November 28. Nov 28 is the day when the Liow Tiong Lai's faction called for the 2nd EGM. If the 2nd EGM fails to materialised due to lack of support from the delegates, it spells doomed for Liow and his supporters. Unless of course if Ong Tee Keat is forced to eat humble pie during the meeting called by Najib before Nov 28 and given the ultimatum to give up or get out.

The newly set up Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party was launched by Najib in October this year which clearly gave signal to Samy Vellu's MIC that his party is not indispensable from BN.

But Umno is barking at the wrong tree when it says the Chinese will not support the BN due to MCA's infighting. The reality is that the Chinese voters rejected BN not because of MCA's weaknesses as the main cause but more to the unfair policies, bullying and arrogant attitude of Umno. This was clearly the message in last year's general election when the DAP called upon the Chinese community to teach Umno a lesson by voting out MCA's candidates whom mostly stood in Chinese majority seats or seats with substantial Chinese votes. It is near impossible for the Chinese to vote out any Umno candidates as their candidates always stood in Malay majority seats.

In last year's election, Umno loses in some of their traditional strong hold seats due to the swing of the Malay electorates to PAS or PKR candidates. If Umno thinks that it can represents the Chinese community directly by sidelining the MCA, will Najib takes the challenge to stand in Seputeh against Teresa Kok and Umno deputy president Muhyddin Yassin challenges Lim Kit Siang in Ipoh Timur. If they wins, that will surely proves their support and worth amongst the Chinese community. - Loka

MCA fires BN?

Ong Tee Keat is keeping his agenda for the upcoming MCA's EGM close to his heart even as supporters of Dr. Chua Soi Lek is trying to prise open the closely guarded resolutions.

Two of the agendas already expected to be tabled concerns the endorsement on the sacking of deputy president Chua Soi Lek and the Port Klang Free Trade Zone debacle. Another possible resolution on the drafting board will be a vote of confidence on Ong Tee Keat's leadership in relation to the alleged donation of RM10 million by Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd CEO Tiong King Sing.

Basing on Tee Keat's political acumens and straight forward courage for change,  is there a possibility another resolution that will create waves throughout the nation will also be put to the 2400 delegates to vote? The resolution will be similiar to the controversial opinion poll which was conducted in Tee Keat's blog after the 308 Political Tsunami. The opinion poll was taken out from his blog after it became an issue especially amongst Umno's supporters. The poll result shows about 76% of 2,525 respondents are in favour of MCA withdrawing from BN.

It will not be surprising if Tee Keat decides to throw the question on whether MCA should quit Barisan Nasional to the delegates during the EGM. By having the earlier "MCA quits BN" opinion poll in his blog even before his ascendency to the presidency, it reflects his inner feelings to seek direction on the matter.

The obvious lacked of support from his BN Cabinet colleagues on the PKFZ fiasco and the existence of under current which is stacking against him amongst BN members especially those linked to the fiasco will be a point of consideration for him to put the quit BN agenda for debate. With the rumour mills circulating that MCA representation in the Cabinet will be reduced and he himself will be dropped from Najib's Cabinet surely will put more fire in his belly to unleash the first strike before being shown the door.

After fighting and winning his political wars against various opponents in recent years, some of them single handedly, those who expect Ong Tee Keat to throw down his towel and surrender meekly like some of his predecessors will be in for a surprise. - Loka

Next PM please stand up

As the days getting nearer to the Umno General Assembly next week, Malaysians and the world community are expected to be served with an arrays of questions, actions and stories that will makes everyone stand up.

The gigantic question will be whether Abdullah Badawi will really vacate his seat as Prime Minister and if Najib Razak will be able to claim the coveted highest political seat of government.

As reported in the Malaysiakini, Zaid Ibrahim, the former de facto Law Minister who was sacked from Umno last year is now appealing to the King not to appoints Najib as PM when Abdullah steps down. With this call, it will not be surprising if Zaid's call will create a snowballing effect with more similar calls by others especially those that has an axe to grind with Najib. These people most probably will be from within and outside of Umno circles which includes Ali Rustam, the affable Umno vice president who was barred yesterday from contesting the deputy president position next week.

If the King really uses his discretion not appoint najib as PM, other that Najib who else can fit the bill to wear the PM shoes after Abdullah? Assuming there is no power play behind the scene to shoo-in Anwar Ibrahim as the next PM with the endorsement of Abdullah and Ali Rustam's block of supporters in Umno, will there be anyone else from Umno who are courages and capable enough to accept the PM position even if consented by the King.

Maybe there will be one. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, can you please stand up? - 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

Let the people decides

The Perak political situation is in shambles due to the defection of four assemblymen from the Pakatan Rakyat. One already rejoined Umno and the other three announced they are now "independents". The equation in Perak's 59 seats State Assembly after all the crossovers - PR 28 seats, BN/Umno 28 seats and three "independents" that supports BN. No one will be surprised if these "independents" will later joins BN component parties and given plump positions in the government and government link companies.

While PR Menteri Besar Nizar already announced assembly dissolved pending the royal consent of the Perak Sultan, the BN led by Najib declared they have enough seats to form the next state government.

Some questions and comparison will arises even if Najib obtained the green light from the Sultan for BN to form the new government.

1. Can the BN really represents the people of Perak when BN actually do not have the electoral mandate of the people?

2. Since nearly all of BN assemblymen are from Umno except one from MCA, can it really claim as a BN government? It is much more like Umno + 1 (MCA) government.

3. With a large populace of non-Malays in Perak, if granted by Sultan, the Umno led state government will now be seen as a Malay government against majority non-Malays assemblymen in opposition.

4. Will horse trading continues to enticed more defection, especially from Indian assemblymen in DAP to Gerakan/MIC?

5. Can BN/Umno fulfill the expectation of the electorates which already get a feel on the people friendly approach of PR? How is Umno going to deal with PR State's promised to convert new villages leasehold land to freehold which Umno originally plan to derail it?

6. Will the new BN/Umno state government be stable? If the new state government was established via the back door and with crossovers of unprincipled elected official, will it not always be clouded by the threat of similar situation?

The bottomline is that the formation of any new government through crossovers and defection is a betrayal of trust of the people that voted for the elected official and the theft of the people's right to seek and vote for their choice of representatives. The proper and decent choice is to give back the right to the people to determine who they want to lead and run the government.

This is part of the democratic process and good governance. Let the people decides. - Loka

Najib need to work harder

As known by now Umno lost the Kuala Terengganu by-election to PAS which won by 2,631 majority. Abdul Wahid of PAS receives 32,883 votes while Umno's Wan Farid got 30,252 and independent candidate Azharudin Mamat lost his deposit when able to garner only 193 votes.

There are few points to ponder from this result.

1. If this is taken as a yardstick of premier-in-waiting Najib Razak's popularity, it shows loud and clear that he need to do more to earn his right to be the next PM. Not just from Umno's delegates but from the common people.

2. Did Umno candidates contesting in the forth-coming party election provided the full support to ensure thier party's victory or they are more concerned with their own political well-being?

3. The increased of Malay voters supporting PAS, is it due to PAS assertion to implement hudud and qisas?

4. The Chinese voters continues supporting BN, does it means they rejected DAP's buddy-buddy with PAS? Or MCA's election machinery managed to convinced them to reject PAS?

5. With additional seat for PR in parliament, Anwar Ibrahim re-energized himself to continue the plan to take over the federal government.

6. Development politics does not provides the impact on the electorates as before. The promise of continuous development and deputy minister for Wan Farid does not convince enough to support BN.

7. The Chinese voters gained a windfall or durian runtuh with the millions poured to the Chinese community and schools. But does this also cause the Malay voter to be unhappy with the federal government. - Loka

Two in one campaign

Umno deputy president aspirant Muhyiddin Yassin told voters in Kuala Terengganu not to vote based on the looks of the candidate.

Is he really speaking to the right target group for the KT by-election or his message was really meant for the Umno delegates in the forth coming party election in March. He is pitted against two candidates who are considered more people friendly than him, Ali Rustam and Muhammad Taib.

Muhyiddin knows that he can't win the deputy presidency if the delegates pick their choice based on personality rather than capability. He may be the popular choice as Deputy Prime Minister if the votes is in the hands of the ordinary Malaysian but he can't be sure that he will be the one unless he is voted in as Umno deputy president first. That's the fact in Malaysian politics.

If that's the case, it proves that the the KT by-election has been used as a platform by the candidates for the Umno election to campaign for themselves rather than Umno by-election candidate Wan Warid. It is no wonder that the current KT by-election campaigning lacked the oomph and excitement that we usually sees in previous by-elections. Is Umno big guns savings their armoury and war chests for their own use later in March? Furthermore it does not brings any difference to them if Umno lose the seat, other than Wan Farid cannot be a deputy minster and Najib's losing face in view of him claiming the prime minister position in March.

On the other hand, what if Ali Rustam wins the deputy presidency? Will he resigned as Melaka Chief Minister and Bukit Baru state assemblyman to contest a parliamentary seat to enable him to be appointed as Deputy Prime Minister? If this happens, which Melaka parliamentary seat will be vacated for him to contest? Maybe swapping with his supporter Md Sirat Abu's Bukit Katil seat? - Loka

Punching bag

Will Najib be the punching bag while Wan Farid watch from the Kuala Terengganu ring side?

Early signs already shows that will be the way the Kuala Terengganu by-election heading to. Whether Najib wants to admits it or not, the one really fighting the opposition in KT is surely not Wan Farid. It will a test that Najib cannot afford to lose before claiming the political throne of Malaysia in March.

Nobody knows who will be the loser in this by-election but I know the sure winner will be the people of KT with all those election goodies coming their way.- Loka

Beyond Kuala Terengganu by-election

The coming by-election in January 17 next year for the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary will not only a test for the selected candidates but also for other interested parties and individual politicians.

The contest is expected to be a direct fight between Umno/BN against PAS/PR although independent candidates cannot be written off as a spoiler. The late Razali Ismail of Umno won the seat with a slim majority in the last election and do not expect a big majority for the winner this time around. Historically this seat has been changing hands between Umno and Pas with slim majorities.

The anointed PM-to-be Najib Razak will be hard-up to retain this seat as a moral booster for him to take over from Abdullah Badawi in coming March. Following tradition, Najib is expected to lead the BN campaign and he cannot risked being slewed by PR in this by-election as happened in Permatang Pauh. It will be some sort of a vote of confidence for Najib if BN wins but if Pas grabbed the seat, it can be taken as a cue that the people are having doubts about his leadership.

Umno as a party will be pressurized to take this seat. Since 308 general election, this embattled party has been whacked by it's component and opposition parties on various contentious issues. If it lose this seat it will add more misery to it's already wounded image as the dominant party of BN. To ensure this did not happens, the party will be pulling out all it's tricks under it's sleeves and playing to the gallery of Malay majority voters.

Politicians aiming for posts in the March Umno election who can spare their internal party campaigning hours will be trooping to Kuala Terengganu to make their presence felt and many won't be suprised if words coming from their mouth are to boost their standing in the eyes of Umno delegates rather than fishing for voters of the constituency. Do not be alarmed if there arises many copycats of the infamous Ahmad Ismail as in the Permatang Pauh by-election. The aim is to score political points for themselves, not for Umno or BN.

The Bandar state seat within Kuala Terengganu is the only seat held by MCA as most Chinese voters are concentrated in this urban area. This will be the primary area which MCA will set up their operation center. Basing on the slim majority in previous Kuala Terengganu contests, the Chinese votes will be crucial for both sides of the political divide. Can MCA deliver the Chinese votes under the new leadership of Ong Tee Keat? This will be Tee Keat's first foray in a by-election since elected MCA president and he need to prove his leadership not only via his linguistic style but to deliver the Chinese votes to Umno.

On the other hand, Tee Keat most probably will not be actively campaigning in KT but dispatch his trusted ally Wong Foon Meng to lead the MCA campaign. Although Foon Meng is not considered a heavyweight, to the surprised of many he was picked by Tee Keat to be MCA's secretary general after the party's election. As the third in line of the party hierachy and also a KT local boy who was also a former state exco, Foon Meng is expected to be given the mandate to lead MCA's campaign in KT. It will be an opportunity for him to justified to some of his comrades who is still doubtful of his capability that he qualifies to be the secretary general and also chairman of the MCA Selangor state committee.

As for PAS, the main challenge will be on the shoulder of it's president Hadi Awang who is based in Terengganu. He lost Terengganu to Umno in 2004 after winning it in 1999 and was it's Menteri Besar. Then Pas Terengganu performed lack-lustrely in 2008 when Pakatan Rakyat took four states while retaining Kelantan. Hadi Awang have to redeem his pride and stature not only in the eyes of his comrades in Pas but also his counterparts in Pakatan Rakyat.

It is very obvious that Hadi Awang presence in PR are not significant, most of the time Pas face in PR are represented by it's deputy president Nasharuddin Isa or some other second liners. It will Hadi's fight for his national political standing especially in the opposition front which is dominated by Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Kit Siang.

With 11 days of campaigning and impact to the stakeholders, do expect the monsoon season in the east coast state to be more ferocious than usual. - Loka

Najib's Fishing outing

Is Najib Razak fishing for opportunities to shake up the Umno/Malay populace to support the party? If he did, it looks like someone already taken the bait. Najib mere suggestion to liberalise the NEP received quick response from other BN component parties including MCA and MIC. Recently elected MCA vice president Liow Tiong Lai took the bait by suggesting the Malay equity quota to be abolished. After Liow's statement was made known, a flurry of Malay politicians and pseudo-politicians in various guises and clothings starts to criticised the suggestion to do away with the equity quota. It's been made to look like it's the MCA that demand for the NEP to be liberalised, not Najib's proposal! Now Najib will just sit down and watch as the drama unfolds based on his script since he is also the director!

While there are many non-Malays BN politician whom has been suggesting the same, it was usually discussed privately amongst their comrades. What makes these politicians think that just because the person that suggested it is the PM designated the statement can be accepted as the gospel truth and with sincerity. How naive some people can be! Have they forgotten to check the person's political background to ensure the suggestion was given with sincerity, without ill-will and hidden agenda. If he is serious about it, it is not necessary to hand out the bait but just do it full heartedly. - Loka