WAKE UP BARISAN NASIONAL!!!

ceku.org

By Ivanpal Singh

The election has ended and the people have spoken. BN has lost its hegemony over Malaysian politics and this is an affirmation of our democratic preponderance. BN needs to take stock of what has happened and come to an honest realisation of the reasons for its defeat in 5 states, and the failure to obtain a two thirds majority in Parliament.

We have constantly criticised the Government for its failures, and the people decided to vent their anger via the ballot box. My home state of Selangor, my Parliament constituency of Petaling Jaya Selatan and my state constituency of Bukit Gasing are now all under opposition control. I must say that as the results trickled in on Saturday, I was shocked at the scale of the opposition’s win. I never in my wildest dreams conceived that BN would lose the Selangor State Government, let alone Perak, Kedah and Penang.

Tun Mahathir has unabashedly called for the resignation of the Prime Minister. Though I personally disagree with a lot of what has happened in Malaysia over the past few years, the election must not be seen as a repudiation of the last 4 years, but as a collective judgment on what BN has failed to deliver over the last 50 years. More...

Your Kok Too Hard

youtiup.blogspot.

If Loh Seng Kok once thought he could affect change from the "inside", I hope he is wide awake now.

If Loh Seng Kok once thought MCA is an equal partner in the BN coalition, I hope he is wide awake now.

If Loh Seng Kok once thought he could reason with the Malay Ultras, and the Mullah Dickheads in UMNO, I hope he is wide awake now.

If the MCA supporters once thought MCA has any real power within the BN coalition, I hope they are wide awake now.

Of course, there are always Christian politicians who do not just sit idly by when the rights of non-Muslims are encroached upon. Apart from some opposition parliamentarians, Loh Seng Kok, the MCA Member of Parliament for Kelana Jaya, once voiced the concern that the new edition of history textbooks used in national schools made light of non-Malays’ contribution to nation-building. Loh, in one of the parliamentary sessions, also requested that the directive of the Islamic Development Board (Jakim) for the private sector to conduct Muslim prayers during meetings be retracted.

Unavoidably, Loh’s conscientious acts hit a raw nerve when some Umno extremists gathered outside his service centre and yelled at him, warning him to mind his own business. But Loh lives in a country where absurdities and bizarreness abound. Instead of seeing the mobs punished for their unruliness, we now know that Loh has been dropped from the MCA candidates’ list. [Josh Hong, Malaysiakini]

GERAKAN AND PPP ARGUING ON BUKIT GANTANG SEAT

Tan demands Taiping be returned to Gerakan
malaysia-today

PETALING JAYA (Feb 20, 2008): Gerakan Wanita chief and incumbent Batu Gantang MP Datuk Tan Lian Hoe today demanded that People's Progressive Party (PPP) president Datuk M.Kayveas steps down and return the Taiping parliamentary seat to Gerakan.

Although Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has said that seat allocations for Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties would remain the same, Tan said Umno appears to be taking back its Batu Gantang seat.

"Batu Gantang was given to us (Gerakan) by Umno in the last general election so that Kayveas gets to contest Taiping, which we loaned to PPP. It's time to return to status quo," she added.

In a related development, Sin Chew reported yesterday that Taiping Gerakan Youth had early this week launched a 10,000-signature campaign to support Tan as the candidate for Taiping.

The report also said youth wing members have also openly said they did not welcome Kayveas in Taiping and that they might resort to "something out of the expectation" if Tan is not picked as the candidate.

On this, Tan said: "I am quite confident of winning in Taiping because this is the wish of the local people. They are very clear that they want Gerakan to re-claim the seat.

"People got a wrong impression that to get back the Taiping seat is actually a demand by party members. It is not ... it is what the voters really want," she said in a phone interview today.

Asked whether it is possible she may be fielded elsewhere, she said: "At the moment, we should not rock the boat elsewhere."

Asked whether the tussle between her and Kayveas would actually benefit the opposition, Tan said: "It depends on the candidate. If the people do not get what they want, a swing to the opposition can happen."

Kayveas said Tan is behaving selfishly and against the spirit of BN.

"The BN leadership has assured me that there will be no change in my seat and that it is the most important. I spent three days a week in Taiping and the people have seen my work," he said, adding that he had built up Taiping since he became the MP in 2004.

Kayveas suggested that Tan should just contest in the Jalong state seat (its incumbent assemblyman Perak Gerakan chairman Datuk Chang Ko Youn) and lobby for a state executive councillors' post. (Chang is moving to federal politics to contest in Beruas, the seat vacated by former party chief Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik.)

"That will guarantee her a brighter future as she is unlikely to be made a parliamentary secretary or deputy minister ," he added.

Kayveas said if Tan wanted to put up an individual fight against him, she should contest against him as an independent candidate.

He added that PPP will concentrate its full force in Taiping and that the party had set up four operations rooms.

Kayveas defeated DAP’s Ong Chee Keng and Parti Keadilan Rakyat's P. Annah Dorai in the last general election with a majority of 2,172 votes. - theSun

KAYVEAS MENGAMUK KERANA BN TENDANG KESANA KEMARI

Jangan tendang sana, sini'
hmetro

KUALA LUMPUR: "Lebih baik saya berhenti sahaja daripada politik ini kalau satu penggal tendang sana tendang sini, tak boleh la macam ini, PPP (Parti Progresif Penduduk) pun ada maruah.

"Jangan jadikan kita seperti anak angkat, saya tak boleh tahan lagi, kalau saya jadi presiden PPP dua tiga tahun mungkin tak apa, tapi saya dah jadi presiden 15 tahun.

"Lima tahun lagi orang kata saya sudah lama dan minta turun dari jawatan," kata Presiden PPP, Datuk M Kayveas, kepada pemberita selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat bulanan parti itu bagi membincangkan persiapan pilihan raya umum (PRU), di Pusat Dagangan Dunia Putra (PWTC) di sini, semalam.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika mengulas spekulasi PPP akan diberikan satu kerusi Parlimen, tetapi mungkin bukan di Taiping yang dimenangi Kayveas pada PRU 2004.

Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri itu berkata, beliau perlu bertanding di Taiping kerana semua persiapan sudah diatur di kawasan berkenaan termasuk membuka bilik gerakan, poster dan sebagainya.

Bakal MB JOHOR Baru Seorang Veteran UMNO

Abdullah Mengadap DYMM Sultan Johor:
Bakal MB Baru Seorang Veteran UMNO
maisuara.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hari ini tergesa-gesa terbang ke Johor Bahru untuk mengadap DYMM Sultan Johor, Sultan Iskandar, di Istana Bukit Serena, dipercayai untuk membereskan soal pencalonan bakal MB Johor selepas PRU12. Demikian sumber-sumber ibu pejabat UMNO Malaysia memberitahu Suara tengahari tadi.

Sebelum itu, Abdullah mempengerusikan mesyuarat Majlis Tertinggi BN dan kemudiannya mesyuarat Majlis Tertinggi UMNO, di Menara Dato’ Onn, Kuala Lumpur.

Sumber-sumber di Johor Bahru pula memberitahu Suara, Abdullah diperkenan mengadap DYMM Sultan Iskandar lebih kurang satu jam mulai 3.30 petang. Kemudiannya beliau terus terbang pulang ke Kuala Lumpur.

Adalah tidak diketahui sama ada MB Johor, Datuk Haji Abdul Ghani Othman, yang tidak menghadiri mesyuarat MT UMNO di Kuala Lumpur, turut terlibat dalam pertemuan berkenaan.

Bernama pula melaporkan Ghani memang tidak turut serta dalam rombongan Abdullah menghadap Sultan Iskandar. Kata laporan itu lagi, ini menguatkan ura-ura bahawa pertemuan itu ada kaitan dengan kedudukan Ghani.

Ketika ini, beberapa nama disebut-sebut sebagai bakal MB Johor selepas PRU12. Ini termasuklah Datuk Seri Khalid Nordin, Exco Kanan Haji Ahmad Zahri Jamil dan Ahli Parlimen Pulai, Datuk Nur Jazlan Tan Sri Mohamad Rahmat.

Sumber-sumber di Johor Bahru bagaimanapun menyatakan, kemungkinan nama-nama di atas diperkenankan menduduki kerusi MB Johor adalah amat tipis. Kata mereka, DYMM lebih cenderung melilih seorang pemimpin veteran UMNO Johor untuk jawatan tersebut.

Siapakah beliau? Warga politik Johor yang masih ingat bagaimana bercelarunya keadaan pertukaran kerusi DUN dan Parlimen di saat-saat akhir dalam PRU11, di mana Khalid Nordin yang dijangka bertanding DUN terpaksa berhijrah ke Parlimen Pasir Gudang, pastinya ingat akan Datuk Ali Hassan, yang kini Speaker DUN Johor. Mungkinkah beliau calon MB yang direstui DYMM Sultan Iskandar? Kita tunggu dan lihat!

Dalam pada itu, desas desus pecalunan baru MB Johor bertiup kencang.

Spekulasi Khaled MB baru Johor makin kuat

JOHOR BAHRU: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi semalam menghadap Sultan Johor di Istana Bukit Serene di sini, sekali gus menguatkan lagi spekulasi mengenai kemungkinan Menteri Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled ...

No2umnO - Adakah perubahan ini menyebabkan Dollah dipanggil turun? Kemanakah perginya Ghani Othman selepas ini? Siapakah yang mencaturkan semua ini? Menurut berita kedengaran, UMNO bakal kecoh dengan pencalunan baru kerana ada calun lama yang tidak bersetuju dengan pencalunan baru itu. Namun seperti biasa, dimulut kata akur, di hati Tuhan sahaja yang tahu. Biar kecoh, biar berpeluh. Tahun ini terkuburnya UMNO dan BN di tangan Abdullah AHmad Badawi.

Kayveas: We want our seats back

sun2surf

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 14, 2008): People's Progressive Party (PPP) president Datuk M. Kayveas wants the leaders of MCA, Gerakan and MIC to act gentlemanly, honour their words and return the seats that were allocated to them in good faith.

"While Umno has returned the seats they had taken by giving PPP the Bukit Gantang parliamentary and Kota Alam Shah state seats, MCA, Gerakan and MIC have yet to do so.

He claimed that MCA owed PPP two parliamentary seats, namely Ipoh (now Ipoh Barat) and Menglembu (Batu Gajah) and seven state seats which are Ayer Tawar (Pantai Remis), Pekan Lama (Buntong), Pasir Putih (Pasir Pinji), Kuala Pari (Tebing Tinggi), Sungai Raya (Simpang Pulai), Pusing (Jelapang) and Gopeng (Teja).

Gerakan owed PPP the Beruas parliamentary seat and three state seats, namely Jalong, Pekan Bharu (Canning) and Pasir Bedamar while MIC owed it the Bidor (Sungkai) state seat, he said.

“It is a mere sincere, honest request. Something which belongs to us but somebody else is keeping it, so I am asking for it back.

“Just like the squatters who have been using other people’s land. When the landlord wants it back, you have to return it. There is no choice. You can’t keep people’s property like that. It is the same. Simple logic,” Kayveas told a press conference after chairing a PPP supreme council meeting this afternoon.

He said the party’s secretary-general had written about the matter to the secretaries-general of the three parties on Wednesday while he had written to the three presidents today.

“It is up to the presidents now. ... Please write to us officially, whether you will return them or not. We will accept whatever the answer,” he said.

He said if they could not return the original seats, they could give PPP other seats which they were not confident of winning as PPP had an advantage over them because it was once an opposition party.

Asked what he would do if the seats are not returned, Kayveas said: "We will cross the bridge when we come to it."

Kayveas said when PPP joined Barisan Nasional (BN) in 1972, it had four parliamentary seats and 12 state seats which it won in the 1969 General Election but later it was only given two seats.

Kayveas also stressed that he only wanted to defend his Taiping parliamentary seat and would not accept a change.

“It is too late now. If you want to put me somewhere else, it should be six months or a year back. Now we have everything prepared in Taiping, from operations room to posters.

“If they (top leadership) insist on me to go (somewhere else), I think I better quit. PPP has its dignity. Please don’t kick me around like a ball or treat me like an adopted child,” he added.

Earlier, in a press conference after the Umno supreme council meeting, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Kayveas did not object when he said there would be no changes in seat allocations for the coming elections.

He also said Kayveas will be given a seat but it has not been decided where.