28 hours to go....Will IT happen or not?

Will it happen or not? This question has been lingering in the minds of many Malaysians as the campaign period comes to a close. The accusations of foreigners being granted voting rights and being flown all over the country to critical seats especially in Selangor, KL and Johor. The usual denials without proof to back their denials. The increasing violence. The increasing retorics of hate and racism from BN. 

Mysterious charter flights from KK to KL

 

Generation of fear and anxiety between races and religion

 

Things have moved up in notches since the beginning of the week. Our former Prime Minister is doing a full time tour of the country as the campaigner-in-chief, while Najib, Muhyddin and CSL is criss-crossing the country to pacify and boost support that is flagging everywhere. The latest survey by Merdeka Centre says it all. A deadlock. A nightmare for both sides of the political divide, especially for BN who has been going around telling everyone two thirds in hand. Is there actually something more sinister hovering in the background for BN to say such things?

Today also marked possibly the largest Pakatan gathering in the history of Malaysian Election campaigning period. A whooping 100,000 people (some say 120,000) made their way to the Penang Esplanade and basically flood the surrounding areas. Photos shown were indicative of the huge crowd and one very big proof is the collection of RM 500,000 from the crowd! It is a record breaking feat in Penang. 

The massive crowd in Penang that has no end in sight (more on Anil Netto's blog)

Elsewhere, Pakatan continue to draw thousands if not tens of thousands to attend the closing ceramahs before the Finale tomorrow. Will this be enough to overcome potential phantom voters? It is yet to be seen. It is hoped that genuine malaysians regardless of political leaning should come out and vote before lunch time to push the % of turnout very high so that any possible incidences of phantom voters will be reduced greatly. 

 

All the best to all Malaysians, candidates and voters alike. This is the one time that Malaysians all rise up and be counted. We cannot predict the outcome yet but we sure know that for once in our history, Malaysians is not going to just lie down still and be trampled. 

 

When the elections roll out on the night of the 5th, I will be doing my small part with the rest of the blogsphere to post updates and results. Definitely Malaysiakini and their counterparts will be badly affected by attacks and ISP restriction. So this is the least I can do. 

 

INI KALILAH! UBAH! 

The Return of the 'Father of Pendrive' to UBAH!

Pua Khein Seng, who is one of the inventors of the pendrive and the chief executive of Phison Electronics Corporation has returned to Malaysia alongside many oversea Malaysians. Although Malaysia then did not recognize his talents and he went overseas, he has not thrown away his Malaysian Citizenship. This time he is back to help Pakatan to campaign and also vote for a better future. 

This guy is the epitome of many malaysians who were driven overseas by the policies of BN over the past few decades. BN even tried to take credit over Mr. Pua's contributions to the IT industry and try to connect with him but failed miserably. I hope more successful Malaysians will step forward and help to move the nation to a better future. 

Read more here.

Malaysian Insider: Scared or not? - Gan Yue-Li

MAY 1 – People were rightly scornful of the series of print advertisements by MCA. Just like the false threats that spewed from the lips of our Prime Minister and his minions at their ceramahs. It is obvious that all these fear-mongering tactics are in the hopes of subduing and frightening a nation that is hopeful for a new dawn.
But I am not afraid of the possibility of hudud. Instead, I am afraid that our young Malaysians will grow up without being properly taught to think, or speak, or debate. I am afraid they will, one day, have no choice but to leave the country because they are unable to find a better job, or a place in university.
I am not afraid that my right to enjoy a drink with friends will be curtailed. I am afraid for my dad every time he takes our dog out for a walk. I am afraid for my female friends every time we say goodnight and walk back to our own cars. I am afraid for my aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbours, and everyone else, every night even after we’ve locked our doors, turned on the alarm and imprisoned ourselves in our homes.
I am not afraid that my church will be forced to close by PAS. I am afraid that our children will one day think it’s ok to tell their non-Malay friends to “balik Cina” or “balik India” because they saw or heard adults screaming it. I am afraid that more people will think it’s ok to insult other religions because our Home Minister defended a few that did.
I am not afraid that I won’t be able to have my hair cut by a male hairdresser. I am afraid that my gay friends will be beaten up when they walk outside tomorrow, because the government of today is spreading and inciting the message that being gay is a sin or a disease.

I am not afraid of the possibility of another May 13 if Barisan Nasional loses. I am afraid that my friends will get hurt when they attend Opposition ceramahs that are disrupted by paid gangsters and Mat Rempits. I am afraid for the many prisoners in police or MACC’s custody who are tortured, beaten and who lose their lives while in the hands of the very people who should be protecting us.

I am not afraid that our country’s economy will plunge when the Opposition takes over as government. I am afraid that my EPF savings are being drained and sucked dry to bail out GLC failure after GLC failure. I am afraid that my tax money is being used to pay for RM500 spanners which actually cost RM10. I am afraid that our countrymen are being forced to pay higher tolls, higher electricity bills and suffer water shortages just because Barisan Nasional’s cronies are not getting enough millions and billions. I afraid for the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak who are laughed at as their lands are stolen from right under their feet.
I am not afraid of what may be, or of the false threats by Barisan Nasional which are an insult to our maturity as Malaysians.

But I am afraid for the many crimes that are already happening. I am afraid of the social injustices that have already happened. The longer Barisan Nasional stays in power, the more they will steal and plunder from our country and its people. The more they cling on to the last vestige of governance, the more our people will suffer, the higher cost of living will climb, the greater the corruption and abuses, the greater the failure of our country.

These are my fears. These are the real fears of the people. These are the issues that people feel strongly about. And if you were to get off your arrogant high horses and actually think about us, the people, instead of yourselves, you’d know our fears too – I’m voting for a government that does.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

(From The Malaysian Insider)

GE 13: The indelible ink that was delible

Joke of the election: indelible ink which is delible. Apparently the EC deny something happen then later they admit that maybe the staff forgot to shake the ink! Hmmm...Now what? This is funny and yet a grave issue at the same time

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/228612

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/228547

A very 'competent' EC and Chairman don't you think?

Hudud OH Hudud....

MCA-BN has now resurrected the specter of Hudud and now using it to spark fear among the non-Muslims in this country. It is really on an unprecedented scale as MCA is using all media under their control to whack DAP and Pakatan. Today's advert in the Star:

Such amount of political fear and religious slant in their campaign. It is yet to see if this has spooked the Chinese especially the older folks. But i wonder if Malays will get insulted if they see this advert. This might end up worse for MCA as Malay voters outnumber Chinese easily 1 to 3. So hopefully it backfires and hurt MCA and UMNO more.

Video: DSAI ceramah in Tawau

Has the winds of change arrive in Tawau?

UMCEDEL survey: A portent of things to come?

Two days ago, BN was rocked by a survey carried out by UMCEDEL (Universiti Malaya's Democratic and Election Centre). The one figure that stood out was the fact that 43% of those surveyed back DSAI as Prime Minister while 39% back Najib. Other statistics show the slight higher support for DSAI rather than for Najib (of course Najib scored higher for likeability and better administrative ability - which is kinda shoo-in as he is the Prime Minister at the moment and his face is everywhere on 1Malaysia Posters, Adverts and TV day and night).

 

(source: Malaysiakini)

Immediately, 'experts' from other universities and centres came out swinging and smacking the survey results. Najib himself came out today and discredit the survey saying that internal BN survey says that BN will win hands down with 2/3 majority. 

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/228320

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/228350

I wonder why Najib and his konco-konco came out so fast to refute this survey. As we all know, popular votes will not determine the winner of this coming GE 13 (thanks to the extensive gerrymandering done over the past 55 years). Unless, something is really happening all over the country. The amount of people turning up for Pakatan ceramahs all over the country (as what happen in Penang before 308) must have sent chills down the spines of all the BN strategists. Sheer number of people, albeit mainly Chinese but with a sizable Malay and Indian turnout could spell disaster for BN in many areas. The right combination of the voters in the crucial constituencies could see BN buried in GE 13. But those circumstances must all fall in place at the right time. Talking about stacked odds against you, its like you have to play a football match with 9 man and with the referee against you with your goal post bigger than your opponent.

At one DAP ceramah in Kuching (28/04/2013)

Crowd waiting for DSAI in Keramat (28/04/2013)

 

The fear of the Rakyat rising TOGETHER is starting to make BN hit the panic buttons. From the paid Adverts in The Star smacking DAP of being a PAS tool for Hudud Law, to the Utusan and TV3 having a field day putting up a picture that says that DAP is using PAS to create a Christian State, to abolish the special rights, etc signals the start of the use of race and religion in a desperate attempt to stem the tide. How successful they have we will only know on Election Day. 

For this UMCEDEL survey, the results only point to one thing: Either BN is out this GE or will be cleared out by next GE. If Pakatan does it right and reduce the blunders, missteps and rogue elements within their ranks, I believe they will give BN a fight for the control of this country. The longer BN is on the defensive, the worst it becomes. As it is, BN is only fighting to do damage control in many areas under threat from Pakatan. Such a battle of attrition only serves to benefit Pakatan more as Pakatan's relentless assault into various seats have made it a cause to be concerned.

So with the UMCEDEL survey, what say you?

P/S:

I am disappointed that Merdeka Centre has not publish any survey results like what they did in the run up to the 308 polls. Any possible reasons why? I wonder.

  

ALIRAN: What Voting for BN Means

 Read here:

http://aliran.com/13290.html

What he says in that article is very true. For a party or coalition to rule for more than 50 years and have no other alternative to them, power and money corrupted them even though their early struggles for independence were noble under the leadership of the late Tunku Abdul Rahman. 

56 years forward, they have grown entrenched in a system full of corruption, nepotism, cronyism, etc. We need to put them into the wilderness for 5 years to learn their mistakes and reform into a viable opposition. Should Pakatan does not do their job, they can always make a comeback.

If this can be achieved, we then can have a viable 2 party system with the Rakyat as the BOSS.

On the Segamat Ceramah Experience *updated*

Now, yesterday 24 April 2013, I was in Segamat to attend to a customer who is also a friend. He asked me to come down to Segamat specifically because there will be a major ceramah involving DSAI in Segamat at Padang Kg. Abdullah in the middle of town. So naturally I said ok and I made the journey down there. As I was alone and only armed with a Iphone 4 which the camera quality is deteriorated, I couldn't take any photos along the way.

What I can tell you is the Star Reporter got it all wrong: Banners were sprouting everywhere and Bilik Gerakan for both sides of the divide quite active putting up more. Some important intersections were full of banners, fish tails and long banners alike. And for a 'sleepy' town like Segamat, election fever has hit the people there hard like anywhere else. 

So round 1 was tea time and my friend's friend came with a sticker of 'No to Lynas' on his shirt. We were engaged in an animated discussion of politics and election, exchanging news and were leaning on the fact that it looks like Pakatan is having the edge in Segamat. However, we leave that till we see the crowd in the ceramah that night. 

So later my friend picked me up and then we go had dinner nearby the padang (the fried kueh tiaw with sauce is good). After dinner at about 9 pm we walked across the road and joined the ceramah.

Ho and behold: the crowd was big for Segamat standard! At the time we joined the crowd we estimated to be about 5 - 10 thousand people already present. Speaker after speaker goes up and speak and one that had my attention and to my surprise a good speaker is Cikgu Normala of PAS. She is the DUN candidate for Pemanis and also the ex-candidate for Tenang by-election (remember the flood on the day of the election: she is the poor soul I thought was a victim of the weather and lost the by-election by a bigger margin then). 

She is a good speaker and she has a clear and direct voice which for me is a first as generally very few women from PAS are prominent in the ceramah circuit. She is quite young and fiesty and according to my friend, she got guts and have substance and she is very friendly. She hammered the points home one after the other and I thought she is one of the better speakers of the night. 

As the night wore on, the crowd grew. From the earlier estimates it probably swell to a good 15 thousand although some say as many as 20 - 30 thousand that night. Hard to estimate as it is night time. But a very big crowd, the largest in recent history in Segamat for a political ceramah where NO FREE FOOD OR GOODIES. I wonder if BN can do the same with the same conditions. 

Salahuddin Ayub and Chua Jui Meng were the two last speakers before DSAI arrived. They fired up the crowd and got it going. Salahuddin endeared himself with the Chinese by saying that his mother is Chinese. He was hammering home the point that he will defend all the races and the constitution in regards to religion, special rights and the rights of the other minorities. One very articulate speaker and a possible good candidate for MB if they ever win Johor.

 Chua was quite a good speaker though not as smooth as Salahuddin and were actually trying to get the crowd fired up before the finale. So, when DSAI walked in the crowd roared with approval. I can feel the mood of the crowd changed into expectations that something great is happening. It gives me the creeps and yet it also gave hope that people have finally found someone else other than from UMNO to lead this country. Malays, Chinese and Indians were all present in good numbers, young, old, women and children too. 

DSAI went into his speech with gusto and repeating the familiar things I have heard over the past days over the online tv ceramahs by him. However, for the Segamat folks, some of them hearing for the first time. They lap up every word he says, laugh at every jokes he poked at his adversaries, listened intently when he outlines what he wants to do when he becomes Prime Minister. I believe that night alone many fence sitters would have been convinced by him and many more will in turn spread what he said.

All in all, it was a tiring but satisfying night. To see that crowds like this has never been seen in an UMNO-BN stronghold attending Pakatan ceramah, it is a feeling that something might just happen on 5th May 2013. 

Oh ya. On a lighter note, the pasar malam people are really tailing the Pakatan Ceramah like how the Digi Yellow Man....'I will follow you, follow you wherever you may goooo...'. Poor owner of Sekinchan Ikan Bakar who mentioned that hawkers lost business. They have ROARING business yesterday night!

List of Candidates of the GE 13

Pls go to the link below to find out more info on who is standing:

http://resultpru13.spr.gov.my/

GE 13 has become 'money'-lection - thanks to BN!

Both sides of the divide has started campaigning since late 2011 onwards when our caretaker PM gave started the ball rolling with the BR1M and started to go on an election footing. Fast forward to today in 2013, the amount of money splashed on the rakyat is staggering. Bridget Whelsh put it at RM 58 BILLION spent ever since then. 

RM 58 BILLION?! If this is just a conservative figure, I wonder what is the actual. Bear in mind Malaysian government has a yearly budget of around RM 200 BILLION. A quarter was blown away on election related projects and the 1Malaysian programme. Why this? This is due to the fact the PM is not confident that they can win with a better majority. SO lets resort to the one old and tested method: Flood Malaysians with goodies, money, projects and promise more. This is not even going into the details of the direct negotiations and selective tenders BN did for the development targeted pledges.

So who is the one gonna bankrupt this country? BN or PAKATAN?

Read more here:

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/227713


 Pemantau report on distribution of cash vouchers on nomination day:
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/227750

Funnies and humour during GE 13 campaign

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/227636

Good for laughs!

Why PKR and PAS has to clash in 6 state and 1 parliament seats?

I really do not understand why PKR and PAS has to do that. After all both are in the same coalition. I believe that since they thought putrajaya is possible, they want as many candidates as possible in case they made it. Also, local warlords also want their share of the seats. 

I hope in those seats they get punished. Just to show that the rakyat means business when it comes to quarrels over seats as if the rakyat is not important but their own agenda.

Lim Kit Siang leads the surge into the Johor Fortress

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/in-kit-siang-pakatan-gets-unexpected-boost-to-leap-over-johors-malay-wall/

A very good article on what may come on 5 May 2013. The impact of the ROS fiasco and the fielding of heavyweights in Johor coupled with the political wind of change in Singapore will buffet this UMNO-BN fortress. Whether it will be enough is left to be seen. 

However, I believe what I saw: the throngs of people who will never attended any opposition ceramahs in Johor prior to 308 are now turning out in droves as like in Penang just before 308. UMNO-BN will have their hands full in defending this last major bastion. 

While Pakatan continue their onslaught elsewhere in Malaysia, UMNO-BN has started the campaign pretty defensively and occasionally blows below the belt (pic below) and attacking with showers of gifts, money, free food and stuff especially in Penang and Selangor. And of course with the now infamous copying of manifestos and carrying up policies they used to criticize before (such as free 20m3 of water). 

 

 advert on the Star today

Gaffes from BN politicians and ministers

Will the fear of voting PAS by the Chinese or voting DAP for the Malays go the way of the Dinosaurs?

At this stage, anything can happen. In the past especially in 1999, the Chinese and Indians were spooked by the PAS specter and therefore they voted BN which led to the disaster for DAP. Forward to yesterday, the 48 hour 'crisis' DAP has to endure on the ROS letter which nearly scuttle the Rocket symbol. 

I believe if BN had anything to do with it (which i think they do), they did not ever imagine that both PAS and PKR will step forward and offer their symbols and DAP dare to use them. And the outpouring rage and sympathy for DAP was totally overwhelming. The cyberspace was totally flooded with support for the use of PAS and PKR logo while ROS and BN took the worst flak I have ever seen. 

Although ROS did reverse on their decision late on Friday Night, the damage has already been done. Chinese in particular took it very hard as it is seen as an underhanded attempt to kill off DAP before the election itself. But what scared BN was the surging support for the use of the PAS logo in West Malaysia. Within that 48 hours, the Chinese supporters of DAP were busy preparing PAS flags, banners, etc in anticipation that the Rocket symbol cannot be used. 

And what broke the myth that Chinese will not support PAS at all was the fact that Chinese turned out decked in PAS t-shirts while waving PAS flags alongside the DAP flags and banners. Although DAP could use their Rocket symbol in the end, the myth looks dead and buried. 

Another test was the mega-ceramah in Skudai last night. It was in the people's mind: will the Chinese come and attend while receptive to Salahuddin Ayub from PAS and also waving PAS flag and wear PAS t-shirt, hats etc? 

See for your self the article below:

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/daps-johor-campaign-begins-with-loud-cheers-from-chinese-for-pas/

I myself believe that if all three parties in Pakatan Rakyat has equal standing and rights (by giving three enough seats to rule the country), they will see eye to eye on national issues even though they may have different ideologies. If this year is the year that Malays will vote DAP and Chinese will vote PAS, then the end is nigh for BN and their racial 'rule and divide' policies. 

INI KALILAH!

For those who has facebook go to lim kit siang's page for more photos

Ubah Rocket Style!

Just to bring that the video again:

Have fun watching it!

Fight is on for ALL PARLIAMENT AND STATE SEATS!

I do not think I remember when is the last time all the seats in parliament and state are contested keenly in a Malaysian General Election. This is good as finally democracy is alive and people are itching to vote and decide the future of Malaysia. 

Latest on the Star:

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/4/20/nation/20130420170650&sec=nation

However, multiple seats are having multiple candidates and even some in which independents from various parties standing against their own parties. Many of these are due to dissatisfaction of not being selected to stand for their respective parties. 

Well, waiting for the complete listing of candidates according to seats then I can publish here.

Nomination Day News

So far everything is smooth but apprarently EC will not hold a press conference to announce the numbers but will issue a press release much to the chagrin of many. It was said that there are certain seats where the officials are unable to release the candidate list yet. 

One of the major news is the shaping of several titanic clashes led by the clash in Gelang Patah between Abdul Ghani and Lim Kit Siang. Below is one article by Malaysian Insider in regards to this issue:

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/in-election-2013-more-than-just-a-clash-of-titans/

It's Nomination Day!