Clinton arrives for three-day tour

Anifah (right) greets Clinton on her arrival in Subang, November 1, 2010. Bernama picSUBANG, Nov 1 US State Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived at the Subang Skypark Terminal of Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport here tonight for a three-day official visit to Malaysia.

The wife of former US president Bill Clinton was accompanied by a delegation which included five senior officials from the US Department of State.

Their arrival at 8.35pm was met by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, Deputy Foreign Minister Senator A. Kohilan Pillay and Malaysias ambassador to the United States Datuk Seri Jamaluddin Jarjis.

While here, Clinton will be attending a luncheon hosted by Anifah tomorrow at Wisma Putra, Putrajaya followed by a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the Prime Ministers office.

Anifah and Clinton will discuss bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Clinton will leave for Papua New Guinea on November 3 for an official visit. Bernama

Letter & Opinion From Joe Public

PKR Election 2010 Time to stop

As day goes by, more negative news appears on the media about the PKR 2010 election. I can appreciate when the people says the mainstream media portray a negative news on the election as they are regarded as propagandist tool of the government. However when the online media highlighted the issues, there is an obvious and serious silences in many blogs. The defensive nature of many partisan PR supporters on the election process shows their inability to look at issues objectively. Clearly blind and emotional support is the reason why this is happening.

Two weeks ago I had a long chat with my childhood friend who is one of the vice president hopefuls. One of his strength is that he is a close confidant of Anwar Ibrahim. He played an instrumental role in rescuing Anwar when the sodomy II allegation surfaces when he brought Anwar under a complete cover to the Turkey Embassy. He told me Azmin will win because the 40% Indian in PKR is behind Anwar and Anwar has hinted his preferences loud and clear.

It is not really important on who wins the contest but rather on how a person wins the contest. Certainly winning means everything but if winning in an improper way would means that the party would be split and the strength in unity would disappear then I think it would bring a bigger loss. It is like winning a battle but losing the war.

We all have seen year in and year out on how UMNO elections are being held. We can see how powerful people are being dethroned in UMNO by unsavory tactics. We have seen how ugly the UMNO election were in the 80s, 90s and recently. Today the same methodology is being used by many of UMNO rejects in PKR. Disappointing as it is many visually able people are too blind to accept this.

At the rate the election is being done, it is not only about errors and unintended mistake by the party election committee. It is a scam. It is no longer about putting th! e strong est and the fittest to the helm of the party. It is not about party ideology. It is not about the nation. It is about self righteousness and self interest. The country and the people are secondary. What do we do next? It is time to stop this election if PKR is serious about having a bigger public support in GE13.

Letter & Opinion From Joe Public

Rais labels Sabah for Sabahans delusional platform

SANDAKAN, Nov 1 Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said today those who raised the issue of Sabah for Sabahans to garner political support were not facing reality.

He said the outdated issue only cropped up during elections and had nothing to do with Malaysian nationhood.

We can assume that those who bring up the argument are not facing reality. It means that they do not understand our nationhood and our constitution. Article 161 of the Federal Constitution clarifies the position of Sabah, he told reporters after a live interview broadcast over Sandakanfm, here.

Rais (picture) said the 20-point agreement pertaining to Sabah had been settled save for several matters related to emplacement of officers which were being handled in stages.

For example, he said, many Sabahans were serving in senior positions in the judicial service in Kuala Lumpur and elsewhere, and even the attorney-general was from Sabah.

Rais said the people should reject narrow sentiments and focus on efforts by the government to create great and highly educated leaders from Sabah.

On the anxiety expressed by the Malay Rulers over the current political trend which seemed to be inclined towards stirring up racial sentiments, he said the Rulers were merely reminding the people of matters which had been agreed to by all the races.

He said the people should not forget what had been agreed upon in the constitution.

In this context, there is the Sedition Act and other laws which can be used against those who incite the people to disrupt unity, he said.

Rais also visited the media centre of the ministry for the Batu Sapi parliamentary by-election, here.

He also visited Bandar Ramai-Ramai and distributed food hampers to 22 Chinese senior citizens. Bernama

Letter & Opinion From Joe Public

Antara Anwar dan Dr.Asri,siapakah yang lebih relevan.....

Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin menasihatkan ahli politik veteran termasuk Ketua Umum .Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim agar bersara dari politik dan memberi laluan kepada pemimpin-pemimpin lain untuk memberi nafas baru atas alasan banyak rentak tari politiknya makin tidak seimbang

Di samping itu kata beliau, Pakatan Rakyat juga perlu melakukan pembaharuan untuk menjadi pembangkang yang kuat dan berkualiti.

Di samping menghormati sumbangan, saya rasa Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar, sudah sampai masanya untuk bersara politik, kata bekas mufti Perlis ini yang kini dilihat sebagai penggerak ketiga dalam arena politik semasa.

Sudah banyak rentak tari politiknya yang makin tidak seimbang, kata beliau dalam satu kenyataan dikeluarkan hari ini.

Asri berkata zaman Anwar, yang juga Penasihat PKR, mungkin makin menyusur pergi.

Saya tidak fikir generasi baru terus bertahan untuk melihat story-design politik yang sama, kata Asri lagi.

PKR ditubuhkan selepas Anwar dimasukkan ke penjara dan dipecat daripada jawatan kerajaan dan Umno. Malah menurut beliau, Anwar perlu diberikan peluang untuk berundur dengan aman demi untuk mewujudkan pembangkang yang lebih berkualiti dan berkesan.

Saya rasa beliau perlu menerima hakikat ini. Demikian setiap kita ada hari datang dan hari pergi.

Biarlah kita datang disambut mesra, dan kita pergi diucapkan terima kasih dan hormat, bukan dipaksa keluar, kata tokoh agama ini.

Maaf atas pandangan ini, kata Asri sambil menambah, beliau tiada apa-apa kepentingan kedudukan ataupun jawatan atas pandangan ini.

Asri juga berkata, politik negara ini juga memerlukan nafas baru tidak kira parti politik.

Seperti mana Umno memperkatakan keperluan anjakan baru dalam politik mereka, demikian saya fikir pihak pembangkang pun perlu mula memperkatakan hal y! ang sama .

Saya, seperti kebanyakan rakyat marhaen yang hanya ingin melihat kesejahteraan negara berteraskan kerajaan yang amanah dan pembangkang yang berkualiti, katanya sambil menambah, sudah banyak diperkatakan, dikritik dan diulas mengenai kerajaan hari ini.

Tulisan asal Dr.Asri dalam blognya boleh dibaca di sini.

Aku bukanlah seorang pemikir setaraf Dr.Asri, tapi aku rasa adalah terlalu awal kalau nak suruh Anwar bersara daripada politik PR.

Kerana Anwar,Pakatan Rakyat wujud sebagai satu gagasan yang bersatu dan kerana Anwar 5 buah negeri yang dikuasai BN dahulu jatuh tersungkur. Perak dirampas kembali secara haram.

Kerana Anwar dan pembangkang,segala skandal2 di bawah yang melibatkan pemimpin UMNO terbongkar:

a.Video Lingam - semua persalah tak diambil tindakan -NFA.
b.PKFZ yang rugi berbilion2.
c.Guthrie yang kerugian RM 9 billion.
d.Khir Toyo dan istana RM40 juta.
e.Perwaja Steel yang rugi berbilion2
f.Bank Islam yang lenyap RM700 juta.
g.Istana baru yang kos asal RM400 juta kini mencecah RM1 billion.
h. Wang Royalti tukar menjadi wang ehsan kerajaan Terengganu.
i.Pembelian jet dan kapal selam,komision RM910 juta kepada Perimekar.
j.RM300 juta saguhati kepada Gerbang Perdana - batal projek jambatan bengkok. k.MAS dan Tajuddin Ramli,bayaran pampasan berlebihan.
l.Bangunan Parlimen,RM100 juta untuk pembaikkan tapi tetap bocor.
dan banyak lagi yang aku tak ingat.

Kalau Dr.Asri kata Anwar itu sudah 'out of touch' dengan keadaan masa kini, apa kurangnya Najib,UMNO dan kuncu2nya?

UMNO juga sudah banyak terpesong dari landasan perjuangannya,Islam yang diperjuangkan adalah Islam yang m! enghalal kan judi dan arak. Amalan2 rasuah,kronisma,pecah amanah,skandal dan salahguna kuasa masih berleluasa dalam UMNO. Di mana letaknya anjakkan baru dalam politik UMNO seperti yang dinyatakan Dr.Asri itu?

Bukankah lebih baik Dr.Asri tegur pemimpin UMNO ini terlebih dahulu agar mereka selari dengan fikiran generasi baru,agar rakyat marhaen boleh melihat kesejahteraan negara berteraskan kerajaan yang amanah dan pemerintah yang berkualiti. Tapi apa yang jelas hari ini ialah 'story-design politik UMNO adalah sama, malah semakin teruk dari dulu,kini dan selama2nya.

Apakah Dr.Asri fikir dengan melenyapkan Anwar sekaligus Pakatan Rakyat boleh menjadi pembangkang yang kuat?

Kalau begitulah harapan Dr.Asri, apakata Dr.Asri serah saja borang menjadi ahli mana2 parti dalam PR, agar dengan penyertaan Dr.Asri akan memberi nafas baru kepada PR nanti. Tapi, kalau setakat dok otek2 saja dari luar tak guna.....

"Kalau Takut dengan Risiko Jangan Bicara Tentang Perjuangan"!!!

cheers.


See What Barisan Nasional Gotta Say?

Ramon Navaratnam: Play down it (the CPI) at our own peril

November 1, 2010

www.freemalaysiatoday.com

By Patrick Lee

Kuala Lumpur, October 29, 2010

CPI should be taken seriously, says Ramon Navaratnam

Downplaying Malaysias position on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) could prove devastating for the countrys economy, especially where its foreign direct investments (FDIs) are concerned. Noting that the CPI is internationally recognised as a reasonable assessment of the state of corruption in 180 countries, former Transparency-International Malaysia (TIM) president Ramon Navaratnam said that to negate it will come at our own peril.

Whether we like it or not, this index is taken seriously by both the international community and investors (alike), and should be recognised (by Malaysia.) So to negate it, or to play it down will be at our own peril, he said.

Navaratnam said domestic investments including the ones by Bumiputeras would not be spared from a fall in FDIs, adding that this would in fact have a greater impact on the economy. Malaysias CPI score fell to 4.4 this year from 4.5 in 2009, maintaining a historically-low 56th position.

Even with this decline, the response from many government officials has been largely lacklustre.Minister in the Prime Ministers Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said that the government was unable to mend public perception on corruption.

Beyond government control

Citing both the VK Lingam and Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandals, Nazri said that these cases were beyond government control. He added that they were left to the Attorney-General to act upon.

We cant simply charge Lingam just to get an extra 0.1 or 0.2 in our rating point. We cannot do anything about PKFZ because it is already in the hands of the judiciary, Nazri said.

Minister in the PMs Department Idris Jala shared Nazris views.Downplaying the CPI as a survey for business people, experts and analysts, he said that the drop in score should not be viewed as a negative development.

Jala said the government had put in place several measures in recent years to combat corruption, including the formation of 18 special corruptions courts, and introduced laws such as the Whistleblower Protection Act.

But Navaratnam, however, believes these measures are not enough. He said the countrys anti-corruption and legal departments needed more training and resources. Many of the (corruption) cases with the Attorney-General go to court but end up losing, partly because these lawyers face more experienced lawyers, he added.

Grounds of technicalities

Navaratnam said that some defendants would escape on grounds of technicalities, while some judges were intent on getting 100% proof when it came to convictions.

There is no such thing as a perfect case. Judges should be able to recognise that corruption is a scourge and convict those on overwhelming evidence, he said.

Navaratnam currently serves as the chairman of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commissions (MACC) panel on corruption prevention and consultation. He strongly feels that all of these measures would be meaningless unless money politics is abolished.

Describing money politics as the mother of all corruption, he said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak needed to be much tougher in turning it into a thing of the past. You cant have money politics on one side and a well-equipped force on the other. If you get rid of money politics, it would be much easier to fight corruption. But efforts (to combat corruption) are not good enough.

If we have done so, then our rankings (on the CPI) would have gone up, he said, adding that Mal! aysia sh ould emulate Singapore, which scored first on the CPI charts.

He said although no index in the world was absolutely perfect, the CPI was one of the worlds most reliable indices and Malaysia would do well to examine its own faults.

We need to accept the index despite (our) reservations, and resolve as a government and as a people to combat corruption more effectively. We need to constantly examine the index to see where we did well, and where we are lacking, he said. However, Navaratnam admitted that Malaysia had a difficult road ahead when it came to combating corruption.

The road to Vision 2020 will be filled with large potholes, and this will make it more difficult for Malaysia to achieve a developed nation status by 2020, he said.

See What Barisan Nasional Gotta Say?

Battle for PKR No 2 post takes another twist

By Rahmah Ghazali

KUALA LUMPUR: The conflict for PKR emissary presidency is receiving an additional turn when supporters of Zaid Ibrahim purported which the ultimate executive opinion count expelled by the domicile here today could have been manipulated.

According to Firdaus Christopher, Zaid's special assistant, human blunder was not usually obliged for the outcome of the initial count.

Before the executive outcome was released, the press was abuzz with headlines which Zaid was comfortably heading the competition with 3,683 votes to Azmin Ali's 3,051 as well as Mustaffa Kamil Ayub's 1,271.

However, the preference was reversed by secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution this afternoon, who voiced which Azmin was the front-runner, with 3,051 votes as against to Zaid's 2,529. Mustaffa has managed to gain 1,149 votes.

Saifuddin, who blamed the distortion upon human error, additionally pronounced which there was the recount prior to the executive total was expelled following protest from both camps.

But Firdaus cast doubts upon the foolproof data.

He pronounced which his stay will explain total supposing by the domicile with the ones they have received to safeguard which there were no "discrepancies".

If there are discrepancies in the opinion count, an executive censure will be filed against the celebration headquarters, pronounced Firdaus.

"I am not observant which the total are right or wrong, though can the executive election elect (CEC) safeguard which this human blunder will not repeat itself in the entrance weeks?" he asked.

"We want the CEC or the celebration secretariat to safeguard us the foolproof complement for us to have confidence in the free as well as satisfactory election," he added.

'Our figure shows Zaid is leading'

Meanwhile, election agent for Zaid, Rashid Azad Khan,! told FM T which his total showed which Zaid was heading the race, though the ones issued by the domicile were different.

"I am checking right away with my people upon the ground. If our total are correct, we will complain to the headquarters. Let me go by this initial as well as I will let you know tomorrow," he said.

However, the source close to Azmin defended the executive result, observant which it should not be questioned as the domicile was satisfactory in rectifying the mistake.

The source additionally pronounced which the numbers could turn out to be opposite from what Zaid's stay has expected, as there could be discrepancies in the opinion total of the groups which took partial in the polls final weekend.

"Some might have miscalculated the votes as well as reported poorly to the headquarters. I consider it was usually satisfactory for the domicile to be since the chance to rectify the mistakes from any divisions," the source told FMT.

The source additionally pronounced which the series of votes obtained by Zaid's stay did not pledge accuracy.

"For instance, in the Bagan Serai polls, an elderly woman who was ignoramus longed for to opinion for Roziah Ismail (for emissary women post) as well as asked the election guard to parasite for her.

"However the guard picked the opposite candidate instead. So if Zaid's stay used this opinion as an example, his supporters could be wrong (in their calculation)," he said, adding which an executive censure has been filed over the matter.

Party members started choosing by casting votes final week end to elect national leaders. The choosing by casting votes will go on for three some-more weekends.

Over the weekend, as most as 68 groups from Kelantan, Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Pahang, Malacca as well as Negeri Sembilan had gone to the polls. The second turn of choosing by casting votes will take place this weekend.

Also read:

PKR polls: Official total puts Azmin forward of Zaid, Mustaffa
PKR No 2 conflict the Zaid v Anwar proxy fight

Azhar suspended for 6 months

Penang opposition leader Azhar Ibrahim was suspended six months from the House after refusing to retract allegedly 'seditious remarks'
Letter & Opinion From Joe Public

Zaid, Jeffrey slammed for 'selfishness' in not helping at Batu Sapi

Malaysia Chronicle

As Pakatan Rakyat leaders led by Anwar Ibrahim work their guts out in Batu Sapi to launch PKR candidate Ansari Abdullahs by-election campaign, disgusted party members are beginning to question the motives of Sabah PKR chief Jeffrey Kitingan and his close friend Zaid Ibrahim.

Both men are believed to be in Sabah. In fact, there are other PKR leaders from the peninsula who are also with them and they are busy campaigning for Zaid in the PKR deputy presidency, Sabah PKR communications director Ronnie Klassen told Malaysia Chronicle.

Thats fine but why arent they showing solidarity with Anwar, their Ketua Umum, Lim Kit Siang and Mahfuz Omar. These guys are all working round the clock to bring reform to Sabahans, but Zaid and Jeffrey only seem to be interested in their own party positions. That's why they are drawing flak from other party members because they don't seem to be interested in Pakatan or PKR at all, but only in themselves.

Zaid, Jeffrey in Sabah but did not lift a finger to help in Batu Sapi

Indeed, the feeling of betrayal was apparent among many Sabah PKR members that Malaysia Chroniclespoke to. Batu Sapi campaigners had complained that in many small villages, the people not only did not know Ansari's name, they could not even recognize the PKR party logo.

Ansari, a lawyer and the PKR Tuaran chief, is locked in a tight three-cornered fight against SAPPs Yong Teck Lee and PBS Linda Tsen. Still seen as a dark horse, PKR has nevertheless closed the gap and it now remains to be seen if Anwar and Kit Siang can summon enough stamina to make the final push to overcome the mighty PBS which coincidentally is headed by Jeffreys brother Joseph Pairin.

Jeffrey has been in PKR for many years now,! not lik e Zaid who joined last year. He has always been putting this guy down, that guy down because he says he wants Sabah for Sabahans. Yet when the crunch comes, as Anwar has seen for himself now, Jeffrey has not laid any groundwork for PKR at all. Imagine if we go into general elections next month, we will be wiped out completely! Jacob K, another Batu Sapi watcher, told Malaysia Chronicle.

Selfish behavior
Although disappointed, the 63-year old Anwar has been tight-lipped about Jeffrey and Zaid, choosing to focus on his ceramahs and strengthening his rapport with the villagers. The first night the charismatic leader spent in Batu Sapi was a memorably lonely one as he is more used to being greeted by crowds of thousands cheering him on.

Ansari gets helping hand from S'gor MB Khalid IbrahimBut Anwar did not give up and with the help of other PKR leaders, including Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim and Batu MP Tian Chua, has managed to push up Ansaris chances.

Nevertheless, once Batu Sapi is over - win or lose - his day of reckoning with Zaid and Jeffrey is bound to come, and sooner rather than later.

Jeffrey asked for it. He oversold himself and now Anwar has to acknowledge the truth in what a lot of Sabah members have been telling him Jeffrey hasnt done a thing for PKR. To continue to rely on him or on Zaid to build the PKR machinery is for PKR to commit suicide in Sabah or anywhere else, said Jacob.

In fact, just on the grounds of selfishness and putting personal interest above party and coalition, many members feel both Zaid and Jeffrey should already be axed. This is serious. We are talking about war in the 13th GE and we only want those who will fight with PKR and Pakatan through thick and thin, and not for themselves.

Meanwhile, in the PKR deputy presidential contest, vice president Azmin Ali has pulled clearly! into th e lead with 3,051 votes against Zaids 2,529. In third place is Mustaffa Kamil Ayub with 1,149 votes. So far, members from about 68 out of PKR's 205 divisions have cast their ballots.

Azmin is leading the PKR charge in Galas, where a simultaneous by-election is taking place, while Mustaffa is also chipping in with others to help PAS defend the state seat from Umno.

This is a one-member one-vote polls so you cant really tell until the big branches have voted. But I have to say that Azmin looks quite comfortable at the moment. Whatever it is, all PKR members should continue to stay alert and be careful of money politics or other funny going-ons, which we are going to check very thoroughly, Tian told Malaysia Chronicle.
Letter & Opinion From Joe Public

Ku Li: BN has good fighting chance

By FMT Staff

GUA MUSANG: Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah expresses certainty which Barisan Nasional (BN) might pull by in a Galas by-election.

Razaleigh, a BN executive of election, said: BN has a good fighting chance.

The Gua Musang MP said a Chinese were returning to a BN fold as many of a village leaders had met him over a final few days.

Many have met me as well as this is a good pointer for BN. In fact, tonight we have been invited to chit-chat with a little Chinese leaders over tea as well as coffee at a grill in a Chinese New Village.

On a swell of a campaign, he said: So far, no national issues including oil kingship were brought up. There were additionally no personal attacks in a campaign.

The debate has been good all along as well as we have met many of a voters, he said, seeking joyful as well as fresh.

Political observers said Razaleighs friendly discuss with a Chinese voters tonight could be deliberate a breakthrough since there have been talks which BN candidate Abdul Aziz Yusoff had been barred from entering a village.

The final 7 days saw Razaleigh in his four-wheel drive hitting murky roads as well as channel rivers to encounter Orang Asli voters in remote areas in a bid to replenish ties with a indigenous people.

PAS leaders have additionally been creation a rounds though not as effectively as Razaleigh. But as a party in energy in Kelantan, it is putting good store by Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

There have been talks which Nik Aziz might return to Galas before long to palm over land grants to a Orang Asli.

This is seen as a final try by PAS to retain a hold on a voters who had since a party a victory in a March 2008 general election.

Also read:
I did not fool around out a Orang Asli, says Ku Li

PAS orders municipal arrest of opinion buyers as well as distortio! n peddla rs

Liew tells LDP to prepare for polls

By Michael Kaung

KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department V K Liew has reminded party leaders as well as members to be ready to face the next ubiquitous choosing which is approaching anytime between right away as well as 2012.

Liew, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader, pronounced which LDP would be lobbying for the parliamentary as well as state seats held by former BN component Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).

The parliamentary seats held by SAPP, which quit the BN coalition last year, have been Sepanggar (Eric Majimbun), Tawau (Chua Soon Bui) as well as the state seats Likas (Liew Teck Chan) as well as Luyang (Melanie Chia).

"We cannot bonus the actuality which since SAPP left BN, there have been potentially the little available seats which you similar to to consider. In any event, it is best you understanding with this when the time comes.

"One thing for sure, you will defend all the four seats which you have contested in the 2008 ubiquitous choosing namely Tg Kapor, Karamunting, Merotai as well as the Sandakan parliamentary seat. There is no two ways about this," Liew said.

Liew additionally pronounced which former LDP emissary boss Peter Pang could not lay explain upon his Karamunting state seat.

He was vocalization to representatives during the party's 21st Congress held in Tawau upon Sunday.

SAPP gauging the support

Meanwhile, LDP cabinet member ubiquitous Teo Chee Kang described SAPP boss Yong Teck Lee, who is contesting the Batu Sapi by-election, as the master of betrayal in politics.

He pronounced Yong betrayed Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) when the latter came out from PBS to form SAPP in 1994.

When Yong was in BN, SAPP sponsored candidates to fight their BN colleagues in many state as well as parliamentary constituencies in the 2004 as well as 2008 ubiquitous elec! tions.
"I do not have to go into details, the people of Sabah know about this. If he (Yong) cannot stay faitful to his comrades, I don't see how he can have the frankness to serve the people in Batu Sapi," pronounced Teo in the matter yesterday.

Teo contended which Yong's solitary purpose to contest in the by-election is to exam SAPP's domestic strength as compared to Pakatan Rakyat's.

"His (Yong) design is to prove which SAPP has some-more await than Pakatan so which he will be in the position to discount for some-more seats when negotiating with Pakatan for a single to a single fight opposite BN in the coming ubiquitous election.

"Batu Sapi is merely Yong's contrast ground," he pronounced as well as reminded the electorate there, especially the Chinese which if PKR wins, Sabah may remove an additional Chinese deputy in Parliament.

Is Ansari a Musa plant?

By Michael Kaung

SANDAKAN: Days into the Batu Sapi by-election campaign and a new scenario has surfaced. Is there a secret pact between Chief Minister Musa Aman and candidate Ansari Abdullah to finish off for good Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Yong Teck Lee?

Is this the reason PKR has remained quiet over Musa's scathing dismissal of Yong's call to a debate on Sabah? Is this the reason Umno has been less derisive of Ansari than of Yong?

Now political observers are asking why the PKR camp let Musa off the hook by watering down Yong's initial challenge to Musa, the opposition's main target.

"PKR shouldn't have done that," said a former politician who requested anonymity.

"It's as though PKR wanted to take the heat off Musa and Barisan Nasional. Is it a ploy?"

Yong has been a painful thorn in Musa's side dating back to the days of prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

And Yong is also, if not more, a serious threat to (Sabah) DAP – a Pakatan Rakyat coalition partner.

Yong casts a long shadow over Sabah's Chinese community.

In fact, if current ground response to Yong's name is any measure, he is indeed the people-savvy “taiko” that the media has made him out to be.

But unlike Sabah DAP, Yong's reach is not limited to just the Chinese.

Response to his roadshows here in Muslim Bumiputera areas in the run-up to the Batu Sapi by-election is rousing.

Here, Yong is also a threat to PKR, which is seen as nothing more than a spoiler to the real tussle between SAPP and BN candidate Linda Tsen.

Whatever may be said of Yong's political shenanigans and past failures, to the man on the street he's been the most familar face since 2008, when as then chief minister he boldly pulled SAPP out from the Sabah BN government on a matter of principle. A threat perhaps to Umno-BN?

In the murky world of Sabah politics, famed for its betrayals which spawned the term “katak”, we may yet again see strange bedfellows.

Aman family

So what's in this Musa-Ansari pact?

Given his close ties with the Aman family dating back to the 1990s, comments on the blogs place Ansari as a “Musa plant” in which case Umno and PKR, at least at state level, are in cohorts against Yong.

A politically dead Yong would be a blessing for Sabah BN and a guarantee of Musa's hold on Sabah.

Ansari has a chequered past. He left Berjaya and joined the newly formed Sabah Umno in the 1990s. He quit Umno in the late 1990s and joined Bersekutu, a newly formed local party said to be linked to former Berjaya leaders.

Anifah Aman, who is Foreign Minister, was allegedly supposed to join him (Ansari) in the new party but for some reasons changed his mind.

Still, their friendship didn't end there. Ansari's name has time and again been linked to the Aman family.

Some observers view Ansari's political moves as opportunistic. They've also speculated that Ansari's link to the wealthy Aman brothers is the reason he has PKR vice-president Azmin Ali's support.

"Ansari knows where and how to get the money. In the last general election, he was loaded. He even bought a brand new four-wheel-drive after he came back from China. Some PKR leaders were asking where he got the money.

"That's why people say he is being fed by Anifah. Anifah was in China at the time of Ansari's China trip too," said a source.

Loyalty issue

This has raised suspicions among some PKR members about Ansari's loyalty to the party.

His most recent statement denying a pact between Sabah PKR and SAPP and claiming that PKR was prepared to “give way” to SAPP to contest against BN on a one-on-one basis came as a surprise to party insiders.

"When Anwar (Ibrahim, PKR de factor leader) asked Yong to step aside... it was clear that PKR was moving in. There was no question of giving way to SAPP.

"If that was the idea, then Anwar would have waited till after the joint meeting. When both parties met they had agreed the common enemy was BN... and they were aiming to break BN's support.

"But somewhere between that joint meeting in Penampang and now, things have changed," said a PKR insider, who added that rumours of Sabah money being channelled to support certain leaders in the current PKR party elections were also rife.

Meanwhile, the notable absence of PKR Sabah's point man Jeffrey Kitingan in Ansari's campaign has also further fuelled rumours of a probable “Musa-Ansari pact”.

"Jeffrey doesn't work with him (Ansari)... and there are many other leaders here too who avoided him... isn't that strange?" asked a PKR supporter.

'Go back to Galas even if you must crawl'

By FMT Staff

KUALA LUMPUR: In a by-election where every single vote counts, PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat is urging the 'sons of Galas', living outside of the constituency, to return to cast their votes on Nov 4 even if it means 'crawling home.'

"I urge all to return...if you cannot fly back then drive. If you can't drive (back to Galas) then walk...crawl even but just go back and cast your votes," said Nik Aziz who is also Kelantan Menteri Besar.

The fight in Galas is a neck-to-neck race between Umno-Barisan Nasional candidate Abdul Aziz Yusoff, 49 and PAS-Pakatan Rakyat's Dr Zulkelfi Mohamed 44.

The seat fell vacant following the death of PAS assemblyman, Che Hashim Sulaima on Sept 27. In the 2008 general election, Che Hashim beat Umno-BN Mohamad Saufi Deraman by 646-vote margin. Until 2008, Galas was an Umno-BN stronghold.

Speaking to a 100 'anak Galas' living and working in Kuala Lumpur yesterday he said : "Go home and cast your votes ... It's a bigger sin to allow the non-believers (kafirs), destroyers of our economy and our faith (akidah) to continue.

Nik Aziz also urged Galas constituents to dismiss Umno allegations that administrating a country was a 'political matter and not suited for religion.'

Said Nik Aziz: "Conquering land and nation is a right that dates back to the days of the Prophet. What is happening now is not a PAS creation but it is the demands of the religion.

"It's not just PAS and Umno who are battling, even the Prophet Nabi Muhammad SAW during his time fought his brothers Abu Lahab, Abu Jahal and Abu Sufian for the state.

"We should in fact be battling with MCA and MIC not Umno....but what to do such is our fate," he said during the 'Tea with the Kelantan Menteri Besar' function held here.

Also present were senior state excutive councillors Husam Musa, Takiyuddin Hassan, Abdul Fatah Mahmood, PAS polls director Halim Abdul Rahman and local leaders from the Galas constituency.

Galas by-election candidate Zulkefli however was not present.

The evening also saw Nik Aziz handing over hundreds of mini-flags to Zulkefli's representatives for distribution to supporters.

He told the 'anak Galas' to "put these flags on your cars as you drive back to cast your votes in Galas!"

Selangor slams Syabas for Tabung Budi gimmick

By Stephanie Sta Maria

PETALING JAYA: The Selangor government has dismissed the Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd's (Syabas) Tabung Budi programme as a “gimmick” to cover up the utility's misdeeds.

In a press statement today, Selangor menteri besar's political secretary, Faekah Husin, said the Tabung Budi programme was a clash of intentions between Syabas and the state government.

The programme was launched by Syabas last week to tackle what it sees as a lopsided blanket distribution of free water by the government to Selangor residents.

Under the programme, Selangor residents have a choice to pay for the 20 cubic metres of free water they receive from the state every month, valued at RM11.40. This sum would be collected by Syabas to help other residents who have no access to clean water.

However, Faekah claimed that this method was “nonsensical” as the state government was paying Syabas the full amount of RM11 million a month. If Syabas collected the water subsidies, she added, the company would be receiving double payments on the 20 cubic metres.

“Syabas corporate affairs executive director Abdul Halim Mat Som explained that the donations would be channelled to families who are not receiving free water at all,” Faekah noted. “My question is, why doesn't Syabas just give them the water without claiming full payment from the state government?”

“Even more astounding is that a portion of these funds that are supposedly meant to help the needy include an RM11.40 salary cut from Syabas employees. Is this a blanket salary cut for all employees? Will the technician who earns RM2,000 a month be subjected to the same cut as the Syabas executive director Rozali Ismail who earns RM425,000 a month?”

Non-transparent manner

Faekah said that if Syabas is truly sincere about practising social responsibility, then it should begin by engaging an independent auditor to evaluate the appropriate remuneration package for Rozali.

She also questioned Syabas' move to launch such a programme at a time when its integrity is “severely tarnished”.

Faekah referred to Syabas' audit report which showed that more than 72% of contracts worth RM600 million were awarded without an open tender and executed in a non-transparent manner.

“When Syabas' public accounts were compared to the records of those contracts, there was a discrepancy of RM325 million,” she pointed out. “Where has this money gone?

“According to the records, Syabas has also splurged RM51.2 million on office renovations although the Selangor Water Regulatory Department had only approved an expenditure of RM23.2 million.”

Faekah accused Syabas of violating a consensus condition by awarding a RM375 million contract to purchase pipes to an Indonesian company when the condition clearly stated that only locally manufactured pipes were to be used.

She added that investigations revealed that the Indonesian company belonged to Rozali himself.

“It is obvious that the Tabung Budi programme is no more than a gimmick and public relations stunt to restore Syabas' smeared image,” she said. “Syabas' insincerity was made even more evident when the Hulu Selangor MP P Kamalanathan graced the launching ceremony even after Abdul Halim requested that this initiative not be politicised.”

“The government calls on Syabas to stop using this programme as a mask for its shoddy management and to return the Selangor people's right to free water. Don't 'donate' hundreds of ringgit while simultaneously stealing hundreds of millions from the people.”

Survey: Galas youths behind PAS

By FMT Staff

GUA MUSANG: Young voters in Galas will cast their votes for PAS in the Nov by-election, according to an independent research body.

Ilham Centre chief executive officer Muhamad Hisomuddin Bakar said a poll of young voters between the ages of 21 and 40 years had shown strong support for PAS here. Youths under 40 years of age comprise 43% of Galas voters.

"We made telephone calls to 2,150 young citizens in the Galas constituency.

"They were aged between 21 and 40. Of this 320 youths responded positively to our questions. They were youths from different districts in Galas," said Muhamad Hisomuddin.

He said of the 320 respondents, 168 confessed that they would vote for PAS and 41 said they supported Barisan Nasional.

"The balance 112 voters were undecided and expect to make their decision in the coming few day, " he said .

He said Ilham Centre has been monitoring by-elections since the 2008 general election and thus far its analysis of the various by-elections have been precise.

Citing Bagan Pinang as an example, Muhamad Hisomuddin said from the onset their surveys had shown that PAS was weak in the area.

Eventually BN's Isa Samad won the Bagan Pinang by-election.

"Our surveys are accurate and actual reflection of the ground views. In the Bagan Pinang by-election for instance, we predicted from the beginning that PAS was weak in the constituency," he said.

Chegu Bard pledges more grassroots power

By Zefry Dahalan

SEREMBAN: Badrul Hisham Shaharin has pledged to institute the “one member one vote system” in the election of PKR youth’s state leaders if he becomes the movement’s new national chief.

Currently, the national youth chief appoints the state chiefs, who in turn appoint their deputies, vice-chiefs and committee members.

"This is not true democracy,” said Badrul Hisham, popularly known as Chegu Bard.

“In certain cases the choice of the state chiefs does not reflect the actual preference of the majority of the youth members in those states."

He said it “only makes sense” that PKR’s direct election system should cover the selection of top brass at the state level as well.

“I plan to introduce a state-level youth congress in order to let the grassroots members choose the leaders they want,” he added.

"There is no point of appointing a leader at state level who doesn't command respect from the division leaders or members.

"All the state leaders, including the state committee members, should be elected by the members, not appointed by the state leader."

Hidden hand at work?

Chegu Bard also expressed concern about the inefficiency of PKR headquarters in handling the current election.

He said it surprised him to find out that incumbent youth wing chief Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin’s name had been substituted for his as the nominee of the Libaran, Tampin and Jelebu divisions.

"If nominations for Badrul Hisham can be easily changed to Shamsul Iskandar, what will happen if contestants’ names are similar?” he said.

To verify Chegu Bard’s claim, FMT checked with Tampin youth chief Muhamad Zam Rusli, who confirmed that the division did nominate Chegu Bard.

"I even informed Tampin PKR division chief Baharuddin Siri that we nominated Chegu Bard for national youth chief,” Muhamad Zam said.

“Baharuddin supported our nomination. But now I am informed by Chegu Bard that the record at PKR headquarters shows Tampin nominated Shamsul Iskandar instead.

"How can be this happen? There must be a hidden hand doing all this and all this indicates that transparency is lacking in the election process.”

Muhamad Zam urged the party’s leadership to arrest the problem before the confidence of grassroots members dwindled further.

PAS orders civilian arrest of vote buyers and lie peddlars

By FMT Staff

GUA MUSANG: With three days to go before the Galas by-election, PAS is tightening its campaign machinery to thwart what it believes is Umno’s last-minute strategy — a cash-for-vote campaign.

Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah, PAS’s operations advisor for the by-election, said the party expected the bribing to begin today.

He issued a directive to his security officers yesterday that gave “signs to look out for”.

"We have directed all security teams at voting centres to take stern action against efforts to spread deceit and money,” he told newsmen.

"Whoever is caught spreading lies or attempting to bribe voters in these areas will have to face PAS security teams, who have been trained and tasked to carry out civilian arrests."

PAS would refer arrested individuals to higher authorities, he added.

Wan Abdul Rahim, who is the MP for Kota Baru, said PAS decided on the strategy after receiving "early information from reliable sources” about the vote-buying strategy, especially in the Sungai Terah area.

The bribe would be in the form of cash gifts of RM1,000 and television sets, he said.

Sungai Terah is the epicentre of the war between BN and PAS. In the last general election, it gave 500 votes towards the PAS’s victory in Galas. Che Hashim Sulaima beat BN candidate Mohamad Saufi Deraman by 646 votes.

Che Hashim died on Sept 27. This Thursday, PAS’s Dr Zulkefli Mohamad will face Umno’s Abdul Aziz Yusoff.

Eyeing the Malay voters

As campaigning moves into the sixth day, both sides are focussing on the Malay votes, which are said to be split down the middle between the two contenders.

"Both sides will be focussing on the Sungai Terah balloting area,” Wan Abdul Rahim said. “In the 2008 general election, PAS received 69 percent of the votes there.

"BN believes that if they can liquidate PAS support in this area, then victory is theirs. It will be a tight fight in Sungai Terah."

He said PAS was confident of retaining Orang Asli support and increasing Chinese support.

The Galas state constituency has 1,889 Orang Asli voters in five settlements — Pos Balar, Pos Hendrop, Pos Bihai, Pos Hau and Pos Brooke.

Since the 2004 general election, the Orang Asli, especially the young, have been showing open support for PAS.

After 2008, observers note a similar trend among the Chinese, who were BN faithfuls before. Galas has the most number of Chinese after Kota Lama, another state seat.

The focus of MCA and Gerakan in the next few days will be to reel in at least 50% of the 2,317 Chinese votes.

Pua throws a dare to Awang Selamat

By Patrick Lee

KUALA LUMPUR: Unimpressed with Utusan Malaysia columnist Awang Selamat's comments, DAP has challenged the paper to an open discussion on its stance over the Malays.

"I challenge Awang Selamat, and anyone from Utusan Malaysia to take part in an open discussion regarding the DAP and the Malays," PJ Utara Tony Pua said at the Parliament lobby today.

He also said that if Utusan backed down from his challenge, it showed the newspaper's lack of integrity, and its inability to defend itself under fire.
In a recent Mingguan Malaysia column, Awang Selamat had referred to the DAP as the most racist political party in the world.

(Awang Selamat is a psuedonym normally used by the Mingguan's senior editors. Owned by Umno, Mingguan Malaysia is the weekend version of the Malay-language Utusan Malaysia.)

Awang also said that the DAP was the most dangerous threat that the country had ever faced, and would constantly hide behind the slogans of democracy.

In response, Pua mockingly said: "This includes the Japanese Occupation, the Communist insurgency, the Indonesian (confrontation), everything else."

Awang had warned that accepting the DAP would mean bad news for the country. "But the implications (of DAP) are very great. Our constitution, position in Islam and monarchy system will become rubbish (taruhan), turning Malaysia into a republic. Is that what we want?" he said.

Condemning Utusan's comments as both extreme and excessive, Pua said that the Umno-owned paper had repeatedly attacked the Pakatan Rakyat-run Penang government and many DAP members in the past.

Strong evidence

He said these attacks included accusations heaped on Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching for addressing a crowd at the Al-Huda surau in Kajang Sentral, and Pua's own words on the Bumiputera housing discount.

Pua had suggested that the Selangor government remove the Bumiputera discount for the buying of houses worth more than RM500,000 and commercial property worth more than RM2 million.

In a tit-for-tat, Pua said that DAP had strong evidence of Utusan Malaysia as the most racist newspaper in the world. He also named Utusan as the greatest threat that the country had ever faced.

He criticised newspaper for hiding its writers' identities behind the name “Awang Selamat”, likening them to “snipers”.

"We give Utusan the chance to defend its position, and not to act like cowards when faced with a challenge," he said.

"The attacks by Utusan on the DAP have been both extreme and excessive. They have attacked the Penang government for our stance on welfare, land acquisitions, hawkers and have accused us of chasing the Malays out of Penang," Pua said.

Instead, the MP claimed that the Malays had been treated well in all state governments where the DAP had been a part of.

PKR blames ‘human error’ for polls results mix-up

UPDATED @ 03:19:33 PM 01-11-2010

By Debra Chong

November 01, 2010

PETALING JAYA, Nov 1 — PKR has denied that its first direct election process had been compromised following discrepancies in online results of the leading candidates with the official figures.

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail attributed the discrepancies to “human error”.

“Our pengawas [election officials] work round the clock,” Saifuddin told a news conference at the PKR headquarters here.

He had minutes ago announced that Azmin Ali was in the lead for the PKR deputy presidency with a current total of 3,051 votes, trailed by Datuk Zaid Ibrahim in second place with 2,529 votes and Mustafa Kamil Ayub in third place with 1,149 votes.

Earlier this morning, the party secretariat had broadcast on its official website and through Twitter that Zaid and strategic director Chua Tian Chang were ahead in their respective bids for the deputy presidency and a vice-president’s posts.

The results show that Zaid, chairman of the Federal Territory PKR, garnered 3,683 votes while vice-president Azmin received 3,051 votes.

Mustaffa, also a vice-president, received 1,241 votes.

As many as 68 party divisions by yesterday completed voting, which started last Friday.

Voting in other divisions will be held over the next seven days.

The Pasir Mas election, which was supposed to be held last Friday, has been postponed to November 6.

Saifuddin explained that the initial results were communicated to the party secretariat through its various channels, including phone calls and the mix-up likely happened then as the officials monitoring the voting process were tired from working round-the-clock.

Despite the fact that different tallies had been posted on its official website and Twitter account, Saifuddin insisted the mix-up had not affected the party’s integrity.

“Compared to other sources, the [results] we ‘pc-ed’ today is regarded as the supreme,” the Machang MP said.

“This is a very open system. Even if there is a dispute, we can check back our documents,” he said, referring to the tally sheets signed by the assigned party election officials.

Saifuddiun stressed that only the results uttered directly from his own lips should be taken as official, and advised the media not to refer to any other source.

He added he would be holding a weekly news conference to verify the official results of the ongoing party polls for the next three weeks, until the election ends on November 22.

The voting process to select members for the party’s central leadership council will be held in other divisions over the next seven days.

The Pasir Mas election, which was supposed to be held last Friday, has been postponed to November 6.

The PKR elections are being closely watched as it is touted as the first truly democratic process for a Malaysian political party where each ordinary member is given a chance to vote in the leader of his choice.

Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957 (part 9 of the series on the Social Contract)

After the Constitutional Conference that was held in London from 18th January to 6th February 1956, attended by representatives of the Malay Rulers as well as the newly elected Alliance government of Malaya, a Federation of Malaya Independence Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1957 to spell out the terms of Malayas independence. Again, no mention of any special rights and privileges.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957

1957 CHAPTER 60

An Act to make provision for and in connection with the establishment of the Federation of Malaya as an independent sovereign country within the Commonwealth.

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1. Provision for establishment of the Federation as an independent sovereign country.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the approval of Parliament is hereby given to the conclusion between Her Majesty and the Rulers of the Malay States of such agreement as appears to Her Majesty to be expedient for the establishment of the Federation of Malaya as an independent sovereign country within the Commonwealth.

(2) Any such agreement as aforesaid may make provision

(a) for the formation of the Malay States and of the Settlements of Penang and Malacca into a new independent Federation of States under a Federal Constitution specified in the agreement, and for the application to those Settlements, as States of the new Federation, of State Constitutions so specified;

(b) for the termination of Her Majesty's sovereignty and jurisdiction in respect of the said Settlements, and of all other Her p! ower and jurisdiction in and in respect of the Malay States or the Federation as a whole, and the revocation or modification of all or any of the provisions of the Federation of Malaya Agreement, 1948, and of any other agreements in force between Her Majesty and the Rulers of the Malay States.

(3) Any such agreement shall be conditional upon the approval of the new Federal Constitution by enactments of the existing Federal Legislature and of each of the Malay States; and upon such approval being given Her Majesty by Order in Council may direct that the said Federal and State Constitutions shall have the force of law within the said Settlements, and, so far as She has jurisdiction in that behalf, elsewhere within the Federation, and may make such other provision as appears to Her to be necessary for giving effect to the agreement.

(4) Any Order in Council under this section shall be laid before Parliament after being made.

(5) In this Act "the appointed day" means such day as may be specified by Order in Council under this section as the day from which the said Federal Constitution has the force of law as aforesaid.

2. Operation of existing laws.

(1) On and after the appointed day, all existing law to which this section applies shall, until otherwise provided by the authority having power to amend or repeal that law, continue to apply in relation to the Federation or any part thereof, and to persons and things in any way belonging thereto or connected therewith, in all respects as if no such agreement as is referred to in subsection (1) of section one of this Act had been concluded:

Provided that

(a) the enactments referred to in the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect as from the appointed day subject to the amendments made by that Schedule (being amendments for applying in relation to the Federation certain statutory provisions applicable to Commonwealth countries having fully responsible status within Her Majesty's dominions);

(b) Her Majesty may by Orde! r in Cou ncil make such further adaptations in any Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed before the appointed day, or in any instrument having effect under any such Act, as appear to Her necessary or expedient in consequence of the agreement referred to in subsection (1) of section one of this Act;

(c) in relation to the Colonial Development and Welfare Acts, 1940 to 1955, this subsection shall have effect only so far as may be necessary for the making of payments on or after the appointed day in pursuance of schemes in force immediately before that day and in respect of periods falling before that day;

(d) nothing in this section shall be construed as continuing in force any enactment or rule of law limiting or restricting the legislative powers of the Federation or any part thereof.

(2) An Order in Council made under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(3) An Order in Council made under this section may be varied or revoked by a subsequent Order in Council so made and may, though made after the appointed day, be made so as to have effect from that day.

(4) In this section "existing law" means any Act of Parliament or other enactment or instrument whatsoever, and any rule of law, which is in force on the appointed day or, having been passed or made before the appointed day, comes into force after that day; and the existing law to which this section applies is law which operates as law of, or of any part of, the United Kingdom, Southern Rhodesia, or any colony, protectorate or United Kingdom trust territory except that this section

(a) does not apply to any law passed by the Federal Legislature of Rhodesia and Nyasaland;

(b) applies to other law of, or of any part of, Southern Rhodesia so far only as concerns law which can be amended neither by a law passed by the Legislature thereof nor by a law passed by the said Federal Legislature; and

(c) applies to other law of, or of any part of, ! Northern Rhodesia or Nyasaland so far only as concerns law which cannot be amended by a law passed by the said Federal Legislature.

(5) References in subsection (4) of this section to a colony, a protectorate and a United Kingdom trust territory shall be construed as if they were references contained in the British Nationality Act, 1948.

3. Appeals from Supreme Court of Federation.

(1) Her Majesty may by Order in Council confer on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council such jurisdiction in respect of appeals from the Supreme Court of the Federation as appears to Her to be appropriate for giving effect to any arrangements made after the appointed day between Her Majesty and the Head of the Federation for the reference of such appeals to that Committee.

(2) An Order in Council under this section may determine the classes of cases in which, and the conditions as to leave and otherwise subject to which, any such appeal may be entertained by the said Committee, and the practice and procedure to be followed on any such appeal, and may in particular make such provision with respect to the form of the report or recommendation to be made by the Committee in respect of any such appeal, and the transmission to the Head of the Federation of such reports or recommendations, as appears to Her Majesty to be appropriate having regard to the said arrangements.

(3) Except so far as otherwise provided by Order in Council under this section, and subject to such modifications as may be so provided, the Judicial Committee Act, 1833, shall apply in relation to appeals under this section as it applies in relation to appeals to Her Majesty in Council.

(4) Arrangements made in pursuance of this section may apply to any appeal to Her Majesty in Council, or any application for leave to bring such an appeal, which is pending on the appointed day; but except as aforesaid nothing in this Act shall be construed as continuing in force any right of appeal to Her Majesty in Council from any court in the Fe! deration .

(5) An Order in Council made under this section may be varied or revoked by a subsequent Order in Council so made.

4. Interpretation, repeal and short title.

(1) References in this Act to any other enactment are references thereto as amended or extended by any subsequent enactment.

(2) The enactments described in the Second Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed, as from the appointed day, to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

(3) This Act may be cited as the Federation of Malaya Independence Act, 1957.

FIRST SCHEDULE

Consequential Amendments of Enactments

Nationality and Citizenship

1. Subsection (3) of section one of the British Nationality Act, 1948 (which specifies the Commonwealth countries whose citizens are British subjects or Commonwealth citizens) shall have effect as if for the words "and Ghana" there were substituted the words

Ghana and the Federation of Malaya; and the British Protectorates, Protected States and Protected Persons Order in Council, 1949, made in pursuance of sections thirty and thirty-two of that Act, shall have effect as if the references to the Malay States in section eight of that Order and in the Second Schedule thereto were omitted.

Armed forces

2. (1) References in the Army Act, 1955, the Air Force Act, 1955, and the Naval Discipline Act, 1957, to a colony or to territory under Her Majesty's protection shall not include any part of the Federation, and section two hundred and eighteen of the Army Act, 1955, section two hundred and sixteen of the Air Force Act, 1955, and subsection (3) of section one hundred and twenty-seven of the Naval Discipline Act, 1957, shall cease to have effect.

(2) In the definitions of "Commonwealth force" in subsection (1) of section two hundred and twenty-five of the Army Act, 1955, and in subsection (1) of section two hundred and twenty-three of the Air Force Act, 1955, an! d in the definition of "Commonwealth country" in subsection (1) of section one hundred and thirty-five of the Naval Discipline Act, 1957, for the words "or Ghana" there shall be substituted the words

Ghana or the Federation of Malaya.

(3) Until the coming into force of the Naval Discipline Act, 1957, sub-paragraph (2) of this paragraph shall have effect as if for the reference to the definition of "Commonwealth country" in subsection (1) of section one hundred and thirty-five of that Act there were substituted a reference to the definition of

Commonwealth force in section eighty-six of the Naval Discipline Act, as amended by the Revision of the Army and Air Force Acts (Transitional Provisions) Act, 1955.

3. Section four of the Visiting Forces (British Commonwealth) Act, 1933 (which deals with attachment and mutual powers of command), and the definition of "visiting force" for the purposes of that Act which is contained in section eight of that Act, shall apply in relation to forces raised in the Federation as they apply in relation to forces raised in Dominions within the meaning of the Statute of Westminster, 1931.

4. (1) In subsection (1) of section one of the Visiting Forces Act, 1952 (which specifies the countries to which that Act applies), for the words "or Ghana" there shall be substituted the words

Ghana or the Federation of Malaya; and in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section ten of that Act the expression "colony" shall not include any part of the Federation.

(2) Until express provision with respect to the Federation is made by Order in Council under section eight of the said Act of 1952 (which relates to the application to visiting forces of law relating to home forces), any such Order for the time being in force shall be deemed to apply to visiting forces of the Federation.

Diplomatic immunities

5. In section four hundred and sixty-one of the Income Tax Act, 1952 (which relates to exemption from income tax in the case of cert! ain Comm onwealth representatives and their staffs) for the words "or Ghana", in both places where those words occur, there shall be substituted the words

Ghana or the Federation of Malaya.

6. In subsection (6) of section one of the Diplomatic Immunities (Commonwealth Countries and Republic of Ireland) Act, 1952, after the word "Ghana" there shall be inserted the words

the Federation of Malaya.

Financial

7. As respects goods imported after such date as Her Majesty may by Order in Council appoint, section four of the Import Duties Act, 1932, and section two of the Isle of Man (Customs) Act, 1932 (which relate to imperial preference other than colonial preference) shall apply to the Federation.

8. (1) The Colonial Stock Acts, 1877 to 1948, shall apply in relation to stock of the Federation as they apply in relation to stock of a Dominion within the meaning of the Colonial Stock Act, 1934, but as if in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section one of the said Act of 1934 for any reference to Her Majesty's Government in the Dominion, to the Parliament of the Dominion or to the Royal Assent, there were substituted a reference to the Government or the Legislature of the Federation or to the Assent of the Head of the Federation.

(2) During any period on and after the appointed day during which there is in force as part of the law of the Federation any instrument passed or made before that day which makes provision corresponding to the undertaking required by the said paragraph (a), paragraphs (a) and (b) of the said subsection (1) shall be deemed to have been complied with in the case of the Federation.

Ships and aircraft

9. The Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1954, shall apply in relation to the Federation as they apply in relation to the Commonwealth countries mentioned in subsection (3) of section one of the British Nationality Act, 1948.

10. Without prejudice to the generality of the last foregoing paragraph

(a) in s! ubsectio n (2) of section four hundred and twenty-seven of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, as substituted by section two of the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act, 1949, for the words

or Ghana

there shall be substituted the words

Ghana or the Federation of Malaya; and

(b) in the proviso to subsection (2) of section six of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1948, for the words "or Ghana" there shall be substituted the words

Ghana or the Federation of Malaya.

11. In the definitions of "Dominion ship or aircraft" contained in subsection (2) of section three of the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act, 1939, and in Regulation one hundred of the Defence (General) Regulations, 1939, the expression " a Dominion " shall include the Federation.

12. The Ships and Aircraft (Transfer Restriction) Act, 1939, shall not apply to any ship by reason only of its being registered in, or licensed under the law of the Federation; and the penal provisions of that Act shall not apply to persons in the Federation (but without prejudice to the operation with respect to any ship to which that Act does apply of the provisions thereof relating to the forfeiture of ships).

13. In the Whaling Industry (Regulation) Act, 1934, the expression "British ship to which this Act applies" shall not include a British ship registered in the Federation.

Copyright

14. The references in section thirty-one of the Copyright Act, 1956, to a colony or to a country outside Her Majesty's dominions in which Her Majesty has jurisdiction shall not include any part of the Federation.

15. If the Copyright Act, 1911, so far as in force in the law of any part of the Federation, is repealed or amended by that law at a time when sub-paragraph (2) or paragraph 39 of the Seventh Schedule to the Copyright Act, 1956 (which applies certain provisions of that Act in relation to countries to which the said Act of 1911 extended) is in force in relation to that part of the Federation, the said sub-paragr! aph (2) shall thereupon cease to have effect in relation thereto.

[31st July 1957] Status: This is the original version (as it was originally enacted).

See What Barisan Nasional Gotta Say?

Day 7 - Nik Aziz gives land titles to Orang Asli

LIVE BLOG Quotable quotes, planned events and unplanned incidences as they occur. FREE BY-ELECTIONS What's happening in the by-election campaigns in the parliamentary constituency of Batu Sapi and the Galas state seat? Quotable quotes, planned events and unplanned incidences as they occur in P185 and N45. 11am (Galas): About 300 people wearing 1Malaysia t- shirts gather in Kampung Baru Pulai. This is the second of such event after the first walk held in Kampung Baru Gua Musang yesterday attracted more than 1,000 people. NONEAfter distributing goodies bags - containing Milo and milk drinking packets - to the participants, the 1Malaysia walk kicked off with about 300 shouting 1Malaysia slogans and walking towards Kampung Baru Pulai, a Chinese-majority area and a BN stronghold in Galas. 11.10am (Batu Sapi): In his daily press conference, PKR candidate Ansari Abdullah invites Chinese physician Chan Wah Heong to attend the briefing to express his thanks for treating his injuries following this second fall into the sea while campaigning. PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and PKR vice-president Azmin Ali are also present. 2pm (Galas): PAS mursyidul am Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat to hold a press conference in Lojing after visiting Orang Asli settlements there. He is also expected to give out land titles to the community there. 9pm (Galas): PAS will hold two ceramah: Amar Abdullah and Nassuruddin Daud will address the crowd in Kampung Kerinting, while Husam Musam and Mohd Fazdli Hassan will be at Felcra Panggung Lalat. Test Test

BN’s Platform in Galas and Batu Sapi

by batsman

It is obvious that the BN’s platform in Galas and Batu Sapi is its claim to be able to bring development. To prove its point, it has built roads and even houses or promised to build roads and houses in these areas.

Yet this is just one of the responsibilities of the federal government. Worse, BN deprives the state government of oil royalties and insults it by offering wang ehsan and then makes the claim by saying the Kelantan State Government has no money to bring development to the state. This is like beating up someone and saying that victim is ugly and repulsive with scars and bruises.

It is also obvious that the federal government is using public radio and television for its BN’s political campaigns. In fact dragonblood Rahmat has claimed in his book that the BN uses public servants for their elections campaigns. Perhaps we should now describe government servants as public servants from now on since if we use the term government servant, the BN controlled federal government is more than likely to use public servants for BN’s party political purposes – as BN’s personal servants.

With all the power and resources under its control, the BN can easily outdo the opposition in its claim to bring development. Those areas which do not vote BN will be starved of development. This is not the job of any government to discriminate. Perhaps we should also not practice racial discrimination from now on since practicing racial discrimination tends to allow the BN to discriminate against voters that did not vote for it. This is only following trends and traditions and it is so easy to follow trends and traditions.

In fact if the PR follows trends and traditions when it comes to power, it should also have the resources and power to bring the same development in equal measure to the voters who voted for it. So the ability to bring development is a false claim. It is the government’s responsibility to bring development and if the BN hijacks this claim for itself in a party political manner, it seems it has a boastful yet empty platform.

Thus it is that in reality, the BN only has the claim to be able to discriminate and to make false claims. This is also traditional – at least for the BN. Its favourite tactic is to racially discriminate and thus split the country apart along racial lines. It even discriminates when it offers broadband computers to the poor since it controls who gets it and who does not. It even discriminates when it offers subsidized diesel to fishermen since it controls who qualifies and who does not. The BN is an out and out discriminatory government.

In fact it should not surprise anyone that after giving away free computers and subsidized diesel, it viciously blames and accuses the recipients of selling these giveaways for a quick buck and then tightens the conditions so that it retains an even greater control on who gets freebies and who does not. The BN is a government that interferes in your everyday routine lives in any way it can (under the excuse you are not mature enough or adult enough to decide for yourself) just to enjoy that control and power it exercises.

The BN is also very fond of making false claims and practicing calumny. A RM285 million project for military base is uncompleted and yet the claims have gone up to RM 465 million. If this is not making false claims, what is? The PKFZ scandal – the original budget was (it is delayed so long I can’t even remember what the figure is now, RM 3 – 4 billion?), but the claims have gone up 3 – 4 times the budgeted amount to a possible RM 12 billion. If this does not show a great expertise in making false claims what is?

And then not just once but 2 sodomy accusations? This is expertise way beyond world class. Malaysia truly Boleh!

OK, so the BN federal government says that what I say is bullshit since it is building the 2nd Penang bridge even though the Penang state government is under the opposition. All I can say is that bear in mind the great ability of the BN to make false claims. Further, the toll has not been fixed yet. If the toll for the finished bridge is RM25 for a private car and RM50 for a commercial vehicle, then the BN would have got a strangle hold on Penang’s jugular. So Penangites should not celebrate the 2nd bridge just yet and wait to see what happens before celebrating.

In fact bearing in mind the BN’s great expertise for making false claims, it would not surprise me one bit if the houses built in Gua Musang cost at least triple the budgeted amount to build. Anyone bothered to check? So it may be the usual story of “one for you and 3 – 10 for me, whatever I can get away with”.

In Kelantan, the BN robs the Kelantanese of oil royalties and then say the state government has no money to bring development to the state. In Sabah, the BN robs Sabahan’s blind and says it is the only one that can bring development to the state. In Malaysia in general, the BN brings in Indonesians immigrants by the boatload and says it no longer needs the votes of the Chinese and Indians.

What a great federal government we have! We have a federal government that can do no wrong! We are truly blessed! No wonder the people voted it into power for over 50 years! heeheehee.

Anal Retentive dUMNO speech - Part 2

By dUMNO

Selamat Sejahtera, Ketuanan NON NON, Melayu, NON, dan lain-lain seklian. Yesterday, I was told that my terrer-terrer England was good. Today, I will continue to speaking England even more terrer-er, and address the Nation. The Land where my Blood Spill. Actually, no, My blood spilled in Indonesia, but you, the real and original Malays are too stupid to know that. Really. Doktor Kerala said in his previously banned book, right on the first page, "Malays are STUPID because they are so inbred". Hahahahahaha, but because that book was "wrotten" in England, no one knew how to read it. We, the NON NONs have kept the real and original Malays stupid enough for the past 50 years, and now have overthrown the country. We, the dUMNO NON NON' are now the Ketuanan Kings !! Even the stupid 9 Kings are scared of us !!!

You, the real and original Malays are really so stupid, as Doktor Kerala said. We, the NON NONs gave you a few goats and cows, and you became happy. In return, we have robbed the country blind of everything. We are so damn blardy proud of it, that even though we discussed it openly the other day, telling the entire world where we, the NON NON's datang from, and yet, you stupid real, and original Malays did absolutely NOTHING !!! You are No Stupider than a rock !! I repeat !!

The real and original Malays of Malaysia are no stupider than a ROCK !!! And just as stupid are the other NON'. Yeah, those sons of Prostitutes and Beggars, and the "dan lain-lain" groups have all believed in our NON NON lies, and sit and beg us for more. Well, almost all, except for that stupid Famous Porn Star who insists on still discussing it. And then worse, there's another group, who all went to skool, or university or something want to challenge our NON NON lie of the non-written document. We, the NON NON's already said, "STOP asking questions and shaddup !! " Unfortunately, they went to skool. And they passed. And they are more qualified than my Form 3 kertas.

And why am I so bold to speak up today, and say that the real and original Malays are STUPID?? Hahahahahahaha For once, I will tell you. Firstly, we have kept this secret from the entire world, and today, I have balls to say it, because the take-over of this country is complete. Firstly, let's start with the British. Itu Orang Haram can't tell the difference between a Batak, Jawa, Mojopohit, Minangkabau, Sunda, Sumba, Flores, Balinese nor a Turk !! They really don't know the difference. Heck, they can't tell the difference if we brought in an extra Thai, or a Burmese !! They think all brown people are the same. So that's the first weakness. Hah, ada lagi !! The dumb British simply used a term discontinued since 1885 called Malayo-Polynesian. And we said that the word Polynesian is too susah to pronounce, so, Malayo is easier, and we decided to use keep the word Malayo. That term is actually dumb, because it links two separate groups together as one. It's just like saying "Filipina Arab", or "Brunei SingKaporian". No meaning, right? Ya, Kita tahu, so we took advantage of that, and decided on the word "Malay".

Next. Phase Two. We, the NON NON Perajurits of Srivijaya then decided to infiltrate Malaya. Firstly, there were only 50,000 real and original Melayu (so stupid some more), in the Semenanjung, when the British were here. Today, we managed to import 12,000,000 pendatang NON NON's, and pretend to be Melayu !! Bt guess what? The stupid Melayu also can't tell the difference !!! Hahahahahahahaha !!

Bodoh betul ni orang. And the NON's also are stupid. No one knew how to do the Matematik, that to get from 50,000 to 12 million, you need every single real and original Melayu woman to give birth to more than 25 children, (whether the woman is living, or dead, child till grandmother !! Same tactic as our dead-voters-lah) Hahahahahahaha ! I don't care how itchy, or highly sexed, or how many kilos of Ali's walking stick you eat. You can even eat the entire tree for all I care !! No one can give birth to 25 children ever !! But the stupid Malays believed this was possible. Adoiiiiiiiiiiii....... No wonder Doktor Kerala said that you are bodoh betul !! He is so correct !!

You see all the nama Kampong which is all over Malaysia today. Kampong Jawa means the people datang from Jawa. Kampong Cham means the people datang from Champa. and so on. Practically every name of every Kampong has it's original Kampong name somewhere else. Even a stupid name like Lumut, has it's original Lumut in West Sumatera near Nias Island. Oh, Indonesia-Sayang, tanah tumpahnya darahku.. How I miss my motherland........... Fortunately, we can go back every year to menziarah our family during Raya.

Now, phase Tree. Or izzit Three? No one pronounces the "h" anyway, so Fasa Tiga is better.

The so obvious lie of ParameSonOfaSamsengFromSumateraWhoRanAwayFastFast as a pendatang and later having his bloodline murdered in Johor, means that there is no more bloodline. Except for that Perak Sultan. But how many of you know that he married an Orang Asli wife? Ha Dunno-leh. WHy? We, the NON NON keept he best secrets !! Best part is this... just because we call him a Sultan, then people believed. What qualifies one to be a Sultan? How come the Bendehara of Johore, who replaced the murdered Sultan, is called a Royal Blood today? See !! You stupid real and original Malays never think wan !!! Hahahahahaha, We tipu you kau-kau oso you dunno ! Wait, next I will declare myself to be the Sultan of Penang ! And make big big trouble for the NON LGE (sounds like LG Electronics) idiot !! Then I will Ketuanan him to death ! And maybe burn a few more churches like our brothers in Indonesia. They burnt 1,200 already. We only burnt 3 !! Cheh ! Celaka, we have a lot of catching up to do. I think I'll call my cousin from Java to come over next month and help me burn a few more here.

Phase four. Did you know that in 1963, Lee Kuan Yew qualified to be Prime Minister of Malaysia? Yep. We never tell you only. And that's why from that day onwards, we, the NON NONs decided that ALL Baba's and Nyonyas should NO LONGER be a Bumiputra !! That stupid LKY was a BABA !! And that babi BABA qualifies to become PM of Malaysia !! So, despite the fact that it was enshrined in the Constitution, we, the NON NONs decided to change the Constitution so that BABA's can no longer be Bumiputra. Since the other groups were too stupid, we allowed them to be Bumiputra. Like the Portuguese pendatangs are called Bumiputra. Did you all know that? But recently, the Orang Asli are now officially labelled Pendatang !! We, the Ketuanan NON NON's have Bastardized the Malaysian Constitution. And you know why? No one cares !!! Really !! Except for that stupid Fat Botak Fella, mana Ada??

And those who say anything intelligent, we, the NON NONs will say that you are insulting either the King, Islam, or combinations of that-lah. Simple, we just make it up along the way. No wonder we have Ketuanan. This is Ketuanan is really about. And we love it, and we will defend our rights, of Ketuananhood for the next 50 years. And not afraid of Crushing Bodies, and Bloodletting so that we can defend PutraJaya. Ya. God told us to tell you stupid real and original Malays to go screw yourselves !! We have even taken your name, identity, and your rights. After all, there's only 50,000 of you, of whom so many of us Pendatang NON NONs have screwed (literally, for RM20), and have children, that the Rojak kids that are running around the streets are worthless Mongrels. Just like the NONs, and the "dan Lain-lain" B**tards.

You know what irritates me the most-ah. This Fat Botak Fella and his STUPID website, who now lives in England. Ya!! THAT Fat Botak fella !! Say his name oso I sakit kepala ah !! Arrest him so many times oso he dowan to give up. Threaten his son to makan razor blade oso he dowan to give up. Call his wife ugly, oso he degil !! How-lah laidet? Yeeeeeeeeeeee. Denki sama dia !! He, and his friends are such a pain in the ass to dUMNO !!! Naymine, next time we plan something teruk for him. Must ask those Israeli PR fellas again. Pay them 20 million dunno for what. Haiz... they only know how to enjoy Bak Kut Teh. OK-lah, send my NON to Tapau a few packets for them. Then we bincang.

Finally, I tell you what the biggest secret is. Remember the 50,000 real and original Malays whom I was speaking about? Ya. the secret is this. Peninsular don't have anymore. The Real and Original Malays all live in Sarawak !! Yes, all the 50,000 real and original Malays, the only leftover true-blue Malays of Malaysia, live in Sarawak !! Did you know that the only Malays in the World, live in Kepulauan Riau, Palembang, SingKapor, Brunei, Philippines and Sarawak only? I benci that Hornbill State-lah !! Why? Coz dUMNO can't infiltrate that state at all !!! Imagine that !!! The ONLY State in Malaysia which has real unadulterated true-blue Malay Blood, and we, the Ketuanan NON NON's cannot go in there. I tell you-lah, we scared !!

We can wayang maximum here on the Semenanjung, but cannot touch those buggers there in Sarawak !! Look at the banci stats-lah. They will show you that Malays are 3% in Sarawak. And that 3% are 50,000 !!! Adoiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.... Maybe I should go and call Guruji, and slaughter a few more chickens, and see how....

Naymine. Speaking of chickens, I will now go find myself another chicken to screw. Maybe find one of those cute-cute S$12,000 ones in SingKapor. Can ponteng meeting werd. Hahahahahaha. Anyone of you want to organize meeting in SingKapor tell me OK? And don't say "Ngak Bisa, Dong..." I slap you ah... Already you create enough trouble by bringing all your Indonesian and Indian Culture over. Already we changed original Malay to Bahasa Baku, which is a direct copy of Bahasa Indonesia, not enough for you izzit? Eh, You almost got everyone into trouble about Batik, Pendet, and Rasa Sayang. Dun-lah Laidet. We can only defend you so much-leh.

Lastly, one can walk into dUMNO meeting, and say "P*** MELAYU", and NO ONE will get insulted. Why? Coz we all already announced that we, the NON NON's are Jawa, Sumatera, Bugis, Sulawesi, Aceh, Pattani, Batak, Turki and so on. Mana ada Melayu, other than Sarawak? Hahahahahahaha And Sarawak does not have dUMNO members. Bodoh punya NON, Bodoh punya Melayu, and Bodoh punya "dan lain-lain".

VIVA Ketuanan dUMNO !!
Kita sudah menang !! Yeayyyyyyyy !!

*Note from Admin: If you missed the first part of this speech, CLICK HERE to be enlightened.

Sabah rights a SAPP afterthought in Batu Sapi

By Joe Fernandez

ANALYSIS Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Yong Teck Lee is challenging Chief Minister Musa Aman to a public debate on the issue of Sabah rights. There’s nothing but cynicism among Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) members over the issue of Sabah rights being flogged by SAPP in the campaign underway in Batu Sapi, and with good reasons.

Yong, they say, is the very reason why Umno is in Sabah today and the state’s autonomy has been seriously compromised subsequently as a result.

When the Mahathir government held Jeffrey Kitingan in the 1990s under the Internal Security Act (ISA), ostensibly for plotting Sabah’s secession, not many of the present champions of state rights including Yong raised even a murmur in public.

Just before the PBS pullout from BN in 1990, Jeffrey confronted Yong on the matter and raised the possibility that might result in him being detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) since he was the party advisor. Yong, then a PBS deputy president, replied that “the detention (Jeffrey’s) under ISA would be a small sacrifice for Sabah”.

Jeffrey’s take then was that the PBS pullout from BN would give the authorities additional reasons for his detention besides his campaign for Sabah rights. Yong convinced another deputy president, Bernard Giluk Dompok, that PBS should pull out from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN). Both then prevailed upon Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan to make that fateful decision on the eve of the general election in 1990. Jeffrey was held under the ISA as Mahathir felt that it would be the best way to punish Pairin.

The PBS pullout from BN gave Mahathir the excuse that he had been waiting for to send Umno into Sabah. The issue of Sabah rights was consigned to the dustbin by the federal government. The rest is history.

Yong was also instrumental in Umno seizing control of Sabah in 1994 from PBS after the latter had successfully fought the state election for an unprecedented fourth term. This was despite Yong deserting the party on the eve of the state election and getting the registration of SAPP approved within 24 hours. Yong formed SAPP and aligned himself with Umno in the state election after Pairin rejected his demand that he (Yong) be given the exclusive right to name all the Chinese PBS candidates.

Pairin had better claim

Pairin, reportedly Sabah’s best chess player, did not want Yong to pack PBS with only his supporters and ignore other Chinese leaders. Moreover, Yong’s demand out of the blue fuelled the psychic in Pairin that the former planned to flee after the state election and team up with Umno.

In any case, Yong’s SAPP won less Chinese seats than PBS and proved that he could not claim to be the undisputed leader of the community in Sabah. Pairin and PBS had an even better claim.

Yong’s “political mischief-making” did not end however with his party’s dismal three-seat performance in the 1994 state election to bolster Umno’s 20-seat win.

Yong called upon Sng Chee Hwa, the same Sarawak tycoon who took him to see Mahathir Mohamad and had SAPP approved, to help plot the downfall of the one-month-old PBS government. The moneybags came in from Labuan as well besides Sarawak. It was not long before both Dompok and Joseph Kurup were lured away from PBS to form their own parties and make common cause with Umno-SAPP. Other state assemblypersons from PBS joined Umno.

Yong was the kingpin after the Pairin administration fell and even went on to become Chief Minister for two years in a state government dominated ever since then by Umno. The issue of Sabah rights never crossed his mind.

Yong was also disqualified in the Likas election petition in 1999 over the electoral rolls being padded with illegal immigrants holding MyKads issued via the backdoor. After the setback, the Election Commission had a law passed in Parliament to state that no election result can be challenged once gazetted.

After Likas, Yong had no seat whether in the state assembly or Parliament until Batu Sapi presented itself. Yong has been in the political cold for a long spell and hopes that he can redeem himself in Batu Sapi by harping on Sabah rights.

Main plank

Hence, it’s ironic that Yong today should make Sabah rights the main plank of his campaign in Batu Sapi. His challenge to an Umno chief minister on Sabah rights holds no water. An Umno chief minister cannot be expected to stand up for Sabah rights.

Yong has a lot of explaining to do on the autonomy of Sabah being compromised by his various acts of commission and omission, overtly and covertly, after he had a good 10-year run in PBS. He should explain what Umno is doing in Sabah today. He was willing to trash PBS in the process of facilitating the entry of the Peninsular Malaysia-based Umno into Sabah. Now, he sheds “crocodile tears” over Sabah rights after having done in the most powerful local party ever to dominate the politics of the state.

Yong is treading on a minefield with his emphasis on Sabah rights. PBS does not have to explain what it has done so far for Sabah rights. The party was in the forefront with its “Sabah for Sabahans” campaign theme from 1985. Yong has since borrowed the theme for Batu Sapi resulting in Musa Aman labeling his approach as out-dated.

All PBS has to do is to tell the people that it was doing well on the issue of Sabah rights until Yong teamed up with the ruling Malay elite in Kuala Lumpur and threw a spanner in the works.

Now, PBS’s options on Sabah rights are limited as a member of the BN. It was this realisation that led to Pairin advising his brother, Jeffrey, to make his own independent waves on the issue of Sabah rights.

Jeffrey appears to be doing well on that score despite distractions like that posed by Yong trying to hijack the issue of Sabah rights for his self-serving agenda.

BN leaders, too, especially from Dompok’s United PasokMomogun KadazanDusunMurut Organisation (Upko), have also jumped on the bandwagon of Sabah rights. Cynics swear that this is because they have been left out from the spoils of office. All it takes is some federal government projects to be channelled their way to silence them on the issue of Sabah rights.