Gelombang kebangkitan rakyat dan skrip keramat BN di Kuala Terengganu

Ghazali Mayudin

Mon Jan 19, 09 5:42:58 pm MYT

Gelombang kebangkitan rakyat yang mahukan perubahan dalam politik dan pemerintahan negara berlaku dalam pilihan raya umum ke-12, Mac 2008. BN buat pertama kali gagal memperoleh majoriti dua pertiga dalam Parlimen dan tewas dalam empat negeri, di samping gagal merampas kembali Kelantan yang dikuasai PAS semenjak 1990.

Kebangkitan rakyat itu membawa kepada kewujudan Pakatan Rakyat iaitu gabungan PAS, KeADILan dan DAP yang berhasrat menjadi saingan sengit dan alternatif kepada BN. Kekalahan BN dalam dua pilihan raya kecil selepas Mac 2008 iaitu Permatang Pauh dan yang terbaru di Kuala Terengganu menunjukkan bahawa kebangkitan rakyat masih bergelora dan juga menggambarkan keyakinan bahawa mereka ada alternatif: sama ada memilih BN bermakna mengekalkan status quo atau memilih Pakatan Rakyat yang akan membawa perubahan.

Adanya alternatif yang diyakini dan serius ini adalah sesuatu yang baru dalam politik Malaysia selepas Mac 2008. Ini menjadikan politik Malaysia semakin menarik dan mencabar terutamanya kepada BN.

Keyakinan tentang adanya alternatif ini secara langsung memusnahkan momokan BN bahawa hanya parti itu sahaja yang boleh memerintah dan membawa Malaysia kearah kemajuan, sementara parti pembangkang hanya layak untuk terus menjadi parti pembangkang.

Kemenangan empat negeri di Pantai Barat membuktikan parti pembangkang, selain PAS, juga boleh memerintah, sekiranya diberi peluang.

Dalam konteks ini, pilihan raya kecil Kuala Trengganu bukanlah pilihan raya biasa, hanya tentang pertambahan atau pengurangan satu kerusi di Parlimen. Pilihan raya kecil ini boleh dijadikan ujian dan bukti sama ada momentum kesedaran dan kebangkitan rakyat yang menolak BN masih wujud atau tidak.

Oleh itu tidak hairanlah BN dan Pakatan Rakyat berhempas pulas memastikan calon yang diketengahkan menang dalam PRK ini. Kemenangan PAS di Kuala Trengganu membuktikan bahawa momentum kesedaran rakyat masih ada, dan ini bukanlah berita baik buat BN.
Momentum ke Sarawak

Dalam tempoh lebih kurang dua tahun lagi, rakyat Sarawak pula akan berpeluang untuk menentukan sama ada momentum itu terus meningkat atau telah mula menurun.

Sekiranya keputusan pilihan raya Dun Sarawak itu menunjukkan yang momentum itu masih wujud, maka isu yang dijangka akan mendasari pilihan raya umum ke-13 ialah parti manakah yang lebih layak memerintah Malaysia ? BN atau Pakatan Rakyat? Bagaimana pula respons Pakatan Rakyat dan BN terhadap kesedaran dan kebangkitan rakyat ini?

Pakatan Rakyat adalah antara pihak dan faktor yang memainkan peranan kepada timbulnya kesedaran di kalangan rakyat untuk berubah dan tentunya akan berusaha agar momentum itu akan berterusan dan lebih baik lagi kalau berlaku peningkatan. BN pula mungkin menerima hakikat kebangkitan rakyat itu, tetapi sehingga kini gagal untuk menangani dengan berkesan gelombang tersebut sebagaimana yang digambarkan oleh strategi dan tindakan BN dalam PRK Kuala Terengganu.

Dalam keadaan rakyat cukup bosan dengan sikap sebahagian pemimpin BN yang ego, berlagak serba tahu dan memandang rendah kebijaksanaan rakyat, BN pula meletakkan calon yang ada reputasi sebagai kurang mesra.

Poster, risalah dan ceramah digunakan untuk mewarwarkan calon BN tidak sombong, tetapi mesra rakyat.

Strategi dan tindakan BN untuk memenangi hati pengundi di Kuala Terengganu juga menampakkan yang parti itu seakan terperangkap dalam penjara yang dibinanya sendiri. Setelah memenangi puluhan pilihan raya, umum atau kecil, dengan skrip yang sama semenjak merdeka, maka skrip lama ini juga yang digunakan dalam pilihan raya abad ke-21 ini.

Isu pembangunan, penggunaan jentera kerajaan, ugutan terhadap rakyat dan kakitangan kerajaan, peruntukan segera untuk masjid, kuil, tokong, sekolah (dan lain-lain lagi), juga liputan media cetak dan elektronik yang berlebihan termasuklah berita ahli parti pembangkang yang melompat masuk BN adalah antara kandungan skrip yang telah membawa kemenangan kepada BN dalam banyak pilihan raya sebelum ini.

Oleh itu apabila ada pilihan raya, umum atau kecil, skrip keramat ini akan dikeluarkan dan digunakan dengan patuh. Itemnya sama, yang berbeza cuma kadar atau jumlahnya. Sekiranya perlu, ugutan diperkuatkan, jumlah peruntukan ditambah, penggunaan media dipertingkatkan, lebih lama dan lebih luas.

Pilihan raya kecil Kuala Terengganu menunjukkan yang gelombang kebangkitan rakyat masih bergelora dan BN gagal meredakan gelora itu dengan menggunakan skrip lama dalam setiap pilihan raya.

Soalnya, mampukah dan bolehkah BN mempunyai skrip baru? Kemungkinannya kecil selagi BN terbelenggu dan terpenjara dengan kaedah, taktik dan teknik lama yang telah membawa kemenangan dan keagungan parti itu dalam abad ke-20.
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Ghazali ialah Profesor Madya di Jabatan Sains Politik Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Najib gagal baca amaran awal kekalahan?

Ahmad Lutfi Othman

Mon Jan 19, 09 7:19:32 pm MYT

SEBELUM diisytihar menang pun, penampilan Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut sebagai calon PAS, mewakili Pakatan Rakyat, sudah menempa sejarah tersendiri. Pemilihannya memang tidak dijangka. Namanya dicalonkan di peringkat awal, tetapi khabarnya beliau sendiri menarik diri, untuk memberi laluan kepada tokoh-tokoh lain, dan antara yang disebut-sebut ialah Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi, Adun Batu Burok yang juga bekas Ahli Parlimen Kuala Terengganu (1999-2004) dan Mustafa Ali, Pesuruhjaya PAS Negeri.

Sejarah dibentuk lagi kemudiannya apabila persepakatan erat Pakatan Rakyat terserlah bermula dari hari penamaan calon, semasa kempen hinggalah hari pembuangan undi. Rasanya inilah kali pertama pimpinan utama DAP, diketuai Lim Kit Siang dan Lim Guan Eng aktif berkampung di kawasan majoriti Melayu, dan lebih menarik ia terletak di Kuala Terengganu.

"Cantiknya ia berlaku di Terengganu"

Apabila turun mengatur strategi dan berkempen bersama, tentulah "yang jauh dapat didekat, yang dekat dapat dimesrakan". Ada dakwaan mengatakan pimpinan PAS Terengganu agak tidak begitu "dekat dan mesra" bukan saja dengan pemimpinan DAP, malah KeADILan.

Sementara kemenangan dengan majoriti tidak terduga Abdul Wahid, iaitu 2,632 undi, disambut gema takbir (dan kemudiannya ratusan anak muda meraikannya di jalan-jalan sekitar bandar), Timbalan Presiden Umno, Najib Razak, yang mengemudi jentera kempen BN pasti terkedu dengan kekalahan bergandanya.

Permatang Pauh mungkin tidak memalukannya tetapi Kuala Terengganu nyata memberi tamparan hebat buat bakal Perdana Menteri, yang dijangka naik takhta Mac nanti.

Permatang Pauh dikenali sebagai kubu kuat Anwar Ibrahim sejak 1982 lagi, terletak pula di negeri Pakatan Rakyat. Sementara Kuala Terengganu milik Umno-BN, di negeri Terengganu yang mana BN menang besar dalam pilihan raya umum ke-12, menghadang ombak tsunami politik yang menghempas Pantai Barat.

Lebih perit buat BN di Kuala Terengganu

Di Permatang Pauh calon BN kekurangan 1,426 undi berbanding pilihan raya 2008 tetapi di Kuala Terengganu, "orang kuat" Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, undi Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh merosot 2,320 berbanding penyandang, Allahyarham Razali Ismail.

Najib diakui bekerja keras sepanjang 11 hari berkempen, menawarkan pelbagai impian, menyogok tawaran, dan mengetuk pintu demi pintu, bagi memastikan momentum kejayaan gemilang Anwar tidak merebak ke Pantai Timur.

Kini reputasi Najib - dan BN yang bakal dipimpinnya - dipercayai tambah gelap memandangkan bagasi sejarah beliau juga begitu membebankannya. Igauan Altantunya Shaariibu masih menghantui Najib hinggakan mereka yang manampal gambar gadis Mongolia itu di Kuala Terengganu pun ditahan polis.

Umno di bawah terajunya nanti dijangka berdepan masalah dalaman lebih parah. Secara umumnya, imej peribadi calon BN, Wan Farid Salleh, yang dikatakan "sombong, tidak mesra, elitis, bersifat bangsawan" boleh menggambarkan imej Umno-BN sekarang.

Malang sekali, Najib dan juga jentera kempen BN tidak pernah berubah; mereka seolah-olah langsung tidak mengambil iktibar pengalaman pahit pilihan raya Mac 2008 yang menyaksikan lima negeri jatuh dan majoriti dua pertiga BN di Parlimen dinafikan.

Seperti ditegaskan sarjana politik Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Prof Madya Ghazali Mayudin, yang menghantar artikelnya kepada saya pada awal pagi 17 Januari, di waktu pusat mengundi baru dibuka: "Strategi dan tindakan BN untuk memenangi hati pengundi di KT menampakkan yang parti itu seakan terperangkap dalam penjara yang dibinanya sendiri. Setelah memenangi puluhan pilihan raya, umum atau kecil, dengan skrip yang sama semenjak merdeka, maka skrip lama ini juga yang digunakan dalam pilihan raya abad ke-21 ini." Maknanya Ghazali menulis artikel itu, yang sudah merumuskan punca kekalahan BN, sebelum pemilih berdaftar membuang undi lagi. Ramalan sarjana politik terbukti tepat

Bukan Ghazali seorang yang begitu yakin PAS boleh menang, malah beberapa pengkaji dan sarjana politik lain sudah meramalkan begitu. Ketua Program Sains Politik UKM, Prof Madya Dr Mohamad Agus Yusoff, empat hari sebelum mengundi, memaklumkan kepada saya: "Lutfi, pegang cakap-cakap saya ini, PAS boleh menang sehingga majoriti 3,000 undi!" Seorang lagi pensyarah sains politik, Prof Madya Dr Ahmad Nidzamuddin, melalui siaran langsung TV, berdasarkan tinjauannya, juga dengan penuh yakin menjangkakan PAS bakal menang.

Semasa kempen, berdepan masyarakat Tionghua, yang dikira undi penentu, BN terus menakutkan mereka dengan isu Hudud walhal dalam pilihan raya umum lalu, khususnya di Pantai Barat, pengundi Cina dan India tanpa segan silu menyelimuti bendera PAS di tubuh mereka, sambil giat berkempen memenangkan Pakatan Rakyat. Seorang pemimpin muda MCA Cheras, melalui siaran Astro Awani menegaskan, "politik ugut dan gertak" menggunakan isu Hudud sudah tidak berkesan lagi.

Politik "pembangunan dan keselamatan" dengan gaya lama adalah konsep kuno yang tidak lagi sesuai dengan dunia siber dan langit terbuka ini. Benar seperti kata A Kadir Jasin, BN yang sudah terlalu lama berkuasa sudah begitu sukar berubah: "Mereka tetap menggunakan taktik lama yang sama. Memang ada janji untuk melakukan bedah-siasat atas kekalahan Mac 2008 tetapi apabila didapati post-mortem itu menikam pemimpin atasan, ia terus dilupakan. Jadi, tidak hairanlah jika ada ahli Umno sendiri yang mendoakan BN kalah di Kuala Terengganu."

Di pihak Pakatan Rakyat pula, diharap hubungan erat semasa kempen dapat diinstitusikan. Lima negeri Pakatan harus menyerlahkan bentuk kerjasama yang boleh memberi banyak manfaat buat rakyat.

Persefahaman mantap Pakatan

Tidak mudah berdepan ketidak-tentuan ekonomi dan cabaran lain yang lebih sengit dalam waktu terdekat, namun dengan persefahaman pimpinan Pakatan di peringkat pusat dan negeri terbabit, segala kemelut mudah dirongkai.

Lebih menarik, "Pengisytiharan Mentaloon" dikeluarkan pada 18 Mac, sehari selepas pilihan raya kecil Kuala Terengganu, membabitkan semua Menteri Besar dan Ketua Menteri lima negeri Pakatan Rakyat, bertempat di kediaman Menteri Besar Kedah, di Sri Mentaloon, Alor Setar.

Impian rakyat untuk menikmati kehidupan lebih baik di bawah Pakatan begitu tinggi. Segala tawaran dalam manifesto masih ada yang belum tertunai. Masa Umno-BN sudah berlalu.

PAS terbukti dapat melalui ranjau dengan cemerlang sekali. KT bukan sahaja membuka laluan untuk menguasai kembali Terengganu, malah menunjuk jalan lurus ke Putrajaya, insya-Allah.

Dan terbukti penangguhan cetakan Harakah edisi Jumaat, Bil 1408, daripada pagi Sabtu kepada pagi Ahad, bagi menunggu keputusan pilihan raya, adalah langkah tepat! Kami tidak mahu terlewat untuk merakam satu sejarah baru dalam politik Malaysia.

Politik Rasuah dan Politik Janji Rasuah RM 1 billion

Kenyataan Akhbar

National Institute for Electoral Integrity (NIEI)

Isnin, 19 Januari 2009

Pilihanraya Kecil Parlimen Kuala Terengganu P036
Penginstitusian Rasuah Pilihanraya: Politik Rasuah dan Politik Janji Rasuah RM 1 billion

Tiga perkara yang ketara dapat diperhatikan dalam perjalanan proses pilihanraya kecil (PRK) kawasan parlimen Kuala Terengganu (P036):

1. Penginstitusian rasuah dalam pilihanraya
2. Penyalahgunaan jentera kerajaan
3. Kehadiran terlalu ramai anggota polis

Amalan rasuah berleluasa dalam pilihanraya di Malaysia, ini dapat dikenalpasti berlaku dalam proses PRK Kuala Terengganu.

Amalan rasuah pilihanraya diinstitusikan dalam pelbagai bentuk. Yang lazim difahami ramai ialah pemberian wang tunai secara langsung. Di PRK P036, wang ehsan sebanyak RM300 bagi orang dewasa dan RM250 untuk muda-mudi diumumkan akan diagih untuk warga Terengganu. Manakala pengundi Cina diedarkan angpau sebanyak RM300 sempena perayaan Tahun Baru Cina. Penarik beca Kuala Terengganu pula dijanjikan wang ehsan sebanyak RM10,000 seorang.

Para wartawan pun tidak ketinggalan dirasuahkan. Pada petang 16 Januari 2009, sehari sebelum hari mengundi, wartawan-wartawan yang berada di pusat media Barisan Nasional diagihkan wang sebanyak RM300. Dua minggu sebelum itu, pihak yang sama telah memberikan para wartawan baju hujan yang bernilai RM98 sehelai.

Rasuah secara tidak langsung untuk memancing undi sangat banyak sekali, antara lainnya disenaraikan seperti di bawah ini:

1. Penubuhan dan pemberian RM1 juta untuk Tabung Kecemasan Nelayan
2. Peruntukan RM150,000 untuk skim pembangunan nelayan Kuala Terengganu
3. Pemberian secara lambak tanpa tender 583 projek Kelas F yang bernilai RM15.8 juta
4. Upacara mengasas projek pembinaan unit kardiologi yang bernilai RM10 juta
5. Upacara perasmian projek pembinaan masjid di Kubang Ikan (Kuala Terengganu) pada 15 Januari 2009
6. Upacara pecah tanah pembinaan 1,200 unit Projek Perumahan Rakyat Termiskin (PPRT)
7. Perasmian peruntukan RM100 juta untuk membina 1000 unit rumah kos rendah di Kuala Terengganu
8. Pemberian RM6.1 juta untuk SJKC Chung Hwa Wei Sin
9. Pemberian sebanyak RM2.5 juta untuk masyarakat Cina Kuala Terengganu
10. Pengumuman grant RM50 juta untuk sekolah-sekolah Cina
11. Pemberian pilot E-book kepada 100 orang pelajar di Kuala Terengganu. Janji pemberian sejumlah 23,000 buah E-book, berharga RM1,300 sebuah, kepada kanak-kanak sekolah.
12. 206 orang penenun songket menerima satu set seorang Kek Tenunan Tradisional yang berharga RM695 satu unit
13. Pemberian RM408.6 juta kepada kerajaan Negeri Terengganu sebagai royalti minyak
14. Mengisytiharkan projek untuk meluaskan ruang keluar-masuk pelabuhan perikanan di Pelabuhan Cendering

Penyalahgunaan Kuasa dan Jentera Kerajaan

Berkaitan dengan amalan rasuah di atas ialah salah guna kuasa dan jentera kerajaan di peringkat tempatan, negeri dan persekutuan:

• Di peringkat kerajaan tempatan, Datuk Bandar Kuala Terengganu merangkap Pegawai Kanan Pilihanraya, Mat Razali Kassim berkempen dan mendesak kakitangan di bawahnya untuk mengundi BN. (Beliau terpaksa meletakkan jawatan Pegawai Kanan Pilihanraya).

• Penggantinya, Setiausaha Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu, yang sebelumnya memangku Pegawai Kanan Pilihanraya, Wan Mustafa Wan Hassan juga disangsikan kerana melibatkan diri dalam program kempen BN.

• Penggunaan pejabat Menteri Besar dan jentera-jentera Jabatan Kerja Raya dalam upacara pecah tanah perasmian pembinaan masjid.

• Ketika ceramah di Taman Perumahan Pusu Tiga, Gong Badak, Menteri Besar Ahmad Said mengararahkan Jabatan Saliran dan Perparitan untuk mengkaji masalah banjir di kawasan itu

• Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri dan Pengarah Kewangan Negeri melibatkan diri dalam program-program taklimat BN yang disasarkan kepada imam dan bilal masjid, ketua kampung dan pegawai perkhidmatan awam. Termasuklah pegawai kerajaan luar kawasan yang mengundi di P036

• Perasmian nama Institut Pendidikan Guru Malaysia kepada Kampus Datuk Razali Ismail, dan sebuah SMK kepada SMK Datuk Razali Ismail (arwah wakil parliamen BN Kuala terengganu)

• Kementerian-kementerian Persekutuan yang berikut didapati terlibat dalam kempen PRK P036:

1. Kementerian Kesihatan
2. Kementerian Pendidikan
3. Kementerian Kebajikan Masyarakat
4. Kementerian Pertanian
5. Kementerian Kewangan
6. Jabatan Perdana Menteri
7. Kementerian Penerangan
8. Kementerian Wanita, Keluarga dan Pembangunan Komuniti

Kempen juga menwar-warkan khidmat dan perbelanjaan kerajaan yang telah dilaksanakan seolah-olah dibiayai oleh BN:

• Peruntukan RM500,000 di bulan Disember 2008 untuk mangsa banjir;
• RM200,000 telah dibelanjakan untuk membeli makanan dan keperluan lain untuk mangsa banjir
• Penggantian atap-atap rumah
• Pendaratan pesawat MAS penerbangan pulang haji direk ke Kuala Terengganu

Ramai menteri dan timbalan menteri kabinet Persekutuan serta menteri besar dan ahli-ahli exco negeri-negeri yang datang berkempen untuk PRK P036. Antara lainnya ialah:

1. Abdullah Badawi
2. Najib Razak
3. Zahid Hamidi
4. Mohd Shafie Apdal
5. Dr. Ng Yen Yen
6. Shahrizat
7. Hishamuddin Hussein
8. Muhyidin Yassin
9. Ong Tee Kiat
10. Muhamad Taib
11. Azalina Othman
12. Syed Hamid Albar
13. Noh Omar
14. Hamzah Zainudin
15. Ali Rustam
16. Lim Guan Eng
17. Ahmad Said
18. Mohamad Nizar
19. Ngeh Koo Ham
20. Nik Aziz
21. Khalid Ibrahim
22. Theresa Kok
23. Elizebeth Wong
24. Husam Musa
25. Nik Aziz Nik Mat
26. Hasan Ali

Persoalannya, atas perbelanjaan siapakah kehadiran mereka berkempen di Kuala Terengganu itu?

Juga berlaku amalan rasuah dalam bentuk pengedaran dan pemberian percuma oleh BN surat khabar Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian dan Sinar Harian. Pelbagai konsert anjuran Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia diadakan, termasuk persembahan penyanyi termuka dari Terengganu iaitu Salim Iklim.

Pihak pembangkang Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) juga didapati melanggar etika amalan pilihanraya yang baik. Contohnya, pemberian percuma kerusi roda di Bukit Tepu, khidmat percuma gunting rambut dan rundingan kesihatan pakar homeopati.

Terlalu Ramai Anggota Polis

Dianggarkan 10,000 anggota polis berpakaian biasa dan seragam dikerahkan bertugas di Kuala Terengganu sepanjang tempoh kempen PRK di situ. Nisbahnya 1 orang polis untuk 8 orang pengundi.

Kehadiran terlalu ramai polis memberikan suasana sebagai keadaan perang. Jika tujuannya untuk menjaga keselamatan, tetapi kesan adalah disebaliknya, orang ramai terasa tidak selesa dan berpersepsi seolah keadaan dalam darurat. Ini bertentangan dengan suasana pilihanraya yang baik, iaitu bebas dan tenteram.

Akta pilihanraya perlu dipinda untuk membenteras rasuah dan janji rasuah sebagai kaedah membeli dan membeli undi. Terutama sekali, penyalahgunaan kuasa dan jentera kerajaan untuk kempen pilihanraya mestilah diharamkan.

Para pengundi Kuala Terengganu sudah pun menunjukkan sikap matang, majoriti mereka tidak dapat digula-gula lagi.

Yunus Ali
Pengerusi NIEI

Sharp Slap to UMNO’s Leadership

Monday, 19 January 2009

by M. Bakri Musa

The humiliation suffered by UMNO in the January 17, 2009 by-election in Kuala Trengganu, a seat previously held by one of its Deputy Ministers, is further proof that the party’s thumping in the March 2008 General Elections was the beginning of the end. Getting rid of its leader Abdullah Badawi will not alter UMNO’s fate; a future with Najib Razak will be no solution either.

The party is no longer salvageable; UMNO is now beyond redemption. Its leaders and members are incapable of appreciating and thus adapting to the profound changes now gripping the nation. As Tengku Razaleigh aptly put it when commenting on the results, “We are in uncharted waters with no one at the wheel.”

There are of course exceptions to the current lack of talent in UMNO’s leadership, but they are rare. Zaid Ibrahim had some sensible ideas on reforming the judiciary for example, but look what they did to him! Tengku Razaleigh’s speech at the recent ASLI economic conference was simply brilliant; he rightly pinpointed the major problems facing our nation and offered sensible strategies to approaching them. His was an insight and articulation Malaysians should expect of our leaders. There again however, he was essentially ignored by UMNO’s leadership hierarchy in his recent quest for the top slot.

In this by-election UMNO resorted to its old corrupt ways that had served it well in the past. There were the sudden announcements of generous public funds to key constituent groups as well as the usual co-opting of government agencies to do Barisan’s bidding. If those tricks were not enough, there was the literal stuffing of envelopes with cold cash for voters and reporters. Judgement on Najib Razak’s Leadership The victory by PAS candidate Wahid Endut is even more impressive considering that future (come this March) Prime Minister Najib Razak literally made his temporary home in Kuala Trengganu during the entire 11 days of campaigning, returning only briefly to the capital to take part in the Tahlil prayers on the anniversary of his father’s death.

Those voters viewed the upcoming transfer of power from Abdullah to Najib less a promise of better things and more a threat of the same tired corrupt and corrosive ways of the past. The political status quo would only further divide instead of bringing us together. Malaysians were rightly fed up with this.

Win or lose, this election would not alter the political reality; Barisan would still maintain its majority in Parliament. In perception however, this loss only reinforces my earlier “beginning of the end” and “beyond redemption” assertions of UMNO. Undoubtedly these were the reasons that compelled Najib to expend his political capital and risk his reputation by actively campaigning.

Ignored by voters, Najib tried to rationalize the outcome by dismissing it as a “minor setback” with “no impact on the national political landscape.” He was reduced to declaring that Barisan was “still relevant.” Pathetic!

I would have expected that as Finance Minister, Najib would be busy in Putrajaya dealing with the rapidly evolving global financial crisis now threatening our nation. Instead there he was in Kuala Trengganu acting like Santa Claus distributing candies to voters. They gleefully took the gifts, but being adults (and Muslims, at least most of them) they did not believe in Santa Claus, or Najib Razak.

These past few weeks reflect Najib Razak’s leadership priorities and sensibilities. Kuala Trengganu voters were rightly not impressed. Neither am I. Greasing UMNO’s Slide Come this March, Najib Razak will be the party’s (and thus country’s) leader. He will have as his deputy Ali Rustam, Muhyyiddin Yassin, or the Double Muhammad Taib, individuals with tainted pasts and less-than-impressive resumes. Sobering thought!

Barring divine or other intervention, this will also be the team that will lead UMNO and Barisan Nasional into the next General Elections scheduled no later than March 2013. UMNO has its leadership convention every three years; theoretically it could change its leadership before the next general elections. However, the party has a tradition of “no contest” for its top two positions and a past pattern whereby leaders would conveniently postpone the leadership convention till after the general elections.

That would be great news for Anwar Ibrahim-led Pakatan Rakyat, further enhancing its chance of assuming power. This may occur even sooner if Barisan Members of Parliament, sensing the political change, were to abandon their parties. The shift could also come earlier if, as expected, Sarawak were to call an earlier election. Then there is the volatile political situation in Sabah.

The objective of any political party is in assuming power. Anything less and you will be relegated to the status of a perpetual fringe party. While that may satisfy the purists in your party, you risk being permanently dismissed by voters. The country’s political graveyard is littered by the ghosts of many such parties.

Then there is the crucial difference of being voted into office because of the positive choice of voters rather than their rejecting your opponent. Anwar Ibrahim and his fellow leaders in Pakatan Rakyat are fully aware of this. It is not enough for Malaysians to be fed up with Barisan Nasional, we must be sold on the promise and potential of a Pakatan Rakyat administration.

As leader of the party that is the centre of the political, racial and other spectra of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, Anwar has adroitly handled the many competing interests within his coalition by focussing on their commonalities and less on their differences. Differences there are, and they are many and consequential; they could potentially fracture the coalition. If that were to happen, it would crush the hopes of Malaysians long yearning for a change.

Besides, there are enough commonalities of purpose among the component parties of PakatanRakyat, from eradicating corruption and strengthening our institutions to reducing poverty and fostering economic development, among others. Ameliorate them, and you would have the cheers and votes of those currently advocating for an Islamic State, “Malaysia for Malaysians,” or Ketuanan Melayu.

Tackling each of these problems (and all must be addressed at once) would challenge the ingenuity of even the most enlightened and committed leaders. There is no need to harp on their differences. All these could be done without getting entangled with such highly divisive and emotional issues as hudud or special privileges. Besides, those slogans as “Islamic State,” “Ketuanan Melayu” and “Malaysia for Malaysians” have now become meaningless, having been corrupted to being code words for those with more sinister motives.

The corruption and incompetence of the Barisan coalition should motivate Pakatan leaders to focus on solving the glaring and pressing problems of our nation. That would be the sure way to power, quite apart from greasing the downward slide of UMNO and its Barisan Nasional coalition.

Kalah di Kuala Terengganu lebih parah berbanding tewas di Permatang Pauh

A Kadir Jasin Sun Jan 18, 09 7:45:01 am MYT

PADA hari Jumaat, 16 Januari, akhbar arus perdana Berita Harian menyiarkan tajuk berita berbunyi "Harapan BN Cerah" dan meramalkan parti kerajaan pusat itu akan mengekalkan kerusi Parlimen Kuala Terengganu.

Akhbar kembarnya, New Straits Times pula berkata: "Barisan Upbeat, PAS Edgy" (Barisan Yakin, PAS Gementar).

BH menokok tambah dengan menyiarkan temu ramah dengan Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Mohd Najib Abdul Razak di mana Timbalan Presiden Umno itu menyangkal persamaan antara Kuala Terengganu dan Permatang Pauh.

Utusan Malaysia memilih tajuk berita yang lebih neutral berbunyi "Jangan Terpengaruh Serangan Peribadi" dan semalam (17 Januari) menyiarkan tajuk ringkas "Siapa Pilihan Pengundi?"

Ternyata sekali BH dan NST membuat ramalan yang songsang sama ada kerana maklumat dan perisikannya tidak tetap atau kerana mahu menjaga hati pihak-pihak tertentu.

Seperti umum sudah maklum BN gagal mempertahankan Kuala Terengganu malah telah kalah dengan teruk.

Calonnya, Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh tewas kepada calon PAS, Abdul Wahid Endut dengan 2,631 undi. Dia memperoleh 30,252 undi berbanding Abdul Wahid yang memperoleh 32,883 undi.

Pengundi Kuala Terengganu nampaknya tidak termakan janji melangit yang dibuat oleh Umno dan BN malahan ahli dan penyokong Umno sendiri nampaknya masih marah dan menyimpan dendam terhadap kepemimpinan parti mereka.

Kekalahan ini pastinyalah memberi kesan yang besar kepada BN dan Umno, khasnya kepada Mohd Najib yang menjadi kepala perang Umno dan BN walaupun beliau berkata kekalahan itu tidak bermakna pengundi menolak BN dan memberi undi tidak percaya kepadanya.

Kekalahan ini sedikit sebanyak membayangkan yang pengundi Kuala Terengganu belum bersedia untuk memberi "endorsement" kepada beliau atau kepada proses pemulihan Umno dan BN yang diuar-uarkan itu.

Bagi Umno dan BN, kegagalan mempertahankan Kuala Terengganu memberi gambaran bahawa penolakan terhadapnya semakin meluas sejak pilihan raya umum Mac lalu.

Ini tentunya akan menyukarkan lagi kedudukan Mohd Najib apabila beliau mengambil alih pemerintahan negara Mac ini.

Tetapi seandainya beliau faham sentimen pengundi dan bersedia membuat perubahan yang drastik ke atas Umno, BN dan kerajaan selepas mengambil alih pemerintahan beliau mungkin dapat meredakan kemarahan pengundi khasnya dan rakyat jelata amnya.

Kekalahan di Kuala Terengganu adalah sumpahan dan bala yang sangat besar kepada Umno dan BN kerana ia adalah kerusi BN dan terletak di dalam negeri yang memberi sokongan yang sangat kuat kepada BN pada pilihan raya umum Mac lalu.

Gagal menakluki semula Permatang Pauh Ogos lalu tidak teruk kerana ia kubu Anwar Ibrahim dan terletak di dalam negeri yang menolak BN pada pilihan raya umum lalu.

Sekiranya Umno dan BN gagal memahami sebab musabab kekalahannya di Kuala Terengganu dan mengambil tindakan mengatasi kesilapannya, tragedi yang sama akan menimpanya pada pilihan raya kecil yang lain dan, yang lebih mendesak, pada pilihan raya Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak tidak lama lagi.

Jelas daripada keputusan Kuala Terengganu bahawa pemilihan calon dan penanganan isu tempatan adalah kunci kejayaan dalam pilihan raya kecil.

Nyata andaian umum mengenai ketidaksuaian calon BN tetap apabila dia bukan sahaja gagal mempertahankan kerusi Kuala Terengganu sebaliknya kalah dengan teruk.

Janji pembangunan, penaburan wang dan kempen yang keterlaluan menyebabkan ramai pemilih berasa jijik. Begitu juga dengan peranan media massa arus perdana yang tidak berpijak kepada realiti apabila membuat laporan dan analisis menyokong Umno dan BN.

Boleh jadi juga pengundi masih belum puas hati dengan perubahan yang berlaku di Umno dan BN maka mereka terus menghukum Umno dan BN walaupun Abdullah sudah berjanji akan mengundurkan diri dan menyerahkan jawatan kepada Mohd Najib Mac ini.

Mungkin juga kaedah kempen "carpet bombing" oleh Umno dan BN, dan pergantungannya kepada jentera kerajaan, media massa arus perdana dan orang luar tidak lagi berkesan malah memualkan pemilih.

Kemenangan calon PAS membuktikan yang parti itu serta rakan-rakannya dalam Pakatan Rakyatnya semakin kuat dan diyakini walaupun wujud perbezaan yang besar antara PAS dan DAP.

Apa pun, semua pihak wajib menerima pilihan yang dibuat oleh pengundi Kuala Terengganu itu.

A threat too far

Monday, 19 January 2009

Raja Petra Kamarudin

“I need guys who can drink like a fish and not fall down,” I told Bernard.

“So make sure we get the hardcore drinkers to Kuala Terengganu. The Chinese will never trust anyone who does not drink.”

It was exactly two weeks that we spent in Kuala Terengganu -- from the eve of Nomination Day until the day after Polling Day. It was not a lot of money we spent, though, just about RM25,000 in all. But then that is because we never had to pay for our beer and liquor. Our Chinese hosts would refuse to accept our money and appeared very offended when we insisted we pay.

Okay, not everyone drank. Even some Indians in the group did not drink a drop in spite of them having a reputation of being ‘terror drinkers’. In fact, Bala would not even drink Coke. He only drank plain water or, once in awhile, green tea.

Nevertheless, seeing that we had about 20 rooms, twin-sharing, there were certainly enough in the gang to do us proud and to stand up to the heavy-drinking Chinese loggers and saw-millers without falling down drunk before the witching hour.

“PAS is going to win big,” said my ‘drinking partner’ who was not only pissed drunk but quite pissed that I had a Coke glass in my hand and was refusing his constant ‘harassment’ to ‘drink with me’.

“Hey!” I kept reminding him.

“Just being in this pub is already an offence. I could get arrested. You want me behind bars or what? Imagine how Umno would go to town with the news tomorrow when the newspaper headlines report ‘Blogger RPK caught drinking in a pub in Kuala Terengganu’. They will crucify me.”

“Okay, okay, I understand. You are forgiven. But I still don’t like drinking with someone drinking only Coke.”“Never mind about me. My friends are drinking. They can drink my share.”

In fact, Bernard more than drank my share. He probably drank three people’s share. Anyway, being a Muslim was a convenient ‘excuse’ not to drink. The others were never allowed a half-empty glass. Our Chinese friends from Kuala Terengganu kept topping up the glasses of our Blogging Team until no one knew any longer how much they had drunk.

“You do not need the Chinese votes,” my Chinese friend went on.

“PAS is going to win big without the Chinese votes.”

This statement troubled me and I asked my Chinese friend who was facing great trouble tying to remain standing to explain what he meant.

“PAS is going to win big. The Malays will swing to PAS. You just watch. So you do not need the Chinese votes. The Chinese can vote BN.”

“I don’t think we should look at it that way,” I told my friend with a discouraged sound in my voice.

“Every vote counts. We need the Chinese votes.”

My Chinese friend probably detected that I was perturbed and he downed his glass before explaining further.

“We Chinese know that PAS is going to win. The Malays are going to swing to PAS. So you can win without the Chinese votes. The Malay votes are enough to give PAS the win.”

“Okay,” I replied. “But even if PAS can win with the Malay votes why can’t the Chinese also vote for PAS?”

“PAS is already going to win by at least 2,000 votes even if the Chinese vote BN. So why worry?”

“Okay, I understand. But what’s wrong if the Chinese also vote PAS and make the win 5,000 instead of 2,000?”

“We Chinese don’t want to be blamed for Umno’s loss. Let the Malays vote PAS. PAS then wins on the Malay votes. The Chinese will vote BN. Then Umno can’t blame the Chinese for their defeat. The Chinese voted BN and PAS won with the Malay votes, not the Chinese votes.”

I could see his logic here but I did not like it.

“What if the Chinese vote BN and BN wins, PAS loses.”

“No way man. PAS will win. The Malay swing is big. It is safe for the Chinese to vote BN. PAS will still win.”

“But why?” I asked.

“Why do the Chinese want to vote BN when you support PAS?”

“We support PAS. Look, my friend over there gave PAS RM1 million in the last general election.” He pointed to the chap at the end of the bar and signalled him to come over.

“We have no problems with PAS. We prefer PAS to BN,” his friend added.

“I was the one in the Chinese newspapers who held up the can of beer in front of the PAS markas in Wakaf Tapai. You remember or not?”

Yes, I remembered that episode. I think it was in the 2004 general election. But Umno went to town with the whole thing and distorted the issue. They said that PAS is hypocritical about Islam and is allowing liquor in the state.

“Okay, what if PAS loses and they lose because the Chinese voted BN?”

“No way. PAS will win. If PAS is going to lose then we Chinese will vote PAS. But we know PAS will win. So no need for the Chinese to vote PAS. Let PAS win on the Malay votes. We Chinese can then say we voted BN but BN still lost. And it is because of the Malays and not the Chinese that PAS won.”

I suppose this is Chinese ‘logic’ and I have come to understand how the Chinese mind works. Cari makan is very important to the Chinese and must come first. They can’t risk their cari makan by being seen to be supporting the opposition. This was, after all, a bunch of Chinese towkays that I was taking to. They are flush with money and became rich not by being seen as anti-government.

By the end of the two weeks I realised that PAS would have to depend on the Malay swing, not the Chinese votes. The Chinese would give us enough votes just to keep BN in check. At best we can expect 40% to 45% votes from the Chinese. They will make sure that the majority of the Chinese vote for BN just so that it can be seen that more than half the Chinese support the government. But it will not be more than that.

Rosmah Mansor, the wife of the Deputy Prime Minister, made this very clear to the Kuala Terengganu voters on Saturday, one week before the by-election. “We know who you vote for,” said Rosmah. “If you vote for the opposition we will know.”The message Rosmah was sending to the Kuala Terengganu voters is that your vote is not secret and the government will know if you voted for PAS or BN. That is not true, of course, but who would want to take that risk in case it is?

The Terengganu Menteri Besar, Ahmad Said, was more blunt when he told the Chinese. “If you are nice to me, then I will be nice to you. If you are not nice to me, then I can be ten times more not nice to you.”This was a veiled threat if ever I did see one and the message was simple: if you vote for PAS then expect my wrath. And everyone knows Ahmad Said would not hesitate to engage in fisticuffs, even during a State Assembly meeting, as Wahid Endut, who was once a victim of Ahmad Said, can testify.

The 8,000 Chinese voters in a state with a population of more than one million Malays do not need too many ‘messages’ to understand what lies ahead of them if they vote for PAS. And the 8,000 police personnel positioned all over town, practically laying Kuala Terengganu to siege, makes matters more dicey. Why the need for a police-to-Chinese ratio of one-to-one?

What the Chinese were telling us was not comforting but something we could not quarrel with. The Chinese were being threatened. They were being told that they vote for PAS at their own peril. If they know what is good for them then they must vote BN.The Chinese got the message loud and clear. And they also knew that PAS was going to win just on Malay votes, even if the Chinese voted BN. Okay, if the Chinese vote BN then PAS is going to win by a 2,000-vote majority. And if the Chinese vote PAS then the majority is going to be 5,000. But is it worth the risk just to increase PAS’s majority from 2,000 to 5,000?I had to concede that the Chinese are going to ‘play safe’.

“But just promise me one thing,” I told my Chinese friend.

“If PAS can’t get the Malay swing will the Chinese then vote PAS?”

“If PAS can’t win without Malay votes then we Chinese will vote PAS. But PAS will win, you watch, so no need for the Chinese votes. Let us vote BN and then we can put the blame on the Malays when PAS wins.”

The story does not end here though. On Sunday morning, the Blogging Team did a door-to-door walkabout to personally thank the Chinese voters before we came home to Kuala Lumpur. Some had tears in their eyes. “Kita menang,” many told me. Yes, ‘kita menang’, not ‘you menang’. It was a win for them as well as far as the Chinese were concerned.

Many who were wet with tears while hugging me tightly probably did not vote for PAS. They could not due to fear of retaliation. But it was still ‘we won’ for them. And they will tell their comrades all over Malaysia that they voted for BN mainly because the government threatened them. 8,000 Chinese voters in a state of more than one million and with 8,000 armed police surrounding the town did not offer them too many options.

But the Chinese will remember this. They will remember how Umno threatened them in the Kuala Terengganu by-election on 17 January 2009. And it will be payback time come the next general election. You can threaten 8,000 Chinese when your numbers are more than one million. But try doing this in states where the Malay-Chinese population is almost balanced.

Umno ‘won over’ the Chinese in Kuala Terengganu. But it was with a gun at the head. And the Chinese will never forget this. And neither will we. I was hoping that the Chinese were right. I was hoping that the Chinese can safely vote BN and that PAS will still win just on the Malay votes. On hindsight, the Chinese were right of course. Much to my relief that is exactly what happened, though I would have loved a 5,000 majority instead of just 2,631.In the short-term, Umno ‘won’ the Chinese votes. But the ‘win’ was gained through the barrel of the gun. This is not the best way to win because, in the long-term, the Chinese will want to ‘pay back’ Umno for threatening them in the Kuala Terengganu by-election.

And that will be when Umno discovers they have won the battle of Kuala Terengganu but they are going to lose the war, the bigger battle for Malaysia. And MCA too will suffer. If it was just Umno that threatened the Chinese this can be accepted as ‘normal’. But when MCA joins the gang of thugs to also threaten their own community, this is something the Chinese find hard to stomach. MCA is supposed to serve the Chinese. In the Kuala Terengganu by-election, MCA was the voice of Umno to help threaten the Chinese.

WE ARE ALL ERDOGANS

Monday, 19 January 2009 11:18

Liew Chin Tong for The Malaysian Insider

The Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election result shows that Pas commands the majority Malay support but fails to translate the anti-Umno Chinese sentiment into additional votes.

On the campaign trail I heard murmurs of memories of the hardline Pas state government of 1999-2004.

On the other hand, I have recently been shown an internal poll which suggests that non-Malay support for DAP was up to the roof but Malays were generally still wary of the party.

On Jan 17, we witnessed history in the making. We will only know the importance of that day when we look back later in the future but it is safe to say that the Umno-Barisan Nasional brand, in its current form, is beyond repair.

No one knows how much Umno spent on this “buy”-election. Apart from the various announced financial allocations, I happened to know that some CEOs of government-linked corporations were on stand-by in Kuala Terengganu to “take care” of expenditure incurred during the campaign.

Aided by the weight of the entire machineries of the Federal and the Terengganu state government, not to mention the mainstream media that misrepresented and distorted the news from the Opposition, Umno still lost miserably in the end.

The voters saw through BN’s timeless campaign modus operandi – money, media, and machinery. The Utusan-led racial campaign, the character assassinations against opposition figures and all other tricks did not stop Pas from winning with a convincing majority.

Umno is the backbone of BN, and has operated as the final arbiter of power in the multiethnic coalition because its Malay base underwrites the electoral prospect of other component parties.

But as Umno could not even rescue itself from its own electoral debacle, component parties, especially those from Sabah and Sarawak, are likely to rethink their strategic interests.

Neither the March 8 general election nor the Permatang Pauh parliamentary by-election had left such a strong impression that Umno is like a sand castle disintegrating like nobody’s business.

In this context, it is impossible for Pakatan Rakyat to enter the next general election just aspiring to be a strong opposition. Malaysians want us to be the government to bring change. But that requires all of us to move to the centre.

Let us look back a bit into the history of our Opposition, especially that of Pas. Being oppressed by the BN government from all fronts in a situation of permanent opposition, parties like Pas depended entirely on supporters and members who hung on to the movement religiously. It is their tenacity that kept the fire burning even in the darkest of nights.

But the reformasi a decade ago changed Pas membership profile – between September 1998 and November 1999, Pas members increased from 450,000 to 800,000 – while support base grew from mainly rural to urban centres and electoral prospect from a few East Coast seats to 27 parliamentary seats in the 1999 general election.

For the first time, Pas saw it possible to win federal power in a coalition. Throughout the last decade, the party has gone through many ups and downs, as well as internal rifts.

But the constant theme remains: whether to cooperate with other opposition parties, and to what extent, particularly on the issue of the Islamic state.

In late 2001, the then Pas president Datuk Fadzil Noor, with the intention to mainstream the party, directed a group to define an Islamic state. The paper, dubbed “the memorandum”, was silent on hudud while syariah is to be implemented gradually (tadaruj) through education. Democracy was the centre tenet.

With the passing of Fadzil in June 2002, the memorandum never saw the light. In its stead was Datuk Haron Din’s conservative and hardnosed “Dokumen Negara Islam”, released in November 2003, which contributed to Pas’ defeats in the subsequent general election.

Those within the party who intend to move Pas to the centre looked to Indonesia’s Partai Keadilan Sejahtera for inspiration.

The ascendance of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey provides another reference point. The leader of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party is the country’s prime minister. From him came the term “Erdogan”, intended to be a derogatory term by the conservatives in the party, especially after the 2008 elections, to be used against Pas members who aspire to move the party to the middle. To the conservatives, the Erdogans are willing to play second fiddle to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the de facto opposition leader.

More importantly, the Erdogans devote their times building bridges among ethnic groups by focusing on common and practical platforms. The “Welfare State” tagline of the 2008 election was one such attempt.

I believe it’s time for all of us – all Malaysians – to become Erdogans. As Umno’s end is nigh, lets meet the aspirations of Malaysians for change and present our beloved country an alternative acceptable to all.

Once we can bridge the gap, our Pakatan Rakyat will be the more realistic and better alternative than the divisive BN.

GELODAK RAKYAT MASIH MEMBARA

Monday, 19 January 2009

KAMAL AMIR MENULIS

DENGAN segala “bala tentera politik” berserta seluruh sidang wazir dan para pengampu dikerahkan berkampong selama lebih dua minggu di Kuala Terengganu, akhirnya rakyat tetap dengan keputusan mereka menolak calon Barisan Nasional. Kalau dalam musim pilihanraya umum dahulu Pakatan Rakyat dikalahkan dengan majorit Cuma sekitar enam ratus undi sahaja, namun untuk pilihanraya kecil kai ini Barisan Nasional mendapat tamparan cukup hebat apabila majoriti calon Pakatan Rakyat memperolehi lebih dari 2,500 undi.

Untuk pertama kalinya dalam sejarah majoriti sebegitu besar tercatat dalam musim pilihanraya kecil. Sedangkan calon Barisan Nasional yang juga merupakan partai pemerintah di negeri Terengganu turun kegelangang bersama pelbagai “peluru” dan “bom jerangkap samar” namun tetap gagal membena keyakinan pengundi untuk menolaknya sebegitu mengaibkan.Jika dihitung dan diperincikan satu persatu tidak kurang dari lima ratus juta ringgit peruntukkan diumumkan oleh para juak serta sidang wazir kerajaan Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dan Mohd Najib Razak yang tentunya mampu mencairkan setiap hati pengundi untuk menyokong calon tajaan Barisan Nasional Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid.

Namun setelah kertas undi dikira satu persatu, biarpun lebih 5,000 anggota pasukan polis diturunkan sebagai “perang saikologi” bersama barisan pemimpin utama negara terdiri dari kalangan menteri, timbalan menteri, menteri besar, setiausaha politik dan jaguh-jaguh politik, rakyat tetap menzahirkan “suara rakyat kuasa keramat” menolak calon Barisan Nasional.

Bayangkanlah bagaimana jadinya jika calon Barisan Nasional turun ke gelanggang seperti calon Pakatan Rakyat, penuh dengan pelbagai kekurangan? Sifir mudahnya tentulah lebih teruk lagi calon Barisan Nasional mengalami tamparan dengan jumlah undi majoriti pasti lebih bertambah kepada Muhamad Wahid Endut.

Inilah realiti sebenar di mana rakyat dengan jelas memberi mesej kepada pimpinan yang berada di anjung seri perdana agar segera memperkemaskan diri. Jika tidak segera “sedar diri” dan andainya masih lagi angkuh, bongkah dan merasakan rakyat bagaikan boleh dicucuk hidungnya maka saat buat mereka semakin hampir bakal “ditendang keluar” dari Seri Perdana.

Dalam waktu yang sama ternyata jelek serta benci rakyat masih sukar dibendung terhadap kepimpinan hari ini yang belum “sedar diri” untuk segera berubah sikap. Meskipun pelbagai bentuk imbuhan dicurahkan, rakyat bijak mengambilnya tetapi tetap menolak calon Barisan Nasional.

Meneliti pelbagai siri ceramah dan kempen yang diutarakan oleh sidang wazir memanda menteri dalam angkatan Abdullah Ahmad Badawi beserta Mohd Najib Razak, calon Pakatan Rakyat dianggap bagaikan tidak bernilai biarpun satu senpun. Begitu juga dengan pelbagai bentuk serangan terhadap pimpinan Pakatan Rakyat terutama Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang cukup hodoh digambarkan oleh mereka.

Biar apapun rakyat Kuala Trengganu tetap tidak berganjak dengan keputusan majoritinya menolak sebarang bentuk politik caci mencaci, politik “hulurisma”, politik projek dan politik “upah”.Begitu juga dengan kepimpinan Datuk Ahmad Said sebagai Menteri Besar Terengganu, ternyata cakapnya langsung “tidak laku” dihati rakyat. Malahan mereka bagaikan mahu mengajar beliau supaya sedar diri dan tahu diuntung betapa hebatnya “Suara Rakyat Kuasa Keramat” yang tidak lagi bersedia dengan percaturan ugut mengungut atau lebih tepat lagi cara “gedebe” atau “samseng”.

Datuk Ahmad Said yang ditolak oleh pimpinan Umno sebagai calon Menteri Besar enam bulan lalu, serta diselamatkan oleh Istana serta rakyat Kuala Terengganu bagaikan lupa diri serta tidak tahu diuntung bagaimana kuasa yang dimiliki olehnya bukan datangnya dari pilihan para juak dan penyokong Abdullah Ahmad Badawi serta Najib Razak. Dirinya di angkat sebagai Menteri Besar kesan kebencian dan gelodak amarah rakyat melihat angkuhnya puak-puak yang berada dianjung kuasa di seri perdana menodai wang rakyat.

Malangnya dalam musim pilihanraya kecil di Kuala Terengganu, dalam nada sebegitu angkuh Ahmad Said sanggup melukai hati rakyat dan para pengundi mempamerkan hala cara politik “gedebe” dengan menyatakan bahawa pembangunan atau peruntukan kerajaan seolah-olah hanya untuk mereka yang menyokong calon Barisan Nasional.

Sewajarnya keputusan pilihanraya kecil Parlimen P 36 di Kuala Terengganu perlu segera diambil iktibar dan segera insaf diri di kalangan mereka yang berada di anjung Seri Perdana untuk tidak meneruskan kebobrokkan menghirup air mata rakyat. Kalangan sidang wazir dan memanda menteri di anjung kuasa harus memahami kehendak hati nuranai rakyat menolak “korupsi, nepotisma dan kroni”.

Kekalahan calon Barisan Nasional di Kuala Terengganu juga menyaksikan kali ketiga Mohd Najib sebagai Pengarah Pilihanraya mengalami kegagalan. Untuk itu beliau tidak seharusnya meletakkan kekalahan tersebut hanya disebabkan oleh meluat dan bencinya rakyat kepada Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sebagai Perdana Menteri, malahan dirinya juga turut ditolak dan masih belum mampu mengamit yakin rakyat.

Kalau dipilihanraya umum 8 Mac 2008 lalu mungkin boleh diterima alasan meruap dan bencinya rakyat kepada halacara kepimpinan Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Namun melalui pilihanraya kecil Permatang Pauh yang menyaksikan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim meraih undi sebegitu besar harus dijadikan kayu ukur kepada dirinya sendiri kerana waktu itu pelan perlaihan kuasa telahpun didengungkan.

Dalam erti kata lain, soal Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sebagai Perdana Menteri sudah tidak berbangkit lagi kerana pengumuman telah dibuat membayangkan Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib adalah pengganti mutlak kepada Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Begitu juga di musim pilihanraya kecil Kuala Terengganu.Dunia telahpun mengetahui bahawa Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib adalah “Presiden Umno dalam penaentian” yang sekadar menunggu bulan Mac 2009 untuk dimentapkan sebagai Presiden kerana 190 daripada 191 bahagian Umno telahpun mencalonkannya sebagai Presiden.

Namun kekalahan Barisan Nasional yang dipimpin olehnya sebagai pengarah pilihanraya adalah terletak dibahunya serta tidak lagi boleh dilampiaskan kepada orang lain. Jika di negara luar berlaku keadaan sebegini sudah pasti pemimpinnya segera mengambil keputusan “meletakkan jawatan” untuk dilihat sebagai pemimpin berintergeriti.

Persoalan paling utama yang mulai menerjah difikiran saya serta tentunya kalangan ahli Umno, mampukah Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib memimpin Barisan Nasional untuk kembali menebus kekalahan di lima buah negeri serta menambah semula dominasi dua pertiga kerusi di Parlimen di musim pilihanraya umum kali ke 13 nanti setelah Abdullah Ahmad Badawi mengundurkan diri?Jika dilihat dari sudut prestasi, ternyata keadaannya amat mustahil.

Bagaimana mungkin beliau mampu menentang “tsunami politik” yang bakal menerpa bersama gelodak “suara rakyat kuasa keramat” dimasa akan datang? Sedangkan untuk dua pilihanraya kecilpun beliau kecundang bagaimana pula mahu berhadapan di gelangang lebih hebat lagi?Tanpa sebarang perubahan, tanpa adanya kesedaran diri dikalangan pimpinan Umno, tampu bersedia menerima hakikat bahawa rakyat masih tidak mempunyai keyakinan terhadap kepimpinan Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib sebagai pemimpin dan teraju utama Umno, tanpa mahu menerima hakikat berang rakyat tetap terus membara, pastilah Umno dan Barisan Nasional sedang menanti saat untuk dikafankan.

Sementara itu mantan Menteri Kewangan Tengku Razaleigh mensifatkan bahawa kekalahan Barisan Nasional di Kuala Trengganu adalah mesej jelas rakyat menerusi refrendum menolak kepimpinan hari ini. Menurutnya “Sudah tiga kali dalam tempoh sepuluh bulan Barisan Nasional dimalukan dalam pilihan raya besar dan kecil. Saya kagum benar betapa gigihnya para anggota parti di medan juang tempatan bertungkus lumus selama dua minggu. Namun kita tumpas atas sebab masalah di peringkat nasional. Rakyat memang menolak UMNO dalam bentuk dan wataknya sekarang, dan mereka menolak kepimpinannya.

Begitu kuat rakyat mencanangkan kehendak mereka pada PRU 8 Mac dan di Permatang Pauh, UMNO sama ada tuli lantas tidak mendengar seruan rakyat yang mendambakan perubahan fundamental atau memang tidak mampu memberi respons yang sewajarnya.
Kekuatan dan kuasa wang, jentera dan penjawat tidak berdaya mengungguli seruan mendesak perubahan. BN akan tewas dan akhirnya akan kehilangan segala-galanya, sehinggalah kita secara ikhlas lagi bersungguh memberikan respons yang sewajarnya.

Sayangnya, balik-balik lagu lapuk “ini tak harus ditafsirkan sebagai pengundi mengetepikan BN” yang dikumandangkan. Para pemimpin kita terus menyangkal kebenaran hinggakan anggota parti dan anggota BN yang setia akan terasa mereka bagaikan di dalam kapal yang sedang karam.

Dalam kawasan pilihan raya Melayu pun UMNO dimalukan dengan kekalahan dengan majoriti sebanyak 90%. Kita kalah sebab orang Melayu tidak mengundi kita dalam negeri di mana kita memerintah. Begitu banyak sumber nasional parti yang menguasai Persekutuan ini kita hamburkan namun kita tumpas jua.

Ini sebenarnya lebih menyerupai referendum mengenai kepimpinan dan ujian sama ada UMNO masih relevan. Maka, jika UMNO dalam bentuknya kini tidak lagi relevan kepada bangsa Melayu, rumusan yang bernama BN sudah berkubur. Sebab kaum Cina tiada sebab lagi untuk terus menyokong MCA, dan begitulah seterusnya. Dengan itu ranaplah konsensus perjanjian perkongsian kuasa yang mendasari sistem politik kita sejak Merdeka dulu.

Hal ini punya implikasi amat serius. Selama ini kita mendakwa bahawa bertitik tolak atas perjanjian itulah wujud keamanan sosial di Malaysia. Sebuah parti yang menafikan hakikat sebenar tidak mungkin membentuk kerajaan dengan cukup realisme dan keberanian untuk menghadapi ekonomi yang meleset dan sedang lebur – apatah lagi jika ia menafikan itulah keadaan ekonomi sebenar. Memang kita kini terumbang ambing di segara yang tidak dicartakan dan tiada nakhoda yang mengawal teraju.
....... fikir-fikirkanlah.

UMNO LOSS A WAKE-UP CALL

Monday, 19 January 2009

Carolyn Hong, The Straits Times

A day after Umno lost a crucial by-election in the Malay heartland of Terengganu, several of its leaders warned that the party will become irrelevant if it ignored this warning from the ground.

Veteran Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said the people had rejected Umno in its present form and its leadership. 'Barisan Nasional (BN) will lose and will in the end lose everything unless we respond fully and sincerely,' he said.

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad also said that BN could lose the next general election, and went further by blaming Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. He said the result was a vote of no-confidence in Datuk Seri Abdullah.

Dr Mahathir sees defeated Umno candidate Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as a proxy of Mr Abdullah, as he is said to be close to the Premier's family.

Referring to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, he said: 'I think Najib is not to be blamed but if he continues to elect or support corrupt leaders, then I think he will lose the next general election.'

Mr Najib had headed the Umno campaign in the Kuala Terengganu by-election, which was called after Umno MP Razali Ismail died. Umno lost to its arch-rival Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) by 2,631 votes on Saturday.

This shifting of blame between Mr Najib and Mr Abdullah comes at a crucial time as the Premier is set to hand over power to his deputy.

Mr Najib will assume the Umno presidency, which is uncontested, in March, and should by convention, become the country's prime minister.

This is however not a legal requirement. There is nothing to stop Mr Abdullah from remaining as Prime Minister, and there is roiling speculation that he is being pushed to do so.

'The transition plan is on track,' Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said. 'But this trend of Umno losing support is frightening.'

Umno lost the most ground in the Malay areas, while the Chinese votes remained stable. Analysts and party leaders have attributed the defeat to the choice of candidate, party in-fighting, and Umno's disconnect with the ground.

Mr Wan Farid, while an affable man, is seen as aloof. 'I could see that he just couldn't bring himself to ask for the people's help to vote for him,' said an Umno Youth party worker.

Among the rural villagers, his aloofness put him at a disadvantage against the down-to-earth candidate from PAS, Mr Abdul Wahid Endut.

But it was Mr Wan Farid's reputed close ties with Mr Abdullah's family that posed the bigger problem. It allowed the opposition to accuse Umno of losing touch with the ground by picking a candidate who represented the elite rather than the people.

The opposition also capitalised on the persistent anger in Terengganu over government spending on luxury projects such as the Crystal Mosque and the Monsoon Cup yacht race. The state is among the poorest in Malaysia.

The Monsoon Cup, in particular, was started by a businessman with close ties to Mr Abdullah's family.

'We keep saying that we want acceptable candidates but we keep picking people closer to the leadership than anything else,' Umno Youth leader Mukhriz Mahathir said.
Voters clearly saw Umno as seriously disconnected from the ground, and may have also been turned off by Umno's divisive style of campaigning.

Umno's message to the Malay voters - that PAS was being forced to kowtow to its non-Malay partners - did not appear to have won the people over.

In-fighting in the local Umno branches also jeopardised the campaign.

This is the second by-election that Umno has lost since last August, when the Permatang Pauh by-election was won by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
That loss started a round of soul- searching and blood-letting.

As Umno revs up its own election season, this defeat is likely to spark bickering in its ranks as leaders jostle for party posts. All positions are being contested from the deputy presidency downwards.

But not everyone is convinced that the party is fully aware of the extent of the loss of support.

'We must relook our inner core values. It's going to be very tough,' said Mr Rais.

Malaysian Election Defeat May Signal Waning Support for Najib

Sunday, 18 January 2009 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysia's National Front lost a regional election, signaling waning support for incoming Prime Minister Najib Razak after the ruling coalition suffered its worst-ever election result last year.

The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, part of an opposition alliance, took 51 percent of votes cast yesterday in the coastal town of Kuala Terengganu, taking the seat back from Najib's National Front coalition, the state news service Bernama said.

"The National Front is on a continuous slide down a dangerous slope," said Khoo Kay Peng, who runs his own political consulting firm outside Kuala Lumpur. "This will not reflect well on the new leadership."

Najib, due to succeed Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as prime minister in March, is struggling to convince Malaysians he can eradicate the corruption that party leaders say is endemic after 51 years of unbroken rule. Yesterday's by-election may embolden opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is trying to rise to power with his three-party, multi-ethnic coalition.

"He can use the results to explain he has the backing of Malay voters," said Ong Kian Ming, a Malaysian political analyst studying at Duke University in North Carolina. Some members of the National Front may now question whether Najib can lead them into the next general election, he said.

Abdullah has said he will hand over to Najib, the deputy premier, at party elections in March. The president of the party, called the United Malays National Organization, is usually also the country's premier. Najib is standing unopposed for the position.

Anwar's Challenge

Najib doesn't have to call a general election before 2013. Anwar's challenge is to convince at least 30 government lawmakers to defect to his opposition in order to take control of the 222-seat parliament and become Malaysia's prime minister.
Race defines politics in Malaysia, where ethnic Malays account for about two-thirds of the 27 million population.

Under the 38-year-old policy of the National Front, Chinese and Indian minorities must pay more for homes and apply for jobs and contracts once Malay allocations have been filled.

Anwar's People's Alliance gained seats in parliament at last year's election after pledging to scrap that program. Anwar says the policy, designed to rebalance wealth and eradicate poverty, has been abused and hasn't met its goals.

A survey this month by the Merdeka Centre, an independent Malaysian research group, showed the privileges afforded to Malays were among the top concerns of the constituency's ethnic minorities. The poll found that 75 percent of Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu agreed that voting for the opposition would send a "strong signal" to the ruling government.

'Added Momentum'

At elections last March, Anwar's multifaith coalition won a record number of seats in parliament, denying the government a two-thirds majority. His People's Alliance also won control of an unprecedented five of Malaysia's 13 states.

"This win will give him added momentum," said independent analyst Khoo. "He needs to set up a shadow cabinet to present himself as a clear alternative" to the National Front.

Anwar, Malaysia's deputy prime minister from 1993 to 1998, won a by-election last year to return to parliament and said he would form a new government by Sept. 16, 2008. He missed the deadline, but he has since reiterated his plan to topple the government before the next general election.

Some political analysts say yesterday's by-election outcome has little bearing on Najib's future.

"He will take over as premier regardless of the result," said Ibrahim Suffian, director of the Merdeka Centre. "What he needs to do now is show that the National Front is serious about tackling issues troubling them and ensure the people that UMNO is a party for all, not just the Malays."

The primary concerns of most Malaysians are corruption and deteriorating inter-ethnic relations, said Ibrahim.

The opposition's victory shows a spat between the Islamic and secular parties in Anwar's alliance failed to dent support.

The Islamic party wants to set up an Islamic state with Muslim law, which can include whipping, stoning to death or amputation of limbs. The Democratic Action Party threatened to leave the alliance if the law was implemented.

60:40 or 50:50?

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Friday, 16 January 2009 10:12
The soothsayers are divided. Some say that the Kuala Terengganu by-election is a 50:50 situation. Others say it is 60:40, in favour of PAS. On a level playing field I would tend to agree with the 60:40 prediction. However, seeing that the playing is anything but level, I would tend to go for the 50:50 forecast -- unless PAS is able to plug all the holes.

First of all, Umno is paying up to RM1,000 per vote. And this is how the system works. A voter goes into the polling station to collect his/her ballot paper. He/she then puts it in his/her pocket. He/she drops a dummy ballot paper into the ballot box. He/she comes out and ‘sells’ the ballot paper to an Umno goon waiting outside. He/she goes home RM1,000 the richer.The blank ballot paper is marked Barisan Nasional. It is then given to the next voter. He/she collects his/her ballot paper and puts it in his/her pocket. He/she drops the already marked ballot paper into the ballot box. He/she comes out and hands over the blank ballot paper to the Umno goon waiting outside in exchange for RM1,000.

The process is repeated thousands of times all over Kuala Terengganu at the 38 polling stations. Another method would be: the voter goes into the polling station with his/her hand phone. He/she marks the ballot paper in the Barisan Nasional box and photographs it with his/her hand phone. He/she then drops the ballot paper into the ballot box. He/she comes out and shows the photo in the hand phone to an Umno goon and receives RM1,000.

All this is of course further to the ‘phantom voters’ who will be voting tomorrow. One man closely related to the Agong showed me the electoral roll where four unknown Chinese voters were registered at his house address. He does not know who these four Chinese are and how they got registered at his house address. How many thousands more are ‘registered voters’ in this manner is yet to be known because not all house owners check the electoral role to look for strangers registered at their address. But expect the figure to run into the thousands. And also expect all these strangers to come out to vote tomorrow.

8,000 registered voters live and work outside Kuala Terengganu. This means 10% of the Kuala Terengganu voters are out of town. Will they all come home to vote? If not, then how many will? The lower the voter turnout, the more chance Barisan Nasional will have of padding the ballot box.

The average voter turnout in any general election is roughly 75%. It is sometimes even lower in a by-election. Tomorrow, Kuala Terengganu may see a voter turnout as high as 80% to 85%. In the 2004 general election, the voter turnout in Kuala Terengganu was 130%, as it was in Kuala Selangor and some other places all over Malaysia. After the ‘error’ was pointed out by Malaysiakini, the figure was ‘adjusted’ to 85% or so.

When asked to explain the voter turnout of 130%, the Elections Commission said that the 130% figure was not yet gazetted so it is unofficial. It is not official until it is gazetted. The gazetted figure was then adjusted to make it look more believable.

Invariably, Umno knows it can’t win the Kuala Terengganu by-election tomorrow unless its cheats like hell. In a fair and free election, Pakatan Rakyat is going to win the by-election with a majority of 5,000 votes. They need to ensure that Barisan Nasional wins by at least 1,000 votes. So the vote buying and rigging needs to be maximised like there is no tomorrow.

I have placed a bet on Pakatan Rakyat winning the Kuala Terengganu by-election tomorrow with a 5,000-vote majority. Will Pakatan Rakyat be able to plug all the holes and ensure that this happens? Or am I going to be a slightly poorer person by tomorrow night? Let’s wait and see.

The Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu are very upset. Barisan Nasional has been handing out millions of ringgit to their schools and associations -- plus RM300 Chinese New Year ‘Ang Pows’ to each voter.

“Why are you insulting us by giving us RM300 Ang Pows?” one reasonably rich Chinese asked me. “Do you think we are so bangsat we need this RM300?” “If the government treats the Chinese better you do not need to bribe us with RM300. If you treat us better we can give the government RM300. RM300 is nothing. It is a small amount.”
“

The fact that the government needs to give us RM300 means the government has not treated the Chinese well. That is why they give us RM300 to buy our votes. If not, no need to give us any money. We can give the government money instead.”

I never thought of it that way. And probably neither did Barisan Nasional. I suppose the many dinners thrown over the last two weeks lies testimony to this. The Chinese pay to attend the Pakatan Rakyat dinners. And the hall is not only packed but overflowing as well. The crowd is not just inside the hall. Hundreds more stand outside to listen to the many speeches. And they stay till the very end.

And in spite of everyone having to pay for the dinner, when the collection box is passed around everyone puts in RM50 notes into the box. Tens of thousands are collected every night. And this is further to the dinner that they pay for. Barisan Nasional invites the Chinese to free diners. However, not only is the hall half empty, the Chinese whack the food and then leave before the speeches start. By the time the speeches start most people have gone home.

Throwing money to the Chinese does not work. For every ringgit Barisan Nasional throws to the Chinese, they throw back double that amount to Pakatan Rakyat. It is ironical that Barisan Nasional is in fact giving Pakatan Rakyat money through the Chinese. The Barisan Nasional money given to the Chinese ends up in the hands of Pakatan Rakyat, plus more.

That is all for now, my brief report this morning. I now have to take Zaid Ibrahim to Chinatown for breakfast and for one last walkabout before Polling Day. Till we speak again, take care and phone all those Kuala Terengganu voters outside the state and convince them to come home to vote tomorrow.

Sejarah memang sudah pun tercipta di Kuala Terengganu

Ahmad Lutfi Othman

Thu Jan 15, 09 3:28:22 pm MYT

Keputusan pilihan raya kecil Kuala Terengganu dijangka bakal melakar sejarah tersendiri. Namun, sebelum lebih 80,000 pengundi mencipta rekod, banyak perkembangan menarik ditunjukkan semasa berkempen, yang mempunyai impak besar terhadap lanskap politik negara di masa depan.

Misalnya, kesepakatan parti-parti dalam Pakatan Rakyat, terutama kerjasama antara DAP dan PAS, begitu mengkagumkan. Bagi saya, hubungan baik kedua-dua parti ini juga menempasatu sejarah baru, apatah lagi ia ditunjukkan di Terengganu, sebuah negeri yang menghimpunkan ramai pemimpin berpengaruh PAS.

Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, Lim Guan Eng, dengan gaya santai dan low profile, datang berkempen untuk memenangkan calon PAS, yang disebut Setiausaha Agung DAP itu sebagai MAWE (Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut), selepas bapanya, Lim Kit Siang ikut serta pada hari penamaan calon.

Rombongan Guan Eng turut membawa skrin layar besar yang dipasang di atas sebuah lori panjang, yang menayangkan bahan-bahan kempen dengan persembahan cukup kreatif, bergerak dari satu tempat ke lokasi yang lain.

Dalam satu sidang akhbar di markas besar PAS di Kuala Ibai, walaupun ada wartawan akhbar Cina menimbulkan isu Hudud, mungkin untuk memaksa Presiden PAS, Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang dan Guan Eng berbeda pendapat secara terbuka, tetapi kebijaksanaan kedua-duanya terserlah.

"Kita masuk pilihan raya ini sebagai satu pakatan, dan kita juga akan keluar nanti, sama adakalah atau menang, sebagai satu pasukan. Isu lebih besar bukan Hudud tetapi soal ekonomi, peluang pekerjaan juga mengapa kos barang tetap tinggi walaupun harga minyak turun," tegas Guan Eng.

Dengan nada sama, Ustaz Hadi menekankan bahawa banyak isu-isu tempatan dan penyalahgunaan wang negeri yang wajar dibahaskan kerana ia membabitkan kepentingan rakyat.

Hubungan erat bukan sahaja ditunjukkan oleh pemimpin atasan PAS, DAP dan KeADILan di pentas pidato, malah dijelmakan melalui kerjasama tulus ahli-ahli di peringkat akar umbi.

Mereka saling membantu menaikkan poster, berkempen dari rumah ke rumah, mengedar risalah, menyediakan pelbagai kemudahan dan mendermakan wang. Dokongan itu nampak ikhlas, bagi memastikan era baru politik Malaysia, dengan nilai-nilai kudus-tulus dapat menggantikan suasana siasah yang sarat dengan kepentingan diri, bersendikan rasuah dan salahguna kuasa.

Bibit-bibit kemunculan sistem dua parti dilihat sedang mekar mewangi bagi menamatkan hegemoni Perikatan-BN yang berkuku sejak negara merdeka. Ramai mengharapkan tsunami politik yang melanda Pantai Barat, Mac 2008 bakal menggegarkan Kuala Terengganu malam 18 Januari nanti.

Kempen juga menyaksikan betapa isu-isu utama dan konflik yang dihadapi rakyat dapat dibentangkan secara terbuka dan mendapat perhatian luar biasa audien.

Kehadiran tokoh-tokohbesar negara, dari BN dan Pakatan, memudahkan rakyat membuat penilaian terhadap keupayaan pemimpin mereka. Hendaknya dengan itu kesedaran berpolitik masyarakat awam juga ditingkatkan.

Umno-BN mudah memanipulasi sentimen perkauman bagi mengekalkan kuasa apabila rakyat senang diusik emosi dengan provokasi terancang.

Dan hubungan parti-parti pembangkang mudah terlerai jika pemimpin PAS dan DAP terus berada di kutub bertentangan.

Pengundi KT kini bagaikan raja. Mereka boleh menentukan haluan besar politik negara, mempengaruhi dasar dan sikap kerajaan. Maknanya, mereka turun mengundi bukan hanya untuk memilih wakil rakyat terbaik - yang prihatin, berakhlak, tidak sombong dan mesra-rakyat - tetapi mereka juga memikul amanah membetulkan keadaan yang pincang, selepas kerajaan BN gagal memahami mesej yang cuba disampaikan majoriti rakyat 10 bulan lalu.

Kesempatan berharga ini tidak wajar dipersiakan. Sokonglah calon PAS yang bersedia berkhidmat untuk anda dan berupaya memberi tekanan kepada kerajaan - negeri dan pusat - agar lebih menghormati suara dan aspirasi rakyat.

Saya yakin isu-isu yang didebatkan di Kuala Terengganu, misalnya royalti dan PPSMI (Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains Matematik dalam bahasa Inggeris), akan mendapat reaksi positif kerajaan jika anda berjaya memenangkan Abdul Wahid Endut. Undilah calon PAS!

To KT voters, it’s the candidate, not the issues, who count

By Adib Zalkapli

KUALA TERENGGANU, Jan 14 — After the Election Commission announced the date for the Kuala Terengganu by-election, Pas leaders were still finding it hard to name a suitable candidate for the parliamentary seat, resulting in the party commissioning two surveys. In both surveys, Batu Burok assemblyman Dr Syed Azman Nawawi was seen as the best man to run for the seat, which fell vacant following the death of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Datuk Razali Ismail. The decision to select Wakaf Mempelam assemblyman Abdul Wahid Endut was only arrived at on New Year’s Eve.

But BN had already decided on its candidate Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Salleh ten days earlier, believing that the Kuala Terengganu Umno chief is the best man to represent the constituency and that he was the least likely to cause a split in the party machinery as he has led the party division for two consecutive terms.

However the independent Merdeka Centre yesterday released the result of its survey on Kuala Terengganu voters, which revealed that 77 per cent of Malay voters would consider the quality of the candidate when casting their ballots on Jan 17.

“I have said this before, that is the reason why the issue of Wan Farid’s image came out prominently throughout the campaign,” Pas election director Datuk Mustafa Ali told The Malaysian Insider when asked to comment on the Merdeka Centre survey.

Since his name was announced as the BN candidate, the former deputy home minister has been busy shedding his elitist image and proving that he could relate to the largely rural Malays in Kuala Terengganu.

For some of the voters, their support for Pas is mainly due to the party’s candidate and not because of their dislike for Wan Farid’s perceived image.

“I don’t know both of them, but I prefer Wahid, he looks like a decent man,” said a villager, who only wished to be known as Rahman from Wakaf Mempelam, who admitted he was not aware of the personal attacks against Wan Farid.

“I just like Wahid, I heard he has been doing a good job,” he added.

Another villager, Mazlan Mamat who works in Kerteh about 100 km south of the constituency said his decision to choose Wahid was based on the Kuala Terengganu Pas chief’s service. He also said that BN’s attack against the Perak state government’s decision to award freehold land titles would not anger the Malay electorates.

“The land is theirs, they have lived there for a very long time, so what’s wrong with that. I don’t see this as an issue,” said Mazlan. On Wan Farid, he said that he did not know much about him.

“He is not from this village, so I don’t know his personality, I only heard what the people have been talking, but I really don’t know,' he told Malaysian Insider.

BATU BURUK DAN BATU-BATU NYA

Tuesday, 13 January 2009 12:44

Hishamuddin Rais

Ketika di sekolah menengah dahulu saya selalu membaca sajak sajak J.M Aziz. Bait-bait tentang laut, kolek, penyu dan ikan menjadikan saya asyik untuk tahu tentang Kuala Terengganu. Sajak-sajak dari Seberang Takir ini menjadikan saya ngelamun memikirkan tentang Pulau Duyung dan Kuala Ibai.

Pertama kali saya sampai ke Kuala Terengganu pada tahun 1975 – ketika hendak melarikan diri dari di tangkap sesudah Peristiwa Baling 1974. Saya ditumpangkan di sebuah rumah di Pekan Cina.

Kali ke dua, tiga tahu dahulu saya datang untuk menemu bual pelajar-pelajar yang bakal memasuki ASWARA. Dua tahun dahulu saya datang sekali lagi untuk tujuan yang sama. Setiap kali saya datang ada sahaja perubahan di kota indah ini.

Sehari sebelum penamaan calon PRK P36 ini saya sampai sekali lagi ke Kuala Terengganu. Kali ini saya datang dengan penuh kesedaran untuk membaca perubahan politik besar yang akan berlaku.

Ada banyak pekara yang amat menarik dalam PRK P36 ini. Beberapa hari sesudah YB Razali Ismail yang mewakili P36 meninggal dunia – saya mendengar khabar bahawa Mat Sabu adalah bekas calon terakhir dari Pakatan Rakyat. Pada PRU ke 13 yang lalu Naib Presiden Pas ini hanya di kalahkan dengan 628 undi sahaja. Kemudian saya juga difahamkan bahawa kawasan ini pernah di wakili oleh Pas pada satu ketika dahulu. Ini bererti P36 ini satu wilayah yang lincah politik pengundinya.

Kelincahan politik pengundi ini memungkinkan P36 ini kembali ke tangan Pas. Kemungkinan ini cukup menjanjikan.

Lihatlah betapa indahnya kocakan politik Kuala Terengganu. Ini sama indahnya dengan pesisir pantainya yang landai dan sungainya yang luas. Sesekali terfikir juga – kenapa kota Kuala Terengganu ini tidak menjadi ibu kota Malaysia. Alangkah indahnya sebuah kota di tepi sungai dan di pagari oleh Laut Cina Selatan.

Di Kuala Terengganu juga – lebih tepat lagi di Pantai Batu Buruk - untuk pertama kalinya peluru hidup telah digunakan oleh pihak polis untuk menembak para penyokong BERSIH pada malam 8hb September 2007 dahulu. Dari apa yang saya difahamkan penembakan dengan peluru hidup ini atas arahan pihak diatas. Pihak diatas dalam istilah Malaysia bermakna Kementerian Dalam Negeri.

Dan jangan terperanjat - pada ketika itu yang menjadi Menteri Dalam Negeri ialah Abdullah Badawi dan yang menjadi Setiausaha Politik kepada Menteri Dalam Negeri ialah Wan Farid Salleh. Wan Farid yang sama inilah juga yang sedang bertanding untuk melawan calon Pas – Abdul Wahid Endut di P36. Lihat betapa lincahnya politik Kuala Terengganu.

Susuk calon Barisan Nasional ini cukup menarik. Beberapa hari sebelum penamaan calon, Khir Toyo bekas Menteri Besar Selangor telah berkata bahawa ' Wan Farid adalah pilihan yang salah'. Ini di ikuti pula oleh kenyataan Mahathir Muhamad yang memperlekeh Wan Farid. Mahathir Muhamad melihat Wan Farid hanyalah seorang 'macai' kepada Abdullah Badawi.

Tidak cukup dengan kenyataan yang memperlekehkan Wan Farid , tiba-tiba Najib Razak yang mengepalai kempen di PRK P36 berkata bahawa pertandingan kali ini bukan satu 'referendum' untuk dirinya. Hujan tidak ribut pun tidak tetapi Najib Razak telah merasakan bahang ombak panas dari Batu Buruk.

Najib Razak memaksa dirinya membuat kenyataan sedemikian untuk melindungi dirinya dari terkena balingan-balingan batu. Batu-batu semakin banyak bertaburan di baling oleh ahli-ahli parti Najib sendiri. Ada yang membaling ke muka Wan Farid dan tidak kurang juga yang membaling ke rusuk Najib sendiri.

Kenyataan dari Najib ini memperlihatkan bahawa Barisan Nasional sebelum masuk gelanggang telah mula gulung tikar. Semua kenyataan-kenyatan ini adalah 'peluru-peluru hidup' yang wajib digunakan oleh Pas dan Pakatan Rakyat untuk 'menembak' jatuh calon yang dianggap kewibawaanya hanya bertaraf ' macai' tidak lebih dari itu.

Untuk sesiapa yang pertama kali sampai ke Kuala Terangganu pasti akan kagum melihat kota kecil yang indah ini. Tetapai awas – di belakang keindahan alam semula jadi ini ada 'bangkai-bangkai penyu' yang tidak mahu hanyut-hanyut ke Laut Cina Selatan. Bau busuk bangkai-bangkai penyu inilah yang patut kita sesama hidukan bukan sahaja kepada bakal pengundi di P36 tetapi kepada seluruh warga negara.

Perhatikan dengan mata yang rapi apabila memandang ke Seberang Takir. Pulau-pulau yang merah itu adalah percubaan manusia yang ingin melawan alam. Perhatikan tembok-tembok batu di tengah laut – itu juga adalah tanda keangkuhan manusia yang cuba megalih perjalanan air agar berderu masuk seperti masuknya Wang Ikhsan ke dalam kantong mereka. Semua ini adalah 'projek tipu helah' dari para penyokong Abdullah Badawi termasuk macainya Wan Farid.

Projek tipu helah ini mereka panggil Monsoon Cup. Sebenarnya tidak ada yang Monsoon dan tidak ada yang Cup. Apa yang wujud hanyalah satu cara yang dipanggil projek - hakikat tujuan asalnya hanyalah untuk menyalorkan berjuta-juta duit ke dalam saku tuan empunya projek.

Saya cukup yakin projek Monsoon Cup ini pasti akan 'meninggal dunia' sama seperti Le Tour de Langkawi, F1, South South Dialog dan beratus lagi projek di zaman Mahathir. Semua projek berbentuk ini tujuan asalnya bukan untuk kebajikan penduduk tempatan tetapi untuk merembat duit negara.

Sila pandang dan teliti Perkampongan Hadari. Di kampong ini dikatakan ada Masjid Kristal, ada replika masjid-masjid bersejarah dan entah apa lagi bangunan hinggakan belanjanya sampai 250 juta ringgit. Kononya untuk menjadikan Kampong Hadari sebagai tarikan pelancung. Sedarlah, hanya pelancung yang bodoh sahaja yang datang untuk melihat barang 'tiruan dari plastik'.

Para pelancung lebih senang melihat pantai yang landai, pulau yang hijau dari melihat sungai dan pantai yang berselirat dengan plastik. Atau pesisir pantai yang telah ditimbun tambah dengan batu-batu yang hodoh. Pelancung yang berilmu akan pergi ke tempat yang asli. Kalau kita hendak makan keropok lekor kita tidak akan pergi ke Paris tetapi kita pergi ke Lesong.

Saya sendiri amat teringin, tetapi belum sempat untuk datang melihat Perkampongan Hadari. Niat saya bukan untuk melihat keindahan Masjid Kristal tetapi saya hendak terperanjat melihat bagaimana projek tipu rakyat 250 juta ringgit ini dapat dilakukan atas nama agama Islam. Nilai 250 juta ringgit ini angka resmi. Berapa agaknya angka yang tidak resmi?

Justeru, saya cukup yakin kemenangan ada di dalam tangan Pakatan Rakyat. Jika Pakatan Rakyat dapat mengambil kembali kerusi P36 ini maka ini bermakna ombak tsunami PRU 13 belum reda.

Tidak dapat tidak kemenangan di P36 ini akan memastikan langkah ke hadapan untuk Pakatan Rakyat sampai ke Putrajaya. Kemenangan Pakatan Rakyat ini juga akan membuktikan bahawa kepimpinan Najib Razak sebagai ketua kempen Barisan Nasional tidaklah se gah mana.

Saya cukup yakin warga Kuala Terangganu tidak akan melupakan peristiwa Batu Buruk di mana peluru hidup telah digunakan untuk menembak orang ramai. Pada 17 Januari ini warga Kuala Terangganu tidak perlu membaling-baling batu lagi. Apa yang wajib mereka lakukan hanyalah memangkah calon Pakatan Rakyat.

Kemenangan Pakatan Rakyat di Kuala Terangganu adalah batu buruk yang akan menghempap United Malays National Organisation untuk selama-lamanya.

( Tulisan ini keluar dalam akhbar Harakah Jumaat yang lalu )

Whom can we trust, PAS or Umno?

Tuesday, 13 January 2009 11:06

Raja Petra Kamarudin

When asked about his stand on Hudud, Wan Farid Wan Salleh, Barisan Nasional’s candidate for the Kuala Terengganu by-election, replied, “I don't think it's an issue.” He did not say whether he supports Hudud or opposes it. He just refused to commit himself to the issue.As I had written over the last few days, while UMNO and MCA have challenged PKR and DAP to state their stands on the Islamic State and Hudud, Umno itself will not commit itself to the issue. PAS can’t change Malaysia from a Secular State to an Islamic State.

It can’t abrogate our common laws and replace them with Islamic laws. It can’t do that now or even in the future. As has been pointed out many times, the arithmetic just does not allow PAS to do that. It’s as simple as that. It’s all about the arithmetic. And PAS has said so many times that anything it does will be according to the Federal Constitution of Malaysia and not in violation of it.Umno, however, can.

This is because, through the Barisan Nasional coalition, they have the majority in Parliament, although no longer a two-thirds majority since the 8 March 2008 general election. So we need to ask Umno, not PAS, the question. Would we ask a person who has never bought a lottery in his life what he would do with his millions if he won first prize? He may reply he would marry a second wife, go to Mekah to perform the Haj, build a school, set up an orphanage, etc.

But his reply would be purely academic since he has never bought, and will never buy, a lottery in his entire life. In fact, he considers lotteries as haram and that is why he does not want to gamble. So why ask him what he would do with his winnings if that is something that is never going to happen?But Umno is in power. They are the federal government. They are the ones, not PAS, who has the power to abrogate our laws, amend the laws, change the laws, and turn Malaysia from a Secular State into an Islamic State. So Umno must be asked this question.

And when asked, Wan Farid very deviously replies, “I don't think it's an issue.” But it is an issue. And it is an issue because UMNO and MCA have challenged PKR and DAP to state their stands on the issue. And PKR and DAP have, time and again, said they are opposed to the issue. And, to demonstrate this, two days ago they got PAS to agree to an agreement that any and all policy matters must be based on consensus. All three partners within Pakatan Rakyat must unanimously agree to any policy matters. A simple majority is not enough. It must be either all or nothing.

The ball is now at Umno’s feet. Umno claims to be the largest Islamic party in the world. This is what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad declared when he was the Prime Minister of Malaysia. And it is Umno that keeps raising the issue of the Islamic State and Hudud. Khairy Jamaluddin, the Prime Minister’s son-in-law, has been going around Kuala Terengganu proudly claiming that it was he who very cleverly trapped Husam Musa into making his slip-of-the-lips in the debate they engaged in.Pakatan Rakyat has laid the matter to rest. The issue is no longer an issue. It is now a non-issue. So what is Umno’s stand on the Islamic State and Islamic laws? That is what the voters, in particular the non-Malay voters, would like to know. Is Umno ferociously opposed to the Islamic State and Hudud? Or does it not dare state its stand, one way or the other?Umno does not dare state its stand.

Umno would rather say: "I don't think it's an issue." But, to many, they do think it is an issue. The temples being demolished are in Umno-run states. The churches being denied permission to be set up are in Umno-run states. The Malay language Bible is being denied permission the use of the word ‘Allah’ by the Umno-led federal government. Those being detained by the religious authorities for ‘immoral conduct’ are in Umno-run states and they are being detained by federal agencies.Where is PAS’s hand in all these? All we see is the hand of Umno. PAS is said to be an extremist party. But it is the Umno-run states and the Umno-led federal government that appears to be doing all these extremist acts, in the name of Islam. PAS, on the other hand, approves churches and temples in the states it runs -- while the many years the state was under Umno control the non-Muslims failed to get permission.

There is currently an ongoing court case in Sabah. Chong Kah Kiat, the 13th Chief Minister of Sabah, the former president of the Liberal Democratic Party (a member of Barisan Nasional), is taking the Umno state government to court for not allowing a Buddhist statue to be built in the state. Chong, who was the Deputy Chief Minister, also resigned his post in protest. It is not PAS but Umno that is blocking the Ma Tzu or Goddess of The Sea statue in Kudat, Sabah.

Stop asking PAS, DAP or PKR their stands. Their stands are clear. Their stands are: no changes without consensus. And all changes must be according to the Federal Constitution of Malaysia and not in violation of it. And that goes for the internal Security Act as well. PAS, DAP or PKR are opposed to the Internal Security Act.

When asked about his stand on the Internal Security Act, this was what Wan Farid replied: “In government, we cannot have individual [positions] on policies.”When asked whether the Internal Security Act should at least be reviewed, Wan Farid replied: “My stand is parallel with the government's. It is good as it is.” Read his lips, very slowly. He does not have an individual opinion. His stand is parallel with the government. The ISA is good and will remain. The fact that the ISA is unconstitutional does not matter. Umno is prepared to violate the Constitution. PAS said it would not do anything that goes against the Constitution. Wan Farid says the Constitution does not matter.

The Constitution says no one can be detained without being told of his/her crime and must be produced in front of a magistrate within 24 hours. The Internal Security Act allows one to be detained without being told of his/her crime and they can be held without being brought in front of a magistrate for the rest of his/her life.

According to the Constitution, a person is innocent until proven guilty. And the onus is on the Prosecution to prove guilt. The Accused needs not prove innocence. All he or she has to do is to raise reasonable doubt and the benefit of the doubt must be given to the Accused. Under the Internal Security Act, the government needs not prove guilt and the Accused has to instead justify that his or her detention is invalid. But the detained person will not be allowed a trial. Instead, a panel will hear the arguments of the Accused in secret, behind closed doors. And, in all cases, the panel will reject the arguments of the Accused.

And that is why PAS opposes the ISA, because it violates the Constitution. PAS respects the Constitution. And PAS respects the Constitution not only with regards to the right of an accused to a fair and open trial but also with regards to converting Malaysia into an Islamic State and the implementation of Islamic laws. Umno, however, according to Wan Farid, says: “In government, we cannot have individual [positions] on policies.” So, whom can we trust? A party that respects and will comply to the Federal Constitution of Malaysia or one that violates the Constitution every step of the way? That is the fundamental issue in the Kuala Terengganu by-election. PAS has spoken. Umno too has spoken.

And both voices are loud and clear. The issue is not just about the Internal Security Act or Hudud. It is about laws that are implemented which do not violate the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. Umno does not care about the Constitution. PAS does. So who makes a better government?

You, the voters of Kuala Terengganu, can decide this on Saturday, 17 January 2009. And you need not be a rocket scientist to figure out which of the two makes a better government.

The hearts and minds of the voters

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Thursday, 08 January 2009 12:59

The Chinese in Terengganu have a love-hate relationship with PAS. Okay, maybe it’s not quite a love-hate relationship as such. But it would certainly qualify as a love-not love relationship. To sum up what one local-born Chinese said: we love PAS Kelantan and wish PAS Terengganu would be just like them.

Well, PAS Kelantan is PAS Kelantan and PAS Terengganu is PAS Terengganu. And for that matter PAS Kedah, PAS Perak and PAS Selangor are separate entities in their own right as well. Many people make the mistake of looking at PAS as one party. However, as I have said before, PAS is actually not one party but a collection of many PASess, each state being independent of each other and of the centre as well.

The message PAS needs to send to the Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu is that they are not being asked to choose a new government or to change the government. They are just being asked to elect a new Member of Parliament for Kuala Terengganu -- which is a vacant seat anyway, so no one is being replaced or changed. Therefore, there is not going to be any change of government either at state or federal level.

The issue of Hudud is not really that serious an issue except to those weak in arithmetic. These weaklings do not appear to understand, or pretend to not understand, that Malaysia has 222 Parliament constituencies and two-thirds of 222 is 148. This means PAS will need to win 148 Parliament seats to form the federal government with a two-thirds majority and with the required majority to amend the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.

This has been explained so many times in the past. And it has also been explained that PAS contests only 60 seats, far short of the 148, and they win less than half the seats they contest. In 1999 they won 27 seats. In 2004 they won 9. And in 2008 they won 23. How in heaven’s name can PAS amend the Constitution when this is all it can win?

I have said this before, many times, and I will say it again. PAS can never in 100 years win more than 35 Parliament seats, never mind how many seats they contest. They can contest all 222 Parliament seats and they will still win, at best, 35 seats. Most likely, though, PAS will win less than 30 seats.

Now, some are arguing that PAS can always team up with Umno to get their two-thirds majority. Aiyah, Umno has only 78 seats in Parliament. Combined with PAS it would be only 101 seats. Did I not say they need 148 seats to have a two-thirds majority? Even then you are assuming that the 13 Umno Parliamentarians in Sabah will follow the 65 in Peninsular Malaysia. I dare take on any bet that if Umno decides to merge with PAS to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State, at least 10 of the Umno Sabah Parliamentarians will jump ship.

Sigh……it is most tiring having to keep repeating this same issue and present the arithmetic for all to see. Yet, many still repeat the same questions in spite of this repeated explanation and even with the arithmetic glaring you in the face. I am sure many readers are as tired of reading this explanation as I am of repeating it to those thick heads who still don’t get it.

On the positive side though, many Chinese have said they find PAS a better government in some respects compared to Umno. They took me to their building built on a piece of land that the PAS government gave them. Under Umno the Chinese were not able to get any land.

The Kuala Terengganu Chinese are also aware that the Perak government is trying to convert at least 150,000 pieces of land from TOL to freehold but the federal government is blocking the move. The reason the federal government is blocking the effort by the Perak government is simple: the beneficiaries are mostly all Chinese.

Don’t think the Kuala Terengganu Chinese do not know that the move to block the conversion of TOL land to freehold in Perak is mainly because the Chinese -- who will end up owning this land -- will become richer by RM1.5 billion, overnight. In fact, the Kuala Terengganu Chinese too are facing the same problem. They have been residing in Terengganu for more than 200 years and yet they can’t get land and the only land they own is TOL.Now, even that is going to be taken away from them. After the Kuala Terengganu by-election on 17 January 2009, the state government is going to acquire quite a bit of Chinese land for development and beautification purposes. The state government is not making too much noise about the matter but the Chinese already know about the plan. Even their temple that goes back centuries is not going to be spared.

Yes, the Chinese are most unhappy and would like to see Umno given a kick in the teeth. However, in the same breath, they do not want to ‘rock the boat’. How can they have it both ways? You can’t fry the egg unless you break the shell. And more than mere shells need to be broken if you want to send Umno a message. And we hope to see this message delivered on 17 January 2009. That is all for now from Ground Zero in Kuala Terengganu. The rest of my report will be in pictorial form.