GE13: Irrational to punish Barisan, Daim advises Chinese voters - The Star

GE13: Irrational to punish Barisan, Daim advises Chinese voters

KUALA LUMPUR: The Chinese should put aside their sentiment to punish Barisan Nasional in the general election and vote rationally, said former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin.

In an interview with China Press, Daim said he believed that the Chinese would make the right choice by voting Barisan.

“If you want to punish Barisan, what will you get in return? If the Chinese are not satisfied with the Government, let's see from another perspective. Are they dissatisfied with every issue?

“Economic stability, a peaceful, harmonious, developed and progressing country. It is impossible to get everything you want. I also tell that to the Malays,” he said.

Daim pointed out that if everyone was satisfied with certain issues while dissatisfied with others, it only showed that the Government had done the right thing because it could not exist just for a certain group of people.

In contrast, he said the three parties in Pakatan Rakyat had their own agenda, adding that they could not even properly manage the state governments, let alone the Federal Government.

Based on his analysis, Daim said Barisan would be able to form the next Government, with an even better overall performance compared with the 2008 general election.

“Barisan may lose some of its seats in Johor, Sabah and Sarawak. But the overall results will be better than that in the last elections. This is because Barisan will be able to win back some of the seats in Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan,” he said.

Barisan, said Daim, also had a chance to wrest back Selangor and Kedah if the coalition could come up with suitable Mentri Besar candidates. However, he admitted that it would be an uphill task for Barisan to get back Penang and Kelantan.

“As long as Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat is there, the people will vote for PAS. It is very difficult for Barisan to win the state,” he said.

Daim also said that in Perak, although there would be a stiff fight, Barisan had the upper hand

MIC has finalised candidates for 28 seats: Dr Subramaniam - The Malaysian Insider

March 31, 2013

The MIC, a component party of Barisan Nasional (BN) said the allocation of seats was finalised after a series of discussions although initially there was a little uncertainty on the choice of candidates, he said.

Subramaniam said although the MIC had finalised the candidates, there could one or two changes in the choice of seats with BN component parties before the final announcement.

“We will make a final decision after discussing the possibility discreetly, unlike the opposition who openly clash over issue of seats in the public,” he told reporters after attending a memorial gathering for his late Press Secretary B. Sivam, who was killed in an accident, last month.

Sivam, 35, and a driver from the Ministry of Human Resources were killed when their Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) was involved in an accident at KM232 of the North South Expressway, near Rembau, on Feb 28.

In the 2008 General Election, the MIC won three Parliament seats, namely Tapah, Cameron Highlands and Segamat and later recaptured the Hulu Selangor seat during a by-election.

The 2008 General Election, also known as the ‘Tsunami’ saw the MIC win the Asahan state seat in Melaka; Gambir, Kahang, Permas, Tenggaroh (Johor); Sabai (Pahang) and Jeram Padang (Negeri Sembilan). – Bernama

DPM: Automatic dissolution of Parliament unlikely

DPM: Automatic dissolution of Parliament unlikely

Ahmad Fadli KC 7:14PM Mar 31, 2013

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin believed that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will not allow Parliament to dissolve automatically.

"I don't think the prime minister will wait for the end of the five year term to dissolve Parliament.

"I (really) don't think so. (I think) the election will be in a few weeks, this April," he said during Federal Territories 1Malaysia Gathering at Titiwangsa Stadium in Kuala Lumpur today.
According to the Election Commission, Parliament would be dissolved automatically on April 30. The Negeri Sembilan state legislative assembly is already automatically dissolved.
Addressing some 3,000 people, Muhyiddin also criticised Pakatan Rakyat for saying that Umno should be rejected on grounds of having ruled too long.

Muhyiddin said that an experienced government has advantages because it understands the needs of the public.

"Ladies and gentlemen, an older government becomes more energetic. The older, the more stylish. Am I right?" asked Muhyiddin, to thunderous replies from the crowd.

GE13: Pakatan’s hopes in Perak dimming - The Star

GE13: Pakatan’s hopes in Perak dimming

Analysis
By JOCELINE TAN

Lim Kit Siang’s departure from Perak is the clearest sign that Pakatan Rakyat has given up hope of recapturing the state in the general election.

SOMETHING quite unforgettable happened at the recent appreciation gathering that Perak DAP held to send off Lim Kit Siang to Johor. Two of the party’s sworn enemies in Perak, Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham and M. Kulasegaran, posed with their arms around each other and sported big smiles.

The press photographers almost went crazy because they knew just how rare a scene it was – two arch rivals acting like best friends. All of them could still remember the scene after the contentious party elections in Perak a couple of years ago when the pair would not even look at each other.

Ngeh, the powerful state DAP chairman, had earlier delivered a rather conciliatory speech at the dinner function during which he spoke about unity, forgiveness and starting afresh. He is an active Methodist church leader and he told the gathering that pastors counselling those about to get married would tell them that quarrels are normal in a marriage, that couples who quarrel also stay married forever.

Everyone laughed but Lim’s expression was quite inscrutable. He has been Ipoh Timur MP for almost 10 years, he has seen the politicking escalate between the Ngeh and Kulasegaran factions and some suspect he is quite relieved that he will soon be far away from it all.

So, is it going to be sugar and spice and everything nice between the two old enemies?

Not exactly. Even Lim has been no match for the powerful cousins of Perak. Ngeh and his younger cousin Nga Kor Ming have continued to dominate and control Perak politics and Lim has not been able to do anything to loosen their grip.

The elder politician’s body and soul is already in Johor where he has caused ripples. On Tuesday, a fashionable middle-aged lady with orange hair was so thrilled to see him in Skudai that she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big kiss, leaving a vivid lipstick print on his cheek.

Lim’s departure from Perak politics basically means that Pakatan Rakyat has given up all hopes of recapturing Perak from Barisan Nasional. Lim would not be taking flight if he thought that Pakatan was about to wrest back Perak. He would be at the centre of the action, lending his weight to the campaign.

Another sign that Pakatan has given up on Perak has to do with all the rumours circulating about Kulasegaran and Batu Gajah MP Fong Po Kuan joining Lim in Johor.

A coalition that is fighting its way back into the seat of government would not be trying to export its heavyweights elsewhere. It would want as many big names as possible around to create a momentum and make up the numbers.

“I don’t know why there are rumours in the last two months. But I am not going to Johor,” said Fong.

Fong is a well-regarded face in Batu Gajah whereas Kulasegaran is synonymous with Ipoh Barat. The latter pretty much handles the running of Ipoh Timur for Lim because the senior man is not the sort to sit in a service centre listening to the everyday woes of the local folk.

Lately, the speculation about Fong has built up to her being dropped. Some alleged that the talk is coming from the cousins’ camp and that it is their way of telling the top leadership to get Kulasegaran and Fong out of Perak.

Party insiders said the cousins want to replace the pair with candidates who are aligned to them.

The cousins have openly crossed swords with Kulasegaran and his belligerent tweets warning the cousins not to be funny with him was the talk of the party.

Earlier this week, Ngeh held a ceramah in Sitiawan at Kampung Koh where Kulasegaran was born. Someone tweeted to ask why Kulasegaran was not invited as a speaker and said that a good Christian would have accommodated him in his own kampung. The tweet was obviously aimed at Ngeh.

The cousins also dislike Fong whom they claim is not a team player; what it means is that she is not in their team. They are also said to have rocked her political base by taking over control of the branches in Batu Gajah.

That is why some have described Lim’s departure as the “great escape” – he is now free of the intense politicking in Perak. His inability to temper the ambitions of the cousins has disappointed people in the party but as some have pointed out, Ngeh and Lim go back a long way. They are party comrades as well as family friends.

“Kit Siang had a minimal role in Perak or else things would not be so chaotic,” said a Pakatan insider.

The cousins are now king of the hill in every sense of the word. They are expected to continue to contest dual seats. Ngeh is expected to defend his parliamentary and state seats in Bruas and Sitiawan respectively. Nga will defend his Taiping parliamentary seat but is said to be moving to a state seat nearer Ipoh because he plans to put a new face to contest in Pantai Remis.

PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has also been talking about contesting in Perak. The Pakatan side said he wants to do for Perak what Lim is doing in Johor. But some think it is because Permatang Pauh is not looking as secure as before.

Pakatan in Penang is struggling with the Malay vote the way Barisan Nasional is struggling with the Chinese vote and that may explain why Anwar is keeping his options open.

Few believe that he will risk it in Perak. They think he is playing mind-games because he would want to be in Penang which Pakatan is assured of winning rather than go to Perak where Pakatan has lost hope.

MIC leaders tell Zul Noordin to ‘shut up’ and apologise - Malaysian Insider

MIC leaders tell Zul Noordin to ‘shut up’ and apologise

BY BOO SU-LYN

MARCH 29, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — MIC leaders told Datuk Zulkifli Noordin today to “shut up”, apologise and retract his remarks that allegedly disparaged the Hindu religion. 

The Independent Kulim-Bandar Baharu MP was recorded in a video uploaded yesterday on YouTube as questioning the purity of the Ganges River in India, which the Hindus consider sacred, claiming that chicken carcasses were floating in it.

“If you don’t have in-depth knowledge, you must shut up and keep quiet,” MIC central working committee member Datuk T. Rajagopalu told The Malaysian Insider today.

“He’s not fit to be an MP. He’s a half-baked lawyer and he’s not a true Muslim man. A true Muslim man would never condemn other religions,” he added.

Rajagopalu said Zulkifli, who is also the Perkasa vice-president and a Sharia lawyer, should read up on Hinduism and the Ganges River before commenting.

MIC vice-president Datuk S. K. Devamany demanded that Zulkifli apologise and withdraw his remarks.  

“How dare he do this?” said Devamany.

“He’s a very irresponsible member of Parliament. We’re trying to create harmony and peace and the concept of 1 Malaysia, and trying to engage all communities, and harmonise everybody’s feelings...He should retract it and be sensitive to the needs of the people, the Hindus,” he added.

Hindu Sangam said earlier today that the video of Zulkifli’s remarks, which the opposition has labelled as vicious attacks against Hinduism, had originally surfaced in 2011.

The Hindu group said that it has previous complained about Zulkifli, but believed that no action was taken against him because he was a Muslim and a member of Perkasa.

Zulkifli was shown in the video delivering a religious lecture, in which he questioned a Hindu trader on why Hindu gods did not prevent the man’s shop from being flooded.

He also appeared to mock what was described as a rush to buy up the broken idols.

“Many Indians are fighting to buy statues of the elephant god, even the one with its trunk broken off… I asked him why they were buying this god, [when] the trunk is broken. He said, ‘Never mind, we’ll mend it,’” said the lawmaker who was sacked from PKR.

MIC central working committee member P. Kamalanathan condemned Zulkifli’s remarks “in the harshest manner possible.”

“Our diverse country does not need such sensitive provocation which is against the lofty 1 Malaysia ideal of the government,” Kamalanathan, who is also the Hulu Selangor MP, told The Malaysian Insider.

Indian group the National Indian-Rights Action Team (NIAT) lodged a police report against Zulkifli at the Dang Wangi police station here today.

“His remarks were very insulting. His statement can incite religious tension between the Muslims and Hindus,” said NIAT chairman Datuk Thasleem Mohamed Ibrahim Al-Haj in a statement today.

“YB Zulkifli’s statement is also seditious. This report was lodged so that investigations can be conducted immediately and for appropriate action to be taken against YB Zulkifli,” he added, pointing out that Section 298A of the Penal Code prohibited actions that cause disharmony, feelings of enmity and hatred.

Human rights group Suaram also censured Zulkifli earlier today and urged voters to reject him in Election 2013 that is expected to be held in weeks. 

This is the second incident of the year in which Hindus were the apparent target.

Earlier this year, columnist Dr Ridhuan Tee Abdullah upset MIC central working committee member S. Vell Paari after allegedly insulting the Hindu community in an article published in Malay-language daily Sinar Harian on February 18.

M'sian households richer by 24pct over three years - Malaysiakini

M'sian households richer by 24pct over three years

Aidila Razak, KiniBiz 2:39PM Mar 28, 2013

Malaysian households took home close to RM1,000 more per month last year compared to 2009, a government survey on incomes found.

The Department of Statistics Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey 2012 found that Malaysian households earned an average RM5,000 a month last year, up a significant 24 percent from 2009 when the same survey was last conducted. 

This about tracks the growth of overall gross national income (GNI).

The figures mean that each person in a Malaysian household (assuming 4.2 persons per household) took home an average of RM1,190.50 a month in 2012, up by RM254 a month in 2009. 

This works out to RM14,286 per year.

The figure, however, is about a third of the RM48,000 annual GNI per capita high income target which the Performance Management and Delivery Unit believes can be hit by 2018.

The GNI per capita income target set includes incomes of corporations and businesses, plus net income from abroad.

Lagging rural household incomes

The income growth from 2009 to 2012, however, was higher in the cities, with rural household average monthly income lagging by close to more than RM2,600. 

Urban households earned on average RM5,742 a month while rural households earned RM3,080.

Those living in the Kuala Lumpur area enjoyed the largest income growth, earning RM3,000 more than the national average in 2009. 

Annual growth rate was also double that of the national rate.

The surge in the incomes of KL-ites pulled up the national average, with most other states registering average monthly income lower than the RM5,000 national average in 2012.

Average monthly household income in 2012 was lowest in Kelantan at RM3,168, but the state had seen incomes growing at a significant rate of 7.4 percent every year.

Among the states whose household incomes grew at a slower rate of four to five percent are Penang, Malacca and Pahang.

Zambry: Cadangan Anwar ke Parlimen Lumut tindakan terdesak pembangkang - Sinar Harian

23 Mac 2013

Zambry Abd Kadir

PANGKOR - Cadangan pembangkang supaya ketuanya Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim bertanding bagi kerusi Parlimen Lumut pada pilihan raya umum ke-13 dilihat sebagai satu tindakan terdesak dan cuba menagih simpati rakyat.

Menteri Besar Perak Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir berkata pembangkang khasnya di negeri ini semakin kehilangan sokongan berikutan pelbagai pendekatan yang dibuat Barisan Nasional (BN) dalam usaha membantu rakyat.

"Apa yang disuarakan itu adalah hak mereka tetapi saya hairan dan agak teruja apabila Ketua Pembangkang itu dicadangkan bertanding di Lumut. Kita melihat tindakan membawa Anwar bertanding di Perak sebagai suntikan semangat kepada pembangkang bagi mengatasi kelebihan BN yang terus mendapat tempat di hati rakyat," katanya kepada pemberita di sini hari ini.

Beliau sebelum itu menyampaikan cek pinjaman Tekun dan Yayasan Basmi Kemiskinan pada Program RTM Merentas Kampung Bersama TM di Arena Square, Pulau Pangkor di sini.

Zambry berkata beliau berasa agak 'teruja' dengan cadangan Pemuda PAS Perak yang kelihatan seperti memujuk Anwar untuk bertanding bagi Parlimen Lumut.

Beliau mengulas cadangan Timbalan Ketua Pemuda PAS Perak Dr Raja Ahmad Iskandar Al-Hiss baru-baru ini supaya Anwar sebagai calon kerusi Parlimen Lumut.

Zambry yang Pengerusi BN Perak dan anggota Dewan Undangan Negeri Pangkor berkata tindakan itu menunjukkan pembangkang di Perak mahu ketua mereka itu menjadi penyelamat dalam PRU-13 nanti.

"Saya sendiri berasa hairan apabila pihak pembangkang khususnya PAS begitu beria-ia mahu Anwar di Perak. Hanya kerana manusia kecil seperti saya, pembangkang terpaksa 'angkut' Anwar untuk lawan BN. Saya tidak tahu apa dah jadi dengan pembangkang hingga sampai ke peringkat merayu-rayu kepada ketua pembangkang agar datang dan bertanding di negeri Perak," katanya.

Sementara itu, Menteri Pengangkutan Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha yang juga anggota Parlimen Parlimen Lumut ketika mengulas perkara yang sama berkata beliau tidak gentar menghadapi pemimpin pembangkang itu jika benar beliau bertanding di Parlimen Lumut.

"Saya sudah bertanding tiga kali di sini...dan sedia bertanding menghadapi sesiapa sahaja. Rakyat boleh membuat penilaian sewajarnya terhadap khidmat wakil rakyat BN sejak tiga penggal yang lepas," katanya.

Dalam perkembangan berkaitan, Zambry mengingatkan pemimpin parti yang tidak terpilih sebagai calon pilihan raya umum ke-13 supaya tidak berkecil hati, sebaliknya mereka sewajarnya terus memberi sokongan kepada calon BN.

Ini, katanya, akan memastikan kelangsungan kuasa mentadbir negara terus kekal di tangan parti gabungan itu.

Mereka yang terpilih sebagai calon BN pula diingatkan supaya tidak menganggap pemilihan itu sebagai satu kedudukan istimewa, bahkan perlu bekerja keras berkhidmat untuk rakyat, katanya.

Zambry, yang juga Pengerusi BN Perak, berkata senarai nama calon BN negeri kini berada di peringkat saringan akhir termasuk tapisan keselamatan dan Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia bagi memastikan calon itu bebas daripada kes bankrap dan rasuah. - Bernama