My Persaraan

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Bagaimana Syaitan Memasuki Hati Manusia





"..........terlalu cintakan kepada dunia sedangkan kehidupan di akhirat tiada langsung di dalam hatinya, baginya kehidupan hanya sekali sahaja iaitu di dunia.
¨ Terlalu melayan perasaan dan panjang angan-angan kerana sifat ini akan mengeraskan hati.¨ Terlalu rakus kepada kehidupan dunia kerana ia akan membuahkan sifat tamak.

¨ Bakhil dengan apa yang dimiliki dan yang diperolehinya kerana ia merupakan pintu kepada kesombongan.
¨ Riya’, besar diri dan anggkuh kerana ia merupakan punca kepada sifat kemunafikan.¨ Ujub dan sombong.

¨ Sentiasa menyimpan perasaan buruk sangka terhadap orang lain dan berdendam.¨ Memandang remeh akan dosa-dosa kecil kerana ia akan mendorongkan lagi manusia berterusan dalam melakukan dosa kecil dikira sebagai melakukan dosa besar.
¨ Merasa suka dan gembira bila mendapat sesuatu musibah atau azab dari Allah.¨ Memandang rendah kepada orang lain kerana sifat ini merupakan tapak bercambahnya sifat dengki dan membuka pintu kebencian.

¨ Bodoh diatas setiap tindakan dan perbuatan tetapi tidak pula menyedari akan kebodohannya itu sebaliknya merasakan dirinya sentiasa betul.

¨ Suka kepada pujian dan sanjungan kerana ia merupakan punca timbulnya sifat besar diri dan sombong.¨ Ketika sedang marah kerana marah itu merupakan bara api dari neraka.
¨ Putus asa dengan rahmat Allah, sifat ini akan membuatkan seseorang merasakan dunia yang begitu luas ini terlalu sempit baginya, oleh kerana terlalu kecewa ia sanggup melakukan apa saja.

FIKIR-FIKIRKANLAH.......

Kisah Sebuah Jam

Seorang kawan hantar cerita ini mengenai pembuat jam yang sedang bersoaljawab dengan sebuah Jam........ begini kisahnya.... hepi reading


Alkisah, seorang pembuat jam tangan berkata kepada jam yang sedang dibuatnya. “Hai jam, apakah kamu sanggup untuk berdetik paling tidak 31,104,000 kali selama setahun?”
“Ha?,” kata jam terperanjat, “Mana sanggup saya?”
“Bagaimana kalau 86,400 kali dalam sehari?” tanya si pembuat jam.
“Lapan puluh enam ribu empat ratus kali? Dengan jarum yang ramping-ramping seperti ini?” jawab jam penuh keraguan.
“Bagaimana kalau 3,600 kali dalam satu jam?” cadang si pembuat jam.
“Dalam satu jam harus berdetik 3,600 kali? Banyak sekali itu” tetap saja jam ragu-ragu dengan kemampuan dirinya.
Tukang jam dengan penuh kesabaran kemudian berkata lagi kepada si jam. “Kalau begitu, sanggupkah kamu berdetik satu kali setiap detik?”
“Oh, kalau begitu, aku sanggup!” kata jam dengan penuh semangat.
Maka, setelah selesai dibuat, jam itu berdetik satu kali setiap detik. Tanpa terasa, detik demi detik terus berlalu dan jam itu sungguh luar biasa kerana ternyata selama satu tahun penuh dia telah berdetik tanpa henti. Dan itu bererti ia telah berdetik sebanyak 31,104,000 kali.

Morale of the story: Ada kalanya kita ragu-ragu dengan segala tugas pekerjaan yang begitu berat. Tetapi setelah selesai menunaikan kewajipan itu, barulah kita tahu bahawa kita sememangnya manusia yang dikurniakan dengan kehebatan oleh Ilahi.....

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Stop the tussle



Perkara yang mungkin tidak patut berlaku, kini sedang mendidih di Trengganu Kita. Apa sebenarnya yang sedang terjadi. Ahmad Said telah pun ditauliahkan untuk bertugas sebagai MB, sedangkan Idris Jusoh mengatakan dia menerima watikah perlantikan sebagai MB daripada YAB PM. Kita semua tahu YABPM tiada kuasa untuk melantik MB sesebuah negeri di dalam negara ini. Selama ini kuasa melantik yang diamalkan adalah turun temurun daripada PM kita yang lama, yang secara tidak sedar telah salah guna kuasa melantik MB untuk diperkenankan oleh DYMM Tuanku. Kini Tuanku-Tuanku mungkin dah sedar bahawa merekalah sebenarnya berkuasa memilih dari kalangan Yang Berhormat sebagai Menteri Besar.

Pada ketika ini, Penasihat undang-undang negara kita, juga dikenali sebagai Pendakwa Raya - the Attorney-General, (datuk gani)sedang cuba untuk bertemu dengan DYMM YDP Agong bagi menyampaikan maksud sebenar perlembagaan negeri itu berkaitan dengan perkara lantikan YAB MB. Tapi usahanya untuk berjumpa pun belum berjaya lagi... susah, dan susahlah nampaknya keadaan di T'ganu Kita...


Harap-harapnya bukan begitu. Kalau DYMM tak suka pada Idris, dan orang UMNO pula tak suka pada Mat Said, tukar saja orang lain yang berkenan di hati DYMM... susah sangat ke?

Sultan mungkin tak akan tukar orang lain, tetapi usaha yang tertentu boleh dibuat bagi mengambil jalan tengah yang bersesuaian dengan keinginan Sultan.. mesti ada punya jalan sebegini sebab Sultan pun tidak mahu negerinya kucar kacir...... Malu pada negeri-negeri lain yang tak biasa dengan peristiwa begini, kan?

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Selamat Menyambut Malulidur Rasul 12 Rabiul Awal 1429H


Today is a public holiday because the whole country is celebrating Mawlidar Rasul, The Prophet Muhammad's Birthday. The whole world wherever there are muslim, they the muslim will observe the day reciting prayers for the beloved Prophets, his friends dan decendants. Briefly below is an excertp about the dear Prophet...


By the way the biography on the Prophet can be access this way : http://www.inter-islam.org/Seerah/iSeerah.html

Happy Reading.

Kisah Nabi Muhammad saw.
Semasa umat manusia dalam kegelapan dan suasana jahiliyyah, lahirlah seorang bayi pada 12 Rabiul Awal tahun Gajah di Makkah. Bayi yang dilahirkan bakal membawa perubahan besar bagi sejarah peradaban manusia. Bapa bayi tersebut bernama Abdullah bin Abdul Mutallib yang telah wafat sebelum baginda dilahirkan iaitu sewaktu baginda 7 bulan dalam kandungan ibu. Ibunya bernama Aminah binti Wahab. Kehadiran bayi itu disambut dengan penuh kasih sayang dan dibawa ke ka'abah, kemudian diberikan nama Muhammad, nama yang belum pernah wujud sebelumnya.

Selepas itu Muhammad disusukan selama beberapa hari oleh Thuwaiba, budak suruhan Abu Lahab sementara menunggu kedatangan wanita dari Banu Sa'ad. Adat menyusukan bayi sudah menjadi kebiasaan bagi bangsawan-bangsawan Arab di Makkah. Akhir tiba juga wanita dari Banu Sa'ad yang bernama Halimah bin Abi-Dhuaib yang pada mulanya tidak mahu menerima baginda kerana Muhammad seorang anak yatim. Namun begitu, Halimah membawa pulang juga Muhammad ke pedalaman dengan harapan Tuhan akan memberkati keluarganya. Sejak diambilnya Muhammad sebagai anak susuan, kambing ternakan dan susu kambing-kambing tersebut semakin bertambah. Baginda telah tinggal selama 2 tahun di Sahara dan sesudah itu Halimah membawa baginda kembali kepada Aminah dan membawa pulang semula ke pedalaman.


Kisah Dua Malaikat dan Pembedahan Dada Muhammad


Pada usia dua tahun, baginda didatangi oleh dua orang malaikat yang muncul sebagai lelaki yang berpakaian putih. Mereka bertanggungjawab untuk membedah Muhammad. Pada ketika itu, Halimah dan suaminya tidak menyedari akan kejadian tersebut. Hanya anak mereka yang sebaya menyaksikan kedatangan kedua malaikat tersebut lalu mengkhabarkan kepada Halimah. Halimah lantas memeriksa keadaan Muhammad, namun tiada kesan yang aneh ditemui.

Muhammad tinggal di pedalaman bersama keluarga Halimah selama lima tahun. Selama itu baginda mendapat kasih sayang, kebebasan jiwa dan penjagaan yang baik daripada Halimah dan keluarganya. Selepas itu baginda dibawa pulang kepada datuknya Abdul Mutallib di Makkah.

Datuk baginda, Abdul Mutallib amat menyayangi baginda. Ketika Aminah membawa anaknya itu ke Madinah untuk bertemu dengan saudara-maranya, mereka ditemani oleh Umm Aiman, budak suruhan perempuan yang ditinggalkan oleh bapa baginda. Baginda ditunjukkan tempat wafatnya Abdullah serta tempat dia dikuburkan.

Sesudah sebulan mereka berada di Madinah, Aminah pun bersiap sedia untuk pulang semula ke Makkah. Dia dan rombongannya kembali ke Makkah menaiki dua ekor unta yang memang dibawa dari Makkah semasa mereka datang dahulu. Namun begitu, ketika mereka sampai di Abwa, ibunya pula jatuh sakit dan akhirnya meninggal dunia lalu dikuburkan di situ juga.
Muhammad dibawa pulang ke Makkah oleh Umm Aiman dengan perasaan yang sangat sedih. Maka jadilah Muhammad sebagai seorang anak yatim piatu. Tinggallah baginda dengan datuk yang dicintainya dan bapa-bapa saudaranya.

"Bukankah Dia mendapatimu sebagai seorang yatim, lalu Dia melindungimu. Dan Dia mendapatimu sebagai seorang yang bingung lalu Dia memberikan petunjuk" (Surah Ad-Dhuha, 93: 6-7)


Abdul Mutallib Wafat


Kegembiraannya bersama datuk baginda tidak bertahan lama. Ketika baginda berusia lapan tahun, datuk baginda pula meninggal dunia. Kematian Abdul Mutallib menjadi satu kehilangan besar buat Bani Hashim. Dia mempunyai keteguhan hati, berwibawa, pandangan yang bernas, terhormat dan berpengaruh dikalangan orang Arab. Dia selalu menyediakan makanan dan minuman kepada para tetamu yang berziarah dan membantu penduduk Makkah yang dalam kesusahan.
Muhammad diasuh oleh Abu Talib

Selepas kewafatan datuk baginda, Abu Talib mengambil alih tugas bapanya untuk menjaga anak saudaranya Muhammad. Walaupun Abu Talib kurang mampu berbanding saudaranya yang lain, namun dia mempunyai perasaan yang paling halus dan terhormat di kalangan orang-orang Quraisy.Abu Talib menyayangi Muhammad seperti dia menyayangi anak-anaknya sendiri. Dia juga tertarik dengan budi pekerti Muhammad yang mulia.

Pada suatu hari, ketika mereka berkunjung ke Syam untuk berdagang sewaktu Muhammad berusia 12 tahun, mereka bertemu dengan seorang rahib Kristian yang telah dapat melihat tanda-tanda kenabian pada baginda. Lalu rahib tersebut menasihati Abu Talib supaya tidak pergi jauh ke daerah Syam kerana dikhuatiri orang-orang Yahudi akan menyakiti baginda sekiranya diketahui tanda-tanda tersebut. Abu Talib mengikut nasihat rahib tersebut dan dia tidaak banyak membawa harta dari perjalanan tersebut. Dia pulang segera ke Makkah dan mengasuh anak-anaknya yang ramai. Muhammad juga telah menjadi sebahagian dari keluarganya. Baginda mengikut mereka ke pekan-pekan yang berdekatan dan mendengar sajak-sajak oleh penyair-penyair terkenal dan pidato-pidato oleh penduduk Yahudi yang anti Arab.

Baginda juga diberi tugas sebagai pengembala kambing. Baginda mengembala kambing keluarganya dan kambing penduduk Makkah. Baginda selalu berfikir dan merenung tentang kejadian alam semasa menjalankan tugasnya. Oleh sebab itu baginda jauh dari segala pemikiran manusia nafsu manusia duniawi. Baginda terhindar daripada perbuatan yang sia-sia, sesuai dengan gelaran yang diberikan iaitu "Al-Amin".

Selepas baginda mula meningkat dewasa, baginda disuruh oleh bapa saudaranya untuk membawa barang dagangan Khadijah binti Khuwailid, seorang peniaga yang kaya dan dihormati. Baginda melaksanakan tugasnya dengan penuh ikhlas dan jujur. Khadijah amat tertarik dengan perwatakan mulia baginda dan keupayaan baginda sebagai seorang pedagang. Lalu dia meluahkan rasa hatinya untuk berkahwin dengan Muhammad yang berusia 25 tahun ketika itu. Wanita bangsawan yang berusia 40 tahun itu sangat gembira apabila Muhammad menerima lamarannya lalu berlangsunglah perkahwinan mereka berdua. Bermulalah lembaran baru dalam hidup Muhammad dan Khadijah sebagai suami isteri.

Penurunan Wahyu Pertama

Pada usia 40 tahun, Muhammad telah menerima wahyu yang pertama dan diangkat sebagai nabi sekelian alam. Ketika itu, baginda berada di Gua Hira' dan sentiasa merenung dalam kesunyian, memikirkan nasib umat manusia pada zaman itu. Maka datanglah Malaikat Jibril menyapa dan menyuruhnya membaca ayat quran yang pertama diturunkan kepada Muhammad.

"Bacalah dengan nama Tuhanmu Yang menciptakan" (Al-'Alaq, 96: 1)

Rasulullah pulang dengan penuh rasa gementar lalu diselimuti oleh Khadijah yang cuba menenangkan baginda. Apabila semangat baginda mulai pulih, diceritakan kepada Khadijah tentang kejadian yang telah berlaku.

Kemudian baginda mula berdakwah secara sembunyi-sembunyi bermula dengan kaum kerabatnya untuk mengelakkan kecaman yang hebat daripada penduduk Makkah yang menyembah berhala. Khadijah isterinya adalah wanita pertama yang mempercayai kenabian baginda. Manakala Ali bin Abi Talib adalah lelaki pertama yang beriman dengan ajaran baginda.Dakwah yang sedemikian berlangsung selama tiga tahun di kalangan keluarganya sahaja.

Dakwah Secara Terang-terangan

Setelah turunnya wahyu memerintahkan baginda untuk berdakwah secara terang-terangan, maka Rasulullah pun mula menyebarkan ajaran Islam secara lebih meluas.

"Maka sampaikanlah olehmu secara terang-terangan segala apa yang diperintahkan (kepadamu) dan berpalinglah dari orang-orang yang musyrik." (Al-Hijr, 15:94)

Namun begitu, penduduk Quraisy menentang keras ajaran yang dibawa oleh baginda. Mereka memusuhi baginda dan para pengikut baginda termasuk Abu Lahab, bapa saudara baginda sendiri. Tidak pula bagi Abu Talib, dia selalu melindungi anak saudaranya itu namun dia sangat risau akan keselamatan Rasulullah memandangkan tentangan yang hebat dari kaum Quraisy itu. Lalu dia bertanya tentang rancangan Rasulullah seterusnya. Lantas jawab Rasulullah yang bermaksud:

"Wahai bapa saudaraku, andai matahari diletakkan diletakkan di tangan kiriku dan bulan di tangan kananku, agar aku menghentikan seruan ini, aku tidak akan menghentikannya sehingga agama Allah ini meluas ke segala penjuru atau aku binasa kerananya"

Baginda menghadapi pelbagai tekanan, dugaan, penderitaan, cemuhan dan ejekan daripada penduduk-penduduk Makkah yang jahil dan keras hati untuk beriman dengan Allah. Bukan Rasulullah sahaja yang menerima tentangan yang sedemikian, malah para sahabatnya juga turut merasai penderitaan tersebut seperti Amar dan Bilal bin Rabah yang menerima siksaan yang berat.

Kewafatan Khadijah dan Abu Talib

Rasulullah amat sedih melihat tingkahlaku manusia ketika itu terutama kaum Quraisy kerana baginda tahu akan akibat yang akan diterima oleh mereka nanti. Kesedihan itu makin bertambah apabila isteri kesayangannya wafat pada tahun sepuluh kenabiaannya. Isteri bagindalah yang tidak pernah jemu membantu menyebarkan Islam dan mengorbankan jiwa serta hartanya untuk Islam. Dia juga tidak jemu menghiburkan Rasulullah di saat baginda dirundung kesedihan.

Pada tahun itu juga bapa saudara baginda Abu Talib yang mengasuhnya sejak kecil juga meninggal dunia. Maka bertambahlah kesedihan yang dirasai oleh Rasulullah kerana kehilangan orang-orang yang amat disayangi oleh baginda.

Penghijrahan Ke Madinah

Tekanan daripada orang-orang kafir terhadap perjuangan Rasulullah semakin hebat selepas pemergian isteri dan bapa saudara baginda. Maka Rasulullah mengambil keputusan untuk berhijrah ke Madinah berikutan ancaman daripada kafir Quraisy untuk membunuh baginda.

Rasulullah disambut dengan meriahnya oleh para penduduk Madinah. Mereka digelar kaum Muhajirin manakala penduduk-penduduk Madinah dipanggil golongan Ansar. Seruan baginda diterima baik oleh kebanyakan para penduduk Madinah dan sebuah negara Islam didirikan di bawah pimpinan Rasulullas s.a.w sendiri.

Negara Islam Madinah

Negara Islam yang baru dibina di Madinah mendapat tentangan daripada kaum Quraisy di Makkah dan gangguan dari penduduk Yahudi serta kaum bukan Islam yang lain. Namun begitu, Nabi Muhammad s.a.w berjaya juga menubuhkan sebuah negara Islam yang mengamalkan sepenuhnya pentadbiran dan perundangan yang berlandaskan syariat Islam. Baginda dilantik sebagai ketua agama, tentera dan negara. Semua rakyat mendapat hak yang saksama. Piagam Madinah yang merupakan sebuah kanun atau perjanjian bertulis telah dibentuk. Piagam ini mengandungi beberapa fasal yang melibatkan hubungan antara semua rakyat termasuk kaum bukan Islam dan merangkumi aspek politik, sosial, agama, ekonomi dan ketenteraan. Kandungan piagam adalah berdasarkan wahyu dan dijadikan dasar undang-undang Madinah.

Islam adalah agama yang mementingkan kedamaian. Namun begitu, aspek pertahanan amat penting bagi melindungi agama, masyarakat dan negara. Rasulullah telah menyertai 27 kali ekspedisi tentera untuk mempertahan dan menegakkan keadilan Islam. Peperangan yang ditempuhi baginda ialah Perang Badar (623 M/2 H), Perang Uhud (624 M/3 H), Perang Khandak (626 M/5 H) dan Perang Tabuk (630 M/9 H). Namun tidak semua peperangan diakhiri dengan kemenangan.

Pada tahun 625 M/ 4 Hijrah, Perjanjian Hudaibiyah telah dimeterai antara penduduk Islam Madinah dan kaum Musyrikin Makkah. Maka dengan itu, negara Islam Madinah telah diiktiraf. Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. juga telah berjaya membuka semula kota Makkah pada 630 M/9 H bersama dengan 10 000 orang para pengikutnya.

Perang terakhir yang disertai oleh Rasulullah ialah Perang Tabuk dan baginda dan pengikutnya berjaya mendapat kemenangan. Pada tahun berikutnya, baginda telah menunaikan haji bersama-sama dengan 100 000 orang pengikutnya. Baginda juga telah menyampaikan amanat baginda yang terakhir pada tahun itu juga. Sabda baginda yang bermaksud:

"Wahai sekalian manusia, ketahuilah bahawa Tuhan kamu Maha Esa dan kamu semua adalah daripada satu keturunan iaitu keturunan Nabi Adam a.s. Semulia-mulia manusia di antara kamu di sisi Allah s.w.t. ialah orang yang paling bertakwa. Aku telah tinggalkan kepada kamu dua perkara dan kamu tidak akan sesat selama-lamanya selagi kamu berpegang teguh dengan dua perkara itu, iaitu kitab al-Quran dan Sunnah Rasulullah."

Kewafatan Nabi Muhammad s.a.w

Baginda telah wafat pada bulan Jun tahun 632 M/12 Rabiul Awal tahun 11 Hijrah. Baginda wafat setelah selesai melaksanakan tugasnya sebagai rasul dan pemimpin negara. Baginda berjaya membawa manusia ke jalan yang benar dan menjadi seorang pemimpin yang bertanggungjawab, berilmu dan berkebolehan. Rasulullah adalah contoh terbaik bagi semua manusia sepanjang zaman.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

72.22 Carat Diamond


Besarnya berlian ini
Read the following story about it.




A 72.22-carat diamond, so large it could fill a tablespoon, is expected to bring up to $13 million when it goes on auction next month.
Cut from an original rough diamond, the D-color, flawless gem is prized for its pear shape and GIA-graded excellent polish and symmetry. D-color is actually colorless and considered the most highly valued.
It was previewed in Manhattan on Monday and will be offered on April 10 at Sotheby's Hong Kong galleries, which estimates its value at $10 million to $13 million. The buyer has the privilege of naming the stone.
Sotheby's said the most expensive diamond and jewel sold at auction, the pear-shaped, 100.10 carat Star of Season, brought $16.5 million in May 1995.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Buah Naga

A member of the cactus family, the dragon fruits is related to the night blooming cereus. There are many types of the fruit from the South East Asia and South America. The fruit is oblong or over coated with a bright-red or yellow skin with small scales.

It has a white, juicy, sweet, pulp containing many tiny black seeds. Hylocereus species has been commercially grown in the America's and in Vietnam. Early imports in Australia from Columbia are recorded as Hylocereus Ocampensis (red pitaya) and cereus triangularis (yellow pitaya). Cereus triangularis is a synonym of Hylocereus Undatus.

Now it is popularly grown in Malaysia. Jom makan.




DRAGON FRUIT - NUTRITION FACTS
Food Value Per 100g Serving for RED PITIYA:

Moisture 82.5 - 83 g
Protein 0.159 - 0.229 g
Fat 0.21 - 0.61 g
Crude Fiber 0.7 - 0.9 g
Carotene 0.005 -0.012 mg
Calcium 6.3 - 8.8 mg
Phosphorus 30.2 - 36.1 mg
Iron 0.55 - 0.65 mg
Vitamin B1 0.28 - 0.043 mg
Vitamin B2 0.043 - 0.045 mg
Vitamin B3 0.297 - 0.43 mg
Vitamin C 8 - 9 mg
Other 0.54 - 0.68 g

Facts Supply by Malaysian Local Authorities. It might vary from country to country due to the climate, ways of the cultivation and type of the Pitaya.

It can be grown organically, without any pesticide & chemical fertilizer. The Pitaya is rich in vitamins and helpful to our body especially in digestion, preventing colon cancer and diabetes.
The fruits also help to neutralize heavy metal toxic and reduce cholesterol level and high blood pressure. Consume regularly, it can fight against asthma and gout.





Monday, March 10, 2008

The day with the new state goverment

Penangites' enjoy their sunday morning at the markets and coffee shops, chatting away the unfold drama of yesternite. The enthusiasm seems too obvious not to notice that every group member had his own version of why the politcal changes happens.

The indians seems happy with the outcome of the election and so were the chinese and the malays, with exception to the older generations who does look worried that these changes might bring instability to the people.

Travelling in the afternoon, and crossing the Penang Bridge to the island, the traffic is just it usual self.

Even in one of the hypermarket later on, the penangites just look too normal, although the big change in the state goverment had just happen barely 16 hours ago.

I must say that we as penangites are a matured lot. We know what we have done and doing it is just what we did without the need to celebrate since there are miles of things which are more important now, which is to get on going the life as it should be.

Later on in the nite the day has just pass by with penangites busy as usual at the mamak stall , and other food outlets having their dinner with family or friends eating char koay teow or nasi kandar.....

Not much a day after all...........

The swing in Penang that caught everyone by surprise

Koh congratulating Ramasamy who knock him out late last Saturday

TAN Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon looked like the world had collapsed around him on Saturday night.

In a way, it had.

The state government he had led for 18 years had been defeated by the combined might of the DAP, PKR and PAS. His own Gerakan party candidates had been wiped out in Penang and the party was quite out in the cold nationally.

This was probably the worst moment in his political life.

His hair needed a comb, his face was pasty and each time he smiled, it looked more like a grimace. Most of all, he looked defeated.

But the ex-Chief Minister has emerged as the perfect gentleman politician even as the winds of change swept most of his Barisan Nasional colleagues off the political stage.

At 11.45pm he went on national TV to concede defeat to his opponents, as was the constitutional thing to do. He was composed, in control of his emotions and, above all, professional.

He has not had an easy relationship with the media but he won their respect that evening.

Earlier, at 9pm, he had telephoned state DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow to do the same. He also told Chow that he had informed the Yang di-Pertua Negri of the election outcome.

He also appealed for the people to stay calm because he knew that change of this nature was bound to cause anxiety on the ground.

It was a sudden and stunning end to almost 40 years of Barisan rule in this state.
“They had one bird in hand but they wanted the two in the bush,” said Dr Koh’s operations director O.K. Hun.

The question on many people’s lips now is: How did Dr Koh not see it coming?

The Barisan loss in Penang was devastating. The once invincible coalition had lost 11 of the 13 parliamentary seats it contested. At the state level, it lost 29 out of a total of 40 seats.

It was a night when predictions, assumptions and stereotypes went flying out of the window.
“It looks like our own intelligence sources have gone haywire,” said Hun.

The Chinese vote swing was expected but the degree of swing stunned everyone.
Even before the polls, people had been talking about the “compensation swing” which had been twice postponed – in 1999 when the Chinese backed the ruling party and in 2004 when everyone was swept along by goodwill for the new Prime Minister.

This time, the Chinese swing was not about punishing MCA, which had done a credible job on many Chinese issues, but it was to punish Umno over issues ranging from the revival of the NEP to incidents of “body snatching”.

Issues like Dr Koh’s less than sterling track record, the indecisiveness over the Chief Minister’s post and the fiasco over the indelible ink added to the overall mood.

The Indian vote, a loyal bloc of Barisan votes, also abandoned the coalition.

But the most startling was the Malay swing. West coast Malays are seen as conservative and moderate, yet they snubbed Umno at the ballot box in traditional strongholds like Balik Pulau and turned against a former Umno deputy minister in Nibong Tebal.

There were push and pull factors where the Malay vote was concerned.

It is possible that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad provided the push – that much of what he had said about government leaders had resonated among urban Malays who then took it to the ballot box.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was without a doubt the pull factor. West coast Malays are not drawn to PAS the way their east counterparts are but Anwar and PKR are an acceptable alternative to them.

People were curious about Anwar, not many had seen him in the flesh since his release and he spoke the populist language.

In Permatang Pauh, older women would hold Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s hands, kiss her on both cheeks and say, “Sayang!” as though she were their younger daughter.

Even social critic Dr Chandra Muzaffar’s vilification of Anwar was like water off a duck’s back. Curah air ke daun keladi says the malays.

But the Opposition also had a credible line-up. The new DAP and PKR faces were all professionals, clean-cut and not lugged down by political baggage.

For example, the new Bukit Bendera MP and political scientist Liew Chin Tong is a brilliant strategist who helped Lim Guan Eng plot their assault on Penang.

On the campaign trail, IT consultant and blogger Jeff Ooi had the sharpest learning curve among the lot and he talked and sang his way into voters’ hearts.

The Chinese have always been very tactical with their votes but some are asking whether they have gone overboard this time.

The scenario of a largely Chinese government bench versus an all-Umno opposition bench in Penang is unlikely to add to ethnic relations in the state, something that the new government will have to be very sensitive to.

And while the ground had seemed silent to the Barisan candidates, it was not to the other side.
The DAP-PKR pact knew they would win after the first rally at the Han Chiang High School. After the second and bigger rally, they knew they would get more than one-third of the seats.

“But we did not imagine the sweep would be so massive,” said Liew. Not even when the calls started coming while the votes were being counted.

Seats were falling to them like dominoes and when Pulau Tikus, a state seat favouring Gerakan’s Datuk Seri Dr Teng Hock Nan fell by a 6,106-vote majority to them, they knew they were on the way to a landslide win.

Their supporters were celebrating but the mood among the victors was quite sober because they know they will have to do better than the people they replaced if they do not want to be replaced in five years’ time.
Taken from The Star 10th March 2008 written by Joceline Tan its columnist.

Why Ask Pak Lah to Step Down

Najib nak jadi PM pula???

Bahan bacaan yang dicadangkan -

Khairy to blame for BN's electoral defeat

Mar 9, 08 9:05pm

I think his son-in-law played a big role (in the defeat). This young man who has no achievements before but apparently the PM listens to him. said Mahathir at a press conference.


Are you surprised by the results?

Mahathir: I think it’s shocking. Although I expected BN to lose but I did not think that they lost five states.

I'm sorry that I made the wrong choice in Pak Lah. I never expected a PM to reverse all the policies of the government. So I think the people on the whole must have been very angry. All the three communities, the Chinese, the Malays and the Indians, have reacted.

Will Tun pressure Pak Lah to resign?

I think he should accept responsibility for this. Just as in 2004, the huge majority, the huge victory was purportedly due to him 100 percent. Now he should accept 100 percent of the responsibility.

What do you mean by taking responsibility?

He has destroyed Umno, destroyed BN. And he has to be responsible for this terrible defeat.

If he doesn't want to take responsibility, do you think that Umno will do something to make him go?

I think Umno people on the ground are fearful of this man as they have never been before. During my time they would challenge me. Here I was not allowed to speak. I was given invitations to give talk to Umno members but these were withdrawn. They say that the police told them to withdraw it.

When you say ‘step down’, do you mean (from) Umno or PM?

I think he should (step down). The Japanese would have performed ‘hara-kiri’. I think that Najib (Razak) has done very well. He has scored an amazing victory, more than the 2004 elections.

What do you think led to this defeat?

I think his son-in-law (Khairy Jamaluddin) played a big role. This young man who has no achievements before but apparently the PM listens to him more rather than the police, the special branch and the armed forces, who are closer to the ground. They were so taken up with their own newspaper reports that they couldn't hear anything else. They dismissed everything they didn't like.

Do you think the timing of the election was a miscalculation?

It can be called a miscalculation but I doubt if they had waited another year, the results would have been any different.

What were the issues which led to the loss of the states?

Many issues led to the pent-up feelings of the citizens of which despite the economic growth, the people aren't feeling anything. They feel the rise in the cost of living a big factor. They also see that this government is run by one family. When family takes precedence over cabinet, over government, then people will be against it.

Do you think this damage is permanent for BN?

Everything can be reversed if you do things properly. They have been so arrogant that they have suppressed any opinions they don't like and believe in their own reports which are not consistent with what is really happening in the country.

With the opposition making so much inroads in Malaysia, what do you think will happen?

Well, there will be instability for some time. If the opposition is good, they should be able to remedy the situation.

Do you think that Anwar Ibrahim is still relevant?

I think he is relevant but he is not going to become the prime minister of this country.

If you were in Pak Lah's shoes, would you be in a hurry to form the government?

I would take responsibility. If the people want me to resign, I would resign.

After this setback, do you think that Barisan has any hope to remedy this situation?

There is hope. But whether the leaders have the will to repair BN is another question.

Who should succeed Pak Lah?

Najib won by 26,000 votes and this is much more than in 2004 when the BN was very, very popular. On the other hand, Pak Lah - who had a majority of 18,000 before - only has a majority of 11,000 now. The fact is that he lost a number of votes. And there are not many people who have improved (their majority) since 2004.

(Najib???? Boleh caya ke orang ini?)

Yes, his son-in-law won but he only won by a small majority, smaller than previously. He was also in a safe seat.

How to cure Umno?

The person responsible should retreat.

If the Malays had not voted for opposition this would not have happened. Why did the Umno supporters vote for opposition this time?

They feel their situation is under pressure. Inflation is high. Their lives are on the line. The people know that you can say that there is 6 percent growth but where is the 6 percent on their body? They are having to spend more money.

I've said this to Malaysiakini. When you say 6 percent, it is an average. This can be achieved by one person having a very high percentage but the rest have nothing. You can't have this sort of figures and expect people to vote for you.

The intelligent people would know that this is not correct. Those that don't understand all these figures, rather be guided by what is actually happening to them. What is happening to them is the higher cost of living and a lowering of their standard of living.

Going back to the 1969 elections, after the Alliance had lost, you were one of the main agitators for the prime minister (Tunku Abdul Rahman) to transfer his powers to his deputy (Tun Abdul Razak)...

I am in a dilemma as I'm an Umno member.

Are you the agitator again?

I will voice out my opinion. If people ask, I will give my opinion. And my opinion in this matter is that the person responsible should step down.

Looking at the current BN line-up, do you think that the BN government can manage the economy?

No, I don't think they can manage. Even when they have full force and tons of money at their disposal they have not done anything.

Why?

You have to ask the state leaders.

Penang has fallen to DAP, how do you think this will affect the Malays?

It's not just about Penang. If we want to correct that, we have got Malay leaders, we've got a Malay government and the citizens who are Malay must know how to overcome their problems.

What can veterans like Tengku Razaleigh (Hamzah) do to help Umno at this juncture?

They can give ideas.

Is it to revolt and cause Pak Lah to resign?

I am not talking about a rebellion but there must be pressure. And if that pressure is ignored by Pak Lah, then this would turn the matter into a heated confrontation.

Do you think that the opposition success is attributed to Anwar?

I don't think it is so. This is more of something against BN than strong support for the opposition.

They (voters) have no choice. If you don't vote BN, who do you vote for? There are only two candidates. So you vote for the opposition or you don't vote at all. Either way, the BN was going to lose a lot of support.

People say that Umno is still afraid of Pak Lah. So how can they pressure Pak Lah to step down?

I'm sure that there are some brave members out there.

Are there any alternatives for Pak Lah other than to resign?

I don't see any other alternative. The man that is 100 percent responsible has to show that he is responsible.

Some people were saying if BN's two-thirds majority is denied, a repeat of May 13 would take place. Why won't it happen now?

No I don't think it would happen. In the first place, the police have been very careful, telling people no demonstration and no parades.

In 1969, the police gave permission for the opposition to hold a victory parade. And they went to Kampung Baru and started insulting the people there, which caused a reaction. This ended up as a riot. If the police remain strong on these demonstrations and victory parades, I don't think there will be any problems.

Is it time to end racial politics?

I'm going to tell you this (rejection of BN) involves all the races. It's not as if the Chinese reject BN or all the Indians reject BN. Here, you see Chinese, Indian and Malay reject BN except for Sabah and Sarawak.

Umno has retained more seats compared to the other component parties like MIC and MCA. Will they pressure Pak Lah to step down?

That depends on them to whether to apply pressure or not but the Barisan Nasional concept is still relevant. If there is no (MIC chief S) Samy Vellu, then find another Vellu.

Can you comment on Zam (Zainuddin Maidin)? I like this answer.... ha ha

He won or lost? Oh, he lost. Well, the way he was campaigning was really funny, telling people to look at his face and how it doesn't change. But I think that a face that doesn't change can be very boring. Sometimes you must laugh, sometimes you must cry.

He was telling everybody "Ini muka tak bertukar, tak bertukar". Who is interested in his ‘wajar’? If he was Britney Spears, then….

If you had suffered the same defeat, would you have resigned too?

Yes, I would resign if that is the wish of the people. I've always abided by the wish of the people, so much so that people who were against me were brought back into the cabinet, and that includes Pak Lah, Syed Hamid (Syed Albar), Rais Yatim and (Abdul) Kadir Sheikh Fadzil. All these (leaders) were against me.

But when Pak Lah was elected vice-president, I cannot (not appoint him) as he was wanted by Umno. As such I appointed him back into the cabinet.

But you did not resign in 1999?

I did not because we won two-thirds. We won with full Chinese support. Yes, we lost Terengganu and Kelantan but we have always lost Kelantan and Terengganu was for very specific reasons.

Did BN lose because too many people like Samy Vellu had hung on to power too long?

I think that Samy Vellu played a big part in the defeat. When he was in BN, he doesn't allow any of the MIC people to come up to his level. If they come up (to be) deputy or vice-president, he will knock them down and even expel them from the party.

And he wouldn't allow any other Indian party to join BN. (MG) Pandithan tried to join, begged me to allow him and I wanted to agree but we have this consensus in BN that if one party doesn't agree we cannot accept them.

Are you surprised by (ISA detainee) M Manoharan's victory?

This has happened before in 1959 or is it 1964, when PAS used to go from village to village carrying the candidate's shoes and he won.

What can you say about the media’s - especially the mainstream ones' - role in this campaign? Do you think that there should be changes there?

There should be changes. They should report what actually happens and make a proper analysis. Before, they were able to feed back to me what was happening on the ground. Maybe, when they talk about races and things like that, I would have to clamp down on them, which I did in 1987.

Should all the bosses of the newspapers resign too?

They have their constraints. Some of them are my friends and supporters too and they apologise say that they can't help. "It's all this Kali. This Kali," they tell me.

Has Umno become irrelevant?

For the moment, yes. It's not always so. If Umno serves the country well, and looks after all the different races, then Umno will be relevant again.

What is your comment on the young BN candidates losing?

There is this rumour that some of these candidates are Khairy's and that he wants to be prime minister.

Do you think that other BN component leaders should resign too?

I think that one component leader has already been knocked out. As for Ong Ka Ting, it's up to him. This is a very bad defeat for him and MCA and it's never been this bad before.

Everyone says that PAS and DAP cannot work together but if they don't in Selangor and Perak, they can't form state government. What is your take on this?

If they work together they can form state government. If not, then representatives of Umno - if there are many - can form a minority government. But it will be a shaky government.

Are you sad with the results?

Yes, I am although I had hoped that a message would be sent to the government.

Will you return to active politics?

I won't return to active politics but if they want advice, I can give them. How can I return when once I stepped down they treated me like a pariah?

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Wake-up Call

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysians awoke on Sunday to the biggest sea-change in politics in almost 40 years, with opposition Islamists and reformists winning control of five states and giving the government a humiliating wake-up call.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's multi-racial National Front coalition won just a simple majority in parliament, and his future as leader is in doubt after he watched a record majority collapse to the weakest level ever.

His predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, urged him to quit. "He should accept responsibility," said Mahathir who now says he made a mistake in picking Abdullah as his successor and that the current deputy premier, Najib Razak, should have taken over.

The streets were unusually quiet on Sunday, with many older Malaysians fearful of trouble. The last time the coalition suffered a heavy setback, in 1969, race riots erupted. Barisan has effectively ruled since independence from Britain in 1957.

"I am shocked. It feels Malaysia is a whole new country. It feels like it has been reborn," Daniel Sia, a 27-year-old civil engineer, said as he did some Sunday shopping in the capital.
Lai Yee Fei, 28, who works at a coffee bar beneath Kuala Lumpur's soaring twin towers, said she was glad that Malaysia now had a strong opposition to press the government.

"It's good to give some pressure for Barisan Nasional," she said. "If the opposition parties can stand up for us, on behalf of us, I think it's good."

Abdullah, who only four years ago led the coalition to a record election victory on a wave of hope for change, faced a bleak political future on Sunday, his aides stunned but not willing to concede that he must step down.

"Frankly, this is not really the time because a lot of component parties (of Barisan) have been decimated," one close aide said, declining to be identified. "We have lost a few people and I think it's time to consolidate."

Abdullah's humbling performance nationally -- the coalition ended up with 62 percent of federal seats, down from 90 percent previously -- was compounded by the fact that his own home state, the industrial heartland of Penang, fell to the opposition.

ISLAMISTS ON THE RISE

The leftist Chinese-backed Democratic Action Party (DAP) won Penang, the hub for Malaysia's electronics industry, which accounts for about half of exports.

The opposition Islamist party PAS scored shock victories in the northern heartland states of Kedah and Perak and easily retained power in its stronghold in northeastern Kelantan state.
DAP and PAS also joined the People's Justice Party, or Parti Keadilan, to take control of the industrial state of Selangor and almost all the seats in capital Kuala Lumpur.

Political experts and economists wondered aloud whether the Barisan government could now pursue its agenda, including plans for $325 billion in development zones across the country.
Without a two-thirds parliamentary majority, Barisan can no longer change the constitution or make some key appointments and could struggle to alter electoral boundaries, powers that the opposition have long maintained were abused by Barisan.

"This is probably not good news for the equity market or the ringgit," said Tim Condon, Singapore-based head of Asia research for investment banking.
The pro-government media, Abdullah's cheer-leader during the campaign, changed tack on Sunday, urging Barisan to ensure better job and education opportunities in this multi-racial nation.
Malaysia is largely a mix of ethnic Malays, which make up about 55 percent of the population, and ethnic Chinese and Indians, who account for about a third.
A protest vote from Chinese and Indians, upset over what they saw as racial inequality in terms of business, job and education opportunities, had been expected. The Indians were merciless, voting out the leader of the coalition's Indian component party and handing a seat to an Indian activist currently in detention.

But Malays, who are all Muslims and traditionally support Barisan in good times and bad, completed a perfect storm for the government, handing the opposition Islamists a record vote in what was perceived as a protest against rising prices.

"Tomorrow we will start building a brighter future," said opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim, de facto leader of Parti Keadilan, which emerged as the biggest opposition party in federal parliament with 31 seats. "This is a new dawn for Malaysia."

Anwar, a Malay and former deputy premier, is widely seen as the only politician who could unify the ideologically divided opposition into a coherent and credible political force, though many political experts see this an almost impossible task.

Anwar was banned from standing in the elections because of a criminal record -- he spent six years in jail until 2004 on what he called trumped-up charges -- but is expected to take over his old seat from his wife, who has held it since his 1998 jailing.

Results from the elections commission as of 0320 GMT showed the National Front with 137 seats in the 222-seat parliament versus 82 for the opposition, with 3 seats still being tallied.

(Writing and additional reporting by Mark Bendeich; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
from REUTERS.

Be Level Headed, Okay?


Hampir seharian kelmarin, sukar untuk akses internet, lebih-lebih lagi apabila tiba waktu pengumuman keputusan pilihanraya. Sejak jam 10.30 malam, laman-laman sesawang yang sedang kami satu family melayari menggunakan empat buah komputer tiba-tiba terhenti. Butang refresh yang ditekan berkali-kali tidak lagi memberi sebarang tindakbalas kecuali Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage


Frust menongging......


Apapun tv coverage di RTM1, TV3, Astro Awani dan BRTV, memang hebat malam tadi, dan kami sekeluarga lenguh tangan memberi high-five to one another.... every time the 'good news' diumumkan. Among the best news comes from two Sungai's namely, sg siput and sg petani, ha ha ha ...... cheerful nite really.


That Toyo is still around, wonder why they still keep him?


Well, almost all the northern states has made up their minds, followed by Perak dan Selangor. This will probably last for another elections, at least...... believe me!


Whatever it is, we should all pray and hope that the sovereignty of the country remains as it should be and we as level headed Malaysian continue to behave and give the fullest support to the goverment of the day............. don't forget that, okay?





Revolusi Rakyat??

KOTA BHARU, 9 Mac (Hrkh) - Kegagalan besar Barisan Nasional (BN) dalam pilihan raya kali ini seperti satu revolusi, kata Naib Presiden PAS, Datuk Haji Husam Musa.

"Ini adalah revolusi rakyat. Rakyat bangkit dan bersatu. Mesej yang jelas kepada kerajaan ialah ‘Enough is enough’ (cukuplah!)”, beliau memberitahu pemberita.
Reuters pula memetik sumber yang rapat dengan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi berkata: "Apa yang berlaku ialah rasa tidak puas di mana-mana - India, Cina dan Melayu. Ribut ini datang serentak dan akan berlaku perubahan yang besar".

Awal-awal lagi sumber itu menjangkakan Barisan Nasional (BN) akan mengalami kemerosotan terbesar sejak 1969 dan hanya akan mendapat majoriti mudah.
Pada tahun 1969, Perikatan (yang kemudiannya betukar nama kepada BN) tidak pula kehilangan sehingga lima negeri.

Reuters juga menyifatkan pilihan raya kali ini adalah satu referendum atau pungutan suara rakyat terhadap pemerintahan Abdullah. Perdana Menteri bagaimanapun enggan melihat kebangkitan rakyat itu sebagai undi tidak percaya kepadanya.

"Saya tidak melihat itu (undi tidak percaya). Ini hanya pendirian rakyat yang mahu saya meningkatkan lagi kekuatan," kata beliau.

Mengenai wujud tekanan pihak dalam parti supaya beliau meletakkan jawatan, Abdullah berkata: "Tak tahu siapa yang tekan saya."

Abdullah tidak menolak kemungkinan keputusan pilihan raya ini memberi isyarat bahawa rakyat tidak berpuas hati dengan beberapa isu, termasuk kenaikan harga barang.
“Ini memberi mesej yang penting dan saya akan lihat isu berkenaan,” katanya.
Dengan tamparan sebegitu hebat, Perdana Menteri enggan bercaikap banyak dan beliau dipercayai akan membaca kenyataan yang disediakan oleh pembantu-pembantunya.
“Apa-apa pandangan mengenai keseluruhan keputusan pilihan raya ini, saya akan buat hanya selepas selesai keputusan semua kerusi,” katanya.

Menantu Abdullah, Khairy Jamaluddin yang dilihat antara punca terbesar kekalahan BN dipetik oleh Bernama sebagai berkata: "Kami akan melawan semula".
Presiden MIC, Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu dan Pemangku Presiden Gerakan, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon adalah antara pemimpin kanan BN yang kecundang. selepas keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-12 diumumkan setakat jam 3 pagi ini.

Selain Samy Vellu yang juga Menteri Kerja Raya, turut mengalami kekalahan ialah Menteri Pembangunan Luar Bandar dan Wilayah, Datuk Seri Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin; Menteri Penerangan, Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin; dan Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

Turut kecundang ialah 10 timbalan menteri termasuk Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk M Kayveas; Timbalan Menteri Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri, Datuk Tan Chai Ho dan Timbalan Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani, Datuk Mah Siew Keong, Timbalan Menteri Pembangunan Luar Bandar dan Wilayah, Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman, Timbalan Menteri Kewangan, Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin, Timbalan Menteri Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat, Datuk G Palanivel yang juga Timbalan Presiden MIC, Timbalan Menteri Keselamatan Dalam Negeri, Datuk Fu Ah Kiow, Timbalan Menteri Penerangan, Datuk Seri Chia Kwang Chye, Timbalan Menteri Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar, Datuk S Sothinathan dan Timbalan Menteri Pertahanan, Datuk Zainal Abidin Zin.


DALAM DUNIA PERTANDINGAN MEMANG AKAN ADA KALAH MENANG, TAPI BELAJARLAH DARI KEKALAHAN ORANG LAIN SUPAYA KITA NANTI LAMBAT DIKALAHKAN, Beringat-ingatlah wahai kawan................

Barisan reels from worst-ever election performance

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is in shock.

The Barisan Nasional is reeling from its worst-ever election performance. While it managed to keep Terengganu and will form the next government, it lost Penang, Selangor Kedah and Perak to the Opposition and failed to recapture Kelantan.

Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in accepting the results, said this was clear proof of democracy at work in the country. He urged people to remain calm and not take to the streets to celebrate.

Earlier, as reports spread of Barisan’s mounting losses, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan warned the public not to hold any victory celebrations or spread rumours of rioting and that the Internal Security Act would be used against offenders caught.

Musa’s concern is understandable considering Barisan’s losses are even bigger than what the ruling party experienced in the 1969 general election.

In that election, Gerakan, as an Opposition party, won Penang while PAS took Kelantan.
Barisan Nasional's predecessor, the then Alliance haul of just 74 out of 144 parliamentary seats enabled it to form the government by a simple majority.

Yesterday, Barisan reached the simple majority by winning 112 out of the 222 parliamentary seats by 1am. Results show Sarawak and Sabah and Johor, the traditional bulwarks of the coalition, delivering the most number of seats – 24 from Sarawak, 29 from Sabah and 25 from Johor.

MCA is the biggest loser but a unhappy close second is Gerakan which lost its crown jewel, Penang, the state it had ruled for 39 years.

MIC failed badly, too, with its top leadership rejected by the voters.
Hence, the election saw the shock defeats of some of the biggest personalities on the Malaysian political landscape – MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu who lost to PKR’s Dr D. Jeyakumar; Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon who had planned to move to the federal level by contesting in the Batu Kawan parliamentary seat lost to DAP’s Dr P. Ramasamy and PPP president Datuk M. Kayveas was knocked out of his Taiping seat by DAP’s Nga Kor Ming.

Deputy Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil was beaten by PKR fledging Nurul Izzah Anwar while Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun was unseated by entrepreneur-turned-DAP politician Tony Pua. Datuk Lee Hwa Beng, the popular Selangor state assemblyman, lost in his bid for the Kelana Jaya parliamentary seat to yet another political newbie, Loh Gwo-Burne.
News of possible upsets started trickling in shortly after Election Commission chief Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman announced at a 7.30pm press conference that the highest voter turnout was in Kelantan and Putrajaya (81% each).

By 8pm, unconfirmed reports said that PAS had retained Kelantan. (Putrajaya incumbent Tengku Adnan Mansor retained his seat too.)

Next to come were reports of Penang falling like ninepins to the DAP and seats in several other states once deemed safe were turning shaky for the BN incumbents.

It was all over in Penang for the Barisan by 9pm when DAP clinched 19 of the 40 state states.
Acting Gerakan president Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon conceded defeat in a press conference at 11.30pm.

Selangor’s fall came when PKR, DAP and PAS took 33 of the 56 state seats at about 10.30pm. Kedah and Perak quickly followed.

Why? Where did we go wrong?

The last week saw some of elections fever posting on this blog mainly due to increasing pressure of uneasiness that comes everytime you switch on your tv set and saw the uninviting blattering of pro-goverment media campaign which make me sick and tired of all this political drama. The BN's top leadership should have sense the ground temperature months ago, and made effort to rectify the loopholes and weakpoints in its strategy to win the elections, but they fail to do it, regardless of having the best campaign machinery to work up to their expectations.

Instead, its leaders choose to shout about being the only one which is able to form a goverment and accused the oppostion parties of being in dissarray and without someone to even be a prime minister. They reminded the people that they and no one else could ever give this country the peace, stability and harmony, forgetting the real world faced by the countries citizens.

As mention before, security for the nation remains the number one priority be it for the malays, chinese, indians or other races. The country is plaqued with millions of foreigners whom we have to share our living space with. We too share the living expenses with this group of people, considering that almost whatever we consumes everyday, we have to import in from outside Malaysia. These foreigners also creates less jobs opportunities other than confusion on the safety of our compounds right infront of our homes!

Talking about injustice could just make things worst as more of the non malays sees the pro-malay goverment acting selfishly, like holding the kris, though in only a couple of occasions, but the being repeated umteened times by their controll mass media as a footage for their own greed and stupid arrogance.

There are too many issues that are easily exploited, right to the flimsy reasons by the very own Elections Commisions that made wee hours turnaround on several important elections rules and regulations and to the last minute promised of grants and allocations to build new school buildings for the needy schools namely the Chinese and Tamil types primary schools to show they now care and they also have the power and money to buy things up!

The malays as always, want to remain faithful to their leaders but the leaders seems to have their own cliques, as if this group of people are the YB's people and the rest are nothing. No wonder they never share the views of the larger group who stays a distance from their YB and his men. This makes talks among the former group grew into discontend and spread into hartred for some.

Unmistakenly, these voices are put into the ballot box and only when night falls on the 8th of March, this leaders suddenly ask themselves ....... WHY? Where did we go wrong.....?

Friday, March 07, 2008

EC credibility's death cert inked

The use of indelible ink is an important method to prevent multiple voting and is practiced in many countries including the war-torn and warlord-infested Afghanistan. In Malaysia, the implementation took 50 years only to be canceled three days before the 12th general elections. What is the motivation behind the cancellation?

It is clear that the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General made their last-minute intervention to a very much expected acceptance by the Election Commission chairperson. Once again the cloak of so-called ‘national security’ is cast to bury the people's proposal to address the cancerous election fraud that is eating up our democracy.

What's wrong with the reasoning to cancel use of the ink? The IGP said that there were reports of fake ink that was planned to be used to confuse voters. If it is really so, what must the IGP do? He must investigate and make arrests and charge the culprits in an open court or work to prevent this from happening by launching a public information exercise.

Not quietly advice the Election Commission to cancel the use of the indelible ink at such crucial moment especially when millions of taxpayers' money has been spent.

The IGP should not meddle with the electoral system and democratic practices of the country based on ridiculous claims and unverified probabilities. My question to the IGP - will the IGP suspend all police stations from operating just because there are claims of some bogus cops masquerading in public at just one particular locality?

The excuse of the constitution needing to be amended for the proposal to be implemented as said by Attorney-General Abdul Ghani Patail also begs a pertinent question. Where were you when the constitution was amended months ago? We still remember the amendment of the constitution just for the sake of one man's term of office.

Purchase illegal?
Why didn't the Attorney-General advise the Election Commission and take steps to amend the relevant provision when the EC first announced the use of the ink? Where was Abdul Ghani Patail when the Election Commission first announced the implementation of the proposal and when they announced the fact that millions of ringgit had been spent for the ink?
The biggest question of all - did the election commission purchase indelible ink worth millions of ringgit using taxpayers money in the absence of any legal provisions hence making the purchase illegal?

On the risk of people getting confused or being tricked into using the ink before the elections as mentioned by the EC chairperson, well, who's responsibility and duty is it to inform and educate the public of election procedures and conducts? Why didn't the EC conduct a test run for public and media feedback on the procedures in enforcing the use of the special ink?

Why didn't the EC conduct public briefing and use the state-owned RTM television channels or other TV channels to inform the public of the new procedures? The EC is duty-bound to inform the public on the conduct of the election and not to only function at the direction of certain parties. The biggest question here again is that if there were no laws in place for the indelible ink to be used, how then was EC able to purchase the ink and inform the public on its implementation?

What message is the EC and government sending to the country with issues like multiple voting and phantom voters being hotly debated and challenged by political parties and the public at large? Any average person and even fence-sitters (whom the ruling party is working hard to convince) will think that the election is being rigged and efforts are being put into place for this to happen.

Inefficient, ineffective
What will the EC do now to ensure that the election is seen as free and fair in face of this massive dent in public confidence in the election system in Malaysia? The EC earlier destroyed its own credibility and the confidence of the various political parties just days ago when it did its stamp duty gymnastics at the very last minute.

Now it’s systematically destroying the confidence of the people who by the thousands via polls reform group Bersih called for and endorsed the use of indelible ink. Even worse are the most ridiculous arguments and reasoning for the cancellation.

There are hundreds of reports and concerns raised on phantom voters, voters who are above the age of 120 years and immigrants, too, being ferried to vote illegally on Saturday. What are you going to do, EC Chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman? Will the EC dare to cancel the general elections and protect the right of the people to elect their next government?

One thing for sure. We have a most inefficient and ineffective EC, AG's Chambers and police force and that just goes to reflect on the very core of the Malaysian government administration.
It just makes me laugh when I take a glimpse at the Barisan Nasional advert that promises an ‘Efficient Delivery Service’ the next time I get down ato the Bangsar LRT Station. But I won’t be laughing on Saturday when I will mark my opinion on a piece of paper.

Written by K SHAN who is a human rights activist attached to various organisations working with refugees. This article is from Malaysiakini(its free.... at the moment... so surflaa....)

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Dr M tells voters: We need an opposition

Soon Li Tsin Mar 5, 08 8:41pm
exclusive Three days before polling day, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad told voters that the country needs an opposition that can hold up a mirror to the government.“I believe in an opposition. I have always maintained that this country needs an opposition and they should be critical of the government without which we don’t have a mirror to look at our faces. We think that we are very beautiful but it is the opposition that keeps telling us (that may not be true). “You know the government member (of parliament), sometimes they are ‘ahli bodek’ (apple polishers). They are always saying ‘you’re right’, and you have no means of assessing whether you are going in the right direction or not.”He told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview today that it would be a “disaster” if the country “loses its opposition” as in Singapore.Looking a little frail in his trademark bush jacket since his second heart bypass in September last year, Mahathir gave his prognosis on this Saturday’s general elections.He said the government would be able to retain its two-thirds majority but could lost a few seats in Terengganu and Kedah.Mahathir also predicted that the government would win between 70 to 75 percent of Parliament seats on March 8.In the 2004 general elections, BN won 90 percent of the seats. If Mahathir is correct, then the opposition could win between 55 to 65 seats, which will be a sizable increase from its current tally of 21.Mahathir also did not think the Barisan Nasional coalition would be able to wrest Kelantan state government from Islamic party PAS.“Kelantan would be a very difficult because although the margin is very small, Kelantanese have got a mind of their own, so to speak. If they are living in KL, they are very supportive of the government but if they are living in Kelantan, the peer pressure is very strong.”Mahathir also believed that the opposition would do well in Penang, but not enough to win government, or deny BN its two-thirds majority.Two clarificationsMahathir also took the opportunity at the interview held at his Perdana Leadership Foundation office in Putrajaya to clarify that there was no prior agreement in which his handpicked successor would serve only one term as prime minister.“I want to say this, there was no gentleman’s agreement on this but my thinking was that he (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) should serve for one term and give Najib (Razak) who by then would be much older to succeed him,” he said.The former BN leader who spearheaded BN’s victory in five consecutive elections also ticked off the opposition for seeking to capitalise on something which he had said in jest.In recent weeks, the opposition has been showing a video-clip at their ceramah where Mahathir was depicted to have conceded in a comical tone that he had brutally mistreated his then deputy, Anwar Ibrahim.“I mean any stupid fool would have seen that it was a sarcastic remark made by me but they (opposition) make use of such things and this convince voters that they are not really knowledgeable about things or they are not very sophisticated in the use of the media,” he said.Abdullah ‘lied’Mahathir was also asked to explain why he had publicly accused Abdullah of lying.“When I left, I made sure that the party, the government and the finances are in good shape. So when I am told that (my) projects have been postponed because of no money, it’s definitely not true. “If I was still the prime minister, I could go on not only with the projects that has already in the pipeline but also with new projects because we had money,” he asserted.When Abdullah came into power in 2003, he stopped a number of mega-projects that was inked under Mahathir’s tenure including the ‘crooked’ bridge to Singapore and the Bakun dam project.Although Mahathir expressed regret for appointing Abdullah as his successor, he refused to comment on the former’s performance.“It is up to the people to judge. You see, I would be bias. (It) is normal if he wants to leave his mark but the unfortunate thing is that the mark cause some losses for us. That is why I was so critical,” he said.Mahathir slams Khairy The Perdana Leadership Foundation chairperson, when quizzed about the possibility of Abdullah’s son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin being appointed minister after the elections, did not mince his words in criticising the ambitious deputy Umno Youth chief.He said Khairy should not seek protection from his father-in-law.“He (Khairy) has said that ‘I can do these things because I get protection from my father-in-law’. Nobody should ever say that. Do the right thing - you don’t ask for protection from your father-in-law,” he asserted.Asked for his message to voters on Saturday, he urged them to vote wisely.“Vote sensitively. Vote not only with party loyalty concerns but also vote in order to have good people setting up a good government.”

Don't expect BN to lose big

This issue is the talk of the town, especially among those who are directly involve in this general election of 2008. The predict of outcome seems to wary from one person to another but yet it spun around which party that person is supporting. But maybe one might be wiser to remove oneself from the party linked, and looked at the figures of yesteryears General Elections and with careful scrutinize analysing, it may look something like this comes midnite this 8th of March.


Written by Steven Gan of Malaysiakini:
Mar 5, 08 7:06pm

When Chavalit Yongchaiyudh was running for prime minister in 1996, he was blessed by Thailand's most revered monk with, yes, a whack over the head with a rolled-up newspaper.
He won. So when the country was hit by the Asian financial tsunami a year later and his government jolted by angry street protests, Chavalit used his lucky number five to carry out a crucial cabinet shake-up.

His revamped cabinet was announced at 15.05 on Aug 15 - five new ministers were named, five sacked and five swapped posts.

It didn’t work. A month later, Chavalit quit.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose official car’s number is 13, may not be as superstitious as Chavalit. However, one can't help but wonder, particularly when Parliament was dissolved on Feb 13 and the campaign period set for 13 days.

Still, no one expects Abdullah to be smacked over the head with, say, a rolled-up Utusan Malaysia.

That Abdullah will emerge victorious on March 8 is beyond doubt. The only uncertainty is the magnitude of his triumph.

The palpable winds of change which Malaysia has witnessed over the past few months may have got some talking about the Barisan Nasional losing big. That's not going to happen. Here's why.
Look at the statistics. It is very difficult, impossible even, for the opposition to win the 75 parliamentary seats necessary to deny BN its cherished two-thirds majority, let alone win government.

There will have to be a major swing in votes - and it must be across the board - before we see a sizable number of seats falling into opposition hands.

EC's magic formula
This is not going to happen. The Election Commission has over the years slashed the number of single-race majority seats and increased mixed-race ones where the ruling coalition has a distinct advantage over the motley group of opposition parties.

Indeed, it's ironic that the opposition parties - all non-racial on paper - won seats in overwhelmingly single-race constituencies in the 2004 elections.

Each of the 12 existing DAP seats have a more than 70 percent Chinese-majority electorate. At the other end of the racial spectrum, the seven PAS seats have a similar proportion of Malay voters.

In contrast, BN snapped up almost every single one of the 100-odd mixed seats. The one exception was PKR's sole seat of Permatang Pauh, where Malay voters are a shade below 70 percent.

So without a swing involving all ethnic groups - both Malays and non-Malays - the opposition will not get the 75 seats they seek.
In recent elections, a swing among Malays had not been followed by a similar swing among non-Malays and vice versa. The nature of racial politics is such that if non-Malays turn against the government, this trend is used to spook the Malays.

Cheating already done
The EC has argued that our electoral process is as transparent as the plastic ballot boxes it is bringing in for this election. True, it has introduced a few new measures, but really, the cheating has already been done before polling day.

EC’s electoral boundaries have been drawn and redrawn over the past five decades to favour the ruling coalition. This is further refined and re-calibrated every few years. Put simply, the goalpost is moved at every election by the umpire himself, no less. This iniquity has been raised time and again.

Moreover, there's the issue of postal ballots - a 200,000-strong army of 'reserve voters' whose pre-marked ballots the EC can deploy, almost at will, for marginal seats to tilt the balance in BN’s favour.

And we are not even talking about the 3Ms - BN's monopoly on the media, money and machinery.

Yesterday’s shock reversal by the EC to cancel the use of indelible ink after much song and dance raises even more questions about the commission’s role.
Given this, don’t expect the opposition to win big. But the current ugly mood against the government should enable the opposition to double its haul - to about 40 seats. While this is short of its ‘deny two-thirds majority’ target, it will nonetheless mean a stronger opposition in Parliament.

The general election is an important part of our democracy. But it's not a be-all and end-all.
Our leaders are fond of claiming that once elected, they have the mandate to do whatever they wish. Wrong. Voters do not give them a blank cheque every four years.
Which is why we also need a vibrant civil society and an independent media. We have seen what both can do in recent years. Without these two pillars of democracy, there would be no talk of, among others, reforms for the police force and judiciary.

But for democracy to function properly, we also need the third pillar - a strong opposition. And if Malaysians cannot understand that, they should be whacked over the head.

Monday, March 03, 2008

Guess He's Got Nothing to Lose Now...


AP Interview: Election chief says media bias will make Malaysia polls a laughingstock
The Associated Press


Friday, February 22, 2008
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: The Election Commission in Malaysia needs more power to prevent one-sided campaign coverage in local media or the entire electoral system will become a "laughingstock," the commission's chairman said Friday.
Top election official Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahim's comments appeared to lend rare support to opposition complaints of pro-government bias in the press.
"If you want free and fair elections, if you want a level playground ... you must be able to have that power to level that playground," Abdul Rahim, head of the Election Commission, said in an interview ahead of the March 8 general elections.
"Without that power, then the whole system becomes a laughingstock," he said. The commission must be able "to control the media when they take sides."
It is rare for any official connected with the electoral process to speak so candidly about the media bias. The comments are even more surprising coming from Abdul Rashid, who has been criticized by opposition parties for refusing to acknowledge that voting irregularities occur in the country.
"In an election you have to produce what is called an informed choice. That's the principle. People must know who is contesting so publicity must be given to all, not just one section. And there are media bodies that take only one side," he told The Associated Press.
The mainstream media in Malaysia are either government-owned or controlled by the parties in the ruling coalition. They also need annually renewable government licenses to operate. This has ensured that virtually every newspaper and television station broadcasts flattering reports of the government. The opposition rarely gets a good mention in the papers.
The Election Commission is supposed to be an independent body, whose members are appointed by the constitutional monarch. But it is largely seen as a pro-government panel that has done little to promote electoral fairness.
Abdul Rashid indicated his hands are tied, saying the commission is in charge only of the electoral rolls and the polling process and has no power to control other irregularities, including vote-buying.
The laws need to be changed to give the commission more muscle, he said.
"Our (electoral) laws have been there for 50 years. After 50 years, I feel there must be some kind of review," he said. "There must be a law ... put in place where the EC is seen to be in full control."
Despite his frank comments that will likely be welcomed by the opposition, Abdul Rashid insisted that the electoral process itself is free, fair and transparent.
He dismissed allegations that electoral rolls, which are vetted by the Election Commission, are filled with names of dead people and people living in other constituencies. These names are used by bogus voters deployed by the ruling party, critics say.
"That never happens here. It cannot happen because the process — the polling, the counting and so on — is so transparent," he said.
"Cheating has never been proven anywhere in this country," he said, adding that the few incidents of fraud that may have taken place have been so minor that they didn't affect election results.

Fun Personality Test

Fruit for Thoughts
The Fruit you love reveals your personality. To find out your personality, take this free fun test!

Fruit For Thought
Which is your favorite Fruit?


Orange

You have patience and will power; hard work doesn't daunt you. You like to do things slowly, but thoroughly. Although shy, you are reliable and trustworthy. You love with all your heart - flings are not for you

Durian

You are extravagant, impulsive, and outspoken. You may not be the best organizer, but you're charming and make a good team leader. You enjoy travel immensely, and have an enthusiasm for life unmatched by most. Watch that temper, though.

Apple

Awww, you're a softie - loving, gentle, warm, and sympathetic. But your sweet temper makes you vulnerable to people taking advantage of you. You may lack self-confidence and be timid, yet you enjoy harmonious relationships.

Pineapple

You are quick to decide; even quicker to act. You have exceptional organizing abilities, and tend to be self-reliant, sincere and honest in your dealings with others. You don't make friends easily, but once you do, they're friends for life. You rarely, if ever, make romantic overtures.

Papaya

Although fearless, you give much thought to the things you do. You are a go-getter in your career, and have a knack for being in the right place at the right time. More then anything else, your sense of humor is what attracts members of the opposite sex to you.

Mango

You have fixed ideas - influencing you is no easy task. You tend to be an extremist with strong likes and dislikes; at times, you like to control a situation. You enjoy getting involved in something that presents a mental challenge. Strong as you may be, you are a kitten when you are with your partner.

Cherry
You often faced ups and downs professionally and financially; you are often involved in creative pursuits. Despite being sincere and loyal, you don't express your emotions easily. Your home is your haven, and you love nothing more than being surrounded by family and your beloved partner.



Strawberry
You are polite yet have a temper. You are very popular because of your warm, gregarious nature. Your zest in life ensures you enjoy everything you do.

Peach
You are friendly and outspoken. You are quick to forgive and forget. You have an independent, ambitious streak in you, making you a real go-getter. Fiery and passionate (though not in public), you are sincere and faithful to your lover, and value friendship highly.

Pear
You tend to be fickle, and have trouble completing a task with the enthusiasm you started with, because you need to see immediate results. You enjoy mental stimulation and love a good discussion. You tend to be restless, highly stung, and easily excitable.