Question of legitimacy looms as Sept 16 draws near

Che Det doesn't get it: Malaysians will determine their future
3 09 2008
By Din Merican
I can understand if Che Det still does not accept the 2008 Election results when Pakatan Rakyat won 5 states (Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor and Kelantan) and denied the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional the 2/3rd majority in Parliament. I know that he was traumatised by the fact that Anwar Ibrahim's Parti KeADILan Rakyat polled the most number of seats in Parliament, thereby making Datuk Seri Wan Azizah the first Woman Leader of the grand Opposition in our Parliament.
Yes, we can agree that Dollah Badawi's poor performance as Prime Minister since 2004 led the rakyat to reject UMNO and Barisan Nasional during the March 8 General Election, although we know that their loss was due to a number of factors, in particular Anwar Ibrahim's ability to form the Pakatan Rakyat comprising PKR, PAS and DAP and to hold it together and lead it to victory.
Che Det desparately wants Najib to take over as Prime Minister so that from behind– a pun on that word –he as the former Prime Minister can lead UMNO back to its days of glory. Forget it. Najib messed up the Permatang Pauh August 26 by- election. His campaign strategy rested on playing up the Saiful sodomy saga, and using the "plenty of money to buy voters" gambit and arm twisting tactics. Najib's character and temperament have also become an issue with Malaysians.
Najib's politik jubor — rectumus politikus – collapsed when Ramlang the "Imam" appeared in Permatang Puah to expose the farce at the Koran swearing ceremony at the Majid Wilayah, Kuala Lumpur. People of Permatang Pauh, as a proxy for the whole of Malaysia, rejected UMNO and Barisan Nasional by granting Anwar Ibrahim an overwhelming mandate to be their Member of Parliament with a 15,000 plus majority over UMNO's Ariff Omar Shah. Anwar, who is now leading the Pakatan Opposition, is within a whisker of Putrajaya.
By 3.00p.m on August 26, UMNO had abandoned ship. The Prime Minister left in a huff by a special flight to Kuala Lumpur. I saw the carnage as my colleagues and I surveyed the scene for our bloggers group led by Raja Petra, its doyen and star attraction in Permatang Pauh, stationed at the Sunflower Hotel, Simpang Ampat (read Haris Ibrahim's blog for a full 'live' account of the polling day developments). Permatang Pauh is UMNO's Waterloo.
Che Det is trying to capitalise on the fallout from Permatang Pauh. But I would like to say to him and others that if the Badawi premiership and leadership of UMNO were to collapse, it will not be because of his appeal to us to help him bring about Badawi's political demise; in stead, it will be because Malaysians from all walks of life have had enough of the corruption and abuse of power by UMNO-Barisan Nasional over the last 27 years. They now want change and they want it badly.
Our former Prime Minister must learn to accept the decision of Malaysians who think that it is now the turn of Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan Rakyat colleagues to usher in a new dawn for our country and lead us to a prosperous and harmonious future as one united Malaysia with opportunities and justice for all. We will return Malaysia to Malaysians. Negara Malaysia Rakyat punya, bukan UMNO/BN punya
Che Det cannot determine the destiny of Malaysia since that destiny lies in the hands of Almighty God. With God's help, there will be a change of government and UMNO and its partners in Barisan Nasional will have a new role in Parliament–as the New Opposition after losing its 50 year grip on power.
Dr M seeks support to give PM the boot
Andrew Ong September 3, 2008
Former prime minister-turned-blogger Dr Mahathir Mohamad is once again rallying for support to get his handpicked successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi thrown out from office.


In his latest blog posting on chedet.com, Mahathir said many UMNO leaders were afraid to openly speak out against Abdullah.
"That was why I started my blog. About six million have visited my blogsite and tens of thousands have commented and supported me. But most appear to be worried and would not give their names. They are usually anonymous. So the support is not effective.
"I cannot do everything all by myself. I need support. I cannot just go to Abdullah, catch him by the scruff of his neck and throw him out," he said.
Blog readers aside, Mahathir said he needed support from UMNO members the most.
"But UMNO and its other leaders are useless. They are only interested in getting something for themselves but do not care if UMNO and this country are totally destroyed," said Mahathir, who has resigned from UMNO in May.
PKR's victory a death knell for BN
He said UMNO and Barisan Nasional supporters were left with only one option, that is to vote for the opposition to show their displeasure at the party leadership.
And if the opposition wins, that would destroy the country, argued Mahathir.
"People deserve the government they get. If they get a bad government it is because they are unwilling to fight against it, unwilling to take any risk," he said.
Mahathir said that BN was in a "sorry state" as demonstrated by the coalition's lackluster campaign during the Permatang Pauh by-election.
He also said coalition partners MCA, MIC and Gerakan were in disarray after senior party leaders left to join PKR.
"Really, Barisan is in a sorry state. Not one leader has any guts. I hate to say it but the Permatang Pauh victory by PKR probably sounded the death knell of all the BN parties and the BN.
"This is the doing of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi," he said.
"History will record the failure of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his minions. And the founders of the parties and future politicians will curse the leadership of BN through and through," he added.


Websites - http://dinmerican.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/che-det-doesnt-get-it-malaysians-will-determine-their-future/, http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2008/09/04/any-najib-apology-for-the-rank-racism-of-btn-indoctrination-courses/, http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/12190/84/,






September 04, 2008
916... Preparing the ground
To be or not to be... this 916 political event?
While the business community expresses despair at protracted political uncertainty, and aspiring politicians take aim at claiming a pound of flesh off BN, the grassroots might be bewildered with the diverse potentialities a 916 could bring.
I feel we need to prepare the ground, and to explain to the masses of the options and potential scenarios -- good and bad -- in the days to come. Especially so, as Umno will not give up without putting up a ferocious fight while its component partners choose to jump the leopard-can't-change-its-spot racist ship.
For my part, I will speak among friends at two fora at Ipoh (Chinese medium) and Penang (English medium) on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Hope to see you there.
Once we take away the fear -- the unknown fear and the fear for the unknown -- we can then get the perspective right... and march forward.
Posted by Jeff Ooi at 04:36 PM Permalink Conversations (0) TrackBacks (0) View blog reactions
Bapak Racist
Who heads the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) in this country? He must be Malaysia's Bapak Racist.
Senior parliamentarian Lim Kit Siang received a letter from a parent whose daughter was subjected to "extremism and un-Malaysian prejudices and communal poison" that came in the form of indoctrination courses for JPA scholars bound for studies overseas. Quote:
As part of the course, which is mandatory before they are sent overseas, all non-Malays are segregated and given lectures on the history of the country and how the immigration of the Chinese and Indians had taken place. And finally how the Chinese and Indians were given citizenship. The Malays too had their own similar sessions.
The instructors blatantly told them that they should not question the rights and privileges of the Malays as the non-Malays should be thankful that they were given citizenship status and a place to stay on their soil. My daughter together with the other non-Malay students was shocked and went back to their dormitories depressed. And to the Malay students, the instructors told them to be aware of this fact and not to mix too freely with the non-Malays.
A Malay friend of my daughter came back crying to the dormitory saying that she could not take the racist position taken by the government authority.
Kit Siang is furious and, like the parent who complained, regards the BTN's racist indoctrination course as "a great disservice to both Malay and non-Malay JPA scholars as well as to Malaysian nation-building, the Merdeka social contract, the Malaysia Agreement, Rukunegara, Vision 2020 and Bangsa Malaysia".
Quite a mouthful, especially after we have just celebrated doses of Ahmad Ismail and Merdeka 51.
Read Kit's blog here.


Websites - http://www.jeffooi.com/2008/09/bapak_racist.php#comments, http://www.jeffooi.com/2008/09/916_preparing_the_ground.php#comments, http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2008/08/31/bangsa-malaysia-you-and-i-can-make-this-real/, http://harismibrahim.wordpress.com/2008/09/04/forum-916-merdeka-gua-punya/, http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/12186/84/, http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/12184/84/, http://www.infernalramblings.com/articles/Malaysian_Politics/772/, http://themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/columnists/john-lee/8253-anwar-our-best-and-only-chance-for-justice-and-equality-for-everyone, http://www.themalaysianinsider.com.my/index.php/malaysia/8525-mahathir-attacks-nst-and-the-local-media-again, http://www.malaysiainsider.com/index.php/malaysia/8454-swirling-rumours-as-sept-16-looms, http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/8459-keng-yaik-its-all-money-money-money-money-money, http://malaysianunplug.blogspot.com/2008/09/must-read-article-anwar-ibrahim-our.html,