Really ! Non Partisan in Malaysia Boleh?

Many NGOs, major Bodies fighting their Causes or institutions always claimed to be non partisan when making their calls for change towards their causes. This should be the way as we see it all around the globe but can it be followed in this nation whereby everything you do is one way or another tied to politics?

Non partisan: free from party affiliation
In political science, nonpartisan denotes an election, event, organization or person in which there is no formally declared association with a political party affiliation. wikipedia

Partisan: In politics, partisan literally means organized into political parties. The expression "partisan politics" usually refers to fervent, sometimes militant, support of a party, cause, faction, person, or idea. wikipedia

Once any party/parties are elected to form the government, elected representatives should shed their party partisanship and perform their government duties in a non partisan manner and served each and every rakyat irrespective of their political affiliation.

But do we see that happening, even the top leaders including the PM are so partisan that they are willing to forsake other races and religions to ensure that they remain popular among their party members. The PM even goes to the extend that he will only help those who are willing to help him with "Lu tolong wa, wa tolong lu" and inciting his party members to "crushed bodies and lost lives" in order to defend PutraJaya.

The PDRM, army, judiciary and other institutions like MACC and the EC are supposed to be non partisan in their duties to serve and protect without fear or favor, but they are more partisan then any party members.

The government always listen and work with the rakyat, so they claimed but do we see it happening? More often you will be treated as enemy of the state or even worst get arrested for daring to speak out.

The ruling government is building a wall, the great wall of PutraJaya, whereby those NGOs and Institutions calling for changes to unfair policies, outdated laws or causes that affect the ruling government will not be able to penetrate this great wall. You can scream and shout outside the wall perimeter but those inside the wall will not hear of it.

Just take a look at Bersih 2.0, how the government got so paranoid and over reacted to a simple 8 demands for the EC that it was declared illegal. Bersih 2.0 is non partisan, it invited all political parties on both side to support its call but only Pakatan Rakyat supported it and umno/bn created much chaos during the rally in downtown KL to fight their so call imaginary enemies. They simply won't listen to the rakyat and prefer to take tough actions to show their superiority and power.

Many NGOs, the bar council and other Bodies are calling for the repeal of the ISA, EO, PPPA, other outdated policies and to impose that the PDRM, MACC and Judiciary perform their duties without fear or favor and in a non bias attitude but the great wall of PutraJaya are still rock solid to fend of all these calls.

What we can see and the only option to break down the great wall of PutraJaya is the call for a change in federal government.

I have being following a little such Bodies like Bersih 2.0, My Constitution, UndiMalaysia, SABM, Suaram and individuals like Edmund BobBon, Malik Imtiaz and Haris Ibrahim, all are doing great jobs in fighting for and spreading the constitutional rights of the rakyat, spreading and pursuing their causes for changes in certain outdated laws and inefficient policies.

They are non partisan in the hope that whoever rules will take note of their demands and act on it. They can continue to be non partisan in fighting for their causes but I am wondering will it be effective with the present ruling government having the great wall of PutraJaya and shutting themselves inside?

What I see is that being non partisan will not really help in advancing any causes that are not favorable to the ruling government. What we need is partisanship to bring change in the federal government level and give notice to whichever new party taking over to listen to the NGOs, Bodies and institutions demands.

The present political scenario in Malaysia has no room for non partisanship! One way or another one has to fight for whatever cause in a partisan way.

Why the gov’t is paranoid

By KJ John | MalaysiaKini

I always believed paranoia was the sickness of weak and fearful people, or those who have just cause for abject fear. For example, after 9/11, the Americans were absolutely overcome with paranoia only because such an unfortunate incident was “not in their paradigm of possibilities; worse still, probabilities!” Therefore, I could tolerate, accept and appreciate their paranoia as they did three 100 percent complete checks on me within the same airport in November 2001.

But, why is the government of Malaysia also paranoid these days? First we ban “an avowedly peaceful rally to ask for clean and fair elections”. Nonetheless, it then became the best example of a peaceful rally of ordinary Malaysians reflecting the 1Malaysia syndrome; except for police disturbance.

But the police did it in order to achieve their agenda of ‘self-fulfilling their concept of a ban’. Thereby they created chaos for Malaysians in the capital city by artificially creating a chock-a-bloc situation with their arbitrary and disingenuous road checks. They were a self-fulfilling prophecy; demonstrating their power and authority but nothing else.

Then they banned 91 individuals from entering certain KL geographic areas but were using the 2007 list of names and participants of Bersih 1.0. Finally they ban yellow T-shirts as ‘potential weapons of mass danger’, and arrest innocent citizens for wearing such yellow T-shirts.

Earlier, they created the fear of “enemies of state” trying to establish a Christian state (can someone tell me what that means anyway), believing a blogger. Now, even the peaceful, erudite and eloquent but activist Islamic scholar Dr Asri Zainul Abidin is considered a national threat. Ambiga Sreenevasan was declared a Hindu nationalist threat.

Just a month ago, the PSM 6 were legally detained under the Emergency Ordinance for allegedly being a “communist threat to the nation”. But suddenly, they are no longer a threat but the police do not apologise for their mistake. Can someone please explain all this fear?

Why all this scheming and planning to create an “apparent air of chaos” in a country now being declared as one of the most peaceful in the world. Please remember also that the police found an arsenal of weapons, perfectly colour-coordinated and brand-new weapons of war, and ‘petrol bombs in plastic bottles’, all said to be part and parcel of the Bersih 2.0 arsenal. Presumably, all China-made and distributed.

Justifying the next ‘national emergency’?

Let me take a guess. Maybe all this is to justify the making of the next “national emergency” and the requisite ISA detentions. Maybe they are strategic moves from the playbook of Operation Lallang now being readied.

I even see signs of the mainstream media being linked “to a Hitler-like propaganda programme of misleading the nation about what is public interest”.

All these manoeuvrings are developed within modern institutions of democracy; whether it is called the Election Commission, or the Media Council, or even the National Professors Council. It is therefore simply most appropriate that all mainstream media professionals stayed clear from the so-called Media Council recently. As Prof AB Shamsul rightly said recently, there is something “really rotten with our state of democracy”.

The last I heard anything about any Media Council was when Zaid Ibrahim was de facto Law Minister. But not only did the current so-called Media Council meet behind closed doors, what was even more astounding is that the Internet or alternative media was excluded but nevertheless represented by another “crony”, the so-called Blog House.

The original and genuine Bloggers group was called Bloggers’ United Malaysia or BUM. I attended one of their annual conferences and argued why the media was the 5th estate and not the fourth. I had argued that traditionally and always the fourth estate was the public service and this needed to be understood, appreciated, and recognised correctly by all concerned.

The media then becomes the fifth estate and has an equal role to keep the rest of the governance system under check and balance. I have always called the community of ordinary citizens as the sixth estate of good governance. Global institutions of good governance become the 7th estate.

Therefore I find it humorous that the secretary-general of the Information Ministry, a fourth estate representative, is appointed by a government minister to lead and set up this important and needed self-surveillance group of the media professionals. But he is not a media professional.

This move establishes and confirms my thesis that the public service must become the fourth estate; not an extension of intentions of the executive. The current non-existent fourth estate has become too blindly compliant to the executive agenda.

Serving with professionalism and neutrality

Originally and always, in the British tradition of parliamentary democracy, the public service could serve any government in power with true professionalism and neutrality. After half a century of Malayanisation (actually, to be accurate we must call this ‘Melayuisation’), we have lost this culture of neutrality and professionalism.

Today, it is a rather blind compliance culture under the rubric of “saya yang menurut perintah;” meaning ‘perintah of the menteri,’ and not that of the Agong, or even in the public interest.

Therefore, the Agong meeting Bersih representatives in a public audience and requesting them to meet in a stadium was a breakthrough of professional neutrality. But, the resultant and subsequent non-compliance is an abject and total disregard for the institution of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong by the government of the day; whether the executive or the public services.

It takes a neutral fourth estate to take orders only from the Agong, when the government of the day has some variant political ideas about the nature of good governance and the public interest.

So, my advice to the executive in Malaysia… please do not become paranoid. The Good Lord decides who rules Malaysia come the next general election, and please remember the whole world is also watching. What is free or not free or not fair will ultimately be decided by the people of Malaysia.

Gerrymandering can only help up to a certain point. If the swing is so severe, as had happened and almost happened in 1969 and again in 1999, the possibility of regime change is very real.

Nonetheless, in this day and age, the use of unfair and unethical means of “rule by law” will not sustain any system that has been constitutionally governed under the rule of law principle. Please read Ambiga’s acceptance speech on receiving an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Exeter, Britain and you will understand my sentiments on this issue. May God bless Malaysia.

GE-13: Only one chance to vote out BN

By Kenny Gan | Malaysia Chronicle

Despite the popularity of Pakatan Rakyat the 13th general election is still a David vs. Goliah contest on an unlevel playing field where the incumbent has colossal advantages in media, money and machinery. BN controls all the levers of power including the most crucial one, the Election Commission and is not ashamed to use whatever means - fair or foul - to beat off the PR challenge, mostly foul.

Given the unevenness of the contest I venture to say that the 13th G.E. will be more of a contest on whether BN can regain its two-thirds majority rather than a frenzied fight for Putrajaya. The two most crucial states to the campaign, namely Sarawak and Sabah which together contribute 25% of the parliamentary seats still remain BN’s fixed deposit to a large degree. In Sabah the illegal immigrants absorbed into the electoral rolls have undermined the right to self-determination of native Sabahans.

However all is not doom and gloom and there still remains a thin wedge of chance that PR can overcome the odds to unseat the juggernaut BN. It all hinges on that ever recurring political event in Umno – a power struggle – coupled with a serious underestimation of civil society by the corridors of power.

Pakatan’s Last Stand

But first of all, let us consider what happens if PR fails to unseat BN from Federal power. The signs are already clear that BN will take certain steps to ensure it will never have to face the threat of losing power again. This will be achieved not by increasing BN’s popularity but by underhanded methods to compromise the electoral process so that BN can rule without fear of losing power, short of a street revolution.

Already the Election Commission is in collusion with an enthusiastic BN to implement an opaque biometric verification system which will allow BN greater scope to cheat using phantom voters and illegal immigrants issued with MyKads. Co-incidentally or maybe not, the biometric data of 2 million foreign workers are being collected. This expensive system which is largely useless for preventing multiple voting is favoured instead of the much cheaper and simpler indelible ink which would put the brakes on phantom voters.

Even more ominous, the government is establishing Territorial Army companies in all 222 parliamentary constituencies and there are rumblings that they will eventually be given postal votes. When army companies are established by parliamentary constituencies instead of more appropriate criteria one can infer that their main purpose is not the defence of the country.

Both the biometric system and the Territorial army companies are not expected to be implemented in time for the 13th G.E. but will be firmly in place for the 14th G.E. We should also not forget that gerrymandering will be another BN weapon in the 14th G.E. as the present delineation of electoral boundaries is not expected to be completed in time for the 13th G.E.

What this means is that the 13th G.E. may well be the last window of opportunity left for the people to choose their government before the regime entrench itself through a severely compromised electoral system. The 13th G.E. will be Pakatan's last stand before Malaysia becomes a full-fledged dictatorship with false trappings of democracy.

Najib’s Last Stand

But if the 13th GE is Pakatan’s last stand it is also Najib’s last stand. The writing on the wall is clear. Get back BN’s two-third majority or be pulled down.

Throughout most of Najib’s troubled premiership he has been dogged with odd acts of sabotage by his subordinates especially with regards to his 1Malaysia concept. Things have come to a head now and it is no longer possible to ignore the rumblings of a power struggle in Umno.

Recent events point to this tumult in the corridors of power. The police’s heavy oppression of the Bersih rally bordering on the ludicrous as if to enrage civil society, the flip-flop by Najib on the stadium offer to Bersih (probably forced by hardliners), the leakage to the media of Rosmah’s RM24 million diamond ring, the formation of Amanah and Najib’s cutting short his family holiday to rush back to Malaysia are symptoms of this struggle.

The unjust and illogical detention of the PSM-6 for frivolous reasons can only be intended to weaken Najib politically. Although they have released the damage has already been done. When a deputy Minister starts criticizing the handling of the Bersih rally the fight has shifted to the public arena.

The anti-Najib faction cannot allow him to win two-thirds majority in the next general election or his job will be safe. The conspirators have to weaken him politically and limit the extent of cheating in the polls to give PR a chance.

But they walk a fine line as there is a danger of overdoing things. The 13th G.E. is a David vs. Goliath battle but when two giants battle David may sneak in and run away with the crown.

Civil Society Strikes Back

On his first day as Prime Minister, Najib Razak said:

“Economic progress and better education have directly resulted in the birth of a class of voters who are better informed, very demanding and highly critical. If we do not heed this message, their seething anger will become hatred and in the end this may cause them to abandon us altogether.”

Unfortunately Najib did not follow his own advice nor did he impose this on his subordinates or the instruments of government. The intelligence of Malaysians are being insulted on an almost daily basis as if our society exists in the time warp of the 1970s when access to information was limited and the word of the government was trusted. Whether it is the imaginative reasons manufactured to demonize the Bersih rally, Anwar’s shaky sodomy trial held together by a compliant judge or the speculative suicide verdict of the Teoh RCI, Malaysians are being treated as gullible simpletons.

Civil society is frustrated and infuriated at the government’s lack of respect for them. The government is behaving like a dictatorship and not a democracy. They have taken their frustration to cyberspace and the social media and will find an outlet in the next general election. BN has completely lost the urban middle class. They have also lost the Chinese, the Indians, Christian, the fence sitters and the young voters.

But the people who talk down to others are themselves not smart enough to realize the effect they are causing. There is a sharp disconnect between state and society fostered no doubt by a sycophantic press which deprives the government of valuable feedback. The stage is set for a swing of anti-BN votes to PR by those who want an alternative to an abusive and corrupt government, any alternative as long as it is not BN.

Pakatan’s Strategies

However PR should not celebrate yet because it takes a lot to displace BN. It is not enough to be a little more popular than BN, it takes overwhelming support to overwhelm BN’s cheating.

To level the playing field a little PR should push for implementation of at least three essential election reforms, namely proper conduct of postal votes, use of indelible ink and allowing all overseas Malaysians to vote.

There should not be any more public dissent within the group. PR must present a united front and a cohesive group. All arguments should be behind closed doors and no party or individual should go to the press to settle any argument.

For the first time ever the opposition front can claim to be able to displace BN with a high degree of credibility. This changes the dynamics completely from merely trying to be a strong opposition to being a government in waiting. PR is now able to make wide sweeping promises of what it intends to do it if it wins the election.

Promises such as reducing the price of oil and electricity to relieve the burden of the people can be made with good effect. Even BN traditional strongholds like Felda can be breached by promising a better deal for them. However populist measures such as distributing cash should not be made. The intelligence of Malaysians should be respected and the public knows what is sustainable and what is not.

The later the election is held the more favourable for PR with more young voters joining the rolls, more BN scandals emerging and the economy biting deeper. If it is to be held this year it will probably be November and we should know by October when Najib presents the budget. If an election budget is presented and should the Election Commission be as stubborn as it is now, Bersih 3.0 should be called and this time it should be held in every major town. The EC may still not act but it will deal BN a few body blows or even buy more time for PR if the election is postponed to next year.

The People’s Last Stand

The 13th G.E. may be the one and only time that Malaysians have any chance of replacing BN with another government. Such a chance may never come again as the goalposts will be moved after the 13th G.E. It should be noted that the present level of cheating will not work if Malaysians come out in large numbers and vote against BN.

We should not waste any votes on so-called third force parties like MCLM, HRM and KITA. Such split voting will only help to BN retain its power. There is no such thing as a third force unless there is a two party system in place. Although the level of support for PR is high enough to be considered a two party system in theory this is only true if both parties respect the rules of democracy. If the ruling party continues to oppress the opposition, abuse its power and corrupts all the institutions of democracy to perpetuate its rule while depending on a compromised election system to win, it is still a one party totalitarian rule in practice. A two party a system will only be in place if BN loses power at least once.

There are some who do not like BN but think that PR is not good enough to get their votes. They are missing the point because it is not about voting angels to parliament but creating a two party system. What can angels do in Parliament if BN is still the Federal power? MCLM which prides itself on selecting sterling candidates should answer this question. If PR does not perform we can easily vote them out but the same cannot be said of BN.

Another type of voters fear change and prefer to maintain the status quo. “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t” is their adage. But they fail to understand that the status quo cannot be maintained if BN continues to rule. There is only so much economic plunder and uncompetitive racial policies that one country can take. Economic decline has a way of accelerating exponentially. When we become a maid exporting country everybody will suffer except the Umnoputras.

The 13th general election represents a nexus of conducive factors which may just work together to push out BN. A united opposition, a power struggle in Umno, an alienated civil society and most important of all, an election system which isn’t totally corrupted yet. This is not only Pakatan’s last stand but also the People’s last stand against tyranny and economic mismanagement. The chance may never come again.

13th GE : Malaysians must grasp the possibility for the first time in nation’s history for change of government in Putrajaya

By Lim Kit Siang

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said that UMNO must reform or it would be reformed.

From recent events, it is crystal clear that Umno and Barisan Nasional are incapable of reform and must be reformed by the people effecting a change of federal government from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat in the next general elections.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced the MIC President G. Palanivel as his second Indian Cabinet Minister implementing his notorious philosophy spelt out in the Sibu by-election of “Gua tolong lu, lu tolong gua” – when the duty of any responsible government must be to serve all needy Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region or political beliefs.

It is this cynical philosophy where essential public services are treated as a barter trade between the government and the people which is the root cause of the host of abuses of power and corruption afflicting the country destroying our national unity and international competitiveness.

This is one big difference between the Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya from the Najib government – no Cabinet appointments or government decisions or projects based on “Gua tolong lu, lu tolong gua” but strictly on the basis of merit or need.

This evening, the Prime Minister was put in a spot over his signature “1Malaysia” policy and slogan by a student at the 5th Annual Malaysian Student Leaders Summit who asked Najib whether he was prepared to state he was Malaysian first and what he thought of Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s infamous remark of being “Malay first and Malaysian next”.

I remember very vividly Muhyiddin’s reply as it was in response to my challenge to all Cabinet Ministers in Parliament in March last year to declare their stand whether they are Malaysians first and their religion, region and socio-economic status second to demonstrate their full allegiance to Najib’s 1Malaysia policy.

Najib dodged the student’s question on the ground that he did not want to give grounds for people to create divisions between him and his deputy.

This is a real cop-out, an evasion of the question which is even more significant than any direct answer as it revealed the total hollowness of Najib’s 1Malaysia policy – which has so far not gone beyond circus fanfare of 1Malaysia Tupperware, 1Malaysia T-shirt, 1Malaysia Burger, 1Malaysia Mineral Water and other gimmicry.

The real 1Malaysia was achieved on July 9 in the Bersih 2.0 rally for free and fair elections as the weeks of mainstream media demonisation and police threats as well as the unjustified lockdown of Kuala Lumpur did not prevent the phenomenon of Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, gender or sex coming together as one Malaysian people in the common cause of a Bersih Malaysia!

Najib should be celebrating the Berish 1Malaysia coming of age on July 9, but instead he and his Cabinet Ministers have not let up in their groundless and irresponsible attacks on Bersih 2.0 and Malaysians who support the cause of a Clean Malaysia.

The next general elections could be very near and may be held as early as October/November and all Malaysians must grasp the possibility for the first time in nation’s history for change of power in Putrajaya.

Before the Sarawak state general elections, many have forecast that Najib may hold the 13th general elections before the Puasa month and could be in June or July.

However, after the poor Barisan Nasional performance in the April 16 Sarawak state polls, despite Barisan Nasional retaining its two-thirds majority in the state, talk of general elections veered to end of the year.

After the series of self-inflicted wounds following the gross mishandling of the 709 Bersih 2.0 rally, including the mala fide detention of the PSM6 under Emergency Ordinance, UMNO and Barisan Nasional self-confidence suffered grievous blows pushing forecasts of the possible polls date for the next general elections to next year.

However, when Najib cut short his overseas trip after his most embarrassing visits to London, the Vatican, Rome and Paris – hounded by adverse international reactions to the high-handed government response to Bersih 2.0 rally – the possibility of polls being held in October or November has again returned to the fore.

Be that as it may, regardless of when the next polls are held, whether in October/November this year or next year, Malaysians must be aware that the next general elections is going to be the most important one in the nation’s history as it is within the power of the voters to decide whether there should be a change of the national government in Putrajaya from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat.

UMNO and Barisan Nasional are incapable of reform as they could only be reformed by the people voting for a new Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya.

It is only with a new government in Putrajaya that there can be major policy changes in the country, as for instance in resolving the long-standing grievances of taxi drivers in the country by implementing a “Permits for Taxi Drivers” policy.

IGP and deputy, step down for lying to public

By S Arutchelvan | Malaysiakini

On behalf of the party, PSM would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all the brave people for all their effort, solidarity, support and struggle in ensuring the release of our six comrades. We wish to thank the massive support from all quarters – the civil society movements, the NGOs, the legal assistance from the lawyers, Pakatan Rakyat parties the DAP, PKR, PAS as well as PRM.

Also individuals from BN like Khairy Jamaluddin, individuals in Gerakan, MCA and MIC. As well the great solidarity of the International community as well as the international socialist parties all over the world.

We thank all those who have sent letters, solidarity message and participated in online petition, those who lodged police reports, send in memorandum, collected signatures, spoken out, held nightly vigils, held prayers and kept protesting the arrest.

We dedicate this release to all these brave people in Malaysia and all over the world, They are the true heroes who released our six comrades. This is a victory for all those who demanded for change and stood up against oppression. We are humbled by this great support, courage and solidarity.

Five main issues PSM wants to raise:

1. Before we go into that, we would like to express our thanks and gratitude to the wardens and the policemen who according to our released comrades took very good care of them and treated them well and with respect.

The problem is not with the lower ranking policemen but with the top level of the police force. We call for the immediate resignation of the IGP and especially the deputy IGP, both of whom we consider were the main actors in manufacturing lies and fabricating evidence to punish PSM and the EO6.

They have lied to the Malaysians over the last 34 days that

PSM is waging war against DYMM Yang DiPertuan Agong.

PSM trying to revive the MCP

PSM working with foreign agents elements to topple the Government

PSM is the “penggerak” or the main organiser of BERSIH

Because of this manipulation, the IGP and the DIGP should resign.

2. The arrest and the detention of the PSM6 is unlawful, illegal and in bad faith. The central committee of the party will discuss with our lawyer on the next course of action with regards to this.

3. We call for the AG to drop the case against of the 24 other PSM members and grassroots members who have been charged on other ridiculous grounds related to Bersih 2.0 especially for distributing Bersih leaflets. Bersih was only declared illegal by the Home Ministry on July 2 whereas the 24 were arrested on 25 June. It is therefore a waste of public funds for the government to pursue the charges, and we call upon the AG to drop this case.

4. We call for the repeal of the Emergency Ordinance (EO), Internal Security Act (ISA), as well as the Dangerous Drug Act's special prevention measures that allows detention without trial. All detention without trial laws should go. The government should seek to either charge detainees or release them.

5. PSM will next embark on a nationwide tour to explain to the people the true reason behind the arrests of our members and the conspiracy against PSM, and to continue our call 'Udahlah tu....bersaralah', as well as to thank the people for their support as well as explain

Long live the people! Long live PSM

S Arutchelvan is PSM secretary general.