At the Federal Court: A Constitutional Crisis
| Malaysia State Constitutional Crisis |
| Written by Our Correspondent Asia Sentinel | |
| Tuesday, 09 February 2010 | |
The courts award Perak to UMNO Any indication that Malaysia’s courts were becoming independent of the government disappeared from view again Tuesday when the five-member Federal Court ruled that United Malays National Organization stalwart Zambry Abdul Kadir is the rightful chief minister of the state of Perak, the country’s second biggest and one of its richest. The state has been caught a constitutional crisis since May of 2009, with the government paralyzed by the controversy over who was actually in charge. Perak had been controlled by the national opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat as a result of the March 2008 national election, with Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as chief minister. However, then-Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak engineered the defection of three lawmakers, bringing the government to a halt in a 28-28 tie. Upon their defection, Sultan Raja Azlan Shah immediately ordered Nizar to vacate his position and installed Zambry in his place. That kicked off a melee in which 65 people were arrested. Ahead of Tuesday’s decision, Rais yatim, the the Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, was quoted by the state-owned national wire service Bernama as calling on the people to be calm. “We should respect the decision irrespective of whether it favors A or B. We are confident in our judicial system and in the way the law is administered,” Bernama quoted him as saying. Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Abdul Aziz Rahim ruled on May 11 that the sultan lacked the authority to remove Nizar without a vote of confidence in the statehouse, only to have the appellate court put his decision in abeyance a few hours later. The case – and the Perak state government – have been stalled as the Federal Court, the country’s highest, took up the decision in November and has chewed on it ever since. The ruling, led by Court of Appeal president Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, was built on the premise that the Barisan Nasional, or ruling national coalition, controls 31 votes in the Perak statehouse although no vote has ever been taken, and while the three defectors are said to be leaning towards the Barisan, they have given no official indication that they would cross the aisle. The Election Commission refused a letter proclaiming the realignment of their loyalty, setting the stage for the constitutional crisis. When Nizar refused to go, instead of waiting for Judge Abdul Aziz’s original ruling, elite federal Field Reserve Unit police invaded the Ipoh statehouse on May 7 to drag opposition Speaker V. Sivakumar out of the chambers amid flying furniture and protests that resulted in the arrest of 65 people. As far as can be determined, it is the first time in Malaysian history that federal police had ever entered a legislature. The ruling appears unlikely to end the continuing political uncertainty in either Perak or the government. Political analysts in Kuala Lumpur say the logical solution to the stalemate – a state popular by-election to determine the makeup of the statehouse – is unlikely because Najib and the Barisan do not believe they could win it. The state, long a tin mining center, has an extremely large Chinese and Indian population and the Chinese have largely abandoned the Barisan because of the collapse into scandal of the Malaysian Chinese Association, which is embroiled in infighting over the disappearance of billions of dollars in the attempt to turn Port Klang, 60 km. west of Kuala Lumpur, into a multimodal port. The Barisan instead appears to be counting on time to bring the voters, particularly disaffected ethnic Malays who have abandoned UMNO for the fundamentalist Parti Islam se-Malaysia and Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat, or People’s Justice Party, because of a long series of scandals and outright crimes. However, Anwar is on trial in Kuala Lumpur in what has been widely billed as Sodomy 2, on charges of sodomizing a former aide in a trial that to everybody but the government itself appears to be built on dubious allegations that were laid to derail the first realistic challenge to the ruling national coalition since the country was formed. In the meantime, his party is beset by infighting in several state assemblies, particularly Penang and Selangor, with a growing number of restive lawmakers threatening to leave the opposition coalition and return to the Barisan. Three have been brought before a disciplinary committee of the opposition coalition seeking answers to questions over their use of personal expense accounts. The coalition that Anwar cobbled together has been an unlikely one from the start, with the Islamic, largely rural and fundamentalist PAS on one side and the ethnic Chinese Democratic Action Party on the other, with Anwar’s moderate, urban Malays in the middle. Zulkifli Nordin, a member of Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat, was quoted publicly earlier this week as predicting mass resignations over the next two to three weeks over tensions with the DAP and PKR’s difficulty in dealing with them. “The problem was that Anwar rounded up a bunch of incompetents to run in 2008, and disillusionment was so great with UMNO that a lot of people got voted into office who should never have been voted into office,” said a businessman in Kuala Lumpur. The opposition coalition, he said, has thus never been able to capitalize on its gains by actually paying attention to governing. At the same time, the opposition has been harried by Najib’s use of law enforcement powers including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and others to bring opposition lawmakers in on charges that many observers believe are superfluous. Nonetheless, the court’s decision appears certain to reinforce popular opinion that Malaysia’s judiciary is thoroughly in the pockets of UMNO. That isn’t helped by the case against Anwar, who is charged with having consensual sex with the former aide, a charge that is extremely rare in Malaysia and especially Kuala Lumpur, where gay bars abound and homosexuality isn’t particularly condemned despite the fact that it is nominally against the law. An examination of the evidence against him in similar charges in 1998 leads to the overwhelming conclusion that it was concocted to derail his political career. The case has been put on temporary hold as Anwar’s lead counsel, Karpal Singh, seeks to disqualify the presiding judge, Mohd Zabidin Mohd Diah. |
———————————————————————————————————-
The Federal Court, the highest in the country, has delivered a unanimous decision in declaring that Zambry Abd Kadir of BN is the rightful Perak menteri besar (MB).
In doing so just after 11am, it dismissed the appeal by Pakatan Rakyat’s Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin and delivered perhaps the final blow to his quest to be declared the MB. He can still apply to the court to review its own decision, if he chooses to.
President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, led a five-member bench in delivering the verdict.
The others were Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Arifin Zakaria and Justices Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Abdull Hamid Embong of the Federal Court.
Justice Arifin who read the solitary judgment for about an hour from 10.15am, reaffirmed the Court of Appeal decision, that the Kuala Lumpur High Court was wrong in not determining that Nizar’s seat was vacant.
He ruled that it is not necessary for a vote of confidence to be done in the state assembly, as the sultan can conduct his own inquiry to determine which party or coalition has the majority.
“This can be done through extraneous sources,” he said.
The sultan would have had sufficient evidence as to who commanded the majority in the Perak assembly or who suffered a lack of confidence, noted the judge.
As such, the sultan would have been able to arrive at a decision (and call for the chief executive to vacate the post). Should an individual refuse to do so, the post can be deemed vacant.
Although Justice Arifin noted that the determination of who holds the majority can be done outside the state legislative assembly, he commented towards the end of the judgment that all is not lost for Nizar (left in photo).
“If he is not satisfied with the decision, he can seek a vote of no confidence against the respondent (Zambry) in the state legislative assembly.”
In deriving the decision, the court also ruled that it would not levy costs on Nizar.
The attorney-general’s (AG) chambers was represented by the head of prosecution division Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah and Kamaluddin Md Said, the head of the Trial and Appeals division.
AG Abdul Gani Patail (right), among those who commented immediately on the ruling, said this was a sound and crucial judgment which encompasses all the previous decisions.
He refuted the suggestion that it would lead to a situation of an “absolute monarchy” – as claimed by Nizar at a press conference – because the constitutional monarchy “and everyone including the judiciary, has a place in the system”.
Nizar’s lawyers were Philip Koh, Chan Kok Keong, Leong Cheok Keng, Edmund Bon, Miohd Hanipa Maidin, Ranjit Singh, and Razlan Hadri Zulkifli.
Zambry’s lawyers are Cecil Abraham and Sunil Abraham. Zambry (left) himself was not present in court for the decision, but responded to the ruling later.
Cecil said the verdict is binding on the federal and state government.
Mohd Hafarizam Harun and M Reza Hassan held a watching brief for Umno.
Previous judicial decisions
BN was seen to have usurped power in Perak when three Pakatan Rakyat assemblypersons switched sides to become BN-friendly Independents in February last year, leading to Pakatan seeking legal recourse.
On May 11, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim had ruled that Nizar is the rightful menteri besar.
“He is, and was, at all material times the chief minister of Perak,” Abdul Aziz told the court.
However, the appellate court’s three-member bench unanimously overturned the decision in favour of Zambry, saying that the High Court judge had failed to properly and adequately appreciate the entire evidence before him.
“We hold the view that the granting or the withholding of the request for the dissolution of the state legislative assembly is royal prerogative,” ruled Justice Md Raus Sharif.
The Federal Court had, on Nov 5 last year, heard Nizar’s appeal and submission for more then six hours but defer its decision
The court had earlier dismissed Nizar’s application for a full bench of 11 judges or an enlarged panel.
———————————————————————————————————–
Here are some responses.
Shad Saleem Faruqi, law professor
The decision is expected. There are two issues – Nizar lost the majority and the sultan rejected his request to dissolve the state assembly. It was a stalemate.I am not surprised with the Federal Court’s decision. Since it is not a clear-cut matter, the court will give Zambry the benefit of the doubt.
George Varughese, Bar Council secretary
It may not be the most popular of decisions, but the highest court has decided. We will have to respect that. Still, I am neither surprised nor happy, as my interpretation of the Perak constitution is not the same as the Federal Court. This is my personal view.
Zaid Ibrahim, former law minister and Pakatan coordinator
As I said before, our judges in the upper echelon of the judiciary will continue to fail the people of this country. Today, the principles governing parliamentary democracy and the rule of law have been sacrificed because they have to please the political masters.
I hope the BN leaders in the midst of their celebrations realise the significance of the ruling. It means that the monarch can refuse the appointment of a menteri besar chosen by the party in power (as in Terengganu) but now can dismiss the lawful menteri besar if he so chooses. Another black day for the country.
Professor Abdul Aziz Bari, constitutional law expert
It is bad news for democracy for the court has reduced the constitution – which sought to put in place a democratic government – to a mere legal document. One wonders whether judges really understood the concept of responsible government.
The court in this instance has added another case to a list of cases that go against the very idea of constitutionalism and democracy, which stand at the very heart of the constitution. It is a pity that the court took a literal and pedantic approach that throws democracy out of the window.
————————————————————————————————————
|
|
| Nizar: Malaysia menuju monarki mutlak | |||
|
Keputusan Mahkamah Persekutuan hari ini akan mengakibatkan situasi kemungkinan berlakunya monarki mutlak di Malaysia, dakwa menteri besar Perak yang disingkirkan, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.
 |
Menurut beliau tidak perlu diadakan pilihan raya kerana raja-raja boleh menentukan siapa yang akan mengetuai kerajaan negeri ataupun pada peringkat persekutuan.
Pada sidang media, sejurus selepas mahkamah menolak permohonannya, hari ini, Nizar berkata: “Ini adalah risiko paling besar yang dihadapi oleh negara masa kini dan kita perlu perbetulkannya. Keputusan mahkamah itu mengketepikan prinsip-prinsip yang ditetapkan dalam perlembagaan.”
Nizar juga berkata dia belum membuat keputusan samada akan merayu berhubung keputusan itu yang mengistiharkan Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir sebagai menteri besar Perak yang sah.
 |
“Kami akan teliti keputusan bertulis penghakiman dan kemudiannya membuat keputusan,” katanya sambil meminta penyokongnya supaya bertenang.
“Ini adalah hari yang paling sedih bagi Malaysia kerana ia membuktikan sistem penghakiman negara adalah tidak bebas. Sasaran kita sekarang ini ialah merampas semula Perak.
“Rakyat ingin melihat badan kehakiman bebas membuat keputusan. Tetapi berdasarkan apa yang didengar tadi, ia menunjukkan badan kehakiman masih tidak bebas dan dipengaruhi pihak tertentu.”
Menurut Nizar, krisis di Perak tidak sepatutnya berakhir dengan keputusan mahkamah tetapi perlu diserahkan kepada rakyat untuk menentukan siapa yang patut mewakili mereka.
Zambry Or Nizar The Perak MB – Decision On Today
By: Ramjit
PUTRAJAYA, Feb 7 (Bernama) — The conundrum of who is the rightful menteri besar of Perak will be resolved on Tuesday (Feb 9) when the five-man Federal Court bench pronounces its ruling.
The bench, led by Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, will decide whether Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, 47, of the Barisan Nasional (BN) retains the post or his predecessor Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, 52, of the Pakatan pact of DAP-PKR-PAS reclaims the office.
The judgment will also determine the constitutional issue of whether a head of state can look beyond the legislature to decide if the head of government has lost the confidence of the majority of the elected representatives.
Besides Alauddin, the other members of the bench are Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria and Federal Court judges Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, Datuk Wira Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Datuk Abdull Hamid Embong.
This is the final step in the appeal by Mohammad Nizar in his attempt to reclaim the post of menteri besar. Nevertheless, the losing party in a court case can apply to the Federal Court to review its own ruling under Rule 137 of the Rules of the Federal Court to challenge the constitutional points.
The five-man bench had deferred its judgment on Nov 5 last year after having heard submissions in the appeal from counsel representing both Mohammad Nizar and Dr Zambry.
The conflict over who the rightful menteri besar is arose last year after three Pakatan representatives quit their parties to become independent state assemblymen, leaving Pakatan and the BN with 28 assemblymen each in the 59-seat Perak legislative assembly.
They are Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) and Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering), who resigned from PKR on Jan 30, and DAP assemblyman Hee Yit Foong (Jelapang) who followed in their footsteps four days later. All of them declared themselves BN-friendly independents.
The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, then asked Mohammad Nizar, who is Pasir Panjang assemblyman, to step down as menteri besar and swore in Dr Zambry in February last year after declaring that the BN had the majority in the state assembly.
Mohammad Nizar initiated legal proceedings on Feb 13 last year, seeking a declaration that he is the rightful menteri besar of Perak and an injunction to bar Dr Zambry from discharging his duties as the menteri besar.
In May last year, the High Court reinstated Mohammad Nizar as the legitimate menteri besar but the Court of Appeal reversed that decision and declared Dr Zambry’s appointment as Perak menteri besar constitutional.
Appointment of Head of Election Bureau
KENYATAAN MEDIA
UNTUK EDARAN SEGERA
Tarikh: 23 Januari 2010
PERLANTIKAN PENGARAH PILIHANRAYA DAN KETUA BIRO LATIHAN
Mesyuarat Biro Politik Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KEADILAN) pada 20hb Januari yang lalu telah membuat rombakan penting di dalam pimpinan tertinggi parti sebagai usaha memantapkan organisasi bagi menghadapi PRU 13 yang dijangka akan diadakan pada pertengahan tahun hadapan. YB Puan Fuziah Salleh, Ahli Parlimen Kuantan telah dilantik sebagai Pengarah Pilihanraya bagi menggantikan YB Tuan Saifuddin Nasution bin Ismail yang akan memegang jawatan Setiausaha Agung berkuatkuasa 1 Februari 2010.
Portfolio Ketua Biro Latihan yang sebelum ini di pegang oleh YB Puan Fuziah Salleh kini diamanahkan kepada Sdr Mustaffa Kamil Ayub yang juga adalah Ketua Biro Hal Ehwal Antarabangsa. KEADILAN percaya dengan rombakan ini persediaan awal dapat dilakukan bagi merealisasikan KEADILAN bertapak di Putrajaya.
WAN AZIZAH WAN ISMAIL
Presiden
Parti Keadilan Rakyat
###
Delivered to you by / Dihantarkan kepada saudara melalui:
BIRO KOMUNIKASI
PARTI KEADILAN RAKYAT
A-1-09, Merchant Square
No. 1, Jalan Tropicana Selatan 1
47410 Petaling Jaya
Tel: +603 7885 0530
Fax: +603 7885 0531
E-mail: komunikasi@keadilanrakyat.org
Web: www.keadilanrakyat.org
Perak State
Independent polls gaining influence
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — When the Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak was unseated through defections in February, the local people were clearly unhappy.
But just how unhappy?
The independent pollster, Merdeka Centre, did a survey in the state to find out.
Its poll found that half the Malay respondents believed the palace’s decision to install a Barisan Nasional (BN) government, instead of calling for fresh polls, was in line with the people’s wishes. In contrast, a whopping 82 per cent of the Chinese said it was not. That would have been that, except for the oddest twist of fate.
A Perak MP died of a heart attack, triggering a by-election in Bukit Gantang two months later.
The election result tallied with the survey findings. The Malay vote for the BN came in at around 55 per cent, while the Chinese support was a low 22 per cent. It rarely happens as neatly as this, but this was one example of how polling can be a fair measure of the Malaysian political pulse.
Political polling is still fairly new in Malaysia, although there has always been some form of pulse-checking. Umno, for instance, had grassroots systems which had one party member taking care of 10 voters in their village. This used to be very effective. But that system broke down spectacularly in last year’s general election.
The BN did not have an inkling of the massive ground shift that dealt it the worst electoral showing in 50 years. Its village methods had failed in an urban setting — and more than 60 per cent of Malaysians now live in urban centres.
That was when independent polling received a boost as it appeared more reliable than in-house sources and party intelligence. Even before the general election, Merdeka Centre had published several surveys that revealed a sense of Chinese and Indian unhappiness. Not enough attention was paid to the findings, and the BN paid a heavy price in terms of seats.
“Polling is extremely important so that you don’t risk fooling yourself with internal bias. That said, it can still be a challenge to base decisions on poll results because of other pressures,” said Nelleita Omar, managing director of Vox Malaysia.
Vox Malaysia is the newest polling and consulting firm in the country. It is run by ex-policy staffers from former premier Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s office.
The interest in poll data is certainly noticeable now. Ibrahim Suffian, director of Merdeka Centre, said there was a surge of interest immediately after last year’s March 8 general election. Shell- shocked political parties were scrambling for answers, and the public also sought to make sense of the topsy-turvy landscape. This started to change public discourse.
“People were not clear about the mood before. But when we started to publish our surveys, it changed the debate because there’s now the ability to quantify sentiments,” said Ibrahim.
It does seep into the debate, going by the chatter online. People may not discuss surveys, but the data they provide helps shape arguments to some extent. But polling, which is still in its infancy in Malaysia, does not yet have the reach to influence public opinion. The impact on public policymakers is also relatively low, compared to, say, private companies which have wide experience with using polling data to position their products.
“In politics, it’s a lot harder. The span of products, if you like, is very wide. But it’s the same principle, you have to find the key issues and zoom in,” said Nelleita.
She said while polling had become more visible in recent years, there is still a gap between retrieving data and using it to structure policies.
It is the political parties that have begun to use the data strategically. DAP election strategist Liew Chin Tong said while they realise it is not an exact science, polls can yield useful information if they are properly done and interpreted. “It’s a snapshot at a particular time, and political sentiment is notoriously fluid. But if it’s consistently monitored, it can be a fair reflection of ground feeling,” he said.
In the last general election, Liew said, the opposition parties had taken several good decisions partly influenced by polling data.
One, the three parties decided not to form a coalition then but to work together in an electoral pact. Polling had indicated that voters were not ready for an official alliance but also did not want the opposition to fight one another. Two, the parties avoided campaigning on a platform of winning federal power because surveys showed that this would discomfit voters. Both strategies worked.
“It’s not good to be too dependent on polls as they are never accurate, but they can show part of the picture and be one of the many tools,” said Liew.
The accuracy of polling is always an issue, of course. That depends largely on the expertise with which it is carried out, the frequency, and the skill in reading the data. Still, it looks like political polling is here to stay — and grow. As Ibrahim noted, the 2008 election has changed the Malaysian mindset significantly. There’s a distinct loosening of what he called “brand loyalty”.
“People look for quality, and that has changed the way politicians have to react to them,” he said.
Malaysians have also become more vocal, and pollsters see far less of the frustrating blank looks and shrugs in response to surveys. Everyone has an opinion now; the question is how to read it. — The Straits Times
Bagan Pinang: PAS rebels
Wednesday October 14, 2009
Mukhriz: ‘PAS votes’ may have led to big BN win
KUALA LUMPUR: Dissatisfaction among PAS supporters with the party’s choice of candidate in Bagan Pinang could have swung votes in favour of Barisan Nasional, said Jerlun MP Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir.
This, he added, could have contributed to Barisan’s thumping 5,435-vote majority.
Furthermore, Barisan candidate Tan Sri Isa Samad was well-known and well-liked in the state, he said.
He also said that it was not unusual for Barisan candidates to get PAS votes during elections.
“In Jerlun, where I contested the parliamentary seat, PAS members and supporters’ votes contributed to our landslide majority.
“As we get support from across the political divide, we must serve and look into the welfare of all rakyat,” he said.
On PAS’ threat to dispute the by-election results in court, Mukhriz said it was not proper for PAS leaders to cry foul as Isa won fair and square.
On the proposed amendments to Umno’s constitution to be tabled during the party’s general assembly tomorrow, Mukhriz said it was pertinent for the party to maintain its focus on its original struggles.
Bagan Pinang: Unbelievable results
How on earth could we unearth the real reasons for the lost?
Certainly the mood from the ground differs with the results….that is a fact.
Why couldn’t Pakatan Rakyat translate mood to votes as before?
———————————————————————————————————
Political analyst Ong Kian Ming made the estimation based on the Election Commission’s data when he examined the change in the level of BN support from 2008 to 2009 by ‘saluran’ or polling stream and the ethnic composition of the respective ‘saluran’.
According to him, Umno candidate Mohd Isa Samad had also registered an increase of 4 percent in Malay support in the Negri Sembilan state seat compared to the results in the 2008 general election.
In the Sunday’s by-election, Isa doubled the majority garnered by Azman Mohammad Noor when the late Umno candidate crushed his PAS opponent last year.
Isa (right with garland), a former cabinet minister, who was suspended from the party for three years after being found guilty of vote buying in Umno polls, took the seat with a margin of 5,435 votes.
Ong said that based on the results of the Bagan Pinang by-election, 67 percent of Malay voters had backed Isa.
Interestingly, a higher proportion – 73 percent – of non-Malay voters gave their support to the Umno candidate.
Three key factors
Ong identified three key factors which led to the dramatic voter swing back to BN.
- Isa’s long standing presence in the constituency as well as in the state as a former MB.
- The weakness of the PAS candidate and machinery.
- The salience of local issues that were perceived to be more important than national issues like the cow-head incident in Shah Alam and the Teoh Beng Hock case.
As for the postal voters, which make up 40 percent of the state constituency, Ong said Prime Minister Najib Razak’s reputation and popularity as the former long-standing defence minister has ensured that Umno received the lion share of the votes.
Isa bagged 3,521 postal votes while his rival, PAS’ Zulkefly Mohamad Omar pulled in a measly 601 votes.
In the 2008 general election, BN got 3,080 postal votes against PAS’ 1,189.
Wake-up call for Pakatan
Ong (below) however added that the hefty swing seen in Bagan Pinang may not be so pronounced in other constituencies.
“Any swing towards the BN (elsewhere) would be much less because of the absence of postal votes and the inability to have another Isa-type candidate for Umno.”
He also questioned whether BN’s feat could be replicated in another racially-mixed seat where the opposition was the incumbent.
“Any seat in an urban area with a larger Chinese voter presence would not be so easy for the BN to swing to the same extent.
“It would be mistaken to think that such a large vote swing could be manufactured in another constituency, for example in Selangor or Kuala Lumpur.”
Nevertheless, he said Bagan Pinang is a wake-up call for Pakatan Rakyat.
“It is a stark reminder, especially to PAS, that they cannot take the non-Malay votes for granted.”
PAS kalah kenapa?
On the swing of Chinese votes, he said: “They wanted to teach us a lesson.”
Yesterday’s by-election saw BN candidate Isa Samad trouncing his PAS rival Zulkefly Mohamad Noor with a thumping majority of 5,000 votes.
In view of this, Salahuddin said Pakatan has to review its strengths and performance.
“One of the major factors why the Indian community is divided is because of the internal problems within MIC and the formation of the Malaysian Makkal Sakti Party,” he said.
“In the last (general) election we got strong support from the Indian community… they had no choice, there was no alternative and they had high expectations of Pakatan.
“Now, they are not all for the BN government but I would say that their support is not as solid as it was in the last election (for Pakatan),” he added.
Salahuddin said Pakatan need to be more serious in addressing the woes faced by the Indian community.”Pakatan is not doing enough,” he added.
Surprised by Chinese swing
Meanwhile, Salahuddin said he was surprised that Chinese voters had also turned their backs on Pakatan.
“To some extent a certain percentage might have been influenced by Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ’1Malaysia’ concept,” he noted.
Salahuddin pointed out that the Chinese community has been keeping a close watch on Pakatan’s progress, especially in Selangor, since the last general election.
“They see that we are not serious in proving our unity with the internal conflicts we have been facing lately,” he said.
“The Chinese wanted to send a clear signal to Pakatan to teach us a lesson,” he added.
However, he stressed that Pakatan was the ‘underdog’ in the Bagan Pinang by-election and the main priority was to change the mindset of the people especially in doing away with corruption.
“That was our main mission, to build a strong case to fight corruption… we may have lost the battle but we will win the war,” he said.
Isa was stripped of his Umno vice-presidency after being convicted of money politics by the Umno disciplinary board in 2005. His six-year suspension was later reduced to three upon appeal and ended in 2008.
It’s not an issue of race
Meanwhile, PKR’s strategist Tian Chua stressed that the issue should not be looked at from a racial viewpoint.
“Usually in rural areas, the people are more susceptible to BN’s money politics. However, it has been proven that such tactics do not work in urban areas.
“It is not race but rather the social economics of the people. The poorer ones are less educated and more susceptible to material gains and intimidation,” he said.
“If we do not curb money politics, BN can buy voters and our system can never be clean. We have to stop thinking in terms of race. The desire for change cuts across racial lines,” he added.
Criticising Isa’s candidacy, Tian asked why BN did not field another candidate if the Bagan Pinang constituency is considered a stronghold for the ruling coalition.
“Why didn’t Najib put someone else who is not convicted of corruption? Najib chose to nominate a friend of his.
“Therefore, it could be seen that Umno has no determination to make credible changes in leadership and we can expect to see the same kind of corrupted leaders,” he added.
Bagan Pinang returning feudal politics & politician
After a string of by-election defeats, Barisan Nasional has finally tasted the sweetness of victory in Bagan Pinang tonight. And it was no ordinary win.
The coalition had retained the state seat with a huge majority, winning in all the eight polling districts and more importantly, witnessing an increase in support from the non-Malays.
According to MIC sources, out of the 1,870 Indians who voted, BN got a whopping 1,387 votes while PAS only managed 483.
MIC president S Samy Vellu, who had hit the campaign trail with a vengeance in order to prove a point, later claimed credit for the reversal.
“We (MIC) have kept our promise to the prime minister by delivering the Indian votes to BN.
“This was his (Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak) KPI (key performance index) to MIC,” he said in a statement.
MIC vice-president S Subramaniam added that this was an indication that the Indians were returning to the BN fold.
With Bagan Pinang, the by-election contest tally now stands at 7-2, with Pakatan Rakyat previously sweeping all but Sarawak’s Batang Ai.
The latest victory could not have come at a better time and would definitely provide the defeat-weary BN and its chief with a much-needed boost.
Until now, it had appeared that the ruling coalition could not do anything right and pundits were already toying with the possibility of a change of government in the next general election.
With infighting and credibility issues plaguing its component parties, BN’s future seemed bleak and morale had sunk to new depths.
So rest assured that while the unfavourable outcome of previous by-elections received minimal media coverage, this result would surely make headlines to underscore BN’s return from a state of political comatose.
Isa bigger than Umno
However once the initial euphoria subsides, the ruling coalition must look into the root causes or in this case the ‘root cause’ for the resounding victory because unlike previous by-elections, Bagan Pinang is unique.
Therefore it might not be the simple case of voters, especially the non-Malays, having embraced BN again.
Why?
Because the Umno/BN candidate Isa Samad walks taller than his party, at least in the state of Negeri Sembilan.
Despite being suspended for money politics five years ago, the controversy had done little to damage the politician’s reputation among the people of his state.
After all, Isa was menteri besar for 22 years and it is common knowledge that the Tamil-speaking Umno leader is well liked by all races.
Even Umno’s top brass had to bow to this as reports suggested that fielding any other candidate could have proved disastrous.
Although coming under intense criticism for allowing a disbarred lawyer to contest in August’s Permatang Pasir by-election, Umno had little choice but to name another ‘tainted’ candidate this time around.
Umno’s grand masters Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had also protested against Isa’s candidacy but even their voices drowned under the pressure from the grassroots who wanted the former MB and no one else.
Some of his hardcore supporters were of the opinion that Isa, a former Umno vice-president, would have won the seat even if he had stood as an independent.
“He may look small in size but he is bigger than Umno, MIC and MCA. He doesn’t need them to campaign for him. He would have got the votes of all the three races on his own,” said one jubilant supporter.
With this possibility looming, Umno found itself trapped in a ‘Catch 22′ situation.
So it decided that it would rather win with a politician whom it had condemned as corrupt rather than risk making the ‘morally correct’ decision and suffer another humiliation.
Voted for the man, not the party
Even Chinese voters – who had cast their ballots for PAS in the last general election after seeing red with Umno over the keris issue – could not resist the Isa charm.
And most of them admitted that they had voted for the man and not for his party.
According to them, the issue was simple. Isa had been very supportive of the local Chinese community during his tenure as menteri besar.
However, the opposition had a different take.
They claimed that the odds were stacked against them right from the start as the playing field in Bagan Pinang was never level given the fact that there are more than 4,000 postal votes which make up one third of the total votes.
Allegations and criticisms aside, it would be hard for any party or individual apart from Isa to claim credit for this landslide triumph.
How did Pakatan Rakyat lose?
Countrary to the ground feel…
Did the machinery of Pakatan Rakyat failed to act as they should at every level and critical areas of winning an election?
or was there hanky panky in the pre-election and election process via the SPR…?
—————————————————————————————————————————————————-
6.42pm: Judging by the count so far, Umno’s Isa Samad is set to win the Bagan Pinang by-election with a landslide.
Unofficial – with 8,708 votes (78 percent) counted:
Mohd Isa Abd Samad (BN): 6,705
Zulkefly Mohamad Omar (PAS): 2,003
Majority: 4,702
Spoilt votes: 67
6.31pm: Unofficial – the count so far:
Mohd Isa Abd Samad (BN): 6,358
Zulkefly Mohamad Omar (PAS): 1,847
Majority: 4,511
Spoilt votes: 62
6.20pm: According to the early count in four of the eight polling districts in Bagan Pinang, BN is leading.
Ladang Bradwall (BN – 215, PAS – 90)
Pekan Silliau (BN – 349, PAS – 113)
Ladang Atherton (BN – 218, PAS – 115)
Sua Betong (BN – 371, PAS – 149)
In the 2008 general election, PAS won Pekan Silliau, Ladang Atherton and Sua Betong. It is currently trailing in all these polling stations.
Umno bagged the other five polliing districts – Ladang Bradwall, Taman Eastern, Kampung Bagan Pinang, Si Rusa and Teluk Kemang.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————-
“Much as the likely win by Isa would be welcomed by the leadership after the string of losses Umno has suffered, I am afraid what the nation needs is for Umno to lose again. This is because again we have fielded a candidate proven to be corrupt.
“A win by Isa would translate into an endorsement of corruption-as-usual within the party and the government that it leads,” he said.
“For the good of the party, the dignity of the Malay community it claims to represent and for the sake of the nationwide reform in governance and politics that we must undergo, it would be better if Umno lost today, and used the loss to begin internal reform.
“Corruption is the scourge of the country. Umno is a step away from being identified with that scourge,” added the veteran politician.
From the onset, Tengku Razaleigh had voiced his dissatisfaction against Umno’s decision to field Isa, the former menteri besar of Negeri Sembilan.
Isa was suspended from Umno in 2004 after being found guilty of money politics during the party polls.Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad was also unhappy with the choice.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————-
LATEST UPDATES5pm: Polling ends and counting of the votes is expected to start soon. A total of 11,157 or 81.65 percent of voters – this includes postal votes – had cast their ballots.
This is similar to the 81.59 percent turnout at the 2008 general election, despite experiencing intermittent rain in Bagan Pinang today.
4.25pm: As at 4pm, voter turnout was 69.5 per cent with 6,301 voters having cast their ballots.
3.30pm: As at 3pm, 65 percent or 5,892 voters have cast their ballots. Polling ends at 5pm. The EC’s target of an 80 percent turnout appears unlikely.
2.25pm: As at 2pm, the turnout is 59.2 percent with 5,371 voters having cast their ballots. Voting ends at 5pm.
1.38pm: As at 1pm, turnout rate is 54.1 percent, or 4,905 voters.
1.12pm: As a result of the massive traffic jams along the narrow roads in Bagan Pinang, Minister of Rural and Regional Development and Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal has decided to ride pillion on a motorbike in his visit to the polling stations (right).
12.24pm: As at noon – after four hours of voting – the total turnout is 4,220, or 46.5 percent, from the eight polling stations.
12.05pm: Several supporters from both parties were reportedly arrested following the fracas outside SK Teluk Kemang, where bottles and stones went flying.
11.35am: A commotion erupted at the SK Teluk Kemang polling station earlier where supporters pelted each other with bottles and stones.
According to a local Puteri Umno leader, the situation is now under control as a large number of policemen, including members of the Federal Reserve Unit, have been deployed. However, she said supporters of both parties continue to hurl insults at each other.
11.30am: As at 11 am, the voter turnout for the Bagan Pinang by-election was recorded at 35.7 percent.
11.15am A motorcycle convoy involving more than 20 youths with MIC flags have gathered at the SK Panglima Adnan polling centre. Meanwhile, Umno Youth members take swipes at PAS by ridiculing its ‘takbir‘ (call to praise God) as ‘take beer’. They also called the Islamic party as ‘Parti Arak SeMalaysia’.
11.05am Isa Samad leaves Bradwall estate after visiting the polling station at a Tamil school where PAS supporters taunted him with chants of ‘rasuah‘ (bribery). The former MB also told Indian voters, ‘Jangan lupa dacing‘ (Don’t forget the scales as in BN’s logo). Isa also said that his chances of a victory are good.
10. 40am: EC chief Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusoff says the voting process is taking place smoothly except for some minor issues like voters brandishing party logos. He is also happy with the voter turnout, and hopes that at least 80 percdent will cast their ballots before voting ends at 5pm.
Aziz said that he also informed PAS candidate Zulkefly that apart from the candidates, other members cannot enter the polling stations. “You cannot even bring in your wife.”
The EC chief also noted an ‘improvement’ where supporters of both parties have gathered far apart from each other.
10.25am: As at 10am, the voter turnout for the by-election stood at 23.9 percent, or 2,168 voters.
10.15am: Isa Samad arrives at Ladang Siliau, walks about 150 metres from the main road to the polling centre. PAS supporters at the scene start shouting comments alluding to Isa’s money politics conviction by Umno.
10.10am: The situation at the SK Panglima Adnan nomination centre in Kampung Bagan is boisterous with supporters from BN and PAS trading insults.
About 5,000 people have gathered here now. Some Pemuda Umno supporters were seen throwing mineral water bottles across the road where PAS supporters are gathered.
10am: BN candidate Isa Samad is expected to arrive at the SRJK (T) Ladang Siliau nomination centre, causing excitement to the crowd which had gathered at the main road. A small truck of police light strike unit has been deployed here. A police helicopter is also hovering above.
9.35am: There is a standoff between PAS supporters and Negri Sembilan police chief Osman Sabtu on the latter’s instruction for all campaign material to be removed.
PAS’ lawyer Abdullah Abdul Karim argued the party members were not flouting the EC laws as these materials were worn or placed outside the 50-metre distance from the polling centres.
The EC laws prohibit campaigning within 50 metres from the polling centres.
9.30am: PAS candidate Zulkefly visited the SK Panglima Adnan nomination centre in Kampung Bagan. He was accompanied by some PAS supporters. He said he was confident of winning and urged voters to come out to vote.
9.30am: The rain has stopped at Teluk Kumang.
9.15am: It has started raining again, especially in Teluk Kumang and in Sua Betong where voters and shelters are forced to run for shelter.
Earlier report as at 9am
A moody weather and a heavy downpour kicked off the Bagan Pinang by-election in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan this morning. Voting started at 8am and will end at 5pm.
The rain had however stopped as soon as voting started and the weather soon turned bright at most places in this holiday town. A slight drizzle was reported in other parts.
A total of 9,060 voters are eligible to vote for the state seat by-election. Some 4,604 postal voters have cast their votes on Thursday and Friday. The total voters here stand at 13,664.
Eight polling centres with 18 polling streams opened at 8am today to allow the voters to elect their representative.The eight voting channels are Taman Eastern, Ladang Atherton, Siliau, Ladang Bradwall, Sua Betong, Kg Bagan Pinang, Si Rusa and Teluk Kemang.
The Bagan Pinang by-election is a straight fight between Isa Samad of the Barisan Nasional and Zulkefly Omar of PAS.
The by-election has been necessitated by the death of state assemblyperson, Azman Mohd Noor of the BN, on Sept 4.
Among the first to cast his vote this morning was 70-year-old Kaw Yoh See who was not shy about sharing information on his allegiance.
“I have been supporting BN since I was young,” he said, adding that the Chinese community had received many election goodies.
He added that Isa was a good candidate for Chinese community.
Last-minute campaigning stopped
Meanwhile, supporters from both BN and Pakatan have also been seen waiting by the polling centres to lure last-minute support for their candidates.
At certain centres, the opposing supporters traded insults and barbs but the situation remained cordial.
The police, after keeping watch on these supporters for awhile, have asked them to stop canvassing.
The supporters were also asked to remove their vests and party badges.
This was in line with the new EC ruling which barred parties from canvassing near the polling centres.
Negri Sembilan police chief Osman Sabtu told the respective party supporters that they were not allowed to campaign after midnight yesterday.
These supporters were also asked to remove all campaign materials such as T-shirts, umbrellas and handheld fans with party logos.
Result by 8pm
Election Commission chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof had said the result will be known as early as 8pm tonight.
“If all goes well, we should be able to know the result between 7.15pm and 7.30pm.
“But it is better we announce it after the Maghrib (evening) prayers at 8pm when the supporters of both parties will be present,” he told reporters after visiting polling centres in Ladang Sua Betong yesterday.
On the weather front, rain is expected to fall throughout the day and voters are urged to come to vote early. Voting will be closed at 5pm.
The police have also set up roadblocks in certain areas since early morning.
As it stands, the former menteri besar Isa appears to be the favourite to retain this seat for the BN and put an end to a series of by-electoral defeats for the federal ruling coalition in the hands of Pakatan Rakyat.
This is the ninth by-election in the country after the March 8, 2008 general election.
Bagan Pinang seat is a traditional BN stronghold. Malays form the majority of the voters with 62.8 percent followed by the Indians (20.7 percent), Chinese (11 percent) and others (5.5 percent).
In 2008, first-term assemblyperson Azman won the seat against PAS’ Ramli Ismail with a 2,333 vote majority. He garnered 6,430 votes while PAS had 4,097. Of the postal votes, 3,080 went to BN while PAS got 1,189.
In 2004, BN won this seat with a 4,411-vote majority when its candidate Mohd Faizal Ramli defeated PAS’ Hassan Ismail.
Isa, a menteri besar from 1982-2004, was a former six-term elected representative while state PAS chief Zulkefly had contested the Lenggeng state seat on three occasions without any success.
Both the candidates will not be voting today as they are registered as voters elsewhere.
For the record Isa was Linggi assemblyperson for five terms and Jempol MP for one.
Update Bagan Pinang: 3:41 pm
60% pengundi telah keluar.
Menurut beberapa sumber maklumat, khemah-khemah BN telah dibuka awal.
Adakah Menteri-menteri juuga sudah balik dan bungkus?
Tetapi sebahagian tempat mengundi dikira sunyi. Pengundi-pengundi Cina kelihatan baru keluar tadi.
Info terkini, PakatanRakyat sudah mendahului 20%.
leave a comment