Wan Azizah resigned, Anwar contest in Permatang Pauh

Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has resigned as Member of Parliament for Permatang Pauh with immediate effect to make way for her husband, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to contest the seat in a by-election.

Wan Azizah, 55, told a packed press conference at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya this afternoon that she had tendered her resignation letter to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia today but will retain her post as PKR president.

The Election Commission will be required to call a by-election within 60 days.

Permatang Pauh was held by Anwar for 17 years since he joined Umno in 1982. Wan Azizah took over as MP for the seat after her husband was sacked and subsequently jailed on charges of corruption and sodomy.

In the 2008 general election, she won the seat for the third time with a majority of 13,388 after defeating Umno's Pirdaus Ismail in a rematch.

The announcement is not surprising, as he aiming to re-entry into parliament. Among Bandar Tun Razak, Balik Pulau and Kulim, he chose Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat is quite surprising but politically it is justified.

Can Anwar re-entry into parliament is purely depends on the victory but he might be arrested in the next 48 hours, said a senior party official, arguing it was to stop him contesting a by-election. Is the popular conspiracy theory of Anwar being fixed by the BN stands?

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar revealed today that police investigations into the sodomy complaint against Anwar Ibrahim have been completed and the papers are now with the Attorney-General's Chambers for further action.

Anwar Ibrahim said, "They have nothing to charge me with. They have been fishing for almost a month now and they haven’t caught any fish yet. Maybe they would catch a coconut and assume it’s a fish." Wait and see is the best policy, so lets wait and see.

MCA against hudud and qisas laws

PAS is staunchly in favour of an Islamic state which includes the imposition of hudud and qisas laws on non-Muslims which is totally unacceptable by MCA.

MCA - the second largest party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition - is flabbergasted by PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz’s proposal to implement hudud and qisas laws, among other things in the country should the PAS-UMNO merger become a reality.

“I am disappointed and gravely concerned with Nik Aziz’s statement to implement hudud and qisas laws as it would mean the creation of a theocratic Islamic state.” said MCA Youth Secretary General YB Dr Ir Wee Ka Siong.

“PAS must bear in mind that Malaysia is a multiracial country, and we must always go back to the Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the land that enshrines the rights of every Malaysian citizen. I urge UMNO to object to PAS’ proposal as it is a matter of principle.” said YB Dr Ir Wee Ka Siong.

Hudud and Qisas laws on the way

The implementation of hudud and qisas laws would mean the creation of a theocratic Islamic state. It certainly involves in changing the nation’s Federal Constitution and will create great impact toward Malaysia’s social-political scenario and multiracial community.

The proposal draws attention of various sections of Malaysia’s multiracial community and the public can’t resist thinking what is the say of DAP or something else.
PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat announced that PAS proposes to implement hudud and qisas laws, among other things in the country should the PAS-UMNO merger become a reality.

He said the proposal was in line with Islamic principles and could be implemented if both parties, which were now having ongoing discussions on Malay and Muslim issues, agreed to it towards forming a new political entity.

In Islamic law or syariah, Hudud usually refers to the class of punishments which are fixed for certain crimes, including theft, robbery, illicit sex, alcohol consumption and apostasy, where the punishment for these offences are corporal in nature.

Qisas (law of retaliation) refers to offences that involve bodily injury or loss of life, the punishment of which is death or imprisonment, but compensation in the form of money or property is accepted if the guardian of the victim forgives the offender.

Nik Aziz said in the “muqabalah” spirit between PAS and Umno, firstly, the cooperation in forming a new political entity must be based on Islam, including implementing Hudud laws as required by the religion.

“What worries me is that if the pact materializes, there’ll be people trying to sabotage it by putting up an independent candidate who is against the proposal, to challenge our candidate,” the Kelantan Menteri Besar told reporters after launching a building fund for the Baraah mosque in town today.

He said based on the spirit of democracy in the country, all quarters including Umno and the Chinese and Indians could together hold discussions and give their views towards better understanding of Islam and its laws.

Ending the PAS and DAP abnormal relationship?

The thrown grave doubt political incidents happening recently shown a bad relationship occurred internally in opposition coalition. Is it the beginning sign of ending the PAS and DAP abnormal relationship?

Pakatan Rakyat should seriously consider whether Islamic party PAS be allowed membership in the opposition coalition, said DAP chairman Karpal Singh.

The veteran politician has raised a number of troubling actions by PAS leaders which have "thrown grave doubt" over their credibility.

"After the March 8 general elections, PAS had talks with Umno to form a coalition government in Selangor. This was an act of bad faith as both DAP and PKR were not informed of such a move by PAS," said Karpal in a statement. He added that PAS leaders had also met with their Umno rivals in the name of Malay unity.


"Such a racial move by PAS is incongruous with the policies of DAP and Pakatan Rakyat," said Karpal. He also took issue with the suggestion by PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat that Umno and PAS be dissolved and a new Malay-based party to be formed.

"Such a revelation is startling and has serious ramifications, implications and consequences," said Karpal.

Is US interfere the internal affair of Malaysia?

Business is unusual. US Secretary of State Dr Condoleezza Rice had urged Malaysia to ensure a "transparent" investigation into sex misconduct allegations against PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim. The interesting and serious question arises: Is US interfere the internal affair of Malaysia?

US Secretary of State Dr Condoleezza Rice urged Malaysia to ensure a "transparent" investigation into sex misconduct allegations against PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Rice said US would continue to speak out on cases involving human rights and politics although it did so "in a spirit of respect for Malaysia".

"The United States doesn't recognize this very firm barrier that it is simply internal affairs when a case of this kind comes up, but we are going to continue to work with Malaysia," she told reporters.

"One of the things that we have said is that we want to see transparency and for rule of law to be completely followed here."

Malaysia has accused the United States of meddling in its internal affairs by raising concern over Anwar's arrest last week on sodomy charges - the same charge that saw him jailed a decade ago.

Rice's remarks are bound to infuriate the Malaysian government where a few leaders have attacked Anwar as a “snitch” for the Americans.

Gerakan : DAP’s Copy Cat Government

DAP’s Sungai Pinang state assemblyman Koid Teng Guan had plagiarized question from a former Gerakan Datuk Keramat assemblyman Ong Thean Lye. He did not rephrasing or paraphrasing; instead commited an exact reproduction of the questions.

Former Gerakan Datuk Keramat assemblyman Ong Thean Lye told a press conference at the Penang state legislative assembly sitting that DAP’s Sungai Pinang state assemblyman Koid Teng Guan had reproduced verbatim three questions that he had raised during the November 2007 sitting of the Penang legislative assembly.

The questions are the Penang monorail project, the location of the Natural Gas Vehicle pumping station to be set up on the island and the allocation for the Sports Foundation Fund each year.

Gerakan seized the opportunity to take a pot shot at the DAP-led state government, branding it a "copy cat" government.

The issue should be addressed as it is misconduct and unethical. It is unacceptable and no tolerance should be granted towards those who indulge this type of practices.

The public should strive to uphold at all cost the credibility and ethical principles that politicians should have.

Regardless of how good and innocent the assemblyman may be, the disrespected unethical practices manner should be condemned to the strongest degree.

Muzakarah leave PAS grassroots, PKR and DAP unsettled, says Nik Aziz

It might not be an overstatement to say that politically PAS was founded with clear cut and coherent Islamic ideology or philosophy beyond the selfish desire to capture political power.

Although politics thrives better on conflicts which are the bastions of ideologies, but we can also argue for the fact that PAS was founded on deep rooted Islam ideology and purely an Islamic party while UMNO was based on nationalism.

The political ideology of PAS and UMNO are conflicting as they are different from one another. These differences are natural as conflict is the nature in human and particularly political relations.

Muzakarah (dialogue) between the PAS and UMNO, hence is a good strategy of UMNO to create crisis within PAS and effects are akin to seismic shifts in the nation’s political landscape to leave PAS grassroots, PKR and DAP unsettled.

The interesting question arises: Can the effects of Muzakarah (dialogue) between PAS and UMNO akin to seismic shifts in the current political landscape and finally cause PAS irrelevant politically?

PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat wants the muzakarah (dialogue) between the party and UMNO to stop.

He said the party grassroots were unsettled with the dialogue.

He added that nothing was expected to materialize from such talks because both parties had different ideologies, namely one was an Islamist party while the other was based on nationalism.

Nik Aziz pointed out that the talks that UMNO president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had with three PAS decision-makers on the issue of Malays and Islam were of a personal nature rather than formal party-to-party discussions.

“It is really nothing. It is the media that played it up. I leave it to the party to decide the next course but we must admit that such things leave our grassroots, PKR and DAP unsettled,” he told a press conference.

Nik Aziz said this would be the last time he would comment on the dialogue. Asked when would be a good time for such a dialogue, he said probably after the general election in 2013 or much later.

He refused to say if PAS was now split in view of the differing versions from various leaders.

Nik Aziz warned that PAS should be careful not to be trapped by UMNO, which was now weak and needed to create some form of diversion from the party’s internal issues.

“My wish is that soon UMNO would become the Opposition in the country. Those who want to can join PAS,” he said.

Is PAS jumping ship?

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on Sunday that he had met with "very high level" PAS leaders three times and their talks had advanced to another stage.

Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, however, is known to be in favour of the talks although he has said Pas would continue to be in the opposition under the Pakatan Rakyat banner.

In an immediate response, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang confirmed that the meetings took place and said that the discussions had centred on Islam and Malay issues.

Nik Aziz opposes Umno-Pas cooperation on Malay unity and religious issues, calling the efforts a "trap" set by Umno.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who is also DAP secretary-general, said it was normal and within Abdullah's rights to meet anyone.

"If Pakatan Rakyat can be disturbed because of one meeting, then it is completely not a pakatan coalition.”

Ironically, we all have heard time and again that DAP will never work with PAS due to the different ideologies of PAS and DAP. But DAP is part of the coalition governments in 4 states although the coalition is loose.

Hence, the interesting political scenario arises, is DAP going to comply with the situation and review the cooperation model with PAS?

Are the talks between PAS and Umno mainly about Islam and its influence on politics and Malay unity are the indication of PAS jumping ship?

Is DAP Chauvinist political chameleon party?

In the midst of talking about the historic day when Teng Chang Khim, the Sungai Pinang assemblyman from the DAP sworn in as the first non-Malay and new Speaker of the Selangor State Assembly, I know that I'm dealing with sensitive feelings. But Teng looked happy and proud in full Speaker regalia, complete with songkok.

Much attention has been focused on whether Teng Chang Khim would wear the Songkok (headgear) and the ceremonial robe after taking the oath of office. Well, he did. It is certainly be the extent of slack in and against his political principal in the issue he was championing before.

Ironically, the DAP’s stand against the wearing of the songkok, even for official functions and when it is part of official attire, is well known.

During the 3 terms as the opposition, he refused to wear the songkok, even turning down invitations which required him to wear the traditional Malay headgear. In fact all DAP reps whether in Parliament or State Assembly had previously refused to wear songkok but wear western suits instead. As DAP leaders had the option not to attend any official function which required the songkok to be worn as part of the dress code had been a DAP policy.

Previously, when MCA leaders wore the songkok at official functions or during an audience with royalty, DAP criticized them, saying we had turned our backs on our culture as the songkok was not part of our traditional wear.

MCA tried to explain that we wore it out of respect and because it was the culture of our hosts, but the explanations were pushed aside.

The issue of the songkok and the wearing of it are being exploited by DAP and became one of the Chinese society politically sensitive issues. These sensitive issues are often very difficult to address but more often than not were using by chauvinist politicians to gain popularity.

In the DAP’s case, it took advantage of a crisis to prove a political chameleon that changes colours to suit its political surroundings, despite reinforced the image of a sinister character, untrustworthy and unprincipled. Principal will exceed predictions and DAP clearly position it as “a bread and butter politician".

Was it fair to say that Teng Chang Khim, like any populist politicians have begun adopting populist rhetoric and took advantage of a crisis to prove himself “as a bread and butter politician”? After all, he looks quite good in a songkok.

DAP goes power-crazy

Perak Education, Local Government, Housing and Public Transport Committee chairman Nga Kor Ming had on Monday announced the list of councilors and Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran was appointed as city councilor.

Ironically, Kula’s council appointment set a bad precedent; it affects policy in a democratic setting and is a form of bidding for political monopoly. The political monopoly depresses electoral competition and causes the politicians an interest in suppressing redistributive policies.

Practically, it may seem however that it witness the political testimony of DAP goes power-crazy in power struggles. Shouldn’t be the public have a high degree of tolerance towards the unfair inequality which showed the hypocrite of the politicians?

Democracy needs accountability, as elected representative, under performing surely not gladdens the hearts of the electorate.

Should Kulasegaran have sufficient time from his tight schedule as a parliamentarian to attend to local issues without conflict of interest? As reported, the appointment of Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran as city councilor has drawn flak from various quarters.

Ipoh Ratepayers Association (Irata) vice-president Victor Sankey expressed concern whether Kulasegaran could spare the time from his tight schedule as a parliamentarian to attend to local issues.

“No doubt, his credentials qualify him as a councilor but he has enough on his plate as a parliamentarian,” he said Tuesday.

Pointing out that local councils were the third tier of government and closest to the people, Victor said ratepayers had high expectations.

He added that people were already annoyed that only 30% of the councilors’ posts were allotted to non-governmental organizations.

Teja assemblyman Chang Lih Kang was also skeptical if Kulasegaran could handle the appointment. He added that the Ipoh Barat MP’s appointment had also set a bad precedent.

“A politician should not be given excessive power. Kulasegaran’s appointment is a form of monopoly.

“As there were other candidates applying to become councilors, it should not be monopolized by politicians,” he said.

Perak MCA organizing Secretary Dr Mah Hang Soon questioned whether Kulasegaran could carry out his duties as a councilor as he would be away in Parliament for more than 100 days a year.

“Being a councilor, he needs to be regularly available to the people,” he said.

Kulasegaran, however, said he would not face problems in carrying out his duties as both MP and councilor.

“As I have vast knowledge on local council affairs, I am expected to play a pivotal role in Ipoh City Council,” he said. He added that he would quit as a lawyer soon to concentrate on his dual role.