Negri Sembilan Dewan dissolves today, next Pahang and Johore

Come Wednesday night (March 26, 2013), the Negri Sembilan legislative assembly is set to be the first state assembly to be automatically dissolved following the lapse of its five-year tenure since the historic 2008 general election.

This was stated by Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan, who informed that the 36-member assembly would continue to serve in a caretaker capacity until election is called.

He told English daily The Star that its members would, however, not be able to introduce new policies and will cease to function as “wakil rakyat” (the people’s representatives).

Jeffrey wants Orang Asal, Allies as ‘Force to be Reckoned With’ in mainstream politics

By Joe Fernandez
Activists from Sabah strongman Jeffrey Kitingan's various NGOs are mercilessly bludgeoning both sides of the political divide, even mosquito parties, with sledgehammers of sorts. Apparently, Jeffrey is leaving nothing to chance as the countdown to the 13th General Elections is set to begin after the Christmas and New Year festive cheers. This is politics in the jungle at its best.

Jeffrey's inner circle points out that even if the other Opposition and ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) "did not ask for it", they would be "morally obliged to make mincemeat of all those who are against the Agenda Borneo". The Agenda Borneo, in a nutshell, stands against everything that the "agenda parti parti Malaya in Borneo" or "Agenda Malaya" stands for in Sabah and Sarawak. The Borneon in Jeffrey alleges that the Agenda Malaya is a thinly-disguised policy of internal colonisation in Sabah and Sarawak, waged against the Orang Asal in particular -- Murut and Dusun including Kadazan or urban Dusun in Sabah and Dayak in Sarawak -- and Borneons in general.

13th GE may reflect ‘fallout’ from Lahad Datu Standoff

By Joe Fernandez
It cannot be denied that for various reasons the on-going Lahad Datu Standoff may have an effect on the forthcoming 13th General Election results in Sabah.

The jury is still out on the question of who stands to “gain” most and who stands to “lose” i.e. if the General Election in eastern Sabah is held at the same time as in the rest of the Territory and country.

Judging from former Sabah Chief Minister Harris Salleh’s reported appeal letter this week to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein Onn, the police are seizing the Malaysian personal documents of Suluks in Semporna and Lahad Datu and tearing them up before their very eyes. Apparently, these documents include IMM13 immigration documents issued to refugees and MyPRs or the red-coloured Permanent Residence Identity Cards.

BN the underdog? But is the maths correct?

There are so many discrepancies about the
outcome of the 13th general election.

By Syed Nadzri Syed Harun
Either some people got their maths screwed up regarding the coming general election or they are just out to pull our legs. Just look at the discrepancies below.

Dossier 1: Anwar Ibrahim, says Pakatan Rakyat which he leads, will win the election, beating the ruling Barisan Nasional by at least 10 parliamentary seats.

Dossier 2: Leading think-tank The Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) says BN is expected to win 123 to 135 of the 222 parliamentary seats but could reach as high as 150 if Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak could attract Indian and undecided Chinese voters as well.

Anwar predicts Pakatan Rakyat will win GE13 with majority of more than 10 seats

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan leaders at the event.

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has predicted that Pakatan Rakyat will win GE13 with a Parliamentary majority of more than 10 seats and control at least six of the nation’s 13 states in an interview with Bloomberg.

Pakatan will probably retain Penang, Selangor, Kelantan and Kedah states, Anwar said. It will also regain Perak, win Negeri Sembilan for the first time and make inroads in Johor, he said, Bloomberg reported.

STAR reveals its "kawasan tumpuan"

By Ezra Haganez
KOTA KINABALU : The Sabah chapter of State Reform Party (STAR) would most likely contest in about 40 out of 60 state seats and 16 of the 25 parliamentary seats at the impending general election.

STAR Sabah deputy chairman, Daniel John Jambun, in a late press statement here Friday, said the state leadership under Dr Jeffrey Kitingan had decided on this and that the next thing the party will do is introduce its candidates ahead of the poll.

Mahathir enters fray as Malaysia braces for poll

KUALA LUMPUR: As Malaysia approaches its tightest election in half a century, the opposition activist Ambiga Sreenevasan has shrugged off calls for her to be stripped of her Malaysian citizenship.

''This will be the dirtiest election ever because it is the most closely fought … Cheating and fraud could be the deciding factor,'' Ms Ambiga, who heads Bersih, a group campaigning for free and fair polling, said.

"This will be the dirtiest election ever because it is the most closely fought."

10 reasons why we must vote in GE 13

We are into the final lap of what must be the most hotly contested general elections in our nation’s 56-year history and one that many would consider to be a pivotal one.

To many, the contest is between the incumbent ruling coalition, the Barisan Nasional (BN) and the opposition coalition of Pakatan Rakyat (PR). To some the choice is between Najib and Anwar whilst to others it is between maintaining the status quo or change.

But I want to put it to you that this election is not about BN or PR. Why? For usually in any contest, the winner is the one with the better skills, strategy, funds and luck even. But in an election, the winner or loser is decided not by the contending parties but by the audience or in this case the voters.

Indians in a spot in any Islamic Revolution after 13th GE

By Joe Fernandez
Given the looming 13th General Election, the minority Indian Nation in Malaysia must keep in mind the tragic fate of the Christian minorities in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring -- valid as its other reasons are -- which chose to ignore the fact that the only majority that matters is that in the legislature, not in demography. And that dialogue, not necessarily to agree, is the best way forward politically in any civilised nation wedded to democracy, human rights and freedom.

Consider the fact that Obama, a Black American, became US President. The Blacks number only ten per cent of the US population.

Curse of No.13 to usher the end of Sabah BN?

By Jason Matius
KOTA KINABALU: There is now serious talk spreading among the Sabah opposition parties concerning the effect of numbers in the political fortunes of political parties in Sabah . And to the opposition parties’delight, the numbers appear to point to the death knell of the Barisan Nasional in the next general election.

A series of texts messages and excited conversations concerning the number thirteen, which prophesying BN’s supposed impending fall, have been making their rounds among mainly opposition supporters here. These messages remind Sabahans of the fact that USNO, Sabah ’s first government, was defeated by Berjaya in 1976 (7 + 6 = 13), Berjaya was defeated by PBS in 1985 (8 + 5= 13), and PBS was toppled from power by BN in 1994 (9 + 4 = 13). Also interesting is that each of these three governments ruled for exactly nine years!

Malaysia Federation has failed

By Dr Jeffrey G. Kitingan

2013 will most likely be the beginning year of Correction, Restoration and Renewal, while 2012 was the peak of Malaysia’s manipulative politics, said political activist and STAR Sabah Chairman, DatukDr. Jeffrey Kitingan.

The Fall of Malaysia as a Federation
Malaysia was envisioned to be a great new Federation when three infant nations (Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak) were forced by circumstances (due to national security, post-World War II consideration and de-colonization) to be rushed into a merger with Malaya by a 1963 agreement (the Malaysia Agreement) with many pre-conditions.  Under the circumstances, Malaysia was a confusing concept right from the start.

‘I will contest’ Pairin walking a tightrope

Joseph Pairin Kitingan, 72, while wanting to scale
back on his politics, is not prepared to risk his
party, PBS, losing in the 13th general election.

KOTA KINABALU: In the interior towns in the state, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and its septuagenarian leader, Joseph Pairin Kitingan, are greeted with either scorn or grudging respect, depending on who you talk to.

Ask Joseph, a youth in Tambunan who declined to give his full name, and he is unequivocal in his answer about the failings of the “huguan siou” or paramount chief of the Kadazandusun community.

“What has he done since becoming deputy chief minister?” he asks as he decries the politics of the ruling Umno-led Barisan Nasional coalition to which Pairin hitched his party some 20 years ago.

Pairin may not defend Keningau seat

By Luke Rintod of FMT

Indications within PBS are that its
president Joseph Pairin Kitingan
is ready to retire but is being
held back by worried party leaders.

TAMBUNAN : It is almost certain now that Sabah’s longest- serving assemblyman and Deputy Chief Minister, Joseph Pairin Kitingan, will not be defending his parliamentary and state seats in the coming 13th general election.

Although Pairin, who is president of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), has in the past said that he was prepared to defend both his Keningau parliamentary and Tambunan state seats, signals from within his PBS indicate otherwise.

Pairin, 72, has been the Tambunan state assemblyman since 1976 when he first won the seat for Berjaya at the age 36. Ten years later in 1986, he started winning the Keningau parliamentary seat.

Bersih Sabah demand explanation on the delay in RCI

KOTA KINABALU: The 11th of September 2012 marks exactly one month since the announcement of the Terms of Reference on Sabah's Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants was announced. However, as to date, there is nothing but deafening silence on this matter as there is yet to be any concrete action taken to show that the government is serious in carrying out their promises to the people of Sabah.

Bersih Sabah is demanding explanations for the long delay in the implentation of the RCI.

No Putrajaya for PR without total Indian support

By Joe Fernandez
The consensus at the grassroots level is that the 13th GE won't see a repeat of the 2008 political tsunami in Peninsular Malaysia despite the alternative media because the vital Hindraf Makkal Sakthi factor, representing the Indian underclass in particular, will be missing this time.

The reasons are aplenty.

Bersih under super duper rich lawyer Ambiga Sreenivasan won't be able to help Pakatan Rakyat (PR), especially Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), compensate for the absence of Hindraf.
Amibiga is no match whatsoever for Hindraf. She doesn't represent the Indian underclass. She continues to get the support of the Chinese and Malays, the converted, for PR but the Indians, the crucial factor, is missing. Attacking Ambiga in racist terms is not going to make the Indians come rushing to her defence.

Star: One to one fight ideal, but not necessary

KOTA KINABALU: The State Reform Party (Star) shares the sentiments of the Democratic Action Party (Dap) that the possibility of one-to-one fights in Sabah to take on the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) at the forthcoming 13th General Election is non-existent.

It also agrees with Dap that the Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) was out of synch with local politics but thinks “it would be kinder not to comment further on an irrelevant party”.

However, Star begs to differ with the Peninsular Malaysia-based national opposition party on why “it’s not possible to strike a deal with the self-glorified and unrealistic Star”.

13th General Election demand: Eradicate institutional racism

By Kua Kia Soong
JAN 18 — With the 13th general elections just round the corner, it is time for Malaysians to bring the big issues before the prospective candidates and their parties and to register their commitments to these demands of the Malaysian people. These issues are what the politicians should be debating and each candidate and political party should register their stand on each of these concrete demands. Most of these concrete demands can be delivered very quickly and we will be monitoring closely to see if the candidates/parties carry them out.