TV PAKATAN RAKYAT

Tanjung Malim

Tapah

Malim Nawar

Malaysians will go to the polls on May 5 in what is predicted to be a closely fought election, with 55 years of one-party government being challenged by Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the People’s Justice Party and head of the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat. Campaigning for the ideals of empowerment, justice and equity, the coalition is calling for an end to corruption and the reform of civil and democratic institutions. Anwar Ibrahim emphasises social justice, poverty eradication, education and civil society and he has been a powerful symbol of integrity in the shadowy world of Malaysian politics for many years.

He was a former deputy prime minister in Malaysia, holding various cabinet positions in agriculture, commerce, education and finance before becoming right hand man to former prime minister Mahathir. While finance minister he was recognised as an “Asian tiger” and Newsweek named him its 1998 “Asian of the Year” for his role in rescuing Malaysia from the Asian financial crisis. When establishing a reform movement, he courageously accused the prime minister of corruption, which led to his temporary downfall and six years in jail on trumped-up charges.

Emerging from the politically motivated accusations in 2004, he gained a notable result in the 2008 elections, winning one-third of the seats and five states from the incumbent National Front party. Attempts to smear his reputation again failed when accusations were finally dismissed last year for lack of evidence. He is regarded as Malaysia’s best hope against an autocratic and corrupt government which many think have ruled Malaysia for far too long. The incumbents are using the usual tactics such as tampering with the electoral rolls and using huge amounts of public money to campaign against the opposition. At speeches and rallies Anwar Ibrahim is compelling, charismatic and persuasive as he remains steadfast in his trust in true democracy and his faith in the wisdom of the people.

His followers are joining him in their hundreds of thousands in the call for electoral reform and an end to corruption scandals, crime and police brutality. Anwar knows well that he is up against a well-oiled propaganda machine that calls itself “Moderate Malaysia” and controls the media’s often empty vote-getting slogans which distort the meaning of freedom, democracy and human rights. His own coalition is a triumph of bringing to consensus the disparate elements of his People’s Justice Party, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic party and the ethnic Chinese Democratic Action party. He has managed to bring them together into a broader liberal community through “active and vibrant intellectual discourse,” acknowledging extremists with respect and tolerance.

The objective is a multi-party democracy where leading parties will change every few years as a way of being accountable to the people, putting an end to the single party domination of Malaysian politics. The twin issues of corruption and living costs are of major concern to voters. Anwar’s People’s Alliance has established a good track record in the states it currently governs, and he told reporters on April 4 that he was “cautiously optimistic” about winning a majority in parliament. The people of Malaysia have become more aware of national issues and their right to criticise, question and condemn their current rulers whose excesses and extravagances have no limits.

In the culture of patronage and political largesse, huge sums of public money have been squandered in failed economic ventures and speculative projects, which certainly have not benefitted Malaysians. Education, housing and health services are all in need of upgrading and investment and the country suffers from stagnant wages and a huge and growing national debt, as the government borrows to maintain handouts to retain political power. It is a tragic state for a Muslim country to be in, as it has moved far from the tenets of Islam which include moderation, piety, justice and fairness to all. The Pakatan Rakyat offers the best hope of reform and change and the fact that the coalition contains diverse interests and competing ideologies can be seen as one of its strengths. By bringing together different ethnic and religious groups the PR coalition is more representative of a truly democratic Malaysia, more concerned for the good of the country and all its people than the nationalist Malay group represented by the ruling Barisan Nasional.

If the nation is to eradicate poverty which is one of the often repeated campaign promises of the current government, then mismanagement, corruption and abuse of power will have to be replaced with a moral government with the interests of the people at heart. Anwar Ibrahim has an opportunity on May 5 to save his country from the one-party rule that threatens to hold back the country with stagnating ideas and economics; hopefully the people of Malaysia will recognise the moment for its historical significance and give Anwar Ibrahim the chance to lead his country to a renaissance of integrity, prosperity and true democracy.~AnwarIbrahimblog.com~

Seremban

Rembau

While DAP rallies here are drawing huge crowds, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was pitching to smaller groups in the state’s Malay heartland in a tight race for every vote for the May 5 general election. On the stump last night, the PKR de facto leader reminded the Malays that the community remained the poorest in the country despite Umno’s purported pro-Malay politics. “In the name of the Malays, they said, yet we remain the poorest while the nation’s wealth is concentrated in a few Malay Umno elites,” he told a crowd of 150 in Chembong, a Malay majority state seat south of here. Anwar’s presence in semi-urban Rembau, a known Barisan Nasional (BN) fortress that houses the state’s Umno caretaker mentri besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Mohamad Hassan, also drew enthusiastic response from a predominantly Malay crowd of about 2,000 strong.

Another testimony to the growing Malay support for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in BN fortress state of Negri Sembilan is the huge Malay presence at a rally in Sikamat here where Anwar took the stage before an audience of 10,000. “This is where Malaysians rise to fight for what is theirs. This is the people’s awakening,” the opposition leader told the energetic crowd. The state’s PR leaders believe the federal opposition bloc has secured virtually most of the Chinese votes judging from the overwhelming attendance of its nightly rallies in predominantly Chinese and urban locations like Seremban and Rasah. Just a few days ago, a rally held in Rasah reportedly attracted close to 15,000 people while smaller rallies recorded turnouts of thousands in average.

Negri Sembilan PR chief Anthony Loke said the pact’s main focus is now on bagging at least 45 per cent of the state’s Malay votes while aiming to get at least 25 per cent of the community’s support in Umno’s bastions. The DAP central executive committee member added that the response it has received nine days into campaigning has led him to believe that the small Malay vote swing needed for an opposition win in key mixed semi-urban seats are achievable. “We have a real fighting chance to form the new government. The mood for change has intensified now,” he told The Malaysian Insider after taking the stump in Sikamat here last night. PR won 15 of the 36 state seats in Election 2008. It needs just four more to form the new government and is looking to zero in on Jeram Padang, Chennah, Pilah and Kelawang.

Among the major reasons said to be behind Umno’s reversed fortunes is infighting that has paralysed its polls machinery in key seats. Another key factor is the effectiveness of PR’s campaign in playing up issues like corruption and power abuse by the BN government, an Umno source told The Malaysian Insider. “They are playing up national issues. It’s no longer the candidates running down on other candidates. It’s all national issues and it’s working,” said an Umno leader. A ground survey on the reception to the issues resounded well with rural Malay voters judging from Anwar’s campaign trail deep in Negri Sembilan’s vast interiors here yesterday. Malaysia’s southern states have not seen any opposition win since Independence but analyst note that PR is now making inroads and is poised to wrest several more federal seats from Johor, Negri Sembilan and Malacca in this election.

It will not only be the headliners like Lim Kit Siang or Zulkifli Noordin in the spotlight for the next 15 days as we get into the official campaign period for Election 2013. A quick glance at the candidates for several seats around the country is enough to give even the most casual political observer plenty to think and get excited about. In Putrajaya, we have Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor a party veteran and current party secretary-general  facing off with PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa.

Husam’s decision to stand in Putrajaya is seen as a bold move, and signals the first direct incursion into the heart of the current administration. The Kelantan man is hoping to appeal to the substantial number of Kelantan-born in the civil service who stay in Putrajaya. It will be interesting to see if his brand of politics appeals to the people there. In Shah Alam, we have a straight fight between former PKR man Datuk Zulkifli Noordin running under the Friends of BN ticket with long-time rival and incumbent Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad of PAS. The controversial Zulkifli Noordin who made headlines recently with apparent slurs against Hindus and Indians and know for his ultra Islamist stance may just be able to wrest the seat from Khalid.

This will be a battle for the souls; ironically, Zul Noordin will be the one taking on the role of a Muslim hardliner while Khalid, who is from an Islamist party, is seen to be a centrist who openly engages with Malaysians of other faiths. In Election 2008, Khalid even spoke to Catholics in their church in Shah Alam. He is popular with non-Muslims in his constituency, but this has been turned into a negative in recent days as the Muslims fear he is too inclusive. Over at Pandan, the popular incumbent MP, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, is not running against PKR’s Rafizi Ramli but the fight will still be interesting for several reasons.

A day before nomination, BN’s candidate, lawyer Gary Lim, was hit by professional misconduct and fraud allegations. He is likely to face a disciplinary hearing of the Malaysian Bar to answer to these allegations. Rafizi, who is PKR’s strategy director, has made a name for himself with a series of exposés like the high-profile National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal is definitely the front runner in this race though. The third candidate in the race for Pandan is Ong’s former political secretary, Allan Tan, and it is thought he may take away some votes for Rafizi and Lim as some people see him as Ong’s proxy. By far, the most-publicised race in the Klang Valley will be that in Lembah Pantai. Incumbent MP Nurul Izzah Anwar is Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter and many in Barisan Nasional see her as the successor to the PKR throne.

As such, no expense has been spared to bring her down. A look at the number of Barisan Nasional flags that have aggressively sprouted up all over the constituency gives credence to this claim. BN’s Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, who is also interim Federal Territory minister, seems equal to the task. This will be an interesting battle to watch as the constituency is divided into the affluent and middle-class Bangsar and the more working-class Pantai Dalam. Will Nurul Izzah be able to hold on to the seat she so narrowly won with 2,895 votes in 2008? All eyes will be on her and Raja Nong Chik the next 15 days. Across the country in Raub is blogger extraordinaire Sakmongkol AK47, whose real name is Datuk Mohamed Ariff Sabri Aziz, from the DAP versus MCA’s Datuk Hoy Khai Mun. Known for his pithy and highly-critical blog posts against Barisan Nasional, the former Umno man and once political aide to Datuk Seri Najib Razak, may just win over the Chinese voters who make up 44 per cent of the constituency’s electorate and help burnish DAP’s multi-racial credentials. But the biggest fight in GE13 is probably the one in Gelang Patah, Johor. It will see DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang go against caretaker Johor mentri besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.

Battle of the giants? It is no exaggeration to think of the fight as such. After all, BN’s Ghani is a four-term mentri besar who brought in high-profile developments like Iskandar to the state. Kit Siang, of course, is so synonymous with DAP that people think of him as the party head even though it is his son, Lim Guan Eng, who is the secretary-general of the party. Kit Siang is the heart of the party and he leads this foray into Johor which is often described as Umno’s fort. Will GE13, already touted as the mother of all elections, live up to its billing? From the looks of these seats and who is fighting who, the answer is already a resounding yes. ~themalaysianinsider.com~