TV PAKATAN RAKYAT

The Selangor government says it is determined to roll up its sleeves and work overtime to ease its dependency on the manufacturing sector by turning the state into a knowledge-based economy. Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim expressed confidence during a news conference today that the state government was already ahead of other states in terms of investments but warned that maintaining itself at number one would not be an easy task. In a press statement by senior state executive councillor Teresa Kok in her blog yesterday, it was disclosed that Selangor had attracted industrial investments worth RM6.76bil with the highest number of industrial projects at 278 and the highest number of job opportunities at over 20,000 in Malaysia last year.

Citing data from the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA), the Seputeh MP said that the total approved investments exceeded the state’s RM4bil target set for 2009 in light of the present economic downturn. She added that Selangor’s 278 projects accounted for 36.3% of the nation’s total industrial projects with Johor following at 150 projects and Penang at 104 projects. Khalid said today that minus Sarawak’s single aluminium smelting project (which is worth USD2bil or about RM7bil), Selangor topped the list at the highest in industrial investments.

“Being a winner you have to work harder because it is easy to be the black horse but retaining as champions is not easy,” he said after chairing a meeting with technopreneurs at the Selangor State Investment Centre in I-City here. He said that the state government was however willing to “put our feet down, roll up our sleeves and make it happen”. As a show of commitment, Khalid announced that the state government had committed a RM50mil allocation to invest in technopreneur companies taking part in an incubation programme in I-City here.

To facilitate the programme, the country’s first “technopreneur campus” will be set up in I-City, which comprises 72 acres, where the companies will be sited. Khalid also said that the state government was in the process of finalising an agreement with US-based Plug and PlayTech Centre of Silicon Valley to provide the investment and incubation expertise and be the bridge linking local technopreneurs to the US market. “The chief executive officer (of Plug and PlayTech Centre) will be coming here on March 2 and we will be formalising the agreement before we make the announcement,” he said.

Khalid explained that the RM50mil allocation was not an exact amount but a mere commitment from the state to invest in the companies taking part in the programme. Other investors or venture capitalists would later be invited to provide further funding if needed, depending on their interest in the nature of business the technopreneur companies were engaged in. “Once we identify one or two interesting innovations for example, we will sit and get all venture capitalists to discuss and then we will raise the funding for them. They (each company) could need RM1mil or RM2mil to expand,” said Khalid.

The selection of companies in the programme will focus on firms dealing with the development of solutions for digital cities, mobile contents, or products and services in the property and construction related sectors. Khalid said that the state government also recognised the need to provide better infrastructure to facilitate the entire programme. The state,he said, would attempt to accelerate the construction of a direct access link from the Federal Highway into I-City. “This elevate link will improve the traffic flow into this area. “We are looking at various options. Of course, in theory, the link should be built through the Malaysia Plan but while waiting for it, we have already asked the Shah Alam city (council) to look at other ways to build it up,” he said. The construction of the road is expected to cost some RM50mil. -Malaysianinsider

Anwar Ibrahim
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Nizar Jamaludin
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Azmin Ali
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It is a strange trial taking place in Malaysia at the moment; strange because no matter what the verdict turns out to be, the public perception of what is taking place will remain the same. Indeed, it is impossible for any observer of Malaysian politics to consider the sodomy charge against former Deputy Prime Minister, and now opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, a purely legal matter. The mere fact that his imprisonment and his removal as a parliamentarian, should he be convicted, will make the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition suffer its biggest blow makes it difficult for many to believe that no political agenda is involved.

For one thing, this is the second time that Anwar and his family are being made to suffer the indignity of sexually explicit legal proceedings. His arrest in 1998 for sodomy and abuse of power led to the formation of the Reformasi Movement that a decade later denied the Barisan Nasional (BN) its traditional two-thirds majority in Parliament. This time around, there will no doubt be demonstrations should he be jailed but these will hardly be on the same scale as before. This is partly because there was no other way of challenging the Umno-led government back in 1998. After March 8, 2008, the most reliable road to power for the opposition is through the ballot box. The trial is, therefore, a severe test for the PR.

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who is a Member of Parliament from Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat, admits that Anwar’s leadership is crucial to the opposition coalition. “We will not allow Anwar to be imprisoned”, Nik Nazmi, who was also Anwar’s private secretary in 2006-2008, told this writer. Nevertheless, insider analysts, including the 28-year-old Nik Nazmi, agree that things are essentially different now when compared to 10 years ago, when Anwar was also charged — and sentenced — for sodomy. The conviction was overturned six years later. Basically, at least four factors are making the difference. First, a young crop of leaders has come to the fore, consisting of individuals once inspired by the ‘Reformasi’ and now hardened by frontal battles fought against the BN in recent years.

Many are now entrenched in positions of power. Some are parliamentarians, while others work for the four state governments run by the PR. Liew Chin Tong, for example, a 32-year-old MP from Penang, and author of the recent book, ‘Speaking for the Reformasi Generation’, admits that the results of the general election were possible only because Anwar was there to unite the opposition. “But post-March 8, cooperation among Pakatan parties occurs at all levels. Anwar’s role remains symbolic at the national level, but otherwise, day-to-day relationships cement the coalition in the states that we govern. These ties go a long way. They won’t collapse just because Anwar is not there,” Liew said.

The second factor — and this may be decisive — is that the shift in the balance of power has made it thinkable to many Malaysians who had feared the uncertainties that must accompany serious change, that the BN can be toppled. This new mindset is being sustained inexorably by websites and Internet newspapers, which continue to grow in popularity by fuelling the debate that national governance must improve if the economy is to grow. Thirdly, the multi-racial stand that the PR has been taking is being widely acknowledged, especially after Parti Islam SeMalaysia agreed with the High Court decision that non-Muslims could use the word “Allah” outside of missionary contexts.

Lastly, PR’s strength comes from BN’s weakness; basically the latter’s essential inability to project a new image that is not stained by abuse of power, political opportunism, administrative incompetence and racial partisanship. Tricia Yeoh, research officer to Selangor’s Mentri Besar, is certain that the opposition parties will succeed in working together. “They have been cooperating closely and concretely for two years now, and know that this is actually possible. Sure, without Anwar, the philosophical glue holding them together will not be quite as strong, but the respective PR state governments will continue functioning. The deeper worry for these young people seems to lie, not at the practical level, but at the ideological level,” said Yeoh, 30.

Without Anwar, the PR will trudge on because it has to. But it may increasingly be because it is politically expedient to do so, and because power is within reach. The fear is that the PR’s aspirations may soon be overshadowed by the defensive manoeuvres it adopts to neutralise BN attacks. The PR may begin to lose its ideological impetus. Indeed, that is perhaps what the BN is hoping for. — Today, *this article is not related to the video posted above.

The Federal Court’s decision on the rightful Mentri Besar of Perak today has affirmed the status quo in the state, but political analysts believe the much-awaited verdict will result in some change in the way political parties carry themselves. Closely-watched will be Pakatan’s next move — whether it will continue to engage in confrontational politics or opt for a more less antagonistic stand. “If they respect the decision, they will become less confrontational. The people will likely give them some sympathy while at the same time, they may also be able to win some support by projecting themselves as the victims,” political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said.

People were issue-oriented when come to supporting a party, he added. “If Pakatan continues to be confrontational in the state assembly even after today’s decision, it can backfire on them.” “I predict therefore that Pakatan will change their strategy and will adopt a more persuasive tone. I also foresee that both sides will eventually take this approach. The only difference is the kind of voters they are pursuing,” he said. Dr Sivamurugan said he believed the BN would more “persuasive” in tackling the support among urban Chinese while Pakatan would be working more on their declining Malay support.

Another political analyst Datuk Cheah See Kian believed that Pakatan would change their strategy by having PAS play a more prominent role — as the leader of the state’s opposition front, instead of the DAP. “By doing so, it will give the impression among the Malay voters that the Perak opposition pact is very much led by the Malay or PAS, instead of the DAP,” he said. An opinion poll by Merdeka Centre released last week showed that BN under Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir appeared to have made significant inroads while his predecessor from Pakatan, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, had a significant edge over Zambry when it comes to the Chinese community, where the duo polled 59 per cent and 16 per cent respectively.

But Zambry on the other hand, led the race comfortably in terms of the Malay support, securing 67 per cent as opposed to Nizar’s 35 per cent. For political analyst James Chin, the verdict by the Federal Court today would not bring about much change in the Perak political scenario as according to him, many had expected the outcome. “The political scenario is back as before. Pakatan will continue with their roadshow and the BN will be preparing for the next general election. The question is, what will happen in the next election?” he said.

It would not come as a surprise, therefore, for Pakatan to work on improving their image among the Malays and for BN to work on theirs among the urban Chinese as pointed out by Gerakan deputy president and state chairman Datuk Chang Ko Youn. “While the support of the Malays and Indians for the BN seems to be improving, we really need to go down and correct the negative image of the BN among the urban Chinese. “However, we believe that this is changing as Dr Zambry has done a lot to improve the BN’s image. Dr Zambry has set the direction and we hope we can build on the momentum for the next two years,” he said, adding that the BN was targeting to increase the support among the Chinese from about 20 per cent now to more than 30 per cent. “I expect them (Pakatan) to be a bad loser and create problems in the next state assembly sitting. If this happens, it will show that they are only interested in positions in the government,” he said. — Bernama