Some news that might set some people's hearts a-flutter:
PKR perlu kaji kerjasama dengan DAP
(Utusan Malaysia) - Ahli Parlimen Bayan Baru, Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim menggesa kepimpinan tertinggi Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) mengkaji semula kedudukan dan kerjasama parti itu dengan DAP di Pulau Pinang.
Disgruntled opposition members invited to join Umno
(Bernama) - Umno and the BN are prepared to accept leaders and members of the opposition parties who are disillusioned with their parties' struggles, Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan said today.
Anwar reveals attempts to court PKR MPs
(Malaysian Insider) PETALING JAYA, Jan 31 - Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today admitted that there were attempt to get PKR lawmakers to abandon the party by Chinese New Year, claiming that the move was made with the backing of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
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Aiyaa, so easy la the solution...
Mau belah? Blah la!
These dudes departure are absolutely no loss to the rakyat! If they cannot appreciate the wishes of the rakyat who put them in office in the first place, biarlah depa go and join the party that serves the interst of themselves! If that's what they really want, bloody heck, at least have the balls to say it and do it la! It's not like the rakyat is gonna be taken in by all this drama, right?
I really cannot stand these gutless chickens pretending to be so righteous when it's so obvious to the rakyat what they are really after!
So just leave already la! Mau pergi, pergilah! Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say! Just have mercy and save us the spectacle of yet another C-grade Malaysian political telenovela!
And there are more good reasons to just let these guys go:
1) The rakyat's victory was incomplete on March 08 anyway.
The rakyat did not get the alternative government they are yearning for in GE12. If these guys leave now, to join whatever non-PR party, will the rakyat be in risk of losing the alternative government they are yearning for?
No way la! There is NO alternative government in the first place! So...WHAT LOSS IS THERE IF THESE FELLAS LEAVE PR? So blah sajalah!
2) Better to spring clean now than let these dudes scupper GE13
Thanks to Najib's ruthless but ultimately short-sighted political strategies, that the weak links in PR are being increasingly exposed to the rakyat. Is this bad?
No way la! If the PR wants to have a better chance at GE13, they better field a better group of candidates! And dudes such as Zul, Zahrain, and all the other problem reps (or those like them) have no such place in Malaysians' hearts anymore. Make no mistake, if they ARE fielded again, they will NOT win! So if they go now, better still! Don't waste the time of the rakyat and sincere party members!
3) Prove to the rakyat you're serious about change
The PR fellas better wake up to the fact that the rakyat did not vote FOR PAS/DAP/PKR. Many merely wanted to mark a protest vote AGAINST the BN. The surprise package was the 5 states that BN lost. Suddenly, government change seemed possible. But is the PR up to it?
No way la! If they keep pussyfooting around their discipline problems and continue to try to pretend that all is well, we will know that the top PR honchos - specifically ANWAR - have no balls to do what's right. If that's the calibre of the PR's top leaders, how can they be expected to do what's right for the country? Our country is in such a shit hole that it's going to have to go through a period of painful realignment. If these fellas don't even dare to realign their own party members, how are they gonna deal with a corrupt and aggressive Opposition and a hostile civil service if they are in Federal power?
At least Lim Kit Siang has the honesty to admit PR's problems. We've yet to hear anything from Ustaz Hadi and Anwar. Although the way they handle the outspoken bigots and blatant opportunists in their party tell a lot about their alignments and (in)abilities to lead their party, much less a country! So let them go to prove you are serious to bring about positive change to the country!
So go ahead and let UMNO/BN have the riffraff. We the rakyat don't mind. We haven't got what we wanted yet. So a few fellas leaving is no loss. In fact, there is everything to gain from this!
Showing posts with label defections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label defections. Show all posts
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Monday, February 9, 2009
Hiding FROM BN or WITH BN?
Arumugam ‘missing’ after quitting Kedah exco
(Bernama) SUNGAI PETANI, Feb 9 — Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) assemblyman for Bukit Selambau, V. Arumugam, who had resigned as the state executive council member, has now gone missing.
;">No one seems to know the whereabouts of the former Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Siamese Community Affairs, Unity, Estate Workers and Indian Community Affairs committee chairman.
Not even Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak, apparently. “I’ve been trying to contact him but he could not be reached,” Azizan told reporters here.
read the complete report here
The Perak Conspiracy...Pt 8, Final
5 Feb 2009
HRH Sultan Azlan Shah announces that the BN had the majority and orders YB Nizar to resign.
The BN appoints the new Perak MB. The swearing-in ceremony of the new State govt is scheduled for the next day.
As someone who is well-versed in the law, Baginda Sultan Perak would have easily seen that the BN did NOT have the majority and the PR was still the legitimate government. Most Perakians expected Baginda to do the right thing because the beloved Sultan is a highly qualified man who always conducted himself with dignity and integrity.
But the Sultan had widely deviated from the normal parameters of his role in this matter.
What compelled Baginda Sultan to OBEY NAJIB'S ORDERS? There has been speculation that Najib blackmailed Baginda but we may never know for sure.
I'm sure YB Nizar was shocked by Baginda Sultan's decision to reject the legitimate advice of the legitimate MB. The further shock comes when Baginda Sultan declares the BN as the winner, even though they don't have the majority seats! In short, YB Nizar was thrown out of office by the Sultan who then installed an illegal govt!
YB Nizar's disagreement with the Sultan's decision is a valid legal contention. The Sultan is legally-bound to follow the MB's advice. But Baginda Sultan rejected the Perak MB's advice and followed the NOBODY FROM PERAK's (Najib) advice!
I would say that under the circumstances, YB Nizar acted exceptionally honourably. He was denied his rights as an MB when Baginda Sultan told him to wait for His Majesty's decision, yet he still had the grace to say that the final decision is with Baginda Sultan.
Compared to Najib who shamelessly and arrogantly degraded Baginda Sultan's dignity by manipulating Baginda to legitimising an illegal govt, YB Nizar is certainly NOT the traitorous Royal-basher.
As we can see, the clockwork precision with which events unfolded is too remarkable to believe that it was merely spontaneous crossovers.
The contentious issue of who would be appointed the next BN MB was already settled. Knowing UMNO to be so addicted to power, surely this plum post was not decided overnight! It was settled weeks or months before. And since MBs are Federal appointments within the UMNO patronage system, who had the political clout to appoint an MB?
Abdullah? No, he is obviously just playing the role of a couldn't-care-less caretaker until the real power comes in March.
So all fingers point to Najib. But that's not the shocking part.
What's shocking is:
1. His unbridled lust for power that drove him to disregard every law, manipulate every state apparatus, bribe, threaten, kidnap and perhaps even abuse people to his own ends.
2. While the country is at the brink of economic disaster, the Finance Minister was busy pulling off coups in state govts. First in Perak, now in other PR states.
3. He left the task of thinking what to do for the economy to his webmasters while he went of gallavanting on political adventures
4. He is more intent on showing off his political power and ruthlessness to UMNO delegates than in running the country
5. His complete disregard for all things sacred including the Sultans, the laws of the land, the constitution and just plain decency and morality.
6. And most disgusting and scary of all, he is set to be our nation's next PM
for more background on the Perak conspiracy, click here and here.
The Perak Conspiracy...Pt 7
4 Feb 2009:
Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin announces Perak state assembly would be dissolved awaiting consent from Perak Sultan.
This was the PR's last ditch attempt to derail the coup. Appealing to the people was the only option left, since all other official avenues were blatantly being manipulated by UMNO. But it was already too late. They were caught in the trap, and the “strategic friendlies” were guarding the escapes.
YB Nizar was probably reluctant to ask the Sultan's consent to dissolve the DUN earlier because strictly speaking, 3 party resignations could not justify a State election of 59 seats! (In this regard, I believe YB Nizar acted responsibly in safeguarding the State's and the PR parties' finances & integrity. Doing the right thing was more important than clinging on to power at all cost. But it was politically naïve to play by the rules when facing a street brawler like UMNO/BN.)
However, faced with the prospect of losing the government, YB Nizar now had no choice.
But then, we can see more odd things happening.
Constitutionally, the Sultan MUST follow the advice of the MB. So if the MB advises Baginda that the State Assembly is to be dissolved and fresh elections held, the Sultan by convention MUST consent. Even Baginda Sultan Perak himself said so in his 2004 book.
But when YB Nizar informed Baginda Sultan, he was told to wait. This was highly irregular. Why did the Sultan not give consent right away, since Baginda was bound by the State constitution to decide according to the MB's advice? No reason was given, neither by Baginda Sultan nor YB Nizar.
Was the Sultan waiting for instructions what to do next?! If so, from whom? Who was it that had such arrogant disregard for Baginda Sultan to manipulate him this way?
That question is open for speculation, and we may never know for sure. What we do know is that Baginda Sultan met with Najib and gang several more times – once privately, once with YB Nizar, and once more together with the all the BN & defecting YBs. All within just a few hours!
What compelled Baginda to give such undue attention to the Perak Opposition party – UMNO/BN? Why did they have the privilege of so many audiences with Baginda Sultan when it was obvious that what they were attempting was an illegal power grab? What right had Najib to negotiate Perak politics with the Sultan when he was NOT the Perak Opposition Leader nor even an elected rep in Perak? Why was the Sultan so interested in the party that was blatantly manipulating the system and breaking the law?! As the former Lord President, Baginda Sultan would NOT have missed these points!
So many questions...so few answers.
In the face of such irregularities, for YB Nizar to still diplomatically say that he was awaiting consent from the Sultan spoke of his great restraint and respect for the Sultan. But he was right to expect the Sultan to consent because any other decision would be unconstitutional and absolutely extraordinary.
The four defectors are present when the DPM announces that BN have the numbers to form the Perak government as three PKR and a DAP reps have resigned from their respective parties. Perak now comprises 28 BN seats, 28 PR seats and three independent seats.
It was extremely irregular for Najib to make such an announcement.
By no stretch of the imagination can 28 PR vs 28 BN be considered a majority for BN!
Special note must be made that the Perak 3 DID NOT DEFECT. They merely resigned from their respective parties and they did not join the Perak Opposition party.
The BN & PR have equal number of seats. The 3 who resigned are Independents – not bound by party discipline or subject to the party whips. In a truly free democracy, this would be a good development as no one party held absolute majority. As the third bloc in the Dewan, the 3 Independents could provide a swing vote either way. This is extremely beneficial for the rakyat as it can act as the voice of conscience for the Dewan to ensure only laws that benefit the people are passed.
Unfortunately, this being Malaysia, the idea of working for the people is a distant 2nd or 3rd to partisan loyalties. So Najib announced the unusual concept of “independent but loyal to BN” and declared victory. Even though “Independent”, the Perak 3 allowed themselves to be herded like goats into the BN menagerie. For what reason, is open to speculation.
And nobody would have missed the fact that Ms Hee looked as if she had just come from a close relative's funeral. While the rest of the UMNO men were grinning like wolves who had blown down the little piggy's house. Surely it was not all just candy being used to entice the Perak 3!
But why so impatient? Why coudn't Najib wait until the 3 properly joined the BN to declare victory? If Najib knew he had the numbers, why not wait for the State assembly to convene then move a no-confidence vote against Nizar? They would still have grabbed power and it would have been constitutional.
Was this Najib's show of power - for the benefit of the coming UMNO General Assembly? Was this his way to demonstrate that he will be a “strong” leader for UMNO? Was this his message to Malaysians not to mess with him?
Furthermore, Najib presumed that Baginda Sultan Perak would consent for them to form the State government, even though the BN had no clear majority. How did he know that the Sultan would overstep his constitutional boundaries - reject the legitimate PR government's right to call for re-elections and approve the BN's illegal power-grab? Had it already been pre-arranged? Had Najib somehow arm-twisted the Sultan to obtain the answer he wanted?
The fact that the Sultan did not immediately give consent for state elections was foreboding. But most Perakians expected Baginda to do the right thing as Baginda is known as a person of great integrity and wisdom.
However, they would be greatly disappointed.
to be continued...
Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin announces Perak state assembly would be dissolved awaiting consent from Perak Sultan.
This was the PR's last ditch attempt to derail the coup. Appealing to the people was the only option left, since all other official avenues were blatantly being manipulated by UMNO. But it was already too late. They were caught in the trap, and the “strategic friendlies” were guarding the escapes.
YB Nizar was probably reluctant to ask the Sultan's consent to dissolve the DUN earlier because strictly speaking, 3 party resignations could not justify a State election of 59 seats! (In this regard, I believe YB Nizar acted responsibly in safeguarding the State's and the PR parties' finances & integrity. Doing the right thing was more important than clinging on to power at all cost. But it was politically naïve to play by the rules when facing a street brawler like UMNO/BN.)
However, faced with the prospect of losing the government, YB Nizar now had no choice.
But then, we can see more odd things happening.
Constitutionally, the Sultan MUST follow the advice of the MB. So if the MB advises Baginda that the State Assembly is to be dissolved and fresh elections held, the Sultan by convention MUST consent. Even Baginda Sultan Perak himself said so in his 2004 book.
But when YB Nizar informed Baginda Sultan, he was told to wait. This was highly irregular. Why did the Sultan not give consent right away, since Baginda was bound by the State constitution to decide according to the MB's advice? No reason was given, neither by Baginda Sultan nor YB Nizar.
Was the Sultan waiting for instructions what to do next?! If so, from whom? Who was it that had such arrogant disregard for Baginda Sultan to manipulate him this way?
That question is open for speculation, and we may never know for sure. What we do know is that Baginda Sultan met with Najib and gang several more times – once privately, once with YB Nizar, and once more together with the all the BN & defecting YBs. All within just a few hours!
What compelled Baginda to give such undue attention to the Perak Opposition party – UMNO/BN? Why did they have the privilege of so many audiences with Baginda Sultan when it was obvious that what they were attempting was an illegal power grab? What right had Najib to negotiate Perak politics with the Sultan when he was NOT the Perak Opposition Leader nor even an elected rep in Perak? Why was the Sultan so interested in the party that was blatantly manipulating the system and breaking the law?! As the former Lord President, Baginda Sultan would NOT have missed these points!
So many questions...so few answers.
In the face of such irregularities, for YB Nizar to still diplomatically say that he was awaiting consent from the Sultan spoke of his great restraint and respect for the Sultan. But he was right to expect the Sultan to consent because any other decision would be unconstitutional and absolutely extraordinary.
The four defectors are present when the DPM announces that BN have the numbers to form the Perak government as three PKR and a DAP reps have resigned from their respective parties. Perak now comprises 28 BN seats, 28 PR seats and three independent seats.
It was extremely irregular for Najib to make such an announcement.
By no stretch of the imagination can 28 PR vs 28 BN be considered a majority for BN!
Special note must be made that the Perak 3 DID NOT DEFECT. They merely resigned from their respective parties and they did not join the Perak Opposition party.
The BN & PR have equal number of seats. The 3 who resigned are Independents – not bound by party discipline or subject to the party whips. In a truly free democracy, this would be a good development as no one party held absolute majority. As the third bloc in the Dewan, the 3 Independents could provide a swing vote either way. This is extremely beneficial for the rakyat as it can act as the voice of conscience for the Dewan to ensure only laws that benefit the people are passed.
Unfortunately, this being Malaysia, the idea of working for the people is a distant 2nd or 3rd to partisan loyalties. So Najib announced the unusual concept of “independent but loyal to BN” and declared victory. Even though “Independent”, the Perak 3 allowed themselves to be herded like goats into the BN menagerie. For what reason, is open to speculation.
And nobody would have missed the fact that Ms Hee looked as if she had just come from a close relative's funeral. While the rest of the UMNO men were grinning like wolves who had blown down the little piggy's house. Surely it was not all just candy being used to entice the Perak 3!
But why so impatient? Why coudn't Najib wait until the 3 properly joined the BN to declare victory? If Najib knew he had the numbers, why not wait for the State assembly to convene then move a no-confidence vote against Nizar? They would still have grabbed power and it would have been constitutional.
Was this Najib's show of power - for the benefit of the coming UMNO General Assembly? Was this his way to demonstrate that he will be a “strong” leader for UMNO? Was this his message to Malaysians not to mess with him?
Furthermore, Najib presumed that Baginda Sultan Perak would consent for them to form the State government, even though the BN had no clear majority. How did he know that the Sultan would overstep his constitutional boundaries - reject the legitimate PR government's right to call for re-elections and approve the BN's illegal power-grab? Had it already been pre-arranged? Had Najib somehow arm-twisted the Sultan to obtain the answer he wanted?
The fact that the Sultan did not immediately give consent for state elections was foreboding. But most Perakians expected Baginda to do the right thing as Baginda is known as a person of great integrity and wisdom.
However, they would be greatly disappointed.
to be continued...
The Perak Conspiracy...Pt 6
2 Feb 2009:
Perak State Legislative Assembly speaker V. Sivakumar notifies Perak Election Commission director that Behrang and Changkat Jering state seats were vacant.
Perak PKR chairman Osman Abdul Rahman said both Jamaluddin and Mohd Osman did not announce that they are leaving PKR. A representative of Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi informs the media in Sepang that Jamaluddin was still a PKR member. A representative of Mohd Osman Jailu informs the media in Shah Alam that Mohd Osman did not resign.
That the 2 reps intended to confuse the situation was clear. What is unclear is whether Osman was a “strategic friendly”? If so, it would mean that the PKR had been infiltrated at leadership levels by UMNO agents.
The duo's announcement effectively tied the PR's hands. The Speaker could not justifiably call for by-elections unless the status of the 2 PKR reps were determined. And when the pre-signed resignation letters were produced, the 2 missing reps surfaced to challenge their validity, then promptly disappeared again. There was no way to contact them and to get a court ruling may take weeks or months. Time was of the essence and the PR was quickly running out of it.
The public was treated to lie after lie of where the 2 PKR reps were. But the fact that they went right back to being MIA right after explaining their whereabouts only made a mockery of their explanations. Only UMNO/BN would expect the public to accept their most blatant lies as truth just because.
This was probably a ploy to keep the PR tangled up in legal issues, wasting precious time. It could also be that, with the issue of the resignation letters and the possibility of by-elections looming. UMNO had to at least try to maintain the illusion of status quo to justify the EC's illegal decision later.
While the PR were busy trying to sort out the legal mess, UMNO was moving their final pieces into place for the checkmate.
3 Feb 2009:
Election Commission decide that (N14) Changkat Jering and (N59) Behrang state seats are not vacant and by-election not required.
Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi declares himself an independent state assemblyman after PKR forwards a letter to Perak State Legislative Assembly speaker V. Sivakumar that he had resigned.
The EC – supposedly a neutral organisation tasked to manage elections - had overstepped their boundaries by making a judgement on the status of seats, which was the prerogative of the Speaker. Any doubt should have been resolved in court by the disputing parties – NOT the EC.
It's also telling that the 2 jumpers made their announcements to quit the party after the EC's verdict. This implies the 2 jumpers were biding their time until the EC's verdict was announced, which in turn implies that the EC was in on the plot because the verdict was expected.
By now, it was clear that the PR govt was royally screwed. UMNO's defection deal had been hammered out much earlier by the defectors. Now they were safe in the hands of their UMNO hosts to prevent them from being convinced not to defect. The EC is obviously one of the “strategic friendlies”. The legitimately elected PR government was being thwarted at every turn.
Their desperate attempts to hold on to power was of no use when legality was thrown out the window by the BN and their agents. The PR had one final recourse - to dissolve the State Assembly and hold new state elections. To do that, YB Nizar first had to inform the Sultan and get his consent.
But that gave rise to another set of unusual circumstances.
to be continued...
The Perak Conspiracy...Pt 5
30 Jan 2009:
Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin deny reports that Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) and Capt (rtd) Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering), would leave Parti Keadilan Rakyat and join BN.
This was perhaps PR's pathetic attempt at damage control by manipulating the political perception. They had no way to contact the 2 PKR reps so they could not ascertain their legal positions. So they went to the court of public opinion, hoping that the public's perception that UMNO forcibly snatched 2 loyal PKR members would temper UMNO's plot.
If so, it was politically naïve for the MB to believe that. UMNO was not interested in public perception – they just wanted power. And they would get it – to hell with what the public thinks!
Also by this time, perhaps worry over the 2 PKR men's safety and political alliance clouded the PR's judgement. So much so that they did not notice that UMNO/BN had been working on Ms Hee and several other non-Malay reps.
Some are saying that the MB lost a golden opportunity when he refused to call for a state election at the first sign of trouble. Maybe so, but at this juncture, the status of the 2 PKR reps were still in doubt. At the most, a bye-election for their seats could be suggested. But even that was difficult as the 2 were not dead, had not resigned from their seats, and were not ruled invalid in any way. There was just no grounds to declare their seats vacant.
As such, it would have been impossible to justify calling for State elections, ESPECIALLY IF NIZAR WAS AN HONOURABLE MAN AND DID NOT WANT TO UNNECESSARILY SUBJECT THE SULTAN TO MAKE A DOUBTFUL APPROVAL.
This political integrity cost the PR dearly as it allowed UMNO time to consolidate their position. While the PR was making public statements and fretting about what to do, UMNO was moving their chess pieces into place.
1 Feb 2009:
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hints a number of state assemblymen in Perak may join BN.
This proves that the conspiracy reached the highest levels of government. So this was not merely a local state matter. Whether AAB was one of the plotters remains to be seen. But he certainly had inside information of it by that time.
But why did he make such an announcement?
It's certainly unusual to make the revealing announcement while all this while, there was only speculations of the 2 PKR defections. It's like you giving away the punchline in the middle of a joke that someone else was telling. Was he trying to warn the PR govt?
Or was it because Abdullah was merely Najib's mouthpiece? If Najib was the chief architect of the plot, that would be a smart move. With the PM's announcement, Najib could distance himself from the plot, and when the shit hits the fan, it would be deflected to the PM.
If this is true, that would mean that Abdullah is regarded as no more than a puppet for those maneuvering into power. That the sitting PM of this country can be so callously ordered around like a messenger boy speaks of the conspirators' total disregard for the country's institutions, laws and principles of integrity.
It reveals the kind of mindset where the pursuit of power is paramount, the attainment of power justifies any means, and the exercise of power takes precedence over the consequences.
It is scary that such person/persons will soon be assuming power in our country.
to be continued...
Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin deny reports that Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi (Behrang) and Capt (rtd) Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu (Changkat Jering), would leave Parti Keadilan Rakyat and join BN.
This was perhaps PR's pathetic attempt at damage control by manipulating the political perception. They had no way to contact the 2 PKR reps so they could not ascertain their legal positions. So they went to the court of public opinion, hoping that the public's perception that UMNO forcibly snatched 2 loyal PKR members would temper UMNO's plot.
If so, it was politically naïve for the MB to believe that. UMNO was not interested in public perception – they just wanted power. And they would get it – to hell with what the public thinks!
Also by this time, perhaps worry over the 2 PKR men's safety and political alliance clouded the PR's judgement. So much so that they did not notice that UMNO/BN had been working on Ms Hee and several other non-Malay reps.
Some are saying that the MB lost a golden opportunity when he refused to call for a state election at the first sign of trouble. Maybe so, but at this juncture, the status of the 2 PKR reps were still in doubt. At the most, a bye-election for their seats could be suggested. But even that was difficult as the 2 were not dead, had not resigned from their seats, and were not ruled invalid in any way. There was just no grounds to declare their seats vacant.
As such, it would have been impossible to justify calling for State elections, ESPECIALLY IF NIZAR WAS AN HONOURABLE MAN AND DID NOT WANT TO UNNECESSARILY SUBJECT THE SULTAN TO MAKE A DOUBTFUL APPROVAL.
This political integrity cost the PR dearly as it allowed UMNO time to consolidate their position. While the PR was making public statements and fretting about what to do, UMNO was moving their chess pieces into place.
1 Feb 2009:
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hints a number of state assemblymen in Perak may join BN.
This proves that the conspiracy reached the highest levels of government. So this was not merely a local state matter. Whether AAB was one of the plotters remains to be seen. But he certainly had inside information of it by that time.
But why did he make such an announcement?
It's certainly unusual to make the revealing announcement while all this while, there was only speculations of the 2 PKR defections. It's like you giving away the punchline in the middle of a joke that someone else was telling. Was he trying to warn the PR govt?
Or was it because Abdullah was merely Najib's mouthpiece? If Najib was the chief architect of the plot, that would be a smart move. With the PM's announcement, Najib could distance himself from the plot, and when the shit hits the fan, it would be deflected to the PM.
If this is true, that would mean that Abdullah is regarded as no more than a puppet for those maneuvering into power. That the sitting PM of this country can be so callously ordered around like a messenger boy speaks of the conspirators' total disregard for the country's institutions, laws and principles of integrity.
It reveals the kind of mindset where the pursuit of power is paramount, the attainment of power justifies any means, and the exercise of power takes precedence over the consequences.
It is scary that such person/persons will soon be assuming power in our country.
to be continued...
The Perak Conspiracy...Pt 4
26 Jan 2009:
Perak Menteri Besar claims three more state assemblymen from UMNO would follow in the footsteps of Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim and join PKR.
By this time, the 2 PKR men were already missing, safely hidden away by their UMNO "hosts". Had the PR been in more discussions among themselves, they would have noticed the missing men. They would probably have thought things through properly too and caught the inconsistencies in the whole defection episode.
However, perhaps the busyness of preparing for the Silver Jubilee, the CNY holiday mood, and the euphoria of the defection dream come true probably lulled the PR into a complete sense of complacency.
Also, such enticing future prospects probably proved too much to resist. So they welcomed the Trojan horse - Nasaruddin - with open arms. And the temptation of 3 more defections and a possible national wave to follow kept their eyes firmly away from UMNO's maneuvering.
29 Jan 2009:
UMNO Supreme Council receives letter from former Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali that he was resigning as Perak UMNO Liaison chairman with immediate effect. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak takes over as Perak Barisan Nasional chairman and Perak Umno liaison chairman.
At that time, it was widely perceived that Tajol Rosli was resigning to take responsibility for the defection. But on hindsight – when was the last time anyone from UMNO resigned to take responsibility for anything? It's not their style to take responsibility! This report from the Star however, has some curious statements made by Tajol Rosli that could shed some light on what really happened.
Tajol Rosli was upset with a newspaper for reporting that he had resigned. He said, "The information did not come from me. It was a closed-door meeting with (Umno) members.” So it would seem that he did not want to resign. Why?
It's possible to deduce the reason.
It s now clear that the wheels of the plot were set in motion when Nasaruddin was sent to PKR on Jan 25th. Tajol Rosli was still the UMNO Liaison Chairman then, so he must have been a participant. Why was he forced to resign on Jan 26th? Probably because he refused to accept what was being discussed at the closed-door meeting.
One can only speculate what was discussed. Thus far, the conspiracy only revolved around UMNO members. If the coup succeeded, the Dewan would have a total of 29 UMNO seats and merely 1 MCA seat. That would not go down well with the large urban Chinese population - the bulk of the State's taxpayers. Perhaps they thought that they should get non-Malay jumpers to portray "racial balance".
But the only Chinese reps were from DAP. And everyone knew that you don't join DAP expecting to make money. You joined expecting to work like hell for your ideals and get no financial reward for your politics. So if you wanted to entice a DAP member, you better have some damn good offers!
So how did they get to Hee, then? Money? Highly probable. But I'm more inclined to think that they mainly got her to cooperate by coercion. If that's so, perhaps what they had to leverage on Hee was so repugnant that Tajol Rosli refused to agree to it. Or Tajol Rosli had no intention to have any more Chinese reps in the govt. We cannot know for sure what happened for the moment. Whatever the reason, Tajol Rosli was a threat to the enterprise and he had to be removed – and he was.
Najib taking over from Tajol Rosli would also imply that the conspiracy was hatched by the PM-in-waiting and executed by Tajol. With Tajol refusing to cooperate, the Mastermind would then have to intervene to get it done right exactly to plan. That would explain why the Most Powerful Man In Malaysia would take over a mere state-level position.
to be continued...
The Perak Conspiracy...Pt 3
So now, the BN had all their pieces in place. So, how did the conspiracy actually unfold?
Here's a timeline of events, and reasoned guess-timate of the possible behind-the-scenes happenings:
-----------------------------
January 25th:
Nasaruddin announces his defection from UMNO to PKR. He is apparently disgruntled about UMNO and taking heed of the rakyat's shift of support towards PR. He promises to resign from UMNO the next day. Anwar hails his move as a reflection of the electorate's aspirations, and promises more defections to come.
Alarm bells should have been ringing. Nasaruddin announced that he was quitting UMNO because he wasn't "getting the love" he wanted. But he had NOT submitted his resignation yet. And he jumped because he felt could "get the love" in PKR. This shows his opportunistic thinking, running to where the gravy was promised.
Such typical corrupt UMNO thinking has no place in the movement for change. Also, can anyone really trust that an UMNO stalwart (who had profited greatly from his position) can magically switch from "money politics cap UMNO" to "reformasi cap PKR"? They didn't switch brains, they just switched parties - different vessels, same shit!
But why did Nasaruddin have to cross over to PKR in the first place? And why did he cross back just days later? Was it really because he was just another opportunistic politician, following his nose to the money? No politician could be THAT dumb! People will remember and he will never be re-elected under any party's banner again!
On hindsight, it is now clear that Nasaruddin was just a Trojan horse. And the fact that he re-defected bears out this theory. Mission accomplished - no need to sandiwara anymore. Shahrir Samad later all but confirms this when he said that Nasaruddin's re-defection was not an issue at all because it was simply a case of UMNO getting their boy back. (Perhaps he will retire from politics come GE13 and go to some kind of UMNO-sponsored paradise.)
It was also crucial that PKR be seen as drawing first blood. UMNO/BN had been roundly condemning Anwar for threatening to seize Federal power via crossovers. (It's interesting that the issue of anti-hopping laws surfaced in the previous weeks. Was it an attempt to distract the target - by pretending to be scared?)
Now that UMNO planned to do the same in Perak, they needed to justify their actions. The Trojan Horse tactic was a master stroke in its deviousness as it crippled the PR's moral authority and focused the blame squarely back on Anwar. This theory is also borne out by Najib's response to a reporter. When asked about the legitimacy of the Perak govt-by-defection, he answered curtly, “Please ask the Pakatan why they started it in the first place!”
This tactic also divided popular opinion. And UMNO/BN thrives on the "divide-and-rule"concept because while the rakyat is distracted in arguing among themselves, they can do pretty much whatever they like.
to be continued...
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The Perak Conspiracy...Pt 2
So what do you need to get at least 2 people to jump to your side, declare yourself victoriuos and form the government?
a. MONEY to entice, POWER to threaten and the RUTHLESSNESS to employ them until the necessary end is achieved.
b. YBs who are susceptible to MONEY and vulnerable to threats
c. The cooperation of strategic "friendlies"
d. A "conspiracy council" to coordinate the execution of the plot
e. Right timing to strike
f. A mechanism to rubber-stamp the new regime's legitimacy after the coup
Did the BN have all of those?
a. No problem. UMNO/BN has plenty of that.
b. Already got the 2 PKR reps facing corruption charges.
c. Who were UMNO/BN's strategic "friendlies"? Who knew the PR the best? The inside people - the State's senior civil servants, of course. The State Secretariat is nowhere near neutral, having only known UMNO's rule-by-patronage for decades. And they work with the PR excos every day.
d. The UMNO/BN liaison committees would logically be major components of the "conspiracy council" in order to coordinate the effort among the various parties.
e. The opportune time came when the State was busy preparing for the Sultan's Silver Jubilee. There was probably a celebratory mood among the PR reps. They could not have forgotten how the Sultan graciously guided them to form the coalition government in Perak. They could have been distracted from politics while getting some real work done - surely the huge details involved in organising a massive celebration kept them busy. And the conspiracy was set in motion during the CNY festivities, so the PR's political strength was diminished by holidaying YBs.
f. How to legitamise a coup? Get a higher authority to say that what happened was OK. The trouble was, the highest authority in the land - the Constitution - had very specific instructions on how a government could be changed. None of which UMNO/BN followed. The next highest authority - the courts - would take too long and may have a chance of ruling against UMNO/BN. So then, UMNO/BN made use of the the Sultan - the most convenient high authority. He has no legal powers to play referee in political disputes, so HRH would be no threat to the coup. But his moral authority would stamp legitimacy all the same. But you would need some way to manipulate HRH into deciding in your favour, especially since HRH is known as a Ruler of high integrity.
All the pieces were in place. So, how did it actually happen?
to be continued...
a. MONEY to entice, POWER to threaten and the RUTHLESSNESS to employ them until the necessary end is achieved.
b. YBs who are susceptible to MONEY and vulnerable to threats
c. The cooperation of strategic "friendlies"
d. A "conspiracy council" to coordinate the execution of the plot
e. Right timing to strike
f. A mechanism to rubber-stamp the new regime's legitimacy after the coup
Did the BN have all of those?
a. No problem. UMNO/BN has plenty of that.
b. Already got the 2 PKR reps facing corruption charges.
c. Who were UMNO/BN's strategic "friendlies"? Who knew the PR the best? The inside people - the State's senior civil servants, of course. The State Secretariat is nowhere near neutral, having only known UMNO's rule-by-patronage for decades. And they work with the PR excos every day.
d. The UMNO/BN liaison committees would logically be major components of the "conspiracy council" in order to coordinate the effort among the various parties.
e. The opportune time came when the State was busy preparing for the Sultan's Silver Jubilee. There was probably a celebratory mood among the PR reps. They could not have forgotten how the Sultan graciously guided them to form the coalition government in Perak. They could have been distracted from politics while getting some real work done - surely the huge details involved in organising a massive celebration kept them busy. And the conspiracy was set in motion during the CNY festivities, so the PR's political strength was diminished by holidaying YBs.
f. How to legitamise a coup? Get a higher authority to say that what happened was OK. The trouble was, the highest authority in the land - the Constitution - had very specific instructions on how a government could be changed. None of which UMNO/BN followed. The next highest authority - the courts - would take too long and may have a chance of ruling against UMNO/BN. So then, UMNO/BN made use of the the Sultan - the most convenient high authority. He has no legal powers to play referee in political disputes, so HRH would be no threat to the coup. But his moral authority would stamp legitimacy all the same. But you would need some way to manipulate HRH into deciding in your favour, especially since HRH is known as a Ruler of high integrity.
All the pieces were in place. So, how did it actually happen?
to be continued...
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The Perak Conspiracy...Pt 1
If you wanted to take down a sitting government, how would you do it? There are a few ways.
1. Quietly convince the MB that his administration no longer has the majority support of the assembly and ask him to resign.
2. Force the MB to resign by bringing a vote of no confidence against him in the Dewan.
Either one of these satisfies the requirements of the constitution. There are other options, however.
3. Coup d'etat (peaceful or otherwise)
4. Force resignations via scandal
5. Pressure the government to resign by a popular uprising
Well, before deciding which one is the best option for you, you'd have to do some sort of SWOT analysis. This could possibly be the one that the BN did in Perak's case.
BN's Strengths - MONEY, POWER and the absolute RUTHLESSNESS to use it to achieve any end; a thoroughly infiltrated civil service that hinder PR's full effectiveness; friendly and obedient security forces
BN's Weaknesses - Widely seen as corrupt and inept; becoming more unpopular/irrelevant by the day; lack of quality leadership material.
BN's Opportunities - Only needs to grab 2 seats to form a simple majority; conveniently, 2 PKR men were charged with corruption by the UMNO-controlled MACC; the 2 reps were also tainted with admissions of sexual misconduct; redeem UMNO/BN's image of strength among its supporters should it succeed in wresting power
BN's Threats - the PR govt was becoming more popular by the day; playing the racial card did not seem to have its desired effect so far and in fact seemed to turn people off;
So, based on the SWOT, which option would be suitable for BN to employ?
1. Convince the MB to resign? They had no legitimate grounds. And it would not be UMNO's style to be polite towards their political enemies.
2. Vote of no confidence? They had no legitimate grounds for this as well. And they would not have had a shadow of hope succeeding as the PR has shown themselves to be resilient and united.
3. Military coup d'etat would have been too obvious an abuse of power. A political coup could be an option. No need for legitimate grounds for either of this to happen.
4. There seems little chance of tainting the MB to force his resignation. And besides the 2 PKR reps facing corruption charges, all of the other PR reps seemed to be clean. Even for the 2 PKR reps, the MB stood steadfastly behind them. And the public largely didn't seem to buy the allegations anyway, or they didn't seem to care.
5. Popular uprising? That was happening AGAINST UMNO/BN! So no dice here!
So, based on the above evaluation, a political coup would have been the most tenable option to grab power in Perak.
You could achieve this by inciting the people, as in Thailand, and force the govt to resign. This was UMNO/BN's classic strategy - simply play the race card, threaten May 13, and wait for the subsequent fireworks. Lately however, no matter how hard they tried, Malaysians seemed to be resisting such tactics post-Mar08. Even the UMNO-manufactured crowds at some demonstrations were largely laughed off and the issues were never taken up seriously by the masses. And as said above, UMNO/BN was losing support by the day – a fact that even they couldn't miss.
So really, the only other option would be to engineer political defections. This was quite easy as UMNO/BN merely needed 2 elected reps to defect to secure a simple majority in the Dewan. And of course, we all know that UMNO/BN likes everything quick and easy - money, power (and women too, perhaps?).
So what do you need to get at least 2 people to jump?
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Congratulations To The Opposition!
HURRAY!! It's finally happened!
The long-expected defections have finally taken place! The Opposition has finally installed itself as the legitimate government!
Congratulations for the victorious party are certainly in order!
Perhaps we can finally see the formation of a clean, efficient and trustworhty government that the rakyat has been longing for.
--------------------
If Anwar had succeeded in his quest to seize power, the write up above would probably aptly describe the sentiments of many PR supporters.
Funny that when the Perak Opposition succeeds in this plot, there are howls of injustice, immorality, and all kinds of protests. But to the BN, that's likely the same line of propaganda they will take.
This is not just pie in the face of Anwar but all PR supporters who agitated for government change via crossovers.
Tit for tat. Quid pro quo. Do unto others as you want other to do to you. You can't whack others but cry foul when you are whacked. This is not Hollywood, where if the "good guy" kills - it's heroic, but if the "bad guy" kills - it's evil.
But ultimately there is some good to be gleaned from this whole stinking episode.
Enticing crossovers is never the decent way to form a government as it leaves too many questions hanging - what was the carrot or stick used, what was the defector's level of integrity, etc.
At least THAT issue is laid to rest once and for all.
But wait...this is Malaysian politics, where anything and everything can happen!
What the hell, with a RM7,000,000,000 booty waiting to go into selected pockets, a brand new MACC hound dog on the loose, and Mat Rempits lobbing Molotov cocktails into Opposition homes, whose to say there won't be more people stimulated into jumping?
I guess we better grab our popcorn, then...
The long-expected defections have finally taken place! The Opposition has finally installed itself as the legitimate government!
Congratulations for the victorious party are certainly in order!
Perhaps we can finally see the formation of a clean, efficient and trustworhty government that the rakyat has been longing for.
--------------------
If Anwar had succeeded in his quest to seize power, the write up above would probably aptly describe the sentiments of many PR supporters.
Funny that when the Perak Opposition succeeds in this plot, there are howls of injustice, immorality, and all kinds of protests. But to the BN, that's likely the same line of propaganda they will take.
This is not just pie in the face of Anwar but all PR supporters who agitated for government change via crossovers.
Tit for tat. Quid pro quo. Do unto others as you want other to do to you. You can't whack others but cry foul when you are whacked. This is not Hollywood, where if the "good guy" kills - it's heroic, but if the "bad guy" kills - it's evil.
But ultimately there is some good to be gleaned from this whole stinking episode.
Enticing crossovers is never the decent way to form a government as it leaves too many questions hanging - what was the carrot or stick used, what was the defector's level of integrity, etc.
At least THAT issue is laid to rest once and for all.
But wait...this is Malaysian politics, where anything and everything can happen!
What the hell, with a RM7,000,000,000 booty waiting to go into selected pockets, a brand new MACC hound dog on the loose, and Mat Rempits lobbing Molotov cocktails into Opposition homes, whose to say there won't be more people stimulated into jumping?
I guess we better grab our popcorn, then...
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