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  • Dr Mahathir: I Have Not And Will Not Apologise To Anwar Ibrahim

    Dr Mahathir: I Have Not And Will Not Apologise To Anwar Ibrahim

    KUALA LUMPUR — Former Malaysian premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad has revealed that he has not and will not apologise to his former protege-turned-enemy and now ally, incarcerated opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim.

    In an interview with Australian broadcast agency SBS World News, Dr Mahathir said this is because he has never asked his detractors to apologise for criticising him.

    “We have all said nasty things about each other. I don’t ask people to apologise for calling me all kinds of names and accusing me of all kinds of wrongdoings.

    “What happened is in the past and we can’t be apologising for something that happened in the past,” he was quoted as saying.

    Anwar was Dr Mahathir’s deputy until they had a falling out in 1998, an event which sparked protests by Anwar supporters calling for political reform in the country.

    He was imprisoned on charges of corruption and sodomy shortly after, though Anwar claimed he was innocent and that the charges were politically-motivated.

    The former Umno man was released from prison in 2004 and went on to lead the opposition coalition, but was jailed again in 2015 on separate sodomy charges and is currently behind bars serving a five-year sentence.

    Last September, the two nemeses met face-to-face, under friendly circumstances, for the first time in 18 years — but the reunion has been described as a political ploy which “demonstrates the depth of their political opportunism and desperation”.

    Aside from Anwar, Dr Mahathir has also showed support for the DAP and its advisor, Mr Lim Kit Siang, who has been one of the former premier’s harshest critics for decades.

    When asked who will be named prime minister should Pakatan Harapan win the upcoming 14th general election, Dr Mahathir responded by saying “party infighting” has prevented the opposition pact from uniting and discussing the issue.

    “It is divisive. The moment you name a (candidate for) prime minister, there is going to be a lot of unsatisfied people who may sabotage the new opposition coalition,” Dr Mahathir said.

    “So it is better for us to name a prime minister (once) we win. It becomes irrelevant to name a prime minister now and then we lose,” he added.

    It is believed that Dr Mahathir was referring to Anwar’s party, PKR, which recently lost an ally, Pas, which ended its “tahaluf siyasi”, or political cooperation.

    Pas’ Syura Council decided that the move was necessary in order to defend the party’s Islamic agenda, aside from accusing PKR of breaking many terms of its conditional cooperation, including failing to support Pas in its Islamic agenda, and working against it in two by-elections last year.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Implications Of The Pakatan Rakyat Split

    Implications Of The Pakatan Rakyat Split

    Malaysia’s three-party opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has split up over a series of policy disputes, including calls for the implementation of the Islamic penal code, or hudud, in Kelantan.

    The Democratic Action Party (DAP) announced on Tuesday (June 16) that the alliance was dead, blaming it on Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS). But more significantly, the collapse left the third component party – Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) – in a potentially dire situation.

    Here’s what you should know about the break up of PR and what may happen next:

    What is Pakatan Rakyat?

    The opposition bloc was formed in April 2008, uniting opposition parties that had long been pushed around by the governing Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN). Experts said PR was always a fragile alliance, given that it brought together bedfellows who were opposed ideologically, particularly the Islamist PAS and the secular DAP.

    The bloc won 52 per cent of the popular vote in the 2013 elections, tapping into growing resentment of Umno’s rule and corruption scandals. It failed to take power due to Umno gerrymandering, but its stunning performance under leader Anwar Ibrahim – jailed earlier this year on sodomy charges widely seen as trumped up by the government – had raised the possibility of a historic change of power in Malaysia.

    The PR currently controls three states: Kelantan (PAS-led), Penang (DAP-led) and Selangor (PKR-led). The DAP holds 37 of 222 seats in Malaysia’s parliament, the PKR 29, and PAS 21.

    What happened?

    When PAS saw its share of seats shrink in the 2013 election, it started to reassert its Islamic agenda and push for hudud in Kelantan state. Its president Abdul Hadi Awang was criticised for pushing a bill on hudud without consulting his opposition partners. This led to the DAP announcing in March that it would no longer work with the PAS leader.

    The rift worsened this month after the PAS leadership was captured by conservatives and the party accepted a motion by its conservative ulama (clerics) wing to sever ties with the DAP.

    In response, DAP’s Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng said in a statement on Tuesday (June 16) that the PR no longer exist. Mr Lim, who is also Penang’s Chief Minister, said it was the PAS president’s unilateral decision to push for hudud and his party’s decision to sever ties with DAP that led to the PR’s collapse. He added that the DAP would continue to work with PKR and other parties that want to end BN’s rule “to reshape and realign Malaysian politics with the aim of winning Putrajaya for the people”.

    Dismissing the DAP’s statement, PAS Youth chief Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz said the opposition alliance was still intact. “DAP’s decision will not dissolve the coalition,” he stressed.

    PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said on Wednesday (June 17) that PKR will not cut its ties with the DAP and PAS, blaming neither but chiding both for precipitating a crisis. “PR no longer functions formally,” she said in a statement, emphasising that PKR would continue to support the DAP-led Penang state government and the PAS-led Kelantan state government.

    What are the implications?

    Analysts are divided over how Umno and the ruling BN, as well as Prime Minister Najib Razak could benefit from the break up of the PR.

    “Opposition in disarray is certainly helpful for Najib’s survival. He is now actively courting Sabah and Sarawak for support even within Umno and BN. As long as he can convince the party he can still deliver, the party members will stick with him. Corruption is not a cardinal sin for Umno leaders. Mahathir had his own shares of financial scandals but he ruled for 23 years. Najib, and certainly Rosmah, see no reason why they can’t learn from Mahathir,” said Penang Institute fellow Wong Chin Huat, referring to former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and wife of Mr Najib, Rosmah Mansor.

    But analyst Tan Seng Keat from the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research said the impact is difficult to predict. Umno and its coalition are racked by infighting of their own, as concerns over the economy and damaging financial scandals have further raised the possibility of defeat in the next polls, due by 2018.

    On the opposition side, the DAP has asked PAS representatives to resign from their posts in the Penang state government and its agencies. PAS does not hold any influence in the state assembly as it has only one lawmaker while DAP dominates the 40-seat state legislature with 29 assemblymen.

    PAS, on the other hand, controls the Kelantan state assembly with 32 out of 45 seats. DAP has no representatives while PKR has only one.

    PKR, however, could find itself in potentially dire straits. It cannot sustain a majority in the 57-seat Selangor state assembly without the support of both PAS and DAP. The party had wanted to mediate between the two feuding partners but DAP turned down its offer.

    PAS strategist Zuhdi Marzuki has called for the formation of a new political pact involving only Malay-Muslim parties, similar to one that PAS joined and was led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in the 1990s. It was disbanded after Tengku Razaleigh rejoined Umno in 1996.

    “Now it is up to PKR which leads Selangor to decide whether it wants to continue with a coalition with PAS in PR or not,” Dr Zuhdi said. “If PKR also withdraws from PR, then it is not impossible that the Selangor state government will become shaky.”

    What could happen next?

    The opposition parties and even the ruling BN may seek new realignments, including:

    A new opposition pact

    Analaysts believe the DAP and PKR will try to link up with a new partner to form a new opposition pact before the next general election because this remains their only realistic path to defeating BN. Along with PAS, PR has 87 seats in Parliament against BN’s 134. A possible partner is a new party mooted by PasMa, a PAS splinter group formed last year. Following the conservative sweep in PAS’ party elections earlier this month and the collapse of PR, PasMa said it was in discussion with several leaders and parties to set up a new moderate Islamic party that could cooperate with both PKR and DAP.

    “It is back to square one until they find a replacement vehicle for PAS. May or may not be PasMa. PR needs a party for Islamists and rural areas, something PKR is not good at,” said Professor James Chin, director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania.

    PAS and Umno coalition

    The possibility of a unity government of PAS and Umno – the key, Malay-based party in BN – has been talked about since before the 2013 General Election. With the conservatives now dominating PAS, it is increasingly likely that the two parties may be tempted to work together.

    However, it is unclear if Umno is willing to risk breaking up its own multiracial coalition to embrace the Islamist PAS. Although Umno supported the PAS-run Kelantan government’s plans to adopt hudud in March this year, Mr Najib has yet to make his stand on hudud.

    “It is most unlikely that Umno will accept PAS in a Malay/Muslim-only unity government as this will mean the effective breakup of the Barisan as a multiracial, multi-religious coalition,” said Centre for Policy Initiatives director Lim Teck Ghee.

    However, Mr Wong, the Penang Institute fellow, said Umno might compromise, allowing PAS safe seats in Kelantan and Terengganu in the next general election.

    “What will likely happen is a covert pact between the two, with PAS attacking DAP, PKR and the PAS pragmatists if they leave the party.

    “Since it is in the interest of Umno to keep PAS floating, Umno will not put up a full fight in some seats in Kelantan and Terengganu so that PAS will survive with 10 seats or so. A complete collapse of hardliners within PAS will drive the Islamist voters to the splinter party, PKR or even DAP.”

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • PKR Believes Pakatan Will Rise From The Ashes While PAS And DAP Think Otherwise

    PKR Believes Pakatan Will Rise From The Ashes While PAS And DAP Think Otherwise

    Just like a phoenix, Pakatan Rakyat will rise from the ashes, said a PKR leader in response to DAP’s declaration that the coalition is dead.

    PKR’s strategic director Sim Tze Tzin said the coalition will be having a meeting either tonight or tomorrow to look for a solution to the problems they’ve been having.

    “We saw it coming but Pakatan will rise again.”

    However, DAP lawmaker Charles Santiago said that there is no recovering from the move taken by PAS, which during its Muktamar earlier this month had approved for a motion to cut ties with the secular based party to be discussed by its central committee and Syura Council.

    “This is best move for us as PAS has made its decision so there is no point in us lingering around.

    “PAS left us with no choice but to declare Pakatan Rakyat dead.”

    PAS’ former central working committee member Khalid Samad said the next step for the pact, if there was to be one, is to come up with a new name.

    This is because “Pakatan Rakyat” is a coalition consisting of three component parties and should any party leave, the pact cannot go on the same way it always has.

    “Without either one of the component parties, there is no Pakatan Rakyat. So the next step has to be decided by the leadership.

    “Will we form a new coalition comprising of only two parties or will we go our separate ways and be individual parties the way we were before.

    “But either way, Pakatan Rakyat is dead,” he said to The Rakyat Post.

    DAP leaders, party supremo Lim Kit Siang and secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, have said that Pakatan Rakyat is dead and done with, blaming PAS as having killed the opposition coalition.

     

    Source: www.therakyatpost.com

  • Khalid Samad Criticises PAS’ U-Turn On Coalition

    Khalid Samad Criticises PAS’ U-Turn On Coalition

    Former PAS central committee member Khalid Samad criticised the U-turn by the party’s highest leadership following the passing of a motion to cut ties with its Pakatan Rakyat coalition partner DAP at its recently concluded muktamar.

    The Shah Alam MP questioned the logic for the motion slated to go before the Syura Council and the central committee for decision-making.

    He said both bodies attended the recently concluded PAS muktamar and did not object when the motion was passed without debate.

    “Wasn’t the Syura Council ulama at the meeting? Weren’t the central committee members there?

    “If they approved it in the meeting, don’t tell me now they want to reject the motion outside the muktamar.

    “If the muktamar approved it, that means the Syura Council also approved it, the central committee approved it, Dewan Ulama approved it, Dewan Muslimat and Dewan Pemuda approved it.

    “So all the delegates from across the country have already approved it.

    “What else is there to say? Don’t tell me the leadership does not understand the muktamar process,” he said at a dinner event in Muar, Johor, yesterday.

    Khalid added that DAP, in accepting the decision and announcing the end of Pakatan Rakyat, showed that the party understood the workings of PAS better than the  Islamist party.

    “Even DAP understands better, they said already disbanded, there is nothing else there,” Khalid added.

    DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng yesterday announced that PR ceased to exist, adding that it would only work with PKR and “other forces” to end Barisan Nasional’s hold on the federal government.

    PKR is expected to announce its stand today following a party leadership meeting last night.

     

    Source: www.themalaysianinsider.com

  • Uproar Over Church In Selangor Increases Pressure On Malaysian PM Najib Razak

    Uproar Over Church In Selangor Increases Pressure On Malaysian PM Najib Razak

    An uproar over a protest on Sunday by a group of Muslims in Selangor demanding the removal of the cross of a church has put more pressure on embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

    Netizens, politicians and lawyers condemned the protest in a Malay-Muslim majority residential area in Petaling Jaya, and pressed the government to take action against the protesters and protect minority rights.

    Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday called the protest seditious and vowed that action would be taken against the offenders, contradicting an earlier assertion by the country’s police chief that the protesters’ actions were not seditious.

    “Of course action is to be taken. I am very colour-blind. The police are very colour-blind. Action has to be taken or will be taken against them (the protesters),” Mr Zahid, told the media yesterday.

    About 50 people had gathered outside the new church on Sunday, demanding the removal of the cross affixed to the house of worship on the grounds that it was challenging Islam and could sway the faith of young Muslims. Among those present at the protest was Mr Abdullah Abu Bakar, the older brother of police chief Khalid Abu Bakar, along with several other members of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party.

    The cross was taken down by church leaders a few hours after the protest.

    At a news conference yesterday, Mr Khalid dismissed any suggestions that the protest was seditious. “We do not see it as seditious as it did not touch on Christianity but only on the location of the church,” he said, adding that his brother was present only to help manage the situation.

    Mr Abdullah, an UMNO branch chief, also said in a statement that the UMNO members were present to mediate, adding that they managed to stop some of the more radical residents who had threatened to remove the cross had the church not done so itself.

    This was not the first time a protest has been held against a church.

    In November last year, a Muslim group also organised a demonstration to protest the construction of the four-storey church in Petaling Jaya.

    Ms Haniza Mohamed Talha, an opposition lawmaker of the district where the protest took place, criticised the behaviour of the protesters. “(The protesters) assume that the faith of Muslims is so fragile that just by looking at a cross, they will be driven away from Islam,” she said. The Council of Churches Malaysia claimed the protest was politically-motivated to stir up religious tensions in Selangor.

    In condemning the protest, the council’s general-secretary Dr Hermen Shastri said it was not surprised that such an incident had taken place yet again in the state, which is ruled by the federal opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat. “It is obvious that there is a political agenda behind such acts from certain quarters, who are out to instigate and increase inter-religious tensions in the state,” he said. He urged the authorities to “take firm measures against anyone who seeks to disrupt the worship of others, and who seeks to act above the law by imposing their religious views upon people of other faiths, by show of mob force”.

    Mr Tony Pua, a lawmaker from the Democratic Action Party, called on UMNO lawmakers who recently voted in support of the amendments to the Sedition Act to make their stand known to the protesters. “Will the above case only go to show how the Act was constructed strictly targeted against non-Muslims while Muslims who infringed on the rights of others will get away scot-free?” he said.

    Malaysia strengthened its controversial sedition law earlier this month, imposing a minimum jail term of three years and allowing the government to block online media deemed to be seditious. The toughening of the Sedition Act comes after a crackdown in which scores of people have been detained under the law in recent weeks.

    Mr Najib has come increasing pressure in recent months over a series of controversies, including the state investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), which has amassed a RM42 billion (S$15.6 billion) debt.

    Sunday’s protest poses another headache for Mr Najib, following several recent cases that have heightened religious tensions with Malaysia’s Christian minority population. Last week, 320 Malay-language bibles were seized because they used the word “Allah” to refer to God. Earlier this year, Catholic newsweekly Herald was also banned from using the word “Allah” in its publications.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com