Malaysia General Election 2013: BN’s fortresses stand strong

PETALING JAYA: Johor, Sabah and Sarawak have remained as Barisan Nasional's major “fixed deposits”, contributing more than half of the coalition's 133 seats won in the general election.

There are a total of 222 parliamentary seats.

The three states brought in a total of 68 seats 21 came from Johor, 22 from Sabah and 25 from Sarawak.

Perak, Kedah and Pahang were next in the list of “contributors”. Barisan bagged 12 seats in Perak and 10 each in Kedah and Pahang.

The coalition also secured five seats each in Kelantan, Negri Sembilan and Selangor; four each from Malacca and Terengganu; three each from Perlis and Penang; two from the Federal Territory; and one each from Labuan and Putrajaya.

As for the 89 parliamentary seats that Pakatan Rakyat won, DAP clinched the highest number with 38, followed by PKR (30 seats) and PAS (21).

The DAP took seven seats each in Penang and Perak; five each from the Federal Territory and Sarawak; four each in Johor and Selangor; two each in Sabah and Negri Sembilan; and one each in Pahang and Malacca.

As for PKR, its seats came from Selangor (nine), followed by Kedah (four), Federal Territory (four), Penang (three), Perak (three) and Pahang (two). The party also won one seat each in Negri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.

PAS won nine parliamentary seats in Kelantan. It also took four seats each in Terengganu and Selangor; two in Perak; and one each in Kedah and Pahang.

As for the 505 state seats, 275 went to Barisan, 95 to DAP, 85 to PAS and 49 to PKR. Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan of STAR won the remaining seat in Bingkor.

While the majority of Chinese voted for Pakatan, it must be remembered that a large number of them also backed Barisan.

AT around 7pm on Sunday, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sent out a tweet declaring that Pakatan Rakyat had won the general election.

“PR has won. We urge Umno and the EC not to attempt to hijack the results,” the PKR leader tweeted.

That was even before the votes were counted. The declaration was not only premature but around the newsrooms of media organisations, journalists had already sensed the strong Chinese wind blowing for the DAP, with the Malay wall standing solidly in the rural heartland.

The consensus among the media was that Barisan Nasional would retain power, but not with a two-thirds majority. Many correctly predicted between 130 and 138 parliamentary seats for the incumbent.

To many Pakatan supporters, there was disbelief, even shock, as the news began to trickle in that the predominantly Malay voters would remain faithful to the Barisan.

For the Chinese urban voters, who had thrown in their lot with Pakatan, they were sure that this would be the election where they would punish Umno and topple the Barisan government.

Many travelled back from overseas, campaigned emotionally and turned up by the thousands at ceramah to be part of what they regarded as the defining moment to end Barisan's grip on power. To them, this was it. Ini Kali lah!

Staying in the Chinese-majority urban areas, these voters, mesmerised by the mega ceramah and Anwar's pied piper's strategy of leading them to believe Barisan would tumble, strongly felt that Anwar would be ushered in as the prime minister the following day.

More than that, many had sworn they had spoken to many Malay friends, who appeared to support the call for ubah and thus history would be created on Sunday night. In short, it was not just the Chinese who were angry but the Malays, too.

But politics in Malaysia can be complicated unless one is familiar with its geography. Political awareness with no understanding of the political terrain in Sabah, Sarawak and the heartland would give one only a superficial view of the nation.

Many in the urban areas have no idea of how the rural folk feel and for that matter, where they stay, not that they care.

The PKR, it cannot be denied, has gained much appeal from the urban Malays, as evidenced by the Pakatan's victory in Selangor. But PAS, the other component party which also eyes the Malay vote, seemed to have suffered a setback overall despite picking up more state seats.

It lost Kedah and many of its top guns, including deputy president Mohamad Sabu, vice-presidents Salahuddin Ayub and Husam Musa, were defeated.

Many rural Malays found it difficult to accept PAS working with the DAP, which they see as a racist party, and also its flip-flop stand on the Allah issue. PAS paid the price for working with the DAP.

Such a scenario has renewed speculation that PAS, with its reduced parliamentary seats, may work together with Umno. Politics is indeed the art of the impossible, and an Umno-PAS collaboration has never fully disappeared from the political radar.

But among the Chinese, in their eagerness to punish Umno, they took it out on the MCA, Gerakan and the SUPP. The three Chinese-dominated parties were routed.

The MCA has already said that it would stay out of the Government at federal and state levels. This is an unprecedented move, but it is in keeping with its promise that if it gets fewer than 15 parliamentary seats, it would opt out. The MCA managed only seven seats.

Hardcore DAP supporters would insist that there is no difference whether the MCA is in or out of the Government.

But those who understand the functions of a government would realise the importance of a voice, representing the community, inside the government.

The rejection by the Chinese of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has put the Prime Minister in a spot, a really tight spot. To many Malays, including those in Umno, the Barisan chief had probably gone overboard in trying to win over the Chinese voters, who had already served early notice of rejecting him.

He is probably the first prime minister to dress up in a Chinese costume for the Chinese New Year greetings, only to be scorned by some opposition supporters, who claimed that he was dressed up in mourning garb.

When he greeted the crowd at a concert in Penang in Mandarin, some hit back at him, via social platforms, why he did not use Hokkien, the dialect used in Penang.

And never before has a Malaysian Prime Minister been heckled and jeered at a gathering of Malaysians, in this case by Bersih supporters in London.

Rude, distasteful, and even lewd remarks were the order of the day. Decorum, civility and rationality flew out the window as the campaign gained momentum, driving some into a state of frenzy.

As we look at the final tally, the new political equation has the Malays and bumiputras dominating the Barisan government on one side, while the Pakatan opposition is dominated by the Chinese majority on the other side.

The Prime Minister has to deal with a delicate situation of heeding the sentiments of his supporters who stood solidly by him, while at the same time, be magnanimous and inclusive to look after the interest of all Malaysians, including the Chinese.

He is not the Prime Minister of just the Malays and bumiputras from Sabah and Sarawak but all Malaysians. While the majority of Chinese voted for Pakatan, it must be remembered that a large number of Chinese also backed him.

The grievances of the Chinese must not be ignored. Their pent-up frustrations, resulting from perceived unfair treatment from various policies, must be addressed. A rational and honest approach has to be taken.

Winning over the Chinese voters is not just about giving money to Chinese schools. It is about fair play, a better hope, better acceptance and a safer environment.

The Chinese have cried out loudly. Listen to their voice. Like the Indians who backed Anwar in 2008 but returned solidly this time, Barisan must not give up on the Chinese community. There's always the next general election.

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has taken the oath of office as Prime Minister before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has taken the oath of office as Prime Minister before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah at Balai Rong Seri in Istana Negara.

Also present was Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah.

Najib, accompanied by wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, was sworn in at 4.07pm yesterday before the same King who witnessed the oath taking by his father, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, as the second prime minister of Malaysia in 1970.

In Sunday's general election, Barisan Nasional returned to power when it won 133 of the 222 parliamentary seats to form the Federal Government.

The Full Parliamentary Seats result, collected to be true at 4-15 am.

DAP gains 10 seats from  BN 7  PAS 2 & PKR 1

At the polling station, my mind wonders and is still wondering

Today, the 5th of May,2013. Yes Malaysia decides on its future. My wife wanted to go early in the morning but than we only reach the polling station at about 9-35 am. Its a five minute walk from our house to the polling station and we started out at 9-30 am. There was already a long queue. We were on the line for about one hour before we get our voting slips and me and my wife are in channel 2 and my children in channel 4. Another hour in the queue and we are done. The children finished their duties in about another 30 minutes because their queue is longer (many young voters).

During the two hours there, my mind wonders. The people in the queue, they are good citizens. We live in harmony and the BU community is comfortable with the facilities and their security. We live OK and our State Representative never visited us once, I think I know her because of her poster and stories about her other things. Yes the famous Elizabeth Wong. I do not know what she has done for the community these past five years. I dont think she bothers that our main street are without lights at night. Anyway for the Bandar Utama Community, whether we have a wakil rakyat or not it makes no difference. We never met Sivarasa the Member of Parliament and Ms Elizabeth the Bukit Lanjan representative (They represent PKR). The BURA community had worked well to solve most of our problems and makes living there wonderful and cheerful.

For urbanites, I guess its different from our semi rural and rural friends where even though about 98% have already enjoyed first class infrastructure, provided with utilities and other amenities, the wakil rakyat is still playing a prominent role. So is it why the voters in cities and towns are anti establishment, vote the opposition and can be irresponsible because they have already everything? And semi rural and rural voters are pro establishment because they still require the 2% to be delivered. Will they changed if they have 100%? My mind wonders and in a flash ethnic composition slides appeared, towns and cities are predominantly Chinese, whilst the Malays and Indians are kampong folks or in the estates. The Ibans and Kadazans who are supposedly the establishment strong supporters are mainly rural. The towns and cities in Sabah and Sarawak goes the opposition way. Why play these racial cards? Isnt it dangerous? Isnt it a time bomb?

Then my mind wonders again, 1 Malaysia, the way forward to solving the diversity and to create a strong foundation for unity. Will they give Dato Sri Najib a chance? Four years is a short time to tranform a lot of things. Will they give him another five years? Tun Mahathir had 22 years to prove in many things that he is right. If he had been given 5 years, I dont think anything that he has done will bear fruit. And what he has done remarkably well can also be undermined by financial roques and also weak leadership to whom he pass the baton to.

My mind wonders, will all my neighbours give Najib a chance to propel the country to a dynamic economic Tiger or Lion so that the citizens earned higher incomes and release themselves from this middle income trap? Or will they prefer the likes of Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Hadi Awang or Nik Aziz? I personally got nothing against them because they are all my good friends. Then again, friends are friends but I will not allow them together to run down the country. Whether its the Hudud and the hair saloon issue, whether to use or not to use ALLAH as GOD, or who should rightly be the Prime Minister. Why would they vote for change when there are so much uncertainties? Why do we want to escape this comfort zone of continued Peace, Stability and Progress? Corruption? Knowing Anwar and even Nik Aziz or even Lim Guan Eng for that matter, are they clean? Anwar I know for sure is never clean, being a one time crony of his, yes I have benefitted and my supporters benefitted because he did not want a certain someone to gain a political position. Nik Aziz will have a few State Land grants to show for himself and his wife. Guan Eng did a lot of favours for Ahmad Sabu which is public knowledge. Where is the angel when we only know of devils. Its a bit scary when the vibes from the channel 4 queues looks they do not know who actually the people they are voting for really are? Their cyber troopers work smart and all these time had sown hatred and vengeance. It is definitely so, because the Parti Keadilian Rakyat is formed because to seek justice for Anwar for his alleged misbehaviour. Its not for religion, the people and the country. The DAP is after the PAP left Malaysia and played a lot on chauvinist Chinese emotions and sentiments. It makes little difference even though there are now English Educated Chinese as compared to Chinese educated Chinese. PAS for that matter split from UMNO because of positions and also about differences in implementing Islamic values for multi religious/ethnic Malaysia. Even with UMNO they split, can they be sure that they can progress with DAP?

My mind keeps wondering, the voters at this polling station is predominantly Malaysian Chinese. There are Malays and Indians also. A few candidates in the Parliamentary list. Mr Rao for BN and Mr Sivarasa for PKR and other independents. For the Bukit Lanjan constituency there is Elizabeth Wong from PKR  and Francis Chong of BN . What matters, the Parliamentarian candidate will be an Indian and the State Constituency will be a Chinese. Who will the Malays vote? PAS claimed that Muslims who support BN are infidels and will go to hell. Do we actually spend two hours here to decide whether we want to go to heaven or hell? We are here for our own reasons to elect a Government which can rule us properly, to bring peace, stability and prosperity.

My mind stop wondering and registers that we are here to elect our representative in Parliament and State Legislative Assembly. A person who will best represent us for our own good. A person who is willing to be our servant and at the same time lead us to a better life. Not only to debate on Policy matters that is for our future but also to serve the community's needs. To carry out short term, medium term and long term initiatives for the constituents. When we prosper, the country automatically prospers.

I start wondering again. When given the mandate, will Dato Sri Najib agree to change the reps title from Yang Berhormat to Yang Berkhidmat. I dont mind slaving my time here for two hours but in return I must ensure that the person chosen will be our slave for 5 years. They wanted it so much to be the wakil rakyat, yes, its an honourable position, but we do not have to address you as Your Honourable so and so. Your loyal servant will be very apporpriate.

And I wonder again, with a strong mandate for Dato Sri Najib, will he transform UMNO into a more vibrant and dynamic organisation reflective of the 1 Malaysia aspirations. Will UMNO, the United Malay National Organization be brave and bold enough to transform itself into UMNO, the United Malaysia National Organization.

yours truly,
Naim bin Mohamad/

An open letter to Malaysian Voters by Chandra Muzaffar

Dear fellow Malaysian, 

Peace. 

I am writing this Open Letter because I am deeply concerned about two trends within the electorate 

which may have an adverse impact upon the future of our nation. The first is a trend associated with 

a segment of the Malay electorate, both rural and urban. The second is a trend associated with a 

segment of the non-Malay communities. If these two trends are enthroned through the 13th General 

Election on the 5th of May, 2013, it could be catastrophic for our people. 

The Malay Electorate. 

Some Malays, disillusioned with elite corruption and the widening gap between the have-a-lot and 

the have-a-little, regard a hudud-oriented Islamic State as the solution. They should ask themselves 

the following questions. 

One, is there any such State in the contemporary world that serves as a model worthy of emulation? 

Saudi Arabia? Sudan? Afghanistan? 

Two, why is it that the vast majority of Muslim states have not opted for a hudud oriented 

Administration? 

Three, why have the people in the world’s largest Muslim country, namely Indonesia, rejected hudud 

oriented parties over and over again in elections? 

Four, why has Turkey whose ruling party has an Islamic root, eschewed hudud and a fiqh oriented 

legal system in favour of a democratic, constitutional, secular system of governance? 

Five, if the mainstay of the ruling coalition in Malaysia since 1957 was PAS and not UMNO, what 

would be the socio-economic situation of the Malays today? Would poverty have been reduced from 

64% to 1.7%? Would there have been the phenomenal transformation of an entire people, sustained 

over two generations, which has resulted in a significant Malay role in education, the professions, 

commerce and industry, compared to what it was at the time of Merdeka? Would the Malays have 

emerged as an important component of the Malaysian middle-class which has undoubtedly helped 

to stabilise ethnic relations and politics in the country and allowed democracy to function? 

One just has to look at PAS’s 22 year rule in Kelantan to get an idea of what its version of Islam can 

do to a people. From its dismal failure to provide jobs for tens of thousands of well-qualified 

Kelantanese to its utter inability to curb rising drug addiction, Kelantan is Malaysia’s first and only 

failed state. Malaysian voters should have no illusions about the type of Islamic State that PAS 

seeks. 

The Non-Malay Electorate. 

If some Malays are under an illusion about PAS’s Islam, a lot more non-Malays, especially many 

middle-class Chinese and some middle-class Indians are labouring under a huge misconception 

about what their vote would deliver. They are convinced that it would be able to “eliminate ethnic 

discrimination” and bring to an end alleged “Malay supremacy.” Since those who have been 

pedalling these cliches, have never really explained in detail what they mean by eliminating ethnic 

discrimination or Malay supremacy, non-Malays exposed to this rhetoric have drawn different 

conclusions. 

For many, the perception is that the Pakatan Rakyat is going to set aside the Special Position of the 

Malays and the Bumiputras of Sabah and Sarawak. This cannot be done. The Articles in the 

Malaysian Constitution pertaining to places in the public services, licences, scholarships and land 

reserves (like some other Articles) cannot be amended or abrogated by Parliament even if the PR 

wins 100% of the seats. Special Position is safeguarded by the Conference of Malay Rulers. 

Publicly, all three PR parties, including the DAP, have endorsed Special Position. However, at the 

hustings some of the DAP and PKR activists give the impression that it is discriminatory and is 

therefore unacceptable. This is why their leaders should be honest with their members and 

supporters. Tell the whole truth. Neither Special Position nor any of the other iron-clad Articles in 

the Constitution pertaining to citizenship, language and the Rulers will change one iota if PR comes 

to power. 

Since PR cannot do anything about Special Position, what sort of discrimination is it going to 

eliminate? Will it abolish the NEP? In theory, the NEP does not exist anymore. It came to an end in 

1990 though one of its twin objectives of restructuring society in order to reduce the identification 

of ethnicity with economic function continues in certain specific areas. Given the nature of this 

objective, it would be wrong to view it as ethnic discrimination. Rather it is an attempt to enhance 

national integration. 

1Malaysia 

Everything considered, the actual flaws with the NEP are related to its implementation --- its 

excesses and its abuses. These should be rectified. In the last four years, Prime Minister Mohd Najib 

has made a concerted attempt to do so. Federal scholarships for students are based largely on 

academic merit; there is a serious endeavour to increase the number of Chinese and Indian public 

servants; and their mobility in the public services has improved through some high profile 

appointments. At the same time, all 1Malaysia ventures --- from its retail trade outlets to its 

affordable housing programme --- are non-ethnic. 1Malaysia in its concrete manifestation is an all-

embracing, inclusive idea. Najib is also paying close attention to the needs of different ethnic and 

sub-ethnic communities and engaging them at the social and cultural level as part and parcel of his 

1Malaysia drive. 

There is a lucid message he is attempting to put across. There must be understanding and empathy 

among us, whatever our religious or cultural differences. We must respect one another. 

Respecting one another means that we should never ever manipulate each other. This is what 

happened in the recent DAP symbol episode. Though there was no question at all about whether the 

DAP could use its own rocket symbol, in the high drama that the leadership staged it opted to use 

PAS’s symbol, rather than the PKR symbol on the Peninsula. Wouldn’t it have been more logical for 

the DAP to use PKR’s symbol since the DAP wants PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim, to be the Prime 

Minister if PR won the General Election? Why did it prefer the symbol of a party whose goal of a 

hudud oriented Islamic state it vehemently opposes? Is it because Pas has much more Malay 

support on the Peninsula than PKR and the DAP was hoping to capitalise on its support? Isn’t this 

rank opportunism? 

Isn’t this what the PAS-DAP-PKR grouping is all about? An opportunistic grouping hell-bent on 

power but opposed to each other. If an illusion on the one hand, and a misconception, on the other, 

makes the grouping a catastrophe, its opportunism renders it an even greater catastrophe. 

THINK CAREFULLY! VOTE WISELY!! 

With warm regards, 

Chandra Muzaffar. 

29 April 2013. 

Politics is just like football says Mustapha Kamil Mohd Janor, NST Managing Editor (Business)

Mr Mustapha Kamil Mohd Janor

WINNING STRATEGY: It must be built on a foundation that no one individual shall be bigger than the party itself

LAST week, two giant football clubs battled at the famous Wembley Stadium in London for the right to play in the final of the English FA Cup. It was one of the best matches for the 2012/2013 season thus far.

And a crucial one, too, for both the Manchester City Football Club and the equally gigantic Chelsea Football Club. Both, despite their wealth in footballing talent as well as finance, were facing the grim prospects of ending the season without a silverware to boast. The knockout championship, the FA Cup, was their last chance.

Both teams went for each other's throats from the word "go" and the match turned out as a magnificent showcase of attacking football. Manchester City won 2-1 but not before barely surviving a late onslaught by a determined Chelsea.

In the final quarter of the match, and while Manchester City was already leading 2-1, the flamboyant manager, Roberto Mancini, switched tactics to shore-up the team's defence against the marauding Chelsea. He took out Argentinian livewire Carlos Tevez, who throughout much of the game, was terrorising the Chelsea back- line with his strike partner and fellow countryman, Sergio Aguero. The Manchester City manager put in defensive mid-fielder, Javier Garcia as substitute.

It was clear as he left the hollowed ground of Wembley that dejection was painted all over Tevez's face.

Mancini, however, knows best and above all else, is the boss. He could see from the technical area he was confined to that without one more defensive player it would only be a matter of time before Chelsea level the score, possibly requiring them to face what could well be a more challenging extra-time and perhaps the dreaded penalty shoot-out.

In short, Tevez's subsitution was a tactical move we see week in and week out in any football match.

But Tevez was disappointed nevertheless and his feelings are understandable. Any professional footballer would want to play in a match like that and quite possibly get his name on the scoresheet.

In Malaysia, last week, too, quite a few individuals were left dejected when their names were not in the list of candidates who would represent their political parties in the forthcoming general election.

The 13th General Election, which will be held in about two weeks, is seen by political pundits as possibly the most keenly contested ever. All the giants, the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional and their rivals, a coalition comprising Pas, PKR and DAP, feel they stand a good chance of winning this one. This is one election every politician wants to be part of.

But politics is quite like football where at times even players already included in the substitutes' list may not get to see action on the field as the number of seats to be contested in an election is finite.

And, like in football, a winning strategy is crucial for any political party in ensuring victory. And such winning strategy must always be built on a foundation that no one individual shall be bigger than the party itself.

Like the phenomena observed among its political rivals, several members of BN were also reportedly frustrated on learning their names were not in the list of those who would contest in the coming election. A few went on a public show of anger, some making statements closely resembling threats.

Preferably, the frustrations, while only expected, would not last long. While they may not be contesting this time around, the party would and the last thing it needs is internal fighting among its members.

Back to Tevez. While he had to leave the field before the final whistle, his team won the semi-final and will once again appear to play at the Wembley Stadium in the final match. They are most likely to win the cup and Tevez himself will most likely be fielded again.

So, for those excluded by their parties in the line-up this time around, the next best thing to do would be to preserve the big picture by working with those selected to ensure the party wins. It may not be the end of the road for them.

Read more: Politics is just like football - Columnist - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/politics-is-just-like-football-1.261189#ixzz2RAcAWkLw