Ijok: IGP and EC Chairman owe us an explanation

This is the second letter from James. The first letter he sent to all the mainstream English papers was not published until today.

Ijok 2                                                                         

17^th May 2007

Dear Sir,

Re: Ijok

My letter to you dated 20^th April 2007 was unanswered.

The BN group of about 3, 000 people were the first to march towards the Nomination Centre. This group assembled on the main road facing the side of the NC. About 30 minutes later the PKR congregation started marching along the SAME route towards the NC. Common sense will tell anyone that the PKR party will meet the BN team HEAD ON! To make matters worst a VIP convoy with police outriders wanted to get through the crowd! I repeat.WHY DID THE POLICE ALLOWED THAT?

The PKR group equal in numbers, wanted to walk through the BLOCKED main road, which was BLOCKED by BN supporters intentionally or unintentionally. The PKR group wanted to walk through and to turn right into the open field, away from the main road but next to the NC. The BN felt that the PKR were pushing them away. The PKR felt that BN was blocking their right-of-way! Tempers flared! PKR members slipped through individually. Some folded up their huge banners to walk through but reopen them when they reached their destination. The PKR candidate can only reached the NC at 8.35am, 25 minutes before closing time. There were no incidents. Shortly after that I heard a BN officer asking the BN supporters to proceed like the PKR group but to assemble away from the PKR group. Common sense will tell anyone again that the BN team will meet the PKR team HEAD ON AGAIN at the side road. They were later separated. Again there were no incidents. The  FRU came after that. The fracas took place after the announcement of the nominated candidates. WHY DID THE POLICE ALLOWED THE SECOND HEAD ON? So who is responsible for the fracas?

Both sides traded verbal insults. Both sides indulged in “extreme provocation”. These were all expected. We don’t expect them to kiss each other. Even in a friendly football match one can expect verbal insults. There was a lack of police security until the FRU came. The other opposite end of the main road was not utilized. It was a weekday. The small town  at the middle of the route in between was having its usual business. Cars and lorries from this town going out were caught in the jam. The  police  prevented  vehicles  from  going  in. But they were unable to control the vehicles from the town from  going out. Vehicles coming from the other opposite end of the  road  worsen the situation.

.

Ijok, Selangor compared to Machap, Malacca. 

Ijok was disorganized. There was early shortage of police. Machap by election by the police was well organized. In Machap the BN group did not meet the DAP group head on.They march in from opposite ends of the road toward the NC.  One small mistake was that there was a detached house full of a BN component group in full uniform along the DAP route. When the DAP group marched back after the nomination they met head on with this BN group.The situation was already heated up earlier at the NC.

The whole world knows about this by election. How come the FRU came late? Where are all the policemen during the early morning? So please stop blaming the political parties.All these problems are made by humans.

There was no coordination between the Election Commission and the Infrastructure Authorities.The moment the EC announced the date of the by election in Ijok, both parties compete with each other to start their business and development in perspective. The coastal highway is already a congested road during normal times.  It is the main artery serving the western coastal corridor. So the road resurfacing, changing of street lamp posts, installation of traffic lights began simultaneously and synchronizingly. The VIPs move about swiftly, to and fro with their police riders gesticulating to the unmovable traffic on both sides of the narrow road “not to move”. Normally it takes one hour to go to Ijok from PJ. During the run up to the by election it takes me 2 hours 20 minutes.

 

Any citizen can make a “citizen arrest” if one were to suspect that somebody is breaking the law. But the citizen cannot take the law into their own hands. The “suspect” must be handed over to the police immediately. The police will then make a decision to charge, arrest, detain or whatsoever the police thinks fit in accordance with the law.

The police has the right to exclude any body from interfering in an alleged wrong doing if the police thinks that he is of no help to them.

 Yours truly

JAMES BOND              

SOS Damansara: Open letter to Ong Ka Ting

In her open letter to Ong Kata Nothing, Ling Yi Xiu expressed her sadness and dissatisfaction over the attitude of Ong and other MCA leaders like Chew Mei Fun. She claimed that while Ong refused to accept a newslatter from the SOS Damansara committee in Ijok, Chew on the other hand refused to talk about the reopening of the original SJKC Damansara (Bai Xiao) when she met her in the village.

According to Ling, MCA leaders blamed the SOS Damansara committee for  highlighting the issue in by-elections, but the party offers no solution for the past 7 years.

  ■日期／May 03, 2007 ■时间／04:18:53 pm ■文章／林玉秀

标题：一位白小原校家长对马华总会长的期待

本人是白小原校的家长，4月22日，本人连同白小保校工委会成员前往依约补选区，派发白小保校运动宣传单。当天有幸的我们遇见马华公会总会长黄家定及副首相纳吉，本人即刻给了两位部长白小保校宣传诉求－－“华小要增建，白小要重开”，但是遗憾的是我们尊贵的马华公会总会长并没有接领这份宣传单。 4月28日，下午4时30分，本人有幸再次于依约补选区见到马华总会长，本人再次递上一份白小保校运动宣传单，这次他很快的收下，折成数折塞进袋子里。本人及另一位家长便与他交谈大约10多分钟，然后借此机会询问白小原校是否能够重开。总会长回答说：“白小已经搬迁，这是我们必须接受的事实。” 他也表示如果社区需要小学，不是一间，就是两间、三间，他本人也想要，但他表示不能和白小原校混为一谈。“每一次快要有一点成绩时，就看到白小保校成员在补选区派发白小保校文宣，似乎与反对党（）在野党连成一线，来给马华（公会）施压，好像是要告诉天下的人是马华（公会）关闭了白小，我认为你们不是反对党（在野党），但往往在如此的场合出现，就会让人误解，瓜田李下，和反对党（在野党）同一阵线”。此外，他也反问我们“试问如此的方式来打压，那一个政府会妥协呢？” 本人也向部长解释，因为只有补选时才能够见到部长。此外本人也向他解释我们也有每月写信到教育部、首相属及教育局，甚至约见马华青年团总秘书魏家祥，进行交流，但是都不了了之。 本人也提到在去年5月4日，白小原校（八打灵再也，白沙罗新村阮梁圣公庙）遭遇风灾，八打灵北区国会议员周美芬也有来到新村慰问部分居民。然后，本人赶忙向她提出希望能够重新考虑使用白小原校的事宜，可是她却态度傲慢，本人一边和她交谈，但是她却走向另一个方向，让身为小市民的我觉得非常失望。 黄总会长听后就猜测我们是否态度不友善。但是本人想让总会长知道的是本人态度绝对有礼貌，因为能够与我心目中仰慕已久的议员交谈，竟然得到如此的对待！身为一位家长也是八打灵北区的选民，本人感到非常失望及无奈。社区居民仅仅需要这所学校重新获得使用，难道会很过分吗？ 此外，黄总会长也表示，就是因为保校成员每每在补选区到处派发白小保校宣传单，而造成马华公会努力争取重新使用白小原校的努力功亏一篑，而间接影响马华公会声誉。本人就当下询问如果我们就停止派发宣传单的活动，是否有效帮助重新使用白小原校呢？总会长表示他会去协商，他也强调没有把握的事，他不会随意公布，这是他的处理方式。部长也提到沙亚南的一间小学，经他以马华公会总会长的身份处理后，成功争取将原有的2亩地变成5亩地。部长也提到在没有惊动任何人之下，他曾到访过白小原校校舍，他也知道白小的状况。 本人非常感谢在如此的机会下能够与黄总会长进行一席交流，本人非常尊重总会长的立场。但是身为白小原校的家长，本人认为白沙罗这个社区真的需要这所学校，本人想这也是众多华社的心声。黄总会长口口声声表示白小已经搬迁到丽阳镇，本人也赞同这一点，但是为什么要关闭一所学校（白小原校），才能够建设另一所学校呢？本人觉得丽阳镇拥有一所学校是一件非常好的事情，因为该社区的家长也希望他们的孩子能够就近上课。本人想这个社区的居民仅仅希望这所被关闭将近七年的白小原校能够获得使用，解决社区需要就读华文小学的需求，至于校舍的名字可以另行改变。 如果华文小学如副教育部长韩春锦所言，搬迁华小的条件是关闭一所学校，本人想总会长也不能认同这样的说词，因为总会长非常赞同社区需要有华小。但是身为家长的我们担心，下一次我们是否要提早摸黑，到送孩子到另一个社区求学。

Ijok: We shall return

We walked from shop to shop to thank the people of Ijok in Batang Berjuntai. Almost every shopkeepers believe that PKR would have won the by-election if not for the extensive vote-buying and great number of phantom voters.

PKR leaders were not disheartened by the Ijok setback. They received a very warm welcome in Batang Berjuntai town when they were going from shop to shop to thank the Ijok voters for their support.One of the residents who were present at the coffee shop in Pekan Ijok this afternoon told me that Khalid is his YB and he would not recognise Partiban as his wakil rakyat.

Anwar and other PKR leaders thanked DAP and other opposition parties for their undivided support. They also extended their gratitude to the Ijok people. Khalid has promised to set up a service centre in Ijok besides taking a pledge to check on Partiban.

In my address to the people of Ijok, I said that PKR would have won the by-election if the Umno-led BN coalition have had not turn it into a “buy-election”. I pointed out that Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang has estimated that no less than RM100 million has been spent by the BN camp in winning Ijok. I strongly believe that the missing 142 ballot papers were being used by the BN agent to buy votes by rotation , and the two bus load of makciks all the way from Perlis were actually phantom voters. And we have no idea of how many phantom voters have slipped through quietly.

I also stressed on the importance of opposition unity and cohesive cooperation between the DAP and PKR. I said that despite of maximum bribes, threats and frauds launched by the BN camp, PKR has done quite well by winning 50 to 60 percent of the Chinese votes. I also estimated that Khalid has gotten around 40 to 45 percent of the Malay votes and about 10% of the Indian votes. I believe that Ijok will fall into the hands of opposition come general elections in another six months.

I expressed my hope that DAP and PKR will team up to challenge the Umno-led BN coalition; and likewise, PKR should also team up with Pas. I said that although DAP may not be able to team up with Pas, but we certainly can help each other in the spirit of opposition unity. We have no reason to be unfriendly with each other because our common enemy is the Umno-led BN coalition.

We should keep up the momentum from Ijok to Selangor and right up to the whole country . Based on the support we have gotten from Ijok, the opposition in Selangor, on paper, has a fairly good chance to affect a change of state government in the impending General Elections.

Khalid has decided to set up a service centre in Ijok. The party has registered some 50 new members on the spot.

Lawan tetap lawan (Fight till the end )!!!

Ijok: Lessons for the opposition parties

LATEST: Tan Sri Khalid will be going back to Ijok to thank the people for supporting PKR at 3.30pm today. The team will be led by PKR advisor  Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, party chief Datin Seri Wan Azizah, information chief Tian Chua and others. I have accepted their invitation to join the walkabout in Pekan Ijok and Batang Berjuntai.

The writings is on the wall. BN had won 92% of the Parliamentary seats in the 2004 GE and defeated the opposition in all the five by-elections (except for Batu Talam which was contested by an Independent). We need to find a winning formula to defeat BN.

BN has been able to win big because there was no true unity among the opposition parties. There’s no true opposition unity to face the the might of BN coalition. There’s no way to beat BN if the opposition parties could not work together effectively to face their common enemy-the Umno-led BN coalition.

Yes, the people of Malaysia suffer much under the current BN administration. They hope the opposition parties could work together to pose a real challenge to the mighty Umno-led BN coalition.

The people do know that BN is corrupt to the core. They know that BN leaders abuse their power to amass wealth for themselves. They were fed up with empty promises and very disappointed with the Prime Minister who could not walk the talk. But where is the alternative? 

Please bear in mind that only the well-informed voters and hardcore supporters vote for the opposition. Voters with pro-winner mentality (commonly called lalang, fence-sitters, the silent majority etc) would only vote for the winners (or potential winners).  They would never vote for the opposition if the opposition looked set to remain as opposition. But these voters with pro-winner mentality is not a small group. And we would not be able to win their votes without presenting them a winning formula.

 Please vote for Khalid !

It’s the duty and responsibility of the opposition parties to offer a winning formula for all to see. Politics of hope is an essential ingredient that we must provide for the voters. The opposition parties must project a winning position and work towards a winning agenda. We owe it to ourselves to do it. 

Yes, the opposition parties are having opposing views on the issue of religion. But that does not mean that we could not resolve or put aside our differences.

Malaysia is rotting slowly day by day. We are facing all kinds of problems and crises. We are also losing our pace to our neighbouring countries. The answer lies in a change of government. Only a change of government could get rid of these greedy and corrupt BN politicians. What could be more important than serving the larger intertest of the people by affecting a change of government?

Ijok is a good beginning for opposition unity. Top opposition party leaders and members in general have put in serious efforts to campaign for PKR. But we were facing various problems due to a poor uncohesive campaign machinery. I personally feel that Khalid could have done better or even made it if there were greater cooperation among the opposition parties. Only true opposition unity and cohesive machinery could destroy the BTF tactics (bribes, threats and frauds) launched by the corrupt BN coalition.

I strongly suggest DAP to openly team up with PKR, and PKR to team up with Pas. And DAP and Pas must at the same time declare that their common enemy is the Umno-led BN coalition. DAP and Pas may not be allies but we are certainly friends in the opposition. It’s only natural that friends in the opposition must put aside our differences for the benefit of the rakyat. We need to help each other to challenge our common enemy.

We will never be able to convince everyone to agree with the strategic partnership among the opposition parties. But politics is about taking risks. The fear of losing seats is something we need to overcome. The ruling class and those with vested interest will be all out to discourage the opposition from achieving true unity and full cooperation. In short, they fear  opposition unity. They know if the opposition really works together, they will eventually lose their grip on power.

Dear fellow Malaysians, there’s no point crying over spilled milk. Ijok is just a temporary setback. We must not lose sight and we certainly must not lose hope. Ijok is nothing compared to the real war-general elections.

The defeat in Ijok actually gives me hope. What about you?

Source: Malaysiakini

HAPPY Labour Day! Highest tribute to all workers who contribute towards nation-building and a peaceful and prosperous society.

Ijok: A moral victory for PKR

The Ijok official result by Malaysiakini  PKR canvassers and Siva, Latifah, Aloysius and I @ SJKC Ijok @Pekan Ijok Dirtiest “buy-election” in Malaysian history Yes, it’s certainly a moral victory for PKR. I urge leaders, members and supporters of PKR and other opposition parties do not feel too sad over the defeat. Let us focus on the real battles - the impending general elections (25 Nov 2007 could be the big day. Mark my words.)Khalid managed to swing some 20 percent Chinese votes with the help of DAP. The swing would be higher if the local Chinese school was not given RM1 million as allocation by the BN camp as a blatant vote-buying effort. The number of Malay votes they lost to BN were insignificant in view of the fact that Ijok was under “maximum/total attack” by Umno. It appears to me that the Umno campaign was much more aggressive than than the MIC. Many have said that Indian voters in the estates were traditionally blind supporters of Barisan Nasional; It has not been easy to even campaign in the estates. I do not agree that PKR or Anwar have lost their ability to pull in the Malay votes. In this Ijok by-election, the party has gotten some 45% Malay support. I believe PKR has a hardcore Malay support of around 30% of the overall Malay population. If you asked me, I would say that PKR loses Ijok with a slightly bigger majority because of the BTF tactics (Bribes, Threats and Frauds) employed by the shameless and ruthless BN camp. Bribes The BN started with a RM36 million development fund right before the nomination day through Selangor MB Khir Toyo. Another RM3.5 million was announced by DPM Najib to build 16 mosques and suraus. And then RM1 million for a Chinese school in Batang Berjuntai. Voters were paid hard cash (RM200 a vote) and election workers and campaigners were rewarded generously. ( In Pekan Ijok where I spent my whole day canvassing together with other DAP leaders and supporters alongside with PKR members, one young Malay youth wearing a Pemuda BN T-shirt showed me a bundle of RM100 notes he gotten from his master as a “show-off”). Free dinners and concerts were conducted every night throughout the campaign period. Listen to this if you havew timehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJSJM2ndbSo If you are still wondering why some 142 votes issued to voters were not returned from one of the polling streams, let me share with you what could have possibly taken place… Voter A was asked to take out a blank voting ballot paper and pass it to a BN operator (usually undercover, not wearing the BN uniform or badges). Voter A will be paid RM200 or more for the blank ballot paper. The operator will then cross it as a vote for BN before pass it on to Voter B. Voter B will be asked to cast the ballot and at the same time retain the blank ballot paper and bring it out to the operator. This exercise went on until the entire polling is over. Trust me, these ’missing’ 143 ballot papers were not retained by voters as souvenirs (as claimed by the Secretary of Election Commission). Threats Voters in general were threatenedthat there would be no development if Khalid is voted in as the ADUN for Ijok. Indian voters working for the estates were warned that they will lose their job(plus their homes) if they were found voting/ supporting the opposition. Election campaigners for Khalid were intimidated or even beaten up by thugs. Even the candidtae himself was threatened and prevented from campaigning in estates and kampungs. Several ceramahs were stopped by the police/FRU for some lame excuses when BN found out that these ceramahs were popular among the electorates. We were threatened by the deputy Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin at the Pondok Polis Simpang Tiga Ijok when he was barred from entering the compound when two bus loads of alleged ”phantom voters” from Perlis were being detained by the police . I heard Khairy repeatedly saying  ”you will pay for this” over the gate. He could not ‘tahan’ the fact that we were inside the police station but he was outside. But I was not sure whether he was directing his anger to me or the police. PKR Youth acting chief Shamsul Iskandar in front of the two “phantom buses” from Perlis  @ Pondok Polis Simpang Tiga Ijok  Frauds The opposition was again given the final electoral rolls late. This has denied the opposition the opportunity to check the list of voters thoroughly. We believe that the final list is full of phantom voters apart from the 37 voters who were said to be as old as 104 to 107 year-old. For no reasons, the SPR has objected the proposal of using indelible ink for the prevention of phantom voters and multiple voting. And many voters only found out that their names were missing from the electoral rolls on the day of polling.At least three voters complained that they were barred from voting because the record showed that they have voted earlier. In other words, some ‘phantoms” have taken their ballot papers. Unlike the Lunas by-election, PKR only managed to stopped two buses of phantom voters. No one knows how many phantom voters have slipped through quietly. Believe me, the police would not dare to get to the bottom. All 80 of these so-called cooks from Perlis were Malay ladies except for two Chinese ladies. Several of them told me that they have arrived on the polling day for “jalan-jalan”. Who would believe that Umno would charter two buses to ferry their supporters  all the way from Perlis (some 7 hours of journey) just to “look see” in Ijok? What is there to “look see” in Ijok?   I was speaking to members of the press over the gate. They too do not believe that these makciks would travel 7 hours all the way from Perlis to Ijok just for the purpose of “jalan-jalan”. These ladies from Perlis were giving us answers very different from Khairy and Datuk Hashim ( an UMNO division chief from Perlis) . One of the Malay ladies told me that she was in Ijok to “tengok polling”. One Chinese lady was very concerned about her mykad. Their mykads were taken by the police for investigation. She asked me whether there was anything wrong with her mykad. Before I could answer, she was told by the other Chinese lady to shut up. Anyway, none of them said that they were in Ijok as cooks for the BN campaigners. Both Khairy and Datuk Hashim were lying through their teeths. I suggest National Front should be renamed as National Fraud. PKR has reasons to suspect that these makciks from Perlis were phantom voters. We were not allowed to check their mykads or conduct our own investigations. It’s now up to the police and SPR to prove otherwise. Many have asked me why I was detained by the police. Here’s my side of the story… When I was canvassing outside the polling centre at SJKC Ijok in Pekan Ijok, I was alerted by some canvassers that 3 buses carrying phantom voters were blocked in Bukit Badong and Sunger Darah and detained at the Pondok Polis at Simpang Tiga Ijok, which is just a stone’s throw from the school. Whe I arrived with other DAP and PKR supporters, I saw two buses bearing Penang registration plates were parked in the compound and the gate was locked. I saw Ezam, Shamsul Iskandar  and Ghani and few others PKR leaders were already in the balai polis. I waited until the OCPD Ibrahim arrived and I was then allowed to enter the police station. Khairy who arrived a few minutes later was not allowed to come in. I’m sure the police was doing this him because they know him too well :-). After making reports to DAP SG and the Parliamentary Oppostion Leader, I decided to leave the police station to join other members who came to Ijok with me from Petaling Jaya, Serdang and Klang. They were waiting fro me outside the fence. I was  then told not to leave before a statement was taken from me and other PKR leaders. The makciks from Perlis were not detained and confined in the buses as claimed by Khairy and others. All of them were allowed to come down from the buses to use the toilet  attached with the Pondok Polis. That’s when I gotten the opportunity to ask some questions “casually”. They were allowed to leave one hour earlier than the 15 of us. We were only allowed to leave after the statements and bails (we were allowed to bail each other). We have to report to the police in Ijok on 28 May 2007. What a joke! The children of these makciks should advise them not to become phantom voters or get involved with BN operators. It is not worth it because such action is unlawful,immoral and unethical. What if they were hurt by the angry protestors？ Who should be blamed if things get out of control?  Both Merdekareview and Malaysiakini have the stories… BN wins with bigger majority

Apr 28, 07 7:04pm Malaysiakini

The ruling Barisan Nasional coalition has won the crucial Ijok by-election with a bigger majority of 1,850.Election Commission returning officer Haris Kasim announced that BN’s MIC candidate K Parthiban bagged 5,884 votes while PKR’s Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, 4,034.The majority is 1,850, which is higher than the 2004 general election result, where BN won with a majority of 1,649. It has added 201 votes to its previous majority.Interestingly, both parties have increased their vote tally by around 500 votes, partly due to the higher turnout of voters and the absence of independents.The ruling coalition took 58.6% of the voters while PKR, 40.1%.BN won in seven polling districts while PKR took Malay-majority Kampung Ijok and Chinese-majority Pekan Ijok* [see correction below].Click here for the official results According to the official EC tally, Bestari Utara, one of the polling centres, registered an unusually high number of ballot papers issued but not returned - a total of 142.It appeared that these ballot papers were given out to voters but somehow they have taken them away instead of putting them into the ballot box. The number of unaccounted ballot papers represent almost 30% of the 500 ballot papers issued in one of Bestari Utara’s voting stream.All the ballot papers which had been issued in other polling districts were duly returned apart from Jaya Setia, which has only one unaccounted ballot paper.Malay, Chinese change votes The defeated Khalid said after the results were known that PKR intends to contests the results and reveal the incidences of bribery and phantom voters.”This is the dirtiest by-election in the country’s history,” he said.Khalid added that he was unprepared for the “viciousness of the political methods” by the other side to win.”I appreciate the dilemma of the people in Ijok to have been threatened by the fact that if you choose the opposition, you will not be given any development grants. This threatening feature is a very undemocratic way of managing the people’s resources.”PKR lost three of the four Malay-majority districts - Jaya Setia, Bukit Badong and Simpang Ijok - but retained Kampung Ijok.This translates in a swing of Malay voters to BN, but the opposition appeared to obtain a slight swing of Chinese voters in its favour. Najib: No phantom voters MCA leader Ong Ka Ting refused to comment on the swing among Chinese voters against the government. He said that the party has yet to analyse the results. “Nevertheless, we should look at the big picture that BN has won,” he said. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said that the result is a “good precursor” to the upcoming general elections as this could be the last by-election. When asked about the allegations by the opposition on the present of phantom voters, Najib said tersely: ”There are no phantom voters. Full stop.” He added that BN never used “underhand tactics” in its election campaigns. When asked about the fate of PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is former deputy premier, Najib said that he preferred not to “say too much”. “I’d rather you draw your own conclusion.”  Highest turnout in history The voter turnout in this hotly contested by-election is an unprecedented 83.08 percent - the highest in by-election history. In the 2004 general election, the turnout was 76.17 percent, or 9,411 voters. When the polling closed at 5pm today, a total of 10,195 voters had cast their votes. Of the nine polling districts, Malay-majority Bukit Badong scored the highest with 90.10%. Another five saw over 80% turnout. The lowest turnout is in Indian-majority Tuan Mee, 79.9%, Chinese-majority Pekan Ijok, 75.1% and Chinese-majority Batang Bestari Selatan 68.6%. *Correction: Earlier this evening, malaysiakinireported the unofficial results for Pekan Ijok as BN - 605, PKR - 624. However, the official results are BN - 605, PKR - 584. PRK did not take this Chinese-majority polling district as reported, but it has done significantly better compared to the 2004 general election (BN - 761, Keadilan - 306). We regret the error.It is expected that unofficial results are sometimes inaccurate. In any case, based on the unofficial results which came from our sources from various counting centres - all but one had been correct - malaysiakiniannounced that BN had won handsomely at 7.05pm, more than one-and-a-half hour before the results were declared by the Election Commission.

拦截可疑巴士者反被调查 警方盘问15名在野党党员 ■日期／Apr 28, 2007   ■时间／09:18:31 pm ■新闻／家国风云   ■作者／merdekareview陈子莹 【本刊陈子莹撰述】朝野政党就今日下午“拦截两辆可疑巴士”事件，向警方报案。人民公正党怀疑，这两辆巴士载着“幽灵选民”，而国阵领袖则指责在野党在没有确实证据下，阻拦国阵支持者。 警方正在盘问15名阻拦两辆“可疑巴士”的在野党领袖与党员，惟未确定如何处理15名人民公正党党员以及两辆巴士乘客。 在野党员已经就这起怀疑是“幽灵选民”的事件，向警方报案。与此同时，国阵党成员也因为在野党党员在没有确实根据的情况下，阻拦他们支持者的巴士而报案。 在野党15名党员今天下午在依约的武吉巴东，阻拦了两辆怀疑是幽灵选民的巴士后，目前已在依约警局准备接受盘问，惟未确定警方是否会扣留他们。 国阵以及在野党之间各说其词，巫统加央区部主席哈欣（Hashim）声称，这些车上的人是厨师，在整个竞选期间，就已经逗留在依约；不过，人民公正党青年团代团长三苏依斯干达（Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin）却说，他已问过巴士上的其中一位女子，对方告诉他，他们是今天早上才抵达依约的。 这15名在野党党员于下午4时左右，在武吉巴东（Bukit Badong）的投票站，发现两辆可疑的巴士，所以前往阻止他们离开。国阵成员也在当时出现，坚持让这两辆巴士以及车上的乘客离开。双方争持不下，最后在警方以及镇暴队的介入下，把所有的人都带到依约警局。 截自晚上8时，根据人民公正党青年团宣传主任拉蒂法（Latheefa Koya），这15名在野党党员目前还逗留在警局，警方正准备向他们录口供，不过还未确定是否会扣留他们；而巴士上的乘客也还在警局内，警方已要求他们出示身份证。 15名在警局内录口供的在野党党员： 1.Mohd. Ezam（依占） 2. 刘天球 3. Shamsul Iskandar（三苏依斯干达） 4. Shaharuddin Shahabuddin 5. Hassim bin Abdul Aziz 6. Sharifah Shahidah 7. Wan Anis 8. Ghani Harun 9. Nazmi Rosli 10. SP Johari 11. Halimey 12. Azmi 13. Razak Khalidi Roslan 14. Hashima Adbul Aziz Wan Khairul Ehsan 【点击：将两辆可疑巴士拦截在警局 公正党激动高呼“烈火莫熄”】 Anwar: I’m sad for Malaysia Apr 28, 07 1:40pm Malaysiakini  “I am sad for Malaysia.”So said former deputy premier and PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim in response to his party’s defeat in the Ijok by-election.“I have been talking about the fraudulent process all the while but I did not think it was going to be so bad … intimidation and blatant bribery … the whole conduct of the election today,” he said.Top Keadilan leaders were absent when the results were announced. Anwar said the by-election was ridden with phantom voters and police harassment against the opposition.”We will launch an official protest on a charge of fraudulent conduct of the election,” he said.However Election Commission secretary Kamaruzaman Mohamad Nor had earlier dismissed the oppositions allegations.”There are no phantom voters,” he said. “You have to follow our (electoral) list,” he said.”The confusion arised because they used another electoral list,” he added, referring to the commission’s official list of voters.The ruling coalition has fended off a spirited opposition campaign led by Anwar to retain the semi-rural Ijok seat in Selangor with an increased majority.K Parthiban, from BN’s MIC polled 5,884 votes while PKR’s candidate Abdul Khalid Ibrahim secured 4,034.The BN increased its majority by 210 from the last 2004 general elections in the state. A total of 10,049 voters or 81.9 percent of the electorate cast ballots, a record turnout for the constituency.Only BN can help with development  Although not contesting, Anwar has thrown his weight behind the opposition candidate in a bitter and gruelling campaign against the powerful ruling national front coalition led by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The weekend poll was widely touted as a litmus test of popularity for both sides ahead of a general election expected before 2009. Polls opened amid tight security at 8am as voters lined up at nine polling stations in the tiny constituency. An ethnic Indian construction worker, E Elango, 52, said he backed the ruling coalition as it could bring development to the sleepy town. “It (the BN) can help the people with infrastructure development. The opposition cannot bring any development,” he said. Annuar Musa, BN chief in Kelantan said the Malay-majority areas of Ijok traditionally supported the opposition. “The previous Barisan Nasional candidate did not meet the expectations of the voters,” Annuar said, referring to former state lawmaker K Sivalingam, whose death earlier this month precipitated the by-election. “Anwar is not a factor in this election. He can be in politics but it’s not a threat to the government,” Annuar said. Reflecting on the party’s loss, Anwar said he remained optimistic of the people’s support for PKR. “It is a very good turning point as I was able to articulate our views but we are dealing with a dirty process here,” Anwar said. - AFP

Ijok: Still 50-50 if you asked me

 This banner says it all!

After one week of intensive campaign, PKR has gained an upper hand in Chinese areas but it appears that BN has an upper hand in Indian areas. The Malay areas were unclear at this point of time. My personal reading about the Malay areas is that PKR should at least be able to maintain what it has gotten in 2004 GE through Abdul Rahman.

In my speech last night, I criticised Najib and top MCA leaders for no courage to admit their mistakes in the past. I also reiterate DAP’s undivided support to PKR in Ijok by-elections. I have specifically debunk a leaflet circulating in both Malay and Indian areas yesterday, which claims that DAP did not put in great effort to assist PKR in Ijok. I said the reason DAP did not put up many party flags in Ijok because we do not want to confuse the voters here. But DAP has sent many of its heavyweights over the last 8 days to campaign for Khalid.

I have also taken some time to expose MCA leaders who “misled” and “instigated” the Education Ministry to close down the original SJKC Damansara.

DAP SG Lim Guan Eng , in his speech, urged Ijok people to behave like bosses instead of reducing themselves  to “political beggers”. He urged Ijok people to reject money politics and vote for Khalid. He challenged Najib to apologise over the incident in which he spoke under a banner with a racist message- “Basahkan keris dengan darah Cina”. Najib was then the Umno Youth chief .

 

Several hundred voters received this fake note through mail today. The sender used envelope choped with KDU College. It must have come from the BN camp with an objective to confuse the voters and blame it to PKR.

Ijok voters would cast their votes tomorrow. All the best to Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

Do not ask me why the authority sent these horse-riders to Ijok. Pls also do not ask me why they sent a helicopter to Ijok, shooting  beams of light at the crowd gathered at PKR’s ceramahs.

 

Sharizat Jalil was going door-to-door in Ijok n/v ‘happily’ until she saw this huge banner hanging down from the top of the PKR operating centre. I asked her entourage to check whether their boss’s picture was up there. They seemed to be happy to see that Sahrizat’s face was not there.

白小保校委员会再捣依约 马华领袖回避派传单反驳
■日期／Apr 28, 2007   ■时间／12:19:20 am ■新闻／家国风云   ■作者／merdekareview记者
【本刊记者撰述】白小（白沙罗华小）保校工委会再度把“重开白小”的诉求，带到雪兰莪依约区（Ijok）州议席补选，盼“政治糖果满天飞”的补选，能一圆白小重开的梦想。无论如何，马华公会青年团总秘书魏家祥以“看成绩”招呼保校工委会主席熊玉生，而另一厢的民政党，则以“猫还未捉到老鼠”，向工委会承诺会继续争取重开白小。 保校委员会前日（4月26日）一行人前往依约镇（Pekan Ijok），向当地选民派发传单，顺道探访马华公会竞选工作室。熊玉生向魏家祥不厌其烦地叙述白小的困境，而后者则以“我完全理解你的心情”回应。当熊玉生表示“开了白小我们也不需要来了（到选区提出诉求）”，魏家祥则以一句“看（补选）成绩”回复。 两周前马六甲马接区（Machap）州议席补选期间，保校工委会也同样到该选区提出自己的诉求，碰巧遇到前往拉票的魏家祥，惟这名柔佛亚依淡（Ayer Hitam）区国会议员当时示意正在忙碌，于是向熊玉生说：“你做你的事情，我做我的事情！”【点击：公民组织到马接办活动展力量  执政党领袖纷纷回避民间诉求】 另一厢，白小工委会一行人在街上巧遇雪州行政议员兼武吉加星区（Bukit Gasing）州议员林传盛，后者向白小工委会表示“不要站到他们（在野党）那一边去”，并希望保校委员会给他多一些时间，协助争取白小重开。 他们一行人沿着街道来到民政党行动室，并获民政党代主席许子根接待。熊玉生希望许子根在他的岗位上，继续为华教做事，更频频以“不管黑猫白猫，能捉到老鼠的就是好猫”这个比喻，来说明自己“不管什么政党，能争取重开白小的就是好的政党”之立场。 而甫上任的许子根打趣说道：“老鼠还未捉到”，并表示会协助保校委员会。 副教育部长韩春锦曾于今年4月9日，在国会促议员勿再提白小事件，因为政府考虑再三后，认为白小己完满搬迁，所以重开的问题不存在。【点击：韩春锦国会示意白小重开无望  章瑛促马华莫再伪装捍卫华小】 白小在2001年1月3日的开学日当天被关闭，迄今已经六个年头。白小关闭后，部分学生守着学校重开的信念，到学校一旁的阮梁圣公庙上课。虽然六年来物换星移、人事已非，部份白沙罗新村村民仍坚守重开白小的信念，四处奔走要求政府重开华小。 另外，根据《当今大马》报道，白小保校工委会社区组副主任林玉秀形容，保校工委会于上星期日（4月22日）前往依约派传单时，碰巧遇见黄家定，当黄家定看到身穿着“救救白小”衣服的她时，神情木讷，双手慌张的摇摆，拒绝接受她递上的“重开白小”传单。 她说：“其余的部长都收下了我的传单，只有黄家定摇头拒绝并匆匆离开。” 传单满天飞 与马接一样，白小一行人探访后，依约华人新村今日流传着一张有关白沙罗华小的传单。民主行动党非政府组织主任刘天球抨击，在依约流传有关白沙罗华小的传单内容不符实。 这份传单以全彩印刷，一面印上了新白小的美丽图片，并写上“白沙罗华小新校舍，堂皇壮观，设备齐全”。另一面则印上一份刊登在2001年1月21日的《南洋商报》上的广告《一群白小家长向社会人士的告白书》，内文强调，关闭白小是95%家长的意愿，政府只是俯顺民意批准。另外，也简略地介绍了白小事件，并写明八打灵华社全力支持马华公会。 刘天球向《独立新闻在线》指出：“这份没有署名、没有列下出版商名称和印刷商的传单，在竞选期间出现是违法的。” 虽然白小的课题跟依约似乎沾不上边，不过，一群白小保校工委会代表两度到访依约，并在前晚（4月26日），在人民公正党的平台上，为村民高唱《团结救白小》。 虽然这份传单没有署名是谁发出的，不过刘天球认为，可能是马华公会发出的。因为之前白小保校委员会来依约宣传，揭发马华公会才是造成白小关闭的祸首，他相信，这份传单是马华公会的反应。 他向记者指出了这份传单内几项不符合事实的内容：“传单中说白小原校的地点环境差、交通不安全，但是新白小的地点在大路边，非常危险。而且，新校舍的环境也差，建在高压电塔底下。” 刘天球（左图）继续说：“另外，虽说白小关闭，是得到人民的支持，但是全国支持华小的人士都反对白小关闭，这也是为什么保校运动可以维持七年的缘故。而且白小筹获的款项也在逐年增加，从早期的马币20万元到最近这一两年的马币30多万，可见华社的支持非常深厚。” 传单内也指出，马华公会积极协助白小取得迁校批准，并在内阁争取政府拨款建校，但是刘天球则认为，马华公会积极取得政府拨款，乃白小运动施压的成果。而且，新建的白小也成为全马唯一一间取得政府100%拨款的华小，不过，他认为这笔款项是白小运动（原校）的功劳，与马华公会无关。 他希望任何收到这份传单的依约人民不要去理会传单的内容，他也同时呼吁，依约的人民发挥正义的力量支持重开白小原校。

Ijok: Guan Eng to give a final push tonight

After a supper at the Ijok restaurant last night.

We were happy to note that the threats from the BN thugs and disruptions from the police did not dampen the spirit of the Ijok people at all. Last night, more people came to listen to Kit Saing, Anwar, Mat Sabu and other opposition heavyweights then previous nights. Thousands gathered at different ceramah points in Ijok as early as 8pm.

It’s also encouraging to note that we have a significant number of women folks and elderly citizens turned up for the ceramahs. The audience usually stay through the ceramahs except for some who “chase after ” Kit Siang and Anwar.

The Jiu Jiu Bai Xiao!!! Save Our School!!!

SOS Damansara group made its appearance at the ceramah last night. They sang the theme song-”Let’s Unite to Save Bai Xiao” - which was chosen by me when I was their adviser. Earlier, the group have distributed leaflets in Ijok to highlight their problems and expose the culprits behind the closure of their school. 

 Bandar Mahkota Cheras Open Access Road Action Committee were aslo at Ijok to highlight their problems. Samy has failed to help them as a minister. They got Khalid to endorse their cause. It’s chairman Tan Boon Wah gave a short speech at the ceramah on last Sunday.

“From an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan”

Lat night, Kit Siang has described Ijok as a swan after the BN has thrown in close to 100 million ringgit. He reminded them to “write history and create a miracle” by making Khalid the ADUN of Ijok. He once again urged everyone in Ijok to emulate Justice Bao-to differentiate between right and wrong, just and unjust- before casting their votes.

While he urged the Ijok people to give encouragement to Anwar who has the courage to admit his mistake over an old issue  some twenty years ago, he challenge the “keris-waving” Najib and MCA leaders who have betrayed the Chinese to pick up the courage to admit their mistakes in the past.  

Khalid looks very tanned after a week of intensive campaign but he was in his usual cool and steady mood. He’s not disturbed by the  “slip of tongue” which most of us do. Who would believe Khalid actually wanted the Ijok voters to vote against him? Anyway, Ijok may have two K’s to serve them after this by-elections: Khalid and Khir Toyo. Khir has set up a service centre in Ijok on Wednesday. He was rather embarrassed to see that very few Chinese (no more than 50) turned up for the opening ceremony although the centre sits in the middle of the Chinese new village.

PM@Ijok

Also yesterday, AAB came to Ijok new village for a short while (stopping over at the local MCA and Gerakan operation centres) after attending the installation ceremony of Agong in the morning. He spent 150 minutes in Ijok, visiting four different operation centres. It’s rather unusual for the PM to campaign in by-elections. To me, it says that there were serious cracks in the BN campaign and the team led by Najib is not confident at all.

In my speech last night, I invited the Ijok people, members and supporters of DAP and all the other opposition parties to canvass for Khalid on Saturday.  I urge them to turn up in full force at all the polling centres. I believe the visible presence of opposition supporters would help to encourage the Ijok voters (who were intimidated by BN thugs) to cast their votes for the candidate representing the opposition parties.

C U in Ijok tonight. And do not forget to show up on Saturday.

Ijok: Kit Siang returns to Ijok tonight

Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang decided to give another push to the PKR’s campaign by meeting the Ijok people tonight. This will be his third visit to Ijok since Tuesday.I will be there early to make the necessary arrangement before his arrival at 8pm. The question now is whether ceramahs lined up tonight would be allowed to take place or again stopped or disrupted by Kuala Seloangor OCPD Ibrahim with the help of FRU just like the previous two nights.DAP SG Lim Guan Eng is scheduled to return to Ijok on Friday, the eve of polling day.I will be talking to the Ijok people on issues closest to their heart, and explain why a vote for Khalid could change their lives.I will also ask the Ijok people should the OCPD of Kuala Selangor resign for failing to carrying out his duties and responsibilities effectively. On the other hand, Tan Sri Khalid has another nice surprise from the former prime minister TDM. He has urged the Ijok people to send a signal to the “rotten” Umno-led BN Goverment. He too believes that BN has changed the nature of the race from by-election to buy-election. Malaysiakini has the report. Send signal to the ‘rotten’ government

Fauwaz Abdul Aziz Apr 26, 07 10:53am Malaysiakini

The Ijok state seat by-election this Saturday is the right time for the voters to shatter the government’s propaganda that all is well, said former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.While he did not outrightly called on the 12,000-odd Ijok voters not to back the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, he nevertheless urged them to vote wisely this Saturday.“If you don’t think (about) what you are doing, you don’t use your vote intelligently, then of course, you are to be blamed,” he told malaysiakini yesterday. “Unless you send a signal to the government that, ‘Look, if you don’t behave yourself, you may not get my vote at the next election,’ then the government will say, ‘You see? The people are voting for us. We are doing well,’ he said. He added that if the Ijok voters got swayed by the by-election goodies in the form of new development in the state constituency, they will only have themselves to blame if a ‘rotten’ government is voted in. “If you vote (BN) because you get a lot of money or because you get a lot of projects, you may get a rotten government which uses money in order to buy your vote,” said Mahathir. He lamented that BN supporters would blindly vote for the ruling coalition. “They don’t care whether it is a good government or not. We are Barisan people. We vote Barisan. No assessment, no study. We vote (Barisan) because we must. That’s why I say a country deserves the government it gets. “If you don’t think (about) what you are doing, you don’t use your vote intelligently, then of course, you are to be blamed,” he added. If they lose, Khir Toyo will be blamed He predicted that should the ruling coalition win, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would get all the credit. “If they win, it’s because of Pak Lah, if they lose, it’s because of (Selangor Mentri Besar Mohd) Khir Toyo,” he said with his trademark sarcasm. While declining to describe that he was urging Ijok to register a ‘protest vote’, Mahathir said the BN should not be given unquestioned support. “Don’t vote BN blindly, don’t vote PAS blindly, don’t vote DAP blindly. Think. Use your faculties to think,” he said. The Ijok by-election has been called following the death of its incumbent K Sivalingam on April 4. BN’s MIC candidate K Parthiban will faces off against opposition candidate Khalid Ibrahim of Parti Keadilan Rakyat in the by-election. In the past week, the landscape of Ijok has changed with millions of ringgit being allocated for mosques, schools, newly surfaced roads, drainage, street lights and other facilities for the voters in this Malay-majority constituency 50km northwest of Kuala Lumpur. Previously Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had said that there was a ‘feel good’ atmosphere pervading the country, and that he was waiting for the ‘feel good factor’ to get even better before calling for general elections. Mahathir has been involved in a running battle with his handpicked successor over the latter’s alleged mismanagement of the country’s economy, corruption and cronyism. Fact boxes on Ijok

Ijok : BN banks on money and threats

LATEST: Opposition leader and several other opposition MPs went to the Batang Berjuntai police station with deputy internal minister Johari at 7 pm today to lodge police report on what happened last night. Several ceramahs were cancelled by the police for unjustifiable reason. Those who accopmpanied Lim are PKR President Azizah and DAP SG Lim Guan Eng.

BN always banks on money(taxpayers’ money) to win by-elections, so much so that it has a become a curse to their elected representatives (you know what I mean).On record, more than RM50 million has been pumped into Ijok as of today ( Machap: RM 30 million- according to its District Officer).Money, you can bet, it’s their most powerful weapon.

When money alone may not win the election for them, they have no qualms to use another weapon i.e. threats and warnings. The politic of fear is being used in Ijok right from the Day of Nomination because BN is “kiasu” this time.

The BN camp knows pretty well that they have done many things that upset the Ijok people over the years.

The late K Sivalingam did not provide good service to the Ijok people. Instead, he becomes a big bully over the years. He also broken his promises on the closure of landfill and donation for the local primary Chinese school, SJKC Yuk Chee.

Selangor Menteri Besar Khir Toyo has not bothered to visit Ijok for years. He refused to entertain the call made by the local MCA leaders on the issue of the smelly landfill in Batang Berjuntai. He likes to use Kuala Selangor as the dumping grounds for Kuala Lumpur because he could not get along with the MP of Kuala Selangor. He has opened another landfill in Jeram, also in Kuala  Selangor.

MCA President Ong Ka Ting is also not popular among the Ijok MCA leaders. Ong never bother to entertain them on the issue of landfill.

On the other hand, Samy Vellu has really upset Thirumoorthy and other local MIC leaders and members by appointing Partiban, an outsider. Partiban’s name was not even on the original namelist (23 names). He was selected because of Umno. Partiban works as the special assistant of Nor Omar, a deputy minister of education. If elected, he will listen 100% to Umno leaders, instead of serving the interest of Ijok people on behalf of MIC.

Opposition unity is another big headache the Bn camp has to handle.

No one should rule out the possibility of another “Lunas”. The Ijok people has given their full support to BN over the last 50 years. They have the right to shift their support to the Opposition now that they have seen the true colours of BN leaders - who were arrogant, greedy and serving self -interest - in general.

On the same day, Anwar responded to the allegations made by MCA on the issue of sending teachers who were not well-versed in Mandarin to Chinese primary schools some 20 years ago when he was the Education Minister. Inthe press conference, Anwar explained that he would not defend the decision which he made under the Umno education policy. He admitted that that decision was biased and he acted within the framework of Umno.

DAP SG Lim Guan Eng opined that “whoever becomes the education minister would not be able to act against the policy and framework of Umno”. In other words, we need to change the system dictated byUmno or put it simply, change the oppressive and racist  Umno-led BN government if we want a fair and just mother tongue education policy.

Merdekareview.com has the story…

回应1987年华小争议事件 安华坦承受巫统制度框架所限
■日期／Apr 25, 2007   ■时间／06:13:40 pm ■新闻／家国风云   ■作者／merdekareview.com宏祥
【本刊林宏祥撰述】在1987年调派不谙华文教师出任华小高职事件中，备受争议的教育部长安华依布拉欣今日正式承认，自己过去在“巫统制度框架”里办事，把“打压华教”根源追溯到巫统制度底下的产物。他承认当时政策执行时可能出现违背目标的偏差个案，并表示不会捍卫自己过去的所有作为。 “安华，华人不安”的形象，一直是造成部分华教斗士对安华，以及其所领导的改革运动有所避忌、保留的障碍。安华最近在马接、依约补选站台时，公开以数理科教学英化、废除新经济政策课题逼马华公会表态，导致后者重挑1987年事件反击安华，并大肆批评当年反对安华、如今却为安华站台的华教斗士陆庭谕以及民主行动党秘书长林冠英。【点击：“团结一切可以团结的力量” 陆庭谕回应马华指为安华站台】 目前是人民公正党顾问的安华今日连同民主行动党秘书长林冠英、人民公正党副主席西华拉沙（Sivarasa Rasiah）、该党最高理事罗志昌在其八打灵再也办公室召开记者会，对这起20年前的事件作出交待与回应。 就1987年事件道歉？ 安华曾于4月22日在依约华人新村站台时公开表示，他愿意正视自己的过去，如果他过去曾做错任何事，他愿意为自己犯下的错误道歉。无论如何，他当时并没有明确说明自己曾犯下什么错误，也没有正式就任何他在任时犯下的错误道歉。【点击：安华：昔日犯错我愿道歉 马华公会轰安华一错再错】 在今日的记者会上，“我道歉”这三个字并没有从安华口中说出。然而，当《东方日报》记者询问他是否会对调派不谙华文教师出任华小高职事件道歉时，他的答案是：“是！如果出现失误（Yes, if there were mistakes）……” 而他在回应《当今大马》记者首次提问会否道歉的问题时则说：“我当时在巫统的政策下做事。在我的行动中，我的理由是行政问题。我执行的时候，我的目的是为了让行政更顺畅。然而下层执行时，可能出现弱点，我接受，我不会捍卫所有我做的东西。问题是，这个课题还合时宜吗？” 安华（左图）坚持捍卫早前“调派不谙华文教师出任华小高职是为了方便书信来往”的理由，但是不讳言执行过程中，可能出现偏差的个案。他透露，他本身确实在出任教长时，亲自到过无法以马来语作为书信来往媒介语的学校，故作出上述决定。然而，他也强调，“1987年的事情不能在2007年回答”，目前华小校长不谙马来语的问题，已经不复存在。 《独立新闻在线》记者以马华公会昨日文告中举的例子，即马六甲野新育贤华小，当时被调派到该校的第一副校长、第二副校长、课外活动主任，都是不谙华语文的教师向安华提问时，他否认当时发出“委派超过一个不谙华文教师出任华小高职”的指示，更强调这不是政策的原意，惟表示“倘若查证后证实上述个案的确发生”，他愿意就这个个案承认错误。 总的来说，安华在1987年委派不谙华文教师出任华小高职的事件上，依然坚持此政策在1987年的情景是正确的，惟“个案”出现失误。稍整理安华前后的说法，我们可说他在前后的回答中，“间接”地表示愿意为“执行过程中出现偏差的个案”道歉。至于此立场、态度会否略嫌含糊，又会否被华社接受，则又是另一个话题了。 世界变了，巫统没变！ 安华在记者会上也解释“当年”与“当下”马来社会的迥异，并娓娓道来自己在大学时期的观察所得。他说，语言的问题在1930年代已经开始被讨论，并形容1950年代的讨论变得强烈（kencang），并在1960年代变得炽热（hangat）。 他叙述自己活跃于学生运动的1960、70年代，马来人圈子的辩论都围绕在“扶助华小会威胁马来学校、继而导致马来学校落后”的焦虑。但是他提醒，目前已经是2007年，华团、民主行动党，非但没有质疑，更都已接受了“马来文为国语”的地位，因此“扶助华小会威胁马来学校”的问题并不存在。 记者也质疑安华“华文经济价值提升、因此支持华教”的论述，并认为捍卫母语教育本该出自捍卫基本人权的立场，否则经济价值尚不如华文的淡米尔文，便不受落。 安华澄清，自己也捍卫淡米尔文源流教育，并表示这是出自于对基本人权的尊重。他解释，他之所以不断以“华文在世界地位提升”来论述自己支持华教的理由，旨在点出“世界已经改变了”，而巫统领袖却停留在旧有的思想，以为支持华教会引起马来社会的反弹，故继续打压华教。 安华趁势批评马华公会：“我已经迈向2007年了，只有你的朋友（巫统）还停留在1960年代。我知道马华公会想用主流媒体来挑出、放大安华过去做了什么，但是我想问的是，现任教长侮辱、威胁华人，你（马华公会）的立场是什么？” 现任教育部长希山慕丁（Hishammuddin Hussein）也是巫统青年团领袖，曾经在2005及2006年两度在巫统大会上“拔剑出鞘”，恫言切勿质疑“新经济政策”。 安华也透露，他将在依约补选后，召集来自不同源流教育的教师，辩论马来西亚多元流教育的问题。 巫统制度的问题 林冠英（左图）也指出，认为打压华教的根源出自巫统，并称：“不管谁成为教育部长，只要他是来自巫统，这个个人并不能带来改变。” 他继续说：“我们需要的是制度的改变，不是个人，如果安华现在成为巫统的教育部长，他也不能做什么。” 他列举三项课题，即在数理科教学英化政策、白小重开以及华淡小拨款上的不公，反问马华公会何以不能在上述课题中，支持安华的立场？他更出示图表，指出第九马来西亚计划拨款的不公比例，即华小学生占21.2%，却仅获3.6%教育拨款；而淡小生占3.2%总人数，却仅获1.3%教育拨款。 他不忘讽刺副首相纳吉，指马币九亿元的军购交易佣金如果可以拨给华小、淡小，甚至是宗教学校，将让这些源流的学校获益无穷，总好过把钱给自己的朋党，即阿都拉萨巴金德（Razak Baginda）以及前马六甲州首席部长阿迪阿旦（Adib Adam）。 当记者提问会否就纳吉曾经发表‘用华人的血洗马来人的剑’的言论，挑战纳吉道歉，安华以自己过去是体制的一部分，不愿就此课题深谈，但是他重申本身曾经就1987年茅草行动事件，向当时首相马哈迪反映自己的看法。 他说：“这个事件本来是巫青团与马青年总团的领袖挑起，茅草行动时，被扣留的是民主行动党、回教党、非政府组织的领袖，马青的李金狮去了澳洲，而纳吉后来升职。” 安华坦承本身过去在巫统局限：“在巫统的安华，不能像现在的安华如是自由，不止是这个（教育问题），贪污问题也是。我对抗，但是我在内部对抗。但是我不能公开谈论。现在的问题是，马华公会在里面也没有反抗！我当时调换华文老师，马华公会哪有向我反映？没有！” 他说：“真正的华教斗士，是民主行动党领袖、陆庭谕老师这样的华教斗士！” 安华最后表明自己回答了马华公会的指责，只有马华公会还在回避他提出的问题，更讽刺说国阵大玩种族政治。他说：“巫统女少青团（Puteri UMNO）跑到马来甘榜说我亲华人，而马华公会说我反华人，哈哈……”

Ijok: BN “kiasu” (scared to lose)

 

Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang called the BN camp “kiasu”. He made his first appearance in Ijok last night. The gentleman sitting on my left is Thomas Soo Kheng Seong. He’s a DAP state assemblyman from Ipoh. T Kannan, the deputy campaign director of Selangor DAO Campaign support Team, is standing on his right.

Many have predicted a victory for Khalid. Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang describes the attempt to stop PKR’s ceramahs as “kiasu” (takut kalah) . He persuades the Ijok people to create history, sending Khalid to the Selangor state assembly to bring hope to Malaysian democracy. More tha 1,000 people turned up for the ceramah. The police have tried to stop the ceramahs earlier, claiming that there were no permits for these gatherings. The OCPD of Kuala Selangor tried to snatch Kit Siang’s microphone. But the election rules stated clearly that the candidate or his agent needs only to inform the police about the time and venue of the ceramah. The question of permit does not arise at all. Police must stay out of party politics. They must not take side with the ruling parties. But can they understand simple rules and regulations?

Kit Siang, Chong Eng and  Po Kuan spoke for the first time in Ijok last night. Others who spoke were Anwar, Azmin and Khalid. I have opted not to speak in order to spend some time talking to some local voters.

Khalid has slimmed down quite a fair bit after several days of intensive campaigning. We are banking on him to win Ijok for the opposition. Go, Khalid Go! Whack the BN fellows in the state assembly for all of us.

It appears to me that Khalid has an upperhand over Partiban in the Chinese areas at the moment. He himself is confident about getting the majority of the Malay votes. He even believes that he could win quite a good percentage of the Indian votes.

A reliable source says that Samy Vellu has not resolved the internal problem of his own party. His open statement about good chances of winning even without the Chinese votes (he said it in Taman Suria, Batang Berjuntai) has upset a lot of Chinese voters here.

Another source says that the local Umno MP was not in good terms with the Menteri Besar of Selangor. And the local MCA Youth members were still unhappy with the top BN leadership (incl their own President Ong ”kata nothing”) over the rubbish landfill issue (the dump site has been making the whole town stink like nobody. It was only ordered to be closed one day after the death of K Sivalingam. Before that, BN has promised to shut it down after the last general election but it has broken its promises on several occasions.) Many are now saying that the landfill will be reopened as soon as the by-election on 28 April 2007 was over.

Admirers of the opposition giant in Ijok

Pls read http://wengsan.blogspot.com/2007/04/ijok-by-election-dramatic-night-at.html

Battle for Malay votes: Umno turns to fear

Fauwaz Abdul Aziz Apr 24, 07 4:49pm Malaysiakini

Malay votes in the upcoming Ijok by-election in Selangor is crucial and Umno has launched an all-out campaign to bag support in the Malay-dominated areas.One of the targeted areas is Bukit Badong, a district of 1,900 voters which Keadilan won in the 2004 general election.However, some villagers warned that the strategy employed by the ruling coalition could backfire.According to them, the tactic of combining fear, nostalgia and the lure of a more comfortable life, could only yield short-term results. Another stumbling block for Umno and its counterparts is that many of those aged 40 and below in Bukit Badong are hardcore opposition supporters. Eighty-five percent of Bukit Badong residents are Malays, with Indian and Chinese villagers making up about 13 and two percent respectively. In the 2004 general elections, the late incumbent K Sivalingam of Barisan Nasional won in the non-Malay areas of Berjuntai Bestari, Tuan Mee, Pekan Ijok and Sungai Darah. Whereas, the opposition candidate from Parti Keadilan Rakyat Abdul Rahman Muharam won in the Malay areas of Bukit Badong and Kampung Ijuk and took half the votes in Sempang Ijok and Jaya Setia (see chart below).  The April 28 by-election will see another duel between the two parties. BN is represented by K Parthiban while PKR, Khalid Ibrahim. Doom and disorder For this election, Umno is said to be concentrating its campaign on Bukit Badong’s older generation, painting a dismal picture of doom and disorder should the opposition party win. “My peers have been told that things will revert to the days of old if we vote in the Keadilan (PKR) candidate,” Suraji Puniran, 65, told malaysiakini when met today. “It may or may not work with the older people. Many of them remember the huru-hara (chaos) of the Japanese occupation and communist insurgency,” said Suraji, who heads the PAS Bukit Badong branch. Another villager claimed that Umno workers told elderly villagers that if PKR wins, the ensuing social and economic unrest would deprive their children and grandchildren of education and stability. But is this fear tactic successful? “No!” said villager Ansor Abdullah Kamari (left). “This goes against proper Malay conduct and manners.” According to him, even the older generation of Umno members in the village are being turned off by the aggressiveness of the young campaigners. Recounting an incident that occurred last night, Ansor said elderly villagers who gathered near the PAS Bukit Badong branch for a chat were interrupted by loud young Umno workers passing in a truck. “Gempur!’ (attack!) they shouted as they passed us. It was very rude of them. Some of us sitting there were PAS (members), and some were not, but their behavior was just plain kurang ajar (rude) to all of us!” he said. Election banners Disgruntled BN supporter Azmi Atan, 52, (photo, below) said the fear tactic was also visible in some of the election banners put up in parts of the village. “Patah tak tumbuh, hilang tak berganti’ (What’s broken cannot grow back, what’s gone cannot come back’). What else is that supposed to mean?” he asked. He said the villagers could see past the carrot-and-stick approach and would not be fooled by the cosmetic display of development projects and cash payout. “The repairs to houses, roads, streetlights, and drains have all been done very quickly over the past several weeks since the by-election was announced. “But these works are already showing signs of being shoddy and low quality. Holes are already appearing in some of the roads that have recently been tarred,” he noted. Another villager, Mohd Daim Safuan said some elderly villagers were even told they would be arrested if found to have voted for PKR. “It took me a long time to convince one particular elderly couple, who are also disabled, that they need not be scared of voting for PKR,” he said.