The Party Elections

Beginning with the prelude of the immediate past president Ong Ka Ting trying to build his dynasty via immediate past secretary general who happens to be Ka Ting's brother, Ka Chuan. The contest for the top 2 posts ended up as the Ongs vs the Chuas.

The verdict given by MCA members were indeed refreshing. Ong Tee Keat beat Chua Jui Meng for the presidency whereas Ong Ka Chuan lost his bid to Chua Soi Lek for the the deputy presidency.

Apart from that several issues by the members for the first time. I think it is partly due to their bad outing in the March 8 2008 episode.

The loss of Ka Chuan indicates that the MCA delegates have woken up and will no longer tolerate dynasties, clans or a particular having control over the party that represents the Chinese community in the Barisan Nasional.

As for the issues raised they have requested for a deputy BN head post created for the MCA. One delegate even had the balls to call for Khairy Jamaluddin and Bukit Bendera UMNO head Ahmad Ismail to be detained under the draconian Internal Security Act. Unfortunately I am pessimistic whether these proposals would see the light of the day since BN component parties operates on an consensus basis. Plus UMNO would not give up the positions that they control within BN.

Would this same trend merge in UMNO? Going by the current nominations I am of the opinion that the power struggles continues to be dominated by certain families. The delay in Khary Jamaluddin to obtain the required that would enable him to contest for UMNO Youth head can be construed as a rejection to party president Abdullah's brand of cronyism. As for now we all shall await patiently for the UMNO party elections to take place in March 2009.

As for the MIC I read today that Samy Vellu would pass the baton to the next deputy president elected next year. And this comes in the midst of reports that Samy Vellu is backing his former deputy president S Subramaniam instead of current deputy, G Palanivel.

Premier's wishes go unheeded

Looking at the current developments it is clear that Premier cum UMNO president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's plan of power transition to deputy Najib ain't going well. While the introduction of a code of ethics within UMNO may have slowed Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's campaign for the presidency, it definitely did not deter UMNO branches to nominate other leaders for the supremo post.

The Malaysian Insider story clearly indicates the unhappiness of grassroot UMNO members as they nominate other names for the top two position in the party. The road ahead is certainly not a bed of roses for Abdullah as immediate past UMNO president cum predecessor to Abdullah, Dr Mahathir has yet to cease his calls for Abdullah to step down from outside UMNO. The Najib - Muhyiddin duo has been nominated by some branches. However for an election to take place, candidates need to obtain a minimum amount of nominations.

Having said that, while UMNO members in general have lost confidence in Abdullah, he had an ally who is confident of his administration. The statement by party president of PAS, Hadi Awang, came in as a surprise as he supported Abdullah's administration. On the other hand, PAS Spiritual Leader, Nik Aziz Nik Mat's statement was shocking. Statement of PAS leaders were shown on Buletin Utama and NTV 7 News (July 26 2008).

Nik Aziz had called for the formation of a new Malay Islamist party that would be done after the dissolution of UMNO and PAS.

And only weeks ago, Nik Aziz rejected the notion of PAS - UMNO unification in the interest of the Malays and Islam. On a similar note, Khoo Kay Peng questions whether there is a disunity among the Malays.

Malay unity talks

My gut instinct feel that the talks that have been mooted by premier Abdullah Badawi has its own political benefits. Its been there ever since I heard a Malay audience at the social contract forum by the Bar Council mentioned that he fears that the Malays in Malaysia would end up like their counterparts in Singapore.

In addition the Barisan Nasional performed badly and UMNO is plagued with internal conflicts. Ku Li had even gone to the extent of suggesting the union UMNO-PAS. While Hadi Awang's assurance to remain in Pakatan is gratifying chances for the talks to take place is indeed very real.

Personally I do not have an issue with the talks but the topic of Islam and Malays seem exclusive. Looking at it in a wider sense, it actually underlines UMNO's unspoken motive to turn PAS into a racially based party similar to UMNO.

Political conspiracy

Is there a political conspiracy orchestrated by individuals who walk along the corridors of power? Before venturing further into the topic, I would like to state that I am aware of the Sedition Act. At the same time many issues of public interest have been shrouded in cloud of secrecy that has led to conspiracy theorists.And there are instances when these 'conspiracy theorists' such as popular blogger and owner of Malaysia Today, Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) are proven true.

Anwar Ibrahim (DSAI) was arrested. Here is what Nurul Izzah had to say about her dad's arrest. An arrest warrant has been issued for RPK. Several days earlier, Mohd Ezam Noor warned DSAI that he would reveal dark secrets of the latter. At the same time UMNO is also pushing for negotiations on Malay and Islam related issues with PAS knowing fully well that PAS disagreed to some developments in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance. It clearly looks like a divide and conquer strategy orchestrated by some people from UMNO. At the same time, the ACA had questioned the IGP and AG following a report that DSAI had made previously.

If UMNO led Barisan believes that DSAI is guilty of the sodomy charges, by all means present the evidence beyond reasonable doubts in the court of law without any attempt to influence the judiciary. A rumour that Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Fairus was stepping down was shown on Buletin Utama. He denied it. Is this a method to severe the alliance of PKR-DAP in Penang?

I am also unhappy over the manner DSAI was detained. Why is there a need for 15 jeeps of UTK to detain DSAI when Sankara Nair had mentioned yesterday that DSAI would give a statement in the police station. The police action clearly indicates their low level of professionalism. A flip flop police force for a flip flop prime minister.

Update: Does Khairy Jamaluddin have access to police reports lodged against Anwar? The plot thickens but rays of justice may diminish.

Social Contract

A vital piece of history that affects Malaysians from every strata of society is the social contract. To debate on its very existence and everything's that's connected to it, Bar Council of Malaysia organised a forum on June 28 2008. The details are as the following:

Title: The Social Contract

Speakers: Dr Mavis Puthucheary

Dr Kua Kia Soong

Dr Farish A Noor

Tommy Thomas

Having heard from the learned speakers, this is my notion on the social contract. The social contract is an agreement amongst the founding fathers of Malaya resulting in the contract to be enshrined in the Federal Constitution. However due to ultras within political circles what was enshrined and agreed upon was never turned into action. The inaction of the civil administration as well as the failure of UMNO to lead by upholding the social contract has led to conditions.

I am what I am, is a result of these chauvinistic thinking politicians in the government.

P.S. I was a passive audience simply because duty calls.

Commenting on the forum, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi in a press conference (Buletin Utama, 29 June 2008) stated that there is no need for such a forum to be held since component parties within the BN has been having good relations with one another. In addition, the contract has already been agreed upon.

Mr PM, I beg to differ. Had UMNO upheld the contract it would not have been the “Big Brother” in the BN, toeing its coalition partners. Had BN upheld the contract, it would not have performed badly in the 12th general election.

Power transfer or an impending loss of power?

The time line of the transfer of power from Badawi to Najib is confirmed. While no time line was given, the voices from the grass roots indicate the unhappiness over the dismal performance in the March 8, 2008 general elections.

The question that looms, however, is whether Najib would be able to take over the presidency as he wuld have to face a contest from current vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin and several other UMNO personalities.

Externally would Anwar Ibrahim, the de-facto leader of PKR be the spoiler by regaining the control of Parliament. After all the Pakatan Rakyat is only 30 seats short of a simple majority in the Parliament.

Malay unity or UMNO Unity

With reference to report on PAS ending their talks on Malay unity with UMNO as reported in Malaysian I noted that the notion of Malay unity occurs only when there are a lot of disagreements and challenges to UMNO to the the extend that the party loses the confidence of the Malaysian population, especially the Malay community.

The union of PAS within UMNO under the leadership of Dato' Asri Muda in the 1970s. In this
case, I would like to emphasize that the UMNO is misusing the concept of Malay unity to strengthen. The electoral results on March 8, 2008 does not and will not in any way affect Malay unity simply because the number of Malaysia Chinese and Indians are far much lesser than the Malays.

The only difference in the Malays today compared to previously, is their minor swing created an impact in Perak, Penang, Selangor, WPKL and Kedah as shown by the survey done by Merdeka Center on the recent general elections. The overall presentation can be seen here.

Education inequality

I am very much disturbed by the statement of Umno Youth education bureau chief Ahmad Ikmal Ismail as well as the support it has received from ABIM and other similarly narrow minded organisations.

There is no necessity to invoke the Article 152 and 153 of the Federal Constitution on UMNO's part. Thus the statement from Ahmad Ikmal's counterpart in MCA who is also Deputy Education Minister I is justified. After all Dr Wee Ka Siong is in a much better position to come with a statement to clarify. I wish he had done so in his capacity as Deputy Education Minister I instead.

Ahmad Ikmal's statement goes on to show that they are certain people who can't live without government assistance. How sad that is.

Governmental assistance should be viewed as temporary relief not staple diet.

Mahathir quits UMNO?

By quitting UMNO, is Tun Dr Mahathir sending an impending signal of the upcoming crisis? One thing is sure, though. History repeats.

Apart from Tun Abdul Razak who died in office, Both Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Hussein Onn who are Malaysia's first and third premiers respectively had quit UMNO following the 1988 crisis that saw the birth UMNO (Baru) and Semangat 46.

From another perspective I dare deduce that the present premier may have to quit his party in the future.

Plus, did anyone realise that the number of opposition seats in the parliament is equivalent to Dr Mahathir's age?