PERKASA TO HOLD COUNTER RALLY ON THE 9TH

Ibrahim Ali, PERKASA President

In the name of "safeguarding national peace", Malay rights group Perkasa will on Monday hold a counter-rally at the Duta court complex in Kuala Lumpur to thwart Pakatan Rakyat’s planned rally.

Malay daily Sinar Harian today quoted Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali as saying its members will perform prayers at the Federal Territory mosque, located opposite the court complex, before marching to the court complex.
"We will perform special prayers, asking Allah to give strength to this struggle.
"After that, we will march, and if we clash with PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and his supporters who are willing to defend their leader with a moral problem, we will carry out provocation together," the daily quoted Ibrahim as saying.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court, located some 300 metres from the mosque, is due to deliver its verdict on the Sodomy II trial of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim on Monday morning.
Pakatan Rakyat has announced that it will gather 100,000 supporters in Kuala Lumpur on the same day to show their solidarity with the opposition leader.
On possible action the authorities would take, Ibrahim (left) said it was up to the police to disperse either the Perkasa or the opposition’ crowds, as both would be illegal assemblies.
"We want to safeguard peace, and this is our strength.
"On the contrary, they want to destroy it and uphold their leader with a moral problem," added the Independent MP of Pasir Mas.

CHINESE PROSTITUTE EARNS RM15K IN JUST 2 WKS



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GEORGE TOWN: A Chinese national who made RM15,040 in just two weeks working as a prostitute was among three women rounded up at a service apartment block in Bukit Dumbar here.

Sources said the woman, in her 20s, had “serviced” 88 clients since coming to Penang as a tourist.

“Handwritten records showing transactions of RM150 or RM180 between her and the clients were found in the premises following the raid on Tuesday night,” sources said.

Also seized during the raid were several types of sex paraphernalia.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Gan Kong Meng said two other Chinese nationals aged between 26 and 29 were also arrested in two separate apartment units.

“A client, who was also in one of the units, was brought back to the Patani Road police station, where his particulars were noted down before he was released,” he said.
(The  Star.com)

DAP MALAY CANDIDATES - GOING SOLO IN THE FUTURE.

It was true that DAP has fielded Malay candidates in the previous election. The idea was to prove that DAP is not a solely Chinese party. But now since the political landscape has changed tremendously, DAP will play the game cautiously. DAP will promote the campaign " Vote DAP" regardless who is the candidate.For this coming 13th GE, Malay candidates will be put if the safe DAP seat. So DAP has to sacrifice the safe Chinese majority seat to the Malays. There will be some negative reactions among the DAP leaders and voters but after listening to the agenda, most will withdraw their satisfaction.

DAP does not want to see the same Perak episode. They have to rely on PAS candidate to take the seat of MB. If they have a Malay candidates in 2008, it would be a smooth transition.

Now DAP is preparing for any turn around of support. Their ultimate goal is to take control of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) . In the future they can even move alone without the support of PKR or PAS, since the members composition has changed in DAP. 

In the case of DAP winning the state with majority seats, they will proceed into appointing their Malay candidate without consulting PKR or PAS. Are PKR and PAS becoming irrelevant in this situation? Eventually, DAP will go solo leaving her partners blinking as what have they done wrong to receive such cold  treatment. With issues such hudud championed by PAS and uncertain political future of Anwar Ibrahim, DAP is preparing themselves to take over the opposition helm.

9th of January will see another twist in Malaysian political landscape. We will see how DAP behave and whether PAS friendly gesture towards PKR will remains. ( KL Report) 

MALAYSIAN POLITICS -MANAGE NOT DAMAGE.

PKR is doing all they can to bring everybody to the street to free Anwar on the 9th of January. The free Anwar Campaign 901 will go all out, even to the extent of breaking the prison wall, says Azmin , PKR dep President.
Malaysian political scenario is at its thinnest line now, a sparks of bad language can lead to a dangerous encounter. Many would want to see the police mishandle the situation. Pix of bloody shirt, bleeding noses would make front page of neighbouring newspapers.And of course the blog and news portal love the latest updates from the field.
Many love to see this chaotic scene. This ugly situation should be managed wisely and tactfully. And on the other hand no one has the right to disturb the peace. Throwing accusations among other things create more hatred feeling and stir more immature actions.
Malaysia isn't really that bad when you look at all the other places you could have settled,says a foreigner in a British Expat Forum. The people are nice, it's pretty safe and if you don't push to much. If you need a doctor you'll get one, if you get pulled over by the police you won't end up bound and gagged in a cell, no one disappears from their beds at night, you can eat, you can drink and you can do an awful lot that most people in the world can't.
Granted if you try and organize a protest asking for transparent democracy then the government will shut down the capital and ruin everyone's weekends (thanks so much Berish!). But again, could be worse, look at Libya.
Relax lah!( KL Report)

MALAYSIAN POLITICS -SOCIAL CLASS COMES INTO PLAY

While race remains an issue in the Malaysian political discourse, the matter of social class is now becoming a key determining factor.
FOR the last 50 years, Malaysian politics has been defined by race. From the Malayan Union controversy of 1946 to the riots of 1969, Malay fears over non-Malay economic might have been at the heart of the Alliance’s (and later Barisan Nasional’s) electoral calculations.
But times have changed and while race continues to simmer, a new long-forgotten issue – social class – is fast becoming a key determining factor.
Moreover, the public is increasingly sceptical of those who promote Malay rights. They view such figures in much the same way as small-town Midwesterners look on the antics of K-Street lobbyists in Washington; and just as with Americans, there is mounting outrage with every successive incidence of establishment corruption and abuse of power.
In this respect, Malaysia is merely following global trends as demonstrators across the world – from New York and Madrid to Cairo and Damascus – take to the streets to express their frustration and alienation with prevailing economic policies.
Still, it’s critical that we understand how and why this has happened because the forces at work are not one-off or temporary.
Instead, they are irreversible and overwhelming.
Technology is the key catalyst. By observing how the media has been buffeted by these changes, we can begin to learn in turn how “race” has slipped from the forefront of Malaysian political discourse.
So, let’s return to the years immediately after the 1969 riots. At that stage, news distribution was a highly-centralised business. The industry was top-down, capital-intensive and easily subject to political controls.
Printing presses, TV and radio stations were located in specific places and the channels linking them to audiences were similarly defined and determined.
This, along with a vast expansion of the government apparatus (from operational ministries to agencies and state-owned enterprises) allowed ideologues to set in motion a series of policies intended to unify and homogenise the Malay community.
In the process, a once-diverse and disparate Malay/Muslim world — don’t forget the Malays were a predominantly maritime and littoral people – was forcibly melded into one, with the aristocratic “bangsawan” ethos of Umno at its core.
Muslims of Indian, Javanese, Acehnese and Hadramauti origin were encouraged to do away with their specific cultural practices as Malay-ness, as defined by Kuala Lumpur-based ideologues, became paramount.

Geographical differences were likewise ironed out in order to present a united voice as Kedahans, Johoreans and Terengganu-ites became Malay first. In this push, however, the biggest losers were Malays from the two most developed states – Perak and Selangor – where a sense of local identity was totally eradicated.
The media was complicit in this agenda, strengthening the centre as a sense of local sentiment was denigrated as backward.
Of course, in East Malaysia, the process was all the more intense as pressure was brought to bear on Bajau, Orang Sungai and Melanau communities to become explicitly Malay – thus denying their distinctive local identities.
Similarly, the left-of-centre, socialist traditions exemplified by the late Burhanuddin Helmy were also swept aside and vilified. However (and ironically) Umno was never able to dislodge Kelantanese parochialism, permitting PAS a foothold that it exploited for its own Islamist ends.
Umno political strategists were only to realise much later that the disappearance of the “left” was to open up the ideological terrain for the Islamists – many of whom modelled themselves on Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.
Indeed, the Islamists’ exclusion from the centres of power meant that they were able to focus on issues of social justice, benefiting in turn from the growing disgust with mainstream politics.
However, the IT explosion post-2000 has broken the establishment’s control over both the news and the media in general.
Indeed, the proliferation of voices unleashed by technology has been both deeply distressing and disorientating for those who believe in a monolithic Malay identity centred on the royal houses and the government-sanctioned Islamic beliefs and practices.
Many in the old elite (some of whom are actually quite young) remain Canute-like in their rejection of the new realities.
So where are we heading? First off, Malays as Muslims are still united by their faith. Nonetheless, many differences will continue to emerge as people explore intellectual and spiritual frontiers on their own.
Secondly, the keenest divide will be the differences between the haves and have-nots (determined, of course, by proximity to political power) within the Malay community as urban English-language speaking Malays continue to forge ahead, leaving their monolingual brothers and sisters in the lurch.
Furthermore, the increasing demographic dominance of the Malays – 50.1% of our total population of 27.5 million (more if we include the non-Malay bumiputra communities’ 11.8%) – means that the old anxieties of being overwhelmed by others no longer seem as dire.
This, therefore, is where the Malay community stands in 2012. ( TheStar Online - Karim Raslan )

A THRILLING BATTLE IS BUILDING UP FOR THE13th GENERAL ELECTION.

The 13th general election will be the most watched and anxiously awaited event in the annals of Malaysian political history. Previous general elections have been tame affairs where the result was never in doubt; it was only a matter of how many seats the opposition could wrest away from BN. But the next election will be different as BN faces a real threat of losing power to a united o
pposition.

Malaysian politics has always been a one party system with the ruling coalition facing no creditable challenges from a fragmented opposition. But with the rise of Pakatan Rakyat a nascent two party system has evolved ending the domination of one party which allowed it to perpetrate all manner of abuses and corruption.
To be sure, this is not the first time that the opposition parties have grouped together to challenge BN. In the 1990 general election, Tengku Razaleigh’s Semangat 46 forged a coalition with other opposition parties and in 1999 DAP, PAS and Keadilan formed Barisan Alternatif to take advantage of public revulsion over Mahathir’s cruel treatment of Anwar.
But these opposition pacts did not even manage to deny BN its customary two-thirds majority. They failed because the social forces at that time were just not in their favour. The minorities were controlled by racial and religious fears and the mindset of the people then could not accept being governed by any coalition other than BN.
Things are certainly different now. Never before has there been such a nexus of events to influence the political destiny of the country. The coming together of the opposition, the dissipation of racial and religious fears, the loss of minority votes, the sea change in mindset, the political awakening of Sabah and Sarawak and yet another sodomy outrage on Anwar have coalesced into the perfect storm to oust BN.

The Tyranny of Numbers
Although chances to unseat BN have never been better one should not be mistaken into thinking that ousting the behemoth is easy or inevitable. In Malaysia there is no such thing as free and fair elections. The playing field is wholly tilted to BN which has almost unlimited funds and controls the mass media and all the levers of power which it shamelessly uses to its advantage. If these advantages are not enough a little help from postal votes and phantom voters are in order.
There are 222 parliament seats so a party winning 112 seats gains a simple majority to form the government with the other side ending up with 110 seats. Of course such a slim majority is not workable in practice as a single defection will lose the majority.
To gain a reasonable majority of say 20 seats, PR would need to win 121 seats with BN ending up with 101 seats. After the 2008 general election, PR held 83 parliament seats to BN’s 139. This means PR must retain all the seats it won in 2008 plus an additional 38 seats. On the surface this looks rather optimistic.
But numbers can be deceptive. Our election system is based on “first past the post” which means that a win by 1 vote is still a win. Hence a small swing in vote share can result in a large number of seats changing hands. An alternative system is proportional representation where seat allocation is based on the proportion of votes secured but the disadvantage of such a system is that it tends to result in weak governments.
After the 2008 election there were many marginal seats won by both sides which could change hands with just a small swing in voter support. Based on data on marginal seats sourced from Malaysiakini, a 6% swing to PR will result in PR winning 112 seats to BN’s 110 but this is too weak to govern, a 7% swing means PR having 118 to BN’s 104 which is still very dicey so an 8% swing is needed to give PR 125 seats to BN’s 97 seats with a workable majority of 28 seats.
An overall 8% swing is a large swing and this must come on the back of the 2008 swing against BN. To put this in perspective the overall swing to and against BN in past general elections are as follows: (sourced from The Star)
1995 - 11.8% swing to BN due to Dr. M's liberalization policies
1999 - 8.7% swing to opposition due to Anwar factor
2004 - 7.4% swing to BN due to new PM Badawi
2008 - 10.7% swing to opposition due to tsunami.
So an 8% swing is within the range of possibility but the crux is that swings have alternated between BN and opposition from election to election. Since the last election saw a swing of 10.7% to the opposition an additional 8% swing in the same direction seems unlikely or very optimistic due to a limit in fence sitters. Even more ominous, a mere 1.2% swing to BN will see BN regaining its two-thirds majority. Is BN safe in Putrajaya after all?

The Keys to Putrajaya
The key to break this tyranny of numbers is Sabah and Sarawak. To put it another way, Sabah and Sarawak hold the keys to Putrajaya.
In the above analysis we have assumed that the voting pattern in the two East Malaysian states will not differ greatly from 2008 subject to a moderate percentage swing. In 2008 and the opposition only managed to capture only a single seat each in Sabah and Sarawak.
But Sabah and Sarawak are experiencing a political awakening in the wake of the 2008 tsunami. The notion of the two states being “fixed deposits” for BN is set to be seriously challenged. The loss of BN’s stronghold Sibu in a by-election is a signal that political changes are afoot in Sarawak. The mood in Sabah against the federal government is anger at the hordes of illegal immigrants and Sabah is ripe for political change.
Hence we should treat Sabah and Sarawak differently on the basis that their normal voting pattern is going to be upset from the usual trend. Sabah has 26 parliament seats and Sarawak 31, numbers which are disproportionate to their population.
The number of seats which PR can capture in these two states varies between political analysts but even conservative estimates indicate that both these states are likely to lose at least one-third of their seats to PR. The coming Sarawak state election will give a strong pointer. If BN loses its two-thirds majority in the state assembly it spells trouble for BN in the next general election.
If we assume that PR can capture 10 seats in Sabah and 12 seats in Sarawak and adding these to PR’s 81 Peninsula seats in 2008, this brings the total to 103. From the table of BN’s marginal seats and excluding those seats in Sabah and Sarawak, we find that a 4% swing will yield PR an additional 14 seats while a 5% swing will yield another 19 seats in the Peninsula.
Crunching the numbers this means that a 4% swing will give total of 117 seats for PR against BN’s 105, a majority of 12 which is probably too thin to govern as BN will waste no time in toppling the government with wheelbarrows of money and attacks with their cohorts in the civil service. However a 5% swing yields a total of 122 seats for PR and 100 seats for BN with a majority of 22, not great but workable giving PR time consolidate its position by making much needed changes to the police, judiciary MACC and other enforcement divisions.
A 5% swing is still significant but begins to look more attainable although we must remember that this must come on the back of a 10.7% swing in 2008 in the same direction. The next question is, “Will there be enough fence sitters to execute the swing given that a large number have already swung away from BN in 2008?”
Hard Core Supporters and Fence Sitters
Politics in Malaysia is characterized by hard core supporters and fence sitters. These terms merit some description.
Fence sitters may be best understood by distinguishing them from hard core supporters. Both BN and PR have their flock of hard core supporters who will vote for their party come hell or high water. No amount of negative news or shameful acts attributed to the party they support will make any difference to their vote, not even fielding a disbarred lawyer in a by-election.
Fence sitters are not strongly aligned to any party. Their vote may go either way depending on how they weigh the parties. They are usually well read, well informed from many sources of information and their views are shaped by current events, exposes, scandals and perception of injustice or unfairness. They will vote for the better party or failing that, the lesser devil.
Every partisan action by the police or MACC, every controversial court decision, every racist outburst, every unfair application of the law and every crime that goes unpunished means BN pushes some fences sitters off to PR’s side.
To BN’s great shame it has learned nothing from the 2008 tsunami but has continued to offend the sensibilities of fence sitters left, right and centre. It goes without saying that PR will win the fence sitters’ battle.

The Racial Battleground
Among the Malays there appear to be few fence sitters. This is why PR finds it hard to increase its Malay vote share. On the other hand even overt racism and ultra nationalism do little to enlarge Umno’s Malay base. The Malay ground is very hard to shift either way but a little means a lot due to their demography.
Analysis of BN’s Malay vote share in past general elections show 49% in 1999 due to the Anwar crisis, 59.1% in 2004 due to the new PM factor (or because Mahathir was gone) and 55% in 2008. Umno’s baseline Malay support appears to be about 55% and it can shift up or down by about 5%. This means that in 2008 it may have declined down to it base support level and it possible to shift further to PR by a further of 5%.
But the possibility is not the deed as there must be something to shift the Malay ground. Is there any likelihood of a cataclysmic event which will swing the Malay vote away from BN as what happened in 1999? Yes, there is - Anwar’s sodomy II which is almost certain to end with his imprisonment.
A more drastic consequence of the Malay vote falling below 50% with the minority votes with PR is that BN will lose all the non-Malay majority seats and mixed seats in the Peninsula while all the Malay majority seats will be up for grabs thus giving PR an easy victory.
The Chinese community can be considered to be won by PR with up to 80% support in by-elections. Comparing this with the 65% Chinese support for the opposition in 2008 it can be seen that there is considerable latitude for further swing from the 2008 baseline.

It is generally believed that the Indian community voted overwhelmingly against BN in 2008 but the numbers show that Indian support for BN was split down the middle at 48%. This was of course a huge swing from their normal 80% support level. Right now the Indian vote is ambivalent and still split down the middle although by-elections have detected a slight drift back to BN. In the Hulu Selangor by-election BN managed to capture 55% of the Indian vote.

It is regrettable that the Indians who claim to be the most marginalized race cannot stand with the Chinese in getting rid of a regime which is responsible for their economic under performance. In ousting BN all races are important; there are many mixed seats which would be won easily if the Indians vote with the Chinese. Hindraf and their offshoot HRP’s incessant attacks on PR in their ill-advised quest for political power has confused the Indians. The lack of a charismatic Indian leader in PR has not helped.

The Final Analysis
So what sort of overall swing from the 2008 baseline can be realistically expected? Assuming that the Anwar sodomy factor will result in a 4% swing to BN among the Malays, a 75% support level from the Chinese (10% swing) and a 0% swing from the Indians (hopefully no negative swing) and basing on a demography of 66% Malay, 26% Chinese and 8% Indian, the overall swing can be calculated as 5.24%.
This is just sufficient to push PR into Putrajaya with a practical majority to govern. Of course this is based on the assumption that BN will dig their own grave by sticking Anwar in prison on a parody of seeking justice for a consensual sodomy victim and that the Indians do not help to perpetuate a system which has sidelined them.
Why did I choose 4% for the Malay swing? As can be seen this number is crucial as it will make or break PR’s bid for Putrajaya. It is not because ‘4’ sounds like ‘death’ in Chinese dialects to signal the death of BN. In 1999 Malay support for BN dropped 6% but there appears to be less anger now. 4% is within the estimated 5% of Malay fence sitters. Yes, it may well be 1% or 2% but I cannot believe that Malays are much less compassionate now over injustice and humiliation heaped on a popular leader. The 4% swing reflects not just the Anwar factor but also disgust for Umno’s racism, chauvinism, bigotry, corruption, institutional abuse and double standards. It is a reasonable figure and my purpose is to show that BN can be ousted with reasonable assumptions.
It is clear that the 13th general election will be a battle for the Malay vote. Only the Malays themselves can determine who governs them. There are no races acting as kingmakers.

A New Dawn for Malaysia
The road to Putrajaya is long and arduous so PR must stay focused and cohesive. There is no room for petty squabbling or in-fighting. Unseating BN with their absolute control of money, media and machinery is hard even with the opposition coalition at its optimum. Anything less and BN may even gain back their two-thirds majority instead of being ousted.
Along the way PR will be helped by young voters entering the electoral rolls who are repelled by BN’s corruption, abuses and racism, wider access to online sources of information, increasing urbanization of rural areas, rising cost of living against depreciation of real income and BN’s continuing sandals. Although PR supporters are anxious to kick out BN more time may actually be favourable to PR.
For too long has Malaysia suffered under the domination of one party and a race based political system with a government that uses corruption as its lifeblood and racial discrimination as a state policy. It is time for a new dawn for Malaysia, a new government that is inclusive, pluralistic and capable of driving Malaysia to new heights without the baggage of the past. Malaysia-Chronicle....

MALAYSIAN POLITICS - MALAYS SHOULD NOT FEAR THE DAP - SAYS EX UMNO MAN

I am not going to respond to the xenophobic responses around news that Aspan Alias and Sakmongkol are about to join DAP. No explanation will be able to change preconceived biases. So why bother? So we are about to join or have joined DAP.
The DAP is a democratic party committed to the rule of law, good governance and good government. It abhors corruption and abuse of political office. To me those are attractive propositions. UMNO on the other hand has turned its back on these. It harps only on one primal worry of Malays- when UMNO is threatened it shares the threat with Malays at large. So a threat to UMNO is translated mindlessly into a threat to Malays as a whole. Nothing can be farther from the truth. That is how UMNO has approached politics in Malaysia basically- make its fears public, make the gains private for selected Malays within UMNO.
I have only one message to that- those salad days and that halcyon period are over.
UMNO is trapped by its own successes. Indeed its supporters and leaders assume ownership of the wrong things and end up digging in to support the wrong choices.
My answer is, if we do indeed change our political vehicle that is what we are actually doing. Don’t read our move as blasphemous or treasonable. The DAP is more relevant and functional in achieving a more democratic and abuse-free society. As a Muslim, we are changing wadah not aqidah.
So, I thought it would be more substantive to answer my critics by writing an article, why shouldn’t Malays embrace DAP politics? That’s the only way to dominate and conquer your fears.
How has DAP politics been inimical to the general political health of this country? Can any DAP Chinese leader be a PM when it’s contesting only at most 50-55 seats? Can any DAP non Malay leader harbor the dream of becoming a PM in a country dominated by Malays? Has the DAP threatened the institution of Malay rulers? DAP has never done that or will not be mad to countenance such rebellious idea, but UMNO on the other hand has insulted the Malay rulers way back in 1998 constitutional crisis. Can we reasonably accept the allegation that the DAP is instrumental in claims that Malays are being converted into Christians when most DAP members are not themselves Christians? We have to do better than that to take Malays as imbeciles. Only UMNO seems to do that.
But DAP is Chinese chauvinist party and anti-Malay. I will answer by examining the deeds rather than slogans. When I was an ADUN in the Pahang Legislative assembly ( 2004-2008) I have never heard the lone DAP member ever speak about anti Malay themes. He spoke about abuse of power, about mindless spending, he spoke about maladministration. The first book Lim Kit Siang writes that I read was Time Bombs in Malaysia. After that I read so many books written by Kit Siang that touched on the Maika Scandals, the BMF financial scandal and so on. If we are honest enough, we have to admit, the issues raised were never about one race dominating the other but were always about the abuses of those in power, corruption, and a continuous attack on policies that are ruinous to this country. So we are going to oppose Kit Siang on the basis of the fact that these things are spoken of by a Chinaman?
To the Chinese UMNO is also a chauvinist Malay party except, their leaders can be easily bought. The Malay will sell all to abandon their cause. Er…correction, the UMNO Malay, I mean.
I would also like to respond by saying- why Malays should consider joining DAP en masse. It’s a party committed to democratic principles and rule of law. I can only imagine, so many can prosper under a regime of freedom of speech within DAP. I can speak on the plight of the displaced and disowned Malays with more energy than allowed of in UMNO. The interest of Malays can be fought of on any political platform other than UMNO. That is what UMNO fears. Its monopoly is broken.
So the past week I have had many friends calling me asking whether it’s true I am joining DAP? Some folks in my hometown, Pekan refer to me now as Dato DAP. I find the responses somewhat amusing and comical.
There was a comment reminding me and Aspan as to who started May 13? The thrust of that reminder is to remind us; of his and others belief that DAP started the May 13 incident.
Ok, you want to play ball, we play ball too. Since you want to know, what if I say Tun Razak allowed it to happen because the ensuing troubles would give him an excuse to kick out Tengku Abdul Rahman? The point is, there was no single contributor to the May 13 incident. But I would place some blame on Tun Razak who as Home Minister allowed things to degenerate. He allowed it so that a proclamation of emergency can be made.
Finally, let me deal with certain responses from certain pro UMNO bloggers. The chief spokesman is of course that paid lackey and buffoon of a regurgitating machine. He does nothing but regurgitate material passed on to him by his paymasters. The material he writes and posts therefore emits the strong smell of vomit. The owner of the lard layered brain does what he does best- spewing personal attacks. And so he invites comments from likeminded mental gnomes to do what he has orchestrated.
Why the paranoia? If we are not good, failed ADUN, bankrupt politicians, it will be cinch for any winnable UMNO candidates to beat us. So, it’s no cause of concern or a sleep depriver. But please remember to stop telling lies about us so that we can promise not to tell the truth about you.
I see a sense of hopelessness. They cannot attack our nationalist credentials because we are as Malay as they are too ( to some we are , in fact more Malay in appearance and in thinking) – so they do what they do best. Attack me on the personal side. No big deal. My advice to these UMNO bloggers is simple. Please stop telling lies about me, and I promise not to tell the truth about you people. And telling the truth about you people includes telling the truth about top UMNO leaders including the PM who is Pekan UMNO division head.
If we are so easily beatable, then why all the fuss? We can’t do damage to invincible UMNO. We on the other hand, see UMNO as the party before, presently and forever stealing, pillaging and ruining the country.
( sakmongkol)

MALAYSIAN POLITICS - Pakatan Rakyat will come up against a resolute BN in its dream to win more Johor seats in the next polls.

A GENERAL election battle royale could be shaping up in the unlikeliest of places as an overconfident parliamentary opposition alliance prepares an all out assault for power on a resolute Barisan Nasional lying in wait.
Johor, the birthplace of Umno and BN’s Fort Knox, has for all these years, always been too predictable when it comes to elections. The ruling party never conceded significant losses as to make a dent in its armour.
But the Parti Keadilan Rakyat-Pas-DAP troika, which call themselves Pakatan Rakyat, reckon they can change all that when the 13th general election is held probably within the next few weeks, a wild dream as far as BN and the neutrals are concerned.
The dubious desire is said to have been driven in part by the lust for wealth from Johor’s huge economic progress as well as the thought that they could do a Selangor on the southern state.
Johor offers 26 parliamentary seats, all but one being held by BN. And of the 56 state seats, only six are non-BN.
Still, there is an air of confidence, misplaced or otherwise, permeating the air for Pakatan, spearheaded by Johor PKR chief Datuk Chua Jui Meng, the former health minister.
Johor Baru was picked as the venue for the PKR annual congress a few weeks ago, an indication of where the state lies in the order of importance for the party.
It is understood that Pakatan, for all the internal squabbles underneath, is pushing ahead with strategies to realise its dream, one of which is to identify big names among the three parties, even from outside the state, to contest in Johor.
By doing this, the grouping, especially DAP, thinks it can increase its chances. The game plan: put in the ordinary and less famous candidates in Perak, Penang and Selangor where “they can surely win regardless” and field the big names in Johor to capture new seats, possibly to brighten up hope for a power grab on Putrajaya.
To the neutrals, it is hard to imagine whether this would work, knowing the psyche of the people of Johor.
They are, and have never been, supportive of parties other than Umno-BN, let alone candidates parachuted in from outside the state.
Even in the last general election, when sentiment for the ruling party was said to be low, the most the voters did was to protest through spoilt votes.
Indeed, Johor recorded the highest number with 28,709 spoilt votes for parliamentary seats and 25,455 for state seats then.
For this reason, BN seems to be quite unperturbed by Pakatan’s intended show of force in Johor.
To the ruling party, the DAP-Pakatan strategy takes for granted that the Chinese voters are all for them.
But the fact is, BN has its fair share of support from this community as well, as evident from the Tenang by-election last year, where BN secured almost 30 per cent of the Chinese votes.
A BN source said: “We have done our survey and performance test in voting centres.
“BN will be on safe ground because we found that, at the moment, we can get 25 per cent to 30 per cent of Chinese votes, enough to improve on the 2008 performance.”
The survey, according to him, also revealed that BN could lose up to six parliamentary seats and 15 state seats, if the Chinese support dipped to below 20 per cent.
“This is not likely to happen because Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, MCA leaders and several non-governmental organisations have been working tirelessly and keeping their ears close to the ground to measure support.”
Pakatan is being rocked by internal bickering but this has not exactly stopped its audacious plan to grab seats in Johor to add to its national tally, and possibly even hustle up the wealth Johor could bring.
I was most amazed to see the progress in Johor Baru when I came by two weeks ago, my first visit after several years.
The state capital has transformed into a bustling metropolis and I couldn’t even recognise some of the localities, despite having lived in the city for a few years 20 years ago.
There were new buildings everywhere and the roads and highways looped around in every corner. The best part is that, unlike in the Klang Valley, most of the new highways are toll-free.
Of course, there is also the Iskandar economic region, which will prove to be something else.
The senseless incident where pig heads were thrown into a mosque in Taman Desa Jaya may just signal the start of a big political battle that is looming on the horizon.
(nst.com.my-by syed nadzri)

MALAYSIAN POLITICS - MALIK IMTIAZ AND SREEKANT PILLAI OUT OF MCLM.

KLANG: Prominent human rights lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar is the latest personality to disassociate himself from the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) chaired by Raja Petra Kamarudin.
Joining him is Sreekant Pillai, a lawyer and son of veteran journalist M.G.G Pillai.
In December 2010, both had been picked by MCLM to contest in the next general election.
Their decision to stay away from MCLM came following the resignation of MCLM president Haris Ibrahim after Raja Petra's statement that the movement would not be fielding candidates in the polls.
Haris said Raja Petra (or RPK) was undermining efforts to end Barisan Nasional's (BN) rule.
Another MCLM member, Dr Nedunchelian Vengu, said he would go ahead to contest in the polls.
The candidacy of the 43-year-old dentist was announced by MCLM last July. He is said to be fielded in the Kapar parliamentary constituency currently held by PKR's S. Manikavasagam.
Malik Imtiaz said he was still committed to further the reform agenda although not a member of MCLM.
He said Raja Petra's statements had shed a “less than positive light” on MCLM.
“That is regrettable as it is an impression that has undermined the credibility of the MCLM and its efforts.
“It has also undermined the tremendous efforts of a number of highly committed and selfless individuals to develop various civil society initiatives under the banner of MCLM,” he wrote in his blog.
(thestar.com.my)

MALAYSIAN POLITICS - ANWAR SAYS SEVERED TIES WITH RPK .

Anwar says severed ties with RPK
PETALING JAYA, Jan 3 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today he has stopped all forms of communication with Raja Petra Kamarudin since the Sarawak election, accusing the political blogger of “supporting Barisan Nasional”.
The PKR defacto leader brushed aside Raja Petra’s critical remarks against him in recent interviews with Umno dailies Utusan Malaysia and News Straits Times.
“I have not contacted him since he supported Barisan Nasional in the Sarawak elections…there has been no communication for the last six months,” Anwar told reporters here.
Anwar said he had been friends with Raja Petra for ten year, and acknowledged the fact that the Selangor prince had “actively” supported him while he was in prison back in 199.
“He (Raja Petra) ran to London because he did not want to go to prison,” said Anwar.
“I don’t usually comment on attacks like these, coming close to elections like the Sarawak polls last time, carried out by individuals using Umno media,” added Anwar, in apparent reference to the Malaysia Today portal editor’s interview with TV3 prior to the Sarawak election last year.
Raja Petra had said that Anwar was morally unfit to become prime minister as Malaysians could not accept a homosexual to lead the country.
The self-exiled blogger did not explicitly call Anwar a homosexual but said there was no room in Malaysia for someone who is gay and wants to become PM.
He also said he was “90 per cent” sure the man in the Datuk T sex video was Anwar, and that many of the latter’s friends believed in the authenticity of the video.
PKR has attacked Raja Petra for his remarks made about Anwar’s sexual orientation, calling it “untrue” and “libellous”, and have accused him of being hired by Umno.
Raja Petra had also criticised Anwar’s appointment as Selangor state economic advisor, saying that corruption was still rampant in the state.
“A lot of people have been asking for projects, and have not been getting what they want,” said Anwar bluntly in response.
“I am doing my duties based on my experience as finance minister,” he added.( MALAYSIAN INDISER)

DATO SERI AZMI KHALID, MP PADANG BESAR - FED UP DENGAN KES-KES MISMANAGEMENT.

WINNABLE CANDIDATE ?
Dato' Seri Azmi bin Khalid (Lahir 1941) merupakan bekas Menteri Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar. Selepas pilihan raya umum 2008, beliau menjadi pengerusi Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Wang Negara Malaysia 2008 di parlimen Malaysia.
Kehidupan AwalBeliau dilahirkan di Kangar, Perlis, memiliki Ijazah Sarjana Muda Sastera jurusan ekonomi dari Universiti Malaya pada tahun 1965. Selain itu, beliau juga memiliki diploma kepakaran dalam bidang kewangan dan perancangan strategik dari beberapa buah institusi pengajian terkemuka seperti Universiti Kebangsaan Singapura dan Institut Pengajian Sosial di The Hague, Belanda.
Beliau yang mempunyai pengalaman luas dalam pentadbiran kerajaan, memulakan karier sebagai Penolong Pegawai Daerah Kuala Selangor sebelum dilantik sebagai Penolong Setiausaha di Kementerian Pembangunan Luar Bandar.
Selain itu, beliau juga pernah berkhidmat di Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) sebagai Penolong Setiausaha, kemudiannya dinaikkan pangkat sebagai Setiausaha sebelum dilantik ke jawatan Pengurus Besar

DARI BLOG MARHAEN :
Chairman of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee Azmi Khalid said he was “fed up” with having to deal with the non-stop cases involving mismanagement of public finances after interviewing officers from the National Feedlot Centre.
But was Azmi, the Umno MP for Padang Besar, really serious or was he play-acting. As DAP adviser and Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang has pointed out, Azmi was part of the federal Cabinet which must have approved awarding the beef production project to the family of Women's minister Shahrizat Jalil before it could begin; and as such Azmi should 'recuse' him from hearing the case.
"Azmi was a Cabinet minister in the operative time of the approval of the NFC project – making him to a party to any Cabinet decision on the NFC project. Can Azmi categorically declare that he was not involved in any way in any Cabinet approval or discussion of the NFC project before he was dropped from the Cabinet after the March 2008 general election," Kit Siang had said in a statement out on Tuesday.
All teeth but no bite
PAC, while one of the most powerful committees in the Malaysian Parliament, is far from independent. While bi-partisan, it has more members from the ruling BN coalition than from the opposition and so far, none of the PAC reviews - no matter how serious the breach or extent of corruption - have disadvantaged the BN government.
Perhaps, Azmi was feeling the pressure as the RM250 million NFC debacle has attracted widespread public interest and unhappiness over the way the NFC bosses have refused to admit wrong, even defending their purchase of two super-luxury condos as efficient investments and providing figures that could not stand up to the test of scrutiny.
"Management systems have to be re-looked, even when the ministry tells the truth, the people are also fed up. They don't want to listen (to excuses)," Azmi told a press conference, admitting that such cases made the BN look bad.
Don't give excuses
Azmi also said that PAC would be calling officers from the Finance Ministry as well as the Chief Secretary to the government to help find ways to plug loopholes in the system so as to ensure public funds are properly spent.
However, his suggestion was greeted with caution by PKR leaders, who fear he was just giving excuses not to delve too deeply into the NFC corruption allegations and deflecting attention with a vague management overview instead.
"We hope Azmi will firstly answer Kit Siang's call to clear up on his own eligibility to hear the NFC case. Then we want to be sure PAC focuses on all the transactions that were allegedly committed corruptly and negligently. We don't want to be fobbed off with some macro overview which should be done at another level. This is the NFC probe and it must focus on NFC indepth," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

DATO SRI AZALINA OTHMAN SAID, MP PENGGERANG - ORG MELAYU DAH BENCI UMNO.

WINNABLE CANDIDATE ?
Azalina binti Othman Said was the Tourism Minister in the previous Cabinet of Malaysia. Before that, she was the Youth and Sports Minister. She is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the main component party of the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional.
Azalina is the Member of Parliament for Pengerang, Johor. She won her Pengerang parliamentary seat uncontested in the 2008 Malaysian general election. She also won the previous election uncontested also due to last minute pulling out of opposition candidacy.
Azalina started her tertiary education in Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) (or Institut Teknologi Mara (ITM) as it was known then) by taking her Diploma in Public Administration (DPA). Upon graduating with ITM, she read laws in Universiti Malaya and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours.) or LL.B Hons. After graduating in 1988, she went on to further her studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom and graduated with a Master of Laws (LLM) in 1990.
She first started her career in Malaysia as a legal assistant at Messr Raja Darryl & Loh law firm (1988–1989, 1991–1994). After gaining experience, she became an associate partner of Azalina Chan & Chia law firm (1994–2001) and with Messrs Skine (2001–2002).
In 2002, she formed a partnership with Messrs Zaid Ibrahim & Co [2002-2004], which is the largest law firm in Malaysia and later on with Zaid Ibrahim & Co. LLP, Singapore in 2003. Coincidentally, Zaid Ibrahim was also her cabinet colleague, having been appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in-charge of Legal Affairs at the same time as her appointment as Tourism Minister.
Before getting involved in politics, she was the host of various television talk shows, mainly discussing about political, economic and social issues, such as Dateline Malaysia and Lidah Pengarang on ntv7.

FROM INDAH KHABAR BLOG:
Bekas Ketua Puteri Umno Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said kata orang melayu dah tidak sokong umno lagi sebab umno banyak masalah. Orang Melayu dah benci umno sebab umno banyak masalah dalaman.
Kata beliau lagi, pegawai kerajaan dari kementerian pengajian tinggi, jabatan pelajaran pejabat tanah juga tidak sokong kerajaan.
Azalina berkata, umno ada masalah imej Melayu. Kes SPRM, kes video seks Anwar (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim).
“Kes video telah dimanipulasi hingga orang kata Umno yang buat. Malahan pula orang kenal siapa Tan Sri Rahim Thamby Chik ,” tambahnya.
Azalina kata,”profesional Melayu bandar tidak pedulikan Umno, sebaliknya mementingkan soal gaji dan keluarga mereka.”
Tambahnya lagi, “ada orang menyampah dengan wakil rakyat kita sehingga bersalam pun tak mau tengok muka.”
Datuk Seri Azalina kata Tun Rafidah Aziz yang paling kuat menentang penubuhan Puteri Umno . Kata Rafidah, dah ada Wanita Umno buat apa tubuh Puteri Umno.
Azalina juga mendakwa mantan Perdana Menteri Malaysia,Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi juga cuba mengekang penubuhan Puteri Umno.
Katanya,“ maklumlah Pak Lah lebih sayang kepada menantunya, Khairy
Puteri Umno juga menghadapi masalah kerana tidak dapat sokongan dari ketua bahagian dan ketua cawangan.
Azalina berkata, beliaulah orang yang paling dibenci oleh pergerakan Wanita Umno ekoran penubuhan Puteri Umno,
Kata beliau lagi, dia menjadi ketua Puteri Umno yang pertama pada 2001 kerana dipilih oleh Dr Mahathir.
Masalah sekarang, kata beliau, ahli Puteri yang sudah habis tempoh iaitu mencapai usia 35 tahun tidak diterima di peringkat Wanita.
“Yang dapat jawatan ketua bahagian saya seorang saja,” kata Ketua Umno Pengerang itu.

DATO' SERI DR AHMAD ZAHID HAMIDI, MENTERI PERTAHANAN, MP BAGAN DATOK , NAIB PRESIDEN UMNO - ANWAR SELALU TUDUH ORG LAIN BERBOHONG .

WINNABLE CANDIDATE ?
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (born January 14, 1953 in Bagan Datoh) is a Malaysian politician and is currently the Minister for Defence in the Barisan Nasional coalition government of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Bagan Datok constituency in Perak. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).
Early in his political career, Zahid was a Senator and chairman of Bank Simpanan Nasional before becoming the head of UMNO's youth wing.In 1998, Zahid spoke out against then Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, calling for an end to cronyism and nepotism in the Malaysian government. Zahid , seen as an ally of deposed Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, was subsequently arrested and held in prison under the Internal Security Act.However, in 1999, Zahid was welcomed back into the UMNO fold,stating that Anwar had put him up to raising allegations of cronyism and nepotism and alleging that Anwar had used his position as Finance Minister to direct business opportunities to Zahid.
After the 2004 election, Zahid became a Deputy Minister in the government of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.[8] While a Deputy Minister, Zahid studied for and was conferred the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from Universiti Putra Malaysia.[9]
After the 2008 election, Zahid became a Minister in the Prime Minister's Department. He was appointed as Minister for Defence in April 2009.

Zahid on Anwar
Menuduh sesuatu perkara itu sebagai satu pembohongan adalah perkara biasa kepada Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Naib Presiden UMNO, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata, Anwar akan mencuba apa sahaja untuk memanupulasikan apa jua fakta membabitkan dirinya untuk mendapatkan perhatian.
“Biasalah dia buat begitu, beliau akan buat apa sahaja untuk kepentingan dirinya, Tun Mahathir telah beri peluang kepadanya untuk bercakap pada malam itu, sama juga ahli-ahli Majlis Tetinggi yang lain.
“Anwar diberi peluang oleh Tun Mahathir untuk berucap dan saya saksi dan Anwar telah menjelaskan perkara itu kepada semua Ahli Majlis Tertinggi, beliau antara yang paling panjang berucap atau bercakap pada malam itu,” katanya.
Beliau berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas dakwaan Anwar bahawa apa yang ditulis dalam buku berjudul A Doctor In The House suatu pembohongan adalah tidak benar dan berniat jahat.
Dalam dakwaannya, Anwar mengatakan beliau tidak diberi peluang secukupnya untuk menjelaskan perkara itu dalam mesyuarat majlis tertinggi berkenaan yang membincangkan mengenai salah lakunya sehingga menyebabkan dipecat daripada jawatan Timbalan Presiden UMNO ketika itu.
Ketika mesyuarat berkenaan pada 1998 bagi membincangkan kes salah laku Anwar, Ahmad Zahid adalah Ketua Pemuda UMNO Malaysia.
Ahmad Zahid berkata, apa yang ditulis oleh Mahathir dalam buku berkenaan adalah benar dan menceritakan apa yang sebenarnya berlaku dan tidak berlaku tokok tambah berhubung perkara itu.
Ahmad Zahid berkata, apa yang ditulis oleh Mahathir dalam buku berkenaan adalah benar dan menceritakan apa yang sebenarnya berlaku dan tidak berlaku tokok tambah berhubung perkara itu.
Menurutnya, mesyuarat itu bukan hanya dihadiri antara Anwar dengan Mahathir sahaja tetapi turut dihadiri oleh semua ahli majlis tertingggi termasuk naib-naib presiden dan ketua-ketua sayap.
Tegasnya, jika ada salah laporan dalam tulisan dalam buku berkenaan, sudah pasti ada di kalangan ahli majlis tertinggi yang hadir pada malam itu akan menyuarakan ketidak benaran mengenai apa yang dilaporkan.
“Saya pasti semua yang hadir dalam mesyuarat itu diberi peluang untuk bercakap termasuk saya sendiri, Anwar juga bercakap dengan panjang lebar dan didengari oleh semua yang hadir,” katanya.
Ahmad Zahid berkata, tidak mungkin Mahathir berbohong tetapi kalau Anwar membuat pembohongan adalah perkara biasa kerana dia sering melakukan perbuatan sebegitu. -MediaUMNO

DATO ' SRI AHMAD SHABERY BIN CHEEK, MP KEMAMAN, MENTERI BELIA DAN SUKAN - PAS RETAK MENANTI BELAH .

WINNABLE CANDIDATE ?
Dato' Sri Ahmad Shabery Cheek is a Malaysian politician. He is the Minister of Youth and Sports in the Barisan Nasional coalition government, and sits in Parliament as the member for Kemaman, Terengganu. He represents the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).
After the 2008 general election which saw the incumbent Information Minister Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin lose his parliamentary seat, then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi appointed Ahmad Shabery as Information Minister in his reshuffled Cabinet.[2] When he was in this position, he joint in a debate against the opposition de-facto leader Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim which was broadcasted live across the country. In April 2009, current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak appointed him as the Minister for Youth and Sports. [3] He had previously served as Parliamentary Secretary in the Foreign Ministry.[4][5] As Minister of Youth and Sports YB. Dato' Sri Ahmad Shabery Cheek did several changes to the "concept" in organizing the Ministries programms including in Hari Belia Negara 2010, which saw a very huge turnout of youth. With tagline of "Seribu Peluang, Sejuta Keriangan" more than 250,000 youth gather in Putrajaya and joint 88 different programs and activities conducted by various youth organization.
Shabery Cheek on PAS.
Perkembangan terbaru yang berlaku dalam Pas kebelakangan ini boleh diibaratkan seperti ‘retak menanti belah’ dalam hubungan mereka bersama DAP di pakatan pembangkang.
Ahli Majlis Tertinggi UMNO, Datuk Ahmad Shabery Chik, berkata Pas kini terpaksa kembali kepada perjuangan asal mereka iaitu kepada perjuangan negara Islam untuk meraih sokongan di kalangan pengundi Melayu.
“Dari tahun 80an, Pas cuba dapatkan undi bukan Melayu, sehingga mereka sanggup tukar perjuangan mereka daripada negara Islam kepada negara berkebajikan.
“Mereka terpaksa kendurkan idealogi mereka hanya untuk dapatkan undi bukan Melayu sehingga menyebabkan terpaksa kendurkan perjuangan asal penubuhan parti itu.
“Mereka menikmati hasilnya pada pilihan raya 2008, tetapi kini terasa tekanannya apabila kehilangan sokongan daripada penyokong setia kepada perjuangan asal,” katanya kepada UMNO-Online di sini.
Menurutnya, dengan perubahan yang dilakukan itu, penyokong mereka melihat parti itu kini bagaikan tunduk kepada apa sahaja kemahuan DAP sehingga terpaksa mengorbankan perjuangan parti hanya untuk kepentingan politik.
“Penyokong mereka kabur dan tidak tahu apakah sebenarnya perjuangan, mereka merasakan perjuangan mereka kini longgar sebab itu mereka terbahag dua.
“Kita lihat kumpulan muda masih inginkan kepada perjuangan asal, tetapi kumpulan pemimpin lama nampaknya lebih kepada kepentingan politik kerana khuatir akan hilang nikmati yang dirasainya sekarang. Sebab itu mereka terpaksa bersama DAP dan PKR, hanya untuk kepentingan sendiri,” katanya.
Perubahan yang berlaku pada Pas sekarang juga tambah beliau lagi menyebabkan orang Melayu yang cuba mendekati parti itu melihat bahawa parti itu tidak mempunyai perjuangan sebenarnya dan dilihat lebih condong mengikut rentak sekutu mereka dalam pakatan pembangkang.
Shabery berkata, berikutan itu Pas dilihat cuba kembali kepada perjuangan asal mereka untuk mengembalikan kepercayaan orang Melayu yang menjadi penyokong kuat mereka.
Berikutan perubahan yang cuba dilakukan oleh Pas itu telah menyebabkan timbulnya permasalahan dengan sekutu mereka iaitu DAP sehingga memberi kata dua kepada Pas dalam hubungan di dalam pakatan pembangkang.
Keadaan yang berlaku tidak membawa perubahan sokongan kepada DAP sebaliknya akan memberi kesan kepada Pas dalam pilihan raya akan datang dan PKR dilihat kabur dalam perjuangan mereka. -MediaUMNO

DATUK WIRA ABU SEMAN YUSOF, MP MASJID TANAH, TIMB MENTERI DALAM NEGERI - PENGUNDI BUKAN MELAYU AKAN KEMBALI SOKONG BN .

WINNABLE CANDIDATE ?
Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop dilahirkan pada 10 Januari 1944 di Masjid Tanah, Melaka. Beliau mendapat pendidikan awal di Sekolah Melayu Bukit Beringin, Masjid Tanah pada tahun 1950 sebelum melanjutkan pelajaran di Masjid Tanah English School pada tahun 1955. Beliau kemudiannya menyambung pelajaran di Gajah Berang Secondary English School pada tahun 1958. Semasa menuntut di sekolah ini, beliau bergrak cergas dalam hamper semua kegiatan sekolah yang meliputi bidang sukan dan pasukan beruniform. Beliau juga ialah Penolong Ketua Pengawas di sekolahnya
Kerjaya beliau bermula sebagai Inspektor Pelatih di Pusat Latihan Polis Diraja Malaysia di Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur dari Jun 1964 hingga Mac 1965.
Setelah tamat latihan, Datuk Wira Abu Seman telah dilantik sebagai Inspektor Polis dan memulakan kerjaya sebagai Pegawai Penyiasat di beberapa Pejabat Polis Daerah di Terengganu sebelum ke Perak dengan menyandang jawatan sebagai Ketua Peronda Jalanraya Negeri Perak. Pada Disember 1968, beliau telah dipinjamkan ke Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR) sebagai Pegawai Penyiasat sebelum diserap ke dalam Perkhidmatan Biro Siasatan Negara (BSN) dengan jawatan yang sama.
Pada September 1974, beliau kemudiannya telah mengikuti kursus undang-undang di Middle Temple, London, England dan lulus dengan Ijazah Undang-Undang "Barrister-At-Law" dalam tahun 1977. Setelah kembali semula ke tanahair beliau meneruskan perkhidmatan di Jabatan Biro Siasatan Negara (kini ditukarkan kembali kepada BPR) sebagai Pegawai Pendakwa. Pada Jun 1978, beliau telah berpindah ke Jabatan Peguam Negara Malaysia dan memikul tanggungjawab sebagai Timbalan Pendakwa Raya dan Penolong Penasihat Undang-Undang Jabatan Kastam DiRaja Malaysia sehingga bulan Oktober 1981.
Datuk Wira Abu Seman telah meletakan jawatan sebagai pegawai kerajaan pada Oktober 1981 bagi menyertai Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Berhad (MISC) sebagai Pegawai Eksekutif Kanan Perundangan sehingga bulan Januari 1983. Beliau seterusnya telah menganggotai firma Tetuan Sng Mattew & Abu Seman sehingga April 1984. Berkat pengalaman yang ditimba selama berkhidmat di firma tersebut, beliau akhirnya membuka firma guamannya sendiri iaitu Tetuan Abu Seman & Co sehingga beliau dilantik sebagai Setiausaha Parlimen Kementerian Keselamatan Dalam Negeri selama 2 1/2 tahun mulai 31 Mac 2004 sehingga 16 Februari 2006. Pada 17 Februari 2006 beliau telah dilantik sebagai Timbalan Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan sehingga 10 Mac 2008. Kini, mulai dari 19 Mac 2008, beliau telah dilantik sebagai Menteri Pertahanan Malaysia. Selain itu, beliau juga pernah menjawat jawatan sebagai Pengerusi Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) selama 4 tahun dari 3 April 2000 hingga 2 April 2004.
Datuk Wira Abu Seman mula berkecimpung di dalam arena politik pada tahun 1978 sebagai ahli UMNO biasa Cawangan Paya Rumput, Masjid Tanah, Melaka. Ketokohan dan ilmu pengetahuan beliau telah mendapat perhatian apabila beliau telah dipilih sebagai Ketua Penerangan UMNO Cawangan Paya Rumput mulai Februari 1985 sehingga beliau dipilih sebagai Timbalan Ketua UMNO Cawagan pada Mac 2002. Seterusnya beliau dipilih sebagai Ahli Jawatankuasa UMNO Bahagian Alor Gajah mulai Mei 1987 hingga Oktober 1993. Pada bulan Oktober 1993 pula, beliau menyandang jawatan Bendahari UMNO Bahagian Alor Gajah sehingga 22 Mac 1998. Bintangnya semakin menyinar apabila dipilih sebagai Ketua Bahagian UMNO Alor Gajah (mulai Januari 2004 dikenali sebagai UMNO Bahagian Masjid Tanah) mulai 22 Mac 1998 sehingga kini. Pada 18 April tahun yang sama, beliau telah dilantik Bendahari UMNO Perhubungan Negeri Melaka. Pada 27 Oktober 2004, beliau menjawat jawatan Timbalan Pengerusi Badan Perhubungan UMNO Melaka sehingga kini.
Datuk Wira Abu Seman pertama kali bertanding dalam Pilihanraya Umum ke 9 pada tahun 1995 dan memenangi kerusi Parlimen Alor Gajah dengan memperolehi 29,652 undi mengalahkan Omar Bin Baba dari PAS yang memperolehi 4,556 undi dengan majoriti undi yang besar sebanyak 25,096 undi. Dalam Pilihanraya Umum ke 10 pada 1999 beliau sekali lagi memenangi Parlimen Alor Gajah dengan majoriti 12,332 undi mengalahkan Ab Ghani Ab Rahman dari PAS yang mendapat undi sebanyak 12,283 berbanding Datuk Wira Abu Seman yang mendapat 24,615 undi.
Dalam Pilihanraya ke 11 pada tahun 2004 pula, beliau telah berjaya memenangi kerusi Parlimen Masjid Tanah, iaitu kawasan baru yang diwujudkan lantaran dari persempadanan semula dengan majoriti besar 18,399 undi. Beliau telah menewaskan Muhammad Burok dari PAS dengan memperolehi 24,188 undi berbanding 5,789 undi.
Pada Pilihanraya Umum ke 12 baru-baru ini, iaitu pada 8 Mac 2008 beliau sekali lagi mempertahankan kerusi Parlimen Masjid Tanah dan telah berjaya memperolehi 21,582 undi dengan majoriti sebanyak 12,285 undi mengalahkan Ab Ghani Ab Rahman dari PAS yang memperolehi undi sebanyak 9,297 undi.
Datuk Wira Abu Seman telah mendirikan rumahtangga pada 21 April 1972 dengan Datin Wira Rahimi Yeop dan dikurniakan dua orang cahaya mata lelaki, Abu Azrine dan Abu Erwann. Kerjaya isterinya sebelum ini adalah seorang jururawat tetapi kerana prihatin terhadap masa depan anak-anak, beliau bersara secara pilihan mulai Julai 1989
Diantara sumbangannya, Datuk Wira Abu Seman telah dianugerahkan beberapa Darjah Kebesaran seperti Darjah Cemerlang Seri Melaka (DCSM) yang membawa gelaran Datuk Wira ada tahun 1998, Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka (DMSM) yang membawa gelaran Datuk pada tahun 1994, Kesatria Mangku Negara (KMN) Pada tahun 1998, Jaksa Pendamai (JP) pada tahun 1992 dan Bintang Khidmat Terpuji (BKT) pada tahun 1987.

Ketua UMNO Bahagian Masjid Tanah, Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop yakin bahawa Barisan Nasional (BN) mampu mempertahankan Masjid Tanah pada pilihan raya akan datang.
Keyakinan itu adalah berdasarkan kajian yang telah dilakukan berikutan peningkatan bukan sahaja pendaftaran pengundi baru malah sokongan pengundi bukan Melayu.
“Walaupun begitu, saya tidak sesekali memandang remeh persediaan menghadapi PRU 13 . Di peringkat bahagian, kita telah pun membuat pelbagai aktiviti dalam usaha mendekati rakyat sebagai persediaan. Saya sendiri sentiasa turun padang menyelami jiwa masyarakat setempat bagi mengetahui kehendak rakyat,” jelasnya kepada UMNO-Online di sini, hari ini.
Beliau menjelaskan, UMNO Masjid Tanah sentiasa melipat ganda usaha meraih undi masyarakat bagi memastikan kesemua DUN di Masid Tanah terus dikuasai oleh BN.
Menurutnya, ketika PRU lalu peratus pengundi Cina dan India sedikit menurun kerana beberapa isu ketika itu, namun setelah usaha gigih dijalankan terdapat peningkatan.
“Berdasarkan jumlah pengundi Melayu sebanyak 70 peratus dari jumlah keseluruhan dan 30 peratus membabitkan pengundi lain, saya yakin jumlah pengundi bangsa lain akan kembali kepada BN,” katanya.
Beliau berkata, dalam usaha merealisasikannya, pelbagai program kesedaran dan penambahan pengundi baru dilaksanakan secara berterusan.
“Setiap kali program dijalankan, sudah pasti kaunter pendaftaran pengundi dan ahli baru turut dibuka dan mendapat sambutan daripada pengunjung.
“Pada 8 Januari ini, satu program Juara Rakyat peringkat bahagian akan diadakan dengan tema Kemahiran dan Kerjaya,” katanya. -MediaUMNO

DATO' PADUKA ABU BAKAR TAIB, MP LANGKAWI - KERUSI SELAMAT

WINNABLE CANDIDATE ?
Datuk Paduka Abu Bakar Taib merupakan Ahli Parlimen Langkawi, Kedah. Dalam Pilihan Raya Umum Malaysia 2008 beliau mengalahkan calon dari Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Wan Salleh Wan Isa dengan majoriti sebanyak 4,970 undi. Datuk Paduka Abu Bakar Taib memperolehi 13,762 undi berbanding Wan Salleh Wan Isa memperolehi hanya 8,792 undi.
Dato' Abu Bakar Bin Taib dilahirkan pada 21 Mac 1943 di Kampung Raja, Padang Mat Sirat, Pulau Langkawi, Kedah. Menerima pendidikan rendah di Sekolah Mukim Padang Matsirat, Langkawi, Kedah dan pendidikan menengah di Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid, Alor Star, Kedah. Meneruskan pengajiannya ke peringkat yang lebih tinggi di Universiti Malaya pada tahun 1965 sehingga 1969 sehingga dianugerahkan Ijazah Sarjana Muda Sains Pertanian. Seterusnya, beliau menyambung pengajiannya di peringkat Sarjana di Australia National University di dalam bidang Ekonomi (Agricultural Development).

Kerjaya:
Pegawai Pertanian Daerah Krian (1969-1971)
Pegawai Pertanian Daerah Larut Matang dan Selama (1971-1973)
Pengarah Pertanian Negeri Perlis (1973-1976)
Timbalan Ketua Bahagian Pertanian di Lembaga Kemajuan Pertanian Muda (MADA) (1976-1978)
Pegawai Tadbir MADA (1976-1990)
Pengarah Urusan Yayasan Amanah Saham Anak Langkawi (ASAL).
Setiausaha Parlimen Kementerian Pertanian (11 Mei 1995- kini)
Penglibatan Politik :
Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Kawasan Kuah (1990)
Exco Negeri Kedah memegang jawatan sebagai Pengerusi Pembangunan Pertanian dan Luar Bandar
Ketua UMNO Bahagian Langkawi
Ahli jawatankuasa Badan Perhubungan UMNO Negeri Kedah (1995)
Pengerusi UMNO cawangan Kampung Raja / Kampung Atas. (1991- kini)
Penglibatan Pertubuhan Sosial dan Profesional :
Penasihat 'Women Institution of Langkawi' (WI), cawangan Langkawi
Penasihat Koperasi Pekebun-Pekebun
Ahli Kedah Royal Club
Ahli Jemaah Dato'- Dato' Negeri Kedah
Ahli Sultan Abdul Hamid Old Collegians Association (SAHOCA ).
Bagi menghargai sumbangan dan jasa baktinya, beliau telah dianugerahkan oleh kerajaan pingat dan darjah kebesaran, iaitu P.J.K., B.C.K., S.D.K., K.M.N. dan D.S.D.K yang membawa gelaran Dato'.

Dewasa ini negara dilanda pelbagai spekulasi yang lazim berlaku menjelang pilihanraya. Ada generasi tua yang dipinta malah bersedia berundur bagi memberi jalan kepada generasi muda. Ada yang telah lanjut umur namun ternyata masih berwibawa dan harus dikekalkan. Ada anak muda yang tidak segan-segan menawarkan diri untuk dipertimbangkan sebagai calon wakil rakyat.
Malangnya ada juga segolongan yang masih ingin kekal abadi dalam kedudukan enak sebagai wakil rakyat, terutama sekali di kawasan-kawasan parlimen atau DUN yang dikira 'selamat' oleh parti. Ini walaupun mungkin dari pelbagai segi, mereka ternyata sudah 'tamat tempoh' perkhidmatan. Contoh terulung di antara golongan 'tamat tempoh' adalah Datuk Paduka Abu Bakar Taib, ahli Parlimen Langkawi.
Datuk Bakaq seperti dikenali oleh masyarakat Langkawi, merupakan anak pulau yang dikenal sopan dan murah hatinya di sekitar Kampung Raja. Dari kedudukan sebagai seorang pegawai kerajaan, beliau dibawa masuk ke alam politik oleh mantan Menteri Besar Kedah, Tan Sri Sanusi Junid, juga bekas ahli Perlimen Langkawi, sebagai usaha Tan Sri bagi memberi peluang kepada anak pulau untuk mewakili Langkawi di peringkat kerajaan pusat pada satu masa kelak.
Malangnya, walaupun Datuk Bakaq memang ahli dalam selok-belok politik kampungan, dan mungkin berwibawa dalam menjalankan tugas kerajaan, usaha beliau tidaklah setanding pencapaian ahli Parlimen segenerasi dengannya. Datuk Bakaq bukan sekadar lebih tua dari 'sponsornya' Tan Sri Sanusi, malah duduk segenerasi dengan Datuk Paduka Rafidah Aziz dan Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, yang terlihat jauh kebilangan dalam bandingan.
Mungkin juga Datuk Bakaq lambat naik sebab beliau lambat aktif politik, tetapi apabila kita meninjau kabinet pada zaman Datuk Bakaq menjadi Setiausaha Parlimen, yang sama tahap dengannya pada masa itu termasuklah Datuk Shafie Apdal yang kini sudah mencapai tahap Menteri. Datuk Mahathir Khir pula telah menyertai kerajaan di kemudian hari dan terus ke taraf Timbalan Menteri. Datuk Bakaq malangnya telah lama hilang kedudukan kerajaannya.
Datuk Bakaq suka menggunakan modal yang kekalnya beliau di Langkawi adalah kerana orang Langkawi mahukan orang pulau dan tidak mahu orang luar. Ini adalah modal lama beliau yang digunakan untuk merampas kedudukan Ketua Bahagian UMNO Langkawi dahulu untuk menyembunyikan tangan Datuk Anwar Ibrahim yang sebenarnya menggunakan Datuk Bakaq menjatuhkan Tan Sri Sanusi Junid. Beliau hanya sekadar alat...
Datuk Bakaq mungkin lega yang sesudah Anwar disingkirkan yang beliau sebagai 'orang Anwar' kekal sebagai ahli Parlimen dan Ketua Bahagian Langkawi. Beliau mungkin tidak sedar yang Tun Dr Mahathir mengekalkan Tan Sri Sanusi sebagai pengerusi BN bahagian seketika untuk mengekalkan perpaduan UMNO dan BN. Beliau juga terus dikekalkan sementara anak-anak muda Langkawi seperti 'Nawi' (ADUN Kuah, Ir. Nawawi Ahmad) dan Mohd Rawi Abd Hamid.
Malang pula nasib Nawi, yang apabila Rawi, Ketua Pemuda Langkawi merangkap Ketua Pemuda Kedah, bangun mengecam Tun Dr Mahathir pada kemuncak perbalahan Tun dan Pak Lah, Nawi sebagai 'senior' Rawi saling tercemar nama di kalangan penduduk Langkawi yang sememangnya mengenang budi dan jasa Tun kepada pembangunan serta kemakmuran rakyat Langkawi. Sejurus selepas Rawi terlepas kata, 3,000 penduduk Langkawi menyambut kedatangan Tun.
Mungkin ada juga penduduk Langkawi yang tertanya-tanya kenapa Datuk Bakaq sendiri tidak bangun mempertahankan Tun Dr M pada masa itu?
Keinginan Datuk Bakaq untuk kekal sebagai ahli Parlimen Langkawi kini mengancam kerusi-kerusi Parlimen mahupun DUN yang sudah selamat bagi UMNO dan BN sekian lama. Nawi dan/atau Rawi semestinya bercita-cita untuk bertanding pada kali ini, dan anak pulau berdua ini tidak boleh dibawa ke arah kemenangan dalam gandingan dengan Datuk Bakaq. Luka lama sekitar penghinaan terhadap Tun Dr M masih belum terubat.
Datuk Mahadzir Khalid kelihatan sedar akan perkara ini. Dalam usahanya mengubat luka di Langkawi serta Kedah, beliau sudah mencadangkan anak bongsu Tun Dr M, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, yang terlihat dinamis sebagai seorang usahawan mahupun dalam kepimpinan parti dan pergerakan NGO untuk mengambil tempat Datuk Bakaq sebagai calon Parlimen Langkawi. Pencalonan beliau akan dilihat sebahagian dari pohonan maaf pemimpin UMNO negeri kepada Tun Dr M.
Namun Datuk Bakaq tetap berdegil ingin mengekalkan kedudukannya...
Kenapakah Datuk Bakaq begitu degil dalam tindak-tanduknya? Begitu sekali degilnya sehingga 24 dari 91 cawangan UMNO Langkawi yang dipimpin kaum keluarganya jauh-dekat serta rakan-taulannya dikerah untuk menuntut pengekalannya. Tidakkah beliau sedar yang di kalangan pemimpin 24 cawangan ini pun, terlalu ramai yang malu-alah menyokongnya hanya kerana sopan-santun Melayu yang tidak menolak permintaan orang tua keluarga?
Datuk Bakaq bukanlah Kayu Jati yang kian kuat dari zaman ke zaman seperti Tunku Razaleigh Hamzah (KuLi) yang penting dalam usaha mengembalikan Kelantan kepada UMNO walaupun usianya menjangkau 70 tahun. Datuk Bakaq patut memberi peluang kepada Buluh Muda seperti Datuk Mukhriz untuk bertanding dan meruncing demi masa depan Langkawi, Kedah dan UMNO.
Langkawi tidak perlu tunggul kayu dalam susunan tiang pembangunannya...

Akhramsyah Muammar Ubaidah bin Sanusi
Ahli UMNO Cawangan Bendang Baru, Langkawi