Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim called on Chinese voters not to be tricked by Prime Minister Najib Razak's "dirty politics", accusing the ruling Umno-BN coalition of trying to cheat by making it impossible for the DAP to use its Rocket logo in coming general election.
He also advised the DAP, one of the 3 Opposition parties that make up the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, not to be demoralized but to continue to fight even it if it meant having to contest under the logos of the other 2 Pakatan parties - PKR and PAS.
"Do you think the Chinese are afraid of using the Moon? Do you think they are afraid of Keadilan. Let’s teach them a lesson."
Using the RoS to derail the Pakatan's advance?
The 64-year-old Anwar was referring to the announcement by the Registrar of Societies that it could not recognize the current set of DAP office bearers pending a probe into the party's recent internal election, which has been disputed by disgruntled members.
The RoS snub is seen by many political pundits as a sly move to derail the Pakatan by whittling down the popularity of the Chinese-based DAP by forcing it to contest under the logos of PAS, an Islamist party, and the multiracial PKR.
Although Election Commission deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar has said he believed the DAP could still use its logo, there are concerns that with their office bearers 'disqualified', there would be no one left in DAP who could authorize their candidates to contest under the Rocket logo.
“If our CEC (central executive committee) is not recognised, how to issue authorisation letter to our candidates?”The Malaysian Insider reported Tony Pua, the DAP national publicity secretary as saying on Friday after a 5pm deadline to the RoS expired.
Tony added that the RoS did not contact DAP at all today, prompting the party's top leadership to make the unprecedented decision to contest under the PAS logo in Peninsular Malaysia and PKR in Sabah and Sarawak. PKR and PAS will now sign the letters of appointment for the DAP candidates that need to be submitted to the Election Commission on nomination day.
"April 18, 2013 had been the most heart-rending day in my life, the day when the Registrar of Societies dispatched a letter to the DAP to knock out the Rocket symbol from the 13GE, with the Nomination Day less than 48 hours away, completely without any legal basis or plausible ground," DAP adviser Kit Siang wrote in a statement on Friday.
"I was not the only one to shed tears yesterday as all over the country, many DAP stalwarts and supporters who are Malaysian patriots whose home and sole object of loyalty is Malaysia and do not know or recognize another country as their motherland, also cried at the injustice, oppression and iniquity of the RoS action, clearly at the behest of the political masters in Umno-Barisan Nasional."
What type of politics is this?
In recent years, MCA - the BN's Chinese-based component - has lost tremendous ground to the Pakatan Rakyat and faces political obsolescence in Malaysia's 13th general election which is due to be balloted on May 5. Nomination day is on Saturday April 20.
Anwar also warned Umno-BN leaders that to poke fire in such a way would only backfire.
According to the Pakatan de-facto chief, Malaysians have already risen above "narrow" politics and agenda. This phenomenon was taking place across the nation and citizens were now more concerned about justice, a level playing field and transparency rather than dwelling on racial and religious differences, he added.
"What type of politics is this? Politics is for agenda, manifesto, policies. I say to DAP, if you can use the Rocket, use the Rocket, if you have to use Keadilan, use Keadilan, if you have to use the Moon, use the Moon. But fight we must, fight we must," said Anwar to thunderous applause.
Malaysia Chronicle
IN a stunning misstep, DAP announced yesterday that its candidates will contest the May 5 general election on Pas tickets, sparking outrage among supporters of the two ideologically divergent parties. Later in the day, DAP added a qualifier — its 53 parliamentary and 103 state seat candidates will present to the returning officers at the nomination centres this morning a letter of authorisation signed by secretarygeneral Lim Guan Eng.
ReplyDelete“In the event we cannot use our symbol, then show them the letter of authorisation signed by Pas secretary- general Mustafa Ali,” Lim told a press conference in Penang. Political analysts say DAP’s unprecedented gambit, ostensibly to seek public sympathy, could backfire as the mainly Chinese DAP may have unwittingly played into Pas’ hands.
ReplyDelete“This is truly shameful. And all this comes down to the weakness of one person who should take responsibility for it, and that is DAP secretary- general Lim Guan Eng, who should step down,” said Seremban DAP’s Ladang Paroi branch vicechairman A. David Dass.
ReplyDeleteHe said he was ashamed that for the first time in the party’s 47-year history its candidates would have to use another party’s logo to contest in the general election. Muslims cautioned Pas not to sacrifice its principles. “Pas might as well drop Islam and change its name to Malaysian Socialist Welfare Party,” said former Selangor Pas secretary Norman Toha. DAP life-member Lee Chee Cheng protested the move, saying it was demeaning to the Chinese community.
ReplyDeletePas Dewan Ulama chief Datuk Harun Taib “welcomed” the move, saying it signalled the beginning of DAP accepting Pas objectives to set up an Islamic state and implementing Hudud.
ReplyDeleteA political analyst said DAP's decision to use logos of its Pakatan allies could be viewed as a tactical move to condition non-Muslim voters to view Pas favourably as well as dispelling lingering notions among Muslims of DAP's supposed anti-Islam stance.
ReplyDelete"They are putting up a drama by projecting themselves as a victim. Now they have no choice but to use Pas and PKR logos when in actual fact there is no issue about using the rocket symbol," said the analyst, adding that the problem was DAP's own doing as it had delayed the RoS inquiry until near the election date.
ReplyDeleteThe flurry of announcements by DAP came after the Registrar of Societies (RoS) had on Wednesday notified the party in writing that it did not recognise the party's office bearers elected on Dec 15. This followed complaints from DAP members of irregularities in the tabulation of the party election results.
ReplyDeleteDAP had given ROS until 3pm yesterday to retract the letter. When the deadline passed, the party announced that it would use the party symbols of its allies in Pakatan Rakyat. DAP speculated that returning officers would disqualify its candidates if is used the party's own logo because of the ROS letter.
ReplyDeleteThe announcement that DAP candidates would contest under the Pas logo in peninsular Malaysia and the Parti Keadilan Rakyat logo in Sabah and Sarawak was made by DAP chairman Karpal Singh, who made the oft-cited "over my dead body" comment whenever Pas brought up the implementation of Hudud. The decision was made despite assurances from ROS as well as the Election Commission that DAP could still use its rocket symbol for the general election.
ReplyDeleteIf you're one of the diminishing band of people planning to vote Pakatan Rakyat here's an important question for you: How confident do you feel?
ReplyDeleteDo you also feel confident that your newly chosen Government can implement its manifesto as a workable blueprint for prosperity? On that count there has already been significant backtracking (Lynas, road tolls) and experts are already asking who will foot the bill for this big-spending wish list.
DeleteAnd perhaps most importantly in terms of who will have the greatest say over Malaysia's future success; do you feel confident you know who will end up occupying Seri Perdana? Because not even Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim knows. He, more than anyone, is aware that if PAS makes all the big gains in a Pakatan victory, it will have its own ideas about the premiership that involves its President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.
DeleteYes, there are a lot of "ifs" in these scenarios, but that's what Pakatan Rakyat brings to the table; unanswerable questions and a lot of "ifs".
DeleteThe lesson is straightforward: change is great if you know what you are getting or are wildly excited about a leap into the unknown. The latter sounds all very good except this isn't some adventure sport; this is the future of the nation. There is a lot at stake for us and even more at stake for our children.
DeletePakatan has used the nomination process to quell dissent and has plonked ethnic candidates into unwinnable seats in an effort to fool voters into thinking DAP and PAS in particular have embraced diversity.
DeleteFor example, PAS' non-Muslim candidate in Ayer Hitam, Hu Pang Chow, has a mountain to climb in a seat won by MCA at GE12 by 14,000 votes. It's a total farce and tells us nothing about how serious they are about Government.
DeleteBut perhaps we are being a bit unfair on Pakatan. Its candidates won't be unknown quantities if they are six term veterans aged in their 70s. Pakatan's sad procession of aging party stalwarts should not give us comfort in their longevity; rather they remind us that familiarity breeds contempt.
DeleteBetween all the issues Pakatan Rakyat has failed to resolve, and the aging candidates who are past their prime the message is clear: A vote for change is indeed a leap into the unknown.
DeleteTan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin menempelak Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang sering berbohong kepada rakyat Sabah demi mencapai cita-cita peribadinya untuk menjadi Perdana Menteri.
ReplyDeleteTimbalan Perdana Menteri, berkata Anwar yang sering berkunjung ke Sabah secara lantang mengajak rakyat negeri ini mengubah kerajaan yang selama ini ditadbir secara baik oleh Barisan Nasional (BN).
ReplyDelete“Anwar berkali-kali datang ke Sabah dan cuba mengelirukan serta menipu rakyat Sabah dengan mengatakan BN sudah tumbang di Semenanjung... ini semua pembohongan besar.
ReplyDelete“Dia mahu tipu orang Sabah dan hanya mahu menjadi Perdana Menteri, sebab itu dia minta rakyat (Sabah) ubah kerajaan,” katanya berucap pada majlis perjumpaan bersama rakyat di Dewan Seri Sulaman dekat sini, malam tadi.
ReplyDeleteTurut hadir, isterinya, Puan Sri Norainee Abdul Rahman; Ketua Menteri, Datuk Seri Musa Aman dan Ketua UMNO Tuaran, Datuk Hajiji Mohd Noor.
ReplyDeleteMuhyiddin berkata, kerajaan BN dipimpin Datuk Seri Najib Razak tidak perlu ditukar kerana ia berjaya mewujudkan Malaysia yang aman, maju, selamat di samping memberi keselesaan kepada rakyat.
“Kita sudah berjuang sejak sekian lama dan menjadikan Malaysia dari negeri mundur menjadi maju... dulu ramai miskin tetapi hari ini sudah diturunkan (kadar kemiskinan) termasuk di Sabah yang kini berada di bawah lapan peratus.
ReplyDelete“Selama mana BN mentadbir kerajaan di Pusat atau Sabah, kita sudah buat macam-macam seperti sediakan peluang pekerjaan dan menarik pelabur supaya ekonomi menjadi lebih baik.
ReplyDelete“Kita juga sudah memajukan bidang pelajaran, hari ini semua anak kita dapat ke sekolah dengan pelbagai kemudahan disediakan, pendidikan kita adalah percuma,” katanya.
ReplyDeleteBeliau berkata, BN juga berjaya menyatukan masyarakat majmuk di negara ini kerana pemimpinnya berpandangan jauh.
ReplyDelete“Begitu juga dalam aspek keselamatan, kita berjaya menjaganya dengan baik dan baru-baru ini apabila ada pencerobohan di Lahad Datu, kita atasi dengan menghantar bala tentera untuk menghalau penceroboh.
ReplyDelete“Akhirnya Sabah dan Lahad Datu kembali aman, kita juga menubuhkan Kawasan Keselamatan Khas Timur Sabah (ESSCOM) untuk memastikan keselamatan negeri ini terjamin,” katanya.
ReplyDeleteDAP takut nak guna logo sendiri kerana takut kalah.. ahha
ReplyDeletePerdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak berkata, DAP perlu menyatakan pendirian berhubung ketegasan PAS untuk tetap melaksanakan hudud jika pakatan pembangkang membentuk kerajaan walaupun parti itu menentangnya.
ReplyDeleteNajib berkata, rakyat perlu tahu pendirian DAP yang selama ini bermati-matian menolak pelaksanaan hudud kerana perkara itu tidak terkandung dalam manifesto pakatan pembangkang dalam Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-13 (PRU-13).
ReplyDeleteAgak menghairankan dan jadi persoalan, mengapa parti DAP tidak guna simbol PKR sahaja.
ReplyDeleteHubungan DAP dengan PKR diketahui lebih akrab berbanding dengan Pas. Sementelahan pula, simbol PKR sememangnya diguna secara meluas di Semenanjung, bukan hanya di Sabah dan Sarawak.
ReplyDeleteKita juga tahu, bukan semua pemimpin Pas benar-benar setuju dengan DAP. Ketua Dewan Ulama, Dr Harun Taib pernah bertelagah dengan Karpal Singh dalam isu hudud. Dan Karpal juga pernah bertelagah dengan Ketua Pemuda, Nasharuddin Hassan dalam isu yang sama.
ReplyDeleteMeskipun pertelagahan itu kemudiannya 'ditenangkan' oleh Presiden, Abdul Hadi Awang yang mengatakan pendapat Harun adalah atas kapasiti peribadi, bukan pendirian parti, orang masih dapat melihat hubungan Pas dengan DAP adalah sangat rapuh.
ReplyDeleteJika benar DAP jadi menggunakan logo Pas pada pilihan raya ini, akan ada 'fatwa' daripada pemimpin Pas bahawa mereka sudah berjaya mentarbiah pemimpin DAP untuk lebih dekat dengan Islam sehingga bersetuju menggunakan logo parti Islam pada pilihan raya. Ini pasti akan berlaku.
ReplyDeleteBerbeza dengan pengundi Cina yang teliti mengenai calon, pengundi Melayu sebaliknya hanya melihat kepada simbol. Lazimnya, mereka sudah buat keputusan awal untuk memangkah simbol mana pada kertas undi.
ReplyDeleteBagi penyokong Pas, mereka sudah tentu tanpa ragu-ragu akan memangkah simbol 'Islam' meskipun yang dipangkah itu calon bukan Islam daripada DAP. Agaknya, advantage seperti inilah yang diharapkan DAP dalam perkongsian logo dengan Pas.
ReplyDeleteApa pun, diharapkan persetujuan ini tidak akan sehingga merugikan Pas dan Islam, dalam jangka pendek lebih-lebih lagi jangka panjang. Jangan menang sorak, kampung tergadai.
ReplyDelete