Kamal, the phantom voter

Well, well, well. What do you know - Kamalanathn could be a phantom v0ter after all. This was spotted when bloggers began checking him out using the SPR website. It was found that he is a registered voter in Sungei Siput, where Samy once represented, but today, he is standing for election in Hulu Selangor and voting there as well. Shouldn't the EC disqualify him? It would be nice resulting in a walk-over for Zaid Ibrahim.

But then, you know, I know, the EC will not be doing any checking any time sooner and soon, it will be all forgotten.

Check this out :

Kamal's full name: P.KAMALANATHAN A/L P.PANCHANATHAN

NRIC No: 651018106495 / A0300073

SPR Website : http://daftarj.spr.gov.my/daftarj/daftarbi.aspx

Tok Guru speaks

PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat today lashed out at Umno for resorting to personal attacks against PKR candidate Zaid Ibrahim in the run up to the Hulu Selangor by-election.

Speaking at a press conference in Kuala Kubu Baru, Nik Aziz said the protracted attempts to paint Zaid as an alcoholic and gambler was bodoh (stupid).

“That is the work of stupid people... Umno has no issues left... He represents the party. If you (Umno) are capable, then fight the party (PKR), don't use personal attacks,” he said.

Nik Aziz, a revered Islamic scholar, is Pakatan's last ditch effort to 'cleanse' Zaid's image who has taken a heavy beating from the allegations.

Zaid has admitted dabbling with alcohol in his youths and that he once owned race horses but claims those days were behind him.

But this has not stopped Umno top guns from making innuendoes on Zaid's alleged vices to the mostly rural and conservative Malays, who make up the majority of Hulu Selangor's electorate.

Nik Aziz was brought to Kuala Kubu Baru to provide reinforcement for Zaid and PKR, immediately after arriving from Mecca where he performed the umrah.

Nik Aziz offers encouragement

Though looking weary from his long travels, Nik Aziz pulled no punches on Umno and likened the party to children for resorting to personal attacks.

"They are like small kids. If they can sneak a punch, they will punch. If not, they will jebeh (stick their tongues out) and then spit. Its just to let off steam," said Nik Aziz, who at one point stuck his own tongue out, prompting the room packed with reporters to burst out laughing.

"Umno cannot be articulate on issues, so they resort to personal attacks. This is very embarassing for Malaysia," he added.

Also present at the press conference was Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, Zaid, DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang and PKR vice-president Azmin Ali.

Zaid told reporters that he was very humbled by the presence of a Nik Aziz, who is a revered Islamic scholar and also Kelantan menteri besar.

He said that he has received a telephone call from Nik Aziz twice recently, while he was in Mecca, who urged him to stay strong and weather the personal attacks.

Nik Aziz is scheduled to join PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim in the campaign tomorrow, which is the eve of polling day.

More defections ... this time from BN to Pakatan

This piece of news will not appear in the msm. This time it is about defections from BN to Pakatan.

Topping the list is former Umno member and son of the late Gafar Baba, Tamrin Gafar, followed by former MCA Sungai Besi senior member Farn Cheong Than and around 20 members from the Bagan Pinang and Teluk Kemang Umno Youth divisions.

Will more follow? Let's wait and see.

Now this is more like it

Ok, Kamal, now that you have kissed Muhyiddin's hand, how about kissing Zaid's for a change, i.e. if you are truly a Malaysian and not an Indian ... wakakaka

Kamalanathan, are you for real or what - a public relations man that is

Being a marketing consultant myself in which public relations is one of my practices, I thought I should mention something about Kamalanathan's reaction towards the press which is really appalling being a practitioner himself.

Here are some observations made, but before coming to that, let's see what Wikipedia has to say about the subject -

Public relations (or PR) is a field concerned with maintaining public image for high-profile people, organisations, or programs. Public relations concerns professions working in public message shaping for the functions of communication, community relations, crisis management, customer relations, employee relations, government affairs, industry relations, investor relations, media relations, mediation, publicity, speech-writing and visitor relations. Others define is as the practice of managing communication between and organisation and is publics. Public relations provides an organisation or individual exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that provide a third-party endorsement and do not direct payment. Common activities include speaking at conferences, working with the media, crisis communication, social media engagement, and employee communication. It is something that is not tangible; this is what sets it apart from advertising.

PR can be used to build rapport with employees, customers, investors, voters, or the general public. Almost any organisation that has a stake in how it is portrayed in the public arena employs some level of public relations.

Public relations professionals must know how to write clearly, speak clearly, and think analytically. These skills are necessary because in the field of PR there is constant communication between professionals and their publics. PR professionals also have to think critically so that they can come up with resolutions to problems their clients may face.

Now let's have a look at how Kamalanathan reacted to the media -

BN candidate for the Hulu Selangor by-election P Kamalanathan has put his public relations skills to work by avoiding giving straight answers to questions involving statements that he had made earlier.

"My focus is Hulu Selangor. My focus is the voters in Hulu Selangor. And my focus is to win the election," he said repeatedly when asked to elaborate on some of his controversial remarks.

"I will answer all these questions after the by-election," he told Malaysiakini yesterday while campaigning in Batang Kali.

Ask whether he would follow Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's example in putting his race first, he said:

"I'm Malaysian. I don't want to say anything more," he said.

He was also quizzed on his 'Hindraf is not a factor' statement, which he quickly brushed aside.

"I have already explained. I am not going to go into it again."

Kamalanathan also kept mum when asked whether he considered relevant some of claims contained in Hindraf's 18-point manifesto such as the need for a ethnic relations act, to convert all Tamil schools into fully government-funded schools, and reserving 20 percent of jobs in the public sector for Indians.

Perkasa's 97 percent claim

He was also asked whether he would endorsed Perkasa's aim to reserve 97 percent of the economic cake to the Malays.

"I have already explained, no further comment," he said.

The BN was pressed on why Indian Malaysians continued to be marginalised despite MIC being part of the ruling coalition for over half a century.

"This is a hard question. You should have put it in writing and given it to me earlier so that I could do some research before I could answer it," replied Kamalanathan.

When told that as the MIC information chief, he should have ready answers to such questions, he said: "I have been the information chief only for less than a year."

Kamalanathan was then referred to the MAPEN Report 1991 (National Economic Consultative Council), which had recommended, amongst others:

1. Pre-schools in estates.

2. Conversion of all partially-aided Tamil schools into fully-aided government schools.

3. Provision of assistance to setting up of a commercial bank and an insurance company.

4. Creation of a trust fund to enable Indians to invest in share markets.

5. Creation of a special scholarship fund to enable Indian students to acquire higher education in foreign countries.

6. Introduction of "affirmative action" similar to the affirmative action that is implemented for bumiputeras.

He was asked why MIC had not pressed the BN government to implement all these recommendations.

Kamalanathan hesitated, and then said he would have to look at it.

Short answers

The BN candidate was told that one of the biggest problem facing the Indians is employment opportunity.

For example, in 1971, before the implementation of New Economic Policy, there were 14.4 percent Indians in the public service. Now, they represent only 4 percent.

"It is going up," said Kamalanathan, without elaborating.

Similarly, according to the 9th Malaysia Plan, the development allocation for Chinese and Tamil primary schools is RM174.3 million and RM64.8 million respectively, while the allocation for national schools is RM4.8 billion.

Given on the basis of per student per month, national schools have RM33.30; Chinese schools RM4.50; Tamil schools, RM10.55. Why the discrimination, the MIC candidate was asked.

Kamalanathan's answer was again typically short. "More Tamil schools are being built," he said.

When he was pressed further to answer a number of other questions. Kamalanathan finally gave up.

"I will answer all these questions after the election," he said.

So the question is: ARE YOU A TRULY QUALIFIED PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTITIONER AS YOU CLAIMED TO BE?

Are the non-Malays really 'pendatang' now?

Now that Ahmad Ismail's 3 year suspension has been lifted and the HERO of UMNO's racism has been readmitted, lets look again at some of the Archeological findings which present evidence of which race is the actual "Pendatang".............
Please continue to forward this until we strip the LIARS naked.
Subject: Kota Gelanggi ( lost city )

A small piece of History for our future generation..Why Kota Gelanggi (lost city) touted as earliest civilization in Malay Peninsula news were banned as they were Buddhist.

The Johor find of 2005 which was quietly dropped was none other than Kota Gelanggi lost city reflecting Srivijaya and its Buddhist splendour. But they deliberately disregarded it because that would have sidelined Malacca Empire and Islam which was smaller and came some 500 years later. I met Dr Lee Kam Hing, a former History prof at MU in Singapore recently at a seminar.Dr Lee, who is now Star research director, told me he was trying his best to highlight Kota Gelanggi, but that the govt killed it off. This is clearly another case to cover up the real history of Malaya and fool the younger generations into believing that our history only began from Malacca 1400.. Not only that, they try to show Parameswara as Malay and Muslim, but actually he was Hindu! If one were to condemn these UMNO scumbags on how they distort history, it will never end......the condemnations will more than cover 10 PhD thesis!

A small piece of History for our future generation Hitler's public relations manager, Goebbels, once said, 'If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.'

Once again our government wiped out any references to a famous Melaka prince as being Hindu and belonging to the powerful Hindu empire Sri Vijaya.So all of a sudden our museums, school text-books etc. all refer to Parameswara as a Malay prince.

What race ruled or did not rule is besides the point. What is important is not butchering history to create your own truths. You cannot change your race even if you convert - Parameswara could have been responsible for Umno's proud heritage of ' Ketuanan Melayu '.

If this is what it is based on, there is no ' Ketuanan Melayu '. The lineage of Melaka Sultans are Indians, not Malays. It is no secret that Parameswara was an Indian and a Hindu prince.

It is clear from records that Parameswara never converted to Islam. He was an Indian Hindu who fled Palembang in Sumatra to eventually found Melaka circa 1400 AD. It was Sri Maharaja who converted himself and the court of Melaka to Islam, and as a result took on the name of Sultan Muhammad Shah sometime after 1435...

The most famous of Indian Hindu Kings were Raja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola who invaded Southern Thailand, Kedah, Perak, Johor and Sumatra about 1000 AD. This is Raja-raja Chola - the Indian/Hindu kings and not Raja Chulan - a Malay king. But what is really sad is that our children are taught as though Malaysian history suddenly began in 1400 with an Islamic Melaka.

We are led to believe that the Indians and Chinese first arrived on the shores of Malaysia in about 1850 as desperate indentured labourers, farmers and miners . Nothing could be further from the truth.

The cultural influences of India in particular, and China, in South East Asia span over 2,000 years, starting with the arrival from India of the Brahmanical prince/scholar - Aji Saka in Java in AD78, through to Vietnam, Cambodia (Indo China), Thailand,Burma, Indonesia, Bali, Borneo, Brunei and beyond.

The findings at Bujang Valley speak of an ancient Indian/Hindu presence in Kedah. There were Chinese settlements in Pahang and Kelantan around the 13th-14th century and in 12th century in Singapore .

The early Brunei Sultanate had a Chinese Queen. One need not ponder at length the implications of Angkor Wat and Borobudur or that 40%-50% of Bahasa Malaysia comprises Sanskrit/Tamil words. To illustrate, some of these word are :

bumi = boomi
putra = putran
raja = rajah
desa = thesam
syakti = sakthi
kolam = kulam
bahaya = abahya
jaya = jeya
maha = maha
aneka = aneha
nadi = naadi
kedai = kadai
mahligai = maaligai
mantra = manthrum
tandas = sandas
(This list can go on)

An extremely important archeological find that pointed to one of the greatest empires in history - the Raja Cholan empire that ruled from the Maldives through India , Sri Lanka and right down to South East Asia found deep in the jungles of Johor a few years ago and made headlines in the mainstream newspapers in 2005, suddenly disappeared from the news…..

The time has arrived for us to record our history as the facts tell us and not as we would like to wish it.

The truth will never hurt anyone. Lies, always will .

Selvan
via email
22/04/10

Aiyoh yoh, Kamal, how low can you go?

Kamal was livid when he was asked why he kissed Muhyiddin's hand, as though the latter was some sort of royalty. He snapped back, “Kiss his hand? When did I kiss his hand? Show me where I did that,” Since you asked, Kamal, here they are ...

Okay, guys, need we say more? Those hypocrites ...

A picture says a thousand words ....

URGENT ... Polling and counting agents needed this Sunday

I have just received the following email from Carmen Leong of DAP office, Petaling Jaya.

Dear Comrades,

A very good morning to all of you, I would like to seek assistance from you who are interested to help as polling or counting agent this Sunday. As we know, the Polling day for Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election falls on this Sunday. We are still short of about 20 helpers. For those who may need to know the polling period on Sunday, it starts from 9am n ends at 5pm then followed by the votes counting. We shall be there as early as 7am.

We will be having a short briefing this Friday (30th April) at 8pm at Sdr Tony Pua's office (55M Jalan SS21/1A, Damansara Utama, 47400 PJ). The briefing is conducted to brief the helpers of the duty for polling and counting agents, we will also then arrange transportation/ car-pooling after the briefing on Friday.

Dear comrades, kindly RSVP by 11am tomorrow (Wednesday) should any of you are interested to help, every single asisstance counts to ensure the smoothness of the vote casting in every polling stations.

Again, thank you very much and looking forward to your favorable reply.

Warm regards

Carmen Leong

016-2208867

BREAKING NEWS ... SNAP is now a member of Pakatan Rakyat!

Sarawak National Party (Snap) has joined as the fourth member of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, ahead of the crucial Sibu by-election on April 16.

Announcing Snap's entry today, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said the coalition's first task was to support DAP's candidate for the by-election, which will be announced on April 27.

The Dayak-based Snap, which is one of the oldest parties in Sarawak, was a member of the state BN ruling coalition, and is now an opposition party.

It does not have a seat in the state assembly.

Anwar and top Pakatan leaders have met with Snap representatives in Sibu on Sunday to seal the deal.

In the 2008 general elections, a lack of formal electoral pact resulted in numerous multi-cornered contents involving Snap, DAP and PKR.

With a formal coalition in place, the four opposition parties are now in a better position to ensure that the upcoming state elections will only see straight fights.

I believe its time to switch off the respiratory machine on MIC

Let's face it. MIC is so far gone that sooner or later, euthanasia will have to be performed. In early post-Merdeka days, UMNO, MCA and MIC could sit down at the same table and discuss issues on a consensus basis. Although UMNO would call the shots then, but they still respect the feelings of the other component parties, and thus they won the support of the various communities for years. Today, to pick a candidate for a by-election, it will have to be UMNO's choice and not MIC. If MIC were to pick a candidate, UMNO can veto the choice without blinking an eye-lid. For the Hulu Selangor campaign, it was not even a tight slap on Samy's face, but an uppercut on his jaw. After having decided on the candidate, UMNO now has the cheek to tell MIC, they must deliver the Indian votes. Where is MIC leadership at this point in time? All they can say is "Ok-lah" with their heads lowered. It is so pathetic, really.

"UMNO" giving "MIC" the uppercut

What happens if Kamalanathan wins? Najib and that Muhyiddin guy get the credit. I'll bet they will say, "You see, we were right all along. Our choice is better than yours, Samy". But what if Kamalanathan loses? MIC is bound to be blamed because they could not deliver as directed. As for MCA and Gerakan, has anyone heard from them since nomination day started? Well, the residents of Bukit Koman in Raub are looking for Yen Yen for the gold mining deal that uses cyanide, and in all likelihood, will not be showing her face there any time sooner.

However, the gathering at a grand dinner hosted by Pakatan in Hulu Selangor painted a total picture in contrast.

KKB overrun by PR supporters

The scene at KKB on nomination day was like a war zone, chingay, pasar malam, mardi grasse and Hyde Park all rolled into one. As early as 5 am supporters were heading towards the town centre.

Consisting of just a few roads, the town centre had, the night before, been sealed off from the nomination centre which is down the valley. And Pakatan Rakyat supporters found themselves trapped and sealed off. Many made it down the valley towards the nomination centre but found themselves in an area allocated for Barisan Nasional supporters.

This, however did not stop the few thousand PR supporters from showing their support by having their march and ceramahs/ They also made attempts to crash through the police barricade to get to the area allocated for PR supporters.

[Source: Malaysiakini]

From the epicentre

As reported in on April 19 2010 at 11.14 am:

At the moment still 50-50. Before nomination, it was advantage BN at 54 – 46.

Chinese votes are solidly behind PR, this time the support may go as high as 80%. In the GE of 2008, the support of the Chinese for PR was at 70%, but, really, Perkasa, Abraham s/o Ah Lee, and those fools had done the damage and PR must say ribuan terima kasih to them.

Indian votes, still difficult to assess. During 2008 even during the tsunami, the votes were equally split 50/50. But, Zaid can at least get 3,000 votes from here! Just whom does the Indians want to represent them? MIC, Hindraf, Makkhal Sakthi, IPF, PPP, Nallakaruppan, etc.etc.? Unless the Indians unite under BN or PR, they will continue to be marginalized for at least many decades to come. They got to educate their kids, to prevent from being exploited! If they place any hopes on HRP they are as good as dead. Even, Kamalamathan said HRP/Hindraf is irrelevant, and how true!

It is the Malays who are going to decide who their wakil rakyat will be. Judging by the response to the ceramahs of BN, it is no go, where Pasir Salak and Ali Rustam spoke! Really, they have got nothing new to bring to the Rakyat in Hulu Selangor, except, that DAP is the boss in Selangor, Zaid an alcoholic, and all those personal attacks. By the way, which UMNO Ministers dare to admit their wrongs? Zaid did, and there are so many cases of UMNO Baru Ministers drinking, gambling and womanizing, the world knows except UMNO Baru politicians! One UMNO leaders who said UMNO is not behind the character assasination truly has reasons to be scared, and you know why? Will the kampung Malays be conned again? But, there are alot of smart Malays working in KL and urban areas, so they are going to do their job for PR as well. If PR manage to get 40% of the Malay votes, they are very much in business, and a win is surely in the bags. PAS and PKR should work harder for the Malay votes. One advantage now for PR, is PAS, PKR and other Malay activists are now actively holding ceramahs in Felda schemes, remote villages and also to the orang Asli. This is going to affect BN’s vote bank at Felda. And the issue at Felda was exploited to the hilt by Zaid, who knows the problem in Felda. PR to win good amount of votes here at the expense of UMNO Baru!

It is still early days. Still 50-50!

The doctored pictures of Zaid Ibrahim

Above are two pix of Zaid Ibrahim, one without a drink and with hands clasped together while being interviewed by The NutGraph, and the second one, a doctored version with a bottle of whiskey in the same hands. These UMNO fellas, how low can they go, really. You can read the full interview with the original photo here

I feel so sorry for the folks of Hulu Selangor. Instead of campaigning on grounds of improving the livlihood of the residents, UMNO is using HS as the venue to slander its opponents. The people of Hulu Selangor deserve better.

Monday Humour

Bob works hard at the office but spends two nights each week bowling, andplays golf every Saturday.
His wife thinks he's pushing himself too hard, so for his birthday she takes him to a local strip club.
The doorman at the club greets them and says, 'Hey, Bob! How ya doin?'
His wife is puzzled and asks if he's been to this club before.
'Oh no,' says Bob. 'He's in my bowling league.
When they are seated, a waitress asks Bob if he'd like his usual and brings over a Budweiser.
His wife is becoming increasingly uncomfortable and says, 'How did she know that you drink Budweiser?'
I recognize her, she's the waitress from the golf club.
I always have a Bud at the end of the 1st nine, honey.'
A stripper then comes over to their table, throws her arms around Bob, starts to rub herself all over him and says, "Hi Bobby. Want your usual table dance, big boy?'
Bob's wife, now furious, grabs her purse and storms out of the club.
Bob follows and spots her getting into a cab.
Before she can slam the door, he jumps in beside her.
Bob tries desperately to explain how the stripper must have mistaken him for someone else, but his wife is having none of it ..
She is screaming at him at the top of her lungs, calling him every 4 letter word in the book.
The cabby turns around and says, 'Geez Bob, you picked up a real bitch this time.'

BOB's funeral will be on Friday.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The Parrot..

A woman went to a pet shop and immediately spotted a large, beautiful parrot.
The sign on the cage said $50.00
"Why so little?" she asked the pet store owner.
The owner looked at her and said,
"Look, I should tell you first that this bird used to live in a house of
prostitution, and sometimes it says some pretty vulgar stuff."
The woman thought about this, but decided she had to have the bird anyway.
She took it home and hung the bird's cage up in her living room
and waited for it to say something.

The bird looked around the room, then at her, and said,
"New house, new madam."

The woman was a bit shocked at the implication,
but then thought "that's really not so bad."

When her two teenage daughters returned from school,
the bird saw them and said, "New house, new madam, new girls."

The girls and the woman were a bit offended but then began to laugh
about the situation considering how and where the parrot had been raised.

Moments later, the woman's husband Keith came home from work.
The bird looked at him and said, "Hi, Keith."

----------------------------------------------------------------

Upon reaching 65, Bob decided to retire. After having him under foot for a few
months, his wife became very agitated with him. She suggested he go and do
something to occupy his time, like join a club or get a hobby. Bob obliged and went out for a couple of hours.

When he got home his wife asked about his day and he replied, "Oh, I just went
down to the park and hung out with the guys. And oh yeah, I joined a parachute
club"

"What? Are you nuts? You're 65 years old and you're going to start jumping
out of airplanes?"

"Yeah, look I even got a membership card."

"You crazy old man, where's your glasses! This is a membership to a Prostitute
Club, not a Parachute Club!"

"Oh, great! Now what am I going to do? I signed up & have paid for 4 jumps a
week!"

----------------------------------------------------------------

10 PIECES OF ADVICE TO BE PASSED ON TO YOUR MOM, YOUR DAUGHTERS OR
GRANDDAUGHTERS, NIECES, AUNTS, GIRLFRIENDS, ETC.

1. Don't imagine you can change a man - unless he's in diapers.

2. What do you do if your boyfriend walks out? You shut the door.

3. If they put a man on the moon - they should be able to put them all up there.

4. Go for the younger man. You might as well, they never mature anyway.

5. Men are all the same - they just have different faces, so we can tell them
apart.

6. Best way to get a man to do something is to suggest he is too old for it.

7. Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.

8. The children of Israel wandered around the desert for 40 years. Even in
Biblical times, men wouldn't ask for directions.

9. If he asks what sort of books you're interested in, tell him cheque books.

10.. Remember a sense of humor does not mean that you tell him jokes, it means
that you laugh at his.

Nizar in Hulu Selangor

Najib robbed Perak from the people

Anwar, Nizar sway Kalumpang Chinese

HULU SELANGOR: Kampung Baru Sejantong in Kalumpang came alive last night as residents relished the privilege of being Pakatan Rakyat's first dinner guests in its campaign kick-off.

The three bigwigs scheduled to make an appearance were PKR's candidate Zaid Ibrahim, Anwar Ibrahim and Nizar Jamaluddin. A surprise guest was national laureate A Samad Said (photo) who recited a poem.

By evening, 35 tables had been laid in the little hall and a banner welcoming Zaid was strung between two lamp posts.

As dusk fell, people began filling up the seats. Most of those inside the hall were older men: the women and the younger crowd opted to sit outdoors.

It would be too easy to assume that most of them turned up for the food, but many were unequivocal in their support for Pakatan.

The owner of Nam Fong Coffee Shop, one of the two coffeeshops in the village, flashed the thumbs-up when asked whether he was happy with the Pakatan candidate.

“Banyak bagus! (Very good!)” he asserted. “BN and MIC have done nothing for us here. Datuk G (Palanivel) promised us RM10,000 for development but we never saw the money. Now they have a new candidate but he is also Indian and we don't trust the MIC any more.”

Oddly enough he didn't unleash a similar rant on the previous MP, the late Zainal Abidin Ahmad, whose illness prevented him from serving the district satisfactorily.

Another resident confirmed the zero support for BN in the village, saying that no one would have turned up if the ruling coalition were the dinner hosts that night.

“We have heard the empty promises and we are tired of them,” he said simply.

Nizar was the first to arrive to a rousing welcome from the crowd.

Taking the stage, the former Perak menteri besar declared that the people's message for BN was that it had planted the seeds of racism in the hearts of Malaysians and was therefore not wanted any longer.

“The future of politics in Malaysia is respect and racial tolerance, and it will start with Hulu Selangor!” he boomed, to a roar of approval from the crowd.

“Zaid has principles and Umno fired him because he stood up to its racist policies. It is our duty to depart from these policies and set an example for other states in Malaysia.”

Nizar, who is MP for Bukit Gantang, also resurrected past issues of racist statements made by the former prime minister's aide Nasir Safar, and of the Perak government coup and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's attempt to use land as a bargaining chip to garner votes from Felda settlers.

He broke off halfway through his speech to announce the arrival of Anwar, who was greeted with a standing ovation and shouts of "Reformasi".

By this time, word had got around that Zaid was unable to attend, but clearly Anwar's presence made up for his absence.

Cries of support

The crowd had swelled and people were standing on the road to hear him speak. Others filled the hall's doorways and pressed themselves up against the windows for a better view.

In his usual style, Anwar soon had the crowd eating out of his hand as he spoke about BN's mistreatment of the Chinese community.

He criticised Najib's 1Malaysia concept, saying that it was unacceptable for a "top person" to get away with corruption while an innocent man like Teoh Beng Hock lost his life.

Murmurs of agreement turned into cries of support as Anwar went on to past issues like commissions paid in the submarine deal and the federal attitude towards oil royalties.

“MCA will give you free dinners and free BN T-shirts,” he told them. “But how can the Chinese wear these T-shirts while BN is still mistreating them?”

“I don't know my future,” he said and paused as he slowly scanned the crowd. “But I do know that it is time for Malaysia to change!”

Nizar or Anwar may have repeated tales of old, but judging from the response, these tales went down very well with the Chinese community in Kalumpang.

[Source: FMT]

Let's counter the drinking issue

So BN has gone to the good people of Hulu Selangor telling them that the Pakatan candidate, Zaid Ibrahim, is a drinker of liquor. Pakatan should now respond by coming out with pictures showing leaders of UMNO in the drinking spree as well.

According to Malaysia latest news, the two photos above are said to be Hishamuddin Hussein and his wife (second pic) during their younger days.

This banner could probably nail the BN coffin

KUALA KUBU BARU: A campaign banner that stood out from the Barisan Nasional entourage to the nomination centre for the Hulu Selangor by-election here yesterday was one depicting top leaders of PKR as pigs, Hitler and homosexuals.

The big pictorial banner attracted the attention of many not only because it was so unconventional, but also because it was carried at the forefront of the procession by a BN group believed to be led by Umno Youth leaders.

The BN banner took by surprise many Sabahan and Sarawakian leaders present to give moral support for BN candidate P Kalamanathan.

Several Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) leaders, notably senior vice- presidents Michael Asang and Herbert Timbon Lagadan, were aghast at what they saw. And they were seen immediately registering their unpleasant surprise to Sabah's Umno deputy liaison head Salleh Said Keruak, who then whispered something to Ahmad Shabery Cheek, the consumer and domestic trade minister.

The banner was lowered but only for a while.

Has the Election Commission actually taken a more relaxed stand over banners of this kind?

If this type of banner is continued to be allowed, it would not be long before banners of unimaginable proportions and creativity come up.

Sabah Deputy Speaker Johnny Mositun, who was present as a PBS leader, said he was saddened that such unparliamentary banners were allowed at a nomination process.

"Some people just don't care about other people's feelings. This is not very good, It could be counter-productive..." said Mositun.

One PBS leader was heard saying in Malay "dia orang ini tidak sensitif kah, apa kata orang Cina? Mungkin calon BN pun makan babi, Kenapa pula hina babi..." which loosely means "are these people not sensitive to others' feelings? What would the Chinese say about this? Maybe even the BN candidate takes pork, why look down on a pig..."

The banner in question also depicted the heads of PKR adviser Anwar Ibrahim and the Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim imposed on naked bodies and in an unnaturally intimate position, and also depicted them either as Hitler or homosexual.

Of course, the nomination day saw many other similar "evil" banners, making it more a necessity for the authorities to really look into this "small" matter before it becomes big.

One political observer from Klang, Palaniveloo, 73, suggested that nominations be conducted online, and that there should be no need for elaborate procession with all kinds of posters being carried, "patriotic" songs being played, and dirty words being slung at each other around the nomination centre.

[Source: Luke Rintod/FMT]