Some interesting election campaign pix

THE CERAMAHS

Pakatan Rakyat ceramah at Precent 3 Putrajaya

DAP operation centre in Klang

DAP Negri Sembilan ceramah at Oakland 

PAS ceramah in Putra Jaya.  Husam Musa speaks.

AND NOW, MCA CERAMAHS ......

Oops sorry ...wrong party lah!

The despondent look on the faces say it all, and yes, the empty chairs too

CHUA SOI LEK, YOU AND YOUR HUDUD SCARE TACTICS.  NOW, EAT YOUR HEART OUT ....

Chinese youths donning on PAS logos on their faces

Even a Chinese restaurant in Suntex Garden has a PAS flag on its external wall

Chinese preparing PAS flags during the on-going campaign

NAJIB SEEMS TO SAY ........

"Thank goodness the GE comes every five years.  Imagine me doing this everyday commuting by bus just  to show I am a people's prime minister.  Where is my driver, by the way."

BUT SADLY, HIS POPULARITY DOESN'T LOOK PRETTY ... as reported by a Thai television station.

Do you honestly think BN has the capabillity of managing Selangor state again?

Selepas Tsunami (After the Tsunami) from Pusat KOMAS on Vimeo.

Pass this message on!

The Star, MCA's propaganda sheet. Is the end near?

They say a bad ad does more harm than good. But that message seems to be lost on RAPP KL, the international agency behind the ‘kick-ass’ MCA ads that attacks the opposition in The Star.'

The public backlash in social media had respondents fuming mad citing them as malicious.

 

One ad which reads, “A vote for DAP is a vote for PAS” had a leading journalist respond, “A vote for BN can also be a vote for Perkasa.”

 

Everything seems to be going wrong with the campaign.

 

The ads that ran on Sunday appear to have been written before the DAP was allowed to use their Rocket symbol, but it was too late to change the ads. Hence the ad where the Rocket morphs into a PAS symbol draws further confusion.

 

A regional advertising industry publisher got into the fray today saying: “Like The Star, ad agency RAPP KL links back to MCA as it is part of the Foetus Group, which also includes Naga DDB, Milk PR, Beyond Events and Vizeum Media Services.”

 

Foetus Group Chairman is Vincent Lee, who is also Executive Deputy Chairman of Star Publications (M) Bhd. Sadly, the finger points directly to Lee.

In other words, MCA = The Star.

 

The Malaysian Code of Advertising (2008) states: No advertisement should contain statements or suggestions which may offend the religious, political, sentimental or racial susceptibilities of any community.

 

But Association of Accredited Advertising Agents (4As) Malaysia President Johnny Mun told The Malaysian Insider, “The Code only applies to product advertising generally and does not govern political advertisements.”

 

This throws every argument in the book out of whack because a past 4As President told AdBuster, “The Code applies to all ads.”

 

Vincent Lee

 

Does this mean the current 4As President is under pressure from another ex 4As President, Vincent Lee himself, who served two full terms in office.

 

Is it any wonder why no journalist has bothered to ask chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority Malaysia (ASAM), Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir for his opinion? He is known to be ’friendly’ to The Star.

 

AdBuster also has inside information that the people writing the ads had their hands forced. They have been bombarded in social media and SMSes making them the latest black sheep of the industry.

“BN has spent over RM160 million in advertising expenditure (adex) in the first three months this year using a block buster strategy, making them three times bigger than the next biggest spender,” says leading media guru Bala Pomaleh, CEO of Carat Media Malaysia in a video today.

In March alone, the PM’s Office spent at least RM73 million on ads according to Nielsen Media Research. This clearly makes it the most expensive general election ever in terms of adex.

 

“In comparison, a leading telco or FMMC marketers would normally spend this kind of money in one whole calendar year!” adds advertising strategist Kapil Sethi.

 

On a macro scale, has The Star reached its tipping point?

 

Are its competitors smelling blood and an opportunity to knock The Star of its leadership pedestal with this recent bashing by its own readers?

 

 

Suddenly, many competitors of The Star seem to be coming out of hiding. All this is showing up a new reality: that quite a few people do not like The Star for many varied reasons. Have they now found a final reason to nail it for good?

 

Besides peddling racial fear against Pakatan Rakyat (PR) the campaign could backfire in the May 5 general election. But it seems they are dead bent on sticking to their strategy despite the writing on the wall. This sort of cocksure aloofness is what may sound the death knell for The Star. They have gambled their readers away for the sake of MCA.

 

In another development, The Malay Mail (which is the only English daily, apart from theSun, accepting ads from Opposition parties) has gained readership inroads with a bigger print run of 200,000 copies a day since Nomination Day. Their new Cover Page has also caught on very well.

The Star’s radio arm has also not been spared. Their recently rebranded Red FM drew flak from its listeners for airing political ads on its airwaves which portrays the Opposition coalition in bad light.

 

A Facebook page called ‘We Fully Boycott Red.FM’ is currently gaining traction.

 

But the latest salvo is in the form of an online petition that has gathered a perfect storm with over 800 signatures in just one day alone.

 

This entire drama is unfolding by the hour, so stay tuned ….

There is no further doubt who NOT to vote for on May 5

Came across this news article from the Harakah Daily.  After reading it, do you honestly still believe that parties like UMNO, PPP, MIC, MCA, PBS, SUPP, IPF, MAKKAL SATHI, HINDRAF, etc deserves our vote on May 5.

The statements made are crystal clear.  There is no further doubt that PERKASA is part of the BN and any vote for, say, MCA, will definitely means a vote for PERKASA.  The other point is, by voting in the BN, we will continue to be treated second class because we do not wish to assimilate.  Now you know what to do on May 5.

Zulkifli Noordin, Vice Chairman of PERKASA nominated by UMNO to stand as a candidate for Shah Alam.  Looking on is Donald Lim (right) of MCA, with a satisfied grin on his face, delighted with the choice of candidate.

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While UMNO-linked Perkasa's alliance with Barisan Nasional is not a secret, a confirmation to this effect has put to rest any suspicion otherwise, especially among remnants of non-Malay support in the coalition.

The right wing group's patron, none other than former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said in an interview with ntv7’s Chat Time programme last night that Perkasa was working for BN.

“They say at the most BN will get 20 percent of their (non-Malay) votes. But we cannot ignore Perkasa because they are for us,” said Mahathir, in yet another defence of the group whose leaders had attracted condemnations for racist remarks.

On April 20, BN’s nominee for Pasir Mas announced that he was not going ahead with his candidacy despite being to do so by BN chairman Najib Razak.

Instead, Che Johan Che Pa threw his support behind Ibrahim Ali, the Perkasa chief, who is contesting on an independent ticket against PAS's Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz, son of revered Kelantan leader Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

BN has also placed Perkasa vice-chairman Zulkifli Noordin in Shah Alam. The decision also drew support from the coalition's troubled Chinese-only party MCA.

Mahathir said had BN rejected Perkasa, the coalition could lose more support from the people.

"You say you do not want to vote for us (because we put up Perkasa candidates), but if we reject the people who are for us, where will the BN be? This is a reaction to what they say,” Malaysiakini quoted Mahathir as saying.

The UMNO strongman also hinted that the Chinese did not deserve to be treated equally due to 'refusal to assimilate'.

“So you can continue with your culture, your language and religion. Hence, you cannot be the same as others who adopted the idea of assimilation... you cannot expect the same if you do not want to assimilate," he went on.
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And this is a letter from one Stephen Ng :

I have to respond to Dr Chua Soi Lek’s defence of the Indian community basher king, Zul Noordin. Even if it is just a short letter, I feel justified after speaking up against Soi Lek’s hypocrisy.

I don’t think it is true that Zul Nordin uttered such words 10 years ago, because he mentioned about the statue in Batu Caves, which was only built a few years ago.

Also, because of whom he is, Zul Nordin has finally found the flock that he belongs – Perkasa, Umno-BN. And, he is now, in the same camp as Soi Lek, where people play race politics.

Whatever it is, he is now vice president of Perkasa, an extremist group and a right hand arm of Umno. How can Zul Nordin justify himself to be a champion of the Hindu community now, as claimed by Najib Tun Razak, when his organisation is basically racist in nature?

If Zul Nordin is what he claims to be now, he should urge his patron, Mahathir Mohamad stay true to his identity as an Indian Muslim, and take on the lineage of his father. There is no culture in this world where its people take on the lineage of the mother.

My challenge to Zul Nordin is that he should either challenge his patron to declare himself to be nothing other than a Mamak Muslim and be known from now on with his true name, Mahathir a/l Iskandar Kutty, or start identifying himself as Mahathir bin Wan Tempayan (taking on the name of the mother).

We are proud of our Mamak food as fellow Malaysians, but the old Mamak himself has denied his own heritage. Zul Nordin is the best person to speak to his patron, now that he is a champion of the Indian community.

On another point, Soi Lek said that the DAP has played up hate politics by painting BN and MCA supporters as “traitors” to the Chinese race. Let me tell the former minister of health that it was not MCA that the people hate, but Soi Lek himself.

The Chinese people still had hope in people like Ong Tee Keat, but since Soi Lek took the helm, he has turned MCA into a big laughing stock – that a porn star can still be its president!


Zulkifli Nordin mocking the Indians.

CERAMAH CORNER : Hannah Yeoh

Hannah Yeoh : "This is my report card."



Venue : PJS. Selangor D E
Date : April 21 2013

Coward of the country

Heard of the song "Coward of the county" by Kenny Rogers which was popular way back in the late 70s?  Now listen to the latest satirical version on Najib, "Coward of the country".

The latest on the Scorpene case

French and Hong Kong authorities are working together to expose corruption by Malaysian-owned firm Terasasi, which is involved in the multi-billion purchase of Scorpene submarines.

Human rights NGO Suaram said that a list of those who received kickbacks from Terasasi would be disclosed soon by the French courts.

Terasasi is based in Hong Kong and owned by Abdul Razak Baginda, who was acquitted in 2008 of the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu.

“No one ever really knew the role Terasasi played, nor that it was owned by Abdul Razak Baginda and his father. Now Hong Kong is working with the court in France to come up with a list of recipients of kickbacks,” Cynthia Gabriel, who is Suaram director, told a packed press conference here today.

“It’s not just kickbacks and bribery, but it also involves money laundering. That is what is being investigated, although we can’t disclose who exactly the investigating authorities are,” she added.

Lawyer Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, meanwhile, said that she believed they would learn of the recipients within one week.

Fresh from her trip to France with Gabriel, Fadiah revealed that the judges probing the alleged corruption in the Scorpene deal were also keen to investigate the circumstances involving Altantuya’s death.

“Apart from the corruption and scandal [in the Scorpene deal], they are also looking into the [caretaker] Prime Minister [Najib Tun Razak’s] involvement in the murder of Altantuya. So this is going to answer a lot of questions,” she told FMT.

Altantuya, who was Abdul Razak’s lover, was said to have helped the political analyst secure the Scorpene deal with French naval company DCNS.

She was allegedly murdered after demanding millions in payback for her services, according to Abdul Razak’s private investigator, the late P Balasubramaniam.

Balasubramaniam had implicated Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor in the murder in his statutory declaration in 2008, only to reverse his claims a day later before fleeing the country.

But he then told the media that he had made the second statutory declaration under duress, before he died from a heart attack last month.

Balsubramaniam’s lawyer, Americk Singh Sidhu, had then alleged that Cecil Abraham was the senior lawyer behind the drafting of Balasubramaniam’s second statutory declaration.

“So we proffered these two names [Americk and Abraham] to the judges and it has been accepted and we expect them to be called soon to testify,” said Fadiah.

[Source: FMT]

UMNO cracking up

It is unprecedented. 61 top leaders left the party to contest as Independents.  Indeed, 61 is a rather significant number representing nearly 10% of the total seats to be contested by the 13-member BN coalition led by Umno, There are 222 seats in the federal Parliament and 505 seats in the state assemblies up for grabs in the coming general election, the country's 13th since obtaining independence from British rule in 1957.

According to national news agency Bernama, 61 Umno members including Kamilia Ibrahim, the former deputy chief of the women's wing, have been sacked for defying the party and contesting as independents. 

Among the others sacked are Shariff Omar, a former Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister, who is contesting the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary seat and Sepang Umno division Youth head Suhaimi Mohd Ghazali who is going for the Sepang parliamentary seat. Badruddin Tun Mustapha was also expelled for contesting in the Semporna parliamentary and Senallang state seats.

Hell hath no fury like Malaysians scorned

Upon receiving news that Michelle Yeoh has openly expressed her full support for Najib Abdul Razak, a Facebook page supporting the Malaysian opposition drew more than one thousand comments condemning the actress as a traitor and a government stooge.

As an entertainer who relies on the public for support, common sense dictates that she should have remained neutral instead of taking sides.  If foreign artistes like Psy from Korea and Gigi Leung from Hong Kong could decide not to mess up their careers with our local politics by turning down the engagements, why as a local couldn't she have done the same.  Even Alan Tam, a leading entertainer and singer from Hong Kong who appeared at last week's concert organised by BN, was quick to apologise and have reminded himself to be a little more careful by doing a proper background check on the organisers   Come to think of it, our local artistes too have better senses.  They quit their respective careers and entered politics.

Michelle explained, “This is a democratic country. We're all free to voice our opinions. I think people shouldn't be personal. I think all of us want to do good for our own country. And I believe they want to do the same thing.”  Personal?  This is not personal.  This involves the future of our nation and our children.

She is not constantly in the country and the only media she would be reading will be The Star or the NST.  Does she actually know what is happening in the country?

So what does all these tell on Michelle, a beauty with no brains, I supposed.

In other words, the "good" here means :

1. It is okay to kill Altantuya, Teoh Beng Hock, Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed and Kugan, just to name a few.
2. It is okay to commit high treason by allowing foreigners to become citizens without going through the proper channel.
3. it is okay to be corrupt to the tune of billions of ringgit.
4. It is okay to tell the Chinese to "balik Cina" and be called "pendatang".
5. It is okay to burn Bibles and torched the churches.
6. It is okay to persecute the Christians and Hindus.
7. It is okay not to recognise the UEC when other countries do.
8. It is okay to discriminate smart Chinese and Indian kids from entering local universities.
9. It is okay for Najib to buy votes with last minute handouts.
10. It is okay for our great grandmothers, grandmothers and mothers who came to this land to survive, are called "prostitutes".
11. It is okay for us to be educated under a mediocre educational system.
12. It is okay not to have free and fair elections.
13. It is okay to see dead bodies piling up while in police custody.

If these are "good", than I would certainly like to know what "bad"  is in her context.  

Her family is well connected to MCA and for that, I respect her right to support MCA.  But to come out with a lame-o of an excuse surely takes the cake.

Now if I were to see the film, "The Lady", again, I could just see Michelle in the most farcical role ever.  The real  Aung San Suu Kyi is a leader who fought against a tyrannical military regime while Michelle on the other hand, supports all that is evil.

The swing of the Chinese votes to Pakatan Rakyat is now at an all time high of 80%.  Michelle, you just lost it.  Please don't bother to send your films over here anymore because less people will be watching them except those oxymorons from MCA.  It is so sad that you have lost a fan base here which you have been trying to build for years, over a 2-hour pleasure with Najib.

Opposition parties singing the same tune

Chinese voters getting the PAS symbol painted on their faces in Kluang, Johor, on Saturday morning. The Islamist party's willingness to allow its ally DAP to use the PAS logo represents a shift in Malaysian politics.

TERESA Teng's song - The Moon Represents My Heart - is a perennial favourite of Malaysia's Democratic Action Party (DAP).

The evergreen hit took on a deeper meaning last week when the DAP declared that it was prepared to run in the general election using the full moon logo of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), its partner in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance.

Even though the rejection of nomination papers filed by DAP candidates using the party's own rocket symbol did not happen on Nomination Day on Saturday, the Islamist party's willingness to quickly allow its ally to use the PAS logo represents a big shift in Malaysian politics, akin to, well, sending a rocket to the moon.

There were scenes of Chinese men whose cheeks were painted with PAS' flag of a white moon on a green background in Johor on Saturday. And Malays in Muslim skull caps holding up DAP flags.
"This is an unexpected twist in the general election which is certainly benefiting the opposition. But it will also be a positive development for Malaysian politics overall," said Mr Yang Razali Kassim, senior fellow with the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.

"The opposition has been energised as a more cohesive and unified coalition, driving Malaysian politics further down the road of a two-coalition system," he added.

For the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN), what is happening might hurt the ruling coalition.
It had been easy in the past to use DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang as a "Chinese chauvinist" bogeyman to scare off Malay voters, and the turbaned PAS president Hadi Awang to stop Chinese voters from backing a party with plans to implement strict Islamic laws.

"This could be bad for Umno because how do you attack Lim Kit Siang as anti-Islam if he is using the PAS logo?" said Mr Ramli Yunus, an Umno division secretary in Kedah.

The brouhaha over the party symbol started when the Registrar of Societies (ROS) notified the DAP last week that it did not recognise the party's office-bearers elected last December due to problems with tabulations in the DAP's election results.

The opposition claimed the ROS was trying to bar DAP from using its rocket logo on ballot papers, thus confusing voters.

PAS then said DAP could use its moon logo in Peninsular Malaysia while Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), the third member of PR, said DAP could use its one-eye symbol in Sabah and Sarawak.
BN leaders accused the DAP of hyping up a non-issue to gain sympathy votes.

Still, the matter showed how quickly the Chinese-based DAP and its Islamist partner PAS had closed ranks, despite big differences in ideologies.

The DAP is promoting its "Malaysian Malaysia" slogan with its subtext meaning of removing the bumiputera affirmative-action policy that had enlarged the Malay community's economic pie and educational levels.

PAS, despite its current slogans of a "Welfare Society", still has ambitions to implement strict Islamic laws that include amputation of thieves' limbs, and the curbing of alcohol sales and gaming activities.
Yet, the PR alliance is far from showing complete harmony, especially for a group that trumpets loudly that it could run the federal government better than the 13-party BN.

One example of this is the fight over seat allocations in the elections. PAS and PKR are fighting each other in one parliamentary and six state seats.

And if the PR takes federal power, the huge question of who would be prime minister has not yet been settled, let alone who would take charge of key portfolios such as finance, foreign affairs, international trade and defence.

PAS supporters want Datuk Seri Hadi, not PKR chief Anwar Ibrahim, to be prime minister.
For now, the opposition is casting aside these differences, and singing the same song.
As the late Taiwanese songbird croons: "You ask me how deep is my love for you... the moon represents my heart."
But what happens when the music stops?
The answer will come when 13.3 million Malaysians cast their vote on May 5.

[Source : Straits Times, Singapore]

The Nomination Day that was

April 20 2013 was Nomination Day and to many Malaysians, the most long-awaited general election in Malaysian history. This was the day when all the candidates filed their papers to contest in the May 5 general election. The nomination process started at 9 am and ended an hour later.  Groups of Opposition supporters walked in a processions carry colorful flags and shouted out "reformasi, ubah ubah and Ini kalilah".

Idris Ahmad (PAS), 059 Bukit Gantang, Perak vs BN Ismail Safian

Thousands of supporters gathered in Permatang Pauh for Anwar Ibrahim

DAP Kulai-This is Gelang Patah team

Marching into a new tomorrow in Terengganu

YB Tian Chua (P115 Batu, Federal Territory)

Tony Pua, P106 PJ Utara; Law Weng San, N35 Kg Tunku and Yeoh Bee Yin, N36 Damansara Utama 

DAP Gelang Patah Lim Kit Siang

P140 Segamat PKR Chua Jui Meng N01 Jementa DAP Tan Chen Choon N02 Buloh Kasap PAS Firdaus Masod

WOW! The biggest crowd ever in the history of Muar, Johore.  Tsunami have swept Johore!!!

P031 Kuala Krai.....PAS Dr Muhammad Hatta Ramli VS BN Tuan Aziz Tuan Hamat

Bukan Sabah sahaja yang goyang. Sarawak juga goyang. P205 Saratok. PKR Ali Biju VS BN William Mawan Ikom

P089 Bentong BN Liow Tiong Lai vs DAP Wong Tack

P43 Bagan, Penang .... Lim Guan Eng

Tengku Adnan says Husam Musa will lose his deposit in Putrajaya.....more than 10,000 Pas supporters came to the nomination center in precint 9.

Calon Parlimen Pandan, Rafizi Ramli, PKR

YB Nurul Izzah, P121 Lembah Pantai, Federal Territory

HERE LIES THE HOPE OF OUR FUTURE!!!!

A Muslim speaks for Christians

I wish to add my voice as a Muslim to support my Christian brothers and sisters in Malaysia in condemning the Election Commission (EC) over their choice of Sunday as a polling day.

Sometimes I have to simply throw my hand up and wonder who actually is running this country? Here we are, in Malaysia, in the schools, teaching our children about the sacredness of our Rukunegara ‘Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan’ and ‘Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan’.

And yet, who have actually violated these very values? Non other than our top leadership of the country that includes our so called ‘YB’ ministers, one prime minister, one deputy prime minister, the muftis and I would say one other ‘symbolic’ leadership entity but then I might be cited for sedition.

When deep silence follows Ibrahim Ali’s disrespect of the Bible, Ridhuan Tee’s disrespect of the Hindus and the ‘holy warrior of Islam’ Zulkifli Noordin’s disrespect of the Hindus in his speech, I wonder if our present leadership has the moral standing to be re-elected as leaders?

Now, I have no problem whatsoever to vote for BN (as I had done prior to the Reformasi declaration) because I believed in its ideals. But I have deep problems with almost the entire leadership of the party in power in actually being a leader to my children as they have thus far shown complete disrespect of our sacred Rukunegara.

I understand election strategies and war tactics but I do not understand the leadership refusing to at least ‘pretend’ to show their concern or even ‘acting’ to tick off the likes of our three ‘Muslim Lost Warriors-who-only-dare-to-say-things-in-the-presence of-Muslim multitude’. I would have been ‘okay’ and go on advising my children that it is very disrespectful to say such things as a Muslim and as a Malaysian.

I am not sure of who the ruling party’s election strategy advisers are, but if it were me, I would advise a great show of pretending to care, I think that may rake in a significant portion of votes!

Now we have the EC disrespecting these very values. Why choose a Sunday? We should know that it is a Holy Day of the Christians. Even if we had a few Jewish citizens who celebrate the Saturday Sabbath, we should still respect that. By choosing this day, it shows that the leadership of the EC is someone questionable.

I have for many years suspected that our one or two past EC leaders have not been morally and professionally qualified to head this important body. So many questions about ghost voters and irregular procedures, gerrymandering and so many others that leave some of us wondering whether our single vote actually amounts to anything at all.

I do not see why such an important day in our country’s history that we cannot have a holiday on a workday to cast our votes. Or at least a half-holiday. We can have holidays on Sultan’s Birthdays and such but we cannot have one for the country’s democratic ‘birthdays’? Just because the EC is filled with Muslims, Islam does not teach this kind of behaviour or attitude.

I wish to go on record as saying that Muslims who follow the true teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) do not behave like these people in the EC. They are simply bad Muslims, period.

I thought that this was a democratic country and these fellows are officers of the entity that is itself a democratic element. The EC should have consulted a few others like heads of religious institutions, the heads of political parties concerned and one or two others depending on the situation (such as the head of the military in the Lahad Datu case or the surgeon-general in the Bird Flu case).

The EC is showing a bad example of democracy by choosing Sunday as a polling day. In Islam, there is no concept of ‘a day of rest’ although Friday is said to be an exceptional ‘holy’ day. But there is no evidence in the religious texts and the Prophet’s tradition to stop work altogether on a Friday.

The Qur’an merely orders Muslims to cease work for a short period of time (one to two hours) to come together as a community and listen to a sermon that will show some guidance for the week (and not some blatant campaigning of one political party or another attempt at disrespecting other religions) and after that the Muslims should return to work. There is no such holy day decreed by Islam.

Muslims, of course may choose, at their convenience Friday as a holiday but it is understood that this is a choice and not a decree.

For the good of all, I think the EC should reconsider Sunday as a polling day and defer it to Monday (preferably one week later for adequate time). I am sure all the business people would agree to declare this a holiday or at least a half holiday to allow the fundamental rights of the citizens whether he or she be a ‘lowly’ janitor or a ‘lofty’ vice-chancellor. In the eyes of democracy they are the same. One person one vote.

Business can only occur in a respectful climate and not in a disrespectful climate. Finally, I wish to say that regardless of whichever coalition gets to form the next government of our beloved country, the next leadership will have to walk on tip toes because I have seen the new Malaysia forming right in front of my very eyes and with the aid of the Internet and the social media... leadership is no longer a walk through the park.

So again, let me respectfully remind the Election Commission in the language of Bahasa Malaysia... Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan serta Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan... hormatilah semua agama rakyat kita di dalam negara tercinta. Demi Islam... Demi Malaysia, tolong ubah hari mengundi!

[Contributed by MOHAMAD TAJUDDIN MOHAMAD RASDI, professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s School of Architecture. An eloquent writer, he has authored over 30 books, including his latest, ‘Why Listen to the Vice-Chancellor?']

Al Jazeera : 101 East - The Malaysian Election

Political jokes

As the temperature rises each day as we get closer to the polling day on May 5, here are some political jokes to lighten yourself up a bit.

Political Humour (or is it?)

1. We hang petty thieves and appoint the great thieves to public office.
~Aesop, Greek slave & fable author 

2. Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.
~Plato, ancient Greek Philosopher

3. Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.
~Nikita Khrushchev, Russian Soviet politician 

4. When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it.
~Quoted in 'Clarence Darrow for the Defense' by Irving Stone.

5. Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel.
~John Quinton, American actor/writer

6. Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to      protect each from the other.
~Oscar Ameringer, "the Mark Twain of American Socialism."

7. I offered my opponents a deal: "if they stop telling lies about me, I will stop telling the truth about them".
~Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952..

8. A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country.
~Texas Guinan. 19th century American businessman

9. I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.
~Charles de Gaulle, French general & politician

10. Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks.
~Doug Larson (English middle-distance runner who won gold medals at the 1924
Olympic Games in Paris, 1902-1981)

11. A corrupt politician is akin to having a monkey in a room full of bananas.
- Unknown.

I am reminded of a joke: What happens if a politician drowns in a river? That is pollution. What happens if all of them drown? That is solution!!!

Loud cheers for PAS from the Chinese in Johore

A man waves a flag bearing the DAP, PKR and PAS logos at DAP’s ceramah in Sutera Mall in Skudai, Johor, April 20, 2013. — Picture courtesy of TMI

That 72-year-old DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang was feted like a rock star by thousands of people cheering and blowing on air horns last night on the first day of campaigning here for Election 2013 was no surprise.

What was striking at a rally here for the Gelang Patah parliamentary constituency was the sight of the predominantly Chinese crowd holding aloft PAS flags along with those bearing DAP’s rocket logo.

And Kit Siang captured the mood of the thousands gathered here and perhaps that of the Chinese electorate throughout the country over the perceived fear of the Islamic agenda of PAS.

“They say a vote for DAP is a vote for PAS. Is that true? Yes it is. That is because a vote for DAP is a vote for PAS, PKR and Pakatan Rakyat.

“I say here tonight. This is the battle between the past and the future,” he said as the Chinese crowd cheered enthusiastically.

The Barisan Nasional (BN), he said, represented the politics of the past, and to underscore his point, he surprisingly offered praise for his opponent, outgoing Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.

The DAP candidate for Gelang Patah Lim Kit Siang addresses the crowd — Picture courtesy of TMI“Ghani Othman is a good man. I admit he has brought development and progress. But he represents the past.

“He represents the model of BN development that is stuttered with corruption, cronyism, abuses of power and injustice.”

PR, Kit Siang argued, represented the future and a new Malaysia.

But the crowd’s enthusiasm last night was not restricted to Kit Siang.

When PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayub, who is contesting both the nearby Pulai federal seat and Nusajaya state seat, addressed them earlier, the crowd cheered and waved PAS and DAP flags.

“We are making history tonight,” he said.

“The Chinese are wearing PAS shirts and holding PAS flags. PAS members too are wearing DAP shirts.

“If the Chinese can wear PAS shirts this means that Umno can fall.”

Cooperation between the secular DAP and the Islamist PAS has always been a delicate issue for the Chinese, but conventional wisdom has been turned on its head due to developments in the past 48 hours.

Members of the audience hold a DAP flag. — Picture courtesy of TMIAfter the Registrar of Societies (RoS) had thrown into doubt the legitimacy of DAP’s office bearers on the eve of nomination day, the secular party had considered using PAS’s logo for its candidates.

But the Election Commission allowed the DAP to continue using its rocket logo at Nomination Day yesterday, but the offer by PAS to DAP to borrow its logo appears to have brought the two parties closer together.

And a widespread perception among the Chinese that the DAP was victimised has also help break the community’s lingering distrust of PAS’s Islamic agenda.

This new spirit of togetherness between the two parties comes even as MCA launched a major advertising blitz attacking DAP for allegedly backing PAS’s Islamic agenda.

It remains to be seen if MCA’s campaign will work, but DAP-PAS cooperation did not seem to temper the enthusiasm of the thousands of Chinese gathered for Lim last night.

They matched their cheers with a massive cash donation of more than RM90,000 for the party’s election machinery.

[Source: TMI]