Palanivel’s head in the lion’s jaws?

The president's plan to contest in a 'safe' seat may have backfired. The seat is now proving to be a tought bet for BN.

PETALING JAYA: There is a Tamil proverb, which says one escapes the jaws of a crocodile but ends up in the jaws of a lion.

Taking the current political situation, the above mentioned proverb can be an apt description for MIC president G Palanivel with regard to his bid to capture the Cameron Highlands parliament seat.

Palanivel who opted for Cameron Highlands thinking it was a safe seat, is now faced with a tough fight.

“It was supposed to be a safe seat. But, with the emergence of Palanivel there, the situation is far worse compared to the 2008 polls,” said a MIC source on condition of anonymity.

“There is no guarantee MIC will retain the seat,” he added.

According to the source, internal sabotage is one of the main factors which could lead to Palanivel’s defeat in the hands of DAP’s M Manogaran in the five-way tussle.

The party insider also said that the locals are disappointed with BN’s decision to field Palanivel, who was rejected from contesting in his old constituency Hulu Selangor during a 2010 by-election.

Palanivel had been defeated in Hulu Selangor during the 2008 polls. But when the by-election came about, he was not picked as Najib did not consider him a winnable candidate.

BN chose to field Putera MIC coordinator P Kamalanathan instead, who won the seat.

Since then Palanivel made several trips to Cameron Highlands without the knowledge of incumbent MP SK Devamany, who is also MIC vice-president, to ensure his candidacy for the parliament seat.

Devamany, much to his chagrin, had been moved to the Sungai Siput parliament seat.

Other contenders may split votes

Palanivel’s major contender for the seat would be Manogaran, who is the former Teluk Intan MP.

Others in the race are Berjasa’s Mohd Shokri Mahmood and two independent candidates, K Kisho Kumar and T Alagu.

“Although considered a BN stronghold, the multi-cornered fight may prove to be a challenge to Palanivel who has a bad track record in Hulu Selangor,” said the MIC source.

Cameron Highlands, which is the second smallest parliament constituency after Putrajaya comprises 28,043 voters. Malays form 34.2%, Chinese 32.3%, Orang Asli and Indians with 20.7% and 12.5% respectively.

“Since the Chinese are with Pakatan Rakyat, the Indians too may follow suit. Hence, Palanivel is now relying on the Malay and Orang Asli voters,” said the source.

However, he pointed out that the presence of independent and Berjasa candidates puts Palanivel in a tight spot.

The source said Alagu, who is also a MIC branch chairman, has strong ties with the Orang Asli in the constituency.

“Alagu has a strong network with the Orang Asli which will definitely be a headache for Palanivel and if the independent splits the Orang Asli votes, Palanivel will be in danger,” he added.

Furthermore, the Berjasa candidate might cause a swing in terms of Malay votes.

In view of this, the source warned that Cameron Highlands could prove to be an upset for BN and at the same time deal a devastating blow to Palanivel’s political career.

Palanivel in a recent advertisement in the Tamil dailies, said that he had granted almost RM37.4 million in aid and assistance for the people of Cameron Highlands and neighbouring areas since 2011.

“And there are more waiting for you…trust me and vote for me,” he said in the advertisements.

MCA man vows to fight Indian poverty

The BN candidate for Seremban says he’ll teach them how to catch fish.

PETALING JAYA: BN’s candidate for the Seremban parliament seat today promised Indian voters he would teach them how to beat the curse of poverty.

“I believe in teaching them how to fish instead of just giving them fish,” MCA’s Dr Yeow Chai Thiam told FMT.

He said he would address the problem of unemployment among Indian youths by providing training and job opportunities.

He also promised to hire an Indian to advise him on the community’s interests and to supervise the Indian section of his service centre.

“Generally, I would like to improve the living standards of the Indian community,” said the 59-year-old physician.

“I am a man of the grassroots and I love to go to the ground and look into people’s plight.”

Dr Yeow, who heads Negeri Sembilan MCA, is in a five-corner fight for the Seremban seat. His opponents are DAP’s Anthony Loke, Berjasa’s Abdul Halim Abdullah and independent candidates Bujang Abu and John Fernandez.

Fernandez won the Seremban seat for DAP in the 2008 election. The party has automatically sacked him for contesting as an independent candidate in the coming election.

There are 102,507 voters in Seremban. About 44% of them are Malays, 41% Chinese and 14% Indians.

EC probing reports on indelible ink

It's deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar says the commission is attempting to verify reports that the indelible ink could be washed off within minutes

PETALING JAYA: The Elections Commission is investigating reports that the indelible ink, which was supposed to last seven days, could be washed away within minutes with water.

“It’s too early to comment. We are still in the midst of verifying the authenticity of the story,” said EC deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar.

Earlier today, Negeri Sembilan PAS alleged that military officers who cast their ballots today were able to wash away the ink marked on their index fingers within 20 minutes.

Negeri Sembilan PAS secretary Mohammad Hassan claimed that he has photographic evidence showing military officers in Telok Kemang being able to wash off the ink mark.

“About 9.30 this morning, the first batch of the early voters finished casting ther ballots and came out of the polling centre.

“Our monitoring agents found several military officers washing away the ink at the sink and the mark disappeared.

“Based on our checks, we found that 95% of the ink could be washed away in no time,” Mohamad was reported saying.

Mohammad also claimed that he received information from a military officer who claimed that he could wash away the indelible ink mark by lunch time.

Meanwhile, PKR vice-president, Nurul Izzah Anwar, said she lodged a police report after a military personnel showed her how the ink could be removed using a disinfectant.

Asked by a Twitter follower on the authenticity of the claim, she said: “The ink was slowly removed in front of us and the media.”

The indelible ink, the EC initially said, when marked on a finger, would last for at least seven days to prevent double voting.

The EC said it had stocked up about 200,000 bottles of  indelible ink for use in the 13th general election on Sunday, May 5.

Pakatan to win a third of Johor?

Kit Siang says the opposition will have no trouble taking 10 parliament and 11 state seats.

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang today welcomed a prediction that Pakatan Rakyat will win 10 parliament and 11 state seats in Johor, but he said it might do even better.

“We are aiming for 12 parliament seats,” he said in reaction to an article in Nanyang Siang Pau.

There are 25 parliament and 56 state seats in Johor.

The Chinese daily, quoting unnamed sources, said Barisan Nasional would lose about a third of its support in the Umno-stronghold state. It said Pakatan had a good chance of capturing 10 parliament and 11 state seats there.

Lim told a press conference here that Pakatan’s target was to win 125 seats in Parliament and that he expected 33 of these to be won in Johor, Sabah and Sarawak.

Lim also spoke about the BN tactic of using NGOs to win voter support through corrupt practices.

Referring to a party thrown by the 1Malaysia Brotherhood in Penang last night, he said the Election Commission (EC) and Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) were negligent in allowing such “open corruption”.

“The whole of Penang was having free food,” he said. “There were roasted pigs, 1,000 crates of beer, lucky draws with attractive prices.

“Money was thrown all over the road in the name of 1Malaysia. There was no need for anyone to cook at all. This is open corruption.

“The EC and MACC are totally useless if they cannot take action.”

According to China Press, 1Malaysia Brotherhood spent about RM230,000 on the Penang event.

GE13: Are Chinese Malaysians mostly rooting for the opposition?

 

(Bernama) - Many have been quick to generalise that almost all Chinese voters in the country will root for opposition candidates. But an in-depth look into the issue indicates that this is not entirely the true picture. 

In the 2008 general election, BN lost its two-third majority in the Dewan Rakyat, and one of the main arguments for this was that a sizeable number of Chinese voters supported the opposition coalition of PKR-DAP-PAS.     

Political observers say this trend had started five years earlier in Kedah, Penang, Selangor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and spread to Sarawak in the 2011 state election where BN lost 13 state seats, all Chinese-majority seats, to DAP.  

 

There are now arguments that this trend may even spread to Johor, so far the bastion of support for the BN, because urban Chinese have turned out in large numbers at opposition political gatherings. The DAP is making a major onslaught there this time.   

 

In view of these developments, many have been quick to generalise that almost all Chinese voters in the country will root for opposition candidates. But an in-depth look into the issue indicates that this is not entirely the true picture. 

 

Rita Sim, co-founder of the Centre for Strategic Engagement, said most urbanites – Chinese, Malays and Indians included – appeared to be yearning for change and tend to look at the Opposition.  

 

She discerned that even middle-class Malays in the urban areas have shifted their attention away from BN. 

 

In view of the trend towards change and perception held by most urban residents, Sim said, the Chinese, being mostly urbanites, had also been lumped as opposition sympathisers.  

 

Sim explained that the opposition parties were harping on issues that connected well with the urban voters. 

 

"There are also urban Chinese voters who support the BN. But, these people don't openly state their support," she said. 

 

Political observers say that not many have the gumption like actress Datuk Michelle Yeoh who had openly pledged her support for BN and even called on Malaysians to give caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak a strong mandate. 

 

Chinese support for BN still reasonable

 

Political party workers explained that three main factors could influence the decision of the voters. One is the type of constituency, whether urban, semi-urban or rural; the other is the ethnic composition of voters in the constituency; and the third, the choice of candidates.  

 

Political analysts say that Chinese support for BN is still at a reasonable level even though they only form between 20% and 30% of the voters in most constituencies, like Bagan Datoh, Sungai Siput, Sembrong and Tambun.  

 

"For example, in the predominantly Malay parliamentary constituency of Tambun located in Ipoh, a DAP stronghold, incumbent Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah is extremely popular with the Chinese voters," said a party insider.  

 

Another example is the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat where former MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu enjoyed good support from the Chinese. 

 

Samy Vellu's defeat there in 2008 was due to the fact that he lost a quarter of the Malay votes and almost 70% of the Indian votes while the level of support from the Chinese voters remained almost the same as in 2004.  

 

Similarly, in the Kuala Terengganu by-election in early 2009, the first by-election after the political tsunami of 2008, Chinese voters support for BN increased although the party lost the parliamentary seat. 

 

"In Terengganu, we still rely on the strong Chinese support. We do have PKR and DAP contesting there but their effect (on the Chinese) is not that good. Our local support is still strong, (it is) different from some other states on the west coast, northern Peninsular Malaysia and in the Klang Valley," said state MCA chairman Datuk Toh Chin Yaw.  

 

Candidates' personal touch

 

He explained that the choice of candidates and their personal touch played a critical role in deciding the winner.  

 

Toh stressed that as such one could not simply generalise the so-called general sentiment said to be running through the Chinese community.  

 

Toh's reasoning may perhaps explain BN's ability to retain the Kampar parliamentary seat in Perak in 2008 despite the fact that 60% of the voters there were Chinese and there was strong sentiment against BN then.  

 

Kampar is located in the Kinta Valley, an area known as DAP's stronghold. But BN's candidate from MCA, Datuk Lee Chee Leong, managed to win with a majority of 2,697 votes even though 60% of the voters were Chinese. 

 

"He won mainly due to his personal touch and humble approach. He served the constituency well. That's why the voters still gave him their support," said MCA Youth deputy chief Datuk Mah Hang Soon, who was also the sole BN candidate from MCA to have won the state seat of Chenderiang in Perak in 2008.   

 

A mistaken notion that Chinese are mostly pro-opposition

 

MCA's strategist and Central Committee member Datuk Ti Lian Ker believes that the mistaken notion that the Chinese are mostly for the opposition is merely spread by the DAP to influence the Chinese voters.  

 

"Basically, they (DAP) talk about change in the hope to convince the Chinese voters that they can make a big difference with their votes when in fact the Malay and Indian votes are still with the BN.  

 

"In any democratic country, there is always a 20% to 30% of core voter support for either side. So, in this case, there is still a core of 20%-30% Chinese support from MCA members for the BN," he said. 

 

Ti therefore believed that the trick is to zero in on the estimated 30 plus to 40% of the undecided or "fence-sitters".  

With polling in the GE13 set for Sunday, the notion that the Chinese electorate is pro-opposition may prove to be not true at all. 

Why PR Corruption is worst than BN?

Shen Yee Aun  

SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_-msrkkqzU

The Malaysian Election: A Tale of Two States

VIDEO: Barisan Nasional spends big to keep key seats (Newsline)

MAP: Malaysia

Sabah and Sarawak are famous for rainforest retreats and the endangered orangutan, but they could also hold the key to power when Malaysians go to the polls on May 5.

Battleground Sarawak.

Malaysia's opposition party is hoping to tap into Indigenous voters in Sarawak to help jostle the ruling party out of power.

The states of Sabah and Sarawak were given more national seats than any other state when Malaysia became a federation in 1963 to entice the regions to join, and the states could decide the outcome of the election.

Dr Jenri Amir, from the University of Malaysia, says there are 31 seats up for grabs in Sarawak.

"It's very important for the Prime Minister (Najib Razak) to ensure they win more than 20 seats in Sarawak, to ensure they can win the Federal Government," he said.

The seats have traditionally fallen the way of the ruling coalition - Barisan Nasional.

The Indigenous vote

But the Opposition believes the Iban people - the famed former headhunters of Borneo - are an untapped reservoir of votes and could change that.

Opposition candidates have been campaigning hard for Iban votes and according to Dr Amir the Opposition may have an in.

In a traditional Iban village everyone lives under one roof in a longhouse, and there are over 5,000 of these longhouses across the state.

"I think the mother of all issues among the Iban voters is of course NCR land - Native Customary Rights land, whereby they apply for this land," he said.

"The government didn't give the title to this land, instead most of this land was given to proxy companies or companies related to the Chief Minister of Sarawak."

The Chief Minister is Taib Mahmud who belongs to the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and has held the position since 1981.

Video of relatives and business associates of the Chief Minister trying to arrange crooked land deals for their own financial gain has been made public.

PHOTO: An adult male Orangutan relaxes near Camp Leakey at the Tanjung Puting National Park in Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. (Paula Bronstein: Getty Images)

Mr Mahmud denies any wrongdoing on his part.

"If they are trying to create something, find something more credible, they are trying to frame people like me with evidence that can be interpreted by anybody," he said.

Despite the denials, the scenario doesn't look good for the party.

But will it be enough to swing Iban voters?

Iban leaders have refused to talk about politics on camera and the remote nature of their lifestyles means many ordinary Iban people may not have heard the accusations to begin with.

Battleground Sabah.

In the other half of Malaysian Borneo in Sabah, the Opposition also needs to make massive in roads in order to topple the Government.

Sabah has 25 Federal seats and at the last election the ruling coalition snapped up 24 of them.

Arnold Puyok is a political analyst from Sabah.

"So that's why Sabah is considered kingmaker this time around because it wants to retain the number of seats it won in 2008."

To hold onto the iron grip in the region Barisan Nasional candidates are spending big - but cash incentives don't necessarily buy votes here.

Immigration and border control are the main talking points.

Deadly clashes

For decades thousands of Muslims from the Philippines and Indonesia have settled in Sabah, changing the religious, economic and political balance an unsettling locals.

Last year, the Government agreed to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry to look into the immigration issue.

But sensitivities about foreign workers and illegal immigrants hit a new boiling point earlier in the year when more than 200 men from the Southern Philippines landed on Sabah's east coast and laid claim to the region.

The "Sulu Incursion" ended in an armed conflict that left 60 of the rebels and 10 Malaysian security forces personnel dead.

It is an incident that shook the locals and its unclear how that will play out when locals vote on Sunday.(ABC)