Liow goes for jugular, calls for CC to quit en masse
Oct 31, 09 6:17pm
MCA deputy president Liow Tiong Lai has called on all central committee members to resign en masse to force a re-election of top party posts.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Kuala Terengganu Parliamentary by-election
The Barisan Nasional's defeat in the Kuala Terengganu by-election on 16 January(Saturday) drew mixed reactions from politicians across the divide.
- Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said the result -which saw PAS candidate Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut win with a 2,631 vote majority over BN's Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh -was merely a set back and would not have any bearing on the national political landscape. The loss does not mean they will in any way waver in their commitment to the people. They will redouble their efforts to serve the peoplr even better and take this nation to a higher level of success.
Many factors could have influenced the by-election's outcome and local factors could not be read as having a great bearing at the national level.
2. MCA president datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said the by-election saw an increase in support for the BN from the chinese community. Chinese viters renained with BN and MCA members had worked tirely during the campaign period. Despite the unfavourable result, he would like to thank the Chinese voters for staying with MCA diring these difficult times. MCA would not take the trust shown by them lightly. The people have, through the ballot demonstrated to us that aspirations of yesterday can be diffeent from today or tomorrow. We are now even more determined to work harder to serve the people the way they want to be served. We can no longer think we know better. The outcome strenthens our courage to change and accept that what we strive for for the nation may not totally reflect what the people want.
There are differences as well as common ground. We must learn and appreciate better these differences in order to shape a better tomorrow.
Chinese votors make up 10.9% of Kuala Terengganu's 80,229 voters.
3. Umno stalwart and Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah decribed the loss as a " humiliation for the BN" at the polls for the third time in 10 months. He has full admiration for hardworking party members who toiled for two weeks on a local struggle. But they lost because of national problems. The rakyat rejected Umno in its present form and style, and they rejected its leadership. Despite ringing signals the the rakyat through March 8 and Permatang Pauh, Umno has either not heard the call for fundamendal change or is unable to respond to it.
Money, machiney and incumbency could not trump the call for change. BN will lose, and will in the end lose everything , untill we respond fully and sincerely. But the respond from the leadership yet again is that this should not be interpreted as the the voters spurned BN. Their leadership remains in denial. Loyal Umono members and the BN will feel they are on the sinking ship. Tengku Razaleigh said Umno had lost by a large majority in a constituency in which 90% of voters are Malay despite throwing the national resources of a party in federal power into the by-election. This was more than a referendum on the leadership. It was a test of the relevance of Umno in its present form. If Umbno is no longer relevant to the Malays, the BN formular is dead. The Chinese will have no reason to support MCA. The power- sharing consensual bargain on which their political system has been based since independence is broken.
4. Opposition Leader datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that the victory would motivate others in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition to work harder and bring about much needed changes in the country.
5. DAP stalwart and Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang said the by-election had lived up to the historic significabce of the March 8 general election and delivered two important messages.First, the political tsunami in on course, confirming that the paradigm shift in Malaysian politics 10 months ago was not a fluke-shot but represented the wide-ranging political aspirations of malaysians. Secandly, a dire warning to Umno and soon-to-be prime minister datuk Seri najib, if they refuse to heed the people's call for hange.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
No more village elections
There will be no more elections for heads of new villages in Perak.
Menteri Besar, datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said the state government had discussed the matter with Parti Keadilan Rakyat(PKR) leaders last week and the latter had agreed not to pursue it.
On New Year's day, PKR leaders held village head election at Kampung Baru Gunung rapat despite a directive from the stste government three weeks earlier that all 134 new village heads in tghe state would be appointed.
PKR leaders Dr Lee Boon Chye, who is Gopeng MP and PKR vice-president and Gunung Rapat state assemblyman Chang Meng kai defief the directive and held t6he election in Gunung rapat which was won by Gunung Rapat PKR branch chairman Ten Chon g Yong.
They later announced that four more new village head elections would be held in Simpang Pulai, Ampang Baru, Lawan Kuda and Kopisan. These villages are located in Dr. Lee and Chang's
constituencies.
"There will be no more new village head elections.The stste government however accepts the kampung baru Gunung Rapat election as a test-case to see if the idea is acceptable by the people," he said after chairing the stste executive council meeting in Ipoh yesterday.
On whether the state government was prepared to accept Ten as the village head, Nizar said that wouldb be decided later, adding that the state government would wait for a report from Chang.
Menteri Besar, datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said the state government had discussed the matter with Parti Keadilan Rakyat(PKR) leaders last week and the latter had agreed not to pursue it.
On New Year's day, PKR leaders held village head election at Kampung Baru Gunung rapat despite a directive from the stste government three weeks earlier that all 134 new village heads in tghe state would be appointed.
PKR leaders Dr Lee Boon Chye, who is Gopeng MP and PKR vice-president and Gunung Rapat state assemblyman Chang Meng kai defief the directive and held t6he election in Gunung rapat which was won by Gunung Rapat PKR branch chairman Ten Chon g Yong.
They later announced that four more new village head elections would be held in Simpang Pulai, Ampang Baru, Lawan Kuda and Kopisan. These villages are located in Dr. Lee and Chang's
constituencies.
"There will be no more new village head elections.The stste government however accepts the kampung baru Gunung Rapat election as a test-case to see if the idea is acceptable by the people," he said after chairing the stste executive council meeting in Ipoh yesterday.
On whether the state government was prepared to accept Ten as the village head, Nizar said that wouldb be decided later, adding that the state government would wait for a report from Chang.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Perak blames federal govt for costly Toyota Camry
Senior state executive councillor Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham has blamed the federal government for the high cost of the state's purchase of 16 units of Toyota Camry 2.4 for the stste exco members and senior officers.
He said the refusal of the federal government to give tax exemption resulted in the stste government5 having to pay RM167,000 for each Toyota Camry compared with the actual price of only RM97,000.
The cars will replace the Proton Perdana V6 Executive as the official cars for the state.
Pointing out that the allocation for the purchase was approved by the previous Basrisan nasional(BN) state government, Ngeh said the decision was to avoid wastage of public funds in terms of the high maintenance cost for the existing official cars.
It is more cost-effective to maintain Toyota Camry cars than the present fleet of Proton Perdana V6. Wewant to save more by buying new cars as the maintenance cost will not be that high," he told reporters after the Perak DAP convention, in Ipoh testerday.
On Friday, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddn said the state would fork out RM2.7 million to acquire the new cars, saying it was costly to maintain the Perdana fleet.
Pangkor assemblyman datuk Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir described the state government as not fulfilling its promose to spend prudently.
He said the refusal of the federal government to give tax exemption resulted in the stste government5 having to pay RM167,000 for each Toyota Camry compared with the actual price of only RM97,000.
The cars will replace the Proton Perdana V6 Executive as the official cars for the state.
Pointing out that the allocation for the purchase was approved by the previous Basrisan nasional(BN) state government, Ngeh said the decision was to avoid wastage of public funds in terms of the high maintenance cost for the existing official cars.
It is more cost-effective to maintain Toyota Camry cars than the present fleet of Proton Perdana V6. Wewant to save more by buying new cars as the maintenance cost will not be that high," he told reporters after the Perak DAP convention, in Ipoh testerday.
On Friday, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddn said the state would fork out RM2.7 million to acquire the new cars, saying it was costly to maintain the Perdana fleet.
Pangkor assemblyman datuk Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir described the state government as not fulfilling its promose to spend prudently.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
PM on why defence spending must continue
Prime Minister Datuk Ser Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday said defence spending must continue despite the gloomy economic outlook as the nation's security cannot be compromised.
Speaking at the launch of the Langkawi International Matritime and Aerospace Exhibition(LIMA'09),Abdullah, who is also defence minister, said the recent incident in the Gulf of Aden where two Malaysian tankers were seized and their crews taken hostage showed that governments cannot afford to relax when it concerns national security and the lives of their citizens.
"We need to be vigilant and continue to improve the overall defence and security, especially along the Straits of Malacca and in East Malaysia," he said.
He said despite the gloomy economic outlook, analysts believe Asean's defence and security spending will exceed US$350million in years leading to 2020.
Abdullah said Asia's defence market poses many opportunities in the medium and long term for suppliers over the next 15 years as regional governments seek to modernise their navies, airforces and security agencies.
LIMA '09 is scheduled to be held in Langkawi from Dec 1-5 next year.
Speaking at the launch of the Langkawi International Matritime and Aerospace Exhibition(LIMA'09),Abdullah, who is also defence minister, said the recent incident in the Gulf of Aden where two Malaysian tankers were seized and their crews taken hostage showed that governments cannot afford to relax when it concerns national security and the lives of their citizens.
"We need to be vigilant and continue to improve the overall defence and security, especially along the Straits of Malacca and in East Malaysia," he said.
He said despite the gloomy economic outlook, analysts believe Asean's defence and security spending will exceed US$350million in years leading to 2020.
Abdullah said Asia's defence market poses many opportunities in the medium and long term for suppliers over the next 15 years as regional governments seek to modernise their navies, airforces and security agencies.
LIMA '09 is scheduled to be held in Langkawi from Dec 1-5 next year.
Residents plan to sue for compensation
Residents in Bukit Antarabangsa affected by Saturday's landslide plan to sue the authorities and claim compensation.
The chairman of the Bukit Antarabangsa Action Committee, Datuk N.Muneandy, said yesterday the committee will seek legal advice because they are confident of having strong evidence to pursue their claims.
"We have the evidence like photographs taken before the landlide and complaints lodged with the local authority," he told reporters.
Without stating the amount of compensation to be claimed, Muneandy said some residents had notified the local authority about the possibility of landslides happening.
"they had reported fallen trees, which indicated that something undesirable could happen but the local authority only sent people to cut the trees and there were no other preventive measures taken," he said.
Muneandy also urged the government to immediately form a special committee, including representatives of the residents, sothat they could be kept informed of any development in Bukit Antarabangsa.
"This is important as the problem involves our safety and our homes and, therefore, we want the government to act fast," he said.
Ealier, representatives of the Bukit Antarabangsa residents held a discussion with the landslide search and rescure operations chief, Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar, to get the details of the operations.
Khalid promised to intensify the security surveilance in the landslide area to prevent looting. He also urged residents to lodge police reports.
"We did get requests from residents who wanted to come in to get their belongings, including their cars stuck in the rubble , but we cannot allow them to do it now as the ground is still unstable and could endanger their ives," he said.
The chairman of the Bukit Antarabangsa Action Committee, Datuk N.Muneandy, said yesterday the committee will seek legal advice because they are confident of having strong evidence to pursue their claims.
"We have the evidence like photographs taken before the landlide and complaints lodged with the local authority," he told reporters.
Without stating the amount of compensation to be claimed, Muneandy said some residents had notified the local authority about the possibility of landslides happening.
"they had reported fallen trees, which indicated that something undesirable could happen but the local authority only sent people to cut the trees and there were no other preventive measures taken," he said.
Muneandy also urged the government to immediately form a special committee, including representatives of the residents, sothat they could be kept informed of any development in Bukit Antarabangsa.
"This is important as the problem involves our safety and our homes and, therefore, we want the government to act fast," he said.
Ealier, representatives of the Bukit Antarabangsa residents held a discussion with the landslide search and rescure operations chief, Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar, to get the details of the operations.
Khalid promised to intensify the security surveilance in the landslide area to prevent looting. He also urged residents to lodge police reports.
"We did get requests from residents who wanted to come in to get their belongings, including their cars stuck in the rubble , but we cannot allow them to do it now as the ground is still unstable and could endanger their ives," he said.
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