MT : Sultan Johor: Shape up or ship out

By Lourdes Charles & Nelson Benjamin, The Star

Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar wants politicians and the Johor civil service to buck up and serve the people, failing which they will be booted out.

The Johor ruler stressed that this was not a “Santa Claus” government and wanted everybody in the state administration to work hard and produce results.

“They must buck up and if they cannot, then they must get out. I am fair to everyone (Opposition or ruling government).

New era in Johor: Sultan Ibrahim expecting everyone in the state administration to work hard and produce results.

“Even to the present government, I tell them to buck up and shape up,” he said, adding that he had not wanted to voice out previously out of respect for his late father.

However, now as the new Johor ruler, Sultan Ibrahim said he wanted to speak his mind and give suggestions.
“This is a new millennium. A new era and as a new Sultan, I expect a lot of changes in my state,” he said during an exclusive interview at Istana Pasir Pelangi here recently.

Sultan Ibrahim did not mince his words when he said several state executive councillors were not performing up to expectations.

“All these people were appointed during my late father’s time. I have a lot of respect for my father but now, I am the Sultan and I expect a lot of changes,” he said, singling out the tourism sector as one where there had been “zero effort” to promote arts and crafts in Johor.

Sultan Ibrahim pointed out that state exco members should come up with new ideas to improve tourism in the state, suggesting that a survey be carried out to see how this could be done.

Among his first decrees to bring about changes and development in Johor, is the directive that all state government agencies give detailed briefings on matters relating to the administration and finance of their respective departments.

“In short, I want to know everything and nothing must be hidden from me,” he said, reminding the agencies not to give false reports as he had informers in every nook and corner.
Sultan Ibrahim said the first briefing would be from Majlis Agama Islam Johor and he expected them to provide him with figures on their spending of zakat money, collection, those who had yet to pay and religious schools’ curriculum.

He said once he had finished with the agencies in Johor Baru, he would move on to the districts and get briefings from all levels, including district officers and the village headmen.
“I will question them and if I suspect something amiss, they will be in for a royal shelling. I want everyone to always be on their toes,” he said, adding that he had also directed some agencies to be audited.
He said he would also give ideas and views on ways to better the public delivery system during these sessions.

MK : MP Kulim Bandar Baharu dicabar kosongkan kerusi

Presiden PKR Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (bawah) hari ini mencabar ahli parlimen Kulim-Bandar Baharu meletakkan jawatan kerana “mengambil kerusi yang bukan miliknya”.

“Petang ini saya cabar Zulkifli letak jawatan. Kalau hendak lawan, kalau hendak kritik, kritiklah (pihak) lawan, bukan kawan.

“Ini isu disiplin parti, bukan isu Islam,” katanya ketika menyampaikan amanat dalam konvensyen Pakatan Rakyat Selangor di Shah Alam.

Selepas dipecat daripada PKR semalam, Zulkifli - yang didapati bersalah membuat laporan polis terhadap wakil rakyat PAS Khalid Samad - enggan merayu supaya hukuman terhadapnya diringankan.
Peletakan jawatan Zulkifli semalam menjadikan jumlah ahli parlimen PKR yang meletakkan jawatan sebanyak empat orang dalam masa terdekat.

Mengulas lanjut isu ahli parlimen parti itu yang meninggalkan parti seorang demi seorang, Wan Azizah menyatakan kekecewaannya ekoran tindakan itu, lebih-lebih lagi apabila Ketua Umum PKR Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sekali lagi menghadapi tuduhan liwat di mahkamah.

“Pada (menjelang) 16 September (tahun lepas) semua datang. Tetapi apabila saudara Anwar difitnah sekali lagi, siapa yang tingglkan kita?

"Siapa yang tinggal (bersama kita). Biarkan mereka, biarkan luncai dengan labu-labunya,” katanya.

Sementara itu, dalam sidang media selepas itu, Wan Azizah ketika diminta mengulas lagi isu keengganan Zulkifli mengemukakan rayuannya terhadap partiberkata:

“Beliau sebagai seorang yang berprinsip patut mengosongkan kerusi (parlimen) itu dan memberi peluang kepada pemilih kawasan itu sama ada mereka memilih individu atau memilih parti,” kata Wan Azizah.

Ditanya sama ada PKR sekarang umpama “kapal yang sedang tenggelam”, beliau sekali lagi menafikannya.

“Dulu PKR hanya mempunyai satu kerusi di parlimen, tetapi kita tidak karam. Kenapa kita perlu karam, sekarang kita ada 27 kerusi.

“Tidak,” katanya sambil mengangkat tangan kanannya - isyarat tidak - kepada wartawan.

MK : S'gor ikut Pulau Pinang adakan p'raya tempatan

Kerajaan Selangor akan mengikuti jejak langkah Pulau Pinang bagi memulakan semula pilihan raya kerajaan tempatan di negeri itu, kata Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

“Kita akan bersama-sama kerajaan Pulau Pinang untuk menulis surat kepada Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) supaya memberi kita penerangan, bagaimana sokongannya, jika kita ingin menjalankan pilihan raya tempatan,” katanya.

Abdul Khalid ditanya sama ada kerajaan negeri akan mengikut langkah Pulau Pinang yang mengumumkan bahawa pilihan raya kerajaan tempatan akan diadakan semula di negeri itu.

Semalam, Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang Lim Guan Eng dilaporkan berkata, pilihan raya membabitkan Majlis Tempatan Pulau Pinang (MPPP) dan Majlis Tempatan Seberang Perai (MPSP).

Lim dilaporkan berkata, pihaknya juga menghantar surat kepada SPR pada 4 Mac lalu meminta pihak tersebut menguruskan perjalanan pilihan raya berkenaan.

Abdul Khalid juga berkata, pihaknya telah membuat kajian dan penelitian berhubung pelaksanaan pilihan raya tersebut.

“Tidak guna kita jadi satu demokrasi yang lebih merugikan rakyat. Oleh itu, kita akan lakukan (pilihan raya tempatan),” kata Abdul Khalid.

Bagaimanapun, tambahnya, masih banyak perkara yang belum jelas berhubung perkara itu, termasuk peruntukan undang-undang berhubung pelaksanaannya.

"Kita mahu jelaskan dulu," katanya dalam sidang media selepas berucap di konvensyen Pakatan Rakyat Selangor di di Shah Alam hari ini

“Berjuta-juta ringgit habis, berjam-jam kempen habis dan rakyat akan rasakan mereka tertipu. Oleh itu, kita akan buat dengan teratur,” katanya.

Sebelum itu, dalam ucapannya, beliau menggamatkan dewan apabila menyindir Wanita Umno dengan menyifatkan mereka “memakai selendang merah yang mengghairahkan”.

Katanya, pemimpin Umno sibuk membahagikan tanah Selangor sesama sendiri ketika memerintah negeri itu sebelum ini, sibuk berkunjung ke luar negara, memperagakan barang berjenama, sibuk dengan gelang emas yang banyak dan “pertandingan buat (dandan) rambut,”.

“Tetapi kita tidak mahu buat begitu. Di hati kecil kita (ada) perjuangan,” katanya disambut tepukan gemuruh kira-kira 500 peserta.

Pakatan menganjurkan konvensyen hari ini bagi memantapkan persefahaman sesama parti-parti yang bergabung PKR, PAS dan DAP di negeri itu.

MK : Anwar akui PKR hadapi masalah

Ketua umum Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim mengakui parti itu sedang menghadapi masalah apabila beberapa wakil rakyatnya keluar parti baru-baru ini.

Beliau menyifatkan
masalah berkenaan sebagai pengajaran yang baik dalam memilih calon wakil rakyat yang taat dan setia kepada parti pada masa depan.

"Ini masalah kita, ada pengajaran juga...sekarang ini Keadilan menghadapi masalah sedikit tetapi pengajaran yang baik," katanya ketika menyampaikan ceramah politik di Pulau Gadong dekat Melaka, malam semalam.

Baru-baru ini, PKR menerima tamparan apabila tiga anggota Parlimennya iaitu Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim (Bayan Baru), Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal) dan Mohsin Fadzil Samsuri (Bagan Serai) mengumumkan keluar parti dan menjadi wakil rakyat Bebas.

Anwar berkata semua wakil rakyat PKR dan pemimpin parti itu akan dikenakan mengikuti program tarbiah supaya mereka betul-betul bersemangat kental bagi menghadapi cabaran dan setia kepada parti.

- Bernama

MI : I nearly gave up over cattle allegations, says Khalid

By Neville Spykerman

SHAH ALAM, March 5 — Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim today admitted he nearly threw in the towel and quit politics when he was accused of corruption. The allegations surfaced after 46 heads of cattle was donated for slaughter in his Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary constituency during Hari Raya Korban, in Dec 2008.

“The page one picture of me in the New Straits Times, when I was accused of corruption was the worse point in my life,” he said during a press conference to mark his two years as Selangor Mentri Besar.

On Jan 21, 2009 GERAK, a non-government organisation, lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) accusing Khalid of misusing funds from a state subsidiary to buy the cattle for RM110,400.

“I thought to myself that after all my years of service to my community, I didn’t deserve this,” said Khalid.

Khalid, who described the accusations against him as “very nasty,” disclosed today that his wife wanted him to withdraw a deposit (from the bank), throw it at the party, so he could be done with politics.

However Khalid said he knew he had done nothing wrong and decided against running away.

Khalid was only vindicated on Feb 12 this year, when the MACC cleared him of the graft allegation.

He said his second year in office was less traumatic, and most of his efforts were focussed on managing the economy because of the global downturn.

He pointed out that unlike the federal government, a state did not have resources to raise funds.

“My concern was what would happen if there was lots of unemployment and if businesses could not move.”

However he said the state managed to get the support of industries and state agencies to fund their economic activities.

“For the year ahead, I hope for the sake of Malaysia, we will be allowed to implement all our policies.” he concluded.

MK : Polis digesa siasat Carpet Raya

Polis digesa menyiasat pengarah syarikat permaidani, Deepak Jaikishan, yang dikaitkan oleh penyiasat persendirian P Balasubramaniam dalam kes Altantuya Shaariibuu, kerana didakwa memperolehi pendapatan yang "amat meragukan" berjumlah jutaan ringgit.

Penyelaras Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM), Badrul Hisham Shaharin membuat laporan polis mengenainya di Balai Polis Dang Wangi, di ibu negara petang ini.

Dalam laporannya, Badrul Hisham mendakwa, terdapat sumber yang memaklumkan kepadanya bahawa syarikat Deepak - Carpet Raya Sdn Bhd - telah mencatatkan pendapatan RM122 juta dan keuntungan sebanyak RM7 juta pada 2005.

Badrul mendakwa, keuntungan dan transaksi sebesar itu meragukan jika dirujuk kepada perniagaan berdaftar syarikat tersebut, iaitu penjualan karpet.

Badrul turut menyerahkan maklumat mengenai Carpet Raya yang diperolehi daripada Pendaftar Syarikat serta transaksi bank membabitkan syarikat tersebut, sebagai bukti.

Menurutnya, bukti tersebut diperolehi lebih sebulan lalu tetapi hanya didedahkan selepas ianya dapat disalahkan.

“Maklumat (ini) daripada beberapa sumber. Dan kita sedia mendedahkannya jika (polis) nampak minat untuk mengambil tindakan, sebab kita juga terpaksa melindungi sumber,” katanya.

Tahun lalu, Balasubramaniam telah mendakwa bahawa Deepak memainkan peranan dalam menggesa penyiasat persendirian itu supaya menarik balik akuan bersumpah yang mengaitkan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak dengan Altantuya.

Keesokannya, 4 Julai tahun lalu, Balasubramaniam menarik balik kenyataan dalam akuan sumpah awal melalui akuan kedua di sidang media yang diadakan secara tergesa-gesa dan kelam-kabut sebelum menghilangkan diri secara misteri di luar negara.

November lalu, Balasubramaniam muncul semula dengan dakwaan-dakwaan lain - kali ini dalam siri wawancara yang disiarkan dalam Youtube.
Balasubramaniam mendakwa yang dia ditawarkan RM5 juta oleh adik Najib - Nazim - untuk menarik balik akuan bersumpah pertamanya. Najib telah menafikan dakwaaan itu sebagai "sembrono".

Ekoran itu, peguam Balasubraniam meminta Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) supaya menyiasat dakwaan pelanggan mereka itu.

Pada bulan Januari, ketua pesuruhjaya SPRM, Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamad berkata, suruhanjaya tersebut bersedia menemui Balasubramaniam untuk merakamkan kenyataannya.

Tidak dapat dipastikan sama ada siasatan SPRM telahpun dimulakan.

MK : 21 anggota CC MCA letak jawatan

Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek hari ini mengumumkan peletakan jawatannya sebagai timbalan presiden MCA.

Pengumuman itu dibuat di Wisma MCA di Kuala Lumpur, hari ini.

Selain dirinya, Chua (kiri) juga mengumumkan peletakan jawatan tujuh ahli jawatan kuasa pusat.

Mereka termasuk Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, Datuk Seri Tan Chai Ho, Loh Seng Kok, Datuk Chong Itt Chew, Datuk Gan Tian Loo, Tee Siew Keong dan Por Choo Chor.

Dengan peletakan jawatan itu, presiden MCA, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat kini tidak mempunyai banyak pilihan selain mengadakan pemilihan baru kepemimpinan parti.

Chua juga menuntut pemilihan baru diadakan dalam tempoh sebulan untuk menyelesaikan krisis parti itu.

Sebelum ini, 13 anggota jawatankuasa pusat yang diketuai oleh Naib Presiden, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai turut berbuat demikian.

Ini bermakna 21 orang iaitu dua pertiga daripada anggota CC yang dipilih, telah meletak jawatan bagi membolehkan pemilihan baru diadakan.

'Presiden tak tahu'

Sementara itu ketika ditanya sama ada beliau telah memberitahu presiden parti mengenai tindakannya itu, Chua berkata beliau tidak berbuat demikian.

Beliau juga meminta supaya mesyuarat agung tahunan MCA hujung minggu ini ditangguhkan.

"Peletakan jawatan ini adalah untuk memenuhi janji saya pada EGM (mesyuarat agung luar biasa) tahun lepas di mana saya telah mengutarakan pandangan bahawa kita mungkin perlu pemilihan baru agar kemelut parti dapat ditangani.

Chua berkata beliau dan kumpulan yang telah meletak jawatan itu tidak akan menghadiri mesyuarat CC esok atau mesyuarat sayap Pemuda dan Wanita dan juga sambutan ulang tahun parti itu esok.

"Kami tidak akan hadir kerana kami telah meletak jawatan. Saya minta semua ahli CC yang terpilih seharusnya mereka sedar dan insaf tentang tanggungjawab dan hak mereka.

"Saya kata tidak ada satu pemimpin yang lebih penting daripada parti, sebab itu saya tolak tawaran sebagai pengerusi akhbar The Star," katanya.

Ketika ditanya sama beliau akan bertanding semula jawatan timbalan presiden atau jawatan lain pada pemilihan akan datang, Chua berkata beliau akan membuat keputusan selepas parti menetapkan tarikh penamaan calon dan pemilihan parti.

Kumpulan 13 juga letak jawatan

"Yang penting ialah parti bukannya soal pemimpin atau kepentingan diri melebihi parti," kata beliau.

Chua berkata sejak Januari hingga semalam, beliau telah menerima surat peletakan jawatan daripada tujuh anggota CC yang dipilih.

Dalam pada itu, Liow yang juga mengadakan sidang media berasingan di Wisma MCA berkata beliau telah menyerahkan surat perletakan jawatan 13 anggota jawatankuasa pusat MCA, termasuk dirinya kepada setiausaha agung parti itu, Datuk Wong Foon Meng.

Surat perletakan jawatan berkenaan bertarikh 3 Mac.

Mereka ialah Lee Wei Kiat, Dr Hou Kok Chung, Datuk Yu Chok Tow, Wong Nai Chee, Datuk Wee Jeck Seng, Datuk Dr Yeow Chai Thiam, Datuk Hoh Khai Mun, Datuk Liew Yuen Keong, Datuk Wong Mook Leong, Datuk Edward Khoo Keok Hai dan Datuk Alex Wong Siong Hwee.

Liow bagaimanapun menafikan kumpulannya berkomplot dengan Chua untuk memaksa pemilihan baru pucuk pimpinan MCA diadakan.

Mengikut Fasal 41 perlembagaan MCA, pemilihan perlu diadakan dalam tempoh sebulan jika 21 anggota CC meletak jawatan.

MK : Sultan Perak dimohon tak perkenan sidang DUN

Ketua DAP Perak Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham hari ini mendakwa jika Datuk R Ganesan diiktiraf sebagai speaker Perak yang sah, perkara itu akan menggugat sistem raja berpelembagaan di negara ini.

Ini kerana menurut beliau yang juga ADUN Sitiawan, Ganesan dipilih secara tidak sah.

Beliau mendakwa, Ganesan dilantik sebagai 'speaker' oleh ADUN BN dalam sidang DUN pada 7 Mei lalu ketika Raja Muda Perak, Raja Nazrin Shah belum merasmikan sidang.

Katanya, Ganesan dilantik ketika sesi pagi iaitu kira-kira jam 10.30 pagi sedangkan Raja Nazrin merasmikan sidang DUN kira-kira jam 3 petang.

"Jika Sultan Perak mengiktiraf Ganesan, kepercayaan rakyat terhadap institusi beraja akan merosot.

"BN juga sudah memulakan tradisi bahawa perasmian sidang DUN oleh Sultan atau Raja Muda tidak diperlukan kerana speaker boleh dilantik sebelum sesi bermula," katanya pada sidang akhbar di Ipoh hari ini.

Ngeh yang juga timbalan setiausaha agung DAP juga mempertikaikan sesi pagi yang dipengerusikan oleh adun Jelapang, Hee Yit Foong ketika proses pelantikan Ganesan.

Ini kerana Hee tidak dibenarkan memasuki sidang DUN kerana sudah meletak jawatan sebagai wakil rakyat.

Hee, bekas wakil rakyat DAP dan dua lagi adun bebas tidak dibenarkan memasuki sidang DUN ketika itu kerana speaker yang disingkirkan V Sivakumar mendakwa mereka sudah meletak jawatan berikutan tindakan ketiga-tiganya keluar parti masing-masing.

Dua lagi wakil rakyat bebas itu adalah adun Behrang, Jamaludin Mohd Radhi dan adun Changkat Jering, Mohd Osman Jailu.

Tindakan ketiga-tiga adun yang berpaling tadah itu membolehkan BN menubuhkan kerajaan Perak pada 6 Februari tahun lalu.

Anwar's appeal not filed, but hearing date fixed (circus????)

By FMT staff

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's lawyers are puzzled as to how the registrar of the court of appeal has fixed a date to hear the politician's appeal even before the application is filed.

In a statement, counsel Sankara Nair said they were informed that the appeallate court would hear the matter on March 19.

“What is uniquely strange in the above instance is the unprecedented manner in which the court of appeal has acted in its perceived alacrity and its super efficiency in fixing a hearing date even before we, as solicitors, have filed a Petition of Appeal (POA).

“Indeed the court has acted beyond its own rules - (Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994) - which sets out the procedure clearly,” he added.

The issue concerns Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah's decision to continue hearing Anwar's sodomy case despite the defendant filing an application to recuse him on grounds of prejudice.

Meanwhile, Sankara explained that the rules state that wherein upon the receipt of the appeal records, the petitioner (Anwar) has 10 days to file into court a POA and “only and only after the filing of the said POA will the court proceed to fix a hearing date of the appeal”.

The lawyer said he received the appeal records on March 1 from the high court and according to the rules, he has until March 11 to file the POA.

“In this case I have not filed my POA yet and to my sheer amazement, I was notified today by the court that it has already fixed a hearing date.

“The court has astonishingly departed from established norms in this appeal process involving Anwar. The unprecedented manner in which the court has acted is disturbing and is outrageous,” he added.

'Clear case of discrimination'

Sankara also pointed out that previously when Anwar made various appeals to the court of appeal and to the federal court by also simultaneously filing a certificate of urgency for an early hearing, there was no such 'super efficiency'.

“From the above actions of the, there seems to be a clear case of discrimination towards Anwar in the court's blatant disregard for the rules and this is wholly unacceptable,” he said.

Anwar is accused of sodomising his former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan on June 26, 2008 at a posh condominium in the exclusive Bukit Damansara suburb of Kuala Lumpur.

He has denied the charge, saying it’s a conspiracy similar to that in 1998.

Why the two-thirds is crucial (UPDATED with Chinese Translation)

In a gerrymandering exercise you lump all the opposition voters into one huge constituency and you spread out the government supporters into many seats. So, the opposition can garner 100,000 votes but it will be only one seat while the 100,000 votes that the ruling party wins will be in three or four seats.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Soon after the 8 March 2008 general election, Umno held a seminar at the Holiday Villa in Subang. I invited a few non-Malay friends to join me in this seminar. Initially, they did not see any point in attending an Umno do. However, I managed to convince them to go so that they can get a good idea on what Umno is thinking. There were other seminars held in Petaling Jaya, Johor Bharu, and so on -- some which I also attended with my non-Malay friends in tow and some which I sent ‘agents’.

In the Holiday Villa seminar, amongst those who spoke were Fahmi Ibrahim, one-time political secretary to Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Harun Idris, and Mazlan Harun, Datuk Harun’s son. Datuk Harun is of course synonymous with May 13, the tragic race riots of 1969 that erupted two days after the 11 May 1969 general election.

We all know what happened on 13 May 1969, and why it happened, so we need not deliberate on that matter. What I want to talk about is the seminar in the Holiday Villa, which I have in fact already written about before.

“The reason we lost Selangor in 1969 was because of the non-Malay votes. So we decided to take Kuala Lumpur out of Selangor and turn it into Federal Territory to reduce the non-Malay voters in the state. Then we created a new Malay city called Shah Alam so that we can flood Selangor will more Malays and dilute the remaining non-Malay voters in Selangor.”

That was what Fahmi explained -- the reason why Selangor was split into two with the creation of the Federal Territory and the reason why Shah Alam was created as the new State Capital cum Malay city.

“It worked for awhile as long as the Malays vote Umno and the non-Malays vote opposition. But when the Malays also vote opposition then this strategy no longer works. So we need to think of a new strategy.”

The ‘new’ strategy Umno is talking about is not actually new but is an ongoing strategy. This strategy is called gerrymandering and it was invented by the Americans.

This is what Wikipedia has to say about the matter:

Gerrymandering is a form of boundary delimitation (redistricting) in which electoral district or constituency boundaries are deliberately modified for electoral purposes, thereby producing a contorted or unusual shape. The resulting district is known as a gerrymander; however, that noun can also refer to the process.

Gerrymandering may be used to achieve desired electoral results for a particular party, or may be used to help or hinder a particular group of constituents, such as a political, racial, linguistic, religious, or class group.

When used to allege that a given party is gaining a disproportionate power, the term gerrymandering has negative connotations. However, a gerrymander may also be used for purposes that some perceive as positive, notably in US federal voting district boundaries which produce a proportion of constituencies with an African-American or other minority in the majority (these are thus called "minority-majority districts").

You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering

Malaysia has turned gerrymandering into an art. For example, when they wanted to topple Ustaz Abdul Hadi Awang, the PAS President, they carved up his Marang constituency in such a manner that areas from across the state, like along the Kuala Berang road, were added to Marang. Hadi, in spite of his stature, lost the election.

The same was done for Lembah Pantai, which was another opposition stronghold. They added Sungai Pencala near Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kampong Pasir along the Old Kelang Road, and Segambut Dalam near Jalan Ipoh, to Bangsar, and the opposition got wiped out -- until recently when Nurul Izzah won the seat.

The above are just two examples of many. It is no coincidence that ‘Malay’ seats like Putrajaya (97%-98% Malay voters) have as low of 5,000 voters while ‘Chinese’ seats like Selayang have more than 120,000 voters.

In a gerrymandering exercise you lump all the opposition voters into one huge constituency and you spread out the government supporters into many seats. So, the opposition can garner 100,000 votes but it will be only one seat while the 100,000 votes that the ruling party wins will be in three or four seats.

And that was why even though the ruling party garnered only 45% of the popular votes in 1969 it still managed to form the federal government, although without a two-thirds majority in parliament. The 55% of the popular votes that the opposition won was not enough for it to form the federal government. The opposition would have needed to win 60% of the popular votes to form the federal government, which was impossible for the opposition to achieve.

Of course, before 2008 it was easier. You just needed to isolate the non-Malay voters into one large seat and spread out the Malay voters into many seats. But in 2008 this changed. In 2008 the Malays too voted for the non-Malay candidates whereas in the past the opposition Malays meant only PAS -- which was in the rural Malay heartland and not in the cities.

The game has changed. So the rules of the game also need to change. And gerrymandering is not that simple any more. You can no longer redraw the constituency boundaries according to race. Malays too will now vote for Chinese and Indian candidates from non-Malay parties such as DAP and PKR.

So it is back to the drawing board for the election commission (SPR). Next year, they need to sit down and come out with a new formula. Barisan Nasional needs to ensure that it can still form the federal government even if it wins just 40% of the popular votes. And it also needs to ensure it can regain its two-thirds majority in Parliament with a mere 50% of the votes. That is the new game plan.

But to do this they need to first get back their two-thirds majority in parliament. And they need to get back this two-thirds this year so that next year the new constituency boundaries can be settled. Then, when they dissolve parliament and call for new general elections, say mid-2011 or early 2012, the new boundaries would apply.

Some say it is not crucial for Barisan Nasional to have a two-thirds majority in parliament to be able to run this country. If it is only about running this country then that may be true. But it is not true if they need to embark on a new gerrymandering exercise. To do this they need two-thirds of parliament.

And this is why Umno is very keen to buy at least ten or so opposition Members of Parliament. This will give them back their two-thirds majority in parliament.

This was that The Straits Times of Singapore said:

The BN needs 148 seats for a two-thirds majority. With support of the three independents, it will get there with just another eight defectors. A two-thirds majority is not just a psychological booster, but is also necessary for smooth passage of the next redrawing of electoral constituencies that will begin next year.

When Anwar Ibrahim said that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor are behind the latest wave of crossovers he was actually not wrong. The man behind this ‘shopping spree’ to buy the opposition Members of Parliament is Hamdan, Najib’s cousin, who was given the Kudat IPP as the ‘cash cow’ to finance the shopping spree.

Of course, the Kudat IPP comes with a ‘commission’ of RM50 million. And this RM50 million is to be used to pay off the opposition Members of Parliament as an inducement to cross over. Hamdan works very closely with the Special Branch and Military Intelligence. His contact in Bukit Aman is Akril Sani while in the Military Intelligence it is Datuk Salleh.

Hamdan’s mobile phone number is +6012-279-5945 and he made the mistake of contacting his key men in the Special Branch and Military Intelligence using this mobile phone so of course we managed to track what he was doing all this while.

The other person in this ring is Zahari Ismail, the man who arranged the meeting between Najib and Hadi Awang. Zahari is one of the directors of Malaysia’s F1 racing team so he has access to a large reserve of funds allocated to ‘research and development’, which he can also use to finance the shopping spree.

So it is actually the taxpayers’ money that is financing all these crossovers.

Another person involved with the ring is the husband of Mumtaz Jaafar. Mumtaz works for Rosmah and also has links with Saiful, the young man who accused Anwar of sodomising him.

If you can remember, Hee of Perak was paid RM25 million. Her price was high because they needed her to topple the Pakatan Rakyat Perak government. So RM25 million can be considered a fair price. Anyhow, Vincent Tan picked up the tab from his ‘special draw’ so it was quite affordable since the Malaysian gamblers were paying for it.

Tan from Penang was paid only RM2 million. It is not much but he has gambling debts up to his eyeballs and the loan sharks or along are camped outside his house so he has no choice but to accept this figure. The along can be very brutal if you don’t pay what they demand so when you are in that situation you are in no position to negotiate for more.

Wee Choo Keong’s problem is more complicating. It involves two mistresses and one who has just given birth and Umno has threatened to expose this scandal. He also has this RM35 million legal problem with Ambank and if this can be settled ‘out of court’ then Wee will certainly become another ‘independent’ Member of Parliament.

Nike’s rallying call is ‘Just Do It’. Umno’s rallying call is ‘Just Duit’. All it takes is money (duit) and Barisan Nasional will get back its two-thirds majority in Parliament whereby the next gerrymandering exercise can be launched. Then it does not matter whether the opposition will win 60% of the popular votes come the next election. Barisan Nasional will still be in power and with a two-thirds majority on top of that.

Now you know what is going on? Yes, that is the real reason these people are crossing over, not all those crap excuses they are giving such as lost confidence, dictator, and whatnot. It is JUST DUIT.

Oh, and before I sign off, keep a close watch on Naza, the Car Czar and AP King of Malaysia. Something interesting is about to happen. And remember, you read it here first.

Translated into Chinese at: http://ccliew.blogspot.com/2010/03/blog-post_6550.html