Malay & bumiputra rural voters will determine the winners or losers of coming Malaysia's GE14

Down the wire with the Malays

- With urbanites caught up in social media debates, it will be the quiet rural folks who determine the winners (and losers) of GE14

 

IF you haven’t already heard this one before, it will be the Malay and bumiputra voters, mainly in rural areas, who will determine what the next government looks like.

Despite the racket from urbanites, be it in private discussions or from the many irate postings on social media, it will come down to the relatively quiet rural folks who make up the decisive voices.

Out of the 222 parliamentary seats, there are now 117 rural Malay seats in Peninsular Malaysia, following the delineation exercise – up from the previous 114 Malay majority seats in the previous general election. There are 19 seats each in Sabah and Sarawak, with predominantly bumiputra voters.

These 117 seats include the 52 constituencies in Felda settlements regarded the heartland of the Malays, where the primary concerns are racial and religious in nature.

Another election monitoring group, Tindak Malaysia, reportedly estimated the Malay majority seats at 115 – up one seat from the previous 114, before the delineation.

To form the government, all that’s needed is a simple majority of 112 seats. Prior to the dissolution of Parliament, the Barisan Nasional had 130.

Donald Trump won the United States presidency firmly backed by the rural areas, and not from that of New York, Los Angeles or Washington DC. In fact, he lost the popular vote by a bigger margin than any other US president in history, but he won, via the country’s electoral system, which saw each state assigned several votes that go to the candidate who wins the public vote in that state.

His Republican party won in what is regarded as swing states, such as North Carolina and Ohio, with huge rural votes. In fact, he won 67% of the rural American votes.

In Malaysia, our voting system is much simpler with its “first past the post” format, based after the British electoral system. Again, popular votes don’t count. But like in the United States, it will be the rural folks who will be the determinants. In Malaysia, it won’t be the traditionally anti-establishment Chinese voters in cities.

In the 2013 elections, there were 30 Chinese majority seats or 13.5% of the parliamentary seats, according to a recent news report, quoting social media analytics firm Politweet.

“The proportion of ethnic Chinese voters in these seats ranged from 52.27% (Beruas) to as high as 90.94% in Bandar Kuching.

“These seats can be found in Penang (7), Perak (5), Kuala Lumpur (5), Selangor (1), Melaka (1), Johor (3), Sarawak (6) and Sabah (2),” it said. From the 30 Chinese majority seats, the DAP won 29 and PKR one.

But Tindak Malaysia has claimed that the number of Chinese majority seats has dropped to 24. There is also another stark fact; even without the delineation exercise, the number of Chinese voters has continued to shrink sharply.

According to Malay Mail Online, despite blaming Chinese voters for the decline in votes for Barisan, they, in fact, only formed about four million of the total 13.3 million registered voters. It quoted Politweet founder Ahmed Kamal Nava as saying that the Chinese vote “is going to become less relevant to both Barisan/Pakatan Harapan over time because the Chinese majority seats are going to become mixed seats and eventually, Malay majority seats”.

The report also said that a comparison between the GE13 electoral roll and the electoral roll for 2017’s first quarter showed that the Chinese voters’ projection has already fallen by over one percentage point in seven states and in 79 of the 165 seats in the peninsula.

Going by current trends, the projection is that the number of non-Malays will continue to drop further, with some saying that by 2050, there could be 80% bumiputras and just 15% Chinese and about 5% Indians.

In 2014, 75.5% from the live birth total were bumiputras, followed by Chinese, at only 14% with Indians 4.5%, and others 6%.

Based on calculations, the Chinese birth rate at 1.4 babies per family in 2015 from 7.4% in 1957 means that their position in Malaysia will fall from 24.6% in 2010, 21.4% in 2015 to 18.4% or less in 2040.

In the 2013 elections, realising that it is the majority Malay votes that will tip the scale, the DAP readily tied up with PAS, hoping they would be able to capture Putrajaya. The DAP aggressively pushed the Chinese to vote for PAS, and many did willingly, but the pact failed to materialise. PAS paid a heavy price for sleeping with the enemy, because the rural Malays simply couldn’t accept the Rocket.

A random survey on PAS’ core voter base – rural Malays – by online portal FMT, found that many viewed its alliance with the “kafir” party DAP suspiciously.

PAS emerged a major loser in the 13th general election, managing to grab only 21 of the 73 parliamentary seats it contested. It even lost Kedah. In the 2008 polls, it secured 23 parliamentary seats.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang must have found his dabbling with danger a painful one. It didn’t help that the relationship between the DAP and PAS had soured following the elections.

Fast forward to 2018. The DAP, again, is explicitly aware the Chinese cannot hope to dump Umno without the Malays, so a new pact with PKR, Parti Pribumi Malaysia and Parti Amanah Negara has been forged.

It is even prepared to drop its iconic Rocket symbol, its organising secretary Anthony Loke admitting the Malays are wary of it.

The test now is whether the Malays in the rural areas will accept the idea of having Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Lim Kit Siang, whom the former had demonised the past 30 years of his political life, as emblems of a party taking care of their interest.

If no Malay tsunami materialises, and if the Chinese, again, place their chips on the Opposition – which seems to be the sentiment currently in urban areas – then, it will be the third consecutive elections in which the Chinese would have bet on the losing side.

The implications will be far-reaching for the community, especially if the Chinese representation in the government is weakened or non-existent when it involves legislation with religious overtones. It will also mean the possibility of being cut off from the mainstream involvement in crucial policy making and areas of development.

More so with whispers of a tie up between Umno and PAS, in some form, after the general election.

If the Barisan continues to get the mandate, as expected, DAP could end up occupying the biggest seats on the opposition bench since the rest of the Malay parties are generally untested, with PKR the exception.

Not many city folk, with the rising political temperature, want to hear or accept that this is simply a fight in the rural Malay heartland. Reality check: it will be the Malays and bumiputras who will have our fate in their hands.

By Wong Chun Wai, who began his career as a journalist in Penang, and has served The Star for over 27 years in various capacities and roles. He is now the group's managing director/chief executive officer and formerly the group chief editor.

On The Beat made its debut on Feb 23 1997 and Chun Wai has penned the column weekly without a break, except for the occasional press holiday when the paper was not published. In May 2011, a compilation of selected articles of On The Beat was published as a book and launched in conjunction with his 50th birthday. Chun Wai also comments on current issues in The Star.


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Pakatan taking a step backwards’

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harap­an’s choice of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as its candidate for prime minister is a step backwards for the Opposition grouping, said Institute of Strategic and Inter­national Studies Malaysia Senior Fellow Sholto Byrnes.

In an opinion piece yesterday in The National, a newspaper published in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Byrnes wrote that Pakatan’s choice of Dr Mahathir showed it did not have confidence in its own leaders.

He said it also reflected badly on Opposition supporters who were strongly against the Government, which Dr Mahathir led for 22 years.

“The notion that this represents change, let alone fresh blood, is laughable and reflects very poorly on the Opposition’s confidence not only in its younger cadres, but also in those who have always opposed the Barisan Nasional governing coalition,” said Byrnes.

He said many Opposition supporters and leaders were imprisoned by Dr Mahathir, who is currently Pakatan Harapan chairman, for no good reason other than that their vehement opposition inconvenienced him.

“They are entitled to feel bitter at having to kowtow to their former jailer,” he added.

Byrnes noted that Dr Mahathir, who is now 92, would become the world’s oldest leader if elected in the event that Pakatan Harapan wrests power from Barisan.

This, he said, would open Malay­sia to international ridicule.

“Any who doubt that should imagine the incredulous laughter if either George H.W. Bush, aged 93, or Valery Giscard d’Estaing, a sprightly 91, were to seek to return to the presidencies of the United States and France respectively,” he said.

Commenting on Dr Mahathir’s Dec 30 apology for his past mistakes when he was prime minister, Byrnes pointed out that the former leader said sorry for nothing specific.

Dr Mahathir later suggested that it was Malay custom to apologise for possible past mistakes.

“Whatever charges might be laid against him over possible wrongdoing during the course of his premiership – and Opposition activists have in the past called for him to be put on trial for them – he is essentially unrepentant,” Byrnes wrote.

He said Dr Mahathir would never have switched to the Opposition if Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had been prepared to act as Dr Mahathir’s tame supplicant and do everything his former boss wanted.

“For ever since he stood down from the premiership, Dr Mahathir has not been able to let go,” he said.

Recognising that it was Chinese faces who had the track record and visibility in the Opposition after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s jailing, Byrnes said Pakatan was trying to hide them behind a facade of Malay politicians to win the crucial votes of the majority Malays.

“There are decent people in the Opposition, whom I have come to know personally. But this new top ticket drives a coach and horses through the Opposition’s old principles and thus through whatever moral authority it had,” he said.

Choosing a nonagenerian former PM to head Malaysia's opposition is a regressive move

- REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin/File Photo

THE announcement last weekend that Malaysia's opposition coalition, Pakatan Harapan (PH), had chosen Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as its candidate for prime minister made international headlines for two reasons. Firstly, Dr Mahathir has been the country's head of government before, for a record-breaking 22 years from 1981 to 2003, during which (and afterwards) his governing style was described as "authoritarian". With trademark sarcasm, the good doctor now one-ups that by conceding that in office he was nothing less than a "dictator". He is not renowned as an advocate for reformist democracy, which is what PH claims to stand for.

Secondly, he is now 92, which would make him the world's oldest leader if elected. Opposition columnists have ludicrously compared Malaysia, much praised by the World Bank, the IMF and other international bodies for its current government's reforms, prudent economic stewardship and excellent growth, with Zimbabwe. In fact, it is the latter's former president Robert Mugabe, a 93-year-old gerontocrat deposed ignominiously last year, who was so close to Dr Mahathir that the BBC's John Simpson once paid him the backhanded compliment of calling him "a kind of successful, Asian Robert Mugabe."

Malaysia's opposition is now effectively helmed by two leaders from 20 years ago: Dr Mahathir and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the deputy he sacked in 1998 and humiliated after the latter was charged and then jailed for sodomy and corruption. Anwar is currently in prison on a second sodomy charge. His wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, is nominally PH's candidate for deputy prime minister but should the opposition win, its plan is for Anwar to be given a royal pardon, enter parliament via a by-election and then take over from his former nemesis as prime minister.

The notion that this represents change, let alone fresh blood, is laughable and reflects very poorly on the opposition's confidence not only in its younger cadres (and by younger, that means 50 and 60-year-olds) but also in those who have always opposed the Barisan Nasional (BN) governing coalition, which has never lost power since independence.

Theirs has not been an easy road. Many were imprisoned by Dr Mahathir for no good reason other than that their vehement opposition inconvenienced him. They are entitled to feel bitter at having to kowtow to their former jailer. And while Dr Mahathir might still be very sharp – his tongue has lost none of its spikiness – they cannot be oblivious to the fact that proposing a man who could be 93 by the time he became prime minister again opens the country to international ridicule. (Any who doubt that should imagine the incredulous laughter if either George HW Bush, currently aged 93, or Valery Giscard d'Estaing, a sprightly 91, were to seek to return to the presidencies of the US and France, respectively.)

So why has Malaysia's opposition proposed him as their leader? Ah, but Dr Mahathir has changed his tune, some will say and has even recently apologised. Firstly, he said sorry for nothing specific and secondly, he then suggested it was Malay custom to apologise for possible past mistakes. However, whatever charges might be laid against him over possible wrongdoing during the course of his premiership – and opposition activists have in the past called for him to be put on trial for them – he is essentially unrepentant.

The late Karpal Singh, the formidable Indian national chairman of the mainly Chinese Democratic Action Party (DAP), would never have stood for it. His daughter and others with a long record in the opposition cannot stomach Dr Mahathir at the top and have said so vocally, as have some significant members of Anwar's People's Justice Party (PKR).

No wonder, for this is no alliance of principle. It is one of convenience. And if the current prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, had been prepared to act as Dr Mahathir's tame supplicant and do everything his former boss wanted, this would never have happened. For ever since he stood down from the premiership, Dr Mahathir has not been able to let go. First he undermined his handpicked successor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and then Najib – not for any malfeasance on their parts but for the crimes of not taking his "advice" as orders and for not indulging his dynastic ambitions.

Paradoxically, Dr Mahathir's appearance at the head of the opposition pact is actually a testament to how strong a position Najib has built over the last two and a half years. Recognising that it was Chinese faces who had the track record and the visibility in the opposition after Anwar's jailing, PH is now trying to hide them behind a facade of Malay politicians to win the crucial votes of the majority Malays.

But their new alliance is incoherent, with politicians having entirely contradictory records on matters of civil liberties and free speech, for instance – and, worse, deceitful ones, claiming that the goods and services tax that the current government has introduced could be removed, with no real plans for how they would replace the vital revenue.

There are decent people in the opposition, whom I have come to know personally. But this new top ticket drives a coach-and-horses through the opposition's old principles and thus through whatever moral authority they had.

Malaysia has a good government that has won accolades for its determined fight against violent extremism and its successful economic transformation programme. It deserves a better opposition. And there's a certain 92-year-old who deserves the gratitude of his people for services past – but also a retirement he has put off for far too long.

Source: by Sholto Byrnes, The Star

> Sholto Byrnes is a senior fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia

PKR gives up 14 seats to Pribumi for GE14

PETALING JAYA: PKR has given up 14 constituencies it contested in the last general election to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Pribumi) for the upcoming 14th General Election (GE14).

Pakatan Harapan’s approved distribution of parliamentary seats for GE14 shows PKR giving up seats in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Johor, Perak, Kelantan and Pahang to Pribumi.

Notably, it has surrendered the Pekan seat – currently held by Umno president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak – to Pribumi.

Notably, PKR has given up its Lumut parliamentary seat, currently held by Mohamad Imran Abd Hamid, to Amanah.

Since the departure of PAS from the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat coalition, many of that party’s previously-contested seats were distributed evenly among Pribumi and Amanah, a PAS breakaway party.

Interestingly, Pribumi is the Pakatan Harapan party contesting seven seats in Kelantan, against five by Amanah and two by PKR.

Pribumi will have a strong presence in the Umno stronghold of Johor, fielding candidates in 10 seats.

Four of those seats (Sri Gading, Pengerang, Pontian and Muar) were previously contested by PKR, while Tanjung Piai was previously contested by DAP.

Johor’s Ayer Hitam seat, which was previously under DAP’s quota, will be contested by Amanah.

Pribumi is set to contest eight seats in Perak, after PKR gave up four seats there – Tambun, Bagan Serai, Tapah and Pasir Salak.

PKR is also slated to contest the Sungei Siput seat now held by PSM’s Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj. Dr Jeyakumar won the seat under the PKR banner in the last election.

Apart from Johor, Pribumi also has strong representation in Perak (eight seats), Kelantan (seven), Pahang (six) and Kedah (six).

It is believed that Pribumi is thought to have a better chance against Umno in those seats, compared to Amanah.

Some instances of give and take were seen in the planned parliamentary seat distribution.

Amanah in turn has given up the prized Titiwangsa seat to Pribumi, leaving it with no potential representation in Kuala Lumpur.

Related Link:

Dr Mahathir has hijacked Pakatan, says Liow

Pribumi dominates Pakatan Harapan, says Liow

Rocky road ahead for Anwar - Nation

‘Pakatan taking a step backwards’

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harap­an’s choice of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as its candidate for prime minister is a step backwards for the Opposition grouping, said Institute of Strategic and Inter­national Studies Malaysia Senior Fellow Sholto Byrnes.

In an opinion piece yesterday in The National, a newspaper published in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Byrnes wrote that Pakatan’s choice of Dr Mahathir showed it did not have confidence in its own leaders.

He said it also reflected badly on Opposition supporters who were strongly against the Government, which Dr Mahathir led for 22 years.

“The notion that this represents change, let alone fresh blood, is laughable and reflects very poorly on the Opposition’s confidence not only in its younger cadres, but also in those who have always opposed the Barisan Nasional governing coalition,” said Byrnes.

He said many Opposition supporters and leaders were imprisoned by Dr Mahathir, who is currently Pakatan Harapan chairman, for no good reason other than that their vehement opposition inconvenienced him.

“They are entitled to feel bitter at having to kowtow to their former jailer,” he added.

Byrnes noted that Dr Mahathir, who is now 92, would become the world’s oldest leader if elected in the event that Pakatan Harapan wrests power from Barisan.

This, he said, would open Malay­sia to international ridicule.

“Any who doubt that should imagine the incredulous laughter if either George H.W. Bush, aged 93, or Valery Giscard d’Estaing, a sprightly 91, were to seek to return to the presidencies of the United States and France respectively,” he said.

Commenting on Dr Mahathir’s Dec 30 apology for his past mistakes when he was prime minister, Byrnes pointed out that the former leader said sorry for nothing specific.

Dr Mahathir later suggested that it was Malay custom to apologise for possible past mistakes.

“Whatever charges might be laid against him over possible wrongdoing during the course of his premiership – and Opposition activists have in the past called for him to be put on trial for them – he is essentially unrepentant,” Byrnes wrote.

He said Dr Mahathir would never have switched to the Opposition if Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had been prepared to act as Dr Mahathir’s tame supplicant and do everything his former boss wanted.

“For ever since he stood down from the premiership, Dr Mahathir has not been able to let go,” he said.

Recognising that it was Chinese faces who had the track record and visibility in the Opposition after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s jailing, Byrnes said Pakatan was trying to hide them behind a facade of Malay politicians to win the crucial votes of the majority Malays.

“There are decent people in the Opposition, whom I have come to know personally. But this new top ticket drives a coach and horses through the Opposition’s old principles and thus through whatever moral authority it had,” he said.

Choosing a nonagenerian former PM to head Malaysia's opposition is a regressive move

- REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin/File Photo

THE announcement last weekend that Malaysia's opposition coalition, Pakatan Harapan (PH), had chosen Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as its candidate for prime minister made international headlines for two reasons. Firstly, Dr Mahathir has been the country's head of government before, for a record-breaking 22 years from 1981 to 2003, during which (and afterwards) his governing style was described as "authoritarian". With trademark sarcasm, the good doctor now one-ups that by conceding that in office he was nothing less than a "dictator". He is not renowned as an advocate for reformist democracy, which is what PH claims to stand for.

Secondly, he is now 92, which would make him the world's oldest leader if elected. Opposition columnists have ludicrously compared Malaysia, much praised by the World Bank, the IMF and other international bodies for its current government's reforms, prudent economic stewardship and excellent growth, with Zimbabwe. In fact, it is the latter's former president Robert Mugabe, a 93-year-old gerontocrat deposed ignominiously last year, who was so close to Dr Mahathir that the BBC's John Simpson once paid him the backhanded compliment of calling him "a kind of successful, Asian Robert Mugabe."

Malaysia's opposition is now effectively helmed by two leaders from 20 years ago: Dr Mahathir and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the deputy he sacked in 1998 and humiliated after the latter was charged and then jailed for sodomy and corruption. Anwar is currently in prison on a second sodomy charge. His wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, is nominally PH's candidate for deputy prime minister but should the opposition win, its plan is for Anwar to be given a royal pardon, enter parliament via a by-election and then take over from his former nemesis as prime minister.

The notion that this represents change, let alone fresh blood, is laughable and reflects very poorly on the opposition's confidence not only in its younger cadres (and by younger, that means 50 and 60-year-olds) but also in those who have always opposed the Barisan Nasional (BN) governing coalition, which has never lost power since independence.

Theirs has not been an easy road. Many were imprisoned by Dr Mahathir for no good reason other than that their vehement opposition inconvenienced him. They are entitled to feel bitter at having to kowtow to their former jailer. And while Dr Mahathir might still be very sharp – his tongue has lost none of its spikiness – they cannot be oblivious to the fact that proposing a man who could be 93 by the time he became prime minister again opens the country to international ridicule. (Any who doubt that should imagine the incredulous laughter if either George HW Bush, currently aged 93, or Valery Giscard d'Estaing, a sprightly 91, were to seek to return to the presidencies of the US and France, respectively.)

So why has Malaysia's opposition proposed him as their leader? Ah, but Dr Mahathir has changed his tune, some will say and has even recently apologised. Firstly, he said sorry for nothing specific and secondly, he then suggested it was Malay custom to apologise for possible past mistakes. However, whatever charges might be laid against him over possible wrongdoing during the course of his premiership – and opposition activists have in the past called for him to be put on trial for them – he is essentially unrepentant.

The late Karpal Singh, the formidable Indian national chairman of the mainly Chinese Democratic Action Party (DAP), would never have stood for it. His daughter and others with a long record in the opposition cannot stomach Dr Mahathir at the top and have said so vocally, as have some significant members of Anwar's People's Justice Party (PKR).

No wonder, for this is no alliance of principle. It is one of convenience. And if the current prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, had been prepared to act as Dr Mahathir's tame supplicant and do everything his former boss wanted, this would never have happened. For ever since he stood down from the premiership, Dr Mahathir has not been able to let go. First he undermined his handpicked successor, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and then Najib – not for any malfeasance on their parts but for the crimes of not taking his "advice" as orders and for not indulging his dynastic ambitions.

Paradoxically, Dr Mahathir's appearance at the head of the opposition pact is actually a testament to how strong a position Najib has built over the last two and a half years. Recognising that it was Chinese faces who had the track record and the visibility in the opposition after Anwar's jailing, PH is now trying to hide them behind a facade of Malay politicians to win the crucial votes of the majority Malays.

But their new alliance is incoherent, with politicians having entirely contradictory records on matters of civil liberties and free speech, for instance – and, worse, deceitful ones, claiming that the goods and services tax that the current government has introduced could be removed, with no real plans for how they would replace the vital revenue.

There are decent people in the opposition, whom I have come to know personally. But this new top ticket drives a coach-and-horses through the opposition's old principles and thus through whatever moral authority they had.

Malaysia has a good government that has won accolades for its determined fight against violent extremism and its successful economic transformation programme. It deserves a better opposition. And there's a certain 92-year-old who deserves the gratitude of his people for services past – but also a retirement he has put off for far too long.

Source: by Sholto Byrnes, The Star

> Sholto Byrnes is a senior fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia

PKR gives up 14 seats to Pribumi for GE14

PETALING JAYA: PKR has given up 14 constituencies it contested in the last general election to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Pribumi) for the upcoming 14th General Election (GE14).

Pakatan Harapan’s approved distribution of parliamentary seats for GE14 shows PKR giving up seats in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Johor, Perak, Kelantan and Pahang to Pribumi.

Notably, it has surrendered the Pekan seat – currently held by Umno president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak – to Pribumi.

Notably, PKR has given up its Lumut parliamentary seat, currently held by Mohamad Imran Abd Hamid, to Amanah.

Since the departure of PAS from the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat coalition, many of that party’s previously-contested seats were distributed evenly among Pribumi and Amanah, a PAS breakaway party.

Interestingly, Pribumi is the Pakatan Harapan party contesting seven seats in Kelantan, against five by Amanah and two by PKR.

Pribumi will have a strong presence in the Umno stronghold of Johor, fielding candidates in 10 seats.

Four of those seats (Sri Gading, Pengerang, Pontian and Muar) were previously contested by PKR, while Tanjung Piai was previously contested by DAP.

Johor’s Ayer Hitam seat, which was previously under DAP’s quota, will be contested by Amanah.

Pribumi is set to contest eight seats in Perak, after PKR gave up four seats there – Tambun, Bagan Serai, Tapah and Pasir Salak.

PKR is also slated to contest the Sungei Siput seat now held by PSM’s Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj. Dr Jeyakumar won the seat under the PKR banner in the last election.

Apart from Johor, Pribumi also has strong representation in Perak (eight seats), Kelantan (seven), Pahang (six) and Kedah (six).

It is believed that Pribumi is thought to have a better chance against Umno in those seats, compared to Amanah.

Some instances of give and take were seen in the planned parliamentary seat distribution.

Amanah in turn has given up the prized Titiwangsa seat to Pribumi, leaving it with no potential representation in Kuala Lumpur.

Related Link:

Dr Mahathir has hijacked Pakatan, says Liow

Pribumi dominates Pakatan Harapan, says Liow

Rocky road ahead for Anwar - Nation

How to measure a politician?

Use technology to learn more about them before casting your vote

Cheah taking a wefie with Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu (behind Cheah) and (from left) Berapit assemblyman Lydia Ong, Speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang and state officials during a break at the Penang state assembly in November.

KEBUN Bunga assemblyman Cheah Kah Peng of PKR is the man of the moment in the political scene in Penang.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng barred him from helping with the registration of flood victims for the RM700 aid in his constituency.

Lim, in his Facebook page, said in Chinese that he wouldn’t sit idly when elected representatives do not perform.

He stopped short of naming Cheah, except to say that he heard grouses from Hong Seng Estate residents about not seeing “their assemblyman” during the floods on Sept 15 as well as on Nov 4 and 5. We do not know if this is true.

In any case, Cheah got a letter from the State Secretariat relieving him of the registration duty. Lim and Pulau Tikus assemblyman Yap Soo Huey took over the task.

Cheah, showing his usual gentleman’s demeanour, declined to comment. But this is not the first time he has come under attack from the state administration.

It was learned that he was reprimanded for being unhappy with the passing of the Penang State Park (Botanic) Corporation Enactment 2017.

Penang Botanic Gardens is in his constituency and he feared the Enactment would affect people’s rights after the park was corporatised. It is said he was informed only a few days before the Bill was tabled.

In 2015, Cheah, Penanti assemblyman Dr Norlela Ariffin, Ong Chin Wen (Bukit Tengah), Dr T. Jayabalan (Batu Uban) and Lee Khai Loon (Machang Bubok) were dubbed the ‘PKR Five’ for abstaining in a vote against a Barisan Nasional motion on land reclamation in the state assembly.

Their relationship with Lim soured after that.

How do we define good elected representatives? Keep count of how many times they visit their constituencies?

And then there is the old question: Should we vote for the person or the party? There are many views on this, but as a journalist, I have an occupational advantage.

I have seen a few assemblymen turning up at gotong-royong, spend less than 30 minutes there for photo opportunities and leave. Yes, I know who you are and I am a voter too.

And then I had the chance to cover many state assembly meetings through the years.

This is where we expect constructive debates among the ‘Yang Berhormat’ on issues that affect us. But on a few occasions, there were no fruitful debates or exchange of ideas.

National issues, which cannot be resolved in the state assembly, dominate the proceedings at times. Why? What were our assemblymen hoping to achieve by prattling about things that the hall cannot act on? They frequently call each other names and bicker in the august House.

In the last meeting, two assemblymen dragged out the name of a newspaper editor and attacked his character in the hall where the editor had no chance to defend himself due to the absolute privilege that lets assemblymen say anything they want there without fear of being sued.

But I was relieved because at least five other assemblymen stood up to defend the editor and talked those two assemblymen down.

Unlike them, I do not have absolute privilege so regretfully, I can mention no names.

With today’s technology, it is easy to get to know political candidates before giving them our votes.

Check out their Facebook pages or Google their names to learn about them.

If they are not up to mark, something might show in their social media exchanges.

Remember, the election season is just around the corner. Use your vote wisely.

By Tan Sin Chow

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How to measure a politician?

Use technology to learn more about them before casting your vote

Cheah taking a wefie with Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu (behind Cheah) and (from left) Berapit assemblyman Lydia Ong, Speaker Datuk Law Choo Kiang and state officials during a break at the Penang state assembly in November.

KEBUN Bunga assemblyman Cheah Kah Peng of PKR is the man of the moment in the political scene in Penang.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng barred him from helping with the registration of flood victims for the RM700 aid in his constituency.

Lim, in his Facebook page, said in Chinese that he wouldn’t sit idly when elected representatives do not perform.

He stopped short of naming Cheah, except to say that he heard grouses from Hong Seng Estate residents about not seeing “their assemblyman” during the floods on Sept 15 as well as on Nov 4 and 5. We do not know if this is true.

In any case, Cheah got a letter from the State Secretariat relieving him of the registration duty. Lim and Pulau Tikus assemblyman Yap Soo Huey took over the task.

Cheah, showing his usual gentleman’s demeanour, declined to comment. But this is not the first time he has come under attack from the state administration.

It was learned that he was reprimanded for being unhappy with the passing of the Penang State Park (Botanic) Corporation Enactment 2017.

Penang Botanic Gardens is in his constituency and he feared the Enactment would affect people’s rights after the park was corporatised. It is said he was informed only a few days before the Bill was tabled.

In 2015, Cheah, Penanti assemblyman Dr Norlela Ariffin, Ong Chin Wen (Bukit Tengah), Dr T. Jayabalan (Batu Uban) and Lee Khai Loon (Machang Bubok) were dubbed the ‘PKR Five’ for abstaining in a vote against a Barisan Nasional motion on land reclamation in the state assembly.

Their relationship with Lim soured after that.

How do we define good elected representatives? Keep count of how many times they visit their constituencies?

And then there is the old question: Should we vote for the person or the party? There are many views on this, but as a journalist, I have an occupational advantage.

I have seen a few assemblymen turning up at gotong-royong, spend less than 30 minutes there for photo opportunities and leave. Yes, I know who you are and I am a voter too.

And then I had the chance to cover many state assembly meetings through the years.

This is where we expect constructive debates among the ‘Yang Berhormat’ on issues that affect us. But on a few occasions, there were no fruitful debates or exchange of ideas.

National issues, which cannot be resolved in the state assembly, dominate the proceedings at times. Why? What were our assemblymen hoping to achieve by prattling about things that the hall cannot act on? They frequently call each other names and bicker in the august House.

In the last meeting, two assemblymen dragged out the name of a newspaper editor and attacked his character in the hall where the editor had no chance to defend himself due to the absolute privilege that lets assemblymen say anything they want there without fear of being sued.

But I was relieved because at least five other assemblymen stood up to defend the editor and talked those two assemblymen down.

Unlike them, I do not have absolute privilege so regretfully, I can mention no names.

With today’s technology, it is easy to get to know political candidates before giving them our votes.

Check out their Facebook pages or Google their names to learn about them.

If they are not up to mark, something might show in their social media exchanges.

Remember, the election season is just around the corner. Use your vote wisely.

By Tan Sin Chow

Related Links:

DAP-led Penang govt had 'jumbo land sale', says Teng - Nation | The ..

'Penang DAP govt sold more land in 9 yrs than BN did in 40' | New ...

 

 

Why are Penang's policies designed to benefit the few, not the many, asks Gerakan

  

 

25% discount on water bill to be extended from one to two months, says CM

THE one-off payout for each household and business operator affected by the floods on Nov 4 and 5 has been increased from RM500 to RM700.

 

State hopes to learn from China

THE state government is looking at having an alternative early warning system on storms from China.

Caring groups do their bit to help flood victims

THE Malaysia-Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors General Association handed RM125,000 towards flood relief efforts in Penang.

10,000 tonnes of rubbish cleared in flood aftermath

ALMOST 10,000 tonnes of waste have been cleared from the streets since Penang was hit by the worst floods in 30 years.

Teh defends Penang Forum

A DAP assemblyman has come to the defence of the Penang Forum, saying that there was no need for the state government to criticise the coalition of 20 environmental and civil rights organisations.

DAP rep wants commission to probe Penang sinkholes and landslides

GEORGE TOWN: A DAP assemblyman has proposed for a royal commission of inquiry to be set up to look into the sinkhole in Persiaran Tanjung Bungah and the landslides in Penang Hill.

Residents stage silent protest against hill development

FIVE people stood quietly outside the state assembly building while the sitting went on.

Jahara: Seabed mining activity critical in Penang, can destroy marine ecosystem

OPPOSITION Leader Datuk Jahara Hamid (BN-Teluk Air Tawar) has alleged that seabed mining in the state has become critical.

Related posts:

IJM hill clearing & Trehaus construction damaged nearby houses since 2014 must be mitigated quickly!

Behind BJ Cove houses at Lintang Bukit Jambul 1 is an IJM Trehaus Project ....

Hills, landslides, floods and damaged houses: What to do?

https://youtu.be/kslhytLg-Wc Hills, landslides and floods: What to do?   The mega floods in Penang which followed the landslide...

Penang landslides & flooding are natural disasters man-made?

It’s hard to deny when the effects of climate change are all around us  Andrew Sheng says that from increasingly intense hurricanes t.

Penang floods and landslides, looking beyound natural causes!

Seeking solutions: Penang Forum member and soil expert Dr Kam Suan Pheng giving her views during the dialogue session themed ‘Penang Fl...

Call to reassess Penang hillside projects, councillor addresses full council meeting of MBPP

Council should not bow to development or political pressure, says city councilor, Khoo ‘Politicians should be ‘wakil rakyat’ and n...