Jawatan Kosong di Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) Feb 2010

Kementerian Dalam Negeri mempelawa Warganegara Malaysia yang berkelayakan untuk memohon jawatan:

JAWATAN : PEMANDU KENDERAAN GRED R3

KEKOSONGAN : Enam belas (16) kekosongan :
i. Tiga (3) jawatan di Putrajaya
ii. Satu (1) jawatan di Kedah
iii. Lima (5) jawatan di Johor
iv. Dua (2) jawatan di Terengganu
v. Dua (2) jawatan di Pahang
vi. Tiga (3) jawatan di Sabah

IKLAN JAWATAN KOSONG
http://www.ziddu.com/download/8455665/nJawatanKosongdiKementerianDalamNegeriKDNFeb2010.pdf.html
atau
http://www.scribd.com/doc/26416808/iklan-jawatan-kosong-di-kementerian-dalam-negeri-kdn-feb-2010

CARA MEMOHON
Permohonan hendaklah dibuat secara online melalui laman web :
http://www.jobsmalaysia.gov.my

TARIKH TUTUP : 22 FEBRUARI 2010

ADUN Terengganu akui ada rundingan keluar Umno

Seorang wakil rakyat Umno Terengganu hari ini mengakui memang ada rundingan melibatkan beberapa orang wakil rakyat lain parti berkenaan berhubung cadangan untuk lompat parti.

ADUN Hulu Besut, Nawi Mohamad berkata cakap-cakap mengenai tindakan untuk meninggalkan Umno bermula sejak dua bulan lalu, berikutan rasa tidak senang dengan kepemimpinan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said.

"Ini bermula daripada cadangan. Cadangan ini ada daripada PKR dan ada daripada individu," katanya kepada Malaysiakini, tanpa menamakan individu-individu berkenaan.

Jelasnya, pertemuan seumpama itu juga diadakan secara tidak rasmi di antara beliau sendiri dan beberapa lagi wakil rakyat Umno negeri itu.

Beliau turut mengesahkan terdapat sembilan orang wakil wakyat Umno yang kini tidak lagi menyokong kepimpinan ADUN Kijal.

"Memang betul kami tidak berpuas hati dengan menteri besar," kata Nawi lagi.

Ditanya sama ada wujud rundingan balas pihak menteri besar atau Presiden Umno Datuk Seri Najib Razak untuk memujuk mereka kekal dalam Umno, Nawi berkata: "Tidak ada."

Beliau juga menolak laporan media bahawa tindakan mereka itu akan disekat oleh pemimpin-pemimpin tertentu PAS Terengganu.

"Maknanya sekarang ini, bebaslah (kami) sama ada hendak kekal atau hendak keluar daripada parti," katanya.

Sementara itu, ADUN Alor Limbat, Alias Abdullah pula tidak tahu-menahu mengenai rancangan sembilan wakil rakyat Umno di negeri itu untuk menyertai PKR.

"Saya sendiri tidak pernah mendengar (nak lompat). Belum ada lagi yang nak lompat,” kata wakil rakyat Umno itu ketika dihubungi Malaysiakini petang ini.

"Kita tidak pernah berbincang tentang perkara ini."

PAS Terengganu: Jijik ADUN lompat parti

Pesuruhjaya PAS Terengganu menegaskan bahawa beliau memang tidak menerima seseorang wakil rakyat melompat parti – seperti diura-urakan akan melibatkan sembilan ADUN Umno.

"Kalau mereka mahu lompat, lompatlah. Tapi saya tidak suka orang lompat parti ini.

"Saya anggap lompat-lompat parti ini perbuatan jijik," kata Datuk Harun Taib kepada Malaysiakini hari ini.

Diminta mengulas kemungkinan wakil-wakil rakyat Umno melompat kepada PKR dan bergabung dengan PAS untuk membentuk kerajaan baru di negeri itu, ADUN Manir berkata beliau tidak tahu-menahu tentang perkara tersebut.

"Saya tidak tahu, biar ia berlaku dululah baru kita boleh tengok kesannya," katanya lagi.

Harun, yang juga ketua Dewan Ulama PAS, menambah beliau tidak menghalang mana-mana wakil rakyat Umno yang ingin menyertai parti dalam gabungan Pakatan Rakyat itu.

"Macam mana saya nak halang, saya mana ada kuasa untuk halang siapa-siapa," katanya, mengulas laporan media yang mendakwa beliau berbuat demikian kerana mempunyai hubungan baik dengan menteri besar.

Dihubungi petang ini, Harun mengakui beliau memang mempunyai hubungan lebih baik dengan Datuk Ahmad Said berbanding bekas menteri besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, juga ADUN Jertih.

Jelasnya, beliau lebih senang bekerjasama dengan ADUN Kijal dalam urusan pentadbiran negeri itu berbanding Idris – pemimpin “gelombang biru” yang berjaya menumbangkan kerajaan PAS di neger itu dan mentadbir sehingga 2008.

"(Sebagi pemimpin Umno,) Ahmad pun sama juga, tapi Idris lagi teruk. Habis dia rampas balik tanah yang diberikan (oleh kerajaan PAS) kepada rakyat dulu," katanya, bekas exco pendidikan negeri.

Ditanya lagi sekiranya beliau mengetahui perjumpaan yang didakwa diadakan di antara wakil-wakil rakyat Umno itu dengan penasihat PKR Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Harun berkata:

"Saya tidak tahu langsung. Saya tidak ada kena-mengena dengan perkara itu."

Tambahnya, beliau juga tidak menganjurkan apa-apa perbincangan mengenai isu berkenaan.

"Orang boleh kata macam-macam. Tapi bukan kerja saya untuk berbincang mengenai perkara ini," katanya lagi.

- MALAYSIAKINI

Commentary - Old UMNO / BN formula no longer works

The by-election in Kuala Terengganu further emphasises that voters don’t want politics-as-usual. They want respect and service.

Standing on the terrace of Pulau Duyung’s gleaming white Marina Exhibition centre, I can see Kuala Terengganu’s main landmarks ranged across the open water: the Sultan Mahmud bridge, the distant Bukit Besar emblazoned with the words “Allah Peliharakan Terengganu”, the police barracks, Chinatown’s shophouses, the centuries-old Masjid Puteh alongside the Istana Maziah, and the Grand Continental Hotel.

I must confess that I’ve never liked this town – give me Kota Baru any day.

Furthermore, I loathe the brand of puritanical politics preached by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and his faction in PAS. For better or worse, this had come to dominate the Terengganu political landscape.

Nonetheless, the view before me is panoramic – almost heroic, made all the more so by the hulking presence of the white, sarcophagus-like exhibition centre behind me.

Moreover, at this time of the year the strong South China Sea monsoon winds buffet you aggressively as you walk back to the equally dramatic, if darker-hued, Riy-az Heritage Resort and Spa with its spectacular 10m-high verandah.

The two buildings are silent sentinels at the Terengganu rivermouth. Exquisitely built, but rarely visited and ghost-like, they remind you of the countless bizarre projects across the country – projects that may have seemed like a good idea at the time, only to languish and fade over the years as the initial enthusiasm for their construction and usage dimmed and then, in certain cases, just disappeared.

Someone should someday make a record of all these ill-conceived, under-utilised ventures; and with a recession fast approaching we certainly need to be reminded of all that’s been frittered away over the past decades.

But consider for a moment just how tactlessly placed the two buildings at the heart of the infamous Monsoon Cup truly are for Kuala Terengganu’s residents, reminding the townspeople time and again of the lavishness with which others – principally outsiders – have spent Terengganu’s highly prized Uang Ehsan or oil revenues.

All politics is local and last weekend’s by-election in Kuala Tereng–ganu (or KT as its better known) was principally about KT, its inhabitants and their politics and politicians.

Indeed, it was a very personal contest between two well-known local figures. And in this small, tightly-knit community nothing escapes notice.

The scrutiny was (and is) intense and unforgiving, leaving the Barisan Nasional flag-bearer, Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid of Umno, very much the weaker candidate which meant that his defeat was not unexpected.

However, the story does not end there. While the Umno candidate had his problems, the strategy employed to win over KT’s voters was vintage Barisan, and therefore hopelessly flawed and outdated. It was, as always, “money, money, money, veiled threats and more money”.

Once again, Barisan has failed to read the mood of the Malaysian people. Its inability to do so is deeply worrying especially given the superior resources at its disposal. You have to ask yourself, how can a bunch of activists, former lecturers and Umno refuseniks out-strategise and out-manoeuvre Malaysia’s grand old party?

Well, I’m not a pollster but it’s clear enough to me that the people of Malaysia want more than contracts and money. In essence they want respect and service. Since March 2008, politics-as-usual is no longer acceptable. The old formula is dead.

The rakyat will no longer stand there patiently, receiving the benefits of development (which as citizens is theirs by right anyway) and trading their meek submissiveness for goodies.

Still, they’re not stupid. Of course, they’ll accept the cash and pocket the rewards, but that doesn’t mean they’ll vote accordingly.

The people want their representatives in Parliament (or any state assembly) to be humble, prompt to act, committed to good governance and straight-dealing.

In short, they are after a total reversal of the traditional Malaysian political equation – and something that Umno reps in Johor, for example, are more than used to doing. They want politicians to be their servants and not their masters. Barisan and Umno have yet to realise this fundamental change.

Added to this is the growing fearlessness among the people of all races – many of whom are confident enough to challenge elected representatives and ministers head on.

Unfortunately, Umno is in a forlorn state. The noble party of Merdeka is full of carpet-baggers and ne’er-do-wells. This is accentuated by the long drawn out party campaign period.

At the same time the impending accession of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as party president has dazzled the members.

They feel that he – and he alone – can, and will, rescue the party from its present “funk”. They feel that he has the secret ingredient which will allow them to continue as before – lobbying for contracts and hanging out in hotel lobbies smoking expensive cigars.

Unfortunately, this is no longer true. Firstly, no one man can single-handedly transform a party of over two million members.

The party president will need a team alongside him to lead, and then bring about root and branch reform; and I’m still waiting to see the emergence of this ground-breaking “team” that will restore the semangat and passion to the political machine.

Umno needs an overhaul, not a cosmetic leadership change.

Secondly, and at the risk of repeating myself, there needs to be a wholesale change in the way politics – and especially the politics of development – is conducted.

These changes will in turn force the carpet-baggers out of the hotel lobbies and ministerial ante-rooms into the kampungs and urban slums to do real community work.

Finally, I must conclude by saying Pakatan Rakyat did not win the Kuala Terengganu by-election. It was savvy, but in essence Barisan lost it.

With the possibility of a by-election in Sabah (Pensiangan) fast approaching and the Sarawak state polls looming, the momentum has switched back to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan despite their many missteps.

Given this fact, it is no longer just a question of asking whether Umno is relevant to modern Malaysia because it so clearly isn’t.

The more crucial issue now is will the party ever regain its relevance?

Umno loss a wake-up call - The Straits Times Singapore

KUALA TERENGGANU: - A day after Umno lost a crucial by-election in the Malay heartland of Terengganu, several of its leaders warned that the party will become irrelevant if it ignored this warning from the ground.
Veteran Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said the people had rejected Umno in its present form and its leadership. 'Barisan Nasional (BN) will lose and will in the end lose everything unless we respond fully and sincerely,' he said.

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad also said that BN could lose the next general election, and went further by blaming Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. He said the result was a vote of no-confidence in Datuk Seri Abdullah.

Dr Mahathir sees defeated Umno candidate Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as a proxy of Mr Abdullah, as he is said to be close to the Premier's family.

Referring to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, he said: 'I think Najib is not to be blamed but if he continues to elect or support corrupt leaders, then I think he will lose the next general election.'

Mr Najib had headed the Umno campaign in the Kuala Terengganu by-election, which was called after Umno MP Razali Ismail died. Umno lost to its arch-rival Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) by 2,631 votes on Saturday.

This shifting of blame between Mr Najib and Mr Abdullah comes at a crucial time as the Premier is set to hand over power to his deputy.

Mr Najib will assume the Umno presidency, which is uncontested, in March, and should by convention, become the country's prime minister.

This is however not a legal requirement. There is nothing to stop Mr Abdullah from remaining as Prime Minister, and there is roiling speculation that he is being pushed to do so.

'The transition plan is on track,' Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said. 'But this trend of Umno losing support is frightening.'

Umno lost the most ground in the Malay areas, while the Chinese votes remained stable. Analysts and party leaders have attributed the defeat to the choice of candidate, party in-fighting, and Umno's disconnect with the ground.

Mr Wan Farid, while an affable man, is seen as aloof. 'I could see that he just couldn't bring himself to ask for the people's help to vote for him,' said an Umno Youth party worker.

Among the rural villagers, his aloofness put him at a disadvantage against the down-to-earth candidate from PAS, Mr Abdul Wahid Endut.

But it was Mr Wan Farid's reputed close ties with Mr Abdullah's family that posed the bigger problem. It allowed the opposition to accuse Umno of losing touch with the ground by picking a candidate who represented the elite rather than the people.

The opposition also capitalised on the persistent anger in Terengganu over government spending on luxury projects such as the Crystal Mosque and the Monsoon Cup yacht race. The state is among the poorest in Malaysia.

The Monsoon Cup, in particular, was started by a businessman with close ties to Mr Abdullah's family.

'We keep saying that we want acceptable candidates but we keep picking people closer to the leadership than anything else,' Umno Youth leader Mukhriz Mahathir said.

Voters clearly saw Umno as seriously disconnected from the ground, and may have also been turned off by Umno's divisive style of campaigning.

Umno's message to the Malay voters - that PAS was being forced to kowtow to its non-Malay partners - did not appear to have won the people over.

In-fighting in the local Umno branches also jeopardised the campaign.

This is the second by-election that Umno has lost since last August, when the Permatang Pauh by-election was won by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

That loss started a round of soul- searching and blood-letting.

As Umno revs up its own election season, this defeat is likely to spark bickering in its ranks as leaders jostle for party posts. All positions are being contested from the deputy presidency downwards.

But not everyone is convinced that the party is fully aware of the extent of the loss of support.

'We must relook our inner core values. It's going to be very tough,' said Mr Rais.

- The Straits Times

Video - Polling Day in Kuala Terengganu (Kuala Terengganu Election) (17 Jan 2009)

Source : MalaysiaKini

Video - Song of We Are The Champions Pakatan Rakyat (Kuala Terengganu Election)

Source : Media Rakyat

PAS Candidate, Wahid Endut wins with 2,631 majority (Kuala Terengganu Election)

PAS wrested the Kuala Terengganu Parliamentary seat from Barisan Nasional with a majority of 2,631.

PAS candidate Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut garnered a total 32,883 votes compared to Barisan Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, who got 30,252 votes.

There were 665 spoilt votes.

With this victory the Opposition now has 82 seats in Parliament. Barisan now has 137 and the remaining three seats are held by Independents.

Abdul Wahid attributed his victory to the fact that he knew many of the voters as he was a five-term Wakaf Mempelam assemblyman.

He said he intended to bring up many issues when Parliament resumes its seating.

Meanwhile, Wan Farid was calm in defeat saying “I accept it.”

The first ballot box was brought into the tallying centre at 6.30pm and the first result was announced 30 minutes later.

The results were announced stream by stream and initially Wan Farid was in the lead until at 8.20pm when the result of the 81st ballot boxes was announced and Abdul Wahid started pulling ahead by 168 votes.

The final result was announced by returning officer Wan Mustafa Wan Hassan at 9.30pm.

The situation around Stadium Negeri where tallying was carried out was quite calm although shouts of Allahuakbar could be heard from thousands of PAS supporters who had gathered beyond the 50-meter radius from the centre every time a result favouring their candidate was announced.

A total of 77.76 per cent or 63,993 of 80,229 voters cast their votes. The constituency has 1,302 postal voters.

Election Commission had set up 143 voting streams at 36 polling centres in the by-election held from 8am until 5pm.

Wan Farid and Abdul Wahid were among those who turned up early to cast their votes.

Wan Farid cast his vote at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Pusat Bukit Besar polling centre at 8.02am while Mohd Abdul Wahid voted at the Sekolah Kebangsaan Pusat Chabang Tiga at 8.07am.

Independent candidate Azharudin Mamat did not vote as he is a registered voter in the Petaling Jaya Utara parliamentary constituency.

The by-election, which saw a three-way fight between Wan Farid, Abdul Wahid and Azharudin, was held following the death of Kuala Terengganu member of Parliament Datuk Razali Ismail on Nov 28.

In the 12th general election in March last year, Razali defeated Mohamad Sabu of PAS and an Independent candidate, Maimun Yusuf, with a 628-vote majority.

- The Star

Video - PAS Candidate, Wahid Endut wins KT seat

Source : The Star Online

PAS wins KT (Kuala Terengganu Election)

PAS candidate Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut is the new Kuala Terengganu MP.

He defeated Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Wan Farid Wan Salleh and independent candidate Azharuddin Mamat.

Close to 80% of the 80,229 registered voters cast their ballots yesterday.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the result was merely a setback and would not have any bearing on the national political landscape.

MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat thanked the Chinese voters for staying with the Barisan despite the overall unfavourable results.

With the results, Barisan now has 137 seats in the Dewan Rakyat while the Opposition holds 82. There are also three independent MPs.

- The Star

Wan Farid catching up (Kuala Terengganu Election)

Who is going to win the Kuala Terengganu by-election?
Deputy Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak says that BN’s Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh has more than 50-50 percent chances of winning.

But every time he said that in the last few days he also added the caveat “if we continue to work hard”.

Indeed he is everywhere in the constituency frenetically rallying BN campaigners and party workers not to relax but to double their efforts to ensure that the parliamentary seat does not fall to PAS.

PAS leaders say the same thing, that their candidate, Wakaf Mempelam assemblyman Abdul Wahid Endut, has more than 50-50 percent chances of snatching away Kuala Terengganu from the BN.

In fact PAS director of the by-election machinery, Datuk Wan Abdul Mutalib Embong, backed his forecast by saying that it is also an assessment made by the police and the military.

Other leaders talked of caveats too, mostly the usual ones, but Wan Mutalib told reporters: “My only worry is that the presence of so many policemen may frighten the voters while encouraging many hantu to come out to do mischief.” He did not say whether by hantu the meant devils or phantoms.

Unlike in Permatang Pauh when it was obvious who the winner was going to be on nomination day itself, and most people --- including officials --- were happily and openly saying so without fear of losing their credibility, almost all in Kuala Terengganu seems shy of predicting the outcome of tomorrow’s polling.

When pressed for their opinion most BN component party members would turn away but those few who were willing to make a prediction would warily say that Wahid has a strong chance of winning, albeit narrowly, but they would be happy to be wrong.

But unlike them some Pas members are not really shy of saying “Insyaallah our party candidate will win if …” and they will go on to intone the caveats mentioned by their leaders at the various ceramahs and rallies.

Focus is now back on the personalities of the two main contestants --- little media glare is on the third candidate, independent Azharudin Mamat, who is also actively campaigning --- after a frenzy of debates mostly on national, and even international --- especially Israeli atrocities in Gaza, issues.

After almost two weeks of speaking, shaking hands, attending kenduri and funerals and sleeping only for a few hours each day, Wan Farid and Wahid are noticeably tired and worn out as they shuffle from one function to the next.

PAS, backed by its two Pakatan Rakyat partners of PKR and DAP, has accused the BN of all kind of abuses and perceived failures to dissuade the voters from voting for the ruling coalition again.


(from left) Abdul Wahid Endut, Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid
Wan Salleh, Azharudin Mamat.
Even rumours about alleged unfair treatment of the late MP, Datuk Razali Ismail, by the BN, Umno and Wan Farid were exploited so as to win over some or all of the family members, relatives, friends and supporters of the former deputy education minister.

The BN has mobilise members of its federal cabinet, almost all of its Umno, MCA and MIC leaders to counter all the allegations even as it pours in all kinds of ang pows and election lollipops to the various communities in Kuala Terengganu.

It is also appealing to all of the 80,229 voters to turn up to vote especially the out-of-state Chinese voters who are reluctant to return for the purpose as they would have to return again for the Chinese new year only about a week later. It knows that it will benefit from a large turnout and better if it is more than 82.45% recorded for the March 8 general election.

As for the late Razali, never have a former deputy education minister been so honoured. He will now have a school and an institute named after him.

Will all this be enough to tilt the balance in Wan Farid’s favour? Will the two visits of prime minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi help?

Wan Farid was said to be behind the more folksy and campaign-wise Wahid on nomination day --- 42% to 58%. Those doing the assessment say that support for him has inched up since then and on Wednesday it was 48% to 52%.

And this probably accounts for the flurry of SMSes campaign, targeted at fence sitters, that it does not matter if Wahid is returned as it will not affect the state government or significantly reduce the strength of the BN government at the federal level.

The response was “why not elect Wan Farid as after all Wahid is already a wakil rakyat”.

Targetted at the 9,300 or so Chinese voters are messages that to vote for BN would only make it, especially Umno, feel that it is strong and therefore would not embark on steps to reform itself.

“It is still not unreasonable to expect Wahid to win by a majority of about 2,000 votes,” said a PKR leader, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, on Monday.

But Wan Farid may just have already crossed the 50% mark.

- The Sun

As KT race tightens, Pas turns its attention to Malay vote (Kuala Terengganu Election)

With less than 48 hours left before polling day in the crucial Kuala Terengganu by-election, Pas today injected the controversial issue of teaching Mathematics and Science in English into the campaign in an attempt to win the hearts and minds of the Malays, who constitute the biggest majority in the seat and whose conservative slant and preference for the national language the party hopes will boost their support on polling day in an increasingly tight race to the end.

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders, led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Pas president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, received a memorandum this afternoon from a coalition of Malay NGOs opposing the move to continue with the use of English language.

Mathematician, Dr Shahrir Mohd Zain led the delegation of the Malay NGOs at the event organised by a local pro-Monarchy group Mampat.

Both Anwar and Hadi in their speeches told the crowd that their opposition to the policy did not mean they are against the move to improve English language proficiency among the Malaysian public.

“The Malay language used to be the lingua franca in the region, and it has been used for ages to disseminate knowledge,” said Hadi to the largely Malay audience.

Since Monday, Pas, who is fielding Wakaf Mempelam assemblyman Abdul Wahid Endut, has been lagging in the campaign for the Malay vote after Umno launched an intensive attack against the Islamists by saying the party has toned town its stand on Islamic issues to accommodate its more secular partners in the opposition alliance.

Both the PR and the BN campaigns have been concentrating their resources on the Chinese, who make up some 11per cent of voters, on the assumption that the Malay vote was equally split.

But after Umno moved a few days ago to attack Pas’s conservative credentials, the complexion of the race has now towards the Malay vote.

A Muslim student body, PKPIM, which was part of today's initiative, said they approached all political parties to bring up the issue of English in schools.

“Pakatan leaders agreed to receive the memorandum here,” said its executive councillor, Abu Qassim.

Pas election director Datuk Mustafa Ali said the move was not a last minute attempt to win the Malay electorates.

He said that Pas has its own way in dealing with Umno's latest campaign, but admitted that the race is still tight.

“It has nothing to do with intensified Umno's campaign. We have planned this for some time,” Mustafa told The Malaysian Insider.

Introduced in 2003, the policy was aimed at improving the standard of English among Malaysian students. However the move was widely opposed by Malay nationalists and Chinese educationists, both groups claiming that the move would erode their culture and language.

- themalaysianinsider.com

Barisan shifts into high gear (Kuala Terengganu Election)

Malaysia's ruling coalition revved up campaigning Wednesday for a by-election after political analysts warned that the opposition might win.

The heated contest for the seat in Terengganu is widely perceived as a barometer of whether the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition has regained significant support nearly a year after its worst electoral results ever in national polls.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is designated to take over the premiership by April, was slated to address two campaign rallies and meet business leaders in Terengganu on Wednesday, three days before a new legislator is elected for the state's capital.

“We cannot take the matter lightly because of the stiff competition, but if we are united and remain focused, God willing, we can win,” Najib told reporters late Tuesday.

About 80,000 people will be eligible to cast votes Saturday for a new federal lawmaker in Kuala Terengganu city after the National Front's incumbent, who narrowly defeated an opposition candidate last year, died in November.

Political analyst Ong Kian Ming wrote on the Malaysiakini news Web site Monday that based on his analysis of electoral data, the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party might wrest the seat by a majority of nearly 3,300 votes.

The independent Merdeka Centre research group, which polled more than 500 Terengganu voters last week, said Tuesday that support for both sides appeared evenly split among Malay majority voters, but the ethnic Chinese minority showed “a slight leaning in favour of the opposition.”

Barisan's popularity plunged last year amid growing complaints of racial discrimination by Chinese and Indian minorities. Many Malays also backed the opposition in general elections last March because of dissatisfaction with rising prices, corruption and crime.

The Umno-led coalition is anxious to prevent a second consecutive electoral loss after former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim won a by-election in September to return to Parliament as opposition leader after a 10-year gap.

The Terengganu by-election will also test whether voters are impressed by the leadership of Najib, who is spearheading the National Front's campaign less than three months before he is scheduled to take over from outgoing Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

- themalaysianinsider.com.my

Tense times for Umno in Terengganu

The Kuala Terengganu by-election will have a major impact on the political prestige of Najib and the top leaders of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno), which is still struggling to regain its footing after the March national election.

The Straits Times

For weeks, Barisan Nasional (BN) top guns campaigning in the north-eastern Terengganu state have gone to great lengths to stress that the by-election of a parliamentary constituency there this weekend should not be used as a referendum on public support for the government.

But judging by the millions of dollars in government funding and man-hours expended by the BN politicians led by Deputy Premier Najib Abdul Razak at a time when Malaysia is facing its most serious economic crisis, the folk of Kuala Terengganu cannot be blamed for thinking that their vote this Saturday carries serious national ramifications.

Datuk Seri Najib admitted as much at a closed-door briefing with several editors from the country’s mainstream news organisations recently when he described the by-election of the Kuala Terengganu constituency, which fell vacant after the death of the BN representative in late November, as a battleground to blunt the opposition’s momentum which has been on the uptrend since the national elections last March.

And BN politicians privately concede that defeat in the Terengganu state capital could result in more electoral setbacks in the future, particularly in Sarawak which must hold its state legislative elections in the next 12 months.

The opposition led by an alliance headed by former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim has set its guns on making inroads in Sarawak and neighbouring Sabah in East Malaysia, because the two states hold a huge sway over the national power equation.

The BN now holds a 29-seat majority in the 222-member Lower House, which many analysts consider to be wafer-thin by Malaysian standards, particularly because the East Malaysian parties delivered 42 parliamentary seats to the ruling coalition government.

Serious setbacks in Sarawak at the state elections could precipitate defections from the BN to the Anwar-led opposition coalition in the national Parliament.

More immediately, the Kuala Terengganu by-election will have a major impact on the political prestige of Najib and the top leaders of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno), which is still struggling to regain its footing after the March national election.

The Kuala Terengganu by-election represents the first test for Umno since the drubbing the party and the BN received in the Permatang Pauh by-election which saw the return of Datuk Seri Anwar to Parliament and his appointment as head of the opposition alliance.

In the post-mortem of the Permatang Pauh electoral contest, Umno leaders reasoned that the ruling coalition’s poor showing was largely due to public rejection of the leadership of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, who is also Umno president.

The anti-Abdullah forces, led by International Trade Minister and Johor Umno strongman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, argued that Datuk Seri Abdullah needed to speed up the handover of the country’s leadership if Umno was to regain its appeal among the country’s politically dominant Malay community.

The gambit worked, and last November, Abdullah declared that he would step down this March and hand over power to Najib, who has received popular endorsement from the party’s rank and file to take over the leadership of Umno and the BN.

But the mood in Kuala Terengganu suggests that the much-touted power transition has not done enough to remedy the growing public disenchantment towards the government.

The BN candidate from Umno had won the seat by a narrow majority in the March elections.

But the odds are now against the government candidate, Datuk Wan Farid Wan Salleh.

The Chinese, who make up roughly 11 per cent of the constituents in the parliamentary seat, appear to be in an anti-establishment mood.

Sentiment on the Malay ground, particularly among the civil servants and the younger voters, is also lukewarm, at best, towards the government candidate.

Some Umno officials privately argue that Wan Farid’s candidacy was not widely welcomed in the party because of his close association with Prime Minister Abdullah and that, in turn, has hurt the government campaign.

But many local politicians in Terengganu say that Umno’s troubles run deeper than the choice of a candidate.

The party is wracked by infighting ahead of its own internal elections in March and many of the politicians campaigning in the Kuala Terengganu by-election are in the field to boost their own respective profiles, they say.

That is why a slim victory for Umno, or worse yet a defeat, would only signal the party’s growing disconnect with the public and its failure to carry out internal reforms to renew its appeal among voters.

Outgoing Prime Minister Abdullah should not be used as a convenient excuse for defeat.

- mt.m2day.org

To KT voters, it’s the candidate, not the issues, who count (Kuala Terengganu Election)

After the Election Commission announced the date for the Kuala Terengganu by-election, Pas leaders were still finding it hard to name a suitable candidate for the parliamentary seat, resulting in the party commissioning two surveys.

In both surveys, Batu Burok assemblyman Dr Syed Azman Nawawi was seen as the best man to run for the seat, which fell vacant following the death of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Datuk Razali Ismail.

The decision to select Wakaf Mempelam assemblyman Abdul Wahid Endut was only arrived at on New Year’s Eve.
But BN had already decided on its candidate Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Salleh ten days earlier, believing that the Kuala Terengganu Umno chief is the best man to represent the constituency and that he was the least likely to cause a split in the party machinery as he has led the party division for two consecutive terms.

However the independent Merdeka Centre yesterday released the result of its survey on Kuala Terengganu voters, which revealed that 77 per cent of Malay voters would consider the quality of the candidate when casting their ballots on Jan 17.

“I have said this before, that is the reason why the issue of Wan Farid’s image came out prominently throughout the campaign,” Pas election director Datuk Mustafa Ali told The Malaysian Insider when asked to comment on the Merdeka Centre survey.

Since his name was announced as the BN candidate, the former deputy home minister has been busy shedding his elitist image and proving that he could relate to the largely rural Malays in Kuala Terengganu.

For some of the voters, their support for Pas is mainly due to the party’s candidate and not because of their dislike for Wan Farid’s perceived image.

“I don’t know both of them, but I prefer Wahid, he looks like a decent man,” said a villager, who only wished to be known as Rahman from Wakaf Mempelam, who admitted he was not aware of the personal attacks against Wan Farid.

“I just like Wahid, I heard he has been doing a good job,” he added.

Another villager, Mazlan Mamat who works in Kerteh about 100 km south of the constituency said his decision to choose Wahid was based on the Kuala Terengganu Pas chief’s service.

He also said that BN’s attack against the Perak state government’s decision to award freehold land titles would not anger the Malay electorates.

“The land is theirs, they have lived there for a very long time, so what’s wrong with that. I don’t see this as an issue,” said Mazlan.

On Wan Farid, he said that he did not know much about him.

“He is not from this village, so I don’t know his personality, I only heard what the people have been talking, but I really don’t know," he told Malaysian Insider.

- themalaysianinsider.com

Pakatan: growing likelihood of ‘dirty tactics’ by the BN in KT (Kuala Terengganu Election)

Unusually-high police presence and a growing barrage of verbal attacks against Pakatan Rakyat partner PAS have sparked concerns that the Umno-led Barisan Nasional might again resort to under-handed tactics to win at the Kuala Terengganu by-election due to be balloted this Saturday.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who faces enormous pressure to win, himself raised the temperature with a volley of red-hot accusations hurled directly at PAS , including labelling the Islamic-based party a ‘kluk klek’ or an unreliable party that does not keep its promises.

Amid the heightening tensions, Pakatan leaders and supporters are beginning to watch with a wary eye the movements of the more than 6,000 police personnel, including from the special branch, who were deployed to KT specially to monitor the by-election.

“Sure, it is partly meant to intimidate you and to give an impression that trouble may be brewing over the horizon, especially if Barisan Nasional does not win the by-election. But this is not the real reason,” said blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, who is in KT campaigning for Pakatan.

Then what is the real reason?

Said KeADILan information chief Tian Chua : “We are quite confident of winning, provided there are no phantom voters. The large police presence in KT has given rise to worries that they might be roped in to pose as phantom voters on polling day.”

“They are hoping that at least 20,000 to 25,000 of you will not come out to vote. This is quite normal because in any election the best we can expect is a 70% or so voter turnout. 30% of 80,000, therefore, comes to roughly 20,000 to 25,000 ‘no show’ voters,” said the indomitable Raja Petra, uncowed despite his recent arrest under the oppressive Internal Security Act.

“They can then always ‘safely’ increase the voter turnout to 75% and no one will be the wiser. This means they can pad the ballot boxes with about 4,000 to 5,000 ‘additional’ votes with no problems whatsoever. Now can you see why they need 6,000 police personnel in Kuala Terengganu?”

If this is so, then the weather too may favour Najib - for rain has been predicted in KT by the Meteorological Department. According to its website, the morning is likely to be cloudy, while rain is expected in the afternoon.

Abusing the federal machinery and scaring civil servants

The BN has long been accused of ferrying outsiders or ‘mercenaries’ into town to vote for their candidate.

It is a tactic well-known in political circles and has been sharply criticized by the Pakatan and past opponents, who also condemn the ruling coalition for making full use of the gigantic federal machinery to its advantage.

It has been the cause of many a punch-up between supporters and the reason why opponents often stopped buses from coming close to the balloting centre.

But with the thousands of ‘police personnel’ already in place and waiting in the small and erstwhile peaceful coastal town - Pakatan leaders are afraid that voters will be intimidated and prevented from coming out to cast their ballot.

“It is their duty to search for news and secrets. Usually, they are in disguise. I am not sure what is their true purpose but based on past experience, some of their actions were to provoke people and these provocations can lead to something bad,” Terengganu PAS commissioner Mustafa Ali had said.

Even DAP’s rising star Teresa Kok has come out to remind KT folk to vote. She told a recent rally that each vote was not only sacred, it was also secret. Therefore, no one - especially civil servants - need worry that if they voted for the Pakatan, they would be found out and punished, she added.

There have been several rumours flying around KT, warning government servants that they would be punished if they did not vote for the BN.

All eyes on new EC chairman

Meanwhile, KeADILan vice president Mustafa Kamil Ayub has urged KT folk to take extra care over the next few days, and not to let anyone take photo-copies of their identity cards.

“The photocopies can be used to make false identity cards for the phantom voters,” Mustafa said. “Every vote counts. The majority of the winning candidate will not be large. Because of this, we of appeal to outstation voters to come home to KT and vote for the Pakatan candidate.”

The KT parliamentary seat is a three cornered fight between BN’s Wan Ahmad Farid, Pakatan’s Wahid Endut and independent candidate Azharudin Mamat @ Adam. The main battle will however be between the BN and Pakatan candidates.

There are 80,229 voters registered with the Election Commission. About 143 channels have been set up at 36 polling centres spread across the constituency. Of the 1,035 postal voters, 1,001 are police personnel, 27 are from the armed forces, while seven are students studying abroad.

All eyes are also on newly-appointed EC chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof. Under his predecessor, the commission held a somewhat tarnished image, constantly having to fight off accusations of favoring the BN government.

Will Abdul Aziz perpetuate this unwholesome image, or will he respect the wishes of all Malaysians that the truth prevail, and beginning with KT - put in place long-overdue safeguards for decent and honest fair-play.

- suarakeadilan.com

‘Do or die’ over dinner (Kuala Terengganu Election)

Two nights ago, a simple beach restaurant overflowed with more than 1,000 Chinese town folk turning up to hear Malaysia’s opposition firebrands speak. They paid RM10 each for dinner, and collectively dropped another RM3,000 into the donation box.

This was the third dinner organised by the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) as it woos voters for opposition candidate Abdul Wahid Endut from Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS). He is up against Umno’s Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh and an independent in the by-election to be held on Saturday. It was called after Umno MP Razali Ismail died.

It is not just the DAP that is holding dinners. The other opposition partner, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), held one last week, and will be holding another in the next few days. Its leader Anwar Ibrahim is the star attraction.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) is doing the same, with dinners for several hundred people at a time hosted by VIPs like Deputy Premier Najib Razak.

Dinners have become a nightly staple of the campaign as the battle narrows to a fight for the Chinese vote. The Chinese, who comprise 11 per cent of the 80,229 voters, prefer dinners to rallies in open fields.

Anecdotal evidence and an independent survey suggest that the Chinese vote has swung. Their enthusiastic turnouts at opposition events and donation boxes that fill up fast are the telltale signs.

Independent pollster Merdeka Centre’s survey over the last few days shows that the Malay vote is split, with just about 8 per cent undecided.

The Chinese, however, are tilting slightly towards the opposition. Just 10 months ago, in the March general election, 65 per cent of the Chinese in Kuala Terengganu voted for BN.

Political analyst Ong Kian Ming’s analysis shows that even a 5 per cent drop in Chinese support, along with an expected lower turnout, will erase the BN’s tight 628-vote majority from that election.

Three out of four Chinese said a vote against the BN would send a signal that it has to be fairer to the minorities. More Chinese felt that the opposition Pakatan Rakyat, the coalition formed by PAS, DAP and PKR, could take care of their interests better than the BN.

As for the Malays, about 60 per cent thought the BN would serve them better, but they disagreed with the Umno line that Malay power is threatened by the non-Malays.

Almost three-quarters said the threat comes from corrupt Malay leaders, according to the survey.

These findings, and the fact that the opposition is still able to capitalise on old grouses, suggest that the BN has not progressed since March last year. Indeed, it may have even slipped further.

“Nothing has changed. This is a continuation of the sentiments before the general election,’ said a Malay businessman with close ties to the Umno elite, who had been in Kuala Terengganu for almost a week.

Racial issues and corruption were the two biggest issues in Kuala Terengganu.

A few days ago, leaflets were handed out in the Chinese market to remind voters of controversies like the arrest of a Chinese press reporter for reporting an Umno leader’s statement that the Chinese were immigrants. An opposition banner claimed that Umno had become more extreme.

The opposition is also harping on the oil royalties that were withheld from the state when PAS won in 1999. BN wrested Terengganu back in 2004, but reinstated the royalties only recently.

Umno was also accused of using the billions for lavish projects like the Crystal Mosque and Monsoon Cup yacht race.

The government is left on the defensive.

Datuk Seri Najib told Indian voters on Monday that Umno had never supported extremist policies.

He said: “Please do not allow two or three incidents that have been blown out of proportion to undo all the years of close cooperation that have existed between us.”

Umno is beginning to fight back, with a banner and leaflets screaming “Pas Kluk Klek” – “flip-flop” in a local dialect.

Umno points out that Pas is teaming up with its one-time enemy DAP, putting hudud, or the Islamic penal code, on the back-burner, and relaxing its ban against women in politics.

But, the “Kluk Klek” campaign may have come too late to turn the tide.

Observers note that the sentiment is unlikely to change significantly, but much depends on the ability of both sides to get their supporters out to vote.

Minister of International Trade and Industry Muhyiddin Yassin said: “Sentiments are important but it’s the numbers that count.”

– The Straits Times

Fighting fire with fire between PAS & UMNO (Kuala Terengganu Election)

Tired of reacting to PAS’ constant attacks, Umno goes on the offensive.

With just three days left to go before Kuala Terengganu voters choose their new MP, the tempo has picked up considerably.

Both sides have been holding forth in small ceramah clusters to explain local issues on street corners, at roadside eateries, just anywhere one could arrange a few chairs and makeshift table and microphone.

Deviating from this pattern, two nights ago, Umno held a massive gathering at the Cabang Tiga market to counter the Opposition’s claims.

Entitled “Masihkah Kau Ingat?”, it was Umno’s reminder of PAS’ rule between 1999 and 2004 when it had allegedly committed a variety of infringements to outright wrongdoings.

As testimony, Umno brought up a line of former PAS and PKR leaders to speak on its behalf.

The infringements encompassed the locking up of Kemas kindergartens, giving zakat money meant for poor Muslims to PAS executive councillors to fund their children’s education abroad, transferring some civil servants 15 times, logging in forest reserves by cronies, closure of the Mara Junior Science College in Besut and Dungun, among a long list printed in glossy booklets by the same title.

Unfortunately, with the confusion of Umno, Barisan and PAS flags hoisted around the market, it was hard to tell who was holding the ceramah. Moreover, some of the former PAS leaders whom Umno had arranged to speak turned up in white jubah (robe) and serban (cloth wound around their heads), the accepted PAS garb on the east coast.

So when Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak rushed to the site from another engagement with police escort lights blazing, they not surprisingly overshot the venue.

There was a few minutes of commotion as realisation struck and they had to hastily backtrack.

The organisers had promised a 10,000-strong crowd but it poured and they did not quite make the numbers. The impressive power point presentation on a gigantic screen looked incongruous in that humble part of town.

On the upside, each speaker was introduced with a short seruling (flute) display, interspersed with the occasional chant of “PAS kluk klek” (literally “PAS flip-flops” or is inconsistent) to the beat of drums.

Umno is still looking for that special “winning factor”. And what would that magic ingredient be?

“I don’t know,” said Datuk Dr Ramzi Mohd Zubir, 36, a Marang Umno committee member who had famously taken on, and lost to, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang last March.

“We have to create the winning factor, create the environment to make our victory possible,” he said.

He does know that “if people keep saying Barisan is going to lose, Barisan is going to lose, it will certainly lose”.

Dr Ramzi estimates that the all-important deciding voters have shrunk to “about 10-11% today, down from 15% before nomination day”.

He noted, however, that “people are fed up with national issues. So we stress local issues.

“We have to go on attack mode. All this while, we have been on the defensive,” he added.

The issues that matter most to Terengganu’s 88% Malay voters are the ones that affect their pockets.

Listening intently to the speeches at a ceramah, Pak Zainal, 60-plus, munched ravenously on his burger while perched on one of several metal tables strewn on the pavement across the market.

“You cannot deny that things are so much better now,” he said between bites.

“Dulu susah. Jauh bumi dengan langit. Tapi duit kelabu mata. (It was hard before. Now, it is as difference as between earth and sky. However, money can cloud one’s vision.)

“The oil royalty alone would be enough to feed everyone in Terengganu rice twice a day. If only the food is cheap. That is all the people want,” he said.

Taxi driver Mohd Ali, in his mid-50s, concurred. He retired from the army some years ago and then became a lorry driver.

He feels indebted to Umno because after his retirement, it was Umno which had given his children scholarships to pursue their studies.

So today, while he has some criticism of Umno, he remains very much an Umno man.

According to Dr Ramzi, the people of Terengganu have a negative image of PAS as an aggressive party, pointing to the Batu Burok incident last September when police had to be called in to break up an illegal gathering.

“PAS is worried that people will recall that stone-throwing episode. Now it has learnt to be more subtle.

“If PAS were the better government, they would have won (the state) in March (2008), during the political tsunami.

“You cannot go on a populist route, abolishing toll, giving three months maternity leave, or postponing assessment. The people have to think for the long term,” he said.

Making the decision is however not easy.

“For Malays, if they vote PAS, they weaken Umno, which is a Malay party,” he said.

Still a guessing game in KT (Kuala Terengganu Election)

With three days before polling, there is still no clear indication who will be the most preferred representative for the people in the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary constituency.

The voters have been described as “secretive and unpredictable” by campaign workers as they wound down after another day of intensive house-to-house campaigning to win more votes for their respective party.

A party worker said most voters met during campaigns “smiled, shook hands and listened attentively” but there were no clear signs of their voting behaviour.

Political analysts also seem to have difficulty pinpointing in which direction the votes will swing, while contesting parties are prepared for a close fight to the end.

Strangely enough, this ‘tight race’ situation does not seem to grab the attention of the outside world, as the interested quarters regard this particular by-election as the most ‘quiet’ and ‘peaceful’ event, be it on campaigning or the city itself.

Local people go about their daily business as usual while tens of thousands of outsiders fill every corner of Kuala Terengganu, putting big smiles on business operators. For some 300 members of the media covering this by-election, the ‘quiet’ and ‘peaceful’ means ‘boring, dull and lukewarm’, while for some 6,000 policemen deployed to mantain security, it probably means ‘paradise’.

“Nothing exciting. It’s just same ol’, same ol’,” a reporter was heard telling a colleague after returning from ceramahs (political rallies) held by contesting parties.

Lack of real issues is probably one of the reasons as to why this by-election is considered as the most ‘tame’ so far. Nevertheless, the war of posters are prevalent in most parts of the city.

Since the campaigning period kicked off on Jan 7, heavyweights from both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have made a beeline into the city, with PR starting the ball rolling by holding its maiden ceramah on the very first night.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Pas spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat were among the speakers, while BN led by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak opted to meeting the people in person.

“No point holding too many big ceramahs as people here are no longer into it,” a BN party worker told Bernama, as Najib made his appearance at a ceramah near Pasar Chabang Tiga on Monday night.

Almost all BN component leaders were seen making their rounds in the constituency moving from one kampung to another canvassing for votes, while PR ‘big guns’ opted to address voters in groups.

As for the Election Commission (EC), this is one peaceful by-election as not a single complaint was lodged by the contesting parties so far, an indication that everything is going smoothly.

The Nomination Day on Jan 7 proceeded without incident, and during postal voting on Monday the EC received a “thumbs-up” for transparency as it allowed agents of the candidates to sit beside the head of postal balloting.

EC deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Omar explained that the move to enable the agents to see for themselves the whole process, and this probably was in response to the allegation frequently made by the Opposition that the BN government had exploited postal votes in their favour.

Since the general election held last March, the EC has been taking numerous steps to prove its transparency, and in this by-election the commission passed the test with flying colours as Pas grudgingly admitted that everything had gone well so far.

The by-election will see 80,229 voters cast their ballots to choose between BN’s Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, Pas’s Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut and an Independent Azharuddin Mamat @ Adam.

- themalaysianinsider.com.my

Najib calls Pas a flip-flop party (Kuala Terengganu Election)

After struggling to get its message across to the largely Malay electorate in the Kuala Terengganu by-election, the Barisan Nasional (BN) has gone on the offensive against Pas, with Datuk Seri Najib Razak calling the Islamists a "flip-flop party."

In a clear indication that BN will go on the offensive in the home stretch of the campaign, the Umno deputy president told a gathering of party supporters late last night that Pas failed as administrators in the state when it ruled for one term between 1999 and 2004.

He accused Pas of constantly changing its colours to suit the politics of the day, pointing out that the Islamists were bending over backwards to accommodate its secular partners DAP over the hudud issue.

"Pas kluk klek," he told supporters, using the local Terengganu dialect term for "flip-flop."

During the rally, the BN campaign also presented a slide show of newspaper clippings to show what BN deemed the "failings" of the previous Pas government.

The Malaysian Insider understands the more aggressive approach was deemed necessary to counter the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) campaign which has put BN on the defensive in recent days.

BN has even been forced to defend its candidate's character.

Najib's speech last night signalled a much more focussed approach to the campaign by targetting Pas rather than the entire PR alliance.

The by-election which was called following the death of Deputy Education Minister Datuk Razali Ismail, is crucial for Najib as it is widely seen as a referendum on his leadership.

BN's Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Salleh is running against Wakaf Mempelam assemblyman Abdul Wahid Endut of Pas and an independent Azharudin Adam.

Last night's rally, aimed at reminding the voters on Pas's alleged failure when ruling Terengganu was attended by about 2,000 people.

"In Kuala Terengganu we will close Pas's chances of ruling the country, because we still remember," said Najib in ending his 15 minutes speech, referring to Pas's labelling of Umno as infidels previously.

Throughout the campaign since nomination day Jan 6, BN campaigners have been labelling Pas a puppet of the Chinese-majority party DAP, as the party that ruled Terengganu from 1999 to 2004 has toned down its stand on the implementation of Islamic law,

Pas was also attacked throughout the campaign by party workers for awarding freehold land titles to residents in hundreds of villagers in Perak and for appointing a DAP rep Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham as the state executive councillor for land, a post traditionally held by the Menteri Besar.

- themalaysianinsider.com

Whom can we trust, PAS or Umno? (Kuala Terengganu Election)

Raja Petra Kamarudin

This was what The Nut Graph wrote yesterday:

Poor Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh. Much has been made of his looks and demeanour in an election where perception could turn out to mean everything.

As the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate in the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election, Wan Farid has been advised to smile more and behave less snobbishly. In this semi-urban east coast constituency, people want their elected representative to be friendly, accessible, and to possess the human touch.

Though a local boy, the 46-year-old former lawyer grew up in a privileged family of civil servants. During the campaigning, remarks have been passed that he should wear the kain pelikat (sarong) more when canvassing among the locals. He's also been advised to not be afraid to sit on the floor of homes to show that he is one of them.

Perception problems

Another perception problem Wan Farid faces is his links to outgoing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He was the premier's political secretary for four years, before being appointed senator and made deputy home minister after the March 2008 general election. He has since resigned from both positions to contest in the Kuala Terengganu by-election.

Additionally, it didn't help the BN campaign when former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad described Wan Farid as Abdullah's proxy.

Wan Farid also got caught in the web of allegations that Abdullah's cronies were given the contracts to build the Pulau Duyong marine facilities to host the annual Monsoon Cup sailing competition, and the Islamic theme park on Pulau Wan Man.

His candidacy has appeared to put BN on the defensive in this campaign. Top leaders including Abdullah and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak have been giving one explanation after another on Wan Farid's perceived aloofness, the proxy allegation, and his capabilities as a first-time candidate.

Development gains

Wan Farid's campaign message rides on the BN's development track record. He is positioned as a representative who will be able to help the electorate because of the government machinery behind him.

Najib has also promised that Wan Farid will be reappointed as a deputy minister if he wins this election. The message to voters is that Wan Farid, as a deputy minister, would have better access to federal help than a PAS Member of Parliament (MP).

However, his former ministerial post is being used against him in Pakatan Rakyat ceramah. The opposition alliance has used blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, who was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), to speak against Wan Farid, although it is the home minister who signs detention orders.

"If he wins and becomes deputy home minister again, he will sign orders to detain people like you and me under ISA," Raja Petra told a largely Chinese crowd at a ceramah in Bandar Baru, Pulau Kambing on 9 Jan.

Internal factionalism

Politically, the former senator and deputy home minister has never contested an election, whether at state or parliamentary level

In Umno, Wan Farid is the party's two-term Kuala Terengganu division chief. He won the post uncontested the second time in divisional elections in July 2008. Despite this show of Umno grassroots unity, factionalism within the division has given the opposition PAS leverage to run down his candidacy.

PAS has drawn comparisons between Wan Farid and the previous MP and deputy education minister, Datuk Razali Ismail, whose death in November 2008 forced this by-election. Razali was liked for his efforts to improve education in the state. He beat his PAS contender, the popular Mohamad Sabu, in the 2008 general election by a slim majority of 628 votes.

During the campaign, Wan Farid has been forced to say that as division chief, he never sidelined Razali, who ran for the division's vice-chief post but lost to Wan Farid's brother, Datuk Wan Hisham Wan Salleh.

Thus, the BN's announcement of Wan Farid as their candidate two weeks ahead of nomination day on 6 Jan was seen as a move to give the factions time to cool down and unite.

Wan Farid has denied any internal rivalry and said his early candidacy gave him an edge to know voters better. He will face PAS's Abdul Wahid Endut and independent Azharudin Mamat @ Adam in the 17 Jan polls.

The Nut Graph managed to interview Wan Farid, who is the father of six girls, on a campaign stop. He was at a kampung in Kuala Bekah, where a Rural and Regional Development Ministry function was being held on 10 Jan.

TNG: If you become MP, how do you propose to eradicate poverty and improve living conditions for the poor in Kuala Terengganu?

Wan Farid: I have discovered while on the campaign trail that people want more opportunities. They do not know that we have so many facilities and so many things they can participate in. My concern is to make sure they are well informed of these opportunities.

The Terengganu government has decided not to pursue the wang ehsan (oil royalties) civil suit (filed when PAS was the state government) against the federal government. Do you agree?

The matter is closed. The moment the federal government returned the royalty, the case has become academic.

But there are disputes over the figures. The royalties have not been fully returned.

The opposition is making [it out] as if the federal government is taking advantage of the state government. With the final payment of RM408 million in December, everything has been settled. There are no arrears anymore.

What kind of personal advantages do you have over the other candidates, which aren't related to you representing the BN?

I was in Parliament, in the Dewan Negara for three years. And for the last nine months I was a member of the administration. I've appeared in both Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara.

Your stand on hudud law.

I don't think it's an issue.

The opposition is using your post as former deputy home minister against you. What is your stand on the ISA?

In government, we cannot have individual [positions] on policies. Whoever speaks against me individually must also understand that you can't have a different view as a member of the administration.

You want to speak about this, you must understand parliamentary democracy, must understand how the cabinet works, must understand collective responsibility. Okay, if they want to attack me on this, it means they don't understand parliamentary democracy.

Should the ISA be at least reviewed?

My stand is parallel with the government's. It is good as it is. Preventive law has mechanisms and safeguards, which people don't talk about. They only talk about the so-called repressive law.

You can see, recently, whoever was arrested under the ISA could go to court and apply for habeas corpus, and there were instances where the court allowed the application. We have the necessary safeguards.

Is being the former deputy home affairs minister a liability to your campaign because of the issues the opposition is raising?

No, it's not a liability at all. Because I appear on TV almost every alternate day when Parliament is in session and the people of Terengganu know me.

Are you a reluctant candidate because you stand to lose so much in your political career?

I'm not a reluctant candidate. In politics, it's not about you. It's about the people you represent.

If you lose, what are your plans?

I'm not going to talk about that. It's premature.

By Deborah Loh, The Nut Graph
*****************************************

When asked about his stand on Hudud, Wan Farid Wan Salleh, Barisan Nasional’s candidate for the Kuala Terengganu by-election, replied, “I don't think it's an issue.” He did not say whether he supports Hudud or opposes it. He just refused to commit himself to the issue.

As I had written over the last few days, while UMNO and MCA have challenged PKR and DAP to state their stands on the Islamic State and Hudud, Umno itself will not commit itself to the issue. PAS can’t change Malaysia from a Secular State to an Islamic State. It can’t abrogate our common laws and replace them with Islamic laws. It can’t do that now or even in the future. As has been pointed out many times, the arithmetic just does not allow PAS to do that. It’s as simple as that. It’s all about the arithmetic. And PAS has said so many times that anything it does will be according to the Federal Constitution of Malaysia and not in violation of it.

Umno, however, can. This is because, through the Barisan Nasional coalition, they have the majority in Parliament, although no longer a two-thirds majority since the 8 March 2008 general election. So we need to ask Umno, not PAS, the question. Would we ask a person who has never bought a lottery in his life what he would do with his millions if he won first prize? He may reply he would marry a second wife, go to Mekah to perform the Haj, build a school, set up an orphanage, etc. But his reply would be purely academic since he has never bought, and will never buy, a lottery in his entire life. In fact, he considers lotteries as haram and that is why he does not want to gamble. So why ask him what he would do with his winnings if that is something that is never going to happen?

But Umno is in power. They are the federal government. They are the ones, not PAS, who has the power to abrogate our laws, amend the laws, change the laws, and turn Malaysia from a Secular State into an Islamic State. So Umno must be asked this question. And when asked, Wan Farid very deviously replies, “I don't think it's an issue.”

But it is an issue. And it is an issue because UMNO and MCA have challenged PKR and DAP to state their stands on the issue. And PKR and DAP have, time and again, said they are opposed to the issue. And, to demonstrate this, two days ago they got PAS to agree to an agreement that any and all policy matters must be based on consensus. All three partners within Pakatan Rakyat must unanimously agree to any policy matters. A simple majority is not enough. It must be either all or nothing.

The ball is now at Umno’s feet. Umno claims to be the largest Islamic party in the world. This is what Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad declared when he was the Prime Minister of Malaysia. And it is Umno that keeps raising the issue of the Islamic State and Hudud. Khairy Jamaluddin, the Prime Minister’s son-in-law, has been going around Kuala Terengganu proudly claiming that it was he who very cleverly trapped Husam Musa into making his slip-of-the-lips in the debate they engaged in.

Pakatan Rakyat has laid the matter to rest. The issue is no longer an issue. It is now a non-issue. So what is Umno’s stand on the Islamic State and Islamic laws? That is what the voters, in particular the non-Malay voters, would like to know. Is Umno ferociously opposed to the Islamic State and Hudud? Or does it not dare state its stand, one way or the other?

Umno does not dare state its stand. Umno would rather say: "I don't think it's an issue." But, to many, they do think it is an issue. The temples being demolished are in Umno-run states. The churches being denied permission to be set up are in Umno-run states. The Malay language Bible is being denied permission the use of the word ‘Allah’ by the Umno-led federal government. Those being detained by the religious authorities for ‘immoral conduct’ are in Umno-run states and they are being detained by federal agencies.

Where is PAS’s hand in all these? All we see is the hand of Umno. PAS is said to be an extremist party. But it is the Umno-run states and the Umno-led federal government that appears to be doing all these extremist acts, in the name of Islam. PAS, on the other hand, approves churches and temples in the states it runs -- while the many years the state was under Umno control the non-Muslims failed to get permission.

There is currently an ongoing court case in Sabah. Chong Kah Kiat, the 13th Chief Minister of Sabah, the former president of the Liberal Democratic Party (a member of Barisan Nasional), is taking the Umno state government to court for not allowing a Buddhist statue to be built in the state. Chong, who was the Deputy Chief Minister, also resigned his post in protest. It is not PAS but Umno that is blocking the Ma Tzu or Goddess of The Sea statue in Kudat, Sabah.

Stop asking PAS, DAP or PKR their stands. Their stands are clear. Their stands are: no changes without consensus. And all changes must be according to the Federal Constitution of Malaysia and not in violation of it. And that goes for the internal Security Act as well. PAS, DAP or PKR are opposed to the Internal Security Act.

When asked about his stand on the Internal Security Act, this was what Wan Farid replied: “In government, we cannot have individual [positions] on policies.”

When asked whether the Internal Security Act should at least be reviewed, Wan Farid replied: “My stand is parallel with the government's. It is good as it is.”

Read his lips, very slowly. He does not have an individual opinion. His stand is parallel with the government. The ISA is good and will remain. The fact that the ISA is unconstitutional does not matter. Umno is prepared to violate the Constitution. PAS said it would not do anything that goes against the Constitution. Wan Farid says the Constitution does not matter.

The Constitution says no one can be detained without being told of his/her crime and must be produced in front of a magistrate within 24 hours. The Internal Security Act allows one to be detained without being told of his/her crime and they can be held without being brought in front of a magistrate for the rest of his/her life.

According to the Constitution, a person is innocent until proven guilty. And the onus is on the Prosecution to prove guilt. The Accused needs not prove innocence. All he or she has to do is to raise reasonable doubt and the benefit of the doubt must be given to the Accused. Under the Internal Security Act, the government needs not prove guilt and the Accused has to instead justify that his or her detention is invalid. But the detained person will not be allowed a trial. Instead, a panel will hear the arguments of the Accused in secret, behind closed doors. And, in all cases, the panel will reject the arguments of the Accused.

And that is why PAS opposes the ISA, because it violates the Constitution. PAS respects the Constitution. And PAS respects the Constitution not only with regards to the right of an accused to a fair and open trial but also with regards to converting Malaysia into an Islamic State and the implementation of Islamic laws. Umno, however, according to Wan Farid, says: “In government, we cannot have individual [positions] on policies.”

So, whom can we trust? A party that respects and will comply to the Federal Constitution of Malaysia or one that violates the Constitution every step of the way? That is the fundamental issue in the Kuala Terengganu by-election. PAS has spoken. Umno too has spoken. And both voices are loud and clear. The issue is not just about the Internal Security Act or Hudud. It is about laws that are implemented which do not violate the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. Umno does not care about the Constitution. PAS does. So who makes a better government?

You, the voters of Kuala Terengganu, can decide this on Saturday, 17 January 2009. And you need not be a rocket scientist to figure out which of the two makes a better government.

- mt.m2day.org