The King Breaker!

Forget about who are the King Makers.

The King Breaker has declared his arrival.

“I am no old newspaper!”

Even his boy Matthias has just issued a warning to Najib.

For the first time, I feel pity even for Najib.

Now I wonder if Muhyiddin’s ultra-Malay stunts, echoed by Utusan, are directed by the God Father.

Balik Mengundi / Go home to vote – April 7 2009!

“I  still remember that day. We can really bring about change.”

Post this link on your blog. Email it to everyone you know. It’s a battle for the most precious thing in public life – our ability to bring about change.

The Zambry syndicate stole it from us in Perak. His partners-in-crime tried in vain in Selangor and Kedah. We must get the message loud and clear to them: We will crush you in poll, traitor of democracy! criminal

Bukit Gantang: A referendum on more coups

A key to democracy is the loser’s willingness to concede defeat.

The outgoing PM Abdullah and the ousted Penang CM Koh Tzu Koon will therefore be forever remembered as democrats for they did not attempt riots or palace coups as some of the lowlife creatures in their parties would or had.

The challenge for Malaysia is that we may soon face another trial moment like March 8, not least because of UMNO and BN’s own work.

By fanning Malay ultra-nationalism, UMNO may be able to recover some lost grounds in the Malay heartland but it is also destroying fast whatever remaining goodwill UMNO and BN still enjoy amongst the non-Malay and liberal Malay electorate.

What if come next elections UMNO and BN win 55% of Peninsular Malay votes but only 20% of the non-Malay support? Compared to the 2008 result (see chart below), this may well mean a slight improvement of BN’s victory in Malay super-majority seats from 45 to 55 but also a reduction of BN’s mixed seats from 25 to 20 and a complete wipe-out in the non-Malay majority seat.

This means a total of UMNO’s 75 seats against Pakatan Rakyat’s 90 seats in Peninsula.

Would UMNO be willing to concede defeat? Or will it insist to dominate the government because it enjoys the bare majority of Peninsula Malay support?

If UMNO Sabah and PBB manage to keep their 28 seats, while PR grabs the rest or orchestrates the defection of other component parties, PR will be leading UMNO and PBB at a smaller ratio of 117:105.

Would UMNO be willing to hand over the power peacefully? Or would it take whatever means to “restore the Malay dominance”, the first and foremost justification of the coup in Perak for UMNO members?

The Bukit Gantang by-election is therefore about democracy or more coups. It’s not about Najib’s new job. It’s about our jobs and if we want to find them in a democratic and economic ruin.

It is a referendum. Would you choose to punish the coup-plotters? Or would you vote for more coups?

See the full and non-technical version of this article in thenutgraph.com later this morning.

One year after March 8

A year ago this time, I was at PJ DAP office keeping my eyes on the TV and computer screens with a bunch of journalists, party workers and voters. By then, we already knew that BN had lost its two-third parliamentary majority. What we were still not sure was that how many states would fall into the opposition’s hands.

In an ironical way, we are not far from there a year later. BN still has its two-third parliamentary majority denied. And we are still not sure that how many states will remain in PR’s hand.

A big difference lies between last and this March 8. Then, it was the verdict of electorate. Today, if any PR state changes hand – like the “constitutional kidnapping” in Perak – it would be the denial of electoral verdict by unelected institutions: the palace, the bureaucracy, the police, the judiciary, and even the MACC.

This is a trend we must stop before even the military is courted. But how do we stop it? Can we stop it?

I believe we can. If most Malaysians would tell the politicians that we will not tolerate any attempt to rape democracy, they would not attempt it.

But have you seen any business groups, professional groups other than the Bar, religious groups, community groups, sport clubs coming up to condemn the mutation, mutiny and muscle-flexing of the unelected institutions?

Is a future coup in their interests? Clearly no. But why don’t they protest?

We have not done enough to get the message through. This is the challenge before us while we commemorating March 8.

On Valentine’s Day – For the Love of the Sultan

What has Valentine’s Day got to do with politics?

In the Westminster design, the Monarch is the “dignified” part of the political system, while the executive is the “efficient’ part. in non-technical language, the Monarch’s main function is to be loved by all, to be the everyone’s Valientine, if you like.

My views on the Perak Coup

These are my views on the Perak coup and the related issues:

1. Elected representative has every right to change his/her affiliation, but no right to bring the voters’ mandate with him. Political parties should make commitment to repeal Article 48A (6) – and similar clauses in state constitutions – which bars an elected representative to re-contest  in election for five years after resignation. Instead, a clause can be inserted to Article 51 “Resignation of Members” to the effect that a parliamentarian will be deemed as resigning if s/he changes his/her party affliation without the consent of the party on whose ticket s/he had won the seat.

2. A motion of no-confidence must be passed in the legislative assembly to topple a government. If a major government bill is defeated, which implies an effective no-confidence vote, the incumbent government must be allowed to seek a motion of confidence if it so wishes and is considered to have been ousted after losing such vote.  (This is to prevent the defection/partisan act of the speaker who may deny the incumbent government its last chance to prove its viability.)

3. When a motion of no-confidence is passed, the royal consent should not be withheld on the request by the PM/MB/CM to dissolve the Parliament/Assembly. Any exception must be of extraordinary circumstances and well justified. This is to ensure the check-and-balance mechanisms between the Executive and Legislative branches in a parliamentary system – vote of no-confidence and dissolution of the legislature – must not be subverted. An artibrary withholding of the royal consent on this issue effectively renders the Executive powerless before the Legislature.

On Perak, specifically,

1. the swearing-in of the new MB is a coup.

2. the only legitimate government is that headed by Mohd Nizar and supported by others.

3. the best way to solve this crisis is to dissolve assembly dissolution and let the voters decide whom to punish.

My related articles on thenutgraph.com:

Feb 2 – BN will not win from Perak defections

Feb  5 – Snap poll best bet

Feb  6 – Perak must not fail

My second reason for mourning – Markus Ng (1985-2009)

I am completely shocked to learn that you had passed on, Markus. I regret so much that I did not get the news earlier that I missed your funeral and memorial service.

I remember the last time we met in the PJ virgil and the supper we had with two of your juniors. For different reasons, I did not go to the vigil since then. I will go in the future when circumstances permit.

You had been a great person in your brief time on earth. You had touched many hearts and souls with your sincerity and passion to do good.

It is my pleasure to have been your university mate and friend. I remember my surprise to learn that you have come to Essex to study politics, after Cheng Boon. And I learnt later how you had been active in the Essex Malaysian Society. And all these are now history.

As your brother said, you have fought the good fights. We have ours to fight and I shall remember you when I fight mine. I shall remember you next time I sing Negaraku.

I have now another reason to wear black.

Citizen of An Occupied Territory

My home state is now threatened by kleptocracy and betrayal of the highest order.

I am wearing black to mourn and protest, like the Palestinians in Intifada. Please do the same, fellow Perakians and Malaysians.

Viva la RO Perak!

Kuala Terengganu : UMNO’s Defeat = MCA’s Gain

I like to argue counter-intuitively because the world is much more interesting when you look at it from the most uncommon angle.

For the Kuala Terengganu by-election, my argument is that MCA and other BN parties will gain if UMNO loses the by-election, so they should pray hard for that to happen.

Why? Look at the table below.

UMNO won almost equally marginally in both the Malay heartland and the Malay-majority mixed constituencies, pulling votes only at around 55%. If it had done badly in the mixed areas because of the non-Malay rage, then there must have been a similar Malay revolt in the Malay belt.

Who had saved UMNO from this? The non-Malays whose support for BN remained as high as 60-80%. A case in point is Kuala Terengganu where the non-Malays were estimated to have gave 65% support to BN while the Malays were equally split.

What would happen if the non-Malays choose not to come to UMNO’s rescue again?

How could an UMNO’s defeat at the Chinese’ hand can benefit MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP and ultimately UMNO? Read the full story at my Uncommon Sense column (every Wednesday at thenutgraph.com)

Do you read Chinese? Here’s the slightly different Chinese version at Merdeka Review.

It’s your right to spoil your vote

Sometimes, it is the political parties and politicians that need voter education, not us the voters.  It’s time to tell this to the arrogant EC, politicians and “journalists”.