The Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Datuk Abdul Aziz Abd Rahim’s ruling that affirms the legitimacy of Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar as the Menteri Besar of Perak is the first ray of light that spells the end of the 1BLACKMalaysia.
The political crisis however would not be over until fresh elections are called. I would continue wearing black until the Assembly is dissolved.
How did Nizar win Bukit Gantang when UMNO was expected to win a slight majority of the Malay votes and the polling day on Tuesday prevented many Chinese who had returned for graveyard visit (Qing Ming) from staying on?
This was perhaps the answer. Most Malaysians who do not read Chinese may not have seen this advertisement which appeared on the local section of the major Chinese newspapers on April 4 (Qing Ming Day, Saturday).
Posted in Democracy, Elections, Electoral System
Tagged Bukit Gantang, by-elections, DAP workers, Lim Swee Kuan, Nizar, Single Member Plurality, Wong Long Han
It’s Najib who needs no more by-elections, not even for the PR-held seats which offer a chance for BN to recover lost ground. Why? He does not have confidence of his own chance.
Money politics no longer works. Threat no longer works.
But Malaysia needs two more by-elections. To be precise, two by-elections for BN-held state seats in Perak. Here are the list of the seats that you can choose for:
Posted in Democratization, Elections, Opposition State Governments, Party Politics
Tagged by-elections, Nizar, Perak Coup, Zambry
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.
Posted in Democratization, Elections, Party Politics
Tagged Bukit Gantang, Nizar, Perak Coup, Referendum, Tri-elections, Zambry
People are the boss 