What went wrong for UMNO

Joceline Tan lays it out for UMNO in case they are still too arrogant to admit it:-

Like they say, "the writing was on the wall", but UMNO chosed to ignore the signs and believed in the hype created by their own media dogs (e.g. The Star and Zainuddin Maidin) until they ultimately believed they were too powerful to be brought down. The Star has now began to change their tune (is it the fear of a backlash?) and Zam should start to learn from history himself.

“We give good service but we've been dealing with the symptoms, not the root causes. A classic case was Chew Mei Fun losing to Tony Pua,” said Sim. MCA's Chew, a former parliamentary secretary, was famous for her dedicated service in PJ Utara. But the DAP argued so well that Parliament is for legislators who can talk about national issues and not a “YB Longkang” that her campaign literally went down the drain.

Even Gerakan, which started off as the voice of conscience, lost its way when it allowed the politics of the day to take over. Said Penang Gerakan politician Teng Chang Yeow: “We keep asking the Chinese for full support so that they will be wellrepresented in government. But wasn't that what they gave us in 2004, total support? Now you know why they're fed-up!

“Leaders like Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and Khairy Jamaluddin must realise this. People equated their behaviour with Umno's inability to change with the times. If an Oxford-educated guy still talks like an Umno politician of 10 years ago, what hope do we have for the rest of Umno?”


"I don't have any property in Penang!"

“The writing is on the wall. We cannot hesitate over reforms. I won't say the Opposition will do much better than us but they can't do worse than us,” said Dr Sak.

Our highly acute Ex-Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin of course sums it best on what went wrong for UMNO by just opening his mouth:

I do not believe SMS and blogs had a huge impact on the recently-concluded general election.

It (outcome of the general election) could be more of a protest the people had in mind – to vent their anger on the government.

It is a fact that there are more people owning a mobile phone than a computer.

It is common for the village folk to receive SMS nowadays but again some may not know how to retrieve them.



Dr M: Is UMNO so lacking in talent that we can't find someone to replace the present PM?

Zam: Don't blame me, blame Dr M

UMNO vs Royalty

It's now down to the wire as Pak Lah takes on the Royalty with guns blazing while Ku Li eggs him on to his imminent downfall and Che Det watches from the shadows with bated breath. This has all the trimmings of a Hollywood blockbuster. It's not hard to see who will be the Last Man Standing.

 
 
Images downloaded from Kickdefella

Kickdefella has the roundup on the high drama happening over the high seas in Terengganu and over the hot pit lanes in Sepang.

RPK gives his account on how Son-In-Law and Patrick Lim fits into the picturesque scene in Terengganu

"Azalina Bukan Wanita"

Rafidah doubts Azalina's gender as Malaysian politicians get serious

UMNO's veteran politician Rafidah Aziz gets down to serious business after reeling from the recent elections by tackling the nation's numero uno issue of all time: "Is (Ex-Sports Minister) Azalina a Wanita (woman)?"

Everyone knows UMNO is in deep shit nowadays and thus UMNO Wanita President takes the bull by the horns by openly inquiring about UMNO Wanita's Ex-Youth President's gender which has long been under the scrutiny of all disturbed Malaysians.



Never has the Rafidah had to go head-to-head to solve the nation's most serious problem of all time, more serious than the AP issue, more worrisome than AFTA, more ignominious than the scalping of Barisan...

"Is Azalina a woman or not?"

UMNO tries to stir racial tension after losing the election

PM Abdullah Badawi losing control of UMNO amidst being snubbed by the Sultan of Perlis

PM Abdullah Badawi's days are numbered as he grows increasingly out of touch with his own party. 3 days ago UMNO members planned and executed a protest rally in Penang as he sat and watched (or did he sleep through it?) without lifting a finger. This coming from the Executive who disallowed any form of protest from the Opposition prior to the just concluded election. This coming from a man who said that he worked very hard and would be fair to all Malaysians. 3 days after the protest there has not been a word coming out from him.

Spot the missing link among the 3 images below:-







Answer: FRU
Images downloaded from Susan Loones' Blog

Penang UMNO: Those were OUR projects, you CAN"T have it!

Penang new CM: "No more lawatan sambil belajar!"

Going, Going, Gone.

The 2008 General Election has indeed served a delightful bouquet of surprises to the Malaysian public and we can't wait to bid goodbye to dirty old rags:-

Goodbye to Gerakan Acting President Koh Tsu Koon

Goodbye (soon?) to MIC President Samy Vellu

MCA to kick out their President Ong Ka Ting

And finally will UMNO have enough balls to also kick out their President and PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi?

So far only Dr Koh has been the ONLY politician with honour and we respect him for that. The rest are still clinging on to their posts and if they really know what's good for their party and not for themselves they should now do the honourable thing and not wait for others to kick them out.

Malaysians Vote On Whether Pak Lah Should Resign

Interesting facts about the 2008 Election

Reprinted from Malaysiakini.com:-

Barisan Nasional only gained about 51 percent of the popular vote from the 7.9 million ballots cast on Saturday.

However, it took 63 percent of the seats contested - or 140 of 222 seats in Parliament.

Interestingly, its peninsula-wide popular vote was only 49.79 percent, which effectively means that the opposition received the majority vote in this part of the country.

However, when converted to parliamentary seats, BN has 85 of the constituencies in the peninsula, while the opposition bagged 80.

Almost 40 percent of the BN's seats are in Sabah and Sarawak - 55 out of 140.

In 2004, BN won about 64 percent of the popular vote nationwide and 92 percent of the 219 parliamentary seats on offer then.

As the dust settles on the 12th general election, we highlight a number of quirky facts and figures.

Election trivia

* The youngest candidate was PKR’s Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who is 26. He defeated Seri Setia incumbent Seripa Noli Syed Hussin.

* The oldest candidate was grandma Maimun Yusuf, 89, who contested in the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat. She lost her deposit.


UMNO's 89-year old adversary

* 56 also-rans from opposition parties and independent candidates lost their deposits after failing to secure one-eighth of the votes cast.

* The largest majority was won by DAP’s Teresa Kok against BN’s Carol Chew, by 36,492 votes in the Seputeh parliamentary seat in Kuala Lumpur.

* The smallest majority was just 14 votes for BN’s Hamdi Abu Bakar who beat Abu Bakar Haji Hussain of PAS in the Pengkalan Baharu state seat in Perak.

* Four pivotal players in the Lingam tape scandal also won: Loh Gwo Burne (who recorded the footage), Wee Choo Keong (lawyer who represented VK Lingam’s brother during the inquiry) and R Sivarasa and Sim Tze Tzin (listed as witnesses but eventually not called). All four are from PKR.

* There will be two ‘lone rangers’ in Parliament: Zulhasnan Rafique, the sole BN survivor in Kuala Lumpur’s 11 parliamentary seats - he took Setiawangsa; and DAP’s Chong Chieng Jen who won Bandar Kuching in Sarawak - the remaining 30 parliamentary seats went to BN.

* The biggest number of candidates was in the Sukau state seat, Sabah, where eight candidates ran, including five Independents.


Debutant politicians

Prominent blogger Jeff Ooi - whose campaign was done online and funds were raised through his website - won the Jelutong parliamentary seat in Penang for DAP.

Other bloggers are Tony Pua (DAP, Petaling Jaya Utara parliamentary seat), Elizabeth Wong (PKR, Bukit Lanjan state seat) and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (PKR, Seri Setia state seat).

Civil society activists who succeeded were Charles Santiago (DAP, water-privatisation issues), Edward Lee (DAP, local community), Elizabeth Wong and R Sivarasa (PKR, human rights).

Biggest blows

The losses in BN component parties will result in vacancies in various ministries, forcing a cabinet reshuffle.

Ministers

* S Samy Vellu (Works Ministry)

* Shahrizat Abdul Jalil (Women, Family and Community Development Ministry)

* Zainuddin Maidin (Information Ministry)

* Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin (Rural and Territory Development Ministry)

Deputy ministers

* Chia Kwang Chye (Information Ministry)

* G Palanivel (Women, Family and Community Development)

* Tan Chai Ho (Home Ministry)

* V Veerasingam (Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry)

* S Sothinathan (Natural Resources and Environment Ministry)

* Donald Lim (Tourism Ministry)

* Fu Ah Kiow (Internal Security Ministry)

* M Kayveas (Prime Minister’s Department)

Parliamentary secretaries

* Chew Mei Fun (Women, Family and Community Development Ministry)

* P Komala Devi (Education Ministry)

* Lee Kah Choon (Health Ministry)

* Ng Lip Yong (Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry)

* S Vigneswaran (Youth and Sports Ministry)

* Rahman Ibrahim (Home Ministry)

* Dr Mohd Ruddin Ab Ghani (Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry)

* Yew Teong Look (Federal Territories Ministry)

The full team from the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry all lost in the polls.

All top MIC leaders were wiped out - president, deputy presidents, two vice-presidents, women's chief and youth chief (one of the three vice-presidents, KS Nijar, did not contest).

Post-election quotes

Anwar Ibrahim, PKR de facto leader, quoted in Star today

Some mentris besar in the past spent half-a-million ringgit to renovate their offices. Such things cannot be an example in this new administration.

Nurul Izzah Anwar, Lembah Pantai MP at a press conference yesterday

(On whether she will vacate the seat to force a by-election so that her father, Anwar Ibrahim, can re-enter politics after a five-year ban): I have already started working in my constituency. The question does not arise.

PPP president M Kayveas, quoted in Star today

Prior to the elections, Barisan Nasional had kept on telling people to show their dissatisfaction through the ballot box. Now they have really shown it.

Sungai Petani losing BN candidate Zainuddin Maidin, quoted in Star today

It is not that they love PKR or PAS more that they voted against me.

The Chinese showed their resentment because of the economic backlash they often complained about. So, PAS and PKR should not be overly proud of their win (in Kedah).

The people may have to pay a price for their decision.

Election postmortem by Bridget Welsh (assistant professor in Southeast Asian studies at John Hopkins University)

Enter the new Menteri Besars (Chief Ministers)

NST Reports:-

Kedah PAS Commissioner, Azizan Abdul Razak, 64, is expected to be sworn in as the Kedah's Menteri Besar today while the 77-year-old Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, PAS Spritual Leader, is almost certain to helm the Kelantan government.

In a surprise move, PAS, DAP and PKR took the first step towards forming a coalition government in Perak by nominating Perak Pas Liaison Secretary Ir Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin who won the Pasir Panjang state seat, as Perak's Menteri Besar.

In Penang, Chief Minister designate, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng is going to achieve something his father Lim Kit Siang had only dreamt, fought and failed to accomplish with his few “Tanjong” projects to wrest the island state.

In Selangor, former Permodalan Nasional Bhd’s chief executive officer, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has emerged the front runner to be the new Menteri Besar of Selangor after the opposition party won 36 of the 56 seats at stake.

BN's "body count" from the aftermath of the Malaysian Election Tsunami

Ministers given the early retirement boot by the People of Malaysia


Datuk Samy Vellu (MIC President and Minister of Works)


Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon (Gerakan Acting President and Chief Minister of Penang)


Dato’ Seri Shahrizat Binti Abdul Jalil (UMNO Wanita Vice President and Minister of Women Affairs)


Datuk Seri Zainuddin bin Maidin (UMNO MP and Minister of Information)


Datuk M. Kayveas (PPP President and Deputy Minister in PM's Department)

The Star ("The People's Paper"): Sorry, we didn't see it coming

Election Results 2008 in Penang

The Opposition has won 29 of the 40 state seats to enable them to set up the new state government while BN manages 11 out of 40.

For parliamentary seats the Opposition has won 11 out of 13 while BN won 2 out of 13.


What hit me?

Latest: The aftermath of a political tsunami

Election 2008 Results

NST Tabular Results - very slow in updating

NST Election Results Summary

Star Tabular Results - very slow in updating

Malaysiakini Polls Live Update - very heavy traffic

Malaysiakini Polls Live Update - mirror server

Live updates from DAP

Official: Penang, Kedah and Kelantan has fallen to the Opposition

Official: Selangor falls

Official: Perak falls

Final Tally:

Hilary Clinton supports a stronger Opposition in Malaysia

The US Democrats are rooting for a big "Opposition" win this time around:


Go, go go! Let's give the ruling party a big farewell!

NST: Election day today! Don't forget to cast your vote

The Star: MCA will TRY to have more say in the government

The Star: Dr Koh will ACCEPT the post of Senator if he loses Batu Kawan

The Star: BN confident of a BIGGER win in Penang!

The Opposition has delivered even BEFORE the election started

PM Abdullah Badawi asks Malaysians to give the Opposition more voice!

Even before the election starts the Opposition has delivered to the people by making Barisan more worried about ACTUALLY serving the public and more conscious about their own actions, as was reflected by PM Badawi's speech last night.

By squeezing the ruling coalition tight the Opposition has managed to force the ruling coalition to agree and to implement the following in just after a few days of hard campaigning. It just shows how important a strong opposition is for the good of this country.

The Opposition has shown they are truly fighting for the people and their achievements so far:

Najib to ensure price of petrol will NOT increase anymore

State government to ensure Penang bridge toll will NOT increase

Najib promises to do more for the neglected Indian community


Teng Chang Yeow works for the first time after 4 years in office!
"Now Everyone Can Progress"

There is now no doubt as to why a strong opposition is needed to ensure BN carries out all their pledges.

Dr M: Why Malaysia needs a stronger Opposition

Latest: 60,000 crowd at DAP's final showdown in Penang

Latest: More pictures of People Power in Penang

Fatbidin: The night DAP created an earthquake in Penang

TVSmith: My ceramah is BIGGER than your ceramah-lah...

Penangites will vent their anger by disposing Gerakan

MCA will also be caught in the crossfire

While Penangites know very well that MCA assemblymen have been working much harder then their Gerakan counterparts, the failure of Gerakan as the ruling party will mean that Penang voters are wanton to reject all BN candidates in the hope of a total change in the governance of Penang. Penangites know very well that for Penang to change for the better BN should not be allowed to interfere and that would mean TOTAL REJECTION of all BN candidates.

Most Penangites have made up their minds (perceived as an uncanny silence by the ruling coalition) that to ensure an Opposition victory would mean they would have to help them win BOTH the parliamentary AND the state seats. There would not be any more sympathy votes for BN. Even retirees are fed up as their requests for a more caring government had not been met and most of them would NOT be voting this time as they don't want to vote for the Opposition either.

BN can only blame themselves for trying to brainwash Penangites for so long. Even having a Prime Minister from Penang had meant nothing to them with NO REAL development seen on the island state for the past 4 years. They are not going to be fooled again either by Pak Lah's sweet talk or by the mass media or by The Star's disgusting daily assault on the intelligence of Penang voters.

NST: MCA needs help to counter backlash

Azmi Shahrom: Don't vote for a politician to clean up your drains. That is NOT his job but the job of the local municipal council

Penang needs a CM with more power

Final Call For Penangites To Save Penang

Latest: DAP's pledge to the people of Penang

Investors dump Malaysian shares on fears of BN suffering a massive defeat

Foreign selling causing fall in Bursa

Foreign investors lead the pack by dumping Malaysian shares across the board as the KLCI dropped below 1300 points. The key Bursa index has fallen by almost 200 points from its high in January and has continued to fall since the Malaysian PM announced the coming election. Analysts say the drop in Malaysian shares were more severe compared to other Asian markets.

Market traders say that rumours of BN receiving unfavorable forecast reports for its election campaign in most of the states has caused jitters among mainly foreign investors while local investors continue to hold their position owing to the feel good hype created by the BN election machinery. BN is not expected to lose its majority stake but investors say that it is not impossible for BN to lose a few states including Penang and that would mean major policy changes again in Malaysia.

Malaysiakini: Dr M believes Opposition will decrease BN's majority stake

Steven Gan: BN will not lose big as cheating has begun

Wong Chun Wai: KL, Penang and Perak voters have a right to be angry and to vote for the Opposition as we are a democracy!

Gerakan increasingly worried of Indian voters

Gerakan's promises to Indian community not kept in Penang

How can you represent the Indian community when there is not one single Indian state assemblyman nominated? Gerakan which prides itself as a "multiracial party" is now in a bind as Dr Koh Tsu Koon obviously is not an Indian although he tries hard to be like one. Even Dr Teng Hock Nan has to be roped in to help him out as Dr Teng speaks a "smattering" of Tamil. This is how ridiculous Gerakan has become.

Worse still Dr Koh was seen driving away from a group of Indian protesters in Nibong Tebal and not willing to stop to meet them and to hear them out. Obviously Nibong Tebal is far away (not so far actually) from his newly encamped position in Batu Kawan and he couldn't be bothered to hear their grouses as they are definitely not related to any contract opportunities.



"He thinks that we in Batu Kawan are unaware with his miserable record as a chief minister without any power"

Malaysiakini: Dr Koh may lose Batu Kawan seat

Bernama: Only the PM is allowed to make empty promises to the people

Newsflash: RPK in Penang tonight

Don't miss RPK in Penang tonite - LIVE!!

RPK will be the special guest (with Haris Ibrahim & Ronnie Liu) at the following ceramah tonight, Tuesday 4/3/08:

8pm: Kampung Paya (Bagan)

9pm: Chai Leng park playground (Prai)

10:30pm: Lengkok Burma (Pulau Tikus)

11:15pm: Hye Keat estate (Air Putih)

Get everyone out to hear RPK on his special visit to Penang. Don't miss it!

Newsflash: Malaysiakini.com is now FREE to read (1 week only)

Latest: Polis stops RPK from going to Penang island

Latest: Video of RPK at DAP ceramah in Prai

Anwar Ibrahim returns as BN's worst nightmare

Did you notice that the major newspapers do not have any pictures of Anwar's ceramahs? Did you ALSO notice that the major newspapers DO NOT have any pictures of BN's ceramahs either?? The reason is because there is NO crowd in their own ceramahs while EVERYONE is thronging into Anwar's ceramahs being held all over the country.

Derided by BN as from being a traitor to a chameleon Anwar is now in his element as he reaches out to help ALL the Opposition parties in campaigning for them. Whether he is speaking to a Chinese, Indian or to rural Malays he is getting tremendous support and applause each time he speaks out against the ruling coalition.

Anwar will be BN's worst nightmare because:
"BN's criticism against him will have NO EFFECT as he is NOT CONTESTING!"


Anwar in Penang


Anwar in Pahang


Anwar in Puchong


Anwar in Selayang

Anwar: BN will fall in Penang

More pictures
More videos
Catch a Anwar ceramah near you

DAP's Jeff Ooi reveals a RM 1 billion bribe from Dr Koh

Explosive Expose: Dr Koh's RM 1 billion payoff to Motorola

It would have been a beautiful parting gift from Dr Koh to the people of Penang. A RM350 million investment from long time investor Motorola to expand its plant in Bayan Lepas. It would go into Dr Koh's Report Card as another feather in his featherless cap.



However, Dr Koh's so called "achievement" was not meant to be when it was revealed today that he together in cahoots with the PM has promised Motorola a RM 1 billion contract in return for the RM350 million investment and a promise to delay Motorola's impending departure from Penang by ceasing all its operation. Failing to do that would have been "politically very detrimental especially in the run-up to the general elections".

Read Jeff's exclusive report

Read Malaysiakini's expose

MCA losing more Chinese support

Why does MCA has to fight for more Chinese schools? Why don't they just plan for it since they are in the Government? Or is MCA NOT in the Government?

This was an interesting question posed by DAP members during a recent debate with MCA. Malaysia's Deputy Education Minister and MCA stalwart was at a loss in answering the questions above. Why can't MCA just plan and build more Chinese schools instead of having to fight tooth-and-nail everytime with UMNO? Why does MCA accuses DAP of just talking and talking as there is nothing much DAP can do as they are NOT elected into the Parliament? Why is it that MCA who represents the ruling coalition cannot even implement a decent education policy for Chinese schools after all these years they are in the Government?

So, what has MCA done all this while except to get token contributions during election time? What has MCA done all this while as UMNO continues to have the final say on everything? What has MCA done all this while when after 50 years of independence there is still NO CHANCE for a Chinese to become an Education Minister, a Home Affairs Minister nor a Deputy Prime Minister not to mention NO CHANCE at all for a Chinese Malaysian (or an Indian or a Kadazan) to become the Prime Minister in Malaysia?

Even with the election coming Penang is left to rot

Is Gerakan so sure of losing Penang to DAP that they are not even bothered about Penang anymore? Just driving along Penang Road and Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah (not to mention the perennially potholed Jalan Jelutong) one will be tempted to think that the potholed and untarred roads are signs that Gerakan is all ready to relinquish a much neglected Penang to DAP by next week. Take a further drive to Batu Ferringhi and you will see why the rubbish strewn along the roads is turning the few tourists away from ever coming back to Penang again.

Even PM Abdullah Badawi is not coming to campaign in Penang island knowing how bad the situation in Penang is and having to face the continued bickering among BN component parties. BN ceramahs in Penang are attended by only a handful of BN supporters while ceramahs by the Opposition are packed full and large crowds had to be turned away.

Meanwhile, Dr Koh has given up trying to name his successor for the Chief Ministership as he knows whoever he names will probably be rejected outright by Penangites and will probably lose his nominated seat. This is the problem when you do not groom your successor from the very beginning. He cannot possibly name any one now as his possible successor for fear of losing him in the coming election and ending up looking like a fool.


Look, I don't have anything to buy votes

Dr Teng upset that Mr Teng is most probably UMNO's next puppet



Dr Koh praying for more divine help

Anwar: BN to use dirty postal votes strategy in event of an imminent defeat

Donald Lim: Malaysia is still better than Burma! (How lame can BN get!)

Aliran: Malaysian Christians will vote the Opposition this time around

Latest: UMNO leaders and activists make history by crossing over to DAP!

Latest: BN wanted to pay RM1 billion to Motorola to prevent them from pulling-out from Penang