Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor, former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Youth leader and one-time confidant of PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, has rejoined Umno. [Bernama]
Ezam was one of the iconic faces during the reformasi era a decade ago… but he has become pretty much irrelevant for the past year or two. His decision to quit PKR in June 2007 has left little impact to the party, and the anti-corruption NGO he formed is moving no way.
People are asking why he is joining back Umno… but where else could he go? Going back to PKR is obviously not an answer. If he is still interested in expanding his political influence, he would have to choose between PAS and Umno… not many choices actually.
Some people are claiming that Ezam is going back to Umno to help reforming the party, but frankly… this fella is way overrated by some folks. Besides his fame, he doesn’t seem to have much to offer… in fact, he might find himself having a hard time with his political struggle in Umno.
Badawi might like him though; they shared a similar thread of flip-flopping after all.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has claimed that he has the support of enough defectors from the ruling coalition to seize power, although he will not act until he has a bigger majority. [Malaysiakini]
Frankly, I won’t write off his statement… I am not a fan of Anwar’s cunningness, but I do reckon him as a leader with vision and ability to execute his plans.
Thing is, if the situation does happen (seize power)… it would be the darkest page in our country’s democracy. People have voted during the General Election, and although the BN government suffered some shocks, they are still given people’s mandate to rule the national government.
The Pakatan Rakyat leaders and some political bloggers often forgotten the fact that half of the Malaysians are still voting for BN… and they are celebrating their ‘victory’ as if all these BN supporters are non-existence.
If the Pakatan Rakyat wants to rule the country… win the election, fair and square… not by using these dirty tricks. What Anwar claimed should not happen and must not be allowed to happen… it’s the ugliest thing that could happen to our democracy system.
PKR, DAP and PAS have agreed to consolidate the cooperation between the three parties and proposed their alliance be called the “Pakatan Rakyat” (People’s Pact).
The first benefit of the pact is that we could now refer to these parties in a single term… it was a pain trying to mention their coalition like the “DAP-PAS-PKR alliances government” etc.
On serious note… it’s a good move to form the pact. The official alliance would hopefully create more understanding between the parties. Issues like the Perak MB joke could be avoided if the coalition was forged before that.
Also, as Anwar mentioned, this coalition would mean that the policies of the Pakatan controlled state governments would be in line with the policies of Pakatan Rakyat, which should be a good thing. However, I wonder how ‘in line’ these states could be… PAS’s Islamic policy would certainly create an obstacle in this matter.
I am not saying that PAS’s policy is bad; I believe Kelantanese are well treated regardless of religion… but it’s obvious that PAS is governing their state differently from the rest of the country. The only probable thing that PKR and DAP are sharing with PAS is the common goal to uphold the rights and interests of all Malaysians.
Just some simple questions… will PAS give up some of their religious based policies in Kelantan if the Pakatan is to be formally formed? Will DAP be happy if PAS want to implement some religious based rules at other states? It’s still a long way to go obviously.
Perhaps we should give the Pakatan Rakyat a bit more time to finalise their plans and ideology. I would like to see them forming a mock cabinet if the coalition goes well; I think they are thinking about that too.
Anwar Ibrahim released another section of the Lingam video (Part III – video below) which he obtained on last Friday (Jan 25). [Part I & Part II on Youtube]
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The royal inquiry into the Lingam video clip has started on Monday (Jan 14). 17 witnesses are expected to be called to testify in the Royal Commission of Inquiry, including former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (full list on Bernama).
Anti-Corruption Agency officials has told the royal commission on the VK Lingam tape that the room featured in the video clip was indeed the lawyer’s living room, as mentioned by businessman Loh Mui Fah during some earlier press interviews.
Loh has admitted that he was the person who talked to VK Lingam in the video, and that the video clip is authentic and was taken by his son in late December 2001. Loh however claimed that neither he nor his son knew how the video clip managed to get into public.
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Former Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor has been appointed chairman of the Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the video clip controversy featuring a senior lawyer purportedly brokering judicial appointments over the telephone.
Five other members of the commission are former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Amar Steve Shim Lip Kiong, former Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Mahadev Shankar, former Solicitor-General Puan Sri Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh, Academician-Historian Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim and Datuk Abdullah Sani Ab Hamid (as commission secretary).
I don’t have enough knowledge to justify if these people are suitable candidates to investigate the matter, and I am not sure if the royal panel could produce anything more meaningful than the earlier 3-men panel.
Regardless of the result, I doubt that the findings could change the current situation where our judiciary system is being controlled (or at least influenced) by our BN lead government.
Even if the tape is found genuine, the people that will be penalized would probably be Lingam and Fairuz while the rest of the VIPs that are involved would keep hidden behind the curtain and not being punished.
The tape might help raise some public awareness that our country administration is not as clean as the government is trying to portray… perhaps it is the only meaningful purpose that it could serve in the end.
Meanwhile, Anwar Ibrahim has released the full version of the video…
The India government seems to be concern about Malaysian Indians’ welfare since the Hindraf rally. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi was the first to respond, but was told by Malaysia’s Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz to back off.
Nazri’s response has probably created as much debate in the India Parliament as of the Hindraf’s plea itself. For once though, I have to agree with Nazri that this issue is none of India’s business.
Malaysian Tamil, Malaysian Indians, Malaysian Chinese, or Malaysian Bumiputras, whatever… we are MALAYSIANS. Whatever issue it is, it should be settle in Malaysia itself, and is none of other nations’ business.
I am pissed with some opposition leaders and political bloggers for supporting India’s stand regarding this matter. Anwar Ibrahim for example has told NDTV that India is right in taking up the issue of ethnic Tamils in the country… well, would Anwar approve if India decided to up their ante and send their armed force to ‘protect Malaysian Tamils’?
We can’t hail everything that is against the government simply for objecting sake; we still need to use our logical mind to see what is right or wrong… and Anwar is losing his mind here. So, what’s next? Chinese asking for China’s help for discrimination?
Fine, it’s freedom of speech… India’s leader can say whatever they want, but it ends there. Any further demands are unwanted and unwelcome. We don’t need foreign interference to handle Malaysian matters, period.
I am not a supporter of the BERSIH’s yellow march yesterday (Nov 10) despite its great success (as claimed by the organisers).
I applaud the protesters’ spirit to convey their thoughts;
I condemn police’s action to use tear gas and water cannons on the protesters;
I hope that the Election Commission (EC) could be more independent;
I wish that the flaws in our electoral system could be minimized.
So why am I still not a supporter of the BERSIH rally?
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