Seems like the PAS Youth have learned nothing after being slammed by the Sultan for their protest against rock queen Ella and dangdut singer Mas Idayu performing at the Sultan of Selangor Cup football match.

Frankly, if they can’t even stand the likes of Ella and Mas Idayu, we can kiss goodbye to most of the western artists if their wishes are granted; events like Super GT would probably be scrapped too… but I doubt the state government and royals would pay much attention to their plea at the moment.

It should remind people though, that PAS’ philosophy is not really aligned with PKR and DAP. If Pakatan Rakyat does take over the government by September… do bear in mind that PAS will have to part of the plan.

There are callings that we should not be shallow with PAS’ administration, that their governmental in Kelantan is better than some media is claming… but sometimes, what they are trying to do is plain annoying. They even tried to ban lipstick and high heels in Kota Bahru [Bernama], makes me wonder what they would come out next.

The live bullet was accompanied with a note warning him against speaking out on the controversial issues of Malay rights and the constitutional powers of the Sultans.

To be frank, if the person who sent the bullet does want to harm Karpal, he would have use the bullet straight away. Not saying that we should take this death threat lightly though; it’s better to be safe than sorry.

What I really don’t want to see is the whole situation being blown out of proportion… some bloggers are already turning this death threat into a racial issue, but fact is the threat is probably plotted by one single individual and not a whole race.

I wish Karpal well… hopefully it’s just an act of cowardness instead of a serious threat.

The Lee Kah Choon controversy has probably been put to rest following the former Gerakan deputy secretary-general’s decision to quit the party.

Lee has earlier accepted the posts of director of Penang Development Corporation and chairman of the executive committee of InvestPenang, which was strongly opposed by BN leadership.

Lim Guan Eng said that he had not anticipated any controversy when he appointed Datuk Lee Kah Choon. [Bernama] Thing is, Lim Guan Eng had to be really stupid to think that the appointment was not going to create any controversy… and frankly, I don’t think he is that naive.

Look, it’s not wrong for Lee Kah Choon to accept the posts; Alan Greenspan was chairman of the US Federal Reserve for 2 decades under different presidency… it’s the best example that governmental and political difference could be bridged for the best interest of the people.

I won’t doubt Lim Guan Eng’s intention to use Lee’s experience to serve the Penangites, but Lim was obviously trying to kill two birds with one stone… by taking the chance to screw BN as well, which he obviously succeeded.

It was a tough call to make for BN, as this issue is almost unheard of in the past… saying that it’s all right for Lee Kah Choon to do so would signal encouragement for their former leaders to serve the Pakatan Rakyat; while saying no (which they did) would make them look bad.

It’s a situation where BN would be on losing end for whatever decisions they made… it’s all about minimising the damage, and I don’t think they made the right decision.

It seems like Lim Guan Eng triumphs again… but playing dumb? Give me a break.

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.

Contrary to the possible chaos that Perak is facing, Lim sworn in with relative ease. PKR’s Mohd Fairus Khairuddin and DAP’s P Ramasamy have been appointed as his deputies to “ensure all the communities in Penang are represented and this government is for all”.

Various promises and plans have been announced… some good, some stupid. Talk is always easy though, we’ll see how it actually works out in future for this new government.

On side note, I would give ex-CM Koh Tsu Koon some props for the democratic attitude he showed since the General Election results were known. He has showed that he is a good man, but a good man doesn’t mean that he could be a good politician, or a good Chief Minister.

According to Lim Kit Siang, the appointment has caused shock and consternation to DAP leaders, members and supporters; and that the appointment has not received the mandate of DAP Central Executive Committee.

The decision to appoint a PAS MB is not going to be popular among the Chinese, despite the fact that a PAS MB is not equivalent of a PAS state government. I believe the younger generation would have little problem with it, but it’s not an easy task to convince the older generation to ease their prejudice on PAS.

The rumours that PAS is ready to implement Islamic law in Kedah must have raised further concern, and DAP is obviously trying to please the majority Chinese supporters by drawing a line here. It’s irony that most Chinese are hoping for a fair Malaysia for all Malaysians regardless of race and religion, and here they are… being discriminative after all.

The main question is however… why voicing it now DAP? Why NOW?

Like it or not, the whole nation was already anticipating the appointment of Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin for the past few days… if DAP has any problems with it, they should have strongly objected it before the appointment is made. DAP should have made it clear to the Sultan (or Regent) and the public that they would not tolerate a PAS MB… and not like what they did with the whole “all decisions would be respected” hoo-haa.

BN’s arrogance and ignorance has cost them clearly in the election… is DAP falling into the trap so soon? I mean, how stupid or ignorant could DAP be for not anticipating the appointment prior to the official announcement? And exactly how arrogant is DAP to defy the Sultan’s decision and to make such an immature fuss.

It’s a shame DAP, it’s a shame.

At the time of writing, non-BN parties (let’s drop the term ‘opposition’ shall we?) have officially claimed the states of Penang, Kedah and Kelantan. Selangor and Perak are also reported to have won by non-BN alliances, albeit unofficial.

It’s just the beginning though… set aside PAS that has been governing Kelantan for years, DAP and PKR are noobs when it comes to governing a state. I am not saying that they are not capable to do so, it’s however a fact that they are facing a new challenge that they had never faced before… governance.

First thing first, they need to do their best to maintain peace. I don’t think we will have any serious riots or demos following the victories in these states, but we do need to take extra safety precautions to maintain peace.

They need to form their state government ASAP. DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng has been announced as the next Penang Chief Minister, and will form the state government with allianced parties. Kelantan will obviously lead by PAS… I am not so sure about Kedah though, PAS and PKR will have to sort that out ASAP.

Selangor might be giving the real headache… if the non-BN parties do win the majority seats, PKR is the most likely party to lead the state government. Thing is, DAP has won more seats (unofficially) than PKR, but I think they should be able to sort it out rather peacefully as DAP has already have Penang in hand (maybe Perak as well).

So, what’s next? Time to fulfill their promises. All these parties have promised an awful lots of things… not only that they need to fulfill those, they also need to avoid doing things that they have been criticising the BN government of.

The first case that comes into my mind is the Motorola saga; the previous BN government was reported to have offered them a RM1 billion project so that they will stay in Penang… and the non-BN parties have strongly oppose to it. Thing is, if Motorola is deciding to leave just after the new government is formed, how would they respond to it?

Facing the risk of losing thousands of job opportunities (mind that the downstream industry might be affected too), the new DAP & PKR government might have to resort to something similar as well, which on short term is actually a right thing to do… but they can’t do that obviously, as they would be breaking the rare trust that the people have given them.

There are lots of other issues to think of… Penang Bridge, the Rapid buses, environmental issues, the sharing of wealth, and other social issues… and I am still not starting on Kedah and Selangor yet.

It’s going to be a long story, to cut it short… there’s a huge challenge ahead; and a precious opportunity on the other hand for the non-BN parties to show the people what they can do… not just for their supporters, but also showing to all Malaysians that it’s not really a bad thing to change.

For better or worse… we will be seeing a new Malaysia when we wake up the next morning.

Parliamentary seats: BN (140), BR (82: DAP-28, PAS-23, PKR-31)
States claimed by DAP-PAS-PKR alliances: Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Perak and Selangor.

Just like many other Malaysians, I had been staying up late after the polling day to read the latest results… with waves of surprises pouring in.

Frankly, I was shocked by the outcome. I thought that the non-BN parties would have a chance to deny the 2/3 BN majority for parliamentary seats, but I didn’t really expect it to happen. The real surprise however was on BN losing 5 states, especially for Selangor… that was unexpected at all.

Regardless, for better or worst, we will be having a new Malaysia that we have never seen before… let’s hope for the best.

“Police investigations reveal that there are irresponsible people who bought ink from foreign countries in order to persuade those not familiar with the procedure to have the ink applied (to a voter’s forefinger or nail) before polling day,” he told a press conference at the EC headquarters, Putrajaya. [Bernama]

Abdul Rashid also said that the use of indelible ink would not be effective as the country’s constitution allows those who refuse to have their fingernail marked with the ink to still be issued with a ballot, and that the use of the indelible ink could infringe the constitutional right of a voter to cast his vote, especially if the commission tries to bar someone from voting for having an ink marked in his finger. [Malaysiakini]

The last minute reversal is not well received by the opposition parties and the public. DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and PKR’s deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali have both criticised the cancellation of indelible ink of favouring the ruling party’s cheating and abuses in the election.

Frankly, I can see the point of cancelling the use of inedible link… I have thought of some possible downside for using the ink, for example some ladies might not know about the plan somehow and have applied nail polish and not allowed to vote etc… it could create unexpected chaos.

Questions are however… why using it at the first place? The indelible ink has cost the country million of dollars, shouldn’t the EC think twice before deciding to use it initially?

I have never thought of the violation of constitutional rights for using the ink, stupid me… but I am just a common citizen after all. However, what’s the excuse for EC for not considering about the constitutional factor back then? Shouldn’t they be thinking of the legal issues before spending millions for the ink?

Now, what will happen to the ink? Shouldn’t someone be held responsible for the earlier decision? Should we continue to allow incompetent people like Abdul Rashid to continue leading the commission? And what’s next… cancelling the use of transparent ballot box because it violates privacy? How about cancelling the poll all together?

The controversial poster
(Image from Merdekareview)

The first version of the Chinese billboard features a caricature of Kok, clad in a skimpy red dress and matching stiletto heels, embracing ‘Mr Kinrara’ after dumping ‘Mr Seputeh’, while the second version features Kok on a rocket, flying from ‘Mr Kinrara’ to ‘Mr Seputeh’. [Malaysiakini]

The posters was meant to tease Kok who is contesting for both the Seputeh parliamentary seat and Kinrara state seat, which is actually a point worth debating… but the way the message was portrayed certainly won’t please the public, and I find it rather disgusting as well.

Kok has off course, objected strongly on the use of these degrading posters. Her objection was echoed by the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG), some other non-governmental organisations and also some fellow bloggers.

The posters have been taken down yesterday (March 3), but the damage has already been done… Chew has probably just buried her political future while doing a huge favour for Kok at the coming election, which is just days away.

I am quite amazed that Chew and her MCA team had failed to foresee the negative impact before putting up the billboards… I am not going to use the word sexist as I am not really sure what draws the borderline (of being sexist or not), but the degrading nature is obvious, and it’s a cheap tactic that people don’t want to see from a MP candidate.

BN (Pdf file) ll DAP (Jpeg image) ll PKR ll PAS (need to download)

While the DAP and Fong’s supporters are singing their joy… I have different opinion about this; this is simply a huge joke from my point of view. I don’t like people who flip-flop with their decisions, and I believe I am not the only one.

People might argue that Po Kuan actually shows that she is willing to listen to the plea of her supporters, which should be respectable… but shouldn’t she be gathering the opinions BEFORE she made the decision to quit?

Her decision to u-turn might be a good thing for DAP and the people, but if there were actually rooms for her to change her mind, shouldn’t she be thinking extra carefully before making the first call?

Did she chat with the party leaders before calling it quits? Was it the last or only option she had back then? Whom had she consulted before making the call? Did she even had a good reason to quit at the first place?

If you are working in a corporate, and one of your colleague decided to quit and then retracted his/her call… you would know that this kind of gimmick is not generally popular. Most people would still give a “welcome back” greeting, but only a few really meant it.

Political field should see no exception… what she did was simply immature. She did apologised for this, but damage has already been done, for both Fong Po Kuan and DAP. Questions are, how bad the damage is, and how forgiving Batu Gajah’s voters are?