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.

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.

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.

“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?

Fong didn’t state the reason for her decision, but in an email sent to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, which was distributed during Saturday’s press conference… she mentioned that the development of internal party events in DAP Perak over the last few years has made it impossible for her to continue serving effectively, efficiently and wholeheartedly.

The public are holding mixed response about her decision. While her supporters are trying to persuade her to change her decision, some quarters are questioning her maturity to announce her decision when the General Election is in a matter of days.

Personally, I think we would have to respect Fong’s decision. Selfishness is not a question here, she is entitled to make the best decision for her personal interest rather than for the mass… it is just being human.

Off course it would be great if she could have find a better timing to announce her decision, perhaps a few months earlier… but it could be that she has just made up her mind recently. We can’t really tell without knowing the real situation.

On side note, DAP should just let go of this issue and move on. Forget about persuading Fong to rethink her decision… she already made the call, and it probably would show more immaturity if she decides to flip-flop in the end.

Besides, giving too much importance to Fong actually exposed that DAP might be lacking in quality candidates, which is probably a fact… but the DAP leaders certainly don’t need to endorse the weakness by over-focusing on getting back Fong.

My best wishes to Fong Po Kuan for her future endeavour, and hope that DAP could find a good candidate to replace the void.

[Update Feb 22] Fong retracted her decision and will contest in coming election.

The 52-page budget was presented by party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and his economic advisor Tony Pua at the Parliament building. Several DAP MPs, including Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang, were also present. [Malaysiakini]

You can read some of the excerpts via Wengsan or download the full report here (download link no longer available).