Tan, 61, a former deputy minister, has followed the example of former Gerakan deputy secretary-general Datuk Lee Kah Choon, who accepted the PR Penang government’s offer to head two key state agencies – InvestPenang and Penang Development Corporation. [Bernama]

With the precedent of Lee’s saga… Tan, as expected, is asked by BN to leave his party, which I believe he is ready to oblige to.

Questions are, how many more BN leaders will be lured by Pakatan to ‘crossover’… and does it ring a bell to the possibility that some MPs might be joining the Pakatan as claimed by Anwar all this while.

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.

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.

Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said Sunday (Dec 23) the party viewed the matter seriously and that the case has been referred to the Disciplinary Committee for a decision on the action to be taken before it was to be brought to the party’s Central Working Committee (CWC). [Bernama]

Paranjothy is alleged to have issued a press statement to Malaysiakini claiming that he was not happy with Umno and the way Indians in the country were being treated. Excerpt from Malaysiakini…

In an audacious move, a notable Gerakan politician has taken Barisan Nasional coalition leader Umno to task for inciting racial sentiments among Malays to gain political mileage.

“They incite racial sentiments among their community in a petty attempt to further their political career,” Gerakan Youth vice-chief S Paranjothy alleged today (Dec 21).

Such attempts, he said, include taking potshots at other BN component parties which draw their support from non-Malay communities.

“Umno leaders are very found of picking on component parties and use them as their punching bag or stepping-stone to gain popularity in their community,” Paranjothy said in a hard-hitting four-page statement entitled ‘Discrimination from Womb to Tomb’.

He singled out Umno Youth Chief Hishammuddin Hussien’s keris waving and his deputy Khairy Jamaluddin’s claim that non-Malays would take advantage of a weak Umno leadership, as prime examples of racial posturing.

He also cited Khairy’s speech at the Umno general assembly last month, during which he blamed newspaper vendors for not wanting to work on Deepavali day. He made a pointed reference to the fact that the sector is predominated by Indian Malaysians.

Paranjothy also mentioned that Malaysian Indians are treated as fourth-class citizens; and that the government has practised double-standards in the issuance of police permits for public demonstrations.

Hishammuddin responded on Saturday by demanding an explanation from Koh…

“If the explanation given is not satisfactory, we are prepared to sever all relations with Gerakan. This is no laughing matter.”

What is racial sensitive?

I can’t agree with Paranjothy’s statement that Indians are treated as fourth-class citizens. There are some racial biased policies in Malaysia, but not to the extend that any particular races are being marginalized. The government is not doing enough to help the poor, but there are other factors and people that should be blamed as well. I will write a post later to share further thought on this.

What I want to raise here… is what kind of statements could be deemed as racial sensitive? After 50 years of independence, it’s pathetic to think that every word that question about racial issues in Malaysia is categorized as sensitive remarks.

Malaysia is a multiracial country… we need to be tolerant and careful with our action and speeches; but that doesn’t mean that we should keep quiet about every racial issue that has surfaced. If we do that we are just cheating ourselves and allowing problems to grow bigger instead of finding solutions for it.

Besides, what part of Paranjothy’s accusations is wrong? Hishammuddin’s keris waving has angered thousands of people, and he is finding his own words to justify his action instead of considering that his action might ignite racial discontent; Khairy’s Deepavali story is even worse… but why are these Umno people be allowed to continue raising the tension whereas the others are not allowed to speak up their mind?

Political scapegoat

Hishamuddin’s fast response is clearly to boost his own Umno political image and not for the sake of national unity. He knows that if he didn’t condemn Paranjothy fast enough… Khairy would speak about it and steal the spotlight instead.

The Umno leaders are constantly in tug-of-war for power and political future… and often used other political parties as the scapegoat to gain popularity in their community. Paranjothy has mentioned this in his statement, and Hishammudin’s threatening demand against Gerakan probably has just endorsed this.

I am disappointed that Koh Tsu Koon has given in to Hishammudin’s demand rather easily. Paranjothy might have broken the stupid political rank in BN, but Gerakan should at least show their pride to condemn Hishammudin’s arrogance before taking action against their own man. Gerakan are acting like cowards now… and it brings no respect from both Gerakan and Umno supporters.

Umno Government is not going to listen

MIC parliamentarian K. Devamany got himself into trouble in late November after saying that “the government was not doing enough for the (Indian) community” in response to the Hindraf rally… and this time it’s Paranjothy’s political future that is in jeopardy.

The government leaders are not listening to opposition parties obviously, and they are not allowing any comments from their own men that are against their policies… in the end nothing besides S kissing words are going to get into their ears.

Government is willing to listen to criticism? It has been proven as empty talk once again.