Malaysia government has told the concert promoter for Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne to postpone her concert because her performance is not aligned with our independence day celebrations. [via Malaysianinsider and Reuters]
The decision echoed PAS Youth’s objection against the concert. Kamarulzaman Mohamed, a party youth official, said that Lavigne’s show was “considered too sexy for us” and would promote the wrong values just before Merdeka.”
PAS said something, and UMNO government agreed with it… how often did this happened in the past? Seems like the secret meeting a few weeks ago between the two parties is bearing some fruits.
Update - the ministry have changed their mind; the concert will go on.
The Selangor PAS Youth will ask the state government to meet with the relevant departments and state-owned companies to discuss the types of entertainment programmes which should be allowed in the state. Its chief Sallehen Mokhyi said the meetings would help the state government ensure that only activities which focused on the healthy development of youths would be allowed. [Thestar]
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.
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.
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.
DAP will boycott the swearing-in event of PAS’s Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as the new Perak Menteri Besar at Istana Iskandariah, Kuala Kangsar on March 13.
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.
Malaysians have spoken.
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.
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Final results for Malaysia’s 12th General Election…
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.
Electoral manifestos by key parties for the 12th general election…
BN (Pdf file) ll DAP (Jpeg image) ll PKR ll PAS (need to download)
