DAP secretary-general and Air Putih state assemblyman Lim Guan Eng was sworn as Penang’s fourth Chief Minister yesterday (March 12, 2008).
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.
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.
The Election Commission (EC) has scrapped the indelible ink plan for the March 8 general election following legal advice, its chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman said. He said that the decision made at a meeting today was also to ensure security and public order.
“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]
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Electoral manifestos by key parties for the 12th general election…
BN (Pdf file) ll DAP (Jpeg image) ll PKR ll PAS (need to download)
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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There are so many arrest on illegal assembly lately… so many that I have lost count on it. Most of the arrests are unnecessary; and how the arrests were carried out is questionable as well.
Below is a video on PKR’s information chief Tian Chua being arrested near the Parliament House. He had probably resisted the arrest… but does he deserved the punch after he was apprehended? I wonder…
PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim is received an ACA notice today compelling him to reveal the source behind the Lingam video or risk going to jail. [Malaysiakini]
ACA’s request is not unreasonable, but I am kinda pissed with the one sided investigation so far. The independent panel is failing miserably in determining the authenticity of the video; while ACA is busy chasing after the whistleblower instead of investigating people alleged in the judiciary scandal.
What would you do, if…?
These lead to a question that has always been mingling in my mind… If I have somehow obtained a file (or video) that could prove that some VIPs are involved in some national scandal, what would I do? What would you do in this situation?
Would you just throw all the stuff in the public or would you go to someone like Anwar or Lim Kit Siang and passed on the responsibility to them? ACA is always asking people to give this proof to them instead of political parties… but frankly I don’t have much fate with ACA these days. I have a feeling that if the proof is true, they might close the case prematurely, or to a worse extent… going after me instead.
It would be logical to just past the buck to people like Anwar and then stayed behind the scene… the source of the Lingam tape was probably thinking the same way.
Now, what would Anwar do… would he risk going to jail or risk the safety of the person that entrust him with the video? As the situation has been greatly publicise, it would be unthinkable if the ACA would do any physical harm to the whistleblower… but then, who can guarantee that the whistleblower would not be harassed mentally, or ordered to keep quiet?
