Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin has written to dispute Malaysiakini’s reports that there was a recount of votes on polling night of March 8 in the Rembau parliamentary constituency where he won by 5,726.
Malaysiakini has apologised regarding this matter… [Malaysiakini]
On election night, we were informed by PKR candidate Badrul Hisham Shaharin that he was told by an EC official that there would be a recount.
Our story on that night reflected this. In addition, on March 11 Badrul repeated that there was a recount at a press conference and this was reported by not only Malaysiakini but also a number of other newspapers.
However, we have come to know now that such a recount did not take place. As such, we would like to apologise to Khairy Jamaluddin for publishing that assertion in our subsequent stories.
I wonder if Badrul is ready to apologise regarding this mistake too.
BN leaders are joining the blog-wagon as if it’s a gold mine. Here comes the latest… Muhammad Muhd Taib.
Well, he is the Umno information chief after all, he needs to lead the cyber-evolution for the party. However, a blog is just a medium to share thoughts and information; it doesn’t help if the politicians are not doing their best to make the country a better place.
Datuk Ahmad Said has sworn in as the new Menteri Besar of Terengganu on Sunday (Mar 30) with the support of all 23 state assemblymen, thus putting an end to the mini-crisis over the appointment.
For those who are cheering that the Palace has won the tug-of-war between the Umno central leadership… please think twice of the complications involved.
There are flaws when it comes to appointment of a new MB… it’s a regret that the people would have no final saying of who should be the MB.
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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.
Some 600 motorcyclists were reported accompanying Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin on their vehicles from Pasir Mas to Rantau Panjang in Kelantan during his visit to the state on Monday…
Some were not wearing their helmets… (Scanned image from TheStar)
Gerakan has initiated disciplinary action against its Youth vice-chief S. Paranjothy over his racially sensitive remarks against Umno.
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.
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Acting Chief Justice Datuk Abdul Hamid Mohamad has been confirmed to take over the top judicial post. Abdul Hamid has been the acting CJ since the retirement of Ahmad Fairuz in early October.
What concerned some people though… is the promotion of Umno-man Zaki Tun Azmi to take over Abdul Hamid as Court of Appeal president, which makes Zaki the #2 top judge in Malaysia and possibly the next Chief Justice.
Zaki Azmi is Umno’s former top legal adviser. He was controversially appointed as a Federal Court judge in Sept 2007 as the first ever person to be elevated directly to the highest court without having served as a judge in the lower courts.
Now here he is, the Court of Appeal president. The appointment is an indication that there were no other suitable candidates in terms of seniority and service in the judiciary, or perhaps a more logical explanation… that Umno led government is appointing their own man in top judiciary positions. It’s not a good sign either way.
Malaysian Bar has expressed their surprise with Zaki’s appointment, but trusted that “these concerns will be dispelled by a display of integrity and exemplary performance on the Bench by Zaki.” [Malaysianbar]
I can’t share the same optimism though. While the society is still having doubts over our judiciary system following the Lingam tape scandal, the Zaki Azmi’s amazing promotion is likely to further dent the reputation our judiciary independence.
