Cabinet Reshuffle Imminent?

From http://syedsoutsidethebox.blogspot.com/

By Syed Akbar Ali

Well thats what Blogs are for too. Just heard from an informed friend that a Cabinet reshuffle is imminent. Nothing to shout about though. Rais Yatim may be replacing Anifah Aman (who has been indisposed) at Wisma Putra. Ahmad Maslan may be replacing Rais Yatim as Minister of Information.

G Palanivel who lost Ulu Selangor will be getting into Cabinet while P Kamalanathan who won back Ulu Selangor will not be getting anything.

Slumberjack's SIL wont be making it into the Cabinet - thus staying any revolt in UMNO (for the time being).

What the Prime Minister must have full confidence in is that he is now in a very strong position vis a vis nearly all the components of the BN, including UMNO. This is a window that is still open to him. He can hire and fire almost at will. No one is now strong enough to do any damage or lead any serious revolt if for example they are left out of the Cabinet. Or if they are dropped from the Cabinet.

Firstly since P Kamalanathan has won, it would be nice to see a fresh new face in Cabinet. It will be a harbinger of change not just in the MIC but in the other components of the BN.

The coming Cabinet reshuffle (I really hope its really coming really this time) must not only see a breath of fresh air blowing in but much more importantly it must see the exit of dinosaurs and fossils from not just the Cabinet but from our political landscape.

Lets start with the other components of the BN. The Samys, Palanis etc have to go - permanently. Lets move on in life. Lets get new faces and new blood into Cabinet. Those who suffer constipation, adult pampers, hair implants etc please make way lah.

The same with MCA and Gerakan. It is getting really, really boring to hear the same Tsus the Chuas, Choys, Ongs and whoever else (for the past 20 years). Let us move on. We are really getting tired. Takde orang lain ke?

Coming to UMNO a simple rule would be, if you have been in Cabinet or in power since the 80s and you are over 60 (65 pun boleh) then adios. Thank you for the long years of service but it is time to go. Lets get more new faces.

Personally I feel that Tun Dr Mahathir can be our PM anytime. He is good for many more years. But it just wouldnt be right. A country needs to move on. We need new blood. Dr Mahathir knew it too. He retired gracefully, seven years now. But most of his sebaya are still hanging on.

That man in Sarawak has to go. He is opting for the biological functions approach. As long as I am biologically functioning, I shall remain. Tak boleh. We really need change. And there are good people who are also popular - including in Sarawak.

So this Cabinet reshuffle must be exemplary not just in who gets into Cabinet but who gets left out. The PM must really use a strong butcher's knife to chop off the fat.

Then there is also another category - the non performers, the underperformers, the corrupt, the tainted and the clowns. These too have to be removed and this includes even some younger Ministers, especially those who were appointed during the time of Slumberjack. Let us be rid of them. This especially applies to the tainted Ministers.

I see at least half the Cabinet needing to be dropped. How to replace them? We can get really creative. Many of the Bloggers have their own lists.

The ball is really at the PM's feet. He is in a very strong position now vis a vis his Cabinet colleagues. He must be decisive now. But the PM must realise that his strength is derived from the people. This is a fact of life for any PM. The last PM just slept through this tiny little detail.

We really, really need change. Waking up to see the same old fossils on the TV screens and on our front pages of the morning newspapers even for another day is quite unpalatable. Its getting really nauseous.

It is not any consolation at all but on the other side, the fossils are even more ridiculously 'extinct dinosaurs' like Lim Kit Siang (43 years in power now? Longer than Mao Tse Tung), Karpal Singh, Nik Aziz, Hadi Awang, Anwar Ibrahim and a few more.

As the young man said, when they fill petrol in their tanks, the petrol probably comes from their own pet dinosaurs.

Lessons And Pointers From Hulu Selangor

From http://kadirjasin.blogspot.com/

THERE was no single factor that determined the outcome of the April 25 Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election. It was the combination of many.

So let us go through some statistics and established facts to understand what had happened.

For all the resources and tactics employed by both sides, the result was not spectacular. The seat went back to the Barisan Nasional, but the majority it received was nothing to shout about.

Yes, a victory is a victory. But with a mere difference of 3.57 per cent in the popular votes -- 51.78 per cent for BN and 48.21 per cent for PKR – Hulu Selangor remains a marginal seat.

The BN might have recovered sufficiently from the March 8, 2008 general elections debacle to wrest the seat from the PKR, which stole it with an even smaller majority – 198 votes, but the margin was still too narrow to suggest that the grand old coalition has return to its former glory.

Simply put, while the PKR lost the seat at the time when it needed the victory the most, the BN is yet to recover its former strength.

Price of Over-Confidence

In fact, had the PKR put up a strong local candidate, the outcome could have been different. But its over-confidence and miscalculation was a blessing for the BN.

Clearly, when deciding on which candidate to choose, the voters decided to take chances with an untainted BN novice over the PKR’s better-known former BN minister.

It could be said that the PKR made a serious tactical oversight. Having suffered a series of resignations by its elected representatives, some of whom were former Umno leaders, choosing a recently defected Umno minister as its candidate could not be considered a coherent decision.

But did the PKR really have a choice? Mohd Zaid Ibrahim was an important catch for the PKR. He was a former Minister, a confidant of the former Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and above he’s seen as the future hope of the Pakatan Rakyat.

He’s the pro-tem chairman of the PR organising committee and is leading the formal registration of the opposition alliance.

Above all, he enjoy the confidence of the DAP. This is important because the DAP is the leading party of the Pakatan.
Mohd Zaid may even enjoy wider acceptable of Pas leaders after he openly declared his "taubat” (repentance) for his past sins.

He declared the “taubat” in response to allegations that he was a drinker and a gambler. He admitted to drinking and acknowledged that he owns several successful racehorses.

The Victory of A Dark Horse

Kamalanathan was a dark horse. The odds were stacked against him. He was never anybody’s the first choice.

To begin with, there was a strong clamour by Umno and the local Malays, who make up almost 54 per cent of registered electors, for the seat to be returned to Umno. Hulu Selangor used to be an Umno seat.

He comes from the MIC, a junior partner of the BN, and most importantly, he was not the preferred choice of his party.

The MIC leadership wanted the deputy president and the vanquished BN 2008 candidate, G. Palanivel, but was not agreed to by the BN leadership after being sufficiently convinced that Palanivel was going to be hard to sell.

His closeness to party president, S Samy Vellu, was seen as a liability and his service record as MP was questioned.

Kamalanathan, a public relations officer with a Bernas company, and hailed from nearby Rawang, proved be a good choice. His command of the Malay language is superb and his personality is pleasant.

Accordingly, a sufficient number of Malay and Indian voters who sided with the PKR in the 2008 general elections, mostly for the dislike of Palanivel, returned to the BN’s fold, but the majority of Chinese voters remained locked to the opposition via the DAP.

This proved once again that the Malays and Indian voters were more malleable while the Chinese were single-minded in their rejection of the BN.

The BN Chinese Parties Are Weak

The Chinese-based BN parties -- the MCA and Gerakan –are clearly a poor second fiddle to the DAP. The recent changes in the MCA have clearly affected the readiness of the party’s local machinery.

More pictures of the defeated former president, Ong Tee Keat, were on display while his successor, Dr Chua Soi Lek, looked awkward during the campaigning. He has a lot of catching up to do.

The voting pattern of the Chinese merits deeper scrutiny as on-the-spot financial grants and promises of development for their communities did not translate into votes for the BN.

It may even suggest that the Chinese are yet to be convinced by Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak’s 1Malaysia and his economic packages announced so far.

Also it’s not yet the time to shout about the acceptance of 1Malaysia when a whopping 48-per cent of the voters did side with the BN.

Clearly too, the Malays and Indians are more closely tied to the government due partly to their inferior economic status compared to the Chinese.

Perhaps future policy and programmes to uplift the standard of living of the people should be targeted towards the Bumiputeras and the minority Indians since the Chinese, via their voting pattern, had sent a strong signal to the BN that they are not in dire need of the government.

In any case, members of the Chinese mercantile community will be able to fend for themselves and will continue to be in the position to suck up the bulk of government expenditure through their extensive control of the supply chain.

Finally, the future is not about parties and policies alone. The choice of candidates could prove to be the linchpin. The people have had enough of the same tired old faces and the “recycled” politicians.

Neither the BN nor the PR can claim to be in tune with time if at the next general election, they do not spice up their line-up with at least 30 to 40 per cent new faces.

Kamalanathan’s victory over Mohd Zaid clearly shows that the majority of the people want clean, untainted and unburdened leaders. For the BN voters, especially the majority Malays, race comes second.

UMNO-BN retakes Hulu Selangor

From http://dinmerican.wordpress.com/

To Zaid Ibrahim:

All decent souls share your sadness and disappointment and we thank you for taking up the battle on our behalf. It was indeed a magnificent fight you put up and we continue to steadfastly back you up in all your political endeavors.
–Antares, Shaman in Chief, Magick River, Pertak, Hulu Selangor

PKR’s Zaid Ibrahim loses to P. Kamalnathan of UMNO-BN after a great showing. He said, “We lost because of votes that were bought. We faced Machiavellian politics. I accept my defeat. In any contest, there must be one who is defeated”.

All is not lost. “This is not the first time that we lost. This defeat will not dishearten us. PKR had once lost so much that we were left with one seat. We will continue to fight,” said Tian Chua, PKR Strategy Chief. Never give up. PKR must conduct a post mortem and plan ahead. –Din Merican

YB Kamalanathan, don't forget Ijok ...

http://rockybru.com.my/
Sunday, April 25, 2010

Barisan Nasional takes back Hulu Selangor. P. Kamalanathan's star is burning bright tonight. The new kid on the block has just slaughtered a big-wig of Pakatan Rakyat at the Hulu Selangor by-election. The "future" of MIC-Barisan has beaten the "future" of PKR-Pakatan.

Congrats, Kamal!

But do remember Ijok, YB. Almost exactly 3 years ago (28 April, 2007 to be exact), another political kiddo MIC's K. Parthiban defeated big name Khalid Ibrahim of PKR at the Ijok by-election in Selangor. Much like your win against Zaid Ibrahim tonight. Less than a year later at the 12th General Election of March 2008, what happened? The whole state fell to Pakatan, Cikgu Parthiban went into oblivion, and Khalid became the chief minister of Selangor.

Moral of the story, YB? Don't get drunk on the glory of victory. The people have put you there to serve them, so be a workhorse and do a good job, or the next stop may be political oblivion for you.

We'll be watching closely now.

Langsung Hari Pengundian Prk Hulu Selangor

From http://www.harakahdaily.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26247:
Hazayani Zakaria, Dzulfikar Mashoor, Syukri Mohamad
6.00 pm : Peratus keseluruhan keluar mengundi adalah 75.87 peratus iaitu seramai 48,935 pengundi.

Proses pengiraan undi bermula.

5.00 pm : Proses pengundian tamat. Semua pusat pembuangan undi ditutup.

4.30 pm : Ketua petugas Pakatan Rakyat di Sek Ren. JK (C) Khing Ming membahagikan petugas kepada 5 kumpulan.

Mereka masing-masing ditugaskan menjaga pintu masuk ke pusat mengundi bagi mengelakkan sebarang penipuan berlaku di saat-saat akhir waktu pengundian.

4.20 pm : Sehingga jam 4 petang, 73.82 peratus atau 47,615 sudah selesai menunaikan tanggungjawab keluar mengundi.

4.15 pm : Jam terakhir waktu pengundian, beberapa pengundi kaum Cina dilihat masuk ke tempat pengundian di Sek Ren. JK (C) Khing Ming

4.00 pm : Di Sek Ren. JK (C) Khing Ming, FRU menyekat laluan utama masuk ke tempat mengundi namun dibantah petugas PKR.

FRU kemudiaanya membuka kembali laluan.

3.40 pm : Ahli Majlis Pimpinan Pusat PKR, Badrul Hisham Shahrin ditahan selepas membuat laporan polis bahawa beliau diserang dengan parang oleh penyokong BN.

Kini masih di balai polis serendah.

Beliau tengah hari tadi diserang dengan sebilah parang selepas beliau melawat pusat pengundian di Felda Sungai Buaya.

Kejadian berlaku sekitar pukul 12.30 tengahari selepas beliau dan beberapa petugas keluar dari pusat pengundian di tempat tersebut.

3.30 pm : Lagi SMS kemenangan kepada Zaid tersebar. Kini maklumat yang didakwa diperoleh dari risikan tentera.

SMS itu mendakwa Zaid akan terus mendahului Kamalanathan sekiranya tren keluar mengundi perlahan atau normal sehingga jam 5 petang.

SMS itu juga mendakwa Zaid mungkin mendapat majoriti 3,725 undi dengan pecahan undi Melayu 55 peratus, Cina 75 Peratus dan India 60 Peratus.

Kebanyakan undi yang diperolehi Zaid dakwa SMS itu adalah dari peneroka selepas MB Selangor semalam mengumumkan Zaid mengetuai Task force menyelesaikan isu hak milik tanah.

Bagaimanapun belum ada pihak yang berani mengesahkan perkara tersebut.

3.25 pm : Peratus keluar mengundi hingga jam 3 petang adalah 67.18 peratus bersamaan 43,333 pengundi.

3.00 pm : Seorang budak Iskandar Hanafiah, 12 tahun mengaku dibayar RM2 untuk membawa bendera BN dengan basikal bersama rakan-rakannya.

"Umno bagi RM2 sahaja, yang lain Umno dia masih belum bayar lagi," katanya kepada wartawan Harakahdaily.

2.45 pm : Di Sek. Keb Taman Bunga Raya (1), keadaan pengundi yang datang mula lengang kembali.

Penyelia pusat mengundi, Hamidah Nipah berkata di sini saluran 2 mencatat bilangan pengundi paling tinggi iaitu 263 dari keseluhan jumlah pengundi 940.

2.35 pm : Peratus keluar mengundi sehingga jam 2 petang adalah 63.74 peratus iaitu 41,112 pengundi.

1.45 pm : Sekali lagi pergaduhan hampir berlaku antara sukarelawan India dari Pakatan Rakyat dengan petugas India BN ekoran berebut memberi perkhidmatan kepada para pengundi India di SJK (T) Sungai Choh.

1.40 pm : Di Pusat Pembuangan undi SJK (T) Sungai Choh, Taman Bukit Teratai- Panyokong Pakatan semakin ramai menjelang sesi pengundian sebelah petang.

Sukarelawan PKR yang bertugas dibarong panas meluahkan rasa yakin, Zaid mendahului melihat kepada sambutan pengundi yang datang ke barong PKR sejak pagi tadi berbanding barong BN.

Dari 1,410 pengundi berdaftar di sini, kurang 100 pengundi sahaja lagi yang belum menunaikan tanggungjawab.

1.30 pm : Peratus keluar mengundi adalah 56.82 peratus atau 36,650 pengundi.

1.00 pm : Kekecohan berlaku, kini di Sek. Keb. Sg. Rasa. Bermula apabila penyokong BN merentap bendera Keadilan selepas tidak berpuas hati dengan sorakan penyokong Pakatan Rakyat.

Pergaduhan kecil juga berlaku, namun suasana bagaimanapun kembali tenang selepas dileraikan pihak polis.

12.50 pm : Norasyikin Zakaria, 35, antara pengundi terawal pagi tadi memaklumkan berlaku kekecohan di tempat beliau mengundi di Sek Keb Bandar Baru Batang Kali, selepas seorang pengundi sebelumnya tidak berpuas hati kerana namanya hilang dari buku daftar pemilih.

Dalam semakan online sebelum itu, pengundi itu mendakwa namanya ada ada dalam daftar pemilih.

Dia kemudian berang, apabila aduannya didakwa tidak dilayan petugas SPR.


12. 20 pm : Ketua AKM Selangor, Khairul Anuar Bin Ahmad Zainuddin ketika mengulas peratus sedikit keluar mengundi sebelah pagi berkata "Ini mungkin protes senyap orang Melayu kepada Kamalanathan (calon BN)".

12.00 pm : Penyokong BN mula mempamer aksi lucah kepada penyokong PR di Sek. Men. Ampang Pecah. Mereka saling berbalas sorakan. Keadaan masih terkawal.

11.55 am : Suasana sekali lagi tegang di Sek. Keb. Bandar Baru Batang Kali. Kedua-dua penyokong saling berbalas sorakan.

Pergaduhan hampir tercetus ekoran jarak kedua-dua penyokong hanya sebelah menyebelah.

11. 30 am : Pelbagai spekulasi mula tersebar melalui khidmat pesanan ringkas SMS mendakwa PKR bakal menang besar.

Ada yang mendakwa PKR akan menang besar berdasarkan maklumat briged Welsh, pemimpin Umno didakwa sudah beransur ansur meninggalkan Hulu Selangor.

Manakala ada juga SMS mengatakan PKR akan tewas jika hanya 60 peratus sahaja pengundi keluar mengundi. Namun jika Peratus keluar mengundi lebih 61 peratus, PKR dijangka menang besar.

11.25 am : SPR memaklumkan Peratus keluar mengundi sehingga jam 11 pagi tadi adalah 24,645 iaitu 38.21 peratus.

11.20 am : Di Sek. Keb. Ulu Yam Baru- Pemuda BN dilihat mendominasi keadaan. Gelagat sorakan mereka hanya diperhatikan penyokong Pakatan rakyat

11.15 am: Sukarelawan PKR, Maznah Abdul Aziz, 59 mendakwa seramai empat pengundi kaum Tionghua di Sek. Keb. Batang kali Baru terkejut apabila dimaklumkan SPR bahawa nama mereka masing-masing telah dipindahkan ke Parlimen Kepong.

11.10 am : Datuk Zaid Ibrahim tiba di Sek. Keb. Bandar Baru Batang Kali. Beliau bagaimanapun hanya meninjau dari kenderaan yang dinaikinya akibat jalan terlalu sesak.


Beliau bagaimanapun sempat bertanya khabar pengundi yang datang membuang undi dan bersalam dengan penyokong yang berbaris di tepi jalan.

11.05 am : Di Sek. Men. Ampang Pecah-Penyokong PR terus berlawan sorak dengan penyokong BN. Di sebelah PR, mereka melaungkan " enjin jet hilang...BN, curi pasir...BN" manakala di sebelah BN mereka hanya membalas " dua tahun perintah tak buat apa-apa".

Biarpun berbalas sorakan, keadaan masih terkawal dengan beberpa anggota keselamatan dihat cuba menenangkan penyokong dari kedua belah pihak.

11. 00 am : Di Sek. Men. Ampang Pecah- Berlaku sedikit kekecohan apabila pihak polis tidak membenarkan petugas media termasuk wartawan dan jurugambar masuk ke kawasan pembuangan undi biarpun mempunyai pas SPR.

10.45 am : Di Sek. Men. Ampang Pecah- Kekecohan berlaku antara penyokong kedua-dua pihak. Mereka pada mulanya salang berbalas sorakan sehingga membawa kepada perang mulut yang hampir-hampir mencetuskan pergaduhan.

Beberapa anggota polis dilihat berkawal ditengah-tengah kedua-dua penyokong.



10: 40 am: Pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat bersama penyokong sedang giat menjalankan tugas meraih undi di Sek. Men Batang Kali Baru.

Zaid Ibrahim dijangka tiba di sini sedikit masa lagi. Para wartawan sedang berkumpul di sini difahamkan mahu bertemu dengan Timbalan Pengerusi SPR berhubung isu jumlah pengundi Kampung Tanjong yang sebelum ini sebahagian besar dipindahkan ke Selayang.



10.35 am : Di Sek. Keb. Bukit Rasa- Ketibaan Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin disambut laungan 'Yahudi', 'Israel', 'Umno Israel' dan 'rasuah' oleh penyokong Pakatan Rakyat.

Jumlah keluar mengundi di sini seramai 366 orang setakat jam 10 pagi ini.

10:30 am : Menurut SPR, sehingga jam 10 pagi tadi, seramai 16,932 atau 26.25 peratus sudah keluar mengundi.

10.23 am : Di Sek. Ren J.K.C Khing Ming, Kuala Kubu-Sekumpulan petugas SPR mengarahkan pondok panas yang didirikan kedua dua parti bertanding berdekatan pusat membuang undi dialihkan.

Penyokong bagaimanapun dilihat akur dengan arahan tersebut, dan beramai ramai mengusung khemah yang dijadikan pondok panas dan dialihkan ke kasawan lain.



10.20 am : Tercetus kekecohan apabila Ketua Wanita Keadilan, Zuraida Salleh sampai di sini.

Sekumpulan penyokong BN menolak beliau sehingga hampir jatuh.

Dua remaja dari pihak masing-masing hampir bertumbuk tetapi sempat ditenangkan pihak Polis

10: 17 am : Sek. Keb. Bandar Bharu Batang Kali. suasana mula hingar bingar mula berlaku ekoran saling berbalas sorakan oleh kedua-dua belah pihak penyokong.

Para wartawan berkumpul di sini sekoran menunggu ketibaan calon Pakatan Rakyat, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim.

10:15 am: 4 buah tarak FRU lagi dilihat tiba di sini menjadikan jumlah keseluruhan 9 buah.

10.00 am : 5 buah trak FRU penunh dengan anggota tiba di Sek. Ren J.K.C Khing Ming, Kuala Kubu untuk megawal sebarang kemungkinan. Suasana bagaimanapun masih terkawal manakala lalu lintas masih bergerak perlahan.

9.50 am : Calon Pakatan Rakyat, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim akan memulakan sesi lawatan ke pusat mengundi di Sek. Keb. Bandar Bharu Batang Kali jam 10.00 pagi ini.

9.40 am : Pimpinan PAS Kelantan termasuk Exco kerajaan YB Baihaqi Atiqullah serta Ahli Parlimen Rantau Panjang bersama penyokong Pakatan merayu undi di Sek. Keb. Batang Kali.

Sekumpulan remaja lelaki membuat aksi 'wheely' sambil mengibar bendera BN dihadapan pemimpin dan penyokong pakatan.

9.30 am : Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim juga tiba di Sek. Ren J.K.C Khing Ming, Kuala Kubu meninjau suasana pengundian.

Beliau disambut penyokong dan juga pengundi di kawasan berkenaan.

Sehingga kini, hanya penyokong Pakatan Rakyat sahaja berbaris di tepi jalan menuju ke pusat pengundian di sini manakala penyokong BN masih belum kelihatan.

9.27 am: Sekumpulan pemuda Pakatan Rakyat sedang berbalas sorakan dengan puteri Umno dan pemuda BN di Sek. Keb. Batang Kali.

Pemuda PR melaungkan 'tutup aurat' dan dibalas sorakan oleh pemuda BN.

9.25 am : Exco Selangor, Rodziah Ismail bertemu pengundi di Sek. Keb. Batang Kali.

9.20 am : Pengarah Pilihanraya PKR, Fauziah Salleh tiba di Sek. Ren J.K.C Khing Ming meninjau suasana.

9.15 am : Penyokong Pakatan Rakyat dan BN sedang hangat berbalas sorakan di sepanjang jalan Sek. Keb Batang Kali. Jalan pada waktu ini penuh sesak.

Para pengundi dilihat mula ramai datang dan masuk ke kawasan pusat mengundi.

9.00 am : Jalan menghubung pekan-pekan utama di Hulu Selangor kini sesak dengan kenderaan.

Kenderaan dari jalan Kuala Kubu menuju ke Batang Kali juga kini dilaporkan tidak bergerak akibat kesesakan.

8.50 am: Di pusat pengundian Sek. Ren J.K.C Khing Ming, kawasan pengundi Cina, keadaan juga masih lagi lengang.

Peyokong Pakatan Rakyat dari PKR, PAS dan DAP berbaris di sepanjang jalan membawa bendera dan poster calon.

Hadir sama, Exco kerajaan negeri Selangor, Ronie Liu. Penyokong BN bagaimanapun tidak kelihatan.



8.30 am : Didapati suasana pengundian sehingga jam 8.30 pagi ini masih belum rancak. Kehadiran pengundi masih lengang di kebanyakan pusat mengundi.

8.20 am : Sekumpulan penyokong BN dipercayai pemuda lasak Umno mula menunjukkan aksi nakal kepada penyokong PR di Sek Keb Bukit Sentosa. Keadaan bagaimanapun masih lagi terkawal.



8.15 am : Difahamkan jam 5 pg tadi, pemuda AMK menahan sebuah bas yang didakwa membawa pengundi hantu berdekatan IKBN Ampang Pecah. Mereka kemudiannya dikepong oleh sekumpulan pemuda lain namun berjaya dikawal pihak keselamatan.

8.05 am : Di Sek Keb. Rasa, Para petugas dari PAS dan Keadlilan memulakan tugas di barung dan tepi jalan dengan mengibarkan bendera parti dan poster calon.

8.00 am : Proses pembuangan undi bagi Pilihan Raya Kecil Hulu Selangor bermula sebaik sahaja 48 pusat mengundi dibuka tepat jam 8.00 pagi.

Ianya akan tamat jam 5 petang dan semua peti undi akan dikumpulkan di Dewan Serbaguna Kompleks Sukan Hulu Selangor.

Pakatan Draws 10000 in-last-pitch-for-hulu-selangor

From http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/61176

KUALA KUBU BARU — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) brought out its stars last night in a last pitch for Datuk Zaid Ibrahim to win the key Hulu Selangor by-election, exhorting a record 10,000-strong crowd to vote for change.

Repeating the same message that won them the federal seat in 2008 by a slim 198 votes, PR leaders ended their eight-day campaign by telling voters to reject Barisan Nasional’s (BN) despotic and corrupt rule in favour of Zaid.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, whose arrival was greeted zealously, turned on the heat by greeting the sea of supporters with a swipe at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia.

“Selamat malam 1 Malaysia,” he said to loud laughter from the sea of humanity packed in the Kuala Kubu Baru stadium. “I want to tell the prime minister this: this is the real 1 Malaysia,” said Lim, referring to racially diverse crowd.

The DAP secretary-general, who has made almost daily visits to campaign for Zaid, said that sending the PKR candidate to the Dewan Rakyat instead of MIC information officer P. Kamalanathan would be the first few steps for change.

“We want him to win because we want to continue to gain support to realise our objective of ousting BN and capturing Putrajaya,” said Lim, adding that PR would replace the ruling federal coalition with a people-oriented government.

Zaid, who spoke to the crowd after Lim gave a spirited speech, added to the Penang CM’s call for a national movement for change.


“Previously, we were colonised by foreigners. Today we are colonised by those whom you voted for. We need to liberate ourselves from them, a cruel pharaoh government,” he fired.

The highlight of the event was PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who had rushed in from Mecca to boost PR’s flagging campaign for Zaid.

It is understood that more than half of the crowd for the final ceramah were PAS supporters as most had come from outside the constituency to hear their revered leader speak.

Unlike Zaid and Lim, the Kelantan mentri besar was in his usual “silent strength” mode, soft but sharply attacking the BN lynchpin Umno as evil personified.

“I believe in unity. When then premier Razak, the father of Najib, asked Dr Asri to join Umno, we did in the name of unity,” he declared, referring to then-PAS president Datuk Asri Mohd Muda who led the party to help form BN in 1974 with then-Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.

“But when Umno was strong, they kicked us out,” said Nik Aziz, adding in English: “I know who you are.”


The crowd cheered and were stunned by his statement as the 79-year-old cleric seldom if not at all speaks in English.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who came in on a motorcycle through the traffic-congested streets leading to the stadium, was the last speaker who stuck to his campaign speech, attacking APCO Worldwide, the public relations company hired by the government that has been accused of links to Israel.

Anwar has been referred to Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee for misleading MPs over APCO’s duties and links to Israel which the company denies.

Hope And Fear In Hulu Selangor

From http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/opinion/comment/4912
By Gobind Rudra

As voters cast their ballots in Hulu Selangor today there will be renewed hope among those who seek political change in the country, almost as much as among those who wish merely for business as usual.

Curiously, the business-as-usual crowd, that of the Barisan Nasional, have jumped on the bandwagon and also adopted the vocabulary of change.

They have no choice: the BN lives in fear of real change.

Political power has been profitable for Umno-BN and its followers and the easy-money class of rent-seekers around them do not want the gravy train to be derailed.

The "change" that the BN has sought is for voters to reject true political change and stick with the tried and trusted. But there has been no change in their methods: money has poured in to persuade voters that there is no profit in political change.

It shows how much desperation, frustration and fear now exists among BN leaders. March 2008 has shown that the people can have a will of their own, that "people power" is not empty rhetoric, and that the tried and trusted have been tried and found wanting.

A simple question of trust

Trust is the quality that is on trial: which of these parties can earn common trust, which of the candidates will safely bear the keys to the future of the common man and that of his children?

Trust is what led to the choice of the two candidates.


Zaid Ibrahim and his stand against the unbridled use of the despised Internal Security Act, loved only by policemen, has been presented as the candidate that voters can trust to stand up when it counts.

The BN' s choice of P Kamalanathan speaks of a different approach, a crude, cynical and manipulative approach: that voters can be swayed by the illusion of a fresh face, of youth untainted by scandal, of energy, and the promise he can be trusted to deliver. But deliver what? His own promise was merely to deliver Hulu Selangor as a gift to his political master.


Power and privilege versus a question of justice


That master, Najib Tun Razak, has a lot riding on this election. Where pundits try to make every election into a referendum (a well-loved tactic to invest more significance than a local election might have) Najib has literally done so.

His move, though unusual, is not surprising.

There are many fissures within his own party, with his grip on the helm still shaky after only a year in office, and with discontent building up from the loss of patronage that many have suffered, and further potential losses in any programme of political or economic reforms.

Power and patronage

By calling this by-election a referendum on his administration, Najib has unfairly asked the voters of Hulu Selangor to secure his leadership of Umno and the Barisan Nasional. Given their own problems of everyday life, a lot of which is a result of BN's long tenure in power, Hulu Selangor voters might well ask: why should they?

For profit, it seems. By staking so much on this by-election, Najib and the BN have fallen back on ways of old: by trying to buy the election (with taxpayer funds at that) and seem willing to strong-arm the needed vote.

Najib brought "ang pows" at a campaign stop and promised: "Even before winning, we are already giving out ang pows. If we win, the ang pows will be bigger." For Felda settlers, it was more of the same: a payout to settle a long-oustanding debt, with more promised if the BN were to win. And for Indian voters, another gimmicky promise to end the never-ending Maika saga which has resulted in poor Indians waiting decades for the return of their money, let alone any profits.

That all this reeks of corruption, injustice, and a subversion of due process seems to have been ignored by the BN: perhaps they believe that voters care only for their own self-interest and not for larger issues of justice and just governance.

By doing so, Najib and the BN reveal a surprising depth of true contempt for the voter and his ability to see reason. If so, there will be a comeuppance if Malaysia's voters decide to turn contempt back on them.

And that is truly the sum of all the BN's fears.