MALAYSIAN WILL GO TO POLLS ON MAY 5
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia ― Malaysians will go to polls on May 5, the
Election Commission (EC) announced today, starting the official
countdown to when voters decide whether to keep the Barisan Nasional
(BN) in government or usher in a new administration under Pakatan Rakyat
(PR).
The election regulator, which met today, also set April 20 as the
nomination date, which will signal the start of formal electoral
campaigns that will last 15 days.
“On this day, the EC that
comprises seven panel members... has held a special meeting and is
announcing the important dates for GE13,” Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof,
the EC chairman, said in a live broadcast on national television, using
the acronym for the 13th general election.
“The date for
nomination is on April 20, which is a Saturday, early voting is on April
30 and polling is on May 5, which is on a Sunday.”
- Yesterday, the commission chief had hinted it may depart with tradition and fix polling for Election 2013 to take place on a weekday.
- The commission decided today, however, to stick with custom and allow Malaysians to cast their ballots on Sunday.
- The commission has also been given RM400 million to carry out the elections, Abdul Aziz said, adding that it was the biggest budget to date.
- The EC has appointed 379 officers to enforce the election rules and another 222 officers and 1,088 assistants to monitor the polls during the formal campaign period.
- A total 8,789 voting centres will be set up, the EC chairman said.
- The commission will also be using the electoral roll last updated in the fourth quarter of 2012, which will be gazetted tomorrow, he said.
- A total 13,268,002 Malaysians registered on the roll and are eligible to vote in the 13th general elections, touted to be a tight race between a stronger three-party opposition pact and the BN coalition for federal power.
Source: The Malaysian Insider
PROTECT MALAYSIAN CIVIL ORGANIZATION SEEKING ELECTORAL REFORM - UN
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – United Nations independent experts today called on the Malaysian Government to protect the members of a group of civil society organizations campaigning for electoral process reform, who have been the target of harassment and intimidation.The members of the umbrella group Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (also known by the Malay name Bersih) have received threats because of their advocacy work, which calls for reform of the electoral process ahead of the country’s general election, set to take place in April next year. The director of the organization, Ambiga Sreenevasan, has been particularly threatened.
- “I am seriously concerned by these disturbing acts of harassment against a prominent woman human rights defender who is being targeted because of her legitimate human rights activities in Malaysia,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Margaret Sekaggya. “I urge the authorities to investigate thoroughly these allegations, hold the perpetrators accountable, and effectively protect Ms. Sreenevasan, and more generally, Bersih members.”
- Ms. Sekaggya was joined in her call by the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of opinion, Maina Kiai, and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue.
- According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Ms. Sreenevasan has received credible threats against her life in the past months, and has been labelled by various groups as an enemy of the State and a traitor, who should be expelled from the country, because of her work with Bersih. Effigies of Ms. Sreenevasan have also been set alight, and recently, she had to cancel her participation in a public event because of fears for her safety.
- In addition, Ms. Sreenevasan, along with other organizers from Bersih, has been sued by the federal Government in relation to property which was allegedly damaged during a rally organized by the coalition of non-governmental organizations in April.
- “Holding assembly organizers liable for the alleged unlawful conduct of others is not compatible with standards governing the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, and has a detrimental effect on the exercise of this right,” said Special Rapporteur Kiai. “I urge the Government of Malaysia to withdraw the complaint against her.”
- “The Government of Malaysia should fully guarantee the right to freedom of opinion and expression of those advocating for electoral reform, and should ensure a safe and conducive environment for journalists and those monitoring and reporting on demonstrations,” added Special Rapporteur La Rue. “The rights to freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly are fundamental pillars of democracy.”
Mr. Kiai and Ms. Sekaggya also reminded the Government of their requests to visit the country given the urgency of the situation.Independent experts, or special rapporteurs, are appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not United Nations staff, nor are they paid for their work.
DR M TELLS PM TO HOLD GE-13 NOW BEFORE UMNO BURNS ALL ITS CHANCE
Fearing Prime Minister Najib Razak might pull another major U-turn, former premier Mahathir Mohamad has rushed to assure that holding the 13th general election as early as possible - "even now" - was the right decision, as instances of tension and citizens' discontent flare up in the country. Mahathir is now seemingly feeling very nervous, even panicky.It is clear the tide won't turn.There is no salvation for Umno-BN and the longer Najib procrastinates, the better the chances for the Opposition to win,"PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng told Malaysia Chronicle.
- Taking care to praise Najib, who has been slammed for ineptness and poor judgement, Mahathir who had previously said it was alright to delay until the very last day - which would be in March 2013 - now changed his tune as it became clear that the longer Najib sat on the decision, the more difficult it would be for their coalition to win.
- "I think it won't be too long into the future because there isn't much time left; we only have until middle of next year. If we think we can win, we can call the election," Mahathir told reporters on Sunday.
- The corruption-tainted Mahathir is among those who have most to lose should the ruling Umno-BN coalition crash out to the Pakatan Rakyat led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in GE-13 - widely forecast to be held by mid-June this year.
The vindictive Mahathir had withdrawn his support for Umno compatriot, former premier Abdullah Badawi, in the 2008 general election. Such a move helped him to best Badawi in Umno's internal power struggle but it also boosted - to an extent - the Pakatan's chances in wresting 5 of the country's 13 states and denying the BN its long-held two-thirds majority.Contrary to expectations, the Pakatan has since grown from strength to strength as Malaysians rejected corruption and plumbed even more for change and reform.
- Conscious of this, the 86-year-old Mahathir is now careful not to rock the BN's boat this time around and has been sending signals in public to the less-astute Najib on when to dissolve Parliament.
- "If the people give us a good support, that's the time to call the election. Even now, it looks good," said Mahathir.
- Since taking over from Abdullah Badawi in 2009, Najib has sent the country on a downtrend economically, socially and politically. Component parties in his Umno-dominated BN coalition have lost further ground, with MCA, Gerakan and MIC facing near-certain annihilation at the ballot boxes.
- Umno itself is widely expected to test its 1999 results where it won only 71 seats in Parliament versus the overall BN tally of 147. In 2008, it won only 79 - a far cry from 2004's 109.
There is fear that the politically-timid Najib might seize on two key events currently in play to dodge holding GE-13 by mid-year, prompting Mahathir to publicly call for polls to be held as soon as possible.The two events are the April 28 Bersih 3.0 rally for free and fair election to be held jointly with Himpunan Hijau 3.0's anti-Lynas rare earth refinery protest, plus a students' demonstration that began on Saturday and which is still continuing.
The youths are refusing to leave their Dataran Merdeka venue despite having their tents dismantled by the authorities.
TOUGH TO GET TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY, ADMIT MALAYSIAN PM
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The prime minister admitted previous night it would be difficult for the ruling coalition to secure a two-thirds parliamentary majority in the coming general election as the environment was more challenging.Datuk Seri Najib Razak pointed out that in modern democracies, prime ministers would be “over the moon” to gain just a simple majority.
“It’s a different environment now. (You have) social media at work, you don’t have a monopoly as you had. People are more educated, free flow of information,” he said at the launch of the Foreign Correspondents Club Malaysia here.
- However, Najib, who is Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, said the ruling coalition would work hard to get a super majority despite the difficult task before him.
- He said it was important to have a stable government and not end up with a hung Parliament “or something that would spell political uncertainty for Malaysia”.
Najib will lead BN to the polls for the first time in the next general election, with political watchers saying he must better the coalition’s dismal 2008 showing and return its customary two-thirds majority in Parliament to remain in power.The son of Malaysia’s second prime minister took over as premier from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in April 2009, a year after BN suffered its worst electoral outcome ever, ceding 82 federal seats and four state governments.
- Since assuming office, Najib has courted the Indian community — which abandoned BN in the last election — as well as voters in east Malaysia and rural Malays, both of whom seen as traditional vote banks for BN.
- He has also announced a slew of law reforms, including the abolishment of the Internal Security Act (ISA) and other emergency ordinances, which were aimed at winning over the urban electorate.
- A recent survey by the Merdeka Center showed that Najib’s popularity has risen 10 points to 69 per cent, on the back of an improving economy and RM500 cash handouts to low-income earners.
- Nearly three-quarters of Malay voters polled expressed backing for the Umno president while he remained the least popular among the Chinese.
Support for Najib has steadily fallen since hitting a peak of 72 per cent in May 2010, sliding to 69 per cent in November the same year before declining to 59 per cent in August 2011.Analysts have cautioned, however, that the prime minister’s high approval rating may not translate into more votes for BN, noting that while he remained popular the same could not be said of the ruling coalition.
MALAYSIA ELECTIONS LIKELY LATE 2012?
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 — A general election is only possible as early as the second half of the year as Datuk Seri Najib Razak(right photo) is seeking a bigger win for his mandate, with ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) officials saying the prime minister is only confident of a slim majority if polls are held now. The BN chairman had dismissed talk of dissolving the parliament as early as this week, just days after influential former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had also advised for more time to galvanise support for the ruling coalition.
The Malaysian Insider understands that several internal projections have put BN as likely to repeat winning the same number of parliament seats as in Election 2008 if elections are held soon. The BN only won 140 federal seats in Election 2008, losing its customary two-thirds majority and also four more states. - “Datuk Seri Najib is not taking chances for snap polls. He can wait as the ground is not ready yet,” a government component party, Barisan Nasional (BN) source told The Malaysian Insider. BN has up to April 2013 to call a general election.
- The source added the Najib administration believes it was too risky to call elections now due to the fallout from the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal and the foul-up in salary revisions for the 1.4 million-strong civil service.
- “The NFC scandal is hurting BN badly. There must be a quick resolution soon,” he said.
- Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil has denied any link to the project although her family received a RM250 million soft loan for the ambitious cattle-rearing venture meant to lessen the country’s dependence on beef imports. The Auditor-General’s Report 2010 found the project did not meet its targets, leading to exposes by the opposition that Shahrizat’s family had spent the funds on luxurious properties rather than the project.
- She took leave from her ministerial duties in the Women, Family and Community Development ministry for three weeks last month while anti-graft investigators probed the scandal and if she was linked to any decision regarding the project awarded in 2007.
Another reason for delayed polls is unhappiness among civil servants over their paltry increases under a new salary scheme, which provides more rewards for the management class. Some 2,000 in the management class will get at least a RM5,000 increase but those in the lower levels get as little as RM1.70 monthly increment. Sources said Najib was surprised
that the RM2.7 billion increase in the government wage bill did not satisfy the civil servants until he was told of the mismatch in increments. He has given a special committee up to April 16 to review the pay revisions, which a BN source said meant elections will not happen until the civil servants get a better package.
- “BN needs the support of the civil service. It can’t afford to anger them,” the source added.
- The BN chief is also banking on keeping his “safe deposit” of votes from Sabah and Sarawak while working all out to get back Selangor, the country’s wealthiest state now under Pakatan Rakyat (PR) rule. PR also runs Penang, Kedah and Kelantan after losing Perak when three of their lawmakers threw their support behind BN.
- “There is some hope of taking back Selangor and also keeping Perak. But BN has to work hard for these two states,” said a BN strategist who declined to be named.
- “As it is, BN doesn’t have anyone to put as a possible candidate to be Selangor mentri besar,” he added. Najib is the Selangor Umno chief with Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar his deputy state liaison chief.
- It is also learnt that BN is cautious about its chances in Sarawak as it could lose up to seven federal seats in the country’s largest state. PR’s DAP now holds two of the 31 parliamentary seats in the state.
The BN strategist said however, that the ruling coalition is confident of winning all but two seats in Sabah, which has 25 federal constituencies. “BN can win big if all the big issues are settled. Right now, parliament will sit in March and go through the electoral and some law reforms.
“Once that is settled, they’ll finish up the pay review and hopefully the NFC issue will also be a distant memory,” he aded.
VISITORS GEOFLAGS SINCE AUGUST 26, 2009
