Back to an ominous oxymoron EC chairperson Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof Give them this day their daily bribes and forgive them their potholes.
According to the organisation, these elections were the costliest ever, and put people with “modest means” at a further disadvantage. “The expenses incurred by parties and candidates on publicity through the electronic and print media crossed the limits of decency,” the report read.”Can’t buy me love,” sang the Beatles. “Can buy me an election”Finance minister usually produce freebies, subsidies and waivers before an election. Such attempts to buy votes have alot of impact, but finance minister persist in the hope that it may work this time. has just produced an election big freebies. He aims at fiscal prudence, not a spending spree, to win votes. He aims at accelerating GDP growth and taming inflation, and thinks voters will reward him think it possible to buy an election with freebies,
According to the Malaysiakini photo (above), there is a ‘Saya Pilih BN’ sticker placed prominently on the table where voters signed up for the ‘transport cash’.
G13 was declared that not only were the 2013 polls the ‘costliest’ in the country’s history, but also ‘grossly mismanaged’ by the election commission. It put forth a string of recommendations, including a year-to-year review of electoral rolls.
Under section 20 of the Election Offences Act 1954, anything paid “for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of a candidate at any election” is deemed an illegal practice.
So the criterion for determining guilt or innocence is the purpose for which the money is paid out for, and not what the payer expressly says, as wrongly interpreted by EC chief Abdul Aziz.
Hence, we must ask the Kampung Beris Lampu village chief Yaakob Kadir and the financier behind him this question: did you provide the money for the purpose of helping the BN candidate to win this election?
If the answer is yes, then both Yaakob and his financier have committed an illegal act, and is liable to a fine of RM5,000 upon conviction by a sessions court, irrespective of whether he has asked voters to vote the BN candidate.
Let us be honest, does anyone believe the village chief’s claim that the payment was merely to encourage more voters to come back to cast their vote, without the ulterior motive of inducing votes for the BN candidate?
I think the answer is an obvious, no. Which should also be the answer of the sessions court judge if the case goes to the court.The reason why dishing out money was done openly is because we have a nincompoop EC and a nincompoop MACC. If they have any decency at all, I think the first question both EC and MACC must ask is whose money was used to dish out to the voters.
Secondly, even if no condition was attached, I think both the EC and MACC must have pretended not to see there was obligation and gratitude involved. Is this not how corruption and bribery work?
Goodness me, the next time someone bribed a police officer, he may just turn around and argued that it was just a show of appreciation for him having to work under the hot sun. It’s only an offence if Pakatan Rakyat gave out the money. Since Umno did it, why would a diehard member and head of Umno’s in-house elections committee oppose his party and his bosses?
Since when did any rules apply to Umno? The Sedition Act is exclusively only for Pakatan’s representatives, supporters and NGOs that don’t support the illegitimate regime.
If you support the illegitimate regime, you may immediately threaten to burn the holy scriptures of other religions, insult other religions and remain totally unaccountable for your action.
Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the appointment of six new state chiefs for the party, which was decided at the party’s supreme council meeting here Friday.
They are Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (Perlis), Datuk Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir (Kedah), Datuk Seri Noh Omar (Selangor), Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor (Federal Territories), Datuk Idris Haron (Melaka) and Datuk Seri Mohd Khaled Nordin (Johor).
State chiefs retained are Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed (Kelantan), Datuk Seri Ahmad Said (Terengganu), Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman (Penang) and Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir (Perak)
Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob (Pahang), Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (Negeri Sembilan) and Datuk Seri Musa Aman (Sabah).
Najib said Umno’s supreme council also agreed that the management of the Sungai Petani and Padang Serai divisions in Kedah be returned to the respective divisions.
This followed the Kedah Umno Liaison Committee request that Sungai Petani division head Ali Yahya and Padang Serai acting division head Halim Hassan be given the responsibility.
The Sungai Petani division became embroiled in problems since 2010 while Padang Serai beginning early last year, which forced their management to be taken over by the state party headquarters.
Najib speaking to reporters afterwards also announced the names of the deputy state chiefs.
They are:
Perlis – Azlan Man
Kedah – Datuk Paduka Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah
Kelantan – Datuk Awang Adek Hussin
Terengganu – Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh
Penang – Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahya
Perak – Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah
Pahang – Datuk Mohd Shakar Shamsudin
Selangor – Abdul Shukor Idrus
Federal Territories – Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin
Negeri Sembilan – Datuk Shaziman Mansor
Melaka – Datuk Wira Ahmad Hamzah
Johor – Datuk Seri Dr Latif Ahmad
Sabah – Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak – Bernama
The scion of the grand old family, the favourite of the principal ruling party, and therefore, the likeliest PM candidate to weigh in from that side, recently is engaging professional ad agencies for the forthcoming assembly and national elections. Around Rs 500cr has been earmarked, and companies as Equus, Percept, and the Grey group, are some of the 10-odd companies that are being checked out. Two consecutive terms at the Centre, even without doubting the sincerity of the government generally accumulates enough muck, contrived or inadvertent to be cleared up.
Then, the widely used Indian excuses of “compulsions of a coalition”, and “anti-incumbency” are always there. There are some truthful confessions in this. Literally it means that since we all ganged up to run this land, we have every right to fight for our piece of the underhand deal. Secondly, since we ruled so long, you must accept that power corrupts, and even if the act is not absolute, we are decent enough to accept that we had a nice time running the show, breaking a rule here and there, with a rather archaic Supreme Court coming in the way. So you know how it piles up, and it is quite natural that you the countrymen will have a bias against us. This is a corollary for every government in power facing elections in this great democracy.
The idea of employing professional ad agencies is still to be welcomed. The history of winning elections in any democracy, depending from when it started, generally follows a common trend. The first is overwhelming iconic influence of the overwhelming party. You may include Abraham Lincoln, Nehru, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and more recently the legendary Mandela in such a category. These are historic tides of opinion that have a place reserved for them. I would even put Mrs indira Gandhi in this category once she broke away from the old congress.
The next phase is of a generation that has to negotiate, think of vote-bank politics as a necessity, and still play straight. Consider Golda Meir, Ranatunga, Margaret Thatcher, Olaf Palme in this category, though you have a right to complain that one can’t put everyone in a straightjacket. The third phase is charisma over ruling human infirmities, in the absence of a matching challenge. Consider JFK, Willy Brandt the German chancellor, even a ‘clean’ but inexperienced Rajiv Gandhi here.
The next is the stage of political acumen, with a necessary dirty tricks department. Richard Nixon is one, but some Japanese PMs do figure in this. Boris Yeltsin was another, but perhaps the tricks were dictated from elsewhere. Mr Tony Blair was a bright talented PM of UK who would never have displaced Mr John Major but for the matronly spanks Mr Major got form his so called mentor Mrs Thatcher.
Coming to the deployment of ad agencies in electoral campaigns, the first example who would never have made it without such support is of PM John Major. Major was to be a temporary substitute to Margaret Thatcher’s forced resignation. A man of credentials, idealistic, bit of a dreamer, he was so different and poorly armed to match his predecessor, and his oratorical skills were no match for a more aggressive rival in Niel Kinnock. The job was done by Saatchi and Saatchi. John Major was pulled out of the shadows of being Thatcher’s boy. With a politically declining Conservative government, he was shown in the Conservative mode, but as his own man, approachable, kind, and aggressive at the right moments. The very qualities that are appreciated in an individual are often considered a mark of incompetence in politics. Saattchi and Saatchi worked out just the right recipe.
Projected Major as his own man, and yet showed him apart from the misdoings of his predecessor. John Major still leaves mark on UK politics. Will the ad combination be able to show the right distancing of a young PM aspirant as his own man, teach him to touch the crucial issues for the common man and the corporate world, and portray a right distancing from the floundering of a somewhat defamed UPA II, whatever be the reasons. That grooming, individuality, aggression and distancing from what the country did not appreciate in the present government will be the key factors in the Congress’s survival. Mrs Indira Gandhi did it her own way by throwing out the syndicate, and the country liked it.
There is another recent campaign to be learnt from, before I come back to the Indian scene. It is on record, that the ever charismatic Clinton influenced Ted Kennedy, that president Obama would still do well serving coffee to the Democrats. It was a different obsession for Ted who knew that he had no more than a year to live, that he should be the first Democrat to install a black President. Still, in the absence of the likes of a Saatchi, the Illinois governor did bank on his audacity of hope. I was in the US for a conference, and it was the time for the Texas primaries. Texas is predominantly white, and the women vote counts. An unheralded Obama quietly slipped into the library of the Texas University, scrolling over books and journals. He was casual in meeting any student who would want to shake hands with a Presidential hopeful. It was exemplary humility, or perhaps a compulsory strategy to stay in the race. He was the first one to realize the strengths of the social media. He won the huge young unblemished votes! Besides his oratory is incomparable to what we see in recent times.
We can’t underestimate the accomplished Gujarat strongman. He has risen from the ranks, and the inherent pragmatism of being from his land, he will show absolute comfort in a suit and a tie as in a dhoti. Have no illusions that he already does not have his ad and image advisors from wherever he wants them. His oratorical skills do stand out. Much depends how adeptly he unshackles himself from a party at the moment in hierarchal shambles. It’s a tough game, but he seems to be more corporate savvy. Will that matter? By all estimates that will, with the country on the brink without FIIs. Mr Modi however has to carve out his team, even if that amounts to picking up non-political professionals, even corporate honchos. A young India could not be less pleased.
Manmohanji has been a great statesman over two decades. He will be meeting Mr Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the upcoming annual UN Conference. He may go for a makeover to take a shot at another seat of power if he can start projecting that he is his own man. He has enough exposure, so an ad agency is not required. If he can just change the color of his turban to indigo or purple, he does not have to change anything in his style of functioning. Enough in this country judge just by the attire!
Now, for the mandatory Urdu couplet that a certain generation cherishes so much,
“Hum meheveyas to they, ki na hosh aata,
Magar tere tagaaful ne hoshiyar kiya!”
( I was in a trance, waiting, and would never have come to my senses,
But it was your neglect that brought my senses back back! )an Sri Muhyiddin Yassin blows the lid off Najib ’s “strong governance” hype… brings out excellently the kind of leadershipUMNO requires to have in today’s fractured political environment. It also explains why Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is talking like the Deputy Prime Minister for all MalaysiansOn Saturday night, Muhyiddin urged Barisan Nasional to address the needs … Read more
