IS PAS PARACHUTED CANDIDATE AHMAD ZAMRI SLEEPING IN THE REFRIGERATOR? IS TOO HOT OUT THERE

• READMORE Prize catch or stinking fish?
• Trying to save his own skin.

Where got swing voters?
The majority of the Malaysian population had already decided who or which party to vote for come GE-13. There are actually very few undecided ones…or the fence-sitters. There may be some among the first time voters.
voters have taken sides.

Ahmad Zamri asked whether there are still middle voters at this stage.Ahmad Zamri don’t dream That PAS would win more support in the 13th general election than in 2008, noting that 30 per cent of the Titiwangsa electorate are young voters aged 40 years and below.
1Malaysia
Why did it prefer the symbol of a party whose goal of a hudud oriented Islamic state it vehemently opposes? Is it because Pas has much more Malay support on the Peninsula than PKR and the DAP was hoping to capitalise on its support? Isn’t this rank opportunism?

Isn’t this what the PAS-DAP-PKR grouping is all about? An opportunistic grouping hell-bent on power but opposed to each other. If an illusion on the one hand, and a misconception, on the other, makes the grouping a catastrophe, its opportunism renders it an even greater catastrophe.
the mainstay of the ruling coalition in Malaysia since 1957 was PAS and not UMNO, what would be the socio-economic situation of the Malays today? Would poverty have been reduced from 64% to 1.7%? Would there have been the phenomenal transformation of an entire people, sustained over two generations, which has resulted in a significant Malay role in education, the professions, commerce and industry, compared to what it was at the time of Merdeka? Would the Malays have emerged as an important component of the Malaysian middle-class which has undoubtedly helped to stabilise ethnic relations and politics in the country and allowed democracy to function?

One just has to look at PAS’s 22 year rule in Kelantan to get an idea of what its version of Islam can do to a people. From its dismal failure to provide jobs for tens of thousands of well-qualified Kelantanese to its utter inability to curb rising drug addiction, Kelantan is Malaysia’s first and only failed state. Malaysian voters should have no illusions about the type of Islamic State that PAS seeks.
Everything considered, the actual flaws with the NEP are related to its implementation — its excesses and its abuses. These should be rectified. In the last four years, Prime Minister Mohd Najib has made a concerted attempt to do so. Federal scholarships for students are based largely on academic merit; there is a serious endeavour to increase the number of Chinese and Indian public servants; and their mobility in the public services has improved through some high profile appointments. At the same time, all 1Malaysia ventures — from its retail trade outlets to its affordable housing programme — are non-ethnic. 1Malaysia in its concrete manifestation is an all-embracing, inclusive idea. Najib is also paying close attention to the needs of different ethnic and sub-ethnic communities and engaging them at the social and cultural level as part and parcel of his 1Malaysia drive.

There is a lucid message he is attempting to put across. There must be understanding and empathy among us, whatever our religious or cultural differences. We must respect one another. Respecting one another means that we should never ever manipulate each other. This is what happened in the recent DAP symbol episode. Though there was no question at all about whether the DAP could use its own rocket symbol, in the high drama that the leadership staged it opted to use PAS’s symbol, rather than the PKR symbol on the Peninsula. Wouldn’t it have been more logical for the DAP to use PKR’s symbol since the DAP wants PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim, to be the Prime Minister if PR won the General Election?

If some Malays are under an illusion about PAS’s Islam, a lot more non-Malays, especially many middle-class Chinese and some middle-class Indians are labouring under a huge misconception about what their vote would deliver. They are convinced that it would be able to “eliminate ethnic discrimination” and bring to an end alleged “Malay supremacy.” Since those who have been pedalling these cliches, have never really explained in detail what they mean by eliminating ethnic discrimination or Malay supremacy, non-Malays exposed to this rhetoric have drawn different conclusions.

For many, the perception is that PAS is going to set aside the Special Position of the Malays and the Bumiputras of Sabah and Sarawak. This can NOT be done. The Articles in the Malaysian Constitution pertaining to places in the public services, licences, scholarships and land reserves (like some other Articles) cannot be amended or abrogated by Parliament even if the PR wins 100% of the seats. Special Position is safeguarded by the Conference of Malay Rulers.

Publicly,PAS, including the DAP, have NOT endorsed Special Position. However, at the hustings some of the DAP and PAS activists give the impression that it is discriminatory and is therefore unacceptable. This is why their leaders should be honest with their members and supporters. Tell the whole truth. Neither Special Position nor any of the other iron-clad Articles in the Constitution pertaining to citizenship, language and the Rulers will change one iota if PAS comes to power.

Since PAS cannot do anything about Special Position, what sort of discrimination is it going to eliminate? Will it abolish the NEP? In theory, the NEP does not exist anymore. It came to an end in 1990 though one of its twin objectives of restructuring society in order to reduce the identification of ethnicity with economic function continues in certain specific areas. Given the nature of this objective, it would be wrong to view it as ethnic discrimination. Rather it is an attempt to enhance national integration.

Theoretically, middle voters exist until votes are cast. However, as the polling day is approaching, the number of middle voters will gradually decrease. The latest opinion poll of the Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMCEDEL) has reflected such a phenomenon. Compared to March, the number of middle voters has fallen by 6% to 9%, with most of them Malays.

If the poll is credible, it has then conveyed an important message, namely the 9% middle voters is going to be the final kingmaker of the 13th general election.

When it comes to the key role of middle voters, the most commonly known would be the Median Voter Theorem. According to the theory, if there is only two candidates with well-matched support base in an election, the campaign strategies of the candidates must focus on middle voters to gain more votes.

When it comes to implementation, however, there is no absolute standard to define “middle” line. Moreover, there are more than one election issue and thus, it is not easy to accurately strike the balance and meet the expectations of middle voters.

Moreover, even middle voters can be divided into different groups according to their racial identities, family backgrounds, education levels and political awareness.

As I know, middle voters are not necessarily fence-sitters with no political stand or party preference. Instead, they might be members of a political party without a strong party spirit and are not willing to be controlled by the party. Therefore, they insist to be independent voters.

Of course, there are also middle voters who have no political party preference. They are well-educated and reject blind obedience. They can think rationally before making prudent judgement. They refuse to blindly follow and thus, are more careful in making comparison in terms of political platform and election manifesto of various parties, while observing the words and deeds, as well as qualities of candidates, before making a decision and cast their votes.

In addition, there are also some so-called “middle voters” who are not interested in politics at all. They do not care about politics, and some are even indifferent to politics. Of course, they have no political knowledge, not to mention political ideal. Such kind of voters either choose not to vote or can easily be affected by their families and friends. They might even just follow the majority’s preference to vote for the party with a higher winning odds.

When the opinion poll showed that the BN and Pakatan Rakyat are well-matched in strength, I must again stress that if the poll is accurate, the final decision of the 9% middle voters can indeed affect the outcome of the election and play the role of the last straw. The question is, who can tell Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim where the middle voters are?
Islamic party PAS cannot distinguish the tree from the woods with its stubbornness in wanting only a Muslim leader to serve as prime minister.
In his pre-election ceramah or speech recently, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said the party stand was that only Muslims can be the prime minister of this country.
Saying that anybody can be a minister regardless of whether the person was a Muslim or a non-Muslim if the opposition pact under the Pakatan Rakyat banner formed the next government after the May 5 general election, Abdul Hadi added:
“Non-Muslims can work with Muslims to administer this country on condition the prime minister must be a Muslim.
“The person in charge of policies must be a Muslim in an Islamic nation. If he is a non-Muslim, then he should embrace Islam.
“For instance, for the Works Minister’s post, if the person picked is a non-Muslim, but he has the knowledge and expertise in road and building construction, we will appoint him, but we will not appoint a non-Muslim to take charge of mosques.”
With only days to go before Malaysians step out to choose the government of their choice, Hadi’s defiance and acerbic remarks have not gone down well with Malaysians.
But then Hadi is not alone. PAS deputy spiritual leader Haron Din says that hudud will take effect if Pakatan comes into power upon winning the 13th general election.
PAS’ move to implement hudud never sat well with DAP, but Haron could not care less and says hudud it is if Pakatan makes it to Putrajaya, regardless of whether DAP is against the move.
“I’m confident that DAP will accept hudud because of its willingness to contest under the PAS symbol. However, this can only be done after Pakatan is given the mandate to rule the country.
“Pakatan must take over the federal government. Only then can we amend the (Federal) Constitution to implement hudud,” Haron had said.
Haron, who is the candidate for the Arau parliamentary seat, is of the opinion that Pakatan parties must “give and take” in order to work together.
Whose cause is PAS championing?
PAS a few years ago had enacted hudud (prescribed Islamic penalties) in Kelantan, to be imposed only on Muslims who represent about 90% of the state’s 1.5 million population.
The laws introduced Syariah punishments for theft, robbery, adultery, liquor consumption and apostasy.
It is not just hudud. Haron also wants DAP to concur with PAS’ decision not to allow the use of the term “Allah” by non-Muslims.
Looks like both Hadi and Haron have forgotten that their existence as politicians is not to serve vested interests but that of the rakyat.
If PAS continues with its “Islam superior” stance, there is little chance for Pakatan to win big in the May 5 general election dubbed as the “mother of all elections”.
It is not just the hudud and “only Muslim prime minister” that PAS has set its sight on. The party’s “new kid on the block”, the former Selangor menteri besar, Muhammad Muhammad Taib, has wasted no time in declaring that Islam is the way of life, saying that all Muslim women should wear the tudung.
Muhammad, the former Umno vice-president, is unhappy that Muslim women newsreaders and schoochildren did not wear the tudung.
“They say Islam, but look at the newsreaders not wearing headscarves. They say Islam, but there are schoolchildren who wear skirts,” Muhammad was quoted by Bernama as saying.
Not only that, Muhammad thinks he has “seen the light” when he remarked that albeit its development, Selangor’s progress was one that lacked “soul” which had resulted in the (moral) decline among children of affluent families in the cities.
How Muhammad came to that conclusion is anyone’s guess. If he blames the Selangor government for the moral decay of its children, whom does he assign blame to in the case of off-springs of politicians going astray, indulging in vices of all sorts?
Will Muhammad dare blame the federal government over its failure in emphasising “soul” in the success of the nation?
In case Muhammad forgets, moral decay was present way back during his 11-year tenure as Selangor menteri besar when he eloped with the then Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah’s daughter, Tengku Puteri Zaharia Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah to Thailand where they reportedly got married.
It was also Muhammad who claimed that he could not understand English to escape sentencing after he was charged in Australia over currency irregularities amounting to RM3.8 million – an incident which forced him to resign as Selangor menteri besar.
It is another matter that an investigative committee later found that the court had erred in its judgment.
Was Muhammad’s “reputation” good enough for PAS to welcome him on board to help enlighten fellow Muslims out there?
PAS has to stop being dogmatic
The general election is only days away and no thanks to remarks coming from Hadi, Haron and Muhammad, the rakyat’s willingness to support PAS is questionable.
Instead of a display of arrogance, it will do PAS much good if it took the trouble to understand the needs and sentiments of the people and not court one controversy after another through its scandalous edicts.
While PAS remains adamant over the hudud issue its ally in Pakatan, the DAP, insists that it rejects PAS’ proposed hudud.
DAP national chairman Karpal Singh in reacting to Haron’s statement said: “PAS allowing us to use its party logo does not mean we have shifted our stand on the establishment of an Islamic state or hudud.”
Karpal said the introduction of hudud would mean a system with two laws, “which is impossible to impose”.
“Although PAS has said hudud is only for Muslims, the implementation of two systems will cause conflicts and chaos,” Karpal said.
“If PAS wants to amend the Federal Constitution, DAP or PKR will not allow it. I don’t think PAS would insist on amending the Federal Constitution,” he added.
That said, if PAS refuses to mellow down and settle for a political compromise by way of toning down on its demands, there is little hope that Pakatan will succeed gloriously in the much talked- about 13th general election.
The verdict is clear: should PAS choose to disrespect the wishes of the rakyat, the show of disunity taking place is sure to end up in BN’s favour.

ANWAR KHAN  THE VOICE  FROM TITIWANGSA  THE FOXY PAS GAME PLAYS WITH, UMNO  GAME OF CHECKMATING PAS IN TITIWAMGSA

PAS kingdom of noise, deafness is the only abiding condition. When words stop being signifiers of intent, and get read as actions, then the distinctions between opinion and fact, representation and event become irredeemably blurred. If anything, the hierarchical relationship between word and event is reversed, particularly if the word belongs to a celebrity or is located in an event that enjoys celebrity status.  is a victim of its own success, for anything that happens there is imbued with a sense of portentous significance.

PAS’ strategy is simple. They are playing to the gallery of Malays in the super Malay-majority states/seats. These seats have very small numbers of non-Malay voters.The trouble is that the opposite of manufactured noise is imposed silence. The state and the apparatus at its disposal cannot differentiate one kind of noise from another, and finds it safer and politically more expedient to impose pre-emptive silence. The political reward that accrues from the appeasement of a few is almost always deemed to be greater than the cost of foregoing abstract principles. When faced with protests, its instinct is to shut everything down. Stop the metros from plying, ask women to dress conservatively, close offices at ten pm for women, ban films that might attract inconvenient protests, prevent writers from attending literary festivals, in fact prevent them from entering the city at all Moreover, it is very likely that within these groups of non-Malays in the super majority-Malay seats, there are only a very small number of Christians.So, the gamble is to appeal to the Umno Malay fence-sitters and undecided Malays via religion. It wants to come across as champions of Islam while pissing off only a few Christians.It is a fine knife-edge gamble but PAS did not account for a majority of non-Muslims being pissed-off.

So, the simple clarion call to all non-Muslims is NOTE to vote PKR or DAP. Just remember to  vote out the PAS symbol 

There must be sufficient numbers of protest votes for PAS to realise that they cannot back stab non-Muslims and get away with it.

If they can do this when they are fighting to get into Putrajaya, imagine what PAS will do when they get in. There might be Malays too who will protest.

Have you noticed two types of confident people at gatherings — those who seek out others, indulge in back-slapping joviality and show great concern, and those who maintain a distance and dignity, and yet are no less caring and giving? The first are popular and liked by all, while the second earn a lasting respect. Who doesn’t want to be liked? Ironically, the need for respect is far higher in the former back-slapper than that of the latter dignified type, who is probably higher on substance and self-esteem.

As per psychologist Abraham Maslow’s theory ‘Hierarchy of Needs’, once the basic needs of food, shelter, security and sex are dealt with, human beings look for one more critical need — before aiming for the highest level of self-actualisation — and that is the fundamental need to be liked and be held in high esteem by others.

Indeed, to be accepted and valued by others is a driving force that influences most of our actions. From an early age, a child is made conscious of the need to be liked by others. “Don’t be greedy, what will Uncle say?”, “Come on, you don’t want others to think you are a naughty girl, do you?”

Children carry forth this need for approval into adulthood, making critical choices of education, careers, even love and marriage with an eye on the approval metre. ‘What will people say’ becomes such a huge issue that many an ambition, out-of-the-box thought or intuitive plan is sacrificed at this altar. Those who can overcome this need are the solitary marchers, the mavericks, the real achievers.

At the risk of alienating other siblings, a child vies to be liked and admired best by his or her parents. To become the teacher’s pet, a student willingly sacrifices the trust and friendship of classmates. In order to win approval and acceptance from peers, adolescents indulge in acts of revolt. As age advances, the desire to be liked and approved by others becomes more pronounced, especially amongst those who lack self-esteem, and have a constant desire to be reassured that their life has been worth something. This trait is commonly observed amongst famous people who live on a diet of admiration and adulation. As age advances and their popularity declines, celebrities make desperate attempts to retain their status in the eyes of others, failing which, they slip into depression or alcoholism, which allows them to dwell in a fanciful world as life ebbs away.

Interestingly, when Maslow talks of ‘esteem’, a critical component of his theory is ‘self-esteem’. He distinguishes between ‘lower’ esteem and ‘higher’ esteem, the former being the need to be liked by others, and the latter being respect for one’s own self. To achieve the higher self-esteem, one needs to turn focus from others to one’s own self, from outside to within. What others think of you becomes irrelevant as you start trusting your own judgment and strictly following your own code of ethics. From a follower you become a role model, from an “also was”, you move to “the one”!

This doesn’t however mean that if you develop self-esteem, you do not care for others. A certain amount of societal approval is always necessary. We all love to be liked, and so, we inculcate pleasant manners and behaviour towards that end. We smile at another, hoping for a smile back; we help others, hoping one day to be helped back. And it is these niceties that make life worth living.

What is important is to understand that there are plenty of ways to make people notice/like you and seek your company. Actions, critical decisions and your behaviour must never be dictated purely by what others will think of you. No matter how you mould yourself to the casts set by others, the world will still admire the man who marches to his own drum and follows his own set of rules and principles; the one who maintains his dignity and doesn’t spread himself too thin in an attempt to please the world. Attract people by your width of substance, depth of knowledge, strength of moral fibre, and vast wisdom, rather than by making shallow gestures that people can see through.

What matters at the end of the day is — Did you achieve your full potential? Did you live with dignity and self-respect? Did you stay true to your own principles? If yes, don’t worry about others liking or disliking you. Your own self-esteem will be so high that it will attract the greatest regard from all.

by Terence Netto

The media is also certain that 2013 will be a battle between Najib and Anwar,and currently and currently Anwar appears to have a distinct edge.. The battle is often stupidly oversimplified into a confrontation between two adversaries, one who stands for our Mahathir identity, a strong, muscular government that gives no quarter to corruption, refuses to appease the minorities, and actually delivers on promises of development and the other, who has failed to make his mark in recent elections, does not stand for anything specific, is soft on most issues, pampers a different set of vote banks, and allows his cronies to steal from the public exchequer.Women in the video love pole-dancing on the subway train, strip-club style- Gangnam-style much to the the amazement perhaps of Reverand Sun Young Moon of the Korean Unification Chuch — if he were still alive marrying people off by the hundreds. But hey …, we are in Malaysia — where everything, including degenerating culture, can … Read more
Journalists, channels, newspapers are all seen as having already taken a side in this battle. Every article is being judged as hostile or friendly. You cannot even make a comment on social media without it being instantly judged. Both sides are so sensitive at present that their supporters and bots (one never knows who are more) often read motives where none exist. Almost everything that appears everywhere seems to suggest that the battle lines have been drawn even though neither an-war AnWAR nor Najib are the official candidates of their respective parties for the nation’s top job. It’s all by innuendo and even the silent majority that usually plays its cards close to the chest, I suspect has also made its choice. For now.Nurul Izzah: We Have Good Laws, What We Don’t Have Are Good Leaders, Hope to see you to be the first Lady Prime Minister of Malaysia Insyahallah This is what it takes to build Malaysia for all Malaysians. for UMNO voters. The parliamentary system is not as personality-driven as the presidential, so local variations will …Read more

COMMENT:HARDLY ANYONE SEEMS ABLE TO TELL WHAT THE MEETING LAST MONDAY BETWEEN PAS DEPUTY SPIRITUAL HEAD DR. HARON DIN AND PKR ADVISER ANWAR IBRAHIM WAS ALL ABOUT OR WHAT IT PORTENDS.

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The meeting in Kuala Lumpur was requested by Haron who came unaccompanied, while Anwar was there with a colleague. All three are certain to treat the encounter as private and confidential.

That makes speculation about it as difficult as deciphering the rise and fall of apparatchiks in the Chinese Communist Party’s hierarchy used to be for China watchers stationed in Hong Kong as they scrutinised reports in the People’s Daily on party affairs during the Cold War years.

No statement was issued and no talking on background to journalists has been initiated by either of the principals since the meeting took place.

Haron (left) is not exactly renowned for accessibility to the notepad-and-recorder crowd and Anwar can be staunchly discreet when the situation demands it.

Thus what transpired at the meeting is likely to stay immured in the attendees’ consciousness for some time before ongoing events intervene to prompt the participants to give one or the other interpretation to the substance of what was discussed.

Only then would the gist of the meeting spill out and unravel as developments spurt and twist in the political arena, making P&C discussions of a receding past weaken the demand it places on the attendees’ discretion.

This was what happened to the substance of the meeting in a Munich hospital in September 2004 between Haron Din and Anwar, who was then recuperating from back surgery after his release from a six-year stay in prison on trumped-up charges. The third person at the meeting was PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang.

Only some years later did it emerge that the meeting, arranged on the initiative of Haron, discussed the offer of the post of PAS President to Anwar (left in pic), with Hadi stepping down to Deputy President, should Anwar return to the political arena after convalescence from intricate back surgery.

It was an extraordinary offer, reflecting Haron’s high estimate of Anwar’s leadership mettle and Haron’s intercessory panache at securing Hadi’s acquiescence in what would have been, had the offer been accepted by Anwar, a demotion for Hadi.

Sacrifices of this kind are not the done thing among politicians, save for those who view their mission in supra-secular terms.

In earnest discussion

If memory serves, there was at that time only one photo of the meeting of the three of them, probably having appeared in Harakah, the PAS organ, showing a track-suited Anwar in earnest conversation with a solicitous Haron and an attentive Hadi.

But this was a picture that wasn’t what is sometimes said about the genre’s more graphic examples – they are worth a thousand words: you could not divine the gravity of its import from what was captured on print.

It showed the three of them in earnest discussion, their arched expressions redolent of the weight of their concerns. But only a clairvoyant could have lit upon the proffer that was made by the PAS pair.

It was not known whether Anwar declined the offer expressly or asked for time to mull the proposition.

But it’s not difficult to speculate what would have been his reasons for not acceding to it: he was committed to building up PKR, a multi-racial political vehicle at a time when he felt that mono-racial parties, and their analogue in the religious sphere, were becoming obsolete in an evolving national scenario.

It was the second time that Anwar would turn down an offer to lead PAS; the first was when he was preferred leader of the party about three decades ago when their long-time leader Mohd Asri Muda, of nationalist more than theocratic inclinations, was ejected by the ulama wing of the party who blamed him for the party’s decline in strength in its parliamentary and state assembly redoubts in Kelantan and parts of Kedah.

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