Sigma’s Simulacrum of Reality

The new Perak state govt seems to be having trouble trying to be born.

All this stems from a few odd factors. But I feel the main blame should squarely be put on the shoulders of the DAP-PKR-PAS coalition (hereforth to be referred as the Barisan Rakyat (BR)).

On the seat count, DAP won 18 seats, PKR 7 and PAS 6 out of the 59-seat state assembly, making BR’s having 31 seats in total. Of the remaining 28, UMNO has 27 and MCA 1. BN thus has 28 seats.

Through this perspective, the CM of this state should come from DAP. However, the Perak constitution states that the CM must be a Malay-Muslim, but this requirement can be waived by the Raja if he so wishes.

What happened then was that BR submitted 3 names to the Raja, one representative from each party. The Raja chose the rep from PAS. This decision has now caused some consternation among the federal DAP leaders. As a result, the swearing-in of the new CM was postponed yesterday. And to add further pain, it seems that PKR has now also threatened to pull out of BR due to the exco seat allocations offered to it, which was 1 seat of out a 10 seats. State exco seats are the equivalent of state cabinet positions.

Where does the blame lie in this farce? I reckon squarely on the shoulders of all three BR leaders, but especially with the DAP Perak and federal DAP. However, I don’t think the bashing that LKS is getting is justified. He is merely doing what his DAP supporters want him to do: Namely, how does BR Perak expect LKS and other DAP leaders to explain to its voters how is it in the world did they managed to get a PAS CM after sending 18 DAP state assemblymen to parliament?? What do you think will happen to these DAP assemblymen in the next election? MCA candidates will salivate for that day. There will probably be a DAP wipe-out in Perak IF the new Perak govt shows even a whiff of Islamic conservatism. Tony Pua blogged on LKS’s predicament well here.

One is justified to ask why did the Perak Raja chose the PAS rep? But in reality this question is irrelevant and could easily have been avoided.

How? Through BR only submitting 2 names! One from DAP and one from PKR! Internal BR discussion should first be done with all three parties and it should persuade PAS to refrain from submitting their rep. The rationale behind this is simple: DAP’s win was the basis for the BR winning Perak. As such, it should have first bite at the CM post. If the Raja decides that the CM has to be a Malay-Muslim, then the second choice from PKR should be the new CM. This way, DAP can explain to its supporters that it has tried, but the Raja didn’t allow it. It should also not get too much grief from this as it could explain to its supporters that PKR is also another secular, multiracial and multireligious party and it should serve their interests well.

The Raja should have never been pulled into making this political decision by BR. This was a great tactical mistake by BR. The Royals in Malaysia are supposed to be above politics.

Right now I’m not sure what’s happening. Ideally, negotiations should be rebooted. Ultimately, a PKR candidate should be given the CM post.

And on the exco allocation, DAP went overboard. Maybe partly due to its shock at PAS getting the CM post and its leader’s perceived need to take absolute control of the exco to nullify PAS’s power or whatever, it is trying to get 8 out of 10 seats. Under ratio calculations using 18/31 x 10 = DAP should settle with 6 seats. PKR then should get 2 and PAS 2. Why the hell did DAP Perak suddenly insist on an 8-1-1 makeup I have no idea. I chalked this up to governing and coalition inexperience on DAP’s part.

All in all, BR Perak is making the other BR coalitions in other states and federal BR look mighty bad. BR leaders have to contain this terrible publicity only to Perak and strive to work harder to avoid these simple blunders in the future. Here’s hoping BR Perak will sort itself out very soon, for the sake of the Perak people and all Malaysians.

Man, what a night huh?

This election result was all I hoped for, and more. For reasons why, keep reading.

PKR

PKR experienced an astounding electoral comeback this election. Before and during the election, many people have dismissed it as an also-ran party with poor ground support, organisation and lack of vision. What happened then?

Like it or not, what happened was Anwar Ibrahim. I’m no Anwarista, but I acknowledge his gifts. The ability of Anwar this time to campaign around the country has made a very big difference. He provided PKR with much needed leadership. In the 1999 GE, PAS usurped PKR’s leading role in the Reformasi movement due to the latter’s poor leadership. Now, Anwar has made sure that didn’t happen again. Anwar is a great orator who excites the crowds. True, Anwar’s a political chameleon, but like I’ve always said, that’s just politics. His metamorphosis has gone from Islamic youth leader, to Malay nationalist, to the current multiracial leader. Read my previous post on what we shouldn’t be too concerned with this here.

Anwar also played another important role. He tried, and succeeded in being the facilitator between DAP and PAS to ensure only straight fights with BN in every seat.

My previous hope for a Malaysian political transformation has also came true. PKR will now replace DAP as the senior Opposition party in parliament. And come April, Anwar Ibrahim will take over the Opposition Leader role from Lim Kit Siang. This will do a lot to ease the Malay govt-Chinese opposition divide there.

In addition to this, PKR now also has the opportunity to showcase its governing skills with the Selangor state govt. I have full confidence in ex-corporate leader Khalid Ibrahim as the new Chief Minister there.

PKR’s increase of its seats from 1 to 31 has also broke a fundamental stereotype: That the Malays will only vote for either UMNO or PAS. This is great for all secularists and paves the way towards PKR being the main opponent of UMNO in the future. Remember how the UMNO v PAS contest put Islam to the forefront of national debate? I’m hoping that an UMNO v PKR contest will put multi-racialism to forefront of the national debate instead now.

PKR was the most multi-racial party in this election, putting up many Chinese and Indian candidates in addition to its Malay candidates. Its big win yesterday will send a signal to all the other parties that multi-racial parties are viable and can experience political success. It is hoped that this will compel many single-race parties like UMNO, MCA, MIC and even Gerakan to reform themselves into multi-racial ones.

DAP

DAP’s performance surpassed even its own expectations. It was very evident they were suprised at winning the Perak state govt. DAP has played all its cards right, sticking to its staple issues during the campaign. It has also offered many professional young candidates, and a sizable number of Indian candidates. It benefited from the Hindraf movement along with PKR, taking off many of MIC’s seats. DAP has also been the most successful party in utilising the internet to disseminate its own views and stands. Many of its candidates have their own popular blogs, including Lim Kit Siang, Jeff Ooi, Tony Pua, etc.

DAP has to learn have the ‘desire to rule’ mindset though. And winning Penang and Perak is a great start. It needs to not be afraid of real power, which it seems to be a bit right now. That’s the biggest difference between it and PKR under Anwar. Anwar is practically foaming in the mouth to take over the reins of power in government, where as DAP has always just seem content to become a nuisance in opposition to BN. To always only aspire to do that is a betrayal to the very purpose of being a political party.

For all its good work in the past, DAP deserved its more than double-fold increase in parliament seats from 12 t the current 28.

PAS

I was very suprised by PAS’s Kedah win. Didn’t know Kedahans were that pissed.

Another great thing this election has done was to show PAS how much it can achieved by taking the moderate path. Contrast this performance with its 1999 results when it stood on an Islamic state platform: 23 seats and 2 states to 7 and 1. PAS apparently has taken inspiration from Turkey’s brand of moderate Islamic party and I am very happy with that. Instead of an Islamic state, PAS is now advocating an Islamic welfare state. I am hoping PAS will now evolve to become a more mainstream party that everyone can vote for without any qualms. I want it to be a ‘religious’ but big-tent mainstream party, something like those mainstream Christan parties we find in Europe/US. Parties like the Christian Democrats (Germany), Republicans (US), etc.

Personally, I’m also happy that PKR and DAP won more parliament seats to PAS, as this shows the majority of Malaysians still prefer Malaysia to be represented by secular Opposition parties.

Summary

This election result represents the best possible outcome that I would have liked. PKR has taken the lead in Opposition, paving the way for an opposition Malay leader to go up against a Malay govt leader. Two secular and multi-racial parties have won the largest number of parliament seats. And all three Opposition parties have now been given a chance to govern states which hopefully will give them the necessary experience to be able to take over the reigns of federal govt very soon.

Another very important thing from all this is that DAP, PKR and PAS will now have access to better fund-raising opportunities to build up their war chests. It’s amazing how many businesspeople will suddenly want to dine with ex-opposition politicians that are now in govt This is especially potent for DAP and PKR since they got Penang, Perak and Selangor which are big commercial and industrial states. DAP and PKR can get out of poverty now Also, because 5 states are now under Opposition control, I don’t think BN can afford to withhold federal funding to all these states now like how it did for poor PAS in Kelantan, lest they want to completely lose federal govt in the next election.

Lastly, it’s intensely gratifying that people like Khir Toyo will now have to taste the bitter bitter pill of opposition politics with all work and no perks I still remember a ridiculous article I read from the sycophantic The Star on how Khir Toyo stays youthful looking. Wtf??? Too busy with that I guess to govern the busiest state properly.

But anyway, here’s hoping Malaysia is truly on its way to becoming a real democracy now!

OMG OMG OMG!

The impossible has happened guys.

BN got whipped. Whipped bad. By the great citizens of Malaysia from all races and religions.

I’m now part of a huge group of sleep-deprived barely functioning Malaysian, due to staying up to follow the MOST EXCITING MALAYSIAN ELECTION IN HISTORY on Malaysiakini. Even though I’m in Sydney and 3 hours behind M’sian time.

For the uninitiated, Malaysia has been ruled by the same party, Barisan Nasional (BN) unbroken for 50 freakin years. Not only that, BN has also never lost their 2/3rd majority in parliament, except for one brief moment in 1969. This majority allowed it to change the Constitution at will. They wanna put a law in saying we all must not wear red underwear? No probs with that 2/3rds. The Opposition, apart from PAS, has also been incapable of winning state governments in the past.

In yesterday’s election, federal as well as state seats kept falling like tenpins to the Opposition. Five states were won by the Opposition:

1. Penang = DAP-PKR: DAP has finally won its long-cherished state, the only state with a Chinese majority from its arch rivals Gerakan. In the process with the help of PKR, it has completely annihilated Gerakan and MCA there. Gerakan is only left with 2 parliament seats and 3 state seats after the mauling. DAP’s Sec-Gen Lim Guan Eng will assume the Chief Minister post in a coalition with PKR.

2. Perak = DAP-PKR-PAS: A shock-win that took even the DAP by suprise. DAP was not expecting to win this state, as evident in its delay in naming its CM candidate till now. DAP will be the senior coalition partner due to its 19 seat haul. I am hoping Lim Kit Siang competed in a state seat as well so that he could assume the CM post. Lord knows he deserves it after all that he’s been through in his political life.

3. Kelantan = PAS: PAS has routed BN in its traditional stronghold and won 38 out of 45 seats, an increase from its 2004 numbers.

4. Kedah = PAS-PKR: A shock-win again, this time for PAS. I was also caught by suprised at this. PAS just sorta crept up stealthily to finally capture this state. I was guessing Terrenganu would have fallen to it before this state.

5. Selangor = PKR-DAP-PAS: A VERY VERY satisfying win by PKR-DAP. I hate Khir Toyo. I suspect this was the second state that DAP was aiming for apart from Penang but it’s an ideal state for PKR to rule. I hope PKR’s Khalid Ibrahim will rehabilitate this badly run premier state and bring it to new heights in his 4 year rule.

On the federal seats, DAP-PKR-PAS has momentously broken BN’s 2/3rd majority hegemony by taking a total of 82 seats out of 222. PKR has won the most parliament seats with 31, followed by DAP with 28 and PAS with 23, completely reversing the fortunes of PKR and making it the senior Opposition party now. It also paves the way for Anwar Ibrahim to assume the Opposition Leader post when he returns to parliament next month.

In-depth analysis on each Opposition party’s performances will be written by yours truly very soon right after I’ve rested by poor eyes a bit first.

Suffice to say, yesterday’s election has completely realigned Malaysia’s political landscape, and definitely for the better.

This is it guys.

The Big Day - March 8th.

Don’t disappoint your fellow Malaysians.

People, please please please vote for DAP or PKR!

BN needs to get a huge slap to its face or else it will continue to plunder the country dry and rule the country incompetently.

Vote wisely, and all the best.

See it here.

One word: Big.

I have this friend in JB called X. X’s father is a businessman, and it had always been agreed that he would help with that business once he finishes studying.

Yesterday night, I met this X on MSN. He sent me a curious message, asking me on my opinions about the Opposition in Malaysia. Now this is curious for 2 reasons. The first is that X here has never been interested in politics, what with him living in a BN deadhole of Johor. The second thing he even mentioned it himself. He said that as a business-minded person, he usually doesn’t give a damn about what the Opposition says and will vote BN so long as it doesn’t take Malaysia’s economy down to Zimbabwe’s level. BUT he said this time he feels differently. He said that he feels the winds of change and thinks BN had been very arrogant in the las 4 years. Even without my ‘vote for Opposition’ rail to him, he actually has already made his mind to vote for PKR. I found that amazing.

Consider the facts: A 20-something politically apathetic Chinese-Malaysian living in a BN stronghold state of Johor has made up his mind to vote for PKR. The rarity of this event is almost akin to a young Asian-Aussie who votes for the aging xenophobic John Howard’s Liberals in Australia.

Living out of Malaysia, I cannot get a feel of the political sentiments of other Malaysians there. Before I didn’t want to buy into the hype that the Opposition will win big. I’m still gonna remain realistic, but my Opposition seat count predictions has been raised somewhat after this.

This is a very heartening development indeed.

Now let’s all look at March 8th with anticipation, guys.

Many times in politics we only find cold, heartless and greedy leaders. Or leaders that sway with the wind and have no principles of their own. Where are the decent people there?

Well, here’s one. Elizabeth Wong Keat Ping is PKR’s candidate for the state seat of Bukit Lanjan (N37) in Selangor. This dynamo of a lady has been fighting the injustices in Malaysia for years now. She is a renowned human-rights lawyer who most probably was educated at my alma mater in Sydney. She also runs a popular blog called elizabeth wong.

Trying to accomplish things through NGO’s can only take one so far. To really get into the action, one has to take one’s fight into the parliament and state assemblies. I commend Liz Wong’s attempt now to do just that. She will bring much a needed conscience to Malaysian politics if she wins.

Sigma therefore smashingly endorses Liz Wong as the PKR candidate for Bukit Lanjan.

Tony Pua is one of the newest ’star’ DAP candidate who joined the party last year. Again like Jeff Ooi, Tony made his mark through his blog called Education in Malaysia. There he critiques the various educational policies and institutions in Malaysia as well as foreign universities that are popular among Malaysian students.

After being named DAP’s candidate to try to take the PJ Utara parliamentary seat, Tony made a second blog on his first political foray experience, called Philosophy Politics Economics.

Tony Pua is regarded as a ‘boy wonder’ among DAP circles. He graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and he’s the current DAP economic advisor. Before joining politics, he ran his own IT firm which he recently sold to make a healthy profit that I think catapulted him into millionaire status.

Things can only improve if Malaysians send Tony Pua into their parliament on March 8th.

Therefore, Sigma wholeheartedly endorses Tony Pua’s attempt to get into parliament!

Apologies to Hafiz for slacking in my promise to do write-ups on the blogger candidates for this election. Got caught up with other things recently.

Anyway, to catch up, let’s turn to DAP’s brand spankin’ new candidate for the parliament seat of Jelutong: Jeff Ooi! Mr Jeff Ooi Chuan Aun is an IT analyst who started a popular blog, Screenshots some years ago. I’m not sure whether it was Malaysia’s first politico blog, but it sure became one of the most read.

Jeff was formerly a Gerakan member but switched to DAP after he was disgusted by Gerakan’s subservience and tolerance to BN’s bullying. Mostly though, Jeff has said that he was appalled by Gerakan’s betrayal of its original vision of a ‘Bangsa Malaysia’ (non-race base national identity). As an example of this, the current Gerakan candidate line-up consists only of Chinese candidates, with totally no Indian or Malay ones. It is especially disconcerting on the absence of Indian candidates, as Gerakan formerly commanded quite a healthy Indian support base.

Although originally from Selangor, Jeff has been moved by DAP to contest in a Penang seat for strategic reasons in its attempt to capture the state.

Jeff has discussed a wide variety of socio-political issues on his blog in the past. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that he has sources within government departments who trust his integrity enough to feed him with malpractice exposures. However, Jeff has always protected his sources in recognition of their courageous decisions to confide in him.

Jeff has also been a pioneer of new-age politics. Apart from disseminating information on his blog, he has recently done some online fund-raising successfully. So far through internet banking and Paypal, he has raised in excess of RM100,000 in about a week just from his readers and supporters online! This could be a new way for Opposition parties to bypass the govt’s restrictive laws to get their funding in the future.

Anyway, the good folks of Jelutong now have the great opportunity to send a genuine ‘public servant’ to represent them on the 8th! Just do it guys!

Sigma therefore endorses wholeheartedly the candidacy of Mr Jeff Ooi for Jelutong.