The New York Times

Not long ago he was flirting with the idea of semiretirement, maybe a teaching job at an American university. But now Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the Malaysian opposition, former political prisoner and longtime bugbear of the establishment, says those plans are firmly on the shelf.

After a disputed election this month, in which he and his allies won a majority of votes but failed to capture control of Parliament, Mr. Anwar has returned to his roots as a political street fighter, drawing large crowds across the country to protest what he calls mass vote rigging.

“Rise up!” he beseeched a crowd of thousands crammed last week into a field in this seaside city. “We won the election, but we were robbed of victory.”

Street politics is a sort of political oxygen for Mr. Anwar, who turns 66 in August. His wife jokes that when he complains of aches or fatigue, the only way she can revive him is with a microphone and a crowd.

As a Malay radical in the 1970s, he led student protests for expanded Malay rights and was imprisoned for two years without trial. In the 1990s, he led tens of thousands of followers through the streets of Kuala Lumpur, the capital, embarrassing the government during a visit by Queen Elizabeth II. He was later convicted of sodomy, a charge brought by his political enemies that was ultimately overturned. He spent six years in prison.

Now, as Mr. Anwar poses a new type of challenge to his government, many questions loom for him — and indeed for this relatively prosperous but unsettled country of about 30 million people. How long will he continue to protest the election results? And how long will the government, which has been slowly relaxing its mildly authoritarian powers, put up with the unrest?

At stake in the battle, besides the questioned validity of the election, is a fight over two visions for the future of this multiethnic country: the government view that continues to favor the Malays and those linked to the governing coalition with preferences versus Mr. Anwar’s campaign to curtail patronage and make government assistance operate on the basis of need, not ethnicity.

For Mr. Anwar, a Malay who once defended those preferences, the shift is a personal sea change, which some say is born of political ambition but that he says came to him during years of reflection in jail.

“My dream was to have a Malaysian spring that would be unique in the sense that we would do it through votes, not in the streets — a peaceful transition into a vibrant democracy in Malaysia,” Mr. Anwar said in an interview at his modest office in an obscure neighborhood outside Kuala Lumpur. Now, with victory elusive, he said he wanted a peaceful resolution but hedged when asked how far he would take his protests.

Malaysian politics, so closely entwined with the country’s ethnic complexity, can be bewildering to outsiders.

Like Indonesia, Myanmar and many other countries in Asia, Malaysia is a product of European colonialism and still a work in progress. The mix of ethnic Malay, Chinese and Indians (a much smaller group) is far from a melting pot — more a Babel of language, a hodgepodge of foods and a tense coexistence of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism.

Malay Muslims have a slim majority of the population but have dominated politics since independence from Britain in 1957. Their wide-reaching set of preferential policies — cheap loans, scholarships and government contracts among them — were put in place in large part to help them rise in a society in which much of the wealth was held by the strongly entrepreneurial Chinese, who make up about a quarter of the population.

Under the social contract of decades past, ethnic groups shared power within the governing coalition led by the United Malays National Organization, or U.M.N.O. But that informal compact is now in tatters, with a majority of Chinese Malaysian voters defecting to the opposition over resentment of what many term “second-class citizenship.”

The falling out between the governing party and Chinese Malaysians seems mutual. “It’s the first time that a Malay government thinks it can govern virtually without any minority representation,” said Bridget Welsh, an associate professor at Singapore Management University and a leading researcher on Malaysian politics who said that many people “feel traumatized” by the election and the alleged irregularities.

The May 5 election was the closest that the opposition had come to defeating the governing party. Mr. Anwar and his allies won 51 percent of the vote, compared with 47 for the governing coalition. That was not enough for Mr. Anwar to win control of Parliament because the governing coalition is strong in rural areas, where it captured many more small districts, adding up to a comfortable majority of 133 seats, with 89 for the opposition.

There are glimmers of a multicultural Malaysian identity among Mr. Anwar’s supporters. At rallies where speaker after speaker proclaims interethnic brotherhood, Chinese Malaysian women in skimpy shorts stand next to Malay Muslim women fully covered in Islamic robes. Chinese Buddhists drape themselves in the green flag of the opposition’s Islamic party.

Mr. Anwar, his supporters say, is a sort of midwife in the slow birth of Malaysia’s multiethnic identity.

“Anwar sparked people’s thinking,” said Mohammed Razif, a 30-year-old Islamic teacher who attended the rally Tuesday. “Malaysia is a multicultural country, but only recently I realized that not every race is treated equally.”

Najib Razak, the prime minister who was returned to power after the elections, announced what he described as a “unity cabinet.” It includes several new faces, including the head of the local chapter of Transparency International, an anticorruption group.

“Together we will act to bring about national reconciliation,” he said.

Yet his new cabinet is most notable for the dominance of Malays — and the near absence of ethnic Chinese. Mr. Najib angered many in the opposition when he said that his coalition’s weak showing was the result of a “Chinese tsunami,” the withdrawal of support by Chinese Malaysian voters.

The opposition said the shift in support was by voters of all ethnicities and that singling out Chinese Malaysians served only to deepen divisions.

Such anger and frustration are palpable at opposition rallies, where protesters wear black because, as their T-shirts proclaim, they see May 5 as “the day that democracy died.”

At the rally in Kuantan, leaders of the opposition took turns addressing the crowd, but when Mr. Anwar’s arrival was announced, people rose to their feet and cheered. An ethnic Chinese woman, wearing a Malaysian flag draped over her shoulders, began jumping up and down.

“At the moment, he’s the only leader who can keep the opposition together,” Selva Raja, a courier-company employee who attended the rally, said.

Mr. Anwar paced the stage, telling the crowd that the election had been stolen and that the governing party was trying to divide the country.

“Look to your left; look to your right; look in front of you and behind you,” Mr. Anwar said. “You will see Chinese, Malays and Indians. This is the new Malaysia.”

The Malaysian Insider

PKR’s Rafizi Ramli today offered proof of phantom voters, which he alleged was widespread fraud that could potentially “discredit” the recently-concluded general election, besides put the integrity of Malaysia’s identity card in doubt.

“The moment you have similar IC used by different people, so much so that the genuine or actual person proving the identity is denied to vote, that means this is part of a bigger planning to allow phantom voters to come in,” the PKR strategy director said at a press conference.

Rafizi (picture)listed eight people who had approached PKR about being denied their right to vote as others had already voted in their names, while also showing reporters the police reports which he said they had lodged voluntarily.

The Pandan MP said that these complaints were also made in the constituencies where the federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) had won, which he said showed that the alleged electoral fraud was “widespread” and “systemic”.

But Rafizi said that such evidence has bigger implications than just proving the existence of phantom voters in the electoral roll, claiming that the National Registration Department (NRD) had failed to guarantee that the country’s ICs are genuine and unique to all Malaysians.

“What comfort do we have that our ICs are now not subjected to counterfeiting, not subjected to fraud, where people can have multiple ICs to do various things with different identities?” he asked.

In Sabah, a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) panel today resumed its hearings on the state’s illegal immigrants issue and allegations that foreigners were given citizenship in exchange for their votes.

The Malaysian Insider

The Barisan Nasional (BN) government should not introduce the “regressive” Goods and Services Tax (GST) which, together with promised tax cuts, will “punish the poor”, PKR’s Wong Chen has said.

“It is regressive, it punishes the poor rather than the rich,” the PKR trade and investment bureau chief said of the proposed GST scheme at the party’s headquarters here today.

Wong (picture)claimed that the BN government’s rationale of bringing in the new tax scheme to widen the tax base was “fundamentally flawed”.

The Kelana Jaya MP explained that the majority of Malaysians are not evading the payment of tax to the government, but are instead earning too little to pay taxes.

It is estimated that currently only about 10 per cent of Malaysia’s 28 million population pay taxes.

Wong also said the BN administration should look at tackling corruption and dubious mega-projects first before looking at implementing the GST.

Malaysiakini

When Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – the new home minister – told disgruntled opposition supporters that they should migrate if they were unhappy with the results of GE13, he had unwittingly confessed that Umno Baru has a hidden agenda.

This little-known plan is Umno Baru’s mass immigration policy and is a deliberate ploy fuelled by political self-interests. Asking people to emigrate will ensure that Malaysia is populated largely by Umno Baru-putras and selected foreigners.

Zahid reluctantly acknowledged that the rakyat was disappointed with the rigging of the polls, but at the same time, he revealed the fears of Umno Baru leaders. The cheating did not go as smoothly and secretly as they had intended.

Zahid possesses neither charisma nor intellect. His oft repeated line is for people to shape up or ship out. With each new political appointment, he stuns us with his ability to set new standards for boorish behaviour.

In 2008, he was appointed a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi with a portfolio which included religious affairs and agencies like the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim). He caused controversy when he warned officers that they had to support the government’s policies, or leave.

When Abdullah resigned and Najib Abdul Razak took over in 2009, Zahid was made the defence minister. He invited criticism when he said that the low percentage of non-Malays in the armed forces showed that they lacked patriotism.

Last week, Zahid could not resist baiting the public, telling the people who opposed the results of GE13 to “migrate elsewhere”.

Now, one out of every seven people in the country is a foreigner. If we were to follow Zahid’s advice, this would increase to one in five. This is based upon a population of 28 million, however, none of the rakyat know the true population of the country. The census figures are another of Umno Baru’s dirty little secrets, which they use to exert control over the rakyat.

Zahid has the ability to make remarks without thinking of the consequences. Perhaps his mouth works faster than his brain. On the other hand, his boss, Najib prefers to keep mum when ministers make provocative statements.

A history with Najib and Anwar

The two men – Zahid and Najib – share a long history which started when Zahid became Najib’s political secretary in 1986, but Zahid has also been closely linked with Anwar.

In 1998, Zahid supported calls for the then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to curb cronyism and nepotism. After a brief period of incarceration, Zahid claimed that he had been duped by Anwar to challenge Mahathir.

After a much publicised apology to Mahathir, Zahid returned to Umno Baru, presumably with more than just his reputation bolstered.

Malaysia’s youth are not as easily fooled by Umno Baru’s tactics, social networking sites keep them informed and in GE13, they demanded fairness and change.

Influential people like student activist Adam Adli have been threatened with sedition, Seri Setia assemblyperson Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (left) has been charged with organising a mass rally, and Anwar Ibrahim has predicted that the authorities will be arresting him soon.

Most of us are shaped by our experiences in youth. Friends who grew up with Mahathir claim that the young Mahathir saw a lot of poverty on his rounds as a doctor. He would have known about the economic disparities between the various races, and to be fair, he treated many people without charge.

When he became a politician, Mahathir probably realised that his affirmative action policies could not remain in perpetuity. He knew that as Malays became better educated and more affluent, they would not return to the rural areas.

He understood that as people became increasingly exposed to global changes and opened their minds to different experiences, his affirmative action polices would lose their appeal.

Mahathir (right) knew that if ordinary Malaysians refused to vote for Umno Baru, he would have to bring people in from overseas to address the shortfall.

Our poorer neighbours – Indonesia, the Philippines, Burma, Bangladesh and Pakistan – have several million people who would willingly work for longer hours and less money. By giving them jobs and promising them citizenship, they became indebted to Mahathir.

Only Malays may join Umno Baru, and hence only Malays are likely to vote for Umno Baru, so only Muslims who could become ‘instant Malays’ were imported.

Mahathir used these people, in a most evil fashion, to provide short-term economic benefits at the expense of ordinary Malaysians. His desire to give Umno Baru (and BN) long-term political and electoral advantages was even more pernicious.

The difficulty of introducing a Malaysian minimum working wage is widely known. Why would the authorities and employers approve this policy, when laws exist to import cheap labour to depress wages and control the people, the economy and future votes?

Rural folk made vulnerable

Mahathir abused people in the rural areas, as they were more vulnerable. He continued to neglect the rural communities by not providing job opportunities or by depriving them of infrastructure and services.

Many children of Felda settlers are graduates, but they are hampered by a lack of suitable jobs back in their communities and cannot make a valuable contribution to society.

Friends have complained of large numbers of Felda graduates who are unemployed. Some hold degrees in aeronautical engineering which cannot benefit their community, whilst others have complained that some graduates have skills which are not put to good use in their areas.

In the end, the disheartened youth gravitate to the cities, to be followed shortly by the older generation. Then, the rural areas become depopulated, and to sustain the economy, more foreign workers are smuggled in by the authorities.

With more foreigners, both legal and illegal being imported, the Umno Baru vote bank is endless. The migrants provide Umno Baru with votes, they generate production on the estates and boost the economy.

Umno Baru does not care that the urban areas are bursting with displaced Malaysians from the surrounding countryside.

Recently, parts of some cities are also being populated by foreigners. Malaysians have complained about a decline in services provided by hospitals, schools and community housing. The worst places record high rates of crime.

We know that from the 1980s onwards, Indians were displaced from the estates when plantations took over large tracts of land, perhaps, to satisfy Mahathir.

If the import of foreigners is not properly managed in the near future, the remaining Felda settlers and rural Malays will complete the exodus to the cities.

When that happens, and the Malays finally realise that Umno Baru has duped them, the recriminations will begin in earnest and Umno Baru will face a severe backlash from a cynical Malay community.

Then, politicians like Ahmad Zahid will wish that they had acceded to the relatively mild demands of free and fair elections from genuine Malaysians, rather than tell them to migrate.

Malaysia-Chronicle

Newly-elected MP for Pandan Rafizi Ramli challenged Khairy Jamaluddin, Umno’s newly-appointed minister, to speak up on the issue of phantom voters, which the political Opposition in the country has blamed as being one of the main factors that “robbed” them of victory at the May 5 general election.

“I would welcome Khairy who has happily assumed his seat in the Cabinet to speak up on this matter. He models himself as a reformist – so what does he have to say in the face of the mass of evidence that has been accumulated,” Rafizi Ramli, who is also the PKR strategy director, told a press conference on Monday.

The 36-year-old Rafizi had earlier revealed the names of 8 voters who have lodged police reports when they were barred from voting after the records showed that “other people had already voted using their names”.

“This implies that false ICs (identification cards) may have been issued by the National Registration Department to allow the phantom voters to go to the balloting stations and cast their votes,” said Rafizi.

Malaysiakini

PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli today revealed the names of eight individuals who had made police reports about someone else voting on their behalf across the country, which he says proves the existence of phantom voters.

He added that PKR will start revealing evidence of electoral fraud that happened during the May 5 election beginning this week.

Rafizi (right) said that the party and Pakatan Rakyat coalition have now collected enough evidence and will be releasing them periodically.

“We will have one press conference every two or three days to reveal things to the media, while others will go into our election petitions,” said the newly-elected Pandan MP.

Greenboc

Bernarkah Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Menteri Keselamatan Dalam Negeri bercita-cita untuk menangkap DS Anwar Ibrahim atau ia sekadar propagnda murahan akhbar pencacai yang begitu tertekan dengan sambutan rakyat terhadap siri perhimpunan yang diadakan oleh Pakatan Rakyat di seluruh negara?

Jika benar Ahmad Zahid Hamidi bercita-cita demikian, yang akan menerima kesan negatif paling besar ialah UMNO BN sendiri kerana masing-masing sudah pun melihat bagaimana sambutan rakyat terhadap Anwar malah segala kempen dan perancangan untuk menghancurkan kareer Anwar tidak berjaya. Malah apa yang berlaku ialah di sebaliknya dimana “majoriti” rakyat menyokong Anwar. Saya menekankan perkataan “majoriti” kerana itulah hakikatnya, Pakatan Rakyat berjaya memperolehi “majoriti” undi popular semasa PRU13 yang lalu.

Hanya “persempadanan” yang dilakukan oleh SPR menyebabkan majoriti “bilangan kerusi” tidak dimenangi oleh Pakatan Rakyat. Hal itu pun masih banyak menimbulkan keraguan kerana petisyen akan berlaku selepas ini yang mana sekurang-kurangnya 27 kerusi parlimen kini sedang diteliti oleh Pengarah Strategi KEADILAN, Rafizi Ramli.

UMNO BN tetap tumbang kerana sepertimana GB selalu ungkapkan, hukum kebenaran dan keadilan akan tetap berjalan. Kemenangan dengan cara penipuan tetap tiada keberkatan dan kemenangan secara demikian tidak mempunyai dasar yang kukuh untuk bertahan lama.

Malaysiakini

Despite police warning that the rally was illegal, thousands turned up for a Pakatan Rakyat state government sponsored ‘thanksgiving’ event at the Esplanade in Penang last night.

The crowd, mostly youths sporting black T-shirts armed with plastic vuvuzela horns, appeared to hold fast to the spirit of Blackout 505, Pakatan’s clarion call against alleged election fraud and vote buying in the May 5 general elections.

“In most countries if such incidents of fraud happen, there would have been massive civil strike,” said Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim, the last speaker for the night.

“Prime Minister Najib Razak should thank Pakatan for maintaining peace and calm in all our protests,” said the former deputy prime minister.

“In all states, from Penang toPerak, Johor, Negeri Sembilanand Pahang, we held peaceful rallies yet Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi say these were illegal,” he lamented.

“I want to tell them, they can try to declare our rallies illegal but they can never stop people’s power because the people’s voice is mighty (suara rakyat suara keramat),” he shouted to loud applause from the crowd.

Anwar said it was impossible to accept the results of the general elections when there were close to30 seats in doubt, while BN retained Putrajaya although it managed to obtain only 48 percent of the popular vote.

“They asked us to accept the cheating and the robbery? Your car or home is stolen from you and they tell you to accept the reality? Reality, my foot!” he exclaimed.

“This is fraud, there is no way any citizen of Malaysia should accept this fraud,” added the Permatang Pauh MP.

“If there are any seats where Umno or BN had won, and we don’t have evidence of cheating, we would accept the results, we would concede,” he stressed.

“But in the 30 seats that we lost, we have evidence of electoral fraud and we shall challenge these results,” he vowed.

A celebrity’s welcome

When he arrived at 9.40pm, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was given a celebrity’s welcome, with loud cheers from the crowd, many of whom also blared their vuvuzelas repeatedly.
Lim estimated the crowd size to be about 60,000, thanking the Penang voters for giving Pakatan another term to rule the state.

He later introduced his team of state cabinet members to the crowd, saying they were specially picked to serve the people.

Lim then condemned the proposed implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), saying Pakatan would go all out in Parliament to fight the new tax.

“You give people RM500 BR1M money, and you want to get back millions by implementing the GST?” queried the DAP secretary-general.

“We will not accept this, we will go all out and fight it.

“You cannot impose this tax on the 52 percent majority (of those who voted for Pakatan) because you are a minority (government),” Lim chided.

He was referring to a statement by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Idris Jala who said the new tax can guarantee additional revenue of RM20 billion to RM27 billion for the government.

“I know BN has no more money, so what you have to do is stop being corrupt. Why not let us be the government and we will show you good governance,” he boasted, drawing loud cheers of approval from the Pakatan supporters.

During his speech, DAP national chairman Karpal Singh spoke about the right to assemble, while commending the crowd for being courageous enough to attend the rally despite the threat that the event was “illegal”.

“Let me warn the police this is not an illegal assembly but a gathering of citizens who want to express their concerns at the general elections results,” said the Bukit Gelugor MP.

The event ended at midnight, and with the police stationed at strategic locations leading to the Esplanade, no untoward incident or traffic congestion happened.

Meanwhile, Zahid gave Pakatan fodder to condemn Najib’s new cabinet with his maiden articlein Utusan Malaysia as home minister on Thursday although hedenied being a “racist”, arguing that his comments were merely “practical”.

Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy said Zahid should be arrested and jailed for his “seditious” statement telling those who do not accept the results of the general elections to leave the country.

The crowd blew their vuvuzelas wildly in approval to Ramasamy’s suggestion..

“But is Najib brave enough to do this? No, he is a coward,” added the Prai assemblyperson.

Spread news to rural areas

New state exco for youths and sports, women, family and community development and arts Chong Eng, who switched from being a member of parliament to a state assembly representative, thanked Penangites for voting in Pakatan with a resounding victory despite all the challenges and temptations they faced before and during the 15-day campaign period.

“You have proven that you cannot be swayed by money or empty promises or threats, you are the best,” she said to loud applause from the crowd.

She spoke about how important press freedom was to effect change, especially in the rural areas, as well as Sabah and Sarawak, where Pakatan failed to capture the necessary seats to enable it to seize Putrajaya from BN.

“If we have our own TV station, I am sure Malaysia would have changed already. Democracy without press freedom is not complete or a matured democracy,” added the Padang Lalang assemblywoman.

“So please, go to the rural areas, bring your laptops or your iPads and share with the people the information you have from the Internet and online news like Malaysiakini and Malaysian Insider so that they would have proper access to information,” she added.

Malaysia-Chronicle

Yes, it was another easy victory for Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan Rakyat team. The 50,000-odd crowd at the Seremban Blackout 505 rally on Friday night was only too happy to lap up their speeches, and Prime Minister Najib Razak should take note that when Anwar asked, “should we give BN another 5 years”, the crowd roared back “NO WAY!”‘

So great is Anwar’s and Pakatan’s hold on the people that they have become superstars. On arrival, they are mobbed and at the end of theceramah (rally), the crowd rushes up to the stage to take photos with their favourite Pakatan leaders and to get their autographs.

Tonight, apart from Anwar who as always got the loudest cheers, it was Nik Nazmi, the PKR assemblyman for Seri Setia, who got the hero’s welcome, while stealing the show was Johari Abdul, the PKR MP for Sungei Petani.

Nik Nazmi was this morning charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act for failing to give 10 days notice to the police before holding the mammoth Suara Rakyat Suara Keramat rally (the first in the Blackout 505 series) at the Kelana Jaya stadium in Selangor on May 8.

He is the first PR leader to be charged but with Prime Minister Najib Razak expected to go all out to suppress public support for Anwar and PR, observers believe there will be many more leaders who will suffer the same fate.

Shoddy organization and incompetence

The crowd’s complete lack of fear and implicit trust in in the PR is clear to see but this has also become a double-edged sword, for the responsibility heaped upon the Pakatan is now greater than before. As they call on the people to rally together and reject the results of the tainted 13th general election, it is also incumbent on Anwar and team to reciprocate by ensuring public safety.

Blackout 505 has taken on a life of its own and Anwar and PR are no longer mere Opposition leaders but mega-stars capable of drawing tens of thousands to their gatherings. Britney Spears, Justin Bieber and even Psy would go green with envy at the PR’s star appeal. And this is why it is imperative that the Blackout 505 gatherings are professionally managed if they are to be continued. The rallies should not be left alone to be handled by overzealous and rather ignorant volunteers from the state level, whose sole idea of public security is to yell “duduk duduk” at the people and media.

For example at Friday night’s rally, the PKR state chief should be made to answer as to why there was no cordoned-off area for the press and the guest-speakers?  Why were members of the crowd allowed to come right up to the stage? Where was the space for the press and camera crew? What if there had been a stampede or trouble? Really, it doesn’t always need agent provocateurs to create trouble. Very often, all it takes is an over-enthusiastic audience and a very poorly-trained team of marshals to trigger a stampede that can leave dozens injured.

These are the nuts and bolts that PKR leaders have to come to grips with if they are to continue with their rallies spree. They need to snap out from the ‘after-glow’ of their huge success and work harder to overcome sheer, shoddy and incompetent organization. The support and trust of the people are not given for free, it must be returned not just with expressions of thanks and gratitude but with real and greater professionalism. More than ever before because PR leaders have now assumed near ‘cult’ status. Safety is a basic prerequisite and should no longer be left to amateur volunteers with little or even zero training.

It’s what we can do

Be that as it may, the Seremban folk who came were oblivious to danger or risk. They only wanted one thing – to take part in Blackout 505. “It’s the only thing we can do,” a Chinese girl in her 20s told Malaysia Chronicle at the end of the ceramah. She had come with a group of friends, most of whom are working in Seremban while a few are still final-year college students.

When asked if she would come again,”Yes, I like Ubah and as much as I can, I and my family will do our part. It can be signing petitions or some small monetary contribution but we will try to show our support.”

Indeed, the star-studded PR lineup was hard to resist. Apart from Anwar, who made another stunning speech, were PAS deputy president Mat Sabu, PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayub, DAP life adviser Chen Man Hin, DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke, PKR president Wan Azizah, vice president Tian Chua, communications director Nik Nazmi, Selangor assemblywoman Elizabeth Wong and Seremban PKR Youth chief Nazree Yunus.

But stealing the show was Johari.  A former director of the notorious Biro Tata Negara or National Civics Bureau, he has performed the role of ‘chief emcee’ for the Blackout 505 rallies since they started on May 8. An outstanding speaker, Johari has also been instrumental in breathing oomph into the rallies, controlling and motivating the crowd with his booming voice. And tonight, he was in top form.

“Najib said ‘apa lagi Cina mau’ (what more do the Chinese want), Utusan wrote ‘apa lagi Cina mau’, Ibrahim Ali said we must boycott Chinese goods. I want to ask, are there any Malays here (in the crowd)? Any Indians? Any Chinese?” asked Johari.

He received a thunderous ”ada” or ‘yes’ to each question.

“This shows not only the Chinese reject Umno-BN but we the children of Malaysia. Let us send a clear message to Umno-BN that not just the Chinese but Malays, Kadazans and others reject Umno-BN. For more than 50 years, the Chinese, Malays and Indians supported BN but even as they grew stronger, in the end they cheated us. And now that the people have awakened, they feel under pressure and so they ask ‘what more do the Chinese want?’. Pordah, pordah, pordah (get lost, get lost, get lost). We are the children of Malaysia.

“And because 52% of us did not vote for them  but for Pakatan Rakyat, an Umno leader said you can go pick another country and get out of Malaysia. Oi, who are you (to say this) , who are you you? Is this your father’s country? This is our country, this our country, this is our country. Who is this person who wants to chase us out. Oi, pordah! Oi pordah! Oi pordah!

“We know that in GE13 we won but victory was stolen from us and this is why we are gathering tonight. Enough is enough! You have cheated us, we don’t want to wait till GE14, we want today itself. Hidup rakyat (long live the people)!”

Najib takut oh!

In his 80s, Chen Man Hin – the grand old man of DAP – still found the energy to come out and join the Ubah movement.

“We are very angry. Anwar is very brave. We want him to be firm. At the moment, he is the leader of PR. One day not very far, Anwar will be PM. This is why Najib manyak goncang, takut oh, takut oh (Najib is shaking, he’s very scared, very scared). Why? because he lost and had to play dirty in order to win,” Chen told the laughing crowd.

At least 30 dubious seats: DAP will never join BN

DAP youth chief Anthony Loke told the crowd there were at least 30 dubious seats that the Pakatan wanted a review on and re-election for. He also said the Pakatan was now in process of gathering evidence and hoped to file all the election petitions sometime next month.

Anthony also had the crowd on their feet when he said DAP would never join BN, quashing rumors that it was set to replace MCA and be the new Chinese component party for the BN.

Why should we wait till GE13

And when it was Anwar’s turn to speak, the 64-year-old veteran bolstered Anthony’s list of cheating allegations with some examples of his own including in his Permatang Pauh constituency and those of his colleagues also hit by alleged fraud such as PAS deputy president Mat Sabu and vice president Salahuddin Ayub.

He also tested the sentiment of the crowd, asking them if he should – as some have suggested – wait until the next general election which could take place as far away as in 2018, or should he stick on and fight for the ‘rightful’ results of the May 5 general election.

The response was clear. No way, yelled back the crowd and cheered him on to challenge the controversial GE13 results.

“Some people say never mind, be patient, you can win the next election, the GE14, the youth are with you, you can do it. Nonsense! We have already won this election. We demand our rights,” Anwar said.

“The principle is what is stolen must be returned. You have stolen this election, we demand our right for victory in the 13th general election. BN has no more agenda.”

Anwar also took to task the Attorney General Gani Patail, warning the latter not to ‘over-abuse’ his power when going after opposition leaders, for example such as Nik Nazmi.

“Perhimpunan (rally) is not halal. Stealing timber is halal, stealing land is halal, cheating is halal, cheating voters is halal. I want to see them. I want to tell the Attorney General, stop your nonsense,” said Anwar.

Malaysiakini

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has described the statement urging those unhappy with the May 5 general election results to leave the country as an insult to Malaysians.

“So you think this is your father’s country? This is an insult to the people,” said Anwar during his speech at the Negri Sembilan leg of the Black 505 rally in Seremban last night, which was attended by 30,000 Pakatan Rakyat supporters.

He was commenting on the statement made by newly sworn-in Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in an opinion piece published byUtusan Malaysia on Thursday.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had yesterday lashed out at Zahid’s statement, saying the new home minister’s statement was preposterous.

However, newly-minted Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has attempted to soothe the public outrage over the statement.

He said the statement was Zahid’s personal opinion and not that of the cabinet.

Ahmad’s ‘sodomise’ article slammed

Asserting that home minister’s statement was “stupid”, Anwar also slammed another opinion piece by Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan, which appeared in the same paper a day after Zahid’s article was published.

According to Anwar, Ahmad’s use of the word ‘sodomise’ in his article to dismiss the number of popular votes garnered by Pakatan, which was higher than BN, was “obscene”.

“Another Umno minister says ‘Anwar, don’t sodomise the people’s thinking’. (This is) an obscene way to insult the people’s thinking,” said Anwar.

Ahmad is his article reminded Pakatan that they should understand the country’s laws and not ‘sodomise’ their knowledge when claiming they should form the government based on the percentage of the popular votes obtained.

According to him, the laws of the country determined that the winner of the general election was based on the number of seats won and not the popular votes.

Malaysiakini

Saya ingin merujuk kepada satu laporan media mengenai kenyataan Datuk Ruhanie Ahmad, penulis blog sosio-politik Kuda Kepang dan calon doktor falsafah (PhD) dalam bidang geopolitik dan kajian keselamatan di Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Dalam satu pembentangan di sebuah forum anjuran Pusat Kajian Demokrasi dan Pilihan Raya Universiti Malaya (Umcedel) pada 16 Mei yang lalu, Datuk Ruhanie Ahmad melemparkan persoalan apakah Pakatan Rakyat, atau PKR lebih tepat, “menjadi ejen pertukaran rejim bagi menguntungkan Amerika Syarikat”.

Terdapat dua kekaburan pada dakwaan, pertanyaan atau hipotesis di atas. Kekaburan pertama melibatkan kerangka kajian Ruhanie (kiri).

Setiap kajian akademik perlu didatangkan bukti nyata iaitu hasil penelitian yang mendalam dan panjang.

Sebagai ahli akademik, saya tidak berminat dengan dakwaan-dakwaan berasaskan teori konspirasi.

Dalam sesi soal jawab forum tersebut, saya telah bertanya apakahframework atau metodologi akademik yang beliau gunakan untuk mencapai kesimpulan tersebut.

Ini penting kerana Ruhanie membuka pembentangan beliau dengan penegasan yang beliau bukan lagi ahli politik tetapi bakal menamatkan pengajian PhD beliau dalam bidang kajian keselamatan.

Ini memberi isyarat bahawa pembentangan beliau adalah pembentangan akademik dan dapatan beliau adalah dapatan akademik.

Kerangka ilmiah apa?

Namun demikian, Ruhanie tidak dapat menjawab komponen paling penting dalam satu pembentangan atau kajian akademik iaitu apakah kerangka ilmiah beliau.

Kekaburan kedua ialah, sebahagian besar hipotesis tersebut adalah bersandarkan tulisan Tony Cartalucci berjudul “Malaysia: Failure of US to Subvert the Elections and Install a ‘Proxy Regime’: US ‘Pivot’ Toward Asia Trips in Malaysia.

Adalah penting dalam sebuah kajian akademik yang berwibawa untuk mendatangkan penyangkalan pihak yang dituduh.

Ini kerana sesebuah kajian akademik bukanlah tulisan di blog atau tulisan popular di media. Kajian akademik meraikan dapatan dari dua pihak yang berseberangan.

Dalam hal ini, tulisan Tony Cartalucci bagi pihak Global Research, bertarikh 9 Mei lalu perlu ditekuni. Badan Global Research: Centre for Research on Globalization diasaskan oleh Profesor Michel Chossudovsky.

Beliau salah seorang penandatangan Kuala Lumpur Initiative to Criminalise War dalam tahun 2005, yang diinisiatif oleh bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (atas).

Hubungan akrab mereka berdua ini juga diterjemahkan menerusipelancaran sebuah buku Chossudovsky oleh Tun Dr Mahathir sendiri. Ia dilakukan di Taman Tasik Perdana.

Dua insiden ini tentu sahaja mencairkan hujah Datuk Ruhanie Ahmad, kerana terdapatnya sentimen politik melampaui garis rasional akademik.

Kajian sendeng, berat sebelah

Ia juga menambah elemen konspirasi yang bukan merupakan satu sandaran yang baik dalam tulisan akademik.

Selain itu, Tony Cartalucci yang menulis bagi pihak Global Research ialah seorang pengarang yang terkenal dengan teori-teori konspirasi yang tidak dapat dibuktikan.

Salah satu dakwaan beliau yang menjadi jenaka dalam kalangan sarjana international relation adalah apabila beliau mengaitkanpengganas Sulu yang menceroboh Lahad Datu, Sabah pada Mac 2013 lepas sebagai sebahagian dari Free Syrian Army dan merupakan proksi Amerika Syarikat dan Arab Saudi.

Usaha mengaitkan pencerobohan salah satu keluarga Kiram tersebut dengan gerakan salafisme di Timur Tengah menimbulkan tanda tanya kerana terdapatnya kelompongan atau missing link.

Sesebuah tulisan atau pembentangan akademik yang berkredibiliti haruslah dipasak oleh kerangka ilmiah yang sesuai, relevan dan munasabah.

Kajian akademik juga harus tidak bersikap berat sebelah dan sendeng. Lebih penting, teori konspirasi tidak ada tempat signifikan dalam kajian akademik.

Sesebuah kenyataan akademik harus disandar dan dirujuk kepada dapatan kajian yang berwibawa dan telah diperiksa secukupnya.

Oleh kerana itu saya berpandangan kenyataan Ruhanie dalam forum anjuran UMCEDEL semalam tidak akademik, dan bersifat sensasi.

Malaysia-Chronicle

In a bid to suppress massive public support for the Black505 rallies kicked off by Anwar Ibrahim, it looks like Prime Minister Najib Razak has reverted to scare tactics and draconian measures just days after unveiling a new “transformational” Cabinet and promised to practise “the best democracy”.

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, the PKR state assemblyman for Seri Setia, was charged in the Petaling Jaya Sessions court on Friday morning over the recently-held Kelana Jaya rally to protest fraud and irregularities in the May 5 general election.

According to his lawyer Eric Paulsen, Nik was charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act for allegedly failing to give 10 days notice to the police before the Suara Rakyat Suara Keramat or Black505 rally was held on May 8.

“The charge is an abuse of process and against public policy. The prosecution is done in bad faith, selective and politically-motivated. We will be filing an application to set aside the charge and to declare Section 9 of PAAA as unconstitutional and therefore null and void,” Eric told Malaysia Chronicle.

Landmark rally: Don’t concede defeat – Gen Y

Anwar, the Opposition Leader who had refused to concede defeat, had launched the rally to protest the electoral victory that he claims was stolen from his Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

The landmark gathering at the Kelana Jaya stadium had drawn more than 150,000 people from all walks of life, mostly young Malaysians in their 20s and 30s who came despite the short notice. Concerned about the fraud allegations, many urged Anwar not to give up or concede defeat.

“I pleaded not guilty,” Nik Nazmi tweeted out shortly after he was charged.

“Kinda like a police state right? Rule by fear, intimidation and favours,” his PKR collegue Nurul Izzah, the Lembah Pantai MP, said on her Twitter.

Nurul, Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen and DAP’s Ronnie Liu had gone to the court to show solidarity for Nik Nazmi, who is also the PKR communications chief.

“Eerie looking @ the numerous policemen, special branch officers &fru s on standby for @niknazmi s case. Reminiscent of 1998. PJ,” tweeted Nurul.

Najib fights for political survival

Apart from the landmark Kelana Jaya rally, Pakatan has held mega-rallies in Penang, Ipoh, Kuantan and Johor. Tonight, Anwar and team will be in Seremban and next week in Kedah (Tuesday, May 21), Terengganu (Thursday, May 23), Malacca (Friday, May 24).

So far, not less than 500,000 people have come to see the Pakatan leaders talk about GE13 fraud. The unprecedented public support may indeed be w

‘BN confirming their guilt’

The latest high-handed police action is also unlikely to deter the Pakatan from carrying on with their wildly-successive ‘roadshows’. Neither is it likely to stop the people, who braved the rain to see their ‘heroes’, from coming to the future rallies.

“It will only create greater public disgust and unhappiness with Najib Razak. Already the people feel he is not a legitimate prime minister and BN not a legitimate government because of the electoral cheating which many experienced first-hand for themselves, such as the indelible ink which washed out in less than an hour,” PKR MP for Batu Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

“By using the police and under-handed tactics to the Black505 rallies, BN is only confirming their own guilt making things worse for themselves.”

Crackdown on organizers

Police have also hauled up the alleged organisers for Wednesday’s Black505 rally held in front of the PKR’s office in Taman Puteri Wangsa, Johor.

PKR state secretary Abdul Shukor bin Ayob and state work secretary Yuneswaran A/L Ramaraj were called up for alleged involvement in the gathering which drew a crowd of more than 60,000.

“The move to interview them over the event is an intimidation of those seeking to exercise their right to assemble in a peaceful manner,” PKR’s communications bureau had said in a statement issued on Thursday.

According to PKR officials, Nik Nazmi was charged under Section 9(1) of Peaceful Assembly Act and faces a fine of up to RM10,000 if found guilty. Lawyer Eric Paulsen is representing the 32-year-old assemblyman.

hy Prime Minister Najib Razak is moving to mow down the Pakatan’s momentum.

The 59-year-old PM, whose announcement of a new Cabinet just days ago was brushed aside by an indifferent public, seems to be in a quandry as to how to quell the uprising of popular support for his political rivals.

The Pakatan has identified 27 seats in the federal Parliament that they claim were won “dubiously”. They want a review and re-election in these seats.

But fighting for his own political survival, Najib is unlikely to agree. Most analysts expect him to use a combination of delaying and scare tactics to defuse the situation.