Is MCA’s peace plan undemocratic?

Undeniably, both MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and ousted deputy Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek command a huge portion of the party’s delegates, but it is claimed that the whole process of the peace plan between them has been undemocratic and devoid of legitimacy.


Ong Ka Chuan

Former MCA secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan criticizing the MCA’s peace plan is undemocratic.

Ka Chuan also criticized Ong Tee Keat for not consulting the central committee over the plan and instead sought the approval of the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, which he said was inappropriate.

He said this would result in public perception that the party was susceptible to external interference.

Ka Chuan said the party's assembly was the highest decision-making body and once a decision has been made, it must be accepted and respected.

He said that at the very least, the party leadership must explain to the members why the delegate's views were ignored.

He said President Ong Tee Keat's plan had in effect turned the Oct 10 extraordinary general meeting (EGM) outcome into a "joke".

He said both Ong Tee Keat and Dr Chua Soi Lek's factions had agreed on the resolutions before a notice for the EGM was issued.

Ong Tee Keat reneged on his promise and refused to step down while Dr Chua Sooi Lek is now seeking the Registrar of Societies (ROS) to reinstate him to his former post.

Ironically, if MCA continues to be wracked by internal fiasco, it would have a negative impact on BN and benefits opposition in the upcoming elections.

The question arises: Can the Peace Plan maintain the status quo in MCA and re-energize it or otherwise?

Can MCA resolve its crisis internally?

Chinese community termed the MCA internal crisis as unfortunate.

It seemed that MCA had not learnt any lessons from its past mistakes and always repeats the same mistakes.


Ironically, it is strongly believe that the 60-year-old party MCA was incapable of solving its own internal crisis through its own internal mechanism. At the MCA's extraordinary general meeting (EGM), 1,155 of the 2,304 central delegates passed a vote of no-confidence against its president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

The EGM also passed a resolution to reinstate suspended Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek's membership albeit rejecting the motion to restore him as the party's No. 2.

The two leaders said they accepted the outcome of the EGM. Following that, the party's powerful central committee (CC) had met to discuss the latest development and the next course of action for the party. It is claimed that CC had never asking the President to step down.

However, Ong Tee Keat refused to resign as party president despite losing a confidence vote. Vise President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai was appointed deputy president of MCA after a heated central committee meeting. He had at loggerheads with Ong Tee Keat who says he will now call for another EGM.

Undeniably, it was not easy for Ong and Liow to find a compromise because Liow was not keen for a fresh party election while Ong would prefer fresh party election to get endorsement from the delegates to continue as the party president.

Initially, members of MCA thought that Ong Tee Keat would be a good and capable president, but within a year of taking office, he was as bad as all the rest, it shows how absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The question arises: Can MCA resolve its political crisis internally?

Malaysia Day a national holiday is most welcome

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's announcement that Sept 16 will be a national public holiday from next year to commemorate Hari Malaysia is a most welcome development in the long run to celebrate the formation of Malaysia.

He said Malaysia Day will be celebrated with activities to strengthen unity, racial understanding, and the people's achievement in sports, socio-culture, culture and others to light up the spirit of 1Malaysia.

Undeniably, under the 1Malaysia spirit, Aug 31 and Sept 16 were equally significant.

Aug 31 marks the attainment of independence from colonialism, while Sept 16 were equally significant as Sept 16 ushered the birth of a new and bigger nation called Malaysia although Singapore left the federation in 1965.

Nik Aziz admits wrong strategy caused defeat in Bagan Pinang

PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat admitted PAS’ defeat in the Bagan Pinang by-election was due to a wrong strategy in their campaign.


He said relying on “ceramah” (political rallies) did not bring in the intended results. Most voters in Bagan Pinang did not know much about PAS and thus, did not vote for the party, he said.

“This caused the votes for PAS to drop as compared to the last general election,” Nik Aziz, who is also Kelantan Menteri Besar, added that the voters also had the perception that the party comprised terrorists and extremists, causing them to be too afraid to accept it.

The huge majority won by BN's Mohd Isa Samad at the well fought by-election at Bagan Pinang against his PAS rival is a major morale booster for Umno.

The result was as follow:

Mohd Isa Abd Samad (BN): 8,013

Zulkefly Mohamad Omar (PAS): 2,578

Majority: 5,435

Spoilt votes: 223

Pas' illegal stalls a nuisance

Pas supporters from outside Negri Sembilan are making a quick buck in Bagan Pinang but while inconveniencing the locals. Reported by NST.

The mushrooming of illegal stalls selling all sorts of things, from food to clothes and other party merchandise, has caused massive traffic congestion in this resort town.

Many residents are unhappy and are hoping that the local council will address the issue immediately.

G. Kumar, 35, of Taman PD Utama, said the stalls have caused traffic congestion since the start of the Bagan Pinang by-election campaign, leaving many people including himself late for work.
"Usually it takes me only 10 minutes to reach my workplace in town but because of the stalls, I have to leave my house early or spend at least half an hour in the congestion.

Ahmad Tarmizi, 55, said the stalls at the Pas operations centre have caused a lot of inconvenience for the people living near the area.

"People park their car by the side of the road without even considerating those living in the area. Sometimes, it is difficult for us to come out of our area or return home because of the massive crawl because of the stalls," he said.

The relevancy of MCA remains question

Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak wants the MCA to emerge strong and stable after the party’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Saturday.

He reiterated that a strong and stable MCA was needed in getting and delivering the support of the Chinese community to the coalition.

The question arises: Can MCA emerge strong and stable after the party’s EGM on Saturday?

Although the Chinese still talk about within the community, most do not care if MCA were to collapse.

Over the last election, the Chinese protesting vote is increasing. The EGM will only allow MCA to solve its internal conflicts or to remain in crisis otherwise. It is not the question how the party is going to regain Chinese votes.

To the Chinese, they said MCA overlooked the interest of the community.

No matter what the outcome of the alleged power struggle, the relevancy of MCA and to reach out to its traditional constituency remains question.

PM: Victory more important than majority

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said, winning in the Bagan Pinang state by-election is more important to the Barisan Nasional than the size of the majority obtained.


"There's no need to talk about winning big or small, as long as (we) win. Winning is the important thing," the prime minister told Malaysian journalists after his four-day visit to France.

He said that to win, the BN must work very hard and carry out an effective campaign to get the message across to the people.

He had been informed that the BN campaign was running smoothly and had received encouraging response but the effort must continue till the end.

No chance for PAS to win the Bagan Pinang by-election

Politically, any candidate running for the by-election will need to have an effective political campaign strategy.

What can we be very sure about in this by-election in Bagan Pinang is, the BN candidate Tan Sri Isa Samad will win the race as it had been its stronghold all the while. The only on the question that's put to us is about the majority.


Isa Samad, 60, a local who served as Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar for 22 years since 1982, is facing state PAS commissioner Zulkefly Mohamad Omar, of Lenggeng.

Isa Samad is well known as the local hero. He is said to be more popular even some are criticized him. He is a grassroots man and people at the grassroots level are willing to support him.

Some political experts agree that the most critical factor to BN victory is the 4,604 postal voters in the uniformed corps.

Traditionally, a majority of the postal voters backed BN which lead BN to victory. Postal voters make up about a third of the electorate in Bagan Pinang and are widely seen as giving an edge to Barisan Nasional candidate Isa Samad.

Bagan Pinang has 13,664 registered voters of whom 62.8 per cent are Malays, 20.7 per cent Indians 11 per cent Chinese and 5.5 percent others. Postal voters total to 4,604.

Dr M : UMNO still relevant but must be wise and brave in taking "corrective measures"

Commenting on the future of Umno, the backbone of the BN, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the party was still relevant but its leaders and members must be wise and brave in taking "corrective measures".

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad

He said, Malaysians will not fare any better if the Opposition takes over the federal government from the Barisan Nasional.

According to him, most of the leaders from the Opposition were seen to be willing to change their stand just to gain popularity and support from the people.

Some of them were willing to declare as "halal" (permissible in Islam) what they used to say were "haram" (forbidden in Islam) simply to please former enemies who now had become partners in the Opposition's Pakatan coalition.

"I think things will only get worse. Their leaders are willing to make "halal" everything. Previously, PAS had said cooperation with non-Muslims would make one an infidel but now not only are they cooperating with non-Muslims, they are also saying it is okay to rear pigs, only that Muslims should not consume pork.”

"PAS quotes the Quran that pork is "haram" but that it did not say pigs cannot be reared. Going by this, it means we (Muslims) can rear pigs, can sell pork but not eat it. Just because they want the cooperation of some people, they are willing to compromise on their principles."

He said Malaysia could ill-afford leaders who were inconsistent in their stand just for the sake of gaining popularity.

"It is just the same with another leader who is a now a strong supporter of Hindraf (the banned Hindu Rights Action Force movement)."

Indian voters in Bagan Pinang should vote BN

Human Rights Party secretary-general P. Uthayakumar said it would not support BN or PR, instead urge all HRP members, Hindraf activists and Indian supporters to abstain from voting in Bagan Pinang by-election.

Ironically, democracy is a system of government in which the actual governing is carried out by the people governed, or the power to do so is granted by them.

Voting is an important part of the formal democratic process and political and democratic right of the voters.

By far, Indian can no longer be denied their political and democratic right; in fact, they should have the right to freely choose their political status.

By abstain from voting in Bagan Pinang by-election; it’s just like putting Indian down and taking them out of practical politics. The success Story of India in Malaysia under BN government is certainly quite undeniable.

There are so many successful Indian lawyers and doctors, professional as well as high ranking government servant in Malaysia, thus it's completely illogical that much Indian blames the government.

Undeniably, the BN government is taking very good care of Indian right. In April 1992, the BN government had offered 9 million Telekom shares to Maika Holdings Berhad, the investment arm of MIC. It was established in 1982 purportedly to enable Indian Malaysians to share in the country’s economy growth.

Unfortunately, in April 1992, it was discovered that Maika Holdings involved in a 9 million Telekom shares scandal. Why should Indian be angry with BN? Should MIC shoulder all the blame for failure?

The question arises: How far should Indian in Bagan Pinang support BN?

Straight Fight between BN and PAS in Bagan Pinang

It is the best chance for BN to end the opposition's winning streak by fielding Mohd Isa Abdul Samad in Bagan Pinang by-election.

Mohd Isa Abdul Samad vs Zulkefly Mohamad Omar

By picking Isa, who is popular with the grassroots, Umno is seen as riding roughshod over public sentiment.

The high level of Malay support and large number of postal votes are the factors that dominate Umno to win the by-election.

The Bagan Pinang state by-election on Oct 11 will see a straight fight between Barisan BN and PAS.

BN is fielding former Menteri Besar Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad while PAS is represented by Zulkefly Mohamad Omar, the party's state commissioner.

Returning Officer Abdul Wahab Shamsuddin announced the contest at 11.25am after the objection period had ended.

Mohd Isa, 59, was the first to arrive at the nomination centre at Port Dickson Municipal Council hall at 9.05am, naming N. Kandiah as the proposer and Kaw Yoh See as the seconder.

About 10 minutes later, Zulkefly filed in his nomination papers, with Baharom Bujang as the proposer and Sarif Kasim as the seconder.

The seat fell vacant following the death of incumbent assemblyman Azman Mohammad Noor of BN on Sept 4. In the 2008 general election, Azman defeated PAS' Ramli Ismail with a majority of 2,333 votes.

There are 13,664 voters in Bagan Pinang, including 4,604 postal voters. The constituency has eight polling districts namely Pekan Siliau, Teluk Kemang, Ladang Atherton, Ladang Bradwall, Kampung Bagan Pinang, Taman Eastern, Sua Betong and Si Rusa.