Read here full article by Richard Teo
See MORE photos in Kelantan, CLICK HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE
See MORE photos in Kelantan, CLICK HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE
Reporter Zubaidah Abu Bakar of NST says "there are many in Kelantan who want to see a change of government. ""Kelantan will become the battleground for the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 12th general election, " said Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Read Here for more and Here
Related articles: Read here and here and Here and Here on Kelantan Politics and the Kelantanese Chinese and here
Excerpts: Read here for more
by Richard Teo
by Richard Teo
As a Kelantanese, I can safely tell (Deputy PM) Najib the true current political situation in Kelantan.
Yes the tide is turning in Kelantan but certainly NOT in favour of BN but for PAS.
Kelantanese Chinese's Support for PAS
During BN’s tenure, pork sellers in the Chinese market were harrassed daily. They were confined to a small inconspicous space where pork could be sold hidden from public view. There was conditional and restricted time when pork could be sold.
When PAS took over the government in 1990, they improved the Chinese market and pork was sold without any restrictions. In short they were not harrassed.
Again, during BN’s tenure, Chinese could not buy houses built on Malay reservation land. Since most of the land come under the purview of Malay reservation, most Kelantanese Chinese could not own a home.
But all these changed when PAS came to power.Under the able PAS DUN of Kota Bharu, Dato Annuar Tan, 30% of houses built on Malay reservation land were allocated for sale to the Kelantan Chinese.
Any doubts where the Chinese loyalty lies can easily be dispelled by visiting the Chinese enclave in Jalan Kebun Sultan.
Ask any Chinese business community there and they will brazenly tell you that they will vote for PAS.
Yes, the Chinese votes in Kelantan are solidly behind PAS.
It is also a fact that the Chinese miniority’s vote in Kelantan are insignificant and confined to only few seats where their votes are crucial for victory or loss.
But in a state where a lot of seats are won and lost by a handful of votes this becomes immensely important where in the final analysis the fate of the government could merely depend on the margin of one or two seats.
The Astute Kelantanese Malays
The Malay psyche in Kelantan is vastly different from the psyche of Malays from the other states. The Malays in Kelantan are astute when it comes to politics. That explains why it is the only Malay state where the opposition party other than UMNO has ruled for a substantial period since Merdeka.
The Malays in Kelantan were generous in giving Pak Lah a resounding victory in 2004. But this was partly due to PAS over-zealous Islamic reforms which persuaded the Malays to vote for Pak Lah’s Islam Hadhari. Further they were captivated by Pak Lah’s assurance of tackling corruption which was beginning to be rampant in all branches of the government.
But alas, Pak Lah was a disappointment. Instead he took it as an opportunity for his relatives and family to plunder the nation’s wealth by giving contracts to his son and son-in law.
There is a saying among the Malays in Kelantan that UMNO can fool the Malays in the other states with their rhetoric of ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ but they cannot fool the Malays in Kelantan.
They are aware that BN has introduced many programmes and development projects. According to Datuk Annuar Musa “RM2 billion worth of projects are flowing into the state”.
But the local (Kelantanese) Malays will ask you who are the beneficiaries of these projects? Yes, its the UMNO cronies and the UMNO connected politicians who will secure all the major contracts.
Because of centuries of close proximity of Kelantan to Thailand and the close rapport between the Chinese and the Kelantanese Malays, the local Malays are not only intelligent and well-versed in commerce but they are very conversant with local and federal politics. This perhaps explain why UMNO with their brand of politics can never fool the Kelantan Malays.
The Astute Kelantanese Malays
The Malay psyche in Kelantan is vastly different from the psyche of Malays from the other states. The Malays in Kelantan are astute when it comes to politics. That explains why it is the only Malay state where the opposition party other than UMNO has ruled for a substantial period since Merdeka.
The Malays in Kelantan were generous in giving Pak Lah a resounding victory in 2004. But this was partly due to PAS over-zealous Islamic reforms which persuaded the Malays to vote for Pak Lah’s Islam Hadhari. Further they were captivated by Pak Lah’s assurance of tackling corruption which was beginning to be rampant in all branches of the government.
But alas, Pak Lah was a disappointment. Instead he took it as an opportunity for his relatives and family to plunder the nation’s wealth by giving contracts to his son and son-in law.
There is a saying among the Malays in Kelantan that UMNO can fool the Malays in the other states with their rhetoric of ‘Ketuanan Melayu’ but they cannot fool the Malays in Kelantan.
They are aware that BN has introduced many programmes and development projects. According to Datuk Annuar Musa “RM2 billion worth of projects are flowing into the state”.
But the local (Kelantanese) Malays will ask you who are the beneficiaries of these projects? Yes, its the UMNO cronies and the UMNO connected politicians who will secure all the major contracts.
Because of centuries of close proximity of Kelantan to Thailand and the close rapport between the Chinese and the Kelantanese Malays, the local Malays are not only intelligent and well-versed in commerce but they are very conversant with local and federal politics. This perhaps explain why UMNO with their brand of politics can never fool the Kelantan Malays.
PAS Branch Members Celebrating Chinese New Year with Chinese Folks in Kuala Lumpur
(Photos courtesy of Kickdefella Blog)
Kelantanese Indians Voting for PAS
Of late, the sprinkling of Indians are also behind PAS NOT due to Hindraf’s effort but because of the awareness that it was under PAS rule that a prominent land in Jalan Hamzah was approved for the Hindus to build a temple when the same approval was REJECTED by BN four times before.
( Note: It was during the rule of PAS that its Menteri Besar summoned the Hindus to a meeting and offered them a site to build a Hindu temple. He approved the Hindu temple on the spot without any requirement for a formal application or for any committees to be formed to look into the matter.
In fact, the Hindus had previously applied for permission during the time that Umno was ruling the state so Nik Aziz just resurrected that decades-old application and approved it without the need for a fresh application )
PAS Vice President Husam Musa at the Funeral of Ven. Dr K. Sri Dhammananda Nayaka Maha Thera
(Photo courtesy of Jeff Ooi's Screenshots)
In the coming general election BN will not only lose in Kelantan it will lose as badly as in 1990.
This is not only a fact, it is a promise.
Another Reminder from the UMNO-led Government at the Peaceful November 10th Rally by BERSIH for Free and Fair Election
AND THIS
