Wednesday 20 February 2008

2008 ELECTION: Malaysians Want a United Front by Opposition Parties - A United Manifesto and NO 3-Corner Fights

From Malaysia-Today: Read here for more

Quote - read HERE in Malaysiakini for more

"... We WILL deny the (BN a) two-thirds majority.

I am very positive about this, notwithstanding all the fraudulent processes, cheating, ‘phantom’ voters, 120-year-old men and women going to vote or people springing up from the graves.

With all that, we still can press for more than one-third of the seats.

(The years) 1998, 1999 (were a) sort of Malay drama. Now we can sustain that enthusiasm and support among the Malays, increase the votes among Chinese as seen in the last few years, and now from the Indians - it is going to be a major breakthrough, a defining moment..."
-Anwar Ibrahim


Quote:

"... If there are any THREE-CORNER FIGHTS we must PUNISH BOTH OPPOSITION candidates by voting for Barisan Nasional in that particular constituency.

And let both the Opposition candidates lose their deposits.

It must be a STRAIGHT fight or NOTHING AT ALL.

The people must send this very strong message to the Opposition Parties. DAP, PAS, PKR, MDP, PSM, PRM are all guilty of this...."


by

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Excerpts:Read here for more

"... Based on the statistics of the last eleven (11) General Elections:

  • 75% of the registered voters come out to vote. (That is) about 8 million Malaysians will be voting this coming election (March 2008).

  • About 5.5 million have made up their minds who to vote for, split almost equally between the (BN) and the Opposition.

  • 2.5 million Malaysian are still undecided.

  • And if you add this (undecided) 2.5 million to the 3 million voters who will not come out to vote, there are 5.5 million 'virgin' voters who have NOT yet committed themselves to any political party.

  • Targeting the 5.5 Million Undecided and "Virgin" Voters

    Concentrate on the (this) lot of (undecided and 'virgin')5.5 million voters. They can still be swayed to vote either for the ruling party or the opposition even on Polling Day itself.

    And many within this second lot of 5.5 million do have computers and internet access and do go to blogs and internet websites to read the 'alternative' news.

    Many of those within this second lot of 5.5 million have NEVER voted before, did not even bother to register to vote until quite recently, will be coming out to vote for the first time, and will definitely vote opposition. If not they would not bother to vote or to register as a voter.

    And these people are not kids. Some are in their forties and fifties.

    Many are professionals and are in the upper-middle class group. This should have been their fifth or sixth election, not their first.

    But they never bothered to vote or even to register as a voter until quite recently because they do not see any alternatives who they can vote for.

    Voting for Change

    But that has now changed.

    It was a gross mistake giving Barisan Nasional 92% of the seats in Parliament the last time around.

    Barisan Nasional has grown arrogant. Success has gone to its head.

    Barisan Nasional needs to be cut down to size.


    At least send as many opposition candidates as possible to Parliament. And, if in the process Barisan Nasional's two-thirds majority can be taken away, then well and good. That would be the bonus.

    A United Manifesto by the Three Opposition Parties (PAS,PKR,DAP)


    The three main opposition parties -- PAS, DAP and PKR -- have all announced that they are launching their INDIVIDUAL l election manifestos. This is a MAJOR disappointment.

    We had hoped that the opposition parties would not launch their own individual election manifestos but instead adopt the Peoples' Declaration or Deklarasi Rakyat as THEIR manifesto.

    At least this would demonstrate to the voters that the opposition is united. But, alas, this is not going to be so.

    The Peoples' Declaration will be officially launched at 11.00am on Saturday, 23 February 2008, at the Blog House (No: 66, Lorong Setiabistari 2, Bukit Damansara, 50490, Kuala Lumpur).

    NO Three Corner Fights

    Equally important is; there must NOT be any THREE corner fights. The last two elections saw quite a few three-corner fights in spite of the existence of an opposition coalition called Barisan Alternatif and the electoral pact that was agreed upon.

    Threesomes are great when it comes to sex . But in an election it will be disastrous.

    In some seats, the votes the two opposition candidates garnered were more than what the solitary Barisan Nasional candidate got.

    This means, if it had a been a straight fight, the opposition would have won that seat instead of Barisan Nasional. In other seats, because of the three-corner fight, the opposition candidate lost his deposit.

    One hapless opposition candidate in Kampong Medan actually borrowed money from an Ah Long (loan shark) thinking he would be able to refund the money after the election.

    The poor fellow disappeared after that and I am not sure whether he had gone underground to escape the Ah Long or the Ah Long finally caught up with him and dumped his body into a mining pool.

    Punish the Opposition Parties in 3-Corner Fights

    This time around we must punish those parties that perpetuate three-corner fights.

    If your voting constituency is subjected to a three-corner fight then we must vote for the Barisan Nasional candidate.

    Let both the opposition candidates lose their deposits. It must be a straight fight or nothing at all.

    The people must send this very strong message to the Opposition Parties.

    DAP, PAS, PKR, MDP, PSM, PRM are all guilty of this.

    This is because there are many egos at play here. Everyone thinks that they are terra.

    Azmin Ali of PKR and Hassan Ali of PAS are quarrelling as to who is going to be the new Menteri Besar of Selangor.

    Aiyoh. Boleh menang ke tidak? You are not even sure you can deny Barisan Nasional its two-thirds majority in the Selangor State Assembly. Try that first if you can.

    Taking over the state and forming the next government and throwing tantrums because you want to the next Menteri Besar is pure bullshit. Nak cerita pun malu!

    Last election, DAP and PAS engaged in a three-corner fight in Puchong. This election, Karpal Singh's son will be contesting that seat and PAS has graciously agreed to withdraw to allow DAP to have that seat -- and he has a better than average chance of winning the Puchong seat.

    But just as we thought the Puchong matter is already settled, PKR jumps in and says it wants that seat. Aiyah! Apa ni?

    PKR does not even have a candidate yet. They just want that seat and if they get it they will be frantically looking around for someone to field in Puchong.

    Why not DAP, PAS and PKR all contest in Puchong and we make it a four-corner fight instead? Semua kepala tak betul.

    If there are any three-corner fights we must punish BOTH opposition candidates by voting for Barisan Nasional in that particular constituency.

    This is the era of Peoples' Power. The people must decide, not the political parties.

    We accept the opposition, but on our terms, not theirs. If they turn their backs on us then we must turn our backs on them as well.

    Chances are Good to Deny BN Two-Third Majority

    The opposition has a very good chance of winning a good number of seats. The opposition also has a very good chance of denying Barisan Nasional its two-thirds majority in Parliament.

    Furthermore, the opposition has a very good chance of forming the Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang and Sabah state governments.

    And if the opposition fails to do all this it is not because Barisan Nasional is strong but because the opposition is shooting itself in its own foot.

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