The predicament of Kelantan Chinese

The predicament of Kelantan Chinese (Please click).

Nik Aziz can stay on as MB if he is healthy

The Star (7/11/2007): PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat can remain as Kelantan Mentri Besar as long as his health permits it.

Party vice-president Mohamad Sabu said Nik Abdul Aziz was healthy, he could continue to lead the state.

“We are not out to get the Mentri Besar post,” he said.

It was reported that Nik Abdul Aziz had offered to remain as mentri besar if the party and the people of Kelantan wanted him to.

There has been much speculation over Nik Aziz continuing as mentri besar after he suffered a mild heart attack in 2004.

Kelantan government accused of 'planned cheating'

The Star (7/11/2007): Kelantan Umno delegate Datuk Sazmi Miah lambasted the PAS state government during his debate on the presidential speech at the Umno General Assembly.

In a speech largely in pantun-form (traditional Malay poetry), Sazmi said the Kelantan state government had been carrying out “planned” cheating for some time especially when it came to activities that were carried out in forests.

“Thousands of hectares of forest reserves were given up for projects on the pretext the land would be used for gold mining, forest plantations or to grow vegetables.

“But every single time, the land has been used for logging instead.”

After each example Sazmi gave about how the state government had been abusing its powers, he held up a book and said ”Buktinya ada di sini” (the proof is here).

Sazmi, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry parliamentary secretary, said rivers had turned brown and the land had suffered after being "raped" by loggers.

“I want to ask PAS of the thousands of hectares they 'raped', how many jobs were actually created? Of the 54 gold mining certificates given, how many kilograms of gold was mined?

“It has come to a point where even the grass is crying for the lost trees.”

A Selangor delegate called on the Malays not to sell off their land for short-term gains in the wake of the Government’s nationwide implementation of large-scale development programmes.

Datuk Ahmad Kuris Mohd Nor said the Government had done so much for the development of the Malays and they should not throw such opportunities out the window.

The economic standing of the Malays had improved under these policies, but he reminded them that they were still behind in many areas.

“I urge the Government to implement laws to prevent the Malays from selling off their land for the simple reason of getting high profits, while a special agency be formed to help the Malays manage their land.

“The Malays should be advised to keep their land which will benefit future generations,” he said in the debate on the party president’s policy speech.

Ahmad Kuris thanked Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for his concern for the people’s livelihood by giving free school textbooks and abolishing examination fees.

Puteri Umno delegate Norhamizah Mat Tahir said the movement would not be apologetic and would defend Umno against its detractors.

She criticised those who claimed that the New Economic Policy (NEP) had benefited the Malays while leaving the other races behind in the country’s development.

“Nine out of 10 of the richest Malaysians in the Forbes magazine list are non-Malays. This means that the NEP had also brought benefits to everyone regardless of race," she said.

Norhamizah also said that racial matters should not be politicised to the extent that the country be destroyed.

“It’s time to say enough is enough. We have given up so many things for others.

“The Umno president should take action against those who try to take advantage of us, otherwise we will initiate our action against those who want to bring down our party,” she added.

Norhamizah suggested that the Puteri Barisan Nasional movement be formed to help the coalition win the general election.

“We hope the party president will not forget our movement leader and consider her as a general election candidate,” she added.

Youth, journalists urged to join Bersih rally

Malaysiakini (7/11/2007): PAS Youth has declared it ‘obligatory’ for all members to join the mass assembly for electoral reform in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, organised by the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih). (Full report)

Sure-fire scripts at Umno assembly

NST (6/11/2007): Among the many, many possibilities that could come off in the Umno general assembly this time, two at least could be considered quite likely. One is a no-contest mood in the proceedings and the other is a return to Pas-bashing.
The first is becoming the standard overture for party elections, while the other is the seasonal blast-off prior to the general election.

Chronologically, it is the latter, as is widely known already, that will come first. But in order of importance, it is not really certain which of the two will take precedence to the 2,500 delegates attending.

The exact dates of the two elections are still anybody's guess but the vibes are telling the whole world that these two most critical events in the country's politics in three years are so near enough, you could almost smell them.

In fact, some pundits are oddly predicting that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is Umno president, would in his adjournment speech at the end of the assembly on Friday, announce the dissolution of parliament to pave the way for the general election.

Dissolving parliament at an Umno assembly? This has never been done before.

But it would be interesting indeed to observe how those speaking at the general assembly -- there will be about 50 of them -- would "navigate" through the process with party elections in mind.

An Umno Youth member I met the other day told me to watch out for who, among the first speakers debating the motion of thanks to the party president for his policy speech, would come out and propose that there be no contest for at least the top two positions in the party. Brownie points to be earned here.

"If this takes place as expected, it will create the mood and set the tone of sorts for everyone else," he said.

A no-contest mood is not new in Umno gatherings prior to party elections.

In the 2003 general assembly, for instance, which preceded the last party elections held the following year, this atmosphere was all apparent even with the reality that a changing of the guard in Umno was imminent since it was the last for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as party president.

Dr Mahathir, who had announced much earlier that he was stepping down, had picked Abdullah as his successor and there was a lot of interest then as to who would be Abdullah's deputy.

The 2003 meet predictably quelled all the heat when delegates spoke about the need to avoid a contest for the top party posts, which could split the party.

And this was reciprocated by key party people -- the then vice-presidents Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib -- who pledged they would not challenge Abdullah's choice of successor, whoever he might be.

A no-contest mood permeated when the three declared their stand, a situation initiated first by Dr Mahathir who, in his opening speech, expressed concern that the fight for posts would be disastrous. The delegates took the cue and created the kind of atmosphere and resolve to stay united.

This same spirit is most likely to be generated this time around, though the call for the abstention is, like always, only limited to the top two positions in the party.

Underneath all that however, the likelihood of subtle campaigning and lobbying -- one, for a seat in the next general election and another for other key positions in the party -- will be inevitable.

And one of the direct results of this is the prospect that some of those speaking at the assembly would take the opportunity to show off their party heroism by just hitting out at a common enemy -- Pas.

Pas, often convenient targets in Umno gatherings, was spared quite a bit in the last two general assemblies where delegates were preoccupied with other issues.

But there is a great possibility that Pas-bashing, as some observers describe it, would make a return this time.

There's plenty of room for that as well, according to an Umno insider, given the Barisan Nasional government's development agenda against Pas' politics of rhetoric.

The East Coast Economic Region development plans, for instance, would likely be cited in the attacks on Pas' strategies, especially in Kelantan.

Other ammo could come from issues arising out of the recent blazing street demonstration in Batu Buruk linked to opposition parties and the upcoming political march planned by non-governmental organisations and the opposition on Saturday, a day after the Umno assembly, in Kuala Lumpur.

ACA records explanation from Nik Aziz over bribery attempt

Bernama (5/11/2007): The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) today recorded an explanation from Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat over his acknowledgement of an attempt to offer him a RM1-million bribe 16 years ago in return for a logging concession.

Kelantan ACA director Md Yusoff Md Zain and two of his officers were seen entering the office of the menteri besar at about 3pm and leaving two hours later.

Md Yusoff, when approached by reporters later, declined comment. "No comment! No comment! You have to wait," he said when reporters and photographers swarmed him.

Nik Aziz, when met afterwards, expressed disappointment that the ACA was only looking into the matter now. "Why has the ACA not acted since 1991? Why only now?" he asked.

Questioned whether the ACA had recorded his explanation, Nik Aziz said: "Certainly."

Nik Aziz calls PAS members to emulate Pak Lah's openness

Bernama (5/11/2007): PAS Spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad's affection and kind gesture in treating him, despite their political differences, should be emulated by party grassroot members.

"Pak Lah loves me to an extent that when I have to walk up and go down the stage he holds my hand," he told reporters after launching a fund collection for the construction of the Maahad Tahfiz Al Quran Nurul Hidayah hostel here Monday.

The Kelantan Menteri Besar said this when asked on the friendly relations seen between him and the prime minister at the launch of the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in Kota Baharu on Monday.

A picture of the Umno president holding Nik Abdul Aziz's hand as he was walking down the stage was also published in the mainstream newspapers.

Nik Aziz said he was touched by the prime minister's kindness and hoped it would be emulated by grassroot PAS and Umno members.

Asked on a study by the Kelantan Research and Strategic Studies Institute (KRIS) which found that 70 per cent of Kelantan PAS members wanted Nik Abdul Aziz to continue to helm the state administration after the coming general election, the menteri besar said he was prepared to shoulder the responsibility if that was what the party wanted.

"Let the party decide. I'm now in my 18th year holding the post and do have intentions to ask others (to hold the post). I can't be the one holding the post forever," he added.

Umno: Study on support may not be fair

The Star (5/11/2007): Kelantan Umno has disputed a socio-economic study by the Kelantan Strategic Studies Centre showing Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat to have chalked up the most support among some 3,000 respondents.

The survey revealed that Nik Abdul Aziz garnered 70% support followed by PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa (7%), Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed (6%) and state Umno chairman Datuk Seri Annuar Musa (5%).

State Umno Information head Datuk Md Alwi Che Ahmad questioned the impartiality of the study done by the centre that was set up by the PAS-led state government.

“I think PAS is desperate enough to employ academicians to conduct a study for their own self-interests.”

BN believes it has Kelantan in the bag

Bernama (1/11/2007): The Barisan Nasional's 17-year fight to win back Kelantan from Pas is beginning to show signs of success as the 12th general election looms.

After three years holding the reigns of the BN and Umno in the state, Datuk Seri Annuar Musa said he was confident that BN would from the next state government with a two thirds majority in the 45-seat State Assembly.

He believes the winds of change in Kelantan politics has swung in the BN's favour since the 2004 general election when the BN won 21 of the 45 state seats. BN later won Pengkalan Pasir in a by-election in Dec 2005, tipping the scale of power further towards the coalition with Pas only having 23 seats to the BN's 22.

Annuar said, to realise its goal, the BN would continue to bring development to Kelantan and at the same time prepare candidates of high calibre to contest in the polls.

"All future State Assemblymen must possess high intelligence and "99.99" percent of them must be degree holders," he said in an interview with Bernama at his house here.

Annuar said the opportunity to serve the people was wide open to young professionals who can bring about the BN's mission of developing the state and reducing the number of hardcore poor in Kelantan presently at about 19,000 households.

However, Annuar stressed that grassroots leaders and incumbent assemblymen would be retained.

The change of support towards the BN was largely due to the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who never left out Kelantan in the BN's development programmes, he said.

"Billions of ringgit have been allocated for the development of the state and the allocation under the Ninth Malaysia Plan is also great," he said, adding that the latest was the launching of the East Coast Economic Region (ECER), which really revealed the earnestness to develop Kelantan.

He said the Kelantan BN and Umno would also strive to translate the "feel good" factor into votes for the Barisan Nasional.

Saying that Umno and Pas in Kelantan were almost even in strength, he reasoned that whichever side managed to increase its unity and strength would tip the scale and win the polls.

"I am happy because Kelantan Umno is in tip-top condition. We are united at all levels," he said, adding that any signs of splits within the party were nipped in the bud, unlike in the old days.

Annuar, 51, who became a people's representative at the young age of 28, said that he had prepared the list of candidates for the coming polls and would submit it to the Umno President, who is also the BN chairman, soon.

"We have erased all problems within the party and the election machinery is ready and will roll as soon as Parliament is dissolved," he added.