MIC'S LATEST

I am reproducing an article which was released by Bernama yesterday and made to the pages of almost all newspapers in the country. Please feel free to give your views on this.

Palanivel Throws Succession Ball Back To Samy

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 (Bernama) -- MIC deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel has thrown the ball back to party chief Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu on when the long-serving MIC president will vacate the post.
"Many questions and pressures have been exerted on the transition of power in MIC. I have been working closely together with Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu for many years now," he wrote on his blog on Wednesday.
"He has been preparing me for the top post for many years. In fact, during several campaign meetings he declared that I have experience, maturity and the capability to take over from him and lead the party," said Palanivel who retained his post at the recent MIC elections.
Since the polls, there has been no let up over how long Samy Vellu intends to stay after being returned unopposed for an 11th term.
It heightened further over the weekend with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak saying that he would discuss a successsion plan with Samy Vellu.
The outspoken MIC leader, who has been at the helm of MIC since 1981, said he was prepared to hand over the leadership of the party if Palanivel was ready.
"I'm certain he must have a good plan in his mind, especially after having supported me as the deputy presidential candidate for the second time in the Sept 12 elections. He will know when will be the best moment to hand over the reins," Palanivel said.
A former journalist who became Samy Vellu's press secretary before entering politics, Palanivel praised the MIC leader as "an iconic leader in Malaysian history" who had led the Indian community through some trying times.
"A lesser man would have perished long ago," he said.
Palanivel was confident that members would continue to support him after the crucial party elections in which an overwhelming majority of candidates backed by Samy Vellu won.
"The new leadership is made up of many new faces and the delegates have voted smartly by bringing in change where they saw fit. It is a good mix of experience and young blood," he added.
-- BERNAMA

MIC Elections

The MIC Elections has concluded and now its time to get back to work and deal with pressing matters. Over the last two months many MIC politicians were occupied with the party polls and since now it has come to a close, it is time for us to get to work and close ranks. MIC politicians need to live-up to the newly set Key Performance Index (KPI) by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Our KPI, he said, is to win back the hearts and minds of the Malaysian Indian community.
On other matters, results of the election favoured candidates backed by the president, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu. The Deputy Presidency was won by Datuk G. Palanivel while the three vice-president seats went to Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, Datuk S.K. Devamany and myself.
The leadership of the party is spanking new except for the top post. The party is on its path towards the right direction by bring in new faces. A total 14 out of the 23 Central Working Committee members are new and young faces.
It is my sincere hope that this would be a new era for the party and its members in an effort to further strive to serve not only the Malaysian Indian community but also the entire Malaysian race.
Thanking you and God Bless.

Polling Online

Read an intersting article in Bernama today. Some of us Netizens have set-up several polling sites for Malaysian Indians to vote, who they think would be the best candidate to hold positions in the party. This is a good move to allow some of us to see how the leaders are being evaluate.
These sites can be viewed at: www.micelection2009.com, www.micpolls2009.com, www.micelections2009.com and micfuture2009.blogspot.com.
Thank You and God Bless.

MERDEKA WISHES

I had just returned from the annual National Day celebrations. It was a very low key affair compared to the previous years. It was held at the Parliament square and attended by some 2,000 people.

It was a bit nostalgic for me to witness this event after watching parades of years gone-by. The previous National Day parades were held at Dataran Merdeka or state capitals with so much pomp and splendour.

This year's celebration was scaled down due to the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic which has swept around the globe claiming hundreds if not thousands of lives. This is the price we have to pay living in a border less world, where travel had become a norm rather than an exception.

However small the celebration, it is a day for us to ponder and think of the nation's independence. This comes at the right time when there are numerous people taking a racial and religious slant on issues that crop-up from time to time.

The 1Malaysia concept propounded by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is another reminder that we Malaysians must live our lives as Malaysians and not as Malay, Chinese and Indian.

While our race may differ, but our nationality is one -- Malaysian. No citizens of this nation should ever forget that. We are Malaysian first and only then are we Malay, Chinese or Indian.

We may be in a racially slanted political party but that party should operate in the context of 1Malaysia. It is my Merdeka wish that all of us Malaysians do away with the habit of branding people using their race, religion or even colour. We are Malaysians and Malaysians we would be, whatever come may.

Thank You and God Bless.

MIC Elections

I am back...to blogging that is. As many would know the MIC would hold it's party election on Sept 12. This is regarded by many as a water shed election for the party to pick the next line of leaders, to take MIC to a higher plane in the future.

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, who was elected unopposed at the MIC presidential election in March this year, has picked his own line-up of leaders for the party polls.

The 1,464 delegates to the MIC assembly on March 12 would pick a deputy president, three vice presidents and 23 central working committee (CWC) members.
Incumbent deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel is the president's choice to retain the post.

The president's men for the three veep seats are Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk S. K. Devamany and myself.

A total 27 candidates have been named by the president to fill in the 23 CWC seats.

As for the deputy presidency, Datuk Palanivel would be challenged by vice-president Datuk S. Sothinathan and former deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam.

While this looks like a tough fight, Datuk Palanivel seems to have the edge over the other two candidates based on his support from Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu. Another factor is the track record of the deputy president, in this case Datuk Palanivel.

In the veep race, all three of us -- Datuk Dr Subramaniam, Datuk Devamany and myself -- seem to be leading the seven cornered race. The other candidates here are Datuk S. Balakishnan of Johor, Datuk V.K.K. Teagarajan of Kuala Lumpur, P. Subramaniam of Selangor and Mariyayee of Negeri Sembilan.

I do not intend to offend any of the other candidates but delegates that I have met, have openly declared their support for the presidential trio. Some say that we would win.

However, I am cautious. Politics is not something that is taken for granted. There are still 12 days to go before delegates to go the polls and in politics 12-days is a very long time, especially when things can change overnight.

In the meantime, I am currently on a nationwide campaign tour to ensure delegates voted for the right people.

This is all for now. I would be updating this blog from time to time on issues that crop-up in this party election. However, I would refrain from naming people in my articles as this could jeopardise their chances.

Please bear with me as the last few months had been hectic and this had prevented me from blogging actively. I am enclosing a Bernama article released today. It can be viewed at http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newspolitic.php?id=436994

Thank You and God Bless.

Sorry For The Absence

I would like to express my apologies to all who had been following this blog over the past year. I have not blogged for about a month now. This is because there had been numerous engagements, meetings and now the Parliament session. I would be back soon with more thoughts. Thank you for your attention.

COA RULES FOR ZAMBRY

Below are two news stories, which would make headlines tomorrow, picked-up from Bernama due to their magnitude. The Court of Appeal has ruled that BN's Zambry is the rightful Menteri Besar of Perak.
The second is the death of a state assemblyman in Kelantan. This would pave way for another by-election. The BN, I feel, should participate in this by-election as it was due to natural causes.

PUTRAJAYA, May 22 -- A three-man bench of the Court of Appeal, in a unanimous decision, today declared Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir as the rightful menteri besar of Perak.
The court held that the order made by the High Court on May 11, in declaring Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as the legitimate menteri besar, was wrong and set aside that decision.
"The learned High Court judge had failed to properly and adequately appreciate the entire evidence before him, and that rendered the decision as wrong," said Justice Datuk Md Raus Shariff, who sat with Justices Datuk Zainun Ali and Datuk Ahmad Maarop.
Both Mohammad Nizar and Zambry were not present in court today.

KOTA BAHARU, May 22 -- Manik Urai state assemblyman Ismail Yaacob died early today of a heart attack. He was 60.
Ismail, one of the longest-serving PAS elected representatives in Kelantan, died at 5.55am at the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital here. He was admitted to the hospital in April.
Ismail leaves a wife, Siti Zaharah Ibrahim, and 10 children. The burial will be held after the Friday prayers today.
Ismail, who was deputy head of the PAS Kuala Krai Division, won the Manik Urai state seat in the general election in 1985 and had been the elected representative there for five terms.
He did not contest the seat in the general election in 2004, paving the way for Zamzuri Mat Lazim to be the elected representative.
Ismail contested the seat again in the general election last year and defeated Mohamed Zulkifli Omar of the Barisan Nasional (BN) with a majority of 1,352 votes.

The Kampung Pandan squatter settlement problem is being now exploited. Some people have gone around to say that these squatters, who had been asked to vacate their premises to allow the government to build new homes for the people, would not be allowed back into the area.
This is totally wrong as after some 39-years there is a solution to their housing woes. Below is an article by Bernama on the problem, which had been on-going all this while.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 (Bernama) -- Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will look
into requests from Indian senior citizens and single mothers in Kampung Pandan
for temporary accommodations in the capital until a flat built for them is
completed.
Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk M.Saravanan said they might be put
up in Cochrane or Sentul but it would depend on the availability of vacant
houses.
He said DBKL had earlier ordered the squatters to be relocated to Bukit
Jalil as a temporary measure.
"DBKL had assured the squatters that the flat will be built at the squatters
settlement in Kampung Pandan.
"A working paper on the project had been submitted to the Economic Planning
Unit," he told reporters after attending the presentation of the Titiwangsa
Education Foundation excellent awards here today.
Titiwangsa Education Foundation chairman Datuk Astaman Abdul Aziz said Sijil
Pelajaran Malaysia and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia outstanding students
received RM500 each while Penilaian Menengah Rendah students (RM100) and Ujian
Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah students (RM50).

p/s: As for the doctors out there who still bear a grudge against me all I can say is go ahead try make the service better. Prove me wrong!

Emergency Department Episode

Last Sunday, I was at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital Emergency Unit to visit someone who had knocked into my car earlier in the morning. Many would have known what had transpired there.
I waited for about a few minutes and sensing that none of the patients waiting outside were called-in, I knocked on the treatment room door and walked in. To my dismay I found two doctors -- one reading newspapers and the other doing his own thing.
I could not digest this because, there were people waiting outside and these doctors were taking their own time. It so happened that a Bernama reporter was at hand witnessing the whole incident without my knowledge. After a while, I was approached by the reporter who got a few quotes from me on the incident and subsequently wrote a story about it.
It was not my intention to blow this issue out of propotion but many would agree with me that the level of service rendered at our government run hospitals, especially the emergency unit, needs a major overhaul.
I have spoken to the Health Minister about it who was fast in coming out with an investigation report on the matter. Thank you sir.
All I wanted was to improve the level of service at government agencies and departments but when I see for myself the suffering of people, it is just too much to bear. We can come out of reports and studies but the bottom line is that the people are quite irked with the civil sector service level, at least in some departments. My aim was only one and not political in nature. Thank you for your attention.

THE PENANTI QUESTION MARK

Last week the Penanti state assembly seat in Penang was declared vacant by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) through a faxed statement to the media. The statement said that the incumbent to the seat Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin has resigned as ADUN. The statement was actually a letter by Fairus himself declaring the seat vacant. The Election Commission had also come out to say that by-election date for the seat would be announced on Friday.
However, there was a sudden announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak stating that the BN might not contest the seat. While I have to accept the Barisan Nasional top leadership's decision on the matter, I personally feel that the seat should be contested by the ruling coalition.
Although it could be a waste of public funds and playing into the hands of the political shadow play of the PKR, the BN should and must not forsake the thousands of voters in the constituency, who had faithfully voted the BN in the past.
In the five by-elections we have seen so far, the BN cannot be pushed aside as it too had garnered a good number of voters. The contest has always been close, with the opposition not winning more than 3,000 votes.
Although the opposition won four of the five by-elections, the BN too had shown it still had support of the people although it was not the majority. The traditional BN voters should not be let down. In the by-elections so far, none of BN candidates lost their deposits or fared really bad. This shows that the BN is in the hearts and mind of many people, though they are not the majority. So, why let these people down by not contesting? I feel, apart from this reason, there was many other reasons why the BN should contest the seat.
We should also respect the democratic process, which the BN had propounded again and again in the past. What the ruling coalition should do is to amend the current election laws, so that political parties do not abuse democracy through resignation of elected representatives. This would be better than snubbing any by-election.
Thank you for your attention.

p/s: Many will say no need to contest because BN is going to lose anyway. For me that's a lame excuse. Nothing is certain until you go to the ballots!

இனிய தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் Iniya Tamizh Puthaandu Nalvazhthukkal

My family and I would like to wish all Tamils a very Happy Tamil New Year. I sincerely hope and pray that this new year would bring loads of happiness and wealth to all. My new year wish would be for all Malaysians, especially Malaysian Indians, to prosper and enjoy a peaceful life.
Meanwhile today is Vaisakhi, the New Year for Sikhs. I take this opportunity to wish all Sikhs a very happy new year celebration.
Below I have attached an introduction to the origins and significance of the New Year picked up from Wikipedia. Please feel free to read through for knowledge. Thank You.

The Tamil New Year follows the Nirayanam vernal equinox and generally falls on April 14 of the Gregorian year. April 14th marks the first day of the traditional Tamil calendar and this remains a public holiday in both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.
Tropical vernal equinox fall around 22 March, and adding 23 degrees of trepidation or oscillation to it, we get the Hindu sidereal or Nirayana Mesha Sankranti (Sun's transition into Nirayana Aries). Hence, the Tamil calendar begins with the same date which is observed by most traditional calendars of the rest of India as in Assam, Bengal, Kerala, Manipur, Orissa, Punjab etc not to mention Nepal, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
The 60-year cycle is also ancient and is observed by most traditional calendars of India and China, and is related to 5 revolutions of Jupiter according to popular belief, or to 60-year orbit of Nakshatras (stars) as mentioned in Surya Siddhanta.
The traditional Tamil year is (from April 14, 2009), Kaliyuga 5111. Vikrama and Shalivahana Saka eras are also used. But in Tamilnadu, from the year 2009 the tamil new year was celebrated on the first day of Thai (usually January 14) by supporters of the DMK and affiliated political parties.
Tamil people celebrate Tamil new year on April 14. There are several references in early Tamil literature to the April new year. Nakkirar, the author of the Nedunalvaadai mentions in the 3rd century that the Sun travels from Mesha/Chitterai through 11 successive Raasis or signs of the Zodiac. Koodaloor Kizhaar in the 3rd century refers to Mesha Raasi/Chitterai as the commencement of the year in the Puranaanooru.
The 8th century Silappadikaaram describes the 12 Raasis/zodiac signs starting with Mesha/Chitterai. The Manimekalai alludes to the Hindu solar calendar as we know it today.

NAJIB'S NEW CABINET

This afternoon Prime Minister Datuk Najib Tun Razak named his cabinet line-up. It was a trimmer cabinet, where he dropped two ministries, with a total 28 ministers and 40 deputy ministers. I have been retained as Federal Territories deputy minister. Below is the list of the new cabinet.

PRIME MINISTER:
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER:
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin

MINISTER IN THE PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT:
1. Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon (Unity and Performance Management)
2. Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (Legal and Parliamentary Affairs)
3. Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop (Economic Planning Unit)
4. Mej-Jen (B) Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom (Islamic Religious Affairs)

Deputy Minister:

1. Datuk Liew Vui Keong
2. Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim
3. Datuk S.K. Devamany
4. Ahmad Maslan
5. T.Murugiah

FINANCE MINISTER:
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak

SECOND FINANCE MINISTER:
DATUK AHMAD HUSNI MOHAMAD HANADZLAH

Deputy:
1. Datuk Chor Chee Heung
2. Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin

EDUCATION MINISTER:
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin

Deputy:
1. Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong
2. Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi

TRANSPORT MINISTER:
Datuk Ong Tee Keat

Deputy:
1. Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri
2. Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew

PLANTATION INDUSTRIES AND COMMODITIES MINISTER:
Tan Sri Bernard Dompok

Deputy:
1. Datuk Hamzah Zainudin

HOME MINISTER:
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein

Deputy:
1. Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop
2. Jelaing anak Mersat

INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS, ARTS AND CULTURE MINISTER:
Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim

Deputy:
1. Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum
2. Senator Heng Seai Kie

ENERGY, GREEN TECHNOLOGY AND WATER MINISTER:
Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui

Deputy:
Noriah Kasnon

RURAL AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT MINISTER:
Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal

Deputy:
1. Datuk Hassan Malek
2. Datuk Joseph Entulu anak Belaun

HIGHER EDUCATION MINISTER:
Datuk Seri Mohd Khaled Nordin

Deputy:
1. Datuk Dr Hou Kok Chung
2. Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah

INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INDUSTRY MINISTER:
Datuk Mustapa Mohamed

Deputy:
1. Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir
2. Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION MINISTER:
Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili

Deputy:
Fadillah Yusof

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT MINISTER:
Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas

Deputy:
Tan Sri Joseph Kurup

TOURISM MINISTER:
Datuk Ng Yen Yen

Deputy:
Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abdul Taib

AGRICULTURE AND AGRO-BASED INDUSTRY MINISTER :
Datuk Noh Omar

Deputy:
1. Datuk Johari Baharum
2. Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim

DEFENCE MINISTER:
Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi

Deputy:
Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad

WORKS MINISTER:
Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor

Deputy:
Datuk Yong Khoon Seng

HEALTH MINISTER:
Datuk Liow Tiong Lai

Deputy:
Datuk Rosnah Rashid Shirlin

YOUTH AND SPORTS MINISTER:
Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek

Deputy:
1. Datuk Razali Ibrahim
2. Wee Jeck Seng

HUMAN RESOURCES MINISTRY:
Datuk Dr S.Subramaniam

Deputy:
Datuk Maznah Mazlan

DOMESTIC TRADE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS MINISTER:
Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob

Deputy:
Datuk Tan Lian Hoe

HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT MINISTER:
Datuk Kong Cho Ha

Deputy:
Datuk Lajim Ukin

WOMEN, FAMILY AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MINISTER:
Datuk Seri Sharizat Jalil

Deputy:
Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun

FOREIGN MINISTER:
Datuk Anifah Aman

Deputy:
1. A.Kohilan Pillay
2. Datuk Lee Chee Leong

FEDERAL TERRITORIES MINISTER:
Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin

Deputy :
Datuk M.Saravanan

STATUS QUO MAINTAINED

The by-election results of the three constituencies were known yesterday. The people i.e voters had made their choice. In Bukit Selambau, S. Manikumar of the PKR won beating MIC's Datuk S. Ganeson. Failure to win back the Kedah state assembly seat is another setback for the MIC, which is trying very hard to win back Indians votes.
At Bukit Gantang, former Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin beat Ismail Safian of the BN to retain the parliamentary seat.
At Batang Ai, BN managed to make a comeback and win the seat convincingly, after its candidate Malcom Mussen Lamoh beat PKR's Jawah Gerang.
This trend of result in by-elections which favours the opposition, except in Sarawak, needs to be reversed. The BN has to undertake massive restructuring to win back the hearts and minds of the people. The ruling coalition should connect with the people and not expect the people to connect with it. The BN must also undertake several measures to show that it is sincere and serious about bringing change.
An opportunity to do this should start with the new cabinet, which is expected to be announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in a day or two. There had been various speculation of the cabinet. I personally believe that the cabinet would be shrunk with merger of several ministries. Several big names in the political landscape of the nation are also expected to face the axe in a bid to convince the people that the ruling BN government is serious on bringing about change. The cabinet is also expected to mirror Najib's 1Malaysia motto. Lets hope for the best.

NAJIB TAKESOVER

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has officially taken over as the country's sixth Prime Minister. The handing over ceremony was held at the Prime Minister's office a few minutes ago. This morning Najib took oath as Prime Minister as Istana Negara. Also present were former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. My heartiest congratulations to the incoming Prime Minister. It is sincerely hoped that Datuk Najib would continue his one Malaysia policy, thereby uniting all races in this blessed nation. I also hope the nation's various race related problems would see light, especially that effecting the Indian community. We are still awaiting for various mechanisms to be put in place for Indians to catch up with other main races in terms of economy. Increased participation of Indians in the government also remains an unfulfilled promised. The increase of Indian equity participation is also yet to be resolved. Training of our youth and job opportunities for them also seem to have yet to be answered.
These are only part of Indian problems, Datuk Najib needs to address to attract Indian voters into the Barisan Nasional.
All the best to you sir.

MALAYSIA TO GET HER SIXTH PRIME MINISTER TOMORROW

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong this morning to handover his resignation letter. He arrived at the Istana Negara at about 10am and had an audience with His Majesty Tunku Mizan for about an hour. This was followed by his would be successor Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. The Prime Minister in-waiting had an audience with the King at 11.30am till 12.15pm. Najib would be sworn in as the nation's sixth Prime Minister tomorrow at an official ceremony at Istana Negara. The event would be attended by cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and several other dignitaries, including diplomats.

RECORD FIELD IN SELAMBAU

Nominations for the two bukits and one batang closed yesterday. It was a record 15 candidates in Bkt Selambau, three in Bukit Gantang and two in Batang Ai. The crowded field in Bkt Selambau is made up of independents except from one candidate each from BN and Pakatan. Was at the nomination of Selambau and all went well. Now for the hardest part of convincing the voters to pick BN.

UMNO UNDERGOES LEADERSHIP CHANGE THROUGH DEMOCRACY

Umno, the country's largest political party is currently undergoing a leadership change. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has been declared president at the on-going Umno general assembly after he won the post uncontested.
At yesterday's election party delegates picked a deputy president, three vice presidents and 25 supreme council members.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has been picked as party number two. The three veeps are filled by Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal.
The 25 supreme council seats has quite a few new faces. This would eventually lead to a cabinet reshuffle and judging from the results yesterday expect the reshuffle to be a major.
To all the winners of yesterday's elections, a hearty congratulations.

MIC PRESIDENT RE-ELECTED

MIC President Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu was re-elected as party chief for another term -- 2009/2012. He was returned unopposed yesterday after presidential nomination closed at noon. His intended contender Datuk M. Muthupalaniappan could not contest as his nominations were in violation of the party constitution and the presidential election by-laws, according to presidential election steering committee head Datuk K. Vijayanathan. This would be the incumbent president's 11th consecutive term. He has vowed that this would his last term as president.
I know everyone knows about these facts and I know some nasty comments are just waiting to be fired. Please ensure your comments do not carry any disrespectful overtures. I welcome suggestions and constructive criticisms if any. Thank you.

BN NAMES CANDIDATES

The Barisan Nasional has named its candidates for all the three seats which would have its by-election on Apr 7. Nomination is set for Mar 29.
MIC's Datuk S. Ganeson has been named Bukit Selambau, Kedah state seat candidate, while Ismail Safian is the BN's man for the Bukit Gantang parliamentary constituency. The two are not novices or new faces. Ganeson was a one-time assemblyman for the then Lunas state seat. The 49-year old lawyer is also the MIC Kedah deputy chief.
Ismail on the other hand is the former Bukit Gantang Umno secretary in Perak. The teacher, also 49-years-old, is the former district council secretary.
Across the South China Sea, in Batang Ai, Sarawak state seat, the BN has named Malcolm Mussen Lamoh as its candidate. The 58-year-old is an avid sportsman. He has served as an engineer in the state Agriculture Department and is also a former lecturer at UPM and UiTM Sarawak.
While the candidates are relatively young with experiance, the BN expects to give a tough fight in the polls. MIC on the other hand will witness its first by-election in the 2008-2013 parliamentary term. This would be an acid test for the party, to see if it is accepted by the Indian population especially in Bukit Selambau after the March 8, 2008 general election. Obviously some comments are going to be nasty. That is ok but please be constructive in your criticisms. Thank you.

TALE OF TWO BUKITS AND ONE BATANG

Another constituency joins the growing list of by-elections. This time the Batang Ai Sarawak state legislative constituency would hold its nomination on March 29 while polls have been set for April 7. These two dates are the same for the Bukit Selambau Kedah state assembly seat and Bukit Gantang parliamentary constituency. Another Bukit is still waiting for the state assemblywomen to return from leave. In this case it is Bukit Lanjan. Looks like the whole of March and the first two weeks of April would be full of politics.
While the three by-elections are set, Umno would hold its annual assembly to pick top national leaders starting March 24 to March 28. MIC on the other hand would hold its presidential election. Nominations for this election has been fixed for March 22 while polling is set for April 12.

ANOTHER BY-ELECTION?

Politics seems to have gone on an overdrive! The last few days, newspapers, Internet media and almost everyone I meet seem to be talking about Elizabeth Wong, the Bukit Lanjan state assembly person, whose nude or semi nude pictures had been circulated. Elizabeth, who is also a Selangor state exco, has lodged a police report on the matter and has offered to resign because of the unpleasant episode.
Let me state here that firstly it was wrong for someone in possession of such photos to distribute it in the public domain. It is all about her private life which should be left private. She has to deal with the perpetrator and get the police to bring him to justice. I sympathise with the energetic first term state assemblywoman.
Having said that, it must be noted that former Health Minister Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek had set a precedent back in 2007, on such issues after he resigned when a video of him having sex with his girlfriend was made public. He resigned from all positions at that time and made a fresh bid in politics a year later. He won the MCA deputy presidency last year and is back in mainstream politics.
Should Elizabeth follow this direction? That is the question the state assemblywomen has to answer herself. While I condemn the act of distributing her photos, she must also partly take the blame for the fiasco, taking into view talk about a purported video of her, which is also said to be in circulation. How could a trusted partner do this to her? My sincere sympathy for the 39-year old politician, who would now have to live with this scar for rest of her life.
If she chooses to vacate her post, then the Election Commission would have its hands full next month. It might just decide to hold three by-elections at one-go.
Bukit Gantang, Bukit Selambau and Bukit Lanjan! What a coincidence that all involves Bukits. Other MPs and state assemblymen of Bukits may need to watch-out for the time being as the time for the Bukit is not so good, I guess. (That's a joke by the way).
Statistics of the Bukit Lanjan state seat is as follows.
The seat has a total 25,550 voters. At the last election in March 2008, 19,394 voters turned-up to vote or 75.9% voter turnout.
At that election, Elizabeth polled 12,125 votes against incumbent assembly person, former Gerakan's deputy wanita chief Yong Dai Ying, who obtained 6,970 votes.
Elizabeth won the seat with a 5,155 vote majority, the second highest majority won by a PKR state assembly candidate in Selangor last year.
If a by-election is called, it will be a tough seat to contest as the seat is located in an urban area and most of the voters are non-Malays. This is based on the assumption that most voters in the urban and non-Malay majority seats are more critical towards BN.
In Bukit Lanjan, the Chinese consist about 52% of the voters, Indians 17 per cent and the rest are Malay voters.

TWO BY-ELECTIONS AN UPHILL TASK FOR THE BN

Suddenly we have an explosion of more politics in the country. After the fall of the opposition Perak state government, we have two by-elections. One is the Bukit Gantang parliamentary seat in Perak and another the Bukit Selambau, Kedah state seat.
The P59 Bukit Gantang seat in Perak (near Taiping) has some 55,471 registered voters. At the 2008 election the seat was won by PAS' Roslan Shaharum with a majority of 1,566 votes.
Roslan, who died of heart attack a few days ago and the reason for the by-election, polled 20,015 against Abdul Azim Mohd Zabidi of the BN-Umno 18,449 votes. Another candidate M. Morgan, an independent, polled 872 votes. Voter turnout in the seat at last year's election was 40,187 voters or 72.4% with 851 spoilt votes.
In N25 Bukit Selambau, the by-election is being held due to the resignation of V. Arumugam, initially an independent and now in Pakatan Rakyat. He beat MIC's S. Krishnan at the last general election.
The state seat has 34,977 voters. At the last election, Arumugam polled 13,225 votes against Krishnan's 10,863 votes to win with a 2,362 vote majority.Voter turnout at the last election was 25,782 votes or 73.7%.
While I hope both by-elections would be swept by the BN, I realise that the current political climate would make it an uphill battle especially with Kedah being opposition ruled while Perak has just come back to the BN in default.
It is also my feverish hope that the two by-elections would be conducted and participated in a fair and noble manner without any trouble.
The Election Commission would set the date for both the polls on Friday. Looks like February is going to be busy month with lots of travelling.
UPDATE: Both the by-elections would have its nomination on March 29 and election on April 7.

BN TAKESOVER PERAK

Over the last week, Perak has been swamped with political talk not only by a single party but also by all from both sides of the political divide. Day before yesterday, all had become clear. Four state assemblymen from the Pakatan Rakyat government declared that they had become independents and that they were supporting the Barisan Nasional. The new government took oath at about 3.45pm this afternoon.
The talk of elected representatives jumping ship was started by none other than Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Soon after the March 8, 2008 general election, where the Barisan Nasional lost its two-third majority and some five states to the opposition, Anwar declared that he had some 30 members of parliament in his fold and that they would crossover to the Pakatan Rakyat. This he had said, would ensure the fall of the Barisan Nasional federal government.
He even went to the extent of saying that the Barisan Nasional government would fall by Sept 16, 2008. Then the dates began changing based on where he held a ceramah. This was his so called trump card to keep the Barisan Nasional on its toes.
While all this was taking place the same Opposition leaders, who are now calling for fresh elections in Perak, had applauded Anwar and said that they would form the federal government in a matter of time.
Then Opposition leaders, except for DAP chairman Karpal Singh, had supported the crossover and felt that it was fair to form a government based on crossovers.
But now, the scenario had been reversed and now all of a sudden crossovers are a taboo for the opposition. Yes, I agree that the people voted for a change at the 2008general election and their wishes must be respected.
The razor thin majority in Perak where the opposition had 31 seats compared to the BN's 28 was the result of the polls. Now after the crossovers the BN's seats is still 28, while the opposition's had been reduced to 28 due to three of its representatives jumping ship. They did not jump to the BN but they choose to become independents and declare their support to the ruling federal government.
Now the score has become Pakatan Rakyat -- 28, BN -- 28 and Independent -- 3.
One fact that I noticed is that the Indian community, which threw bulk of their votes for the opposition at the polls, have become the major losers result of the latest political manoeuvre.
Under the opposition, the community had a speaker and a state exco member. But not anymore. There are no Indian representatives in the BN in the Perak state assembly.
Where does the Indian community takes its problems? Who do they go to in case of problems and they need assistance? I am not bragging or anything like that but I seem to be the only Indian BN elected representative in the state by virtue of being the member of parliament for Tapah.
The answer to the above questions have yet to be answered by the BN leadership. The leadership needs to create a position on par with a state exco to look at Indian affairs in the state. He must be given powers to instruct any state-run bodies, like an exco member. This person must also be hardworking as he would be instrumental in trying to bring back the Indian voters into the BN fold. Although it is still early days, plans must be put in place so that the community in Perak does not feels neglected or sidelined by the ruling Barisan Nasional government.
With all this in mind, I wish to remind the Indian community about one thing. Politics are played by politicians and as members of the Indian community, I urge the people to come united on this matter. Please ensure that we are not left behind in any development.
This post is just a gist of what I have to say on the matter. More will follow. Thank you.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

I would like to wish all Malaysian Chinese a very HAPPY NEW YEAR. Wish the year of the OX brings us good fortune and a better life. It is also my feverish hope that this Lunar New Year bring bring us prosperity being the year of the bull.

I had a comment asking me on my stand on the death of A. Kugan, who died at the USJ 8police station earlier this week. I had already stated my stand and it has appeared in the media. However to the benefit of those who have yet to read it, I would like to state that I am against any violent behaviour towards anyone arrested by the police. The police should be protector of Malaysians and not take laws in their own hands.
If Kugan was involved in any illegal activity, then it is only right that charges are levelled against him. If this is not the case due to lack of evidence, there are provisions in our laws to send him to the Simpang Renggam detention centre.
Instead the 23-year-old was beaten and this is evident from the photographs of him obtained at the Selayang Hospital.
It really made me angry when I saw the photos on the net. This is not the way to treat a person, even if he was a criminal.
To say that the boy sustained the injuries while being arrested does not hold water. He was arrested on Jan 15 and he died some six days later. But the wounds in the photograhers appeared fresh. The police or the Home Ministry must start an independent enquiry to find the source of the death. Did Kugan really die of asthma or was there foul play. This is not time to protect any wrongdoer.
Let the truth be known. I know that the police have a job to do. But his does not mean that they are the law. They are only there to ensure that the laws are not broken and if the laws are broken, then penalise the offender not kill the offender. This applies not only because Kugan was an Indian or Hindu. This should not happen to any Malaysian, may the person be Malay, Chinese, Kadazan and what not. This is not about a race of a person. This is about humanity and dignity of a person. I am not preaching or anything like that. What I am saying is that a person deserves to be treated humanely as possible. Malaysia is not some third world nation where lawlessness prevails. We do not have kangaroo courts. We are a striving democracy and hold on to the rule of law. This could be just one isolated case but it should not have happened. Judging from what has happened to Kugan, I would say that the deed was conducted not by one person. It would have been a collective action of a few people.
I have been an anchilary policeman previously and I know how hard the men in blue work, sacrificing the time of their family and friends. They are stationed on 24-hour shifts and get irritated easily. But taking it out on a suspect is a big NO. Respect the uniform you use. It is not just a job but a duty and responsibility for the good of the nation.
Some might even say that I have passed judgement against the police. Yes, I have. The force should have come clean on the case in the first place. Allow family members and relatives to see the body of Kugan on the first night. Be transparent, and open about things. If your man is wrong, then take the necessary action. Do not at anytime cover-up things. That is all the rakyat ask.
If the police are not guilty then tell it all. From what I have learnt, Kugan was never held in a cell during this stay at the USJ8 police station. He was kept in the questioning room the whole while. I hope this is untrue. I am really saddened by the death of a 23-year-old who had a future in this promising land but now all is dashed. No matter what action we take against the perpetrators, it is not going to bring him back or heal the hurt suffered by his family and friends. But at least, it would a lesson for others. It would be an eye opener for many. Once again my deepest condolence to the family of A. Kugan.

THE KUALA TERENGGANU BY-ELECTION

Attended the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat by-election nomination early this morning. It was with fanfare from both sides of the political divide.
The seat would witness a three-cornered fight between Barisan Nasional (BN), PAS and an independent candidate.
The BN candidate would be Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, against PAS' Mohd Abdul
Wahid Endut and an independent Azharudin Mamat @ Adam.
Election for the parliamentary seat had been fixed for Jan 17. The Election Commission revealed that the constituency had 80,229 voters. Indian voters here are less than 800 with Chinese numbering more than 15,000 voters.
The BN as well as Pakatan Rakyat have brought in their heavyweights to campaign for the polls. Let us hope we would have a trouble-free by-election that is free and fair.