PRS and SPDP remind Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak that the rural vote bank is with them and if not taken care of, 'somebody will come by and withdraw it'.

Joseph Tawie, FMT

KUCHING: Bitter Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) supreme council members today unanimously agreed to reject all ministerial posts in Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s cabinet.

This means that Joseph Entulu who was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Joseph Salang Gandum, a deputy minister, will not accept their posts.

A miffed Salang had in fact already earlier rejected the position.

Parti president James Masing said majority of the party’s supreme council members had agreed to reject Najib’s offer and felt that they were “sidelined” and “deserved to be treated better.”

PRS had delivered six parliamentary seats to Barisan Nasional’s 133 seat tally. They did better than some BN parties in peninsular who were suitably rewarded.

Without mincing his words Masing warned Najib not to toy with PRS and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) which had been totally ignored despite delivering four parliamentary seats.

“Don’t try to sideline us because we have the support of the rural people. It is not a warning.

“It is a fact, in case they don’t understand that we have six seats and four from Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP).

“PRS and SPDP which are rural-based parties are not properly treated by the present government.

“The rural areas in Sarawak are Barisan Nasional ‘fixed deposit’. If you don’t take care of it, somebody will come by and withdraw it,” warned Masing.

‘Give us appropriate portfolio’

Masing, who chaired the emergency supreme council meeting, said majority of the members felt that a ministerial post in the PM Department was inappropriate for PRS which was a rural based party.

“Joseph Entulu who was offered a post of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department sought the advice of the meeting which agreed that the president would discuss with the Prime Minister where Entulu should be.

“All the members of the supreme council are not happy that Entulu is a mere Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

“We want the Prime Minister to give us an appropriate portfolio, the one that could be of assistance to the rural people, portfolios such as Infrastructure and Agriculture,” he said.

He said the council felt the same way about Salang’s new position which was deputy minister of tourism.

“Such post is not of any assistance to the rural people. We just want a portfolio that is of assistance to the rural people, and not just any position” said Masing.

Masing revealed that the party was initially offered two deputy ministers’ posts which they felt was an insult because the party had delivered on its pledge to BN.

But it wasn’t until Masing informed Najib that PRS felt they were being sidelined and would not attend the swearing in ceremony that the PM tweaked his list before announcing it on Wednesday. In the new list, he named Entulu a full minister.

But even this move by Najib has not appeased the party.

READ MORE HERE

Boo Su-Lyn, TMI

Putrajaya will not compromise but will take stern action against Pakatan Rakyat (PR) if it foments chaos on the streets, says Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia reported Ahmad Zahid today as saying that prevention was better than cure, after tens of thousands of Malaysians thronged six PR rallies across the country to protest against alleged vote-rigging in Election 2013.

“I will not give warning, but just wait for stern action,” Ahmad Zahid (picture) was quoted as saying by the Malay-language daily.

The Malay broadsheet’s front page today was 

headlined “KDN: Tiada kompromi (KDN: No compromise)” and the newly-minted home minister was quoted as saying: “Prevention is better than cure, and the price of early prevention is cheaper than solving problems after.”

More than 100 people were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in 1987 in an operation dubbed Ops Lalang that was carried out amid rising political tensions, the second-largest ISA swoop in Malaysian history since the May 13, 1969 race riots.

But the ISA, which allows for detention without trial, was abolished in 2012 and replaced with the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA) that removes the government’s option to detain without trial.

Human rights activists, however, have criticised the new law for giving the government broad powers to deem any form of opposition a threat and to prosecute them.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has rallied against the legitimacy of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, saying that the May 5 general election was tainted with electoral fraud.

BN won just 133 federal seats, ceding an additional seven seats to PR, and lost the popular vote for the first time since 1969 when it contested as the Alliance party then.

Ahmad Zahid wrote in Utusan Malaysia last Thursday that Malaysians who were unhappy with the country’s first-past-the-post voting system should migrate to other countries that had different voting systems.

READ MORE HERE

(The Star) - GEORGE TOWN: The police and the state government are heading for a showdown as the state is planning to proceed with its “thanksgiving mega ceramah” in the Esplanade tonight although the police have not approved the permit application for the gathering.

Deputy Chief Minister I Mohd Rashid Hasnon said the state notified the police yesterday that the event was an official state function and was not being organised by Pakatan Rakyat.

Furthermore, he said the venue for the gathering was not at any of the places stipulated under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 as prohibited areas, such as the airport, dams, hospital or places used for religious ceremonies.

The police said the permit application was rejected because the organiser failed to comply with certain requirements, including giving a 10-day notice prior to the event.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Gan Kong Meng said the proposed location for the gathering was also unsuitable due to concerns over public safety as the Esplanade was a popular spot for tourists especially on weekends.

Mohd Rashid told a press conference here yesterday that even if the police continued to refuse to issue a permit for the gathering, the state would proceed as planned.

State Tourism Development and Culture Committee chairman Danny Law Heng Kiang, who was also present at the press conference, cla­rified that he had on Wednesday applied for a police permit under the name of Pakatan.

He said police had approved the permit, provided it was moved to the City Stadium.

“We felt it was too small to ac­commodate the expected crowd of 60,000 and would cause a massive traffic jam.

“To make it easier, we felt that the event was best organised under the state.”

(Bernama) - The DAP chairman, Karpal Singh today said the federal constitution should be amended to abolish the senate.

"There is no need for the senate. It is an unnecessary expense required to be borne by the people. It does not serve a useful purpose.

"It only encourages those who have been rejected by the people or others to be brought into Parliament through the back door via the senate as in law Parliament also includes the senate," he told a press conference, here.

He said a unicameral house with a single legislative chamber, as is the position in Singapore, would be best suited in the public interest.

Karpal, who is also the Bukit Gelugor Member of Parliament, said the inclusion of Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, Datuk Idris Jala, Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan, Datuk Dr J. Loga Bala Mohan, Datuk Ahmad Bashar Md Hanipah and Watha Moorthy in the cabinet was a mockery.

He said such personalities, who do not hold a single seat either in the Dewan Rakyat or in any of the state assemblies, should be shown the door and not allowed entry through the back door via the senate.

(The Star) - DAP national chairman Karpal Singh said the state’s ‘thanksgiving mega ceramah’ on Saturday night did not need a permit as it is a state function.

“It is a gathering to introduce the new exco lineup. That is the purpose of the assembly.

“I have had a word with chief minister Lim Guan Eng who wrote a letter this morning informing the police of the purpose of the gathering.

“I hope the police will not be trigger-happy and try to interfere with the gathering,” he told a press conference in Air Itam Saturday.

The Bukit Gelugor MP added that the state has every right, particularly now after the victory of Pakatan Rakyat in the state, to introduce everyone in the line-up to the public.

“The state government has the right to organise a rally like this at the Penang Esplanade which is under the jurisdiction of the Penang Municipal Council.

“It is a government function which does not require a permit,” he said.

(Asia News Network) - Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has criticised the new Cabinet line-up, questioning the decision to pick Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy as Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

"Waythamoorthy has previously rejected some of the core points of the country's Constitution and his party is basically the Indian version of Perkasa," the Opposition Leader said, pointing out that both Perkasa and Hindraf were "extremist parties".

Anwar said that instead of Waythamoorthy, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak should have appointed "a Bangladeshi deputy minister instead" in reference to claims by the Opposition that groups of Bangladeshis and other foreigners were brought in to vote for Barisan Nasional during the general election.

Anwar was speaking to a crowd who had gathered for the Blackout 505 rally at Puteri Wangsa here on Wednesday night.

At the rally, Anwar urged the Election Commission to declare that Pakatan Rakyat was the rightful winner of GE13.

"I have had a meeting with the Pakatan coalition leaders and we have decided to claim our rights and protest the elections results," he said, adding that the Opposition had evidence to prove there were discrepancies involved.

"We will not give Barisan five more years," he said.

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, who also spoke at the event, said he felt sorry for Umno Youth chief and Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin who was appointed Youth and Sports Minister.

"I am no friend of Khairy's but it is unfair to him that he is put in charge of one of the most minor posts in the Cabinet," he said, adding that Khairy was an Oxford University graduate and deserved better.

Lim also labelled the new Cabinet line-up as "the most unimpressive in history", expressing disappointment that some non-perfoming ministers were retained. He urged Najib and the Election Commission to provide answers to alleged irregularities during the polls and urged for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to be set up to address the concerns raised.

Sean Augustin, fz.com

Efforts by Indonesia to negotiate a political truce between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been described as "futile" and a "waste of time".

The opposition leader tells a crowd of 20,000 at a Black 505 rally in Seremban that he may be branded a traitor

Zefry Dahalan, FMT

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim last night told of about 20,000 at a Black 505 rally in Seremban last night that he may be arrested soon and charged.

“I want to tell you…let (them) record this and hand it over to the Home Minister and the Prime Minister. Whatever your plan…to arrest me and to charge me because Anwar is a traitor to the…

“I’m not at all bothered. I don’t know what their plan is,” he told his audience, most of them youths who braved a heavy downpour to hear him.

“But I have one satisfaction that really touched me,” said Anwar. “I’m happy that the future of the country is guaranteed with youths.

“This is the spirit of the new Malaysia. Those present here tonight are the ones who have dignity, who love freedom and justice. They don’t bother about BR1M.

“We must throw the BN government out,” he told the cheering crowd.

Anwar has been on a nationwide tour holding rallies at major cities, wanting the BN government, to step down and allow Pakatan to assume power because of irregularities in the just concluded polls.

So what if the Chinese voted Pakatan?

Anwar also kept up his firing of salvos at Umno, the backbone of the ruling Barisan Nasional.

“Umno asked why I’m not stepping down…I have not stepped down because you cheated (in the elections).

READ MORE HERE

An overnight candlelight vigil will be held tonight in front of the Jinjang police remand centre, in protest against the arrest of student activist Adam Adli Abd Halim earlier today.

(Borneo Insider) - SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee has called on the Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to disclose the names of the three opposition leaders, one of whom is from Sabah, whom Zahid had alleged to have been involved in the Philippine Sulu incursion at Lahad Datu.

Yong stressed that this is only fair to all Malaysians and to anybody who has been cast in a negative light by the damaging “disclosures” of the defence minister in the midst of an election campaign.

“Instead of making even more irresponsible statements like asking Malaysians to leave the country if they do not like Malaysia’s political system, the new Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, should without any further delay fulfil his promise to disclose the names of the three opposition leaders, one of whom is in Sabah, whom Zahid had alleged to have been involved in the Philippine Sulu incursion at Lahad Datu,” he said.

Yong reminded that Zahid, who was the Defence Minister in the last cabinet before the May 5 elections, had on April 27 said that the defence ministry had identified the culprits behind the armed intrusion by Sulu terrorists in Lahad Datu. He claimed that two of the three suspects are from the opposition parties based in the Peninsula while the other one is in Sabah. Zahid has said that actions would be taken against the three opposition leaders after the general elections.

Yong who lost in the last elections, had at a ceramah at Foh Sang in Kota Kinabalu on May 1 challenged Zahid to name the “suspects” immediately as he (Yong) was actually hauled up by the police from Bukit Aman (Police Headquarters) for questioning in connection with allegations that Yong had met the leaders of the Sulu intrusion at a five-star hotel in Kota KInabalu last October.

Noting that the alleged involvement is a treason against the country and waging war against the Agong and is punishable by death, Yong said Zahid’s claim has cast a heavy psychological burden on all possible suspects, including him who was hauled up for question by the police.

Yong also recalled that Zahid’s startling “disclosures” coincidently came after he (Yong) had during the campaign, spoken extensively on the Philippine Sulu claim on Sabah and displayed Philippine maps with Sabah (North Borneo) being visible.

Yong had vehemently denied the allegation of his involvement and has called on the authorities to clear his name.

Boo Su-Lyn, TMI

Student activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim was arrested this afternoon under the Sedition Act that his lawyer believes is due to his remarks at a forum on May 13.

Adam Adli, 24 (picture), had apparently told a forum at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall this week that Malaysians “cannot wait for five years to overthrow Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN)”.

“It looks like it’s a crackdown,” Adam Adli’s lawyer Latheefa Koya told The Malaysian Insider today.

She said that Adam Adli was being brought to IPD Jinjang, which is a remand centre, adding that she feared the police would detain him until tomorrow.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was reported by Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia today as saying that the government would take stern action against those who intended to foment chaos on the streets.

“As soon as he came out from the building, he was arrested immediately,” said Mandeep, 27.

At the May 13 forum, Adam Adli reportedly called for street demonstrations, saying: “Elections won’t overthrow the government; the people’s power will”.

Anything But Umno (ABU) movement leader Haris Ibrahim said at the same forum that the BN government would be toppled through a street rally.

Several authoritarian regimes in the Middle East have been overthrown through mass demonstrations in the Arab Spring revolution.

Pakatan Rakyat (PR), however, has distanced itself from calls for street protests to overturn the results of Election 2013 that was tainted with widespread reports of electoral fraud.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said last Wednesday that the federal opposition pact would stick to indoor rallies to “voice their disgust” at alleged vote-rigging in the May 5 general polls.

READ MORE HERE

(Cracked.com) - When we have a strong opinion on an issue and have researched and validated that opinion, it can be exceptionally difficult to see why anyone would have the opposite viewpoint. Here's the thing: The person who holds the opposite viewpoint is thinking the exact same thing. 

Political discourse in America has reached levels of douchebaggery previously only theorized about but never observed, like conversational dark matter. We're in a whole new world of hating people based solely on their opinions on a few key issues, and since this is unexplored territory, our conversations about politics are usually only a couple notches beyond the "hold your breath until the other person agrees with you and/or you die" technique.

But it's the 21st century. We have access to the entirety of collective human knowledge in our back pockets at all times. We have taken pictures of the deepest corners of space. We have three different goddamn TV shows about bidding on abandoned storage units. We as a society should have moved beyond figuratively (and literally, probably, knowing you assholes) shitting in our hands and throwing it at each other whenever someone brings up the deficit.

(Vice.com) - We start off with restraint and a zero tolerance stance, but we won't keep up this position if the Malays in Malaysia are threatened. 

A couple of years ago, my friend moved out to Malaysia in search of a life where a winter wardrobe isn't a thing and you don't have to worry about stuff like moronic bro culture or seeing Kim K's face on television. What he found was a job as a bar manager in an establishment frequented by Malay punks covered in swastikas, wearing Combat 18 (a neo-Nazi terrorist organization) T-shirts and harping on about "Malay power."

Turns out they're a group of far-right nationalists who want to rid Malaysia of any non-ethnic Malays and stop immigration into the country. Which, although pretty backwards and reductive, isn't all that surprising in the current world climate. What was surprising, and kind of confusing, is that they identify themselves as neo-Nazis, are fond of sieg-heiling and listen to Nazi bands like Skrewdriver and Angry Aryan, yet definitely aren't Aryan themselves. And adopting a worldview that specifically discriminates against your race seems a very odd thing to do.     

I was told that one of the most popular Malay power bands is an act named Boot Axe, so I got in touch with band member Mr. Slay to find out why exactly a group of Malaysians are going through this bizarre, neo-Nazi identity crisis.  

VICE: Hi Slay. So what’s the deal with all this "Malay power" stuff then?

Slay: Malay power is important because we're concerned about keeping a pure Malay community all over the Malay Archipelago [the archipelago between Australia and Southeast Asia, believed by some to be the homeland of the Malay race]. I'm a second generation fighter for Malay power. The first generation, who founded the Malay power movement, have been less active recently. Malay power stems from a point in history—the 13th of May, 1969—where the Chinese and Malay communities fought each other. However, the punk and skinhead Malay power movement started in Kuala Lumpur in the early 90s.   

As far as I understand it, the idea that there's a "Malay race"—which is supposedly indigenous to the Malay Archipelago—was proposed by German scientist Johann Blumenbach. There's a lot of contention over whether or not such a race actually exists. For a start, Blumenbach’s theory hinged around the idea that there were only five different races in the world, which is clearly pretty flawed. I take it racism features pretty heavily in your ideology?
We're extremists in regards to the Malay race, but that doesn’t mean that we're extreme racists. It’s not about racism. It’s all about being Malay.

OK. How exactly is Nazism culturally relevant to Malaysians? Malaysia isn’t a country that most people would associate with Hitler and his Third Reich buddies.
Malaysia is home to people from China, India, and foreign immigrants from Bangladesh, Africa, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Burma. The government can't control the entry of immigrants and we get so many of them. There are so many protests against the government about this issue, but they haven’t done anything tangible to improve the situation. Race has become a focus because of the inclusion of uncontrolled numbers of these people in our society.

How has immigration affected you? 
Malay people have been affected in socio-economic terms. Ethnic Malays also fall prey to criminals who come from abroad and sell drugs and commit murder, rape, robbery, and so on. The lesson that we can learn from Nazism is that we can take extreme racist action if the position of the Malays is affected by these factors. We won't practice overt racism if the Malay race isn't compromised, but, if threatened, we will take action.

So you aren’t openly hostile to minorities at the moment?

We don’t like minorities in Malaysia if they can’t co-exist with the Malay race. If they are good, then we are good.

Read more at: http://www.vice.com/read/the-malaysian-nazis-fighting-for-a-pure-race 

Boo Su-Lyn, TMI

The call by pro-Umno bloggers and Muslim groups for a boycott of Chinese businesses is racist and will harm the country’s economic growth, according to businessmen from the community.

Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 4.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year as a result of weaker exports and slower growth in public spending, compared to 4.7 per cent in the same quarter in 2012 and 6.4 per cent in the last quarter of 2012.

“How can you say boycott? Who loses? The government and Malaysia are the ones that will lose out,” Chen Kien Keong, chairman of the Tea Trade Association of Malaysia, told The Malaysian Insider yesterday.

“The priority now is the economy... so few people also pay income tax,” he added.

Only 10 per cent of the working population in the country pays income tax.

Khoo Kah Jin, president of the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Car Dealers and Credit Companies Association, said the call for a boycott of consumer goods produced by Chinese companies was “racist”.

“If they boycott Chinese brands, (the) Chinese can boycott Malay brands ― where does it end?” he told The Malaysian Insider.

“Politics is politics. This is all consumer items. How can you boycott? Leave politics aside,” Khoo added.

Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz was reported by national news agency Bernama last Wednesday as saying that the economy was forecast to grow between five and six per cent this year.

She added that resilient domestic demand would continue to be the “key driver of growth”, underpinned by sustained private sector expansion and backed by the public sector.

Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Hasan Malek said yesterday that Putrajaya did not approve of the boycott, but said that he could not prevent those who wished to do so.

Several pro-Umno bloggers and the Muslim Consumers Association Malaysia (PPIM) recently called for consumers to boycott or at least buy goods sold by Chinese companies last, including products such as Massimo bread, Cap Sauh wheat flour and items from the Old Town White Coffee chain.

PPIM wrote on its website that such “DAP products” must be boycotted by Malaysians who love peace and harmony.

Pro-Umno blog theunspinners.blogspot.com called last Friday for a “Buy Malay first! Buy Chinese last!” campaign and listed several consumer products sold by Muslims and by “DAP allies”.

READ MORE HERE

Boo Su-Lyn, TMI

The Selangor executive council will be sworn in within the next two weeks, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said yesterday.

He added that PAS will take four spots in the state executive council, while PKR and the DAP will get three seats each.

“The list of names that was given to the Sultan includes alternative names,” Khalid (picture) told reporters after a thanksgiving function at Pandamaran Jaya here last night.

“I gave alternative names so that Tuanku will have the chance to make his choice,” he added.

Khalid refused, however, to name the executive council line-up or to confirm if PKR deputy president Azmin Ali was included in the list.

Azmin was said to be eyeing the mentri besar post, leading to a protracted tussle over the top government position in Selangor until Khalid was sworn in last Tuesday, more than a week after the May 5 general election.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said last Friday that party members Teng Chang Khim and Ean Yong Hian Wah will be joining the Selangor executive council.

Teng served as the Selangor Speaker in the last term, while Ean Yong, who is also the Seri Kembangan assemblyman, was previously a member of the state executive council.

Khalid said yesterday that the DAP will decide on who will take up the post of the Selangor Speaker.

Khalid was reappointed Selangor mentri besar for a second term after Pakatan Rakyat (PR) won a two-thirds majority in Election 2013 by sweeping 44 of the 56 state seats in the country’s most industrialised state.

PAS and the DAP snagged 15 state seats each, while PKR took 14 seats.

(The Star) - DAP national chairman Karpal Singh has warned former DAP vice-chairman Tunku Aziz Tunku Ibrahim to cease further attacks on the party or he would bring the latter to court.

"He is completely getting out of hand. I have been watching him very closely.

"The DAP leadership was guilty of serious misjudgement in having given Tunku Aziz membership for the party and immediately made a vice-chairman.

"He is not grateful but an opportunist," he told a press conference after a thanksgiving session with the public at a market in Jalan Gangsa in Green Lane on Sunday.

Tunku Aziz had quit the party in May last year.

Karpal Singh said that while Tunku Aziz has not made personal attacks on him, the latter has gone beyond the limit and must stop with the 'persistent attacks' on the party.

When asked on how Tunku Aziz would be charged if brought to court, Karpal Singh said it would depend on what the former said.

"Bringing him to court is the last thing we want to do," he said.

Karpal Singh added that Tunku Aziz should be a gentleman and not reveal whatever that had transpired during central executive committee meetings when he was still a member.

'But why should I retire? We won. Are Umno people stupid? We won and we will fight together with the people against this robbery, says Anwar at a Penang rally.

Athi Shankar, FMT

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim will not retire from active politics any time soon, hinting that he would still be around come the next general election.

The Permatang Pauh MP defied calls for him to retire by claiming that Pakatan Rakyat had actually “won” the 13th general election, only to be robbed by electoral frauds.

He said Pakatan’s popular votes, which were more than Barisan Nasional’s, proved that majority Malaysians have voted for a change of federal government.

Strangely, he claimed that the popular choice of the people had become the opposition while minority choice had formed the government.

Hence, Anwar told a nightly rally here yesterday that he would not heed to quit calls made by his opponents.

Critics have called on Anwar to make good of his pre-election promise to retire and go into lecturing if BN won the polls and retained Putrajaya.

Many cyber commentators have called on Anwar to fulfill his promise for once this time. But Anwar is adamant he would not heed their call.

“Yes I said I would retire from politics if Pakatan loses. Some told me to retire as promised and to fight it out next time.

“But why should I retire? We won. Are Umno people stupid? We won and we will fight together with the people against this robbery.

“We can’t tolerate this rigging, robbery and fraud. We want answers now,” he thundered before a roaring and flag-waving mammoth crowd in Esplanade field.

A total 11,054,577 votes were recorded for federal contest in the just concluded polls on May 5. Pakatan garnered 50.9 or 5,623,984 popular votes against Barisan Nasional’s 47.4% or 5,237,699.

The three parties in Pakatan – Chinese-dominated DAP, Anwar’s PKR and Islamist PAS, collectively won 88 parliamentary seats against BN’s 133 seats.

Pakatan-friendly Malaysian Socialist Party (PSM) won a federal seat in Sungai Siput to make it 89 in the parliamentary opposition bench.

Soon after the polls, Pakatan led by Anwar has been organising rallies across the country to claim that their victory was robbed by electoral frauds and an incompetent Election Commission.

Pakatan leaders also claimed that they were rightful, legitimate winners due to higher popular votes, while hammering BN as a minority government.

READ MORE HERE

Leven Woon, FMT

DAP has disputed Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim’s statement that the party will be given three exco and one speaker posts in the state administration.

Citing the meeting between Pakatan Rakyat component parties last Thursday, DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua said the consensus arrived was for DAP to have four exco posts, PAS three and the speaker posts, while PKR will take three exco posts and the Menteri Besar post.

However, Khalid told reporters a different version at a function last night where he said DAP would have the speaker posts while PAS would have four exco spots.

He also said the name list had been submitted to the Selangor Sultan on Friday, and DAP would decide on its speaker candidate.

Pua said the party was surprised by Khalid’s statement because this is not what the coalition had agreed upon.

He said during the 30-minute meeting on Thursday, PAS had agreed to swap their quota with DAP, which would see the Islamic party taking up three exco and one speaker posts.

“If now he submitted a different set of names, then what is the point of the meeting?” he said.

He said DAP would question Khalid on the matter once the MB returns to Selangor on Friday.

“I hope he made a mistake and told the reporters wrongly,” he said.

DAP announced last Friday that the party had chosen incumbent Selangor assembly speaker Teng Chang Khim and incumbent exco for new village Ean Yong Hian Wah for the exco posts.

Pakatan retained power in Selangor with a greater majority in the recently concluded general election. DAP and PAS obtained 15 seats each out of the 56 seats, while PKR bagged 14.

Boo Su-Lyn, TMI

The Selangor DAP is questioning the state executive council composition announced by Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim yesterday, barely a week after a furore in PKR over the state’s top post was settled.

State DAP deputy chairman Tony Pua said the party was supposed to get four exco seats instead of the three announced by Khalid, adding that the pick for state Speaker was not as agreed.

“Last night, we found out a different set of names,” Pua told reporters in Subang Jaya here today.

“We want to know why; there was no problem on Thursday. It was a quick half-an-hour meet,” he added.

Pua pointed out that Khalid and Selangor Pakatan Rakyat ― represented by state DAP leaders Teresa Kok and Datuk Teng Chang Khim, as well as state PAS leaders Khalid Samad and Dr Rani Osman ― had agreed in a meeting last Thursday that the DAP would get four spots in the state executive council, while PAS would get three and choose the Selangor Speaker.

Khalid told reporters last night that four Selangor executive council posts would be given to PAS, while the DAP and PKR would get three each, apart from the state Speaker being a DAP lawmaker.

Pua said he only found out about the allocation of the exco seats through a tweet by Khalid last night.

“We’re surprised by Tan Sri (Khalid),” said the Petaling Jaya Utara MP.

“What’s the point of the meeting then?” he added.

Pua said that Teng and Kok have been trying to contact Khalid for clarification, but to no avail.

Last night, Khalid said that a list of names for the Selangor executive council, along with proposed alternatives, was submitted to the Sultan last Friday.

He said the state executive council will be sworn in within the next two weeks.

READ MORE HERE

Student activist Adam Adli Abd Halim has been remanded for  five days  to allow police to question him over remarks he allegedly made at a post-GE13 forum.