Stock-taking time/s (II)

Stocktake * 1 *From NST Online
2008/10/24

Anwar: No hurry to take over govt
By : Joseph Sipalan


KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat is not in a hurry to take over the government in view of the looming global financial crisis, said opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

"Our priority now is to engage the government so we can ensure measures are in place to safeguard our economy," Anwar said after unveiling PR's recommendations for the 2009 Budget.

When asked about the progress of the opposition coalition's takeover bid, Anwar avoided giving any direct answers.

"I have said enough on the subject. The government has denied us the constitutional and legal options that we proposed," he said.

Anwar also brushed aside talk of the PR's waning momentum in pushing for a takeover, saying that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's successor, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, was weighed down by much controversy.

"To suggest that Najib has consolidated his position, I don't think is quite accurate.

"He may have consolidated his position in Umno, but not in Barisan Nasional or with the rakyat. He still faces serious allegations that need to be cleared.

"We are still considering our other options... there has to be an element of surprise," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Anwar had said in an interview with Bloomberg that the PR was running out of options to push its takeover bid.

He was quoted as saying that while they still had options available, it was becoming difficult to execute the plans.

DESIDERATA: Yes, DS Anwar Ibrahim -- PM-in-waiting -- seems to be taking stock, as any Opposition Leader worth his salt would.
But read in between the lines ..."...there has to be an element of surprise," he said.
Draw your own conclusion, babe!

Stocktake *** 3 ***

Published: Wednesday October 22, 2008 MYT 1:53:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday October 22, 2008 MYT 2:20:09 PM
Najib accepts Malaysiakini apology (updated)
By LEE YUK PENG


KUALA LUMUR: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has accepted the apology from the editor of Malaysiakini over the online news portal’s report of his fake manifesto.

“The journlist (Wong Choon Mei) who wrote the article has also resigned as a sign ofaccountability over the fake story. This shows high professionalism on her part,” he said Wednesday at a press conference at the Parliament lobby here.

“I am satisfied with the apology from the editor of Malaysiakini and also the journalist who has taken full responsibility over the story.”

Najib, who is also Umno deputy president, said the culprits behind the report are still hiding as no one knows who is responsible.

Asked whether any investigations would be carried out to determine the culprits, Najib also said he would “leave it to the authorities.”

Najib had on Tuesday slammed the fake manifesto attributed to him in an online report, calling it a complete lie and an attempt to tear Malaysia apart.

He was responding to the online report which carried the manifesto. It came from an e-mail from a purported “Najib Support Group.”

The report said it was Najib’s manifesto to back his bid for the Umno presidency.

Najib’s office issued a statement on Monday denying he issued such a manifesto.


DESIDERATA:

Someone is truly taking stock of his morality, and his magnamity knows no bounds, in being so accepting of APologies from MsWong Choon Mei and malaysiakini.com
Reading in-between the lines, what do you make of the following? " the culprits behind the report are still hiding as no one knows who is responsible. and "Najib also said he would “leave it to the authorities.”
Draw your own conclusion, babe!


COMBINED Stocktakes ** 2 ** & **** 4 ****

Thursday October 23, 2008
Musa: Umno has lost its popularity


KUALA LUMPUR: Umno is in dire need of a drastic change and young blood with new ideas are the plausible solution, said former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam.

“I understand that the experience of seniors are needed for top posts like president or vice-president, but other than that, they should choose the younger ones,” he said.


Speaking his mind: Musa (right) speaking during the Bridges – Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace launch while International Peace Foundation chairman Uwe Morawetz looks on in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Speaking his mind: Musa (right) speaking during the Bridges – Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace launch while International Peace Foundation chairman Uwe Morawetz looks on in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Musa said the party had been raising the same issues which were raised 20 or 30 years ago, and bickering about emotional rather than substantial issues, such as the economy.

“Umno is already over 61 years old and is experiencing penyakit tua (old age sickness) which cannot be remedied by senior citizens but rather the younger generation with new ideas,” he said after launching the Bridges “ Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace forum here yesterday.

He also claimed that Umno was “too introverted” by focusing on its own problems and looking for acceptance among its own members, but not the rakyat, whose perceptions would determine its future.

“It is important for Umno to realise that it has lost its popularity because of public opinion.

“The party has many problems that it cannot rectify, like corruption, accountability issues and abuse of power,” he said.

“The new generation will not accept wholesale what politicians are saying because they don’t accept the politicians,” he said.

Musa believed that certain politicians were fighting for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of the larger community.

“What the nation wants is a party that is sensitive to their needs and is one step ahead of the citizens’ thinking,” he said.

“These are hard words, I know, but I will only say it once. When I say it, I mean it and I’ve been thinking long and hard about it,” said Musa.

From malaysia-today.net,
but report is from
- The Singapore Straits Times

'Tis the season for money politics in Umno
Posted by St Low
Friday, 24 October 2008 09:53
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 - To city folk, RM200 to RM300 sounds paltry, but that could be a month's income to a rural odd-job worker. And, according to some Umno politicians, that is all it sometimes takes to buy one vote.

The Umno election season, held once every three years, has come around again or, as some claim, this is the season to make money.

"Make hay while the sun shines," a former Umno Youth leader joked.

The last time Umno's internal elections were held in 2004, a candidate for a key post was widely said to have paid RM1,000 each to many of the 2,000 voting delegates. That's nearly RM2 million spent over a few days to buy votes.

The sad thing is, tales of money flowing to voters at the ongoing divisional meetings are as hotly debated today as the credentials of the candidates.

But the talk of "money politics" - as the vote buying is called - has got Foreign Minister Rais Yatim riled up.

If the scourge of money politics is not curbed, "it would be just better for Umno to have a tender system so that anyone who contributes the highest amount can be a leader", he said.

Rais, now in his 33rd year in politics, is known in Umno as being miserly - a testament to his steadfast refusal to play the money game.

"We have been approached under the cloak of assistance and cloak of contribution. I'm not a player so you don't see my marks going up very high," he said.

He is unlikely to qualify in the race for nominations for one of the three vice-president posts.

An Umno Youth political worker said he has been hearing whispers of vote buying since the party's 191 divisions began meeting from Oct 9 to nominate candidates for the March elections.

He said he heard of representatives of candidates turning up on the eve of divisional meetings to meet delegates. Armed, of course, with envelopes stuffed with RM200 to RM300.

"Some say delegates from brand-name divisions are offered more," he said.

Brand-name divisions are those headed by popular party leaders, such as the Pekan division headed by Deputy Premier Najib Razak.

A nomination from such a division would be read by others, rightly or wrongly, as an endorsement by that leader, although he has nothing to do with what happened. The candidate could then go around claiming he is, for example, on Najib's menu of preferred candidates.

The story mill about vote buying is getting hotter as the heat has been turned on high in this year's elections, even though the process is still only at the divisional level. Umno's 191 divisional meetings comprise delegates from its 19,000 branches.

The branches have completed their meetings, and the divisions are meeting from Oct 9-Nov 9. The election-year meetings sometimes get heated over claims that some attendees who turn up to cast votes are not "real" members.

In Rantau Panjang in Kelantan last weekend, riot police had to intervene to prevent the 400 Umno Youth members from going at one another.

The divisional meetings are all-important because candidates for the top posts must secure a set number of nominations to qualify to contest. Hence, they need to woo delegates - with money as well, if the rumours are to be believed.

And this is just the start. After the nominations are completed, that is when the 2,500 voting delegates to the Umno assembly would be wooed with great intensity.

These delegates come from the divisions, with each sending 13, and are powerful as they are the only ones allowed to vote for the party's top office bearers.

If rumours from the recent past are a guide, paid holidays are said to be popular, especially to the Indonesian destinations of Jakarta, Medan and Bali. There were also stories of bags of cash being carried to the Umno
assembly, and envelopes stuffed with money slipped into the hotel rooms of delegates along with the names of the generous candidates.

These stories are very damaging - and mostly unproven. The highest-profile candidate punished for allegedly paying off delegates for votes in 2004 is former Umno vicepresident Isa Samad. He has served his three-year ban and has again put up his name as a candidate for the vice-president's post.

The Umno election process is closely watched as Malaysia's biggest party is dominant in government. For instance, the recent resurgence of pro-Malay economic policies began at an Umno assembly three years ago,
while judicial reforms were stymied by the party's objections.

Money politics, however, is a very vague term, with many grey areas. There is outright buying of votes, but insiders say that this will hardly work without a more entrenched system of patronage. "You can't just go in and throw money around; it does not work like that," an observer said.

Most top leaders maintain a wide grassroots network, and there are expectations that the ordinary members would be "taken care of". That can range from giving them jobs or contracts, to funding grassroots programmes.

During election season, leaders are expected to pay for delegates' travel expenses, accommodation and food during their campaign rounds. They also pay campaign workers, who may be delegates.

Is this money politics? Most leaders will disagree.

"Will delegates get rich quick? Hardly," said a political aide, arguing that the money gets spent for the campaign.

As the election campaign revs into higher gear, we can expect to hear more whispers and stories.

- The Singapore Straits Times


DESIDERATA:

The highlights were points made by Tun Musa Hitam and Rais Yatim, not sprig chicken by UMNO standards, so their stocktakes must carry weight, NO? UMNO veterans, UMNO putera dan puteri, and UMNOputras?


Musa said the party had been raising the same issues which were raised 20 or 30 years ago, and bickering about emotional rather than substantial issues, such as the economy.

Musa believed that certain politicians were fighting for their own benefit rather than for the benefit of the larger community.

If the scourge of money politics is not curbed, "it would be just better for Umno to have a tender system so that anyone who contributes the highest amount can be a leader", he (Rais Yatim) said.


"We have been approached under the cloak of assistance and cloak of contribution. I'm not a player so you don't see my marks going up very high," he said.



If you were to read the extracts from the two news reports above, what's your conclusion?



Desi's cuntklusion: Hanp up the RIP SIGN, UMNO-oh-No!