YES, the parliamentary Opposition Leader told the Sarawakians that if the Pakatan Rakyat takes over the federal government on any day, the first thing he would do is "TO LOWER THE PETROL PRICES" at the pump, just as he had vowed to do the same just while campaigning for the last 12th General Elections before March 8,2008.
And to Desi, that goes to the heart of the matter for every citizen as PETROLEUM IS A NATIONAL RESOURCE WHICH THE BN GOVERNMENT HAS THUS FAR BEEN TAPPIG ITS RICHES LIKE OIL AND GAS BELONG TO UMNO TO USE AT ITS WHIM AND FANCY. And that's the reasin why Malaysians are not enjoying the price rise of world crudes prices, hitting above USD100 per barrel which translates into more revenues/profits for PETRONAS. Hey, Malaysia is a net producer and exporter of petroleum, so don't swallow the baloney the BN government churns out that the subsidies keep rising leading to the need to raise the pump prices! THat's all hogwash!
And Sdr YB Anwar, once a Finance Minister besides being DPM, hnows the "inside picture" plus THE BIG PICTURE very well. Hence he can promise the Rakyat that a PR government will immediately LOWER THE OIL PUMP PRICES 24 after taking over Putrajaya.
Vhanging topic,I reproduce Malaysianinsider's update on PR making heading in toppling BN cometh Saturday!
As race tightens, Pakatan talks up chances
By Clara Chooi
April 13, 2011
The crowd at batu Kawah, Kuching on Sunday for a Pakatan Rakyat rally.
KUCHING, April 13 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is confident of Sarawak’s urban vote on polling day this Saturday, but Barisan Nasional (BN) appears to have a lock on its rural interior — to ensure a two-thirds state assembly majority.
However, positive reports continue to stream in for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) from across all 71 state constituencies, offering the pact hope that it can bloody BN’s nose.
Although its leaders prefer to stay cautious, the consistent turnouts at its rallies and encouraging responses from constituents have led them to admit that their confidence levels have outpaced their own expectations.
All three PR parties — PKR, DAP and PAS — have declared that they would increase their seats but stopped short of saying that Sarawak would fall into its hands after this Saturday.
The crowd at BN's rally on Sunday with the prime minister speaking. — Picture by Choo Choy May
But parties’ intelligence have informed them that response had been more than startlingly positive during all campaign events, from their daily walkabouts, dialogue sessions and nightly ceramah.
DAP’s Wong Ho Leng told The Malaysian Insider that the situation was even more promising than the Sibu parliamentary by-election when he scored an upset.
“Its even better this time. In Sibu, things only became positive towards the end. But here, the support was there from Day One. I just wonder if we can maintain this tempo,” he said.
PAS' spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat at Batu Kawah.
Wong listed five BN incumbent seats as the most promising for DAP — Repok, Pujut, Piasau, Bawang Assan and Batu Kawah.
PKR’s Saifuddin Nasution confidently said that the party was sure that it would increase its popular vote significantly.
“We always compare with the previous state polls and from this, it is too obvious and too hard to deny the good response, especially from the interior areas,” he said.
He added that PKR was particularly confident it would score well in three seats where BN had won previously with wafer-thin majorities — Saribas, Ba’Kelalan and Senadin.
PAS’ Datuk Mustafa Ali said that voter response was so encouraging that the party’s local leaders had now become “overconfident” of its chances.
“BN is underestimating the current revolt. I can see that some of our local leaders and machinery have even become overconfident about our chances. I urged them not to be,” he said.
This is the first statewide election the newborn alliance is contesting under the PR umbrella and is the pact’s rehearsal for the coming federal election, which has to be called by 2013.
While the contest is said to be a referendum on BN’s waning popularity in East Malaysia, it will also serve as an acid test for PR to prove its popularity had grown since its shock victories in the tsunami of Election 2008.
But opposition party sources are concerned over rumours that BN’s final push in its campaign would come in the form of a major handout to PR’s lost opposition ally, Sarawak National Party (SNAP), which is contesting against PKR in 26 seats.
This, said the sources, was tailored to split the opposition vote and guarantee a BN victory.
Wong admitted to hearing the rumours but refused to speculate on it.
When met at the PKR headquarters in Satok here, Saifuddin echoed the same fears.
PKR flags at Serikin Market near Bau, close to the Indonesian border. — Picture by Choo Choy May
“We cannot deny that we have been receiving startling support thus far, but the issue now is whether we can sustain until Saturday.
“(Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak) is here and he is like Santa Claus, giving out goodies.
“This will be to our great disadvantage,” he said.
But despite these worries, the PR leaders appeared confident that the opposition had made significant inroads in the past six days, even in areas long considered as BN strongholds.
They were cautious not to declare that they would topple BN in Sarawak but admitted that it was hard to ignore their growing support.
Unlike in the last two state polls in 2001 and 2006, said the leaders, the usually conservative Sarawak voters have now followed their peninsular comrades by thronging opposition rallies in droves, a sight that is alien in their usually peaceful townships.
When federal PR stars like DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat grace the events, even more leave their homes to join the mad scramble that clog the streets for hours.
For the PR, one major factor has helped boost its campaign - the growing public hatred against Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Saifuddin said the sentiment was shared by most of the local communities here, save for the Malay/Melanaus, which make up the third largest segment of the 979,796-strong electorate.
“This group is the toughest nut to crack. The Malay support is just moderate. They have this thought that they should not remove the CM because he is a Malay,” he said.
He recalled that during a dialogue session with villagers at the Senadin constituency, this had been the voters’ primary concern.
DAP's Kuching candidates on nomination day April 6, 2011. — Picture by Choo Choy May
The group, he said, had wanted answers from the opposition on why it should remove its Malay Chief Minister as they feared that in doing so, the community would then receive less attention.
“I cannot understand why they would say that because they live in poorly conditions even under Taib’s rule... they live like squatters and they have no clean water.
“But they said — what we ask, we get... except that it takes time... maybe 10 to 15 years. To them, this is okay,” he said in disbelief.
With three days left on the campaign clock, all eyes now will be on BN and its last ditch attempt to quell PR’s growing support.
According to observers the pact’s campaign has been lacklustre despite the deployment of senior federal government leaders and the entire state cabinet to help in the polls.
At events headlined by Najib himself, turnout had paled in comparison with those of PR’s.
Sensing the wave of change sweeping across the hornbill state and noting reports of the opposition’s use of the anti-Taib sentiment to woo support, Najib has even moved to assure voters that the state leader would soon leave.
He has also scheduled a meeting with church leaders, hoping to quell the Christian community’s dissent over the ongoing Alkitab bibles row.
Sarawak will decide on their next government this April 16.
A total of 979,796 are eligible to cast their ballots, with the Chinese community forming the largest segment of the electorate, followed by Ibans, Malay/Melanaus, Bidayuhs and Orang Ulus.
******************************************
Doing some catchup for Desi, as he was "under the weather" like most Japanese for some days, other winning points for Sarawakians to be motivated to CHANGE THE BN GOVERNMENT IN SARAWAK IN THE 10TH STATE ELECTIONS with polling this Saturday, here's FOR THE RECORDin summary, what the PR's manifesto has pledged:
Saturday April 9, 2011
Pakatan unveils manifesto
By MAZWIN NIK ANIS
mazwin@thestar.com.my
KUCHING: Pakatan Rakyat has pledged to guarantee the freedom of belief and provide good governance should it take over the Sarawak government after the April 16 polls.
In unveiling its 10-point manifesto, Pakatan said it acknowledged that Sarawak was rich in natural resources and had the largest land mass, but its people were still among the poorest in Mal-aysia.
It called on the people to vote in a Pakatan government which would implement people-centred policies in the state.
The 10 points in Pakatan’s manifesto are:
> Freedom of belief;
> Good governance;
> Setting up of the Land Reform and Native Land Commission;
> Eradication of poverty;
> Maintenance of good federal-state relations;
> Working towards a greener Sarawak;
> Ensuring a fair deal for all Sarawakians:
> Upholding the importance of culture and education:
> Upholding the rights of women and those with special needs; and
> Investing in the future.
Present at the manifesto’s unveiling were PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, PAS Bukit Gantang MP and former Perak mentri besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin and Pakatan’s candidates for the state election.
Kota Sentosa candidate Chong Chieng Jen, who is the DAP state secretary, said Pakatan would ensure freedom of religion as enshrined in the Federal Constitu-tion without any hindrance and would not discriminate in providing assistance and allocations for a particular belief.
“Our promise of good governance is premised on the proven international principles of competency, accountability and transparency which will create clean administration of the state’s welfare, provide equal business opportunities and bring back national pride,” he said yesterday.
Chong said if Pakatan was to take over the state, all expiring leases would be renewed unconditionally for 99 years, adding that Putrajaya-Kuching relations would remain good in line with the spi- rit of the Malaysian Agreement 1963.
Under Pakatan’s administration, he said, the people of Sarawak would be assured of stable economic growth, sustainable development and a fairer distribution of income and wealth based on hard work, competitiveness and technological innovation.
As for poverty eradication, he said Pakatan would set up a RM1bil poverty alleviation fund to ensure no family in the state would live below the official poverty line, adding that it would also observe and implement state and international laws on the environment.
“We will respect the constitutional right of members of all ethnic groups to learn their mother tongue.
“We also guarantee gender equality and will review laws that are discriminatory against women.
“Pakatan will also tackle flood problems in the state in two years, provide free WiFi service and make long-term investment in human capital and infrastructure,” he added.
PKR’s Batu Lintang candidate See Chee How said Pakatan had made workable and realistic promises in drafting the manifesto in contrast to Barisan Nasional’s election propaganda which reflected that the coalition was bankrupt of ideas.
See said Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud had promised to turn Sarawak into the richest state in Malaysia, but it was already a wealthy state when Taib took over 30 years ago.
“This is the opportunity for the people to elect a new government, and Pakatan Rakyat promises to bring about real transformation in the state,” he said.
Dr Wan Azizah, who described Pakatan’s manifesto as the real deal, called on the rakyat to support the Opposition’s move to create a better future for the state and its people.
“Vote us in first. The Barisan has had 30 years to fulfil its deal but it has reneged on its promises,” she said.
Nizar said Pakatan had three years of experience in managing Penang, Kelantan, Kedah and Sel-angor as well as a few months in Perak.
“Contrary to Barisan’s accusations, we have administrative experience.
“We can manage Sarawak better if we take over because we will use what we have learned in the three years to administer the state,” he said.
*********************************** And more ketchUP for thy food and read menu, FOR THE RECORD,
from toffesturn.blogspot.com:
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Desperate BN - "Sarawak Report" under Attack
Sarawak Report that has been providing Sarawakians with news has come under heavy cyber attack, the site is almost unreachable, and Toffeesturn has asked its connections in overseas countries to try and log in the site to see if this blockage is confined to Malaysia only.
Replies coming in from Canada, the US, Germany, India and Australia confirm they are facing the same problem.
Judging from the way "Sarawak Report" has come under massive cyber attack which Brown the owner of the site has described as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, the type that brought down Wikileaks at one time shows the extent Taib and the BN will go to deny Sarawakians their right to unfettered and uncensored news.
This is a very sophisticated mode of attack and a DDoS attack, multiple bots, or programmes running on servers or personal computers will bombard a site's server with requests to view the site reports Malaysiakini.
by people with huge funds at their disposal, and who do you think they are? Certainly not the Butcher not the Baker and it can't be the candle stick maker either.
Now who would want to such a thing, it surely has to be those who have the most to loose with the revelations from this blog. If the BN says it's not thee BN then we know who its, an if Taib says it is not him we still know who it is.
Sarawak Report is the site and the radio station that has exposed the business dealings of the Sarawak Chief Minister and his i children, and the billions they are alleged to own which he has come out to deny in very one sided news reports and interviews recently.
Just the other day Nazri told us rather unwittingly that the government does not trust the police force,
and now his boss has come out to seemingly admit what we are hearing from the Sarawak Report.
The Star reports that, Najib has said , "Taib has agreed to step down as Sarawak CM some time after state election, leadership change will be done in a planned manner."
This 'Star" report comes on the heels of this massive DDoS cyber attack on "Sarawak Report," so does identifying the cyber attackers pose such a huge problem?
Well the BN has always taken us for fools so, this is not anything new.
.If you notice the words Najib used,".....agreed to step down as CM some time after state elections...." so that can be three years later and he will step down as CM, and can remain senior Minster.
Beware the BN, they have all the tricks to cheat the electorate with, and this is but one of them in the making.
We should have learned our lessons by now, so Sarawak vote wisely.
Related articles
* Sarawak Election Enters a Critical Phase (dinmerican.wordpress.com)
* Politics of Diversion in the Battle for Sarawak (dinmerican.wordpress.com)
* DDoS Attacks Exceed 100 Gbps For First Time (it.slashdot.org)
* Hope on the horizon for victims of DDoS attacks (physorg.com)
************************************ UPDATEd @1.46PM, using an AFP report.......
Malaysian news portal crippled by cyberattacks
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's top news portal Malaysiakini remained crippled Wednesday, more than 24 hours after cyber attackers struck ahead of hotly contested state elections on Borneo island.
Steven Gan, its co-founder and chief editor, said the site would continue to report on Saturday's vote in Sarawak state despite the shutdown, which came days after whistleblowing website Sarawak Report was hit by a similar attack.
"I believe the attack is linked to our reporting on the campaigning for the Sarawak elections and it is no coincidence that this has happened to us three days after Sarawak Report was also attacked," he told AFP.
"We are trying to get our website up and running and we are providing our content for free at the moment as we will continue reporting on what is happening in Sarawak. We will not stop, we will prevail," he added.
Malaysiakini, which gained international fame as an alternative source of news during the rule of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, earns part of its revenues from subscriptions.
Gan said the "denial of service" attack began Tuesday morning when the portal's servers were swarmed by massive and coordinated traffic from overseas, forcing it to post its reports on blogsites as well as Twitter and Facebook.
Malaysia's major newspapers and broadcasters are closely linked with the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, but online news portals and blogs have become a lively forum for dissent and debate.
Saturday's polls in Sarawak, a resource-rich but impoverished state, is viewed as a barometer of the BN's popularity ahead of general elections expected to be called by Prime Minister Najib Razak this year.
However, a key issue in the elections is the fate of the state's chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, who has headed Sarawak since 1981.
Websites such as Sarawak Report have been publishing articles on the wealth accumulated by Abdul Taib and his family, as well as allegations linking his close friends to the exploitation of resources in the oil, mineral and timber-rich state.
Malaysiakini has been reporting closely on the state election over the last two weeks and published articles on alleged vote-buying by BN campaigners, as well as the post-election fate of Abdul Taib amid a clamour from critics for him to step down.
Although BN is expected to retain power in Sarawak, where it held 63 of the 71 seats in the state assembly before it was dissolved in March, some analysts say the ruling coalition may lose seats in Saturday's vote.
The opposition is aiming to deny the government a two-thirds majority that effectively allows the BN to pass legislation without any obstruction.
UPDATEd @4.04PM April 14, 2011:
Full-text of the Pakatan manifesto released in Kuching follows:
1. FREEDOM OF BELIEF
WE GUARANTEE FREEDOMOF RELIGION as enshrined in the Federal Constitution without any form of
hindrances and make no discrimination in assistance and allocations to a particular belief or religionand in the
process maintain the status ofSarawak as a secular State.
2. GOOD GOVERNANCE
WE PROMISE GOOD GOVERNANCE premised onproven international principles of Competency, Accountability
and Transparency (CAT),which will create and promote a clean administration of the State’s welfare, equal
business opportunities, and bring back national pride, patriotismand self esteem in the public sector.
WE PLEDGEA FAIR DISTRIBUTION of the State’s wealth and riches, endeavoring to end the practice of
favouritism, corruption, cronyism and nepotism.
WE PROMISE TO SET UP AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION OF INQUIRY to investigate the allegations ofillgotten
wealth of BN politicians and their cronies, to ensure the due process of law and prosecution and to return the
wealth to the people of Sarawak.
WE PROMISE to establish an Ombudsman to receive complaints from the public against corruption and power
abuse by Government Ministers and heads of departments.
WE PLEDGE TO RESTORE local government elections for all local authorities including the adatruaiand/or
custom of choosing the Village Leaders or KetuaMasyarakat in order to return power to the people at all levels.
3. LAND REFORM & NATIVE LAND COMMISSION
all expiring leases will beunconditionally renewed for 99 years;
all s.47 notifications will automatically lapse after 2 years of gazettal;
all in perpetuity and 999-year leases will remain when land is approved for
development; land alienation will be carried out through open tenders; and
a Native Land Commission shall be formed having the power to investigate all
Native Customary Rights land claims, and thereafter to survey and issue grant
or leases to such lands in accordance with the adator customs of the natives of
Sarawak.
4. ERADICATION OF POVERTY
WE PROMISE to set up a RM1 billion State Poverty Alleviation Fund to ensure that no family in Sarawak lives
below the official poverty line.
WE PLEDGE TO KICK-START THE RURAL ECONOMY by the construction of roads connecting all the rural areas
of Sarawak that will quicken the provision and construction of public amenities including schools, kindergartens,
medical services and telecommunications.
WE ENCOURAGE AND PROMOTE agricultural entrepreneurship, like small holdings through micro-financing to all
farmers.
Berubahlah! Vote for a NEW Sarawak!
5. FEDERAL-STATE RELATIONS
WE PLEDGE to maintain good federal state relations in line with the spirit
of the Malaysian Agreement 1963, and to ensure that any marginalization,
neglect and omission on the 18 points be addressed immediately.
Confident that Pakatan Rakyat will take over the federal government WE
GUARANTEE to increase the petroleum royalty from the present 5% to 20%.
WE BELIEVE that priority in employment opportunities in the public service
of Sarawak should be given to Sarawakians.
6. GREENER SARAWAK
WE WILLENSURE the observance and implementation of State and International
laws and/or conventions on the environmentfor the benefit of future generations
of Sarawakians.
WE WILL STOP the constructions of excess dams.
WE FORBID the construction of nuclear powered plants in Sarawak.
7. A FAIR DEAL FOR ALL SARAWAKIANS
WE ARE COMMITTED to support stable economic growth, sustainable development and a
fairer distribution of income and wealth based on hard work, competitiveness and
technological innovation.
WE ENDEAVOUR to remain investor friendly, emphasizing long term investment in human
capital by offering financial incentives to all industries to upgrade the technical skills of their
employees as well as their production processes.
WE PROMISE the immediate registration of stateless Sarawakians and the unconditional
granting of citizenship papers to all Malaysians of Sarawak origin.
WE PLEDGE a grant of RM200-00 for every child of Sarawak origin who begins primary
one education.
In appreciation of their contribution to the State, WE PROMISE to give all Sarawakians above 60 years of age who
are residents in the State annual welfare assistance of RM600-00 and to set up community support systems
within every local government authority for their continued well-being.
8. CULTURE AND EDUCATION
WE RESPECT the constitutional rights of all ethnic groups to learn their mother tongues and to treat all mother
tongue education equally.
WE PLEDGE that all schools regardless of background will be given systematic allocations according to needs as is
practised in Penang, Selangor and Kelantan so that our children can have a bright future.
WE EMPHASIZE thatScience and Mathematicssubjectsin secondary schools must be taught in the English
language.
9. RIGHTS of WOMEN’S & THOSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
WE GUARANTEE gender equality and will REVIEW all laws that are discriminatory
against women.
WE PLEDGE to establish women’s aid centres to shelter women suffering from
violence and child care services to reduce the financial and psychological burden of
working mothers.
WE PLEDGE to set up more special schools for children with special needs.
WE IMPLEMENT measures to employ those with disabilities and PROMISE incentives
to employers who employ them.
10. INVESTMENT INTO THE FUTURE
WE PROMISE to tackle the flood problems in Sarawak in 2 years.
WE EMPHASIZE in long term investment in human capital and
infrastructure to make Sarawak a great economy.
WIFI will be provided free to move Sarawak into a knowledge state.
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