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Fong quits Batu Gajah
Feb 17, 08 5:13pm
One of DAP’s leading members of Parliament Fong Po Kuan today announced that she would not be contesting in her Batu Gajah seat in the coming general election.
In fact, she has decided not to contest in any other seat as well.
“My decision is final,” said Fong at a press conference held at the DAP Batu Gajah service center this morning.
“I am calling this press conference today to announce my decision that I am not offering myself as a candidate for any seat in this 12th general election,” she said as her shocked aides, supporters and reporters looked on.
She did not give any reasons for her decision at the press conference. However there are wide speculations that internal party turmoil was the reason behind her decision. And she alluded as much in her letter to the party to inform her decision.
She added that she had conveyed her decision to the party’s veteran leader Lim Kit Siang, who is also a member of DAP’s national committee on candidate selection.
“I had told Lim Kit Siang that I would furnish my reason for my decision to the party secretary general in writing,” she added.
She also revealed that party secretary general Lim Guan Eng had contacted her by telephone last night to inform her that she would be nominated to stand as a candidate in the Batu Gajah parliamentary constituency.
Impossible to serve effectively
However she added that she had emailed him this morning of her decision not to contest.Copies of her email to Guan Eng were also distributed at the press conference.
It in she wrote: “It is a tough decision for me as DAP has become my second family and the people of Batu Gajah parliamentary constituency have been so special to me over the last eight years.”
She told Guan Eng that “development of internal party events in the DAP Perak over the last few years as well as currently” made it “impossible for me to continue serving effectively, efficiently and wholeheartedly”.
“Under such circumstances and in the best interest of all concerned, I have arrived at this unavoidable and difficult decision,” she said.
At the press conference, Fong also took the opportunity to thank the people of Batu Gajah for their support and confidence in her.
“I feel honoured and proud that I have been able to be their elected representative for the last eight years,” she added.
“I have always tried to give my best in terms of attending to their service needs as well as articulating their voices inside and outside Parliament. However, I apologise if there are areas or instances where I have disappointed them,” she said.
Fong also called upon all Malaysians to deny the Barisan Nasional its two-thirds majority in the coming general election which would be held on March 8.
Malaysiakini reported on Feb 15 that Fong was being pressured by the state leadership to relinquish the Batu Gajah seat and contest elsewhere. Apparently the party wants to let the Pantai Remis state representative Nga Kor Ming to contest in Batu Gajah.
Perak DAP chairperson Ngeh Koo Ham however denied forcing out Fong.
Her recommendation for Batu Gajah
However in her email to Guan Eng, Fong suggested that the party gave the seat to Pasir Pinji’s state representative Su Keong Siong.
She said that he was an ideal candidate for Batu Gajah seat due to “his dedication, being action oriented and sincerity in serving the party’s cause and the aspirations of the people”.
“Since 1999, we have been working as a team as he has been assisting me in providing services and sometimes, furnishing free legal work to the voters of the said constituency,” she added.
She added that she would personally assist him in the election campaign.
“Again, I hope the party will seriously consider him for the said seat for the interest of the constituents and the party,” she added.
Rumours of Fong not contesting in her Batu Gajah seat have been making its rounds for some weeks now and were further fuelled by her farewell message to her voters in her blog.
In her message dated Feb 14, Fong thanked her voters for their support for her.
“I would also like to apologise if I have done or said anything which hurt you during this two terms as your elected representative,” she added.
Her message drew comments from the readers of the blog, asking her to contest in the seat.
Fong became an overnight celebrity when she contested and won the Batu Gajah seat in her maiden attempt in 1999. She was only 26-years-old then.
She went on to retain the seat in 2004 by defeating the present MCA secretary general Ong Ka Chuan, with a higher majority.
Malaysiakini has this to say, but I suppose Marc only reads the NST, fearing his knowledge and propaganda which he has learned will be forgotten. Good, he sees only things right in front of him, a one-eyed look and nothing will make him look left or right. A man with limited vision but even with this limitation, he can at one look seize the situation and make a complete report. He is a genius.
Anyway, Malaysiakini said this and Lourdes may have a second opinion:
A highly-charged Thanenthiran told reporters that Abdullah should not be claiming to be representing the needs and welfare of all races in this country.
“We wanted to have 200 children to peacefully give Abdullah flowers but we were tear-gassed and water-cannoned by police,” he said.
Thanenthiran also said organisers decided it was unsafe for the children to take part in the protest and they were bused away from the scene.
Can anybody suggest how I can send him a basket of roses to complement his fair and truthful reporting.
The other good news is his complete understanding of the socio-economic conditions in this country, a master piece no doubt, and Indians could be more happier if he continues to postulate for the information of Indians or Malaysians alike. We will hang on to his lips, so to speak, for the next installment of his expertise.
But please, no calling of names like stupid, as the saying goes it takes one to know another.
Keep it up Lourdes.
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Pressure mounts on Samy to quit
Pressure mounts on Samy to quit
K Kabilan | Feb 17, 08 3:19pm
Several MIC leaders are quietly worried that party president S Samy Vellu has become a liability to them and should be replaced soon.
However they are clueless as to how they can convince him to step down from his party and government posts.
Samy Vellu, also the works minister, looks set to contest for the Sungai Siput constituency in the March 8 general election, a seat which he retained since 1974. He has been the party president for the past 29 years.
“Recently we see that many members of the community have been publicly vocal in blaming Samy Vellu for the failures of the community,” said a party veteran.
“The community’s anger has been escalating since the Nov 25 Hindraf rally. First it was against the government, and then it was against MIC but now it is increasingly more against Samy Vellu,” he added.
He cited the incident in Butterworth last night when a group of angry Indians confronted Samy Vellu, demanding him to be answerable to the police action taken against supporters of Hindu Rights Action Force in Kuala Lumpur earlier in the day.
The group blocked Samy Vellu’s car from leaving after a function and jeered him for being unable to help the community. Samy Vellu was stuck in his car for more than 30 minutes and was only ‘rescued’ by a team of police outriders.
“This is not the first time the crowd had openly faced Samy Vellu in the public, asking him to explain why the community had failed,” said the leader.
The Butterworth incident was the second such incident in the past one week.
Earlier in the week, Samy Vellu was also similarly surrounded and heckled by some youths during the foundation laying ceremony for a Tamil school in Selangor. Another group of some 30 people also held placards opposing Samy Vellu at the same function.
The police had to be called in to escort the veteran politician from the area.
“And I am sure this is not going to end with these two incidents. The anger on the ground in not going away. In fact, it is increasing. We realise this but the party can only put a brave face and claim that we can counter them,” added another MIC division level leader who witnessed the Butterworth incident last night.
No sense of responsibility
M Mayilsamy was in the group of people who blocked Samy Vellu’s car last night. He said that the group was angry with the police action which sprayed water and fired teargas at Hindraf supporters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday morning.
“They were innocent people who had gathered to give roses to the prime minister. Not a single MIC leader spoke out against the police action. We wanted to ask Samy Vellu on why he was not in support for calls for reform for the community
“But he choose to remain silent in the car, and at one stage called the Hindraf supporters who were arrested by the police as criminals,” added Mayilsamy.
“That got us angry. Criminals? These were normal folks who went to hand in roses to the PM. They weren’t armed. How can Samy just label them as such. He has not sense of responsibility for the community,” he charged.
Several MIC leaders contacted by Malaysiakini today refused to publicly comment on the police action on the Hindraf gathering. And they were afraid to comment on the mounting criticism against the party boss.
Ever since the Hindraf rally on Nov 25 which called for the government to redress the sidelining of the Indian community in this country, a simmering discontent has appeared among the Indian community over the performance of Samy Vellu. The grassroots feeling is that he has not done enough for the upliftment of the community.
Recently the government acknowledged that the community had legitimate grievance and had promised to overcome them.
However the community’s anger has not dissipated, instead it has been channelled at Samy Vellu.
Mounting pressure
However until now MIC leaders have regrouped behind Samy Vellu, saying that only he can ensure that the government fulfills whatever demands that are made via MIC, the sole Indian representative in the government.
In his defence, they have also said that Samy Vellu had never failed to ask the government to help uplift the community and blamed the government’s poor delivery system for the failures in the government programmes and aides reaching the community.
“But it doe not look like the community is going to buy this. They want immediate government equality actions and feel that such actions need not be channelled through MIC,” said political observer and local government veteran M Pithchay.
“Samy Vellu can no longer go around the country and claim that he would get the government to uplift the community. No one will believe him. He has lost his credibility,” he added.
Such sentiments are now slowly being admitted by MIC leaders. Openly they say that Samy Vellu should contest in Sungai Siput. Privately they are wondering how to convince him to give up and leave.
“Perhaps he should adhere to the prime minister’s remarks the other day that Samy Vellu might not put his name up as a candidate,” added a party leader.
MIC Information Chief M Saravanan however was quick to defend his boss.
“What will they achieve if he goes? Is he to be solely blamed for the failures of the community?” he asked.
But a large segment of the community believes that Samy Vellu’s departure would be a good start for the upliftment of the community as he comes under increasing pressure to do so in the run up to the elections.
Pressure mounts on Samy to quit
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At least the World knows. The Indian Diaspora is for the Malaysians.
Rose violence: Global demo against M’sia
Rose violence: Global demo against M’sia
Feb 17, 08 1:37pm
Indians across the world demonstrated outside the offices of Malaysian embassies and high commissions on Saturday to condemn the government and police, hours after tear gas and water cannons were fired in Kuala Lumpur at people bringing flowers to persuade Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to release five Hindraf leaders from detention.
The demonstrations – which took place almost simultaneously in New York, Los Angeles, London, Belgium, Northern Island, Indonesia, New Zealand, New Delhi and Mumbai – were believed to be the first internationally-coordinated action in support of the Indian cause in Malaysia.Although there were no more than a few dozen people protesting in each of the cities, their action underlined the growing disgust among Indians all over the world at Abdullah and his police force, said organisers who e-mailed Malaysiakini with details and pictures of the demonstrations. Videos were also posted on YouTube.
“Which sicko of a prime minister would allow his police to fire tear gas and chemical-laced water at people trying to bring him flowers?” asked Anantha Paskaran, one of those who led the demonstration outside the Malaysian Consulate General’s office in New York.
“We talk about the Soviet Union, Chechnya and Burma when it comes to human rights violations,” said Anantha. “What about this so-called moderate Muslim country Malaysia? It has a police force than can rival the Gestapo and KGB”.
On Saturday, Malaysian police used teargas and water cannons to disperse about 300 Hindu Rights Action Force supporters who had gathered along Jalan Raja Laut to hand Abdullah hundreds of roses.Calling it a “rose protest”, Hindraf had said it wanted to give the flowers to the premier, asking him, among others, to release the five Hindraf leaders held under the Internal Security Act. The plan was initially to get a group of children to hand over the roses to Abdullah at Parliament. That, however, fell through when police blockaded roads leading to Parliament, forcing the supporters to group at Jalan Raja Laut instead.
The police eventually arrested about 200 people and released all but nine whom they said defied repeated orders to disperse.
Abdullah, in an immediate reaction, labelled Hindraf as group of “extremists” out to disrupt general elections scheduled on March 8.
Mock coffin
Anantha said it was “most laughable” for the premier to link the incident with the upcoming polls in Malaysia.“In what way can the Indians in Malaysia disrupt the electoral process that’s underway? They are minorities, marginalised in every sense of the word, and don’t even have enough resource to fend for themselves, let alone disrupt a national election,” he said.
The 51-year-old former Malaysian-turned-US citizen who runs a financial consultancy in Queens, New York, also appeared to pre-empt any possible remark by Abdullah that Indians outside of Malaysia had no business with what was happening in the country.
“For the prime minister’s information, I still have family members in Malaysia and they are paying income taxes too, so I have every right to speak on their behalf,” Anantha said.
He said the weather in New York was below 32 degrees Farenheit (0 degrees Celcius) on Saturday and those who turned up outside the Consulate General’s office in Manhattan, including women and children, braved icy winds for nearly 2 hours.
“We were freezing on the outside but we were burning on the inside at what’s happening to our fellow Indians in Malaysia,” Anantha said.Pictures received by Malaysiakini showed demonstrators carrying placards such as “Malaysia, Provide Equal Opportunity and Equal Treatment for All” and “All Malaysians, Act Now or Lose Your Freedom, Your Rights and Your Identity Forever.”
In New York, demonstrators even brought a mock coffin for MIC President S Samy Vellu, who has been fiercely criticised for failing the Indian community. A sign above the coffin read: “Samy Vellu – Traitor of Indian Malaysians, R.I.P. (Rest In Peace).” (photo above)
In another interesting picture, five people also wore cut-out pictures of the faces of the five detained Hindraf leaders, holding up their wrists in a symbolic sign of incarceration.
A big sham
And not all those who participated in the foreign demonstrations were Indians of Malaysian origin.Fiona Lee (photo), an ethnic Chinese from Malaysia, said in comments to Malaysiakini that she decided to join the protest in New York “because these are issues affecting all Malaysians.”
“To me, the marginalisation of the Indian community is very real,” said the 25-year-old, who has lived in the United States for seven years now and is pursuing a doctorate in English at the City University of New York.
“I grew up in Cheras and I belonged to a church group that used to visit Indian slums where the children had little access to education, food and even clothing,” Lee said. “To say they are being equally treated is the biggest sham.”
There were no officials from the Malaysian Consulate General’s office in New York to receive ay memorandums from the protesters. However several officials were seen snapping photographs of the protesting crowd.
The writer is a New York-based Malaysiakini reader who wishes to remain anonymous.
Rose violence: Global demo against M’sia
At a press conference later, Kayveas expressed the�hope that his announcement would put to rest speculations on whether PPP would be allowed to contest in Taiping, which was ‘loaned’ to the party by fellow BN component Gerakan�during the 2004 general election.
