To call or not to call, that is the question
Ambiga also dismissed claims that Najib was concerned that if the polls were held before the term expired in April 2013, Pakatan Rakyat-controlled states would not dissolve their respective assemblies. “I don’t buy that excuse. He [Najib] kept the nation on election mode. Even the recent Merdeka celebration was an election campaign,” she said.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Delay polls and risk punishment
The Bersih leader takes the prime minister to task for delaying the general election with no good reason, describing this as disconcerting and irresponsible.
(Free Malaysia Today) – Describing this as both “disconcerting and irresponsible”, Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga warned Najib that the continued delay could prove to be perilous for him and BN.
She said that it would not come as a surprise if the voters, including the fence-sitters, punished him for this feet-dragging in the next polls.
“I understand it is the Westminster system and it is the prerogative of the prime minister. But a good government should be prepared to take on the election and not be afraid to set a date,” she told FMT.
“We have been in election mode since he [Najib] took over and everyone has been pumped up. He drops hints [about the polls] and that is irresponsible. You don’t toy with people’s feelings.
“People are fed up! They can’t plan things like going on holidays and so forth. Furthermore, it affects investor confidence.
“That’s why I say it is irresponsible. If this is how a government is going to play with the election date, then it would be best to have a fixed date for polling,” she added.
Ambiga said as political leaders in other parts of the world discussed the economic crisis and recession, their Malaysian counterparts were still engrossed in politicking.
“So who is running the country? This is unacceptable,” she stressed.
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Step out of Dr M’s shadow, call for GE
DAP national chairman says Najib must earn the right to be prime minister. He also wants the PM to bestow bumiputera status for all Malaysians born on and after August, 1957.
(Free Malaysia Today) – Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak must quash the perception that Dr Mahathir Mohamad is still running the nation.
To do this, DAP Karpal Singh said Najib must call for a general election and earn his right to be the prime minister.
Pointing to the ever growing public excitement and demand for the general election, he said it was time for Najib to come out of Mahathir’s shadow.
“The perception is that Mahathir is the de facto prime minister,” he told reporters here.
Mahathir, who stepped down in 2003 after 22 years at the helm, continues to be an influential leader in both Barisan Nasional and Umno.
The 84-year-old statesman also played an instrumental role in removing former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, to pave the way for Najib’s rise to the post.
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Selangor will skip early polls, says Pakatan
(The Malaysian Insider) – Selangor will not hold state polls concurrently with an early 13th general election, federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) said today, citing complaints about the electoral rolls in the state.
PR now governs the states of Selangor, Kedah, Kelantan and Pulau Pinang.
“I agree with Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim that Selangor will not have state elections if there’s snap polls because SPR (the Election Commission) has not yet cleaned the names (in the electoral roll),” said Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at a press conference today.
According to Anwar, Selangor had offered funds to help the Election Commission (EC) in cleaning the electoral roll.
Anwar said Kelantan has decided to have state polls together with the general election, while Penang was still mulling over the option.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali, who was also present at the press conference, said that the Kedah government has also not decided on when it will hold state polls.
