| Anwar Ibrahim Posted: 02 May 2013 07:28 PM PDT
| [PRESS STATEMENT] Large Scale Movement of Dubious Voters by Air Transport from Sabah and Sarawak to Peninsula Malaysia Posted: 01 May 2013 11:15 PM PDT MAY 2, 2013 This morning, I will be disclosing information and findings regarding the sudden surge in the arrival of dubious individuals on chartered flights since April 25th. These are foreign nationals as well as Malaysians from Sabah and Sarawak who have been flown in to Peninsula Malaysia. We have also received information that there has been a sudden surge in the arrivals of foreign workers from Thailand, Cambodia, Pakistan and Myanmar through Bukti Kayu Hitam as well those from Indonesia through Port Kelang and other coastal entry points. The timing of this surge in arrivals and its sheer size raises naturally raises the question of whether they have been transported here surreptitiously to vote in favour of Barisan Nasional. We also received information that these flights were made at the instruction of the Prime Minister's Department and made through a letter signed by a minister. The facts that we have established so far are: The number of these flights, as many as 16 per day from East Malaysia primarily departing from Kuching and Kota Kinabalu as well as Sandakan, Miri and Sibu, with some flights using jumbo jets. The number of charter flights per day is more than even the number of charter flights during the Haj season. Based on our calculations, as many as 4,500 people are being transported via the in-bound flights into KLIA each day. This has been taking place each day with the exception of May 1st, since April 25th. This means at least 40,500 dubious individuals have and are still entering via this method of chartered flights via KLIA. This does not include foreign nationals who are being moved through land routes and seaports or other airport facilities such as LCCT. The points of arrival of these flights have been KLIA Sepang as well as Bayan Lepas and Senai. We also have information that military aircraft (C130 Hercules) are being used to bring in these phantom voters to land in smaller airports such as Batu Berendam and Ipoh. We have credible documentary evidence that these groups of foreign nationals are being transported from the airports to various sequestration points within Selangor/Kuala Lumpur and the other affected states using transport provided by various government agencies as well as charted bus operators; We believe that the Election Commission in collaboration with the Prime Minister's Office, and the involvement of a number of other agencies are involved in this operation. We now demand answers to the following questions from the relevant parties: - Can the Inspector General of Police and the Chief of the Armed Forces assure us that the Royal Malaysian Police and Malaysian Armed Forces are neutral professionals and are not involved in a plot to keep Barisan Nasional in power? Can both of them confirm that their intelligence personnel are not involved in orchestrating the movement of these dubious people?
- Can the Chief of Armed Forces explain if the various Territorial Army (Askar Wataniah) camps have been used as accommodation centers for these dubious individuals?
- Can the Director General of Immigration explain the role of the various depots in Lenggeng, Sepang and Semenyih in providing accommodation these foreign phantom voters?
- Can the Director General of the National Registration Department explain whether foreign workers in the Sepang Formula 1 Circuit and KLIA have been given Malaysian identity cards?
We warn the Election Commission and its cahoots that there are many patriotic Malaysians in the various security agencies, airlines and airport employees who are angry and upset that the sovereignty of the country is being compromised. These patriots are monitoring and documenting all the suspicious movements groups of individuals. We have video recordings, photographic evidence and documents to support our claims. We also have the flight schedule of these chartered flights. We want to warn the current Barisoan Nasional caretaker government not to deny Malaysians their democratic rights to vote freely and fairly. They should also not exploit powerless and marginalized foreign nationals or Malaysians for their goal of staying in power. I also call upon Malaysians to document all evidence of the inflow of these imported voters. Take photos or videos of their movements. For those have in any way been involved in this operation, please forward to us the evidences that you have. We must protect the sovereignty of the rakyat. Finally, we urge every single voter who loves Malaysia to come out to take control of our destiny by voting and not let the BN steal our election by using these dubious voters. If Pakatan Rakyat, Insyallah, is given the mandate by the rakyat, we will declare 6th May 2013 a national holiday to allow Malaysia to return home after the voting exercise. We must overwhelm these imported voters with our high turnout to ensure our dignity and sovereignty. Let us exorcise this country from the demons of BN and the Election Commission. ANWAR IBRAHIM | | PKR: PM’s office linked to flying in dubious voters Posted: 01 May 2013 10:16 PM PDT Malaysiakini The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is allegedly involved in purported operations to fly in dubious voters from East Malaysia to the Peninsula, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim said today. Anwar said that his party has obtained photographic and documented evidence that 16 chartered flights have been flying to Peninsula everyday from various locations in East Malaysia. He said by polling day, at least 40,500 people would have been flown in via such flights, while passenger manifests which he claimed was in PKR's possession reveals that the passengers are mainly foreign nationals. Anwar also said that the party has obtained a copy of email communication within Malaysian Airlines (MAS) that made a direct reference to the PMO in relation to the chartered flights. | | Anwar Ibrahim’s moment of destiny Posted: 01 May 2013 09:18 PM PDT ABC News For the first time in decades, it seems like the Malaysian opposition has a chance of winning, so long as it can bring together a broad and conflicted collection of ethnic groups including Muslims, ethnic Chinese, and indigenous communities. Waleed Aly is visiting Malaysia ahead of federal elections this weekend, and interviewed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to find out what chance his coalition has of winning, and of sticking together. As the anticipation builds in the lead up to the 13th general election in Malaysia this weekend, there are two men that this ultimately becomes all about. One of them is Anwar Ibrahim the man who would like to be the next prime minister of Malaysia. And for the first time since the country won independence from Britain in 1957, it looks like the opposition has a real chance of winning government. I managed to talk with Mr Anwar in Kuala Lumpur, where I've been reporting from this week for RN Drive. During the '80s and '90s Mr Anwar served under the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UNMO), instituting their policies of Malay supremacy as first Education Minister, then Finance Minister, and finally deputy prime minister. But now he's running for office heading a coalition of disparate parties—the ethnic Chinese Democratic Action Party (DAP), the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and his own People's Justice Party (PKR)—with a platform themed around ending the racial divide in Malaysia. 'The so-called favouring of the Malays is actually meant to enrich the cronies and the family members of the leaders,' he told me. 'They're all billionaires. The Malays remain poor and marginalised. It's better that we embark on new policy—a market economy but also very strong dosage of distributive justice and affirmative action based on the needs of poor marginalised Malays, ethnic Chinese, Indians and other indigenous people.' But there are symbolic aspects to the policy of Malay supremacy too. For example the declaration of Malay as national language and Islam as state religion. These are things Mr Anwar accepts will not be reversed even if he wins power. ‘These are constitutional guarantees agreed upon by the coalition,' he says. 'The official language is Malay, but we continue to promote Chinese, Tamil and of course to enhance a level of proficiency in the English language at secondary school and at university level.' 'The problem is when you embark on a policy to deny assistance for the promotion of other languages. Similarly with the position of Islam. The official religion is Islam—in fact the term is 'Islam is the religion of the federation'…The conduct of the government, of the ruling party, when they deny the use of the word Allah to Christians, or deny the use of the bible in Bahasa—well these have been questioned as something that is contrary to the spirit of the constitution where you do guarantee freedom of conscience and religion.' The period of Malay supremacy and the identity politics of Islam in Malaysia really began in earnest under Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad in the ’80s. And during that time of course Mr Anwar served a number of senior roles in Mr Mahathir’s UMNO party, presiding over that change. There will undoubtedly be a number of people who’ll have a hard time believing he’s had a complete about face. But Mr Anwar says although he served UMNO during a very racially divisive period, he always considered himself a voice for reform in the party. 'I made very clear to the public I was part of a system that stuck to that policy and that policy needed to be rejected,' he says. 'Even when I was a government minister I was talking about reform. I was talking about democracy; I was questioning this notion of Asian values that makes leaders view in a condescending manner towards citizens. I was talking about the need for the country to transform into a viable, vibrant democracy. These issues have been raised. So people do see that as indications that there was a reformer within the system.' Another function of that system, from before Mr Ibrahim's time, was political detention: locking up opponents under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which came about after the country's race riots in 1969. In fact, the ISA was only dismantled last year. Mr Ibrahim was a member of UNMO for decades through this period, including stints near the top of the party as deputy prime minister. But he denies he was ever complicit in enforcing the ISA. ‘Even when I was a government minister I was talking about reform. I was talking about democracy; I was questioning this notion of Asian values that makes leaders view in a condescending manner towards citizens. I was talking about the need for the country to transform into a viable, vibrant democracy. These issues have been raised. So people do see that as indications that there was a reformer within the system.' ANWAR IBRAHIM 'Of course I cannot absolve myself entirely from some of the decisions taken,’ he says. ‘But during all the periods in which I was acting or covering as minister of home affairs or prime minister I've never used that legislation. I just refused to use the Internal Security Act against political opponents although at that time this was referred to me. That's at least a position that I can be proud of.' Fittingly, he claims he'll repeal any remaining draconian laws relating to detention if he wins office. 'All draconian acts affecting university students, unions, and security laws [will be repealed],' he says. 'Of course we have to be tough against any perpetrators of crime or terrorism, but you must allow for due process.' It's fine to talk reform, but from the outside Mr Ibrahim's coalition looks like a union completely at odds with itself. The agendas of the Chinese DAP and the Islamist PAS (which has taken positions that were even more supportive of the Malay supremacy doctrine than UMNO), don't seem to share common ground. But Mr Anwar says the coalition has already worked together successfully as the ruler of four Malaysian state governments, proving its ability to reach consensus. 'It's not a pre-election coalition, it's a coalition that's been in government, in the state governments, the last five years,' he says. 'We've done reasonably well, at least in terms of transparency, anti-corruption, attract[ing] investments. These are proven, and accepted by even the auditor general in the auditor general's report. The perception that [this] is going to create havoc and divisiveness did not happen.' Coalition members are encourage to freely articulate their views, but at the end of the day the political bloc has made a rule that it will not advocate policies that contradict constitutional guarantees or have not been reached by consensus, Mr Anwar says. However, elements of the PAS are in support of issues like Hudud for example—the application of Islamic legal punishments—which none of the other partners, or the constitution, supports. And in the past members from within DAP have gone so far as to encourage non Muslims not to vote for PAS. But Mr Anwar says religious divisions are a manageable part of politics across the country, and nothing unique to his coalition. 'Look at it from practical experience,' he says. 'Religion is also a state matter in the provinces. Yes there will be some problems whether liquor can be sold in this village or not, there'll be teething problems like that, which is there in any society.' 'You see if you look at the party platform on democracy, on rule of law, on free media, on independent judiciary, ridding the country of corruption—you know all these policies, even economic policies, education policies, [are] all laid down,' he says. 'That's why I say it's not correct to suggest this is a collation of convenience, because this has worked for the last five years. And unlike a collation that you understand post election in the UK or Germany or whatever where you actually start crafting policy after the election, we’ve done so, and I think it's a great service to Malaysians. Now we have for the first time a real working together of disparate groups, multiethnic, multi religious groups, and this augers well for the country.' By contrast, he argues that the current ruling coalition, comprised of UMNO as well as partners the Malaysian Chinese Association and the Malaysian Indian Congress, doesn't represent the true ethnic mix of Malaysia. 'The ethnic Indians, ethnic Chinese are completely wiped out [in the ruling coalition],' he says. 'There's no educated representation at all, there's no voice in government. How can you have a voice when you see this Malay supremacy? How do you expect the ethnic Chinese and the Indians to feel? How do expect the Christians to feel when you say, “well, you have no right to use the word Allah, we decide what you call your god”.’ He's also confident of attracting votes from indigenous communities in Saba and Sarawak, where he has been campaigning in remote villages, often by helicopter. 'It was [a] very strenuous journey, but then very encouraging, because from the most remote areas in the highlands to the urban/suburban areas [there] is [a] huge level of support and enthusiasm that you certainly have not seen in the past.' Now, he believes he just needs the election to be conducted fairly to have a decent chance of emerging from the political wilderness as Malaysia’s new prime minister. And he's been critical of the Australian government in the past for not getting more involved in monitoring the coming elections. But Bob Carr's reply has been – well, we weren't invited. And Minister Carr has a point; can you reasonably expect Australia to observe an election it's not invited to? Mr Ibrahim told me that he sees Australia's hands off approach to the upcoming elections as a total contradiction of its role in other parts of the world. 'Australia's an important country to us in terms of economy, education,' he says. 'We know its policy in terms of promoting democracy, freedom. We know they're concerned what happens in Myanmar, Afghanistan, Iraq. Why the exception to Malaysia? We're not asking them to be involved in domestic politics. You talk about free media; you talk about free and fair elections. Why do you mute it when it comes to Malaysia? These are difficult questions, and I think it's legitimate. We're not, as Minister Bob Carr suggested, [asking Australia] to be involved in domestic politics. We're not asking them to participate or side with the opposition. We're saying that; do you know, come here and see whether Malaysia is [a] great democracy, [a] moderate Muslim [country]. Do you know that Christians are denied reading the bible in Bahasa? Don't you know we are being advised about the fact that the media don't give one minute of airtime to the opposition? So i think our concerns are legitimate.' 'MPs can be sent, civil society organisations should be encourage to go. There are some processes for example in terms of the election commission [which can] only allow observers where they are given approval. There are 101 ways. I mean you don't need to send a foreign minister to come and observe. I don't expect that of course.' 'Why do you take a stand in Myanmar for free and fair elections. And don't you know that Aung San Suu Kyi was given a time on television, [and] we don't?' | | Anwar warns of “massive fraud” Posted: 01 May 2013 09:14 PM PDT ABC News Malaysia’s opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim, has alleged that the ruling party’s vote could be bolstered with phantom ballots, in this weekend’s election. TRANSCRIPT TONY JONES, PRESENTER: Polling predicts this weekend’s election in Malaysia will be the closest in the country’s history. Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional coalition has ruled for 57 years, but at the last election in 2008, the party lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority. Now the country is waiting to see whether the Opposition, led by controversial figure Anwar Ibrahim, can force a change in government. South-East Asia correspondent Zoe Daniel reports from Kuala Lumpur. ZOE DANIEL, REPORTER: It’s still a long shot. Malaysia’s Pakatan Rakyat coalition must win about 35 more seats than it currently holds to take government in its own right. A big challenge in a country where people have been voting only one way for almost six decades. The Opposition is made up of three multi-racial parties, one of which is predominantly Chinese, one predominantly Islamic and is led by the sometimes controversial former ruling party deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who spent six years in jail after allegations of corruption and sexual misconduct, now widely interpreted as a Government smear campaign. The ruling party says the Opposition is fractious and unreliable and that its election could lead to instability in multi-racial Malaysia. The Opposition responds by saying that the Government has been relying on the politics of fear and using cash handouts, mass media dominance and fraudulent stacking of voting roles to win Sunday’s poll. We spoke with Mr Anwar at his office in Kuala Lumpur. Mr Anwar, welcome. Are you going to win this election? ANWAR IBRAHIM, OPPOSITION LEADER: Well, initially I said I was cautiously optimistic, but now I think with the upsurge of – in growing support, I’m very confident that we’ll make it. ZOE DANIEL: You have to win 35 seats to get that majority. That’s a big ask, isn’t it? ANWAR IBRAHIM: Not really because we are able to consolidate our position in the five states, including Kuala Lumpur, six states. So we have been enormously successful in our penetration into the rural heartland, particularly around Jahor, Saba and Sarawak, where we failed miserably in 2008. ZOE DANIEL: What will prevent you from winning? ANWAR IBRAHIM: Massive fraud. We have presented our case based on the March electoral roll where we find even postal voters who are actually designated there as Bangladeshis or Pakistanis or Indonesians, but they are supposed to serve the Army or the police. So clearly, there’s a fraud there. (Inaudible), more than 28,000 designated as Filipinos and Indonesians who are voters based in Saba but voting in Kuala Lumpur or Selangor and there has not been a satisfactory response from the Election Commission. ZOE DANIEL: Are you disappointed that Australia didn’t send election observers? ANWAR IBRAHIM: Well it’s quite baffling to my mind because the initial response from Australia is that there’s no interference in domestic affairs. We are not asking them to support any party. We are asking them to remain consistent with Australian foreign policy position in support of freedom and democracy. Why do you make so much noise about Iraq or Afghanistan or Myanmar and mute it with regard to Malaysia? ZOE DANIEL: If you win, who will be Prime Minister next week? ANWAR IBRAHIM: Well of course, as we say, we are party by consensus. There is talk that I may be able to – I mean, given the chance, or otherwise we’ll have to re-look at it if there is any other possibility or other candidate. ZOE DANIEL: Is that a good answer though, because wouldn’t it be better if the population at least had certainty on that issue? ANWAR IBRAHIM: Well, generally to the masses and all my campaign trips, Keadilan or DEP or Islamic Party leaders, they all – they always introduce me or invite me as the next Prime Minister, but I would leave it at that. ZOE DANIEL: Thanks for your time. ANWAR IBRAHIM: Thank you. | | Mega Pakatan rallies shake Johor BN bastion Posted: 01 May 2013 09:05 PM PDT Malaysiakini Yesterday’s public holiday opened up for Pakatan Rakyat’s top leaders a golden opportunity to hold several mammoth ceramah in Johor, attracting tens of thousands and taking its momentum to new heights in the southern BN fortress.  The ceramah at an outdoor car park of a shopping mall at Gelang Patah pulled in some 70,000 Chinese-majority crowd, breaking the attendance of 60,000 people recorded the previous night at the same venue.
Besides the unprecedented attendance, the total donation raised for the day reached a whopping RM263,328.80, comprising RM173,328.80 collected from the ceramah alone and RM90,000 from the series of events held throughout the day at the car park.  It was a clear sign of the overwhelming support of the Chinese electorate in southern Johor as many came from neighbouring constituencies such as Kulai, Johor Bahru, Pasir Gudang and Pulai, which Pakatan aims to wrest from the BN in this general election.
Another ceramah targeting the Malay crowd was held simultaneously at the outdoor car park of Tan Sri Dato Haji Hassan Yunos stadium in Johor Bahru downtown, attracting some 10,000 people, making it the largest Malay-majority ceramah in the state since nomination day on April 20. Pakatan has been struggling to garner the support of Malay voters in the BN stronghold state to meet its target of 38 percent, and this ceramah showed that still much work needs to be done in the last three days of the campaign. Anti-establishment phenomenon Two earlier ceramah in the town of Batu Pahat, located in central Johor, and Muar, in northern Johor, also recorded attendance of about 10,000 and 15,000 respectively with most present being Chinese. Those were further indicators that the anti-establishment sentiment among Chinese is a statewide phenomenon.  From the plate number of cars parked around the ceramah venues, it is believed that a significant number of participants were outstation voters who had returned home to vote on Sunday.
Yesterday was Labour Day, a national holiday, and this allowed outstation voters to enjoy a five-day break until Sunday by taking an additional two-day leave. PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub took turns to address the crowd in most of the ceramah, projecting an united multiracial front. During the ceramah in Johor Bahru, it was clear that Anwar attempted to use his spectacular oratory skill to allay the fear of Malays harboured about the DAP, particularly Kit Siang. Opposition’s 1M’sia show Describing the DAP supremo as “the people’s fighter”, Anwar stressed that there is no reason to fear Kit Siang simply because he is assertive in pursuing his political principles.  “Some civil servants told me they are worried because Chinese now are more persistent in politics… Why are you afraid of him? Because he is smart? Because he is brave? Because he is assertive? Or because he works hard?
“(And because of that) you don’t elect such a person but Malay leaders who are stupid?” he asked. Anwar stressed that Pakatan needs all capable leaders to form a team to rule the nation regardless of race. Anti-corruption and fair treatment to all ethnic communities based on provisions enshrined in the federal constitution were highlighted by all the top leaders in their speeches. Another favourite topic among them was former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.  Speaking to the crowd in Gelang Patah, Anwar urged them to prove Mahathir wrong by voting for Kit Siang.
“Mahathir said let’s bury him (Kit Siang) in Gelang Patah and bury Anwar in Permatang Pauh. But Mahathir, I’m not (caretaker prime minister) Najib (Abdul Razak) who has no courage to rebut you.” He continued to lambast his former boss at the ceramah at Johor Bahru. “I ask Mahathir, you are 87 years old already. You want to bury Anwar and bury Kit Siang, what about your own grave?” But he was quick to stress that he never says he wants Mahathir to die as reported by the BN-controlled media. “I want him to live. I want him to watch TV3 on May 6 (to see the results of GE13),” he said and hoops of laughter rolled across the floor. | | Malaysia: Violence, Cyber Attacks Threaten Elections Posted: 01 May 2013 08:59 PM PDT Human Rights Watch For Immediate Release Party Workers, Activists, and Online News Portals Targeted Malaysia's ruling party and opposition leaders should rein in their supporters to end intimidation and violence that threaten general elections slated for May 5, 2013, Human Rights Watch said today. The Royal Malaysian Police should fully and impartially investigate alleged attacks on party members and supporters on both sides.
Election-related violence targeting events organized by parties in the ruling Barisan Nasional and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalitions has escalated as the election has approached, according to police reports. Calls by the two competing coalitions have so far failed to stem the violence. Cyber attacks on online news services have undercut election-related speech.
"Election violence threatens the right of all Malaysians to vote for the party of their choice," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Political leaders should demonstrate their commitment to democratic elections by taking firm action against their members and supporters who are responsible." Violent incidents escalated after the start of official election campaigning on April 20, Human Rights Watch said. Prior to that, political harassment was primarily limited to blocking access to meetings, loud noise, stone and egg throwing, and paint smearing on trucks and houses, though some violence has taken place. For example: · In mid-April in Georgetown, Penang State, five assailants seriously beat two men putting up opposition party flags; · On April 23, unidentified people set off an explosive device at a Barisan Nasional rally in northern Penang state that injured a security guard; · On April 25, assailants threw petrol bombs at a Barisan Nasional office outside of Kuala Lumpur, the capital; and · On the same day, unknown attackers torched the car of Pakatan Rakyat candidate Xavier Jayakumar's daughter at her home. Well-planned attacks on the websites of several Malaysian news services and online newspapers providing coverage of opposition candidates also raise serious freedom of speech concerns prior to the May 5 polls, Human Rights Watch said. Since April 20, Malaysiakini, a popular online newspaper that is often critical of the government, has experienced technical interference that has prevented users from accessing its website from inside Malaysia. Readers have experienced slow-downs or sudden drops in service when browsing the website, which has been unpredictable and varied in time. It is unclear whether current disruptions are the result of interference by Internet service providers (ISPs) or by some other actor at centralized Internet gateways that connect Malaysia to the global Internet. Malaysiakini has been the target of distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks in the past. On April 28, the newspaper reported that several of its Twitter accounts had been hacked and taken over; the accounts were recovered on April 30. On April 11, a major DDOS attack brought down three London-based radio web portals – Radio Free Malaysia, Radio Free Sarawak, and Sarawak Report – that have regularly been critical of the Malaysia federal government and the state government of Sarawak. The attack, emanating from computers around the world, generated over 130 million hits on the three websites in the course of three-and-a-half hours, rapidly overwhelming them. All three websites were only able to return to full operation on April 16. Radio Free Malaysia, which began operations in March 2013, delivers election-related news to Sarawak's urban population and openly supports Pakatan Rakyat. Radio Free Sarawak and the Sarawak Report, which broadcast primarily to indigenous people in Sarawak's rural areas, frequently report on government corruption and criticize government policies affecting rural residents. In addition to the DDOS attacks, since the start of the election period Radio Free Sarawak broadcasts in the Iban language over shortwave radio lost clear transmission after jamming with noise transmitted on the same shortwave frequency. "Ensuring everyone can access information without interference is critical if there is to be a level political playing field in Malaysia," Robertson said. "The government has a duty to investigate and shut down all cyber attacks, interference with ISPs, and hacking so that freedom of expression and the right to receive information is preserved." | |
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