Selangor to decide outcome of state elections

Campaigning for the six state elections now enters its final lap.

I think Perikatan is more or less sure to retain Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah while Pakatan would keep Penang.

The real tough fights would be in Selangor and Negri Sembilan.

Pakatan as the incumbent has the advantage to win the two states but a shocker could happen, especially in Selangor.

The votes swing in Selangor can be quite violent.

In the general election in 2004, BN won all parliament seats and only lost two state seats in Selangor. The votes however swung in 2008 and BN lost the state. Selangor BN never recovered from that loss.

Well, it all once again depends on the mood of Malay voters.

Are they happy with Anwar and the gang?

Do they feel that life is better now compared to life during....let's say Najib's time?

I can't answer these questions about how the people feel as I have not been on the ground for quite a long time.

I can only speak for myself.

I don't like Anwar and his gang  because they bullshit too much and my life now is a lot worse compared to during Najib's time.

Ya, despite Najib being said to be corrupt, he did a lot of good for Malaysia and life was better, at least for me back then, 

Non-Malay votes? Almost all of them will vote Pakatan again for DAP's sake but their number would not be good enough to counter  a possible united bloc of Malay votes.

Guess they need to work more on chanting the mantra that it's racist for Malays to unite politically.

Never mind.

Can the outcome of the state election affect the government in Putrajaya?

Sure, if it's 6-0 or 5-1 or even 4-2 in Perikatan's favour.

The 4-2 is if Perikatan captures Selangor.

Pakatan can't afford to lose Selangor as the shockwave could affect the political dynamics of other states, including the all important Sabah and Sarawak.

Lose Selangor, and the Pakatan's Madani government would not likely to survive its full term.

Another factor that may affect the Madani government is how Umno performs at the polls.

If Umno gets wiped out, then Zahid's days should be numbered.

Not just Zahid, but the whole rotten bunch need to go.

How many failures before Umno or whatever is left of the party will act to change the party's  leadership?

Umno people, how come you never learnt that you need to change your leader if he/she continuously failed and dragged the party into the longkang?

Sigh.

Never mind. 

Anyway, if Umno people actually awaken from their stupor and get rid of Zahid, it would be just a matter of time before the party pulls out of Anwar's government.

That should be good enough to collapse it.

Media Madani

 A journalist friend, who is covering the ongoing state elections' campaigning called me last night.

The guy was frustrated that his editor, who is a known staunch Pakatan supporter refused to clear his stories because they appeared to be in defence of Sanusi, the funny Kedah MB.

My friend's stories are actually just what were said by Sanusi at press conferences and rallies. They were not even my friend's commentaries. Just basic reporting of what were said.

Well, what else can I say, other than telling my friend to be patient and continue with his work the best that he could.

Just cari makan, you have to support your family, okay.

Guess the media is still the same.

Back then Pakatan people said the media was being controlled by the BN government, but now that they are in power, they become the controlling masters of the media themselves.

All their talks about media freedom actually wasn't meant for reports to be balanced and not bias.

Seriously, which media outlet in this country which are now not supportive of the Madani government?

Malaysiakini? The Star? Malay Mail? NST? FMT?

Just count the stories published by them which are actually the government's propaganda and compare that to the number of stories coming from the opposition's side.

Also, check who are the owners/financiers of those media outlets and the editors who control the newsrooms and editorial contents being churned out.

Just look at the Sanusi case, which media outlets that have reported in full his explanation of the rare earth mining issue in Kedah?

If there are such reports that appear to be so, compare them to his speeches on the issue which are available on YouTube. Then, you would understand why I said the media has not fully reported the guy's explanation.

Really, the media in this country is still the same. It is just owned and controlled by different people.

Sorry (true) journalists, your life is hard.

That's just the way things are.

The current PM is not actually a believer in freedom of the press, okay.

Just look back to the 90s when he was a BN deputy prime minister and in control of the media. 

Ask any (honest) journalist from that era how tight was the control. I believe it's going to be the same for the coming next few years. All the signs are already there.

Well, never mind.

We have social media now.

For the state elections, I just follow what's happening by watching YouTube videos on it.

At least that way I get to know what was actually being said instead of what was reportedly being said.

Hopefully one day we could have a proper independent news outlet to report the truth and nothing but the truth.

Vote against bullies and liars

Campaigning for the six state elections is now in full swing.

Yet, somehow it fails to really interest me.

 Maybe it's because I have more pressing issues, such as trying to make some money for my survival.

Anyway, I found the whole thing rather boring.

Pakatan with their lies and Perikatan with their irritating nonsense.

Let's not even mention BN....urghhh.

I rather watch some Korean dramas than listening to their talks.

Okay, maybe a few guys like that funny Sanusi joker are worth listening to as they are quite entertaining, but the rest are just garbage.

I don't trust anything that came out of the mouths of Anwar and his gang while most PAS and Bersatu people are just annoying.

Luckily I'm in Pahang and not involved in any of the nonsense.

I actually got an offer to be an observer of the elections but turned it down as I need to work on something else to earn a proper salary.

My savings are running low, okay. Can't afford running around without proper pay.

My health is also not very good these days.

So, I can't comment much about the elections as I'm not on the ground to do so.

Comments by armchair observers are bullshit. 

I was one of those in the last general election and I totally messed up with my predictions.

No more of that, okay.

I would nonetheless like to express my wish for the outcome of this state elections to be such that it would stop the government from bullying its critics.

The voters would hopefully send a message to Putrajaya that they don't want people to be arrested for voicing dissatisfactions with the handling of the country.

I have a fear that such things will happen if Pakatan wins big.

It has actually started even before the elections.

Sikit-sikit tangkap, sikit-sikit tangkap.

So, I hope Perikatan will win in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah while at the same time reducing Pakatan's number of seats in Negri Sembilan, Selangor and Penang.

It's not because I like Perikatan, but Pakatan shouldn't be allowed to become too arrogant.

Pakatan need to be reminded that they should not lie too much and use their power to silence the people.

Best job of Madani era

 I'm going to get my PSV licence next week so I can drive for Grab.

It's not going to earn me much but should be enough to pay my bills and a bit of groceries.

I don't need much anyway at this stage of my life.

Peace of mind is the most important thing for me now and I think driving people around  to earn a living can give me that.

No bosses ordering me around to do stupid things.

Actually, I wish I could drive a truck and deliver goods instead of people but that would be too physically hard for me.

I'm not planning to go crazy and drive 10 hours per day to earn a lot of money. 

Instead, I'll just take it easy and do what I can to earn enough not to go hungry.

What ever it is, I don't have anymore bank loan to pay, so that's one worry out of my head already.

My plan is to park myself at the Kuantan bus terminal, which is near my house and wait for clients there.

If I'm tired or my back hurts, I'll just go home and sleep.

Why not do other things?

Well, I don't have any other skill other than the one that earned me my livelihood over the years.

That skill is now more or less unwanted.

That leaves driving as the only other skill that I have. 

I believe I'm quite a good driver. Very patient and polite too....I think.

Yeah, I believe I can make this works.

It has to be, as this is a hard time for me.

I don't want to complain too much though as I know a lot of people are suffering worse than me.

After all, this is the Madani era. It's normal for people to suffer now.

Kedah people said "Mahai dah le ni."

Yup, everything pricey these days.

Really shitty but we have to accept it as that's what Malaysians voted for in the last general election.

All talks and nothing else. Janji macam-macam, tipu saja.

That's what Madani is all about.

"Hari ini saya jadi PM, esok harga minyak turuuunnnn!!!!"

Yeah, right.

Sanusi the macho kampung funny guy

 I have not been bothered to properly listen to Pas leaders' speeches for quite a long time.

That was until Sanusi's arrest the other day.

I started to check on YouTube videos of his speeches to understand better what actually went wrong with the guy.

I was actually quite entertained by the videos.

Firstly, I found Sanusi to be actually quite a smart MB.

I particularly like his plan to bring more development to the Kedah hinterland.

Sanusi is truly the tough kampung guy type and that probably explains his passion to develop the much neglected rural area of Kedah.

And the guy is brash and very funny at the same time. 

A bit like Mat Sabu but not too irritating and clownish like the Amanah president.

I failed to find the video of his speech, which got him in trouble but based on the videos that I watched, I can guess what had happened.

I doubt that he actually intended to insult Sultan of Selangor as alleged. He was probably his usual recklessly funny self while whacking his political opponents when he uttered the allegedly offending words.

The guy is after all too smart to intentionally go around insulting the royalty. 

But never mind lah. I rather not talk too much about that as it may land me in jail.

As I previously wrote, in this Madani era, you can easily get in trouble for what you said about the 3R.

You may intend to say something but it could be interpreted or intentionally misinterpreted as saying something else.

As it is, just saying that the prime minister is a liar risks being accused of insulting the Agong who appointed the PM.

So, let's not get into that and go back to Sanusi.

Here's the guy explaining more or less his macho Kedah kampung style:

Zaid is right, I better shut up

This Madani era is indeed a dangerous time for people to talk too much.

This is a NST headline today;

Zaid Ibrahim courts controversy by taking veiled swipe at Malay Rulers

What Zaid actually said now that NST suggested that he' may get in trouble?

excerpts 1;

"My advice to the common people : Do not say anything that may be construed as insulting Malay Rulers; even if unintentional.

"Do not say an MB (Menteri Besar) is a clown; as that will be insulting the Ruler for appointing a clown. Do not say Malay Rulers are wealthy ; as that could imply the wealth is improperly obtained.

"Do not say Malay Rulers are involved in timber or durian business ; or internet business. That would be demeaning .You can only praise them. Better still say nothing at all," he tweeted.

excerpts 2

"The most significant achievement of the Madani govt is using Sedition Act against its political opponent. When this opponent said sorry, the Madani Minister replied, 'That's not enough'.

"When this seditious leader said sorry to the Palace, the response was, 'matter not settled'.

"Now that Sanusi will be charged, everyone is happy. No more pressure on the AG (Attorney-General). The Bar Council, the great defender of the rule of law, must be satisfied too," he tweeted.

Wah, give advice like that also can get in trouble....sigh.

Hopefully I wouldn't get in trouble for reproducing those excerpts.

Well, I took those from the NST article, so if I kena, NST should kena also. 

Never mind, I'll just follow Zaid's advice. 

It's not worth it to risk being jailed.

Cannot talk about 3R, so no more talk about agama Islam, bangsa Melayu or raja-raja for me. 

Got it.  

So much for all those talks about freedom of speech and expression.

This is Najib's fault because he only abolished the ISA and not the others, which Pakatan people used to describe as "draconian laws".

Maybe Pakatan people don't think those laws are draconian anymore.

Yup, Pakatan people change their mind all the time one.

Be more specific about the 3R

They keep repeating it ; Don't touch on the 3R (race, religion, royalty), which are considered as sensitive issues.

Today, I saw a story about the IGP once again warning everyone not to touch on the 3R while campaigning  for the coming six state elections.

But what exactly that can't be said about the 3R?

I think they need to be more specific about it as I have a lot of questions on the matter.

Can we say Malays and Muslims should be united so that they would not dilute their majority as what they had done in previous elections? Will we get arrested if we say that?

How about saying non-Bumiputera should vote for DAP so that they would not be second, third, fourth or even fifth class citizens? I remember Guan Eng said that during a rally in the run up to GE13.

How about defending Chinese schools? Is that also taboo now? I did that quite a lot. You can check this blog's archive to read what I wrote about those schools.

Chinese schools is a sensitive issue after all. Their opponents argued that Chinese schools are one of the reasons Malaysians are not united. Most of the schools' supporters think that's just being racist. 

Can I write about Adib again? There's a lot of racial and religious issues surrounding the deadly beating of the fireman. Or have you all forgot Adib?

How about all those efforts to reconvert kids? Can we talk about that or should we just stay quiet as people flaunt their "victories" over such things?

Can Umno and the other Malay-based parties talk about menyatupadukan orang Melayu? 

Can Pas people talk about memperkasakan Islam in Malaysia?

Will they get arrested if they do that?

Will the government eventually ban all those race and religion based parties?

Umno, what would be your new name if that happens? United Malaysian Nationalist Organisation? How about changing it now so that you will be better aligned with your new Pakatan Harapan friends? Maybe then they will accept you as being incorruptible.

Anyway, PKR, DAP and Amanah never talked about the 3R, aren't they...yeah, sure. 

Sorry. I tend to remember when people said that Malay is not even a race, Islam should be equal as other religions in this country and royalty is a waste of public money. 

Eh, enough lah. Don't want to be accused of trying to cause trouble by touching on the 3R. Nanti kena tangkap pulak.