Political heat to rise further

S Retnanathan, FMT After more than a month of lull due to the fasting month and Hari Raya Aidilfitri, the country’s political temperature is expected to rise further as political parties go, presumably, into the last lap before the 13th general election. Both sides of the political divide are expected to crank up their engines in an effort to woo voters, especially fence-sitters, before registered Malaysians go to the ballots to pick 222 members of parliament and and 505 state assemblymen. The Sarawak state election for 71 seats was held in April, 2011 and would not be held simultaneously with the general election. Political parties, be it the ruling Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat – a coalition made up of PAS, DAP and PKR – are expected to up the tempo to win the hearts and minds of voters and signs are abound that they would use the next few months to run down each other and prove that they can or should govern the nation for the next five years. Prime Minister and BN chief Najib Tun Razak has yet to make any significant announcement on the date of the crucial election although political pundits had began the guessing game on the date of the polls since late last year. The ruling BN won 140 parliamentary seats at the last election while the opposition mustered 82 seats. Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim had said just before the fasting month that Pakatan is poised to form the next federal government, winning more than 100 seats. Whether this prediction would come true depends on this last lap. Najib has until March next year to dissolve Parliament and call for fresh polls. “He now has two options. Go for full term or dissolve Parliament after tabling the 2013 Budget. If he does the latter, then we are looking at October or November election. If he misses this, then election would be next year,” a BN component party head told FMT. Read more... Jarumemas: Satu kapal satu nakhoda...

Sibu to host celebrations

SIBU: The town here will play host to the state- level 55th Merdeka Day celebrations and workers yesterday were busy putting the finishing touches to preparations. The long Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays meant they had to put in extra shifts to complete the preparations, such as erecting a giant billboard and the hanging of "fishtails". The celebration will start on Thursday with a thanksgiving ceremony at Masjid An-Nur. Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Abang Muham- mad Salahuddin, his wife Toh Puan Norkiah, Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, state cabinet ministers and local dignitaries are expected to attend. The highlights of the two-day celebrations are the Merdeka Run and a rally at Dataran Sibu. Read more: Sibu to host celebrations - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/sibu-to-host-celebrations-1.130123#ixzz24oTzcROa Jarumemas: Go for it, Sibu!!

4 on 2,200km Merdeka journey

TAWAU: FOUR students set out on a 2,205km journey from here yesterday to promote Merdeka and Malaysia Day. They will cycle through several places in Sabah and Sarawak before flying to Malacca. They are Muhammad Frydaus Asry Jeffery of Kuching Polytechnic, Tan Al-Affiq Tan Smilly of Mukah Polytechnic in Sarawak, Wan Farhan Wan Jusoh of Universiti Teknikal Melaka and Nur Syafiqah Wawi of Kota Baru Polytechnic. The 20-day expedition is dubbed the "Higher Education Ministry's 1Malaysia Merdeka Cycling Challenge". Read more: 4 on 2,200km Merdeka journey - General - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/4-on-2-200km-merdeka-journey-1.130121#ixzz24oTckxcl Jarumemas: Proud to be a Malaysians

Kolumnis Pro-Israel dipecat, tidak telus petik ucapan Najib, kata akhbar Britain

KUALA LUMPUR, 27 Ogos — The Guardian hari ini memecat koresponden Amerika Syarikat mereka, kolumnis konservatif Amerika Joshua Trevino, kerana telah memetik ucapan Datuk Seri Najib Razak dalam tulisannya untuk akhbar British tersebut tahun lepas tanpa mendedahkan tentang beberapa percanggahan konflik yang wujud ketika itu. Pada masa yang sama, beliau juga merupakan seorang perunding untuk syarikat perunding yang terlibat dalam kempen mengatur berita oleh kerajaan Malaysia selain menguruskan sebuah laman sesawang yang menyerang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dan pembangkang lain. “Ini adalah berkaitan sebuah penulisan blog Trevino yang ditulis sebagai penyumbang dalam laman sesawang Guardian edisi AS — sebelum beliau dikontrak — pada 28 Februari 2011 mengenai pertanyaan seorang ahli kongres Republican mengenai radikilisai Islam, yang turut memetik ucapan Perdana Menteri Malaysia Najib Razak,” kata Chris Elliot, seorang editor pembaca, juga bertindak sebagai wakil dalaman The Guardian. Baca seterusnya... Jarumemas: Terlajak perahu boleh diundur, terlajak kata padah jadinya.

Mat Sabu: Akhbar Sin Chew salah lapor, saya tak sebut tentang hudud

KUALA LUMPUR, 28 Ogos — Timbalan presiden PAS, Mohamad Sabu menafikan laporan muka depan akhbar Sin Chew Daily hari ini yang memetik beliau sebagai berkata, PAS akan melaksanakan hudud jika Pakatan Rakyat (PR) mengambil alih Putrajaya. Mohamad yang mesra dengan panggilan Mat Sabu menjelaskan, semasa wartawan Sin Chew Daily menghubungi beliau ... Read More.... Jarumemas: Kalau tak sungguh orang tak kata...

Syawal dan hudud

28 OGOS — Saya mengambil masa yang panjang untuk menulis sesuatu tentang perkara serius kerana tidak mahu tersasar dari intipati tajuk. Saya lebih selesa tajuk santai sambil menceritakan keadaan dan peristiwa. Tajuk serius memerlukan pentakrifan dan pengkategorian yang jitu dan mantap manakala bersantai gambarannya adalah longgar dan bersahaja. Saya belum mencuba menulis dengan kombinasi kedua-dua cara serentak, pasti ia sesuatu yang menarik apabila pembaca mendapati dalam bersantai ada keseriusan dan dalam keseriusan ada santai. Adakah harapan? Saya mendapati ruang yang baik untuk saya menulis dengan cara santai dengan saya membicarakan persoalan hudud yang muncul di ambang Syawal. Apakah mesejnya bahawa hudud muncul di ambang Syawal dan pada penghujung umat Islam berpuasa di bulan Ramadan, Allah sahaja yang mengetahui, namun Syawal adalah bulan kemenangan, adakah ini membawa petanda bahawa isu hudud yang sekian lama dibahaskan di seluruh dunia Islam akan muncul di Malaysia dalam suasana penuh kemenangan, yakni orang ramai dapat menerimanya? Inilah yang menjadi persoalannya, dapatkah orang ramai menerimanya? Nasha Nama Ustaz Nasha bukanlah baru, tokoh ini muncul semasa Ustaz Fadhil Mohd Nor menjadi Presiden PAS malah disebut-sebut sebagai bakal kepimpinan PAS yang hebat. Kemunculannya di pesada parti PAS sebagai Setiausaha Agung dilihat sebagai satu karier politik yang ada potensi kerana jawatan itu adalah merupakan keutamaan Presiden untuk mencadangkan nama penjawat yang sesuai. Karier beliau terus meningkat dengan pencalonan sebagai Timbalan Presiden dan menang mengalahkan tokoh veteran PAS Ustaz Harun Taib. Dalam pemilihan baru-baru ini, Nasha kalah dengan ayam sabung PAS, Mohammad bin Sabu aka Mat Sabu. Kekalahan itu dilihat sebagai titik tolak hubungannya yang renggang dengan PAS. Baca selanjutnya... Jarumemas: Hanya jauhari yang kenal manikam

Lesson learned from the past

AUG 28 — In a few more days, we will celebrate our 55th year of being independent. National Day is the best day to reflect back on our journey as a nation. First, there are no other days which are more significant in our nation’s rich history. Second, it reflects exactly another year of us being fully responsible for dictating the course of Malaysia. We have no one else to blame, as the power has been solely in our hands. This day is also special for me personally. It used to be the only day in the year where my friends and I would get the chance to actually wave the “Jalur Gemilang” during the annual celebration in primary school. It was also the time of the year where my father insisted that our house showcased the “Jalur Gemilang”, though it was my younger brother’s duty to fix the flags due to his thinner physique. From my primary school days, I also remember working with the entire school to produce a huge, extra-long “Jalur Gemilang” for this special day. Those were amazing moments. I would limit my reflection this time on the political aspect of August 31. Many of us assumed last August that we would have seen the results of the hotly anticipated 13th general election by now. But most of us were wrong, and it now seems unlikely that the GE will be held in 2012. Today, I don’t want to discuss assumptions on the outcome of this postponed election. What concerns me most is the effect of this delay. Datuk Seri Najib Razak has until April next year to call for election and both parties are now happy to use this time to strengthen their positions. However, although both political sides benefit from this delay as they can reduce the cracks internally, this wait has increased the cracks between Malaysians as a country. The intensity and frequency of the fights in the political arena has increased as the year progresses, and has given all political parties something to work on to prove their worth. Read more.... Jarumemas: Seeing is beleiving...