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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Same tired ‘wayang plot’ in Sabah polls spin

Known as the wild east because of its freewheeling business, land grabs, vote buying and illegal immigrants, Sabahans are expecting little else in the next general election.


KOTA KINABALU: While there is a cinematic ‘coming to a polling booth near you’ air over the soon-to-be-held 13th general election, the people here appear somewhat unmoved and cynical.

In rapidly changing Sabah, the impending 13th GE is seen as nothing more than eyewash.

“It may be a new election but like some movies the plot never changes … in Sabah it will be the same old story,” volunteered a middle aged man, on his way to drop his family of four off at a cineplex here to watch the latest offering.

Like him, the nagging question on most locals’ minds as they prepare to countdown to elect a new government and Parliament anytime between now and 2013 is : “Will the vote be entirely free and fair across the whole country and especially in their own state?”

Known as the Wild East because of its freewheeling business, land grabs, government wheeling and dealing, vote buying, illegal immigrants and a basket-full of shady deals, Sabah is no stranger to controversy and skullduggery.

The sudden interest by the ruling coalition government to form a parliamentary committee to look into how to make elections freer and fairer, is seen as a side show, judging from the talk in the coffeeshops.

Already Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s pledge to give Malaysians the “best democracy in the world” is ringing hollow as soon to be repealed draconian laws like the Internal Security Act that allowed detention without trial and a law requiring a police permit for more than five people to gather together publicly are said to be replaced by even more stringent, all-encompassing regulations.

One of them is a spanking new Peaceful Assembly Act that belies its name.

In Sabah, they call it “wayang”, loosely translated as “show”.

“They are just playing for time,” said John, a father of two who considers himself a politically savvy Sabahan no different from many of those of his generation who were born in the 1980s and who have a healthy distrust of promises by government.

“Why now all of a sudden? They don’t know about this before, meh?” he asked.

Smirking he adds: “They must form a committee first, mah.” His sarcasm is not lost on his wife and his in-laws who giggle as they enjoy the evening out.

Need for international observers

The words ‘committee’ and ‘committee meeting’ have a quirky meaning in the state and it is unfortunate the ‘Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms’ has that tag.

Talk of a RCI (Royal Commission of Inquiry) into how illegal immigrants acquired citizenship and voting rights over the last two decades has also met with skepticism.

“Umno has already said there is no need so what are they (Sabah-based political parties such as PBS, Upko, PBRS and LDP) talking about,” asked a local engineer who requested anonymity because he is working for a company that has government-linked contracts.

“They can’t even agree among themselves on such an important issue and they call themselves a coalition?

The right brain disagreeing with the left brain … how can?”

He believes that the Umno-led Barisan Nasional ruling coalition is attempting to pacify a more demanding public for as long as it can ahead of the next election but will ultimately do nothing to resolve the issue that is at the heart of Sabah’s future.

“They will still use the phantom voters … they can’t help it … that is the only way they can win. All the marginal seats are theirs (BN),” he says.

Pessimism about ever having a clean and fair election runs deep.

Kanul Gindol, a political operative, spoke plainly of the despair when he told Maximus Ongkili, the chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms during a public hearing here last week, that the only panacea to their problem would be to invite international observers during the elections.

He said allowing recognised international observers would go a long way towards helping regain public confidence in the electoral process.

Rigged polls

Dr Chong Eng Leong, a political activist who has chronicled the various stages of a virtual takeover of Sabah by illegal immigrants with the help of politicians, was another who alluded to how the electoral system had been subverted to favour the government.

Ongkili, who is the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation and a member of PBS-led government who was kicked out of power by Umno in 1994, is well aware of how the voters’ rolls have been manipulated by the coalition.

But since the party rejoined BN and he made recipient of a federal cabinet post, he has gagged himself.

People still remember the incident in the 2008 general election when the counting room with the ballot boxes suddenly plunged into darkness when it became obvious that an opposition politician was winning.

When power supply was restored, unaccounted ballot boxes had materialised during the interval and the politician lost the race.

Right on cue this week, word came from the government itself that nothing has changed since the last general election in 2008.

Kalabakan MP Abdul Ghapur Salleh was reported as saying that electricity supply disruptions had been happening repeatedly in recent years and warned the utility company not to take Sabahans for granted.

He may be right.

59 comments:

  1. Without PATI, UMNO will be dead in Sabah.

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  2. No party malaya UMNO, NO PATI in Sabah!

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  3. Next GE is the answer.

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  4. kerajaan kena beri perhatian pada isu2 yang timbul di Sabah.

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  5. masalah PATI yang paling perlu diberi perhatian.

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  6. baik tidak payah buat apa2 kalau setiap kali ada tindakan kearah itu dia akan cakap main wayang..

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  7. We need to do something.

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  8. i really hope this coming election will be clean and fair.

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  9. Hope to see a cleaner, fairer electoral commission system.

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  10. harap jawatan kuasa yang dibentuk akan menjalankan tugas mereka dengan sebaiknya.

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  11. sebarang isu yang timbul harus ditangani dengan berkesan.

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  12. usaha penambahbaikan sistem pilihanraya diharapkan akan dilakukan oleh jawatankuasa khas parlimen yang telah dibentuk.

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  13. Rakyat perlulah pandai menilai.

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  14. Kita tunggulah PRU-13 untuk menentukannya.

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  15. Wayang yang sama berulang kali.

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  16. pada PRU-14 pasti isu PATI tetap juga sama.

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  17. rakyat pasti sudah hafal dengan 'wayang plot' yang berulang ni. spatutnya tidak mudah untuk diperbodohkan lagi.

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  18. Kalau balik2 wayang yang sama saja, tukarlah channel.

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  19. Bila pengiraan undi dibuat, rakam bah. This time kasi sedia lampu kecemasan, torch light semua..

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  20. Kecewa dengan tindakan kerajaan terhadap projek IC.

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  21. “They will still use the phantom voters … they can’t help it … that is the only way they can win. All the marginal seats are theirs (BN),” he says.

    Ini yang menyebabkan kerajaan persekutuan enggan menubuhkan RCI.

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  22. Adakah kebanyakan rakyat Sabahan melompat parti di PRU13? Memang susah diramal. Semoga PRU ini dijalan dengan lebih transparent.

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  23. Kerajaan mengabaikan ketenteraman orang Sabahan semata-mata untuk mengukuhkan kuasanya.

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  24. When come to PRU, anything can happen. PRU will never be fair if PATI, Phantom, Project IC still actively in politic.

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  25. PSC perlulah terus membuat kajian untuk PRU akan datang ini. Harap akan ada penambahbaik dapat pengundian dan pengurusan.

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  26. Another Box Office, tayangan PRU13 di Sabah, because Pengundi FIX DEPOSIT is already outnumbered the orang asal of Sabah!

    The PSC is really a Tayangan I mean Ulang2 Tayang bay the asshole UMNOPORN/BN=Berak Najis.

    How comes these Guntalou Pairin,Maksimusial, Kurupuk, and Musang berjanggut together with their stooges can't smell their sins ah!

    No, no. Don't wait for them to be elected in the PRU13, lets vote them out!

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  27. Prosedur pengundian harus dikaji dan diperbaiki.

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  28. Sabah tetap deposit, tambahan kehadilan PATI dan phantom voters.

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  29. Semua parti menjadi watak utama PRU akan datang. Demi memenangi undian, sanggup membuat ape sahaja.

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  30. No RCI.. No fair election.. with PATI.. Sabah will forever under UMNO.

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  31. We will never achieve a democratic country.

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  32. isu 'phantom voters' harus ditangani secepat mungkin sebelum tibanya PRU-13

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  33. isu 'phantom voters' harus ditangani secepat mungkin sebelum tibanya PRU-13

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  34. jika tidak, masalah lain seperti masalah sosio-ekonomi di negeri ini akan semakin meningkat

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  35. sudah pasti rakyat Sabah akan memihak kepada pembangkang untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini jika PSC gagal

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  36. semoga perjuangan ini akan diteruskan oleh para pemimpin Sabah tidak kira pihak kerajaan ataupun pembangkang walaupun selepas PRU-13 nanti

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  37. We really need to change this.

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  38. There' s nothing much we can do.

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  39. set up the RCI to clear the phantom voters in sabah.

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  40. no more the same old wayang...stop the talk, start the walk..

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  41. menghampakan pada perhimpunan agung UMNO baru2, tiada perwakilan dari sabah yang mengemukan usul penubuhan RCi untuk menyiasat projek IC di sabah..

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  42. mungkin parti2 tempatan sabah seperti PBS, UPKO dan LDP mencari kata sepakat untuk memaksa kerajaan pusat menubuhkan RCI sebelum PRU13..cakap2 saja sudah tidak boleh pakai..yang kita mahu adalah tindakan..

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  43. PSC harus mendesak kerajaan pusat menubuhkan RCI demi rakyat dan negara..

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  44. mungkin sabah akan mengalami tsunami politik di kawasan parlimen...apa2 pun kita tunggu dan lihat..

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  45. keep voicing out...we, true sabahan want RCI to be set up to investigate the project IC...

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  46. Semua pun mahu RCI ditubuhkan, harap kerajaan akan beri perhatian.

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  47. Setuju dengan ashraf. PSC dah ditubuhkan jadi ada baiknya PSC pun minta kerajaan tubuhkna RCI.

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  48. Walaupun saya yakin kerajaan punya alasan munasabah napa tak tubuhkan RCI, namun susah juga kalau hal ini dibiarkan terlalu lama...

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  49. Nanti tak pasal2 isu pati tambah teruk. huhu

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  50. Semoga ada alternatif lain dapat dilaksanakan sebelum PRU13 jika benar RCI tak ditubuhkan.

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  51. Lebih baik tubuhkan sahaja RCI..bagi memuaskan hati semua pihak..

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  52. Semua Parti politik memang suka bemain wayang, apa lagi jika mau dekat2 pru ni..

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  53. Diharapkan isu ini akan selesai dengan segera..suda lama ia berlarutan..

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  54. Harap PRU yg akan datang lebih baik dan tiada pengundi hantu..

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  55. Mungkin kerajaan ada cara lain bagi menyelesaikan masalah ini..

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