Kebebasan rakyat kemerdekaan sebenar

Fazy Sahir | August 31, 2012

Kemerdekaan sebenar juga bererti rakyat diberi peluang dan kebebasan dalam menjalani sistem pilihan raya yang bersih dan adil.

Sambutan Merdeka 55 Tahun

SHAH ALAM: Kemerdekaan dalam erti kata yang sebenar ialah kebebasan dalam menentukan dasar, sosio-budaya, gaya hidup dan hala tuju negara oleh rakyatnya sendiri.

“Generasi kini menolak sistem dan budaya yang mengandungi unsur penindasan dan ketidakadilan seperti mana yang kita diharungi ketika zaman penjajah dahulu.

“Kemerdekaan sebenar juga bererti rakyat diberi peluang dan kebebasan dalam menjalani sistem pilihan raya yang bersih dan adil,” kata Ketua Pembangkang Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Beliau berkata demikian pada Majlis Sambutan Hari Kemerdekaan ke-55 dan Sambutan Hari Malaysia Peringkat Negeri Selangor 2012 di sini malam tadi.

“Kita harus teliti dan mengkaji semula pengisytiharaan kemerdekaan bagi menjamin kebebasan. Pengisytiharaan kemerdekaan ini harus dibaca semula. Jika tidak ia tidak dapat memberi nilai kepada erti kemerdekaan yang sebenar,” ujarnya.

Anwar yang juga penasihat ekonomi negeri Selangor berkata, semangat kemerdekaan harus dipupuk dengan menyediakan pilihan raya yang bersih, adil dan saksama.

Pilihan raya mesti dianjurkan dengan adil dan tidak sepatutnya wujud unsur-unsur penindasan atau penipuan, katanya.

Ketidakadilan sosial

Menteri Besar Selangor Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim dalam ucapannya berkata, dewasa ini masih wujud ketidakadilan sosial dan hak sama rata kepada semua negeri seperti yang berlaku di Sabah dan Sarawak.

“Sabah dan Sarawak yang mempunyai hasil bumi yang banyak terus terpinggir dalam pembahagiaan kekayaan negara. Bahkan Sabah terutamanya dicatatkan sebagai negeri termiskin di Malaysia di belakang Kelantan,” katanya.

Menurut beliau, setiap warga negara berhak mendapat layanan yang adil untuk menikmati limpahan kemajuan ekonomi dan pembangunan negara tanpa diskriminasi.

Majlis sambutan merdeka itu turut dihadiri Presiden PKR Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, para pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat dan para exco kerajaan negeri.

Sebanyak 56 kontijen terdiri daripada Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan (PBT), Pejabat Tanah Daerah, Jabatan Kastam, Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat serta badan-badan bukan kerajaan turut serta dalam perbarisan kemerdekaan peringkat negeri malam tadi.

Rakyat Selangor yang membanjiri Dataran Kemerdekaan di sini turut berpeluang menyaksikan pertunjukan bunga api.

For the first time in history, it does look very possible that BN government will be voted out.

Regime change looms large at GE13

A very young demographic profile, a high urbanisation rate, ever increasing access to the Internet and extreme longevity in power, among other factors, will be working against the BN ruling coalition in the coming election.

There are many reasons for the international community to be deeply cognisant of this fact, and to prepare for a regime change for the first time since Malaysia gained independence in 1957.

Soon after the government suffered severe setbacks in the 2008 general election, the country went into a permanent campaign mode, and has remained that way ever since. Another general election has to be called soon, since the constitution requires that Parliament be dissolved by April 28, 2013 upon the completion of its five-year mandate.

It may be true that the government won 140 of 222 seats in the Lower House while the opposition managed to secure the remaining 82. But a closer look shows that the actual gap between the two coalitions to be much smaller.

The ruling BN actually won only 51.4% of the votes while the greater opposition gained 48.6%. Of the 7.9 million effective votes, BN and the Pakatan Rakyat were separated by a mere 313,509 votes.

As of the end of June 2012, there are 12.9 million Malaysians on the electoral roll. As many as 2.5 million of these - about 20% - are first-time voters; and it is these who will decide the outcome of the election.

The 13-party ruling coalition will be highlighting past achievements in its campaign and playing on the appeal of the status quo, while the opposition coalition vows to improve governance in the country through radical policy changes.

The status quo message is however unlikely to have an impact on an almost Arab-spring demography: 48% of Malaysia's population are below 25 years old and 70% are below 40 years old (though not all are voters).

The BN, especially its kingpin Umno, has always relied heavily on a rural vote bank. It has therefore good grounds to worry since as many as 70% of Malaysians now live in cities, compared to 11% in 1957 and 35% in 1980.

The young and urban are highly wired online as well. With 17.5 million Internet users, Malaysia's Internet penetration rate is 61.7% of the population and 81% of the populated areas. On top of that, Malaysia is also one of the most active country on Facebook, with 12 million users, ranking 19th in the world.

The easy access to alternative information has undermined the efficacy of the control over the mainstream media exercised by the government, be it through licensing procedures, censorship or partisan ownership.

Longest serving elected ruling party

The BN has been ruling Malaysia ever since its earliest guise, The Alliance, won a self-government election under British auspices in 1955. It is now the longest serving elected ruling party in the world. The only longer serving ones, are the non-elected communist regimes in North Korea, China and Vietnam.

The many negative signs of this political longevity are all too visible to the increasingly sophisticated voters. Essentially, not only has the government over the years alienated non-Malay ethnic groups through its race-based politics, rampant corruption and intra-ethnic economic inequality, but have also driven Malay voters away.

BN had for quite a while styled itself as the moderating force in the ethnically charged population. However, after Umno began turning right in 2005 both in rhetoric and in action, it began losing ethnic Chinese and Indian support. In 2008, significant numbers of ethnic Malays frustrated with corruption and cronyism joined this movement to vote against the government.

This sense of alienation has not diminished in the intervening years. On the contrary, more groups are showing open dissent against the central government.

The Kadazan Dusun Murut group in the state of Sabah is strongly aroused and highly critical of the government's handling of the long-standing citizenship-for-votes scandals that allegedly allow Umno to build up its support base in the state.

Umno strategists, using the party-controlled newspaper,Utusan Malaysia, and the affiliated right-wing group Perkasa, are working overtime to stop the dwindling of their Malay support base, and are doing all they can to portray the party as a fiercer ethnic champion than opposition Malay parties and leaders. So far, this seems to be alienating more middle-ground voters.

Across the board at the moment, what Malaysians seem to be seeking is greater economic equality as well as an open and clean government. And yet, Prime Minister Najib Razak continues with micro-level vote-buying measures such as giving cash handouts to strategic groups at a time when the country is in great need of macro-level reforms.

The long years in power has also seen the BN generate its own worst enemies. Many leaders in the opposition were formerly from the ruling coalition, including former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Their experience in government has been serving as a much-needed reassurance to voters that the opposition is ready to exercise power efficiently, while their personal networks within the system has brought valuable information and understanding of the system that had previously eluded the opposition.

Previous opposition coalitions (in 1990 and 1999) were hastily formed during election time and they easily collapsed soon after. An alternative coalition that has been tested for more than four years, with that has gained substantial administrative experience in governing four out of 13 states is in itself a novel - and critical - factor.

While all the built-in advantages that favour BN in an election have not disappeared and those that remain will be put to full use in the electoral contest that is to come, the factors that work against the government have been gaining strength as well.

For the first time ever, it does look very possible that the old government will be voted out.

PAKATAN bus attacked by 'samseng' in Kelantan, Gangsters are king in Malaysia

PKR's Jelajah Merdeka Rakyat Series which kicked off yesterday was marred by an incident where one of its buses was smeared with bright red paint in Kota Bahru.

Kelantan is the party's second stop in its three-day's programme across the Malay heartland.

The incident, according to a Facebook posting by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, occurred at about 5am this morning.

The windscreen on the driver's side of the bus was smashed and splashed with red paint. Another window was reportedly damaged.

It is uncertain who the culprits are, but Anwar noted in his Facebook entry that "samseng bermaharajalela" (gangsters are king).

According to Anwar, the bus trip was supposed to be PKR's version of giving meaning to the 55th Merdeka celebrations.

Anwar, accompanied by his wife and PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, had made their first stop in Bentong, Pahang, where 300 people welcome the convoy.

Also present at the event were party communication director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and director of strategy Rafizi Ramli.

Jelajah ‘Merdeka Rakyat' is scheduled to visit five states in three days - Pahang, Kelantan, Perak, Kedah and Perlis - and take part in 20 official programmes in multiple locations.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY - It's all about MONEY in Malaysia

40,000 FREE TICKETS FOR BUS & LRT GIVEN TO GARNER CROWD AT BUKIT JALIL STADIUM TO SHOW MALAYSIANS SUPPORT THEIR MERDEKA CELEBRATION!!!!!

More than 40,000 free bus, LRT tokens were distributed to commuters this afternoon at 4pm for ferrying people to the Bukit Jalil National Stadium for the 55th Merdeka Celebration.

A special counter was open for this free promotion at various crowded public places.

Will public monies once again be WASTED by UMNO/BN just to fulfill their political agenda to show that the people fully support their theme and song for this 55th Merdeka celebration.

UMNO/BN seems NOT TO BE LEARNING a lesson - time has come to LISTEN TO THE PUBLIC and  by giving monetary handouts and free rides will NOT HELP their cause!!!!

Jelajah Mederka Rakyat

Leaders who betray the trust of the people and the country are the 'enemies' that the opposition wants purged.

KUCHING: Sarawak PKR has sent out a plea urging Malaysians to purge “the enemy within”.
It claimed that “rampant corruption, cover-ups, betrayals” and power abuse were enough reasons for right-thinking citizens to review their loyalties to the current government.
Said state PKR chief Baru Bian: “To my mind, our enemies are those from within this country who betray the trust given to them to govern the country.
“Our enemies are the people who enrich themselves at the expense of the ordinary people and then refuse to acknowledge their wrongdoings when caught out.
“Our enemies are the leaders who betray the country by giving identity cards and citizenship to illegal immigrants in exchange for votes.
“Our enemies are those people within the circle who are aware of the abuse of authority, rampant corruption and cover-ups but choose to remain silent for lack of moral fortitude or perhaps because of their ‘tidak apa’ attitude.”
Bian also sent out a personal appeal to Sarawakians to remember the true situation in the state.

“After so many years, 40% of the rural population is without clean treated water and 33% without electricity.

“Our native people, who could be highly educated and prosperous, instead struggle to make ends meet, and our landscape scarred by indiscriminate massive logging and irresponsible dam projects,” he said.

Commenting on Taib’s recent Hari Raya-cum Merdeka message, Bian said that he agreed with the chief minister’s statement that the purest Islamic teachings preached “justice and harmonious co-existence with followers of other religions”.
“I agree with his statement. Indeed, all religions require these tenets to be followed so that the community may thrive and prosper in harmony.
“If only these teachings were observed and adhered to by all those in whose hands we placed our trust to govern our fair land…
“Then we would not have to bear the stigma of being one of the poorest ‘states’ in Malaysia and our people would not be displaced from their lands and beaten and jailed for defending their rights, ” he said.

55 years of Merdeka or freedom from British but what about UMNO's/BN's colonization

The 'Janji Ditepati' theme has left the people confused, wondering why Merdeka Day is being misused to achieve objectives that go against the grain of 'independence'.

COMMENT

 

There is nothing more precious than “independence”, be it that of a nation or of self. In this respect, Malaysia has yet to savour both, as evident from events of not too long ago.

The 55 years of Merdeka or freedom from British rule have yet to teach the leaders of this country a thing or two about not taking independence for granted.

The theme for this year’s independence day celebration is “Janji Ditepati”, one which has been condemned by the opposition and even the public as it gives no hint of the significance of Aug 31, the date when seven chants of “Merdeka” reverberated at the city’s Royal Selangor Club field in 1957.

As far as the thinking person is concerned, this year’s theme smacks of a political agenda, a harbinger of the coming general election. The “Janji Ditepati” theme has also left the people confused, wondering why Merdeka Day is being misused to achieve objectives that go against the grain of independence.

In the face of such frustrations, the Barisan Nasional government celebrates Merdeka Day today, hardly fazed that its trickeries have left the people unhappy.

If that is the fate that has befallen Aug 31, why then blame the people for hitherto not being enthusiastically patriotic in commemorating the country’s independence day?

Can the BN leaders give the people a reason to believe in “Merdeka” and why Aug 31 deserves their utmost attention, instead of being looked forward to merely for its PH (public holiday) status?

Merdeka lost in political cesspool

The date for the next general election has yet to be determined by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s administration, but the desperation in wanting to win big time in the 13th general election has left BN attempting desperate measures, the latest being the “Janji Ditepati” propaganda.

The move to drag political pursuits into a historical event has earned the BN government brickbats but as always, BN refused to pay heed to the rakyat’s dissatisfaction.

Seen from a bigger picture, Merdeka Day is lost in a political cesspool created by BN. A sad day indeed when Malaysia’s independence is remembered through the “lip services” paid by the federal government.

Five decades later, the people are left wondering just for whom the Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day are meant for. Promises unkept, the plight of the poor and needy dismissed and fundamental rights of the people not respected – this is far from what Merdeka stands for.

From Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah and Sarawak, the helping hand of the BN government has failed to reach those crying for aid. In fact, Najib has no shown no interest in recognising the native customary rights (NCR) land of the indigenous people of Sarawak.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Noh Amar, in his capacity as the Selangor Umno deputy chief, had chided urban voters for being ungrateful for the initiatives implemented by the BN government, as seen from their refusal to vote for BN in the Sarawak state polls held on April 16, 2011.

In August 2011, Sarawak State Land Development Minister James Masing, labelled the Penan NCR landowners as thieves, accusing them of stealing oil palm fruit bunches from four major government-linked oil palm plantations, costing the Land Custody Development Authority (LCDA) and its joint-venture partners some RM33.6 million in losses.

Masing further humiliated the Penans by tagging them as “good story tellers” when the Penan women and girls cried rape at the hands of timber loggers.

The people of Sabah are just as heartbroken with the empty promises made by the federal government. With its “poorest state” status, there is no reason for Sabahans to rejoice vis-à-vis the Merdeka Day or Malaysia Day that was formed on Sept 16 and the abstruse “Janji Ditepati” theme.

To Chua Soon Bui, the Tawau MP, the federal government has a lot of explaining to do.

“What promises have been fulfilled in Sabah when, despite being an equal partner of the Federation of Malaysia and once the richest state in Malaysia, with rich natural resources including oil and gas, it has been reduced to the poorest state in Malaysia?

“What promises have been fulfilled for Sabah in term of 20-Point Agreement when Malaysia was formed on Sept 16, 1963, 49 years ago?

“It is a shame that Sabah is the most impoverished state in Malaysia today, with poverty rate of 19.7% as compared to Perlis – the second poorest state with a poverty rate of 6%. Sabah is 5.5 times poorer compared to the national poverty average of 3.6%,” she lamented.

Marginalised communities ignored

What does today hold for the marginalised communties whose plight the Najib-led government is far from listening to, what more reaching out to them.

An annual forum held for the lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders last year took a severe beating after it was declared illegal by the authorities. Seksualiti Merdeka’s sexuality rights programme came under attack by the BN government which alleged that the event was a deviationist activity that could destroy the practice of religious freedom in the country.

In December 2009, Immigration Department director-general Abdul Rahim Othman said a Malaysian transsexual fighting deportation from Britain would be punished for bringing “great shame” to Malaysia.

Mohamed Fazdil Min Bahari, a pre-operative transsexual known as Fatine, married a British man in a civil ceremony but was refused permanent visa on technical grounds.

Is Merdeka exclusively for a certain strata of society instead of all regardless of their backgrounds?

If yes, how then does the Najib administration go on claiming that it has “kept its promises” or “janji ditepati” so much so that Aug 31 has been given a connotation so misleading, all because BN has much at stake come the 13th general election?

If BN claims otherwise, then can it give the rakyat reasons to believe in “Merdeka”?

Janji Bersih Di Dataran ShahBandar, Terengganu...

Janji Bersih - Johor

VIDEOS ON JANJI DEMOKRASI AT KUALA LIMPUR

Janji Bersih - Videos

TIME'S UP FOR BN: Thousands attend Janji Demokrasi countdown despite police ban

  Thousands of Malaysians defied a police ban to attend a countdown to the nation's 55th Merdeka or Independence Day, proving once again that Prime Minister Najib Razak's BN government could no longer hope to rely on authoritarian and violent crackdowns to cling to power.

The Janji Demokrasi (Promised Democracy) event planned for Thursday had been banned at the 11th hour by the police. Organized by Gabungan Janji, a coalition of 47 NGOs, sister-countdowns were also held at various states and cities around the world, with overseas Malaysians keen to join in the celebrations. Malaysia celebrates its Independence Day anniversary on Friday, August 31.

"This is a real show of love for the country. If not for the drizzle, the crowd would have been even bigger, so who says Malaysians are not patriotic? They love the country and without wishing to politicize the event, I think it is clear they know BN is bad news and must be removed from power," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

"You can feel the sense of unity of purpose tonight. This is a people uprising Malaysian style. It is very peaceful but it is a revolt no less, BN has lost the hearts and minds of the Rakyat."

Sea of yellow: HIDUP RAKYAT!

Together with colleague Fuziah Salleh, the PKR MP for Kuantan, Tian had joined the crowd that thronged the Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.

Blowing vuvuzelas, Malaysians from all walks of life had slowly trickled in hours before the 11pm start of the countdown in the historic square where Independence Day was declared 5 decades ago.

Most of those who came wore yellow to show their support for free and fair elections as requested by the organizers, who also distributed yellow flowers to the attendees.

"It was a good showdown. Hidup Rakyat! Merdeka Rakyat!" said Fuziah.

Earlier this afternoon, there was dismay after the police declared the event as illegal and warned Malaysians not to attend. However, given the past experiences with the Bersih 2.0 and 3.0 rallies, where the police had brutally attacked the crowd, few Malaysians were really surprised by the latest autocratic announcement.

"We did not expect this but we can't really say we are surprised either. We are just shocked at how silly the police and Prime Minister Najib Razak are making themselves over this issue of public demonstrations. It goes totally against Najib's own promise of greater freedom to peaceful assembly and confirms yet again what a sham the government of the day has become in Malaysia," PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng told Malaysia Chronicle.

Too late, thousands still came despite ban

Janji Demokrasi organiser Maria Chin Abdullah had confirmed receiving a letter from Dang Wangi district police chief Zainuddin Ahmad that the gathering was against regulations and should be cancelled.

"I received the letter around 2.15pm by hand. A few policemen came," Maria was reported as saying on Thursday.

However, it was too late to stop the crowd from showing up in a show of solidarity to pressure the BN government for greater democratic space.

The Umno-controlled media had tried to tarnish the gathering by linking it to Bersih as Maria is also a committee member in the coalition of NGOs for free and fair elections.

"We support their right to take such action [in organising the gathering] and we support their demand to improvise our democractic system," Bersih had said in a statement to clarify that it was not involved in organising the event.

On Monday, Maria and the Preservation of Jalan Sultan Committee (PJSC) had held a two-hour meeting with Dang Wangi police chief Assistant Commissioner Zainuddin Ahmad. The Janji Demokrasi event was planned specially to take advantage of the long weekend break to give the people time to get together and show their support for key causes.

PJSC chairman Yong Yew Wei had pledged that their event called ‘Merdeka March for Jalan Sultan’ would be "harmonious, peaceful and joyous". The Merdeka March, which is to garner support for the preservation of heritage buildings in the country, is due to start from the Gospel Hall in Jalan Hang Jebat at 8.30pm.

According to Yong, his group will not carry placards, banners or leaflets in strict compliance with the police advice. The same goes for Janji Demokrasi, with Maria confirming there would be no speeches during their event, except for a poem to be presented by national laureate A Samad Said.

Don't politicize? Janji di CAPATI!

Oddly, the Inspector General of Police himself had a day ago promised that the gathering could take place. “There will be no issue as long as they follow the rules to gather peacefully,” IGP Sri Ismail Omar told the press.

However, Ismail was ridiculed for his comments that Malaysians should celebrate the day without politicising it. “We should celebrate the day in peace. There should be no room for indifferences and political agendas,” Ismail had said.

His comments were derided because Najib himself had chosen for this year's Merdeka celebration the theme ofJanji diTepati or Promises Fulfilled in a bid to ramp up public sentiment for his government ahead of general elections which are widely expected to be called soon.

Janji Bersih crowd

JANJI DEMOKRASI MERDEKA - Compilation of pics 2

Macam biasa diorang ni misti ada...

@ Jalan Sultan

Otai2 pun tak mahu ketinggalan....

@Station Pasar Seni

@Dataran Merdeka

Penyatuan Kaum

@ Dataran Merdeka

@Petaling Street




Sumber: Rakan2 FB

JANJI BERSIH - Compilation of pics 1