Bersih 2.0..”Sabah State Elections November..?”

By Bugi Wijaya

Sabah BN will be bracing for a “SNAP State Election” in latest in November 2011 this year.  According to a source closed to Minister of Science Technology and Innovation, Datuk Dr. Maximus Ongkili the snap poll will be a break from holding the state elections simultaneously with the parliamentary elections.  Reverting to the old practices of holding its own state elections prior to 2004, this snap polls is hope to gauge the support of the people of Sabah as a strong hold state of BN after Johor and Sarawak.

As a fixed deposit of BN, victory in the Sabah will eradicate any fallout from the recent opposition BERSIH 2.0 movement and be a morale booster for Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak to lead BN to a new mandate from the people.

The uneasiness felt by the Prime Minister who is also BN Chairman is understandable considering the fact that a “Majlis Penerangan Perdana” briefing for UMNO members and certain NGOs were held at the Putra World Trade Centre with last minute notice.  In the briefing Najib lambast the opposition led by Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahiim who has created chaos with the BERSIH 2.0 rally.  In reiterating himself as a responsible leader for Malaysia Najib choose not to mobilise the 3 million strong members of UMNO to counter such rallies and left it to the authorities to act fairly.

DAP Sabah taking it supporting BERSIH 2.0 in an undisclosed location

The fall out from the BERSIH 2.0 has been underestimated and the silence by other BN component leaders has been deafening.  With certain factions of the ruling party not pleased with how this BERSIH 2.0 or “BERSHIT” as some of them called it, Najib is under pressure to step in and trouble shoot the public relations disasters caused by others.

In calling for a snap poll in Sabah, BN hope to ride on the differences of the various opposition parties in Sabah which have not been able to come to a common stand on seats allocation and also power sharing with Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) prefering a autonomy rule unlike PAS, PKR and DAP which are all linked to Peninsular based parties and are not autonomous.

However the calling of a state elections could be risky for the state BN under Chief Minster Datuk Musa Hj Aman as the issues of illegal immigrants, high cost of essential goods, struggles of the business community and the recent electricity tariff hike has not gone down easy with the man of the street to the business community.

It would also be an opportunity to Musa opponents within the state BN ranks to use this elections as a report card on his performances.  Afterall, they only need to win the parliamentary elections to form the federal government.  The state BN component LDP has been vocal against Musa as the chief minister and they have alligned themselves with UMNO Vice PResident Datuk Shafie Afdal who is the Federal Minster for Rural Development. With Musa relying much on PBS under President Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan thus alienating UPKO and PBRS, the gripes vine has heard how the other components were not even consulted o the electricity tariff hike.

How the local politics in Sabah BN will be play out in these few months will depend on the movement and network of the key players during the muslim fasting month and the subsequent muslim festival.  So let us see who break fast with whom and what hold for Sabah BN under Musa.

Bugi Wijaya’s earlier article:- BERSIH 2.0 – The Day After in Sabah

The Day After is a 1983 American television movie which aired on November 20, 1983, on the ABCtelevision network. It was seen by more than 100 million people during its initial broadcast.

The film portrays a fictionalwar between NATO forces and the Warsaw Pact that rapidly escalates into a full scale nuclear exchangebetween the United Statesand the Soviet Union. It focuses on the residents of Lawrence, Kansas, and Kansas City,Missouri, as well as several family farms situated next to nuclear missile silos.

Unlike the movie where there was chaos and the main characters had all died in the end, there was calmness and peace in Sabah after the “BERSIH 2.0 rally yesterday.

Here in Sabah especially the state capital Kota Kinabalu, the day after is the normal busy Gaya Street Fair which are packed with local and tourists alike. However the normalcy ends here.
Among the topics in the coffee shops and the churchgoers, the topic is none other than the BERSIH campaign.

A random check with the people here at Gaya Street actually saw the anger of the people against the police for the numerous road blocks in the state capital which contributed to traffic jams.

Jacob said that it is an insult to the local that the police should mount road blocks
to look people in yellow instead of weeding out the illegal immigrants.“In Sabah, it’s a known fact that the PTI (pendatang tanpa izin i.e. illegal immigrant) problem is serious and they never want to solve it but yet I witnessed myself a lady in yellow hauled out from the car in front of me to be
questioned,” adds Jacob, “and that is for wearing yellow.”

A trader who declined to be indentified at the street fair said that demonstrations are not the culture of the Sabah people and the last previous demonstrations are mostly the ruling party
UMNO style.  “In 1986, the demonstrations participated by mostly illegal immigrants destroyed the Karamunsing warehouse are”.

As the net sphere gets overwhelms by the BERSIH 2.0 in Kuala Lumpur and even Deputy
Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah warns that “Blocking Bersih has hurt BN”,  (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/blocking-bersih-has-hurt-bn-says-deputy-minister/) the Sabah state security council under Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Hj Aman
has better get moving on the grouses of the people on the illegal immigrant issues which has continued to plague Sabah with numerous stories of “Project ICs” and phantom voters.

Whether this will be translated into a lost of votes for Sabah BN in the comingelection which are expected to be called soon will be seen as the day comes nearer.

Someone OUT THERE IS really worried:-

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/07/09/sabah-police-in-surprise-raid-on-sapp-hq/

Bersih 2.0 Mania..”Sabah BN Over-Confidence..??”

BUGI WIJAYA WRITES

As the nation is gripped in the BERSIH mania, in Sabah BN is embarking on something bolder which is the increase of electricity tariff.  Bugi Wijaya of audie61 writes from Sabah and we understand that on the day of BERSIH, PATROIT and PERKASA rally on the 09.07.2011 (Saturday), an announcement will be made that the state government has agreed to the increase of electricity tariff by the Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) to reduce the dependency on Federal Government subsidies in the tariff.

Bugi Wijaya reliability learned that a last minute dialogue session was called by the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman with the captains of the various industries on this matter today.  However, the dialogue session turn out to be more of a pre-announcement of the tariff increased to those present.

It was believed despite being told that the increase is not a wise move business strategically and politically, the Chief Minister replied that the increase was inevitable in view of the ever increasing cost of energy productions.  To Musa’s credit, the last increase of tariff was about 25 years ago.

A quick survey on the ground shows that a lot of people believe that the state government would not allow an increase at such economical climate at the moment.  A check with other BN components parties revealed some of them were not consulted on this matter.  This was the unilateral decision of the state government as such matter are the perogative of the government and not component parties.

One leader remarked with the inconsistent supply in Sandakan that has seen blackout a frequent way of life for the local people, it would be interesting whether they can defend their strong hold seats.

Maybe this is the sign of weakness of the opposition in Sabah that the government is allow to do things at their whims and fancy.  Thus would this so call announcement be seized upon by the opposition or would it be buried among the BERSIH news or worse case scenario for BN, that is the start of the lost of BN safe deposit?

We will see soon enough.  Meanwhile, our hats off for the man in charge, for better or worse the CM’s head is on the chopping block.

WELL..YOU HAVE THE POWER IN YOUR HANDS… 

 

Bersih 2.0 “Country under Siege”

The focal point for the supposedly “Illegal Rally bersih 2.0” is in the Federal Capital of Malaysia on the 9th July 2011 starting at 2.00pm. Here in Kuching Sarawak the Police are also taking steps to prevent any untoward incidents happening with Road Blocks starting from outside into the designated ‘Bersih areas ‘ of the city centres.

There will be a lot of inconveniences and a lot of unpublishable “swear words” from motorists and its mainly due to Bersih 2.0 which has the country under seige.

In the Federal Capital the Malaysian Police has advised motorists of the road closures and/or traffic diversions for the following locations:

– Along Jalan Syed Putra, Jalan Istana, Jalan Bukit Petaling, Jalan Bellamy
and the area surrounding Istana Negara (National Palace);

– Along Jalan Sultan Hishammuddin, Jalan Lembah Perdana, Jalan Chenderasari
and the area surrounding Masjid Negara (National Mosque);

– The area surrounding Dataran Merdeka, Pasar Seni, Masjid Jamek, Dataran
DBKL, Kompleks Sogo, Maju Junction, Masjid Kampung Baru, Jalan Kinabalu, Jalan
Kuching, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Raja Laut, Jalan Sri Amar, Jalan Tuanku
Abdul Rahman, Jalan Haji Taib, Jalan Raja Muda Musa, Jalan Raja Bot, Jalan Raja
Abdullah, Jalan Dang Wangi, Jalan Munshi Abdullah, Jalan Gereja, Jalan Raja
Chulan, Jalan Tun Perak, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Loke, Jalan Sultan Mahmud and all
nearby areas.

YOU KNOW WHO STARTED ALL THESE..

Bersih 2.0 “Sabah style…!!”

Bugi Wijaya sent us this picture which was taken in front of Suria Sabah Shopping Mall at 2.00pm where some youths were seen demonstrating. Copycats not in yellow headband shows that there are in fact “police cadets” acting so that the FRU personnels will be able to handle the situation when the need arises.

There are some programmes being planned to coincide with the ‘Bersih 2.0″ in Sabah and according to our source SAPP Sabah will be cashing in on the event and the date to ensure that the people of Sabah that they are also fighting for electoral reforms. The event will be held at the party headquarters and it is reliably learnt that the FRU personnels will be at the premises on Saturday. 

Bugi Wijaya was also informed that some Pakatan leaders from Sabah are already in the Federal Capital whilst the Pakatan youths are the only ones which will be around in Sabah to participate in an illegal assembly. A veteran political observer said to Bugi Wijaya” This clearly shows that the Pakatan leaders are not interested in the local issues and by leaving it to the youths it will make BN Sabah realised the 2/3rds will be achievable again when the State elections are called. It’s like the masters have called and they are succumbing and bending their knees.”

SAPP a “nyamuk” party would get the limelight in the next day papers if DAP/PKR/PAS Sabah leaders are not in Sabah. The staged demonstration shows that the Police and authorities are not taking anything lightly and they will take the necessary steps to prevent any untoward incidents from happening in the State of Sabah.

Bersih 2.0 What else.??

When we saw our tweeter and checked with the website its clear that THE LINE which has been drawn will be crossed. Certainly,it will cause a lot of inconvenieces/anger/dissatisfactions but seriously the fear of intimidation boiling over will be the Police and Authorities concerns.

Protests in whatever forms especially with a huge gathering anticipated will surely be a huge security concern. They will be uneasiness as someone out there will just be over excited and spark it all up. There is still time for leaders to meet and discuss to prevent further deterioration of the delicate situation. Anger and Frustration are at the highest levels as the last few weeks are very clear indicators. Its already getting international press/media coverage.

Bersih has issue the statement but we asks..

WHAT ELSE..??

Bersih 2.0 will happen at Stadium Merdeka on July 9th…

Bersih 2.0 is disappointed in the manner in which the Prime Minister and his cabinet has reneged on their offer to provide a stadium for us to hold our peaceful gathering.

As members of civil society that are committed to principles of integrity, we fully intend to abide by the advice of Tuanku DYMM SPB YDP Agong and hold our gathering in a stadium to state our demand for clean and fair elections.

We have chosen Stadium Merdeka as the best venue for this event, due to its symbolic nature and central location, and we will not for one moment be swayed from our decision to gather there peacefully.

If the Prime Minister is a man of his word, he will make the appropriate arrangements for the event to proceed peacefully at Stadium Merdeka.

Whether or not the government abides by their principles, we the Malaysian people will always uphold ours. Our determination to exercise our constitutional right to gather peacefully for a just and reasonable cause is unwavering.

Recent statements by the Deputy IGP seem to indicate that the police fully intend to take action against us if we do anything on July 9th beyond staying at home.

However, patriotic Malaysians who want nothing but the ability to choose our leaders through genuinely democratic means will never be cowered by the unjust and immoral exercise of power. Our first and foremost responsibility is to our future and our children, and we have resolved that they shall inherit a nation ruled by not by fear, but by the principles of justice.

Whatever happens between now and then, the rakyat will gather peacefully in an orderly fashion to call for clean and fair elections at Stadium Merdeka on the 9th of July at 2pm. We are coming, we will be peaceful and together, we will build a better Malaysia.

 Released by

Steering Committee

Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH 2.0)

The members of the BERSIH 2.0 Steering Committee are:

Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan (Chair), Andrew Khoo, Arul  Prakkash, Arumugam K., Dr Farouk Musa, Haris Ibrahim, Liau Kok Fah,  Maria Chin Abdullah, Richard Y W Yeoh, Dr Subramaniam Pillay, Dato’ Dr  Toh Kin Woon, Dr Wong Chin Huat, Dato’ Yeo Yang Poh dan Zaid Kamaruddin.

[….WE PRAY AND HOPE THAT THERE WILL BE ORDERLY PROTESTS AS YOU HAVE INDICATED IN YOUR STATEMENT…]