Sorry, just another wake-up call  

Published by The Malaysian Insider

January 19, 2009

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/16291?task=view#pc_23423
 
Najib: KT loss is a setback but does not change the political landscape

JAN 19 – Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak described the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition’s loss in the Kuala Terengganu by-election last Saturday as a “setback??? but said that it would do nothing to change the political landscape of the country.

He also said that the opposition’s victory did not mean that its strength was growing nor did it portend a disastrous outing for the Barisan in the next general election.

Najib, 55, will be prime minister in March after the current incumbent Abdullah Ahmad Badawi steps down and, for his sake, we hope he is right.

On Saturday, Abdul Wahid Endut from the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (Pas) beat off Wan Farid Salleh from the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) by a majority of 2,631 votes. Wahid won a seat previously won by Umno by just 620 votes in a constituency that is almost 90 per cent ethnic Malay.

There are those, in Umno, who would argue that the contest was lost simply because Umno picked the wrong candidate – a person too closely identified with Abdullah and his son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin, two people who aren’t very popular right now. They will point at former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who also attacked Wan Farid for the same reasons. And, Dr Mahathir still wields considerable influence.

Read more

Umno defeat a wake-up call

Published by the Malaysian Insider

Jan 19, 2009

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/16274-umno-defeat-a-wake-up-call

KUALA TERENGGANU, Jan 19 – A day after Umno lost a crucial by-election in the Malay heartland of Terengganu, several of its leaders warned that the party will become irrelevant if it ignored this warning from the ground.

Veteran Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said the people had rejected Umno in its present form and its leadership. “Barisan Nasional (BN) will lose and will in the end lose everything unless we respond fully and sincerely,??? he said.

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad also said that BN could lose the next general election, and went further by blaming Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi. He said the result was a vote of no-confidence in Datuk Seri Abdullah.

Dr Mahathir sees defeated Umno candidate Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as a proxy of Abdullah as he is said to be close to the Premier’s family.

Referring to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, he said: “I think Najib is not to be blamed but if he continues to elect or support corrupt leaders, then I think he will lose the next general election.???

Read more

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/15907-tense-times-for-umno-in-terengganu

Published by The Malaysian Insider

January 14, 2009

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 – For weeks, Barisan Nasional (BN) top guns campaigning in the north-eastern Terengganu state have gone to great lengths to stress that the by-election of a parliamentary constituency there this weekend should not be used as a referendum on public support for the government.

But judging by the millions of dollars in government funding and man-hours expended by the BN politicians led by Deputy Premier Najib Abdul Razak at a time when Malaysia is facing its most serious economic crisis, the folk of Kuala Terengganu cannot be blamed for thinking that their vote this Saturday carries serious national ramifications.

Read more