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Yeow Boon Kiat | Feb 19, 08 6:16pm

Both the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and opposition parties have come under fire by the fledgling Parti Mahasiswa Negara (PMN) for ignoring the needs and interests of young voters.

Spokesperson Shuhada Ismail said today that BN has failed to build character among youth, leading to loss of identity and diminishing of religious and cultural values among them.

Opposition parties PAS, PKR and DAP did not escape scathing indictment either during the PMN’s press conference in Kampung Berembang in Ampang, Selangor.

Also present were president Azlan Zainal (photo) and committee members Zainulfaqar Yaacob, Meor Afandi Meor Abd. Aziz and Sheikh Umar.

“They are not interested in coming up with approaches that attract the younger generation. All political parties should be aware that it’s the younger generation that will decide Malaysia’s fate over the next 50 years,” said Shuhada.

Focusing on Budget 2008, the group said the government of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has merely paid lip-service to the concept of free education.

The allocation for higher education for the current year has been set at RM12 billion, alongside plans to abolish school fees as well as to provide text books free of charge regardless of income and family background.

“Even though the BN government promised free education, the people still have to pay hundreds of ringgit in school fees. Graduates are also weighed down by student loans that have to be repaid at an interest rate of 3 percent,” Shuhada said.

Ready for challenge

The group reiterated its determination to challenge Umno leaders including party president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Kepala Batas (Penang), Mustapa Mohamed in Jeli (Kelantan) and Umno Youth head Hishammuddin Hussein in Semburung (Johor).

“Challenging Pak Lah has nothing to do with hatred or revenge. We will show our maturity and courage in upholding the democratic responsibility of graduates by contesting in Kepala Batas (where Abdullah is the incumbent MP).”

The members also claimed that they have been ignored by national leaders.

“We failed to meet any minister to discuss critical issues such as the welfare of graduates, student loans and political interference in universities. The ministers just gave impertinent reasons to put off the meetings,” Shuhada claimed.

Asked about discussions with opposition parties to enable PMN to contest one-to-one with the Umno trio, Azlan said the negotiations have not been completed as yet, but that the group is determined to contest even if it means entering a three-corner fight.

“We urge the people to play a bigger role by kicking out candidates whose credibility and ability to rule the country are in doubt,” said Azlan.

Asked why the press conference was being held at Kampung Berembang – the site of a massive eviction exercise last year – Azlan said it was to highlight the fact that the government had not dealt with residents in an even-handed manner.

Yeow Boon Kiat | Feb 18, 08 7:38pm

Three parliamentary seats which have top Umno leaders as incumbents have been targetted by the newly-formed Parti Mahasiswa Negara (PMN) for the coming 12th general election setting the scene for what could be the poll’s biggest upsets.

The party’s candidates will be taking on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Kepala Batas, Penang, Higher Education Minister Mustapha Mohd in Jeli, Kelantan and Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein Onn in Semburung, Johor.

The party, which has yet to be registered, has adopted the slogan of ‘Graduates with the people’ and said it aims to ensure that the voice of the nation’s graduates is heard in Parliament.

“We want to make sure that our voice is heard in the parliament. This is to protect the rights of the people and to convey the ambitions of local graduates directly to the leaders in the parliament,” said party president Azlan Zainal (pix) in a statement today.

He said the party also championed a requirement that ministers holding education portfolios have the necessary qualifications.

“The higher education minister and education minister should at least be of professor or associate professor status or hold a doctoral degree.”

The party’s intention to contest the Kepala Batas parliamentary seat, which has been the premier’s stronghold since 1978, has caused a stir in the local political scene.

“We are still very firm on our stance to challenge Pak Lah one-to-one as well as Hishammuddin and Mustapha,” said Azlan.

Political awareness

He said PMN has garnered 2,000 members since its inception last month and will contest the elections cleanly to ‘open the eyes of the people and to bring changes’.

“Whether the people want to put us at the political helm and as to where they think the truth lies, we will leave it to them to decide, ” added Azlan.

Launching construction for the Kok Lanas Community College yesterday, Higher Education Minister Mustapha Mohamed said BN was not afraid of a ‘mosquito party’ like PMN and stressed that political parties should register before contesting a election.

To this, Azlan said PMN saw the minister’s statement as a ‘good sign’ adding that the Universities and University Colleges Act (Uuca) should not be used to prevent graduate students from contesting the polls.

He said one of the raison d’etre of PMN was to increase the political awareness of students, which he said was dismal under the current system resulting in them being unable to choose their leaders wisely.

In a press statement released last week, the party requested the major opposition parties to make way for PMN’s one-to-one battles with the Umno giants.

PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang is widely speculated to be challenging Abdullah in his constituency while Hishammuddin is also likely to face another opposition stalwart for his seat.

Opposition parties DAP and PKR came to a consensus yesterday not to field candidates against each another for the coming polls. Whether PMN’s call for them to make way for the former’s one-to-one battles with the Umno luminaries will be given much weight remains to be seen.

Yeow Boon Kiat | Feb 16, 08 5:32pm

Four University of Malaya (UM) students from the ‘anti-establishment’ faction have been warned by university authorities not to participate in future political gatherings, failing which they would have to face sterner action.

Three of them were found guilty by a university tribunal this week for attending a gathering of Parti Mahasiswa Negara (PMN) in front of the Election Commission office in Putrajaya on Jan 7 this year to apply for legal recognition.

The fourth one was found guilty of punching a boy and a girl during the campus election in September last year.

The four students who faced the music were Dzulkhairi Mohd Nor, Sheikh Omar Ali, Mohd Azlan Zainal and Ahmad Shahir Bin Mohd Shah. Proceedings were held at the student affairs building in UM on Feb 12-13.

The four are also members of the yet-to-be-registered PMN.

Image tarnished

University authorities claimed that the action of the four students have tarnished the university’s image. No stern penalties were imposed on them however due to the absence of concrete evidence.

Malaysian students are barred from participating in political activities under the University and Universities Colleges Act (UUCA). Many students however felt that the law violates their rights of participation..

One of the students, Azlan said it was unfair for him to receive the warning as the gathering was not a demonstration but simply to register the PMN.

“I told the panel that the gathering was not illegal. It went on for nearly an hour and wasn’t dispersed by the police. Was that illegal?” said Azlan after the proceeding.

The panel however disagreed and showed him a picture of his attendance at the gathering. Azlan acknowledged it was him.

“I was just there to read a declaration of PMN, the content only stressed that university students should be independent, not favouring any political party and should become the check-and-balance between the government and opposition.”

“I didn’t even mention the name of UM, was there any disrepute?” he argued, reiterating that his action did not tarnish the university’s name.

Another student, PMN spokesperson Sheikh Omar Ali, attended the proceeding on the same day as Azlan but requested that it be postponed to seek help from his lawyer.

Students found guilty of offences under UUCA could either received a warning or fine of not more than RM 200 with the heaviest penalty being expulsion from the university..

Yeow Boon Kiat | Feb 14, 08 5:36pm

DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang has urged voters to lodge a police report if they find any candidate utilising government resources in their election campaign.

“Whenever you see the prime minister, deputy prime minister, ministers or deputy ministers arrive in government vehicles or using government funds to campaign, lodge a police report immediately and call the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to investigate”, he told a press conference in Petaling Jaya today.

“This is a blatant abuse of power and money politics,” he declared, adding that all Malaysians should help to ensure that ministers are behaving as caretaker ministers so that the elections will be clean, just and fair.

Lim described the recent ‘ang pows’ and ‘goodies’ dished out by the BN in recent weeks as electoral abuses and the people should consider them as such.

He also cited the incident in which MCA president Ong Ka Ting made use of a Fire and Rescue Services Department helicopter to campaign in Johor in 2004 as an example of the abuse of government resources.

A right step by EC

Lim called on the government to ground all its vehicles during the campaign period.

However, the veteran oppositionist surprisingly praised the Election Commission (EC) for allowing a longer 13-day campaign period (Feb 24 to March 7) in the coming polls.

“At least, this is a small step in the right direction towards a more fairer and cleaner election as candidates from all parties have more time to prepare”, he said.

Lim also called on EC chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman to go an extra mile to prove Dr Mahathir Mohamad wrong by making sure that the 12th General Election will be cleaner than any elections during Mahathir’s rule.

The former premier had predicted that the coming polls will be the dirtiest ever, a prediction which Lim has also been reiterating of late.

Asked on his outlook on DAP’s performance in the coming elections, Lim said the party would perform better.

“We should do better than 2004 but the macro picture should be whether the opposition could win 75 seats collectively to deny the BN a two-thirds majority”.

On whether he would be defending his Ipoh Timur seat in the coming elections, Lim declined to give a definite response except to say that he was prepared to accept any seat allocated by the party.

Lim, 67, added that the 12th General Election will be his last. He has been in active politics for 42 long years.

Yeow Boon Kiat | Feb 13, 08 7:49pm

Opposition Leader and DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang today expressed his doubts that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had actually obtained the consent of the King to dissolve the Parliament.

“I received information that the King was very reluctant to give his consent because he felt there was no need for rush to dissolve the Parliament,” said Lim in a press conference called immediately after Abdullah announced the dissolution this morning.

Also present at the press conference were other party leaders, such as Tan Kok Wai, Teresa Kok, Fong Kui Lun, P Ramasamy, Ronnie Liu and several others.

“The dissolution could have also waited for another eight days to show to Malaysia and the world that all the diverse languages, cultures and religions are fully respected,” added Lim, referring to his earlier calls to the premier not to call for the election during the Chinese New Year period.

He also urged Abdullah to make public the signature of the King and, at the same time, explain why the dissolution should be done during the Chinese New Year celebration.

The Ipoh Timor member of Parliament added that Abdullah should also explain why he went against his own promise not to dissolve the Parliament today.

Yesterday Abdullah told reporters that he would not dissolve the Parliament today. However he explained today that he was forced to make such a statement yesterday, as he had to get the King’s consent first.

Lim, however, was not buying this explanation by Abdullah and trained his sights on the premier’s son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin as being influential in the dissolution today.

He said that he believed Abdullah was sincere when he said yesterday that he would not dissolve the Parliament today, and suspected that the latter was overridden and overruled by ‘a more powerful group’ last night.

“He could have been told that they can’t wait anymore to gain political interest of winning the greatest BN victory and the Parliament must be dissolved today.

“Who could that be? That must be the fourth storey of Putrajaya– Khairy Jamaluddin,” he added.

Lim also reminded ministers from the ruling BN coalition not to misuse and abuse government resources for election campaign purposes.

Unfair news coverage

In a later press conference, DAP’s secretary general Lim Guan Eng also expressed the party’s disappointment with the dissolution of the Parliament today.

“Dissolving the Parliament even before the eighth night of Chinese New Year when the Hokkiens worship the Jade Emperor (Heavenly God) indicates his lack of respect for the Chinese Malaysian community,” said Guan Eng.

He also touched on Abdullah’s assurance yesterday that he would not dissolve the Parliament today.

“It’s not a good start if the prime minister lied to the people like this. The voters should reconsider whether to give the BN another overwhelming victory again,” he added.

He also challenged Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin to prove his claim that the government news agencies were fair and and truthful in their reporting.

He strongly condemned the broadcasting of video footage that linked DAP leaders with the street violence. The video footage has been screened daily for weeks before evening news.

“We will test that claim by sending our election video clip to Angkasapuri and all TV stations for broadcast. We will see whether they have the democratic spirit to allow it to be broadcast,” he said.

Yeow Boon Kiat | Feb 6, 08 3:39pm

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said his priority is to reduce the crime rate before setting up mechanism to keep tabs on the police force.

Abdullah said he has to do things gradually and stressed that the most urgent task now is to deploy more police personnel to combat crime.

Abdullah said this during a 90-minute meeting with Chinese association Hua Zong at his office in Putrajaya yesterday evening.

He was responding to the issues raised relating to the setting up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop was also present while Hua Zong was represented by 19 of its committee members.

Contacted today, Hua Zong president Lim Gait Tong said they had called on the police force to improve its investigative skills.

Education issues

Apart from crime, Hua Zong also raised issues concerning education. The association had suggested that the school facilities of SRJK (C) Damansara be fully utilised.

“We recommend to the PM that we should make good use of the facilities in place at the school. Any Chinese primary school that needs relocation can also move to SRJK (C) Damansara, and we could discuss whether to continue using the same school name then,” said Lim.

According to the Hua Zong president, Abdullah had reacted ‘positively’ to this suggestion.

Lim said his association also urged the government to build more Chinese primary schools and subsidise the cost.

On the language medium for Science and Mathematics in the UPSR examinations for Chinese school pupils, Abdullah said parents are free to choose whether to let their children sit for the papers in Mandarin or English.

Lim said Hua Zong had also stressed to the premier on the importance of using Mandarin to teach the two subjects.

“We suggested to the PM that Mandarin should be the medium of instruction and for exams for Mathematics and Science in Chinese primary schools. We must enhance the quality of English classes in terms of teaching methods, quality of teachers and so forth to improve proficiency,” he said.

Hua Zong also discussed with Abdullah about upgrading Southern College and New Era College to university status.

“We told the PM that it’s the Chinese Malaysian society’s will to upgrade both colleges to university level. The PM asked for more details on this,” said Lim.

Working on inflation

Regarding inflation in the country, Lim said Abdullah told Hua Zong that the government has already started working on it.

“The price control committee will take care of the price control. The PM also mentioned during the meeting that they had asked Bernas to keep rice supply up to three months in stock so that we won’t be short of rice supply,” he said.

Lim added that the price of oil cannot be controlled by any government as the prices are decided by the global market.

Hua Zong also called on the government to gradually implement meritocracy and be more transparent in the bids for privatisation projects.

Lim said Hua Zong also suggested to the PM to recruit more non-Malays to join the public sector based on meritocracy.

“The PM agreed with us on that matter and replied that he hopes more Chinese will join the public sector,” he added.

Hua Zong also suggested to Abdullah that the government should help pig farmers. “The government should solve the problem of land and facilities. Of course, we must solve the pollution problem first,” said Lim.

In repsonse to the land trading fraud issue, Lim said Nor has founded a committee to look into the matter.

Yeow Boon Kiat | Feb 5, 08 12:46pm

Umno is to be blamed for the present downturn in economy in Penang, charged DAP’s national E-campaign director and popular blogger Jeff Ooi.

He added that Umno’s hands were seen in many of the policy initiatives that have to come from the federal level to the state.

Ooi said that although the Penang state government led by Gerakan may have many economic plans to implement, but the foreign direct investment (FDI) flowing into the state was still being filtered by the powerful Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Umno has not been very supportive of the Gerakan in terms of allowing more value-added and state of the art companies to come to Penang,” he charged during a roundtable discussion organised by Malaysiakini last week.

The discussion, first in a series called Agendakini to be broadcast by Malaysiakini.tv, saw the participation of Ooi, Gerakan’s member of parliament for Jelutong Lee Kah Choon and independent political analyst Khoo Kay Peng to discuss on the general election.

The discussion was moderated by Malaysiakini’s CEO Premesh Chandran.

Elaborating further, Ooi cited several warning signs to show that Penang was being sidelined.

He added that the on-going Visit Malaysia 2007 was not benefiting the state in terms of tourist arrival. He also said that Penang’s industry export in 2007 were down by nine percent compared to 2006.

In his final analysis, Ooi, who is expected to contest in Penang’s Bukit Bendera parliamentary seat against Gerakan strongman Chia Kwang Chye, said that if the state wanted to maintain its status as the most progressive state in the country, it was imperative for Umno’s political dominance in the state to be reduced.

Pushing the multiracialism agenda
In response, Lee, who is the parliamentary secretary of the Health Ministry, rejected claims that Umno’s interference was being detrimental to the state government.

“We have to work together to implement what have been planned by the federal government. If Penang flourishes, we will be creating jobs for all Malaysians, especially for people from surrounding states,” he added.

Admitting that Penang was a hot state in the coming election, Lee said that he was aware of the possibility of Gerakan being squeezed in between Umno and the opposition to win the popularity vote.

He also conceded that there was a possibility of Gerakan losing its chief ministership in the state if they manage to win fewer seats than its partners in the ruling BN coalition. But he was not worried about that.

“I am personally not worried about losing the chief-ministership. The most important thing is to push the multiracialism agenda,” he said.

He however said that he was worried on the issues of polarisation in Penang.

“We will be doing a disservice to multiracialism in Penang if, say, Umno controls 13 to 15 seats, and many non-Malay constituencies fall into the opposition’s hand, then it will be a more serious polarisation,” he added.

But he predicted that the opposition was not going to make much inroad into Umno strongholds.

He said that it was important for the voters to retain the BN in the state so that the component parties could collaborate again to work out what has been planned and implemented by the federal government for the sake of development in Penang.

“If you have a ruling party that is not same as the federal side to rule the state, it will have a lot of bickering,” he stressed.

Opposition’s mistakes

Meanwhile, Khoo blamed the government policies, and not Umno’s intervention, for the plight of Penang’s economy.

“The government should really encourage the growth and development of the domestic sector. Stop all the wastage and put the money into real development,” he said.

“The total budget has gone up by 177 percent and operating expenses have increased 218 percent. If we see Malaysia as a company by any account, it’s not sustainable, that’s why we must have better policies intervened,” he added.

Commenting on the chances of the opposition in Penang, Khoo said that the opposition has been very ‘issue-centric’.

“They always say that things are wrong, but they never specifically tell the voters how things could be better, and this is why they are not going to win eventhough people are not happy with BN,” he analysed.

He added that the opposition should work beyond race and religion and focus on democratisation of Malaysia.

“Malaysia should think hard on its race-based politics because I don’t think it is sustainable in the future,” he added.

To wrap up the discussion, all three speakers were given a chance to address the voters directly.

To this, Lee called for the continued support for the BN while Ooi urged voters to make a change given that they have tasted the ‘devil’ of Umno dominance. Khoo, on the other hand, wanted the voters not to cast their ballot based on skin colour.

The importance of Penang

Penang is the only state in Peninsular Malaysia under BN rule which is not governed by Umno. It has been led by Gerakan since 1969.

Political analysts are saying that the dissatisfaction with the BN would see non-Malay voters swinging to the opposition in the coming polls.

The fear for Gerakan is that while Umno may be able to retain its Malay-based constituencies, Gerakan and MCA may suffer losses, leading the way for Umno to take over the state government.

In 2006, Umno started playing up the issue of Malay marginalisation in the state and had called for the rotating chief minister system to be implemented to reflect a better balance of power in Penang.

Opposition parties DAP and PKR are waiting in the sidelines, eager to capitalise on any fallout as a result on BN squabbling. DAP, in particular, feels that it could swing the power in the state to the opposition this time around.

There are 13 parliament and 40 state seats in Penang. BN controls eight parliament seats (Umno 4, Gerakan 3 and MCA 1) while DAP has four seats and PKR one in Permatang Pauh.

As for the all important state seats, Umno has 14 seats, Gerakan (13), MCA (9), MIC (2), PAS (1) and DAP (1).

Watch the 24-minute video here

Yeow Boon Kiat | Feb 1, 08 8:05pm

Prominent NGO activists Charles Santiago and Petaling Jaya Section Five Residents Association president Edward Lee joined the opposition DAP today.

Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the duo will play a role in boosting support for the party in the next general election.

He also refused to dismiss suggestions that the two would be among the new faces the party would field in the polls.

Santiago had worked on economic and trade issues but turned his attention in recent times to the water privatisation issue.

On his foray into the political arena, he said joining DAP is an extension of his work as an NGO activist.

“Ordinary people like you and me are able to do something extraordinary to reclaim the Parliament for the people,”

Santiago added that Parliament is representing the political and economic elites rather than representing the people.

His initiatives are to coordinate the Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC) to work for the minorities and have-nots, and also to press for more state funds for mother tongue education.

On water management issues, Santiago revealed that a large number of Malaysian families are now borrowing money to survive, and the sense of insecurity amidst the deteriorating living environment with price hikes and crime rate soaring.

“Over the past two years, there were 376,000 disconnections of water supply in Putrajaya, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, of which 270,000 are households. Re-connection alone costs RM50. This means that Syabas will earn an additional RM 21 million by just reconnecting the water supply,” he said.

Santiago also said that the government should encourage the people to use rain water.

“It is also a worldwide practice in encouraging the use of rain water to save the planet”, he added.

Truthful, people-oriented party
Meanwhile, Edward Lee commented, “It’s about time the voices of citizens be strengthened so that they could be heard loud and clear in the corridors of power.”

Lee has been consistent in bringing up residential problems to local authorities in Petaling Jaya, particularly community issues covering areas like Bukit Gasing, Section 5, Puchong and PJ.

Sharing his experiences, he disclosed that many issues which should be discussed with residents were not done so but taken into their own hands by local councils.

“This is not the way to resolve community problems,” Lee added.

On his decision to join DAP, he said, “I join a party that is truthful and people-oriented.”

Commenting on the approval of six new primary schools and the relocation of 13 others by the government yesterday, Lim Guan Eng alluded it to a political ploy to fish for Chinese votes.

“Chinese Malaysians are not political beggars but it is incumbent on the government to fully subsidise the expenses of all vernacular schools,” the DAP sec-gen added..

Yeow Boon Kiat | Jan 30, 08 5:15pm

Cracks have appeared in the opposition camp amidst speculation that the general elections is just weeks away.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guang Eng today accused some PKR members of acting in a hostile manner towards his party.

“PKR doesn’t appear to treat DAP as an equal partner but we have always treated PKR as an equal,” he told reporters at the DAP headquarters in Petaling Jaya.

Lim cited two incidents that illustrate this situation.

The first, he said, was when PKR announced their candidates for seats which were previously contested by DAP or where DAP is the incumbent elected representative.

Second, he added, was the complete lack of respect shown by PKR towards DAP when one of the former’s vice-presidents announced that the party will be contesting for the Ipoh Timor parliamentary seat.

The Ipoh Timor seat is held by Lim’s father, DAP supremo and Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang.

“When you go along that line, we ask whether you treat us as an equal partner, the way or manner in which Umno treats other component parties in the BN (Barisan Nasional),” said Lim.

He noted that the relationship between the two parties cannot be built solely on the commitment shown by PKR’s top four leaders.

“PKR leaders, including Anwar Ibrahim, Wan Azizah (Wan Ismail), Khalid Ibrahim and Syed Hussein Ali are all very committed in cooperating with us.

“However, this commitment is not developed downwards to the members level,” he said, stressing that PKR must show the same level of sincerity and respect exhibited by DAP.

However PKR had been reported as stating that it was only seeking to contest in one state seat under the Ipoh Timor constituency.

New faces for DAP
Earlier, the DAP secretary-general introduced three new faces who have joined the opposition party.

The trio are lawyer Teo Nie Ching as well as Chow Yu Hui and Pang Sheue Chyn. Chow and Pang were the assistant editors of DAP organ The Rocket’s Chinese version.

Teo, 27, has been appointed as the party’s public speaking division director and she will be assisted by Chow and Pang.

Lim said the trio share a common background as all of them were former members of Universiti Malaya’s (UM) Chinese debate team and won competitions both locally and abroad.

Teo, who is also a columnist with Chinese daily Nanyang Siang Pau, told reporters that she joined DAP because she wanted to make a change.

“All Malaysians should do something to change things around them rather than waiting for change to happen,” she said.

Meanwhile, Pang, 26, said she decided to join DAP because she agreed with the party’s goals and objectives.

“Strengthening the opposition is vital for democracy. I hope that more young people will join us,” she added.

On the other hand, Chow, 25, described this as a “dream come true” as he always wanted to join DAP since he was in school.

Asked if there is possibility that the trio will be fielded as candidates, Lim said the party will consider this.

“Thirty percent of our candidates for the general election will be new faces. When I say ‘new’, it’s not the age factor alone, but those competing for the first time,” he added.

Yeow Boon Kiat | Jan 28, 08 5:13pm

Opposition party DAP today launched its Internet campaign to push its agenda in the run up to the coming general election.

Stating that the party was being sidelined by the mainstream media, the party has embarked upon catching on the cyber revolution to get its message across.

“We couldn’t get access to mainstream media including the television, radio and newspapers so we decided to advertise and express our viewpoints online. We want to fully utilise the Internet and this is our only avenue,” said the party’s secretary general Lim Guan Eng in a press conference held at the party headquarters in Petaling Jaya.

As part of the campaign, the party would be releasing video clips on various issues, beginning with one on the current crime wave, aptly named “The lawless town”.

“Do you dare to walk out at night?” was the very first question that appeared in the 54-second Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin video clip. It is accessible on popular free video website YouTube.

Lim said that apart from crime, the party would also be producing and posting other video clips on the status of economy and other issues.

He added that the party was also planning to make the video clips into DVD and to distribute freely to the people so that more Malaysians will have access to these clips.

He said that the video clips showed how Malaysians are being threatened by the rampant crime incidences and the BN’s incapability in providing Malaysians a safe place.

Triple solution

Lim said the party has a workable resolution to combat crime, and urged the public to support their triple solution:

* to improve Malaysia’s economy to increase income and narrow the income disparity between the haves and have-nots; secondly,

* reform and restructure the police to put 100,000 more policemen to patrol our streets, and

* establish the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

According to Lim, under Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s leadership, the serious crime cases soared 119 percent and rape cases doubled from 4.6 cases per day to nine per day.

Lim also highlighted the case of Sharlinie Mohd Nasyar, a five-year-old girl who has been reported missing since early this month, as a proof of the failure of both the government and the police force to address the deteriorating public security.

He added that now Malaysians don’t have a safe environment to live in.

An important GE

Lim also said that the coming general election, expected to be held before April this year, will be an important one as it could determine if the voters’ mindset have changed after “50 years of mistakes”.

However, he stressed that ‘change’ does not mean a change of government.

“When we say ‘change’, it doesn’t mean change of government. It means the change of one party system and to reduce the political dominance of Umno.”

When asked about the relationship with PKR, Lim replied that he hoped that DAP’s generosity in giving some seats, including Pulau Tikus and Kebun Bunga of Penang, to the PKR, will be at least appreciated.