Mission: Impossible ?
An unknown 21-year-old businessman, standing as an independent, will take on the might of the Barisan Nasional in the Batu Talam by-election to be held in 12 days.
Ng Chee Pang, who will turn 22 on Monday, is the son of a former Pahang DAP leader. He will take on Raub Umno division secretary Abdul Aziz Kiram.
“I would like to follow in the footsteps of my father, who was active in politics.
“At the same time, I would like to fulfil his ambition of winning an election,” said the former SM Mengkarak student.
His father Ng Kwi Liang, 55, had contested in six general elections since 1982 and lost in all.
Yes man, remember,a cheerful loser is a winner. Good Lock !
Aziz, 47, expressed confidence in Barisan retaining the seat.
He said his confidence was based on the fact that the state constituency was a traditional Barisan stronghold.
PAS reiterated its stand to boycott the Batu Talam by-election and secretary general Kamarudin Jaafar said the party did not endorse to the independent candidate who will be contesting.
He said however, voters were "still free to go out to vote" since there was a straight contest between an independent and a candidate from the ruling party but the party was committed to a boycott.
"A boycott means no votes," he said when asked for an immediate comment following an announcement today by the Election Commission that Ng Chee Pang, 22, a trader and a candidate from the ruling coalition Barisan National (BN) Abdul Aziz Kiram, 47, had submitted their nomination papers.
Kamarudin thanked and congratulated PAS members especially in Raub where the by-election would be held on Jan 28 because none had gone out to declare themselves as an independent candidate.
"This proves that the party is highly disciplined and that the decision of the leadership were being observed by members," he said.
He also slammed those accusing the party and its ally Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) being fearful of losing the by-election and hence adopted a boycott as as having "little knowledge of" the democratic system.
Campaign for a boycott
When contacted, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) information chief Tian Chua said the boycott meant that the party is not "supporting any side".
"We urge voters not to participate in this election to show that they are not confident (with the election process)," he said.
He also said the party had started to mobilize its machinery to campaign for the boycott. He however declined to specify a target number for the turnout of voters to be set to consider the boycott a success.
"We expect lower (turnout) than the last round. We will try our best," he said.
A voter working for a government agency said he would not go out to vote despite doing so all this while.
"This (a by-election boycott) has to be done to show our disappointment (with the conduct of the election)," he said.
PAS was boycotting the by-election due to irregularity in voting rolls, abuse of postal votes and election conduct which meant it was not held on a level playing field.
In addition, the party too had filed an application to bring the EC to Court for its conduct on the last general election but despite being filed for more than two years, a High Court here has yet to make a decision on the case.
Prevent the misuse of public funds for political campaigns
Parti Keadilan Rakyat's decision to join the boycott of the Batu Talam by-election marks the start of a higher level of protest against the abuse of the election process in Malaysia. One of the reforms demanded is that the abuse of public funds for electioneering purposes by the Barisan Nasional be stopped immediately.
Every time there is an election, particularly a by-election, the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers will make numerous visits to the constituency under the pretext of officiating new facilities or make promises and announcements of new projects to be implemented there.
In the case of Batu Talam, this is clearly evident when among others the Pahang Menteri Besar announced a multi-million ringgit water supply project in a Felda area there. Felda is responsible to finance the project, but the state government wants to implement it and later be reimbursed by Felda for it. There is no such need as Felda is in no way facing problems to finance the project, rather it is a pathetic attempt by the Pahang BN to show concern and claim credit for it.
The visits more often than not are big entourage with government servants in tow. All these incur a significant high cost to the nation and ultimately the people. The officers will have to be paid travelling allowances and the events expenditure be paid for from public funds.
KeADILan demands such abuse of power be immediately put to stop. The people should not be forced to fund the ruling government's election campaign.
The Election Commission must make this an important agenda in reforming the commission and the management of elections in Malaysia. Clear rulings must be formulated with regards to this.
In the United Kingdom for example, a specific circular is issued before elections reminding civil servants not to be involved in political parties' campaigns in their capacity as public officials. India too has a specific ruling on this matter. It clearly stipulates that ministers do not mix their official duties and visits with electioneering. The use of official transport and facilities for political campaigns purposes is specifically prohibited.
Malaysia must act swiftly to enact such rulings to ensure that Malaysians are not burdened with unnecessary costs of political campaigns. Provisions must be made to allow the public to report such misuse of power and for actions to be taken against the perpetrator.
A government is only a trustee to manage the country and its wealth which is in actual fact owned by the people. Public funds must not be equated to that of the ruling party to be used at their whims and fancy. In fact the exploitation of public funds for political purposes is a serious breach of trust and misuse of power which must be treated as a punishable crime.
If BN is indeed serious in safeguarding the dignity of the nation and in ensuring that Malaysia commands the respect of the world as a true democracy, they should give support to this effort.
For keADILan, this is part of the reform agenda we strive for and is a promise to be fulfilled when we, together with other pro-rakyat parties, have the mandate to form government.
Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim
Treasurer
Malaysia Batu Talam by-election Ng Chee Pan Abdul Aziz Kiram
Ng Chee Pang, who will turn 22 on Monday, is the son of a former Pahang DAP leader. He will take on Raub Umno division secretary Abdul Aziz Kiram.
“I would like to follow in the footsteps of my father, who was active in politics.
“At the same time, I would like to fulfil his ambition of winning an election,” said the former SM Mengkarak student.
His father Ng Kwi Liang, 55, had contested in six general elections since 1982 and lost in all.
Yes man, remember,a cheerful loser is a winner. Good Lock !
Aziz, 47, expressed confidence in Barisan retaining the seat.
He said his confidence was based on the fact that the state constituency was a traditional Barisan stronghold.
PAS reiterated its stand to boycott the Batu Talam by-election and secretary general Kamarudin Jaafar said the party did not endorse to the independent candidate who will be contesting.
He said however, voters were "still free to go out to vote" since there was a straight contest between an independent and a candidate from the ruling party but the party was committed to a boycott.
"A boycott means no votes," he said when asked for an immediate comment following an announcement today by the Election Commission that Ng Chee Pang, 22, a trader and a candidate from the ruling coalition Barisan National (BN) Abdul Aziz Kiram, 47, had submitted their nomination papers.
Kamarudin thanked and congratulated PAS members especially in Raub where the by-election would be held on Jan 28 because none had gone out to declare themselves as an independent candidate.
"This proves that the party is highly disciplined and that the decision of the leadership were being observed by members," he said.
He also slammed those accusing the party and its ally Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) being fearful of losing the by-election and hence adopted a boycott as as having "little knowledge of" the democratic system.
Campaign for a boycott
When contacted, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) information chief Tian Chua said the boycott meant that the party is not "supporting any side".
"We urge voters not to participate in this election to show that they are not confident (with the election process)," he said.
He also said the party had started to mobilize its machinery to campaign for the boycott. He however declined to specify a target number for the turnout of voters to be set to consider the boycott a success.
"We expect lower (turnout) than the last round. We will try our best," he said.
A voter working for a government agency said he would not go out to vote despite doing so all this while.
"This (a by-election boycott) has to be done to show our disappointment (with the conduct of the election)," he said.
PAS was boycotting the by-election due to irregularity in voting rolls, abuse of postal votes and election conduct which meant it was not held on a level playing field.
In addition, the party too had filed an application to bring the EC to Court for its conduct on the last general election but despite being filed for more than two years, a High Court here has yet to make a decision on the case.
Prevent the misuse of public funds for political campaigns
Parti Keadilan Rakyat's decision to join the boycott of the Batu Talam by-election marks the start of a higher level of protest against the abuse of the election process in Malaysia. One of the reforms demanded is that the abuse of public funds for electioneering purposes by the Barisan Nasional be stopped immediately.
Every time there is an election, particularly a by-election, the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers will make numerous visits to the constituency under the pretext of officiating new facilities or make promises and announcements of new projects to be implemented there.
In the case of Batu Talam, this is clearly evident when among others the Pahang Menteri Besar announced a multi-million ringgit water supply project in a Felda area there. Felda is responsible to finance the project, but the state government wants to implement it and later be reimbursed by Felda for it. There is no such need as Felda is in no way facing problems to finance the project, rather it is a pathetic attempt by the Pahang BN to show concern and claim credit for it.
The visits more often than not are big entourage with government servants in tow. All these incur a significant high cost to the nation and ultimately the people. The officers will have to be paid travelling allowances and the events expenditure be paid for from public funds.
KeADILan demands such abuse of power be immediately put to stop. The people should not be forced to fund the ruling government's election campaign.
The Election Commission must make this an important agenda in reforming the commission and the management of elections in Malaysia. Clear rulings must be formulated with regards to this.
In the United Kingdom for example, a specific circular is issued before elections reminding civil servants not to be involved in political parties' campaigns in their capacity as public officials. India too has a specific ruling on this matter. It clearly stipulates that ministers do not mix their official duties and visits with electioneering. The use of official transport and facilities for political campaigns purposes is specifically prohibited.
Malaysia must act swiftly to enact such rulings to ensure that Malaysians are not burdened with unnecessary costs of political campaigns. Provisions must be made to allow the public to report such misuse of power and for actions to be taken against the perpetrator.
A government is only a trustee to manage the country and its wealth which is in actual fact owned by the people. Public funds must not be equated to that of the ruling party to be used at their whims and fancy. In fact the exploitation of public funds for political purposes is a serious breach of trust and misuse of power which must be treated as a punishable crime.
If BN is indeed serious in safeguarding the dignity of the nation and in ensuring that Malaysia commands the respect of the world as a true democracy, they should give support to this effort.
For keADILan, this is part of the reform agenda we strive for and is a promise to be fulfilled when we, together with other pro-rakyat parties, have the mandate to form government.
Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim
Treasurer
Malaysia Batu Talam by-election Ng Chee Pan Abdul Aziz Kiram
Labels: Malaysia news and opinion
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