The Battle Begins...

I'm at the DAP National Election Preparatory Conference this morning at Crystal Crown Hotel to kick off the DAP campaign. I'm assisting Jeff Ooi, who's heading the General Elections E-Campaign Strategy Team in our presentation this morning. Yes, work has to begin in earnest to ensure that we can come up with a good show on behalf of all Malaysians.

At the same time, as I'll also be standing for elections, I'll have to commence my own preparations as well. My own branch, DAP Damansara will be having a meeting on Tuesday evening to discuss the next steps which need to be taken.

Once again, I'll like to call upon those who will like to be part of the campaign team, who will like to volunteer in helping out with our various activities, e.g., dinners, fund-raising, internet etc., please come forward to join me at the meeting, with details below:

Date: 21 August 2007
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: DAP Damansara (55M Jalan SS21/1A, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya)

Anyone with any queries, feel free to email me at tonypua(at)yahoo.com. See you! ;)

Sungai Way Dinner

The Petaling Jaya Action Team is holding its DAP 41st Anniversary dinner at Sungai Way new village, Petaling Jaya on this coming weekend. It's a small-scale dinner with not more than 25 tables at a coffee shop restaurant. The theme for the dinner is "Malaysian First - Let's Make PJ A Better Place".

Besides food, there's quite a few speakers at the dinner as well, of which I'm one. The others include DAP Secretary-General, Lim Guan Eng and the MP for Bukit Mertajam, Chong Eng. Details are as follows:

Date: 27 May 2007 (Sunday)
Time: 7.00pm -10.30pm
Venue: Sg Way Hong Kee Restaurant
Speakers (Subject to last minute changes):

• Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General
  
• Chong Eng, DAP MP for Bukit Mertajam
  
• Ean Yong Hian Wah, DAP Selangor State Chairman
  
• Tony Pua
  
• Liew Chin-Tong
• Lau Weng San

For those who are in the vicinity and are interested to attend, please do not hesitate to contact me or Weng San @ lauwengsan(at)gmail.com for tickets. They are being sold at RM40 each. These dinners also assist the party in raising funds.

The key language for the evening will be Mandarin. We are planning a separate dinner where the key language will be in English, so hang on for more details later. See you there! ;-)

Jetsetting PM & DPM II

Heh, thanks to the sharp memory of the moderators of Berita Malaysia, I was reminded that the Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general then, had himself advised "component parties of the coalition against using government facilities, including public buildingsand canopies, for the March 8 general election campaign."

[Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad] said they would have to apply to lease the facilities if they wanted to use them. The BN should be cautious so as to avert problems which might crop up later following the use of government facilities during the campaign, he told reporters after attending an election briefing pertaining to the Kangar parliamentary constituency near here.

Now, the BN Secretary advises one thing, and the BN Chief and Deputy Chief completely defied the "advise". I do wonder if BN has applied to "lease" the jet facilities, and if so, how much is BN paying for these services. After all, their use of the services cost the Government a whopping RM792,000!

Jetsetting PM & DPM

Here's an interesting question posted by Abdul Hadi Awang (MARANG) last Wednesday, and the reply from the Prime Minister's office, in case you missed it in your local papers.

Berapakah jumlah perbelanjaan yang ditanggung oleh Kerajaan sepanjang tempoh kempen Pilihan Raya Umum ke 12 dari 24 Februari sehingga 7 Mac 2008 hasil dari penggunaan jet eksekutif Kerajaan bagi kegunaan YAB Perdana Menteri dan YAB Timbalan Perdana Menteri.

And the answer?

Bagi tempoh 24 Februari sehingga 7 Mac 2008, jumlah perbelanjaan untuk penggunaan jet eksekutif adalah sebanyak RM792,325.20.

Lulu blogged it here.

Quick factoid: Candidates for parliamentary seats are permitted to spend not more than RM200,000 under the Elections Act, or be subject to disqualification.

And check out my boss getting "caught" here (or here as reported in The Star) in contrast.

Elections?

This is the first time I'm blogging on election speculation. I've never thought the speculations in the earlier part of this year from August to December were any credible.

But I've just had fairly credible news that elections will be held possibly before the Chinese New Year, despite overall anticipation of it being during the March school holidays.

Will it be so? Regardless, I think the time is extremely near. We need to mobilise all the necessary help and volunteers we can get.

If you are keen on volunteering, please do not hesitate to contact me at tonypua(at)yahoo(dot)com. There's no time to lose, it's time to wrest back our country. It'll be an election to remember. ;-)

Shy-lah

An angry young man @ Ijok?
Photo courtesy of Nathaniel Tan

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

I may be a lousy politician if I can't rouse and agitate the crowd like he does. But I'll definitely rather be a lousy politician than be transmorgified into what you see on the left. And if I do for whatever reason become like him, then I'll deserve the heaps of criticism which will be piled heavily on my shoulders.

Nathaniel and Nik Nazmi both had their say on the issue. Suddenly I feel as if I took the wrong course, and picked the wrong university. Okay, that was overly dramatic, but it certainly gave our alma mater a bad name in this country. ;)

Read the full report on the Ijok nomination day fracas in Malaysiakini. Sigh.

Official Complaint to Elections Commission

Delegation led by DAP candidate for Machap By-Elections,
Liou Chen Kuang and political secretary to Lim Guan Eng,
Ng Wei Aik submitting our letter of complaint to the Election Commission

On Tuesday morning, the DAP team submitted a letter of complaint to the Election Commission with regards abuses as well as illegal conduct by the Barisan Nasional machinery. This was reported by the Sun here.

On the other hand, Election Commission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman claimed that development promises by ministers to voters during an election cannot be construed as vote-buying. Apparently, neither can allocations, given out in kind by ministers during elections, be deemed as bribing voters.

MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting similarly brushed aside our complaint by claiming that "it was not something new but a common tactic by the Opposition to accuse the Barisan Nasional of abuse vote-buying during every election". (Umm... that's probably because, it actually happens every elections? No?) At the same time, he claimed that "the development projects for Machap had been planned and decided much earlier before the by-election was called".

Similarly for Ijok, is the whopping RM36 million allocated by the Selangor Menteri Besar for immediate execution "planned and decided much earlier" as well? Are these leaders even credible? If so, then where are the millions being "planned" for other constituencies getting rolled out? When the next BN assemblyman or MP meets with unfortunate demise?

Anyway, the official letter submitted is as follows:

Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Ab. Rashid bin Ab. Rahman,
Pengerusi,
Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya Malaysia (SPR),
Aras 4 & 5, Blok C7, Kompleks C,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,
62690 Putrajaya.

17 APRIL 2007


Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri,

Aduan terhadap Salahlaku Calon dan Petugas-petugas Barisan Nasional (BN) Semasa Pilihan Raya Kecil Machap

Saya ingin menarik perhatian pihak tuan terhadap salahlaku-salahlaku calon dan petugas-petugas Barisan Nasional (BN) semasa berlangsungnya pilihan raya kecil Machap dari 3hb sehingga 12hb April 2007.

2. Salahlaku-salahlaku tersebut adalah serius dan menyalahi undang-undang serta perlu diambil tindakan tegas baik oleh pihak polis mahupun pihak tuan demi kelicinan, keadilan dan kebersihan proses pilihan raya yang demokratik, seperti:

(1)Penyogokan melalui cara pembelian wang kepada pengundi-pengundi selepas membuang undi

Pada 12 April 2007 iaitu hari pengundian kira-kira jam 12.30 tengahari, saya menerima laporan bahawa banyak pengundi-pengundi yang telah membuang undi berkumpul di luar sebuah rumah kosong berhadapan dengan SJK (C) Khiak Yew, Tebong. Disyaki bahawa pengundi-pengundi tersebut telah diberikan sejumlah wang sogokan oleh orang yang berada dalam rumah itu, iaitu di antara RM50 hingga RM200 kepada setiap pengundi mengikut jarak rumah mereka ke tempat mengundi.

Repot polis 000115/07 telah dibuat di Balai Polis Tebong pada jam 1.00 petang. Foto-foto dan video yang kita ambil telah diserahkan ke IPK Melaka pada 13 April 2007 dan disertakan untuk tindakan pihak tuan yang selanjutnya. Kesalahan tersebut merupakan kesalahan jenayah serius yang menyalahi Seksyen 10 Akta Kesalahan Pilihan Raya 1954 dan boleh dihadapkan ke mahkamah serta dijatuhkan hukuman penjara tidak lebih dua tahun dan denda tidak kurang RM1,000 dan tidak lebih daripada RM5,000.

(2)Penyogokan melalui cara pembelian wang RM20 kepada setiap peserta sesi karaoke anjuran MCA

Mengikut laporan yang disiarkan dalam akhbar The Sun pada 11 April 2007, didapati setiap penduduk yang menyertai sesi karaoke anjuran MCA di kawasan rumah pangsa Machap Baru telah diberikan wang sebanyak RM20. Lebih kurang 40 penduduk di sekitarnya telah menyertai aktiviti tersebut. Keadaan ini juga berunsurkan penyogokan dan bertujuan untuk mempengaruhi pilihan mereka pada hari mengundi kelak.

(3)Merayu atau memujuk pengundi-pengundi supaya mengundi atau mengundi mana-mana calon pilihan raya dalam jarak 50 meter dari sempadan tempat mengundi

Mengikut Seksyen 26(1) Akta Kesalahan Pilihan Raya 1954, tiada seorang pun pada hari mengundi boleh merayu-rayu atau memujuk atau cuba memujuk mana-mana orang supaya mengundi atau tidak mengundi mana-mana calon dalam pilihan raya tersebut, dan juga dilarang berbuat demikian dalam jarak 50 meter dari sempadan mana-mana tempat mengundi.

Didapati pemimpin-pemimpin BN/MCA yang berpangkat Menteri juga terlibat dalam aktiviti-aktiviti tersebut. Foto-foto tersebut disertakan untuk membantu tindakan yang diambil oleh pihak tuan kelak. Mana-mana orang yang didapati bersalah boleh dipenjarakan tidak melebihi satu tahun atau didenda lebih RM1,000 dan tidak melebihi RM5,000 atau kedua-duanya sekali.

(4)Perbelanjaan pihak BN bagi pilihan raya kecil kali ini secara jelas telah melebihi RM100,000.

Jelasnya, perbelanjaan pihak BN bagi pilihan raya kecil kali ini telah melebihi RM100,000 jika hanya dihitung poster, banner dan bunting yang digantung, risalah dan CD yang diagihkan, serta makanan dan minuman yang telah dibelanjakan dalam tempoh pilihan raya tersebut.

Mengikut Seksyen 19(1) Akta Kesalahan Pilihan Raya 1954, tiada wang yang boleh dibayar dan tiada belanja boleh dilakukan oleh seseorang calon atau oleh ejennya semasa atau selepas sesuatu pilihan raya melebihi RM100,000 dalam hal sesuatu pilihan raya bagi kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri dan adalah bersalah atas sesuatu perbuatan yang menyalahi undang-undang.

(5)Kes pergaduhan berdarah yang berlaku pada hari penamaan calon yang mencederakan dua orang ahli DAP dan layanan kasar serta ugutan terhadap wartawan-wartawan yang sedang bertugas

Insiden berunsur keganasan yang berlaku pada hari penamaan tersebut merupakan taktik kotor pihak BN untuk menakutkan para pengundi serta mendisplinkan para wartawan yang bertugas dalam pilihan raya kecil kali ini. Dalam kejadian tersebut, dua orang ahli DAP iaitu K. Kannis A/L Kanniah dan Vijayan A/L Arumugam telah dicederakan, seorang jurukamera bagi Harian Makkal Osai iaitu Malayandi A/L Pidaran dan seorang wartawan wanita bagi Harian Malaysian Nanban iaitu Malini A/P Rangasamy telah diugut.

Bendera parti MIC dan batu-bata telah digunakan sebagai senjata dalam kejadian tersebut. Mereka yang dipercayai merancang serta terlibat dalam insiden kali ini termasuklah Setiausaha Parlimen bagi Kementerian Belia dan Sukan Datuk S.A. Vigneswaran serta ahli-ahli Briged Pemuda MIC. Kelakuan tersebut adalah menyalahi Seksyen 4A Akta Kesalahan Pilihan Raya 1954 dan boleh dijatuhkan penjara tidak melebihi 5 tahun dan denda tidak melebihi RM10,000 atau kedua-duanya sekali. Repot-repot polis telah dibuat di Pondok Polis Machap Umboo pada 3 April 2007. Sehingga hari ini, tiada mana-mana orang dihadapkan ke mahkamah untuk diadili.

(6)Peruntukan kewangan yang diumumkan oleh calon BN secara tidak langsung boleh disifatkan sebagai bersalah atas kesalahan menyogok

Lawatan turun padang calon BN iaitu Lai Meng Chong ke Machap Baru pada 4 April 2007 dan menjanjikan peruntukan kewangan kerajaan negeri Melaka di antara RM6,000 sehingga RM13,000 bagi 5 unit rumah kediaman yang terlibat telah menyalahi Seksyen 10 Akta Kesalahan Pilihan Raya 1954 dan boleh dijatuhkan hukuman penjara tidak lebih dua tahun dan denda tidak kurang RM1,000 dan tidak lebih daripada RM5,000. Sebagai seorang calon, beliau memang tidak berkuasa untuk menjanjikan peruntukan kewangan kerajaan persekutuan atau negeri secara langsung atau tidak langsung.

Walaupun beliau menafi dirinya telah menjanjikan peruntukan kewangan tersebut dan hanya setakat membantu tuan-tuan rumah yang terlibat untuk mengemukakan borang permohonan mereka, namun ini bertentangan dengan apa yang telah dilaporkan dalam akhbar Sin Chew Daily pada 5 April 2007, dan menunjukkan bahawa peruntukan kewangan berjumlah lebih kurang RM50,000 telah diluluskan untuk tujuan pembinaan rumah atau memperbaiki bahagian-bahagian rumah yang telah rosak.

3. Walaupun perkara-perkara tersebut hanyalah merupakan sebahagian kecil perbuatan rasuah atau yang menyalahi undang-undang telah dilakukan oleh calon atau petugas-petugas, namun DAP mendesak pihak tuan supaya mengambil tindakan tegas dengan serta-merta untuk menyiasat serta menghadapkan mereka yang terlibat ke mahkamah.

4. Pihak tuan perlulah bertindak adil dalam membanteras segala perbuatan rasuah demi menegakkan keadilan serta menjamin keadilan, kebersihan dan kesaksamaan proses pilihan raya dalam negara kita. Segala tindakan tegas pihak tuan adalah dihargai.

Sekian, terima kasih.



Yang Benar,




______________________
(NG WEI AIK)

Setiausaha Politik kepada
Setiausaha Agung DAP

Machap: A Reflection (II)

I wrote on my reflections on Machap on Friday, and it has certainly attracted a fair bit of attention. In the previous post, I discussed how many of the young party members viewed the by-elections, the effort put in, as well as both the positive and negative incidences which occurred during the campaign.

Here, however, I'll ask the simple question as to why we didn't do any better, or even the question whether we could even have done better.

Machap is a rural state constituency in Malaysia. It is the very type of constituency which Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties perform extremely well in. These are also the seats in which BN comfortably secures their two-third majorities. Hence with the context in mind, a significant reduction in the huge majority obtained by BN was the only realistic target for the opposition.

The single biggest factor behind BN success is their ability to abuse government (as opposed to party) machinery to bring "development" to these contested constituencies. Almost overnight, some 900 street lamps were put up. A hawker in Melaka town joked that its now so bright, he can see the ants on the road in the evenings! Roads were resurfaced, even when they are not particularly worn. A RM1.2 million recreational park was created all within a two-week period! Millions more were spent by the Government to ensure BN victory all within the space of less than a month.

Then, there is the clear-cut factor of vote-buying by BN. While resurfacing roads and building parks can be classified as community projects, BN was blatant in its attempt to sway voters preferences. BN's candidate, Lai Meng Chong was "caught" red-handed by the press in the early days of campaigning for offering RM8,000 to RM13,000 to renovate individual villager's houses. A complaint was filed with the Election Commission, but expectedly, nothing was done.

Later in the campaign, he was also "caught" on film giving out free food to constituents to entice support for BN. Again, this represents an offence under Malaysian laws. "A person is guilty under this offence known as 'treating' if he gives or provides any food, drink, refreshment or provision for the purpose of corruptly influencing others to give their vote during elections." Again, a police report was lodged with the necessary hard evidence, and we have seen no action taken to date.

These aren't the only freebies. Two days before the campaign ended, BN "donated" 400 brand new bicycles to a local school. Students were seen brandishing brand new mountain bicycles home that very day. Our DAP leaders joked during the nightly ceramah that if the constituents had asked for new motorbikes or even cars, they would probably have gotten it during this period.

At the karaoke entertainment centres organised by BN, not only do the participants get "free" entertainment, they will each receive RM20 as a "token of appreciation" for every song they belt out.

And the ugliest of it all? Outright cash in exchange for votes. See Malaysiakini report here with all the photos. Our party worker, Thing Siew Shuen captured the utter lack of morals and integrity of MCA and Barisan Nasional on film. These voters collected RM100-200 each.

Even the scale of the campaign in lobsided, for a constituency of less than 10,000 voters. We had all the MCA cabinet ministers down in Machap every day for walkabouts (on our tax payers' expense, by the way), skipping the Parliament which was in session. At least our parliamentarians turn up after the Parliament adjourns. The Deputy Prime Minister himself was in the villages for at least half the campaign period. The Melaka Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Ali Rustam was sitting in the local coffee shops til nearly midnight almost on a daily basis even before nomination day.

Hence, looking at it objectively, despite the hardwork that the DAP team put up throughout the campaign, it is unsurprising that the dent we managed to strike on BN's previous majority was limited. Look at it reversely, the fact that we even managed to strike a 481-vote dent inspite of the odds is certainly an achievement in itself.

Could we have done better in Machap? On hindsight, probably not much in the short term, under the current circumstances.

There is a total lack of support for us in the Malay and Indian polling districts, as shown by the results. The two largest Malay majority polling districts - Felda Hutan Percha (1,159 voters, 72% Malay) and Melaka Pindah (1388, 73%), our votes increased by a meagre total of 8, while BN's total increased by 63.

Hence despite probably DAP's best effort to date in Malay publicity materials (professionally designed and reader friendly Utusan Roket), our candidate walking the Malay ground extensively as well as a fair few ceramahs held in these areas, we achieved literally nought. The above hasn't even taken into account the extensive participation by PKR in these areas canvassing for votes on our behalf. Both Datin Seri Wan Azizah and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim came on the last 2 days to campaign on our behalf as well. Yes, we achieved literally nought.

Similarly, despite our Tamil team campaigning hard door-to-door at Tebong, which had 738 Indian voters with the assistance of PKR, our vote count increased by 33 to 165. BN however, managed to increase theirs by 45 from 992.

The only possibly positive outcome from the results is the fact that we managed to reduce the majority in the Chinese majority polling districts of Machap Baru (2,161 voters, 92% Chinese) and Machap Umboo (1,647, 90%). For the former, which was a MCA stronghold, we have managed to reduce the majority from 914 votes to a more respectable 387, a 58% reduction. For the latter, the impact was less significant reducing by only 11 votes to 279.

It should also be noted that contrary to the Malay and mixed constituencies where turnout increased, the total voter turnout declined by some 302 votes in the 2 new Chinese villages, believed to be due to younger voters working outstation. The strategy by the Election Commission to set the election date on a working day clearly worked to discourage these voters who are more exposed to national and urban issues from returning to vote. Could we have managed to increase our vote pool otherwise? Possibly.

Therefore, based on the analysis, should we possibly give up on the Malay and Indian votes, particularly in the rural districts? Certainly not! As many readers have pointed out, for DAP to have a future, we must extend our reach beyond the Chinese and urban Indian voters. However, realistically, this isn't going to happen overnight, and supporters should certainly not expect it before the next general elections. After that however, it must be all systems go.

With the Ijok by-elections nomination day set in 2 days time, it is hoped that PKR will do even better. With a slightly more urban outlook, swinging the voters over with our messages (as opposed to 'hard cash') should hopefully have a better chance. DAP will certainly make our presence felt in this by-elections, especially if welcomed by PKR members.

Enough of reflections. ;) It's time to move forward. Don't forget, help is still needed to get my machinery started ;).

And for a more thorough analysis of the Machap by-elections, read Ong Kian Ming & Bridget Welsh commentary on Malaysiakini. ;)

Machap: A Reflection (I)

The Machap by election result has been announced. Was it within expectations? Yes, it definitely was. We participated in the by-election with the full knowledge that Machap was a Barisan Nasional "fortress" that will be very difficult to penetrate. Was the results disappointing nevertheless? Yes, it certainly was as well.

The Party workers worked tirelessly full-time for some 2 weeks. Compared to the General Elections period whereby only 1 ceramah was held, this time round, we must have had organised nearly 20 such sessions, on a nightly basis. Party leaders all over the country travelled extensively to Machap to deliver their messages to a seemingly receptive constituents. Even our state assemblywomen from Sarawak came over to lend their support. Extensive house-to-house call were made, leaving many pretty much dehydrated and sun-burnt.

In addition, our DAPSY team assisted in ensuring the publicity machinery of the candidate ran like clockwork, squeezing as much mileage as possible to overcome the tremendous disadvantages posed by the local mainstream media.

And yet, for all the non-stop hardwork, our candidate, Sdr Liou Chen Kuang, also a DAPSY committee member, secured only 167 votes more than the previous campaign, or a slightly more respectable reduction of 480 votes in terms of losing majority.

During the campaign, were there elements which give rise to optimism in performing better? There was. One of the reasons why that many ceramahs were held, was really because of its popularity. The final day ceramah perdana at Machap Baru attracted some 1,000 people, albeit with many outsiders. Even the one held in Melaka Pindah targetting Malay voters attracted some 600 or so audience.

As noted by many journalists, the audience was there not only listening, but forking out a fair bit of cash as well in terms of donations to the party. The very encouraging nightly collections, which YB Teresa Kok says she doesn't even receive in her constituency Seputeh, gave confidence to the young party compatriots like myself. Clearly, another party leader with plenty of experience was a lot more reserved, and rightly so. He said that many of these villages will support you financially, but will give their votes to BN because that's where they expect their next bowl of rice to come from.

Incidents during the campaign were pretty much in our favour as well.

• Nomination day was marred by MIC Youths, who were pretty much gangsters, assaulting our members as well as 2 members of the press.
  
  
• Earlier in the week, a 22-year old Machap resident met a fatal road accident. Despite the clinic being less than a kilometre away, the ambulance never arrived - because the driver could not be found (!). And this wasn't the first time as well.
  
  
• Oddly, enough, even Melaka Pindah was flooded that day. This was a rare occurence because Machap is practically as high as you can get in Melaka, for this is where the Durian Tunggal dam and water catchment area is located. The flood occurred apparently due to a poorly maintained and clogged drainage system.

There was only 1 notable incident whereby our campaign was "marred", although the extent of its impact was hopefully limited. On the first day of campaigning, we were gracious enough to invite the young media co-ordinator of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Ginie Lim to speak at our ceramah in Machap Umboo, which proved to be a clear mistake on hindsight. Unbelievably, incomprehensibly and most naively, she proceeded to tell the audience that "supporting DAP is supporting the opposition, supporting the opposition is supporting PKR and PAS."

She basically handed ammunition on a silver platter to MCA, who wasted no time making thousands of copies of the ceramah VCD together with a leaflet alleging the existence a secret pact between DAP and PAS, and alluded our support for a Islamic State. They were distributed house to house earlier this week. (Apparently, she still think its a non-issue.)

DAP has gone at great lengths to disassociate ourselves from any political party which seeks to establish an Islamic state, whether UMNO or PAS over the past few years, having learnt painful lessons in 1999. All these efforts could have been undone purely through some careless and ill-thought remarks, which thankfully in this case, didn't come from a DAP member.

So, why did we not do better? Could we have done better? I'll try cover these factors in my next post. ;)

Starting the Machinery

With the Machap electoral campaign winding to a close, I've certainly learnt a great deal in terms of running an election campaign. And with the next general elections expected within the next 12 months, the experience could not have come at a better time.

Don't ask me where I'll be standing in the next elections because nothing has yet been finalised, and in politics, always expected the last minute changes. However, that shouldn't stop me from preparing all the other stuff which can be done over the next few months, before the mad scramble during the election period.

But I certainly can't do it alone. I'm looking for dedicated and competent people to help with my campaign. People of all talents are required, from technology, to writing (all languages), to design, to statistics, and in particular, meticulous organisation capabilities given the complexity and intensity of Malaysian electoral campaigns. Some may also be assigned roles in the national election programmes, not just my own.

I'm looking for people interested in working full-time, whether short-term for the period until the general elections, or even longer term after that. I certainly can't hire everyone, hence I would certainly welcome dedicated individuals who are willing to contribute their expertise to the campaign on a part-time basis as well. Or if you have friends who may be interested, let them know.

It is certainly exciting times ahead, but the work starts now. I need people who are strong with team work, and who are happy to put aside individual egos, for hopefully the better good. A lot of people of contributed fantastic ideas, and I'd certainly look to putting them to practise. But without a strong, competent and dedicated team, I will be but 1-man, and 1-man certain isn't enough.

This is certainly a good time to get exposed to actual campaign machinery during an election which recurs only every 4-5 years, and is probably a good experience for many with some hint of political (or related) ambitions. Most importantly, win or lose, it is most important to know that we have run the campaign to the best of our abilities, and we enjoyed ourselves doing so.

Email me @ tonypua(at)yahoo.com! ;)

Famous Last Words

Thanks to TV Smith, I found this hilarious collection of famous last words (made before the 12th General Elections were held) ;-)

The one that I liked best was probably related to my party boss ;-)

“Do you think Penang people are stupid to support him (Guan Eng)? We Penangites are not stupid” - Pak Lah

Or maybe the one from the former MB of Selangor ;-)

"Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo yakin kekuatan jentera Pemuda, Wanita dan Puteri serta BN negeri ketika ini cukup bersedia untuk menjadikan Selangor negeri sifar pembangkang (zero opposition) pada pilihanraya umum akan datang."

Heh... ;-)

Ceramah Practice

Yup. I'm getting plenty of practice, particularly in giving ceramah speeches in Mandarin at our Machap campaign. I must say, practice certainly gives one a lot more confidence. I've been giving presentations, speaking at forums all my adult life, so what's the difference when speaking at the election rallies?

I can think of 3 key differences.

Firstly, when speaking forums or giving business presentations, the audience is often targetted and content is often specialised and more detailed. The challenge hence is to bring well-supported and reasoned arguments to the masses without boring them to death. There are usually some 10 speakers speaking at each ceramah (sometimes more), hence you will certainly have to be really sharp to drive home your points.

Secondly, politics at ceramahs is really the art of tugging the hearts. Or to put it bluntly, the ability of stirring emotions. People often vote with their hearts. Hence while forums tend to be a little more calm and collected, rallies needs to be emotionally convincing and inspiring.

Machap Umboo, 8th March (Sunday)

Thirdly, politics is business, it's not personal. Ironically, that means one must not shy away from hitting hard at the opponents, both the person and the party, when it's justifiable. In forums, we are often more polite and give a little more face to the opponents. But certainly, that won't cut it for ceramahs. I had a good time having a go at the MCA hero, and I definitely got better at it the 2nd time round (you can tell from the response of the audience) ;).

Certainly, by listening to the other leaders speak, I have learnt a great deal over the past week or so. It's great that I get this chance to learn the ropes (and better understand my weaknesses), to go into the coming elections fully prepared ;). Of course, hopefully by telling my little stories, I get to help Sdr Liou Chen Kuang garner a few extra votes!

Machap Umboo villages lighting a candle to a brighter future (6/4/07)

I'll probably be speaking in Machap for the last round tomorrow (Tuesday). We have a record 5 ceramahs running concurrently tomorrow, one in each of the Chinese new villages (Machap Baru and Machap Umboo), one in Tebong (concentrated Indian community), one in Melaka Pindah as well as one in Hutan Percha (Felda scheme). The last two are essentially UMNO bastions. I should be popping by at least one of the Malay villages tomorrow, if not to speak and practise my rusty Malay, then at least to see the reception we get.

On Wednesday, there'll be two mega ceramahs, one in Machap Baru, while the other is at Melaka Pindah. All the big shots will be speaking (so obviously there won't be room for me ;)), and Anwar is coming to town. So it should be fun!

Machap By-Election Blog Launched

DAP Secretary General, Lim Guan Eng, myself and Liew Chin-Tong
launching Machap By-Elections Blog

Well the multi-lingual Machap By-Election blog has been active for more than a week now, but it's officially launched this morning in Machap Umboo.

And to answer questions from readers at my other education blog, as well as here, yes, I'm actively helping out in the party's campaign in Machap. ;) Did my very first political rally style speech last night in Mandarin as well - it was good to get it out of the way ;) Will try to get some more pictures up for the readers ;)

Back to the blog, it's set up by a DAPSY (well, DAP Socialist Youth, if you are not familiar) team to meet the following objectives...

1. Despite the rural settings of the Machap constituency, Internet literacy cannot be underestimated. We have visited many households with Streamyx access, particularly if they have children or young adults in the house. Hence with an element of media censorship as well as the pure lack of space in the print media, the voters will get full access to our events, statements and pictures (more coming up!) on the website. In a small constituency like Machap, with less than 10,000 voters (and when we won less than 1,300 the last time round), every vote counts!
   
   
2. It must not be forgotten that there are many voters who are currently working outside of the constituency, as near as Melaka city itself or as far as Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Singapore. It is estimated that nearly 25% of the voters are not living within the city. Hence our access to this block of voters who are likely to be Internet savvy, will be through the Internet.
   
   
3. And finally, this by-election is a fight at two levels. Firstly, it's a fight for votes in Machap itself. But equally important, due to the national attention being paid on the by-elections, it is an excellent opportunity for the Party to express its views to all Malaysians throughout the country. A blog is certainly an excellent way for our views to be propagated.

Deputy Secretary General Ahmad Ton, Candidate Liou Chen Kuang,
Lim Guan Eng, myself and Liew Chin-Tong launching
the special multi-lingual editions of the DAP Rockets.

In addition to the blog, the DAP machinery also launched probably it's most professional election 4-page newsletter campaign to date in 3 key languages - Bahasa Malaysia (Utusan Roket), Chinese (火箭快讯) and Tamil Rocket. Will it make a difference in rural Machap? We'll see.

Enjoy! for the next couple of days, we will continue to "upgrade" the contents of the blog to make things even more interesting for readers. Remember to advertise and promote the blog to all Malaysians, in particular, those voting in Melaka. ;)

Ceramah @ SS2 Chow Yang

I just got my hands on these pictures...

Umbrellas all around the field...

And that's me completely soaked still shaking the hands of well-wishers!

This ceramah was held on Thursday, 6th March next to the SS2 Chow Yang pasar malam. It was certainly a wet evening as rain started and stopped umpteen times. However, about 10 minutes before I spoke, and I was the last speaker for the evening, it started pouring absolutely cats and dogs! It rained often during the campaign period, but that evening at Chow Yang was certainly the heaviest.

It was my shortest speech in my entire election campaign - probably 5 minutes or so, so as to ensure that the crowd doesn't have to keep standing in the rain. Of course, there's self interest involved - if everyone gets sick, then they can't go to the ballot boxes on Saturday! ;-)

The fact that I actually spoke was due to my being extremely touched that the large crowd actually continued standing in the heavy rain to wait for me to speak... and I had to tell everyone to go home early and return the next evening for the grand finale at SS2 the next evening.

Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, it was all worthwhile in the end ;-)

Short of Experience?

Plenty of questions have been raised on the ability of DAP to administer an effective and efficient government, given our "lack of experience".

I believe that our leaders have all been providing great replies to the above question, as shown by DAP Secretary-General, now Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng as well as the plucky DAP state assemblywoman for Subang Jaya, Hannah Yeoh.

In The Star a few days back, Guan Eng was questioned by readers - "Without any experience working in the state or Federal Cabinet, how do you expect to run the state?" The reply was straightforward.

When we talk about experience, I always say that I don't have experience in corruption and misappropriation of funds. So it is with that attitude – that if we are honest and have a sense of integrity, we have the ability and capability to do it.

During the campaign period, Hannah Yeoh who won the Subang Jaya state seat in Selangor by a massive 13,851 votes, admitted "she was young and inexperienced in politics, but she drew cheers when she said she was 'clean'."

"Yes, I do not have experience. I do not have experience in corruption."

So the next time you hear me say the same thing, you know who I "copied" it from. ;-)

PJ Fund Raising Dinner Pics

We had another successful fund-raising dinner for DAP in Petaling Jaya yesterday evening, the 2nd dinner in less than 3 weeks! Phew! ;-)

YB Lim Kit Siang, our Parliamentary Opposition Leader, who spoke at the dinner called on the voters in Petaling Jaya Utara (PJU) to deliver Barisan Nasional (BN) and Malaysia Chinese Association (MCA) not only a defeat, but an "overwhelming, thumping defeat" in the coming general elections. Only then will they be taught a lesson for their sheer lack of integrity, arrogance and incompetence. Let the voters of Petaling Jaya lead Malaysia forward - which was our theme for the two dinners. ;-)

Enjoy some of the photos here taken from our first dinner held on the 1st November. ;-)

The programme starts as the crowd gets seated

That's Syazana who did a splendid job as the host for the evening

Dr Cheah kicked off the evening with the opening speech

DAP's very own cilipadi in Parliament, YB Fong Po Kuan

That's me again making my spill on Malaysia's deteriorating economy

Dr Cheah & Weng San making the rounds

DAP Sec-Gen rallying for support at the dinner

Must have been one hell of a joke by Uncle Yap ;-)

Little Totto looks for papa ;-)

Dr Cheah meets Dr Oh (Thompson Twins comes to mind...)

Dr Cheah tells the guests that I'm suffering from a smiling disorder,
and is in desperate need for psychiatric treatment

Jeff talks to his lawyer...

Weng San's speech was followed by an engaging performance
by the Malaysian Latin Ballroom Dance champions

And the boss ends the evening by giving
his animated speech on Malaysian politics

I Was There! (II)

The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah...

(Thank goodness I didn't bring my computer notebook with me!)

Ah, finally found someone who took pictures of me there ;-)

Happy faces after successfully handing over
the BERSIH memorandum to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agung.

The bosses having an animated chat before submitting the petition to the King.

Now come to think of it, why is it that the two times when we had a major "march", it started pouring? I certainly remembered getting totally drenched the last time we joined the Bar Council's March for Justice. ;-)

PJ Fund Raising Dinner II

Yup, the time has come for another gentle reminder for our second DAP PJ Fund Raising Dinner to be held next week. After a successful first dinner held earlier this month in English, this time, the dinner will be held primarily in Chinese.

The speakers at the dinner include:

• YB Lim Kit Siang, Parliamentary Opposition Leader
• YB Teresa Kok, MP for Seputeh
• Ronnie Liu, DAP Central Executive Committee Member
• Tony Pua, Economic Advisor to DAP Secretary-General
• Lau Weng San, Political Secretary to DAP Secretary-General
• Dr Cheah Wing Yin, Former President, Private Medical Practitioners Association of KL-Selangor

You can purchase the tickets online below using credit cards via PayPal, or contact me @ tonypua(at)yahoo(dot)com for more details. Cheque payments should be made to "DAP Damansara Branch". We certainly look forward to your support and attendance! ;)

20th Nov 2007 PJ Dinner (per pax)
@ RM50 (US$15)

20th Nov 2007 PJ Dinner (per table of 10)
@ RM500 (US$150)

20th Nov 2007 PJ Dinner (per VIP table of 10)
@ RM1,000 (US$300)

I Was There!

Photo courtesy of Minaq Jinggo

The sight of tens of thousands of people conggregated in front of the Istana Negara is awesome. And it's probably not going to be repeated for a long long time. I'm certainly glad that I made it there and the party leaders were able to submit the free and fair elections appeal to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agung.

It is unfortunate that some of our fellow Malaysians never made it to the rally for they were unreasonably and violent assaulted by the police. The silver lining was the fact that the Brickfields OCPD in-charge at the Palace took the necessary restraint, despite being under tremendous pressure to "clear" the area, which resulted in a peaceful gathering.

If only I remember to bring my camera, for there were some great moments to be captured. But there's plenty of pictures to share all round on the web, so that's not too bad ;)

The BERSIH march and rally was really a success but I would hesitate to repeat the feat too soon. Firstly, the King must be given sufficient time to act and respond. Secondly, I can assure you that the UMNO kingpins must be seething at this point of time and will certainly take all necessary actions to prevent another such meet. We can do more good work for the country out of jail, than in it. Furthermore, we should demonstrate that unlike UMNO and Barisan Nasional, we do not call for blood to be shed to prove our manhood. And thirdly, disrupting traffic and businesses in the city centre once may be tolerable and supported by all, but do that too frequently, these same supporters will turn against you - defeating the ultimate objectives of the rally. We want to win friends, not lose them.

Make That Change

Guys, many of you will by now be aware of the massive rally cum gathering at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur later this afternoon. This BERSIH's People Gathering as well as the submission of a petition to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agung is to demand the use of indelible ink, a cleanup of the electoral roll, the abolition of domestic postal voting as well as fair access to the media. BERSIH’s campaign for electoral reform is endorsed by 66 NGOs and 5 political parties.

The details are as follows:

Venue: Dataran Merdeka
Date: 10 November 2007
Time: 3pm
More information is available here.

As you may know, the police have started roadblocks all around the city yesterday evening to prevent and deter members of the public from entering the city. To ensure that you'll have a smooth trip into the city, do not wear yellow till you are well within the city parameters or you'll most certainly be stopped. And arrive early to ensure that you will get to your destination on time for disruption to both public and private transports can be expected as the authorities will take all necessary actions to "stop" or diminish the turnout for the event.

Participants are certainly encouraged to take public transport. Additional transport guidelines are available on the Bersih website. Be safe and enjoy the outing. See you there! ;)