DrunkenMonkey Posted April 26, 2013 Posted April 26, 2013 I know that there are a good number of thoughtful Malaysians here on FOH, and I've been interested in finding out what's going on leading up to the Malaysian elections. Information seems hard to come by here, and I don't trust the papers, so I wondered if any of you guys feel like sharing first-hand accounts of where things stand and what's going on. If not, no problem, and I'm not sure how appropriate it is to talk about politics here anyway. But it seems that this is a crucial time for politics in Malaysia, and I'd be interested to hear some thoughtful commentary.
sengjc Posted April 26, 2013 Posted April 26, 2013 I was back in Malaysia earlier this month. Everything seems like a typical Malaysian election. There is a lot of talk that the opposition may just win it this time round but I don't feel that it would happen, at least not for this election.
ZinZan Posted April 27, 2013 Posted April 27, 2013 I'm surprised anybody outside Asia takes a keen interest in the Malaysian election. Yeah, both sides have gone on full throttle on the campaigning. Personally I think the ruling coalition has a tough time maintaining their majority but neither is the opposition is goin to win. Interesting and challenging time for Malaysian politics. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
frito Posted April 27, 2013 Posted April 27, 2013 I was traveling throughout Malaysia the last few weeks to almost every state. Its really a nice time to visit now as the road is really colorful, almost every road junction you will see a campaigning party flag or a entire stretch of road 5km long totally flagged out and even the overhead bride is decorated. I spoke to some of the locals throughout the country most of them mentioned the same thing, opposition is getting stronger and their advise is to stay out of KL. Some my Malaysians friends were telling my its gonna get messy after the result is out for whoever that wins. I was on the plane back to SG last thursday and read the headline news "explosion at campaigning site", showing a picture of a guy in a bomb disposal suit going through garbage looking for more explosives. Another interesting news is that you can place bets with underground syndicates on who will win and by how many votes. 5th May is going to be a interesting day.
Andy04 Posted April 27, 2013 Posted April 27, 2013 Unless Pakatan Rakyat can come to an agreement on how they will operate if elected, I forecast that BN will win all but 4 states.
Fuzz AI Posted April 27, 2013 Posted April 27, 2013 Yep. Not a good time for foreigners to be in KL during the elections. My bro is in SG and his company has advised all staff not to travel to Malaysia unless it is absolutely necessary. The ruling party, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) has been in power since Malaysia's independence in 1957. UMNO is in a coalition (Barisan National) with other political parties, but in reality, it is the one that holds all the power. Over the years, it has begun to lose seats in parliament, as opposition parties have become more popular over the distinctly pro-Malay UMNO. Whatever the outcome of the 13th national election, things are going to change in Malaysia.
sengjc Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 Thought I would share this interesting article on the second richest Malaysian, the brother of the richest Malaysian who is the Chief Minister of a major state and heavyweight of UMNO, the government: http://m.theage.com.au/world/dubious-dealings-20130427-2ilcb.html?post_id=785079119_10151610404194120#_=_
DrunkenMonkey Posted April 28, 2013 Author Posted April 28, 2013 Thanks to all for the responses. I'll be interested to keep watching this from the other side of the world. It seems that whenever there is a country with one-party rule for a long time, that group is never keen on giving up power voluntarily. I imagine that explains some of the violence that's happening now, but I suspect that's only part of the story, and I wish I could know more. I would like to know what Anwar Ibrahim is really about, and what precipitated his disagreements with Mahatir, but I suppose it's always a difficult thing to know what a politician really wants to do.
Andy04 Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 Thought I would share this interesting article on the second richest Malaysian, the brother of the richest Malaysian who is the Chief Minister of a major state and heavyweight of UMNO, the government: http://m.theage.com....10404194120#_=_ Taib is far from the richest Malaysian. He is also not a member of UMNO.
ZinZan Posted April 28, 2013 Posted April 28, 2013 Truthfully the violence is far more exaggerated than it truly is but it's still tense. For a local it's more carnival atmosphere more than the usual especially with the poster wars going on and the daily campaign road shows. I've personally had experiences working on campaign in the rural areas, that I count as one of my most humbling experiences in my life. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
sengjc Posted April 29, 2013 Posted April 29, 2013 Taib is far from the richest Malaysian. He is also not a member of UMNO. That is probably true too, declared richest Malaysian, then. Who knows who the richest Malaysian truly is? I know a lot of the rich ethnic Chinese Malaysian do not openly declare their wealth.
Fuzz AI Posted April 29, 2013 Posted April 29, 2013 According to Forbes, Robert Kuok is the richest Malaysian... well, at least "declared" wealth...
DrunkenMonkey Posted May 1, 2013 Author Posted May 1, 2013 Just read from Reuters that there are 2.6 newly registered first-time voters for this election, compared with 638,000 in the election five years ago.
Fuzz AI Posted May 1, 2013 Posted May 1, 2013 Just read from Reuters that there are 2.6 newly registered first-time voters for this election, compared with 638,000 in the election five years ago. 2.6? Two people and one midget?
frenchkiwi Posted May 1, 2013 Posted May 1, 2013 on a related note, got a friend going to borneo (not sure exactly where yet) for a conference, wants to pick up some cigars for me. send them to her hotel from czars a good idea or not ?
Andy04 Posted May 1, 2013 Posted May 1, 2013 Cigar are expensive in Sabah and Sarawak. Only cheap place in Labuan.
Andy04 Posted May 1, 2013 Posted May 1, 2013 How many seats will BN win this year? I forecast 120 of the 222 parliamentary seats.
ritan Posted May 1, 2013 Posted May 1, 2013 on a related note, got a friend going to borneo (not sure exactly where yet) for a conference, wants to pick up some cigars for me. send them to her hotel from czars a good idea or not ? Best you find out from her which hotel she'll be staying. If it is any of the international chains then it should largely be fine. Also I'd time the arrival of the package from Czar for when she's there for the conference. That'll lessen the risks of blank looks and shrugs from hotel staff. Let me know if you need to know approximately how long shipping takes.
ZinZan Posted May 1, 2013 Posted May 1, 2013 How many seats will BN win this year? I forecast 120 of the 222 parliamentary seats. Yeap bout there, I was just on the ground the urban is predominantly PR. Rural is still BN. I'm curious to see how Johor fare since its the umno fort. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
bolivr Posted May 2, 2013 Posted May 2, 2013 The article below is about Anwar but it also has some background to the political situation. http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/winds-of-change-20130422-2i947.html
ZinZan Posted May 3, 2013 Posted May 3, 2013 There a lot of things being said about Anwar here and internationally. In Malaysia it tends to be negative well in short the number 1 enemy of the country and overseas he's viewed as the saviour of the Malaysia. Honestly I don't know what is real and what is not but this what I think of him, he went as high as number 2. He was as the article said the anointed successor. Please don't tell me he was oblivious to the corruption, he was part of the system he worked the system well to get to DPM. So don't tell me he suddenly got a conscience. He's a politician the end game is power, he wanted the PM position and still wants it. He missed by a hair because he was impatient. What the people outside of malaysia didn't see how he's manoeuvring in Sabah and also as Minister of Finance was fractionalising the ruling party. Dr Mahathir has his flaws but what he did for the country and what his vision for the country was I thought noble maybe the way he did it was not perfect and if you look the companies that were bailed was like just like American banks in the GFC "too big too fail". If the company failed it would've been a million people out of job. We would have the same unrest that happened in Indonesia. Well that's my humble opinion. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
ZinZan Posted May 3, 2013 Posted May 3, 2013 Like you said they don't have any cohesion, no real plans. Yeah you want to change the government that's great but what do you do after that. That is something they haven't figured out in any real sense. The way I see it they are trying to make malaysia more of a subsidised nation with cheaper petrol and no tolls. The goodies are there but where's the income generator. How bout you since you asked me? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
DrunkenMonkey Posted May 3, 2013 Author Posted May 3, 2013 One thing that I keep seeing mentioned, especially from the foreign financial press, is the idea that if you could repeal all the New Economic policy's racial preferences, as (I think) the PR wants to do (although I'm skeptical as to whether this can just be done with a wave of the pen anyway), that there would be a significant economic stimulus effect from that. For anyone who has a better understanding of economics than I do: does this seem realistic, or is it just spin?
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