GE13: PSM being squeezed out by Pakatan

The Star

http://videos.thestar.com.my/View.aspx?vid=10049&cid=1

SEMENYIH: The bigger boys in Pakatan Rakyat are trying to squeeze Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) out of three of the four seats which the party intends to contest.

Apart from the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat, where there appears to be a consensus for PSM central committee member Dr Michael Jeyakumar to defend, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) wants to field its own candidates for the Kota Damansara and Semenyih state seats in Selangor, with DAP staking its claim to the Jelapang seat in Perak.

The Kota Damansara state seat, held by PSM chairman Dr Nasir Hashim, is being eyed by a lawyer aligned to PKR deputypresident Azmin Ali, who reportedly has given the green light for the lawyer to campaign.

“We feel this is quite ridiculous because Dr Nasir held the seat,” said PSM secretary-general S. Arutchelvan yesterday after declaring his assets.

His assets comprise a Perodua Kelisa worth RM14,000, an RM85,000 low cost house, RM5,000 in fixed deposit and RM1,356 in a savings account as well as a monthly income of RM3,000 and RM1,000 as Kajang municipal councillor, the amount of which goes towards financing his employee.

For the people: Dr Nasir showing a copy of PSM’s manifesto.

Denying allegations that Dr Nasir was facing health problems, Arutchelvan said: “He just had knee surgery and the doctor has given him a clean bill of health.”

Arutchelvan is expected to contest in Semenyih while the party's deputy head M. Sarasvathy is slotted to stand in Jelapang.

PSM candidates had contested under the PKR banner in the March 2008 general election as their party was waiting for its registration to be approved, which came about in June 2008.

Several PKR leaders who are lobbying for the seats object to PSM using its own logo to contest in this general election and claimed that the seats were won thanks to the PKR label.

“We are determined to carry on even if we are forced to stand on our own as we are confident of winning all four seats with our credible candidates,”Arutchelvan said.

He said PSM hoped to strike a compromise with the Pakatan parties when they meet Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahimover the weekend.

Anwar is scheduled to announce the PKR candidates for all the seats in Selangor on Sunday night in Hulu Klang.

For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

GE13: A three-cornered fight likely in Semenyih

IT COULD be a three-cornered fight in Semenyih if PKR does not consider Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) its ally.

PSM secretary-general S. Arutchelvan, who is also a councillor with the Kajang Municipal Council, is firm in his decision to contest the Semenyih seat for a second time.

He lost the state seat to Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Johan Abdul Aziz in the 2008 general election. Johan won with a majority of 1,140 votes.

“We contested on the PKR ticket as we were not a registered party yet.

“Now that we are a registered party, we will be contesting on our own ticket in this general election,” he said.

Last month, Arutchelvan called for a press conference to announce his personal “report card” on his performance in the constituency and PSM’s manifesto for Semenyih.

He added that PSM candidates would continue to support Pakatan Rakyat. The party had submitted a formal request to join Pakatan in September last year.

When asked if PKR would be fielding a candidate in Semenyih, Ampang MP and Wanita PKR chief Zuraida Kamaruddin said the party was still deciding if PSM was an ally.

However, sources said PAS might field its candidate there.

Meanwhile, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu’s announcement that he would be contesting in Pendang, Kedah, quashed speculation that he might be running for the Hulu Langat parliamentary seat.

In Kajang, there was talk that incumbent Lee Kim Sin would not be fielded.

On the other hand, Hulu Langat MCA division chief Jeffrey Lee Ban Seng, who was born and bred in Kajang, was tipped to be Barisan’s candidate for Kajang.

GE13: Prospect of Ghani-Lim clash heightens polls fever

The Star
(shared bylines)

JOHOR BARU: Gelang Patah is in the grip of election fever over the prospect of Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman facing DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang.

The clash of the two political veterans a fiery opposition icon and a mild-mannered mentri besar, would make the constituency the epicentre of the 13th general election battle.

Gelang Patah has evolved from a sleepy hollow into a vibrant urban hub with numerous Iskandar Malaysia development projects.

Last night, Lim announced that he will take on Abdul Ghani for the Gelang Patah seat.

“I have decided to contest in Gelang Patah, not for myself or DAP, but for the people and the country.

“Let the people decide. If Abdul Ghani wants to come, I will not back off, we are not kia si (afraid to lose) or kia su (afraid to die or lose political career),” he said at a DAP ceramah in Batu Pahat last night.

Abdul Ghani, who is believed to be keen to take on the DAP adviser, has remained coy on the question.

“No, no, wait,” the four-term state assemblyman for Serom said when asked about the matter at Sengkang, Bukit Gambir, yesterday.

Although the Barisan Nasional MP is MCA's Tan Ah Eng, party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has not ruled out the possibility of Abdul Ghani as the candidate for Gelang Patah.

Universiti Sains Malaysia political analyst Assoc Prof Dr Sivamurugansaid Abdul Ghani had more advantage over Lim in Gelang Patah, but the sentiment of new voters was still unknown.

He said the mentri besar had garnered much support in the state through the years while the DAP adviser was being parachuted from Ipoh Timur.

According to an analysis carried by pro-opposition news portal Malaysiakini, Abdul Ghani's likely candidacy has put the DAP's campaign team on red alert because of the potential loss of crucial Malay votes.

The report, headlined “Ghani counterstrike could paralyse Kit Siang”, contended that with 52% and 12% of Chinese and Indian voters, respectively, DAP was at first confident that getting a majority of these votes and less than half of the 34% Malay votes would help Lim win the seat.

It noted that many Chinese Johoreans saw Abdul Ghani as a moderate and humble Umno leader and that the recent property boom in Iskandar had won him some applause, adding that if he could secure 85 % of the Malay votes, DAP would have to win 80% of Chinese votes and 40% of Indian votes to defeat the mentri besar with a thin majority of 1.5%.

■ For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

Related Stories:
GE13: MCA fine with swapping seats
GE13: Ghani's good ties with Chinese will be the key in Gelang Patah
GE13: Gelang Patah basking in the limelight thanks to Iskandar Malaysia developments

GE13: Ambiga: Abide by our code or be blacklisted

The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Bersih 2.0 has come up with a Code of Conduct for Participants of the 13th General Election and Caretaker Government Guidelines.

Its chairman Datuk S. Ambiga said Bersih would blacklist politicians, including campaigners and volunteers from both sides of the divide, who did not adhere to the newly-launched guidelines.

“We are going to keep an eye on them via our election observers,” she said at a press conference by the Bersih 2.0 steering committee after its co-chairman A. Samad Said launched the code and guidelines.

Ambiga said that currently, there were about 3,000 election observers who had signed up with them and that they were targeting 10,000.

On what action would be taken against those who breached the code, Ambiga said their names and deeds would be listed on the Bersih website and it would be left to the public to decide whether they wanted to vote for such candidates.

She said the code and guidelines would be handed to the Election Commission today.

For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

GE13: Sekinchan farmers proud of their annual padi yield

The Star

By LOH FOON FONG

foonfong@thestar.com.my

Photos by AZLINA ABDULLAH

 

Local rice bowl: Sekinchan is made up of vast tracts of padi fields.

 

THE Sungai Besar parliamentary constituency is made up of padi fields and fishing villages.

In the Sekinchan and Sungai Panjang state seats — under the constituency — vast tracts of padi fields are visible, with egrets digging into the muddy ground.

Sekinchan was originally a fishing village in the 1920s. In 1953, the British segregated the villagers from the early Malayan Communist Party insurgents and sites A, B, C and Bagan were formed.

In the last decade or more, the constituency has been acknowledged for having the highest padi yield in the country.

This is the result of the farmers’ innovative spirit, diligence in adhering to standard operating procedure on land management and their use of mechanised farming methods.

At 8.5 tonne per hectare yield, it has produced an average 2.08 million tonnes of padi each year since 2006, making up almost 70% of the country’s local rice supply.

Almost half of 9,642 active farmers working on more than 19,000 ha of land in Selangor are from Sekinchan.

The area also has many orchards, with mangoes being one of the main crop, besides ciku, jambu air and jagung, which are sold at stalls lining the road leading into Sekinchan.

The Sungai Besar constituency is also known for its fishing villages — Bagan Sungai Besar and Bagan Sekinchan. With more than 2,000 fishermen in Bagan Sungai Besar and another 350 in Sekinchan, the Sungai Besar parliamentary seat has the highest number of fishermen in Selangor.

Seafood restaurants can be found everywhere and are known for their Teochew cooking style.

This is not surprising as almost all the fishermen in Bagan Sungai Besar and Sekinchan are Teochews.

Since Sekinchan has large padi fields and is near the coastal area, it is also a place for migratory birds sightings.

Sweet success: Aside from padi fields, Sungai Besar is home to many fruit orchards.

According to www.sekinchan.org, migratory birds could be sighted along Lorong 5 and Lorong 6 at Bagan Village.

Sungai Besar, the coastal town, is the centre of administration for Sabak Bernam district with many government offices and local authorities located there.

The Sungai Besar parliamentary seat (P93) falls in the Sabak Bernam district while its state seats are Sungai Panjang (N3) and Sekinchan (N4).

The Sungai Besar parliamentary seat was newly created for the 2004 general election. It was formerly a state seat, which no longer exist.

The two-term incumbent, Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Noriah Kasnon, is said to be working hard to keep her seat.

Noriah is expected to defend her seat against a PAS condidate.

For the Sungai Panjang seat, Sungai Besar Umno Youth chief Budiman Mohd Zohdi is said to be a likely candidate.

The incumbent Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo, former Selangor Mentri Besar, was found guilty of graft in December 2011 and has been sentenced to a year’s jail.

Sungai Besar PAS chief Ustaz Mohd Fadzlin Taslimin is said to likely put up a fight for the seat again. He lost to Dr Khir in the last election by more than 5,000 votes.

For the Sekinchan seat, incumbent DAP deputy secretary for Selangor, Ng Suee Lim, who speaks fluent Javanese is popular with the Malays there, is likely to defend his seat.

The names of potential candidates from Barisan Nasional include Sungai Besar MCA division chairman Kek Seng Hooi, Sungai Besar MCA Public Complaints Bureau head Law Kok Chai and Sungai Besar MCA Youth deputy chief Pua Lai Hoon.

Village C Sekinchan farmer Ng Oon Chai, 50, said farmers in Sekinchan were very experienced and produced the highest padi yield in South-East Asia, on par with the Taiwanese and South Koreans.

He said they were also able to produce high quality fragrant rice but the main challenge was that they were not able to sell higher than the price capped by the Government at RM1.15 per kg.

“The high quality fragrant rice that we produce can fetch RM5 to RM6 a kilogramme,” said the father of five children.

Ng said the price should be left to the open market and industry monopoly should end as it stifled its potential to do better and reap higher income.

He said the Taiwanese government encourages their padi farmers to improve their skills and reap better quality yield, and this should be emulated here as well.

Meanwhile, Parit 2 Sungai Haji Dorani village head Safie Zakaria said the drainage system at his village was inadequate.

“We don’t have enough water for the padi fields, especially during dry season. If there is adequate water, the yield can be increased,” he said.

Safie said farmers also felt that the padi price set at RM1,200 per tonne was too low and hoped it could be increased to RM1,500 as the cost of managing padi fields was increasing despite government subsidy.

“The farmers prefer that the price of rice follows the open market,” he said.

He also said the amount of spoilage of 18kg out of 100kg that was removed from their payment by Bernas should be reduced to 15kg as many of them produced good quality rice.

Safie added that there was a lack of tourism promotion for his area although the potential was great. Unknown to many, fireflies can also be sighted in Sungai Panjang.

Federal village head committee (JKKKP) chairman for Bagan Sungai Besar, Chia Hiyok Cheng, said most of the fishermen in his area were categorised as Zone B fishermen.

Chia said they wanted the Government to allow them to hire foreign workers so they could expand their business.

Currently, only Zone C fishermen with boats weighing more than 40 tonnes, are allowed to hire foreign workers.

He also said the Chinese burial land in Sungai Besar was getting scarce and in need of upgrading.
Azman Mohd Hanafiah, 39, and his wife Norasyikin Kamaruzaman, 20, who operate a sugar cane stall by the roadside in Jalan Sungai Panjang, said they were contented with life there.

“We have everything here, including Chinese and Tamil schools. We have libraries, too,” said Norasyikin.

Azman, who shares a 1.2ha padi field with an aunt, said the water supply in his area was adequate but the drains were small.

His only grouses were that the roads were riddled with potholes while the nearest hospital, Hospital Sabak Bernam, lacked specialists.

Check out The Star's Elections Guide For Newbies

GE13: Pakatan all set for elections

The Star
(shared bylines)

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat said it was all set for the 13th general election.

DAP deputy chairman Tan Kok Wai said: “Psychologically, we have been ready for months.”

Tan, who is in the four-man committee to decide on DAP's candidates list, also said that the party will name all of those who are contesting before nomination day.

PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar said the party had been gearing up for the dissolution over the past two years.

“The list of candidates is ready and many of the candidates are new faces,” he said, adding that PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang would announce the candidates soon.

PKR vice-president Tian Chua told Bernama the dissolution was most awaited by the party.

“Right now, we are waiting for the Mentris Besar and Chief Ministers of the states under our administration to seek the consent of the Sultans and the Yang di-Pertua Negri to dissolve the state legislative assemblies,” he said.

The Opposition pact administers Kelantan, Kedah, Selangor and Penang.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) central committee member Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj said PSM called on all political parties to refrain from divisive racial campaigning.

“We urge Malaysians to think of their children's future when casting their votes,” he said.

Dr Jeyakumar said that PSM would contest in the Sungai Siput parliament seat and the Kota Damansara, Semenyih and Jelapang state seats.

He said he would be defending his Sungai Siput seat.

Sekinchan state assemblyman Ng Suee Lim said he would be defending his seat if everything went smoothly.

“I am confident of contesting as I have worked hard and served the constituency well,” he said.

He said that the parliament seats DAP would be contesting in Selangor were Serdang, Puchong, PJ Utara and Klang.

The state seats that DAP would be contesting in Selangor are Sekinchan, Sungai Pinang,

Pandamaran, Kota Shah Alam, Teluk Datuk, Sungai Pelek, Damansara Utama, Bukit Gasing,
Kampung Tunku, Seberang Jaya, Kinrara, Teratai, Kuala Kubu Baru, Balakong and Seri Kembangan.

Selangor state exco member Elizabeth Wong said Pakatan would contest in all 56 state seats in Selangor and the division between the parties would be similar to that of the 2008 general election.

■ For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

Malay Chamber of Commerce to build affordable homes

The Star

By LOH FOON FONG
foonfong@thestar.com.my

Chor attended the launching of the Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia's website on Thursday.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (DPMM) has offered to build homes and sell them at an affordable RM200,000 each or less.

The DPMM will be building 600 homes in two phases in Taman Uda Utama, Johor Baru, on a 4ha piece of land – with a 99-year leasehold – offered by the Johor state government to start the project.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heungcommended DPMM’s efforts of complementing the Government’s move to provide Malaysians with affordable homes.

“This is the first time, an organisation has stepped forward to build affordable homes at almost cost price,” Chor said after launching DPMM’s website yesterday.

Chor, who also presented prizes to winners of a medium-cost home design competition, urged state governments to offer DPMM land at low premiums for it to build affordable homes for the people.

DPMM president Datuk Syed Ali Al-Attas who announced the project, under its Affordable Medium Cost Housing Concept for Malaysia, said the medium-cost homes at Taman Uda Utama would cost RM180,000 each and were meant for households earning RM3,500 to RM7,000 monthly.

He said 230 apartments would be built on 1.43ha in the first phase of the project which begins in August and construction is expected to be completed within 20 months.

Syed Ali said the second phase of the project would include a mix of apartments and houses.

Bandung conundrum

The Star

By LOH FOON FONG

foonfong@thestar.com.my
star2travel@thestar.com.my

Rumah Ebo, on No.27, Jalan Imam Bonjol, Bandung, has a garden filled with various plants, including durian trees.

What do you do in Bandung – read a book? Perhaps there’s more to the place than meets the eye!

THE dreadful, uncivilised early hours of the day that I had to wade through to fly to Bandung was quickly usurped by an unexpectedly glorious Sunday morning on Jalan Dago.

While on the way from the airport to the Rumah Ebo guesthouse near Jalan Dago, the taxi driver said that the road was closed on Sundays to allow Bandung folks to hold activities for relaxation.

Once at the guesthouse at 9am, I left my bag at the reception and headed straight for Jalan Dago. Street bands occupied every other corner of the street, and ballads and rock music filled the fresh cool Bandung air. People were walking and cycling, and some were giving acrobatic performances and selling finger food and drinks.

The place was a hive of activities, and one young man even handed me a leaflet, asking if I would like to share stories about my profession to inspire children from poor economic backgrounds to dream of a better future. I almost said yes, but had to tell him that I was Malaysian and was on holiday.

Tired of taking photographs and walking the long stretch of road, I made a pit stop at Sam’s Strawberry Corner, where I ordered a bowl of mie baso (noodles with beef balls), a small glass of fresh strawberry smoothy and a local tapioca dessert wrapped in banana leaf. The meal, which came up to around RM12, was very satisfying – the noodles dense and beef balls tasty, the dessert with rich coconut milk heavenly, while the strawberries, locally produced, were generously blend-packed in the small 150ml glass.

After lunch, I hit the factory outlets along Jalan Dago. The Tintin reporter in me gravitated towards the sturdy Lacoste wear. A polo dress and three polo T-shirts surprisingly came up to only 540,900 rupiah (RM180), possibly one-third of the price back home.

Tired, I went back to the guesthouse and took a nap and showered, before going for dinner at Cabe Rawit around the corner. The Sundanese nasi timbel (30,000 rupiah/RM10), comprising rice wrapped in banana leaf, a local ulam with sambal, a piece of choice meat and softtempe, were delicious.

It was a cool, windy and chilly day when the writer visited Kawah Ratu crater.

And of course, in Bandung the other drink that one must have besides a strawberry blend is the alpukat (avacado) smoothies.

Resting in cool weather and reading Bob Buford’s HalfTime to begin a slow, year-long journey of contemplation about the next stage of life were top of my to-do-list this holiday while enjoying local cuisine as well as cultural and geological sites. In between activities, I happened to notice that the Bakmi Jowo DU67 on No.67 – on Jalan Dipatiukur, not too far from Rumah Ebo – was crowded with locals when I took a walk in the night alone (Bandung, I was told, is generally safe).

Seated in a nicely set-up warung-like shop, I ordered bakmi goreng(20,000 rupiah/RM6.40) and guava juice without sugar (8,000 rupiah/RM2.50). Although the bakmi goreng flavour was mild and decent, I could not help comparing it with our own char keow teow. The bakmi was no comparison.

On one of the four days, I hired a driver and a vehicle for 445,000 rupiah (RM142) to travel out, and Rumah Ebo supplied me with driver Pak Sukirman and a Toyoto Avanza for a 12-hour service. The vehicle could fit seven passengers and is economical for a family trip, and the cost is the same whether you are alone or in a group.

The journey to the active volcano, Gunung Tangkuban Perahu, 30km north of Bandung city, took an hour, and the rain in the early dawn made the weather even cooler, which was nice. The cost of hiring a driver and a van for a whole day may be affordable but the many other fees one has to pay along the way are generally a bit costlier than at most Malaysian destinations.

The entrance fee to Tangkuban Perahu is 65,000 rupiah (RM20) and it costs another 300,000 rupiah (RM100) just to hire a guide to walk you 1km down to Kawah Domas crater where you could dip in a mud pool.

Pak Sukirman had warned me to ignore the peddlers who were prone to overcharging. As I was not interested in buying any of the trinkets, it was not an issue.

Anyway, the name Tangkuban Perahu (meaning “flipped over boat” in Sundanese) was derived from a legend about a young man, Sangkuriang, who was banished by his mother. He wanted to marry her and so built an ark but was thwarted in his plans. In a fit of anger, he overturned the vessel.

It was around 17°C at Kawah Ratu crater, and it was windy and chilly. The site was beautiful and worth the trip out.

A hive of activity: Jalan Dago in Bandung is closed off to motorised vehicles every Sunday to allow the local folk to hold various activities for relaxation.

My next stop was the Kavling Stroberi farm. We drove past lovely rows of plant nurseries which Pak Sukirman said were supplied to Bandung folk. Entry to the strawberry farm was 16,000 rupiah (RM5) but at least it came with a cup of fresh strawberry smoothie.

It was nice picking strawberries on a weekday as the crowd had done their share during the weekend, but the downside was that there were fewer strawberries left to be picked. At the store, the strawberry dodolcaught my attention, and I bought a few packs.

Lunch was a choice between Kampung Daun and Sapu Lidi restaurants. While the meals in the former are served in a lush forest in Kampung Daun, those in the latter are served amidst paddy fields. Both have lovely surroundings.

I chose Kampung Daun and ordered baso malang campur and alpukat. Although pricey, the meal was worthwhile as the dishes had such refined flavours and were the best I had sampled in Bandung.

Pak Sukirman then drove me to Jalan Setiabudi and Jalan Riau for a two-hour shopping trip. But the clothes there were no different from those sold in our shopping malls, and I preferred the shops in Jalan Dago. At 2.30pm, Pak Sukirman drove me to Saung Angklung Udjo, for anangklung (musical instrument made from bamboo) performance by children two years old and above.

He said it was rare for Malaysians to ask him for anything cultural as almost all wanted only to shop when in Bandung. The offerings for the day included angklung performances by groups of various ages, Wayang Golek, a procession for a boy’s circumcision and cultural dances.

We were also taught to play the angklung to the tunes of Burung Kakak Tua, Michael Jackson’s We Are the World, Teresa Teng’s The Moon Represents My Heart and Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love, among others.

The coordinated rattlings from individuals, each holding an angklung of a note and altogether completing a melody, was an exhilarating experience. If you have no knowledge for the angklung, you may just fall in love with the soothing tune and calming effect.

The session ended with senior students performing classical music with many sets of angklung in front of them. The emcees said they had performed in Washington DC before an audience of 3,000, and they would do it again before an audience of 5,000.

At the end of the show, we were invited to dance with the children. I politely declined a couple of them until an adorable little boy age around age three came straight at me and stretched out his hand.

How could anyone turn him down and dampen his spirit for life?

I took his hand and marched down to the performance floor. The little gentleman was as focused as a Buckingham palace guard in performing the folk dance, and took charge in initiating steps so I could follow. So serious was he that he did not answer me when asked for his name twice.

For dinner, Pak Sukirman introduced me to Karamba Bistro, and I hadnasi liwet, more similar to Malay food than nasi timbel. Unfortunately, my stomach did not take too well to the sambal belacan there. The following day, I decided to return to Sam’s Strawberry Corner again for the pangsit babak and ceret and alpukat juice again.

Not understanding the locals’ explanation of the dishes, I took the chance to try them anyway.

The pangsit babak turned out to be noodles with finely flossed chicken that tasted like wantan noodles, and a bowl of soup filled with some animal stomach parts and two dumplings with fillings that tasted like beef.

They were delicious.

The day before, Pak Sukirman had pointed out that I could buy some local cakes from Kartikasari on Jalan Dago. Although not a fan of Indonesian layer cake, I bought a box home as a treat for friends.

I had chosen Bandung as a holiday destination for its cool weather and was pleasantly surprised by the nice food and people. I could not proceed with HalfTime after a few chapters, as it posed some very hard questions, such as what to write for one’s own epitaph and how one wanted to be remembered before one charts the next stage of life.

There are surely more questions to come, and Bandung is a place where I feel very comfortable in on this leg of my journey.