Money for your vote?

The SUPP has not respond to the call by the DAP to assure the people that they will not resort to money politics in the coming election. We need a clean and fair election and not an election where the results could be hijacked by certain quarters who resort to all kinds of dirty tactics for their personal gains. The SUPP failed to understand that the people demand for clean and fair election and the 40,000 strong turn up for the Bersih march in KL last year speaks for itself. The people in Sibu are awaiting the decision of the SUPP and we received many phone calls from the public as when will the joint press conference be called.

By Philip Bowring
HONG KONG: Malaysia is in a political cul-de-sac, resulting in an erosion of national institutions and the entrenchment of corruption. Recent events show that awareness of these problems is growing, but Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is politically too feeble to implement his good intentions, increasing the difficulty of reconciling the interests of the Malay/Muslim majority with the non-Muslim Chinese, Indian and indigenous groups that make up 45 percent of the population.

Public disquiet and Abdullah’s own weakness were on display in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday when some 40,000 people, headed by the leaders of the three opposition parties and including former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and representatives of a wide range of NGOs, defied a government ban to march to the palace of the king, the titular head of state, to petition for clean and fair elections

It is an open secret that money politics is rampant in malaysia and Sibu has been put on the national spotlight in the 90s for a high profile court case because money politics. It brought to light how corrupt practises was used to solicit for votes.

In one of general election in Sibu, a big crowd gathered outside a timber firm's office the day- after the election as there were rumor of money been distributed. It was reported wildly by the print media as riot police were called in to disperse the crowd.

Lately, we ahve seen certain religious body urging their followers not to be "bought" or sell their "soul" in this coming election. This does not come without the sentiment on the ground that certain political party or parties are trying to use money politics to influence the outcomes of the election.

Money politics in the West has been generally taken to mean receiving illicit funds for political campaigns. It had been a major issue in US with the Clinton administration taken on trial for receiving campaign funds from overseas. In Malaysia, it had been frequently mentioned during the elections with the different political parties accusing each other of engaging in money politics. However, in Malaysia, money politics also includes using money, gifts, and contracts to "buy" supporters or voters, usually during election.

The rot in Malaysia will continue like a tumour(cancer) in a human body and it is up to the Malaysian to decide whether we should let it grows or whether we should take the necessary action to "contain" or "get rid" of it. The answer is obvious and i am confident that they will rise to the challenge.

David Wong
6-2-2008



針對不用錢買選票火箭指人聯仍未回應
(詩巫5日訊）行動黨砂聯委會宣傳秘書黃培根指出，如果一星期之后，人聯黨國選候選人還是沒有針對該黨所提的“召開不涉及金錢政治聲明新聞發佈會”提議做出回應，那就表示他們將會利用金錢來操控選舉。

他說，許多人民致電行動黨探聽，到底人聯黨會否與行動黨共同召開新聞發佈會，公開保證在國選中不會涉及金錢政治。“人民認為若政黨繼續以金錢來操縱選舉，那選舉根本沒有意義。人民所要的是清潔、公平及公正的選舉。但是目前為止，人聯黨兩位國選候選人，仍未做出回應。”

他指出，詩巫人民特別是教會人士非常關心選舉的公正，有些牧師呼籲教友們不要被金錢收買，把靈魂出賣給魔鬼。黃培根今早召開的新聞發佈會上，如此表示。邀公開辯論被拒絕他說，行動黨邀請人聯黨參與辯論會，將各課題如土地、油價、通貨膨脹等帶到台上公開辯論。行動黨給了人聯黨一個機會，但是卻被拒絕。“人聯黨指行動黨不能帶來發展，只會誤導人民，那我們就到台上去講個明白。