Najib's Transformers - The Malaysian New Cabinet

The StarOnline today reported:

The new line-up of Ministers and Deputy Ministers:

*Prime Minister: Najib Razak (UMNO)

*Deputy Prime Minister: Muhyiddin Yassin (UMNO)

Prime Minister's Department:

*Ministers:

Jamil Khir Baharom (UMNO), 2. Abdul Wahid Omar (Senator), 3. Idris Jala (senator); 4. Joseph Kurup (PBRS), 5. Shahidan Kassim (UMNO), 6. Nancy Shukri (PBB), 7. Paul Low Seng Kwan (senator), 8. Joseph Entulu Belaun (PRS)

Deputy Ministers: 1. Razali Ibrahim (UMNO); 2. Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy (Senator)

*Ministry of Finance:

Minister of Finance 1: Najib Razak (UMNO)

Minister of Finance 2: Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah (UMNO)

Deputy Minister of Finance

Ahmad Maslan (UMNO)

Ministry of Transport:

Minister: (Acting post being held open pending MCA decision) Hishammuddin Hussein (UMNO)

Deputy Minister: Ab Aziz Kaprawi (UMNO)

*Ministry of Defence

Hishammuddin Hussein (UMNO)

Deputy Minister: Abdul Rahim Bakri (UMNO)

*Ministry of Home Affairs:

Minister: Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (UMNO)

Deputy Minister: Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (PBB)

*Ministry of Education & Higher Learning

Minister 1: Muhyiddin Yassin (UMNO)

Minister 2: Idris Jusoh (UMNO)

Deputy Minister 1: Mary Yap Kain Ching (PBS)

Deputy Minister 2: P. Kamalanathan (MIC)

*Ministry of Works:

Minister: Fadillah Yusof (PBB)

Deputy Minister: Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin (UMNO)

*Ministry of International Trade & Industry

Minister: Mustapa Mohamed (UMNO)

Deputy Minister: Hamim Samuri (UMNO)

*Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Minister: Anifah Aman (UMNO)

Deputy Minister: Hamzah Zainuddin

*Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism

Minister: Hasan Malek (UMNO)

Deputy Minister: Ahmad Bashah Mohamad Hanipah (Senator)

*Ministry of Communication & Multimedia

Minister: Ahmad Shabery Cheek (UMNO)

Deputy Minister: Jailani Johari (UMNO)

*Ministry of Human Resources

Minister: Richard Riot Jaem (SUPP)

Deputy Minister: Ismail Abdul Muttalib (UMNO)

*Ministry of Rural & Regional Development

Minister: Shafie Apdal (UMNO)

Deputy Minister: Alexander Nanta Linggi (PBB)

*Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing & Local Government

Minister: Abdul Rahman Dahlan (UMNO)

Deputy Minister: Halimah Mohamad Saddique (UMNO)

*Ministry of Youth & Sport

Minister: Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar (UMNO)

Deputy Minister: M. Saravanan (MIC)

*Ministry of Health

Minister: S. Subramaniam (MIC)

Deputy Minister: Hilmi Yahaya (UMNO)

*Ministry of the Federal Territories

Minister: Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor (UMNO)

Deputy Minister: J. Loga Bala Mohan (Senator)

*Ministry of Plantation Industries & Commodities

Minister: Douglas Uggah Embas (PBB)

Deputy Minister: Noriah Kasnon (UMNO)

*Miistry of Energy, Green Technology & Water

Minister: Maximus Johnity Ongkili (PBS)

Deputy Minister: Mahdzir Khalid (UMNO)

*Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry

Minister: Ismail Sabri Yaakob (UMNO)

Deputy Minister: Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (UMNO)

*Ministry of Tourism & Culture

Minister: Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (UMNO)

Deputy Minister: Joseph Salang Gandum (PRS)

*Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation

Minister: Ewon Ebin (UPKO)

Deputy Minister: Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah (UMNO)

*Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment

Minister: G. Palanivel (MIC)

Deputy Minister: James Dawos Mamit (PBB)

*Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development

Minister: Rohani Abdul Karim (PBB)

Deputy Minister: Azizah Mohamad Dun (UMNO)

Ministers: 30

Deputy Ministers: 27

Total: 57

Total ministries: 24

I must say that the Honourable Prime Minister has come up with quite a surprise!

Peace !

If You Do Not Vote For Me, You Are Ungrateful? -Apa Lagi???

This 13th General Elections in Malaysia (PRU13) is interesting for so many reasons. Clearly it shows that democracy is evolving and that incumbents cannot depend on their traditional logic for support from voters. There has been shifts in issues and shifts in mindset.

At the same time, it also presents various peculiar mindsets that I never thought is possible. One of which is the "apa lagi Cina mau" kind of mindset. I have been trying very hard to understand what it actually means and I suspect even the writer who wrote that does not know exactly what he meant. Maybe he didn't give much thought to it or maybe it was a result of past faulty thinking processes which has become a mental habit.

Let me explain why I have difficulty understanding what it really means and what it has now become to mean. If I am not mistaken, it means this "The Chinese has been given so much by the BN and now that a large percentage of them voted against BN, therefore what more do they want from BN"? I may wrong, but  I think this is what it is supposed to mean. Whether it is a "Chinese" or "Malaysian" tsunami has been researched by many and I do not intend to go into it too. The researches generally show that it is generally an urban vote and Malaysian rather than racial.

Be that as it may, I find the "apa lagi Cina mau" very hilarious and illogical.

For the first time, BN lost the popular vote. BN got approximately 48% and PR got 51% of the popular votes ( I have rounded up). The total number of voters for Parliament is 11,257,147. This means BN got about 5.4 million votes and PR got 5.7 million votes (approximately).

It is said that Chinese make up about 27% of the total voters population. SO if we give ALL of these votes to PR (which is not the case in reality), PR will end up having 4.2 million votes.

So these 4.2 million voters are Non-Chinese. These are Malays, Indians, Sabahans, Sarawakian, etc. SO by the same peculiar logic, does it not sound hilarious to ask "apa lagi Melayu, India, Sabahan, Sarawakian yang tidak undi BN mau"?

Actually, this does not sound as hilarious as I thought it will be because putting a group of Malaysians together seems okey but isolating a race does sound ridiculously funny in the context.

In any event I do not think BN government is going to punish the 52% of Malays, Indians, Chinese, Kadazans, etc, etc that did not vote for it.

So the appropriate question for BN should have been: "Apa lagi 52% yang tidak mengundi BN mau?".

And for PR would be "  "Apa lagi 48% yang tidak mengundi PR mau?".

Then we can grow up as a democracy instead of being trapped in primitive thinking.

Peace !

The PRU 13 Election - Parliamentary Results

Barisal Nasional retains the Federal Government with 133 seats. Though this is slightly lower than the 137 seats won in 2008, in this age of political uncertainty, a simple majority is completely acceptable. Further, it has been the general impression that only Datuk Seri Najib alone has been working hard on the national level without much support from others in UMNO. As usual, many in UMNO have not woken up to the impact and influence of civil society activitism and changes in the mindset of the voters, both rural and urban going beyond racial lines.

In any event, BN securing 133 seats under the currents political scenario which was very competitive and intense is a success for Najib. The issues in 2008 and now are completely different. I do not think that the loss of 4 seats by BN this time around can credibly be used by anyone in UMNO to unseat Najib.  If UMNO embarks on this foolish move within it is definitely going to weaken UMNO. In fact, Najib as the chairman of Barisan Nasional should  be congratulated for working hard to retain the government under BN.

I had apprehensions over some of the candidates that BN choose to support and put forth because they did not seem to represent his transformation mindset.  Quite a number of BN candidates that won are hard working politicians who had served their constituencies way before the election dates. There is a pool of young talent in UMNO that is evolving away from the past and in line with healthy current politics of service to the people without the feudal relationship!

Personally, I am happy that the Malay voters had rejected the kind of politics that is represented by Zulkifli Nordin and Ibrahim Ali. This is the kind of new political landscape that is evolving which is more consistent with Malaysian and Islamic principles.

Now that Datuk Seri Najib is the Prime Minister for the new term, all eyes will be on the kind of cabinet that he is going to form. The cabinet members that he appoints will give a clear indication of where he wants to take the country and the kind of politics that Najib intends to project. I hope he does to make the mistake of bringing back through the "backdoor" candidates that the voters have rejected.

I also hope that Najib is bold and is seen to be bold by the people of Malaysia in appointing  the right people to his cabinet and in appointing the right, energetic and intelligent candidates as senators. Senatorships should now be seen as another important avenue to include people who can actually serve the Nation.

DAP has done better than 2008 with an additional 10 seats with 38 seats now. I see this increase in the number of seats by DAP as reflective of the urban voters analysis of issues rather than Chinese based as some view it. I have long held the view that DAP, with some transformation within has the potential to be a credible political party that can serve the interests of Malaysians. It has the potential to be the main alternative as compared to PKR or PAS.

PAS has less seats by 2 this time with 21 seats. PAS needs to undergo tremendous transformation if it is going to be relevant in the long term. I believe that PAS must rid itself of the " conservative and exclusive" theological approach to politics . I know of quite a number of capable PAS leaders who have the capacity to make PAS more acceptable to the more educated and critical Malays but the conservative dinasours in PAS has to allow this. Malays are equally tired of being talked down to in religious matters because many Malays are getting critical and knowledgable in Islam.

Undeniably, there are many potential young political talents in PKR that have won and this is heartening for the evolution and maturing of politics in the country. Many would have been sad had Nurul Izzah lost this election as she is refreshing for the future of politics in this country.

In short, we see a flourishing of political talents in the country and not necessarily from a single party. What excites me is that politicians are beginning to lose monopoly over determining the destiny of the Nation and this is a good things. A simple majority government is more likely to listen to several views than a solid 2/3 majority government.

After all, politicians always fall into the ego trap of thinking that just because they won an election (or several elections), they must necessarily be clever in all things.

My plea to all the political parties and the candidates (who won or lost) is this: lets move on with building this Nation into a better, more prosperous and civilized Nation.

To the Raperas: - your work now becomes more relevant to share with the Rakyat the ideals of a "people inclusive governance" of the Nation free from mere politicking. There are many ideals that you can share and reach out to the people, for example, the fusion of love and power.

May Allah bless this Nation of ours.

Peace

Vote the Right Candidate !

Tomorrow is THE day that Malaysian citizens get the one chance in every five years to decide who will be in Parliament and in the State Assemblies to REPRESENT them for the next five years.

These elected representatives will get to decide on the future development and landscape of the country. They get to decide on the KIND of Malaysia that will evolve in the next five years.

They get to decide how the budget of the Nation and the tax layers money will be used - whether it will be honestly and effectively used for the benefit of the People or to enrich themselves and their cronies.

They get to decide what KIND of laws that will be passed, what laws will be repealed, and what laws will be reviewed. This in turn will have a major impact on how we can live our lives, how ,much  freedom we have, how we are allowed to earn our living, how peaceful our country will be, whether there will be true justice or oppression by oppressive laws.

They get to decide the policies that will determine the KIND of future generation that will be shaped through the education system, youth programmes, women empowerment and protection policies and so on.

In short, these elected representatives will have tremendous power to influence our lives while we are busy with our lives for the next five years.

So we have to vote with care from the available candidates, who may or may not be the best that we have in the country.

Sometimes it is difficult to decide who to vote especially in our country where there no free flow of information and facts.  But we are able to agree that the following should probably be some of the criteria/questions that may help us to decide:

1. We don't want leaders who are corrupt, enrich their own families and amass wealth for themselves

2. Do we still want space after the elections to influence policies and leaders who will consider our views? - if so, we need humble leaders who are willing to listen to the Rakyat

3.  Do we want political leaders to control and decide what we believe and how we believe?

4. Do we want political leaders who are racists, sexists, bigotry and who keep dividing us rather than uniting us as Malaysians and humans?

5. Do we want political leaders who are difficult to see once they become Ministers or whom we have to beg or pay toll to see them but have too much of them during election campaigns?

6. Do we want political leaders who would rather toe the party line instead of championing what is right for the Rakyat and the Nation?

7. Do we want political leaders who behave like feudal lords instead of being the servant of the Nation?

8. Do we want politicians who have no vision, or ideas because they do not read or make time to think but are busy officiating functions set up to promote themselves?

9. Do we want politicians who keep insulting the general intelligence of the Rakyat with their statements?

10. Do we want politicians who are rich with slogans but poor with compassion,empathy and action?

11. Do we want politicians who manipulate the form of religion to control the masses and deny the substance from being assimilated in the hearts?

12. Do we want politicians who not only want to control the body of the Rakyat through political power but also the soul of the Rakyat through religious power?

13. Do we want politicians who cry nationalism but give their children and families everything foreign, including education, housing,etc?

14. Do we want politicians who provide bungalows for their families but 600 sq feet cubicles for the majority of the low and middle income Rakyat as homes?

15. Do we want politicians who manipulate the prejudices, ignorance and sentiments of the Rakyat instead of  educating them with facts and allowing an environment that will allow civilized society to evolve?

There are many more criteria and questions that you may want to ask to determine the kind of leader that you want.

Peace !

Khalid Samad For Shah Alam?

I have to write this. I have experience with both contenders for the parliamentary seat of Shah Alam. I know Khalid Samad well and have dealt with him on several matters. I even have had a long discussion with him on Islam, the constitution and various issues. I find him sound on the Quran and a good Muslim in the sense that he strikes me as a person who tries to live the SUBSTANCE of the Quran.

It is therefore not surprising that he is generally kind to all -Muslims and Non-Muslims. The Quran is very clear that a good Muslim is one who champions the causes of those in need and those oppressed, regardless of whether they are Muslims or not. I personally know that he has been serving the constituents of Shah Alam from his service center. There was once where I had wait for him for one hour because he was busy solving someone's problem. I personally believe that he is good for the country.

As to his contender, who name I shall not repeat on this blog, I have had an unpleasant experience with him in the Bar Council when Datuk Ambiga was the chairperson. I had been invited to the meeting because the issue was something that relates to Islam. I shall refrain from commenting on the contender's behaviour at the meeting and to me. I "husna zan" (give him the benefit of the doubt) by thinking that he may have good motives but not much true knowledge of Islam yet. I have seen his videos and his uttering on the youtube. I pray to Allah that people do not associate what he utters on some of the youtube as representative of the teachings contained in the Quran. If he has repented, Alhamdullilah (praise to Allah swt).

As it stands now, Khalid Samad has been consistent and is a good man,

This is my personal view and does not represent the views of the Rapera team. This endorsement of Khalid Samad by me is not an endorsement of PAS, the political party where I have always held the view that political parties should not be associated with religion and that Islam should never be politicised.

Peace and happy voting