Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Pak Lah Faces Calls To Quit After Anwar Victory

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi faced calls to quit from within his ruling party Wednesday after opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim scored a landslide by-election victory.

Anwar won the vote to return to parliament despite an intense campaign mounted by the Barisan Nasional coalition, which he has promised to unseat within a month with the help of defecting lawmakers.

The failure to check Anwar has heaped more pressure on Abdullah, who has fought to hold on to his job since March general elections in which the opposition gained unprecedented ground.

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a senior member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) which leads the ruling coalition, called for a new leadership "to unite our people... and forge a clear national direction."

"(Abdullah) does not have the minimal credibility needed to run the country day by day, let alone to take it in the new directions we need to go in a complex world," he said. "This dangerous situation cannot continue."

Razaleigh said the coalition's by-election campaign, which was criticised for its racial overtones and focus on sodomy allegations against Anwar, has "embarrassed and divided the nation with its ugliness. It is time to face the music: it is we who have been buried," he said.

Razaleigh plans to challenge Abdullah for the party leadership in December polls, but is likely to fail after the premier silenced calls for his immediate ouster by agreeing to hand over power to his deputy Najib Razak in 2010.

Abdullah's main critic, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, has also called for the resignation of his successor after relations between the two soured in 2006.

Mahathir's son Mukhriz, another senior UMNO figure who is vying for the top spot in the party's influential youth wing, also called for Abdullah's immediate resignation.

"I think Abdullah should strongly consider for all our sakes, to step down now," he told AFP.

"This is a second time that the Malaysian people have given a clear message, with the first at the general elections. It is a rejection of the present leader and he must leave now." (AFP)

***** Two questions which should be asked at this point in time are:

1)
If Pak Lah quits will things genuinely improve or will we have to put up with more of the same race-baiting and corrupt governance as before? Chances are that without Pak Lah things may actually become worse especially for non-Malays.

2) Shouldn't Najib too be urged to resign after the election debacle since he was in charge of the 'ops' to ensure Anwar's defeat?

For the future wellbeing of our country, the only safe remedy is for BN to be ousted at the earliest, the nation be allowed to start anew with a clean slate and the quick implementation of safeguards to prevent the resurgence of Umno-style racism and divide-and-rule.

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15 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pak Lah quitting is not going to help! If he quits & hands the reins over to Najib (read: Rosmah)...God help us!
Actually, Pak Lah can still hang on to power...if he uses his brains!
First off, sack Najib. replace him with Tengku Razaleigh. Then completely change the Cabinet. Get rid of all the crooks & dead weights.
Then, REALLY start looking into the Judiciary & PDRM. Finally place the ACA under Parliment's control.
Anything less will not be acceptable to the people.

3:48 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ku Li has his own intention why he issued such statement.he wanted Pak Lah to resign as quick as possible so that he can sit the president seat after this.Ku Li is an old-timer in UMNO and therefore he can obtain many supports within UMNO.

he should have been thankful that BN tried their best at Permatang Pauh but fate was not on their side.the voice of Rakyat is more powerful.

instead of blaming Pak Lah,why not just Ku Li work together with Pak Lah to resolve any issues in UMNO thus help the growth of UMNO to be a better organization.

3:50 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Unknown said...

just let bygone be bygone.why must pointing finger at each other.so each time BN lose any election then someone have to step down,is that it?

BN to reinforce their strength since they are quite "fragile" now.sacking anyone isnt the best solution.what best is for them to work together to solve many problems they're facing right now.working together is rather essential that fighting each other.

4:05 PM GMT+8  
Blogger kopitelp16 said...

While BN has expected Anwar to win, the margin is an embarresment to them. BN even boasted about winning with a 500 to 5k vote majority!
Pak Lah should stay; at least until his term is up of maybe til 916. Who knows? The rakyat clearly has spoken and rejected race-centric policies. BN tactics in the by-election also fell flat on their faces! Kept saying Saifool's swearing is not political but it was reported the clip was played repeatedly in PP!
Pak Lah's not the main culprit. What we need is someone strong and brave enough to make changes; changes that will benefit Malaysians. Anwar might not be an angle but like I said before, he's the lesser evil!

4:25 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous,
It is fairly obvious Badawi has no intergirty left, if he is equal to other statesman in this world he would have gladly thrown down the gaunlet. This man is so small compared to PM of other nations, the only one compatible to him maybe Mugabi. Both these guys has lost all respect but has no self respect or dignity and courage to say I quit. Badawi and Najib are cowards of the lowest form, even a dog knows when to put his tail between the legs. But these two goon of goons hangs on and Najib have the audacity to still wants to be PM. A man would know when he is not wanted but a dog doesn't. What form of low life did these guys come from. This must be the umno culture to hang on till they drown in shit, it is not enough to have the Permatang Pauh people throw shit on their face, they have to be drown in it.
Shit Faces

6:12 PM GMT+8  
Blogger kopitelp16 said...

Maybe the Cabinet needs to step down to at least earn back some respect. With fresh calls calling for Pak Lah's head, snap poll is a real possibility.

Anyway, Pak Lah or Najib or Hishammudin + KJ are no match for Anwar. Maybe this year's Merdeka celebration will bring in new meaning to Malaysians and usher a new era for the Nation.

6:53 PM GMT+8  
Blogger Geronimo said...

There have been much talks about the abolition of the ISA and other related draconian laws. Although I personally support such a move in order that justice be seen to be done, I still feel we need to keep it a little longer (should the PR come into power) so that we can send the likes of AAB, Najib, Rafidah, Ling Liong Sik, Samy Velu, KJ, Ezam, Nalla and not forgetting good ol' Mahathir. We want them to experience what they have put us and our families through. After the nation is cleansed of these corruptors, then we repeal the act once and for all and replace it with the Race Relations Act, where one of the sections is related to the prohibition of racial political parties.

10:10 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Banyak cerita lah Ku Li ni. Macam dia sendiri tu bagus sangat. Yang pasal Anwar menang tu, dekat kubu kuat boleh lah, memang kompem menang situ, tak boleh nak salahkan siapa2.

11:10 PM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mana janji dan cakap Anwar dulu masa PRU 12 yg dia kata nak tanding kat kawasan yang memang bukan kawasan PKR?..
Ni bertanding kat kawasan sendiri,
lepas tu menang besar, seronok sakan..
tapi janji lupa.
Ingat rakyat ni pekak ke?

9:43 AM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

For me this is not a fair fight. PP is Anwar's place. Ever since he's in UMNO.
Of course he would win the election. Any pemimpin if the he is contesting in his own 'kubu kuat'- pasti akan menang.
Ikut logic la kan.

9:43 AM GMT+8  
Blogger gunnfan said...

Here's how it SHOULD go (aiming high I know):

Step 1: Pak Lah and Najb stripped of posts in government

Step 2: They then investigated for monumental corruption and charged with high treason

Step 3: Stripped of all titles and jailed for a minimum of 30 years each.

We must set a precedence so if future "leaders" think they can do what past "leaders" have been doing to the rakyat there will be dire consequences.

ps
Step 4: Sponsor an economy class ticket for karTun Mahatir to Zimbabwe. Bet you $10 he will play the please-i-am-a-sick-old-man-with-a-bad-heart-card very very soon.

"And when you loose control, you'll reap the harvest that you've sown
And as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone
And its too late to loose the weight you used to need to throw around
So have a good drown, as you go down alone
Dragged down by the stone." - R. Waters

9:49 AM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous,
Anti_Anwar,
You got to be just as stupid as Najib and Badawi or Shit Hamid. Didn't Samy Vellu lost in his backyard and boasted that even a bulldoser cannot get him out of Sungei Siput, he was booted out and had to leave with his tail and toupee between his legs. Didn't Koh lose in Batu Kawan which he thought he has many kawan, he was booted out just as many others who thought they cannot lose. There are more examples but I doubt you have the mental capacity to comprehend, flea brains like you Najib and Badawi don't know when to shutup and quit when rejected.
Dumb, dumber and dumbest.

10:15 AM GMT+8  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous 10:15am,

Yes you are right. Not only Semi Value lost in Sg. Siput, don't forget Sharizat lost to Nurul (DSAI's daughter) in Pantai also & that MCA guy in Kelana Jaya (I forget his name) lost to the PKR's Ruben. There's probably a few more examples but there will always be idiots like anti_anwar, who will grasp at any excuse to make their case!!!!! Even on the day of the By-Election, the BN were spewing crap saying that they were going to win the PP seat!

11:12 AM GMT+8  
Blogger kopitelp16 said...

Anti-Anwar, you're right. It wasn't a fair fight. BN fought dirty and lost! Spending so much and spin lots of crap to woo voters but the result showed rakyat rejects them outright! Safe seat? From the start it was an uphill battle for Anwar, against the might of BN machinery. So many big guns were there but all misfiring! Even MCA Youth demanded an apology from UMNO guy for racist remark. These goons will never know.
Now Saifool is a real fool to make a fool out of himself. Used as a pawn and died standing!

12:23 PM GMT+8  
Blogger dano said...

Pak Lah as PM is good news for opposition.

9:02 PM GMT+8  

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