The Star Online: Nation
The Star Online: Nation |
- PM: Government committed to electoral reform
- Malaysian Muslims to begin fasting Monday
- MIC against full Barisan membership for other Indian-based parties
| PM: Government committed to electoral reform Posted: 31 Jul 2011 05:24 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The Government is committed to electoral reform and ensuring that parliamentary democracy is forever maintained, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. "I am committed to electoral reform. We will undertake them. "For example, there are concerns about phantom voters. We will ensure there are no chance for phantom voters," he said at the fifth annual Malaysian Student Leaders Summit here on Sunday. He also responded to the students' queries during the question and answer session. Measures being taken to improve the electoral system, he said, included the introduction of the biometric system and early votes among uniformed personnel. "Do not doubt our commitment to improving the system. "There is no such thing as postal votes. Those are early votes from people on duty. They vote on their own and not on other people's behalf," he said. Najib also reiterated that there was parliamentary democracy and fair elections in the country. "We have shortcomings but no one can dispute there is democracy. "Here, we can overthrow the government in Malaysia if there is a wish too. But I hope you do not wish to. "I refute very strongly that there is no parliamentary democracy in Malaysia. "We have lost elections before. We lost five states and PAS, which rules Kelantan, hung on to the state by a mere one seat in 2004. "If you think we can manipulate the ballot box, don't you think we could have found the three votes needed to topple the majority in Kelantan? It would not have been difficult to do so," he noted in his speech. Najib said people should not doubt that there were fair elections, especially given past results where the opposition had won several states. "People get nervous when it comes to elections. Even Ministers get nervous." "I always tell my people to go down to the ground as there is no guarantee," he said. He added that it was a fallacy to state that dissent was not allowed, adding that those who took part in the July 9 rally were offered a stadium but took to the streets instead, which could have resulted in innocent bystanders getting hurt. "In a street demonstration, there is no guarantee of who is in a crowd. "It is my duty to ensure that every single Malaysian's life and property is protected from harm," he said, adding that he had had the Shah Alam stadium in mind for the rally. "We need to find ways to listen to the people. I believe we need to do more listening than talking," he said, adding that cost of living was included as a new National Key Result Area to help tackle the burdening issue. More in The Star on Monday Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Malaysian Muslims to begin fasting Monday Posted: 31 Jul 2011 05:15 AM PDT Published: Sunday July 31, 2011 MYT 8:14:00 PM |
| MIC against full Barisan membership for other Indian-based parties Posted: 31 Jul 2011 04:50 AM PDT PUTRAJAYA: Indian-based political parties can join the Barisan Nasional as associate or affiliate members but not as component parties, said MIC president Datuk G. Palanivel. "They can become affiliate or associate members. We have no objection. But as a main component we will not allow other Indian-based parties to get full membership status, (and) we will walk out (if it is otherwise)," he told a press conference after closing the party's 65th general assembly here Sunday. He said MIC had all along been the largest political party representing the Indian community in Barisan and that it would not allow any other splinter Indian-based political groups to usurp its role. However, the party welcomed these groups to join the MIC, he said, adding that some of them had shown positive response when approached. However, he refrained from revealing who they were. Among the other Indian-based political parties in the country are the Indian Progressive Party (IPF), Malaysian Makkal Sakti (MMS) and Malaysian Indian United Party (MIUP). The Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (KIMMA) became an affiliate member of Umno from Aug 27, 2010. Earlier, in his speech, Palanivel said it was vital for the party members to be registered as voters. "Currently only 390,000 party members (out of 600,000) have registered as voters, and I am confident that by December, we will be able to get the remaining members to be registered as voters. "I want to turn MIC into a powerful voting block," he added. - Bernama Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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