Perak tidak lantik dua Timbalan Menteri Besar

IPOH: Kerajaan pakatan DAP, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) dan Pas yang sebelum ini mahu melantik dua Timbalan Menteri Besar, walaupun tiada peruntukan dalam Undang-Undang Tubuh Negeri Perak, berkompromi dengan melantik seorang Exco kanan, apabila senarai Exco kerajaan negeri dikeluarkan Pejabat Menteri Besar, semalam.

Pengerusi DAP Perak, Ngeh Koo Ham yang diuar-uarkan akan dilantik sebagai Timbalan Menteri Besar 1 untuk mewakili kaum Cina, dilantik Exco Kanan Kewangan, Infrastruktur dan Kemudahan Awam, Tenaga, Air dan Hal Ehwal Bukan Islam.

Hal Ehwal Bukan Islam adalah satu-satunya portfolio baru yang diwujudkan kerajaan pakatan berkenaan.

Jawatan Timbalan Menteri Besar 2 yang dikatakan akan dilantik bagi mewakili kaum India pula dibatalkan dan Perak hanya mempunyai seorang Exco keturunan India.

Menteri Besar, Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin yang juga Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Pasir Panjang (Pas) memegang portfolio Pembangunan Ekonomi, Tanah, Hasil Bumi dan Sumber Asli, Keselamatan dan Pembangunan Luar Bandar.

Menurut kenyataan Pejabat Menteri Besar, Adun Sungkai daripada DAP, Sivanesan a/l Achalingam dilantik sebagai Exco Kesihatan, Alam Sekitar dan Sumber Manusia.

Seorang lagi Adun Pas, Mohd Zainuddin Mohd Yusof (Lubuk Merbau) pula dilantik sebagai Exco Agama, Pendidikan Islam, Wanita dan Kebajikan.

Setiausaha DAP Perak yang juga Adun Pantai Remis merangkap Ahli Parlimen Taiping, Nga Kor Ming dilantik Exco Pendidikan, Kerajaan Tempatan, Perumahan dan Pengangkutan Awam.

Adun Pasir Bedamar (DAP), Seah Leong Peng memegang Exco Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan, manakala Adun Keranji (DAP) Chen Fook Chye dilantik sebagai Exco Perpaduan, Integrasi Nasional dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna.

Adun Pasir Pinji (DAP), Thomas Su Keong Siong dilantik sebagai Exco Pengajian Tinggi, Sains, Teknologi dan Komunikasi, manakala Adun Behrang (PKR), Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi memegang portfolio Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi, Pertanian dan Perdagangan.

Adun Kuala Sepetang (PKR), Tai Sing Ng dilantik sebagai Exco Pembangunan Industri dan Penerangan manakala Adun Changkat Jering (PKR), Kapten (B) Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu adalah Exco Pelancongan, Pembangunan Islam dan Pertubuhan Bukan Kerajaan

Kerjasama antara Pusat, lima negeri dirangka

PUTRAJAYA: Ketua Setiausaha Negara, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, sedang merangka mekanisme untuk memastikan kelancaran kerjasama Kerajaan Pusat dengan lima negeri yang ditadbir pembangkang dalam pelaksanaan semua projek Rancangan Malaysia Kesembilan (RMK-9).

Menteri Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, berkata langkah itu penting bagi memastikan semua projek yang akan dilaksanakan di Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Perak, Selangor dan Kelantan tidak terhalang.

“Ketua Setiausaha Negara sedang meneliti beberapa mekanisme untuk memastikan kelima-lima negeri yang ditadbir pembangkang itu memberikan kerjasama, terutama dalam bidang pertanian.

“Kajian komprehensif sedang dijalankan dan beliau akan tampilkan beberapa mekanisme. Kami harap kerajaan negeri lima negeri itu tidak akan menimbulkan sebarang halangan yang menyekat agenda nasional untuk faedah penduduk,” katanya semalam.

Terdahulu, beliau menghadiri majlis taklimat di Jabatan Pertanian.

Mustapa berkata, projek pertanian di lima negeri itu perlu diteruskan supaya manfaatnya dinikmati seluruh rakyat.

“Kami berharap supaya pembangkang akan bersetuju dengan agenda pertanian nasional yang dilaksanakan kementerian ini. Jika menimbulkan halangan, agenda tidak akan terlaksana yang akhirnya merugikan penduduk. Masih ada petani dan nelayan hidup miskin,” katanya.

Sehubungan itu, Mustapa berkata, beliau akan mengadakan pertemuan dengan Menteri Besar dan Ketua Menteri terbabit bagi membincangkan keperluan untuk projek pertanian berkenaan diteruskan.

“Bagaimanapun, sebelum pertemuan itu dapat diadakan, kita perlu menunggu pengumuman mekanisme itu,” katanya.

Mustapa juga berkata, kementerian bercadang mewujudkan sebanyak 60 Taman Kekal Pengeluaran Makanan (TKPM) di seluruh negara sepanjang RMK-9 yang berakhir pada 2010.

OPINION: Moderation the key to success for Pas?

ZUBAIDAH ABU BAKAR

Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat says non-Muslims and non-Malays now accept Pas’ Islamic governance

Pas plays down its Islamic state goal in favour of a political ideology that is acceptable to the country’s multi-religious population. It says it is now the party for all, writes ZUBAIDAH ABU BAKAR

Nasharuddin Mat Isa says Pas leaders now face the greater challenge of accommodating the needs of all races

Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad says Pas upholds the rights of marginalised people of all ethnic groups

PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat was bemused when a group of Indians greeted him with "Ampun Tok Guru" when he met them at JKR 10, the menteri besar's official residence in Kota Baru.

The group was on a "familiarisation visit" to the Pas-ruled state.

They had journeyed in two buses from Perak. Most were seeing Nik Aziz in person for the first time.

Many had never even been to Kelantan before, and had only heard negative things about the state since Pas took control in 1990.
The party official relating this episode said the group knew next to nothing about Pas and its leadership.

It was certainly not the group's intention to offend Malay rulers; they simply did not know how to address Nik Aziz.

There have been several quirky incidents like this since Pas launched its outreach programme to non-Muslims soon after the 2004 general election. The "moderation strategy" adopted by the party's so-called young Turks, trained in secular and religious disciplines and led by party deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, has to some extent succeeded in broadening Pas' appeal among non-Muslims.

Nasharuddin said: "It's the beginning of a new perception of the party.

"We have been strategising since the 2004 general election, and the just-concluded general election results show that it's paying off."

The party has invested resources and time in expanding its support among Chinese and Indian voters, while keeping a grip on the Malay belt and its traditional strongholds.

Analysts said Pas had made a remarkable recovery from its disastrous performance in 2004, as it adopted a moderate stance and shifted away from its fundamentalist rhetoric.

The young Turks rose to top positions in last year's hotly-contested party polls, and their decision to reach out to non-Muslims through programmes organised by the party's national inter-racial committee is working.

The party's insistence on setting up an Islamic state was rejected by voters in 2004, when Pas only won five parliamentary seats and saw its impressive gains in 1999 slashed in Terengganu, Selangor, Kedah, Perlis and Perak.

The party's conservative ulama had to absorb a painful lesson. A series of post-mortems after the elections concluded that Malaysians, including Malays, could only accept Pas if it changed its conservative ways and transformed itself into a party for all.

The motto "Pas For All" was adopted for promotion to all races.

Since then, Pas has stepped up programmes designed to woo non-Muslims and the Malay middle ground, two blocs of voters who gave significant support to Pas in the 1999 general election but swung back to Barisan Nasional in 2004.

On March 8, Pas was rewarded with a big win in its heartland of Kelantan, which it had been holding by a one-vote majority in the state legislature, a new power base in Kedah, and a share in the tripartite governments of Penang, Perak and Selangor. The party claimed 23 of the 222 parliamentary seats.

Nasharuddin said: "Pas leaders now face the greater challenge to accommodate the needs of all races."

In his victory speech on polling day, Nik Aziz said: "The people who are not Muslim, the Chinese, the Indians and other minorities now accept our Islamic governance despite BN's promises of development."

Further reassuring non-Muslims, party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said Pas would interpret its victory on the Islamic principle that everyone is equal.

"We are brothers and sisters. There should be no more dividing people along racial lines."

Pas think-tank head Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad said Pas now fully understood the need to articulate its political ideology in terms acceptable to the multi-religious population.

It played down the Islamic state goal in favour of a manifesto titled "A Trustworthy, Fair and Clean Government: Towards a Nation of Care and Opportunity".

The early launching of the manifesto soon after the dissolution of parliament also attracted support.

The party's social and political engagements have been extensive.

Many Pas supporters' clubs among Chinese and Indian communities have sprouted.

Dzulkifli said: "This has been consoling and reassuring. We have been able to counter the negative stereotyping and bad image by engaging directly with all communities and stressing a substantive approach to our Islamic principles and teachings, rather than becoming entangled in debates on semantics that our enemies would like to drag us into.

"We have turned our image into a more progressive Islamic party with middle-ground appeal while not losing our traditional support.

"We have also been relentless in the fight for democratic rights and against draconian rules and laws.

"We continue to uphold the rights of marginalised people of all ethnic groups and political persuasions, including the Indian community."

A sizable factor in the party's election results was its candidate line-up, comprising a mix of religious scholars, professionals and party activists of both genders.

The party's think-tank had worked hard to give Pas a friendlier and more amenable face to make the most of the growing anti-establishment sentiment.

Dzulkifli said: "We now stand tall to humbly say that Pas is, indeed, for all."

When east corridor is painted green

IT'S usually a challenge to think of something else besides steely towers and monster highways every time the word "development" pops up.

But if you're peeking into the thoughts of the people planning the future of the country's east coast, you'll see that the word triggers a different set of images.

For nearly a year, a team of planners at Petronas cracked their heads over the vision for the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) -- the development corridor that covers Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang and its 3.9 million people.
With specialist consultants pitching in, the team worked on this multi-billion ringgit push in the three states.

But amid planning clusters of housing, industry blocks and a glitzy new look for towns and cities, these planners drew in 391,003ha of prime green sites for safekeeping.

They stretch from the hills of Terengganu to the wetlands on the state's shores, include two crucial forest complexes in Kelantan and Pahang's mystical Tasik Chini (see map).

They will be the ECER's six new state parks.

"There aren't many other areas that have these features and conservation values," said Datuk Jebasingam Issace John, who headed the team.

The proposed Terengganu Hills State Park, for instance, is home to Lata Cemerong -- the country's highest waterfall -- that falls in a thunderous 350m cascade.

The Setiu Wetlands State Park has the largest known nesting population of the critically endangered painted terrapin in the country.

The proposed parks are also home to limestone caves, raging rivers and are the roaming grounds of many large mammals.

The plan was fitting, said Jebasingam. The region accounts for 60 per cent of Peninsular Malaysia's forest cover.

"These areas needed the legal framework for protection to ensure they weren't developed.

"We were very clear about that," said the general manager of special projects at Petronas' corporate planning and development division.

Some parks, like the Setiu Wetlands, need protection to prevent economic activities from altering it.

That's why aquaculture projects in the area are being reviewed and management projects are being worked out.

Others, like Tasik Chini, need it for improved management and greater funding.

Planners have also proposed the ECER Biodiversity and Biotechnology Trust Fund for research and conservation plans in these parks.

Beyond the parks, every aspect of development was being viewed through green lenses, said Jebasingam.

The team will also be working out action plans for other environmentally sensitive sites like the many overcrowded holiday islands on the east coast.

This means tackling long-standing problems like sewerage and solid waste disposal that have long plagued these islands.

Planners are also looking into monitoring sustainability of these islands and getting them international green accreditation.

And the Lojing-Cameron-Kinta hills -- hacked away over the years by poor practices in agriculture and tourism development -- will become a special management area.

But this won't be protection for protection's sake.

Over the next 12 years, the ECER project will have to create over half a million new jobs and find ways to even out differences between this part of the peninsula and the wealthier west coast.

So once the parks are gazetted, ecotourism will feature prominently in its future plans.

But there'll be no paving paradise.

For beach holidays, visitors will be encouraged to stay in integrated mainland beach resorts and go on day-trips to the islands.

This is why airports on the mainland in Kuala Terengganu, Kota Baru and Kuantan are being expanded and no new airports have been recommended for the islands.

The idea is to encourage more mainland and coastal tourism.

It's also why the team will carry out an integrated water transport study on how ferry services could be improved.

Tourists will be offered a variety of packages to pick from, so that the large numbers expected can be more evenly distributed.

Homestay programmes will be better organised. Urban and cultural tourism for towns like Kota Baru will also be promoted to tourists.

Plans are also in place to train locals and the Orang Asli community as tour guides.

Jebasingam said: "If we can get a farmer, who earns RM500 a month, trained and working in a tourism project like this, we could increase his income up to RM2,000 a month.

"But it has a low impact on the environment. So it's a case of sustaining the physical environment and benefiting people at the same time."

After 28 years in the government and working on giant projects like the Putrajaya master plan, Jebasingam knows that these plans take time to work.

"I'd be naive to say that we'll see instant results. Rejuvenating some of these parks will take time.

"Better management will also take time to become a reality. But you can't put a price tag on protecting the environment.

"Protecting these places means enhancing their value as tourism hot spots.

"This will only improve things for the people who live here."

Guan Eng: We will be investor-friendly

PENANG: Any proposal by investors or trade associations that would benefit the state will be considered, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“We want to assure investors that we are a friend and even though they may not be from Penang, we are willing to offer our assistance,” he said.

Lim said this when speaking to reporters after opening the ninth Intrenasionale Industrial Expo & iBusiness Solutions Expo which incorporated the Print & Pack Expo 2008 at the Penang International Sports Arena (Pisa) here yesterday.

“The state will offer whatever incentives within its means to attract new and renewed investments,” he said.

Lim appealed to trade associations and industry players to submit or re-submit their memorandums and proposals.

“Since the new state government started from ground zero when it moved into a practically empty office, the proposals and suggestions would be solely decided on merit,” he said.

“We operate on the basic principles of integrity, attracting talents which can develop and benefit Penang and good governance.”

Lim said the state would boost its attractiveness as an exhibition and convention centre.

“This will include boosting road and air connectivity to and from Penang, and our land and sea ports will also play a vital role in making the state a logistical hub to complement the industry,” he said.

Lim said he hoped the Federal Government would continue with the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER).

“The state will make sure that the concerns of investors and industry players are taken care of,” he added.

Over 50 new products were on display at the three-day expo with more than 300 brands from over 20 countries.

Would the opposition have won?

Ong Kian Ming | Mar 20, 08 12:34pm

analysis A journalist friend of mine recently asked me this intriguing question – ‘Would the opposition have won the 2008 general election if the parliamentary seats were allocated proportionally?’ This question does not seem as ludicrous one may imagine, even if the Barisan Nasional did win 63% of parliamentary seats. The reason is that parliamentary seats in Malaysia do not have the same number of voters. Political scientists define this practice as malapportionment. Indeed, the discrepancy between the largest and smallest parliamentary seat in Malaysia is huge. The largest seat, Kapar, has 112,000 voters while the smallest, Putrajaya only has 7,000 voters. There are discrepancies between states as well. Selangor has an average of 71,000 voters in its 22 seats while Pahang has an average of 43,000 voters in its 14 seats. Sabah has an average of 31,000 voters in its 26 and Sarawak, an average of 29,000 voters in its 31 seats. I won’t go into the mechanics of how seats are allocated between the states and how lines are drawn within them. Rather I want to project the electoral outcomes of the 2008 general election if the parliamentary seats were allocated to the different states in proportion to the number of voters in each state. A few assumptions To do this, I had to make a few assumptions. Firstly, I assumed that the number of parliamentary seats remains at 222 so as to make comparisons with the actual results easier. Secondly, I lump Putrajaya under Wilayah Persekutuan (Kuala Lumpur) and Labuan under Sabah. Table 1 (left) below shows the comparison between the actual number of parliamentary seats by state and the distribution of seats if they were allocated proportionally. The states which experience the largest fall in the number of seats are, not unexpectedly, Sabah (from 26 to 17) and Sarawak (from 31 to 19). In Selangor, the number of seats would increase dramatically, from 22 to 32 with marginal changes of between 1 and 3 seats in the other states. The number of seats in Peninsular Malaysia would increase from 165 to 187. The next step I took was to assume that the BN would win the same percentage of seats in each of these states. I then estimated the number of seats the BN would win in each state with the proportional distribution of seats (rounded to the nearest whole number). For example, the BN won 23% of seats in Selangor (5 out of 22) which would give it 7 out of 32 seats in Selangor if seats were distributed proportionally. Table 2 (right) below shows the number of seats that the BN would have won in each state compared to the actual number of seats which it won. According to Table 2, the BN would have won 126 seats instead of the 140 that it actually won - a difference of 14 seats. So instead of winning 63% of parliamentary seats, the BN would have won only 57%. Most of this comes from a smaller number of seats won in Sabah and Sarawak, both still BN strongholds. Of course, this estimation can be criticised on a number of grounds. One cannot have seats which are exactly equal in the number of voters because of the need for a rural ‘weightage’, keeping within administrative units and the size and inaccessibility of many areas in Sabah and Sarawak. But I could respond by saying that rural weightage should no longer be an important consideration given the improvement in transportation links and increasing urbanisation, especially in Peninsular Malaysia. In addition, the drawing of constituency lines within the states might also be more favourable for the opposition. Many of the seats with a larger number of voters are either non-Malay majority or mixed seats, areas where the opposition, notably PKR and DAP, did especially well in. Wanted: New EC chairman It is not hard to imagine that the areas where seats will be added will be in these areas which favored the opposition in 2008. An indication of the opposition strength in heavily populated areas is the fact that the average number of voters in seats won by the BN in Peninsular Malaysia was 47,000 compared to 64,000 for the opposition. Still, even with the proportional distribution of seats, the BN would win a majority of parliamentary seats, piggybacking on its strength in Sabah and Sarawak. But this victory would be only leave the BN 15 seats above the 50% mark, not the current 28 seats. This estimation exercise points to the need for the opposition to ensure that the next electoral delimitation exercise, due to start in 2011, should distribute seats as proportionally as possible. Unlike past delimitation exercises, the BN can no longer unilaterally amend the constitution to increase the number of parliamentary seats since it no longer holds a two-thirds majority in parliament and does not control the state assemblies in five states. One thing which the opposition can do in anticipation of this is to pressure the BN to appoint a neutral and independent Election Commission chairman, since the current chairman is due to retire soon. (The BN cannot raise the retirement of the EC chairman by amending the constitution which is what it did just prior to the 2008 general election) ONG KIAN MING is a PhD candidate in political science at Duke University. His areas of interests are electoral and ethnic politics.

Anwar's star rises after Malaysia election

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/efa85f38-f5d3-11dc-8d3d-000077b07658.html

By John Burton in Kuala Lumpur

Published: March 19 2008 16:53 | Last updated: March 19 2008 21:58

Anwar Ibrahim would have been dismissed a few weeks ago as the Al Gore

of Malaysia: a statesman respected abroad but with a fading political
future at home.

His People's Justice party (PKR) had only one seat in the outgoing
219-member parliament and his chances of achieving his ambition of
becoming prime minister were seen as virtually nil.

But the shock results of the recent general elections, which delivered
the biggest setback to the National Front government in its 50-year
history, have significantly improved the odds of Mr Anwar's leading
the south-east Asian nation.

Mr Anwar has stood on the brink of national leadership once before, in
the 1990s, as deputy prime minister in the government he now opposes.
But a power struggle with Mahathir Mohamad, then prime minister, led
to his sacking in 1998 and then imprisonment for corruption, which he
denied, and sodomy – a conviction that was overturned. He was released
in 2004.

The surprise outcome of this month's polls is largely due to Mr
Anwar's efforts, political analysts say. He spent the past year
welding the three disparate opposition parties into an alliance
spanning Malaysia's three main ethnic groups – Malays, Chinese and
Indians – in a country where politics is race-based. His rhetorical
skills during the recent campaign were seen as crucial in persuading
the public to vote for reform after years of apathy.

His PKR, which has strong roots among the urban middle class, emerged
as the biggest opposition party with 31 parliamentary seats, with the
allied ethnic Chinese-based Democratic Action party taking 28 seats
and the conservative Islamic party (PAS) gaining 23 seats in the
expanded 222-member chamber. In addition, the opposition now controls
an unprecedented five of Malaysia's 13 states. Mr Anwar appeared to
read the mood of the public well, taking advantage of dissatisfaction
with government failure to curb inflation, crime and corruption.

But, barred by law for his criminal conviction, he was unable to stand
for parliament until next month. His wife is willing to give up her
seat so he can stand in a by-election, which he is expected to win
easily. "I'm eager to be back in parliament," Mr Anwar told reporters
last week. He refused to name a date for a by-election but the
pressure is on. There is a chance the 14-party National Front could
fail to form a government if some of its allies defected to the
opposition, which is only 30 seats short of a parliamentary majority.

Attention has focused on the group of National Front parties from
Borneo, which hold the balance of power with 42 seats. The
independent-minded parties from Sarawak and Sabah have long had an
uneasy relationship with the Malay-dominated central government since
they comprise ethnic Chinese or Christian-affiliated indigenous
people.

"Anwar knows Borneo politics very well from his time in government. He
was instrumental in forcing them to fall in line in the 1990s when
they threatened to revolt and he now has the opportunity to encourage
them to do so," said an aide to a senior politician in United Malays
National Organisation, the leading government party.

Mr Anwar had spent last week advising on the formation of state
coalition governments among the three opposition parties.

Wide differences exist between the secular Chinese DAP and the Muslim
PAS, with the PKR seen as a vital bridge between the two.

A unifying theme among the opposition has been Mr Anwar's promises to
dismantle the government's long-standing policy of special rights for
ethnic Malays, a sharp reversal of his political stance at Umno. Mr
Anwar says the policy has enriched only a small Malay elite, and wants
to replace it with what he calls the Malaysian economic agenda, a
"competitive ­merit-based [system] that will immediately increase
foreign investment, improve the state tax revenue and promote more
equity and income parity".

But some PKR leaders who have left the party have accused Mr Anwar of
political opportunism.

Chandra Muzaffar, a former PKR deputy president, said it would be "an
unmitigated disaster for Malaysia" if he became prime minister. Mr
Anwar has sued him for libel.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

Pas kekal kuasai Kelantan

KOTA BHARU 8 Mac – Pas terus menguasai Kelantan buat penggal keempat berturut-turut setelah ia bersama Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) memenangi 39 daripada 45 kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri, dalam Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-12.

Pas mencatatkan kebangkitan mengejutkan dengan pencapaian jauh lebih baik berbanding pilihan raya umum lalu apabila memperoleh 38 daripada 40 kerusi manakala PKR satu daripada lima kerusi ditandingi.

Bagi kerusi Parlimen pula, Pas menguasai sembilan kerusi, PKR (3) manakala BN hanya 2 kerusi melalui Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah yang berjaya mengekalkan kerusi Gua Musang dan juga Menteri Pengajian Tinggi, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed (Jeli).

BN hanya memenangi enam kerusi DUN iaitu Pengkalan Kubor melalui calonnya, Datuk Norzahidi Omar, Kuala Balah (Abd. Aziz Derashid), Nenggiri (Mat Yusof Abdul Ghani) dan Paloh (Datuk Norzula Mat Diah), Kok Lanas (Datuk Md Alwi Che Ahmad) dan Bukit Bunga (Adhan Kechik).

Sebanyak 608,862 daripada 751,682 pengundi berdaftar keluar mengundi iaitu sebanyak 81 peratus berbanding pilihan raya umum lalu yang mencatatkan 80.7 peratus daripada keseluruhan 662,722 pemilih.

Dalam Pilihan Raya Umum 2004, Pas menguasai 24 kerusi DUN dan hanya lima daripada 14 kerusi Parlimen. BN memenangi 21 kerusi DUN dan sembilan kerusi Parlimen tetapi mengatasi Pas secara keseluruhannya dari segi undi popular.

Beberapa orang pemimpin UMNO dan BN Kelantan termasuk Timbalan Menteri Kewangan, Datuk Dr. Awang Adek Hussin tewas bagi kerusi DUN Perupok dan Parlimen Bachok.

Pengerusi BN Kelantan, Datuk Seri Annuar Musa pula tewas bagi kerusi Parlimen Ketereh dan Setiausaha Parlimen Kementerian Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar, Datuk Sazmi Miah (Machang) turut mengalami nasib yang sama.

Selain Menteri Besar, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat yang mengekalkan kerusi Chempaka, Naib Presiden Pas, Datuk Husam Musa memenangi kerusi DUN Salor dan seorang lagi anggota Exco Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah memenangi kerusi Panchor.

Bekas Ketua UMNO Bahagian Pasir Mas, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, calon Bebas yang bertanding atas tiket Pas pula memenangi kerusi Parlimen Pasir Mas dengan menewaskan calon BN, Ahmad Rosdi Mahamad.

Tsunami politik pilihan raya

Oleh Zulkefli Hamzah

MENGEJUTKAN. Mungkin inilah analisis awal yang boleh diterjemahkan berikutan tumbangnya calon-calon berpengaruh Barisan Nasional (BN) termasuk di kawasan yang dianggap selamat.

Juga mengejutkan apabila dua negeri di utara, Pulau Pinang dan Kedah berubah kedudukan dengan jatuh ke tangan pembangkang, selain Kelantan yang kekal di bawah pemerintahan Pas.

Dalam keputusan awal yang belum disahkan, BN juga gagal mempertahankan Selangor manakala Perak kehilangan banyak kerusi.

Apa yang boleh digambarkan daripada keputusan luar dugaan ini? Ada yang menamakan tsunami politik. Ada yang menyebutnya ledakan perubahan.

Di atas kertas, tiada isu besar yang menonjol. Isu politik, ekonomi sosial dan perkauman yang dibangkitkan oleh pembangkang secara relatifnya dapat ‘diurus’ dengan baik oleh pemerintah.

Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-12 ini memang sukar difahami. Penganalisis politik mungkin sahaja perlu berfikir panjang sebelum mampu mengeluarkan komentar bernas.

Tiada ramalan mereka yang menepati atau hampir menepati keputusan pilihan raya kali ini. Siapa sangka Presiden MIC, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu boleh tewas di Parlimen Sungai Siput yang dikuasainya sejak pilihan raya umum 1974.

Siapa menduga Nurul Izzah, anak Penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim boleh menumbangkan Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil yang sudah sebati dengan Parlimen Lembah Pantai?

Begitu juga, tiada yang berani meramalkan Kedah bakal jatuh ke tangan pembangkang dan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon boleh tumbang bersama-sama negeri kelahirannya itu.

Bagaimana untuk mentafsirkan yang tersurat mahupun tersirat apabila calon DAP, M. Manoharan, yang masih ditahan di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA), menang kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri Kota Alam Shah dengan memperoleh 12,699 undi menewaskan calon BN, Ching Su Chen (5,515 undi).

Apa yang boleh dikatakan apabila calon PKR, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim yang tewas pada pilihan raya kecil DUN Ijok pada April tahun lalu, kembali bukan sahaja menawan Ijok tetapi juga Parlimen Bandar Tun Razak.

Ramalan para penganalisis politik seperti terbalik. Mungkin pembangkang juga tidak menyangka begitu besarnya arus perubahan yang berlaku.

Dalam perjalanan 50 tahun demokrasi Malaysia, ini adalah antara rekod terburuk yang pernah dialami oleh BN. Di atas rekod, Malaysia telah diperintah oleh BN (dahulu Perikatan) dengan majoriti dua pertiga tanpa gagal sejak lima dekad lalu.

BN tidak pernah gagal dalam setiap pilihan raya sejak merdeka kecuali pada 1969 dengan majoriti mudah iaitu 51 peratus.

Dalam sejarah, tercatat Perikatan/BN menang 74 daripada 104 kerusi Parlimen atau 71 peratus pada 1959, 85 peratus (1964), 51 peratus (1969), 87 peratus (1974), 84 peratus (1978), 85 peratus (1982), 83 peratus (1986), 70 peratus (1990), 84 peratus (1995), 76 peratus (1999) dan 90 peratus (2004).

Sebut sahaja apa pergolakan yang melanda, BN tetap bertakhta di hati rakyat. Walaupun ada pergolakan politik besar seperti perpecahan dalam UMNO dan pemecatan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sebagai Timbalan Perdana Menteri, BN masih menang besar pada 1990 dan 1999 dengan majoriti dua pertiga.

Krisis kemelesetan ekonomi juga tidak dapat menafikan majoriti dua pertiga BN pada pilihan raya umum 1986 dan 1999.

Inilah realiti politik yang perlu ditempuh oleh BN pada pilihan raya kali ini. Mungkin ini isyarat untuk BN berbuat sesuatu yang drastik bagi menghadapi pilihan raya umum lima tahun lagi.

Rakyat telah memuktamadkan pilihan mereka. Dalam keadaan luar dugaan ini, semua pihak - yang menang dan kalah - harus bersikap tenang. Jangan menang sorak, kampung tergadai.

Inilah demokrasi, sistem yang Malaysia anuti sejak merdeka. Harganya memang mahal dan inilah kehendak rakyat yang semestinya dihormati.