There were no surprises today in the naming of Senator Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidate for the crucial Kuala Terengganu by-election, but the controversies surrounding him and his close links with the prime minister will be campaign fodder for Pakatan Rakyat.

For Wan Farid, who is also Kuala Terengganu Umno division chief and the deputy home minister, his political career is riding on the election as he has been told that he will not be reappointed senator again if he loses the vote.

The Terengganu state assembly nominated the deputy home minister as senator recently as his first term ends in January.

The selection of Wan Ahmad Farid was announced by Deputy Prime Mnister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who said the decision had the consent of Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
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Popularity: 5% [?]

Technorati Tags: barisan nasional, candidate, election, kuala terengganu, umno

Today Pakatan Rakyat leaders have submitted a letter to the Prime Minister requesting him to call an emergency session of Parliament to deliberate a motion of censure against the leadership of YAB Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi no later than Tuesday 23 September 2008.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Technorati Tags: anwar ibrahim, barisan nasional, emergency session, pakatan rakyat, parliament, statement, vote

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wants Parliament to convene by Sept 23 for him to table a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

He said that a letter signed by him, the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang and Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, representing the Pakatan Rakyat alliance, had been sent to the PM to request him to convene Parliament by next Tuesday.

“We have told him we have the numbers. If he wants the details and doesn’t believe me, then convene the emergency sitting,” he told reporters at PKR headquarters here today.

He insisted it was critical for the PM to respond as “it is important to think of the nation and not themselves. They are a minority government, the majority is with us.
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Popularity: 3% [?]

Technorati Tags: anwar ibrahim, barisan nasional, house session, pakatan rakyat, parliament

The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has pulled out of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and will become an independent party.

The decision was announced in a statement today following the party’s supreme council meeting in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah today.

The pullout comes three months after SAPP declared it had lost confidence in the leadership of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi, sparking speculation that it would join Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance.

Today’s decision deals a minor blow to BN’s parliamentary majority as there are two SAPP MPs under the coalition.
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Popularity: 4% [?]

Technorati Tags: barisan nasional, bn, internal security act, isa, sabah, sapp

The Permatang Pauh by-election campaign kicked off in earnest with four candidates submitting their papers at the nomination centre here on Saturday morning, although one later pulled out.

At 11.45am, returning officer Roslan Yahaya announced there were three candidates contesting the seat: PKR adviser and de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Seberang Jaya MP Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah and Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim) president Hanafi Hamad.

An independent candidate Dr Mansor Othman, former Penang PKR leader, had also submitted his nomination but later withdrew, losing his RM15,000 deposit in the process.
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Popularity: 5% [?]

Technorati Tags: akim, anwar ibrahim, arif shah, barisan nasional, bn, election, hanafi hamad, keadilan, permatang pauh, pkr

Tourism memorandums of understanding with Opposition-ruled state governments will be terminated given the change in leadership, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

She said this was in line with the termination of Tourism Action Councils in the states which were previously chaired by Barisan Nasional’s state executive councillors in charge of tourism in each state.

“Normally, the council works together with the state executive council and local authorities.

“But now that the leadership in the state governments have changed, we have to terminate the MoUs and the councils,” she told a post-Cabinet press briefing on Thursday April 3, 2008.

Azalina said that a committee would instead be set up, with members appointed by the Federal Government similar to the format implemented in PAS-held Kelantan.

Readers of Malaysiakini said;
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Popularity: 4% [?]

Technorati Tags: barisan nasional, discriminate, pakatan rakyat, state, tourism