Malaysia’s leader has said the ruling coalition may sit out an upcoming by-election sparked by the resignation of an opposition lawmaker, decrying it as a political ploy and a waste of public funds.

Prime Minister Najib Razak was quoted by the Sunday Star as saying that he would meet leaders of his National Front coalition at the end of the month to decide whether to contest the by-election in northern Penang state.

A lawmaker from former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim’s opposition alliance quit his state assembly seat recently following unsubstantiated allegations of corruption. A date for the ballot to fill the seat will be decided soon.
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Popularity: 3% [?]

Technorati Tags: anwar, barisan nasional, by-elections, election, najib, pakatan rakyat

The list of winners and losers of the Umno General Assembly compiled by The Malaysian Insider based on feedback and interviews.

Winners:

• Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (first day) - He maybe limping out of office but candidates aligned to him did well. Son-in-law and original member of the fourth floor, Khairy Jamaluddin, won the top position in Umno Youth while deputy chief of staff Datuk Ahmad Zaki Zahid won a place on Umno Youth executive council and Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil — the person he appointed to the Cabinet even after she lost her seat in Lembah Pantai — is the new Wanita Umno chief.
  The only blot was the defeat of Datuk Reezal Marican, Abdullah’s political secretary. He lost the number two position in Umno Youth to Datuk Razali Ibrahim.
• Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – Today’s victory complete the astounding turnaround for the Perak politician. He was detained under the Internal Security Act, ostracised by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for being a follower of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, forced out of Umno Youth and into political wilderness and then brought back into the party by Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
  Now he is one of the most powerful figures in Umno and certain bet for a senior Cabinet position.

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Popularity: 4% [?]

Technorati Tags: election, general assembly, losers, umno, winners

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: 9% [?]

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

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim won the Permatang Pauh by-election, but what was impressive was the margin of victory.

The PKR leader was returned to Parliament with a majority of 15,671 votes, exceeding the 13,388-vote majority achieved by his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in the March 8 general election.

Anwar garnered 31,195 votes to beat Barisan candidate Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah, who garnered 15,524 votes, while low-key Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia candidate Hanafi Hamat lost his RM15,000 deposit after getting only 92 votes.

The details election results for Permatang Pauh from 1982 to 2008 can be obtained at Keputusan Pilihan Raya Permatang Pauh.

Meanwhile the chronology of the election day can be read at Laporan Pengundian Permatang Pauh and Live updates from Permatang Pauh.
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Popularity: 7% [?]

Technorati Tags: anwar ibrahim, election, keadilan, parliament, permatang pauh, pkr

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: 6% [?]

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

This morning the Malaysian Election Commission announced nomination and polling day for the by-election that I will contest in Permatang Pauh. I look forward to the campaign period to meet with voters in my home constituency. I invite all Malaysians to join me in this historic campaign to bring forth a New Dawn for Malaysia as we work together to build a more peaceful and prosperous nation.

At the same time we would reiterate our longstanding concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. To this date, the evidence of phantom voters and ballot box stuffing has yet to be addressed by the Election Commission. The poor handling of the use of indelible ink in the General Elections gives all Malaysians, particularly those in Permatang Pauh, reason to be concerned about the conduct of polling this month. I urge the Election Commission to take this opportunity to restore some credibility to its reputation by fulfilling its constitutional mandate to ensure that voting is fair and unbiased. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 7% [?]

Technorati Tags: abdullah ahmad badawi, anwar ibrahim, charged, election, saiful bukhari, sessions court, sodomy, statement

The Election Commission today announced August 16 as nomination day and August 26 as polling day for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituency by-election.

Three-term MP Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail quit the seat last week to give her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim an opportunity to enter Parliament as sodomy charges loom.

Anwar, who is the de facto leader of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition comprising his Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (Pas), is expected to win easily in the seat which is also his hometown.

The former deputy prime minister had held the seat since 1982 until his conviction in 1999 for corruption. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 4% [?]

Technorati Tags: anwar ibrahim, election, nomination, parliament, permatang pauh, polling, wan azizah

In the wake of rumours on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s imminent arrest, his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail today resigned as Permatang Pauh MP to make way for him to contest in a by-election.

Dr Wan Azizah, the parliamentary opposition leader who will keep her Parti Keadilan Rakyat president’s post, said she also sent the resignation letter to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia today.

Pandikar, who is in Sabah at the moment and will respond on Monday, is expected to notify the Election Commission immediately. A by-election must be called within 60 days after the notification date.
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Popularity: 6% [?]

Technorati Tags: anwar ibrahim, election, parliament, permatang pauh, wan azizah

Police slapped sedition charges on a blogger and an author, setting the stage for sensational trials later in the year.

The two men are Malaysia Today webmaster Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin and businessman and writer Syed Akbar Ali who had allegedly posted seditious remarks on the former’s website. Both pleaded not guilty.

Raja Petra was charged in a sessions court here under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 with publishing a seditious article titled “Let’s Send the Altantuya Murderers to Hell” in his blog www.malaysia-today.net on April 25. He allegedly committed the offence in his house, No. 5, Jalan BRP 5/5, Bukit Rahman Putra, Sungai Buloh.

The 58-year-old charismatic blogger caused a stir when he refused to take up judge Nurmala Salim’s bail offer of RM5,000, choosing instead to go to Sungai Buloh prison, until the trial fixed for Oct 6-10.

If found guilty, Raja Petra can be jailed a maximum of three years and/or face a fine of up to RM5,000.

Raja Petra was represented by a six lawyers - Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh, K. Balaguru, PKR’s Selayang MP William Leong, J. Chandra, DAP’s Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng and Jeswinderjit Singh.
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Popularity: 14% [?]

Technorati Tags: altantuya, blogger, campaign, court, election, sedition