What happened to the Chinese votes?

Sat, 06 Nove 2010 06:00

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

ANALYSIS GUA MUSANG: Many observers and analysts shared a common sentiment that the Chinese votes in the country were securely in the bag of the opposition. In the case of Galas, they were wrong. It was the Chinese votes that gave the constituency away to the Barisan Nasional (BN).

A quick reading of the polling data of the Galas by-election, the 12th since the 2008 general election, showed a startling and perhaps worrying trend for the opposition.

The data revealed that all the predominantly Chinese enclaves in Galas backed BN. The most damning data came from Kampung Baru Gua Musang polling streams.

In the 2008 general election, the Islamist party won Galas by a majority of only 646 votes. The turnout then was slightly lower than Thursday's by-election, which saw 81% of the constituents in Galas cast their ballots.

BN's Abdul Aziz Yusoff defeated PAS' Dr Zulkefli Mohamed with a majority of 1,190 votes.

Chinese support for PAS in the 2008 polls was at 55%. PAS did not do well in three Chinese enclaves but dominated all four polling streams in Kampung Baru.

But on Thursday, the voters of Kampung Baru Gua Musang turned their backs on PAS.

PAS was betting on a slight swing in Chinese votes of at least 3% to its side. This would have helped it counter the anticipated decrease in Orang Asli votes from its original 35%.

The Islamist party was also hoping to bag the young Malay voters, who formed a sizeable chunk in the Galas electorate. This did not happen. To make it worst, PAS had nothing to fall back on now that their Chinese votebank had been robbed.

1Malaysia magic won the Chinese?

What happened? MCA deputy president Liow Tiong Lai would like to believe that the Chinese voters are warming up to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's 1Malaysia concept. But not Chua Soi Lek !

"They are responding to his 1Malaysia call and they believe that the prime minister wholeheartedly means it. This means we can strengthen unity as we have worked hard to achieve it," he told FMT when reacting to the news of the BN victory.

Liow gave a standard reply. He has every right to believe in it. But the fact of the matter is, the shift in Chinese feelings against PAS, particularly in Kampung Baru Gua Musang, is something new and hard to explain.

The campaigning methods of the MCA were not exactly brilliant. They were even recycled. Was this responsible in the decline of Chinese support for PAS? Hardly so.

And did PAS do anything different from before? Not really. Issues like land which have been close to the hearts of the Chinese settlers here have been more or less resolved. Their way of life has not been threatened by the brand of Islam espoused by a party its rivals love to portray as "Taliban-like".

Ku Li may have played a role

Some analysts say it could be due to the personality of the BN Galas election director Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the British-educated gentleman statesman. He, and not Umno, is hugely popular in Galas. This could have swayed the Chinese voters to abandon PAS.

But until the specific polling data is revealed, there can be no real answer. Nevertheless, the defeat in Galas has got the opposition in jitters over possible shift of loyalty among the Chinese voters.

The opposition camp knows that if this trend is replicated at the national level, Pakatan Rakyat, which has so far rode on an anti-establishment wave among the Chinese voters, may find it difficult to defend seats should snap polls be called.

And Najib may be convinced that the day of reckoning has come. Snap polls is now likely. And if it happens in this inauspicious climate, we may see the Chinese mandate given to the opposition expire.

It all may have started from a sleepy nobody-knows-Chinese town of Kampung Baru Gua Musang.

Chinese Votes Are The PAS Goal

Monday, 01 November 2010 16:15

Yam Seng ! to you PAS ! Like one ! we have a dozen here !

By Joceline Tan


The PAS campaign centre in Kampung Baru, the biggest Chinese village in Galas, is not hard to miss.

It was festooned with PAS flags and posters of Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who is a popular figure among the Chinese.

The sweet and lilting vocals of Teresa Teng crooning her most famous song The Moon Reflects My Heart could be heard from within.

A pink Chinese lantern with the words huan yin, or welcome, was hanging at the front.

Those less than familiar with the changes in PAS would probably experience some form of culture shock over the party’s campaign style in the Galas by-election.

Inside, several Chinese men wearing PAS campaign buttons were seated around a table piled with campaign material that included a glossy pull-out on the proclamation of Sultan Muhammad V and which had lots of photographs illustrating the close ties PAS leaders have with the new Sultan.

PAS is pulling out all the stops to woo the Chinese vote.

The party’s campaign material has overwhelmed that of the Barisan Nasional, be it the ubiquitous plastic buntings or huge colourful banners of their candidate Dr Zulkefli Mohamed and other party bigwigs.

It is, after all, the incumbent and the party in power for no less than 20 years.

In contrast, posters of the Barisan Nasional candidate, Abdul Aziz Yusoff, started appearing only yesterday.

Yet, amid these outward displays of might and confidence, it is the Malay vote, which makes up a little over 60% of the electorate, that the party is most worried about at this point in time.

Its ceramah, even those featuring its president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, have sometimes drawn average-sized crowds.

DAP leaders have also lamented the small crowds but in the case of the local Chinese, it is because many of them are farmers who rise at 3am to tap their rubber trees, tend their vegetables farms in the morning, rest in the afternoons, eat dinner at 6pm and turn in at 8pm.

The Malay vote in Galas has been rather too quiet for comfort.

But the talk of the media fraternity was the PAS candidate’s lightning trip to Kuala Lumpur to meet voters working in the Klang Valley.

He left on Saturday night with party election director Datuk Halim Abdul Rahman and returned the next day.

It was the first time any candidate was known to campaign as far as Kuala Lumpur and it was odd to say the least.

“They need all the votes they can get,” said restaurateur Juhaidi Yean Abdullah, who is from Kelantan.

PAS’ offer of a RM250 subsidy to those who return to vote has also been quite controversial.

At a PAS press conference yesterday, a Suhakam official asked PAS election adviser Datuk Wan Rahim Wan Abdullah if the offer was tantamount to an election bribe.

Wan Rahim’s defence was that this was practiced by all political parties.

Everything is sensitive in a by-election and when the taps ran dry on Saturday, it became a campaign issue.

Water cuts are quite common in Gua Musang and Barisan politicians have made the most of it.

Another election issue was Kelantan’s victory in the prestigious Malaysia Cup final, with people asking which side stands to gain from it.

Wan Rahim, an avowed kaki bola, insisted that, “when it comes to football, we are all the same.”

But as everyone knows, the man behind the Kelantan football team is none other than Umno politician Tan Sri Annuar Musa.

Since he took charge of the Kelantan Football Association, the team has made it twice to the Malaysia Cup final before finally emerging as champions last Saturday.

Kelantanese take their football seriously and Annuar is walking tall.

Today, he is scheduled to take a victory drive through Galas town with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Several days earlier, Tengku Razaleigh had compared the by-election to a friendly football game.

While the Malaysia Cup has gone to Kelantan, few are keen to predict who will win in the “Galas friendly”. - The Star

‘Bleak future’ for Malaysia without Chinese support says Najib

By Lee Wei Lian

November 02, 2010

Najib Razak

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak reached out to the Chinese Malaysian community today, conceding that the developed nation by 2020 goal might fail without its support.

This comes as the prime minister recently launched the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to ensure Malaysia achieves a high income developed nation status in 10 years.

“Malaysia would not be what it is today without the industry, expertise and dedication of the Malaysian Chinese community,” said Najib in a speech delivered by his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the 2nd World Chinese Economic Forum here today.

“Likewise, there will be a bleak future for Malaysia without the Chinese community’s support. We would clearly fall short of reaching the goals to become a developed nation by 2020.”

He added that the community formed the backbone of the Malaysian economy through its small and medium enterprises.

The prime minister also reached out to businesses in China and encouraged them invest in the country.

“Both Malaysia and China are embarking on economic transformations,” he said. “It is in this area that I believe we will find synergies between our two countries.”

Najib also invited Chinese to consider making Malaysia their second home noting that the country is looking to attract the best talent from around the world as the Talent Corporation to be established next year is putting in place the “welcoming regulatory environment to help that happen”.

The prime minister’s remarks also come after observers and analysts noted that political resistance from conservative Malays have delayed reforms needed to restructure the nation into a high income economy.

At his party’s recent general assembly however, Najib made an attempt to dampen racial rhetoric by saying that there should be an end to racial debate.

Racial inequality and the secret of Chinese 'success'

Racial inequality and the secret of Chinese 'success'

Helen Ang

Prime Minister Najib Razak on Oct 21 at the Umno general assembly told his party delegates "... kewarganegaraan Malaysia pada dasarnya bukan lagi bersifat sama rata". This country does not have equal citizenship.

Despite 1Malaysia (or Malaysian First), this is the core implication of Article 153, the 'special position' of the Malay.

NEP is the realpolitik of a race-based system to distribute resources. There has been no negotiation on its implementation: Umno dictates, MCA complies although it gets around the discriminatory policy by 'settling' (read: 'gao dim' or greasing the palm).

The so-called 'social contract' carries a rider; MCA navigates the lopsided terms and conditions using money as the medium. Well-connected wheelers and dealers have obtained a satisfactory outcome for themselves via the Ali Baba arrangement.


Hence the claim by Liew Kee Sin, a Tan Sri and a tycoon, that Chinese had thrived under NEP. But only for a small handful of Chinese. Liew, the SP Setia president-cum-CEO, raised hackles with his statement at the Chinese Economic Congress organized by MCA on Aug 14. His talk was titled 'Malay and Chinese collaboration to achieve NEM'.

Incidentally, Najib delivered the keynote address at the event that included two Tan Sris and five Datuks among its speakers, and three Tan Sris and four Datuks as moderators and discussants.


Giving an example of how Chinese have fared well under NEP, Liew disclosed that SME owners can afford his company's expensive bungalows, exclaiming "One Chinaman want to build a bungalow of RM40 million!"


Theory on the middle tier


The more Chinese are discriminated against in Malaysia, the better the community performs. This is a theory explored by two dons from Yale University and the University of British Columbia. The 30-page paper by Fang Han-ming and Peter Norman titled 'Government-mandated discriminatory policies: Theory and evidence' postulates that the NEP could actually have been the reason for, rather than an obstacle to, the Chinese's economic success.

Their research was published in the International Economic Review, Vol.47, No.2, May 2006, and in also our CPI archives.


They wrote: "Some minorities, notably overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and Jews in Europe, have performed economically better than the native majorities, despite being subject to government-mandated discriminatory policies."


Nonetheless, Fang and Norman placed a caveat: the extent of the discriminatory policies is crucial. The discriminatory exclusion can only be beneficial if the government-controlled sector is small enough. Aside from the public sector, the other parts of the economy that the government can legislate are in the industries where the authorities have direct ownership or control through professional licensing.


Occurring some years after the publication of the above study, the Low Siew Moi (left) episode inserts a more timely perspective. Loh, a long-time civil servant, failed to be confirmed as PKNS general manager by Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim due to the glass ceiling occasioned by her ethnicity. That Ketuanan Melayu objected vehemently to her appointment was a clear display of the minorities' limited access to public sector jobs and positions.

Although Malaysia is in a denial mode, foreigners like Fang and Norman nonetheless make the comparison with apartheid.

They noted: "As far as we understand, the policies facing Blacks [in South Africa previously] were significantly broader measures than those implemented in Southeast Asia. Moreover, it is necessary that some sector where investments in skills are important is left open for the discriminated group. Again, this seems like a more plausible assumption when considering overseas Chinese."


Their theory posits that exclusion from opportunities provided by the state created better incentives for Chinese to make a costly investment in skills. These skills are assets invaluable and crucial for private sector jobs.

On the flip side, giving a group (read: Malay) preferential access to high-paying public sector jobs may dampen the incentives for skill investment so crucial in the private sector.


Consequences of apartheid


Fang and Norman also tackled the vexing question of why the Malay majority would have implemented a policy that ultimately hurt itself. They believe the "natural answer is that the negative indirect effect of preferential policies in favour of the Malays was quite subtle and difficult to forecast; whereas the direct beneficial effects were obvious."


The direct benefits are that the public sector offers secure employment and generous perks. Government administration jobs ranked among the top five of 100 occupation categories, only slightly lower than architects and engineers. [S. Anand, 'Inequality and Poverty in Malaysia: Measurement and Decomposition' [Oxford University Press,1983].


From the recent budget announced for next year, taxpayers can get a clear idea of the staggering percentage of our national expenditure that goes towards paying the civil service.


Despite the minorities hardly benefitting from state largesse, Najib in his Umno speech on Thursday again made them the bogeyman. He attributed success to "creativity, innovation and the willingness of the individual to work hard and take risks".


Having said that, he added, "For example, the non-bumiputeras, after 39 years of affirmative policies being implemented, are still the race who own the largest share of wealth".


The Chinese indeed possess an unerring ability to cope with the hostile NEP environment. Yet paradoxically, this coping mechanism is a poisoned chalice with the effect of 'damned if you do, damned if you don't'. The insecure, fearful Malay views the trait of competitiveness as being 'ultra kiasu', innovative as 'underhanded'; resilient as 'cold and heartless'.


Essentially what the two Yale and University of Chicago professors have said -- if I may rephrase the idea as social Darwinism -- is that the Chinese survive when they are the fittest. But here, the fitter the Chinese are, the more the Malays feel intimidated.


The Mahathir era was a juggling act and to his credit, the maverick managed to keep all the balls in the air. Tensions aside, the good ship Malaysia Inc. stayed afloat. The Chinese were able to 'cari makan' but soon after Mahathir relaxed his iron grip and the unwritten 'social contract' began unravelling, the vessel started sinking.

A good illustration, even today, of the Mahathir-Machiavellian method is the planned development of Kampung Baru, a Malay reservation where the residents want to retain this prime real estate 100% in bumiputera hands. It was Mahathir who urged that Chinese investment be allowed for the reason of "we want to use the non-Malays as bait to lure more visitors".

Mahathir's callous remark is a backhanded compliment on Chinese capital and business acumen, but galling.

While the Fang and Norman theory may be applicable to its time (the 1980s), and to certain segments of Chinese, it doesn't cover all bases. The working class and wage-earners -- and their children -- have been shut out and victimised by NEP.


Another important factor to be borne in mind is the time frame of the Fang and Norman study. It was premised on population data up till 1988 where Chinese formed 32%. However, Chinese had since declined to 24% of the population in 2007, and further fast decreasing. It is expected that Chinese will only be around 18.6% in another 25 years or likely even lower.


Readjusting the variables to the current Chinese population ratio (and the much, much smaller slice projected in future) will be adversely affect the Fang-Norman theoretical framework. Their theory is that the NEP discriminatory exclusion is an obstacle that can be surmounted if the government-controlled sector does not encroach too much into private enterprise.

However, in the last decade we've seen how the government has grown very big and its finger in every pie. In short, the Fang-Norman model that Chinese are inveterate high performers who run harder and jump higher needs a revisit under prevailing circumstances. - CPI

- http://english.cpiasia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2051:social-contract-and-the-secret-of-chinese-success-&catid=198:helen-ang&Itemid=156

Today's Malaysian-Chinese are not "Pendatang"

Today's Malaysian-Chinese are not "Pendatang"

It's depressing to see that the Prime Minister himself had to provide this re-assurance h e r e about the status of the Malaysian-Chinese.

Sure, a few non-Chinese from Ahmad Ismail to Anwar Ibrahim have called the Malaysian-Chinese "pendatangs" but most of them are politicians, and why do the Chinese who are Malaysians bother to give them so much credit?

The fact is, if you were born in Malaysia and you have never revoked your citizenship, then you are Malaysian. You may think you are Malay first or Malay second but if you are Malaysian then you are Malaysian. You may have been born in Singapore, Indonesia or the US but have opted to become a Malaysian citizen, you are Malaysian.

The same goes if you were born in Malaysia but you decide to hold a Green Card. For all intent and purpose, you are still Malaysian not matter how many people question your loyalty. There's talk that a very prominent politician who spends so much time abroad is a Green Card holder of the United States of America but until he revokes his Malaysian citizenship, he's still Malaysian.

DPM wants Chinese to play greater role in country’s development

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

September 22, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin tonight called on the Chinese community to play a greater role in helping the government to develop the country.

The Deputy Prime Minister said every community in the country has a role in determining the country’s future.

“We aim to be successful in building a developed country in every aspect according to our own way and become recognised by the international community. Our success is based on the diversity of talents, skills and potential of everybody in contributing to every aspect of the nation’s development.

“Therefore, all races that have the patriotic spirit should not be excluded in contributing because each citizen has a role and responsibility,” he said when launching the 1 Malaysia Lantern Festival at Wisma MCA here.

Muhyiddin (picture) praised the Chinese community for its role in developing the country’s economy.

“As citizens who love the country, we all need to play a role in contributing to the development of our country. In this context, we highly appreciate the contribution and role of our Chinese partners in developing the economy through business and retail activities. Therefore, anyone wishing to succeed in business should take the example and emulate the way of our Chinese partners,” he said.

He was confident the Chinese community would help the government to achieve the National Key Result Areas (NKRA) and steer the country to become a high-income nation.

“(We are confident) that our Chinese partners will not hesitate to help anyone who has the talent and potential to progress. In a larger context, we are confident that our Chinese partners are willing and sincere to help the government's efforts to achieve a NKRA that enhance the standard of living of low-income people,” he said.

See article : Chinese Malaysians Asking Far Too Much