Are Our Existing Penang PKR Leaders Qualified?‏

(Adapted from Kopitiam Chat, Malaysian Insider)

In this modern world, whether you like it or not, meritocracy is a must for the development of a party and a country. Let's analyze Singapore, how this little country without natural resources like tin, oil, rubber, palm oil, development land, emerged as developed country. We need to learn from them.

Let's look at the Singapore Cabinet:

PM Lee Hsien Loong
Cambridge University - First Class Honours (1974)
Harvard University - Masters (1980)

SM Goh Chok Tong
University of Singapore - First Class Honours (1964)
Williams College , USA - Masters (1967)

MM Lee Kuan Yew
Cambridge University - First Class Honours (1949)

Minister for Law Prof. S Jayakumar
University of Singapore - Bachelor of Law Honours (1963)
Yale Univerity - Masters (1966)

Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng
University of Singapore - Bachelor of Arts & Business Admin (1977)
London Business School - Masters (1979)

Minister for Foreign Affairs BG George Yeo
Cambridge University - Double First Class Honours (1976)
Harvard Business School - MBA w/ Distinction (1985)

Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang
Cambridge University - First Class Honours w/ Distinction (1976)
Harvard University - Masters (1986)

Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean
University of Manchester - First Class Honours (1976)
Imperial College, London - Masters w/ Distinction (1977)

Minister for Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam
London School of Economics - Bachelor of Arts
Cambridge University - Masters
Harvard University - Masters

The above information is for reference… but in contrast, many of our Penang state leaders are only diploma holders, Form 6 and Form 5 levels or lower, and some even can’t speak English. With the present circumstances, can we effectively manage the party and govern the state, let alone rule the country?

As a matter of fact, we do have highly qualified people in the party. But those elites would either be blocked or be eradicated by the existing leaders before they could serve the party. Party leaders with less qualification refused to let go their positions to better qualified people and younger generation due to their personal interests. They always assume they are the old-timers, no one is better than them. They would normally select less qualified people as their cohort, so that they wouldn’t look incompetent, and therefore their positions wouldn’t be threatened. They would instigate baloney issues and sentiments to wipe out someone better qualified by ganging up other leaders with equally low qualification whom represent the majority. Some may even go to the extent of taking advantage of their spouses’ rapports with the dominant force within Penang PKR to destroy their perceived better qualified rivals.

It doesn't mean that those old and long serving party leaders cannot perform any more, they must know that no one is indispensable. They must retire and give chance to younger and better qualified people to lead the party with new concept. The young professionals are deprived of the chance to perform because of the selfishness of the existing party leaders. So, is this a success or a loss to our party?

We want good, genuine and competent leaders of principles, regardless of race to keep up with the changing times. We should learn by heart the Perak state incidents – it is time for the party to filter out those unqualified “CARI MAKAN” opportunists who may lead us to catastrophe. Please bear in mind that the pro- Pakatan Rakyat tide will go one day, if people start to have the perception that there are still many bad apples in our party, and we are not better than UMNO-BN.

Power Struggle in Penang PKR Heightens

Malaysiakini

Kuek Ser Kuang Keng | May 2, 09 12:09pm

For outsiders, the Penanti by-election may be a forgone conclusion, where PKR is expected to retain the seat regardless of whether Umno is contesting or not. However, for Penang PKR party insiders, it is the beginning of a new chapter in the power struggle within the party.

It is an open secret that Penang PKR is bitterly split into two factions.

The first group belonging to the 'pioneer' faction consists of mostly members from NGOs and civil society groups who help formed the party since the Reformasi period in 1998.

The second group, the 'former BN' faction, are largely defectors from Umno and BN component parties before and after the March 8 general election.

However, since those in the 'former BN' faction are seasoned politicians who are much more savvy in political manoeuvring, they end up as the dominant force within Penang PKR, and the Penang Pakatan government which came into power last year.

Meanwhile, the pioneer members saw themselves very much marginalised - their rumblings and grumblings has turned into backstabbings as undercurrent grows by the day.

An example is the events that led to the resignation of former deputy chief minister and Penanti assemblyman Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin, who quit under a cloud of corruption allegations linked to illegal quarry operators.

He was however subsequently cleared of any wrongdoings and has always maintained he was a victim of conspiracy and sabotage by his own party comrades.

As soon as Fairus resigned, the lobbying for the state PKR’s highest official post - DCM 1 - in the DAP-dominated Pakatan state government began.

The frontrunners are current Penang state chief and Bayan Baru parliamentarian Zahrain Mohamed Hashim and his deputy, Mansor Othman.

Anwar acted swiftly to name Mansor

Although both were former Umno members, Zahrain (left) is seen as the leader of the 'former BN' faction and Mansor is much more accepted by the 'pioneer' faction.

Some grassroot members suspected that the earlier move by the state party to nominate Mansor for the senator’s post is a move to prevent him from contesting in Penanti.

However, when Fairus formally vacated his seat, Anwar acted swiftly to name his former political secretary as the candidate and recommended him for the post of deputy chief minister.

Some viewed this as a strategic move to contain the 'former BN' faction, which was largely to blame for the fall of Fairus.

Members of the 'pioneer' group have big plans - they see Mansor as their new hope to regain the soul of the party.

They accused Zahrain and his protege, Abdul Malik Kassim, one of the two PKR executive councillors who seem very close to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, as practising political patronage and monopolising the state GLCs and local government positions.

Not surprisingly, many of the 'former BN' faction appointees were put in charge of land and development matters.

The most glaring example was the appointment of former Gerakan and MCA strongman Lim Boo Chang as Penang municipal councillor.

Lim created controversy after “defecting” from Gerakan to MCA in 1999 and it almost caused the regime change of the then Penang Gerakan state government.

He contested against DAP's Karpal Singh in the Gelugor parliamentary seat in 2004 and was defeated. He was not picked to contest in the March 8 general election, and Lim quit again - this time from MCA - under the pretext of being bored with internal party struggles.

Many party veterans were understandbly unhappy with Lim's appointment whose party membership is no more than one year old, and were particularly miffed by his habit of constantly changing his political shirts.

Using positions to buy loyalty

A leader from the 'pioneer faction' told Malaysiakini that such an appointment without taking into consideration the contribution by party veterans only goes to show the old BN political practices of using government positions and resources to buy loyalty.

However, there are concerns whether the academician-turned-politician who is seen as a “nice guy” would succumb to Zahrain's strong-arm leadership.

Although Mansor was Zahrain’s predecessor, and led Penang PKR for eight years before handling the post to Zahrain in 2006, the latter’s election record is much more impressive.

Meanwhile, another position that was said to be desired by both sides is the unofficial Chinese campaign coordinator’s post for the Penanti by-election.

The coordinator is responsible for capturing the crucial Chinese support in the by-election and his performance will be closely watched by Anwar and party leaders.

So far, four names has been mentioned as frontrunners for the post - Machang Bubuk assemblyperson Tan Hock Leong, supreme council member Cheah Kah Peng, state exco Law Choo Kiang (left) and Nibong Tebal parliamentarian Tan Tee Beng.

Cheah and Law has been with the party since its inception and are both classified as part of the 'pioneer group' while Tee Beng, a former Gerakan member is seen aligned to 'former BN' faction.

Hock Leong, although a former MCA member, is said to be a more neutral figure and accepted by both sides.

To date, no official decision was made for this “unofficial post” but party insiders believe Hock Leong will be the compromise candidate as his easy-going character won him more friends than foes. Moreover, he was appointed state deputy chief in the recent party reshuffle in January.

However, many party leaders believed tension within the Penang PKR will heightened after the by-election as the 'pioneer faction' is expected to launch a counter attack against the 'former BN' faction with the appointment of Mansor.

A 'pioneer group' leader sums up the whole scenario: “Instead of allowing the state party to turn itself into another form of Barisan Nasional, we would rather go through the pain of internal party struggle to clean itself. There is no other choice."

Don’t quit, northern region PKR women urge Wong

(Malaysiakini)

Athi Veeranggan | Feb 19, 09 11:20am

The northern region PKR women movement has called on embattled Bukit Lanjan assemblyperson Elizabeth Wong not to resign from her state executive councillor post and state assembly seat following her nude photographs controversy.

The group spokesperson, Dr Joyce Lee Yueh Choo, alleged that Elizabeth Wong was actually a victim of the Barisan Nasional political conspiracy to destroy PKR and the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

“The conspirators are actually worse than animals,” she told a joint press conference at Permatang Pauh today.

The movement, comprising PKR women members from Penang, Kedah and Perlis, called on the Selangor Menteri Besar Abd Khalid Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat leadership not to accept Elizabeth Wong’s resignation.

She did not commit any wrong, the movement said.

“It was a gross violation of her privacy and human rights,” Dr Joyce Lee said, adding that Wong should not resign due to “her exemplary political commitment and performance” shown since becoming an elected representative.

She listed down several controversies that had surfaced in the country’s political scene, which justified the movement’s assertion that BN was all out to kill off Pakatan’s surge as a political force in the country.

Abuse of the Internal Security Act

Among the main controversies were the murder of Mongolian lass Altantuya Shaariibuu and the subsequent disappearance of private investigator P Balasubramaniam and his family after he had made a shocking two statutory declarations related to the murder case.

In the first statutory declaration, Balasubramaniam claimed that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had links with murdered Altantuya, only for him to deny it the next day with a fresh statutory declaration.

Then there is the Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan sodomy allegation on PKR supremo and Permatang Pauh parliamentarian Anwar Ibrahim.

Lee also cited the abuse of the Internal Security Act to clamp down on politicians, activists, bloggers and even journalists as evidence to prove that BN was bent on using all intimidating tactics to stem Pakatan’s rising tide as a viable alternative political entity.

The recent Perak political crisis triggered by the fall of the Pakatan state government, resignation of PKR’s Bukit Selambau assemblyperson and Kedah executive councillor V Arumugam and now Elizabeth Wong, are all creations of the BN’s political strategy, said Dr Joyce Lee.

“Najib and company have been violating the Federal Constitution, human rights and ethical political norms. It’s an unhealthy political trend testing public patience. This bad political culture must be stopped,” she said.

Majlis Meraikan Petugas-Petugas PRK N.25 Bukit Selambau Anjuran Wanita KeADILan Negeri Kedah pada 18 April 2009

Wanita PKR Pulau Pinang bersama PKR Kedah di Sungai Petani.

Adun Bkt Selambau, Manikumar (kiri), Ahli MPT, Saiful, Exco Wanita Pusat, Dr. Joyce, Salma & YB Zamri.

Essah (kiri), Dr. Joyce, Zunaidah dan Noorly.

Ketua Wanita Bahgain Merbok, Wan Lela bersama Dr. Joyce Lee, Exco Wanita Pusat (kanan).

Baby Iffah bersama ibu, Nurin, Timbalan Ketua Wanita Kedah.

Ketua Penerangan Wanita Bahagian Balik Pulau, Rohaya (kiri).

Zunaidah (kiri), Noorly dan Wendy sedang menikmati sajian.

Adun Bukit Selambau, Manikumar bersama Ketua Wanita Kedah, Salma.

Pelancaran Bilik Gerakan Wanita Utama Oleh DSWA Pada 2 April 2009

Presiden PKR, Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah sampai Bilik Gerakan Wanita Utama di Bukit Selambau, Kedah.

Presiden PKR, Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah & Exco Wanita Pusat, Dr. Joyce Lee

Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah meberi ucapan dalam Bilik Gerakan Wanita Utama di Bukit Selambau, Kedah.

Dr. Joyce Lee menikmati banyak makanan yang dihidangkan oleh Wanita PKR Negeri Kedah.

Presiden PKR, Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah & Exco Wanita Pusat.

7 April 2009 Hari Mengundi Pilihanraya Kecil N.25 Bukit Selambau

DM Taman Peruda - Hayati, Mazura & Dr. Joyce (kanan).

DM Taman Peruda - Mazura & Kak Aishah (kanan).

DM Taman Peruda.

Kak Aishah (kiri) di DM Taman Peruda.

Pondok Panas PAS di DM Taman Desa Aman.

Pondok Panas PAS di DM Taman Peruda.

Pondok Panas PKR di DM Bukit Lembu.

DM Taman Desa Aman - Pasukan Exco Wanita Pusat & Wanita Balik Pulau.

Pondok Panas PAS di DM Taman Desa Aman - Pasukan Wanita Batu Kawan.

DM Taman Desa Aman - Pasukan Wanita Balik Pulau.

DM Taman Desa Aman - YB N. Gobalakrishan.

Kempen Pilihanraya Kecil N.25 Bukit Selambau Pada 3 April 2009

Exco Wanita Pusat & Wanita Negeri Pulau Pinang bersama Presiden PKR, Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah
di Bilik Gerakan PKR DM Taman Desa Aman.

Presiden PKR, Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah sedang ditemuramah oleh pemberita.

Exco Wanita Pusat: Kak Yat, (kiri), Hasnah, Farah & Dr. Joyce (kanan).

Presiden PKR, Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah sedang memberi ceramah.

Presiden PKR, Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah, Ketua Wanita Negeri Kedah, Salma & Naib Ketua Wanita Parti, Kak Ann (kiri).

Parti Presiden, Dato' Seri Dr. Wan Azizah dangan calon N.25 Bukit Selambau, Manikumar.

Ketua Wanita Bahagian Balik Pulau, Kak Ju mengira sumbangan bakul hadiah.

Pentas ceramah.

Calon PKR N.25 Bukit Selambau, Manikumar.

Para hadirin di Bilik Gerakan PKR DM Taman Desa Aman.