Here’s one published in The Star on Wednesday, March the 5th:

Lim: Let voters decide on CM

KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan adviser Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik has proposed that the next Chief Minister of Penang be chosen from among the three potential candidates based on who obtains the highest number of votes in the general election. 

Dr Lim said in this way, the people of Penang themselves, rather than the party, would choose the Chief Minister. 

Saying that this was his “personal opinion”, he said the strategy worked out by Penang Chief Minister and Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to announce the Chief Minister only after the election was a right one. 

On whether he had relayed his idea to Koh, Dr Lim said: “It is between him and me. I don’t have to tell you. You have no right to know.”  (wow, is this guy arrogant or what?)

He also recalled the 1990 election when the Chief Minister Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu was defeated by DAP’s Lim Kit Siang.  

“Luckily during the election, I had prepared three candidates who were supposed to understudy Chong Eu. All were PhD holders – Dr Koh Tsu Koon, Dr Goh Cheng Teik and Dr Kang Chin Seng.  

“But when Chong Eu lost, I had to chose one of the three,” he said, adding that if the next Gerakan Chief Minister was named, the DAP and PKR would use their full force to pull him down. 

The three in the running for the post are state incumbents Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan (Pulau Tikus with 16,723 voters), Teng Chang Yeow (Padang Kota with 16,704 voters) and Datuk Lee Kah Choon (Machang Bubok with 22,424 voters).  

Dr Lim also said that Penang voters must think hard about voting for the Opposition just to vent their unhappiness by “hammering” Gerakan, MIC and MCA. 

Penangites must remember that by denying Barisan a two-thirds majority, they would upset the balance and Umno would become the party with the most number of seats in Penang, he said. 

He pointed out that in 1990, of 33 state seats, Umno had 12 and Gerakan seven while the DAP had 14.  

Dr Lim said he had to convince the Prime Minister then to allow Gerakan to continue holding the Chief Minister’s post.  

“It was a hellish time for me and I still have goose pimples thinking about it,” he said.  (You know, and I thought BN was supposed to be a power sharing “coalition” and not a One-party monopoly)

And here’s another one on Thursday, March the 6th:

Unusual silence on the Penang front

COMMENT
By JOCELINE TAN

Politicians are talking about the silent ground that they think is a signal that the voters have made up their minds. The question now is who they will vote for. 

MOST of the election candidates who turned up for the launch of the Penang Barisan Nasional manifesto on Monday looked frazzled to say the least. 

The campaign toll was telling on them and one normally well-groomed lady candidate contesting a seat in Seberang Prai looked seriously deprived of her beauty sleep. She was not even wearing lipstick. 

But the long days and late nights of the past week were most apparent on outgoing Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon who had the look of someone with a million things to do before polling. 

This is a challenging election for Penang Barisan, especially for the non-Malay parties. 

Gerakan leaders have been openly talking about the “sound of silence” in Penang. 

They find the voters rather “quiet” compared to the last general election. There was a feel-good situation in 2004 from start to end but now, they said, it is as though people have decided and that they don’t want to listen anymore and are just waiting for the big day.  (you ever heard of the eerie calm before a hurricane hits? The breeze blowing calmly……..bright blue sky and suddenly, the sky turns black…)

Dr Koh has admitted that this could be either good or bad. 

There has been no shortage of hot issues this elections and the campaign began with clear rumblings on the ground. But some claim they can feel a wind picking up with a few more days to go before balloting. The huge turnout at the last weekend’s DAP ceramah may have contributed to the mood. 

The optimists in the Barisan camp claim the silence is a sign that the people are not willing to change and will stick with the tested formula. 

“I don’t feel a wind but there is an uncomfortable disquiet,” said senior MCA politician Tan Sri Dr Sak Cheng Lum. 

The less optimistic talk about an anti-establishment mood among the Chinese voters and of a compensation swing to the Opposition among the Chinese that had been put off in the special circumstances surrounding the 1999 and 2004 polls. 

The likely scenario probably lies somewhere in between. The Chinese in Penang are in a dilemma of sorts in this election. 

They are undeniably unhappy about some Umno leaders who they think have “koay hoon” or gone overboard in their utterances but the more rational among them also wonder at the argument of punishing Umno by whacking the Chinese component parties. 

“It doesn’t make sense. They are telling voters that to control certain Umno Youth leaders, they must vote against Gerakan and MCA,” said a Barisan candidate. 

Dr Koh, who has a lot riding on the elections, has tried to rationalise to voters about maintaining the balance of power in the state. Of the 40 state seats, Umno controls 15, Gerakan 13, MCA 10 and MIC 2. 

He has been talking about preserving the proportion so that all communities are represented in the Government. 

Underlying all this is the Chinese concern that Penang continues to have a Chinese Chief Minister. 

Some analysts have begun digging for analogies from as far back as the 1970s in trying to predict the outcome on March 8. Precedents are important but Penangites today are a world apart from Penangites of 30 years ago. 

Chinese priorities are very much grounded in the present, revolving around themselves and their families and, in the case of some issues, around the community. 

The immediate future is also very important and the party that can guarantee them and their children fairness and stability will have the upper hand. 

Penang Chinese are famous for their habit of split voting, giving the parliamentary seat to the Opposition and voting Barisan for state. But there is little room for that this time around because the DAP is already the incumbent in most of the Chinese-majority parliamentary seats. 

As a result, the DAP is gunning for the state seats. But state seats are also where the Barisan has the edge because of its service record and the clout to solve outstanding issues. 

There are still three days to go and they will be a very important period for both sides. 

The Opposition is trying to turn the rumblings into a wind while the Barisan will do its best to persuade voters to go along with its slogan of security, peace and prosperity. 

“The candidates will have to really push themselves, to go on the ground the next few days.  

“It is never too late,” said Dr Sak.  (It was too late my friend….. this was the calm before the political tsunami hit Penang shores my friends)

Interesting articles isn’t it? Oh ho, if they only knew….if they only knew!

 While growing up, I’ve always been reminded never to forget the colour of my skin and my ethnicity. My parents were pretty open to other races, but aunties and uncles would always say “What? you can’t speak mandarin or cantonese?….shame on you….. call yourself a Chinese”. Now I’m not putting down the mandarin or cantonese speakers here, I know I was just too lazy to learn the language.

I’ve always been intrigued by this whole Chinese nationalistic approach to almost everything we do in life despite the fact that my ancestors left the “Middle Kingdom” centuries ago.  It also hit me when I was in my teens that the chinese students from chinese schools don’t really get along with chinese students from national schools. And it seems those that come from chinese schools are also those who are more likely to keep to their “own kind” then go out and mix with the other races.

 So which brings me to say, is nationalism the basis of racism? No I wouldn’t go there, but I do believer ultra nationalism will lead to racism. We should still be proud of our ancestry, otherwise we will lose our uniqueness in the world.

The world should start concentrating on what unites us instead of what divides us.

Just my two cents….

“Vote rocket? don’t want laa……what can rocket do? You vote BN  and they can fix your street lamp faster” (Excuse me but I think a state assemblyman or an MP’s duty isn’t just to force those lazy city council people to do their jobs)

“Don’t wanna vote opposition, I only vote for the gahmen” (This is what pisses me off the most….. when a parliament is dissolved, all parties are equal and are known as just political parties fighting for the precious votes to form a new government. An opposition is not always an opposition, just look at Penang now, DAP is now the government and BN is the opposition. This is how democracy works. The people choose their public servants and not their bosses!)

“If opposition win, it will result in chaos” (If the opposition doesn’t win, the country will be bankrupt anyway. All you have to do is look at the ridiculous spending spree the BN goes on in the last 4 years and you’ll see what I mean. Tenders are kept secret and therefore enabling a project that costs RM 24 million to be declared at RM 100 million. Think of your children!)

“Oil prices must go up, it’s a global trend. Prices in Singapore are much higher than they are in Malaysia” (Singapore is an oil importing country, Malaysia is an oil exporting country. You can claim that our Malaysian petrol prices are one of the lowest in the world but I would like to remind you that because of the lousy management of finances in Malaysia, our Ringgit has fallen way below the currencies of Singapore, Australia or the UK. Dollar for dollar, we are paying through our noses. As an oil exporting country, where’s the oil revenue that can help us manage this?)

Everyone knows, even in business, when there’s competition, the people benefit. And when there’s a monopoly, the people lose. A 2 party system is the only way to revive the Malaysian economy, an economy at one time the envy of many other countries in the world. Malays, Chinese and Indians, we are united in that we all seek a bright future for our children, have the guts to make the change……….BN is not Malaysia, the federal opposition parties are not Malaysia……WE are MALAYSIA!

 The inventors of the “Monopoly” board game did not do it to highlight the benefits of a monopoly I assure you.

God bless