‘Najib Abdul Razak's should now rightly be questioned and challenged as he is also tainted and embroiled in ongoing controversies.'
On Win boosts Pakatan's ambition
Faizul Zainol: The writing is on the wall. Umno/BN needs to change.
It is easier said than done. Umno being the major ruling party in BN has to change wholesale if they ever want to see BN capture back at least four states and a bigger majority in parliament.
From the top right down to the grassroots, at least 80 percent of their leaders are corrupted. How are they going to clean up? Even the next PM has a lot of ‘stories' to explain to the rakyat .
Umno is the key factor to determine the direction of BN as well as the rakyat .
I like it when Najib Razak says the Kuala Terengganu loss is a ‘small loss' and that the Malays will flock back to Umno.
I hope they will always be in a state of denial and live in their dream castle.
Pakatan Rakyat needs to work harder and take advantage of the rakyat 's strong sentiment against Umno and its lackeys.
Come the next election or sooner, they can pull the carpet from right beneath BN's feet and take over the running of the federal government.
They also need to be gracious in victory as advocated by Nik Aziz. It will endear them to the electorate.
Do not behave like the arrogant and snobbish Umno pirates whom the Malays despise.
Lee WS: I hosted a dinner party on Saturday night for a group of about 50 friends.
One person reported that PAS had won the by-election and the euphoria and elation of my many friends was surprising to say the least.
I joined in to shake hands with them and toasted to Pakatan Rakyat. In the midst of the lively discussions, I learnt that many of them were fed-up with BN's rule but at the same time had reservations about Pakatan's experience.
A few of them wanted BN to continue but the majority, including myself, would love to offer PR a chance to set things right.
The reality of this episode is that thousands of people out there are willing in spirit for PR to win.
I wonder if BN will ever accept the fact that the people view them as arrogant, corrupt and so on.
Tomorrow is the dawn of a new beginning in the US for the new president to propel his country out of misery.
Will Malaysia too have PR to chart a new direction of fairness, equality and security for us?
Aida Hassan: Congratulations to the KT voters! Regardless of one's political inclination, this is a win for all, a win that occurred despite all the fear-mongering of BN and not to mention BN's gargantuan election machinery.
And my two sen on PAS' desire to revive the issue of hudud . The voters are smarter - non- Muslims know that hudud is nothing more than an Islamic criminal jurisdidction system and within the scope of the Shariah law; applicable only to Muslims.
It is in PAS' and Pakatan Rakyat's interest to open this issue to the public with a dialogue and call for a referendum; a true democratic way of resolving a contentious issue.
Considering the dismal job that the police are doing with regards to high-profile criminal cases, perhaps hudud is not such a bad idea. Extreme crimes need extreme measures and punishment.
And this is coming from a self-professed progressive and liberal individual. Again, to all KT voters, tahniah !
SH Huang: Taking responsibility when you lose is the hallmark of a true gentleman. Being magnanimous when you win is also the hallmark of a true gentleman.
I have great admiration for players (the losers, that is) who shake hands with the winners; and in some cases wave to the crowd.
Could we expect politicians to do the same? When BN lost at the polls on March 8, practically all fingers were pointing at the leader of BN, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The component party leaders did not say that they were partly to be blamed for the dismal defeat. Eventually, Abdullah was forced out of the Umno presidency.
Now that Najib, who led several election campaigns, also lost to Pakatan Rakyat, shouldn't he graciously bow out and accept the defeat at Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu?
Shouldn't Umno, which has been very angry with Abdullah, be equally angry with Najib? Or are we seeing double standards even among Umno leaders?
Come on, be fair to all.
Adcin: In spite of the promises of billions of ringgit in development, cash being doled out to fishermen, fear-mongering the list goes on and on, BN still managed to lose the Kuala Trengganu by-election.
And in this context they lost big - bigger than the final two thousand over majority.
The ‘win at any cost' approach by BN has failed in the Malay heartland of KT and Najib has nowhere to hide and must take a huge chunk of the blame whichever way he wants to spin it.
When it is clear to all that he had pulled out all the stops and practically stooped to almost the outright buying of votes, the majority of voters were not moved and rejected his politics.
Even the Umno candidate had the gall to declare that it was ‘ not his money ' . It is a rather sad and damning reflection of how our future leader operates and what he perceives to be the motivation of the electorate.
So wildly off the mark and out of touch with the present voters' concerns.
His leadership of Umno should rightly be questioned and challenged as he is also tainted and embroiled in ongoing controversies.
At the end of the day, the overwhelming conclusion to be drawn from this by-election is that the will of the majority prevailed despite the blatant efforts by the ruling party to subvert it.
Merdekablog.com: We have observed another failure hitting right on the face of Najib, our PM- to-be.
This is the third political tsunami in a year. What can I say? The unwelcome Barisan Nasional is sinking like the Titanic in the South China Sea.
We have heard the voices and seen the power of the rakyat. We saw how the majority of the Kuala Terengganu voters joined in the call for change from the rest of Malaysians.
And yes, it is a change that happens from the bottom up, not from the top down.
We saw again how Najib refused to acknowledge the fact of his poor leadership and his poor popularity among the citizens.
We see how his monetary actions have again failed to fool the voters in this second by-election.
The result shows that KT citizens do not want to inherit the old dirty politics of Barisan Nasional.
What the people want is a real party that not only can bring hope to the nation, but carry out the changes for a better nation.
As for the other BN leaders, shame on you if you continue to ignore the wish of the citizens. You know nothing can stop the momentum now, people will continue to fight till the day comes.
And thank you, especially to everyone who voted for change!
M Dann: How many of the majority votes won by the opposition in KT came from the non- Malays? Chinese voters constitute some 11% of the total electorate.
With the Malay votes split into almost equal halves, the Chinese support decided the day. But will the winning party be thankful or even grateful?
The non-Malays continue to face daunting dilemmas. They would still be short-changed irrespective of whichever coalition comes into power.
Moreover, if the Malays feel that they are gradually losing all the goodies they have been enjoying for decades, they may not sit idle. And this is precisely the sad (yet cruel) reality.
I hope that one day, all Malaysians will be able to witness true justice and harmony.
Siew Wah: Congratulations to the voters who chose the opposition. They will see the end of rising crime and social injustice of the corrupt Barisan Nasional administration.
On After KT, there is hope for Sarawak
Micheal:
Here we come Sarawak and Putrajaya. But we will probably have Kepala Batas and Kuala Kangsar before that depending on the outcome of Umno Wanita elections.Firstly, the current PM is expected to step down in March. His Number One seat in parliament will be shifted to the back.
This really make everyone wonder if he can take another humilation. After all he is not wanted anymore.
The next will be KK. If Rafidah Aziz fails in the upcoming Wanita elections, it is possible for her to call it the day (of course, she can negotiate with the authority to make sure that she wins as her opponent is not a MP).
Then we have two more ‘bye-elections in the near future, not forgetting another one in Persiangan.
Perhaps Dr M will not blame Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for the defeats anymore and his blue-eyed boy will have to take full responsibility.
While Ong Tee Keat continues his daydream about winning back the Chinese votes, his denial will make his party another Gerakan in the coming general election - they will be completely wiped out.
