I regard class differences as contrary to justice and, in the last resort, based on force. Albert Einstein “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere . . . Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Martin Luther King Jr. "All humanity is one undivided and indivisible family, and each one of us is responsible for the misdeeds of all the others. I cannot detach myself from the wickedest soul." "The True Measure Of A Man Is How He Treats Someone Who Can Do Him Absolutely No Good." Samuel Johnson ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: YW Loke <ywloke.m...@gmail.com> To: beritamalay...@yahoogroups.com; bmalay...@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 5:59 AM Subject: [beritamalaysia] MI: Election handouts not bribes - Nazri http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/mobile/malaysia/article/nazri-election -handouts-not-bribes/ Nazri: Election handouts not bribes UPDATED @ 03:01:03 29-03-2011 By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal Nazri: We have already promised that if we won we would fulfil (our manifesto)...for example a sewing machine, if we do not give it during elections we will give it after elections, is that a crime? KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 - Handout and goodies in the form of financial assistance to voters during elections cannot be considered as corruption, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said today. This, according to the minister was because financial aid given to voters during an election was the federal government's way of "fulfilling its promises" and manifestos. "We have already promised that if we won we would fulfil (our manifesto)...for example a sewing machine, if we do not give it during elections we will give it after elections, is that a crime? "We cannot stop this because well, we will be giving it after (elections)," said the minister during a reply to PKR Ketereh MP Ab Azizi Kadir. The PKR MP had asked the government to state whether it considered financial assistance during elections or by-elections as a form of corruption. Nazri also stated that six by-elections corruption cases have been investigated by The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) from 2008 to 2010. He also said that a total of RM11,185,542.93 (11.2) million was spent on 16 by-elections since 2008. ____ http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view =item&id=9737:who-says-election-handouts-not-bribes-saifuddin- slams-nazri&Itemid=2 Who says election handouts not bribes: Saifuddin slams Nazri New Jo-Lyn, Malaysia Chronicle Tuesday, 29 March 2011 Voters, especially those in Sarawak, will punish BN during the elections for thinking they are stupid and trying to buy their votes by offering handouts and goodies, said Member of Parliament for Machang Saifuddin Nasution. He was referring to remarks made by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz that hand-outs and goodies in the form of financial assistance to voters during elections could not be considered as corruption. According to Nazri, the financial aid given to voters during an election was the federal government's way of "fulfilling its promises" and manifestos. But Saifuddin accused Nazri and the BN government of abuse of power and misuse of taxpayers' money. Very often, the promises were never kept or the money allocated for the various projects were "hijacked" midway and never reached the people it was destined to help. "They think they can fool people, especially those who live in the rural areas in Sarawak because of their poor living conditions. But what are now the relevant issues for these people are the land exploitation," Saifuddin, who is also the PKR secretary-general, told Malaysia Chronicle. Worse than Dr M's time The PKR leader said the indigenous people were now more aware of their land rights and after 30 years under Chief Minister Taib Mahmud's rule, they know that he is more concerned about his personal wealth than their welfare. Saifuddin also said being on the ground for the last few months and observing the situation in Sarawak, he was confident instant help in the form of goodies will not attract the voters to support BN anymore. In the past, money was a key carrot for gaining votes from the rural Sarawak folk. This time the voters will not be taken for a ride and will show their true feelings through the ballot box by denying BN a victory. "It is obvious Nazri and the government are making use of funds to buy support from people. This is a more blatant misuse of funds compared to Dr Mahathir Mohamad's time," said Saifuddin. - Malaysia Chronicle ____ http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/159997 Vote fishing at official gov't function Aidila Razak Mar 29, 11 4:39pm [extract] Ruling coalition BN appears to be kicking off its campaign for the 13th general election early by using official government events as a platform to rally support. An example of this was the walkabout in selected Selangor constituencies by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, which had the DPM clearly calling for support for BN to win over Selangor in the next polls. At a town hall meeting in the Ampang parliamentary constituency, Muhyiddin said BN has always put the people first and as such, the obvious choice come elections is BN. "The rakyat can choose whoever they see fit. In Selangor they have chosen the opposition... maybe they were mistaken. "For almost 54 years BN has always provided allocations for the needy... and this is taken into consideration by the rakyat. "During elections, the rakyat will think of which government has prioritised the wants of the rakyat and this government is none other than BN," he said to applause from about 500 people at a school hall in the Lembah Jaya state constituency. [...] ____ By-elections have cost RM11.2m in total, says minister http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/mobile/malaysia/article/by-elections-have -cost-rm11.2m-in-total-says-minister/ By-elections will stay, says Nazri http://www.mmail.com.my/content/67898-byelections-will-stay-says-nazri ---------------------------------------------------------- The Berita Malaysia / bmalaysia mailing lists ============================================ Read postings, subscribe/unsubscribe or change settings at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beritamalaysia http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bmalaysia
