Perak Saga

DPM Najib says BN has the majority to form a new Perak state government.

The BN must be so desparate for power. Do they actually believe a minority government supported by "friendly" independants can survive the rough and tumble of the State Assembly? Also, let's assume that the graft charges are not dropped and the two ex PKR assemblymen are convicted of corruption,* what will happen to the BN state government?

BN needs to restore their credibility and the rakyat's faith in them. I don't think it can be achieved by accepting party hoppers, especially those who are under trial for corruption. It is like saying "BN will work with anyone including those under investigation, just to gain power". BN once abhors party hopping but now thay are taking advantage of it. If BN wants to regain the people's support, they should put the money where their mouth is and challenge PR to another round of elections.

I hope the Sultan will agree on a snap election,** let the people of Perak decide again who they want as their government. The losers of that election should gracefully accept defeat, buck up and try again in 2012.

* IMHO this is highly unlikely.

** HRH Sultan of Perak decided that there was no need to call for a snap election (5 Feb 2009)

Back to the Darkside?

February 04, 2009 16:07 PM
Perak MB Announces State Assembly Dissolved, To Seek Palace Consent

IPOH, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin today in a drastic and an unprecedented move announced an immediate dissolution of the state assembly following political uncertainty in the state. He told a press conference in Ipoh that he is seeking an audience with the Sultan of Perak to obtain his consent.-- BERNAMA

From http://www.thestar.com.my/ - Newsflash (4:30pm): Behrang assemblyman Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi, Changkat Jering assemblyman Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu, DAP's Jelapang assemblyman and Perak state assembly deputy speaker Hee Yit Foong and Bota assemblyman Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim spotted at the office of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

So it has come to this. apparently the Bota ADUN who joined PKR a few days ago is back in UMNO's fold. According to MStar, his wife said two unknown men came to pick him up and the next thing we know he's back in UMNO.

As an almost neutral, I'm disappointed at how things have turned out. I feel that if an assemblyman or MP is dissatisfied/disagrees with the government's policies, he/she should quit and if he/she still wishes to be in Parliament, seek re-election via the electoral process.* I am against party hopping, a party-hopper shows no integrity nor credibility and in my humble opinion, we do not need such people to represent us.

• If it is true that the Bota assemblyman has rejoined UMNO, the question I ask is what made him?
• Will the graft/corruption charges be dropped once the Behrang and Changkat Jering assemblymen hops over to UMNO?
• Why did Tajol Rosli resign if he knew or at least expected this to happen?
• If the Sultan consents to the dissolution of the State Assembly, will BN regain Perak? Or will they get a bigger thrashing?

* apparently once an elected representative resigns, he/she is barred from contesting for 5 years.

IBF #06 - The Future of Islamic Finance

What drives the growth of Islamic finance? Is there a correlation between the spike in oil prices (and hence wealth) with the tremendous interest in Islamic finance? I’m not being a sceptic or a party pooper but would Islamic finance thrive if the oil price is low and the Muslim Arabs are poor? Anouar Hassoune, a banking analyst at Moody’s seem to think so. According to him, “As long as oil remains expensive, which is our base-case scenario, Islamic banking will keep on growing successfully.” Few would deny the obvious correlation between oil price growth and Islamic banking growth. Given the recent slump in oil prices, will we be seeing a decline in the interest for Islamic financial products?