Monday, March 3, 2008

Run Up To General Election - Pasir Mas 4 Mac 2008

The BN Story

In the earlier post I wrote about the Datuk Paduka Ibrahim Ali's side because he is a well known figure. There is no need for me to dig up much or to introduce him anymore because he has been in the news for various reasons. So now I am going to write about his opponent representing the BN side.
Tuan Haji Ahmad Rosdi is from Wakaf Bharu, Tumpat. Somehow he becomes a member of UMNO Pasir Mas and was elected as The UMNO Youth Head. It must have been the crazy redelienation of the constituencies that goes beyond district borders that put people of one district into another constituency. I dont know if this is still maintained.
Ahmad Rosdi being an UMNO District Youth Head is a very powerful position indeed knowing that the Deputy Head at national level is no less than the son in law of The UMNO President himself who happens to be The Prime Minister of Malaysia. Since the UMNO Youth Head himself doesn't seem to wield much power, it can be safely concluded that the connection to the prime minister is the source of power.
Ahmad Rssdi was eyeing the Chetok State seat. Being his debut attempt, I would say the Chetok state seat is more suitable from him. Furthermore his wife's family is in Kampung Kangkong which is within the Chetok contituency. Family ties are important in Kelantan politics as a family member will sometimes try to help.
Parliamentary constituency should be reserved for the Head of Division unless you are slated to be the Menteri Besar designate like Datuk Awang Adek Hussin. The earlier announcement by Datuk Annuar Musa, the State UMNO Liason Chief that Dato' Halim Ahmad would be standing for Parliamentary Pasir Mas seat and no place for Datuk Abdul Rahim did raise some eyebrows. How come? Shouldn't he be contesting? What is politics if you dont aspire to be a Yang Berhormat?
When Dato' Halim Ahmad withdrew from the nomination a void was created which gave a place to Datuk Rahim. By right the Division head should fill up the vacancy meaning Datuk Abdul Rahim Abd. Rahman should take on Datuk Paduka Ibrahim Ali which was what Ibrahim Ali was eagerly anticipating. It was Datuk Abdul Rahim working in cohort with a few other prominent UMNO state leaders that led to the dethroning of Ibrahim Ali from the Pasir Mas Division Head while he was away overseas at that time. So he has an axe to grind with Datuk Rahim. This is an opportunity to payback to Datuk Rahim. It was not to be as Datuk Rahim quickly place himself in DUN Chetok and let Ahmad Rosdi take on Ibrahim Ali for the parliament seat.
In Pasir Mas Ahmad Rusdi is considered a newbie. Even as a newbie you still have to start somewhere right?. So this is a good start as any. Should Khairy Jamaluddin ascend to the throne of Prime Ministership, people like Ahmad Rusdi will be playing a bigger role in Pasir Mas and Kelantan's politics. Should he wins himself a seat of course.
Actually I have taken a picture of Ahmad Rusdi being shouldered by his supporters immediately after the nomination. Only that I didn't realise it was him until I saw his posters yesterday.
Ahmad Rusdi Mohamad is the BN candidate for Pasir Mas parliamentary seat.

I don't have much back ground info about him. Suffice to say that he looked matured enough. He is a licensced contractor with many projects in hand. His company Kubang Batang Puspasari S/Bhd. and perhaps a few other companies set up to benefit from the many larghese from the government. Among the projects being done are The Sekolah Menenggah Kampong Dangar in Pasir Mas and Customs Complex in Bukit Bunga. Reliable sources told me that another project that was awarded to him in 2007 on a direct negotiated tender basis is the road construction from Paloh 2 to Paloh 3 and Paloh3 to Lebir. These two packages are said to be behind schedule by 30 percent and designated as 'project sakit'. A teacher friend had the misfortune of being posted in Lebir and recently he got stuck on the muddy patch of the uncompleted road when rain felled during the nomination day period. If he were to vote in Pasir Mas, and if he were to know that the contractor for the road is standing for election, he will definitely not vote for the candidate. Hopefully this parliamentary candidate will not spend too much money from the project on this election since it will further delay the completion of the much needed road. With the road in that condition, Kampung Lebir can be considered as the Siberia of Malaysia. I know cos I had been there.

Right from the nomination day on 24th February, we saw the proliferation of flags, posters and and the setting of posts by both parties namely BN and PAS that was contesting. I can understand the need for the posters and flags but I can't understand the need of the greatly decorated posts. A post is just like a shelter and set up some distance from one another. Every night this posts are manned and you can see people hanging around there practically doing nothing other than chatting, smoking and if there is money provided by the parties or contestants themselves, there will be food and drink.
Setting up posts in an area where one party is dominant is no problem but it will become a challenge for the other party to set up one around the same area. It is a victory of sort if one party can put up a post in an area dominated by another party.
Thus far, the posts set up by PAS seems to be merrier especially if it is one that belongs to the parliamentary candidate which is seperate from the one for the DUN. Already there are talks that some of the BN posts are being closed due to the lack of fund to maintain them. Maintaining them is just to provide food and drinks and better still if ciggarettes are also available. A BN supporter friends said that money will only be available from the 5th of March (which is tomorrow) when BN will step up its gear in its campaign. They are going all out from tomorrow onwards.
One stark difference from the BN party workers and PAS party workers is that the PAS party workers are willing to work for free and sometimes even donating their own money. That speaks volumes for their committment for the party. To them it is what you can give to the party and not what the party can give to you. On the other hand the PAS Parliamentary posts seems to be well funded. Food and drink flows freely there much to the frustration of the BN workers. Will the BN workers be able to hold on till the 5th of March when funds are supposed to trickle in?
Here are some pictures to illustrate the poster wars going on in Pasir Mas and some cheeky messages being conveyed via the posters. They are from both sides. The pictures are not in oreder and some are from areas outside of Pasir Mas such as Kota Bharu and Wakaf Baru.








Current prediction:

Pasir Mas Paliament - Ibrahim Ali (Independent-PAS)

DUN Tendong - PAS

DUN Pengkalan Pasir - PAS

DUN Chetok - PAS

CURRENT PREDICTION FOR THE STATE

PAS - 33

BN - 10

Changes in prediction will be made as latest info is received.

The above predictions are strictly my opinion.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pak Zawi,
Wah...can apply for political analyst,very good commentary.
Just few hrs ago my wife told me that her friends from Terangganu and Kelantan mostly Pensyarah from College Community are going back for voting this Thursday.Could be sponsor by Govt because School start close on Thursday.

Pak Zawi said...

awang,
What is so great about those ramblings to be considered as an analysis. Anyway just to put forth how I see the election in Pasir Mas. Would love to see if anybody would like to discuss and refute my unsubstantiated statements.
Frankly Tendong is a touch and go DUN in Pasir Mas. The onslaught by BN from tomorrow may change things abit but Pengkalan Pasir and Chetok are safe bet.
Thanks for being the first to comment.

Unknown said...

Ok, just to share some open secrets about Hj Ahmad Rosdi's company's project on top of what u hv mentioned above:
1. Currently doing the paloh 2 and 3 road construction which they took over towards the mid of last year. Dued to the monsoon season during Oct -Jan, the project was delayed. And currently, they may faced some difficulties in obtaining cement and steel bars dued to some kind of shortage. probably thats the reason it was abit slow. I pity your friend..haha.
2. The company completed the Kota Baharu Airport which every of us flyoff to KL.
3. They also completed I think a Sekolah Vocational / Teknik in Tangok (Bachok).. if my spelling is correct.
4. They just completed a PDRM (multi million) project at Pengkalan Chepa.
Between IA and AR, personally I think AR is a better off person (in term of character background and party loyalty). But still the one who has the majority votes will take the role. Good luck to both of them.

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

Pak Z,

my dad wouldnt trade for anything if given the chance to take care of his youngest grandkid, now 4 months old. He even skipped going to work for quite a number of times already now. GE means nothing to him.

GE is seasonal, it comes and go and sure to reappear. it will be the same old GE shit come the next one but Balqiss will be older. the precious moment you get to bond with her now counts the most, more than all the ballot papers casted throughout the nation. I'm sure you're very much like my old man, pak Z.

*now back to the posting, 'Ore Mudo Mudoh Baso' tu gapo dio?

Pak Zawi said...

kbguy,
Thanks for the info. Since both of them are from your Wakaf Baru, you should know better. I think IA had a big start ahead of AR since he had set his sight on the seat since he was the Head of Pasir Mas Division.
With your word that AR is a better person, how I wish he had been given the state seat of Chetok because Datuk Rahim isn't a popular man there. Datuk Rahim contesting there is a sure giveaway of the seat to PAS.
Now I know why the project is delayed and the increase in price of building materials will definitely eat up into his profit. Since the price increase of materials is somehow related to the failure of the government to control the price of controlled items. Who should he blame but himself for supporting such a government. Cement was sold at RM12.50 a bag of 50 kg some 5 months and now you cant even get it at RM16.00. The Feds refused to give the licence to manufacture cement in Gua Musang which could have stabilized the cost somewhat.
My greatest fear of sending AR to parliament is that he will be indebted to KJ (Not Kamaruddin Jaafar) and I cant imagine putting the fate of my future generations and Malaysia in KJ's hands.
To be frank I am a member of UMNO but I have lost faith in the UMNO of today.
I will edit my above post to reflect the reason why AR's project in Gua Musang was delayed. Being an UMNO youth head is definitely great because he gets to be awarded so many multi million ringgit projects. I wonder if they are all on direct negotiated tender basis. Only cronies get such awards.
Thank you for the info.

Pak Zawi said...

kerp,
It was on purpose that I didn't translate all the messages on the posters into standard Malay. Now that you have asked which means you dont grasp the meaning of some of them. I believe the message has failed to reach those non Kelantanese voters.
In plain BM it can be translated to "Orang muda mudah berbahasa". The word Baso is corrupted from the word 'berbahasa'. Mudah dibawa berunding.
Yes I am devoted to my grand daughter so much that I forgo all the 'Ceramah Perdana' held thus far. Lucky thing my neighbour who ent there video taped them and I could view the tape the next day. Anyway the ambience won't be the same.
Though the election is carried out during our time and decided by us, the effect will be felt by our children and grandchildren. Will there be anything left for them if we put in irresponsble politicians to lead the nation? Oil is drying up and if the revenue from it is not well invested, how will they benefit from it? So many blunders such as PKFZ which is costing the tax payers billions of ringgit has been done and the guilty parties has escaped with impunity. Soon the railway double tracking will cost us another few billion ringgit. Millions are small sum now as billion seems to be the standard denomination. It would be OK if it is in rupiahs.
Kerp I think I will stop from blogging about politics because it is difficult for me from being partisan and it saddens me too much when I write about some of the fiascos these people are doing.
I will just tend to my Balqiss who is having the flu now. Just took her to the clinic and she is asleep now.
I will post the etak next which will be dedicated to you.

Unknown said...

Salam Pak Zawi,
What is your honest appraisal of Pasir Mas Parlimen and state. I know what you have said about tendong but is there a change. Then what is the sentiment about Kelantan on the whole? Just want to know coz need the info, planning to write about Kelantan.

Mat Salo said...

Looks like former juorno-politoco supremo Abdullah Ahmad, also a Kelantanese I might add - has met his match here!

Great coverage Pak Zawi, keep it up!

Pak Zawi said...

Chegu,
I am unable to provide much info yet about the other areas of Kelantan. Rantau Panjang seems to go opposition way.
Generally the sentiment is opposition way except for Gua Musang. It seems like a no contest there for BN. I will keep u posted via email as soon as I get better info. Need to establish more linkages with the other bloggers located there. Hope more info will flow this way soon.

Pak Zawi said...

mat salo,
Bro, can't compare with Dolah Kok Lanas. I am just impersonating him. By the way my name at home is Abdullah too. So call me Abdullah Ahmad if you like hahahahaha.
Jangan jack lebih lebih bro nanti meletup.

zaitgha said...

Hi Pak Zawi,
kinda missed blogs hopping for awhile as my streamyx had gone bonkers on me for more than 2 weeks....at first thought of blogging about it but when i saw the kid alone in the car yesterday got me cheesed off....

my pray that Kelantan will stay with PAS for as long as they can....hopefully Kedah and too and my greatest wish is Kepala Batas go to BA...hmmmm one can pray kan???

Pak Zawi said...

zai,
What a surprise to see people like you living a good life in a state well endowed with all the good things in life being under the care of BN and yet pray for us to be ruled by PAS. Kelantan is said to be lagging behind in development. Look at my post on Kota Bharu and you could see the development. I myself don't know if being developed like KL is good for us. We are happy as we are. Though most of the progress in infrastructure in Kelantan were brought about by the Federal Government via their agencies like Jabatan Pembangunan Kelantan in the north and KESEDAR in the south, we develop slowly at our own pace. Nothing wrong wth that right? So what more do we want?
Bila nak datang ke Kelantan? Datang la dalam musim pilihanraya ni.

Nightwing said...

Hello Pak Zawi,

Another good posting. Just hope supporters from both side will keep calm and not hurt one another.

Who knows..maybe they are somehow related to one another...after all the world is getting smaller.

Pak Zawi said...

nightwing,
Thank you for appreciating it. So far no untoward incidents has been reported. Hopefully it will remain that way till the end of the election. It will be sheer folly to engage in thuggery and quarrels among our own people when the beneficiary will only be the politicians.

Fauziah Ismail said...

Salam Pak Zawi
I spoke to a few Melayus who didn’t have a problem voting for a Melayu if the other contender is a non-Melayu. If the straight fight is between Melayus, then they look at who is most qualified, irrespective from BN or Opposition. I do think that’s how the voters in Kelantan would be looking at, the most qualified to their eyes. Your piece would be an eye-opener especially for those who don’t know who the candidates are.
Meriah sungguh pesta poster kat sana, ya?

Pak Zawi said...

fauziah,
Perang poster memang meriah sini. Hari saya round round ada lagi poster sedang ditampal. BN baru mula gempur mereka. Pos pos yang dah beberapa hari tak dapat bekalan mula dapat bekalan hari ini segaimana yang diramalkan.
Kaedah memilih calon sama je dimana mana.

Unknown said...

Pak Zawi,
Somehow, politic, math and biology can stack together eh? I can't help but to wonder about this and that about all that plant and human developement and also statistics, and somehow, the name of Datuk Shaari of Gual Periok comes into the picture [something definitely wrong with me]. And with today's breaking news EC scratched the idea of permanent ink...argh!!!
I think I need some sleep :(

Jamal Abd Rahman said...

good job pak zawi...a well written piece...boleh jadi wartawan dgn political analyst jugak ni..hehe

reading your response, i really like this line
" My greatest fear of sending AR to parliament is that he will be indebted to KJ (Not Kamaruddin Jaafar) and I cant imagine putting the fate of my future generations and Malaysia in KJ's hands."
i couldn't agree more with you...

keep it up pak zawi!

Pak Zawi said...

Akmal,
They will promise the world to the people. Then they find that it is not going to their advantage so they change course midway.
The reason for not using the indelible ink is due to 4 persons being caught buying the same ink. Since most of them were caught in Perlis and Kelantan it can be presumed the ink were supplied by Thailand. SPR paid RM2 million for the ink, so RM2 million down the drain. Initially we thought the use of the ink will be mandatory on all voters until they came up with the statement that you can refuse to be inked by signing a form. Now they say no inking needed. I hope they can keep the ink for next election, if the ink don't dry up.
KJ came to Rantau Pamjang day before yesterday to shore up their candidates there. See, if you are the son in law of a PM, even by being just a deputy head of UMNO youth you are treated like the PM himself. Afterall everybody knows he is the defacto PM.
Akmal you better marry a PM's daughter too one day. Still enough time to groom you into a politician. If KJ becomes PM, tough luck, his daughter will still be too young to be of marriageable age.

Pak Zawi said...

unclej,
I cannot fathom how the UMNO people can be so blinded into believing that KJ is a saviour of the Malay people and the country. It is just that he is able to dispense projects under RM9 like it belongs to his father in law made these people worship him. Look at the list of projects that went to AR's way. Probably most are on direct negotiated way without the need to tender. Under such a system a mark up for own profit is way above normal and another mark up for a third party be it a political or individual is also the norm.
This is definitely corruption. When it comes to financial gain, our people are easily blinded. AR is visiting my area soon let me see if I can give him a piece of my mind or at least let him have my blog address. Maybe he will tempt me with a project for myself? I may be blinded too. Hahahahahaha.

J.T. said...

Hi Zawi

I am so far away yet I can feel the heat of the elections just by reading up on post like yours. I may not be familiar with most of the candidates but one thing I know - many people are looking for a change. Whether this change will take place is left to be seen.

Hopefully whoever wins will work towards improving current situations and not just sit on their laurels after they ascend their "thrones".

Pak Zawi said...

jt,
At least a change of leadership is necessary to bring about a change for the better to Malaysia. The way things are going, they are just raping the country without any care to the country's future generations. They must be made to realize that there is alot of unhappiness among the general populace that the current administration is denying to exist. This is our only chance otherwise it will take another five years before any change can be effected again.
If the status quo is maintained, they will only think that what they are doing is right and fair. Lots of unfair tactics are being employed by the present government that a person like me who has been supporting them all these while is turning against them just to bring about change.
I pray to god that others may think the same way about it.

zaitgha said...

Pak Zawi,
Dont be surprised with people feeling like i do...here in my area, water supply was so erratic it can just stopped without a warning every week there would be 2- 3 times interruption and it can go on for 2 days at a stretch. And mind you that i am just 5 minutes away from N9 MB's house...

and the increase of prices really affected us....now i am trying very hard to get volume for my small bakery biz to help ease my other half stress of bring in the RM. sure the increment is there but the price increase is just too much...

so i know i have to risk it on the 8th nanti.....at least i can say i tried

tokasid said...

Salam Pok Zawi:

Thanks for the Pasir Mmah update.
I felt something not right when AR was to stand in the PM Parliamentary seat and dato' Rahim took the Chetok fight.As you said traditionally Parliament seat goes to the Ketua Bahagian.Maybe Dato' Rahim dare not face IA after the 'coup' he made years ago.And due to IA's popularity and being backed by PAS for this election Dato Rahim knew he is going to lose to IA. Thats might be the reason why AR is to face IA.If IA loses dato'Rahim's face is saved and AR's noviceness accounts for the lost.

There are many more like AR.AS Ketua Pemuda they get big fat contracts without tender. There are many in Kelantan and Trengganu coz BN is desperate to re-capture Kelantan and to hold-off a PAS assault.

And that KJ thingy...I'm with you Pak Zawi.

Pak Zawi said...

zaitgha,
Let us all take a risk. Things can never be worse than how we are now. Let us tell them that we deserve better than what they are dishing out to us now.
Its now or never.

Pak Zawi said...

Doc TA,
Datuk Rahim will lose even in the Chetok seat. He is unpopular everywhere. No way he can win in Pasir Mas what more Chetok where Ustaz Halim Ab Rahman from PAS is so popular. Imagine he was not even in the list to contest initially. That goes to show how unpopular he was that he didn't even dare to contest.
There will be some dissenting votes from PAS members who doesn't like TGNA's decision to let IA contest with their support but if everything goes as planned, it will be a win win situation for both sides.

Makcik Runner said...

u seem to know very well of yr constituency and who's in it. good effort!

Pak Zawi said...

kc,
Pasir Mas is a small town. It is easy to get informations from friends like KBGuy and others like him. People like Ibrahim Ali has been around for quite sometimes. Met him a couple of times too.
I am happy that you find it worth reading hehehehhe.