My Prayer for Malaysia

 

Our country celebrate itself today, being Malaysia Day. And I would like to pray for my country. I found a very good prayer here and it's long, but a good one: A Prayer for Our Country and Our Leadership, but this is my short prayer for Malaysia:

Our Father in heaven, we thank you that we are citizens of heaven as much as we are citizens of our country. While we are here on earth, we are grateful that you are Emmanuel, you are with us. We pray that your holy governance of the world will produce good and wise leaders, who will hold on to justice above their own desires. We pray that they will be pure in their intentions, and godly in their convictions. We pray that the people will find you, to find hope and finally peace on earth and goodwill toward all men. Amen

pearlie

Malaysia's Wasted Decade 2004-2014, The Toxic Triad of Abdullah, Najib and UMNO Leadership by M. Bakri Musa

I finished reading Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel today. It was an excellent read. I was impressed by how much she had progressed while in Netherlands, learning Dutch and especially her obtaining a degree in Political Science from Leiden University. She did not write in detail about what she studied but it has definitely piqued my interest.

With that, I began searching for my next read and looked for political based books that I can learn from. I found several in Amazon that sound very interesting but I also realized that it might not be as beneficial if I did not know enough about Malaysian politics. I then tried to search for books that would give me a good analysis of the political world in Malaysia. There were very few titles available in that category in Amazon and I only found this one interesting. 

Malaysia's Wasted Decade 2004-2014, The Toxic Triad of Abdullah, Najib and UMNO Leadership

by M. Bakri Musa

There wasn't any Kindle version available and so I would have to get the print copy. I called Kinokuniya and confirmed that they do have a copy in stock and I requested that they reserve it for me.

When I arrived at KLCC and while I was getting onto the escalator at the carpark, I bumped into Lim Kit Siang! Here I am finally trying to understand more about Malaysian politics and going to the bookstore to get such a book, to bump into a Malaysian politician. 

What are the odds.

I walked into Kinokuniya and headed to the Political Science section and found those very Kindle titles I added into my Amazon Wishlist. I browsed awhile and there he was again, at the Political Science aisle. Where else would he be? I thought I might as well go say hi and shook his hand. He was very pleasant and nice.

Finally, I am reading a print book. I haven't done that in years and I am finding it difficult mainly because the print is too small for my eyes. As for the book, it isn't very much of a systematic analysis of the issues. It is a collection of the writer's articles over the years from 2004 to 2014, hence the title, though each of the article does provide some analysis that I hope will consolidate in the end to an overall conclusion of the matter. I hope I will nevertheless still learn something from it. 

pearlie

Malaysians read very little, and it is a fact

I was preparing some training material on how to think creatively when I realised that from my experience in engaging with people here, I could surmise that Malaysians read very little.

I tried to look for some statistics, and I was right.

Although Malaysia has among the highest literacy rate in South East Asia, out of 85% of Malaysians who read regularly, 77% of them prefer newspapers, 3% read magazines, 3% read books and 1.6% read comics.¹

Three percent?!

First, let me qualify myself. When I say read, I mean books. I suppose there are those who argue that reading articles, newspaper, magazines still count as reading. Maybe, but it cannot be compared to reading books, where your mind works in articulating the thoughts of a non-fiction author or imagining in the mind of a fiction author. It is different. Online articles, newspaper and magazines more or less gives you the information, the data. They are important and useful, but they cannot be compared to reading a book.

So, I do not know the year of the report, but if we were to assume the same three percent now, at the current population of about 30 million, only 180,000 Malaysian read books!

I also found this chart on World Culture Score for Reading that is quite interesting.²



People in India read the most, at 10.7 hours a week, followed by Thailand 9.4 hours a week and China 8 hours a week. Amazingly, these top 3 are from Asia. There is no data in the chart for Malaysia. Click here for the other percentages. (Note: I do not have access to the full report, and as such I do not know what reading does this refer to.)

The Star just did an online survey on the reading habits of Malaysians.³ They have not presented the results yet, and I wonder if there would be much of a change to it.

The pertinent question then is this: what are we losing out from this lack of reading?

I think a whole lot. What do you think?

Go grab a book and read it. You will be very much enriched. I promise.

And by the way, I found this article absolutely brilliant and downright witty. Take a look: When You Start To Read More, These 10 Things Will Happen.

pearlie

Source:
1 Malaysian Bar
2 Charts Bin
3 The Star

Wherefore art thou clean fresh air?

I have not been so well lately, what with the dense haze enveloping our city these past few weeks. I have a post-nasal drip causing a bad cough, flu-like symptoms, a red eye and a headache. And like what I was telling my colleague, I seem to be in a sense of general malaise. Oh how I miss fresh air. I think it is time to take a drive to the hills and spend some time in clean crisp fresh air again.

pearlie

Bersih 4 Rally

Today is Malaysia's Bersih 4 Rally and as of now, it's still ongoing. Bersih means clean in Malay and it's a call for a clean government. I did not manage to go, but I'm following the live feeds from Malaysiakini.com.

The entry here in Wikipedia gives good perspective and background.




Photo: REUTERS/Edgar Su


Photo: Michelle Liew


Photo: Melissa Goh


Photo: Matthew Wong


Photo: Steven Yap


Photo: Malaysiakini.com

pearlie

Bersih 2.0

Source: AFP

Malaysiakini: Bersih's legacy - the eradication of fear

pearlie

The Story of the Nation

I attended "A Conversation with Professor Anthony Milner" on the topic of "Constructing and Contesting Malaysian History: Towards Responsible Writing and Teaching of History for Nation Building" organised by Kairos Research Centre this evening. It is a discussion based on the recently raised concerns when the Ministry of Education requires students to obtain a compulsory pass in History in the national Form 5 examinations, SPM.

History never held an interest for me until several years ago when I felt that my lack of knowledge in it resulted in a pallid understanding of events of the world. In my schooldays, I studied history in a rote manner and only of the Malaysian history, not anything beyond that - I never knew much about the enlightenment, the various inquisitions, or the wars. Only as I grew up and began to read more serious works had I realise that I lack in the understanding of the stories behind the times and the events as I encountered them.

As such, I attended the session with a sense of unfamiliarity. I had problems trying to take in and digest the horde of information and dialogue that went on. However, I came away with a renewed interest to ensure that my son will have a better exposure to the subject of History that I did. But I am not sure yet what I can do.

Firstly, I think I should get myself up-to-date with regards to the History textbooks in our national curriculum. For one, the textbooks do not favour an inclusive history and concentrates much on just one race, the Malays. We need to have textbooks that tells the story of the nation in an inclusive manner that will ignite an emotive fervour in all students of all races in Malaysia that will work towards nation building. We need an inclusive story of our nation that is respectful to the Malays, Chinese and Indians.

Secondly, I need to find out how the subject is being taught in schools, but I wonder how I can make that happen. A proper teaching of the subject can provoke passionate and emotive discussion about not only what happened but what it meant to the students today. We need more than rote and flat learning, without getting involved in the story of the nation. This reminds me of an excellent movie I watched some time ago, The Freedom Writers. It is based on a true account of a new and enthusiastic teacher who was placed in a classroom to teach kids from the ghettos and gangs. The classroom was akin to a world with borders drawn between the Hispanics, Asians, Blacks and one white student. She had to engaged them, she needs to teach them. She finally succeeded, by touching their lives with the stories of people in similar situations as they were. She used the Hollocaust event, brought them to visit the Hollocause museum, have them meet survivors of concentration camps and had them read The Diary of Anne Frank.

We need a more inclusive account of our Malaysian history and we need a more involving approach to teaching it. Only then will we build our youngsters with a sense of love and pride for the country from the stories of heros and heroines of all races.

pearlie

The world in devastation

Ah! I have been missing for 10 days as far as this blog is concerned.

And a lot has happened in the past week or so - a harbinger to the kind of year ahead? The major ones being the attack on several Malaysian churches over the court's decision in allowing the use of "Allah" by a Catholic newsletter to refer to God, and more devastatingly, the massive earthquake in Haiti that has brought much destruction to the lives of the people there.

I was preparing for bible study this evening and reading Leon Morris's NICNT commentary to the Gospel of John. This section on John 16:33 spoke very loudly:

"The world will infallibly bring them 'trouble'. That is its characteristic. But he can bid them 'take heart!' He had overcome the world, the perfect tense denoting an abiding victory. This statement, spoken as it is in the shadow of the cross, is audacious. The cross would seem to be Jesus' total defeat. He sees it as his complete victory over all that the world is and can do to him. He goes to the cross not in fear or in gloom, but as a conqueror." (Eerdmans, 1995, p.633)

It makes no sense to be joyful and yet we are called to rejoice in God. We can only do so if we look at our lives and live our lives through the cross of Christ. Without the work of Christ on the cross, we have nothing.

Therefore, rejoice! Take heart! He has overcome the world.

pearlie

Words from the Good Book

This was published in The Star today.

Wednesday December 2, 2009
Words from the Good Book
Mind Our English by LUCILLE DASS

Everyday words and phrases that originated from the Bible.

ACCORDING to The Bible In Facts And Figures, the Old Testament contains 592,493 words; 23,214 verses, 929 chapters and 39 books; the New Testament contains 181,253 words, 7,959 verses, 260 chapters and 27 books. This totals 773,746 words, 31,173 verses, 1,189 chapters and 66 books.

Wow! Expansively impressive. Little wonder that it’s been described as the world’s “greatest book”. This “library of books” (Biblia in Greek) is said to be written by at least 40 authors and took about 1,000 years to compile.

Read more.

pearlie

Only I know what I want, and I'll make sure I'll get it, whatever it takes?

There is a general sense of malaise going on with me for awhile now and I just cannot seem to shake it off and that itself has compounded the irritation I am experiencing. There are just too many things hovering over me that I have no control with.

The economic and political condition for one, and the self-centeredness the-hell-with-the-rest-of- the-world kind of attitude (and that's putting it mildly) that I keep encountering, one that would usually result in the "suffering-of-others-as-long-as-it's-not-me". What with the "get-rich-schemes" of shoddy I-don't-care-who-gets-hurt construction work and the purported oh-no-he-knows-too-much murder of Teoh Beng Hock and let's not forget the let's-blast-her-to-bits murder of Altantuya.

Just imagine if they are found out, would there not be loud wailings of "woe is me, where is justice", when justice is the last thing they would understand. Let's have them put in front of God and see if they can talk about justice without becoming cinder.

To go back to the very beginning, God created the world and all living things. God created us, although in his aseity he does not have to, but he did. To us he gave us his image and with that he gave us a self -- a self that has a freewill to seek for a purpose in life. And a created being who makes it a purpose in life to love his creator would be a testament to the greatness of the creator.

But no, we chose to love ourselves instead and see where it brought us?

Lies, murder, cheating, betrayal, robbery, rape, adultery, abuse, fraud, hatred, drunkenness, ... all for the gratification of self, for the worship of self.

We've become gods in our own rights and we've concluded that the only people who will show allegiance to us and who will give us due worship and sacrifices are none other than our very ownselves. Who better than I to know what I want, what I like and what I should have, and I better make sure I get it all.

And who has given the "I" so much freedom? The short answer would be God -- he has in the first place gave us that freewill. But the longer answer would be, yes God has given us that freewill but it is not without responsibility. God is still sovereign, he is holy and just. We will soon stand in his presence to be judged for the way we have spent our freewill, and we had better spent it well, or it will be to our doom.

It is no wonder then what Jesus said to his disciples and those with them:

Mark 8:34-38
If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.

Jesus has the answer -- Jesus is the answer.
Tell me who else has the answer other than Jesus.

pearlie

Maths and Science Back to BM

I have just found out that the Cabinet has decided that the medium of instruction for Maths and Science in our national schools will be reverted to Bahasa Malaysia from 2012 onwards. I was hoping against hope that it will not happen, but it has. Whilst we have been forward looking in introducing the Teaching of Math and Science in English programme six years ago, the government has decided that it was a flop and will be reverting back to teaching them in Bahasa Malaysia.

Calvin has been learning Maths and Science in English since he started school. While he is doing well in these subjects, his command of Bahasa Malaysia has been lacking. Based on the news report, I do not think he will be affected by the change and will still be doing his Maths and Science in English, but I cannot be too sure. Anything can change.

For more, see these reports in the The Star and The Malaysian Insider, and here for an interesting look at the statistics (let me know if you need some translation).

pearlie

Much thinking to do

These two things filled my mind:

• Reb's "Where is Malaysia Heading and What Must One Do"
• Daniel 6

pearlie

Ownership of a word?

Recently, the Malaysian government rescinded their decision for the use of the name "Allah" by Christian publications and reinstated the ban.

Malaysia to restore 'Allah' ban for Christians
By EILEEN NG, Associated Press Writer Eileen Ng, Associated Press Writer – Sun Mar 1, 4:19 am ET

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The Malaysian government will issue a new decree restoring a ban on Christian publications using the word "Allah" to refer to God, officials said Sunday.

Home Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Albar said a previous Feb. 16 decree that allowed Christian publications to use the word as long as they specified the material was not for Muslims was a mistake, the national Bernama news agency reported.

The about-turn came after Islamic groups slammed the government and warned that even conditional use of the word by Christians would anger Muslims, who make up the country's majority.

A senior ministry official confirmed Syed Hamid's comments, saying there were "interpretation mistakes" in the Feb. 16 decree that led to the confusion.

"'Allah' cannot be used for other religions except Islam because it might confuse Muslims. This is the ministry's stand and it hasn't changed," the official, who declined to be named citing protocol, told The Associated Press.

The official said the ministry was likely to issue a new decree to annul the old one and effectively re-impose the ban.

The dispute has become symbolic of increasing religious tensions in Malaysia, where 60 percent of the 27 million people are Muslim Malays. A third of the population is ethnic Chinese and Indian, and many of them practice Christianity.

Malaysia's minorities have often complained that their constitutional right to practice their religions freely has come under threat from the Malay Muslim-dominated government. They cite destruction of Hindu temples and conversion disputes as examples. The government denies any discrimination.

The Herald, the Roman Catholic Church's main newspaper in the country, had filed a legal suit to challenge the government ban on non-Muslims using the word.

The Herald argued that the Arabic word is a common reference for God that predates Islam and has been used for centuries as a translation in Malay.

Rev. Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the Herald, said Sunday the publication had not been notified of the government's change in policy.

"Unfortunately the apparent relief that we imagined we were able to enjoy has been short-lived," he said.
________________________________________________

Allah. Dieu. El. Eli. Elohim. God. Gott.Shen. Theos.  Can anyone claim sole ownership to a word? Or even a name? What about the name Yahweh?

Some may not think it matters. But think about it, what if you have always called your God, "God" and suddenly you can't anymore?  What are you going to do? What if you have always been importing bibles with the use of "God" but you can't anymore?

Back in mid 2008, when the issue was first brought up, the Sikhs also use the word "Allah" on "numerous occasions" in the Sikh holy book, Guru Granth Sahib. They joined the legal battle with the Christians over the ban of the word.  But there is no news now with regards to their use of the word.  Is the ban only resinstated for Christian publications?

pearlie

Preposterous!

(c) 2008 The Star

I woke up this morning with my husband updating me that Raja Petra Kamaruddin, Tan Hoon Cheng (Sin Chew Daily reporter) and Teresa Kok (Seputeh MP) were arrested under ISA.

Tan was released this afternoon, but Teresa's whereabouts is still unknown.

Our future is indeed bleak.

Here's more.

pearlie

p/s I realised the "bleak" link above does not give the full text, and so I am reproducing it here:

Is Our Future Bleak?
Khoo Kay Peng Sep 8, 08 11:11am Malaysiakini.com

If you ask Malaysians - who feels pessimistic about the country’s future to raise up their hand, I am sure you will find a sea of hands! The fact is people do not feel encouraged by the current economic and political gloom.

It is wrong to blame the state of our economy entirely on the perverse domestic politics. But it is not incorrect to say that the current political dilemma does not help to encourage a more positive economic outlook. Perception is an important barometer for consumer spending and business investment. A negative economic perception will slow down demand and lower business investment.

It is foolish to think that by lowering retail oil price, our economy will roar back fuelled by a tandem increase in domestic demand. Again, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has asked Malaysians to seek divine intervention to lower the price of crude oil. We should instead pray for sense and sensibility for our politicians and policy makers.

What is driving the bearish sentiment of our local economy is the current uncertainty of the future of Malaysia. Malaysians simply are losing hope that this country will recover from its continuous slide. Then again, we cannot blame them from losing hope when many of us are actually losing sleep over our own job security amid soaring cost of living. Inflation last quarter has shot up to 8.6% which is the highest in 26 years.

The newly tabled 2009 budget is unexpectedly huge at RM207.6 billion and yet showed very little indication that it will be able to create more jobs and business opportunities for the people. Some managed a cynical grin over the offer of RM20 free electricity bill knowing that this sounds rather ridiculous.

Malaysia is one of the few countries where individuals are paying more taxes than corporations. Individual highest tax rate is 27 percent compared to 25 percent for corporations. The government is trying to be morally correct by increasing sin tax for cigarette by an additional 3 cents per stick. Will this alter the behaviour of smokers? More are expected to migrate to cheaper contraband or locally produced cigarettes putting their health and that of other non-smokers at even greater risk.

Spending our way out of misery
The lack of policy wisdom is obviously not helping to restore and enhance public confidence in the economy. We cannot spend our way out of our misery nor can we simply depend on frugality to improve our financial position.

What Malaysia need is a clear, competent and competitive economic solution. This solution can only be found if the ruling government is able to provide a solid policy leadership.

In his numerous policy speeches, the Prime Minister has repeatedly said that the private sector should take the lead in the economy. This is easier said than done. For the last two decades, Malaysian companies have been pampered with easy government contracts. Businesses went on relentless expansion overdrive due to easy access to funds.

Projects were awarded not on the basis of performance but social status and political patronage. But did the government stop for a moment to ponder what has been achieved with the hundreds of billions spent so far?

As a result, we have lost a generation of competent companies and individuals. Companies which are competent but lacked political connections had left to strike out on their own overseas. Some of them found it simply too cumbersome to do business locally when know-who takes precedent over know-how.

Many of our skilled professionals were attracted to work overseas due to higher salary and equal opportunities. Did the government pause for a moment to examine what was the main cause of our brain drain? Why the civil service is not able to attract the best talents when many of them would not mind working for other foreign governments?

When will it sink into our politicians’ subconscious that it time for them to exercise their mandate to govern instead of continuing to bicker?

When two coalitions collide
Again, this is easier said than done when the two coalitions simply won’t allow the other to function and play their rightful role. A fellow analyst remarked that both will probably continue with their act until Malaysia effectively becomes a failed nation.

From the political lingo and behaviour, it is difficult for us to call a number of these politicians anything but arrogant, ignorant, selfish, out of touch, incompetent and rowdy. Before you accuse me of being rude, I suggest you read up on Malaysia’s political development over the last few years and you would find examples and instances which will fit nicely into each of the categories I have mentioned above.

With the likes of Ahmad Ismail, Zulkifli Nordin and others, it is not surprising that Malaysian politics may have reached a point of no return. This is probably the best time to sell any semblance of ‘hope’ to most Malaysians. This explains why a large number of Malaysians are supporting the possibility of an Anwar Ibrahim-led coalition grabbing power regardless of the moral issue. Between life and death, it is all about survival and not the civic.

Hence, if the Barisan Nasional leadership is worth their salt they should have prevented this possibility by offering to work with the Pakatan Rakyat states. The fact is Malaysia is overly centralised. A heavily centralised government will not allow for PR states to function effectively if the former is not willing to extend a helping hand or offer to collaborate. If BN does lose power through crossovers, the leaders have themselves to blame for practising negative politics.

By helping the two coalitions to work for the people and to compete fairly to win over support is still BN’s best chance to stay a step ahead of their surging rival.

Khoo Kay Peng is a corporate consultant and an independent political analyst.

For Whom Would Jesus Vote?

I have been spending time off and on, in keeping up with the current local news in Malaysiakini, as well as reading thoughts and opinions over several blogs. As much as the topic of politics now interest me, I began to also ask questions concerning my stand as a Christian. At this time when I am still asking questions and finding my role, responsiblity and identity as a Christian in the context of government, I was grateful enough not to be put in a position where I had to choose between a Christian MCA candidate and a PAS candidate.

I did a search today and found this article most helpful.

For Whom Would Jesus Vote?
Single-issue politics is neither necessary nor wise.
A Christianity Today Editorial November 2004, Vol. 48, No. 11

It has become a cliché for Christians to ask, What would Jesus do? But as we close out one of the nastiest campaigns in memory, it might be timelier to ask, For whom would Jesus vote? Many Christians think they at least know for whom the Lord would not vote, based on one issue.

In September, Illinois Republican Senate candidate Alan Keyes stated that Jesus would not vote for rising star Democrat Barack Obama, his opponent, because of Obama's earlier vote in the state Senate against a bill requiring doctors to provide medical care to infants born alive after attempted abortions. James I. Lamb, executive director of the pro-life group Lutherans For Life, also thinks he knows. "A candidate who favors abortion should be disqualified from receiving a Christian's vote," Lamb says. "A vote for a pro-abortion candidate implicates the voter in the destruction of children created by God and for whom Jesus died."

Over the summer, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who heads the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, gave such single-issue thinking more nuance. In a memo to Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C. (McCarrick leads a task force on Catholic politicians), Ratzinger said Catholics may vote for a politician who supports abortion rights if (1) abortion is not the reason for their vote, and (2) they have "proportionate reasons" (in other words, if the candidate's positions on other issues outweigh his or her stand on abortion).

But how do you measure whether a candidate's good on other issues outweighs his or her bad on the question of human life? As Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis said in reaction to the memo, "What is a proportionate reason to justify favoring the taking of an innocent, defenseless human life?" Obviously, no amount of praiseworthy policies on the environment, terrorism, or the economy can atone for the loss of a single human life made in God's image—let alone for the 44 million unborn taken from us since 1973.

However, a vote for a candidate who supports abortion rights does not necessarily translate into more abortions. In some cases, voting for a pro-choice politician may be morally acceptable (especially if the pro-life opponent is otherwise incompetent). Of course, Christians should not vote for abortion ideologues—who reflexively and actively support the destruction of innocent human life at every turn and for every reason—and then claim ignorance.

This summer the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) released a thoughtful draft document titled "For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility." It encourages evangelicals of all political stripes to work together not just for the sanctity of human life, but also for religious freedom, family life, the poor, peacemaking, and creation care. While sanctity-of-life issues will always be of vital interest to Christians, today's context demands that believers engage a broad spectrum of issues.

We continue to believe the classic Christian teaching that abortion is the wrongful taking of innocent human life and a grave sin. We also recognize that many Americans view abortion as sometimes the lesser of two evils, and a complete ban is politically impossible right now. Unfortunately, public opinion tolerating this evil has been remarkably consistent since Roe v. Wade. Last year, 57 percent of Americans said abortion should be legal only under certain circumstances (compared with 54 percent in 1975)—such as to save the life of the mother (88 percent) or to end an unwanted pregnancy (42 percent). Former President Bill Clinton, who apparently never met an abortion restriction he liked, nevertheless captured public sentiment when he said abortion should be "safe, legal, and rare."

As President Bush has said, to make abortion nonexistent, we first need to build a culture of life. Part of that effort surely means educating and making alliances with open-minded pro-choice politicians (those who exist) to work toward reasonable compromise measures, such as parental notification, a ban on partial-birth abortions, funding for ultrasound machines, and waiting periods.

That's the real world of politics. We must make hard choices about using our scarce resources of time and money.

By thinking in terms of single issues, we marginalize ourselves, whether we are Republicans or Democrats, pro-life or pro-choice. A better approach is to think of dominant issues. For most Christians seeking to honor God with their votes, the sanctity of human life is a given. Because of Scripture's clarity on the dignity of human beings, abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research, and like issues should be prime concerns for all of us.

But we can't stop there. Jesus is Lord of all. As the NAE statement says, "While individual persons and organizations may rightly concentrate on one or two issues, faithful evangelical civic engagement must champion a biblically balanced agenda."

The dark side of single-issue politics is that it has forced evangelicals to become ever more shrill and ever less imaginative. Dominant-issue politics shows greater promise in addressing our society amid all the pressing issues our society faces, including terrorism, economic justice, church-state relations, gay marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, and so on.

Abortion is a monstrous tragedy for the nation, but our Christian commitment to a culture of life does not permit us the luxury of abandoning other important issues. While single-mindedness in following Christ is always wise, single-issue voting may not be.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today.

pearlie

Politics 101

I was never interested in politics. I am not sure if I can really pin down all the reasons why but I can say that it mainly has to do with the masquerading two-faced quality of human beings, regardless of which side they are in - what is being said may sound acceptable but usually just on the surface. What goes on with the undercurrents is what we should be vary of at all times, and I find that exhausting to keep up, and so I didn't. Not until this recent elections.

The recent happenings in Malaysian politics is something very significant. It has been 39 years since the racial riots of 1969 that are without a doubt still fresh in the minds of the more senior generations. I grew up being reminded of it by my late grandmother. But that generation has almost passed on. It is highly possible that the younger generations now are not even aware of it. The intensity of the memory has faded. In this current milieu, add on the freedom of press via the internet, Malaysians are more vocal and bold, hence the recent transfer of power.

In my case, you can say I took a crash course in Malaysian politics over the past week. I devoured information akin to a hungry lion. Yet I am still quite dubious of it all. What I hear now can sometimes differ a few hours on. What I am convicted of now is usually overturned by one's later comment. But I suppose that is life: we are after all not omniscient.

A few links I found you may find worth checking out:

Freedom House
Malaysian Elections Represent Step Forward for Democracy
Freedom in the World 2008: Malaysia

The Economist
Malaysia's election: The no-colour revolution

A one week crash course is obviously miniscule, a mere lick of the political arena. I am not sure if this is just a fever for me - I may soon just resign and leave it to the pundits to do their thing. But I think not - the political canvas in Malaysia has practically been ripped off and a new one is being set up, what with the new state governments in Perak, Selangor and Penang. I will be watching - albeit just a nibble here and there.

pearlie

The Rakyat has Spoken

It was "Justification in the Pauline Corpus, Day 4" and I found this lecture the most interesting one - touching on imputation of righteousness, justification and works.

But that is definitely eclipsed by Malaysia's 12th election that was held today, nationwide. It is the most exciting watch in my lifetime as a Malaysian citizen and voter. The Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition suffered much in losses even though they have won a simple majority - what with 30 parliament seats, of which they won 29, Sarawak with only a population of 2.4 million (a 2006 estimate), compared to 22 seats in Selangor with a population of 4.8m (a 2007 estimate).

Thank you Malaysiakini.com for giving us up-to-date live reports on the election results and going-ons. The mainstream media is as expected utterly hopeless. I have been also updating myself on what had been happening in the Seputeh parliamentary seat, where I placed my vote in this morning. I have heard about it and seen the "revised" poster after complaints were mounted. Just unbelievable.

Here's what I have been following for the past 9 hours as the results unfolds. I better go to sleep now - I will be definitely late for church tomorrow!

Malaysiakini live coverage - 6.45pm
Due to extremely high traffic to the website, Malaysiakini is providing this stripped-down frontpage as the results come in. This page is divided into two sections - live reports on the left and a score chart for selected hot seats/states on the right. Please click refresh/reload on your browser for the latest updates.
The Malaysiakini team is receiving reports from our journalists on the ground while the ballots are being counted and we will give you the unofficial results as we get them.

Opposition takes lead in key hot seats - 6.47pm
Based on ground reports, DAP candidates are leading in the early stage of the count. Tony Pua is leading by 1,800 votes in Petaling Jaya Utara. Fong Kui Lun is similarly leading by 3,000 votes in Bukit Bintang. Hannah Yeoh is leading the Subang Jaya state seat.
In Klang, DAP's Charles Santiago is also leading at this very early stage. PKR's S Manikavasagam is also in the lead in neighbouring Kapar.

Poor turnout in opposition’s favour? - 6.55pm
A very poor turnout in Taiping, especially among the Malay voters, is expected to cause some problems for incumbent M Kayveas. Similarly poor voter turnout in Selangor's Kapar and Klang, again among Malay voters, could benefit PKR and DAP in both seats.

PKR in unassailable lead in Bukit Tambun - 7.05pm
PKR's Law Choo Kiang has taken an unassailable lead of 1,500 votes for the state seat of Bukit Tambun. This may be the first Penang seat to fall to opposition hands.
Early reports indicate DAP candidates are leading in many Penang state seats.

Latest updates - 7.10pm
- Opposition parties are leading in all key seats in Penang
- Teresa Kok leading by 10,000 votes in Seputeh
- DAP leading both Petaling Jaya Utara state seats
- Edward Lee from DAP leading in Bukit Gasing
- In Sarawak, PKR leading in Limbong and DAP in Bandar Kuching.
- PKR’s Dr Xavier Jayakumar leading in all streams in Kota Raya state seat
- PKR’s Tian Chua leading in Batu by 3,743 votes.

DAP retains Kuching - 7.15pm
DAP’s Chong Chieng Jen has retained Kuching with an increased majority of 10,000 votes according to unofficial results. Chong won the seat in 2004 with a 2,000 majority.

ISA candidate Manoharan wins seat? - 7.20pm
Hindraf leader M Manoharan, who is being held under the Internal Security Act, is reported to have taken the Selangor state seat of Kota Alam Shah (unconfirmed).

Nurul Izzah ahead in 3 out of 14 polling stations - 7.27pm
Nurul Izzah Anwar is leading at three out of 14 polling stations at the Lembah Pantai parliament seat.
Meanwhile, PKR’s Azmin Ali is leading in both the Gombak parliamentary seat and the Bukit Antarabangsa state seat.

Victory parades banned, says police chief - 7.36pm
Police chief Musa Hassan has announced that all political parties are not allowed to hold victory parades after the results are announced. He said this is to prevent ‘untoward incidents’.

Tony Pua increases lead - 7.40pm
In Petaling Jaya Utara, Tony Pua is now leading by 4,000 votes.
DAP also retained its Tanjung parliamentary seat in Penang as well as taking a large lead in all three state seats under that parliamentary seat.
Wee Choo Keong, standing under a PKR ticket, is leading in Wangsa Maju.

Unofficial - Tony Pua wins PJ Utara - 7.45pm
Tony Pua has helped DAP has reclaimed Petaling Jaya Utara.
Meanwhile, Janice Lee has won the state seat of Teratai, which is under the Pandan parliament seat.

Tian Chua leading in Batu - 7.47pm
PKR’s information chief Tian Chua in on the way to cause an upset in Batu by leading Gerakan’s Lim Si Pin by 7,089 votes

PAS retains Kelantan: PAS president press sec - 7.50pm
According to Roslan Shahir Mohd Shahir, who is the press secretary of PAS president Hadi Awang, PAS has unofficially won 31 of the 45 state seats.
He said that PAS' Nasharuddin Mat Isa has beaten Umno's Awang Adek Husin in Bachok. Awang Adek, who is deputy finance minister, also lost in the state seat of Perupok, which is under Bachok.

Kit Siang on the way to win Ipoh Timur - 7.51pm
DAP leader Lim Kit Siang has retained his Ipoh Timur parliamentary seat and his party is also leading in all three state seats - Canning, Tebing Tinggi and Pasir Pinji
Pasir Puteh Utara

Voter turnout tops 70 percent - 7.58pm
At 7.30pm, voter turnout nationwide was reported at 70 percent, but the figure is expected to go up as more information comes in.
Election Commission head Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman.told a press conference in Putrajaya that turnout was highest in Kelantan and Putrajaya (81% each), followed by Terengganu and Perlis (79 percent), Selangor (74 percent) and Pahang (73 percent).
The lowest turnout was for the Federal Territory of Labuan at 59 percent. Generally, about 70-75 percent of voters come out to vote for each general election.

Unofficial: DAP’s Tan Seng Giaw retains Kepong- 7.54pm
The incumbent is leading in all 13 polling stations.

Unofficial: Opposition on the way to take over Penang - 8.01pm
The combined DAP-PKR_PAS opposition is running hot in the state by winning 17 state seats and needing only another four to form the state government.

Teresa Kok retains Seputeh, wins Kinrara - 8.03pm
Incumbent MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok has retained her seat with a huge majority of 20,000 votes. She has also won Kinrara, a state seat under Puchong in Selangor.

Blogger Jeff Ooi has big lead in Jelutong - 8.15pm
DAP’s Jeff Ooi is leading in the Jelutong parliamentary seat and the party is also leading in all three state seats in Jelutong - Datuk Keramat, Sungai Pinang and Batu Lanchang.

Opposition closer to taking Penang - 8.20pm
Having unofficially won 17 of the 40 state seats in Penang, the opposition is currently leading in six other seats with a wide margin. They need to pick up just another four seats to take over government in the island state.

DAP reclaims Kota Melaka - 8.25pm
DAP has won Kota Melaka, a seat which the party lost in 2004.

Sothinathan looks shaky in Teluk Kemang - 8.27pm
As it stands, reports from the ground indicates incumbent K Sothinathan is facing a tough fight against PKR’s Kamarul Baharin Abbas.
Meanwhile Port Dickson’s MIC candidate T Rajagopalu is also facing a tough fight against PKR’s M Ravi and independent Jeeva Kumar Marimuthu.

Ramasamy knocks out Koh in Batu Kawan - 8.29pm
Unofficial - Prof P Ramasamy has defeated outgoing Penang chief minister Koh Tsu Koon by a majority of 3,000 votes. Koh is the most senior BN leader to have lost so far.

MIC Youth chief behind PAS in Kota Raja - 8.35pm
MIC Youth chief SA Vigneswaran is trailing behind PAS candidate Dr Siti Maria Mahmud in the state seat of Kota Raja, which is under the Klang parliamentary seat. Vigneswaran is parliamentary secretary to the Youth and Sports Ministry.

Samy trails by 1,300 votes - 8.32pm
PKR’s Dr D Jeyakumar is presently leading by 1,300 votes in Sungai Siput. However there are sill more than 20,000 votes to be counted. Samy Vellu has been the Sungai Siput MP since 1974. Samy Vellu claims today is his 72nd birthday.

Kit Siang: Political tsunami - 8.39pm
This is from Lim Kit Siang’s blog: here is a political tsunami in the 12th general election, with the Barisan Nasional suffering probably its biggest setback in history. From available reports, DAP has won victories, in some cases with huge majorities, in the following parliamentary seats:
1. Bagan
2. Tanjong
3. Bukit Glugor
4. Ipoh Timur
5. Batu Gajah
6. Petaling Jaya Utara
7. Seputeh
8. Kepong
9. Bukit Bintang
10. Cheras
11. Bandar Kuching
12. Sandakan
13. Segambut
14. Kota Melaka
DAP is leading in the following parliamentary seats:
1. Sarikei
2. Serdang
3. Klang
4. Taiping
5. Beruas
6. Teluk Intan
7. Jelutong
8. Bukit Bendera
9. Batu Kawan
For state assembly seats, DAP has won
1. Subang Jaya
2. Teratai
In Penang, the three state seats of Tanjong and Bagan have also been won by DAP. Other Penang state seats won by DAP are Air Puteh, Prai, Batu Lanchang, Pulau Tikus and leading in all the other state seats contested by DAP. DAP has also won new state seats in Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johore.
One of the most noted state assembly win is the Sri Tanjong seat of Tawau, Sabah.

Tengku Adnan wins Putrajaya - 8.45pm
Controversial minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor retained his Putrajaya parliamentary seat, where most of the voters are civil servants. He bagged 4,038 votes against PAS Mohd Noor Mohamad's 1,304.

Unofficial: DAP retains Ipoh Barat and three state seats - 8.46pm
Incumbent M Kulasegaran obtained a majority of 1,056 while the three state seats in the parliamentary constituency - Buntong (majority 4,437), Bercham (3,395) and Kepayan (1,382) were also won by DAP.

Confirmed: Opposition takes Penang - 8.52pm
Unofficial result: The opposition will form the next state government in Penang for second time in history. Gerakan, then an opposition party, won Penang almost 40 years ago. The DAP-PKR-PAS combination has collectively won at least 24 seats out of the 40 seats.

Teresa Kok wins with whopping 36,600 majority - 9.02pm
Teresa Kok has won her Seputeh parliamentary seat with an unprecedented 36,564 majority. She also won the Kinrara state seat with a massive 4,901 majority.

Close fight in Terengganu - 9.10pm
Latest report from Terengganu is that Umno and PAS are neck in neck as counting continues in many of the state seats. PAS is said to be leading with eight state seats against Umno's five. At least 17 seats are needed to win the government as there are a total of 32 seats.

Opposition supporters told to stay calm - 9.20pm
DAP MP for Bukit Mertajam Chong Eng has advised all opposition supporters to remain calm and not provoke others. She also said they should refrain from having victory parades.
“The Barisan Rakyat must learn how to handle victory or loss with maturity,” said her statement which comes as early polls result indicate a major swing towards the opposition.

Unofficial: PAS concedes defeat in Terengganu - 9.23pm
According to the state’s director of election Mustafa Ali, the party has conceded defeat in Terengganu, paving the way for BN to retain the state.

PKR candidates leading in KL - 9.25pm
Unofficial result: PKR’s Zuraida Kamaruddin defeated BN’s Azman Wahid in the Ampang parliamentary constituency.
Meanwhile, Khalid Ibrahim has taken both the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary seat where he contested against MCA’s Tan Chai Ho and the Ijok state seat against Umno’s Mohd Sayuti Said.
PKR vice-president Azmin Ali is leading Umno’s Said Anuar Syed Ahmad in the Gombak parliamentary seat, while Nurul Izzah Anwar is leading in Lembah Pantai against Umno's Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

Unofficial: Nurul creates upset in Lembah Pantai - 9.29pm
According to polling agents, Nurul Izzah looks sets to unseat Shahrizat Abdul Jalil in the Lembah Pantai seat.

PAS bags 15 seats in Kedah - 9.34pm
According to PAS organ Harakah, the opposition party has won 15 of the 36 state seats in Kedah, including seats that were considered Umno strongholds. It needs four more seats to win government.

Kayveas loses at Taiping - 9.40pm
Another BN big gun, PPP's M Kayveas, who is a deputy minister, has lost his Taiping parliament seat. Winner DAP's Nga Hon Ming has told his supporters to have 'zero celebration'.

Recount in Rembau - 9.41pm
A recount is underway in the Rembau parliamentary seat which saw Khairy Jamaluddin taking on PKR’s Badrul Hisham Shaharin.

Unconfirmed: Samy is out - 9.43pm
Unofficial: MIC president S Samy Vellu has suffered a shock defeat at the hands of PSM’s Dr D Jeyakumar for the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat which he has held for nine terms. Jeyakumar polled 16,874 votes to Samy's 14,408. Today is Samy Vellu's 72nd birthday.

IGP: Don’t spread rumours of riots - 9.53pm
Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan tonight warned that ISA will be invoked against those found spreading rumours of riots and urged those receiving such SMSes to report them to the police. Meanwhile, the opposition has urged its supporters to remain calm.

Unofficial: Nurul Izzah beats Shahrizat - 9.55pm
According to ground reports, PKR's Nurul Izzah Anwar, Anwar Ibrahim's daughter, has knocked out Umno minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil at Kuala Lumpur's Lembah Pantai. Today is also International Women's Day.

DAP takes Klang - 10.01pm
Unofficial: DAP candidate Charles Santiago has won the Klang parliament seat with 16,975 votes against MCA's Ch'ng Toh Eng.

KL's Titiwangsa falls to PAS - 10.05pm
Unofficial: PAS' Dr Lo' Lo' Ghazali has won the Titiwangsa parliament seat with a majority of 1,972.

Unofficial: Wan Azizah retains Permatang Pauh - 10.07pm
The PKR president and incumbent has won the seat by a 4,000-vote majority.

Confirmed: Tan Seng Giaw retains Kepong with higher majority - 10.10pm
The six-term DAP incumbent obtained 35, 552 votes to win with a 23,848-vote.

Confirmed: ISA detainee wins with big majority - 10.15pm
Hindraf leader and ISA-detainee M Manoharan, on a DAP ticket, obtained 12,699 votes to win with a 7,184-vote majority the Kota Alam Shah state seat (Selangor).

Human rights lawyer Sivarasa wins Subang - 10.16pm
PKR's R Sivarasa wins the Subang parliamentary seat by a majority of 8,000 votes. The opposition has also picked up the three state seats under Subang - Elizabeth Wong (PKR) in Bukit Lancang, Dr Nasir Mohd Hashim (PKR) in Kota Damansara and Khairudin Othman (PAS) in Paya Jaras.

Unofficial: Zam loses in Sungai Petani - 10.22pm
The information minister has apparently lost Kedah’s Sungai Petani parliamentary seat to PKR’s Johari Abdul by 10,000 votes.

Tsu Koon promises smooth transition - 10.25pm
Former Penang chief minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon has promised a smooth transition of power to the combined opposition of DAP-PKR-PAS, which has taken over the state.
State DAP chief Chow Kom Yeow said this was relayed to him by Koh who is also Gerakan acting president. Speaking at a press conference at Hotel Macalister in Georgetown, Chow said Koh told him that the wishes of the people must be respected. DAP has again appealed to its supporters to remain calm.

Unofficial: Najib wins in Pekan - 10.26pm
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak retained Pekan with a majority of about 26,000. He defeated PKR rookie Khairul Anwar Ahmad Zainuddin.

BN wins big in Sarawak, only Kuching falls - 10.40pm
BN in Sarawak, with only parliamentary seats being contested, is winning big. Results over RTM as at 10.29pm confirmed that DAP only managed to defend its sole Bandar Kuching seat. BN won Serian, Selangau, Julau, Petra Jaya, Betong, Bandar Sibu, Stampin, Miri and Kota Samarahan comfortably. However, BN only managed to scrap through Sarikei by a 51-vote majority.

Wee Choo Keong takes Wangsa Maju - 10.42pm
Unofficial: Former DAP leader Wee Choo Keong, has won the Wangsa Maju parliament seat in Kuala Lumpur for PKR. He is reported to have won by 500 votes. This will mark the return of the fiery lawyer to Parliament.

Unofficial: MIC deputy president G Palanivel wins slim - 10.44pm
The Hulu Selangor incumbent has won by a mere 100-vote majority.

Unofficial: MIC’s Wanita chief Komala loses in Kapar - 10.45pm
The incumbent parliamentarian is defeated by PKR’s S Manikavasagam by a 3,000-vote majority.

Unofficial: T Mohan defeated in Batu Caves - 10.47pm
MIC’s new face T Mohan has been defeated by Amirudin Shari from the PKR.

Unofficial: Pak Lah wins with reduced majority - 10.48pm
The Barisan Nasional chairperson retains his Kepala Batas by a reduced majority of about 11,000. His majority in 2004 was 18,000.

Confirmed: Opposition takes Kedah - 10.50pm
Both the PAS and PKR have won 22 out of 36 state seats in Kedah. This means that the combined opposition will form the next state government there. Apart from Kedah, the opposition has won two other states - Kelantan and Penang.

Anwar: BN to lose two-thirds majority - 11.02pm
PKR advisor Anwar Ibrahim said tonight that early results from the general election indicated the BN would lose its critical two-thirds majority in parliament.
"We have crossed the one-third majority. This is based on information from the candidates from the initial counting," he told AFP. "This is a major victory... and we are moving up very fast towards (winning) 40 percent (of parliament seats)," he said.

Joseph Pairin trailing brother, DAP may take KK - 11.08pm
BN’s Parti Rakyat Sabah (PBS) president and Sabah caretaker deputy chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan is trailing behind his brother, state deputy PKR chief Dr Jeffrey Kitingan at the Keningau parliamentary seat.
Unconfirmed reports also say DAP has won the the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary seat through its Kota Kinabalu chief Dr Hiew King Chiew.

Latest official tally - 11.33pm
As at 11.20pm, BN has won 52 parliamentary seats, followed by DAP with six, PAS (2) and PKR (2)

Opposition wins 27 state seats in Penang - 11.40pm
The opposition has won 27 out of 40 state seats in Penang - DAP (19 seats), PKR (6) and PAS (2). Of the parliament seats, DAP has seven seats while PKR has three so far.

Abdullah says defeat part of democracy - 11.50pm
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that he accepted defeat in three states - Penang, Kedah and Kelantan - a sizable number of parliament seats. He said that was how democracy works and urged everyone to remain calm and not to celebrate in the streets.

Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin wins - 11.59pm
The Umno Youth chief beats PKR’s Lee Sang by a majority of 11,570.

Confirmed: Both MCA chief and brother win - 11.58pm
MCA president Ong Ka Ting wins the Kulai parliamentary seat while his brother Ka Chuan also wins at Tanjung Malim.

Official: PKR’s Khalid Ibrahim takes Bandar Tun Razak - 12.04pm
PKR’s Abdul Khalid Ibrahim wins the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary seat beating BN’s Tan Chai Ho by a majority of 2,515 votes. He has also won the state seat of Ijok, which he had lost in a bitterly fought by-election last year.

Guan Eng to be Penang CM - 12.11pm
It is believed that DAP has named party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng as the next chief minister of Penang. DAP won all 19 state seats it contested in Penang with PKR winning six and Pas two. There are 40 state seats in Penang.

Uncounted ballot boxes in Lembah Pantai - 12.12am
There are another 14 ballot boxes that have not been counted in this parliamentary seat, throwing a spanner in the victory achieved by PKR’s Nurul Izzah against incumbent Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

Unofficial: Opposition wins Selangor - 12.25am
Selangor has fallen into the hands of the opposition. PKR has earlier announced that its secretary-general Khalid Ibrahim will be named chief minister. In Selangor, DAP has taken 35 seats (DAP - 15, PKR - 11 and PAS - 9) out of the 56 seats in the state.
Meanwhile, the opposition is also doing very well in Perak but it is still not clear how many of the 59 state seats it has won. The opposition has so far won Penang, Kedah, Selangor and Kelantan.

Official: BN retains Perlis, Johor, Terengganu, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan - 12.28am
The respective state menteris besar officially announced that the BN had retained the state governments in these states.

Official: Wan Azizah retains Permatang Pauh - 12.31am
The incumbent wins the seat with a larger majority of 13,388 votes. She polled in 30,338 as opposed to BN’s Firdaus Ismail’s 16,950. In the three state seats under this constituency, BN took Seberang Jaya while Pas won Permatang Pasir and PKR won Penanti.
Polling agent: Only technical issue to be solved in Lembah Pantai - 12.43am
A technical issue has been blamed for the delay in the delivery of official results from 14 ballot boxes. However, the result will remain the same - a win for Nurul Izzah - with no question of a further count.

Official: Opposition wins big in Kelantan - 12.47am
PAS and PKR won 40 of the 45 state seats in Kelantan, with BN taking the rest. In 2004, the margin was much closer with the opposition having just a one-seat margin against the BN.

Tiger of Jelutong roars in Bukit Gelugor - 12.50am
DAP’s Karpal Singh eats up Koay Kar Huah (BN) with a whopping 21,015 majority.

MCA president shocked by BN losses - 12.58am
MCA president Ong Ka Ting today expressed shock over the election results which saw the ruling Barisan Nasional losing scores of seats to the opposition.
“The results are shocking because there are several states which BN has lost. However, MCA accepts the decision of the voters because it is their right,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.
Ong also added that MCA will conduct a detailed study on the defeat.

Confirmed: Guan Eng is the new Penang CM - 1.01am
DAP confirmed today that its secretary general Lim Guan Eng will be the next Penang Chief Minister. He said that DAP would form the state government with PKR. “It will be a government for all Malaysians. We stress that we will not rule alone but together with PKR. We also hope that the PAS can help this new government”.

Opposition may take Perak as well - 1.20am
Unofficial: The opposition is reported to be on the way of winning close to half of the 59 seats in the state. It has so far won 22 seats and it could pick up a few more. However, it is still too close to call.

Khairy: We suffered a lot tonight - 1.25am
Khairy Jamaluddin, who won the Rembau parliamentary with 5,740-vote majority, admitted that the BN suffered a lot in this general election. “This is not the end of this world. We will fight back,” he said.

Mahathir’s son wins in Jerlun - 1.26am
Mukhriz Mahathir obtained a 2,205-vote majority to win the Jerlun parliamentary seat. He obtained 19,424 votes.

MIC Youth leader Vigneswaran suffers heavy defeat - 1.30am
The Kota Raja incumbent Vigneswaran polled in 17,879 votes to PAS’ Siti Mariah’s 38,630, losing by a whopping 20,751-vote majority.

Perak - Tajol Rosli survives - 1.35am
The caretaker Perak menteri besar defeats PKR’s Lee Sing Long by a majority 4,645 to take the Pengkalan Hulu seat.
Meanwhile, DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang retains his parliamentary seat of Ipoh Timur by a massive 21,942 majority. In Kuala Kangsar, Wanita Umno chief Rafidah Aziz polls 10,735, defeating PAS’ Dr Khairuddin Abdul Malik who got 9,277 in Kuala Kangsar.

Opposition claims victory in Perak - 1.50am
The state is still too close to call. However, the opposition claimed that it has won a simple majority in the state. According to PKR state chief Dr Lee Boon Chye, the opposition was victorious 30 out of 59 seats (DAP - 18, PKR - 6, PAS - 6).
But the state Election Commission appears to have suffered a computer glitch, which has delayed the announcement of the results.

Sothinathan loses Teluk Kemang - 2.15am
MIC deputy president S Sothinathan was defeated in the Teluk Kemang parliamentary seat by PKR’s Kamarul Baharain Abbas in a three-cornered fight which also involved an independent candidate.
MIC appears to be the biggest loser with almost all its top leaders axed, including president S Samy Vellu and deputy president G Palanivel. Also shown the exit was its MIC Youth chief SA Vigneswaran and Women’s wing chief P Komala Devi.

EC declares simple majority win for BN - 2.20am
Election Commission chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman says BN has won a simple majority to win the 12th general elections and will form the next federal government.“BN wins the Parliament,” he said in a brief statement at 1:30 am this morning. When asked of the number of seats won by opposition parties at the point of tally, Abdul Rashid said, “Don’t know lah. It is not written here.”

MIC deputy president loses too - 2.22am
G Palanivel loses to PKR’s Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad by a slim margin of 198 votes at the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat.

Umno leaders in emergency meeting - 2.25am
The mood is grim at the Umno headquarters as the shock results of the today’s polls become apparent. The Putra World Trade Centre which houses the Umno headquarters is unusually quiet with party leaders trickling in slowly. No statements have been made to reporters gathered at the venue as they remain locked in deep discussions upstairs.
The evening saw the arrival of
8:10pm BN secretary-general Radzi Sheikh Ahmad and Azalina Othman
8:53pm Umno Youth leader Hishammudidn Hussein
9:42pm Umno Information Chief Muhd Muhammad Taib
10:15pm Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and wife
11:40pm Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and wife
12:06am Minister of Women and Family Shahrizat Abdul Jalil

Pak Lah to meet King on Monday to form gov’t - 2.25am
In a live TV broadcast caretaker Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi says he will seek an audience with the Yang di Pertuan Agong on Monday to form the next federal government following BN’s simple majority win in the 12th general elections.
To a reporter’s question on whether the BN coalition would be denied its two-thirds majority in Parliament, Abdullah said: “This is what the people want if they do not want us to have a two-thirds majority.”
When asked whether the massive lost by BN was a vote of no confidence on the government, he said, "I don't see it that way."

PKR victorious in Kuantan - 2.32am
Former PKR Wanita chief Fuziah Salleh has won in Kuantan beating MCA incumbent Fu Ah Kiow.

Unofficial: BN denied two-thirds majority - 2.42am
According to unofficial tally, the opposition has apparently denied the ruling Barisan Nasional its crucial two-thirds majority by winning up to 82 parliament seats so far (PKR - 29, DAP - 28, PAS - 25). To deny the government two-thirds majority, the opposition must win 75 seats. On the other hand, BN has won about 130 seats. There are still a dozen more seats to be decided.

Samy says ‘goodbye’ - 3.37am
After defending the seat for nine terms since 1974, MIC’s 71-year-old president S Samy Vellu made a quick exit upon learning his defeat. According to nstonline, on his way out, Samy Vellu could only muster a "goodbye" to reporters and supporters present at the convention hall.
The MIC stalwart lost to Dr D Jeyakumar who has been contesting against him since 1999. In the previous polls four years ago, Samy Vellu defeated the latter with a majority of 10,349 votes. This time around, Jeyakumar, who stood on PKR ticket, garnered 16,874 votes to Samy Vellu's 14,408.

DAP-PKR-PAS to form gov’t in Perak - 4.56am
The combined opposition of DAP, PKR and PAS said that they will form the new government in Perak. Collectively the three parties have won 30 seats (DAP - 18, PKR - 6, PAS - 6) out of 59 seats. One seat (Teja) is yet to be decided.
However, the opposition still will have a narrow one-seat majority even if Teja goes to BN. About 50 opposition supporters are attempting to seal off the state government building in Ipoh to stop documents from being removed.

Khalid to meet Selangor sultan soon - 4.05am
PKR secretary-general Khalid Ibrahim said they will meet with the Selangor sultan "soon" regarding the formation of the new state government.
However, he told Malaysiakini that he did not wish to jump the gun when asked whether he would be the new mentri besar. The deputy mentri besar is likely to be DAP’s Teng Chang Khim, who is former state opposition leader.

Anwar ushers in ‘a new dawn for Malaysia’ - 4.08am
A triumphant PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim described the victory of the opposition parties in five states and its breach of Barisan Nasional’s two-third majority in Parliament as “a defining moment” in the history of the nation and the opening of “a new chapter.”
“The people have voted decisively for a new era where the government must be truly inclusive and recognises that all Malaysians, regardless of race, culture or race are a nation of one,” he told a packed press conference at his residence in Segambut, Kuala Lumpur.
“The people have expressed in no uncertain terms that they want accountability, transparency, and the rule of law.”

PM: ‘We’ve lost, we’ve lost’ - 4.12am
These were the only words which Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi could muster when quizzed on the ruling coalition’s shocking defeat in five states.
Abdullah was posed with the question during a press conference at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur. He was accompanied by his wife Jeanne, deputy Najib Abdul Razak and other BN leaders.
The prime minister added that he will make a media statement after analysing the results in detail.

pearlie

Bibles Confiscated

I talked about needing prayers for the sick yesterday - there is another urgent need for prayers, also for the ailing: our country. Kar Yong has it posted in his blog. Take a read, it is important that we know and do something about it:

Bibles Confiscated
Bibles Confiscated - Update

pearlie