Sdr Zainal (kiri) dan Suhaimi Said

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Selepas ke Matau jam 10.30 tadi untuk menyerahkan sedikit bantuan wang tunai kepada penduduk-penduduk yang menjadi mangsa banjir minggu lepas, saya bersama isteri saya dan Khalia Sh Mohamad, Ketua Wanita PKR Cabang Kuala Krau pergi ke Jengka 12 ke Ladang Ternakan Ikan Air Tawar yang diusahakan oleh Sdr Zainal.

Saya sudah beberapa bulan tidak ke Ladang ini. Tempatnya sudah berubah. Kolam-kolam ikan sudah bertambah, dan tempat penetasan juga sudah bertambah menjadi sebuah ladang ternakan ikan air tawar yang agak canggih.

Ikan-ikan yang diternak disini termasuklah patin, keli, haruan, sepat benua dan lain-lain spesie ikan air tawar termasuk puyu dan ikan ubi.

Tempat ini menjadi sekolah ternakan ikan dan pelajar-pelajarnya datang dari jauh dan dekat termasuk daripada IPT.

Sdr Zainal cuba juga memelihara ikan tembakang, sejenis ikan air tawar yang sedang pupus, tetapi katanya dia belum mempunyai induk ikan itu untuk dijadikan baka yang boleh dikomersilkan.

Saya memberitahu dia bahawa saya ada lebihkurang 15,000 ekor ikan tembakang yang sudah sebesar dua jari dengan 3 ekor induk, dan beliau memohon kepada saya supaya induk itu diberikan kepadanya supaya dapat dibiakkan didalam jumlah yang banyak.

Tak hari ini, hari esuk, akan saya hantar induk 3 ekor itu kepada Zainal, dan beliau akan serahkan kepada saya 15 ekor induk ikan sepat kemboja (siam) yang telah disuntik dengan kadar 1 betina 2 jantan.

Beliau akan biakkan ikan tembakang dan saya boleh ambil benih-benih itu apabila memerlukan kemudian nanti.

Dari Jengka 12, saya terus ke Jengka 22. Disana dapat bertemu dengan Sdr Rosli, Sdr Saiful dan Sdr Roslan.

Mereka menyatakan bahawa sebaik sahaja Pilihanraya Kecil DUN Kerdau selesai, Jengka 22 menjadi sunyi sepi. Pelawat-pelawat yang begitu ramai termasuk 2 atau 3 orang Menteri setiap hari tidak lagi menjenguk. Usahkan pimpinan UMNO peringkat atasan menjenguk, pimpinan UMNO Maran yang bertandang di sebelah rumah Rosli semasa PRK itu pun tidak menjenguk, bahkan tuan rumah yang menjadi Ketua UMNO dan Ketua Wanita UMNO juga meninggalkan rumah di Jengka 22 untuk tinggal di luar rancangan Felda.

Pimpinan UMNO Kuala Krau dan termasuk Wakil Rakyat baru DUN Kerdau tidak menjenguk mereka lagi.

Saiful memberitahu bahawa beliau telah kumpulkan anak-anak muda Keadilan dan selepas musim hujan ini akan menjemput petugas-petugas PKR yang berkempen di Felda Jengka 22 serta petugas-petugas tempatan ke Jengka 22 untuk jamuan kesyukuran.

Sdr Roslan memberitahu bahawa sejumlah penduduk Felda Jengka 22 iaitu yang disenaraikan kepada jumlah 260 orang yang dikatakan akan menerima bayaran cess sejumlah RM13,000.00 itu masih belum menerima bayaran masing-masing; hanya sebahagian sahaja daripada jumlah 260 itu sudah menerimanya.

Wakil kepada penduduk telah pergi menemui pegawai-pegawai Felda di Pejabat Wilayah, dan pegawai-pegawai juga tidak dapat memberikan kata putus samada wang cess itu akan diberikan kepada mereka yang belum menerima atau sebaliknya.

Inilah penipuan UMNO/BN yang sangat ketara!

Di Matau dan di Jengka 22, saya telah berbincang dengan Sdr Mat Yee dan Sdr Saiful untuk mengumpulkan tenaga muda dan akan mengadakan pertemuan dengan mereka selepas Konvensyen Warga Felda dan Orang Asal anjuran Task Force Felda Negeri Selangor pada 2hb April nanti.

Mereka juga bersetuju bahawa kehangatan anak-anak muda didalam melaksanakan kerja PRK Kerdau baru-baru ini tidak akan dibiarkan sejuk, dan akan dipupuk terus untuk menghadapi PRU-13 nanti.

By Mariam Mokhtar, Free Malaysia Today

On March 6, the people of Kerdau and Merlimau went to the polls to choose their new parliamentary representatives and by the end of the day, the expected BN win did not surprise anyone. Despite BN's self-praise and messages of congratulations heaped onto each other, the BN win is a shallow victory, not that BN will recognise it as such.

The credibility of the results has come under serious challenge. Wasn't there 'clear and convincing evidence of fraud'? Were there other voting irregularities? We know from past reports that Malaysia's elections are not fair – just like what happened at Kerdau and Merlimau.

It is well known that BN's bribery, and abuse of government machinery and resources, can and does influence voting.

There were unsubstantiated reports at the previous by-election in Tenang, which was conducted during heavy rains and flooding, that army lorries and boats were used to ferry voters in BN strongholds to the polling stations.

This offer of transport was an abuse of the system. Moreover, free transport was not offered to residents in opposition controlled areas.

Instead of the serious business of government, BN pandered to the electorate's wishes. Perhaps the opposition would have done the same except it lacks the financial resources and logistical manpower to compete with BN. BN on the other hand, was unashamed in its use of the government machinery.

The Election Commission (EC) has specific laws to combat corrupt electoral practices, electoral offences, money and manpower, misuse of government power and machinery, and complaints with the existing electoral system.

By-elections in Malaysia provide booming economies albeit for the duration of the campaign period. Kerdau and Merlimau witnessed what could perhaps be described as a carnival atmosphere.

Just about every other night on the campaign trail was party time, with free dinners and lucky-draw prizes. There was large scale catering for the political kenduris in Malay areas. Where there was a concentration of non-Malays, outside caterers were ferried in and they brought along their lucky-draw prizes of motorbikes. There was a very visible presence of the dubious 1Malaysia NGO whose funding and relationship with the BN coalition is a secret.

Najib's inducement to voters

Ummi Hafilda Ali, glamour-queen or gutter-queen, depending on voter's political affiliation, provided the live sex-talk-cum-political-entertainment.

Public places such as the following were freely made use of: the public field in Teluk Sentang, mosques and schools in Batu Sawar, the community hall in Jengka 23 Felda, the broadband centre for Jengka 25, the community hall in Kuala Tekal and the Felda office in Kerdau.

Despite complaints being made to the EC, its chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof said that he was unsure if campaign practices had flouted election laws.

Way back in the Sibu by-election, Abdul Aziz would not declare if Prime minister Najib Tun Razak's "you help me, I help you" remark, made during campaigning in Sibu had broken the law.

In Kerdau and Merlimau, Najib made the infamous saying, "We don't buy votes, but if you support us we can increase your allocation tomorrow or later. But show support for Barisan Nasional first".

Besides that, he had on offer RM400,000 for a hall in Kampong Seri Kerdau, RM150,000 for a Balai Bomba, RM100,000 for Hindu Temple and RM9.25millions on a water treatment plant in Batu Sawar.

The election watchdog, Bersih 2.0 chief Ambiga Sreenevasan said that Najib's "you help me, I help you" remark, came under section 10 of Election Offences Act 1954 (EOA), which means that the remark was as an inducement to voters during campaigning.

In addition to Najib's 'generosity', Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Ahmad Maslan announced that the federal government would settle the cess payment of RM13,000 for each settler in Jengka 22 the Monday after the Sunday by-election (Cess payments are monies deducted from the sale of rubber for the purpose of replanting rubber plantations with oil palm.)

Transparency International (TI) Malaysia has said that the EC should define election corruption so that everyone would understand the exact definition.

Its president, Paul Low said that the election expenditure cap for candidates, is RM200,000 for a parliamentary seat and RM100,000 for a state seat According to Low, this has never been enforced by the EC.

Something is not right

If Malaysians expect the EC to investigate or censure the various political parties, they will be disappointed.

Abdul Aziz has already said that he rejected any proposal to expand the EC's powers, saying the commission is "not Superman" to take up all tasks.

His preference is to limit the EC's main duties to managing and organising elections, preparing and revising the electoral roll and reviewing constituency boundaries – most people call that gerrymandering.

In other words, the rôle of the EC is reduced to the removal of illegal and derogatory banners, during campaigning. This job could easily be done by the local town council's road-sweepers – no need for an expensive EC and EC chairman.

READ MORE HERE.