Congratulations to Pakatan Harapan for winning the 14th General Elections and forming the Federal Government, and congrats to Tun Dr. Mahathir on his comeback as Malaysia's Prime Minister.
This is a New Dawn for Malaysia which I never expected to see during my lifetime.
Malaysia's fourth Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir has made a comeback as Malaysia's seventh and first Pakatan Prime Minister, thus confirming that Pakatan Harapan will form Malaysia's next federal government.
The YDP Agong (the King) swore Mahathir in as Prime Minister at 9.30pm on 10th May 2018, after the palace had consulted with leaders of the various Pakatan parties as to their acceptance of Mahathir as PM.
Mahathir went to the Palace at 5.00pm on 10 May 2018 for the swearing in ceremony but there was no news of his swearing in on TV, so people began to get suspicious and there was plenty speculation, suspicions and allegations on social media that the palace was delaying or blocking his premiership.
However, the reason was that Barisan Nasional is officially registered as a political coalition with the Elections Commission, which had made it easy for the Palace to accept the candidate put forward by the coalition as Prime Minister, whilst Pakatan Harapan is an unofficial pact between parties, so each member party had to be consulted before Mahathir's choice as Prime Minister could be accepted by the Palace.
Below is the a press release by the National Palace explaining the delay and confirming that Mahathir would be sworn in at 9.30pm on 10 May 2018.
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Mahathir was finally sworn in as seen in this Star TV2 video
"It's official! Tun M sworn in as 7th Prime Minister"
The Star also reported on Mahathir's first press conference after being sworn in as PM.
Pakatan to meet on Cabinet lineup, says Dr M, while promising 'heads will roll' - Nation
by tarrence tan and victoria brown
PETALING JAYA: Newly-minted Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says Pakatan Harapan will be discussing its Cabinet lineup on Friday, while promising "some heads will roll".
At his first press conference as Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir vowed that the heads of certain government departments will fall.
"The heads of certain departments must fall. We find that some people are aiding and abetting the former prime minister who was described by the world as 'kleptocrat'," he said told a press conference at a hotel here Thursday (May 10) night.
He said he would be convening a Pakatan presidential council meeting on Friday (May 11) to discuss the new Cabinet lineup.
"Tomorrow, there is a holiday. But I will not take any holiday.
"Tomorrow we'll have a meeting because we need to discuss the formation of the Cabinet," he said.
Dr Mahathir said that the meeting would consider all the views of Pakatan component parties on a number of issues, which includes policy decisions.
"It will be a very busy time. I will not be going back at 4am. I normally go back at 6am. But, maybe I'll have to extend to 7am," he quipped.
At a press conference earlier Thursday, Dr Mahathir said he would appoint PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as deputy prime minister once he is sworn in.
Dr Mahathir also said that the Pakatan-led Federal Government would review previous charges on political leaders, as some of these charges could have been politically motivated.
"We need to look if there is a case. If there is no case, we want to see how we can look at these cases based on the laws of the country."
He also said the new administration would review laws that are oppressive and unfair.
Earlier Thursday, Dr Mahathir was officially sworn in as Malaysia's seventh Prime Minister.
He took his oath of office before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V at the Istana Negara at 9.57pm.
The 93-year-old was accompanied by his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah, Dr Wan Azizah, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, Parti Amanah Negara president Mohamad Sabu, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar.
You may also want to check out Malaysiakini's guide to the victory.
KiniGuide: GE14 numbers - what it means for BN, Harapan and PAS?
GE14 | A new government, comprising a coalition of perhaps five parties, is set to be sworn into Putrajaya.
The main part of this coalition is Pakatan Harapan, which comprises PKR, DAP, Bersatu and Amanah, and the Sabah-based Warisan.
At the conclusion of the 14th general election, PKR won 47 seats, DAP 42 seats, Bersatu 13 seats, Amanah 11 seats and Warisan eight seats.
In total they make up 121 parliamentary seats, enough to form a stable government. If the PKR-backed Batu MP P Prabakaran is counted, the number climbs to 122.
There are also three other players. One is independent Julau MP Larry Sng, who won due to an informal deal with Harapan which saw the coalition giving way to him for a direct fight against PRS.
The other is independent Lubok Antu MP Tambat @ Jugah Muyang, who pulled off a surprise win against PKR and BN.
The third is Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan, who is part of Star, which may form a coalition government with Harapan and Warisan in Sabah due to a hung assembly.
If these three join forces with Harapan at the federal level, then the coalition's number can be as high as 125 seats.
What does it mean for Harapan?
For one, PKR has emerged as the largest party of Harapan. This would allow the coalition to dispel the often repeated claim by BN that it was "dominated" by DAP.
PKR's big boost in the parliamentary seats it won was largely due to the party contesting in mixed seats.
A Malay wave of revolt coupled with strong Chinese support helped PKR to gain additional 17 parliamentary seats compared to the last general election.
While Bersatu and Amanah also rode on the Malay wave, they typically contested in seats which have big Malay majorities.
However, with fewer anti-establishment Chinese voters in such constituencies, they could not sufficiently mitigate the PAS factor.
What does it mean for BN?
BN won a total of 79 parliamentary seats in the 14th general election.
In Peninsular Malaysia, BN is almost non-existent apart from Umno, which captured 47 seats here.
The MCA saw its seven parliamentary seats reduced to one.
MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong became the party's sole MP.
Meanwhile, the MIC's parliamentary seats were halved from four to two while Gerakan was wiped out.
All three party heads, namely MCA president Liow Tiong Lai, MIC president S Subramaniam, and Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong were defeated.
Their defeat will likely see a renewed period of uncertainty in the BN component parties and possible internal transition of power favouring the few who survived the general election.
In Sarawak, Umno does not exist, as BN there is led by PBB.
The breakdown of seats in Sarawak after the 14th general election is PBB 13, SUPP 1, PRS 3 and PDP 2.
In Sabah, Umno has seven seats, however, its partners there have also been severely weakened, with PBS, Upko and PBRS all only winning one seat each.
With BN severely weakened and almost reduced to only Umno, it remains to be seen if its East Malaysian component parties will remain in the coalition.
The formation of a new East Malaysia coalition cannot be ruled out.
The outcome of the general election could see a realignment of parties and possible mergers.
What does it mean for PAS?
In the run-up to the general election, Harapan had been touting a "Malay Tsunami" while PAS touted a "Green Tsunami".
Both sides were to some extent right, as Harapan swept the west coast while PAS swept the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
BN lose a substantial number of voters to Harapan and PAS, with one getting more than the other depending on states.
PAS remains a relevant force, having won 18 parliamentary seats and is a kingmaker in Perak where there is a hung assembly.
Prior to the general election, there had been many overtures between PAS and BN with talks of forming a Malay Muslim-only government.
Following the general election, even if BN and PAS were to join forces at the federal level, they will only have 97 seats, which is not enough to form the government.
And even if Bersatu decides to recombine with Umno, which is unlikely as it has already won power, the three parties would have a total of 110 parliamentary seats - two short of a majority.
Furthermore, a mono-ethnic, mono-religious coalition will not be acceptable to East Malaysian parties, which could quit the BN as a result.
What's the popular vote in GE14?
According to preliminary data, no single party garnered more than half of the popular vote due to widespread multi-cornered fight.
The preliminary calculation showed Harapan won around 45 percent of the popular vote followed by BN with 32 percent and PAS by 16 percent.
The remaining was won by other smaller parties or independents.
Pakatan Harapan comprises four parties in Peninsular Malaysia, an independent winner and Warisan (Sabah Heritage Party) in Sabah.
Formerly the Alliance Party, Barisan Nasional in Peninsular Malaysia has seen its MCA member win only one seat, whilst its MIC member won two. Gerakan and PPP got no seats. The rest of BN members are in Sabah & Sarawak, so UMNO is the dominant BN member in Peninsular Malaysia.
Pakatan's ethnic representation is much better balanced than BN's.
So we hopefully will be able to look forward to improved inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations under Pakatan.
However, the road ahead will not be smooth sailing for the Pakatan government, especially in the face of external economic factors which may impact upon Malaysia.
There's also plenty of undoing of undesirable legacies left behind by past BN rule.
Also, at our local level, we will still have to continue to push and shove our Pakatan elected representatives to act upon local matters affecting us.
Fortunately, our very helpful and supportive Selangor State Assemblyman, Y.B. Rajiv Rishyakaran of Pakatan/DAP, successfully defended his Bukit Gasing state constituency whilst Maria Chin, running for office for her first time, successfully defended our Petaling Jaya federal constituency (formerly Petaling Jaya Selatan or 'Petaling Jaya South' in English) for Pakatan/PKR to become our Member of Parliament. In this general elections, all candidates of Pakatan member parties in Peninsular Malaysia contested under the banner and logo of Pakatan member party PKR (People's Justice Party)
So now they have no more excuses that as Pakatan state assemblymen or assemblywomen, their abilities to act for us are limited by the Barisan Nasional federal government, since Pakatan now also is the federal government.
Meanwhile, Pakatan won 51 of the 56 seats in the Selangor State Assembly - a landslide win. The pact also won 20 of the 22 parliamentary seats in Selangor.
Pakatan also won Johor state, which was the birthplace of UMNO (United Malays National Organisation).
So now that the elections are over and Pakatan is now the federal government, it has to deliver on its election promises to the people and prove that it can govern well and serve our interests.
As for Mahathir, he was Malaysia's fourth Prime Minister for 22 years, when he ruled as a BN/UMNO Prime Minister but he recently resigned from UMNO, formed his own party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia or 'Bersatu' or 'Pribumi' for short. During his 22 years he did much good for Malaysia but at the same time laid the foundations for much of what is wrong in Malaysia, during his time and also under his successors. He has said that if elected, he will work to undo that wrong, so it is left to be seen as to how well he will live up to that promise, now as Malaysia's seventh Prime Minister and a Pakatan Prime Minister this time round.
I grudging supported Mahathir in how he handled financial manipulation of Malaysia's currency by foreign currency speculators, especially during the Asian Economic Crisis of 1998 and by pegging the Malaysian Ringgit at RM3.80 tot he U.S. dollar, he enabled Malaysian businesses to quote for projects based upon a predictable exchange rate, since many of these projects involve imported equipment and materials which are quoted and billed in U.S. dollars.
Mahathir's move enabled Malaysia to survive the Asian Economic Crisis relatively well and by making the Ringgit inconvertible to foreign currencies outside Malaysia, Mahathir managed to fend off manipulation of the Ringgit by foreign currency speculators.
It was inconvenient for me, no doubt, especially since I travelled overseas quite often back then and had to convert my money to foreign currency before leaving Malaysia but I was willing to put up with that inconvenience.
The mid-1990s before the Asian Economic Crisis was a golden age of sorts for Malaysia's economy, with employment opportunities galore, businesses booming and a much optimism for the future in the air. However, even after the Asian Economic Crisis hit and those go go days were over, however living costs did not rise to burden the ordinary people like in recent years. Like back then, the price of a can of tuna used to cost around RM3.60 but today it costs close to RM6.00 today.
The Ringgit exchange rate was around RM2.60 to the U.S. Dollar in the mid-1990s, compared to RM3.95 today, thus making imports of finished products or components more expensive domestically.
The weak ringgit has been blamed upon the plunge in the price of Brent Crude oil in late 2014, after which which has remained between US$40 and US$50 a barrel until it rebounded in early 2017 to US$77 per barrel today and the strength of the Ringgit shows a correlation to the price of Brent Crude over these past few year.
However, the price of Brent Crude was between US$18 and US$19 per barrel in April, May and June 1996, whilst the Ringgit was around US$2.5 to US$2.7 at the time, so this correlation appears to have not applied backthen.
I disagree with how Mahathir's Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was treated following his fall out with Mahathir and his sacking from UMNO in 1998 and with some of the draconian measures such as the Ops Lallang detentions of political activists and opponents during Mahathir's earlier time as Prime Minister.
Mahathir was no angel back then and now that Mahathir and Anwar are allies again, hopefully Mahathir will deliver on his promise to have Anwar pardoned for his convictions sent him to jail and hopefully, they will be able to work together amicably for the sake of Malaysia and Malaysians.
Apart from undoing the wrongs with Malaysia, one of the first things the new Mahathir-led government must do is to lower the cost of living.
I'm pretty sure that Mahathir will refocus on his pet initiatives such as the National Car and Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC Malaysia) initiative to develop Malaysia's information technology and multimedia industry. MSC Malaysia appears to have been given a lower priority during the time of Mahathir's successors, so I expect that he will now intensify the government's focus and resources on MSC Malaysia.
As for the Proton National Car project, I how that Mahathir will accept that it is very difficult especially for an relatively new automotive manufacturer from a relatively small developing country such as Malaysia to break into and competed with globally established automotive giants in a mature automotive market which has been consolidating over the past years.
When the established Swedish automotive maker AB Volvo has to sell off its Volvo Cars subsidiary to China's Geely, whilst AB Volvo focuses on trucks, buses, marine diesels, generator sets and soforth, and whilst Ford in the U.S. recently announced that it would be cutting back on its number of car models to two, whilst it focuses on producing trucks, utilities and commercial vehicles, with General Motors expected to follow soon after; this goes to show that the volume car market - essentially a consumer market, is highly saturated and no longer lucrative for these long established automotive pioneers, which are now proverbially moving up the value chain to lower volume, higher value industrial and commercial vehicles, engines and machinery, so the prospects for relatively new a volume car maker such as Proton to survive and thrive in the global volume car market, appear rather bleak, especially when Malaysia has a relatively small domestic car market.
It is for this same reason that computer equipment manufacturers and information systems suppliers such as IBM have disposed of their PC business to the likes of China's Lenovo, whilst established telecommunications giants such as Alcatel, Siemens, Ericsson and other have divested their mobile phone business to manufacturers in China, whilst they concentrate on their higher end and more lucrative telecommunications equipment business.
Therefore, letting Proton go into the hands of an volume car maker such as Geely which can sell into the huge China domestic market may be the best option to preserve the jobs of Proton workers, whilst relieving Malaysia of the burden.
Hopefully, Mahathir will consider these points moving forward.
Yours truly
POLITISCHESS
