Mahathir's old tricks to stay in power

Malaysiakini - Ex-EC chief Rashid to head electoral reforms committee (extracts):

Former Election Commission chairperson Ab Rashid Ab Rahman will lead Putrajaya's newly formed Electoral Reform Committee.

This committee will engage stakeholders and study successful systems in other countries before producing a report in two years.

His appointment comes as a surprise as the Bersatu vice-president was frequently criticised by DAP and PKR - which are now part of the ruling coalition - during his tenure as EC chief between November 2000 and December 2008.

One of the EC's most memorable moments during Rashid's helm was the decision to jettison a plan to mark voters with indelible ink, four days before the March elections in 2008. At the time, the ink was already procured.

Omigosh, may the Heavens save all of us from the Dictator for his numerous unending capati-ing, and the continuing power of his racist former-EC macai Ab Rashid Ab Rahman. We are now truly fCk-ed if DAP and PKR MPs keep quiet.

buat ta'tahu, terus bermain Sudoku 

He was (is?) a member of ultra right-wing Malay NGO PERKASA and was reported in November 2013 as follows:

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak social sciences faculty senior lecturer Dr Arnold Puyok said that Abdul Rashid had forgotten that without Sabah and Sarawak, there would not be a country called Malaysia.

“I think the former EC chairman misinterpreted the history of the country. If not for Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia would not have been formed. That is a historical fact that no one can argue. He has got his facts completely wrong,” Puyok told theantdaily.

He was commenting on Abdul Rashid, who is now part of Malay right-wing group Perkasa, saying that Malays will have to remain in power politically as the country belonged to the Malays.

“This place was called the Malay Federation [Tanah Persekutuan Melayu] and when we gained independence, it was changed to Malaya and after other states joined us, it again changed to West Malaysia [Malaysia Barat]. This land has always belonged to the Malays. It’s in the history,” Abdul Rashid reportedly said.

He, however, did not want to be drawn into the role of other races in Malaysia.

Said Puyok: “That is the problem with Perkasa. They think the country only belongs to the Malays. How about the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak? They are also called Malaysians, not Malays. [...]

Abdul Rashid also reportedly said that he joined Perkasa because he wanted to champion Malay rights and ensure they remained in the scheme of things after the next general election, adding that his experience could help the majority race keep power.

Abdul was EC Commissioner from 2000 to 2008 with his notorious "achievements" for UMNO such as a federal constituency like Putrajaya with only 15,000 voters (subsequently 17,000) and opposition stronghold of Kapar with 150,000 voters all sardinized by Abdul Rashid.

Kapar voters sardinized by former EC Commissioner Abdul Rashid, current best mate of Azmin Ali who welcomed his membership in Pribumi.

Thanks to Abdul Rashid, who led the EC in managing six out of the 13 general elections, as well as four redelineation exercises, he was able to make one Melayu vote in Putrajaya worth 10 'non' votes in Kapar, thus he could be called Bapak Gerrymandering.

Not only that, he boasted that when he was EC chairman he made sure past redelineation exercises were designed to keep certain parties in power, meaning UMNO (under Mahathir) and its cronies.

Abdul Rashid was (is?) also a Perkasa vice-president, people who don't like Chinese, Indians and Malays who have the effrontery to join DAP.

He also made a stupid statement by asking for the power to sue critics who made allegations against the EC. Basically he wanted to silence anyone who raised complaints against him and the several unexplained decisions and actions of the EC.

In 2007 , Malaysiakini published EC chief: No other regime capable of running the country where it states:

Election Commission (EC) chairperson Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman let slip today his views on which ‘regime’ he regards as being capable of running the country, and said those who disagree with him do not realise the ‘critical’ situation the country is in.

“A lot of people are anxious to determine the type of regime that is going to handle Malaysia in the coming years. They are always talking about regimes. I never talk about regimes. There is only one regime in this country that is capable of running (the country),” he said.

“People get angry with me whenever I say this (but) people don’t seem to understand the critical scenario in the country. What is it that can (take) over from the present one given the political scenario we are in?” he asked.

anakku mentri, lu ada kah? 

Much earlier, in 2004, Lim Kit Siang wrote (extracts of his paper 'Impeachment motion of no confidence against Election Commission Chairman'):

My impeachment motion against the Election Commission Chairman, which had been struck out from the Order Paper on Monday, read:

“That this House resolves to impeach the Chairman of the Election Commission Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman and the members of the Election Commission by passing a motion of no confidence on them for conducting the most disgraceful and chaotic general election in the 46-year history of the nation, rendering the recent March 2004 general election the most unfair, unfree and unclean of all 11 general elections in the country since Merdeka in 1957”.

Now let us see what pompous bullshitter Lim Kit Siang has to say about Mahathir's appointment of the same man, former EC Commissioner Ab Rashid Ab Rahman, to review the EC.

It's like appointing Binjamin Netanyahu to draft the constitution for a new Palestine.

Also read:

(1) Bersih - Integrity of EC and Tan Sri Abdul Rashid in question.

(2) Haris Ibrahim's People's Parliament - Oh, no, you don’t, Abdul Rashid.