It was a year riddled with speculations and controversies surrounding the next general election. The year 2012 saw politicians battling it out to face one of the toughest polls in Malaysian history. Suganthi Suparmaniam, Carisma Kapoor and Adrian Lai dive into major events that took place this year
December
DEC 2 People’s Progressive Party’s 59th annual general meeting.
DEC 7 More than 500 people from MIC and several Indian non-governmental organisations gathered in front of the State Secretariat building to protest against the demolition of seven Hindu temples and prayer altars by the Selangor government since 2008.
DEC 12 Pas-led Kelantan government suspended the gender segregation ruling at non-Muslim hair salons.
DEC 9 MIC’s 66th annual general meeting.
DEC 15 DAP’s 16th national congress. DAP asked for more seats (three parliamentary and 10 state seats).
DEC 16 Eight Malay candidates lost their bids to be in DAP’s central executive committee, casting doubts on the party’s multiracial claims.
DEC 19 A report was lodged by non-governmental organisations with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and police, urging them to investigate allegations of corruption against Perak DAP chairman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham, Perak DAP secretary Nga Kor Ming and former menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.
DEC 20 Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim announced that there was no need to get approval from local councils for indoor altars or any form of minor extensions for religious ceremonies.
November
NOV 3 Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar had, in a forum titled “Islamic state: Which version? Whose responsibility?” held in Subang, stressed that there should be no compulsion in any religion, including Islam.
NOV 15 Pas Dewan Ulama made a stand that hudud and syariah elements would be introduced if the opposition pact holds majority seats in Parliament in the next general election.
NOV 16 Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang openly accepted and welcomed calls by delegates at Pas’ 58th Muktamar that he be appointed prime minister if Pakatan Rakyat came to power.
NOV 20 Kota Alam Shah assemblyman M. Manoharan challenged fellow DAP assemblyman Ronnie Liu (DAP-Pandamaran) to resign if he failed to address the condominium project in Batu Caves during the Selangor state assembly meeting.
NOV 29 Umno’s 66th annual general meeting at PWTC. Former Malaysian Trades Union Congress secretary-general V. David’s political secretary T. Chandra Mohan was picked as the new Selangor senator.
October
OCT 20 MCA’s 59th annual general meeting. MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek denounced Pas’ version of hudud at the AGM.
OCT 29 All four opposition-governed states decided to suspend the Federal Government’s controversial Automated Enforcement System (AES) that detects speeding motorists.
September
SEPT 23 Pictures of a “jet-setting Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim” went viral online.
August
AUG 24 Penang deputy chief minister 1 Datuk Mansor Othman denied describing his boss, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, as “cocky” and “arrogant”.
July
JULY 1 PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and two others were charged with a third count of abetting supporters of the Bersih 3.0 rally, which resulted in the use of force and violence that day.
JULY 3 MCA Young Professionals Bureau head Datuk Chua Tee Yong exposed the RM1 billion Talam issue and challenged the Selangor government to explain how its exercise to recover a RM392 million debt from Talam ended in questionable deals worth more than RM1 billion.
JULY 9 Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was urged to clarify allegations of misuse of public funds amounting to RM3 billion.
JULY 23 Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s Youth wing chose to side with DAP chairman Karpal Singh in opposing Pas’ hudud aspirations.
June
JUNE 4 Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was questioned by Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air president Zamil Ibrahim why he did not sue his former friend Senator Datuk S. Nallakaruppan over allegations that Anwar had an affair with the wife of a senior Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader. Anwar had only sued Nallakaruppan for calling him a bisexual.
JUNE 11 Pas-led Kelantan government lifted a 20-year ban on women from entering Quran recital contests. Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir wanted opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to come clean on the allegation that he had amassed about RM3 billion while he was the deputy prime minister and finance minister.
JUNE 17 Former Bank Negara Malaysia assistant governor Datuk Abdul Murad Khalid said he was willing to cooperate with the authorities in any probe into his 1999 statutory declaration concerning the alleged accumulation of RM3 billion by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
JUNE 20 PKR strategic director Mohd Rafizi Ramli announced his resignation as the chief executive officer of the Selangor Economic Adviser’s Office.
JUNE 28 Embattled political secretary to Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, Faekah Husin, said she would not resign over alleged abuse of power.
May
MAY 6 Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang denied saying that the opposition would amend the status of Islam in the Federal Constitution if it wins the general election.
MAY 14 Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice-president Chua Tian Chang claimed trial at the Sessions Court to disobeying a police order to leave a restricted area a day after the Bersih 3.0 rally.
April
APRIL 18 Former PKR Youth deputy chief Muhammad Zahid Md Arip, who formed the “Tolak Individu Bernama Anwar Ibrahim” (Reject Individual Named Anwar Ibrahim), or Tibai, said it would organise campaigns to get the people to reject Anwar and his associates in the coming general election.
APRIL 29 Former MIC vice-president Datuk M. Muthu Palaniappan quit the party.
APRIL 30 Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim denied instigating Bersih 3.0 protesters to breach the barricades surrounding Dataran Merdeka, and likened Malaysia to authoritarian regimes.
March
MARCH 22 Stressing that it was going against the party’s constitution, Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang disagreed with a proposal that non-Muslims could hold senior posts in the Islamic party.
MARCH 30 National Feedlot Corporation
January
JAN 18 Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim announced that he would take over the Islamic affairs portfolio from Datuk Dr Hasan Ali, who was sacked from Pas on Jan 8.
JAN 19 Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil filed a RM100 million defamation suit against Parti Keadilan Rakyat strategic director Mohd Rafizi Ramli and Ampang member of parliament Zuraida Kamaruddin over their allegations on the National Feedlot Corporation issue.
JAN 29 MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek spoke about DAP’s deceit in promising a Chinese government in Perak and said Pas would always be “tai kor” (big brother).
New Straits Times Editorial 31 December 2012
