January 30, 2011
PKR loses a strong supporter: Padang Serai MP Gopala will be a loner in Parliament
by Susan Loone@http://www.malaysiakini.com
Padang Serai member of parliament N Gobalakrishnan has quit PKR, making him the sixth PKR MP to become an Independent.
“I have stepped down from all posts in PKR and will continue my work through a new NGO,” said his twitter posting this morning.
Gobalakrishnan, who called a press conference this morning at his Padang Serai office in Kedah to make the annoucement, told Malaysiakini that he is now an independent MP with immediate effect.
Four other MPs have quit PKR since the 2008 general elections to become Independents – 
Zahrain Mohd Hashim (Bayan Baru), Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal), Mohsin Fadzil Samsuri (Bagan Serai) and Wee Choo Keong (Wangsa Maju) – while another, Zulkifli Nordin (Kulim-Bandar Bahru), was sacked from the party.
PKR now has 23 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, down from 31 after the March 2008 general elections, while DAP has 29 and PAS, 23. BN will need another four defections to reclaim its much-coveted two-thirds majority in Parliament.
The magic figure for the ruling coalition is 148, and it will be able to achieve this with its 138 seats along with the support of the existing seven BN-friendly independents (including Pasir Mas MP Ibrahim Ali) plus another four.
Gobalakrishnan’s move today on the eve of the Tenang by-election appeared to follow the same pattern as Wee, who announced his resignation from PKR two days before last year’s May 16 Sibu by-election.
He will not join Zaid’s Kita
Gobalakrishnan said his decision to quit the party came after a visit from one of PKR deputy president Azmin Ali’s “strongmen”. But he declined to name the visitor.
“They thought I will toe the party’s line, but after seeing so much that had happened in the party, I have no choice but to quit,” said Gobalakrishnan.
“They have been planning to get rid of me and have already assigned someone else to do the work in Padang Serai (constituency),” he added.
Gobalakrishnan nevertheless expressed sadness over his departure from the party as he had been with the party for over a decade.
“But I will continue to provide my service to the people here,” he vowed. Gobalakrishnan will however not be joining Zahrain’s Independent Consensus nor Zaid Ibrahim’s newly launched Kita, or People’s Welfare Party.
He said he would instead be dedicating his efforts to set up a new NGO to focus on social development and supporting places of worship.
The NGO is currently being registered with the Registrar of Societies, said Gobalakrishnan. On whether he has officially informed the party about his departure, Gobalakrishnan sarcastically said that secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail was “IT savvy”.“This is a globalised world, he would have known about it already.”
‘Twitter’ warpath
Gobalakrishnan’s recent tirade against party leaders had recently earned him a 45-page show-cause letter, which he had refused to reply.
In the December 31 letter, he was asked to show cause, failing which, the party’s disciplinary board will decide on his fate. According to Section 27.7 of the party’s constitution, this may include terminating his PKR membership, stated the letter.
Gobalakrishnan, a former PKR supreme council member, has gone on the ‘twitter’ warpath against the party leadership, claiming that last year’s party elections were rigged.
In the course of his various criticisms, he had demanded that party de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim to step down, before he appeared at the home of the party’s biggest dissident Zaid Ibrahim, who has since quit the party to form Kita.
Gobalakrishnan has also lambasted the party for appointing political novice N Surendran as vice-president, claiming that the latter was not capable of representing the Indian community as he could not speak Tamil fluently.
One of the top contenders for PKR vice-president, Gobalakrishnan had harboured hope that he would be appointed into the post when he failed to win the top four spots.
Din Merican: the Malaysian DJ Blogger 
This Indian, suposedly labelled as pariah like all Indians by one lazy Malay, could not have waited for another day or two to announce his resignation. Indians such as this snake is double headed and one who does not know that BN is the greater evil that has engulfed Malaysia.
Thank God!
dpp
we are all of 1 Race, the HUman race
What coincidence. Eve of Tenang byelection, this clown, get the necessary inspiration to quit. I am truly living in `Bolehland`.
This Bankrupt ideas guy, never did anything to upgrade Malaysians or for the matter Indians to the next level. Bad character like the Ugly, in the Western , The Good, Bad and Ugly.
Do we need this Wayang Kulit. How many millions for him ?
Gobal should quit his MP post, if he has principles. The Padang Serai people voted for PKR/PR , not this ugly guy, personally.
PKR frogs come in all shapes and COLOURS…. Brown, Yellow and Black.
Opportunists!!!
Another murukku beggar getting crumbs for being asslicker of the UMNO-BN…
The crumbs may be worth quite a lot!
In politic ,Party need is above individual need.Gobala may be good party worker but not a thinker.
A true leader never quits. This guy has been bitching like a drunken monk for weeks, and to only now seem want to highlight the plight of the Indians. Where was he when he was in PKR? Dealing and wheeling for positions and power until all was lost, then only came out bitching. Why form and NGO? Because he will be the President or something? If thats not power mad I don’t know what is?
Here, I would like to tell our part of the views we would like to share with fellow folks & voters in the “Tenang” consituentcy, say look back at “Galas”, one should get a firm answer who to vote for. For the last 50 years who is the one who care about us, MCA came a long way working hard for the chinese so in the Asian region we had about 1,800 over chinese schools and more are coming up, so chinese in Tenang vote wisely. To the Indians, there are Tamil schools, on & on it’s mutiplying, so more & more Tamil schools are on the way.
However, we don’t want any Islamic country, or one day things will be more difficult, and we are going back “TongShan”, think of it carefully, ours is a multi-racial country & BN is going all the way to put more care & democratic goodwill to all chinese & others as well.
*** Selangorians are already suffering under what so-called PR gov, kerajaan ic merah!
PREMIUM TANAH HARGA TINGGI MACAM EMAS, BERLIAN !!!
Hidup Barisan! Long Live UMNO, MCA, MIC & Component Barisan Nasional ! ! !
Concerned BN Selangorian.
This man has behaved like a riff – raff . I don’t think PKR needs him – strong supporter or not , riff – raff ‘ belong to mahathir and samy value. So getting him to leave on his own volition is good strategy on the part of PKR.
Long overdue announcement.
And he chose to make it on the eve of polling day.
As expected BN wonTenang with increased majority.
Din, why no write-up at all on the by-election from the nomination day to the campaign and now the results.
Is it not important to you??
Tenang by election….
No surprise.
Malays in Felda voted for UMNO by droves.
Indians voted UMNO for additionl murukku.
The Chinese, as usual, hero worships any porn star anywhere. Chinese symbolism of macho maleness. The Chinese will sell their votes to UMNO and surrender all their stupid socalled 5,000 years of Chinese principles in favour of their children losing on JPA scholarships, deenied places in universities and anti chinese discrimination .
The only thing you can trust the chinese is their hair on the head will always be straight and everything else in the Chinese is crooked and unreliable.
Gobala may be good party worker but not a thinker.-
Kumaran
Who says he thinks like we all do? This Gobala frog thinks between his legs.
These guys stood for elections having been nominated by their Party and won on party platforms. They should not be allowed to declare themselves ‘independent’ without first vacating their seats. They would then have to stand for elections as Independents and get themselves elected as Independents. Cross-overs should be made illegal as they make a mockery of democracy.
Pak Abu
Guess Din no longer interested in buy elections and BN versus PR politics. Din is into social justice regardless of political affiliations.
It’s a wise and good move. We all have to move on as we all have been in one way or another disappointed in the way Malaysian vote. Malaysian deserve the kind of government they voted in. Malaysian are a glutton for punishment and the abusive government.
Whether it’s BN or PR the outcome is clear, the elected politicians don’t care for justice and citizens interest, only their own. The rural folks on the other hand has become complacent and accept what the politicians dishes out and not willing to make the change, change that was promised by PR which never materialized Malaysian voters are docile..
These guys stood for elections having been nominated by their Party and won on party platforms. They should not be allowed to declare themselves ‘independent’ without first vacating their seats.- Mr Bean
They are all greedy bastards. And Malaysian voters in turn are stupid bastards for being ignorant for voting them in.
Tenang by election.
Proves me right again… the rural pakciks and makciks are the kingmakers of who can enter Putrajaya.
Those self important, cafe latte drinking, computer savvy loudmouths on internet, eat your heart out. You talk but you cannot deliver.
MCLM is just another mickey mouse outfit which cannot convince the rural voters who they should choose to be their representatives. MLCM fellas are good at stirring in their own juice.
semperfi/Frank
Let’s respect their decision. Put yourself in their shoes.
Rubber prices are up and so is palm oil.It’s always about bread and butter.
Why vote for change when it is not sure they are getting better carrots?
This is a foreteller on what’s in store for the coming GE. BN is still a fixed deposit in most states.
Maybe if PAS had put up a male candidate, they could have reduced the majority. Cikgu Normala started off on a wrong footing!
Don’t depend on the cafe-latte crowd, most do not go to vote.
The MCLM group have high-flown ideals not tailored to the poor. Who really cares about civil liberties when you fear when is your next meal?
People want to see tangible results and not just reformation on air.
Pak Abu
The Tenang people have decided that the BN is the right party to represent them. Anyway Tenang is not the deciding factor on a change of government but little drops of water makes a pool.
Nothing wrong with the PAS candidate. Its all a function of money. BN can afford to splurge while PR have to work on a tight budget. Then there is the Chua Soi Lek insulting Islam about why Normala won’t shake hands claiming he does not subscribe to the Islamic practice and feel that Malaysian social norms superceded Islamic rulings. Yet he was not ISAd for insulting Islam. So it’s OK to go bonking and stand proud while it’s not OK not to shake hands.
semper fi
I look at it this way. Sometimes people think it’s right to insult Islam when it suits them.
Sometimes they think it’s right to praise Islam when it suits them.
Convenience, bro.
During the by-election PAS was silent on the Islamic state and DAP was hedging on its support on the issue.
I think people can catch the drift.
Yup Frank, all the coffee (in my case kopi-o) sipping IT-junky activism & invectives won’t make a difference to the rural folk. Not that they shouldn’t try, but these twits are twittering to no avail.
The Tenang results just goes to show how unawares these village folk are.. But who cares? Being moronic is not a crime, especially if inbred.
Felda, Felcra and other Enterprises remain no go areas for PR. PAS for all their bluster won’t be able to shake off the serfdom. Religion is trumped by the Tali Perut.
The Chinapek? Cynical as usual – groveling about ‘schools and education’ and ‘temple-shrines’ in all their Sino-centric glory, as if that were a criteria for Life. They can’t see their hubris, as their children leave them for greener pastures and they ultimately die ‘childless’ in absolute loneliness.. Is that altruism?
The rural Indians? Just look as these self-serving, meglomaniac, gangsterish, vindictive Gobala and Nalla creatures. Those are their role models. Their mindset resides in the cup for collecting rubber latex, breeding mosquitoes and collecting detritus. I really don’t thiknk they even deserve murukku.
Status quo.
C.L. Familiaris
I thought I was angry enough. But you are more “angrified” than me with those tongkat-dependent Malays, the murukku beggars and the chinamen with their stupid 5 000 year culture that don’t deliver the goods for their children and grandchildren. The chinaman’s 5 000 year history only teach them to runaway with their tails between their legs when the chips are down, and if they stay, they hero worship a porn star caught with his pants on the floor in the hotel.
semperfi/Frank. Let’s respect their decision – Pak Abu
Yes, I do respect their decision. That’s democracy. But does not mean I don’t think their decision is stupid in the bigger scheme of things for the nation and for their children and grandchildren’s future.
It is that kind of decision that dictators are created and that is how Tunisians were forced to rebel against the corrupt, greedy and vote buying leaders in their country.
Now Egypt and the US-asslicker Mubarak who sold off the Palestinians to the Israelis are in deep shit after the TUNISIAN EXPERIENCE It is time Mubarak get out of the way. Mubarak is one of the reasons why the Middle East conflict is never resolved.
The Jewish and Israeli lobby is pressuring Obama and Hillary to support Mubarak against the tide of protest of the ordinary Egyptians because Israel needs Mubarak (not Egypt) to continue to demonise the Palestinians and deny them a secured Palestinian homeland.
The Jordan King is also about to pee in his pants right now. The Syrians are the happy lot. I don’t know about Libya.
___________
Frank,
The winds of change in the Middle East are unstoppable. Not even the Israelis who want Mubarak to stay in power can stop the Muslim Brotherhood and civil society demands for democracy and transparency in the affairs of state. It is now a matter of days before Mubarak steps down and leaves Egypt for Saudi Arabia and join the company of Leila and Ben Ali. Together, they can play trup keling till their dying days.
The Obama Administration will broker a deal to enable Mubarak to leave and then build alliances with a successor interim government led by ElBaradei, which will be tasked to prepare a new constitution and usher in new elections so that Egyptians can without fear or intimidation elect a new government that puts people first.
Israeli too must rethink its Middle East strategy in the light of new developments which are sweeping across the Arab world. With this crisis comes opportunity for the Arabs, the Palestinians and the Israelis to achieve a lasting peace in Palestine. So far Obama and Clinton, I think, have handled with the situation well.–Din Merican
The Muslim Brotherhood is a very disparate group, ranging from NGO types, secular activists to the conservative and even fundamentalists. They are basically a grass root establishment, not unlike a religio-centric version of the “UNHCR” or “Oxfam”. But Hamas, Hezbollah and other radical fundamentalists are amongst their more trenchant splinters.
It is a serious concern that these radical movements will hijack the process. Israel has to be pragmatic and will probably seek to eliminate the danger. Mossad is probably working overtime, but their intelligence resources far outweigh the CIA or MI-5.
The transition will be difficult and emotional for the whole Arab world, but if guided properly, with elements of Kamal Ataturk’s secular vision, the whole world will applaud.
Syria Frank, is not as stable as you think. The Baath party while secular-socialist is controlled by the Shia Alawis. Corruption, economic disparity and unemployment is also rife. Lebanon is still in a mess. Jordan? Who knows.. Fortunately their Queen is quite a beauty, not at all like the Medusa, we so often attribute to First Ladies..
Iran is the bugbear, but since we are talking about Arabs not the Medo-Persian, we shall leave it for another time.
Islam will have to encounter and confront it’s own equivalent process of ‘Enlightenment and Reformation’ and even reinterpretation of it’s Jurisprudence, before all this blows over. Messy stuff and will take some time. But: “Allahu Akbar!”
Well said Frank on the Egyptian issue. Obama and Hillary Clinton look like a cowarsd now by just asking for a smooth transition. They should have asked Mubarak to just go and leave the country. Be like Reagan who dared to tell the Shah to leave Iran.
I fear the longer he stays, Mubarak will be assassinated. His son and family have already fled to England. Actually why do nations still wait for US for the last word? We have to decide on what is best for us, not outsiders.
Latest reports indicate the army which is now taking control seems poised to be on the side of the people. Mubarak may have no choice but an undignified exit.
________________
Pak Abu, Hilary is probably consulting the Israelis since whatever happens in Egypt Israel’s strategic interests will be compromised if the Muslim Brotherhood assume power in Egypt.As things stand today, Hamas in Gaza is already a problem for them. Obama too cannot ignore Israel since his re-election is in 2012.–Din Merican
Don’t forget Hillary Clinton supports Najib.
They love supporting Govts which are autocratic, ruled by demagogue leaders and which are corrupt. The current Malaysian govt is no different.
And that is a bad sign. Leaders supported by the US Administration don’t last long. Look what happened even to Tony Blair and John Howard.
At this rate, Najib’s days are pretty numbered, especially he is also getting support from another Jewish Lobby-friendly APCO as UMNO’s Advisers in Malaysian politics.
I hope Obama and Hillary will keep on shouting their support for Najib and this UMNO-BN administration. The louder and longer they support, the shorter will be the shelf-life of Najib and this corrupt and crony-infested UMNO-BN govt.
The Muslim Brotherhood is a very disparate group, ranging from NGO types, secular activists to the conservative and even fundamentalists- C.L. Familiaris
But they are better than our mickey mouse outfit called MCLM trying to reform our political landscape by putting up some kucing kurap individuals as candidates and asking voters to vote for them. They can’t even get the Felda fellas across the line for PAS.
I think the Middle East region across the board will undergo a major social upheaval laced with religious fundamentalism like that experienced when the US puppet Shah of Iran was brought down by followers of Khomeini in the late 70s.
Israel is shitting bricks at the moment.
As for the rest of the muslims in the Middle East and in other parts of the world, including Malaysian voters, I say , “Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero’.
The axis of Israel, USA, Saudi Arabia is working overttime to ensure Murbarak stays in power for while. These three states cannot afford to loose their security blanket to sheild them from eaxh of their indvidual vested insterests. The wild card is the anger and the force of the ordinary Egytians who are not relenting to the subtle move to thawart the force of the angry public. How I wish this would happen in united Malaysia
Din
Yes, Obama is thinking more about 2012. He’s fighting by all means not to be a one-term president. And Israel and the Jewish lobbyists in DC are the unseen hands behind every move on the Arab world and Muslim countries. The Al-Jazeera leaked Palestine papers have revealed Palestinian rights have been compromised.
__________
Pak Abu,
You should read about The Israel Lobby and The Making of US Foreign Policy. It is on sale in Kinokuniya (paperback). Here is something I picked up in Wikipedia (not WikiLeaks!):
Quote The Israel Lobby and the Making of U.S. Foreign Policy is the title of a book by John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, published in late August 2007. It was a New York Times Best Seller.
The book describes the lobby as a “loose coalition of individuals and organizations who actively work to steer U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction”. The book “focuses primarily on the lobby’s influence on U.S. foreign policy and its negative effect on American interests”.The authors also argue that “the lobby’s impact has been unintentionally harmful to Israel as well”.
The authors argue that although “the boundaries of the Israel lobby cannot be identified precisely”, it “has a core consisting of organizations whose declared purpose is to encourage the U.S. government and the American public to provide material aid to Israel and to support its government’s policies, as well as influential individuals for whom these goals are also a top priority”. They note that “not..every American with a favorable attitude to Israel is part of the lobby”, and that although “the bulk of the lobby is comprised of Jewish Americans”, there are many American Jews who are not part of the lobby, and the lobby also includes Christian Zionists.] They also claim a drift of important groups in “the lobby” to the right, and overlap with the neoconservatives.
The book was preceded by a paper commissioned by The Atlantic Monthly and written by Mearsheimer and Walt. The Atlantic Monthly rejected the paper, and it was published elsewhere. The paper attracted considerable controversy, both praise and criticism. Some critics also faulted the authors for allegedly having an overly broad and vague definition of the “Israel lobby,”confusing cause and effect, “cherry-picking” information, relying too heavily on unreliable and unsubstantiated information, and for misquoting and misstatements.
In the book published in August 2007 the authors responded to criticisms leveled against them. They claimed that the vast majority of charges leveled against the original article were unfounded, but some critiques raised issues of interpretation and emphasis, which they addressed in the book. Unquote.
No American politician or US President can afford to antagonise Israel and expect to remain in office. Otherwise, the Palestine Question would have been resolved long ago. When it comes to Egypt, Israel is worried if the Muslim Brotherhood comes to power after the imminent collapse of the brutal and repressive Mubarak Regime. –Din Merican
And Israel and the Jewish lobbyists in DC are the unseen hands behind every move on the Arab world and Muslim countries.- Pak Abu
And they are also in your party, UMNO, manipulating the politics of Malaysia via APCO.
What hypocrisy, talking about Israel and Jewish lobbyists in the Arab world. Look into your own backyard.
Din
Will get the book. U S has two paranoia – the so called Muslim terrorists and Israel.
Looks like they will still dance to the jitterbugs on this issue.
Frank
It has not been proven isn’t it? Anwar has failed to provide the proof.
It has not been proven isn’t it? Anwar has failed to provide the proof.- Pak Abu
You want the matter to be settled in court? I thought you are smarter, guess I was wrong.
It is asking a kid to PROVE 1 plus 1 is equal to 2.
You still carry that dirty baggage of an UMNO member between your ears.
One can choose to be ignorant and stupid without others having to show proof of ignorance and stupidity.
Dato Din,
Israel is shitting bricks. Tony Blair is behaving like an Israeli Ambassador at Large, coming on CNN and Sky News giving Israel’s point of view on the Egyptian crisis.
This time around, Israel cannot get away as it did with the 1968 War.
America is check-mated. Egypt is not Iraq… and there is NOTHING America can do. That is why US and EU are calling for a peaceful transition ie code word for Mubarak to get out of the way.
Any leader coming into govt in Egypt cannot be seen as pro US.
Mubarak for 30 years was an American stooge and a pet dog of the Israelis.
correction
This time around, Israel cannot get away as it did with the 1967 War.
Algerian govt is worried like hell at the moment. King of Jordan got to wear disposable underpants by now.