Between Sonia's Tough Stand Najib Pussy Stand (DMK) M Karunanidhi Blinks Taib Mahmud roared

Sp vs

Our only option now is to take Taib down through the democratic process of election. Even then, we have to overcome his “money” power and those that cling to him for their livelihood. In BN we have a lot of opportunist people whose only aim is to make money and get titles for themselves. This very people will fight tooth and nail to ensure that they get what they want for themselves.

Now I ask you DayakBaru, are you willing to make the change by pushing for change itself. You need not join any political parties. All you need is to explain to your family and friends that this change in government is a must. The future of Sarawakian is at stake. The rich get richer and the poor got poorer. we are building a class society instead of a Malaysian society that is treated with rule of law fairly.

If you care about Sarawak, then Change WE must.

Najib will not dare to ask Taib to step down

Prime Minister Najib Razak may want to meet Sarawak’s controversial Chief Minister Taib Mahmud to discuss the future of the state’s leadership, but pundits say he will not be able to influence Taib into retiring.

“It is an open secret that Kuala Lumpur wants Taib to go but they cannot ask him directly, especially when he has no plans to retire any time soon,” Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian toldMalaysia Chronicle.

“What can Najib do? There’s no way he can ask the old man to go. Taib has delivered for him. If not for Sarawak and Sabah, BN won’t be holding the federal government. So don’t read anything into Najib’s discussion. Taib will only go when he wants to and he has no intention of going yet.”

Wealth even more fabulous than expected

The 71-year old Taib has been in the public spotlight, dogged by allegations of massive abuse of power and corruption for decades.

His fabulous wealth has always been the subject of speculation, but now with revelations from the Sarawak Report – a website dedicated to exposing his corruption – the public has been shocked to find that they have actually been underestimating his assets.
Sarawak will remain BN fixed asset

Sarawak is one of the country’s poorest states despite its enormous natural resources and petroleum wealth. It also has to face its 10th state election by July 2011.

According to Najib, Taib’s party will remain the mainstay of the Sarawak BN.

“Whatever decision that will be made will be based on the spirit of loyalty and friendship,” Najib told reporters, when asked to comment on recent speculation that Taib might wish to retire after being Chief Minister for the past 29 years.

DMK Bluff Drama Ends, Karuna Blinks at Sonia's Tough Stand

By Shankar Vijayan
Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister and Dravid Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK) Supremo M Karunanidhi is an accomplished drama artist, in his political and non-political career and he has often resorted to this political drama in the past. On this occasion his drama and bluff ended with him blinking first and surrendering to the Congress demand for more seats than he originally agreed to give.
It was a climb down for the DMK boss as he had brought his party and the nine-year-old, but uneasy, alliance with Congress to the brink. DMK Ministers in the Central Cabinet were about to submit their resignations to the Prime Minister and withdraw support to Congress-led UPA government. But, at the last minute everything was sorted out and the alliance survived - at least for now.
The political drama in the national and state capitals, New Delhi and Chennai, had some interesting scenes. The tug of war between the alliance partners for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections became tough with Congress insisting on more seats than last time. After some haggling DMK was reported to have agreed to give 60 seats to Congress - last time it was 48 - but then reports suggested that Congress wanted three more. That was supposed to be the last Congress straw on the DMK camel's back. Karunanidhi readied to take a tough stand - thus far and no further.
The more interesting development was that Congress was reported to have raised their demand again, though only for three more seats to make it 63 in all. Not a big deal after the DMK gave 60 already. But that was more than the Boss could digest and so he fumed.
Karunanidhi was adamant. Looked like the Congress knew very well that the alliance with DMK, whose Ministers had brought to the UPA so much bad name was shaky, and that it was best to sever the ties to convince the people that Congress was cleaning up the House of National Corruption.
The block of 18 DMK members in the Parliament (Lok Sabha) was an important part of the coalition but the alliance had been burdened and compromised so often that it was time to try to show to the people that Congress can act against corruption. The Congress was directly and indirectly assured of support from others, including Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party that is desperate to join the Congress bandwagon after the drubbing by Mayawati's BSP in the last elections. So the Congress seemed to be on sure grounds to not blink at Karuna's blackmail and bluff.
Karunanidhi's children and grandchildren and other senior party men and women have been unashamedly amassing wealth using their official power and influence. There was no stopping DMK in its self-centered ways in Tamil Nadu.
With Congress also in close alliance in corruption, with a wider field to operate, but under tremendous pressure was keen to do some damage control and, probably, this was their opportunity to end the alliance.

With the 2G Spectrum telecom licenses and DMK's Minister A. Raja getting so much flak to make corruption as their watchword and political motto, Congress must have thought of getting rid of its publicly and consistently tainted ally. May be this was one of the reasons Congress wanted tough bargaining to make DMK desperate either to concede or cancel.
It was reported that Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi wanted some of their candidates to be included in the seat-sharing formula. Thus the number of seats Congress wanted kept going up. That meant either DMK or one of its allies have to forego a few seats.
It was then the situation became untenable, or so the DMK calculated, and reportedly finalized resignations of six Ministers to be submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The super drama artist that Karunanidhi is, he tried to play hard and bluff/blackmail and brag and/or intimidate Congress with ultimatums and withdrawal of support. That continued for a few days till it was clear that Congress President and UPA Supremo, Sonia Gandhi was taking a tougher stand and calling the Karuna bluff. She is reported to have expressed her views that DMK's withdrawal of support on this issue will not shake the Congress; she was not worried about UPA government's survival or fall. She did not want DMK to call the shots. Sonia's stand was blunt. It stunned the DMK leader who knew that his bluff is being called.
This is what Sonia Gandhi was reported to have told DMK Ministers MK Alagiri and Dayanidhi Maran (son and grand nephew of Karunanidhi): "I don't care whether this government lives or goes." It was made clear that she was unfazed by Karunanidhi's threat to pull out. She also expressed her displeasure for the "discourtesy" of DMK for coalition politics and relations. The rebuke did the trick and definitely brought about DMK's surrender.
Karunanidhi wanted to play tough and even alleged that Congress is trying to oust DMK from the UPA coalition. That's why he had insisted that his six Ministers would resign and the DMK would withdraw support from Congress. He went to the extent of saying that DMK would only give issue-based support to Congress-led government. But despite his tough-looking stand he was only an outward bully; he clearly underestimated the lady and ended up with further provoking her. Sonia was least impressed by Karuna's tactics and saw through his drama.
Sonia made it clear. "It is not a question of seats. It is not a question of my prestige. The prestige of the Indian National Congress has been hurt," the Congress Chief was reported to have told DMK emissaries in Delhi. This tough stand must have been a shock for DMK, in contrast to the past accommodation of coalition partners by Congress. Even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had recently expressed his helplessness and compulsions in a coalition situation. But Sonia showed she was different, though for different reasons. DMK and its tainted leaders had become a big liability.
The Times of India reported that Sonia Gandhi wondered how an ally could be so rude to a party which has always played fair. She also told Alagiri and Maran, that the DMK's conduct was violative of coalition manners, stressing that the Congress had all along been accommodative of the southern party's political demands. Further, she is reported to have said the fact that the DMK was back at the negotiating table underscored the futility of their earlier stand.
The Congress was represented in the negotiations by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Sonia's Political Secretary Ahmed Patel. The two sides have now agreed to mutually identify the seats the Congress will contest. About power-sharing the Congress agreed that a formal announcement could be made after the polls.
It was clear that if Congress had needed DMK's support the Tamil party was much more in need of the national party. Without Congress as an important partner, DMK in Tamil Nadu could have become weak by possible defection by smaller state allies.
"It's the DMK's loss. We were never in the government in Tamil Nadu. We will not take any initiative for a rapprochement. We are ready to go it alone," a Congress leader had said. The DMK has been running a minority government in Tamil Nadu since 2006 with the outside support of the Congress. "The DMK has to retreat. That's the only solution and we know it is distant," another Congress leader said. Party sources said they are cut up with the way the DMK went ahead and announced its decision to call off the alliance. "They have been taking us for granted all this while. Not any more," said the Congress leader.
In November, AIADMK Supremo J Jayalalitha had extended an offer to the Congress to extend it support in parliament and also get some friendly parties on board to make up for the deficit, if the Congress dumped a "corrupt" DMK.
Tamil Nadu goes to polls on April 13. The parties have been allies since 2004 in the last elections for Lok Sabha DMK got 18 members elected, the second largest group in the UPA coalition after Congress (206) and Trinamool Congress (19).