{"id":2351,"date":"2010-04-25T16:16:42","date_gmt":"2010-04-25T08:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buletinonline.net\/v7\/index.php\/2010\/04\/zaid-accepts-verdict-blames-vote-buying\/"},"modified":"2010-04-25T16:16:42","modified_gmt":"2010-04-25T08:16:42","slug":"zaid-accepts-verdict-blames-vote-buying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/zaid-accepts-verdict-blames-vote-buying\/","title":{"rendered":"Zaid accepts verdict, blames &#8216;vote buying&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"ja-thumbnailwrap thumb-left\" style=\"width: 250px;\">\n<div class=\"ja-thumbnail clearfix\">\n<div class=\"thumbnail\" style=\"position: relative; z-index: 2;\"><a class=\"fancyboxgroup\" href=\"http:\/\/www.freemalaysiatoday.com\/fmt-english\/images\/stories\/zaid%20ibrahim%20action.jpg\" rel=\"jagroupgroup\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.freemalaysiatoday.com\/fmt-english\/images\/resized\/images\/stories\/zaid%20ibrahim%20action_250_250.jpg\" border=\"0\" align=\"left\" \/> <\/a><br \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[ \n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\njQuery(document).ready(function() {\nif( ! jQuery(\"a.fancyboxgroup\").fancybox({\n\t\timageScale:1,\n\t\t\t\t\t\tcenterOnScroll: 1}) ) \n\t{ document.write(''); }\n});\n\/*  *\/\n]]><\/script>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>By Stephanie Sta Maria and Rahmah Ghazali, FMT<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>FULL REPORT<\/strong><\/span> KUALA KUBU BARU:  Addressing some 500 supporters at the mini stadium here, PKR candidate  Zaid Ibrahim said he was defeated because \u201cvote-buying was halal\u201d in  this country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a problem we need to overcome. (Prime Minister) Najib (Tun  Razak) spent RM64 million to win this election and the EC (Election  Commission) turned a blind eye,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>The 56-year-old former  law minister stressed that Malaysia has a political system which does  not respect clean elections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn 2008, we made headway because  Pak Lah (former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) allowed the opposition to  win seats. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut then they (Umno) kicked him out and now we are  back at square one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Stressing that he was not making  excuses for his defeat, Zaid underscored the importance of pressing for  clean and fair elections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can accept my loss, but we were not  given the satisfaction of knowing that it was a fair fight, and the  rakyat has no confidence (in the system),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #993366;\">&#8216;Najib, think of  your legacy&#8217;<br \/><\/span><\/strong><br \/>The PKR supreme council member said  the Hulu Selangor contest was the most \u201cdirtiest and corrupt\u201d  by-election so far.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI call on Najib to think about the legacy he  is leaving behind,\u201d he said, adding that BN cannot employ the same  underhand tactics for long.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters earlier, Zaid said the high number of votes for  PKR signalled the fact that &#8220;we are getting there.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Asked if he felt dejected, he replied:&#8221;Of course, when you lose you  cannot be happy, but the manner in which you lose is also important. I  am okay.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>On whether he expected to be defeated, the PKR candidate said: &#8220;Of  course. In a contest, you would expect to win or lose.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Although the mood in the stadium was sombre, with some supporters  even shedding tears, they nevertheless chanted their traditional  &#8220;Reformasi&#8221; battle cries. <\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, PKR&#8217;s Lembah Pantai MP  Nurul Izzah, who termed the contest as a \u201cbuy election\u201d, said that she  was proud of the party&#8217;s accomplishment in the face of \u201cmisplaced voters  and police hostility\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have succeeded in embarrassing BN by  denying (Deputy Prime Minister) Muhyiddin (Yassin) his 6,000 vote  victory,\u201d she said, referring to the deputy premier&#8217;s statement this  morning.<\/p>\n<p>Nurul, who is the daughter of PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim,  said the by-election has given the opposition party a good foundation  for the next general election.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #993366;\">Next battle in Sibu<br \/><\/span><\/strong><br \/>Earlier,  PKR election director Fuziah Salleh pledged that the opposition party  would continue its struggle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust because we lost today, it does  not mean that we would lose all the time. What is important is that we  fight with dignity,\u201d she said, appearing upset.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe would  continue fighting to show BN that this (setback) would not cripple us.  We would give our best in the Sibu (by-election in Sarawak),\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile,  PKR&#8217;s director of strategies Tian Chua said losing in an election was  nothing new for those who champion justice and reform.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is  not the first time that we have lost. We would not give up the fight,\u201d  he added.<\/p>\n<p>Among the Pakatan stalwarts present at the stadium are  Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and DAP supremo Lim Kit  Siang.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #993366;\"><strong>&#8216;We have  learnt a lesson&#8217;<br \/><\/strong><\/span><br \/>The Selangor MB thanked Pakatan  supporters for their courage in facing up to the ruling coalition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI  have faced a defeat before in the Ijok (by-election) but it never  killed my spirit, and I kept on\u00a0 fighting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow in Hulu Selangor,  I have learnt a lesson &#8212; it is very hard to fight against abuse of  power and corruption. But we have to keep fighting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Despite  the defeat, Khalid pledged that the state government would ensure that  the Felda settlers get their rights. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey may have voted for BN  out of fear, but when we deliver their rights, they would be with us.  Hulu Selangor would not be abandoned, it would become the basis of our  struggle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 By Stephanie Sta Maria and Rahmah Ghazali, FMT FULL REPORT KUALA KUBU BARU: Addressing some 500 supporters at the mini stadium here, PKR candidate Zaid Ibrahim said he was defeated because \u201cvote-buying was halal\u201d in this country. \u201cThis is a problem we need to overcome. (Prime Minister) Najib (Tun Razak) spent RM64 million to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"better_featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}