IF you use a mobile phone, chances are you’ve received political text messages for festive seasons, birthday greetings, and now, to vote a certain coalition. What can you do about annoying SMSes? And are they even considered a breach of privacy in the first place?

AS we head into the 13th general election since independence, it is time to review Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s human rights record. Many bold promises have been made since he took office in April 2009. Have they come to pass? Or have we gone two steps forward and two steps back and remained in the same place?

IT’S more than just a numbers game. Votes don’t just count at the ballot box. Voting is also a symbolic affirmation of your right to participate in your country’s politics, writes Hwa Yue-Yi.

THERE are a record number of three-cornered fights this election, including those involving candidates from the same coalition. Why all the bickering over seats? Couldn’t seat allocations have been agreed upon before nomination day? And most importantly, what will it mean for the final results of GE13? The Nut Graph asks political scientist Wong Chin Huat.

CHAN Kheng Hoe reflects on how he would hate to be Chua Soi Lek at this point in time, with Chinese Malaysian support for the Barisan Nasional at an all-time low. What would he do if he were leading the MCA into the toughest fight of its political life?

IT’S nomination day today. Thus begins the official campaigning period for the 13th general election since Malaya’s independence (GE13). The Nut Graph asks political scientist Dr Wong Chin Huat what possible outcomes we can expect come polling day on 5 May, and what it would mean for BN and PR.