As a councillor, I have come across some of the strangest interpretations of the law. This can be by council officers who are tasked with implementing the law, or by laypeople at the receiving end of the law. Along with their peculiar interpretations are mixed messages about whether the law works or not, or if [...]

SOMETIMES, I get accused of playing hero when I go public with issues. The accusations stem from the notion that I supposedly do not go through official channels to resolve matters and that I’m only interested in the publicity that the issue generates. Are such accusations true? Perhaps the best way to answer this is [...]

MOST ratepayers are unlikely to know this. But according to the Local Government Act, if a local council incurs a debt it cannot pay, ratepayers can be compelled to pay up instead. Section 45 of the Local Government Act states that should the local council default in payment of a loan for three months, the [...]

CRITICISMS towards moral policing in Malaysia are nothing new. Back in 2005, the Federal Territories Islamic Department came under fire after its infamous raid of Kuala Lumpur’s Zouk nightclub. After the Muslim detainees’ claims of sexual harassment and other abuse by religious enforcers, the government sought to curb moral policing, in rhetoric at least. In [...]

IN part two of stories about those who have encountered the religious police, freelance writer Nabila Nasir, 25, recounts the harassment and extortion she and a now ex-boyfriend experienced at the hands of moral guardians in mid-2007.

THE following is my second press statement on the matter of improper ownership of low-cost flat units. My first press statement dated 24 Feb 2010 revealed that I had found several senior Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) staff owning low-cost apartment units. This was despite them drawing a salary of more than RM2,500 at the [...]