HOW did a minority coalition get into power in Malaysia’s recent general election? Refsa explains how the BN secured less popular votes than PR and yet still won more seats in Parliament.

IF rumour holds true, the 13th general election, due by March 2013, will be held sometime this year. Once again, Malaysians will cast their votes and the party that wins the most number of parliamentary seats will govern federally. But how legitimate is the government that eventually gets into power? Does the party in power [...]

MUCH has been said about how undemocratic the Peaceful Assembly Bill is. I beg to differ. On the contrary, three very good aspects of the Peaceful Assembly Bill have been missed by commentators. Here they are: More religious The Bill promotes a religious society. We all know how important religion is to ensure that we [...]

(Corrected at 1:20pm, 7 June 2011) THE vocal and articulate Lim Kit Siang many of us know in Parliament, through his blog and from news reports, is reticent when it comes to talking about himself. The veteran politician is slow to reveal what makes him tick or where he draws his ideals and inspirations from. [...]

*Corrected on 31 May 2011, 10.30am: This was earlier published as “partly free”. THE Barisan Nasional (BN) government is hardly an exemplary proponent of press freedom. Its wide ownership and control of much of the Malaysian press probably contributed to Malaysia’s “not free”* rating in a recent survey by Freedom House, a global press watchdog. [...]

STREET hawkers who ply their wares off mobile vans are a common sight these days around Petaling Jaya (PJ). During the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ)’s April full board meeting, the issue was discussed in brief. The matter of how street hawkers were taking up valuable parking space was raised and reported in The Star [...]