ANYONE familiar with the UK Riots and the Bersih rally would have been gobsmacked by Malaysian politicians comparing the two in gloating fashion recently. According to no less than our prime minister, the UK Riots apparently justify the Malaysian government’s actions in stopping the Bersih rally. Datuk Seri Najib Razak reportedly said the government wanted [...]

FOR sure, Parti Keadilan Rakayt (PKR) has serious problems. But what to make of Datuk Zaid Ibrahim whose image as a principled politician is at odds with his apparent tendency to quit when expectations are not met?

Corrected on 25 Oct 2010, 5.35pm THREE years ago, amid much fanfare to prove Malaysia’s credentials to the international community, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government enacted the Anti-Trafficking In Persons Act 2007 (Atip). The law gives enforcement officers the power to arrest anyone they reasonably suspect of committing human trafficking offences, even without a warrant. [...]

“WAIT till we get to Putrajaya,” Teresa Kok laughs. The three-term Member of Parliament for Seputeh in Kuala Lumpur says even though the Pakatan Rakyat swept into power in 2008 to form the Selangor government, it still faces discrimination. “We are still treated like the opposition,” Kok, who is also state assemblyperson for Bandar Kinrara [...]

(Corrected at 6:15pm, 4 Sept 2010) THE student movement in Malaysia was once vibrant, independent and autonomous. “Mahasiswa jurubicara rakyat” was the students’ motto in the 1960s. However, the government enacted the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) in 1971 to restrict students’ freedom and their rising influence. Thereafter, the student movement suffered a decline. [...]

STUDENT activism in Universiti Malaya thrived in the 1960 and early 1970s. One of the key student leaders was Syed Hamid Ali who was University of Malaya Students’ Union (Umsu) general-secretary from 1967 to 1969, before he was elected president for the 1969 to 1970 term. Syed Hamid’s activism inadvertently began because he couldn’t be [...]