Are Malaysians sufficiently educated on how to vote? It is widely assumed that marking “X” next to a candidate’s name is the only legitimate way to vote. It is not. Civil society groups now train volunteers to be election monitors, booth agents and polling and counting agents. They also cover training on doubtful votes, due to concerns that dubiously marked ballots could end up influencing an election outcome. Can this really happen?

BARISAN Nasional (BN) won big in both the Batu Sapi and Galas by-elections on 4 Nov 2010. In Galas, BN beat PAS with a 1,190-vote majority and won 12 out of the 13 polling districts. PAS only managed to retain its stronghold in Sungai Terah with a reduced majority of 258 compared to 510 in [...]

BARISAN Nasional is banking on Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah‘s star power to win the Galas by-election. The Kelantan prince, fondly known as Ku Li, was appointed to lead the BN’s campaign because of his popularity among Gua Musang constituents, and his much-respected authority. Indeed, Ku Li’s persona eclipses that of the two candidates themselves, [...]

HOW many non-Muslims do you know who fast during Ramadan? And why would they? So far, I’ve found two non-Muslims who are conscientiously fasting the whole of Ramadan. Of these two, one fasts the Muslim way, eating only at sahur and iftar in accordance with the Muslim prayer times. The other doesn’t follow the fasting [...]

SNAP poll next year? Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s popularity rankings are higher than ever before. Some have suggested that the Barisan Nasional (BN) might want the next general election, due only in 2013, called earlier to coincide with the Sarawak state elections which must be held by June 2011. But there is one [...]

PETALING JAYA, 12 May 2010: The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) missed a golden opportunity to push for attainable democratic reforms after the historic March 2008 elections by focusing on its 16 Sept government-by-defections strategy instead. Ong Academic Dr Ong Kian Ming said since former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition [...]