The Bersih 2.0 9 July 2011 march drew thousands of Malaysians onto Kuala Lumpur’s streets to call for clean and fair elections. But according to Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders, the government-controlled press and the authorities, that’s not what the march was really about. In the aftermath of the Bersih march, The Nut Graph summarises some of the more popular theories by Bersih’s detractors of why it actually organised the march.

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 [...]

ARE transportation reimbursements, alms for the poor, land titles and welfare allocations given during a by-election just different forms of inducement? Even PAS is not exempt from the very thing it accuses the Barisan Nasional of. Perhaps the only difference is which party the Election Commission dismisses.

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, [...]

PETALING JAYA, 23 Oct 2009: Money politics must be addressed through laws that allow independent investigations into the ethical conduct of political parties, including during party elections, said Universiti Malaya’s Prof Dr Edmund Terence Gomez. But the political analyst told The Nut Graph in a telephone interview that he didn’t think Umno would try to [...]

“Tan Sri Isa has already been found guilty. If Umno fields him, it means that Umno is not serious about such cases. Even if he can win there, [we] have to consider what the whole of Malaysia thinks of Umno … “One can win to become Umno president but it does not mean that he [...]