THE following are the Members of Parliament (MPs) who did not reply to the six questions under MP Watch: Eye on Parliament as of Thursday, 18 Feb 2010, the end of their two-week deadline. Their responses will be updated if and when they reply. (source: parlimen.gov.my) Name: Abdul Ghapur SallehConstituency: Kalabakan Party: UmnoYears as MP: […]
Abdul Ghapur Salleh (Kalabakan)
By Deborah Loh and Koh Lay ChinSarawak voters’ concerns
By Catalina RembuyanAS a Sarawakian, I am constantly frustrated by comments on Malaysian news websites and blogs by West Malaysians telling East Malaysians that they “get who they vote for”. These comments are inevitably made whenever human rights issues affecting East Malaysia are discussed. Most of these comments are made by people who probably have little regard […]
Road to an absolute monarchy?
By Wong Chin HuatTan Sri Arifin Zakaria, one of the judges on the Perak menteri besar caseREMEMBER these names: Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria, Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, Datuk Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Datuk Abdull Hamid Embong. They have fundamentally transformed the nature and prospects of the Malaysian state with their 9 Feb […]
Viva la Reformasi!
By Nick ChooMANY a bored reader has sighed at the impression that there seems to be nothing of greater significance to report on than Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim‘s sodomy trial. But on some level, the proceedings of the trial — including the lurid details involving the de facto Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader, his former aide […]
Saiful Bukhari: A “real” victim?
By Dahlia MartinAS often is in cases of sexual assault, the accuser in Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy trial has been subjected to much public scrutiny. Media outlets and other Malaysians have combed through so many details of Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan’s private life. These range from details of his family and student life, […]
Holding MPs accountable
By Patrick KratzensteinPETALING JAYA, 12 Feb 2010: The Nut Graph‘s MP Watch: Eye on Parliament project is similar to a German web-based initiative where people can pose questions to their elected representatives in the national parliament or Bundestag. Abgeordnetenwatch.de, which literally means “watching Members of Parliament”, was a grassroots effort started in Hamburg in 2004. The […]
To donate or not to donate?
By Koh Lay ChinFOR some of us, a day without the internet would mean a day of semi-paralysis. We work and play, and learn and share news online. I shopped online this month for bus tickets, concert tickets and a book. But I have not donated a single sen to Haiti, even though watching videos of the earthquake […]
Nurturing the artist
By Ding Jo-AnnLee Su-Feh AWARD-winning dancer, choreographer and dramatist Lee Su-Feh is in the midst of questioning her art, asking why we dance and why people watch dance. At the same time, she believes everyone should be involved in dance. “I believe in the dancing body,” Lee says. “Everyone needs to dance and experience dance…It’s a way […]
Teresa Kok (Seputeh)
By Deborah LohSEPUTEH Member of Parliament Teresa Kok’s response to the MP Watch: Eye on Parliament project, which asks all 222 MPs six questions. (source: parlimen.gov.my)Name: Teresa Kok Constituency: Seputeh Party: DAP (Opposition) Years as MP: Since 1999 Government position: None Party position: DAP national organising secretary Membership in parliamentary committees or caucus: Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar […]
How democratic are political parties?
By Shanon ShahSINCE the watershed March 2008 elections, intra-party spats and power struggles have become the norm in Malaysia. These problems seem to be an equal opportunity malaise, affecting both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR). Do our political parties take and share power democratically? (© sanja gjenero | sxc.hu)It could just be that these […]
