IPOH, 11 Feb 2009: Embattled Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin is willing to brave a no-confidence vote in the state legislative assembly, deeming it the only other legitimate way to end the impasse of the state, short of having fresh elections. Nizar said Pakatan Rakyat will remain as the state government until […]
Khairy, the reformer?
By Zedeck Siew“(Umno’s reform) means getting rid of the power and control mindset…It means empowering the rakyat and not feeling scared that this empowerment will come back and haunt you because if you govern well, the rakyat will not punish you.” Khairy Jamaluddin, Umno Youth chief aspirant and Rembau Member of Parliament. He talked about the need […]
Pakatan Rakyat beyond Anwar
By Wong Chin HuatWHAT is the honourable thing for political leaders to do when they lead their party on the wrong path and land the party in trouble? Resign. That was the demand made of MCA’s Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting and MIC’s Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu when their parties’ parliamentary seats were reduced by more than […]
Suffer the children
By Deborah LohCorrected on 11 Feb 2009 at 1pm While waiting for lunch, a group of kids in Rumah Nur Salam entertain themselves with music and dance KUALA LUMPUR, 11 Feb 2009: A centre for street children and the urban poor is bracing for a rise in the number of abandoned and abused children as the economic […]
Blind loyalty?
By Dr Farish A NoorAS if it was not bad enough that Malaysia has been overrun by an outbreak of frogs — like a scene from some Biblical catastrophe — we now have to stomach the spectacle of humbug heroes and demagogues as well. One is deeply distressed to read reports of conservative politicians and their followers crying […]
Reflections on defections
By The Nut Graph and BFM 89.9FROM 2 Feb to 8 Feb 2009, all three vernacular presses focused on the issue of defections and resignations from political parties that led to the current political crisis in Perak. Additionally, the Malay press also expressed anger at the statement by DAP national chairperson Karpal Singh that he would take Sultan Azlan Shah […]
“Perak Pakatan Rakyat unstable anyway”
By Shanon ShahPETALING JAYA, 6 Feb 2009: The Perak Pakatan Rakyat should find out what internal shortcomings led to its eventual collapse on 5 Feb 2009, said Umno veteran Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad today. “Perak had been unstable for some months before this. For example, the internal bickering when DAP’s Ipoh Barat Member of Parliament M Kulasegaran […]
Perak must not fail
By Wong Chin HuatCorrected 1.40pm, 7 Feb 2009 Signboard maker in Ipoh (© Alex Moi / flickr) A FAILED state is a state losing its ability to govern and exercise authority. Text-book examples include Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Iraq and Afghanistan, countries that we would never compare Malaysia to. The Fund for Peace, a US think tank, listed 12 […]
Emotions run high in Perak
By Deborah Loh and Zedeck Siew
EMOTIONS were played out on the street outside the Perak Menteri Besar’s official residence on the night of 5 Feb 2009 where close to 10,000 had gathered to protest Barisan Nasional’s takeover of the state legislative assembly. Protestors flanked both sides of the one-way Jalan Sultan Idris Shah for about a hundred metres from the […]
Corrupting influence
By Zedeck Siew“Corruption disrupts the entire governmental process, underminds morality and erodes ethical behaviour.” Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in an address at the 5th Developing Eight (D8) Summit, on 13 May 2006. The call was aimed at Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member states (Source: PM: Muslim nations must check corruption, Star, 14 […]
