(Corrected) Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz Corrected on 3 Dec 2008 at 11.50am KUALA LUMPUR, 2 Dec 2008: Parliament will have only five days to debate two important reform bills before Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi retires in March 2009. The bills are the Malaysian Commission Anti-Corruption (MCAC) Bill and the Judicial Appointments Commission […]
Mukhriz’s proposal is unconstitutional
By Deborah LohKUALA LUMPUR, 2 Dec 2008: Kedah Gerakan Youth says the proposal to abolish vernacular schools is against the Federal Constitution which allows the teaching and learning of other languages besides Bahasa Malaysia. The state youth chief Tan Keng Liang was responding to a suggestion by Umno Youth exco member Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir. Mukhriz said yesterday […]
Foreigners threaten our country!
By Zedeck SiewSINCE February, I have been on the mailing list for Malaysia Untuk Malaysia (MUM), an anti-immigration and community safety non-governmental organisation. From their email exchanges, however, you’d think they were more of a social club. Not surprising, since their membership base is largely Klang Valley-centered, and seems comprised of white-collar professionals with families. As the […]
Freedom of information: Making it happen
By Deborah LohIN the first parliamentary sitting in 2008 this May, Subang Member of Parliament (MP) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice-president R Sivarasa tried to table a private member’s bill on freedom of information (FOI). Although it appeared in the order paper, the House never reached the item. Sivarasa, who is also a human rights lawyer, has […]
Should Malaysians be afraid?
By Yasmin MasidiLORD Devlin’s axiom that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely is one that is taken for fact these days. For good reasons, too: reams of writing have been expended on the need for checks and balances in any system of governance, democratic or otherwise. What is less often talked about, at least in a […]
Twist and turn
Compiled by N Shashi KalaQuote 1 “They were not sacked. They were asked to retire early. It’s like optional.’ — Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz. Quote 2 “They were sacked, it is true.” — Nazri, a week later The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department was quoted in The Sun on Nov 6 2008 explaining in Parliament the […]
PKR political bureau to decide Zulkifli Nordin case
By Ng Boon HooiCorrected on 2 Dec 2008 at 11.00am PETALING JAYA, 1 Dec 2008: The fate of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Bandar Baru/Kulim Member of Parliament (MP) Zulkifli Nordin, who stormed a Bar Council forum in August, now rests in the hands of the party’s political bureau. Dr Syed Husin Ali Disciplinary committee head Dr Syed Husin […]
MCA supports PPP on amending ISA
By Deborah LohKUALA LUMPUR, 1 DEC 2008: MCA has picked up on the People’s Progressive Party (PPP)’s call to amend the Internal Security Act (ISA), saying that it was part of reforms the Barisan Nasional (BN) should undertake. MCA central committee member Wong Nai Chee said amending the ISA was critical to ensure people’s confidence in the […]
Preventing the spread of HIV
By Kamal Solhaimi FadzilI read with some reservations on the future direction the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) plans to take in addressing HIV in Malaysia. Firstly, let me say that Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Dr Christopher Lee, Dr Ismail Baba, and many others from various sectors, be it the medical, social sciences, as well as the many volunteers who […]
Sabah’s pipe dream
By Sim Kwang Yang(© Kevin Abbott / sxc.hu) THE controversy over the proposed RM1.6 billion gas pipeline running from Kimanis, Sabah to Bintulu, Sarawak illustrates a classic problem. It shows how, in a federated system of government, the power centre at the federal level can divide, rule, and exploit marginal outlying states. The project is huge. The offshore […]
