MALAYSIA’S political and economic stability now hangs on the developments in Perak. The Pakatan Rakyat state government has now effectively collapsed because it has lost four state assemblypersons. With the return of Bota state assemblyperson Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim to Umno, the Barisan Nasional (BN) now holds 28 seats — the same number as Pakatan Rakyat […]
Armageddon for beginners
By N Shashi Kala(© Kmitu / Dreamstime) NOW that we’ve started the year with a round of conflict and chaos that promises to escalate, soothsayers — some call them economists — are spinning out grimmer predictions. This got me thinking about the many doomsday predictions that have been made over the years. It seems like every decade or […]
Hopping from position to position
By The Nut Graph team“People like him don’t have any political consciousness…he was chosen by running under BN, not as an independent, DAP, PKR, or PAS candidate. “He has betrayed the voters’ trust…if I was from Perak, I would start gathering the support of NGOs and village chiefs to pressure him to step down.” DATUK Seri Dr Rais Yatim, […]
Courting trouble in Perak
By Deborah Loh(Storm clouds © Akbar Nemati / sxc.hu) THE political and legal storm in Perak over the disputed status of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) assemblypersons for Behrang and Changkat Jering is not going to die down anytime soon. Though by-elections for the two state legislative assembly seats are off, the unfolding saga threatens to bring […]
By-election not required if crossovers occur
By Tommy ThomasI WOULD like to elaborate on the comments I made during the course of my telephone conversations with The Nut Graph senior journalist Deborah Loh which was posted in Hard for PKR duo to contest resignations on 2 Feb 2009. Two separate matters call for discussion: first, the legal effect of an undated resignation letter […]
Defections, deaths, dengue
By The Nut Graph and BFM 89.9FROM 26 Jan to 2 Feb 2009, the vernacular presses focused on defections from political parties, deaths in police custody, the war in Sri Lanka, and the dengue outbreak in Malaysia. The Malay press also discussed the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslim groups. Click on the BFM 89.9 audio report of Found in […]
Reforming the police
By Datuk Dr Denison JayasooriaTHE recent events relating to the death of Kugan Ananthan while in police custody have revived public concern and outcry over the ways police carry out their investigation, especially in interrogating suspects. Death in custody further complicates the situation, and in this case the family, community and general public have lost confidence in the independence […]
Death and the horrors of war
Translation by Sharmila Valli NarayananGLOOMY news dominated the Tamil papers for the week of 26 Jan to 1 Feb 2009. A Kugan’s death, the ongoing war in Sri Lanka, and the death of a young man in Chennai were widely discussed in the papers. Death in detention Like all other papers in the country, 22-year-old Kugan’s death while in […]
Defections and dengue
Translation by Leong Lai MingFROM 26 Jan to 1 Feb 2009, besides ushering in the Year of the Ox, the Chinese press highlighted speculation that MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek would cross over to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR); reactions towards defecting politicians in Perak; and squabbles over managing the dengue outbreak. Another defection? On 29 […]
Religion, crime and politics
Translation by Zedeck SiewUSE of the word “Allah”, A Kugan’s death in custody, and political party-hopping were some of the concerns the Malay-language press was engrossed in between 28 Jan to 2 Feb 2009. “Don’t challenge Islam” The headline for Mingguan Malaysia‘s 1 Feb edition was Jangan cabar Islam, and the lead read: “Don’t challenge the sanctity of […]
