MANY questions have arisen from the sudden introduction in the inquest into Teoh Beng Hock‘s death of a note purportedly found in the DAP aide’s bag. More than a year after the inquest started, the Attorney-General (AG)’s Chambers surprised the coroner’s court on 9 Aug 2010, saying it wanted to introduce the note which “may […]
Columns
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Will PAS and Umno ever unite?
By Ding Jo-Ann
AS part of its “Malay unity” rhetoric, Umno has been making overtures to PAS once again to have unity talks. PAS was a component party of the Barisan Nasional from 1974 to 1978, before the cooperation broke down and PAS left the coalition to become part of the federal opposition. Despite being rebuffed, Umno continues […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: What does Malay unity mean?
By Ding Jo-Ann
“MALAY unity” and “Malay special rights” are grabbing headlines again. On 5 July 2010, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin reminded Malay Malaysians that they faced losing political power if they remained divided. On 28 July, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak warned the DAP not to highlight the issue of bumiputera and Malay […]
The BN’s projects
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
“SATU lagi projek Barisan Nasional”. That’s the tagline that often graces billboards announcing projects that the BN government has funded. It’s a tagline often used during elections to help the ruling coalition convince voters of its commitment towards development. But after yet another unnecessary police crackdown on peaceful demonstrators protesting 50 years of the Internal […]
The moral imperative of disobeying unjust laws
Sideways by Deborah Loh
THE day after police forcefully broke up peaceful candlelight vigils held on 1 Aug 2010 against the Internal Security Act (ISA), and arrested 36 people in Petaling Jaya and Penang, I followed a debate on Twitter. It was between a young lawyer and a Barisan Nasional (BN) Member of Parliament (MP). The gist of their […]
Protecting our corals
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
IN July 2010, several popular dive sites in Peninsular Malaysia were closed due to coral bleaching. Marine Park Department director-general Abd Jamal Mydin told reporters that in Pulau Payar in Kedah for example, an estimated 60% to 90% of corals were affected by the bleaching. Besides the peninsula, signs of coral bleaching have also been […]
Malaysia’s regression
Holding Court by Ding Jo-Ann
THE 1 Aug 2010 arrests at several peaceful candlelight vigils to protest 50 years of the Internal Security Act (ISA) is yet another symptom of a government desperate to maintain control. “Tangkap yang mana ada baju merah,” a police officer is overheard saying on a Malaysiakini video, reminiscent of the 2008 Bersih rally in Kuala […]
Remembering Benjamin McKay (1964-2010)
By Pang Khee Teik
WALKING around Bangsar one balmy night six years ago, I bumped into filmmaker Amir Muhammad and film academic Khoo Gaik Cheng sitting with a rather foppish Mat Salleh man. It took less than an hour of my being introduced before all of us banded together to bully the hapless Australian Mat Salleh to prove that […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Rating Selangor
By Ding Jo-Ann
THE Selangor government has come under a lot of fire of late. From the attacks on illegal sand-mining activities in Selangor and the questioning of two Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) assemblypersons to Umno’s Save Selangor campaign, the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government must surely have its hands full. Still, the PR-led Selangor government has also demonstrated […]
A councillor’s life
Ampersand by KW MakMBPJ councillor KW Mak would like to someday return – via legal means – to an income bracket that allows him to pay taxes, as the benefit of having free parking in Petaling Jaya as a councillor is really overrated.
