View of BN flags on the ceiling IN George Orwell’s seminal work of dystopian fiction, Nineteen Eighty-Four, the totalitarian Ingsoc government employs, among its slogans, the phrase “Freedom is Slavery”. Orwell, who wrote at length about how “language can corrupt thought“, is credited with popularising the concept of “doublespeak”: language deliberately constructed to distort its […]
Commentary
Civil servants and the art of silence
By Deborah LohINCREDULOUS. That’s how a journalist feels when a senior civil servant responds to a request for information with a flat refusal to answer. Following the commentary on the need for a Freedom of Information Act, it is timely to relate another story about failed attempts to get answers on matters of public interest from the […]
Enter Islamism
By Shanon ShahA CORRUPT and lavish ruling elite. A police force with unlimited powers. An unpopular, despotic leader who uses the constitutional monarchy to subvert the democratic process. An increasingly angry population that rallies around a charismatic, religious opposition leader who espouses the ideals of democracy and justice. Sounds like Malaysia? Well, it’s not — this was […]
Spinning the Penanti victory
By Shanon ShahON paper, the 5,558-vote winning majority of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)’s Dr Mansor Othman during the recently concluded Penanti by-election looks stunning. Indeed, it is more than a two-fold increase of the 2,219-vote majority polled by Mansor’s predecessor, Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin, during the March 2008 general election. In fact, at 6,052 votes, Mansor polled 85% […]
Lunch, lies and an audio tape
By Shanon ShahAminah at the Penang Election Commission REPORTERS have shared many an exasperated laugh over the clucking and cackling of chickens in independent candidate Aminah Abdullah’s 13 May 2009 audio recording of an alleged attempt to bribe her. In the 47th minute of the recording, even Lim Eng Nam — the special assistant to Parti Keadilan […]
What drives the PM?
By Shanon ShahWOMEN’s rights activists have long argued that most cases of abusive relationships conform to a specific cycle of violence. In Stage 1, the abusive partner starts getting angry and communication seems to break down. In Stage 2, violence starts to manifest, often in physical form, and the victim sustains serious injuries. In Stage 3, the […]
Perak, the opportunity in crisis
By Chua Sue-AnnFOR all the dust it has stirred, the Perak political deadlock has presented a soul-searching opportunity for Malaysians to consider the type of government and onstitutional monarchy it wants. At the dawn of the Perak crisis, many looked with great hope towards Sultan Azlan Shah, a former chief justice and one of the most revered […]
Terengganu may not be all bad for Najib
By Abd Ghani HamatPETALING JAYA, 20 April 2009: The leadership crisis in Umno Terengganu has surfaced at the wrong time for new party president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Or has it? Think again. With reform on his mind and PAS party polls around the corner, the timing of the “crisis” cannot be all that bad […]
High stakes in Batang Ai
By Melody SongTHOUGH Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Dublin Unting Ingkot’s passing was peaceful, the wake of his death has left a scramble in his quiet constituency in the remote jungles of Sarawak. The stakes are high in Batang Ai for both the ruling coalition and Pakatan Rakyat as they strive to win the approval of some 8,000 voters […]
Not good enough for party, okay for state
By Chan Kok LeongTHE 2009 Umno general assembly (GA) is meant to be a grand occasion for all. After a problematic 2008 marked with defeats in three previously Umno-controlled states (Kedah, Perak and Selangor) and a significant loss of parliamentary and state seats, next week’s GA and party election was intended to be a time of renewal, rejuvenation […]
