Tuan Aziz visiting a school in Manik Urai Baru FOR the past week of the Manik Urai by-election, Abdul Aziz has been sitting on the porch of the Manik Urai Baru home of the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate, overseeing a daily serving of breakfast. “Looking after the food,” Abdul Aziz says. “I support BN because […]
Features
1Malaysia according to Tamu
By Claire Brownell and Deborah Loh1Malaysia. There are merits to the philosophy behind it — after all, who doesn’t wish for national unity, and for genuine respect and fair treatment between all groups in Malaysia. The latest poll by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research showed that while 76% of the public surveyed knew of 1Malaysia, 39% of respondents said […]
Western media spotlight off Najib
By Claire BrownellNajib? Qui? Corrected on 10 July 2009 at 1.05pm NAJIB, who? (Corrected) If you ask a journalist at a Western media organisation what she or he thinks about Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, that’s probably the answer you’ll get. “The world doesn’t care about Malaysia except when there is a ‘man bites dog’ story […]
Najib’s performance
By Deborah LohCorrected on 15 July 2009 at 12.30am GOOD news for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. His approval ratings jumped from 45% in mid-May to 65% by 1 June, according to a poll by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research released ahead of his first 100 days in office on 11 July. The increase follows […]
Unglamourous in Manik Urai
By Zedeck SiewMohd Fauzi Abdullah, a.k.a. Abe Uji, brick laying JUST before lunchtime on 8 July 2009, the candidate for PAS, Mohd Fauzi Abdullah, was in Kampung Budi, pushing some cement between bricks. PAS parliamentarians had sponsored a replacement for the village cemetery’s shack, currently in construction, and Mohd Fauzi was providing a photo-op for the media. […]
PR’s strategy in Manik Urai
By Zedeck SiewDESPITE earlier indications that the Manik Urai contest would hinge on local, bread-and-butter issues, leaders on both sides of the political divide have been reminding constituents of the by-election’s wider significance. On 6 July 2009, Kelantan Umno chief Datuk Mustapa Mohamed told the residents of Laloh that the Manik Urai fight — should the Barisan […]
Testing PAS’s strength
By Zedeck SiewA large-sized PAS flag torn by heavy downpour in Manik Urai WITH nomination day concluded, the contest for Manik Urai is officially a two-way fight. The Kelantan state assembly seat has only 12,293 voters, of which 99.2% are Malay Malaysian. It is the smallest and most homogenous fight we’ve seen this year, and its election […]
Wooing the Indian Malaysian vote
By Deborah LohHindraf vigil on 27 Sept 2008 ON 25 Nov 2007, the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) burst into public consciousness through a mammoth street rally. Few doubt that Hindraf was pivotal in swinging Indian Malaysian votes away from the Barisan Nasional (BN) three months later in the March 2008 general election. On 2 July 2009, […]
A real unity government
By Shanon ShahWHEN the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) finally rejected forming any unity government with the Barisan Nasional (BN), it alleged that the idea was “a malicious and desperate attempt to compromise the integrity of the PR.” The proponents of the idea from PAS and Umno, however, had earlier defended it as being in the interest of Muslim […]
The trouble with PAS
By Shanon ShahON 5 June 2009, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said cooperation with Umno was the answer to the country’s problems during a press conference at PAS’s 55th muktamar. On 22 June, Hadi made a U-turn and said, “Umno has played up [the unity government] issue to try to say that PAS will leave […]
