IT has been nearly a week of campaigning here in Penanti, and the by-election still seems skimpy on issues. True, all the candidates have revealed their “manifestos”, but none of them seem to be too specific. Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate Dr Mansor Othman has been the most strategic in releasing his manifesto, charter and […]
Multimedia
Fall of an icon
By Zedeck Siew and Gan Pei Ling
FOR decades, Jaya Shopping Centre, better known as Jaya Supermarket, in Section 14 was the landmark in Petaling Jaya. It housed the first supermart in the area when it was built in 1974, and for most of the 80s and early 90s, it was the focal point of activities for PJ residents. As the city […]
Penanti heats up
By Shanon Shah
THE Penanti by-election is the first in three decades which the Barisan Nasional (BN) has decided not to contest. But what initially started off as a quiet and sleepy campaign has perked up in the past 48 hours, with one independent candidate, Aminah Abdullah, alleging that Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) tried to bribe her. PKR […]
Underneath the hot Penanti sky
By Shanon Shah
IT was a hot, humid morning in Penanti on nomination day, 23 May 2009. It could have been the heat, or the Barisan Nasional (BN)’s absence, that made proceedings a tad more subdued compared to the tri-elections of 7 April. Nevertheless, a 1,000-strong crowd turned up to support the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)’s candidate, Dr Mansor […]
Perak assembly sitting disassembled
By Deborah Loh
WHAT was 7 May in Perak about? For the Pakatan Rakyat (PR), it was the last stand in the face of might that left them with little option but to go down holding their ground. For the Barisan Nasional (BN), it fulfilled the goal of ejecting Speaker V Sivakumar and replacing him with someone friendly, […]
Tanda tanya di Lembah Bujang
Oleh Shanon Shah
MAI nak habaq sat. Kalagam, Kadaram, Kataha — ini semua nama Tamil dan Sanskrit yang digunakan seawal kurun kedua dan ketiga selepas Masihi untuk merujuk kepada negeri Kedah. Chieh-ch’a dan Kie-tch’a pula digunakan oleh ahli pelayaran Cina seawal kurun ketujuh selepas Masihi untuk merujuk kepada negeri Kedah. Kedah juga digelar Kalah atau Kalah-bar oleh ahli […]
All quiet in Bukit Selambau
By Shanon Shah
WITH less than 24 hours to polling day on 7 April, campaigning by both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in Bukit Selambau was muted. With three simultaneous by-elections taking place, the big names for both coalitions are having to divide their time, with the battle in Bukit Gantang taking the lion’s share […]
Political fatigue in Bkt Gantang
By Deborah Loh
UNLIKE the recent by-elections in Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu, the campaigning for the Bukit Gantang parliamentary seat has a rather subdued feel to it. There could be several factors for this. With two other by-elections taking place simultaneously, the resources of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) could be stretched tight. And it could also be […]
Psy-war in Sungai Petani
By Shanon Shah
CAMPAIGNING in the hotly contested state seat of Bukit Selambau, Kedah, has been relatively muted, with both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) zooming in on each others’ Achilles heels in an escalating psy-war. The three parties in the PR — Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), PAS and DAP — have been attacking the […]
The tussle for Bkt Selambau
By Shanon Shah
NOMINATION day for the Bukit Selambau by-election opened relatively calmly on 29 March 2009, a schoolday and work day here in Kedah. Journalists and the candidates’ supporters started trickling into the nomination centre, Sekolah Menengah Teknik Sungai Petani 1, from 7am. There had been speculation that things could get chaotic, considering the Election Commission (EC) […]
