IN George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, there’s a line about how all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. The same could be said about the component parties in the Barisan Nasional (BN). The BN is made up of 13 disparate parties — five based in the peninsula, and the rest […]
Barisan Nasional
The battle for national symbols
Flags (© G Schouten de Jel / sxc.hu) UNTIL the mid-1990s, the Union Jack was a symbol of the Conservative Party in Britain. Not that the UK was founded by the Tories. It was just that their opponents, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, were more internationalist, anti-imperialist, and some even republican in orientation. […]
Getting over Dr M
IN the rhapsody of Barack Obama’s epic election, some of us (Malaysians) may be caught imagining if such a leader could be elected to our highest office. Let’s give idealism its moment. No one is now mocking president-elect Obama for soaring rhetoric. Didn’t he just tap into real yearning for change, willingness to believe in […]
Dr M: Anyone who’s Bangsa Malaysia can be PM
PUTRAJAYA, 12 Nov 2008: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said everyone could be Malaysia’s prime minister as long as the person is of Bangsa Malaysia and acceptable to all Malaysians. The former prime minister said that in this country, the law provided that anybody could become prime minister although the person must be the leader of […]
Spotlighting the Abdullah years
IT’S been exactly five years since Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over as prime minister. Admittedly, he had some big shoes to fill — his predecessor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad reshaped the country’s physical and psychological landscape in his quest to fulfil a particular vision of development by 2020. (© Wan Leonard) But aside […]
Grand coalition not feasible
(Source: sxc.hu) REFLECTING on the 37-year history of the Barisan Nasional (BN), it is easy to conclude that there is some worth in grand coalitions and their ability to demonstrate political strength and unity. In the aftermath of the 8 March 2008 general election, there have been calls by some for the formation of a […]
Hopeful in Permatang Pauh
Corrected on 15 Aug 2008 at 2.50pm DE FACTO opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s day of reckoning is rapidly approaching. After months of promises and political posturing, he is finally moving forward on his promises of leading the Pakatan Rakyat to power to form what he claims will be a more just and equitable […]
