ARE support letters by elected representatives and councillors necessary to maintain good public relations, or are they a political liability that are open to misuse and abuse?
dap
Who pays our political parties?
By Ding Jo-Ann
EVER wondered where political parties get their money? And what they use it for? While skeptics may think that political parties just use their money for handouts and bribes, in fact, they also legitimately need money to carry out proper functions. For example, political parties need to maintain their party machinery, conduct voter education and […]
MP Watch: Who replied, who didn’t, and why
By Deborah Loh and Koh Lay Chin
THE number of Members of Parliament (MPs) who fully participated in the MP Watch: Eye on Parliament project is just slightly more than those who did not, at 113 to 109. There are a total of 222 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat. Pakatan Rakyat (PR) MPs were the most participative, with 61 or 80.2% out […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Who makes a better opposition?
By Ding Jo-Ann
THE last general election birthed a situation that was not common before 2008: the Barisan Nasional (BN) functioning as an opposition. Although the BN has been the opposition in Kelantan for many years, it was a completely new experience for them in Selangor, Penang, Perak and Kedah. Indeed, the blanket term “opposition” previously used to […]
Suara Keadilan suspension: Meddling with the media
By Ding Jo-Ann
WHOM should the media be accountable to – the public or the government? Judging from the Home Ministry’s refusal to renew the permit of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) newspaper Suara Keadilan, it appears the government is still intent on making the media answerable to it. The ministry was apparently “not satisfied” with Suara Keadilan’s response […]
Talking about political change
Video by CK Chan. Editing by Loh Kai Syuen and Loh Kai Tyng.FOR those who missed The Nut Graph’s first Found in Conversation event on creativity and innovation in politics, held on 20 June 2010 in Kuala Lumpur, the following videos tell the story. The three invited guests were first-time Members of Parliament Nurul Izzah Anwar (Lembah Pantai) from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Khairy Jamaluddin (Rembau) from […]
Hindus first, before becoming Muslim
By Koh Lay Chin
BEFORE Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim became a politician, he was far better known as a Malaysian champion of transparency, integrity and good governance. Indeed, it was no coincidence that Tunku Aziz, together with like-minded individuals, founded Transparency International Malaysia (TI-Malaysia) in 1998. He was TI-Malaysia president until December 2004. Even after setting up TI-Malaysia, […]
Creativity and innovation in politics
By The Nut Graph
ON 20 June 2010, at The Nut Graph’s first Found in Conversation event, on creativity and innovation in politics, three young politicians tackled questions about politics post-March 2008. While Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin talked about challenges within his party for much-needed reforms to happen, DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua assured the audience that […]
Non-Muslim rights: What Rais can do
By Teo Nie Ching
Umno leaders should stop pretending that they are sensitive to Chinese [Malaysian] rights. There are sufficient gambling avenues available to non-Muslims to indulge their habits. The non-Muslim communities have never requested for more opportunities to gamble. […]
Kedah, the Islamic state?
By Shanon Shah
IF a picture paints a thousand words, then one wonders what description of Kedah its billboards are now painting. A drive down Lebuhraya Sultanah Bahiyah in Alor Setar reveals a succession of billboards for a variety of companies and products with slogans in Jawi script. In fact, one of the billboards promoting Media Prima-owned radio […]
