SOME countries move from relatively democratic systems to more authoritarian ones such as Malaysia in the 1970s. Others from authoritarianism toward democracy. What can the experiences of these other countries tell us about where we go from GE13? And what choices lie ahead of those who want change?
democracy
The stories of Bersih 3.0
Work in Progress by Hwa Yue-Yi
IF you’re a Malaysian reading this, you will have seen what happened at Bersih 3.0. Whether or not you were in Kuala Lumpur on 28 April, or glued to Facebook or Twitter, you must have encountered images, videos, or reports of the colossal rally that started as a festive sit-in and ended in tear gas. […]
Three things I like about the Peaceful Assembly Bill
Reductio ad Absurdum by Chan Kheng Hoe
MUCH has been said about how undemocratic the Peaceful Assembly Bill is. I beg to differ. On the contrary, three very good aspects of the Peaceful Assembly Bill have been missed by commentators. Here they are: More religious The Bill promotes a religious society. We all know how important religion is to ensure that we […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Lessons from the Seksualiti Merdeka controversy
By Shanon Shah
Open-ended vs. close-ended democracy?
Green voters hunting for green reps
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
RUMOURS have been rife since late 2010 that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak might call for the 13th general election by this year before the economy takes a worse turn. As such, not just political parties but civil society has been gearing up for an impending election. Among the civil society groups are a group of […]
Remembering the Perak crisis
By Ding Jo-Ann
IT’S been almost two years since Barisan Nasional (BN) wrested the Perak government from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) but does anyone still care to remember? And how would we choose to remember it? If, as the saying goes, “History is written by the victors”, then the history of the Perak takeover would probably go like this: […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: What’s PKR’s elections all about?
By Ding Jo-Ann
PARTI Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has become the first major Malaysian political party to hold direct elections which are currently ongoing. The elections will allow the party’s approximately 400,000 members to vote directly not only for their division chiefs but also their president, deputy president, vice-presidents and supreme council members. The elections has already seen some […]
First phase of MP Watch completed
By Deborah Loh
PETALING JAYA, 16 July 2010: All 222 Members of Parliament (MPs) have been contacted for the MP Watch: Eye on Parliament project, and have responded with either full answers or a non-reply. As of 15 July, 113 MPs answered in full all six questions on key democracy issues that were posed to them. The other […]
PR shies away from Islamic state issue
Translation by Gan Pei Ling
THE Nut Graph started posting six questions to 222 Members of Parliament (MP) in January 2010 for its MP Watch: Eye on Parliament project. The project — a likely first of its kind in Malaysia — aims to record MPs’ positions on key issues of democracy as well as provide MPs a platform for voters […]
Updated – Hasan Malek (Kuala Pilah)
by Koh Lay Chin
KUALA Pilah Member of Parliament (MP) Datuk Hasa Malek’s response to the MP Watch: Eye on Parliament project, which asks all 222 MPs six questions. Name: Hasan Malek Constituency: Kuala Pilah Party: Umno Years as MP: Since 2004 Government position: • Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Party position: • Kuala Pilah division deputy […]
