EVEN as the Health Ministry assures Malaysians that the 1Care healthcare reform plan is not yet finalised, its minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai responds defensively to critics. Even as the Election Commission (EC) agrees to use indelible ink and to relax postal voting restrictions, its chairperson wants to forbid non-taxpaying overseas Malaysians from voting. […]
Liow Tiong Lai
Where’s the national health scheme?
By Koh Lay ChinMore than two decades have passed and the National Health Financing Scheme still seems up in the air in terms of concept and implementation. Will it be a flat-rate or not? Will it take a year or ten? Despite continuous studies on the proposed scheme, is Malaysia anywhere closer to a health financing scheme which is affordable, fair and accessible to all levels of society?
BN divided on Islamic state issue
Translation by Gan Pei Ling
FORMER prime ministers Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, when he was still deputy premier, have all proclaimed Malaysia to be an Islamic state. Despite that, most Umno parliamentarians have avoided answering the question, “Do you think Malaysia should be a secular or an […]
Candy floss for government rules
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
ON the night of 29 May 2010, I was at Alexis Ampang in Kuala Lumpur for dinner and a performance by my colleague Shanon Shah. Curiously, after 10pm, the other patrons in the air-conditioned restaurant started lighting up. My friends, one of whom was a cancer survivor, complained to the restaurant. Didn’t the law stipulate […]
Soi Lek’s presidency — who’s resigning?
By Ding Jo-Ann“It’s not that I cannot accept [Chua]. A lot of party members cannot accept him — even my 13 CC members cannot accept him because that will further tarnish the party image. “I’ve been talking so much about the party’s interest, so if I support Soi Lek to become the president, I will be the […]
Wily Soi Lek
By Deborah Loh“Maybe by sacking me, Ong believes he can sleep better and the party will be more stable … I tarnished the party image. That is a severe crime. I am lucky they did not sentence me to death.” DATUK Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, reacting to his expulsion from the MCA by the presidential council […]
Liow Tiong Lai (Bentong)
By Deborah LohBENTONG Member of Parliament (MP) Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai’s response to the MP Watch: Eye on Parliament project, which asks all 222 MPs six questions. Name: Liow Tiong Lai Constituency: Bentong Party: MCA Years as MP: Since 1999 Government position: Health minister Party position: MCA vice-president Membership in parliamentary committees or caucus: None Blog/Website: […]
A(H1N1) still active
KUALA LUMPUR, 5 Nov 2009: The influenza A(H1N1) is still active in the community even though monitoring activities have found no abnormality, Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said today. He said even the surveillance conducted at 619 clinics nationwide did not record any increase in influenza-like-illness (ILI) cases. The death toll […]
Ong Tee Keat maintains silence
KUALA LUMPUR, 5 Nov 2009: MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat seems to be maintaining a silent approach as the party’s internal crisis drags on. Endless questions about the party from journalists covering his visit to the Bangsar LRT Station in his capacity as the Transport Minister today received no response at all. “Today, […]
M’sia to receive 78,000 H1N1 vaccines
KUALA LUMPUR, 26 Oct 2009: Malaysia will receive at the end of this month 78,000 of the 400,000 doses of anti-H1N1 vaccine ordered from Britain for healthcare front-liners and high-risk groups. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said today that the remaining doses would arrive by January next year. He said although the disease’s […]
