(Corrected at 12pm, 24 Feb 2010) (Scales by darktaco / sxc.hu) FEDERAL opposition politicians and their well-wishers like to talk about an emerging two-party system in Malaysia. I believe having a two-party system is a noble goal, but it is also a false option at this juncture. A two-party system implies normal politics in a […]
uncommon sense
Should offensive ideas be penalised?
By Wong Chin HuatI AM offended by Datuk Nasir Safar‘s “beggars and sex-workers” remark about non-Malay Malaysians. But I would not agree with those who have called for him to be charged under the Sedition Act, detained without trial or stripped of his citizenship. I am therefore pleased by the sober voices of DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit […]
Game over for Pakatan Rakyat?
By Wong Chin HuatGame over for Pakatan Rakyat? WHEN speculation is rife about the possible disintegration of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR), not least via media reports, I cannot help but ask two questions: What could Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak possibly gain by this? And what weapons do parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the […]
Lifting the SIS book ban
By Wong Chin HuatTHE Barisan Nasional (BN) government should thank High Court Justice Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof for quashing the Home Ministry’s ban on Muslim Women and the Challenges of Islamic Extremism. The academic book is edited by Prof Norani Othman and published by Muslim women’s non-governmental organisation Sisters in Islam (SIS). Too often we read about why […]
Allah and the Malay language
By Wong Chin Huat(Blackboard pic by ilco / sxc.hu) IF the church were to agree to the ban of the word “Allah” for non-Muslims, would this solve our problems? The answer is no. Religious authorities in the West Malaysian states have banned more than the word “Allah”. In Pahang and Malacca, the word “nabi” (prophet) is banned, making […]
Najib’s options with Allah
By Wong Chin Huat(Corrected at 7:25pm, 15 Jan 2010) How will Najib put out the fires? (Fire pic by straymuse / sxc.hu) COMMENTATOR Manjit Bhathia is right to say that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak “is starting to look every bit as useless as his predecessor, (Tun) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.” After the divisive rule of Tun Dr […]
Bonuses in peril
By Wong Chin HuatDESPITE all the madness in 2009, it was a year in which Malaysians saw positive changes on two important fronts: ethnic relations and good governance. A good example, notwithstanding the initial flip-flopping, is the federal government’s decision to revamp the racist and fascist content of the Biro Tata Negara courses after being forced to by […]
Pakatan Rakyat vs local elections
By Wong Chin HuatIT is funny to hear my friends in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) complaining that civil society is pressuring only the opposition coalition to revive local elections and not the Barisan Nasional (BN). It becomes more hilarious now that the PR has reportedly reduced its commitment to merely “strengthening local democracy.” One unnamed leader defends it […]
Whither institutional reforms?
By Wong Chin HuatConstruction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 (Public domain; Wiki commons) WALKING can be political. East Germans tried crossing the Berlin Wall for the 28 years that it existed. Many eventually moved to the West through Hungary and Czechoslovakia after August 1989, and took to the streets in East Berlin en masse three months later. […]
Game over for PR in Perak?
By Wong Chin HuatSIX months ago, when Datuk Seri Najib Razak first took over as prime minister in April 2009, no one would have expected him to be able to draw a mass rally numbering between 30,000 and 50,000 people in Perak. Indeed, he even avoided the campaign in the Bukit Gantang by-election a few days after his […]
