Najib’s premiership not guaranteed
By Jacqueline Ann Surin and N Shashi Kala,
The Malaysian Insider
October 1, 2008
AS the power struggle within Umno begins to intensify with month-long divisional meetings set to begin on 9 Oct 2008, all eyes are on party president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider
September 27, 2008
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 — By a small margin, Malaysians think opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would make a better prime minister compared with Datuk Seri Najib Razak, according to a survey conducted recently by the independent Merdeka Centre.
In the same survey, Malaysians also appear more divided than ever over their support for the country’s political leadership.
There are also sharp differences in preferences between the different races, with a majority of non-Malays supporting Anwar, while more Malays preferred Najib.
By William Leong, MP for Selayang
September 20, 2008
Thank God, Teresa Kok (DAP MP for Seputeh) has been released from the ISA. The Abdullah Badawi administration’s lame excuse of not finding any reason to detain her further sounds as ludicrous as Sin Chew’s reporter Tan Hoon Cheng’s detention is for her protection. Unfortunately, Malaysia Today editor/blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin is still detained. Since the crack down began last week, mosques, churches, temples, places of worship and all other places where the public congregate, have seen vigils and prayers for the three detainees and for our country. All religions have in the course of their development been victims of oppression. They are therefore familiar with OPPRESSION and are quick to recognize one when it happens. But there is a word that is more appropriate than oppression to describe the sinful act of the Badawi administration in the misuse of the ISA, it is TYRANNY!
By Leslie Lau and Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider
September 18, 2008
Sept 18 — There are many roads that can lead to power for the Pakatan Rakyat alliance if opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim indeed has the support of a majority MPs in his hand.
Today, the so-called “prime minister in waiting” demanded that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi convene Parliament next Tuesday to move against a motion of no confidence against the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.
Next Tuesday is, of course, the day before Anwar goes back to court to face sodomy charges, in a trial he has claimed is politically motivated to stop in the tracks his challenge against the BN.
mKini video on CPI offcial opening
September 10, 2008
Crises and opportunities are two sides of the same ringgit. Given the stream of critical moments flowing so steadily in recent Malaysian history, the opportunities available to Malaysians must be quite endless.
When new crises become the daily bread in politics, the system must be out of sync with the times.
Racist remarks dropped by community leaders who then turn their bad judgment into race-championing claims; members of Parliament going overseas on trips that are suspiciously well-timed; leaders apologising for followers who are not sorry, and party and coalition loyalties under great strain; all these tell us one important thing.
Column: Shape of a Pocket,
The Nut Graph
By Jacqueline Ann Surin
jacquelinesurin@thenutgraph.com
Sept 12, 2008
LAST week, in the middle of yoga class, our petite instructor interrupted our asanas to tell us she’d heard there was trouble on the streets. “Go home straightaway after class. Don’t stay out tonight,??? she warned, adding something or other about those who lived in Chinese neighbourhoods.
Earlier that Friday of 5 Sept 2008, an SMS had circulated claiming there would be simultaneous press conferences at 3pm by the Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties of Gerakan, PPP, SAPP, SPDP, Upko, LDP and PBS, announcing their withdrawal from the coalition.
By The Star
Saturday September 13, 2008
KUALA LUMPUR: The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has described the detention of Sin Chew Daily journalist Tan Hoon Cheng under the Internal Security Act as an act to intimidate the media.
General secretary Hong Boon How said: “This sort of action must stop if the Government wants to advocate a freer media in Malaysia.???
ANALYSIS by The Malaysian Insider
September 13, 2008
SEPT 13 ~ Why was Sin Chew Daily News reporter Tan Hoon Cheng released 24 hours after her arrest under the Internal Security Act (ISA)? Was it because the alleged threat on her life somehow disappeared just as fast it appeared on the police radar screen?
By William Leong Jee Keen, MP for Selayang
The Morality of Members of Parliament Crossing the Floor
Response to Bar Council and Others
The Bar Council, Harris Ibrahim and Sean Ang are reported in the New Straits Times on September 10, 2008 to have said that Members of Parliament crossing the floor to join another party is legal but immoral. It is therefore necessary to draw the attention of the public to several fundamental principles with regard to the issue on the morality of MPs crossing the floor. Crossing the floor to sit as a member of parliament in another political party is nothing new in parliamentary democracies. It has been described as the height of treachery. It has also been praised as the stuff which parliamentarian heroes are made of. The great Sir Winston Churchill is perhaps the most famous parliamentarian to cross the floor and switch allegiance on more than one occasion. There is no dispute that crossing the floor for money or personal gain is both immoral and a betrayal of the voters’ trust. However, when the MP crosses not for personal gain but in the interest and welfare of his constituents then he should be commended.