Month: February 2008
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Raising the Keris
DO non-Malays really need to fear the keris and what it symbolises? At a 3pm public lecture at the Annexe Gallery at Central Market in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, March 1, historian and political scientist Dr Farish Noor will attempt to relocate the keris in its proper cultural-historical context. The “Revisiting the Keris: How…
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Coalition Politics: Beyond the Glue of Power
By Dr. Mavis Puthucheary “They all have different ideologies and opposing views. You cannot form a government like that,” caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said confidently on Feb 25. He was referring to the electoral pact between the opposition parties, which has often had this criticism leveled against it. It is said…
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The “miracle” on Jalan Gasing
[Updated at 8:50am, 1 March 2008 with correction] ON the evening of Feb 27, the Catholic Church of Saint Francis Xavier (SFX) on Jalan Gasing in Petaling Jaya hosted a debate for the public to get to know the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Opposition candidates running in their constituency. The candidates were: MCA candidate Datuk…
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Still Under-represented
By Maria Chin Abdullah WOMEN’s representation in this 2008 election continues to be less than satisfactory with the percentage falling short of the 30% quota set for women to be in decision-making positions. There is an improvement in the absolute number of women candidates, increasing from 94 in 2004 to 128 in 2008, out of…
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Coverage of the Campaign (Part 1)
IN the run-up to the Feb 24 nomination day, at least 44% of news stories about the 12th general election in Malaysia were pro-Barisan Nasional (BN) for the period between Feb 18 and 22. On average, the six newspapers which were monitored by a citizens’media monitoring initiative had between 50% and 70% stories that portrayed…
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An open letter to Tony Pua
To our readers, Beginning Feb 28, we invite readers who are following any particular campaign trail to share their thoughts and observations about the quality of debates and candidates at any ceramah they are at. We hope that these kinds of articles will represent the diversity of voices of voters out there who make the…
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Being independent
By Jacqueline Ann Surin jacquelinesurin@malaysiavotes.com PETALING JAYA: The idea of fielding an independent candidate in Kepala Batas – the parliamentary constituency where the incumbent is caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi – was not to win the contest. “The idea is for students to reclaim their voice through the electoral process, and to…
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Can university students and academics in Malaysia participate in the general election?
They can vote but they can’t be involved in any other way. Public universities in Malaysia are bound by the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) 1971, which stipulates that students cannot participate or be involved in any society, political party, trade union or any other organisation unless provided for by the university’s constitution or…
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Chegubard on what ails Malaysia
After the fanfare had subsided a little and the candidates had been announced on Nomination Day (Feb 24), Danny Lim spoke to Badrul Hisham Shaharin, 30, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat contestant for the Rembau parliamentary seat in Negeri Sembilan. He is taking on Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin. In this exclusive interview, Badrul, also…
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Citizen Nades’ Endorsements
By Cindy Tham cindytham@malaysiavotes.com PETALING JAYA: US presidential candidate Barack Obama appears to be able to charm the crowd fairly well on his own. Still, there is no harm in boosting his popularity by getting big names to endorse him, the most famous of whom is probably talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. On a far less…
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PAS’s New Realist Politics?
By Farish A. Noor THAT the leadership of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) has now come out to endorse the People’s Declaration – an initiative by Malaysia’s civil society calling for the reaffirmation of the people’s fundamental political rights – is indicative of the success of the behind-the-scenes lobbying in the lead up to nomination…
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Does character matter?
Navigating through our election candidates By Daniel Liew WITH nomination over, it’s now time to think about the candidates vying for our votes in this 2008 general election. Based on all that has happened in the last couple of years with politicians, voters should take some time to really scrutinise each candidate thoroughly and understand…
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The fight for KL’s “Jewel in the Crown”
By Jacqueline Ann Surin jacquelinesurin@malaysiavotes.com KUALA LUMPUR: As early as an hour before nomination began at 9am on Feb 24, the streets in front of Bangsar Village were already filling up with Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters. A corner lot opposite the shopping complex, which was once a popular mamak shop, had been turned into the…
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Nomination day – A tale of two constituencies
Updated, with correction on 25 February, 10.45am. Candidates and their supporters descended on 222 nomination centres throughout the nation, some since 7am, today (Feb 24) to file their nomination papers for the 2008 General Election. Jacqueline Ann Surin reports from the ground in Lembah Pantai and Danny Lim in Rembau.
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No pain, no gain
By Wong Chin Huat A Barisan Nasional (BN) message you can find everywhere in rallies, newspapers, radio, television and websites is that if you don’t vote for the BN, you will have no representative in the government to be an advocate for your interest – be it local development or cultural rights. Understandably alarmed by…
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A tempered view
It’s the eve of nomination day (Feb 23). Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin, 32, and his campaign team have descended on Rembau, Negeri Sembilan, to prepare for nomination and to press the flesh. The Barisan Nasional Youth deputy chairman and Rembau Umno Youth chief will be contesting for the parliamentary seat here. Danny Lim…
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Election Offences
The race is on and candidates are going all out to woo voters. There’s no telling to what extent they will go, but there are some things they are not permitted to do. MalaysiaVotes.com compiles a list of some of the offences under the Election Offences Act, which does not only apply to the…
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The threat to secular democracy
By Farish A. Noor AS far as complex plural societies go, Malaysia has to be one of the most complex and plural societies in the world at the moment. There are few countries with a racial, ethnic, linguistic and religious mix like Malaysia’s and I have to confess that I am more than annoyed when…
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Keeping close watch
By Danny Lim dannylim@malaysiavotes.com THREE days before polling day during the Ijok by-election in April 2007, an MCA state assemblyman, speaking on condition of anonymity, was worried about the Chinese vote. “Those who stay here, no problem (in voting for the Barisan Nasional),” he said. “But their children… they go out (of Ijok), they hear…
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Election issues and their effects
By Lim Hong Hai SOME states might have their own peculiar issues, but on a national scale, the issues that are likely to dominate this general election fall under three broad categories: race relations, governance and economic wellbeing. These categories are not watertight compartments and a given policy issue can affect all of them, but…