Month: February 2008
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Favourite days for the polls
Since 1955, polling day has been held every day in the week but for Friday. The most popular days that have been fixed by the Election Commission for voting to take place has predictably been Saturday and Sunday. In the last 12 elections, polling has been held on Saturday thrice (1964, 1969, 1974), Sunday three…
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How much does it cost to contest in an election?
Want to be a wakil rakyat? Other than getting the votes, you would need sufficient funds to make it through the whole election process. For starters, candidates have to deposit RM10,000 for a parliamentary seat and RM5,000 for a state seat, to the Returning Officer before or during nomination day. A candidate loses the…
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Advocating religious rights
By Cindy Tham cindytham@malaysiavotes.com KUALA LUMPUR: In the early days of our independence, ethnic rights was the focal point of many an election campaign. That still resonates today where race-based political parties rule the country and dominate the political culture. During this 2008 general election, another focal point, it would seem, is emerging. Voters, political…
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Exercising your right to vote as a student abroad
By Marie Tan Kiak Li Making it into the “Top Ten” of almost any list is usually more than enough cause for celebration. However, this wasn’t quite the case at the Malaysian High Commission last Friday. “En. Airul,” asked this Little Miss Curious, “How many students have come by to register as postal voters?” Consular…
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If you register today, can you vote?
A reader wrote to us: “If a Malaysian registers to vote today, can he/she participate in the upcoming elections? I have looked at the election commission’s website and searched Google but have not got an answer yet. What I do know is that we can register to vote at any time/any day at the post…
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Keeping the promise
By Jacqueline Ann Surin jacquelinesurin@malaysiavotes.com IN the last general election, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi sent a letter that was personally addressed to me. The March 13 letter was mailed to a family home address in Penang. My family’s excitement was palpable all the way in Petaling Jaya where I was at work. My parents…
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Why can’t Anwar Ibrahim contest in the 2008 general election?
Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is, for all intents and purposes, participating actively in the national political process. However, the former deputy prime minister still has to sit out any general election, by-election or even his own party’s election, till after April 2008.
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Election and Campaign Period
Parliament was dissolved on Feb 13 in 2008. Nomination of candidates will be held on Feb 24 and polling on March 8. What’s significant about these dates from a number’s point of view? Firstly, at 25 days, the 2008 election will have the longest election period – beginning from the dissolution of Parliament right up…
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Wanted: an imaginative opposition
By Wong Chin Huat [Updated at 11:15pm, 20 Feb 2008 with correction] You think that enough is enough. After all the leakages, all the tapes, all the royal commissions, all the demonstrations, all the arrests, something must change. You feel that every patriotic person must vote for the opposition. You tell yourself that this is…
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The politics of pluralism
By Farish A. Noor The historian’s lot is a sad one in Malaysia. I say this as a historian who has been forced to witness the relentless murder of our history, enacted time and again, by those whose discomfort with the past informs their definition of comfort in the present. Our national symbols have been…
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More than bread and butter
As Malaysia heads to the polls, what are the main issues that voters are grappling with? What issues keep cropping up, election after election, and where should we as a plural society go from here? In a Q&A with Cindy Tham, Tricia Yeoh, director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies, provides some insights. The…
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Appraisal time for Abdullah
By Cindy Tham cindytham@malaysiavotes.com KUALA LUMPUR: When Malaysia last went to the polls in March 2004, many voters were attracted by the “Pak Lah Factor”. Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi , who had taken the helm as prime minister only five months before that, was described as religious and dubbed Mr. Clean. He promised to…
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2004 General Election Results
Riding on the “Pak Lah Factor” and its development promises, the Barisan Nasional (BN) had a landslide victory in the 2004 general election, clinching 90% of the Parliamentary seats. The DAP won 12 seats and PAS, six seats. Parti Keadilan Rakyat and an independent candidate managed to win one seat each. The BN also won…
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How do elections work in Malaysia? (Part 1)
On March 8, Malaysia goes to the polls, 15 months before the current government’s five-year mandate ends. Even though the last general election was held in 2004 and the law stipulates that elections for Parliamentary and state assembly seats be held once in five years, elections can also be held earlier. Indeed, this has been…
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How do elections work in Malaysia? (Part 2)
Election period The general election or by-election begins when the Election Commission issues an election writ to the Returning Officer. A notice will be gazetted stipulating the dates for nomination and polling. The general election is held within 60 days from the date that Parliament and the State Legislative Assembly are dissolved. By-elections also have…
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How do elections work in Malaysia? (Part 3)
Polling day Officially, this day starts after March 7 midnight this year and ends with the announcement of the results. However, polling time is fixed from 8am to 5.30pm for Peninsular Malaysia and 7.30am to 5pm for Sabah and Sarawak. For remote areas, mobile teams are utilised to facilitate polling and the polling times…
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How do elections work in Malaysia? (Part 4)
Counting the votes Vote counting is carried out by the Presiding Officer at the polling station or at a specified central counting place. Postal votes for each constituency are counted by the Returning Officer at the specified place. During the counting, only authorised persons are allowed to be present. They are: i) Election Commission…