Forget the two-party system (Corrected 12pm, 24 Feb 2010)
We originally published the first three paragraphs after the subheading What perils await? as follows:
“Such a ‘two-party system discourse’ has two problems. The first is that there are still widespread misconceptions about what a two-party system really is.
“Voters here can and should practise normal ‘reward and punishment’ techniques on political parties as they would in other democracies. If a party offers good policies or good candidates, it should be supported, whether it is for or against democratisation. And all things remaining equal, the absence of an overriding issue would likely result in voters creating a more balanced Parliament, where both sides share the seats more or less evenly.
“But this would only bring about a ‘two-party competitive format’, and, in the absence of strong analyses of what democracy means, voters will probably mistake this for a real two-party system.”
This was the result of confusion during the editing process, which was pointed out later by the writer. We apologise for the error. 
Islam’s special position (Corrected 12:35, 1 Feb 2010)
We had originally published that the Reid Commission had consulted with several parties including the Barisan Nasional (BN). But the parties consulted by the Commission at that time preceded the formation of the BN, and were known as the Alliance.
We apologise for the error.
