Malaysia’s constitution requires a general election to be called at least once every five years. However, the prime minister can also request for Parliament to be dissolved at any time within that five years. But should the calling of a general election be a surprise? The Nut Graph speaks to political scientist Wong Chin Huat for his views.
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Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat:
By Ding Jo-AnnOctober 2013
We apologise for factual errors made in Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: On the “Allah” judgement and in the Shape of a Pocket column entitled Wishing for another 13 May.
New year resolutions for the BN
Uncommon Sense by Wong Chin Huat
IT’S a new year and the countdown to the next general election has begun, expected within the next 100 days. What new year resolutions should political parties be making to perform well at the impending elections?
NEP: A historical mistake
Uncommon Sense by Wong Chin Huat
Updated 12.55pm, 16 June 2010 THE greatest political myth in Malaysia is that Malay Malaysians and other bumiputera owe their success or improved living standards to three things: the New Economic Policy (NEP), Umno and the 13 May 1969 clashes. Without 13 May, Umno would not have been resurrected and obviously, there would not be […]
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About The Nut Graph | The Nut Graph Team | Our Contributors Andrew Khoo has lived, studied and/or worked in America, Canada, England, Jamaica, Malaysia, Singapore and Uganda at different points in his life. A native KL boy at heart, his interests include architecture, art, drama, economics, law, literature, music, philately, politics, public transport and […]
Why is the BN against local elections?
By Wong Chin HuatAT least on the surface, the Barisan Nasional (BN) agrees with the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) on two things: ethno-religious inclusion and governmental reforms. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia and Government Transformation Programme are basically the BN’s answer to the PR’s ketuanan rakyat and “competency, accountability and transparency“. But the two coalitions now differ […]
Mission: Democratisation
By Wong Chin HuatI HAVE no doubt that a two-party system is better than the one-party state we currently live in. However, what is desirable is not necessarily viable. As I have argued, blind faith in the feasibility of a two-party system may lead to either one-party predominance (under the Barisan Nasional [BN] or Pakatan Rakyat [PR]), or […]
Forget the two-party system
By Wong Chin Huat(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 […]
Road to an absolute monarchy?
By Wong Chin HuatTan Sri Arifin Zakaria, one of the judges on the Perak menteri besar caseREMEMBER these names: Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria, Datuk Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, Datuk Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Datuk Abdull Hamid Embong. They have fundamentally transformed the nature and prospects of the Malaysian state with their 9 Feb […]
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 […]
