As a councillor, I have come across some of the strangest interpretations of the law. This can be by council officers who are tasked with implementing the law, or by laypeople at the receiving end of the law. Along with their peculiar interpretations are mixed messages about whether the law works or not, or if […]
bribery
The many forms of vote-buying
By Gan Pei Ling
ARE transportation reimbursements, alms for the poor, land titles and welfare allocations given during a by-election just different forms of inducement? Even PAS is not exempt from the very thing it accuses the Barisan Nasional of. Perhaps the only difference is which party the Election Commission dismisses.
Hindus first, before becoming Muslim
By Koh Lay Chin
BEFORE Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim became a politician, he was far better known as a Malaysian champion of transparency, integrity and good governance. Indeed, it was no coincidence that Tunku Aziz, together with like-minded individuals, founded Transparency International Malaysia (TI-Malaysia) in 1998. He was TI-Malaysia president until December 2004. Even after setting up TI-Malaysia, […]
“Is Chinese penis really that good?”
By Shanon Shah
IN part two of stories about those who have encountered the religious police, freelance writer Nabila Nasir, 25, recounts the harassment and extortion she and a now ex-boyfriend experienced at the hands of moral guardians in mid-2007.
Buy me an election?
By Deborah Loh“Please, I help you, you help me. That way we have a very fair and happy relationship….It won’t cost you anything to give us what we want. We will do what we should to give you what you want. And you know what I want.” Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak handing over federal funds […]
The financial disadvantage of being councillor
By KW MakI AM a politician in the public’s eyes. Along with that recognition is the belief that I am flushed with cash, simply because my position allows me access to multitudes of government projects. Being supposedly cash rich, I am also expected to donate handsomely to needy people. To finance these handsome donations, I am expected […]
The Aminah enigma
By Shanon ShahAminah AMINAH Abdullah apologises a lot. She apologises for even slightly raising her voice, for not providing food and drink to reporters, for arriving late at her own press conferences, and even for not being “highly educated”, as she puts it. The former Penang Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Wanita chief is contesting the Penanti state […]
Aminah: PKR never took action (Updated)
By Shanon ShahUpdated 2.50pm, 27 May 2009 BUKIT MERTAJAM, 27 May 2009: Former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) member Aminah Abdullah claims she quit the party and resorted to exposing its wrongdoings to the media because her complaints about abuses in the party leadership were ignored. The former PKR Penang Wanita chief, who is now standing as an […]
Wooing voters
By Zedeck Siew“Ministers and functionaries, people connected to the government, they’re doing their job.” THEN-Election Commission (EC) chairperson Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, shortly after the 2007 Machap by-election. He was commenting on the morality of development promises by Barisan Nasional (BN)-aligned government officials to voters before the polls. Abdul Rashid said that allocations, given out […]
Immigration officer nabbed for bribery
PENANG, 17 April 2009: A state immigration department officer has been arrested for allegedly accepting bribes from illegal immigrants to facilitate their exit from the country without documentation. A team of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers nabbed the immigration officer at the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas about 7am today. Also picked up were […]
