“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 […]
elections
Kayveas to suggest Murugiah’s replacement
KUALA LUMPUR, 12 May 2009: The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) may recommend one of its vice-presidents to replace Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk T Murugiah. PPP president Datuk M Kayveas said he would give the candidate’s name to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak soon. “We will suggest a more senior member, […]
EC’s pondok panas ban “contradictory”
By Zedeck SiewKUALA LUMPUR, 28 April 2009: The Election Commission (EC)’s decision to ban pondok panas or voters reference booths on polling day is unreasonable and contradicts the commission’s previous stance, according to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) representatives. “They are not following their own past stand,” said Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Sivarasa Rasiah at a press conference […]
Government vs Mafia
By Wong Chin HuatWE are now told by the new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that by-elections are bad because they distract us from dealing with the economic crisis. Tunku Abdul Rahman (Public domain)This aversion towards elections is nothing new to Malaysia. In the spirit of learning our national history, let’s revisit some past decisions made by […]
Islamists lose in Indonesian polls
By Farish A NoorNOW that the dust has settled, Indonesians are counting the cost of the latest elections in the country. With voter turnout rather low — hovering around 40% in some regions — the parties that were sidelined have already begun to complain and bicker about the validity of the results. Voting in the sleepy end of […]
Ku Li: Assess cabinet after six months
By Jacqueline Ann SurinKUALA LUMPUR, 11 April 2009: The new cabinet should be evaluated after it has been given a chance to perform, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said today. “Let’s give them six months to perform and then we can assess them to see if they have earned the people’s confidence,” he said. Refuting a Bernama report that quoted […]
Khairy not disappointed
By Jacqueline Ann SurinPETALING JAYA, 9 April 2009: Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin was left out of the new cabinet line-up because he has been asked to focus on party work. Khairy said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak spoke with him last night to ask him to concentrate on drawing up strategies to reclaim the support of […]
171 million Indonesians vote today
JAKARTA, 9 April 2009: About 171 million Indonesians are to vote today to elect members of four legislative assemblies including for the People’s Representative Council or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR or Parliament) and the Regional Representatives Council or Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD). Simultaneous voting will be carried out to elect representatives for the DPR Level […]
No plan to limit number of election candidates
KUALA LUMPUR, 7 April 2009: The number of election candidates will not be limited as such a move is not in line with the country’s democratic practice, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz. He said that the number of candidates was not important as anyone could contest so […]
Election lethargy in Indonesia
By Farish A NoorSession of the Indonesian People’s Representative Council (public domain, source: wikipedia.org) WHILE Malaysians are excited by the prospect of three simultaneous by-elections on 7 April 2009, Indonesians next door are showing distinctive signs of electoral fatigue. A news report featured on Indonesia’s Trans7 TV channel summed up the prevailing mood when it reported on a […]
