WHAT do you know? Politicians from across the divide are actually united on an issue. The issue? The threat that Sisters in Islam (SIS) poses as a Muslim women’s rights organisation that may be deviating from the faith. The latest spotlighting on SIS — just one of many through the 20 years of the non-governmental […]
Jacqueline Ann Surin
The terror of government silence
Penan child (© Robin Hanbury-Tenison/Survival, pic courtesy of Survival International) DATUK Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil was the perfect picture of concern and care on the front page of The Star newspaper on 28 May 2009. The newly re-appointed women, family and community development minister was photographed at the Serdang Hospital with a five-year-old child who […]
“Nothing serious” about Perak?
ACCORDING to the Bar Council’s Little Red Book about the police and citizen’s rights, a person is under arrest under the following circumstances: the police says “yes” to the question (asked politely if possible), “Am I under arrest?”, or does not allow you to leave or wants to take you to a police station, or […]
Where’s the BN’s commitment?
(Source: un.org) THERE was some cheer for me on World Press Freedom Day this year. It was provided by a press release from the Selangor government. To commemorate the annual celebration on 3 May, Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim spelt out clearly what his government was doing to promote press freedom. In early […]
Funding democracy, the BN way
(Permatang Pauh by-election pic by Danny Lim) SINCE the historic March 2008 general election, it has become clearer to Malaysians that democracy is messy and expensive. Indeed, any politician who tries to convince the rakyat that democracy is an easy and frugal affair is guilty of trying to fool the masses. But what have we […]
What media freedom, prime minister?
ON 6 April 2009, three days after he was made prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak spoke about a new way forward in policy, politics and the media. To many in the media, his rhetoric about a “vibrant, free and informed media” was welcome, especially in an environment where government control of the traditional media […]
Najib’s ploy
LEST we allow our new prime minister to get away with a slick public relations exercise, here are some cold hard statistics about previous prime ministers and the Internal Security Act (ISA). In July 1981, two weeks into office as prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad released 21 ISA detainees. As he himself candidly admitted […]
The confidence of being Malaysian
CHEE Sek Thim used to be based in Petaling Jaya, shuttling back to Penang on a monthly basis. But over the past one year, the reverse has been happening after he moved back to his family home. Chee, a theatre practitioner and art educator, is rediscovering his home state of Penang. The shift to Penang […]
Umno’s insincerity
Corrected on 27 March 2009 at 3.20pm HOW will we know if Umno is really going to keep its promise to reform? Quite simply, really. Similar to how we would measure a friend or partner’s sincerity, all it requires for us to make an educated guess about Umno’s reforms is to watch what the party […]
Internet media barred from Umno (Updated 6.40pm)
KUALA LUMPUR, 24 March 2009: Umno, which started its general assembly today to plot the party’s renewal under a new leadership, showed the first sign of its resistance to reform – it barred the internet media from covering the five-day event. Initially, no word was issued officially but checks by the press corp and online […]
