There are groups who seem to be spoiling for another 13 May to happen in Malaysia. Whether they are politicians from Umno or non-state actors, the signs are mounting that another racial clash is what these individuals and groups want to have happen. What are these signs?
Jacqueline Ann Surin
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Beyond election petitions
By Jacqueline Ann Surin
POST-GE13, both BN and PR lodged election petitions against the polls results in several seats. Why bother with election petitions? And what else do citizens need to be aware of and be vigilant about if Malaysians are to get a cleaner and fairer electoral system come GE14?
Inequality in the name of Islam
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
THE problem with the Administration of the Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013 wasn’t just that it was “unfair” to non-Muslims or controversial. The reason it has no place in Malaysia is that the bill entrenches inequalities and does so in the name of Islam.
Voting out the wrong government
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
DEMOCRACY cannot guarantee that you vote in the right government, but it guarantees that you can vote out the wrong government. Jacqueline Ann Surin explains how we can tell when it’s the wrong government in power.
Galvanising the overseas vote
By Jacqueline Ann Surin
IT is likely that this is the first general election since Malaya’s independence, otherwise known as GE13, that overseas Malaysians have consciously organised themselves to return home to vote. Just who are these Malaysians? What sacrifices are they making in order to vote? And what is motivating them?
BN vs PR election forecasts
By Gan Pei Ling and Jacqueline Ann SurinAS Malaysia faces the most keenly-contested general election since independence (GE13), what are both the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat coalitions saying about their respective chances of forming government?
The problem with Malay unity
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
One of the exhortations to Malay Malaysian voters as the general election looms is to vote the party that will ensure Malay and Muslim unity. When politicians, academics and royalty start to promote Malay and Muslim unity, are they peddling an ideal for the nation or a dangerous myth for the masses?
Pluralism: The new bogey
THERE is a new threat against Muslims in Malaysia and its name is pluralism. But just what kind of threat does pluralism pose to Malaysian Muslims? And what are other nations, which also experience cultural and religious diversity, doing about pluralism that we may learn from them?
Voting for an “Islamic state”
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
According to MCA, a vote for DAP equals a vote for PAS equals a vote for an Islamic state and hudud. Is there truth to any of the charges and predictions MCA is making? And are they being completely honest about what the Umno-led Barisan Nasional itself has been responsible for?
Promoting Malaysian mediocrity
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
What really is all the fuss over the theme, logo and song lyrics of our upcoming Merdeka celebrations? Is it really a case of political manoeuvrings by the Barisan Nasional (BN)? Or poor judgement by the government of the day? Or both? Or does it say something more about what the current federal leadership promotes?
