At Umno’s recent 61st general assembly, the prime minister advised the nation to stop questioning Malaysia’s “social contract”. This was swiftly followed a clearly political decision requiring SPM takers to pass History from 2013. But whose version of history will this be?
Lim Teck Ghee
“Democracy crucial to economic progress”
By Deborah Loh“Where is democracy, Mr Najib?” in different languages. (l-r: CIJ’s V Gayathry, JIM’s Zaid Kamaruddin, Wong, and Haris) KUALA LUMPUR, 10 July 2009: Slow democratisation will ultimately lead to economic and state failure, civil society groups said today in conjunction with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 100 days in office. While praising Najib for […]
Liberalisation welcomed with caution
PETALING JAYA, 1 July 2009: The government’s economic liberalisation measures are welcome – as long as they don’t get strangled by red tape, politicians from across the divide and think tanks said today. These individuals and groups supported the removal of the 30% bumiputera shareholder quota for publicly listed companies, the increase in foreign shareholding […]
Wong’s arrest stifles academic freedom
By Gan Pei LingPETALING JAYA, 13 May 2009: Academics from the Asian Public Intellectual (API) Fellowships Program have described political scientist Wong Chin Huat‘s recent arrest for sedition as an “assault against academic freedom”. The group of public intellectuals said in a statement today that Wong’s arrest under the Sedition Act on 5 May restricted the academic community’s […]
Chin Huat’s arrest condemned (Updated 4.15pm)
By Zedeck SiewUpdated 4.15pm on 6 May 2009 PETALING JAYA, 6 May 2009: Several groups, think tanks and political parties have condemned the arrest of political scientist Wong Chin Huat for alleged sedition. “The arrest of Wong does not augur well for (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak)’s promise of openness and respect for the people,” said […]
1BLACKMalaysia campaign for Perak
By Zedeck SiewKUALA LUMPUR, 5 May 2009: The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections (Bersih) has urged all Malaysians to wear black on 7 May to protest the “ongoing Perak coup” by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government. “It will be a peaceful but powerful message of civil disobedience: that we, the people, are the politicians’ bosses and […]
Civil service needs “total overhaul” (Updated 5.10pm)
By Zedeck SiewUpdated 5.10pm on 29 April 2009 PETALING JAYA, 29 April 2009: The civil service requires a total overhaul instead of just a multi-level entry system to overcome its problem of low productivity, says the DAP. Pointing to studies by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development that reveal that Malaysia has the highest civil servants-to-population […]