What exactly is Umno’s stand on Malay rights group Perkasa? At one time, Umno leaders appeared to lend Perkasa their tacit support. But recently, a few have sought to dissociate Umno from the group. Is there a real split in the party over Perkasa, or is Umno just weighing its rhetoric carefully? However it plays out, Perkasa seems to have caught Umno between a rock and a hard place.
Malay rights
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: What does Malay unity mean?
By Ding Jo-Ann
“MALAY unity” and “Malay special rights” are grabbing headlines again. On 5 July 2010, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin reminded Malay Malaysians that they faced losing political power if they remained divided. On 28 July, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak warned the DAP not to highlight the issue of bumiputera and Malay […]
What’s that about Malay rights?
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
IF one were to take to heart everything top Umno leaders say, and what the Malay-language newspapers report on, Malay Malaysians are on the brink of political extinction. From being sidelined by the Pakatan Rakyat state governments to losing electoral power to non-Malay Malaysians, the Malays are doomed. So goes the headlines in Utusan Malaysia […]
Malay Malaysians under siege? Utusan Malaysia reports
By Ding Jo-Ann
Are Malay Malaysians really under siege? Are non-Malay Malaysians becoming the majority? Read what Utusan Malaysia has to say about this in Found in Quotation.
Class vs ethnic politics
By Wong Chin HuatIT would be a mistake to think that Datuk Ibrahim Ali is a true champion of the Malay Malaysian poor. But it would be equally silly to think that the Malay Malaysian poor do not support or sympathise with his call. After all, the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)’s failure to increase support in Malay Malaysian rural […]
Dr M and “subsidy mentality”
By Deborah Loh“I cannot predict how much longer this (affirmative action) will go on but at the moment, we are trying out… some kind of experiment… by withdrawing some of the protection in education.” “We want to see whether they will be able to withstand the competition or not. Obviously if they prove themselves able to, we […]
Voting and race
By Deborah LohORANG Cina Malaysia, apa lagi yang anda mahu? queried the headline of an Utusan Malaysia editorial last week following the 25 April 2010 Hulu Selangor by-election. Indeed, Barisan Nasional (BN) politicians are trying to understand just what it is that will make Chinese Malaysian voters return to the BN’s fold. Not all Chinese Malaysians voted […]
Malay rights, Islam and royalty
By Ding Jo-Ann(Ahmad Ismail pic courtesy of Oriental Daily) HARDLY a year goes by in Malaysia without some kind of public dispute involving race and religion. The issue for 2010: “Allah“. 2009: Cow-head protesters and Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno‘s whipping sentence. 2008: Datuk Ahmad Ismail and his “pendatang” slurs against non-Malay Malaysians. 2007: Lina Joy‘s contentious conversion […]
Umno reforms “not good enough”
By Koh Lay ChinTAN Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas isn’t just a member of Umno’s disciplinary board. He is also Malaysian Institute for Corporate Governance (MICG) president, and former Transparency International (Malaysia) executive council member. Megat Najmuddin has been outspoken about corruption, even describing political corruption as “the mother of all corruptions”. He is also a firm proponent […]
Who wants a united Malaysia?
By Jacqueline Ann SurinTM ad as featured in Berita Harian, August 2009 I DON’T know about anyone else, but I’m confused about whether our political leaders, from both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and the Pakatan Rakyat (PR), really want national unity as they claim. Predictably, ever since the prime minister announced the ideals of 1Malaysia, we’ve had a […]
