The majority of MPs who responded to MP Watch want parliamentary democracy strengthened. Two top suggestions for doing this were reforming election practices and having parliamentary select committees.
MIC
MPs and Freedom of Information
By Gan Pei LingBOTH the PR state governments in Selangor and Penang have passed Freedom of Information (FOI) laws while the BN-led federal government has yet to dismantle the Official Secrets Act. Find out what the different parties think about a citizen’s right to know before heading to the polls on 5 May 2013.
MPs and the ISA
By Gan Pei Ling
The Internal Security Act has now been abolished and replaced with the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act. But not all Barisan Nasional MPs were keen on abolishing the ISA. Find out what MPs told The Nut Graph about what they thought about the ISA during the MP Watch: Eye on Parliament project.
MPs and the Islamic state issue
By Ding Jo-AnnSHOULD Malaysia be an Islamic or secular state? The Nut Graph asked 222 MPs this question after the 2008 general election as part of its MP Watch: Eye on Parliament project. Find out what each party in BN and PR thinks about this issue.
New year resolutions for the BN
Uncommon Sense by Wong Chin Huat
IT’S a new year and the countdown to the next general election has begun, expected within the next 100 days. What new year resolutions should political parties be making to perform well at the impending elections?
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Has Najib won over Indian Malaysians?
By Ding Jo-Ann
PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has obviously been trying to win the Indian Malaysian community’s votes ahead of the impending general election. The list of government initiatives for the Indian community in the recent months has been long. These initiatives range from funding new school blocks to increasing allocated seats for Indian matriculation students; […]
Who wants another 13 May?
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
I DIDN’T live through the racial clashes of 13 May 1969. I was born a year after. And yet, throughout my childhood and into my adulthood, just mentioning “13 May” evoked whispered warnings and an unnameable fear. What is it about 13 May that gives rise to fear and suspicion that fellow Malaysians might re-enact […]
The hypocrisy surrounding Interlok
By Subashini Navaratnam
THE debate about the novel Interlok by Malaysian national laureate Abdullah Hussein continues to rage, but among a select few. The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) wants the book to be withdrawn from the Form Five syllabus for Malay literature on the grounds that the novel contains “offensive” words and depictions of Indian Malaysians. The MIC […]
BN divided on Islamic state issue
Translation by Gan Pei Ling
FORMER prime ministers Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, when he was still deputy premier, have all proclaimed Malaysia to be an Islamic state. Despite that, most Umno parliamentarians have avoided answering the question, “Do you think Malaysia should be a secular or an […]
The govt’s selective listening
By Gan Pei Ling
“The issuance of a licence to legalise sports betting is no longer an issue as a decision has been made. We always listen to the people’s wishes and put their interests above all.” PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, declaring after an Umno supreme council meeting that the government would not legalise sports betting. The […]
