Many Petaling Jaya residents are unhappy over the proposed Kinrara Damansara Skyway (Kidex) that will pass over heavily built-up areas. What is the Selangor government’s role in this highway and why aren’t Pakatan Rakyat representatives calling on their own government to keep to their promise of abolishing tolled highways?
Pakatan Rakyat
The obstacles to local council elections
Ampersand by KW Mak
It’s now six years since the DAP and PKR promised to enact local council elections. Yet neither Penang nor Selangor, which are under the control of the Pakatan Rakyat, has succeeded in doing so. What exactly is the problem with local council elections that it is taking so long to implement? And why is there so much secrecy surrounding the appointment of councillors?
Gauging Anwar’s promises for Selangor
Ampersand by KW Mak
How will we know whether a Selangor PR government under Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be more effective than under Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim’s current administration? And what lessons can we be aware of with regards to how the state is currently being run?
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Constituency redelineation and citizen vigilance
By Wong Chin Huat
AMID furore over banned words and price hikes, the redelineation of electoral boundaries is the next big thing that Malaysian voters must not let slip without close scrutiny. Political scientist Dr Wong Chin Huat explains the issues to look out for in this upcoming exercise.
Understanding state government SOPs
Ampersand by KW Mak
Was the MBPJ inspection of the Bible Society of Malaysia’s premises, right after they had been illegally raided by Jais, justifiable? And what are the larger issues surrouding both the Jais raid and the council’s action?
“Allah”: The PR’s failure
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
IT’S not hard at all to be distressed by the BN federal government over the way the “Allah” issue has developed. That said, following the Jais raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia, it is equally troubling to see the PR’s failure in demonstrating it will and can uphold non-Muslims’ constitutional rights.
Will DBKL defeat ratepayers?
Ampersand by KW Mak
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) may have postponed its assessment rate hike after the public protested. But is it likely that ratepayers will be able to stop the hike? Former Petaling Jaya councillor KW Mak explains how it may not matter at all what ratepayers think and want.
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: The implications of Kuala Besut
by Jacqueline Ann Surin
VOTERS in the Kuala Besut state constituency of Terengganu will go to the polls again in just two days. What are the implications of either an Umno or PAS victory?
Breaking the cycle of polarised politics
Work in Progress by Hwa Yue-Yi
GE13 has come and gone, but the partisan blame game continues. How do we “move on”? Are more rallies the answer? The challenge really is for the rakyat to be more democratic than either the government or the opposition – in the hope that, over time, our politicians will follow our lead.
BN’s challenge of legitimacy
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
FROM the arrest of Opposition politicians and activists to heightened ethnocentrism and threats of violence to the excommunication of Malay critics, the BN seems to be on overdrive. And with its legitimacy in the balance, we can expect far more threats and repression for a while yet.
