IPOH, 2 Feb 2009: Perak state legislative assembly speaker V Sivakumar has handed over an official letter to the Election Commission (EC) informing that the Behrang and Changkat Jering seats are now vacant. In a one-paragraph statement faxed to Bernama here, he said, the letter was handed over to Perak EC director Ahmad Adli Abdullah […]
Pakatan Rakyat
BN will not win from Perak defections
By Wong Chin HuatEVENTS are moving so fast in Perak that by the time this column is published, the Barisan Nasional (BN) may be in control of the state legislative assembly if there are enough defections to its side from Pakatan Rakyat. Even though the two Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives who were tipped to cross over to the […]
Uncontactable DAP reps may want to quit
PENANG, 1 Feb 2009: Any DAP state assemblyperson in Perak who cannot be contacted in 24 hours would be assumed to have a desire to quit their posts. DAP secretary-general, Lim Guan Eng, today said taking into consideration the political situation in that state those who do not communicate within the time frame set may […]
Pakatan Rakyat reps may join BN
KUALA LUMPUR, 1 Feb 2009: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today there is a possibility several Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives in Perak would join the Barisan Nasional (BN). “God willing, it will happen,” he told reporters when asked to comment on talks that there would be Pakatan Rakyat assemblypersons in Perak crossing […]
Nik Aziz: Umno losing its “gravitational pull”
KOTA BARU, 30 Jan 2009: PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat described the ongoing development in Umno as a sign that the party was losing its “gravitational pull”. The Kelantan Menteri Besar said if Umno were a tree, it was already reaching its wilting point. “There is no more gravitational pull in […]
Will PAS turn blue?
By Wong Chin Huat(© Leofoo / Free Images Collection; source: mir.com.my) THE Kuala Terengganu by-election was a relief for many Pakatan Rakyat well-wishers. Not only did PAS win, it went all out to praise the DAP’s contribution to the campaign despite the latter’s failure to capture more Chinese Malaysian votes. PAS’s generosity is also notable given DAP national […]
Bota assemblyperson joins Pakatan Rakyat
IPOH, 25 Jan 2009: The Barisan Nasional (BN) state assemblyperson for Bota, Datuk Nasaruddin Hashim, today joined the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government in Perak. Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, when contacted, said Nasaruddin made an announcement that he was joining Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) at PKR’s headquarters in Petaling Jaya, also today. […]
Arif Shah invited to sit in Pakatan Rakyat committee
PENANG, 21 Jan 2009: A Barisan Nasional member of the Penang state assembly, Seberang Jaya assemblyman Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah, has been invited by the Pakatan Rakyat state government to sit in one of its committees. Chairperson of the state committee on freedom of information, Abdul Malik Abul Kasim said Arif Shah was invited […]
Lessons from Kuala Terengganu
By Deborah LohULTIMATELY, the heart of the battle for Kuala Terengganu was always the Malay Malaysian vote, which was, by extension, a referendum on the relevance of Umno. But the fact that Chinese Malaysians largely stayed with the Barisan Nasional (BN) is perhaps indicative of the DAP’s and Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s inability to penetrate non-Malay enclaves on […]
Fence-sitters hold the key
By Danny LimYoung Malay villagers among the elderly at a PAS ceramah in Kampung Panji, Wakaf Mempelam on 12 Jan 2009 WITH the Chinese Malaysian voters — considered the decisive votes in the Kuala Terengganu by-election — appearing to lean towards PAS, attention is now shifting to the Malay Malaysian votes. The Chinese Malaysian community’s enthusiastic support […]