THE last general election birthed a situation that was not common before 2008: the Barisan Nasional (BN) functioning as an opposition. Although the BN has been the opposition in Kelantan for many years, it was a completely new experience for them in Selangor, Penang, Perak and Kedah. Indeed, the blanket term “opposition” previously used to […]
Selangor
Who caused Selangor’s water woes?
Who really caused Selangor to be in a deadlock with private water concessionaires over restructuring the water industry and ensuring that water tariffs would not be frequently raised?
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Khalid vs Azmin?
THIS week, The Nut Graph asks political scientist Wong Chin Huat to comment on Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Azmin Ali’s supposed party tussle with Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim. TNG: What is the significance, if any, of Azmin Ali replacing Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as PKR Selangor chief? Does this indicate that […]
Consult civil society on councillor appointments
THE Coalition of Good Governance (CGG) congratulates the Selangor government for maintaining the 25% civil society quota in the appointment of local councillors. However, we are concerned that there may be a repeat of last year’s incident where many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and professional councillors were left off the list. They were only confirmed much […]
Who’s demolishing squatter houses?
“… [I]f tractors from the Land and Mines Department demolish houses, such as was the case in Kampung Buah Pala in Penang, then it will not help the people. “Such action is an example of unfulfilled promises by PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) and thus, we must remind ourselves to prevent such an incident.” PRIME Minister […]
Muslim women can’t join beauty pageants?’
“Adalah haram bagi wanita Islam menyertai apa-apa jenis pertandingan ratu cantik.” Selangor fatwa gazetted 11 May 1995. (Source: e-fatwa.gov.my) Click on image for bigger version (Source: Ann Fiona Ratu Cantik 1Malaysia 2010, Utusan Malaysia, 24 May 2010) Read previous Found in Quotation The Nut Graph needs your support
Class vs ethnic politics
IT 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 […]
The mess of poor town planning
MY previous columns on town planning focused on how the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) did not provide for legally-required green spaces when approving development for the city. Admittedly though, the loss of recreational parks isn’t so big a deal for urbanites since development brings with it the increased potential for economic growth. In fact, […]
PJ’s illegal development (Updated 1:05pm)
Updated at 1:05pm, 12 March 2010 IN the first two articles about town planning, I dealt with planning that was done after Petaling Jaya (PJ) was founded. However, it is important to note that PJ was developed in 1952. This is significant because PJ’s founding clearly predates the legal provisions that the state government or […]
The problem with silence
Sssh (Pic by ehlert / sxc.hu)DING Jo-Ann‘s commentary about the government’s policy of silence got me wondering if the same holds true for the Petaling Jaya City Council, or MBPJ. Do we practise the same deafening silence? I shall answer that question with a story. Not mine to give Once, a group of Section 19, […]
