CAMPAIGNING in the hotly contested state seat of Bukit Selambau, Kedah, has been relatively muted, with both the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) zooming in on each others’ Achilles heels in an escalating psy-war. The three parties in the PR — Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), PAS and DAP — have been attacking the […]
Shanon Shah
Avoiding issues in Bukit Selambau
By Shanon ShahShahrizat Abdul Jalil THE Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) both seem keen to avoid their vulnerabilities in their campaigns to win the state seat of Bukit Selambau in Kedah. For example, at BN press conferences and interviews, including by candidate Datuk S Ganesan, leaders refuse to address allegations that new Prime Minister Datuk […]
The lone woman candidate
By Shanon ShahSarala (right) with her bicycle INDEPENDENT candidate L Sarala’s election campaign in Bukit Selambau has been a hoot. After being assigned the symbol of a bicycle by the Election Commission (EC), the 33-year-old marketing manager got herself a bike and started riding it to canvass for votes house-to-house. It would be easy to dismiss her […]
Manikumar’s baptism by fire
By Shanon ShahS Manikumar S MANIKUMAR, 35, has many fires to fight. The Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate for the Bukit Selambau by-election has to firstly compete against 14 other candidates for this state assembly seat. Secondly, there are the criticisms that he is too young, inexperienced and not media savvy. On top of this, despite strenuous […]
Bringing change to Bukit Selambau
By Shanon ShahDATUK S Ganesan likes to tout two things during his interviews: his past links with some Hindu Rights Action Front (Hindraf) leaders, and his belief that he can bring positive change à la US President Barack Obama. Ganesan meeting a breakfast crowd on 27 Mar. When asked if he is campaigning, he says, “No, that’s […]
Chaos and confidence in Bukit Selambau
By Shanon Shah(Corrected at 3.34pm on 1 April 2009) OF the three simultaneous and upcoming by-elections on 7 April, the Bukit Selambau state seat in Kedah appears to be the most fascinating. On 12 March 2009, The Star reported that the Kedah police force had identified three “hot spots” in Bukit Selambau. Then on 19 March 2009, […]
Independents’ day
By Shanon Shah“WITH independent candidates, it depends on their ‘roots’,” says Kedah Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) information chief Ahmad Kasim. “For example, if they were originally from PKR, they will naturally pull votes away from the PKR candidate.” But if they were originally from the Barisan Nasional (BN), he says, they will split votes for the BN. […]
Marilah mengundi!
Oleh Shanon ShahMENURUT satu kajian pada tahun 2005, pengundi biasa di Malaysia lebih cenderung “membiarkan isu politik di tangan pemimpin politik”. Tiga tahun kemudian, keputusan pilihanraya umum telah menggegarkan seluruh arena politik negara. Tetapi sejauh manakah proses pematangan di kalangan pengundi Malaysia? Menurut angka 2008, Malaysia mempunyai 10,922,139 pengundi berdaftar. Ini merupakan hanya 71% daripada jumlah rakyat […]
Record-breaking number of candidates
By Shanon ShahCorrected at 7.05pm on 29 March 2009 SUNGAI PETANI, 29 Mar 2009: The Bukit Selambau by-election has broken all records: the Election Commission announced at noon today that 15 candidates would be vying for the state seat in Kedah come 7 April. Apart from the Barisan Nasional (BN)’s Datuk S Ganesan and Parti Keadilan Rakyat […]
Being No. 2
By Shanon Shah“I have never gone against or challenged anyone in my life. I am finally getting there, God willing, as the party president. I have been patient and I have persevered. I have progressed from a deputy minister to a minister, from deputy prime minister to prime minister.” INCOMING Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, on […]
