(Crossroads pic by Lostmyheadache @ Flickr) PAS is now at the most important historical juncture in its 58-year life. Partnering Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and the DAP, the Islamists are now only 29 seats away from taking over the federal government. Winning nearly 80% of Chinese Malaysian support in the recent Bukit Gantang by-election, PAS […]
uncommon sense
Government vs Mafia
By Wong Chin HuatWE are now told by the new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that by-elections are bad because they distract us from dealing with the economic crisis. Tunku Abdul Rahman (Public domain)This aversion towards elections is nothing new to Malaysia. In the spirit of learning our national history, let’s revisit some past decisions made by […]
From Gantang Hill to mountain
By Wong Chin HuatCorrected on 9 April 2009 at 12.05pm IT is furthest from the truth to declare that the results of the triple by-elections on 7 April 2009 are about the status quo being maintained. Such an analysis, which focuses only on the number of seats each political party has, would fail to see the forest for […]
A referendum on our future
By Wong Chin HuatTHE Bukit Gantang by-election has one overriding meaning. The by-election for this parliamentary seat in Perak is not about local development, as the Barisan Nasional (BN) would describe it. Neither will the election results determine Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s job as prime minister, as some opposition supporters would hope for. Voters in Bukit Gantang will […]
Umno’s unholy trinity
By Wong Chin HuatCorrected 12.15pm on 9 April 2009 MANY Umno leaders and analysts are talking about corruption in the party as if that is its biggest problem. After all, it was the justification used in barring party vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam from contesting for the party’s No. 2 post. And as Ali’s supporters have persuasively […]
Taming the unelected
By Wong Chin Huat(Illustration by Nick Choo) AS we celebrate the first anniversary of the historic 8 March 2008 general election, our democratic institutions are now in danger of being attacked by unelected institutions. These include the palace, the bureaucracy, the police, the judiciary, and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). And if the last and the most powerful […]
Perak today, Malaysia tomorrow?
By Wong Chin HuatCorrected on 6 March 2009 at 3.50pm (Corrected) PERAK was one of the biggest surprises after 8 March 2008. After some early difficulty in appointing the menteri besar (MB), the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government went on to perform well beyond expectations. The PR government has not only increased the state’s revenue by RM97 million or […]
Scaling the language barrier
By Wong Chin HuatTHE English language is now promoting interethnic unity in Malaysia, albeit unintentionally. Malay, Chinese and Tamil educationists who were once natural enemies have now joined forces to oppose the English for Teaching Mathematics and Science (ETeMS) policy. Politically, leaders in the Barisan Nasional (BN) are divided on whether to continue the policy, while the Pakatan […]
