IF one were to take to heart everything top Umno leaders say, and what the Malay-language newspapers report on, Malay Malaysians are on the brink of political extinction. From being sidelined by the Pakatan Rakyat state governments to losing electoral power to non-Malay Malaysians, the Malays are doomed. So goes the headlines in Utusan Malaysia […]
voters
Malay Malaysians under siege? Utusan Malaysia reports
By Ding Jo-AnnAre Malay Malaysians really under siege? Are non-Malay Malaysians becoming the majority? Read what Utusan Malaysia has to say about this in Found in Quotation.
Voting and race
By Deborah LohORANG Cina Malaysia, apa lagi yang anda mahu? queried the headline of an Utusan Malaysia editorial last week following the 25 April 2010 Hulu Selangor by-election. Indeed, Barisan Nasional (BN) politicians are trying to understand just what it is that will make Chinese Malaysian voters return to the BN’s fold. Not all Chinese Malaysians voted […]
The public’s demands
By KW Mak(Pic by leocub / sxc.hu) AFTER the March 2008 general election, a smartly dressed couple approached a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Member of Parliament (MP). They told the MP that their son had scored 10 As for his PMR exams, and they expected the MP to purchase a laptop for him. The MP’s reply was […]
What is an MP?
By Ding Jo-AnnI WATCHED a rerun of the sitcom Friends recently where Ross and Joey accidentally end up dating the same girl. They then try to win her affection by recounting increasingly embarrassing things about each other to her. “Ross was divorced three times!” yells Joey. “Joey eats his date’s food when she goes to the bathroom!” […]
Hulu Selangor assessment and strategies
By Deborah Loh and Ding Jo-AnnFelda Sungai Tengi settler, Mohd Zaini Hamdan NO doubt about it. The fight for the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat is located within the Malay Malaysian community. Ceramah rhetoric on both sides has been geared towards raising emotive issues for this electorate. Barisan Nasional (BN) harps about Datuk Zaid Ibrahim‘s liberal ways and Datuk Seri Anwar […]
Saving Parliament from the EC
By Wong Chin HuatI COULD not believe the Election Commission (EC)’s admission that 228 (0.35%) voters had been transferred out of the Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency to the neighbouring Selayang parliamentary constituency. Now, it is not news that voters get transferred involuntarily — you may even call it voter trafficking or abduction — from their neighbourhoods to faraway […]
What Indian Malaysian voters want
By Deborah LohINDIAN Malaysian voters are said to be the deal-breakers in the Hulu Selangor by-election, according to one view. They comprise 12,453 or 19.3% of the total 64,500 voters in this parliamentary seat. In the 2008 general election, 51% of their votes went to the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate, Datuk G Palanivel from MIC. Palanivel lost […]
By-elections and bumiputeraism
By Wong Chin HuatCorrected at 2.59pm, 16 April 2010 WHILE by-elections can hardly be considered referendums, they are nevertheless mid-term elections and often have far-reaching implications. The triple by-elections of April 2009 Remember the triple by-elections of April 2009? What if newly-minted premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak‘s Barisan Nasional (BN) had won all three handsomely? Would he then […]
Najib’s tea party potential
By Koh Lay ChinIt is significant that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is making the effort to meet members of the public who take the internet seriously. It is also significant that he says he wants it to be a regular part of his leadership. In fact, he is having a tea party with his online fans […]