Mohd Fauzi Abdullah, a.k.a. Abe Uji, brick laying JUST before lunchtime on 8 July 2009, the candidate for PAS, Mohd Fauzi Abdullah, was in Kampung Budi, pushing some cement between bricks. PAS parliamentarians had sponsored a replacement for the village cemetery’s shack, currently in construction, and Mohd Fauzi was providing a photo-op for the media. […]
Zedeck Siew
PR’s strategy in Manik Urai
By Zedeck SiewDESPITE earlier indications that the Manik Urai contest would hinge on local, bread-and-butter issues, leaders on both sides of the political divide have been reminding constituents of the by-election’s wider significance. On 6 July 2009, Kelantan Umno chief Datuk Mustapa Mohamed told the residents of Laloh that the Manik Urai fight — should the Barisan […]
The BN’s doublespeak in Manik Urai
By Zedeck SiewView of BN flags on the ceiling IN George Orwell’s seminal work of dystopian fiction, Nineteen Eighty-Four, the totalitarian Ingsoc government employs, among its slogans, the phrase “Freedom is Slavery”. Orwell, who wrote at length about how “language can corrupt thought“, is credited with popularising the concept of “doublespeak”: language deliberately constructed to distort its […]
“Difference in Islam is healthy”
By Zedeck SiewSusan Carland “IF you publish this, and I get kicked out of the country, I know who to thank,” says Susan Carland towards to the end of our interview. There is a reason for Australian Carland, who was recently in Malaysia, to be cautious. Speaking up as an outsider about Islam in Malaysia has its […]
PAS-Umno fight in Manik Urai (Updated 11.40am)
By Zedeck SiewUpdated on 6 July at 11.40am Corrected at 9.15am on 6 July 09 (From left) Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS candidate Mohd Fauzi Abdullah, BN candidate Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat, and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin KUALA KRAI, 6 July 2009: Nomination day for the Manik Urai by-election began this morning in what is the […]
Slavery abroad!
By Zedeck Siew(Pic by scoll22 / sxc.hu) THERE has been considerable debate surrounding Malaysia’s proposed one-off-day gift to foreign domestic workers. There’s some strange synchronicity involved, it seems: the welfare of foreign labour is not only a hot topic here, but in neighbouring countries, as well. I received this (somewhat irate) statement in my mailbox yesterday. It […]
PR rejects unity govt with BN
By Zedeck SiewKUALA LUMPUR, 22 June 2009: The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Council of Leaders has unanimously rejected the idea of a unity government with Barisan Nasional (BN). “All the component parties of PR reiterate their commitment to each other and to strengthen the coalition in order to help form the future federal government,” Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar […]
Politicians and local councils
By Zedeck SiewTHE spat between Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and DAP over the appointment of Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Perai (MPSP) president Mokhtar Mohd Jait began with a boycott, by PKR councillors, of Mokhtar’s swearing in. This then led to DAP leaders calling for the resignation of Johari Kassim, the PKR whip in MPSP which led the boycott. […]
Watching Malaysia change
By Zedeck SiewUpdated 22 June 2009, 5.16pm DATUK Ambiga Sreenevasan’s reference point for how aware Malaysians are about issues is the taxi driver. The respected lawyer and former Malaysian Bar president is no stranger to being scolded by taxi drivers while she is dressed up in her courtroom garb. “‘Aiya, this judiciary, can buy,’ one told me,” […]
Nasharuddin: Nizar did not brief party
By Zedeck SiewKUALA LUMPUR, 16 June 2009: PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa has refuted reports that top party leaders did not support Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin‘s actions in Parliament yesterday that led to his suspension. “I didn’t say that I was distancing myself [from Nizar]. But how he wanted to do it, [we were] not briefed,” […]
