Pro-Opposition sentiment rising in Penang

 Christianity, M'sian politics, Malaysian elections  11 Responses »
Feb 292008
 

Some 250 people turned up at the Catholic Church in Pulau Tikus in Penang tonight to listen to Dr Francis Loh presenting a talk on election issues that should concern Malaysians. Though the crowd might seem small, a similar talk at the same church in 1999, at the height of the reformasi period, drew only about 150. Meanwhile, I spoke to a few working class Muslims in Penang, picked out at random, and asked them their views about the elections. A simple straw poll: a taxi driver (who turned out to be a PKR supporter), a security guard and a petrol pump attendant. They each told me that there was a mood for change, people have opened their eyes, the prices of essential items was too high etc. Umno might still be a formidable force, the taxi driver said, but there is a slight shift in support among the Malays [Read more]

Intense interest in Malaysian polls across the Causeway

 Agrobusiness/GM food, Asean, Democracy, Development issues, M'sian politics, Malaysian elections, Media  1 Response »
Feb 282008
 
Intense interest in Malaysian polls across the Causeway

I am just back from Singapore, where I took part in a forum on the Malaysian general election with some old friends. The forum on Tuesday was organised by the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in the island republic. I was delighted to meet my friend, Farish Noor, one of the organisers, and other friends on the same panel, namely Hermen Shastri of the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) and Zaharom Nain of USM. Also on the same panel was Yang Razali, Senior Fellow at the School and Editor of the RSIS commentaries. Farish, a prolific analyst and commentator, has just taken up a new position as Senior Fellow at RSIS and he seemed happy that his new job would allow him to travel and spend time on his research interests. He spoke on the Hindraf factor, Hermen touched on the Christian minorities’ [Read more]

Pas makes a breakthrough by fielding a non-Muslim woman candidate

 Democracy, Development issues, Energy resources, Ethnic and inter-religious relations, Health care, Islam, M'sian politics, Malaysian elections  4 Responses »
Feb 222008
 

Well, well, well, what do we have here? Pas is fielding a non-Muslim Indian Malaysian woman as a candidate for the Tiram state seat in Johor: 29-year-old law graduate Kumutha Rahman. Okay, it might be a gimmick to attract non-Muslim votes. After all, even Hishamuddin “the keris man” Hussein has agreed to re-open the original Damansara Chinese school in Petaling Jaya, which was closed in 2001. Amazing what elections can do! It remains to be seen if this Pas move is just tokenism or the start of a journey to reach out to “The Other”. But all said and done, it is a breakthrough. This is exactly the sort of “out-of-the-box” thinking that we need to shape a new political landscape in our land, breaking down ethnic, religious and mental barriers. Check out this NST report: ELECTION 2008: Pas breaks own taboo to field first non-Muslim candidate By : Syed [Read more]

Have you read this not-so-secret diary?

 Civil society, Democracy, M'sian politics, Malaysian elections, Media  4 Responses »
Feb 212008
 

Already tired of the mainstream media’s bias in covering the election campaign? Don’t fret, you are not alone. And I have got just the right antidote for you. In case you haven’t noticed, there is a new blog in town. The Malaysian Election Media Monitors’ Diary, which is now in full flow. This is an initiative launched on Saturday by Charter 2000-Aliran, the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and the Writers’ Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI) to monitor the media’s coverage of the 12th general election campaign. They are assisted by a team of incredibly dedicated and committed young independent volunteers. We are dissecting the media coverage in the newspapers and over radio and television. The aim is to ensure that the media coverage is fair, professional, and ethical. What this means is that there must be: * equal access to the mainstream media for all parties; * fair and [Read more]

“Lingam’s Devil Curry” by Comedy Court

 Judiciary, M'sian politics  7 Responses »
Feb 202008
 

Just spotted this hilarious skit and I thought you should check it out. It’s from the brilliant Comedy Court, which has been around since 1997. The outfit features the talented duo, Indi Nadarajah and Allan Perera. But at the end of the day, when you think about the Lingam saga, you don’t know whether to laugh or to cry… With the elections around the corner, however, you can make a difference!

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