A banner is unfurled. Dissolve…
A banner is unfurled. Dissolve the state assembly, it reads. Nizar walks around shaking hands.
BREAKING NEWS: 5 detained at Ipoh DAP office
0820: Police have detained five people said to be from a private event company hired to facilitate a hunger-strike programme and to put up a canopy outside Wisma DAP in Ipoh this morning, reports an eye-witness.
BREAKING NEWS: A situation at the Ipoh DAP office
0808: Getting word of a situation at Wisma DAP in Ipoh. The DAP crew were making preparations for the launch of a hunger strike. More to follow.
Pollution and dumping: The price of Penang’s progress?
This monsoon drain lies in the heart of Silicon Island – next to the Bayan Baru and Bayan Lepas industrial zone, home to many blue-chip MNCs. The black water pours out into the blue sea near picturesque Pulau Jerejak – Videos by citizen journalist Jimmy Leow
Illegal dumping near the hillsides of Bayan Baru
Mas Selamat found, RPK located, but…
They found the ‘most wanted’ Mas Selamat in Johor.
Now, they say they have tracked down the elusive RPK in Brisbane.
Pretty impressive detective work, there.
A Ros by any other name… is an orchid?
I couldn’t resist that headline, sorry.
Looks as if the Singaporeans are eager to take relations with Malaysia to a new level. Either that or they have gone completely potty – about orchids, that is.
They have named “a tall and robust hybrid” of orchids Dendrobium Najib Rosmah in conjunction with the couple’s visit to the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
DAP HQ raided, computer etc ‘detained’… what’s next?
This evening, the police raided the DAP office and carted away a computer and related equipment, ostensibly to facilitate investigations.
They brought along arrested Ulu Selangor councillor Ooi Leng Heng, handcuffed and attired in orange lock-up garb.
It’s the first time in history that the DAP HQ has been raided.
Nizar is the star attraction f…
Nizar is the star attraction for the reporters here.
Nizar addresses a throng of re…
Nizar addresses a throng of reporters.
Crowd of several thousand at c…
Crowd of several thousand at centre. Chopper overhead.
Just walked past a second road…
Just walked past a second road block. Passed small DAP contingent.
Walking to nomination centre …
Walking to nomination centre in Penanti. Live coverage begins at 8.45am.
After a downpour in Tanjong Bunga…
This is what happened after a downpour around the Persiaran Tanjong Bunga area recently.
Will Umno contest in Manek Urai by-election in Kelantan?
Just when Umno is dreading more by-elections, another one is in the pipeline with the passing of Manek Urai state assembly member Ismail Yaacob at dawn today after a long illness.
Expansion of medical tourism will hurt general hospitals
Business Times reports that Sime Darby Healthcare, the healthcare arm of Sime Darby, has teamed up with Medilink Network (PVT) Ltd of Bangladesh and Medilink (Beijing) TPA Services Co Ltd to promote medical travel from Bangladesh and China to Malaysia.
The expansion of lucrative, profit-oriented medical tourism will hurt the government-owned general hospitals, which are already experiencing a critical shortage of specialists. It will further contribute to the exodus of specialists to private hospitals from the overstretched public sector.
Obama in the Notre Dame University controversy
Obama’s controversial speech at a Catholic university. Parts 2, 3 and 4 below. Full text here.
The US president pleads for open hearts, open minds and fair-minded words over some of the bitter debates that divide American society. See also ‘The real scandal of Notre Dame‘ by the head of a Catholic university.
Obama, however, doesn’t touch on the US military adventures in Afghanistan (and the rising death toll) and Pakistan and the US Occupation of Iraq. Neither does he mention the massive and scandalous Wall Street bailouts – the result of easy and uncontrolled credit and financial deregulation and liberalisation.
11 arrested at vigil, including 2 DAP reps
Eleven people mourning the demise of democracy in Perak were arrested during a vigil in front of Seputeh MP Teresa Kok’s office tonight.
Churches + Land matters = Controversy
The Anglican Church reportedly has sold the St Mark’s Secondary School field in Butterworth to a developer much to the dismay of the school’s PTA/PIBG
Long-time residents of a century-old kampung in the St Francis Xavier Catholic Church premises within George Town’s world heritage zone look on as a contractor illegally demolishes one of the houses in the village on 8 May
It seems that controversy is never far away when the churches in Malaysia get involved in land deals involving tracts of land that were originally allocated to them for religious, social, community, educational or health care use.
This is not the first time that the churches in Penang have courted unwanted publicity over such land deals.
Now the latest controversies:
Why is Umno/BN not contesting in Penanti?
Well, apart from the obvious answer, allow me to suggest a few possible reasons:
- After what happened in Perak, Umno and the BN are not in the mood for elections anywhere. If they were to contest, they could be in for a drubbing after what they have done in Perak.
- Even if Najib’s Perak adventure had not occurred, it is unlikely that Umno could win in Penanti given the erosion in support for the BN since the last general election (even though Malay support for the party may have increased).
- The number four is bad luck for the Chinese! If Umno contests and loses Penanti, that would be its fourth straight by-election defeat since the last general election – a thoroughly demoralising prospect for its leaders and supporters.