Putting malapportionment, gerrymandering on the agenda
Bersih 2.0 and Engage have come up with a new video to raise awareness about the issue of gerrymandering and malapportionment of constituencies in view of an ongoing redelineation exercise by the Election Commission.
The Day After: Is Anwar Ibrahim’s political career over?
There are actually two questions here.1) Is Anwar’s political career over?2) Will the reformasi movement, the quest for reforms, be stalled or derailed?
Guilty verdict: Aliran’s and Anwar Ibrahim’s immediate reactions
A large crowd gathered outside the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya.The social reform group Aliran has released a scathing immediate reaction to the verdict in the Anwar trial and the upholding of a five-year jail term.Check it out here. And check out Anwar’s full response here.I am shocked at the verdict, and I am not the only one. I have been receiving a steady stream of outrage from other concerned Malaysians via text, email, Whatapp, social media and blog comments.
Live – In controversial judgment, Federal Court finds Anwar guilty
It is D-Day today for Anwar Ibrahim – and the judiciary too is coming under the international media spotlight.
Doesnt look good now. Judges give reasons to justify why all the inconsistencies re Saiful credibility. Judges r saying Saiful is credible
— Rafizi Ramli (@rafiziramli) February 10, 2015
Police outside Palace of Justice form tighter ranks as crowds await news on @anwaribrahim's Sodomy 2 verdict pic.twitter.com/mlR3I3KRHK
— BFM News (@NewsBFM) February 10, 2015
Anwar Ibrahim: ‘You can’t underestimate wisdom of the masses’
Speaking ahead of the Federal Court verdict, Anwar Ibrahim tells the BBC he is convinced the struggle for reforms will go on even if he is sent back to jail.
Anwar Ibrahim: My trials and tribulations
Anwar Ibrahim recounts his political struggle and talks about the reform movement and how far it has come with one eye on the outcome of the Sodomy II trial.
Party boy Jho Low has an appetite for New York real estate
While Penang’s squash queen Nicol David has put Malaysia on the map in sports, another Penangite is carving a name for himself in real estate deals in New York. Only problem is the media coverage has not drenched his exploits with much glory. Oh, what a tangled business and real estate web he has spun … Check out this New York Times expose and note Jho Low’s reported brief meeting with Najib.
The scarring of Penang Hill; the running down of Penang’s ferry service
Scars and brown patches have pockmarked the face of Penang Hill – evidence of illegal land clearing on the hill. The bruising is evident as you approach the island using the atrocious skeleton ferry service under the now privatised Penang Port.
As D-Day looms, defiant Anwar vows to carry on political struggle
As the verdict for the Sodomy II trial draws closer, a defiant Anwar has vowed to carry on the struggle for political reforms.He said many people had been asking him what he expected the Federal Court verdict to be on 10 February.
Now you see them; now you don’t – Hills in Penang vanishing before our very eyes!
These hills are being cut in full view of the public. You can see them just on the left (in the direction of 8 o’clock) as soon as you pass through the toll booth of the first Penang Bridge, as you head towards Penang Island.
Bukit Gasing residents launch petition over award of damages
Residents of Bukit Gasing have launched an online petition after a developer was allowed to file an assessment for damages against 103 residents who had filed an unsuccessful judicial review of a project to build 68 luxury homes on the KL side of Bukit Gasing.
Penang Freedom of Information Enactment: RM500 for five requests for info?
The fee for making a request to the Penang state government for information under the Freedom of Information Act is RM100 if the information relates to earlier years.A veteran journalist then wondered aloud to me: “I want to make a number of requests for information in the course of my work,” he said. “Does that mean if I make five requests under the FOI, I have to pay RM500?”
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: ‘A global race to the bottom’
The TPP is “the largest—and worst—trade deal you’ve never heard of,” says a campaign on moveon.org. In other words, “Nafta on steroids”. You may not have heard of it because the negotiations are all being done in secret. Perhaps even over a round of golf?Incidentally, Robert Reich in the video above is “an American political economist, professor, author, and political commentator. He served in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter and was Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997” (Wikipedia).
New bald patch spotted on Botak Hill
A new bald path has emerged in Bukit Relau raising fresh questions as to whether the hill is being properly monitored.
Has 1MDB’s RM7bn in Cayman Islands been brought back to Malaysia?
By now, 1MDB has supposedly “redeemed” US$2.3bn from a fund registered in the Cayman Islands.Of this amount, the firm says US$1.2bn (60 per cent) had been “redeemed” earlier, as reflected in its 31 March 2014 accounts. On 13 January 2015, 1MDB announced it had “redeemed” the remaining US$1.1bn. It also reportedly received US$267m in dividends.
MIC commotion – again
Gosh, I am not sure what this commotion is all about, but they look serious, don’t they? Are they quarelling about who can better champion the people’s rights and welfare in the face of massive corruption and economic mismanagement? I don’t think so.
Nowhere is spared … when concrete gobbles up our precious green spaces
The recent floods don’t seem to have taught us anything. Some people still have an urge – call it an itch – to pour concrete and tar onto the few green spaces we have.In a quiet neighbourhood in Tanjung Bunga, with hardly any traffic, paving has been placed around a small park, eating up precious green space. Metal railings are now being put up around the new pavement circling the park. And the road has been widened, even though hardly any traffic passes through the neigbourhood.
As brickbats rain on Pas conservatives, Mujahid projects more inclusive face
As the conservatives in Pas come under fire for their comments on local elections and other hot-button issues, Mujahid Yusof Rawa continued his efforts to project a more inclusive face to the party. This afternoon he cemented ties with the Christian community in the northern region.
More young writers blossom at Aliran workshop
The second Aliran Young Writers Workshop in Penang over the last weekend has unleashed the the potential of more socially conscious young writers, who are set to light up the writing scene.