These images from Kg Tanjung Tokong were taken during a Raya event on Sunday, 11 October at a time when the villagers are facing an uncertain future.
Photos by Kim MK
Aliran Singers gearing up for performance
Are you depressed about the socio-political situation? This could be just the antidote for you: the Aliran Singers.
The Aliran Singers breaking out in song and parody – Photo courtesy of Aliran Monthly
The Aliran Singers are gearing up to perform at a celebratory dinner in Penang on Saturday, 24 October 2009. The singers are coming together again after a two-year break to sing about the current political situation, which should be a whole lot of fun. The special guest artiste for the evening is singer Pete Teo, the producer of the popular 15Malaysia video-clips released recently.
Hole-in-one in Bagan Pinang
The Bagan Pinang by-election will be remembered for the comeback of the tainted Isa Samad, the Pakatan’s first defeat on the peninsula since GE2008, and the large number of army postal votes.
BN and Umno flags flutter at the Port Dickson Golf and Country Club, next door to the Army Engineering Institute, during the by-election campaign – Photos by Jong
Why Pakatan lost in Bagan Pinang
The Pakatan needs to carry out a serious postmortem to find out why and how it was thrashed in Bagan Pinang.
Posters of the Kg Buah Pala demolition were found around Ladang Siliau in Bagan Pinang on nomination day – Photo by Tiger
In some ways, the BN victory was not unexpected. Perhaps the scale of the defeat surprised many. But a few keen political analysts noticed something amiss ahead of polling day and predicted that Isa would win comfortably as noted in my post here.
So far, many have pointed to some obvious reasons for the BN’s landslide win:
Pull factors:
- Isa was a popular, well-known – albeit tainted – local candidate.
- Bagan Pinang is an Umno stronghold.
- All kinds of promises and enticements were made, especially to army personnel about improved facilities.
- Questions about the postal balloting system persisted.
- And of course, the mainstream media were used in the campaigning (but then the last three points were no different from previous by-elections – except there were more postal ballots here).
Climate chaos forces farmers to adapt
After attending a conference on climate change and the food crisis in Penang, I was supposed to write an article and that left me wondering how I should write the introduction.
And then it struck me that even as the conference was taking place, the climate was wreaking havoc in the region. Among those worst affected are the farmers, who rely on disctinctive seasons for an optimal harvest. How are they coping?
PENANG, Malaysia, Oct 9 (IPS/IFEJ) – When organisers of an international conference on climate change and the food crisis first scheduled the event here for late September, little did they realise the event would be sandwiched by two typhoons buffeting the region. Ironically, the first typhoon, ‘Ketsana’, delayed the arrival of conference delegates from the Philippines.
A peek at the Pulau Tikus town hall meeting
This is for those of us who couldn’t make it for the Pulau Tikus town hall meeting organised by the Penang Municipal Council as part of the Penang Transport Council’s pilot project to de-congest Pulau Tikus.
Dr Lim Mah Hui of the Penang Transport Council addressing the town hall meeting – Photos courtesy of Dr S P Choong
The participants, journalists and police at the town hall meeting
Maybe the following exchange will encourage public discussion and participation in the initiative towards more sustainable transport.
First the write-up by soohuey, who attended the town hall meeting:
Bagan Pinang: Congrats to the BN!
Congrats to the BN! It finally broke the Pakatan’s winning streak on the peninsula. There will be much rejoicing in the mainstream media about how the tide has turned.
But at what cost?
In its desperation to win in its own stronghold, Umno put up a popular local candidate whom its own party disciplinary board had found guilty of “money politics” (let’s call a spade a spade and refer to it as corruption). A candidate who perhaps best reflects the ethos of the party – at a time when the MCA itself is in utter disarray following the PKFZ debacle.
What message does this send out about “1Malaysia” and “1World”? We might as well disband the MACC…
LIVE: BN routs Pakatan in Bagan Pinang
Live coverage of developments from the Bagan Pinang by-election.
Last day of Freedom Film Fest in Penang
If you are free tomorrow (Sunday), why not hop over for the final day of the Freedom Film Fest in Penang organised by Komas. This time the fest is being hosted in Han Chiang School/College, near the Penang State Mosque.
You can find the programme schedule here. You are spoilt for choice, but if you are not sure which film to go for, I have been reliably told these shouldn’t be missed:
11.00am – Flow
Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century – The World Water Crisis.