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The Big Picture, Top Stories

Making sense of the 2008 general election results

[Updated at 12.15pm, March 9, 2008] AFTER 13 days of heated campaigning, ceramahs running late into the night and plenty of promises from the candidates, Malaysians cast their ballots on March 8. The results that have come in indicate a milestone in the history of Malaysian elections. MalaysiaVotes.com talks to several political observers to try…

Malaysia Votes

The Big Picture, Top Stories

MALAYSIANS go to the polls today (March 8). They will elect their representatives and determine who they want to form the government in the next five years, at the state as well as federal levels. The ballots they cast also represent their views on how the nation has been governed since the last general election…

Malaysia Votes

The Battle in Kinta Valley

By Cindy Tham cindytham@malaysiavotes.com [First published on March 6] IPOH: Like the rain that was pouring relentlessly, the number of people huddled under their umbrellas outside Wisma Chin Woo here on Feb 29 continued to grow into the night. They didn’t seem to mind the water splashing on their feet or the dampness in the…

Malaysia Votes

What finally matters to Penangites?

By Jacqueline Ann Surin jacquelinesurin@malaysiavotes.com PENANG: “I am very confident the people of Penang will take the lead in toppling the Barisan Nasional (BN) government,” Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim declared to boisterous cheers from the crowd. The former deputy premier and current de facto leader of opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) wasn’t just massaging the…

Malaysia Votes

“Oghe chinoh kelate cukup luar beseh”

By Danny Lim dannylim@malaysiavotes.com KOTA BHARU: Where Kelantanese Malays can’t stop offering their opinions on politics, regardless of whether they’re asked, the Chinese community here is rather reticent, even when pushed. In a vastly Malay state, Chinese voters make up no more than 5% of the electorate in all but three parliamentary constituencies: Kota Bharu,…

Malaysia Votes

On The Ground, Top Stories

Samy Vellu’s moment of truth

By Cindy Tham cindytham@malaysiavotes.com SUNGAI SIPUT: The Sri Mariamman Temple in Taman Dovenby here was a hive of activity on March 5, as devotees carrying the kavadi made the journey on foot from several kilometres outside the Dovenby Plantation to the temple located within its grounds. The musicians filled the jasmine and incense scented air…

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Islamic Theme Park Fails to Impress

By Farish A. Noor THE merry-go-round is painted in bright hues of pink, yellow, green and blue; the slides and rides shine in the sun as the little girl contemplates which of the two plastic horses to mount first. Her mother sits by the swing in the near distance, her eye firmly fixed on…

Malaysia Votes

Vying for the wealth of Kelantan

By Danny Lim dannylim@malaysiavotes.com KOTA BHARU: PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa has claimed that Barisan Nasional’s (BN) own assessment of voter sentiments in Kelantan revealed that PAS has the edge in at least 26 out of 45 state seats and 10 out of 14 parliamentary seats. However, the Kota Bharu Umno division chief secretary Zulkifli…

Malaysia Votes

On The Ground, Top Stories

topstory2

The Battle in Kinta Valley

By Cindy Tham cindytham@malaysiavotes.com IPOH: Like the rain that was pouring relentlessly, the number of people huddled under their umbrellas outside Wisma Chin Woo here on Feb 29 continued to grow into the night. They didn’t seem to mind the water splashing on their feet or the dampness in the air; their eyes were glued…

Malaysia Votes

Barisan Nasional, Batu Gajah, DAP, Ipoh, Ipoh Barat, Ipoh Timor, MCA, topstory1

How will we vote?

The influence of Temperament “Yet his temperament really gives him a stronger bias than any of his more strictly objective premises.” William James IF the last article gave you some insights into the characteristics of each of the four Temperaments – Stabilisers, Improvisers, Theorists and Catalysts – and the kind of Temperament some of our…

Malaysia Votes

My Take

Catalysts, choice, Daniel Liew, David Keirsey, Elections, Improvisers, influence, Linda Berens, Stabilisers, Temperament, Theorist, vote

A Subang Jaya Ceramah

By Christopher John “I FEEL like Obama!” exclaimed DAP’s Teng Chang Khim, speaking at a ceramah in USJ 12 in Subang Jaya on Saturday, March 1. He added, “I thought I was great. I thought I could attract 4,000 to 5,000 people, but now I know that I am not that great. Now I regret.…

Malaysia Votes

On the Ceramah Trail

ceramah, Christopher John, DAP, general election, Hannah Yeoh, Haris Ibrahim, Kelana Jaya, Loh Gwo Burne, Malaysia, Nurul Izzah Anwar, Subang Jaya, Teng Chang Khim, Tony Pua

Another Country, Another Election

by Farish A. Noor [Updated with correction at 9.02pm, March 6, 2008] TUAN Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat looked a little grey and fuzzy on the videocam screen of the Special Branch (SB) officer who stood watching the spectacle before him with an air of bored disinterest. The officer himself was not all that…

Mafrel, Bersih protest EC decision on indelible ink

By Jacqueline Ann Surin jacquelinesurin@malaysiavotes.com KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians for Free and Fair Elections (Mafrel) chairman Abd Malek Hussin and several other coordinators have withdrawn as Election Commission (EC)-accredited polls observers, to protest the EC’s sudden decision to scrap the use of indelible ink in the March 8 polls. “In order to defend the principle of…

Malaysia Votes

Bersih, Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, Election Commission, indelible ink, Jacqueline Ann Surin, Mafrel, Malaysians For Free and Fair Elections, security breach, topstory2

Go Figure

Koh: Umno doesn’t dominate Penang

By Jacqueline Ann Surin jacquelinesurin@malaysiavotes.com PENANG: Gerakan acting president and outgoing Penang chief minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon has refuted the opposition’s charge that Umno dominates the Barisan Nasional (BN), especially in this northern state. Presenting statistics at a press conference here on March 4, he said the number of constituencies that have…

Malaysia Votes

The Big Picture, Top Stories

Barisan Nasional, Elections, Gerakan, Jacqueline Ann Surin, Koh Tsu Koon, Penang, power sharing, seat allocation, state exco, Umno

Redeeming Malaysian elections

By Lim Hong Hai Malaysia has held regular elections since independence. This is no mean achievement. But elections not only have to be regularly held. They also have to be “free and fair” if they are to effectively structure and civilize political contestation and to confer legitimacy on government by the victorious party. Malaysian elections…

Malaysia Votes