Dr. Mansor Othman is the new state representative of Penanti and Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) of Penang after winning today's by-election, a whopping 6,052 out of the total of 7,100 votes.  read more...

The Asean-South Korea commemorative summit will kick off on this resort island Monday, marking the 20 years that the country has been a dialogue partner with the regional grouping.  read more...

Today, more than 90 per cent of Chinese pupils study in Chinese primary schools, and close to 90 per cent of them also move on to national secondary schools after their primary education.
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Malaysia is replete with laws. You name them, and we have them. What we do not have, we produce them instantly, well, almost, in our Barisan Nasional-dominated Parliament where MPs are not encouraged to study and discuss Bills being tabled too carefully.    read more...

received an e- mail from an office bearer of MCOBA. His name is Zin Dahari bin Zainal Abidin. He is the assistant Hon.sec of MCOBA( special functions). I have been writing recently about an old boy of MCKK. That gives us a chance to communicate.   read more...

With laws like the Official Secrets Act and Internal Security Act, Malaysians might find it hard to accept that the right to information is a vital facet of democracy. For the concept to sink in, we should perhaps start by breaking the chains of secrecy colonising our minds.
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I believe the overwhelming majority of the people, in Perak and Malaysia, agree with what I said at the Guar Perahu ceramah that Najib must bear the greatest responsibility for the protracted Perak political and constitutional crisis, set off by Najib's unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak, which has now broadened into a larger national crisis of confidence of key national institutions, like police, election commission, MACC, civil service, judiciary, whose credibility, legitimacy and integrity have been compromised in serving Najib's political agenda.    read more...

Remember to log in to linasoo.com to feel the excitement at Penanti via our Live Coverage, Interactive Chat Room and Live Scoreboard.    read more...

The opposition Islamic party PAS will be unable to single-handedly take over the government in Malaysia and run it as an Islamic state, a top party official said yesterday.   read more...

Justice is becoming a rare commodity in our courts when judges of questionable ability sit in judgment. This situation raises serious concerns regarding the appointment of judges and their elevation to the bench.   read more...

Police today questioned DAP leader Lim Kit Siang for alleged defamation and sedition in his Penanti by-election ceramahs where he blamed the Perak crisis on Datuk Seri Najib Razak.   read more...

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has directed Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat to respond to queries involving the audit report on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ).    read more...

Anyone surprised at the scale and level  of incompetence in the Port Klang Free Zone fiasco? Anyone surprised with Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim's statement of claim and attempts to clear his name with the anti-graft authorities?   read more...

A recently retrenched young woman in Beijing has put her 42C cup-sized assets up for grabs to earn cash — though not for anything too sleazy, mind you.   read more...

I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few years thinking, writing and speaking about end-of-life care, but this issue recently became quite personal for me. My mother-in-law died two weeks ago.   read more...

Police are investigating how Malaysia Today news portal editor Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin managed to leave the country without a trace. There are no recent exit and entry records of Raja Petra at any immigration checkpoint in the country, said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan.   read more...

After 21 arrests and three days of hunger, Perak Pakatan Rakyat (PR) representatives have finally concluded their hunger strike.   read more...

DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang (pic) today rapped the police for not checking crime with the discovery of an illegal prison for loan shark debtors, accusing them of playing political games by curbing political dissent.   read more...

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he was shocked at the cruel and inhumane treatment of ah long (loan sharks) on people who failed to pay up their debts.   read more...

It's no secret that PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa is no fan of the Dewan Ulama (the party's religious scholars' wing). And they, not surprisingly, have been one of his strongest critics.     read more...

The Darul Ridzuan Institute (IDR), a think-tank formed soon after the Barisan Nasional (BN) took over the state government three months ago, is now operating in full swing.   read more...

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should stop the current police madness, end the debilitating Perak crisis and unite Malaysians to face the world's worst economic crisis in a century with Malaysia in official recession this year as the country's GDP is expected to be in contraction of between one and 2 per cent.   read more...

Continuing Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) condemnation of the police, Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin says that the spate of arrests linked to the Perak crisis has dwarfed the infamous Operasi Lalang in 1987.
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METAPHORS are more than sound bites. For example, the sea-changing 2008 general election is best represented by the metaphor "tsunami", first coined by seasoned opposition leader and DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang.  read more...

Aliran is terribly perturbed by the increasing role the police are assuming which is perceived to be undemocratic and very unfair. They have intervened whenever peaceful activities such as candlelight vigils are organised by civil society groups.  read more...

1st !V you are not allowed to wear YELLOW
2nd !V you are not allowed to wear ORANGE
3rd !V you are not allowed to wear BLACK
4th !V you are not allowed to mention AMN, RB
5th !V you are not allowed to light CANDLE
6th !V you are not allowed to celebrate BIRTHDAY
7th !V you are not allowed to FAST
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"To adopt a literal approach would vest a certain level of absolute power in the Ruler where such power does not exist in the first place. Can we imagine a situation where the Ruler may decide mid-term to change an MB because he thinks that MB does not command the confidence of the majority anymore?"  read more...

Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin has issued a challenge to his rival Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir to use his office to seek an electoral mandate for the Barisan Nasional (BN) government in Perak.   read more...

The people should not be fearful or apprehensive in bringing up problems related to illegal settlement and land to the state government, said Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.  read more...

DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng has questioned the arrest of eight Pakatan Rakyat (PR) elected representatives who were walking from the Perak DAP headquarters to the High Court in Ipoh for a hearing.  read more...

In yet another twist to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) hunger strike, riot police arrested over a dozen people including eight elected representatives who tried to lead a march from the DAP headquarters to the Ipoh High Court.  read more...

As it stands, the Federal Court still owes not just the litigants but the general public (particularly Perak) its reasoned (hopefully) considered (fingers crossed) written judgment for its decisions in the V.Sivakumar case which fly in the face of Article 72(1) of the Federal Constitution which simply provides: . read more...

Before you go about judging the judges of the Court of Appeal on their five minute oral decision which they handed down on Friday, May 22, 2009, please bear in mind the wise words of the most liberal of American judges, judge Learned Hand who once wrote - The Spirit of Liberty, p 110: read more...

On May 7 we saw the complete breakdown of the constitutional order in the state of Perak which started with the unconstitutional power grab by the BN earlier this year from the democratically elected PR government through dubious and questionable means involving the defections of three PR state assembly persons to become independents and the subsequent formation of the BN state government with the sanction of the Sultan of Perak but without any vote of no confidence being carried in the state assembly against the then incumbent PR state government led by the de jure Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin.  read more...

The Court of Appeal has made a decision in favour of BN Friday (22 May). Also, UMNO leaders' recent words and deeds reflected that UMNO has had a clear strategy and direction to deal with the political chaos in Perak, that is, to continue contends with Pakatan Rakyat. read more...

The Perak Pakatan Rakyat (PR)'s plan to stage a three-day hunger strike calling for the dissolution of the state assembly, has come under fire from certain quarters who say it might be haram.  read more...

Gerakan has urged the police to exercise restraint and rationality in dealing with those involved in the launch of a three-day hunger strike in Ipoh to call for the dissolution of the Perak state legislative assembly.

Gerakan Youth Chief Lim Si Pin opined that Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein would not agree with the police taking such drastic action to arrest Pakatan Rakyat (PR) elected representatives who wanted to go on hunger strike.  read more...

All 14 of those arrested in connection with the hunger strike and aborted march from DAP headquarters to the High Court this morning have been released on personal bonds at 4pm.  read more...

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir today denied he was "the chief minister of the court" who did not have the support of the Perak people, as claimed by Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.  read more...

Malaysian Courts are going Super Fast when it suits them. Allow me to share a quote of wisdom : !￥Though the wheels of justice grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small; Though with patience he stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all'.

I have read that there was a case of medical negligence, and involving the death of a lawyer, which took 23 years to reach our Court of Appeal. Yet these slow grinding wheels seem to have become supercharged for the benefit of Zambry Abd Kadir.  read more...

The only reasonable conclusion I can draw as a reasonable man from the PDRM raid on the DAP headquarters last Saturday evening is that the police leadership need their heads examined for signs of mental degeneration.  read more...

The sudden police raid of party headquarters without a search warrant means that the police does not care about !￥rule of law' in a civilised society.  read more...

It reflects how low the public's respect for our judiciary is that a unanimous reversal by the appellate court of a High Court's decision should be greeted with such widespread scorn.   read more...

After successive by-election defeats in just over a year, the thinking behind the strategies of the Barisan Nasional (BN) is now gravitating towards the new dictum that you cannot lose if you do not play.   read more...

However, I'm rather interested in asking him to reply me. If the trial is held in KL, would he appear, since it's not part of Selangor? But of course not, there's the ISA threat there.
So you know what I'm going to do for you, RPK?   read more...

Beijing's municipal health bureau reported a suspected A/H1N1 influenza case Sunday, the third in the Chinese mainland on the same day.   read more...

Thousands streamed to a village in rural South Korea on Sunday to pay their respects to ex-President Roh Moo-hyun, a day after he killed himself by jumping off a rocky cliff overlooking his home.
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Hoping for an end to the Perak crisis, the prime minister today said that an emergency assembly is an option to end the impasse but the DAP slammed the idea and called for fresh polls.  read more...

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should apologise for what five previous Prime Ministers had not done in the 43 year history of the DAP !V police raid on DAP Hqrs as if the DAP is a terrorist organization like Al Maunah.  read more...

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has expressed regret over the attitude of the Opposition accusing the Barisan Nasional (BN) government of influencing the Court of Appeal’s decision in determining the rightful Perak mentri besar.  read more...

After months of clinging on to the one symbol he had of his days as Perak mentri besar, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin finally surrendered the keys to the Toyota Camry 'AGS 10' here today.    read more...

Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir is the lawful menteri besar (MB) of Perak after the Court of Appeal ruled today that the sultan of Perak was right in finding that Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin had lost the confidence of the majority of state assemblypersons.
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These are the notes taken of the Court of Appeal’s Decision in the MB v MB matter delivered orally on 22.5.2009 by Raus Sharif JCA on behalf of the His Lordship, Zainun Ali JCA and Ahmad Maarop JCA.
Any mistakes herein are mine.  read more...

Barisan National (BN) lawyer Datuk Hafarizam Harun today claimed triumphantly that there is no longer any crisis in Perak with the Appeals Court judgment that ruled in favour of Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir as the state’s mentri besar.
“In accordance with other Commonwealth countries, the right to choose mentri besar and prime minister is the ultimate right of the sultan,” Hafarizam told reporters outside the courtroom in the Palace of Justice.  read more...

Parti KeAdilan Rakyat's (PKR) Dr Mansor Othman will face three independents in the Penanti by-election this May 31 after one was disqualified.  read more...

Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir may have mentioned Mahatma Gandhi but it is Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin who will walk the talk.
In its latest bid to force state elections, Pakatan Rakyat will organise a three-day hunger strike starting on Tuesday that will be led by the ousted Nizar and dumped state speaker V. Sivakumar.  read more...

The judgment of Justice Abdul Aziz Abd. Rahim in the case of Nizar vs Zambry has attained clairvoyance status.
It had positioned the institution of rulers above politics, dignified the sultans and preserved the revered constitutional monarchy for generations to come.   read more...

Oil fell more than a dollar to below US$61 (RM216) a barrel today, after hitting a six-month high in the previous session on expectations of a rebound in the world economy.  read more...

Britain risks losing its precious triple-A credit rating because of the danger that government debt may soar close to 100 per cent of GDP, and uncertainty over policy before an election due by next year.  read more...

Do you know why the Federal Court is not giving a written judgment in the Perak debacle? The answer can be simply put. It is because Article 72 (1) of the Federal Constitution is written in unambiguous language which even a child can understand.
As I have said before in an earlier article that the words, “The validity of any proceedings in the Legislative Assembly of any State shall not be questioned in any court”, mean what they say.   read more...

On March 9, 2008, a day after the general election, Perakians woke up to a new state government. The general re-action in the country was one of shock to many and a pleasant surprise to some.  read more...

My dear prime minister,

I am delighted to see your new stance towards the Perak political crisis, that BN is ready for talks with Pakatan Rakyat to solve the impasse. Much has been said by so many Malaysians from all walks of life in as many places ranging from mamak teh tarik stalls in the kampung to five-star hotel lounges/coffee houses.   read more...

!￥So Najib says that BN will let the sultan of Perak decide on fresh elections in Perak. Is he trying to make the sultan the villain of the piece?'
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Justice Abdul Aziz has released the full grounds of judgement when he declared Nizar as the legitimate Menteri Besar of Perak on May 11. The PDF file is about 1.5MB in size. Edmund Bon has extracted the key points on Loyarburok .   read more...

V Sivakumar remains the lawful speaker of the Perak state assembly as his “removal” during the shambolic May 7 legislative sitting was made before the Raja Muda Nazrin Shah proclaimed the assembly “opened,” according to a legal opinion prepared for the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) man.   read more...

I am asked to advise V. Sivakumar, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Perak, on the constitutionality of his purported removal on May 7, 2009.   read more...

Less than a year after the collapse of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s plan to take over the federal government, PAS is now seeking to get physically closer to the federal capital on its own.
Yesterday, party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang launched a fund-raising campaign at the Palace of the Golden Horses here for the construction of a new RM27 million party complex situated just 10 minutes’ drive from Putrajaya.   read more...

The Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council announced today that the party will not contest the Penanti state assembly seat in Penang, with Datuk Seri Najib Razak insisting it was a political ploy by Pakatan Rakyat (PR).   read more...

Barisan Nasional (BN) remains bullish over the Perak imbroglio as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today ruled out any negotiations with Pakatan Rakyat (PR) but refused to dismiss the possibility of an emergency sitting to confirm its majority in the state assembly.   read more...

The consensus that is emerging today among Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders is that even if the court of appeal rules in its favour this Thursday, it will still ask the Sultan of Perak to dissolve the state assembly to pave the way for fresh polls.   read more...

Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin today filed an application for a panel of five Court of Appeal judges to hear his application to set aside the court’s decision last week to stay a High Court declaration that he was the rightful mentri besar of Perak.   read more...

New Foreign Minister, Datuk Anifah Aman broke new ground when he admitted internationally the credibility problem faced by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak because of the Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu C4 murder case but he failed to bring it to a closure.    read more...

I refer to your editorial titled “Najib and Khairy’s unconvincing Perak script” which betrays muddled thinking, slanted arguments and an unconvincing script of your own.   read more...

As of today it is undisputable that Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir is a confirmed unlawful mentri besar of Perak. On the other hand Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin is a confirmed lawful mentri besar of Perak. That is the gist of the high court’s decision delivered by Justice Datuk Abdul Aziz on May 11, 2009.   read more...

As the war of words between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat continues, I can’t help but think that Barisan is missing something fundamental which Pakatan has.   read more...

Let’s be clear on this. The appointment of a mentri besar (or chief minister) by a state Ruler (or Governor) is governed by the respective state constitution and is not based on democratic principles.      read more...

Just what should Barisan Nasional do with Messrs Hee, Osman and Jamaluddin? This question is increasingly being debated and discussed among top Umno/Barisan Nasional officials as the Perak power grab continues to dominate the headlines in Malaysia, much to the chagrin of the Najib administration.   read more...

My client is truly disappointed that his much awaited hearing on 18.5.2009 has been adjourned by the Court. I received the letter from the Registry of the Court of Appeal at about 4pm yesterday on 15.5.2009 which says that it has been re-scheduled to 21.5.2009 and it will be heard together with the appeal proper. The apparent reason is that since the hearing of the appeal is imminent, my client's application for the discharge of the stay order might as well be adjourned and there is now no urgency to hear the same.    read more...

Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman said today the late congratulatory message from the United States on the appointment of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as prime minister was not a major issue and may be caused by President Barack Obama's busy schedule.</p>Obama's congratulatory message came over a month after Najib was sworn in.    read more...

The US made it clear it viewed the latest sodomy charge against Anwar as a sham charge similar to the first one back in 1998. And you respond by grumbling about people linking Najib to the Altantuya murder and about how you turned down a bribe?
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Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has denied ever offering influential Sabah Umno leader Datuk Anifah Aman the deputy prime minister’s job if he crossed over to Pakatan Rakyat (PR), and is threatening to sue the foreign minister if there is no retraction.   read more...

PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said he does not want any talks between the opposition and Barisan Nasional to resolve the political crisis in Perak.    read more...

Recently there has been repeated statements made by PM Najib Tun Razak and some BN leaders concerning their power grab in Perak and how the !!¡Óother side!‥ (read PR and Anwar) have started all these problems and defection hysteria as they desperately try to convince a wary nation to accept their pathetic script. As a Perakian, let me compare the September 16 and Najib's power grab in Perak and how each was intended to be or ended up to be.   read more...

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made a feeble attempt to rationalise his argument on the Perak power grab at a press conference in Manado North Sulawesi in Indonesia after attending the Summit Meeting of the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI).   read more...

Perak Assembly Speaker Datuk R. Ganesan says he had no choice but to summon the police into the House at the height of the ruckus during the May 7 sitting.
In a statement, Ganesan said the situation had become chaotic and unruly, especially when his predecessor V. Sivakumar refused to leave the Speaker's seat for four hours.  read more...

Another legal battle has been added to the pile of suits filed in the Perak crisis and this time, it is Speaker vs Speaker.

V. Sivakumar, who was recently removed as Speaker from the Perak State Assembly, is now suing his successor Datuk R. Ganesan for assaulting and falsely imprisoning him during the tumultuous May 7 assembly sitting.  read more...

UMNO, parti utama dalam komponen Barisan Nasional (BN) menyambut ulang tahun ke-63 pada 11 Mei lalu.Sambutan kali ini walaupun diadakan serba sederhana, mempunyai keistimewaan tersendiri. Parti itu baru sahaja menyaksikan peralihan kepimpinan di bawah Presiden, Mohd. Najib Tun Razak dan penampilan barisan baru ahli Majlis Tertinggi (MT).  read more...

The decision by the Bar Council to sue the government over the May 7 detention of five legal aid lawyers is an attempt to intimidate the enforcement authorities from discharging their duties, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said today.  read more...

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A heartening multitude of 1,429 lawyers and 81 chambering students unanimously and unequivocally called for the resignation of the Minister for Home Affairs, the Inspector-General of Police and the OCPD of the Brickfields police station at the Malaysian Bar's Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) this afternoon.  read more...

The worsening crisis in Perak is fast becoming a political runaway train that is lurching out of control for the Barisan Nasional government.   read more...

The Court of Appeal will only hear Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin’s application to set aside a stay order on a High Court declaration that he is the legitimate Perak mentri besar (MB) next Thursday, May 21.  read more...

The Court of Appeal will hear next Monday Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin’s application to set aside its order made yesterday to suspend the High Court decision that he is the lawful mentri besar of Perak.  read more...

The last three months have seen a flurry of activity on the Perak political front. All of this was without any doubt occasioned by Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s blatantly cynical, barefaced manipulation of human greed. Najib is no novice when it comes to money matters. He succeeded spectacularly in seducing the three most unremarkable and positively unpleasant Pakatan Rakyat characters to declare themselves independent supporters of the Barisan Nasional.  read more...

When three legislators in Perak, one of five of opposition-ruled Malaysian states, switched sides in February, overturning a narrow majority in the 59-seat assembly, Umno was cock-a-hoop. After a big electoral setback last year, the long-dominant Umno was at last taking the fight to the opposition, led by its nemesis, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy prime minister. Loyalists credited the defections, reportedly induced by the threat of corruption probes, to the bare-knuckle tactics of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, since sworn in as prime minister in place of the mild-mannered Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Taking back Perak was just the start, Umno snarled.  read more...

We hope that judges should endeavour to write their grounds of decision and take delight in this aspect of judicial work as a matter of personal pride and satisfaction and not as a burden. Failure on the part of judges to write their grounds of decision will certainly undermine their authority to insist upon magistrates and presidents of Sessions Courts to write theirs. If the practice of not writing grounds of judgment is widespread the system of administration of justice will tumble down. (per Salleh Abas LP in Wong Chee Hong v Cathay Organisation (M) Sdn Bhd [1988] 1 CLJ (Rep) 298 at 300.)  read more...

After more than four months, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak attempted today to put together a cogent case on why the power grab in Perak was justified.
He also moved to absolve the Sultan of Perak and himself from any blame for the defections from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and the installation of a Barisan Nasional (BN) mentri besar.  read more...

What do Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Khairy Jamaluddin have in common?
Well apart from sharing an image problem in pockets across the country, they both believe that if you stick to a porous script and repeat it often enough, you still can turn over doubters.  read more...

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders repeated their stand today that they are willing to have talks with Datuk Seri Najib Razak to resolve the Perak constitutional crisis, and they have set no conditions for the meeting.  read more...

Datuk Seri Najib Razak today reiterated that Barisan Nasional is willing to talk to Pakatan Rakyat in order to resolve the political deadlock in Perak but stressed that there must be no preconditions.   read more...

One of the oldest unwritten rules of Malaysian public service could be scrubbed off soon with the appointment of a Chinese as the country’s ambassador to China.  read more...

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today admitted the Pakatan Rakyat will sweep Perak if fresh elections are called but recommended the state assembly meets to decide on the mentri besar post.   read more...

The other day a friend asked me this question: How is it that some of our judges do not seem to know what is the right thing to do, when all of us know what is right or wrong?  read more...

The Bar Council said that the decision by the Kuala Lumpur High Court to rule that Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin is the legitimate mentri besar of Perak was the right decision and that it throws the validity of Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir’s actions over the past few months into doubt.   read more...

Four decades after the country’s worst race riots, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has urged all Malaysians to forget the bloody clashes of May 13, 1969 and instead replace it with the memories of last week’s state assembly debacle in Perak.  read more...

Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin is very much the man of the moment, judging from the rousing reception he got at a public forum here last night in remembrance of the tragic race riots that became a bloodbath 40 years ago.   read more...

One of the staunchest defenders of the Malay Rulers over the decades today provided a short roadmap for the Sultan of Perak out of a crisis, urging him to dissolve the state assembly.  read more...

While a happy Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir calmly told his Pakatan Rakyat counterparts to respect the court's decision and leave the state government building immediately, his Barisan Nasional (BN) colleagues hinted at more intrigue
At a press conference today, BN leaders suggested they had something up their sleeves in dealing with the political crisis in Perak.   read more...

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) feels that the political crisis in Perak is not likely to be resolved unless power is given back to the people.  read more...

Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir has likened himself to Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, causing all-round derision, outrage and revulsion.
If Zambry dreams of being a Gandhi, he would not want to be an illegitimate and unlawlful Mentri Besar even for a second.    read more...

Following yesterday’s decision by the High Court the people of Perak have missed the opportunity to have the State Legislative Assembly dissolved by the Sultan of Perak and to enable them to elect a government.   read more...

The Perak crisis is a tragic comedy of errors and bad political judgement that reflects a failure of political leadership. As it continues to spin out of control, it damages our democratic system of governance.
For all intents and purposes, one of our most prosperous and developed states has been reduced to a failed state, with a possibly illegal state government in place. This is a condition that can propagate outwards to the rest of the country.  read more...

A central committee member of Gerakan today urged Barisan Nasional (BN) to join with Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to end the turmoil in Perak by seeking a dissolution of the Perak legislative assembly.   read more...

The reinstated Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Perak government moved swiftly to suspend the state secretary and legal advisor in a bid to shore up its position ahead of more political manoeuvring expected in the next few days.   read more...

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak described the High Court decision on the Perak Menteri Besar issue today, which did not favour Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN), as not the end of the road for the party.   read more...

The legitimate MB should have an audience with the Sultan of Perak and dissolve the state sssembly immediately.   read more...

Kita Menanag! Kemenangan kita adalah kerana kita tidak mengkianati sesiapa. Kita berlaku adil dalam semua tingkah laku. Tuhan bersama-sama kita. Kita tidak mengalah kerana kita benar. Perjuangan kita adalah untuk rakyat. Bukan untuk kepentingan diri. Mahkamah Tingg telah mengisytiharkan YAB Dato Seri Nizar Jamaluddin sebagai Menteri Besar Perak yang sah. Ini adalah kemenangan untuk rakyat! Kemenagan untuk Perlembagaan dan Kemenangan untuk Keadilan.   read more...

Hee described the sitting as a "nightmare" and claimed that her former DAP colleagues were out to harass her.

She also complained that she was negatively portrayed by press reports.   read more...

The current political paralysis in Perak reflects the major failures of our key institutions. It is a total breakdown at the palace, the legislature, and the permanent establishment. It also exposes the glaring inadequacies of the judicial system which has yet to adjudicate this critical and urgent matter of state.  read more...

We refer to the Malaysiakini report on Sivakumar dragged out, BN speaker takes over.

The Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) is deeply troubled by the manner in which proceedings were held in the Perak state assembly.    read more...

Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, who was declared the lawful mentri besar of Perak by the High Court here, called the judgment a "victory for the people."   read more...

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has today declared that Datuk Seri Mohammed Nizar Jamaluddin is still the rightful Menteri Besar of Perak.  His Lordship Datuk Abdul Aziz Abd Rahim ruled that the Menteri Besar can only be dismissed by a no-confidence motion in the State Legislative Assembly.  In the case of the purported dismissal of Datuk Seri Mohammed Nizar Jamaluddin, there was no such motion of no-confidence passed in the State Legislative Assembly.   read more...

I've to admit I was rather surprised with the High Court decision that declared Nizar Jamaluddin as the rightful Perak Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) instead of ruling government's choice, Zambry.    read more...

The Regent of Perak Raja Nazrin Shah has agreed to see Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin, who was today declared the legitimate mentri besar of Perak by a Kuala Lumpur High Court.   read more...

Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said today he will immediately seek the Perak palace's consent for the dissolution of the embattled Perak State Legislative Assembly to allow the people to elect the legitimate government.    read more...

Despite the Kuala Lumpur High Court's decision today to recognise Nizar Jamaluddin as the rightful menteri besar, the shameful event of illegal power grab is far from over.

From the Prime Minister Najib Razak's initial reaction, the BN is like to challenge the decision, wisely or otherwise. The coalition might even call for an emergency sitting to cast a vote of no confidence against the menteri besar.   read more...

Kuala Lumpur High Court decision that declared their man as the rightful mentri besar of Perak, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders today reiterated their calls that the state assembly be dissolved and state elections held in order to end the ongoing political crisis in Perak, now in its fourth month.
PR leaders said that they will not cling to power despite the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruling in their favour but will still seek state elections instead.   read more...

The Barisan Nasional (BN) will respect the ruling by the Kuala Lumpur High Court declaring Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin as the rightful mentri besar of Perak but will try to convene an emergency sitting of the state assembly to try and remove him via a vote of no confidence.     read more...

Keputusan Mahkamah hari ini telah mengesahkan bahawa Mohammed Nizar Jamaluddin adalah Menteri Besar sah Perak.

Hakim Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim juga mengarahkan supaya beliau membubarkan Dewan Undangan Negeri Perak serta mengarahkan Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, enam exco beliau mengosongkan jawatan mereka.    read more...

Barisan Nasional has committed political suicide.
No political strategy can save it now; only a miracle can.
Regardless of what Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s consultants can come up with, nothing can paper over the empirical reality of how Barisan has casually run roughshod over everything important which we Malaysians value.      read more...

This is a victory for the people and also for the system of democracy in our country. We urge PAS leader Nizar Jamaluddin to immediately resume his duties as Menteri Besar, Perak.

Today's decision proves that the Constitution is the highest law in our country. It is therefore crucial for all government institutions to respect the spirit that is enshrined in the Constitution and the laws it contains.    read more...

The Kuala Lumpur High Court today ruled that Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin is the rightful menteri besar of Perak, providing some relief to more than three months of uncertainty as to who should head the state government.     read more...

A FAILED state is a state losing its ability to govern and exercise authority. Text-book examples include Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Iraq and Afghanistan, countries that we would never compare Malaysia to.   read more...

Perak is a vibrant state. The towns in that state have unique characters, unique features and sometimes, unique names. The unique lime stone hills; The unique and rustic Keelie's Castle & the unique name !!¡ÓTaiping!‥ based on a Chinese name which basically means peaceful town.    read more...

A personal account contributed by Fadiah Nadwa Binti Fikri Following the arrests made on previous night on participants at the peaceful candlelight vigil in solidarity with Bersih activist Wong Chin Huat, my friends and I were informed to be on standby for possible new arrests on the night of 7 May 2009.      read more...

Pakatan Rakyat's Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin is the real mentri besar of Perak , the Kuala Lumpur High Court decided today.    read more...

The opposition pact is prepared to hold discussions with any party, including Umno and Barisan Nasional, to find ways to resolve the Perak political crisis, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.   read more...

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak says the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is willing to cooperate with the opposition parties to resolve the political crisis in Perak but this does not mean that it would agree to form a coalition government.   read more...

May 7 is the Day of Infamy for Perak and Malaysia.

The Barisan Nasional used the law of the jungle to completely undermine parliamentary democracy, the rule of law and the doctrine of separation of powers to add another ignominious chapter to the unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak on Feb. 5, 2009, foisting on the people of Perak two Perak Assembly Speakers and even two Assemblies, as if the three-month-long constitutional crisis of two Mentris Besar is not outrageous enough.    read more...

One disconcerting thing about sightseeing on these frozen Arctic islands at the edge of the polar ice pack: the biggest tourist attractions might be returning your stare. And to them, you're a potential meal.   read more...

One disconcerting thing about sightseeing on these frozen Arctic islands at the edge of the polar ice pack: the biggest tourist attractions might be returning your stare. And to them, you're a potential meal.   read more...

Away from the chaos on the streets of Ipoh and within the hall of Perak state assembly, a storm of short messages kept coming in, flashing and distributing the latest developments faster and wider than anything imaginable in the past.  read more...

Friends, Malaysians, Countrymen & Countrywomen,

One colour is taboo in Malaysia today. Wearing that colour has now been known to invite arrest. It is so taboo that a good citizen like me will not even mention its name. I shall sheepishly call it the opposite of white.   read more...

WHERE DO WE go from here after today's fracas at the Perak State Legislative Assembly? Inter alia, the Regent was made to wait six hours in the Royal ante room to the Assembly chambers before he was allowed to make his Royal Address to open the first session of the second term of the 12th Perak State Legislative Assembly. What an indignity to the Royal House of Perak.   read more...

WHAT was 7 May in Perak about? For the Pakatan Rakyat (PR), it was the last stand in the face of might that left them with little option but to go down holding their ground.   read more...

Who were all those mysterious personnel wearing ?pegawai ?(officer) tags at the Perak State Assembly on that infamous 7 May?    read more...

An Umno leader, who is a former state assemblyman in the prime minister’s Pekan constituency, has described the chaotic events in Perak yesterday as a shameful coup d’etat which could end in failure for the Barisan Nasional (BN).   read more...

The Barisan Nasional (BN) government has probably scored another first in the world.  It has sent its police force to enter a state legislative assembly hall to physically haul the sitting speaker out of the assembly hall and escort another speaker of its choice to take over the empty seat during a melee.  Through this act, BN claimed that it has successfully ousted the Pakatan Rakyat speaker S. Sivakumar.    read more...

A day after the chaos that engulfed the Perak state assembly, the weariness of ordinary people here towards politics is palpable.   read more...

As we all grow older, it takes humility to reverse the dependence-independence-interdependency-dependence life cycle of maturity. As we age, our physical system forces us to slow down. In science this is called the second law of thermo-dynamics - all systems lose energy over time.   read more...

Barely a week after assuming the top posts in Umno, Najib Razak and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin will face a referendum of sorts ?a triple by-election showdown.    read more...

WILL tomorrow, 7 May 2009, mark the end of the road for Perak Speaker V Sivakumar? Will he allow a motion to remove him as speaker and to appoint or elect a new one for the state legislative assembly?    read more...

His tanned skin and nifty footwork on the soccer pitch had earned him the nickname 'Pangkor Pele' or so say his aides. But Zambry Abd Kadir is now facing the toughest match of his career.   read more...

The police have obtained a court order to stop people from gathering within 500m of the state secretariat building during the State Assembly sitting on Thursday.   read more...

The police have arrested PAS vice-president Mohamad Sabu, PKR Youth leader Badrul Hisham and another unidentified activist just a day before the Perak state assembly convenes amid accusations of a crackdown on dissent.   read more...

The Malaysian Bar is concerned that the Police have resorted to the use of the Sedition Act 1948 yet again to stifle public opinion and dissenting voices that are unfavourable to the ruling government.  The police force must remain above politics, and regain public confidence as an institution not mired in politics.  It must not be seen as a tool to intimidate and cow those who express disagreement.    read more...

Setakat yang terakam oleh sejarah, kesultanan Melayu Perak bermula pada abad ke-15 iaitu apabila Sultan Muzaffar Shah I dimasyhurkan sebagai Sultan Perak yang pertama pada 1528.   read more...

A day before the Perak state assembly meets to endorse a palace-appointed mentri besar, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said his understanding was that any state Ruler cannot remove the head of government.   read more...

Despite the high crime rate and one of their own tied up and robbed in Johor recently, the Royal Malaysian Police decided to ratchet up crime prevention by turning fashion police yesterday. They picked up Wong Chin Huat under the Sedition Act for advocating to wear black tomorrow. In their mind, this is a crime but in the people's mind, it makes a farce of the police force.   read more...

They should struggle with PKR and DAP to topple BN and govern our beloved country based on human rights, the rule of law and the supremacy of the constitution.    read more...

A senior South Korean economist said in a report today that the Chinese currency yuan may emerge as a settlement currency in Asia, reports Yonhap news agency.

“Trade volume between China and other Asian countries is huge. If the yuan is used as a settlement currency in the region, the need to hold the US dollar will decrease for Asian countries,” said Park Bun-soon, a senior fellow at the Samsung Economic Research Institute.   read more...

China defended on Tuesday its quarantine of 25 Canadian students in Changchun, capital of northeastern Jilin Province, saying it was in accordance with law and the Canadians had assented to it.  read more...

The European Commission said today it had sent a letter to Russia contesting Moscow’s ban on imports of pork products from some European Union countries, further straining relations between the trading partners.   read more...

Mexico announced yesterday that its swine flu epidemic has passed the worst and experts said the new H1N1 virus might be no more severe than normal flu, although it could still impact on world health.   read more...

China promised today to keep its exchange rate stable and said it would use part of its US$1.95 trillion (RM7.13 trillion) in foreign currency reserves to boost imports and consumer spending to combat the global financial crisis.   read more...

The Ipoh Police have done enough damage to its reputation and professionalism in its conduct during the three-month Perak constitutional and political crisis, being used by the usurper Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir to undermine the important democratic principle and fundamental doctrine of the separation of powers among the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.   read more...

The Coalition for Free and Fair Elections, Bersih, today called on Malaysians to protest the power grab in Perak and put on a show of civil disobedience by wearing black on May 7 in conjunction with the sitting of the state assembly.   read more...

A Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leader gave an indication today of how events on Thursday in the Perak state assembly will be played out, by maintaining Datuk Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and his six Barisan Nasional (BN) executive councillors did not have a right to attend the legislative sitting on that day.   read more...

Did Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin ask the Sultan of Perak to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly on February 4 while aware he had lost the confidence of the majority of its members?   read more...

In a last ditched attempt to stop the Barisan Nasional government from obtaining its legitimacy from the state lawmakers, Perak assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar today wrote to the Sultan requesting a postponement of the sitting scheduled for Thursday.   read more...

In a last ditched attempt to stop the Barisan Nasional government from obtaining its legitimacy from the state lawmakers, Perak assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar today wrote to the Sultan requesting a postponement of the sitting scheduled for Thursday.   read more...

As the hours get closer, the players are getting edgy. Those mighty lawmakers in the State Legislature have now sought the power of the supernatural in trying to ensure their plans will work.
They no longer trust themselves and they no longer trust Allah (God). They need additional support. As if the support from Federal Government, State Secretary and other government agencies is not enough.    read more...

A confrontation between Pakatan Rakyat supporters and the Perak police is likely to be on the agenda for May 7, the day the state assembly convenes, as PAS intends to mobilise supporters for prayers on that day.   read more...

LIKE the "sitting under a tree" incident in Ipoh that caused a stir on March 3, Thursday's Perak state assembly sitting is drawing even more attention.   read more...

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak may not realise it yet, and Umno warlords may not understand the concept but an overwhelming number of young Malaysians, including Malays, want merit-based policies.   read more...

The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) today accused the police and the Perak state secretary of partisanship ahead of the May 7 state assembly sitting, even as the mentri besar slipped into damage control mode in the fallout from an earlier decision to restrict media coverage.   read more...

Malaysians may be able to imagine opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister. But beyond him, they might be at a loss when asked to come up with the name of an opposition member who could lead the country.    read more...

Chan Nyarn Hoi lives in a modest two-storey semi-detached house in a quiet lane near the state stadium in Perak with his wife, a dog and seven large Japanese carp.
At 74 years old and with ruddy smooth cheeks under a full head of snowy white hair, few would connect him to the acerbic, no-nonsense former judge Datuk N.H. Chan, who has in the last couple of months done the unthinkable: fire away missives at judges who have trampled on the Federal Constitution in deciding issues related to the power grab in Perak. His lengthy articles have reminded Malaysians of a time gone by when towering individuals sat on the Bench and simplified the Perak constitutional crisis for the common man.
   read more...