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Siapa lagi boleh membantu kes En Tan dan mereka yang masih tercicir?

  Izinkan saya mengemukakan satu persoalan yang sukar saya jawab kepada seorang warga emas berusia 74 tahun yang permohonan kewarganegaraannya telah ditolak oleh Kementerian Dalam Negeri. Untuk tujuan perbincangan ini, kita namakan beliau Encik Tan. Walaupun Encik Tan dilahirkan di Singapura pada tahun 1952, iaitu sebelum kemerdekaan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu dan sebelum pembentukan Malaysia, beliau telah menetap di negara ini sejak berusia tiga tahun. Dalam erti kata yang sebenar, seluruh kehidupan beliau, identiti sosialnya, keluarganya, perniagaannya dan sumbangannya adalah berakar di Malaysia. Saya tidak faham bagaimana permohonan beliau di bawah Perkara 19(1) itu gagal diterima walaupun beliau selama ini telah melalui proses naturalisasi.  Seorang abang beliau juga pernah menghadapi masalah yang sama iaitu tidak mempunyai kewarganegaraan, namun telah berputus asa untuk meneruskan perjuangan mendapatkan status tersebut walaupun saya cuba menggalakkan beliau terus merayu. Ha...
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Conflating the architects with the beneficiary.”

  Before assigning blame, we should first be honest about the historical record. The Pakatan Harapan manifesto (Buku Harapan) was launched on 8 March 2018, when Anwar Ibrahim was still incarcerated. He only received a royal pardon and returned to active politics on 16 May 2018, after GE14 had already been won.  Certainly, one can argue that as the current chairman and leading figure of Pakatan Harapan, Anwar should ultimately bear responsibility for the coalition's successes and failures. Leadership carries accountability. I have no quarrel with that. However, there is a significant difference between holding a leader accountable for the performance of his government and attributing personal authorship to promises that were conceived, drafted, and launched while he was still behind bars. To conflate the two is to blur the distinction between responsibility and authorship. It is like what I pointed out before this about Jalan Palestine , which was launched by Muhyiddin Yasin as...
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3 BAHASA: The clock is ticking for PH

  I like the way how our Johor voters sent an unmistakable wake up call to Pakatan Harapan (PH) before it is too late.  If divine hands were indeed involved, I would say the Almighty has a good sense of humour,  indeed! In the morning of the state election, a few politicians including Hannah Yeoh and Michele Ng were appealing to voters to go to the polls, as the turnout was very lethargic.  Yet, towards the late afternoon, despite the heavy rain, Malaysians being Malysians braved the heavy downpour just to cast their votes.  For PH, this would have been a clear sign that they would have won many seats, but no, they only won a disappointingly number of seats — eight out of 56 seats! Sabahans have already sent a strong message to DAP yet the party fails to take heed.  Unless the leaders in PH come to terms with reality, and if they still  choose to be indifferent towards ordinary citizens, the outcome will be obvious come the next general election. ...
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Now that it has hit 67.44% what do I have to say?

As I noted in my previous article , voter turnout this time around is highly likely to surpass the 45.39% recorded in the 2022 state election.  The moment it hits their target (in fact, it hit 67.44% of the electorate at 5pm), chances are, whatever effort I put into writing this article  will no longer be considered a warning in the coming general election.  A former DAP Member of Parliament posed a poignant question to me: “ Do you think they (his own leaders) will listen?” He knows the answer. I know the answer. To put it plainly: the political elites may not even be bothered to read this blog , but the fact remains that it  is  already being read by a few thousand ordinary citizens who are also watching the political developments.  But at least when I posted my blog in an Umno chat group, the response from the incumbent Menteri Besar of Johor was so much better:  Ultimately, the proof of the pudding is in the pie. If UMNO is able to genuinely refor...
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The Cost of Political Indifference: A 40-Year Supporter’s Warning to Pakatan Harapan

It looks like even the afternoon will not be spared of rain which will further dampen voters turnout in Johor At 11:58 AM on a state election polling day, a message popped up on my phone from an unknown person from Sarawak: “Until 11:00 AM, only 26.43% have turned out to vote. That is dangerously low.” Though he isn't a voter in this election, his anxiety was palpable. He couldn't understand why the electorate seemed so entirely disconnected. But as an observer who has watched Malaysian politics evolve for decades, I wasn’t surprised at all. I have grown cold, too. The fire that drove us in 2013—when everyday citizens stood guard at polling stations, ready to protect ballot boxes with their own lives—has flickered out. Since I first cast my vote in 1990, I have never seen apathy run this deep. Politicians are misreading this silence as peace. It isn't peace; it is disillusionment: The Illusion of Invincibility in Selangor The Illusion of Invincibility in Selangor Let’s ...
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