Politik, Legislatif, Dasar dan Tadbir Urus

Baru-baru ini, satu majlis agama dari sebuah negeri telah mendakwa bahawa undang-undang agama yang ada adalah lebih tinggi tarafnya daripada Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan segala enakmen agama yang diluluskan dan dijadikan undang-undang boleh mengabaikan hak asasi seseorang seperti yang termaktub di dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Dan sehingga pada hari ini, kerajaan pusat masih membisu dengan dakwaan majlis agama tersebut yang kini mendapat kritikan yang meluas daripada kalangan rakyat jelata. Persoalannya adalah, kenapa majlis agama tersebut dibenarkan bermaharajalela dengan mencabar kesahihan Perlembagaan Persekutuan? Tindakan majlis agama yang begitu berani mencabar undang-undang yang tertinggi dalam negara ini menunjukkan sikap bongkak mereka sehinggakan sanggup menghina perlembagaan tersebut yang merupakan tunggak kepada pembentukan dan kedudukan negara kita pada hari ini. Malah, Artikel 75 Perlembagaan Persekutuan turut menyebut jika sekiranya ada undang-undang negeri yang berc...

Apakah Umno dengan PAS sudah tidak lagi mempunyai sebarang keberanian untuk menghadapi cabaran dalam dunia politik dan ekonomi yang kini sedang diselubungi dengan kemajuan sains and teknologi yang begitu pesat? Daripada membalas segala dakwaan yang kononnya tindakan mereka adalah tidak betul, kurang wajar, tidak masuk akal, tidak adil, tidak berperikemanusiaan, berat sebelah, enggan menerima hakikat, keengganan menerima kemajuan dan perubahan dan sebagainya, Umno dan PAS kini lebih suka menggunakan isu-isu agama dan perkauman sebagai senjata mereka untuk menghadapi pelbagai dugaan. Hanya isu-isu agama dan perkauman sahaja yang dapat melindungi mereka daripada segala-gala kritikan dan kecaman daripada pelbagai pihak baik daripada parti-parti pembangkang mahupun daripada pertubuhan-pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) yang giat memperjuangkan hak asasi kemanusiaan dan hak wanita. Umno, yang masih berkerajaan kini semakin buas dengan tindakannya mempergunakan segala undang-undang yan...

We applaud the move made by DAP recently to establish their own shadow cabinet to oversee and provide check and balance on the current Barisan Nasional (BN) government following the ineffectiveness of the parliamentary shadow committees which was established in 2008, then becoming defunct in 2013. We do not want to blame the Opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat (PKR, DAP and PAS) over the ineffectiveness of the parliamentary shadow committees initiated earlier, but we should blame the BN government for its refusal to recognize the institution of a shadow cabinet in this country. The internal bickering among component parties of Pakatan Rakyat is a secondary issue as in a democracy of a coalition structure, each of the component parties should agree to disagree with each other constructively in order to be equals in the coalition, compare to the one in BN where all its component parties need to be subservient to the dominance of Umno, the main and leading party in the BN coalition. Th...

Well, the DAP had recently announced the party’s shadow cabinet line-up to check on the BN government’s performances and administration after being frustrated with the ineffectiveness of the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat’s 2008 shadow cabinet of one representative each from PKR, DAP and PAS to oversee all the government ministries. Thumbs up for DAP for not wanting to waste any time and to check on the BN government to ensure good governance and service to our people and the nation. Asides, DAP had also called on its coalition partners PKR and PAS to come up with the line-ups of their own to also check on the government’s performance. Then, suddenly PAS president Datuk Abdul Hadi Awang came out with a strong and negative message against DAP by claiming that the later’s shadow cabinet line-up had proven that DAP had wanted to govern alone should it come to power one day and not to forget that the PAS leader also mentioned that there is an attempt to establish a “Chinese governm...

By Doug Enaa Greene In 2008 one of the best-selling novels in Japan was an eighty-year-old novel: Kanikosen (Crab Cannery Ship) by the communist author Takiji Kobayashi. The book is a story about a crew of fishermen who rebel against the wretched working conditions on a Japanese crabbing ship by going on strike and attempting to take over their ship. Amid the global financial crisis, the novel, previously selling a moderate five thousand copies per year shot up to sales of five hundred thousand. Four new manga versions were also produced, and in 2009 Japanese director Hiroyuki Tanaka (Sabu) made a film based on the novel. Kobayashi’s work touched a nerve in contemporary Japan, plagued by growing inequality, insecurity, and the effects of a two-decade economic slump. Kanikosen laid bare not only the grueling reality of capitalism, but also the possibility of united resistance by workers. Although Kobayashi’s Crab Cannery Ship has been in English translation since 1933 (albeit as an...

Leftist politics here especially, should take into account on why UK's Labour Party has been badly beaten. The suitability in terms of culture, political or geographical nature of our nation may not match what had happened over there but let us look at the attitude of the politics which we might be able to learn and apply. In spite of our superior ground operation and the tremendous efforts of members and candidates, Thursday was a devastating result for Labour. Ed Miliband had put his finger on one of the biggest issues of our time: the need for prosperity to extend beyond the top 1%. He had grown in stature over the campaign. The Tories were seen as out of touch and for the few. Yet they ended up with a majority. We won 100 fewer seats than them: our worst election performance in almost three decades. Ed was too hard on himself in assuming all the responsibility for the scale of our defeat; all of us on the front line are implicated. So, as the dust settles, on the result it’s ...