Politik, Legislatif, Dasar dan Tadbir Urus

Rencana saya ini telah diterbitkan di dalam Aliran.com pada 25/1/2016 Adalah amat mendukacita sekali apabila kita mendapati ada di kalangan kepimpinan Barisan Nasional (BN) yang telah mencadangkan supaya kebebasan bersuara di kalangan ahli-ahli Jawatankuasa Kira-kira Awam (Public Accounts Committee – PAC) disekat. Ini agar maklumat berhubung dengan penyiasatan terhadap penyalahgunaan kuasa dan rasuah di dalam kerajaan yang diterajui oleh BN tidak disalurkan kepada media dan orang ramai. Persoalan di sini adalah, adakah para pemimpin BN lebih gemar PAC ini berfungsi sama seperti satu kumpulan rahsia agar kesemua bentuk maklumat berkepentingan umum disekat daripada diketahui rakyat jelata? Adakah para pemimpin BN ini turut mempunyai pelbagai kepentingan peribadi di sebalik penyalahgunaan kuasa dan rasuah di dalam jentera kerajaan selama ini? Jika sekiranya larangan tersebut benar-benar diterima oleh kerajaan BN dan dikuatkuasakan, maka adalah amat jelas bahawa kerajaan BN ini sememangny...

By Kumaran Ira Amid growing global economic gloom, including a slowdown in China and falling oil and commodity prices, major companies throughout Europe are announcing mass layoffs and job cuts. Last Wednesday, US multinational General Electric (GE) announced plans to cut 6,500 jobs in Europe over the next two years, including 1,700 jobs in Germany, 570 in the UK, 765 in France and 1,300 in Switzerland. According to comments from the head of GE’s power division last September, this is part of a plan to squeeze out $3 billion in cost savings over five years. GE acquired French engineering company Alstom in a €9.7 billion deal in 2014, promising to create jobs. GE France spokesman Laurent Wormser said job cuts in France will hit mainly administrative jobs in the Paris area, in human resources, public relations and the legal department. After reaching an agreement with the trade unions, French nuclear group Areva announced plans for 6,000 job cuts worldwide, including in Germany, the Uni...

Ever since the 2013 general elections, the Barisan Nasional (BN) regime has not won handsomely but with a very low margin with more support moving towards the opposition parties. The reasons are very clear, corruption, power abuse, mismanagement, racism and religious extremism. The BN regime has continue to refuse acknowledgment of its shortcomings despite its electoral setbacks, but instead continue to introduced many tough laws in order to curb the rising influence of the opposition parties, human rights NGOs, civil societies and the people's criticisms against the regime. Opposition leaders, civil societies leaders, human rights activists, intellectuals, educationists, critics, social media users and ordinary people were charged, fined or imprisoned for allegedly being seditious and insulting in opposing the BN regime. Now, when it comes to charging the person for his seditious statements, words, articles, action and manner, what kind of reference does this regime refer...

By Vincent Kolo Global financial markets started 2016 with a bang! A reprise of last summer’s chaotic falls on China’s stock markets triggered panic selling of shares, commodities and currencies around the world. The first six trading days for China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen markets saw the total value of the market shrink by 15 percent, a loss of US$1 trillion. Worldwide, US$4 trillion was wiped from stock markets as China fears spread. The world’s biggest stock market, New York, fell 6.2 percent in the first week of the year, its worst start ever. Does this set the tone for the world economy in 2016? The capitalist George Soros is among those predicting another financial crisis like that of 2008. China is the world’s second largest economy and biggest trading nation. The sharp slowdown that started two years ago in the Chinese economy has already brought profound crises to several countries that depend on commodity trade with China. This is clear in Brazil, facing its deepest d...