Phineas T. Barnum was the owner of a very popular circus. He once said, “Any publicity, whether good or bad, is good publicity”. Barnum's point was simple: “Nothing is worse than not being talked about”. You might wonder why I quote the owner of a circus. Do you not think that what is happening in Malaysia is nothing more than a huge circus — one that even Barnum himself would ...
Read More
We should stop dancing around an inevitable admission: Malaysian corruption laws have failed. Enforcement has failed. Look at the Najib Pardon case; or the ‘Lorry Stickers’ fiasco. Corruption has been ‘formalised’. It has thrived, for 68 years, in a ‘parallel' system 'monetised' by those who have power to open doors. Why not force it into the open? Why not decriminalise it? Why not ask for tax relief for bribes paid? ...
Read More
The answer is, No. Why? Since the Najib saga began, the Addendum has been, in Churchill’s words, “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”. In my opinion, the key reasons are: [1]: Pardons cannot be granted ‘in instalments’. [2]: Accepted rules of constitutional interpretation do not at all point to any 'House Arrest' orders (a new Act of parliament is required for that!); and no precedent exists. [3]: ...
Read More
The answer comes from history and the Constitution itself. Ready for some stories?
Read More
If you had only RM10.00, can you spend RM20.00?
Read More
The questions is not whether Senators can be admitted into the cabinet. To that question, the answer is obvious. They can be. The question is: what should be their qualifications?
Read More
The Speaker stays in office until he resigns, or another Speaker is appointed when the next parliament convenes.
Read More
After a meteoric rise, and tragic incarceration, Malaysia's new, and 10th prime minister Anwar, is poised to lead. But his path is strewn with hidden pitfalls and ripples with hissing vipers. Difficult days lie ahead.
Read More
A blogger once wrote that the monarch could appoint his gardener as prime minister. Was he right? This minor question begets larger ones.
Read More
Last week, the Speaker of the Malaysian Parliament declared that to table, in Parliament, a Motion of No Confidence against the PM, the motion needed the 'permission' of the Law Minister. Since when has any Speaker abdicated his duties to a minister? Is the Speaker's role subordinate to that of a minister?
Read More