Malaysian police arrested dozens of protesters on Thursday, including three opposition MPs, in a standoff in the northwestern city of Ipoh over who rules peninsular Malaysia’s second largest state.

Witnesses saw police, backed by water cannon, surround the state legislature with barbed wire and prevent opposition MPs from gaining access to the legislature, which was holding its first session since the state government was ousted.

They completely cleared a 500 metre exclusion zone around the state building, snatching anyone wearing black, the colour chosen by the opposition to protest against the takeover.

Perak has become the focal point of tensions between the opposition and the National Front government that has ruled Malaysia for 51 years following the takeover of the state government in a move orchestrated by Najib Razak, the country’s new prime minister.
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Popularity: 3% [?]

Technorati Tags: barisan nasional, dewan undangan negeri, menteri besar, pakatan rakyat, speaker

Malaysia’s leader has said the ruling coalition may sit out an upcoming by-election sparked by the resignation of an opposition lawmaker, decrying it as a political ploy and a waste of public funds.

Prime Minister Najib Razak was quoted by the Sunday Star as saying that he would meet leaders of his National Front coalition at the end of the month to decide whether to contest the by-election in northern Penang state.

A lawmaker from former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim’s opposition alliance quit his state assembly seat recently following unsubstantiated allegations of corruption. A date for the ballot to fill the seat will be decided soon.
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Popularity: 3% [?]

Technorati Tags: anwar, barisan nasional, by-elections, election, najib, pakatan rakyat

By Leslie Lau
Consultant Editor

IPOH, March 2 – Perak stands on the verge of an administrative breakdown tonight as the state’s executive and legislature appeared locked in battle for control of the state.

Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, the mentri besar of the de facto Barisan Nasional (BN) government, has declared an attempt to hold an emergency sitting of the state assembly a “threat to national security.”

“If anyone is involved in tomorrow’s assembly, the government will not compromise with anyone who threatens national security,” he said.

Perak Speaker V Sivakumar has called for an emergency sitting of the state assembly tomorrow where a vote is likely to declare support for the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government of Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin and call for the state legislature to be dissolved.
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Popularity: 6% [?]

Technorati Tags: barisan nasional, bn, menteri besar, pakatan rakyat, perak, state assembly

Although the Jan 17 battle for the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat is a three-cornered fight, it will boil down to a straight contest between Umno and the opposition Pas. And Umno is coming across as the underdog.

When nominations closed yesterday, three candidates made the cut: Umno’s Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Salleh, Pas’s Abdul Wahid Endut and independent Azharuddin Mamat.
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Popularity: 6% [?]

Technorati Tags: barisan nasional, by-election, candidate, kuala terengganu, parliament, pas

There were no surprises today in the naming of Senator Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh as Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidate for the crucial Kuala Terengganu by-election, but the controversies surrounding him and his close links with the prime minister will be campaign fodder for Pakatan Rakyat.

For Wan Farid, who is also Kuala Terengganu Umno division chief and the deputy home minister, his political career is riding on the election as he has been told that he will not be reappointed senator again if he loses the vote.

The Terengganu state assembly nominated the deputy home minister as senator recently as his first term ends in January.

The selection of Wan Ahmad Farid was announced by Deputy Prime Mnister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who said the decision had the consent of Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
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Popularity: 9% [?]

Technorati Tags: barisan nasional, candidate, election, kuala terengganu, umno

Today Pakatan Rakyat leaders have submitted a letter to the Prime Minister requesting him to call an emergency session of Parliament to deliberate a motion of censure against the leadership of YAB Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi no later than Tuesday 23 September 2008.

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Popularity: 5% [?]

Technorati Tags: anwar ibrahim, barisan nasional, emergency session, pakatan rakyat, parliament, statement, vote

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wants Parliament to convene by Sept 23 for him to table a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

He said that a letter signed by him, the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang and Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, representing the Pakatan Rakyat alliance, had been sent to the PM to request him to convene Parliament by next Tuesday.

“We have told him we have the numbers. If he wants the details and doesn’t believe me, then convene the emergency sitting,” he told reporters at PKR headquarters here today.

He insisted it was critical for the PM to respond as “it is important to think of the nation and not themselves. They are a minority government, the majority is with us.
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Popularity: 4% [?]

Technorati Tags: anwar ibrahim, barisan nasional, house session, pakatan rakyat, parliament

The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has pulled out of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and will become an independent party.

The decision was announced in a statement today following the party’s supreme council meeting in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah today.

The pullout comes three months after SAPP declared it had lost confidence in the leadership of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi, sparking speculation that it would join Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance.

Today’s decision deals a minor blow to BN’s parliamentary majority as there are two SAPP MPs under the coalition.
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Popularity: 5% [?]

Technorati Tags: barisan nasional, bn, internal security act, isa, sabah, sapp

The Permatang Pauh by-election campaign kicked off in earnest with four candidates submitting their papers at the nomination centre here on Saturday morning, although one later pulled out.

At 11.45am, returning officer Roslan Yahaya announced there were three candidates contesting the seat: PKR adviser and de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Seberang Jaya MP Datuk Arif Shah Omar Shah and Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim) president Hanafi Hamad.

An independent candidate Dr Mansor Othman, former Penang PKR leader, had also submitted his nomination but later withdrew, losing his RM15,000 deposit in the process.
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Popularity: 6% [?]

Technorati Tags: akim, anwar ibrahim, arif shah, barisan nasional, bn, election, hanafi hamad, keadilan, permatang pauh, pkr