With Pakatan Rakyat coming to power in a few states, many youths have become interested in politics. This gives Francis Loh hope that the youth will be ushering in an era of New Politics.
In another piece, Francis envisages an emerging struggle between this New Politics, which crosses ethno-religious boundaries, and the horrible Old Politics of racism, cronyism, and widening socio-economic disparities.
As part of a new vision for Malaysia, some are already imagining a changed physical landscape that would involve the people reclaiming our streets from cars. Jeyakumar Devaraj reports on a forum on sustainable transport in Penang.
In a new Malaysia, constituency development funds would be fairly allocated to all elected reps irrespective of their party affiliation. Penang has taken a step forward in this direction by allocating such funds even to opposition reps, notes Francis.
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For many Malaysians, migrant workers are left out in their vision of what Malaysia could be. That leaves Angeline Loh wondering whether the government is doing the country’s economy any favours by disrupting the labour force with a crackdown on undocumented workers. It is perhaps timely that Wong Soak Koon recalls the legacy of Martin Luther King which is relevant to anyone struggling for civil rights and non-violence.
But first, we need atonement to free us from the national shame over the murder of Altantuya. P Ramakrishnan calls for the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry in our back-cover story.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
What we need do in the not too distant future is to keep a close watch on the re-drawing of the constituency boundaries. That can become another huge handicap lumped on to those who aspire for a change in the government! Will the “new” youths be up to it? Will they be able to change the mindset of the rural and the interior voters to cause a wave of change in those areas?