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.
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.
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