Editor's Note - Issue 2003:7
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In our lead article, Muzaffar Tate looks at the merger of Parti Keadilan Nasional and Parti Rakyat Malaysia to create Parti Keadilan Rakyat. The merger provides a significant fresh start to the promotion of a new non-communal approach to politics in Malaysia - an opportunity that does not come often. Aliran welcomes this new politics.
In our previous issue of AM, we had begun to discuss the emergence of new politics and the coming general election. This time around, Abang Benet suggests that there might be keen contests in several urban areas in Sarawak, even though the ruling coalitin is expected to retain power. G Lim predicts that elections in neighbouring Sabah are likely to be a tame affair, but it is not going to be plain sailing for the ruling coalition. Mustafa K Anuar discusses the pathetic state of the Malaysian media in the run-up to the elections while Ng Tien Eng focuses his attention on a new Chinese language daily newspaper. In a hair-raising back cover story, Saari Sungib shares with us some of the shocking revelations made by several independence era freedom fighters whom he met while criss-crossing the nation on an anti-ISA road show. P Ramakrishnan looks at how Suhakam has fared in its third year. He warns that Suhakam has to buck up; otherwise it will be turned into a �warehouse� for storing reports on human rights violations. Across the Straits of Malacca, a massive military operation is taking place in Aceh. This, writes Liem Soei Liong, is confirmation that the military is reasserting its influence in Jakarta after being subdued by reformasi in 1998. Finally, a reminder: please take out an AM subscription if you have not already done so. | |||||||||||||||
