PROPERTYMalaysiakini :: BRIDGET WELSH
- Silver linings in a GE13 without gold
- COMMENT As the dust settles a week after the dirtiest election in history, a healthy people’s democracy rises from the ashes.
- Umno's reactionary GE13 'victory'
- COMMENT Those clinging to Mahathirism and Umno's past glory are unlikely to support reform efforts by the Najib administration.
- Disturbing questions surrounding GE13 polling
- GE13 SPECIAL She shares some of her observations that suggest that in the May 5 election, some things appear not quite right.
- Ordinary Malaysians, extraordinary day
- GE13 SPECIAL There are four intense battles taking place that will shape whether May 5 will indeed bring about change.
- Inside the 505 generation - the youth vote
- GE13 SPECIAL The youth are likely not stand idly by and see their future taken from them through polls manipulation.
- Shadows of the past stalk GE13 campaign
- GE13 SPECIAL In what has been part of a no-holds-barred strategy, the use of fear has come to the fore, especially with BN.
- BN's femme fatale - the power of women
- GE13 SPECIAL BN has lost the advantage in fielding women. This will be a woman's election, whatever the outcome.
- People or party? Wooing civil servants
- GE13 SPECIAL The reality is that in Malaysia’s close electoral races, civil servants can be decisive in shaping the final tallies.
- Buying support - Najib's 'commercialisation' of GE13
- GE13 SPECIAL Najib has spent a total of RM57.7bil over the past four years since he became PM on election-related incentives.
- GE13 post-nomination revelations
- COMMENT Excitement for May 5 election has intensified, with every seat being contested - and the largest number of independents in history.
- Crossing the lines - BN's early strategic mistakes
- COMMENT Three controversial moves by BN in the last two weeks seem to have strengthened the opposition's hands.
- Najib's dilemma over selection of candidates
- GE13 SPECIAL Given the low apparent turnover of incumbents, Najib appears terribly afraid that infighting in his party.
- Chance for change? The possibility is there
- GE13 SPECIAL In this first of her GE13 analyses, Bridget Welsh argues that gains for the opposition are difficult but not entirely impossible.
- Lessons from PAP's defeat in Punggol East
- COMMENT The parallels between the PAP and Umno are there, but unlike the PAP, the initiatives in reform are much less substantive in Malaysia.
- The politics of accommodation in PAS
- COMMENT Judging by the meeting as a whole, the PAS muktamar highlights that the party is continuing to embrace more progressive positions.
- Obama's victory of hope over hate
- COMMENT 'There are two Americas - one embracing diversity and the other holding onto the past of a white-majority...'
- The glue that holds Pakatan together
- COMMENT No, it's not the common search of political power that keeps Pakatan together, but the parties' shared moral compact.
- Popular populism? Najib's Budget 2013 gamble
- COMMENT The premier hopes the spending will give him and his party the security they appear to need ahead of the next polls.
- A different Merdeka this year
- COMMENT 'Recent data shows that 97 percent of Malaysians are proud to be Malaysians. It is among the highest in the region.'
- Najib's big dilemma: When to call the polls?
- COMMENT The man who appears most reluctant to hold polls is Najib himself. He is now Malaysia's longest serving PM without a mandate.
- Road to Malaysia's day of destiny
- COMMENT The government should bear in mind that globally, the single most important event that triggers political transitions is a fraudulent election.
- High stakes for Bersih 3.0 rally
- COMMENT What happens tomorrow is not just about politics. It is not just about electoral reform. It is about Malaysia's future.
- Harnessing hope in Burma's by-elections
- NEWS FEATURE At long last, the burden of history is being lifted, and the promise of a better future is becoming tangible.
- Democracy is shining in the dark
- COMMENT Largely driven by ordinary citizens, Southeast Asia is experiencing important political change.
- A new Singapore? Politics in the wake of May GE
- ANALYSIS The extremely narrow victory of Dr Tony Tan for the presidency is yet another marker of political transformation.
- Democracy strikes back: Lessons from Thailand
- COMMENT After Sunday’s polls won by Yingluck Shinawatra's Pheu Thai, there is hope in Thailand for reconciliation and better government.
- Five promising ideas from PAS' new line-up
- ANALYSIS While many of the ideas are in the early articulation, the 57th PAS Muktamar does point to five promising ideas.
- Victory of the 'Erdogans' bodes well for Pakatan
- COMMENT This is the first non-ulama team - except for president Hadi Awang - since the 1982 coup against PAS nationalist leader Mohamad Asri.
- Party polls will decide PAS' future, Pakatan's fate
- COMMENT Party delegates will determine whether the party will adopt policies that bridge, rather than divide, communities.
- Singapore's democratic opening
- From the first day of the campaign when thousands thronged an opposition rally, the PAP has been on the defensive.