BN MANIFESTO: SHORT ON STRUCTURAL REFORMS

Press statement by Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser 8 April 2018

After 61 years of racist policies, increasing wealth inequality, autocratic rule and acrimonious scandals, the BN manifesto merely promises populist goodies without the substantive reforms needed to carry our nation forward. Such reforms are what democrats, human rights activists and progressive Malaysians expect from the BN manifesto. Fundamentally, the manifesto lacks three vital changes sorely needed to take our country into a new beginning after sixty years of BN rule, namely: a race-free agenda to unify the nation; a progressive tax structure to redistribute wealth and a truly democratically structured society.

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SHOCKINGLY POOR BRITISH STANDARDS OF PROOF

Press statement by Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser 5 April 2018

After the Chilcot Report into the Iraq War had revealed that Tony Blair had convinced himself with unjustified certainty that Iraq’s President, Saddam Hussein, had weapons of mass destruction, even though intelligence reports had not established “beyond doubt” that they existed, we would have expected the British Government to be more circumspect about any subsequent claims of foreign culpability in dastardly deeds.

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CONSTITUENCY DELINEATION: 62 YEARS OF SUBTERFUGE

Press statement by Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser 30 March 2018

In order to view the latest constituency delineation exercise in its proper context, we have to see how the cardinal principle of representative democracy – one person one vote – has been twisted and warped since Independence in 1957. In other words, we have to appreciate “how the trick is done” in order to ensure the Alliance and then the Barisan Nasional remains in power even when they lose the majority votes. Allow me to revisit an article I wrote in 1992, published in Aliran Monthly, 1992: 12(12) and Nanyang Siangpau, 26.11.1992.

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BN SHOULD NOT RECOGNISE UEC IN THEIR MANIFESTO

By Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser, 28 March 2018

Now that Pakatan has vowed to recognize the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) in their GE14 manifesto, it would be ludicrous for BN to follow suit by doing the same in their forthcoming manifesto. They should be reminded that they are the ruling coalition, the same coalition that has run this country for more than sixty years!

No, the BN Government would look less silly if they announced the recognition of the UEC as soon as possible, ie. BEFORE their manifesto is launched.

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Joint Statement – Malaysia: Anti-Fake News Bill threatens freedom of expression and may lead to the suppression of critical speech

Bangkok, Thailand – The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) today urged Malaysia’s Parliament not to pass the Anti-Fake News Bill 2018. The two organizations are concerned that the bill will unduly limit freedom of opinion or expression in Malaysia, and could be used to suppress legitimate criticism of the government.

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