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Ooi Kee Beng For The Straits Times, 10 November 2016 Mass demonstrations are a strategic forcing of an issue to a head. This is definitely so in the case of Malaysia’s Bersih 5 rally planned for Nov 19. As its name reveals, this is the fifth street protest in a series. Organised by a huge … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng (For YAHOO. 18 Jan 2013; see http://my.news.yahoo.com/political-picnicking-in-kl-042544037.html). On 12 January 2013, an estimated 100,000 Malaysians managed to pull off the latest in a series of demonstrations in the country’s major city, Kuala Lumpur. This time, it went practically without a hitch. There were none of the clashes with police that had … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng [This article was first published in The Edge Malaysia, Nov 26-Dec 2 issue] THE coming into being of a steady two-party system in Malaysia is often thought of as a necessary step in democratic development. But we have to remind ourselves that the process itself, the detailed dynamics of that transformation, … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, For ISEAS Perspective, SINGAPORE, 26 Nov 2012 INTRODUCTION Malaysia’s Parliament has to be dissolved by the end of April 2013, following which Malaysians must go to the polls within 60 days. Nothing significant about that, except that this 13th general election is a critical one which will decide how the country’s politics … Continue reading
by Ooi Kee Beng For TODAY, 2 Sept 2011 On July 9, the streets of Kuala Lumpur played host to animated engagements between demonstrators and the police. Bersih 2.0, which started out as a simple and hesitant attempt to revive public interest in electoral reforms, became a huge demonstration that captured the imagination of many … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng for TODAY │ 11 July 2011 AFTER THE EVENTS of July 9 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak could be making a mistake if he calls snap elections any time soon. A day after the police suppression of the Bersih 2.0 demonstration, he continued using a confrontational tone … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For TODAY │ 7 July 2011 THE SHOWDOWN scheduled for Saturday between the Malaysian government and the group of non-government organisations calling itself Bersih 2.0 has simmered somewhat. What would probably have been a long peaceful march by 100,000 Malaysians of all races, dressed in royal yellow T-shirts, towards the palace … Continue reading
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