Malaysia has never had a functioning democracy..........ever. Perhaps the closest it has come to it is ironically during the Najib era with street demonstrations, slander, treason and sedition being passed off as democratic freedoms of expression.
For that matter the US and UK, Australia and Canada too have never really experienced a democracy either.
Each had its own model of freedoms and democracy often restricted to universal franchise in elections (excluding minorities for decades). It still is a problem in these places.
Pakatan Harappan is nothing more than a by product of a system where politicians serve themselves with generous crumbs for the lowest of the low. Malaysian protesters are nothing but a bunch of political posers with little intellect to support their claims and their demands. Their legal fraternity and judiciary serve as testament to this last statement.
You're right about so-called "democratic" rights and freedoms, not only in Malaysia but also in the much touted western "liberal-democracies" as well.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights gives citizens the right to assemble and peacefully protests but it does not require governments to concede to their demands.
For example, just look at the number of anti-imperialist-war protests, such as those against the US-imperialist aggression, invasion and occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan and so forth, which governments in these western "liberal-democratic" allow in the name of "democracy", but at the same time ignore and carry on with their warmongering business as usual in the interests of the interests of the likes of their Military Industrial Complex, oil and gas industry and so forth.
Basically, the governments of these "liberal-democratic" countries, often also the most imperialistic and predatory, let their citizens protest peacefully and then quite literally farts in their faces.
As for Malaysian protestors, it's ironic that those black attired young street protestors, including from Pakatan Harapan and allied political parties, as well as representatives of pro-Pakatan Harapan or anti-Barisan Nasional or anti-Perikatan Nasional, mostly private limited (Sdn. Bhd.) companies, masquerading a "democracy", "human rights", "free speech", "free press" and so forth "civil society organisations" whose favourite protest area is from in front of the Sogo department store, all the way along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman to Dataran Merdeka, demanding the prime minister of the day step down (undur) in the name of "the rakyat Marhean", yet it appears that none or very few of the rakyat Marhean working or living the the Masjid India area just off this stretch of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman came out to join them.
It's also rather curious, that this in-bred milieu of street protestors do not hold their street protests along that stretch of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman from the Chow Kit monorail station to the junction with Jalan Sultan Ismail, where there are many more Marhean living in areas on either side of this part of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
Or, why don't these mostly middle-class, NGO-types hold their street protests in Kg. Baru or in the working class areas of Pantai Dalam where they are plenty of Marhean struggling to make ends meet.
As for intellect, don't expect much of that amongst those who go around with their faces buried in their smartphone screens, receiving and blindly forwarding whatever snippets of news they receive, without making any effort to verify the truth or falsehood of what they had received.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not rooting for Perikatan Nasional, the UMNO "court cluster", Barisan Nasional or anything like that, and never have, but I just enjoy bashing the Pakatoons (Pakatan Harapan supporters) over their idiocy.
If one is willing to bend over and sell their principles to the US in particular, there is a significant amount of money and other goodies available to set up online news portals, NGO's with spurious names like C4 and Tenaganita, Bersih, Reformasi. Just ask some of the lawyers who fed off that gravy train, then took the alternative of a safe seat with Pakatan courtesy of Anwar's good graces whilst his inner circle fed off the real money.
They sadly believe no one is watching or keeping track of what they've been up to their necks in all along. Thats how OPTOR, Open Societies, The Civil Societies foundations and the NED works.
Or worse still, if disgruntled supporters of these "NGO's" on a dog leash from the NED threaten to testify against them as occurred in Egypt and Thailand, they simply "disappear". The Ambiga's and Sivarasah Rasiah's and members of the Malaysian Bar are on a rickety platform with a political NED noose around their ncks.
This can backfire badly on Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional in the upcoming six state elections, not only in Penang but in Selangor and other states too.
whoever in power let it be BN, PN or PH makes no difference in respecting democracy in Malaysia.
when Mahathir was in power during first 22 years we all yell at him for hard rule.
now PH in partial power with BN we again yell including this writer.
to me let it be who in power because ignorent malaysian voters decides.
if malaysia fails then the not so clever (s****d) voters are the culprit. the evidence was in last GE15 election for P009 Parliament.
just a waste of time for murray to write. may be murray is prejudice.
Malaysia has never had a functioning democracy..........ever. Perhaps the closest it has come to it is ironically during the Najib era with street demonstrations, slander, treason and sedition being passed off as democratic freedoms of expression.
For that matter the US and UK, Australia and Canada too have never really experienced a democracy either.
Each had its own model of freedoms and democracy often restricted to universal franchise in elections (excluding minorities for decades). It still is a problem in these places.
Pakatan Harappan is nothing more than a by product of a system where politicians serve themselves with generous crumbs for the lowest of the low. Malaysian protesters are nothing but a bunch of political posers with little intellect to support their claims and their demands. Their legal fraternity and judiciary serve as testament to this last statement.
You're right about so-called "democratic" rights and freedoms, not only in Malaysia but also in the much touted western "liberal-democracies" as well.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights gives citizens the right to assemble and peacefully protests but it does not require governments to concede to their demands.
For example, just look at the number of anti-imperialist-war protests, such as those against the US-imperialist aggression, invasion and occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan and so forth, which governments in these western "liberal-democratic" allow in the name of "democracy", but at the same time ignore and carry on with their warmongering business as usual in the interests of the interests of the likes of their Military Industrial Complex, oil and gas industry and so forth.
Basically, the governments of these "liberal-democratic" countries, often also the most imperialistic and predatory, let their citizens protest peacefully and then quite literally farts in their faces.
As for Malaysian protestors, it's ironic that those black attired young street protestors, including from Pakatan Harapan and allied political parties, as well as representatives of pro-Pakatan Harapan or anti-Barisan Nasional or anti-Perikatan Nasional, mostly private limited (Sdn. Bhd.) companies, masquerading a "democracy", "human rights", "free speech", "free press" and so forth "civil society organisations" whose favourite protest area is from in front of the Sogo department store, all the way along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman to Dataran Merdeka, demanding the prime minister of the day step down (undur) in the name of "the rakyat Marhean", yet it appears that none or very few of the rakyat Marhean working or living the the Masjid India area just off this stretch of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman came out to join them.
It's also rather curious, that this in-bred milieu of street protestors do not hold their street protests along that stretch of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman from the Chow Kit monorail station to the junction with Jalan Sultan Ismail, where there are many more Marhean living in areas on either side of this part of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
Or, why don't these mostly middle-class, NGO-types hold their street protests in Kg. Baru or in the working class areas of Pantai Dalam where they are plenty of Marhean struggling to make ends meet.
As for intellect, don't expect much of that amongst those who go around with their faces buried in their smartphone screens, receiving and blindly forwarding whatever snippets of news they receive, without making any effort to verify the truth or falsehood of what they had received.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not rooting for Perikatan Nasional, the UMNO "court cluster", Barisan Nasional or anything like that, and never have, but I just enjoy bashing the Pakatoons (Pakatan Harapan supporters) over their idiocy.
If one is willing to bend over and sell their principles to the US in particular, there is a significant amount of money and other goodies available to set up online news portals, NGO's with spurious names like C4 and Tenaganita, Bersih, Reformasi. Just ask some of the lawyers who fed off that gravy train, then took the alternative of a safe seat with Pakatan courtesy of Anwar's good graces whilst his inner circle fed off the real money.
They sadly believe no one is watching or keeping track of what they've been up to their necks in all along. Thats how OPTOR, Open Societies, The Civil Societies foundations and the NED works.
Or worse still, if disgruntled supporters of these "NGO's" on a dog leash from the NED threaten to testify against them as occurred in Egypt and Thailand, they simply "disappear". The Ambiga's and Sivarasah Rasiah's and members of the Malaysian Bar are on a rickety platform with a political NED noose around their ncks.
This can backfire badly on Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional in the upcoming six state elections, not only in Penang but in Selangor and other states too.
Looks like all you need is kdn minister to overwrite ros decision and even without party election, it is valid..are we on our way to dictatorship?