Tear gas fired at protestors at Bersih rally

Malaysian protests against Najib met with riot police

LIVE: Report from Malaysiakini.com


Malaysian police fired tear gas and water cannon in clashes with thousands of protesters demanding electoral reforms on Saturday, raising the risk of a political backlash that could delay national polls which had been expected within months.






Riot police reacted after some protesters among the crowd of at least 25,000 tried to break through barriers, in defiance of a court order banning them from entering the city's historic Merdeka Square. They fired several dozen tear gas rounds, sending the protesters scattering through nearby streets.

Reuters: Malaysian police fire tear gas

BBC: Current arrangements will benefit Najib

AlJazeera: "We will march to the barrier"

Guardian: "We cannot be quiet anymore"

"This was a peaceful protest and they have come in with this heavy handed crackdown to disperse people" - Nick Xenophone

Adelaide Now: Senator Xenophon gassed in  KL

“By launching a crackdown on peaceful protesters on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian government is once again showing its contempt for its people’s basic rights and freedoms” - Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch’s deputy director for Asia.

Washington Post: "We do not want them to get elected by cheating"

CBC News: Najib can now be proud he has given birth to SE Asia's biggest street rally


“The reason [authorities] reacted that way is they’re afraid of losing power and, in the back of their minds, they’re aware of what’s happened in the Middle East” - Bridget Welsh, a Malaysia expert and associate professor at Singapore Management University.

“They also made it illegal to protest in Merdeka Square,” Welsh said. “Why? Because it’s just like Tahrir Square in Egypt.”

GlobalPost: Malaysia's Arab Spring?

Bersih's nationwide and international rallies a big blow to Najib

Najib's government unsure how to handle a nationwide protest

Malaysian protesters demanding fair elections plan to rally 100,000 people tomorrow without government permission in a test of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s pledge to allow greater freedom ahead of a national vote.

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections, or Bersih, vowed to go forward with the demonstration at Kuala Lumpur’s Independence Square, according to steering committee member Maria Chin Abdullah. City officials last night ordered the open- air space closed today and tomorrow, risking clashes similar to those that marred a Bersih protest last year.



The order to close the square “doesn’t make any difference,” Maria said by phone today. “We will proceed.”

Read more from Business Week



"For many years, I felt a sense of helplessness and frustration as I followed Malaysian current affairs and saw the country I grew up in stuck in a downward spiral of poor governance and deteriorating civil liberties and human rights. What really got to me was the complete waste of potential – Malaysia was and remains a beautiful country – rich in natural resources, great weather, fantastic cuisine and diverse culture. It has a small population of 28 million people that could enjoy a world class healthcare and education system if the money spent on hapless vanity projects and siphoned off to fund the multimillionaire lifestyles of government ministers was spent on improving the lives of the rakyat." - Yolanda Augustin

Read Yolanda's letter on why overseas Malaysians are joining in this time

Bersih 3.0 rally in Melbourne

Bersih rallies in 70 countries worldwide

Malaysia's clean election movement goes global in 79 cities

Where to attend a Bersih rally on April 28 

Sin Chew: Malaysian government has much too learn

Lonely Planet: Advice for tourists in KL on April 28

The Star won't print this

Marina Mahathir's article is blocked again

"My editors at The Star did politely ask me to tone down my column. They even bought me tea to tell me this. They explained the type of nasty pressures they face over many articles, pressure from people who seem to be hyper-paranoid over every little bit of news that might be construed as anti-government, anti-Islam, anti-everythingtheystandfor. I can sympathise with my editors. It can't be fun being constantly shouted at on the phone or having to attend 'briefings' where they are told exactly what they can or cannot write, no argument." - Marina


Read the "offending" article

No country in this world can claim to have the cleanest electoral roll, but the Election Commission chief Aziz Yusof has the cheek to claim it is the “cleanest in the world.” Fraught with 3.1 million discrepancies based on the latest study by political analyst Dr Ong Kian Ming, Aziz continues to behave like an alcoholic who would not admit that he has a problem. -  Stephen Ng

Najib, don’t be arrogant — Stephen Ng

Business Week: Malaysians protest against Najib

AFP: Critics call for rally in Malaysia

NY Times: Malaysians to protest over electoral system

The Star: Deputy Chairman of Election Council admits being a member of UMNO (the ruling party)

Latest: Both Chairman and Deputy of Election Commission admit to being UMNO members! (Holy Cow! Malaysia Boleh!!)

Najib running out of time

France's court to start inquiry into submarine corruption scandal linked to Najib and Razak Baginda

The investigation papers on the case have been made available to the Suaram team and "we will reveal the content in stages".

"Our list of possible witnesses are of course Razak and his wife Mazlinda, one Jasbir Singh, Lodin Wok Kamaruddin and Altantuya's father Setev Shaariibuu, who recently agreed to be our witness."

According to whistleblower website Wikileaks, Lodin heads LTAT and is a close buddy of Najib, he also allegedly sits on the board of Affin Bank Bhd, one of Perimekar's bankers.



"It's a pivotal moment to have arrived at this juncture where we can move forward with evidence to uncover the truth in one of the biggest corruption scandals in Malaysia," said Gabriel.

She had also named Najib and Ahmad Zahidi as potential witnesses, and the latter has agreed to testify in court.



Money was funneled through Hong Kong

Najib sents his lawyer out for secret mission

France to probe graft claims against DCN

Najib a fugitive for refusing to testify?

Malaysians Totally Fed Up of Najib

Bersih 3.0 Launched to Fight Continuous Fraud by BN

The Election Commission (EC) have been told to clean up its act or resign en bloc due to their failures act against mass discrepancies in voters electoral roll.

PM Najib's 1Malaysia act is not attracting the masses to be his lap dogs.

Najib is in trouble, as more and more UMNO ministers are being accused of graft.

Another Bersih has been launched, and its time the people get rid of BN for good.

A warning to the Prime Minister (or is it BEWARE of the PM?)




Another minister accused of graft (when is it going to end for Najib?)

No solution for Teoh Beng Hock's case

No solution to Altantuya's case

Bersih 3.0 to clean up UMNO

Can BN win by cheating (in Bahasa)?

Najib again questions the loyalty of the Chinese

Latest: Even UMNO Penang not happy la...

Malaysian Law Minister's Unlawful Son

Drives a Porsche and assaults security guard



Hmmmph... this story begs many questions:

1. How can a son of a Malaysian Minister own a Porsche (it is not impossible, just how?). BTW check the prices of Porshes in Malaysia

2. The son has a bodyguard who drives a luxury MPV.

3. The son refuses to register on entering a condominium (brandishes his father's calling card).

4. Bodyguard and/or son assaults security guard.

5. Case is hurriedly closed by the Polis.

Hmmmph... another typical UMNO politician story.

Najib: Support for BN peaking (??)

The shit begins to pile on BN

Najib takes the credit while BN gets the shit

While Najib's approval rating seemingly improves, the same cannot be said for BN. As Najib tries to take credit for everything good (even apologizing to the public for his past sins) more shit is exposed on BN which Najib cunningly avoids.


Shahrizat "resigns" but hesitantly

NFC affair not only an insult to Malaysians, it also shows Najib's impotence

Najib accused of spending public money, again

Najib shines while UMNO is in tatters

Former MCA boss charged with corruption

Dr M challenges Malaysians to prosecute him

Mahathir's legacy of disastrous financial missteps

UMNO resorts to violence

Law in Malaysia made a mockery under UMNO rule

BN comes under attack daily as it uses MACC to protect itself

DPM Muhyiddin to face a rally in his backyard

No Sympathy For The Star

The Star gets no help for sucking up to BN

The Star has been good at playing ball with BN but when they made a mistake they realized not even BN will help them, least of all CSL.

It is not surprising that even Malaysian netizens have not been sympathetic to their plight (due to their penchant for bashing the Opposition) and so when the day comes when they lose their license to print will CSL will be there to "comfort" their employees? You can bet citizens like me will have no sympathy for The Star.

Why UMNO not satisfied with The Star's explaination

The Star to be suspended? 

2 Editors already sacrificed for UMNO/KDN 

All ado about Erykah Badu

JR: Hmm... I wonder why CSL is now so quiet on the hudud issue....

No winner in MCA vs DAP debate

But there IS a clear LOSER and interesting sideshow 

The recent debate by DAP and MCA was very much hoo-ha and not so much in real action. Ir was like waiting for Transformers 2 and getting Scooby Doo instead.

However the highlight of the event must have been the Q&A session where an interesting lady brought up some very (un?)pertinent issues but managed to score high points in visibility.

Jessie Ooi (now dubbed the Tow Truck Lady by netizens) stepped forward during Q&A and showed her prowess as an upcoming MCA leader but managed to get her foot shot-off and at the same time managed to show everyone how low MCA has sunk.

Watch the video. If you can't understand Mandarin there's the translation. But it is mostly the viewers' comments that are priceless!!

Jessie steals the show for all the wrong reasons

MCA learns a lesson on how NOT to ask questions

The Star apologises (again!) for inaccurate reporting

MCA goes into damage control mode

Why MCA failed and why they are no longer respected

Curtin University apologises over Rosmah's doctorate

Curtin University to retract the term "First Lady of Malaysia"

A week after awarding Rosmah with a PhD, Curtin University of Western Australia, was hit with blast of criticisms. Its Facebook page was swamped by thousands of comments for their poor judgement. Judging by the strongly-worded postings on its Facebook page after the award was announced, Curtin was probably taken aback by the amount of criticisms and bad publicity.

In response to it Curtin has now issued a new media release to announce that it has retracted the term "First Lady of Malaysia" it used while referring to Rosmah.

Uni slammed for awarding doctorate to PM's wife

Did Rosmah deserve the PhD?

Curtin's reponse on its Facebook page

No help from Rosmah


Rosmah gets her PhD

Rosmah's spending spree in Australia (is it a prerequisite for an Australian doctorate?)

Australian designer cashes in on Rosmah

MCA and Perkasa make good bed partners

Blundering MCA President agrees to work with Perkasa

What do 2 racist parties have in common? Common indecency, that is. MCA President has now agreed that they have no qualms working with Perkasa, a racist outcrop of UMNO bent on stewing racial polemics. MCA has now gone even deeper into its own made hell hole by agreeing that they are now working with Perkasa. Malaysians especially the Chinese community are especially saddened by this new betrayal act from MCA.

The whole incident started when Perkasa held a Chinese New Year event and gave out "white ang pows" with MCA representatives. Malaysian Chinese were offended as "white ang pows" are only given out during bereavement. Looks like MCA knows no depth in going as low as they can.


"Aiyaa... is this ang pow or pek kim?"


Ibrahim Ali: MCA and Perkasa are good friends

Lim Guan Eng: MCA should distance itself from Perkasa

DAP: Why is MCA working with Perkasa?

Najib: Forgive Perkasa as they are UMNO bred racists

Chua Soi Lek: If DAP can work with PAS, we can also work with Perkasa

Cafe culture blooming in Penang?

Getting a good cup of brewed coffee in the morning in Penang is now easier than ever. A host of new cafes has blossomed and this brings good news to those looking for a dose of caffeine before going to work. Forget Starbucks and Coffee Bean and head towards the heritage enclave where you will find these new cafes in the old but refurbished heritage ambience. Enjoy your cuppa!

Sri Malaya @ Rope Walk (Jalan Pintal Tali)

Mews Cafe @ Lebuh Muntri

Lighthouse Coffee @ Lebuh Bishop

China House @ Beach Street

Via Pre Italian Restaurant@ Weld Quay

Il Bacaro @ Campbell Street

The Twelve Cups @ Beach Street