Malaysians will be denied a fair vote in general elections this weekend, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday, accusing the government of muzzling the opposition and manipulating the electoral process.
"Once again, elections in Malaysia are grossly unfair to the opposition," the global rights monitor's deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson said in a statement ahead of Saturday's ballot.
"Voters in Malaysia deserve a chance for every vote to count and count equally," she said. "Given the vast array of anomalies in the electoral rolls, this looks increasingly unlikely."
New York-based HRW said the Barisan Nasional coalition that has ruled for half a century was intent on retaining its two-thirds parliamentary majority and unwilling to allow reforms being demanded by activists.
It said that already tight control on the media had become even more glaring during the campaign, with state-run and government-linked outlets observing a virtual blackout on the opposition.
While the government held rallies with tens of thousands of people, dissenting voices were refused permission to hold public meetings and peaceful protests were dispersed with the use of tear gas and water cannons.
HRW said that in the face of major irregularities in the election process, there were concerns the government would manipulate the voting in closely fought districts.
"Malaysia's ruling coalition is too comfortable with the status quo to allow reforms that would level the playing field," Pearson said. "When opposition leaders and civil society groups critical of the government try to organize rallies, they are blocked at every turn. Yet the usual excuses about unruly protesters and blocked traffic are never mentioned when the ruling coalition wants to get its supporters out on the streets."
A decision by election officials to scrap plans for the introduction of indelible ink at Saturday's poll suggested a conspiracy to help the government win, said Malaysia's hardline opposition Islamists, the Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS).
"The announcement validates PAS' claim that there exists a Barisan conspiracy with cooperation from the election commission and other government agencies to ensure an undemocratic Barisan victory," PAS spokesman Roslan Shahir told reporters.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
‘HYANGDO’: A South Korean lawmaker said there was no credible evidence to support rumors that Kim Jong-un has a son with a disability or who is studying abroad South Korea’s spy agency yesterday said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who last week accompanied him on a high-profile visit to Beijing, is understood to be his recognized successor. The teenager drew global attention when she made her first official overseas trip with her father, as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Analysts have long seen her as Kim’s likely successor, although some have suggested she has an older brother who is being secretly groomed as the next leader. The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) “assesses that she [Kim Ju-ae]
In the week before his fatal shooting, right-wing US political activist Charlie Kirk cheered the boom of conservative young men in South Korea and warned about a “globalist menace” in Tokyo on his first speaking tour of Asia. Kirk, 31, who helped amplify US President Donald Trump’s agenda to young voters with often inflammatory rhetoric focused on issues such as gender and immigration, was shot in the neck on Wednesday at a speaking event at a Utah university. In Seoul on Friday last week, he spoke about how he “brought Trump to victory,” while addressing Build Up Korea 2025, a conservative conference
China has approved the creation of a national nature reserve at the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島), claimed by Taiwan and the Philippines, the government said yesterday, as Beijing moves to reinforce its territorial claims in the contested region. A notice posted online by the Chinese State Council said that details about the area and size of the project would be released separately by the Chinese National Forestry and Grassland Administration. “The building of the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve is an important guarantee for maintaining the diversity, stability and sustainability of the natural ecosystem of Huangyan Island,” the notice said. Scarborough
RSS