Month: October 2017

What will happen when you abstain from voting? By Kerk Chee Yee

Lochna Menon

With a looming GE-14, which could very well be the determining factor of a rightfully democratic Malaysia, there has been speculation of registered voters wanting to abstain from voting. Below, the writer describes why he thinks this new school of thought has emerged and what can happen if they do not exercise their democratic right. Kerk Chee Yee is the political secretary to DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang. Read on. “In the 13th general election in May 2013, there were 11.2 million out of 13.2 million registered voters who…

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Malaysia loses bid for seat in UN Human Rights Council

Lochna Menon

MALAYSIA has lost out to Afghanistan, Nepal, Pakistan and Qatar in its bid for one of the 15 seats on the United Nation Human Rights Council. This is Qatar’s second consecutive term after winning the re-election vote. A UN statement said the General Assembly election was carried out via a secret ballot among 193 countries. “The newly elected members to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council are Afghanistan, Angola, Australia, Chile, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain and Ukraine. “All will serve three-year…

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The 2017 New Zealand Elections

Lochna Menon

Lydia Chai is a Malaysian living in New Zealand. Here she shares her experience voting in the New Zealand general elections as a permanent resident.   NEW ZEALAND : Voting is EASY The New Zealand general elections were held on 23 September 2017. Like Malaysia, voting in New Zealand is not compulsory. If there’s one thing I am grateful for when I cast my vote here, it’s how easy it is to vote. Advance voting is available to anyone. Whether you’re a normal voter, a permanent resident, voting outside of…

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