Local Democracy Denied? : A Personal Journey into Local Government In Malaysia

Local Democracy Denied? : A Personal Journey into Local Government In Malaysia

Author: Lim Mah Hui

Publisher: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre

Published: 2020-01-16

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 9672165846

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There are plenty of books on federal government and politics in Malaysia, but very few on local government. Yet it is the level of government that is closest to us and impacts our lives most directly, and is the one least understood by the average person in the street. This book addresses that problem. Local Democracy Denied? takes a unique and comprehensive approach to discussing local government – one that is political, analytical, personal, historical, and forward looking. It begins with the author’s personal journey to becoming a councillor for six years on the Penang Island City Council, as a representative of civil society. It then provides a brief history of how local government in Malaysia evolved from the election to selection of local councillors. There follows an examination of the structure of local government, its relationship with state governments, and some of the crucial functions it performs – planning, enforcement, and provision of urban services, filled with real stories of how council decisions are made and implemented, and the frequent gap between the two. The book ends with a call to revive local democracy by strengthening public participation in local government, empowering it and restoring local elections preferably based on proportional representation rather than first-past-the-post. About the Author After careers in academia and banking which took him from New York to Jakarta, Singapore and Manila. Dr. Lim Mah Hui returned to Penang and was nominated a city councillor on Penang Island City Council for six years (2011-16) representing Penang Forum. He has actively spoken out and worked for a more economically balanced and environmentally sustainable development in Penang.


The Constitution of Malaysia

The Constitution of Malaysia

Author: Andrew Harding

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2022-05-19

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 1509927441

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“This book should find its place in every person's library...[it is] a resource for engagement and vital critical discourse.” Philip T. N. Koh, Star2 This is a much-welcome new edition of the seminal introduction to Malaysia's constitution by the leading expert in the field. Retaining its comprehensive approach, it examines constitutional governance in light of authoritarianism and continuing inter-communal strife, as well as examining the impact of colonisation on Malaysia's legal public law structure. Updated throughout to include all statutory and case law developments, it also retains its socio-political perspective. A must read for all students and scholars of Malaysian law.


Communalism and the Pursuit of Democracy

Communalism and the Pursuit of Democracy

Author: Chee-Beng Tan

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-07-26

Total Pages: 95

ISBN-13: 303136239X

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This Palgrave Pivot examines why racialism is so persistent and the challenges it poses to the functioning of democracy and the attainment of national integration. It introduces an evolutionary psychology framework, which explains human innate potential to identify with and defend one’s group, but argues that racial dislike and conflicts are provoked by racial ideologies and the politics of ethnicity. By comparing the politics of race in a number of countries, including Malaysia and the United States, this book argues that attachment to one’s ethnic and religious identities does not hinder ethnic harmony. It is necessary to manage the issues of race and religion as well as promoting conviviality and cosmopolitanism for pursuing the ideal of common humanity and for maintaining a stable and meaningful democracy. This book concludes that democracy, as practiced, has some major weaknesses; as an ideal, it is still the best form of government to pursue.


Democracy and Education

Democracy and Education

Author: John Dewey

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 1916

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13:

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. Renewal of Life by Transmission. The most notable distinction between living and inanimate things is that the former maintain themselves by renewal. A stone when struck resists. If its resistance is greater than the force of the blow struck, it remains outwardly unchanged. Otherwise, it is shattered into smaller bits. Never does the stone attempt to react in such a way that it may maintain itself against the blow, much less so as to render the blow a contributing factor to its own continued action. While the living thing may easily be crushed by superior force, it none the less tries to turn the energies which act upon it into means of its own further existence. If it cannot do so, it does not just split into smaller pieces (at least in the higher forms of life), but loses its identity as a living thing. As long as it endures, it struggles to use surrounding energies in its own behalf. It uses light, air, moisture, and the material of soil. To say that it uses them is to say that it turns them into means of its own conservation. As long as it is growing, the energy it expends in thus turning the environment to account is more than compensated for by the return it gets: it grows. Understanding the word "control" in this sense, it may be said that a living being is one that subjugates and controls for its own continued activity the energies that would otherwise use it up. Life is a self-renewing process through action upon the environment.


Global Trends 2040

Global Trends 2040

Author: National Intelligence Council

Publisher: Cosimo Reports

Published: 2021-03

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 9781646794973

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"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.


Democracy in the South

Democracy in the South

Author: Brendan M. Howe

Publisher: UN

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13:

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Democracy in the South is the first international collaboration that draws attention to the complex problems of democratic consolidation across the majority world. Nine case studies, three each from Africa, Latin America and Asia, shed light on the contemporary challenges faced by democratizing countries, mostly from the perspective of emerging theorists working in their home countries.--Publisher's description.


From Poverty to Power

From Poverty to Power

Author: Duncan Green

Publisher: Oxfam

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 540

ISBN-13: 0855985933

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Offers a look at the causes and effects of poverty and inequality, as well as the possible solutions. This title features research, human stories, statistics, and compelling arguments. It discusses about the world we live in and how we can make it a better place.


Freedom in the World 2011

Freedom in the World 2011

Author: Freedom House

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2011-11

Total Pages: 862

ISBN-13: 1442209941

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Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 194 countries and 14 territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.


Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1966-06

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13:

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The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is the premier public resource on scientific and technological developments that impact global security. Founded by Manhattan Project Scientists, the Bulletin's iconic "Doomsday Clock" stimulates solutions for a safer world.