It is always important to ask the key question: who in society is benefiting from economic growth? This question, unfortunately, is not much asked these days. Instead, the obsession is only with growth, writes Toh Kin Woon .

We reproduce the foreword to the Fajar Generation book , penned by Lim Kean Chye, who describes the fascinating political backdrop of that period.  

Umno will lose the next general election if it fails to reform, warns Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Sadly, Chief Justice Zaki Azmi continues to sit silently in his very secure and staid chamber in the Palace of Justice (which he once was parachuted into) as the judiciary slides further down the slippery slope, laments Martin Jalleh .

From left: Poh Soo Kai, Lim Kean Chye and Tan Kim Hong The launch of a book, The Fajar Generation, about a group of idealistic university students in the tumultuous setting of Singapore in the 1950s. 

Could there not be a more creative way to assist needy and poor senior citizens in a substantive manner instead of merely doling out RM100 to every senior citizen, asks Andrew Aeria.

Public intellectuals must raise the voice of reason and take a public stand on this issue even risking their own reputations or careers, says Asghar Ali Engineer .

Bringing back the former MCA president might actually resolve the three-cornered leadership struggle in the party - but for how long, wonders Francis Loh . And can it actually save the MCA?

Local government elections encourage the people to be critical and politically well informed and involved. Ultimately, the people have the right to choose and decide on matters that concern them, despite the politicking, says CY . 

Until legal reforms are introduced to allow local government elections, we should focus on appointing good people to local government authorities, writes Ch'ng Teng Liang .

The obvious starting point for Orang Asli empowerment would be their exercise of control over their customary lands. Unfortunately, this is not at all apparent from the government's proposed land policy for the community, observes Yogeswaran Subramaniam .

T’is the season of betrayal. In our cover story, P Ramakrishnan says forces are at work to subvert the voters’ choice in the last general election while fringe groups are playing up emotive issues of race and religion for political ends. Hishamuddin Yahaya says racial sloganeering could become irrelevant if a new government takes over that is better able to promote democracy and socio-economic and cultural justice.

The Federal Court’s ruling on 25 February 2010 that it had no jurisdiction to review its own decision is utter nonsense. The three judges who came to this conclusion on Rule 137 of the Federal Court Rule -  Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin, Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusoff and Heliliah Mohd Yusof - were referred to by the former Court of Appeal judge,  N H Chan, as “incompetent judges – perhaps they were clowns as their statements were laughable.”

Ahmad Chik looks at what happens when 'they' try to improve on Nature and 'develop' a beautiful stream.

Yeoh Seng Guan pays tribute to an inspiration for many activists, James Arunasalam (1939-2010), the “saint” of Sentul, who passed away recently. James had courageously dedicated much of his life to fighting for the rights of settlers who were facing eviction.

A common perception is that “nothing is moving in Penang”. The reality is how to really move when Penang received only a mere RM0.45 billion of Malaysia’s annual budget of RM207 billion, points out our correspondent . 

Burma, 6 March 2010 - In the latest escalation of labour tensions in Burma, around 4,000 factory workers at an industrial estate on the outskirts of Rangoon staged a sit-in on Saturday to demand better pay, according to sources in the area.

KUALA LUMPUR, 8 March 2010: A hundred years after the world recognised the role of women in society, women are still robbed of their rights. On the occasion of the 100th year anniversary of International Women's Day, CARAM Asia calls upon governments in both sending and receiving countries to protect the rights of migrant women who constitute more than half of the migrant population in the world today.

The Malaysian and Indonesian government should ensure a minimum wage and proper complaint mechanisms for domestic workers, says Human Rights Watch .

Police disrupted a Pakatan gathering and manhandled several supporters at the Sultan Sulaiman Club in KL on the eve of the second anniversary of the watershed general election of 8 March 2008.