On September 21, Sri Lanka will hold its first Northern Provincial Council elections in a quarter century, with about 714,488 people registered to vote. This has generated considerable interest all over the world, particularly in the Tamil-speaking population, and is providing a critical chance for reconciliation in post-war Sri Lanka
Read MoreDealing with asylum-seekers coming to Australia by boat was a major issue in the just concluded elections with the out-going Rudd Government putting in place the “Final Solution” in July this year; With Abbott coming to power, “By Boat, No Visa” policy set to get stricter
Read MoreIn May this year, the incumbent Prime Minister Najib Razak led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which has governed Malaysia since 1957, was re-elected for the thirteenth time in a row. The record 85 percent voter turnout gave BN 133 out of 222 parliamentary seats, with the remaining going to Anwar Ibrahim led Pakatan Rakyat (PR), a three-party opposition coalition. But more importantly, BN secured only 47 percent of the popular vote, which is its worst-ever electoral performance. Analysts have thus argued that if another election victory is an endorsement of government’s strong performance under the Economic Transformation Programme, BN's shrinking voter base is a timely reminder for PM Najib to pay heed to PR's election rallying-cry of “ubah” or “change” in BN's policies of Malay racism.
Read MoreIt all started when Workers’ Party’s member of parliament Sylvia Lim, while participating in the debate on President's Address on October 17, 2011, called on the Singapore government to elaborate on the “indicators it intends to put in place to measure whether Singaporeans as a whole are achieving happiness and well-being”. She argued that earlier that year, on Bhutan's initiation and co-sponsorship by 66 countries, UN General Assembly adopted a resolution - Happiness: towards a holistic approach to development.
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