State elections in 2023 will be held in Selangor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah and Penang.
During General Election 15 (GE15) last November, the Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Selangor, and Negeri Sembilan state governments decided not to dissolve their state government; hence state elections will have to be held now before the state parliament automatically dissolves after the deadline.
All the states have agreed to dissolve their state government around the same time to allow elections to be held simultaneously in these states. The following are important dates of the 2023 State Elections:
Candidate’s nomination – 29 July 2023, Saturday
Early Voting Day – 8 August 2023, Tuesday
Voting Day – 12 August 2023, Saturday
Voters in the states of Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu will head to the polls on Aug 12, the Election Commission (EC) announced today.
Nomination will be held on July 29, while early voting will take place on Aug 8.
EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh said a total of 9.7 million individuals are eligible to vote in the state polls.
"The EC has decided that the state elections will be held to fill 36 state legislative assembly seats in Kedah, 45 in Kelantan, 32 in Terengganu, 40 in Penang, 56 in Selangor and 36 in Negeri Sembilan," he said at a press conference after chairing a special meeting on the state polls at Menara SPR today.
Kelantan was the first to dissolve its state assembly on June 22, followed by Selangor on June 23. Penang, Kedah and Terengganu state legislative assemblies were dissolved on June 28, while Negeri Sembilan was the last to dissolve its state assembly on July 1.
A total of 245 state assembly seats will be contested in the six states.
2023 Penang state election
Electoral map of Penang. showing all 40 constituencies
Penang State Legislative Assembly Map, Penang, Malaysia
Breakdown of 2022 Malaysian general election result by state constituency in 2022, where PH in Red, PN in Blue-green and BN in blue Results of the 2022 Malaysian general election in Penang
To some extent, the promulgation and implementation of the foreign relations law demonstrate and strengthen China's strategic
transparency. China's diplomacy is open and aboveboard.
China's top legislature passed the Foreign Relations Law on Wednesday, marking a milestone significance as it is the first basic, fundamental and comprehensive foreign relations law that aims to fix the loopholes in the rule of law in foreign-related affairs amid new challenges in foreign relations, especially when China has been facing frequent external interference in its internal affairs under the Western hegemony with unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction.
The law will take effect on July 1. Divided into six chapters, the legislation stipulates the guidance and basic principle of foreign relations and specific provisions on the functions and powers of foreign relations, the objectives and tasks of the development of foreign relations, the legal system of foreign relations, and the capacity building and guarantee for the development of foreign relations, according to the approved version.
Some legal experts said that the law inherited China's long-term diplomatic stance and its position on international rule of law, upgrading policies and systems for foreign affairs management to national law, legally interpreting and elaborating on a series of new ideas and initiatives in global governance. With the implementation of the law and the introduction of more legislation on foreign affairs in the future, China's ability to defend its interests and the people through legislations will be continuously improved, they noted.
The National People's Congress (NPC) issued the draft of the law in December 2022, and the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the NPC says the draft legislation has the support of NPC deputies; members of the advisory body - the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; legal experts and the public.
The enactment of the law also came after a report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) last October called to step up legislation in key, emerging, and foreign-related fields and advance the rule of law in domestic and foreign-related affairs in a coordinated manner, so that good laws are made to promote development and ensure good governance.
"In recent years, the changes of external environment have brought new conflicts and challenges for China, and the shortcomings of foreign-related rule of law are gradually revealed," Huo Zhengxin, a law professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
On one hand, in the face of some Western hegemony frequently interfering in China's internal affairs by "law" and imposing unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction," China has not yet established a comprehensive preparedness system and an effective blocking mechanism, and the "shield" of the rule of law in foreign-related affairs has not been fully established, Huo noted.
On the other hand, in terms of safeguarding China's sovereignty, security and development interests, there is still a shortage of institutional supply in terms of law, and the "spear" of the rule of law in foreign affairs needs to be accelerated, he noted.
While China has been facing growing challenges including export control measures and sanctions, toward which international law has failed to provide adequate remedies, the Foreign Relations Law has also been considered as necessary and a major progress in domestic legal framework to regulate foreign relations, experts said.
Important, necessary step
The Foreign Relations Law stipulates that, on the basis of abiding by the basic principles of international law and the basic norms governing international relations, the country shall strengthen the implementation and application of laws and regulations in the field of foreign affairs, and take law enforcement, judicial and administrative measures in accordance with the law to safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and organizations.
China has the right to take necessary countermeasures in accordance with the law against acts that violate international law and the basic norms governing international relations and endanger China's sovereignty, security and development interests. The country shall formulate necessary laws, administrative regulations and departmental rules, establish corresponding working systems and mechanisms, strengthen coordination among departments, and establish and implement relevant countermeasures and restrictive measures.
"For the first time, the law states the purpose, conditions and policy orientation of the application of Chinese law in foreign relations, and stipulates principles for the measures to counter and restrictive measures against foreign countries, individuals or organizations," Huang Huikang, a professor of the Institute of International Law of Wuhan University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
It also establishes corresponding working systems and mechanisms, so as to construct the basic legal system framework for Chinese law in extraterritorial application, Huang said.
The extraterritorial application of domestic law is an important part of the rule of law in foreign-related affairs, and exterritorial application of domestic law is the concrete embodiment of protective jurisdiction and universal jurisdiction recognized by international law, and is a supplement to personal jurisdiction and territorial jurisdiction, the expert noted.
"What we object to is the abuse of so-called 'long-arm jurisdiction'," he said.
The law stipulates that the goal of developing foreign relations includes developing a global partnership and promoting an all-round, multi-level, wide-ranging and three-dimensional external work layout, promoting the coordination and positive interaction among major countries.
The US is the only sanctions superpower in the world. According to the Treasury 2021 Sanctions Review by fiscal year 2021, the number of active US sanctions designations had increased to more than 9,400, according to a report released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry in February on US' long-arm jurisdiction. In recent years, China has been subjected to mounting US sanctions over a series of matters such as high-tech, Xinjiang and Hong Kong as well as the Ukraine crisis.
"The formulation of the Foreign Relations Law is a major legislative measure to accelerate the construction of the rule of law in foreign-related affairs and fix the shortcomings in the field, which also marks an improvement in China's ability to carry out international struggles and safeguard the interests of its country and people through the rule of law," Huo said.
The law also provides a legal basis for the diplomatic struggle against sanctions, anti-intervention and long-arm jurisdiction, and aims to constantly enrich the legal toolbox and develop the ways and means to safeguard national interests, which could also play a role of prevention, warning and deterrence against Western hegemony, experts noted.
With the help of certain US media acting as loudspeakers, brainless anti-China remarks from
pseudo-experts like Gordon Chang create a negative public opinion environment toward China.
After the long-delayed visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing last week reopened channel for high-level
exchanges between the US and China, US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen is reportedly planning to visit China in July, as business
insiders believe that official economic engagement is poised to take center stage amid soured bilateral ties, which is mainly caused by
Washington's erroneous perception.
In the sixth installment of this series, we invite Lu Chuanying, director of the Research Center for International Cyberspace
Governance under the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, to reveal how the US bullied the world through its digital hegemony,
harming the national security of other countries while advancing its own
...
China Passes Foreign Relations Law With Eye On Countering Sanctions | China Policy News | LIVE
Mr. Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia
To compare Mahathir with Mr Lee is like placing a pig next to a lion. The short answer is: No Comparison! Let me explain my reasons.
After 55 years after these 2 men become PM of the respective country, Mr Lee left behind a legacy of democracy, progress, dynamism and true success for Singaporeans and the nation Singapore. On the other hand, Mahathir has broken Malaysia into multiple segments of people - divided by race, religion, economic status - mistrusting and suspicious of each other. Economically 70% of Malaysians are poor except all his 7 children are billionaires in Ringgit terms.
At a personal level, all Mr Lee’s children attended and graduated from top notch universities in the USA or UK and qualified as professionals. On the other hand, all Mahathir attended 2nd or 3rd tier institutions in these countries but never work for a day yet became billionaires. How?? They received parts of the money Mahathir looted from the country’s coffers.
How they are remembered by their country men and women. Singaporeans - even those who dislike Mr Lee’s policies - recognized that the man has been good to Singapore. Conversely, Mahathir has confirmed himself a unreformed racist, self-centred street level political manipulator who destroyed Malaysia.
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Warm reception: Chinese President Xi Jinping
welcoming Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. — SADIQ ASYRAF/ Prime Minister’s Office
Xi Calls for Concerted Efforts to Advance China-Malaysia Ties, Boost All-Around Cooperation
Honoured:
Anwar (second from right) and Xi (second from left) exchanging views at
the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. — Prime Minister’s Office
BEIJING: In their first-ever face-to-face meeting, Prime Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and President Xi Jinping reiterated the strong friendship and trade ties between Malaysia and China, while looking to the future.
In his brief welcoming remarks, Xi said both countries have agreed to build a China-Malaysia community with a shared future.
“This bilateral relationship is a new historical starting point,” he said.
Xi added that he appreciated the fact that despite observing the holy month of Ramadan, Anwar had accepted his invitation to visit China.He said he also took note of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between both nations this year and the 50th anniversary of the Malaysia-China diplomatic relationship next year.
Hence, he said it is hoped that under Anwar’s leadership, Malaysia and China will work more closely together to bring the relationship to greater heights.
For his part, Anwar said he was awestruck by Xi’s humility.
“He is such a formidable leader on the world stage, a senior world statesman and yet there is so much humility in him.
“He even asked me about our Malaysia Madani concept and about The Asian Renaissance,” he said, referring to his 1996 book.
“The more you learn, the more humble one should become. The wisdom of humility is endless,” Anwar said in his speech after a buka puasa event with Maycham China (Malaysian Chamber of Commerce & Industry in China) here yesterday.
He had earlier called on Xi at the Great Hall of the People.
Anwar urged Maycham China to keep up the good work of promoting Malaysia in the eyes of Chinese businesses and investors. He said promoting collaboration should not just be left to the government.
“It is also very much the work of the private sector itself. That is why everywhere I go abroad, I always make it a point to listen to the business community ... to encourage them to do more.
“This is the only way we can spur more growth,” he added.
Maycham China chairman Loh Wee Keng, in his speech earlier, said the chamber was going the extra mile to further promote trade and business exchanges with Malaysia.
“The gotong royong spirit is well and alive here in China. In Malaysia, we may take some things for granted, but here we take the extra effort.
“That is why our trade with China is thriving,” he added.
Also present at the dinner were the accompanying Malaysian ministers, Ambassador to China and Maycham China patron Raja Datuk Nushirwan Zainal Abidin, and MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
People walking past a mural depicting the faces of Malaysian children at Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur. — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star\ THERE a...
Lee said interest rates may stay elevated for some time and expects Bank Negara to hold the OPR at the current level in 2023 and into 2024. ...
Matsuda said one way Malaysia can become more resilient in times of trouble is to ensure equal basic infrastructure for all, which include...
