Malaysia Today interviews Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad, the Member of Parliament for Kuala Selangor and the Director of the PAS Research Centre, to get his views on a range of controversies surrounding the Islamic party, in particular the Hudud and Islamic State issues. With the Kuala Terengganu by-election soon upon us, maybe it is appropriate we pick his brain to see what ticks.

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Raja Petra Kamarudin

I will support PAS in Kuala Terengganu as a show of good faith and to demonstrate that we have bigger fish to fry. Then I am going to grab PAS by the balls and kick their arse like there is no tomorrow.

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Raja Petra Kamarudin

How Najib and the remorseless Mahathir get along will be keenly watched in 2009. Will their relationship grate (as that of Mahathir and Abdullah) or will it be balmy as some political insiders believe it will surely be. Regardless, it is a time-honoured political truism that no man newly in power would want to be babysat by a former mentor.

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By Baradan Kuppusamy, The Star

Pak Lah, how would you like to be remembered? As the man who abandoned the nation in its hour of need or as the man who stayed and fought and who completed the job?

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Raja Petra Kamarudin

The Pakatan Rakyat coalition has been perceived to be formidable, but some observers say it is due to a weakened Barisan Nasional rather than a strong Pakatan. Much more needs to be done before it can really market itself as an effective alternative coalition.

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By BARADAN KUPPUSAMY,THE STAR

Call it political tsunami or avalanche, the March 8 general election was the defining moment in Malaysian history and the political landscape will never be the same again.

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By SUHAINI AZNAM, THE STAR

Umno has already announced their candidate, so it is too late to backtrack on that. So it is now left to PAS to choose their candidate. If PAS chooses the right man then Wan Farid is dead meat. But Wan Farid’s chances can improve if PAS makes the mistake of fielding the wrong candidate.

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Raja Petra Kamarudin

Paling dibimbangi beberapa tokoh yang juga pemimpin Umno Terengganu dikatakan berkira-kira untuk mengenakan Wan Farid dan dalam bahasa lain, 'sabotaj' rakan baik menantu PM itu pada 17 Januari ini.

Wan Nordin Wan Yaacob, Harakah

The Perak state government’s decision to allow 149,000 people living in 349 planned and 134 new villages in Perak, with an appreciated land value of over RM1.5 billion, to apply for freehold titles has created a controversy.

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Bernama

According to reliable sources, the BN could lose up to 30 seats in the next state elections, which would mean that Pakatan Rakyat just needs to capture six extra seats to win power, if the elections were held today.

Nur Jazlan for The Malaysian Insider

"I realise there is a new Malaysia that has evolved and changed. Malaysian society is now more mature and demands more openness ... if we do not change or reform, it is quite possible that the electorate will decide to end BN rule."

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Zubaidah Abu Bakar, New Straits Times

Political insiders said Abdullah tried but failed to persuade the political establishment to bite the bullet and approve the tough measures necessary to rehabilitate the judiciary, fight high level corruption, raise efficiency and keep police abuse in check.

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By Baradan Kuppusamy, Asia Times Online

Datuk Seri Najib Razak's decision not to announce the BN candidate last Saturday when he was in Kuala Terengganu has, in fact, set tongues wagging that things have not been finalised.

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Zubaidah Abu Bakar, New Straits Times

My cabinet colleagues and I gave a solemn promise to Parliament and the nation that the immense powers given to the government under the ISA would never be used to stifle legitimate opposition and silence lawful dissent: Tunku Abdul Rahman

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Imran Imtiaz Shah Yacob

Close to 9,000 out of the 80,000 voters in the east coast seat are Chinese and the BN candidate in the last general election, Datuk Razali Ismail, won by a small margin of only 628 votes.

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By Adib Zalkapli, The Malaysian Insider

This was what was said in the aftermath of the 8 March 2008 general election. Some of it is now water under the bridge while some did not happen exactly the way predicted. Nevertheless, in the backdrop of the 17 January 2009 Kuala Terengganu by-election, it may be worthwhile recapping what was said then and assess how much is still relevant today, plus what bearing this would have on the coming by-election.

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Raja Petra Kamarudin

It appears that the selection of candidates may end up widening existing cracks in both parties. It is not going to be easy for Umno and Pas to decide. While supporters' expectations need to be satisfied, the expectations of voters are equally important.

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Zubaidah Abu Bakar, New Straits Times

Until we know who the candidates are there is very little we can do as far as election strategy goes. Nevertheless, the Chinese are going to be the ‘kingmaker’ and, with a 50:50 tie, their 11% is going to be very significant indeed.

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Raja Petra Kamarudin

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Martin Jalleh

If Zaki is morally unfit to serve in Umno’s disciplinary board, how could he be considered morally fit to be a federal court judge, not to mention his lightning elevation to the No.2 position, and anticipated imminent rise to the top job in the judiciary?

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Martin Jalleh