The Malaysian Insider
Colin Boyd Shafer
Goodbye meat!MARCH 16 — I have not eaten red or white meat for almost a year. Recently, I even said goodbye to seafood. I have completely given up eating animals. Three main reasons ... Readmore |
Sex education and the culture of confusionMARCH 9 — At work, my computer’s homepage automatically shows the Top Ten most read articles from The Star. I have noticed a pattern in these articles: the majority deal with ... Readmore |
Let’s talk about canesMARCH 2 — Before coming here, I never thought much about canes but when I did, it was usually in a positive light. Walking canes help the disabled, elderly, and hikers ... Readmore |
Malaysia: A multi-bathroom-style countryFEB 23 — Asia’s toilets can shock the most seasoned traveller. An Asian public washroom — or “toilet” — causes an ethnocentric reaction in many foreign visitors. The squat toilet ... Readmore |
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Joan Lau
And so we are twoFEB 25 — Two years ago today, The Malaysian Insider went “live” and well... you know the rest. I reckon fewer than 50 people read us that first day but ... Readmore |
Training yourself to be happyFEB 14 — Our conversation at Chinese New Year reunion dinner this year centred around happiness. Or to be more specific, how we can train our brains to be more ... Readmore |
Eh, my grandfather was no beggar lah!FEB 7 — Just when you thought it was safe to go into a restaurant again, Chinese New Year (and its accompanying excesses) is upon us once more. Following on ... Readmore |
Should I stay or should I go?JAN 24 – Somebody wished me “Happy New Year” a couple of days ago. Technically a valid greeting since we are still in January but I returned her chirpy greeting ... Readmore |
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Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
A taste of what’s to comeOCT 11 – MCA is now leaderless. Both the President and Deputy President of MCA have been rejected by delegates at their EGM. This has a bearing on the government of ... Readmore |
Why I shall not be accepting Zaid’s offerJULY 22 — I am honoured that Datuk Zaid Ibrahim should speak so highly of me, and consider me worthy of national leadership. He invites me to join PKR, and ... Readmore |
Petronas governance, oil and talentJUNE 29 — There are reports of a supposed tussle of wills between the prime minister and the board of Petronas over his choice of a non-executive, independent director for ... Readmore |
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Amin Iskandar
Dua tahun selepas Malaysia semakin matang8 MAC — Tahun ini genaplah dua tahun berlakunya Tsunami politik di Malaysia. Buat pertama kalinya selepas pilihanraya1969, parti yang memerintah tidak mempunyai kuasa dua pertiga di parlimen. Sepanjang dua tahun ... Readmore |
Tahun Baru Cina di ‘Pearl of the Orient’ FEB 16 — Sambutan Tahun Baru Cina di kota Manila, Filipina tak kurang hebatnya berbanding dengan di Malaysia. Semenjak awal Februari lagi sudah boleh kelihatan “Tarian Singa” di merata tempat ... Readmore |
Setahun sudah berlalu, Perak masih tak menentuFEB 8 — Buat pertama kalinya istilah “Adun Bebas Menyokong Barisan Nasional” diperkenalkan didalam kamus politik Malaysia. Selain daripada itu, krisis politik di Perak juga telah menyebabkan nama Datuk Seri ... Readmore |
Malaysia di awal 2010FEB 2 — 2010 bermula dengan hambar bagi Malaysia apabila rumah-rumah ibadat “diganasi” oleh pihak-pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab. Selain daripada gereja, kuil Sikh, surau dan masjid turut menjadi mangsa. Terbaru, kepala ... Readmore |
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Chua Tee Yong
GST yes, but steps must followNOV 28 — The government has recently announced that there will be tabling of first reading of the draft GST at the end of the December 2009 parliament session. During the ... Readmore |
Nationalisation of toll operators not viable?JULY 15 — There seems to be a misconception regarding my proposal to nationalise PLUS, the company which operates our highways. I had proposed that Khazanah acquire the remaining stake ... Readmore |
Proposed version of payment scheme for property purchaseJULY 7 — Most housing developments in Malaysia are undertaken by private developers who use the concept of sell then build (STB). Even though most of the projects are ultimately ... Readmore |
Revamp taxi service to benefit drivers and publicMAY 27 — It was recently reported that taxi drivers may soon get their long awaited fare increase. It was not too long ago, in 2008, that the Commercial Vehicle ... Readmore |
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Nur Jazlan
PAC is not a game of PacmanDEC 16 — The prosecutors finally screwed up the courage to charge four people for the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project over the past week, thanks to the Public ... Readmore |
Hak akar umbi pilih calon pilihanrayaDEC 4 — Umno yang dilahirkan sebagai parti akar umbi sebenarnya sudah menunjukkan perubahan. Ini terbukti apabila Presiden Umno Datuk Seri Najib Razak dan timbalannya Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin sebulat ... Readmore |
Najib’s Umno: is it really back to basics?OCT 19 — Umno must return to its roots to be an all-inclusive party. That was the main theme of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s presidential speech at last week’s Umno ... Readmore |
Annus horribilisOCT 4 — Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. It is exactly a year since I offered myself for the Umno deputy presidency. I knew I didn’t have a chance in hell of ... Readmore |
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Khalid Jaafar
A national buffooneryAUG 20 — "All great world-historic facts and personages appear twice. The first time as tragedy, the second time as farce." So Marx wrote in the 18th Brumaire of Louis ... Readmore |
The morality of defectionAUG 12 — Crossing over is too neutral. Let’s call it defection. I have forgotten the exact date of Dr Chandra Muzaffar’s defection to the Barisan Nasional. He was a founding ... Readmore |
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Lim Ka Ea
Do unto others quietly …MARCH 3 — Since I started working again, it has become more difficult to meet the deadlines for this column. The luxury of having the time to ponder over what to ... Readmore |
The beauty and the beasts of Harar, Part 2FEB 23 — Due to negative stereotypes of hyenas conjured by cartoons and movies, I always thought that they were nasty and ugly-looking beasts. Surprisingly, they looked cute and adorable, ... Readmore |
The beauty and the beasts of Harar, Part 1FEB 6 — As the sky bids farewell to the descending sun and welcomes the moonlight, Butar, Rajoo, Mimi, Kamer, Tika, Shimay, Deeish and the rest slowly appear out of ... Readmore |
LibanOne* vs OneMalaysiaJAN 20 — Lebanon is unmistakably one of the most beautiful countries I have visited. At the same time, it is achingly painful when I look at the indiscriminate pockmarks ... Readmore |
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Fahmi Fadzil
Si Bangau dan Sang UlarNOV 28 — Pada Hari Raya Korban (atau Eidul Adha) yang baru berlalu, saya dan keluarga sempat pulang ke kampung ayah saya di Kuala Pilah. Bagi saya, Eidul Adha ... Readmore |
Hari-hari Terakhir Seorang MuftiDEC 10 - Semalam saya terbaca dalam sebuah laman web berita yang Mufti Perlis, Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, telah pun menulis rencana terakhirnya sebagai Mufti dalam blognya. Beliau enggan membaharui ... Readmore |
Ini bukan satu reviewDEC 4 — Sabtu lalu saya sempat tonton Muallaf, filem terbaru Yasmin Ahmad, di sebuah pawagam di negara jiran kita, Singapura. Sebenarnya saya bukan ke sana semata-mata untuk tonton filem, ... Readmore |
Cabaran yang belum tersahutBy Fahmi Fadzil Nov 19 – Tiga senario mutakhir yang bagi saya mencerminkan perjalanan auh yang masih harus kita tempuhi sebagai satu Keluarga Besar Malaysia untuk menzahirkan Bangsa Malaysia. Pertama. Sewaktu saya ... Readmore |
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Art harun
Artikel 153 – menyingkap fakta-fakta sejarah (bahagian 1)17 MAC — Di dalam rencana saya, Visiting the Malay “Rights”, (versi Bahasa Malaysianya) saya telah mengupas peruntukan-peruntukan yang terdapat di dalam artikel 153, Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Saya telah nyatakan bahawa ... Readmore |
The rhetoric of oppressionMARCH 9 — Umberto Eco, in his article, The Wolf and the Lamb — The Rhetoric of Oppression (from which the title to this article is borrowed), posits that often ... Readmore |
Drawing the political lines — a PAS-Umno role reversalFEB 24 — The General Election of 1999 saw Umno being whitewashed in Kelantan and Trengganu, losing the 2 states to PAS. In Kelantan, Umno had a dismal run where ... Readmore |
Justice is an illusionNOV 30 — It’s really tough being a judge. Really, I think it’s a thankless job. A judge can never do any right. I think it was in 1996 that a ... Readmore |
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Dina Zaman
Lipstick jihadMARCH 10 — Reading “Let These Women Pray” made me wonder: has ‘Islamic feminism’ come to this? I am not unsympathetic to these women’s demands for a bigger and more comfortable ... Readmore |
So where are the UFOs?FEB 24 — When I visit my parents, my father and I will watch UFO documentaries together on the History Channel. My family has a love for the esoteric and ... Readmore |
The forgotten legacyFEB 9 — It is unfortunate that in the last years of his life, all that Tunku Abdul Rahman stood for lived only in textbooks, history journals and other literature. ... Readmore |
Diary: A day in Chow Kit 1JAN 27 — The kids have been really receptive to the Book Project. Every week, plus minus 15 of them, all would come to the workshops facilitated by Nursalam and ... Readmore |
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K Anand
Life not always greener on the other sideMARCH 14 — It was an embarrassing sight last Wednesday night as we saw most of Real Madrid’s Galacticos “Part 2” walking off the pitch dejected immediately after the final ... Readmore |
The rot starts at the topMAR 13 — Every time I watch the “We are the World” (WATW) video on TV, I get goosebumps. It’s partly dejavu recalling the original video of 25 years ago and ... Readmore |
We suffer fools as idiots ruleMARCH 6 — The shock defeats of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal provided the FA Cup with drama and headlines this season. However, they came at a cost to the ... Readmore |
A Carling treat to please the DonFEB 28 — For the past year, and especially during the World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign, England were looking in fantastic condition. Don Fabio Capello had done wonders, one imagined. Glen ... Readmore |
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Zaidel Baharuddin
Pakatan Rakyat to Pakatan RiotMARCH 17 — I find it rather interesting on the insistence of Pakatan Rakyat politicians saying that unlike in Barisan Nasional, in Pakatan Rakyat all parties are equal. They then go ... Readmore |
Menangkap berudu di dalam longkangMAC 3 — Soalan : Tuliskan sebuah karangan mengenai tempat tinggal anda. (Tidak melebihi 1200 patah perkataan). Nama : Zaidel Baharuddin, Kelas : 5 Berlian Seperti kebanyakan rakyat Malaysia saya juga mempunyai ... Readmore |
Love is buying fishFEB 19 — Heart-shaped balloons, garish red ornaments, deep fried shrimp love nuggets, chocolates, and overpriced dinner packages are indeed the markings of Valentine’s day. Some say that it is ... Readmore |
Datin Seri and a very desperate manFEB 11 — And so the nation follows the epic court case between a popular charismatic politician and a good looking young man. Even though there are explicit gory details of ... Readmore |
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Zulhabri Supian
Seni, demokrasi dan hak asasi manusiaNOV 14 — Dari tanggal 13hb hingga 15hb November, Oxygen Media, komuniti Frinjan dan SEAMUS singkatan untuk Southeast Asian Muslims for Freedom & Enlightenmetn akan menganjurkan Festival Hak Asasi Manusia ... Readmore |
Pemotoran, Mat Rempit dan dasar PakatanOKT 31 — Pejam celik tanpa disedari penganjuran kejuaraan Moto GP di Malaysia telah memasuki edisi ke 19 setelah pertama kali menjejak kaki di bumi bertuah ini di Batu Tiga ... Readmore |
Saatnya silatulrahmi murahnya melancongOKT 22 — Melancong baik di dalam negara mahupun di luar negara sering menjadi agenda setiap orang yang hidup di muka bumi dan maka kerana itu tidak hairanlah melancong atau ... Readmore |
Dilema perubahan di MalaysiaOKT 15 — PAS khususnya dan Pakatan Rakyat umumnya menerima pukulan teruk ekoran kekalahan mereka kepada Barisan Nasional yang diwakili Umno di pilihanraya kecil Bagan Pinang. Pelbagai analisa keputusan telah ... Readmore |
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Wan Saiful wan Jan
A small gift on Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman’s birthdayFEB 3 – I am now in Taipei attending the executive committee meeting of the International Democrat Union (IDU), chaired by the former Prime Minister of Australia. The schedule here is ... Readmore |
In (partial) defence of Hasan AliJAN 6 — I detest the idea that Selangor PAS may form a coalition with Umno. This has nothing to do with which party I support. But it is because ... Readmore |
Empower party members to select candidatesDEC 28 — Datuk Nur Jazlan’s recent suggestion for Umno members to be given the right to select their own candidates must be examined further. In fact, politicians from all ... Readmore |
Climategate: The inconvenient truthDEC 7 — Is it just me, or is there no substantial report about Climategate in the Malaysian press? This certainly is too big a news to be ignored. Climategate tells ... Readmore |
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Muaz Omar
Unmasking the pseudo-liberals and hijacking the middle groundFEB 19 — Recently Datuk Ibrahim Ali, supremo of Perkasa, a right-wing Malay NGO, together with his henchmen presented their economic agenda to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak outlining ... Readmore |
Nation dragged into immoral politicsFEB 15 — Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is facing one of the most daunting periods of his political career. If the court finds that the A-G Chambers is able ... Readmore |
You are the problem, Dr MJAN 21 — “Jews have always been a problem. They have to be confined to ghettos and periodically massacred.” Those are the exact words of the notoriously sly former prime minister, ... Readmore |
The end is nigh for the weak and narrow-mindedJAN 5 — The dawn of a new year is expected to bring a slew of changes to the nation and we do hope that the changes are for the ... Readmore |
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Mujahid Yusof Rawa
Isu perobohan gerai di Pulau Pinang antara ethno-centric dan undang-undangFEB 9 — Dalam kedinginan bilik hotel setelah terpaksa berkurung dua hari kerana ribut salji yang melanda Washington DC, saya sempat mengikuti berita perhimpunan Sedaq yang dianjurkan oleh beberapa kumpulan ... Readmore |
On good governanceFEB 5 — Good Governance! A word used alot by many politicians all over the world today as it provides the key for checks and balances where transparency and accountability ... Readmore |
The day I spoke at the Hall of the Holy SpiritJAN 16 — Since the controversial High Court ruling on Dec 31 allowing the Catholic newspaper Herald to use “Allah” in the Christian context, Malaysia has turned into a land ... Readmore |
Allah mengharamkan melakukan kerosakanJAN 11 — Semasa artikel ini ditulis satu lagi gereja di Miri dibakar menjadikan keseluruhan Gereja yang dibakar tujuh semuanya. Satu surau turut diserang dalam insiden terkini provokasi golongan munafiq ... Readmore |
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Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad
The journey continuesMARCH 18 — The second anniversary of the March 8, 2008 General Elections has been marked by defections and sackings of Parti Keadilan Rakyat MPs and former leaders. It is unfortunate ... Readmore |
The forgotten MalaysiansDEC 31 — It seems like all we can think about in Malaysia these days is race and religion. We feel threatened by other races, and feel insecure about the ... Readmore |
Federalisme, sistem dua parti dan realiti politik MalaysiaNOV 27 — Pada 21 November lalu saya dijemput Institut Kajian Dasar untuk bersama-sama YB Datuk Husam Musa dan YB Teng Chang Khim di dalam forum membincangkan Sistem Dua Parti ... Readmore |
Overcoming our democratic deficitNOV 7 — I am currently in Britain meeting Malaysians and talking to them about politics. I was also recently in the United States, at the Bay Area in California, ... Readmore |
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Jema Khan
The battle for hearts and mindsMARCH 15 — It is incumbent on any party who wishes to govern to win the hearts and minds of the majority. The problem is that in a many different ... Readmore |
An economist’s wet dreamMARCH 8 —Having studied economics at university, I am eagerly awaiting Malaysia’s New Economic Model (NEM). I believe there are many things that can be done to improve our country’s economy. That ... Readmore |
Aku sebutir pasir3 MAC — Apabila saya memulakan usaha untuk melahirkan gerakan Agenda Liberal Melayu di Facebook, sambutannya agak lembap. Dengan itu saya teringat lagu Fauziah Latif yang menjadi tajuk artikel ini. Lagu ... Readmore |
A liberal view on educationFEB 26 — Just before my retirement from politics a decade ago, I was fortunate enough to be able to put my views on education to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. ... Readmore |
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Idlan Zakaria
A slice of Moolah PieMARCH 7 — As I write this, Peter Crouch, former Portsmouth striker now plying his trade with Tottenham Hotspurs, has just equalised for England against Egypt in an international friendly ... Readmore |
A different kind of gotong royongMARCH 1 — If I were to list all the things that make me proud about being a Malaysian, high up on that list would be our gotong royong spirit. In ... Readmore |
Welcome to Fantasy IslandJAN 31 – Those who can ... earn thousands of pounds every week and sign multi-million pound contracts to promote products ranging from underwear to hair gel. And those who ... Readmore |
Sporting the white stuffJAN 17 — Legend has it that many moons ago, two warring factions during the English Civil War, both severely depleted due to casualties, decided to agree to a truce ... Readmore |
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Ioannis Gatsiounis
Resisting the impulse, reviving the spiritFEB 5 — The pig heads left at two mosques last week in Petaling Jaya were a blatant and tasteless attempt to provoke the Malay community. So far the Malays ... Readmore |
Making a stink over durianNOV 20 — Khalwat and durians are a steady presence in my new short story collection, "Velvet and Cinder Blocks." In one story, a KL taxi driver recalls an overbearing ... Readmore |
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Nathaniel Tan
Di mata dunia16 MAC — Apabila ditegur, reaksi biasa ego kita adalah untuk tersindir dan defensif. Kita terasa seperti maruah kita dipertikai dan mesti dipertahankan, mengakibatkan kita menyerang mereka yang menegur. Berapa di ... Readmore |
Jom, pergi tengok play yang hebat tuMARCH 12 — The vibrancy of Malaysia’s art scene never fails to impress and invigorate me. There are few joys like discovering local talent producing first rate work. In “Rancangan Harijadi ... Readmore |
A renaissance of hopeMARCH 8 —When Zhou Enlai was asked in the mid-20th century what he felt about the French Revolution of 1789, he replied: “It is too early to tell.” I do not ... Readmore |
Days of betrayalMARCH 2 — Within mere hours of the news breaking, a steady stream of comments condemning YB Tan Tee Beng for his resignation appeared on both the Insider’s and Malaysiakini’s ... Readmore |
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Wan Hamidi Hamid
Nasib Melayu Pulau Pinang7 MAC — Masalah Melayu Pulau Pinang yang dikatakan terpinggir biasanya dibangkitkan setiap kali menjelang Perhimpunan Agung Umno. Agenda siapa, tak tahulah. Selepas itu suara-suara marah reda sehinggalah tahun berikutnya. Namun ... Readmore |
Wakil rakyat bebas2 MAC — Jika 10 Ahli Parlimen Pakatan Rakyat keluar dari parti masing-masing sekarang, Barisan Nasional secara automatik akan kembali menguasai dua pertiga majoriti Dewan Rakyat. Sebenarnya majoriti mudah dengan lebihan ... Readmore |
Salam Maulidur RasulFEB 22 — Empat negeri dilaporkan akan menyambut Maulidur Rasul pada Jumaat ini tanpa mengadakan perarakan sebagaimana yang biasa dianjurkan di kebanyakan negeri lain. Sambutan di negeri-negeri berkenaan akan ditumpukan ... Readmore |
Ganyang DAPFEB 18 — Kempen menghentam dan memburukkan DAP oleh Umno dan konco-konconya kini semakin menjadi-jadi sehingga isu yang kecil dibesar-besarkan dan yang tiada diada-adakan. Motifnya — menanam rasa benci antara ... Readmore |
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Shebby Singh
Only two games in, fans are baying for bloodAUG 21 — I thought I should wait till the mid-week fixtures were out of the way before sharing my opinion on what has been an outstanding start to the ... Readmore |
Football or Powerman?AUG 13 — It’s off topic a little as I share my exploits during two recent weekends. On July 25, I was at Uniten to witness the Malakoff Universities Duathlon ... Readmore |
Much anticipation but expect little to change in top Euro leaguesAUG 4 — The new European football season will be upon us soon and for argument’s sake, Spain’s La Liga will be grabbing the limelight for obvious reasons. The battle ... Readmore |
Shebby’s short cutsJULY 13 — This is my take on a few of the highlights in the world of football over the past couple of weeks. Malaysia Boleh My first comment is actually an ... Readmore |
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Tunku Aziz
Najib does not disappointOCT 10 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak does not disappoint. He is true to his values whatever they might be. He upholds his principles with messianic zeal. His principles are ... Readmore |
Living in the shadow of Najib’s 1 MalaysiaSEPT 26 — I was in Seoul last Monday to participate in the World Forum for Democratisation in Asia (Third Biennial Conference) on “Sustaining Democratisation in Asia: Challenges of Economic ... Readmore |
Demonstrations: A fundamental right of citizensAUG 6 — It would be an untruth if I said I was ever a fan of Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Be that as it may, I am sorry about ... Readmore |
Nazri: An unrepentant boorJULY 18 — Accustomed as I am to Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz’s often outlandishly over the top and predictably uncharitable innuendoes about people and their integrity, coupled with ... Readmore |
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John Lee
Democracy anyone?MARCH 12 — Malaysian democracy is in trouble once again. The Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) wants to strip the Dewan Rakyat of some of its most basic institutions, and ... Readmore |
From accidental democrat to consummate politicianMARCH 9 — Najib Razak was supposed to be a better Prime Minister than Abdullah Badawi. Has Najib’s regime turned out well for Umno? Maybe. But it has put our ... Readmore |
The future of NajibonomicsMARCH 1 — The more I learn about 1 Malaysia and the Najib Razak administration, the more convinced I am that this is all just another giant farce. I cannot tell ... Readmore |
Empty promisesFEB 12 — The cracks in Prime Minister Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia regime are showing. It does not please me to say this, because I genuinely wanted all these much-vaunted promises ... Readmore |
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Lee Wei Lian
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Michelle Gunaselan
A class of caningFEB 20 — On a very superficial level, I suppose the recent caning of the three women by prison authorities shouldn’t bother me. After all, I am not a Muslim ... Readmore |
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Justin Ong
Fear and loathing in Klang ValleyMARCH 14 — I remember when, a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away where making your house safe included little more than locking your front door. It’s ... Readmore |
Are we there yet?FEB 28 — We got one of those newfangled GPS thingies that are supposed to help us go where we want to, on the odd occasion (and unlikely premise) that ... Readmore |
Save yourselvesFEB 21 — Up until yesterday, the penultimate day of the ongoing Ops Sikap, 183 people have met their demise on Malaysian roads. That’s a whole lot of fathers, husbands, ... Readmore |
Awesome schmawesomeFEB 14 — Call me a Doubting Thomas, but I found a report on Friday of a 13 per cent reduction in street crime in January to be more than ... Readmore |
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James Chin
Wow! I am very impressedMARCH 15 — I am a great supporter of Perkasa, the Malay nationalist group. I support them not because I subscribe to their ideology but because I am a strong supporter ... Readmore |
Our politics is changingMARCH 8 —Today marks the second anniversary of the “Tsunami” election, or 308 as the Chinese likes to call it. Has Malaysian politics changed? Are we seeing a deepening of the ... Readmore |
This is what happens when...MARCH 4 — ... you have narrow-minded Fascists running the country. I don’t know about you but I am increasingly frustrated by the rise of fundamentalists, religious bigots and Fascists ... Readmore |
Clueless over a no-brainerJAN 21 — This the story appeared in The Star: Nanyang Siang Pau reported that the number of Chinese in the civil service has dropped tremendously despite the Government’s efforts to ... Readmore |
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Yusseri Yusoff
The land of unreasonMARCH 16 — It has been a long-standing belief among leading thinkers that the world should be governed by men of reason and the laws of physics. Most of these thinkers ... Readmore |
A MILF-PRON guide on how to survive a BTN course (for men), Part 2DEC 11 — Following from yesterday's enumeration of the items recommended to be brought with you into the BTN camp, we would now like to assist you in going through ... Readmore |
A MILF-PRON guide on how to survive a BTN course (for men), Part 1DEC 10 — Recently, there have been allegations that the courses run by Biro Tata Negara (BTN), designed to instil the spirit of patriotism and love for the country, are ... Readmore |
Impian gay menggamit kebuntuan, membutuhkan inspirasiNOV 25 — Sebenarnya, aku tidak tahu makna perkataan “menggamit”, tapi aku guna pakai juga kerana ia membuatkan judul artikel aku ini lebih gah. Tetapi mengikut Kamus Pelajar Edisi Kedua, ... Readmore |
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Jeremiah Mahadevan
A more religious brand of secularism NOV 27 — Religion is a problem for PKR. The recent bouts of infighting over Kulim MP Zulkifli Noordin's claims that Malaysia is an Islamic state seem to indicate a ... Readmore |
On cow heads, Nina Simone and 15 MalaysiaOCT 12 — I remember being back in school, in my then-still-small hometown of Banting, seated alongside many other little sons and daughters of the land and being imparted with ... Readmore |
A Merdeka message from Kampung Buah PalaAUG 31 — Among the many headaches that Penang’s former Barisan Nasional administration left for its Pakatan Rakyat replacement, Kampung Buah Pala must command a particularly high painkiller budget. As ... Readmore |
The politics of languageMARCH 9 — It may have been overshadowed by a farcical constitutional crisis and a prehistorically sexist fixation on the bedroom time of a politician, but the groundswell of popular ... Readmore |
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Malik Imtiaz Sarwar
The Texture Of JusticeMAY 12 - It was to be expected. As news of the decision of the High Court in the matter of Nizar v Zambry filtered out, many were quick to ... Readmore |
They play, we all payMARCH 31 – The Umno Assembly has come and gone and, as has been the case for at least the last three assemblies, in its wake many of us have ... Readmore |
Assault on Legislature, Constitution deadBy Malik Imtiaz Sarwar MARCH 7 — Discussing the Perak situation with specificity is, by this stage, a difficult thing to do. So much has happened so quickly. Nuanced actions and ... Readmore |
Perak: A constitutional crisisBy Malik Imtiaz Sarwar FEB 6 — Now that the dust is settling, it is becoming clearer what it is that took place in Perak over the last 24 hours. My ... Readmore |
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Hanipa Maidin
When the court interprets a will, not the constitutionFEB 23 — Constitutional expert says that when the court interprets the constitution like a will, the constitution will die. Unfortunately that was exactly the Federal Court did in the ... Readmore |
Anwar — Victim of overzealous prosecutionFEB 9 — I have been practising as a criminal lawyer for almost 16 years. I have considerable experience defending accused persons who were being charged for sexual related crimes. ... Readmore |
Where is Allah in Umno’s administration?JAN 7 — The issue of Allah’s name in the Herald has been manipulated by Umno leaders to the hilt . The way Umno reacted to the issue seems to suggest ... Readmore |
Nizar will win the appeal unless...NOV 12 — “Show us any provision in the Perak Constitution empowering the Sultan of Perak to sack Nizar”. That was fundamentally the gist of the submission made by Datuk ... Readmore |
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Zulkifli Sulong
PAS dan nama AllahJAN 23 — “75 peratus orang Melayu menolak pandangan PAS yang mengizinkan Kristian menggunakan nama Allah. Hanya 25 pertaus sahaja menyokongnya. Di kalangan bukan Melayu pula, 90 peratus menyokong PAS ... Readmore |
Pegawai kerajaan dan kerajaanOKT 1 — “Tahu tak, kerajaan negeri Kelantan yang ada ini dapat bertahan hampir 20 tahun kini kerana telah menubuhkan 29 jabatan yang baru. “Jabatan yang baru ini pula ditubuhkan untuk ... Readmore |
Najib hilang kawalan ke atas UmnoSEPT 2 — Apakah Datuk Seri Najib Razak mengawal penuh Umno kini? Nampaknya ramai yang tidak bersetuju dengannya. Kawalan beliau hanya sama sebagaimana Tun Abdullah Badawi mengawal Umno sebelum ini ... Readmore |
Jatuh Nik Aziz, jatuhlah icon Pakatan OGOS 15 — Nampaknya, Umno menjadikan Mursyidul Am PAS, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat sebagai target serangan mereka akhir-akhir ini. Tokoh penyerang utama adalah tidak lain dari Timbalan Presiden ... Readmore |
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Ziad Razak
Polemik nama ‘Allah’ : Jangan gugat keseimbangan nasional!JAN 3 — Di ambang tahun baru 2010, seluruh negara dikejutkan dengan keputusan mahkamah yang membenarkan akhbar Katolik “Herald” untuk menggunakan nama “Allah” sebagai gantinama kepada Tuhan Kristian Katolik. Maka dalam ... Readmore |
Professor Obama teaches Reform 101SEPT 28 — By the end of this year, US President Barack Obama would either be seen as a legislative genius, who achieved what many presidents before him have tried ... Readmore |
A new economic model for a changing economic landscapeAUG 28 — In the recent few months, the government has indicated that it is currently working on developing a new economic model for Malaysia. Statements from the Prime Minister, ... Readmore |
Who’s afraid of big, bad liberalisation?MAY 16 — The concept of liberalisation has long been "The L Word" for some: a dirty word; a battering ram fashioned by foreigners bent on enforcing economic imperialism; an ... Readmore |
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Nizam Bashir
When life mirrors artFEB 16 — Oscar Wilde once wrote in “The Decay of Lying” that, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life.” What he meant by that was that art ... Readmore |
When bells peal and muezzins callOCT 21 — When a Malay wedding is over in some kampungs in Malacca, the custom is to welcome the groom into the family by placing charcoal on his face, ... Readmore |
Reforming race: A matter of forms?AUG 28 — It has been more than 50 years since our independence. Yet, today, we are still apparently debating how race fits (or doesn’t fit) in with our nation. In ... Readmore |
Courting troubleAUG 7 — Much has been said and written about last Saturday’s Gabungan Mansuhkan ISA (“GMI”) rally. Most notably, the discussions centred on the question of whether traders along Jalan Tuanku ... Readmore |
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Aidil Rusli
The number 2MARCH 13 — March 8th, 2008. It seemed like a pretty big deal 2 years ago. Political tsunami, they called it back then. Got us all giddy with excitement no matter ... Readmore |
Why so serious?MARCH 6 — Last Friday, my band was involved in a show with an interesting concept — play some songs of ours on acoustic guitars, and afterwards, have a discussion ... Readmore |
Dreams can be real tooFEB 27 — In conjunction with the Oscar fever that’s been building up around the globe, I have dutifully tried to watch as many of the nominated films as possible. ... Readmore |
Get your freak onFEB 13 — As a member of one of the longest surviving indie bands in Malaysia (which is probably just a nice way of saying ‘persevering without much success’ — ... Readmore |
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Gavin Yap
The circus is in townMARCH 18 — Greetings fellow humans, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gavin Yap and I’ll be your entertainment for the next minute and a half. Of course, I realize ... Readmore |
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Zeffri Yusof
Opposing the OppositionMARCH 12 — “To be in opposition is not to be a nihilist. And there is no decent or charted way of making a living at it. It is something ... Readmore |
When party affiliations don’t matter, personal manifestos shouldMARCH 5 — Thanks to s**t stirring MPs like Zul Noordin and “newly independent minds” like Tan Tee Beng, Datuk Seri Zahrain Hashim and Fairus Khairuddin, one can hope that ... Readmore |
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Sharaad Kuttan
Look back in angerMARCH 11 — Cheras is, at the best of times, ugly. I can’t think of a word that better captures the essence of this district of the Klang Valley. Typical of cities ... Readmore |
And the future belongs to …MARCH 4 — The applause was not as robust as I felt it was going to be. After over an hour of thought-provoking and entertaining theatre, presented by an ensemble that ... Readmore |
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Mohsin Abdullah
The party or the man?FEB 22 — Most folks know this but I say it anyway. Article 48 (6) of the Federal Constitution states : “A person who resign his membership of the House ... Readmore |
Please! Not in the prophet’s nameFEB 18 — Lim Guan Eng has denied it. Perkasa — the so-called Malay rights group — has accused him of lying. Perkasa labelled Lim "anti Malay". But the group itself ... Readmore |
Part 2 — Of schools, hostels, and tight budgetFEB 17 — I must confess I write this for “fear” of being accused (by the authorities and everyone else) of only wanting to write about “not good news”. Earlier ... Readmore |
Of schools, hostels and tight budgetFEB 3 – I first heard about it a couple of weeks ago from a friend who said a friend told him so. Since it cannot be “independently verified”, I ... Readmore |
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Hafiz Noor Shams
Make way for local electionsMARCH 9 — What a wonderful piece of news. That aptly describes my reaction upon learning the request of the Penang state government to the Election Commission to organize two ... Readmore |
Home is where liberty isMARCH 2 — A dear friend was in Sydney recently. For old times’ sake, he called me up and asked if I was free for the day. I said yes. How ... Readmore |
No to the policy of One PriceFEB 22 — Prices of the same tradable items in different places tend to converge in a perfectly efficient market. Theoretically, motivated by profits, individuals and entities act as arbitrageurs. ... Readmore |
We need practice and a little bit of courageFEB 11 — Words may contribute to violent behaviours. This potential makes various individuals apprehensive of the ideal of freedom and in this case, free speech. They fear the capability of ... Readmore |
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Anita Anandarajah
Beat the devil MARCH 14 — There is a woman, her spine curved, hair cropped short and a shade too dark for her pale, wrinkled complexion, who sometimes catches the bus back to ... Readmore |
Public enemy Number OneMARCH 7 — I have a new sworn enemy. Its name is mould. It is early spring yet the grouting in my bathroom is erupting in ugly black spots. I looked up ... Readmore |
The race to the top begins at kindergartenFEB 28 – Education kills. Someone should put that warning on the back of a school enrolment pack. To be more precise, I am referring to the pursuit of education. So ... Readmore |
Ishan’s balik kampungFEB 21 – If a stranger had walked along Raub’s main street last Sunday, he could have mistaken it for a ghost town. It seemed as if life had come to ... Readmore |
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Andy West
Special Mourinho Manchester-bound?MARCH 18 — Jose Mourinho calls himself ‘The Special One’; the most infuriating aspect of that remarkably arrogant assessment —which is delivered without a trace of irony — is that ... Readmore |
The elusive art of goal-scoringMARCH 15 — It’s been a good weekend for strikers — Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Didier Drogba, Nicklas Bendtner, Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko all got their names on the ... Readmore |
Arsenal still in the race?MARCH 13 — Could Arsenal please make up their minds: are they in this title race, or not? A little more than a month ago, when the Gunners suffered consecutive English ... Readmore |
The ‘three Rs’ masterclassMARCH 11 — Traditionally, the basic pillars of teaching in British schools are the three Rs of reading, writing and arithmetic (never mind the fact that only one of them ... Readmore |
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Alice Nah
What does it mean to be Malaysian?JAN 21 — Recent controversies have prompted many Malaysians to reflect on the fissures and connections between ethnic and religious communities in Malaysia. There are groups in our society who feel ... Readmore |
A happy childhood, free to dreamNOV 20 — Children embody our hopes. We seek for them brighter futures than we visualise for ourselves. Mothers and fathers are willing to sacrifice their own needs for those ... Readmore |
No refugeOCT 18 – Her eyes are empty as she stares into the distance. She balances a child on her body, wrapped in a sarong. His eyes are lively, piercing, looking ... Readmore |
'Real People, Real Needs': World Refugee Day 2009JUNE 20 — My first encounter with a refugee who sought safety in Malaysia occurred quite unexpectedly. I was 19 years old in my first week of university in the ... Readmore |
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Hafidz Baharom
Of Hujan and homophobiaMARCH 17 — I’m pretty secure about my sexuality, and I hope most people by their 20s are the same. Unfortunately, that’s never the case in Malaysia where guys can somehow ... Readmore |
Two years on, and here’s what we knowMARCH 9 — When writing about politics and Malaysian society in general, it truly helps to have some alcohol available just to make everything have a lick of sense, because ... Readmore |
OMG, GST!MARCH 6 — Oddly enough, the goods and services tax (GST) talk hosted by Pakatan Rakyat was the second time in my life I set foot in the MBSA auditorium; ... Readmore |
O, lordy, lordy, lordy…FEB 24 — I’ll start with a deep sigh and state the obvious. We are not practising Sharia law. It’s a farce to make most Muslims feel good about their ... Readmore |
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Angela K
Progressing from Noah’s Ark to a shoeboxNOV 6 — Some years ago, I unintentionally offended someone by referring to her property as a “flat.” She snapped at me with “It’s a CON-DO!” as if living in ... Readmore |
A show of solidarityOCT 13 — “Makan habis lah, Ah Gong…” T pleaded with my grandfather in broken Malay. “Orang-orang di Philippines sudah tak ada makanan,” she continued. This meal-time plea from T ... Readmore |
Hell hath no fury...SEPT 29 — To date, some 250,000 viewers (on Youtube and stomp.com.sg) have watched a clip of a Singaporean woman repeatedly assaulting a man’s privates with the heels of her ... Readmore |
Working at friendshipsSEPT 15 – During my years in university, I had two other good friends. We lived, worked and played together. Together, we were the notorious trio. As long as the ... Readmore |
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Hsu Dar Ren
Kill the chicken to warn the monkeysFEB 6 — The recent racist remark by a top aide to the Prime Minister may be a signal that all is not well in the dominant party. A general in ... Readmore |
Hazards of crossing the roadJAN 7 — Ever experienced having to run across a busy road, even when you are crossing at a zebra crossing? Ever experiencing darting in and out trying all sorts of ... Readmore |
It must be lonely to be oldJAN 1 — My late father drove a car until the very day he died of a heart attack at the ripe old age of almost 90. He got his ... Readmore |
Squeezing a piece of dry cloth drierDEC 16 — Malaysia faces the prospect of dwindling income from petroleum since petroleum is a depleting resource and will not be there forever. After suffering the curse of oil, ... Readmore |
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Sazlin Daud
Till debt do us part?JAN 10 — The long school holidays are over, and with that, the flurry of weddings. Makeshift placards by the roadside directing wedding guests to the venues of celebration are ... Readmore |
Doctor, Doctor...can't you see I'm waiting, waitingDEC 26 — I dread making visits to the doctor, especially, if they are specialists based in outpatient clinics at hospitals. Not so much because I fear them, but because ... Readmore |
Excuse me, where are our manners?DEC 5 — There are many things that I miss about Egypt, but the often lackadaisical adherence on the part of her people to follow basic rules of etiquette — ... Readmore |
Teaching English to future Muslim visionariesNOV 14 — Six months into our Cairo sojourn, I had offered my time to conduct pro bono English language classes for some Malaysian undergraduates who were studying at Al-Azhar ... Readmore |
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Ooi kee Beng
A severe test for Pakatan RakyatFEB 13 — It is a strange trial taking place in Malaysia at the moment; strange because no matter what the verdict turns out to be, the public perception of ... Readmore |
Church attacks — A national loosening of commitmentsJAN 16 — Many relationships have changed in Malaysia over the last week, and most of them for the worse. The attacks on churches throughout Malaysia — nine so far and ... Readmore |
BTN issue is a Pandora’s BoxDEC 19 — One more Pandora’s Box was recently opened in Malaysian politics. The Youth Wing of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) managed beyond its own expectations to draw public critical attention ... Readmore |
What Najib seeks is 1BNNov 8 — It may be saying too much to claim that Malaysia’s major political parties are self-destructing. But they are certainly not in the best of health. The recently-ended National ... Readmore |
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Khoo Kay Peng
Penang needs an economic plan, not tigersMARCH 27 — I am amused by the tiger talk in Penang. In actual fact, we need a forwarding-looking and well thought-out economic plan and not tigers. The premise of ... Readmore |
Economic stimulus: It is not just the size that mattersMARCH 6 — The government yesterday tabled a RM10 billion allocation as part of the proposed second economic stimulus package. It was read out by Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Kong ... Readmore |
Karpal’s calling a spade a spadeFEB 13 — There is one thing I like about DAP chairman Karpal Singh — his bluntness. Karpal is calling a spade a spade when he openly demanded that PKR ... Readmore |
Perak — a failed democracyFEB 7 — From a legal point of view I was made to understand that the power of the Sultan of Perak to disallow the dissolution of the state assembly ... Readmore |
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Shannon Teoh
If a frog jumped and nobody saw it...MARCH 2 — So, anyone feel any different? Does the news today seem more dreary? Or your nasi lemak’s sambal less spicy? No? That’s odd! You would have thought that with ... Readmore |
When 10 is better than 11FEB 13 — I had set out quite smugly, thinking that I would be the only one to think of writing such a counter-intuitive article on how football teams can ... Readmore |
Desperately seeking Malaysia BolehFEB 10 —Oh, how we cling to our comfort zones while at the same time pretending to discard them. Amid our prime minister's continuing calls to accept that economic liberalisation ... Readmore |
FA Cup can’t survive on flowers and chocolatesJAN 15 — Ah, yes, it was only a fortnight ago that Manchester United, hot on the heels of and narrowing the gap to Chelsea at the summit of English ... Readmore |
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Victor Chin
Mountains and artists JAN 23 — Nature has always been an inspiration for artists throughout the ages. Mountains, in particular, have inspired many regional landscape painters. From China there has been a long history ... Readmore |
Buy and sell... it’s all a game NOV 22 — The 3rd international art market or Artexpo Malaysia is on this week in Kuala Lumpur. This will be a good opportunity for anyone interested in the sport ... Readmore |
Through Eric’s eyes NOV 1 — This is the last week to catch Eric Peris’s 30th solo photographic exhibition at the Sutra Gallery, which ends on Nov 5. Eric’s first two solo exhibitions ... Readmore |
Poetry of the land OCT 26 — "Land Below The Wind", Cheong Sung Kin’s title for his exhibition of ceramic sculptures and teapots, is taken from the title of a book written in 1939 ... Readmore |
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Suhaimy Kamaruddin
Shifting through the post-tsunami debrisMARCH 10 — It’s hard to believe that it has been two years since the tsunami that was Pilihanraya Umum ke 12 (PRU12) hit us on 8th March 2008 and ... Readmore |
Reflections on Maulidur RasulMARCH 5 — I’m writing this on yet another warm, sticky night and I can see the subdued sky as punishing humidity descended on Kuala Lumpur yet again. It is ... Readmore |
Oil and the nationFeb 15 — At the turn of the new year, I was asked to write about my views on the economy and the nation’s continued (over)dependence on the oil and ... Readmore |
The F1 Malaysia chimeraDEC 16 — The Formula One (F1) 2009 season will be remembered as one in which scandal eclipsed racing drama, after a series of toe-curlingly embarrassing episodes involving the teams ... Readmore |
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Praba Ganesan
The immovable 10pcMARCH 18 — The math does not work, does it? There is this obsolete, cruel and more importantly crude government, and despite its single-minded intention to self-destruct, it stays in ... Readmore |
Local elections: Nuts and boltsMARCH 11 — They bring retail politics into our lives. They give us power. After all the ruminations and posturing by the present government of Malaysia, their objections to local elections ... Readmore |
PKR will go onMARCH 4 — PKR has the burden of history, it’s Umno’s true nemesis and suffers for that reputation. Despite all the desertions and dissertations, PKR is the only party due to ... Readmore |
Desperately seeking a racistFEB 25 — Are you an appropriately multicultural Malaysian? It is pertinent to ask since most of public schooling, government broadcasts and general indoctrination — as admitted by ministers — are ... Readmore |
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Ambiga Sreenevasan
Towards a golden age of discourseOCT 17 — Fair but robust criticism of legal judgments and laws is a wholly acceptable practice. In every democratic State it is a frequent occurrence. It is what makes ... Readmore |
We live in confusing timesMARCH 27 — On Tuesday, we read about the call for change and improvement by our leaders. However, just a day or two before that, we also read about the suspension ... Readmore |
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Yusuf Martin
1 MerdekaSEPT 2 — This week was an anniversary week, a week of remembrances and of forgetting. It was a rainy week, one in which Malaysians should have been proudly united ... Readmore |
School kids issueAUG 22 — This week saw welcome rain in the desert I call home. Every day now, for the past few afternoons, there has been rain, cooling, wonderful rain, plant ... Readmore |
Eco – Logical?AUG 15 — Hello . . . hello . . . er . . . hello. Is there anyone out there – does my small, almost inconsequential, voice echo in ... Readmore |
O what a carry on …AUG 8 — And what a carry on it has been over the past week. It has been a salacious week, a downright dirty, rumbustious, saucy, libidinous week worthy of the ... Readmore |
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Zan Azlee
How to market your work onlineMARCH 12 — I have a two blogs. I have a two Facebook pages and one Facebook group. I have a Twitter page. I have a YouTube channel. I have ... Readmore |
Going Gonzo for ideas!FEB 26 — Being in a field where you always have to come up with new ideas everyday is not something easy. I try to come up with one feature-length ... Readmore |
I’m a Muslim filmmaker and I make Islamic filmsBy Zan Azlee FEB 19 — I’m a Muslim and I make films. I guess that constitutes me as a Muslim filmmaker. It doesn’t even matter if my films are ... Readmore |
The time I shot a documentary about polygamyFEB 12 — Recently, I’ve been busy running around shooting a short documentary about polygamy for a Dutch television station. It came about when I discovered an article about the ... Readmore |
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