The Malaysian Insider

NOV 11 — I went to primary school at the dawn of the 90s. In fact, it was 1990. I went to school wearing shorts while others were already wearing slacks. Girls wore pinafores, regardless of their race or religious views.

The wearing of a headscarf, or the absence of one, was not an issue.

Corporal punishment in classes was still there. Teachers had that 1m-long ruler they’d use to smack a hand or a knuckle to instil discipline, with the parents’ blessings.

OCT 28 — I recently went out with a group of friends I haven’t seen since college and one of the best things that happened was also the scariest. You see, these are basically the individuals who are impassioned by their love for a certain religion to the point that they think that everyone should be subject to the religious laws.

We’re talking about the likes of Zulkifli Noordin, but more radical.

OCT 7 — I actually wanted to avoid saying or writing anything about Bagan Pinang because, to be honestly truthful, I’ve run out of vodka.

Giving the corrupt a chance

Seriously, how else can you make sense of the statements coming out from Umno politicians justifying this and remain sober?

First off, we had our very own “esteemed” Home Minister come out and say that Tan Sri Isa Samad was “a loyal servant of the party”, regardless of the fact that he was found guilty of vote buying during the Umno elections.

SEPT 30 — I love reading the comments in my entries because they highlight one thing for me. Malaysians are irresponsible in making comments when they’re anonymous.

I honestly think for people to actually take some time off to vent in the comments section is healthy. However, while it is healthy, it should also be constructive and encourage dialogue, not merely criticise.

That’s one thing that I personally think is lacking in our Malaysian society today. The ability to encourage dialogue, instead of merely criticising and cowing people to submission and making them shut up.

SEPT 16 — Sincerely, since I’ve yet to actually figure out just what the heck 1 Malaysia is, or who are the ‘1’ that our dearest Prime Minister is implying, I just thought I’d throw a few problems we are facing in the goal of uniting the people since neither side seems to be doing anything about it.

Live and let live

The one thing that is lacking in the concept of 1 Malaysia is the fact that we should be one people without preferential treatment or bias, regardless of our beliefs, our politics, our race and even our gender and sexual orientation.

When it comes to the good of the nation (read: not the government), these should all   be minor issues. Yet, not all of us see it as such. Some are pushing for a more conservative, religious state, to the point that colouring books must be “syariah compliant”.