7-day Archive: 
What I think
FEB 2 – The Election Commission (EC) has sparked outrage with the idea that Malaysians abroad can’t vote if they don’t pay taxes in Malaysia, in a rather perverse twist of the “No ...Read More
Side Views
FEB 4 — As the clock struck 12 on the stroke of midnight, fireworks erupted across Malaysia as her beloved children ushered in another year full of promise and hope. We were ...Read More
FEB 4 — Supposedly based on the UK National Health Service (NHS), the 1Care scheme is said to be aimed at financing the supposedly increasing costs of public health care while ...Read More
4 FEB — Kebelakangan ini, galak sungguh pihak kerajaan pemerintah pimpinan Barisan Nasional memperkenalkan pelbagai inisiatif mudah, mesra kepada golongan yang pendapatan isi ...Read More
FEB 4 — Let’s evaluate PEMANDU on its DEEDS. The Economic Transformation Programme is ambitious indeed. The ETP promises to double gross national income (GNI) per capita to ...Read More
FEB 4 — The apparent lack of planning foresight has put yet another dent in Singapore’s reputation for efficiency. This time, we find out that there are inadequate car park lots ...Read More
4 FEB — Dalam ramai-ramai orang kanan parti pembangkang ini, ada seorang yang benar-benar sudah “nampak” apabila berani menyanggah isi kandungan Buku Jingga. Bukan mahu memuji ...Read More
4 FEB —Antara dwiproduk utama kepada landskap politik pasca Pilihan Raya Umum (PRU) Ke-12 adalah kewujudan apa yang dikatakan sebagai “kuasa ketiga” (third force) dalam senario ...Read More
FEB 3 — Observing the political changes occurring in Malaysia is no less interesting than discussing the democratic transitions in the Middle East. Malaysia in recent years has ...Read More
FEB 3 — Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, the Women, Family and Community Development Minister is reported to be returning to work next week, after a three-week holiday, purportedly intended ...Read More
FEB 3 — Since the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has approved with conditions the application of Australia’s Lynas Corp for its controversial rare earth processing plant in ...Read More
FEB 3 — Aliran views with deep concern the mischievous and dastardly deed of throwing pig’s heads at mosques, the latest incident being at Masjid Al-Hidayah in Sentul, Kuala ...Read More
3 FEB — Awang Selamat dalam tulisannya berdukacita kerana orang Melayu lah yang paling ramai tidak mendaftar sebagai pemilih walaupun mereka layak untuk mengundi. Lain-lain bangsa ...Read More
3 FEB — Orang Melayu paling ramai tidak daftar mengundi! Pendedahan Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR), Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof itu sebenarnya bukan satu kejutan besar ...Read More
3 FEB — Awang tertarik dengan berita akhbar Cina yang melaporkan pemimpin pembangkang beragama Islam mengagihkan limau mandarin kepada peniaga di gerai jualan daging babi di ...Read More
FEB 3 — How is the progress of the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP)? CIMB Group Holdings Bhd group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak pointed out that since many people ...Read More
FEB 3 — I wonder if you have noticed that young people nowadays are more enthusiastic in participating in traditional Chinese cultural activities. Returning to culture and ...Read More
FEB 2 — Ever since DS Najib took office on April 3, 2009, “unity” is yet another word used on slogans without much effort to embrace the word for what it truly means. Let’s look ...Read More
FEB 2 — The Brazilian Experience When it comes to government programmes for poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth, the whole world looks to Brazil for lessons. Bolsa ...Read More
FEB 2 — Welcome to Malaysia, truly the home of “Big Government”. With over five per cent of our population (1.4 million out of 27.8 million) on the state’s payroll, it’s hard to ...Read More
FEB 2 — Twice this week, a pig’s head has been found outside a mosque in the Klang Valley. On Tuesday, it was a mosque in Rawang. Today, a mosque in Sentul. There can be no other ...Read More
FEB 2 — The Election Commission chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, is clearly desperate to prevent as many Malaysians overseas as possible from voting, despite his promise ...Read More
FEB 2 — Bersih 2.0 is gravely concerned with the announcement made by the Election Commission (EC) where it grants voting rights ONLY to overseas Malaysians who pay taxes to ...Read More
FEB 2 — The BB1M 1 Malaysia book voucher was introduced by the government exclusively for Form Six and tertiary students to get them to read more books. The books you buy do not ...Read More
FEB 2 — My friends and I often meet in the evenings for some coffeeshop talk. Most of us are in our fifties and some in their sixties. All of us have lived through Malaysia under ...Read More
FEB 2 — Part 2: The “philosophical” aspect. Why do I care about Malaysia? Why do I have ideas and opinions? Why do I voice them? And why do I believe that people might ...Read More
2 FEB — Agenda penyatuan dan pendidikan Melayu harus diperkukuhkan dan dipertahankan agar ia tidak mudah diperkotak-katikkan oleh mana-mana pihak yang cuba menganggu gugat ...Read More
FEB 2 — A Singapore academic recently claimed on Facebook that the “lo sang” (tossing of yee sang) culture originated from the island republic and should be entered into Unesco’s ...Read More
FEB 2 — Just as Myanmar’s long-detained icon Aung San Suu Kyi began campaigning for a parliamentary seat, the country’s President Thein Sein made a state visit to ...Read More
2 FEB — Orang kata kalau hendak tahu sejarah awal kerancakan pembangunan di Selangor, tanyalah mereka yang tinggal di Jalan Klang Lama. Penduduk-penduduk yang rata-ratanya orang ...Read More
2 FEB — Jika benarlah Presiden PAS, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang bersedia untuk tidak bertanding pilihan raya akan datang, Awang mahu beri tabik hormat. Kalau beliau hendak ...Read More
FEB 1 — Singapore top anti-narcotics officer Ng Boon Gay and the chief of its civil defence force, Peter Lim, are in disgrace. They have been suspended from their jobs and are ...Read More
FEB 1 – Recently the Penang State government made public the declaration of assets of its Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and the other 10 members of the State Executive Committee on ...Read More
1 FEB — Tanpa mimpi dan imaginasi, insani tidak mampu mencapai evolusi. Lazimnya, sang pemimpi akan menjadi ahli fikir kritis untuk merealisasikan imaginasi yang didambakan. ...Read More
FEB 1 — In light of the statement by Lynas Executive Chairman Nicholas Curtis dismissing Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh's view as “only one view within what would make up the political ...Read More
FEB 1 — It is really shocking to see the dramatic pictures of students risking their lives to get to their school in Sanghiang Tanjung after three suspension bridges in Lebak ...Read More
1 FEB — Pendedahan Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR), Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd. Yusof bahawa orang Melayu dikesan paling ramai tidak mendaftar sebagai pengundi walaupun ...Read More
FEB 1 — The past year has seen the government and the opposition unveil their respective economic reform policies. Even if these reform policies and their attendant programmes are ...Read More
FEB 1 — Part 1: The personal quest Now back in Sydney yet again, after two more months in Malaysia, I sigh from both exhaustion and relief. Exhaustion, since as I age I find it ...Read More
JAN 31 — Under the Government Transformation Programme (GTP), Rela is to be rebranded as part of a police “omnipresence.” But its massive build-up has raised suspicions that it ...Read More
JAN 31 — The government is morally obliged to explain the rationale behind the award of the controversial RM7.1 billion West Coast Expressway deal to a subsidiary of Kumpulan ...Read More
JAN 31 — So, now we are being threatened by the obnoxious Australian. I have a message for Mr Nicholas Curtis of Lynas: Malaysia has attracted foreign direct investment long ...Read More
JAN 31 — Facebook’s imminent stock sale risks putting public stock markets to shame. Investors will surely clamour for a piece of the social network. But unlike Google’s 2004 ...Read More
JAN 31 — Red is always used for decoration during events held to celebrate Chinese New Year. Red tablecloth is used while red packets, commonly known as ang pow, are distributed ...Read More
31 JAN — Saya tidak fikir Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim ada agenda sendiri apabila beliau mengambil portfolioa Agama Islam dan tidak mengambil Dr Rani sebagai ...Read More
JAN 31 — In a country where 46 per cent of males smoke, and where the government spends RM20 billion a year treating tobacco-related illnesses, it is imperative that we as a ...Read More
31 JAN — Kawan kawan saya dalam Umno bercakap mengenai rasa cemas bila kerajaan yang di pimpin oleh Umno menabur wang begitu banyak kepada rakyat. Bayaran RM100, RM200, dan ...Read More
31 JAN — Berbanding negeri-negeri yang ditadbir Pakatan Rakyat, Kedah dilihat tidak begitu diserang media Umno-BN. Tentulah ia bukan disebabkan kerajaan negeri yang diterajui PAS ...Read More
31 JAN — Segala-galanya bermula pada 1948. Imbasan selama 64 tahun itu sememangnya amat panjang terutamanya bagi penduduk Palestin. Lebih perit lagi tidak diketahui bilakah ...Read More
31 JAN — Selepas mengadakan empat road show setakat ini, bekas Pesuruhjaya PAS Selangor, Datuk Dr Hasan Ali ternyata mula “menggerunkan” parti tersebut. Hal ini memandangkan satu ...Read More
31 JAN — Keselamatan, kekuatan dan perpaduan adalah matlamat utama orang Melayu mewujudkan Umno sebagai wadah perjuangan untuk memerdekakan tanah air mulai tahun 1946. Orang ...Read More
JAN 30 — The Umnoputra hijacked the New Economic Policy (NEP) and, under the guise of helping the Malays, have shamelessly enriched themselves, thus creating a greater income ...Read More
JAN 30 — Twitter’s announcement this week that it was going to enable country-specific censorship of posts is arousing fury around the Internet. Commentators, activists, ...Read More
JAN 30 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced on the sixth day of Chinese New Year that the government had decided to gazette the Penang chingay and Johor Baru Parade ...Read More
JAN 30 — Aliran is appalled by the arrests of 13 Temiar protesters and a lawyer in Gua Musang yesterday over the local community’s attempted blockade to safeguard their ...Read More
30 JAN — Masalah yang dihadapi oleh parti pemerintah sekarang ini ialah perpecahan dalaman yang berlaku dari atas sehingga ke bawah. Perpecahan yang sangat serius ini bukan ...Read More
JAN 30 — To many families, the RM500 Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (BR1M) aid was a Chinese New Year ang pow. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that the people had no feeling ...Read More
Many years ago, in 1986 or ‘87, I can’t remember the exact year, I had the pleasure of meeting you in a private family dinner. You were the guest of honour and I was a very young ...Read More
30 JAN — Kurang dari sebulan selepas Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang menyatakan pilihannya untuk jadi nelayan biasa apabila ada calon Perdana Menteri yang dapat memenuhi kehendak ...Read More
JAN 30 — Not many of us remembered that Barisan Nasional survived and thrived electorally for an extended period from 1991 to 2005 as a result of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s grand ...Read More
JAN 30 —I know that it may be late for reflections, but I think that it’s important to share some rather depressing conclusions. As some of you may know, I was in KL this past ...Read More
30 JAN — Antara faktor utama kekalahan calon Barisan Nasional (BN) dan Umno pada pilihan raya kecil atau umum ialah sabotaj di kalangan ahli terutama pemimpin pada peringkat ...Read More
30 JAN — Sebuah negara di Asia Tenggara yang gemar menawarkan bakat Malaysia untuk bekerja di negara itu ialah Singapura. Banyak bakat-bakat rata-rata profesional yang dilahirkan ...Read More
30 JAN — Dalam satu taklimat pilihan raya, seorang ahli politik veteran bertaraf YB “mengamuk” apabila mendapati namanya digugurkan dan digantikan dengan calon lebih muda untuk ...Read More
30 JAN — Seorang pemandu teksi, Mohd Norpiah Harun Arashid yang mencari rezeki di ibu negara ialah rakyat biasa yang peka dalam menilai keselamatan negara di sudut orang ...Read More
JAN 29 — Scattered banners, posters and billboards presenting political figures that look ready to fight in the arena of general, regional or local elections characterise various ...Read More
JAN 29 — Recently my wife’s three-year-old Toyota Camry suffered sudden engine shutdown (while in motion) and it was sent back to UMW Toyota for diagnosis and repair. A couple of ...Read More
29 JAN — Orang Melayu jangan  terperangkap dengan pemikiran sempit Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Utusan Melayu.  Saya terpanggil untuk membuat kenyataan ini berikutan tindakan ...Read More
29 JAN — Penasihat DAP, Lim Kit Siang melakukan provokasi lagi, kali ini dalam perutusan Tahun Baru Cina. Menurut beliau, masyarakat Cina masih boleh meraih kekayaan walaupun ...Read More
29 JAN — Entah mengapa Ketua Pembangkang, Anwar Ibrahim masih ghairah bercakap tentang perlunya dipinda undang-undang lapuk termasuk berkaitan liwat.  Apa motif beliau? Lalu Awang ...Read More
29 JAN — Di Malaysia, orang yang sudah meningkat umur atau lanjut usia dipanggil warga emas, gelaran paling hormat untuk orang tua. Kategori golongan warga emas adalah mereka yang ...Read More
29 JAN — Apa bezanya antara seorang tukang paip dan doktor? itu adalah pertanyaan daripada seorang tokoh korporat yang bergiat dalam industri perhotelan. Katanya, kedua-dua ...Read More
JAN 28 — The global financial system is becoming more national. Three years after Western taxpayers were forced into a mass bailout of banks, Western lenders are in full retreat, ...Read More
JAN 28 — Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah. When Dr Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister, he walked in with this slogan. However, in the 22 years he held power, he systematically ...Read More
JAN 28 — Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Big social media company changes its privacy rules. The Internet goes nuts. The tech press fuels the flames. Much hand-wringing and ...Read More
JAN 28 — When I was little, every time I got into a verbal argument with my older sister there would be a point when I came up with a cutting remark that I knew she wouldn’t have ...Read More
28 JAN — Ramai pembahas meminta saya mengulas mengenai cadangan Lembaga Kemajuan Tanah Persekutuan (Felda) menjual saham anak syarikatnya, Felda Global Ventures Berhad (FGV), di ...Read More
JAN 28 — The World Economic Forum opened in Davos amid choruses of central bankers and economists calling for governments to cut spending. This message of austerity is like the ...Read More
JAN 28 — Planning for Davos starts quite early in the year. Months before it actually begins there is the inevitable jockeying for spots on desirable panels with important people, ...Read More
28 JAN — Kebelakangan ini ramai orang begitu taksub dengan fahaman politik masing-masing sehingga berulang kali merendahkan kemampuan intelektual dan memilih hanya untuk ...Read More
JAN 27 — If you’re Europe, and your struggling people are called “Greeks”, and your rich people are called “Germans”, then the World Economic Forum will spend pretty much ...Read More
JAN 27 — So, the people at the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) and their great supporter, Perkasa, are now playing semantics. They are arguing that the Auditor-General never ...Read More
JAN 27 — One of the most important features of any democracy, no doubt, is that its leaders and top officials do not abuse their positions for financial gain and/or misappropriate ...Read More
JAN 27 — Politicians have greatly praised the Chinese during the Lunar New Year. In particular, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed’s remarks have ...Read More
JAN 27 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak was crowned the “Father of Moderation and Transformation” by the World Chinese Economic Forum (WCEF), which said the prime minister’s “fair and ...Read More
27 JAN — Seolah-olah ada kocakan dalam Pakatan Rakyat di Selangor sejurus pelantikan Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi sebagai anggota Exco Kerajaan Negeri, bagi menggantikan Dr Hasan Ali. ...Read More
JAN 27 — “The world has admitted that multiracial Malaysia grew faster than other developing nations that did not have the problem of race to consider,” Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad ...Read More
JAN 27 — Since Anwar Ibrahim’s acquittal, political commentators and prominent intellectuals have made statements that the judiciary has shown independence. Prime Minister Najib ...Read More
27 JAN — Sombong, bongkak, angkuh, atau takbur mempunyai satu pengertian yang sama iaitu tergolong dari sifat mazmumah (sifat-sifat tercela atau keji). Sifat ini, walaupun ...Read More
27 JAN — Lagi dekat “tarikh” Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-13 (PRU-13), akan lagi banyak proses bantahan terhadap daftar pemilih. Meskipun tarikhnya itu masih belum pasti, namun daftar ...Read More
JAN 27 — Several potential en bloc deals have been launched recently in Singapore as homeowners in these developments attempt to capitalise on the current record-high residential ...Read More
JAN 26 — The dawn of the Year of the Dragon heralds a new beginning. Looking back at the Year of the Rabbit that has just passed us by, the world has not been peaceful for the ...Read More
26 JAN — Tidak syak lagi bahawa generasi baru, malah sesetengah generasi lama juga, telah dengan jelas menolak politik perkauman. Dengan itu parti politik yang berasaskan kaum, ...Read More
26 JAN — Khairy Jamaluddin, Ketua Pemuda Umno Malaysia, telah meminta DAP mengeluarkan senarai ahli-ahlinya dari kaum Melayu jika benar DAP sekarang sedang mendapat sokongan dari ...Read More
JAN 26 — Aliran is horrified and outraged by the recent incident when a mob provocatively gate-crashed a peaceful forum organised by Anything But Umno (ABU)-Hindraf in Klang. This ...Read More
JAN 26 — The dragon is an auspicious beast in Chinese culture, but some fengshui masters claim that 2012 is going to be a “Year of the Water Dragon” and since water is “black” in ...Read More
26 JAN — Cadangan Lembaga Penasihat Pencegahan Rasuah (LPPR) supaya salinan perisytiharan harta anggota pentadbiran awam Persekutuan termasuk ahli Kabinet diserahkan kepada ...Read More
26 JAN — Bagaimana untuk “percaya” dalam politik? Politik sudah berubah wajah sehingga apa sahaja yang dilakukan baik secara ikhlas mahupun jujur dianggap mempunyai motif politik ...Read More
JAN 25 — The National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal is just snowballing into a public relations disaster for the Barisan Nasional (BN) government. Today, the Auditor-General said ...Read More
JAN 25 — The economic damage has varied significantly — minor in Singapore but very substantial in Thailand. The floods have once again brought the twin issues of disaster ...Read More
25 JAN — Isu dakwaan lebihan kos sebanyak RM3 bilion (daripada pengumuman RM6 bilion kepada RM9 bilion dalam tempoh setahun) bagi perolehan enam kapal Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) ...Read More

Opinion

Amin Iskandar
4 FEB — Muncul lagi kes-kes “kepala babi” dicampakkan ke masjid. Mula-mula berlaku di Masjid Nurul Iman yang terletak di Rawang, Selangor. Kemudian ...
Andy West
FEB 4 — Almost exactly two years ago, on February 5, 2010, Chelsea defender John Terry was stripped of the England captaincy amidst revelations of ...
Aidil Rusli
FEB 4 — Last week I wrote about my reactions and predictions to the just announced Oscar 2012 nominations for the major categories of Best Picture, ...

 

Regional Correspondents

Emily Ding
LONDON, Jan 19 — There were many rules around the house when I was a child growing up in Ipoh: “Make your bed every morning”, “Wash your own dishes”, ...

 

All our columnists

Aidil Rusli

FEB 4 — Last week I wrote about my reactions and predictions to the just announced Oscar 2012 nominations for the major categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best ...

Read More
Ambiga Sreenevasan

JAN 3 — Dare we Malaysians dream that in 2012:

• Bersih 2.0’s eight demands will be implemented before Parliament is dissolved.

• the run-up to the elections will bring out the ...

Read More
Amin Iskandar

4 FEB — Muncul lagi kes-kes “kepala babi” dicampakkan ke masjid. Mula-mula berlaku di Masjid Nurul Iman yang terletak di Rawang, Selangor. Kemudian Masjid Al-Hidayah di Sentul, ...

Read More
Andy West

FEB 4 — Almost exactly two years ago, on February 5, 2010, Chelsea defender John Terry was stripped of the England captaincy amidst revelations of dalliances with the girlfriend ...

Read More
Ang Jian Wei

JAN 31 — I was in my university library when I heard that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (DSAI) was acquitted by the High Court of the charges associated with Sodomy 2.0. Truth be told, ...

Read More
Angeline Lee

JAN 10 — I think the time has come to ask ourselves the big questions about education.

What is the point?

What is wrong with how we are doing it?

How do we change?

I imagine that ...

Read More
Anita Anandarajah

JAN 1 — Last week I wrote about the the behind-the-scenes stuff related to giving birth that I never knew about, like the space-age sounding term, involution, a paralysing pain ...

Read More
Azrul Mohd Khalib

JAN 30 — Running really is a low-budget activity. In this challenging economic climate, you might not be able to cough out the 150 bucks for the monthly gym membership or engage ...

Read More
Charles Vincent

NOV 9 — Following the setback that our national team suffered against Singapore in the World Cup 2014 qualifiers in July, I was asked this question — how crucial is the defence of ...

Read More
Colin Boyd Shafer

OCT 30 — The event was called “Fashion and Sense” but behind this euphemism necessary in a “conservative” country like Malaysia was the national beauty pageant for Malaysia’s ...

Read More
Dina Zaman

FEB 1 — Excerpt from Memali incident chapter:

Mak Su’s brother, Pak Andah, popped by for tea. There were always people coming in and out of the house for a chat or a meal.

Mak Su ...

Read More
Dzulkefly Ahmad

JAN 10 — When I wrote about how “The law has truly become an ass” back in February 2010 on the battle of the two mentris besar in the Perak power grab impasse, I meant it.

I was ...

Read More
Edwin Yapp

DEC 7 — Oxymoron.

That’s the word that has been on my mind of late. Why? Because that’s exactly what we, Joe Public, are being fed on a daily basis.

Etymologically speaking, the ...

Read More
Erna Mahyuni

FEB 1 — Think poor English standards aren’t a problem? Well, my sister almost wasn’t born… because our mother barely knew English.

It’s almost comic, the story. Our parents were ...

Read More
Ezlan Mohsen

JAN 17 — Now that the verdict on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II trial is in, the focus is on the next general election which is very important to both Barisan Nasional and ...

Read More
Farah Fahmy

JAN 24 — Education, education, education. That, stated Tony Blair, was his government’s top priority when campaigning during the UK’s general election in 2001. Alas, the pledge, ...

Read More
Hafidz Baharom

FEB 3 — It comes as no surprise that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim got into trouble with the federal government and Umno when he came out stating that he would support a final ...

Read More
Hafiz Noor Shams

JAN 30 — Amid opposing positions, political centrists have the tendency to stake the middle ground. It is a compromise that appears sensible on the surface. Sometimes, it can be ...

Read More
Helen Hickey

JAN 1 — If I hear one more “Happy Holidays” I shall look the jolly greeter hard in the eye and blurt out: “It’s Merry bloody Christmas...okay?” 

Seriously, apart from the ...

Read More
Hsu Dar Ren

OCT 7 — His passing will be missed by the whole world as his influence is everywhere.

Steve Jobs’ foresight led him to develop the first commercially viable personal computer in ...

Read More
Jema Khan

NOV 14 — In Malaysia we seem to be often caught up in a contest of dominance. The question of which race rules or which religion is paramount is the lifeblood of our political ...

Read More
June Rubis

FEB 1 — Call it as you see it, Ibrahim Ali has a knack of keeping himself relevant. 

I don’t know what he was thinking when he merrily gave white angpows to elders during a ...

Read More
Kamal Amzan

JAN 11 — We are a funny lot.

Just because of one acquittal, we claim to have an “independent” judiciary. Forget about Eric Chia, forget about the first sodomy trial, forget about ...

Read More