The Malaysian Insider

JAN 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, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad which were quoted and carried by news media when he launched the maiden assembly of the General Conference for the Support of Al-Quds (GCSQ) in the capital on Jan 20.

Coming from a supposedly great leader and a champion of the Third World, every single ounce of the speech is irresponsible, inciting and racist, to say the least.

JAN 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 better.

We want sense and rationality to prevail in the sometimes fractious debate on nation building.

We also expect better governance as well as visionary and inspiring leadership.

NOV 21 — “If I were Chinese, I, too, would not support the MCA.”

Those words will ring in the ear of every single MCA member for a long time as the crudest statement uttered by a component party member.

The fact that the statement came from the Deputy Prime Minister and Umno’s Deputy President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has made it even more compelling.

It signals a major shift in the sacred policy of non-interference among the Barisan Nasional component parties.

NOV 15 – The arrest of former Perlis Mufti Dr Asri Zainul Abidin in the bourgeois neighbourhood of Bukit Antarabangsa has opened up another Pandora’s box in the country.

Allegations by the state religious authority Jais that Asri was “teaching Islam without certification” has been criticised by many but also defended by some in the Islamic establishments.

Generally, Malay Muslims are being taught in their religious upbringing to accept and submit without question to the teachings of their tok guru, lecturer or ustaz in madrasahs, sekolah pondok or in university lecture halls.

NOV 4 – The US foreign policy under President Barack Obama has taken a more conciliatory approach as compared to the swashbuckling style of his predecessor George Bush Jr.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has zigged-zagged around the world trying to patch up the wounded relations as a result of the previous administration’s policies with potential partners for the strategic importance of the US.

The strain that was heightened by Bush’s War on Terror in Afghanistan and Iraq has left a deep scar among many Muslims in the Middle East and the rest of the world.