BARISAN Nasional (BN) won big in both the Batu Sapi and Galas by-elections on 4 Nov 2010. In Galas, BN beat PAS with a 1,190-vote majority and won 12 out of the 13 polling districts. PAS only managed to retain its stronghold in Sungai Terah with a reduced majority of 258 compared to 510 in [...]

BARISAN Nasional is banking on Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah‘s star power to win the Galas by-election. The Kelantan prince, fondly known as Ku Li, was appointed to lead the BN’s campaign because of his popularity among Gua Musang constituents, and his much-respected authority. Indeed, Ku Li’s persona eclipses that of the two candidates themselves, [...]

CRAZY IDEAS.  Instinct. Gut feeling. It’s all part of what it takes to start a business. This was discussed during The Nut Graph’s fifth Found in Conversation event on 24 Oct 2010 on creativity and innovation in business. AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani, The Body Shop managing director Datin Mina Cheah-Foong and Red [...]

IN March 2010, indigenous peoples from Long Teran Kanan, Baram in Sarawak were overjoyed when they won a 13-year legal battle against IOI Pelita Plantation. The Miri High Court recognised the Kayan and Kenyah communities’ native customary rights over the disputed land. However, their joy was short-lived. IOI Pelita Plantation filed an appeal against the [...]

ONE problem with the environmental movement is the caricaturing of messages. Save the planet. Save the rainforests. Stop global warming. Green the earth. Recycle, reuse, reduce. Live organic. As useful as these slogans are in environmental education and in persuasion, it’s doubtful how successful they have been in affecting real change. There may even be [...]

(Corrected at 6:15pm, 4 Sept 2010) THE student movement in Malaysia was once vibrant, independent and autonomous. “Mahasiswa jurubicara rakyat” was the students’ motto in the 1960s. However, the government enacted the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) in 1971 to restrict students’ freedom and their rising influence. Thereafter, the student movement suffered a decline. [...]