SOME years ago, while studying in the United Kingdom, one of The Nut Graph‘s team members had a discussion with a classmate from India about a fellow Indian Malaysian student. TNG journalist: Ya, she celebrates Diwali, too. She’s a Hindu Indian. Indian classmate: Huh? She’s not Indian, she’s Malaysian! Journalist: Yes, she’s Malaysian, but she’s [...]

“The goal of 1Malaysia is to make Malaysia more vibrant, more productive and more competitive — and ultimately a greater nation: a nation where, it is hoped, every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second and where the principles of 1Malaysia are embedded into [...]

“I don’t see anything wrong in allowing Ahmad to come back and serve the party. “Even Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Guan Eng have served jail sentences before returning to contest and being elected as member of parliament and chief minister respectively. “Ahmad has been penalised and the party felt that his suspension should [...]

Former CPM chairperson Abdullah CD arriving at the commemorative ceremony for the 20th anniversary of the peace accords THE issue of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) is definitely one that is framed according to the racial lines that divide us as a nation. For example, the prevailing myth is that the CPM was an [...]

AT five foot five, Terry Ong says he has never been made to feel insecure about his height as much as he has been made to feel insecure about a more fundamental and unalterable aspect: his own heritage. Ong, 29, is an emcee and voiceover talent. But he is also known because he is a [...]

(Background pic by Sophokles; Queen Elizabeth I pic public domain. Source: Wiki commons) NOT surprisingly, the debate on the reversal of the English for Teaching Science and Mathematics (known by its Malay acronym PPSMI) policy is largely framed as a zero-sum choice between English and the so-called “mother tongue” languages. Many opponents of the reversal [...]