ARE you Malay first? Or Malaysian first? But is the question really about which should come first? Why does it seem to matter so much? And which of the two labels — one about race and the other about citizenship — is more profoundly important to us as Malaysian citizens?

Removing the “Islam” label on a MyKAD is not that easy PETALING JAYA, 15 Dec 2009: Despite cabinet announcements about conversions to Islam and proposed legal amendments to allow a Muslim convert to divorce in the civil court, other scenarios arising from conversions are not being addressed. As a result, numerous conversion cases are not [...]

WITH reference to news reports on Malaysian transsexual Fatine‘s potential deportation from the United Kingdom, we wish to register our grave concerns at statements by Immigration Department director-general Abdul Rahman Othman and at how the story was reported. We question why Abdul Rahman singled out Ms Fatine as having “brought great shame upon us”, allegedly [...]

DATUK Karam Chand Vohrah, better known as KC Vohrah, almost didn’t study law. “I was supposed to have been a medical student,” the respected former Court of Appeal judge says. “I won an award to study medicine in India but when I arrived there, I was rejected because I had problems with one eye. They [...]

SINGER-songwriter Mia Palencia echoes the sentiments of other artistes from Sabah and Sarawak who recognise the disparities between East Malaysia and the peninsula. The 25-year-old recording artiste, whose first solo album Finding My Way was released in April 2008, writes in her Facebook profile on 11 Sept 2009: “[...As] my awareness and understanding of the [...]

THE media are at it again. Sensationalising the news, reporting inaccurately and unfairly, and worst of all, having no regard for the personal damage a report may have on a party. The latest of irresponsible and unethical reporting was in Kosmo!‘s 27 July 2009 edition that front-paged celebrated filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad who passed away from [...]