At Umno’s recent 61st general assembly, the prime minister advised the nation to stop questioning Malaysia’s “social contract”. This was swiftly followed a clearly political decision requiring SPM takers to pass History from 2013. But whose version of history will this be?

WHILE celebrations of Merdeka Day seemed to be more muted than usual this year, conceptual artist Chi Too decided to mark the country’s independence with even less pomp and circumstance but no less significance. “It’s Merdeka, everyone wants a piece of cake” was the greeting on the Facebook page inviting Malaysians to participate in merdeka [...]

LAST year, the Merdeka Day spirit was dampened by the actions of the Shah Alam residents who used a severed cow head to protest the relocation of a Hindu temple to their largely Muslim neighbourhood. This year, the run-up to Merdeka saw a school head in Kulaijaya, Johor, who, besides other slurs, told her charges [...]

WHEN Malaysians hear the name Patrick Teoh, it’s a voice, and not a face, that springs to mind. Teoh had no inkling when he landed his first radio job at Redifussion 45 years ago that he would go on to become one of Malaysia’s most recognisable voices. “People do say sometimes, ‘Patrick, your voice is [...]

FIRST of all, Benjamin, let me say, “Congratulations!” I know you have worked hard over these last three years, endured many challenges and faced many tests.  Learning lots of new stuff may be exciting, but I know it is not always easy. So I am proud of you, son, for having graduated today. It may [...]

BANGI, 28 July 2010: The idealised images of Malaysian unity portrayed in Petronas‘s Merdeka ads is constructed, rather than a reflection of reality, a media and communications researcher said. Andrew Loo, who completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne on nationalism and ethnicity in the Malaysian media, said these ads always portrayed characters of [...]