Krishen Jit (© kyotoreviewsea.com) ON the Sunday morning of 25 April 2010, when Hulu Selangor voters were going to the polls, I was sitting in a Sikh gurdwara in Kuala Lumpur. It was the fifth death anniversary of a dear friend, Datuk Krishen Jit. His spouse, Datin Marion D’Cruz, had organised for prayers to be [...]

MY previous column, which analysed the Barisan Nasional (BN)’s aversion to local government elections, drew one particular reader’s comment that amazed me. KIM GAN wrote: “To avoid the politicking that may impinge on racial [sensitivities], perhaps the campaigning can be minimal and voting can be carried out electronically through the net, sanctioned and monitored by [...]

“Islam is a religion of compassion and mercy. It is not about corporal punishment. That is the last resort. “That’s how it should be practised. We must not go overboard.” Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak commenting on the sentencing of Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno in July 2009 to six cane strokes after she pleaded [...]

It is significant that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is making the effort to meet members of the public who take the internet seriously. It is also significant that he says he wants it to be a regular part of his leadership. In fact, he is having a tea party with his online fans [...]

Who is being detained under the Internal Security Act? (Musa Hassan pic by Ridzuan Aziz | Wiki Commons) IMAGINE this. What if Teoh Beng Hock had been taken into the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)’s custody for questioning and nobody had known? And then imagine this. What if A Kugan‘s arrest and detention was also a [...]

Game over for Pakatan Rakyat? WHEN speculation is rife about the possible disintegration of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR), not least via media reports, I cannot help but ask two questions: What could Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak possibly gain by this? And what weapons do parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the [...]