TAN Sri Rafidah Aziz, 68, has been a towering figure in Malaysian politics for the past three decades. Born in Selama, Perak, in 1943, she became at age 30 Member of Parliament for Kuala Kangsar, and remains the incumbent. In 1987, she was appointed international trade and industry minister. Her political career has not been [...]

ANURENDERA Jegadeva, or better known as J Anu, is not just an artist. Whether he admits it or not, he is also a political observer and commentator. His art, which plays with, among others, “ideas of empire”, identity and belonging, are often satirical commentaries about Malaysian life and the life of the Malaysian. “I learnt [...]

IT’S been almost two years since Barisan Nasional (BN) wrested the Perak government from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) but does anyone still care to remember? And how would we choose to remember it? If, as the saying goes, “History is written by the victors”, then the history of the Perak takeover would probably go like this: [...]

SHE is a law graduate and co-owns a clothes boutique. But Yunalis Zarai, who is more popularly recognised as just Yuna, is better known as the current darling of Malaysia’s independent music scene. The 24-year-old began writing her own songs when she was 14 and has not looked back since. After releasing her self-titled EP [...]

TANG Ah Chai is a public intellectual and political commentator in the Chinese Malaysian community. Over the past few decades, the former deputy director of the Centre for Malaysian Chinese Studies has been actively involved in research relating to Chinese Malaysian history. He has written and edited Mandarin books on Yap Ah Loy, the founder [...]

THE last general election birthed a situation that was not common before 2008: the Barisan Nasional (BN) functioning as an opposition. Although the BN has been the opposition in Kelantan for many years, it was a completely new experience for them in Selangor, Penang, Perak and Kedah. Indeed, the blanket term “opposition” previously used to [...]