UNTIL recently, Malaysia had been celebrating independence with parades and banners proclaiming the number of years that have passed since 1957. This inaccuracy has been brought to light over the past few years as more people begin to understand the significance of 16 Sept 1963, when Malaysia was formed. People and politicians alike have now [...]

FOR six years up to the year 2000, Ann Lee was beamed into Malaysian households three times a week as an RTM co-anchor for the 8pm news on TV2. She was also a newsreader on RTM’s Radio Four, making her a recognisable face and voice over the Malaysian airwaves. “People sometimes still come up to [...]

TAN SRI Simon Sipaun counts himself fortunate to be alive today. “My parents had five children, but only two survived…I was the third child and first to survive,” he recounts in an e-mail interview on 1 April 2011. Sipaun not only survived, but went on to win scholarships to Victoria University, New Zealand and Oxford [...]

ONCE, when she attended a job interview in the Klang Valley, Tijah Yok Chopil’s Malaysian employer did not get it when she told him she was an Orang Asli. “Dia ingat saya orang Indonesia atau Melayu … Saya beritahunya [selalu kita cakap] Melayu, Cina, India dan lain-lain, saya [sebahagian daripada] dan lain-lain … Apabila saya [...]

PLANTATION Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Giluk Dompok is one of the more outspoken federal government leaders. On a few occasions, especially when it comes to issues affecting Sabahans, he’s spoken up against cabinet positions. The United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) president supports the use of “Allah” for Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christians. He [...]

DAPHNE Iking once wanted to be a doctor, but she changed her mind when a teacher told her she had a knack for storytelling and writing. She says her father was not too keen on her decision to do a Mass Communications degree, so she paid her own way through university. Iking recalls her father [...]