Bob Woodward (left) and Carl Bernstein (Woodward pic © Kat Walsh;  Bernstein pic  © Larry D Moore | Wiki Commons) JOSHUA Wong Ngee Choong, 42, quit his job as a producer at ntv7 on principle — he is opposed to self-censorship and political interference in the media. No wonder, then, that one of his favourite [...]

Joshua Wong holding up promotional material from his No political interference! campaign NEWS savvy Malaysians now probably know Joshua Wong Ngee Choong, 42, as the ntv7 producer who quit the network on 20 April 2010. The headlines, however, focused on the alleged political interference by the Prime Minister’s Office and the prime minister’s wife, Datin [...]

(Corrected at 12:35pm, 1 Feb 2010) THE Home Ministry’s ban on the use of “Allah” by the Catholic Herald publication has once again raised the issue of Islam’s position in Malaysia. Really?“The special position of Islam is enshrined and protected under the constitution,” said senior federal counsel Mahamad Naser Disa during arguments in Herald’s suit [...]

Is Malaysia an Islamic or secular state? IF there is one enduring debate in Malaysia, it is whether this country is an Islamic or secular state. No less because successive prime ministers keep making declarations that it is an Islamic state to much public confusion. Islam is the official religion of the federation. But what [...]

We need more intra-faith dialogue (© arte_ram / sxc.hu) DISCUSSIONS on religious issues, or a lack thereof, are increasingly defining public policy and society in Malaysia. A few key words are enough to jog memories — the cow-head protest, the whipping sentence on Muslims for drinking alcohol, Christians and the word “Allah”, concert banning, and [...]

Updated 12.08pm, 3 Oct 2009 PORT DICKSON, 3 Oct 2009: The Bagan Pinang state by-election on 11 Oct will see a straight fight between Barisan Nasional (BN) and PAS. BN is fielding former Menteri Besar Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad while PAS is represented by Zulkefly Mohamad Omar, the party’s state commissioner. Returning officer [...]