AND so Perkasa has made the news again. And this time by its own doing, not because a media bent on sensationalism tried to cultivate the Malay nationalist group in order to increase readership. In the latest of Perkasa moves, its Petaling chairperson, Zainal Abidin Ahmad, lodged a police report against a Protestant church in […]
Archives for August 2010
Leading the student movement in the 1960s
By Gan Pei Ling
STUDENT activism in Universiti Malaya thrived in the 1960 and early 1970s. One of the key student leaders was Syed Hamid Ali who was University of Malaya Students’ Union (Umsu) general-secretary from 1967 to 1969, before he was elected president for the 1969 to 1970 term. Syed Hamid’s activism inadvertently began because he couldn’t be […]
A letter to a son about Merdeka
In A Nutshell by Andrew Khoo
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 […]
A challenge to university students
By The Fairly Current ShowAFTER a series of cancellations and rebuffs by the university administration, documentary filmmaker Fahmi Reza is challenging Universiti Malaya students to organise his Student Power lecture on campus on Tuesday, 24 Aug 2010. The Fairly Current Show host Fahmi Fadzil speaks with his namesake about his ongoing research into the Malaysian student movement of the […]
“Religion”: Error in e-census form?
By Chuah Siew EngI WISH to draw to the public’s attention to a possible glitch in the e-census. An answer I clicked for the category “religion” was different in the PDF copy I printed. Thinking I may have made a mistake, I reviewed my answers and confirmed it was not my error. When I sought an explanation, the […]
Why fast during Ramadan if one is non-Muslim?
Sideways by Deborah Loh
HOW many non-Muslims do you know who fast during Ramadan? And why would they? So far, I’ve found two non-Muslims who are conscientiously fasting the whole of Ramadan. Of these two, one fasts the Muslim way, eating only at sahur and iftar in accordance with the Muslim prayer times. The other doesn’t follow the fasting […]
Sharing the economic pie, according to Umno
By Ding Jo-AnnPRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak recently invited Chinese Malaysians to take the lead in making the nation a high-income economy and to form genuine partnerships with bumiputera. But how does Umno want to divide the economic pie once it is enlarged? And should race-based demands and policies continue because Malay Malaysians are “great” or because they are still “not successful”?
Remembering when race didn’t matter
By Deborah Loh
SECOND to the panda logo, Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma is probably the next most synonymous face associated with WWF-Malaysia. His career with the environmental conservation group has spanned two decades, beginning in 1990 when he started out as a leatherback turtle project officer in Terengganu. Dr Dino, as many call him, became WWF-Malaysia’s executive director […]
Semangat mahasiswa 1960-an
By Gan Pei Ling
DR Khong Kim Hoong studied economics in Universiti Malaya (UM) from 1966 to 1969. He was elected as deputy president of the University of Malaya Students’ Union (Umsu) in his second year, and was made president for the 1968-1969 term. During the 1969 general election, he was one of the student leaders who toured 13 […]
Are our students free?
By Ding Jo-AnnACCORDING to our government, university students are freer than they have been because the UUCA has been amended and there are speaker’s corners on campus. But is there real freedom?
