PRIME 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 […]
Delaying disclosure of evidence: Who gains?
Holding Court by Ding Jo-Ann
MANY questions have arisen from the sudden introduction in the inquest into Teoh Beng Hock‘s death of a note purportedly found in the DAP aide’s bag. More than a year after the inquest started, the Attorney-General (AG)’s Chambers surprised the coroner’s court on 9 Aug 2010, saying it wanted to introduce the note which “may […]
Is there a common PR stand on quotas?
By Tarani PalaniPETALING Jaya Utara Member of Parliament Tony Pua’s recent suggestion for Selangor to abolish the 7% bumiputera discount for high-end property has not been uniformly received by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders yet. Can we expect the implementation of Pua’s proposal for needs-based affirmative action in the PR-led states?
“Child marriages” just a political game
By Ding Jo-Ann
THE recent announcement by Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam that Muslim children in the state will be allowed to marry just boggles the mind. According to Ali Rustam, who is also Malacca Islamic Religious Council chairperson, allowing child marriages will help curb teenage pregnancy and baby dumping, and prevent pregnant teenagers from […]
Rape in PJ more serious than in Baram?
By Tarani PalaniA CHILD is reportedly raped by her bus driver in Petaling Jaya. Government agencies, and an opposition Member of Parliament, call for immediate and strict action. Compare that to the responses or lack thereof that greeted evidence that Penan girls and women were being raped by truck drivers from logging companies in the Sarawak interiors.
The long wait to be Malaysian: The foreign spouse experience
By Deborah Loh
BINA Ramanand and Asha Lim are just two among what is believed to be many more with a predicament because they live in Malaysia. They are foreign spouses married to Malaysians who have waited years and in some cases, decades, for their permanent residency (PR) applications to be approved. As of June 2010, the Home […]
Who benefits from bumiputera discounts?
By Tarani PalaniSHOULD bumiputera discounts continue for properties worth more than half a million ringgit? Would it be a disservice to the bumiputera community if this race-based affirmative policy was removed?
Protecting our corals
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
IN July 2010, several popular dive sites in Peninsular Malaysia were closed due to coral bleaching. Marine Park Department director-general Abd Jamal Mydin told reporters that in Pulau Payar in Kedah for example, an estimated 60% to 90% of corals were affected by the bleaching. Besides the peninsula, signs of coral bleaching have also been […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Who makes a better opposition?
By Ding Jo-Ann
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 […]
