(© Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams / wikipedia.org) ASSEMBLING to protest an issue is a touchy subject in Malaysia, thanks to many factors, including police heavy-handedness in breaking up peaceful demonstrations. It is also common to hear of officials dictating the impropriety of the assembly without actually providing any avenue for the aggrieved persons to air […]
KT’s odd man out
By Danny Lim(All pics by Danny Lim) WHEN independent candidate Azharudin Mamat @ Adam was explaining how he was going to campaign in the Kuala Terengganu by-election, he chuckled and said, “Saya pelik sikit.” Because not only does he not have a campaign slogan, he is not going house-to-house to canvass votes. Neither is he going to […]
Contrasting campaign styles in KT
By Danny LimTHE two major competing parties in the Kuala Terengganu by-election couldn’t have started their campaigns in more contrasting fashions. Umno revved up its election machinery in the gilded expanse and expense of Taman Tamadun Islam’s convention centre on the eve of the 6 Jan 2009 nomination day. PAS, with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and DAP, […]
A better 2009
By Jacqueline Ann SurinCover for A Complaint Free World OVER the Christmas break, I read Will Bowen’s A Complaint Free World. Bowen, a minister based in Kansas City, Missouri has a simple but profound message: If we stop complaining and focus on the positive, we are capable of creating happier lives for ourselves and the people around us. […]
The future of Hindraf
By Tricia YeohMORE than one year after Hindraf supporters stormed the streets of Kuala Lumpur, the question remains: has the plight of Indian Malaysians been successfully addressed? Despite Hindraf leaders taking the forefront in anti-ISA (Internal Security Act) vigils, making international headlines, and creating awareness, are Indian Malaysians any closer to achieving their goals than they were […]
NAG-ging questions about art
By Zedeck SiewThe National Art Gallery (public domain / wikipedia.org) IN the last decade or so, the National Art Gallery (NAG) — or Balai, as it is informally known — has accumulated a dismal reputation. In Malaysian art circles, the institution has been accused of shirking its duties as a national culture custodian, being remote from both […]
The Muharram dilemma
By Marina MahathirThe Sultan Ahmed mosque in Istanbul (© Travis Reitter. Source: wikipedia.org) MY mother used to tell us children that she was born on Awal Muharram, the Muslim New Year. This was a matter of trivial interest to us because we think of her birthday as falling on 12 July. That date happened to fall on […]
Hijrah reflections
By Aloysious MoweFireworks commissioned by the Zabbar Parish Church (public domain / wikipedia.org) NEW YEAR celebrations are generally marked by excess and glitz. The midnight sky over big cities in most countries is lit up with firework displays, and most people seek out crowds and companionship as the chimes of midnight sound. We talk of “seeing in” […]
Islamic crime and punishment
By Shanon ShahA MUCH sought-after speaker, imam Feisal Abdul Rauf was born in Kuwait in 1948 into an Egyptian family steeped in religious scholarship. He has a degree in physics from Columbia University in New York, United States, and was also educated in England and Malaysia. His comfort in slipping into Bahasa Malaysia before this interview was […]
The fundamentals of Christmas
By Kathy Rowland(© Wong Mei Teng / sxc.hu)THERE were a couple of Christmases, as a teenager, when my family did not put up a Christmas tree. I’d like to claim that we were opting out of the crass commercialism of garish ornaments and plastic trees. The truth, however, stood a little more to the right of such […]
