TIDAK memahami sesuatu tidak bermakna benda itu salah. Mungkin cara pandang kita yang perlu diubah dan beralih sedikit agar dapat melihat kedudukan perkara dari perspektif yang berbeza. Baru-baru ini, satu kumpulan balet asing tidak dibenarkan membuat pertunjukan. Walaupun Menteri Penerangan Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan berkata dia sendiri gemar menonton balet, namun dikatakan mengikut pegawainya yang bertangunggjawab meluluskan […]
Is Christianity what threatens Malaysia?
Work in Progress by Hwa Yue-Yi
THE 31 March 2012 seminar for Pendidikan Islam teachers at the Johor education department, which originally claimed a Christian threat to Muslims, raises important ironies and questions. In a pluralistic public space, who gets to claim what, and why? Hwa Yue-Yi writes in her column, Work in Progress.
Who protects PJ ratepayers?
Ampersand by KW Mak
IN my previous column, I gave examples of how the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) deals with enquiries by giving only verbal instructions. The fact is, there are rules and regulations for everything that falls under the council’s purview. These rules are, however, not made public, and are sometimes kept from councillors as well. The trouble it causes […]
Islam membenarkan bapa kahwin anak kandungnya?
Asam Pedas oleh Norhayati KaprawiADAKAH Islam membenarkan seorang bapa mengahwini anak kandungnya? Menurut sesetengah pendapat Mazhab Shafi’e, begitulah. Anak yang dilahirkan di luar pernikahan, boleh dikahwini oleh bapa kandungnya sendiri. Di Malaysia, yang lebih memberatkan pendapat Mazhab Shafi’e, Fatwa Kebangsaan Malaysia 1971 menyatakan bahawa anak tak sah taraf tidak boleh dibin atau dibintikan bapanya dan bapanya tidak boleh menjadi wali […]
Nasihat tentang tattoo
Secubit Garam oleh Shanon Shah
SEMENJAK memulakan pengajian sarjana saya di London, saya kerap melayari internet untuk mencari ilham tentang kaedah-kaedah penyelidikan. Alangkah terkejutnya saya apabila mendapati bahawa kolumnis pujaan ramai, Kak Nora, menjadi tumpuan kajian ilmiah! Ikutilah perkembangannya: Assalamualaikum saudari Noranisah binti Minit (atau Kak Nora), Saya pelajar akhir tahun Prasiswazah Usuluddin di Akademi Pengajian Islam Universiti Tanahair Se-Malaysia, Kerteh. […]
Badu’s tattoo taboo (Updated 9 March 2012)
By Shanon Shah
(Updated 11pm, 9 March 2012) ON 27 Feb 2012, an apology appeared in The Star regarding a photograph of US R&B singer Erykah Badu used on that day. The photograph showed Badu with body art, including the word “Allah” in Arabic script on her shoulders. Badu was due to perform in Malaysia on 29 Feb […]
Assault on journalists: Whose fault?
By Ding Jo-Ann
ON 26 Feb 2012, Kwong Wah Yit Poh journalists Adam Chew and Lee Hong Chun were injured in an attack while covering a demonstration in Penang against the Lynas rare earth refinery. Chew and Lee were both hit on the head by a group appearing to be Umno supporters who had gathered to heckle the […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Why hasn’t Shahrizat resigned?
By Ding Jo-Ann
WHAT do cows and condominiums have to do with each other? This question arose after it was revealed that the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) had purchased several luxury condominiums. The question was a no-brainer because the NFC received a RM250 million government soft loan to run a cattle-breeding project, not dabble in real estate. The […]
Malaysia 2.0 – A case study
By Shanon Shah
EVEN as the Health Ministry assures Malaysians that the 1Care healthcare reform plan is not yet finalised, its minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai responds defensively to critics. Even as the Election Commission (EC) agrees to use indelible ink and to relax postal voting restrictions, its chairperson wants to forbid non-taxpaying overseas Malaysians from voting. […]
Nasihat untuk Syria
Secubit Garam oleh Shanon Shah
SETELAH lebih setahun tercetusnya pergolakan di dunia Arab, saya masih khuatir dengan keadaan di sana. Sedih bila melihat rakyat jelata terbunuh dan cedera akibat tindakan kerajaan sendiri, terutamanya di Syria. Setelah terlalu banyak membaca laporan dari sumber-sumber bahasa Inggeris, saya cuba pula untuk mencari komentar dalam bahasa Melayu. Alangkah terkejutnya saya apabila mendapati bahawa kolumnis […]
