FEW believe that peace will break out in Gaza anytime soon, with Israel and Hamas adding demands to their hostage exchange negotiations. In the meantime, the dominant discourse on Israel in Malaysia is still that the Jews and the West are out to disempower and even destroy Islam and Muslims. But exactly what sorts of […]
Protecting our slopes
By KW MakDamage caused by the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide of 6 Dec 2008 (Pic courtesy of Raj Kumar) BARELY two months have passed, yet the lesson of the Bukit Antarabangsa hillside disaster is nearly forgotten. Works Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed has declared that projects on hillsides can proceed, with only a ban on the “tip […]
The forgotten Muslims
By Azril Mohd AminOF the unjust borders drawn by Western colonial powers after World Wars I and II, the border between Arakan and south Thailand is among the most cruelly drawn. The Rohingya Muslims of Arakan (now Rakhine) were cut off from the Malay Muslims of south Thailand, as well as the Muslims of present-day Malaysia and Bangladesh. […]
Naked cyber-voyeurism
By Cindy Tham(Pic by Ratnesh Bhatt; source: sxc.hu) BACK in 1989, when word got out about sex videos involving then Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker DP Vijandran from the MIC, copies were made and circulated. These video tapes inevitably found their way to those curious or voyeuristic enough to want to view them. Still, it took some time […]
We sometimes forget the basics
By Shanon ShahDATUK Shahrir Abdul Samad is a political enigma. On one hand, he was stinging in his criticisms of the Pakatan Rakyat, implicitly justifying the Barisan Nasional (BN)’s takeover of Perak. On the other hand, he has displayed maverick tendencies within Umno. He opposed the 2008 Internal Security Act (ISA) arrests of journalist Tan Hoon Cheng, […]
Perak speaker suspends MB and entire exco
Bernama reportIPOH, 18 Feb 2009: In an unprecedented move, Perak state legislative assembly speaker V Sivakumar today suspended Menteri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and his executive council members from attending the state legislative assembly. The latest twist to the Perak political saga came after Sivakumar ruled that Zambry and the six executive councillors were […]
S’gor MB to meet sultan on 25 Feb over Wong issue
By Deborah Loh and Zedeck SiewSHAH ALAM, 18 Feb 2009: Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim has been granted an audience with the Selangor Sultan on 25 Feb over Bukit Lanjan assemblyperson Elizabeth Wong’s offer to resign over circulation of her nude photos. Speaking at a press conference after chairing the weekly Selangor state executive council meeting today, Khalid […]
The cost of invading privacy
By Dr Farish A Noor(Keyhole image by Craig Jewell; bedroom image by Lillian Nelson; source: sxc.hu) ONCE again, privacy — or the invasion of privacy, to be precise — has become the subject of debate in Malaysian politics. Behind the morality and moralising that we hear from certain conservative quarters lies something more insidious, which is the call for […]
Talk is cheap
By N Shashi Kala(Background image © NMedia / Dreamstime; webcams © Andres Rodriguez / Dreamstime) KARL Marx wrote that human beings are intrinsically, necessarily and by definition social beings who, beyond being “gregarious creatures”, cannot survive and meet their needs other than through social cooperation and association. Yes, we are social creatures; we like to talk and interact […]
Coming into his own
By Jacqueline Ann Surin and Shanon Shah(File pic by Danny Lim) ONCE it was clear that Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would exit as both prime minister and Umno president in March 2009, the favour that Khairy Jamaluddin presumably enjoyed as son-in-law must have evaporated quickly. But the changing political fortunes and shifting political equations could very well be a blessing […]
