ONCE, when she attended a job interview in the Klang Valley, Tijah Yok Chopil’s Malaysian employer did not get it when she told him she was an Orang Asli. “Dia ingat saya orang Indonesia atau Melayu … Saya beritahunya [selalu kita cakap] Melayu, Cina, India dan lain-lain, saya [sebahagian daripada] dan lain-lain … Apabila saya […]
Nasihat untuk lelaki lembut
Secubit Garam oleh Shanon Shah
BARU-baru ini saya terbaca tentang kem yang dikendalikan oleh Jabatan Pelajaran Terengganu untuk 66 orang pelajar sekolah menengah yang dianggap “lelaki lembut”. Kebetulannya, saya pernah menulis naskhah teater tentang isu yang sama, berjudul Air Con, yang dipentaskan pada tahun 2008 dan 2009. Jadi saya pun berkobar-kobarlah mahu menulis komentar tentang isu ini, akan tetapi saya […]
Towards an independent Parliament
By Deborah Loh
In the first part of his interview last week, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia talked about the speaker’s impartiality and dealing with accusations of bias. In part two, he discusses improvements for Malaysia’s Parliament, and the realities of local parliamentary and political culture. TNG: In line with other advanced parliamentary systems, what […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: The meaning of Sarawak
By Ding Jo-Ann
ALL eyes are now on the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) to see whether a general election will be called following the Sarawak elections. But although BN retained its two-thirds majority in Sarawak, it suffered a decline in the popular vote. Meanwhile, political rivals DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) increased their seats from six and […]
The Malaysian state of impunity (Updated)
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
(Updated 2:45pm, 1 May 2011) TWO things alarmed me about the arrest of Adrian Yeo, who is Selangor exco Elizabeth Wong’s aide, in Miri on 16 April 2011 after the Sarawak elections. One was the number of police officers who publicly assaulted him before he was taken away. The other was how none of the […]
In the speaker’s chair: The challenge of impartiality
By Deborah Loh
A PARLIAMENT unaccustomed to a larger and vibrant opposition bench has proven challenging for Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia. Often, he is the target of criticism alleging his bias towards the executive. In the first part of an interview with The Nut Graph at his office in Parliament on 6 April 2011, […]
Sarawak elections and the politics of scaremongering
By Ding Jo-Ann
THE impending 16 Apr 2011 Sarawak elections have been dubbed by some media as the “hottest ever” polls in the state. The state elections will be the biggest test that the Barisan Nasional (BN) and the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have had to face since the 2008 general election. The BN will be looking for signs […]
Nasihat untuk Lady Mama
Secubit Garam oleh Shanon Shah
TERKEZUT saya apabila beberapa suratkhabar di London memuatkan berita tentang kontroversi lagu Lady Gaga di rangkaian radio Malaysia. Akan tetapi, setelah saya membaca kolum terbaru kolumnis tanahair yang tersohor, Kak Nora, saya mendapat tahu tentang lagi satu kontroversi, kali ini melibatkan artis Malaysia sendiri. Bacalah selanjutnya: Assalamualaikum Kak Nora, Sebelum apa-apa Kak, lets me introducing […]
Commercial developments on residential land
Ampersand by KW Mak
In the previous instalment of Ampersand, I touched on a resident’s right to object to a development project, even if they were not an owner of a neighbouring land as defined under the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA). Basically, all developments are subject to the National Physical Plan and National Urbanisation Policy. These two […]
April 2011
Umno’s tangle over “Allah” (Corrected at1:55pm, 1 April 2011) WE had originally published that the High Court lifted the government’s ban against the Catholic church from using “Allah” in its weekly publication Herald in December 2008, and the government filed an appeal against the ruling in January 2009. However, the High Court lifted the ban […]
