IT so happened that this Ramadan I had to take an 18-hour flight to Vancouver to attend the wedding of a close friend’s only daughter. I wouldn’t normally choose to travel during Ramadan but it was a rare opportunity to see my friend’s happiness as she saw her daughter married off. I did tell a […]
Columns
Supporting The Nut Graph’s Plan B
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
[Updated 11.10am, 19 Oct 2010: See update under Monetary contributions] AND so it’s finally happened. We packed up our stationery and notebooks, sold the fax/printer/scanner, cleared out the pantry and shut the office. As of 1 Sept 2010, The Nut Graph is officially operating under Plan B. Contrary to some perceptions, we haven’t “closed down”. […]
Talking about retrenchment
Holding Court by Ding Jo-Ann
S K WIGNESWARY was an executive at an established media organisation for more than nine years. One Monday, she went to work as usual. By that evening, she was out of a job. “The department head made an announcement at about 4pm that a list of names would be called out and our services would […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Spotlight on DAP
By Ding Jo-Ann
THE media spotlight has turned to the DAP in recent weeks over the party’s sacking of Tee Boon Hock, Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu‘s special assistant. Tee had allegedly issued letters of recommendation using Liu’s official letterhead and seal to help family members secure contracts. Liu was severely reprimanded by a DAP disciplinary committee for […]
Car parking woes in SS20
Ampersand by KW Mak
BALANCING the needs of a residential community and a business entity in the same area is part of the work I do as a councillor. One such issue involves the illegal parking around the Damansara Specialist Hospital and the traffic nuisance it represents for the SS20 Damansara Kim residents. There are no morals to this […]
The parade of “Muslim sensitivities”: Where is it taking us?
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
AND so Perkasa has made the news again. And this time by its own doing, not because a media bent on sensationalism tried to cultivate the Malay nationalist group in order to increase readership. In the latest of Perkasa moves, its Petaling chairperson, Zainal Abidin Ahmad, lodged a police report against a Protestant church in […]
A letter to a son about Merdeka
In A Nutshell by Andrew Khoo
FIRST of all, Benjamin, let me say, “Congratulations!” I know you have worked hard over these last three years, endured many challenges and faced many tests. Learning lots of new stuff may be exciting, but I know it is not always easy. So I am proud of you, son, for having graduated today. It may […]
Why fast during Ramadan if one is non-Muslim?
Sideways by Deborah Loh
HOW many non-Muslims do you know who fast during Ramadan? And why would they? So far, I’ve found two non-Muslims who are conscientiously fasting the whole of Ramadan. Of these two, one fasts the Muslim way, eating only at sahur and iftar in accordance with the Muslim prayer times. The other doesn’t follow the fasting […]
Lessons from The Story of Stuff
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
HAVE you ever wondered where all your stuff comes from, and where they end up after you throw them out? I do, and environmentalist Annie Leonard does, too. That was the reason she created The Story of Stuff. The video became an online hit soon after its December 2007 release. In 2009, The New York […]
Advice to a councillor
Ampersand by KW Mak
IN the world of politics, making a stand on an issue can sometimes lead to friendly advice and curious SMSes. This is one such story, with no morals attached to the telling of the tale, save those that readers conclude for themselves. The advice I had just finished a local council meeting when a senior […]
