WORSE than Malaysia’s brain drain problem is the fact that little is coming in to replace what goes out. Losing skilled local talent to other countries is not unique to Malaysia, as statistics show. After all, the world was built on migration. But what is unique, and not in a good way, is that we […]
Columns
The Nut Graph’s Plan B
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
WHEN Cindy Tham and I launched The Nut Graph in August 2008, I was clear that I wanted to achieve two things. One was to create a place for independent, accountable and kick-ass journalism that was premised on the highest ethical standards in journalism. These standards included ideas, such as doing a fact and quote […]
Creating a purposeful Parliament
Guest Column by Jamie KhooONE thing is obvious from the answers of the Members of Parliament (MPs) who responded to The Nut Graph‘s MP Watch: Eye on Parliament project: more focus is given to their roles as constituency caretakers than as lawmakers. Not that it’s entirely the MPs’ fault. Part of the reason for this is the way the […]
What’s missing in Selangor’s FOI law
Guest Column by Sonia Randhawa
EVEN as the Selangor government is being lauded for introducing freedom of information (FOI) legislation in the state, much is lacking in the Pakatan Rakyat-led government’s enactment. Indeed, the Selangor government may be shortchanging citizens in the state with its version of FOI. There are two reasons why access to information is a vital right […]
The plastic menace
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
PENANG was the first to launch the No Plastic Bag Day campaign in July 2009. Selangor launched its own campaign after that. Subsequently, the Miri and Sibu municipal councils in Sarawak, as well as Kota Kinabalu city hall and six other districts in Sabah announced similar campaigns.
How effective are these campaigns? Can they really help save the planet? And what can be done to make these campaigns more popular?
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Who makes a better opposition?
By Ding Jo-Ann
THE last general election birthed a situation that was not common before 2008: the Barisan Nasional (BN) functioning as an opposition. Although the BN has been the opposition in Kelantan for many years, it was a completely new experience for them in Selangor, Penang, Perak and Kedah. Indeed, the blanket term “opposition” previously used to […]
Should the subordinate courts have more power?
Holding Court by Ding Jo-Ann
WHY has there been such a furore over the government’s amendment of the Subordinate Courts Act? And why should the public care that the Act has been amended? As a result of Parliament passing the amendment, the Sessions Court can now hear civil cases worth up to RM1 million while the Magistrates Court cases worth […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Whither MACC?
By Ding Jo-Ann
ONE year ago, on 16 July 2009, DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock was found dead at the Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office in Shah Alam. Teoh had been interrogated for almost 11 hours. The inquest into his mysterious death is still ongoing. More recently, the MACC summoned two Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Selangor […]
What’s that about Malay rights?
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
IF one were to take to heart everything top Umno leaders say, and what the Malay-language newspapers report on, Malay Malaysians are on the brink of political extinction. From being sidelined by the Pakatan Rakyat state governments to losing electoral power to non-Malay Malaysians, the Malays are doomed. So goes the headlines in Utusan Malaysia […]
Why should we care what MBPJ does?
Ampersand by KW Mak
MOST ratepayers are unlikely to know this. But according to the Local Government Act, if a local council incurs a debt it cannot pay, ratepayers can be compelled to pay up instead. Section 45 of the Local Government Act states that should the local council default in payment of a loan for three months, the […]
