MOHD Khalid Mohd Nor, 27, attended the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) programme in 2002. Back then, he was a Public Services Department (JPA) scholar about to be sent to Germany to attend university. Khalid is now in London finishing his PhD in advanced manufacturing technologies. He is not on a government scholarship anymore. The Nut […]
Columns
A pig-headed perspective
By Nick Choo(Pic by theodore99 / sxc.hu) JUST recently, pigs’ heads were left in mosques, after previous arson and vandalism attacks on churches, a Catholic school, a Sikh gurdwara and two surau. These attacks on places of worship are apparently related to the ongoing tussle over the “Allah” issue. In the last edition of Merely Playing, I […]
In independence we trust
By Ding Jo-AnnBook on Muslim women no longer banned THE High Court has been demonstrating their ability to be independent over the past few weeks in striking down several decisions by government institutions. On 22 Dec 2009, the High Court censured the police for wrongfully arresting participants of the Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor II (Apcet […]
The politics of dialogue
By K ShanmugaSome people just don’t understand dialogue… SO now the government wants a formalised interfaith dialogue mechanism? Going by the history of the state’s response to attempts by civil society to initiate interfaith dialogue, I am not holding my breath. In 2005, various members of civil society had a conference proposing a statutory Interfaith Commission (IFC) […]
Are online insults criminal?
By Koh Lay ChinTHERE is an etiquette to online chatter. We don’t write in ALL CAPS LIKE THIS, because that would mean we are shouting. We use emoticons when expression may be difficult to gauge. We think and check before we pass something around. But apart from “netiquette”, what kind of online behaviour would get you in trouble […]
Lifting the SIS book ban
By Wong Chin HuatTHE Barisan Nasional (BN) government should thank High Court Justice Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof for quashing the Home Ministry’s ban on Muslim Women and the Challenges of Islamic Extremism. The academic book is edited by Prof Norani Othman and published by Muslim women’s non-governmental organisation Sisters in Islam (SIS). Too often we read about why […]
Tales from a Councillor: Karaoke blues
By KW MakI AM often approached by people telling me about their woes and how they are unfairly treated by Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) officers. There are no morals to this story, save those that readers interpret for themselves. One side of the story It was around 10pm when my phone rang. On the line was […]
Reasons for dismissing Anwar’s appeal
By Chan Kheng HoeMahathir (Pic by amrfum / Wiki commons)IN October 2009, the media reported that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim‘s appeal against Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on the grounds that it was filed in English. Much hue and cry was raised over the judgement, and adverse comments were made against […]
My East-West Allah
By Petra GimbadGo not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God, First fill your own house with the fragrance of Love. – Rabindranath Tagore MY first reaction to the news that a church was attacked was one of disbelief. Most East Malaysians, I think, would be confused as to why this is even […]
Disputing PJ’s development
By KW MakCover of the PJ Local Plan 1 (All pics courtesy of KW Mak) IN the previous instalment of Ampersand, I explained how the Selangor government came up with the Rancangan Struktur Daerah Petaling dan Sebahagian Daerah Klang as the area’s blueprint for development. The said structure plan has since fallen into obscurity, and the Petaling […]
