THE Petaling District Office is vacating its premises soon to a location in Paya Jaras, Sungai Buloh. By highlighting this matter, it does not mean that I am against the project. Nor am I suggesting any impropriety. On the contrary, the deal seems to benefit the state government especially since the new property is larger […]
Columns
Hudud, and more
By Yow Hong ChiehTHE current conversation about PAS’s plans for an Islamic state and the ipso facto imposition of syariah is incomplete. With everyone latching onto hudud as the locus for debate, it would seem the larger picture has been obscured somewhat. This inquiry into the implications of syariah will begin with an examination of a couple of […]
Using and abusing Indonesians
By Hafidz Baharom(Pic by punkt_klx / sxc.hu) I’VE had my share of issues with the Indonesian domestic workers hired by my family. In fact, those experiences may have actually made me more independent in terms of doing my own laundry and ironing. Heck, it definitely helped improve my cooking. However, as angry as I ever got at […]
Divided we stand
By Wong Chin HuatLET’s think about the following key words in Malaysian politics: unity government, Sisters in Islam (SIS), Chin Peng, government or PSD scholarships, Utusan Malaysia, and the language in education policy. What comes to your mind? Ethnocentrism? Religious fundamentalism? National disunity? Who hasn’t lamented about why our nation cannot be spared such ethno-religious polemics? Why can’t […]
Are we ready for a two-party system?
By Rohana AriffinWhich side of the fence? (Background image by Ariel da Silva Parreira / sxc.hu) FOR more than 50 years, the Barisan Nasional (BN) has used an array of laws and methods to silence dissent and perpetuate its own vision of reality as the only truth. But in recent years, the scenario has changed. The BN […]
Abeus of English!
By Zedeck SiewONLY when the sound of sirens recede did Jeremy Chong relax enough to speak. “I think that went well,” he said, undoing the scarf that cover his face. (Pic by Owais Kahn / sxc.hu) Chong and five other compatriots had just bombed a used car garage with home-made incendiaries. Hong Leong Use Cars was a […]
Unity through division
By Yow Hong ChiehWE need more division in Malaysian society. We need it to foster oneness. It may be pessimistic to think that the goal of inter-ethnic harmony will never be achieved otherwise but the fact is, large-scale relations in our society are still organised exclusively along communal lines. One need only look to the proposed “unity” talks […]
Educating Americans about Muslim voices
By Vishakha N Desai, Karen Brooks Hopkins and Mustapha TliliA panoramic view of Cairo (© JasmineElias / Wiki Commons) PRESIDENT Barack Obama has extended an open hand of friendship in his landmark Cairo speech to the Muslim world — seeking to engage Muslims with a commitment of mutual respect. No one can doubt his sincerity. From his first days in office, he has emphasised […]
What’s the matter with SIS?
By Jacqueline Ann SurinWHAT do you know? Politicians from across the divide are actually united on an issue. The issue? The threat that Sisters in Islam (SIS) poses as a Muslim women’s rights organisation that may be deviating from the faith. The latest spotlighting on SIS — just one of many through the 20 years of the non-governmental […]
Twitterholic
By Cindy ThamOVER the past one month alone, the number of people who follow The Nut Graph on Twitter has more than doubled to about 800. That’s not a lot compared with several other news sites in Malaysia, or with Malaysian Twitterers like Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, DAP leader […]
