Columns

LAST month was convention time in the US. It was very interesting to listen to the acceptance speeches of the candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency from the two major political parties in the US. The prose has been poetic yet powerful; the rhetoric aplenty. There were some strong lines, some very good words. Some […]

ACCORDING to the Local Government Act 1976, councillors are akin to a board of directors. Our role is to devise policies and guidelines that will make the council function better. Being a councillor is not meant to be a full-time job to troubleshoot and resolve all the issues that arise for residents. Construction (© Ajay […]

These books were made for walking And that’s just what they’ll do One of these days these books Are gonna walk all over you. Amir Muhammad is a writer, publisher and movie-maker who lives in Damansara, which is more of a state of mind than geography. Amir’s Alphabet will have 26 parts but will not […]

INCIDENTS belying the fragile state of integration in Malaysia have dominated the news in recent years. A pattern has emerged strongly: we are trapped in a vicious cycle — one that, unless broken, will repeat itself for time immemorial. Egg (© Sam Veres / sxc.hu) Of the significant incidences that have taken place over the […]

Stalemate ((C) Magda Moiola / Dreamstime.com) ALL eyes are on Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s announcement after Hari Raya, but no one would be surprised if he declines nomination for the president’s post in the Umno party election. But if that happens, he would be a lame-duck prime minister in the fullest form for the […]

(© Elyanna Samsudin / sxc.hu) “JADI?” “Tak jadi?” Paling banyak di dalam suratkhabar, internet atau di mana-mana sahaja dibualkan adalah mengenai pembentukan “kerajaan  baru” oleh Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Saya tak nak berdebat hal ini. Dalam sebuah negara yang mengamalkan sistem demokrasi berparlimen dan raja berpelembagaan, sesiapapun yang pandai dan bijak menilai sudah pasti memahami dan […]

DATUK Seri Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, a member of the Sarawak state cabinet and right-hand man of Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, recently proclaimed that the proposed Race Relations Act is not needed in Sarawak. I agree wholeheartedly. This is another unique thing about Sarawakians: we can agree on many things across race […]

Mmm, sedap (© Elyanna Samsudin / sxc.hu)KETUPAT, rendang, kuih-muih, baju Raya, mercun, langsir, sofa baru dan lain-lain lagi. Jika semua ini disebut, secara automatiknya ia akan menggambarkan suasana Hari Raya di dalam kepala masing-masing. Tidak ada perkara lain yang dapat menggambarkan suasana ini. Kemudian muncul pula pesanan-pesanan kepada masyarakat agar lebih berhati-hati sewaktu memandu pulang […]

(© Rolffimages / Dreamstime.com) “YOU either resign or I’ll sue the lot of you for mismanagement!” a resident shouted at Metropolitan Square Condominium’s Joint Management Committee (JMC). It was a threat that led half the committee to resign. Those who resigned felt that the Petaling Jaya City Council, known by its Malay acronym MBPJ, ought […]

LAST Christmas, after a splendid lunch at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, my nieces posed with their dad for photographs amidst a glittery forest of Christmas trees in the hotel lobby. Earlier that day they had scrambled to yet another tree, in my mother’s house, to open the presents that had been piled up under […]