Campus members walk past Copley Hall in Georgetown University, Washington, DC (© Edward Pien) I WAS pleasantly surprised to discover that Georgetown University has a full-time Muslim chaplain among its campus ministry staff. Imam Yahya Hendi heads a chaplaincy programme that provides religious services and support to Muslim members of the university, while also serving […]
Columns
Swearing to high heaven
By Jacqueline Ann SurinTHERE’S been a lot of swearing going on in the past couple of weeks. First, there was 23-year-old Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan who, on 15 Aug 2008, swore on the Quran at the Federal Territory Mosque in Kuala Lumpur that his former boss, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, sodomised him. This was followed by Datuk Seri […]
Woman PM – is Malaysia ready?
By Vizla KumaresanMak Bedah on the cover of Options, 10 March 2008 (Courtesy of Options / The Edge)ONE of the highlights for me during the 12th general election campaign period was Mak Bedah. The personification of the everyday Malaysian woman shopping for a real candidate to represent her issues was inspiring and thought-provoking. I eagerly looked for […]
Entahkan merdeka, entahkan tidak
Oleh Fared Ayam dan Zahiril AdzimPesta pora di pusat bandaraya Kuala Lumpur malam menjelang Hari Kemerdekaan ke-50, 2007 KITA ada Dataran Merdeka untuk golongan makcik dan pakcik (old-timer yang lebih mementingkan keluarga dan patriotisme), kita ada Bukit Bintang untuk golongan remaja yang lebih bersifat terkini (life is short so enjoy), dan macam-macam tempat lagi. Semuanya menghidangkan acara-acara sambutan kemerdekaan yang […]
People above politics
By KW MakPJ condominium residents association representatives vote unanimously to oppose Syabas’ new water rates for condominiums, and give Appac the mandate to fight on their behalf (All pics by KW Mak) UNITED we stand, divided we fall. It is the one adage I remind many of the residents associations I have helped. Unity is instrumental in […]
A Middle-Eastern Christmas
By Rahel JosephSights and lights at the Covered Bazaar in Damascus, Syria (© M Hussain / sxc.hu) LIKE St Paul, I, too, saw the light on the road to Damascus. When I told my friends I was going to Syria for Christmas, they generally responded with one of three questions: Why? On a holiday? Is it safe? […]
Kepala aku nampak besar ke bila pakai benda ni?
Oleh Shanon ShahENTAH kenapa saya tertarik membaca cerpen pilihan URTV, 15-31 Julai 2008. Mungkin kerana tajuknya, Atas Nama Cinta. Entahlah, yang saya tahu, setelah saya terhibur membaca koleksi fiksyen pop Kasut Biru Rubina oleh Sufian Abas, saya berasa dahaga semula untuk menikmati cerpen kontemporari Bahasa Malaysia. Atas Nama Cinta, karya Haryati Abu Nasir, ternyata berbeza sekali daripada […]
Along the path of apathy
By KW MakWHEN I worked as a reporter not too long ago covering issues affecting communities, one of the attitudes I frequently encountered from the public was apathy: so long as their personal lives were unaffected, people rarely cared about what was around them. Take, for example, middle-income urbanites who turn an unthinking blind eye to the […]
Is Anwar “The One”?
By Wong Chin HuatFOR some, the Permatang Pauh by-election is a “presidential” by-election. Granted, you can’t have a president unless Malaysia were a republic; but what is meant by this is, the battle will decide not only the parliamentarian for the constituency in Penang, but also the Prime Minister of Malaysia. In other words, this is a national […]
Pointless chin-wagging
By Rom NainDESPITE the results of the 8 March 2008 general election, the mainstream Malaysian media still generally loathes crediting non-Barisan Nasional (BN) politicians, i.e. those from the Pakatan Rakyat. Hence the inaugural televised live debate on 15 July 2008 between opposition icon Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Information Minister Datuk Shabery Cheek, which was won by […]
