(Pic by Dez Pain / sxc.hu (Corrected at 7:55pm, 20 Jan 2010) FROM Hopenhagen to Dopenhagen to Brokenhagen, a series of puns has emerged from the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) held in December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Those who were hopeful about a strong deal at the beginning of COP15 were left […]
Current Issues
Responding to “Allah” differently
By Ding Jo-Ann(Pic by Adrian Van Leen / sxc.hu) PREDICTABLE. This best sums up the reactions by some Muslim groups and the government to the High Court’s 31 Dec 2009 decision to lift the ban on the use of “Allah” by Catholic paper Herald. Malaysians were probably able to anticipate the newspaper headlines and ensuing comments, given […]
New Year resolutions for Malaysia
By The Nut Graph team(Corrected at 1:30pm, 19 Jan 2010) DO you remember where you were at midnight 10 years ago when we ushered in the new millennium? Remember the Y2K virus scare? Or the millennium party on the Subang Airport runway? Remember when then Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad was still prime minister of Malaysia? Can […]
The madness of 2009
By Deborah LohTHE year 2009 has been a breathless one of political upheaval. But as we sift through the year’s events, we ask, which were the ones that really mattered? Which events indicate if democracy and political maturity are improving? Which tell us things are becoming worse? The Nut Graph offers its take on 10 highlights of […]
Get real, Pakatan Rakyat
By Deborah LohONE odd thing about the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)’s inaugural convention on 19 Dec 2009 was the fact that none of the grassroots level members were given the chance to debate the common policy framework. Instead, those who “debated” the document after it was unveiled were mainly second-tier leaders from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), PAS and […]
BTN’s stolen Malaysians
By Shanon ShahI NEVER attended a Biro Tata Negara (BTN) programme. But I, too, sat in a darkened room while the facilitator taught the song Warisan, which ended with the line Melayu kan gagah di Nusantara and some participants crying. I, too, was made to carry an egg and then reprimanded for letting a mischievous trainer defile […]
Malaysian Insider may be sued
By Deborah LohPETALING JAYA, 22 Dec 2009: Former theSun associate editor Ng Kee Seng is demanding RM3 million, an apology and a retraction from The Malaysian Insider consultant editor Leslie Lau over an allegedly libellous article. Ng has threatened to sue Lau, who wrote the article Back to the wall, Tee Keat resorts to bizarre moves, unless […]
Do subsidies work?
By Shanon ShahPetrol prices are going up in MalaysiaON 4 June 2008, the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government announced a 40.6% petrol price increase effective at midnight. Pump price went from RM1.92 to RM2.70 per litre. Barely a week later, the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) federal opposition launched its Protes campaign. Then PAS vice-president Datuk Husam Musa promised […]
Understanding GST
By Deborah LohMalaysia is among the last in the region to impose goods and services tax (© Sanja Gjenero / sxc.hu) MALAYSIA is among the last in the region to impose goods and services tax (GST) but it still shelved its original implementation in 2007. It was only after spending the last two years in consultation with […]
Reaching common ground
By Deborah LohPKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng PAKATAN Rakyat (PR)’s common policy to be unveiled this Saturday on 19 Dec 2009 appears to have reached some compromise on the divisive issue of PAS‘s goal for an Islamic state. Clearly, PAS […]
