CRAZY IDEAS. Instinct. Gut feeling. It’s all part of what it takes to start a business. This was discussed during The Nut Graph’s fifth Found in Conversation event on 24 Oct 2010 on creativity and innovation in business. AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani, The Body Shop managing director Datin Mina Cheah-Foong and Red […]
Current Issues
Freezing the toll hike – who pays?
By Gan Pei LingTHE prime minister announced during Budget 2011 that the toll rates for four PLUS highways would not be raised over the next five years. It has since been revealed that the federal government may have to pay PLUS up to RM5bil in compensation as a result. Does the government’s action really benefit taxpayers? What could it be doing instead to resolve the issue in the public’s interest?
Making sense of 1MDB’s profits
By Deborah Loh
1MALAYSIA Development Bhd generates scepticism when news about its huge profit after just one year of capitalisation is juxtaposed with reports that it was given prized land in Sungai Besi for redevelopment.
A short-lived joy in Baram, Sarawak
By Gan Pei Ling
IN March 2010, indigenous peoples from Long Teran Kanan, Baram in Sarawak were overjoyed when they won a 13-year legal battle against IOI Pelita Plantation. The Miri High Court recognised the Kayan and Kenyah communities’ native customary rights over the disputed land. However, their joy was short-lived. IOI Pelita Plantation filed an appeal against the […]
Is govt revenue haram?
By Ding Jo-AnnTHE Penang government has come under fire from Umno for allegedly distributing government aid for senior citizens from “haram” sources. But is Umno missing something in its own argument? And whether money from gaming activities was really distributed to Muslims or not, is such aid really “haram” in Islam?
Why the kid gloves with Branson, Muhyiddin?
By Ding Jo-AnnWHY is Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin treating Richard Branson with kid gloves? When Al Gore and Paul Wolfowitz criticised Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy trial, our deputy prime minister deemed it pressure from Anwar’s American friends. But when Branson made similar remarks, Muhyiddin defended him.
Living responsibly: What can you give up for the planet?
By Deborah Loh
ONE problem with the environmental movement is the caricaturing of messages. Save the planet. Save the rainforests. Stop global warming. Green the earth. Recycle, reuse, reduce. Live organic. As useful as these slogans are in environmental education and in persuasion, it’s doubtful how successful they have been in affecting real change. There may even be […]
Has Nazri always been “civil to the opposition”?
By Ding Jo-Ann
DATUK Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz is being hailed as a hero in some quarters for his “Malaysian first, Malay second” remarks in an open letter responding to Utusan Malaysia’s Awang Selamat. The minister in the prime minister’s department also said that “being civil to the opposition is the right thing to do in a democracy” as they are also elected by the people. But has Nazri always been civil to the opposition?
Assessing Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor
By Ding Jo-Ann
WHAT has the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Selangor government achieved after two and a half years in power? If one relied on traditional media reports or Umno’s “Save Selangor” roadshow, the answer may well be, “Not very much”. But the reality is much more nuanced, as demonstrated in the book The Road to Reform: Pakatan Rakyat […]
Umno’s Perkasa dilemma
By Koh Lay Chin
What exactly is Umno’s stand on Malay rights group Perkasa? At one time, Umno leaders appeared to lend Perkasa their tacit support. But recently, a few have sought to dissociate Umno from the group. Is there a real split in the party over Perkasa, or is Umno just weighing its rhetoric carefully? However it plays out, Perkasa seems to have caught Umno between a rock and a hard place.
