LOH Jia Liang, 23, attended his Biro Tata Negara (BTN) course in April 2008. It was during the end of his second year at a Malaysian public university and after the historic March 2008 general election which reduced the Barisan Nasional’s power. Now in his fourth year, Loh is an avid graphic novel fan. After […]
Interviews
Proud to be rojak
By Ding Jo-AnnBERNARD Goh, artistic director and co-founder of internationally acclaimed drum troupe Hands Percussion, was drawn to music and drums even as a boy. “Drums are very straightforward, maybe it’s like me,” he tells The Nut Graph during his 23 Nov 2009 interview in Kuala Lumpur. “I like you, or I don’t like you, I will […]
Learning about “hak istimewa orang Melayu”
By Shanon ShahDR Harvin Kaur, 25, attended the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) pre-employment induction course in October 2008. A recent medical graduate who started her house officer year in Malaysia, Harvin has since resigned to follow her husband to Australia. With the ongoing controversy regarding the government-run BTN, Harvin agreed to an exclusive e-mail interview, from India […]
“Just leave out skin”
By Ding Jo-AnnHANDS Percussion drumming group co-founder Eric Ch’ng, 33, has loved the sound of drums even as a young boy. “During Chinese New Year, once my brother and I hear the lion dance drums, we would run and run to follow the troupe and watch the show. My dad even bought us a lion head and […]
Embracing different cultures
By Nick ChooJOANNA Bessey first stepped into the Malaysian limelight when she joined the hit comedy series Kopitiam, which ran for seven seasons from 1997. She has since become one of Malaysia’s most recognised entertainment personalities, having been in more than 200 television episodes as well as TV movies, feature films, commercials and plays. Recently, she hosted […]
Dismantling divisive barriers
By Ding Jo-AnnDATUK Karam Chand Vohrah, better known as KC Vohrah, almost didn’t study law. “I was supposed to have been a medical student,” the respected former Court of Appeal judge says. “I won an award to study medicine in India but when I arrived there, I was rejected because I had problems with one eye. They […]
Keeping citizens loyal
By Deborah LohTO Umno veteran Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat, loyalty is a lost virtue in politics. In his recently published memoir, Umno: Akhir Sebuah Impian, Mohamed laments Umno’s other disease besides money politics: the culture of backstabbing to further self-interests. Mohamed was information minister from 1987 to 1999. He served under no one less formidable than former […]
“We were Malaysians first”
By Ding Jo-Ann“DREAM the undreamable, believe the impossible, and never take no for an answer.” AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes certainly lives by his company’s creed. Under his leadership, AirAsia and Air Asia X have just won the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation award, beating airlines such as Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific. Not […]
The confident Malay
By Deborah LohCorrected on 17 Nov 2009 at 11.30am DESPITE stepping down in 2008 as executive director of Sisters in Islam (SIS) which she co-founded and led for two decades, Zainah Anwar has not retired from her commitment to women’s rights and justice. Currently project director of Musawah, a global movement for equality and justice for Muslim […]
Leaving religious extremism
By Deborah LohMaajid Nawaz (Pic courtesy of Quilliam Foundation) FORMER British Muslim extremist Maajid Nawaz told The Nut Graph in an interview published yesterday about how he embraced radical Islamic thought. In this second and final part of an e-mail interview, the former Hizb ut-Tahrir member talks about how he began renouncing extremism after his arrest in […]
