Maajid Nawaz (Pic courtesy of Quilliam Foundation) BRITISH-BORN Pakistani Maajid Nawaz , 31, is director and co-founder of the London-based Quilliam Foundation, which describes itself as the world’s first counter-extremism think-tank. Based in London, the foundation was founded by “former leading ideologues of UK-based extremist Islamist organisations”. Once a member himself of the international pan-Islamist […]
Interviews
Keeping PR together
By Deborah LohDatuk Zaid Ibrahim DESPITE flare-ups in PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is on track to becoming a formal coalition, says Datuk Zaid Ibrahim who was tasked with developing a common manifesto for the opposition coalition. PR’s application to be registered with the Registrar of Societies was submitted last week, and the […]
Cultivating a theatre of Malaysian stories
By Nick ChooPLAYWRIGHT and performer Leow Puay Tin has been involved in the theatre scene for more than 20 years. Working alongside the late, renowned Malaysian director Krishen Jit, she devised Tikam-Tikam: And Her Grandmother Said in 1983, and later wrote acclaimed plays, Three Children (1984), Ang Tau Mui (1993) and Family (1995). A common thread running […]
Getting our act together
By Shanon ShahTENGKU Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, 36, is the group director of investment group K & N Kenanga Holdings Bhd. He was previously the chief executive officer of Tune Money, described as Malaysia’s first online “budget” finance house. In October 2008, he quit abruptly from Tune Money. But Zafrul was surprisingly candid and reflective about this […]
Politics and imagination
By Deborah LohIOANNIS Gatsiounis is a freelance journalist from New York who has lived in Kuala Lumpur for the last six years. He has written about Malaysia and the region for publications such as Forbes, Newsweek, the International Herald Tribune and The Wall Street Journal Asia. Stretching his writer’s muscle, Gatsiounis recently wrote 10 short fictional stories […]
“100% Malaysian”
By Nick ChooCOLIN Kirton is a multitalented artist who, among others things, acts, directs, sings, plays the piano and provides training in theatre. He studied at Rosebud School of the Arts in Alberta, Canada from 1996 to 1998. Since returning to Malaysia, he has worked with the likes of the Instant Café Theatre Company, Enfiniti Productions, Dama […]
Land rights key to survival
By Koh Lay ChinTHE problems the Penan and other indigenous communities face can sometimes seem overwhelming and complicated. In this interview with The Nut Graph conducted via e-mail in late September 2009, Koh Lay Chin speaks to anthropologist Kelvin Egay, whom she met while visiting the Orang Ulu in Sarawak. She asks Egay, who has researched these communities […]
MCMC: “We’re just doing our job”
By Ding Jo-AnnMohamed Sharil Mohamed Tarmizi IT has been more than a month since the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) investigated Malaysiakini for putting up two video reports — one about the 28 Aug 2009 cow-head protest and the other depicting the home minister’s defence of the protesters in a press conference. No charges have been […]
“That means you’re Chinese”
By Nick ChooAT five foot five, Terry Ong says he has never been made to feel insecure about his height as much as he has been made to feel insecure about a more fundamental and unalterable aspect: his own heritage. Ong, 29, is an emcee and voiceover talent. But he is also known because he is a […]
Umno reforms “not good enough”
By Koh Lay ChinTAN Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas isn’t just a member of Umno’s disciplinary board. He is also Malaysian Institute for Corporate Governance (MICG) president, and former Transparency International (Malaysia) executive council member. Megat Najmuddin has been outspoken about corruption, even describing political corruption as “the mother of all corruptions”. He is also a firm proponent […]
