UNIVERSITI Malaya (UM) has made a comeback by climbing 50 spots to be ranked 180 in the 2009 Times Higher Education – QS World University Rankings under vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Ghauth Jasmon. What does this academician, responsible for restoring UM’s reputation, have to say about university autonomy, the state of Malaysia’s higher education system, […]
Interviews
Time to remove the grids
By Koh Lay Chin
WITH five decades under his belt as an actor, director, drama teacher, voice-over artiste and writer, Mano Maniam is best known as a local theatre and television veteran. But Mano, 65, is more than just about theatre. In many ways, he is a modern-day renaissance man. He has been a teacher and scholar at both […]
“They think I don’t know Malay”
By Gan Pei Ling
BORN on 1 June 1982, Mohd Azlan Iskandar started playing squash when he was eight. He turned professional in 2001 and has won 11 professional titles since then. The Asian champion is currently ranked 18th in the world. His highest ranking was 11th, in September 2008. The national number one is also setting up his […]
Growing up in a Chinese village
By Gan Pei Ling
TO hear Yudi Yap sing is to be transported with nostalgia to another era. The former vocalist of local Chinese-language band Alternative Music House started singing Chinese oldies in 1999. But even before then, she had already made her mark. Yap won the Best Voice Award when Alternative Music House represented Malaysia in the Sumitomo […]
Hindus first, before becoming Muslim
By Koh Lay Chin
BEFORE Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim became a politician, he was far better known as a Malaysian champion of transparency, integrity and good governance. Indeed, it was no coincidence that Tunku Aziz, together with like-minded individuals, founded Transparency International Malaysia (TI-Malaysia) in 1998. He was TI-Malaysia president until December 2004. Even after setting up TI-Malaysia, […]
What happens under ISA detention
By Gan Pei Ling
PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak promised to review the ISA when he came into office in April 2009. But the government continues to defend the need for detention without trial in the interest of “national security”. In the meantime, those who have been detained under the ISA tell stories of state abuse of power and torture.
In this second of a series of interviews with former ISA detainees, The Nut Graph speaks with Mat Sah Mohd Satray and his wife, Norlaila Othman, about his arrest and detention under the ISA in April 2002.
Precisely Malaysian
By Ding Jo-Ann
“MY family and I have lived all these years in Malaysia, and my identity is precisely that – it’s precisely Malaysian. I speak and dress Malay more comfortably than Chinese, and again, it’s not something I should be ashamed of because that’s who I am.” Tricia Yeoh tells her story in Found in Malaysia.
“Memang kami kena guna kekerasan”
By Shanon Shah
ROS, 23, is a transsexual woman from Seremban who says she was assaulted by Negeri Sembilan Islamic enforcers on 31 May 2010. The part-time wedding hairdresser spoke to The Nut Graph in this exclusive phone interview about her experience later that same day. She said she was required to appear in the syariah court on 3 June.
“Saya orang Nusantara”
By Shanon Shah
CHONG Ton Sin, 62, founded book distribution house GB Gerakbudaya Enterprises Sdn Bhd in 2000, in order to give Malaysians affordable scholarly and critical literature. The lanky book publisher is often seen at book fairs and public forums. Known affectionately as Pak Chong, he is also executive director of Gerakbudaya’s sister company, the Strategic Information […]
Kartika’s protest
By Jacqueline Ann Surin
ONE thing is really clear about Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnor in the video Mencari Kartika, produced and directed by Norhayati Kaprawi: Kartika, who was sentenced to be whipped, fined and imprisoned for drinking beer because she was a Muslim, was angry at the syariah system that had sentenced her. It is a startling revelation, because […]
