Game over for Pakatan Rakyat? WHEN speculation is rife about the possible disintegration of the Pakatan Rakyat (PR), not least via media reports, I cannot help but ask two questions: What could Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak possibly gain by this? And what weapons do parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the […]
Search Results for: Uncommon Sense
Lifting the SIS book ban
By Wong Chin HuatTHE Barisan Nasional (BN) government should thank High Court Justice Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof for quashing the Home Ministry’s ban on Muslim Women and the Challenges of Islamic Extremism. The academic book is edited by Prof Norani Othman and published by Muslim women’s non-governmental organisation Sisters in Islam (SIS). Too often we read about why […]
Allah and the Malay language
By Wong Chin Huat(Blackboard pic by ilco / sxc.hu) IF the church were to agree to the ban of the word “Allah” for non-Muslims, would this solve our problems? The answer is no. Religious authorities in the West Malaysian states have banned more than the word “Allah”. In Pahang and Malacca, the word “nabi” (prophet) is banned, making […]
Najib’s options with Allah
By Wong Chin Huat(Corrected at 7:25pm, 15 Jan 2010) How will Najib put out the fires? (Fire pic by straymuse / sxc.hu) COMMENTATOR Manjit Bhathia is right to say that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak “is starting to look every bit as useless as his predecessor, (Tun) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.” After the divisive rule of Tun Dr […]
Bonuses in peril
By Wong Chin HuatDESPITE all the madness in 2009, it was a year in which Malaysians saw positive changes on two important fronts: ethnic relations and good governance. A good example, notwithstanding the initial flip-flopping, is the federal government’s decision to revamp the racist and fascist content of the Biro Tata Negara courses after being forced to by […]
PR’s spin on local elections
By Wong Chin HuatSPARE us the spin. The Pakatan Rakyat (PR)’s promise to merely “strengthen local government democracy” in its common policy framework (CPF) is not a wider plan to go beyond local elections. It’s a compromise to substitute local elections. And from DAP chairperson Karpal Singh‘s comment, the obstacle to the coalition’s commitment to local elections is […]
Pakatan Rakyat vs local elections
By Wong Chin HuatIT is funny to hear my friends in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) complaining that civil society is pressuring only the opposition coalition to revive local elections and not the Barisan Nasional (BN). It becomes more hilarious now that the PR has reportedly reduced its commitment to merely “strengthening local democracy.” One unnamed leader defends it […]
The Nut Graph stops publication
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
After six years, The Nut Graph will cease publication from tomorrow onwards, making this column the last one to be published. Editor and co-founder Jacqueline Ann Surin explains why and highlights some achievements.
Beyond the Shia “threat”
Holding Court by Ding Jo-Ann
Umno and the Home Ministry, which the party’s vice-president is minister of, have proposed a constitutional amendment to stipulate that Islam in Malaysia is of the Sunni sect. Would such an amendment to the federal constitution be possible? And if so, what are the ramifications?
A place for affirmative action
Work in Progress by Hwa Yue-Yi
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has announced a new set of affirmative action policies under the Bumiputera Economic Empowerment (BEE) agenda. Does Malaysia need race-based development policies?
