LET’S talk about sex … and how ignorant our youth are about it. Anyone remember the Malaysian science syllabus in secondary school? The chapter with diagrams of male and female genitalia, and little explanation about what to do with them? Perhaps you had a teacher who, with a deadpan face, stuck strictly to the scientific […]
Deborah Loh
When the by-election dust settles”¦
By Deborah LohRANDOM, general observations about covering by-elections since March 2008: There has been a lack of substantive campaign issues. Umno always plays the race and religion card, and thinks prosperity and development are the only things that will make everyone happy. Of the eight by-elections in the past 18 months, I think the Kuala Terengganu by-election […]
Permatang Pasir: PAS win likely
By Deborah LohBuka puasa delicacies outside a PAS centre in Permatang Pasir “ALL this is just to create the setting,” Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) elections director Saifuddin Nasution says. He waves his hand, gesturing towards a just-concluded press conference by PAS leaders in which they again harped on the disbarment of Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Rohaizat Othman. […]
Salleh Man’s role in Permatang Pasir
By Deborah LohPAS candidate Mohd Salleh Man THE fate of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in Penang rests on the shoulders of one man, Mohd Salleh Man. If the PAS candidate in the Permatang Pasir by-election loses at the polls tomorrow on 25 Aug 2009, the alliance will have no co-operation to speak of within the state government. PAS […]
BN’s offer in Permatang Pasir
By Deborah LohRohaizat Othman AT 1am on Wednesday, 19 Aug 2009, Rohaizat Othman finally appears for this interview after a day of campaigning. The Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Permatang Pasir by-election looks terribly exhausted as he walks into the sparse media room at the BN by-election headquarters in Permatang Pasir. The BN command centre is […]
Politicising personal morals
By Deborah LohOF all the things to politicise out of Teoh Beng Hock‘s death, why touch his fiancée and his unborn child? This is what has happened, after it emerged that Soh Cher Wei was two months’ pregnant and wanted to register Teoh as her child’s father. Wanita MCA then issued a public statement asking the National […]
Unity needs empathy
By Deborah LohRACE and 1Malaysia have occupied my thoughts in the last few weeks. It can’t be helped, given the articles I’ve had to write on both subjects of late. I’ve almost reached saturation point listening to people debate the meaning of 1Malaysia. Last Friday, 24 July, I attended a forum where a small group of academics, […]
Problems in Penang
By Deborah LohTHE Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has been busy fire-fighting, no less in Penang. The PR state government in this northern state recently came under fire from Kampung Buah Pala villagers over their impending eviction. The villagers are aided by sympathisers, including the influential Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), and the state government’s image has no doubt […]
The furore over Al Islam
By Deborah Loh(Pic by Mateusz Stachowski / sxc.hu) NOW and then, journalists should engage in a little navel-gazing. Caught in the tide of chasing news deadlines, we forget to take time to question the methods we employ in news gathering, writing and presentation. What is at stake when we don’t question our own practices is our public […]
1Malaysia according to Tamu
By Claire Brownell and Deborah Loh1Malaysia. There are merits to the philosophy behind it — after all, who doesn’t wish for national unity, and for genuine respect and fair treatment between all groups in Malaysia. The latest poll by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research showed that while 76% of the public surveyed knew of 1Malaysia, 39% of respondents said […]
