Corrected on 15 July 2009 at 12.30am GOOD news for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. His approval ratings jumped from 45% in mid-May to 65% by 1 June, according to a poll by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research released ahead of his first 100 days in office on 11 July. The increase follows […]
Deborah Loh
“Mana saya mau letak ini?”
By Deborah LohBEHIND many a talented artiste or group is Ahmad Izham Omar. Names such as Too Phat, OAG, Poetic Ammo, Ruffedge, VE and Innuendo were under the Positive Tone label, which he founded and became managing director of in 1994. In recent years, he’s unearthed more local talent through Malaysian Idol, So You Think You Can […]
Conversion
By The Nut Graph teamTHE late Malcolm X did it, and he’s a hero. Amina Wadud did it, and people call her a freak. “It” being converting to Islam. And as African Americans, Malcolm and Amina did it in the belief that Islam offered them spiritual liberation and justice. People convert to different religions all the time. Who can […]
No right to inheritance
By Deborah LohPETALING JAYA, 8 July 2009: There is no avenue for a deceased Muslim convert’s next-of-kin to lay claim to his or her estate, as civil laws like the Distribution Act 1958 do not apply to the Muslim deceased, lawyers said. Instead, the estate goes to the Muslim treasury, Baitulmal, which is meant to distribute the […]
Wooing the Indian Malaysian vote
By Deborah LohHindraf vigil on 27 Sept 2008 ON 25 Nov 2007, the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) burst into public consciousness through a mammoth street rally. Few doubt that Hindraf was pivotal in swinging Indian Malaysian votes away from the Barisan Nasional (BN) three months later in the March 2008 general election. On 2 July 2009, […]
The continuing migrant story
By Deborah LohKATHY Rowland gets asked a lot about where she’s from. It wouldn’t be an issue but for the fact that she is Malaysian, has a Caucasian surname and doesn’t look white. And so in racially-defined Malaysia, with its obsession for categories, Rowland is the odd “dan lain-lain”. The Petaling Jaya native is co-founder and managing […]
Civil servants and the art of silence
By Deborah LohINCREDULOUS. That’s how a journalist feels when a senior civil servant responds to a request for information with a flat refusal to answer. Following the commentary on the need for a Freedom of Information Act, it is timely to relate another story about failed attempts to get answers on matters of public interest from the […]
Learning to be Malaysian
By Deborah LohKARIM Raslan‘s father was Raslan Abdullah, who founded Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Bhd in the 1960s. Karim describes his father as a “typical product” of the New Economic Policy. The late Raslan, who died in a car crash when Karim was seven, was close friends with then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak and other Umno elites. […]
Pilot project to measure racial harmony
By Deborah LohKUALA LUMPUR, 16 June 2009: A pilot project to measure racial harmony is underway in five places, with plans to roll out the research nationwide at the end of the year. The Malaysian Ethnic Relations Monitoring System, known by its acronym Mesra, was developed by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Institute of Ethnic Studies (Kita) and was […]
Hot climate slows down spread of flu
By Deborah Loh(Microscopic view of influenza virus particles by DR FA Murphy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; source: ah1n1.com; sun image by Billy Alexander / sxc.hu) PETALING JAYA, 16 June 2009: Malaysia’s hot climate is a mitigating factor in the spread of the A(H1N1) flu virus here, an immunology and virology expert said. “Viruses do not […]
