IF newspapers could be judged by their titles like books by their covers, most of the major Chinese-language newspapers in Malaysia would be guilty of not being “national” in character. Some of their names simply refer to a wider region like Oriental Daily (the East) and Nanyang Press (Southeast Asia, or literally the South Ocean). […]
language
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, […]
Language decision for math & science final: Muhyiddin
PUTRAJAYA, 16 July 2009: The cabinet’s decision to abolish the teaching of science and mathematics in English is final, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today. The deputy prime minister said although there were calls for the policy to be retained at the secondary school level, the government must be consistent in its stand not to […]
My ideal politician
By Dr Farish A NoorTHE historian’s lament is that he or she is often witness to mistakes of the past, and yet is unable to prevent them from recurring. In the end, the historian is cursed with the Cassandra complex and accused of being a tiresome doomsayer. At the risk of being black-balled from dinner parties, I would like […]
Why class matters
By Farish NoorA class successfully avoided (©Tiffany Szerpicki / sxc.hu) AS a teacher, I can tell you that students can and will find any excuse under the sky in order to escape classes, and to not study. What is odd for me is that in Malaysia, there are also politicians, political activists, ideologues and public commentators who […]
PPSMI does not guarantee English proficiency
KOTA BARU, 23 March 2009: The Teaching of Mathematics and Science in English (ETeMS or better known by its Malay acronym, PPSMI) does not guarantee effective proficiency in that language, says an educationist. Prof Dr Sidek Baba, professor in education at the Education Institute of the International Islamic University Malaysia, who said this today, added […]
Nazrin on Malay survival
BANGI, 10 March 2009: The Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, has called on the Malays to safeguard their culture and tradition as these are crucial to their survival as a race. He said that the Malays already had a unique identity, one “which is tied by customs, knotted by language and coated […]
Restriction on use of “Allah” doesn’t make sense: MCA
PETALING JAYA, 27 Feb 2009: The latest gazetted order on the conditional use of the word “Allah” by Christian publications is unacceptable and does not make sense, the MCA said. In a statement released today, the MCA said it acknowledged that the home ministry had heeded the calls by Christian groups to allow Christian publications […]
For Allah’s sake
By Jacqueline Ann SurinWHEN the Home Ministry forbids a non-Muslim group from saying “Allah”, then attempts to prevent it from publishing in Malay, the government is imposing more than a ban. In both instances, the Barisan Nasional (BN)-led government is forcefully applying exclusivity for both the pre-Islamic name for the Almighty and the national language. The BN does […]
Revisiting “Ketuanan Melayu”
By Shanon Shah“PEOPLE have secrets, and sometimes don’t say what they mean,” says Zalfian Fuzi, Instant Café Theatre Company associate director. “But at some point, your hidden meaning and feelings will come out no matter how hard you try to suppress them. It’s inevitable.” Some words, Zalfian adds, are loaded. Although he is referring to the art […]
