SELANGOR is considered among the wealthiest states in the peninsula, and control of its government has long been seen as crucial to the Barisan Nasional (BN). Within its borders lie the administrative and national capitals of Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur. It is also home to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and the nation’s most important […]
N Shashi Kala
Managing Selangor
IT’S been 14 months since Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim took the hot seat as Selangor menteri besar (MB) after the Barisan Nasional (BN) was swept out from power in the state in the 8 March 2008 general election. Since then, the 62-year-old corporate-captain-turned-politician, who is also the Bandar Tun Razak Member of Parliament (MP) […]
The all-seeing eye
HAVING recently finished rereading The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and watching the DVD of the excellent film version by Peter Jackson, I got to mulling over the idea of an all-seeing eye. Sauron’s eye (© MMVII New Line Productions, Inc. Source: Lordoftherings.net) In the book, and in the movie, it is the personification of […]
Fear of reform
I REMEMBER as a child, every time my sisters or I misbehaved, my parents would threaten us with these six words guaranteed to induce good behaviour: “I’ll send you to reform school!” Of course, back then, I had little idea of what a “reform school” was, but from the way my parents brandished it, I […]
Grim reaping
“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.“ – Gandalf the Grey in The Lord of the Rings THERE was a mondo-film released in […]
For better or for verse
“Poetry is a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted.” – Percy B Shelly LIKE millions across the world, I tuned in to watch Barack Obama being sworn in as US president on 20 Jan 2009. Throughout the two-hour long inauguration ceremony, I was captivated by the occasion’s momentousness, and the speeches that […]
Medicine for the mind (and more)
I’VE had a lot of time on my hands of late, giving me ample opportunity to catch up on my reading. Unfortunately, my reading list is not as extensive as I would have liked, being limited by what I have at hand. Last week, I read through the second very chuckle-some volume of Amir Muhammad’s […]
“Obama will still back Israel”
THERE’s a new American president in the Oval Office. And while hope for a new America, and perhaps a new world order, is understandable, the truth is that US foreign policy on militarism is long and entrenched. That’s why despite the goodwill and rhetoric emanating from Washington, DC since President Barack Obama took office, American […]
Talk is cheap
(Background image © NMedia / Dreamstime; webcams © Andres Rodriguez / Dreamstime) KARL Marx wrote that human beings are intrinsically, necessarily and by definition social beings who, beyond being “gregarious creatures”, cannot survive and meet their needs other than through social cooperation and association. Yes, we are social creatures; we like to talk and interact […]
Armageddon for beginners
(© Kmitu / Dreamstime) NOW that we’ve started the year with a round of conflict and chaos that promises to escalate, soothsayers — some call them economists — are spinning out grimmer predictions. This got me thinking about the many doomsday predictions that have been made over the years. It seems like every decade or […]
