Run if you want toRun across the worldRun if you want toWithout wings, without wheels. Amir Muhammad is a writer, publisher and moviemaker who lives in Damansara, which is more of a state of mind than geography. Amir’s Alphabet will have 26 parts but will not be presented in order, as he was never a […]
politics
2008: A year of political drama
KUALA LUMPUR, 27 Dec 2008: Undoubtedly, this year’s political dramas have kept Malaysians and interested parties on the edge, as unexpected plots unfolded one after another. People were left breathless right after the curtains were raised on 8 March as Malaysian voters cast their ballots in the 12th general election. Only four days earlier the […]
Sarawak’s renewed political hopes
Illustration of Dayak people, dated 1864 (Public domain; source: Wikipedia.org) SARAWAK’S Dayaks seldom feature with any significance in the national imagination of Malaysia, and certainly do not make headlines in the national media. This reflects the political marginalisation of the Dayaks in their home state. The Dayaks collectively make up nearly half the state’s population, […]
Accomplishments have no colour
WHEN Barack Obama first broke into the US presidential race, there were mixed reactions. Many people were entertained by his personality, charisma and progressive ideas of change. Some were turned off by his flashiness and pop-star quality. There were those who believed that an [African American] president would never happen. I was one of those […]
Agong never had veto power
KUALA LUMPUR, 3 DEC 2008: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) is “misrepresenting” the Federal Constitution in calling for a return of royal veto on legislation as the monarchy never had such power in the first place. The constitution, prior to being amended, only gave the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong the power to delay indefinitely bills passed by […]
Getting graphic about rights
Graphic novel cover for V For VendettaTHE first graphic novel I ever read was V for Vendetta by Alan Moore. This seminal work was first collected and published in this format in the late 1980s by DC Comics’s Vertigo imprint. Set in a dystopian future in Britain, it pits an anarchist, known by his codename, […]
No change without PKR directive
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (middle) SHAH ALAM, 30 Nov 2008: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said any changes in Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)’s candidate for the state’s deputy chief minister post is subject to the party leadership’s directive. Lim, who attended PKR’s annual congress briefly today, told a press conference the Penang […]
Nazri Aziz rejects call for Malay rulers’ immunity
KUALA LUMPUR, 27 NOV 2008: The Regent of Negeri Sembilan’s call for the immunity of Malay Rulers to be reinstated should not be taken seriously as the royal’s father, the state’s Yang Di-Pertuan Besar, was embroiled in a lawsuit. The Regent, Tunku Naquiyuddin Tuanku Jaafar, thus has a conflict of interest, Minister in the Prime […]
PKR’s politics
Harapan Baru (A New Dawn) is the theme for this year’s PKR congress THE results of the 8 March 2008 general election suggested that voters are not completely besotted with race-based politics. Since then, there has been encouraging talk about multi-racial politics and policies which respect all Malaysians as equal citizens. One of the proponents […]
Transforming Umno
IT has been more than two weeks since the close of nominations for Umno supreme council posts. Every post, except the presidency and the Wanita deputy chief position, is being contested. But as the candidates prepare to do battle for the hearts, and some would say pockets, of the 2,500 delegates at the 24 to […]
