IN recent interviews, Umno Youth-chief hopeful Khairy Jamaluddin has condemned party-hopping, and has been arguing strenuously for reform of Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN). However, after the recent BN takeover of the Perak government by defections from the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) camp, Khairy apparently made an about-face. When addressing a crowd of Umno Youth […]
Shanon Shah
Coming into his own
By Jacqueline Ann Surin and Shanon Shah(File pic by Danny Lim) ONCE it was clear that Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would exit as both prime minister and Umno president in March 2009, the favour that Khairy Jamaluddin presumably enjoyed as son-in-law must have evaporated quickly. But the changing political fortunes and shifting political equations could very well be a blessing […]
Scholar: Don’t restrict “Allah”
By Shanon ShahPETALING JAYA, 17 Feb 2009: Use of the word “Allah” among Catholic churches should not be restricted unreasonably, said leading Islamic scholar Prof Dr Mohammad Hashim Kamali today. Hashim Kamali“In Islam, there is one God for all humanity. Therefore, one should not monopolise or personalise ‘Allah’ as belonging to only one sector of humanity,” he […]
Defending the monarchy
Translation by Shanon ShahPROMINENT stories in the Malay-language press between 9 and 15 Feb 2009 revolved around the monarchy, Pakatan Rakyat (PR)-lynching, and the impending Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang by-elections. On 10 Feb, Utusan Malaysia got no less than Foreign Minister and Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim to write on the Barisan Nasional […]
Mapping change
By Jacqueline Ann Surin and Shanon ShahKHAIRY Jamaluddin knows that he is still the underdog in the upcoming Umno Youth chief race. While Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir’s nominations rushed in from the very beginning, nominations for Khairy merely trickled. Even the nominations for former Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo saw quicker action. That hasn’t stopped the 33-year-old in […]
Puisi untuk Perak
Oleh Shanon ShahKEMELUT politik di Perak telah mencetuskan pelbagai reaksi: marah, takut, terhina, tidak percaya, “padan muka”, riak, dan sebagainya. Ada yang sanggup meluahkan perasaan ini dengan cara menyerang pemimpin-pemimpin yang terlibat secara peribadi. Puak yang pro-Barisan Nasional (BN) mengecam Menteri Besar Perak yang asal, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, sebagai pengkhianat dan penderhaka kerana enggan melepaskan […]
Umno’s resistance to change
By Jacqueline Ann Surin and Shanon ShahWHO would be envious of Khairy Jamaluddin? Despite his meteoric rise within Umno and the doors that were presumably opened to him as the prime minister’s son-in-law, the changing political tide means the 33-year-old now has to swim against currents. And swim he does. With Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s exit as premier and Umno […]
Islamic authorities in crisis?
By Shanon ShahWHEN the National Fatwa Council issued two successive fatwas in late 2008 banning tomboys and yoga, outcry from the Malaysian public was palpable. Tomboys sneered, youth collectives protested, and Muslim yoga practitioners posed in defence. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the National Fatwa Council, and even Inspector General of […]
The pastor for Palestine
By Shanon ShahTHE protests in Malaysia against Israel’s attacks on Gaza have taken on an overwhelmingly Islamic hue. From PAS‘s public demonstrations to the Muslim Consumers Association’s campaign to boycott all Jewish products, the crisis in Gaza has been painted as a proxy war between Muslims and Jews. Some prominent Malaysian Muslims have spoken up against this […]
“Perak Pakatan Rakyat unstable anyway”
By Shanon ShahPETALING JAYA, 6 Feb 2009: The Perak Pakatan Rakyat should find out what internal shortcomings led to its eventual collapse on 5 Feb 2009, said Umno veteran Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad today. “Perak had been unstable for some months before this. For example, the internal bickering when DAP’s Ipoh Barat Member of Parliament M Kulasegaran […]
