WHEN Cindy Tham and I launched The Nut Graph in August 2008, I was clear that I wanted to achieve two things. One was to create a place for independent, accountable and kick-ass journalism that was premised on the highest ethical standards in journalism. These standards included ideas, such as doing a fact and quote […]
Shape of a Pocket
What’s that about Malay rights?
IF one were to take to heart everything top Umno leaders say, and what the Malay-language newspapers report on, Malay Malaysians are on the brink of political extinction. From being sidelined by the Pakatan Rakyat state governments to losing electoral power to non-Malay Malaysians, the Malays are doomed. So goes the headlines in Utusan Malaysia […]
The cost of losing credibility
ON 17 June 2010, a startling accusation was made against the Malaysian armed forces. The father of Sergeant N Tharmendran said in a police report that his son, who has been charged with stealing two jet engines from the Sungai Besi air base, was tortured by officers to confess to the theft. The Royal Malaysian […]
Candy floss for government rules
ON the night of 29 May 2010, I was at Alexis Ampang in Kuala Lumpur for dinner and a performance by my colleague Shanon Shah. Curiously, after 10pm, the other patrons in the air-conditioned restaurant started lighting up. My friends, one of whom was a cancer survivor, complained to the restaurant. Didn’t the law stipulate […]
Whose interest does the UUCA serve?
(© lumaxart.com | Flickr) AS an editor, I’ve sometimes had to remind journalists who merely copy and paste from a press release that they are paid to think, question, and make sense of the issues they are writing about. A journalist’s role is not to be a stenographer. It’s to be a public intellectual that […]
Why freedom of expression?
(pic courtesy of theSun) WHEN Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak first came into office, he declared that under his administration, there would be greater freedom of expression and the press. Regrettably, “little concrete action has followed” his promise, according to an annual review of freedom of expression in Malaysia in 2009. Indeed, according to […]
Living 1Malaysia
Krishen Jit (© kyotoreviewsea.com) ON the Sunday morning of 25 April 2010, when Hulu Selangor voters were going to the polls, I was sitting in a Sikh gurdwara in Kuala Lumpur. It was the fifth death anniversary of a dear friend, Datuk Krishen Jit. His spouse, Datin Marion D’Cruz, had organised for prayers to be […]
A curious BN government
All illustrations of Alice in Wonderland characters by Peter Newell, 1890(source: public domain | Wiki Commons) NO doubt about it. Some days, I think I’m Alice. In Wonderland. Because reading the news on some days, I just want to blurt out, “Curiouser and curiouser!” The latest news that made me feel like Alice was reported […]
Asking the right question
IN mid-March 2010, I participated in Inti College’s Mass Communication Day. During the event, I was asked for the best advice I could give if someone wanted to be a successful journalist. My response was, always ask the question “How do you know?” Indeed, as an editor of a news site that aims to be […]
Who is Najib Razak?
(pic courtesy of theSun) IN just a week, Datuk Seri Najib Razak would have been prime minister of Malaysia for exactly a year. Twelve months down the line and all I really want to ask him is, “Will the real Najib please stand up?” After all, we know that the sixth premier of Malaysia is […]
