PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has obviously been trying to win the Indian Malaysian community’s votes ahead of the impending general election. The list of government initiatives for the Indian community in the recent months has been long. These initiatives range from funding new school blocks to increasing allocated seats for Indian matriculation students; […]
Wong Chin Huat
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Why hasn’t Shahrizat resigned?
By Ding Jo-Ann
WHAT do cows and condominiums have to do with each other? This question arose after it was revealed that the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) had purchased several luxury condominiums. The question was a no-brainer because the NFC received a RM250 million government soft loan to run a cattle-breeding project, not dabble in real estate. The […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: What if Najib wins?
By Ding Jo-Ann
THE next general election will be Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s first election as head of the Barisan Nasional (BN). Najib will also be leading the BN into its first general election after its worst election performance in March 2008. The Nut Graph asks political scientist Dr Wong Chin Huat on how well Najib […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: On civil disobedience
By Deborah Loh
TIME Magazine has just named The Protestor its Person of the Year for 2011. Malaysians would count among protestors that made headlines this year, if not internationally than nationally. But what is the point of continuing to protest when something – like the Peaceful Assembly Law – is a foregone conclusion? Political scientist Wong Chin Huat explains the value of civil disobedience and how it can work.
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Lessons from the Seksualiti Merdeka controversy
By Shanon Shah
Open-ended vs. close-ended democracy?
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: De-politicising hudud
By Deborah Loh
HUDUD. One is either for or against its implementation in Malaysia – or so the prevailing political discourse goes. But what are we missing in between? Have proponents of hudud adequately justified their position, and how they would apply the Islamic penal code in today’s society? Can those who oppose it ever imagine a human […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Reimagining Malaysia
By Ding Jo-Ann
UNTIL recently, Malaysia had been celebrating independence with parades and banners proclaiming the number of years that have passed since 1957. This inaccuracy has been brought to light over the past few years as more people begin to understand the significance of 16 Sept 1963, when Malaysia was formed. People and politicians alike have now […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Deeper lessons from Mat Sabu and the communists
By Ding Jo-Ann
THERE has been much politicking over PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu (Mat Sabu)’s remarks on the Bukit Kepong incident in 1950. In a speech on 21 Aug 2011, Mat Sabu had questioned the portrayal of Mohammad Indera in Malaysian history as a terrorist. Mat Sabu said that Indera, who led an attack on a police […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Beyond the Jais raid
By Ding Jo-Ann
MORAL policing of Muslims is unfortunately hardly new in Malaysia. But on 3 Aug 2011, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) went a step further by entering the Petaling Jaya-based Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC), purportedly to investigate a complaint. Christian leaders and secular bodies such as the Bar Council and some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) […]
Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Bersih 2.0 – what next?
By Ding Jo-Ann
PRIOR to 25 June 2011, all seemed to be going relatively well for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration. The Barisan Nasional (BN) government was hard at work improving public perception, with extensive media coverage on government programmes such as the Government Transformation Programme and Economic Transformation Programme. There were talks of a possible […]
