Introduction by Dr Lim Teck Ghee In a continuously contentious multi-racial society such as Malaysia, any observer would have assumed that a Race Relations Act would be amongst the first and foremost of the country’s legislative provisions to ensure that Malaysians are not discriminated against on the grounds of ethnicity in the fields of employment, … Read more
Is there a place for public intellectuals? The rise of industrial societies and advent of modernity have birthed what may be characterized as bureaucratized mass society leading to the obsolescence of the public intellectual.1 The contrary image of post-modernity and its constructs also may spawn relativized space which leaves little for the role of the … Read more
Prime Minister Najib Razak has told the Bumiputera Economic Congress they should not fear that their rights will be eroded under the New Economic Model (NEM). He also stressed the need to be fair to the non-bumiputera. All this is well said and his assurance is most welcome. Najib’s reassurance to the hundred-plus Malay … Read more
The idea of nuclear power plant (NPP) has been marketed to the public by Tenaga Nasional Berhad as if it is as safe as a rice cooker. It’s not. Furthermore, Malaysia’s nuclear ambition displays a typically worrying pattern of haphazard decision-making process. It is even more worrying because of the extremely hazardous technology. Internationally … Read more
About two and a half weeks ago when I received the good Tunku [Abdul Aziz]’s e-mail asking if I would agree to launch his second book I said ‘Yes’ without any hesitation. It did not occur to me to ask “Why me?” I accepted in good faith thinking “Why not me?” As someone who … Read more
CPI note: We’re reproducing an article below from Shuzheng with the blogger’s permission as we believe it is a thought-provoking and timely discourse. We hope this material can serve as a basis for reflection during the Bloggers Universe Malaysia gathering this Saturday (May 22) which will discuss bridging the religious divide and other faith-related … Read more
I find myself in a strangely odd position – an Indian speaking up for the Chinese. It has recently been asked of them: “What more do the Chinese want???? If it were merely rhetorical, I will defend the right to ask questions of such a nature in the name of free speech and healthy … Read more
On April 20, senior producer Joshua Wong Ngee Choong quit ntv7 after receiving complaints from the Prime Minister’s Department and allegedly the PM’s wife Rosmah Mansor over two recent Chinese talk show programmes focusing on current political developments. A week later (April 28), another television producer, RTM’s TV2 producer Chou Z Lam claimed political … Read more
The dictionary defines ‘bellwether’ as “a person or thing that shows the existence or direction of a trend???. I have stated that the outcome of the by-election in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat would be the bellwether for the next Malaysian general election. And my observation that it would be déjà vu the 2007 Ijok … Read more
The belief shared by the political parties on the Hulu Selangor by-election is that G. Palanivel, deputy president of MIC, is unlikely to be a winning candidate for the BN. Of course their reasons for that vary, from personal ambitions of a couple of individuals within MIC to the local Umno branch wanting its … Read more