The Federation of Malaya Agreement of 1948 was just a political arrangement leading to the birth of a political entity. It did not create a nation state nor did it bring about unity amongst the various communities. In 1948, Malay special privileges were upheld; citizenship was made more restrictive for the Chinese. Sovereignty was not … Read more
British duplicity and collusion of the Malay elite contributed to keeping the various communities apart and made the struggle for a united nation state post-Malayan Union a distant dream. In our study of Malaysian history we are always told that the best approach for achieving unity in this plural society is the Barisan Nasional way. … Read more
The original Land Act of 1960 governing the development of Felda scheme areas does not specify that settlers need to be Malays while the agency’s own policy guidelines permit it to recruit 30% non-Malays. By P. Uthayakumar Felda has said ‘No’ to any upward mobility opportunities for second and third generation Indian rubber tappers. We … Read more
In some places in Australia, they no longer display religious themes or symbols in their Christmas decorations. Ironically, it is Muslim leaders – probably fearing they’ll get the blame for the political correctness of local councils – who often publicly defend innocuous displays of the Nativity scene. It seems Jesus Christ on his birthday is … Read more
Well, so what if Ah Beng is a multi-millionaire. His English is still ‘funny’, hence the English-speaking middle class in Malaysia can nonetheless consider him a linguistic inferior. Two Chinese businessmen from transnational organizations met in a Kowloon bar for drinks after a workshop in Hong Kong. As the local man spoke only Cantonese and … Read more
Bagi mereka yang mengharapkan Internet sebagai sumber utama dalam kerja seharian, mereka ini sering mengeluh mengenai kelembapan Internet. Ramai juga yang rasa tertipu dengan iklan besar-besaran dan amat khuatir dengan tawaran-tawaran menarik daripada pembekal perkhidmatan jalur lebar. Sungguhpun jalur lebar menjadi keperluan di dalam melayari Internet, mereka masih gusar selepas perjanjian belian ditandatagani. Bagaimana … Read more
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Imagine that the climate summit conference in Copenhagen this weekend was not a gathering of nations. Imagine a gathering of delegates from the many ages of a single nation. The fault lines would not be India and China versus the global rich, but rather China 1800 versus China 1978 versus China 2100. … Read more
Translation from Malay by CPI Picture courtesy of Merdeka Review ‘PM advises rakyat to learn Mandarin’ was one of the news headlines in the Press reports on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s attendance at the 90th anniversary dinner of the Chong Hwa independent secondary school in Kuala Lumpur on 14 December. In the context … Read more
In advance of the December consultation in Phnom Penh on the role of faith-inspired practitioners and organizations on issues of global development and equity, participants had been asked to contribute to an in-depth interview on religion and its role and ramifications . Below is the interview segment conducted by Berkley Center with Malaysia workshop participant … Read more
In a few hours time, the Pakatan Rakyat delegates will be sitting down for their first conference. Malaysia Today has been told that local government elections is no longer Pakatan Rakyat’s agenda. This is a betrayal and a departure from the promise made during the March 2008 general election campaign. Malaysia Today would like … Read more