I guess Umno and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak are suffering from a bad case of election allergy , or "electionitis".  read more...  

IN this second of a four-part series on education, The Nut Graph attempts to examine the problems that have become entrenched in the national school system. read more...  

Local government elections requested by the Pakatan Rakyat states of Penang and Selangor might not happen before the next general elections as it requires tabling new laws and the Election Commission creating electoral wards. read more...  

Umberto Eco, in his article, The Wolf and the Lamb — The Rhetoric of Oppression (from which the title to this article is borrowed), posits that often enough, an oppressor — such as a dictator — would try to legitimise his oppression. He or she will even try “to obtain the consensus of those he is oppressing, or to find someone who will justify it” by using “rhetorical arguments to justify his abuse of power.”  read more...  

The integrity of the judiciary has been badly mauled by a legal lion who does not mince his words no matter how high or mighty a judge thinks he is. He has called a spade a spade and certain members of the judiciary an “incompetent” and even an “idiotic” bunch!
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Even before a full year, the Najib premiership is more than fraying at the edges – showing a serious schizophrenic personality.  read more...  

Two years ago on March 8, 2008, Malaysians wrote history by weakening Umno/Barisan Nasional's electoral one-party state. For the first time since Independence, the ruling coalition lost its two-third parliamentary majority and a total of five states were ruled by the opposition parties. read more...  

The dinner talk by the people's Menteri Besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin at Ipoh Swimming Club on Saturday, March 6, has encouraged me to write this article. read more...  

Calvin Sankaran's latest article “CM with the negative Midas touch” clearly shows the lack of understanding the issues that confront Malaysia and not just Penang.  read more...  

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) today suggested that the government consider a retail sales tax (RST) as Malaysia was not ready for the goods and services tax (GST).
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The Perak Academy invited me to give a talk recently on Feb 26. After my speech, many listeners wanted a copy of the text. Hence, my sharing an edited version here.  read more...  

Lousy politicians. That's what Pakatan politicians are. No, not the inexperienced but the seasoned ones. The inexperienced ones are still trying to grapple what is going on.
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Perak's Pakatan Rakyat 28 assemblymen will not comply with the notice for the March 30 state assembly meeting sent out by Datuk R. Ganesan as they do not recognise him as the state speaker.  read more...  

The Selangor Government, together with the Malaysian Bar Council, today launched the state-level campaign of MyConstitution on March 1 to create greater awareness on the Federal Constitution among the people of Selangor. read more...  

Lim Kit Siang has pledged support for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to remain as Parliamentary Opposition Leader and Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) choice for prime minister even if the number of PKR representatives falls below that of the DAP. read more...  

So far, the only people I can immediately recall who have resigned from a party with integrity, grace and dignity are Zaid Ibrahim and Chua Jui Meng. read more...  

The policy was to contest every single seat, parliament as well as state. Barisan Nasional must never be allowed to win a single seat uncontested. No menang tanpa tanding (walk over) for Barisan Nasional. They would be given a fight even in constituencies where Barisan Nasional can easily win without any effort.  read more...  

We ought to abandon the metaphor of the pie that is increasingly becoming synonymous with the race to meet the gains of material standards at the expense of the real issue - distributive and regulative justice. We ought to adopt a new form of justice that cuts across racial lines and one that looks at the poor in their eyes and into their souls.  read more...  

Seventy-six Malay non-governmental organisations yesterday joined forces to form a consultative council, Majlis Perundingan NGO Melayu (MPM), to defend Malays rights and Islam in the country.  read more...  

In exploring and demonstrating the idea that it is possible to have different reasons for justice, each of which would survive "critical scrutiny" but "yields divergent conclusions", Amartya Sen in his "The Idea of Justice" brought us a delightful tale of three kids with a flute.  read more...  

The prosecution of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is proceeding apace, but that doesn't mean international pressure is useless. Witness the government's reaction to recent international criticism.  read more...  

Some friends think my wife and I are foolish enough to return to Malaysia after having emigrated to Australia for six years. read more...  

Ousted MB of Perak, Dato' Seri Muhammad Nizar Jamaluddin, refuted claims by Dato' Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir that Pakatan Rakyat did not invite BN Aduns to sit on district and village action committees when it was in power.   read more...  

Businessman Lee Yee Tsong's passion for heritage "masterpieces" inspired him to invest more than RM1 million to transform the rundown century-old FMS Bar & Restaurant here. The 104-year-old restaurant in Jalan Sultan Idris Shah last opened its doors to customers in March 2008 and has been closed since.  read more...  

Some while ago a friend gave me a translated copy of the late Chinese essayist Bo Yang's speech —The Ugly Chinaman — delivered at the Iowa University in the US a quarter of a century ago.   read more...