Politics
The Tide Is Turning Back
I was listening to Roger Waters’ “Tide Is Turning”, one of my all-time favourite songs, on the morning of March 9, the day I woke up to a changed Malaysia.
I used to think the world was flat, the song says. “Rarely threw my hat into the crowd.” It goes on, “I felt I had used [...]
Gus Dur Oh Gus Dur
I met the man Abdurrahman Wahid or better known as Gus Dur only once when he visited the Indonesian Consulate in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. At that time he was already about two years out of power.
The former Indonesian president had given a talk, about 40 minutes, touching on a wide-ranging issue, but the only thing [...]
Another Trial for Malaysia
ANOTHER TRIAL FOR MALAYSIA
By Farish A. Noor
The trials and tribulations of Malaysia’s former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim continue, and history seems to be repeating itself time and again in the country. Ten years after the infamous trial where he was accused of sexual misconduct and abuse of power, Anwar Ibrahim is once again being [...]
Blast From The Past: Gaya By-Election 2002
I’m no longer involved in news reporting as of today and at least in the foreseeable future. I’ve written my last piece of news in November 2007 and the 13th Asean Summit in Singapore was my last assignment.
With the prospect of writing new articles for my agency is virtually gone, I’m now looking into the [...]
A Small Piece Of News
I wrote this piece of news on August 27 last year:
Singapore Police Reject Permit For Workers’ Party’s Cycling Event
By Jackson Sawatan
SINGAPORE, Aug 27 (Bernama) — Plans by Singapore’s main opposition party, the Workers’ Party, to hold a cycling event in conjunction with its 50th anniversary, hit a dead end after its application for a police [...]
The Perils of Assimilationist Politics
The Perils of Assimilationist Politics
By Farish A. Noor
A quick look at the troubles in the predominantly Muslim-Malay provinces of Southern Thailand – which has been a troubled spot for the past four years at least – would point to a fundamental flaw in the line of thinking of the powers-that-be in Bangkok. Having disregarded [...]
US Presidential Election: YouTube, Blogs, Et Al…
I came across this clip while surfing the net. It’s titled “The shocking video Hillary does not want you to see”.
This is Part 1 of a two-series documentary. Will it change the perception of American voters towards the former First Lady? I don’t know. But if I was to vote in the election, I might [...]
Merdeka Reflection: Tun Ghafar Baba “The Million-Million” Man
ON APRIL 23 last year, that’s 2006, former deputy prime minister Tun Ghafar Baba died.
On that day, I’ve posted a brief write-up on my old blog — now no longer active and soon to be deleted — about the man who for the most part of his life was known only as Encik Ghafar Baba. [...]
Building A New High In Bilateral Relations
SOMETIMES, CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE it that you just can’t help but overhear what other people say even when you try not to listen to it.
Like this one between two men in their 50’s who were talking animatedly as the bus that would take them to Johor Baharu from Singapore was approaching the Woodlands checkpoint.
The topic: Singapore-Malaysia [...]
