Making federalism REAL
17 min read
Malaysia Day celebrations.Many West Malaysians will find it mind-boggling for Malaysians one day to celebrate three national days: August 31 as Merdeka Da...
No easy task to educate
6 min read
Nothing could have prepared me for school. If I thought having a degree from a US college and a job at a big consulting firm in the city were enough, I was wron...
South China Sea: What’s at stake?
5 min read
With the discovery of oil in Sarawak in 1910, the foundation of Malaysia’s oil and gas industry was laid and changed its economy forever. Mainly located i...
Eight bountiful acres
4 min read
The way to 8 Acres was very fruitful, pun intended. In the car with friends and colleagues, we made a brief stop along the trunk road for some nangka. Each frui...
Stateless in Sabah
4 min read
Any tourist walking along Kota Kinabalu’s famed waterfront will, sooner or later, encounter a tout waving a booklet for island tours and boat trips. He wi...
Taking education outside the school
6 min read
According to the World Bank, in 2010, 14% of our GDP per capita consisted of public spending on primary education. Singapore on the other hand recorded 11.2%...
URGENTLY NEEDED: Reform of Malaysia’s regime police
6 min read
Nine years have passed since the release of the landmark 2005 Dzaiddin Royal Commission Report and its 125 recommendations for police reforms, including the f...
No nuclear power please, we are Malaysians
8 min read
At a recent event organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI), a speech by Datuk Mah Siew Keong, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Depa...
Garbage City of Cairo
6 min read
“Garbage City” in the Mokattam hills outside Cairo is not on the tourist map. A cramped slum of rubbish-strewn streets and low rise buildings, it is...
Local government in Malaysia: Types, functions, organisation, members and budget
4 min read
Figure 1: Types of local government in MalaysiaSource: Ministry of Housing and Local Government, 2014.The local government or local authority, or &ldq...
Who says you can’t make videos in Penang?
4 min read
Entering the premises of local production house RisingOneMedia, I half-expected high-tech cameras lying scattered on the floor and an important creative discuss...
Kyogen : An awesome tradition seeking a future
6 min read
At a time when traditional performances – be they wayang kulit, Hokkien puppet theatre or bharatanatyam – cling to the fringes of our society as TVs...