by Sheridan Mahavera
The Malaysian Insider
September 07, 2013

By his own admission, Anthony Loke Siew Fook “ditakdirkan” to join the DAP.

“I started being interested in current affairs since I was in primary school,” says the 36-year-old Seremban native who went to St Paul’s primary and secondary schools.

His father was a DAP member, his nanny’s husband was a member, while his other family members and neighbours were all supporters. A teenage Loke also looked on DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang as a hero.

This was more than two decades ago, when opposition parties and their members were considered eccentric.

“Next to my father’s old shop in Temiang was a newspaper vendor. I remember squatting there everyday to read Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian and (the now defunct) Watan.

“That was at a time Utusan was critical and balanced,” laughs Loke, saying his favourite sections were politics and sports.

“I always read the politics section first”. Read the rest of this entry »

by Elizabeth Zachariah
The Malaysian Insider
September 07, 2013

Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, one of DAP’s young and upcoming leaders, has challenged former Cabinet minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar to point out how helping Malaysians get a tertiary education could make her racist.

The Umno Selangor state liaison chief and other politicians had criticised the political secretary to DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang after she proposed that an institution like Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) be set up for non-Malays.

“First of all, I did not say that we should open UiTM to the non-Bumis. In the interview I mentioned that we should have something like UiTM for the non-Bumis,” she told The Malaysian Insider late last night in Kuala Lumpur.

In an earlier interview with the Malaysiakini news portal, Dyana said a higher learning education institution like UiTM should be set up for non-Malays. She said she felt sorry for her non-Malay friends who were denied the right to pursue their education at higher learning institutions. Read the rest of this entry »