Archive for category 1Malaysia
New height of infamy for Malaysia that apart from 1MDB scandal which was “kleptocracy at its worst”, among worst performing nations in two-year Covid-19 pandemic, catastrophic government mismanagement of massive floods in Selangor and Pahang, absence of Prime Minister at annual Christmas high tea, a convicted criminal was invited to open an international conference
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak on Monday, 27 December 2021
There have been many “national embarrassments” for Malaysia of late
With the global 1MDB scandal which had been described by the former US Attorney-General as “kleptocracy at its worst”; Malaysia among the worst performing nations in the two-year Covid-19 pandemic accumulating nearly 2.75 million Covid-19 cases and over 31,000 deaths; a former Prime Minister declared by the Court of Appeal as a “national embarrassment” during his premiership; catastrophic government mismanagement of last week’s massive floods in Selangor and Pahang causing loss of at least 48 lives and the absence of the Prime Minister at the annual Christmas high tea which totally demolished his “Keluarga Malaysia” slogan, one would have thought Malaysia had enough infamies for any nation.
Read the rest of this entry »
UMNO leaders must learn to be responsible Malaysian leaders and stop making baseless accusation against political opponents as anti-Malay or anti-Islam, when in my 52 years in politics, I have never accused any UMNO leader as anti-Chinese, anti-Indian or anti-Buddhism, anti-Christianity or anti-Hinduism
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building, Religion on Tuesday, 17 October 2017
Tomorrow, Malaysians celebrate Deepavali.
For six decades, we have failed to leverage as inheritors of the greatest civilizations in the world to build on their strengths and achievements instead of being blinded by their faults and vices.
We inherit the greatest accomplishments of mankind represented in the great civilizations in human history which meet in confluence in Malaysia, and we should be a shining example to the world of unity in diversity.
Let us benefit from the unique character and strength of Malaysia as a plural nation of diverse races, religions, cultures and languages and not be wracked by worsening racial and religious polarization in the country.
It is no use issuing Deepavali messages every year about the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil when we continue to practice and preach the politics of distrust and hatred based on a most irresponsible exploitation of the politics of race and religion.
UMNO leaders should learn to be more responsible Malaysian leaders and stop making baseless accusations against political opponents as anti-Malay or anti-Islam when in my 52 years in politics, I have never accused any UMNO leader as anti-Chinese, ant-Indian or anti-Buddhism, anti-Christianity or anti-Hinduism. Read the rest of this entry »
CANCELLED BEER FEST IN MALAYSIA: IF NAJIB IS COURTING ISLAMIC HARDLINERS, ARE HIS RIVALS ANY BETTER?
BY BHAVAN JAIPRAGAS
South China Morning Post
8 OCT 2017
As Islamic hardliners grow more influential, political parties hesitate to offend the voting bloc of religious Malays, and the cancelled Oktoberfest-inspired event is likely a sign of things to come
Compared to the millions-strong boozy crowd of Munich’s fabled, month-long Oktoberfest, the now-cancelled Better Beer Festival in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur would have been a decidedly flat affair.
Planned for this weekend in a shopping centre and with just around 6,000 people expected to attend, the latest installation of the country’s biggest annual craft beer event would have posed little threat to public order, and was likely to have gone unnoticed in the international media.
But now its abrupt cancellation – compelled by Islamic hardliners seeking blanket alcohol prohibition – has sparked a fresh political maelstrom for both Prime Minister Najib Razak and his chief opponent, the 92-year-old ex strongman Mahathir Mohamad.
Two other Oktoberfest-related, beer-themed events in shopping malls are also likely to be banned in areas the opposition controls. Read the rest of this entry »
Call on all Malaysians regardless of race, religion or politics to attend the Pakatan Harapan rally “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan kleptocrasi” in PJ to send a clear and unmistaken message to Najib and the world
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Constitution, DAP, Elections on Sunday, 8 October 2017
My visit to Rahang new village this morning is a most significant one.
It was from Rahang, through the Rahang by-election on 11th December 1965, which was won by Dr. Chen Man Hin as an independent candidate as DAP was still waiting for registration by the Registrar of Societies, that DAP took the first step in our long-term political struggle for an united, just and democratic Malaysia.
As the saying goes, “A journey of thousand miles begin with a single step” – the DAP’s 52 year struggle for an united, just and democratic Malaysia start from the “single step” in the Rahang by-election 52 years ago.
Let all Malaysians recall our Merdeka Dream 1957 and Malaysia Dream 1963 to be “for ever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations”.
Sixty years after attainment of Merdeka in 1957 and 54 years after the formation of Malaysia, it is highly controversial whether in the past six decades, we have stayed true, loyal and faithful the key words in the Merdeka Proclamation 1957 and Malaysia Proclamation 1963 of being “sovereign”, “democratic”, “independent”, “liberty”, “justice”, “welfare and happiness of its people” and “maintenance of a just peace among all nations”.
Today, there are more and more incidents which would be unthinkable to our forefathers and the early Prime Ministers during the early decades of the nation – like the upsurge of race and religious issues over beer, shorts and launderette, which caused one of the Sultans to declare that his state is not a Taliban state! Read the rest of this entry »
A recent upsurge of race and religious issues over beer, shorts, launderette and Christianisation to compensate for the disastrous flops over Najib’s meeting with Trump and RCI on forex losses to target Mahathir and Anwar
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Constitution, Islam, Najib Razak on Thursday, 28 September 2017
There has been an upsurge of race and religious issues over beer, shorts, launderette and so-called Christianisation to compensate for the propaganda setbacks suffered by UMNO/BN over the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s meeting with US President Trump and the failure of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to target former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Cabinet should take heed of the call by the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) Chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail – whose distinguished diplomatic service included a year as President of the United Nations General Assembly – that Putrajaya should “take stock of the drift towards religious extremism”.
The prospect of creeping Talibanisation is the concern of all moderate and patriotic Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, culture or region, who love Malaysia and want the country to be an oasis of peace and harmony in a very troubled world and be an example to the world of how a plural society formed out of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures could unite to build a harmonious, tolerant, moderate and modern nation which is just, democratic, progressive and prosperous. Read the rest of this entry »
Better use of the RM60 billion to help Malaysians, like the closure of KRIMs, economic woes of 100,000 Felda settlers and the 700,000 PTPTN defaulters than the Quixotic objective to “strengthen the American economy”
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak on Thursday, 21 September 2017
Recently, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, went to the White House to meet with President Trump to help strengthen the United Sates economy, which is a ridiculous idea when we take into account that the American economy has a GDP close to US$19 trillion while the Malaysian GDP has not even reached US$300 billion!
It is the United States which should help strengthen the Malaysian economy, and not the other way round.
There is better use of the RM60 billion to help Malaysians, like the closure of KRIMS throughout the country, the 100,000 Felda settlers who have an economic crisis in their hands, or the 700,000 PTPTN defaulters instead of being used for the Quixotic objective to “strengthen the American economy”.
It is a sign of the failure of Najib’s economics and his policies that the Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) are being closed down all over the country, starting in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Kelantan and Sarawak. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib’s 4 failures
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, nation building, NEM on Wednesday, 6 September 2017
Athena Angel
The Malaysian Insight
Sept. 5, 2017
“THERE go the people. I must follow them, for I am their leader.” – Alexandre Ledru-Rollin
Most Malaysians are feeling economically worse off today than they were 10 years ago, youth unemployment spiked by 13% last year, Malaysia is less respected around the world, inflation is making it harder for Malaysians to buy the things they need, and a recent Pew survey found that 73% of Malaysians expected the country’s economic situation to worsen or stay the same over the following 12 months.
Najib Razak is feeling nervous about this lack of success. He has four big failures to be ashamed of. Read the rest of this entry »
Make Malaysia Tanah Melayu Again? – Reflections on the Sixtieth Anniversary of Merdeka
M. Bakri Musa
31st August 2017
The deadly white supremacists’ riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017, and the much less lethal but no less dangerous fracas at the Nothing-to-Hide 2 Forum in Shah Alam the following day, may have occurred at literally opposite ends of the globe and in a diametrically different cultural milieu, nonetheless the underlying racial and socio-political dynamics share many eerie and frightening similarities.
Factoring time zone differences, the two events took place at about the same time. There were other similarities but before pursuing them it is worth recalling the differences.
While mega terabytes were consumed by tapes of and commentaries on that Charlottesville riot, as befit a tragedy that shook and shocked the comfortable core assumptions of America, the Malaysian fracas was remarkable for the silence of the establishment and mainstream media, reflecting their tacit approval. Only with the vigorous alternate media was this shameful and glaring deficit exposed. Read the rest of this entry »
How did we lose our way in our journey started 60 years ago to pursue the Merdeka Dream?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Corruption, Malaysian Dream, nation building on Thursday, 31 August 2017
Congratulations to the 844-strong Malaysian contingent for the golden harvest of 145 gold medals, 92 silver and 86 bronze at the 2017 SEA Games which concluded yesterday.
This is the only silver lining and glimmer of hope in the 60th Merdeka Anniverary celebrations today – a far cry from this day sixty years ago when we set out as a young nation, brimming with hope and confidence, dedicated, in the words of the Merdeka Proclamation 1957 and reaffirmed in the Malaysia Proclamation six year later, that the nation “shall be for ever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded upon the principles of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations”.
The remarkable and unprecedented Merdeka video “Citizen” by Pete Teo where the MCA President and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai took on a double acting role, captured the Malaysian malaise sixty years after Merdeka – the sense of hopelessness even despair, felt by patriotic Malaysians at the state of Malaysia today. Read the rest of this entry »
Tahniah Dato’ Seri A. Samad Said, sasterawan rakyat bersenjata pena dan puisi
Saya ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan tahniah kepada Sasterawan Negara Dato’ Seri A. Samad Said di atas penganugerahan Darjah Gemilang Pangkuan Negeri oleh TYT Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Dr Haji Abdul Rahman Haji Abbas, Yang di-Pertua Negeri Pulau Pinang.
Penganugerahan ini adalah satu simbol pengiktirafan kepada beliau, atas khidmat bakti yang telah dicurahkan dalam dunia kesusasteraan dan budaya di tanah air, selain untuk sumbangan yang tidak ternilai harganya kepada lapangan aktivisme dan politik negara.
Pak Samad, seperti panggilannya di kalangan kita semua, adalah manifestasi ‘puisi jadi senjata’ di tengah-tengah medan politik Malaysia yang kini sedang berada di perbatasan pilihanraya paling penting dalam sejarah negara. Pak Samad adalah panglima rakyat, dengan bersenjatakan pena dan kata-kata, memujuk hati nurani kita semua agar mengusung perubahan dan mencapai impian kita sebagai rakyat Malaysia yang cintakan negara.
Hasil-hasil karya Pak Samad tidak pernah gagal membawa tema dan suara rakyat marhaen ke khalayak umum. Novel ‘Salina’ contohnya menjadi cerminan kesempitan hidup rakyat pasca perang dunia kedua, dan bagaimana rakyat marhaen ditindas.
Sajak-sajak Pak Samad setelah terjun ke lapangan aktivisme lebih-lebih lagi menggambarkan perasaannya yang menyala-nyala. Sajaknya yang dibaca bersempena Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat, beberapa bulan sebelum pilihanraya umum ke-13 sangat mengesankan. Dan sehingga kini pun masih terus meniup bara semangat kita semua. Read the rest of this entry »
The warong visits at Pasir Puteh, Ketereh and Machang proved me right that ordinary Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese or Indians, want harmony, tolerance, goodwill, solidarity and unity and not lies, distrust, suspicion, hatred and extremism
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Islam, Malays, nation building on Saturday, 1 July 2017
My three-day “Jelajah Raya di Panti Timor” in Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan have vindicated me and confirmed what I had always believed – that the lies and falsehoods which form the core of the UMNO demonisation campaign against me and DAP leaders, painting us as anti-Malay and anti-Islam, do not have any traction with the majority of Malays and Muslims, as they are not so stupid and irrational as to succumb to the lies, fake news and false information pumped out by the UMNO propaganda mills of lies and falsehoods.
During my “Jelajah Raya di Pantai Timur”, I visited the warongs in Pasir Puteh, Ketereh and Machang, and the ordinary Malays I met at these warongs have only friendliness , goodwill and kindness for the visiting DAP group.
There was not a single trace of suspicion, distrust, hate or malice which would not be the case if the vicious and long-standing black propaganda of UMNO to paint me as quite a devil, a puaka, even jembalang; that I am anti-Malay, anti-Islam; cause of May 13, 1969 riots; a communist; a stooge of foreign powers; that I dominate Pakatan Harapan and made other leaders like Tun Mahathir Mohamad, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Datuk Seri Wan Azizah, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, Mohamad Sabu and Husam Musa into my stooges and puppets, have credibility and are believed to be true by ordinary Malays and Muslims in the country.
In fact, my warong visits and “Jelajah Raya di Pantai Timur” have vindicated and fortified my belief that ordinary Malaysians, whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans, whether Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus or Sikhs do not want or support extremism in whatever form. Read the rest of this entry »
Call on all religions in Malaysia to unite with common objective to make Malaysia the beacon and inspiration for the world as a showcase of multi-religious harmony, understanding, tolerance, solidarity and unity
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building, Religion on Wednesday, 21 June 2017
When the nation achieved Merdeka in 1957 and Malaysia was formed in 1963, religion was conceived as an important nation-building block for the country to be a showcase to the world how a multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural country could unite as one successful, progressive and prosperous nation with harmony, understanding, tolerance, solidarity and unity from our various diversities of race, religion, language and culture.
This is a time to take stock of our six decades of nation-building, for Malaysia seems to have lost its way – the nation losing its moral compass and forfeiting our moral high ground in the international community.
After six decades, Malaysia has not been able to leverage on our maximum potentials, whether in the political, economic, social, educational, human resources development and nation-building spheres – being increasingly left behind by many countries like Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong which were behind us during our early years of nationhood, and now at risk of being overtaken by even more countries, especially, Vietnam, Thailand and even Indonesia.
China and Indonesia had trailed far behind Malaysia on the anti-corruption front, but in the past few decades, Malaysia has gradually but relentlessly lost ground to these two countries, until the question now is not whether, but when China and Indonesia will overtake Malaysia as a less corrupt country! Read the rest of this entry »
Has Apandi read the ten “killer paragraphs” in US DOJ’s latest 1MDB kleptocratic suit to forfeit 1MDB-assets which directly linked Najib’s RM2.6 billion donation to 1MDB, and if so, how can he suggest that there is nothing new?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Financial Scandals, Najib Razak on Friday, 16 June 2017
The Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali is even faster than the former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Idris Jala, who completed his inquiry into the five-year-old RM13 billion Felda Global Ventures Holding Berhard (FGV) crisis in less than a week.
Apandi read the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) latest 1MDB kleptocratic suit to seize 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland in a matter of hours as to be able to declare that there was nothing new and to express his regret about “insinuations” against the Prime Minister in the DOJ’s latest 1MDB forfeiture suit.
For Apandi’s information, they are not insinuations but open and direct charge by the United States Government that the Prime Minister had lied when he claimed that the RM2.6 billion donations had come from Saudi Arabian royalty!
Apandi must be quite a speed reader, but has he read the ten “killer paragraphs” in the US DOJ’s latest 1MDB kleptocratic suit to forfeit 1MDB-linked assets because of the crime of money-laundering, which as good as linked the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s RM2.6 billion “donations” to 1MDB money-laundering, debunking the claim that they were donations from Saudi Arab royalty and that US$620 million had been returned to Saudi Arabian donor. Read the rest of this entry »
Even if Malaysia ends up a failed and bankrupt state, Penang must break ranks to continue to be a successful dynamo of justice, progress and development to save Malaysia for the future
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building on Monday, 12 June 2017
I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry when I read the Penang Barisan Nasional attacks on the DAP-led Penang State Government as leading Penang towards a failed and bankrupt state.
Are the Penang BN leaders seriously suggesting that Penang is becoming a failed and bankrupt state? That Penang is worse than Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis, Kedah, Pahang, Malacca, Negri Sembilan or Johor?
Ask the people all over the Penang State whether Penang is becoming a failed and bankrupt state, and the answer is a categorical “No” among the overwhelming majority of Penangites, including Barisan Nasional members, except for the few Penang Barisan Nasional leaders who have eyes that see not and ears that hear not.
Ask the people all over Malaysia, whether Malaysia is in danger of being trapped in the trajectory heading towards a failed and bankrupt state, and the answer will be a categorical “Yes” among the overwhelming majority of informed Malaysians including Barisan Nasional members.
When Malaysia achieved Independence and nationhood 60 years ago, we had high hopes and great dreams for the country to be a top world-class nation, not only progressive, forward-looking and successful in all fields of human endeavor, whether political, economic, social and educational, but to be a model to the world of unity, harmony, tolerance and mutual respect in a plural nation of diverse races, religions, languages and cultures.
Apart from Japan, we were sixty years ago the richest and most economically developed country in Asia.
Since then we have been overtaken by many – Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan and unless we pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, we are in danger of being overtaken by Vietnam and Thailand, and heavens forbid, even Indonesia and the Philippines! Read the rest of this entry »
It flaunts the power but also advertises the failure of UMNO’s Goebbels in using Nazi Big Lies to demonise me as power-hungry, anti-Malay and anti-Islam
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Media, nation building on Thursday, 26 January 2017
Was it a sheer coincidence that the Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times and Berita Harian today all reported an article entitled “Apa salahnya DAP jadi TPM” which appeared on online portal Malaysiakini yesterday, and all omitted that it was an article written by Zulhazmi Shariff, Ahli Jawatankuasa Biro Guaman DAP Kedah.
This was power play at the most blatant, someone – who is actually UMNO’s Goebbels – who had the power to direct the three UMNO-owned “mainstream newspapers” what to print, how to print, and what to omit!
For most of the past five decades of my political life, I was virtually a non-person to the UMNO-owned and controlled “mainstream media”, never reported about or mentioned except on occasions to demonise me or to put me in the worst possible light.
But for the past four weeks, I had become quite a “regular” in these three UMNO-owned “mainstream media” which had treated me as a “persona non grata” – not because these three “mainstream media” have suddenly realized that the journalists’ craft is to tell the truth, but for the UMNO propaganda masterminds to set me up so that UMNO leaders, propagandists and cybertroopers could discredit, destroy and demolish me.
They were modern-day Malaysian practitioners of the Nazi craft immortalized by Hitler’s Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels who said the infamous words – “if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” Read the rest of this entry »
MY DREAM – Alwi Jantan
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building on Thursday, 26 January 2017
MY DREAM
Do I see rainbow in the sky
With droves of birds flying by?
Do I see a lush greenery
Flora and fauna of sheer beauty?
Do I see rich traditions
From ancient civilisations?
Do I see children playing together
Of various races and gender? Read the rest of this entry »
Liow and Mah seem to have an unwritten agreement with Hadi that they will not rock Najib’s boat and will not raise any issue about the 1MDB money-laundering scandal even if Malaysia is known as a global kleptocracy
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Corruption on Thursday, 26 January 2017
I can report that in the second day of my 72-hour proposal to MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and the Gerakan President Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong for a separate or joint meeting to discuss how we can co-operate in the larger national interests to save Malaysia from a global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state, I have received no contact from either one of them.
I have also received no response from Datuk Seri Hadi Awang to my statement in Penang on Sunday during my “Jelajah Desa” at Sungai Gelugor in Penang that I am prepared to co-operate with the PAS President to save Malaysia from becoming a global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state – apart from negative statements from his subordinates in PAS.
It would appear that Liow and Mah have an unwritten agreement with Hadi that they will not rock the boat of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and will not raise any issue or question about the international multi-billion dollar 1MDB kleptocratic money-laundering scandal even if Malaysia is as a result regarded worldwide as a global kleptocracy.
Am I wrong? We will know when my 72-hour offer to Liow and Mah expires at noon tomorrow!
Actually, there is no better time than now for all the political leaders, whether in government or opposition, to demonstrate their patriotism and love of the country by uniting on a common national agenda to save Malaysia from global kleptocracy and a failed and rogue state, especially with the release of the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2016 in Berlin yesterday which showed that Malaysia is hurtling downwards in a unchecked decline in national and international perceptions about integrity, good governance and the war against corruption. Read the rest of this entry »
Ku Li’s DAP Bashing: A Cynical Play for UMNO Leadership
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Razaleigh Hamzah, UMNO on Saturday, 1 October 2016
Koon Yew Yin
1.10.2016
All sorts of developments have taken place in our political arena this past fortnight which have tempted me to write about. The most prominent is the attempt by the Election Commission to steal the next election for the BN. However many other analysts have commented and written about it so there is no need for me to say anything much except to urge our Malaysian electorate to vote in the next election – wherever their constituency and the outcome of the re-delineation exercise – so as to finish off once and for all, UMNO’s and BN’s monopoly of power.
Assuming the next election is in 2018, I propose that one of the key electoral slogans for the opposition parties is
“Malaysians Have Had More Than Enough of 59 Years of BN Misrule and Power Abuse”.
A question for Malaysians to ponder while commemorating 53rd Malaysia Day – Is Najib’s 1Malaysia Policy dead or alive?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Corruption, Najib Razak, Sabah, Sarawak on Thursday, 15 September 2016
I dedicate a question for Malaysians to ponder while commemorating the 53rd Malaysia Day – is Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Policy dead or alive?
If Najib’s 1Malaysia Policy is still alive, why are UMNO leaders spearheading a national campaign of hate and lies drumming up racial and religious politics, the latest example being the Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who alleged that Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s new political party is a proxy for DAP to divide the Malay community – just like PKR and Parti Amanah Negara?
DAP shared the same platform as the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman and veteran UMNO leader, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah when the latter led Parti Semangat 46 in the 1990 General Election to bring about electoral and institutional changes in the country.
Were Tunku and Razaleigh traitors of the Malay community or pioneers of Malaysian nationalism and patriotism?
Is Najib and UMNO’s survival justification enough to abandon the 1Malaysia Policy to promote racial and religious hatred and animosities based on lies and falsehoods? Read the rest of this entry »
The Malaysia that could be
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Malaysian Dream on Thursday, 19 May 2016
Michael Vatikiotis
Straits Times
May 15, 2016
Shortly after I arrived in Kuala Lumpur in 1991 as newly appointed bureau chief for the Far Eastern Economic Review, I was introduced to a Malaysian journalist then working here for The Straits Times in Singapore. We worked in a country well known for its disdain for the foreign media; and we were particular targets because our publications were deemed by the government to be biased against or even hostile to Malaysia.
Partly because of the common challenges we faced, but perhaps mostly because we enjoyed eating nasi kandar and roti canai at street- side stalls in Kuala Lumpur or on the many outstation reporting trips we took together, we became good friends.
A quarter of a century later, my close friend Kalimullah Hassan is no longer a journalist – neither am I. Our beloved profession has been much affected by the decline of advertising revenues and the rise of social media. But Kali, as all his friends know him, remains as passionate and concerned about his country as he was when we drove for long hours around rural constituencies in out-of-the-way parts of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu covering by-elections.
So when I read his newly published collection of columns and recollections, many of those earnest discussions and arguments we had over steaming cups of teh tarik in the 1990s came flooding back to me. There is his great pride in Malaysia’s ethnic diversity, his deep concern about the divisive racist rhetoric of contested politics and the corrosive impact of patronage and corruption in high places.
Read the rest of this entry »
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