Marina tells it straight

Right to the point: Marina at the launch of her book at Borders, The Gardens Mall.

KUALA LUMPUR: Write what you feel and not something someone else may want to hear, said gutsy social and political activist Marina Mahathir.

Twenty-three years since her fortnightly column Musings first appeared in The Star, Marina has built a name and a following for her honest take on issues.

“Sometimes, when I read the paper and feel like I have something to say about it, I just write. I write what I feel.

“And for the most part, people have told me that I'm writing what they're thinking, which is really nice because sometimes, I wonder who else out there feels the same way when I express these thoughts,” she said during the launch of her new book at Borders, The Gardens Mall, yesterday.

The 264-page book Telling It Straight published by Editions Didier Millet features a compilation of 90 of Marina's best Musings pieces from 2003 to this year.

The columns are arranged thematically, covering a wide range of topics like gender equality, politics, faith, public health and the me-dia.

“Think of it as a greatest hits,” said Marina of her book, which included unpublished columns and specially written introductions for context. It retails at RM39.90.

This is Marina's third book. Her last one, 50 Days: Rantings By MM, was published 2009.