Columnists

LATELY, the racial and religious time bomb has been ticking louder in Malaysia.

PAS and Umno will soon ink their unity charter at a mammoth gathering that will signal their clout but which will likely put off the non-Malays.

It cannot be business as usual. In the Internet era, effective communication is needed more than ever.

Where once stood a city polluted by coal mining, a big green lung stands in its place.

I am from the generation of baby boomer who has just passed my sixth decade of life.

YESTERDAY I read a heart-wrenching piece by one of our towering Malays in academia, Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi, entitled “A Meaningless Merdeka”, where he laments on the sliding down state of the nation and our failing society. His utter despondency on the futility of trying to save our beloved Malaysia in a climate where in his words, “"peddler of religious capitalism comes to this country blaring insults... and ministers have dinners with him”" and "“Old Malaysia has just been given a new lease of life by a heart bypass”", seem like the norm today among the real thinking-class of Malaysia. His article hit every point like a nail-gun to the head.YESTERDAY I read a heart-wrenching piece by one of our towering Malays in academia, Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi, entitled “A Meaningless Merdeka”, where he laments on the sliding down state of the nation and our failing society. His utter despondency on the futility of trying to save our beloved Malaysia in a climate where in his words, “"peddler of religious capitalism comes to this country blaring insults... and ministers have dinners with him”" and "“Old Malaysia has just been given a new lease of life by a heart bypass”", seem like the norm today among the real thinking-class of Malaysia. His article hit every point like a nail-gun to the head.

AT the National Economic Forum 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Former Minister Mustapa Mohamed asked attendees to raise their hands if they agreed that there was too much internal politicking right now in Malaysia.

PAKATAN Harapan, are you listening?

THE Government’s plan to offer breakfast to all pupils in both government and government-aided primary schools beginning next year is certainly well-intentioned.

THERE is a certain degree of apprehension, even uneasiness, this year as we celebrate National Day. Race relations in this country isn’t anything to be proud of, what with manufactured fears fuelled by groups with political interests.

WHEN I was a teenager, I assumed that Sabah’s neighbour, Kalimantan, was a dark, empty swath of jungle. For me, the Indonesian part of Borneo Island – the third largest island in the world and largest in Asia – was a heart of darkness among its neighbours Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan) and Brunei.

August seemed to be the month of independence for much of Asia, including Malaysia. However, most of the region is now grappling with nationhood and pluralism.