What do EPL clubs, Hitler’s Nazis and Hinduism have in common? Their symbols have all appeared on kavadis in Penang during Thaipusam. The question now is: what should be allowed and what should be banned.

The Chinese New Year holidays are over but the celebrations go on, especially in largely Hokkien Penang. Then, there is Thaipusam, too, where the Rooster year is seeing ‘fighting cocks’ going at each other.

As the dust settles on the Faiz Subri ‘English-speaking controversy’, let’s look at the bigger picture. Our athletes need not speak great English but, as our ambassadors, they must be able to speak in public.

It takes a lot of guts to climb up a tall structure on a sheer hill, with no safety harnesses to fall back on. But there is also a thin line between bravery and bravado – defined as a false, or an over-the-top show of courage.

At a time when there is a great stink in Malaysian football there comes a fresh breath of air in the sport – from little girls who have embraced the sport.

There is this jaded cliche – guns don’t kill people, it’s people who kill people. It’s not quite right. Guns in the hands of the wrong people kill people.

India’s fight against corruption, tax evasion and counterfeit money has rocked the country. Much of the world is praising the effort, but in the poverty-stricken interiors, life just got harder.

A woman chains her daughter to a lamppost because she has been naughty. It is an extreme punishment. But is it too extreme? How far should a parent go in disciplining a wayward child?

Things change, even leaders. Mahatma Gandhi, who would be 147 on Sunday, was the icon of peace and moderation for decades. Now, in parts of Africa, he is being criticised as a racist and an irrelevant leader.

Our Olympians and Paralympians have shown us that we can surpass all odds, despite the divisive politicians.

Sports is the great unifier, the one thing that blinds everyone to the divisive silos that the politicians would want us to live in. There are those who refuse to get out of those silos. But most Malaysians know better.

While Malaysia has just enacted laws to thwart local terror attacks, the bigger fear has to be the many gun-toting killers running around.