PROJECT MALAYSIA

Sustainable Development - The Journey Avoided

By Gurmit Singh Sustainable development was the new paradigm that governments and NGOs were talking about in the lead-up to the Rio Summit [1992] and at Rio itself. The elements of this development were incorporated in Agenda 21, which was formally adopted by UNCED, in addition to the Rio Principles. But ...

Redesigning the Malaysian Mind

By Lim Kok Wing I believe, and always will, that creative people are the most important people in the world. All over the world, it is creative people who create new business, new enterprise, new markets, new brands, new life styles and new trends. It is creative people who build successful companies ...

Broken Promises: The Malaysian Constitution and Multiculturalism

By Dr. Azmi Sharom In 1835 Malays made up nearly 90% of Malaya’s population. In 1947 this number was closer to 50%. Therefore during a time when Malayan political consciousness was awakening (the 1946 British introduction of the Malayan Union which effectively placed the entire peninsular under direct British rule galvanised ...

Refashioning the Westminster System to Malaysia

By Rajan Rishyakaran Somnath Chatterjee, the previous Speaker of India’s lower house, the Lok Sabha (House of the People) suggested that the Speaker should resign from political affiliations while assuming the post of Speaker. "It is better if a person occupying the Speaker's post resigns from his or her party post ...

Dignity or Efficiency? - Malaysian Monarchy at the Fringes

By Ho Yi Jian "The monarchy is extended to Malaysians of all ethnic groups who accept its constitutional identity and live comfortably with its Malay-oriented social dimension," declared His Royal Highness Raja Nazrin Shah in 2004. As a representative of the monarchy, his speech represents the Malaysian sultanates and how they ...

Lambs under the Throne - The Myth of Judges as Protectors of Liberty

By Tommy Thomas In Malaysia's political system, the Federal Constitution is supreme. Fundamental liberties are enshrined in Part II of the Constitution. Under the doctrine of separation of powers, the Executive governs the nation, the Legislature enacts the laws and the Judiciary acts as the arbiter of disputes between citizen and ...

Sultan Iskandar Dzulkarnain’s ‘Mega-Projek.’

By Dr. Farish A. Noor The term ‘mega-projek' has, thanks to the changing political mood in the country, become a house-hold word these days. In the press (both mainstream and alternative) we read and hear of the numerous mega-projects that now dot the once uncluttered Malaysian landscape: Buildings that are too ...

The Principles of Governance and a New Philosophy of Economic Management

By Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim Becoming Menteri Besar of the State of Selangor was a surprising development that took place exactly one year ago, of which I am now simultaneously both humbled by and very proud. I had always been involved in the corporate world for most of my life, ...

The Return of Government

By Brian Yap Governance is what differentiates Canada from Afghanistan, Sweden from Zimbabwe, and some Malaysians might say, one side of the Causeway and the other. The contrast between nations with good governance and those without are both obvious and far-reaching. More than anything else, be it religious or ideological orientation, the ...

A Case for Independent Local Government

By S. Jamal Al-Idrus Frequently, when we talk about governments and governance, the focus is on the top tier. In the Malaysian context, that top tier would be the Federal Government. Occassionally, state governments, too, get a bit of focus, but usually surrounding some scandal or irregularity. Similarly, the focus on ...

Governance Without Politics?

By Nathaniel Tan In the wake of Perak and the recent photograph scandal, it has become vogue once again among some commentators to decry the lowbrow quality of Malaysian politics. Hands wrung, some decry how politicians should instead be concentrating on problems of the economy, crime, education and so on. I stand ...

Malaysia and Governance: A Historical Perspective

By Julian Teh When one thinks of the term “good governance” one usually associates it with political stability, fairness and of course strong economic growth. Lately, we have been seeing a lack of good governance within our country. One only has to look at the local headlines in the newspapers to ...

Government, Publishing and the Infinite Game

By See Tshiung Han When I think of Vision 2020, I think of the business model of Multi-Level Marketing. The scenarios that get us to the end result are not fully formed. Rather, they need to be talked about endlessly. We can't hoard favored predictions, a good business plan takes into ...

I Agree with Pollyanna

By Zubin Rada Krishnan The Cynic and Pollyanna Malaysia’s chattering classes – a category, which in this country is a rare unifier across all kinds of socio-economic cleavages – are a proudly cynical lot, especially when the topic is the future state of the nation. Revealing one’s support for a public ...

Economic Crisis: Agenda for Reform Required

By Terence Gomez The financial crisis that has erupted in the US and Europe has led to a growing call by Malaysians for the government to construct an agenda that would help protect and consolidate the well-being of the domestic economy. While the Barisan Nasional and the Pakatan Rakyat have responded ...

The Governance Issue

The Principles of Governance and a New Philosophy of Economic Management by Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim Economic Crisis: Agenda for Reform Required by Terence Gomez The Return of Government by Brian Yap A Case for Independent Local Government by S. Jamal Al-Idrus Governance Without Politics? by Nathaniel Tan Malaysia and Governance: A Historical Perspective by ...

The Economy Issue

This month's Main Article features an interview with economist Dr. KS Jomo courtesy of the "The Fairly Current Show." The Fairly Current Show interviewed leading economist Dr. Jomo K.S. during his recent return to Kuala Lumpur in December. Dr. Jomo sheds light on the ongoing global financial crisis, and the daunting challenges ...

Tweeting About a Revolution

By Marcus van Geyzel As the world works itself into a collective frenzy over a social media revolution, it is easy to get carried away and overhype the effect of what is, in reality, just another mode of communication. The current social media darlings are, of course, Facebook and Twitter, and ...

Courage, Clarity and Creativity: The Truth about Truth

By Jacqueline Ann Surin2 OF all the challenges media outfits and journalists have faced over the past decade, I would say the most exciting has been the advent of the internet. One question that most interests me as journalist with a history in the traditional print medium is this: With the internet ...

The Media Issue

A New Newsroom by John Lim It was simple when I first started out in magazines. Work the room, one step at a time, moving from editorial assistant to writer to deputy editor to editor. And while I consider myself lucky to have achieved that in five short years, last year ...

Do Journalists Belong in the Media?

By Premesh Chandran As if dictates from governments, media owners and advertisers weren’t enough. Now journalists face a new enemy - those pesky mobile phone carrying people, with their instant reports and commentaries. Where are journalists going to go? … Blood pours from his scalp as he reaches into his hip pocket, ...

Mass Media and Democracy

By Lim Ming Kuok Democracy? In an ideal world, a healthy democracy would allow for each and everyone to present and defend his or her position on various topics and issues. Everyone would listen, weigh in, and provide further argument to support or go against that particular position—perfect deliberation. But of ...

A New Newsroom

By John Lim It was simple when I first started out in magazines. Work the room, one step at a time, moving from editorial assistant to writer to deputy editor to editor. And while I consider myself lucky to have achieved that in five short years, last year I felt the ...

In the Chasm of Malaysian Ethnic Pluralism - Malaysia’s Dutch Descendants

By Dennis De Witt Malaysia has become well known throughout the world as a success story in the development of its multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. Nevertheless, its apparent success in establishing harmony and unity between the races, focus was always made on the four main ethnic ...

Figuring the Malaysian

By Yee I-Lann Note to Readers: This essay appeared in the UMS published catalog for an exhibition called 'Between Generations' that accompanied the exhibition in August/Sept 2007 as part of the 50th Merdeka celebrations. The phrase ‘Malaysian Identity’ scares me. It is an oxymoron, a politically charged oxymoron. It seems ...

Polemik Budaya: Ke Mana Kita Sekarang?

Oleh Naser Baharuddin Budaya dan pembudayaan negara Malaysia mengalami suatu proses kefahaman rakyat yang amat kritikal dan telah dipandang serong oleh setenggah pihak. Dari pihak yang bertanggung jawab hingga ke rakyat bawahan, strata kefahaman budaya dianggap remeh serta budaya dipandang sebagai upacara bawahan yang berkonsepkan ‘pesta.' Pengertian konsep kepelbagaian budaya pada ...

Rojak Culture

By Khoo Gaik Cheng Rojak Day was coming up and all the vegetables and fruits of the land were supposed to be busy preparing for the nation’s fiftieth year of independence. The National Stadium was crowded with cucumbers, sengkuang, jambu air, pineapples and sour mangoes all lining up in their respective ...

Culture and Young People

By Dahlia Martin The Politicisation of Culture It is not a coincidence that the issue of culture in Malaysia was re-examined by government officials after 1969. It had been, after all, the year that saw the Alliance (the precursor to Barisan Nasional) losing its two-thirds majority for the first time since Malaysia’s ...

Embracing the Culture of Generation Z

By Lingswaran Singh The Darwinian theory of evolution may be offensive with regards to the Malaysian culture. However, I deconstruct the Malaysian culture of being obsessed with culture - by extending the perspectives of the Darwinian theory of evolution beyond genetic transmission. Culture can be defined as all the ways of ...

Kebudayaan dan Kebebalan

Oleh Al-Mustaqeem M Radhi Pesanan kepada pembaca: Maksud bagi penggunaan kata 'bebal' di sini sebahagiannya merujuk kepada perbincangan tentang 'bebalisme' oleh Almarhum Profesor Syed Husein Alatas dalam 'Intelektual Masyarakat Membangun.' Rupanya, orang-orang yang serius pun dapat menghasilkan jenaka kalau mereka gopoh. Setelah hubungan antara kaum di Malaysia semakin tegang dengan peristiwa 13 ...

Whither National Culture?

By Dato’ Dr Ghulam Sarwar Yousof Uniquely, due to historical developments in the region over the past two millennia, Malaysia is home to numerous communities and sub-communities each possessing its own defining qualities, qualities that make the communities; the dozens of communities loosely defined for the purpose of convenience or political ...

Pemerkasaan Minda

Oleh Hafiz Noor Shams Di zaman dahulu kala di Yunani, bidang logik, tatabahasa dan retorik perlu dikuasai sebelum seseorang itu melangkah ke tahap pendidikan yang lebih tinggi. Dikenali secara kolektif sebagai trivium, sukatan ini bertujuan untuk memperkasakan seseorang individu itu dengan membolehkannya memiliki pemikiran yang berdikari. Adalah mudah untuk memahami mengapa sukatan ...

Bangsa Malaysia Melalui Sistem Pendidikan

Oleh Zaidel Baharuddin Kebelakangan ini, sejak keputusan Pilihanraya Umum 2008 banyak forum, perbincangan dan perdebatan mengenai konsep bangsa Malaysia dan bagaimana dalam pendapat sesetengah orang, rakyat Malaysia sudah bersedia menolak politik bersadarkan perkauman dan sebagainya. Orang sudah mula mempersoalkan Dasar Ekonomi Baru (DEB), meritokrasi dalam Universiti, kuota-kuota tertentu, perubahan dalam badan ...

Freedoms and Choices in Education

By 'Abidin Muhriz When we talk about the failings of our education system we are almost always referring to problems with publicly funded education. Some of the most pressing concerns in recent times include how Malaysian children are growing up separately in vernacular schools, how to inject a culture of initiative ...

Kegagalan Sistem Pendidikan Malaysia Dari Segi Bahasa.

Oleh Ahmad Hafidz Baharom Memang jarang untuk ditemukan seorang berfahaman politik kanan dari mana-mana bangsapun untuk mengaku yang sistem pendidikan kita telah gagal dalam aspek menyatukan warga Malaysia sendiri. Malah, untuk menghasilkan graduan - graduan pendidikan tahap tertiari yang boleh dikatakan "world class." Sedihnya, kegagalan ini berpunca daripada beberapa pihak. Pihak - ...

Heteroglossia and Polyphony: Can We Teach a National History in Tongues?

By Dr. Farish A. Noor A Note To Readers: This paper was first given as the keynote address for the International Conference SPICES August 2008, Organised by CENPRIS, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. I. Writing the Nation: How many scripts became one. "The desire to expunge contestability from the terms of political enquiry expresses ...

Bebaskan Pilihanraya Kampus

Oleh Lee Khai Loon Apakah anda berminat serta mengambil berat dalam pilihanraya kampus? Jawapan rata-ratanya adalah tidak untuk kebanyakan mahasiswa dan mahasiswi di IPTA. Sebabnya bukan sekadar pengaruh luar pilihanraya kampus IPTA jika berbanding dengan Pilihanraya Umum yang membolehkan keseluruhan rakyat Malaysia berpeluang untuk memilih wakil rakyat dan kerajaan untuk memimpin mereka. ...

Thinking Outside the Box: To Associate or Not To Associate?

By Lim Ming Kuok There is a common perception that on average students who have an overseas university degree are better than local graduates. Is this it true? And if so, what are the differences between a local graduate and an overseas graduate? Anecdotal evidence does suggest that employers prefer to ...

The Role of Higher Education

By Dr. Azmi Sharom Introduction When writing about higher education in Malaysia, it is tempting to fall back on the usual complaints. These are: The stifling of students under the University and University Colleges Act The lack of academic freedom due to the Statutory Bodies Discipline and Surcharge Act Racially based policies having a detrimental ...

The State of Higher Education in Malaysia

By Dato' Dr. Sharom Ahmat The Ninth Malaysia Plan tells us that in order for the country to be competitive on the world stage, we need to develop Human Resource which is knowledgeable, highly skilled, flexible, creative and imbued with positive work ethics and spiritual values. Towards this end, a number ...

The Role of Lawyers in the Administration of Justice

By Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan To many in Malaysian society, the practice of law is simply a means of earning a living. The ideal however requires more of lawyers – that we consciously play a broader role in upholding justice. We are enjoined to do so by tradition, legislation, our social ...

Reforming the Judiciary Includes Reforming the Legal Profession

By Loong Caesar The reform of the judiciary is not an exercise limited to judges or those appointing them. It has to do with the overall reform of legal services and the legal profession itself. Because the unhappiness over the current state of the judiciary has focused on what the Bar ...

Undertaking Comprehensive Judicial Reform

By Brendan Navin Siva I have had the benefit and pleasure of reading the lead article by Raja Aziz Addruse and Logan Sabapathy. I do not disagree with any of the points put forward by them. I agree that the overriding objective must be the reinstatement of the Rule of Law ...

The Due Administration of Justice

By Raja Aziz Addruse and Logan Sabapathy It is now beyond question that the Judiciary is in serious need of reform. At a dinner earlier this year, held shortly after the Royal Commission of Enquiry into the V K Lingam video clip had made known its conclusions and recommendations, the Prime Minister ...

Race and the Class Perspective

By Dr. Kumar Devaraj It is painfully obvious that although we have been independent for over 50 years Malaysians remain deeply divided along ethnic lines. But can all our troubles be ascribed to ethnicity and religion? In actuality, if one looks objectively at the major ethnic and religious issues that we have ...

AIDS and the Racialisation of Health

By By Marina Mahathir The first thing you learn when you start work on HIV/AIDS is that “the virus does not discriminate”. The virus does not know what race you are, only that you are a human being whose blood is a welcome home for it to reproduce. I did not quite ...

Building Group Malaysia

By Yusuf Martin Malaysia has drifted from yet another Merdeka Day, eased through September 16 (Malaysia Day) celebrations and once more has packed bunting flags, collected burnt out rockets and dispensed with sundry the other spent fireworks which had assisted those annual events of redefining national identity. By now obsolete nostalgia and ...

RESET: Race Politics (Part Two)

By Suflan Shamsuddin Read Part One Good comeback, Gerard. Let us indeed face facts. But where on earth were the facts to come from. We’d never know, in today’s environment, what the facts really are, nor would we independently know the motive behind actions that such facts might suggest were carried out. ...

As Close to Heaven As You Can Get On Earth

By Petra Gimbad How we sanction racism again and again. Little attention is paid to how in some way, all of us have walked as a willing lamb to the slaughter. If you see an Indian and a snake, kill the Indian, a laughing man told me. I have a friend who spits ...

RESET: Race Politics (Part One)

By Suflan Shamsuddin A few weeks before the 2008 General Elections, when I went home to Malaysia for some business, I met up with a group of old friends for a late evening coffee. It was great to find out how they were doing, and just to catch up on lost ...

Communal Representation and Its Evils

By Michelle Yoon Not too long ago, a report in the newspapers stated that a secondary school teacher had verbally abused her students, calling them names that are so offensive, I will not repeat them here. Suffice to say, these were degrading words that should have never been uttered, much less ...

“If I don’t see my neighbour on the TV shows I watch, do they exist?”

"A Look Into Media and Race in Malaysia." By Lim Ming Kuok The tagline for Yasmin Ahmad's deceivingly simple Merdeka Day commercial titled Tan Hong Ming in Love was "Our children are colour blind. Shouldn't we keep them that way?" The TV commercial started off with a little boy being asked ...

Integration with Integrity: Are we Malaysian First?

By KJ JOHN Malaysians first: the hope The 12th General Elections of 8th March 2008 and the by-elections of Permatang Pauh established that we are Malaysians first. Not all however agree that we are Malaysians first and ethnics second1. Many prefer to end their study of our history with the Malayan Merdeka ...

New Revolutionaries - The Solution to Race Politics

By Zubin Rada Krishnan Weighed down by history The running of the body politic along racial1 lines is a reflection of the pervasiveness of 'racial politics' in every aspect of Malaysian life. From business fiefdoms to food courts, from the playground to Parliament - the dispersion of power and the making of ...

The Lost Tribes of Malaysia: The Construction of Race Politics from the Colonial Era to the Present: Part Two

By Dr. Farish Ahmad-Noor A Note To Readers: This paper was first presented at the Central Market Annexe as part of The Other Malaysia's Public Lecture Series (Number 2). Due to its length, the team at Project Malaysia will publish it in two parts. This is Part Two. Read Part ...

Wither the Youth?

By The Worried Student Youths all around the world have been a catalyst for change throughout history. They have been involved in anti-war protests, environmental activism and anti-capitalist movements, just to name a few. In Malaysia recently, we had a youth or student demonstration against the entry of other ethnicities into a ...

The Lost Tribes of Malaysia: The Construction of Race Politics from the Colonial Era to the Present: Part One

Can We Handle Dialogue?

By Nursufya Yacob While living in Malaysia I have never asked myself, nor have I been asked by others questions about my faith. Question like, why Muslims have to wear the hijab, why is Muhammad the Muslims' last prophet, what is the logic behind our 5-time prayers, why doesn't Islam allow ...

A Sprint Or Marathon Towards Bangsa Malaysia?

By Nur Jazlan Mohamed (Substitute the number of years since Merdeka in 1957) ago, Malayans of all races spilled into Stadium Merdeka and padangs across Malaya to celebrate Independence on August 31st. And every year since then, we lament, we recriminate, we ruminate, we fulminate on what it means, what it ...

Charting A New Course For Social Cohesion

By Nizam Bashir Introduction: Status of Inter-Ethnic Relations in Malaysia In early 2006, the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research conducted a survey on ethnic relations in Malaysia. The results highlighted that approximately 50 percent out of the 2,137 Malaysians surveyed viewed themselves as members of their ethnic groups first. This must have ...

Local elections as a way to decrease ethnic salience? - A preliminary examination

By Ong Kian Ming Many have touted the results of the recent 2008 general election as pointing towards the 'end of ethnic' in Malaysian politics. While the results for PKR, arguably the first genuinely multi-ethnic party in Malaysia, were certainly impressive, it is the opinion of this author that it ...

Politics, Johor Suburbia Style

By Z. A. Samad For the longest time, members of my household were silent non-UMNO members. My (ex) government servant father has always held the belief that his vote is not confidential, and rather than vote against his conscience, he conveniently ignored Election Day. He would keep abreast of the political ...

Malaysia’s Social Contract - Exposing The Myth Behind The Slogan

By Mavis Puthucheary Since the 1980s the term "social contract" has come to supersede the term "inter-ethnic bargain" that was previously used by historians to describe the agreement between the leaders of the founding parties in the Alliance. This original bargain was not spelled out in any clear and precise way ...

Sistem Pendidikan di Malaysia - Punca Masalah Perkauman?

Oleh John Lee Pemimpin-pemimpin kita gemar mengadu mengenai masalah polarisasi kaum. Biarlah di universiti ataupun di pejabat, sesiapa pun boleh lihat bahawa rakyat jelata lebih gemar bergaul dengan rakan dari kaum yang sama. Inilah sebab kerajaan mengadakan program Khidmat Negara - supaya dewasa-dewasa muda tidak perlu takut berkawan dan bergaul dengan ...

Race Based Policies and Its Effects In Malaysia

By Tricia Yeoh "Those were the days", many in their late fifties and sixties recall of their younger years when races intermingled freely and ethnic backgrounds were not divisive in nature. They reminisce of a time when race was not an element one thought of when meeting another. Today, studies have ...

Championing The Malaysian Dream

By Idlan Zakaria Had Lee Chong Wei defeated Lin Dan in the Olympic Mens' Badminton finals, he would have been the first ever Malaysian to have won an Olympic gold medal. Ah, one young man from Parit Buntar, with the hopes of a nation on his shoulders. Should he have succeeded ...

Batman, Gandhi and Democracy – A closer look into the Bar Council Conversion Forum

By Julian C.H. Lee The Bar Council Forum On Saturday 9 July 2008, the Bar Council held a forum in its auditorium in Kuala Lumpur on the topic of Article 121 1a of the Federal Constitution. The constitution in any country is regarded as the highest law of the land and which ...

The New Economic Policy - For Better and Worse?

By Ooi Kee Beng Malaysia's New Economic Policy (NEP) is a policy. Let us start by stating the obvious. It is not an article in Malaysia's Constitution, and there is no law legislated directly to steer it. It came into being after the riots of May 1969 as a social restructuring programme, ...

The Politics of Race

By Malik Imtiaz Sarwar & Michelle Gunaselan It is not insignificant that in almost any discussion about public life in Malaysia, be it the state of the civil service, the education system or economic development, to name a few areas, the matter of race will invariably feature. Race, its implications and ...