The Nut Graph

Saifuddin Abdullah: Creating space in Malaysia

Nick Choo — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:09 +0000

DATUK Saifuddin Abdullah says he’s a reluctant politician who got into politics because he wanted to affect change. The Umno supreme council member and first-time MP is seen as being a minority voice of reform within his party and wishes his party was more “progressive”. In this interview, Saifuddin traces his family lineage and student activism, explains the dynamics within Umno, and wishes there was more space at the Malaysian table for space and ideas.

Hang Li Po dan Hang Tuah: Benar atau dongeng?

Nick Choo — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:59:14 +0000

“HISTORY is written by the victors” atau “Sejarah ditulis oleh orang yang menang atau berkuasa”. Ungkapan yang begitu terkenal namun tiada orang yang tahu siapa yang pertama kali mengungkapkannya. Ada yang kata Winston Churchill tapi ramai yang meraguinya. Soalan yang menarik untuk kita adalah jika kita tidak tahu sejarah asal-usul ungkapan itu, dan tiada dokumentasi [...]

Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: What if Najib wins?

Nick Choo — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:42 +0000

THE next general election will be Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s first election as head of the Barisan Nasional (BN). Najib will also be leading the BN into its first general election after its worst election performance in March 2008. The Nut Graph asks political scientist Dr Wong Chin Huat on how well Najib [...]

Nasihat tentang kebebasan akademik

Nick Choo — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:59:16 +0000

BARU-baru ini, saya banyak mendengar pendapat yang bertentangan tentang tindak-tanduk aktivis mahasiswa Adam Adli. Ada yang menuduh tindakannya bodoh dan biadap, tetapi ada juga yang mempertahankan haknya untuk bersuara. Walaupun tidak berkaitan secara langsung, saya rasa nasihat terbaru dari kolumnis pujaan ramai, Kak Nora, memberi perspektif yang penting. Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh Kak Nora, Kak, [...]

Ethical fashion: Greening your wardrobe

Nick Choo — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:58:35 +0000

HAVE you ever wondered what your clothes are made of? How materials such as cotton or polyester are produced, and by whom? And do fashion companies pay our farmers and factory workers fairly for their labour? I was oblivious to the environmental and social woes associated with conventional cotton farming until I read the book [...]

National identity is not a race

Lainie Yeoh — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:19 +0000

NEW year, new you? Not if you’re national identity in Malaysia, it would seem. We ended last year with disputes over Article 153 provisions for bumiputera special privileges and began this one with discussions of a Race Relations Bill, hurtfully racialised statements, ethnocentric election strategising and accusations of religious subversion. Said Zahari’s 1969 poem comes [...]

Passing the buck on disabled-friendly buildings

Lainie Yeoh — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:59:25 +0000

RECENTLY, I had the pleasure of participating in several workshops involving people with disabilities organised by Beautiful Gate Foundation. The speakers took the trouble to paint a world of constant struggle with many things that able-bodied persons take for granted, be it from traversing steps to visiting a public restroom. The challenges aren’t limited to [...]

Who needs a Race Relations Act?

Nick Choo — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:54 +0000

SO it would seem Malaysians can look forward to having yet another piece of legislation in their lives in the brand new year of 2012. This time around, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government has promised it will introduce a Race Relations Bill, to be tabled in Parliament in March. The Race Relations Bill, according to [...]

Zaid Ibrahim: “It will get better”

Nick Choo — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:59:35 +0000

LAWYER-turned-politician Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim, 60, knows that politics can be a dirty game. He joined Umno and won the Kota Baru parliamentary seat in the 2004 general election. The party did not field him for the 2008 elections, however. After winning with a severely reduced majority, the ruling coalition under Prime Minister Tun Abdullah [...]

Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: On civil disobedience

Lainie Yeoh — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:00:47 +0000

TIME Magazine has just named The Protestor its Person of the Year for 2011. Malaysians would count among protestors that made headlines this year, if not internationally than nationally. But what is the point of continuing to protest when something – like the Peaceful Assembly Law – is a foregone conclusion? Political scientist Wong Chin Huat explains the value of civil disobedience and how it can work.