KJ

For many, the Kuala Terengganu by-election is only a state matter, or only the concern of registered voters there. To me however, this election is a crucial issue of what kind of Malaysia we want and whether we have, in fact, transformed ourselves into the federation that we claim to be. Therefore, to me, this […]

As usual Umno is the last to see the writing on the wall. But this is also the third nail on the party’s coffin, as I had written earlier. One more nail and Umno will be as good as dead, for a while at least. Six months before the last general election, I wrote that […]

When I wrote my earlier piece on the same topic focused on the IJN case, the highway concession agreements were not yet on public display. Today they are and therefore I want to add more gunpowder to my earlier argument that \”the privatisation programme of the government\” over the last 15 years has become a […]

I noted with great interest the prime minister’s statement about the new US president is keeping his word regarding what he promised during the run-up to the presidential election. He promised to close down Guantanamo Military Prison for the \”unlawful detention of unproven criminals or perpetrators of war\”. And this was among the first presidential […]

Sadly, the Sultan of Perak has spoken and wrongly too, after breaking a long silence and having allowed the Regent to speak so well on many occasions before these past weeks. The Perak royal family gave all of us some hope that the royalty in Malaysia can become a rallying force to reinstall the now […]

In a previous article I had asked the rhetorical question, \”What is the colour of the air we breathe?\” In Petaling Jaya it used to be foul smelling, dirty, corrupted air, especially when related to billboard advertising. Thanks to the breath of fresh air brought by Pakatan Rakyat-appointed councilors, The Sun newspaper ran an editorial entitled \”A […]

Last week I was invited to speak at a World Religion Day Forum on the topic \’Science, Religion and Development\’. I started the presentation by defining the three terms, their underlying concepts and implicit world-views that we take for granted uncritically and without question or query. One of these underlying world-view ideas and ideals we […]

Our movement against bribery and corruption needs to start at the top. The fish, it is said, always rots from the head. But, given that people are not fish, we can say, \”People without a clear vision will perish\”. But who defines such a vision? Leadership always defines followership. Poor leaders develop bad followers. Who […]

Once a year, I teach a Masters course at University of Malaya in the Science Faculty and under the aegis of the Science and Technology Policy Department. One of the key and core issues we deal with is what is called the knowledge paradigm. Paradigm is a very big word, made popular in Western science […]

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made the word \’integrity\’ intensely popular in Malaysian folklore and culture since 2004. Every Malaysian, even in primary school, has probably now learned the word in Malay and Dewan Bahasa must have translated the word in their kamus as \’integriti\’ because this was the official name of the Institut as […]