KJ

Mr Prime Minister-to-be, Allow me to speak directly to you about this country and nation you are about to lead. It is a highly fragmented, disillusioned, disoriented and distracted nation. Can you really make the difference in setting us in the right direction? The RM60 billion stimulus package is a good initiative, but where is […]

My father, K John Kuruvilla, turns 90 today. Happy birthday Papa! Today, too, the nation is watching the outcome of three by-elections in Kedah, Perak and Sarawak. The new Umno deputy president said recently that the by-elections are not about a referendum about the new premier. I disagree. It is, to me, all about whether […]

After the spat between Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Nik Ali Mat Yunus – the federal officer posted to Penang as state development officer (SDO) – the chief secretary to the government concluded: “If he (Nik Ali) was accused with all kinds of untruths and criticised repeatedly, he too, has his dignity. If […]

The NST, in their Sunday Issues column of July 15 surmised that “not teaching kids about sex early enough is the reason for the problems with teenage pregnancies and other related problems.” I disagree. In the field of policy science, one important subject and process of analysis we teach is problem definition and problem resolution. […]

Idiocracy has no limits or boundaries. Anyone in a democracy can make idiotic and non-legitimate statements. The so-called cabinet of the government of Malaysia is no exception.   The Sun of Aug 5 carried one headline that said: “Stop debate on ‘Allah’ issue, says Muhyiddin.” The report went on to say that the cabinet has decided […]

Leadership in any hierarchical system typically begins with heads and ends with tails who usually behave like blind and unthinking followers. That may also be why government employees in most departments are called ‘ kaki-tangan ’ and not ‘kepala-tangan! ’   It is almost as if there is no need to use one’s head when he or she is […]

There is no room for grey areas on the issue of racism. All Malaysians need to know and clearly understand racism. Like pornography, it cannot suddenly become ‘art’ at the convenience of the artist. Even art is always appreciated only within its context; but never appreciated out of context. Art can become pornography when out […]

Racism and ethnic bigotry have reached a stage in Malaysia that they need to be checked and nipped in the bud! But this concern for the future of our nation-state should not only be limited to national unity and religious tolerance alone.   Nazir Abdul Razak ( right ), the youngest son of Abdul Razak Hussein, recently […]

Why is the inspector-general of police (IGP) crying foul after the fact? Was his five years not long enough to get the job done excellently? As a senior public servant he knows that it is the prerogative of the Public Services Commission, and in this case the Police Services Commission, to decide who the successor […]

Last week seven co-organisers and two sponsors hosted the 5th National Congress on Integrity (NCOI) on Sept 16, which was the first time that Malaysia Day was celebrated as a national holiday. The first NCOI was held in 2005 on the theme of ‘Corruption: The missing link’.   These congresses are a civil society initiative […]