KJ

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi or Pak Lah demonstrated once again, with the right words at least, that he is truly a prime minister for all Malaysians. In his keynote address at the 57th Umno general assembly, he spoke as the leader of all Malaysians, and not just Umno. He used his 12 pillars framework to explain […]

In the first part of this rhetorical question, I raised some of my key concerns regarding the \”leadership integrity of the Umno-led Pak Lah government, based on certain non-actions to date.\” Umno leads the BN today and what affects Umno affects all Malaysians, not just her own members! Therefore, it was important that the Umno general assembly […]

Malaysia is a constitutional democracy and was designed to always be more than a confederation of nine Malay Muslim states. The new nation was meant to be greater than the sum of parts of the 11 constituent states at the time. This critical point appears to have been sadly missed by many public authorities concerned […]

Tomorrow, we install out 13th Yang di-Pertuan Agong or King of Malaysia. Literally translated, the Malays term of respect means he is the most exalted of persons in Malaysia. Our Kings\’ (and, we have only one King with nine Sultans) have reigned for 60 years, at five years for each term. The new King, the […]

\’Hail the King\’ – the three words in the New Straits Times headline said everything about the constitutional monarch and the role of constitutional rule of law in Malaysia. With full regalia of pomp and ceremony of rich and deep Malay culture and tradition, the 13th King of Malaysia was installed on Dec 13. And, for the […]

This past week, my closest Malay friend and classmate since Form 1 (1962) passed away; his Kairos time had come. May God Bless his soul and give his family comfort as they transition into a world without a father, husband, close relative, and a friend to all. Mat Tahir was a very sincere friend and […]

While I recognise that the Oxford English dictionary may not have such a word as \’piratising\’, it is the only apt word to describe what has happened to a \’local authority road\’ between SS2 and Damansara Jaya, Taman Megah, Kelana Jaya and Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Today that local road is called the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong […]

Who is responsible for Daniel\’s death? The president of the Bar Council Yeo Yang Poh wrote a brilliant comment about \”who really killed the 12-year-old boy, named Daniel, in Sabah?\” in the New Straits Times (NST) on Jan 9. For those who did not read the news or the article, the young boy committed suicide after no […]

On Feb 3, the National Congress on Integrity (NCOI) will organise its 4th dialogue on the issue of federal accountability and local governance. The two keynote speakers are Public Accounts Committee chairperson Shahrir Abdul Samad and former Bar Council president Dr Cyrus Das. The core issue will relate to jurisdictional authority for right governance under […]

The most serious problem at the level of local government in Malaysia is the quality of representative governance. This third tier of federal governance has unfortunately become the full domain and jurisdiction of only local and state politics without sufficient federal \”authority and influence.\” The result is weak and poor governance in most if not […]