I am tired of extremism in any form; whether it is the ‘bigotry’ of Donald Trump, or the language of Islamic State (IS), or those of some Malays in Malaysia. Maybe the more important question is what is the bottom line we use to define extremism; as rational and moderate middle Malaysians? My view is […]
I do not think Donald Trump was ever a serious sportsman when he was a younger boy. But I am equally sure that he definitely did play baseball when he was young; it is part and parcel of American culture; just like ice cream, apple pie, and motherhood. And mind you, in those days they […]
A comprehensive worldview is one fundamental cognitive orientation of any individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual’s, or society’s knowledge, and/or an individual’s point of view and for convictions in life. It is both positive and normative. It is for the here and now, and it is also for the afterlife. A world […]
LETTER | Let me congratulate all MPs in the 14th Parliament, with the exception of the 11 MPs who were not in Parliament when the vote was taken. This new anti-hopping bill is a clear and unequivocal statement of what the rakyat thought of in terms of core values when we voted in our MPs at […]
LETTER | I refer to TK Chua’s letter “What is Gerak Independent up to?” to the editor on Feb 18 and would like to respond. Allow me to simply speak for myself and explain my reasons since TK Chua fails to understand the “what and why of Gerak Independent (GI) candidates”. I served 33 years in the public […]
My last column developed a hypothesis about who should be responsible and accountable for public works, in particular, public service programme failures, of either the enforcement of rules or simply ensuring compliance with existing rules. The alternative is our currently operative “close one eye” culture. While I did compare Malaysian stories to ones from the […]
Two independent and separate events in England and Chicago were very telling; even for Malaysians a world away. Both involved the process of judicial review which found public officials guilty of criminal negligence through a specific demand for accountability by citizens. The first was the Hillsborough football stadium disaster, and the other was the Chicago […]
am genuinely angry and tired of much \”false religiosity\” which is found in many cultures and belief systems in Malaysia. I call all such unexamined cultural beliefs, worldviews; whether one is consciously aware of the existence of such implicit beliefs, or assumptions, or lack thereof. Recently two examples of false religiosity were made evident in […]
Dear inspector-general of police (IGP), I am in a WhatsApp group with 11 members; all of whom are credible Malaysians and most are Royal Military College-trained professionals of various colours and shades. A few are NGO professionals, but all of them are Christians. To date, none of them believe you or police updates about Pastor […]
In the early 1980s, we at the National Institute for Public Administration (INTAN) hosted Professor Milton J Esman, one of two American professors who came to Malaysia as consultants to the government of Tun Abdul Razak, after the challenges of May 13th 1969, and introduced the concept of “development administration” to Malaysia. Their views, and […]
Join a community of readers committed to truth, conscience, and good governance. By subscribing, you’ll receive the latest articles, reflections, and insights from Dr. K.J. John — straight to your inbox.
© 2026 K.J. John. All rights reserved. Website by Nivmas
