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The past month has been a holy one for Muslims, as well as for many Christians who are fasting and praying for their ‘Year of Hope’. The Muslim fast is from sun up to sun down, and a fast with no liquids or food during this period for the entire 30 days. This particular Christian […]

Recently, a good friend and mentor in the United States (US) sent me an article for a campaign which was trying to reform the US Congress. It contained a simple but powerful argument quoting Warren Buffet who said that he can fix the US deficit crisis in minutes. The idea is so simple that I […]

God made humans to be rational or to use our brains and our heads for logical arguments and developments.  Nonetheless, he also allowed and configured an emotional dimension within our hearts to express compassion and emotion for others and their related predicaments. But, sinful or imperfect man, through the vehicle of emotions has also learned […]

I am rather amused about the stated ambitions of both sets of peninsula-led political parties regarding the future of a free and equitable 1BangsaMalaysia. This coinage is my attempt at integrating Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Bangsa Malaysia version with Najib Abdul Razak’s 1Malaysia vision; to mean a Malaysia where there is only one equal ethnic group […]

The word ‘perspective’ must be one of the most complex words in human living. It defines meaning. It also defines difference between arrogance and humility. When George W Bush declared his War on Terror, the American president said, “You are either with me or against me!” When Ayatollah Khomeini, the then-leader of Iran, declared “War […]

The Latin root word ‘polis’ is the same etymological foundation for the concept of our modern version of the Athenian democracy. The roots of the concept start with the Greek democratic city state, then called a ‘polis.’ But, the same word is today used to describe the modern city or a metropolis, like in the […]

On Nov 3, 2012, OHMSI or the Oriental Hearts and Mind Study Institute, collaborating with the Islamic Renaissance Front or IRF, will organise a public dialogue on the above topic.   In my estimate, Christians form about 10 percent of the Malaysian population and have a voting power of about 800,000 at the coming general […]

I watched the second US Presidential Debate in the town hall format yesterday. What was truly impressive is that the Americans have devised a system for getting their US presidential candidates to debate and highlight the differences in their positions on alternative policies being promised to the American people as future policies, and therefore politics. […]

Marina Mahathir wrote in a recent column that for any candidate seeking to be voted in this general election, the following are good and civil traits: 1. Be nice, be gracious, be polite – rudeness makes you look ugly. 2. If you disagree with someone, fine. But disagree courteously and intelligently, and do not just […]

The New Straits Times ( NST ) headline editorial last Sunday screamed, “Collective Integrity” as a response to the Auditor-General’s Report tabled in Parliament. They also carried a full and exclusive interview with the auditor-general of Malaysia focused on this issue of “our collective failure to stand up to the test of our national integrity being audited”. I have […]