Opinion - The Malaysian Insider

Najib Razak menang lagi. Bagaimana beliau melakukannya?

Perdana Menteri sudah menang, untuk ke sekian kalinya. Manakala kita terus terlopong, tewas dan menggaru-garu kepala seakan tidak percaya bagaimana perdana menteri boleh lolos, bebas dan...

On a scale of 1 to 4, does Malaysia practise democracy?

This week, an academic researcher asked me whether Malaysia practises democracy. I said that on a scale of 1 to 4, with 1 being “has some features of a democracy” and 4 being “is a perfect...

Usah abai soal perpaduan dalam usaha jadi negara maju

Tidak dapat dinafikan Malaysia sebuah negara yang unik dengan mempunyai rakyat daripada berbilang kaum dan agama, kaya dengan pelbagai budaya dan perayaan sehingga menjadi model terbaik untuk...

Education is a citizen’s right

Over the recent buzz of hungry students and conflicting survey data on whether there are a significant number of students who cannot afford the rising cost of living overall, came the news of...

TPPA: It’s not the economy, stupid

Rowan Atkinson is an amazing comedian. While many of us fondly remember him as the man behind that little green Mini, he has also spent time doing some good stand-up comedy. In one of his...

Malaysians of all races will lose out with the TPPA

It is not surprising that PAS chief Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang decided to say that the Chinese would benefit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). What is surprising is the fact...

Thaipusam, traffic jams and tolerance

For as long as Thaipusam has been celebrated in Malaysia on a large scale, it has been as much a community celebration as a religious observation. The million devotees thronging Batu Caves,...

Tangisan orang lapar

Teruskanlah menangis Curahkanlah air matamu sebanyak-banyaknya Hingga kering Semoga mereka sedar Akan erti kelaparan Dan kesangsaraan. Kota besar ini hanya menyaksikannya Kerana...

Pelan tindakan berdasarkan suara akar umbi

Menyedari majoriti kaum India di Malaysia masih memerlukan bantuan, kerajaan pusat menyalurkan dana dan bantuan melalui pelbagai cara. Sekiranya diperhatikan, selain masalah ekonomi, banyak isu...

The illiberal threat to Islam

Central to the idea of liberalism, be it political, economic or social in context, is human agency – the capacity for individual human beings, acting rationally, to make choices deemed to be in...

Kesihatan

Ketika sihat, kita mudah untuk membuat pelan. Isnin selepas kerja boleh berjoging. Selasa pula ajak sahabat baik untuk makan malam dan seterusnya. Tapi dalam keadaan tidak sihat, cubalah...

Lessons from Taiwan’s New Power Party

Last week, the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) democracy index was released. According to the EIU, Malaysia now stands at 68th position out of the 167 countries measured, with a score of...

Making the extra effort

Nearly 200 persons – a large number of them People diagnosed with Parkinson's and their caregivers – filled up the hall of the Petaling Jaya City Council's (MBPJ) community library...

How Pakatan Harapan can win GE14

Last week I concluded my 10-part series which started off with an article entitled "Why BN Will Win GE14". It was a depressing series for some as I listed 10 major challenges Pakatan Harapan...

Serang Mukhriz umpama pil awet muda Dr Mahathir

Tiada angin dan tiada ribut, tiba-tiba sahaja 14 ketua Umno bahagian di Kedah mengadakan sidang media menyatakan hilang kepercayaan terhadap kepimpinan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz...

Bukankah Empayar Uthmaniyah juga kuasa penjajah?

Kalau kuasa penjajah Barat harus ditentang, mengapa pula penjajah Islam harus dibela? Tiga minggu yang lalu, saya bertanya di kolum ini mungkinkah sokongan sebilangan orang Islam untuk kumpulan...

Violence against women is not romantic

Life lessons from the screen continues this week with a look at the alarming trend of romanticising violence against women (VAW) in films. In "Burnt", a spectacularly dull offering from The...

Forum novel dan pembangunan

Siapa kata pembangunan negara itu hak milik kerajaan dan pemimpin politik yang berkuasa bersama para kapitalis sahaja? Seniman Paksi Rakyat (Paksi) nyata tidak bersetuju dengan pandangan itu....

Missing ingredient in national reform

Turbulent times like the current era, when our nation is facing multiple crises on the economic, political and even constitutional fronts, prompt some soul-searching questions. One query that...

If you want Nobel winner, invest in lit fests

Let’s start with Indian drivers (I mean Indian Indian). I have no idea why they honk all the time, like all the time. When I took the cab from airport, I thought of renting a motorbike and...