Robert Frost:Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Men and Women of the Fifties Generation,
I dedicate this poem by Robert Frost to you, Malaysians of my generation. We all have miles to go before we sleep. It is a dim last 2007 evening in our homeland. Soon it will be 2008.
We have begun the next 50 years with our country lagging behind. Our [...]

No Glitter To Merdeka’s Golden Anniversary Year

By Bakri Musa
source: www.bakrimusa.com
By right Malaysians should still be relishing the afterglow of their 50th Merdeka anniversary celebrations.  Alas, the much-anticipated euphoria was short lived; the grim realities of Malaysian life quickly intruded.
Even the mainstream media carry daily headlines of gory crimes.  If those were not scary enough, residents now live in fear that their [...]

The Road Not Taken

Robert Lee Frost was one of America’s leading 20th-century poets and a four-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. An essentially pastoral poet often associated with rural New England, Frost wrote poems whose philosophical dimensions transcend any region. Although his verse forms are traditional, he was a pioneer in the interplay [...]

Knowledge and Action: The Twin Pincers of Progress

By Din Merican
God, The Most Merciful and Most Compassionate, said “READ” (Surah Al ‘Alaq, 96:1).
The Qur’an is the only Holy Book with a command to read. God has conferred a great honour on knowledge and the learned that before ordaining prayers and fasting, before giving details of the Islamic creed and the law to be [...]

Goenawan Mohamed: HIJAU

Di dunia yang letih, orang sering mengutip sebaris sajak Federico Garcia Lorca: Verde que te quiero verde…
Hijau, kumau engkau hijau:
Bintang agung beku dingin
Tiba dengan bayang ikan
Yang merintis fajar
Puisi Lorca mempesona karena loncatan-loncatannya – warna hijau, bintang agung, bayang ikan, hari fajar — yang tak pernah bisa dipertalikan rapi dalam satu tafsir, tapi [...]

“Politik Berjiwa Rakyat”: Anwar Ibrahim’s Visit to the Rural Heartland, Negri Sembilan

By Din Merican
I joined Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim on his visit to the rural heartland of Negri Sembilan on December 28, 2007. The journey took my colleagues (Sdr. Azmin Ali, Dato Kamarul Bahrin who is the KeADILan Chief for Negri Sembilan, Dr Xavier Jayakumar, Sdr. Saifuddin Nasution, and others) and I to Felda Pasoh 4 [...]

Anwar Ibrahim’s Press Statement: On the Benazir Bhutto Assassination

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
December 28, 2007
Kami terkejut dengan pembunuhan Puan Benazir Bhutto dan mengecam perbuatan ini yang dilakukan oleh musuh kebebasan dan demokrasi. Kematian Puan Bhutto bukan sahaja satu kehilangan besar bagi Pakistan, tetapi bagi seluruh dunia Islam. Sememangnya, dunia kita telah kehilangan seorang pemimpin perdana yang telah mengorbankan dirinya untuk [...]

Malaysia-Indonesia Relations: What’s Happening, Syed Hamid?

By Din Merican
It is common knowledge among friends and aficionados of Indonesia here in Malaysia that our relations with the largest Muslim democracy in the world has turned sour since Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took office in 2003. We appear to have taken our Indonesian friends for granted and are [...]

TRUST is DEAD…

By Rustam A.Sani
This experiment in government we like to call democracy – which has lasted for half a century now – depends upon, among other things, a certain level of trust, not only of the government and its elected officials, but maybe more importantly among the people themselves.
After that many years trust has been [...]

Ceramah Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim:”Gelombang Gagasan Rakyat Negeri Sembilan”

Ketua Umum Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KeADILan), Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim dilaporkan akan menggempur Negeri Sembilan dengan ceramah perdananya pada 28HB. DISEMBER, 2007.
Ceramah itu akan diadakan di Kampung Linggi (Depan Sekolah Kebangsaan Linggi), bermula jam 9.00 malam sempena program turun padangnya di seluruh Malaysia.Tajuk ceramah tersebut ialah ‘Gelombang Gagasan Rakyat Negeri Sembilan’, kata jurucakap program, Norazizi [...]

KAMAL AMIR MENULIS:JANGAN LUPA CERITA DOLAH….!

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

LEBIH 165,000 rakyat Pahang mengalami kesukaran memperolehi bekalan air kesan banjir yang melanda selama lebih dua minggu di negeri tersebut. Dan terbaru seorang kakitangan dari Jabatan Bekalan Air Pahang telah dipukul oleh seorang penduduk berusia 60 tahun di Bukit Goh, Kuantan ekoran kegagalan pihak JBA membekalkan keperluan tersebut [...]

Anwar tells PM: Greater threat is negligence

Source: www.malaysiakini.com
Terence Netto | Dec 27, 07 1:25pm
Malaysia is in greater danger from the negligence of those in power than from the rage felt by its recalcitrants, said PKR’s de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.
“Our society is in greater danger from executive negligence than from the extremism of its recalcitrants,” he said in an immediate response [...]

Bakri Musa: Tinpot Tyrant in the Making

Source: www.bakrimusa.com
Morgan-Hill, California
December 24th, 2007
Someone ought to tell Prime Minister Abdullah that he is not up to the job. Malaysia deserves better. If he truly loves his party and country, as he frequently professes, he should acknowledge his limitations and gracefully pave the way for someone else. As one prominent Malaysian wrote me, it [...]

Anwar: I’m no political chameleon

 
Source: www.malaysiakini.com
Terence Netto | Dec 26, 07 4:07 pm
 
PKR’s de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim barely paused for respite after his gruelling seven-stop swing through Penang on Saturday before sweeping through Kedah on Sunday where he addressed even bigger crowds than he had encountered in his home state.
This prompted PKR’s campaigner to up the rhetorical ante [...]

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: The Village Blacksmith

Let me share with you yet another favorite poem. This time it is by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I first read this when I was in Form 2, many moons ago. It is a tribute to the hardworking man dedicated to his craft.
As I have just returned from a trip to our rural heartland in the [...]

Journey Into The Northern Rural Heartland

by Rahimi Osman and Din Merican

On December 22-23, 2007 we made a sentimental journey from our national capital to the rural heartland within the so-called Northern Corridor to join Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim in a series of ceramahs. It took us to Permatang Pauh, Simpang Empat, Seberang Jaya, Kampung Padang Bengali, Teluk Air Tawar, Taman [...]

Chairil Anwar: Indonesia’s Poet of the Downtrodden and Rebel Against Injustice

You can perhaps understand why I like this poem by Chairil Anwar very much. It can be an inspiring message to those who seek change for Malaysia. If you care, you must not be afraid. Seek truth and justice. Come and join me and let’s go change Malaysia. Let’s make our country better for the [...]