December 25, 2011 NY Times Sunday Book Review The Enlightenment’s True Radicals By Darrin M. McMahon Published: December 23, 2011 In recent decades, Jonathan I. Israel writes, the Enlightenment has emerged as “the single most important topic, internationally, in modern historical studies, and one of crucial significance also in our politics, cultural studies and philosophy.” [...]
Archive for December 2011
The Enlightenment’s True Radicals
December 25, 2011Merry Christmas from The Hon’ble Prime Minister of Malaysia
December 24, 2011December 24, 2011 Merry Christmas from The Hon’ble Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak Prime Minister Najib Razak has called on Malaysians to spend this Christmas to understand fellow Malaysians better, and appreciate them for the diversity and strength they have contributed to the country. Here is the text of his message [...]
Merry Xmas and a Happy 2012 : We say it with songs
December 24, 2011December 24, 2011 Merry Xmas and a Happy 2012 : We say it with songs Dr Kamsiah and I wish our Christian friends and holiday makers around the world a Merry Christmas and a great 2012. May there peace and goodwill among people of all nations in 2012. We also send our sincere greetings to [...]
After Kim Jong-il
December 23, 2011December 23, 2011 After Kim Jong-il by Ambassador Christopher Hill (12-20-11) In one sense, the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il changes everything. It is by no means clear, for example, that Kim’s coddled youngest son, Kim Jong-un – now hailed as the “Great Successor,” but singularly unprepared to lead – will ultimately succeed [...]
Institutional Racism in Malaysia
December 23, 2011December 23,2011 www. cpiasia.net HRF report to Washington: Institutional Racism in Malaysia Human Rights CPI introduction Below is the executive summary made by P. Waytha Moorthy, the founder of Hindraf and leader of the Human Rights Foundation Malaysia. Also uploaded is the paper presented before the US House Committee on foreign affairs and the Tom [...]
The Good News is:
December 23, 2011December 23, 2011 Former Menteri Besar of Selangor guilty of graft: 12 months in the slammer “for a heinous crime” by Hafiz Yatim@www.malaysiakini.com After a trial lasting over a year, the Shah Alam High Court today found former Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo guilty of graft. He has been sentenced to 12 months’ [...]
Looking at Malaysia from Afar
December 22, 2011December 22, 2011 Looking at Malaysia from Afar by Dr. Farish Noor I began my academic career more than a decade ago — and I can wryly state, with a smirk on my face, that my career began in the previous century. From the outset the subjects that I have taught have been in keeping [...]
MACC Probe on NFC
December 22, 2011December 22, 2011 MACC Probe on NFC: Another Political Sandiwara in the Making? by Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle Amid signs that Prime Minister Najib Razak’s UMNO is fast unraveling, hit by massive graft and infighting amongst its top leadership, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has announced that a special team will be formed to investigate [...]
Rifts in PAS
December 22, 2011December 22, 2011 http://www.asiasentinel.com Rifts in PAS: Conservatives Vs Modernisers by Our Correspondent (12-21-11) Strains are building in Malaysia’s Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS), the formerly conservative Islamic wing of Pakatan Rakyat, the three-party opposition coalition headed by the embattled Anwar Ibrahim, over the party’s fundamentalist roots. The growing split could have ominous implications for the [...]
Najib Makes Personal Sacrifices For The Good Of The People
December 22, 2011December 22, 2011 http://www.1malaysia.com.my/blog/sacrifices-for-the-greater-good/ Sacrifices for the Greater Good by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak The Price and Sacrifice of Leadership The burden of decision-making lies with all of us. Everyday we are met with thousands of choices, from which we must decide upon the best and right ones. Some decisions we make in a [...]
The Maminco Affair and the Politics of the 1980s
December 21, 2011December 21, 2011 The Maminco Affair and the Politics of the 1980s by Terence Netto@www.malaysiakini.com The spot of contention between Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim over whether the former Prime Minister had indeed taken loans from the World Bank during the period of the Asian Financial Crisis (1997-1998) is interesting in the way it [...]
Tuanku Yang DiPertuan Agong and National Interest
December 21, 2011December 21, 2011 Tuanku Yang DiPertuan Agong and National Interest by Dr. KJ John@www.malaysiakini.com (12-20-11) I bid farewell to the Sultan of Terengganu as Yang DiPertuan Agong and welcome the Sultan of Kedah, from whose state I originate. Appointed for the second time, he said in his First Address: “The Agong is the umbrella (over) [...]
Continuing Reforms vital to Malaysia’s growth
December 21, 2011December 21. 2011 Continuing Reforms vital to Malaysia’s growth by Dr. Bruce Gale The Straits Times Publication Date : 21-12-2011 Is the Malaysian economy about to enter another period of strong growth? For years, critics have decried the apparent inability of the country to build on the stellar economic expansion of earlier decades. A series [...]
Sungei Buloh: A Pit Stop to Putrajaya for Anwar
December 21, 2011December 21, 2011 Sungei Buloh: A Pit Stop to Putrajaya for Anwar by Terence Netto@www.malaysiakini.com (12-20-11) COMMENT: Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izaah Anwar once offered the view that if her father had not become a politician he would have been a teacher. That hypothesis gains credence as Anwar Ibrahim intensifies an already hectic campaign schedule, [...]
Peaceful Assembly Bill Passed
December 21, 2011December 21, 2011 Peaceful Assembly Bill Passed The much-criticised Peaceful Assembly Bill was passed at the Dewan Negara today (December 20), merely 22 days after it was pushed through the Dewan Rakyat last month. The Bill was tabled by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department VK Liew in the afternoon and passed after nearly [...]
On Victory, Consensual Leadership and Reversion to Form
December 20, 2011December 20, 2011 http://razaleigh.com Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah on Victory, Consensual Leadership and Reversion to Form I was recently asked to answer some questions for an Australian news programme: 1. Barisan Nasional has won several apparent victories over the Opposition in the last few weeks, but you have been critical of some of these. Could you [...]
Politics and Theatre
December 20, 2011December 20, 2011 Politics and Theatre: Parting Words from Vaclav Havel In March 1997, while serving as President of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel – who died on December 18 — offered the following assessment of the intersection of politics and playwriting in his life. PRAGUE – I recently read an article entitled “Politics as [...]
