Author Archives: Tricia

A freedom conversation

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Tricia

(First published in theSun on 28 November 2014, here). MEETING people for the first time, I am often asked what a think-tank is. This is followed by a question on how it is that a classical liberal think-tank can exist in … Continue reading →

Posted in General Politics, Human Rights, Liberalism, Philosophy | Leave a comment

Support the sharing economy

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Tricia

(first published in theSun on 12 November 2014, here). UBER – the increasingly popular ride-sharing mobile app that has riled up local authorities – has not only been controversial in Malaysia, but also in the Philippines, Australia, Germany and many others. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Public Administration | Leave a comment

Opening up government

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Tricia

(First published in theSun on 29 October 2014, here). LAST week, IDEAS hosted a workshop to promote the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a tool currently being adopted by 64 countries around the world that signifies a government’s commitment to greater transparency … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Society, Public Administration | Leave a comment

Paying it backward

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Tricia

(first appeared in theSun on 15 October 2014, here). AMIDST the media frenzy that surrounds the budget each year, not many pay attention to the supplementary budgets. Did you know that the government spends billions of ringgit that is outside the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Public Administration | Leave a comment

Govt and civil society: The gap widens

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Tricia

First published in theSun here, on 26 September 2014. AN Asian civil society summit I attended in Jakarta recently discussed the oftentimes tenuous relationship between government and civil society in countries within the region. Civil society in many of our neighbouring … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Society, Human Rights, Public Administration | Leave a comment

Making voluntarism legal

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Tricia

First published in theSun here, on 5 September 2014. I SPENT the Merdeka weekend writing a paper on the choppy relationship between the Barisan Nasional-led federal and Pakatan Rakyat-led state governments. I traced the brief history since 2008 of the many … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Society, Crime, Federalism, General Politics, Public Administration | Leave a comment

Shedding light on public procurement

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Tricia

First published in theSun here, on 21 August 2014. ONE of the many criticisms against the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) that Malaysia is negotiating to sign alongside 11 other countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region is that procurement by government and state-owned … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Economics, General Politics, Public Administration | Leave a comment

In and out of schools

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Tricia

First published in theSun here, on 7 August 2014. AT an IDEAS education-related roundtable held earlier this week, the issue of school dropouts in Malaysia was raised, specifically in relation to the findings of our nationwide survey among the bottom 40% … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Leave a comment

Why more information is better

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Tricia

First published in theSun here, on 25 July 2014. WHAT both MH370 and MH17 have shown us is that accurate and timely information being provided to the public is absolutely crucial, and this is surely a lesson that must be extended … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Society, Corruption, Media, Public Administration | Leave a comment

Reviewing the economy

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Tricia

First published in theSun here, on 10 July 2014. FEW writers and analysts are able to both identify precisely the challenges facing the Malaysian economy as well as communicate these in a manner easy to digest. Shankaran Nambiar’s new book, The … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment