Category Archives: Civil Society

Why more information is better

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

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Push for a better quality of life

(First published in theSun on 5 June 2014, and can be accessed here). AS I prepared for my presentation to the prime minister last week on what the government can do to enhance Malaysians’ quality of life during the Ministry of … Continue reading

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Politics in Policy

(First published in theSun on 13 March 2014, here.) AT the time of writing, it would be more than 60 hours since Malaysian air traffic control lost contact with the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. For the past few days, … Continue reading

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Uniting ourselves

(First published in theSun on 13 February 2014, here.) LAST weekend on Feb 8, IDEAS celebrated its 4th anniversary in conjunction with the 111th birthday of Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the country’s first prime minister. Speeches by Tan … Continue reading

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‘Tis the season to be rallying

‘Tis the season to be rallying  (From Selangor Times, 30th November 2012) The past weekend has been a busy one indeed. Not only was the city’s annual arts festival, Urbanscapes, taking place, but this time Sigur Ros, the atmospheric Icelandic … Continue reading

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Dear Dr. Mahathir, we do seek greater reforms

Dear Dr. Mahathir, we do seek greater reforms (From theSun, 30th November 2012) Dear Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Mahathir Mohamad, In your address to the 2012 Umno General Assembly earlier this week, you stated that the Barisan Nasional has “pandered” … Continue reading

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In What Shape, Democracy?

In What Shape, Democracy? (A version of this was published in theSun on 19th October 2012). Over the past few weeks, I have had the privilege of travelling to places like Bukit Mertajam, Kempas, and Parit Yaani in Peninsular Malaysia … Continue reading

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Protect against Agitators

Remembering Bersih 3.0 and all that happened, this was my article written following certain violent incidents that took place, not in small part due to the police. A version of this was published in theSun on 4th May 2012. Protect … Continue reading

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Reaching out to NGOs

Ah yes, it’s been a year now that Prime Minister Najib said he’d like to reach out to NGOs. I suppose his idea of doing that was to get the cops to chase NGO representatives down the street during the … Continue reading

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Civil society and Pakatan governments

When PR took over state governments in Selangor and other states, civil society had to re-evaluate. At the same time, civil society would have to consider what kind of distance it would want to maintain with politicians they personally knew … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Society, Selangor | Leave a comment