Category Archives: On the Beat
Trying times, certainly, for journalists ( 26 February 2006 )
The New Straits Times, which was issued a show-cause letter by the Internal Security Ministry to explain why action should not be taken against the newspaper for printing a cartoon deemed offensive to Muslims, has apologised unconditionally and the Government […] Continue Reading
Civil servants must live up to their name ( 19 February 2006 )
In two days, he received more than 2,600 SMS although only 200 of them were related to complaints against his ministry. Since then he has calmed down, and probably changed his mind over the need to personally handle every complaint […] Continue Reading
PM’s choice stuns veterans ( 15 February 2006 )
JUST hours before Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi called for a press conference at 2.45pm yesterday to announce his new Cabinet line-up, a senior minister telephoned to give his prediction of how the list would shape up. The politician, claiming […] Continue Reading
City councils must relook their priorities ( 12 February 2006 )
Unlike many of us, who merely grumbled, Panjang decided to act on it. He did not ask for the publicity and, until now, does not even want to reveal his real name. But it is clear that the politicians, especially […] Continue Reading
Press freedom mustn’t be abused ( 07 February 2006 )
In Malaysia, the editor of a newspaper, the Sarawak Tribune, resigned after it reprinted the offensive caricatures in its Saturday issue. Attributing that as due to an oversight, he wrote an official apology and took full responsibility for the decision. […] Continue Reading
Getting to bald truth of the matter ( 05 February 2006 )
The group claimed that they met every year for supper, drinks and mahjong during the festive occasion at a coffee-shop in Balakong, Selangor, and had continued the tradition, betting with chips, which they claimed was merely to pay for food […] Continue Reading
Enjoying the best of both worlds ( 29 January 2006 )
Over the years, we have decided that our hometown, Penang, is no longer the best place to be during the festive season. The narrow streets would be jammed with mostly out-of-town tourists. Being an island, the heat has always been […] Continue Reading
Cool heads must prevail ( 22 January 2006 )
Over the last two weeks, I have consistently urged Malaysians debating on Islamic laws to look at the issues from the perspectives of all religions and not just theirs alone. This is essential because no one community should be given […] Continue Reading
View delicate topics from all perspectives ( 15 January 2006 )
We cannot pretend that issues like these do not happen and take the easy way out by looking the other way. They won't go away as much as some of us may want to sweep them under the carpet, preferring […] Continue Reading
It’s not easy being a journalist ( 08 January 2006 )
It is normal for anyone to look at an issue, especially one relating to race and religion, from one's own perspective. Sometimes, we fail to take into account the perspectives of other people. All of us are guilty of it. […] Continue Reading
