Category Archives: On the Beat
Saddam caught but the war is far from over ( 21 December 2003 )
I arrived in London a day after Saddam was caught like a rat. There was near hysteria in the British capital. Even the conservative broadsheets sounded like supermarket tabloids, with the same headlines and blown-up picture of Saddam on their […] Continue Reading
No letting up in war against corruption ( 14 December 2003 )
He has stressed that the policies of the Barisan Nasional government would remain, but things that need to be changed would be changed. Nothing is cast in stone, in his own words. Last week, he told Malaysians that he was […] Continue Reading
Expect real action in graft clean-up ( 07 December 2003 )
Corruption, he said, "interferes with the smooth running of the government, interferes with the implementation of things we want to do, and creates problems in the public delivery system". These are strong words. That was not all – he promised […] Continue Reading
Taiwan insists on walking its own road ( 30 November 2003 )
Many Penangites, especially from Chung Ling High School and Han Chiang High School, have ended up studying in Taiwan universities, mostly in engineering and computer science. The food is also similar: I found oh chean (fried oyster omelette), bah kut […] Continue Reading
When the giving stops, so will the taking ( 23 November 2003 )
They all laughed at me when I told them the policemen could be working harder now because they were trying to stop Malaysian motorists from killing themselves during the festive season. Wake up and stop being politically correct, they retorted […] Continue Reading
Alarm bells ringing for non-Muslims ( 16 November 2003 )
Recently, Malaysians saw and heard PAS vice-president Datuk Mustapha Ali on BBC's Hardtalk that the party had never mentioned anything about an Islamic state and that the term was used by the media to frighten the non-Muslims. But last week, […] Continue Reading
Support Pak Lah in fighting corruption ( 09 November 2003 )
In what has now been regarded as a preview of his leadership, Abdullah told his listeners in March that the issues of corruption and abuse of trust must be effectively addressed if Malaysia wanted to compete successfully in the future. […] Continue Reading
Long jobs list for Pak Lah to tackle ( 02 November 2003 )
That decision would be written in the history books as Pak Lah's first duty as prime minister, although his actual working day begins tomorrow. Appropriate to his image as a leader who keeps close contact with kampung folk, the country's […] Continue Reading
Handover to Pak Lah will be short and sweet ( 26 October 2003 )
This is where the press photographers will be waiting to record the smooth leadership transition and where Abdullah will assume his duties as the country's fifth premier. Staff of the Prime Minister's Office will line up to extend their wishes […] Continue Reading
Dr M, your ‘sons and daughters’ salute you ( 19 October 2003 )
Not one of these ordinary Malaysians felt that the tribute being paid to Dr Mahathir could be regarded as idolatry, toadying and sycophancy, as some politicians have claimed. Malaysians, regardless of their race and religion, simply want to say thank […] Continue Reading
