Category Archives: On the Beat

When the going gets tough…

Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin. -filepic FINALLY, some sense prevails from a top Umno leader, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, following the amplified rhetoric of race and religion lately, which in some instances, included the dismissive tone of several party […] Continue Reading

Keeping the ties that bind

IT was clear from the beginning that Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong were mere pawns in the murder of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. However, what isn’t clear is why the charges […] Continue Reading

Riding the winds of change

IT’S unfortunate that politics in Malaysia is going to get more toxic with the formal pact between Umno and PAS, as we can expect the two parties to take the race and religion agenda to its limit. The two sides […] Continue Reading

The persistent pipe dream

PATHETIC and disgusting. That’s surely an understatement in describing the continuous racist slurs non-Malays have had to endure. Using non-Malays – particularly the Christians – as bogeymen hasn’t ended, even more than six decades after independence. The situation has probably […] Continue Reading

For the love of the nation

IT’S time for Malaysia to change its narrative. For a start, our leaders must end the hyperbole of how the previous Barisan Nasional government stripped and looted the country’s wealth. We generally know enough about the financial crime of the […] Continue Reading

Time of the season

A political year will soon be up, so the honeymoon’s truly over. How has New Malaysia’s government fared? With the indiscretions rolling out, that’s coffee shop talk right now. DATUK A. Kadir Jasin (pic) is no ordinary journalist. He’s not […] Continue Reading

Monkey off its back

It is possible to get very close to the primates in Rwanda, but only when your ranger gives the all clear. It is possible to get very close to the primates in Rwanda, but only when your ranger gives the […] Continue Reading

Eight is (just about) enough

EIGHT CNY dilemmas of modern Malaysian families (but not widely talked about to preserve family harmony): CNY reunion dinner outside It’s not just a trend but has become a near necessity for CNY reunion dinners to be held at restaurants. […] Continue Reading

Feeling lost in Penang

Children admiring a Hokkien glove puppet theatre performing ‘Journey to the West’ on a portable wooden stage at the Little Penang Street Market. Its decline has been progressive, but Penang’s Hokkien heritage is at its closest to death’s door as […] Continue Reading

Let the cash registers ring

IT’S less than three weeks to the Chinese New Year, but the consensus feels there is less festive excitement in the air, and that, for most of our country folk, simply means money is tight. Ordinary Malaysians feel they don’t […] Continue Reading