The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Kita yang bersalut materi dan angan-angan

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:30:44 GMT

19 MEI — Seperti yang diduga penyanyi pop 80an Herman Tino (Masrun Tamsi) yang bertanding sebagai calon Bebas di Tanjong Karang kalah dalam Pilihanraya Umum ke-13 (PRU 13) yang baru berlangsung baru-baru ini. Beliau hanya mendapat 340 undi. Jika saya pengundi di kawasan beliau bertanding itu, beliau akan mendapat 341 undi, pun jauh untuk ...

Can’t wait for next season!

Fri, 17 May 2013 23:11:42 GMT

MAY 18 — With Manchester United winning the English Premier League title a few weeks in advance (shame on you Manchester City and Chelsea for not putting up a better fight!), the only excitement left is the battle for Champions League places. Unlike last season, where things were left till the last day of the season (including the battle for the ...

Serve all races

Thu, 16 May 2013 23:45:24 GMT

MAY 17 — Yesterday, I got back from a working trip to Jakarta and in the taxi from KLIA, the driver started chatting with me about the recent general election. And just for context, the driver is Malay and looked to be middle-aged. I’m guessing around 50 years of age. At one point, he said to me: “Tengok Kabinet baru yang Perdana Menteri sudah ...

Ronaldo and Falcao aim for cup glory

Thu, 16 May 2013 23:13:31 GMT

MAY 17 — With the majority of Europe’s football silverware already dished out, one of the remaining major domestic trophies will be up for grabs tonight when Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid go head to head in Spain’s Copa del Rey final (3.30am kick off Saturday morning, Malaysian time). Real are the big favourites. Not only do they possess the ...

Everybody don’t move!

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:26:31 GMT

MAY 16 — I haven’t written in a while and I was sorely tempted to join in the torrent of columns and opinions discussing the exciting and tumultuous developments prior, during and after the 13th general election. However, for now, permit and indulge me to share with you a recent experience before I get serious. There are a few experiences which ...

BN on trial

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:18:43 GMT

MAY 16 — BN is experiencing a taste of its own medicine, possibly for five straight years more, and the coalition may expire at the end of it. Because at the end of the term, the toll on the psyche of the party faithful could be too much to bear — and force the party on a path of no return, at least no more back to mainstream politics. For its ...

Cina bukanlah MCA dan DAP saja

Wed, 15 May 2013 01:00:27 GMT

15 MEI ― Harga MCA sudah amat jatuh. Yang naik melangit ialah harga DAP. Maruah MCA sudah boleh dikatakan tidak ada lagi. Maruah yang tinggal hanya kesediaannya menerima tanggungjawab atas kekalahannya dengan menolak semua jawatan yang ditawarkan dalam kerajaan, dari menteri hinggalah ke JKKK. Jika betul ia enggan menerimanya, maka ada juga ...

The time for raging has passed

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:35:25 GMT

MAY 15 ― Help! The armchair political analysts have staged a hostile takeover of my social media feeds. The nation, I think, needs a break from thinking about the last general election. I am a little tired of the never-ending tirades I see over on Facebook and Twitter. Yes, we get it. Pakatan Rakyat lost the election. The Election Commission ...

Appreciating my education

Mon, 13 May 2013 23:44:51 GMT

MAY 14 — My family’s valuation of education as a path to success has been ingrained in me from Day One. My sister is an ASEAN scholar at NUS, and my brother graduated with first-class honours from RMIT. In my quest to emulate my siblings’ success, I’ve gained admission to the University of Chicago, and will attend in September. When I was younger ...

‘Amaran’ kepada Pakatan Rakyat

Mon, 13 May 2013 23:31:46 GMT

14 MEI — Para pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat (PR), salam sejahtera. Saya tidak menyokong mana-mana parti politik dan saya bukan ahli mana-mana parti politik. Saya juga tidak berminat menyertai mana-mana parti politik. Saya mengambil kesempatan ini untuk menyampaikan “amaran” kepada anda hasil pemerhatian saya terhadap perkembangan parti-parti politik di ...

Mancini deserves to go

Mon, 13 May 2013 23:21:42 GMT

MAY 14 — With Roberto Mancini apparently on the verge of being sacked and replaced by Manuel Pellegrini at Manchester City, the big question is whether the Italian manager deserves to be dumped by the Etihad Stadium club. After all, it’s only 12 months since Mancini guided City to their first English Premier League title in 44 years, having ...

Suka hati Cina lah dia nak undi siapapun

Mon, 13 May 2013 01:40:42 GMT

13 MEI — Satu keindahan demokrasi adalah pemilihan pemimpin melalui sistem pilihan raya. Melalui pilihan raya, rakyat bebas untuk memilih mana-mana parti atau calon, tidak kira kaum, agama dan ideologi politik seseorang atau satu kumpulan itu. Inilah fahaman asas demokrasi yang mudah untuk difahami tanpa seseorang itu perlu ke menara gading untuk ...

Malaysia’s mainstream media: The writing’s on the virtual wall

Mon, 13 May 2013 01:09:35 GMT

MAY 13 — Many concerned and discerning Malaysians have for a long while been averse to much of the mainstream media because the latter has been peddling stuff and fluff which, for all intents and purposes, matters only to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition while information and issues regarding the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and other dissenting ...

A new rainbow nation

Sun, 12 May 2013 23:16:19 GMT

MAY 13 — Can early ethnic inequality lead to institutionalised injustice later, and eventually result in an overall unbalance for a melting pot country? When foreigners look at the United States, they see a kaleidoscope of American colours (black, white, yellow, brown), ethnicities (Italians, Indians, Chinese, Arabs) and religions (Christians, ...

Borak-borak kosong tentang pilihanraya

Sat, 11 May 2013 23:33:49 GMT

12 MEI — Pilihanraya Umum ke 13 ( PRU 13 ) baru saja berlalu, keputusannya umum rakyat Malaysia sudah tahu. Ada yang suka, ada yang tidak suka, bagi saya itu lumrah dalam peperangan, ada menang, ada kalah. Pun seronok juga mendengar pandangan dari kiri dan kanan, yang menyokong dan yang menentang. Yang sini tak puas hati marahkan yang sana, yang ...

When pop infiltrates underground metal

Sat, 11 May 2013 00:20:17 GMT

MAY 11 — As a child who grew up musically in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, metal and black T-shirts were pretty much an unavoidable fact of life. Before Nirvana broke grunge and “alternative” into the mainstream, metal was the “alternative.” And like any kid of that era, I just couldn’t get enough of thrash metal bands like Metallica, ...

Moyes and the Mad Dog

Fri, 10 May 2013 23:53:35 GMT

MAY 11 — I’ve got a good David Moyes story. Well, it makes me chuckle anyway. It was February 2000 and I was working at Reading Football Club. Despite being near the relegation zone in third-tier League One, we were in confident mood, buoyed by manager Alan Pardew’s recent appointment of an exuberant and unconventional new assistant, “Mad Dog” ...

The MILF-PRON GE13 post-mortem analysis: We were saved!

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:30:21 GMT

MAY 10 — Now that the 13th general election is over, and the winners and losers have been declared, the Malaysian Institute of Learning Foundation for Political Research On Nationalism (MILF-PRON) would like to provide its incisive, unbiased and completely fact-based, post-mortem analysis for the consumption of the right and good citizens of ...

The race factor

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:13:49 GMT

MAY 10 — The race factor definitely played a role in the voter swing in the recent GE13. No doubt about it. So when Umno-owned newspaper Utusan published the front-page story “Apa lagi Cina mahu?” last Tuesday in response to the voter swing, it couldn’t have been a surprise. Barisan Nasional consists of many component parties and most of these ...

Dakwat kekal yang tidak kekal

Thu, 09 May 2013 01:08:26 GMT

9 MEI — Saya mengundi awal di DUN Pasir Panjang, Perak kerana anak yang membawa saya hendak mengundi pula di Parlimen Batu, Wilayah Persekutuan. Tidak siapa melihat jari telunjuk kiri saya ada kesan dakwat. Petugas terus mencalit dakwat di kuku jari itu. Kerana baru 10 minit pusat mengundi dibuka tentulah tiada lagi yang sempat membasuh jari untuk ...

Of motorcyclists and civil servants

Wed, 08 May 2013 23:41:09 GMT

MAY 9 — I, like many other car drivers, hate motorcyclists. What’s there not to hate — they weave in and out of lanes as if they have a death wish, giving those of us driving cars added stress. Then, if there is an accident, surely it is the car driver to be blamed, for not being more careful and considerate for the defenceless ...

Post-GE13: Where do we go from here?

Wed, 08 May 2013 23:23:09 GMT

MAY 9 — Most Malaysians want Pakatan Rakyat to rule the country. Until the next general election, Barisan Nasional (BN) will have to stomach this fact. Your mission, as the people or better said — the boss of this land — is to remind BN at every possible interval that that’s the score, that’s the reality. Fifty-two per cent of Malaysians want ...

Are you a closet racist?

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:50:30 GMT

MAY 8 ― On Sunday night, a Chinese friend tweeted: “Why are Malays so anti-Chinese? What did we ever do to you guys?” Dear friend, I have no idea how to answer that. I don’t know. Results aside, this election has brought out the worst in many people. Social media was inundated with hate and disparaging comments disguised behind the words “Not to ...

Don’t blame the East Malaysians for your mistakes

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:46:06 GMT

MAY 8 — Again, some people on this side of the country have been blaming Sabah and Sarawak for Barisan Nasional winning the election. Someone on Facebook said this: “There must be some way to neutralise or get them out of equation. Peninsular people already voted BN out.” A friend of mine chimed in with: “Why do the rural folks (who are also being ...

A smaller victory for BN, a bigger one for Malaysian democracy

Tue, 07 May 2013 01:02:34 GMT

MAY 7 — A system which results in an 80 per cent turnout, where there are no more fixed deposits, where there is a healthy opposition voice in practically all the states and where the popular vote is almost evenly split between the two coalitions is not a sign of a system in distress. Just because change does not happen in a discrete, “Arab ...

A sportswriter’s dilemma

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:12:36 GMT

MAY 7 — Every sports fan has witnessed a journalist — TV reporter, newspaper writer or radio commentator — who is more than happy to flaunt his close relationships with star players or big-name managers. It’s pretty much seen as a perk of the job — the opportunity to mix and mingle with the stars. Well, I currently have a bit of a personal dilemma ...

We have won!

Mon, 06 May 2013 23:57:52 GMT

MAY 7 — Dear Malaysia, Believe you me, on May 5 we saw democracy at its best. We saw the rakyat coming out in monumental numbers, far exceeding the turnouts of more advanced democracies. And among the rakyat, we saw how the terminally ill were lifted into polling stations by their families on household beds, and how ambulances brought others ...

Alas, I think too much about books

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:43:42 GMT

MAY 6 — I wrote previously that starting a new job is like reading a new chapter in a book. In fact, each of our lives is like a book. It might even be a series of books — hopefully with happy endings where we at least survive very long. We open our eyes in the morning and the narrative begins in our heads. As the story begins (with us gaining ...

Buktikan kuasa Rakyat

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:24:01 GMT

6 MEI — Makalah ini ditulis sebelum tarikh Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-13 (PRU13) dan disiarkan selepas itu. Keputusan pilihan raya sepatutnya sudah diketahui semasa anda membaca makalah ini. Sebenarnya, pada 30 April, saya nyatakan begini pada ruangan status di Facebook: “Alahai, sedihnya saya! Dalam masa beberapa hari lagi, politikus tertentu yang ...

A necessary conversation

Sun, 05 May 2013 00:13:00 GMT

MAY 5 — Being out of KL even for a few days provides for greater clarity. May 5 was just less than 48 hours away, and thanks to budget airlines, one can come back home for a few days to vote. It was a conversation with my nephew and niece when I was back that made me realise that things have gone worse for schoolchildren. We chat a lot about a lot ...

Nilai intelektual dalam karya-karya Doel Sumbang

Sat, 04 May 2013 23:09:36 GMT

5 MEI — Saya mula mendengar lagu-lagu Doel Sumbang, penyanyi folk, pop, jaipang juga pop Sunda kelahiran Bandung, Indonesia sejak tahun 1986. Waktu itu selalu melepak dengan rakan-rakan sealiran di Pasar Seni. Sebelumnya saya sudah terdedah dengan muzik Ebiet, Gombloh, Fals dan Godbless. Zaman tidak ada kepentingan adalah yang terbaik dan asli. ...

Political films you may have missed

Fri, 03 May 2013 23:50:59 GMT

MAY 4 — It’s voting time again, and in honour of the electric political mood that we’re all in at the moment, let’s take a look at some excellent and probably underrated (or overlooked) films about politics or the election process that you may have missed throughout the years. I won’t be including the more mainstream or popular ones like Primary ...

Football’s new Clasico

Fri, 03 May 2013 23:44:43 GMT

MAY 4 — This week has seen the birth of a new Clasico — a new footballing rivalry that has swiftly become one of the world’s must-see encounters. For years, the most mouth-watering clashes on the planet have been long-established: Manchester United against Liverpool; AC Milan against Inter Milan; Barcelona against Real Madrid; Celtic against ...

My top 5 issues when dropping my ballot

Fri, 03 May 2013 00:34:54 GMT

MAY 3 — What can I write about today that would help you make a decision when Sunday comes? I doubt that any of you are still undecided at this eleventh hour. I can harp on and on about the things that I have seen over the years as a journalist following Malaysian issues or in these past two weeks of heated campaigning. I can even outright tell ...

Bukan 61 saja Umno dipecat

Fri, 03 May 2013 00:09:23 GMT

3 MEI — Serta merta, sehari selepas hari penamaan calon seramai 61 orang dipecat dari Umno atas kesalahan menjadi calon bebas dan penyokongnya bertidan dengan calon Barisan Nasional di seluruh negara. Tentunya MCA juga patut mengambil tindakan yang sama, sama ada mereka hendak kekal dalam MCA lagi atau tidak. Sebagai parti yang ada maruah dan ...

The will to vote

Thu, 02 May 2013 23:58:13 GMT

MAY 3 — In recent articles, I wrote about how I applied to become a postal voter. It was done at the very last minute, on the day Parliament was dissolved, as I was not sure of where I would be come voting day. Friends who had applied to become postal voters told me they had not heard from the Electoral Commission (EC) on the status of their ...

Speak up or face the boot

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:31:33 GMT

MAY 2 — Sunday decides if Malaysians are to shut up for another five years. All said and done, that is the only referendum at stake when the votes are counted. Ask yourself objectively, in this reality we exist in if Barisan Nasional continues to rule come May 6 will you the average voter get to impose your will on your government? The nature of ...

Why politics is not the answer

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:06:06 GMT

MAY 2 — If you think changes in the political arena will bring about changes in our lives, you’re right and wrong. There will certainly be changes but not the real changes that matter. I’m talking about the things that make our lives meaningful and worth living, not about things becoming more affordable or us having higher incomes. Of course, the ...

Komen Karpal atas Mat Taib

Wed, 01 May 2013 01:00:13 GMT

1 MEI ― Bagi Karpal Singh, bekas Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Mohamad Mohd. Taib tidak layak diterima menjadi ahli PAS. Sebagai ahli PAS tentulah dia menjadi kerabat Pakatan Rakyat yang parti Karpal adalah tuan punya bersama PAS. Pandangannya adalah kerana rekod lamanya dalam Umno dulu. Bagaimana pun komen Karpal itu ada atas kapasiti ...

Sabah 2013: Where everyone’s a loser

Wed, 01 May 2013 00:58:43 GMT

MAY 1 — Sabah voters will have quite a headache on May 5 what with all the multi-corner fighting. “Sepa bah ni urang?” (Who is this?) I can imagine many a native Sabahan going through the candidate list and wondering who the heck all the nominees are. I found myself desperately trying (and failing) to get much background on all the people running ...

A democracy fiesta

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:09:00 GMT

APRIL 30 — The nation waits anxiously for May 5. It is going to be the mother of all elections. The day where support is translated into votes, winners get to be office-bearers and losers will become the opposition, providing a check and balance for the government. This will be the 13th time in the history of our nation that we all come together ...

Home-grown lack of talent

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:03:42 GMT

APRIL 30 — This year there are only three. Last year there were five, while in 2011 it was just two. The year before that there were three, and in 2009 there were four. In fact, you have to go back all the way to find the last time there was a majority of six or more. What on earth am I talking about? I’m talking about the English Professional ...

The emotional aftermath of loss

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:48:11 GMT

APRIL 30 — Attending an opposition ceramah, one is struck by the urgency and passion exhibited by candidates and supporters alike. It seems like this is the last chance for change, and it is akin to a life-or-death battle. One thing is for sure. There will be equal amounts of elation and grief on May 6, irrespective of who wins. This is possibly ...

Tolak politikus rasis

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 05:43:30 GMT

29 APRIL — Tarikh mengundi sempena Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-13 (PRU-13) semakin hampir dan antara topik yang masih hangat adalah mengenai tindakan Barisan Nasional (BN) meletakkan Zulkifli Noordin sebagai calon bagi kerusi Parlimen Shah Alam. Agak menarik untuk diperhatikan bahawa Zulkifli adalah “calon rakan BN” dan bukannya “calon BN”. Nampaknya ...

It’s a terrible, terrible world

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:17:55 GMT

APRIL 29 — “Familiarity breeds contempt — and children.” — Mark Twain Some time ago, after breaking the news of my wife’s pregnancy to a couple of acquaintances, the talk drifted to the subject of parenthood. Then one of them said: “I’m never having children. This world is so terrible, what for I want to bring new life just to suffer in it?” But ...

Stop with the violence already

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:11:08 GMT

APRIL 29 — Malaysians need to respect those with different opinions. Democracy is about having a multitude of ideas that doesn’t necessarily agree with one another. And instead of shying away or rejecting them outright, we are supposed to embrace them and choose one that we deem is better, keeping in mind the right of others to also side with ...

Ubahlah cara berkempen

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:18:03 GMT

28 APRIL — Hari ini, 28 April…genaplah lapan hari tempoh berkempen untuk parti-parti politik sempena Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13. Ini bermakna tinggal tujuh hari sahaja lagi semua calon dan parti-parti politik yang bertanding boleh berkempen bagi meraih sokongan pengundi. Bermakna juga dalam tempoh tujuh hari terakhir ini, kita bakal menyaksikan ...

Herman Tino: Antara seni dan politik

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:09:55 GMT

28 APRIL — Apabila penyanyi pop Melayu Deli tahun 80an popular, Herman Tino atau nama sebenarnya Masrun Tamsi (59 tahun) mengambil keputusan bertanding di tempat kelahirannya Tanjung Karang dalam pilihan raya umum (PRU 13) ini sebagai calon Bebas menentang Datuk Seri Noh Omar (BN) dan calon PAS (Muhammad Rashdi Deraman), saya tidak terkejut kerana ...

Auteurist TV — the new frontier

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 00:55:55 GMT

APRIL 27 — For quite a few years now, “the death of film” has been a constant theme in editorials and discussions regarding the future of film as an art form. The arrival of high-definition digital cameras ranging from professional ones to “prosumer” ones was more or less the beginning of the end for 35mm film stock as more and more film-makers ...

The new era of German dominance?

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 00:44:43 GMT

APRIL 27 — What a week of Champions League football. Surely nobody — and I mean nobody — would have predicted that Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund would beat Barcelona and Real Madrid by a combined score of 8-1. Both games — both performances by the German teams — were sensational. The most remarkable thing is that their scorelines were fully ...