Balancing Mutualism with Legalism
By Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng
June 2020 EDITORIAL
THE NOTION OF “Rights” is as close to the essence of politics as one can come in a word. This is because “Rights”, like “Respect”, are earned, not granted. The loser in a political struggle may maintain the illusion that he is granting rights to the winning side. He is forced to give way; he was not being generous in giving way. “Rights” thus stem from agreements between parties forced to the negotiating table, and granted at said table –...
Dato' Dr. Ooi Kee Beng
is the Executive Director of Penang Institute. His latest book is Signals in the Noise: Notes on Penang, Malaysia and the World (Singapore: Faction Press) Homepage: wikibeng.com.
