Watershed Elections for Malaysia
13 min read
Malaysia’s Arab Spring happened in September 1998 when former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was arrested. By refus...
After the elections: A new game begins
11 min read
Historical lines of conflictThe 13th General Elections held on May 5 this year did not bring about the change in government at the federal level which the opp...
Local Government in Penang, 1940
6 min read
Coming out as it did just a couple of years before the Japanese put a rude end to the intricate system of government that the British over 160 years had slowly...
The written word in a democratised world
5 min read
Literature and the individualThe only subject I was really excited by when I went to school four decades ago was Literature, both as a subject and in the form...
Letting little things talk
6 min read
Ooi Kee Beng follows up with Tan Twan Eng to chat about what motivates him and finds out that oftentimes, it’s the little things in life that inspire the most.
A Magnificently Rich Tome on Early Penang
4 min read
Penang – The Fourth Presidency of India 1805-1830, Volume One: Ships, Men and Mansions, by Marcus Langdon. George Town: Areca Books. 2013.
Karpal Singh: Will For Justice
14 min read
The funeral rites for Karpal Singh ended with family members scattering his ashes in the sea off Green Hall, Penang, but the national soul-searching to understand his legacy and to commemorate it has just begun.
When Penang became a Spice Island
7 min read
Spices were much sought after, not only to tempt Europe’s tongues but also to cure its sick who were suffering from the plague and other nasty diseases. A...
One country’s Merdeka is another’s damage control
6 min read
It takes two hands to clap; there is no shore unless there is sea; one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor – as the poet rightly claims.You...
The More Individual Stories We Acknowledge, The More Authentic Our National History
6 min read
One thing common to most Malaysians is the balik kampung tradition. This goes even for those millions who have left the country over the last 50 years, who return whenever they can to visit relatives, friends and old haunts.
George Town – From City to Municipality to Culture Centre
7 min read
George Town became a city on January 1, 1957. The timing was not by accident. In fact it was an event to herald the approach of sovereignty for the 11 states of Malaya exactly eight months later that year.
The Unity Fetish
10 min read
Building a nation involves sustained emotional stimulation, while building a state is more of a legal and technical matter. Balancing the two is the key to social stability and dynamism.