Demographics of a diverse Malaysia
4 min read
Malaysia is made up of many races and cultures, the predominant ones being the Malays, Chinese and Indians on the peninsula. For February, to accompany our co...
Rasa Sayang’s cool lounge
4 min read
It was three days after Christmas in Penang. The weather was erratic and the traffic was mad. All I wanted was some coffee and cake.The timing couldn’t...
Road tripping with long-distance parents
5 min read
“Are you sure that you are comfortable driving like that?”“Yes, dad.”“Because you know, you shouldn’t stay so close to t...
Choong Kam Kow – A this-worldly visionary
6 min read
Choong Kam Kow’s 258 selected works stand as beacons to some 57 years of passion and toil in creating 15 distinct, defining series including the groundbre...
Singapore – A tough love story
4 min read
50 Things to Love about Singapore. Edited by Susan Long (Straits Times Press, 246 pages)Don’t look for “love” in the straightforward sen...
Taking freedom with the press
4 min read
“Here, the young people operate the old machines, and the old operate the new machines,” said Ee Soon Wei, with a deadpan expression that hid his am...
No automatic new start for Penang as a city
4 min read
To many observers, there are 12 cities in Malaysia: KL, Ipoh (Perak), Kuching (Sarawak), Johor Bahru ( Johor), Kota Kinabalu (Sabah), Shah Alam (Selangor), Mala...
Should we fear death or longevity?
6 min read
According to Chinese tradition, longevity is one of the three important blessings in life, alongside prosperity and happiness. But while longevity is good on an...
#jesuischarlie: Will the real Charlie please stand up?
9 min read
Within hours of the first terrorist attacks in Paris, the hash tag “#jesuischarlie” (I am Charlie) began to rapidly trend on Twitter. As the violenc...
The Unity Fetish
10 min read
Boy in Kelantan. Collective identities are a demand from without, while individual identity is a personally lived experience.The collective individualMa...
Assorted measures needed to empower women
8 min read
Sixty years ago, history was made on several fronts with Malaya’s first general election. Voters were allowed to choose representatives to the Federal Leg...
Foreign students learning the hard way
6 min read
“I would have never thought that the police could detain me for such a thing,” says Dinesh, a 30-year-old international student who came to Malaysia...