IF Selangor’s Freedom of Information (FOI) bill is made law, how useful will it be in helping the public gain access to information held by the government? The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) government tabled the bill for its first and second reading on 14 July 2010, and a select committee will now be collating feedback and […]
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World Cup
By The Nut Graph teamThe 2010 World Cup has been full of surprises so far. Granted, all-time favourites Brazil and Diego Maradona’s Argentina are still on course to meet in the finals. But who would have expected to see defending champion Italy and 2006 runner-up France going home after the first round? The once-mighty Azzurri failed to live up […]
Malaysians first?
By The Nut Graph teamSOME years ago, while studying in the United Kingdom, one of The Nut Graph‘s team members had a discussion with a classmate from India about a fellow Indian Malaysian student. TNG journalist: Ya, she celebrates Diwali, too. She’s a Hindu Indian. Indian classmate: Huh? She’s not Indian, she’s Malaysian! Journalist: Yes, she’s Malaysian, but she’s […]
PM Najib one year later
By The Nut Graph teamCOME 3 April 2010, Malaysians would have spent exactly one calendar year with Datuk Seri Najib Razak as prime minister. The year can hardly be described as a honeymoon — after all, there was unprecedented opposition from civil society and politicians from both sides of the divide to Najib’s ascendance. The new premier, in turn, […]
Pakatan Rakyat
By The Nut Graph teamPR leaders celebrating their victory during the Permatang Pauh by-election in Aug 2008 SO what is the deal with the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)? Is it merely experiencing the normal teething problems of a newly formed political coalition? Are all its problems engineered by the BN, or could some actually have been internally generated? After the […]
New Year resolutions for Malaysia
By The Nut Graph team(Corrected at 1:30pm, 19 Jan 2010) DO you remember where you were at midnight 10 years ago when we ushered in the new millennium? Remember the Y2K virus scare? Or the millennium party on the Subang Airport runway? Remember when then Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad was still prime minister of Malaysia? Can […]
Menstruation
By The Nut Graph teamCorrected at 8:45pm, 16 Nov 2009 PARTI Keadilan Rakyat’s Seri Andalas assemplyperson, Dr Xavier Jayakumar, has unintentionally landed the Taman Sri Andalas mosque committee in hot soup. Xavier had given a talk in the mosque during a Ramadan function in late August 2009. According to the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais), this was a huge […]
Azmin Ali
By The Nut Graph teamPARTI Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Azmin Ali is an intriguing character, to say the least. Here is a man who rose from being a minister’s special officer to becoming a Member of Parliament (MP) and vice-president of an emerging opposition party. In Malaysian political culture, loyalty is often, though not always, rewarded. But Azmin’s loyalty […]
Ops Sikap
By The Nut Graph teamTHE Hari Raya holidays have just passed and the results are out. As usual, the big numbers are still there, and are still disturbing. 2009’s Ops Sikap, the 20th one running since its start in 2001, saw 261 road deaths during this Aidilfitri period. On Sunday, 27 Sept, alone there were 23 fatalities on our […]
Malaysia Day
By The Nut Graph teamPOP quiz: Is Malaysia 46 or 52? Historical facts show that the Federated Malay states gained independence on 31 Aug 1957. Thus, Malaya was freed from colonial rule 52 years ago. But the birth of Malaysia itself, when Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined the independent Malay states, took place on 16 Sept 1963. That makes […]