AT 77, there are many things Tan Sri Ramon V Navaratnam is thankful for. Topmost is the fact that all three of his sons and their families, including his four grandchildren, remain in Malaysia. “Thank God! I think there are not many left of my age [whose] children are all here. I think I did […]
Found in Malaysia
Bayu Utomo: “Racism is like sin”
By Koh Lay Chin
Bayu Utomo Radjikin has won various accolades and awards for his abstract and cultural works. He is known for his evocative works dealing with local and international social commentary as well as the “Malay warrior” identity.
“All-very-rojak” Liyana Fizi
By Koh Lay Chin
In this Found in Malaysia interview, singer-songwriter and solo artiste Liyana Fizi talks about her rojak heritage, Malay privilege, a Raya tree and a woman’s midriff.
Joanne de Rozario: “Why is race important?”
By Koh Lay Chin
TV personality and producer Joanne de Rozario has fond memories of the Malaysia she grew up in, and big hopes for the country she thinks it could be. She often wishes she could mark “human” when asked to tick her race in official forms.
Believing in Malaysia
By Jacqueline Ann Surin
AWARD-winning journalist Zainon Ahmad is a story-teller. He has many stories because he has been reporting from the frontlines for more than 30 years. He joined the New Straits Times in 1978 and rose through the ranks to become the paper’s assistant group editor in 1997. From the mid- to late 1980s, he was made […]
“We must be Malaysian”
By Jacqueline Ann Surin
AISHAH Jennifer Mohamed Sinclair has a name that encapsulates both her British and Malay heritage. She grew up in England for the first six years of her life before her family moved to Malaysia for good and where she is happy to be and to raise her daughter, Soraya Ann. In this candid interview about […]
Saifuddin Abdullah: Creating space in Malaysia
By Deborah Loh
DATUK Saifuddin Abdullah says he’s a reluctant politician who got into politics because he wanted to affect change. The Umno supreme council member and first-time MP is seen as being a minority voice of reform within his party and wishes his party was more “progressive”. In this interview, Saifuddin traces his family lineage and student activism, explains the dynamics within Umno, and wishes there was more space at the Malaysian table for space and ideas.
Zaid Ibrahim: “It will get better”
By Shanon Shah
LAWYER-turned-politician Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim, 60, knows that politics can be a dirty game. He joined Umno and won the Kota Baru parliamentary seat in the 2004 general election. The party did not field him for the 2008 elections, however. After winning with a severely reduced majority, the ruling coalition under Prime Minister Tun Abdullah […]
Liew Seng Tat: “We’re still outsiders”
By Gan Pei Ling
LIEW Seng Tat is one of the most promising indie filmmakers in Malaysia. His debut feature film Flower in the Pocket (2007) has won numerous international awards. Previously, his short films Bread Skin with Strawberry Jam and Not Cool had also won top prizes at the Malaysian Video Awards. The full-time filmmaker is now working […]
Liberal, Muslim, feminist, and comfortable
By Shanon Shah
DATIN Paduka Marina Mahathir is a renowned and often controversial Malaysian activist, writer, and commentator. She has worked in a variety of fields, from heading the Malaysian AIDS Council, to kicking off the successful feminist television programme 3R, to holding a bi-weekly column in The Star. She is currently a board member for Muslim women’s […]
