IMAM Feisal Abdul Rauf is the imam of Masjid Al-Farah in New York City, barely 12 blocks from the site of the 11 Sept 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre. He is also CEO of the American Society for Muslim Advancement (Asma). Established in 1997, Asma is a Muslim organisation committed to bringing Muslims […]
Interviews
Defending Chinese schools
By Elizabeth LooiDR Kua Kia Soong has been a Chinese educationist since 1983 when he became the higher education adviser for Dong Jiao Zong, the Chinese education movement. The former DAP Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya didn’t benefit from a Chinese-language education himself. He chose to learn Mandarin as an adult. And in 1985, his book […]
MCA’s quiet man
By Ng Boon HooiNEWLY-minted MCA president Datuk Ong Tee Keat raised eyebrows with his pick for the post of secretary-general. The person he chose was Datuk Wong Foon Meng, 54, who takes over the influential party post from Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan. Though he has been Senate deputy president since 2004, Wong, a one-term state assemblyperson for […]
Understanding Islam
By Shanon ShahMANY applauded when PAS Member of Parliament (MP) for Shah Alam, Khalid Samad, stepped into the Catholic Church of the Divine Mercy after his 8 March 2008 general election victory. In this second and final part of an exclusive interview with The Nut Graph, Khalid responds to the recent fatwas banning tomboys and yoga, and […]
PAS can’t govern alone
By Shanon ShahTHERE has been some speculation among political observers that PAS is trying to purge the progressives from the party. One news analysis talked about the axeing of the “Erdogan” faction, referring to the removal of none other than the party’s Shah Alam Member of Parliament (MP), Khalid Samad, as deputy commissioner II of Selangor PAS. […]
“There is no compulsion in religion”
By Shanon ShahIN part two of this exclusive interview, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Member of Parliament (MP) for Kulim-Bandar Baru, Zulkifli Nordin, shares his views with The Nut Graph about the position of Islam in Malaysia. Although he remains staunch about defending Islam’s position, Zulkifli was surprisingly candid in his asides regarding Islamic laws in Malaysia. On […]
“It’s God’s will”
By Shanon ShahPARTI Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Member of Parliament (MP) for the Kulim-Bandar Baru constituency Zulkifli Nordin has been in the headlines, and some say for all the wrong reasons. Many remain horrified by his participation in the storming of the 9 Aug 2008 Bar Council forum on conversion. His own party is contemplating disciplinary action against […]
Dr M: A man of a hundred contradictions
By Jacqueline Ann Surin and Shanon ShahIN part two of an exclusive interview with The Nut Graph, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim responds to attacks against him by former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on his blog. Expressing disappointment at Mahathir’s attacks, Zaid says the former prime minister has done more in his political career to damage Umno and the nation than Zaid […]
Malaysian politics according to Zaid
By Jacqueline Ann Surin and Shanon ShahDATUK Zaid Ibrahim is convinced that Umno, the dominant party in the Barisan Nasional (BN), will not have the political will to reform and change in the interest of greater democracy for the country. The former Kota Baru Umno division chief and one-time Kota Baru Member of Parliament (MP), was previously suspended for 18 months […]