A PARLIAMENT unaccustomed to a larger and vibrant opposition bench has proven challenging for Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia. Often, he is the target of criticism alleging his bias towards the executive. In the first part of an interview with The Nut Graph at his office in Parliament on 6 April 2011, […]
Interviews
Sarawak elections and the politics of scaremongering
By Ding Jo-Ann
THE impending 16 Apr 2011 Sarawak elections have been dubbed by some media as the “hottest ever” polls in the state. The state elections will be the biggest test that the Barisan Nasional (BN) and the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have had to face since the 2008 general election. The BN will be looking for signs […]
Not race, not religion: What matters in a person?
By Nick Choo
DATUK Faridah Merican has been in the arts scene for more than 50 years and is considered a pioneer of the Malaysian theatre industry. With her husband, director Joe Hasham, the “first lady of the stage” co-founded The Actors Studio in 1989. She and Joe also head the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac), which […]
Mina Cheah-Foong: “Definitely not Chinese”
By Jacqueline Ann Surin
“I’M waiting for someone to call me a pendatang!” says Datin Mina Cheah-Foong. “I never thought to question my right to be here or my role as a Malaysian in the context of where my family came from.” Indeed, why would she need to? Nation building runs in the family. Cheah-Foong may not be planting […]
Wanting a different Malaysia
By Nick Choo
(Updated at 2:18pm, 7 March 2011) DURING his college days at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, singer-songwriter Reza Salleh would organise open-mic gigs, where he would entertain campus crowds with his music. Moving back and forth between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur proved to be a stepping stone for Reza in developing his craft. Today, he […]
“Thorough- bred Malaysian”
By Gan Pei Ling
Lawyer. Activist. Trainer. Loyarburokker. Edmund Bon wears many hats in his quest to champion human rights. Bon is currently the Bar Council’s constitutional law committee chairperson. This is the committee that, since 2009, has been running the MyConstitution campaign to popularise the federal constitution among Malaysians. Bon and his contemporaries — Amer Hamzah Arshad, K […]
Lim Keng Yaik: “Let’s build on commonalities”
By Deborah Loh
LIFE for former Gerakan president and cabinet minister Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik is quiet these days since he retired as party head in April 2007 and from government the following year. In his last media interview in February 2010, Lim talked about his frustrations with the Barisan Nasional (BN) government and with Gerakan, the […]
Nazir Razak: Diversity is our strength
By Jacqueline Ann Surin
Updated at 4:45pm, 27 Jan 2011 Corrected at 10am, 25 Jan 2011 “WHEN the word ‘Malaysian’ comes to me, I always think of diversity,” Datuk Seri Nazir Razak says at the CIMB headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, where he is the bank’s group chief executive. It is our diversity, he adds, that has allowed us to […]
Yuna on being “Malay Malay”
By Koh Lay Chin
SHE is a law graduate and co-owns a clothes boutique. But Yunalis Zarai, who is more popularly recognised as just Yuna, is better known as the current darling of Malaysia’s independent music scene. The 24-year-old began writing her own songs when she was 14 and has not looked back since. After releasing her self-titled EP […]
“Not Malays full stop”
By Deborah Loh
PLANTATION Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Giluk Dompok is one of the more outspoken federal government leaders. On a few occasions, especially when it comes to issues affecting Sabahans, he’s spoken up against cabinet positions. The United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) president supports the use of “Allah” for Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christians. He […]
