THE celebrated theatre practitioner Anne James is a perennial learner. “I can be a student forever,” she says. In 1983, after a long tussle with the Ministry of Education to secure leave (James was a schoolteacher), she went to Northwestern University to work on a Masters in Performing Arts for three years. James remembers that […]
Found in Malaysia
“Kalau you separuh babi pun I terima”
By Shanon ShahSULASTRI Ariffin has been around the world. Manager of the mak nyah (trans women) programme at PT Foundation, she has participated and spoken at conferences on HIV and sexuality in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and Switzerland. She has even met Richard Gere — twice. But in her 15 […]
“I don’t feel deculturalised”
By Zedeck SiewGURMIT Singh, 66-year-old environmental activist, says, “There’s never been any stage of my teen or adult life when I wasn’t part of some organisation.” A prominent student leader in the 1960s and 1970s, Gurmit is former secretary-general of the National Human Rights Society of Malaysia (Hakam). He got into environmental advocacy in 1974, long before […]
We sometimes forget the basics
By Shanon ShahDATUK Shahrir Abdul Samad is a political enigma. On one hand, he was stinging in his criticisms of the Pakatan Rakyat, implicitly justifying the Barisan Nasional (BN)’s takeover of Perak. On the other hand, he has displayed maverick tendencies within Umno. He opposed the 2008 Internal Security Act (ISA) arrests of journalist Tan Hoon Cheng, […]
I do not have an identity crisis
By Elizabeth LooiAUTHOR, activist, educationist and ex-politician: Dr Kua Kia Soong firmly believes in fighting for social justice. Despite being arrested twice — under the Internal Security Act (ISA) during Operation Lalang in 1987, and the second time for participating in the Second Asia-Pacific Conference on East Timor in 1996 — Kua’s passion for justice has not […]
You Melayu? Betul?
By Shanon ShahIN this new section called Found in Malaysia, The Nut Graph talks to notable Malaysians about their roots in our shared land. By asking notable personalities to tell stories about being Malaysian, we hope to answer these questions: Who is a pendatang? Who is a native? What makes a Malaysian? Why do we call Malaysia […]
