SECOND to the panda logo, Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma is probably the next most synonymous face associated with WWF-Malaysia. His career with the environmental conservation group has spanned two decades, beginning in 1990 when he started out as a leatherback turtle project officer in Terengganu. Dr Dino, as many call him, became WWF-Malaysia’s executive director […]
Found in Malaysia
Safe spaces for dangerous conversations
By Tarani Palani
REVEREND Sivin Kit isn’t just any ordinary pastor. The leader of the Bangsar Lutheran Church believes it’s important to have “safe spaces for dangerous conversations”. Even – or maybe especially – in present-day Malaysia. Kit, 38, is one of the most committed religious leaders when it comes to interfaith dialogue. He was one of the […]
Wee Ka Siong, the kampung boy
By Koh Lay Chin
HE says he believes in 1Malaysia because he has really lived through it. A politician for 18 out of his 42 years, Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong is currently MCA Youth chief and deputy education minister. He is also now the Member of Parliament for Ayer Hitam in Johor, but he still has fond memories […]
Time to remove the grids
By Koh Lay Chin
WITH five decades under his belt as an actor, director, drama teacher, voice-over artiste and writer, Mano Maniam is best known as a local theatre and television veteran. But Mano, 65, is more than just about theatre. In many ways, he is a modern-day renaissance man. He has been a teacher and scholar at both […]
Growing up in a Chinese village
By Gan Pei Ling
TO hear Yudi Yap sing is to be transported with nostalgia to another era. The former vocalist of local Chinese-language band Alternative Music House started singing Chinese oldies in 1999. But even before then, she had already made her mark. Yap won the Best Voice Award when Alternative Music House represented Malaysia in the Sumitomo […]
Hindus first, before becoming Muslim
By Koh Lay Chin
BEFORE Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim became a politician, he was far better known as a Malaysian champion of transparency, integrity and good governance. Indeed, it was no coincidence that Tunku Aziz, together with like-minded individuals, founded Transparency International Malaysia (TI-Malaysia) in 1998. He was TI-Malaysia president until December 2004. Even after setting up TI-Malaysia, […]
Precisely Malaysian
By Ding Jo-Ann
“MY family and I have lived all these years in Malaysia, and my identity is precisely that – it’s precisely Malaysian. I speak and dress Malay more comfortably than Chinese, and again, it’s not something I should be ashamed of because that’s who I am.” Tricia Yeoh tells her story in Found in Malaysia.
“Saya orang Nusantara”
By Shanon Shah
CHONG Ton Sin, 62, founded book distribution house GB Gerakbudaya Enterprises Sdn Bhd in 2000, in order to give Malaysians affordable scholarly and critical literature. The lanky book publisher is often seen at book fairs and public forums. Known affectionately as Pak Chong, he is also executive director of Gerakbudaya’s sister company, the Strategic Information […]
“Segregation drives me nuts”
By Nick Choo
FILM and television producer Lina Tan graduated with a Mass Communications degree in 1991. She has worked in production houses in Malaysia and Singapore, and has produced for, among others, the Disney Channel and AXN. In 1999, she founded Red Communications, under which she has produced and directed many local TV commercials and programmes. She talks to The Nut Graph in the Red Communications office in Petaling Jaya on 13 May 2010.
Proud to be Sabahan
By Ding Jo-AnnDAPHNE Iking once wanted to be a doctor, but she changed her mind when a teacher told her she had a knack for storytelling and writing. She says her father was not too keen on her decision to do a Mass Communications degree, so she paid her own way through university. Iking recalls her father […]
