APPARENTLY, President Barack Obama has done it again. Heaped praises on Malaysia as a role model Muslim nation that is progressive and moderate. The first time it was reported in Malaysia that the highly-popular US chief executive gave the thumbs up for our tiny Southeast Asian nation was on 27 June 2009 when both Obama […]
Jacqueline Ann Surin
Trusting the police
By Jacqueline Ann SurinEARLIER this week, while I was in the office alone in the morning, two uniformed police officers appeared outside our glass office door. One peered in. I looked up and smiled but my fingers were ready to sign in to Twitter if the police rang the doorbell. The officer who was peering in smiled back, […]
Time to be afraid
By Jacqueline Ann SurinMalaysians are being told to be afraid (© Marcelo Terraza / sxc.hu) “BE afraid. Be very afraid.” That, in essence, was what the protestors against a Hindu temple relocation in Shah Alam were saying. But they were not just saying it to their Hindu neighbours in Section 23, Shah Alam. They were also saying it […]
What possessed the protesters?
By Jacqueline Ann Surin(Source: openclipart.org) WHAT possessed them? That’s the question I’d like to ask the protesters who desecrated a cow head on 28 Aug 2009 after Friday prayers to object the building of a Hindu temple in Section 23, Shah Alam. We know that it’s not Islam that teaches intolerance of and disrespect toward other religious beliefs, […]
Sex education
By The Nut Graph teamLET’S talk about sex … and how ignorant our youth are about it. Anyone remember the Malaysian science syllabus in secondary school? The chapter with diagrams of male and female genitalia, and little explanation about what to do with them? Perhaps you had a teacher who, with a deadpan face, stuck strictly to the scientific […]
Kosmo!‘s offence
By Jacqueline Ann SurinTHE media are at it again. Sensationalising the news, reporting inaccurately and unfairly, and worst of all, having no regard for the personal damage a report may have on a party. The latest of irresponsible and unethical reporting was in Kosmo!‘s 27 July 2009 edition that front-paged celebrated filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad who passed away from […]
Swept away by Najib
By Jacqueline Ann SurinIT’S easy to be swept away in the hyped-up euphoria surrounding Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 100 days in office. The Star, for example, celebrated Najib’s 11 gifts to the rakyat, announced on 11 July 2009, with a blown-up picture of Najib occupying more than half its front page in its 12 July publication. Other traditional […]
Conversion
By The Nut Graph teamTHE late Malcolm X did it, and he’s a hero. Amina Wadud did it, and people call her a freak. “It” being converting to Islam. And as African Americans, Malcolm and Amina did it in the belief that Islam offered them spiritual liberation and justice. People convert to different religions all the time. Who can […]
What would Toni say?
By Jacqueline Ann SurinToni Kasim in Turkey, November 2007 (© Julian Lee) “WHAT would Toni say?” It’s a question I’ve asked myself quite frequently in recent times, especially with the constant and new challenges one faces in running an office and being an online journalist. “What would Toni say”, I guess, is my version of Christians who use […]
Dr M to launch news website, Malaysian Mirror
KUALA LUMPUR, 23 June 2009: The competition is growing among online news portals, with Malaysian Mirror making its debut soon. Mahathir (Pic by Shamsul Said @ Flickr)“We are going to have the launching on 30 June, by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad,” said Malaysian Mirror editor Francis Siah. Malaysian Mirror is said to […]
