“Marilah kita hidup di negara ini dengan hormat-menghormati antara satu sama lain. Budaya ini akan menjamin kesejahteraan dan kebahagiaan. Jika ada pihak lain yang tidak mahu hidup hormat-menghormati, sudah pasti akan berlaku kemungkinan permusuhan, pergaduhan dan pembunuhan yang pastinya kesemua sekali akan rugi negara akan musnah. Hentikanlah menghina Islam, kerana Islam adalah ciptaan Allah.” THE […]
Shanon Shah
The BN and the ISA
By Shanon ShahACADEMIC and activist Dr Kua Kia Soong was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) during 1987’s Operation Lallang. Upon his release, he wrote about his experiences in detention in his bestselling book, 445 Days under Operation Lalang. The book’s third edition is going to print soon and will be available in bookshops and from […]
Democratic parties are possible
By Shanon Shah(Pic by Jirikabele / Dreamstime) WHEN the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government dismissed local government elections and school elections on the grounds that these involve “politicking”, it was telling us that it either misunderstands democracy, or holds it in contempt. But when the Selangor and Penang Pakatan Rakyat (PR) governments pushed to restore local government […]
Spotlight on party democracy
By Shanon ShahIs Malaysia on the way to becoming more democratic? (© flydime | Flickr) IT has now been two full years since the historic March 2008 elections in Malaysia. But during this period, what have Malaysians actually learnt about the nature of democracy? Is Malaysia on the way to becoming more democratic? Citizens can use several […]
Hikayat pemansuhan pilihanraya sekolah
Oleh Shanon ShahENTAH bagaimana saya terjumpa segulung kertas lama di rumah saya. Di manakah saya mendapatnya? Tidak mungkin saya membelinya di kedai buku dan terlupa — kertasnya terlalu tua. Mungkinkah saya terbawa pulang setelah saya melawat Lembah Bujang di Kedah tahun 2009 lalu? Apa-apa pun, saya terlalulah tertarik dengan apa yang tertulis di atas kertas yang semakin […]
Boon for upholding Islam
By Shanon Shah“I hope there will be no more issues arising from the caning sentence which can be imposed by the syariah court on Muslim women to protect the sanctity of Islam.” HOME Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, anticipating the public’s questions about the feasibility and fairness of the caning of three Muslim women for “illicit sex”, […]
PKR’s resignations
By Shanon ShahWITHIN a month, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has been rocked with the resignations of high-profile party leaders, including three federal lawmakers. Bayan Baru Member of Parliament (MP) Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim quit in early February 2010, followed by Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng a fortnight later. It might have been easy to dismiss […]
Perils of questioning Islam
By Shanon Shah“If Muslims themselves do not respect the decision by the syariah court and offer contradicting views on the matter, how do we make non-Muslims respect our laws[?]” SELANGOR mufti Datuk Mohd Tamyes Abdul Wahid, on why Muslims shouldn’t question the caning of Muslim women. (Source: Don’t question syariah caning sentence on women, New Straits Times, […]
The politics of disaster aid
By Shanon ShahFood donated by an aid organisation being delivered to a remote location in Haiti following the earthquake in January 2010 (Pic by DVIDSHUB @ Flickr) ON 13 Jan 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti, killing thousands instantaneously. Then on 20 Jan, a 6.1-magnitude aftershock rocked Haiti once again. There are conflicting […]
Nasihat untuk peminat Adam Lambert
Oleh Shanon ShahBIARLAH saya meminta ampun kepada pembaca kolum saya kali ini — saya sebenarnya sudah ketagih membaca laman hiburan Tepi Kain. Maklumlah, mereka banyak memuatkan berita hiburan terkini, dan saya pula sudah pening membaca tentang kes liwatlah, keputusan mahkamah tentang Peraklah, dan berita politik lain yang agak berat dan merisaukan. Dan saya terpaksa mengaku bahawa saya […]