WHEN Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi declared that the new media was negatively spinning issues about the government, perhaps he was referring to examples such as this YouTube video by nasilemak2020. I’m certain the Umno vice-president, who is also defence minister, also had other examples in mind when he called on Umno cybertroopers to […]
Shape of a Pocket
Who wants another 13 May?
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
I DIDN’T live through the racial clashes of 13 May 1969. I was born a year after. And yet, throughout my childhood and into my adulthood, just mentioning “13 May” evoked whispered warnings and an unnameable fear. What is it about 13 May that gives rise to fear and suspicion that fellow Malaysians might re-enact […]
The Malaysian state of impunity (Updated)
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
(Updated 2:45pm, 1 May 2011) TWO things alarmed me about the arrest of Adrian Yeo, who is Selangor exco Elizabeth Wong’s aide, in Miri on 16 April 2011 after the Sarawak elections. One was the number of police officers who publicly assaulted him before he was taken away. The other was how none of the […]
The EC’s folly
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
WHAT will it take for the Election Commission (EC) of Malaysia to be independent? Or at the very least, to be seen as trying to be independent even if it can’t really be so, according to the EC’s own explanation? At a Bersih 2.0 public forum on 21 Feb 2011 in Petaling Jaya, what was […]
Siapa Melayu?
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
IF it is true that Malay-rights group Perkasa was able to sabotage the government’s New Economic Model, hence obstructing much-needed reforms for the nation, what is this telling us? It tells us that if the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is so easily held ransom by right-wing race-based groups, it is not fit to govern multiracial […]
In defence of diversity
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
WHAT comes to mind when Malaysia‘s political leaders declare that Malaysia’s strength lies in its diversity? Do we believe the claim that is being made? And if yes, do we believe that they too, believe in these pronouncements they make and that they will do anything to defend Malaysia’s diversity? There is ample evidence that […]
The importance of Bersih
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
IT feels like only yesterday but it’s been three years this week since the historic Bersih rally of 10 Nov 2007 that demanded for free and fair elections. For certain, that 40,000 strong rally, together with the subsequent Hindraf demonstration in Kuala Lumpur, was partly responsible for the political tsunami of the 2008 general election. […]
The benefit of being Malay first
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
ARE you Malay first? Or Malaysian first? But is the question really about which should come first? Why does it seem to matter so much? And which of the two labels — one about race and the other about citizenship — is more profoundly important to us as Malaysian citizens?
Supporting The Nut Graph’s Plan B
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
[Updated 11.10am, 19 Oct 2010: See update under Monetary contributions] AND so it’s finally happened. We packed up our stationery and notebooks, sold the fax/printer/scanner, cleared out the pantry and shut the office. As of 1 Sept 2010, The Nut Graph is officially operating under Plan B. Contrary to some perceptions, we haven’t “closed down”. […]
The parade of “Muslim sensitivities”: Where is it taking us?
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
AND so Perkasa has made the news again. And this time by its own doing, not because a media bent on sensationalism tried to cultivate the Malay nationalist group in order to increase readership. In the latest of Perkasa moves, its Petaling chairperson, Zainal Abidin Ahmad, lodged a police report against a Protestant church in […]
