As if this country hasnt got enough problems to worry about, what with the impending global recession, Malaysia’s inevitable slowdown and the fear of capital flight from the country and the region as a whole; now
we have to deal with the very real and somewhat nasty prospect of an Islamic state being smuggled through the [...]
At present, there are several right-wing conservative Buddhist groups calling for Thailand to be officially declared as the first Buddhist state in the world; a feat unmatched by anyone else thus far for even Sri Lanka has remained a secular state all these years. One wonders what the implications of such a move might be [...]
It is abundantly clear that the politics of race has slowly and surely brought to this country to the brink of disaster.
We are a nation divided, kept from strength by divisive policies that constantly remind us of our differences rather than our similarities and, in doing so, breed distrust and weakness. We have been reduced [...]
Now that the cat is out of the bag and the whole of Malaysia knows that there have been secret backroom dealings between UMNO and PAS; ostensibly to bring the two parties together in the name of Malay-Muslim communal solidarity, we need to pause a while and look at the political factors at work.
I highlight [...]
For two weeks now, this political scientist has been sidetracked from his work on transnational religio-political movements by the controversy that has erupted in Malaysia as a result of the accusations of sodomy levelled against former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. This is not the first time I have been way-laid in the line of [...]
The trials and tribulations of Malaysia’s former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim continue, and history seems to be repeating itself time and again in the country. Ten years after the infamous trial where he was accused of sexual misconduct and abuse of power, Anwar Ibrahim is [...]
(Yusseri's Note: This article first appeared in Farish's "Notes" on Facebook … Egads!)
Malaysia's political climate has become somewhat predictable of late,
and the seasons come and go with yawn-inducing regularity: Once in a
while we will have the amok season when tempers are raised and emotions
flare; then to be overtaken by the Who Buggered My Arse season [...]
It has become the common blight of many a postcolonial state that the
discrepancy between political idealism and the realities on the ground
grow wider by the day. It has also been my singular misfortune that the
nature of my work as a political scientist who studies the uneven
development of many such nation-states means that I have grown [...]
Malaysia is once again in the news and the headlines worldwide have featured the story of Malaysia’s former Deputy Prime Minister and de facto leader of the Pakatan Rakyat (Peoples’ Pact) alliance Anwar Ibrahim being accused of sexual misconduct – as he was in 1998.
During the turbulent years of 1998-1999 when Malaysia was caught in [...]
Its
been a long time since I’ve had a weekend as crazy as the one that has
just passed. Travelling back to KL by bus I was looking forward to a
relaxed weekend with my significant other, and to giving the odd
lecture or two in the process. What was meant to be a nice, relaxing
break from my work [...]
