Prof Ubonrat Siriyuvasak from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, will deliver a talk titled “Democracy denied? Communication rights in Thailand post-Thaksin” in KL on 30 April 2011.
Apr 222011
Mar 142011
There is no truth behind an sms message making the rounds that radiation has hit the Philippines and may affect other Asian countries. Meanwhile, Japanese officials have played down health concerns after a third reactor at Fukushima lost its cooling system. But the US military has moved away from the area after one of its aircraft carriers detected low-level radiation 160km offshore, reports the BBC. According to ABS-CBN: MANILA, Philippines – There is no truth to text rumors that radiation from a nuclear plant in Japan has reached the Philippines, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said Monday.
Jan 092011
Thought-provoking interview over BFM Radio with Kua Kia Soong, author of the book Questioning Arms Spending and former MP of Petaling Jaya. He questions the need for large amounts of defence spending in the region and the way defence contracts are awarded out. In fact, Jane’s ‘Intelligence and Insight’ on the Malaysian defence budget reports: “It could be argued that Malaysia is involved in somewhat of a regional arms race that has its basis more firmly in nationalist sentiment than genuine military threat. This mini-arms race may have distorted the purchasing plans of the Malaysian military.”
Jan 072011
Sweden is closing five embassies worldwide in 2011: Buenos Aires, Brussels, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur and Luanda. The official reason is budget cuts. “This painful decision is a consequence of the recent decision of the Riksdag to cut funding to the Government Offices by SEK 300 million,” said Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt. Elsewhere within Asean, Sweden has embassies in Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, Phnom Penh and Hanoi. Unlike certain Asean countries, Malaysia actually has an embassy in Sweden.
Dec 252010
“Guess how many students scored straight As in the PMR exams?” I asked a relative while reading yesterday’s newspaper. “Twenty?” came the reply. I laughed. “Why? Hundreds-ah?” “No, over 30,000,” I said. Actually, 30,836 to be precise. With so many ‘geniuses’ running around in the country, it is surprising we are in the state we are in.