On a dark night, in a distant frontier of the oppressive Roman Empire, a child was born who would go on to proclaim Good News to the Poor and point to a new way of living, based on a different set of values.
This Christmas Day, let’s pay tribute to those who dare to be different – the ordinary people who speak truth to power, who raise awareness of a gentler, more holistic model of development that is in harmony with our environment.
The recent vote in the Malaysian Parliament to pass amendments to three acts to allow students greater political freedom has been generally welcomed – but not everyone is happy.
No racial trouble broke out as a result of local council elections in Penang in the 1950s and 1960s (at least, not that I am aware of) until they were suspended in 1965. So why can’t they be reintroduced in Penang and the rest of Malaysia? Penang Forum has just released a media statement:
The popular linear park of Sungai Ara (River of Figs) is likely to be severely compromised by the six-lane Pan Island Link flying over it, with its huge pillars rising from the river banks.
With most people absorbed by the ongoing implosion of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), a major shift happened a couple of months ago which may have gone largely unnoticed.
This is the sort of piano that Tanjung Bungah boy Jho Low reportedly gave to supermodel Miranda Kerr in 2014.
Check out this new music video released by Aliran.
Take a look at these photos taken by a concerned Penang resident.
If you think the background of the photo above looks ominous, wait till you see what is in store for the foreground – the area presently being reclaimed near Gurney Plaza.
Let’s assume a hypothetical situation:
As usual, cartoonist Zunar has captured succinctly in a picture (above) what might otherwise take a thousand words to describe. It is a battle between the new more inclusive Malaysia and the old Malaysia, where the politics of race and religion reigned supreme. Pests (the toxic old communal politics) are now trying to devour the young shoots of a vibrant new nation.