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By Ooi Kee Beng, This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 26, 2026 – February 1, 2026, under the column “Picking on the Present”. Tensions have increased for European countries between their role as members of the Cold War military organisation Nato, and their long-term ambitions to become a super-state … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, Penang Monthly editorial, February 2026 A MAJOR AND very useful instinct I developed when dabbling in wushu sparring many decades ago was the ability to read movement. This was part and parcel of physical defence, of course. Not only does one have to be fully attentive all the time—and that would … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng MOST OF HUMAN civilisation has been powered by the advancement of group messaging, by the quality and nature of information flows within society. As messaging improved, the size and complexity of society grew accordingly. Language expanded to become scripts. Scripts required scribes, and this privileged group soon decided what words to … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, for The Edge Weekly on December 29, 2025 – January 4, 2026 How are nations — and poles of power — to relate sustainably to each other once the hegemonic basis for globalisation exercised over several hundred years by Western powers becomes untenable? What will be the rationale for international relations? … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, Penang Monthly Editorial, December 2025 NOTHING PROVIDES MORE inspiration for coinage of terms than our five senses. We fashion fundamental words to describe the wide range of information that flows from without onto our body and brain. For example, I am told that the sense of Touch relies on our Skin … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, for The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 1, 2025 – December 7, 2025 For centuries, the Pearl River delta had been the trading hub for anyone wishing to trade with the Chinese Empire. When one considers the dynamics of China’s political economy over the last millennia, this makes a lot of … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, Penang Monthly November 2025 Editorial FESTIVALS are basically a picnic at community level, aren’t they? And just like family picnics, festivals seek to bond. Favourite snacks are brought along by uncles and aunties, favourite games are arranged for the children, and favourite drinks in all colours are prepared to avail all … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, in The Edge Malaysia, Oct 27 – 2 Nov 2025. The deepest legacy that colonialism left behind in Southeast Asia are the nation-states that now control the colonialists’ contingently-defined territories. By and large, all these countries were born during the Cold War that followed the Second World War. This tells us … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng. Editorial, Penang Monthly October 2025 I am past 70 years of age, so I shall pull rank on my readers—most of you anyway, and talk about Birth, Life, and Death. My parents are both dead. I was at their wake, funeral, and burial. There is much one can learn from the … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, for The Edge Malaysia Weekly. September 22-28, 2025 The passing of the Gig Workers’ Bill 2025 by the Malaysian parliament is significant, encouraging and inspiring. For a country whose political culture pathologically encourages racial consciousness, confrontation and intimidation, this legislation is a rare acknowledgement of society’s struggling classes — and gig … Continue reading
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