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By Ooi Kee Beng Editorial in Penang Monthly, June 2016. This morning (May 20, 2016), my 12-year-old daughter asked me “what is Capitalism?”. Since the Cold War is over, this is actually a harder question to answer than one may think. So if you, dear reader, do not mind, I shall use this space to … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For The Edge Malaysia, 26 June 2016. When studying humanity and its history, what one does is construct a narrative. And in that narrative, one distinguishes heroes from villains, outlines territories and peoples, and differentiates steady trends from turning points. Since different choices result in different stories, it is understandable that … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For The Straits Times, Singapore, 26 May 2016 On 5 May, in the midst of the Sarawak state election campaign, a helicopter crashed in the jungle and killed five people, including the Malaysian Deputy Minister for Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Noriah Kasnon, and the Member of Parliament for Kuala Kangsar, … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For the Edge Malaysia, 16 May 2016. Practically all pundits predicted that the Barisan Nasional (BN) in Sarawak, headed by the PBB under the leadership of Chief Minister Adenan Satem, would win big in the Sarawak state election held last Saturday, 7 May. They were right, no surprises there. What was … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For The Edge Malaysia, 27 April 2016 In an age in which we constantly assert the Paramountcy of the Law and in which we proclaim equality before the law, we carelessly assume that obeying the law, or at least not breaking the law, is all we really need to do for … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng Editorial, Penang Monthly May 2016. Being a late-bloomer, I seldom took part in sports when I was in school. They felt too physical, too competitive and too regimenting. That did not stop me though from admiring those individuals who could excel not only in sprint, long jump and high jump, but … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng Editorial in Penang Monthly, April 2016. Thinking about the liveability of cities makes me wonder in what ways cities are similar enough to each other for us to compare them to each other, not to mention their liveability. By virtue of size and significance, it is common that one differentiates between … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG For The Edge Malaysia, 28 March 2016 The problem with thinking of Merdeka—of independence—as a reboot, and as the beginning of a largely internal process through which pride of place on the world stage for the people and the state is that one becomes rather ahistorical. By that, I mean that … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG For The Edge Malaysia, 7 March 2016 This year—2016—is a special year for Malaysia. This is not because of the Sarawak state elections due in April (according to some sources); not because of the alarming economic situation facing so many already poor Malaysians today; nor is it because of the risk … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng Editorial, Penang Monthly March 2016. Since our cover story for the month is about the future of education in Malaysia, I would like to take up the issue of exposure as a necessary element in the intellectual development of an individual. And this applies to all ages. What does it mean … Continue reading
