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Ooi Kee Beng

Dr OOI KEE BENG is the Executive Director of Penang Institute (George Town, Penang, Malaysia). He was born and raised in Penang, and was the Deputy Director of ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute (formerly the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, ISEAS). He is the founder-editor of the Penang Monthly (published by Penang Institute), ISEAS Perspective (published by ISEAS) and ISSUES (published by Penang Institute). He is also editor of Trends in Southeast Asia, and a columnist for The Edge, Malaysia.
Ooi Kee Beng has written 523 posts for Wikibeng

Singapore Election: A Lesson We Learned Earlier?

By Alan Ting for BERNAMA KUALA LUMPUR Tuesday, 17 May 2011– Although the People’s Action Party won more than two-thirds majority in the recent Singapore general election, its popular votes dropped and the opposition made inroads. There are a few reasons for this that political parties on this side of the causeway may want to digest … Continue reading

‘Right wing’ Umno won’t tango with Najib

By Tarani Palani, for Free Malaysia Today, May 14, 2011 Utusan Malaysia’s contentious headline is a ‘ploy’ by right wingers within Umno for Najib Tun Razak to take a hardline stand on Malay issue, says a political analyst. PETALING  JAYA: The latest Christian Malaysia controversy propagated by Malay  daily, Utusan Malaysia, whilst merely a “wayang” involving … Continue reading

Not business as usual for PAP

SINGAPORE’S ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has never been one to take chances. Believing in its ability to identify society’s best talents and recruit them into its ranks, the party developed scant respect for the electoral democracy inherent in the country’s political structure. Its ever powerful control of the mass media, its unconstrained changing of … Continue reading

Time to cast the ballots

TODAY, Singaporeans go to the polls. Nothing strange about that, they do this every fifth year or so. And given the dominance of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), its impressive track record of building the island state into a powerful economy, its control over the apparatus of state, its pre-emptive nature especially where elections … Continue reading

Literally peaking (PEM Editorial May 2011)

INDEED, becoming literate used to be one of the best career moves anyone could make. In ancient China for example, extended families would concentrate their resources to make the smartest kid amongst them as literate in the classics as he – not she – could be. That way, he might pass the imperial exams, become … Continue reading

Now’s not the time for Najib to call a GE

THE results of the Sarawak state elections last weekend were extraordinary in the sense that one cannot strictly say that they were expected. Nor can one claim that they were unexpected. This in truth reflects how uncertain things seemed during the 10 days of campaigning. Wishful thinking mixed freely with insider information, and strategic statements … Continue reading

BN feels the Sarawak heat

JUDGING from recent events, the ruling coalition in the Malaysian state of Sarawak is feeling very unsure of its ability to retain its two-third majority in tomorrow’s state election. Not only are the rallies of the Barisan Nasional (BN) not drawing the crowds, its candidates are failing to excite voters except through offers of money … Continue reading

Malaysia’s Future after March 8, 2008

Talk by Ooi Kee Beng at Malaysia Forum (Singapore) 2011 [Held on 10 April at Hackerspace.sg, 70A Bussorah Street] WITH THE election results of March 8, 2008, not only did the landscape of Malaysian politics change, more possible futures could be envisioned. This was because the results actually brought into focus certain aspects of Malaysian … Continue reading

Bookstores and our weak sense of self-worth (PEM Editorial April 2011)

I SHALL tell you a secret. Whenever in Dublin, I actually prefer browsing through bookstores to bumming down at a public house for a piece of steak washed down with a stout. And truly, only in Ireland does Guinness Stout taste like it should. No, I cannot keep away from Irish bookstores. The range is … Continue reading

Dr M: Politician to the Core

Review of A Doctor in the House: The Memoirs of Tun Dr Mahathir (MPH, 2011) This long-awaited autobiography is more about the political than the personal. By Ooi Kee Beng For The Star, Friday March 25, 2011 BELIEVE it or not, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been a part of Malaysian politics since World War … Continue reading