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By OOI KEE BENG Editorial in Penang Monthly, September 2014 There is much to worry about in the world today, 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, ewhich should give us reason to pause and consider what the long-term, persistent and negative consequences of the cultural shrinking of the world actually are. Politically, … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For THE EDGE, Kuala Lumpur, 25 August 2014 Multiracialism does not come by chance. It is always an expression of the populated territory’s geopolitical history. We imagine societies to be essentially mono-cultural and mono-religious. That may be true of some regions in the world, but in regions such as Southeast Asia, … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG Editorial in PENANG MONTHLY, August 2014 Watching the recent World Cup matches brought to my mind the snug relationship between Form and Flair. Football seen on the TV screen shows clearly how different formations—of 4-3-3 or 4-4-2—function differently, and how each of these hold different possibilities and different limitations. Now, if … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG For THE EDGE MALAYSIA, 3 August 2014 The whole region held its breath as it waited for the final result of Indonesia’s fifth presidential election to be announced on 22 July, 2014. Following exit polls done on election day on 9 July, both candidates had declared victory, and the tension worsened … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG Editorial for Penang Monthly, July 2014. A CLEAR CONNECTION seems to exist between an economy’s health, on the one hand, and that society’s handling of religious and ethnic minorities, on the other. In fact, I would venture that one can best identify a society in crisis by studying the xenophobic tendencies … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For THE EDGE Malaysia, 30 July 2014 A wave of pessimism and dejection has been pervading Malaysia for quite a long time now. Exactly when it started is hard to say, but what has been obvious is that whatever potential lines of division that can be found in the diversity that … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For Commentary, The National University of Singapore Society (NUSS). Volume 23, 2014. IF ONE DOES NOT go back too far, one could divide relations between Singapore and Malaysia into the Mahathir period and the Post-Mahathir period. Malaysia’s long-term Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed retired on 30 October 2003, after 22 … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG For YaleGlobal Online, MacMillan Center. 26 June 2014. The world is on the watch for Islamic extremism – recent examples include the execution of some 1,700 Shia solders in Iraq and the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria. Two dynamics are underway that confound international relations, argues Ooi Kee … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG For The Edge, Malaysia, May 25, 2014 What seems to have happened in Malaysian politics since 2008 is that we have a voter population that is divided right down the middle, and given the nature of the game, this situation is expected to remain for quite a while. We have a … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG Editorial for Penang Monthly, June 2014 This month’s cover is about Malaysia’s brain drain; and what is fascinating is how old—and yet how current—the story reads. Indeed, we should be talking about a Brain Drain Trap, as we do about the Middle Income Trap. And we should be worrying just as … Continue reading
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