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By Ooi Kee Beng For THE EDGE, Kuala Lumpur, 24 Feb 2013 Now when only weeks remain before the 13th general elections take place, it is interesting to see how Malaysia has irrefutably become a two-party state, with polarised arguments, populist policy contests, and uncertainty about who will gain the right to form the next … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For The Straits Times, Singapore (22 Feb 2013) Change is at hand! D-Day is approaching! The Day of Reckoning is nigh! Malaysia’s 13th General Elections is inspiring all sorts of sensational outbursts. But hyperbolically stated or not, the cold fact remains that the results on Election Day will be highly significant. … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng [Editorial in PENANG MONTHLY, Feb 2013] Penangites are one proud people. That is not even a controversial statement. They are proud of their food, their history and their geography. They have every reason to be proud. Penang has been the initiator of much is has been good for the country. It … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, for The Edge, Malaysia. 26 December 2013. Whether we like it or not, a large part of the political and administrative infrastructure that Malaysia has today comes from the British. There is much that is of value in that system, and it is up to later generations – meaning the present … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng (For YAHOO. 18 Jan 2013; see http://my.news.yahoo.com/political-picnicking-in-kl-042544037.html). On 12 January 2013, an estimated 100,000 Malaysians managed to pull off the latest in a series of demonstrations in the country’s major city, Kuala Lumpur. This time, it went practically without a hitch. There were none of the clashes with police that had … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For TODAY, 5 Dec 2012 As United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) general assemblies go, the one held last week was rather tame in its rhetoric. It was certainly memorable for its lack of vitriolic language. And it was expectedly so – therein lies its significance. Things were quite different back in … Continue reading
Profile: Jeffrey Sachs By Ooi Kee Beng [Penang Monthly, Dec 2012] Penang Institute held the fourth event in its “Penang in Asia” Lecture Series on 20th October 2012. The honoured speaker was Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs. PM Editor Dr Ooi Kee Beng managed to squeeze a jet-lagging Prof Jeffrey Sachs for an interview while they … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG [Editorial in Penang Monthly, December 2012] I just returned from Japan, and like every other visitor, I was struck by how clean the place is. To be sure, there are lots of spotless countries and cities around. Singapore is known for its clinical cleanliness, as we know. Hong Kong’s inner city … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng [This article was first published in The Edge Malaysia, Nov 26-Dec 2 issue] THE coming into being of a steady two-party system in Malaysia is often thought of as a necessary step in democratic development. But we have to remind ourselves that the process itself, the detailed dynamics of that transformation, … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, For ISEAS Perspective, SINGAPORE, 26 Nov 2012 INTRODUCTION Malaysia’s Parliament has to be dissolved by the end of April 2013, following which Malaysians must go to the polls within 60 days. Nothing significant about that, except that this 13th general election is a critical one which will decide how the country’s politics … Continue reading
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