By OOI KEE BENG, in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on June 26, 2023 – July 2, 2023: “Picking on the Present” column. THERE ARE MANY ways one can attempt to fathom what it is that ails Malaysian democracy. Is it democracy itself that, when applied in a country newly emerged from colonial control, has allowed … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng. Penang Monthly editorial June 2023 HISTORY seldom follows a distinct and predictable line of events. Contingencies, serendipities, good luck and bad luck, all come into play. Naturally, therefore, how polities interact with geography over time leaves behind legacies and perspectives which do not necessarily act to their best advantage. In fact, … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For The Edge Malaysia (Column “Picking on the Present”), 27 May to 3 June 2023 New nations by virtue of being “new”, suffer immediate ontological challenges. Not only does this concern its very existence as an integrated geographical entity, a national economy and a united polity, but also its acceptance by … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, May 2023 PENANG MONTHLY starts a new series, where we, once a year, talk to the Chief Minister of Penang. We met up with YAB Chow Kon Yeow after lunch on Saturday, 4 March 2023, at Penang Institute for the first interview in the series, CM Update. Ooi Kee Beng: CM, state … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, Editorial in Penang Monthly, May 2023 ALL SOCIALLY INCLINED animals start life by crying for food. Beyond that, they seek safety and comfort. After that, the need to train their bodies for the future takes over. If there are siblings, they begin to fool around with each other, in the process, … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, in “Picking on the Present”, for The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on April 24-30, 2023 Allow me to dream a while about Malaysia. Malaysia is a divided country, but it is often stated how lucky a place it must be for it to have functioned so peacefully despite the odds stacked against it … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, April 2023 Editorial, Penang Monthly THE TERM “creative economy” sometimes sounds like an oxymoron in that human creativity is more often than not associated with the arts, executed more for passion and as individual expression than for making money. But like with so many things today, we have to consider seriously the … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, Penang Profile, April 2023 Penang Monthly IN FEBRUARY 2023, Penang Monthly published the first part of an interview with Dato’ Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain, the Chief Police Officer of Penang, which was titled “Beyond Mere Enforcement of the Law”. This month, we conclude the exciting discussion he had with Ooi Kee Beng. Ooi Kee … Continue reading
Ooi Kee Beng in conversation with CPO Shuhaily Zain (Penang Monthly, February 2023) DATO’ MOHD SHUHAILY ZAIN became Penang’s Chief Police Officer (CPO) during the Covid-19 pandemic. He was quickly recognised locally as a dynamic leader who is highly conscious of the important role in social development that the police has, or should have. Penang … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, in The Edge Malaysia (Picking on the Present), 26-31 March 2023 WE GET TO know what White is by knowing what Black is, and then deepen our understanding of them by fathoming how the two interact. The same goes for Unity, the operative term in Malaysian governance today, and understanding it … Continue reading