By OOI KEE BENG, Editorial in Penang Monthly, August 2018. It is often claimed that traditional Asian ways of teaching encourage students to memorise facts – so-called rote learning. The Western way, in contradistinction to this, it is claimed, is to teach children to think for themselves and to be critical – to be analytical. … Continue reading
[Published as “Revisiting national history and the significance of GE14”, in The Edge, Malaysia, 30 July 2018]. By Ooi Kee Beng Whatever one’s politics may be, one has to admit that the origins of the Federation of Malaysia are complicated and are overlaps of compromises made over time to define a middle ground that was … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG Penang Monthly Editorial July, 2018 All things change. We can all agree on that. But what the density and swiftness of change in modern living have taught us is that there are harsh limits. We are not passive beings in the big scheme of things; and we are not unconditionally surviving. … Continue reading
Malaysia’s general election effectively created a two-party system but the direction that UMNO takes may push parties that have splintered from the BN closer to Pakatan, says Penang Institute’s Ooi Kee Beng. By Ooi Kee Beng, in ChannelNewsAsia, 26 Jun 2018 06:34AM PENANG: The push for Malaysia to effectively become a two-party system has suddenly … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, for The Edge Malaysia, 24 June – 1 July, 2018. Republished in the “Picking on the Pas” column in Penang Monthly, August 2018. I know Malaysia is a tropical country, but let’s adopt a concept from temperate zones without having to be politically sensitive about it. We are in the midst … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, in the column, “Picking on the Past”, first printed in The Edge Malaysia, 27 May – 2 June, 2018. One can easily see how southern Southeast Asia, being largely maritime, ethnically very diverse and historically and geo-economically a collection of trade routes, in dividing itself into zealous and jealous nation states … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, Published on 19 May, 2018 by Heinrich Böll Stiftung on their website: https://th.boell.org/en/2018/05/18/malaysias-reformasi-movement-lives-its-name
By Ooi Kee Beng, 15 May 2018 http://www.thetea.house/observations/mahathir-renaissance-man/
By Ooi Kee Beng, for the South China Morning Post, 11 May 2018. http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2145457/revolution-malaysia-not-so-fast
By Ooi Kee Beng, in ChannelNewsAsia Commentaries, 10 May 2018. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/malaysia-general-elections-ooi-kee-beng-rot-barisan-nasional-10221134
