-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
By OOI KEE BENG, for TODAY Newspaper, Singapore: 30 December 2013 Finally, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) is displaying signs that it now realizes what a sorry state the once powerful party now finds itself in. This it managed to do at the party elections held on 21-22 December. In the general elections held in … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, for THE EDGE, Malaysia, 29 December 2013 One thing you learn from driving school is to plan your journey before you set off. This good advice holds for any journey really, including Malaysia’s route to 2020. Not only is proper comprehensive and goal-oriented planning needed, but some precise navigation is needed … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, for THE EDGE, Malaysia. 15 December 2013 If there is one thing everyone can agree upon about Malaysia, it is that the status quo—however one wants to describe that—is not satisfactory. From the Prime Minister down to the Malaysian on the street, from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Rakyat, from PAS to … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG For TODAY Newspaper, Singapore: 12 December 2013 The art of studying Malaysian politics is about hearing the signals despite of the noise; this is not always easy because the noise is always so much louder. To switch metaphor, it is more like being in a room full of mirrors. To keep … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, Editorial for Penang Monthly, December 2013 Today when we talk about the rise of China and India, we lazily think of them as similar items — as ancient and rich civilizations coming into their own in modern times. We should also remind ourselves though of how deeply they captured the imagination … Continue reading
KEYNOTE SPEECH at the George Town Literary Festival 2013 held on 29 November to 1 December 2013. By OOI KEE BENG Literature and the Individual The only subject I was really excited by when I went to school here in Penang four decades ago was Literature, both as a subject and in the form of … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, Editorial for Penang Monthly, November 2013 Since our cover story for the month is about the future of education in Malaysia, I would like to take up the issue of exposure as a necessary element in the intellectual development of an individual. And this applies to all ages. What does it … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG, Editorial in Penang Monthly, October 2013 An important issue that should surface during coming debates about the impending Goods and Services Tax (GST) is how it affects the basic relation between the government and the Rakyat. The curse of having ample natural resources – which Malaysia has suffered from to a … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG Editorial for Penang Monthly, September 2013 I remember spending a lot of time in my teenage years wondering how societies are possible. Noticing how difficult it is for people to get along, I wondered what the key mechanisms are underlying the impressive stability one finds in societies whose members can number … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG For The Edge, Malaysia September 29, 2013 A popular confession often voiced by Malaysians is that they as a nation lack a sense of maintenance, especially of public goods. House-proud they may be; nation-proud they wish very much to be; but upkeep of their surroundings is not something they take to … Continue reading
Wikibeng 