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By Ooi Kee Beng For The Edge Malaysia, 2 October 2016 The word “Governance” has the same roots as “Government”. However, the recent popularity of the use of “governance” comes from the growing notion of looking at political control as a technical matter, and of an increasing tendency to think of the government—and the governing—of … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For The Straits Times, Singapore. 22 July 2016. The civil lawsuits filed by the US Justice Department on 20 July 2016 to seize assets worth over US$1 billion stolen from Malaysia’s state fund, 1MDB, are sending tight ripples across the globe. Not only are these the largest set of cases brought … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG For The Edge Malaysia, 7 March 2016 This year—2016—is a special year for Malaysia. This is not because of the Sarawak state elections due in April (according to some sources); not because of the alarming economic situation facing so many already poor Malaysians today; nor is it because of the risk … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For The Edge Malaysia, 25 January 2016. The biggest paradox in Malaysian political narrative is how the call for unity is in reality a call for disunity. This comes about because calls for unity tend to be rhetorical appeals for racial unity vis-à-vis other races. Since all societies today—and Malaysia started … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For The Edge Malaysia | July 7, 2015 I have always enjoyed the story — almost certainly a false and libellous one, but that does not matter here — about the tragic French Queen Marie Antoinette watching in consternation from a palace window as rebels rioted on the streets of Paris … Continue reading
For THE EDGE Malaysia, May 31-June 6 2015 (titled “Democracy is Necessarily Multi-tiered” By OOI KEE BENG It is time we pay careful attention to the essential multi-tieredness of democracy. Democracy is in essence much more than simply the electing of a central government. It is about electing representatives at different levels in order to … Continue reading
Cover Story for Penang Monthly, February 2015 By OOI KEE BENG fe•tish noun \ˈfe-tish also ˈfē-\ : a strong and unusual need or desire for something : a need or desire for an object, body part or activity for sexual excitement : an object that is believed to have magical powers Standfirst: Building a nation … Continue reading
PENANG MONTHLY, Feature Story February 2015 by Ooi Kee Beng Cultures are defined by their literature. In fact, in Chinese – classical or modern – the same term is used for both. What this tells us is that a country’s self-consciousness is vibrant and alive only if writing is strongly encouraged among its population. See … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, for THE EDGE Malaysia, 21 December 2014 There is no doubt that the standard of English in Malaysia has fallen badly over the last few decades. And this is true for all Malaysian communities, even the Eurasians. It is a generational phenomenon made all the poignant because Malaysians started out having … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For The Edge, Kuala Lumpur, September 29, 2014 It is indeed a heavy sign of the times that more and more ex-leaders are adopting the Internet as the preferred avenue for publicising their views. And why should they not? The arrival of the World Wide Web and all the fast-evolving social … Continue reading
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