-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
By OOI KEE BENG, Editorial for PENANG MONTHLY, January 2014 We have just entered a new year—again—so allow me to kick off this magazine’s fifth year in its present form with some observations about the central importance of narratives—of stories, if you like—to every individual human being. We all have a large schemata in our … Continue reading
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 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
BY OOI KEE BENG, EXCLUSIVE TO THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER SEPTEMBER 04, 2013 In thinking about 2013, the year the Federation of Malaysia celebrates its 50th anniversary, one cannot but compare the national atmosphere to that in 2007, the year the Federation of Malaya celebrated its 50th anniversary. I remember that the New Straits Times under … Continue reading
Dr Ooi Kee Beng, the deputy director of the Institute of South-east Asian Studies, talks to P N Balji about why Malaysia-Singapore relations are on a high, how attitudes on both sides have changed and whether the abang-adek relationship is still a simmering factor. For The Independent, October 2, 2013 (http://theindependent.sg/how-good-are-singapore-malaysia-ties/) Q. Malaysia- Singapore relations … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG Editorial in Penang Monthly, August 2013 Following the General Election in 2008, BN had the strange situation of being in the opposition in five states. Before March 8 that year, it only had that role in peripheral Kelantan. Despite the fact that Perak fell back to BN through defections soon after, … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG Editorial, Penang Monthly July 2013 The pattern of change in Malaysia became ever more discernible after the 13th General Election. While the ruling BN understandably wishes to describe its victory as a reversal of trends that became apparent in 2008, too many other movements are saying the opposite, which is that … Continue reading
Wikibeng 