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By Ooi Kee Beng [Editorial in Penang Monthly July 2012] The conference organized by Penang Institute and held on 25th June 2012 at the famed Eastern & Oriental Hotel is interesting for many reasons outside of all the fascinating things said by the impressive row of speakers. The participants were certainly an impressive lot, and … Continue reading
By OOI KEE BENG [Editorial for PENANG MONTHLY, May 2012] We can read books on Malaysia’s history by scholars of various persuasions all we want. In the end, the solution to the ills suffered by the country over the last half century will have to come from discussions about principles, not about contested facts. We … Continue reading
Caught between hardliners and need for change, PM Najib’s slow pace of reforms fed Bersih 3.0’s huge crowds By Ooi Kee Beng For TODAY Newspaper │ 30 April 2012 And so the third Bersih rally has taken place. It cannot be understood in isolation from the political dynamics of the last few years. The demonstration … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For THE EDGE, Kuala Lumpur. 28 April 2012. With Myanmar opening up faster than anyone ever expected the question how ASEAN is to develop as a community in the near future gets ever more interesting. “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link” is of course a saying … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng [This article is part of ANU’s New Mandala “Malaysia after regime change” article series, edited by Greg Lopez] Malaysia had to begin life as a federation because, like all federations, its diversity of polity, culture, history, ethnicity and economy was simply too deep for a centrally controlled regime to be practicable. … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng (Editorial in Penang Monthly, February 2012) Why is it so important to scientists to discover extra-terrestrial life forms? They know the odds are astronomically small. Well, they are hoping against hope, certainly. But I think that it is because they intuitively know that the leap in knowledge about Life and the … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng, 3 December 2011, in TODAY, Singapore The leader of the Youth Wing declared at the United Malays National Organisation’s (UMNO) annual assembly held this week that the opposition parties had been vehemently opposing the Peaceful Assembly Act because they were hoping to create the conditions for widespread demonstrations in the hope … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng For TODAY, Oct 10, 2011 THE ANNUAL BUDGET is a powerful weapon for the Malaysian government, and never more so than when national elections are impending. Mr Najib Razak’s third budget as Prime Minister, announced last Friday, definitely signals that elections are indeed on the way. Beleaguered as his government must … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng for Penang Economic Monthly, August 2011 Standfirst: Leaving one place does not mean that you have a definite destination in mind. For Tan Thean Peng, the conditions of a journalistic career saw him working for a long line of employers throughout the region, from Sydney to Bangkok to Hong Kong. Finally, … Continue reading
By Ooi Kee Beng for TODAY │ 11 July 2011 AFTER THE EVENTS of July 9 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak could be making a mistake if he calls snap elections any time soon. A day after the police suppression of the Bersih 2.0 demonstration, he continued using a confrontational tone … Continue reading
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