johnlee_my 
A multicultural society, is most often an outcome of historical processes which brings together different peoples, cultures and religion to live together under one modern nation-state space . The history of the nation-state of Malaysia is today a potpouri of different people coming in waves through different times of history dating back as far as … Read more
Last week I received a copy of an email invitation to a joint seminar by two academics, one from University of Malaya and the other from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The title of their talk was “Does race matter in getting an interview? A field experiment of hiring discrimination in Peninsular Malaysia.”. As I have been … Read more
Open letter to the Prime Minister on Lynas by a group of concerned mothers YAB Dato’ Seri Mohd. Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak, We, representatives of mothers from Kuantan hereby present to you, Honourable Prime Minister Najib Razak and as a loyal son of Pahang, our concerns with regard to the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant … Read more
The Penans have been blockading against the construction of the 944MW Murum Dam since Sept 26, 2012. More than 1,600 Penans from eight Penan villages (including one Kenyah Badeng longhouse) are affected by the construction of the dam which is now about 80% completed. The Penan communities affected by the Murum Dam have shown … Read more
Last week, the international financial media carried the story that Canada intended to block the planned $5.3 billion acquisition of Calgary-based Progress Energy Resources by Petronas. According to these reports, the country’s industry minister, Christian Paradis had issued a statement saying he had written to Petronas saying he was “not satisfied that the proposed investment … Read more
Pandangan yang positif terhadap skim diskaun komuter untuk mereka yang berpendapatan RM3,000 ke bawah dan perkhidmatan percuma GO-KL City adalah salah satu usaha menggalakkan penggunaan sistem perkhidmatan pengangkutan awam dan sewajarnya mendapat sokongan ramai. Para pengguna perkhidmatan pengangkutan awam di Lembah Klang memang menyambut baik segala usaha yang berupaya membantu melicinkan perjalanan ke destinasi … Read more
Two groups, CPI and Refsa-IDEAS, are debating government subsidies. This debate is critical because politicians are taking their cues from it. It is important that good judgement prevails. Much is at stake. But first, what is a subsidy? Why do we need it? Some believe subsidies are government money spent on primary healthcare, infrastructure, … Read more
The response by Research for Social Advancement (Refsa) institute to my note is disappointing. It provides little value added to the current knowledge on subsidies in Malaysia; repeats various motherhood statements about the need to rein in subsidies and selectively focuses on so-called various ivory tower statements that they have detected in my note to … Read more
The Star has made a circus out of Sumptuous Erotica, a blog jointly put up by a pair of fresh graduates featuring explicit photographs of their sexual exploits. The paper carried four stories related to the “sex blog couple Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee” yesterday, seven on Saturday and six on Friday, making for a … Read more
The Centre for Policy Initiatives urges leaders from both sides of the political divide to pay heed to the urgent concerns expressed by educationists and civil society organizations with regard to the National Educational Blueprint 2013-2025. Since its release more than a month ago on Sept 12, the blueprint has drawn markedly little response … Read more