See Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaking to the electorate on Myanmar’s national television. When will Barisan Nasional begin to feel a sense of shame that it has doggedly refused to allow the opposition even five minutes of TV time? Myanmar, a supposedly notorious laggard in democracy, has made us we feel like … Read more
BismillahirRahmanirRahim. “Dengan nama Allah, Yang Maha Pemurah, lagi Maha Mengasihani”, begitulah makna kalimah yang sudah sebati dengan setiap penganut agama Islam. Melihat keadaan sekelilling dan tindakan umat Islam hari ini, tertanya-tanya pula adakah kalimah ini yang diucap sebelum melakukan sesuatu, sudah benar-benar menjadi darah daging setiap Muslim. Perkataan Islam bermaksud ‘penyerahan’, atau penyerahan diri sepenuhnya … Read more
Introduction by CPI Far from being a prolific writer, A. Ghani Ismail is instead more akin to a mystic in the mountains, and thus one who blogs only very rarely. Nonetheless whenever the veteran journalist’s provocative writings do appear in his blog ‘Liberty’, they are worth paying close attention to. His most recent piece published … Read more
Today it is generally taken for granted that there are good things that people are entitled to have and bad things that they can expect or hope to avoid. A wide, and ever-widening, range of such entitlements and immunities are supposed to belong to everyone, everywhere and at all times, purely as a consequence of … Read more
Kenyataan Profesor Richard H.K. Vietor dari Universiti Harvard baru-baru ini bahawa Malaysia mesti membuat keputusan sama ada mahu menjadi intang atau kekal seperti sekarang patut mendapat perhatian ramai. Dia menyatakan bahawa kegagalan membuat keputusan akan bermakna negara ini terus berada di dalam kumpulan yang berpendapatan sederhana untuk 10 ke 20 tahun akan datang dan mungkin … Read more
Proposed measures in the new Trans-Pacific trade pact that the Malaysian government is negotiating this week could restrict Pacific nations from preventing and mitigating financial crises. Beginning March 1, the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP)–a proposed treaty by the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam—is being negotiated in Australia. … Read more
Introduction by CPI We are excerpting here a frank appraisal by one young individual on some of the contradictions between Islamic principles and their actual practice in Malaysia. In his ‘About Me’ page, Azeem Ambalam – whose blog is called The Rantings of a Bolehlander – states that “The whole idea behind this blog is … Read more
Sebuah buku ‘Where did I come from’ tulisan Peter Mayle diharamkan oleh Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) Malaysia kerana kononnya mengandungi elemen memudaratkan moral masyarakat dan kepentingan awam. Sementara itu konsert penyanyi wanita Amerika Syarikat, Erykah Badu dibatalkan kerana melanggar garis panduan Agensi Pusat Penggambaran Filem dan Persembahan Artis Luar Negara (Puspal). Rakyat mesti berterima-kasih kepada … Read more
One of the leading papers in the region, The Nation recently conducted an interview with Burmese President Thein Sein’s chief political adviser, Ko Ko Hlaing. In that exclusive interview, Ko Ko Hlaing told the Bangkok paper that Myanmar’s political reform is “irreversible” because of the president’s strong will. He stressed that the specific constitutional … Read more
Satu tayangan filem dokumentari Chile Uprising terbitan Al-Jazeera tentang bantahan pelajar Chile terhadap sistem pendidikan di negara mereka telah diadakan pada 10 Februari baru-baru ini disusuli perbicangan dengan tajuk ‘Universiti Percuma Untuk Semua’. Fasilatator pada majlis tersebut ialah Fahmi Reza yang telah menghasilkan dokomentari ‘10 tahun sebelum Merdeka’ beberapa tahun lalu. Dokumentari Chile Uprising memaparkan … Read more