The origins of the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960) have been debated over the years in both the academic world and in the intelligence community. This paper incorporates the contemporaneous views of the Malayan Special Branch that have not been recorded previously. It also examines the role of Lawrence (Lance) Sharkey, the acting Secretary-General of the … Read more
Yesterday’s introduction to this article by CPI and Richard Mason of UKM’s Institute of Occidental Studies can be read here. This paper brings forward the idea of Malayan Communist Party’s (MCP) plan for the revolt by examining various MCP documents at that time and oral history records of several important senior MCP cadres in order … Read more
Introduction by Dr Lim Teck Ghee In an earlier commentary titled Media lynching and academic collaborators, I asked the question: “So what is the verdict of professional historians on the communist insurgency and its contribution to the movement for independence from which a real debate and the historical truth can have its starting point?” … Read more
If you do not believe that Umno has already passed its expiry date as a potent political party, all you need to do is to watch how its entire leadership as well as propaganda machinery have been fully engaged in an orgy of attack against Mohamad Sabu – the PAS deputy president. It’s okay if … Read more
Every once in a while the government-controlled or government-associated media engages in a public lynching of individuals that dare to challenge the Umno-scripted truth about the political system, religion, the monarchy or just about any subject which may be seen as threatening to Umno’s political and ideological dominance. The latest case involves Mohamad Sabu and … Read more
Tunku Abdul Rahman was an icon of racial harmony and religious tolerance having married four wives, at different times that represented the different races. As the one who facilitated the dakwah movement and established Perkim, he did more than any other Malay leader for his race and his religion and he was never a … Read more
LLG Cultural Development Centre views with grave concern the recent statement made by Muhyiddin Yassin the Deputy Prime Minister, who concurrently is also the Minister of Education, that the government is mulling the possibility of allowing schools to decide on their own whether to continue using English as the medium of instruction for the teaching … Read more
The statement by the Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein that the presence of more illegal workers compared to the legal ones is a cause of concern and could undermine national unity reveals either an ignoramus or an idiot. Did he expect many less illegals given the super-efficiency of his Ministry and the other government agencies sharing … Read more
One moment, the Prime Minister surprised almost everyone when he suddenly proposed to form a parliamentary select committee (PSC) to seek consensus over electoral reforms, in tacit concession to the heated demand spearheaded by Bersih 2.0. But in next moment – barely 48 hours later – he backtracked by saying that there is nothing wrong with the present … Read more
Extracts from Teoh Beng Hock Royal Commission of Enquiry: Decision on the second term of reference: [119] Having considered all the evidence in its entirety, we found that TBH was driven to commit suicide by the aggressive, relentless, oppressive and unscrupulous interrogation to which he was subjected by certain officers of the MACC who were … Read more