Ah, finally managed to get a copy of " What Your Teacher Didn't Tell You " by Malaysia's favourite political historian, Dr. Farish Noor. It is based on Dr. Farish's public lecture series at The Annexe, of which I am privileged to have attended one of them last year ( Dr. Farish Noor and books ). Of all the chapters in the book, I am particularly interested in "Hang Tuah the Pacifist". Dr. Farish has brilliantly recreated Hikayat Hang Tuah into something new and exciting. I mean, anybody can read and understand the thick hikayat but not many can read and interpret the hikayat like how Dr. Farish did. Frankly speaking, history would be so much interesting if we have people like Dr. Farish teaching the subject in schools. Anyways, I have yet to read the whole book, but have only skimmed through few pages. Still, I am recommending the book for all of you.

A lot have been said and written about this subject since Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak assumed premiership in April 2009. But in reality, 1 Malaysia is not something new. We are in fact 1 Malaysia since Merdeka, or perhaps way before that. What has happened since then? In principle, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the 1Malaysia concept. I believe only insane citizens would want disharmony among themselves. But here comes the famous problem. Malaysians always have problems with policy enforcement or implementations. Whether or not 1 Malaysia will succeed, the outcome can only be seen in the next 5 to 10 years, or maybe even 20 years. According to renowned historian, Prof. Khoo Kay Kim, race relations in Malaysia have gotten worse since the 1960s. The interesting question is, when was the turning point? When did we go astray? National unity (sounds more politically neutral than 1Malaysia) cannot and will not succeed without strong participation, sacrifice and commitment from t...

The essences of democracy comprises of freedom of political expression, freedom of speech and freedom of the press. These attributes are essentially important elements for a democratic society to flourish. From the era of Napoleon Bonaparte, who famously stated, “Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets” (1804-14) in 19th century to the modern 21st century, the media have well been recognized as a strong political power, because of its strength and ability to influence the beliefs and perceptions of the populations. The capability for expression increases the participatory nature of democracy in cyberspace while significantly breaking old traditional media hierarchies. In the world of blogosphere today, many of the bloggers are their own writers, editors, publishers and bosses. They set their own rules and agenda on what to write, what to publish, what to censor and so on. The power of this new communication tool between citizens can result in the creatio...

May 2009 "We want to see a stop to settlement construction, additions, natural growth -- any kind of settlement activity" - Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State ( Washington Post ). Sept 2009 "US harshly rebukes Israel on settlement plans" ( AOL.com ) Nov 2009 "We do not accept the legitimacy of settlement activity. Ending all settlement activity current and future would be preferable," - Hillary Clinton ( msnbc ). I wonder when will all these diplomatic statements coming to an end? Especially when the outright violations of international law by Israel is so obvious.. And when can the international community, particularly the Palestinians can expect to see some tangible actions be done? It seems as if Israel who is the biggest superpower on earth, not America. Even the US can't tell them what to do.

Happy Ramadhan to all Muslims wherever you are..

Finally! I am taking leave from work for one week. It's been a pretty stressful six long months staying in Klang Valley commutting myself between Subang Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam and PJ only. So this is really a much needed break indeed. Inspired by the writings of Muhammad Ibrahim Munsyi in his " Kisah Pelayaran Muhammad Ibrahim Munsyi " and Ryszard Kapuscinski's " Travels with Herodotus ", I am off for a week-long historical cum photography road trip throughout Peninsular Malaysia. And am all set to snap thousands of pictures! Hopefully it'll be an exciting worthwhile adventure. I will also see how far DiGi's Yellow Man will follow me everywhere I go. heheh. Lastly, do pray for my safe journey.. :-) Til then, have a good week ahead folks!

Julia Klein's article, " The Myths of the Third Reich " (Third Reich refers to the era of the Nazi Germany) in the online version of The Wall Street Journal left me pondering over the question of freedom of speech and hate speech - 1. Where is the boundary between the two? 2. Where does one draw the limit? Interestingly, the article ends with the following sentence: "In Germany today, advocating Nazi ideology is illegal. But in the U.S. and elsewhere, balancing free speech with the desire to silence partisans of hate crimes and genocide remains a vital and troubling concern. The exhibition ends, appropriately, with this dilemma clarified but not entirely resolved. " - Julia Klein. Western nations, by and large have their own standard for freedom of speech - no freedom of speech for holocaust denial or anti-Zionist activism - to the extent that one could risk being persecuted simply by expressing doubts about the holocaust or risk being labelled as an anti-Semit...