Ceritalah
Reconciliation, tukang cerita style
It’s all about moving around and listening to people, looking beyond factionalism and mere politics to underlying themes that shape the world we live in.
GE13: The changing political dynamics
Contrary to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s arguments in his victory speech, the ‘2013 tsunami’ wasn’t merely racial. There are also powerful socio-economic and political forces at work.
GE13: Into the final sprint
Many voters have already made up their minds and seem to be just going through the motions before casting their votes on May 5.
A quick foray into Sabah and Sarawak
Three days in two big states may not give one the full picture of what is going on there but it does give one the opportunity to observe and listen to the people.
GE13: The state of the GE13 race
Each of the states will experience the polls differently, with localised issues having a major impact on the way voters respond on May 5.
GE13: Real challenge for MSM
In the new emerging media scene, the mainstream media is put to the test each time an election is in progress.
The changing world of political parties
From Asia to South America, strong political parties have known to have fallen. But some like India’s Congress Party or Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party have reinvented themselves and risen to the fore again.
Flexing their voting muscles
Urban voters in capital cities are a savvy lot which will elect leaders who share their values.
How Indonesia deals with corruption
JUSTICE will be an important theme in the upcoming elections. Many Malaysians feel our society is deeply unjust – with the elite (people like myself) enjoying a disproportionate share of the country’s wealth and power, whilst also shirking our responsibilities.
Ustaz Harun on a mission
JELI-based Ustaz Harun is 83 years old and just over five feet tall. When he sits at the front seat of his Daihatsu Feroza, you can barely see his head over the top of the steering wheel.
The smell of modernity in Bau
Urban brands spread into small towns, giving rural residents the kind of consumer choice not experienced before.
Free-wheeling spirit of Sabah
Sabah appears to have cracked the great Malaysian challenge – namely, how to create a community that invites a real sense of belonging and ownership.
Sabah shows way in religious harmony
At a time when our public discourse is seething with resentment and distrust, the quiet but very dignified mutual respect of the Dakun family is so refreshing, if not uplifting.
Telling Malaysia’s tales
In the run-up to the general election, this storyteller is racing across the country to capture the spirit of Malaysia for a TV series.
The show must go on
Caught in the deluge in Jakarta with a documentary to shoot in KK, one simply cannot let his crew down.
'Outsider Fiction'
Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamid is a name to watch out for. His style is spare, taut and condensed. His sentences are crisp and spot-on. Nothing goes to waste.
The death of 'gut instinct'
Professional politicians know they need to approach voters with the same razor-like focus employed by Nestle, Coca-cola and Unilever as they chart their sales strategies.
A week is a long time in politics
For Hatta Rajasa, one of Indonesia’s most powerful men, it has been a most tumultuous start to the new year.
Thai firms spread near and far
Having more or less reached the limit of their domestic market, Thai companies are now heading to South-east Asia (and beyond) in search of new business.
A shift in Greenpeace operations
Its willingness to engage with its former ‘adversaries’is a new and intriguing development for a country like Malaysia that is pushing for development whilst also trying to balance out environmental standards.
All eyes on Susilo
INDONESIAN President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s visit is very important in the face of the many opportunities and challenges for the two neighbours as they seek to enhance bilateral ties.
A tale of Twin Desert Cities
The United Arab Emirates with its lynchpin cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi are fast-becoming pre-eminent global hubs with unmatched connectivity. They are where you go to network with and around the burgeoning global growth markets.
China making economic mark in Africa
The Chinese presence in Africa is quite extraordinary and the continent collectively is the third-largest recipient of Chinese outward foreign direct investment of nearly US$90bil.
The great African getaway
Amid the dreariness of waiting for the next general election, a spontaneous trip to Kenya and Senegal seems like the perfect antidote for this writer.
Striding forth with fortitude
Sudanese Jongole lives in Nairobi in Kenya some 900km from his hometown Juba in South Sudan. After decades of civil war in his home country, peace now seems a real possibility and Jongole thinks of moving back.
Swinging wins the Obama way
President Barack Obama’s “ground game” in the swing states like Ohio and Colorado was as potent this year as it was in 2008.
South-East Asia in the frontline
The US presidential contest will make very little difference to us. American policy in the Asia-Pacific has already been reconfigured. The die has been cast.
Mo’s way to leadership
An African entrepreneur has established his own Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, which provides a thorough overview of the state of governance in each of the continent’s 54 states.
Seeking potential ‘alternatives’
The phrase ‘lu-lagi, lu-lagi’ which means ‘you-again, you-again’ is a classic bahasa gaul phrase — an essentially colloquial Indonesian, raw, unapologetic and Hokkien-infused throwaway line of exasperation when referring to the names being tossed around as potential presidential candidates come 2014.
Turkey rising!
Turkey has achieved some stunning successes in developing its economy. In 2011 for instance, its economy grew by an astounding 8.5% and its GDP stood at RM2.3 trillion.
An epiphany in Istanbul
Nowadays, we participate in many colliding realities. These ‘realities’ have insinuated themselves so effectively into our subconscious that we forget that there is a tangible flesh-and-blood world all around us.
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