HUMANITY is under siege. We are supposed to be living in a new Industrial Revolution. Billions of people are freed from the shackles of poverty to be in a better economic position. Individuals are making more money than sovereign countries combined.

Kuala Lumpur is Unesco’s World Book Capital for 2020, an opportunity for Malaysians to showcase their love for books. The city must be portrayed as a city of knowledge and not just of bricks and structures.

OUR politicians have been involved in political manoeuvring as long as we can remember. Some were embroiled in political scandals and shameful misdeeds.

DURING my two-week trip to Indonesia, I observed there was a serious discussion about ekonomi koronavirus (literally coronavirus economy). The debate was on the impact of the outbreak, particularly to Indonesia. Ironically, as of last Thursday, there was no case of the disease among its populace or reports of foreigners contacting the disease.

WE are never good at managing crisis. Take the case of the Highland Towers collapse and the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370. The two cases were 21 years apart, but both incidents manifested our failure in managing crisis.

I AM against any idea that the state has the right to wiretap its citizens. It is downright unethical and unwarranted.

I WAS at a book warehouse recently. There was a jumbo sale offering thousands of titles. The books are of all kinds and sizes. There are gems among the pile. Some books are priced as cheap as 50 sen and the most expensive is RM10 each.

MOST Sundays, before joining my teh tarik buddies at a stall at Malayan Mansion, I will take a stroll along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, passing through Dataran Merdeka, walking near Masjid Negara until Taman Tasik Perdana and back.

I WAS on a British Airways flight from Edinburgh to London Heathrow recently. As the cabin crew was pushing the trolley, I asked for a glass of water.

I SPOKE, or rather, wrote too soon. Immediately after the shocking defeat of my favourite team, the All Blacks, I wrote a piece entitled “England leading the way for the future rugby?” in the online version of this newspaper on Oct 27.

After highlighting on women’s issues for 39 years, Utusan Melayu columnist stops writing as the curtain falls on the newspaper this month.