Premised upon my last three columns on patriotism, a small debate ensued on Facebook about whom or what defines good or great leadership. This column is my response to that query, but I would like to address it from a perspective of an RMC Old Putera, the alumni of the Royal Military College (RMC); our …
I attended a book launch on the ‘The End of Umno?’ because my good friend Saifuddin Abdullah wrote the foreword and invited me to attend. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the veteran Umno member and the best prime minister we never had; gave the keynote and launch address. The book has four chapters contributed by four authors, …
My last two columns focussed on how corruption has become an embedded value and culture of Umno, premised on the admission and critique by two important Umno stalwarts. This column will focus on how and why we must move beyond this form of moral and financial corruption within Umno if we want to become a …
Imagine if “Tun” died, say at the ripe old age of 108. Political leaders of all sides gush with praise about what a great guy he was. Suddenly, all his past misdeeds are forgotten. This is what’s happening with another recently deceased Tun from Sarawak. It is said that we should not “speak ill of …
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. The New Straits Times lead photograph and headline story on Friday, (March 4, 2005) may be worth a million words. It captured the prime minister reviewing the rape of Bukit Cahaya (i.e. a hill of light!) greens without even a \”a single tree standing nor a …
I uphold five international personalities in our history as my personal heroes. They are Jesus of Nazareth, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela. Only one local personality makes the same grade to my mind – the late Dr Tan Chee Khoon, our foremost opposition leader of the independence generation who …
The current prime minister, in his first week of office before the general election and after his espousal of the \’work with me not for me\’ philosophy, and after kissing his mother\’s hand as a mark of respect, with thanks and gratitude for raising him to become the political leader of the biggest party in …
I love the new advertising campaign by Telekom Malaysia to reflect her new identity. Neither are they paying me to write this piece. The News Straits Times (NST) reported that they are spending RM9million on this re-branding exercise through their advertising campaign. On the inside of the first pull-out cover page of their advert was the picture …
The controversy over the issuance of Approved Permits (APs) – including the public disclosure of the full list – hides more than it reveals about the real issues raised by Tengku Mahaleel, the CEO of Proton Bhd. While the disclosure is a good and transparent action, it is not the real core issue raised and …
When I started work in 1972, I had a hard choice to make. I was posted to the Implementation, Coordination and Development Administration Unit of the Prime Minister\’s Department and one of my jobs included monitoring and evaluating the success of bumiputera equity accumulation under the New Economic Policy (NEP). As an Indian, I had …
Selangor has rather arrogantly declared that it is now \’a developed state\’. Rather strangely, it did not use the services of any of the development agencies, either global or local, to verify its definition and declaration. The Economic Planning Unit (EPU) in the Prime Minister\’s Department or the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) would have …
Razali Ismail, one of Malaysia\’s most foremost ambassadors and the former President of UN general assembly and now, Special Envoy to Myanmar wrote an outstanding piece in the New Straits Times on Aug 31. Entitled \’Marking Merdeka and our global place\’, it was on the role of Malaysia in a globalised world. My article is a reflection …
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I refer with dismay and sadness on the type of media reporting practiced against Tan Sri Abdul Halil Mutalib, the retiring director-general of the Customs and Excise Department. The media, led by the New Straits Times , seems to have become prosecutor, judge and jury over a story that they broke, leveraged and now participate in passing …
Customs DG – media as prosecutor, judge and jury Read More »
