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15 May 2012
Overseas Voters—Has The Time Arrived?
By Nimalan Devaraja
Democracy: one of the few things that Malaysians can proudly lay claim to be better at than the island down south (though they would probably just point at the recent GDP figures with a slight smile plastered on their faces). However, over the last month, my Facebook newsfeed has been filled with Singaporeans discussing about the upcoming general elections in their country and how proud they are to finally be of age to exercise their fundamental right to vote and choose the leaders they want, even while they are 6740.23 miles away. This, in a country which, let’s face it, has only one real political party.
We on the other hand, the supposedly more democratic country, are faced with a substantial percentage of our electorate not being able to exercise the right awarded to them by Article 119 of the constitution that is the simple right to vote.
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06 Apr 2012
Dear Photograph – CEKU Photography Competition
It is all too easy to live only for the present and to leave behind bits and pieces of the past. But history always has something to share with us, and these things are always worth remembering and reflecting upon.
In conjunction with the theme for the 6th Malaysian Student Leaders Summit, “The Malaysian Metamorphosis”, the CEKU team has decided to launch a photography competition with a twist, inspired by Dear Photograph.
Malaysia is shaped by its people, and we want you to tell us and our readers your story.
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12 May 2012
Sex Songsang Sin 2.0
By Syazwan Zainal
Malaysian politicians are distracting the public by scaring us with tales of deviant homosexual behaviour. The scaremongering must stop.
Discussion (given that it is an election year) must immediately revolve around issues that are relevant to the average individual. Having said that, the LGBT issue warrants intellectual discussion in the public sphere and is an issue that Malaysians must confront sooner rather than later.
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10 May 2012
Truth is arrogant
By Shaun Tan
The most worrisome thing about Yale-NUS College is the effect it has had on our administrators. In their desire to bolster support for the project and please their Singaporean counterparts, they’ve subordinated the truth to an eerie political correctness.
Lately, very smart people have said very ridiculous things. Last week, President Richard Levin opposed a clause in a faculty resolution expressing concern about Singapore’s “lack of respect for civil and political rights” because he claimed it “carried a sense of moral superiority.”
His sentiments were echoed by Economics Department Chair Benjamin Polak, who worried that the resolution’s language would be considered arrogant or offensive. The administration has grown reluctant to make any kind of value judgment on Singapore.
This stifling political correctness has produced absurdity.
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08 May 2012
As long as people still care
By Ang Jian Wei
My mother once told me that if someone still makes the effort to correct my ways, it’s a good sign. That’s because he or she still cares. Those who stay silent either don’t see me as their concern or have given up hope altogether. When I see the momentum garnered by Bersih 3.0 and how quickly electoral legislative amendments were shoved through Parliament, I am quickly reminded that the biggest threat to Malaysia isn’t the buzzing sounds of dissent but rather the eerie silence of apathy.
But apathy is a tricky thing.
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01 May 2012
If You Can, Do What You Love.
By Emily Ding
After I passed my bar exam, my parents hung an ornately framed graduation-day photograph of me in my barrister’s wig and robes on our living room wall. But having completed my undergraduate degree and my masters, I realised with a sudden certainty that in fact, I didn’t want to become a lawyer.
I guess I never really did, but I had always thought I would just do it anyway because it was a good thing to do. Studying Law had inspired grand ambitions of posh suits and noble visions of fighting in the name of human rights, jaw muscles working maniacally in a Tom Cruise-esque fashion, shouting, “I want the truth!” in a tense courtroom, but it didn’t truly inspire me. Still, that photograph remains on the wall.
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Overseas Voters—Has The Time Arrived?
By Nimalan Devaraja
Democracy: one of the few things that Malaysians can proudly lay claim to be better at than the island down south (though they would probably just point at the recent GDP figures with a slight smile plastered on their faces). However, over the last month, my Facebook newsfeed has been filled with Singaporeans discussing about the upcoming general elections in their country and how proud they are to finally be of age to exercise their fundamental right to vote and choose the leaders they want, even while they are 6740.23 miles away. This, in a country which, let’s face it, has only one real political party.
We on the other hand, the supposedly more democratic country, are faced with a substantial percentage of our electorate not being able to exercise the right awarded to them by Article 119 of the constitution that is the simple right to vote.
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Sex Songsang Sin 2.0
By Syazwan Zainal
Malaysian politicians are distracting the public by scaring us with tales of deviant homosexual behaviour. The scaremongering must stop.
Discussion (given that it is an election year) must immediately revolve around issues that are relevant to the average individual. Having said that, the LGBT issue warrants intellectual discussion in the public sphere and is an issue that Malaysians must confront sooner rather than later.
-
Truth is arrogant
By Shaun Tan
The most worrisome thing about Yale-NUS College is the effect it has had on our administrators. In their desire to bolster support for the project and please their Singaporean counterparts, they’ve subordinated the truth to an eerie political correctness.
Lately, very smart people have said very ridiculous things. Last week, President Richard Levin opposed a clause in a faculty resolution expressing concern about Singapore’s “lack of respect for civil and political rights” because he claimed it “carried a sense of moral superiority.”
His sentiments were echoed by Economics Department Chair Benjamin Polak, who worried that the resolution’s language would be considered arrogant or offensive. The administration has grown reluctant to make any kind of value judgment on Singapore.
This stifling political correctness has produced absurdity.
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As long as people still care
By Ang Jian Wei
My mother once told me that if someone still makes the effort to correct my ways, it’s a good sign. That’s because he or she still cares. Those who stay silent either don’t see me as their concern or have given up hope altogether. When I see the momentum garnered by Bersih 3.0 and how quickly electoral legislative amendments were shoved through Parliament, I am quickly reminded that the biggest threat to Malaysia isn’t the buzzing sounds of dissent but rather the eerie silence of apathy.
But apathy is a tricky thing.
-
Dear Photograph – CEKU Photography Competition
It is all too easy to live only for the present and to leave behind bits and pieces of the past. But history always has something to share with us, and these things are always worth remembering and reflecting upon.
In conjunction with the theme for the 6th Malaysian Student Leaders Summit, “The Malaysian Metamorphosis”, the CEKU team has decided to launch a photography competition with a twist, inspired by Dear Photograph.
Malaysia is shaped by its people, and we want you to tell us and our readers your story.
-
If You Can, Do What You Love.
By Emily Ding
After I passed my bar exam, my parents hung an ornately framed graduation-day photograph of me in my barrister’s wig and robes on our living room wall. But having completed my undergraduate degree and my masters, I realised with a sudden certainty that in fact, I didn’t want to become a lawyer.
I guess I never really did, but I had always thought I would just do it anyway because it was a good thing to do. Studying Law had inspired grand ambitions of posh suits and noble visions of fighting in the name of human rights, jaw muscles working maniacally in a Tom Cruise-esque fashion, shouting, “I want the truth!” in a tense courtroom, but it didn’t truly inspire me. Still, that photograph remains on the wall.
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Islam under attack in Malaysia?
By Syazwan Zainal
Fear creeps in whenever I think of (what is to my mind, at least) the radicalisation of Malaysia’s interpretation of Islam. Condemnations abound. Conspiracy theories about the Christianisation and/or Zionist domination of the world are exchanged on the Internet with comments by individuals providing much of the ammunition needed for them to spread. I humbly put forth an explanation for this.
I think we, as Muslims, are trapped in a victim mentality. After the fall of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924, it is convenient to think of ourselves as the poor victims of the West’s evil plans.
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