KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia:After chairing the second meeting of the Foreign Policy Consultation Council, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir stated that Malaysia needs to adopt an approach to be seen as a middle power with a pragmatic policy in facing current geopolitical challenges, and that a balanced and nuanced policy is crucial for Malaysia to avoid being perceived as leaning too much to any particular power, with the need to ensure that the non-aligned policy to bring positive impact.
MICHIGAN, U.S.--German writer-director Edward Berger’s new film adaptation of the Erich Maria Remarque anti-war classic All Quiet on the Western Front (Im Westen nichts Neues, 1928) is an impressive depiction of the horror of the First World War. More than that, it depicts the ruthlessness with which an entire generation were sent to the slaughter.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri recently visited Media Prima in Sri Pentas and claimed that the government guarantees freedom of the press.
NEW YORK, U.S.--"Torture," read a joint statement by Turkey's Human Rights Association (İHD) and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) "is still Turkey's most important problem... Torture and other forms of ill-treatment in the streets and open areas, as well as in unofficial places of detention, have reached unprecedented levels in Turkey."
BANGKOK, Thailand--There has been much discussion about the existence of a deep state within Malaysia. This essay looks at its components. The deep state is not a unified and coordinated mechanism. It is heterogeneous and diverse. It is probably only bound together by a common narrative, sometimes interpreted differently. At different points of time, different aspects of this deep state exercise more power over the others. Other times, there is even conflict between the various elements.
BEIJING, China--After weaponizing the global financial and trade system in its frenzied economic sanctions against Russia, Washington now appears to be seeking to use another crucial multilateral platform to promote its reckless, dangerous anti-Russia mania.
HONG KONG, China--For 17 long years, Mukhtar Mai fought for justice after being gang-raped and paraded naked in a remote village in Pakistan’s Punjab province in 2002.
NEW YORK, U.S.--"What else do you need to wake up and understand that we have to defend ourselves?", asked the late Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--As I watched the conferment of Tan Sri-ships on Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai (immediate past president of MCA) and Datuk Seri Hadi Awang (president of PAS) by our King very recently, I am reminded of the earlier RUU 355 (PAS Private Member’s Bill) episode some five years ago.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--If you are Malaysian and do not belong to the ruling elite Malay class, you have to be depressed by the current state of affairs in the country and its slide towards a poor imitation of what it once was.
The debacle in Afghanistan, which will unravel into chaos with lightning speed over the next few weeks and ensure the return of the Taliban to power, is one more signpost of the end of the American empire. The two decades of combat, the one trillion dollars we spent, the 100,000 troops deployed to subdue Afghanistan, the high-tech gadgets, artificial intelligence, cyberwarfare, Reaper drones armed with Hellfire missiles and GBU-30 bombs and the Global Hawk drones with high-resolution cameras, Special Operations Command composed of elite rangers, SEALs and air commandos, black sites, torture, electronic surveillance, satellites, attack aircraft, mercenary armies, infusions of millions of dollars to buy off and bribe the local elites and train an Afghan army of 350,000 that has never exhibited the will to fight, failed to defeat a guerrilla army of 60,000 that funded itself through opium production and extortion in one of the poorest countries on earth.
If you recall, not so long ago, the Selangor State Government was being hailed as a shining light in leading green initiatives. EcoKnights president Yasmin Rashid was so astounded by the state allocations set aside for improving the environment and reducing global warming that she said “I think no other states in Malaysia have taken such initiatives”.