By RACHEL CHAN

Academic freedom is like the Holy Grail on this planet. Everyone knows somewhere in the future, granted equivocal efforts are put into its realisation, it will surely emerge, a beacon of emancipation and enlightenment. But though everyone knows (or thinks) it exists, it is elusive, this mythical unicorn. It is to be found somewhere over the rainbow where leprechauns bury their gold, a recluse disappointed with the rest of the world.

While this country certainly faces no shortage of homegrown Indiana Johans attempting to attain it, it is a sad reality they are doomed to be eaten by the crocodiles of conservatism, the lockjaws of the law … Click here for the full article!

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By JULIET LAI

After many territorial disputes between Indonesia and Malaysia (since as early as 1969), Sipadan Island was finally awarded to Malaysia in 2002 by the International Court of Justice.

One would think that the victorious government would take better care of the island to demonstrate and prove to the world that Malaysia is worthy of this ownership. Indeed, in 2004 the Sabah government gave orders to vacate the island of its resorts and clear all man-made structures from Sipadan, a move that showed how serious they were in preserving this island’s pristine condition. … Click here for the full article!

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By ZAINOL ABIDEEN

The current trend in Malaysia’s Malay film industry is to come up with outrageous and provocative story lines such as the ones produced by Yasmin Ahmad, the current “hot” film director in the media limelight.

Consider, by contrast, the films of Professor Razak Mohaideen: while often considered to be run-of-the-mill love stories, they are still not as crude and corrupted as the values being bandied about by Yasmin Ahmad. It is not to say that such films are better for the development of social comment or beneficial to the public in the long run, but we can still watch his films without feeling revolted by the crass … Click here for the full article!

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By SALMAH HASHIM

Equality is that word which almost everyone holds dear. Regardless of which race, religion, creed or ideology you belong to, we all seek equality.

Equality is the holy grail of modern society. Much has been said about it, but no-one, no society has been able to achieve it.

A community can be as diverse as can be, or even consist of a singular race, and still inequality will prevail.

Let’s face it, people will always group together. First by race, and then within their races they will group by religion, within their religions they will group by castes, even within their castes they will group by status or lineage.

When groups exist, so does inequality. Each group is often … Click here for the full article!

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By SAMIR HARITH

I had the good fortune (or misfortune) of catching one of the latest programs on RTM, a rather weak attempt to reach out and empower our local graduates. You can check out the program’s background here.

Anyway, this particular episode was discussing the third-world mindset within the local graduates of today. The program had four panelists and a crowd of young students from our local public universities.

The panelists consisted of one mediator, an Associate Professor, the president of the student union of UKM and the vice-president of the student union of Kolej Yayasan Melaka.

The entire purpose of the episode was for the mediator to get the others’ opinion on the issue of local graduates not having a “first-world mentality.â€? However, the responses given by the student leaders failed to address the issue … Click here for the full article!

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By RACHEL CHAN

The current graduate unemployment fiasco might just find its solution in the least expected of places.

One can in fact set hopes of establishing a local version of the Royal London Circus here with these unemployed graduates as its lion-tamers and ringmasters. For it is not far from home that an avenue for training skilled workers for such purposes has been located.

Just a short stroll to the neighbourhood bus stand will prove my point. It is a mobile entertainment centre, with enough hysterics to keep the laughs going and one’s emotions high throughout the show. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the latest form of live theatre – the art of boarding public buses.

Houdini would be rolling in his little contortionist encasement … Click here for the full article!

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By CHAN SHIJUN

Namo Amitabha

A few weeks ago, while catching a movie with my friends, the topic of religion came up in our conversation. Upon discovering that I was a Buddhist, one friend proceeded to state that he disagreed with Buddhism as it was a materialistic religion, in that its followers prayed to certain gods for wealth and such. I was quite disappointed by his misconceptions about my religion.

However, the misunderstandings about Buddhism weren’t just confined to that friend of mine. For instance, the belief that Buddha is regarded as a God is also quite prevalent among many non-Buddhists … Click here for the full article!

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By MARC JITAB

Malaysia is a diverse nation comprised of varied cultures, peoples and beliefs. And the word “tolerance” is embedded in all of us. It supposedly holds Malaysian society together.

Tolerance is a beautiful word, really. The problem with this word, however, is that it is often thrown around without people really knowing its meaning, thus undermining its true meaning. So the question that is frequently asked but rarely answered is: What is tolerance?

The two highlighted forms of tolerance in Malaysia would be racial tolerance and religious tolerance. Generally, Malaysians do recognise and respect … Click here for the full article!

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