By KEITH LEONG

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a terrible tragedy and a setback for democracy in Pakistan. A wrench has been thrown into the into the works so to speak, and it is not clear whether or not elections scheduled for early next year will take place.

Many scenarios have been proposed for the direction in which Pakistan will go after this, but only time can tell what will happen. What is clear however is that Bhutto, who was already a highly revered figure in her lifetime, has now become a martyred symbol for … Click here for the full article!

(15) Comments so far. Add Yours Now!

Art by CHUAN ZUI
By CHUA SUE ANN

Last week the authorities had their hands full, arresting lawyers, Bersih, Hindraf and human rights activists and various other “inconveniences” to the government.

Dec. 9 was certainly a busy Sunday with a group of lawyers proceeding with their “People’s Freedom Walk” from the Sogo department store to the Malaysian Bar building where the Bar Council was celebrating International Human Rights Day, a day earlier than the rest of the world.

The march of about a hundred people proceeded for a distance under the watchful eyes of the police. They had two helicopters circling the protesters.

Earlier in the week, the Bar Council had decided to call off their annual human rights march in good faith, after being pressured by the authorities to obtain a police permit. They were even told to apply for a permit to hold their annual human rights festival at Central Market. The Bar Council nevertheless moved their celebrations to their own building, just behind Central Market. It was a compromise.

The Malaysian Bar council held a protest to celebrate the International Human Rights Day. Photo by MICHELLE GUNASELAN

The Bar Council did not expect the following response … Click here for the full article!

(14) Comments so far. Add Yours Now!

Art by CHUAN ZUI
By VINCENT LIEW

Time flies. And before you know it, it’s the end of 2007.

How old will you be next year, and what’s your resolution?

I would like to invite fellow readers of theCICAK to step on board with me on a time-traveling trip to the past.

I am a baby of the 1980s – the late 1980s to be exact – and I grew up watching Power Rangers on television. My high-tech toys at the time were a Game Boy and a Nintendo system. (I remember puffing into the folds of my game cartridges when they weren’t working).

Recently, I had a nostalgic moment when I dug up a Pandora’s box of old toys. Among old junk and treasures were my Power Ranger figurines and my fat grey Game Boy (yeap, the one that came out before the colored hand-held consoles. Now that’s vintage, baby!)

I smiled as I dug through the box to see what other gems I would discover.

I was thinking about being young again. And how nice that would be.

I wouldn’t be angry at the government. I wouldn’t care about … Click here for the full article!

(25) Comments so far. Add Yours Now!

Gabrielle Chong Yong Wei, Debbie Wong and Clement Chan … Click here for the full article!

Add Your Comment!

By APUT

There are many things about my religion that I have yet to understand. These days, religion is very much the reason for violence and hatred. However, I strongly believe that we shouldn’t fault religion so quickly.

Every religion preaches that life is beautiful and that we should practice forgiveness.

Islam has the same stance towards adultery. If the wrongdoer repents, then he or she is forgiven.

In the video above, we can see how a group of men are battering a couple for allegedly committing adultery … Click here for the full article!

(14) Comments so far. Add Yours Now!

Art by CHUAN ZUI
By M. NITHIYANANTHAN

Looking out into the cold, damp and gloomy weather of northeastern United States, I fondly recall memories of Deepavali excursions into the homes of jubilant relatives. There were smiles, there were the customary oil lamps, beautiful kolam designs littering the ground, the constant chattering of gossipy aunts, and the jingling of bells that laced the feet of my female kin.

But this gaiety was smeared with tinges of economic strife, and political servitude.

I remember visiting an uncle in a cramped shantytown around the Sunway area, with the posh facade of an Egyptian shopping mall contrasting the rusty tin roof of my uncle’s humble wooden home. I remember the huge longkang we had to cross to reach his place, where piles of rubbish was dumped from the squatter settlement in which he resided, and how the stench of rotting … Click here for the full article!

(9) Comments so far. Add Yours Now!

By JASON LIM

They’ve told you that in market economies, you really are King.

The internet has recently taken the concept of market economies and the adage of “consumer is King” - one step further. Radiohead, the seminal brit-rock cum post-grunge post-rock band, has come up with a new album called In Rainbows and is releasing it first on the internet.

Hardly shocking these days, that a band should choose to release “soft copies” of albums ahead of actual album drops, but what’s really got fans and non-fans alike buzzing is the fact that … Click here for the full article!

(12) Comments so far. Add Yours Now!

(3) Comments so far. Add Yours Now!