James Wong Wing On

Although shocking and worrisome, the current spate of violent incidents in southern Thailand bordering Peninsular Malaysia is not unprecedented as separatist sentiments and aspirations can be traced back to the 1930s.

The Muslim-based opposition party which will be around for a long time to come needs to engage in more inter-faith dialogues as this will help find commonalities in diversity.

At 62, DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang still seems to be the most articulate parliamentarian. His style of leadership and modus operandi should be open to more critical re-examination for the long-term health of parliamentary democracy in Malaysia.

Although religious extremism is certainly dangerous to the security of open society, modernist extremism articulated in different ideological forms is also detrimental to human civilisation which includes religions and traditional cultures.

Although DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang is catapulted back into parliament as opposition leader, his party seems to face many structural bottlenecks.

The suit by the co-authors of Chin Peng memoirs against the newspaper offers posers about the Home Ministry and the credibility of the media group in question.

The legal action is for alleged breach of contract, which sources claim resulted from the Home Ministry's 'advice' to the daily.

Despite the onslaught, internal weaknesses and negative images, PAS and Keadilan have made positive contributions to the democratic process

Detractors have always complained of the Malaysian political landscape's uneven playing field. But can this be the only reason responsible for the opposition's thrashing at the 11 ^th general election?

Before the1999 polls, military personnel, civilian supporting staff and their family members and their votes were assumed to be solidly behind the ruling coalition. But there are now signs that this may no longer be true.

In the run-up to the general election, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi seems to be under pressure from all fronts over charges of alleged nepotism pertaining to his son's business interests.

As the US is still "encouraging" Malaysia to get tougher on enforcement of nuclear non-proliferation, many other countries have decided to support President Bush's call for " global cooperation " on the matter. It's not "one small incident" as trivialised by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Although the US has cleared Malaysia of any complicity in a global nuclear black market operation, the manners the Malaysian government managed and responded to the controversy has come under heavy fire from opposition parties.

The government denies any complicity in the illegal proliferation of nuclear technology but the American president keeps mentioning the country.

The book, which contains exclusive interviews with CPM leader Ching Peng and ex-police chief Rahim Noor, also features profiles and biographies of other top leaders in the communist party.

PAK LAH'S 100 DAYS Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has made an encouraging start to his role as statesperson. But can he continue and how far will he go?

The time has come for Chinese Malaysians, especially the younger ones, to break free from their ethnic, cultural and linguistic cocoons and be identified with the wider struggle for human rights and dignity.

Most Malaysians are now quite self-assured and self-confident about their ethnic and national identities, which are internal, not external to their hearts and minds.

The appointment of Defence Minister Najib Abdul Razak as deputy prime minister is viewed with skepticism in some quarters.

Decades after the Japanese occupation, an elderly woman from China speaks about the sacrifices and the blood that was shed in the battle to liberate Malaya. Lu Chai Ping also joins other veterans in paying respect to her fallen comrades.

Sixty-two years after the first Japanese troops landed in Peninsular Malaysia, a group of Chinese Malaysians, political veterans and historians are planing to construct a war museum and monument for the fallen.

Former NST editor-in-chief Abdullah Ahmad's vicissitude of fortune in politics and public life in the past 40 years conjures up Byzantine images of political jealousies, power struggle, intrigues and conspiracies among the ruling elites and their advisers and operatives.

The summary dismissal of the former editor-in-chief of the New Straits Times has caused the prime minister and his foreign minister to issue contradictory statements that may create serious and far-reaching implications on press freedom in Malaysia and the country's conduct of foreign relations.

The summary dismissal of Abdullah Ahmad as the editor-in-chief of the New Straits Times by its Umno boss is said to be not "personal" or linked to "internal politics", but given the political climate within Umno, many still believe that it is related to factional politics.