MGG Pillai

Everything being said about the 9th Malaysia Plan does not go beyond, and masks serious implications for the nation.

The malaise in the Malaysian press goes back to government control over editorial operations and reporting processes.

It is the genie that refuses to get back into the bottle. The power of the Internet lies in accessibility and free flow of information.

Anwar Ibrahim and Dr Mahathir Mohamad punch in different directions, often viciously, but however hard they try, they end up punching each other

Ghazali Shafie lives the quiet life today, far removed from his heyday as diplomat, bureaucrat and minister, but with his convictions intact.

I am now told I must pay a price for refusing to fall in line with Pos Malaysia's flawed computerisation plans. So what should I do?

It is difficult enough to persuade Malaysians to speak their thoughts the walls have ears, the Special Branch listens in, our jobs and our families would be in danger. It does not matter what the topic, few would dare express an opinion.

Chin Peng was born in Sitiawan, Perak. So he should be a Malaysian citizen. Or is he? He has also been told that he cannot come in, though how it could, without cancelling his citizenship is unclear.

Those in power forget that it needs two hands to clap, but it believes it can with one hand. Which is why all the scandals and misuse of office come thundering down the hill with embarrassing regularity.

These 'perks' are not unique to Malaysia. But over here, as always, there is that special twist: these trips are planned in secret.

Musa Aman's political patron is Pak Lah. He controls all that matters in Sabah, perhaps even ignoring advice, consultation and the law.

They see him here, they see him there... and Anwar Ibrahim's visit to Sabah has stirred fears within Umno that will not be easily soothed.

Once again, Malaysian authorities have failed the test of crisis management. Their handling of the devastation caused by the tsunamis amounts to a national scandal.

Will 2004 go down as the BN's Year Zero? Its nemesis Anwar Ibrahim has hit the political ground running, and the ruling coalition is scrambling to cope with the fallout.

Singapore and Malaysia are still held back from achieving meaningful agreement over unresolved issues.

Anwar is breathing fresh air into Malaysians politics, as capacity crowds listened and cheered to his rousing speech on Sunday.

US dismissed the fundamentalists as beyond the pale, belittling the nationalism that bound them and invaded their countries with no understanding of the ground.

The six years in jail has made Anwar Ibrahim larger than life. The prison years makes him a more dangerous political opponent for Umno and he is now preparing for his political resurrection.

Anwar Ibrahim plays his political games so flawlessly and faultlessly, so much so that he controls Umno as surely as his counterpart in Hamelin eight centuries ago.

Pak Lah began with much promise but it is not surprising that he ends his first year as prime minister weaker than he began.

Malaysian politics has become stale and crippled by stagnancy. However, it seems that Anwar Ibrahim may be able to change all that.

A scatological comparison sends temperatures soaring and tempers flaring. But the brouhaha socks Umno in the eye, leaving it blue and black.

Umno's greatest fear today is that it would implode as it is awash with factions based on state rights, warlords, regions and leaders.

When business and politics mix, religion must take a back seat. Especially when the reality of problems ahead is diverted to the irrelevant reality of who would win the Akademi Fantasia .