Jan 20Pasca Kebenaran: Virus Politik Yang Merebak Ke Malaysia Akibat Kejadongan Perikatan Nasional“Kebohongan menerbang, manakala kebenaran datang menempang dari belakang. Itulah sebab apabila orang ramai disedarkan tentang kebohongan itu, dah terlambat.” — Jonathan Swift, pengarang Gulliver’s Travels “Populisme merupakan penyakit autoimun yang berulangan dalam sistem demokrasi.” [The Conversation] Selepas pembentukan Kerajaan Perpaduan, banyak orang di Twitter dengan perasaan cemas merayu dan menggesa…Politics21 min readPolitics21 min read
Jan 10How and Why Perikatan Nasional Infected Malaysia With the Post-Truth Virus“Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect.” — Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels Populism is a recurrent autoimmune disease of democracy. [The Conversation] Soon after…Malaysia24 min readMalaysia24 min read
Nov 25, 2022Asimetri PolitikMengapa ia lebih sukar untuk ahli politik baik mengekalkan kuasa berbanding dengan ahli politik jahat [Artikel ini ditulis pada Mac 2021. Diterjemahkan daripada versi Bahasa Inggeris di sini.] Man in Jail: The Black Pearl? I’ve heard stories. She’s been preying on ships and settlements for near ten years. Never leaves any survivors. Jack Sparrow: No survivors? Then where do the stories come from, I wonder?15 min read15 min read
Feb 18, 2022On Minimum WageWolves once roamed freely in the region in the American West we now call Yellowstone National Park. With the arrival of settlers taking up space across the land, the wolves were seen as a nuisance, and from the late 19th century federal and state laws began to allow the hunting…Policy11 min readPolicy11 min read
Jan 21, 2022We May Get A Bad Government AgainIf we don’t familiarise ourselves with the distorted reality of politics — Let’s start with the premise that the current Barisan Nasional-Perikatan Nasional hybrid government is a failed government that really needs to be voted out come GE15. But see, YOU, the voter, cannot vote out “the government”. In a Malaysian election, you vote out MPs — not the government, not the…Politics7 min readPolitics7 min read
Aug 22, 2021Pakatan Harapan Should Negotiate Seat Allocations NOWLiew Chin Tong used to brag that Pakatan Harapan had managed to settle seat allocations between the four parties a few months ahead of GE14, touting how unprecedented that was, after an understandably acrimonious period of negotiations which had fallen apart at certain points—at one point in the middle of…Pakatan Harapan12 min readPakatan Harapan12 min read
Jul 30, 2021I. The Rise and Fall of the Tyrant Nicolae CeaușescuHow a citizenry rose up and retook their nation from a cruel, oppressive leader (and his profligate wife) — Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena ruled over Romania for a quarter century. They had the power to dictate the lives of its 23 million citizens any way they wanted, without fear of any bad consequences against them. In December 1989, the Berlin Wall had fallen, and one Eastern European…Ceaușescu12 min readCeaușescu12 min read
Jul 25, 2021Malaysians, No One is Coming to Save UsWhat I’m supposed to do now is offer hope. I’m supposed to tell you that no Prime Minister or government of Malaysia serves forever. (“Serves”. Ha.) I’m supposed to offer up hashtags like #Lawan or #RakyatJagaRakyat, as if rebellious enthusiasm is enough to overcome the constitutionally-permitted (if ethically-abhorrent) abuse of…Malaysia3 min readMalaysia3 min read
Jul 8, 2021Never Wish For A Racial Unity GovernmentDrawing examples from medieval Europe and modern America, how homogeneity weakens nations — There was once a powerful family in Europe. For centuries, the Habsburg dynasty produced sons (and one daughter) who sat on the thrones of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Now, most Malaysians have never heard of the HRE, but back in medieval Europe, this would be as absurd as…Malaysia9 min readMalaysia9 min read
Jun 29, 2021We Used To Be So Used To EpidemicsThe last 2–3 generations of people are the first to be unfamiliar with epidemics and what to expect when it happens. — For most of the last couple of thousands of years, somewhere in the Eurasian landmass there would be an outbreak of diseases, often requiring the absolute shutdown of cities. Remember when it was announced to the world in January 2020 that Wuhan would completely shut down and seal itself from…Covid-195 min readCovid-195 min read
