We sorely miss Madiba"s example

Instead of seeking revenge, true leaders should seek to bring reconciliation to the people. SOME 16 years ago I had the opportunity to meet Nelson Mandela at a private dinner that I invited myself to. My parents were there as was Graca Machel, soon to be his wife. I don’t remember anyone else being there,...

Read More

NUCC has to tackle 'trust deficit'

Members have been reassured that they can be as frank as they want. MUCH to my surprise, I was appointed to the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) last week. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have plenty of trepidation when I was asked just a few days before the launch to sit on this council....

Read More

The new Beijing beckons

Here, you are surrounded by optimistic and enthusiastic young people with the zeal to do well not only in China, but in the globalised world. I JUST took a short trip to Beijing to attend a conference on women. It has been seven years since my last trip and 28 years since my first. In 1985, China was gingerly...

Read More

A lesson in real harmony

Sarawakians are used to living with such religious diversity and have no time for the sort of angst that we over in the peninsula have. WHEN I was a little girl in Alor Setar, I thought that Malaya did not extend any further than my home state. I did eventually learn that in fact it was much bigger when...

Read More

The cost of telling the truth

It takes courage to stand one’s ground, but the greatest reward is the ability to sleep at night, knowing that one’s conscience is clear. WHEN parents try to teach their young children certain values and behaviours, consistency is the key. When you tell children that lying is wrong, then they must never...

Read More

Where's the justice now?

Many Muslims are quick to defend their religion as one of peace, but very often words are not enough because the actions that many Muslims do in the name of Islam are neither peaceful nor just. WHENEVER Islam is attacked for being violent and oppressive, many Muslims are quick to defend their religion as...

Read More

A question of security or insecurity

While it is true that security is a constant issue, I wonder if the real reason behind it is that feeling of uncertainty or a lack of confidence and anxiety about ourselves. SINCE we are all worried about security these days, I decided to look up the meaning of “insecurity”. Besides the feeling of being...

Read More

The value of human dignity

The importance of respecting a person’s dignity is also tied to respecting their bodily integrity. ONE of the things that we try to impart to our children is the value of human dignity, where we try and teach them to respect others, never to shame others in public and to always conduct ourselves with decorum. Our...

Read More

Focus on positive things we can do

The voiceless and powerless are further discriminated by divisive issues.SOMETIMES we need to look at our country from a long distance to truly see it as it is.I have been travelling for the past two weeks and while it is nice to totally switch off news from home, occasionally I can’t help it.Predictably enough...

Read More

Fostering unity through fasting

FIRST of all, let me wish everyone a Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, maaf zahir batin. This year, the idea of forgiveness seems more poignant than ever, given the rancorous Ramadan we just had. I don’t recall a month more full of anger and tension than this year’s fasting month, ironic given that it is...

Read More

Staying happy together

We have to stop falling for ploys that divide us and resist by coming closer together to be more united. FROM age three until I was 15, I went to a Convent school in my hometown, Alor Setar. There, both nuns and lay teachers taught me and the few other Muslim girls in the school, perhaps four or five in...

Read More