The New Straits Times Online

Sunday, July 05, 2009, 03.37 AM

I Remember When... Tun Abdul Razak Hussein was PM
MCA veteran Tan Sri Michael Chen, 76, was a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department during Tun Abdul Razak Hussein’s tenure as prime minister. He tells ARMAN AHMAD that the people were endeared to the country’s second prime minister, who is known as the father of development
ANALYSIS: G20 economic plan fails to ensure global justice
IS the Group of 20 Plan for Recovery and Reform that emerged from the London Summit on April 2 the answer to the global economic crisis?
ARJUNA RANAWANA: Tamils need a new `tiger' in charge
IN Sri Lanka's northeast, on a small sliver of land between the sea and two raging armies, some hundred thousand civilians are huddled under trees with little water, dwindling food supplies and no medical care.
Past Present: It was a miracle of sorts that I beat the odds...
Nor Amalina Abd Rahman, who scored 12 As in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia examination though ill with cancer
ZACHARY ABUZA: Thai Democrats can't see insurgency for what it is
FROM the September 2006 coup until last December, Bangkok's political elite paid almost no attention to the insurgency in Thailand's three Muslim-majority provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, as well as parts of Songkhla.
ANALYSIS: Obama’s plan breaks with US legal tradition
The president’s proposal for a system allowing the prolonged detention of terrorism suspects in America without trial gives rise to a debate on what’s just and what’s not by Western standards, writes WILLIAM GLABERSON
K.C. BOEY: Government of the people
IF retired systems programmer Robert Saunders had a view on politicians, they were unsavoury. There was one shade to politicians: black; associated with power, self-interest, a lack of principle.
SANTHA OORJITHAM & ANNIE FREDA CRUEZ: If we don't name it, we can't deal with it
ANN (not her real name) was thrilled to get a contract as a project assistant with a multilateral organisation in Kuala Lumpur.
EDITORIAL:Fighting the IP pirates
THE ubiquitous purveyors of pirated DVDs at night markets in neighbourhoods are the most visible sign of the people who prey on intellectual property.
DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: What’s in a number, really?
WHAT is the cap for the number of SPM subjects a student can take? Sounds easy, but not quite, unless there is a context of purpose.

A KATHIRASEN: Serving an average of eight clients a day, a prostitute ends up making RM1,200 daily.
IT used to be that you could get "side dishes" or "extra service" at hotels and massage parlours. Now, these extras are also available at some restaurants.

EDITORIAL: Racing for Team Malaysia
IT ain’t over, in Formula One parlance, until the chequered flag comes down at the 11th edition of the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang today.

ZAINI MOHD SAID: There is no choice but to change
I AM relieved that the planned leadership change has taken place and Datuk Seri Najib Razak is now the prime minister.

JOAN LAU: The 'sour kanna' love test for any relationship
DO you have a love test? You know, one of those childish tests to make the other person prove he/she loves you? I must confess that I have one: it involves spit. Not spitting, mind. Just spit.

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: Where orang utans see us in cages
PENANGITES are in for an exciting time. Even before the proposed "tiger eco-park" can take off, the island is already echoing with roars heard right across the nation. Some of them are loud and desperate enough, like that of a hungry tiger, which could send shivers down the spine. All this in the name of tourism.

BRENDAN NAVIN SIVA: Allow DNA testing for old cases
IN 1982, Sean Hodgson was sentenced to life in prison in England. He was found guilty of raping and strangling Teresa De Simone in Southampton in 1979. The prosecution's case was that De Simone was brutally raped and killed by the same person.

JOAN LAU: Be adventurous, try anything -- at least once
WERE you one of those kids who would not, just absolutely would not, eat certain foods? Not weird exotic food but well... ordinary food like peas or onions or bean sprouts? Because they looked or smelled funny.

Past & Present with A. Kathirasen
CHANGE is the mantra on almost everyone's lips. Change is the drumbeat the world is marching to today. Change is sweeping across all nations, pulled by the twin horses of global warming and a financial system in crisis.

SHARANJIT SINGH: Fangs bared as Guan Eng slams 'Tiger Park' critics
IT looks like the cat's out of the bag and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has begun to show his true colours -- that he does not take kindly to criticism.

EDITORIAL: Value from pensions
GOVERNMENT pensioners are a lucky lot. They get half their last-drawn salary every month for the rest of their lives. Given our improved average life expectancy, pensioners are likely to spend as much of their lives in retirement as they did in service. Their longevity is further enhanced by the excellent healthcare provided by the government. Last year alone, the medical bill for pensioners amounted to more than RM93 million. This expenditure is expected to grow as exponentially as it has in the last 10 years. Figures for 1999 show that pensioner healthcare was at RM2 million, but leapt to RM8 million the following year, doubling in 2001, and doubling again in 2003. From 2005 to 2006, the expenditure jumped from RM38 million to RM64 million, and then to RM92 million in 2007. How the figures can have multiplied 50-fold in just 10 years is mind-boggling, but at this juncture the trend is unlikely to do a U-turn.

ROGER TAN: A case for building laws offering quick remedies
THERE are about three million Malaysians living in sub-divided buildings today. These buildings can range from low-cost apartments to the most luxurious condominium units.

ANALYSIS: It is a woman's lot to bear the burden
The global economic crisis hits women and their families in Asia-Pacific hardest. NOELEEN HEYZER suggests some solutions — from microcredit to improving access to work, education and health services — to tackle the region’s problems

ZUBAIDAH ABU BAKAR: Party starts radical transformation journey
UMNO has sent a clear message to its detractors that it is not resistant to change.

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: We can make a difference to Earth
60 Earth Hour was observed yesterday around the world. It had one mission: an act by the global population in unison to create a new awareness on the state of affairs of planet Earth.

SHERIDAN MAHAVERA: Touched by signs of reconciliation
TO say that the transition of the Umno presidency from Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to Datuk Seri Najib Razak was an euphoric occasion for members is an understatement.

LILEI CHOW: Focus on those falling through the cracks
DEVI, 20, was shocked when she showed up for work on a Monday morning and was told that she would be out of a job by the end of the month.

I REMEMBER WHEN... Going to Kelantan and stepping back in time
In the 70s, when it was the Beach of Passionate Love, over a thousand 'beca' clogged up Kota Baru and football fans arrived as early as 1pm for a night match, writes A. SHUKOR RAHMAN.

EDITORIAL: Umno and BN's fighting chance
FOR incoming prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the race has not just begun. The new Umno president started his political career in 1976, when he became a member of parliament at the age of 22, and yesterday proved beyond all doubt that he was up and running to receive the baton from outgoing prime minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawai.

DEVA RIDZAM Why should we want Gitmo 2 back home?
GUANTANAMO was back in the news in the US last week. They speak of the many difficulties faced in determining what to do with the detainees.

AHMAD A. TALIB: Day of unprecedented shame in Ipoh
ABOUT the only good taste that came from the day trip to Ipoh on Thursday was the wangge lunch.

JOAN LAU: How to say thank you and bid goodbye
DO you remember some of the early presents you gave your Mum on Mother's Day? I remember making my mother a handkerchief. It was just a simple cotton square in white and I had to hem all four sides. Neatly. Not easy when you are a kid.

K.C. BOEY: Asia literacy on Aussie agenda
IF Australia were a "torn country" in Samuel Huntington's scheme of the "clash of civilisations", China is understandably dividing public opinion.

A. KATHIRASEN:
...to separate pedestrians from motorcyclists could curb snatch." - Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: Shackles on education revamp
WHEN the European ministers of education assembled in Louvin de Nieve, Belgium last week to discuss the Bologna Process it was a time to celebrate too.

ZAINI MOHD SAID: On the importance of mastering English
A PUAN SRI colleague with whom I often exchange interesting ideas and sometimes some really critical comments about anything under the sun sent me an SMS last Friday.

ROGER TAN: Choosing the best to sit on the Bench
WITH the coming into force of the Judicial Appointments Commission (Selection Process and Method of Appointment of Judges of the Superior Courts) Regulations 2009 on June 1, the Judicial Appointments Commission(JAC) should now be fully operational.

AHMAD A. TALIB: Stiffer fines needed for Aedes breeders
TO think that we are losing the war against dengue -- we the people of planet Earth inhabiting this land mass called Malaysia! Surely we know better when dealing with the Aedes mosquitoes sharing our land mass.

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: Focusing on six action areas
THE 17th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (17CCEM) in Kuala Lumpur will be the biggest ever meeting of its kind since the first conference was held in Oxford 50 years ago.

K.C. BOEY: Numbers turn the debt argument
IT wasn't that long ago that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was softening up Australians for what he said was the inevitable. Australia would not escape the recession that was dragging down all of the advanced economies.

A. KATHIRASEN: Things are rather hazy
Before someone interprets that as a comment on the current political atmosphere, let me assure you I am not talking about politics.

EDITORIAL: One born every minute
CRUDE oil is down to below US$50 (RM180) a barrel from a peak of over US$150 some months ago but no one has had the audacity to peddle the Petronas Twin Towers.

ANALYSIS: Finding the best mix for smart schools
A decade of smart school experience has qualified Malaysia to teach others - and to make its own schools more inclusive, YONG HUEY JIUN writes.

W. SCOTT THOMPSON: Obama is going to have lots of fun
THE press around the world boomed in the last two weeks about how President Barack Obama must now get down to the "hard part" of the job.

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK Stop this political circus, we don't need the clowns
RECENTLY, a friend told me that the circus is no longer a popular entertainment in his country.

A. KATHIRASEN Past, present and future
SOMEONE has egg on his face. The Borneo Post reported early this month that guests at a police dinner in Kuching were served a sumptuous feast. Turtle eggs were on the menu.

K.C.BOEY Australia has RM195b reasons to engage Asean
AS the economy hangs precariously, Australians can be excused for wanting to just see dollars coming out of the Asean summit in Hua Hin.

EDITORIAL: Serving the country
IT has always been about the big picture, about the well-being of the country as a whole. You don't have to read between the lines today to know that the economic outlook is bleak. The pundits, both local and foreign, have said it loud and clear: that this year the global economy will shrink, for the first time since the World War 2; that Malaysia, one of the most trade-based economies in the world, and the region will be severely affected as global imports and exports slip into the largest decline since the Depression years after 1929. Unions and government planners may not be shouting the bad news but they are bracing themselves for more job losses the next 12 months as the nations of the world shake off the effects of deep recession and start to get moving again.

SHERIDAN MAHAVERA: They must represent all Malaysians
Some 2,500 people will converge on the Putra World Trade Centre from Wednesday to choose, among others, Malaysia's next deputy prime minister. SHERIDAN MAHAVERA argues that the unwise use of such power can have tragic consequences for Umno.

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK The prophet has shown the way
EXACTLY a fortnight ago, Malaysians were reminded of two significant events.

JEEVA ARULAMPALAM Nudging the banks to keep open SME lifeline
The government has been quick to respond to grouses from SMEs about the difficulty in obtaining loans but some SMEs may have unrealistic expectations, writes JEEVA ARULAMPALAM

ROGER TAN: Thorny issues that need attention
THE Perak fiasco seems to continue unabated, and a long-drawn legal battle appears inevitable.

JOAN LAU: Let's hear it for the children and their aunties
FOR years, I was the favourite "aunt" of many, many friends' children. There was Ashwin whom I first met when he was 5.

A. KATHIRASEN: Threats, insults and put-downs...
.... can be just as damaging as physical abuse because they endanger a woman’s feelings of self-worth.” - Women’s Aid Organisation

EDITORIAL: Health, wealth up in smoke
IN 2004, the University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre did a study on the economic cost of tobacco smoking. It was mind blowing. It costs the nation RM3 billion a year to treat citizens afflicted by three major diseases -- heart attack, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. All of them are caused by tobacco smoking. The same experts say, given rising medical costs and the increasing number of people suffering from these diseases, that the cost would be much higher today.

ZUBAIDAH ABU BAKAR: Delegates show they wield power
PARTI Islam SeMalaysia has shown its independent streak.

ANALYSIS: Ensuring safe and consistent food supply
How can Malaysia ensure food security? JENNIFER GOMEZ talks to the experts.

PADDY BOWIE: Come witness my own little 1Malaysia
IN a prevailing global scenario of gloom and doom, we can still have our moments that uplift us. When blessings come.

ANALYSIS: Flu pandemic may cripple travel industry
FLORIANOPOLIS (Brazil): If the influenza A (H1N1) outbreak turns into a full-blown global pandemic, consequences for the travel industry could be devastating, a respected economist told a world travel conference here on Friday.

EDITORIAL: Exotic lifeline
IT is dubbed the "epicentre" of marine life, covering some six million square kilometres lapping the coasts of Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

EDITORIAL: Green lessons in Kepong
A silver lining may be emerging from the dark cloud of the global economy in the very considerable shape of the environment.

ZAINI MOHD SAID: Remembering a true patriot
MY recent jaunts into the past led me to the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and his wonderful consort, Toh Puan Rahah Noah. Many others also came to mind but both of them feature prominently.

M. HUSAIRY OTHMAN: Pakatan must now let law run its course
FOR the past two weeks, Perak has been plagued by defections, denials and defiance.

ZUBAIDAH ABU BAKAR: Low voter turnout in Penanti expected today
NO oomph -- that aptly describes campaigning in the Penanti state by-election.

ANALYSIS: Property sector caught in the storm, again
ECONOMIC crises always affect housing prices the same way, property experts tell JENNIFER GOMEZ and DAVID YEOW. They have some advice for buyers.

JOAN LAU: 'What I can do without' list in turbulent times
WE live in uncertain times. A couple of my friends told me they felt concerned about what the next few months will bring for them.

PADDY BOWIE: A long hard crawl to equality
INTERNATIONAL Women's Day (March 8) had come and gone. My sex have much to celebrate. Once the strides achieved by women, which we now take for granted, would have seemed unthinkable. A younger Margaret Thatcher was once asked when there might be a woman prime minister of Britain. Her reply? "Not in my lifetime".

EDITORIAL: Revving it up
MALAYSIA made a windfall from the global tourism boom of the last decade or so. Now the visitors, though perhaps not as free-spending as before, are being banked on to keep the economy ticking in troubled times.

ANALYSIS: For undergrads, it's all about 'cari makan'
The higher education minister is concerned about the dwindling number of students taking up humanities courses. This has opened up, once again, the longstanding science versus humanities debate, writes CHOK SUAT LING.

PAST PRESENT: "I may be in a wheelchair but I will not be cowed or intimidated by anyone." - Karpal Singh
WHAT is one to make of Karpal Singh?

KEVIN RUDD: Let's have better corporate conduct
FROM time to time in human history, there occur events of seismic significance, when one orthodoxy is overthrown and another takes its place.

JOAN LAU: So where's the blessing?
I GUESS they call it a blessing in disguise because you simply cannot tell it is actually a blessing in the beginning. It looks bad; it feels bad... This is a bad thing. Where is the blessing in any of this?

SAW CHOO BOON: Danger in forgetting the energy challenge
I REMEMBER my wife getting very upset when she received the monthly bill after electricity rates were raised last year. She then began implementing all the energy saving tips she had read in the papers.

K.C. BOEY: More than music to the ears
"MIDDLE of nowhere mate," the young man is heard speaking into his mobile phone as he drifts past the row of seats on the train to Tamworth.

AHMAD A. TALIB: Back to old days of one kampung, one voice
AM Razali is a serious young man with a burning desire to serve his small village.

ZAINI MOHD SAID: Listen to the birds in the celebration of life
I WAS in the kitchen talking on the phone with a friend who lives in a rather treeless housing area in Kuala Lumpur when he suddenly cut short in mid-sentence to ask, "Is that the sound of birds I hear around you?"

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: Think deeply about the future
THINKING is no doubt an important activity! We often hear of complaints that "thinking" is missing in our classrooms and that it has been over taken by rote learning.

K.C. BOEY: Of integrity, adversarial politics and a fake email
SHOULD I Twitter, or sign on to Facebook? What about MySpace, Scour, or hi5?

DAVID BROOKS: Demystifying the human nature
HAS there ever been a time when there were so many different views of human nature floating around all at once? The economists have their view, in which rational people coolly chase incentives. Traditional Christians have their view, emphasising sin, grace and the pilgrim's progress in a fallen world. And then there are the evolutionary psychologists, who get the most media attention.

RITA SIM: What it takes to make 1Malaysia a success
PEOPLE are weary. How will the present leadership make 1Malaysia work in a society that is highly and openly polarised. The proof of these rifts lies in the very existence of Bangsa Malaysia, Rakyat Malaysia and now 1Malaysia.

EDITORIAL: Untangling transport
ALTHOUGH affirmative action was a prime consideration in how the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board conducted itself in earlier days, accusations continue to be regularly hurled over its abuse, real or perceived. The nameless rent-seekers clutching more than their fair share of licences have helped contribute to the mess that is public transport -- where bus operators cut corners and compromise on service and safety to stay afloat, where recalcitrant taxi drivers negotiate fares over and above the published rates or dismiss passengers with disdain as they chase more lucrative fares to cover the rental of their vehicles before they begin the daily business of earning a living. It is not just the CVLB. Malaysian public transport has been left to its own chaotic devices, to fester, for far too long. At least 13 government agencies under several ministries are said to be involved in running and regulating public transport, which led to comments like "there are many Little Napoleons ruling over the industry".

Why not use both?
SWINE flu or H1N1? Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim suggested that the influenza A outbreak be referred to as swine flu while the Director-General of Health, Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican, said it should be known as H1N1.

ANALYSIS: Don't make them victims twice over
Malaysia has taken big steps to tackle human trafficking. Now it needs to improve public and official awareness, open more shelters for victims and focus on cases of forced labour, experts tell SANTHA OORJITHAM.

THOMAS FULLER:Thailand in the grip of turmoil again
LESS than four months after coming to power, Thailand's fragile government is facing a growing challenge from protesters loyal to its chief rival, ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The turmoil threatens to return Thailand to the political paralysis that gripped the country last year and contributed to an ongoing economic crisis.

AHMAD A TALIB:Be mindful of the people's appraisal
BY September, or October at the latest, we should get the first official indication of how the new cabinet members have performed in their jobs. By then, we should know who has done well and who needs a rap on the knuckles.

K C BOEY: Musawah beyond women's rights
THE vision from the Taliban stronghold in the Swat valley in Pakistan reinforces the stereotype yet again: what religion is this that strips women of their rights?

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK:Squadering 'green' opportunities
On the eve of the G20 London Summit last week, two significant international meetings related to education took place back-to-back in Europe.

EDITORIAL:Getting down to business
IT is a complex democracy in Malaysia, where regional, racial, religious, political and assorted other considerations have to be computed to come up with acceptable policies and solutions in the business of administrating the nation.

REHMAN RASHID The strangled cries of lawyers in love
WHAT happened here a year ago today was described — first by NST Penang bureau chief Sharanjit Singh and subsequently by history — as a “political tsunami”.

ZAINI MOHD SAID
I will pass this way but once...
I AM still feeling contrite. A few days ago I was driving alone and failed to give a thin schoolboy, standing alone and waving feebly by the roadside, a lift home -- which I believed must surely be at Ladang Balau, just three kilometres down the road I was driving on.

JOAN LAU
Are parents your buddies or a burden?
WHEN my best friend Melanie bought the apartment right next door to her parents, some people thought she was crazy. It's one thing to be close to your family but next door?

EDITORIAL
Big league auto theft
BRAZEN, sometimes ruthless, but, as criminal enterprises go, always market-savvy, innovative and efficient. Malaysians are making a name for themselves as vehicle thieves, fences and exporters, getting away with 88,000 cars and motorcycles last year valued at a staggering RM982 million. So organised are the car-running syndicates that they can even handle a foreign order and arrange for that particular model to be stolen and shipped out as was probably the fate of the RM1.4 million Porsche Cayenne SUV belonging to a member of the Kelantan royalty that was driven away from a Puspakom inspection centre. While the audacity of the heist may amuse, vehicle theft is no laughing matter, certainly not to the owners who suffer financial loss and inconvenience nor to the insurance companies who end up big losers and, by extension, all motorists who have to pay more in premiums. Police have also to deploy an ever-larger part of their already stretched manpower to tackle the growing problem.

ROGER TAN
No room for double standards
Oo April 16, the Federal Court ruled that Perak state assembly speaker V. Sivakumar did not have the power to suspend Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir and his six executive council members from the state assembly.

AHMAD A. TALIB
Workers have to evolve to survive
L. JAMALUDDIN, a driver for a big factory in Petaling Jaya, would take his nephews and nieces to Port Dickson for picnic in his younger days. This was his way of celebrating Labour Day in the 1970s.

JOAN LAU Missing link between messy drawers and messy thinking
SPRING is in the air! Well, it's spring in most countries that do have a spring. Although it's still pretty cold in places like London and they're feeling like it's winter, the thing is spring has already arrived.

ZAINI MOHD SAID Everything is in the details, mind you
OUR bird's-eye view of things usually will be missing on the details and can therefore be far from the actual reality.

ZAINI MOHD SAID Reminiscing under a tree
I ACTUALLY started on this piece sitting on a plastic stool under a tree somewhere in the Damansara area, waiting for the rojak man to set up his mobile "warong" and serve me his rojak and cendol which I have always liked.

JOAN LAU In memory of the handwritten word
WHEN was the last time you wrote something? I'm not talking about the definitive Malaysian novel or anything as dramatic as that. I'm thinking about something more literal: writing something by hand instead of on the computer or an SMS.

A. KATHIRASEN PAST PRESENT
"The meeting was under a tree, and it was quite good to be in the open air." Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, former Perak menteri besar.

OU SHIAN WAEI Building a smarter Malaysia together
THE world has to become smarter, because we can. The technology is both available and affordable; because we must. The shocks we have seen to so many systems show that the current approaches aren't sustainable and because we want to.

OPINION: Murky days ahead
WHILE the Department of Environment faithfully monitors the skies and updates its air pollution index, clinics and hospitals are beginning to see a steady rise in patients with respiratory complaints. Their medical condition has been exacerbated by the haze, which has been particularly pronounced in three areas in the Klang Valley, where the Air Pollutant Index reading reached unhealthy levels. As is routine, fingers are quickly pointed at Indonesia, from whose island of Sumatra has originated the evil vapour that is wafting across the Straits of Malacca to the peninsula. The elimination of forests by fire to open up vast tracts for development and plantations combine with peat soil to produce a slow-burning, smoky conflagration that can last for days. Slash and burn farming as has been practised for centuries has never been a problem until its use on an industrial scale by big agro-businesses seeking to clear land on the cheap.

EDITORIAL: Driving safely
EVERY once in a while, any smug feeling that this country has one of the region's best road networks goes belly up when the print media splashes the front pages and television leads off news programmes with the scenes of a horrific crash. Last Monday, six died and three were seriously injured in a double-decker bus accident on the highway near Rawang. The accusations, denials and prevarications that followed rose to fever pitch as the driver, road conditions and the bus' roadworthiness came under scrutiny. Throw in the confusing roles of the myriad agencies looking after public transport, top it off with an affirmative action programme that has gone off the rails, and you have a mish-mash national policy that could endanger life and limb.

ASHRAF ABDULLAH: Going nuclear could be an option
ASK anyone what makes him or her most proud about being Malaysian, and the answers that come readily to mind include the Meranti trees, the unique animals, the extraordinary vistas of our mountains, forests and beaches.

ZAINI MOHD SAID: Pleasantries can make all the difference
I KNEW I looked like an elderly kampung man when I dared to sample the service of a rural pusat kesihatan some months ago. The man at the counter at first amused me by pretending not to notice me when I stood in front of him, even after I had given him my salams.

ROGER TAN: Keep our moral laws up to date
MUCH has been said about oral sex lately. But what is oral sex and how does it stand with the law?

A. KATHIRASEN: We're healthier from sweating out the fever
ARE the intra-party and inter-party altercations and arguments playing out on the political stage today detrimental to the nation's well-being? Many think so.

BUSINESS/YAP MING HUI: Danger of excessive spending
THE founder of one of the largest investment fund in the world, Sir John M. Templeton, once said: “Those who are thrifty will grow wealthy, and those who are spendthrifts will become poor. During my first 15 years after college, I made a game of adhering to a budget that included saving 50 cents out of every earnings.”

A. KATHIRASEN : Past Present
Consider the deference which is everywhere paid to a doctor’s opinion. Nothing more strikingly betrays the credulity of mankind than medicine.” - Henry David Thoreau

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: The eight froggy lessons
IN the Malaysian culture, pantun, as a form of nursery rhymes, are often used as a handy medium to inculcate positive values among children.

KC BOEY: Rising above the ashes
BLACK Saturday (Feb 7) hit an unprecedented 46.4 degrees Centigrade in Melbourne. Heat and high winds in the state sparked fires that left 181 dead at the time of writing, and still counting. People are being braced for a final count of more than 300. Hundreds of others have been injured.

A. KATHIRASEN
Mat Rempit simply playing politics?
IF not for his age, a friend told me a couple of days ago, he might want to become a Mat Rempit.

CHOK SUAT LING and ANNIE FREDA CRUEZ The best way to fight AIDS, by a long shot
It was controversial when introduced and remains so. But the impact of programmes under the HIV/AIDSharm-reduction approach has been positive, write CHOK SUAT LING and ANNIE FREEDA CRUEZ

JOAN LAU: What can you learn from regrets?
IT was to have been a celebration lunch to mark Rhona's one-year anniversary in her "new" office.

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: Education and Millennium Goals
IF there were doubts that Malaysia was not putting a premium on education, the 17th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (17CCEM) dismissed them.

AHMAD A TALIB: Don't turn our Parliament into a pasar malam
THERE are ways of getting attention in the august assembly that is the Dewan Rakyat. Members of parliament who can offer strong and persuasive arguments backed by well-researched findings can help make a difference to the community they serve and earn much deserved attention and praise.

K C BOEY: Shooting for goals as the kings of Asia
AT many levels, the past weeks mark the transformation of a nation at the crossroads of its history and geography. Few would have thought football would take centre stage at the heart of Australia's political institution, the Great Hall of Parliament house in Canberra.

PADDY BOWIE: Paying tribute to fathers everywhere
TODAY is Fathers Day and "Honour thy father and mother" was a sacred trust, the childhood dictum on which I was raised. I gladly dedicate the rest of this article to the task.

A KATHIRASEN: My father told me all about the birds and the bees, the liar -- I went steady with a wood-pecker till I was 21.
FATHERS are more caring than mothers. And I'm not saying it just because today happens to be the 100th anniversary of the observance of Fathers Day.

EDITORIAL: Police and the people
THE boys in blue have never been under such fire before and the overzealous members of Rela have had their bad press.

ANALYSIS: No longer the envy of the diplomatic world
OUR envoys from around the world will meet tomorrow in Putrajaya. The recent transition of our country's political leadership and the advent of a new foreign minister, the first from Sabah, make such a gathering even more necessary.

AHMAD A. TALIB: Deans, doctors, lawyers -- the older the better
AGE often brings wisdom with it. Which is why I believe university professors, deans and outstanding lecturers should be gainfully employed until they die, or until they are no longer mentally alert. Or if until they are unwilling to teach or impart their knowledge and experiences to the younger generation.

KAMRUL IDRIS: Old relationship that broke new ground
When then prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein signed a joint communique with Chinese premier Zhou Enlai 35 years ago today, geopolitical tectonic plates were shifted. KAMRUL IDRIS looks at how this led to a mutually rewarding relationship between the two nations that has stood the test of time

PAST PRESENT
CHANGE has come. We have a new prime minister and a new cabinet. But the excitement is muted, not what one would expect with a changing of the guard.

JOAN LAU: Lending what you know you won't get back
IT'S a horrible feeling. That instant when you first realise that you have been conned. Cheated. Betrayed. Do you remember the first time it happened to you? Well, I do. I was 6 years old.

K.C. BOEY: More sound than fury in Australian defence
A TITLE such as The Art of War does not exactly engender confidence of benign design. "War" construes aggression.

DENNIS WONG: A village celebration with great significance
THE smell of rice wine fills the air in kitchens on the eve of Gawai.

ZAINI MOHD SAID: Look beyond the picture
RUMMAGING through some old photographs of mine in a box a few days ago, I came across one that was taken in early 1969, just over 40 years ago.

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: When people come last
WHILE the world is preoccupied with the potential pandemic caused by the influenza A, most are oblivious to the global epidemic that is prevalent in our midst: the epidemic of tobacco.

SU JUN-PIN: Taiwan's status a boost for global health
TAIWAN, seen as a successful example of democracy in Asia, has worked long and hard to implement political reform. It now hopes to use the enormous vitality of its flourishing market economy and human rights-oriented civil society to give something back to the international community.

EDITORIAL: Spending to keep jobs
HARD work never killed anyone but the threat of job losses is real as a worldwide recession and financial crisis take their toll. The countries that make up a large part of the market for Malaysia's trade-dependent economy are reporting contractions and unemployment figures not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Malaysians with deep pockets and connections and those cocooned in the job security of public service may not feel the effects for now, but there are workers being laid off or told to take pay reductions in various forms. In the last 41/2 months, according to the Labour Department, 20,834 workers lost their jobs, 14,827 of them Malaysians. In all, over 80,000 workers have been affected, including those who have had to take a pay cut or go on unpaid leave.

PADDY BOWIE: Appalling and sad, the audacity of disrespect
"GOD save our Gracious King". That's what I grew up with. The British national anthem pays homage first and foremost to its royalty.

ROGER TAN Speaker's behaviour bizarre
THE speaker of the Perak state assembly is indeed an interesting character. Tronoh state assemblyman V. Sivakumar from the DAP made history by becoming the first Indian to be elected speaker of a legislative assembly in Malaysia.

ZAINI MOHD SAID The Sunshine Airways that RMAF ran
I WAS on a late afternoon Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight from KL International Airport to Kota Kinabalu a few days ago. That was quick to make me feel happy and thankful again.

BALAN MOSES: Malaysia-India trade can only get better
Malaysia-India ties, connection established over hundreds of years in trade and other areas, with its genesis in trade forged hundreds of years ago, is on the cusp of being taken a notch higher through business and political connections gripping businessmen on both sides, writes BALAN MOSES

K C BOEY: Living down the racism tag Down Under
HISTORY has left Australia with much to live down on race. Since the White Australia policy, one of the first acts of Parliament upon federation in 1901, Australians have had to deal with race as an issue among themselves, and with their relations with others.

AHMAD A TALIB: Stadium crash raises questions, again
SHODDY work will show. Always. The big front-page picture on the June 3 issue of Utusan Malaysia showed everyone how bad the damage was to the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium whose roof collapsed just one year after it opened.

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: Let parliament be one of reconciliation
DEMOCRACY in this country is very much alive and kicking.

OPINION: 'Promoting RTM is first priority'
Datuk Ibrahim Yahaya, the former chief news editor of Berita Harian, was appointed the Ministry of Information's director-general of broadcasting. Ibrahim talks to ARMAN AHMAD about his new job.

A. KATHIRASEN: "Some people are also using the tree to get 4D lottery numbers." - Ipoh mayor Datuk Roshidi Hashim
I WENT through my photo albums yesterday. Not that I was nostalgic, no.

LILEI CHOW
Airlines weighing in on carbon offsets
Heightened environmental awareness has raised the call for green solutions as the air travel industry records never-before-seen growth. But some quarters question whether carbon offsets are the answer, writes LILEI CHOW

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK
Flu bug provides unhealthy lesson
MEXICO hosted two important international conferences on higher education last week in Guadalajara.

OPINION: A. KATHIRASEN
ELECTED representatives can sometimes demonstrate a distinct ability to befuddle or spew the most obtuse of arguments. The antics of some of our members of parliament, for instance, are well documented.

A. KATHIRASEN: 'We made huge sacrifices...
...for this victory.' Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse I AM trying to understand what's happening in Sri Lanka.

AHMAD A. TALIB: Once a teacher, always a teacher
YESTERDAY was Teachers Day. A day of celebration and reflection, a break from politics and more politics.

ZAINI MOHD SAID: We could all do without the Mat Rempit menace
MANY are despondent, if not livid, over the Mat Rempit situation that seems to be beyond control.

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: The many faces of 'one'
THE figure "one" has always been a fascination to almost everyone (no pun intended). Even from an early age, we are inculcated with the value that "one" is somehow the best.

K C BOEY: Spending their way out of trouble
WHAT if... Life is full of these imponderables. It is particularly tricky to make sense of what politicians claim for themselves and of their opponents.

ROGER TAN: English can help rather than hinder
LAST Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin met seven Chinese educationist groups who want the teaching of Mathematics and Science in Chinese primary schools to be reverted to the Chinese language.

ZUBAIDAH ABU BAKAR - April 7 By-Elections: Najib factor may bring in votes
THE euphoria is real. The "1Malaysia" concept and "People First, Performance Now" tagline could translate into votes in Tuesday's three by-elections.

K.C. BOEY: Talking is the way forward
THE noise is deafening in all the cross-talk. World leaders were hardly getting themselves heard above the din in London on the economic crisis.

Past Present: Glad it is 15 and not 20 contesting
"I can be the Obama of Malaysia. I can bring change here." — Datuk S. Ganesan, Bukit Selambau BN candidate

ANALYSIS: The time has come to rebuild the world order
There is no way to maintain an open world without strong states willing to cooperate through efficient frameworks, writes THIERRY DE MONTBRIAL

JOAN LAU It's all about recognising the swan in ourselves
I DON'T know anybody who doesn't like the story of The Ugly Duckling. Even those of you out there who never had an ugly moment in your life must have cheered when the duckling turned into a swan.

AHMAD A. TALIB: Political dramas with hot script, stars
TERENGGANU, Selangor and Penang are the settings behind recent political dramas in the country.

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: Coming together for tomorrow
THE cabinet line-up announced recently is yet another clear commitment by the government to the future of education in Malaysia.

EDITORIAL: In for the long haul
THIS is not about the 100m sprint where you take off from the blocks and breast the tape in less than 10 seconds like World and Olympic champion Usain Bolt, and neither is it like the gruelling marathon over 42.195 kilometres which is over in less than a day.

JOAN LAU: Go for more than an instant 'happy fix'
HOW do you make yourself happy? I was in a store with a friend the other day when the very charming salesperson told me, after I remarked that a particular face cream was expensive, that "sometimes you just have to make yourself happy".

AHMAD A. TALIB: Can the president's men deliver?
NOT every Umno member is jumping with joy at Datuk Seri Najib Razak's announcement of his party's supreme council line-up. By the same token, not everyone is unhappy, too. One of the key questions is, can the president's men and women fulfil the hopes and aspirations of Umno members?

ROGER TAN: Cabinet puts interest of the child first
THE cabinet of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak should be commended for having the gumption to tackle the longstanding, highly emotive issue of the effect of one partner's conversion to Islam after a civil marriage.

K.C. BOEY: When the bushfires stopped at Shan’s door
THE past weekend was something else, rendered extraordinary by the worst peacetime disaster to have visited Australia, when bushfires killed 173, raced through homes and tracts of forests, and made thousands homeless on Black Saturday Feb 7.

ZUBAIDAH ABU BAKAR: Umno paves road to recovery
UMNO is serious about braving the journey through stormy political weather to regain the people's confidence, in time for the next general election in 2013.

EDITORIAL: The politics of reform
Change is the mantra of the moment, and the politicians who can make the most of it will have the best bets for the future.

EDITORIAL: Saving up on energy
AS the world and Malaysian economy slows down, with its consequent job losses and lower incomes, retail prices are not falling in tandem. This is a common complaint when the prices of goods and services, from the favourite breakfast staple of roti canai to steel and cement, from schoolbus and taxi fares to groceries and produce, which were raised when the crude oil price went through the roof to US$147 (RM530) a barrel last July, were not adjusted when crude oil prices slid to the US$40 mark. Although the big retailers have moved rapidly to lower prices, most of the smaller shops and vendors are not so quick. The government, however, has shown that it acts positively when people's lives are adversely affected -- the RM2.70 per litre pump price of petrol in August last year has since been reduced seven times to RM1.80. Diesel has also seen a similar price reduction.

JOAN LAU: Sharing a feast of words
WHAT was the last book you read? I know the question sounds like one of those National Reading Week ad campaigns... but, seriously, what was the last book you read? Mine was Roald Dahl's Matilda.

ANIZA DAMIS: JAC should be integrity personified
ONE of the most remarkable things about the Perak assembly crisis and the ensuing debates of whether the defecting assemblymen's seats are vacant, or whether the decision of legitimising the Barisan Nasional state government was correct, is the willingness of parties to turn to the courts for remedy.

LILEI CHOW: When a forest builds a community
WHAT enticed Jeffrey Phang to make Kota Damansara his home was its proximity to a green lung that could offer a place for recreation for his family.

SITI NURBAIYAH NADZMI: Going digital but will RTM face same woes?
RTM is excited about the prospect of having superior visual and audio quality with its digital transmission starting in 2012. But experts and local industry players are less than thrilled

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: Returning our education to learning
EMPLOYABILITY, employability, employability. This has been the chant that is repeated annually when it comes to determining how successful the education system is.

KC BOEY: Hitting the ground running
THE spokeswoman from the prime minister's office was not exaggerating when she said Kevin Rudd would "hit the ground running in 2009. He has been preparing for 2009", she had said of Rudd's impending return three weeks ago after the summer break.

A. KATHIRASEN: Past Present
EVEN before the horrific images of dead and wounded civilians, especially children, in Gaza fade from the world's view, innocents are being killed by the hundreds in Sri Lanka.

ZUBAIDAH ABU BAKAR: A must-win for PKR for sake of its morale
THE field is crowded although nowhere near last month's Bukit Selambau by-election, which saw 15 candidates fighting for the state seat in Kedah.

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: Learning, unlearning and re-learning
IT had been a successful 5th World Environment Education Congress that ended in Montreal last week.

AHMAD A. TALIB: Najib's bridging initiative with S'pore
DATUK Seri Najib Razak's proposal for a third bridge linking Malaysia to the Singaporean island republic is more than just a proposed physical infrastructure. It's the prime minister's statement that he wants to get away from past legacies. It's his way of telling everyone that he wants to be seen and acknowledged as his own man.

COMMENT: Courts must change their hands-off policy
THE recent cabinet decision to ban the conversion of children by one parent who has embraced Islam has been generally welcomed.

EDITORIAL: Driving the KPI
KEY performance indicators, which come in many forms, shapes and sizes, have been employed by the world's corporations and, for more than a decade, by government-linked companies in Malaysia. Most private sector managers are familiar with them. The measures are also no stranger to top civil servants, the directors-general, secretaries-general and department heads. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has taken the KPI one level higher, and adopted them for members of his cabinet and their deputies. Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon has been busy the past six weeks working to come up with the indices for the ministers. Just as a stopwatch can't be used to compare a marathon runner with a gymnast, Koh has a different set of KPIs for each of his fellow ministers and their ministries. A more focused unit called Pemandu (Performance Management and Delivery Unit) would be set up to support each minister and ministry, Koh said.

SITI NURBAIYAH NADZMI: The dust never settles in Darfur
Sudan is making attempts to get its economy moving to make a difference in the lives of its citizens and the thousands displaced by the Darfur conflict. SITI NURBAIYAH NADZMI was in Sudan for the opening of the RM6.6 billion Merowe High Dam across the Nile at the same time the International Criminal Court was seeking to arrest the country's head of state

A. Kathirasen: Past Present
IS the world overreacting to the economic woes sparked by the credit crunch in the United States mortgage market?

K C BOEY: Together for test ahead
NATIONAL day evokes varied responses. Australia Day, falling as it does at the height of summer, can at times be overly defined in terms of sun, surf and beach in the extended year-end holidays and the long weekend.

DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: Will Obama really rise to the occasion?
AMERICAN President Barack Obama, at a recent news conference on the Middle-East, wanted the US to "start by listening!" This was a departure from the previous US administration which Obama admitted would "start by dictating!"

JOAN LAU: Bewildered by a random act of violence
YOU read about this kind of thing in the newspapers all the time. A man is beaten up by three unknown assailants.

A. RAGUNATHAN Flaws in Pensions Act must be corrected
THE government should make changes in the Pensions Act 1980 to conform with the provisions enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

JEEVA ARULAMPALAM Helping fresh grads is the next big job
Are we looking at the bigger employment picture? What's being done to help fresh graduates find jobs? JEEVA ARULAMPALAM hopes there will be measures in the mini-budget for them

EDITORIAL: Pulling together
THE evolving democracy that is Malaysia has made energetic strides in recent years and the last one, since the 12th general election of March 8, 2008, was a great leap, though only history can decide whether it went forward or back, or took a long time kicking in mid-air. So intense was the last 12 months that the business of governing at the state and federal levels has been left by the wayside, superseded by the Machiavellian manoeuvring of politicians bent on outdoing each other. Claims and counter-claims abound on both sides of the divide, accusations and counter-accusations are traded daily, enlivened as much by informed views as the stupidity of vox pop. Healthy democracy, perhaps, but the zero-sum politicking has to ease off so that national, collective and individual efforts can be mustered towards keeping the economy above water, so that enough food can be brought to the table in homes that have not been foreclosed. The question on the first anniversary of last March's "tsunami" is whether democracy has risen to the challenge of these frighteningly uncertain economic times, where jobs are being threatened and livelihoods put at risk.