PAS’ days may be numbered

Raja Petra KamarudinThe outcome of the Pengkalan Pasir by-election is by no means an indication that Barisan Nasional is poised to recapture Kelantan. In fact, state Umno liaison committee chairman…

Let’s play the race card

Raja Petra KamaruddinPhew! What a relief! The Commission of Inquiry set up to investigate the alleged incident of the Chinese woman made to do ear squats in the nude in the police station has proven…

The opposition is still in slumber

Raja Petra KamarudinThe last couple of days there have been many analyses done on the Pengkalan Pasir by-election. Well, writing an after-the-fact analysis is child’s-play so I am not going to do…

Pengkalan Pasir: the turning point

Raja Petra KamarudinTomorrow, 6 December 2005, the Pengkalan Pasir voters will be going to the polls to decide who they want as their new State Assemblymen. There are three contenders, one each from…

It’s all about the money

Raja Petra KamarudinWell, money talks, bullshit walks; and Islam is bullshit, so it too walks. Yes, Islam Hadhari, now we know what it means don’t we? Bullshit! Let me say that again: Islam Hadhari…

Did I not tell you so?

Raja Petra KamarudinIt is always nice to be able to say to sceptics, “I told you so!” Sometimes though, one wishes one is wrong, as being right is no consolation if being so is to the detriment of the…

Umno’s ‘Malay Agenda’

Raja Petra Kamarudin‘Malay Agenda will not be achieved if Kelantan is under PAS, says Khairy’. That was what Bernama, Malaysia’s official news agency, reported on 9 November 2005.Efforts to dignify…

The stuff politicians are made of

Raja Petra KamarudinOf late, I have been receiving a lot of junk e-mails about this, that and the other. Apart from the ‘normal’ sexual performance enhancement, teen sex, Paris Hilton, etc.…

A taste of one’s own medicine

Raja Petra KamarudinIt touched my heart when Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, when asked how he feels one day after he buried his wife, said he felt very lonely.I can understand how he…

Satu kerbau membawa lumpur

Raja Petra KamarudinLast week, I published a news item (Brazilian couple's wedding ends in brawl with Malaysian royalty) about some members of the Johore Royal Family who were involved in fisticuffs…

Who appointed you PM anyway?

Raja Petra KamarudinAbdullah Ahmad Badawi is Malaysia’s Prime Minister, paramount leader to 25 million or so Malaysians. And just how paramount is a Malaysian Prime Minister? Well, this can be better…

Did he or didn’t he?

Raja Petra KamarudinLast week, ex-Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he removed Anwar Ibrahim as the Deputy Prime Minister because he does not want someone who is gay to become…

Dear son, dear Dad

Raja Petra KamarudinA reflection of 'old' and 'new' Malay thinking(Previously published in the Free Anwar Campaign website in March 2004, soon after Malaysia's 11th General Election)Dear Son,I thought…

Birds of a feather

Raja Petra Kamarudin25 years or so ago, I engaged Mustafa Ali, the Terengganu State Commissioner for the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), in a debate on how the party should promote itself amongst the…

They dared to be different

Raja Petra KamarudinThe government has banned a couple of Kassim Ahmad’s books, as they have been doing all these years where hundreds, if not thousands, of books have been banned because of its…

Living life in the fast lane

Raja Petra KamarudinPushing the envelope and living life in the fast lane has always turned me on, even at a very tender age. Different strokes for different folks, they always say. I don’t know…

Better the devil one knows

By Din Merican and edited by Raja Petra KamarudinA proud Malay is naturally offended by the snide and damning remarks made about his own kind or about Umno, which is perceived as championing the Malay…

Three scenes in one act

Raja Petra KamarudinAct One Scene One (phone conversation)Hello. Raja Petra?Yes.ASP Aibee Abdul Ghani here. Can you come to Bukit Aman? We would like to talk to you about some articles you wrote on…

Lembu punya susu, sapi dapat nama

Raja Petra KamarudinThe Malays have a saying: lembu punya susu, sapi dapat nama -- which means someone else being credit for your (positive) efforts. I suppose the reverse can also apply; someone else…

It takes a thief to catch a thief

Raja Petra KamarudinYes, last week has certainly been an eventful week for Malaysia. Not only was Sothinathan, the Secretary-General of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), suspended from his…

The opposition should focus on Sabah

Raja Petra KamarudinOn Saturday, 21 June 2003, I wrote an article called ‘Keadilan/DAP should lead in Selangor, Perak, Penang and Pahang; PAS in the four ‘Malay’ states’, which was published in the…