Some of us may be excited about a ‘normal’ 2021 but best to remind ourselves to not squander the sacrifices made and continue to be careful.

A troubled year is coming to a close but bear in mind the importance of seizing the opportunity to change for the better and ensuring that the right lessons are instilled in the next generation.

Although Malaysia has improved its Budget transparency score, much still needs to improve.

For a small country historically dependent on trade, Malaysia needs to be part of free trade agreements for greater market access opportunities.

IT is a marvellous thing when words written at a nation’s birth are able to protect future generations of citizens.

EVIDENTLY, some readers of this column missed a notice in my byline a month ago, specifying that I would thenceforth appear fortnightly, rather than weekly. As such, I was not, as accused, deliberately avoiding writing about topics on many of my usual readers’ minds last week.

ACROSS social media, the level of anger among Malaysians directed towards the political class, seen to be a primary source of recent infections, has been trending.

But be mindful of risks that can cause far more damage than the pandemic already has.

IN Seremban on Aug 31 this year, there were no schoolchildren waving flags, no uniformed officers performing perfectly synchronised salutes, no platoons of rifle-spinning soldiers, no giant Jalur Gemilang held preciously yet tautly by trusted hands, no daredevil acrobatics through fiery hoops by special forces, no fleets of ambulances or fire trucks, no rumbling of PT-91M tanks with their crew turning as their turrets pass the royal dais, no spirited shouts of “kiri, kiri, kiri kanan kiri” from NGO leaders unused to military precision, no flag-bearing daredevils chosen more for their parachuting skills than their interest in vexillology, and no demonstrations of silat or silambam by fearless kids ready to use their skills against a real enemy of the nation.

I WROTE a support letter last week.

“POST-modernisation and new socio-culture” is an inexplicable title for any time of day, let alone at 8am.

The humorous and serious dimension of our relationship with food in a Covid-inflicted world.