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.

FIVE years ago I gave a lecture titled “Healing the Malaysian Nation” to several different audiences. Asked coincidentally to deliver a lecture of the same name, I added “2.0” at the end.

Our vigilance and normalisation of mask-wearing is especially important given the recent uptick in local transmissions and the declaration of Kuching as a red zone again.

I SUSPECT it is a rare thing in any organisation for every member of staff, from the CEO to the company driver, to discuss and collectively shape its broad strategy.

A DOMESTIC weekend getaway to rehabilitate constitutions and provide fresh inspiration (incidentally in the parliamentary constituency of the fourth and seventh Prime Minister) unavoidably included much discussion about threats to the national constitution and the aspirations of particular individuals (especially those surrounding the eighth Prime Minister and those vying to be the ninth and 10th).

Lessons to be learnt from 222 young Malaysians debating on the economy and education.

The ‘unity’ asserted by our motto was a homage to federalism. Today, it also applies to unity across diverse communities in Malaysia. It is ironic then that our coat of arms has become a lightning rod of division.

LAST week I argued that improving our institutions should be according to our historical circumstances, laws and the desires of Malaysians, even though lessons should be taken from international best practices.

THE ongoing Black Lives Matter protests around the world have continued to fuel debate and introspection in politics, economics and culture. As a graduate of comparative politics and sociology, the phenomenon is making me revisit the many theories of government, institutional legitimacy and political philosophy that I read at the London School of Economics.