ONE of my most memorable overseas trips – “missions” they still call it – while working at the World Bank in Washington DC 15 years ago was back home to Malaysia.

IT is always a pleasure to address members of our armed forces, an institution about which many Malaysians have misconceptions.

AS the movement control order eases throughout the country, with promisingly stable reductions in daily Covid-19 cases and much optimism amidst our inoculation drive (apart from anti-vaxxers and sceptics), everyday life is beginning to resemble the “old normal”.

AT UKEC’s 4th Malaysian Student Leaders’ Summit (MSLS) in 2010, I spoke on empowering youth and lowering the voting age to 18. That has now been achieved through an Act of Parliament, though apparently some wish to undo that unanimous parliamentary decision.

VISITING a new country brings a degree of caution: regardless of how much research you do beforehand, nothing really prepares you for the actual sounds, sights and smells that await, ready to overturn assumptions. It’s particularly disorienting if a youthful imagination has taken hold before arriving: when I first visited London as a child, I was expecting to see streets paved with gold, so taken was I by the story of Dick Whittington and his cat.

IN 1851 the Great Exhibition was held in London. Organised by Prince Albert, it provided a platform for nations to show off their newest inventions, sparking creativity and ultimately fuelling scientific progress and economic growth. Over the years, these World Fairs evolved, and now come under the ambit of the Bureau international des expositions, organised into “World Expos” and “Specialised Expos”.

I WAS 18 when I began my first year at university in London, and a few months later there was a UK general election.

With the recent local elections approved, perhaps the state can lead the way in restoring centuries-old traditions of rule of law after periods of turbulence and erosion.

INVITATIONS to speak at various events have resumed in earnest after Ramadan. I am sometimes slightly puzzled by some of the requests that I receive, including on topics I know little about, so I always try and understand from the organisers how they think my words can benefit those who will be present, lest I fall into a bout of impostor syndrome.

I HAVE written enthusiastically about Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Yusof, Election Commission Chairman Azhar Harun, Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, Attorney General Tommy Thomas and Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Hamid Bador as they set out to do these important jobs.

TOWARDS the end of Ramadan, there were different views expressed about the permissibility of Muslims breaking fast in buildings in (or near) non-Muslim places of worship, about Muslims breaking fast with food cooked and distributed by non-Muslims, and about a supposed general trend of events that include people of different faiths gaining in popularity that might “threaten” the faith of Muslims.

AS in previous years, this Ramadan began with time-honoured traditions.