AS this new year shuffles in – and as with every new year that comes around – I feel a bit of despair and a mountain of hope, all at the same time.

AS 2023 draws to a close, many of us are no doubt reflecting on what happened this year in our lives, perhaps seeing some resolution, maybe even making plans for 2024.

RECENTLY, at a forum organised by a news portal, one of the panel­lists, a veteran editor from that portal, gave Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim a grade of D- in evaluating his first year as PM. Before that, former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin gave Anwar a B-.

AS empathetic people everywhere – including in Malaysia – reel from the devastating impact of the Israel-Hamas war, a letter from the Mufti of Singapore shines a light on the path to the truest form of spiritual understanding. Dr Nazirudin Mohd Nasir wrote to the republic’s Chief Rabbi, Mordechai Abergel, on Oct 13, following the outbreak of hostilities on Oct 7.

TWO things that happened last week prompted this column’s subject matter today.

AT a recent forum on unity and harmony in Malaysia held at my university in collaboration with the National Unity Department, I made a statement that came as a surprise to many including the other panellists present.

A NEW semester has begun in most public universities, so in today’s column, I would like to share my educational experiences with new students streaming into their campus life stage of adulthood.

A FEW weeks ago, I was invited by a local private university to deliver the keynote speech in a scientific conference.

EVER since the unity government was formed in November 2022, it seems that it can never do anything right. This observation is not from the Opposition coalition, mind you. This comes from ordinary Malaysians airing their views in columns and comments.

The six state elections revealed a nation still deeply divided and in need of a new narrative.

It does not take a university education or many years of studying scriptures to understand that kindness begets kindness.

WHEN I was working at a public university in my younger years before the 21st century arrived, I heard two phrases from the university’s management that I thought destroyed the integrity of universities in Malaysia: “world class” and “ranking”.