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Alwyn Lau
Bookworm. Contrarian. Proud Malaysian. Or thereabouts. Tweets at @alwyn_lau
More from Alwyn Lau
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Malaysia is no utopia and that's great
SEPTEMBER 17 — Think back to every movie that portrays an utopia or the promise of one. Hunger Games, Avengers: Infinity War, The Island, Demolition Man (yes, I’m...
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Constructive paranoia and why we need it
SEPTEMBER 10 — “You will never fully convince someone that he is wrong; only reality can.” — Nicholas Taleb I have a relative who, if forced to make an unexpected stop...
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God helps those who help themselves?
SEPTEMBER 3 — It has long been Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s axiom that God “helps those who help themselves.” The main idea, of course, is to encourage people...
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Can’t abolish exams before abolishing the ‘examination mindset’
AUGUST 27 — The on-going debate about whether our country should abolish examinations for Years 1-3 (but why only these years?) needs to first address the nature of assessment...
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Schizophrenia 101 and the absolute need for compassion
AUGUST 20 — A few years ago, the Health Ministry reported that one in a hundred Malaysians suffer from schizophrenia. That’s a relatively high number, in my opinion, but many...
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How ‘The First Purge’ mirrors the Sedition Act
AUGUST 13 — I caught The First Purge the other day... it’s the latest in the series and I have watched all the others. Without a doubt, it’s one of the great...
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The minority rule and why extremism persists in Malaysia
AUGUST 6 — “The ensemble may behave in ways not predicted by its components. A small minority, say 3-4 per cent of the total population, can cause the entire population to...
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Malaysians and their addiction to smartphones
JULY 30 — It was recently reported that Malaysia has the highest percentage of smartphone (or smart-gadget) addicts i.e. almost two-thirds of our population couldn’t live...
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#BlackSchoolShoes: It’s kind of a big deal
JULY 23 — One of the first things that freshmen in college notice is that the class students do not stand up and greet the lecturer when he or she walks in. There’s none of...
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How the Thai cave rescue mirrors consumerist ideology
JULY 16 — The good has no existence outside of the barriers we erect around realising it. — Todd McGowan It’s no longer controversial to suggest that people love their...
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Child marriages, private morality and public justice
JULY 9 — The on-going controversy over the marriage of an 11-year-old girl to a 41-year-old man was given more fuel recently when Kelantan deputy mentri besar Datuk Mohd...
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Trump and Mahathir: Both masters of the long game?
JUNE 28 ― I once witnessed a masterclass in “negotiating” displayed by a 12-year old. He asked his parents if the family could visit Singapore during the holidays. He...
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Israel, Hamas and the UN General Assembly
JUNE 20 — Last week the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted yet another resolution condemning Israel. This time it was for her use of excessive force against...
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The silly hue and cry over unequal MP allocations
JUNE 11 — There was an outcry last week because the Federal government announced that Pakatan Harapan (PH) MPs will receive RM500,000 whereas Opposition MPs get only a fifth of...
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Ireland’s abortion referendum: Should Malaysia pay (more) attention?
JUNE 4 — After almost a month of fast and furious election/political news from Malaysia, I think it may help to turn our eyes overseas for a bit. While I believe it’s...