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Alwyn Lau
Bookworm. Contrarian. Proud Malaysian. Or thereabouts. Tweets at @alwyn_lau
More from Alwyn Lau
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Online/public shaming and how it kills community
JANUARY 14 — “We are defining the boundaries of normality by tearing apart everyone outside of it.” — Jon Ronson, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed It was painful reading....
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If smokers cared more, maybe there wouldn’t be a ban against smoking
JANUARY 7 — I know, I know. The smoking ban at eateries has a puff load of problems. Many restaurant patrons-cum-smokers hail from the B40 class; there are already two dozen-ish...
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‘Dakwah’: From missions to missional?
DECEMBER 31 — First, whatever I say here, it’s clear that Minister of Education Maszlee Malik should have chosen a phrase other than medan dakwah when urging religious...
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Two surprising things about the 3 Wise Men of Christmas
DECEMBER 24 — So it’s Christmas. The time when malls fill their atriums and centre courts with over-sized bells and trees from another altitude (or is it latitude?). There’s...
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Some Malaysians never grow up #antiICERDrally
DECEMBER 10 — In Paul Beatty’s Man Booker Prize-winning novel, The Sellout, the protagonist reinstates segregation in a small town as a way of reinvigorating his black...
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Rethinking dual canteens and ‘segregation’
DECEMBER 3 — The recent controversy over the issue of “segregated” canteens found in six Malacca schools does make one wonder if Malaysians need to take a chill pill for...
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John Chau: Reckless intruder or bold martyr?
NOVEMBER 26 ― The death of American missionary John Allen Chau, who was killed by the tribal people of the Sentinel Islands while attempting to share with them the Christian...
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‘A promise is a promise’? Pakatan and PTPTN
NOVEMBER 19 — Imagine if someone goes into a restaurant, eats a large meal, walks out without paying, then gets self-righteously upset when the restaurant owner says, “Sorry,...
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Time to rethink the film-rating criteria?
NOVEMBER 12 — What does Annabelle: Creation and The Nun have in common, other than the fact that they’re both part of the Conjuring universe (see Note...
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Do we treat our children like washing machines?
NOVEMBER 5 ― Turn the power on. Put the clothes in. Add some detergent and softener. Select the appropriate wash cycle. Press Start. After some time (usually less than an hour)...
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Could marriage be the best way to end baby-dumping?
OCTOBER 29 — Babies abandoned inside garbage bins or thrown into rivers and drains. Foetuses left in toilets, chicken coops, out in the open or, sigh, even buried. Baby dumping...
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If education isn't 'useless' now, it's useless in the future
OCTOBER 22 ― Is education the most powerful weapon we have to change the world? Sure, but not if it’s too “useful.” You see how rich people spend money on useless and...
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'Bullshit jobs' ― a commonplace phenomenon?
OCTOBER 15 ― I once heard a manager from another department complaining that one of her staff is always looking at her WhatsApp messages; the manager claimed the individual in...
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Why schools must remove those ‘30 days to SPM’ signboards
OCTOBER 8 — Many years ago I was invited to a school in the Subang Jaya area to give a talk about stress management to about a hundred or so SPM students. As is usually the...
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How ideology trumps information
OCTOBER 1 — One of my friends once told me that he would only believe in God if he received a million ringgit, a beautiful wife, a bungalow, etc. At this point, my other friend...