Loading...
Alwyn Lau
Bookworm. Contrarian. Proud Malaysian. Or thereabouts. Tweets at @alwyn_lau
More from Alwyn Lau
-
On Judas: Rethinking history’s No. 1 traitor
APRIL 15 — Over the next few days, Christians in Malaysia celebrate what’s called Holy Week in the Christian calendar. This period commemorates Jesus’ final week spent in...
-
Why anti-Grab taxi drivers get no sympathy
MARCH 11 — Try this one day. Dress like a tourist. Pretend you don’t speak Malay. Carry a few shopping bags. Hang out at the entrance Pavilion. Then pretend to want to...
-
The priority skill our kids need to learn: Meditation
MARCH 4 — During the Tham Luang cave rescue last year, the 12 kids and their coach were trapped for more than a week before they were found by British divers. ...
-
Liam Neeson against virtue-signalling
FEBRUARY 11 — Irish actor Liam Neeson’s recent confession to having murderous intentions towards black people (upon learning about his friend being raped) had predictably...
-
Why ‘Chinese (or Indian or Malay) only’ rooms for rent aren’t racist
FEBRUARY 4 — A landlord puts out a sign as follows: “ROOM FOR RENT: MALAYSIAN CHINESE STUDENT ONLY”. Is that automatically and necessarily racist? Think about it....
-
Pakatan’s Cameron Highlands defeat not as bad as it looks
JANUARY 28 — I’ve lost count of the number of tweets I’ve seen declaring (or insinuating) that Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) defeat at the recently concluded Cameron Highlands...
-
Learning should be strength-based (convex), not stress-filled (concave)
JANUARY 21 — A new school year recently started. If the status quo persists, a small batch of learners will excel beyond all others, and another (hopefully very) small...
-
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....
-
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...
-
‘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...
-
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...
-
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...
-
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...
-
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...
-
‘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,...