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Alwyn Lau
Bookworm. Contrarian. Proud Malaysian. Or thereabouts. Tweets at @alwyn_lau
More from Alwyn Lau
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Will the ‘Joker’ movie inspire violent crime?
OCTOBER 14 — Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for the movie Joker. Why is ‘Joker’ so controversial? It’s not often you hear of cinemas banning a major...
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Mental health awareness: Four confessions of a care-giver
OCTOBER 7 — From news reports, the rate of people suffering from mental health issues in Malaysia is said to be rising every year. For schizophrenia alone, the Health Ministry...
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Why protests must always remain non-violent #HongKong
OCTOBER 4 — “Non-violence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.” — Martin Luther King...
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Chinese wedding dinner time vs Malaysian time
SEPTEMBER 16 — Last week I attended the wedding dinner of a good friend. As I was (marginally) a part of the planning committee, I noticed that the agenda prepared by the couple...
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Two wrong reasons to be a lecturer
SEPTEMBER 9 — Recently, a friend of mine (with about 20 years’ experience in banks) told me he wanted to quit and join one of the local private colleges as a lecturer. When I...
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The paranoia over Christian evangelism in Malaysia
SEPTEMBER 2 — The claim by Ikatan Muslim Malaysia (Isma) recently that there is some drive to “evangelise” Putrajaya is, frankly, amazing. It’s incredible not...
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‘Beg-packers’ are the least of Malaysia’s problems
AUGUST 19 — I could be wrong, but I’ve been noticing a minor (albeit growing) backlash against “beg-packers” i.e. foreign tourists (usually Caucasian) who go around...
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The 12 paradoxes of Malaysian education
JULY 29 — About half a dozen years ago, I published an article on 10 paradoxes in our education system. In light of the upcoming PT3 and SPM examinations, I thought I would...
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Durians are no laughing matter
JULY 22 — You know why South-east Asia never produced an Isaac Newton? Because all these world-changing hopefuls were sitting under durian trees. The truth must have...
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A look at today’s ‘toreh diri’ phenomenon
JULY 9 — I asked the Form 5 kids the Malay term for “self-cutting.” Immediately a few of them told me it was “toreh diri.” Macam menoreh getah, bang! That was both cute...
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Is sexual fidelity necessary for public office?
JUNE 17 — The recent sex video scandal has resurrected the spectre of “gutter politics” (or maybe it’s just proven that the gutter never left us) and exposed the factions...
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It needn’t always be about ‘SOP’ #LatheefaKoya
JUNE 10 — You’re the hiring manager of a certain department. There’s this person you’ve worked with over many years from a previous organisation. You trust him. Both of...
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Tottenham Hotspur: The pain and the promise
JUNE 4 — Sometimes I wish I could find a lamp in some desert cave, rub it and meet a genie who could either a) ensure Tottenham win the English Quadruple — the Premier League...
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‘Avengers: Endgame’ and Malaysia’s war against spoilers
APRIL 29 — Humanity this week has been divided between those who have watched Avengers: Endgame, and those who haven’t. The first group, since Wednesday, has begun to behave...
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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...