Posted in History & heritage on August 30th, 2010 2 Comments »
Another question: when was Malaysia formed? Bonus question: how old was Malaysia on August 31, 1962? One last question: how old will Malaysia be on August 31, 2010?
Posted in History & heritage, Liberty on July 28th, 2010 No Comments »
There was a debate in Australia last year regarding adoption of its own bill of rights. Yes, as shocking as it first sounded to a foreigner like me, Australia does not have its own bill of rights. Although the Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts insisted several times that he does not intend [...]
Posted in Disaster & Security, History & heritage, Photography on February 3rd, 2010 1 Comment »
I have always loved war memorials. I have been to the Tugu Negara in Kuala Lumpur multiple of times. When I was in Washington D.C. for a very short stay, I visited the war memorials there. Likewise in Sydney and Melbourne. The reason for my love for war memorials is not because that I glorify [...]
Posted in History & heritage, Liberty on November 9th, 2009 No Comments »
Here is to liberty. Forgive, but never forget the tyranny of communism and socialism.
Posted in ASEAN, History & heritage, Society on August 29th, 2009 3 Comments »
I do feel that in many cases, general Malaysians do have unfair perception of Indonesia as well as have acted unfairly against far too many Indonesians living in Malaysia. But the current sentiment in Indonesia is bordering a ridiculous level. Silly jingoism is playing out in Indonesia. In the Jakarta Globe, a state recording executive claims [...]
Posted in History & heritage on August 13th, 2009 No Comments »
I just want to share a magnificient website regarding the history of the University of Michigan. It is at UM History. Have a go at it.
Posted in History & heritage, Society on June 5th, 2009 No Comments »
Members of the older generations generally adopt a paternalistic attitude towards the younger generations when discussing the history of this country. It is true that not all of them assume that attitude but come Aug 31 and without fail, there is no escape from hearing the same old lament, especially in the media. Not to [...]
Posted in History & heritage, Liberty, Politics & government on May 4th, 2009 1 Comment »
On this day 30 years ago, Margaret Thatcher became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and a beacon to the whole wide world. And in 1990 on her last day as PM: Thank you Madam for everything.
Posted in Books & printed materials, History & heritage, Liberty, Society on April 1st, 2009 No Comments »
I now understand a step in the history of evolution of secularism. Though I think it is ultimately irrelevant to why I subscribe to secularism, it nevertheless enlightening to see how the school of thought evolved. Ethics is the work that provided the energy for a quantum leap in the area. Baruch Spinoza completed Ethics [...]
Posted in Entertainment, History & heritage, Society on March 9th, 2009 No Comments »
The name is Hafiz Noor Shams. I am a libertarian, a fellow at the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs and a columnist at The Malaysian Insider. For more about me, go here.