Author: Edmund Lee

R-E-S-P-E-C-T – If you didn’t earn it, you don’t deserve it

The recent and still ongoing furore over the academic qualifications of Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Marzuki Yahya should serve as a good example for all our leaders that respect can only be achieved in one way – it must be EARNED. Unfortunate as it may be, Marzuki’s case is not

From school to country, an on-going journey …

I remember singing the school anthem with gusto during our Monday school assemblies. Sons of St. Joseph’s, a voice is resounding, Promptly respond to your duty’s sweet call, Answer you all for the trumpet is sounding, Your Mater’s proclaiming her watchword to all. Chorus: Forward, her children dear, Ever with

Doing the thing right, doing the right thing?

The International Paralympic Committee  (IPC) recently stripped Malaysia of its rights to host the World Para Swimming World Championships this year for its refusal to grant Israeli athletes visas to enter the country. Expressing its disappointment and stating that “politics and sports are never a good mix”, the IPC said

We will swim in sports, not sink in politics

Sarawak’s Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah made a timely statement telling off the squabbling sides not to play politics in sports. It resonated with many that sports and politics should not mix. While he was referring to swimming, in relation to Sarawak

The rule of law

There is an old Chinese saying which goes like this, Shang liang bu zheng xia liang wai which when literally translated, means,  “If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked”. It denotes that subordinates imitate their superiors’ vices. In short, a dishonest and corrupt leader

Kuching can be better – it’s in our hands

I believe it’s time we Kuchingites “grow up” – if we want to embrace city life, we need to be collectively responsible for its well-being too. The nationwide smoking ban was supposed to come into effect on January 1, 2019. However, Sarawak has put off implementing the ban until it

Walk the talk, please

We need patriots, not parrots. As I am writing this article, an online petition is being circulated, seeking the removal of Dr Maszlee Malik as our Education Minister. The petition was started by the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS). Days earlier, the Association of Churches Sarawak (ACS) had also voiced

The corrupt thought they can go unpunished

At one time, Tun Mahathir had openly said that if he could shoot corrupt leaders like what China did, he’d gladly do so. A friend in a reputable audit firm told of how ex-premier Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his aides applied undue pressure on audit and other watchdog

S’wak – a round peg in a square hole?

There’s a saying that oil and water do not mix. Apply this saying to Sarawak’s position in the ‘Federation of Malaysia’ and it’s obvious that there are undeniable and glaring differences between Sarawak and Malaya – from the demographic, socio-economic and even religious perspectives. The Federation of Malaysia was largely an

Hey! Let’s do it our way – the S’wak way

Unity in Diversity – so ran our slogan as one of the model states in Malaysia for racial and religious harmony. Sarawak – a place like no other where atheists, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Hindus can come together and have a decent meal at most kopitiams without looking over our