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Author: James Alexander Ritchie

The King, Frankie and I

The difference between literature and journalism is that journalism is unreadable and literature is not read. — Oscar Wilde, Irish poet and playwright In 1977, I was sent from Kuala Lumpur to Seremban to become the staff correspondent for New Straits Times. It must have been NST adviser Tan Sri

Strangers in the forests

The supernatural is ubiquitous in children’s entertainment, from Grimm and Hans Andersen to Disney and ‘Harry Potter’. — Richard Dawkins, English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author We are all born storytellers, but some tell the story much better than others. So it was interesting when I discovered a book in

Down memory lane with Frank and Ema

Memory… is the diary that we all carry about with us. — Oscar Wilde, Irish poet and playwright When I was in Upper Six, I spent most of my time revelling in the sports field, and playing rugby at the Song Kheng Hai field. I walked or jogged to St

Celebrating the magical 70

Wisdom doesn’t automatically come with old age. Nothing does — except wrinkles. It’s true, some wines improve with age. But only if the grapes were good in the first place. — Abigail Van Buren, American advice columnist and radio show host If you’re turning 70, don’t fret because it’s not

Bukit Peninjau — a historic institution

Memory is the treasure house of the mind wherein the monuments thereof are kept and preserved. — Thomas Fuller, English historian When I first arrived in Kuching to head the New Straits Times office in Sarawak 40 years ago, I made it a point to visit a historical site that

Mourning loss of our police heroes

Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. — George Orwell, English novelist and journalist June 7, 1974 will go down as one of Malaysia’s saddest days when Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Hashim was

Writing Sarawak’s ‘Great Story’

Any fool can make history, but it takes a genius to write it. — Oscar Wilde, Irish poet and playwright If there is anyone who understands Sarawak’s history best, it is the late Tan Sri Adenan Satem. An avid reader, journalist and historian himself, the former chief minister praised academicians,

A blessing in disguise?

I think the extent to which I have any balance at all, any mental balance, is because of being a farm kid and being raised in those isolated rural areas.   – James Earl, American actor Jones It’s Labour Day and there is nothing to celebrate because many Malaysians are

A case of red tape or complacency?

Developing countries often have hypertrophied bureaucracies, requiring businesses to deal with enormous amounts of red tape. – James Surowiecki, American Journalist Last Friday I wrote in my column about the danger of being too coronavirus-centric that we have forgotten we have to watch out for other types of disease that

A time for reflection

The journey into self-love and self-acceptance must begin with self-examination… until you take the journey of self-reflection, it is almost impossible to grow or learn in life. – Iyanla Vanzant, American inspirational speaker, spiritual teacher and author Today is April 10, and we have spent the last 24 days in