Last week, a junior of mine wrote to me how I should start writing serious analysis on education, religion and economics as I used to frequently, a few years back. Now, he complains, my blog is more a personal journal and news blog.
Over the weekend, a writer friend reminded me to keep on writing, and not letting politics overwhelm me. He also said I should keep a journal of the election campaign and the formation of the state government, as this would be very valuable historically.
I did try to jot down some thoughts on the country’s race-based politics a few days ago, but I couldn’t write that much before I got distracted or interrupted!
At the very least, my reading has picked up a bit after the lapse during campaigning and its aftermath. I’m still finishing the three books I was reading prior to elections. Last week, I was at Borders the Curve and bought two books: FA Hayek’s seminal work Road to Serfdom and Sudhir Venkatesh’s Gang Leader for a Day.
While Hayek’s work might need little introduction, Gang Leader for a Day is a real-life account of a Chicago sociology student’s experience in doing research in urban poverty in the city. As a result, he was held hostage by a gang. But that only spurred his interest to delve deeper into the gang culture in Chicago’s South Side.
I thought that sounded interesting, or maybe my mind was getting numbed by politics.
The other day I attended Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s luncheon for alumni of the Asian Renaissance project. He talked about the need to continue reading different books and exploring different ideas, not to get too bogged down by the routine of politics. Maybe I’ll learn how to balance it all – and get to watch Liverpool!
Well, at least I still update my blog!
try twitter!
April 15th, 2008 at 8:33 pmare you overwhelmed??? you better take care of your voters.pls reply email! tq yang berkhidmat.
ss7, kelana jaya.
April 15th, 2008 at 9:24 pmIs Venkatesh’s research the one featured in Freakonomics?
I know what you mean about having time to think about things to write. I don’t even have time to read these days – in the end I scheduled it in my diary!
April 15th, 2008 at 11:10 pmIdlan:
Yup, Venkatesh is the same sociologist.
Nik:
April 15th, 2008 at 11:55 pmGood that you’re reading Hayek. :p
Man, I really do hope that you maintain an intellectual character outside of your immediate political environs. I’m so bored with politicians who know nothing much else outside of politicky stuff.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:06 amhehe people are expecting too much from you! but i think you’ll handle the demands of your new life well. and yes i am so glad you still blog
April 16th, 2008 at 2:21 amhhmm, regarding the idea of toppling the current federal gov, i think by hook or by crook, it has to be done.really hope the agenda becomes reality
if not, in the next coming election, i would say rakyat will loss confidence firstly in anwar ibrahim and secondly, the pakatan rakyat resulting in a major defeat.
then, BN thru SPR/EC will be more aggressive in rigging the election process; more phantom voters, abolish the ink usage etc.
about the ink, what happen to the four people said to be reason behind the ink issue? what action from police?
if the ink is produced in india and election commision of india still use the ink, how can the usage of it be cancelled in malaysia where only 4 people brought the ink into malaysia? in contrast, quite a number of india citizens (the ink factory’s workers, cronies) are capable of buying the inedible ink but yet, it is still be used in the election.
pakatan rakyat cannot be relaxing over the election ragging matter despite winning 5 states already. better work now until the next election to settle the serious problems.
April 16th, 2008 at 9:05 amEn Nazmi
Any leadership program for those kids in seri setia?…There are a lot of potential in that area.
Nice also to see those flats getting fresh coat of paint.
April 16th, 2008 at 4:56 pmDear Freedom Fighters, both Online & Offline…
I have been supporting the boycott the newspapers initiative for sometime & I have done my push & pull marketing rather we’ll around my circle of family, friends & contacts. A few have stopped buying, some don’t already. A lot whom still want to purchase the papers, I passed on the info – which was the worst in all mediums & urged them to switch to the least worst. For English papers, the worst was the The Star (Spinning & BN coverage). Data can be found on the People’s Parliament.
Now, the story. I have noticed that some, are still purchasing the newspapers, especially “The Star” every now & then, especially on Saturdays for… “The Recruitment Section!”
So, I urge all those whom support this cause to pass the word. Only get your recruitment information online. Do not purchase the msm & even browse through it.
PR & others (mid-long term effort), get more beginner computer classes up. Teaching people to use the comp, get the news, browse & apply for jobs, using the email, etc. Keep the fees very low, give it free to the very poor, catch the young, educate! PR, set up a IT centre in the poor areas, with news printed out & pasted there regularly. Put up a few PCs with internet connections for the poor to share & use for free during office hours.
Check out MT article “My Version of the Truth” by RPK, for some related info.
Thanks, please pass the word!
April 17th, 2008 at 4:16 amyou blog what ever you want. That is the whole idea of blogging.
My new entry
Najib tersenyum lebar, Muhyidin semakin yakin at
April 17th, 2008 at 3:23 pmhttp://mystance.wordpress.com
You know what… blogging is exactly THAT — a respite. Dan kalau nak baca analysis politik, there are already bundles of that in the ‘sphere.
Or perhaps, you should buka ANOTHER blog apart from this — the ‘analysis’ blog, should you feel the obligation to whet some of your readers’ appetite, that is. [like, got time to maintain two blogs, meh... YB Nik? ;-D ]
i personally think it’s good to be a ‘layman’ rather than being too academician — especially now that you’re serving the people. kasi rakyat rasa ‘dekat’ dengan their chosen Yang Berkhidmat bila baca bingkisan di sini. Macam Yang Berkhidmat Abg Zul Noordin’s blog — though the sentences in his entries can be a wee bit too much of ‘bahasa bercakap’ siap dengan telo Perak & Kedah lagi and some may not find it favourable, but bila kebanyakan rakyat lain baca his blogs, they feel ‘closer’ gitu. Sempoi gila. Really makes him sound very ‘approachable’.
well, my two cents worth
hey i think i owe your blog BIG TIME. from my Motigo, i find that people dropped-by my blog mainly because of YOUR blog (and Abg Zul Noordin’s). kak lin belanja doa, buleh??
all the best, ‘dik.
April 21st, 2008 at 1:31 pm