The Road to Malaysia

Despite the title, this isn’t a Bob Hope obituary. In fact it’s a continuation of the Asian theme initiated with the previous post. I’ve just posted on the NTU Law School website a paper recently presented by NTU’s Professor Jesse Wu in Malaysia. It was the 4th Professor Ahmad Ibrahim Memorial Lecture delivered at Renaissance Hotel, Kuala Lumpur on 12 July 2003, sponsored by International Islamic University Malaysia.

The title of Jesse’s paper is Sacrificing Personal Freedom in the Name of National Security. It examines recent political and legislative responses in the West to national security threats in the wake of September 11, and compares them with Malaysia’s long-term responses to communist insurgency and other real and claimed threats. It’s certainly worth taking the time to read IMO.

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Dave Ricardo
Dave Ricardo
2025 years ago

Fresh from defending the hapless Alison Broinowski, I will swing to the right and defend the good ‘ol US of A.

It has been alleged many that the Dubya Administration has been captured by fundamentalist Christians, and that the response to 9/11 has been orchestrated by them – John Ashcroft, for one. It’s what you’d expect, runs the argument, in a country where 60% of the population believes in creationism.

It may or may not true that the White House is run by the Southern Baptists and Methodists. But does anyone see the irony that, in this allegedly fundamentalist Christian country, a gay bishop has just been appointed by the Episcopalian Church? (The smear campaign run by his opponents lasted all of 24 hours.)

I don’t see any gay bishops being apponited in apparently more cosmopolitan countries like France and Germany.

Which just goes to show you’ve got to distinguish between the country and the government that is running it at any point in time.

Ken Parish
Ken Parish
2025 years ago

Dave,

I’m not arguing with your sentiments. I’m just not sure what they’ve got to do with the subject of the post.

Dave Ricardo
Dave Ricardo
2025 years ago

Ken

they don’t have anything to do with the subject of the post. Think of them as post structuralist blogging.