Screenshots

August, the month of Merdeka, is going to be a very busy month for me. A month of engagement which I want to cement into the building of enduring relationships.

BLOG

Last Sunday, July 27, I made a debut on RTM1 talk show BLOG with Dato' Chamil Wariya as the host. I wanted the audience to understand that there is this Chinaman-looking Malaysian who speaks in a language that stands for Bangsa Malaysia. Thank you Minister Shabery Cheek for the 20 minutes of fame.

TECHNOLOGY

Tomorrow, I will fly off to Hong Kong as a guest of LG Electronics to witness the signing of a partnership on technical audio advisory, between the South Korean chaebol and Mark Levinson, the living legend of high-end audio industry. This will be my eighth engagement with LG Electronics over the last three years. The chaebol has allowed to come this close to understand why they have become so big in the global market.

PERFORMING ARTS

August 7 & 8, I will be a guest of OCBC Singapore Theatre Festival, for the premiere in conjunction with National Day for The Swordfish, Then The Concubine written by a Penangite Kee Thuan Chye, and directed by Wild Rice artistic director Ivan Heng.

If you have read and seen him in the playwright and theatre circuits, you will come across Kee as a must-know for writing political satires.

In 1984 Here And Now (1985), he transplanted George Orwell's dystopia to a Malaysian situation and took on issues such as racial discrimination and Big Brotherism.

In 1994's We Could **** You Mr Birch, he delved into colonial history to revisit the assassination of the first British Resident James W.W. Birch.

This new play, The Swordfish, Then The Concubine, is written in the same politically charged vein. He draws on two legends about Singapore featured in the Sejarah Melayu, a Malay historical text which chronicles the history of the Malay Peninsula.

The first tale is about a boy who defends Singapore from attacking swordfish and the second is about a prince who executes his concubine on trumped-up charges of infidelity. Both stories come together in the play, which explores the abuse of power and women, and hypocrisy.

PERMATANG PAUH & HANG NADIM

Talk of the swordfish, or Ikan Todak in Malay -- a word I used in the last sitting of the Parliament -- I don't think Malaysia's Raja Singapura can easily find a remedy for the current malaise. Even the SIL is seen too old to be Hang Nadim.

When I get back home on August 8, it will be straight into campaigning in Permatang Pauh.

It's a time to see if Anwar Ibrahim ultimately gets to become Malaysia's Prime Minister. Anwar is now against all odds. But fight on he will. Lawan Tetap Lawan.

NEW ECONOMIC POLICY

August 16, I will adjourn to Kuala Lumpur to be a panel speaker in the a symposium theme: "NEB: Dari Perspektif Pembinaan Negara & Bangsa". It's organised Persatuan Bekas Pelajar MRSM Malaysia (ANSARA).

Thank you, Dato' Mukhriz Mahathir, for giving me this opportunity to share my views.