COMMENT | The Mandela of Malayan journalism
Modified2:51 am
-
COMMENT | More than anyone else in Malaysia and Singapore, Said Zahari’s name must surely be immortalised as symbolising the struggle for press freedom. The defining moment was, of course, the
Utusan Melayu strike of 1961, when he led his colleagues to resist the newspaper’s takeover by interests tied to Umno, the ruling party then and now.
The strike was remarkable for many reasons; two deserve special mention. First, it involved Malay workers unlike most labour struggles historically associated with ethnic Chinese and Indian workers.
Second, the strike was not primarily over workers’ welfare, but instead tried to resist the takeover and transformation of the previously independent Malay-language newspaper into a ruling party tool.
One flag, one life: American artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg created her art installation titled In America, How Could This Happen in Washington in remembrance of those who have died of Covid-19 in the United States. AP
MEMORIALS are not just static pieces of art, they also hold a deeper meaning by representing community memory and illustrating our past.
They give us a sense of place, a sense of location and a sense of context, says Eddin Khoo, a writer and founder-director of cultural organisation Pusaka.
“They serve to psychologically tell us that we have a past. The past essentially gives meaning to our environment and to ourselves. When you have a historical vacuum you are almost floating as a person, as a community and nation, ” he says.