Hashini Kavishtri Kannan

Pix for visual purposes. Image by wirestock on Freepik

The unshakeable grip of superstitions

MALAYSIANS are a strange breed when it comes to superstition. Rational? Maybe not. Malaysian? Absolutely. Walk down any street, visit a home or scroll through WhatsApp and you will see it everywhere.

My grandmother’s love was steady and unconditional, the kind of love you never question because it is woven so tightly into your being. – PIC COURTESY OF HASHINI KAVISHTRI KANNAN

When memory fades, love remains

MY grandmother still remembers me. For that, I am grateful. But each visit reminds me that she is no longer the same woman who once anchored my world.

She asks me, again and again, to take her back to her ...

View of the Singha Durbar office complex that houses the Prime Minister’s office and other ministries burnt, following Monday’s deadly anti-corruption protests triggered by a social media ban, which was later lifted, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Pix for visual purposes. Reuterspix

In unity we find our calm

THIS week, the news has been a relentless drumbeat of unrest. In Gaza, bombs are once again raining down, reducing homes to rubble and leaving lives tattered and torn. In Nepal, thousands flood the streets ...

Horror movies are not just about the ghosts; they are about the people - the way we bond over fear, clutching each other’s arms in the cinema, laughing nervously afterwards about how we all screamed at the same time. – AFPPIC

The delicious fear that keeps us alive

THERE is something wonderfully ridiculous about paying good money to be terrified.

We avoid fear in real life – checking the back seats of our cars, pretending we did not hear that creak upstairs but ...

The Jalur Gemilang has always been part of our lives. But now, it feels like the flag has turned into a test. – ADIB RAWI YAHYA/ THESUN

When pride feels like pressure

AUGUST usually paints Malaysia in stripes and stars. Cars sprout mini Jalur Gemilangs like festive feelers, shopfronts glow with patriotic bunting and offices quietly compete to see whose entrance looks ...

The cruelty we tolerate in schools today will become the cruelty we live with as a society tomorrow. – theSunpix

Normalising cruelty at our own peril

WHEN I was in school, bullying was there – the name-calling, the pushing in corridors, the whispered jokes about my looks or background. I still carry those memories, though I rarely speak of them.

But ...

The truth is, Malaysia does not need more big-screen heroes; we need coolies of the heart – people willing to do the heavy lifting of empathy, community and courage. – theSunpix

Devas who keep Malaysia going

TWO days ago, superstar Rajinikanth walked back into our cinemas, not just to entertain, but to remind us why we have loved him for decades.

In Coolie, he teams up with director Lokesh Kanagaraj to deliver ...

Durian isn’t just food; it is nostalgia, identity and the shared joy of prying open a fruit that has been passed down through generations. – BERNAMA

A thorny joy: Holding on to the taste of home

YOU can smell it before you see it. That thick, heady aroma curling through the air signals one thing: durian season is back. For many Malaysians, it is more than just a fruit; it is a feeling. A yearly ...

Pix for representational purpose only - BERNAMApix

Strategic plan to drive growth in northern border area

PUTRAJAYA: The federal government is targeting RM367.8 billion in investments and over 412,000 job opportunities through the Strategic Development Plan for the Northern Corridor Economic Region 2024-2030, ...

Pix for representational purposes - Amirul Syafiq/theSun

Middle class on paper, drowning in reality

MALAYSIA’S M40 is quietly slipping – under the weight of rising costs, overlooked needs and outdated assumptions.

While prices are climbing and salaries are stagnant, public policy still treats the middle ...