Listen! Two and Two Make Five

Fools rush in where wise men fear to tread. I’ve always been highly cautious about what I write despite hiding behind the veil of the web, particularly when it comes to criticism. Perhaps it’s fear – fear of getting into trouble, of offending people, of exhibiting profound stupidity because of my limited knowledge. I wrote […]

Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta

Hi. My name is Yi Wen. In a year, I spend 9 months in Kuala Lumpur but I am not from here. I come from a small city up north called Ipoh. Ipoh folks who stay in KL complain about KL; traffic jam, the food not as good, the food too expensive, traffic jam… KL […]

You, Our Unelected Mayor. We, the Uncivic-conscious Citizens.

Here in Malaysia, you’d be a minority if you cared about cleanliness. Because even the city council doesn’t seem to care. Ipoh used to be the cleanest city in the country. Unfortunately, we didn’t drop just a rung below the top Kuching. Over the years, we fell down the ladder to be precise. Early this […]

Pettifoggery Over ‘Activism’ and the Dilemma to Stay or Leave

Rainbows Leave Skeletons Stay A somewhat surrealist drawing on the ‘brain drain’. (I was never good at colouring in school!) One doesn’t have to refer to stats to know that the efflux of Malaysia’s young brains to other countries is increasing exponentially. Just ask a youth two questions: Where do you want to stay/work when […]

The Un-Chinese: A Banana Speaks

Dinner will only be a 90 cent bun because today you didn’t study hard enough, Yi Wen. You’re only having dinner when you get back at 11.30 pm because you couldn’t finish even one essay. What a failure. I’m a self-punishing psychotic. Even after the strenous eight months, I painted for four days straight, stopping […]