Poskod Malaysia

Woot! One month into 2011. Poskod Malaysia will take a brief hiatus for CNY; see you folks in a bit!

• Local NGOs and political parties march on the Egyptian embassy in solidarity with the popular uprising against Hosni Mubarak. Marchers had “posters depicting the Egyptian leader with a Zionist symbol on his forehead.” (Malaysiakini) 
• Meanwhile, BN wins the Tenang by-election. Looks like we won’t have anti-government, pro-democracy uprisings like in Egypt or Tunisia anytime soon. (The Malaysian Insider)
• Heavy rains have caused flooding in Johor: 29,000 relocated so far; 2 dead. (The Star)
• PAS MP (and all-round cool dude) Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad admits that there’s no way his party will be able to establish an Islamic state in Malaysia. The political demographics just don’t allow it. (Free Malaysia Today)
• Malaysia receives 7 Somali pirates who were captured in a raid to free a hijacked oil tanker. They are facing prosecution. (Malaysiakini)
• After a Malaysian student was drugged and gang-raped in London, the Malaysian High Commission has advised students to be “vigilant and avoid getting caught in compromising situations”. (The Malaysian Insider)
• Why America is so afraid of the flowering of democracy in Egypt. (Salon)
• Amir Muhammad argues that Malaysian society has become more “multi-racist” than it was when Interlok was written. “The novel is innocent. It is we, as Malaysians, who have allowed ourselves to become guilty.” (Writing by Amir)
• Milton M Levine, the dude who invented the ant farm, has died. (New York Times)
• A bunch of artist/jokers tours the National Art Gallery’s Bakat Muda Sezaman 2010 exhibition — by commandeering one of the works for transport. “Looking at art in a piece of moving art — it doesn’t get artier than this.” (Arteri Malaysia)
• If the week is already stressing you out: a cute flash game of growing flowers. (Bobblebrook)
• List of the day: the 50 best blogs about the humanities. (Online Education Database)
• Draw A Dinosaur Day was on 30 January — but it’s still not too late! (Draw A Dinosaur Day)
• Solar-powered death ray: this homemade reflector array creates a point of light with the intensity of 5,000 suns! This thing can turn mud into lava. (YouTube)

(Image from Draw A Dinosaur Day)