Dissent
The newsletter
April 2014
Interviews featured
Abang Dzulqarnaen
Murad Jayah
Editorial Note
‘Dissent’ unofficially started in 2013, and it was all very last minute. Essentially,
some art lecturers and students at Monash Malaysia wanted a forum where current
issues could be discussed. We had a vague idea of what we wanted; it had to be
open to everyone, it had to inclusive, it had to center around discussion rather than
debate. I suppose the most non-negotiable aspect was the last one. At the time,
Editorial team
Ushah Ayub Kazi
Morooj Chammy
Omair Ahmed Soomro
Jumana Abuwala
there was a sort of ‘debate culture’ prevalent at Monash by way of different clubs
and societies, and the one thing that everyone agreed about was that we wanted a
forum for healthy discussion, as opposed to a debate where someone has to
necessarily be proven wrong. There are no wrong views in a discussion, but there
are ill informed or ignorant views, and Dissent was formed to educate more than
anything else. It is based on the premise of learning from each other.
Contributors
Omair Ahmed Soomro
Omer Tahir
Ali Hyder
Rahat Alam
Kazi Akber
The views expressed by our contributors do not
necessarily reflect the views of Dissent. If you disagree
with an article, please write to us and we will publish
your response in our next issue.
The word ‘dissent’ literally means going against the grain, and our dissent
essentially is tied to going against the traditional black and white of an
argumentative form of public speaking. This newsletter is an extension of this
philosophy; we want to provide a platform for healthy discussion, where all
opinions are welcome and appreciated in an attempt to start a discussion.
-Ushah Kazi