On the last Friday of February – the 28th – both the MCG Book Groups met at Nisha’s home to discuss the recently released “The Siege Within”, by local author Leslie Lopez, a timely look at corruption in Malaysia.

This yearly joint gathering is always something to look forward to, as the rest of the year the groups meet separately and read different books. This year we had 11 members from each group attending the meeting.

The joint meeting is made all the more special when the author joins in to give an opportunity to discuss the writing with the person that held the pen.

Leslie Lopez, a journalist who has covered business and regional politics for a number of leading publications accepted our invitation and helped us dive deeper into the complexities of 1MDB. Corruption in Malaysia, he considers, is not a question of two individuals, and 1MDB is not the start nor the end of it. The roots are still alive and well. and his book is an attempt to use the past to shape the future. The discussion went beyond 1MDB, and Leslie spoke about the importance of journalism, the reasons behind its current crisis and the temptation of simplifying stories, focusing on individuals instead of systems and losing sight of what really needs addressing. We talked about censorship, in different shapes and forms, and about how ignorance and the manipulation of truth undermines democracy. We dwelled on the complexities of financial schemes and both the importance and the challenge of making them understood by the general public.

Leslie also guided us through the inception and writing of the book, and we were happy to know that although politicians and journalists seem to be tiptoeing around it, the book has been flying off the shelves and is being widely read.

We wish the author all the luck with the book, and we strongly recommend it to anyone interested in Malaysia’s current political affairs.

Review with many thanks to Rita Cruz