The “banality of evil” in Malaysia

By Kee Thuan Chye

August 2015 TALK-TALK ONLY
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Woman with children in German death camp at Auschwitz, Poland during the Second World War. Adolf Eichmann arranged the deportation of millions of Jews to concentration camps like Auschwitz.
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The Malay proverb “Sikit sikit jadi bukit” (loosely, “a mountain is made from grain on grain of sand”) can signify success coming from sustained effort. It also applies negatively: great damage is caused by persistent mischief.Fifty-four years ago, Jewish writer philosopher Hannah Arendt came up with the concept of “the banality of evil” after she covered the trial of Adolf Eichmann for the magazine, The New Yorker.Eichmann was considered “one of the greatest of the Nazi war criminals”. He arranged...

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Kee Thuan Chye

is the author of the new bestsellers Unbelievably Stupid! and Unbelievably Stupid Too!

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