Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- Malay-ness this, Malay-ness that
- We can’t move forward with suspicious minds
- Storm in a teacup
- Respect all races and faiths
- How to avoid being seditious
- Keep the English school option open
- Cock-up, cover-up and conspiracy
- Race and the Ordinary Malaysian
- Malaysia's Masteel: Government-Linked Company?
- One can’t insult Islam, it’s simply not possible
| Malay-ness this, Malay-ness that Posted: 20 Jul 2013 04:04 PM PDT
Yet communal politics is alive and well here. Every year, every month leading up to a by-election, general election, Malaysians are subjected to rumours and hatred is fuelled. Malay supremacy is at stake. The non-Malay bogeymen are out to sap the country dry. Is the 1921 census coming true? Dina Zaman, MM When asked the following questions in a closed group on Facebook, "In a 1921 census, the Malays were a minority in their own country because of the British open door migration policy, which served their economic interest. (Hussin Mutalib, Islam and Ethnicity in Malay Politics). Zainah Anwar in a Star 2010 op-ed piece said, political power will always remain in Malay hands. Is this relevant still post-GE13?" the responses were mixed, though a majority disagreed with the sentiment in the question(s).
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| We can’t move forward with suspicious minds Posted: 20 Jul 2013 04:01 PM PDT
In the past, we took it in our stride and rarely let off-colour jokes and remarks get to us. But of late, no thanks to social media and the Internet, any action or remark spreads like wildfire and gets mangled, misinterpreted and embellished along the way. The Star SUSPICIOUS minds. That seems to be the state of thinking in our country in these disquieting times. Any action, any utterance is quickly judged on whether it's racial, religious and even gender "unfriendly". Granted, in a multiracial society, there is the expectation that people should know how to speak and behave so as not to cause offence. But we know in reality, there is a tendency to typecast or stereotype ourselves and people from other communities. This is an age-old mindset but for the most part, it's harmless. And if anything, it was and still is fodder for jokes and teasing. In the past, we took it in our stride and rarely let off-colour jokes and remarks get to us. But of late, no thanks to social media and the Internet, any action or remark spreads like wildfire and gets mangled, misinterpreted and embellished along the way. There seems to be a wilful desire to think the worst of "others". It doesn't matter the source: it can be the Government trying to introduce a compulsory subject in private colleges, or people from one community trying to scale Everest, or high scorers not getting places in their chosen courses, or two foolish young people trying to be funny in their tasteless and ill-conceived joke. The reaction to all of the above is there is a hidden agenda, an ulterior motive to all such actions. Because of the suspicion, it leads to the desire to hit back, to accuse, to hurt, to mock or even to punish beyond the actual "crime". More worrisome is the almost- automatic way to look for racial and religious undertones in just about everything, which inevitably leads to people thinking along the lines of Us Against Them. Sadly, there is a strong belief that the results of the general election on May 5 has worsened race relations. The hearts of the people have hardened against each other. One group feels betrayed by another, that there is no sense of gratitude for or appreciation of what has been done for them nor the generous accommodation of their demands. The other group's response is that they have been pushed to the wall and the decades of accepting what they perceive to be biased policies and implementation has gone unacknowledged and finally, enough is enough. Interestingly enough, the lyrics of Elvis Presley's song Suspicious Minds encapsulates this Malaysian dilemma: "We're caught in a trap, we can't walk out ... Why can't you see what you're doing to me when you don't believe a word I say? We can't go on together with suspicious minds, and we can't build our dreams on suspicious minds." When Malaysia celebrated its 50th year of Merdeka, The Economist commented about the "increasingly separate lives that Malay, Chinese and Indian Malaysians are leading". The British magazine added: "More so than at independence, it is lamented, the different races learn in separate schools, eat separately, work separately and socialise separately. Some are asking: is there really such a thing as a Malaysian?" That was six years ago. How do we answer that now?
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| Posted: 20 Jul 2013 03:55 PM PDT
The writer is baffled over the resistance to the move to make Titas a compulsory subject. Titas was already mandatory for Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia students more than 30 years ago and it has, he feels, fostered better understanding of different civilisations among the different races. Wong Chun Wai, The Star THE move to make Islamic and Asian Civilisation Studies (Titas) compulsory for university students in private institutions from Sept 1 has kicked up a storm. But for many graduates of local universities, particularly Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, it has certainly not raised an eyebrow. Thirty years ago when I was studying at UKM, it was already mandatory for us to pass the Islamic Civilisation course. It did not matter what we studied; we all had to pass the paper if we wanted to get our scroll at the end of our studies. No one, even Muslims, was exempted and often there were non-Muslims who were top scorers. As I can recall, none of my friends was converted into Islam, and certainly this writer did not become a Muslim. We didn't complain about the requirement to pass the ZI course, as it was code-named, as we already knew about the condition when we picked UKM as our choice. Certainly, taking the course has given me a better understanding of Islam. Like it or not, Islam is the religion of the majority of Malaysians. The course at UKM was simply an introduction to Islam and it has helped me in the course of my work as a journalist. As I had sat for Islamic History and Malay Literature in my Sixth Form examination, the ZI course was pretty easy for me. That arrogance and complacency, however, proved to be costly as I did not score as well in ZI as I had expected. The others who did not have that academic background studied harder and performed better in the end. I still passed the test but it was lectures by the late Datuk Fadzil Noor, who went on to join politics and become a PAS president, and Datuk Dr Haron Din, with his profound story telling of jins and spirits, that caught my interest. I have continued to collect books on Islam, improving my understanding of the subject, and building up a decent private collection. Certainly, reading plenty of books on this subject and my ZI classes have benefited me in many ways, particularly in my interaction with friends, colleagues and other acquaintances who are Muslims. I am glad I took the ZI course in UKM. But I also believe that studying and appreciating the other main religions, especially Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism, will also benefit all of us. The idea is not to belittle any religion or to extol one's belief as more superior, but rather to emphasise the commonalities such as compassion, tolerance, love, sharing and peace. We all call God by different names and we practise our beliefs in different ways but there will always be many common values and areas because we all believe in the importance of goodness and respect for each other. In fact, students of Islam in UKM, like in other institutions in the Middle East, are also required to study other religions including Judaism and Christianity. Likewise, students who want to become Catholic priests and Protestant pastors will need to study Islam at their seminaries. I have been lucky growing up in Penang and later working in Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling, previously Pitt Street. It was always a joy to walk past, or at least drive through, the road which has a mosque, a Hindu temple, a Taoist temple and a church located next to each other. As a child who grew up in the Chulia Street area, where my grandmother's home was located, it was common for me to walk through the Kapitan Keling mosque to take a short cut. Today, two paintings by the late Penang artist Tan Choon Ghee hang on the wall of my home in memory of my childhood days. There is no religious hang-up of having drawings of a mosque in my home. In Singapore, schools regularly organise visits to places of worship as part of their extra-curricular activities. We shouldn't be afraid of learning the religions of all communities. It should not be restricted to just one religion. Non-Muslims should learn about Islam and at the same time, there is no reason why Muslim students in universities, both public and private, should not study other religions which have been here for centuries. It should be made compulsory for everyone to study each other's religion in order to have a better understanding of each other. In this period of Ramadan, breaking fast with our Muslim friends and colleagues is certainly encouraged. It will be a good way to understand each other's faith.
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| Posted: 20 Jul 2013 03:32 PM PDT With all the racial tension and unhappiness taking place, it is a wonder how Najib intends to pull off the national reconciliation agenda. The word "Allah" has been used by the Sikhs and Christians for a long, long time or for that matter Arab Christians have been using the term "Allah" for over 600 years before the Muslims began doing so? Jeswan Kaur, FMT Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad keeps insulting the non-Malays all the time and not a word comes of concern comes out from the mouth of the country's leading party, the Barisan Nasional alliance.
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| Posted: 20 Jul 2013 03:25 PM PDT Here are probably eight things you would have to consider before speaking in Malaysia to avoid having a 'seditious tendency'. By JoFan Pang, FMT Most would know that Malaysia is a nation which practices constitutional supremacy. That basically means that the Federal Constitution of Malaysia is the highest law of Malaysia and it defines our whole existence in this country. It defines the power of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. It also sets out the three branches of government (Parliament, Executive, Courts) and states all of their roles and functions.
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| Keep the English school option open Posted: 18 Jul 2013 03:12 PM PDT It is not just here in Malaysia that the importance of the English language as a communication and competitive tool is being hotly debated. Even in France, where opposition against the use of English in universities is fierce, proponents of the language are gaining strength. Azam Aris, The Edge It is not just here in Malaysia that the importance of the English language as a communication and competitive tool is being hotly debated. Even in France, where opposition against the use of English in universities is fierce, proponents of the language are gaining strength. A proposed law to introduce more courses in English in universities was passed by the French lower house in May, a move which a top scholar called a "suicidal project" that would lead to France sacrificing its language to "Americanisation disguised as globalisation". |
| Cock-up, cover-up and conspiracy Posted: 18 Jul 2013 02:32 PM PDT Mariam Mokhtar, FMT Do you remember N Dhamendran, the 32-year-old man who died on May 21, whilst in police custody, at the Tun HS Lee lockup, in Kuala Lumpur? His case is mired in controversy, just like all the other deaths in police custody. First, the cock-up, involving alleged brutality and torture. Then, comes the cover-up, to disguise what actually happened. When the victims' families probe deeper and demand answers, denials swiftly follow and scapegoats are eventually found.
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| Race and the Ordinary Malaysian Posted: 18 Jul 2013 12:44 PM PDT
The problem, contrary to what many think isn't in fact the special rights accorded to one class but the denial of rights of another. Here we see a form of institutionalised oppression that has led us to not only mistrust but also dislike other races for reasons hitherto known. That a matter of blatant stupidity should be clamped down, denied bail and prosecuted with the full force of that a threat to national security is not only uncalled for but deeply troubling. It is even harder to swallow the AG's reasoning of further provocation from the defendant when a simple silence order would have sufficed. Vivegavalen Vadi Valu Disclaimer: The graphic images below are not the works of the author and neither do they represent the stance of the author. They have been reproduced purely for the purposes of illustration and in the hope that it provides some context as to the true purpose of the article. Is this really what we have become?
Questions needing answers As the saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words and the cold hard truth is that if our forefathers were still alive today, they would cringe, devastated that their dreams which have cost many a life and sweat now lay wasted at the feet of the current generation of Malaysians. One could almost be forgiven for not recognizing Malaysia in all her grandeur and beauty for today it is no longer the country many of us may have grown up in. The continued decline of a society once built on the values of tolerance, understanding and respect is worrying to say the least. Today, the ordinary Malaysian looks over their shoulders with contempt, doubt and often emotions bearing hatred towards another race or religion. The question then is what exactly happened? How did we, peace loving citizens of a country formed on the consensus of racial harmony and religious tolerance come to this? To be able to understand our current quandary, we must first address our history. The Malays are traced back to the Indo-Siam lineage and were the earliest explorers and traders to settle in Malaysia. For the sole purpose of economic construct, the Indians and Chinese were brought in respectively to work for and service rubber plantations and mining of tin ore. Sun Tzu's Art of War sheds some light as to the methodology employed by the British whereby cultural integration was avoided and within the community, a chain of command established to divide and rule. A distinct pattern begins to emerge, not to dissimilar to that of fundamental Marxism or rather what Marxism stood against. Several prominent Marxists describe the theory as the appreciation of class conflict within the capitalist mechanist whereby the privatization of surplus product to create a value for profit is controlled by the bourgeoisie and the human capital subservient to them or the proletariat. This creates unrests between the two antagonistic classes thus culminating in a social revolution. While Marxism employs its theory in absolutes, discarding factors such as race as its sole purpose is the destruction of the capitalist market, Malaysia operates a somehow hybrid form where by the initial two classes were further expanded and amalgamated with a person's race. This meant that the situation will present itself when it mattered not of a battle between the rich and poor so long as the rich was part of one community, even if it meant that the rest continued to suffer. This is what we have come to know today as race politics. The British when granting independence in haste sought to assimilate the classes, making it a requirement that the three major races were united in harmony and collectively rule the country. The problem here is that owing to the fact that there was never in fact a cultural overlap as a precursor, no one predicted the underlying interests and needs of varying communities. Furthermore, the fact that there was an established majority and minority group of races, disparity in terms of power and economic benefit would certainly lead to a clash of interest. May 13 1969 anyone? Now, we are all well versed with the apartheid regime in South Africa whereby the ruling party enacted into legislation the supposed 'white supremacy' and curtailed the rights of the blacks. The then Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad was a staunch critic of the regime and Malaysia with ASEAN was one of the biggest players in the push for reform. However, what ensued in our own backyard immediately after the 13th May incident is in fact not too different to the very issue we strongly opposed. The New Economic Policy 1970 was deemed to be the answer to our problems then but little did we know of its repercussions that would not only destroy racial harmony of the country but pave way to a new generation of Malaysians who no longer considered each other as brothers and sisters but rather employing an 'us v them' mentality. Whatever said and done about the causes of the May 13 riots, it is clear that the underlying problem was poverty and socio-economic interest. Thus, the overriding objective of the NEP was supposed to be a move towards national unity coupled with a strategy to accelerate economic growth and to ensure a holistic development of the nation. However, what was supposed to be the answer to our problems evolved into our biggest nightmare. While the NEP has had its fair share of success, its biggest flaw was the rift it created between the three main races owing to its affirmative action, distortion of the economic pie in terms of the private and public sector, education quota and most importantly, what many call today special privileges and unquestionable rights of the 'bumiputera'. The problem, contrary to what many think isn't in fact the special rights accorded to one class but the denial of rights of another. Here we see a form of institutionalised oppression that has led us to not only mistrust but also dislike other races for reasons hitherto known. This should have been evident enough to the politicians then when even within a family, favouritism causes siblings to often be envious among each other, which then naturally leads up to a clash. A recent paper published for the United States Committee on Foreign Affairs depicts a closer look as to how institutionalised racism and religious freedom has affected Malaysia as a whole. The root of the problem is prescribed to be Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, the direction of Malay supremacy. However, the discourse holds that what is in normal context termed racism is in fact the outcome of a failed system and an incompetent bureaucracy. The politics of the country is such that we have inadvertently taken the whole divide and rule concept to a whole new level. Malaysia has successfully managed to create literally a class within a class whereby the Malay elite continue to subjugate the rural workers and the Indian and Chinese upper class who benefit directly from government transactions ignore the plight of their community and serve to fool the very people who trusts them to protect their affairs. This leaves the oppressed, the poor and the minority fighting not only against the system and state but the upper class of their own community in which they are shackled and blinded for being a member of a similar race. Coming back to the present day, we are presented almost on monthly subscription, doses of racial bigotry and religious intolerance. Who can forget the cow-head incident, or the threat to burn bibles and the 'Apa Lagi Cina Mahu' farce? Recently of course is the whole 'Alvivi' fiasco which has caused rage among the muslim community. While I absolutely abhor and denounce their actions, I take issue with the reaction generated and subsequent punishments intended to be meted out. There can be no grey areas for where the Law is concerned and equality of standing in the course of justice has to be ensured if we are to attain consistency. The problem of course isn't the reaction or lack of reaction from the ruling coalition but rather in which selective persecution is often the norm in particular where race is involved. That a matter of blatant stupidity should be clamped down, denied bail and prosecuted with the full force of that a threat to national security is not only uncalled for but deeply troubling. It is even harder to swallow the AG's reasoning of further provocation from the defendant when a simple silence order would have sufficed. Even as we speak, comparisons are made to the rape incident involving a grandfather who was allowed bail despite the severity of the allegations. If we are to transcend this path, what then of Ibrahim Ali and Zulkifli Nordin? In what legal spheres are the slanders committed not an act against national security and racist in nature? How is it that the same act, nay a significantly lesser act committed by A is wrong whereas B is allowed full leeway without the fear of prosecution? Here, we hit the crux of the matter nail on in that Malaysians were never racists or religious zealots in nature. We have been moulded over decades to fear, despise and ultimately discard another solely by their race. The incumbent establishment has for political survival constructed a model of race politics that has enabled them to play us against each other, blinding us to their abuse of power, corruption and matters of actual importance. The facade that they have put up may have you believing in ideologies such as "Ketuanan Melayu" or "1 Malaysia" but the reality is that there is and has always been only them against us, the rich against the poor and the powerful against the powerless. The sad disposition we find ourselves in now is that two children, yes children for their act is as such, now find themselves prosecuted for a stupid act and find none in their defence despite the fact that the State has infringed on their freedom of speech and continued reliance on the Sedition Act or its metamorphosis for fear of being labelled a racist. In context, which Chinese would want another tirade from Utusan Malaysia? There can be no right and wrong so long as the system in place serves only selective justice. This issue will surely continue on and result in further aggravation but we cannot afford ourselves to continue to fall deeper, to be fooled by the play of the political masters above. The racial construct of Malaysia is too deeply entrenched to undergo a radical change in a short span of time and although a Malaysian Malaysia remains the ideal, our best hope lie under the very earth we step on. The values held close by our forefathers, the ability to respect, love and cherish each other for our differences is what made us citizens of this country. There is no harm in trying to avoid drinking or eating in front of our muslim brothers or sisters during Ramadan and neither is there any harm in calling out and protecting our non-muslim family from being abused or threatened with by a select few imbeciles who would rather see us crash than to co-exist together. Should we lose sight of our roots permanently, I fear the future generation will never be able to see the Malaysia we have grown to love and willingly die for. Is there hope? Yes. Are Malaysians naturally racist? No. We are peace loving people who have been brought up together with our friends of varying races. It is within the power of each and every one of us to give in, to understand the grievances of one another and to stand united against the very institution put in place to divide us. We have done it for fifty-six years and I have an unshakeable faith that we will be able to come out of this again, stronger, together. The author would like to take this opportunity to apologise to all Muslims who were offended by the Alvivi incident. It matters not if they were Chinese or Indian, for in my capacity as a foremost Malaysian, on behalf of a fellow Malaysian, hope that you will be able to forgive them. We are and always will be better than this. Ramadan Mubarak.
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| Malaysia's Masteel: Government-Linked Company? Posted: 18 Jul 2013 12:26 PM PDT
"The question that needs to be asked to the Prime Minister's Department is, if the government has to fund 70 percent of the project, why bother privatizing it in the first place to a 37-year concession?" John Berthelsen, Asia Sentinel UMNO-linked steelmaker looks like winning contract to build RM100 billion commuter rail project A "private sector initiative" criticized by opposition figures in Parliament earlier this week to build a RM1 billion commuter train project linking the Malaysian state of Johor to Singapore is starting to take on the trappings that sank a controversial national cattle feeding scheme in 2012, which earned it the nickname "Cowgate" because of the magnitude of the scandal. Like the National Feedlot Corporation, which established the cattle feeding operation without any prior experience in dealing with cattle but plenty of experience in dealing with UMNO -- since the concern was headed by Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, the government minister for women, family and community development – Masteel acknowledges that it has never built anything remotely resembling a 100-km light rail commuter operation. In fact, it has mainly been involved in steel manufacturing. Read more at: http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5575&Itemid=229 |
| One can’t insult Islam, it’s simply not possible Posted: 18 Jul 2013 10:56 AM PDT
Elsewhere, this would probably have been shrugged of, and the whole thing would have died down. Not in Malaysia, where every Ramadan in the past three years or so have seen Muslims waging personal crusade against even the littlest things that tick them off. All over the excuse of "insulting Islam." Zurairi AR, The Malay Mail If ever there is a way to insult Islam, it would surely be scamming the gullible with inferior goods by proclaiming its supposed Islamic quality. It seems the gullible are even more gullible during the blessed month of Ramadan. Perhaps you have heard about the al-Khodafi "therapy water" being hawked by a man calling himself Ir. Fazli Azmi. Try Googling it, and you will find how people have mocked its over-the-top claims of magic. Al-Khodafi is not mere mineral water. It has been treated using an obscure technology called "nano hydronium", which sounds so scientific it must be true. As if that is not enough, the water is also enriched with a fungi called "kulat susu harimau", incense from the Islamic city of Mecca, zam-zam water, and water taken from rain that occurred on the 10th day in the Muharram month of the Islamic calendar. I read that kulau susu harimau is being used by traditional medicine practitioners, who believe it has powers to cure cancer. Meanwhile, Muharram 10 is supposed to be sacred day, celebrated by Sunnis as the day when Moses rescued the Israelites from the Pharaohs, while it is celebrated by Shiites as day of mourning for the martyrdom of one of their saints, Hussein the grandson of Muhammad — which is also known as the Day of Ashura. In addition to all that, some Muslims also believe that the world will end on that date. What better way to celebrate it than to ... drink rainwater from that day? It was also advertised, rather unashamedly, as containing "cendawan ajaib". If magic mushrooms were involved, that would probably explain the inventor's state of mind. I guess the people selling mineral water labelled as water from the supposedly sacred well of zam-zam in Mecca have just got their arses handed to them. The ultimate ingredient in the al-Khodafi, at least for me, is from a termite nest. Not just any termites, but termites which have eaten the Quran. Not the whole Quran — which has 30 parts called juz' — but only 22 of them. Did the termites choose which parts to eat? Were they fed the 22 parts? How were the parts chosen? Did the al-Khodafi people know that termite nests also contain termite's spit and s**t? These are the mysteries that perhaps only Ir. Fazli Azmi can answer. Of course these scams do not stop there. Just days after, keen observers revealed another scam selling water that has allegedly been dipped with Prophet Muhammad's hair. The seller even conveniently left a disclaimer: "If you don't love the Prophet, if you don't feel amazed by the power of the Prophet's hair, do not even bother to leave nonsensical comment." My point is, these are not a mere coincidence. Every minute there is a sucker duped into giving money to these charlatans who have half of their work done for them by invoking Islam. That is insulting. Read more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/opinion/zurairi-ar/article/you-cannot-insult-islam-it-is-simply-not-possible
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