So the article basically talks about how they are switching the teachings of Mathematics and Science from the usage of English to the usage of Malay. In general, they're switching the teaching back to Malay after only switching it to English a few years back.
A lot of people are angered by this, well the people who commented on Facebook. I got a little bit irritated by the fact that people are angered by this, I brought up China and Japan and said they were using their national language as their first language in teaching science and maths and they argued that it's not important for them cause they're the second and third largest economy in the world.
But honestly, even though converting back to Malay is a hassle and I don't agree that the government is switching the teachings back and forth, I have no problem and actually prefer Mathematics and Science in Malaysia being taught in Malay, the article further explains that the command in English can be improved in various other ways that don't require the usage of Maths and Science being taught in Malay. And it's true, It's good that they realize this issue.
However, I don't agree on the Deputy Prime Minister condemning the PAGE group as they are minorities in this issue, everyone deserve to be heard, and to be put down fairly instead of how he (DPM) handled it. If he were more diplomatic, he would have put them down in a more positive light saying that there are other methods of learning english and keeping the malay language rather than calling them 'Ketinggalan Zaman' (Backwards).
I am a proud Sabahan, and I am proud that I speak three languages, Fluent English, Reasonably good Malay and Mandarin, I wish the Sabahan Government implemented that students in Sabah have to learn the Kadazan language, I would have love to learn the language.
But when it comes down to Mathematics and Science, it all comes down to the syllabus, not on what language it is being taught in.
I came across some racial remark from a caucasian girl, most probably Australian. First, to be fair, she is 18 this year. Still young, she's living in Malaysia, and is currently studying law in taylors university. Here's an interesting fact, pretty much the whole malaysia will want to punch her on the face during the next couple of days.
To be fair, she's stupid. Her name is Angeline Marri Austen. And young people make stupid mistakes, I made mistakes before as well.
She commented on her friend's status which stated that her friend didn't like durian. She then went on to say something like "euw. That's disgusting, only jungle people eat that!".
Someone then commented saying that its quite insulting for her to say such a thing. And that it was stupid of he to do so. And she came up with such a stupid answer each time, with every one of it bashing Malaysia and the people living in malaysia such as the malaysians don't even have enough money to feed themselves that's why they need foreigners like her in the country, she wants to spit on malaysian chinese people who most probably got of the boat from china to name a few.
My best friend ness, said that its stupid to argue with stupidity. Because it's true that there's no use to keep arguing with this idiot teenager because she won't change her mind anyway. And by doing so, there will be a lot of unnecessary anger over such a small issue. But honestly, I would be very angry and would like to continue telling her to open her eyes because of what she said. Without using proper facts and saying such hurtful things about a country which she is living in as a 'guest' is like being a guest in someone's house and telling the owners how shit the house is.
But then again, she's only 18. Doesn't know what she's talking about and is most probably dummer than most malaysians or as dumb as the malaysians who think that westerners are better than them.
Xoxo
Jeffrey james
*i don't hate westerners by the way. I just don't look up to them. I look at them as equals, just like how I look at different people from different nations :)
I was out with an ex of mine this afternoon and I could honestly say that it was nice meeting up with him again. We chatted, bitched and joked about old times with a cup of coffee and over lunch as well. I noticed that the both of us have grown older and wiser. Well, I'm still immature in some sense and he still have his boy-ish attitude but there are the slight difference here and there. I wasn't the 17 year old boy who dated this guy and he is not in his 30s. It's funny to know that the both of us are in different stages of our lives, and it's also nice that we can put the past behind.
So back to my headline, what I found interesting was that my ex has recently been single. He broke up with the guy (who is also my friend) about a month ago due to the fact that he didn't want his ex to commit any form of sin after the holy pilgrim trip that his ex went to in Jeddah. His ex is a strong believer in Islam and prays about 5 times a day. I for one was sort of uncomfortable hearing this claim because as I see it, homosexuality isn't sin and being gay doesn't mean we are bad people or do bad things. My ex went on to say that his ex accepted the fact that he was born gay but that doesn't mean he should abandon the teachings of Islam.
My ex claimed that his ex wants to get married one day. I feel sorry for the woman and him for marrying each other. However, what irritates me most is the fact that my ex decided to end his relationship due to this matter. Religion, a very sensitive issue to everyone, is not bad. In fact, it is a very good thing as religion only teaches people how to do good. However, religion's teachings are also flawed, and needs to be modified or re structured to suit the evolving world. The claims made by religion are unproven and biased but people still believe in it whole heartedly.
Being Gay isn't a crime, being gay isn't a sin, getting married to a woman and telling her that you're straight and not gay is a sin. Lying to yourself and to your wife is a sin. If he was honest to himself in the first place and look at life differently, he could have a good and honest relationship with religion instead of having a fake one with lots of lies and suffering with it.
JOHOR BARU: The Sultan of Johor has also stripped three others of their titles, including his brother-in-law.
The Johor Palace revealed Friday that North Pole expeditor Datin Paduka Sharifah Mazlina Syed Abdul Kadir, prominent lawyer Hassan Yunos and the current Sultan's brother-in-law Kommander Shaftdean Lufty Rusland were stripped of their titles on June 4, aside from Datuk Chua Jui Meng.
Johor Council of Royal Court secretary Datuk Abdul Rahim Ramli said Friday that it was the prerogative of the Sultan of Johor to give or take back titles.
He also said that a few other people have had their titles stripped in the past, but no announcements had been made.
"However, we have to issue a statement now as Chua has made allegations and issued statements.
"We don't want the public to question the matter or even speculate as we want to tell the truth," he said, stressing that no political pressure had led to the stripping of Chua’s titles.
Chua, a former MCA leader and Health Minister, is now a PKR supreme council member.
Abdul Rahim said no one, including the state government, a political party or an individual, had any say in the conferment or withdrawal of the titles as only the Sultan had the power to do so.
"There was no pressure from Umno or any political party, thus he (Chua) cannot put the blame on politics as politicians have no say in this matter," he told a press conference here Friday.
"The Sultan was, is and will be forever be above politics."
Abdul Rahim said that the Sultan conferred the titles of Dato' Sri Paduka Mahkota Johor and Dato' Paduka Mahkota Johor based on three main criteria - loyalty, meticulous service and diligence.
He explained that the withdrawal of the titles were in line with the Sultan's right to exercise his power and right under Article 12 of the Statues and Ordinances of the Most Honourable Order and Article 7 (f) of the Second part of the Johor State Constitution 1895.
"After deliberating on reports against some Members of the Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Johor, the Johor Royal Council advised the Sultan to expel those involved and he has consented to the advice," he said.
He declined to give the reasons the four had had their title stripped.
"I cannot talk about the reasons as it is the Sultan's prerogative.
"However, these four must search their conscience and think about what they did wrong instead of blaming others," he said adding that, the council had a system to monitor the current 120 Datuks from Johor.
Abdul Rahim said the title of Datuk was the most prestigious and only 712 had been given out since its inception in 1886.
Asked about Chua's claim that he was the second Chinese to receive the titles, Abdul Rahim said it was not true.
"The first Chinese recipient was Datuk Tan Hiok Nee in 1886 and, since then, many Chinese have received the titles as the state was built by Malays and Chinese," he said.
Abdul Rahim said he sent Chua a letter addressed to his home in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur on June 4 and followed that up with a phone call on June 8 before issuing another letter and calling him on Thursday.
"He informed me that he would be returning the medals and awards bestowed.
"However, I have given him time as he said he was outstation," he said adding that, Sharifah Mazlina and Hassan had already returned their medals.
*I for one don't think that the sultan was fair for such actions. politics! pfft...
So I managed to finish up my 1400 word major essay in two hours earlier today. Well, I wrote about 1230 words, had lunch while doing so (Roast Chicken Thigh with a side of Pasta and Salad), printed it out, and handed it in 5 minutes before the 1pm deadline.
I'm not proud of myself perse, but I am happy that I managed to finish it.
Now, back to the reason about this post. I was asked a question about a Social Movement in any country about it's focus, Objective, Steps Taken and Results. I picked Malaysia as my country of choice and Gay Rights as my Social Movement.
Which in turn got me thinking, I only completed my assignment with 5 references, most of it were all my own words, I don't know but the internet provide relatively low amount of Gay Rights Issue in Malaysia and the only strong Gay Rights movement called Pink Triangle Foundation is not doing much, in terms of going up against the government of course, but Pink Triangle is a relatively helpful Organization and I'm thankful for their services.
Writng the article was reasonably easy for me because I am part of the LGBT community in Malaysia, I've been living in the Gay Hubs of Malaysia my whole life (Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu) and found out that people now are getting more accepting towards Gay Rights. Even though some sources in Malaysia Claims that there are frequent raids, and punishment among gay men, I've never really seen much of it, except occasional ones in Penang and a Raid in Market Place last year. But I've never really experienced it. For me, I think that the Malaysians in major cities don't really look at homosexuality as a crime or a sin and have reasonable tolerance towards it.
I hope that one day, there will be an organization that will fight for the Gay Rights and change the Malaysian Policy, if not anytime soon, I hope to be one of the fighters for the LGBT rights:)
This is the most pristine coastline in Malaysia. These photos were taken on my last visit to the Tun Sakaran Marine Park - near the proposed 300MW coal-fired power plant proposed site.
Image the coal barges from Kalimantan traveling through these seas carrying coal, or bulk carriers coming from Kalimantan, Australia or South Africa.
Image the size of the jetty.
Imagine the pollution.
This is not the grey coloured Straits of Melaka.
This area is known as The Coral Triangle. Google it. This area contains one third of the world's coral species.
a coal plant? here???*@!(@!({*!!!!
I have 2 case study reports that both conclude that Sabah has other realistic, cost comparable energy options. They both conclude Sabah does not need to use coal to solve its dreadful energy woes.
The first thing Sabah needs to do is FINISH ITS POWER GRID SYSTEM. Build/finish the secondary Southern Grid already.
Please message me if you want me to email you copies of the 2 reports Itemising the alternative energy options for Sabah.
Details about who made the 2 reports:
----------------------
1 > Meeting energy demand in a developing economy without damaging the environment—A case study in Sabah, Malaysia, from technical, environmental and economic perspectives
Siong Lee Koh*, Yun Seng Lim
Department of Physical Science, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Tunku Abdul Rahman University, Malaysia
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 10 February 2010
Accepted 22 April 2010
Keywords:
Sustainable development
Developing country
Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
a b s t r a c t
The challenges faced by the developing countries are unique in that they need to meet the increasing energy demands for their economic growths at a competitive price without damaging the environments. In this paper, a case study on the electricity demand issue in Sabah, Malaysia, is presented to investigate potential solutions in addressing this current need for a typical developing economy from the technical, economical and environmental perspectives. Sabah, one of the 13 states in Malaysia, is currently experiencing a serious power shortage, especially at the east coast. A 300 MW coal plant is proposed by the electricity utility company. However, the proposal has been rejected in the past several years due to the negative environmental impacts of the plant. In this paper, a number of alternative solutions were evaluated and proposed with respect to the viability of technologies, ďŹnancial return and minimum environmental impact in terms of GHG emission.
& 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.< ------------------------- 2 > 'Clean Energy Options for Sabah an analysis of resource availability and cost'
Tyler McNish
Prof. Daniel M. Kammen
Benjamin Gutierrez
March 2010
Renewable & Appropriate Energy Laboratory
Energy & Resources Group
University of California, Berkeley < ----------------------- Join the FB group here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/it-aint-green-its-BLACK/397884026203?ref=ts Power To The People! NO COAL IN SABAH. THANK YOU!
Well, as you all know, I'm an air headed bimbo and many of us airheads study Mass Communications. So, I'm the kind of person who would constantly read up on the latest news, being a lifestyle piece from yahoo.com or a local news from The Star. I can say that whenever I read The Star Newspaper (Malaysian Newspaper), I will always sigh and wonder why is that the Media in Malaysia is a lapdog to the government instead of being a watchdog for democracy.
It irritates me on how the "biggest" & most "profitable" news paper company in Malaysia report such biased news to the general public. I was reading a couple of articles regarding politics and man there is such Hegemony is all of them (Hegemony = When an Idea is being fed to a less Dominant Group by a more Dominant Group, Eg Government feeding General Public). The Government feeds the People Biased News that basically carries the idea that "The Government is Good, The Opposing Party or anything that is against the Government is Bad" and people in general will follow the idea.
It is of course unfair to state that most people believe what they are being fed, but Newspaper editors, designers and publishers know how to influence the readers with creative headlines, I know, I'm a communications student. And generally people living in the city or seek a second source for news don't really believe in The Star Newspaper, I only buy it for the advertorials. But knowing that biased news are being released by the government through media channels like Television, Radio and Print are being fed to people who generally don't much idea about the whole situation.
Thanks to Facebook and other online networking sites, the government suffered major backlash during the last elections, however, the Government is finding ways to challenge the new networking sites that has become a strong tool by the Opposing parties. I'm not saying I'm Pro PKR or PAS, I'm just saying that we have the freedom to know, which devil to vote for, and now there's one strong devil that is giving biased news on the other devils and covering up it's own misdeeds. Hopefully in the future, things will start to change.
*The Star Newspaper is a government owned newspaper, it is owned my MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) which is a sub division of the ruling Malaysian Party UMNO. That is why we receive biased government news from them. Check out www.thestar.com.my to know more about their bad news reports.
The Singapore pastor who was called up by the Internal Security Department (ISD) for making insensitive remarks against the Buddhist and Taoist faiths at the pulpit has apologised personally to the two federations but he shouldn't stop there, says blogger Kenneth Tan who noted that he had preached falsehoods about gays linking them with paedophilia and bestiality in video which was online as early as July 2009.
These three video clips have whipped up something of a firestorm in Singapore over the last few days. They feature Singapore’s very own wonder working miracle healer Pastor Rony Tan of the 12,000 strong megachurch Lighthouse Evangelism making some very incendiary remarks about Buddhism and Taoism at his church’s weekly miracle services. In the videos, an ex-monk by the name of Joseph Wee and a former nun by the name of Rita are seen on stage sharing their testimonies of how they came to Christianity with Rony Tan — who then goes on to suggest that ideas like reincarnation, nirvana and the chanting of mantras were all “rubbish”, “nonsensical” and satanic, drawing laughter from his audience as he did so. Someone didn’t like what he saw on the website of Lighthouse Evangelism, ripped off the videos and then uploaded the videos onto Youtube, charging that the pastor should be prosecuted for seditious speech.
A video recording uploaded to the church's website showing Pastor Rony Tan interviewing a church member who was a former monk about Buddhism, reincarnation and nirvana, and in which he remarked that it was a case of 'the blind leading the blind' when the interviewee said that his mentor didn't understand the precepts of Buddhism himself, drawing laugher from the congregation.
On Monday, the Internal Security Department visited Rony Tan to tell him that his comments were “highly inappropriate and unacceptable as they trivialised and insulted the beliefs of Buddhists and Taoists” and reminded him that “in preaching or proselytising his faith, he must not run down other religions, and must be mindful of the sensitivities of other religions.” The same evening, Pastor Tan issued a public apology on the website of his church and the next morning, he paid a visit to the Phor Kar See Kong Meng San Temple to apologise in person to the Secretary-General of the Singapore Buddhist Federation Venerable Kwang Sheng, and later to the Taoist Federation chairman Tan Thiam Lye, assuring them that the same thing would not happen again.
Between Monday and Tuesday, the web department of Lighthouse Evangelism also appears to have been hard at work, removing all other videos that may further put them under the uncomfortable spotlight of the media from their Miracle TV mini-site. Well, they have taken down so many videos that as of now, the one lone video on their Miracle TV site is a testimony of a couple telling of the miraculous healing of their marriage. (Does anyone here have marital problems? Please bring yourself to Lighthouse Evangelism’s Tampines or Woodlands “Healing Centre” this Saturday evening to receive a miracle touch for your marriage.)
One video that was on the homepage — yes, the homepage — of lighthouse.org.sg has disappeared altogether. It features the testimony of a certain Cheryl Bachelor, a part-time employee of Lighthouse Evangelism who claims to have been healed from lesbianism. This video has been there on the website of Lighthouse Evangelism for at least months, but within a day of the ISD’s visit, the video was taken down. Fortunately when I saw it again on Monday night, I decided to rip it. Here it is in all its 80-minute glory:
Pastor Rony starts off civilly enough, saying that he is not against homosexual people at all. The “sin of homosexuality”, he adds, is “no more serious than the sins of theft or adultery” (makes you wonder why he doesn’t conduct miraculous healings for these sins, but I digress), but from then on, it goes rapidly downhill all the way. He tells of a CrimeWatch story in which a “dirty old man” seduced little boys for sex and then used the story to suggest that:
- homosexuals are not born this way (”Don’t believe all those loud-mouthed gay people who tell you they are born this way”, he says);
- people end up “turning” gay because of abuse and/or an absent parent (although there is a “tiny percentage” who are truly born this way because of a “genetic problem”, he concedes);
- “If we don’t warn people against this, then there will be more and more homosexuals” because “many of these people will be harrassing and seducing young boys, and they in turn will become homosexuals” and then very soon, God forbid, “half the world will be homosexual”!
- “Proper sex means life — it propagates life. Lesbianism and homosexuality simply mean death and barrenness.”
- As if equating gay people with paedophiles wasn’t enough, he goes on to compare gay people with those that practise bestiality (”If you allow [homosexuality], next time people will want to get married to monkeys. And they will want rights. They’ll want to apply for HDB. With a donkey or a monkey or a dog and so on. It’s very pathetic.”)
I’m not going to go into all the details of Cheryl Bachelor’s story right now but in a nutshell, it’s one whole convoluted life story which was very convenient to the pastor in his portrayal of gay people as pathological creatures with dysfunctional families, victims of sexual abuse, abusers of drugs and alcohol, insecure and possessive individuals — you get the picture.
By Rony Tan’s own admission, he’s no expert in homosexuality. He is neither a trained psychologist, nor has he read what leading lights in the field have said about a very complex subject, but yet in the 80 or so minutes of the video, he sure does sound like a know-it-all.
Let me take the opportunity to correct some of the misinformation that Pastor Tan has propagated above:
1. Sexologists may disagree on the percentage of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the general population but the range lies somewhere between 3 to 10%.
2. LGBT people exist in every culture, in every country, in every social context. There are no exceptions. The percentage of LGBT people in the general population will NOT increase because society is more permissive towards them. Neither will it decrease because society is oppressive towards them.
3. Homosexuality is innate. It’s not a condition that can be “passed around”. Neither is it a disease that can be spread to epidemic proportions (Just look at Holland. Rony Tan’s doomsday prediction of half the population turning gay hasn’t happened yet.). I can’t “convert” you to homosexuality anymore than you can “convert” me to heterosexuality.
Trained psychologists and yes, even leaders within Christian “ex-gay” ministries that believe it’s possible to “pray the gay away” will tell you to be careful NOT to confuse homosexuals with paedophiles or bestialists but what do you hear Christian pastors teaching their flock? I assure you it’s not just superstar pastors like Rony Tan and Rick Warren who will so readily equate homosexuality with incest, paedophilia, bestiality and polygamy. These ideas are prevalent among ordinary, average pastors, many of whom are in dire needs of a basic education in psychology.
Oh, while we’re on the subject of paedophilia, the Straits Times reported half a year ago that an elder of Lighthouse Evangelism was jailed for two weeks and fined $16,000 for twice procuring the sexual services of an underaged female prostitute from mainland China. Yes, as any sexologist will tell you: most paedophiles are heterosexual, not homosexual. But do pastors rail against heterosexual paedophiles the same way they do against homosexual paedophiles? No.
So what’s my point in uploading this video? Do I think that ISD will call Rony Tan again and rap him for his comments on gay people? Not a chance. And I’m certainly not holding my breath. Gay people aren’t a protected class and in Singapore, you are welcome to discriminate against and demonise them as you wish.
Rony Tan’s comments are really just the tip of the iceberg of what goes on in Singapore churches on a weekly basis. You don’t have to look further than Lighthouse Evangelism’s empty Miracle TV page now to see that: Take away all the offensive comments regarding Buddhists, Taoists, gay people, and any other section of the populace and you find that there’s really nothing else left.
It is time that we held church pastors and other faith leaders to higher levels of accountability for what they say in the name of God. It is time Christians (especially those attending megachurches with larger-than-life CEO senior pastors) realised that questioning your pastor doesn’t make you an infidel, it will provide you with an opportunity to strengthen your faith. Correcting your pastor when he’s clearly wrong is the right thing to do — he’s not infallible or omniscient (even if he may sound like a know-it-all or claim to have the “word of knowledge”).
Make no mistake about it — the words of scripture have been used throughout the ages to set people free, but they have also been used throughout the ages to keep people bound. Once upon a time, the idea of geocentrism (that the sun revolved around the earth) was church doctrine. Theologians and church fathers spent a lot of their time and energy defending from scripture the theory that the earth was fixed in its position (Ps 93:1, Ps 96:10, Ps 104:5, 1 Chr 16:30, Ecc 1:5), and to believe anything other than this was pure heresy and put you in grave danger of excommunication. In 1610, Galileo Galilei published a series of observations that he made with his new telescope that supported Copernicus’ theory of heliocentrism. That at once placed him at odds with the church and after a long and drawn out struggle over 23 years, an Inquisition examination found him guilty of heresy. He was placed under house arrest for the rest of his life (he was 70 then) and his books were banned. It took the church one century after Galileo’s death before his complete works were finally allowed to be republished (and not without some censorship) and almost another whole century before all traces of official Church opposition to heliocentrism were finally dropped. But yet, today, believe it or not, modern day geocentrists still exist, and they are all either Christians (mostly Catholics) or Jews.
The Bible has also been used to defend slavery. You don’t have to look too hard to see the plethora of references to slavery in the Old and New Testaments. Starting with the book of Genesis, slavery was given foundational justification — the curse of Ham left his defendants to perpetual captivity. In the New Testament, Paul writes in his first letter to Timothy, “Let as many slaves as are under the yoke count their own master worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, but rather do them service.”
I can go on and on about the people who have used the Bible to oppose women’s rights, to oppose the idea of mixed marriages, to oppose the idea of evolution and how church leaders have used the harshest methods to deal with the “heretics” who didn’t toe the church doctrine.
Sure, today we can stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us, and ask how the church leaders before our time could have gotten it all so wrong but as we do so, we must not forget that there are similar challenges for the Christians of today — homosexuality is one such challenge, global warming is another.
If Christians today choose to operate in a vacuum, looking at these issues without paying heed to what scientists are telling us, then they can only be doomed to repeat the mistakes of those who have gone before them.
Go ahead. Continue to use the Bible to clobber at gay people.
Go ahead. Continue to proof from the Bible that the world is just 5000 years old.
Go ahead. Continue to believe that global warming or evolution doesn’t exist.
You will find yourself left behind at the end of the day. And believe you me, I’m not talking about the Rapture here.
Compiled by SARAH ABDULLAH, WINNIE YEOH and A. RAMAN
ORAL sex is the cause of most incidents of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) in the country.
China Press quoted specialist Datuk Dr Low Bin Tick as saying that many people believed they would not contract STD when indulging in this activity.
STD that could be transmitted via oral sex and kissing included AIDS, especially when there are wounds on the genitals, Dr Low said, adding that STD like cervicitis could lead to cervical cancer.
He said the number of people suffering from STD in the country was not known as the Government had never conducted research on it.
The report also quoted him as saying that there were fewer than 10 STD specialists in the country as the course was not promoted locally.
I was reading my online news as usual this morning when I came across this article. I find that this is another form of article that is so biased in so many ways as well as being discriminatory to certain group of people.
Yes, it is possible to get STD through Oral sex, but the way they positioned their article is like saying that oral sex is bad. They never mentioned that using protection when doing oral sex would be good as protections like condoms would prevent many forms of sexual transmitted diseases through oral or penetration.
They also made a claim stating that through kissing, Aids can also be transmitted. They never even produced real solid proof on how this is even possible. They stated that the lack of education is what causes this but from what I have read, the lack of education presented to these so called "journalists" are the main cause because they are sending out the wrong message and making people more "afraid" of certain groups of people.
These are the kind of articles that make me embarrassed about some of the journalists of Malaysia. They can be so unprofessional and biased.
Sharyn Lisa Shufiyan’s blogpost ‘What Malaysia’s Independence Means To Me’ has been circulating the net and I’ve just come across it today although I haven’t been able to find the original link. Sharyn is also the great granddaughter of our first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. It’s a pretty simple piece considering it’s actually attached to a much larger issue.
Ati and Odu
My cousin sent these photos to me via email the other day and it’s the first time I’ve ever had a good look at my great grandparents on my mum’s side. You wouldn’t think that they looked like a typical picture of Malaysian heritage, would you? They don’t look Chinese, Malay or Indian. Both my great grandparents are Sino-Dusun and my grandmother on my dad’s side is Dusun mixed Tagalog and Spanish. The only remote Malay lineage I have is through my grandfather whose parents might actually be Javanese. Yet from the day I was born, I have been submitted to the government as ‘Malay’. My heritage, what should have been a celebration of a personal cultural diversity was claimed by the government for demographic purposes.
It is mandatory in Malaysia to have a religion so that: the government has an idea of how to sway votes according to their demographic; so that other Malaysians know how to measure your morality and how to tiptoe around other races’ automated cultural beliefs. How do I know that our racial labels are merely demographic? Because if you’re not Malay, Chinese or Indian, you’re ‘bumiputera’ or ‘lain-lain’ – indigenous others. This works perfectly for Barisan Nasional, the people who first built this nation: the Malays have UMNO, the Chinese have MCA and the Indians have MIC, there’s no room for Parti DLL (dan lain-lain). East Malaysia has so many different races – you have the Dayaks, Ibans, Kadazans, Dusuns and the list goes up to nearly a hundred other indigenous races that your average Malaysian may not acknowledge. General Malaysian politics which is so embroiled in its triad of racial politics doesn’t have any more room for the indigenous peoples and therefore we are neglected.
I know it sounds negative but growing up under Malaysia’s race politics, it’s bright as daylight that it has been traumatic on all Malaysians. In the first place, my dad was hardly educated in Malaysia and my mum is not Malay at all. Malays are not indigenous to Sabah at all but somehow I inherited being labeled Malay because my father is half Malay? I grew up in Kota Kinabalu, did 7 years of Chinese school and I must have only had two Malay friends up till I was 13. I don’t know the first thing of what it means to be Malay. In some respects I could be envied for being Malay and Muslim because it means that I get monetary benefits, land et al. Contrarily, to be honest, it can be scary for me to be a Malay-Muslim in Malaysia. I’m afraid of Syariah law, raids, khalwat and all the idiotic rules that have been perverted and enforced onto every existing Muslim in the land (See: http://www.thenutgraph.com/whipping-kartika). As a progressive, liberal individual, someone somewhere has made me feel very unwelcome in my own country. Turkey is 99.9% Muslim and even they are embarrassed of how we conduct ourselves as a Muslim nation.
If you want to talk about racism or how awesome it is to be Malay, try having a ‘Siti’ in your name throughout primary school and a Chinese one, at that. I was 7 and my Chinese teachers automatically thought it normal that I was stupid or slow in class. I was never a good student because I didn’t come from a Mandarin speaking household. It took me ages to figure out for myself that I wasn’t at all stupid. In fact, after all the years of getting smacked and screamed at for being a bad student, I grew up to be what some people actually consider to be – intelligent. I resented being called ‘Siti’ because I was embarrassed for having to be an outcast for the sake of a race that I did not even identify with. I sat through a Pendidikan Moral class once and the teacher told the class that Malay people wash themselves with their hands after they go to the toilet and every person in the class looked at me straight away and laughed long… and loud… and hard. I had 59 other kids and one adult in that room picturing me touch my own shit. Woe. If I wasn’t in Pendidikan Moral, I was in Pendidikan Islam where they told me that the rest of my non-Muslim classmates whom I spent 7 hours a day, 5 days a week playing and studying with, were going to hell. Talk about your mindfucks.
To all my friend’s mums who hid the pork when I visited their homes, the guys who I met when I went clubbing who said I was pretty but it was too bad they couldn’t marry me so they wouldn’t buy me a beer; my Chinese teachers who thought being Malay meant being stupid and the I.C. people who gave me a ‘binti’ in my name when I was 12 – thank you for messing with my childhood. All for a religion that was imposed on me and a race that the government wanted me to have. Malaysia went through so much trouble to control my identity but my accent’s almost American and my Bahasa Malaysia sucks. Now what was all that trouble for?
If I had a say, I wished my I.C. said I was sino-Dusun. I wish that I could marry outside of my religion without my partner having to convert into a religion that I myself don’t practise because I believe in a non-fascist God.
So what do I have to say about Najib’s 1Malaysia? That’s nice… can I change my name now? Can Muslims convert to other religions? And while you can’t decide whether to have your education syllabus in Bahasa Malaysia or English, can there be more facilities for indigenous races to learn indigenous languages? Where were the Sabahan and Sarawakian filmmakers in 15 Malaysia? Do West Malaysians know what native Borneon languages sound like? And once and for all can someone explain to me how come we can’t change our religions but Yasmin Ahmad (God rest her soul) managed to change her gender and marry her husband? Cos I’ve been wondering for years.
Nenek Jantan and family
Now take a good look at my grandfather in the family photo. He’s the tallest one standing in the middle. It all started when he converted into Islam during Tun Mustafa’s time because when UMNO came to East Malaysia, a lot of politicians converted into Islam to gain favour. But then my mum would have had to convert into Islam anyway when she married my dad. In other Muslim countries you don’t have to convert to marry but in Malaysia, we do. So literally speaking because of Malaysian politics either way, I would have been born a Muslim. It was a fate bestowed onto me in what could be interpreted as an un-Islamic way.
What does 1Malaysia mean to me, Najib? It means that you leave the religion out of the politics and you don’t forget about the indigenous people. In a lot of ways, they need much more help than just the Malays. I want them to have a face that every Malaysian can acknowledge as a Malaysian face. East Malaysia has bled for the West, destroyed its forests and polluted its oceans to be so neglected, to be ‘dan lain-lain’ and dirt poor while your Petronas twin towers stand tall above KLCC. You’re not doing anything when Penan women are getting sexually abused yet you want to cane a woman for having a beer? Prioritise, damnit!
To me, 1Malaysia means bridging the oceans. It doesn’t mean Indians, Chinese and Malays or indigenous peoples can just be friends, it means they can love or have babies together if they so choose and still keep their personal heritages. To me it means more religious freedom, more education, less petty hatred and Muslims who can go see the Black Eyed Peas if they want, because it does send the message out there that it’s okay for the non-Muslims in Malaysia to have distorted moral compasses. That’s not right either. My main hope out of this 1Malaysia crock is that Malaysians stop just talking about the Chinese, Malays and Indians and start to acknowledge the indigenous people too. Are we also in the picture of this 1Malaysia you speak of? Will the government just let us be ourselves and not only what they want us to be?
Nonetheless I have a lot of faith. I think that under all this madness there are a lot of Malaysians are on the right path, who go against the grain of a government that wants to pigeon hole us in an effort to keep us under control. Just keep doing what you’re doing, being free to do what feels right in your heart, love who you want and be compassionate to others. In the last few years I think we have proven to ourselves that there are enough sane people out there who will stand up for their fellow Malaysians if they are wrongfully persecuted. It goes to show that we’re not that far gone into becoming an uber conservative nation.
Being Malaysian to me means protecting those who are weaker or different from you. Do not let the a government’s fascist, petty threats make you afraid if it means that we are to neglect each other of our basic human rights. They may represent us but we are bigger than them.
Article obtained from http://feistgeist.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/1malaysa-duamuk/
Don't read the son kill mother story, the one below is something that we hear all the time.
Before I start with my post, I just want to say that I respect everyone who believe in god and who follow their religion respectively.
However, I respect those who do it by choice, not by force.
I don't believe in God, not because the teachings are bad, don't get me wrong, all the teachings in every religion are good. I just personally think that believing in God is a waste of time from my view, because when I see him in person, then I would believe that he is real, but he's nowhere to be seen, heard, felt or whatsoever.
Okay, let me get to the main topic. These kids are of course doing something wrong, skipping school to hangout in a random house. But the Star reported that they will be sent to their religious departments respectively to be dealt with, and of course the school authorities were also notified.
Personally, I think the religious department shouldn't be involved in this cock and bull matter at all. What a waste of time. These students would be better off being sent to counselors in their school instead of being preached by their religious leaders in the first place.
This is not the first time a matter like this happened. When I read a certain article on The Star saying that religious authorities broke into budget hotels in downtown Kuala Lumpur to catch men and women who aren't married sleeping in the same room due to going against their religious beliefs, they would state that it is their religion's law.
Many modern Malaysians don't feel that religion is part of their lives anymore, and the younger generation feel that the old beliefs and teachings from the older generation is not really relevant in today's world and society. However, the government, and the religion leaders try to implement it to the younger generation because they fear that their beliefs will soon be forgotten in the future.
I know many friends from all religions, who go against their religion's teachings and beliefs everyday, a Muslim eating pork or not fasting, a christian who drinks, a Buddhist who eats beef or a person of religion being Gay. But for the non muslim citizens, its easier for them to not believe because they are not binded by religion. I somehow feel sorry for those who are forced to join a religion due to marriage, or is unable to leave the religion due to "law".
If we, as the new generation don't try to change this "belief", fairness will never really be fair in this country because the people, we as the people, will never be free to do what we want to do with our lives.
Having said that, the Law, not religious law, should still be implemented.
Honestly, racism is a sensitive issue and it should not be tolerated. I am a bumiputera and I have nothing against the muslims or the malays in my country. I am a proud Sabahan of course and I'm proud of how my country turned out to be.
However, the Malaysian government is trying to find ways to stop people from speaking their minds. The Malaysian government and the muslim leaders are biased in so many ways in terms of fairness. I know that this is a serious issue but from my point of view the government is only trying to find ways to implement this law to catch those who are against them.
Lets take the sodomy law as an example, this issue is not really used against the Malaysian public, the government only use this law against other politicians or individual who goes against them when they have no other way to shut them up. Then there was the joke that a certain newspaper in Borneo posted up about the muslim god that wasn't intended on condemning the religion. The religious leaders however took it personally and assume that the Malaysian Muslims is sensitive towards the issue. And to show that the muslims have power, the newspaper was shut down for that joke.
So in terms of not posting any racial issues online, the government will target those who go against them by carefully scanning their blog, once they see a little bit of ramblings that involve a little bit of racial issues they would use that particular law to shut them up, take Raja Petra, editor for malaysiakini.com, the government follow his blog closely and when he talked about a little bit of racial matters they immeadiately arrest him due to disturbing the "peace" in Malaysia.
For those of you who don't know who Raja Petra is, you can google him up.
The internet is a strong form of media for the people of Malaysia to read up about the real stories that involves the government or public figures as the Malaysian Media, (eg Newspaper, Television, Radio) are all closely monitored by the government and theres a gate keeper in these forms of media to not let certain issues that condemns the government to leak out to the public.
This is why the government is finding ways to shut the bloggers who speak their mind up.
I personally think that this is unfair and is a way for the government to try and silent those who have a voice in Malaysia. I personally think that a new government should take over and give equal attention to other politicians in terms of the mass media, because if they commit an action that they think is right, they should have an answer to back it up, rather than just do something without the people's knowledge in it.
Okay honestly, I'm the kind of person who doesn't really care about the government. I know that their corrupted, and that they are power hungry. Of course I'm not saying that the whole entire government is bad, we do have a "little" good politicians and government servants.
Anyway, being in Kuala Lumpur, I heard about the riot that was going on in downtown KL to protest the ISA. About 10,000 people were reported to participate in the act. Chaos went down in Kuala Lumpur and a major jam everywhere happened.
I then decided to go online to look for a story about it. I went to http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/8/2/nation/20090802071809&sec=nation and found that the article posted by the Star Newspaper is so biased. They didn't report the news properly and were focused on saying that the protesters were the one who was at fault. I felt that this was totally unfair and I know that the Malaysian media are all controlled by the local government.
However, I came across this other website, not a Malaysian one reporting a good cover of the story, not supporting the government and not supporting the protesters as well. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124912276548999015.html I find that more stories like this should be shown to the Malaysian public to let them know what really happened. From my view, if people don't do something about it and put Barisan National down, our government system will never change.
xoxo
Jeffrey James
Ps. Please do click on the adverts found in my site. I would really appreciate it.
Money politics is an open secret, in fact, not a secret at all. What’s worse, many are not interested in even hiding the fact of vote-buying. Sadly, the younger generation is into it as well.
I WAS out to dinner with a friend last week during the Umno general assembly and naturally was waiting to hear the election results. To my surprise, my friend’s colleague, who could never qualify to be an Umno member because of his race, asked me how it was going.
This proved to me that the elections last week were of interest to more than just Umno members. Who was elected to hold posts was important not just to Umno members but also to the rest of Malaysia.
If only Umno members realised that, perhaps they might have behaved better.
There can be no doubt that some of those who won posts smell bad.
Indeed nobody needs to be making allegations for the simple reason that the perpetrators of corruption, and those who sold themselves, were not interested in even hiding the fact.
Some were even found guilty of using financial inducements to get votes and yet they were still allowed to contest.
Others managed to get away with it, at least from those who would waggle a finger at them. But for those on the receiving end of the largesse, this was simply par for the course.
How else do you explain the delegates who had the temerity to say that the euphemism “money politics” should not be eradicated? After all, it was just payment for their “sacrifices”. Never mind that the compensation for their alleged “sacrifice” was more than they could hope to make in a year.
These are the very same people who can demand that their religion be defended at all costs but forget that hypocrisy is the worst betrayal of that same religion. These were people who cheer in agreement when their leaders exhort them to abandon such wanton corruption only to then smugly demand payment from those who need their votes.
To say that this behaviour is an open secret is to deny a fact: it is not a secret at all but has become the norm. People are quite willing to sell their very souls for money, not least because there are just as many people willing to buy from them.
Does anyone care that the rest of the country is watching all this? Not in the least, because they got the positions they wanted. Do they even consider how they have sold out not just themselves but that party they so depend on to survive? Probably not even for a nanosecond.
Those of us who criticise are in turn condemned for being too comfortable to understand what it means to be faced with these rich opportunities. Where else, they say, are we going to get this chance to make this sort of money?
Yet these are the very same people who believe themselves to be pious because they make their wives cover their heads and they intend to use some of their ill-gotten gains to perform their pilgrimage.
Halal and haram are only for food, apparently not for dubious ways of earning money.
To say that it is only the older ones who are doing this while the young remain untainted is incorrect.
It is the younger generation who has been the worst perpetrators, stroking their already paunchy bellies in glee at the rewards coming their way. The rewards of the afterlife are for others; let them enjoy their fancy new cars, watches and wives now.
I shudder to think of a future generation that thinks that such impunity is the norm. A generation that believes that the only way to get ahead is not through hard labour but through ensuring that they say what the person who pays them most wants them to say.
Happily they slapped each other on their backs at their own good fortune for having hooked onto the person most able to reward their greed.
Do we really need proof of all this? All we need to do is to look at who won and review their credentials.
Do they have any substance at all? Few do.
Have they shown any leadership skills? No.
Yet they got elected. What more can it mean than that their electability factor must have been very discreet?
Of course, there are some who seem to have leadership skills. Who can talk and even make a show of being humble, who is now cast as the underdog that won.
I came across this article from www.star.com.my and found it a little disturbing.
Censor blogs to stop offensive messages
INTERNET has become the most powerful device today to communicate with the rest of the world. It is very easy and fast to communicate with anyone, no matter where one is.
One of the common ways to communicate is through blogs. Blogs are used to express our views on certain topics under discussion.
A string of comments follows the blog topic until it is withdrawn and put into an archive or destroyed.
Normally, when using blogs, the participant keys in the message and once done, it would be uploaded into the blog spot.
The process takes place either instantly or would only be uploaded after the message has been censored and edited.
Which is the best mode for blog messages, free or censored? Many of you might say free. I too prefer the same.
However, there are some irresponsible and inconsiderate individuals who abuse the freedom allowed in blog messages. They use very vulgar and offensive messages in the blogs.
I do understand some teens and those young at heart and also those whose messages are meant to look like that of an opposite sex, just want to have fun .
However, if we left the entertainment and leisure blogs uncensored, it would mean whatever that was keyed in will appear exactly on the screen.
There are some who do not know where to draw the line. Even in the more serious news and educational blogs, they use vulgar and sensitive remarks.
Such nonsense should be stopped before it breaches the tolerance level.
The royals have been the latest victims especially during the political crisis in Perak. The politicians and other celebrities have been their targets for a long time.
The culprits might think no one would know who posted the messages.
On the contrary, the authorities can easily trace them just by referring to the IP Address, Line Number and other latest gadgets.
Hence, they must either be careful using these blogs or face the music if he go overboard.
Let us use the blogs sensibly and responsibly with due consideration.
P. SRITHARAN, Johor Baru.
Well, first of all, the internet is a source of information for everyone. It is a known fact that the new generation these days find it harder to live without the use of the Internet because almost all form of information can be found online.
In Malaysia or Singapore, we are known to be a democratic country. But if we call our country a democratic country, why are our media controlled by the government? Why are the opposing party not given equal amount of air time as the controlling party during the elections? Why are our local television stations very biased and supports the government?
Any form of media, the radio, television and print advertising have restrictions in what the broadcast or publish. Anything that goes against the government or religion (mainly Islam) will be considered illegal and therefor the responsible party who goes against the government or religion will be taken down.
But recently, there have been way for people to get their messages out there. The internet is something the Malaysian government can't get hold of (entirely). Whatever news that are told on the internet reveals some points of truth that the traditional media in Malaysia are not allowed to reveal. Sex scandals, political scandals, criticism, truth to name a few are the few good things about what the internet reveals.
It is of course unfair for me to state that there are no bad outcomes that can happen because of the internet. But parents themselves should install censoring material that does not allows children below the age of 16 to view content like porn or any other vulgar material. But if this matter were to be brought up to the government, the government might use this opportunity to censor blogs that go against what they're doing in the first place.
As for the royals, or the recent political sex scandals, they should have been prepared to face such criticism and attention for not being careful of their decisions in the first place. Because if they did something and were not smart enough to hide it, then they will have to prepare to accept the outcome of the whole backlash of media attention that comes out after their secrets are revealed.
I was on www.paultan.org and found out that their resident artist Mr.Theophilus Chin has came up with a Perodua Myvie Cabriolet. I think it looks fabulous! I won't mind driving this car in K.K by the beach with the top down. I honestly would love it. In the original post however they questioned whether or not this car could sell here in Malaysia. I guess in places like Kuala Lumpur it would be hard to sell because it's quite dusty there due to the haze. But places like K.K or Kuching or other cities in Borneo and Penang and Johore as an example might have a market for this sort of car as they are by the beaches and less polluted. If this car was retailed at Rm70,000 i would actually still consider getting it!
What do you think?
Oh, and F.Y.I. Fuel price has dropped 15 cents to Rm2.00 per liter for petrol and Rm1.90 for diesel.
It's surprising to see how the world crude oil prices are falling like crazy. Just a few months ago it was about Rm450 per barrel and today it crashed to about only Rm195 per barrel. The Malaysian government however is making money from this as I calculated how much it would cost for about a liter of petrol. If the government weren't subsidizing anything, it would cost us around Rm1.70 per litter. But petrol prices are retailing at about Rm2.15 and the government said that they would always give us 30cents subsidy. If that were true we should be paying about Rm1.50 per liter at least.
Barisan National dissapoints us all.
As for those who are in Australia. The Australian currency has tumbled again once more dropping from 2.42 to about 2.25 in a day. The Australian dollar was about 3 to 1 to the Malaysian economy before the world economy crisis. Now it's smaller than the Singapore dollars. Isn't that great? haha!
My advice is to convert the Malaysian Ringgit into Australian Dollars before it's too late. Cause I actually see the Australian Dollars going up again later.
I finally got to get out of my prison last night and tonight as well. Thanks to Vanessa, Abby and Feedah of course. I actually feel kinda bad for asking them to pick me up today as the prices of fuel has gone up. But they were nice enough to come all the way to my apartment to come and get me. Which of course, brightened up my day,(night of course).
We actually decided to drive out of Senadin area to go and grab a bite to eat, and well, the girls were telling me about two nights ago when everybody were rushing to go and get some fuel at the petrol station at that area. Apparently, they were caught in the jam for about an hour and a half for a distance of about only a hundred meters. Which in turn pissed them off.
I then taught about other things, i thought about the fact that the cost of fuel have gone up, everything else will sky rocket as well. Food, clothes, transportation etc. It wouldn't really affect the upper middle class community but that would mean that it's not affecting my parents. I'm not the one who is being affected, and the students of course.
I was reading some news on www.thestar.com.my and there were apparently some fuel shortages in parts of Sarawak and also Dato Yong Teck Lee stating that there would be a problem with the people of Sabah supporting the current party, which is BN as the lower and middle class families are heavily affected by the fuel rise.
I would actually agree, you see, the rising cost of fuel has already been running through my mind for quite some time but I never thought something like this would happen. I used to think that as long as the government is doing a good job with Sabah, who cares if they're corrupted or not? Well, now I am starting to think otherwise. Barisan National is honestly doing an okay job running Sabah, but the rising of the fuel cost is just a heavy blow.
And well, from what I've read from thestar.com.my, I noticed that many companies have increased costs or even wanting to shut down their businesses due to the fact that the fuel costs are so high. I smell a lot of trouble here! And well, I am still sticking to the removal of vehicle import tax as it will really help.
And i know that my post has nothing to do whatsoever with the pictures I posted, but these are the things I've been seeing for the past two nights, finally.
Ladies and Gentlemen, yes, the petrol prices have gone up up up here in Malaysia too! Prices of Unleaded fuel has gone up from Rm1.92 to Rm2.70 per liter whereas Diesel fuel has gone up from Rm1.58 to Rm2.58 per liter as well as of today on the 5th of June at 12 midnight. People were piling up the petrol stations before mid night yesterday to make sure that their cars have been filled up.
Which brings me to ask, is the government making the right choice? Well, i was in my lecture today and my lecturer was saying that there was some talk about blogging by political bloggers on campus today. Well, he said something like, "...they said that it is not the government fault for doing so as they don't control the price of oil..." well, that wasn't what her really said, but something like that, I just couldn't remember. Well apparently the people at the blog seminar was talking about that.
And it made me think, yes, the Americans are the ones controlling the price of fuel. And that we don't have a shortage of fuel, it's just the Americans who are controlling it. But the main question is, is the government doing the right thing jacking up the price of fuel just like that? And by a lot as well! Well I think it's somewhat of a harsh decision for the government to do so, especially so suddenly.
Yes, in America, or in Singapore, people are paying much more for fuel compared to us, like Singaporeans as an example are paying s$2.70 per liter and the Americans however are paying us$3.976 per gallon for fuel there which is about Rm12.72 per gallon here. Well, 1 gallon is 3.785 liters. So you do the math. They are actually paying more compared to us. But the thing is, they're earning much much more as compared to us as well.
In Malaysia, especially in east Malaysia, we get paid so low. We have a minimum wage of Rm2.75 an hour whereas Singapore has a minimum wage of s$5.00 an hour. We pay Rm2.70, they pay s$2.70. So even though their fuel prices are higher than ours, they get paid much much more compared to us Malaysians. Which is why they wouldn't mind paying that much for their fuel.
The government has done something to try and minimize our misery by giving discounts on road tax and giving back a certain amount of money to the people. But why not pull off the import tax for vehicles and jack up the oil price to the standard price following the ups and downs of the world economy? That way, we can save maybe Rm10,000 on buying Protons and also save 200% percent buying imported cars! That way, the people won't really hurt. Or at least lift up the minimum wage of the people.
I am, as a student, as a driver who doesn't want to drive his 14 year old 4.2 liter diesel landcruiser is affected by this. I am a citizen who is angry and disappointed at the government for doing such a thing. Especially to us, the citizens who voted for them. What is this world coming to? I sense something going to go against them pretty soon :)
