Jesus wept — Mariam Mokhtar

commentary: I also went to a parish primary school in Butterworth and Kuantan... St. Mark and St. Thomas primary school, where both my principal is either a Nun or a Father...respectively... we are all aware of the diversity of the country.... but how Ms Mokhtar is saying is as if the rest of the Malay is shallow... i beg to differ madam... we are not shallow, the very fact that you saying not to wear head-cover show that you are the shallow muslim... we are actually more aware then you... that is why we are the way we are... we actually know more about whats in in the head of the missionary then you.... so please, don't think that you are progressive just because you deny the ruling of waring hijab by your children, a moderate muslim.. pleezzz..... aizley   

 

by Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysian Insider

JAN 11 — The views of some contributors to The Malaysian Insider at the weekend, over the “Allah” issue may be repugnant, but in a mature democracy its members are entitled to voice them.

Thus, I hope to be an antidote to any loathsome, angry and hate-filled opinions of certain small-minded individuals.

And I am confident there will be more moderate Muslims who will add to the voices of a slowly growing group of like-minded people like Marina Mahathir and the others whose names I fail to mention.

When I was in primary school in the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus, the Muslims had agama lessons, whilst the Christians had catechism.

We were taught that oft repeated phrase — “death to the infidels (kafir)”. My best friend and I exchanged looks with each other; that meant our gang — friends like Jennifer, Susie, Maria, and others — Indian, Chinese and Eurasians. What about our favourite teachers — Mrs. Kong and Miss Hew?

We were afraid for them — will they come to harm, but who will harm them? These thoughts are not impossible in an eight-year-old.

I was more afraid for myself, when I finally plucked up the courage to put my hand up and ask the agama teacher the question, “Death to our friends, too?”

With a wave of her hand, I was immediately brushed into silence and told to read the rest of the page in silence, by the teacher. No explanation. Nothing.  I do not blame her. It was a weighty question. But that phrase has lived with me and resurfaced with our recent troubles.

But, I do blame our heads of education and religion, who I feel have a duty of care towards their students.

I also blame our leaders for cowardly refusing to address issues that are contentious. There are areas of conflict and sensitivity but our leaders seem to treat these as hallucinatory, in the hope they will disappear. They are wrong.

Evil thoughts or conflicting ideas should not be allowed to foment in weak-minded and impressionable individuals, for it can only breed monsters in the future.

I strongly believe that the teaching of religion should be overhauled. Even in the early stages of school.

Later, when I went to Britain for further education, my family warned against being influenced by the dakwah movement. There was little chance of that in a public school but at university, I observed that these seats of learning were equally capable of breeding loathing in vulnerable groups of people, many of whom were Malaysian Malays.

These Muslims cluster together, had few friends outside their immediate circle, were confused and had little in common with the British student social scene. They excluded themselves from other students and wrongly assumed that British university life revolved round “sex, drinks and rock and roll”.

The raging conflict within them, between Islam and secular views, made them easy prey for Islamic radicals who gave them companionship, a narrow view of the world and a false sense of identity based on fundamentalist and extremist ideas.

Universities — the world over — need to encourage more social cohesion among different social groups. They also need to increase personal development by promoting interaction with other student community groups, all of which may prove difficult because of cuts in funding.

Muslims, and anyone else, who preach violence and who express intolerant views should be made to realise that public order laws which demarcate between free speech and an intentional call for violence will be used against them. Thus, these laws must be executed without fear or favour. Sadly, this has already been abused in Malaysia.

Why do our leaders not wish to upset certain Muslim constituents? Why do they play politics with extremists? Their ideologies are extremely complex, as we have found to our cost.

I find that my nieces and nephews, who are in their early teens, have limited or no knowledge about other world religions. To them, Christians were only Catholics. They’d never heard of Protestants, Methodists or Seventh-Day Adventists. All Chinese were Buddhists and all Indians were Hindus. Judaism might as well have been a Martian religion.

We won’t have a truly cohesive society if we fail to know how our neighbours live. What right have we to demand respect when we refuse to give it, too?

When these Muslim miscreants objected to non-Muslims using the word “Allah”, they in one fell swoop caused “Allah” to become a dirty word, associated with dissent and violence, instead of all the good things associated with it.

Our government offers too little, too late. Rather than being open-minded and initiating intelligent public discussion, the government denies there is a problem and instead panders to these troublemakers.

The only way to move forward as a nation is to engage with all the religious leaders, including the offensive repugnant ones, through argument and debate. We need the courage to force them to defend their loathsome views in public.

But why are these people so worried? They are the ones wanting to impose totalitarianism on the whole country. The Catholics are not trying to force their faith onto them or their children.  The Catholics, like moderate Muslims such as myself, are only trying to make sense of our current societal madness. It is a world gone crazy.

Areas of conflict are dotted around the world, caused by the combination of economic, racial, ethnic, religious and other factors. It would be a tragedy if we allowed our country to join this list of hot spots, where religion forms the basis of civil unrest.

I want a Malaysia free from threats of Islamist extremist views, to see my children and their cousins grow up in a country where they are not judged by others by how they dress — hijab for the girls or white robes for the men, and without threatening other Malaysians of different faith.

I want them to live in a Malaysia that is proud of its unique Malaysian identity.

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A Fairy Tale

commentary: Capt Iskandar is probably a fake name too... well, if not, he is probably one of the most ungrateful chap around.... I mean, a captain, I assume if he is Pilot, presumably, he got scholarship from MAS, ie owned by Govt... ie got the Malay Quota for his pilot training.... so, you yourself is the product of NEP... unless, your parents paid for your pilot training... which is highly unlikely... this are the clowns that talk about equal right but they really forgot where they actually came from...

"Kacang lupakan kulit...."

 

Ketuanan Melayu is a fable. It does not exist.
By Capt. Iskandar Dzulkarnain
76 Malay NGOs form new council

KUALA LUMPUR: Seventy-six Malay non-governmental organisations yesterday joined forces to form a consultative council, Majlis Perundingan NGO Melayu (MPM), to defend Malays rights and Islam in the country.

What a noble effort! I almost choked on my breakfast, coming across this article in The Star.

Ketuanan Melayu is a fable. It does not exist. It is just a fairy tale. The champions of these Rights are still living in a make believe world. Malaysia, however is real, and is a potpourri of diverse races. Why is there a consensus to champion one particular race. Is Malay domination on the verge of collapse? We dominate in numbers, but not in intellect, or economic might.

Why are they fighting for Malay Rights? Why not fight for Malaysian rights? Why not stop the racial rot, and hold hands with the rest of the nation, to forge a unity, that will ensure a prosperous nation? Slogans like this makes others feel that they are racially biased, greedy for more, while declining to share. Intellectually stunted, fanatical. Nobody really believes that they are fighting for race and religion. Even the Malays do not believe them.

If Malay NGOs want to champion Malay Rights, they have to study the problem in depth and identify the cause of Malay failure, and really what is slowing down the Malays from advancing against the others. Lead them out from their coconut shell, and show them a brave new world out there. Teach them about other people's culture, and to respect other religions, and be humble before God. Encourage Malays to be bilingual or multilingual. It is a fact that knowledge of an extra language is a plus factor.

Malays have fought hard to eke out a living, in rural areas which lack economic potential, just to earn a living and self respect. Over the years they have carved a life for themselves and their families. They thank God everyday for their blessed existence.

Then all this self respect is blown away by some people purportedly championing for their rights. They still want others to see that Malays are weak, in need of subsidies, and unable to stand on their own two feet. Is it a wonder, that after all the years of sweet talk, Malays are turning slowly away from BN. These NGOs talk as if there is no tomorrow, and at the same time making a laughing stock of the dominant Malays.

What subsidies are they talking about? A few thousand scholarships a year, for hundreds of thousands of Malay students? Fertilizer subsidy for Malay farmers? Are non-Malay farmers exempt from fertilizer subsidy? A bloated civil service that continues to employ Malays, that cannot fit in to society, or lack the social skills to fit into the private sector? Repairing rural roads before a major election is not enough. So, that is why the rural kampongs remain as rural kampongs in Malaysia while the rest of the world, their kampongs are turning into modern suburbs, and their villagers, intellectually more advanced than us.

And with 80 organizations joining the consultative council, it only paves the way for a radical approach, and completely destroying all hope for a united race.

It is definitely not good news. At a time when this nation needs to bond, organizations like these are tearing at the fabric of unity. At least the others are clever enough not to form a consultative council for Non-Malay Rights.

It is totally in contrast to Najib's 1Malaysia - acceptance of racial unity and not just tolerance. Why is the government,not lifting a finger to neutralize such blatant disregard for 1Malaysia?

Sincerely, we should stop all this nonsense, and concentrate on more fruitful causes, like uniting the country together, to combat outside enemies. Forming a consultative council is like fighting a psychological war ... no sorry! ... a psychotic war with an unseen enemy, or an imagined enemy. The threat to Race and Religion is only perceived, and these people have a really poor perception. True Muslims, when they speak, we can see from their body language that they are true believers, like Tok Guru for instance. That is why he commands a lot of respect from other Malays.

True Malays shake their heads at this circus of clowns, which keeps on shouting Malay Rights, although they know it is all hogwash. Such untruth keeps on surfacing and the Malay folk is made to look like fools.

Many years ago, Malaysians were united and it was an acceptable fact. Today, racial unity is only tolerated because the government refuses to wipe out the political opportunists that try so hard to create disunity. They lie through their teeth about potential racial conflicts and still hope that the Rakyat will believe them. They make the Malay look small, make them look stupid, make others think that Malays are still surviving on crutches. What else is further from the truth!?

These politicians have tasted the forbidden fruit, and are addicted to easy riches; and still they use the Malay Race as an excuse to further their deceit and to strengthen their hold on power.

They purportedly fight for Religion; but the words that spew forth from their mouths makes even an atheist shudder. The biggest threat to Muslims is not from other religions, but from Muslims themselves. Shiite teachings, Al Arqam, and other deviant teachings, are the ones that divide the Muslims, and not other religions. There is no threat to Islam in this country. Every available opportunity is used to build suraus and mosques, and the population of Muslims is growing at a healthy rate.

We always thought of politicians as wise people, genuinely interested in serving the nation and its people. And we are really disappointed when we see through their sheepskin and their moronic decisions to determine policy.

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The race to the top begins at kindergarten

commentary:  My sister told me about her eldest daughter enrolling to a Chinese nursery/kindergarten in Damansara Perdana... after a couple of months, her daughter was complaining that she had too much homework... at first, my sister think that it was probably because her eldest was giving excuses of not wanting to do her homework but later did she found out that it is true....

She went to see her daughter's teacher and said that actually other parents came to see her not because too much homework, it was the other way around... and my niece was actually 4 years old at that time ! apparently, this goes on in most Chinese medium education centre, all over the world !!!....where education is grilled into their children mind like robot....what such nonsense these people do to their children... i mean, I lived all over the world, I have never met or knew other then this type of people ie Chinese that are so KIASU... i mean, don't you guys appreciate life ? work and education is important but... having a life is also too....

 

by Anita Anandarajah 

is a stay-at-home-mum 

who lives in Hong Kong. 

She longs for the grassy 

playgrounds of her childhood.

FEB 28 – Education kills. Someone should put that warning on the back of a school enrolment pack.

To be more precise, I am referring to the pursuit of education. So great is the pressure to perform that the race to enter the best school sometimes ends tragically.

Earlier this month, a mother threw her four-year-old girl from the seventh floor of a shopping mall before jumping off herself because the girl had not qualified for a place in the school of choice.

The little girl survived the ordeal when the safety net broke her fall but the mother fell through, and died.

Newspapers reported that the child’s parents had been arguing about her education before the incident.

The girl is a student in an English Schools Foundation kindergarten but had failed to win a place at an ESF primary school. A student at an ESF kindergarten is only ensured of an interview but not a slot in primary school.

As a result, the mother, a clerk, wanted to enrol her daughter in an international school but the father, a mechanic, said he could not afford the fees.

They had already forked out $51,000 a year for the ESF kindergarten fees. There are three years of kindergarten in total.

In response, the mother replied that since her child had no future, she might as well end her life there and then.

Parents put themselves through enormous pressure to ensure their children enter the right schools. Local schools set rigorous assessments to gain entrance and the intensively competitive environment.

International schools offer a tempting alternative with a wider curriculum and less high-pressured learning environment. Parents see the former as better equipping their children for university studies abroad. However the fees are prohibitively expensive for the average family.

The third type of school, the ESF school, is therefore an attractive alternative as it is subsidised by the government.

It was set up to provide education for English-speaking children who cannot access the local system but has become very popular with locals who want western-style education for their children. However, places are limited.

As a parent of a toddler who has just taken his first tiny steps into this treacherous field, I am already suffering the sweats.

I am beginning to understand the madness, the stress that seizes a parent whose life mission is now to provide the best education on a finite budget.

You see, I missed the deadline to enrol Ishan into what should be his first year of kindergarten beginning this August in a nearby school.

Incidentally, this school is popular as the medium of instruction is equally divided into English and Mandarin unlike local schools which are fully Cantonese.

And we all know that Putonghua is this generation’s passport to world domination.

The word around town is that there is a waiting list of up to eight months at said school so parents tend to register their child a year ahead.

One parent I chatted with raised an eyebrow when I expressed surprise at the “kiasu-ness” of this strategy.

So now I worry that he will be completely lost with the Mandarin half of the syllabus if and when he enters that school several terms later.

School aside, there are the extra-curricular activities that parents invest in to ensure their child’s school portfolio is nicely padded. Some of Ishan’s playmates have signed up for swimming lessons, ballet, piano and soccer.

I have also heard of children who attend two schools simultaneously, one in the morning and another in the afternoon.

Ishan just turned two. He has “playroom and/or playground at 4.30pm” and play group twice a week on his list. Am I being paranoid about him falling back?

I want to be able to lean back and watch my son enjoy his childhood and develop to the best of his natural ability. Yet I can’t help but feel I should push him a lot harder.

My husband tells me that we will take it all one step at a time. We are not sure how we will cope with the highly competitive environment but we will. This is, after all, part of the experience of living in Hong Kong.

For now, I will take a tip from The Karate Kid (1984) sensei Mr Miyagi: “Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important.”

Wax on, wax off, people.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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Majlis Perunding NGO Melayu (MPM)

commentary:  Malay is a race that are actually docile in nature... a very dormant type of people... that usually would like to avoid confrontational issues...

But recently, for the past couple of years, the non-bumi(s), thru their actions (in Penang and Selangor) and their comments in MSM and blogs, have questions the special privilege of Malay that has been enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution.  This was done by the forefathers of Malaysia to get the equilibrium balance among the races, which is not just divided by skin colour and religion, but also their state of economic domination.  This does not sit well for most Malays, although most of them remain silent but we can feel the animosity among them...

Perkasa has given the non-bumi(s) a wake up call.... maybe they are a group that is a bit rough on the edges but it seem that they have tremendous support from the Malays. The silent majority aren't that silent anymore..... aizley

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- Seventy-six Malay non-governmental organisations Saturday joined forces to form a consultative council, Majlis Perundingan NGO Melayu (MPM), to defend Malays rights and Islam in the country.

Among them were Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Negara (Perkasa), Majlis Bekas Wakil Rakyat Malaysia (Mubarak), Federation of Malay Students Association of Peninsular Malaysia (GPMS), Malay Professional Thinkers Association of Malaysia and Cuepacs, the umbrella union for civil servants.

Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali, who acted as the council's spokesman, said the council's role was to act as a shield against those who tried to question Malay rights and privileges, the position of Islam and the institution of the Malay rulers.

"At the same time, we will also be a polite pressure group to the government not to shirk from its responsibility in upholding fundamental matters as enshrined in Article 153 of the Federal Constitution," he told reporters at the launching ceremony of MPM at the Sultan Sulaiman Club here.

He said MPM members would hold a roundtable on March 7 to discuss the economic direction of the Malays following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's announcing of the new economic model for the nation.

"We also hope to meet the prime minister before the new economic model is announced because we do not want Malay NGOs to be "making noise" to voice their dissatisfaction over it...we want any policy made by the government to get support from all quarters.

"However, the government should also be proactive to Malay NGOs...meaning there should be give and take...if the government wants the support of NGOs, the government should also give due consideration to our views and feelings," said the Member of Parliament for Pasir Mas.

In MPM's statement circulated to media members present, the council asserted that its members must scrutinise each issue that had a bearing on the interest of the Malays, Islam, the Malay rulers and security and harmony in the country irrespective of who raised or questioned them and that they must also highlight matters that are dear to the Malays.

Besides this, MPM said it would also prepare and implement an action plan to counter any provocation on matters that touch on the interests of Malays and Islam if they were construed as efforts by irresponsible parties to spread hatred.

-- BERNAMA 

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