Archive for category 1Malaysia
In Sarawak, a Christian groundswell
By Sheridan Mahavera
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 26, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 — When 3,000 Christians turned up for a prayer rally in Kuching this week it sent ripples running through Petrajaya, where gleaming structures house the Sarawak state government that is facing elections next month.
In a Christian-majority state where there has been little in the way of religious tension, the prayer rally was an unusual event.
It was a protest against the establishment which Christians have associated themselves with in the state.
The unhappiness with the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is palpable among Christians all over the country. But for it to be become so apparent in Sarawak is worrying BN politicians even in Putrajaya.
Through conversations with ordinary Christians, church officials and Christian Barisan Nasional supporters, a consensus emerged that though the dispute gnawed at their hearts, it would not tilt election results.
For now.
The prayer rally on March 23 has challenged that conclusion. Read the rest of this entry »
Who next after Christians, questions non-Muslim interfaith council
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building, Religion on Friday, 25 March 2011
By Debra Chong
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 25, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — A fever has broken out over Putrajaya’s handling of the Alkitab row that appears to have split multicultural Malaysia into two distinct camps — Muslim and non-Muslim — as the nation readies for crucial polls in Sarawak, its biggest Christian state.
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) issued a strongly worded statement today accusing the Najib administration of riding roughshod over religions other than Islam when it imposed conditions for the release of 35,000 Malay bibles seized from Port Klang and Kuching.
“This means that the Alkitab (Bahasa Malaysia version) is now considered a restricted item and ‘the Word of God’ has been made subject to the control of man,” it said, citing the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) in the latter’s previous attempt to free the bibles.
CFM is the umbrella body that represents over 90 per cent of churches here.
In a series of news statements that started earlier this month, the Christian organisation denounced the Najib administration for defacing its holy books with the home ministry’s official seal, an act it said amounted to desecration.
“Does our current prime minister wield any authority? And if he does not, who does?” the interfaith council demanded of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
“We also vehemently oppose the present line of action being pursued,” it said in solidarity with the Christian community. Read the rest of this entry »
What’s the hype about?
By Francis Loh | Aliran
Francis Loh finds the hype surrounding the proposal that we should do away with the ethnic/race categories in application forms befuddling.
Give the ethnic group of the following Malaysians: Abdullah Badawi? Samy Vellu? Ling Liong Sik? Karpal Singh?
Yes, Abdullah is Malay, Samy is Indian, Ling is Chinese and Karpal is Indian of Sikh faith. No prizes for getting the right answers. Most Malaysian school children would be capable of doing so. Hence, even if these individuals do not state their ethnic group or race orally or in any form, we would still know which ethnic group each belongs to.
In fact, Malaysians are also not required to state their ethnic group or race when they register themselves to vote. Yet the ethnic breakdown for each electoral constituency can be worked out. We know that the political parties determine the estimates for each constituency by going through the electoral rolls. Or if they do not have the capacity to do the counting themselves, they rely either on the estimates that the Elections Commission or the major newspapers provide. Whether the newspapers rely on the Commission’s estimates or the other way around is not so clear. Anyway, the point is that we can determine the race or ethnic background of most Malaysians by reference to their names.
Read the rest of this entry »
Two unreasonable and unacceptable conditions for the release of the 35,100 copies of Bahasa Malaysia Bible should be withdrawn immediately
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, Religion on Thursday, 17 March 2011
The two unreasonable and unacceptable conditions for the release of the 35,100 copies of Bahasa Malaysia Bible, Alkitab – each copy should be stamped “For Christians only” and each copy should carry a serial number – should be withdrawn by the Barisan Nasional government immediately as they smack of discrimination at their worst and will expose Malaysia to international ridicule, scorn and condemnation.
In less than 24 hours, the goodwill which the Najib administration had hoped to generate from the release of the 35,100 copies of Alkitab – 5,100 copies in Port Klang and 30,000 copies in Kuching Port – had been dissipated not only by the two unreasonable and unacceptable conditions, but the most ham-fisted way and trigger-happy manner in implementing them.
The Bible Society of Malaysia, the importer of the consignment of 5,100 Alkitab impounded at Port Klang for about two years, has protested at the “defacement” and “violation” of the Bahasa Malaysia Bibles as it has been informed that the scriptures have been stamped with the words “Al Kitab Berita Baik ini untuk kegunaan penganut agama Kristian sahaja” (‘This “Al Kitab Berita Baik’ is only for the use by Christians only”) and the Home Ministry had stamped spaces for the serial numbers into the Bibles.
Read the rest of this entry »
Alkitab defaced, says Bible Society
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building, Religion on Wednesday, 16 March 2011
By Debra Chong
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 16, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 — The Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) was told today that its shipment of 5,100 Malay bibles seized at Port Klang had already been stamped with the home ministry’s official seal without its prior permission.
“At 5pm today, KDN informed Bible Society of Malaysia that they had already chopped the bibles and asked Bible Society of Malaysia to come collect the bibles,” the importer said in a statement to The Malaysian Insider, calling the home ministry by its Malay initials.
“Bible Society of Malaysia is alarmed by the defacement of the Christian bible by non-Christians chopping it with words that the Christians have not accepted or agreed to,” it added.
The BSM had earlier today refused to collect its cargo of holy books that had been detained for the last two years after the home ministry imposed two conditions for their release.
The society was stunned that home ministry officials had moved to act on their own and only notified BSM after the act, and called on the ministry to immediately put a stop to it. Read the rest of this entry »
Call on Cabinet on Friday to withdraw the appeal against the KL High Court judgment on the Herald “Allah” case to demonstrate government seriousness and commitment to promote 1Malaysia and inter-religious harmony
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Court, Parliament, Religion on Wednesday, 16 March 2011
While the government’s decision yesterday to release the 35,000 copies of Bahasa Malaysia Bible detained in Port Klang and Kuching Port is to be welcomed, questions must be raised as to why it had been allowed to become an issue aggravating Malaysian unity and nation-building problems for such a length of time.
The country seems suddenly to have a very powerful Minister, who is not elected but appointed – Senator Datuk Seri Idris Jala. Is this really the case?
The announcement was not made by the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein or the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who had earlier commented on the issue, but by an unelected Senator Minister. Why was this the case?
In fact, six hours before Idris’ announcement, Muhyiddin had announced that the Cabinet had not made any decision to release the 35,000 Bahasa Malaysia Bibles and that this subject would be discussed in the Cabinet meeting on Friday.
Read the rest of this entry »
Seizure of 35,000 Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia – another example that Najib is not master in his own house and the hollowness of 1Malaysia?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Constitution, Najib Razak, Religion on Saturday, 12 March 2011
Is the continued seizure of 35,000 copies of the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia – 30,000 copies in Kuching Port and 5,000 copies in Port Klang – another example that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is not master of his own house and the hollowness of his 1Malaysia policy?
It is three days since the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) has come out with a statement expressing that it is “greatly disillusioned, fed-up and angered by the repeated detention of Bibles written in our national language, Bahasa Malaysia”.
The CFM Chairman Bishop Ng Boon Hing and its executive committee in a joint statement on Thursday revealed the power of the “Little Napoleons” in the bureaucracy which could even thwart and veto the Prime Minister’s order for the release of the Christian scriptures in Bahasa Malaysia.
Why has there been no action by Najib to ensure that his order to release the 5,000 Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia held in Port Klang since March 2009 are complied with without any more delay or hassle? Read the rest of this entry »
Religious bigotry on the rise again under Najib’s 1 Malaysia policy
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Dr. Chen Man Hin, Najib Razak, Religion on Friday, 11 March 2011
By Dr Chen Man Hin, DAP life advisor
The seizure of 30,000 Christian Bibles printed in Malay and imported into Malaysia is a serious breach of religious freedom. This is a glaring example of the failure of Najib’s promise of a better Malaysia for all, irrespective of race, culture and religion.
Reliable sources say that the Bibles do not contain any philosophy or teachings which are any different from the Bibles used in the country for centuries, since Christianity came into the country whether in the Peninsula or in Sarawak and Sabah.
It would appear that the Bibles were seized because the authorities consider the use of the word ‘Allah’ in the bibles was prohibited and therefore seditious. This is religious bigotry on the part of some fanatics in the muslim community.
ALLAH is the name of the God of the Christians and Muslims in Arab countries for centuries. They invoke the name Allah when they pray and, freely when they greet each other.
Read the rest of this entry »
Christians say fed up with Najib administration
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building, Religion on Thursday, 10 March 2011
By Debra Chong
The Malaysian Insider
March 10, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — Christians in Malaysia say they are angry and fed-up with the Najib government for what they see as a systematic move to deny their religious rights enshrined in the country’s highest law.
Spurred by the Home Ministry’s latest seizure of 30,000 Malay Bibles that cost US$26,000 (RM78,000) from Kuching port, the churches rallied together and issued a stinging rebuke today against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
They demanded he “prove their (the government) sincerity and integrity in dealing with the Malaysian Christian community on this and all other issues which we have been raising with them since the formation of the Christian Federation of Malaysia in 1985”.
“The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) is greatly disillusioned, fed-up and angered by the repeated detention of Bibles written in our national language, Bahasa Malaysia.
“It is an affront to them that they are being deprived of their sacred scriptures. Many are wondering why their scriptures are considered a threat to national security. All these actions in relation to the detention of the Bibles continue to hurt the Malaysian Christian community,” it said in a statement today signed by its chairman, Bishop Ng Moon Hing.
They demanded the government immediately release all Bibles detained. Read the rest of this entry »
‘Malaysia’: What’s in a name?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, nation building on Thursday, 10 March 2011
by Clive S. Kessler
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 10, 2011
MARCH 10 — “What’s in a name?” asks Shakespeare’s Juliet. “That which we call a rose,” she avers, “by any other name would smell as sweet.”
Likewise, “Malaysia.”
So what is in a name, and behind this one?
In a recent blog post (Semenanjung Tanah Melayu (http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/2011/03/semenanjung-tanah-melayu.html) , March 3, 2011) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has repeated the claim — now almost a commonplace in the thinking of many Malaysian citizens — that it was only when the Tunku consented to the blandishments and machinations of retreating British power in the region that the name “Malaysia” was suggested for the newly proposed federation of the pensinsular Malay states, Sarawak, North Borneo (Sabah) and Singapore.
With that, Tun Dr Mahathir asserts, the Federation of Malaya (understood as the Malay Lands or States) or Persekutuan Tanah Melayu came to an untimely and underserved “official” end.
In effect, this claim holds, that older name or identity was throttled by an entirely new coinage, a hitherto unprecedented idea, a crude and ungainly neologism, and then buried under its weight. Read the rest of this entry »
Cops question students for 10 hours over ‘Interlok’
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Education, nation building on Tuesday, 8 March 2011
by Zaidatul Syreen Abdul Rashid
Malaysiakini
Mar 8, 11
Three Form Five students were yesterday taken to the Kuala Kubu Baru district police headquarters and traumatised by being questioned for 10 hours – all for wanting to return the novel Interlok to their headmaster last Friday.
Initially, seven SMK Kuala Kubu Baru students, who wanted to return the book because they were not happy with its contents, were stopped by a discipline teacher who allegedly abused them verbally.
“All seven of us we were walking calmly towards the headmaster’s room when our discipline teacher stopped us and started making comments at us, which hurt our feelings,” said one of the students, who was with four others at the Human Rights Party headquarters today.
According to the student, the discipline teacher said the students were purposely creating problems because of their race.
The teacher reportedly said, “Kenapa orang India garang? India memang suka rosakkan nama sekolah. Keling memang dasar pariah sejak sejarah lagi” (Why are the Indians so fierce? Indians really like to tarnish the school’s name. The keling have been pariahs since historical times).
The students were not able to return the novel as the teacher told them to disperse immediately. Read the rest of this entry »
Senior Gerakan leader resigns, blames Umno
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Gerakan, nation building on Tuesday, 8 March 2011
The Malaysian Insider
Tuesday, 08 March 2011
KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — A senior Gerakan leader announced his resignation from the party today, blaming it on the Umno’s “hegemonic race politics” that has changed little since the political tsunami in the last general election.
Dr Hsu Dar Ren said, in a statement today, that he was resigning from all his positions in Gerakan, including that of central committee member, Federal Territory state liaison committee member, division chairman, branch chairman and ordinary membership.
“Parti Gerakan is a party with good ideology to establish a fair and equitable society in Malaysia. It too has many conscientious members who subscribe to this ideology. Unfortunately, within the framework of BN, where the hegemonic race politics of Umno predominates, it is impossible for Gerakan to realise this ideal,” he said.
The disheartened Dr Hsu (picture), who has been a vocal leader, said that after more than five decades of “race-based politics”, the country has drifted so much apart that “racial polarisation has never been as bad as now”. Read the rest of this entry »
Malays are afraid of themselves
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Mariam Mokhtar, Muhyiddin Yassin, nation building, Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO on Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Mariam Mokhtar | Feb 21, 11
Malaysiakini
The BTN or National Civics Bureau is divisive, racist and politically-motivated. Most people are aware of this except for BN politicians. Despite the serious allegations made about the BTN, their main coalition partners, MCA and MIC have not been effective in condemning the BTN.
Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin denied claims that courses run by the BTN were a form of political indoctrination. He said, “BTN is to inculcate nationalism and unity among the people in line with the 1Malaysia concept”.
Talk of nationalism smacks of the supremacy of one race over the other races. If he had said that the mission of BTN was to promote patriotism, this would be more in line with the spirit of Malaysian unity.
After a media blitz on the BTN in late 2009, the cabinet decided that the BTN would be revamped as it had run counter to its aims of instilling a united Malaysia. When former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad disagreed, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz described him as racist.
Nevertheless, the task of revamping the BTN was given to Ahmad Maslan, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, who is also the BTN chief. As is common with most BN politicians, he flip-flopped and said that he was not going to revamp the curriculum but would merely ‘upgrade’ it. Read the rest of this entry »
Critical test for Najib’s 1Malaysia
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, nation building, Religion on Friday, 18 February 2011
Yesterday, political scientist Farish Noor told the forum on public governance by the Perdana Leadership Foundation and the National Professors’ Council that Malaysia is dangerously close to absolutely breaking down if racial politics is not kept in check.
Farish, who said that Malaysia’s patterns of politics seem to reflect that of other countries which have suffered severe racial and religious discord, told the forum:
“I’ve spent more than 10 years studying dysfunctional countries and I believe we are going down the path of countries like Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
“I have seen enough race and religious riots to see that Malaysia is close to going down that path.”
A week ago, former US ambassador to Malaysia John Malott warned that racial and religious tensions are higher today than when Datuk Seri Najib Razak took office in 2009 and even worse than at any time since 1969.
Najib’s 1Malaysia, which he promulgated as the signature theme of his premiership, is facing a critical test when more and more warnings are made inside and outside the country that racial and religious relations in Malaysia are at their worst since he became Prime Minister just short of two years ago. Read the rest of this entry »
The Price of Malaysia’s Racism
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Najib Razak, nation building on Tuesday, 8 February 2011
Slower growth and a drain of talented citizens are only the beginning.
By JOHN R. MALOTT
The Wall Street Journal
Feb 8, 2011
OPINION
Malaysia’s national tourism agency promotes the country as “a bubbling, bustling melting pot of races and religions where Malays, Indians, Chinese and many other ethnic groups live together in peace and harmony.” Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak echoed this view when he announced his government’s theme, One Malaysia. “What makes Malaysia unique,” Mr. Najib said, “is the diversity of our peoples. One Malaysia’s goal is to preserve and enhance this unity in diversity, which has always been our strength and remains our best hope for the future.”
If Mr. Najib is serious about achieving that goal, a long look in the mirror might be in order first. Despite the government’s new catchphrase, racial and religious tensions are higher today than when Mr. Najib took office in 2009. Indeed, they are worse than at any time since 1969, when at least 200 people died in racial clashes between the majority Malay and minority Chinese communities. The recent deterioration is due to the troubling fact that the country’s leadership is tolerating, and in some cases provoking, ethnic factionalism through words and actions. Read the rest of this entry »
Pakatan wants Najib’s reply to Dr M’s Tanah Melayu remarks
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Mahathir, Najib Razak, nation building on Friday, 4 February 2011
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers have demanded that Datuk Seri Najib Razak respond to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s latest remarks that Malaysia belongs to the Malays and other races are expected to respect Malay sovereignity.
They want the prime minister to state his stand and views on the matter, and whether he subscribes to Dr Mahathir’s views or feels otherwise.
Opposition leaders said Dr Mahathir’s statement was a direct contradiction to Najib’s 1 Malaysia concept of equality. Read the rest of this entry »
Spammed by the Prime Minister!
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Kee Thuan Chye, Najib Razak on Tuesday, 1 February 2011
By Kee Thuan Chye
Malaysian Digest
Tuesday, 01 February 2011
NO less than the Prime Minister has just spammed me! In an e-mail wishing me Happy Chinese New Year. I’m not pleased. In fact, when I got the e-mail, I freaked out. How did he get my address? I take strong umbrage against whoever gave it to him. It is an invasion of my privacy.
Najib Razak (or rather, his assistants) reportedly sent out that e-mail to 1.5 million people. The Star reported that many were happy to get it – in a report quoting only three people. And two of them had Muslim-sounding names! From the tweets I’ve seen, it seems many Muslims have been getting the e-mail too. Some tweeters considered the greeting “insincere”, some suggested reporting the matter to Cyber 999 and even the police.
Many questioned how Najib or his assistants got their e-mail addresses. There’s a theory going round that it came from the database of a media conglomerate. If this is true, the practice is, of course, not right. It contravenes the cyberworld law of data privacy. Whoever gave the data to him showed that they did not respect that privacy.
My wife got a CNY greeting from Najib too – via an SMS. Did her telco give her number to Najib and Co? Is that a proper thing to do? This episode shows that the personal details of Malaysians are not safe from prying and abuse. And that Big Brother is watching. That’s a scary prospect.
Najib’s greeting is yet another of the public relations campaigns he has been mounting for more than a year now. Those who are aware realize they are nothing more than efforts to win votes for the next general election, but there are plenty of others who are not so clued-in. Read the rest of this entry »
Chua Soi Lek should have the courage to tell Umno not to misread Chinese votes for PR Tenang candidate Normala
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, DAP, Islamic state, MCA, Pakatan Rakyat on Tuesday, 25 January 2011
MCA leaders led by its President Datuk Chua Soi Lek have made PAS and the Islamic State as their main weapons in the MCA “scare-and-fear” campaign strategy in the Tenang by-election to frighten the Chinese voters from voting for the Pakatan Rakyat Tenang candidate, Normala Sudirman.
Their first line of attack is that a vote for Normala is a vote for an Islamic State alleging that DAP has betrayed our principles and supported PAS’ Islamic State agenda.
This is a downright lie, as the DAP’s stand on this issue has remained constant and unchanged since the party’s establishment in 1966 – DAP upholds the 1957 Merdeka Constitution which provides that Islam is the official religion but Malaysia is not an Islamic State. The Constitution clearly stipulates that Malaysia is a democratic and secular nation. Read the rest of this entry »
When did Najib get the veto power as BN Chairman to veto parliamentary and state assembly candidates proposed by the other BN component parties?
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced in Kuching yesterday that he will exercise his rights as Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman to veto potential candidates to ensure only winnable ones become BN candidates in the next election.
It is public knowledge that all along, the final decision on the list of candidates rests with the presidents of the respective Barisan Nasional component parties, whether MCA, Gerakan, MIC, PPP or the Sarawak/Sabah component parties.
When did Najib get the veto power as BN Chairman to veto parliamentary and state assembly candidates proposed by BN component parties?
There is nothing in the Barisan Nasional constitution which confers on the BN Chairman the veto powers to reject the parliamentary or state assembly candidates proposed BN component parties.
If Najib can veto potential candidates proposed by Barisan Nasional component parties to ensure only winnable ones become BN candidates, can leaders of the other BN component parties veto proposed Umno candidates on similar ground of winnability in the next general election?
Read the rest of this entry »
NUJ President Hata Wahari first victim of the hypocrisy of Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan in Malaysian media
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Media, Najib Razak on Sunday, 16 January 2011
National Union of Journalists (NUJ) President Hata Wahari is set to be the first victim of the hypocrisy of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan in the Malaysian media.
What is Hata’s crime?
For taking seriously Najib’s 1Malaysia slogan of building a Malaysian nation premised on the concepts of unity in diversity in multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural Malaysia, inclusiveness, social justice and values including the culture of excellence, integrity, wisdom and humility!
It was in this 1Malaysia spirit that Hata, shortly after being elected NUJ President last September, called on “all mainstream journalists, especially of Utusan Malaysia, New Straits Times, Berita Harian and The Star to return to their true function as deliverers of objective information to the public, and not as tools of propaganda for the government, or any political party or individual, for their personal gain.”
Hata also noted that the drop in print media circulation figures also clearly proved that the people were “far too disgusted with what is served up by the newspapers, which not only fail to develop the mind, but are full of horrible propaganda”.
Hata’s call as NUJ President was fully in keeping with Najib’s 1Malaysia concept. Read the rest of this entry »
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