Archive for category nation building
Malaysia an Islamic state – Najib repudiating first three PMs on meaning of Merdeka social contract
Posted by Kit in Constitution, nation building on Tuesday, 17 July 2007
Is Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak repudiating the Merdeka “social contract” and the stand of the first three Prime Ministers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak and Tun Hussein Onn with his statement today that Malaysia is “an Islamic state with its own interpretation”?
Najib’s explanation that “as an Islamic state, it does not mean that we don’t respect the non-Muslims” and that “The Muslims and the non-Muslims have their own rights (in this country)” is no assurance at all, when there is unilateral, arbitrary and unconstitutional revision of the fundamental principles of nation-building agreed by the forefathers of the major communities on the founding of the nation that whilst Islam is the official religion of the Federation, Malaya and later Malaysia is not an Islamic State, whether of the PAS or Umno variety.
This cornerstone of nation-building was best spelt out by Bapa Malaysia and the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, at the 80th birthday celebrations organized by the Barisan Nasional in his honour on 8th February 1983, where Tunku pointedly said Malaysia should not be turned into an Islamic state, that Malaysia was set up as a secular State with Islam as the official religion which was enshrined in the Constitution.
Tunku said:
“The Constitution must be respected and adhered to. There have been attempts by some people who tried to introduce religious laws and morality laws. This cannot be allowed.
“The country has a multi-racial population with various beliefs. Malaysia must continue as a secular State with Islam as the official religion.”
Tunku’s stand that Malaysia was not and never conceived by the Merdeka Constitution to be an Islamic State was endorsed by Tun Hussein when the third Prime Minister celebrated his 61st birthday five days later.
There can be no doubt that this fundamental position that Malaysia was never conceived to be an Islamic State would also have been endorsed by Tun Razak if he had been alive in 1983 to celebrate Tunku’s 80th birthday and comment on his speech, as there had been no dispute whatsoever in the first three and even four decades of nationhood that Malaysia was a secular and not an Islamic state. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s Politics Without Mercy
Posted by Kit in Farish Noor, nation building on Monday, 16 July 2007
One of the paradoxes of politics in developing countries is how uneven that development can be at times: From Latin America to the Far East, the political culture of many a developing country betrays all the signs and symbols of a stunted politics arrested by the competing demands of modernity, feudalism and primordial values that pre-date the modern era.
Witness the development of the cult of leadership in so many countries, from North Korea to Libya and Iraq during the time of Saddam, where every bare space was utilised to promote and project the image of the ‘great leader’, said to be loved by millions. North Korea remains at the top of the league when it comes to the culture of leader-worship, where even the bad haircut of their leader-for-life has been passed down as an iconic image of the unreconstructed Cold War era.
Among the developing countries of the world, Malaysia ranks highly in the eyes of many. So high, in fact, that during his recent visit to Malaysia former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan waxed eloquent about the virtues of this modern majority-Muslim state, commending the government for its record in development and praising the ‘moderate’ Islamisation programme of the current Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Many keen observers of Malaysian politics, however, were taken askance by the comments of the former Sec-Gen of the UN. While it cannot be denied that Malaysia looks outwardly as a prosperous nation with a booming economy, close observation of what has been happening there for the past few years would throw some of Kofi Annnan’s praises into doubt. Read the rest of this entry »
The Photo I would Really Like to See
Posted by Kit in Farish Noor, nation building on Friday, 13 July 2007
The pranksters have been at it again, though perhaps in the eyes of some, the latest joke came across as being more of a stunt. We are, of course, referring to the now-infamous doctored photo of the Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak that was intended to remind us of an alleged encounter in some mysterious faraway locale which others would presumably hope to forget. Notwithstanding the ruckus that was sparked by the posting of this photo on the internet, the point was made and it was a valid one: If the real photo exists somewhere out there, we would like to see it, please.
Some have raised the question: Why all the fuss over a photo, real or fake? Well, the historian will tell you that photos are of crucial importance for any form of socio-political and historical research. For a long time the documentary worth of photos was downgraded by many scholars. Yet photos do tell us much about the subjects they contain, and in photos we find empirical evidence that helps to underscore the points we wish to make.
Take a walk down memory lane and visit the National Archives if you don’t believe me: While doing research for my book on the history of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic party (PAS), for instance, I was struck by the photos of the PAS general assemblies of the 1960s and 70s. For a start, the few surviving photos of the Dewan Muslimat (Women’s Wing) of PAS dating back then would show that many of the female members of PAS were quite comfortable wearing kebayas at the meetings, and some of them didn’t even wear tudungs. The sartorial shifts that took place not long after are a record of the social changes that took place in Malaysia from the 1980s onwards, which remains of historical importance.
Browsing through photos of Malaysia in the 1960s one also sees another Malaysia that may seem so alien to many of us now: Multi-racial dinner parties where Malaysians of all races and religions were happily eating, drinking and dancing the night away — tango and cha-cha being the favourite dances then. How quickly everything changed when the conservative elements of our society came to the fore in the 1980s, and the parties became decidedly tamer and duller, and the only drinks served in the wine glasses of the 1960s were fanta and pepsi…
Disappearing photos are another interesting phenomena altogether, and if any of you had been browsing through the net during the late 1990s you may have noticed an unreported event that was (and remains) of some importance: Read the rest of this entry »
PM speech to national unity panel
Posted by Kit in nation building on Friday, 13 July 2007
by Dr. Chen Man Hin
True to form, the PM talks on generalities such as we are all Malaysians. However what he did not say was worrying.
He did not say that Malaysians are equal and enjoy equal opportunities.
Did we hear about his views on Bangsa Malaysia? Or that Malaysians are one Bangsa Malaysia without differentiation of Malaysians into Ketuanan Melayu and ordinary Malaysians?
Did he say that there is only a Malaysian agenda and not something that Mmno wants — the Malay agenda?
If he believed in a Malaysian philosophy of a multiracial society that is multicultural and multireligious, then why after 50 years of Merdeka there is still classification of Malaysians into bumiputras and non bumiputras, quotas, racial preferences in politics, economics, culture and religion?
PM was quoted to have said the NEP has removed one of the two prongs of NEP, that there is no more identification of race with economic functions. So why did he not say that there is no more need for the NEP to continure? Read the rest of this entry »
Dear Citizen Lina…
Posted by Kit in Farish Noor, nation building, Religion on Thursday, 12 July 2007
Identities are funny things. They evolve, overlap and sometimes regress when we least expect it. Odder still, most of us — though we might not care to admit it — actually have several at the same time; and the dilemma faced by many of us living in this modern world is how to juggle several overlapping, criss-crossing, permanently mutating and at times contradictory identities at the same time, without having to make an appointment with the psychoanalyst.
Now the problem of living in modern postcolonial nation-states like ours is that in just too many cases the politics of identity has come to the forefront as the defining aspect of national politics as a whole. Malaysia is not unique in this respect and everywhere we look we see modern nation-states in crisis, or denial, because the citizens themselves are at odds over who and what they are. The bane of postcolonial development is the lingering doubts over nationhood, loyalty and belonging. Once the white masters in their funny pith helmets packed their bags and were shipped back home, the natives started asking the question: ‘Now who has the right to stay?’
What is doubly odd about Malaysia (and here we are unique) is the way that the postcolonial set up envisaged a rather ackward and clumsy arrangement between two legal systems; one secular and one religious, to cater to the needs of all. Furthermore as we all know this happens to be one of the very few countries in the world where the racial and religious identity of one group — the Malays — has been defined by the constitution.
That the conflation of Malay and Muslim identity is artificial and has no basis in history is embarrassingly evident for all to see. Why, we just have to hop on the first AirAsia flight to Indonesia next door to see for ourselves that the same rule does not apply for them. Indonesians seem more comfortable with the idea that in the same family there can be Muslims, Christians and Hindus living under one roof, and unlike us they dont go around crafting slogans and jinggles for the ad campaign to sell Indonesia as some multi-culti happy land of harmony that is ‘Truly Asia’. Moreover, it proves that our Indonesian friends are quite capable of living with Pluralism that doesnt have to be imported from the liberal capitals of the West. But try taking that road to multiculturalism in Malaysia and see what happens…
Well, in fact one among our number has done just that, though at a rather hefty cost to her well-being. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s Shame
Posted by Kit in Farish Noor, nation building, Religion on Wednesday, 11 July 2007
It seems as if there are some folk in Malaysia today who believe that the country cannot get enough bad publicity. Over the past few years the country’s religious authorities in particular have been at the forefront of the effort to show Malaysia and Islam in the worst light imaginable: A few years ago Malaysia made the international headlines when members of the religious morality-police vice squad raided a nightclub in the capital, arresting and detaining all the young Malaysians there who happened to be Muslims, while allowing their non-Muslim friends and companions to party the night away. Those arrested later complained to the media that they were harassed and abused, locked in cages and humiliated by the morality police themselves.
Then came the spate of other raids of peoples’ homes, including a rather embarrassing raid on the flat of an elderly American couple who were woken up in the middle of the night on the grounds that they were suspected of having Malaysian Muslims in their flat and presumably up to no good. The fact that the raid took place on the resort island of Langkawi further dampened Malaysia’s efforts to promote the country as a holiday paradise and second home for retiring couples from abroad.
Over the past three years the country has witnessed angry public demonstrations by conservative Muslims over the issue of freedom of religion; sparked off by the case of Lina Joy, a Malay-Muslim who had converted to Christianity only to be told that her conversion would not be recognised unless she put herself through the religious court system first, thereby incriminating herself in the process.
The latest case involves Massosai Revathi, a Malaysian citizen whose parents had converted to Islam but who was brought up by her Hindu grandmother and who had lived most of her life as a Hindu. Revathi is therefore one of the unfortunate cases of Malaysian citizens whose complex identity was bound to get her into trouble with the religious authorities in Malaysia, and it finally did. Following her marriage to her Hindu husband according to Hindu rites, they had a child who was also brought up a Hindu. Revathi was later called in by the religious authorities and told in no uncertain terms that she was legally a Muslim and had therefore committed a crime in the eyes of Islamic law and Muslim jurists: She was then sent to one of the country’s ‘Faith Rehabilitation Centres’ so that she could be ‘persuaded’ to return to Islam. Read the rest of this entry »
Revathi released to custody of her parents, her 18-month daughter still no birth certificate
Posted by Kit in nation building, Religion on Friday, 6 July 2007
I have just come back from the Shah Alam High Court which dismissed the habeas corpus application for the release of Revathi A/P Masoosai/Siti Fatimah binti Abdul Karim filed by her husband Suresh A/L Veerappan on the ground that she had been released from 180-day detention at the Ulu Yam Islamic Rehabilitation Centre by the Malacca Syariah High Court yesterday.
Revathi was released to the custody of her parents by the Malacca Syariah High Court yesterday evening with the order that she could not convert out of Islam. Syariah High Court judge Radzi said Islam is not only between man and Allah but is also the responsibility between the community and country, and to come out of it is “treason”.
Is it right and proper for the Malacca Syariah High Court judge to describe as treason a conversion out of Islam?
Isn’t it ridiculous to release Revathi to the custody of her parents when she is an adult woman of 29 years with a 18-month daughter from her marriage to Suresh according to Hindu rites, with the couple stoutly defending their family despite Revathi’s 180-day detention?
What does the Syariah Court’s order of release of Revathi to the custody of her parents mean? Could she be punished and even re-detained and sent again to Ulu Yam Rehabilitation Centre on ground of breach of term of her release order?
Revathi had been detained for six months since 9th January 2007 and sent to the Ulu Yam rehabilitation centre, and her family of three forcibly separated in three different locations when the Malacca Islamic Religious Department also took their daughter Diviya Dharshini from the custody of the father and placed her in care of the grandparents on March 26, 2007.
Diviya Dharshini is now more than 18 months old and she has no birth certificate — an example of bureaucracy gone crazy. Read the rest of this entry »
Two greater maturity developments on occasion of 50th Merdeka anniversary most welcome
Posted by Kit in Media, nation building, Parliament on Wednesday, 4 July 2007
Two developments showing greater maturity of Malaysians on occasion of 50th Merdeka anniversary is most welcome as it is time that the government and leaders move away from narrow sectarian approach towards a more nationalistic and broadminded approach on issues which should transcend race, religion, class or political differences to create greater national unity.
The two developments are:
- The announcement by the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim that all parliamentary constituencies in the country will receive RM30,000 each for activities to celebrate the country’s 50th years of independence;
- The directive by the Minister for Energy, Water and Communications Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Chairman Dr. Halim Shafie to withdraw his letter barring private television stations from broadcasting speeches by members of the opposition.
It will be very sad if on the nation’s half-a-century nationhood, Malaysian public life is still moored in narrow sectarian divisions on every issue including those which must transcend race, religion, class or partisan politics.
Both Rais and Keng Yaik are to be commended for showing that they are prepared to make a beginning to take a Malaysian nationalistic approach rather than narrow sectarian one, and to show that there are issues where all can come together as Malaysians. Read the rest of this entry »
JAWI raid on Indian restaurant for public display of Hindu deities – PM should stop the “Little Napoleons”
Posted by Kit in nation building, Religion on Thursday, 28 June 2007
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi must stop the “Little Napoleons” in JAWI from imposing a “reign of terror” with their lack of understanding of the Merdeka social contract and contempt for the constitutional rights of all Malaysians, creating inter-religious tension and setting back inter-racial harmony and nation-building.
I refer to the multi-agency raid led by JAWI (Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan) to the eating shops in Lorong Maarof, Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, 26th June 2007, at about 11.30 a.m., particularly an Indian restaurant and a mamak restaurant.
This blog yesterday had carried an email giving an eye-witness account.
Last night, I received an email from another public-spirited Malaysian who visited Lorong Maarof to check on the complaint. This is the account her email after the visit:
“I dropped by the two Indian restaurants at Lorong Maarof this afternoon to chat with the workers and to verify what exactly happened. The Star and another paper were already there yesterday, they said.
“I looked at the summons issued to Aiswari restaurant: The raid was done by the Bahagian Hub Halal of JAKIM, together with officials from other agencies, including JAWI, KPDN and HEP (? must be Kementerian P or D (not clear) Dalam Negeri; don’t know what HEP is) and DBKL. 10 of them came into the shop, but the cashier said there were about 15 others milling outside the streets.
“According to the summons, the officers came because of a complaint (choice of berkala/aduan/susulan). 4 jenis kesalahan were written down:
1. bukan pemegang sijil halal JAKIM (this means their halal logo is from some other source?)
2. arahan tidak boleh menggunakan logo halal dan perbahasan [should be “perhiasan” – kit] dalam premis (??)
3. Sita?? – ayat ayat Qur’an di buat oleh JAWI?? (four framed ayats, 2 big, 2 small were taken away)
4. tiada pekerja Muslim (? cashier and all workers are Muslim)
“The cashier who seems to be in charge was quite agitated, esp about the Muslim workers and halal meat served. He is an Indian (national) Muslim, showed the JAKIM ppl his passport with his Muslim name and all the 7 workers there were Muslim and so is the owner. The raiders questioned the ‘halal’ ness of the food served and took the halal certs issued by the meat suppliers. Said he and the workers and owner are all Muslim so why shd they serve non-halal meat and chicken.
“they also took away all the ayat Qur’an, but I can’t figure out what the offence is – ayat Qur’an dibuat oleh JAWI??? Maybe they allege this is not a genuine Halal Muslim place, so they have no right to display ayat Qur’an?
“At the corner restaurant where my friend’s niece ( the writer of the original email) was eating, they inspected the place, checked the meat to see if its halal, took pictures, took the halal certificate, and questioned why they have pictures of Hindu gods and candle on the mantlepiece behind the cashier when they serve Muslim customers. The guy said he told the JAKIM people the meat served is halal and showed him their halal cert from the supplier. Two other restaurants were closed. Read the rest of this entry »
Tolerance my ass!
Posted by Kit in nation building, Religion on Wednesday, 27 June 2007
I have received the following very angry email from MS, with a very ferocious heading which I am using – breaking a rule of this blog:
Couldnt help feeling this angry today. I know at my age, I am supposed to be mellowing out, looking forward to a nice chilled day and now what? I find myself with the same amount of righteous anger as I had when I was 16 – going through puberty and finding the world most unfair that my mum wouldnt allow me to have my first pair of cargo pants!
I was sitting in the banana leaf shop this morning having a roti and a coffee when a group of JAWI officers entered the premises. 10 officers to be exact, into this little shop. They spent a good 20 minutes going through the place (and it is a small place!) and finally one officer writes out a writ and gives it to the cashier. They then left. Curious, I asked the cashier what that was all about and he replied that they were not allowed to have their little altars and pictures of their deities in their shop “because otherwise, Muslims cannot come into their shops” . What utter nonsense! Are we still living in the Malaysia that is so “famed” for its “religious tolerance”?? The shop is not a mamak shop. It is an Indian Banana leaf shop. Why would it be surprising that they should have signs of their religious beliefs in their own space? I didnt think that sort of thing was illegal (please correct me if I am wrong). What is wrong with this picture? Will it come down to the point when my Muslim friends should not visit my home just because I have a cross or a chinese altar there? PLEASE!
Better yet, I discovered as I was leaving , that the JAWI personnel had targetted the other 3 banana leaf shops along that row of old shops (near the vets office – off Jalan Maarof). There were at least 4 nos of vans for the officers , ALL double parked on the main road and causing an inconvenience to the other road users. Is there a separate set of laws that govern these people? Notwithstanding the fact that they are trampling all over the definition of religious tolerance in this country , they also flaunt the general laws of the land. This makes me really angry and sad about the state of our country. Read the rest of this entry »
Let us end 50 years of BN rule
Posted by Kit in Election, nation building on Sunday, 24 June 2007
by Richard Teo
For the first time in more than fifty years, when the next General Election comes, I am going to abandon the edict that it is better to vote for the devil that I know rather than the devil that I don’t Know.
This time round there will be no hesitation. I will be like the proverbial saying throw caution to the wind. There will be no turning back. There will be no second thoughts.
For the last fifty years I have faithfully chosen the safe path. I voted for the race-based party that belonged to the Barisan National.
I even encouraged and persuaded my relatives to vote along the same racial line to ensure a strong stable govt that will protect the interests of all races. But events of late has proven me wrong.
This govt that I and many others who placed their faith in is a corrupt, short-sighted, manipulative, racist and incompetent one. After fifty years they have not shown their abiltiy to govern with wisdom.
Instead they squandered our nation’s coffers, encouraged and perpetuated a corrupt civil service and continue to formulate economic and fiscal policies that will take our country down the road to destruction. Read the rest of this entry »
Malay keris – Hishmmuddin does not know he was subtly criticised by CYCL 1st Sec Hu Chunhua
Posted by Kit in nation building, UMNO on Wednesday, 20 June 2007
During the debate on the Environmental Quality Act Amendment Bill this morning, I had raised the episode during the recent visit to China by the Education Minister and UMNO Youth leader, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and his meeting with the First Secretary of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC), Hu Chunhua, when the issue of Malay keris was raised.
As the BN MP for Ketereh, Datuk Md Alwi Che Ahmad had again raised the issue of the Malay keris, particularly about its cultural significance, I referred to the Sin Chew Daily report of 26th May 2007, on Hishammuddin’s hour-long meeting with Hu in Beijing.
During the discussion, Hishammuddin explained that the Malay keris symbolized leadership and unity, and Hu responded, saying what was important was not the Malay keris but the one who wielded it.
This account of the exchange between Hishammuddin and Hu was given by the MP for Puchong, Lau Yeng Peng, who as Gerakan Youth Education chief, was also present at the meeting in Beijing.
This report was taken by readers as a very subtle and pointed criticism of Hishammuddin by Hu, who had clearly been briefed of the raging and divisive controversy surrounding Hishammuddin’s unsheathing the Malay keris at two recent UMNO Youth general assemblies heedless of the rights and sensitivities of different communities in the country.
However, it is clear from the exchanges in Parliament this morning, Hishammuddin, Lau and the BN Youth leaders and MPs did not realize that Hishammuddin was being subtly criticized by the First Secretary of the Communist Youth League of China, but took it as a compliment.
I am told that Hishammuddin and the BN Youth leaders were very proud of Hu’s remark. Read the rest of this entry »
Abdullah’s Vision 2057 – do the imaginable before talking about unimaginable
Posted by Kit in Good Governance, nation building on Friday, 15 June 2007
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi could not have chosen a worse time to broach his Vision 2057 for the nation to achieve the unimaginable, when what is imaginable seems beyond the grasp of the Abdullah premiership.
Abdullah is suffering from a grave denial syndrome if he is not aware that Malaysians are increasingly concerned that under his leadership, Vision 2020 is not only out of reach, he has also reneged on his 2004 general election promises to lead a clean, efficient, incorruptible, transparent, progressive, just and people-oriented administration prepared to hear the truth from the people.
This is the Vision 2057 that Abdullah painted last night:
“A hundred years of Merdeka would see this society, this nation achieve the unimaginable. We will have Nobel laureates, truly global corporations, respected and market-leading brands, internationally acclaimed poets and artists, among the largest number of scientific patents in the world and even the best football team in Asia.
“Our students and professors will dominate Ivy League universities and our own universities will be citadels of excellence for international scholars.
“We will be pioneers in alternative energy, drawing on our strength in biofuels. Our cities will be the most liveable on the globe, blending cosmopolitan facilities that are rooted in a tolerant and just societal ethos.
“This is the Malaysia in my dreams for 2057. One hundred years of independence, one hundred years of advancement.”
Abdullah has been badly served by his advisers, who do not seem to realize that the Prime Minister is stretching to the limit the credulity of Malaysians to paint a visionary picture of Malaysia in 2057 when things in more and more fronts seem to be falling apart, best illustrated by the nation’s failure in the past 44 months to make the transition from “First-World Infrastructure, Third-World Mentality” to “First-World Infrastructure, First-World Mentality” or to prevent backsliding to “Third-World Infrastructure, Fourth-rate Mentality, nine-rate Maintenance”.
Yesterday, Abdullah let down Malaysians for more reasons than one. Read the rest of this entry »
“It is easy to become a Malay”
Posted by Kit in nation building, Sabah on Monday, 11 June 2007
DAP MP for Seputeh, Teresa Kok, who is currently in Sabah on a political visit together with Member of Parliament Fong Po Kuan (Batu Gajah), has drawn my attention to the following Daily Express report yesterday quoting the Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Haji Mohd Ali Rustam as saying “It is easy to become a Malay”:
Easy to become a Malay, says MB
Kota Kinabalu: Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Haji Mohd Ali Rustam said a person who is a Muslim, converses in Malay and follows the Malay traditions is considered a Malay.
“It is easy to become a Malay, ” he told a Press conference after Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman opened the Dunia Muslim Dunia Islam (DMDI) seminar, here, Saturday.
Elaborating on why Musa had said that more than 50 per cent of the State’s nearly three million population are Malays, Mohd Ali, who is also DMDI president, said:
“Even if that person is Chinese or Indian or Kadazan,if they are Muslim or have converted, converse in Malay and follow the Malay tradition, then they are Malays.”
“The Kadazans if they are a Muslim, we considered them as Malays, and if they have not embraced Islam, they are Bumiputeras. It is easy to become a Malay.” Read the rest of this entry »
50th Merdeka – end annual “racial polarisation” caused by “fraudulent meritocracy” of varsity student intake
Posted by Kit in Education, nation building on Monday, 11 June 2007
In a week or two, the new student intake for 2007/2008 into the public universities will be announced and Malaysia will again go through the agonizing annual racial polarization caused by the “fraudulent meritocracy” as a result of the use of two completely different examinations to decide on the higher educational future of our children — the STPM and matriculation.
I understand that 40,016 places in public universities will be offered for the new academic year, with racial breakdown of 24,957 or 62.36 per cent for bumiputeras, 12,616 or 31.53 per cent for Chinese and 2,443 or 6.11 per cent for Indians.
DAP MPs have repeatedly called in Parliament for the end of the “fraudulent meritocracy” in the use of two completely different examinations for university intake and it is a matter of grave regret that no Barisan Nasional MPs, particularly from MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP, PBS and other component parties in Sabah and Sarawak have dared to support such a call.
The use of two completely different examinations for university student intake – with the STPM universally recognized as very much more difficult and of higher standard than matriculation — has the most adverse long-term effects for Malaysia in at least four senses:
- Setback for national unity and nation-building in plural Malaysia, as it provides an annual event causing racial polarization;
- Undermines university quality and academic excellence which have seen Malaysian public universities plunging in international rankings for top world-class universities;
- Grave impediment in the drive to enhance the nation’s international competitiveness to face the world challenges of globalization; and
- Promotes public deceit and lack of integrity by perpetuating the fraud that there is no difference between STPM and matriculation.
PM should convene 50th Merdeka Anniversary Religious Leaders Summit on National Unity
Posted by Kit in nation building, Religion on Saturday, 9 June 2007
All religions teach mankind the virtues of charity, goodwill, compassion, tolerance and equality towards a world of peace, harmony and compassion.
However, religions have also been the cause of human strife and misunderstanding evident from recent events in the country, whether the Lina Joy case or the controversy over the Mazu statue in Kudat, Sabah.
As a multi-religious nation, religion must play a more proactive role in nation-building to create an united, harmonious and progressive Malaysia. Let me make two suggestions as to how this could be done:
Firstly, by inculcating in every Malaysian citizen the quality of respecting all religions in the country and not just honouring their own religion — which must be regarded as a distinctive quality of Malaysian citizenship and consciousness; and
Secondly, all religions working together under one framework at all levels of the nation to contribute positively to nation-building by promoting inter-religious understanding, goodwill and harmony and demonstrating the power of inter-religious co-operation as a good and positive force to foster inter-racial and inter-religious solidarity and reduce racial and religious polarization.
For this reason, I call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to convene a 50th Merdeka Anniversary Religious Leaders Summit on National Unity to harness the power of religion in a positive manner in nation-building for the next half century. Read the rest of this entry »
Bahasa Malaysia – by itself will not promote togetherness, unity and integration among Malaysians
Posted by Kit in nation building on Tuesday, 5 June 2007
Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday that the reversion of the designation of the national language as Bahasa Malaysia as in the first three decades of nationhood was intended to promote togetherness, unity and integration among Malaysians.
He said the government did not want to see the Cabinet’s decision in April being turned into polemics.
He said: “Our view regarding the national language is that it is owned by everyone, regardless of race and ethnicity.
“Although the national language is Malay, we want to make it a language for all. That is the rationale (for the change).”
Although this is the latest “flip-flop” of the Barisan Nasional government under the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, I support it.
I welcome both the restoration of Bahasa Malaysia as the official reference to the national language and Najib’s explanation, especially as Najib was one of those responsible in turning the issue into polemics in 1986.
Although Anwar Ibrahim is being blamed for the change from Bahasa Malaysia to Bahasa Melayu in 1986 when he was Education Minister, one of Anwar’s strongest supporters in the change at the time was none other than Najib, who was then the Deputy Umno Youth leader to Anwar as the Umno Youth leader.
It has taken Najib more than 20 years to fully understand and accept the DAP’s arguments at the time criticizing the change on the ground that the national language must transcend its racial origin to become a language of all Malaysians regardless of race, language, religion or culture. It is better late than never.
However, the restoration of the term Bahasa Malaysia to designate the national language does not mean that the various mother-tongues of multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-cultural Malaysia are not Malaysian languages — as all mother-tongues of Malaysians must be fully recognized as an integral part of the Malaysian linguistic and cultural mosaic. Read the rest of this entry »
Restoration of Bahasa Malaysia welcome – but why the sheepish, surreptitious, selective announcement?
Posted by Kit in nation building on Monday, 4 June 2007
The restoration of Bahasa Malaysia as the official reference to the national language is most welcome.
DAP had been very critical of the move in the eighties when Bahasa Malaysia was dropped and replaced by Bahasa Melayu, as it was a step backwards for Malaysian nation-building.
The Cabinet decision in April to restore the term Bahasa Malaysia for the national language has proven the DAP right in taking a far-sighted nationalist position in the past two decades that the term Bahasa Malaysia should continue to be used to signify that the national language had been elevated to a language for the nation and all races which make up the nation — and that it was Umno, MCA,. Gerakan, MIC and all the other Barisan Nasional component parties which had been wrong in taking a retrogressive step.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who was the Education Minister in 1986 when initiating the change, had been blamed for dropping the term Bahasa Malaysia in favour of Bahasa Melayu.
The question is why the other Ministers and leaders in Barisan Nasional, whether Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other component parties from Sabah and Sarawak went along with the change and did nothing to restore the term for the past 10 years when Anwar was no more in the Barisan Nasional. Read the rest of this entry »
Dancing with desire
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, Election, nation building on Monday, 4 June 2007
by Azly Rahman
“The self-controlled soul, who moves amongst sense objects, free from either attachment or repulsion, he wins eternal Peace.”
– Bhagavad Gita
In the Golden Age, Rulers were unknown. In the following age Rulers were loved and praised. Next came the age when rulers were feared. Finally the age when rulers are hated.
– Lao Tzu
It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
~ Voltaire
Wealth and power are temptations that erode our character. We should enslave these and put them to good use with the help of the inner self.
Many will fail and suffer when wealth and power become master to one’s destiny. The self will be destroyed, families will break down, communities will be in chaos, nations will become violent and turn against each other, countries will go to war and destroy countless millions.
American is one nation that is being destroyed. Malaysia will be following suit if we do not amputate our desire and stop dancing to its tune.
Inner peace, like what Kung Fu’Tze, Lao Tze, the Buddha, etc taught us begins with the inner self, inner conscience.
In Islam it is called “fitrah” or the “the gift” that has to be known, named, taken care of, nurtured, developed, and fed with good and healthy food of the soul so that this inner self may become larger than the universe outside and will have the energy to conquer evil.
This inner self will be the dictator to inner desire that wants to dominate, plunder, and possess others. Read the rest of this entry »
Michael Backman – most wasteful projects in Malaysia
Posted by Kit in nation building on Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Exclusive Interview with Michael Backman
1. What was the initial thought that prompted you to write about your “Boleh or Bodoh column”? What was and has been your intention in writing the article?
Malaysia has good people, good resources and a legal system that ought to function. It depresses me that Malaysia hasn’t been more successful than it has and that it is still fighting the old fights of the 1960s.
Malaysia ‘s Chinese have accepted the NEP and its successor policies. They define themselves as Malaysians first and foremost and are among the proudest Malaysians. They have learned Malay. Essentially, they have done everything that has been required of them and yet still there is this endless preoccupation with race in Malaysia.
Meanwhile the rest of the world is just so unbelievably dynamic now. Malaysia is looking more and more like a sleepy backwater relative to what’s going on elsewhere in the world.
Many Malaysians don’t seem to understand this. Many like to travel overseas – but when they do, too many look but they don’t see. They don’t see how things in Malaysia could be improved. They don’t want to learn from anywhere else. They think Malaysia is a special case. They should be bringing back new ideas to Malaysia. Instead they just want to bring back duty free.
2. Have you ever considered the impact the column might have upon your relationship with Malaysian government and its people? We understand Rafidah Aziz, Malaysia’s Minister for Trade and Industry, criticised your column by saying you probably know nothing about Malaysia. Has there been any (positive or negative) impact/response from publishing the column? Read the rest of this entry »
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