Today is a day as good as any to resume my blogging activities. A little while back, I read a comment on Facebook (FB) that I could not comprehend. That person compared FB with blogging, saying that FB has made it so much easier to blog. I then wondered aloud how anyone could compare FB with blogging…

Well, it’s been almost four months since my last post on my blog, but I have been actively tweeting and updating my status on FB all this while. Indeed, some would say that’s an understatement. Whatever it is, I now definitely get the point that that person was trying to make with that comment…

Now, let’s come to the point of this blog posting. Today is the day we celebrate Diwali in Malaysia. For some reason, we call it Deepavali. I’m sure there’s a linguistic or cultural reason for the slight change in name. More importantly, though, is the significance of Diwali.
Read the rest of this entry »

For what it’s worth, the Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister deserves a pat on her back for voicing her thoughts on inter-faith relations. Read her comments in the Star here.

I just hope that what she says extends to all religions in the broadest sense possible, including atheism and agnosticism. Sometimes what people believe in may be exactly the same thing and the differences are just due to terminology.

Whatever it is, the recognition of the freedom of religion would be a step in the right direction towards national unity for Malaysia. Happy Vesak and salam.

It sounds like the propaganda boys of the brand new prime minister have prepared a slew of bright ideas for him. A catchy slogan. Release of ISA detainees. Lifting of newspaper suspensions. They sound pretty good but I’ve got a few questions for Mr. Najib.

1. Does the concept of “One Malaysia” mean that Ketuanan Melayu and mono-ethnic parties that divide the nation will be a thing of the past?

2. Does “People First” mean that the economic policies of Barisan Nasional will benefit all Malaysians and not just the politically connected?

3. Does “Performance Now” mean that we will immediately have good teachers in schools, professional police officers that actually solve crimes and public officials that deliver results?

4. Does the release of the ISA detainees and the lifting of the suspension of opposition newspapers mean that both the Internal Security Act and the Printing Presses and Publications Act will be repealed in the next seating of Parliament?

I must confess that I do believe in miracles; and I certainly would like to believe that Mr. Najib can transcend the 30 years of Umnofication that he has been through, and spare Malaysia any more suffering.

However, for now, pardon me if I remain cynical until I see some real changes in his administration of our nation.

I don’t know if there is such a thing as magazine reviews but I really want to recommend Off The Edge to all Malaysians who want to read something different, i.e. not FHM, Women’s Weekly or even Malaysia Today.

Just ask my friend Ja’a — I’ve been meaning to subscribe to this magazine but I keep putting it off and I end up buying it from the stands every month…

Anyway, I felt the urge to recommend this magazine on my blog after reading two letters in the current issue of the magazine. Look out for the above magazine cover at your local mamak newsstand.
Read the rest of this entry »

To all my fellow Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, I would like to share passages from two books — one written by a Muslim and the other by a Jew.

The passages from The Eternal Message of Muhammad by Abd al-Rahman Azzam:

“In its modern form, nationalism is a new evil, and racism is worse still; and there is no cure for either except to uproot tens of millions from their present places of residence and confine them to specific geographic areas.”

The Message of Muhammad recognizes neither nationalism nor racism in their modern contexts; the fatherland of the Muslim admits no geographic delimitations—it coextends with the faith. In reality, it is a spiritual fatherland, just as religion is a spiritual matter.”

“Racism, or a fanatic attachment to tribe, nation, color, language, or culture, is rejected by the Message as a product of pre-Islamic idolatry. The prophet declares, “He is not of us who preaches bigotry.” Islam rejects every form of bigotry. All loyalties are directed to the word of God, and no relation above the spiritual is recognized.”

Read the rest of this entry »

I read the news on the formation of the People’s Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat) with glee. Indeed, I am excitedly anticipating the ratification of the new political coalition by the respective parties’ leadership.

Whatever it is, this calls for a congratulatory message. It is not everyday we have something like this happen in Malaysia’s political landscape. Actually, the last time we witnessed such an event was almost a decade ago when Barisan Alternatif was formed prior to the 1999 general election.

This time round, the coaltion was formed after the so-called political tsunami of the 2008 general election. Hence, if we are to be objective and honest with ourselves, the new coalition of Pakatan Rakyat is only possible because of the wave of change brought about by the people’s power to vote and, in particular, their decision to start a new chapter in Malaysian politics.

Therefore, Pakatan Rakyat must recognise this fact and proceed cautiously and responsibly vis-à-vis the people’s hopes and dreams. Now, more than ever, the opposition must be clear and single-minded in their struggle for democracy and unity of this often divided nation.
Read the rest of this entry »

Many sceptical Malaysians often say that things will never change in Malaysia. In particular, these people are talking about the political landscape of Malaysia. Although I agree that it is extremely difficult to visualise Malaysian politics any other way, i.e. being dominated by Umno, I strongly believe that we can change things; otherwise, I wouldn’t bother being in a political party.

Party politics aside, many people say that it’s time to change. With all the crime, corruption, educational and environmental (physical, mental and spiritual) damage that Umno has perpetrated on Malaysia, it’s very clear to everyone that it is time for change in Malaysia. Indeed, many would say that change is overdue.
Read the rest of this entry »

I found a definition of fascism at PublicEye.org, which says, amongst other things, “fascism is a form of extreme right-wing ideology that celebrates the nation or the race as an organic community transcending all other loyalties… It seeks to forcibly subordinate all spheres of society to its ideological vision of organic community, usually through a totalitarian state. Both as a movement and a regime, fascism uses mass organizations as a system of integration and control, and uses organized violence to suppress opposition…”

And according to Wikipedia, “fascism is also typified by totalitarian attempts to impose state control over all aspects of life: political, social, cultural, and economic, by way of a strong, single-party government for enacting laws and a strong, sometimes brutal militia or police force for enforcing them. Fascism exalts the nation, state, or group of people as superior to the individuals composing it. Fascism uses explicit populist rhetoric; calls for a heroic mass effort to restore past greatness; and demands loyalty to a single leader, leading to a cult of personality and unquestioned obedience to orders.”

The above descriptions sound eerily like what’s happening in Malaysia. And, mind you, the Abdullah regime is not the first in Malaysia to be compared to the fascists. An ex-colleague of mine created a clever photoshop image of a Hitler-like Mahathir about ten years ago.
Read the rest of this entry »

Wow! We’re just one week away from the historic 50th anniversary of Merdeka. Alas, I don’t feel very festive… Indeed, I’m going to “celebrate” Merdeka with my dad and sister in Singapore. With the way things are in Malaysia, I don’t feel “patriotic” at all.

However, I do want to give my support to the motley crew that’s come up with the 50:44 Malaysia Merdeka celebrations. I’ll definitely be back from Singapore to check things out at the Pasar Seni Annexe.

This morning, on a whim, I checked out our Opposition Leader’s website, and chanced upon a hot-off-the-press posting by Dr. Chen Man Hin. In his posting, Dr. Chen suggested that the Prime Minister invite Raja Nazrin Shah, the Crown Prince of Perak, to be his personal adviser, in light of the latter’s speech at the first Malaysian Student Leaders Summit 2007.

For what it’s worth, I must say that that’s an ingenius and interesting idea from Dr. Chen. I wonder what Raja Nazrin thinks. (By the way, Raja Nazrin’s credentials are quite impressive. Check out the link to his entry in Wikipedia above.)
Read the rest of this entry »