Ravindran - my long lost friend

One of the happiest moments in my life was finding my best friend from primary school R. Ravindran. Writing about our friendship is equivalent to writing a Masters dissertation. There is so much to write about us and I just do not know where to start. We are best friends right from Year 1, although we were missing from each others life for almost 30 years. All the other friends whom I met during my life journey remained as close friends or ordinary friends.
I cannot remember as to when and how our friendship started. I think it started when both of us were playing after school while waiting for our transport. Then, there was another evening where Ravindran's father brought a camera and took a few shots of us. I cannot remember anything else other than these two events in the first year.
We were always together for the rest of our primary school days. We waited for each other in the school. We sat next to each other in the classroom. During recess we sat together and shared our food. When, we were in Year 6, he checks out my daily horoscope through the Indian calendar. I copy his homework most of the time. Our exam marks were also more or less similar. Those days were really beautiful.
Our friendship somehow faded during the secondary school years. I do not know the cause but I spent the final years of my schooling life alone.
After SPM I kept tab of Ravindran. That is how I came to know that he is in University Malaya through another friend, Anand Jude Anthony. It was a rainy evening in 1985. I was unemployed at that point of time.  I was in Minerva Book Store at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman when I bumped into Anand. I asked him about Ravindran and also obtained his address. We exchanged a few letters but somehow lost contact again. In the subsequent years I was very busy with my career and studies. Later I got married and was also actively involved in an NGO. I did not try to locate him again, as I had lost contact with all my old friends. Moreover, the information and communication technology such as the internet, hand phones and computers were in infancy stage. They were also very expensive. 
My search started again in 2006 when I went to Sekolah Tunku Mahmud to fetch my nephew. My nephew was in the same classroom that we studied in Year 2. That rekindled my old memories. I started looking for him again by asking people who are from Lambak Estate.  I tried to find out from the ex-students association. I searched for his details in the internet. But all proved futile.
In November 2008, while spending my holidays in KL, I came very close in finding him. I managed to get his Kluang address, a heading from his website, his occupation and his phone number through a website. But it was stated that he is in a shipping company. I started wondering what a chemical engineer is doing in a shipping company. I tried to access his website but failed. I tried calling the number but it was not listed. I sent an email but did not receive any reply. I gave up although I knew it’s him. In the subsequent months I was busy with my tuition center.
One day in mid 2009, I received an email from Zam-Zam saying that he is in touch with Ravindran. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. We subsequently exchanged few e-mails and had a lengthy chat before meeting up on 23 August 2009 at Pelita Nasi Kandar in Jalan Ampang. We chatted for about 3 hours. Both of us have transformed tremendously over the years. Later somewhere in November he dropped by at my office. Now we are hoping to meet for dinner in KL. We hope to meet up regularly from hereon.
Ravindran is now a Director of a shipping company.

SPM students allowed to sit for 12 papers

The Education Minister YB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently announced that from the year 2010 students who sit for their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia are allowed to take a maximum of twelve subjects reversing his earlier decision in June allowing only ten subjects. This is to prevent the students from placing too much importance on getting as many A’s as possible.

The earlier ruling has an adverse effect on Tamil and Chinese students especially from the science stream who wish to sit for the Tamil, Mandarin or Tamil Literature paper. They have to take 6 core subjects which include Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mathematics, Moral, History and Science. In addition, they are forced to take Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Additional Mathematics. Together they add up to ten subjects. So, they are left with no choice but to drop Tamil, Tamil Literature or Mandarin. This will result with no qualified teachers in future to teach Tamil or Mandarin in both national and national type schools. How will the Ministry of Education address this issue? Or, is it part of a bigger plan to implement the single stream system.

We must note here that the level of mastery of literature shows the level of language proficiency of a person. Did the Minister make a right decision by prohibiting someone from mastering a language? Well, he owes us an explanation.

In a blink of an eye, the human race has gone from the industrial era to knowledge era, in which knowledge and information are the keys to opportunity and advancement. To acquire knowledge we must master languages. Our vocabulary should be large. One of the most important qualities of successful leaders is an ability to express thoughts and knowledge. Human resource experts confirm that people with large vocabularies-those who are able to speak clearly and concisely, using simple as well as descriptive words-are best at accomplishing goals. The fewer the words, the fewer the ideas, the narrower the thinking, the less power in people’s minds.

All students must be proficient in at least four languages including Bahasa Malaysia, English, mother tongue and an additional language of their choice. Sounds crazy? Maybe yes, for the traditional thinkers. They may say that students will be burdened with too many subjects, or students will have no time to focus on other subjects or the prominence of the national language will diminish and so on. But for the creative thinkers, this is an interesting idea. They’ll look at all the benefits of being proficient in an additional language in a globalized world.

Just imagine what will happen if Proton announces today that they have made the ultimate car and any further improvement is impossible. Therefore all research and development will cease with immediate effect. Successful people will always think about ways to improve their quality. Absolute perfection is unattainable. This means there is always room for improvement. Likewise our leaders must find ways to keep improving the education system and create knowledgeable students for the nation to progress into the next era. For this to materialize our leaders should not have backward regressive thinking but forward, progressive thinking.

What harm can it do to the nation if a student sits for twenty papers? If the student can cope, then he or she should not be stopped. According to UCLA’s Brain Research Institute, the human brain’s potential to create, store and learn may be virtually unlimited. We could without any difficulty learn up to forty languages. Therefore, no one has the right to deny knowledge to anyone. After all, the student is responsible for his or her future.

The Batu Kawan Member of Parliament, Dr. P. Ramasamy intended to propose an emergency motion on this issue in the Parliament. But, we cannot expect much as the chances are that it would have been rejected by the Speaker citing it is not urgent. We have seen this happening all the time.

However, the Minister’s decision to reverse his earlier decision is very heartening. He has listened to the voices of the Non-Governmental Organizations and gave consideration for their views. We have to be grateful and thank them for their unity and persistence. They have shown solidarity by putting aside their differences and ideologies for the sake of the language and community.

Met Zam-Zam after 27 years

Zam (right) and Noran Murid (left) at Secret Recipe in Kluang in March 2010

Zam-Zam was in Kluang to attend his niece’s wedding. I received a sms from him on 21st November 2009 at around 11.30 p.m. The following day was a Sunday. Sundays are usually boring for me, as I have no classes. In addition Kluang is a small town, so I have nowhere to go. But this Sunday was going to be different. I was pretty excited to meet my old friend after 27 years. So, the time was to set to meet at 9 p.m. at an open air restaurant – Restoran Jamilah.
Zam was ny classmate from Std 3 to 6 in the primary school - Sekolah Tunku Mahmud (1). We became close when we were in Std 4 and it went on till Std 6. In our secondary school days we became apart partly due to different classes. Then in 1983 I lost contact with him, as he was sent to US by the government to pursue a degree in engineering. After 27 years he found me through the internet while searching for a tutor for his children.
As usual, I was at the restaurant 30 minutes earlier. Zam walked in at exactly 9 p.m., but I did not realize him walking in. He sat at one of the tables and gave me a ring. Only then I realized that he is already at the restaurant.
We chatted for over two and the half hours. We spoke on a variety of issues, but the main one was about our old friends. It is amazing to see how time has changed our lives. Some are successful, some are struggling, some have married twice, and some have disappeared.
He has just completed his MBA. So, he is a bit relieved now. From hereon, I believe we can meet often.
We spent two and the half hours in the restaurant and what did we eat? We had a roti canai and a teh tarik each. Before leaving we promised to go out for dinner with Ravindran when I’m back in Kuala Lumpur. I’ll try to be in KL before the year end for our dinner date.

Loss of 3 valuable lives

First, my deepest heartfelt condolence to the families of Dina Deve, Devatharshini and Divyashree. All three were victims of Kuala Dipang bridge incident. In the 10.40pm incident on 26th October 2009, about 22 pupils fell into te Sungai Kampar. They were among 298 students from 60 primary schools in Kampar, Tronoh and Batu Gajah involved in the programme organised by the Kinta Selatan District Education Department. The group was accompanied by 23 teachers.

Devatharshini, a pupil at SJK Tamil Mamban Diawan and Divyashree from Sekolah Kebangsaan Tamil (SRJK) Gopeng drowned together with 11-year-old N. Dina Deve on Monday night after they and 20 other pupils fell into Sungai Kampar when a suspension bridge collapsed as they were crossing it. The iron-cable bridge, suspended nine metres above the river, was built recently to replace an old one that had fallen apart with age.

The country has just lost future engineers, doctors, lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs and above all, good citizens. The hopes of their parents were dashed in a split of a second.

It has become a sort of culture for us to react only after something had happen. Task force will be formed, investigations will be conducted, findings will be discussed, someone will be blamed and only God (if He exists) knows what happens after that. On the outset, funds will be set up and donations will be collected. Politicians from both the divide harp on the issue for few weeks for publicity. Insurance companies will raise all kinds of clauses in the policy which they never mentioned before selling it to the policyholder.

After a month the issue fades away. After a year, no one remembers it, except the victims.

Why can’t we be pro-active? Isn’t it better, if we prevent something bad from happening by taking the necessary precautions? It may cost money and time, but money and time spent on planning and development is never a waste.

Human lives are too precious to be lost in accidents, wars, fighting, and disease or in any other manner. We must learn from our past mistakes. This is where Knowledge Management needs to be applied. The findings and recommendations of past investigations and inquiries and their implementations should be kept in a repository, communicated, updated, enhanced and transferred among the relevant agencies. By doing so, the relevant agencies would have identified all danger zones and take necessary actions. In this case, just by placing a proper signboard on the maximum weight the bridge could take would have averted the loss of live of three young children.

The school authorities should get the Fire Department or any other rescue teams to accompany them whenever they go for a trip that involves camping or trekking. Members of the Fire Department or rescue teams are well trained and usually able to identify and avoid dangers.

The Ministry of Education may come up with certain measures to avoid recurrence of this incident. It may provide basic survival skills for teachers. These teachers in turn provide trainings for students. Other relevant agencies can be roped in for assistance. Back in the 80’s when I was in the Red Crescent Society in my school, the Army, the Fire Department and the Hospital provided us various types of trainings ranging from Artificial Resuscitation to Disaster Relief to treating accident victims.

Many things can be done. But the most important thing is, we must value life and have the will to avert loss of life.

Found my old friend - Chan Swee Fook

So, it's Deepavali again. On the eve of Deepavali (16/10/09) I received a sms from my secondary school friend, Chan Swee Fook. He is visiting me with his family. I was very delighted to hear that. I responded immediately.

I met Chan at the Kluang bus station last year during the Hari Raya holidays. That is the first time I am meeting him after a fifteen years search. Since then, we had several short telephone conversations but, didn't get the opportunity to meet up.

I told my sister to cook Tomato Rice as most Chinese love Indian curry, especially mutton curry and "beriyani rice".

The following day Chan reached my house with his family at around 2.30p.m. His elder son, who is fourteen, looks almost like him when he was the same age.

We had a long chat. Looks like both of us were on the same boat. Both of us went through a lot of hardship until the recent years. He is now working in Singapore as a Traffic Light Technician. He rushes back to Kluang in the weekends. That explains why it took us almost a year to meet up. I also got a lead from him on Morli's (a mutual friend) whereabouts. We spoke for about 2 hours and Chan left around 5p.m. promising to meet up again.

This is a beautiful year for me. I managed to get in touch with most of my old friends. First, it was Chan. Then, Zam-Zam. Through Zam-Zam I found Ravindran and through Ravindran I found Amurthasamy. I hope to find Morli in the near future.

Met my old friend-Chan Swee Fook

So, it's Deepavali again. On the eve of Deepavali (16/10/09) I received a sms from my secondary school friend, Chan Swee Fook. He is visiting me with his family. I was very delighted to hear that. I reponded immeddiately.

I met Chan at the Kluang bus station last year during the Hari Raya holidays. That is the first time I am meeting him after a fifteen years search. Since then, we had several short telephone conversations but, didn't get the opportunity to meet up.

I told my sister to cook Tomato Rice as most Chinese love Indian curry especially, mutton curry and "beriyani rice".

The following day Chan reached my house with his family at around 2.30p.m. His elder son who is fourteen, looks almost like him when he was the same age.

We had a long chat. Looks like both of us were on the same boat. Both of us went through a lot of hardship until the recent years. He is now working in Singapore as a Traffic Light Technician. He rushes back to Kluang in the weekends. That explains why it took us almost a year to meet up. I also got a lead from him on Morli's (a mutual friend)whereabouts. We spoke for about 2 hours and Chan departed promising to meet up again.

this is a beautiful year for me. I managed to get in touch with most of my old friends. First, it was Chan, then Zam-Zam, through Zam-Zam I found Ravindran and through Ravindran I found Amurthasamy. I hope to find Morli in the near future.

The war against imaginary enemies

Sharing The Nations by ZAINAH A ANWAR


IT’S that time of the year again when you are supposed to reflect on what it means to be Malay­sian.

I am torn between wanting to see the glass as half full or half empty.

Ever the optimist who believes change is possible, I am always pulling up friends in despair, assuring them the way politics is played, business is conducted, religion is politicised in this country cannot last forever. It is just not sustainable.

That in the end, good sense will always prevail, because there is too much that is good about Malaysia for us to tear it asunder for short-term political gain.

But right now, I am just not so sure any more. Not that the good will not prevail, in the end, but that while we work hard for that to happen, the political and social fabric that have kept us together for so long might just be shredded beyond repair.

No thanks to politicians who are supposed to lead us to greater heights of development, unity, prosperity.

Let’s just look at the shameful incident of the cow-head demonstration just three days before we celebrated our 52nd birthday as an independent nation.

Obviously, the Prime Minister’s 1Malaysia campaign means nothing to those demonstrators who claim to represent the residents of Section 23, Shah Alam.

I would like to think there are more rational, wiser Mus­lims living there whose faith is not easily undermined by the presence of a temple in the neighbourhood.

Now that this incident has blown up into a national issue, those responsible are trying to deny their culpability.

But in today’s age of YouTube and instant communication, the whole world can view who said and did what on that day.

As far as the video showed, there was no effort to get the so-called uninvited extremist individuals in the midst to stop their deliberately provocative action.

In fact, the demonstrators marched behind the freshly slaughtered cow-head. Not only that, the leaders of the demonstration stomped on the cow-head and spewed inflammatory words and made threats in the name of race and religion.

And then, in true Malaysian style, we are all supposed to feel assured that there came the usual outcry, outrage and indignation.

Our national political leaders said the right words to calm the situation, promised investigation and action. Only for yet another outburst to take place.

Haven’t we gone through this before? From the kris-wielding, racial and religious supremacist language at the 2006 Umno general assembly, to Takaful Malaysia’s Fauzi Mustafa’s directive to his staff not to wish their Hindu clients a Happy Deepavali, to the allegation that a group of Muslim students would be baptised at the Silibin church in Ipoh, to the Umno Bukit Bendera division chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail and his “pendatang” labelling, to the inflammatory headlines in some newspapers and the predictable demonstrations after Friday prayers on real and imagined threats to Islam and Malay rights.

Is it any wonder that the cow-head demonstrators should resort to the same racialist language and threats of bloodshed should their demands in the name of race and religion be ignored?

If we do not find a way to be politically and culturally civil in our contested public engagement fast, then this deliberate strategy to construct every dispute into a threat to race and religion will eventually implode on us.

March 8, 2008, was one safety valve where the emergent diverse social forces within our society used the ballot box to express their discontent. But it seems too many of our political leaders and their earnest supporters at the grassroots remain untutored to the changing mood of the rakyat.

Enough is enough. Stop this politics of fear. Stop whipping up public sentiment to win political support.

Stop manufacturing this siege mentality to put the Malays on perpetual crisis mode, only to serve short- term political ends.

We are tired of hearing that the Malays are under threat, Islam is under threat, as if the Malays are so feeble and frail that the slightest challenge to our comfort zone would annihilate our faith and our race.

In the end, we spend so much time fighting imaginary enemies and threats instead of focusing our energy and time on the real issues that impede the progress that we should have achieved after 52 years of independence and almost 40 years of affirmative action policies that have privileged the Malays.

Time waits for no man is a much used cliché, but really as we fight over dead bodies, location of temples, loudspeakers at mosques, punitive state control over what we wear, drink, and listen to and where we hang out with our friends, other countries and other communities are getting on with being more com­petitive, more productive, more civil and more inclusive in their engagements. And having more fun at that.

The Prime Minister’s call for Malaysians to restore the bridges that brought us together and tear the walls that separate us is most timely.

But it must be demonstrated by deeds – immediately. For too long, our national leaders have been wringing their hands over the deteriorating race relations in the country.

Every time a crisis erupts, all kinds of solutions and suggestions are made to build bridges among the Malays, Chinese and Indians. But what has happened to all these policies?

How about the policy that university housing should ensure that roommates are of different races?

That there should not be any more single-race teams and societies in schools and universities.

And then, the compulsory ethnic relations course in universities and the five-year national unity and integration action plan. And, oh yes, the vision school.

Is it still on pilot mode after all these years? And yes, that plan to make the national school system the school of first choice for all Malay­sians. Great ideas. We the rakyat would like to know their progress.

Have they really been implemented? Are they being monitored and evaluated to see if their objectives are being reached? How effective are they? Who are their champions?

I would like to know, for we urgently need to build a public culture of citizenship that cuts across ethnic divides.

We must encourage inter-ethnic civic and social associations, for it is this social capital in our society that will put a brake on any possibility of ethnic contestation turning into ethnic violence.

The fact that the residents association of a racially diverse Section 23 Shah Alam seems to be made up of only one race, one religion and one point of view on a contested issue demonstrates the challenge that faces us.

A more integrated and inclusive residents association could have stopped any effort by politicians to exploit grassroots disgruntlement and escalate it into a communal conflict to undermine political rivals.

Where are the truly visionary and committed leaders in government who make, promote, implement and monitor policies to build bridges at all levels of Malaysian society?

The Government cannot forever go on making one announcement after another to mend our fraying race relations, and yet allow those determined to build walls to separate us to get their way.

If the Government is serious, then anyone who exploits race and religion and inflame public sentiment for narrow sectarian interests must be delegitimised, not rewarded.

It is ironic that in this country, those who are actually doing the inter-ethnic bridge building are demonised as traitors to the race, anti-God, and anti-Islam.

My only hope really lies with the many actors in civil society who are consciously, tirelessly, and vibrantly working together across racial and religious divides in music, film, dance, theatre, the arts, women’s rights and human rights activism, community services, neigbourhood associations, inter-faith dialogue – all determined to keep Malaysia safe, inclusive, respectful and celebratory of our rich heritage of diversity that has always been our blessing. Shame on those who find this a threat.

The Star
Sunday September 6, 2009

Merit comes from making right choices

Musings by Marina Mahathir


Living the faith is not just about avoiding what is prohibited, but more so about doing the right things where morals and ethics are concerned.

IN this month of Ramadan, one naturally focuses on questions of faith. And indeed, with several controversies in the papers, we can’t escape it at all. Every day our lives seem to be increasingly circumscribed until the question of choice in our lives becomes irrelevant.

There are some people in our midst who seem to think that the only way to fulfill our religious obligations is by removing any sort of temptation or challenge in our paths.

Since we are prohibited from drinking, the answer is therefore to remove any form of alcohol from our sight so that we may never have the opportunity to be tempted by it.

Or, to disallow young Muslims to attend events sponsored by alcoholic beverage companies.

The assumption is that by the mere presence of liquor, we would abandon all inhibitions and imbibe.

This suggests two things. One is that the religious education of the young must be so inadequate that they feel totally uninhibited when faced with what they should know is prohibited.

Secondly, our faith is essentially a weak one since it can never restrain us from breaking rules.

There are other faiths that have food prohibitions as well. Many Hindus and Buddhists don’t eat beef. There are people who take no meat at all.

Yet, living in a world of carnivores, where the beef burger is ubiquitous and most people are oblivious of others’ dietary restrictions, they stick to their diets throughout their lives. Do they have stronger faith than Muslims?

I’m trying to imagine a world where our faith is supposedly secured by having absolutely no temptations or challenges at all.

We can ban every form of alcohol (including medicinal ones), we can cull every single pig in the land, but does that mean we will be able to float about blissfully certain that we now have a place in heaven?

In countries where alcohol is completely prohibited, an underground system invariably springs up and people

drink much more, perhaps because it is illicit.

People who are used to ham made from turkey meat and bacon from beef tend to assume, when they travel to other countries, that all the bacon and ham there are also made from the same meats.

Children who have never seen pigs gush over the cuteness of those little pink animals with the funny snouts.

But faith is about more than just prohibited drinks and foods. It is also about morals and ethics. Every day we are faced with choices that challenge our sense of morality.

Do we pay a little extra to the officer in order to expedite our applications? Do we beat the red light, thus endangering other people, just because we are a little late? Do we keep quiet about a mistake we made and let others take the blame?

It is our faith that is going to provide us the answers to these questions. And sometimes these questions can be difficult to answer. Does that mean therefore that we should just get rid of them so that our faith need never be tested?

It would be nice to get rid of corruption completely so that we never have to deal with it. But do we hear of anyone calling for a ban on it? Or mobilising religious officials to catch anyone giving or receiving a bribe?

If our faith directs our way of life, then ethical and moral questions should dog us every day. How is it that those calling for people who drink to be whipped have nothing to say about people who neglect to repay loans? Or who leave their children in destitution?

How is it that the voices that bay for rock concerts to be banned are not just as outraged by the existence of the homeless and the hungry?

Faith, as someone said, needs to be exercised regularly. Otherwise it gets flabby. In what way can it be exercised if we think that living in a religious utopia is what we should aim for?

Is it better for our faith to be exercised by the trivial rather than the big moral questions of poverty, illiteracy and violence?

God said in the Quran, “if it had been His will, He could indeed have guided you all”. (6:149)

We could all be perfectly good if He

had so willed it. But we are given

choices because that is how we earn our merits. We have the opportunity to think about what we should do and then decide.

In that way we have the chance to think about what ethics we want to apply in our lives. Take away that choice and we never have to think about morals and ethics. What sort of human beings would we be then?

The Star
Wednesday September 2, 2009

Use your head, not your heart

by WONG CHUN WAI


IT’S time for cool heads to prevail. The controversy over the cow-head protest, which arose because of the proposed relocation of a Hindu temple in Shah Alam, has degenerated.

Raw emotions were displayed at the meeting between Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and the residents yesterday.

The emotionally-charged meeting turned ugly when some residents reportedly shouted profanities and even tried to throw chairs and shoes at the Mentri Besar.

Insults were hurled and insensitive remarks were made by those present, which shocked the Selangor elected representatives and pressmen.

The Aug 28 protest by about 50 people who marched from the state mosque to the state secretariat building to oppose the relocation of the 150-year-old Maha Mariamman temple from Section 19 to Section 23 has now become international news.

It would have been just an ordinary demonstration if the protestors had not paraded the head of a cow, an animal deemed sacred by the Hindus, and placed it at the state secretariat building.

The residents’ action committee has denied any involvement in insulting a religious symbol, saying the cow’s head was symbolic of the state government’s stupidity.

It is unlikely that their defence, if not excuse, would be accepted.

They could have just stopped those who brought the cow’s head and led the parade; but they didn’t. Or they failed, if their argument is to be used.

Never mind if the cow’s head was used to insult the state government. They simply didn’t use their head to think it over because the protest was over a Hindu temple. To use a cow’s head was sheer stupidity.

It has now put the Government in a fix. Police have interviewed over 70 people and have submitted their report to the Attorney-General for a decision.

The AG has sent the report back to the police asking for more details.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has given his assurance that no one is above the law.

He has said clearly that those who brought the cow’s head should be hauled to court, and that the action should not be tolerated as the cow is considered sacred in certain religions.

Hishammuddin said the ministry viewed seriously issues that could undermine the harmony, national security and stability of multi-racial Malaysia.

It is important that such reassuring statements are made by our leaders because no one should give the impression, not even the slightest one, that such seditious actions are tolerated.

If they are allowed to get away with it, then the whole mission of 1Malaysia would be jeopardised.

The Government must not let one group hijack what they are trying to do for a better Malaysia.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak sent a clear message when he said Muslims should refrain from condemning or insulting other religions and their believers.

Follow the true Islamic teachings of showing respect, he said.

He added that Prophet Muhammad allowed believers of other religions to practise their creeds and forbade his followers from going against them. The Prophet guaranteed the rights of the minorities under the Medina Constitution.

In fact, Muslims are obligated to protect and honour any house of worship that is dedicated to God, even if it is a church, temple or a synagogue.

Any attempt to prevent the followers of any other faith from worshipping God, according to their own rights, is condemned in the Quran as sacrilege.

The history of the Islamic empires shows that in dominant Muslim societies, people of other faiths were allowed to flourish.

Just study the history of the Moghul Empire in India where there are huge numbers of Hindus and temples.

In Baghdad, under the Abbasid Khalifahs, the Jews and Christians enjoyed the freedom of religion that they never allowed for each other.

These historical facts are well documented and any student of basic Islam would learn about the tolerance showed by true followers of the faith.

The religious rights of minorities must never be ignored. Muslims in some European countries, for example, have found themselves being discriminated against when it comes to building mosques because of opposition from Christian residents in some areas.

In May, about 250 people protested against the Attakwa mosque in a Belgian neighbourhood and in 2007, Germans staged a protest during the opening of a mosque in Berlin.

In contrast, a massive mosque stands on Nathan Road in Kowloon even though the area is predominantly Chinese. It is accepted and even promoted as a tourist destination. And rightly so too.

Muslims may be minorities in these places but they have the right to worship. Any place where people gather to honour God is always good.

Closer to home, Penang Island is predominantly Chinese but Mesjid Kapitan Keling sits majestically in George Town. It is the pride of not just the Muslims but Penangites of other faiths.

We have to be careful when we use terms like “majority” and “minority” because Malay­sia is a multi-racial country where one community would outnumer another in some areas.

Malaysia must encourage more multi-racial neighbourhoods like Subang Jaya in Selangor.

Enclaves with one race sometimes breed intolerance and the voice of a noisy and demanding minority can sometimes drown those of a moderate majority.

Moderate Malaysians must rise to the occasion as the world is watching how we are handling the the cow-head protest.

We have no place for hot-headed people who invoke God’s name with no understanding of tolerance and peace. Let’s use our head.

Sunday September 6, 2009

Cow Head Demo

Thursday September 3, 2009
Let’s stamp out racism
BRAVE NEW WORLD
By AZMI SHAROM

Not only must we condemn the cow-head protest in Shah Alam last week but we must look into ourselves and make sure we don’t think and speak like racists.
THE cow-head protest in Shah Alam last week left me feeling utterly disgusted. The men who organised and participated in that foul act are nothing but rank racists, and by cloaking their activities in a veil of piousness they show themselves to be even more despicable.
Yes, I was furious, but sadly I was not surprised. How can I be and how can anyone else be? We have allowed racists to have their way for so many years now.
Their appalling words and actions get progressively bolder and it just builds and builds until we have these men feeling they have the right to insult another religion in the most vile and brutal manner.
In the light of how Malay and Islamic supremacist thinking and expression have caught hold in the last few years, this sickening behaviour is simply a natural progression.
It happened because we allowed it to happen. Those bigoted thugs did what they did because we did not stamp down on the racists among us hard.
We allowed racist politicians to spout their garbage about “immigrant races”; we allowed them to tell our brothers and sisters to “go back to where you belong”; we allowed them to wave weapons of war; and we allowed them to ask for the weapons to be bathed in blood.
It’s too late for any politician to condemn something now when all the other acts of bigotry that have been brewing in the past few years were not even protested against because they suited their political needs.
It is too late to be making pleas of unity on National Day when not enough has been done before.
Let’s look at something recent. Two books that attacked the Mentri Besar of Selangor and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim are blatantly racist.
They claim that Selangor is for Malays only. They claim that the Pakatan Rakyat state government threatens Malays because they hire non-Malay staff.
In other words, the government must only hire Malays so that only Malays get benefits from the government. This is racism pure and simple. But because it suits the ruling party, as these books attack Pakatan, nothing is said.
Racism is racism, be it some vile words published in some cheap self-published drivel, or a bleeding cow head stomped and spat upon. Racism is racism and it must be fought.
When it is not fought, when it is not faced down every single time, then those without the courage to fight it are merely accomplices who, through their cowardice or selfishness, support it.
And how should we fight it? The law that should be used is the Penal Code. The Sedition Act is a blunderbuss of a law and could be used against genuine dissent as well. Let us not look to that archaic leaving of the British.
Use the provisions in the Penal Code that make incitement an offence. Charge these people under the Penal Code and lock them away.
But that is for the authorities to do, if they so choose to. We, the people, must look into ourselves and make sure we don’t think and speak like racists. We must be even more careful that we do not infect our children.
We should speak out against racism and we should tell our political leaders that if they do not fight racism then they are supporting racism and we will not support them.
We must make sure that what happened in Shah Alam faces utter and complete public contempt. Only in that way can we ensure it is not repeated.

The Star - 3 September 2009

What is Rationalism

Rationalism is a continuous process of mutual enlightenment and liberation from ignorance and narrow loyalties. It is a cooperative effort where the others must be there. Rationalism is a movement of cosmic, uplift; we rise along with our surroundings. Consideration for the others is an important feature of rationalism. We call a person irrational who for his own gains plunges into gloom vast number of people. Rational person will not indulge in such activities. Surely there will be degrees of enlightenment, happiness and liberation, yet the case is never of the traditional type of liberation where a lone individual is liberated and attains the traditional type of moksha, leaving the others in ignorance and misery. The rationalist attitude is that of an enlightened self-interest where one is always related in lesser or greater degrees with the others. Since rationalism is a realistic philosophy, it believes that no one can be really happy in unhappy circumstances. If there are peaks there must be hills and mountains to support them. Under rationalism, the progress is always cosmic. Unfortunately, irrationality of various types, is too much dominant in the present world. Our present world needs rationalism more than ever.
Let us hope that man becomes rational enough in future, gives up irrational ways and adopts the rational ones. Then the various humanist values will come to dominate our social life. A cooperative world-fraternity and a world-government are likely to emerge. When this becomes possible, the huge resources now wasted by each state on “Defence” will be used for welfare purposes. Creative type of activities are likely to make our lives more and more enriched. Every one is likely to enjoy a reasonably happy, satisfactory and creative life. If, even in the long run our world becomes full of spiritually liberated individuals, concepts of traditional heavens will fade into insignificance in comparison to such a rational life. This is possible if man becomes a rational enough. Let us hope that in his own rational self-interest he becomes that. Aim of rationalism is to create such a life, here on earth. Liberated or enlightened life, again, is not a full-stop. It only signifies a direction where gains are real and the possibilities of further development infinite.
(From the book Understanding Rationalism by D.D.Banditse)
www.tmronline.com