Relocation minus the abuse to animals

It's amazing that an issue of relocation can turn ugly and envelope the country in a us versus them stance. It would have been perfectly normal to see a group of rather zealous residents protesting in front of a building but to bring in the head of an animal to prove a point is a little too much.

Thus, the issue has escalated into something short of a religious row. The sacred should not be brought into a man-vs-man argument. Which is exactly what this whole matter is about.

Would the placement of a religious building within range of a majority group hasten the "backsliding" effect on that group? Instead, it can be used as an image of tolerance and togetherness. A sign that two communities can co-exist in harmony together. Transcending any notion of race or religion. That all citizens are accepted on the basis of being a Malaysian and not by creed or belief.

This is the true loser in the whole matter. Malaysians are the losers as long as the lens of creed and belief clouds our eyes.

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Race = [ MALAYSIAN ]

Stating your race on official forms will no longer be a requirement soon.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the Cabinet was studying the move to drop the column requiring a person to provide information on his race in official forms.

“There is a need for us to look at Malaysians not from the perspective of race,” he said.

“But there are also views saying there is a necessity to continue with the race requirement for the purpose of gathering information,” he told reporters here after launching the book Lea­dership Evolution Serie 1: A Look at Selected Theories” by Prof Khairil Annas Ju­­soh, a special officer to the Prime Minister.

Source: The Star Online

What is there to mull about? What "purpose of gathering information" is so important? A Malaysian is Malaysian, any given way. What is there to think about? If we are to identify ourselves as a 1Malaysia, as harped so much by the local media of the day, then steps should be made to create a 1Malaysia. Rid those forms of the race box. I believe even the box marked "Religion" should also be struck out.

What does race and religion have to do with applying for a driving license? Or bank loan? Or applying for an educational institution?

Instead, the box should state whether we are Malaysian or Non-Malaysian and nothing more or less.

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1Malaysia. We don't need tolerance, we need respect.

For 1Malaysia to work, we do not need tolerance. No! Tolerance will only delay the inevitable, the decay of relations between all the groups living in Malaysia. What is needed is respect. The need to respect our differences and to live with them.

Being different is the key-stone of nature. All things are different, even identical twins are not truly identical. Our individuality gives us our personality. It is this that needs to be allowed precedence in Malaysia. Yes, we are different, we believe different things, we disagree yet lets live together and learn to understand what makes us different and find ways to come to a consensus on what can be shared values.

Yes, we are different yet our differences are what makes us unique. It is what makes Malaysia unique.

Yes, we are different, and yet we are all equal. We are Malaysian. We are equal. Equal opportunities. Equal say. Equal rights. No-one above the other. All allowed to carve a living on this fair country we call Malaysia.

We don't need tolerance, we need respect.

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Sum of Many Parts

Malaysia is not about a particular group nor is it only one ethnic class. Unlike Japan or Korea where the Japanese can proudly call themselves Japanese due to a majority ethnic class (bar the indigenous groups), Malaysia is a sum of many parts. Malaysians are made up of dozens of ethnic groups all striving to irk out a living.

So for one group to claim "lordship" over others just sounds wrong when, politically, this group needed the help of those from outside their party to stay in government. It is wrong to assume they have total say in everything Malaysia without a thought for those who help keep them in power. Now, we are seeing a jostling for position in the said party. Position in the largest political party in Malaysia comes with much perks. It is an open secret that these top party officio live off government projects and what-nots. In fact, by being the largest stake-holders in government, they continue to enrich themselves.

But here-in lies the problem. The people of this fair country are automatically forgotten by those in power when in truth it was these people who put them into power. And when the public speaks out via street demos or blogs, the government is quick to clamp down on them. Arrests are made in the name of "doing the public a favor" (I thought favors are asked for?), media is twisted to spin lies and corruption on the highest level is sugar-coated to hide the truth.

It is the people who make up this fair country and the government is a servant to the voice of the majority - the people of Malaysia. And the people of Malaysia is a sum of many parts. The people of Malaysia sweep across political, religious and racial lines. Malaysians are Malaysians and is known by no other name. So why do our politicians seem to think other-wise?

Ministry watching blogs playing up controversies

The Home Ministry is monitoring blogs to check if bloggers are posting comments that confuse the people on controversial issues.

At the moment, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung said the ministry was merely advising bloggers against the misuse of blogs.

“So far, we are only telling them not to use their blogs as a mechanism to confuse people or as a weapon against those they don’t like.”

Source: The Star Online

We the people of Malaysia are a greedy bunch, just ask Shahrir Samad.

Shahrir says Malaysians are greedy

Datuk Shahrir Samad, the minister who has faced the brunt of criticism over oil prices, courted even more controversy today when he suggested Malaysians were greedy if they expected subsidies to continue.

The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, whose job is to regulate prices, said subsidies are meant to only cushion the burden of high prices.

"When prices come down it will just be greed on the part of consumers to insist that they be subsidised," he said.

Source: Malaysia Today

Sometimes you just sit and wonder...

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Separate Race, Politics and Religion

Malaysia is multi-racial and steps need to be taken to ensure that Malaysia would be known as such for the life-span of the nation. To be multi-racial means that all citizens would be called MALAYSIAN and nothing less. Thus, the government of the day should be looking into ways to ensure that our children would identify themselves as MALAYSIAN first and foremost and then secondly by their ethnic background.

I say ethnic background because, the MALAYSIAN of today may not be from a singular ethnic group. Their parents may be from different ethnic groups thus they themselves are a composite of various groups. A testament to the roots of our Malaysia.

But this is not reflected in the minds of those in top governance. Again and again we hear statements that imply the supremacy of one ethnic group over another.

Why are we still talking about the elevation and supremacy of a particular ethnic group over others? Does this mean, the said ethnic group has never been able to attain any standing in Malaysia?

Why is it that after more than 50 years of independence and control over government, the leaders of this country still talk about the supremacy of the Malays? And why is it that criticism of UMNO be equated as an attack against the Malays and in turn a criticism against Islam?

In the minds of those in governance, UMNO = MALAY = ISLAM and any criticism or comment against these three would mean you criticism the three as a whole.

Thus, would this also mean, if UMNO has failed than the three has failed in unison?

There should be a separation in the minds of the country leaders, who are almost all from UMNO, that any criticism of the establishment is to the role of the elected leader in government.

If the Finance Minister has failed in sustaining national economics, then the role of Finance Minister has failed and not the Malay person or the Muslim who held that post.

So when statements uttered by other leaders from other political parties are leveled at the Malays, UMNO should be gracious to accept such statements because UMNO itself makes statements that also tickle their friends in Barisan Nasional. UMNO should be the model of tolerance as this is commanded in Islam.

If UMNO is tolerant then the Malays would be seen as tolerant which is good because a Muslim is called to be tolerant. Instead, we have UMNO leaders using the racial card at every juncture and worst still, it becomes a religious card too and saying things that imply the Malays have little tolerance to live in a multi-racial nation.

Such inability to be tolerant shows how UMNO has de-matured (if there is a word) over the years. Malaysia's founding fathers were able to carve out a nation that was home to various ethnic groups and people (in those days) lived together in harmony. But come today, we have politicians who seemed to like contesting the racial card.

UMNO leaders of today should read their statements standing in the shoes of those who are not Malays and tell me if they don't feel anything.

Separate race, politics and religion and I believe the state of governance in Malaysia would be better.

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A Malaysian Malaysia - Perak Dilemma

The DAP-PKR-PAS coalition has submitted an official list of candidates to Perak Sultan Azlan Shah.

The list was handed over to the Sultan’s secretary at 2pm today by a tripartite delegation, and the Ruler is expected to make an announcement within the next two days.

At a joint press conference, DAP chairperson Ngeh Khoo Ham confirmed that each party has submitted one name.

They are Ngeh himself who is Sitiawan assemblyperson, Pasir Panjang assemblyperson Mohamad Nizar Jamaludin and PKR’s Behrang assemblyperson Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi.

“All three parties have unanimously agreed that we will fully endorse the Sultan’s choice,” said Ngeh, speaking for coalition.

He stressed that, irrespective of the Sultan’s choice, the new coalition government will make decisions collectively.

“We therefore call upon party supporters from all three parties to fully support the new menteri besar,” he said

Asked why three names had been submitted - instead of the coalition settling for one nominee - Ngeh replied that the decision was made based on various aspects of the state constitution.

Complex circumstances

Under the state constitution, the menteri besar has to be a Malay Muslim, but there is a provision that allows the Sultan to waive the requirement.

None of the 18 DAP elected representatives are Malay Muslim, even though the party controls the most number of seats in the new state government.

It is learnt that the three of seven Malay Muslim PKR assemblypersons were ruled out as they are deemed not to have suitable paper qualifications.

This makes Mohamad Nizar, 51, the frontrunner as he has academic credentials and ranks high in the PAS Perak hierarchy.

Observers have noted that the three parties cannot automatically nominate Mohamad Nizar for the post, or the DAP would suffer severe political repercussions.

DAP has vehemently rejected PAS’ conservative religious agenda in favour of a secular ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ and had even left the PAS-PKR Barisan Alternatif coalition in protest in 2001.

In each general election, however, DAP has worked out a seat-distribution formula with PKR to avoid three-corner fights.

Article: Malaysiakini

It is a complex situation especially if you look at from a this-is-how-we-use-to-do-it stance. But think outside the box and looking at it from a democratic point of view - the answer is obvious. The party that won the most seats should take the lead. It is what the people voted for and it is what the people should get. In this case, it was DAP who pulled in the most seats for the state of Perak. PAS should not make it so much an issue since they already have Kedah and Kelantan. PKR has already got Selangor. Whereas Penang was outrightly won by DAP. So to balance things out, Perak should got to DAP. But some people may defer on this but we all can have an opinion on it.

Would the non-Chinese mind a Chinese Chief Minister? Or is the idea of race-politics totally ingrained into the minds of Malaysians, that they are unable to look beyond race or religion? But for all that democracy promises, these issues of the person's creed, race or religion holds such importance in choosing the leader. The Perak Dilemma is no different then the one America (the world's biggest democracy) is facing.

Should they elect an African-American or a Woman into the most powerful seat of power in the world?

Even Obama's religious stand was put into question, who says these things only happen in Malaysia? A (so-called) civilized nation like America, would put into question the same issues we deal with when choosing their leaders.

By all logic it should go down to the best person for the job and the choice for Perak rest solely on the shoulders of the Regent of Perak. There is great respect for Sultan Azlan Shah and whatever decision he makes would have taken into consideration the welfare of the state and its people. I believe he would be able to chose the best person for the job. The person that best fits the wants of the people. The best person that would work with the people, to make Perak a great state.

It would also be a test of tolerance and unity on the part of the political parties involve and the people who voted them in. Remember, it was the people who voted the people in and these same people demand that they be heard. These are Malaysians choosing what they want for Malaysia.

I pray that no matter who gets chosen, it would a Malaysian who strives to make Malaysia a better place.

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