Potong Saga

I received this link from a colleague.

The video clip attached below is a laugh-out-loud film about a Chinese boy’s misguided attempts at opening an Islamic bank account. Its quite hilarious.

There are a few more clips that you can watch at the following website:

http://15malaysia.com/

When in Rome, do as the Africans do...

(source:http://malaysiana.pnm.my/01/01pgenln_adatresam.htm)

I see Malaysia/fellow Malaysians moving into a characterless future, all on the pretext of “modernization”. Sadly a lot of the time, modernization is westernization. Nothing wrong with wanting to be westernized. But I don’t see anything wrong with still wanting to be Malaysian/Eastern, and yet modern. Why is it when we say modern, it immediately means western. I have heard of arguments from many people about how we Malaysians are very conservative, “mundur”, “kampung” and backwards, and it always, more often than not, refers to our un-westernized characters, attitudes, and way of life. We feel the need regulate certain aspects of our way of life… but when we oppose such ideas, oftentimes the arguments put forth is based on what is being done in the West, which is seen as the ideals of many, or the absolute definition of a modern society. We change the way we behave, the way we talk and the way we dress, just so we are seen as “modern”. We look to the West, we look to other countries to help us decide what the best course of action is. We define humanity, human rights, legal rights and all other rights based on what is done in the West. Nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong with wanting to learn from the experiences of other countries, but not all that is done in the West is the gospel way of doing things. They have done many mistakes too, after all they are humans, just like we are. Not everything that works in the West, would work well here. We have different values, background and history that defines who we are. Why change that in the name of modernity. Losing something so precious that took decades to be established..

People look up to the Westerns. The views of white layperson is always much more appreciated than the views of an expert Asian. Why is it that dating a Western chic/boy is more glamorous than dating a fellow Asian. Why is it that when fellow Asians travel to the West, they lose their identity? It is as if we, Asians, are ashamed of our origins. Is pretending to be Westernized (okay, Modern in your dictionary!) better than being who you are, the real you? Pretend for too long, and we would eventually lose our identity. We would all be modern-wannabes.

But what is “modern”? My not so proficient vocabulary says that it is something that is the latest…be it an idea, a design, or even a way of life. A recent/new way of thinking in Malaysia/Asia, is still a state of being modern. Modernity, is not limited to the recent/current thinking in the West. Hence, a new trend initiated in Malaysia, is a modern trend! It does not have to come from the West for it to be modern. Have your own identity…its more precious than being a so-called modernized western-wannabe. In years to come, we would be bland. No more uniqueness that makes us Asian.

Let’s think for a bit. How much longer are gonna look highly to the West and adopt to their way of life. People say, when you are in Rome, do as the Romans do. Masuk kandang kambing mengembek, masuk kandang lembu eerr…(cant remember the ending…mengelembu perhaps?). But why? Why can’t we be Japanese when we are in Rome? Why can’t we mengiau bila masuk kandang kerbau? I know these proverbs meant to say that we should adapt to the surroundings…but really, adapt is one thing, but to lose identity for the sake of being accepted/adaptable is not worth it. There are things that we can freely adopt for us to be adaptable, but there are things that we should not compromise. Let no one tell you otherwise. Have your own principles. Without principles and values, who are we anyway?

I am sleepy, and I am beginning to sound like a broken record. So I might as well stop now.

Oi, Jeff...Oooi!

The following is an article from today’s TheStar, which only shows the utter bollocks that goes through the retarded-mind of an Islamo-phobic asshole!

Sunday August 2, 2009
Ooi wants JIM-linked Razali out
By IAN MCINTYRE

GEORGE TOWN: Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi is continuing his verbal war with Penang PKR municipal councillor Mohd Razali Abdullah, saying the council should not allow a “religious extremist” in its administration.

Ooi, who is Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s chief of staff, said the state was setting a dangerous precedent by allowing an alleged extremist religious activist to infiltrate the local government system.

“Razali has confirmed that he is a Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) member,” he said, adding he would call on Lim and state DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow to handle the matter.

Ooi, who is a member of the DAP central executive committee, printed out literature from JIM’s portal at www.jim.org.my which stated that the organisation’s mission statement was to develop Malaysia into a country which fully adopted Syariah law by 2020.

“How can the Penang people accept someone who prioritises Syariah law ahead of the Pakatan Rakyat state and the people?” he said at a press conference yesterday.

“We are transparent. Before my public outburst, I had raised the matter internally with Penang PKR chairman Datuk Zahrain Mohd Hashim and the state government about two PKR councillors including one who is constantly absent. But there were no answers,” he said.

Zahrain, when contacted, said he would address the issue at the next state Pakatan meeting scheduled for Monday in Lim’s office at Komtar.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/8/2/nation/4440859&sec=nation

Oi, Jeff Ooi what da hell is wrong with you?! Can’t you think straight for once...please, help me understand here...what is wrong with wanting to establish Syariah Laws by 2020? Everyone will have their own personal views for just about everything. If this Razali fellow personally believes that Syariah Laws is the way to go for the future, then what is wrong with him associating himself with JIM? It is only wrong if/when he tries to force people to see and accept his views. Only then he is a religious extremist! There is nothing wrong with what he has done so far. Do you mean to say that if i were to believe in something associated with religion which happens to be against what you believe, then i am a religious extremist?! Following the same logic, then you are an extremist. Simply because you are against establishing Syariah Laws. I dont know which religion you profess in, or if you believe in God at all, but following your same line of thoughts, having a different set of believes would make you a religious extremist. What a fucked-up logic.

Secondly, since when are you open to comment publicly on such sensitive topics?! Hey, don’t get me wrong, i have no qualms over public discussions on topics relating to religion, beliefs and other potentially sensitive subjects. But it is amazing that you apply such double standards. When a Malay dude in Penang casually said that the Chinese WERE immigrants, you made so much noise saying that it is an insensitive comment which should not have been uttered in a multiracial country. An now you say this publicly? For your info, many Muslims believe that an Islamic country should be based on the Syariah laws. I don’t know enough about the laws of Islam, and i have not fully understood the Quran to form a conclusive view on this topic, but i do feel that people are entitled to believe in what they want to believe in. And most importantly, no one should be penalized for having such beliefs (as long as they dont go breaking the Laws)! If you think that i am an asshole, then whatever mate, i just couldn’t care less. Life goes on. Even if my father is the Prime Minister, i won’t ask him to penalize you. So live with it mate. You will always find people having views against yours, and that will never make them an extremist. But you acting all foolishly because someone don’t share your views, that is extremism.... nate bengong mu nih!

Thirdly, what could possibly be so wrong with being a part of JIM? Really, if it is an organisation for religious extremists, then do you honestly think that our legal and enforcement system is so screwed up to allow such thing to go unnoticed. We live in Malaysia for heaven sake…we come up with fatwas on everything, and we have the ISA being used freely on everyone…so, seriously, we could not be any stricter in monitoring religious NGOs….if there is something wrong with JIM, then the JAIS/JAWI/JAetc would have been all over it….

Fourthly, you said:

“We are transparent. Before my public outburst, I had raised the matter internally with Penang PKR chairman Datuk Zahrain Mohd Hashim and the state government about two PKR councillors including one who is constantly absent. But there were no answers,”

You, being holier-than-thou with a know-it-all attitude, think that this Razali fellow should be stripped from his position simply because he is part of JIM and believes that the Syariah Laws should be the laws governing the country, and you have done all that is within your power to make sure he is penalized, then why the fuck are you all numb and dumb and quiet about the Pakatan Rakyat, which has PAS as one of its components…owh, I forgot, you can’t say anything…it will be a political suicide for you… what a hypocrite! Typical, fight for the limelight, silence over what really matters!

1Malaysia

I am very happy to see the many things happening in Malaysia ever since Najib took the seat. Many initiatives were devised to hopefully improve the economic and social well-being of the country and the rakyat. The 1Malaysia concept is good. Stop criticizing it folks, it is a concept developed with only the best intentions in mind and heart for the people of Malaysia. Hopefully someday we will be a true nation, not merely existing as a country. It wishes to see fellow Malaysians being united under the same umbrella, all striving towards excellence, moving the country forward, pushing through obstacles, jumping over hurdles through loops of fires into a developed nation, without intentionally or unintentionally allowing any sectors of the rakyat being left behind, be it by race, religion or geographical locations. It benefits both, the haves and the have nots, and it does not discriminate between the politically-connected and those without any connections. It is for you and for me to enjoy.

Now that we have this wonderful concept briefly outlined, I could not help but wonder:

1. What is the baseline scenario, i.e have we agreed where we stand now? I have heard arguments that we ARE multiracial and we DO live together in harmony. So where are we, people? Where are we starting from?

2. Where are we heading to? Is there a target we all aspire to achieve? To be honest, I do feel that the 1Malaysia concept was announced without much deliberation and description of what we hope to be and….(continue in point 3 below)

3. …by when? Timescale people… if it is not time-bound, then it will never be achieved. But of course, it has to be reasonable too.

4. What are we doing to get there? What specific steps are we taking to get to where we want to be? Any implementation strategy? Who is responsible, and who is accountable for making sure of this ? And don’t tell me everyone is responsible, because it will not work…I have heard that far too many times before, and trust me, it has never worked in the past and it will never work in the future!

5. How do we know if/when we are there? What will be used as the yardstick? A target without any defined way of measuring “national unity” is as good as not having any targets at all. We need a clearly defined methodology.

My view is, without the above, the idea of 1Malaysia will be just that, a concocted “concept”. A make-believe idea for political gains. I hope it is not the case here. I may sound very pessimistic, but I do believe in the concept, and I sooooo want it to work. I just hope that all politicians will want it to work more than I do, so that at least I can be rest assured that someday we will get there (wherever that is)! I have heard far too many talks, but seen much less effective actions. Be different Najib!