Thoughts on the 10-point solution

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Puteri

I think Idris Jala has done a rather magnificent job of representing the government with his 10-point solution to the Alkitab stalemate.

The Bible Society of Malaysia’s positive response to the 10-point solution and unconditionally releasing the “government of any obligation, legal or moral, to compensate BSM for the 5,000 copies of the Alkitab that cannot be sold and leaves this matter to the goodwill and judgment of the government” (quote by BSMpresident, Lee Min Choon). Being a Christian organization, I can understand BSM’s desire to be forgiving, and since Idris Jala, himself a Christian, has explicityly shown himself through words that Christians can identify with,  to be a trustworthy mediator on the government’s behalf, I give him (Idris Jala) the benefit of the doubt.

But for the majority of Christians, the government is a repeat offender, and despite what appears to be a rather generous accommodation to the demands of Christians regarding the Alkitab, many are still suspicious of the motives and integrity of the government and are therefore not quite that willing to forgive and forget.  They will reserve their judgement and see for themselves if the government’s words can be believed and matched by their actions, not for the short foreseeable future but for years to come.

It appears even within the BSM itself there is doubt, as expressed by its secretary-general, Rev. Simon Wong. He wonders whether the government will honor its pledges because in the past despite agreements and assurances, the Home Ministry had continued to harass local printers and impounded imported Bibles.

I wonder how long it will take before some anti-Christian group will start protesting the generous accommodation  to the Christians’ demands and start asking for Idris Jala to be removed from any future negotiation with the various Christian groups.

There are still laws that ban the use of the term “Allah” in publications by non-Muslims which do not appear to be going away any time soon.  And despite what appears to be a generous solution to the Alkitab stalemate, there are still restrictions and requirements on how the Alkitab is made available to Christians in Peninsular Malaysia.

I agree with many, Idris Jala may be sincere but is the government as sincere especially with its poor track record?

Readings:
Malaysia Chronicle: Idris Jala: Conditions for Alkitab in East M’sia lifted but stays in West M’sia
Malaysian Insider: Christians want Putrajaya to prove sincerity over Alkitab
Malaysian Insider: Consult us on bibles, BSM tells Putrajaya

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Tone Deaf

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Puteri

In today’s lexicon, being tone deaf does not only describe a person’s inability to correctly differentiate musical notes, but it is also used to describe a politician who is unable or unwilling to listen to the voices of his constituents regarding certain issues.

Regarding the Interlok controversy, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, best exhibits what a tone deaf politician is.  He proclaims the matter “closed” and just because he has said so, he expects every one else to meekly go away and duly shut up.  Muhyiddin’s approach to settling the concerns of the Indians and the Chinese about the use of the book in the school syllabus is worse than simplistic.  It is arrogant, dictatorial and insults the intelligence of the rakyat.  And yes, totally tone deaf!

Of all the literature books available for use in a syllabus why must one that contains biases towards certain groups of people be chosen?  Will students have to put up with teachers who hold the same biases as the author teach them the book?  With the controversy far from being settled, can a class be conducted without injecting politics to the teaching of the book?

Only a tone deaf Minister of Education can proclaim the case “closed” on his say so.  And to add insult to injury, a trumped up national security angle has been added to the controversy.  If indeed national security is threatened by allowing the controversy to continue, then any rational and right thinking person will nip the threat to national security in the bud.  I would think that removing the book from the syllabus is the best way to do it!

No one is calling for a ban on the book.  All the parties concerned want, from what I understand, is to drop the book from the literature syllabus.  A little change here and there with regards to the offending terms used in the book is not going to appease anyone because the slant of the whole book will still remain the same.  Can anyone expect a teacher or a student not to bring up the controversy regarding the book into the classroom?

In Malaysia it seems, despite all the talk of 1Malaysia, unity, and harmony, political correctness and protecting racial and cultural sensitivities only flow one way.  The Chinese, the Indians, the Christian Bumiputeras of Sabah and Sarawak be damned.

 

 

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A repeat offender

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Puteri

I have been out of touch with news about and from Malaysia for the last several months.   The last couple of days I started catching up with what has been happening and in doing so I came across this wonderful online news portal called the Malaysia Chronicle.

I say wonderful because I just finished reading an article on the news portable by Sidang Injil Baru which I, and many others, feel expresses what most Christians in Malaysia feel.  I doubt such an article would appear in any of the mainstream publication in Malaysia.

I think there is very little doubt in the minds of Malaysian Christians that the BN government led by UMNO is waging an anti-Christian agenda.  The bans (on and off) on importation, publication and sale of the Alkitab and other indigenous language Bibles has been around since the Mahathir administration and yet, there are many ignorant non-Christian Malaysians who think that this controversy is something new.  They ask the question, “Why now?” that is, why are the issue over the use of the term Allah and the wide use of the Alkitab taking place now?  To them there is an “agenda”, an agenda by Christians in Malaysia to proselytize Muslims in Malaysia to the Christian faith.  And that to them is dangerous and must be stopped.

I find it disheartening that Malaysia is regressing instead of progressing with regards to religious tolerance.   We talk so much about 1Malaysia, about unity and harmony and yet there are policies and laws in place that do the opposite of promoting unity and harmony among the different racial and religious groups in the country.  These laws exacerbate mistrusts, bigotry, intolerance and even paranoia in some.

What I find most disappointing is when a Minister from Sarawak, himself a so-called Christian, telling Christians not “to make fools of themselves” when protesting the confiscation and conditions set by the Home Ministry for the release of the Alkitab.  It is not only disappointing but disgraceful that an elected Christian leader is not defending the rights of the Christians to protest, let alone protecting their rights to freely use a Bible in any language of their choice!

Sure now the government is backing down on the conditions for the release, and releasing the Alkitab to their rightful owners, but what about later?  The government is a “repeat offender” when it comes to the Alkitab.  It is convenient for the government to appease the Christians in Sarawak, for now, in light of the state’s up-coming general elections. Without the parliamentary seats from Sabah and Sarawak, the UMNO led BN government would be in jeopardy!

If the majority of the people of Sarawak do not change the way they vote in the up-coming state elections, things will remain the way they are, if not worse.

 

 

 

 

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To poco poco or not to poco poco

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Puteri

I linked the story about how the mufti of Perak had ruled that dancing the poco poco was haram on my Facebook page yesterday.  There were various responses from the non-Muslims ranging from what good timing as to coincide with April Fool’s Day, to Malaysia being a laughing stock over such issue, to a Muslim friend who left the following comment ~

Puteri, some people like to politicize religion for personal gain. Just to let u know that this is not the views of most muslims. It’s just a dance..!!

My Muslim friend is in good company because none other than the former mufti of Perlis, Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, has said that the mufti of Perak has erred, and that according to him “poco-poco dance that is not performed to propagate false beliefs, should be encouraged”.

Malaysia loves to portray itself as this progressive, multi-cultural Muslim country to the world, but when stories like this one appear, it makes people wonder what exactly is the country all about? Is it really as progressive as it is made out to be?

I suppose you can say Yes and No.  Religion and Politics  in Malaysia are so intertwined that many times you cannot tell one from the other.  There will always be people who will exploit anything and everything for personal and/or political gain, and moreover you can never discount the use of religion by those in power to “control” society.

My two cents.

Reading:

Asri says poco-poco dance healthy, not un-Islamic

 

 

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Christians asked to be “fair” and “reasonable” over Alkitab

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Puteri

Why do Christians have to be the ones that have to act fair and reasonable?  They are the ones whose Malay language bibles that have been confiscated.  They are the ones that have to put up with impositions of markings and serial numbers on their bibles.

Why do Christians in Malaysia have to be the ones to be concerned about not offending the sensitivities of Muslims?  Do Christians in Malaysia get the same considerations from the Muslims?

What about the constitutional rights of Christians to practise their religion without undue interference from the government?  Is the right to practise one’s religion as enshrined in the Constitution just meaningless words?

Every time this issue comes up, it just feels like we Christians are banging our heads against the wall.  It just does not “masuk akal” why the government seems to be so unreasonable, arrogant and paranoid over the use of bibles in the national language.

The paranoia of an “agenda” as the reason for using the Alkitab is so absurd that it defies logic!

This is the internet age.  Anyone, and that includes Muslims, has access to the Bible in any language of their choice.  Agenda? What agenda?

You want Malay to be the National Language? Okay, so why restrict people from using the language freely?

Truly “tidak masuk akal”.

Readings:
Hisham asks Christians to be ‘fair and reasonable’ over Alkitab

Kitab Injil: ABIM tidak bantah tapi mahu syarat KDN dipatuhi

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A New Start

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Puteri

Somehow or other I managed to screw up my blog when I moved from one hosting account to another.  Oh well.  I looked at the archives in the way back machine and there were some articles that could be retrieved. Heh, old news! :-)

Maybe one day, I will be able to get someone to help me move the files from the other account before I shut it down completely.  I am done with paying for two accounts when both are under-utilized!  They are not cheap to maintain!

Anyway, things seem to be moving fast and getting more interesting around the world. The thing for me is whether I can put down words to the blog, or will this blog continue to be what it was before the screw up!  That is, unattended and not updated! :-)

We shall see!

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The ramblings of an old man

Posted on January 16, 2009 by Puteri

I’m sure many Malaysians are aware of the existence of Dr Mahathir’s blog. His lastest posting is, without a doubt, vintage Dr M. The same hate-filled, Jew-hating and American-hating ramblings of an old, has-been politician, desperate for the attention and adoration of his supporters. His latest call to boycott US products, blockade the US, attack the US … what are those? If he really meant all that he had written, how come when he was the Prime Minister, he did not carry out any of these threats? To be sure, the conflicts in the Middle East are nothing new. Israel and the Arabs in that region have been at war with each other at one time or another and most certainly during his watch as the Prime Minister of Malaysia as well.

Talk about a “tin kosong”!

Dr M takes exception to President Bush’s claim that “the world respects America for its compassion” and to prove the point that not all Americans agree with such a claim he posted an article by Paul Craig Roberts. At the same time, Dr M points out that his rantings have nothing to do with his bias against Israel or the US due to the fact that he is a Muslim because there are other people like Roberts who are as rabid as he is about the Bush administration and the situation in the Middle East. Hah! When was the last time a Malaysian reporter/commentator write an excoriating article about Dr M and it saw the light of day in any newspaper in Malaysia? Fat chance, right?

Let’s see how compassionate America is.

In FY2008, Congress appropriated a total of $414.5 million in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians, the largest single year appropriation ever for the Palestinians. For FY2009, an additional $200 million have already been appropriated for the Palestinians (with another $100 million requested by the Bush Administration).

The motive for increased aid?

[T]he Bush Administration and Congress have boosted U.S. aid levels in hopes of fostering an economic and security climate conducive to Palestinian statehood. The revival of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations over a final-status agreement in conjunction with the Annapolis Conference of November 2007 provided further impetus for U.S. economic support of the institutional and societal building blocks deemed crucial for Palestinian self-governance.

Can anyone tell me if there is any other country that gives more than the US to help the Palestinians? Just what does the Bush Administration get for being “compassionate”? Ingrate responses from the likes of Dr M, that’s what! Of all the foreign aid funneled to the Palestinian Authority, about 30% comes from the US alone and a miserly 7% is from the Arab nations, the so called more compassionate and supporter of the Palestinians!

If Dr M and his ilk succeed in destroying the American economy through their boycotts, blockade, etc, they better be prepared to shell out the dough for their helpless Palestinian friends! Otherwise the poor Palestinians will be in worse shape than they are presently in despite the war with Israel!

Speaking of the war, how is it that only Israel is the demon in this war? Why is there no denunciation from Dr M and his ilk of Hamas and their use of civilians as human shields, and their use of hospitals, mosques, and schools for storing their weapons and for launching their rockets against Israel? How would Malaysia like it if their “friendly” neighbour starts firing rockets at it daily? Would Malaysia just ignore it?

Don’t even tell me about “disportionate response” from Israel! If the goal of your enemy is your complete annihilation, should you be blamed for your response to your enemy?

Just think about it. Food and medicine cannot be brought in to Gaza, but there is no such difficulty in smuggling weapons into Gaza so Hamas can continue firing rockets at Israel. Is there something wrong with this picture?

No, I do not like war. But war is a necessary evil. If the Allied Forces had not come to Malaya’s help during WWII, we would all be speaking Japanese today. If the Americans had not come to the aid of Western Europe, Europe would all be speaking German today.

Think about it.

He who wishes to fight must first count the cost. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men’s weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be dampened. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor dampened, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue… In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.
-Sun Tzu, the Art of War

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