BN’s give-and-take policy

 Christianity, Democracy, Ethnic and inter-religious relations, Human rights, M'sian politics, Poverty  3 Responses »
Jan 062008
 

Seems to me the BN has mastered the art of “give and take” in administering the nation. Give: Letter officially approving the new publication permit of The Herald Catholic Weekly – without any condition, allowing it to publish in all languages. (Hooray!) Take: Cabinet decision to bar The Herald from using the word “Allah”. (Alas, the earlier unconditional approval letter was too good to be true. So much for good sense prevailing; I should have known better.) Imagine, the Cabinet is now dictating to the people what name they should use to refer to the Almighty. That name has now become a source of division. How sad that they want to divide people of the Abrahamic faiths over the term used for the Almighty! The Herald’s rationale for its usage of the word “Allah” in its Malay-language section was based on a point of language, but the Cabinet appears to [Read more]

2,000 gather in Penang to call for release of Hindraf Five

 Ethnic and inter-religious relations, Human rights, M'sian politics, Marginalised groups, Poverty, Workers' rights  1 Response »
Jan 022008
 

Some 2,000 Indian Malaysians gathered at the Waterfall Temple in Penang on New Year’s Day to pray and call for the release of the five Hindraf leaders held under the ISA. A barber was in attendance at the temple premises to shave the heads of about 50 people, including one woman, who decided to go bald to emphasise their call for the release of the Hindraf Five. One of those present told me that about 200 devotees carried paal kodum (milk pots), again as a sign of solidarity with the detained leaders. A group of them later carried a banner with the words “PUBLIC NEED the TRUTH ANSWER direct from our beloved king. Release or charge the five ISA Detained Lawyers!” Those present vowed that they would not give up until a solution was found. My source tells me that similiar gatherings and prayers were also held in other temples [Read more]

Why are Malaysians so restless these days?

 Accountability, Civil society, Democracy, Development issues, Ethnic and inter-religious relations, M'sian politics, Malaysian finance/business, Neo-liberal economics, Poverty, Workers' rights  6 Responses »
Dec 182007
 

What is fuelling the protests and rallies and candlelight vigils and prayer gatherings? If we look at the Hindraf protest, it would be easy to conclude that the main issue is ethnic and religious discrimination, which has left many Indian Malaysians feeling disgruntled. But then again, it is not only Indian Malaysians who have protested. In the case of the Bersih rally, large number of Malay Malaysians, many of them low-income, have also turned up to voice their unhappiness. Prior to that, during the MTUC demonstrations to demand a monthly minimum wage of RM900 and a cost of living allowance of RM300, the vast majority of those who protested were also Malay Malaysians. There is a common denominator in all three of these protests. The majority of those who protested were from the low-income group. Why was this, I wondered. Could it have something to do with the wide gulf [Read more]

Bersih and Hindraf gatherings: An awakening of the marginalised

 Civil society, Development issues, Ethnic and inter-religious relations, Global justice movement, Human rights, Malaysian finance/business, Marginalised groups, Poverty  27 Responses »
Nov 252007
 

Two huge protest gatherings – or attempted gatherings – in the space of 15 days in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Amazing! But what does this tell us? A few things, actually: More and more Malaysians are casting off their fear of the repressive powers of the state. That was abundantly clear in the Bersih gathering calling for electoral reforms on 10 Nov, when 50,000 Malaysians converged in the heart of KL despite the warnings, the intimidation, the riot police and their water cannons…. and now 20,000-30,000 at the Hindraf demonstration. In both gatherings, it appears that the majority of those who were determined to show up were the disempowered and the disenfranchised and the marginalised. In other words, those left out from the development process. Positive GDP growth every year has not resulted in equitable development for all – rather, the wealth generated from economic growth has been concentrated [Read more]

Fahmi Reza’s outstanding film on the 1947 hartal

 Ethnic and inter-religious relations, Human rights, M'sian politics, Malaysian history  5 Responses »
Sep 222007
 

Remember the name – Fahmi Reza, the worthy winner of the Freedom Film Festival 2007. Last night I headed for the opening day’s screenings at the Actors’ Studio in Penang, mainly to see Fahmi’s “Sepuluh tahun sebelum Merdeka” – and I was not disappointed. It was the best local political documentary I had seen. The film focused on the first multi-ethnic political coalition in the country and depicted the events leading to the 1947 nationwide hartal or total national strike. The visionary women and men behind the hartal were nine years ahead of their time in coming up with constitutional proposals for a “Melayu” citizenship covering all the major races. In fact, the term “Melayu” to describe citizenship for all was surprisingly well received even by the non-Malays. The hartal had the backing of left-wing Malay nationalist groups, middle-class English-speaking non-Malays, even the Chinese Chambers of Commerce, women’s groups, and [Read more]

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