Tag: Malays

Dr Mahathir: Under PM Najib, Malaysian Malays Could Suffer Safe Fate As Singapore Malays,

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 — After predicting the fall of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government under Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is now claiming that if the prime minister stays in power, the Malays here could become marginalised like their Singaporean brethren.

In a video of a Wednesday forum released online today by blogger Din Turtle, Dr Mahathir was seen reminding his audience that the struggle for the country is not for the personal goals of one man but for the survival of the nation, its race and its religion.

“I think we are smart people. Do we want to protect Najib? Or do we want to protect the Malays and the country?

“This is what we have to ask ourselves,” he said in his speech during the forum with several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at the Perdana Foundation.

Dr Mahathir cited again the example of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy, his biggest pet peeve of the Najib government, and said that he found it difficult to imagine how the firm had racked up a RM42 billion debt.

“Its hard to even imagine RM1 billion… even RM1 million, some Malays don’t recognise… this is RM42 billion,” he said.

“But if we don’t acknowledge the crime that is happening here, there is a high likelihood that we will lose and we will be divided… And we will suffer the fate of the Malays in Singapore, in southern Thailand and other places.

“Now we are thankful because we are still in power but if Najib leads the country, we will lose that power in our hands and at that point, there won’t be anyone there to offer us protection,” he said.

Dr Mahathir has been at the forefront of attacks against the Najib administration and has been actively campaigning for the prime minister’s resignation, believing the latter will lead BN to doom in the next federal polls.

Among others, Dr Mahathir has attacked Najib over his handling of the controversy surrounding 1MDB, the troubled state-owned firm that has racked up a debt of RM42 billion since its inception in 2009.

Najib, however, has refused to step down and has responded to Dr Mahathir’s accusations – several times via his blog and once through a pre-recorded interview on TV3.

Dr Mahathir, however, has refused to relent.

In his speech at the forum, the outspoken 89-year-old told Najib: “I am aware… I am old. And Najib said why listen to one man when the entire country supports him (Najib)… so why listen to one man?

“I don’t know if I am one man or I am many. But I request that if we want to save ourselves, we must show the strength of numbers… that is very important.

“We have to remind everyone that our struggle is not or one man alone. It is for our country, our race, our religion and that is our struggle.”

Despite Dr Mahathir’s persistence, Najib has fought hard to resist the former’s calls for his resignation, repeatedly responding by saying that he has the support of the leadership in Umno, the country’s ruling party and BN lynchpin.

In his latest blog post on June 12, Najib fired back at Dr Mahathir, accusing him of using the 1MDB controversy as a ploy to attack him.

Najib pointed out that if the former prime minister was genuinely interested in getting answers, he only needed to wait for the conclusion of the various investigations by the Auditor-General, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Bank Negara on 1MDB.

Source:www.themalaymailonline.com

June 22, 2015
Ridhuan Tee: Malays Are Their Own Worst Enemies

PETALING JAYA: The Malays are their own worst enemies, according to controversial preacher Ridhuan Tee.

“It’s frightening to see how disunited the Malays are today,” he says in the latest article for his column in Sinar Harian. “If the Malay race is destroyed, it will be from the Malays’ own doing. Others will simply exploit the situation.”

He says he would not have bothered about what the Malays would do to themselves if they were not Muslims; but he feels a bond of brotherhood with them and is therefore concerned over what they are doing to themselves. “No doubt, those of other races, including my own close relatives, will seize on this and condemn and insult me.”

He says his article would never end if he were to write about all the problems afflicting the Malays.

He says the Malays must end their habit of boasting about the past glory of the race and start thinking of the present and planning for their future glory.

“There’s not much time left to create a new glorious age for the Malays because other races have left them far behind. Those other races are grabbing all the opportunities that are rightfully opportunities for the Malays.

“Unfortunately, the Malays are losing out because they are too preoccupied with bringing each other down. More unfortunately still, the Malays are fighting each other over the right to champion the enemies of Islam, as is happening with PAS and Umno.”

Tee calls on the Malays to “rise up” and not shackle themselves with problems of their own making. “Resolve your problems before it’s too late. Other races are so far in front of you.”

Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.com

June 20, 2015
Why Are Muslims So Happy In Ramadan?

If you have non-Muslim colleagues who are missing their lunch buddies this month, perhaps this will give them a better idea of what’s really going on with Muslims this Ramadan.

Your Muslim classmates and colleagues may look pale, have chapped lips and look adoringly at the clock counting down to 713pm to break their fast, but despite the hunger and thirst, they’re kind of …. peaceful. Happy even! What sorcery is this, you wonder? Here are some reasons why:

1) Rewards are multiplied.

Ramadan is like the Great Singapore Sale of worship. In other months, we are told that our good deeds are rewarded in the ratio 1:10 (yeah, Allah is pretty great) up to 1:700 but for Ramadan, a narration by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) informs us that God says “Fasting is for Me, and I reward it accordingly.” And that means infinitely (and more!) probably because one of the attributes of God is that He is the Most Generous. There is no logic or system in His Accounting WHICH IS GREAT because we are so in need of extra points.

So that’s why we’re still smiling despite looking at you and your Big Mac during lunch time. Coz we’re hopeful of the rewards of remaining patient for that few hours.

2) We see our potential.

In Ramadan, we believe Satan gets locked up. No more bothersome whispers to do evil things! Although Muslims do believe that we all have innate bad characteristics (with or without Satan) that we have to remove, it does help that we get a free pass for a month from him and focus on cleaning our hearts!

This, coupled with the fact that its the GSS of worship, is why you may notice your Muslim friends who drink, stop drinking. Those who can rival a pirate with his swearing and cursing, bite his tongue in this month. And others turn down invitations for movies, parties and other general entertainment.

It’s because we realise what we’re capable of. We spend 11 months of the year trying so hard to be better people and it’s usually a great struggle. Yet in Ramadan, things get easier and we focus more on our spirituality and realise what we’re capable of. And that makes us mighty pleased and hopeful.

3) Great sense of community

Living in a fast-paced city like Singapore and with an increasingly individualistic system of living, it gets difficult to feel a sense of community sometimes. Ramadan reverses that. Makciks all over insist that their children come home to break their fast together, if not everyday, at least once a week.

This sense of community is most beautifully manifested during the special night prayer that’s only done in Ramadan. It is called the Tarawih prayer (tarawih literally comes from the word rest, or refers to the period of rest in between 4 cycles of the prayer). Mosques all over Singapore which are usually only packed for Friday prayers, are generally packed every single night in Ramadan for these prayers and not just men too. Women, children and the elderly all make their way to the mosques to perform this voluntary prayer together. And it’s an amazingly happy sight.

Fasting also teaches and reminds us of those less fortunate. When we’re hungry, we are able to empathise with those who are hungry not out of choice. Since Ramadan is basically our happy hour for extra good deeds, you will see many charity initiatives in this month too. SimplyIslam’s Ramadan Charity Basket has been ongoing for 8 years now and we help to provide financial aid and also food provisions to over 150 needy families. You can click on the link above to find out more, donate and also volunteer during the drive!

4) Salvation from Hell

Do I really need to explain? Ok. So Muslims believe in a Heaven and a Hell. If your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds, to Heaven you go! (With God’s Mercy of course!) If it’s the opposite, …. you know where this is going.

BUT! Ramadan is great because Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) says: “Fasting serves as a shield from Hellfire.”

And in another narration, “Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven.”

ALL his past sins guys, ALL. So of course we’re happy in this month!

5) Ramadan Food

I know I was going for the spirituality angle in this piece but I’ll be a hypocrite if I say we don’t get excited about the special Ramadan food. These are things that even the non-Muslims enjoy too I’m sure!

There’s this milky, nutty, cold and yummy drink that magically appears in Ramadan and it’s called Katira. Katira is to Singaporean Muslims what the Butterbeer is to Harry Potter. (If you don’t get that reference, seriously why have you not read Harry Potter?!)

Katira Goodness

There’s also Dendeng which is basically our awesome, halal version of your Bee Cheng Hiang’s Bakkwa. ‘Nuff said.

Then there’s the simple, understated Bubur Masjid (literally Mosque Porridge) that we actually send our kids to collect at the mosque once they’re done with school because if we go after our office hours, it might run out. Seriously, we take our Bubur Masjid very seriously. Seriously.

So now you know what’s up with your Muslim friends this month. We’ll catch up with you on Hari Raya when we’ll all celebrate over pineapple tarts and fizzy drinks! But till then, please don’t post your lunch on Instagram, thanks.

Source: http://muzlimbuzz.sg

June 19, 2015
MDA Bans Pink Dot SG Ad

Over the weekend, the seventh edition of Pink Dot SG saw its largest turn-out yet, with more than 28,000 people coming together. This was despite the organisers facing several challenging situations from the community.

According to a statement from the Pink Dot SG organisers, a 15-second pre-event advertisement for Pink Dot that was meant to be screened in cinemas was refused a rating by the MDA last Friday after a two-month wait, effectively banning it. The statement said that the MDA cited the reason that “it is not in the public interest to allow cinema halls to carry advertising on LGBT issues.”

Responding to Marketing‘s queries, MDA said it had “carefully considered” Cathay Organisation’s application on 12 May to screen a Pink Dot 2015 promotional trailer in its cinemas.

“This is the first time MDA has received such an application. MDA has concluded that it is not in the public interest to allow cinema halls to carry advertising on LGBT issues, whether they are advocating for the cause, or against the cause. MDA has therefore rejected Cathay Organisation’s application to screen the trailer,”the spokesperson added.

The ad is currently running on Pink Dot SG’s social media channels. Here’s the full ad:

Nonetheless, the Pint Dot SG organisers added that this year the event saw its largest-ever list of corporate sponsors. Social media giant Twitter, local entertainment giant Cathay Organisation, as well as financial software, data and media company Bloomberg, join returning sponsors Google, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, BP, J.P. Morgan and The Gunnery.

This year’s Pink Dot focused on the message, “Where Love Lives,” and invited the community to reflect on the progress that has been made towards dispelling the discrimination and prejudice that face lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, as well as the many challenges that still remain. People were encouraged to take part in Pink Dot’s social media campaign, #WhereLoveLivesSg. The campaign was powered by local social media agency, Campaign.com.

Paerin Choa, a Pink Dot SG spokesperson added, “After the setbacks that we had experienced over the last 12 months, giving up and losing hope would have been the easy thing to do. But we also know that Singapore’s LGBT community are a very resilient bunch, and in view of these challenges, we still have much to celebrate.”

Among the major challenges the community had faced over the past year, probably the biggest was the verdict in October last year by the Court of Appeal upholding the constitutionality of Section 377a of the Penal Code, which criminalises physical intimacy between men.

Locally, furniture brand IKEA also recently came under fire for partnering up with Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) controversial pastor Lawrence Khong who has been in the limelight for openly opposing homosexuality.

Meanwhile last year, The National Library Board (NLB) came under intense fire from netizens after it decided to pull off two children’s book titles off its shelves. The books were removed after the board received complaints from a member of the public stating that the titles And Tango Makes Three and The White Swan Express were not in line with traditional family values. The first book depicts two male penguins acting like a couple raising a young penguin and the latter talks about a single mother, adoption and a lesbian couple.

Source: www.marketing-interactive.com

June 16, 2015
The Cultural Traditions Of The Malay Silat Pengantin – Osman Sulaiman

For my non-Malay friends, this is what ‘Silat Pengantin’ (silat bride) in a Malay wedding looks like.

During the early Malay civilisation, Silat Pengantin was performed in front of the Sultan of a country by a Panglima (commander). The purpose of doing so was to showcase the skills and fighting capabilities of that Panglima,which was important during the era where wars between countries were frequent.

For wedding purposes, Silat is not used against an opponent but rather as aform of respect, blessing and protection.

The Silat Pengantin has to be performed with great respect and etiquette. When performing the Silat Pengantin, care must be taken and the following be observed:

– Movements must be graceful so as to be respectful to the bridal couple.
– There should not be any movements where the back is shown to the bridal couple.
– The feet must not be lifted too high.
– There should not be any “aggressive” movement directed towards the couple.
– Performer should not move to the side of the bridal couple.
– No weapons should be used when performing.
– During the performance,the performer should not make any utterances.
– It is traditionally believed that the Silat Pengantin has to be presented in odd numbers i.e. one, three, five people and so forth.

Source: Osman Sulaiman

June 16, 2015