Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 1,320 views
I was in KL for the weekend. After breaking up many promises to go and chill out with my friends on the other side (so sorry peeps for that!), finally I made a last minute decision to go. Booked my ticket on Thursday and flew down on Friday evening. I am glad I made it to KL because I had the chance to attend few very important tweetups, meeting old friends – especially my lovely comrades from Facebook, and hanging out with many new friends from Twittersphere.
I touched down at LCCT around 7.30pm, took a bus to KL Sentral which took me an hour to reach there. Another 10 mins wasted to find a cab. First cab asked for RM35, I told him to go back and sleep, then I went to the roadside and managed to catch a macha. We had a good chat about Sarawak (after he learned that I am a Sarawakian), tuak, toddy, samsu and a little bit on politics. I was heading to Rocket Cafe to attend a tweetup with Lim Kit Siang. Tony Pua was there as well. I was late, reached there around 9pm and luckily I just missed the session about half an hour.
Teeetup with Lim Kit Siang and Tony Pua
The tweetup make-up is a very multiracial one, something different from the usual DAP organised gatherings I have been to. In fact, Vijay whispered to me halfway during the tweetup, “Hey Bong, you know this is the first gathering I’ve been that I see so many races, normally.. majority Chinese and few Indians, very seldom got Malays. Tonight we have so many”.
Many questions and comment were raised during the tweetup. Questions on Lim Kit Siang’s call for boycott during the swearing in ceremony in Perak post GE 2008, September 16 and many more.
I had the chance to ask few questions and make some comments on the image of DAP as a multiracial party hampered by its inability to get the right mixture of members and leaders to reflect a true multiracial party. Many other tweeples jumped in and gave their comments on how DAP is still perceived among Malays as a Chinese party. Something need to be done to change this perception.
Lim Kit Siang gave a good answer on this. He pointed out that in principle, DAP never close its door to any Malaysian, be it Malay, Chinese, Indian etc. The party does not limit any Malaysian of any race and religion to join the party. He then mentioned some prominent Malay leaders in DAP – a well-known Malay, MP Ahmad Nor, who was its vice-president until his death in 2003, Tunku Abdul Aziz the current party vice-president as an example of DAP multiracial and open to all. approach. It’s wrong to say that the DAP is not interested broadening its appeal to the Malays.
But DAP has difficulties to attract other races especially Malays because there are so many other parties to choose from and most of the time being an opposition party doesn’t help. Malays can choose from Umno, Gerakan, PPP then only PAS, PKR and lastly DAP. For those who are pro-opposition, before PKR was formed they would choose either PAS or DAP but now they can choose PKR.
Hmm, for me I personally feel the problem with DAP trying to attract Malay members is that DAP does not have enough specifics in their programmes or policies for the Malays as a specific community. How DAP is going to assist the Malays in their development, what kind of policies DAP has for them. Reaching out to the Malays is different from reaching out to the Chinese and Indians and other Natives for that matter. Religion is one crucial factor.
Another issue brought up was on the dissemination of information to the ground. DAP specifically or Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in general could have done many good things but all this good news are not delivered to the right people due to the distortion, manipulative and blackout in mainstream media. This problem is also related to the previous question and comments where DAP is perceived as a Chinese party when DAP has always been multi-racial in its composition and outlook.
PR also does not have an official one stop centre’ for all the news, press statements, commentaries on policies and current issues, blogs for its leaders, members and supporters. Independent or alternative media who are pro PR like Malaysia Today and Malaysiakini are not enough. TV Selangor is a good example on how Pakatan Rakyat can use it to present PR’s side on any story and issues of current interests, offering counter-statements, interviews on various issues and showing all the good works carried out by PR. Heck it even has live parliamentary session, something Malaysian cannot get from RTM channels or any mainstream electronic media.
I also commented on the cooperation between Pakatan Rakyat parties – PKR, DAP and PAS where PR still does not portray itself as a coalition with united voice when you have situation where PAS will take lead on a certain issue, DAP will take lead on another issue. I suggested that for DAP to portray and show that it is a party who is after Malaysians’ interests, it should always go to the front.
Tony Pua replied “Let’s say for an example, on the Allah issue if DAP was the first to go out and say ‘It is okay for the Christians to use the Allah word’ and then PAS followed after that, how people would think? How the Muslims would think? Don’t you think Umno and BN would jump to the opportunity to say PAS ‘ikut telunjuk’ (PAS is DAP’s puppet)? That is why for certain issues, we find it is better for us to sit back and let other parties take the lead.
Valid point, which I gave my next comment ‘Then, to avoid such problem, giving impression to the people out there on the disunity of PR parties, of who’s taking the lead and who’s taking the back seat, shouldn’t Pakatan Rakyat issue some sort of joint-statement when dealing with an issue? That way, no question of each party issuing its own statement or the possibility of contradicting each other. It is also more difficult for PR detractors to accuse any party of being submissive to other party. Any statement or comments coming from other PR leaders or parties after the official statement are considered as just personal opinions/views since the official stand has been made.”
Hmm….
Too bad, time was running out and the only reply I got was “Well, that’s an idealistic thinking”. Hmm….
Tweetup at The Reef, TTDI
A friend was waiting for more than 15 mins downstairs for me and Vijay to go for another tweetup at The Reef, TTDI. So after we took some group photos, we left for The Reef. I was so happy to meet up with the regular tweeples in person – @Asohan, @orangasle, @feistyflo (Thanks for inviting me cayang hahaha!), @zeffri (and his lovely wife), @IcedNyior, @thechannelc (she left without saying goodbye! Easier to sneak out than saying goodbye eh??), @sureshdr, @rachelweiyi, @iemzhar, @JcrT, @auzani (he came a bit late after). Sorry if I miss out your name, writing this off the top of my head.
Had so much fun, gyrating to the 80’s tune. We even made a toss to #yorais! We were so loud and at one point chanting “U2, U2, U2″ asking for songs from the band to be played. Too bad, our requests were ignored.. huargghhh! Nobody was taking photos of the tweetup, I think @IcedNyior took some and twitpic-ed it, may need to check her tweets for the photos. We adjourned to the mamak opposite the bar and I had my sleep around 4.30am. I was staying at D’aman Ria, the place where I stayed when I was working in Klang Valley. Thanks CM for opening the door at 4am LOL!
To be continued… (Next post - fish head noodle, Kanna Curry House farewell lunch and Teh Tarik Tweetup with Anwar Ibrahim)
Posted in Barisan Rakyat, Blogosphere, DAP, Friends, Lim Kit Siang, Malaysia, Me, People, Politicians, Politics, Social Media, Twitter | 9 Comments »
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009 2,014 views
Every now and then we would have some morally uptight, religiously constipated pricks trying to act holy, high and mighty by preaching to the masses about good religious values, the importance and wonderful of following the teachings of God while condemning those who strayed and committed sins. They would also go on an imaginary crusade against people who they thought had said or done things deemed insulting to their religion.
And in the hastiness of trying to sound reasonable (and pious?) with all the justifications and explanations for their actions, they often forget one very important thing. HOW they say or do it. Yes, it’s not so much about WHAT they say or do, but how they say or do it. WHAT they say may be reasonable and of perfect sense but HOW the message is delivered would determine whether the recipients would understand the intended message, especially when the consistency of the actions by the messenger is highly doubtful.
It is not WHAT one says, but HOW one says it that makes the difference between fusion and confusion.
Now, the issue here is of one Dr. Ridhuan Tee suddenly out of nowhere playing the role a hero of his religion using Teoh Beng Hock family’s misfortune to highlight the social ills eg. illegitimate child, and went on to insinuate leaders from Pakatan Rakyat especially DAP Chinese leaders in Selangor as cunning opportunists, accusing the for manipulating the ‘weakness and disunity’ among Malays and showing disrespect to the Islam religion.
It is a shame for someone with a doctorate (Rais Yatim comes to mind) to come up with such disgustingly divisive, biased and slandering article. And he claimed to speak on behalf of his religion. You know his doctorate worth shit when he could come up with things like “Didn’t they (DAP) aware that Malaysia was declared as an Islamic country….”
I thought of writing a post in respond to the article when I read it, but a good friend of mine, which is also a regular commentator here has written a brillliant piece on this issue. I couldn’t articulate it better than him, so let me share his article here.
It is you who is kiasu Dr. Ridhuan Tee, not the Chinese community
Ref: Bahaya matlamat menghalalkan cara – Dr. Ridhuan Tee.
Assalamulaikum, waramatulahi wabarakatuh
You miss the point by a mile Ridhuan Tee, all above explanations are just a diatribe against those who take you to task for you insensitive comments. It is not what you say but how you say it. To then hit out at the Chinese community in general as “kiasu” that too with a broad brush is patently unfair.
You then go on to paint DAP specifically and the Chinese generally as decadent and hedonistic, did Islam or any other religion for that matter ever teach its followers to slander ?
You also paint YB Ronnie Liu as a crusader out on a vendetta against Muslims, when Ronnie Liu stressed so many times that his intent was not to belittle Islam but he is duty bound to see that laws are observed, and not arbitrary.
A distinction must be drawn between insulting Islam and insulting some Munafiqs who call themselves Muslim.
For example many “mat rempits” will declare that they are Muslims, so if I rebuke their actions, does that mean I am anti Islam ?
There seems to be nothing praiseworthy of your method nor intent. Are you hoping to win goodwill this way ? A true Muslim will never speak like this.
Using the Teoh family’s misfortune to highlight the social ills you mentioned is underhanded and opportunistic not to mention in bad taste.
It still does not explain your behavior, is your statement even relevant ? Both Teoh Beng Hock and his fiancee are not Muslims so why apply your standards of morality to them ? They had planned to register their marriage a day before Teoh died. Who are you to judge ?
You obfuscate the issue by trying to draw parallels between religious and civil laws when the issue was your insensitivity more so against the backdrop of multiracial and multicultural sensitivities.
If you want to draw parallels there are areas which are not parallel, for example oral sex is permissible under Islam for legitimately married couples, however under the penal code it is technically an offence even for married couples, here Islamic law makes far more sense than its civil counterpart,
Will you write to the authorities to have this archaic civil legislation repealed ?
Many scholars have opined that the ISA (Internal Security Act) is un-Islamic , will you write to the government as a concerned Muslim to repeal it ?
Why don’t you castigate proven adulterers of influential public stature who call themselves Muslim, Rahim Thambi Chik, Abu Hassan Omar, Abdul Razak Baginda, etc. I dare you if your principles are as relevant as you purport.
Can you then blame those who accuse you of being an UMNO tool ? A person is judged by the consistency of their actions.
If you talk about opinion, then my question is will you accept a statement by a Hindu that you are an ignorant beef eater as just opinion ?
Of course you will not because you will not like someone who does not share your religious convictions rudely imposing their moral standards on you.
It is not about who is right or wrong but about understanding and compassion.
Understanding and compassion are important. Because the universe can be considered a symphony of compassion which provides for our survival. A human being must show compassion to all living beings, for this is a basic requirement of being human. The more people display compassion, the more exalted they become; the more they resort to wrongdoing, oppression, and cruelty, the more they are disgraced and humiliated. They become a shame to humanity.
We hear from Prophet Muhammad that a prostitute went to Paradise because her compassion compelled her to give water to a dog dying of thirst, while another woman went to Hell because she allowed a cat to starve to death. Dr. Ridhuan Tee please seek forgiveness from Teoh’s family, and to your fellow Muslims some of whom are angry with your statements too.
Even Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) asked for Islam to be propagated in ways that are most gracious, ie by winning over peoples hearts ,not by threats, there are many inspiring hadith for example Muhammad and the blind Jewish beggar,how the Prophet won the hearts of the people in the City of Taif, even though they shouted abusive words and threw stones at him, and many many more such stories.
He always repelled evil with the good of forgiveness and kind behavior in his view, an antidote was better than poison. He believed and practiced the precept that love could sooth hatred, and aggression could be won over by forgiveness.
He fought fire not with fire but with water, unlike those who thump their chest as self proclaimed defenders of Islam do not even understand this simple concept.
“Keep to forgiveness (O Muhammad), and enjoin kindness, and turn away from the ignorant.” (Quran 7:199)
The tragedy in Malaysia is some non-Muslims unfairly label Islam without a cursory understanding of its tenets , the bigger tragedy however is those who proclaim to be Muslims but are ignorant of their own religion.
Knowing any religion by being able to quote all its hadith, verses, quatrains and what not is useless if one does not have basic human compassion and use it only to advance ones own agenda.
It just makes one a good parrot not a good Ulama.
Wassalam
Vijay Kumar Murugavell
Check out Vijay’s other writings here.
I hope I don’t sound hypocritical when I pose these questions for us to ponder after reading the article written by Dr. Ridhuan Tee and Vijay Kumar Murugavell.
Is free speech and expression without boundaries?
Does defending God and religion know no limits?
Posted in 2 cents, Already Femes..., Articles, Bootlickers, Current Affairs, Hypocrisy, Idiots, Mainstream Media, Me, People, Personalities, Politics, Rants, Serious, Thoughts | 2 Comments »
Friday, February 6th, 2009 1,135 views
February 5, 2009 marks the saddest day in the history of Malaysia. Greed prevails.
It is final. No dissolution of DUN and BN is most likely to be the new boss in Perak. Politics is dirty and Umno just showed how despicable and dirty it is. People are worrying about the ailing economy and these maggots are celebrating their victory.
It is good that it happened as it is a blessing in disguise. Let’s put few things into perspective.
1) Victory?? Umno/BN must be really dumb to think it is the victor in this latest political drama. PR won big in PRU12, won Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu – all this with huge public support but BN ‘wins’ back Perak and risk losing any remote remaining support from the rakyat for the dirty and ugly tactics – threats and bribes. A Malay saying ‘ayam menang (or menang sorak), kampung tergadai‘ is apt to describe this ‘winning’.
Tengku Razaleigh in his blog put it into perspective how BN will suffer the backlash and contempt if no fresh election is called.
“Angry voters nationwide will reject the BN even more vehemently in the next general election if snap polls are not held in Perak.”
(more…)
Posted in Anwar, BN-ism, Barisan Rakyat, Bee End, BeeEm, Blogosphere, Boleh-ism, Bolehland, Current Affairs, DAP, Disaster, Election, Free and Fair Election, Hypocrisy, Idiocy, Idiots, Mahathir, Malaysia, Najib Tun Razak, PKR, Politics, Rage, Rants | No Comments »
