No more Deepavali greetings

20 October 2006Another blow for inter-racial harmonyIt is another sad day in the history of our nation. Malaysian Hindus were given another blow. Takaful Malaysia has called on Muslims not to greet Hindus Happy Deepavalli.Is it a surprise? No, definitely not. We know it is coming but did not expect it to be so fast and not from an top official from the Muslim business community. Such statements would normally come from over enthusiastic upcoming young politicians.What is more frightening is that none of the top leaders dare come with strong condemnation of this official who has gone overboard in issuing such directive to his staff. It is a very serious matter but being treated in such a trivial manner.The trend towards Islamisation started in the seventies when Muslim girls have to wear the “tudung” in the name of religion. Since then there was no turning back and slowly but surely rules were introduced in the name of religion. The Muslims were segregated from non-Muslims by their strict dress code. Even for sporting activities they were not allowed to adorn the standard sports attire.Then came the issue of “halal”.Muslims would not consume the food prepared by non-Muslim friends however close they may be. Today they refuse to visit their non-Muslim friends at their homes.Common celebrations like “kongsi-raya” and “deepa-raya” are now forbidden as they are considered “ haram”.Non-Muslim places of worship are not allowed near the vicinity of mosques and suraus.Some of these temples and churches which were there for more than a century were demolished or re-sited to less prominent places to “hide” them from the sight of Muslims.What is in store for the future of the inter-ethnic relations in our multi-racial and multi-religious country which we claim is a model nation for the world? Definitely it is not going to stop here and we all are only too familiar that anything is possible in our bolehland.Where are our leaders? Why aren’t they saying nor doing anything to stop the progression of religious fanatism and deviationism?We are already been classified as infidels and should not be taken by surprise, if in the near future, we are told that talking to infidels is haram. Following that a time will come that the sight of infidels will also be haram.That may the fatal blow and a sure indocation asking us to leave,but then where are we to go? Dr.Chris Anthony 

 

 

Malaysia a model nation?

  

20 October 2006

Let’s make Malaysia a truly model nation
 
It is indeed a happy piece of news that Takaful Malaysia Syariah head Mohd Fauzi Mustaffa has apologised for his e-mail advising his colleagues against wishing Hindus Happy Deepavali. 

Statements like these are the least required in a multi-racial and multi-religious society like ours.

While we welcome and accept his apology, we hope Fauzi made it on his own free will for the benefit of the nation as a whole. We sincerely hope it was not made out of force or for business advantage.

There may be many more such people who could have such misconceived ideas about religious tolerance. This thought is rather disturbing. People like Fauzi, in high positions, whose ideas could have tremendous influence on their subordinates must be very cautious in making statements that could be detrimental to national unity and harmony.

Our leaders should themselves come hard on those who make irresponsible statements that could undermine the racial harmony in the country which is already under strain of late.

Our younger generation today seems to be less tolerant of racial and religious diversity as they are not exposed to communal living with others.They live cocooned within their own community and have grown up ignorant of the sensitivities of communities other than their own. We must accept that this is a manifestation of the failure of our education system which has failed to instill the comradeship among the various ethnic groups. We must take immediate steps to rectify the unfavorable situation before it does irreparable damage.

Our children from young must be taught the importance of living together in peace and harmony. They must be taught that all races are here to stay and have a stake in the good and bad of the nation. Poverty and ill-health in any one community would ultimately affect the peaces and stability of all.

Children of all races and religion should be made aware of the sensitivities of other ethnic groups and must learn to tolerate and live together harmoniously. The parents and teachers play a very important role in this teaching of the young. 

 

It is reassuring that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has come strongly against those who are so myopic in their thinking as to be against extending greetings to fellow Malaysians who are celebrating their respective festivals. He has also rightly pointed out that it is perfectly all right to join in the celebrations of those of other faiths. It fact it should be encouraged at all levels as it could cultivate inseparable bonds of friendship among those of diverse cultures.

We hope his views would be taken seriously by all, especially leaders at all levels of the administration, so that such misconceived attitudes and believes like these will not surface in future.

We claim that Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-religious country, and truly it is. Our leaders claim we are a model nation for the world to emulate, as far as ethnic relations are concerned, sure enough it should be. But in actual fact are we truly a model nation?

We have all the great religions in our country, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduisms,Sikhism and Christianity. All of them are unanimous in their teachings – to share what you have, however scanty it may be, with those who are less fortunate regardless of race or creed.

Having all the religions by themselves will not make us a model nation.In order to truly make our country an example for the world, we must rid ourselves of our suspicious attitude towards other races and share what we have with the less fortunate, regardless of ethnicity, in accordance with our religious inclinations.

Dr.Chris Anthony

Marginalsation in Malaysia

10 October 2006

Are we marginalised?

The Minister Mentor of
Singapore accused the Malaysian government has systematically marginalized her citizens of Chinese origin. This was vehemently denied by the Malaysian government including its own Chinese Ministers in the cabinet. Since then there has been considerable debate on this issue of marginalization. 

What is marginalization? Is it true that certain communities in the country are being marginalized? The Oxford Dictionary defines marginalization as 1.relating to or a situation at or in a margin. 2. of minor importance.   

Therefore when we say a community is marginalized it means it is pushed to the periphery and given minor importance. In accordance with this definition we can safely say marginalization is a universal practice of the majority against the minority.  

In a truly democratic state the minorities are protected by law against blatant abuses and discrimination against them. The ruling majority is entrusted to ensure that the minorities are really protected. The political system, the judiciary, police and armed forces are in place to ensure that the rights of the minorities are protected in accordance with the laws of the country. This is practiced more satisfactorily in most developed democratic nations of the West as compared to developing and under-developed nations. 

Let’s analyze what is taking place in our own multiracial and multi-religious country which our leaders acclaim to be a model for other multi-ethnic nations to emulate. 

 

At birth 

The first act after a child is born is the registration of its birth which requires one to state the ethnicity and religion of the child. So even at birth Malaysians are categorized as Malays, Chinese, Indians or others. Why can’t we do away with just stating we are Malaysian instead of mentioning our ethnic origin? 

In school 

When the child goes to school, again he is repeatedly asked to state his race and religion in all registration forms. Even streamlining of classes is based on race. It is not uncommon to group all Malays into one class and non-Malays into others. The reason given for this is to facilitate religious instruction for Muslims and moral for non-Muslims. Religious instruction for children should be encouraged but it should be for all, regardless of religion. Moral classes, emphasizing universal values, should also be common for all, Muslims and non-Muslims, alike. Why are Malaysians at such a tender and innocent age exposed to separate moral and value systems?  

Prayer sessions in schools, before important functions and examinations are held only for Muslims. The non-Muslims are left to idle away during these sessions. Isn’t this segregation of our children in schools for religious purposes amounts to discrimination?  

Selection of students for posts as prefects, heads of clubs and sports are again based on race.Non-Malay students unless possess extra-ordinary skills,are not selected to represent the school or state.   

Teachers, who are predominantly Malays, these days don’t even know much about the background of their pupils of other races.  

Then there is different dress code for Muslims and non-Muslims which further segregate the kids even at primary level. 

At university level 

Entry into public universities which is based on two totally different examinations, Sijil  Tinggi Persekolahan  Malaysia(STPM) and Matriculation, is profoundly unfair. There is widespread perception that the selection process for university entrance favors the matriculation over the STPM students. Less than 10% of the matriculation seats are offered to non-Malays. As STPM carries less weight for entry into public universities, many of the non-Malay students, even those from poor background, are forced to shun away from this once popular local examination in favor of A-levels, which is apart from being a foreign examination is also very costly. By this unfair practice, slowly but surely the non-Malays are systematically eliminated from being considered for courses in public universities. Why can’t all races sit for the same common exam?  

Every year we see numerous non-Malay students with maximum results in STPM exam being blatantly denied places in public universities for critical courses like Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Law and Engineering. Many of these students are from extremely poor financial background. Scholarships are not awarded to them based on merit as claimed. What do we expect them to do? Can we blame them if they resort to criminal activities to earn a living? 

The vast majority on non-Malay students, including the brilliant ones from poor families, are forced to further their education in private institutions at exorbitant costs. Many poor parents have to mortgage their houses and properties to finance them. Highly precious EPF savings are utilized leaving the parents at the mercy of their children at the twilight of their lives. 

Job opportunities 

After completion of their studies job opportunities are also hardly available to non-Malay Malaysians. The posts in civil service, police, armed forces and even government linked companies(GLC) are “reserved” for bumiputras leaving the private sector highly competitive for the non-bumiputras.Forty percent of the population are given less the 10% of jobs in the government sector. If this isn’t discrimination what is it? 

For those few, who are lucky to be employed in these services, promotions by truly merit are difficult to come by. Heads of departments, state directors of the various departments, director generals, state secretaries and chief secretaries of ministries are all for bumiputras. 

Religious segregation 

During the sixties and seventies, school and office canteens sell food for all races. Today these canteens cater for Muslims only. Chinese and Indians are not allowed to sell their food even if halal. 

In the years following independence Malaysians of all races mix freely, playing, eating and even praying together. They celebrate all the festivals together true spirit of muhibbah.Today each community celebrates its own festival among the members of its own community. In fact these days our Muslim friends are reluctant to dine in the homes of non Muslim friends. 

Although
Malaysia is a secular country where the federal constitution guarantees freedom to practice ones own religion, this freedom of religious worship, in actual fact, is greatly impeded. Local authorities are reluctant to approve the building of churches and temples let alone providing funds for such projects. There is blatant disrespect for non-Muslim faiths. 

Civil laws are being replaced by Syariah laws that are slowly becoming the supreme law of the land. There seems to be 2 sets of laws in the country, Syariah for Muslims and civil for non-Muslims. Inter-faith problems are sensationalized and dialogues to solve them are denied. The non-Muslims are denied recourse to their problems that involve Muslims. 

 

Conclusion 

Don’t all these considerations amount to marginalization of the non-bumiputra minorities? If not then what are they? 

Lee Kuan Yew said the Chinese are marginalized in
Malaysia and in return the Malaysian government claims that the Malays in
Singapore are marginalized. Both these may be true but what is also true is that the Indians in both countries have been pushed out of the margins, a situation we call elimination, which is more extreme than marginalization.We claim that
Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-religious country, and truly it is. Our leaders claim we are a model nation for the world to emulate as far as ethnic relations are concerned, sure enough it should be. We have all the great religions in our country, Islam, Christianity, Hinduisms and Buddhism. All of them are unanimous in their teachings – to share what you have, however scanty it may be, with those who are less fortunate regardless of race or creed.
Malaysia is blessed with abundant natural resources and there is plenty of wealth for all its citizens. All we need is to be true followers of our respective religions and share what we have with fellow countrymen, regardless of color or creed. Until and unless we get rid of our selfishness in accordance of our religious teachings, we will never be a model nation for the world.Dr.Chris Anthony  

 

 

 

His legacy is for us to live

By MARGARET DANIEL,
Kuala Lumpur

MUCH has been written about Steve Irwin, the Australian “Crocodile Hunter”, since his unexpected death early last month. Many had commented on his so-called reckless and attention-grabbing stunts performed in the name of wildlife conservation. Many others had also accused him of being a self-serving exhibitionist.

While there may be some justification in these comments, I would like to highlight the positive nature of this unique individual.

Irwin was a man of enormous sincerity who believed that “God put me on this earth for a mission, and that mission is wildlife conservation”.

In fact, one of Irwin’s dreams was to use the money he made from royalties and his famed Australian Zoo to buy large tracts of land and create wilderness reserves.

He devoted his life working towards that mission even if it meant putting himself under dangerous circumstances.

Irwin used his charisma and showmanship to entertain and draw the public into wildlife protection.

He wanted to educate people about the importance of protecting animals and to change their perceptions about certain creatures (read: reptiles).

Many people, myself included, shudder at the sight of snakes and lizards, not to mention crocodiles. We view these reptiles as slithery, ugly and cold-blooded creatures.

In one of his documentaries, Irwin and his family went on a road tour covering many parts of the
United States.

Everywhere they went, Irwin encouraged the hesitant public to touch and feel the snakes and lizards for he believed that “if you reach out to wildlife, wildlife will reach out to you”.

He wanted to educate people about the importance of preserving all species of wildlife and not just certain types of animals.

Irwin’s death made me ponder how we live our own lives. Are we really living and making full use of our God-given potentials, or are we merely existing?

His death is also a reminder that we are not here to judge others but to do good and better ourselves.

The hyperactive, passionate, adventurous and self-confessed “adrenalin junkie” Irwin was too busy living to pass judgment on how others spend their time.

So, let his death be a wake-up call to us to live a more meaningful life instead of merely existing from day to day, and finally succumbing to illness and disease.

We may not be able to leave behind an illustrious legacy like Irwin, but at least we will be remembered with gratitude for our good deeds, kindness and compassion.

   

Reducing speed limit not the solution

5 October 2006  The festive season is around the corner and so is our fear of the tragedies on our roads. Every year hundreds of lives are lost in fatal road accidents throughout the country during every festive season. Soon the OPS SIKAP XI will be launched in an attempt to reduce the alarming rate of accidents on our roads.

The police want to reduce the speed limits for federal and state roads for the coming festive season of Deepavalli and Hari Raya. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan says this is to reduce the road accidents and the fatalities associated with it. Since its announcement there have been number of opinions expressed by various quarters.

Will reducing the speed limit on such roads by 10km/hr effectively reduce the road fatalities during this festive season? I do not deny that speed contributes to accidents but it is not the only cause as there are a number of other causes that are more important. I do not see how it can reduce the fatal accidents when speed is not the main cause of these mishaps.

The two main causes of fatal accidents are firstly an exceptionally high number of cars and motorcycles on the roads and secondly the inconsiderate and selfish attitude of our motorists.

With the present volume of traffic,cars, buses, lorries, other huge vehicles and motor cycles, coking our roads, especially the trunk roads, we would need supernatural powers to avoid accidents. There is simply too many vehicles on the roads resulting in chaos especially during peak hours. Whatever measures we take will not be effective with the huge volume of traffic suffocating our roads. Some of these vehicles are so old that they are not at all roadworthy. They too are plying our roads at fantastic speeds. The motor cyclists zigzag between cars and lorries posing great danger not only to themselves but to other innocent road users as well.

The inconsiderate and selfish attitude of Malaysians in general is reflected by the high number of unhealthy incidents on the roads. There are blatant disregard traffic laws and those who abuse them often go scot-free while a careful law abiding driver, who occasionally exceed the speed limit on a clear stretch of the road, is quickly pounced upon by the enforcing authorities and slapped with a heavy fine.

To Malaysians life has become so materialistic that even roads accidents are also being commercialized. Every accident, even those fatal ones, are business opportunities  for many, the tow truck operators, insurance agents, medical treatment providers, legal agents and even hearse operators. Injuries and death seem to be the least concern.

We have to take drastic measures to educate the public to change the mindset and attitude towards life. At the same time genuine efforts must be made to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads. It is worthwhile considering separate lanes for motor cyclists wherever possible.

These may be formidable tasks but we must start now, otherwise many more lives will continue to be lost on our roads, the
Malaysia’s killing fields.

Dr.ChrisAnthony