Kash’s World

Like I said in my earlier post, it’s not easy to guess why a person is saying something when you don’t know the person and that’s one mistake the Shuzeng blog writer makes. At the outset, I must say that I don’t know him or her and thus I am going to try not to make any conclusions about the writer (I hope I succeed on this point!) except that I will take the liberty of calling him or her Shuzheng.

In one of the management (or was it motivational?) books I’ve read, the writer tells the story of a man in a train who was completely annoyed by the antics of three rowdy children and more so by the seeming inaction of the father who did not make any attempts to stop his children from misbehaving.

That man sat there fuming until the father suddenly turned to him and said that he did not have the heart to stop his children from having fun because their mother had just died. What wonders a change of perspective could do. The feelings of that man immediately went from contempt to compassion.

On to Shuzheng’s post.

Shuzheng starts by asking rhetorically what kind of culture is a language-less culture which he accuses me of advocating. But I never advocated that. All I said was that it may be educational to see how other countries manage to preserve culture and I showed some proof that Singapore Tamil culture did not appear to have diminished even though there appeared to be no Tamil language national schools there.

The point I was making was the issues of education and preservation of cultures need to be tied together and that we should explore other ways to see how the objectives could be achieved.

And why should I have no stake in either of these cultures as he proclaims so forthrightly. That’s completely wrong. A little bit of geography might help the writer understand that Punjab, the land where my forefathers came from a long time ago, is in India and on that count, I am as Indian as any other Malaysian Indian. What the writer also could not know is that my wife is Chinese, giving me a stake in that issue if it was ever needed, as I believe any Malaysian has a stake in these issues, no matter their ethnic backgrounds because it affects us all.

‘Am I an Anglophile?’, he asks. Honestly I don’t know if I am. If it means I speak English most of the time, then I am guilty. But I care two hoots that it was handed down by our colonial masters. I just happen to believe that it is the most important language today in the world. The next most important, by the way, I believe is Mandarin, which I would have loved to learn when I was young. I hope Shuzheng is not surprised at this admission by a ‘champion of language-less culture’.

He may also be surprised to know that all my children went or will go to Chinese primary schools. My children speak fluent Mandarin when my wife and I don’t. Our reasons for sending them there were because we wanted them to learn a third language (don’t forget BM, Shuzheng) that would be useful. And Mandarin is a pretty useful language to know.

In his post, Shuzheng continues to mix up culture and education and asks why not then have a Malay school system here or a Chinese system in Singapore. That is my point actually. I believe that cultures can survive that – as proof I offer the fact that I love Bhangra songs just as much as the Punjabi that went to a Punjabi language govt school.

However, and this is what Shuzheng is probably worried about – I don’t share many commonly held views about culture and languages. I believe culture evolves and that language too is a medium for people to communicate and that the best one should be used. (I hope to make a separate post on the subject of language one day soon). My memory is horrendous – I actually made a posting on this subject a full year ago – read my take on language)

In my thinking, what’s wrong with a Malaysian culture emerging, one which incorporates all the best points of Chinese, Indian, Malay, Kadazan, Iban, Orang Asli and the rest of our ethnic heritage. On that count I am a firm Bangsa Malaysian.

History has shown that languages have risen and fallen; cultures and civilizations have done the same. I believe we are building a world civilization and the forces taking us towards that are strong and inevitable. But I don’t presume to know where we will end up. Will English be the world language or will it be Mandarin? I don’t know and I am willing to work towards either or a new one. But these kinds of changes takes time and are not measured by our lifetimes.

I don’t know why Shuzheng continues to assert that I said language is not part of culture – of course it is. I only questioned if culture preservation can be done by other means beyond language based schools and that, I believe is a valid one. On a side note, I think proponents of any particular cause need to develop the ability to accept that others may have different views and even more the ability to dispassionately examine opposing views. When we search for truth, one needs to be able to let go of entrenched beliefs and examine the possibility that other views might be closer to the truth. I am not saying my views here are right. I am making a general statement on how one should approach the quest for truth in any subject.

And what is so wrong by me stating the obvious – that Tamils in Singapore have done well by going to English based schools. Since I have an open mind, I looked for evidence and I found that evidence, admittedly in my own small way (I did start my letter to Malaysiakini by saying I am no expert on this field). Is the English system superior and does that make me an Anglophile? I don’t know. Actually I think the way education is done in Chinese schools is better in some areas especially the way they promote discipline and hard work (which is why I sent my kids there).

But in terms of language – I think English is the way to go forward if we want to do well in the global economy. Shuzheng says, Singh loves an Anglo-Saxon culture, that is, he is an Anglophile.” No, in all honesty, I just love life and I just want the world to be a better place. If one language and one educational system can help build unity, I am all for it.

I think one needs to understand the definition of language and its place in society.

Am I confused and am I a ‘poor chap’ as Shuzheng asks at the end of his letter? I certainly don’t think so. Instead I am a thinking person in that I am always examining issues and that I am willing to change my views if I find a better one. That is what intelligence is all about. One person is never the sole custodian of truth. In fact it is the clash of opinions that will bring out the truth but to do that one must leave behind agendas and closely held beliefs.

Now excuse me while I go enjoy some rending ayam (Selamat Hari Raya to all Muslims!) and kuihs. I hope that it does not affect my ‘Anglophile-ness’ or ‘Indian-ness”

In mid July this year, I wrote a letter to Malaysiakini. The letter is reproduced below. It was a quick comment on the subjects of education and Tamil schools.

I meant to make my points and add to the debate there. What I didn’t know for some time was that a blogger had commented on my letter in his blog. This is what I love about the Internet as you never know where something you start can land up.

But because it was the Internet, that writer did not know me personally and therefore did not know where I was coming from when I made the points. That led him to make many erroneous conclusions. What he did was that he generally decided my world view and launched an attack on my views. Obviously the chances of him misunderstanding me were high and so he did just that.

Anyway, now that I have some free time, I am able to make a response. That will follow in the next post but rest assured I’m far from upset. Along with the many advantages of the Internet, you have to accept some of its failings. It also gives me a chance to clarify my position.

Read more

Just saw the news on MalaysiaKini that Teresa Kok has been released.

Thank God that good sense prevailed. Next, and soon I hope, should be RPK.

And can we please get rid of the ISA law once and for all? I think there are ample other laws. We don’t need such a draconian law any more, that is if it was ever needed at all.

When I was about to enter Form 4, my father was transferred from Pahang to Melaka. That landed me in Malacca High School where I ended up as a member of the kumpulan jahat. Of course in those days (the seventies) what we did as budak jahat would probably still enable us to become prefects in schools today but I am digressing. This post is not about the state of discipline among students in Malaysian schools these days.

This is about one man who was my form mate in Malacca until Form 5. We hardly knew each other then and I am sure he won’t even remember me. But it has been my personal pleasure to see this man take his place in the national scene.

Despite what the media used to write about him back in the days when the DAP were portrayed as being closet communists, I had no doubt by then that he wasn’t a budak jahat.

I felt proud when he stood up for a 15 year old Malay girl and I cheered when he became the Chief Minister of Penang. Lim Guan Eng has gone on to become a people’s hero and yesterday, at Kelana Jaya Stadium, I finally heard him speak in public.

All the other speakers before Anwar spoke very well but Lim Guan Eng managed to outshine them all. He even held hisnown against Anwar. He has the style of the father but with the added command of Bahasa Malaysia. It’s an almost unbeatable combination and I am certain that he will conquer even greater heights in days to come.

For fifty years this country has suffered because of dichotomies.

To promote BM, we must stop teaching English. Helping the Malays meant leaving other races aside, even if there were segments of underprivileged among those races. Islam must be raised to a high status as the official religion in Malaysia, so that meant other religions must be squeezed and not given room.

Well last night, one man spoke of a new Malaysia. A nation in which it would be possible to uphold the status of and promote the use of Bahasa Malaysia as our national language and yet make sure that everyone is proficient in English so that we can compete in the world’s market economy. A nation where every race will be helped without compromising the special position of one race. That man also spoke about the dignity of the Malays, that he wants a Malay race that is competent and able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the other people of Malaysia.

He spelt the end of divisive politics and of a new paradigm where everyone’s aspirations and needs can be satisfied without hurting others. A united and strong nation.

Who says there is no substance in his message? He has always spoken eloquently but yesterday he even surpassed himself.

If there was any doubt that we are seeing a PM-elect, it would have been erased last night. Malaysiakini reported a 20,000 strong crowd. It seemed a little bit more to me.

The adoring crowd made sure his car moved at the pace a metre every minute, so big was the throng of well wishers who rushed to shake his hands and pass him encouragements.

It was Malaysia Day in Kelana Jaya stadium yesterday and soon, God willing, the entire nation will celebrate a new beginning.

It took half an hour for the car to move a few hundred metres

The PM-elect

The determination of Malaysians to see change, no matter at how much pain to self

PS- as usual, TV Smith has the best pics

Ordinary Malaysians must be wondering what the heck is going on. I’m not sure exactly who’s calling the shots in this administration but the sheer amount of flip-flops happening recently appears to confirm the widely held belief that a power struggle is in full blaze.

Or could it be that something unbelievable in Malaysia may have taken place? That some elements of our administrative and security forces may actually be out of control? And that they could be following the orders of some other group?

Consider the evidence

1. The order goes out to ban Malaysia-Today (a not so smart move if I may be the millionth person to say so). Anyway, the minister concerned who should have at least been in the know if he did not actually initiate this move did not know of the ban.
2. Then the order came to lift the ban which was a shock to RPK himself.
3. In between somewhere came advice so rare that no Malaysian appears to know when something similar had happened before. The Malaysian armed forces chief, someone normally so low profile that I bet nine out of ten Malaysians wouldn’t even know his name, weighs in with a dire warning that action was overdue to cool the situation down (my understanding of what he said).
4. The came the arrest of RPK; very deplorable but at least no one can say that it was unexpected given that some people just couldn’t figure out what to do with him. But Theresa Kok & the Sin Chew journalist? That was unbelievable and almost textbook stuff if someone wanted to stir things up instead of cooling the situation. I mean just what good can be achieved by holding them under ISA?
5. Already so confusing but wait, the situation becomes even more surreal. The Sin Chew paper’s reporter Tan Hoon Cheng’s release after less than 24 hours custody is very good news but, excuse me, you don’t arrest someone under the ISA for only 16 hours.
6. It‘s the reason given for Tan’s detention that really makes me wonder just what the heck is going on. Apparently she was arrested for her own safety. I’m not making this up, Malaysiakini reports our Home Minister as saying this. Tan must be the first person ever to be arrested under the ISA ‘for her own safety’. This makes me wonder why the Saiful guy was not arrested under the ISA. After all the police did say he was under police protection.

Sigh. I shiver to think of the reports that must be appearing in the international media. Luckily (for us I mean) Hurricane Ike is taking up lot’s of media time. Otherwise it would be worse, I tell you.

How most Malaysians want the overall situation to end is very easy to guess. But guessing how all this will really end up is much much more tricky.

I think however that it’s going to be the ordinary Malaysians that will decide how it pans out. If everyone stays calm but determined and continues to value harmony above selfish interests, nothing anyone can do will bring us back to the bad days of sixty nine.

No sir, we won’t play that game again. We’ve been down that road for forty years now and see where it got us. It’s time to try something different and radical. Like ‘Ketuanan Rakyat, for instance.

Until the day Anwar Ibrahim changed from being the Prime Minister in Waiting (that’s what a DPM is in Malaysia) to Malaysia’s number one criminal, I had never attended a people’s march.

But the injustice perpetuated against him was just too great to remain silent and that led me to attend Reformasi gatherings back then including the famous Kesas Highway mammoth rally and the infamous Black 14 one when Anwar was sentenced to jail.

So there was no way I could ‘close off’ this decade without attending the gathering last night (read Malaysiakini’s report) at Kampung Baru to mark the return of Anwar to active politics after the expiry of his ban which arose from that unjust convictions and subsequent jailing.

And it was there that I heard last night for the first time the term that I hope will put for rest once and for all the curse of racist policies that prevents Malaysia from moving forward in a meaningful way.

That term is ‘Ketuanan Rakyat’ (People’s Supremacy) and it is the bedrock of the new vision that Anwar espouses to bring to Malaysia.

He had to undergo severe beatings, be jailed for years and lose all his powerful positions before he could throw away his earlier principles and forge this new vision.

Welcome back Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, you’re now the Prime Minister In Waiting once again!

I’ve yet to come across a full Windows Vista fan. Most long time Windows users hate this version. That’s not surprising because Microsoft is famed for coming up with sluggish and unstable first versions of new OS.

Windows XP was the same. People hated it when it arrived. It took years before it became stable. Now Microsoft wants to phase it out and XP users are crying foul, loudly.

It won’t disappear overnight but users will soon no longer be able to buy it. That’s not fair because people should have the right to use stable working versions of OS as long as they want to. After all they paid good money for it.

So if you are using Windows XP and don’t want to be forced to move on to Vista, help make the clamour a bit louder. Here

Back to the bad old days or a new dawn for Malaysia? I guess the Royals are struggling with this issue just as much as us commoners.

Take One

(Via Malaysiakini and Malaysia-Today)

Tengku Faris: Non-Malays should not seek equality

Kelantan Crown Prince Tengku Faris Petra said today that Malays had given into granting non-Malays citizenship and the latter should therefore not seek equality or special treatment.

He said this during his keynote speech at a forum titled “Malay unity is the core of national unity” organised by the newly formed Barisan Bertindak Perpaduan Melayu in Kuala Lumpur today.

Speaking to a crowd of about 1,000 people, Tengku Faris said the Malay rulers would be an umbrella to foster unity among all Malaysians, based on the Federal Constitution and the Rukun Negara.

“Therefore, the rakyat must unite and never raise issues regarding Malay rights and special privileges because it is a quid pro quo in gratitude for the giving in of citizenship (beri-paksa kerakyatan) to 2.7 million non-Malays into the Tanah Melayu federation.

“Thus, it is not appropriate for these other ethnic groups to have citizenship, only (later) to seek equality and privileges,” said Tengku Faris, who read from a 11-page prepared text.

However, the crown prince stressed that in an effort to unite the Malays, non-Malays also have rights that must be protected, such as in areas of religion.

As an example, Tengku Faris said non-Malays are allowed to practice their respective religions in peace. They must however do so in accordance with the law and “not be provocative towards Islam”.

“The Malay rulers are the head of the Islamic religion and Malaysia is a Islamic country (negara Islam), not secular. We have our own formula (as a country) which is different from others,” he added, drawing thunderous applause from the crowd.

‘Dominance’

He added that the effort to instil Malay unity and defend Malay special rights does not mean that other races would be ignored.

“In fact, if Malay rights and special privileges are taken care of and is not disturbed, it would ensure national harmony. It does not just benefit the Malays but all ethnic groups,” he said.

In his speech, Tengku Faris said the 12th General Election results have shown that the Malays are being “challenged” and thus Malays unity is of the outmost priority.

“The election results have shown that the Malays are disunited and facing other ethnic groups who are more dominant politically and economically,” he said.

As the constitution provides that the Malays are the natives (penduduk asal) of Malaysia, Tengku Faris said every Malay must defend the constitution and Islam and this can only be achieved through Malay unity.

“We have to make an effort to unite. Don’t spilt up. Avoid polemics that can distance us. Ideology (and) having different interpretations does not contribute to Malay unity.

“Discussing about polemics such as Islamic state, secular state, welfare state… confuses the people… Resulting from this confusion, Malays are becoming more disillusioned,” he added. – Malaysiakini, 12 April 2008

Take 2

His Royal Highness the Regent of Perak, Raja Nazrin :

“Malaysians of all races and religions need to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have a place under the Malaysian sun.”

…sigh..