I would like to officially announce my availability and expertise as a Wedding Emcee.. mainly because in the past couple of weeks I’ve been involved in emceeing two separate weddings in my family! (note to self: to be paid in the next round)
Family affairs are overwhelming, fulfilling, time-consuming, and in the final analysis, extremely worth it. Thank God for families!
I realise I haven’t said Happy New Year to everyone, so here goes.
Happy Blessed New Year!
Selamat Tahun Baru!
Xin Nian Kuai Le!
Eine Gutes Neues Jahr!
This year holds exciting things for us all in Malaysia. We’ve started off with a bang, with the Lingam court case going on. Next with Chua Soi Lek’s resignation as Health Minister. Next the issue on the word Allah and confiscation (and consequent returning) of Christian books from MPH. Of course, Elections are just round the corner. This will be interesting to watch.
Other things to await and anticipate in our country will be the Cabinet reshuffling, Mid Term Review of the 9th Malaysia Plan, Budget will be announced much earlier this year (August 2008), effects of the US Subprime market (decoupling is a myth) on our economy, seeing how ASEAN takes shape more and more and what role the country will play in that, the mass deportation of migrant workers from the country and protests that will take place from there (not as if the Indonesian-Malaysia relations are not already in the dumps! I’m in Indonesia right now and they truly detest our brash way of dealing with foreign maids, amongst others. apparently there were 8 demonstrations outside our Embassy in Jakarta last year, one this year, and more to come), USMFTA negotiations are resuming so NGOs and anti globalisation groups will be protesting again, we will be looking at the 60 year anniversary of the 1948 Federation of Malaya Agreement this August, with more forums and talks and articles in that respect, Lingam Commission report will be submitted to little end (they will recommend something but it will be given a “royal pardon” by the Agong, the PM (Pak Lah will still be in power) will say that it is an old issue, and we have forgiven him “according to the Malaysian spirit”. Then some religious issue or other will arise again, another Lina Joy, another Revathi, and the debate will not quite end. More statements to be seen from the usual suspects (including yours truly).
So that’s my take on what we foresee in the upcoming year ahead. Let’s see if I am right. 🙂
My early January article on Bolehland..
The Great Debate Over Allah
Never has God been more viciously fought over than now, where His Name is akin to a prized possession that two sides of the religious front seem to be warring over. The issue of the word “Allah” as exclusive for the Muslim God has been raised in Malaysia previously, but was later resolved amicably, with the permission granted to continue its usage within Malay Bibles. This has become a hot topic once again in recent months over the saga of a Catholic publication.
In Malaysia, publications need to be granted permits, which in turn need to be renewed, and many times publications need to exercise a level of self-constraint in not angering the powers-that-be for fear of rejected renewals. The Herald, a Catholic newsletter, was one such example recently, whose publication permit would not have been renewed if it did not remove the word “Allah” in reference to God. As feared, although given its renewal, the Cabinet decided on Thursday 3rd January 2008 that it would not be allowed to use Allah in the future. There are several ways to respond to this, some of which are explored below.
The first is through a constitutional legal lens. In response, several Christian groups have applied for judicial review against the Internal Security Ministry, seeking a declaration that they have the constitutional right to use the word “Allah” in their religious publications and practices. Based on Article 11 that guarantees freedom of religion, it certainly stands true that citizens are free to profess and practice their respective faiths, and this includes using the language that they are most conversant in. Article 3(1) also guarantees the right of all religions to be practiced in peace and harmony. Constitutionally, it seems only fair that the Herald, and other Christian publications, are free to exercise the rights they already have as outlined legally.
It’s very amusing when people link you here and there.
I haven’t had time to blog since the last post, but there have been very interesting comments to my interview on Malaysia Today.
One that especially caught my attention was the fact that I am related to certain people and hence how I got to where I am today workwise.
I initially contemplated whether or not to respond to this, as it might seem as a move of being defensive. But I suppose in the spirit of transparency, which I fully advocate, there is no harm in making a clear statement 🙂
So, here goes. I have no known direct relation to Michael Yeoh (my boss), nor Francis Yeoh (business tycoon) or his dad (Yeoh Tiong Lay).
But I understand why people would make that assumption though. There aren’t that many Yeohs around in KL, so hence people make that connection. Perhaps we were related like 4 generations ago, in the Fuchien province of China itself. Who knows?
Okay. Point made. 🙂
I was interviewed by Imran Yacob for his Face to Face column at Malaysia-Today. The full interview can be found here.
Tricia Yeoh, Senior Research Analyst of the newly minted Centre For Public Policy Studies (CPPS), Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI) confronts the hard issues affecting Malaysian society. Armed with the exuberance of her youth, Tricia Yeoh is the exception to George Bernard Shaw’s emotive that “Youth is wasted on the young”. Face to Face explores the hot-button issues in this year-end interview.
1. Imran Imtiaz Shah Yacob: The CPPS has published a number of research material. How independent really is the CPPS in its analysis?
Tricia Yeoh: The CPPS is an independent policy research centre, which means it is not aligned with any one political party or individual. As a result, the CPPS is not required to strictly follow any “lines” with regards to its analyses and recommendations. Its independence is really political independence, and reports are written and published after discussion with its Advisory Panel, made up of a number of distinguished individuals representing a range of interests and expertise within academia and the corporate sector. It attempts to provide non-partisan and objective rigorous research based on factual data and statistics, followed by policy recommendations.
If anyone didn’t catch the edition of The Economist with the special report on Religion and Public Life, go look for it. It’s an excellent report on how the world is not going the “secularist” way as was previously thought. In fact, religion is playing a much more important role both from the ground up and top down.
See the US Presidential Elections, for example. Bush is riding on the Republican Christian/Bible Belt Protestant faith, he who prays everyday but does not see that this defies his logic of lying about WMD (weapons of mass destruction, in this case weapons of mass destruction). Mike Huckabee is a staunch Protestant Christian. Romny has recently gotten a lot of flak for his Mormon belief, where traditional Christians would not stand for a representative believing in what they consider a cult.
It goes without saying that one’s religion continues to play an important role in Islamic countries. In South Korea, many of its elected leaders are staunch Christians. There are also extremist groups from Hinduism and Buddhism sprouting out around. Bhutan for example will not allow any non-Buddhists to work in Government.
Religion is not fast fading but instead taking root and being used as political tools. This I disagree with. Although I previously stated that religion can be a guiding principle for governance, using it for political mileage is just hogwash.
Which is why, at the recent forum I conducted, many Muslims said that the only way to present an alternative way of looking at religion is to say we are “Saving the Religion from the State”.
I’m itching to get some books and I am interested in especially Tariq Ramadan’s “Western Muslims and the Future of Islam“, which has gotten pretty good reviews. It was listed as one of the best 2004 nonfiction books by the Christian Science Monitor. A synopsis of the book reads as follows:
As the number of Muslims living in the West grows, the question of what it means to be a Western Muslims becomes increasingly important to the futures of both Islam and the West. While the media are focused on radical Islam, Ramadan claims, a silent revolution is sweeping Islamic communities in the West, as Muslims actively seek ways to live in harmony with their faith within a Western context.
Western Islam will see the religion coming out of its stereotypical jihadist-terrorist label that has tainted itself for many years. I, for one, am interested in seeing how this new development of Islam will take its course from here on. I’m not sure Islam Hadhari is the best way to frame it, since Islam is Islam and we should start defining it at its most essential core (note: the word “fundamental” has also taken on a negative meaning although it means something perfectly innocent, i.e. back to original doctrine), and not by giving it a new name. (of course new names are marketable but they can just be token)
Another interesting book I’ve been trying to get my hands on is “The Muslim Jesus” by Tarif Khalidi.
In The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature, Tarif Khalidi brings together Islamic primary sources about Jesus from the eighth to the 18th centuries. Included are mystical works, historical texts about prophets and saints and, of course, the foundational words about Jesus in the Qur’an. “As a whole,” Khalidi explains, these writings “form the largest body of texts relating to Jesus in any non-Christian literature.” Khalidi pays particular attention to the literary quality of the texts and the role “the Muslim Jesus” has played in both Muslim piety and Muslim-Christian relations.
Not many people know that Nabi Isa, or Jesus, plays an extremely central role in Islam as well. He is highly revered and considered one of the most powerful prophets whose gifts of miracles and healing were bestowed upon him.
The last book I want to buy this season is “No God but God” by Reza Aslan, which has been highly recommended as well. Written from a historical perspective of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and makes no false romanticism of his journey and struggle – paints a man for who he truly was.
I believe that one of the most essential relationships to cultivate at this stage is that of Muslim-Christian relations. This year, numerous Muslim leaders across the world sent a document called “A Common Word” to all Christian leaders, outlining the core of both religions and how these are actually the same. Drawing from exactly the same sources.
Thus despite their differences, Islam and Christianity not only share the same Divine Origin and the same Abrahamic heritage, but the same two greatest commandments.
You can endorse the document as well, which was later responded to by the Pope himself, as well as other Protestant denominations. Also, in the UK, there is an organisation called “The Christian Muslim Forum” that aims at fostering good relations between the two.
I am mighty excited about these things, and hope to expand on my knowledge of Islam to better understand how the two religions can work together and build bridges for.. yes, you got it (*ahem* in Miss World-type conventions), world peace!
Welcome to Malaysia, where leaders confuse culture and religion. This issue is not new, and has arisen yet again. Alerted to me by Malaysiakini here, The Herald, a Catholic newsletter, will not get its publishing license renewed if it does not drop the word “Allah”, Arabic for “God”.
The Herald, the organ of Malaysia’s Catholic Church, has translated the word God as “Allah” but it is erroneous because Allah refers to the Muslim God, said Che Din Yusoff, a senior official at the Internal Security Ministry’s publications control unit.
“Christians cannot use the word Allah. It is only applicable to Muslims. Allah is only for the Muslim god. This is a design to confuse the Muslim people,” Che Din told The Associated Press.
The weekly should instead, use the word “Tuhan” which is the general term for God, he said.
This is a ridiculous blurring taking place. The argument is that Christians in Malaysia only use the word Tuhan. The word Allah has definitely been used by Christians, especially those in East Malaysia. Let’s take a look at the definition of Allah here:
Allah (Arabic: الله, Allāh) is the standard Arabic word for “God“.[1] The term is most likely derived from a contraction of the Arabic article al- and ʾilāh “deity, god” to al-lāh meaning “the [sole] deity, God” (ho theos monos); another theory traces the etymology of the word to the Aramaic Alāhā.[2]
While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews in reference to “God”.[3][1][4] The term was also used by pagan Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity in pre-Islamic Arabia.[2]
The Internal Security Ministry cannot be very well educated in history and geography, much less international affairs, nor religion, since they don’t know that:
As the Arab Christians today have no other word for ‘God’ than ‘Allah’[6], they for example use terms Allāh al-ab (الله الآب) meaning God the father, Allāh al-ibn (الله الابن) mean God the son, and Allāh al-ruh al ghodus (الله الروح القدس) meaning God the Holy Spirit.
While some Christians think that reference is made to a different God altogether, I tend to disagree with that. I think that God is God. If one were to believe in the theology of unity, then God is God. A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet. Allah just happens to be the Arabic term for God. Just like Tuhan is the Malay word. Gott is in German. Dio is in Spanish. Shang-Ti in Chinese.
Four years ago, the Iban Bible was not permitted to print the word Allah, but it was lifted with mass Christian displeasure. Now it’s come up again, but I think it is more likely the fact that the Herald has taken up controversial issues recently, focusing on BERSIH and HINDRAF rallies. This may be causing some political unease, and hence little reasons are being brought up suddenly, which were previously resolved already.
Yeo Yang Poh responded to the NST recently on its comments on Government reaction against recent arrests. It is worth publishing it in full here. Sharp comments. But NST has refused to print it. Someone is afraid of his words!
I refer to the New Straits Times editorial The rule of law on Dec 11. You began by stating that no arrests would have been made on Dec 9 “If the unlawful marchers had responded to the warnings to disperse.”
I take it that you meant to say “If those accused of being unlawful marchers had responded to the alleged warnings to disperse” since those allegations (and others that followed in your editorial) have yet to be established in the pending cases. This would have been in line with your paper’s usual care in distinguishing allegations from proven facts when commenting on pending cases.
You have argued that defiance of any law cannot be defended in any circumstances. No law, no matter how bad it is, can be broken. Your only proposed solution to a bad law is to change it. For as long as it has not been changed, every bad law must never be broken. Breaking a bad law would, in your view, lead to lawlessness.
That view is not new. It offers the language of legal rights but it is not the language of human rights. The issue, therefore, is whether the framework of legal rights is sufficient for a society. If it is, then there is no need for the language of human rights.
If your view is right then there is no place for civil disobedience in any society. One would have to conclude that Rosa Parks, whose defiance of segregation law (by sitting on the bus in breach of the law) triggered a chain of events that led to its eventual change, had sparked reform in an unacceptable and indefensible way.
One would have to concede that Mahatma Gandhi was indefensibly wrong when he led thousands to defy the law on salt-making of the time. Nelson Mandela would have to apologise for having been a repeated offender and law-breaker in organising and participating in countless illegal rallies during his youth. The list of examples is long.
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The rise and fall of civilisations is an interesting topic to discourse. Ancient civilisations of the Aztecs and Mayans ruled in splendour. The ancient Chinese, Moghul, Indians. The Roman Empire, the British Empire. Now the hegemony of America and its followers. In time to come, which empire or little civilisation will arise and take its place?
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