A Very Blessed Christmas to everyone…
2007 was a roller coaster year for many of us. Malaysia has been going through some troubling times, and sometimes it is difficult for us to wish ourselves a “Happy New Year”, but let us press on knowing that striving for ideals in an imperfect world is precisely what humanity is here for. Blessed Christmas to everyone. Here’s to 2008!
Warmly, Egalitaria.
Despite my initial wariness of yet another big conference, this one turned out to be more than just the fluff I expected it to be. Organised by the Global Knowledge Partnership, which has international members wanting to develop ICT for Development (Poverty Reduction etc), it had 1000 plus people coming together for 4 days in an impressive set up at KL Convention Centre.
The sessions that excited me the most were those on how ICT has been used for socio-political spreading of news and knowledge. Steven Gan from Malaysiakini spoke on his experience, and others shared theirs as well.
It was disturbing, of course, that it was within this very week itself that there were multiple arrests, culminating finally in the ISA 5. Some participants commented that it was strangely ironic. Here we were talking about knowledge and open information sharing, when outside these arrests were taking place.
Let’s maximise ICT for Malaysia!
Co-organised by the Centre for Public Policy Studies and Malaysia Think Tank London, we had a seminar on Tuesday night on “Islam: A Blessing to Malaysians?”, with main speaker Wan Saiful Wan Jan, and co-panelists Rev. Dr. Hermen Shastri from Council of Churches Malaysia, Ustaz Hasrizal also from MTTL, Shanmuga from Malaysia Hindu Sangam and myself chairing the session.
There were about 90 plus people, when I had only expected about 50 to turn up. It was packed to the brim! Thanks to everyone for coming! (Pictures are on my Facebook album)
I started by saying that I received mixed comments from invitees, those who were glad we were discussing it and those who felt it was a ridiculous proposed statement to make. Why indeed has Islam taken on such a bad name and face for itself?
I said that no matter what, it is without a doubt that Islam is taking an increasingly essential role in shaping our identities of race and nation, both for Muslim and non-Muslims. The question is how this identity is being shaped, and are these trends truly reflective of Islam. If not, what do we envision for it to be, what guiding principles can govern Malaysia?
Wan Saiful gave an excellent speech painting his experience as a minority religion living in the UK. Drawing from his experience, he encouraged his fellow Muslims to realise that overseas, Muslims are minority whereas in Malaysia, Buddhists, Christians and Hindus are the minority group. Minority groups will always demand for the same things: to be treated as equals, and stand up for their respective religious rights. In Malaysia, we complicate things because there are two layers to the problem: ethnicity and religion.
We should realise that they are two separate things, and that not all Malays are Muslim. Not all Muslims are Malay. Likewise, not all Chinese are Buddhists or Christians. Not all Indians are Hindu. Not all Hindus are Indians. Not all Christians are Chinese. Just take a trip abroad sometime and you’ll be warmly introduced to the variety of ways that religion is practiced. Religion (all, including Islam) is not monolithic and as a result of various interpretations, we get flourishing of different ideas.
He ended by saying that we should move away from arguments of race and religion. Rather, the discourse should focus more upon policy issues. For example, how do we translate Islamic values of choice, into religious education, trade and economics, NEP and other policies.
Why I took the initiative to invite Wan Saiful was because I have been truly impressed by his views, and was (still am) psyched about these ideas spreading to fellow Malaysians. While some panelists disagreed that religion should even be part of the picture, I understand where Muslims come from because I believe the same thing of Christianity.
We do not want to impose our religious views on others, but we both believe strongly that each of the faiths provide us with valid principles that govern our lives, both private and public. These principles do not have to be explicitly “tagged” as “Muslim” or “Christian”, but we both know that they are “Islamic” or “Christian” by nature. For example, standing up for justice and equality and fairness. These we all readily know are faith-based, but we don’t have to call it such. As long as they are equally translated into public policy. Yes, I am convinced of this.
What impressed me most during my recent Young Leaders’ Program trip to Australia in early December 2007 – sponsored by the Australia-Malaysia Institute under Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – was the briefing by the Ombudsman representing New South Wales. The Ombudsman, a Swedish word originating since 1809, meaning “defender of the people”, is a person empowered to ensure fairness and justice in society. The role of the Ombudsman’s office is therefore to investigate and resolve cases, and hence make recommendations for improvement. Many countries around the world have begun adopting a similar mechanism for ensuring accountability of public offices, and Malaysia should be well on its way to establishing such an outfit, as calls for transparency and good governance are escalating. Continue reading
This is a draft paper I’ve written for ROH (Revolution of Hope), a Christian group I belong to. It’s still in the process of being refined, but I would welcome any feedback from you guys before I develop it further into a 5,000 word essay to be published thereafter. Cheers!
Face to Face with Malaysia:
An Analysis of the Malaysian Reality
In attempting to seek theological responses to developments in Malaysia, it is first necessary to analyse in a thorough manner the realities being faced presently. This paper therefore seeks to explore the Malaysian reality, complete with positive achievements and more importantly, the challenges faced today. It attempts to provide a clear and unbiased perspective of the real issues confronted by everyday Malaysians. This will be done by first giving a brief history of Malaysian past, and then highlighting these issues thereafter. Face to face with Malaysia, does the Church see through a glass darkly?
When all’s said and done, this dialogue should have come much earlier now, shouldn’t it?
The Malaysia Hindu Sangam public statement read out to the PM was well presented, fair and unbiased. Of course we all know that such an open and frank discussion would never have seen the light of day if not for the big publicity stunt pulled by HINDRAF recently, perhaps precisely the objective of Uthayakumar and his team.
Why does it take a big circus hullabaloo in order for the leaders to wake up and pay attention to the plight and dissatisfaction of its people? They would have otherwise continued on in sleepy slumber, carrying on token internal discussions with equally token responses like “yes, we will look into the situation, thanks for your complaints”…!!
Come on, don’t wait for ruckus before addressing needs of the people. Get into proper policy, people! But am glad lots of initiatives are taking place now, like Haris’ People’s Parliament, Citizen Think Tank’s shadow Government and so on. Watch this space for more constructive dialogue on how feedback can feed into policy.
I’m speaking at a youth camp this weekend on the topic of “Politics & Injustice: What’s Faith Gotta do with it?”
This is obviously a topic that I’m pretty familiar with already, but I’ve only ever spoken to crowds made up of adults, activists and/or theologians. I’ve done one session on blogging with a bunch of intellectual youth at a writers’ camp, but this will be a different ball game for me.
Having expired from the old sunday teaching classes a long time ago, getting back in touch and in rhythm with 13-18 year olds is gonna be a slight toughie, especially on the above subject that is as dry as bread crumbs. Wonder how they will take to it. I need to pump them with some activity. These are some of the things I am thinking to do in the workshop to ensure maximum participation from the young un’s.
Wish me all the best!
One of the institutions I was really impressed by during my recent trip to Australia was the Ombudsman. Originating from Sweden, the Ombudsman is defined as follows:
An ombudsman (English plural: ombudsmans or ombudsmen) is an official, usually (but not always) appointed by the government or by parliament, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens.
Although appointed by the Parliament in Australia, this is kept highly independent. Jurisdictions are clear. Processes are explicit. The Ombudsman selected AND all individuals working within the office must be strictly squeaky clean in terms of both moral (private) and public character. They must actually disclose the relationships they have with anyone who might be deemed as affecting their roles as independent officer.
For example, the deputy Ombudsman told us that his wife is a senior official in the trade department so any complaints and investigations relating to that area he HAS to bypass.
Full disclosure of relationships is a good thing, but how feasible is it in a culture where close friendships at the top level are as common as daylight, and the networking that goes on between those are as dubious and shadowy as night? In Asia we cannot separate personal and working relationships, which is why food comes before business as opposed to the other way round in the West.
This inherent culture is in itself a difficulty to contend with.
Nevertheless, Indonesia has an Ombudsman and I fail to see why we cannot too. As a friend recently put it, all it really needs at the end of the day is, “accountability, accountability, accountability”. Checks and balances are tedious processes but heck, they have to be done so that systems are well in place!
Come to a seminar on “Islam: A Blessing to Malaysians?”
Ibn Khaldun Seminar 2
Jointly Organised by: The Centre for Public Policy Studies & Malaysia Think Tank London
Islam: A Blessing to Malaysians?
Time: 8pm – 10pm
Date: Tuesday, 18th December 2007
Venue: Menara Integriti, Institut Integriti Malaysia (Off Jln Duta) http://www.iim.com.my/v3/st_corporate/petalokasi.php
Entrance is Free of Charge
As a way of life, Islam provides guidance on how one should live one’s life. Muslims believe that the guidance is complete, covers all aspects of life, and is a blessing to all. But why is it that when the word ‘Islam’ is mentioned nowadays, peace and blessing are not necessarily the first thing that come to mind? In this panel discussion, the main speaker will present his thoughts on how Islam could be translated into liberal policies that will give choice and freedom to fellow Malaysians. The main presenter will bring to the table his experience as an ethnic minority Malay Muslim living in Britain, and his experience in British politics. Other panelists will provide critical comments on his presentation.
This event is designed to be an open discussion and a learning platform for everyone, including the panelists, who welcome contributions from the audience.
Main Presenter: Wan Saiful Wan Jan, Director General of Malaysia Think Tank London
Panelists:
· Ustaz Hasrizal Abdul Jamil, Malaysia Think Tank London
· Ven. Choy Chee Kuan, Vice-President, Malaysian Buddhist Association
· Rev. Dr. Hermen Shastri, Secretary-General of Council of Churches Malaysia
· K. Shanmuga, Malaysia Hindu Sangam
About the Main Presenter
Wan Saiful Wan Jan is Director General of Malaysia Think Tank London. Previously, he was at the British Conservative Party Research Department and the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit. Wan Saiful is a life-member of PAS. While completing his university studies in England, he was actively involved in HIZBI, a movement for Malaysians in the United Kingdom closely associated with PAS. He was among the longest-serving President of HIZBI, and after he stepped down, was appointed as Mursyid. He moved from KL to England in 1993 and has been living there since. In May 2007, he contested in the English local elections as a Conservative Party Candidate. He is actively involved in the Conservative Muslim Forum (CMF) and has co-authored a submission to the shadow cabinet on (British) National and International Security.
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Please register by sending your details to tricia_yeoh@cpps.org.my or log onto www.cpps.org.my and www.malaysiathinktank.org for more information. |
“All it takes for evil to triumph is for a few good men to do nothing”.
This descended into a debate on whether or not there really ARE any good men who do nothing.
The argument was, that the property of “goodness” is the sum of both inherent internalities and its subsequent action. For a man to have either one lacking would be that he did not then possess goodness in its ultimate form.
Hence, a good man would not do nothing. A good man doing nothing does not exist.
But then the debate continued, establishing the fact that goodness is a spectrum. Although it exists conceptually as a complete full standard, in reality no person can reach that mark. And if so, we are a mixture of goodness and badness. Hence, no person is considered fully “good”.
Perhaps the statement should be altered to read: “All that is required for evil to triumph is for a few partially good men to do nothing”.
Maybe we are being too pedantic.
Let the statement speak for itself, and let us who imagine we strive towards the penultimate form of goodness, be inspired by the remark… and most importantly, act upon our convictions. For staying silent and doing nothing is but evil in itself.
My most recent activities are found on my LinkedIn page here.
