HOW does one insult Islam in Malaysia? And how does one insult Muslims in Malaysia? Over the past few years and increasingly over the past months, the state, politicians and pressure groups like Perkasa have demonstrated just how to do either one or both. For the most part, these incidents are an insult to Muslims […]
Ramadan
Puasa dari makan nasi, wang dan orang
Asam Pedas oleh Norhayati KaprawiUNTUK pertama kalinya saya menyambut Ramadan di Indonesia, negara yang mempunyai rakyat beragama Islam yang teramai di dunia. Lebih kurang 90% dari penduduknya yang seramai 270 juta orang ini beragama Islam. Namun, Indonesia tidak ada undang-undang menghukum orang yang makan dan minum di khalayak ramai semasa bulan puasa. Malah, kegiatan harian diteruskan seperti biasa. Konsert […]
The problem with the 8TV ads
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
WHY were the three 8TV Ramadan ads so offensive? “I don’t get it,” more than one person said on the social network they were on. “Chill guys,” 8TV executive director and Media Prima chief executive officer of Alt Media Ahmad Izham Omar told critics on Twitter. “Don’t overthink the ads. It’s written, produced and directed […]
A Ramadan reflection: Who do we fast for?
Ventings By Marina Mahathir
IT so happened that this Ramadan I had to take an 18-hour flight to Vancouver to attend the wedding of a close friend’s only daughter. I wouldn’t normally choose to travel during Ramadan but it was a rare opportunity to see my friend’s happiness as she saw her daughter married off. I did tell a […]
Seditious Malaysia
By Ding Jo-Ann
KARPAL Singh. Lim Guan Eng. Raja Petra Kamaruddin. Wong Chin Huat. These individuals have all been arrested or charged under Malaysia’s draconian Sedition Act. The Act was passed in 1948, at the height of the British colonial government’s struggle against the communists. But more than 60 years later, the wide-ranging and subjective law is still being used, whenever it’s convenient, to silence political opponents.
The parade of “Muslim sensitivities”: Where is it taking us?
Shape of a Pocket by Jacqueline Ann Surin
AND so Perkasa has made the news again. And this time by its own doing, not because a media bent on sensationalism tried to cultivate the Malay nationalist group in order to increase readership. In the latest of Perkasa moves, its Petaling chairperson, Zainal Abidin Ahmad, lodged a police report against a Protestant church in […]
Power, politicians and brutality
By Dr Farish A NoorFOR a region that prides itself for its so-called Asian values, we in Southeast Asia don’t seem to practise what we preach. We talk about how the region’s peoples are peace-loving, but we forget — and we continue to erase and forget — the historical fact that Southeast Asia has been one of the world’s […]
Chef Wan and friends fast for diverse Malaysia
By Shanon ShahUpdated on 15 Sept 2009 at 10am PETALING JAYA, 15 Sept 2009: A beloved chef, a renowned compere and a respected entrepreneur are but only a few of the notable Malay Malaysians reclaiming the meaning of multicultural Malaysia come Malaysia Day tomorrow. “Malaysia has become a very scary country. Why can’t we just love people […]
PAS tunjuk belang
Oleh Shanon ShahMENURUT Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi, Ketua Pemuda PAS, konsert Michael Learns to Rock pada 5 Sept 2009 kelak “akan membawa umat leka dan lalai malah merosakkan moral dan akhlak mereka”. Daripada ayat ini saja, saya sudah boleh agak yang tidak ada sesiapa pun dalam Pemuda PAS yang pernah mendengar lagu Michael Learns to Rock. Bagi saya, […]
Islam kejam atau Islam rahmah?
Oleh Norhayati KaprawiSEBAGAI seorang Islam, saya tertanya-tanya wajah Islam bagaimanakah yang Malaysia mahukan? Negara Islam, Islam madani, Islam hadari, atau Islam “hududi”? Apa pun jenamanya, tentu yang kita mahukan adalah Islam yang adil, rahmah, berihsan, penyayang, mesra kepada orang perempuan, prihatin terhadap orang yang kurang bernasib baik, dan Islam yang sentiasa bersangka baik pada manusia. Akan tetapi, […]
