Salam Aidilfitri 1431/2010

Kejam celik, kejam celik dah hampir setahun blog ini tidak dikemaskini. Terasa janggal juga memblog semula bila dah lama ditinggalkan. Tapi jaringan sosial seperti facebook dan twitter lebih sesuai untuk 'soundbites' daripada catatan lamunan, renungan dan perkara-perkara yang dirasakan lebih berat dan serius.

Lantas, digamit semula untuk berkongsi pengalaman dan pandangan dengan siapa jua yang sudi membaca. Sementelah dua belas bulan merupakan masa yang terlalu lama untuk berdiam diri, menjadi pemerhati dan pengguna biasa bahan-bahan multimedia di ruang siber.

Dah banyak kali air bah, dan banyak kali pantai berubah dalam setahun yang telah berlalu. Penulis-penulis blog baru muncul menggantikan mereka yang tidak lagi aktif atau yang telah pergi buat selamanya. Penulis-penulis lama pula menyerlahkan peningkatan dari segi kualiti analisis situasi sosio-ekonomi-politik semasa.

Namun, apakah yang dapat saya sumbangkan sebagai seorang pemerhati, pengguna dan pensyarah sambilan pengajian media?

Yang pasti, menjadi guru 'mercenary' atau 'soldier of fortune' di salah sebuah negara Teluk bukan opsyen yang memuaskan walaupun gajinya lumayan. Syukur alhamdulillah, setelah lebih tujuh bulan berada di tanah air, saya senang melakukan perkara-perkara yang sebelum ini tidak dapat dilakukan seperti terlibat sebagai sukarelawan untuk pertubuhan-pertubuhan bukan kerajaan atau bukan keuntungan (NGO/NPO), disamping mengajar sambilan dan membuat terjemahan untuk membayar bil-bil TNB, ASTRO, P1, dst.

Pun begitu, salah satu penemuan menarik yang ingin saya kongsikan di sini ialah teori 'Out of Sundaland' yang dikemukakan oleh ahli sains genetik Dr Stephen Oppenheimer (1999) yang menyangkal teori 'Out of Taiwan' anjuran ahli bahasa Peter Bellwood (1984, 1997).

Teori Bellwood yang juga dikenali sebagai teori China Selatan mengandaikan bahawa nenek moyang orang Melayu, Indonesia, Filipino, Hawaii, Polynesia, Madagaskar dan Maori berasal dari China Selatan, melalui Taiwan ke Nusantara dan seterusnya ke Madagaskar dan Pulau Easter kira-kira 5,000 tahun lalu.

Bagaimanapun, penyelidikan genetik mengesan migrasi penduduk yang lebih besar dari Nusantara ke arah tanah besar Asia - China Selatan, Korea, Jepun, India dan Mesopotamia - dan Filipina, Madagaskar, New Guinea, seterusnya menjajah kepulauan Polynesia, Easter, Hawaii dan New Zealand melalui titian tanah atau dengan perahu disebabkan banjir besar kira-kira 10,000 tahun lalu. Jadi tidak hairanlah jika orang asal Taiwan dan Jepun mempunyai ciri-ciri orang Melayu dan orang Champa (Kampuchea) serta Funan (Selatan Vietnam) boleh berbahasa Melayu walaupun belum pernah menjejakkan kaki di Semenanjung Tanah Melayu.

Asal-usul bahasa-bahasa Austronesia (Melayu, Tagalog, Malagasy, dll) dipercayai tumbuh dan berkembang di Sundaland, landasan benua yang meliputi Geting Kra di Utara hingga ke Garisan Wallace di Timur yang memisahkan Bali dari Lombok, Borneo dari Sulawesi, Palawan dari Mindanao dan Luzon.

Revolusi Neolitik - permulaan pertanian menggunakan batu untuk melumatkan bijiran liar - juga dikatakan bermula di sini seawal 24,000 tahun, yakni 10,000 tahun sebelum di Mesir dan Palestin.

Untuk maklumat lebih lanjut, sila baca:

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/paul-rodgers/2008/05/sundaland-spread-taiwan
http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/reviews/atlantis.html
http://sahultime.monash.edu.au/fullScreen.html
http://pl.net/~keithr/rfc2001113OriginsEden.html

Hire Malaysians First!

Here's a note to kickstart the week from a good friend who calls herself "the official complainer".
I managed to catch up with her at KLCC recently and we both shared our grievances about the state of the service industry in Malaysia.
Here's her view which was published in theSun:
Value all honest work
THE government must consider steps to rectify excessive disparity of wages and educate all workers on the necessity, respectability and value of each job and position.
This is becoming particularly important as the economic crisis shows no signs of relenting and an increasing number of workers are laid off. The government will not be able to go on paying benefits and subsidies, and so the best solution is to find new employment for retrenched workers as soon as possible. When all honest jobs are valued, respected, and appropriately rewarded, it becomes almost impossible for anyone to be out of work.
On a recent visit to KLCC, I could not help noticing that many workers in restaurants, shops, and outlets are foreigners. These workers do not look Malaysian, do not speak the local language, are untidy and lack grooming.
I wonder how shop owners at the premier shopping centre expect to see their business booming when they employ staff who are unqualified, untrained, and unwelcoming to potential customers.
Why aren’t locals doing this kind of work? What is wrong with being a waiter, a sales assistant, a cashier, or even a toilet cleaner? All these jobs need to be done and they make our life better, cleaner, healthier and more enjoyable. Why then look down upon them and pay them so little?
If KLCC and other leading shopping centres in Kuala Lumpur are meant for tourists, then wouldn’t tourists appreciate a window to the local people, the local language, the local culture, and the local service? How is Malaysia to preserve her identity if foreign workers are employed in positions that have the most direct contact with the public?
The government must adopt policies that make all kinds of honest work attractive, appreciated and properly rewarded. No type of honest work should be deemed as too lowly. After all, every worker who does his or her job in a way that meets the highest possible standard is a professional.
Marisa Demori
Ipoh

The 11th Hour

And so the saga continues in Malaysian political telenovela/soap opera. Last night, Malaysians celebrated the "opening up" of the public sphere or democratic space by the historic televised debate between Anwar Ibrahim and Shabery Cheek. This afternoon, they were shocked by the dramatic arrest of the former DPM, now the Parti KeADILan Rakyat's advisor, by Special Squad police personnel with balaclavas.
Talk about deja vu or is it a repeat of a highly rated episode?
In any case, I would like to alert those who have not watched the 11th Hour to do so, join the movement and reduce our addiction on consumer capitalism in general and dependency on fossil fuel in particular.
http://11thhouraction.com

Go Blue N Green

Trying to assuage your guilt at leaving carbon footprints and accumulating carbon credit by posting a "cut and paste(d)" piece, eh?
Well, I am also trying hard at separating the garbage, recycling, taking my shopping bag and declining the plastics whenever I can.
Things I'd like to do next would be to start a compost heap, an herbal garden and an organic farm (Don't pray, pray; I will get to that soon enough!)
So here's somethin' from StopGlobalWarming.org:
This Earth Day brings much welcomed coverage by the mainstream press of the environment with cover stories in TIME (see below).

The cover story, written by Bryan Walsh, is a call-to-arms, making the case that the U.S. can no longer afford to sit out the fight against global warming. The piece outlines a number of important steps in the battle against global warming, including establishing an effective cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, tougher energy-efficiency mandates and significant new investment in green technologies.
Click here to read the full story
StopGlobalWarming.org

Blue is the new green

Want to stop global warming? Wear BLUE for Earth Day 2008! Join millions of people around the world who will be wearing BLUE to signify their vote for NO COAL. Events will be happening April 19th through April 22nd, so...
If you’re attending the Earth Day event on the National Mall in Washington, DC on April 20th, wear BLUE.
If you’re attending another major Earth Day event, wear BLUE.
When you dress in the morning on Earth Day, wear BLUE.
No matter what you’re doing for Earth Day 2008, wear BLUE.
A BLUE shirt, top, sweater or jacket... whatever. Just wear BLUE.
Then, on April 22, make your voice heard. Pick up the phone: Call Congress (or your MP) and ask for an immediate ‘Moratorium on Coal’ - a halt to the construction of any new conventional coal-fired power plants. Through this Call for Climate event, Earth Day hopes to generate over a million phone calls to Congress!
Your BLUE vote will count. Fifty-nine conventional coal plants were canceled in 2007. That’s over a third of the 151 planned. That happened before millions of people joined together to say No Coal.
BYOBlue for Earth Day 2008. Be the vote that tips the balance.

When the future comes knockin’ (at your door)

Many described the aftermath of the 12th GE as a political tsunami; while some others compared it to a new dawn. Still many others are reeling from the shock and trying to take stock of the new reality. As someone who had been waiting for a new beginning for more than a decade, I thank God that the voice of the subalterns are being heard and pray that the people’s choice will pave the way for a bright and shining future!
The times they are a-changin'
By Bob Dylan
Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'

Silenced Majority (Part II)

"Conversation at the Convo"
"You know, my student had to abandon his studies just two weeks before the end of the semester because the PTPTN loan was late," CLL told me.
"Really?" Please give me a break! Should I be answerable for everything that the UMNO go-men did or didn't do? I learnt later from another student that she had to pay a MYR10 fine for late payment.
"You know, two of my nieces married Chinese guys, and one of them had his university education financed by his clan association," I blurted, trying to shift her locus of blame.
"SO," CLL turned and asked me, "he must be rich for your niece to marry him?"
"No, actually, it's my brother-in-law who is well-off; his S-I-L came from a lower middle class family" (a 'sinkhek', my late mother would disdainfully termed him, to distinguish him from the Straits-born Babas and Nyonyas that her family would approve and fraternise with). "And when he failed his exams during his second year of studies at a UK university, my B-I-L financed his education til he graduated. In fact, my B-I-L financed their wedding, first home, family car, business venture, etc. (as he did for all his three SILs)."
"Hmm... he must be handsome then?"
"I would consider him above average in terms of looks."
After a few awkward moments, she said: "But you all can get scholarships from the government."
"Not all of us. I know of Malay parents who applied for PTPTN loans and their children got 9 or 10As. In fact, I would rather use my own savings to finance my children's education so that the allocation would go to the poor farmers' and fishermen's children."
TBC

Silenced Majority

"On course and found horizon"
I’ve been meaning to write about an unpleasant exchange with yet another 24 year old for quite sometime but was searching for the right words so as not to sound ‘illiberal’.
The few times that I shared the painful experience of losing my kampong due to political intrigues, I was rebuked for being ‘emotional’ or ‘a Drama Queen’.
So, I assured myself that the ‘hijrah’ was indeed a blessing in disguise – that I may not have managed to secure a place at the university, pursued a career in the academy, traveled the world and lived in upper middle class residential areas, had my family not moved to Kuala Lumpur.
Though there were times when I entertained thoughts of finally settling in Jeddah, I often asked myself: “Will I actually uproot and migrate once again, if the circumstances are intolerable?”
And WA, on that unforgettable balmy evening by the poolside, seemed to have just the answer for me: “Well, everyone has their 'victim story'; I have my share of loss too"
(She meant her father to a 'Malay diva', so her mother decided to remarry a non-Malay. I didn't bother to tell her that I lost mine to a 'gadis setiausaha'.)
"But you know, you forgive, let go and move on.”
“Try telling that to the Palestinians,” I countered her blithe statement.
“Perhaps they should also learn to forgive, let go and move on,” she was so confident that the mantra (which she paid for almost RM 3,000.00 at a ‘leadership’ program to have it drummed into her head) would work for anyone, at any given situation.
And as if to drive home her point, she looked straight into my eyes and added, “All you need is love in your heart to change the world.”
“That’s what I thought too when I was 19 until experience taught me otherwise,” I uttered to her, as much to myself.
“Well, that was your experience,” she retorted.
I restrained myself from reacting to her last remark, got up and paid for her meal.
I checked myself at the counter: Should I be delighted that she's magnanimous or should I be upset with her parents for not inculcating a sense of political consciousness?
Incidentally, earlier that very day, I had been part of an audience to an impassioned plea by a courteous young man, Feris Omar, the President of ProWaris, on the “20 DEMANDS ON SOUTH JOHORE ECONOMIC REGION”.
Would young, urban and upper middle class Malays like WA be grateful for his struggle?
Or would she be apologizing profusely for his ‘parochial’ sentiments?
I recalled the time when WA and ND were facilitating the multicultural holiday camp with 9-12 year olds from different ethnic groups - how they would chide the Malay girls for using a 'politically incorrect' term to taunt the Indian boys and for being reluctant to mingle with the Chinese vernacular school kids.
"It's ok if they don't want to learn or speak Malay," she said.
I was glad that they were not biased towards their own ethnic group but I was disturbed when they only chastised and criticized the Malay kids. In fact, there seems to be a compulsion to apologize for being a Malay, if not outright embarrassment at being one.
To be continued.

Critical Mass

A parade to raise awareness of bicycle use in KL on July 27 2007 at 6PM in front of Central Market. Spread the word and the love of our natural environment.

Launching of Citizen Think T@nk

Finally, the day arrived for the launching of Citizen Think T@nk on 21 July 2007 at Restoran Widuri, Aman Suria. Although about 30 people showed up, TV3's Bulletin Utama gave it priority coverage at 8pm. CTT was in the main news even before the first advertisement.

The launch was graced by the trustees and ardent supporters - Tan Sri Aziz, Dr. KJ John, YM Tengku Mahaleel, Edward Lee, Dr. Abu Bakar, Jeff Ooi, Bernard Khoo, Tony Pua, Wong Chin Huat, among others.
My fervent hope is for the initiative to signify the dawning of the Age of Knowledge Democracy and Knowledge-empowered Voters. Instead of resigning ourselves and lamenting about the lack of competent leaders, let us all strive to improve the performance of the incumbents and simultaneously identify the next generation of leaders so as to mitigate the problems of attrition and apathy. Give your support to this authentic e-community project via active virtual participation.
http://www.citizenthinktank.com/

Armstrong's Lecture, Tun Razak's Legacy & Menopause the Musical

http://idrus.blogspot.com/

It's been awhile since I last blogged. Just goes to show how busy I've been. Other than professional duties, I've also been occupied with the usual social rounds.
Of these, I could certainly recall the public lecture by Karen Armstrong at the Mandarin Oriental as well as Seminar Legasi Tun Abdul Razak at the Sime Darby Convention Center, both on June 16 2007, and, of course, Menopause the Musical at The Actors Studio @ BSC.
Many bloggers have written about the impact of the Armstrong lecture,
Karen Armstrong Promotes Silence, Non Violence and Compassion and Karen Armstrong in KL
among them. Of Armstrong's key messages about Silence, Non-Violence and Compassion, these simple phrases stuck in my mind:
"Look at your enemy in the eye, and try to find the Divine" (or something to that extent);
"Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you” (attributed to Confucius);
"Cartharsis and weeping are crucial to spiritual cleansing" (or something of that sort).

Well, what can I say about Seminar Legasi Tun Razak? First, that my late father would surely turn in his grave had he known that I had consorted with "those colonial compradors". Secondly, it's really much ado about nothing; unless it's a run-up to the General Elections.

As for Menopause the Musical, I would suggest that males going through andropause to get out of that denial mode and take their wives and children to watch it. Ciao!

Pakatan Nasional Penulis Blog (National Alliance of Bloggers)

Gotcha! Or is it NAB? A National Alliance of Bloggers was officially formed last nite at the National Press Club (NPC) in a counter manouvre that outsmart the powers-that-be.
Yesterday morning, the Deputy Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor had announced at the Dewan Rakyat that bloggers using locally hosted websites may be asked to register with the authorities.
Registration was seen as "one of the measures the Government was considering to prevent the spread of negative or malicious content on the Internet" which could be a threat to national security.
However, serious bloggers viewed this move to compel local bloggers to register as a form of control and a violation of the Government's no-censorship policy with regards to the Internet under the Bill of Guarantees. The Government had also established the Content Forum as a form of self-regulation among players in the sector to deliberate on complaints by any disgruntled party. They predicted that the move would also instil fear among the bloggers and would encourage them to host their blogs overseas.
Below is the line-up of the Pro-tem committee members:
President - Ahirudin Attan
Vice President - Jeff Ooi
Secretary - Nuraina A. Samad
Treasurer - Tony Yew
Council Members:
Patrick Teoh
Bernard Khoo
Syed Azidi Syed Abdul Aziz
Syed Jamal al-Idrus
Rajahram Ramalingam
Annuratha K
Ami Husni
Soon Li Tsin (more)

Hentikan 'pembaziran keterlaluan'

– Arshad Ayub*
PUTRAJAYA 22 Mac – Seorang bekas pegawai kanan awam meminta kerajaan menghentikan ‘pembaziran keterlaluan’ dalam perbelanjaannya supaya wang yang dijimatkan itu dapat digunakan untuk projek yang lebih berfaedah.
Tan Sri Dr. Arshad Ayub (gambar) berkata: “Jamuan malam dan sambutan besar-besaran diadakan di merata tempat. Saya dapati banyak pembaziran dan ketirisan berlaku.”
Sambil menyebut sebagai contoh RM220 bilion yang akan dibelanjakan dalam Rancangan Malaysia Kesembilan sekarang, beliau berkata, jika hanya satu peratus pembaziran daripada angka itu berlaku, bermakna RM2.2 bilion akan hilang begitu sahaja.
“Apakah yang kita dapat lakukan dengan RM2.2 bilion? Banyak yang boleh dibuat dengan wang itu,” katanya di Kementerian Kewangan di sini malam tadi ketika menerima Anugerah Mutiara Budi sebagai menghargai jasanya dalam perkhidmatan awam.
Dr. Arshad, 78, telah memegang pelbagai jawatan penting termasuk menjadi Ketua Setiausaha di tiga kementerian dan Timbalan Gabenor Bank Negara, tetapi namanya menjadi terkenal semasa menjadi pengarah pertama Institut Teknologi Mara (ITM) selama 10 tahun dari 1967. ITM kini dinaik taraf menjadi Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).
Anugerah itu disampaikan oleh Menteri Kewangan Kedua, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop yang memperkenalkannya bagi memberi penghargaan kepada individu yang menunjukkan perkhidmatan terpuji dalam bidang sosio-ekonomi dan pengurusan kewangan.
Sambil menyifatkan pembaziran itu sebagai satu dosa, Dr. Arshad berkata, Perbendaharaan, selaku agensi yang mengeluarkan dana kerajaan, perlu memastikan wang tidak dibazirkan.
“Ini adalah rayuan saya kepada kerajaan. Saya juga ingin mencadangkan supaya pegawai-pegawai Perbendaharaan menjalani kursus audit supaya mereka lebih faham tentang perlunya pembaziran ini dikurangkan,” katanya.
Kecewa
Dr. Arshad memberitahu Bernama kemudiannya bahawa beliau begitu kecewa melihat pembaziran berlaku khususnya selepas persaraannya daripada perkhidmatan awam semasa negara sedang menikmati kemakmuran.
Ini jauh berbeza dari zaman semasa beliau dalam perkhidmatan awam apabila kerajaan begitu berjimat dalam perbelanjaan, katanya.
“Sebagai tetamu dalam sambutan besar-besaran seperti ini, saya tidak suka melihat semua ini. Mungkin ini disebabkan saya berasal daripada keluarga miskin,” katanya.
Dalam ucapannya, Dr. Arshad berkata, beliau seronok berkhidmat sebagai Pengarah ITM kerana ia memberinya peluang melatih pelajar bumiputera, ramai daripadanya daripada keluarga miskin.
Katanya, institusi seperti ITM memainkan peranan utama dalam membasmi kemiskinan memandangkan “pendidikan adalah senjata terbaik melawan kemiskinan”.
“Kami menyediakan latihan yang amat baik dalam semua disiplin, dan kami bekerjasama rapat dengan sektor swasta bagi menentukan terdapat sekurang-kurangnya 30 peratus kakitangan bumiputera di semua peringkat,” katanya.
Dr. Arshad berkata bahawa selaku ketua di ITM, beliau menjadikan bahasa Inggeris sebagai bahasa pengantar, dan pelajar dari aliran Melayu diberi kursus menguasai bahasa Inggeris selama satu tahun.
“Itulah sebabnya lulusan ITM ketika itu lebih mudah mendapat pekerjaan,” katanya.
Beliau juga menyentuh mengenai kejayaan Bank Rakyat, bank koperasi terbesar di negara ini yang pernah mengalami kerugian besar dalam tahun 70-an dan perlu dibantu, tetapi kini meraih keuntungan RM650 juta.
“Saya memberi pujian penuh kepada Bank Rakyat tetapi saya ingin melihat ia memperuntukkan RM50 juta bagi membantu koperasi kurang maju atau yang sedang tenat. Saya lihat ini sebagai satu tanggungjawab membantu perusahaan kecil dan sederhana,” katanya.
Sambil melahirkan rasa syukur kerana dapat berkhidmat kepada negara dalam pelbagai jawatan, Dr. Arshad berkata, beliau akan terus memberi sumbangan menerusi cara lain khususnya kerja amal ketika usianya sedang meningkat mencecah 80-an.
“Selagi saya ada hayat, saya akan berkhidmat dan berbakti. Jika tidak hanya ada satu jalan, saya rasa mati,” katanya.
– Bernama
Received this from Mohd Nazri Ibrahim, a former student.
I must confess that I am a fan of Arshad Ayub and his equally resourceful wife.
Perhaps an austerity drive would be just what the doctor would prescribe for an ailing nation and its nationals.
The money saved can also help fund much needed research about public health and community communication programmes, among others.