Sunday, January 10, 2010
One of my favourite Japanese restaurant.. Matsuki
Thursday, January 7, 2010
"Allah" yeah..you can keep it.
The Home Ministry on Tuesday filed an application to stay the execution of the High Court
ruling that the word "Allah" can be used by the Catholic weekly magazine, Herald. The
application was filed at the High Court Registry here. On Monday, the ministry lodged an
appeal with the Court of Appeal against the ruling. On Dec 31, High Court Judge Datuk
Lau Bee Lan ruled that pursuant to Articles 11 and 12 of the Federal Constitution, the
Herald had the constitutional right to use the word in respect of instruction and education of
the congregation in the Christian religion. (Bernama)
My opinion:
Just one word " Allah", and current government is all worked up over who is allowed to use it. There must be some "copyright" or "all rights reserved" over this word that the government thinks they solely owns the usage of it, and decides who has the right to use it. I guess if they feel so attached to it, they can keep it. Frankly, there are some who says that the reason that the Catholic weekly magazine wants to use the word is that there is a hidden agenda to make Christian's God appealing to the Muslims. What nonsense! Aren't there existing laws in the country where any non-Islamic religious publications or events, esp. Christians; there must be a disclaimer written somewhere that basically says, " For Non-Muslim Only"? I don't see any protest coming from other Islamic countries esp. neighboring Indonesia that get all worked up over this, since they use the "Al-Kitab" there.
I just googled " Who is Allah?" and a few good "balanced" links came up which are worth a read...
http://www.light-of-life.com/eng/gospel/g4105efm.htm
http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/195/
ruling that the word "Allah" can be used by the Catholic weekly magazine, Herald. The
application was filed at the High Court Registry here. On Monday, the ministry lodged an
appeal with the Court of Appeal against the ruling. On Dec 31, High Court Judge Datuk
Lau Bee Lan ruled that pursuant to Articles 11 and 12 of the Federal Constitution, the
Herald had the constitutional right to use the word in respect of instruction and education of
the congregation in the Christian religion. (Bernama)
My opinion:
Just one word " Allah", and current government is all worked up over who is allowed to use it. There must be some "copyright" or "all rights reserved" over this word that the government thinks they solely owns the usage of it, and decides who has the right to use it. I guess if they feel so attached to it, they can keep it. Frankly, there are some who says that the reason that the Catholic weekly magazine wants to use the word is that there is a hidden agenda to make Christian's God appealing to the Muslims. What nonsense! Aren't there existing laws in the country where any non-Islamic religious publications or events, esp. Christians; there must be a disclaimer written somewhere that basically says, " For Non-Muslim Only"? I don't see any protest coming from other Islamic countries esp. neighboring Indonesia that get all worked up over this, since they use the "Al-Kitab" there.
I just googled " Who is Allah?" and a few good "balanced" links came up which are worth a read...
http://www.light-of-life.com/eng/gospel/g4105efm.htm
http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/195/
Sunday, January 3, 2010
2010 New Year Wish List for Penang: Wish List #1
Since it is the beginning of 2010, I will come up with the top 10 wish list for Penang over several days. Hopefully the Penang State Govt. will get to see this list and fulfill the wishes of this "rakyat" ( citizen). Here's Wish List #1
1 Bring the Shine Back to Penang.
The state of Penang is known as the Penang Darul Sampah ( Trash), and you can see it everywhere. Just look at the drains or rivers, or sea. You can see plastic bottles, styrofoams, cartons, bottles,...etc, proudly displayed for all to see. Just visit a Pasar Malam (Night Market) and you'll see trash all over. Once after buying something at a Pasar Malam, I was looking for a dustbin to discard the trash, but could not find one. The trader just told me to throw it on the road, and someone will clear the rubbish later. I guess there is a system here, i.e. throw now, and later someone will clear it. My take is that this will create a mentality that basically teaches everyone including kids, that since this is not your house, and someone will clear it later, it is perfectly fine to throw your rubbish anywhere. What is a dustbin for if no one uses them? The gov't of the day needs to change the system and policy to educate the public that it is never right to throw your rubbish everywhere, and expect some garbage man to come clean up your mess later. This is one bad habit that will take strict enforcement from the gov't to get everyone to comply. If need to get example of how to enforce, just do a "lawatan sambil belajar" ( learning while visit) trip to Singapore. Over there, even construction works e.g. road or buildings looked neat and no debris overspilling over public areas. Since this year is Visit Penang Year, I am sure tourists appreciate clean and pleasant, and not smelly surroundings.
Image via Wikipedia
1 Bring the Shine Back to Penang.
The state of Penang is known as the Penang Darul Sampah ( Trash), and you can see it everywhere. Just look at the drains or rivers, or sea. You can see plastic bottles, styrofoams, cartons, bottles,...etc, proudly displayed for all to see. Just visit a Pasar Malam (Night Market) and you'll see trash all over. Once after buying something at a Pasar Malam, I was looking for a dustbin to discard the trash, but could not find one. The trader just told me to throw it on the road, and someone will clear the rubbish later. I guess there is a system here, i.e. throw now, and later someone will clear it. My take is that this will create a mentality that basically teaches everyone including kids, that since this is not your house, and someone will clear it later, it is perfectly fine to throw your rubbish anywhere. What is a dustbin for if no one uses them? The gov't of the day needs to change the system and policy to educate the public that it is never right to throw your rubbish everywhere, and expect some garbage man to come clean up your mess later. This is one bad habit that will take strict enforcement from the gov't to get everyone to comply. If need to get example of how to enforce, just do a "lawatan sambil belajar" ( learning while visit) trip to Singapore. Over there, even construction works e.g. road or buildings looked neat and no debris overspilling over public areas. Since this year is Visit Penang Year, I am sure tourists appreciate clean and pleasant, and not smelly surroundings.
Image via WikipediaFriday, January 1, 2010
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