I started blogging in February 2003 and have made it habit to blog almost everyday. This page is where I note down my thoughts, opinions and critique of almost everything. Please note that this is an adult blog and would require the reader to be thick-skinned. Oh, and some of the stuff here may be gay related so proceed at your own risk. No refund given for offence taken.
While waiting for dinner this evening, I was checking my Twitter app on my trusty little Nokia when I came across several disturbing tweets with links to news articles, "One church in KL attacked last night". Later it was three churches attacked. My heart and stomach sank. It couldn't have come to this has it? The right to use the name of God has spilled over to open violence? Is this the prelude to the Balkanisation of Malaysia?
I didn't know what to think except to go straight into my usual anti-religion rhetoric, about how all religions, or Abrahamic religions specifically, despite claims to the contrary has been the cause of so much wars, oppression and brutality throughout history.
I have to clarify that I see "religion" as a human institution created in the name of a deity and dedicated to its worship.
So in this case, it seems the cause of the problem is not so much god who does not even intervene or communicate directly to its most pious adherents. The root of the problem is therefore humans.
We are an interesting species. We are capable of the most beautiful art and selfless acts of love and kindness. Yet, we are also capable of the most despicable acts of depravity and cruelty. Consequently, we can unite together for the cause of a greater and noble good. Yet often, in our pursuit of a greater and holier goal, we sink to depths of evil that even Satan would approve.
We humans have an innate destructive ability to fuck up whatever that is good or divine.
This is not the monopoly of religion even though countless wars, inquisitions and violence were committed in the name of god and orthodoxy.
Karl Marx famously said that "religion is the opiate of the masses". And ironically, in the communists' effort to rescue humans from this feudal and backward superstition while freeing them from oppression by the monied and landed classes unleashed waves of execution, torture and imprisonment thus becoming the monsters they fought.
Likewise the French revolution that overthrew the oppressive ancien regime and the subsequent bloody "reign of terror" with its infamous guillotine.
Fortunately, brutalities in the name of ideology do draw to a close when people see the light, are proven wrong or when logic prevails.
But what if it's for the sake of religion? One where everything has to be accepted by faith as the truth and the ancient, timeless and immutable word of god? How do you convince violent maniacs gathering under a holy banner and who believe that by being extreme can one be more pious and holier, that all sacrifices and acts no matter how dastardl or brutal are for the sake of the afterlife, and where time is not measured in decades or from election to election but for eternity?
In the case of Malaysia where the Islamic identity is conflated with their racial identity, things get more complicated. It's not just the use of the name of god but the perceived encroachment on their political dominance and identity, their exclusive concept of Ketuanan Melayu.
I guess UMNO kind of brought this upon themselves when they tried to out-Islamise PAS after the latter's initial state electoral victory in 1999.
The country is still in the midst of their watershed moment. Whether it comes out of this for the better or the worse is anyone's guess. But what is heartening is the numbers of Malaysian Muslims who came out against last night's attack and their efforts to come up with ideas to counter the extremists' actions and hate. I honestly hope they will succeed.
I've always believe that religion should be a private affair and should never be allowed any room in politics and common social spaces. It causes too much harm than good. And when you look at last night's events and our own AWARE saga earlier last year, I'm sure you can understand why.
Perhaps I am being hopeful. But maybe these attacks might become the catalyst that will bring all Malaysians regardless of race and religion together in unity and say, "Enough is enough. Not in our name and certainly not in our country."
Note:
I kind of stole the above title from the opening of Art Harun's emotional and moving post "Our Failings" about last night's events that is a must-read. "And as the flames climbed high into the night; To light the sacrificial rite; I saw Satan laughing with delight; The day the music died." American Pie - Don McLean.
With all due respect to MJ and his family and friends, Yasmin Ahmad's passing affected me way much more than his. But why should it be so? She is not a famous pop star, I didn't know her personally. And admittedly, I haven't watched any of her movies yet.
But thanks to the invention called Youtube, I got to know her advertisements she did as a creative director for Leo Burnett. And through her blog, I got a slight glimpse of what makes her tick and drives her.
I can say for certain that what drew me to her are her commercials that are both moving and funny. The common thread that runs through them is love, family, kinship and friendship that runs across racial boundaries.
The most famous one in Singapore is the one she did called "Funeral" for our Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports where we see an Indian woman in a sari eulogising her recently departed husband who is Chinese. Apart from the skin colour and choice of apparels, she mourns his passing as any loving wife would. Yasmin has this knack of throwing characters of different races together in a family or a group of friends that made it seem so natural.
For the ones she did in Malaysia, the same evocative theme crops up again and again, like the Chinese boy and his Indian caregiver in last year's Chinese New Year ad or the cute one where a young Tan Hong Ming professes his puppy love for his school mate Umi Qazrina. Some were controversial like the one she did called "Kongsi Raya" in 1997 when Chinese New Year and Hari Raya occurred around the same time. Perhaps it was controversial because it offended certain people's idea of racial purity and segregation.
Some might accuse her of being emotionally manipulative. But it seems to me that the only way her commercials "manipulate" was that they appealed to the goodness and humanity in each of us.
Personally, what appealed to me most about her work is her belief in a Malaysian Malaysia where race ("Race? That means race car ah?") and religion is insignificant. In a country where politics and patronage is based on ethnicity and faith, she dared to go against the grain. And looking at some comments on the internet, she did ruffle a lot of feathers.
I am convinced her appeal in Singapore is also for that very same reason. Where races still tend to congregate and interact with their own kind, she showed a different vision (some say an "idealised" past) of what it means to be one nation regardless of race, language or religion. Something I hold as dearly as her.
When news broke about her stroke on Thursday, a lot of people were naturally worried but expected her to recover. After all, she has so much more up her sleeves. She can't just leave like that. There were still people she was supposed to meet, like-minded friends to work with. So when the initial news of her death spread on Saturday, many refused to believe it, thinking it was just some unfounded internet rumour. When it was finally confirmed, the tons of facebook postings and tweets showed that many in Singapore from different walks of life were as grieved as Malaysians. I think it's to her credit that never in my recent memory has a death of either a Singaporean or Malaysian shocked and saddened so many people of different races in both countries.
This lady had so many more stories to tell, so many more commercials to make, and so many more racial barriers to demolish. As a matter of fact, she was in pre-production for one feature film in Singapore and was scheduled to do another one at the end of the year. Her passing is really too swift and sudden.
But you know what? I believe all of us can be thankful for all that she has done while still alive. Her absence will be keenly felt in Malaysia each year during festive seasons when people realise that the TV commercials for Petronas is not done by Yasmin.
I can only hope that other artists, directors, playwrights, creative directors, etc in both countries will be inspired by her and her work to explore and celebrate the commonality that binds us all like a blood red thread regardless of our differences.
Yasmin Ahmad (July 1, 1958 - July 25, 2009)
(Note: Links in the post above except for the first three lead to her commercials. Go watch them all.)
I am not here to tell you whether the Chinese government was right in their action or not; only you can decide that for yourself. This post is just my annual ritual to remember the lives lost during that horrible period which formed one of the many way points in the awakening of my political consciousness. I still remember the horror many felt in Singapore when news, pictures and broadcasts from the scene reached us here so many miles south. It's been twenty years since, and the PRC government has successfully buried it under the cobblestones of Tiananmen with economic progress, money, comfort, consumerism, etc.
While the young of China may not give two hoots about it, I for one do not want to forget.
Okay, this is a bit passed sell-by date. But some comments and articles decrying the uncivil atmosphere at the recent AWARE EGM reminded me of something similar I had witnessed years ago.
I was once a member of this mega church located somewhere in the prime district of Orchard Road.
After the previous minister left at the end of his contract, a new one was brought in as his replacement. All was going well; he was vibrant (though not young), filled with enthusiasm and brought a much lacking passion back to the church. The young came back in droves, brought back by those who were there all this while. Everyone was filled with the fire of the spirit (I can't believe I just used that term).
Wow... church activities really shot through the roof. Church camps, bible studies, musicals, fellowships, prayer meetings, etc. all saw record attendance and involvement.
And mind you, this was a "conservative" non-charismatic/Pentecostal type church which does not practise faith healing and speaking in tongues. Meaning, a church that is supposed to be more straitlaced and sedate, hence, supposedly lacking in passion. In short, the church was transformed to something no one thought was possible.
Yup, my life was centred on the church then. I was there practically every day after school on top of the usual Saturdays and Sundays.
One fine day, a bunch of church leaders decided that this minister had to go. I don't really know the reason why (and I still don't), it's just that they had enough of him and his ways. I was too young then to know the politics that was going on behind the closed doors of the leadership meetings.
What I did know was that the leader who had rejuvenated the church was suddenly fired for no apparent reason.
And like a headless chicken, the church was left running around in circles with no one knowing what was happening.
Of course things didn't go the way according to plan. Members demanded an EGM to find out what was happening and voice their opinions. Lines were drawn and enemies made. Even I got into fierce disagreements with my mother (who I saw as siding the other camp) and my sister who couldn't be bothered and felt (wisely I may add) that I should stay uninvolved.
Gosh, the EGM was the most raucous I had ever seen. I don't remember booing and jeering, but I do remember shouting matches, interruptions one after another, quoting of bible verses against each other, banging of tables and pews, and a whole bunch of other unpleasantries.
As a young member of that church, I was extremely discombobulated by the situation. The church that formed the centre of my life was in disarray, its head beheaded.
In the end, the leadership got its way and the minister was sent packing. The church as a result was split with one section leaving to form their own outside of the original denomination.
As far I know, enmity made then remains to this day. Even though they may speak of loving each other, their actions (or inaction) speaks otherwise.
Looking back, I can confidently say that each party saw themselves as the righteous one and the other threatening the unity of Christ's body. Who was right? Who was wrong? I don't know and I don't bother anymore. That is a past that I had exorcised and thrown into a bottomless pit.
So what's the point of this post? Well, it's more of an exercise of recollection for me on one hand, and on the other, to point out that religious EGMs can be as uncivil as secular ones when passions flare and everyone felt they had a lot at stake in the outcome.
By now, everyone in Singapore is aware of the second part of the hostile takeover of AWARE saga.
Smarting from their defeat, a group of likeminded people (parents and others) who are more or less allied to the ideas of Thio Su-Mien, Josie Lau and company have bombarded MOE with allegations about AWARE's Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) "promoting" homosexuality, pre-martial sex, etc. by the mere mention of them in neutral terms.
Neutral because the course is supposed to give students the facts AND encouraged them to think about actions and consequences.
But knowing how "some people" operate, they chose to take certain lines from the material out of context, blow it out of proportion and go "LOOK!! SEE!! AWARE is promoting homosexuality, pre-martial sex, etc. by not using negative terms against it!!"
It has even spilt over to JC General Paper (GP) lessons, which is kind of stupid and sad considering that in GP lessons, students are made to think through and analyse topics of the day. These include terrorism, religious fundamentalism, etc. etc.
The main point is to get them to think. But some paranoid and overprotective parents are so afraid that the mere mention and discussion of homosexuality will turn their JC kids gay. Gosh... I guess there should be a lot of new terrorists and religious fundies in JC by now.
This whole episode shows the absurdity of Singapore's education and parents' expectations. First we complain that our kids and university graduates don't know how to think, analyse, write properly and have knowledge and opinions about current issues of the day. Then we scream in horror when teachers try to equip them with the skills necessary to do so.
I mean like what do we expect GP teachers to do? Discuss less controversial topics like water desalination, COE prices and state of canteen food?
But parents being parents will always see their children as kids who need to be protected and guided regardless of how old they are. Not realising that kids are way much smarter than we give them credit for. They do have an opinion and they don't take everything at face value.
And as for the CSE programme, if they don't get their knowledge from school with the right tools to make informed and responsible decisions, guess where they are going turn to?
The internet of course!
And that should worry parents much more than CSE and GP teachers discussing "controversial" topics. Because if parents have actually been on the 'net, they should know that nothing there is regulated. Information, misinformation, hard core pornography and all that would turn their gut inside out is available to all who search for them.
Without the necessary knowledge and with misinformation from the 'net and hear-say from their peers who may be just as ignorant as them, one shouldn't be surprised if they start experimenting with disastrous results.
Ignorance or innocence, your choice.
Anyway, I think this post by a GP teacher who is in the know more than me has said more than I could. It was forwarded to me by a friend and I have posted it on my "Stolen Goods" blog (with full credit). Check it out here.
CURRENT
TOP
