Seige mentality of some SJK (C) governors

Below is an article extracted from the blog http://www.hannahyeoh.com/ of Subang Jaya assemblyman, YB Hannah Yeoh which points to the seige and arrogant mentality of certain people given some "power" and authority to decides on the future of our children. I was informed there are still some unpaid amount of debt close to RM 2 million not paid to the contractor which is already overdue more that two years. Why are the people managing the hall still acting like they are so loaded with cash! - Loka

The SJK (C) Chee Wen hall was built with 100% donations from the public, including parents of the students and followers ofall religions and  members of all political parties!

SJK(C) Chee Wen and its Board of Governors

A new DAP branch in USJ 1 is being established and under the leadership of DAP Selangor, this new branch is planning a fund-raising dinner in March 2010. We were looking for a suitable venue for the dinner and the idea of having it at a hall in the only school in USJ 1, SJK(C) Chee Wen was considered. It had a suitable hall which would be able to accommodate the dinner crowd and the rental of the hall would go some way towards the school's building fund. I approached the Advisor of SJK(C) Chee Wen's Board of Governors (BOG) Dato' Lee Hwa Beng to find out if the school hall would be available for rent.

Dato' Lee was very helpful and he assured me that any party, as long as the rent is paid, should be able to use the school hall. I also spoke to the school principal and we were told to fill up the booking form. We then submitted the booking form, made a deposit payment of RM1000 and received an official receipt DS No. 00124 from the management of the school.

Several days later, we were informed by the school that its BOG has decided to block us from using the hall. I spoke to Dato' Lee and he graciously assured me that he would speak to the BOG again. I received a final call from Dato' Lee that the BOG will not change its mind and that we would still be unable to use the hall.

Parents of the school must hold the BOG to a professional standard in managing the affairs of the school, and not allow such politicking to override the best interest of the school. Many parents and well-wishers contributed to the building fund of the school irrespective of their individual political beliefs. Schools are not tools to be used to serve the shallow interests of certain politicians sitting in the BOG. I've said this before, I'll say it again now - 'Set our schools free!'

雪州缺乏近百所佛教寺庙

五地方政府受促拨地建庙

实习记者林志斌

1月28日

傍晚 5点52分

有鉴于雪州目前缺乏大约100所佛教寺庙，雪州佛教发展委员会今日呼吁该州地方政府拨地兴建佛教寺庙，以解决佛教徒缺乏膜拜场所的问题。

该委员会主席黄世界表示，雪州目前缺少80至100所的佛教寺庙；随着人口的增长，若地方政府没做好规划，雪州将在2020年时缺少近200所的寺庙。

他表示，在雪州400万2440名居民当中，25.26%或101万1169人是佛教徒。若根据种族分布，雪州共有123万271名华裔，其中81.26%是佛教徒。

他说，根据雪州城乡规划局于2006年出版的《雪州规划指南与标准》手册，制定建设非回教膜拜场所的条文，即每2600名非回教信徒或每5000名居民，必须拥有一所寺庙。

地方政府拨出有限土地建庙

黄世界表示，配合雪州5个地方政府呼吁居民对《2020年地方规划蓝图》提出建议和反对，雪州15个佛教团体在去年12月16日开会进行讨论，要求地方政府遵守上述建设非回教膜拜场所的条文。



他表示，他们多番与雪州非回教徒宗教场所事务委员会及雪州地方政府事务委员会对话，但是上述5个地方政府的规划蓝图，仍然拨出有限或完全没有土地兴建佛教寺庙，因此希望州政府与地方政府重视此事。

这5个地方政府分别是：乌鲁冷岳县议会、安邦再也市议会、加影市议会、士拉央市议会和瓜拉冷岳县议会。


士拉央目前仅有13所佛教寺庙，根据人口统计，该区需要87所寺庙。至于安邦再也目前仅有9所寺庙，仍需要62所。


上述2个市议会在规划蓝图表示，非回教宗教膜拜场所是根据申请拨地，但是，而雪州佛教委员会却认为，根据申请拨地的说法非常暧昧，而且也不清楚申请的成功率。

而加影及瓜拉冷岳市议会更表示，该地区的寺庙已足够，而不再计划拨地建造寺庙；雪州佛教发展委员会却认为，这两个地区分别需要82所及21所的寺庙，目前当地的寺庙总数是远远不足够的。

质疑乌雪规划草案抵触宪法

佛教发展委员会也非议乌鲁雪兰莪县议会的规划草案，并质疑该草案与我国联邦宪法相抵触。

乌鲁雪兰莪县议会的规划草案里阐明，地方政府有权控制非回教宗教场所的数量与发展；但是联邦宪法第3（1）条文却阐明，虽然回教是我国的官方宗教，但是其他宗教可安宁与和谐在马来西亚任何地方奉行。

联邦宪法第11（1）条文也阐明，国民有权信奉本身的宗教，而第11（3）也指出，每个宗教团体有权管理本身宗教事务、建立和维持本身宗教或慈善事业结构及依法取得、持有并管理。

驳斥星报指增建寺庙很简单

黄世界也驳斥《星报》于1月17日社论的说法，有关社论表示，基督徒申请增建基督教堂非常困难，反观佛教徒申请增建寺庙却非常简单。
黄世界强调，他并非对基督教有意见，而事实上所有非回教信仰者申请增建膜拜场所时都面临难题，因此他希望州政府与地方政府公平拨地于各个宗教。
雪州佛教发展委员会也投诉各区寺庙面临的困境，包括时常需要租借临近的住宅或店屋进行活动，甚至曾因此接获传票。

该委员会也强调，他们并非反对州政府或地方政府的政策，只是希望获得妥当的膜拜场所。

Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/

Buddhists need more temples

Below is the press statement issued by the Selangor Buddhist Development Committee in response to the Draft Local Plans prepared by five local authorities in Selangor. Leaders from 12 Buddhist organizations were present during the press conference held at Chempaka Buddhist Lodge, Petaling Jaya.

PRESS STATEMENT

Regarding MDHS, MPKj, MPAJ, MPS, MDHL Draft Local Plans

28th January 2010

Based on year 2000 census report by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, Malaysian citizens of the Buddhist faith comprised 4,419,042 people or 20.2% of the total citizens of this country.

In Selangor there are a total of 1,011,169 Buddhists, which is 25.26% of the state 4,002,440 citizens. Based on ethnic distribution, there are a total of 1,230,271 ethnic Chinese in the state of Selangor and 999,748 (81.26%) of them are Buddhists.

According to the Manual Garis Panduan Dan Piawaian Perancangan Negeri Selangor DE published by Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa Negeri Selangor, JPBD in June 2006, there are provisions for places of worship for non-Muslims include “one place of worship for every 2,600 devotees or 5,000 residents”.

In response to the calls by the local authorities, namely the Majlis Daerah Hulu Selangor, Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya, Majlis Perbandaran Kajang, Majlis Perbandaran Selayang and Majlis Daerah Kuala Langat for the people to submit objections and proposals on their respective Draft Local Plan 2020(Draf Rancangan Tempatan), 15 Buddhist organizations in Selangor met on 16th December 2009 to discuss and review the five Draft Local Plans.

The meeting decided to establish an action committee known as the Selangor Buddhist Development Committee (SBDC) to take the necessary actions and to submit objections and proposals on the Draft Local Plans.

There are three pertinent matters that the SBDC would like to highlight for further considerations of the respective local councils.

1. With reference to religious practice, we urged the local authorities to adhere to the Federal Government guidelines in relation to the provisions for building of places of worship for non-Muslims, which is one place of worship for every 2,600 devotees or 5,000 residents.

Basing on the proposed five Draft Local Plans, within all the areas under review, there are limited or no allocation of land for the building of Buddhist temples (Vihara Buddha) in all the areas under planning.

We need to have more Buddhist temples (Vihara Buddha) to cater to the spiritual and religious education needs of the devotees.

2. With regards to public amenities, we would like to propose to the local authorities to reserve land and provide allocation to build crematoriums and columbarium complexes especially for the benefit of the Buddhist and Hindu communities who opts for cremation as their last rites. Considering the size of Buddhist residents in Selangor, the building of crematoriums will directly helps the State in reducing land use for burial grounds.

3. We urged the Selangor State Government and all local authorities concerned to live up to the spirit of Article 3 (1)* and Article 11 (1)* and 11 (3)* of the Federal Constitution in regards to the needs of adherents other than Islam to practice their own religion and to build and manage their places of worship.

We urged the Selangor State government and all local authorities; elected representatives and local councillors to seriously consider our objections and proposals as a duty and commitment towards the welfare and interest of the Buddhist community in Selangor.

We are prepared to attend the Public Hearing on the Draft Local Plans and we hoped the local authorities would invite us to attend the public hearing to provide details on our objections and proposals.

This statement is also endorsed by the following Buddhist Organizations in Selangor.

1. PERSATUAN PENGANUT AGAMA BUDDHA FO GUANG MALAYSIA

2. PERSATUAN PENGANUT AGAMA BUDDHA SUBANG JAYA

3. PERSATUAN PENGANUT BUDDHA SERDANG

4. BUDDHIST GEM FELLOWSHIP

5. SAKYAMUNI DHARMA CENTRE

6. DHARMA DRUM MOUNTAIN BUDDHISM INFORMATION CENTRE

7. KINRARA METTA BUDDHIST SOCIETY

8. MUDITA BUDDHIST SOCIETY

9. PERSATUAN AGAMA BUDDHA PU CHOONG

10. CHEMPAKA BUDDHIST LODGE

11. BANDAR UTAMA BUDDHIST SOCIETY

12. LOSANG DRAGPA BUDDHIST SOCIETY

13. KLANG & COAST BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION

14. PERSATUAN PENGANUT BUDDHA KOK DOH RAWANG

15. JINJANG BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION

16. SELAYANG BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION

17. KAJANG BUDDHIST CENTRE

18. PUTRA HEIGHTS BUDDHIST SOCIETY

Inter-faith dialogue decorum

AS anxieties rises due to the numerous fire-bombings of churches recently, the calls for inter-faith dialogues are getting louder by the day. While these initiatives are most welcome, there are some basic principles that need to be adhered by all who participates in any inter-faith dialogues to ensure the inter-faith dialogues itself do not creates more problems.

A close-door and limited inter-faith dialogue without any audience but participated by only one representative from each religion may be much more easy to managed and conducted. The probability of third party audience interference or creating unnecessary ruckus can be avoided.

On the other hand if an inter-faith dialogue are to involved public participation either by limited to invitation only event or opened to the public; much care, thoughts and preparation need to be considered. These are to ensure the well intended event will stays that way and does not develops any situation contrary to the noble intentions.

First - The organisor must be clear of the intention to have the dialogue. No hidden agenda or ulterior motives at the expense of any religion, disregards of whether all religions are represented in the dialogue or not.

Second -  there must be mutual respect between the speakers and the religion they represents. The purpose of the dialogue must be maintained at all times which is to enable all to have a better understanding of the participating religions and not to win converts or ridicule others.

Third - the moderator must be able to managed the dialogue professionally and does not take the opportunity to become another speaker and speaks on behalf of his or her religious background.

Forth - the audience must consists of a balanced and good representation of all religions.

Fifth - the audience must respect the right of every speaker to articulate his/her religious views within the stipulated time. There should not be any heckling or intimidation of any speaker by the audience.Any audience who wishes to ask any question must obtain consent from the moderator and should state his name and background and shall not criticized or condemn any religion or speaker.

Sixth - the inter-faith dialogue must be fully recorded on tape for the whole duration of the event and each speaker must be given a copy of the recording.

Seven - the organiser must ensure the personal well-being of all involved in the dialogue namely, the speakers, moderator and participants are taken care at all times.

Eight - the event must be held in a condusive place and for an open event in a public facility, all the necessary approvals must be obtained from the relevant authorities.

Inter-faith dialogues are to build bridges between different faiths and provide a platform for all to have mutual respect and understanding between fellow human beings who strive to build a harmonious world, compassionate society and caring individuals. - Loka

Doing charity wisely

Yesterday my family brought a car load of items for the Tzu Chi recycle collection centre near our housing area. About 30 volunteers were there to assist in this long term project of the Buddhist-based Tzu Chi Foundation. My kids were having part of the community compassionate spirit too when they chip in for the Haiti earthquake relief fund.

Having involved in raising funds for various calamities in different parts of the world, I know it needs commitment and passion to be part of this relief efforts. While I am confident that the every sens and dollars that dropped into the Tzu Chi collection box will see their way to the intended receipients, we still need to be cautious when approach by various relief groups which sprang up after each calamities.

Transparencies and accountability are part of the principles that must be uphold by all who collected funds from the public in the name of humanity. There are those who channelled every sen that they collected to the victims but there are also those who will forward the balance after deducting all the necessary expenses. There are even those who used the public donation to pay high salaries to their so-called "expert" officials, maintain a luxurious lifestyles of these officials and have posh offices.

It is the last of these groups which makes people puked and avoided from donating to such organisations which incurred high expenditure due to exhorbitant pay checks for the so called officials who flies first class and stays in posh condominiums while those they intended to help are clinging on their lives due to lack of clean water, food and a roof over their head.

So for those who plans to do charity, do it wisely too. - Loka

Ribbon of Peace, Harmony & Love

AN EVENT TO PROMOTE RACIAL & RELIGIOUS HARMONY


RIBBON OF PEACE, HARMONY & LOVE

Time: 10am - 5pm, Saturday, 16 January 2010

Venue: Rainforest, Lower Ground Floor, New Wing,1 Utama, Bandar Utama.




To All Peace Loving Malaysians (and Non-Malaysians)


In light of recent unfortunate events which jeopardized peace and harmony in

our mutli-racial and multi-religious country, Bandar Utama Residents’ Association

(BURA) has decided to play a proactive role by organizing an event called

“Ribbon of Peace, Harmony and Love”.

BURA would like to invite all people from all walks of life, irrespective of race,

religion, economic position or political beliefs to promote and inspire peace,

harmony and love by writing a heartfelt message or wish on a ribbon and then tie

it along with hundreds of other ribbons for public display at Rainforest, Lower

Ground Floor, New Wing,1 Utama, Bandar Utama.

Free ribbons will be provided so bring your family and friends to spend a fun and

meaningful Saturday together.

and inspire peace, harmony and love in our country.

Let us all resolve to repair, build and strengthen religious and racial harmony

through mutual love and tolerance, respect and understanding.

Peace,


BLTan HP: 012 280 2533
Organising Committee



Be there this Saturday, 16 January 2010 to provide your support for peace, harmony and love for the country and her people!

Can we sing the state anthem?

While waiting for the issue on the usage of the term "Allah" by the Catholic's Herald publication to be decided at the Federal Court, this sensitive matter is being discussed and debated all over. The implication that will follows whatever decision of the court goes beyond the usage of "Allah" in a Catholic newsletter. For many especially the non-Muslims, one big question is playing in their head nowadays. Can they sing some of the state anthems in this country?

A study on the lyrics of all the State anthems in Malaysia shows that States which has the term "Allah" in their anthem includes Selangor, Kedah, Perak, Johore, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan. As for the Malay term "Tuhan" which means God, the word exists in the state anthems of Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak. Interestingly the term "Tuhan" is also found in Kelantan's state anthem. The States which neither have the term "Allah" or "Tuhan" is Sabah, Negri Sembilan and historical Malacca where Islam spread during the era of the Malacca Sultanate.

If the term "Allah" is exclusive only to Muslims in Malaysia, can those other than Islam sing the State anthems of Selangor, Kedah, Perak, Johore, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan. On the other hand, if the Malay term "Tuhan" should be the direct translation for the term "God" used by those other than Islam as argued in the Herald case, can a Muslim sing the State anthems of Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak or even Kelantan since the word "Tuhan"  can also mean God for some religions other than Islam?

Furthermore, what about the national anthem "Negaraku" which also have the word "Tuhan" in its lyrics? What does "Tuhan" meant in the national anthem and whose "Tuhan" it refers to? Anyhow, the first principle of Rukun Negara is Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan (Belief in God) and the word "Tuhan" applies to all followers of their respective religion, which includes Islam and Christianity.

At the end of the day does it make any difference to one's faith and practice on how a person's "God"  or "Tuhan" is called? What about Buddhism then, which is not a monotheistic religion and do not adhered to the one creator God concept? Should a Buddhist skip the word "Allah" or "Tuhan" when singing or reciting the anthems and Rukun Negara? Will it developes bad karma to Buddhists who sang and recites the  word "Allah" and "Tuhan".? Surely not!

If we put so much time and effort to challenge and arguing with each other over a five letter word, will it make any difference to one's spiritual development and progress of the nation? What matters are how we should strive to live up to the teachings and practices of our own religion, which means developing the compassion and wisdom in all of us. And it is surely not by creating more tensions and negative karma for our ownselves. - Loka

Youth snubs Najib?

At last the Malaysian Youth Council(MYC) held their overdue election to elect a new leadership. As usual the election this time also sees the usual lobbying and horse trading amongst the candidates and their supporters. To many youth leaders especially those linked to Umno, MYC is a platform for them to enhanced their leadership skills and political careers.

Amongst those that has been active and served as presidents in the MYC and later appointed to party and government positions includes Malacca Chief Minister Ali Rustam, Deputy Ministers Hasan Malek and Saifuddin Abdullah. The former Selangor Menteri Besar Mohd Khir Toyo was also president for two terms. Out going president Shamsul Anuar Nasarah was elected as an MP in 2008 during his term of office. Even opposition leader and former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim had helmed MYC as president during mid-70s.

Due to the strong influence of Umno members in the MYC, it is not surpirising that the umbrella organisation for youth in Malaysia is painted as pro-Umno. This perception became stronger in recent years and most obvious of them all was during the leadership of Shamsul Anuar who is also an Umno Youth Exco member. During his term of office from 2006-2010, the MYC was seen as the spokesman for the BN-lead government especially Umno. MYC became to act like a branch of Umno Youth when for many occasions its programs were held together with Umno Youth. Even the MYC's Hari Raya open house during his time were held in conjunction with  Umno's annual general meeting.

During the recent  MYC AGM to elect the new leadership, Shamsul Anuar tried to lobby for a certain candidate  to be elected the new MYC president to replace him.  It was claimed that this candidate was endorsed by the Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Razak. The said candidate was considered an outsider and parachuted candidate by many of the out-going Exco members and affiliates of the MYC. During the final Exco meeting to discuss the next line-up, 2/3 of the Exco members walked out of the meeting when Shamsul tried to push for Noor Azali Bin Sulaiman, a first term assemblyman from Terengganu as the "official" candidate.

After experiencing the last few years of perceived political interference, the grassroot youth leaders just wanted the MYC to stand firm on its principles as an youth organisation without domination of external influence. At last Noor Azali, after failing to convince his challenger Mohamed Maliki to give way to him to win unopposed and also having considered the feelings and rumblings on the ground, decided to withdraw from the presidential contest in the wee hours of voting day. The underlying message is that the lack-lustre support from the youth leaders for the PM's "hand-picked" candidate can be seen as a snub by the youths towards Najib Razak.

Even though the new president Mohamed Maliki is also known as an Umno supporter, he was accepted as the preferred choice due to his background as a serving MYC Exco member and a government servant in an university. The perception is that he will be less political in his approach and able to draw supports from different groups of youth organisations affiliated to MYC. So far, in his maiden press statement in relation to the fire-bombing of churches recently, he at least act like a leader for all races and religion by speaking out strongly against the cowardly act of aggression.

But then only time will tell if he will be able to live to the expectations for those grassroot youth organisations who paved the way for him to lead the apex youth organisation in Malaysia. - Loka