Legitimate and capable Buddhist reps

Since the announcement by the Minister in the PM Department Koh Tsu Koon on the formation of an interfaith committee now known as Committee to Promote Inter-Religious Understanding and Harmony, as expected voices of dissent are heard from the usual group of detractors.

While preliminary meetings has been held to look into various issues and setting up of sub-committees to address them, questions still lingers on especially amongst the Buddhist community on who shall be the two persons representing the community in the said committee.

Recently the Deputy Minister of Information, Communications and Culture Senator Heng Seai Kie in her speech during the launching of the Sound of Compassions in aid of the Haiti earthquake victims had urged the Buddhist representatives in the said committee to play active and constructive roles to convey the views and needs of the Buddhist community.

Koh Tsu Koon was quoted in the media that the non-muslims representatives, which includes the Buddhists, will be represented by the MCCBCHST. Hopefully the Buddhist representatives as mentioned by Senator Heng will have the capabilities and legitimacy to shoulder the responsibities as the voice of the community.

It will be advantageous if these representatives knows and understands the issues well and has a good grasp of the national language and English so that they are able to convey the community's views eloquently and effectively as they will be having discussion with representatives from the government agencies and other religious groups. Furthermore it must be emphasised that these representatives must be committed to provide the world view of the Buddhist community as a whole, not just the need and views of their base association, temple or tradition that they originated. - Loka

Hulu Selangor level playing carnival

While passing through the dark and dusty roads in the Bukit Beruntung area, rows after rows of abandoned houses and commercial shoplots hardly can be missed. It was the eve of nomination day for the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat by-election. My friends and I were travelling to Kuala Kubu Baru to have first hand experience of the Hulu Selangor by-election.

Bukit Beruntung is part of the Hulu Selangor constituency and I don't think those people staying there really "beruntung" (benefited). Most of the shophouses are vacant and any building materials like the window and door frames, metal trusses and grilles has been stolen to be sold as scraps. Lalangs had taken over in most of the vacant houses. Some who bought houses and shoplots there are still servicing bank loans on their abandoned and dilapidated properties.

On the corner of the main T-junction to Rasa,  no one will miss the command centre of Barisan Nasional on an elevated open space. There were many white tents and marquees surrounded by BN flags. This is the venue where the name of BN candidate P. Kamalanathan was announced. Interestingly, the selection of this location as BN's choice for their main operation centre in a township saddled with problems traced to the time when BN ruled Selangor was a paradox.

If BN still rules Selangor, it would have used a better location with better facilities owned by the state government. But since BN now is the state opposition, it have to make do with whatever their money can buy. Based on the huge marquees that BN is paying for at least two weeks, their war chest must be bottomless.

On the other hand, the Pakatan Rakyat are gleefully using the state and local council facilities which were denied to them pre-March 2008. Now BN is having a taste of their own medicine. The battle of space and facilities is on level playing field now. While state and local council facilities like community halls are easily available to the PR State government, BN is making use of facilities and location managed by federal agencies like the schools, agriculture centres, the newly built fire and rescue complex etc. The event to announce Zaid Ibrahim as PR's candidate was held in the Dewan Komuniti Serendah which can accommodates more than 2,000 persons.

The locals seems to know how deep each of the contesting parties will be able to dig their pockets to rent a place for their operation centres and accommodation for their campaign workers. It is very obvious that the locals are aware that BN can afford to pay double for any places for rent. For instance, while PR will be asked to pay RM1,000 for the rental of an empty floor, BN will be charged double the amount for the same place. If BN thinks this is unfair, they need to soul search why the Hulu Selangor people assumed BN has deep pockets!

Arriving at the Kuala Kubu Baru Kumbang new village, we were ushered to our "reserved" seats which were already occupied by other guests but the organiser was able to settle that quickly. But due to our late arrival, the dinner already half way through so we missed some of the dishes and speeches. At RM 30 per head for a Chinese sit down dinner, it was considered cheap for people staying in Klang Valley but cheaper price comes with smaller serving size.

Some of the speakers that night were top guns in Pakatan Rakyat including Anwar Ibrahim, PAS deputy president Nasharuddin and Lim Guan Eng. The Pakatan candidate Zaid Ibrahim spoke earlier and already left by the time we arrived. The others that spoke includes Tony Pua, Hatta Ramli, Charles Santiago, Lau Weng San and etc.

The presence of Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Guan Eng was received excitedly by the locals. There is no doubt who they supports in this by-election.

A quick glance shows that most of the audiences are elderly Chinese village folks. Maybe most of the younger ones are working in the city. Their votes will be critical to PR and they are expected to be contacted and encourage to return to execute their right on election day.

Most of the speakers focused on national and Selangor issues while Guan Eng provide some notes on Penang's latest development.

Having overnight at Ulu Yam Bahru, we start early the next day at about 6.40am for Kuala Kubu Bahru. Arriving at about 7.15am the traffic is already getting congested. The Election Commission already fixed specific directions for respective party supporters to follow to designated assembly locations. We were lucky to secure a space to park our car beside a building belonging to the local school alumni.

We took a short walk to DAP's Main Operation Centre at Jalan Kamaruddin. The crowd already swelling and it looks like everyone were having a carnival-like atmosphere. There were stalls selling foodstuff, political paraphernalias, T-Shirts and medicines. PAS supporters really knows how to go for the kill as most of the stalls are obviously own by them based on the goods sold in most of the stalls.

Not having our breakfasts yet we went to the coffeshop next to DAP's centre in search of food. It was filled with DAP members including Teng Chang Khim and Tony Pua having a cuppa and wan tan mee there.

Disregard of who wins this by-election, I think the coffeeshop owner and the noodles stalls proprietor just like other food vendors will be laughing all the way to the bank.

At about 8.20am we moved along with the DAP's group towards the nomination centre at Dewan Serbaguna Kuala Kubu Baru. A short distance away, DAP's group merged with the huge PKR's delegation. The crowd went into high decibels when PR's candidate Zaid Ibrahim and all the top guns make their way through the PR's supporters. There were a lot of chanting of "Reformasi", Lawan Tetap Lawan", "Hidup Malaysia" and "Hancur Umno". 

At 8.40am the PR supporters reach the police barricade and couldn't proceed further. The shouting and chanting continues while a police helicopter was seen hovering above and recording the crowd below. The morning sun was getting hot and just many others we decided to look for a place to have a cold drink. We found a corner mamak shop nearby and managed to secured some seats occupied by some PKR supporters. We were later joined by DAP Adun for Teluk Datuk, Philip Tan.

By 11.00am the crowd were thinning and we decided to walk back to the DAP operation centre. After obtaining the latest information on the candidates contesting, we decided to have our lunch. We went to a hawker centre for porridge. We  noticed that most of the customers there are PR supporters. Maybe BN supporters are having free meals at "higher" end restaurants! We have to pay from our own pockets for food, transportation and accommodation.

After lunch it was time to drive home but it was not to be as when we reached our parked car, the whole town of Kuala Kubu Bahru already turned into a huge parking area. It was a terrible traffic congestion which lasted for more than two hours.

We decided to take a rest at the school alumni building which top floor was rented to PR for accommodation. Some of the DAP volunteers were staying there. (The picture on the left was taken from the alumni building.)

After waiting for more than two hours, we walked to town centre to buy some local delicacies from the Teng Wun Bakery which has been in business since 1979. Their specialties are kaya puffs, cup cakes and butter cakes. After the free tasting, all of us were convinced to buy some home. The traffic by then already eased up and the journey home was a smooth one.

It has been an enjoyable event and eye opener for many of us who participated in this by-election nomination day. - Loka

Only Islam has problem?

The Government finally decided to established a "special inter-faith committee" to promote better religious understanding between Islam and other religious faith. The committee will be headed by Ilani Ishak, a former MP for Kota Bahru when she was with the now defunct Semangat 46 party which was a breakaway from Umno. This was announced by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Koh Tsu Koon on Wednesday.

There are some points which need to be highlighted here.

1. Why it is still a special committee if the government felt inter-faith understanding is very important in the context of harmony living amongst the people in the country? Why the half-hearted approach?

2. Why only look at religious understanding between Islam and other religions? Are they saying only Islam having issues with other religions and there is no problem amongst the "other religions"? Or the government planning to have another "special committee" to look into these problems only when problems getting more difficult to manage within the other religions?

3. By saying that they don't want active politicians in the committee, then Ilani Ishak should not be there too. If she is not an active politician and supporter of Umno, would the government brought her to serve in the PM department and tasked her with this responsibility. How to define active politicians? Some officers in government agencies represented in the committee might be active members in their respective party divisions or representatives from the other religions might be also an MP or assemblyman. Can their right to represent their religion be curtailed due to their active participation in politics?

4. Those representing the "other religions" are from non governmental organisations but those from Islam are represented by Jakim and Ikim which are government related agencies. What happens when the Islamic views from the government agencies are not agreeable or endorsed by other Muslims/Malays NGOs, like ABIM, Sisters- in-Islam or even Perkasa? Will this special committee meet the same faith as the previous initiatives?

5. How sure and informed are the government that the representatives from the MCCBCHST has the locus standi to represent the religion that they claimed to represents? For instance, the Buddhist community has three representatives from three different individual organisations in the MCCBCHST which membership are limited only to certain segment of the Buddhist community. Does these representatives really represents the voice and sentiments of the community and other 700 Buddhist associations or centres not affiliated to any of these three selected organisations?

6. Quote from The Star "The committee is not a legal structure; it's not a rigid structure. It's a framework to provide exchange of ideas on religion". - Koh Tsu Koon, Minister in the PM Department

If that's the case, it means this committee is just a talk shop. If it is set up by the government, why not provide certain level of authority so that its decision can be respected and abided by all? After all, all the major religions "great minds" are represented in the committee!

7. Finally, why appoints a "junior" officer to head the committee. The action reflects the intention. If the government is really putting strong emphasis on this committee, it should be headed by Koh Tsu Koon as the Minister in charge of unity. Or the least another with Ministerial level position like Idris Jala who may knows better the meaning of inter religious understanding since he is from Sarawak which multi religious society and inter religious marriages records speaks for itself. - Loka

Noose over Mei Fun's head

After I delivered my speech during a youth program at Universiti Malaya, I returned to my seat beside hers at the VIP row. Then she asked me in Mandarin," Are you a comrade"? What she meant was whether I am a member of her party, the Malaysian Chinese Association. I replied in the negative. The conversation happens few years ago when I was still the Malaysian Youth Council vice president.

A couple of weeks later, when I met her again on some other religious related matters, she suggested that I should get myself involved in the newly established Crisis Relief Squad of MCA which she was the founding head. I just listened without giving any response to her. At that period of time, I was comfortable running programs for the youth via the Malaysian Youth Council. Joining a political party or its community service arm was not an option then.

Now the person who asked me whether I am her comrade is staring at a possible change of political life in the next few days. Chew Mei Fun the MCA Wanita Head already put her head in the noose when she declared last year she would quit her post if the sex DVD tainted Chua Soi Lek becomes MCA president. Soi Lek was elected the president in the recent AGM. Politics is an art of turning the impossible to possible and vice versa.

The noose on Mei Fun's head are getting tighter by the day. It is now up to her to decide whether to be a person with integrity who honours one's word by pulling the rope or be known as a typical loose-mouthed politician whose words are just worth a pinch of salt when she unleashed the noose by giving all sorts of excuses!

By pulling the rope and make her breathless, will it be the end of her political career? Will she lose out on her political clout and influence if she quits as the Wanita head and also deputy minister's position? Not necessarily if we gauged MCA politics especially basing on recent events. What's the fuss all that about if MCA delegates can even voted in a person who quits all positions due to a sex scandal two years after the incident?

While quitting all her positions will reduced her influence and authority, she may as well be looking at a bigger role for herself in the next party election. By that time the delegates will be reminded that she is a person with integrity and trustworthiness who did what she committed to the people. Her stature might just grow higher by the next election.

On the other hand, if she decided to keep her positions with whatever reasons she might cooked up with she might as well lost her dignity and respect that other people especially her members had on her. She may reasoned that her Wanita members wants her to stay because her position is elected by Wanita wing and not appointed by Chua Soi Lek. Whatever her reasons, the stain will be there.

The delegates might forgive a person for his sexual indiscretion as a personal misadventure. But for the Chinese community, trust and integrity are two very important aspects which once lost will be very difficult to reclaim back. Mei Fun knows that. Her political foes knows that too. But the rope is in her hands. To pull or not to pull, it's all up to her. - Loka

Cheng Beng and 1Malaysia

Cheng Beng is when the Chinese visited the graves to sweep the tombs and offer prayers to their departed parents, grandparents and other relatives as an expression of fillial piety, respect and gratitude to their ancestors. As traditions dictates, offerings and prayers items are offered and burned for the departed needs in the other world.

Many of our ancestors and dead relatives were holders of the blue identity cards or the latest MyKads that determines their status as citizens of Malaysia. In the spirit of once a family always a family, it will be apt to keep the belief alive that the departed ones will always be remembered as part of the family, part of Malaysia...dulu kini dan selamanya.

On top of the Mercedes Benzes, gold ingots, trillions notes, bungalows, international passports, Jimmy Choos', Armanis', Ipods', shopping vouchers, mahjong sets and other types and shapes of paper offerings, maybe for this season of oneness, those going to the cemeteries can opt to bring one of the latest hype in the nation.

Do bring along a 1Malaysia logo as offerings to the departed ones. This is in the spirit on one nation and to tell the departed ones that they will always be remembered as Malaysians first, even though they may be residing in a different world now. Their sacrifices and deeds in bringing up other fellow Malaysians and patriotism for the country will always be remembered, disregard of their current place of domicile as long as they regard themselves as Malaysians first when they were still eligible voters in this country.

Don't be too worried if you can't find any 1Malaysia logo to be offered for your departed love ones, shops selling joss paper and other prayer's paraphernalias will be able to help you to create one. - Loka