Title and dignity

Panglima Jasa Negara (PJN) awarded by Yang Di Pertuan Agong

A title means many things to different people. Some will go to great length to obtained whatever title that they can possibly get or be conferred by the relevant authorities. Some will search online for degree mills available through the internet to purchased a degree or doctorate so that they can affix the BA, MBA or PhD after their name. Some will unashamedly print their online purchases on their business cards!

For people living in Malaysia, stories of some "selected few" especially paying a tidy sum to middlemen in exchange for their names to be listed in the annual list of royal conferment are as normal as buying goreng pisang or burger from stalls available in every town.

On the political front, some politicians are known to have declined to accept any royal awards while they are still in service of the people. In the contrary some greenhorn politicians who are just few years in politics and barely reached 30, already clamouring for a "Datukship".

But then there are those who declined even to be nominated or awarded with any titles, disregarding the level of importance of the titles. There are few occasions when some people I know who  has worked selflessly for Buddhist NGOs flatly declined to be nominated. This is even after trying to convince them that they are more than qualified and deserving to be nominated after all their years of service and contribution to the country and community. Furthermore any conferment of awards by the state and country to them is also can be seen as an recognition of the organisations or community they represents.

But then there is always two sides of a coin, especially awards for those wearing religious robes.

Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN) conffered to Ven Chuk Mor in 1998

 

When the late Dharma Master Venerable Chuk Mor was conferred the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri ( DSPN) which carries with it the title "Datuk"  by the then Penang Governor in 1998, there were detractors who felt Buddhist monks should not accept any worldly title of this sort.  Others in the community on the other hand were elated and proud that at last a leader of the Buddhist community in the robe was recognised for  his contributions to society and the state. Even though Venerable Chuk Mor did not attend the conferment ceremony, the award was presented to him by the then Chief Minister of Penang Koh Tsu Koon at the Triple Wisdom Hall Penang.

The Johan Setia Mahkota (JSM) which were awarded to the late Ven Dhammananda, Ven Kim Beng and Ven Keng Ang. This award does not carries any honorific title. Meaning no "Datuk" in front of the recipient name.
 

There were other senior monks who had passed on and known to have been conferred royal state or national awards. Ven Dr K Sri Dhammananda Nayaka Maha Thera was awarded Johan Setia Mahkota (JSM) from His Majesty Yang DiPertuan Agong in 1991. The late abbot of Petaling Jaya  Kwan Yin Teng, Ven Keng Ang awarded JSM in 1995, and the former Malaysian Buddhist Association (MBA) president Ven Seck Kim Beng was also awarded JSM by His Majesty YDP Agong.

Not sure about the other two monks but the late Ven Dr K Sri Dhammananda who was the then Chief High Priest of Malaysia and Singapore and Chief Incumbent of the Buddhist Maha Vihara  did not attend the conferment ceremony at the Istana Negara but the JSM award was presented to him at the Buddhist Vihara by a palace official.

A conferment ceremony at the palace is full of grandeur especially when full palace protocol are observed. As ordinary layman who is still very much attached to worldly sights and experience, it is an opportunity and experience that forms part of life journey in. How often will one missed a palace ceremony to receive an award from the King or Sultan's if given the opportunity? Unless there are more critical matters to attend to or need to be taken for considerations, for sure not many layman will give it a miss.

Pingat Pangkuan Negara (PPN) awarded to the 80+ years old teacher by the YDP Agong

In one of the conferment ceremony that I attended few years ago at the Istana Negara (King's Palace), there was one 80+ years old  former teacher who was awarded smiliar award that I received that year.  Even though the award was one of the lowest level of recognition in the awards hierachy, the old man in full lounge suit and black leather shoes strived and walks slowly to the throne to accept the medal. That's really a recognition and well deserving medal for him. I am sure it was a happy and proud moment for him and his family. - Loka


Note:
As per palace protocol, every awards recipient are expected to follow official dress code as prescribed in the palace guideline issued to every recipient before the ceremony. Layman are expected to wear baju Melayu or either full dark lounge suit with collared white shirt and black leather shoes. There is also another category of attire that can be worn, which is based on the official ceremonial attire of the person's occupation or position like those in the defence or government services. Elected officials and those with honorific titles will be donning their official attire.  Foreign diplomats are expected to wear their official dress.

 

Kampung Jalan Karim

During my younger days I was staying in a kampung area where people of different races live in old Malay-styled wooden houses. The place my family stays in is house number 2267. It is an attap-roof stilts wooden house. Actually there are two "semi-detached" houses which shared the same house number. Initially we were staying at the house on the right. This is where my late father passed away in 1970. After our next door Indian family neighbour shifted out, we moved next door to the vacated house. An elderly kuih-making old lady with three grown up sons moves into the house that we vacated earlier.

There is a bathroom in front of the house on the right which both families co-shared. Modern toilet facilities are unheard of during that time and all houses uses the traditional method where all excrements are collected in a "tong najis" (bucket). The midnight soil will be collected by the municipal workers in the early morning between 2am -4am. Sometimes if the workers are not careful and spilled the midnight soil onto the roads surface, it really smells like shit in the morning when we walks past to take our school bus.

As far as I know the so-called "kampung" do not have a proper name but there is one kampung road by the name of Jalan Karim. This small road is accessible from Jalan Maharaja Lela (formerly known as Jalan Batak Rabit) which is one of the main trunk road linking Teluk Intan (formerly Telok Anson). My "kampung" is about four kilometres to the Teluk Intan town centre.

The kampung Jalan Karim run parallel to the stream Sungai Pak Kalong which is a tributary of Sungai Perak. In the absence of computers, Internet and Play Stations, Sungai Pak Kalong was one of our main play ground or swimming pool. During high tide when Sungai Pak Kalong reaches a depth of seven feet, the boys will be having a great time swimming or just playing at the banks of the river.

For those keen on fishing, Sungai Pak Kalong is a boon as the river is a major place to catch fresh water fishes like haruan, ikan keli, sepat and puyu. Since Sungai Perak flows side by side with Jalan Maharaja Lela, fishing accessories like hooks and fishing lines are easily obtainable from one of the sundry shops along the road. We will use whatever discarded wooden staff we can find from a nearby sawmill or cut a small tree branch or long twig to tie the fishing line. As bait for the fishes, we just digged the ground around our houses for earthworms. Within less than half an hour of digging, a bagful of fishbait worms will be available.

When the river reaches ankle length during low tide, some will take the opportunity to scoop the fishes with whatever basket that they can get hold from their house. If one's lucky there will be the surprise catch of the day in the basket, an udang galah. The freshwater prawn move along with the in flow of the tide from Sungai Perak and hides amongst the plants below the river banks during low tide.

Kampung Jalan Karim will be flooded at least twice a year. It is not like those life threatening flood which happens in Johor or Pahang in recent years but just about one to two feet deep. This is as long as we do not swim in the river during specially high tide. The river can be fun but can be dangerous too. I was nearly drown in that river once. I slipped from the side of the river towards the middle of the river bed. Luckily one of my brothers friend caught hold of me and pulled me up.

At the right end of the Jalan Karim kampung is the railway tracks which links Teluk Intan to Tapah town. The railway station is about two kilometres away from the kampung. A railway bridge runs across the Sungai Pak Kalong. During the occasion when a train crosses the bridge while we are swimming, we will stay under the bridge until the train crosses. Imagine the sound from the wheel thumping on the tracks and the metal bridge shaking and vibrating for at least one to two minutes. Those were the days.

The railway track is no more there but replaced with a tarred lane. No one will ever wants to swim in the Sungai Pak Kalong nowadays. The river is so polluted with effluents from nearby factories and motor workshops for so many years that the river water turned from muddy brown to oily black. It is no more looks like a river but a dirty longkang (drain). What a sad case for my water playground.- Loka

Public hearings just for window dressing

Below is the full press statement issued by the Selangor Buddhist Development Committee (SBDC) in regards to the lack of response from the local authorities towards the objections submitted by the Buddhist community on the Draft Local Plans 2020 by the relevant authorities.  About 40 Buddhist community leaders and devotees were present during the press conference. The Press Conference was held on 9 Dec 2010 at the Subang Jaya Buddhist Association which was chaired by Loka Ng Sai Kai, Chairman of the SBDC.

PRESS STATEMENT

Local authorities lack of response towards the public hearing objections on the Draft Local Plan 2020(Lack of Structural Provisions for Buddhist Places of Worship)

9th December 2010

SBDC (& its precursor, Buddhist Committee on MPSJ Local Draft Plan 2020) had submitted the objections with over 4000 signatories on January 28th 2008. The MPSJ DLP 2020 public hearing was held on June 22nd 2009. The Public Hearing Panel Chairman YB Iskandar Abd Samad stated the Selangor State Planning Committee (SPC) would decide if the objection(s) were relevant, if not, be discussed on a case-by-case basis (Attachment 1). SDBC submitted a letter (Attachment 2) to enquire the matter on June 10th 2010 but received no response. The gazetted MPSJ Local Plan 2020 is expected to be published soon with minimal considerations to SBDC’s proposals and objections (Attachment 3).

SBDC subsequently submitted similar objections to the MPS, MPAJ, MPKj, MDHS & MDKL DLP 2020 on January 31st 2010 (Attachment 4). To date, SBDC had attended the MBPJ, MDHS, MPS, MPKj & MPAJ Draft Local Plans 2020 public hearings on March 8th, June 14th, June 28th, July 8th & Nov 1st 2010 respectively. On all occasions, the Chairman YB Iskandar Abd Samad, accompanied by the Selangor Jabatan Perancangan Bandar & Desa Semenanjung (JBDS) director, Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan, mentioned that SBDC would be consulted further on their objections. However it is with huge disappointment that SBDC was never invited for further consultations and NO such discussion(s) with any of the above-mentioned local councils had taken place since then.

Furthermore, responding to the authorities’ indifference attitude, more than 1023 residents of Putra Heights & USJ Subang Jaya have petitioned to request Datuk Mohd Jaafar to facilitate Putra Heights Buddhist Society’s land applications with the MPSJ and Petaling Land office for an update. There has been NO response or feedback since these applications were made in June & August 2010.

In view of such unfavourable developments which lacks of transparency and accountability, SBDC wishes to highlight the following

1. With reference to religious practice, we urged the State Planning Committee and Jabatan Perancangan Bandar & Desa Selangor to be more vigourous and professional in adhering to its own 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.

We emphasized that there are needs for more free-standing Buddhist temples (Vihara Buddha) with sufficient facilities to cater for the spiritual and religious education needs of the Buddhist Community in Selangor.

2. SBDC (& more than 4000 Buddhist objectors) urged the relevant authorities to be fully accounted for and explain why MPSJ (& other local councils) have NOT seriously considered SBDC’s objections. As such, the communiqués and consultation for their decision(s) MUST be done with more transparency and accountability.

We therefore seek the State Planning Committee to take cognizance of this matter seriously and listen to the voice of the people.

3. SBDC reiterates our objections to the usage of the term “Rumah Ibadat (tokong / vihara / kuil / gereja / gudwara )” in Draft Local Plan Majlis Perbandaran Selayang 2020 & all other draft local plans in Selangor. This will further dilute the Buddhist Vihara structural provisions in these local draft plans.

4. SBDC also urges the SPC, Selangor Land Office and the Jawatankuasa Hal Ehwal Selain Islam Negeri Selangor to clearly elucidate in writing the gazette mechanisms & provisions of land for non-Muslim places of worship.

We hereby stressed that the SBDC are prepared to engaged and work closely with the State and the relevant authorities for Buddhist temples to be built on land allocated by the Selangor State Government which are designated for places of worship. As stakeholders in this state, all we seek is the State government’s attention, understanding and compassion towards the needs of our community to have proper land to build and manage our Buddhist temples.

Buddha's Vacana on race supremacy

Are a person's birth, race, culture and religion the criterias to dictates one's supremacy and nobility over others? Many years ago during my university days when I began to study the Sutras which are the teachings of the Buddha as retold by His disciple. One of the earliest sutra which I studied was the Vasala Sutra (Discourse on Outcasts). The last verse of the said sutra which I still remembers by heart is as follows:

"Not by birth is one an outcast;

not by birth is one a Brahmin.

By deed one becomes an outcast,

by deed one becomes an Brahmin."

The term Brahmin denotes a certain caste or class of people who are considered the nobles and are positioned higher than other castes in the society in India especially in olden days.

So when certain people of certain race from certain area starts to claim they are more supreme than others due to their race and place of birth, it makes me wonder what will happen if each and every race and tribe in the world also declares they are a class above all and more noble than others. Will there be a Nobility Olympics so that each race competes against each other to decide who is the "noblest and supreme" of them all. Just like the Winter and Summer Olympics, there should be many events. The events can include the Best in Shouting Aloud, Most Publicity Seeker, Most Intimidating, Most Racist, Most Extreme, Most Rabble Rousers, Most Nonsensical Statements, Most Opportunists, Highest Mob Mentality, Smallest Pea Brain and whatever long list of other events that can be cooked up by these self declared "nobles and supremacies". But I doubt it will include most respectable, most decent, most well behaved, most polite, most dignify, most intelligent, most understanding and more importantly, Most Wise. - Loka

Vasala Sutta

Discourse on Outcasts

Translated from the Pali by Piyadassi Thera

Thus have I heard:

On one occasion the Blessed One was living near Savatthi at Jetavana at Anathapindika's monastery. Then in the forenoon the Blessed One having dressed himself, took bowl and (double) robe, and entered the city of Savatthi for alms. Now at that time a fire was burning, and an offering was being prepared in the house of the Brahman Aggikabharadvaja. Then the Blessed One, while on his alms round, came to the Brahman's residence. The Brahman seeing the Blessed One some way off said this: "Stay there, you shaveling, stay there you wretched monk, stay there you outcast." When he spoke thus the Blessed One said to the Brahman: "Do you know, Brahman, who an outcast is and what the conditions are that make an outcast?" "No, indeed, Venerable Gotama, I do not know who an outcast is or the conditions that make an outcast. It is good if Venerable Gotama were to explain the Dhamma to me so that I may know who an outcast is and what the conditions are that make an outcast."

"Listen then, Brahman, and pay attention, I will speak."

"Yes, Venerable Sir," replied the Brahman.

1. "Whosoever is angry, harbors hatred, and is reluctant to speak well of others (discredits the good of others), perverted in views, deceitful -- know him as an outcast.

2. "Whosoever in this world kills living beings, once born or twice born, in whom there is no sympathy for living beings -- know him as an outcast.

3. "Whosoever destroys and besieges villages and hamlets and becomes notorious as an oppressor -- know him as an outcast.

4. "Be it in the village, or in the forest, whosoever steals what belongs to others, what is not given to him -- know him as an outcast.

5. "Whosoever having actually incurred a debt runs away when he is pressed to pay, saying, 'I owe no debt to you' -- know him as an outcast.

6. "Whosoever coveting anything, kills a person going along the road, and grabs whatever that person has -- know him as an outcast.

7. "He who for his own sake or for the sake of others or for the sake of wealth, utters lies when questioned as a witness -- know him as an outcast.

8. "Whosoever by force or with consent associates with the wives of relatives or friends -- know him as an outcast.

9. "Whosoever being wealthy supports not his mother and father who have grown old -- know him as an outcast.

10. "Whosoever strikes and annoys by (harsh) speech, mother, father, brother, sister or mother-in-law or father-in-law -- know him as an outcast.

11. "Whosoever when questioned about what is good, says what is detrimental, and talks in an evasive manner- know him as an outcast.

12. "Whosoever having committed an evil deed, wishes that it may not be known to others, and commits evil in secret -- know him as an outcast.

13. "Whosoever having gone to another's house, and partaken of choice food, does not honor that host by offering food when he repays the visit -- know him as an outcast.

14. "Whosoever deceives by uttering lies, a Brahman or an ascetic, or any other mendicant -- know him as an outcast.

15. "Whosoever when a Brahman or ascetic appears during mealtime angers him by harsh speech, and does not offer him (any alms) -- know him as an outcast.

16. "Whosoever in this world, shrouded in ignorance, speaks harsh words (asatam) or falsehood expecting to gain something -- know him as an outcast.

17. "Whosoever debased by his pride, exalts himself and belittles others -- know him as an outcast.

18. "Whosoever is given to anger, is miserly, has base desires, and is selfish, deceitful, shameless and fearless (in doing evil) -- know him as an outcast.

19. "Whosoever reviles the Enlightened One (the Buddha), or a disciple of the Buddha, recluse or a householder -- know him as an outcast.

20. "Whosoever not being an Arahant, a Consummate One, pretends to be so, is a thief in the whole universe -- he is the lowest of outcasts.

21. "Not by birth is one an outcast; not by birth is one a Brahman. By deed one becomes an outcast, by deed one becomes a Brahman.

22. "Know ye by the example I now cite (the fact that by birth one is not an outcast). There was an outcast's son, Sopaka, who became known as Matanga.

23. "This Matanga attained the highest fame so difficult to gain. Many were the warriors (kshatriyas) and Brahmans who went to attend on him.

24. "Mounting the celestial chariot (the Noble Eightfold path, and driving) along the passion-free high road, (Sopaka, now a monk), reached the Brahma realm having given up sense desires.

25. "His (lowly) birth did not prevent him from being reborn in the Brahma realm. There are Brahmans born in the family of preceptors, kinsmen of (veda) hymns.

26. "They are often seen committing evil deeds. In this life itself they are despised, in the next they are born in an evil state of existence. High birth does not prevent them from falling into a woeful state, or from censure.

27. "Not by birth is one an outcast; not by birth is one a Brahman. By deed one becomes an outcast, by deed one becomes an Brahman."

When the Buddha had thus spoken, the Brahman Aggikabharadvaja said to the Blessed One: "Excellent, O Venerable Gotama, excellent! Just as, O Venerable Gotama, a man were to set upright what had been overturned, or were to reveal what had been hidden, or were to point the way to one who had gone astray, or were to hold an oil lamp in the dark so that those with eyes may see things, even so in many ways has the Venerable Gotama expounded the Dhamma, the doctrine. I take refuge in the Venerable Gotama, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, the Order. May the Venerable Gotama accept me as a lay follower who has taken refuge from this day onwards while life lasts."

Managing an expanding Rocket

nThe growth in membership and branches of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) since the breakthru 12th general election in 2008 creates a new challenge to the party especially for its leaders in Pakatan Rakyat ruled states particularly in Selangor and Penang.

For a party whose membership some 30 years ago was just more than two thousand, the current monumental growth in membership is surely a situation which many veteran  DAP leaders can never imagined. Previously with small membership it is easier to manage the party in terms of secretariat affairs and branches coordination. Fast forward to year 2010 when the membership and branches had rocketed to such numbers which is unseen in DAP's history. The party HQ  and some state secretariats workload must have increased tremendously in processing and managing the new membership and branches applications. While DAP works towards a progressive and people friendly policy development in the state and federal governments, the party is now faced with the challenge to further enhanced its office management and coordination at all levels of party hierarchy.

In Selangor itself, the branches had mutiplied from 40 branches before the March 2008 general election to the 145 branches which are sending delegates to the DAP Selangor State Convention this weekend. On top of that, at least 50 new branches are still awaiting registration by the Registrar of Societies. Assuming averagely there are at least 60 members in each branch, there are now at least 12,000 members just in Selangor. Just like any other organisations, managing an expanded membership list requires more manpower,  financial resources, better office management system and organisational skills.

Lau Weng San, Selangor DAP Secretary and Kg Tunku ADUN shoulders huge challenge 

in preparing for the 1k plus delegates attending the Selangor state convention.

With the setting up of new branches, more delegates will also be attending state conventions as each branch are entitled to send seven delegates. As such, this means larger venues are required to accommodate the enlarged delegates attending state conventions. Larger venues and more delegates translated to higher cost to organise the conventions. Sooner or later DAP will need to review its constitution in relation to the number of delegates entitlement for each branches to attend the state and national conventions as overwhelming delegates will be too heavy a task for the state secretary and a costly affair too.

For instance, what will be the scenario if in the future there are 500 branches in Selangor? That will be translated to 3,500 voting delegates! If each member took 10 seconds to select 15 out of 50 candidates and finally drop it into the ballot box, that will consumed slightly more than nine hours just to cast the votes! For the Selangor state convention this weekend, will 2.5 hours be enough for the whole election process to be over? That's assuming every delegates already decided and know who and where to mark the 15 candidates of their choice from the list of 50 names in multiple pages. If Lau Weng San is still the state secretary by then he will really need more assistants and full time secretariat members to manage the secretariat and organised the state conventions.

Assumed in the near future DAP as part of Pakatan Rakyat already takes over the Federal government  and its membership surged to 2,000 branches with at least 60 members in every branch. During the DAP triennial congress which elects 20 national leaders, every branch will be entitled to send 4 delegates and the total delegates will be 8,000! DAP by then will need to convene its congress at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil and a whole day for all to cast the votes! If that's the case, PKR might need to book all the available stadiums in the country just for their divisions direct election!

On another note, while it is indeed a good thing for DAP to be able to attract more people to sign up as members, it need to ensure these new members understands and accept the party's ideology and direction for the nation. It will be detrimental not only to the party but also the prospect of managing the country with a greater hope if newly enlisted members brings in certain political culture and approaches which the rakyat has been detesting all these years. It will be such a pity if any branches, new or old, existed all in name but only for the purpose of sending delegates to cast votes during state or national elections. For a political party to be relevant to the man in the street, local branch leaders are the frontline agents of change and need to engage the grassroots and the constituents continuously. This can be achieved by having community programs with the residents and to increase the citizens political awareness and participation especially in the democratic electoral process.

For all the candidates who offered themselves for the thousand plus delegates to elect them as state committee members, they need to think deeper than just a political position and government appointments but how to manage a growing party in terms of memberships, branches and also possibly larger financial resources. As state government leaders, there are many salaried civil servants providing the backbone and administrative support. But for a political party these resources are limited and may be too costly to even think about it.

For a party which is consolidating its power based in the state and strengthening its machinery, it will need more than mere slogans and fiery speeches but the capability to provide examplary leadership and good organisational and administrative skills for the party.  Not just the know how to lead but to manage the party well too. - Loka

Note: The blogger had organised many conventions and annual general meetings for NGOs, locally and internationally for the past 20 years and are aware of the needs and challenges faced to ensure the respective events proceed smoothly, especially during election year. Anyway, the blogger might have attended the opening ceremonies but had never organised any conventions for any political parties so far.